I think this kdrama it's both a necessary story that everyone should watch and also one we have to watch with a grain of salt. Even though the first episodes are what you would call a more "realistic" representation of the korean education system, the further you go into it, the more it's about a sudden "murder investigation" and less about things that i was looking forward to watch.

I would say, if well written, instead of a murder investigation, the more realistic scenario would be mind manipulation made into suicide... cause that's what happens when kids are pushed to be the absolute best in a broken environment. There's many cases of suicide within students, and if something extreme needed to be showed in this particular kdrama, then it would be that... no one wants to see it, but it needs to be talked about more often.

We start this kdrama hating absolutely every character, and that's just right for the type of story it is. The murder investigation was what made possible for us to see how far some of these parents are willing to go to see their kids at the top, but somehow i wished this was showed without the kdrama-murder plot. Because i feel like in real life, parents do a lot to see their kids at the top and play dirty too, without being involved in murder cases.

The last episode... it's a joke. From beginning to end. Had to drop a star and a half just for that. Some people will live in a broken household all their lives, will hate their family all their lives, will run away from home for good... the sudden happy endings for every household is a total break of character for almost everyone. In reality that wouldn't happen. Even the "good" parents would still make you finish at least highschool, and the not so good parents would not suddendly become good just like that, not even when threatened.

For this kdrama to be as perfect as the high ratings indicate, they would have to show at least 1 ending in which some of these family's would be broken or unfased for life, because that's how it actually goes.

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One of the best i've seen! [get ready for the longest review ever]

A Kdrama strongly lead by females! This is it!
Even the big CEO's were female and that my friend was awesome to see!

The 3 big female leads were very different in choices and personality and that only added to it!
We also had genuine friendships and working relationships without it being a romantic troop, and as someone that works at an office and has a lot of working friends who i hang out afterwork for a late beer, i really appreciated that!

Shout out to the actors that did Park Morgan, Brian and Seol Ji Hwan!! They really added the perfect support for these strong female leads! Gotta say that whole old-school dramatic korean drama with the slap of kimchi and all that was absolutely genius!!! It was so so funny! Those kdramas always look like they are on crack and that was truly shown on this one. Great laughs!! So much fun!

Loved all the romantic troops as well, each romance was so different and precious! Love the realness i felt watching Park Morgan and Tammy fall in love. It wasn't an easy yes. Their conversations about age, different lifestyles... it was all brillant! That whole scene with Morgan spending the first night at Tammy's house and asking "will you still want me tomorrow?" was just so real. Truly a great written work!!

» The only thing i would change would be either to make Cha Hyun and Ga Kyung less like lovers and more like long life friends OR make it lgbt as indicated in the first episodes. The writers would be lying if they said there was no tension between these two characters in the first scenes they had together. It's true that girls can have girl crushes on each other without it being lgbt, but the vibe these characters gave me with Cha Hyun protecting Ga Kyung in slow motion and then staring into each others eyes, it's such a classic romantic troop in kdramas that was hard to miss. Lines such as "i am only this honest when i am with you *smirk*" and other moments that would be very hard to explain as a mere high school friendship (in my opinion).

This kdrama is all about strong female leads. Even the "bad and rich" ones were female, so it would be super fitting to see it go lgbt for some characters as well. 'Cause you see... An almost all female driven kdrama worked out pretty well anyways. Perhaps someday when Korea is more accepting of lgbt rights, we will see a kdrama with all kinds of love relationships in it, without it being the whole focus of the kdrama itself. A kdrama still about powerful working woman, and 2 just turn out to be lgbt, and not a kdrama focused solely on the fact that they are not straight. Someday.

With ALL of that being said... the alternative love lines for both Cha Hyun and Ga Kyung was super adult and cute! So that's why i didn't understand why the writers gave such tension between them and then provided decent love alternatives in the end... but i can't complain! The whole Cha Hyun and Seol Ji Hwan energy was super adorable and wholesome and Ga Kyung's soft flirting with her ex-husband also was a big MOOD.

About Tammy and Morgan, i think it was very mature of them to get back together but still have them acknowledge that being together won't erase their different points of view on life. Glad neither of them gave in, to make it possible for them to be together again at the end.

[PS - If you don't agree with me it's fine :) i am only here for healthy debates and discussions. Feel free to comment only if it's respectful!]

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Mental Health

Never a topic for a story was more relevant now than mental health!
I didn't know what to expect from this kdrama by watching the trailer. I was not really into the mystical part of it, so i almost didn't watch it. The fact that this kdrama is actually about mental health and has barely any real mystical elements to it, it's absolutely brillant! From a direction pov it's brillant! All those massive Tim Burton stories vibe are genius! i would buy all those short stories book's!! ALL OF THEM!!

Seo Ye Ji is crazy good! Talk about powerful female leads! THIS IS IT! She is everything! Ofc i already knew the fabulous and incredible Kim Soo Hyun, he is always flawless with his acting and he does emotional scenes really really well(!!), but what i wasn't expecting was the role of a career from Oh Jung Se!! Pretty much all the times i ended up sobbing like a baby (and there was several) were because of scenes related to his character. He nailed it! I was often an emotional reck watching him act. Adorable and heartbreaking. Super compelling!

I am honestly speechless! This is what i consider a perfect kdrama! A good balance between love, family, friends, work, trauma and the importance of mental health and dealing with your past. Perfect! I don't say this often, but the rewatch value is 10! I would totally rewatch it!

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Too short,

I'm sure that if this show was longer it would be at my top top list.
Honestly, it's real. As real as it gets.
It will not please the romantics of this world though.

I like that these characters are 30, or almost 30, but don't have their lives figured out and are still wandering around.
Because this show was such a short story they had to rush everything so some parts don't have the momentum that should. I love the fact that characters still hurting don't automatically switch to a different partner. I think it's very toxic to always be showing to audiences that to end a good show, people that were so recently hurt have to somehow move on and end with a new partner, or reconcile somehow with the old one. That's not what happens in real life.

There's people who we will always have lingering feelings towards. And it will remain like that for what if feels like forever.
At the end of the day, though, we get together with friends and talk about life over a beer and the day ends.
Definitely my experience turning 30.

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At last, REAL friendships!

Honestly one of my favorite slice of life kdramas. I just wished it had more eps... it's such a pity! The story had so much potential, but with 12 eps, it's barely possible to deliver everything in time!

I have not read the webtoon so will only review the kdrama.
This was actually one of the few times i've watched a kdrama with REAL friendships. Like when you have a problem and need to cry or confess your worries, you go to your friends! The dialogues felt very real as well. That one speech of Joon saying how he didn't know how to feel anymore cause he was in darkness for so long that leaving his sad self behind actually made him feel empty, really impressed me a lot! There's a few memorable convos and quotes from this kdrama!

But there's also a few things that were either rushed or just didn't make a lot of sense. SoBin's best friend took her for granted for a long time (cause that's what often happens when you think people will never leave your side) but because of that you kinda stop talking to someone that protected you for so long? i mean she didn't even bother to ask him if he was still dating the girl or not (when she was just an ex). That part didn't make sense. Let alone falling in love immediatly for a new guy after being so dedicated to someone else for so long. Cause they actually had a long story together... those years don't just go away... not even after they somehow hurt each other. The feelings stay for awhile.

I really didn't need Joon to have a romantic relationship with anyone. SoBin could've accept him and be kind to him as a friend. Cause if you think about it, everytime he had a crisis he either needed to be alone or went to Soo Hyun. Usually when you are in a love relationship, although you can always count on your friends, you also rely a lot on your partner, cause if not... then they are only there for the fun parts?! That didn't work that well in the kdrama.

But apart from little things like this, this was still an amazing watch in my opinion. Goes to my favorites list!

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Very relatable

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”
@ stephen chbosky - perks of being an wallflower

I kept remembering this quote while watching this jdrama. This was such a relatable story for me... from toxic relationships to inner self hatred, to reading too the situations around us and forcing a smile... this story has it all. A jdrama with age related struggles but with plenty of room for lighthearted content and lovely/simple daily interactions!! There’s a lot of layers to these relationships and different characters, that sometimes makes us root for the twisted ones.

I really hope someday they surprise us with a season two, it would be totally doable! Even though the finale was just brilliant! A must watch!

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had a plot twist but also... meh

From the trailer alone i could understood the whole plot twist. i hate trailers so much... but with that being said... i dont feel good about the ending. it lacked meaning.

i think the FL (nurse) is not really happy with her new boyfriend, and the ML is not at all that sorry he lost her either. Both of them just needed someone. Anyone. Anyone that had time for them.
Didn't matter who. The nurse repeated everything she did with the ML with her new bf just to end up miserable. Same habits, same gifts, same way of falling in love at the hospital... that's a massive red flag if you ask me. And seriously sad. Assuming they were on a break for awhile, then both of them slept around during that time, but the movie kinda makes it seem as if the male lead has more to blame than the female lead, when they equaly had other partners in between.

the plot would make a lot more sense if at least one of them had a true happy ending with a "i am over you" moment. the way the FL was not that happy in the moment of the plane departure, and how desperate the ML was to just be with any of the girls tells me not a single person had a good ending.

and that's life!! but also... what's the message of the movie then? that life is hard when work gets in the way? well yeah. we all know that. what's the real message here? Am i supposed to side or relate to whom?

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It's okay. Could be so much better!

It's an enjoyable ride but by the end of it has very low chances of becoming an all time favorite. it lacks something.
Started off great. I wished it had more urban legend stories, because as soon as imoogi was active again the story stopped having that element. idk... the last two eps felt both rushed and, in a lot of parts, absurd.

The bad guy was never scary and we always knew he would never win... and that's a problem.
The ending was not that great. The whole last episode didn't make any sense. Definitely there's no way you can get reincarnated that fast into an adult, also the brother getting reincarnated so fast as well. idk... didn't make sense to me.
It's true that it was the kind of the final the audience wanted but... meh.

Someone had a great explanation for the last scene and i will add smt else later:

«There are several ways in which gumihos can become human. The one concerning the ending of Tale of the Nine Tailed is this one: Over a period of 100 days (the period varies according to legends), the gumiho cannot be detected as a gumiho by their significant other. In the case of Yeon, it is Ji-ah. If we assume that for 100 days, Ji-ah did not discover Yeon’s truth, it would be easy for him to transform into a human.
Infact, Yeon was on the verge of giving away his real identity as a gumiho when he let out that Ji-ah and he is going to have daughter. Remember the introduction in episode 1? It was mentioned that gumihos has the “ability to see miles ahead”. Yeon definitely had the powers!
Cut to Yeon’s face-off with the Spirit of Misfortune. Yeon took advantage of his magical powers to defeat The Spirit of Misfortune, thereby eliminating any chance of Ji-ah ever finding out his truth. I think that proved to be a boon and he was able to completely transform into a human.» @ cinedope.com

This would explain a lot. Would explain how he managed to comeback looking exactly the same, and with his memories intact. You are not suppose to have memories from previous lives, so the fact that he has it still, means he is still the same Yeon. Would make sense that he has a sort of 100 days to run low until he actually becomes human. The fact that the new "baby" Rang doesn't remember Yeon means he is in a new life, but Yeon is on his old one still. He also went to see Grandma without any of them opening the gates for him, they were surprised to see him, so he was still able to enter that space without anyone opening the door. Wished the writers would've focus more in explaining these little details, because most people will not understand these nuances and just assume it's a typical nonsense kdrama ending to make everyone happy.

Another take would be: they want a chance to make a season 2, and we are all thinking too much.

Either way, as a whole the story felt all over the place.
As usual i liked the brothers story way more than the romance one, but that's my personal preference.
It was okay. I don't regret watching it and i don't think it was a bad kdrama... just all over the place.

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Definitely one of the best K-dramas of the Year

First 6 episodes were absolutely insane! So so good! So intense! I kinda wished the story was always as intense and "realistic" as those first episodes, but for a K-drama it's definitly one of the best out there. Touches important topics such as discrimation, racism, lgbt... just overall amazing!

Who would've thought a korean prodution would touch such topics... i am truly impressed and satisfied with the evolution of times! All the actors killed it, but there would be no Itaewon Class without Park Seo-joon and Kim Da-mi... forever iconic duo! Every K-drama with Park Seo-joon is already a guarantee is going to be good! He never disapoints! A MUST WATCH! Probably already one of the best of the year!

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goes to my favorites list

This type of story is right at my ally.
Those painful and easy to fix stories (from a 3rd perspective).

I would like to start by saying i don't see myself in Nabi's choices. At all. I will always dismiss fuck boys and people that use their natural charms to manipulate you emotionally. I've done it before. I will always chose ME over those type of boys.
But they are seriously tempting. Like she did what i only did in my dreams (thank god i respect myself that much). But at the same time, as a viewer, it was a fascinating ride. Seeing someone take a different direction than me in almost every episode was truly fascinating. I was hooked every single episode. It was like a tragedy that you couldn't look away from.

[quick side note: if you like to watch shows where you need to relate to the main characters decisions in order to enjoy the show, then this will not be the kdrama for you.]

I was "mad" at Nabi so many times while watching the first episodes of this show... but in the process of watching i tried to be more understanding as time went by. Because there's feelings you can't control. Once i understood that Nabi herself knew she brought it on to herself and she was in this situation because she also let herself be in this position, then i stopped blaming her. There was no space for judging anymore. She was on her path. Doing what she wanted to do. Even if she breaks herself in the end... it's her life and her choice.

This show got me curious about all their stories and personalities. I wanna know more about all these characters. I will miss them dearly. Shout out to all the other characters that i wished had more time to shine, including potato boy (this show needed 16eps at least for me).

Love that Nabi recognized that her final choice was not ideal and that will probably end up blowing up on her face later on, but she is willing to risk it anyways because no matter what, this is where her heart lies. This is something she needs to do. For better of for the worst. If it goes well this time, good, if it ends bad, she will grow from it and close that door forever. From the girl that started the show very insecure and always expecting something that people were not able to reciprocate, to accepting her reality and be in command of her own life, for me is a big step.

i like the fact this show could have a S02, and within that new season a new a totally unexpected result could come up from it. Because i am still so curious to know if PJW really had an honest character devolpment or if he will end up like before after a few months. Simultaneosly the reaction Nabi had in the end while seeing potato boy indicates both guilt and perhaps a slight change within. With enough time, who knows? Now that she will scratch the desire of being with PJW off her list of "to do's", what will that do with her feelings?!

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Most people won't like the S02

I did! A lot more than S01 but it has a "but". A big one!
All the characters were super interesting yet we had absolutely no time to get to know them. Even the main characters... what do we really know about them?! Jojo's best friends from highschool never showed up again, even though i was pretty sure they would. Jojo's new best friend also had a lot of potential but was completely forgotten. The new app developer (the brother) has no story, nothing. The Duk Goo's comeback was also out of the blue and not explained at all. The character development for Jojo's cousin, just for hearts, was also very sudden and hold no meaning for her. Jojo was never into drawing yet all of a sudden, for this season, she is an artist on her free time. To me, everything was touched on the surface. Absolutely everything.

I liked Sunoh, i did! But i also didn't.
Even though deep down he was a sweet boy, he was always following JoJo around trying to convince her that she loved him, and for this season where they are no longer teenagers, that suddenly started to annoy me. I was team Hye Young even halfway through S01. I just loved the way he loved her so genuinely without asking anything in return, and without making scenes at school. Because no matter how "desperate for love" you are, Jojo and Sunoh's sudden kiss in the S01 felt so so wrong to me. Putting a girl in a corner... but also she just went along with it - why? Cause he was a pretty boy? I overlooked it all season, but i just didn't find any reason for them to like each other... like what was it? the stalking and kissing on empty feelings?! my empathy for them wasn't quite there.

But- then they got cute in the middle of S01... only for the writer to take it all back without a proper explanation. Yes ok, Jojo was scared to love cause she was scared to lose him and cause him pain (while doing just that...) but hey- believe me! I get it! But it wasn't well explained here. There's a lot of things the screenwriter just skipped over. Cause Jojo did all that in highschool... ok, but then you grow up and at the very least you should give closure to someone that cleary is still in pain because of you. Even if you still love him back, if don't plan on dating him, then let him go. So he can start to heal, instead of giving him mixed signals.

As for the Hye Young x Jojo couple, is like a dream honestly. He's been an absolute sweetheart to everyone since episode 1. Always so humble, always waiting, always supportive, always respecting her space and boundaries. When his love alarm went off i was so happy for him, was like watching a friend finally winning at life after being the best human being possible on earth. More beautiful human beings like him should win in kdramas. The oustanding beautiful/model/rich ones always win and it bugs me a lot - Also for an "adult character" season... the kisses?! hello?! Puff-

Yet again, Hye Young chapter with his father was left unfinished... a lot to unpack there! Even Sunoh'sparents... I feel like there was something to explore there too. Like, did they ever loved each other? Why is his mother still with his father if she's the one not ringing his love alarm. like what happened?

Everyone was a side character in their own lives, including the main ones. This show had potential to be explored for full 20 episodes, and i never say this... i kinda always want shows to have less episodes... but not this one. All these characters looked awesome! Plots about suicide over having no one "love" you, also super interesting considering we live in a "likes on insta add value to my life" generation... so much potential wow. it's sad.

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So emotional T-T

Just finished watching and i haven't cried this much watching a kdrama in a long time. Everything about the storytelling of this kdrama was well done. If anything, this kdrama had the potential to be longer, to give space for secondary characters to also have their fair share of screen time.

The thing i fear the most it's misunderstandings. All of a sudden friendships, love relationships and family bonds end because of a misunderstanding or lack of communication. The whole mother/daughter relationship absolutely ended me. My father died 10 years ago and there's just so much i would like to have done with him that i never got a chance to. I love the actress that did the mother's role, she is always so kind and a perfect mom in almost all kdramas i've watched with her. Adore her. I am so happy they had such a lovely dynamic.

Since i liked all characters so much i wished we could've seen how everyone end up like that in the end and explore all characters. But looked like there was not enough time to shoot everything. It's ok. This was more than enough.

I think this is the type of kdrama that teaches you valuable things. A big thank you to the writer!

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This kdrama just entered my favorite's list! i knew it would from a very early stage.
These stories have a way more mature approach, it's not all just fluffly love. All 3 relationships are different and show different points of view. Love that all roles are "main roles", but for that we needed more time with all of them... perhaps a second season or just 5 more episodes.
Even Ji Ho and Se Hee parents gave solid speeches in this kdrama. Feels like you have something to learn from all of them and it's great! Love when kdramas have solid secondary characters.

My only true complain about this kdrama is how it should be longer, cause the last 2 episodes gave us too little time to watch all 3 couples develop their answers and realizations. I wanted Ji Ho to actually fully explain her thought process to Se Hee when she left, and let him fully understand it with words. I know this is a kdrama, but since it had so many good convos i was expecting a more mature approach in the end, but it felt like the show run out of time to explain everything.

Same thing with the other two couples, i wanted to see more of Soo Ji's business plans and personal development, as well as how she truly came to appreciate her boyfriend and realize that it was possible to love and still have her mother around. For the Ho Rang and Won Seok, honestly my favorite couple, i expected also more time for them to heal and forgive each other. If they were to go their separate ways it would be a more realistic, cause sometimes you do grow apart from people you love. Sometimes loving someone is not enough. Sometimes you need other things that you later realize are not (and should not be) fullfied by someone else and it's rather work you need to do by yourself. But even ending it with them together (that always warms people's hearts), they still needed more time before jumping to planning their wedding exactly where they left it before. Just being apart and realize they missed each other dearly, does not fix their different points of view. For that you need a lot of time to process your priorities and accept the other person wishes and meet in the middle.

Once again i know i am watching a kdrama, but since the stories were just so good i was expecting some really well explained endings for all characters and felt very rushed. All of a sudden everyone is "married" and everything worked out.

Still i think people should watch this kdrama! Has some real grown up speeches that are amazing! Strongly recommend!

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Average for it's genre.

Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty decent show. But at the same time the ending didn't satisfied me at all.
It ended like this in order to have more seasons ofc but idk... for me it lacked smt.

Survival movies or tv shows are never a concept i find revolutionary, so i think it's pretty funny how of all the kdramas out there, this one is the most watched on Netflix. Not only that but it's the TOP2 most watched shows on Netlix of all time.
I understand everything and all that, but if i ever survived such a crazy hell i would either end up killing myself regardless or just really living and doing everything i've ever wanted. Might as well... what's the worst that can happen?

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A mix of serious action and storytelling with kimchi-slap morning kdramas

This is a really good kdrama. It could've been in my TOP5 but the absurd comedy made it less impressive for me.
I am always very forgiving with absurdity in kdramas, and this one was no exception. No way i would've let so many flaws get by in a western production, yet this is the beauty of watching a kdrama. The absurd parts are so absurd that the only thing left to do is laugh, and that's ok.

I liked the ending. At least in the end some "realism" was left and the happy ending is somehow bittersweet if you think of it.

All actors did an excellent job. Every single one of them! Side characters included!
Loved the movie and other kdrama references that were written in the script! Truly hilarious! The "2PM" jokes were also chief's kiss!

I would totally recommend this kdrama to everyone used to asian productions. It's like a really good manga/anime. Half of it it's very realistic and the other half is crack humor that doesn't make much sense but we are here for it anyway.

Just one last thing. "Mademoiselle" is actually french.

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