Reviews

This is a good drama made worse by inserting too many cliche kdrama tropes.

big problems in story progression (characters, especially evil/expendable characters keep making insane choices to escalate things and keep the story going), and standard characterization flaws (villains keep doing unreasonable things, side characters are one dimensional; only used as a lever progress the story and then forgotten/kept in limbo the rest of the time.

I think Yoon Se Jun and Do Hye Ji (eldest son and wife) were among the more interesting characters in this drama. They had their own goals, and pursued them seemingly relentlessly but without being "too evil". They were a unit, always supporting each other, and I was interested to see more of them but in the end they are left alone just be used as comic relief and not much else. This my be one of my biggest disappointment with this drama.

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so much male ass so little everything else

i didn't know we were allowed to make entirely new shows and release them like its the season 2 of a well-established show. where the FUCK was song kang. they think that they could just show his ass for a little bit and i wouldn't realize that the MAIN CHARACTER was GONE for like a long ass time?? i do need to talk about how the writers were so fucking horny for song kang tho like. that lab monster fight was real fetish content. why is this strong milky smooth FULLY NAKED BARE ASS MAN being slow motion drenched in blood full-on carrie style. like sloppy dirty blood bathed glittering red breasts of a man. they didn't need to have him naked there like its soooo extremely harder to choreograph a fight scene when you can't show a character's swinging bare dick but NO. they needed to give us song kang’s bare ass. and i gotta respect that but sadly we didn't get much else beyond ass. i like the intense homoerotic tension between him and that spiky monster goo guy if they let them fuck i would be more ok with the rest of the season. but yeahhhhhh...... the rest of the season.... what the fuck was that.... like they were trying to replicate the large cast of characters trapped in a tight space trying to survive with their complex inner mechanisms but of course it's not gonna work if ur trying to introduce like 30 characters to me halfway through season two like i don't give a FAWK. where is song kang. the only characters remaining from season one is fuckass eunyu with that fuckass bob and then the little kid that got annoying way too fast and the lady that births a kid made out of mud in a frozen lake, disappears for a couple of episodes and comes back all oiled up with a pixie cut. and her baby is not even made out of mud anymore like damn. like their arc actually pissed me off so fucking much. like look at the set up here my god we could have seen this extremely weird and fucked up mother-daughter relationship develop as ms pixie learns to deal with the weird ass situation that she's in. like damn. this is a kid that literally ripped its way out of me and its a monster and its weird and dangerous but its also just a kid and its my kid and i have to take care of it and as she grows she understands her own place in all of this between monster and human or whatever the fuck but they thought that the best way to tell this extremely complex and delicate story would be to skip out on it for two episodes and then give us a few flashbacks. because it was SOOOOO important to instead show us eunyu just wandering around a bunch. god i wish they knew how to write female characters. why is every woman in this show stoic cold blooded bad ass and fucking BORING. eunyu could have a compelling arc about finding her brother but they make it so dry idk theyre sooooo worried about making her stoic cold blooded and bad ass like what happened to HAVING A PERSONALITY. IM BEGGING YOU FOR WOMEN WITH PERSONALITIES. from the new characters i dont give a fawk about anyone. why did that guy kill his mom that shit was fucking weird. and ofc he had to explode so we could see yet another man bathed in blood from head to toe. he wasnt naked this time but i know a kink when i see one. priest guy is hot ofc hes a priest and he's cool and he smokes and he has a lot of sexual tension with another one of the guys BUT WE ALREADY HAD THAT CHARACTER IN SEASON ONE!!! AND HE DIED!!! YOU CANT JUST GIVE ME SOMETHING TWICE AND EXPECT ME TO LIKE THE CHEAP ASS SUBSTITUTE. i want all the generic army guys to explode. (not the pretty face micro bangs one, he's safe) like do ANY of them have a personality. would it KILL you to idk. make one of them like a little weird or something. like maybe one of them could have a lisp.. or... a really big mole in the middle of his forehead. i guess there was the one with the scar on his cheek but hes still BORING. idk man anything to make them stand out from the other million army guys like none of them had personalities distinct from each other and they all wear the same clothes and u just gave me like 30 other characters to keep track of like who do you think i am. was i supposed to be writing this shit down. idk man shit was just boring. WHY WERE WE NOT FOLLOWING YIKYUNG AND HYUNSU'S PLOTLINE THE WHOLE TIME...... I FUCKING HATE SHIT THAT GETS EXPLAINED RETROACTIVELY LIKE THIS FOR NO FUCKING REASON. why would the best way to tell this story be through a flashback with narration over it. bitches never heard of show not tell. song kang grew his hair out and u want me to care about anything else.. he raised the mud baby for a bit and i dont get to see that at all? the set up to that whole thing was soso good they did it so dirty and then concluded it in the weirdest way possible. like not even a hint of resolution character growth or anything. i do think its compelling for yukyung to want to kill her kid! there’s so many interesting themes surrounding this crooked lens of motherhood but it was almost like they couldnt really commit either way… she wouldnt fully make an effort to truly accept what her daughter is but also she wasn’t really trying to actually kill her.. she just…. walked into a boat on fire… and then got fucked up at the end i did not understand the purpose of her monster transformation like is this supposed to have any relevance to the plot or to the character orrr.. did we just want a monster transformation here… and same with the mud baby like they do soo much tell not show in this stupid season like ok she hates people….. WHY. like i can see oh ok they tried to kill her a bunch and her mom kind of hates her but i cant FEEL it. and the moment where she like goes evil and tells hyunsu she actually wants to kill people and make them suffer its supposed to be this very like. intense and sad moment of this literal kid being so confused and grief stricken by her place in society that she cant do anything else but retaliate but like ive never really known this character before. i cant feel this shift from her. there’s nothing she’s turning into if that’s all she ever was and so that moment is just super flat like i dont really know this kid! idk man.... this was just messy.... like im mostly confused what was the plot here we just had a bunch of stuff happening with no particular purpose or goal. absolutely no single great story arc at all. what did we achieve.i love that fuckass little monster tho that little shit was so cute. it would just go oooouuugggg... grrrr nnyeeeeooowww brrr ggrreeeaoouggghh... like yeah baby lets hear it. let him speak!! i could have more thoughts but idk…. ending was weird… like i actually dont get it…. i am however soooo glad eunhyuk is back AND we got to see his ass like who decided that this show needed this much male ass and why are you right… anyways…. i just want to see lots of eunhyuk hope he’s a little evil twisted next season idk give me something fun to look at.

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So Much Potential, All of It Wasted

Project Wolf Hunting had the cast that it needed to become a hit, but the scriptwriters squandered its potential.

A group of despicable Korean criminals – rapists, mass murderers etc. – are being expatriated to South Korea from the Philippines by cargo ship. When one of these notorious convicts, Park Jong Du, sets his plan to escape into motion, all hell breaks loose on board.

This premise, while not unique to the genre, is solid. Had it been well executed, this movie would have been enjoyable, especially if action is your cup of tea. The scriptwriters made a mess of the story, though. The script is all over the place. It can be used as a guide to how not to write action:

1. Do not complicate the story too much.

In action movies, the bulk of the screen time is devoted to action scenes. This means that if your movie is two hours long, you have an hour or less for plot, so your approach has to be realistic and economical. You should not attempt to cram the story with a zombie-like monster, sci-fi tropes, and dystopian world-building. This is enough material to base a whole series on. You should not try to fit it into a movie about notorious convicts escaping captivity because the result will be absurd, disjointed, confusing, and boring.

2. Do not kill the most interesting character in the first half of the movie.

Nothing adds as much flavor and thrill to an action movie as a charismatic main character. What would Pirates of the Caribbean be without Jack Sparrow? It would be what this movie becomes without Park Jong Du. Evil, creepy, and completely crazy, he catches your attention immediately and does not let go of it. You are torn between hating him and being entertained by his murderous flamboyance. Most importantly, you become invested in his fate. Whether he will manage to escape is the question that keeps you watching. When he clashes with another convict, Lee Do Il, sparks fly, and you are promised a great dynamic: chaotic vs. lawful evil. Then, Park Jong Du is suddenly killed.
Scriptwriters, why did you make such a poor choice? If you wanted him dead, you should have killed him in the end. Instead, you made us viewers lose interest by answering the question way too early. Furthermore, you tricked us into thinking that a character is important only to kill him off like an extra, not even halfway through the movie. The only difference between his death and those of the extras is that sad music plays when he dies. Underwhelming.

3. Do not introduce two-dimensional characters only to utilize them as one-dimensional extras.

It is nothing new, of course, that in action movies many people are shown just to be killed. However, there is no reason to waste screen time on lines and scenes for these characters if they will not contribute anything to the plot. You do not make the viewers sympathize with them. You make them wonder why these characters were introduced if they die quickly.

Overall, this movie is not worth watching unless you are into plotless, extremely graphic gore – Squid Game level gore, if not worse. It does not deserve the rating that I am giving it. I would have rated it lower, but the actors all delivered brilliant performances. Seo In Guk is phenomenal as Park Jong Du. The unhinged look in his eyes alone deserves praise. Such great acting should not have been wasted on this mess.

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AFTER KINNPORCHE I NEEDED THIS.

THIS BL is written by MAME thus naturally carry CRASH OF OPINION'S and CONTROVERSIES.
In terms of their relationship, this might be one of Mame's least toxic relationship that she has written. EVER. BUT I can see the development in their characters BUT when it comes to intimacy, they become unhinged and wild.

(TW: toxicity, kinks, fetish, one night stands, sexual favors, manipulation, non-consensual touching, mind games, kidnapping, torture, gaslighting, rape, PTSD]

After kinnporche ended i though i would not be able to watch any BL. Like seeing BL's like UN and CO killed my brain cells. But this i can say is one of the good bl's out there. No its not great but its better than other. Forget better its actually one of the best bl's out there actually.

See i am one of those people that need some dose of a LESS 'lovey-dovey' and 'green flag' relationship. I need my dose of RED FLAG'S and a little bit TOXICITY from time to time. And NO this doesn't mean I encourage abuse of any form but sometimes you need to be realistic.
This BL felt realistic. IT's not your typical green flag relationship which we see in BL's. It was controversial, many scene's seem to have the non- con problem in them but they were not overdone, they conveyed what they were meant to. People had many problem with it being toxic and shit but honestly i didn't see that much of toxicity. NO this was not 100% healthy relationship but it was really realistic cuz it really happens in real life.

I felt people have connected MAME'S name with toxicity. Where people saw sexual verbal abuse i actually saw flirtation, like come on guys don't you dirty talk with your partner or tease them??? they may not have the best relationship but they were TRUE AND REAL AS THEY CAN BE.

BOTH COUPLE'S relationship is RAW. Its raw and passionate. They are INTENSE.
I MEAN IT WHEN I SAY IT'S RAW. The tension is real. YOU can see the LUST, THE PASSION, THE CUTENESS AND EVEN THE LOVE IN THIER RELATIONSHIP.
The chemistry is sizzling and scorching hot. DESPITE the facts that all the 4 actors are newbei's they have really acted well [i can even say better than most of the famous bl actor who still don't know how to act.]
AND FOR ONCE THEY CAN ACTUALLY KISS AND ITS NOT THE 'TYPICAL' COLLEGE ROMANCE. Thank god for that.

LEGITIMATE 18+ ranking. i am not kidding. THIS IS ADULT, There are quite a LOT OF detailed NC SCENE. And for once NC scene are actually amazing, like hatsoff to the actors and production. The NC scene are RAW and HOT like their chemistry.

I´m impressed by the visual quality. The music of the series both main theme song and the background song's are amazing and well placed. Both the thai and English song they have put in the series are AMAZING.
The cinematography of this series is so good, like you can see the money in the camera quality and shooting places. Like the production was in bar with the production of Kinnporche and cutie pie. The screenwriting was done really well.
The side characters are also really good, firstly they can act and for once you would actually be interested in them as well.

MUSIC. CINEMATOGRAPHY, PRODUCTION, VISUALS AND CAST get a full on 10/10 from me.
OVERALL, the PLOT may be simple, but the couple's killed it with their chemistry. The production is amazing ang this is what was needed honestly. IT's new and fresh. THE story will hook you.

PAYU AND RAIN'S story was the fluff and sweetness i needed before they dropped the bomb of RAIN AND PRAPAI, there story was full of heartbreak and pain. I FELT FOR SKY SO MUCH. Prapai was such a sweetheart.

PERSONAL OPINION- SkyPrapai >>>>>>>>>> RainPayu

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Two words: Criminally underrated!

However I can't blame anybody who doesn't like it. If you don't pay a lot of attention even to the smallest things, you will lost and think: it is a mess with so much plot hole and stupid decisions. It's a hard drama to watch and the amount of characters makes it more harder. A notebook fit well with this series. It was a not so good decision to not tag it as a Sci-Fi since the basics (DNA, surgery) are in fact not be too far from the truth. (Google is your best friend!)

My recommendation is do yourself a favor and find out soon who is the serial killer, because later on -after episode 6- it won't be the focal point of the story. So you can focus on another really important details which will lead to the only big twist. From episode 7, the real question is not Who is? but What happened? and in the last episodes: Why? It's not a big deal to find out who is our psychopath tough you have to know what you should search for. (Checkpoint is on the end of the rooftop scene in episode 6!)

Sometimes the story seems over-complicated because it's overcrowded. It's a thrilling experience with a dark and very twisted world. I know It's hard to concentrate every single detail all the time but at the end it will pay off.

That's very interesting how the show presents its characters. We can't embraces the most of them. Maybe you can sympathize with them. The most likeable character is Moo Chi who has the biggest character development. We can feel his sadness and grief, sense his motivation... and what about his deep depression which led to his alcoholism. These characters are complex and interesting with morally questionable motives.
The bad guys are bad all through! Some of them are born that way (as a psychopath) and some become monster cause of events. (Not all murderers are psychopaths and not all psychopaths are murderers!) Our main serial killer is a mentally ill psychopath who murders anybody within his own rules. And the rules are very sick like him. He is a true psychopath with god-complex and delusions. His smile gives me goosebumps. But he is not the worst!

Technically, the cinematography and sound-design is excellent but in some scenes the edition and lightning is poor. I also don't like the censorship but its my overall problem with this genre in the Korean film industry. The themes are very interesting and important. There are a lot of social problems and moral controversies in this series. Viewers can see how detailed the criminal side of the show. Also Pyo Chang-won - a very famous Korean criminal profiler and expert on police studies- worked in the show and his lecture was an important part of the script. (He has a short cameo in the last episode) . There are references to real crimes as the infamous Cho Doo-Soon case which was inspired Bong Yi' s background story. Congratulation to the cast, especially to LSG. This is his best role without any question. If He won't win any award for it I will be angry as hell!

On the whole, It became my favorite psycho-thriller k-drama with its complexity. It is well-made and well-written but not for everybody. Who don't mind blood, violence, dark themes and world, just start it! This drama is unique in its genre.

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This drama has some nice elements but overall not for me.

Like other critical reviews of this drama say, it's not a bad drama, and I really wanted to like it and went into it blind like I typically do when I watch dramas, but... after finishing all 16 episodes, it wasn't ever really for me and I feel like I should have dropped it after 4 or 5 episodes.

I'm definitely missing something in this drama. Everyone has been praising this drama as being heartfelt, mature, relaxing, and realistic in its portrayal of relationships and how they develop. I disagree, and I'm not sure if it's due to my age (older than the leads) but I couldn't find the maturity and realism that others seem to talk about over and over again. Maybe it's because I feel like I would have communicated differently than the couples portrayed, but I didn't understand how either couple either discussed their issues with each other. Nothing made any sense to me. There were times when they were straightforward with each other, yes, but I mostly found the dialogue either dull or puzzling.

I did like some things about it. The characters themselves were nice. I loved the playful humor in the banter, it was pretty clever and sharp but those moments were few and far between. I also loved the movie references and I wish they would have put a little more time into Seon-Gyeom's finding of himself, building up of his new career and being an agent for Woo-Sik - I felt like it was clumsily done and could have been tightened and would have added a lot to his overall character development. It seemed like it was squished into the episodes as a sidenote.

I would have also liked more meaningful interaction between Seon-Gyeom and Mi Joo earlier on. I didn't feel their attraction to each other at all. Individually, they were great and in theory they seemed like they would be really cute, but for some reason the pairing felt forced to me. I think maybe the whole beginning scenario of the track team scandal, the translation job that allowed them to spend time together, and the father's interference could have been done better for me personally, and because I didn't like the way it developed and set up the drama, I think it set the tone for the rest of the drama as well. Some of the scenes felt cut awkwardly and mixed together all over the place.

I also didn't understand the second couple very much. Both were very cute and had such interesting personalities but again... I wasn't sure how they came to love each other, and then break up, and then get back together. It looked like it started to develop well, and midway through I became very confused by the conflict, the resolution, the conflict again, and then all of a sudden they're together again at the end? Maybe this is a realistic depiction of a relationship for other people, but for me personally, it didn't work, and the way they communicated their feelings to each other never felt clear to me. It seemed like they would say one thing to each other and do something that conflicted with what they said.

The addition of the best friend coming out also seemed out of place to me. While I loved Young-Hwa's heartfelt reaction to the confession and it portraying the type of kind, gentle, sensitive soul he is, and I'm all about LGBTQ representation in media, this element seemed sort of random and unnecessary. I would have liked either more development of this side story or none at all. To have it as just a blip in the drama feels like an afterthought.

Again, it doesn't seem like a bad drama but I had a really hard time enjoying it and I just don't think it was for me. It's so great that so many enjoyed it and got a lot out of it but unfortunately I wasn't one of them. Soundtrack was nice and the drama was very nicely produced. Some of the humor in the dialogue was very smart and I wished there was more of it sprinkled generously throughout each episode. I think I understand the overall message of the drama and the tone it means to convey but it never quite struck a chord with me like I wanted it to. I think viewers still learning to find themselves and their place in the world and with each other might find more meaning and poignancy in this drama than someone who is at a different point in life.

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got my brain twisted

I don't have much to say about the story. Didn't expect it to be such a tragedy. There were tons of hints being hinted at the beginning of the movie. I was foolish enough not to realize it lol.
Acting wise is superb especially the leads. Welĺ, the most vital thing that stood out to me beside the acting is, the twist. I honestly think without the twist, this movie is just gonna be plain. Overall, I had a good time watching this. It's not the type of movie that would be easily forgotten cause the plot twist is strong. I don't enjoy rewatching movie with unpredictable twist cause the second time you watch it, it's never gonna be the same.

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If there is a score 100 for acting, I would definitely give it here. To Eita and Hikari . They were OH MY GOD. I see this kind of acting very rarely or should I say almost never. Eita is in my top 10 actors ever but after this role I think he's going up straight to the top, he is truly unbelievable talented actor, expressions he makes, the look in his eyes, I felt every single little emotion he felt in this drama, I honestly think that he is not human, I mean it's hard to believe that some actor can do to me the things he has done, that I was hypnotized all the time when he's in the scene. And the chemistry with Hikari, one of the best chemistry I've ever seen in whole drama land although it's not a romance drama, although there's no kisses and some deep physical contact between them, it is a chemistry that is rarely seen. Both of them were brilliant and I can only say that these two must have some other drama together but as a couple. The rest of the cast was great, Kazama as a crazy, psycho brother, he portrayed the twisted guy amazingly, I was mesmerized with his acting.
The story itself is already very sad, dark and depressed and all of those actors just gave the whole drama a big plus with their great acting. And although it is a very tragic and heartbreaking drama it has positive sides, through the whole drama you'll see the constant battle inside the characters whether to forgive or revenge, whether to be good or bad, whether to love or hate...And those words HOPE and LIFE were there all the time with them to remind them to fight and live on. I was crying, I was smiling, I was terrified, I was scared, I was sad and I fell in love. All these emotions has gone through me while watching this drama and in the end it remained the feeling of emptiness because everything was over. I can say this for sure that no doubt Japan has the most heartbreaking, emotional, amazing dramas that nobody in the world has. When they make some drama it is certainly that you're going to be different after watching and that you'll feel the strongest emotions ever. It doesn't matter whether drama is tragic or happy. And that is something that no one else can do. Of course there are exceptions.
As for the music, this is the first drama that I didn't care about the music and that there weren't music almost at all except for that main song.
So in the end I hope that more people will make the time to see this drama because definitely deserves more attention. And for sure you won't regret it. At least I haven't. Nor I will. I can only be grateful for watching this masterpiece.

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A Beautiful Concept Lost in Messy Execution

Imagine being straight for 70 years, then suddenly kissing someone your grandson’s age. If that’s not awkward enough, I don’t know what is

This one was so hard to rate. On one hand, the cast is absolutely stunning, and the concept is unique and intriguing. On the other hand, the execution left me frustrated more often than not.

Take episode 10, for example. I’ve been enjoying this drama since the beginning, but wow… Taiwan just cannot compete with China or Korea when it comes to fight choreography. That classroom fight looked so fake it honestly would have been better left out entirely.
And the logic? Completely gone. HaiYuan disappears for a couple of hours, and ZeFang acts like he’s been missing for days. Then suddenly bam an accident, and then right back to searching again. The ex goes full psycho and stuffs him in a locker (because apparently that’s a thing). But the real kicker? HaiYuan somehow tracks ZeFang’s exact location through an app like he’s got Find My Boyfriend installed. Please.

Then in episode 11, we suddenly get a third couple thrown in. Out of nowhere: “I had a dream you were with someone else. I don’t like it, so I’m jealous, which means I like you.” And then boom a kiss. Seriously? What was even the point? It was rushed, forced, and completely disconnected from the rest of the plot. Instead of spending time developing this random couple, it would have been so much better to focus on the main relationship that we’ve actually cared about since episode one.

But at its heart, the show did give us moments of beauty, and sometimes words fall short, so here’s a poem that captures it best: I wrote this poem

Xia Ze Fang pushed too hard,
a kiss not ready to be shared 💋
Ye Hai Yuan turned away,
heart untouched.

Then came the soul switch 🔄
and suddenly…
it wasn’t the face he saw anymore,
but the spirit within 🕊️
gentle, steady,
filled with quiet warmth.

This story teaches
love is not a chase,
not a force,
but a slow unfolding 🌱
If it’s meant,
time will lead it there.

Yet in reality,
a twenty-year-old loving a seventy-year-old?
Unlikely.
But here…
youth’s beauty hides a lifetime’s wisdom,
and a golden heart 💛 makes all the difference.

The series had so much potential, and there are still moments that shine, but the lack of consistency, unnecessary jealous scenes, and sloppy pacing keep it from being great.

Final verdict: 7.5/10. Stunning cast and unique idea, but a messy, uneven execution.

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Mr. Plankton Review - ZyKuu

"Two drifters embark on their final trip together" - The story is very chaotic but entertaining, and there are many valuable life lessons taught throughout the show. The cast was sweet and sour for me. I am a huge fan on the main lead Hae-jo, I thought he played his role well and was the most excellent amongst the cast. The female lead Jae-mi was wonderful as well and she really displayed her acting ability. Their romantic chemistry was great. Other roles that I enjoyed were Bong-suk and KKari. I found them to be great side characters that added to every moment and made the show more memorable. The OST was decent and I was pleased by the shows aesthetic. This drama is somewhat random, but everything ties together neatly. The show is very eventful, and the lessons taught within are golden.

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This was one of the most exciting dramas I've seen. One of my ultimate top favorite dramas. The story is itself is pretty interesting and extremely addicting. There are tons of action, funny scenes and sweet scenes. Every episode captures your attention and makes you want more. The cast is amazing. You definitely get attached to many of the characters. In particular, Lee Jun Ki did an amazing job. You get to see his array of acting skills because of his character transformation. The music was fitting. This is a series that I would surely want to watch again in the future. This one is definitely worth the watch!

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"When raising a blade and bringing it down, just think of nothing"

The Double was a wild ride revenge lollapalooza that didn’t seem to take itself too seriously at times. There were plot holes deep enough to bury bodies in and 30-year-old actors playing teenagers. I didn’t really care that it was messy for the most part as the two leads were engaging to watch and I love a good case of comeuppance for evil doers.

Long story short, Xue Fang Fei has to take the identity of Jiang Li in order to avenge both of them and right injustices. Despite looking exactly like XFF, everyone seems to accept the new identity since the real Jiang Li had been hidden away for 10 years. Duke Su is hard to fool and initially uses XFF as a pawn though he also enjoys “the show” that usually surrounds her as she takes down her enemies and Jiang Li’s one at a time, occasionally asking for his help. XFF’s compassion and intelligence help her make allies and friends along the way. A constant fighter for justice, she also makes numerous enemies prepared to end her life.

I enjoyed Xue’s calm demeanor as she plotted and planned. Her relationship with the equally scheming Duke Su who also needed to right wrongs and protect the country was a delight to watch. Xue Fang Fei was fairly well developed and while not realistic in some cases, I was happy they let her solve many of her own problems with an occasional assist from the Duke. She was laser focused, fiercely protective of those around her, and never stooped to her enemies’ methods in her desire for revenge and justice. Duke Su lacked the complexity of other characters but Wang Xing Yue’s performance at least made him moderately interesting as the fan waving mastermind. The murderous and increasingly deranged Shen Yu Rong was given more writerly care. However, I never connected with Liang Yong Qi’s bland portrayal of the cowardly, whining, court officer who simply could not cognitively accept responsibility for his heinous actions. Li Meng as the Princess Wan Ning made up for his stone face as she chewed the scenery when she wasn’t throwing it. Several of the villains were given all sorts of reasons for becoming the way they were which did not give me one ounce of sympathy for them. They made choices to pass the buck and pass on the pain.

For whatever reason, I’ve never had a problem with cross-dressing. I was even able to go along with everyone buying that Xue Fang Fei was Jiang Li. Where my brain seems to have drawn the line is 30+ actors playing 15–17-year-olds. The hardest part for me was in the early episodes when the writers kept reminding me that Jiang Li and her friends and sisters were teenagers. When the Jiang family said Li looked different, that was because the seven-year-old they sent away ten years ago came back a grown-ass woman! Despite some of the other actors playing up being immature, Wu Jin Yan didn’t look or carry herself like a teenager. The character was also written with a wealth of knowledge and experiences that seemed beyond her age. When they finally stopped mentioning how young she was it helped me to accept her as the crafty, complex, elegant adult she acted like.

This drama loved its overly dramatic moments. So much twirling, whirling, and cape wearing. The drama world also suffered from insane climate change as one scene had petals falling from the sky, the next had snow, then back to petals, and for most of the drama, Duke Su’s tree at his mansion was ever autumn. Very few scenes passed without something falling from the sky or the Duke flying in for a visit. The wind usually only blew on the one showing emotions, even when characters were standing side-by-side! There were magic pigeons who always knew the address of the current villain- not exactly how carrier pigeons work. The non-disclosure agreements were lethal. And there was no shortage of knockout karate chops, people going insane, princess carries, and amazing guyliner! The only thing underdone was the anemic white makeup for the women.

While I enjoy corrupt officials and lying, murderous family members being brought low, the story had a tendency to become redundant in order to fill the episodes as XFF righted wrongs in the Xue family, the Jiang family, and in the country. Characters, conflicts, and backstory were being added right up until the last four episodes. There were times I lost interest as the villains (so many villains!) monologued about how they were going to bring XFF down. Maybe if they’d cut down on some of the villainous plotting there would have been time for a more well-crafted ending. It felt like they had a closing scene they wanted to show and tried to twist the plot to make it happen which came across artificially. I would also like to have seen more meaningful scenes with the leads. XFF and the Duke suffered physical and emotional wounds that were often forgotten the next day. I will not even get into that coitus interruptus candle.

If it sounds like I didn’t like The Double, that would be wrong. While it was deeply flawed, it was also fun and I have a high tolerance for cheese, especially with a truly strong female lead. Wu Jin Yan and Wang Xing Yue had great chemistry and I enjoyed many of the side characters, especially the bickering and loyal Wen Ji and Lu Ji. I liked Xue Fang Fei and thought she was a memorable heroine for being intelligent, resilient, and compassionate if not a little too perfect. What would have made it a better “show” is if the writers had developed Duke Su to be as memorable a player in the revenge tour ensemble as his leading lady.

7.75

26 July 2024

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While I was watching this drama, I kept going through these rabid fangirl moments where I recited in my head, the praises I would sing for it after I completed it, but as I write this now; words simply elude me. I'm emotionally spent, harboring a subtle lingering ache in my heart and overcome by a deep sense of satisfaction all at the same time. All these emotions are making it extremely hard for me to explain in just a few words what this drama truly made me feel because the truth is; you don't just watch Kill me, Heal me- you experience it, you breathe it and it morphs into unrelenting claws and keeps you with it till the end.



Ji Sung- I have so much love for this man. He captures my soul every time he comes on-screen. He has always been one of my two most favorite actors and will always remain that way. I can sing odes in way of his acting and it still wouldn't be enough. In this drama he plays a Chaebol with 7 different personalities and his transitions are so real and vivid, that each of the seven personalities seem like entirely different people.



Shin Se Gi= The over dramatic bad boy who made me giggle, swoon, cry and fall in love.



Yona= The side-throbbingly hilarious and bratty mean girl who I wished I was friends with.



Ah Sub= The genius and serious teenager who had a penchant for suicide.



Perry Park= The ahjussi who shined so brightly and tinkered with bombs for fun.



Nana= The child without a voice.



Mr. X= The man who brought forth reason and rationale when Do Hyun was truly ready to embrace himself.



Cha Do Hyeon= The beautiful and complex man who suffered so much and yet, never stopped fighting.



I used to believe in the stupid "real men don't cry" stereotype that our society worships. I was so awful that if a hero in a show I was watching cried, I'd think him weak and turn away but Korean Dramas changed it for me. Korean characters often communicate with their tears, the feelings they don't verbalize, express themselves in the way of salty water. Tears are not a sign of weakness, they are a sign that you're alive. Cha Do Hyeon often had tears leaking from his eyes and every single time they moved me. Sometimes my heart hurt from all the pain, sometimes my lips hurt from smiling wide. His tears were gorgeous as was his struggle and will to become whole again.

Ji Sung deserved that Daesang and more.



People call Ji Sung the king of Kill Me, Heal Me and he no doubt is but what many don't say is that Hwang Jung-Eum was also undeniably the queen. I've heard many complaints about how Jung-Eum screams too much, how her obnoxious loud voice is unbearable, how she over acts and tries hard and frankly, I think all these people are just tripping. True, she does shout more than is necessary and she'll probably rupture your ear drum with all the noise she makes, yet there is not a single other actress who can even dream to properly pull off the roles she has executed.



She always grows on you and makes it work. She is the Empress of expressions and I don't know why but whenever she cries ( and she cries a lot and it's rather ugly) I always cry too. I don't even know why. I love her so much and to this day, she's one of my favorite actresses. The roles she plays, whether it's the self-sacrificing woman in Secret or the scarred psychiatrist in KMHM, always show inner strength. Oh Ri JIn is a brilliant, full of light and empathetic woman whose strength knows no bounds.



Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-Eum are undoubtedly the Korean industry's most powerful pairing. They are both excellent actors in their own right and together they are undeniably magic. Their chemistry is off the fucking charts. They move in sync and it's apparent how much they understand each other. Secret had left an impression on me and yet, KMHM without being influenced by that, made its own indent in my heart. Usually, in K-dramas the female character is overshadowed by the male's but Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-Eum exhibit equality of the sexes. They are both formidable players at their game and they play effortlessly together and bring the victory home, every single time. Despite the fact that Ji Sung's role was very powerful, Jung-Eum held her own and due to that, they co-existed beautifully.



Then comes Oh Ri On. Ah, my baby. He was also one of the best characters in the show and literally the best brother ever. He loves her but he let's her go. Park Seo Joon couldn't have done a better job in my opinion.



Every single actor from top to bottom brought their greatest to this drama and made it the masterpiece it was. I think it's rightfully one of the best Korean productions ever made. It had me bawling and heaving at one point and clutching my stomach laughing and gasping for breath at another. It made me feel bittersweet melancholy, made my heart fill with warmth and made me be so unwilling to let it go that despite dying with curiosity, I wanted to prolong it in some way so that it wouldn't end. This drama has pain yet joy, tears yet laughter, incredible heartbreak yet so much love. Not a single second is filler, it's filled to the brim with powerful dialogues and the suspense element is excellently done. You simply cannot get better than KMHM.



The OST (Auditory Hallucination) is definitely one of the best ever made. It always played on the perfect time and made the already soul stirring scenes a thousand times more impactful.



Yes, there were some medical errors in the drama but despite that, mental illness and trauma have been wonderfully explored to their core. It offered a peek in the life of a man waging war against his own mind and how an equally scarred woman became his sword and together they were conquerors.



This drama showed everything that makes Asian dramas so raw and poignant. If you haven't watched this and you call yourself a K-drama fan, I say you need to check your priorities.



Rewatch value is worth more than can be described. The moment I even begin to forget it (which will be hard) I'll watch it again because I never want to lose all that I felt while I was on the journey of watching Kill Me, Heal Me. I am sincerely thankful to Jin Soo-wan for writing this gem.

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