Reviews

Lighthearted Comedy with Depth

I loved this drama! The actors were amazing, especially with their spot-on comedic timing. What I really appreciated was how they kept things light, even while dealing with some pretty serious cases. They didn’t let the comedy take away from the heavier themes but also didn’t let things get too serious—it struck the perfect balance. A lot of shows like this start off funny but end up feeling way too heavy by the end, but that wasn’t the case here, which I really enjoyed.

I also loved how they gave credit to almost all the extras at the end—it was such a nice touch, and it gave me the chance to relive some of the funniest moments from the show.

They also did a great job subtly touching on deeper issues like the struggles of parenting, athletes not living up to their potential, the scars parents leave on their kids, following careers you’re passionate about, and dealing with loss. They handled all of it thoughtfully without going over the top.

A couple of personal highlights for me were Kim Dong Wook’s goofy smile and the character of Dong Gu—they both brought so much charm to the show. This is definitely my second favorite, right after Gaus Electronics!

Leia Mais

I think I made a mistake when I first picked up the series. I was probably focusing on the "cheese" and not the "trap" on the title. But could you blame me? I just finished watching Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo where I was mesmerized by Nam Joo Hyuk's smile and moved on to My Love from the Star where I fell in love with the brilliant Park Hae Jin. I've disregarded this series so many times but I wanted to see those two again so here I am, trapped like an unsuspecting mouse because of the very vague summary presented above.

I finished the series within three days. Then, I had to take a one-hour breather before I could write this review because I couldn't form coherent sentences.

I didn't read the webtoon so please don't judge me but I couldn't understand why some people thought the story went downhill midway. For me, it didn't. It got darker yet at the same time had more substance. The scary part though was that I'm convinced that the writer and the actors were able to show logic out of insanity. What does that make me?

Anyway, here are the actors who are to blame if ever I get admitted:

1. Park Hae Jin - except for MLFTS, I haven't seen any of his other projects although I've planned to watch Bad Guys for a while now. MLFTS really didn't do much for me if not for his performance as the second male lead. I thought he could be the next Gong Yoo. This series intensified that belief. From the beginning until the end, his character was simply captivating. I was torn between loving Yoo Jung and being cautious of him. His character was so strange and so complex and PHJ portrayed him brilliantly.

2. Lee Sung Kyung - there had been a lot of issues about her overacting in this series. I'm sorry but I have to disagree. LSK's portrayal as Baek In Ha is possibly the best I've ever seen her do. I first saw her in Doctors and thought she was so-so if not a bit annoying. Imagine my surprise when I saw her as Kim Bok Joo. Gone was the stylish chaebol. She was instead replaced by a short-tempered and impulsive eating machine. Now combine the two personas and add a little bit of crazy to the mix. The result? A completely flawed character that you want to hate and pity at the same time.

3. Ji Yoon Ho - I first saw him in Sweet Stranger and Me and thought he was rather cute. He wasn't cute at all in this series though. He portrayed his role quite well that I can't wait to see him with bigger roles.

In case the other three escape, here are the rest of the reasons behind my strange behavior:

Seo Kang Joon - Baek In Ho is probably the only normal person among the main characters. He easily captured the hearts and sympathy of the viewers and even though I love PHJ, I seriously wouldn't resent it if In Ho ended up with Seol.
Kim Go Eun - I still maintain that Hong Seol isn't as innocent and normal as she pretends to be. She has her own air of cruelty around her; enough for her to plot her own revenge or look the other way when her boyfriend does it for her. On a lighter note, can someone give KGE a break already! If she isn't surrounded by a goblin, a reaper, and ghosts, then it's another kind of crazies!
Nam Joo Hyuk - Eun Tak and Bo Ra's characters and romance were so heartwarming. NJH is simply so adorable! Can I adopt him?

I almost forgot the amazing portrayal of Lee Na Yoon as mini In Ha. She definitely had the same expressions as LSK, don't you agree?

Leia Mais

Toyko In April Is...a good start with a weak ending

Overall: I would categorize this series as more slice of life/realistic with angst but also sweet moments too. The beginning was very promising but it kind of fell apart a bit with too many flashbacks, plot cliches and a rushed ending. I give it a slight rating boost because it did try to tackle some social issues. Aired on GagaOOLala and Viki. 8 episodes about 23 minutes each.

Content Warnings: workplace bullying and several major content warnings which I've added in a spoiler comment

Note: the characters in the past are 15 years old

What I Liked
- tackled more serious issues
- there are hints to certain story elements and as we go on we get more explanation
- younger actors did a good job, I thought it was good they kept it PG in the flashback in episode 3
- good consent in episode 3's flashback
- good morning after, avoided the cliche
- there is miscommunication/poor communication but it's mostly understandable
- sweet moments
- consequences shown for 1 trash character
- production value (use of colors, light)

Room For Improvement
- too many flashbacks including scenes we just watched in the recent present, it made the series feel choppy
- ending felt rushed
- instant reconciliation for that mom, she didn't even apologize for the huge amount of pain she directly caused, ugh
- in episode 3 I wish they had just left it at Ren saying sorry because it was odd/unrealistic that Kazuma did not correct him
- being in the rain and the other thing that happened in episode 3 do not cause a fever/illness but because of the timing that is what the viewer is led to believe
- gay for you trope
- (end of ep 7) people can have a freeze response but I think if they had made Sanada's actor a taller person it would have made more sense
- Yagami makes no sense to me at all
- the pretty single tear down the center of the cheek crying doesn't work for me
- several running cliche scenes

Leia Mais

This show was so lighthearted compared to other historical dramas

I remember watching the trailer for this show on YouTube about a week before it came out and getting really excited because I honestly love historical dramas.
When I first started watching the show, it was a little slow in the first place however I never judge a show by the first episode because it takes time to introduce characters and the setting and ended up getting excited for a new episode every week as I fell in love with this show.

-Story-
I loved how this show took its time laying out the story episode by episode. I truly enjoyed how everything came together and how the characters ended up in the end as it seemed very natural and not forced upon. Whenever there was a flashback, puzzle pieces were connecting in my brain and I found myself following along in hopes of guessing the ending before they revealed it haha.
-Acting-
Loved both the FL and the ML in this show and especially loved their chemistry. However, as many pointed out, the ML's acting wasn't top notch as some drama lovers expected. Nonetheless, I felt the ML's acting improved throughout the show and really portrayed his character well. Not only did the male lead portray his character well, but I'd like to shed some light on the actors of the fellow historians who I would like to thank for depicting and channeling their characters so well, that I constantly found myself laughing whenever they were all together, always finding something to get worked up about.

There are so many other things I could write about for this show and how lighthearted it was compared to other dramas but these were the main points that really hooked me into coming back each week for a new episode

Leia Mais

I cried so much watching the later half of the series. This series lived up to its name. I would've cried even more if I didn't care about how terribly puffy my eyes would get the next day.

Excellent story. I thought that there would be some bits of romance compared to the movie but there's more friendship than romance. I love it. Great casts. My favourites would be the ones who played Aya's parents. I cried watching every heartbroken moments from them. I love the music. The melody and lyrics fit the story well.

I don't know if I would watch it again without any tears. The story really gets to me that I can't explain how much I enjoy it. It shows us the value of family, friendship and life. It taught me a lesson of the value of my life too. It's sad that the real Aya and other people with the same disease, or other incurable diseases, had to go through all this in their lives. I don't know how to end this review lol but hoping there's not spoiler in it. Fully recommend anyone to watch this.

Leia Mais

When the drama becomes your reality

Be my princess is a contemporary rom-com starring Jeremy Tsui and Zhou Jie Qiong. Mu Tingzhou is regarded as the best actor in the industry while Ming Wei is a rookie. She gets the chance to act with the best actor in her debut drama but things complicate when Mu Tingzhou gets in an accident.

As Mu Tingzhou was a very dedicated actor, he researches too deeply for his character and gets attached to him, so he ends up remembering only that character's life after the accident. He starts taking himself as the "Grand Tutor" and Ming Wei as the "Princess Wei" in real, as it was in the drama. So this is how the story starts…

My thoughts —

✧ 50% main center is "Amnesia" so how is it? At the starting, it's all nonsensical thing but I still laughed at some points. It's like a trip ~ first its stupid so its funny, next it starts getting draggy and that's where you feel like "Ah! This is too much now" they should have shortened the amnesia's length. the extent of repetition is horrible

✧ The other 50% goes to romance. The main leads were Ming Wei (Zhou Jie Qiong) and Mu Tingzhou (Jeremy Tsui)… I had quite a love-hate relationship with these two characters. Did I felt their chemistry? Yes but No… for this moment I like them but for this part I hate them… I liked their historical parts more…

✧ for acting – Zhou jieqiong is better than my expectations and Jeremy Tsui went downhill this time… or maybe because I just saw him in the Autumn ballad last month where his character was far more better so that good impression of him is clouding my judgement now…

✧ The supporting roles has - Xiao Zhao (Hu Yun Hao) and Ming Qiao (Wu Jia Yi) who add some good comedy and they have their own story going on too which is often more interesting than the main couple. Infact I was loving them until…… they made it all awkward for me. Uff these unnecessary plot twists!

✧ the costumes and the setup. every angle looks so fairytale like, it's all designed to give you princess vibes especially Mu Tingzhou's house, like a royal mansion and this has a very lovely frame overall. They did well with the historical setup also

✧ And rant time… just when will they get tired of adding extra love triangles to the story. God! stop this stuff please!

I would say, this is a very mood dependent drama. If you're in the mood for particularly amnesia related thing or rom-coms with good faces, you will enjoy it. Just a heavy dose of cliche, sugar coated with strange elements. A story that starts with amnesia and ends on romance.

Leia Mais

Strong cast and interesting plot, but it felt choppy and rushed

GMMTV knew what they were doing when they put all of these actors and actresses together. They all have a good following and loyal fanbase, so the series was in for a lot of attention. However, knowing what the cast is capable of with a solid plot, I ended up a bit disappointed.

The plot had some interesting twists and surprises, but I feel like it wasn’t really well executed. With most of the characters being in focus for 2-3 episodes and with a lot of other things going on, their relationships appeared very rushed. It felt like they simply weren’t given enough time to deepen the connections between characters, and for the viewers to see their love for each other truly blossom. On one other hand, I actually liked how we had focused only on one or two couples per episode, as it made it easier to follow and the episodes didn’t feel as choppy. But on the other hand, this made the series as whole feel a bit choppy.

I did find it annoying how one couple got a lot more attention and screen time in comparison with others. It does make sense why, because a lot of attention was paid to their past and how their story was connected to how The Jungle boys met one another. But I also think it could have been done and over quicker. It made it seem like they were one of the few (if not the only) couples that was given enough time to kind of develop their relationship. It also made the rest of the couples’ plots look even choppier and even more rushed. Certain things also lacked proper closure and were left feeling unfinished.

The Jungle are rich playboys with some honor. Sadly, their code of conduct is something they don’t always stick to. I liked how they addressed the importance of consent, both clearly and implied in multiple instances. I didn’t like how some of them didn’t follow it. There were at least two times, a different member of The Jungle each time, where consent was not given.

The idea of each character representing an animal was intriguing. I was curious to see how they will incorporate that into the storyline. It was both a hit and miss for me. They did really well with some characters (e.g. Gale as a rabbit), while they completely screwed up some others (e.g. Irin as a butterfly). I think it could have been done much better and taken more into consideration story and personalities wise. They were matching animals to how a character is, made it a big part of the plot with the narration as well, but then dropped the ball when it came to the execution.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know the review is already long as it is, but there is a little bit about each couple and Hunter written below. It just expands on what I have already addressed above.

Pentai & Gale / Jaguar & Rabbit: I think the two of them are a great pairing. They are the first couple we are introduced to, and I must say it was a cute story. They are two estranged childhood friends who get to meet again. I like how the conflict between the two of them was resolved fairly quickly, but it also felt a bit rushed at the end. Lee and Mook had great chemistry and I really liked how they portrayed their characters’ emotions through their eyes.

Nanfah & Pladao / Tiger & Gazelle: They first appear as more of a background couple, but their story progresses constantly until we get an episode that is focused on the two. They are the couple I was the most confused about, I was never sure if I wanted them to be endgame or not. I just think the two started in a very weird spot and I don’t think they really made it out of it. The lying at the start, keeping secrets, making a fool out of her… I don’t think any of those were addressed appropriately. Nanon and Punpun had good chemistry, and Punpun showed a lot with her facial expressions.

Nannam & Nithan / Viper & Squirrel: I honestly expected Nannam to be the bad guy, to be the worst member of The Jungle. I was mistaken. I loved how sweet he was with Nitham. She might not be someone who can lie, but she is still brave and daring. That is something that enabled her to match with Nannam so well. I loved how the rest of The Jungle treated Nannam as the baby of the group. Nanon and Mild were adorable together, I really liked their playfulness and how it translated through the screen.

Nannon played both twins perfectly, I loved how easy it was to tell them apart based on their mannerism. I know there were other differences, like their hairstyles and the way the two dressed, but that’s part of the styling. It was the way he stood, the smiles and grins… little things that really added up.

Hack & Irin / Tarantula & Butterfly: the two were on fire. I love a good enemies to lovers story, and theirs started so good. They don’t bother hiding their dislike for one another, even if certain scenes make me question if Hack really hates Irin or not. We don’t really get a lot of background information on Hack, but we do learn a bit about Irin. I personally found Irin to be not very likeable character. She annoyed me. A lot. But Hack also had his moments that made me want to shake some sense into him. Krist and Lookjun had great chemistry though, and made a cute couple.

Nathee & Florence / Wolf & Flamingo: I love a strong and confident female character, someone who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go for it. I also really love Nathee’s duality between his daytime self and his nighttime self. This is one of those instances where I actually liked the fact that the two characters know each other from before. It added to their story, it wasn’t just something that was there to be there. Florence being the one to pursue Nathee was just a cherry on top. Luke and Aye were great together, I really enjoyed the looks they gave one another.

Pine & August / Lion & Lioness: Pine is probably the character I dislike the most. I thought that his past would give us a reason for why he is such an awful person, but knowing what has happened made what he did to Irin even worse. At least in my eyes. He is closed off but loves playing the hero. To be honest, I think it’s the attention he likes. August is an interesting character. She has her flaws, but I loved how true to herself she was. Always. If I said I was surprised by the bad guys in their story, I would be lying. I think Off and Pat were great together, it showed that they are comfortable with each other off screen too.

Hunter: I swear he is everywhere! He knows everything, hears everything, and remembers everything. I loved how attentive he was and that he took care of those who entered his bar. I liked the mystery around his character, it added to his charm. I do admit that what we do get to know about his past makes it easier to understand why he likes The Jungle boys. They are very similar. Both in good and bad ways. Mix did absolutely amazing in the role!

Leia Mais

The peak of gay romcoms! The most influential JBL came back better than ever!

Ossan’s Love (2018), arguably the most successful Japanese BL, is a favorite of mine. It kind of suffers from being made in 2018 and that made me a bit reluctant when I heard it was getting a sequel season 5 years later; Could it live up to today’s standard? Or will it drag on and fall into that 2018 humor?

Well, thankfully, OLR has moved with the times and served one of the most poignant examples of a sequel surpassing the first season. Everything is praiseworthy in this new season. The characters are so much more lovable, the conflicts as silly or as serious they are get resolved fairly quickly, respecting that all the characters are adults who can, more or less, communicate and solve their issues. I can also see the influence of post-OL BLs in this, especially the focus on domesticity. Haruta and Maki’s relationship progress is adorable to watch and there wasn’t a moment I would change between them. Izumi and Kikunosuke initially felt too random of an addition of characters but by the end of the show I grew to appreciate them. Kurosawa this season was much more likable as well. The slice of life aspect is not dull, not even for one moment because of its comedy and occasional drama. I also still think OL’s has the best female cast out of most if not all BL, even if they’re not the focus a lot. Chizu and Choko are a delight to watch every time and even in their limited screentime they feel fleshed out.

Production quality is also much higher this season and it’s so nice to see the change it was able to make after its success. Keeping Sukima Switch for the new theme song was a great nod to the first season’s theme song. The final episode was so satisfactory that I don’t even feel like complaining about how sad I am to let go of this show. Even if you didn’t like S1 a lot you should watch this as I can confidently say it’s one of the most wholesome, well written romantic shows you can find.

Leia Mais

Just finished watching this and first thing I have to say: WOW ! This sure is different from the usual K-dramas yet still this has all the cliches you'll find from pretty much every K-drama.

When I started watching this drama I had only one reason: Jung Jin Young from B1A4. However right from the beginning of the first episode I was really captivated by the randomness and funniness of the drama. After the first two episodes I thought "Wow, this sure is not your average K-drama".

Then when the story moved along, it started to get a little messed up at some points if you didn't pay attention to what's happening on the screen. I mean you have to look at every little detail in the show to understand its real meaning.

This drama had it all: comedy, romance, family issues, revenge, tragedy and what else?

I liked every little detail of the story and I liked how the side stories and the main story all went to one at the end of the drama. It was nice to see how things changed and how the "puzzle got solved" as the story moved along.

The ending was what I really liked. I mean the very last scenes. Some might think "What was that ending all about? I don't get it." and some might say "Was that supposed to be an ending?". To me it was the perfect ending. A new beginning. There's no other words to describe the ending.

Then, should I talk about acting? I was really mind blown by the fact that this was Jinyoung's first time acting. Okay, at the first episodes he wasn't that good but as the story moved along his acting got better and better all the time.

I really loved the way the cast portrayed their characters really well. It really showed me that they chose the right cast.

About the music... It was really good. I think this was one of the few K-dramas where there isn't any singing in the OST in the insert songs. The opening and ending had. The insert music was really captivating. If anyone has watched Utsukushii Rinjin (Japanese drama) or American show Desperate Housewives you'll know what I mean.

I wouldn't rewatch this because I already know the story. If I am going to rewatch this it would be just the first episodes or then just some random clips from here and there.

I think this is one of the dramas that you need to watch with your brains to understand the real meaning because the plot is made up from so many "pieces". That might be the only problem in the plot... Which is why I gave 8 to a plot instead of 9.

Overall, I really liked this drama. When I was reading the comments I thought "What? How can they say this is boring?". But then again, everyone has their different tastes.

I really recommend this to everyone who needs a break from the usual K-dramas.

Leia Mais

If this love is poison, then I will gladly drink

A wonderfully wholesome romance and fun law drama with the best partners in every sense. This is a good apple.

Ryoma was a passionate lawyer as well as a riot of a human. A delightful tsundere, with his L-like eccentricities and constant overanalyzing of situations and talking to himself/his succulents. What I loved the most about him, though, was his steadfastness for Haruto. No matter who or what tried to get in the way (including Haruto himself), he stood firm and said, "This is my partner."

And Haruto. Haruto at first appeared to be a suspiciously shiny apple. Enchanting, but clearly, something is under the surface. Once he felt safe with Ryoma, though, he slowly let his real self show. His hurt, fear, and overwhelming love he had to give. I adored his confidence, resilience, and unconditional support for Ryoma.

I hate to say goodbye to this wonderful pairing and their little succulent family.

Leia Mais

Its in their nature.

I almost didn't watch this. Although many plot threads were left unfinished, I could accept the way they left things for the main protagonists. Why not leave well enough alone? Because I still wanted to know if how things play out with Gu Fengan, Prince Zhao and Xu Changping and who does not want to see more sweet moments between Wenxi and Dingquan?

There are some unexplained time gaps but these last 12 episodes are surprisingly well edited and neatly tie up all of the remaining important plot threads. What I like best is that the villain is really good, probably the best one in the entire story and he is taken down by the person he least expects. The plot is also not too convoluted nor overly mired in excessive detail so I found it easier to follow. I am also quite impressed with Zheng Yicheng's portrayal of the more mature Gu Fengan - this promising young actor needs to take on more complicated roles like this.

What remains painful is the relationship between the crown prince and the emperor - it evolves and yet is still the same. Its like watching an unstoppable force meet an immovable object. Neither can help themselves, it is in their nature. The crown prince is an amazing, uncompromising idealist with a big heart and the best of intentions but he is also a most unsuitable person for the job. He is the one person in the entire story with no free will. Everyone, including his soul mate Wenxi tries to force his hand. The outcome is inevitable and frankly, a relief.

I am glad that with this, I watched the show in its entirety. If you have already watched the first 60 episodes, I don't need to remind you that this is a beautifully written but heavy, depressing story. It is a strong finish, I give it a 9.0 although if I have to rate the drama in its entirety it is still an 8.5.

Leia Mais

A sensitive and emotional journey.

Yes, my rating may be high, but I don’t think undeservedly so.

It’s hard to know where to start for this review, the film’s cinematography is stunning, attention to detail is just-so, while the characters are realistic and truly embodied by their actors. The soundtrack matched perfectly the events onscreen. When I left the cinema, walking home quietly at night, life felt beautiful. That is the feeling this film left me with.

I also loved the creative decisions made in storytelling, which added major depth and impact to scenes that may have stood out less otherwise. I love the film in a quiet and reflective sense; it doesn’t rush to throw so many things at the viewer at once (with the possible exception of subtitles, being a bilingual film). In that sense the film is much like a journey you go on together with the leads.

The attention to detail with language was not lost on me, as the characters knew each other longer, their language abilities noticeably grew and improved, which may seem small but is of major importance.

I have, at most, one critique for the film; which would relate to it being a bit cliché with one element, but this didn’t take away from my viewing experience, nor that of the friend next to me who didn’t notice it.

If you can watch this in cinemas I absolutely recommend doing so; albeit if you aren’t relatively fluent and literate in Mandarin or Japanese, it may be linguistically tricky. If you’re looking at this sometime in the future and debating if it’s worth your time, please give it a go!

Leia Mais

my brother in christ...

— i went in blind, & i haven't even read the summary beforehand...i should've. it's confusing at the beginning, but dots start connecting quite nicely somewhere after the first revelation. i don't believe that it could've been confusing to anyone, you just need to pay it minimal attention, at least.

— it's strange, & then it's quite horrid but overall it's just heartbreaking. i dislike sibling bonds in movies precisely because it was gut-wrenching to see the dynamic switch between the two brothers after we discover the truth. it's hard to bring your brain out of that illusion once you're convinced that they're blood-related. nonetheless, i liked this movie a lot. my brain glitched for good five minutes after finishing it because you rewind all little details that didn't make sense & you see them in a totally different light.
— i cried, like a lot.

Leia Mais

The ending is what diminished it for me

7,5/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 (Josean era) fictional drama with 16, 60 minute, episodes.

Ha-seon (Yeo Jin-goo) leads a relatively care free life traveling around performing comedic skits that primarily make fun of the royalty. Yi Heon, the King (also played by Yeo Jin-goo) was a benign noble as a Crown Prince but became a paranoid, vicious and crazed king. He is bloodthirsty which is driven by opium induced delusions about being killed. When one of his close advisers comes across Ha-seon by a chance encounter, he is stunned to realize the clownish actor looks exactly like the king. The king has become increasingly concerned about assasination attempts and has tasked his close advisers to find a way to get him out of danger. The adviser who encountered the look alike proposes to the king that he be used as a stand in and the King is more than willing to have the doppelgänger stand in for him. Through a combination of coercion and persuasion they talk Ha-seon into playing the greatest role, that of the king, while the real king slips away to a quiet retreat. As Ha-seon becomes acquainted with palace life and gets to know the inhabitants, Queen Yi Kyu (Kim Sang-kyun) quickly steals his reluctant heart and is surprised herself to find that this new side to her husband is stirring romantic feelings for him she did not have before. Nothing could go wrong - right?

spoiler 🚨 I liked the first half of this very well I thought the male lead did an excellent job playing both the clown who was kind and the king who was bloodthirsty and crazy. I like the female lead who played the queen as she was calm and kind. However, the way the king was and all the palace intrigue reminded me of the American show “Game of Thrones“. As is often the case in Royal courts, it seemed as if everyone was out to poison or kill everyone else for the throne. In the middle of the show, there was a part where the Crowned Clown bowed down to one of the evil villains and I wound up fast forwarding because I knew that eventually he would win out and I couldn’t take watching it go on for so long. After that part it got good again and I thought “well there’s just that one part that doesn’t detract from the movie too much.“. At that point, had it ended well, I probably would’ve given it an 8.5 or possibly a 9. The show literally went down in the last episode or so when it seemed like nearly every character I liked had something tragic happen to them or someone they cared about. Then to top it off, the male lead steps down and gives the crown over to someone we were barely introduced to. After everything that he had gone through as well as all the people that supported him it seemed like a waste for him not to reign longer. The Queen also had been made barren and it would’ve been nice if they would’ve found out that wasn’t true after all. Because it felt like Ha-seon did in part step down because she was unable to bear an heir. Then they aren’t done with the tragedy because as he steps down and leaves the palace, one of the last characters that I still liked gets killed as some crazy ninjas say they are avenging the dowager queen who died a year before and we never really got to know these people to know why they would be so loyal to her even a year later. In fact, when the dowager was alive you didn’t really see her do anything all that great nor did they refer to any great things she had done in the past. Then they make you think the male lead is dead and you get to see the queen, who had stepped away from the throne to be with him, grieve for over two years. Then he just suddenly shows up and says he’s been in what would amount to a coma (how they would’ve supported someone in a coma in the Josean era is a bit of a mystery) and they have this long emotional moment. Rather than being heartwarming, their reunion felt a little bit cheesy and over done. It is a shame that it did not end better because it could’ve been a good show. This is the third TV series I’ve seen with this male lead and I have to say all three have not ended as I like them to. It is to the point where if he is in something I will likely read spoilers to make sure it doesn’t have a poor ending. If you don’t mind tragedy and like things that are a bit nebulous, you may like this better than I did. It is worth watching because a lot of the show is quite good and if you’re able to look past that middle part and the end then you may enjoy it.

#TheCrownedClown
#YeoJinGoo
#KimSangKyun

Leia Mais

A kdrama with a horror twist is one of my favorite genres of Korean tv and with a show starring Kim Tae Ri, that’s written by the same writer who gave us shows like Kingdom and Signal, I couldn’t help but be excited about Revenant.

The series is mostly a murder mystery that intertwines evil spirits and other horrors into its narrative, which is not so different from many other horror-kdrama I’ve watched. The plot builds the tension within the narrative rather well, and each episode usually ends in such a way that you have to see the next one as soon as possible, but it does have a bit of a pacing issue.

The story works more like a mystery than a horror story in my opinion, but the evil spirits and the Korean folklore about such spirits and shamanism is used in an interesting (but perhaps familiar way if you’ve watched many such dramas) as such a tool to communicate moral questions about society, as well as the weaknesses and behavior of the characters to the viewer, like horror stories of this nature do. That’s the purpose of the horror.

For a while it seems like the story goes in a few too many circles with the main characters’ quest to get rid of these evil spirit, and the narrative loses a bit of momentum towards the middle. There is a lot of repetition and too little progress whether it was in the story itself or the characters own personal arcs, even though we are always learning more and more about these evil spirits and the past that explains the present. But towards the end the story does pick up the pace again.

There are plenty of great, interesting characters here, and of course Kim Tae Ri, like the other actors, is doing a great job in their roles but the drama struggles to give all of them time to tell their story while managing to keep a good flow to the story. There were almost too many character and it breaks the flow. The story affects the characters, but the characters don’t affect the story too much. Therefor the story overwhelms the character a little.

In some instances the narrative does seem to drag things out just because they need to fill the time with something. I’ve seen this screenwriter do horror very well before, as well as murder mystery, but mixing the two together seems to have been a struggle at times. Perhaps if the drama had been allowed to be longer, it wouldn’t have felt like it was holding too many balls in the air at once and allowed the story to breath a bit more or add more things in so it felt less repetitive.

An exciting story that allows the story to unfold through the characters and their actions, but ends up dragging them a bit unhesitatingly forward for the sake of the narrative. There is always something hooking you within each episode, but the build up between each cliff-hanger could have been better in some places. It makes the narrative a bit uneven, and I personally would have liked more horror. But overall a very entertaining watch despite the hiccups in the narrative structure.

Leia Mais