Reviews

So... I just finished this drama and I have a LOT to say.

Note: there will be some minor spoilers in here! And, many typos! Because I was very passionate about how I felt about this drama! I have a lot to say! Bear with me!

Before diving into this review, I want to make clear that I'm so happy so many people enjoy this drama! Chinese wuxia dramas go highly unappreciated and are rarely praised to the extent of this drama. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you love this drama, that's great!

With that being said... I've pulled my hair out trying to figure out what all the fuss has been about for this drama.

First things first, the story of this drama feels incredibly odd. There really is no major "conflict" throughout the entire drama, instead many small ones that sporadically occur and get resolved quickly and get all muddled together. And any conflicts that DO occur happen not because they should. What I mean by this is how the plot fails to connect together, the resulting effect of one scenario loosely ties in to the next. For instance, the beginning involves Mo Yuan... and then he just isn't in the drama for 30 episodes. This causes the drama to feel laggy and have zero suspense, because the audience is just constantly expecting what's inevitably going to occur. Further, when something does happen, or a character triggers something to occur, their motivations should align; that's how a story can make sense. I was expecting a big twist or revelation or SOMETHING for everything to all of a sudden make sense, but that never happened.

Now let's talk about characters. As there's no clear conflict that drives the story, you'd expect the characters to be a major reason you'd want to keep watching... but NOPE.

Let's start with Si Yin/Su Su/Bai Qian. I didn't really have a problem with Si Yin other than the fact that she was pretty boring. Honestly, the entire first "world" the drama takes place in is pretty dull, so it's pretty hard for her to make me care. Then, we move on to Su Su. I probably like her the most out of the three, as she's the only one I really felt emotion for. I truly felt pity for her because of the treatment she got as a mortal. As for Bai Qian, she's probably the biggest disappointment of all. She's promised to be an older, wise, witty, strong goddess who kicks ass and drinks all the time. Unfortunately, we get an immature and feeble character who isn't strong to anyone unless she's bullying other women. Legitimately, she only turns "hard" and "strong" when it comes time to use her power against other women (not that some of them don't deserve it, but we'll talk about the "villains" in a bit). She acts rude to what feels like 3/4 of the female cast. If you don't believe me, look at the fact that she immediately becomes timid, soft, and loses all her characteristics when she's around Mo Yuan, Ye Hua, any of her disciple brothers, the king, her brothers, Li Jing, etc.

What's worse than Bai Qian's character, is the relationship between her and Ye Hua. This is probably my biggest problem with this drama, and I've bumped the rating low to a 6 because of this. I haven't seen any reviews really addressing this, so I'm scratching my head wondering if I watched the same drama. Ye Hua borderline sexually harasses her in nearly the ENTIRE third "world" portion of the drama (in the episodes from when Bai Qian reawakens to near the damn end). Ye Hua will jump on top of her, hug her, kiss her, and flirt while she's literally PUSHING him away, exhibiting uncomfortable body language, or telling him to STOP. Is this some kind of unfulfilled fantasy for some people? Is this just a young demographic? Am I in a simulation? Anyways... it's not until near the last ten episodes this changes, and Bai Qian begins to reciprocate affection. Even though her feelings changes that doesn't excuse Ye Hua's behavior prior, and the type of message this sends makes me disgusted. This easily could've been changed by toning own Ye Hua's actions to stop when Bai Qian says no, or just directing Bai Qian's character completely differently. This may seem like an exaggeration, but with such a large audience, dramas need to be aware of the kind of behavior characters act in, even if this medium is only fiction.

Ye Hua doesn't really have a personality, his sole purpose is really to be in love with Bai Qian/Su Su. He used to have somewhat a personality before he meets Su Su, but this pretty much dissolves. Instead of character progression, this character only reverses backwards.

As for Feng Jiu and Dong Hua, they're... fine? They didn't do much harm, but I don't think they added much to the drama either. It's just a stone-faced Dong Hua being chase by a whiny Feng Jiu.

Now we have the villains. I'll be damned if I ever find a drama where the villains aren't some petty jealous women who are jealous of the main lead because they're not as pretty or they don't have the main lead's man or god knows what other stupid reason. Nonetheless, these villains are dumb as hell, they have a stupid motivation, and they are not menacing at all. A villain should be providing a threat, a conflict, an obstacle that stops the hero. Instead, these villains just fill up screen time and provide a major eye roll.

Despite being nearly 60 episodes long, none of the side characters get very fleshed out. Instead, they remain very one-dimensional and forgettable. They're there for the purpose of providing "plot" to the main characters. Albeit, there are MANY, MANY, MANY side characters, so it's kind of hard to make all of them memorable anyways.

Now, on to acting. I've seen Yang Mi in countless dramas, and her acting isn't really anything spectacular or worth major praise, and here's no exception. I think her performance here is adequate, she pulls off the three different characters and cries when she needs to. Mark Chao was pretty decent as well. He can pull off a large variety of expressions convincingly and you can clearly see him acting two different characters. Honestly, I wasn't really blown away by Yang Mi and Mark Chao's chemistry. I don't think it's bad, but I feel pretty underwhelmed after hearing endless comments over how amazing their chemistry was.

However, one thing that bugged me throughout the drama is how awkward the dialogue was delivered. Particularly with the side characters, they literally feel like they are just flat out reading the script in front of you. This isn't really to the fault of the drama, as these character's voices are dubbed so there's no avoiding of this problem.

For cinematography, this drama looks pretty good some scenes but then looks like completely crap in others. The costumes can be overdramatic and look incredibly silly. The CGI is god awful, I'll just put it out there, but when has CGI in Chinese dramas really ever looked good?

But yes, this concludes my rant review of Eternal Love that probably nobody's reading!

Leia Mais

The Hunger Games Without Substance...like eating a cake shaped piece of cardboard.

I struggle to rate this drama highly. On one hand, it was well done with beautiful cinematography....on the other hand it is a pretty overdone genre across all countries. Sick, demented, rich people playing a game with less fortunate people's lives. I didn't really see anything new or innovative in this tale, it's the same old story dredged up again with blood spouts sprinkled in for effect. It's one of the single most overdone themes in horror. And, while the backstories and human character development made it tolerable, I still struggle to understand why this sort of show still draws viewers.

Recently, I watched Alice in Borderland, which is a similarly themed violent games survival drama. Alice in Borderland was much more effectively done, however, and added in the mystery element of who was controlling the game much more effectively along multiple other story arcs. Squid Game, on the other hand, focused more on trying to force parallels between the players' poverty lifestyles and the lifestyles of the game creators/betters. Simultaneously trying to convince you that all people are vile while also fighting to convince you of the opposite through various redemption arcs. The main theme that a select few characters seem to be fighting against is that all human beings are morally depraved monsters when their life/money is on the line.

In the end, I think the drama tried to be deeper than it was. It spent too much time forcing the viewer's opinions of people/situations into trite knotholes and ended up limiting itself with its inane rhetoric, especially at the end. Usually, I'm a fan of dramas with dark themes and ambiguous, unhappy endings...but this one I didn't like much. It's just another regurgitation of depraved humanity with nothing new or insightful to add to the existing backlog of dialog from exactly the same story.

That said, the lead actor was great in this drama. He did an incredible job realistically depicting a wide variety of emotional states. His reactions were on point in almost every case. Unfortunately, he was pretty much the only one who produced that range of emotions, so the viewer is forced to interpret situations based almost entirely on his reactions.

One of the best elements of a good Kdrama is how intensely they develop even minor characters. This drama had only 5 or so developed characters out of hundreds, the rest were just fodder for the blood cannon. Even characters that seemed initially well developed, actually end up being just cheap tools to reiterate the drama's main theme. Like the police officer looking for his brother, you eventually realize his only purpose in the drama is to get a peek at behind the scenes horror. His story didn't matter, all that mattered was that the audience had another set of disposable eyes to look through. The North Korean defector's story ended up being the same, pointless and just tossed in to provide a single tear jerk moment and a generic plot device for the lead to rebound off of. The characters, apart from the lead, had zero depth, the entire thing was intensely superficial.

Overall, I wouldn't watch this show again. A season 2 where the lead (minus that horrible red hair) fights against the game creators would be interesting, but a season 2 with the same exact show and a different cast I wouldn't go near. It was vile, but vile without the usual Kdrama depth of philosophy/morality exploration. I can't see myself ever recommending it. Out of every Kdrama I've ever watched I can only think of a small handful that I gained nothing from watching, this is down there in the heap with those few. Challenge my ideas, make me think about the world in a different way, or at the very least entertain me...if you can't do any of that, gtfo.

Leia Mais

Honestly, the show isn't as bad as it is made out to be. Just forget NJH's RL drama and watch it with an open mind. The story is a bit messy and confusing right till the end but if you love romance as much as I do, then you won't mind as much.

The exceptional beauty of most of the cast members were at times distracting. But for the most part, I think everyone did a good job. There was good chemistry between the main characters as well Moo Ra and Bi Ryum. Also a special mention for Im Joo Hwan who is always such a consistent performer. The rest of the supporting actors didn't have much to do because of the weak script.

Music was one of the best parts of the show. This soundtrack will stay on my playlist for a long while.

So to sum it up, you'll enjoy the show if you go in with little expectations. Give it a try, the romance and awesome music might just win you over.

Edit:

2 years and dozens of dramas later, I stand by my initial review. I think rewatching it helped me understand it better. Forget about the comparisons with the manhwa. On its own, it was great and doesn’t deserve nearly as much criticism it gets. The story was well planned and tied together in the end. The fact that all the answers came in the final episode made it feel a bit too artificial but other than that I have no major complaints. My only gripe is that they sort of abandoned Shin Hoo Ye’s storyline. I would have loved it if they’d have elaborated on his ending, perhaps showing some hope of gaining acceptance from the other gods that he so desired. All in all I’ll say that it was a great watch the second time around. So everyone please give it a chance and decide on your own rather than relying on the reviews.

Edit #2:

I’m coming back here 8 years later in 2025. After watching nearly 350 k-dramas since this one first released, I can confidently say that this drama is still in my overall top 5. By no means is it perfect. They could have easily done away with all of the human side characters and limited the series to 12 episodes like what we see today. That aside, I now retract statement in my first review. This isn’t a messy drama. It was actually very well thought out. When you rewatch it, you’ll see there were many things that were foreshadowed and the building blocks were there right from the beginning. The Bride of Habaek is like a well worn novel. You keep being drawn to it and upon each rewatch you discover things you hadn’t noticed before and you fall in love with it all over again. To sum it up, if you’re here for a fantasy/mystery story you might be disappointed. If you’re here for a tale of star-crossed lovers, the love story of Habaek and So Ah will stay in your memory for a very long time. It has everything I could want in a drama: beautiful romance, well thought out story, and outstanding music 10/10.

Leia Mais

my beloved time... wasted.

FULL REVIEW, SOME SPOILERS

i have never been as disappointed in a drama as i was with this one. because truly, i wanted to love it. it started off well, with beautiful cinematography and osts, with a fun plot and good actors, but thats where it all ends. after the first few episodes it all felt monotonous and repetitive. i expected fun bickering, lovey dovey moments, thought out characters, an unexpected twist with the documentary, DEPTH. the initial trailers seemed fun, fresh, nuanced and promised all of this, which the first few episodes somewhat delivered. afterwards, everything was a dull filler. let me explain.

my biggest issue was this: despite all the love professions and cute moments, i didnt care for the couple very much. after showing us how yeonsu constantly broke up with him whenever she wanted, the immature miscommunications, the imbalances in the relationship, i just didnt want to see them together. your first love is not often the person you stay with forever, and thats okay. this wouldve been a great healing drama, where the leads heal individually and learn to love themselves without the other. instead i felt the opposite, like they were codependent: ung could only sleep with yeonsu by his side, yeonsu felt empty without him.

therefore I think the drama should’ve gone in a different direction- a story of forgiveness, growing up and growing apart, getting closure. i wanted them to meet again, learn more about each other now that they were broken up, heal separately and stay separated. that would sent a better message, and it also wouldve worked better given the set up. if they were to end up together, there shouldve been a different backstory. all we saw initially was them bickering, which was cute in highschool, but we never really saw them grow to like each other. more specifically WHY they liked each other.

they were complete opposites and the drama never went deeper with their relationship past superficial conversations and longing gazes. this lack of depth made it hard to imagine how this was a love strong enough to last YEARS. they had so many problems, i mean, yeonsu’s “if i leave you just come back to me” what? how is this in any way cute or goals?
speaking of, i felt that the characters werent created equally. yeonsu was given so many flaws while ung… wasnt (especially in the beginning) and it made yeonsu look like the bad guy. i wish he had been more stubborn, or complacent in the misunderstandings so i wouldnt have to “pick a side”. especially when ung was defending yeonsu to us, saying he saw a different side of her: her ripping notes just to give it to ung, her refusing to see the flowers then bringing ung petals, etc. this whole “mean to everyone but me” trope is outdated. if the ending had to be them together, then the backstory should’ve been more “right person wrong time” and less “pointless couple break up for dramatic effect”.
and yes, they matured in the present day relationship, and there were cute moments. but yeonsu and ung were kinda boring , both in and out of the relationship. i didnt ever feel that they had that strong of a connection, and i never even got why they kept breaking up and getting back together in the first place. overall their relationship just didn’t work for me. and yes they were cute during the end, but it doesnt make up for everything else.

everything outside of their relationship was also undercooked. yeonsu went to work every few episodes (to not do work), ung barely drew. and these were their main traits. rather than being fully developed it felt like they got a traumatic little backstory which led to them having ONE issue: yeonsus pride and ungs attachment. what happened to the first few episodes, to the driven yeonsu? why didnt they explore more of how she burnt herself out from working too hard? or what jobs she had before landing the one we barely see her go to now? why not delve more into ungs wishes to live a peaceful relaxed life? how he even got famous considering it’s the complete opposite of his life goals? these questions are all unanswered because all the drama cares about depicting was their relationship.

lack of depth affected the other characters as well, with them being mere stepping stones for the main relationship. producer ji for example, giving him mommy issues and a never ending crush doesnt make up for the lack of personality. and am i supposed to believe he hung onto his crush with the girl he barely talked to… for YEARS? why not go more in depth to his relationship with ung and ungs parents instead, or even his won parents? in the present day he didnt seem like a very good friend, so depth is much needed. his documentary thing wasnt developed at all, even though the documentary aspect was initially what made this drama so unique. it felt like filler instead of its own character, and didnt connect with jiungs arc at all.
yeonsus best friend- aka the only character with some pizazz- was not on screen nearly enough. all we know about her is that she had a lot of boyfriends and has a strict family. ungs manager just fangirls over nj, i found him unbearable. couldnt he have been given ONE personality trait? nj pops in and out when we need some drama when she couldve been such a GREAT character. we had her tiny subplot with online bullies, and that was it. why not showcase the pressures of being an idol, or maybe even ONE scene of her singing or dancing or modeling or acting or SOMETHING?? mr jang, who i assumed would be the SML, never showed up after the first few episodes after he said he liked yeonsu?? what even was that ?? yeonsus coworkers are only there to gossip about her love life and their boss- i dont even know why hes there. i just wish the other characters were more delved into, like in hometown cha cha cha. its been proven that this CAN be done and still leave enough time for the main couple. and they certainly couldve spared some screen time. i know this is a romance drama, but there is such a thing as too much romance.

overall,
this drama felt undercooked. it could’ve been fantastic, really. highschool romances, bickering couples, cold leads, this has all been done well before. look at fight for my way, hometown cha cha cha, its okay thats love, etc etc etc. this drama shouldve taken notes from those that did it well. instead, they created a perfectly average drama that relied on cute moments and filler to make up for poor writing and direction. no slice of life, just romance. a poorly written, average romance.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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!

Leia Mais

"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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