Reviews

I have never wanted a Kdrama to end so bad.

This has to be the worst Korean drama I have seen so far. The story started off okay but then it majorly flopped. The plot and the romance was at all not convincing, it was just too weak and felt like a child had written it. I just could not sympathize with none of the leads. The worst part they overemphasized the kidnapping case and I did nothing but skip the scene or roll my eyes since I couldn't feel bad for the leads considering the premise of the whole story was so poor. You couldn't really point out an antagonist, I just viewed the brother to be confused. As to the lady who kidnapped them, It would have been better if she was properly introduced and a little story as to who she was and why she did what she did. I hated the leads, it felt like the FL was a robot programmed to be flawless as for the ML he was narcissistic through out the whole drama.

The conflict was resolved in episode 12 which the show should have ended there, all Kdramas should not have to have 16 episodes. I was happy the conflict ended fast because I just could not buy the plot and I wanted the whole drama to end SO BAD. After episode 12, the drama got EXTREMELY boring, boring is an understatement. The only reason I kept watching was because of the supporting characters, I found them quite entertaining and funny, they really carried the show. You would enjoy this drama if you are a sucker for romcoms and do not care about plots. Overall this was a huge disappointment.

Leia Mais

"You're not dead until you die"; an ode to death and demise.

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. Someone who lives fully is prepared to die at any time." The quote from Mark Twin might be too philosophical for some but it is equally meaningful. This also reminds me a quote from Harry Potter that says that death is like an adventure for the well-organised mind. On that context, death only ends a life, not the relationships, so knowing that you're gonna die soon is more hurtful when you think about the ones who'll be left behind.

Every single day of life is moving forward towards your death and the drama beautifully brings out the essence of one's life, no matter they're on the verge of death or have a long to live. Death might be an enemy for the living but embracing it with grace when there's a call for you to bid goodbye, is considered an act of wise, thereby making their lives meaningful.

Produced by KeyEast and broadcasted on JTBC, "The One and Only" is written by Moon Jung Min and directed by Oh Hyun Jong. The production had to halt filming thrice because of staff members testing covid19 positive at different times, but they could wrap up well despite the delay.

"The One and Only" is a story about a woman in her late twenties getting admitted to a hospice for receiving care after being diagnosed with a terminal illnesses, having only few months to live. There, she shares the room with two other, with contrasting natures. Their lives get entangled with a contract serial killer who ends up falling for the first woman and the story is all about the investigative murder case, the individual lives of the three women and at their days at the hospice as they await death.

Pyo In Sook (Ahn Eun Ji) who has been brought up by her grandma, works as a scrubber and is mostly expressionless. At a young age she turns terminally ill and chooses to stay at a hospice. There she meets Kang Se Yeon (Kang Se Won), an ordinary housewife who has never lived for herself and Sung Mi Do (JOY), a social media influencer, deprived of love and a lonely young girl. All three on an usual day encounter Min Woo Chan (Kim Kyung Nam), a hitman, following which these 4 people get intertwined with a mysterious serial killing incident. All these people delivered amazing performances in their respective roles.

Yook Sung Ja (Go Doo Shim) and Pyo Kang Sun (Jang Hyun Sung) are experienced actors who played In Sook's Grandma and Father respectively. The Regional Investigation Unit comprises of team leader Hwang Ma Jin (Lee Bo Ryun), lieutenant Cho Shi Young (Do Sang Woo) and Detective Oh Jin Gyu (Jang In Sub). Gu Ji Pyo (Han Gyu Won) played Mido's boyfriend and LE group's hier.

Other familiar faces are So Hee Jung, Sung Byung Suk, Han Kyu Won, Ahn Chang Hwan, Choi Young Woo, Lee So Mi, Yoon Bora, Lee Hang Na and Joo In Young. The 2 child actress Seo Yoon Woo and Kim Soo Hyung were good too.

About plot development... I've mixed feelings about this and this is the only thing to complain about this drama. The overall story reminded me about "You are my Spring" and "When the Camellia Blooms"; obviously the vibes are different but the overall story felt similar: a feel good romance with plenty of slice of life elements accompanied with a murder mystery plot. Well, the difference is that this drama indulges a coherent investigative plot, unlike the other two where there were lots of other things; the entire script works around one single murder leading to others. Personally, I loved the progression for most of the parts (1-11th); the introductory episodes were perfectly impressive, though it might take some time to get acquainted to the mood. The furtherance was nice.

The life at hospice of people awaiting death was a beautifully emotional journey. It also includes scenes of Insook halmieone and her povs as a family to someone who is fighting death, and I would give a plus point for that. About the investigation plot, it started off really really good but somewhere around 10th, they started dragging it which became plainly visible from the 11th episode. The murder mystery thingy didn't have any pothole but it could have been wrapped up very easily way before than the finale. And the rest of the drama could have been about the hospice and other beautiful elements that made the drama unique (just saying if the case was that they thought the script will have nothing interesting left bcs everything other than that were better, i loved them). It was stretched till the finale week to an extent and I can't ignore it.

Despite all that, I ended up loving the ending sequence. The drama wasn't supposed to be realistic to being with even though it's a slice of life genre for most of its parts, but there were few things I didn't like or thought could've been better not done. The ending was full of life, agony, misery and sadness; I found myself crying and choking multiple times. Even so the script ran out of substance, making the script draggy for a while, it was a matter of relief getting back to track in the finale week. The intended messages were perfectly delivered.

Oh Hyun Jong PD is quite experienced having some hugely acclaimed dramas im his resume and it was reflected in this drama as well. The pacing of the drama, in my opinion, was very apt; the drama is basically slice of life genre and warm pure romance and hence needed the pacing to be slow and steady. The screenplay management and execution is up to par. The cinematography with the pale hue and yellow pallettes were very beautiful.

Moon Jung Min PDnim is quite a rookie and has had 2 qualitatively flop scripts before this drama but I see a great jump in her skills here which made me satisfied. I can't say it's something great but judging from her previous dramas, she's improved more than expected. The screenwriting is incorporated with many essence of life, death and struggle for survival, making it very meaningful. The mystery thriller plot which is equally emphasized had a very good basic outline though the execution of it went a lil draggy, but I think it was not that bad, in fact manageable. The character dynamics are well painted with some potential of improvement for few like Min Woo Chan and Ko Ji Pyo, which I think could have been better. The narrative and messages the story wanted to deliver has been accomplished, totally!

Composed by Lee Joon Suk, the OST album has total 4 number of tracks all aptly suiting the mood and vibes of the drama. There was no need of extensive background editing, neither with OSTs nor with different scores; it was a wise choice. "STAY" by SLAY & Avin is my most favorite among all which is about possibilities in life. "Happy Ending" by Yangpa is a song with beautifully written lyrics about cessation of pain and beginning afresh. "The One and Only" by msftz and "Your Name" by JOY (ReVe) are other 2 tracks.

The pacing felt perfect to me given the narrative and method of storytelling. The flux of conversations and shift in moods were aesthetically pretty. The way the characters were learning to love what they were becoming, was a pleasurable treat. It wasn't exaggerated at least.

There are numerous povs (about 10?) to look forward to. Although the story mostly revolves around the major characters as usual, the writer has tried to subsume perspectives of seemingly minor characters at parts of the story, thereby helping the viewers to relate on a larger range and understand their feelings in a deeper sense.

The trio friendship of Insook, Seyeon and Mido is another thing to anticipate about in the drama. They came from different backgrounds and had difference in their mindsets, yet the way they blended with each other and consolidated their friendship on a robust base, was an overwhelming watch.

The long conversations were my most favourite thing about this drama and let me tell you, you'd encounter that quite a lot in here. The simple yet very important topics discussed were heartening enough to jerk tears. The way the characters express their emotions was wholesomely gratifying.

The bucketful romance is surely satisfying if not something very new and has some cliché tropes. I am sure warm pure romance is not everyone's cup of tea but I wish people become fond of it. In Sook and Woo Chan as couples were both adorable and fierce; their chemistry was up to par though not very extensively portrayed, and I think it was intentional and also feel it was of appropriate amount.

Final Remarks... "The One and Only" is a drama of unique mood. It's hugely a story for those who are admirer of quiddity lf life, slow pacing, long conversations and warm romance. I absolutely loved it but given that I can't ignore the technical aspects I would have to reflect the shortcomings in my ratings too. I would definitely recommend you to give it a try.

Leia Mais

Uneven pacing, rushed story, and a fizzled out romance really disappointed me

SPOILERS....



Overall, I was very disappointed with part 2: They had some amazing scenes: Pretty much all of the emperor, empress, consort Yue, and 3rd prince scenes were awesome!

I also loved the arc where CSS, YSJ, and 3rd prince team up to help exonerate LBY. Those episodes were amazing and the FL was consistently smart again during this period. I remember saying to my sister, "we're back with part 1 FL and why couldn't she have been more like this for the entirety of part 2?"

But the arcs after this were almost all terribly rushed and edited. The Lou Ben arc in particular was a complete disaster! Probably the worst edited scenes in this entire drama...the events just happened because the writers said so. More attention and care to the script was needed to come up with a reasonable explanation for why Lou Ben acted in that manner. Someone of his talents and patience wouldn't have committed those acts without something happening that's life threatening to his loved ones. And if he had this dark/twisted/"ambition over everything" side, the drama should have revealed it to us.

And don't even get me started with the most retarded scene of all: The LJT carriage scene where CSS, despite not trusting her, still rides with her alone and ends up almost killed had LBY not come to her rescue. That scene was horrendously written and it makes CSS seem extremely dumb since she clearly doesn't trust LJT, yet chooses to be alone with her anyway without any protection. Like, huh? I thought LBY taught you some moves and if you're unable to even handle a physically weak female, how were you able to lead soldiers and protect villages? Again, this scene was nothing more than a cheap way to make LBY look heroic and to hasten CSS's eventual forgiveness.

Which leads me to the other retarded scene where CSS repeats her mistake: Despite being suspicious of Lou Li (Lou Yao's stupid cousin) and having never gotten along with her, she chooses to go with her alone anyway without any guards (she could have taken any of the dozens that were behind her). Why do the drama creators constantly have the FL purposely placing herself in danger when she had no reason to do so? Why does she constantly go off to dangerous places alone despite knowing she lacks martial arts skills? And what was the point of her previously asking LBY to teach her self defense skills if she never intends on using them in crucial situations?

Not only that, shortly after arriving at the Lou residence, she's constantly eyeing Lou Li with suspicion and wouldn't even drink the soup laced with poison. Yet she still does nothing but roll with whatever Lou Li wants, ending up trapped with YSS and ZJ. The idea that a braindead girl like Lou Li could have successfully lured one of the smartest drama FLs is so laughable and ridiculous -we have truly hit the bottom of the barrel.

If the director needed to get the FL into the trap to continue the story, he could have done so without sacrificing all her brain cells. Seriously, the FL's character in the later episodes of part 2 was so inconsistent, constantly vacillating between brilliance and retardation, that it gave me whiplash. The drama successfully turned her into a walking plot device, being whatever the plot point demands her to be.

The subsequent underground reveal was also rushed: I tried to hold back my laughter when LBY just came leaping down when the last time we saw him, he was still outside and didn't even mention the Lou residence. It's like entire scenes were skipped just to get to the showdowns more quickly.

I also really hated using LBY's near death to force CSS into finally forgiving him: It was done really badly and felt cheap. The drama writers fit his whole regretful speech and near death experience all in one rushed scene to reconcile the leads. I felt nothing as I couldn't even take his near death seriously: LBY was able to take down dozens of guards with only a few followers, yet couldn't even handle a frail woman holding onto his leg? He does nothing to shake her off and only stares up at CSS, waiting to die and see her reaction. It seems the drama creators wanted to make that scene touching, but instead, it felt so unbelievable and laughable. Once again, horrible writing and execution.

The drama writers pretty much went with my worst nightmare: Using lame near-death experiences as a shortcut to speed up the leads' reconciliation. This is pretty much the least satisfying and cheapest way to force a forgiveness in any romance. And it's definitely not enough for our leads' specific situation: LBY abandons CSS when she's already a character with trust issues due to being abandoned by her parents for 10+ years. This is not something she can get over after two near death situations (not to mention they're two of the worst written/executed scenes in the drama).

Overall, the pacing in part 2 was uneven (certain scenes stretched too long while others were too short) and certain arcs like Lou Ben, Cheng family calamity, and the last few episodes all felt rushed and sloppily written. It's like the drama creators ran out of time and decided to just give us all the payoffs without the proper setups, which effectively made everything feel unearned.

I also hated all the whitewashing: No way would grandmother Cheng ever say that she'll save all her treasures to use on CSS (completely out of character). The mother trying to reconcile with CSS also felt forced and shoehorned in just because the writers wanted to tie everything up with a neat bow. If the writers intended on making everyone regret their actions, they would have had to put in a lot more character work and heartfelt interactions to make it convincing. But what we ended up getting felt completely half baked and unbelievable.

Yet, even with all the writing inconsistencies and uneven pacing, I still could have been satisfied had the drama creators continued to deliver on the romance.

Unfortunately, the romance later on was too passive and subdued for me, kind of boring. After five years, I wanted to see LBY really fight to get his girl back, but instead, he stayed too passive and never lost control. That's just not exciting nor is it true to his character.

He's somebody who lost his whole clan as a kid and found it extremely hard to connect/fall in love with anyone. Thus, once he finally found the love of his life, he tends to be extremely possessive and protective. No way would he remain this subdued after five years of being without his girl.

In the novel, as soon as he's anywhere near the FL, he loses control and would end up going after her. That's the LBY I know and love. Not this passive guy that's content to never make a move unless she wants him to...LBY was never the type of guy to watch from afar and keep waiting. He could delude himself into thinking he'd be able to "do the right thing" by letting CSS go only if she's not in his vicinity. But as soon as she comes into his sight, all hell would break lose and he won't be able to stay away from her. Such is CSS's effect on him.

Now, THAT version of novel LBY would have been really exciting to watch: Somebody who's very human and unable to contain himself after being starved of CSS for 5 long years. No way would he be as controlled as he was in the drama. Come on drama creators, where's the passion and desperation?!! Where's the emotional catharsis?!!!

The fighting/clawing and emotional groveling scenes from the book where LBY pleads with CSS to not be so cruel to him would have stimulated the romance like nothing else. It also would have given the actors more to work with and we could have gotten some truly emotional/angsty scenes from them, making full use of their chemistry! I wanted to see WL and ZLS go all out with their acting.

Instead, the drama creators made all their subsequent interactions too tame/subdued, effectively devoid of any tension. The romance simply fizzled out completely for me by the end. I couldn't believe how bored and checked out I was in their final scene together (felt long and stretched out too).

That last sequence showcasing everyone all happy/giddy felt more like fanservice and it just kept on meandering. I could have used another follow-up scene of the 3rd prince and LBY after their touching battle scenes.

In closing, I felt part 1 was much stronger than part 2 in terms of storytelling and quality of script. Even though the love story wasn't heavily underway and there were less intense plot points, the actual slice of life story presented was much better told. Other than a few minor quibbles (FL mother's repetitive criticisms, some unreasonable amplifying of bitch drama, and the FL's love revelation), I found the overall pacing and storytelling of part 1 to be pretty even and smooth. There weren't any arcs and story events I found to be sloppily executed or confusing. The FL's characterization was also much more consistent, unlike part 2, where she's smart one moment and foolish/sloppy the next. Altogether, much more care was taken when filming and writing part 1.

I'll still give the overall drama an 8.5/10 (very generous rating mainly due to my HUGE bias) due to the storytelling in part 1, our favorite royal trio/3rd prince esp. in part 2, the intense LBY trial in part 2, and how invested I became by its world and characters. I also loved the initial tension and buildup of the leads' romance up until the manor massacre.

Leia Mais

Wow, that was as dull as dull can get.

This had a lot of good ingredients - it's well-shot, the central love story is reasonably coherent and realistic, and it's full of charismatic and beautiful actors. Regrettably, all except the main pair.

Soh starts out well - he's strange and awkward, but he ends up more or less unlikeable for the ridiculous cliche he's saddled with to generate drama near the end of the series. Mon is dull and tiresome all the way through. The problem here is that when you put two depressed, introverted emotionally distant people together, there's really not a lot of chance of chemistry or any sparks at all.

The character of Saint is interesting and different, and played by the etherial and beautiful Offroad Kantapon, who I hope we see a lot of in the future, but I'm not sure what the point of the character was - but you could say that about almost all the characters.

The cast is gigantic, with characters coming in, taking up some time, then disappearing without ever accomplishing anything., and somehow led to not even one secondary couple, which was desperately needed to contrast with the almost supernaturlly dull main couple. One of Soh's bandmates, Q, has an interesting interaction with Mon's youngr brother Micky that had so much more chemistry than the main pair that I wanted them together badly, even though Micky's a bit too young to date a college student - I hope we see more of the actor, Copper Phuriwat, too. He's adorable and charming. The characters Poon, Q, and Tack also made impressions, but the caliber of the supporting actors was in general high.

The problem with this series is the pacing. Not the pacing of the plot, but the pacing of each scene, more specifically the dialog. They are way too long, with people taking 45-minute pauses between each phrase, a strange virus that's infected Thai BL lately. The acting style of the genre is already very understated - adding to that an incredibly slow line delivery is just fatal.

This also had the misfortune of airing on the heels of the much better You're My Sky, another basketball series. Why is basketball the only sport allowed in BL? It's not even in the Top 10 of popularity in Thailand - far behind volleyball and badminton. I guess because it wouldn't be the same if ukes got hit in the head with a shuttlecock whenever they stray near a badminton game.

Anyway, I can't recommend this. There's no payoff for the time invested, and it's so boring that it feels dull and slow even set on 2X speed.

Leia Mais

A drama sure to check off many people's boxes for their "ideal type" of drama

This was such a refreshing firework of a drama! The two leads, in particular, made it crazy fun to watch with their so-far-out-there-they-might-as-well-be-floating-in-space personalities that were only heightened when they shared the same air. And they were consistently predictable yet unpredictable, leaving me either correct in my predictions while also being pleasantly befuddled at the path taken or both puzzled beyond belief and amused. Meanwhile, the side couple offered something unique with the often overlooked issue of financial inequality in a relationship and the myriad of ways it can affect it, including self-inflicted shame, pressure, and guilt.

It was a true delight tuning into Boys Be Brave. I highly recommend giving it a go! Especially if you're into "quirky" characters and dramas.

Leia Mais

Missed opportunity

*****This does contain spoilers *****

This is the go-to show that got me hooked on the Asian market. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched it. I like the English version for falling asleep to -Daniel Kim’s voiceover work for Ahn Hyo-Seop is smooth. 🫠

One thing I don’t understand is how at least 10 years later (after college) Yeon-Jun and Jun-hee are not married. As in love as he is with her, why wait so long to propose? We know Si-Heon takes the entrance exam in 2008 and JunHee goes to New York in 2023 so that’s a HUGE chunk on SiHeon’s part.

Now, for the missed part. Uncle is explaining to YeonJun the meaning of his stores “27” names. It would tie in better with the story line if Koo Yeon Jun were to “fly to New York” when he was 27 years old. It would make more sense to wait those few extra years after school to get finances in order and propose. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Gather My Tears still hits, especially knowing the tragic background of the artist.
This drama still makes me cry. Every time. ♥️💔

Leia Mais

A disaster in disguise

Spooky in Love started with so much promise. The first two episodes blended comedy, ghostly fantasy, and a charming storyline that felt fresh and exciting. But then everything fell apart. The comedy vanished, the fantasy was sidelined, and what we got instead was an endless family feud that dragged on without adding any real flavor to the drama.

I kept waiting, thinking maybe the writers were just building up the romance but no. Each episode only got worse. The ghost plot devolved into a bizarre attempt to solve a 3000-year-old problem that felt completely irrelevant. The villain’s arc was forced and lifeless, and the vibe that made the show special in the beginning was gone.

To make matters worse, unnecessary plot devices kept piling up: a heart transplant, the infamous white truck trope, the villain unaliving yet another person… all filler, no substance. It felt like the writers thought viewers wouldn’t notice or care, which is insulting.

And let’s talk about the romance. Kdrama romcoms are still stuck in their 2010 era, awkward pecking scenes, no real kisses, even between adults who are supposed to be dating. Sure, some of these shows are made primarily for Korean audiences, but the industry knows by now that international fans are watching too. We don’t expect hyper-realism, but we do expect something smarter than this.

In the end, Spooky in Love was a disaster in disguise, a drama that wasted its incredible actors on a storyline that lost its magic, its humor, and its heart.

Leia Mais

Ended in a cliffhanger...

The elefant in the room with this series is the lip-syncing of the whole audio. For me it always felt out of place. They could not transfer all the emotions of a scene in a believable manner. Unexpectable the kissing was not good either.

The finale was a bit of a bummer. We get a cliffhanger for a 2nd season and I always hate it, when they do that. Chances are good with all the support this series gained it will happen. But to wait for a year for the continuation of this story suxx.

Besides the couples and the girl, I also think the acting was lacking. They choose to implement silly moments in such a dark story and I'm not a fan of it. Production quality was top notch, besides the lip-syncing.

We get a story between a "soft" gangster boss and a "innocent" student who is the pride not only of his family but of the whole neighbourhood. It's quite clear from the beginning that the student is drawn to the gangster and it's typical BL cliché that the gangster boss has to struggle to accept his own feelings. So nothing new there and nothing which does justify all the hype about this series..

Overall it was good entertainment but for me it was not stellar. And to have to wait for another year for the conclusion (or again 9 episodes with a cliffhanger) pisses me off.

Leia Mais

Representation of mental health topics does not get any better than this. From writing, directing, acting, up to editing - everything was well thought through to convey the message and the portrayal of the depression and the consequences it has on the patient, but also people around them.

James did an amazing job as Boo. I believed every second of his acting and it truly broke my heart. I could clearly see how vulnerable he was. How he fought, gave up and fought again. The few glimpses of hope he showed, how it motivated him to take action, but also the fear that paralyzed him at times. The whole arc of the character was amazing. The parallel between the beginning and ending scenes created this perfect, cohesive picture. Truth to be told, when I saw the ending sequence with Boo's narration I was shocked by how perfect it was. I would not change anything. The most satisfying ending I have ever seen in a drama. I could see that a lot of thought and planning was put into filming and writing it.

The good writing can also be seen with Bell's character. In the beginning the conversation she has with her superior about the connection and empathy she feels to her patients was foreshadowing of what's to come. She was an amazing friend to Boo, but she was truly not that good of a psychiatrist. And I am 100% fine with it, as it was well written for her character. Not only was she just an intern, so she did not have that much practical experience yet, she also picked that specific job because of emotional and personal reasons that made it hard for her to stay objective.

I love how the show tackled the issue of how depression can affect others around the patient and how hard it is for people who have never been depressed and have no psychological/psychiatric knowledge to understand it. Starting with the dad, who had a hard time accepting his son might have such a big problem, to Simon who might have had good intentions, but at times his actions were not fitting when dealing with someone struggling emotionally like Boo.

The show hints about many issues concerning mental health. One of the lines that is stuck in my head is "You think because he's depressed, he can't do anything wrong?" said by one of Simon's friends. Just this one line made me pause the show. I started to think, how much responsibility can a person with severe mental problems really take, how can a victim of their actions feel and react when they can't even truly blame anyone for what happened? Who should take the responsibility? There were many moments that just made you stop and think about the presented topic.

I also have to talk about the clever editing and them trying to visually present the symptoms of depression and Boo's feelings. I felt like they truly wanted to make sure the audience would understand the presented content. The perfection of the scene that was Bell explaining to Boo's dad the core idea of what depression is, was too perfect for me to describe. Her psychiatric approach and explanations intertwined with Boo describing how these symptoms express in him... wow. I literally clapped as I was watching this scene, because I was simply so impressed.

That said, even though in my eyes, this show is pure perfection, it's not for everyone. It's extremely graphic and at times emotionally exhausting. It presents the severe case of depression with all the symptoms of it (including self harm and suicide attempts). It might be too heavy for some.

I would recommend it for anyone who struggles with grasping the idea of mental health struggles and feels like it's hard to imagine how it can manifest in a daily behavior and what it truly means. The explanation does not get any better than here.

Leia Mais

TTEOTM compelled me to make my first MDL review

Till the End of the Moon (TTEOTM) was adapted from a DARK ROMANCE novel literally entitled, "Black Moonlight Guaranteed Bad Ending Script". Please let that clue you in but not deter you from watching the drama.

The story mostly follows the plot of the source material. On the toxicity of the ML and FL, the drama does not even compare to how cruel these characters are to each other in the novel. I do not defend toxic relationships in real life but this fictional premise is set up for the characters to hate and love in equal measures. Li Susu, who saw the annihilation of the sects and the destruction caused by Devil God, was sent back to kill evil fetus Tantai Jin. While drama Tantai Jin is more sympathetic, it doesn't remove the fact that his existence means eventual destruction. Li Susu is ruthless because their love, hate, and personal desires are secondary compared to the saving of the Three Realms. The inherent conflict is already there.

Xianxias are influenced by the philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism thus showing concepts like Yin and Yang, severing worldly desires to attain immortality, and living in harmony with the universe.
These are overarching themes that go beyond the typical love story and the reason why the drama ended so.

I personally thought the editing of the first quarter of the drama was on point but suffered from occasional editing issues after that due to the regulation change. The Bo're Dream arc should have been shortened to flesh out the mortal and immortal arcs more. It would have been nice if more focus on the resolutions of different storylines was made, too. However, the story was mostly intact and comprehensible.

The acting of most of the cast is unassailable. Luo Yunxi and Bailu embodied the different characters they portrayed with such deftness. It was amazing to see the nuances in their behaviors and mannerisms so you can tell them apart not just because of the costumes.

Speaking of which, these are perhaps some of the most beautiful and impactful costumes I've seen. The designer drew inspiration from different Chinese cultural elements and really brought forth the resurgence of the Dunhuang style.

The CGI was outstanding especially in the battle scenes and the sceneries for the different realms. I do not know what standards people have for special effects but I have seen several xianxias and TTEOTM has one of the best.

The OST and scoring were fine but nothing to rave about. There were occasional jarring use of that romcom style song that I personally thought didn't suit the drama as a whole. I do recall two specific scenes that had perfect use of soundtrack - Black Bird for the Water Festival scene and the OST used for the farewell talk between TTJ and LSS in the last episode. Those gave me goosebumps.

As for the rewatch value, let me just say that in my years of drama watching, I have not rewatched any because I feel the time I have spent watching it once is enough already. However with TTEOTM, I have not only rewatched scenes but entire episodes so that I can fully appreciate the details. I am even planning to rewatch the entire thing from the first episode. LOL!

Many of us here watched TTEOTM and know that it has its highs and lows. We love it because, even with its flaws, it resonates with us. It is perfectly imperfect and it is one for the books.


P.S. Many of us still can't over it and if it is true for you too, please join us in our friendly forum community. 😊

Leia Mais

Dramas like these are tough to review. Really. It's not BAD so much as...lame. The story is lame, the acting is lame, EVERYTHING is lame. You could see that the director REALLY, REALLY wanted to paint this grandiose picture of the leads' life amidst the (admittedly beautiful) backdrop of the Shanghai skyline, but fell flat when a cold dose of reality set in: it isn't interesting enough.

Had the story fallen into the hands of a talented writer, it could have been so much more. The potential was there. I could see brief glimpses of it when they tried narrating how exactly the female lead ended up getting amnesia and forgetting our male lead (this isn't a spoiler, btw, the description is just half done.) But after the first few minutes of the first episode- poof! We have to wait for MANY, MANY more episodes of unnecessary yammering and plot fillers to get to the actual point. And when it does- it still doesn't.

52 episodes for what could essentially be condensed into a 10 episode drama is excruciatingly painful. Each scene, each event and each action is stretched like a rubber band pulled far apart by nothing but prayer. Each episode was 40 minutes. 40-freaking-minutes. At one point early on in the show, the male lead tries persuading the female to join the contest (yeah, that's another thing they don't mention in the description) for 2 EPISODES! Hell, screw the writers, I would get massively unimaginative if I had to fill 52 episodes of this thing.

The acting is Terrible. The capital T was intentional. Is Ma Ke supposed to be attractive? I don't know. All the female supporting characters in the show seem to think so. He certainly wasn't a good (or even decent) actor. Guan Gabrielle was good as long as she didn't do anything because, in many ways, she was a worse actor than Ma Ke. The supporting characters are so utterly forgettable and recycled from other dramas they aren't even worth a mention.

Lastly, the female lead is supposed to be like, the best dancer (or something?) in the university she attended in California but SUCKS everytime we see an actual performance of hers. One of the judges instantly takes a liking to her because she reminds her of herself and (even though she ruthlessly denies it all the time) gives SO much leeway to the stupid shit our female lead does. Heck, even during this 'really important performance', she chooses the female lead's team that performed some boring shadow act with minimal dance over an actually decently choreographed, power-packed team in a DANCE COMPETITION. Why? Because the her team had actual "heart" and understood "the value of a team."

Yeah, give me a break.

Leia Mais

Entertainment over quality… repetitiveness on the rise.

Don’t get me wrong though. It’s not necessarily bad quality, rather… basic? I’m gonna write a few criticisms I had with the show, but I want you to know, I still enjoyed it quite a bit - I would drop it otherwise.

Starting with the short points, I will elaborate on them later.

So what’s good?
◽ The characters’ personalities and the chemistry between them. The variety of amazing interactions we’ve got depending on who was on screen was perfect.
◽ The comedy was to die for. Even if some episodes felt like fillers, I was still mostly okay with them because I got to laugh a few times. Especially any scene with the Crown Prince and Mu Deok was a comedy goal.
◽ The lore. For the first proper high budget Korean fantasy drama like this, they did quite a good job with creating a believable and detailed world. Yes, they broke some rules they set themselves, but overall, in this aspect the writing was rather consistent.
◽ The production quality. This show is simply beautiful. I have no complaints about CGI either, which is a surprise, since I always complain about some details related to it.
◽ The acting from the majority (but not the whole) cast.

What had a potential, but could be improved?
◽ The villains. While on paper everything adds up - they had proper goals, motivations, plans, enough power for it to be believable, the presentation left quite a bit to desire.
◽ Love lines. There were just too many. Cutting off half of the love lines, and exploring more the ones that are left would be a huge improvement.

What did not work out?
◽ The female characters. They told us how strong, smart, brave, driven they are, but then relegated them to be some sidekick characters or just a background for the story to unfold. Including the female lead.
◽ The present plot and pacing. Having such an elaborate lore and using so much time to explore and explain the characters and their background, sadly hurt the current plot a lot. Too much repetitiveness, too much narration and filler scenes, that, while entertaining, did nothing to move the story forward.

Getting into more detail now.

So, what’s up? It was built on extremely basic and boring tropes. And while I love everything around it, the core is still... basic. Especially in terms of Jang Uk's writing - a special boy, with his special powers and special fate. Magically learning all the magic that he needs at any given time. There are literally no real stakes with him - we know he will somehow get out of all the issues with no real long term consequences.

The worst crime this show committed was reducing the revenge seeking, confident, skilled female lead into nothing more than a love interest for half of the young male cast. Girl just gave up her goal at some point and was nothing more than Jang Uk’s maid. How sad it is, when she opened the whole show with a bang and badass fighting moves. Realistically speaking, she was a far more interesting character than Jang Uk, and yet she was pushed to the sidelines.

I feel like the drama overall failed its female characters. For example, Jin Bu Yeon was an extremely important character, and yet the majority of viewers shared the “I don’t care about the oldest daughter plotline” sentiment. What does it tell me? Hong sisters and Park Joon Hwa failed to convince us it’s worth following the story. They failed at setting it up in an interesting way and failed to show how connected it is to everything happening. Which is sad, because from the few scenes we have seen with Jin Bu Yeon, she seemed like an extremely strong, brave and worth watching character.

There is another interpretation of Jin Bu Yeon’s wasted potential - Hong sisters from the start did not care about her character and never planned for her to be anything more than just a background story. And this just makes me sad to even think about. She is literally one of the most interesting characters in terms of her story - one of the most complex backgrounds and connections, and yet she was nothing more than a background?

Honestly speaking, the majority of the characters lack the complexity and depth, but they make up for it with the extremely well written and directed chemistry. There is a huge variety of different relationships (not all romantic) that are entertaining to watch. Some of my favorites are - Mu Deok and the Crown Prince, Mu Deok and Yul, Crown Prince and Jang Uk, Master Lee and basically everyone, dumb Scooby Gang aka Crown Prince, Yul and Dang Gu.

So, we know there was a high entertainment value in terms of the characters, but also some painfully unused potential. What about the plot?

The pacing was awful. Honestly tragic. They did an amazing job with expanding and explaining the lore and character’s backgrounds, but as for the present plot - it was barely moving. We were getting closer to the end of part one, but I felt like we took maybe two steps forward, and mostly just ran in a circle. And the precious screen time was wasted on random comedy scenes (which were great, does not change the fact they mostly added nothing to the plot), romance EVERYWHERE, and side plots that a lot of viewers, me included, did not care about.

The romance? Jesus Christ, you think love triangles are annoying? Wait to see all the love lines and all the geomatics love shapes. Everyone is somehow related to everyone in a romantic way - be it past relationship, present relationship, arranged relationship, one-sided crush etc. At times I felt like the love lines were more complicated than the actual plot.

What exactly was the villain's plan? They had literally everything they wanted and needed to take over… but they didn’t. Because, reasons? They were just chillin doing the bare minimum waiting to get caught.

AoS tries to set up quite a few plot twists and big revelations, most are sadly predictable for anyone who watched even a few wuxia shows. It just follows the most stereotypical story with the most common tropes leading the way. They also kept explaining things that were already revealed and explained - the plot is not THAT complicated so I would need a constant reminder about each and every plot point.

Production quality and acting were good. What many fantasy shows fail at is the over the top, complex CGI. AoS did a spectacular job with it. Everything crafted to make the show pleasant to the eye.

Acting wise, I have to talk about Jung So Min. She is one of my favorite actresses and I knew she could deliver any role, but I was still surprised how she was able to manage so many personalities and shift her acting to fit specific scenes. I’ve also been a fan of Lee Jae Wook since his debut as Marco in Memories of the Alhambra, and knowing how diverse the roles he took so far were, I did not worry about his performance at all.

I’m also quite impressed with Shin Seung Ho. The Crown Prince was not an easy role since the character has quite a few contradicting qualities, that could seem ridiculous with the wrong delivery.

Overall, being perfectly honest, I did enjoy it for most part, but I would not recommend it. At some point I had more fun ranting about it on feeds with friends than watching. Not sure if the few entertaining scenes here and there truly make up for all the mediocre and bad aspects. I might just be biased because I love the cast so much. And since this is basically a 30-episodes long drama, is it worth it to spend 40 hours watching it just for the interesting set up?

Taking 0.5 from the rating for the fact it was split into two parts for no reason whatsoever.

Leia Mais

Why does Mouse have a brilliant plot? Why is Mouse a masterpiece?

**Spoiler free part**

‘Mouse’ is a unique drama. It took some risks and avoided clichés. That’s why many people like it and many don't. It’s dark, raw with many murders, many killers and without any romantic aspect. If you’re more into romcoms or if you can’t bear something so dark, then maybe ‘Mouse’ isn't for you. Also, keep in mind that even though ‘Mouse’ is based on some scientific facts, it’s scientifically inaccurate (sci-fi). If that disturbs you, I'd advise you to not watch ‘Mouse’ as you’re not going to like it.

‘Mouse’ has a very complicated plot that’s a little difficult to keep up with. It’s a drama that you have to think about and not a light-watch drama. All the characters are related somehow with each other or with the main events and everything plays an important role for the plot. Thus, you have to pay attention to every detail otherwise you’ll end up being lost.

At first, you’ll have many questions and you won’t understand a thing, until the time comes and you’ll see that everything makes sense. And then, you’ll also realize that ‘Mouse’ doesn’t really have plot-twists. All the episodes were full of clues, from start to finish. Everything was predefined, but you couldn’t see it because you were blind.

Many people would think that the story is overdrawn with plot holes and maybe they drop the drama. In fact though, ‘Mouse’ doesn't have plot holes. It's a drama you have to definitely watch until the end to get all the answers and understand it, so don't drop it for this reason, keep going.


Now, to justify why ‘Mouse’ is brilliant, I’ll analyze the plot further . Those who have already watched ‘Mouse’ can keep reading. Those who haven’t can come back after they’ve finished.









*WARNING SLOILERS*
*READ THE ANALYSIS BELOW ON YOYR OWN RESPONISIBILITY*

















~~~Mouse’s inspiration~~~

The writer of Mouse, Choi Ran, was inspired by the Incheon Elementary School Murder case in 2017. There, when the defendant was asked about her difficulties, she answered “The weather is nice but it’s the hardest for me to not see the blossoms”. She didn’t feel any remorse about her actions.

Writer Choi Ran wanted to write a story where a psychopath would gain emotions and feel remorse. In that way, the psychopath would be punished and atoned. Thus, ‘Mouse’ it’s not a usual crime thriller, “it’s a story about salvation”.

The defendant’s phrase was said by the Head Hunter in episode 20.



~~~The Hubris-Atis-Nemesis-Tisis form~~~

Our hero is not a typical main character. He’s not the perfect, flawless, kind guy who is fighting for justice. On the contrary, we can compare him to Homeric heroes of Iliad and Odyssey and review him according to the Hubris-Atis-Nemesis-Tisis form. With that in mind, we can separate ‘Mouse’ into 4 different parts.

1)Hubris- episodes 1-4
If someone behaves arrogantly and insultingly toward the physical, moral rules or the laws of the gods, he is considered to have committed “Hubris”. Our hero hated the Almighty. At first, he killed for revenge. But then, he killed again and again. This time though, he was considering his killings as a judgment and himself as the Almighty, above all humans and gods. He tried to transcend mortal nature, he committed Hubris.

2)Atis- episodes 4-5
Atis is the blurring and blindness of the mind. Our hero was out of control. He murdered on a live-broadcast and wrote “I am the Almighty” with the victim’s blood. That was the darkest and the most macabre part of the series. He showed to everyone how far his craziness can go.

3)Nemesis- episodes 6-7
Nemesis is a life-changer event that sets the ground for Τisis (the final punishment). Even though his plan was perfect he made one mistake. He thought he had got rid of the witness who saw him murdering but he was wrong. When he acknowledged it, it was too late. His encounter with the witness became his Nemesis.

4) a. preparing for Tisis- episodes 7-14
Tisis is the final punishment. After the brain transplant, he woke up with memory loss. During these episodes he believed that he wasn’t the serial killer but a national hero. He came face to face with killers/psychos like him. He started to hate people like them, people like him.

4)b. Tisis 15-20
And when he had hated himself enough, his memories came back. He remembered what he did, but he wasn’t proud anymore, he was full of regrets. In addition, when he committed the murders, an organization was above him, manipulating him. He was never the Almighty. His nemesis had told him “You think you’re a deity? You’re just a psychopath who was born with a mutated gene. We are lab-mice.”. Then was when he understanded those words. What an irony of fate.

Our hero had accepted the punishment and in the end he paid for his crimes and atoned.




~~~“What if we could identify psychos in advance?”~~~

If we could identify psychos in advance, then ‘Mouse’ would happen.

In ‘Mouse’ some people believed that if they could identify psychos in advance, they could create a world without psychopaths, without bad people. The OZ organization was created. They thought the end justifies the means so they killed many people. They thought they could change the world, but they killed more humans than the “psycho-gene human” did.

The “psycho-gene human” wasn’t the problem after all. It was the people’s lack of ethical compass. It was humans’ arrogance.

Did the passing of the law bring eternal peace? No. This isn’t shown directly in the drama, but it’s implied by some scenes (post-credit scene of episode 20 ~ continuation of human experiments~ violation of Bioethics laws, Mouse the Last~ assassination). That’s how ‘Mouse’ dispels the myth it created. It made us realize that being able to identify psychos in advance and eliminate them won’t make the crime disappear. Maybe a second season that deals directly with this issue would make this point even stronger.

At this point, we can make an analogy with the tale “The Wizard Of OZ”. At the end of the tale, it is revealed that the wizard of OZ, the powerful wizard who had founded and ruled the city, was an ordinary old man, a fraud. Respectively, the founder of OZ organization was a fraud, a predator and not a savior and the OZ organization is nothing more than a group of murderers and its beliefs a big scam.



~~~Why did people believe that anyone who has the psycho-gene is a killer?~~~

We know that psycho-genes exist in 'Mouse', but having them doesn’t necessarily make you a killer, only a psycho. We know that not all psychos are killers and not all killers are psychos. There's plenty of scientific research about how psychos' mindset is working in the real world and the writer tried to stay as accurate as she could to this. But despite this, history has also shown that people tend to believe in ridiculous ideas and do inhuman things. The people in the world of ‘Mouse’ aren’t any different.

From the story’s start, we see people believing that a murderer’s child is an evil monster, an upcoming murderer, that all psychopaths are crazy murderers. In other words, we see an easily manipulated crowd full of prejudiced people. Someone promised these people a utopian world without crime and they praised this idea.




~~~ “The Wizard Of OZ” and the main characters. ~~~

The OZ organization isn’t the only thing that reminds us of the tale “The Wizard Of OZ”. In fact, the main characters of ‘Mouse’ have a lot in common with the characters of the tale. Let’s take a close look and see why.

~~The Tin Man : Jung Ba Reum (JBR)
The Tin Man desired heart so he could feel emotions. JBR wanted to not be a monster. In the end, he got feelings and he wasn’t a monster anymore.

~~Dorothy Gale : Oh Bong Yi (OBY)
Dorothy was taken away from her family due to a cyclone. Thus, she began a journey to find her way back home. Likewise, OBY lost her only family. At first, she lost her grandmother and then JBR. In the end, she was alone. We can see her loneliness in the special ‘Mouse: the last’ in the lunch-time scene.

~~Scarecrow : Ko Moo Chi (KMC)
Scarecrow wanted a brain. KMC never had thought clearly after the Head Hunter accident. His mind was trapped on that day. After his interaction with JBR, his mind was free. Now he was a life-wise person and in peace.

~~The Cowardly Lion : Choi Hong So (CHS)
The Lion wanted to be brave. CHS was on the run all her life because she was afraid to face her parents. In the end she took the courage, reunited with her family and took responsibility for her actions.

~~Toto : The kitty
Toto is Dorothy’s dog and her only friend. Of course, Toto is here too, but as a little kitty. In episode 14, JBR’s nephew named the kitty JBR gave him Toto. What a funny coincidence…





~~~The dark reality of ‘Mouse’ and the meaning behind the title~~~

In ‘Mouse’ we see human cruelty in all its glory. We see vulnerable people. No one is perfect. We see good people die one after the other. We see people with good intentions killing their savior. We see mothers trying to kill their own kids. We see people dying in the name of science. We see people doing the same mistake and the story repeating itself.

‘Mouse’ is full of irony. It bothers us because, although it has the brain transplant, it feels very real. ‘Mouse’ is showing us that we are all victims of inhumanity, even a killer, even a psycho. Everyone is a “mouse”. Will we be able to escape from our inhumanity? Will we be able to avoid mistakes and not fall again like a rat in the trap? Are we sure about our actions? What if one day we wake up realizing everything we have done was wrong?




Conclusion

‘Mouse’ is one of the best K-Dramas for 2021. I won’t say that it's the best, because everyone has different preferences. What I’ll say though, is that ‘Mouse’ has the most unique story of 2021 K-Dramas. ‘Mouse’s story just hits differently and combined with the right direction, the marvelous interpretations and the on-point soundtrack created a powerful and intense Thriller.

Of course, ‘Mouse’ isn't flawless. At the end of the day, nothing is. But through ‘Mouse’ I saw hardworking people who loved their project and wanted to pass a message. I can’t ignore the details and the creativity that this show has. That’s why, for me, ‘Mouse’ is a masterpiece. Team-Mouse, thank you for not compromising the story for popularity and giving us this drama.



This was long so I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this review and I'm glad if some of you found it helpful.

If you want bonus/sources, see in the comments.

Leia Mais

I was absolutely blown away by the script, the cast and the chemistry. The writers did an amazing job with this script. Whoever did the lighting during the filming was able to capture not only the night scenes clearly but also distinctively. The series was so good, I actually rewatched episodes and clips while it was still on the air. The acting, the plot, the chemistry, the intelligence and the humor. You get it all as well as tons of action and anticipation. You’ll shed a tear or two. You’ll be mad, happy, want blood and smile so hard. Just wonderful.

The overall story is about two people who encountered hardship in their youth uniting to establish their own sense of love, justice and peace. I am so thrilled that the leads were both charming and smart. There were no senseless games or fights just pure witty and authentic commitment, love and determination.

I would put this series up there with ten miles of peach blossoms and the lengend of fuyao. No cliffhangers, just clean and clear and amazing ending.
Hats off to the young female actress who played “Rong’er” she has some skills. I’ll definitely look for her in future films.

Leia Mais