Lack of Everything
Premise: I’m not into heavy, highly realistic, plot-driven dramas, so I chose this one because I knew it would be cozy (or at least I thought so).However, I think it’s much lighter than it’s supposed to be.
How can a murder suspect have time to flirt with his lawyer?
Why, at the very beginning, does the autopsy doctor say that the wounds were too perfect not to have been planned in advance, while at the end of the drama it turns out to be an accidental murder?
I usually hate angst, but this time it was actually needed.
Despite the very good acting, the plot is weak and pointless.
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I won't talk about the action and cinematography much, just say it was stunning. If China is best at portraying colours in their wuxia, S. Korea is great at using different seasons to depict it. This type of experience is what differentiate watching movies from watching dramas.
Acting: great on all fronts. I was initially no big fan of Lee Byung Hun but he really commands the scenes he's in, from the first time we meet him. First time seeing Jeon Do Yeon and she was great. Seeing Kim Go Eun again is a treat and she never disappoints. You don't feel that she's acting with other big stars she's just immersed into the role. The rest of the cast fit their roles as well.
The story itself is nothing new, starting with betrayal the revenge that follows. The extend to which the character was willing to go for revenge it insane. It's really hard to judge it.
What attracted me most and kept my attention is the complicated characters and the disturbing love story. Deok Ki is corrupted and disgusting in every way, yet his love is so real and pure. As illogical it is, I just totally bought it. Same goes for Sul Rang, that carried true hatred towards him, leading to an insane revenge plan, yet wishing she could forgive him. This is the type of intense crazy romance I totally enjoy watching. There's something so raw and desperate about it. Hong Yi went through many phases in the movie, but I just love her in the last fighting scene, cold yet emotionally intense! Her side love story however was a bore, with typical kdrama cliché that I totally could've done without. Still it didn't remove anything from my enjoyment, it just wasn't too logical. However I find the main leads' love story also illogical but I totally buy it and believe it.
After finishing the movie I read many comments complaining about the movie calling it a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon copy. While I agree it alludes to it, the movie stands on its own telling its own story. Definitely worth a try.
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Grief, loss, and acceptance
What I like most about this show is its level of depth- enough material for me to think about, but still at a level I can understand without overanalyzing.Early in, the show presents a sort of preamble, with a tragic story of two friends driven apart by a misunderstanding. It clearly has some parallels to our main character’s past, because he keeps thinking about it. Tang Lici, who seems to know everything, can summarize the situation in a single line- yet fixing it proves to be much more difficult.
Grief, guilt, loss, acceptance, letting go. These are all topics that resonate with me on an emotional gut level, and watching the characters struggle with them felt meaningful and almost personal. It was simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming.
The show also toys with several other concepts like morality, human nature (born good!), the impact of kindness, friendship, and the complexity of human emotions. The ideas come and go rather than being constant themes, but I still found them interesting and thoughtful.
Exploring complex topics requires multidimensional characters, and that’s something this show does well. The main protagonist, Tang Lici, is powerful and clever, always a few steps ahead of everyone. I wouldn’t exactly call him relatable- I certainly couldn’t figure anything out with him, I was just watching him do his thing- but his emotions and struggles are. I really felt for him. He always seems perfectly fine, but he’s really not.
Tang Lici is initially cast as somewhat morally gray. He himself freely admits it. But I didn't think that that’s actually true. He may be a mastermind type who "uses" people; but from the beginning, his plans always try to keep everyone safe, and they usually serve the greater good. He just can’t be bothered to explain this all. If he has a flaw, it’s not lack of conscience or compassion, it’s hubris.
But to explore these ideas of morality, the show still gives us a foil in Puzhu, who’s saintly views on righteousness are clear to all. Puzhu actually comes across as preachy and naively self-righteous, especially compared to Tang Lici. But I think that’s sort of the point. He ends up having an interesting backstory and character arc, which I enjoyed watching.
Puzhu is just one of several characters who turns out to be less straightforward than he at first seems. I think this show does side characters well; even if they sometimes disappear from the story for a while, many are still given multifaceted personalities, character development, and their own story arcs. Zhong Chunji is a good example. She’s trying to be a good person, but she struggles to find her place. (Her sifu is, btw, absolutely lovable and adorable).
Other fun support characters include Chi Yun, the classic dumb but lovable brother-in-arms- at times this character archtype feels a bit forced, but he is actually pretty funny sometimes- and Sheng Langhun, who’s life was ruined by a random act of cruelty, but now gets to build friendships and grow a personality again. These two and Tang Lici get to be three musketeers for a little while in the middle, which is fun to watch. They and several others form a growing cast of friends that make Tang Lici’s jianghu journey less and less lonely.
And then there’s A-Shui. At first I was annoyed by her overly meek and demure mannerisms, but she soon proves to be smart, insightful, and perceptive. She’s not bad, I just initially did not like that she seemed poised to be Tang Lici’s love interest- she didn’t seem good enough.
But this show is not focused on romance, so their interactions and feelings for each other are not particularly played up. It’s more like, any growing affection between them is yet another part of Tang Lici’s personal journey. I was ok with that. Actually there are several other “relationships” in this story that get a similar level of (non) focus, which I rather like for being realistic and relatable. But fans of romance might be more disappointed by the hints + lack of development than if it hadn’t been there in the first place.
Overall, I wouldn’t have minded even more screentime and follow-through for some of these side characters, but their development was already way better than a lot of other shows. They’re more than just sidekicks.
On the villain side, ex-friend Liu Yan is flat out crazy. He gets a lot of leeway in my book- he was clearly so traumatized that he lost a few screws and became totally unhinged. Still, his repeated willful ignorance and self-contradictions really tested my patience sometimes. Ultimately, I could not fully hate him, but it was ok because neither could Tang Lici. Even his little pet red harpy in a harp chair got better.
As for other villains beyond that, I found them quite interesting, but I could still wholeheartedly root against them. I think that’s the best of all worlds.
The plot moves along at a decent clip, with backstory and secrets revealed at a good rate. I found the story engaging and interesting. It gets a little bit loopy towards the end (think time loops), but by hanging my logic on the wall and not thinking too hard, I could still enjoy the show quite a lot.
Some of the ideas explored are pretty heavy, but I didn’t find the show too dark or depressing. It has some decent humor in the first half, and sufficient happy or joyful scenes. It’s heartwarming to watch Tang Lici getting softer throughout the show, and more expressive about caring for his friends.
I also wasn’t too stressed for the first 30 or so episodes. My heart broke for Tang Lici and I cried a lot, but he seems so confident and in control all the time, and he also has a lot compassion, so I felt somewhat assured that he would take care of everything in a satisfying way.
That said, my stress absolutely skyrocketed in the last 5 episodes. This show doesn't tank as badly as some others towards the end, but I was still pretty disappointed by how rushed things felt, how artificially dire the situation became, and how all these side characters I had gotten so attached to seemed to just fade into the background.
Acting-wise, this show has a lot of familiar faces. I had actually not seen Luo Yunxi before and I think he did a good job- I believed both his “mastermind” Tang Lici as well as the innocent one from the flashbacks. My only problem was his flute playing which looked very fake. Overall, I thought everyone did a pretty good job. There is maybe a bit too much of people speaking slowly with pauses, like everything they say is significant and profound. Anybody talking like that in real life would get laughed at. But if this sort of “trying too hard to be deep” is the price to pay for a show exploring some more thoughtful ideas, I’ll take it.
For other production-level stuff, the fighting is heavily CGI-based. Luo Yunxi does more elegant hand motions and floating in air than actual combat. The CGI sometimes looks fake and sometimes seems a bit random, but overall I thought it looked pretty cool and really liked it. I admire the vision to choreograph such elaborate wirework around CGI that gets filled in later.
The costumes are really over the top. Sparkles, beads, metal accents, feathers, fur, you name it. I rather liked them, but maybe am even more impressed that the actors can walk in them.
I also love the music. Especially the ballad and its instrumental, but in general there are a lot of great songs and background musics. More importantly, they are used well to create the right emotional impact at the right time.
Overall I like this show most for its exploration of guilt, grief, and acceptance, which hit some emotional core for me, as well as the focus on personal journey and the development of side characters. Also because there are cats. I might have given it an even higher rating if it hadn’t fallen apart a little towards the end.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
I’d consider this ending to be bittersweet.
The last few episodes are quite a roller coaster; they even kill off two of the most lovable characters in a row. I almost threw a slipper at my screen. Although the deaths are done well, I had gotten way too attached to the characters.
Things get more chaotic closer to the end. I thought Xifang Tao's story would have more depth and development, but for some reason they didn't go there, and then I didn’t fully understand the entire scene that ends with a cat flying at Jeremy Tsui. The final battle is poorly done with bad CGI (did they run out of budget?) Ultimately, a classic big sacrifice by our hero: Tang Lici rewrites history to wipe himself out and give everyone else a new story.
This bothered me not only because it leans into the time loop stuff, which is a logical conundrum, but also because I personally feel like peoples’ experiences make them who they are. So this is essentially like killing everybody. Even though we see a good 5 minutes of everyone happily living their new lives, they’re not the same people that I got to know and love.
And also. The way that every single love story in this show essentially fizzles out (except Chi Yun’s which ends in tragedy) is somewhat disappointing even for a non-romance buff like me. I appreciate how realistic it is- people really do just drift away and don’t come back. That’s life. Still, I watch shows to feel happy and get an escape from reality, and this was a little too realistically depressing. Having it all wiped away by a deus ex machina time bomb doesn’t really help the sour feeling.
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Interesting exploration into marriage without intimacy, before nosediving into absurdity.
This series took an interesting look at marriage and how things can break down over a lack of communication and intimacy.Considering how things went for the two couples profiled in this, I thought their marriages had reached the point of no return. Makoto's wife was more interested in her career than having a family, and in turn denied him emotional and physical intimacy.
And Michi's husband did not want kids at all and rather work a mediocre job and play video games, while at the same time denying her emotional and physical intimacy for more than two years. In the mist of all that he decided to physically cheat on her with his colleague and had little remorse for it until she (Michi) started to pull away from him.
Makoto and Michi became emotionally involved due to their loveless marriages and ultimately divorced their spouses, but break up with each other after the divorces. Still they continue on with their lives. Makoto working on growing his career and Michi doing the same, but also learning how to stand on her own. I thought the story ended in a good place at the end of episode 10 and should've stopped there. I didn't understand why another episode was needed.
Imagine my surprise when the main couples spent all of episode 11 ignoring what had destroyed their relationships in the first place, some of which were things that could not be overcome i.e. one person in the relationship wanting kids while the other didn't and extreme selfishness by one party in the relationship. Only to get back together in the end.
It was good to see Michi try to work on herself. Thus, it was extremely disappointing to see her reunite with Yo just because he told her he loved her. SMH. Very elementary and immature of her. This guy never worked for their relationship, except when that work would result in him getting what he wanted from her. Their relationship was never about them or even her. It was always about him. Moreover, he was unambitious, emotionally stunted and extremely selfish. In no way a match for what she envisioned for her life. It made absolutely no sense that he'd suddenly decide to leave the coffee shop and open his own. Honestly, I don't know how the shop he was working for stayed in business when there was never any customers in there.
This had to be one of the worst series I've ever wasted time watching and it was all due to the ending. I honestly had no investment in Michi and Makoto. I didn't care whether they ended up together or not.
However, I did think enough had been shown to logically conclude that both of their marriages were irreparably damaged and that they needed to move on. What a cop out to have them a) still interacting with each other, not just their exes, but the exes of their former "lovers" and b) to have the suddenly realize they belong together and reunite with their spouses. It made no sense whatsoever. Overall, the only good thing about this was the acting, which was actually pretty good. That aside though, this is not a series I would recommend and is obviously not worth a rewatch.
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Utterly disappointing (Only good for a HATE-watch)
The Next Prince feels like an underbaked cake with perfect icing, visually stunning, with gorgeous cinematography, lavish costumes, and clearly a high budget… but the writing is flat, disjointed, and lacking depth.I actually enjoyed the first episode and felt a spark of interest, but after that, it was all downhill. Each week I found myself less engaged, to the point of skipping entire scenes. The writer set up a promising world and then just… walked out of the room.
Let’s talk about Khanin, or not, because what is there to say? He started off strong with a sassy, confident personality, but the moment he stepped into the palace, all of that disappeared. He became a lovesick puppy following Charan around for no clear reason. Was it just because they’re Zeenunew? Because nothing in the story really justified the romance. Imagine your entire life falls apart after some random guy shows up, and somehow you're supposed to fall for him anyway?
And don't get me started on how Khanin completely forgot his life in the UK the second he entered Emmarly. That entire backstory might as well have been deleted. As for Charan, the idea that he has a debilitating trauma response to rain, and still gets sent alone to the UK to retrieve the crown prince, is just absurd.
Their romance had zero momentum for me. It started with promise but became boring fast.
I adore JimmyOhm, but the Ramil–Paytai dynamic was just bad. Paytai deserved to run far, far away from Ramil, who was cowardly, frustrating, and made no smart choices.
Calvin and Jay actually had an interesting storyline, but they got the screen time equivalent of a fruit fly's lifespan, blink and you miss them.
Princess Ava had potential to be iconic, but her character was reduced to spouting "girl power" lines while being surrounded by constant misogyny. She deserved much better writing.
Now Chakri, Chakri is the moment. Scene-stealer, fan favorite, and honestly the most consistent character in the show. No notes there.
Overall:
The Next Prince is style over substance. Beautiful to look at, but hollow. The cast did what they could, but the writing left them stranded. If you're looking for something to roll your eyes at while admiring the outfits, this might be your perfect hate-watch.
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STORY
At first, this drama was full of mysteries and you just couldn't wait for the story to unfold, but once they were fully revealed, the excitement dies down quickly. After the mysteries were unfolded, the writers should've then started to develop the romance more but that didn't happen, unfortunately. I guess I was expecting for this drama to be made up of at least 50% romance because, well, the genre IS romance & comedy. But it was more like 15% romance lol. The romance between the leads was very subtle and slow - as in, it doesn't develop until much, MUCH later on, so that was quite disappointing. It disappoints me even more that the main lead and supporting character had more intimate (but dull & unromantic) scenes together than the lead couple. Suho and Ha Yeon Soo actually look very cute together. They have chemistry and there was so much potential for this on-screen couple but the story was just really lacking romance. I guess it focused more on Lee Yoo Chan's past and his journey being a CEO at his own company. I also wished Bora had more character development or stories behind her character because she's one of the leads, but it seemed as if the writers began to neglect her character a little bit later on. She sometimes felt more like a side character.
Some episodes were completely dull. There were sooooo much fillers. The amount of time they spent on Min Tae Ra and the artist she admired was ridiculous. Although, I did find the NEXT IN employees and Bora's friend, Miso, and Cha Do Jin more entertaining than the main story sometimes, just because the episodes would get really dull and those small characters made it a little more interesting and bearable to watch.
ACTING/CAST
I wasn't too pleased with Suho's acting here. I love Suho as a singer, but as an actor... not so much. I don't know what happened to him here. His facial expressions seem really unnatural and awkward sometimes. Is he really lacking acting skills or is it just because he didn't really fit the role of Lee Yoo Chan? Or maybe his character was just poorly written?... I was kind of able to empathize with Yoo Chan because of what he had been through but he was still pretty unlikable most of the time. They should've made him a little bit more likable, at least. Not gonna lie but... if it wasn't for Suho's charming face, his character would've been way more unlikable for me lol I just couldn't seem to hate his character because he looks so angelic haha.
MUSIC
On a positive note... I really liked the OST. The songs are very calming and catchy. A lot of times, I found myself listening to Hard for Me by Cheeze and also Do Young's ver. of that song. Also, Kei's Let's Pray was a really cute song too.
OVERALL
This drama had a lot of potential but it just didn't work out for me, unfortunately. I'd say it was poorly written. I kept hoping it would get better later on because the whole concept of the show is actually interesting, but it didn't get any better. I honestly just continued to watch it just for the sake of finishing it. At least the ending was somewhat satisfying, though.
Would I recommend it? No. Save 16+ hours of your time and watch something better. But if Suho's your bias and you feel that you just really gotta watch it, then go for it lol.
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Is it a joke?
What happened to the storyline? Since the last three episodes everything changed. She could have saved herself too, the writers rewrite the plot a 50% to not say more than that. The ghosts and their stories are almost gone.I enjoyed this drama a lot but, after the last episodes I feel disappointed by the writers and producers. This Drama had an amazing potential that was lost by bad decisions.
The male main character has done a remarkable job so far. The female main character had a great development until the last two episodes.
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I don't even know where to begin with this drama. Ever since I saw its teaser on Netflix, I was absolutely stoked, for multiple reasons. The production looked fantastic, it was shot in Taiwan , and the premise seemed extremely interesting and unique. My thoughts going into the show was the standard "genius detective that gives little regard to societal rules." As a friend pointed out, something along the line of characters such as Sherlock in "Sherlock BBC" or House in "House MD."I couldn't have been more wrong. The first thing that this show really nailed home was the depiction of Asperger's. The lead male actor, Henry Chang, did a fantastic job with his character Fang Yi-Ren. From the little awkward quirks, to his inability to properly interact with society, and his ineptness in dealing with human emotion, he really brought his character to life. The show did not romanticise the disorder or the supposed intellect that comes with it, but instead demonstrated the internal and external struggles of someone who has it. Chang's superb acting portrays these complexities and layers in his character in a way that never felt cringey or was "overacting" to me.
Fang Yi-Ren's direct foil was Xu Hai-Yin, played by Tiffany Hsu. While Chang's character was trying to understand emotions and be a "normal person", Hsu's character used empathy to her advantage to get whatever she needed to report about. She plays the ballsy reporter that will do what it takes to rise up in this world, even if it meant obtaining information illegally. Her background felt a bit forced to me in relation to the story's overarching theme, but received a satisfying closure in the end. While dialogue between the two characters were written to be awkward and stocky, their chemistry was surprisingly fun to watch and grew even better as the show neared its end. Chang and Hsu complemented each other well and I would be stoked to see them act together again (rumours of Season 2?) in the future.
Nearly all the side characters, their background, and their role were memorable to me. The story, as unusual as it would be to happen in real life, was something I hadn't seen before and it was clear to me that the writers spent a lot of time thinking and researching everything to the best they could. The last five to six minutes of each episode actually dives heavily into the behind-the-scenes and the film team shared much of what they did, such as interviewing mental health workers, reporters, policemen, or the extent they went to to try to get a "message" across. And as a viewer, I can say they definitely succeeded in this regard as I am still thinking about this show long after I finished it (in a day) and probably will for quite awhile.
At the same time, the really only "con" to this show is that the writers were trying to accomplish too much with too little episodes and more casual watchers might not find the experience as satisfying. The overlapping themes and subtle details were very thought-provoking, but not everyone prefers to ponder over such things or look for such aspects in a drama. There were also clearly parts where they were trying to tie up loose ends that felt slightly forced to me. If there were more episodes and they had the ability to shoot more scenes and "fill up" the story, I think the drama's emotional impact would have been a lot greater. More time to bond with the characters would have been nice as well. But for what they managed to accomplish in eight episodes is already quite impressive to me.
All in all, the show has amazing acting (seriously still impressed with the Asperger's portrayal), beautiful cinematography, intriguing detective cases, and a murder mystery that definitely kept me on my toes up to a satisfying ending. I think, what's also the MOST impressive to me, is that it is a Taiwanese drama that has all of these. For the longest time, I could not find a Taiwanese drama that I could sit down and finish without being disappointed or cringing at the acting or story. I say this as a Taiwanese citizen who is often letdown by the garbage one's country can produce. But I'm so happy to say that The Victim's Game proved me completely wrong and I would be absolutely ecstatic to see more Taiwanese dramas trend towards this direction in the future. Or, maybe Netflix funding is just something to behold.
Highly recommended drama and I will be rewatching in the future. I would love to continue to discuss it with anyone who would spare the time to watch it.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Here are two central themes of the story that I wanted to talk a little more about in a way that I feel the drama didn't completely do and that would be better understood from a citizen's perspective.
The first victim, You Cheng-Hao (River Huang), chose death because she felt that she was trapped as transgender (male to female) in a society who shunned her. Her parents disowned her, she was forced to live a hard life in a host club, and even the customers mocked her as a "gay" when she was just trying to be herself. The reason behind her character couldn't have been more clear to me, as despite Taiwan being the first Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage, a lot of discrimination and legal issues still exist.
The perpetrator, Li Ya-Jun, was not only a depiction of mental health issues, but also on the struggles and likewise discrimination of illegal and foreign workers, which is quite prevalent in Taiwan. They are "nobodies," as one of the characters say, and being treated as essentially human trash in Taiwanese society led Ya-Jun into finding some kind of worth in her supposedly meaningless life.
Each of the "victims" had their own story and background that I assume the writers wanted the viewers to be able to empathise with. I certainly did with cancer patient...that one hit home.
To end with before I go on for too much longer: In one of the ending interviews, the screenwriters mentioned that you could see a part of each of the victims in the main lead, Fang Yi-Ren. That's still something that I'm thinking about and there is still so much to unpack in this amazing show. I hope that everyone who watches it will enjoy it as much as I did!
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An OK Drama
Bulgasal literally means 'impossible to kill'. This drama is based on a Korean folklore. Bulgasal is mythical immortal creature or monster that feeds on human blood. This folklore dates back to the late Goryeo period.Bulgasal: Immortal souls is directer by Jang Young Woo and screenwritten by a husband-wife team Kwon So Ra and Seo Jae Won.
Dan Hwal played by Lee Jin Wook was a human who was born with Bulgasal's curse. He bacame a Bulgasal himself after a series of incidents 600 years ago which led to him losing his family. He is now in search of a woman, who he believes to have killed his family and turned him into a Bulgasal in her past life. She has now reincarnated as Min Sang Un played by Kwon Na Ra. Hwal needs her soul to break free of his curse of immorality and leave the world.
The first episode is set in the late Goreyeo period, when monsters were alive. It shows the original story of Dan Hwal from birth to how he became a Bulgasal. Honestly, though a lot happened in the first episode, I didn't really feel anything. It felt really uninteresting and slow. There was a war inside my mind whether I should continue this show or put it back in my PTW list (I don't drop dramas) after I finished the first episode. Then, I decided to give the second episode a try. Most of this episode was set in the modern times and in this, unexpectedly the whole look and pace of the drama changed. It became more and more interesting and intriguing in the next episodes. It's really unpredictable what will happen next and arouse our curiosity. Each and every episode arises new new questions which keeps the story compelling.
After starting this drama during the airing time, I realised that it was not a good decision because we will be at our wit's end wating for the next episode. The whole drama was fairly fast paced with no lagging.
Both Lee Jin Wook and Kwon Na Ra are veteran actors. As I usually watch C-dramas and only recently ventured into the lands of K-drama world, I have never seen them in any drama except Lee Jin Wook in Sweet Home (which I never completed). I liked his acting in Sweet Home and I think I know why he is cast for this role. Dan Hwal's character needs a commanding as well as terrorising (sometimes calm and caring too) look which Lee Jin Wook had.
I'm not really a fan of Kwon Na Ra but I canno't deny that her acting was nice in this drama. Eventhough the she was a bit annoying at first, she fairly pulled off her emotional scenes. But she dosen't make up to the list of my favourite actresses.
The actor that I liked the most in this drama is the villian's. I won't say who it is (probably you know whom I'm refering to) but, his acting is just superb. He nailed his character and this is what I really want from an villian character. His look, gestures and everything is really apt for his character.
Also the supporting character play a major role in the story of this drama, especially Min Shi Ho (Min Sang Un's current life sister) played by Gong Seung Yeon, Detective Kwon played by Jung Jin Young, Nam Do Yoon (an orphan who is often abused) played by Kim Woo Seok and Lee Hye Suk. Without them, the drama would feel incomplete. I really liked their bond between eachother. I won't elobrate their relations to eachother in their past lives as I don't want to spoil the fun for the future watchers.
The cinemaorgyaphy is awsomely done. It correctly captures the feelings of a scene. Also the background music is really eerie which well fit the atmosphere of the drama and makes our hair stand on end.
Some other OSTs from this drama:
"Leave" ( 하루) by 4Men
"Tunnel (with Kardi)" (터널 ) by Kim Ye Ji
"Can't Forget You" (잊을 수 없다면) by Min Seo
"Beyond The Time" by Jannet Suhh
All the OSTs are nice. But, Leave and Beyond the Time are among my personal favourites.
The main story arc sometimes feel difficult to understand and is confusing. It is like pieces of puzzles which we, audience, have to join and understand. Although there are only a few main and supporting characters, I was confused of their relations with eachother in their current and past lives at first.
Another problem lies in the romance part. There was absolutely no need of romance. Sometimes it works but sometimes not. If we understand the underlying logic in the romace part, it can sometimes be heart fluttering. But, this is not a drama for romance lovers. There are not kiss or intimate scenes. Just some piggy back rides and hugs.
However, I have to give a warning to everyone who is thinking of watching this drama. This is really bloody. This drama gives you pain and shocks. There are many scenes of self-inflicted wounds, deaths, monsters and many more scenes which give you goosebumps.
This drama is an ok drama for me. It had really great potential which is ruined by substandard direction and writing. It could have been a lot better. However, this is a recommended drama for mystry and supernatural genre lovers.
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Love it and enjoyed it, amazing acting
Watched it in the cinema with friends on the first release day in Hong Kong and it was a pleasant experience. I love how good the actor's acting are when it comes to expressing all the detailed emotion. Especially when i had enough of BL drama full of sexual scenes, this movie certainly gave me a refreshing break. If you are hoping for some crazy hot and spicy love story, sorry but this is not one of those. But you are looking for beautiful scenery, music, people and subtle emotions, this is certainly a must watch. The lyrics in the theme song pretty much stated out the whole story line.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Acting. So-so. You can clearly tell that they don’t have much experience since they act so scripted/directed and not natural. But it’s still okay and tolerable.
Music. The ost is good and memorable even if I can’t understand Thai.
Production. I think this series has a low cost production and it shows. TeeMork and GordMorn have so much potential. They deserve better storyline and production.
I think the reason I watched this is because I don’t have so much option when it comes to BL series. I’m a sucker for BL series. Most likely I will not watch this again.
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???? Not quite sure what I just watched
Soooooo looking at the host of other 10/10 reviews here I'm not quite sure if we've watched the same show. Because what I've watched was a disjointed, complicated, outrageously unbelievable mess of a show that definitely is not worthy of 10/10.First of all, WHAT ON EARTH is this plot like what even??? High schoolers performing SURGERY. MULTIPLE TIMES. It was the most ludicrous part of the story and I took off points for this. The whole school being full of pill poppers was actually more believable than whatever the hell the surgery scenes were supposed to be. With such a short run time of only 30 mins per ep, I don't see why there was a need to introduce so many random ass side plots and plot complications that could not be resolved adequately. It was confusing as hell to watch. This was especially evident in the last 2 episodes where the pacing was all over the place and show was jumping from scene to scene almost randomly. I thought I was watching fan edits on Tiktok with those hastily spliced scenes.
Secondly, is this supposed to be a GL or what????? Maybe I'm blind or being deliberately obtuse but other than that makeout dream scene in ep 4, I'm not really feeling the supposed GL aspect. Sure, Jaeyi is oddly fixated on Seulgi the moment she lays eyes on her and goes out of the way to help her, but this could be explained by Jaeyi wanting to find out what their fathers are up to. Seulgi kind of just mopes around sadly with her backpack but probably wouldn't have given Jaeyi the time of the day if Jaeyi hadn't forced herself into Seulgi's life at the start. I guess on some level they DO care for each other, perhaps on a level sliggghttttlyyyy higher than a platonic relationship but because there isn't any confirmation of it right till the end, there is still that degree of plausible deniability. Comparing it to Jeongnyeon, which was also similarly marketed as a GL - I felt like it had stronger GL undertones despite not having any overt displays of affection between Jeongnyeon and Jooran. Of course, the rushed and nonsensical pacing here did this show no favours in trying to convey any subtleties in the feelings between Jaeyi and Seulgi. I've seen another review call this queerbaiting and yeah, it does kind of feel this way. If you remove that kiss scene, it would have just been a regular ass high school drama. The writer/director could have at least given viewers a scene of them confessing their true feelings or even ANYTHING but the only thing we got was Jaeyi and Seulgi passing notes to each other very UNDISCREETLY in class (as if her father wouldn't have found out??). They never had a proper conversation till the end, and it's honestly sad.
Lastly, I'm not entirely convinced on the director's/writer's casting choices for basically all the high schoolers in the show. I'm going to get mad hate for this but cmon, Hyeri does not look 18. Neither does Hyewon, even though she's the youngest in real life. Oh Woori who plays Choi Kyung looks the most like a high schooler probably because her dressing in the show is the least mature out of the 4 leads. But Hyeri is pushing 31 and while she looks youthful, she doesn't look young. Don't get me wrong, the acting is phenomenal and probably the best part of the show but for a show that is set in a high school, it's kind of important that the actors look the part. Even the extras are not convincing as high schoolers. It's like the "hello fellow kids" meme with adult actors essentially cosplaying as high schoolers. After a while, I kind of got used to it, and it was easier to look past it when they were in the school uniforms but holy shit in those scenes at the club - the immersion is totally gone.
If you've made it this far it might seem like I hate this show, but trust me I do not. It's actually a pretty compelling watch, thanks to those 10000000 mind-bending and confusing twists. The cinematography and music are actually pretty good too, even though the plot suffers. The acting is great too - Chung Su Bin and Oh Woori shine as relative newcomers to the acting scene.
In short - give this a shot but don't go in expecting a real GL romance or a plot that makes sense.
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I cannot believe how they ruined such a good cast and potential plot. The first ten episodes were exciting and really made me think "wow this could be one of my favorite dramas of the year", but no. It goes downhill to the point you have no idea what they are trying to prove or show. Unless you enjoy a psychotic guy falling in love with a girl with no values or even common sense, then do not torture yourself mentally by watching this. At the beginning of the drama I was one of those people who defended the female lead despite her playing two guys because I thought she was gonna grow and change. How could you make a vow to your fiancé that you will always love and be with him even in another lifetime and go love the person that stabbed him to death?? Not only that she made him look like a fool for saving her and loving her unconditionally; she acts like a block of ice and runs to the psychotic guy hugging him and talking to him like he's some type of angel. What is the point of this drama? To show that eternal love doesn't exist? To show that stalking someone and murdering is okay? To show that the "bad guy" can get the girl? WTH like I don't even know how someone approved this drama to be filmed after reading the script. I also don't know why the actors especially Lee Soo Hyuk would want to participate in such chaos and nonsense. I finally understand why this drama received very low ratings in Korea and now even on MDL. For your own good and sanity do not watch this drama. Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Let's stop the bullshit
Initial reception ep 1-8I binged 8 episodes this show in one day. 10 hours chewing a piece of gum with a bottle of water
at my side as i digested the show, I sometimes would watch some scenes more than once just to be clarified on some things to make sure i wasnt seeing things wrong.
I was genuinely intrigued with the premise. A villian that lives as a villian, breathes as a villian, she plots, she schemes, she's wicked and selfish. No remorse. The acting was okay
Her actions as a result of years of betrayal and abuse , That first scene of her in the rain over her mother was cinematic. The visuals were striking and it'd built a good foundation for te story
And as she cut down her adviseries in high school and later in adulthood. I realized she was shaping up to be formidable. But unfortunately the more i watched the more i noticed a key issue.
*cue the violins* -the sympathetic edit
I noticed the way the show was going by episodes 4-5, made it seem like we were supposed to feel sorry for her. Oh poor girl. Gone through so much. Had no choice because life made her this way. PEOPLE made her this way. So we must understand that she's playing the hand she was dealt with...and is doing exactly what she needs to. To survive. Cut the cameras . Lets be deadass fr
THIS IS WHERE I DISAGREE
she is the architect of her own doom. Every action she has taken has what led her to this point. Every time she retailiates the consequences of her actions come back and bites her in the ass. Everytime. Her actions seemingly justified to her are the same actions that have led her to this precipice and she must pay. You can't control the actions of people but you can regulate your reactions. Any fallout from your reactions are your burdens to bear. Your fault.
And this is where the weaknesses of the story show forth. How does a person that feels they're perpetually a victim seek salvation or contentment? If there is a refusal to hold her accoutable for her actions. How is it rationable to blame others for her actions but not blame her for the consequences of her actions on others?
I remembered watching the glory. Lim ji yeon's character was nasty work. Evil to the core. That chain smoking bitch...I crowed when she got hers. But during the show we watched the dynamics with her mother and how her upbringing played a part in her behaviour. Did you people care? Hell naw . BURN THE WITCH. she did evil things because she was evil and must be punished.
Did ah jin physically bully her classmates ? No but was she the architect of doom for 3 characters? yes. So what makes her more sympathetic?....Because she's the protagonist of this show and yall have been hypnotised. WAKE THE FUVK UP.
I will only feel rest once she gets what's coming to her and that is why i will tune in everyweek to pray for her downfall.
Update: Spoilers ahead
i enjoyed her downfall but let's be serious the writers and producers were never really going to punish her. She doesn't feel guilt so her slinking off to the countryside Like an evil spirit permeating the air and crying in the night is as good as we gon get it.
Final reception ep 9-12
The only thing I felt watching this was...men are dumb . But I did have time to ruminate on the story at the end
I've been watching kdramas since 2011. And I'm genuinely amused at the reception to the ending . Any person paying attention had to have known already that this was the way it was always supposed to end. She's never going to be punished
Not really
Jun seo was ready to throw his life away when she was arrested for her father's murder. He's always put her wellbeing over his life. Time and time again . So why we shocked that he felt the only way to sto p her was with his life. But here's the core issue. He's aware she's a sociopath. He's aware she had no human sympathy or kindness so him holding on to her with his last breath is his problem. Frankly I would have done the same...tf after trying to kill her. Did she give you consent that she wanted to visit hellfire with you? Are you mad?
I genuinely enjoyed her husband playing mind games with her. I have no complaints. But I knew the writers were going to
...gasp save her in expense of someone's life. Which continues her cycle of doing bad things. Dodging her consequences and somebody dead or ruined to push her out from issues. Accountability is the real bitch
Lemme rant a bit idgaf
When in gang died and the longstar ceo was after her. She could have left. She hadn't wanted to be an actress in the first place. She signed a contract with moon joo hyuk willingly but still jae oh had to die so she could leave the contract she happily signed. After she ghosted him to marry that hot chaebol. Look at her strutting round his house. Doing All that only for his death to mean nothing in the end.
So in conclusion...men are dumb. They will be willing to do anything for you once you gaslight and manipulate them into falling in love with you and making sure they never have you. Know this and gaslight a dumbass man to achieve your dreams today
Goodnight.
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