Reviews

Hard to Express my Disappointment with This Cringe Fest.

Since discovering Kdramas I had loved Shin Min ah, her beauty is so natural and gorgeous and her comedic touch in kdramas has been well established from my Girlfriend is Gumiho to Hometwon Cha Cha. Here paired up with a younger and extremely handsome ML the anticipation was high.

Unfortunately what we got was a mish mash of a drama with totally uneven characters, development, character arcs and a script writer who seemed to think that focusing on sexual themes, lifestyles, and engaging in the odd time subtle but mainly the most stupid and crass sexual innuendo was the height of literary achievement.

The flashback scenes of the FL buying a gazillion condoms while shouting around the supermarket that her sex partner better do it more than twice tonight or admonishing some guy for his weak performance in bed were so cringe inducing and pathetic I was actually flabbergasted. I couldn't decide if this was aimed at 14yr olds or idiots or 14yr old idiots or people who hadn't had sex in 14yrs or people who never had sex.

And then the dildos ooh look our sexually liberated FL (okay we get it jesus we get it she has sex) has sex toys and masturbates, a univeral and generally private human activity but here glorified and held up as if ownership of them elevated her to a place of enlightenment and Liberation that sets her apart from the rest of us mere mortals. It reminded me of the innuendo filled British comedy of the 70s and 80s where anything sex related drew gasps and guffaws from the scandalised but knowing audience. The amount of cringey "oh my God I laughed so hard when I saw those dildos" comments I've read is oh whatever 🙄.

Then the more "serious" themes of views on marraige, family infidelity, polyamorous relationships and pregnancy. Again it was like the makers, in their desperate attempt to be edgy modern and join the dreaded race to the bottom of shittiness epitomised by shallow, amoral, sexualised characters in western TV, they just threw in a whole lot of ideas and developed none of them in any meaningful way. The supportive relationship between the three foster siblings was heartwarming but it was overshadowed by the unresolved and unfinished exploration of the nature of the FLs relationship with her mother vs everyone else's. The inherent unfairness of this seemed to be left to the FL right to the end.

The older foster sister having unprotected sex with multiple partners and not knowing or bothering to find out definitively who the real father of her child was, inadvertently highlighted some of the potential pitfalls of polygamy though the writer just seemed to be inserting it for "look at how edgy my script is". It really did not portray a meaningful rmessage apart from her BF being a selfish so and so. Like at least practise safe sex FFS. Again it seemed having the concept in the drama was more important than how it was actually dealt with.

The cheating ex faciltted by the FL the whole way through and the cheating dad of the CEO were just shittiness personified. The fact we are repeatedly shown and reminded that the FL is a morally fair and kind at heart person makes this worse as she loses all credibility here by blatantly betraying her exes wife who was generally kind to and supportive of her. And of course asshole ex gets a pass, ah well we might have that female character, along with the cheated on 2ML wife, portrayed as regressively as an early noughties Kdrama melo but we did have condoms and dildos and a polyamorous couple so it's okay we're edgy.

The infamous second couple were more typical of your Kdrama rom com cute couple but totally distracted from the main couple especialky toward the end, and his initial online attacks were pretty awful along with his weird mamas boy life but at least that plot line didn't seem to take itself too seriously.

Finally the .most irritating take I've repeatedly seen is how the FL is so cool unapologetic and iconic. I just can't get over how crass immature and painfully obviously trying to be cool this script is. It's like the member of your social group who because they're never actually getting any they never stop going on about sex in OTT ways to over compensate. it was pretty cringe tbh.

I don't want to get into the whole westernisation of Kdramas by the Streaming services but if this is anything to go by get ready for a serious decline.

Leia Mais

No Plot .

This drama is the most unrealistic drama of all time. They spent a ton of money just to make it look aesthetically pleasing. Every Korean romcom has a story but this drama doesn't even have a plot.
First of all, the male lead just randomly falls for the girl. He had no reason to fall for her.
Secondly, his only character is doing romantic things for the girl. He doesn't do anything else in his life. He only keeps gifting the girl lavish things and waits for her to finish work so they can eat together. In other dramas like business proposal and what's wrong with secretary Kim the men had a life outside romance and worked hard to build up their empire. But over here, the male lead doesn't care about the hotel that has handed over to him or about anything else.
It gets annoying after a point.
He's like the typical rich boy with good fortune with no ambition or personally whatsoever.

This is definitely very overrated and not worth the hype.

Leia Mais

How do I put this?

You know the feeling when you buy a new toothbrush?

It's the perfect color, has the right amount of bristle strength, fits comfortably in your hand.

You use this tooth brush all week with the small joy that it brings and makes you chuckle over being happy with such a small thing.

And then, your roommate asks if you've been using that perfect toothbrush.

Because another person has been using it all week too.

That's the feeling.

Don't be seduced by the first episodes. Don't fall for it's charm. Don't do it.

Leia Mais

Let's go on an adventure.

This show is worth watching. It's about friendship, love, adventure, and most importantly, the meaning of family. A lot of people say that this is a sad ending but to be honest, it's not. It's more so a bittersweet ending.

Spoiler Warning:

It doesn't end with us seeing him dead. The male lead has a terminal illness so obviously he will eventually die. So I guess knowing that is what is leading people to say this had a sad ending. His ending was the best ending one could hope to have given his situation and life circumstances. He was reunited with the people who matter to him in life and was able to accomplish the things he most wanted to. He was also surrounded by a supportive group of people. A lot of people in their last days don't get that. Anyways, that's just my take on things. Don't let the comments or other reviews discourage you from watching this.

Leia Mais

Pleasantly warming and inspiring, like a cup of tea that you may enjoy sip by sip

Once again a wonderfully authentic KDrama with amiable characters, who are living a live just like any South Korean life could be. The KDrama is neither captivatingly suspenseful nor does it urge to be devoured in one go. Instead, it's rather pleasantly warming and inspiring, like a cup of tea that you may enjoy sip by sip. The story could always go on as everyday life is - in Jejudo and elsewhere (in the province).

At first glance, “Welcome to Samdal-ri” is a sweet Rom+Com and, in passing, it is also a declaration of love for Jejudo, the largest South Korean island. At second glance, however, the KDrama also delivers a lovingly drawn and yet time-critical image of society, in particular of a generation that is struggling to balance between archaic roots and home on the one hand as well as global, urban & digital lifestyle values on the other.

In general, lifelong friendship can be considered the overarching theme. The peer group as a family of choice in the sense of a community of fate, whose commitment has been growing from the inevitable spatial proximity of a village community - here: Samdal-ri.
Specifically, the story is about such a lifelong friendship between two friends, who at some point naturally became a love for life, yet without automatically being able to be lived as such.
As so often, it´s about family with its particular momentum, mingling as centrifugal and as pulling force, too.
Refreshing, soft and tangible: Shin Hye-sun and Ji Chang-wook. But overall, "Welcome to Samdal-ri" offers great casting in all positions.

Enjoy your tea time...










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SIDE NOTE...
...on "Welcome to Samdal-ri" offering a felicitous, good-humoured and optimistic time-critical image of society

On the one hand, the monotonous everyday life in the provinces just glides along. In “Welcome to Samdal-ri” the social tightness of the village structure is intensified by the island situation on Jeju-do. Binding village life in its everyday occurrences may be boring for some, while reliably familiar and pleasantly manageable for others. Rhythm, rules, community - everything is well-arranged. You can count on being safely caught by a social net that is protecting, warming. However, it comes with a price: a naturally intrusive social environment that would like to have a say everywhere...
On the other hand, the shimmering metropolis of distant Seoul is attracting the young with its wide world full of fashion, culture and lifestyle, promising individual fulfillment in a varied, anonymous, fast-paced, entertaining, colorfully inspiring, glittering city life that bears the stamp "successful". But this has its price, too, as the KDrama clearly shows with various examples. Fast-paced, cool big city life is mostly superficial, curt, nonbinding, aloof and mercilessly leaving you out in the cold.

Gossip apparently seems to be for us humans naturally coming with our anthropological cradle… Whether city or countryside, whether Seoul oder Samdal-ri, it is everywhere - the KDrama is cleverly using this as a dramaturgical bridge between the two worlds...
In a village with an intrusively curious neighborhood like Samdal-ri, where almost nothing can be kept secret, gossip adds spice to an otherwise uniform everyday life. However, it turns out, globalization and digitalization have by now raised village gossip to an unimagined, even more threatening (since anonymous) level. Rumors multiply virally in the form of social media posts shared at lightning speed, thus turning Seoul into just another (digital) village, yet on a global scale - with the effect that the brutal force of the impact far dwarfs that of a rural, analogue village. Once a rumor like this has started, it's hard to stop it and it's practically impossible to undo it. The anonymity of a viral rumor mill also invites hateful comments, the existential consequences of which no one seems to have to take responsibility for. Never mind whether there really is something to it or not… no one is interested anyway.
In the worst case, self-imposed exile from the analogue village offers an opportunity to escape social pressure at least. The digital village of the globalized new world, however, no longer shows any mercy. It's everywhere... there's no escape...

The uncontrollable social media with its enormous power as well as the largely non-binding, superficial encounters of an anonymous urbanity are juxtaposed with the archaic themes that continue to shape life on Jeju-do today - and thus the roots and grounding of its people. Eventually, "Welcome to Samdal-ri" tells of the dominance of tides and weather shaping everyday life; of the power of the sea, which continually takes its toll; of the lives of the Haenyeos diving for abalone and more - day after day, year after year; of the Haenyeo families, following the mother as the strong head of the family; and even of bloodguilt that turns friends into enemies, urging to pass this feud on from generation to generation.

Although life in the provinces may seem archaic, tight and boring, not everything automatically has to be wrong or bad. Nevertheless, young people increasingly and understandably prefer to go to Seoul. They want to leave the dusty roots and rigid structures behind. They prefer to live at the center of the vibrant new South Korean world instead.
But even if they leave their village home for individual fulfilment, psychologically they are still far from finding their way back to themselves. And even if Seoul has such a promising, almost magnetic, electrifying, cosmopolitan charisma, the capital, along with the temptations of big city life, also harbors a fatal seed, that many have not expected: Betrayal! Betrayal of oneself (and/or eventually betrayal of others...) For most people sooner or later this seed will be sprouting, if they lose their grounding along the way - if they simply radically cut off their roots instead of finding ways to continue to nourish them...

As such I appreciate "Welcome to Samdal-ri" offering way more than a Rom+Com - e.g. a felicitous, good-humoured and optimistic time-critical outlook on contemporary issues within modern society.

Leia Mais

yeah no...

I feel like I'm missing something since all the reviews are positive...

Segasaki was very toxic, it weirded me out tbh. I'm usually not sensitive to some toxicness in dramas since it's just a drama but this was too much for me. He was highkey stalkerish and abusive. Like that ain't cute at all to me, idk. I was waiting for his character development but it never happened, he actually got worse.

Yoh was fine but he really made me frustrated when he just let him be like that to him.

The couple wasn't even cute. They NEVER talked. I'm not even exaggerating, where's the communication? 2 grown adults living in the same house should be able to communicate. I don't even get why they like each other when they just misunderstand each other and never talk it out. I felt like I watched 8 eps of two guys making out with each other all the time. What was even the point of this drama? Nothing improved, no character development at all, what was the point?

The actors were good tho :)

Leia Mais

Theatrical romance that lacks genuineness

I can understand why BL drama fans love this drama. As a BL costume drama, this drama gets an A but overall as a drama its pretty average. BL dramas are usually pretty poorly done with very poor story and acting so this drama is definitely a step up from all those crappy dramas.

Lot of BL interactions and scenes which I am sure BL fans loved. Sometimes it was fun and cute but most times felt forced and not very natural. The b/romance felt pushed in to our faces a bit. Wen Ke Xing's character is fun and flirty, showing his dark side and his playful side when with Zhou Xu. I don't see the appeal of Zhou Xu, seems very boring. Did not seem menacing enough to be a leader of a ruthless group. Very forgettable and bland character. I failed to connect with either characters.

Nothing comes to my mind when I think of an scene that I could see true feeling expressed by these characters towards each other. There are lots of over the top dramatic, flirty, forced romantic moments but just lacks genuineness and sincerity. Chinese costume dramas always have many theatrical scenes, but in this drama there was something very theatrical and fake about the couple, which really disappointed me.

The story was very decent/average. I can similarities with Legend of Fei since its the same author, characters with hidden pasts, old characters who think they know better than anyone else, some powerful book/ object every one wants, mazes, royalty making appearances for no reason. I often felt that our BL pair was a side story just watching the drama unfold around them. I really didn't care for the main plot with the sects and sect wars and leaders. There are so many characters just talking, talking, talking. This drama believes in telling not showing. The whole childhood friends plot is so overused.

The acting was ok, Gong Jun's character was so overdubbed at the start, it was painful to watch. Though it did improve tremendously. Zhang Zhe Han was very average . I think Gong Jun acted better than I expected whereas Zhang Zhe Han did not meet expectations that I had for him. They can do flirty, cold and concerned but can't convey true emotions. The little boy was adorable but overall tolerable level of acting from the rest of the cast.

I conclude that this is a good BL drama but average drama.

Leia Mais

I'm very glad about my drama trade I did with another MDL user because it made me watch this little gem, that I surely would have never touched on my own. The summary and the promotional covers never piqued my interest before.
 
There are so many things that I love about this story. First of all is the idea in itself. They did a pretty good job with explaining the visions, making them convincing without making it look too much out of space. With the same pace Do Kyung was getting an idea of what was actually happening to him, it made me understand it step by step, too.

The way the romance was emerging. From the original setup to the new one. Well explained and real. I got a pretty good feel of how deep their emotions were growing and I liked the idea of "fate" here. I loved how that whole relationship was developing, even though they sometimes seemed a little foolish. But that's what love actually is, right? Acting against all logic and not getting bothered about other people's opinions. What makes you really happy and how do you want to spend that one life you got?

I was dying with pleasure seeing all that skinship. It felt comfortable and real and made me very, very happy. When it seemed like their pent up emotions were finally exploding, I felt the same. I'm a sucker for hugs and here are so many tight embraces that I wish I had someone near me who would hug me just at the same time, lol. And their kisses... Don't get me started with those. All these things are one big part of what made this romance so intense and beautiful.

The acting was very impressive. Eric blew me away. His character drew me in to a point where I couldn't stop but root for him all the way, no matter what he did. I saw his remorse, I felt his misery and I enjoyed his approach to slowly change himself and become happy, no matter the outcome. Same goes for Seo Hyun Jin. Her despair, her hunger for love and her feeling of betrayal of life itself were crushingly unfeigned.

There is some really strong writing in this drama. Some dialogues had a big impact on me and made my heart flutter all of a sudden so many times. The story did a pretty good job at riling up my emotions in every way possible.

I also loved the side stories. Interesting characters even though some of them were a little exaggerated. I enjoyed them nevertheless. Do Kyung's sister was one hell of a person. Her on/ff modes were hilarious but what I loved the most was that no matter what, she stuck to her family, supporting them in her own way whether blood-related or not and was always like a guardian. I also loved Hae Young's parents. Although her mother was really, REALLY stubborn towards the end, I enjoyed the time when she was silently giving in, showing that she truly loved her daughter and wanted her to be happy.

About the two second leads here...
Well, I didn't really care for their stories while watching the drama. Now, at the end... Well, of course they had their reasons for behaving the way they did. The other Oh Hay Young... as the story went on, her character became more palpable and explained some things, but it didn't change the fact that I couldn't care less. She had her chance, she blew it. End of story. Han Tae Jin... same goes for him and on top of that he was a petty loser. He couldn't accept the facts, acting all childish, throwing one tantrum after another. Do Kyung and him both did wrong. But at the point where Do Kyung realized his mistake, Tae Jin blamed others and continued his raving, staying blinded by his anger.

The ones I disliked till the end were Do Kyung's mom and Chairman Jang. No further explaining. Just stating that fact.

If there's one thing to complain about, it would be the dragging in the middle and until ep 16. I know that every scene and every moment were important for the story and can't be considered fillers. But I still think that they could have made some things a little shorter and not putting me in such agony >.< (although it makes you wonder if I would have gotten riled up about it with the same intensity, if they HAD made it shorter, right? Haha...)

In the end a very, very enjoyable roller-coaster with many memorial moments. Lots of emotions, lots of ups and downs and very satisfying in the end.

Leia Mais

Everything Feels So Unearned

The way I would describe this drama in two words is 'wasted opportunity'. It could have been good. A simple premise. Good actors. But it fell apart before it could get off the ground. The writing is a big, big problem.

So, I went into this drama for Singto (fickle I know, but I feel like most people did so there ya go). The trailer looked promising. The premise was simple, light-hearted and sweet. I love art and draw and paint a lot myself so I also thought I'd enjoy some of the art side of things too.

But, writing, writing, writing. *shakes head like stereotypical disappointed parent* (am childless tho...)

The writing of the characters and the plot is a big problem. It's so poor that I'm actually not sure where to begin.

Let's start with Maze. Who is he? As in what are his external motivations? Money, just money it seems. That's fine. What are his internal motivations? I haven't got a clue. Like at all. What is his backstory? Dunno. He has this step-brother who he argued with once upon a time and never resolved the conflict with (for literal years, like huh?). That's it. What are his dreams? His fears? What does he love? Hate? What makes him feel comfortable? Uncomfortable? Safe? Lonely? Bored? In this script he is a one-dimensional boss who wants money, money and more money. He is not at all fleshed out and his whole character changes in the blink of an eye without any development or substance of character.

What about Phab? If you look at the comments on here everyone loves Phab and loathes Maze for the most part. I dislike both. Phab is as much a walking one-dimensional stereotype as Maze, it's just his stereotype is more likable. Phab is an artist. In spite of being enormously broke he can still afford expensive art equipment and a nice place to live. He can afford food and other necessities for himself and his various pets. He also, simply out of a bit of a dislike, tries to refuse well-paid work when offered. Bruh, come on now. Don't be stupid. I really dislike this stereotype of artists and other creatives that they just don't care about having enough money to live (and somehow get by happily and comfortably). Being broke and being in debt is f*cking stressful. It's not a personality trait. Who is Phab? What are his external and internal motivations? He needs to earn a bit of money (although he seems mostly chill about this). That's it. That's all. What is his backstory? Who knows, maybe he is from the moon. His fears? Dreams? What makes him feel happy? Sad? Disgusted? Lonely? Bored? Who is he?

All of the other characters are not at all fleshed out enough either, but I can't be bothered to list it all here. Most are more consistent in personality than the two leads however.

Each episode of this series is predictable and unsatisfying. It is the same arc each time. Phab and Maze are in conflict over something (usually a small misunderstanding or miscommunication). At some point near the middle they are on good terms (usually unprovoked, they just are, for some reason), either sweet romantic moments or some sort of friendly situation. Then a short while before the end of the episode there is another conflict (usually a small misunderstanding or miscommunication), this then carries through into the next episode where the cycle repeats. There are a few episodes that stray from this but not many. It is a tedious viewing experience as the arc is incredibly unsatisfying.

I have just finished watching episode 10. I cannot afford a GagaOOLala subscription right now and am cancelling so I'm reviewing as I take a financial pause from GagaOOLala. Please bear in mind I'm writing this before the ultimate conclusion of the story.

Let me rewrite the overarching plot for the two leads to make the series better (according to myself).

The series begins with the first episode largely as it happens. But you see Phab has a part-time job at university teaching an evening class for art students. With this he can pay for art equipment (like I said, it's expensive, stop sh*tting around) but it doesn't support his living. Maze comes to meet Phab and offer him the work. Phab declines. Maze leaves, annoyed. A while later Phab comes across a stray animal who is injured. He takes it to the vet. The vet treats the animal and tells Phab he needs to pay for it. Phab hesitates but calls Maze. He says he'll do the wedding job if Maze pays for the animal's treatment (and the original amount). They negotiate and come to some fair amount. At the wedding Phab brings the animal. It causes havok and Maze and Phab have a similar argument to the one seen. Phab gets the job with the pay from the series and starts working at the company to pay Maze back and keep up the ruse.

As time goes on Maze and Phab bicker but we see Phab trying to work well with everyone (like in the series now) and Maze's work ethic. At some point Maze and Phab argue about the work. Phab isn't being serious enough, according to Maze. Maze is unforgiving and brutal, according to Phab. Towards the end of this argument Maze falls ill (fainting or getting dizzy or whatever) from overworking. Phab stays with him and insists he rest. Maze insists he has to work. They argue. Eventually Phab leaves but calls the VP character to stay with Maze at the office. There follows scenes/montage where Maze is overworking and Phab is noticing. Phab asks around but everyone says this is just Maze's way. After a bit of professional success the team go for drinks (like in the series). While a bit tipsy Maze gets annoyed with Phab and complains about his way of working. He then starts to talk about his own backstory. He is from a family that struggled financially. He had some sort of issue that made his parents' financial struggle worse (illness, injury whatever). He blames himself for this and feels that he caused their early passing with the stress it put them under. He is now used to overworking because he distracts himself with work and it makes him feel like he is repaying his parents or becoming more like them and their hardwork or something along those lines. He also keeps his distance from others because he's afraid of burdening them. He doesn't like when people don't work hard because it feels like an affront to his most important values. He feels personally disrespected.

Phab still draws Maze (this is still the small conflict from the series cause it was entertaining to me).

Following this information Phab becomes more considerate of Maze. He starts to bring him a nice drink at the office on occasion and pays attention to his schedule. He takes the job more seriously and becomes a bit more mature in the workplace. In an effort to encourage Maze to stop working so much Phab encourages Maze to come and spend time with the animal they both saved (and invites him to his art class in the evening). They bond over this and talk about work and their personal goals/fears/pasts etc while together. Maze talks a little more about his family and Phab begins to open up about his. Phab doesn't know his parents but he grew up financially secure and stable raised by an aunt and his grandparents. He is still close to his aunt, but lies a little about being financially fine so she doesn't worry. His grandfather died a while ago and his grandmother is ill. Money he inherited from his grandfather he spends on his grandmother's health. He learned to draw growing up in order to give comfort to his grandfather, who had dementia and would tell stories and forget them soon after. He drew them so that there would always be images of his grandfather's memory, even outside of his mind.

They connect over these memories and feelings for family. Both begin to feel romantically for the other, but Phab is more expressive and open, whereas Maze is wary and reserved. Eventually they sleep together and begin dating. Phab is open, Maze is discreet. This begins slowly to cause a little conflict.

Phab starts to feel like Maze is pushing him away. He tries to talk to him but Maze freaks out and closes off. They argue and stop speaking for a while. When Maze decides to apologise he overhears the job offer for Japan. His immediate feeling is one of fear and he tries to stop it from happening. As they forgive each other from the previous argument and Maze and Phab begin openly dating etc Phab then takes Maze to meet his aunt and grandmother. Here they learn of Japan and are encouraging. Phab is hesitant and reluctant cause of Maze. Maze realises how much of an opportunity this is and starts to encourage Phab to go.

They then do long-distance for an epsiode or so. In the ending they reunite in Thailand a while later. Phab has an exhibition on in Thailand and has got work in Japan designing posters and covers etc which he can do from Thailand.

Maze has learned to have a work-life balance. Phab has learned some maturity and adulting lessons.

In my version Nueng would be a childhood friend of Maze's. They still had the same argument cause Maze was overly dependent of, and possessive over, Nueng. It was around the time his parents died and Maze felt abandoned by Nueng. He later regretted the argument but didn't apologise because it was too connected to those horrible memories, so he buried it and remained estranged from his closest friend for years. Although he accepted he was in the wrong, he was also always hurt that Nueng never reached out afterwards either. There is no jealousy plotline with Nueng at the centre. Conflict with him is work-related and whatnot. His relationship with Than evolves similarly to the series just with fewer bs games. He doesn't try and manipulate Phab and is always polite to him.

This series needed fleshed out characters, with room for development, which is satisfied through the story. Just because it is a light-hearted premise and story does not mean your characters get to be superficial in their characterisations, all one dimensional and whatnot.

There are so many individual scenes I love. Any sweet scenes between Phab and Maze are great. The bickering, especially at the beginning, was entertaining a lot of the time. I really like the side characters. I like a lot of the humour (which is rare). But there is no narrative to this series really. It doesn't flow. The pacing is tedious. It is often like you're missing all of the information for the character motivations. It's annoying. This could have been such a nice, enjoyable watch. I enjoyed scenes, not episodes, not the whole series. I enjoyed the scenes as independent experiences. So it wasn't all bad, but it is a sign of a somewhat incoherent story/plot. They should be trying to tell us a story, led by characters. Instead they show us scenes with the characters on puppet strings just doing as they're told with no motivation or substance to them at all.

Leia Mais

A masterful disappointment

I started this off with high hopes because I am a huge fan of both the main leads. The problem lies within the script , it’s like the writer couldn’t make up his mind of what direction he wanted the characters to go . A story that is so simple is played out for no reason. One minute he writes the characters as having common sense the next it’s like they are completely clueless. Female lead making stupid decision like jumping off a cliff again like her twin sister did for no damn reason. The side characters might as well not have been in the show cause they have no chemistry at all they’re just there to be there and take up time. The writer tried so hard to make the main leads look like star crossed lovers throwing in these ridiculous simple ass problems trying to make them seem like it’s a big deal when it is not . The female villain just ridiculous .. the second male lead handsome as he is just was just there to be there. The drama tried to bring mystery and romance to the drama but all we get is a few awkward smiles and shy hand holding with music playing in the background , it came off cringy and annoying instead of romantic cause soon as that happen here come another stupid excuse why they can’t be together, oh and don’t get me started on the lackluster “ I’m leaving and never gonna see you again “ scenes and yes I said scenes cause there is a ridiculous amount of that only for them to surprisingly didn’t leave cause they love each other so much … okay I’m done I’m sorry but all the waiting and the time I spent on this drama has made me vexed !

Leia Mais

Fun and entertaining watch

This show is a romcom about 2 hitmen brothers with 2 guys that are trying to gain information on them with one being a police informant, by making them fall in love with them. It is based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew (and the movie 10 Things I Hate About You). The aesthetic is very typical of Jojo's (the director) works with a strong 1980s retro American influence in music, decor and fashion.

Is the story realistic of how hitmen and police informants work? No. But it is a very fun story with the 2 main couples KantBison and FadelStyle going through a cycle of betrayal, forgiveness and the ups and downs in their relationships. Both sets of actors FirstKhao & JoongDunk are skilled in their portrayals of their distinctive characters and have strong chemistry. FadelStyle's story arc is especially beautiful about accepting oneself and letting go of the past.

In the end, this is a romcom that doesn't take itself too seriously that teaches valuable life lessons along the way and can be watched in a lighthearted manner.

Leia Mais

Was ready to hate it, ended up loving it.

I saw the mild/bad review scores before watching, and was fully prepared to be disappointed, but I guess there are some factors that make me the ideal audience for this series:
- Despite watching SO MANY series set in university and seeing similar tropes here and there, I'm not tired of them and I'm still willing to give them a chance.
- There have been a few titles in the past that I had to drop because they bored me. This one is absolutely NOT one of them. I didn't have to put any effort in finishing all the episodes either, I just played them one after another without being able to start anything else.
- The flaws of the characters didn't make them insufferable for me. I ended up finding them endearing and more real instead.
- I happen to like stories that have more fluff going on. No unnecessary tragedy in the family, no random violence, no silly attempts at sounding edgy or adult just to make a love story more interesting.
- I don't care about actors stripping and grinding on each other as they make out to make their love more believable. (Hint: if you think that passionate kisses on camera are called "chemistry", then you don't know what chemistry means in the first place. Also, if the characters need to kiss to make you understand that they're in love, then it's a very badly written story.)
- The secondary characters weren't fleshed out as much as the ones in other series (there wasn't time for any subplot, so putting more work in personalities without exploring them would have been pointless I think), but they did their job just fine and I never felt like they were filling gaps or anything like that.
- As much as the misunderstandings and the lack of communication were annoying, they somehow got me even more invested in the series, and the ending turned out to feel even more rewarding than I was expecting it to be.

This series is now among my favorite BLs. It feels sweet and comforting in a special way, and now it has a special place in my heart. I really hope I'll get to see Dunk and Joong in other projects in the future.

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