Reviews

A missed opportunity

I have been contemplating for some time whether to write a review about this, but I was struggling to get my thoughts together as I was left feeling quite disappointed by the end of this series. It held quite a lot of promise, and the premise of the show was good when it was first introduced. It also had an overall good cast with talented actors, and incorporated mature themes about real life and real life situations.

Did it deliver? Only partially. I'm going against the grain here I know - I've seen a lot of reviews give it a 10. Come on guys a 10? The perfect series? Is any series perfect? Please be realistic in your reviews. As the famous philosopher Socrates said: “Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults.”

I don't know about you, but I personally ignore any review that gives a series a 10.

Anyway, let's start with some positives.

1) Acting. This was probably its strongest point, although at times it was a bit hit and miss and there were a couple of miscasts.
2) Production. The production was good with decent locations, settings etc.
3) Messaging. I think some of the messages and points it conveyed were valid and important.

So why do I think it only partially delivered. My issue is with the writing and story. It was too overengineered. Too many undeveloped arcs, events that took up time but did not add to the outcome, situations that were unrealistic etc. I found myself wondering what this series was about. A love triangle? Being poor? Homophobia? Working class people? Inequality? Growing old? Cheating? Relationships? Growing up? Teen angst? Coming of age? Sadness and loss? Unrequited love? Disability? It's almost like they tried to fit all of it in and it fell flat.

Bearing in mind that only 8 episodes were filmed (albeit some more than 1h long so it's more like 10 based on a normal series), there's only so much you can fit in and I think the story went way overboard with stuff which ended up distracting me as a viewer. Examples:

1. The property development project. Time was spent on this as if it was integral to the storyline and outcome but nothing came out of it. In the end Jim just walked away.
2. Jim's search for a title deed to get a loan. Didn't come to anything in the end. Again, he just walked away.
3. All the deaths and accidents, like Gaipa's mum dying and Alan getting into an accident needing therapy, and Jim's ex-bf's death in a fiery boat accident (this one was absolutely ridiculous).
4. Saleng getting his girlfriend pregnant and somehow making it Jim's problem.
5. Wen taking up a job at the restaurant (even though he's a full time architect?).
...and my biggest issue...
6. Time spent on Heart / Li Ming's relationship. Almost half the time is spent on their relationship. This series is (was?) supposed to revolve around adult relationships and situations, and the hardships they face, yet the majority of the time is spent on Heart / Li Ming hanging out. Don’t get me wrong, the characters were well acted and portrayed by Fourth and Gemini, and I am a fan of both, but the amount of airtime their relationship received overtook much of the rest of the story. It would have been better to "introduce them" and give them a separate spinoff series.

There were other things that just did not make sense or were factually incorrect. Here's a few:

1) Jim's attempt to get a loan. I know I already mentioned this but what was it for? If your landlord is selling the property to a developer to tear it down, and your lease is up, what do you need a loan for?

2) Wen working for the developer/architect didn't seem to bother Jim. "Oh don't worry love, I know you and your employer are trying to destroy mine and other's livelihood, but I'll shag you anyway. As long as we don't complicate things". Wouldn't you say Wen's involvement in the project is a wee bit of a complication...?

3) Gaipa's mum's life insurance . His mum had a precondition so she wouldn't be able to get insurance in the first place. And why was her insurance important? Comments at the funeral: "I know his mum has died but he's set for life now!". Wow. Really? Or was it all so the writers had a reason to introduce Alan to Gaipa? Gaipa obviously couldn't just visit the bank to open a savings account and bump into him.

4) Li Ming's move to the US. Come on, some lady with dodgy English hands you a form to sign and you're off to the US? All this after reading a pamphlet? There is no chance in hell he would be allowed anywhere near the US.

It's lazy writing. Character development at times is all over the place. We go from nice guy, to douche bag, to selfish. Too many things distracting the viewer. A common thread is missing.

They should have picked a story to focus on and developed it properly. In my view that should have been the love triangle between Alan, Wen and Jim and possibly Gaipa as well - along with the business/property developer. Episode 5 (and parts of 4) with the breakdown of Alan and Wen's relationship is very good. First is excellent in it and and so is Mix. It felt like it had taken inspiration from Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece film "scenes from a marriage" (brilliant film by the way, you should watch it). I actually thought it was finally starting to get better but unfortunately past episode 5 it just went downhill again. Alan just dipped in and out - this time with crutches, Wen and Jim had long walks at the beach while Heart and Li Ming were drinking more boba tea.

Stick to simple and effective, with the focus on the relationships between the people, the feelings, the emotion and the dialogue. This would be my idea:

- Alan and Wen have been together but their relationship is starting to get shaky. Alan doesn't understand why Wen is being distant. They have a fight, Wen goes out stumbles upon the chicken shop, gets drunk and has a one night stand with the owner. Alan finds out and drama starts.
- Wen grows more distant and goes back to pursuing Jim, who doesn't want the drama as he has better things to worry about, such as a failing business, a developer trying to tear down the property and a sulky teenager. Gaipa also has a business with his mum nearby, and is equally worried about the future due to the proposed development. He has fancied Jim for some time, but Jim is not responsive.
-Wen is involved in the project threatening the businesses. Jim finds out and more drama ensues. Gaipa is also mad. Wen is torn between his career, his love for Jim, the impact his company has on Jim's business and on top of that he still struggles with Alan.
- Wen and Alan have another massive argument and Wen leaves again and goes to stay with a friend. Alan thinks he's gone to Jim so he goes to face him and they end up fighting. Alan and Wen finally break up. Wen approaches Jim again and something begins. Wen begins to re-evaluates his career choice.
- Meanwhile Gaipa wants to help save his mum's business from the developers (and in the process save other local businesses too), so he rallies the locals including Jim to preserve the historic location and starts a campaign to make it a historical tourist destination.
- He goes to the bank to see if he can maybe get a business loan and perhaps be able buy the property himself where he meets Alan. He approaches the local council to see if the buildings can be listed as historical so it can't be bought and redeveloped.
- Alan likes him and his passion, loyalty, and is starting to fall for him etc. He gets involved in the campaign and gets closer and closer to Gaipa and their relationship blooms. Wen and Jim also enter the campaign with the locals.
- The campaign is finally successful and the area and property is eventually listed as historical with funds assigned from the council and government to restore it and making it a destination. Businesses are saved.
- Wen and Jim get together and so does Alan and Gaipa. In time mutual respect develops between all of them. Li Ming grows up and goes to University with Heart.

There you go.

And finally, in the above I would have made Jim/Alan/Wen/Gaipa around the same age, i.e. late 20s early 30s. Poor Earth was terribly miscast as a 40 year old man and, through no fault of his own, has received a lot of criticism for his portrayal.

This review ended up being longer than I expected. Apologies for that. But it's my two cents anyway. On to the next series...

Leia Mais

Could have used a change in direction

Newtonian physics may not bind the Laws of Drama Writing, but it is a helpful starting point for examining “Bulgasal: Immortal Souls”. Newton’s first law states that a body that is at rest or is in motion at a constant speed in a straight line will remain at rest or continue at the constant speed in a straight line unless it is acted upon by a force. In other words, for something to change, we need some sort of object or mechanism to trigger a chance in action.

With the drama in question, we begin with events that occurred 600 years ago which is where we find our object moving forward. To summarize, Goryeo era monster hunting ace Dan Hwal became a bulgasal (an immortal monster which feeds on human blood) and he loses his family. He sets out to wreak revenge against those who put him in his predicament. We flash forward to present with Hwal seeking Sang Un, once a bulgasal, now a human, reincarnated. Every other character of any note is a reincarnation of someone or something other creature from hundreds of years ago. As the storyline progresses, Hwal and Sang Un encounter Ok Eul Tae, an antagonist from the origins of the story.

Let’s set the storyline aside for other matters…

The production is outstanding. Whether it was set design, photography, soundtrack or the physical monsters themselves, this crew was tops. The monsters are exceptional. Whether the settings are the Goryeo era forests or present day mountains, the settings are gorgeous. The special effects are above average. There is not a copious amount of OST but the few entries are solid. And there’s more than one underwater sequence that are some of the highlight scenes.

There’s some fine acting too. Park Myung Shin is the standout as a Goryeo era shaman and present day aunt/butcher for Hwal. Lee Joon creates a compelling and vibrant character for the twisted and scheming Eul Tae. Han Seo Jin plays a young Sang Un and continues to create one of the most impressive filmographies of any young actor anywhere.

It’s a mixed bag for the leads. Lee Jin Wook as Dan Hwal has the imposing stature and gravelly voice to pull off a character that is part dark monster and part former human bent on retaining some of his humanity. But the character has shortcomings that no actor could really work around. He’s smart enough to clandestinely coordinate a complex manhunt and amass a significant collection of assets but has lived hundreds of years learning almost nothing. He follows a predictable cycle where he is introduced to a new side to his backstory, he refuses to believe it then just decides that it must be true. And despite the fact that he wants to end his troubles, he’s got the worst sense of self-awareness on the planet. He’s supposed to be the hero, albeit a non-traditional type of one, but he’s so determined to derail any effort to make progress that he’s nearly impossible to sympathize with.

As for Kwon Na Ra’s Sang Un, she’s got enough sense to diagnose Hwal’s issues, can formulate a basic plan and know that she needs to invest in and maintain relationships. That’s all good but the direction for the character was to overwhelm everything else about the character with a damsel-in-distress aesthetic. Even when her actions should signal strength and determination, the visuals instead emphasize her weakness and impending panic. That’s the present day visuals. Have to recognize that her appearance in the historical eras is simply stunning.

Without spoiling too much, there’s no end to this saga unless there’s an end to Eul Tae or Hwal or Sang Un. But two aren’t easy to kill and the other one will just reincarnate so something out of the ordinary has to happen to end this.

Here’s where Newton comes in. We have this trio that has been on the same path for six hundred years with this seemingly unsolvable problem. What would have made for an outstanding drama is that at some point of the storyline, the viewers are given some somewhat comprehensive understanding of how our object in motion at a constant rate of speed in a straight line was put in said motion at said constant rate of speed in said straight line. Then the production could have adequately built up over multiple episodes to a climax where new big force is brought forward to bring about the cataclysmic change in motion and to put an end (or new beginning) to our heroes and villains story.

Instead, a full reveal of the real origin story only happens far, far, FAR! too late leaving little time to build any appropriate amount of tension for the climactic showdown. Pending the full reveal, Eul Tae is left as a likely evildoer but possibly ambiguous character which fatally hamstrings his actions. Instead of going full dark and crazy, there’s only glimpses of his true nature. To keep a semblance of mystery about him going, he winds up a disappointing antagonist who spends too much time politicking with Hwal and plotting in the background than being, y’know, a bloodthirsty and invincible monster. And instead of Hwal and Sang Un spending far too much time wondering how they ended up this way, they could have been doing something much more interesting like, y’know, fighting monsters.

It’s a tremendous shame because the scenario was promising. There’s lots of interesting monsters and the show was terrifically entertaining when there was action. But it is invested so heavily in a painfully slow reveal of backstory and keeping the main characters and viewers in the dark that the characters are unable to develop. And, y’know, move forward in a new direction.

Leia Mais

a masterpiece with multidimensional/flawed characters (please give it a try)

Overall: I think some people won't start or finish this series due to the premise and Ritsu's character in the beginning. I would highly encourage people to watch the entire series because it is 100% worth it. Aired on GagaOOLala and Viki.

Content Warnings: there are several some of which might be extremely triggering, I will put them in a comment with a spoiler

What I Liked
- flawed/multidimensional characters (I could write an essay on Ritsu)
- realistic and very well done NSFW scenes (including talking during and not overpowering music)
- relationships between characters (enjoyed the found family theme with the four of them)
- how Meguru was not a cliche/stereotype and the actor (used as a gender neutral term) is non-binary so that's pretty awesome
- production value/cinematography (you can tell it's the same director from The Novelist & Mood Indigo)

Room For Improvement
- the flashbacks kind of took me out a bit from the story in the present
- not a fan of some of the one lipped kissing
- the special effects near the end were low budget/cringey
- definitely could have used a longer run time to more fully develop characters
- I wish they'd go with something that could actually happen like a deadly virus, nuclear war or a large natural disaster but I realize they had source material

Leia Mais

Misaeng is an amazing drama, but it is not for everyone. If you don't like first episodes you probably won't like the rest of the drama. In my case, I loved it from the 1st episode.

This drama may seem boring to some people as it is about office world, but the script writers did a great job and to me, personally, it didn't seem boring at all. It is a serious drama, yes, but there are also funny elements. It portraits the office life in a really realistic way.

While watching this drama, I felt like I was a part of the company, that I am part of every character there. Whenever there was something emotional, you could feel the emotions yourself. Whenever there was a funny scene, I was so happy, it felt so good and the funny scenes were always in a place. They just fitted.

STORY
As for story, I loved it. Some people might say that the plot was kind of about nothing, but I disagree. So much happened in those 20 episodes. The story and the characters will captivate you. I just can't express how much I love this drama!

ACTING/CAST
Everyone in this drama was well-chosen and their acting was superb. I guess, I loved every character, well, almost every character.

Lee Sung Min - he is a king of acting. I loved him since King 2Hearts and here, he proved that he is a 1st class actor. I loved his character Oh Sang Shik, in the future, I would also like to have a boss like him. After this drama I became his fan even more.

Im Shi Wan - I was a little worried at first that he would not be good for this role. Oh, how I was mistaken. He was perfect for this role. "Jang Geu Rae, fighting!!! You can do it" that is what I was thinking whole time. He was so hardworking, nice and pitiful.

Kang So Ra - I love her! I think that she is the best actress of her generation. I was so pleased with her English and even her Russian wasn't so bad. Her character Ahn Young Yi was great as well, she was tough, hardworking and clever. Great female character!

Kang Ha Neul - I am so in love with him! He is so good-looking but a great actor as well. I didn't like his character at first, but then Jang Baek Ki grew on me. He needs to get a proper main role! P.S. I was a bit disappointed that there was no love line between Jang Baek Ki and Ahn Young Yi, they were so cute together.

Byun Yo Han - first time seeing him and I must say, what an actor! I loved his character of Han Suk Yool, he was so cheerful and full of life and then at one point when he was so devastated by work, I was so sad, I wanted him to return to his old-self as soon as possible. This actor has definitely a bright future ahead. P.S. I loved the moments of those four (Im Shi Wan, Kang Sora, Kang Haneul and Byun Yo Han) together, I couldn't help but smile all the time. They had a great chemistry together.

Kim Dae Myung - I also has to mention him. His Kim Dong Shik was so nice and his acting was so believable.

MUSIC
Music was not outstanding nor special but it fitted with the drama very well.

I seriously must congratulate the actors, director and scriptwriters. They did an amazing job! Misaeng is now on my list of the best dramas I've seen so far! And after re-watching, it might become one of my favourite dramas!

Leia Mais

I kinda feel like an alien because of my poor rating. I've read so many reviews and they were all perfect 10's.
The acting and the whole vibe from this drama was outstanding and powerful. I loved the tragedy aspect so much,nowadays you can't really find stories like this one, it had the kind of angst that can linger on the viewers heart for a long time but...after watching the first half,my excitment for this show slowly went down. Some things were dragged out constantly and their moral choices made me lose interest. I wish i had enjoyed the story more without the main female lead annoying me and without rolling my eyes everytime the brother and his girlfriend spoke.

The ending was brilliant but again,i wish it didn't end so abruptly,perhaps it could've been more extended.

Overall,this drama has a lot of potential but it just wasn't what i wanted. Watch this for yourself,this was my honest opinion and it might be just mine.
Also,everyone of us is a Moo Young in our own world trying to figure out this life.

Leia Mais

This is NOT my Orv

Every single thing I heard about this movie made me hate it more and more even before it released. What do you mean THE Kim Dokja wants to save the world? What do you mean he hates twsa? What do you mean Yoo Jonghyuk is a side character in twsa? What do you mean Heewon is the main character of twsa? And much more questions. All of this was different in the novel and the thing that pisses me of the most is how they made Sangah a healer? Wtf? That's just plain misogyny and the worst part is the novel already has a female healer that they didn't put in the movie so this was just so unnecessary. Sangah's whole character is built around her defiance against misogyny. She's one of the strongest incarnations in Seoul with a kill count that can't be numbered but of course nothing of that matters and she got reduced to a female savior for the main character😐

Leia Mais

I tried to watch it thrice last year but gave up each time due to bad picture quality. Finally found a decent print on YouTube and I swear I was glued! :) Everything about this drama was perfect - A beautiful story of love and fate. And the fact that it was hilarious - icing to the cake. Hehe. Xin Yi kept getting more and more pretty with each episode. I really liked her character and the transformations she went through throughout the drama.

Cun Xi was pretty annoying in the beginning. I mean, obviously his heart was at the right place more or less. But when he asked her to leave after giving birth I wanted to slap him! I mean, how can a mother (especially someone as gentle as Xin Yi) give up her baby without dying a little each second? I liked his character more after ep 12. As for Dylan, I really really really liked him in the beginning. But after they left for Shanghai (ep 12?) - Bleh. He just got annoying. EPISODE 12 T-T It was so sad! I dare you to watch it without crying! Seriously! EPISODE 12. The reason I still can't get myself to like Anna. I'm sorry.Generally I do believe in giving second chances to evil characters ( I DO I DO XD). But what she did pissed me too much. So even if the whole world is ready to accept her reasons for what she did (including Cun Xi and Xin Yi)- I CANNOT.

So, basically, Xin Yi and Cun Xi end up sleeping together because she thinks he's her cheating boyfriend and he thinks she's Anna. Now I know it sounds kinda ridiculous but he's so horny (long story) and she's so dizzy and it's dark. So yeah...after they're done he's like "Gu Chi?" and she's like, "Who's Anna?" and then lights on and TA-DA! BAHAHAHAHA XD XD

On top of everything she becomes pregnant with his child while he's still in love with Anna who (in short) is a selfish Beeaach. They decide to keep the baby and not get it aborted while the supercool grandma somehow manages to get them married. And then Cun Xi drops the bomband tells her to leave after giving birth and that Anna could be the mom to the child -.- But they keep getting closer and closer and now Cun Xi becomes conflicted about his feelings. Then comes ep 12. Honestly, I never expected the story to turn out this way. It really surpassed my expectations. Really nice story.

Leia Mais

After having watched the Japanese version and loved it so much that I sought out the Korean version - this was the third adaptation of the Hana Yori Dango manga for me.

The most addictive qualities of this series are very much present in this version as well. The things that Dao Ming Si say, and his endless longing glances at Shan Cai, are enough to make anyone weak at the knees.

However, at the same time it's his love for her that give birth to a couple of truly disturbing scenes.
Violence and possessiveness is a part of Si's nature in a shocking way. This wasn't there in the Korean or Japanese versions. It made Meteor Garden hard to watch.

Hadn't it been for those scenes I would have had no qualms giving the drama a 9 or 10. Simply for how kick-ass Shan Cai is and the way Si makes my knees wobble.

As I see it, HYD is a mash-up of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and her other books. The arrogant Dao Ming Si and the introverted Hua Ze Lei represent the dual aspects of Mr Darcy's personality. Si's domineering mother is Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Don't let the fact that this is from 2001 scare you off. It's a timeless story. Even crazy hair, bad outfits and old cell phones can't distract you from the heart at its core.
(Plus, he loses the headband and pineapple-hairdo a couple of episodes in. :) )

My advice is:
Watch! But be prepared for a flawed hero that wouldn't work outside of the realm of pure fantasy.

The pluses:
+ Shan Cai's reactions feel more convincing than in any other version of the series, and are full of girl-power
+ The way that the character are explained and the story plays out makes more sense than in any other version
+ The music is less imposing and annoying than in the J&K-versions

The minuses:
- Si's violent and possessive tendencies are on occasion creepy and downright shocking
- The sound and other production values leave something to be desired

Leia Mais

✿ which version is better ✿

"The thai version is better" , these words is coming from person considered the Korean version one of her favorite .
why ?
the difference between them is great. If it was not the same basic idea, I would have thought that two of them are two different dramas . The acting is clearly much weaker than the Korean version, but I felt the FL/support actors acting was getting better as the episodes passed .. The ghost stories are more realistic they are somewhat better than the Korean version even the villain ghosts have sad stories which broke my heart (warning the ghosts here is more scarier) , plans of the villain was different and I did not expect what is his next step would be .
chemistry between ML and FL was perfect they both looked like 2 high school lovers *cuteeeee*
What annoyed me in this version :
FL and her red dress I was so happy when she changed it xD , ML gives Weird looks and smiles ( he was trying to be sexy i think lol) , there was some silly scenes i couldn't take, also villain is supposed to be a nice person in the beginning, but from the first start he was suspicious and weird however in general I do not regret watching this drama. I have been suffering for some time from not being able to complete any lakorn finally i did it....
Won't forget uncle's quote
"No one can escape their karma"

Leia Mais

Heartwarming, and beautiful

** I didn't read the manhwa so this is fully on my perspective as a viewer of the drama.

PLOTS

First, of course the story. This web drama is basically a light mini-series thus the plots of this drama is not that complicated, basically easy to understand, easy to follow the flow. It started with some fresh beginning, everything going on smoothly but somehow there's a little glitch towards the end. I don’t want to spoil it to new viewers but all I could say is that the writer decides to compress everything there, thus making it seems a little rush but thankfully it's going well towards the end. I believe this story is not completed yet because there’s a lot of things that’re not happening yet, but if they do want it left cliff-hanging just like this, I think it’s fine. The main couple already got their happy ending, and we can’t imagine how bad some characters would be later in another season (if it’s based on the manhwa.)

SETTINGS

It's basically a typical high school kind-of story so for sure they focused on them being highshoolers//teenagers. Having to deal with academic, talent, bully, and free-spirit things are one of the things focused on here. Above all that, this series values friendship and love the most, how important to have someone who will be there when you're in need. Someone to understand and help you when you’re needing them. This value is the most beautiful thing happen in this story.

CHARACTERS

The main leads; Gong Ju-young, played by Park Jihoon. His character really is a cute and fresh one, literally a high-spirit teen which is so blinded by love towards the female lead, Wang Ja-rim. Some of his scenes are weird, childish and unpredictable yet making sense to the drama itself, a romance-comedy drama and somehow portray our real life when we were at their ages. Park Jihoon's character is also this lively and fresh, justifying him playing the role of Ju-young, and he really did great in in his character. For the female lead, Wang Ja-rim played by Lee Ruby. At first, I find it a little uncomfortable to see her playing the role because she seems a little awkward. I don't know if that really is her character in manhwa so please forgive me if it is. Ja rim's character is actually fun to look at, because we don't know what would she do when she's with Ju-young. She can be very tough, scary but at the same time, she's also can be cute and kind to others around her.

Move on to the 2nd lead; Lee Kyungwoo, played by Kim Younghoon. To be honest, as his first acting role he played his character really well despite being 180⁰ different in real life. I heard that he attended an acting academy before being an idol so I guess that’s explained well. His character is a big one, he played a role as the best friend, the mature and and the problematic one to the story. The problem of him being the 2nd lead is that his chemistry with Ja-rim is not that strong since they didn't have many scenes being just two, plus the writer kind of hurry things up. Above all that, honestly, he played Kyungwoo’s character flawlessly so I’d really hope there’ll be more acting opportunities for him in the future.

As for Minji, Jung Daeun played her character really well, being the sad girl in the story, holding everything in her heart; really does portray a teen who has a crush on someone, but couldn’t express herself. Apart from all that, we have characters that making we smile through the story which is Ah-ram (WJSN Dayoung), Byunghoon (Ko Chanbin), Kyungmin (Ahn Dokyu) and Seunghee (Hong Jinhee). They has made us full of laughter throughout the whole series and I’m so thankful for that.

That’s all my review for this cute web drama. Whoever thought about watching this, go on. You’ll never regret it. ^^

Leia Mais

Don't even start this piece of shit.

I haven't seen anything worse than this drama. I literally thought in the first 5 ep that the main lead is someone who is obssessed with having sex with her. It literally seems like some sort of abusive relationship.
Their chemistry sucks plus when I google the story of this drama there is a line that she will learn about his "DARK PAST" but but there isn't anything about his past in the whole drama and don't even get me started on the female lead I mean anyone can kiss her or harass her and she is like ss...sorry I mean wtf ? even a 7 year old child can be better or bold enough to say STOP and her boyfrnd is like I'm here now and booom that thing ends there. Like what the fuck.
and there isn't any explanation on why people keep harassing here, what is wrong with the guy's work is he even a normal person or someone who is just obssessd with her.
I'm so frustated that I can't even describe.

Leia Mais

OVERRATED, needed 6eps only

don't get me wrong, I love the main cast and I loved them as characters but as a plot it offered nothing new. it was just a mix of every other dramas;
the bullying happens in every school genre, the evil corrupt politician happens in every law/crime genre and the main evil spirit was like every other psychopath, like strong woman dobong soon.

the only things I enjoyed were the hugs, the unexpected familyness and the 1st big fight when the evil spirits collabed which created a good amount of angst.
afterwards it was just another repeated mess of cliches. they kept trying to kill of Mae Ok becasue she was the "weakest" link.
the bullying honestly felt like a fight club, there's no way anyone could not see what was going on. with that severity of bullying every kid would've been dead or crippled..

Wi Gen "betraying" them the 1st time made no sense. she didn't talk about it and she wasn't against them but it was just used for cheap struggle.
the bully just looked like a 30 year old hurting kids and well the actor is 30 so that was a big mismatch ;/ and the whole wrap up of that part is a horrible lesson to teach kids. "take bullying, don't fight back, love and forgive the bully until they redeem themselves" ;/


the pace was slow, the evil people got too much screen time and they didn't achieve their full potential, I don't know if the writer change happened in this season, but they need a better writer.
though nothing will make me watch s2 ;(

Leia Mais