Reviews

One of the BEST finale it has, what an episode!

TRIGGER WARNING: This drama is a dystopia. Dystopia means 'an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice (bad/unfair), typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic'.There are many disturbing events which will piss you off, so stay calm. Also, few things might feel illogical as well but you gotta understand that, this is what happens in a dystopian world.

The Devil Judge absolutely keeps you thrilled through out the entire drama and I am not lying. The thing that contributed to this feeling, is undoubtedly the kind of drak and intense sound and cinematography obviously, apart from the super thrilling storyline plus plot&twists; truly notable. There are flaws which could have been avoided storywise leaving them behind but I guess they wanted to adjust it to 16 episodes. Also, the writer showed lack of steady writing capabilities at many points. Nevertheless, the story and screenplay is intriguing to be enthralled throughout.

STORY & PLOT:
The Devil Judge is set up in an imaginary dystopian world even though the scenario remains in the present-day Seoul and it's neighborhoods. The society is full of chaos, where injustice takes place in a blink and the powerful causes disaster openly without any fear of being brought down by the people. This drama for it's title was expected to be a legal thriller with plenty of courtroom scenes and law stuffs but it turned out to be a socio-political thriller between the powerful who prey over the common people.

Talking about the story, it's primarily about a live court show, initiated for fairer and transparent justice system that turns into a revenge plan where every powerful being with wealth and influence try to bring down each other by any means. Kang Yohan, the presiding judge of the show plans to destroy the authoritarian system of the nation alongside his personal purposes which were secrets only know to him. Kim Ga On, a young associate judge who believes in constitutional values joins hands with him and later gets involved as he finds out about the injustice done to his family in the past. Kim Sun Ah, a poor maid who ascends the stair to success by coercing the rich and influential all her life, controls the nation with her strings, by direct and indirect means. Sun Ah tries to destroy Yo Han as well as climb upto the the utmost peak of the system. Sun Ah and Yo Han, with their shared past story, seek revenge over each other and at the same time harm people by their sides.

The Devil Judge as a story is very good and intriguing plot which gives the vibe of perfect thriller development. The way the story used it's plot devices at right places, is an amazing sight to witness. The connections between past and present, their revelations and the way of their portrayal had me bewitched in just 2 episodes. By the time, the real game started I was bawling my eyes out and had goosebumps all over my body. The plot development is quite nice which is a steady ascending plot with no fall backs. However, there are a handful number of plotholes as well which could have been easily avoided. Also, the progression felt off many times when I thought they'd fall through the story but fortunately they picked the pace back to rise forward constantly.

Given there are plenty of characters, I think few minor characters like like Judge Oh, Justice Min Ho Jung (Supreme Court), Seo Jung Hak (SRF Chairman) could have been written better. It felt like they were in the drama for mere show-off and to fill in the little gaps of the story. The drama is obviously dominated by Ji Sung and Jin Young to a great extent. I mean, yeah, I love them so much both as actors and as men but no, this is a drama and every character other than the leads should be fairly portrayed.

Overally, I am highly pleased with the story and plot development but I am also a lil sad for the lacking fields they left for the audience to be noticed and pointed out.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS:.
I don't really do character analysis for all the dramas but I feel this drama has a major drawback in drawing characters and developing the arcs. So let me.

The most major character Kang Yo Han played by Ji Sung is a high-class, good-looking, popular reputed Judge in the Supreme Court who is known for his strict punishing and merciless verdicts for the guilty. He is a mysterious being with doubtful yet tragic past stories and knows to manipulate and influence others. The daytime's judge turn into a devil executioner, violating the law himself to teach the evils a lesson. Upon his recommendation the South Korean Govt. forms a "Live Court" with the help of a public welfare forum namely "Social Responsibility Foundation". This is set to create histories and records as the first ever court to be aired live and with public itself as the judge who'd vote whether someone's is guilty or not.

With him joins Kim Ga On (Park Jin Young) and another Oh Jin Joo (Kim Jae Kyung) as associate judges. JinJoo is a sidekick character while Ga On is the 2nd most important person in the story who joins hands with Yohan to seek justice by illegal means despite his urge to obtain truth through constitutional values. Gaon played a great role in bringing Yohan and his niece Elijah close by acting as a bridge between them. The way he helped them gaining their confidence back and in blooming emotions in their cold-hard hearts, was a warm thing to watch. His character could have been a lot better, ngl. With no definite character development, his side story was portrayed as a factor that contributed to him joining the cause. To be honest, GaOn's character is a failed attempt. We saw intense bromance between GaOn and Yohan in initial episodes so I expected a greater chemistry by the end of the drama but I am disappointed to say that it fell through. He can be easily manipulated and swayed and towards the end he betrays Yohan and make him a scammer (WTF). He runs to Yohan when he needs help but get all energized when something goes wrong and even runs away whenever things get tough. This happened more than once. The drama could have been okay without his character I think.

Only thing about him that I loved is his chemistry with the female lead. The female lead against Ga On, Yoon Soo Hyun (Park Gyu Young) was a fierce lieutenant in Regional Investigation Unit (RIU) who craves for setting an ideal law and order situation and never stands offence & injustice. GaOn and SooHyun are childhood friends who are the closest to each other till date, accompanying each other in their evens & odds and in fact are more or less in love with each other even though they never talked about relationships. Their love story was heart touching as well as beautiful enough to heal a dying heart. But again, their romance was a waste. Soo Hyun's character with lots of potential wasn't used well. There was not a single thing about her except for that she's a long-term best friend of Ga On and have been rejected by him several times.

The lead antagonist here is Kim Jung Min who plays Jung Sun Ah, an evil woman with high ambitions like absorbing power from others and gaining control over the entire world. She knows the art of coercing, especially the powerful, wealthy and influential mass by her trickery. As a kid who didn't get proper care as a child, she starts working as a maid in rich families and due to her greed as well as sly nature manipulates them to get her things done. With her past inclinations and lingering feelings for Yohan, she seeks revenge from him and operates the country's system to achieve her goals. Her character is beautifully written and she justified it with all she could give.

Judge Oh (the other associate judge) is a gorgeous sweet lady who believes in idealism and thrives to create a just world. She gets manipulated by power and wealth at first upon being ignored by her mates but chooses to take the right side later. She had no essence in the story; she is one of the 2 associate judges after all and she was confident enough to go to good lengths but the writer did a poor job in her regard.

Kang Elijah, Yohan's young niece who is a victim of a fatal incident in her yearly child, lost her ability to walk and ends up in wheelchair. Her relationship with her only family, i.e. Yohan is bitter as they never try having the minimal conversation. She easily believes people who are kind to her. But she actually opens up to Gaon and later becomes close to his uncle, Yohan.

Apart from these main characters, there are plenty of side, supporting, minor as well as guest characters and most of them are casted with familiar faces.

ACTING & DIRECTION:
As we can see, the drama is a multi-starrer having GREAT actors like Ji Sung and Kim Min Jung as leads. Park Jin Young being an idol turned actor is very very good in acting. Ji Sung is definitely someone charismatic who knows the art of bewitching the audience every time he comes forward to do a role. Kim Min Jung, oh my goodness, she is rather an artist who pursues art. She's been acting for almost 3 decades and I want her to become a global star. Park Gyu Young is a nice actress and she totally justified her role in here even though the screentime she got wass less. Supporting actors also did a good job despite less screentime.

Direction is good I would say. They did a good job managing the screenplay. The organization of scenes, intertwining, connecting, linking, revealing twists, etc were done well. Notable job in case of cinematography and CGI works plus the sound editing, oof. Cinematography is the best thing about this drama, which is tremendously a top notch. The sound editing that made the drama pretty intense and kept me going, I am very pleased by that. However, given that many characters were poorly written, the director didn't have much to do. So even with such good direction, the drama anyhow felt lacking.

OST:
OSTs are actually very good which also helped in making the drama more thrilling. However, there are only 4 OSTs accompanied by a number of thrilling background scores and themes and I like them "Tempest" by Huckleberry Finn is a heart-wrenching track whereas "Nightmare" by Sonidia felt tragic and sad. "What You Gonna Do" by Zeenan is both hardcore song depicting vital points of life. "The Nights" by Huckleberry Finn is a dark one which helps you seeing thing in a B&W shade. I liked their instrumentals as well.

THE ENDING:
The finale week and it's 2 episodes (15th and 16th) changed a lots of things. On one side, I was pissed bcs of GaOn's stupid actions without trying to understand the situations and on the other hand I was flabbergasted at how the tables had turned. The 2 greatest twist revelations at the end of ep2 were very intriguing I am sure most of us were awe-struck seeing those. Even when I knew I were to for 24 hours to watch the finale episode I couldn't wait thinking what's gonna happen. I cursed on Ga On and the writer but I admit my anxiety was on peak. But anyways, I was thrilled watching the finale and happy that it ended well though few things bugged me and felt unreasonable. I must say The Devil Judge finale episode is ONE OF THE BEST FINALE. It was so good and when I saw new twists that was gonna change the story to a great extent, I had goosebumps over my body. I am gonna forgive the writer a lil for gaOn's poor character just because how that character changed a lot in the finale. The way things ended is also very good and reasonable, I am honestly happy T T. The very last thing, that one thing i know made all of hs happpy. Ain't gonna spoil anything so watch for yourself. I can't forgive the writer for poor writing at many cases but it sure was a good watch.

CONCLUSION: Honestly, I loved the overall story and plot development. Ji Sung's character as Yohan is well suited and probably he's the one who kept up with the viewers. Kim Min Jung was another reason you should be watching this drama. But apart from these 2, other characters could have been a lot better. I am happy with the drama yet disappointed with the characters. I feel this is an unpopular opinion since many people love this drama to great extent but I am making sure my reviews aren't biased. I couldn't drop the drama bcs I liked the story and I was constantly enthralled by the screenplay however I expected much more than that. And tbh, at first I expected a courtroom drama just like others but found out it's not. Even so I am okay with whatever it is.

This drama could easily be a 9.0 but due to the writer's lack of sense, I will stand still at 8.5. Also, brownie points for the chemistry between Jin Young and Ji Sung that almost felt like a BL story with a daddy-baby relationship (cries under the blanket). Anyways, this drama is worth the one time watch, provided you have to bear with the side characters. That's all.

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Stop glorifying problematic behaviour as love

The male lead is problematic. Everything about him is red flags. He is not cute, loving, devoted or whatever...

This show was popping up all over my feed and i got lured in by all my friends going ga ga about it. The production is gorgeous. The music is wonderful. Acting ranges from good to average.

But God the male lead is an ass. The first kiss is just urghhh... He grabs her by the jaw and literally smashes his lips with hers. What does not help is that the girl is tiny so it looks like he is almost assaulting her.

The first time they sleep together he bribes the hotel owner to say that there is only one room. In 2020 when we are speaking about consent more than ever, this does not come off as cute or naughty bit creepy.

He is possessive to the extent that he dictates how long the girl can meet her childhood friend, she can't touch him, can't laugh, maintain x amount of distance... Like wtf!... And then proceeds to sit at another table in the restaurant and watch over her. Towards the last episode the friend asks her to lunch for celebrating or something (don't remember) and she flatly refuses and says that her boyfriend will not like it.

This show sends out such a wrong message to young girls. I'm reading YouTube comments and young girls are going on about how will they ever find a boyfriend like him. I hope that they don't. This is not love. This is not an equal relationship. This is not cute.

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Try not to fall asleep

Updated with final thoughts.

What started as a unique concept became tiresome at times. Sometimes shows drag a few episodes but I've become tired at how slow this show has been moving. I've been watching it at 1.25x or 1.5x speed because the show is about to complete and it's dragging. It feels like there wasn't much of a story to begin with so what could have been completed in 10 episodes was stretched out to 16.

The earlier episodes of the show were enjoyable but you slowly start to get fed up and just wish the characters would tell each other what's going on. By the 14th episode, you are just waiting for things to be done already because you've lost hope in anything redeemable in the plot.

As far as acting goes, the male lead has only been able to express concern and sadness and the rest of the time he is straight-faced whereas the actress had to play a clueless bunny who weeps frequently. Not the actors fault for having to portray such characters.

Spoiler:
If they had established that the sister was dead and they just needed to find out what happened to her, I would feel less frustrated with this story. And the chef has not been able to open up his restaurant until the 15th episode which just adds to the madness. I had hoped that the ending might be able to redeem itself but alas, it continued to drag. One final question remains. Why? What was the motive? It is never explained. It seems like no one was interested in finding out if there were more possible victims. Everything else just seems like an attempt at rescuing this show but there's not much they could do at this point.

High expectations. Low return.

I am going to leave the final score at 6 but honestly I would not recommend nor rewatch this show.

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The most disgusting and despicable main lead in the history of BL...

This is hard to rate and I'm sure I will not find the right words (even in my native language).

What begins as cat and mouse game between the leads spirals out of control quite fast and is very hard to watch. It's hard because "the president" is really an awful human being for several reasons, but he does care for his love in a very twisted way also. His trauma to be left alone made him do unspeakable things in the name of love, so that his partner can't ever escape him.

But as also as in real life, most lies will come out and crash down on "the president". When he nearly lost everything including his love "the director" he aknowledges his faults, his errors and tries to redeem himself. Mr. director has his own baggage, an orphan who was taken in, an orphan who made himself as small as possible to not stand out because his early life served as lesson to survive. But his outward very calm demure is just a fassade and it breaks due to the actions of "the president".

In the end, they can't escape each other regardless of all the pain they endured, regardless of all the hurting things they did to each other.

Production quality is top notch, only the lip syncing could have been better, but besides that, there is nothing to complain about it. Both actors did an incredible job with such heavy roles. I can't recommand this series to anyone with mental heath issues at all, it's taxing to watch. They made it feel so real that it really hurts. This series is not fluffy to begin with and it's outside of the "norm" of most other BLs. It's not really toxic in the normal way, it's not cringe, it just feels awful most of the time. I would have liked if the finale episode would be 10 minutes or so longer to have some real nice moments, but we need to wait for the special episode. Overall a series which breaks the "law" of normal BL series, but still with a happy end.

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romance at its core

Overall: I gave this a 9 because even with plot holes/nonsense stuff the romance remained strong throughout and I enjoyed the series. 12 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala in: US, UK, Germany, Australia https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4709/kidnap-2024-e01 ; Netflix Asia http://www.netflix.com/us/title/81927 ; YouTube in some countries https://youtu.be/KhSyfKC06J4

Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, blackmail, violence, kidnapping, mental health struggles/trauma, past death, blood

What I Liked
- an engaging intro that for once wasn't a flashback or a flash forward
- clear and unique premise
- subverted meet cute
- tension
- supportive sibling/sibling relationship
- sweet/caring moments
- characters were aware of their own and other characters' feelings
- ongoing physical intimacy
- a character went to therapy and their partner was extremely supportive
- that the villain had consequences (though I would have preferred it had happened differently)

Room For Improvement
- the beginning scene needed a little more light
- why did the guitar have to make an appearance in episode 1
- a ton of nonsense stuff (ie had all the lights on when going to sleep, being in the rain led to colds, doing villainy in broad daylight, talking about illegal plans in a public place, a character didn't run away with another character in the past, and a lot more)
- "comedy" sound effects like the quack noise didn't make things funny
- the trailer made it seem more of an action series when it's mostly a romcom

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Just enjoy it!!!

Seriously, I haven't genuinely belly-laughed at a KDrama in ages, but this one has me cackling.

Why can't we just accept that not every KDrama needs to be a masterpiece with some earth-shattering plot? Some can just be simple, pure entertainment for the moment – light, a little cliché, and totally fun with zero strings attached.

This show tells a hilarious story about a high school BL web novel writer whose stories weren't exactly setting the world on fire. Then, BAM! Four super hot teachers transfer to her school. She decides to use them as her muses, whips up a BL novel about them, and boom it blows up, giving her the big break she'd only dreamed of. Of course, this leads to a whole bunch of wild events, but I won't spill all the tea to avoid spoilers!

This show is a fun, simple watch that's easy to follow. It's not a BL itself, to clarify but it shows glimpses into the writers novel bringing her fictional stories to life on screen. It has a lighthearted, old-school comedy vibe, reminiscent of sitcoms but without the laugh track it's just you laughing out loud.

The show features a fun and interesting female lead. While her bob haircut might initially seem like a turn-off, it actually adds to her overall quirkiness, which feels intentional and works well.

You'll find plenty of high school drama, relatable friendships, and engaging teacher student interactions.

It ended beautifully and no there wasn't romance between the teacher and student.

In short, this show is definitely worth watching. It's a refreshing reminder of the fun, simple shows we've been missing.

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"The poor lacks much, but the greedy lacks more."

It's true that humanity survives on greed and as they state, there is no greater calamity than greed. A man's greed is like a snake that wants to swallow an elephant. From the synopsis, this drama might look like a survival game to you, but it's much more than that. Somehow, despite it's message the drama is just mediocre. Watch it with a major TRIGGER WARNING, if you are sensitive to gore and dark elements.

Squid game (Ojingeo) is an age old Korean game meant for kids where you have to play within marked boundaries with certain designated titles. You have to secure your title by hoping on one leg first and if you reach a certian point, you become the "Royal Inspector" who can use it's both legs. Now you have to just defense the opponent by any means and reach the peak to win. The drama uses this game as the main objective through a flashback in the beginning which is also the destination of the story journeying through sets of several games.

Ki Hoon (Lee Jung Jae), an unemployed and divorced man in his 40s lives with his mother working as a chauffeur and huge sum of money oweing to loansharks. Sang Woo (Park Hae Soo), is an SNU graduate who lost his money through invested stocks, eventually turning into a conman. Both of them are childhood friends who loved playing squid game with others kids. Both of them come across some kind of agents who trick them into a game where they can win a huge sum of money. Not knowing what exactly the game is, both of them choose to give it a try and land up in an unsual environment with 454 others among whom Ki Hoon is the last, i.e. 456.

Lee Jung Jae and Park Hae Soo are master actors in the industry which everyone is aware of. Other than them there are plenty of familiar faces as well; Jung Ho Yun, Wi Ha Joon, Heo Sung Tae, Kim Joo Ryung, Oh Young Soo are those prominent actors. There is an Indian actor Anupam Tripathi in the main character too.

Other than that there are 2 very big shots in the drama with 2-3 scenes so we can call that guest roles but trust me, they are 2 of the key characters in here. You won't find them in the cast list, just to be surprised watching the drama. So go ahead, haha.

The games are quite intriguing if you have not watched likes of it (Liar Games, Alice on the Borderland, etc). I wonder why the screenwriter cum director Hwang Dong Hyuk took 10 years to complete this story. I mean this drama is nothing sort of very wow or anything. Judging from all the aspects, it's just mediocre. The drama fails to provide proper side stories for the main roles in order to back their characters well.

Cinematography, which is very important for dark thrillers like this, was pretty beguile, hence keeping the viewer attached. The sound ending was apt for the mood and very suitable to the scenarios. The story progression is okay but becomes out of order or inconsistent at many points, especially the last 3 episodes. Some scenes were very firm and eye-catching but still......

I think all the hype about this drama lies on the fact that people here die like mere insects and as we know violence and bloodlust are what people love the most, lol. The twists are pretty predictable, particularly when you're an avid Kdrama fan, it's pretty much easier to guess the major plots of it.


The finale is very lousy. The games end in the beginning of the episode and becomes slow. The lame setup towards the ending, indicating for an another season, annoyed the shit outta me. The writer-director did a very poor job in that regard as well.

Soooo....overally, SQUID GAME is an average one time watch. The ending is not exactly an open one, like we can just assume on our own but in another way you might expect one in case the production hints at it. Otherwise, there is no particular and firm necessity of another season. Sure there are few questions that they left unanswered but I can't be certain about another season.

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A Young Actor Gave Men with Combat & POW PTSD a Real Voice!

All hail Chen Zhe Yuan as Li Zan! This has been one of my most anticipated dramas since it was filming. I knew it was going to be heavy and deep given the subject matter of PTSD and survivor's guilt. Though the writing was off here and there, his and everyone else's acting more than made up for that. Be cautious however when watching for anyone with PTSD, anxiety, depression or anything else in that sector as you may have your triggers activated.

Pros: I'm in awe of CZY as LZ; this performance deserves an award, recognition of some sort. I have never seen an actor and a young one to boot with zero experience with PTSD and survivor's guilt play one so convincingly that it would send shivers through me. I'm a person who suffers from PTSD among other things though not from combat and it's not something one can just do like acting being angry or sad. PTSD is a complex disorder that has everything from flashbacks to intrusive thoughts to light sensitivity and being unable to eat or sleep without nightmares of the trauma. There are many others but I won't list them here as we saw them on screen being portrayed so realistically by this young man. He gave men with combat and POW (Prisoner of War) PTSD a real voice! Couple that with survivors guilt and by the end of the show a once proud, smiling man was reduced to having basically the mindset for the most part of a small child. And CZY was able to do it all; first time PTSD and survivor's guilt that had just started to get slightly better only to be thrust into a gut churning nightmare from which only by disappearing from everything and everyone to live a quiet life in the countryside, could they be as happy as this new existence afforded them a way from anything that would trigger him.

SR played by Liang Jie was also phenomenally done (the entire cast, let's just give it up to them, awesome acting), though writers diagnosed her with depression right away, she too had PTSD after the first trauma. Later it warped into depression but she played her part right. She was shy but very strong when it came to things and people she believed in. Especially her love at first sight with LZ. She was determined to stand by him until the very end and live out the rest of her life quietly.

The chemistry between the two was on point and probably would have been stronger had they told each other the truth about their health issues earlier; no relationship can be solid when there are secrets swirling around especially health related ones. They were all imperfect, flawed characters, which made things even more realistic. But their love transcended everything else which made it iron strong.

I'll talk about my thoughts on the ending and other things here. As most people know, I never read the source material so I don't really care unless it's an HE that was flipped to an SE for no reason. We've seen that happen too much recently. Here it was obvious that they got traditionally married and then on their wedding night decided to elope just as they spoke about a few times within the series because as their voiceovers spoke to each other about what they wanted to do in their next life and she said to live somewhere peacefully, safely, quietly and he said "why can't we do that in this life?" And that is what they did. She left a note to her mom and his dad to not worry about them and to give the manuscript to the publishers. She didn't want them to be a burden to anyone especially their parents. The sparkly montage at the end is more of perhaps his father's dream of them being healthy watching the trees because there was a wooden carving of them two on the hood of the car which was by his dad's house too. Furthermore, after the credits rolled, the two of them were standing by the olive trees, no longer sparkling but corporeal. And as they closed out characters, JY got another postcard from LZ saying he was on a mission and the postcard was voiced over by LZ. So to me it was a bittersweet/happy ending because of who they lost and if they had not delayed their leaving eastern country by a mere two days to be there for the opening of the orphanage, they wouldn't have been kidnapped and his life changed forever. Ben would still be alive as well. 48 hours changed everything. Just to bring things back into perspective, how precious life is. The story never dragged unless it was the merry-go-round of lying to each other regarding everything being just fine when it wasn't. It was a rollercoaster of emotions that literally had you hanging on for dear life.

The supporting cast was awesome as well so though I won't go into them all, I will mention the ones that were important. JL was such a great brother and WZC played him very well. We lost him far too soon. SB originally was the spoiled little rich girl who wanted LZ but she grew up quick after the deaths and explosion that claimed JL's life and sent LZ on his first PTSD spiral. I wonder if she blamed herself on getting SR and LZ to stay those two days for the opening when they were supposed to leave while she herself left. She could have sent them a picture. But you definitely knew whose side she was on by the mid point which was a good thing.

Ben and Sa Xin were your typical enemies to brothers story; they had a lot of screen time but as both were ultimately soldiers, they had to build that relationship as many veterans always say "you have to be able to trust the person in the foxhole next to you with your life." And you can't do that when you're barely speaking to each other. As Ben said to LZ in their last normal moments together, "You, Song, and Sa Xin are my family"; coming from an orphan that meant a lot. Both he and Sa Xin made a strong connection around LZ and SR as did JL while still alive. Brothers and sister in combat regardless of the role. They were the perfect addition to showcase the leads. Dr. Pei should have been given more time with Ben and in general. Mr. L as I called him was the best sounding board for LZ with the first trauma. I was very glad that when LZ bottled everything up, he at least had this one friend he opened up to. Lastly, mom of SR and dad of LZ were wonderful. Mom was a bit problematic at first but she evolved. Especially when she challenged SR on why she didn't ask LZ what was going on and by than even SR knew her ridiculous excuse of "I didn't want to pressure him" was just that, a ridiculous excuse. But both parents were 100% supportive of their kids especially at the end when things were so dire.

Give it up for the crew who essentially built an entire "country" on a plot of land. The set was beautiful and intricate and I believe it is still standing there as a tourist attraction. The OSTs were all beautiful though "Ignite Me On Fire" was my favorite as it was the rock anthem of hope the story needed.

Cons: Every issue I had was with the writing and directing of this series; if you're doing a series on PTSD or any illness for that matter make sure your actors playing doctors know what they are talking about. SR had PTSD to start and it warped into MDD or Major Depressive Disorder later. Her immediate diagnosis of depression was incorrect. Furthermore, what doctor in their right mind would give a clean bill of health to someone with PTSD though stable to go back to the place he received that trauma in the first place? That's a malpractice lawsuit right there plus absolute negligence. After a combat mission goes wrong and a soldier or a volunteer is diagnosed with PTSD plus survivor's guilt, they are discharged honorably and returned to inactive duty so they can resume a stable normal life. Stability is meant for a normal life not to return to hell and have something even worse happen. They may require inpatient care at first but once they stabilize, their family needs to be extra vigilant and they themselves need to be given hope, something meaningful to do to help others perhaps in other ways. Plus regular outpatient therapy and medication. That's how most combat PTSD patients live out their lives. At least the doctor admitted her mistake though not before saying that he should be confined to a prehistoric mental hospital. We're in the 21st century with a lot of treatments for this condition at our disposal and even though she was correct that LZ could pose a danger to himself or others, there were ways to treat that so throwing your hands into the air and just locking him up isn't the answer. Maybe in the early 20th century people did that but not now unless the person really did pose a threat. And even then it was to a temporary inpatient hospital for stabilization. Very outdated thinking and poor research on the part of production.

At the end of the series when LZ has an attack at the hospital, where were the doctors and nurses? They were encircled by bystanders as SR kept crying and pleading. Where was security? It looked like a shopping mall with people coming and gawking instead of doctors running to assist; so weird that it didn't seem like a proper hospital setting or how one was operated.

It was very hard to read the subtitles when you had the OSTs going, people speaking, plus voice overs by the characters. You didn't know what to read first. So a lot of pausing and rewinding had to be done. Wish this was all separated. The hiding the truth about their own health issues I think took way too much time. That was the only thing that was dragged for what seemed like forever. Even though to his credit he did try to tell her several times but she always inadvertently thwarted it and than he'd lose his nerve. But I wish it was out in the open sooner as opposed to right before they had the most traumatic situation. She could have helped him so much, just like she did in that tunnel. So writing was shaky there at best.

Ben, oh Ben my dude! You're not Superman; how do you go charging into a place with many rebels to save LZ without anyone as backup? One man against like 10, come on now. When you had a whole platoon that took those rebels out when they actually saved LZ. Screenwriter & director: if you had to kill him off, you could have done it in a way that was convincing! This made zero sense. For a realistic story, this was very poorly written. And where did the whole Abu revenge plot come from? That he remembered LZ and went after him but could go only as far as getting some kid to stab him and then get knocked out by LZ yet again and we never see him actually die. Meanwhile the other bad guys capture LZ through SR with the whole he can make bombs for us and yet they torture him until he's almost dead. How's he supposed to make bombs for you if he's nearly dead? Again suspension of disbelief engaged. And they had to know the special forces guys would find him eventually. It was all very strange and all over the place. Writing could have been way better and cohesive.

Lastly, the smorgasbord of actors as soldiers, rebels, journalists, nurses, etc could have spent more time practicing their English. I gave up reading the subtitles as those never matched up. We know Eastern Country is fictional but it depicts a lot of what has happened in wars past and present so keeping things cohesive is paramount to an otherwise very realistic story.

Would I recommend it? I absolutely would. Every actor did a great job especially CZY as LZ and it's his best role to date. The White Olive Tree represents hope and that's what we got with the leads living their solitary lives in a place of hope and a better tomorrow. I'm super proud of CZY for this role! He went above and beyond and even though it was hard for me at times to watch it, this is my favorite role of his to date! Again thank you for giving us a voice! Bravo!

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I had expected this to be a successful second season to a beautifully written drama.. Even if not better than the first but at least close to it.. But honestly, it wasn’t.. And I totally understand the low ratings.. I really do.. I am not going to blame the story itself.. If this had been a standalone drama or not a continuation, it would have actually been an excellent one.. But it wasn’t.. After watching 34 eps and waiting 5–6 months, you shouldn’t have to sit through another 12 eps of push and pull between the main leads.. Especially letting someone like Liu Lang who is a complete nobody affect their relationship.. The court politics, the mutiny and everything else were solid, but most of what happened in the first 12 eps felt totally unnecessary.. The foundation for the characters was already built.. What they needed to do was move the story forward.. Instead they were still stuck in the same loop.. Repeating what had already happened in the first season.. Honestly I respect the commitment the writing shows, it knows what it wants.. But I didn’t quite get the fulfillment I was hoping for.. I am only whining because I expected more..

If it were possible to erase someone from the story.. It would be Liu Lang.. Enemies?? Yeah I hate them.. But what about people who stay close to you and backstab you?? He literally got his life back and is living well because of the FL and yet he tried to destroy her relationship out of jealousy?? He was supposed to be like a younger brother to her.. His sister did the same thing and now he followed right in her footsteps.. And the fact that this guy hit the ML and still got let off?? I was honestly disappointed at how easily he was forgiven and also how his stupidity and jealousy were sugarcoated as concern for the FL.. Sure he got his redemption arc but he didnt pay for his mistakes..

Liu Chang was pathetic in the first season but here he completely turned into a character unworthy of any pity.. He did some truly nasty things.. It was actually satisfying when the FL hurt him repeatedly, the stabbing scene especially felt good.. But honestly, he still didn’t suffer enough.. That’s why I wasn’t satisfied with how things ended for him.. He should have suffered more pain..

I actually felt sorry for Princess You Zhen.. The cycle of her life was truly sad.. Hurt by the men around her, including her own father.. I am glad she didn’t die in the end.. It meant she had another chance at life, another opportunity to start over..

Ep 19.. I think they were too hasty in confronting Prince Ning.. I mean he literally crushed their decade old plan in just a few days, it felt way too easy.. And the final confrontation, the war could have been handled much better.. It just goes to show how little attention was given to the parts of the story that didn’t have the FL on screen..

While I wasn’t completely satisfied, this was still a watchable conclusion to an amazing story.. In the first season even though Mu Dan was the anchor, the others mattered too.. But in the second season, it became all about her.. No one else had a satisfying storyline.. Even the ML felt underused and sidelined, just to elevate Mu Dan’s character to glory.. I really wished everyone had a meaningful presence..

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Main character have 2 braincells sometimes more

The main character just frustrates me so much and the rich kids even more. Do people act like this in real life?
The main character does the dumbest things imaginable and then acts like it is because she is poor and not because she literally doesn't think before acting. The best example of this is when she attacks the main antagonist rich girl. The main character left expensive shoes in a public bathroom and then is surprised that somebody stole them. Instead of going to the shopping center security she just attacks Jena because sure the thief would just stay around and wait for someone to find them (sarcasm).
AlsoThere are so many plot holes that don't make any sense. For example, in the last episode (10) girls are fighting on the rooftop and the main character doesn't hear a thing. Excuse me but is she deaf or something? The building is like 10 stories high so she would have definitely heard the girls screaming in the dead of the night at about 2-3 A.M. Also how are students allowed to stay in school during the night?
Long story short don't waste your time except if you like to cringe and feel like your brain cells are dying.
P.S. I finished it because I always finish the show no matter how bad it is ;|

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Slow-burn stories are usually hit or miss for me. But ''Find Me In Your Memory'' is an exception - it was average, not the biggest hit but definitely not a miss. It has a heart-warming main storyline, beautiful romance and soothing atmosphere, but at the same time too many filler scenes and overused tropes.

There's no use of mentioning that the idea is far from original, the amnesia trope has been used so many times already and even though I'm totally sick of it, here it wasn't that bothering because it was part of the main concept of the show. The ''thriller'' elements though... they could have done a better job with the plot twist, I just couldn't care less about the stalker. I mean, I know it's not OCN so I shouldn't have expected the most shocking twist, but still, it wasn't even a 'twist'.

I'd hever thought that a romance between Kim Dong Wook and Moon Ga Young would actually work but it did quite nicely. Lee Jung Hoon and Ha Jin were imperfectly perfect for each other and their relationship developed very well. Dong Wook and Ga Young's chemistry was shockingly amazing and, ladies and gentlemen, we witnessed real kisses! God bless!

The second couple was cute, but I wish the controversy hadn't happened. Well, I hope Lee Jin Hyuk will be more careful from now on. Your whole career can be ruined for a second, dude, don't make stupid mistakes.

The acting was good overall. Moon Ga Young completely owns my heart. She devlivered such a subtle and brilliant performance and was perfect as Yeo Ha Jin. This role was made for her.

Overall, I would recommend Find Me In Your Memory if you're in a mood for a slow-burn romance melodrama. I don't think I would have managed to finish it if I didn't watch it while it was airing, it's a very slow-paced show and two episodes a week were more than enough for me not to get sick of the story.

It's not something special, but it's nice. I would even rewatch some scenes with the main leads, I simply loved them together!

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I really tried

I really tried to enjoy this drama. I can enjoy cheesy, I like romantic, good chemistry, protective, decisive and caring ML, not complicated plots, I find all this great but, grown up women acting worse than 5 years old was unbearable and I ended up skipping a lot of the show just stopping in the rare moments the FL had a bit more depth. I guess that doesn't bother most part of viewers because of the general high ratings. I was actually more drawn to the support ML relationship development with the young sister of the first ML but after getting some good amount of screen time they are cut off and show later on in random scenes without a real follow up.

Positive: Beautiful buildings and homes. I din't give 1 out of respect to the ML who was quite good and able to convey love and emotions in spite of the FL character role.

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