This review may contain spoilers
Abusive Jerk Guy His Boss (watch suggestions)
Overall: I was hoping this would be the bodice ripper BL version of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, but the abuse, idiotic decisions, repetitive plot and love rivals ruined the series for me. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4736/bad-guy-my-boss-2024-e01 Later aired on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJx-XkJhYuVf6ejPVOOW2e3hwO8XfFMPO&si=QS9_ZMVBzioZJHRH and Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/41071c-bad-guy-my-bossContent Warnings: murder, attempted murder, blood, violence, intimate partner abuse, non con kissing, manipulation, manhandling, stalking, drugging, kidnapping
Watch Suggestions (takes out love triangle/business stuff/violence and instead focus on cute/steamy scenes)
- watch episode 1
- episode 2 watch 27:40-29:40
- episode 3 watch ep 2 recap up to 3 min, 15:20-17:30 (which is a flashback) and 31 to the end
- episode 4 watch 4:30-8
- episode 5 watch 28-38:30
- episode 6 watch 12-13, 16-16:50 and 20-22
- episode 7 watch 36:30-38
- episode 8 watch 5:25-5:55 and 9:30-10:30
- episode 9 watch 6:30-7:15, 31-34:30, 39-41:06
- episode 10 watch 14:30-15:15, 19:30-23:15, 25:30-28:30 and 38:30-42:30
- skip episode 11
- episode 12 watch 2-5:40, 7:30-9:15, 24-26:10 and 37 to the end
What I Liked
- what I thought was the premise based on ep 1
- established 1 protagonist as queer and sexually active
- caring/sweet moments
- visuals
- the ex girlfriend accepted the rejection once it was made clear
- Kim made something clear to Pat towards the end, with a breadcrumb that he might find a different romantic relationship
Room For Improvement
- two of the characters were abusive yet we were supposed to root for their romantic relationships with non-abusive partners, examples of abuse included: physically violent (manhandling, choking, shove), manipulative, ignored boundaries, controlling, enacted retribution for perceived slights, one character shot a guy in the head and the next day the viewer is supposed to root for his romantic relationship...
- too many love rivals/love triangles
- there were many flashbacks/flash forwards and I was not sure a couple times where we were in the timeline including the intro (or was that a dream and not a flash forward...), this was worse in the beginning and not an issue later on
- the daydreams and what actually happened needed more differentiation
- a character had a terrible "plan", he acted like a total jerk (which granted is in the title) but had zero character growth
- bad production value things like music not fitting the mood, odd angles, odd 360 rotating shot in episode 2 when a character was talking to his friend
- cartoony villain who was sitting on a black couch in an empty warehouse sipping wine
- nonsense stuff: zero logical reason for why a character didn't communicate his feelings at the end of episode 9, why kidnap/kill the boyfriend when he could have kidnapped/killed the actual guy
- a CEO ordered around doctors and police officers, police not included when they should have been
- too much business drama in the final episode
- in episode 12 the kiss went on for way too long and Elyes was an idiot for not realizing why Pat was upset
- waited until the very last second for Elyes to say "I love you" to Pat
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if you like romanticised se**al assault this one is for you
I am not into series where the ML forces himself on FL with romantic music on. I think it’s pretty sick for 2024 drama. I was not expecting this and it happens not once but several times through episodes.Old school tropes. ML changes personality and doesn’t seem very clever and has not much respect for the FL. Plot is very basic and nothing new under the sun, even for a 10 minute episode drama.
I am dropping this because it is just not worth spending my time on it.
Hoping I can forget I’ve ever watched this series.
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Narcissistic protagonist
I watched the whole drama just to confirm how bad the story is. In order to create a fresh narrative they portrayed a stereotypical narcissist who is cruel and toxic in every relationship she enters, and in the end, she becomes an even worse person. It's basically a twisted retelling of female empowerment, which fails miserably as a romance and it is offensive as a feminist plot. I would never classify this story as 'polyamory' because that would mean that there is honesty and acceptance from all parties involved. What FM did was lie at the beginning, take advantage of the emotional dependence of the ML when they find out about each other, and toss them aside when the hype of the relationship passed. Traditionally we see the same situation with the man in the manipulative role but it doesn't make it acceptable by reversing the genders (that's why I think it offends feminism to say that this is some kind of "girl power"). There is no ending that would validate this plot but the authors certainly went above and beyond to create the worst possible one. And if you relate to the story on any level, I strongly suggest that you seek psychiatric help.Was this review helpful to you?
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A love story that just makes sense
I've watched quite a few romance dramas and have actually accepted the fact no matter how much they play it differently, it boils down to the same "framework" - getting together --> separating --> getting back together. I guess it's kind of the core messaging behind most romance dramas - a relationship is only real if both partners could survive through obstacles and end up stronger together.Back to the drama, I don't see this as just a romance drama but it's also a drama that talks about how these two individuals change their perspectives in lives and work through their past baggages. There are many real issues which are addressed in this series:
1. Between ethics and work profession, which one do you pick?
2. The competition in a corporate environment and how different people survive in that environment.
3. The fact that even in today's modern world, women are still treated differently in a professional environment. Gender preference when it comes to hiring, is still very real.
In the comments, a lot of people really hated on Wu Fei and the lady boss of the firm. Well, it just shows how well these actresses have portrayed their characters. Without Wu Fei, I think the whole process of Qin Shi climbing up to Level 11 seems a little too easy. Without the lady boss, the message about working women won't have such a huge impact.
Acting wise, I was pensive because of the age gap between Yang Mi and Xu Kai, but I was quite a fan of Yang Mi's work for a while and quite like Xu Kai's acting as well so I decided to give it a go. Surprisingly, their chemistry is off the charts. The whole relationship played out very well throughout the drama.
From the romance point of view, there are a lot of comments about how they ended the whole drama so hastily. Qin Shi and Yang Hua had to break up and only to reconcile at the very last minute. I on the other hand, quite like the pacing. They had spent so much screen time as lovers in the middle of the series, and there are quite a few scenes loaded with cuteness and romance between the two, how much more romance do you want the scriptwriters to inject in the end of the drama?
The break up is essential for Qin Shi to finally realize her own feelings and decide on her own standpoint when it comes to love. If you have been following how Qin Shi and Yang Hua communicated with each other since the beginning of their relationship, surely you sense the amount of unwavering trust they have for each other. Deep down, Yang Hua knows that Qin Shi loves him and believes that she would realize that given time and space. So what if they have separated for 7 months? I think even if it's a whole entire year, Qin Shi would still go back to him. Plus knowing his character, he had probably been keeping tabs on Qin Shi the entire time.
The ending is quite a good closure in my opinion. Not just a happy ending to Yang Hua and Qin Shi's relationship but also to Qin Shi's career as a woman in the law industry.
I would still highly recommend for people who have not watched the drama to give this a try. Probably not the top 1 romance drama I would pick but still a good one.
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This review may contain spoilers
zero communication in class 2
Overall: up until the finale I was going to say this was a decent coming of age story with four protagonists who all have poor communication at times; however, I am so angry at that crappy finale I took a whole point off my review. I read most of the webtoon https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/heesu_en awhile ago. I tried my best to review the live action series on its own merits; however, I can see why fans of the webtoon (including myself) are very disappointed per the last section of my review. 10 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40995c-heesu-in-class-2What I Liked
- sibling relationships (though I started to get the three of them/their relationship struggles confused and they took up too much screentime)
- supportive mom
- acting
- the dash of GL
- subverted accidental fall (though we got a regular one in episode 2)
- production value (music, some nice cinematography)
Room For Improvement
- I dislike being misled, the series title is "Heesu in Class 2" so I thought he'd be the protagonist with his romance taking front and center but it wasn't like that at all. In episode 9 taking out the 3 minute recap at the beginning him and Seung Won didn't have a scene until 13 minutes in and had 6 minutes of 43 minutes or only 15% of the screentime. In episode 10 there's 1min15 seconds of unhappy convo, a one sided confession for 3 minutes and then 7 minutes at the end or only 23%.
- Chan Yeong is an unlikable protagonist. He yells publicly at Heesu to tell him what's wrong and then when Heesu tells him, Chan Yeong purposefully tries to hit Heesu with tennis balls and makes Heesu apologize for confessing or not preparing enough when Heesu actually prepared a ton (also did it privately, gave him an easy/fast way to leave the room etc).
- in the finale wth was with Seung Won being totally silent and then avoiding Heesu, I'd be way more pissed than Heesu was
- the pacing was terrible, had way too many sideplots thrown in
- started with a flash forward and then a voice over exposition dump
- the jokes/comments disparaging a character's looks (and also that the sister said it was the most important thing in terms of attractiveness)
- the lack of good communication and lack of spines made the series extremely frustrating to watch at times
- series had very little heart fluttering moments, there was finally some progression middle of episode 8 for one couple only for a love triangle cliche to get thrown in, I was annoyed at the star gazing with how far apart they were but at least there was hand-holding at the very end
Differences from the webtoon aka why webtoon fans (such as myself) are angry/sad (note: I need to re-read the webtoon and will update this if things are different from what I remember), I'd give this as an adaptation somewhere between 1-3, any points are for the actors and not the plot/characterization
1. per the title, Heesu is the protagonist in the webtoon vs in the series there are four protagonists
2. Heesu's romantic life is the center of the webtoon vs in the series we have several side plots (family drama, music drama, love rival) that take up a lot of the runtime
3. the webtoon was filled with sweet moments related to Heesu vs in the series there are barely any heart fluttering moments and the relationship development is very slow
4. I don't remember being frustrated by the lack of communication in the webtoon vs I want to shake all four protagonists, their lack of direct communication while perhaps realistic is infuriating to watch
5. the webtoon has a m/m main couple and a m/m side couple vs in the series there is both a main m/m couple and a m/f couple, the m/f couple's relationship develops faster than the m/m's relationship, there are accusations of straightwashing and it does feel like an odd change to the source material
6. Chan Yeong was not an asshole in the webtoon vs he is one in the series
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Most underrated drama series! If you love deity kind of fantasy drama you must watch!
Similar to the two Three Lives Three World series (Ten Miles of Peach Blossom & Love of Dream), this show has a fantasy background (talking about deity). The story probably similar to Eternal Love of Dream (an older god with a young god) but the production is very similar to Eternal Love! Which if you simply enjoy these two you will enjoy this too!Due to its similarity, people will tend to compare these few, but I personally think it is almost as good as both of them. People tend to pinpoint on the male lead's appearance but honestly he is the perfect fit for the role, his acting skills has proven himself being the best actor for this character. Also with the female lead, regardless of being so much younger (as compared to male lead), her crying scenes were so on point that makes the viewers heart broken. I LOVE the main actor and actress, they were sooooooo good!
Some things I love about the show: The couple's chemistry and the love story :) An old guy who never feel love before and a girl who was always expressing her puppy love to win his heart. The two main leads was protecting each other from the start to the end (even when they hardly know each other), then they fall in love, grow stronger and fighting their ways to be together. You will laugh with them, cry with them and cringe so much (in a good way) whenever they were saying their devoted lines! But the two of them were just so cute that you don't mind watching them being lovey dovey at all times. Side couples were very pretty hilarious too that even though the show was sad, you will have a great laugh from time to time.
If I were to pick on something for this show, it might be some parts where the logic wasn't that clear, and the ending is a bit rush, without proper explanation. Oh and I personally don't quite like having too much of the "mortal life", it became a bit draggy, because I personally enjoy watching them as deity instead of a mortal; or maybe I just don't like watching the female lead with the second guy, that's all haha!
But other than that, this show was REALLY GOOD, one of the best Chinese drama I've ever watched, very worth watching! I'm glad that I watched it and I will miss it a lot!!! :)
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“If you want to protect something, then you just do it.”
i went into this film unaware that it was a sequel but i think that was for the best because i would’ve been far more disappointed with this, and i already am.mantis tries to be a lot of things at once—a comedy movie, an action flick filled with gore, a heartfelt emotional film that focuses on its characters—and it fails at doing most of this considering its less than two hour runtime. i was excited for this because the casting was literally insane and their performances definitely carried the film, but that was the extent of this movies greatness. i absolutely loved park gyu young’s performance and i think her character was the most fleshed out, with jae-yi’s inferiority complex and struggles clearly being her driving motive and acting as the main conflict of the movie as she makes her decisions based on these emotions she’s experiencing. i also thoroughly enjoyed choi hyunwook’s performance as benjamin because he does such a good job playing these bratty and manipulative characters, similar to his character in taxi driver whom i also loved even though he was a little shit. yim si wan’s character han-ul was a very basic character who didn’t have a lot of depth but it was his acting that made him stand out when he wasn’t in an action scene. speaking of those scenes, they were enjoyable for the most part but the best one was honestly the opening scene. the final fight was also slightly memorable but mainly because of a singular shot of yim si wan’s heartfelt and anguished facial expression.
other than the points mentioned above, the rest of the movie is honestly boring. the entire movie is rushed which makes the pacing really off seeing as before i knew it an entire year had somehow passed in the span of like five minutes, there are funky shots in both the good and bad sense as some of them were fun but a lot of them looked ridiculous, and the plot tries to do a lot at once with the sort of love plot between han-ul and jae-yi, the betrayal plot, the group break up, overthrowing and recreating the killer for hire system… it’s just a mess and it’s only mildly entertaining at best.
i definitely won’t rewatch this and i wouldn’t really recommend it, but if you really want to give it a shot i’m sure you’ll at least enjoy the performances done by the really incredible actors in this.
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One of the most frustrating thrillers I've ever seen
Midnight is basically a really draggy cat and mouse chase film with all the mice sharing one brain cell.At first I thought this film would be similar to Blind, an iconic thriller which was also about a disabled female lead being chased by a psychopath after witnessing a murder. But I realized after watching that comparing the two was an insult to Blind.
Every single character was dumb and had almost 0 common sense (especially the cops). I had hopes for the female lead's mom as she was good at reading people but in the end, she disappointed me as well.
Overall, Midnight felt like it was written by a thriller rookie who did not do their research on crime and just decided to recycle bits and pieces of movies of similar concept.
**SPOILERS**
what kind of person thinks that telling a psychopath your dreams and goals in life would actually make him feel bad and not kill you lol also PTSD doesn't exist here apparently.
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If you like revenge dramas where the leads (the two male leads in this case) are willing to do everything, including hurting people who love them, to get what they want, then you might like this drama. If you like plots where memory loss plays an important part to create conflicts and misunderstandings, then this is also for you. If you like love triangles where both male leads are determined to love the girl no matter what (including some noble idiocy), then this drama has it.
On the other hand, if you are like me and dislike those things, then you probably shouldn't watch this drama. And I just don't understand revenge. The main character, princess Xiao Feng, is carefree and happy, but love hits her hard and breaks her heart because the men in her life want something "greater" than her and she becomes a tool in their hands. Yes, they try to win her over, more or less, but the whole memory loss thing makes it more complicated. If the Crown Prince had actually trusted her a little bit... To put it simply, I really didn't like the plot - even though I enjoyed the drama in the beginning, my enjoyment and my rating dropped as I watched. After the first episodes (before she gets married) I very rarely felt that this was "romantic" at all. Also, it got draggy and repetitive in the middle (who knew it was so easy to sneak out of a palace!).
So, it's the story and the writing that I didn't like. Sometimes I do enjoy power struggles but in this drama that part wasn't interesting enough for me. If there is an Emperor - Empress - Empress uncle power triangle, there has to be something in their personalities and not just the fact that these are their roles and we know that the Empress is always cold-hearted and her uncle is always power-hungry… but that is not reason enough to care.
There were, however, a few things that I liked. For one thing, everything is pretty and the drama is a real feast for the eyes. Nothing looks fake or plastic and the costumes are gorgeous. The makers of this drama paid a lot of attention to such details! I didn't like the main characters, but I did like some of the minor characters a lot. I also liked that while there were women who were rivals and hated each other (as in every palace drama!), this drama had a lot of genuine female friendship - I appreciated that. Also, I think the acting was good, even when I didn't like the characters or didn't agree with their choices. The pain in their hearts appeared to be "real"… and yet I couldn't feel anything for most of them. (That might sound contradictory but it was how I felt it, and for me, my "feeling" is important when I rate a drama!)
The music wasn't memorable in my opinion, and the re-watch value is very low. That's because I didn't like the drama of course, but I also never re-watch dramas so I guess this part doesn't matter a lot.
Okay, so now I've shared my unpopular opinion, because as watchers we are all different and not everyone likes the same drama as everyone else. It could be helpful for those who are thinking about watching this to know that there are different opinions.
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This review may contain spoilers
I love Sang Ha, I do, but this was painfully mediocre.My biggest problem was how Sang Ha's story and the romance were disconnected. They felt like two different shows. We had fun comedy and fluff between main leads, and punches and threats with debt collectors. Both put next to each other just didn't click well, since they almost always were presented separately.
The characters were also quite a mess. Sang Ha and Jin Woo had both half a brain cell that they must have shared. The bad guys told you they will ruin Jin Won's chance to win by throwing water at him? You tell Jin Won about it. It's that simple. It's not like his debt was a secret. They could have easily prevented it from happening, without Sang Ha going after first place (good for him tho). Why did he even cut contact with Jin Won after the marathon? His whole logic for winning and paying the debt was to protect Jin Won and be able to keep running with him (as he "passionately" screamed at his face in the last episode)... but then he just left? LoGiC.
Jin Won with the whole "go buy yourself proper new running shoes" when Sang Ha already told him he is running early mornings to deliver milk, because he ain't got money, but he needs to pay the debt. Something didn't click right in Jin Won's brain I guess. Not to mention that punch in the last episode. WHERE THE HECK IT CAME FROM? Not once they hinted that Jin Won might be a one to react aggressively with physical force. And here he is punching a kid in the face. This is called bad writing, ladies and gentlemen.
The debt storyline was truly the worst part that ruined the whole show for me. Why they couldn't keep it simple with a sweet romance is beyond me. The debt collectors went from punching the kid in the face, to crying when he finally paid it off, giving some bullshit, out of place, emotional reaction. Not to mention, apparently in Korea, when your parents die when you are in middle school, you don't go to an orphanage or foster family. You are left alone to deal with it... Go figure
It had some cute moments, I'm not gonna lie, but instead of watching the whole show, you could watch the highlights on youtube. Even the last scene had to be ruined by making them run in semi formal clothes ON A DATE. We get it, they are runners. Damn the writers... Why?
Get rid of the debt angst story, use the few minutes you gained to develop the relationship a bit more, and it would be easily 9/10 for me.
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1This review may contain spoilers
GARBAGE ON STEROIDS!
***DISCLAIMER: These are just my thoughts on the show as a whole. We don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone.***AND THE AWARD FOR WORST KDRAMA OF 2023 GOES TO STRONG GIRL NAM SOON!!!!! (Except nobody is smiling, cheering or clapping and all you hear are crickets)
THIS SHOW IS SOOOOO BAD I WANT TO GIVE IT A ZERO BUT THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE SO I GIVE IT A ONE. It is the definition of unserious. Though this review may come off like I’m hating (which I most definitely am) it’s also plenty of shock and disappointment.
I had high hopes going into this and it just did not meet the mark AT ALL. Let's get into it...
This show lacked depth. The plot made no sense whatsoever and you basically have to turn off your brain to watch it. The focus shifted from Nam Soon to the mother, Geum Ju, and her heroic tendencies / saviorism, and unwavering determination to bring down Pavel and the Korean drug cartel. Even Nam Soon's grandma and her whole love affair got more attention than her. To say this drama did not live up to the hype or potential would be an understatement.
All the characters were unlikeable except for Nam Soon (earlier episodes) and Shi Oh… at least when he was around Nam Soon he didn’t treat her like a 5 year old. I sort of feel like her being childish / silly with him was healing his inner child so I was happy to see him smile and be content with her. I also liked Nam Soon's father... he was so supportive and seemed to genuinely care for his children unlike the mother who was always working / busy and could never see what was going on under the surface or spare five minutes of her time to get to know them better. Geum Ju was a horrible mother and I will not stop saying it. Her over the top emotions and tears coming out whenever her children were in danger and on the verge of death says so much. I don't even want to get into her fat phobic / insensitive comments and how that took a toll on her Nam In's mental health. While this show masked it as humor, it was in poor taste because it just was not funny at all.
It is safe to say I wasted almost 2 months of my life watching this tom foolery. That’s time I will never get back. The last 2 episodes were absolute bullshit and they lost the entire plot. Tell me why Ryu Shi Oh died by suicide within 20-25 mins of episode 16, Bread Song turned out to be Nozh, Grandma was supposed to die and didn’t and Nam Soon who is such a half witted, untrained and reckless girl became a cop? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
Ugh and don’t get me started on Hee Sik’s gold digging family, Nam Soon’s mom flaunting her wealth and the obvious lack of chemistry between Nam Soon and Hee Sik. That last kiss was an immediate no, no hate to Yoo Mi, but why did she kiss him like she was eating noodles??! Everything about that kiss seemed weird / unnatural and awkward. Anyway I know people who shipped them from the get go would have eaten it up, but it just was so cringe in my opinion.
It's the way they tried to outdo SWDBS and FAILED. Again, you seriously can't outdo the doer and this show is proof of that. The plot was lackluster / sucked big time, the acting was over the top and it seemed like they were putting on a comedy sketch (a seriously bad one) rather than a serious drama / tackling real issues. Except for Ryu Shi Oh, the characters were dull, one-dimensional, and devoid of depth. Nam Soon was even more childish at the end than at the beginning. When she received her award, she acted like an immature hyperactive toddler / a crazy person in serious need of a mental facility. Not to mention her continual lifting up of Hee Sik (bridal style) was another a major turn off. I need someone to me why she was always acting RIDICULOUS?! My goodness, it was like she didn’t have an off switch and was always behaving like damn fool or a deer in the headlights. She appeared to always be on drugs and that’s putting it LIGHTLY. If you told me she snorted 5 lines of COCAINE and also did METH or MDMA I WOULD BELIEVE YOU! In my opinion, Nam Soon doesn't appear mature enough for a relationship, let alone marriage... and when Hee Sik eventually proposed – it was so underwhelming. NEXT!
I could not feel anything for the main couple or root for their happiness because there was no development whatsoever, it felt like they just forced their relationship down my throat. Nam Soon clearly had better angst / chemistry with Shi Oh and it was easier to see their potential because they had so many good moments together. Even Bread Song and the mom had more tension filled interactions – which is saying so much. The way the proposal was at the same cherry blossom tree as in SWDBS was a major eye roll moment. Also, the stupid, overbearing heartfelt moments between the Joong Gan and Jun Hee like? PLEASE SPARE ME. LITERALLY NOBODY WANTED TO SEE THAT. Even in the end, they attempted to build up the suspense and make it appear as if it would be the death of her character after she had used a lot of her power, but they still let her survive. It would have been more dramatic if she had died... and Jun Hee and her ex-husband were obliged to mourn her together.
I still can’t believe Jun Hee was just a bland / flavorless and spineless character (literally such a freaking simp) had no connection to the Russian mafia and didn’t turn out to be a secret bad guy. THAT WAS SUCH A MISSED OPPORTUNITY. The fact that he was just there to be Joong Gan’s sidekick and lover sent me over the edge. The amount of screen time the grandma's whole arc took up just because the writer was trying to live vicariously through her character was so annoying!
Additionally when Nam Soon and her adoptive mom both happened to nearly be killed by bombs was just so predictable. Your telling me the writers couldn’t have come up with a better plot?! Even bringing in this new guy to play adult Bin Bin at the end was strange – he had no connection to the people we previously knew and never popped up in the story before (at least not as an adult), so it was difficult for me to feel pity or anything else for him. Yes, he spared Shi Oh’s life by not betraying him / killing him as ordered and that was the only bonus. Everyone literally thought Bin Bin would have been either Bread Song or the kind man at Opulentia helping Geum Ju out with her investigation. AGAIN, ANOTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITY.
The only thing I liked about this drama was the fact that the girl vagrant took the money back from the male vagrant after he discarded her / threw her to the waste side. I have been praying on his downfall ever since he broke up with her and I’m glad to see he lost everything in the end and ended up penniless and homeless while she was free to live her best life without him. I also liked when Nam Soon's father suggested that all the single males live together. I could definitely see it because they would have started their own "weak men" empire (for lack of a better name) or something like that! Now that is something I'd watch. When Nam In said te refused to live with them out of fear of ending up like them I DIED, he was so real for that!
Needless to say I really HATED this drama and would never watch it again. I would rather kill myself or rip out my eyeballs instead. Even banging my head repeatedly on the wall would be better than rewatching this ridiculous parody. I stuck around for Shi Oh and in the end they gave him the worst possible death, no redemption arc and completely ruined his character. He had so much potential to be a better person and a changed man but the writers destroyed everything. I still refuse to believe he actually tried to kill Nam Soon and her family when he found out her identity. Though, what is enemies to lovers without both parties trying to kill each other? (iykyk) It’s even more sad when you think about the fact that he tried to help his birth father out and even bought an orphanage and turned it into a boxing gym. I won't stop saying it but – RYU SHI OH DESERVED SM BETTER THAN THE HAND HE WAS DEALT!
Anyway, I guess they just couldn’t allow him to live after he spiraled, went off the rails and took so many innocent lives. What gets me is that Geum Ju and Nam Soon believed Hwa Ja was capable and worthy of being saved but they could not extend the same right or courtesy to Shi Oh. I mean seriously? Hwa Ja even tried to murder Nam Soon at one point…. just because she was unsuccessful in her attempt does not make what she did excusable or justifiable. I don’t care what anyone else says but the fact that Nam Soon’s mom forgave her after all that and basically adopted her as a daughter was absolutely insane and I will never understand it. This show proves that Geum Ju's and Nam Soon's empathy is conditional on whether they feel pity for someone's situation or not. Ryu Shi Oh never chose this life and it's unfair because he had gone through so much as a child to just hang on / survive. Literally everything he did was just so he could finally escape / find a way out from Pavel's control. He was a victim or circumstance but the stupid characters in this show could not even see that. It's ironic because when they were starting to realize at the end it was ALREADY TOO LATE.
My favorite character was and always will be Ryu Shi Oh. They could never make me hate him! I understood all his motives and rooted for him endlessly — even when he was on his killing spree. Honestly he was not evil enough in my opinion. I’m not gonna lie, if I lived his life I would’ve been worse. It’s unfortunate Byeon Woo Seok was not enough to save this drama and make me turn a blind eye to how horrible the overall production and acting was. If the writers had gone with an enemies to lovers plot / dark romance, this show would have been so much better. I mean – most people were watching for the villain and rooting for him instead of the ML or even Nam Soon and her family. This drama was way too childish, and it was difficult to find benefits or reasons to stay. Each episode progressively got worse, and I had to force myself to watch for the sake of completion.
I sincerely hope the writer gives up and just ends this TRAIN WRECK / TOILET FIRE IMMEDIATELY. This shit show does not need a part 3 or spin-off. Whatever she writes next she will ruin it even further and it would just be wise of her to stop now.
I could have lived my life without watching this drama or knowing it was a sequel to the original Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. If you are contemplating starting this because you liked SWDBS, I suggest and strongly advise you skip this drama entirely and watch some edits instead. Their five minute screen time is not worth over 18 hours of torture and misery. Please save yourself and quit while you are ahead.
If you think I'm lying / joking then watch this circus act and see for yourself.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you though.
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P.S. No hate to new watchers or persons who enjoyed this drama. I'm happy for you, truly. I'm glad some people were lucky enough to be warned beforehand and able to go into this with very very very LOW expectations.
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(If you actually made it this far ilysm!)
(づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡
As always,
Thanks for reading & happy watching!
˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
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ECLIPSED POTENTIAL
What just happened? Is that it?The promotions to this show oversold it as a mystery drama - but wat was promised to be an intriguing and unique (crime)unexplained death solving/revenge plot with a touch of supernatural turned out to be nothing but shallow build up.
The only saving grace is the cast - First and Khaotung are both too good for the scenes they could have done it even while sleeping. It is a shame that both stellar actors are not getting the right break to catapult them into proper BL idols, i thought this was it. Oh, I also thought they're too old to play high school, in shorts nonetheless.
Im sorry to say but nothing about the plot is successfully executed - the investigative-mystery solving arc turned out to be nothing but one nephew's cry for attention. The failed attempt of being a gay activism show (un)spectacularly influenced by the metoo movement is just preachy and pointless. The enemies-to-lovers angle was shoved in our faces but isnt even fully developed. Even the second pairing felt forced. And has anyone sensed a creepy teacher to student lovers vibe?
Also, you cannot make a story with two trying-hard psychopaths that put other students lives at risk (to advance their causes) just to literally make them get away with it at the end, there was no consequences and literally no risks. Everybody came out unscathed and everything is rainbows and butterflies by the end. Just no. It made the whole series pointless.
Episode 1 wasnt compelling enough, i stayed because of the cast. I was already too bored by episode 3 and i kind of forgot about it. Came back and binged the next 4 episodes but it didnt get better. I skipped it again and bitch watched (Im sorry, i meant to say binge watched) the rest after the finale aired. Im just glad i didnt wait for it every Friday.
We all know we have too much school BL drama now, and giving it a twist could have been interesting but man it is just a show with big potential but was eclipsed by the shallow execution.
Overall, 6.5 stars. watch it for the main leads otherwise ignore it if you have other things to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
CASH GRAB ADAPTATION
I don't understand why korean production like to ruined everything from original work. You can tell this is just purely cash grab. I understand if they cut some parts or change some character designs but to the point changing unnecessary thing that should not be changed? WHY? All the females characters got misogyny treatments. Chae soobin's character supposed to be someone who is promoted in her job but in the movie they make her resigned? Then Nana's character changed backstory too. How can you make the main character who was bullied to someone who bully others 😭. Such a disappointment.I hope the actor fans be open-minded at how bad this script is because it's farrr from the original story.
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This review may contain spoilers
Can't wait for season 2
I am someone who has little faith in Xianxia genre. Most of the time they ruin the whole story with unnecessary fillers if it's an adaptation. Plus they change the major part of the story that ends up into a cliched, stupid and predictable storyline. Another thing is annoying stupid female that we usually find in such dramas. And the most important part- Rushed ending!!!!What I loved:
- WHAT A CAST. No over the top acting. ( Special mention for kids). Yangzi killed it with her acting skills here. The actor who play Cang Xuan, man he might not be my favourite character but his acting and the subtle emotions that he portrayed throughout the show is undoubtedly the best. What an amazing actor. Another special mention is for the grandpa. What an outstanding character. Every actor from a maid to all the rulers and side characters behaved like the real person not just some extras.
-Female lead is not annoying ( was not a fan of Yangzi as I have always seen her in bubbly, hyper and stupid girl sort of role.) I didn't know she will become one of my favourites.
- Finally all of them have their own voices. (No dubbing).
-Loved the songs especially the one sung by the actress herself. Background music just adds more beauty to the fantasy world of this drama.
-Only few episodes and you won't be able to stop yourself from watching. The story is really good and connects you right away with the characters.
- Three male leads are there and believe me you will find it hard to choose a favourite. All of them acted so well that you just can't ignore their presence.
- Set design, costumes and overall production is really good. CGI is...okay in some scenes but they utilised the money at the right place and those scenes looked mesmerizing. It again proves that an amazing director can bring so much out from the actors and made sure people could connect to the characters.
I was planning to read the novel (if I could find it somewhere) but it is good I went into it without prior knowledge about the novel. I can't believe we all have to wait for a long time for season 2. But this season satisfyed my thrust for an amazing well paced, edited and acted Xianxia drama. It deserves all the praise. :)
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