Reviews

THERES NOTHING PEACHY ABOUT THIS TRAP

We as viewers are trapped, but no theres nothing peachy about it.

First of all, i am confused about the title. Being peachy means being good so does that mean its a good trap or are they being stucked in a good way? Or is it maybe implying something deeper meaning like homosexualilty since its not a concidence that this is a BL drama.

The first episode was rousing and intriguing. 3 seme guys are fighting over the obviously uke Doha. It has the mystery solving vibe to find out who kissed DoHa and who will win his heart. Except it is very obvious from the opening credits and the amount of screentime who will win in the end.

You realized after 3 episodes that this show is just running circles and going nowhere. Doha's charm quickly fizzled as we find out more (or lack thereof) and that he is just a 16 year old stucked in a 27 year old body. Like how conservative is Korea for them to pull this modus on us to make ius believe that this is a 27 year old guy's first kiss, and all these 4 guys are acting as if this is all their first time to date (or pursue someone) ever. The plot is perfect if the setting is in college or high school - but super stupid in the adult world.

I also really dont understand Korea's insistence of pushing a movie-length content and dividing it in 8 short episodes. The weekly wait just makes it annoying and what could have palatable as movie becomes so bland and underdeveloped as a series. Thisi s basically a short story overly stretchd to fit the 8 episode order.

Would i recommend? Not particularly, not unless you have gazillions of free time or if you need some background movie while cooking.
Would i rewatch? Hell no.

i do however think we'd see more of Lee Do Han as a leading man in the future.

Overall the series is a 6.5 for me.

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It's an okay masterpiece

Note: The title needs quotes around the word "masterpiece" but the system wouldn't allow me.

Before deciding to watch this drama, I came here to get an initial feeling of what this drama might be like. To my surprise, most reviews here were calling this a masterpiece and a must watch so I immediately went to watch it. I have just finished it and I have no idea if those revieweres were watching the same drama I did -- it's not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, in my opinion.

The story is really good. The music is good too, it didn't stand out to me as either great or terrible which is good. The cast is really nice too. The cinematography is really well done! Sadly, that's where the positives end.

The direction of this drama is not great. Too many episodes for what it ended up delivering. The characters are almost 2 dimensional as they make decisions that sometime seem random or make no sense. There's romance but sadly I didn't care for it one bit and I was not convinced of how and why the leads loved each other.

This drama could've been at least 8 episodes shorter! There are plenty of wasted "prolonged" scenes of characters just seemingly staring at each other as if the actors were trying to remember the next line. Some scenes were completely useless and added nothing of value; just fodder to pad this show.

The important bits were not given focus -- be it the characters or the political story. I do enjoy a good slow burner, with "good" being the operative word here. This drama overstayed its welcome and to be honest, I was bored for 99% (hyperbole) of the time I was watching it. I could not give it attention as I had the urge to fast forward past the useless scenes. My partner kept me from doing that and while she liked it more than I did, she still found it needlessly padded and slow.

I get the reason it's slow is to immerse people into the world and the characters and that the nature of political events unravelling is usually slow but this was needlessly slow. If there was a criteria for direction, I would've given it a 1.

Want a similar story with a far better pace? Watch Bridal Mask.

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Watching This Drama Truly Is Like Rolling A Stone Down A Hill, Then Being Crushed By It...

Upon paper, screenwriters Jeon Chan Ho ( Fates and Furies) and Lee Jae In ( Fates and Furies) ‘s “Sisyphus The Myth “ is a masterpiece work filled with intriguing ideologies of time, science-fiction and an array of intriguing characters and concepts .However, the series often fell short of logic and characterisation over the course of the
storyline.

Before addressing the issues surrounding the show, it is important to establish that the main cast consisting principally of Cho Seung Woo , Kim Byung Chul, Tae In Ho ( playing Tae Sook’s mysterious friend and co-founder of their group, Eddy Kim) , Chae Jong Hyeop ( performing as the restaurant delivery man Choi Jae Sun who befriends Seo-hae) , Jung Hye Jin ( Kim Seo Jin), Kim Jong Tae ( Seo Hae’s father; Kang Dong Gi ) and Park Shin Hye were fairly good within their performances . On the other hand, questionable dialogue exchanges and the characterisation often demeaned the quality of screenwriting.

The premise itself is fairly straightforward; Han Tae-sool (Cho Seung-woo), a brilliant engineer, will invent a time-travel machine in the near future, however, something terrible happened afterwards which caused terrible events to occur .

For time travellers seeking sanction from this dystopian future, they travel back en mass to the era before Tae-Sool invented this revolutionary machine as a “ safe place” .One of those immigrants is Kang Seo-hae (Park Shin-hye), a mysterious girl who seems to have an undeniable link to Tae-Sool, however, Seo-Hae faces her own conflicts in the meantime between being chased after the mysterious “ men in black” of the drama, the DEA -who capture and contain time travellers under the guise working for the government’s “ Immigration Control Unit”. Meanwhile, Tae-Sool becomes interested in the fate of his seemingly deceased brother which leads him down a rabbit hole of danger and mystery as well as leading him to meeting Seo-Hae. As Seo-Hae and Tae-Sool’s lives become more interconnected, the two soon begin to realise their feelings for one another, as they fight against a seemingly inevitable future.

Wherever the show’s dilemmas manifested themselves, the main source of the problem manifested with one thing prominently ; the writing. It is fair to say that “ Sisyphus; The Myth” attempts to have it both ways; an engaging time-travel story with fast-paced action, and a complicated love story between its main protagonists.

Characters were often enforced into scenarios which made little sense within their individual circumstances . For example, illegal future immigrant broker Park Hyeong-do (Sung Dong-il) gets an -out -of character backstory as well as a shocking revelation in the final episode, that was simply illogical. Even our main protagonists Tae-sool and Seo-Hae were often shoehorned into scenarios which made little sense , reducing them to become nothing more than plot mechanisms against their more intriguing individual personalities and intriguing backstories ( which felt fairly underdeveloped).

Whilst the show attempted to rig emotions between the two main protagonists in their sudden epiphany around the halfway point that “ we like one another against all odds of our circumstances”, the cataclysmic writing underpinning their relationship made theirs arguably one of the least convincing and forgettable romantic pairings of recent years .In addition to this, there’s also the other issue regarding the actual laws of time-travel. Sisyphus; The Myth” is independent from its predecessors time-travel takes in Korean film and TV by focusing upon the actual concept of time travel, rather than choosing the wrinkle-in-time concept, in which characters from two different timelines coexist, come up time and again.

However, time-travel stories can soon become a Gordian knot ( pun intended) of tangled logic and interest very quickly, something which soon became prominent in the series . The screenwriters of “Sisyphus” added different rules throughout, only to consistently break them and toss logic out of the window , as well as new technologies or magical drugs which delivered anti-climatic scenarios to seemingly impossible problems.

Admittedly when the drama entered its second-half and introduced viewers to the main antagonist , Sigma (Kim Byung-chul), the show did undeniably shift towards becoming more focalised upon the theme of time-travel, however, as a result of this , the show’s weaknesses overall quickly began to rise to prominence also.
The halfway point resulted in the direction of plot and the ideology of time travel feeling more like a storyline filler and an excuse for for high-budget extravaganza scenes, often with little serving purpose than to make viewers squeal with excitement at eye-popping CGI and distract attention away from more notable flaws .

Admittedly, the series against all odds was fairly engaging within certain sold set pieces and storylines . Park In Hye’s fight scenes helped to make the show entertaining . However, whilst the myriads of goons of the nefarious control centre featured prominently, this scenario soon became repetitive and formulaic; the duo would face a problem, they would be surrounded and Tae-sool’s on-the-spot science to get out of close scrapes (never held up to scrutiny), whilst Seo-Hae’s Laura-Croft-Style combat scenes would help to save the day also.

As the gimmicks became less and less inventive, these concepts soon died off completely and therefore resulting in numerous action scenes being tapered off entirely . Several episodes towards the end of the show featured no set pieces at all and the control centre disappeared completely , with several major characters not featuring in the finale ( with few reasons given) . Additionally , whilst the ending was “ bittersweet”, it felt inherently poorly-written and the epitome of a classic deus ex machina ; a lazing, anticlimactic ending which created hare-brained and problems towards time paradoxes .

Whilst “ Sisyphus; The Myth” had an intriguing premise, a high budget and an ensemble of a talented actors at its disposal, not even top notch actors such as Park Shin Hye and Cho Seung-Woo could truly save the series from its own demise of abandoned logic, poorly-written characters and relationships, as well as the ineffable disappearances of main characters over the course of the series and a lazy ending also.Another classic example of the recent trend of high-budget science-fiction and action throwaway extravaganzas such as “ Alice” and “ RUGAL” with intriguing premises, yet truly lacking well-written and memorable storylines. Worth binge-watching to waste time with little else to do, yet certainly not worth investing genuine time towards.

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The Third Charm wasn't that bad. In fact I find this genuinely refreshing and an eye opener at some instances. This drama is easy to be misunderstood because you'll need to take a closer look to the characters and the messages it want to convey before totally understanding them. What separates Young Jae and Joon Young was their differences. During each other's absense, that's when they started understanding each other, they met again everytime they've come to that realization. The ending was left open and that was one of the kind of endings viewers hate but if we'll take a wider look, that's actually how "The Third Charm" works. Young Jae and Joon Young finally understand each other, them walking the same paths at the ending represents it. This drama had many symbolisms and if ignored, will cause more misunderstanding of its intention. I find the ending amusing, because Joon Young ends up being successful in his career (which is Young Jae's dream) and Young Jae ends up working on a local salon near her loved ones (representing how Joon Young originally wanted to live a normal and quiet life).

I also find the representation of the four seasons in our leads' life very effective. SPRING which is the beginning, SUMMER, a joyous and active season, AUTUMN, the transition and closer approach to end, and WINTER, the season where it's the coldest and we seek comfort and warmth to others, also where we prepare to start again.

There are some instances where the characters' motives and decisions were questionable and confusing, particularly Young Jae. That's one of the downhills of the drama, you'll have to sit through and wait a week after feeling frustrated and confused. This drama is probably better to binge-watch. The music pieces were also brilliant and the songs were catchy. Mature and outstanding performances to all the casts, especially our leads Seo Kang Joon and Esom. Overall, I believe this is a well-thought and well-written drama, but is very easy to misunderstood given that the setting and ending is quite different from your typical Kdramas.

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Melodramatic and cliché-ridden

It was honestly difficult to rate this drama. On the one hand acting performances were top tier and the cinematography was wonderful. On the other hand the script and plot devices were frustratingly poor and predictable. So, I'll start with recalling some of the positives about "First Love." I have to give credit to the amazing acting of the female lead actress Mitsushima Hikari. She plays the adult version of the character Yae and I thought her performance was very convincing and well done. She acted with her eyes and facial expressions without needing a word of dialogue to convey what her character was thinking and going through. A highlight is the scene where Yae gives her son away and is crying on the road. That scene broke me and felt so real. Another great acting performance was that of the young Harumichi played by Kido Taisei. I thought the actor stole every scene he was in. He was very charismatic and multifaceted. He brought a teen and young adult Harumichi to life. Another plus, was frankly how this drama was beautiful to look at. The way color, lighting, and scenic details were used made for a pleasing experience to the eyes.

Now on to the things that made me rate this drama a 6.5.
To start, I could understand that this drama is based on a ballad "First Love" from 1999 and is clearly inspired by the melodrama romances of that era including Majo no Jouken, which interestingly enough used the song First love as it's theme. Also, I see the Taiwanese drama Autumn's Concerto as a possible influence as well. That's all fine and good, except First love 2022 incorporates all the hair splitting frustrating cliches of that bygone time and combines it into a mess of inconsistencies and plot driven narratives. And like a lot of 90s-00s melodramas, First Love starts off with promise and leaves viewers hooked only to fall flat on its face midway through. Like some reviews already covered, the tired old amnesia cliche is used as a plot device to separate our main leads. We also have the villain parent(s) that purposely keeps the young lovebirds apart, ruining their lives in the process. Very annoying! Yae gets amnesia and conveniently doesn't remember Harumichi at all. Her friend visits and even mentions him to her yet Yae never looks him up or investigates further. Yae's mother sees how her daughter is suffering for years and never tells her the truth. There were several moments that the mom made me want to punch my fist in a wall. The perfect time for Yae's mom to tell her the truth was when Yae gave up her son to her divorced husband. At this point the marriage and rich lifestyle the mother wanted for her daughter had failed so why not confess to Yae about her lost first love? In fact why was anyone keeping Yae's past from her, including the adult Harumichi? All these poor writing choices found in the worst melodramas like this one is to keep the main couple apart for as long as possible and make unnecessary events come between them. It's supposed to make for a powerful epic reunion of the lovers, but often it just results in an anticlimactic ending where viewers like myself forget to care.

Some bonus nit picks and wtfs:
*5th episode sex scene. Graphic and ill fitting for a romantic love story. Ml has sex with a random, has another scene where he gets physical with a gf, and Yae gets no intimate scenes at all. Did she have an immaculate conception or what lol.
*Harumichi's sister randomly tells Yae that her brother breastfed until 3rd grade and was addicted to pornos spending a whopping amount on AV tapes. Later in the timeline, Harumichi offers some of these porno tapes to Yae's 14 yr old son, yikes!
*Episode 8 where Harumichi just up and leaves Yae permanently and moves out of the country. Yae confessed that she loved him and he had already broke up with his fiancee. So wtf. Again, the show threw sense out the window for an "epic" reunion.
*Adult Harumichi cheated with his fiancee by kissing and flirting with Yae. What a swell guy.
*The time line issue. The first past timeline is supposed to be in the late 90s but things don't add up, such as "First love" the album and song came out April 1999. The CD is seen on display at a music store at the end of the first episode as if it's just been released making the year 99. Yet, teen Yae and Harumichi go to the theater to watch Titanic, came out in 1997 or Armageddon, which came out in 1998. I doubt these movies were still playing in Japanese theaters in 1999. Also, the CD player and earbuds used in the show look like a later model than what existed in the late 90s. Several other time period inaccuracies are present if you notice them.

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Promising premise but struggles to deliver on its potential.

Marry My Husband tried to juggle three major themes: revenge, romance, and extramarital affairs.

It had a solid premise, with a compelling reason for revenge and an intriguing time-travel setup. Unfortunately, it was anchored by a protagonist who never truly embodied the weight of her second chance. After being cheated on, betrayed, and murdered, you'd expect her return to be driven by burning conviction, but that fire never really came through. There was very little conviction in her act. Her confrontations with the main antagonist lacked impact and often felt juvenile, stripping the narrative of the emotional tension needed for a good revenge arc. As a result, it was hard to empathise with her or feel genuinely invested in her journey. Her eventual "victory" felt more like a technicality than a satisfying payoff.

What's more telling is how Park Min Young’s character, despite enduring nearly every misfortune imaginable, seemed to lack the urgency and passion you would expect. Meanwhile, BoA’s character, who enters much later, reacted with extreme intensity over relatively smaller grievances, creating a jarring emotional imbalance. That contrast alone kind of sums up the show’s problem: strong concept, weak execution.

The romance… was dead. Dry. Lifeless. Bro, get this, our female lead had three love interests, and yet I felt zero chemistry. None. Nada. Missing in action. Both Park Min Young and Na In Woo came across like people who weren’t even interested in being in love for most of the show; which was fine at first, until the plot suddenly decided it wanted to focus on romance again.

The male lead just wasn’t it. His character was one-dimensional, sluggish, and painfully predictable every time he appeared. Watching him was a chore. His stoic demeanor, paired with the FL’s reserved personality, created no spark. Not even with time. If she had been laser-focused on revenge, I could’ve excused the lack of romance, but even that fire was missing.

When the drama suddenly pivoted to their “romance” in the second half, it felt like they were doing speed dating. Forced and sparkless. The one guy who looked like he could have been something, the charming chef, was friend-zoned almost immediately so she could go running back to her boring boss. Disappointing.

The affairs were probably the only aspect handled decently well, but even that, sadistically speaking, lacked the usual thrill the genre is known for. Most of the cheating happened out in the open or with full knowledge due to the plot structure, which seriously dulled the tension. But that’s exactly what makes an affair drama addictive. The secrecy, the sneaking around, the close calls, the mounting suspicions, and that delicious build-up to the inevitable “caught in the act” moment. Without that edge, it just felt tame and uninspired. Where was the scandalous thrill?

So what was Marry My Husband even trying to deliver? It felt frustratingly average across all three of its main themes: revenge, romance, and affairs. With so many lacklustre elements, I found it genuinely hard to stay engaged or emotionally invested. And then came episode 12… where everything truly unravelled. I’m serious... the truck didn’t just crash into Na In-woo. I was in that car too. The secondhand embarrassment I felt from watching that scene was unreal. From that point on, the drama went full cliche mode. Every single K-drama trope you can think of? It's there. Count them. Better yet, turn it into a bingo game, it might actually make those episodes bearable.

The show’s attempt to spice things up with a last-minute, cliche ridden final arc, led by a new but shallow antagonist, felt like a desperate move to create artificial stakes. All just to push the ML and FL through some "great adversity" and earn their fairytale ending. But it wasn’t earned. It was lazy, and it cheapened the entire show. Poor, poor writing there. Bleh.

I see a lot of viewers giving high scores for the music (ost)…what music bro..? Come on...

There’s been a lot of praise online for Park Min Young’s dedication to physically look the part in this drama, and sure, that effort is commendable. But for me, Marry My Husband only reinforced the fact that she’s still stuck in her typecast. This was supposed to be a revenge story about a woman given a second chance to rewrite her fate after being betrayed and murdered. But instead of embodying a revenger on a mission, PMY defaulted to the character she’s always played best: being that soft, delicate girlfriend that every guy wants to be overprotective of. Don’t get me wrong, she does that well, but this role demanded more. This could’ve been her "The Glory" moment, just like Song Hye Kyo, who shattered expectations and redefined her image with her performance. Sadly, PMY didn’t break out. She stayed safe, and the role suffered for it.

If we're talking true MVPs of Marry My Husband, look no further than Song Ha Yoon (the crazy BFF) and Lee Yi Kyung (the useless bum). Especially the former, she carried the show on her back. She was the only one who actually felt alive and kept the narrative moving. Her transformation throughout the drama was brilliantly executed, and she brought the intensity, suspense, and raw emotion that the lead sorely lacked. Song Ha Yoon absolutely ate that familiar toxic, gaslighting queen role; she delivered it with such conviction and chaos that I couldn’t look away. A truly 미친년 performance in the best way possible. She’s the main reason I stuck it out till the end.

Special shoutouts to Choi Gyu Ri (the sunshine sister), Gong Min Jung (quiet lady manager), and Ha Do Gwon (CEO's PA). Each of them brought something memorable and grounded to their roles. Minor characters done right.

All in all, Marry My Husband started with a promising premise but quickly fell into predictability. As the episodes went on, I found myself losing interest. It lacked the intensity, suspense, and emotional grip you'd expect from a revenge plot. While there were some solid individual performances, the overall lack of chemistry and emotional depth fell short, especially considering the heavy themes of grief, love, betrayal, and revenge. Nothing truly stood out or took command of the story. In the end, MMH felt average across the board. It became one of those dramas I continued watching simply to finish what I started, not because I was genuinely invested in where it was going.

Kudos to the final two episodes; they did have a tiny redemption arc by tying up loose ends neatly and giving what the viewers the closure they probably wanted. It was a somewhat decent finish, although it was predictable and felt cheap due to how the final arc played out.

(Writers, directors: for the love of God can we please stop it with the big truck/lorry crash into coma-will you wake up please I actually love you scenes anymore…..it’s 2024 there is more than 1 way to kill someone and send their other half into agony T.T)

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Terrifyingly Real!

If this doesn't terrifies you, you have seen nothing of the world yet!

Unpopular opinion, but I think a lot of people are watching it wrong. Because what is depicted here is Real. Way Too Real.

I don't think the director set out to tell an entertaining story in the first place. With a plot like this, that would have been easy. Instead, he took a gamble. As someone who lives in a place that is slowly sinking into religious fascism, this was all too real. To see it being decipted with pinpoint accuracy was bone chilling. The Helplessness, the Fear and how some people are always ready to use it to their advantage. Once you realise that, you understand 2 things. First, why this series exists in the first place. And second, how close this world is to insanity. As someome who has experienced it all first hand, this could happen anywhere, anytime and to anyone.

A few unexplained things, and all that's all it takes for all hell to break loose.

Though not for everyone, Hellbound is a strong thriller with very powerful elements. The way human beings are potrayed is extremely realistic, and for anyone who has lived in a situation of religious fascism, extremely relatable. Among all the shows that has explored these themes, this was the best Korea or anyone in the world has produced yet (I have watched them all, even the ones with low ratings). Don't miss it if you are okay with dark heavy themes and are willing to look at Human Nature for what it is.

Few things definitely could have been better, like a more bare sound design to create regular tension. No doubt about that. Search (2020) is an excellent example of how to do that. At the same time though, I think it does what it set out to do brilliantly! Not all cinema is out there to entertain. Some can simply exists as an warning. And this is a strong one.

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Oh boy, I'm fucking mad.

This review is the ultimate shattering of pretty illusions caused by all the decietful 10 star rated reviews of this drama, provided by yours truly.

See I have no problem if you loved the show, if this kind of thing is your thing and you enjoyed watching it. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion and boos should do their yous.
But, if you're tryna sell me the fact that 'this drama is a beautiful redemption story filled with well-developed characters and a thoughtout plot-line', I'm going to have to tell you to sit the fuck down.
Because, that's not it at all. Objectively speaking, Sawang Biang is quite a simplistic story targeted to appeal to mankind's perverse pleasure. It's really not that deep. I personally like complex, wounded characters who're almost unforgivable but at the very least, I want them to be well written in order to understand their reasons.

Kawee, to put it simply, is a pathetic little bitch.

A child of abuse and neglect (both of which aren't properly explored) who's fundamentally broken but has very little reason to be. A spoiled brat with daddy issues- basically every rich kid's life story nowadays. Even if I don't bring out the 'kids in Africa with worse lives' argument, it's still safe to say that Kawee had no right or reason to act out the way he did. He pretended to be tough but was weak to his core. Someone deprived of love, affection and angry at the world. All these things should've amounted to him being quite an interesting and complex character but instead, the show made him fall flat. Which is why, though I liked the potential he had, I hated what he ended up being.

A lot of people described the show with flowery words like 'a beautiful story of a man's broken road to redemption' except that road broke and came to a dead end far before it could ever reach its goal.

Kawee's actions are surely unforgivable and the only way he could've been saved was if he had the brutal wake up call of self actualization. If he truly realized how horrible he had been. If his sins woke him up at night and tormented him. If he developed a deep rooted guilt and then travelled a slow journey towards being a somewhat better person; someone not fully redeemed but not the devil he was before either. Here, however Kawee changes like the whether. He wakes up one day, realizes he's gonna be a father and is all like 'Oh shit, time to be a saint now' and the next day we see him be the best person alive.

Like for fuck sake, we're talking about an extremely damaged person with deep rooted insecurities here. How the hell can a few sentimental speeches expressing regret and a few months of asskissing possibly erase all the destruction he wreaked in an innocent woman's life?
Let's not forget the fact that he constantly boasts about all the 'good' things he does being all like ' Isn't this enough, Narin? I'm trying so hard for you, can't you see?' Really bitch? Fite me.

Now for all those who say that the chemistry between the leads was great...
Are you out of your Goddamn mind?

Maybe I'm blind but where you saw chemistry I saw massive cruelty. This wasn't a case of dubious consent where the girl is half-willing and half not. No. This was an act of pure and unadulterated malice. He rapes her, beats her, manipulates and blackmails her to do his bidding and treats her like a dog on a collar. There is nothing remotely romantic about it. It's infuriating is what it is.

Almost as worse as the Main lead, were the side characters. I have never encountered a more ridiculous drama mom in my entire life. She's so nice, so kind, so lovely that her piety takes over all her brain cells. Even though she is clearly aware of what a douche bag Kawee is, she forces her abused daughter to constantly apologize to him and be nice to him.
I mean, how clueless can you be? However, when she finally gets a clue and makes this 'I'll never let him hurt my daughter again' declaration; she acts on this statement by acting all chummy with her daughter's rapist the next day by teaching him how to cook.
Bravo Mama, Bravo.

The rest of the meddling no-lifers known as the supporting cast were no good either. They constantly guilt tripped the heroine, making her believe as if she's the one in the wrong for not easily forgiving the man who destroyed her life. They consistently forced her to be with him and it's an all out classic case of victim blaming.

Even her pregnancy docter tells her to obey the man. Like bro? Y'all are acting like he stole her pup and she's mad. No, that asshat stole her life, her happiness and her virginity. Unfuckingbelievable.

To be real with you, I'm not a faint hearted or easily offended person. I've watched and read far brutal stories than this. A lot of people take up controversial topics and then proceed to effectively ruining it. Been there, seen that. The real reason why I'm so passionately angry about the show is how much it trivializes rape. It makes it appear as something that is normal. Nobody in the show properly adresses the issue or deals with the repercussions. Rape used to be a word bomb; an absolute taboo but here it's shown like an everyday thing. If you're not going to properly adress the subject and the aftermaths of it, why the hell are you putting it in your show in the first place? What's worse is that while I was watching this show even I, for a minute overlooked the whole rape thing with how normalized it was but later, when I thought about it and the scenes revolved around my head, I was deeply shook.

There is no way a victim and an assaulter can be together the way they are in Sawang Biang. Kawee has no reason to love Narin and it's obvious that what he feels, is this sick infatuation and ownership towards her because of how much he physically and mentally controls her. Narin, on the other hand has no other option but to accept him. She's forced into a situation where she has a kid to protect, humiliation to face and family and friends that think she's the villain. This is an unfortunate compromise of a union disguising itself as a love story and I call bullshit.

The only reason I even gave it a three stars was because of Ken and Anna. I liked both their acting. The way Ken twisted his pretty features into pure ugliness made Kawee an all the more deplorable character. Narin played by Anna was strong though out. She resisted the situation as best as she could and was someone whose will wasn't truly broken till the very end.

I don't recommend this drama to anybody so if you are someone who likes to venture in the realm of the dark, go read Six by K.I Lynn. It's far graphic than this show but has characters that stay true to themselves till the very end and find love in horrible circumstances.

Enjoy!

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Not Even The Right Shade of Song Ah’s Lipstick Could Save This Series...

As an eponymous novel adapted into a 16-part drama, it is always evident that there will be implausibilities with storytelling due to having cut certain material and storylines, however, the drama “ She Would Never Know”( or alternatively translated “Sunbae Don’t Put On The Lipstick”’s ) biggest inconsistency ultimately boils down to its inability to accurately create driving characters and storyline, as well as an intrinsically well-rounded relationship between our two main leads Song Ah ( Won Jin Ah) and Chae Hyun Seung ( Wo Roon).

Surprisingly the concept of the show wasn’t entirely “ terrible” in itself. Although not original or thoughtful by playing out its concept as an office romance drama , screenwriter Chae Yoon did seem to initially introduce interesting themes about South-Korean culture from the workplace, the beauty industry and the clear divide between respect of older colleagues as well as this posing an obstacle to seek out relationships ( as shown by Hyun Seung’s respectful term “ Sunbae” ). However, this show soon gave way to its own calamitous downfall by choosing rather than exploring these issues of social divide with respect and dignity, glossing them over in biased favour of the questionable relationship and characterisation between Song Ah and Hyun Seung over the course of the series.

Before continuing this review, it is important to advocate that the problems of the characters did not lie with either Jin Ah or Wo Roon as actual actors in the series . Although honestly both actors have had more beguiling performances in the past ( Jin Ah in “Steel Rain” and Wo Roon famously in “Extraordinary You”), there was nothing entirely unwatchable about either actor during their performance. At the same time, it is a fair conclusion that there was nothing intrinsically captivating about either performance , however, this may also be deduced as a consequence of the quality of screenwriting as well and the problems behind characterisation .

Before addressing possibly the biggest elephant in the room through the character of Hyun Seung, it is probably important to explain why Song Ah was an intrinsically poorly-written female lead upon certain grounds.

As a character, Song Ah was defined notably by her trope as the “ Sunbae” archetype; the “ slightly older female boss and crush ” of main lead Hye Seung, however, the “ age gap” between the characters never felt that strikingly important for the characters themselves . Although it is important to respect that a socio cultural age difference can be natural obstacle in relationships, even by South-Korean standards, a year difference between characters is nothing particularly shocking or controversial.

Beside her necessary drive as a plot mechanism for the affections and obstacles for Hye Seung within her relationship with the sociopathic Lee Jae Shin ( Lee Hyun Wook), it was hard to prominently define Song Ah as anything more than a complacent doormat for the male characters in the series to walk upon.

This is not advocating that Song Ah didn’t react emotionally to her circumstances and it did help to present a level of some humanity at times to her character, however, at the same time, viewers never really can intrinsically “get to know” Song Ah as anything more than the “ love interest” in the series; we do not get to see a lot about Song Ah’s background and wider interactions with friends and family to learn more intimately about Song Ah as a defined person, and her intrinsic reasonings towards even going out with Jae Shin ( despite his despicable personality) in the first place. Additionally what is also teeth-grinding about Song Ah as a character was falling hook, line and sinker again for the same and just as problematic relationship with Hye Seung. This is not stating that Song Ah shouldn’t have been with Hye Seung due to being the main pairing of the show, but the message put across by the screenwriter seemed to implicate that Song Ah had both little self-respect and dignity as an individual by allowing Hye Seung to continue on with his emotional manipulation without raising problems against this.

Naturally, this draws us onto the biggest elephant in the room; Hye-Seung. Introduced as the “hoobae” of Song Ah and a younger man at the company, and the “ hopeless romantic”, Hye-Seung’s feelings for Song Ah in the beginning of the series are fairly sweet and naturally act as the major driving force of the drama through trying to win the affections of Song Ah . However, only a couple of times in the series, are we actually exposed to Hye-Seung’s sense of identity outside of obsessions with Song Ah, and when we are shown this Hye-Seung’s flaws become strikingly prominent and unaddressed to audiences. The most notable weakness of Hye-Seung’s character can be sourced from his feelings towards Song-Ah growing to become a fairly self-absorbed and disenchanted obsession that he will win her over through meddling in her social life outside of work.

This is certainly most striking in the first episode with Hye-Seung’s direct words to Song Ah shown onscreen ‘ it doesn’t suit her’ by wiping away her lipstick. Although this can be initially taken on in a romantic light by Hye-Seung’s overt intimacy establishing the main pairing in the series, there was something a little unsettling by Hye Seung’s to control even Song Ah’s appearance in this scenario. To make matters worse for those unaware what was happening in the pretext of this scene, Hye Seung decides then to openly tell Song Ah of her boyfriend Jae Shin’s behaviour behind her back. Arguably, Hye Seung was open to Song Ah rather than leading her around in circles about Jae Shin’s behaviour, however, it seemed a symbol of repressive control by Hye Seung to suddenly start dictating Song Ah’s personal life in a form of emotional manipulation.

This often made it hard to truly romanticise or see both respect and dignity towards the relationship of Hye Seung and Song Ah, due to neither character being able to learn from past mistakes or addressing one another’s problems mutually in a health manner. The perfect example or the is seen in a later episode from the series when a drunk Hye Seung bumps into an emotionally unstable Song Ah and proceeds to proclaim that they should date. This is not just merely controlling, but emotionally manipulative upon Hye-Seung’s part as well.

Naturally, romantic relationships in real life are messy and complicated, and there was some elements of this transcending over into the relationship of Hye Seung and Song Ah in these scenes, however, it is important also to consider both Hye Seung’s past habit of emotionally gaslighting Song Ah, as well as Song Ah’s worrying complacency to these acts as well. . Rather than allowing Song Ah space and time away or approaching Hye Seung with good intentions as a friend before a lover due to her conflicted emotional state of being, he is too egotistical within his own selfish desires to date her, than to actually respect her feelings and psyche. This is not a healthy or symbiotic relationship of respect and dignity.

The pacing of the show oddly felt imbalanced as a consequence of the invest within Hye Seung and Song Ah’s lacklustre pairing often driving away a sense of overarching storyline and greater focus on other characters such as Jae Shin and more interestingly the chairman’s granddaughter Lee Hyo Joo (Lee Joo Bin) . Yet rather than allowing viewers to see intrinsic development and obstacles within the romantic pairings of the show, the drama rode too heavily upon cliches often resulting in the overall storyline feeling run-of-the-mill, than captivating or an intriguing love story. The ending is evidently sugary sweet, but perhaps delivered a less impactful result than viewers originally hoped.

Fundamentally it is probably fair to say that “ She Would Never Know” wasn’t terrible within acting or the premise itself, but it became its own worst enemy with poorly-tackled characterisation, a questionable portrayal of a relationship between our main leads, lacking overarching storyline and plot as well as pacing. This is a typical and cliche romantic drama perfect if you’re bored and have nothing else to do, but certainly not worth spending actual time watching.

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Overrated; fast forwardable (if there’s such a word)

Plot: weak, mostly focused on the male lead’s talent and work, slow-paced romance is okay with me but there are too many unnecessary scenes like gaming and aerospace; they should have made a movie out of this than a drama. Finished this in one day because i pressed the fast forward button a lot; no deep character development just passion for their job and each other; humor is okay

Acting: I like reba but her acting here is just the same in fashion designer — bland and restrained. She’s better in TLB. I like yangyang too, compared to love o2o, his acting is better here. His eyes are more expressive. Both actors definitely have chemistry together, if there’s one thing I love about this drama, it’s their romance. Normal conflicts of couples that get resolved easily; to compromise; more on slice of life

Music: forgettable

Rewatch value: only all the kissing scenes and their banter

Overall: it was okay. Or maybe I expected too much and it didn’t reach my expectations. Just overhyped and full of visual attacks from these two good~looking actors. I wish they collaborate again but not with this kind of plot.

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ALL HURT & NO COMFORT

This series looks at love through rose-tinted glasses and calls it a day. Emotionally manipulative and angsty, this BL tries so hard to make you root for one of the main characters but fails hilariously.

STORY & CHARACTERS: There's nothing new or unique about this story. You've seen this shtick before in most breakup dramas. The common tropes of moving back to the childhood village, reuniting with the past lover, and having the main love interest chase the other stubbornly - have all been used before, but that's not the problem. These predictable tropes aren't really the story's downfall. It's the fact that the mystery of the break-up was recycled from the first season. The themes of insecurity and low self-esteem were already the major conflicts in S1.

Season 2 was basically the same thing, but with higher budget and more unnecessary characters that got more screentime than the two main characters.

There's no plot twist here, folks. One of the main characters (Ji Woo) is literally just the carbon copy of his S1 persona. He did not develop at all, but just regressed to a more selfish coward who spews hypocrisy and hate every time he opens his mouth. He verbally abuses Seo Joon, the other main character but asks for comfort from the latter ("please hug me"-ep 10) when he's the one who finally gets rejected.

This is endless angst with Ji Woo consistently hurting Seo Joon for 7 episodes:

First strike: JW knew that SJ has extreme emotional trauma from being abandoned by his parents, and yet he still abandoned SJ without a proper goodbye on his birthday.

Second strike: Every chance he gets or in all their interactions, JW sees it fit to hurl emotional abuse & insulting words to SJ. SJ did not do anything wrong in this relationship. Even with his his exhausting schedule, SJ still makes time to see JW. Sometimes, he only sleeps for two hours just so he can hang out with JW. SJ neglects his health and his own friends for JW.

Third strike: JW let SJ sleep in that brutally cold camper van for DAYS because he couldn't summon enough humanity to be kind to the person he proclaimed he loves.

Fourth strike (and the most hurtful): JW slept with SJ, and told SJ the morning after that they could continue this "fuckbuddy" relationship. That was the lowest blow, and you could really see the exact moment SJ's face falls at the implication.

TLDR: This series has no heart. It tries so hard to tell a deep, idealistic story by making everyone cry their heart out in the dark (seriously, the lighting is so bad. I can barely see anything), but it doesn't quite make it because it's hard to get past the baseless cruelty & hurt. There is NO justifiable excuse for JW's behavior- of him emotionally scarring someone just because he himself is feeling lonely & isolated.

JW's pain & chosen isolation are understandable. His mental instability is not his fault. Choosing to break off a relationship is not a sin nor should it be condemned. He has every freedom to do so, but nothing can ever excuse or justify every single hurtful word and behavior JW chose to throw at SJ.

FINALE: There's no comfort or genuine resolution in this story. It isn't realistic or even idealistic at all. Nobody would want to have this kind of relationship filled with inequality & insincerity. In the end, the writers will try to put a band-aid on all the emotional trauma & abuse, but it's simply not enough. Strong angst & decent acting, but not much else. This love story is as shallow and insincere as Ji Woo's love for Seo Joon. Truly a tearjerker but for all the wrong reasons. 5/10

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Well... I am writing this review completely depressed because I finished yet another amazing drama, and now it's going to be hard for me to find a new one...

Ok, I'll start with the small things first, but if you really want my actual opinion, just skip to the story part. Music. I thought it was pretty good, but then again, music is one of the small things I pay attention to... But, seeing how it didn't disturb the scenes in any way, but rather added more emotion into them, I give music a ten.

Acting/Cast. Oh gosh. What can I say? For me, I think all the actors were absolutely amazing. If I were to recast this, I couldn't imagine the story with any other actors. In fact, I'm sure the entire cast were all unfamiliar faces to me, but I thought they portrayed their characters wonderfully.

Rewatch Value. Hm... I usually give amazing dramas like this one (which have a huge impact on me) a rewatch value of 8. I really do want to watch it again, but I don't want to go through all the depressing moments again... I can't really give an accurate review for this one, so I'll just give it a 7...

Yay! Finally. The story. Just... wow. I really couldn't have expected anything better. I liked how the producers spaced the drama out. 29 episodes may seem like a lot for a drama, as most South Korean dramas usually have 16, 18, or 20 episodes. So, you're probably thinking that with lots of long dramas, there are going to be slow periods at the middle. However, that is not the case with this one. WBDS is almost like two series' combined into one. There are small climaxes in the story at around episode 5, and episode 23, and one huge climax at episode 14-16. In fact, After that climax, many new characters were introduced, and it seemed to me as though a new series was starting. Another thing about this drama that impressed me a lot were the bonds between friends and family. I was absolutely amazed with how much strength was shown in those bonds... Argh. I don't think I can give any more explanations without it resorting to spoilers... Also, I loved how the story not only told a story of a generation, but the story of many. The drama contained small parts which focused on each of the main characters, and with those tidbits, I realized that I could relate with them, and understand each character a little more. Throughout the drama, the main characters matured considerably (and a small thing I realized was that the producers changed the hairstyles of the main characters throughout the drama to reflect their personality). Ok, now for the negatives, and why I didn't give the story a ten. Well, there is really only one reason for this drama not to receive a ten. I actually thought the story was very well thought out and executed, but in truth, it was much too depressing. Too many great characters died (hope that's not a spoiler...) and while this happens with 98% of everything I watch, I still have not grown desensitized to my favourite characters dying. Also, Yeo Woon is one of the most pitiful characters I've ever seen, and I really don't like it when a character is too pitiful, especially when he looks like THAT. You know what I mean.

All in all, I loved everything about it except for the utterly depressing death scenes.

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Fun couple, emotionally engaging in most parts, they lost me a bit at the end.

Day (Sea Tawinan Anukoolprasert) was an aspiring athlete until his cornea was injured and told that he'd become blind eventually. While Day is living his days with his remaining sight, he meets Mhok (Jimmy Jitaraphol Potiwihok), who is hired by his mother to be his caretaker. Mhok and Day's moments together make them attached to each other, but their relationship gets really tough at some point.

"Last Twilight“ emphasizes the challenge of being in a relationship, rather than the obstacles in getting together. From how they portrayed Day and Mhok, it feels more of a character-driven story than plot-driven. As much an independent person he is, Mhok's past prevents him to fully express himself. Day is no 'damsel-in-distress' in his situation, but he often doubts his decisions through the ups and downs of their relationship.

Despite the somewhat sad premise, these two are fun and adorable. Another one that has my heart is Day's brother, Night. I enjoy his story and their brotherhood. The one I never understand is Day's mother. She is talking wise and all-knowing but her attitude is childish.

It was lovely except for the last quarter part, where the conflicts felt forced. They keeps showing us somewhat hopeful cliffhangers, but when we get to the actual scenes they felt underwhelming. At the last minute, they employed a trope I dislike before jumping to conclusion. The ending wasn't that satisfying but worked out pretty conveniently. Last note, this drama has a better than average production value (the editing and OST) as a Thai drama, I appreciate that.

-Jan 2024, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

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