Yes, it is sentimental. Yes, it is emotionally intense. Yes it is a Love Story - KDrama style.
"Sad Love Story" marks the beginning of the wave of success that over the past two decades has carried KDrama far across the South Korean peninsula. It has mastered the art of telling drama in a way that grips the heart and doesn't let go until the end - even if some aspects are predictable and there are clichés: the journey is the goal. One is always close to the emotions of the protagonists and they move unrestrainedly up and down. More drama is always possible. Yes, it is sentimental. Yes, it intends to be emotionally intense. Yes it is a Love Story - KDrama style.Actually, "Sad Love Story" is a love story through and through. Touching in all possible directions. Obviously 'sad' too. The story navigates between 'blissful' and 'desperate' within a fascinating field of tension and relentlessly takes the audience along. At the same time, "Sad Love Story" is a study of how often supposedly small interventions (actually more like assaults) - sometimes nasty and selfishly motivated, sometimes noble and well-meaning - can mercilessly plunge one (or more) lives into misfortune. The level of pain and suffering people can endure is amazing (and encouraging). This story is fictional, but reality is full of it in all sorts of variations.
Among other things, in this KDrama one is confronted with the USA - from a South Korean perspective. That's quite interesting, too. "Sad Love Story" thus points towards a reality that people in the 21st century might be happy to forget. South Koreans and Germans probably have this in common: the presence of foreign military forces. Since the Korean War of 1950-1953, the USA, as an ally, has operated various military bases in South Korea to help defend the country in the event of a military threat from North Korea. After Japan and Germany, the United States is showing its strongest military presence with its troops stationed in South Korea. Camp Humphreys south of Seoul is the largest unit with US military personnel stationed overseas. There are several more, i.e. including Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul, Camp Walker in Daegu, United States Navy Fleet Activities Chinhae near Busan, and two Air Force stations in Osan and Gunsan south of Seoul.
------------------ SIDE NOTE: --- "American Towns" ---
"Sad Love Story" puts the "America Town" (or "A-Town") of Gunsan in the focus of the story. The Air Force Station on the west coast is rather small, but the stationing of the US soldiers ensured that an entertainment culture geared to their specific needs was established. "American Town" in Gunsan is not the only one of its kind. They have thrived around all of these US bases since the 1950s. For example, today's hip Itaewon with its famous red-light district "Hooker Hill" in Seoul dates back to this "A-Town" culture, which specialized in entertaining the American GIs. Bars, restaurants, shops, services. Particularly lucrative: brothels... The KDrama also makes reference to the GI entertainment culture in the larger cities as it progresses. And finally also to the somewhat 'other' reality behind the dazzling GI heroes in uniform, which sometimes appears quite sobering when back 'at home' in the USA...
The "A-Town" was designated as an independent area with special "tourist facilities". It is a contractually regulated fringe zone, coordinated between the USA and South Korea - an intermediate world with its own laws. In spatial terms, too, it is located between the actual residential area (e.g. the city of Gunsan) and the air base. It consists of a cluster of bars, shops, restaurants and a few hundred small apartment buildings, each consisting of one room, kitchenette and toilet. Here lived the prostitutes, barmaids, singers...
----------------------------------------------------
In "Sad Love Story", the protagonist's mother runs a bar in "American Town", that optionally offers additional comforting services, while the protagonist's aunt is a singer in this bar. Together with other employees, they live in the immediate vicinity of each other and form a kind of community, so to speak. The "A-Town" forms the setting in which most of the characters in this KDrama grow up or live. It's a world of its own. It is at the same time an existential basis, a shackle, a flaw and the driving force to wanting to break out. It is also the place of greatest happiness and source of inspiration for the two protagonists.
Anyone watching this series should have a handkerchief or two handy. The Wheel of Fortune challengingly turns for two souls who are deeply connected in love and who mutually encourage each other to actually be true to who they are. Mercilessly the wheel turns and turns and turns... To a certain extent, actor Kwon Sang-woo ties directly into his role in "Stairway to Heaven", while actress Kim Hee-sun shines as a stoically frugal blind person who due to her disability is often helplessly at the mercy of her environment.
I admint, I forgot quite a few KDramas relatively quickly after watching. However, there are some, that due to their emotional intensity, today are still as present as if I had just seen them. These KDramas create a state of being that one doesn't really want to leave - also (or precisely because) it consistently remains in this characteristic conflict between weal and woe. And I am sure, "Sad Love Story" will also be one of those memorable ones. The soundtrack skillfully catches this situation and never tires of throwing in its leitmotifs as a pacemaker. "Sad Love Story" may be 'old', also outdated in format and style, but at the same time the series is timeless. In its mercilessly stirring mixture of love story and makjang it´s one of several masterpieces of the early 2000s that offer Love-Story-telling in its unique KDrama way. It is not about ´watching´ a story from the outside, but letting it in and empathizing. However, you have to like this style. Also the repeated holding on to the emotional key scenes. E.g. the topic itself has long since been told, but so that it also emotionally reaches the audience, the shot stays a little longer...
It should also be noted that the mixing with the US military and the scenes in the USA required a comparatively active participation of ´American´ actors. Those who also speak Korean (for an uncomplicated, smooth organization on the set) are probably rather rare. The talented ones among those obviously even more so. In this respect, the production inevitably breaks down a bit in terms of its acting quality.
And last but not least: In general, the early KWave productions are still more soap-like-style and not comparable to those Netflix (co-)productions over the past 6 years. Being spoiled by recent production quality, one can certainly linger on one or the other detail, as well as on the abundance of episodes (i.e. more and more and even more maybe unnecessary emotional loopings for the actual story to be told). If you have a problem with that, I would not recommend this KDrama.
"Sad Love Story" is for lovers of mercilessly intense emotional, slow-paced Makjang Love-Stories with plenty of heartache and a clenched fist in the pocket (and sometimes in the face).
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This review may contain spoilers
A must-have for makjang-lovers. A roller coaster of evil where you end up feeling for the worst, too
"Five Fingers" is a must-have for all those who love "makjang". A roller coaster of evil... and it doesn't stop. The spectators are allowed to tear their hair, wriggle, turn, annoy themselves to the bitter end... It's about the piano, too - some battles take place while playing, being around and doing business with the grand piano.This is about family and South Korean family values/virtues in particular. Submission to the value system is declined as a virtue in all its fatality. In the interweaving of events, the viewer inevitably faces the question again and again: is it virtue or stupidity, virtue or impertinence, virtue or arrogance?
The series dates from 2012 and makes a cunning attempt to challenge viewers to confront the value system. The rebellious thoughts inevitably arise in the minds of the viewers, because the well-meaning decisions that the protagonists make over and over again drive the values surrounding family (love) to the absurd and trigger suffering one after the other.
The ambivalence inherent in this is exploited perfectly. The actors do their part.
With 30 episodes there may be a tendency to flee in between, but I don't know anyone who didn't stick it out to the end. The ending may not be the classic happy ending, but it may be the true happy ending: the wheel of fortune comes to a standstill. Peace.
At first glance, the greed for money and power seems to be the driving force behind all evil. But actually it is the greed for love and recognition. The wheel of fate and suffering has already been turned on long before the protagonists - the two half-brothers In-ha and Jin-ho - compete against each other. To a certain extent they live out the unresolved conflicts of their parents. If you want to ask who is to blame for everything, then the root goes back a long way. The father pulls the strings out of the grave and it goes even further. A nice psychological study. Especially since you can't help but feel sympathy for everyone, even the worst troublemakers.
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I like the way the script tells the story, nothing very fancy but it is presented as it is. God knows I hate stories that try too hard to move the audiences to the desired emotions. In Amachan, (almost) all happens as it is natural. It portrays everyone's tendency to change minds, as what Amano Aki does in the story. At first, she wants to be an ama diver, then a deep-sea diver to an idol and finally saving her hometown. But wait, don't we do change minds as much as hers? Yes, she is determined and passionate but she is by no means regular asadora heroines, who are all focused in one aspect of life or dreams. The character, as well as others in the show, is multidimensional and more intricate compared to most dramas.
The cast is very strong, from the veterans to character actors (surely the arsenal of character actors in this drama is extravagant) to the youngsters. Even the cameos are fascinating. As the lead, Rena Nonsense...errr... I mean Rena Nounen (lol I find it's very funny that her name rhymes that way) does a superb portrayal of Amano Aki. Her range of emotions are awesome and she plays her role with heart that is rare trait for a teenage kid like her. She reminds me of young Ueno Juri a lot and I bet she is the next big thing in Japanese TV and movie scene.
Music-wise, it has a plethora of nice background music. But it is the opening soundtrack that stands out of the rest. I'd dare to say that theme song is one of the best opening theme ever made in any TV shows. Props to the composer who has done a great job.
The ending is a bit unsatisfying, somewhat rushed and a bit too optimistic, the last story arch needs at least 40 episodes to complete while in fact there are only 20 or so. That's why I settled with overall point of 9, it could be another 10 if the ending is good. I hope they have a plan to make a special episode to rectify the "fault", but in my scoring algorithm, 9 is enough to warrant a "must watch" label.
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Upon looking at the promotional posters and trailers, I instantly thought this would be the sex comedies that I had come to expect from some gay Thai dramas. After watching the first episode, I was pleasantly surprised.
The story is simple but unique in its premise. The characters are all so different and have their own flaws that the series doesn't feel ashamed to make fun of and exploit.
Under the sexual humor, there is a very serious message. It explores homophobia, infidelity, sexually transmitted diseases, and complicated love.
If you want something different from your dramas, I recommend this drama. Diary of Tootsies makes you laugh, cry, and cringe.
It's absolutely amazing.
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This review may contain spoilers
A heartfelt study of sex, love, and relationships
Don’t mistake this for a sex comedy, and please ignore the inadequate plot description above.With full-bodied characters that move beyond cliches, this Taiwanese drama is a bold study of what makes our relationships intimate and meaningful. It’s beautifully made, with an excellent script and cast.
The story is told through one family. Two parents, three children.
The mother and father have allowed resentment to build up in their marriage for reasons that become clear later in the drama. The eldest son, Yu Sen, is a card shark in an unsatisfying open relationship with his boyfriend. The eldest daughter, Chu Wei, yearns for a deeper emotional and sexual connection with her distracted professor husband. And the youngest daughter, Chu Ai, is a wax technician and an influencer. She runs a YouTube channel that offers frank discussions about sex, while maintaining her key argument that love and sex are two separate things.
There’s another main character—the youngest daughter’s regular hookup and friend, Ping Ke, who is wrestling with hangups about dating culture based on his unconventional family history. The actor, Kai Ko, brings this character to life in a way that only he can. He carries the character’s emotional weight with his whole being and you truly feel for him.
Well, what happens?
A heartfelt and unexpected romance unfolds between the son and an uncouth gangster. For BL fans, this part of the story is for you. The eldest daughter and her husband rediscover each other after a challenge to their relationship. And the youngest daughter confronts a past experience that has influenced her opinion of romantic relationships. All of the characters grow.
A central message in the story is that it is harmful to repress our true feelings—whether about our intimate desires and needs or even our anger toward the people closest to us. The message is that our relationships become healthier when we share our inner thoughts.
The script dares to approach so many relevant issues that aren't always talked about; like choosing not to have children, despite pressure from parents; or sexual compatibility issues in gay relationships; or treating STIs without shame. These are just a few. The drama is clever in discussing these issues without being didactic.
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First and for the love of god, why is Type's character written like the biggest asshole in town. If ever id meet someone like Type in real life id definitely run the other way. Yes there was a traumatic experience but its not an excuse to be an arse.
My advise to my fellow LGBTQ memebers here, dont ever date someone like Type in real life. He will make your life a living hell, this guy is so toxic and you deserve better. And also when your roommate tells you he hates gays like you, you go away as fast as you can, not secretly touch him when he is sleeping. That's called sexual harassment. And all the more reason for him to hate gay guys. And also, when somebody sexually harasses you, you dont open the cave to let them in, you go to police. The show is just not sending the right message.
One of the most annoying character ever is Tar. He was annoying in Love by Chance and he was as equally annoying here. (i dont hate the actors just the character). He was introduced so early in the show only to really matter in the last 2 or 3 episodes - and a bit creepy almost incestious onesided relationship with the stepbrother.
When i reviewed SOTUS, i said there was almost no intimate moments - this one is the exact opposite.
Hard to rewatch. I give it an overall rating of 6.
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No good deed goes unpunished.
This is a melodramatic story about a badass assassin Shen Lige and Liu Yikang, titled Prince Pengcheng who was best known for reforms that heralded a golden age for the short lived Liu Song dynasty (420-479). In real life, Liu Yikang was probably a dull and dusty fellow who promulgated legislation and ably shouldered the burden of tedious administrative tasks artfully dodged by his brother the allegedly sickly emperor Wen. In this romanticized account, Pengcheng falls in love with the beautiful and deadly Lige, who helps him drain the swamp and weed out a bunch of corrupt and rebellious aristrocrats who are disenfranchised by his reforms.Shen Lige (Li Qin) must be one of the strongest, most badass, most lethal and most gorgeous female leads of c-drama. She makes a grand entrance and her character is awesome up until the bitter end and is the strongest selling point of this drama. Li Qin's acting is so superb her Lige is powerful, engaging, fierce yet still feminine and her expressions are nuanced and emotionally on point. Initially I was not convinced on her pairing with Qin Hao - he is obviously quite a bit older and her "lao tou"/old dude jokes did not help. But Qin Hao is a very compelling actor and in no time, I was rooting for Lige and Pengcheng. While their chemistry is not sizzling or deeply passionate, they are both smart characters that are clearly on the same wavelength and make a formidable team. That said, I feel an actor of Qin Hao's caliber was somewhat wasted on a role such as Pengcheng - he would have made a far more compelling villlain. I also did not like the noticeable skin smoothing they did on him which obscured his micro expressions.
All of the characters in this drama are just simply fantastic. How can you not love Prince Jingling who has the best, most subtly comical facial expressions? Or the completely adorable, wholesome loving, humble devoted goodness that is Shen family? Or the mischevious Zijin and Lige's loyal assassin fraternity? There are so many wonderful, well written characters that are charismatically portrayed and interact with so much chemistry and rapport that you can't help falling in love with them. Guard your hearts carefully though because one of the key takeaways of this drama is that no good deed goes unpunished and compassion and mercy is repaid with treachery and murder. Of course we can't expect all of the characters to survive but there have to be enough survivors to keep us invested in the drama and this one barely makes it. The deaths also have to be "good deaths" at the hands of a worthy opponent and not at the hands of say a puny mutant ninja flying cockroach.
Very much like its predecessor Weiyoung, the villains in this drama are quite enjoyable almost cartoonlike caricatures with very dramatic, somewhat comical facial expressions. Lu Yuan is an excellent, overpowering villian. And Consort Sun relishes hamming it up so much at many points she appears on the verge of cracking up with laughter. However, there are also too many repetitive petty villains with cliché motives and too many lives. The main villains and in particular the mastermind in black (whose identity was obvious quite early on) are interesting characters that should have been better developed instead of digressing into sibling rivalry, green eyed monster and excessive bitch slapping tropes. Unfortunately, the villain spotlight was hijacked by the very pretty Shen Leqing, a well acted but two dimensional character with pedestrian motives. I guess in life and in art, men can see better than they can think.
The story writing is where this exhausting melodrama falls down hard. The plot is predictable and smacks of Weiyoung. Heavy suspension of disbelief is needed because from the get go, a lot of things that don't make sense happen. I rolled my eyes so often that I can no longer tell if my right and left eyeballs have exchanged sockets! But the acting is so delightful and there are so many thrilling moments that for the first 20+ episodes I went with it. At some point however, the excessive plotting and the rollercoaster ride of emotional ups and downs as beloved characters are mowed down with reckless impunity while petty villains survive against improbable odds becomes simply too much. The drama peaks in the mid-30s after the most well developed villain is felled and it further loses momentum after some of my best loved characters are gratuitously killed off. It limps through some repetitive sub-plots towards an unexpectedly good ending which I almost missed because I wasn't that motivated to finish. I find the writers of this drama guilty of writing under the influence of alcohol. They tortured my eyeballs with cruel and reckless depravity and are hereby sentenced to writing commercials for the next 15 years. The surprisingly fitting ending qualifies them for probation after 8.0 years, which is also my rating for this drama.
There seems to be some confusion over the ending so I am copying my a spoiler tagged explanation of what happened from the threads to the comment section of this review.
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It was my first time to watch the main leads in a project and their acting was just fine . I also wasn't able to read the novel in which this drama was based from so I'm not quite sure if the readers' idea of Yichen and Mosheng was played faithfully by Wallace and Tiffany. More than the main leads, Xiao Xiao (Mi Lu) and Yuan Feng (Yang Le)'s story stole the show for me. They were so entertaining to watch that I wish they even had more scenes because they were so great!
Just like "Boss & Me", the music did not disappoint and can easily make you feel good. My favorite was the opening song by Zhang Jie with the same title as the drama. I'm already downloading the OST as of writing this review haha!
I'm not a rewatcher so I didn't give a high score for that though I'd be fine in rewatching some of the scenes that made me happy and feel good. Overall, the drama had its fair share of angst (also annoying) and romantic moments but still managed to be a relaxing watch which made me love it. I haven't watched so many good C-dramas yet but I consider this as one of the good ones so far so you may try this out if you're craving for some romantic/nostalgic-themed drama to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
Crisp and tasty KDrama - revolving around some hot topics that one might rather want to call sci-fi
Intelligent, sharp, with strong characters. A crisp and tasty KDrama. “Blood Free” got me immediately - with an original hook, set within a gripping milieu, topped by thoughtful demeanor of interestingly authentic protagonists and splendid casting.Of course, the interfering natural interest of those in power (who obviously can never keep their hands off) is not at all surprising. Yet, the processing of some rather hot contemporary issues was presented in a refreshingly concise manner. Including topics that one might call a dream of the future... A bit far-fetched here and there? Perhaps. Nevertheless, often enough well grounded in common sense.
I assume there could as well be a second season... because the end doesn´t necessarily have to be the end, does it?
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In the ocean of sugary sweet love stories with clichés like accidental kiss scenes and drunken confessions or over the top makjangs with evil in laws and memory losses, I found a drama that is slow paced, mature and tackles some heavy matters with a very realistic approach. I thought it’s impossible to show the story about two people finding love outside their marriage in the world of a very conservative Korean television, so with every episode I watched, I was growing more and more surprised that the drama didn’t change its tone in any of the typical directions, so either overly melodramatic or exaggerated comedy. It finished just as it started: calmly, simply and without big declarations or unexpected plot twists. I agree that the last two episodes weren’t as well-thought as the first part of the drama, but considering this sudden decision to cut it by 4 episodes, I think they did an exceptional work anyway.
I liked the cast. Even though I think that Kim Ha Neul is not a greatest actress, she played the role of a timid, dependant Choi Soo Ah perfectly. She and a male lead, Lee Sang Yoon, had an amazing chemistry. I don’t know how they did it, but every time they touched or even so much as looked at each other, you could feel intense feelings between them. However their chemistry was very mature and perfectly fit for the flow of the story. The rest of the cast was also very good, I especially connected with Soo Ah’s best friend Mi Jin, who was flawed, but that’s what made her very human and likeable.
To sum it up, I really loved On the Way to the Airport and I wish there were more dramas like that. I loved its simplicity and the courage to set the story around subjects that are more often than not considered forbidden. If you’re looking for a break from typical tropes, you won’t be disappointed.
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This review may contain spoilers
Just When You Think You Know What's Going On, You Don't, Or Do You?
First up I know a lot of people dropped this drama early on and at times I can see why but you're really missing out on the greater part of the drama by doing this. The actual plot line doesn't start up until around the end of episode 4. The first few episodes are building up to the actual plot line and while I do think it's needed I think they could've shortened this prologue of sorts to at least two episodes.I know a lot of people also dropped this drama because there hasn't been any romance...yet I don't get why people came into this drama for romance when the tags clearly don't have that genre listed. Anyways on with my review.
Story/Plot:
Gets off to a slow start but it sets you up for this dark story of Dongbaek, a famous police officer who has the ability to see people's memories through touch. Cool right? Yes and No. There are people who love him and idolize him and then there are people who hate him and don't want him to touch them in fear they'll get arrested for something illegal they did years ago. Despite Dongbaek having the extraordinary ability to see people's memories he himself does not remember his childhood memories past a certain age. The only memory he can remember is someone murdering a woman he assumes is his mother. The plot moves forward to introduce to us our female lead Sunmi, she is the daughter of a man who was murdered by a serial killer who seems to have come back 20 years later.
However, not everything is as it seems. There is actually a serial killer out there dubbed as the Eraser, who like Dongbaek has a special ability in which they can erase/manipulate memories. Throughout the entire series you are left questioning who you can trust and you can't as you try and figure out who exactly the Eraser is. And like I mentioned in the headline just when you think you know, you really don't. (I had so many theories going the entire drama.)
Acting/Cast:
The acting is/was amazing. I am a huge Yoo Seungho fan and I'm really happy he took the role of Dongbaek. He plays him really well. I am also a fan of Lee Seyoung, I really liked her roles in The Best Hit and Vampire Detective. I personally really like her in badass female character roles. I also want to mention Jo Sungha is excellent as always.
Music:
Sometimes the music is not needed but honestly that's something that's typical in k-dramas. I did like the ending theme a lot though.
Rewatch Value:
I already sort of rewatched it. I watched up to episode 12 by myself and then later rewatched episodes 1 through 12 with my mom until she caught up with me. I recommend watching it twice you catch stuff you may have missed the first time through it.
Overall:
I personally think if the prologue part had been shortened 2 episodes it would've kept people more interested. I also think that episode's 13, 14, and 15 could've somehow been consolidated into 2 episodes at the most, it felt drug out. It almost seems to me that they were originally going to go a different route with the plot but changed it last minute, as there is a scene in one of the episodes previews that does not make an actually appearance in an episode. I think this drama could've easily been better off as a 12-14 episode drama. The drama is wrapped up nicely though, definitely worth a watch!
Don't let this get you down though, the drama plot is really fun to follow if you are an avid crime/fantasy watcher.
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The drama closest to my heart.
There are dramas that you either enjoy watching or you don’t. And then there are dramas like this that manage to reach the deepest parts of your heart.I believe It’s Okay to Not be Okay is a drama that you’ll fall in love with when the story hits close to home. There are many scenes throughout this drama that really made me cry and touched me in so many ways. And no, it wasn’t all the sad moments. The characters in this drama felt so real that I even cried out of happiness for them. Every time I watch this, I don’t see Kim Soo Hyun, Seo Ye Ji, and Oh Jung Se anymore. It is Moon Kang Tae, Ko Moon Young, and Moon Sang Tae, who I felt closer to than any character I’ve seen before.
Honestly, this is the first time I ever felt this way about a drama. I’ve watched ongoing dramas but I have never been this excited for every episode. My Saturdays and Sundays were never the same and without meaning to, I found really awesome people because of our shared suffering while waiting every week (you know who you guys are! <3). IOTNBO has made these past two months better and I can’t believe how time passed by so quickly.
I just loved everything about this drama: the cinematography, acting, soundtrack, and scriptwriting. This drama always gave us beautiful shots, awesome animation, and creative transitions. Kim Soo Hyun, Seo Ye Ji, and Oh Jung Se showed us stellar acting performances and broke my heart so many times. Even the supporting characters were really good at their roles. The OST was something that kept me going while waiting each week and I really appreciate how they had English songs. I also loved how the story had a balance between sad and happy moments. I usually get bored by a drama that’s too sad so I like how they insert comedic scenes in between. There are also so many relatable quotes and one of my favorites is a piece of advice from Doctor Oh.
“When you’re tired, get some rest. When you’re sad, go ahead and cry. It’s okay to take a break. Then one day, there will surely come a day when you’ll be able to run again.”
Another thing I really loved about this drama is how it was able to incorporate fairytales and stories in every episode. Ko Moon Young’s stories in particular were all really good, especially the one in the ending. I admire the writer for writing these fairytales on top of writing a drama.
I know this drama is by no means perfect. It still left me with a few questions about Moon Young’s mom. But truth be told, I am here for the relationships and development of the characters. It’s a small part of what is overall a satisfying journey. I finally agree with Kim Soo Hyun when he said that this is a healing drama. After all the sadness and pain, in the end, I finally felt the happiness and healing.
This drama might be either something you love or you don’t. We all have different stories. But what I’m really sure of is that this drama will always have a special place in my heart. :’)
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BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen
59 people found this review helpful
This is how you do romcom bl
I haven't laughed this much for a series recently. It's not about comedy scenes but they delivered it brilliantly.we can see the helplessness of the main lead (akafuji) to stay calm from his crush.. not just a crush, aoyagi is his everything. They are the perfect one's for this role. Because, not everyone can do the secret romance, tension, jealousy with humour in it, but they done it beautifully. I really loved the hidden aoyagi printed t shirt, the hand kiss, and his faint. omg I was laughing out loud and my parents came to me by asking whether you need to see a therapist or not....
I loved the whole cast. Mainly the dialogues of akafuji, 'today our eyes met for 2.7 seconds, I'm certain.. at that time my heart stopped beating'. Seriously who will count those seconds, he's head over heels for aoyagi.
it's a must watch guys.. but it only has 3 episodes... and that's the only negative here.
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Ready-made. Still worth seeing. Social satire about status & by all means climbing up social ranking
"Remarriage and Desires" tackles a central theme of South Korean social life: who should I, can I, must I or do I want to marry? Marriage, family and status throughout the centuries have been forming a magical triad in this Confucian shaped country - a triad which can decide how happy or unhappy life will become... Yet, these days within the framework of the short-timed everyday life and performance-oriented professional life in modern South Korea there is simply no time for naturally meeting someone and dating. However, the right choice is crucial. So instead of spending time, you spend money and thus can be matched up professionally. This actually has a good tradition in elite circles, where matchmakers were already in high demand during past Joseon days. Arranged marriages - whether devised by shamans, personal matchmakers, professional matchmaking agencies or parents - are widespread today and have recently become trendy even among the less elite classes of society. ... As a good choice can decide everything..."Remarriage and Desires" takes this subject into the grotesque - in a satirical guise with a proper breeze of Makjang. A stately squad of spiteful, greedy contemporaries at the highest ranks are brought together to tell a bitter tale of revenge on revenge on revenge. The bad news first: the Netflix production unfortunately does not get beyond a script that has been polished for the international streaming audience and that also seems to be off the shelf. The good news: KDrama is even good at telling such ready-made stories, too. By the way, it's the intensity of the female leads who are allowed to rock the makjang-show: Bad, worse, the worst... and there still is worse (The men rather become victims and ornaments.)
My criticism: Scheme-F. Ready-made.
The heartbeat get´s lost. The depth is missing. It's not really possible to develop an emotional closeness to the protagonists. Overall, "Remarriage and Desires" thus comes across as somewhat distant and stiff in comparison. As a spectator you will feel less sympathy (from the inside) and instead watch more (from the outside).
You might binge through the (only) 8 episodes pretty quickly. But without the nuances, something is missing. For me at least. I didn´t feel an emotional bonding growing of any sort. Too bad.
However! the KDrama is still worth seeing as a satirical social study about the South Korean middle and upper class (or a general would-like-to-marry-into-the-still-higher-class class).
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This review may contain spoilers
Before you start the review, it's going to be a long as review because I just like to spoil everything for everyone. lmao, jks. pls read on :) Story:
The synopsis isn't even right. I swear that is google translated or like when it's like do you want to translate from thai to english lmao. Anyway, I'm going to write two synopsis; one, where it's short and maybe won't make sense, lmao & the second one, obviously the whole story plot for those who enjoys major major massive spoilers.:) So pls choose...
1. Kiew's mother has cancer and under some circumstances they both end up living in Peat's house. Peat, not understanding and doesn't even want to hear an explanation from his father assumes she is the new mistress, (due to the fact that his late mother had just passed away not too long ago) & that Kiew is the love child who had come to take away his fortunes. He decides to make their life a living hell so that they would leave, but no matter what he does, they didn't leave. After some problems, Peat leaves Thailand to Korea to study & at this point no one knew where he had gone. Four years later, he returns to Thailand and starts working at his father's company competing against Kiew, as his revenge scheme.
2.
The story is about Peat & Kiew (obviously), they first meet each other in college and I guess you could say love at first sight. Kiew's mother has cancer and under some circumstances they both end up living in Peat's house. Peat, not understanding and doesn't even want to hear an explanation from his father assumes she is the new mistress, (due to the fact that his late mother had just passed away not too long ago) & that Kiew is the love child who had come to take away his fortunes. He decides to make their life a living hell so that they would leave, but no matter what he does, they didn't leave. After some more problems, Kiew's mum ends up at the hospital and ends up having an agreement with Peat's dad to let him adopt her. She becomes the adoptive daughter and more shit happens and Peat finally leaves Thailand to Korea & no one could find him until Kiew ends up in Korea for a university trip. There, they patch up and starts to understand each other until news broke out that Peat's dad adopted Kiew as his daughter and the heiress to the company. & so again, he lost the trust that they had just been bonding over. Four years later, he graduates and returns to Thailand on the same day that Kiew was introduced into the company. His dad not knowing he had came back was shock to see his son at the introductory but was glad and happy that he has returned. Peat openly announces that he has come back to take back what belongs to him & so the beginning of revenge begins. More problems happens and then he ends up in the hospital due to a motorbike incident where he finds out he is actually not the son of his dad. Feeling remorse for all the bad things he had done and said to his father and Kiew, he leaves the hospital and a search party ensues; Kiew finds him and they fight and ..... the moment of truth where he confess and tells her everything, the reasons why he started his revenge and basically everything. He takes her to his late mother's house where their love blossom into something more, but little did she knows and including everyone, was that he has started his revenge again (spoiler: because he read something from his mother's diary). They get caught in BED, yes BED, together and so Peat decides to marry Kiew to resolve it. //
Okay, stopping here because this is basically the entire drama, just that I haven't explain what happens after their marriage, but you can already guess it and I did write it, saying he takes revenge again, but this is another different revenge scheme as he gets marries to her. When I watched this live on the website, it was a real cliffhanger to me because obviously I couldn't understand Thai fully but maybe to some of you guys it might seems repetitive which I'd say it is because this drama is a revenge drama and so obviously it'll just be revenge right? But I actually really enjoyed this drama, even though it is really tiring to watch at some point but like it's not that bad and it has the highest ratings for it's time slot compares to others. There are some episodes where it takes soooooo long to just get to the point, and I felt that was really unnecessary, the first couple of episodes flew by really quick which made me draw into each individual characters and made me want to stay and see what's going to happen in the next episodes. & guys, pls let me know, was I the only who could not watch ep 23, like I just laughed throughout the whole episodes? Like there was something about it that was really off. but ep 24 did justice for me so oh well, haha, even though I did felt like it was a bit rushed especially from 23 transitioning to ep 24 it was like bam bam bam, like there wasn't that feeling of feeling bad for Peat but oh well. & oh, I lived for Khata's and Pa's scenes like, it just made me happy seeing them have banters at each other.
Cast/Acting:
Kiew: She is your typical nice, caring woman, knows right from wrong and doesn't give headaches to the parents. I really enjoyed seeing Bua play this type of character and so different from her character that she played earlier this year. There isn't really anything for me to critique because she is good at her role like I don't think I wasn't unhappy with anything she did in the drama.
Peat: omg, where should I start, lmao. yes he has the look and yeah that's preetty much it. lmao. jokes aside but I never really read the comment, I only do so to see if a drama is worth watching but there was so many saying that he only has the look and they couldn't really get through the drama. Honestly, it wasn't that bad like his acting, at first was kind of off and plus in episode 23 because I just couldn't take it seriously but other than that it was pretty good. Like his character is supposed to be an arrogant, jerk, self centered, only love myself kind of dude because of the lack of love he got from his dad and plus his mother bought him up like that, and feeding him with lies about his dad, I mean half of them was true and half of them was not. Some even said he was misogynist but I don't think his character is supposed to be portrayed like that. Like you can clearly see that he has Chaya as his girl friend and plus he loves Kiew so I don't know what definition yalls be using for misogynist, lol. His character was pretty tiring to see at times but trust me yalls, it actually is pretty good. The fact that he was just so driven with anger, and revenge just made him forgot who he really is, to his friend, he is a really warm-hearted young man, who speaks his mind and straight forward when he doesn't like something.
Kriss: I would say Kriss is the mysterious person in a group of friends. haha. He is someone that you wouldn't be able to tell if he is sincerely happy or being annoyed. Kriss' character is someone that would do anything for the person he loves aka Chaya, he does everything to make Chaya happy. I would say that Kriss has so much anger building inside from all the things that Peat does to Chaya that he starts to revenge Peat as well. But the truth is, I guess he just wanted to be notice by Chaya and to make her realise that Peat isn't the one for her. He actually is a really kind person, who helped Kiew in a lot of hardships & in the first half of the drama, he wasn't taking sides, he knew when to side with his friends or when not too. Especially when Chaya becomes Peat's supposedly "mistress".
Chaya: This girl was a really sad character. She just wanted to be noticed by Peat and she stood by him through thick and thin. I would totally blame it on Peat, he knew that Chaya loved him for so many years but he never once told her that he doesn't like her in that way. When she shows him affections he just brush it off sometimes and doesn't really say anything. At some point I was really annoyed with her character, like it was that good that I got so annoyed and just couldn't really comprehend with it. Basically as a nang rai, you guys would understand what her role is, but like I didn't even blame it on her because she was just a girl, in love and just wanted Peat to her self. Oh, spoiler, she get's leukemia and I thought she was going to stop her craze love for Peat but no, she sides with Kriss to take revenge. That's what got me real fucked at this point.
Khata & Pa: You don't really get to see these two character a lot cause they were the support character but I lived for their scene. Khata is that friend that is always stuck in the middle and doesn't choose sides. He lectures his friends to make them realise that they are doing wrong shits. but nobody gives a damn. haha. Pa is that best friend any one could ever ask for. She chooses her friend in a blink of an eye and is ready to fight. I can't say a lot because not a lot of scenes revolves around them but like most of the scenes you see is they being together and always having banter which was the best. haha.
Music:
I really enjoyed the music. Especially the opening and ending song, after I went to read the lyrics it made more sense.
Overall:
If you think this is some sort of infidelity or incest drama, you are WRONG gurl. go watch it. :)
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