Many people said that it lost some of its spark by the last few episodes, and I agree. That's why I gave it a 9 instead of a 10. A very annoying cliché was added to the mix, but I think the Hong Sisters handled it better than I expected. Plus, the episode 17 rewards you for all the draginess going on in the three previous episodes.
That is the only complaint I have for this drama. The rest was really amazing: all the characters are lovely, even the "mean" second female lead, Yi Ryeong. I ended up loving her by ep. 17. The CEO and Tae Yang also showed a lot of character growth. And not one that happens from one episode to another, but a progressive one that you can enjoy throughout the whole drama.
And for those who watched The Greatest Love, the CEO is very similar to Dokko Jin. Except that a much less extravagant version.
I recommend it to everyone, no matter the kinds of dramas you like. It has its touching moments, its hilarious scenes, the very cute romantic ones. It even has a little action and some mystery packed in it. If you don't like Horror, then don't worry. I did not see much of that aspect. Sure, the ghosts were sometimes... disturbing. But it does not go farther from that.
And it also has a very enjoyable OST, especially the instrumentals.
Do yourself a favor, and watch this (if you do and you don't like it, I'm sorry).
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This review may contain spoilers
Junior's Queen Energy Made the Show
What I loved most about this drama was how Sun, a carnivore, was constantly taming his instincts so he doesn't literally EAT Junior for lunch, but Junior tried whatever he could to tempt him. He even used catnip on the panther. Literally, that shameless penguin was born with no fear, cuz he was courting dead the whole series.Listen, Caged Again was nothing to write home about. The premise of the show was quite unique, interesting and different from the same school based bls we always got. So although I was sceptical, I still tuned in for it. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectation, the execution and the plot was all over the place, and everything was frankly a mess. Some of the characters were dumb as rock, nonsense misunderstandings that could be resolved if they just spoke dragged the pace, how that whole kidnap thing ended was so stupid, I'm still asking myself 'who dafug wrote this?' and I have like a billion questions as to how the penguin and the panther integrated into society with no legal papers. That last villain vs heroes stand-off had me shaking my head in judgement, literally the eff was that?
Yes, so many things made no effing sense and was flat-out ridiculous, but I'll give them this, the two leads, although new, did well with their acting. Junior stole the show for me, that penguin was such a drama queen and I loved every time he was on screen. Not gonna lie, with how the whole plot was all over the place, I thought I'd end up disliking the series, but, I liked this show more than I thought I would. I had some good laughs. Sun and Junior had good chemistry and entertained me with their antics. Their two friends were an okay addition as well, although not really sure what was up with them, and I liked how meta the Goddess was too.
Scenes that made me went hihi:
- In the beginning when Sun saw Junior as food in all those fantasy tripping sequence. Lol, like damn, don't eat your classmate.
- Junior turning his ruined gym uniform into a tank top, and doing a runaway show in the school's hallway. Slay!
- When Junior tried to seduce Sun by wearing that penguin suit. And I can't believe it worked, cuz all he did was lift Sun's arm and put it back down. Sun, honey...stand up!
- That whole catnip scene had me going... boy, do you have no regards for your safety? That penguin was shameless.
- Sun wanting their baby to have the face of a penguin and the body of a panther. Like??? then he got disappointed they couldn't have any. I'm glad they got a fish, hopefully they take it to the zoo and it becomes a person too.
- Junior waiting a few months, then started planning his life of moving to Bangkok and marrying someone else. LMAO, that penguin's sass needs to be studied. Sun lucky he showed up in time, boy was ready to move on.
- How sassy, naive, adorable, innocent, honest and bold Junior was. I loved how he was always true to himself and was unapologetic. He did this whole human thing better than most of us.
- That temple fair date that ended with them in the gambling club, but Junior just went with the flow, putting his dancing and gambling skills to use. Like, children, does this place look like a temple to you?? also how Junior got that piggyback ride... such princess behaviour, I stan!
- Sun's future job where he was an actor/stunt-man. LOL, the part when he fell before they even hit him, then after he was so proud like he did such a good job. Boy???
- That obvious green-screen North Pole :((((
- I also like how deep Sun loved. He found Junior and made him his whole world. Those two truly deserved their happy ending.
All in all a fun show if you go in not expecting anything, matter of fact, don't even question stuff, just go with the flow. You'd like the penguin for sure. So, I'll recommend it if you are looking for something to watch, just to watch something. I look forward to more work from the two leads, Ben and Jay, really liked them here.
Happy New Year.
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This review may contain spoilers
Probably Not For Everyone
One thing that remains a recurring theme with a lot of BL Fans, I've noticed, is their aversion to various series where everything doesn't go according to their personal mandates in the world of fiction. As soon as reality pokes its unwelcome head in the door, they are quite ready to retreat. Fair enough. I mean we get enough real life on the daily and who needs more of that in whatever fictional world you decide to visit? Well, I do. One of the great things about proper storytelling, as far as I am concerned, is getting to take a good look at someone else's life and realizing that I'm not in this alone. All the mess that I've lived through and all the mess yet to come - someone's already been there, already done that. And survived. Now they can tell these stories of reassurance, in which I will find some measure of comfort.So here we have a trio of parallel stories with three different levels of difficulty - Fah and Torn's "Love Before Memory" story. Having met as children, these two probably couldn't even remember when they first fell for each other. Seems like they've always been in love, even before they knew that "love" was a thing. Then there's Ai and Saen's "Long Distance Love" story - **SPOILER** - They meet, fall for each other and then, as we both expect and fear, Ai gets a scholarship to study abroad. I know I've been there - didn't work out...at all - but watching them walk that rocky road of long distance love...well, at least I got to watch from a safe distance this time. Then there's the most complicated in the bunch: - the "Impossible Love" story. Dome falls for Vee - his girlfriend's brother. Hmmm. That's a tough one.
So, how do they all fare? Well, I guess you'll just have to watch for yourself. What I will say, though, is that life just keeps on poking at the protagonists. Grounded by good performances from the young cast, good writing and some exceptional direction, "You're My Sky" constantly messes with your head. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry. Sometimes you cheer them on, and at other times you stare at them in disbelief. Kinda-sorta like in real life. And, like I wrote earlier, whenever reality pops up in BL, you just know it's going to be picked apart on Social Media. Oh well...
Huge praise for the technical side of the production. The camerawork is awesome, but it's the lighting design that is spectacular. I think it's the boldest lighting I've ever seen in my life, and I am here for it!
To close off, lemme just say one thing - if you like stuff like "Gen Y" or "Don't Say No" or "Cutie Pie", you might want to give this one a miss. If, however, you like stuff like "I Told Sunset About You", "Utsukushii Kare" or even "'Cause You're My Boy" - and you don't mind a dollop of sport - then maybe you should give this one a try. I really liked it. That is all.
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The story centers around three main characters, brothers Baek Yi Kang and Baek Yi Hyun, and merchant Lady Song, and how their lives are all changed by the Donghak Peasant Revolution. Their relationship with each other isn't a traditional love triangle, but instead, it's more about how their roles directly or indirectly affect each other, rather than a traditional rivalry, which was a much more interesting dynamic to watch. I don't want to give anything away by saying too much, but they are each so good in their roles and how they relate to and interact with each other, that they didn't need a cliché romance plot to keep me engaged. Han Ye Ri as composed and calculating Song Ja In is formidable in her role, and I loved watching her hold her own in a mainly male dominant cast. I already mentioned that Jo Jung Suk is a favorite K-actor of mine, and he does display some of his usual charms as Baek Yi Kang, but it's nice to know that even with romance playing such a minor part in the story, he is still so good! However, surprisingly my favorite of the three characters is Yoon Shi Yoon as Baek Yi Hyun. His range in this drama is amazing and award-worthy (he's really come a long way from the king of baking lol), and his relationship with his brother is the true heart of this story. I can't imagine a better possible pairing, Junk Suk and Ye Ri had great chemistry, but it's Junk Suk and Shi Yoon that got me right in the feels.
I mentioned the three leads as the main branches of this plot but the reality is that every single character in this drama is important and well played. Choi Moo Sung may have the biggest shoes to fill as Jeon Bong Jun, but even the most minor characters end up being major parts of the story, and I loved watching how all the characters and their allegiances and relationships changed with each episode. The real history makes a lot of this story predetermined but it's the individual characters that keep the story unpredictable and exciting. I wish I could name every character I loved but there are just way too many. This really is a perfect cast all around, and I love that there's not always clear villains or heroes, which keeps things from getting too predictable.
That leads me to the writing, which is truly amazing. Yes, the beginning episodes take their time setting up who everyone is, the unfairness of ancient Joseon, and what's about to happen, but before I knew it I was totally addicted and wrapped up in the revolution. I also liked how historical moments were noted to make them clear but without distracting from the story. I appreciated the details in even the side plots that made me care more and made this turn of the century Joseon world feel more real. This is the kind of story that you can definitely watch again, and maybe catch things that you missed the first time. I can see myself watching this again, now knowing more about what really happened, although knowing how it ends may make some scenes a little less exciting.
It's hard to hate a soundtrack that takes a traditional song and plays off of it beautifully. I liked the rest of the soundtrack as well and thought the music was always well placed, but some of the songs were too forgettable for me to warrant a perfect score for music. The music definitely enhanced the mood, especially during battle scenes.
Overall, this drama is a practically perfect sageuk. It's much deeper than the usual fighting over status, family betrayals, corrupt politics, and ill-fated love story tropes that make up most dramas in this genre (although sometimes I love those too). In Nokdu Flower I loved the themes of fighting for equality, tradition vs change, struggling with identity/self-determination, figuring out what is really important in life and what it truly means to win or lose, loyalty and betrayal, and all the conflicting faces of "patriotism"... I have no idea how accurate it was overall but I did actually learn a lot while watching without it feeling too preachy or feeling like the history channel. It's also not so heavy that the story becomes too depressing, even if you already know the history. There's a little bit of romance, great action/war scenes, even many funny moments... and the characters may be mostly fictional, but the way they brought life to the story felt hauntingly real. I loved how many of my favorite characters got the spotlight they deserved in the story too, and that the ending didn't feel rushed and really honored the history it was celebrating. Sure, the bluebird song will probably get stuck in your head for a while from watching, but it's definitely worth it.
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Most satisfying cdrama that I've watched
This has to be one of my favorite cdramas ever. I loved almost everything about the drama from the story to the acting, etc. Even initially, I was super intrigued by the synopsis and I went in with high expectations. I was not disappointed.The plot of this drama was not only paced well and logical, but it was the perfect amount of revenge, palace intrigue, and romance. The flashbacks of the past life were also placed well. The pacing of the story was quite even throughout, although at the end, it got somewhat quicker, most likely due to the fact that certain scenes may have needed to be cut to meet the current 40 episode limit. Still, it did not impact the pacing too much. The way the revenge was done felt extremely appropriate but also satisfying. There were multiple things that happened that I did not entirely see coming. The romance was quite slowburn regarding the leads, which I think we necessary given the characters, but it also made it so that each of the 3 MLs had their own story with the FL and that nothing was rushed. I think that the climax and the ending were done really well. Everything was tied up really well and almost everyone got the ending that they deserved. I am glad that the end scenes were shown with all the characters that mattered since it made the drama extremely satisfying.
I think that all the actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters. In particular, I think that Zhang Linghe did fantastic as Xie Wei and really made me believe that he was as broken and as vengeful as he was portrayed as. His facial expressions in particular have really improved from his past projects. Bai Lu also did amazing as the FL. I just love watching her because her acting is always on point. The supporting characters held their own and the villains acted heinous enough to the point of believability of their character and actions.
The only thing that could have been improved on was the lighting and angles. There were multiple extremely weird angles shown that took me out of the plot because they were so awkward and weird. In many scenes, there was also extreme lighting shown which made everything super lit. That also took me out of the story. However, compared to how amazing the drama is, they honestly pale in comparison.
Overall, I really enjoyed this drama and will definitely rewatch it. I'm glad to finally get a cdrama that has only minor flaws and issues and that is as enjoyable and satisfying as SoKP is. I'm going to recommend this to as many people as I can because it is just that good.
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A Dry Story Based on Actual Event
Under the Microscope is a story adapted from the Silk Case, one of the six cases under Ma Boyong’s historical textbook. The author has also written numerous well-loved novels, among others, Secret of Three Kingdoms, Luoyang, and The Wind Blows from Longxi. Like the other dramas, the mood of this drama is serious albeit with subtle humor. It is a departure from the usual stories of royalty, noblemen and aristocrats, and instead looks microscopically into the issues faced by the commoners during the Ming Dynasty.The tax and financial system during the Ming era was a very complicated subject, and the story revolves around a tax called the “ren ding sijuan” (silk by head count). Shuai Jiamo (Zhang Ruoyun) accidentally discovers a silk tax entry on the county’s account book with a questionable amount. He deems it erroneous and requests the county official to rectify the error but is told he needs to appeal to higher up. While attempting to do so, he meets all kinds of obstacles, including attempts on his life; someone is trying to prevent him from appealing and digging deeper. Together with his only friend, Feng Baoyu (Fei Qiming), they are determined to get to the bottom of it despite putting themselves in great danger.
Shuai Jiamo is a young mathematical genius with signs of autism. To him, math always tells the truth and he doesn’t allow a speck of inaccuracy in it. Because of his obsession, most people regard him as an idiot, except Feng Baoyu who thinks Shuai Jiamo very special and would do anything for him. Zhang Ruoyun is an incredible actor. As the autistic Shuai Jiamo, he is genuine and very believable.
To readjust the tax amount on the account book, Shuai Jiamo is told to bring his appeal to court. While in court, he meets Cheng Renqing (Wang Yang), a talented but morally and ethically questionable lawyer working for a shadowy character to try to throw Shuai Jiamo’s case out. He has been successful, but Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu do not give up easily despite getting thrown into prison and their life being threatened. Wang Yang is a veteran actor, and has a charismatic aura. With a smirk on his face and a sharp tongue, his performance is on script and has no holes to poke.
All the other actors give a wonderful and believable performance. I particularly love the Magistrate Fang character (Hou Yansong). Seemingly lazy and useless, he turns out to be the hero of the people and the actor Hou Yansong has performed with full marks. I also like the Feng Baoyu character who loves gambling and is a real friend worth having for anyone. Fei Qiming’s portrayal is outstanding, bringing out the essence of the character convincingly.
My Verdict
This is a true story based on a historical event but not a drama for everyone. Some of the characters such as Shuai Jiamo and Cheng Renqing (written differently but with same homophones) were real historical figures. Shuai Jiamo’s obsession in math and in going to court to correct the tax errors can bore many viewers unless one is very interested in the complicated and confusing Chinese bureaucratic and financial system during Ming Dynasty. To add fireworks to a dry story to make it more palatable for entertainment consumption, some ninjas and wuxia sword fights are added. The scene when Cheng Renqing comes to the rescue of Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu in the nick of time on the beheading tables by throwing out two knives is simply hilarious and unreal.
Though at the end of the drama, it seems everyone receives their justifiable rewards or punishments, it doesn’t feel right to me. Despite all the heinous acts by the villains, the ultimate culprit’s punishments seem like just a slap on the wrist compared to what Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu receive for pointing out the problem -- some of the culprit's wealth is confiscated while the good guys are beaten and imprisoned -- this is probably quite realistic.
In the real event, Shuai Jiamo’s and Cheng Renqing’s fates were not as rosy as shown here; they were both sent away in exile for stirring up "trouble". In other words, the best way to deal with any problems at the local level was to punish those who pointed out the problems. As always, the drama depicts the aristocrats are the ones suppressing and stealing from the people, and the government the enhancer and the gestapo police -- a satire of wealth inequality, the world is never fair nor just.
Overall, this is a dry drama based on a real story full of ironies and paradoxes. The acting is very good and the script writing is tight and logical but too bad, as much as I have enjoyed it, the drama doesn’t make a compelling story for most casual viewers.
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Everything New twist and turn come in life , youngsters want their life Perfect But everything came different types of problems, and how to solve and Improve themselves...
This drama best example for that....
Story :-
The drama is based on Xu Zechen's novel of the same name. The story follows a group of young people living along the canal, from getting to know each other to growing together, parting ways, and eventually reuniting. It highlights their deep sense of cultural identity and the inheritance of national spirit. As the younger generation along the canal rapidly grows into pillars of various industries, they give back to their hometown and society through their actions, showcasing their commitment and dedication.
Everyone watch this drama , Best drama Ever for New generation ......
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****THIS DRAMA IS AWESOME****
WAS EXPECTING:
I rally thought this drama would neeever suit my taste! I was expecting a childish and stupidly already done concept, which is not. Even the role of the "evil mother" is different and kind of touching. There are not so much "clichés" as we could have feared.
LIKED :
Thruthfully speaking, I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. First of all, thanks to the acting. I've never been a big fan of Uee and usually only crossing her face in a drama made me annoyed BUT I have to admit how her acting and Sung Joon's are DRAMATICALLY aweome. Their couple is soft and hard, it's yelling and whispering. I really liked everything that happened between them and it turned out they were really HUMANS and had feelings that I could have felt myself if it happened to me in real life.
As for the other couple, Park Hyung Shik and Im Ji Yeon are just so sweet and lovely. OMG they made me cry so much. I usually get annoyed really easily by this kind of lovey dovey couple, but they're nooot ^^ Can't do anything but love them yay!
TO DO:
Go watch this drama if your needy in terms of feeling and cliffhengers. It's an amazing one.
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This review may contain spoilers
Side characters stole the show
StoryThe drama starts off with a simple premise but the execution is a BIG OL MESS. There are two stories within one and even though I did not like the first 16 eps that much I wish I could have known that. Don't get attached to anyone in the first quarter of the drama because you will probably never see them again. Once the leads suffer memory loss, the story reboots and takes place in Northern Wei and boy oh boy does it feel so much less claustrophobic. There are better actors and better characters to make us all forget about that limp toxic romance that began in the first 16 eps. But no, that only lasts for a while because SURPRISE they get married to each other super fast. Faster than you can say Fashi. Then suddenly the pace of the drama becomes painful as it's harem schemes after harem schemes topped with court schemes and people saying the words "wild ambition" a million times just to remind you of what a womanizer and leech Rong Zi is. This drama should have been renamed as Schemeception because literally everyone and their grandma has a secret agenda here. Don't trust anyone lest they be some conveniently placed spy just to be activated for plot purposes ten episodes down the line. It gets tiring so quickly and you kind of just want Fashi to rise from the grave and kill everyone for being such two faced bishes. I watched this until the bitter end just to see what mental gymnastics the writers wanted me to perform to understand the overall plot of this huge bloated pile of plot carcass. I can't say I didn't see it coming but once again my favorite characters get the short end of the stick and a big FU for being true to themselves throughout the entire story. Evil wins, the end. The main leads get a happy end but it wasn't earned in the least and yes I actually admit to rooting for evil once my faves died because the MC's are so insufferable and whiny I just can't.
Characters
Rong Zi
Hands down the absolute worst character and male lead I've seen. He gives Yuwen Yue a run for his money. The main difference is that Kenny Lin can act while this guy uses one facial expression for the two emotions he can conjure: anger and apathy. I know the actor was only 19 when they filmed this but I feel like he was picked only for his looks. Rong Zi is probably the most despicable character out of them all. A protagonist that is low key the antagonist the entire time. A user and abuser. Everything happens because of him. From the Emperor to the Empress down to court ministers and lowly servants, they react to his actions and cause chaos and suffering to the people around him because they're afraid of him and his "wild ambitions" *roll eyes*. Makes you wonder why they even gave him so much power to begin with? He has no redeeming qualities and even his "love" for Chuyu is just to use her as a pawn until he finally loses at the end. I don't understand how every woman in this drama fell for his cheap tricks and promises. This guy couldn't even woo a turtle out of its shell and yet he's got Huo Xuan, Chuyu and Ma Xueyun churning fire for him. Why? IT MAKES NO SENSE. None of the women who loves him even have a good end. And poor Chuyu has to spend her life with him deluding herself that she's happy until he fakes his death for nth time to make her grieve him and deepen her love. Like WTF how is any of that normal? Oh and let's not mention the ten ton pound of plot armor around this guy. In every scheme and every situation the enemies plot against him he somehow always manages to come out on top and foil their plans because he has the superhuman ability to foresee every single outcome possible. I swear he's enlisted nearly everyone in Pingcheng to join his spy army. Even the almighty Pavilion Master who seems to be pulling everyone's strings in BOTH KINGDOMS somehow loses to him. Ridiculous!
Chuyu
Chuyu starts off with probably 50 IQ points and gradually loses all of them by the end of the drama. Strong female lead she is not. The first couple of eps might have tried to fool you into believing she knew what she was doing but as time went on she quickly started to show all of her flaws. Whiny, stubborn, and indecisive, she's surrounded by much more intelligent people around her and woefully outplayed by nearly everyone, even the palace maids. As an assassin, she's even worse than the one in Bloody Romance. She has no martial arts skills and no smarts, making her short-sighted and falling into every trap left and right. I've lost count the number of times the good characters in this drama have had to scramble to save her worthless life. The actress does an adequate job in portraying Chuyu's playful side but it always comes hand in hand with whining afterwards because Rong Zi won't admit that he loves her. If you watched this drama just for her character growth please reconsider. She's static from beginning to end. They've written her character to simply be the love interest. She is constantly being used by both sides of the chess board and has no agency of her own. It's a disappointing blow to female leads everywhere.
Huo Xuan/Le Yun
Badass General Huo Xuan was my main reason to watch this and I was heartbroken in the end for what they did to her. Here is a character that is everything opposite of Chuyu. Strong, smart, clever and capable. She's main lead material and she steals every scene that she's in and yet they still downgrade her to be a lovestruck woman pining for useless boring ass Rong Zi. The most ridiculous thing they could have done was pit her and Chuyu into a competition to see who will be homeboy's official wife even though he's legally already married to Chuyu like????? In what dynasty would they even renege on a diplomatic marriage all for the sake of a competition? This is when the drama started to lose me and I ended up watching it as a comedy. The one GOOD thing they did for her was give her a new love interest but alas in a drama where there are schemes within schemes it ends up in a disaster and my girl pays for it. Screw you writers and your obsession with tragedy. Nevertheless, her chemistry with Gu Huan the doctor was just out of this world and their scenes together is like Titanic vs main lead actors' CW Riverdale. There's just no comparing. Huo Xuan and Gu Huan emote with their eyes. In fact, they use all the facial muscles they have while the main leads act by screaming, yelling and whining.
The second character she plays, Le Yun, is the antithesis to Huo Xuan. She's a mysterious and ruthless woman, a spy placed by Rong Zi to monitor Prince Kang, and much like every character Bai Lu plays I loved her as well. The way she can easily transition from brave, courageous Huo Xuan to sneaky Le Yun one scene after the other is a testament to the skill differential between her and the main leads. Her ability to have chemistry with any actor onscreen continues to amaze me and it's no different here with Prince Kang than it was with Gu Huan. Even though Huo Xuan and Le Yun were physically identical in looks, I could easily tell which character I was watching just by the subtle ways Bai Lu acted. Le Yun miraculously is one of the few female characters in the show that didn't fall in love with worthless Rong Zi but she was still used by him and didn't get a good end either. Seriously they should just wrap caution tape around this dude.
Other notable characters
Prince Kang is a pretty slimey dude who is kind of like that dumb kid who keeps running into a wall and keeps convincing himself that each time he won't hit his damn head. As a schemer he is pretty weak in the game and he loses constantly but the guy is never discouraged and smiles through defeat. It's a gift really to be this optimistic. One of his major weak points is that he loves Huo Xuan but since she won't give him the time of day he gets the discount version of her through her doppelganger Le Yun. The funny thing is that Le Yun actually falls in love with him and their twisted scenes together are actually some of my favorites. Honestly this drama should have been Prince Kang and Le Yun vs Huo Xuan and Gu Huan. The biggest fail was that Huo Xuan never met her doppelganger and no character on the show EVER MENTIONS HOW MUCH THEY LOOK ALIKE.
Empress Dowager
I recognize the actress from Yanxi Palace and Haolan but unlike those characters I absolutely LOVE the Empress Dowager here. There is something regal but deadly about her. She's more than she looks on the surface and it shows when sad little Rong Zi has to play dead every time she shows her cards. She is the only character on the show that can defeat him and it's so satisfying when she does even though the little weasel manages to walk away unscathed unlike all the people he's used.
Closing
To say this drama is a trainwreck is an understatement. Characters and motivations changed wildly. Suddenly one character emerges as a spy out of nowhere. You get a scheme and you get a scheme! They be cooking this up like it's an apple pie recipe because everybody is evil and nobody is good and you lose all sense of trust when you watch this show and end up becoming as paranoid as that crazy Emperor.
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A must watch!
Some may call this a feminist drama, however the storyline and the acting makes this a MUST watch drama.The flow and the narrative touches our lives in every way. The storyline also relates to many of us.
The 3 main leads are characters we can somehow identify with people we know. Their challenges in life may be common and they are portrayed very well. A few rightly placed comical moments provide a relief in a serious situation. Standby your box of tissues though.
In conclusion, we live on decisions we made and are responsible for our own action.
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Story: Has a dark undertone to it due to the themes that the writers brought to the forth front: obsession, jealousy, birth secrets, lies. The writers did an amazing job keeping me guessing with the romance and just keeping me glued to the screen (most melos become repetitive after a while). What I loved most about it though was the hopeful/happy ending(you dont get those too often in melos).
Actors/Cast: I didnt know any of the leads but i was quite impressed with the casting choices after watching a few episodes. Han Hye Jin has amazing dramatic chops and i loved her chemistry not only with Joo Sang Wook but also her frenemy Kim Min Jung. I'll be honest, when i first saw KMJ on screen I got taken a back by her looks and not in a good way. I was so shocked that they would choose an actress that was not as pretty as the other main lead because it was hard to believe the main male character would choose her and become obsessed over her at first as he did. But when the time jump happens she is given a total makeoever and her amazing acting skills begin to shine. I really think both lead actresses did an equally tremendous job. I didnt like the second male lead characer, the acting was bad and his character really wasnt needed. Loved the rest of the supporting characters.
Music: Dark and moody to fit the atmosphere.
Rewatch- I will definitely watch it again because it had excellent pacing and i enjoyed it so much the first time but not for a bit because its so twisted.
Overall Thorn Birds is a different kind of melodrama but very enjoyable if you like gritty stories.
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Mnet evil editing
There were so many mnet evil's editing towards trainee, Wang Zi Hao little screentime, wrong translation on G group, giving too much screentime on visual trainee, Lip J's weird comments, not airing Lee Da Eul and Lim Jun Seo as the first group that perform on 1st evaluation, ridiculous voting on choosing final killing part, of course the most popular trainee will get the killing part, not showing Wang Zi Hao's total vote on the 3rd elimination, and the debut 9 members are not enough,there are too many talented & potential trainee that can make a debut. I hope Mnet doesn't manipulate real ranking.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Formulaic execution of one of my favorite dynamics, with a tacked on happy end
I appreciate the sexual chemistry, humor, fight scenes, and opening song as well as the general vibes, but the storyline and crime aspects are weak. No, I don't expect 16 hours of build-up to a cataclysmic revelation that shakes the very foundation of who Chaeha and Taeseon are. In a different story, I wouldn't mind Chaeha jumping in front of a knife for Taeseon at the halfway mark already, and I guess it makes sense on paper why he does it here. I would have enjoyed myself more, though, had the threats been mounting for longer.As it is, it feels like the writers thought, "Okay, we're at this point in the episode count, so it's time for XYZ sex scene," and "Oh, now this much time has passed, so we need to insert dramatic scene number 5." Like, what? The leads do quite well to very well during these big moments, but... I live for the tension. And for the love of God, let me sit with my emotions and wallow in the pain! I need to be able to kid myself that bad things will actually happen and that the issues will be resolved in the next 5 episodes, not in the next 5 minutes!
This show is off to a strong start but doesn't deliver and honestly lacks creativity (of course, Chaeha gets knifed more than once). It is unfortunate, but having watched Beyond Evil, The Devil Judge, and Hannibal's much more thrilling portrayals of this kind of dynamic, I'm not sold on The Prosecutor's Proposal's version. I read a comment calling this story half-baked, and I regrettably must concur. There's a BL in my future that will do the morally gray-but-also-fighting-for-what's-right-and-definitely-BDSM-flavored "I will die and kill for you"-duo justice, no doubt.
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This drama makes me willing to stay up very late every Mon-Tue just to see the new episode... in raw! I saved many of cute sweet scenes in my instagram and almost everyday I google keyword "Fight For My Way" to find out if there's any new news/BTS/anything related to this drama. Even I make a twitter only to see the #FightForMyWay and repost many of it. Thanks FFMW to make me now become a crazy fan :D
Actually, at first when I saw the "ddamdajo" teaser, I was thinking that it will be just another usual RomCom. But then when I watched the first episode, it was a mind blowing. It was so hilarious yet so adorable. The chemistry between Park Seo Joon and Kim Ji Won is incredibly outstanding since very beginning! Previously I'm not a fan of Park Seo Joon even I didn't care about his instagram whatsoever while I'm already a fan of Kim Ji Won after watching her bold acting in DOTS, but now I'm fangirling Park Seo Joon after seeing his acting in FFMW.
The story itself is very refreshing. It is very light. It is very... real. It is about dream, friendship, family, and love. It is about how you live your life. How you seize your day. DongMan and AeRa teach you how to stay strong and be brave in overcoming your problem. The dialogue are smart and punch my heart.
The plot is roller coaster, the writer is really smart to play with your emotion. You can find anything in this drama. You can find the funny scene which can make you laugh out loud, the sweet scene which can make you grin from ear to ear, the mystery scene which can make you hard to sleep thinking about it, the heartbreaking scene which can make you want to shoot and burn the writer (especially in the last two episodes, it was such a cliffhanger and i think something is missing here, you know what i mean writer-nim!). All in here, it's a complete package.
The music... oh how can I say... I played Kassy-Good Morning almost 100 times a day. I have playlist in my phone which only have list of 3 songs of FFMW and I played it a whole day in repeat. It includes the happy song from BtoB-Ambiguos and Ryu Ji Hyun-Night is Gone Again. And I also love the comedy back sound in every funny scenes. Especially when they did the agyeo scene!
It is very worth to rewatch this drama. I found myself rewatching more than 3 times for every episode because every scene still can make my heart beat faster.
Overall, I LOVE THIS DRAMA
this drama is very recommended for you who really want to enjoy warmhearted Kdrama with realistic plot. No fantasy with over hallucination, no politic with over scary thriller.
Now the drama is ending. Nooo... I'm in withdrawal stage :(
I feel like something gone from my heart. I'm gonna miss the Fantastic Four for sure :')
I hope KBS wants to spoil us with special episodes and more BTS/NG cut *fingercrossed*. And I hope Park Seo Joon and Kim Ji Won have a photo shoot, get a Couple Award and get married in the real! :D
Once again, thank you FFMW for enlighten my days, appreciate all of actor & crew's hardwork, such a masterpiece... Saranghae~ Kamsahamnida~
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Following the usual espionage formula with spies, vengeance, betrayal and secrets; this film managed to stay intense for a very long time. It was fast-paced and too packed that it doesn’t allow you to blink an eye. Heck, it was even hard to follow subtitles. Many characters and events were thrown in an immense amount which felt quite entertaining and eye-catching. The car chase scenes were absolutely one of the better car scenes I’ve ever seen. Moreover, the violence, the bloody killings and many hand-to-hand combats were highly involving.
This film’s main issue was its over-length. For an action-thriller that problem can be a killer, The Suspect obviously fell prey to the usual Asian films’ shortcoming: The screenwriting is frequently unable to handle the running time making it incoherent with plot elements. If this film was 30 or even 20 minutes shorter then things would’ve been absolutely better. The second half was so slow which disabled the fast-paced impact of the first half to persist. It was unavoidable that some explanations would be inserted, like the main character’s background and reasons for vengeance but that drama was clearly overdone. It practically killed the action suspense mood so when it finally came back on track near the end, it was already too late for the viewer to go back to that high paced mood.
It was unfortunate because this film could’ve been a remarkable Action thriller if the screenwriter knew how to divide his narration approach and flashbacks on a 2 hours 20 minutes scale. It felt like he was working on a 2 hours version of this film. However, it’s appreciated that he didn’t try to turn this into an intelligence fight with his viewers. The plot wasn’t any complicated because it focused on action sequences and violence instead. I wouldn’t call it gory violence though; I mean that’s the right amount of blood splashing in Korean action thrillers.
The acting was good enough, Gong Yoo’s commitment to his role showed through his character’s movements. The martial arts sequences showed a nice side of him, his character was well written to fit a dark super spy. On the other hand, Park Hee Soon amazed me once again. Although his character wasn’t as important and as penetrating as Gong Yoo’s character but he was very convincing in showing the traits of his hot-blooded personality.
Other characters did well, even if their developments were plain obvious. At least they contributed in the coherence of the packed events.
The cinematography is your standard current-days Korean thrillers’ style. Occasionally, I feel like the same guy is doing the cinematography in all recent Korean thrillers, with some exceptions of course. Although the direction can be marked as decent but the camerawork bothered me in many takes, sometimes it doesn’t allow you to know what’s happening on screen.
Watch if:
-You like Korean action thrillers.
-You like intense films but beware of the events slowing down.
-You like spy films.
Do not watch if:
-You’re looking for a masterpiece out of the action thriller genre.
-You dislike action thrillers.
The Suspect is nothing more than an alright Korean action thriller. But being influenced by the intense high-paced first half, I came to appreciate this film for its entertainment values.
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