While there are still six months to go, the bar has been set extremely high with Abyss: a giant mess acted by a cast who really deserved better.
The annoying thing is, like last year's Worst Show of The Year (About Time), Abyss could have been fantastic. It has a great premise, a decent cast. It could have been an hilarious - almost farcical - comedy of mistaken identities, body swapping, and annoyed aliens. Instead what we got was a turgid, unfunny mess underpinned by a philosophy that was at times confused and at others actively offensive.
Ahn Hyo-seop has a lot of potential as an actor but he is still far too green to be given a leading role. With a good director, a good script and a good female lead he could have still produced something decent. But unfortunately he only got one of those in a criminally-underutilized Park Bo-young, - who really deserved better in her first lead show since the (sometimes equally as offensive) Strong Woman Do Bong-soon.
Both the lead roles were poorly written, with Ahn Hyo-seop's Cha Min changing from scene to scene depending on what the writer needed him to do - at times an uber genius, at others the dumbest male lead to ever appear on screen. Park Bo-young was given so little to work with for her character, Go Se-yeon, that she opted for cute - an interpretation that did not work with the character or the script.
Both these characters die and are brought back to life by a glowing alien marble. The unattractive Cha Min is suddenly gorgeous, while the stunning, willowy, Go Se-yeon is... Park Bo-young. Which is to say, she's a super adorable tiny person so the idea she's now "plain" is just ridiculous.
From beginning to end, Abyss had some profound things to say about image in our beauty-obsessed culture.
Like:
“you can’t love someone who’s ugly”
"what you look like is what your soul is like"
“plastic surgery gives you a better soul” and
“dieting makes your wedding day better”
Apart from the dumb, messy plot, the poor characterisation and the wall-to-wall stupidity of the characters, it's ultimately this utterly shallow and almost vacuous underpinning philosophy that makes Abyss truly awful.
Appearance is everything. Nothing else matters.
No thanks, Abyss. No thanks.
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A Dark Story That Falls Apart Completely
This drama tries to look bold and unique, but the writing becomes extremely cruel without any real purpose. A Jin, the main girl, is written as someone who destroys everything around her. Instead of giving her depth or a believable reason for her actions, the story just makes her more selfish and stubborn as it goes on.Jun Seo and Jae O — two genuinely good and loyal characters — end up suffering the most because of her. Their devotion is used again and again just to create more tragedy, not to build real emotional impact. Watching good characters get thrown away for shock value becomes tiring very fast.
The acting is strong, but even that cannot save a plot that chooses hopelessness over proper storytelling. The drama focuses on misery rather than meaning, and the ending only adds to the frustration.
If you dislike depressing twists, manipulative characters, or stories that hurt innocent characters for no reason, this is something you may want to avoid. There are many revenge dramas with better writing and far more satisfying arcs.
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a cinematographic thriller with an odd pacing
like most of us, i was hooked by the trailer of 'somebody'. i binged it the day of its release. a dark thriller, involving creepy serial killer kim young kwang and an intriguing kang hae lim ? could we ask for more ?the first episodes were interesting, the impeccable acting and visuals get you very engaged in the story-line. however, after a few episodes, the story arc gets a little dull. a slow paced thriller can be very good when well executed, but in my opinion, the pacing of the scenes in 'somebody' sometimes felt inadequate. some moments lasted too long, and others that we would want to dive deeper into ended abruptly. i also wish they went in more depth into backstories to improve character development. when finishing the drama, i was left with mixed feelings, and wanting to know more.
still, i need to praise all the actor's performances. they are the ones keeping the story compelling from start to finish. kim sum's character is chilling, and yun ho's scenes dreadful ! they really nailed it on their part.
overall, it's an aesthetically pleasing, very well produced (netflix) drama, with flawless acting, so it's still a rather enjoyable watch for anyone into slow thrillers. this drama had a lot of potential, but i feel like the visual quality took over the actual substance and depth of the story.
edit: removed the 'leaving us with many unanswered questions' from the title, as it seemed to confuse people into thinking this drama had an open ending!
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A Great KBL
I really enjoyed watching the series 💯. The series teaches the important of loving oneself properly and how friendship is a very integral part of life. A very realistic ending and a beautiful story but there were so many things I couldn’t understand.Why was his best friend not aware he had Kylie , where was she when he lost his mother and when he almost lost his life, she literally called him to hangout after not long after he lost his mother and we didn’t see her at the funeral . I didn’t really get his story with Habibi too . His friends deserved to know what he had been dealing with at least and they didn’t preach safe sex and how he was having relations with people while having Kylie , I feel like that should have been touched as well. But apart from that I loved it
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As this show finally came to the end today, after three months of following trainees journey, I thought I would share some of my thoughts and list some of the reasons why it's (in my opinion) the best of all Produce shows.
1. Production quality is really high
YWY is a competition but the production team doesn't make it look like the hunger games. The editing is not evil but actually made me burst out laughing many times and rather on creating unecessary drama, it focused on showing hard work and friendship between trainees and how much the girls supported each other.
The cameramen usually do a really good job and don't suddenly zoom into space or into the back of someone's head while filming.
Stage effects, outfits, makeup etc. (and of course talented trainees) make the performances look proffessional and impressive.
2. Mentors genuinely care about the trainees and give them useful advices
I think that the relationship between mentors and trainees is much closer than in different versions of the show.
It was a great decision to chose Cai Xukun as the main host. He knows what the trainees are going through, because he went through the same experience in Idol Producer so he's able to really empathize with the girls. Despite his young age, he already has admirable knowledge about music and performing and he tries to share this knowledge with the trainees.
Also, I think the panel with Alicia was one of the most useful panels for every trainee/rookie I've seen in Produce shows, because she actually addressed the struggles of 'celebrity life' without sugar-coating anything.
3. The contestants
First of all, the amount of talent the trainees have is insane and I was often impressed by the stage presence of some of the contestants.
The trainees really support each other and their friendships seem so genuine. There's not a single girl who's unlikable and you actually get attached to these girls and wish them best. The girls face hardships during their training but they're still able to keep their spirits up and lighten the mood.
The tone of the show is different from what I saw in Produce101. The contestants don't look like they're going to crumble under pressure. They are not afraid to express their opinion and even joke with their mentors.
4. The message
What I absolutely love about this show is the fact that it supports diversity and girl power. Rather than focusing on being cute and pretty, the girls show that you can be cool, you can have different image but most importantly you can be yourself and keep fighting for your dreams.
In my opinion, especially in Korean shows too much emphasis is put on the visuals.
Honestly I think it would be hard for a contestant with the image like Yu Zhang or Frhanm Shangguan to go far in the Korean Produce and I don't think it would be possible for a girl like Liu Yuxin to reach the top. But in Youth With You I was so happy to see girls who were not 'conventionally pretty', girls who had different styles and personalities.
To put it short: even if you're not interested in survival shows, I think you should give this one a chance.
YWY 2 is over now and I'm really gonna miss it. I wish all the contestans best of luck and of course I can't wait to see The Nine debut.
(Annotation: By using term 'Produce shows' in this review I refer to the shows which follow the same format as original Korean Produce101.)
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This Has Quickly Turned Into A Must-See Show
I love what has been put together in this series all the way through, and it has become an easy rewatch project for anytime.These episodes have slowly built up to some incredible moments and great acting.
What first lured me to this show was Earth. . . that's all the reason I needed right there.
Then I saw that they had New behind the camera - another plus.
Then some of my favorite actors on board, namely Prem and Pineare among them.
They all made 'Until We Meet Again' required reading for all of us, so I can't wait to see what is coming up further in this story.
The acting from everyone is great, and it's all done convincingly, enough where I easily forget that Earth is actually several years older than Santa, and it all works well.
The characters are already developed very well, too, and I'm already very affected by the strong emotions coming out of these relationships (Yes, Earth. . . that would definitely be you. . .you do this too well).
I know that New is fully aware of how great an actor he has with Earth in front of the camera, so I am always aware that there are always a few hand-picked scenes for him where the direction is, "OK, Earth, your character is in agony right now. . . I want to see real tears".
"Earth. . .pretend that your heart is breaking and that your soul is leaving your body...."
And then he delivers spectacularly.
Ouch. . .I knew these scenes were coming but I was still not prepared for the meltdown I saw in Episode 4, or Episode 7.
We've all experienced this in our real lives at one point, and you can feel it all here in waves.
Add to that being 14 or 15 and separated from one of your best friends.
I think New also knows that Earth has the gift of doing a lot of his scenes carried only by his expressions and his eyes, so most of what you will see and experience in all of these episodes will happen with hardly any dialogue from him for some very powerful scenes.
To be continued. . .
If you're just starting to watch the series, enjoy.
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Sometimes really frustrating
There's few things that i would like to address. In the beginning the main leads relationship was amazing. The teasing, tension, chemistry was great.But the constant lies and deception make me bored, there's no REAL progress because while Ji Bozai already did everything even sacrifice his life for her, Ming Yi on the other hand keep lying, afraid and just crying looking at him while he got divine punishment in front of her eyes. And from there they keep this cycle of breaking up - lying - noble idiocy (sacrifice) - making up again. Even 2nd couple Princess Tianji and Xiao Yan relationship was so much better in the first half, they were angsty, painful, full of yearning and betrayal but got boring so fast when they start getting together.
For immortals and fairy i notice they didn't use their power that much, or is it just me?. For a supposed to be xianxia drama, they rarely fight something and use their power. ML and FL is supposed to be one of the greatest warrior but they're quite easy to defeat for some reason.
The final villain isn't that great either. We know his struggle and painful life but it's hard to sympathize with him because he keep being so delusional until the end. It's like the build up for the final villain isn't that amazing or powerful. The first antagonist was a better villain.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Wandee has the personality of a flip-flop
Why was Wandee ready to be boyfriends with Ter, the guy who had the personality of a two-in-one shampoo but needed 12 episode to accept Yoryak? Make it make sense?!?!Like, I don’t understand why Wandee was playing hard to get? Dude, Yoryak found you in the dumpster, in between two trash cans. Please, stop playing hard to get, he already saw you at your worse and still wants you.
That being said, I tuned in to this show every week because GreatInn were amazing. Loved how their chemistry was chemistrying and the plot was watchable. The second couple were good as well, Cher has my whole heart. All in all, an enjoyable show, but still some things annoyed me, so here we are.
Because, for a show about having a good day, it sure as hell ruined my day.
CHARACTERS
Listen. I liked YORYAK. He was in the running for my fav character along with Cher. I was rooting for him. Sure I had no idea what was up with that random grim reaper character that showed up whenever the writers remembered there’s supposed to be a guy in a cape for the plot-line, but still I liked him.
Then the finale happened and undid all that, making me think he’s an ungrateful jerk. Because his brother, Oye, gave up his dream, got beaten up by loan sharks and almost lost ruin his relationship, all to make Yoryak’s dream come true. But what does Yoryak do when he finally makes it to the top? Immediately dedicate his win to his fake boyfriend with benefits. Literally you met him like four seconds ago!
Dafug you mean this win is mostly because of you, and this championship belt is yours??? No it’s not! Wandee did nothing, this had nothing to do with him! Matter of fact he stressed you out with his indecisiveness so much you lost a match. Get your priorities straight child!
Really, what did Wandee contribute to his victory? Is it because he told him to face that hooded figure? His brother would have told him the same thing if he’d confind in him. Nah, that part was just messed up, especially after that family episode.
Anyway, I still like Yoryak, but that last episode did him no good.
Now WANDEE. Oh, Wandee my boy. Why you gotta have the face of a supermodel and the smile of a cloud, but the personality of a slipper?
Wandee’s inability to make up his mind annoyed the hell outta me. It wasn’t because Yoryak did anything wrong or didn’t communicate his feelings, our boxer did and said all the right things, but still Wandee wasn’t sure even after they kissed. Dude, he brought you home after picking you up from the dumpsters, he’d seen you at your worse and still wants you. What more is you waiting for???
When he kept dragging his feet about being Yoryak’s real boyfriend, I wanted to reach into the screen and shake him. Like, dude you were in love with that shifty arse doctor who looks like he steal pills during his lunch breaks, but hunky boxer is where you get sense? Child, if you don't sit your arse down!
I liked Wandee, he didn’t sit around crying for weeks when he was called vanilla, which lets all agree, dude looked like the poster boy for vanilla, but yeah, he didn’t sit there wallowing, he up and got himself a sexy faen with benefits, and he had a cool grandma to add to his charm, but I sure as hell was given him the stink eye. And I did so every episode after they first kissed. He was acting like a boyfriend, but still didn’t want to commit.
And also, did anyone cringed so hard, they wanted to jump off a cliff when Wandee started singing? I get Thai Bl dramas never leave the house without a guitar, but the secondhand embarrassment I felt, yikes! Like, why is now the time to start singing in front of all this people?
This show had no business being 12 episode. It could have ended the first time they kissed on the lips. Cuz it just dragged after that and made Wandee more annoying by not being able to make up his mind. I kept screaming at my screen ‘Mfer do you want to be with Yoryak or not?
Also, did we ever find out about how Wandee was scared of traffic lights, but like, drove a car? What he do when he stopped by a traffic light?
But like, do we all agree that Inn’s smile is sooo adorable?
Anyway TER! EFFING TERRR!!! I still can’t get pass the episode where he fumbles a beautiful doctor lady for Wandee, only to fumble him too and then try to come back to the dance floor looking for her. THE AUDACITY!! Did Ter think that boss lady doctor would still be waiting for his sorry arse?? Homeboy out there acting like spare tyre and thinking he’s the belle of the ball.
LMAO, what a loser! His sorry arse out there looking like an upside down question mark, and yet he thought he still had a chance with Wandee! Any screen time he had after that vanilla scene felt like I was being forced to accept his existence. Then instead of falling down the stairs in the finale and breaking all his toes and fingers, the writers up and gave the mfer a whole arse girlfriend. WHY? FOR WHAT REASON??? ARRRGGGGG
This world has no balance, why are all my enemies winning this season? First Tong and now Ter.
And speaking of the VANILLA scene. HAHAHAH, Ter out there acting like he collects stamps and have seks with the lights off, calling someone vanilla, dude didn’t seem like he knew any positions other than missionary, cuz what player with game would fumble two people in the span of a minute at a ball?? Vanilla! Boy if you don’t shut up!
I really wanted him to end up alone, bitter, and jobless, but here we are with his annoying arse waving at me and going ‘Bish, you thought!’
CHER AND OYE
I loved these two together. Usually I watch most of the second leads scenes on 2x, but these two had me hooked. Cher the most, the bestest boy, and so supportive. I love the ending they got, so happy for them.
PLOT:
Not gonna lie, watched all the boxing on 2x, cuz that hoodie figure was so uninteresting and if you see them punch once, you’ve seen it all, but the hype of the games and their gym added to their characters, so that was good. The competition thing with the doctors was also just sort of there, nothing to write home about, feels Ter didn't even try that hard to win? Also, them forgiving that bum arse father was meh, and dragging the series only to make Wandee more annoying was also whatever. But, the talk about protective seks and asexual characters was very much needed, so kudos to them. And Plako with his bedroom suggestions, his kinky arse had me rolling.
Anywho, I did like this show, I looked forward to it every week, so I recommend to it anyone who are funs of GreatInn. I’ll rewatch it, just to grin like an idiot whenever Cher pops up.
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This review may contain spoilers
Brilliant crime thriller that keeps you guessing til the end. The fact that the story is based on a true story, moreover, the movie is scrupulously faithful to the real events, really gave me the chill.Everything in this movie is working, and it's working very well. Just to name a few: The cinematography, the acting, and the plot development.
There are also a lot of poignant and captivating scenes that make the movie very compelling. It keeps offering questions instead of answers, that results in not merely a movie, but a truly engaging experience.
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3 Guys, 3 Rings, 3 Sizes but only 1 Specially Chosen
Korean BLs surprise me again with a dark BL in “Secret Relationships”. I heard nothing about this drama until Feeds posts started popping up. I thought this was a typical reverse-harem type drama with a few red flags MLs. Little did I know it was in for a crazy ride in these short 8 episodes.I am very surprised that the four main leads are pretty new to acting and they all did a pretty well. For his first acting gig, Kim Jun Seo did a pretty good job as the really good-looking center of all the attention. Aside from the very last scene of the drama which the acting of two of the leads seem very uncomfortable and fake, I really could not have asked for a better first drama for all of them as the main leads.
The unveiling of the secret relationships and hidden secrets for the first 5 episodes of the drama is done really well. You thought you knew exactly what’s going on in the first couple episodes, and then the drama surprises you with new plot twists here and there. Unfortunately, I found ep 6-8 dipped into makjang territory and things got a little out-of-hand. The excellent writing of these secrets and manipulation gave way to over-the-top craziness.
Nevertheless, I enjoy learning about the four main characters. Our guy-magnet ML is sweet and gentle. He attracted ML#2, who appears caring, but turned out to be manipulative and psycho. Then we have ML#3, the obvious Mr. Red Flag of the bunch, who is violent and obsessive. Adding to the harem is ML#4, Mr. Green Flag, to mellow out the bunch with his puppy adorableness with a dash of clinginess and persistence.
I wish the writing of the last few episodes were better because the acting is so good. I would bump my rating to 8.75 or 9. But I had a good time watching “Secret Relationships”. I am really happy about the recent KBLs, e.g. “Gray Shelter”, “Love for Love’s Sake” and “Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo”. I think Korea found its niche in BL dramas. The aforementioned dramas, including “Secret Relationships” are well-made, well-acted and very interesting. I recommend “Secret Relationships” if you the other KBLs I listed and are in the mood for something darker and psychological.
Completed: 3/20/2025 - Review #557
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A stress-free story with the theme of sincerity.
Whether it's romance, family, or career; the series shows us that if do things with sincerity, it will not go unnoticed. Not everyone will be moved by it, but there will always be people who will see and feel it. The story is simple, nothing ambitious or unique. However, the chemistry, the heartfelt moments, and honest interactions between characters made this series very memorable for me.-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
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[ --LIKES-- ]
✔ Very likable leads and a mature relationship. Loved the chemistry. A very capable female character and a very green-flag and sincere male lead.
✔ Good communications between the lead. Very drama-free relationship
✔ Lots of cute moments
[ --DISLIKES-- ]
✖ While I loved Ro Woon with Pyung Hwa, his inclusion in the Sibling Six or whatever they called themselves felt rushed. Would've loved to see more development and him building relationship with the others.
✖ The resolution for both Pyung Hwa's and Da Eul's felt too easy given the time we spent seeing their struggle.
✖ Sa Rang's exile to the tourist hotel seemed pointless to me since she was easily brought back to King The Land. Just felt like a nice vacation to me.
-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
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[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]
The story around the workplace politic and the power struggle between the brother and sister wasn't something I was super interested in. I can't even say that it was the journey of their love that kept me interested as they got together relatively quick. What truly captivated me about the series were the characters themselves and the sincere interactions between them, whether it be cute, funny, heart fluttering, or just pure honesty.
Gu Won is our main male lead. Initially, he was just some chaebol who hated pretentious smiles and could not care less about his family's hotel business. However, he became more interested in the hotel when he meets Sa Rang, whom he falls for. What I absolutely loved about his pursuit of her is was his sincerity and willingness to learn how to be in a relationship. He got to know her bestest friends and her grandma, and they all had advice for him. The core advice was honesty and clarity. Showing how we feel with actions is great, but saying how we feel and what we're thinking helps avoid drama and miscommunication. It's also very romantic to me. Consent is also very sexy. Loved that he asked permission before kissing her during their date. Also, Gu Won's dad was a very likable parent for me. He never really forced his son (mostly since he knew he couldn't) and there were lots of nice father-son moments where he was understanding. The only thing I disliked was when he sent Sa Rang to the tourist hotel. I don't even know what the point was since Won easily just brought her back.
Sa Rang is our beautiful female lead. She is a very capable and hard working girl. She doesn't needs much saving for the most part and was able to take care of herself. The employees of King The Land did not like her at first but her sincere attitude won them over eventually. Sa Rang's growth in this series has less to do with her character development, but more a realization on what she truly wanted to do as her dream career. I wished we had spent more time earlier in the series to build up to the idea of Sa Rang wanting to start her own hotel. Maybe they did sprinkle the idea that she was not happy doing what she was doing subtly and I missed it, but it felt sudden to me. I'm happy though that she found what she wanted to do at the end. I also absolutely loved Sa Rang's grandma. Most memorable for me with her was where she was helping Won set up a savings account, it really touched me.
They pair was great at talking to each other. There was a lot of honesty between the characters and I'm thinking that's what I like so much. Even the interaction between the villain and her brother was for the most part very honest. And the characterizations of the characters were honest in that we knew who to root for and who not to.
[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]
I can't lie, 2PM was the first KPOP ground that I really got to know so the members hold a special place in my heart, even if they aren't my favorite group. With that said, I think this the first series with Junho that I was interested in seeing. I might go watch some of his previous stuff later but they're not super high priority. Watching King The Land, however, did leave a good impression on me with his acting. And I loved his chemistry with Im Yoon Ah. She's so pretty. I need to dive deeper in Girls' Generations. I think everyone did a group job, I felt the feels when I needed to feel them. Special shoutout to Kim Sun Young who play Won's sister. Great antagonist!
[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]
"Yellow Light" from Gaho and "Confess To You" from Kim Ye Yim both stood out to me as my favorites, but all the OST were great! Need to relisten to some of them and see which ones I need for my playlists, but they're all great songs. Not much else to say in that regard.
[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]
I can't say I will watch this in its entirety but there were so many cute, romantic, and funny scenes that I adored. So I wouldn't watch it again for the plot, but I would rewatch clips just to feel the butterflies.
[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]
So my overall impressions was that this was a very light, fluffy cute series where I didn't need to stress about the villain, overthink anything, or even get overly frustrated by anyone. Very stress-free watch for me. It was funny and it was romantic. Checks both the boxes for a romcom for me. Also, lots of scenic scenes. Loved Thailand. Loved the forest vibe of the tourist hotel. Loved the cityscape shots. Yeah, this was an easy watch and very enjoyable watch. I've watch so much kdramas so one would think it would be boring and stale for me, but it wasn't. This series has a lot of charm due the characters and I definitely recommend watching it at least once.
-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------
I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.
♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥
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It was late and I was bored, so I didn't have time for a new drama. Hence, I went ahead and looked for a movie in my "to watch" list. Ta-dah!
Storyline:
The storyline is in no way original. I've seen this happen in several melodramas before. It felt like a deja vu. Nonetheless, it was heartfelt and touching overall.
So if you're ever in a mood for another melodrama-I've-seen-it-before with good acting, then here is what Only You has to offer...
a) Looking for cute couple or nice feel romance? Here is the right place! I thought our OTP worked really well together. I've long overused the phrase "they complement each other". Though, it's true! That phrase applies here too. I also loved our two leads' complexity, but I wish they delved more into their dark pasts.
b) Sports/Fights. Want to see some MMA? Check this out. There are quite some worthy cringing gory scenes.
c) Willpower. I love how Han Hyo Joo's character, Jeong Hwa, is always so optimistic/cheery despite her circumstances. It was inspiring. Han Hyo Joo always lights up my mood.
d) Good pacing. I didn't find that it was too slow at any point. I wouldn't say perfect pacing either, but it never bored me.
e) Funny moments. Not laugh out loud moments, but I did chuckle a few times at the beginning from our OTP interactions.
If you're an avid drama watcher like me, then you've probably seen this storyline from somewhere before. Though, it's not done badly. It just wasn't something that blew me away.
Acting/Cast:
Great acting from Han Hyo Joo and So Ji Sub. Actually, the movie's strongest point goes to the acting.
This is the first time seeing Jyo Hoo in a movie and she gave a good impression like always. Though, I hope she won't stop acting in tv series.
She acted really well as a blind person. The way she looked at Ji Sub's character, Cheol Min, was really expressive. The same applies for Ji Sub. The way he marveled at her makes me believe that he truly loves her. They're both very expressive actors.
Though, the acting wasn't phenomenal. I've seen them act better in previous projects. Not to say that they didn't excel here, but it wasn't anything new.
I wish they delved more into the main characters' minds. I felt like I never understood them inside-out. I still had some lingering questions at the end about our main characters.
Music:
The songs were pleasing to my ears/heart while watching the movie. I especially liked the instrumental ones playing during the scenes where Cheol Min was boxing.
Truthfully, I don't remember much about the songs as soon as the movie ended.
Bonus:
Puppy/Dog!!!
Overall:
Nothing jaw-dropping or mind-blowing.
If you want something simple/slightly tearjerking/enjoyable then watch this. Other than that it's not a must-watch. If you're a fan of Han Hyo Joo (like me!) or So Ji Sub then this movie will definitely not disappoint you.
Overall rating for review: 7/10
Purely for entertainment: 8.5/10
My Dramalist rating (avg): 7.75/10
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This review may contain spoilers
I want to give a nice score to this story, I think it is something original and I was not bored in any episode indeed I was curious to know what would happen!The history of reincarnation is interesting and the parallels between previous and present life are convincing and well made.
All this I think is a good point to see the drama, if you already know and love even one of the protagonists then I think it's really worth seeing it!
The problem is perhaps in how the characters were written .. especially the main ones, there was more than one absurd, meaningless, incomprehensible scene that only brought misunderstandings and chaos and also to see badly the female protagonist who bored me more than once and I'm sorry because she is a good and talented actress.
I don't know if there is really any connection with the book being quoted "Wuthering Heights" but I started reading it out of pure curiosity.
Spoiler
The last episode left me perplexed .. in reality I didn't expect some things .. it is as if the two male characters had exchanged roles as a result of the feelings of Sa Bin.. and everything that happened before, disappeared.. and the message that is given is not understandable.
- we can speak of unconditional love: Jong Bum is accused and labeled as a murderer, who has no feelings, evil; it was not like that but he does nothing to avoid it. Everyone thinks badly of him and he accepts it. Sa Bin goes beyond all this and decides not to leave him alone. With her sweetness she helps Jong Bum not to fall into evil and try to make him live a normal life. But he doesn't even deserve the name of a good boy, he wanted to kill the prosecutor Kim and above all he was a stalker!
- does it mean that eternal love doesn't exist ?: the love story of Hyung Bin and Ha Eun was beautiful. At first it seemed (they made us believe) that they had reincarnated to continue their broken love story in this life! She seemed in love, she declares herself and when she finds out that Soo Hyuk was getting married she almost fell into total despair, when they could start a new love story she starts to walk away and afterwards she discovered that she loved who killed her boyfriend in the previous life in front of his eyes.. and after saying that she loved him forever also in another life!
Although Kim Soo Hyuk didn't always do well, he shot Jong Bum in the head without too many compliments and was obsessed thinking that Jong Bum was a killer, I don't understand how they decided to change Sa Bin's feelings in the last two episodes .. no sense, she proved inconsistent and her actions meaningless.
I also thought that the attention not given to Ji Chul has decided to give it to Jong Bum. but it seems more like a charitable action for not to leave him alone, instead of for love.
I don't know if I haven't grasped the message well or if in reality there is no real message .. anyway the drama is beautiful. it is better not to stress to understand the actions of the characters and to look at him calmly for pure pleasure.
Thanks for reading my review and sorry my english is not very good.
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This review may contain spoilers
It was exciting in the start but fizzes out towards the end.
This is not my first k- dating show (my fav is His Man 2 till date) and by far what I have seen it is all about glamourous people dating with a lot of physical appeal. Here it was different. A bunch of normal people who went exploring dating for the first time in their life. The concept of this show is very fresh and tried to encompass real emotions of people, for the concept it deserved 10/10.The problem was how the show became Jeongmok saga. Bro carried the entire show on his back. It was about his love story from top to bottom. The other contestants contributed very less.
**Spoiler**
His love angle with Ji-yeon was very very random. They went from 0 interaction onscreen to 100 % commitment where they want to marry each other. It felt scripted to me. I mean for once i can accept Jeong mok having feelings for Ji yeon but how did she started feeling for him?! Until last episodes she was pinning for Jaeyun and how she liked quiet boys. I am okay even if it was a script but atleast it should make some sense. Either the editing of that loveline was bad or the production team had no solid content of their developing feelings that they legit flashbacked only one scene of them- JY got hurt --> JM did first aid... that too thousands of time. How can you expect me to buy this huh?
Jisu- SeungLi was interesting till it became bland. Bro had 0 interest in knowing her. Its a dating show so i cant expect real conversations but atleast have some talk beyond who was your first choice. "You can pour out your emotions to people and it can mean nothing to them." Had it been real life i would have rooted Jisu to find someone better. And the concept of the show was to date why did they not go to the overnight trip?! That was quite a waste. You say you like someone then obviously you would want to spend time with them alone but here it was opposite.
Rest of the people were quite forgettable. I didn't understand why Minhong and Yeonmeung were pinning over JM. Their screentime was just filled with them bitching about JM. Also I am quite angry with how they handle newbies. They removed their screentime completely to the extent no one knows who they liked. Amongst guys I liked Jaeyun storyline but it was limited.
**End of Spoiler**
All in all it was a bland show where you can skip ep 9 & 10 altogether. I hope they plan a bit better next time. The conversations between the cast were limited to who was their first choice. Please for once have some discussion beyond that the next time.
The people were kind and good no doubt but they have to speak and act for the show. It's shameful that the production planned 3 overnight stays and only 1 couple went.
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A high stake family ethics drama
I saw glory rating dropped from 8.5 to 8.3; I don't know why everybody is making a fuss about the last 6 episodes; yeah the ML's side of story of the duke household was old formula but annoying scenes moved at a fast pace and it was interesting enough and better than many other dragged out male lead background of other dramas.I don't know what others were expecting from this drama, the title says it all, its about a family's glory, a high level family ethics drama that goes through many twists and turns of family bonds and family prosperity and unity; even ML's duke family plot hinted at the family glory and prosperity and power thing. I didn't find it inconsistent, the drama team delivered what they were supposed to, its a high stake family drama centered around solving family issues and that's it. Why everyone is making a grand idea like there should be something more like court politics, emperor, ML's career etc but these are not what this drama has hinted at all.
Anyways, people can just watch it with the mindset of a high stake family drama, there are many western shows and novels set around family inheritance suspense thriller; so for me Glory was just fine, maybe an extra 10 min ending with the main leads' wedding and a chit-chat tea party with all the sisters and their partners would be nicer but enjoyable nonetheless.
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