Better than I expected
I started watching this drama just because of Luo Yun Xi (Leo Luo) and Cheng Xiao pairing. I just wanted to check how well it worked. The whole drama turned out to be better than I expected.Plot (8.5 stars)
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I am quite disappointed by the plot. The synopsis had much potential than the actual drama. The romance is given more importance than mystery. The amnesia plot was rather disappointing as it only lasted for a few episodes. The truth that LZL was not instigator wasn't revealed little by little. So, the SXY's hatred towards LZL did not last for long. As said in the synopsis, SXY didn't have to try 'desperately' to save their relationship as LZL was always ready to go back into her arms.
The romance plot was quite interesting. It is not much of a 'hard-earned romance' as it is mentioned in the synopsis. The only disappointment is that it was there throughout the drama, for almost the beigining to the end. Had they given more importance to the mystery pIot, the romance could have been more sweeter. Also, have not seen much dramas like this, in which the FL usually initiates kiss.
The drama had many nice quotes too..
Acting or Cast (9 stars)
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I would have given the cast 9.5 or 10 stars if not there were scenes where the FL cries lol. Cheng Xiao had improved but she has yet to study how to handle emotional scenes. Yun Xi nailed his character perfecty as usual. The chemistry between the leads was quite lacking. And there is Gao Han and Tian Yi Tong. Their acting also was really nice and I really liked Gao Han's character very much.
Then, Chestnut. I don't know if he could be said as a pact of Cast haha.. He was the cutest of all and the most sensible one!
Music (10 stars)
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The music was superb. The title song really blended with the theme of the drama. Music was played exactly where it was needed. Some songs I like:
Meory of Last Life by Curley Gao
Circle of Love by Tien Chong
Venus by By2
This drama had many songs and I like most of the songs in English.
Rewatch value (5.5 stars)
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The rewatch value is actually quite low. I don't think I would rewatch this drama at any point of time.
Overall (7.5 stars)
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I liked the drama eventhough it is not one of my top favourites. Overall, it turned out to be better than I expected. I am also at ease seeing Cheng Xiao improve in this drama. This drama is an enjoyable watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Heartfelt and Painful Masterpiece
The story is deeply painful and emotionally intense. For someone who has experienced mental trauma, it’s incredibly difficult to forget what happens in the end. Yet, despite the sorrow, the drama delivers a powerful message to the world about war, mental health, and true love. Trauma isn’t limited to war—many painful experiences in life can be hard to overcome. Only the right person can truly help you heal and find a way forward to execute. That’s why I believe this is a truly remarkable story.The acting and cast are on another level. Chen Zheyuan and Liang Jie deliver outstanding performances, making every emotion feel raw and deeply moving. Their portrayal brings the story to life in a way that lingers in the heart long after watching. Thank you for creating a drama that leaves such a profound impact.
The music is exceptional. I can’t stop listening to the TWOT playlist—it resonates with the emotions of the story and helps me process the pain it left behind.
The rewatch value, for me, is low—not because it isn’t amazing, but because the emotions are too heavy to endure repeatedly. It’s the kind of story that stays with you, making it difficult to go through the heartbreak again and again.
Overall, my rating is excellent. The way this drama portrays the suffering caused by mental trauma is both powerful and rare. Not every drama can deliver such a meaningful and unforgettable message.
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The beginning is really good and you get hooked because you want to know what happened in the past. It is really lighthearted with a few good comedy scenes and the small dramatic scenes that are dropped in between prevent it from being boring.
But the series drops in quality after the exposition. It seems as if the creators had a really good idea but didn't expand it enough. After you have seen the idea the series has nothing more to offer. The whole middle of the series feels really stretched and filled with useless scenes that don't advance the story nor the characters very much. I have the feeling that the romance aspect of the show was supposed to be subtle and in the background but because the actual story wasn't really fleshed out they had to fill in the blanks with romance. This is not bad per se, but the relationship between the couple doesn't go anywhere. Their relationship doesn't get deeper and most of the time don't even feel like a couple.
The characters are not bad, but their characterisation is not very stable. When the creators of the show didn't know what to do, they just let characters act dumb and against their initial character traits just to advance the story and make it more dramatic. However this has the opposite effect and keeps you from being immersed in the story and empathizing with the characters.
For example, it is established that the characters in the present have the same traits as their past life counterparts. So Han Se Joo should be very clever because in his past life he was the head of the resistence, made perfect plans and was always cautious of the enemy. But when Baek Tae Min calls him and wants to trick him, he plays dumb goes to the place and then acts as if he knew that he was tricked all along. Then why go there in the first place and not call the police or something? That is just one example of accute dumbness.
Then it seems the writers just threw in things that don't make sense at all. When Se Joo falls down the roof the ghost Yoo Jin Oh possesses him, which isn't the problem, but why can he make Se Joo float and cushion his fall? Yoo Jin Oh can't even float by himself, so why can he float when inside another body? I hope you see what I mean.
And sometimes there are flashbacks, which are repeated throughout the series to waste time. All in all what I want to say is that the pacing of the series is really bad and you can clearly see where the writers put in extra stuff to stretch the runtime of the show. They should have made a mini series or fleshed out the story more, but in this state it feels like an unfinished prototype of a good show.
I really liked the part where they are sent back in the past by the ghost and explore the past. They should have told more of the past in this way or let the characters remember parts of their past after experiencing something emotional that triggers their memory. Instead almost all of the past story is told in episode 14 or 15 in one piece.
I really can't understand why it has such a high score here. I was really interested in this show after reading the summary and seeing that so many people liked it but unfortunately it really isn't all that great.
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The cast has a super dynamic and their interactions and friendship is really sweet to watch! It was slow at first but it gradually gets better and the cases get more and more interesting as the episodes go on! Idk if anyone has watched it, but this seriously has some Go Fighting vibes (a Chinese variety show, recommend!).
I'm so happy it's getting a second season and I really hope it's with the same cast! 10/10 worth watching!
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A song to life and love
I have doubts about the strength of my arguments to convince someone that this is a great series, but I have plenty of reasons to, again and again, watch it with pleasure, to tell why that feeling of harmony and hope that 'Gray Shelter' provokes me and, of course, I am also completely convinced that it should be recommended. Attentive to the small and the biggest, the tight heart, the explosion of emotions and the confusion, this South Korean romantic drama will whisper in our ears about certain things that happen to people when they discover their inner self.Cha Soo-hyuk (Jang Woo Young) is a boring adult whose only goal is to live without worrying about everything and everyone. While working as an external engineer at a cleaning company, he meets up again with Lee Yoon Dae (Lee Jae Bin), with whom he was very close in the past. Yoon Dae lived with his girlfriend, but now he has nowhere to go..., and they end up living together. The two remember domestic violence, running away from home and the days when they consoled each other by saying that they were not like each other's parents.
Korean director Lee Son Eum (이손음) signs with 'Gray Shelter' (회색기류 / Hoesaekgiryu) a significant work of contemporary relationships in his portrait of a same-sex couple, delicately addressing a theme common to all such as love , but here presented in unforeseen and difficult circumstances with a language that involves the viewer in the intimacy, complicity and fears of what is told: the story of two young people united by a past of brotherhood, whose brotherly affection evolves into a warm and deep love with the passing of the years.
Based on Son Eum's own script, the series, consisting of 5 20-minute episodes, explores the awakening of desire, passion and love of a boy for another man. It is, simply, a demonstration that feelings do not know gender. It is love without borders in search of happiness without labels visually narrated in a very lyrical way and assumed naturally.
The deep friendship and love of two men who meet again and begin to live together under the same roof. A journey that turns the viewer into a witness of the internal struggle, the confrontation and the love that they experience. Exterior landscapes of the environment that surrounds them and interior landscapes of the characters written in an agile and lyrical way. History, society, love, defiance of life's obstacles.
A broken family, a heterosexual courtship, a breakup, a friend from the past, almost a brother, a little older, and, suddenly, when everything seemed stable, in perfect balance, the heartbeat, the discovery, the awakening of desire , the feeling, the obsession, burst in with the same force as the denial, the non-acceptance; aggression, which can be both internal and external, and breaks what is established...
They both fall in love. They both see their lives turned upside down. Both are reunited with an unknown self that makes them happy, that gives them pleasure, that fills them with unmanageable pain and uncertainty, but also with love and passion. It is the happy encounter with their own natures.
Can the two young people together travel the roads of South Korea in search of an El Dorado where love, purified of all prejudice, is possible?
How can I describe what is happening before my eyes? Drama and reflection, as intelligent with its images as with its dialogues, turn 'Gray Shelter' into a hymn to life and love, above all, due to the way it approaches a theme, such as homosexuality, which, even when it has been portrayed on numerous occasions over the years in South Korean cinema and television, is still very scarce compared to what is produced in other latitudes or on other topics in the same country, since the taboo component for a A significant part of the population is still present, despite being civilly legal.
From the Heavenly network, this romantic drama that feels like an old movie in terms of color tone and harsh composition, returns Lee Jae Bin to the screen after his successful performance in 'Choco Milk Shake'. At his side is an actor who has also shown his incredible artistic talent in the films 'Phantom' and 'Baseball Girl'. A couple that shows a vibrant chemistry in a drama that excites and moves as it manipulates as only initiatory stories, owners and lords of an absolutely individualistic narrative voice, can manipulate.
Jang Woo Young and Lee Jae Bin bring two very different characters to the scene, but two who not only have a strong connection and chemistry, but also relate perfectly to each other's struggle. There is a healthy and affectionate love between them, it is also romantic, with great generosity, nobility and compassion at play. The sadness and melancholy that both bring is not the kind that makes viewers cry, but rather hits deeper, to the very core. It is not a typical anguish, but heartbreaking.
If at any point I might have thought that Lee Jae Bin would be pigeonholed into comedy, I must confess: I was wrong. If in 'Choco Milk Shake' he achieved a genuine naturalness in his performance, even in those most dramatic parts, which could suggest this would be the right genre for him, in 'Gray Shelter' the young and talented actor shows his versatility and possessing the gift of standing out for his ability and skill when it comes to embodying totally opposite characters.
I liked how he made it clear that he is an actor of race, of vocation, one of those who dares with comedy and drama, and puts himself at the service of the role in question with body, mind and soul. You have to follow his steps.
For his part, thanks to Jang Woo Young, Cha Soo-hyuk is a completely plausible, convincing and even beautiful character, in the sense of being absolutely different from those played by the same actor in his previous works. Everyday life has such a forceful beauty that when an artist is able to see and represent it, he achieves works that are not only solid, but also shocking.
With an acidically caustic tone, raw and direct, highly intelligent and subtle, and always based on the dialogue and organic behaviors of two characters with few filters, 'Gray Shelter' becomes a sophisticated story of a homosexual relationship. The narrative simplicity of the series is reflected in the filming style and is offset by the complexity of the relationship.
Although at times it crosses the border of frivolity, it is possibly one of the most elegant translations of contemporary South Korean dramatization of a story about homosexual men, which is nothing other than a great love story.
'Gray Shelter' is, in short, one of those gems that presents a world so wonderful that you feel sad when you reach the end credits. In short, a drama that captivates the viewer, in addition to the story and the way it is told, due to its attractive visual effects and its visual chemistry.
The drama turns out to be, then, a delicate story of everyday situations, especially those essentially linked to providing inclusive views to the debate on diverse identities and sexualities, while diluting the binary and sexual identity boundaries (man-woman). But, in addition, it recreates, with proverbial skill, especially in the dialogues, and also in the situations, a romance that is not just one more of those that South Korean audiovisuals have contributed since 'The King and the Clown' (Lee Joon-ik, 2005), 'A Frozen Flower' (Yoo Ha, 2008), 'Man on High Heels' (Jang Jin, 2014), to name just a few, but one current, daring, pure, in a series all time attentive to those shudders that perhaps strengthen our expectations of finding what we are looking for.
Lee Yoon Dae's confessions, the evocation of the past that unites them, the way in which the two men approach each other and establish a unique, explosive, fiery intimacy, make total sense through a delicate photography, capable of converting each shot of night exteriors in acts of love in the light of the sunniest day, in addition to managing the expressiveness of the composition and the framing placed even in a symbolic function (Cha Soo-hyuk healing Lee Yoon Dae's wounded face is filmed in a way that implicitly alludes to the major issues involved here); or music that is barely noticeable, and the composers of the songs know that this is a compliment when talking about musical soundtracks in film or television.
The cinematography is moving, with great use of color, particularly a dark, natural palette.
In addition to everything said, I also loved the tenderly filmed scenes of intimacy and sexual complicity. As for the general assessment, it must be said: Lee Son Eum pleasantly surprises us with a seemingly simple series, but which is ultimately a treatise on losses and breakups, on the one hand, and encounters, reunions and discoveries on the other hand, about the gone and the lost, about the found and the unexpected, about the search and finding of love and happiness, the clinging to illusions, to certain affections and feelings, by human beings so complex as well as sincere, animated by the real idea that perhaps they will find, very close to themselves, in their shared past and present, what they have always sought.
And if it all seemed like a lot to me, I am surprised by the beautiful animation by Jeon Seon Myeon that serves as the opening title. The animation shows the two main characters, Yoon Dae and Soo Hyuk, walking alone in the snow before ending up under a streetlight. Yoon Dae spreads out his scarf and wraps it around Soo Hyuk. The light turns on, illuminating their gray world, and they embrace as Ode's "Sleepless" plays in the background.
Few South Korean series have left me, at their end, with such an inexplicable feeling of melancholy and complete satisfaction. And that's why I decided to enthusiastically recommend it.
YA
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I lost my soul to this drama ?
There is no couple in the whole c drama world that is more made for each other than CWN-MR. They met from the start, they were the reason for each other to survive the whole catastrophe, they were each other’s reason to live.MR, our puppy, and CWN, our cold cat, they both have stolen our soul and from now on, we will be forever soulless clowns…we will be traumatic against the word ‘stairs’…we will be giggling when eating ‘dumpling’…we will be blushing when seeing a husky and a cat…we will be abnormal basically.
I am glad with the happy ending, uncensored scenes, all the butterflies and sweets…amazing!
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I also dislike a story when the writers have the characters do something that is totally out of character. I felt like in episode 15 and 16 that the writers did that with Young and Jin Sung. Honestly, after episode 15 I could care less what happened to Young. I hate wishy washy characters...Is she strong? Is she weak? The writers should have just picked something. It is like they thought they needed to add something to make it more interesting. I felt more deeply for Moo Cheol than Young and that is sad considering I saw a heck of a lot less of him in this drama than her. Beyond that, I think most of this drama is well paced and the cinematography is out of this world. I enjoy the basic story line. There are just so many things that I would change. I just felt disappointment as I ended this drama.
As far as the acting is concerned, it is excellent. Jo In Sung as Oh Soo is by far the best acting that I have seen in a long time. His facial expressions, the use of his hands, and the way he speaks just brings the character to life and I feel deeply for Oh Soo. Song Hye Kyo does an excellent job playing a blind person. I have seen her in other dramas and I think her acting improves with each role that she takes. If I didn't know better, then I would have thought she was blind. Of course, it is good to see Kim Bum again and I hope he gets a main lead soon so I can see more of him. I loved Kim Tae Woo as Moo Cheul and his character is by far one of my favorites in the drama.
I think the music was beautiful.
I won't rewatch this.
If you like melodrama, then this is one you should watch. Most people like it, so don't make a decision to watch it or not based on my review.
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Extraordinary Story & Characters - Finished Ordinarily
One of the most anticipated and talked about drama of mid-2022 which started on a high - with heartwarming story and characters, while showing the harsh reality of society but ended a bit-weakly. Overall, an enjoyable ride and it will definitely remain an iconic drama and in must-watch lists for time to come. Sharing my short & detailed reviews below:✧❅✦ QUICK REVIEW ✦❅✧
Why You Should Watch It:
♥ Refreshing concept - great portrayal of person suffering from ASD
♥ Superb Acting by ALL characters
♥ Cute main-lead love story - will induce giddiness, make you curl your toes and smile ear-to-ear!
♥ Loveable and Hate-worthy Side Characters (the latter, cause we need a reminder that all in not rosy even in dramas)
♥ Good Reflection of society's good, bad and the in-between
♥ Beautiful, Addicting Soundtrack
♥ Funny and comedic relief to break-through the seriousness in storyline
What Might Bother You:
✘ No hard-core, well explained baddie/villain
✘ Some side-characters have weak character development
✘ Law cases are not as gritty and thrilling
✘ Ending is rushed (can be managed, but might leave some frustrated)
Summary:
This drama is for you if you are looking for a cute romance story, set in the backdrop of attorneys navigating their way in the society - shown through the eyes of a genius woman suffering from ASD. You get preview of her friendships and family, initial inhibition of people on accepting people with ASD, how they try to understand and sympathize, while others choose not to - and both sides are valid and real.
Watch it for - Woo Young Woo's acting, Jeon-Ho's charms, cute moments, some brilliantly executed cases, comedy from our loveable side characters and portrayal of those who suffer from ASD - so that we can learn and be kind in our real life!
........................................ || not spoiler, but some hints are there at storyline - read with caution || ..............................................
✧❅✦ DETAILED REVIEW ✦❅✧
❤ Lesson From This Drama: Celebrate the Extra-Ordinary in all of us! ❤
--------------------------------------------------------- ✧✦ What Works ✦✧ ----------------------------------------------------------
✦ The Concept:
Refreshing story of how a genius young woman suffering from Autism deals with her work, friends, work and other social interaction. We get to see from her lenses - the good, bad and the in-between we deal with in society. Somethings that might just seem natural to us in our every-day life, might be a task for people suffering from ASD. While the cases and characters propel how our main lead actress navigates through it all, my takeaway from it is that we need to more observant, understanding, sympathetic to people and our surroundings, cause not everyone is same, we are all different and that is okay and something to be celebrate!
✦ The Acting:
While our main lead actress is phenomenon and it is what draws audience to start watching this drama, stay and fall in love with her - it is also the other characters around her. How they in their respective roles are either supportive, begin to understand her, or are completely against her. Which is a good and solid representation in real life - some will hate thee, some will love thee. Right from characters shown in the positive or negative role - I believe if a character makes you love them or hate them, that is a job and portrayal well done. So kudos to the entire star cast, minus the glitch in certain character development, with the limelight on this show, everyone stayed true to their acting!
✦ The Cases (some of them - at the start)
This is not a courtroom drama, but more of how it is approached by a person suffering from ASD. What maybe missed by the ordinary attorneys is captured beautifully by our Extraordinary Attorney Woo. The cases in the first half are somewhat thought-provoking, nothing that that will give you sleepless nights or keep you guessing till the end, but more on the lines of breaking it to the audience that society evils persist and sometimes our perception creates or manifests evil or wrong. But seen from the lens of the innocent (like Attorney Woo) you can see past the pre-conceived notions/prejudice and see a person or situation for what it really is and make a judgement or form opinions accordingly.
This was a double-edged sword - some cases worked while some did not. But in all cased - we see our lead making some good/bad and confusing decisions in her own battle to love the law and abide by it.
-------------------------------------------------- ✧✦ What Could Be Better ✦✧ ---------------------------------------------------
✦ The love-story (or stories)
Now in a great romance - you have a build-up, the cute moments, a tragedy or hurdle that tests them and then happily-ever-after, right?
I personally fawned, curled my toes in the romantic scenes, cause it was cute, mushy and our lead pair were devastatingly good looking and convincing. But I was saddened by how the writers wrote their hurdles and ending phrase. The relationship graph went super high only to nose-dive in the end. Though some would like it and appreciate how it was tied up, but I would have preferred more explanation or some romantic/dramatic declaration of love - because we are focusing on a character who is socially meek, so more words were needed to explain those emotions.
Another weak area - the love stories of the side-characters was just done for namesake, only cause they are on screen so let's show a backstory or put 1+1 characters just cause side characters also need some love - did not work for me, sadly. Had they omitted the love angle and shown it more as a supportive friendship or hinted at a camaraderie, would make more sense.
✦ The Negative Characters' Development
Everyone loves a good villain - you may love, admire or hate them but you just cannot ignore them.
In Woo Young Woo's life too, we see such characters pop-in but with not much preamble as to why the dislike our main lead, what is their backstory and main motive to cause disruption. It is all too mellow and not sharp, vengeful or even justified. They are just there - and you would expect that the next episode would drop some insight, but are just left waiting. Talent, in this case, got wasted as well as the story arch.
--------------------------------------------------------- ✧✦ Summary ✦✧ --------------------------------------------------------
It definitely is a tale that is worth-a-watch only for the portrayal of ASD, some great acting and beautiful soundtrack.
But like me, many could be saddened at how it all tied up in the end. Because the drama was so highly anticipated and the first half really sets the bar high, to have such a mellow ending was not expected.
Usually I give a drama a rating of 10, deducting 0.5 or 1 as story progresses and characters develop. Therefore, I gave this drama a 9 at the start only to bring it down to 8 now, which can possibly share some perspective to whoever is reading this.
It is a cinematic treat - the acting, scenes and music make it easy on the eyes and ears and the story is a heartwarming tale that is worth taking a note of, at least once.
-------------------------------------------------------------- ✧✦ ✦✧ ------------------------------------------------------------
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This review may contain spoilers
could have been a masterpiece
Overall: I rated the beginning episodes 9.5 with the amazing production value and acting; however, I was extremely disappointed with how they portrayed something as well as the final episode. 7 episodes about 24 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5039/when-it-rains-it-pours-2025-e01 ; re-aired on Viki April 2025 https://www.viki.com/tv/41013c-when-it-rains-it-poursWatch Suggestions (to skip the parts that derailed it for me)
- watch episodes 1-5
- episode 6 watch 17:15-end
- episode 7 watch 21:30-end
Content Warnings: past death, off screen *rape (yes it happened, it was in the source material - see below for more info), **abuse
What I Liked
- acting
- awesome dream
- the conversation with pushback on gender stereotypes
- good consent between 2 characters in episode 5
- production value (beautiful cinematography, art in the museum was a visual feast)
Room For Improvement
- *the writers reinforced the myth that people during sexual assault either fight or flee, Sei's reaction and misplaced remorse (it was zero his fault) are common in reality; however, no character actually called a spade a spade leaving room for interpretation (in comments/online I've seen people who didn't think it was rape or that Sei was also toxic instead of an abuse victim/survivor), this was a major writing misstep
- **Fujisawa had a failed redemption arc, he was a rapist and an abuser (he isolated Sei which was emotional abuse and even admitted he was happy isolating Sei)
- too much told in internal monologue
- way too much time in episode 7 spent on Fujisawa and the other friend (the leads had 2 minutes together!)
- I have zero faith the main couple will stay together, they didn't have good communication and we didn't get screentime to see character growth
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The drama keeps a slow tempo, with the story being spread throughout the drama, probably so it can serve the next two seasons coming up next. Maybe that's when the drama picks up. And yes, this is a slice of life, but, at times, it felt like there was nothing to look forward to in the next episode. Also, there were moments when the drama got boring too.
That said, they did handle the romance masterfully, as to not overshadow the friendship and so that it didn't become the main focus of the drama. They did a good job with the blend of music and story too, as well as with the flashbacks of their old days.
Finally, when it comes to performances, the drama of course had excellent ones, as the cast was consisted by the best of the best.
So, overall, six and a half out of ten, because there were some nice moments to the drama, but it felt like there was no story to it.
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Disappointment
I hate when Kdramas adapt Webtoons and just give a different plot completely. This reminds me of CITT. At least with CITT there was the excuse that the Webtoon wasn’t over. This one had everything fleshed out and a whole ending the go off by. The ratings were already low in SK so they could’ve at least done a decent plot that leaves the people that watch it interested or satisfied. The relationship between the two main characters was toxic from the beginning. Who was more toxic doesn’t matter because they were both trash at certain points. That alone should’ve concluded that they don’t belong together. Jae eon Is a player, he straight up ran with the “I don’t date” premises from their first conversation. How tf did he fall in love with her before that then? I wanted to see how he never changes so she chooses herself. Every single time she did, she went back to him right TILL THE END!!! This should’ve been wrapped up in 6 episodes but over 10 hours in 10 episodes was a waste for an ending as crap as that. Hello Kdramas, friendly reminder that “the power of love” doesn’t exist 99.9% of the time and shitty men won’t change for you. Stop selling this sick fantasy and start properly acknowledging the toxic behavior these MLs have.Was this review helpful to you?
As much as I loved the original cast, having Lee Yi-Kyung or Lee Jun Ki remain as the only person from the original cast and write them off like they were side characters was not pleasant, if anything it was another example of lazy writing. I hated how while they could've used an entirely new cast, they kept him and just copy-pasted the cast into an entire portion of his past and assumed it would be convincing.
It's a comedy so lets focus on that: watch 2 episodes and you've essentially watched them all. Just a bunch of running gags overused to the point of not even being funny anymore. Lee Yi-Kyung's role was an over-the-top kind of role in the first season, but it wasn't so bad because there were characters to balance it out. But here, it's the focus of the show, the characters were dull and the acting was stiff or unnatural.
Cinematography was good, and whoever wrote the script, planned to just make a few easy bucks by capitalizing on the nostalgia of the first season -- had pretty much everyone hooked just by reminding them it was Welcome to Waikiki.
Overall, not really funny and too predictable. It was just something to watch for closure after the first season or if you just need help moving on from it. The conclusion was good though, I liked how they wrapped it up.
Hopefully they don't make another season.
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First Impression
This show is going to be FANTASTIC. I already knew this show was going to be great just from watching the trailer but, so far for this being the first episode....this show is unbelievably amazing. The concept alone is amazing...not to mention the cinematography is absolutely stunning along with the plot and cast. I can just tell this show is going to be a rewatch for me once it's finished.Alongside the NC scene...it is an absolute masterpiece already. The side-couple....yeah, you heard me THE SIDE-COUPLES NC scene is so fantastic and intense that I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode on Friday
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Nice guy in a not very nice drama
I believe the reason i didn't really like this drama is because it promises something and gave us another thing, or at least that's not what I expected before starting it.It's a romance, family, drama, but all we got were gangs war.
Romance was very little to none in the beginning, it's all about the two gang leaders and the animosity between them, of course Seok Cheol is caught in the crossfire.
The family parts is only about the mess the older sister made and the hopeless dating case of the younger, Seok Cheol had little influence on both, he's just there trying to pick up the broken pieces.
I saw someone comparing this drama to "call it love" because it has the same vibes and I agree, it has the same atmosphere but heavily focused on other things aside from the romance.
I believe if they just cut the romance and advertise it as a gangster drama it would have been much better.
Another thing is the slow boring pace, and I mean in general, it's not a calm healing drama, though it has all the aspects of being so, it is about struggling with things you have no influence on, which makes your heart heavy unnecessarily, I'm of course talking about Seok Cheol in this case and I can't not focus on him because he is the ML.
The FL is lovely and adorable but I don't know what they wanted her character to be, in the very beginning we meet this introverted character with a traumatic past that made her life miserable and had a hard time maintaining a job related to her passion for music, she feels better performing in front of a camera than a few people (her words not mine) then suddenly she is performing on the streets, in bars and in front of the whole republic of Korea.
I think the drama is generally good it's just need some polishing here and there, so if you like family dramas and gangs this one is for you, if you are watching for the romance drama part, I don't think you will be satisfied much ~
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The gossip wasn’t worth it
When the stars gossip do not, I repeat DO NOT stay to listen, just walk away. The gossip is not worth listening to! Go do literally anything else, it’ll be much more worth your time than this pro-life propaganda drama.I honestly am embarrassed to say that I watched this in it’s entirety because there was so many times I could’ve dropped it and I just didn’t. Why? I have no idea! Please learn from me and my regret and don’t even press play. You won’t see anything but ridiculous antics and pro-life rhetoric. And they spent 50 billion won on producing this by the way. This drama is prove that quality will always override quantity.
PS: My true rating is a 0/10 but mdl made me rate it at least 1/10 to post this so don’t be fooled, this drama has absolutely no redeeming qualities and is genuinely the worst kdrama I’ve ever watched to completion.
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