This review may contain spoilers
One of the better GMMTV shows but far away from a 10...
As usually the show started strong, but while it did not fall of a cliff it was a bit flat in the later episodes. The comedic parts are often over the top as usual and the finale did not catch me at all.At least the script was better than normal, but of course the predictability was a given. So it's a light-hearted show with few ups and not many downs, on the good side overall. But it will not leave an impression for me. While their chemistry was good, I felt there was not much tension between them and I also didn't feel that longing after three years and the reason was a bit "boring" imho.
It's pleasant to watch, it's heart-warming most of the time, but it misses the spice I have expected after all the interviews of the MLs I have seen before the show. It was just "safe" as usual by GMMTV. Success with the fangirls for the reunion of a fan-favorite couple, earning lots of money with fan-meets, concerts and merch. And that's what's a three billion ($ or €) industry is all about in most cases. Sorry to say, this series is very far away from the 10.0 many have given but we got disappointed by GMMTV much more before. Overall a decent show which can be watched without much brain-power but also a show which will not drive us insane with a stupid script either.
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missed the mark (watch suggestions)
Overall: though this is based on a book which has 2 other live action adaptations, I tried my best to review this series on its own merits. That being said, I think some fans of the book and original adaptation will not like a few changes that the creators have made as they fundamentally changed 1 character which alters their dynamic to feel imbalanced. Aired 10 episodes about 1 hour long on WeTV (need to VPN to Thailand, cut version & uncut version https://wetv.vip/en/album/pgahblq3qny0xuz) and YouTube cut https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqQkseRPA8d53_Hg0wnBlDFwNtFBw6xo3&si=rpt7pbo4KhLJoAoj Later added YouTube uncut for channel members. You can tell you are watching the uncut version if ep 1 starts at a fancy event in a flash forward. The cut version starts with a bunch of students taking an exam. Re-aired uncut version on Viki April 2025 https://www.viki.com/tv/41064c-addicted-heroinContent Warnings (uncut): non con kissing/biting, fight, bullying, drugging, abusive parent/violence, transphobia, non con kiss, theft, kidnapping/held against will, punch, drugging, blackmail, homophobia
Watch Suggestions (this is for the uncut version, it cuts out some of the love triangle stuff)
- watch episodes 1 & 2
- episode 3 watch beginning to 12:15, 13-24:45, 36:25-40, 46-end
- watch episodes 4 & 5
- episode 6 watch beginning to 27 minutes
- episode 7 watch 22:15-23:35, 26:30-34:15 (if you want to see a character be unhinged), and 44 to the end
- episode 8 skip 14:40-38
- episode 9 skip 6:30-31 and skip 43:30-49:15
- episode 10 skip 31:15-37:30
What I Liked
- visuals (i.e. working out scene)
- countryside setting
- sweet moments
- that they modified a part in episode 7, the book appears to have been written in 2015 and I have no problem with adaptations changing some things from the source material
- that 1 character didn't get a redemption arc in the finale
- a decent plan in the finale
- satisfied with the way it ended even if there isn't a special or second season
- production value (especially how the opening scene transitioned into the flashback, however it needs better transitions overall)
Room For Improvement
- the cut version took out key relationship development between both couples however it did take out some of the evil girlfriend/wannabe girlfriend stuff which was nice, speaking of
- too much screentime on evil girlfriend/wannabe girlfriend cliche
- tried to cover way too much plot, the side couple would randomly appear and disappear, too much of the main couple's relationship development was done in a montage
- choppy (even the uncut), it quickly jumped from one scene to the next
- a character was toned down but then went very unhinged, the dynamic didn't work
- fake kissing (a reason not to cast a 16 year old and a 30 year old...)
- the transphobic comment in episode 3 which I think was supposed to be translated as "he's not even a real man, he's a trans friend of mine"
- too many flashbacks
- comedy sound effects, also the tone switching between comedy and serious moments didn't always work
- nonsense stuff ie in ep 10 characters didn't tell another character information because they thought it would make him sad so instead he was both sad and mad for many years
- one of the worst/most confusing releases I've ever seen, the youtube channel that released episode 1 was different from the channel that released episode 0, no subtitles even though there were supposed to be and then the subtitled cut version was removed from youtube shortly after it was available to watch, 1 week later ep 1 and 2 cut were back up with subtitles
Note About Actors' Ages (I didn't take off points for this but as an fyi, 1 actor was 16 when he filmed this, the other lead actors' ages were: 26, 17 & 18; age of majority in Thailand is 20)
- from the source material and as shown in the series, the characters are the same age, they start in high school and then later there is a time jump
- there were zero real kisses, the one supposedly intimate scene was very tame and only kissing the person's neck/close to their neck
Cut version differences in episodes 1 & 2 (overall the uncut version is better, I didn't have the energy to watch all cut versions to compare but this gives you an idea of types of differences)
- in episode 1, 12 minutes were cut, about 5 minutes of that was there was an intro scene that took place in the future/present before a flashback, they also cut short the vandalism scene, then they removed Pop talking to his grandma/dad towards the end, and they removed the very end where there is a flashback to the vandalism scene but a new part shown
- in episode 2 (58 uncut/47 cut), after store there is a short talk with grandma about him working which is why he is out late, they cut a little of the nurse talking, in the infirmary they cut at the end that Hero got into the bed with Poppy to cuddle with him, after the sneezing they cut where the girl must have left a box of toilet paper for Mr. Sneezy and Mr. Sneezy thinks it's from Mr. Grumpy who denies it but he is shushed, after Pop's meeting with Hero's dad he goes to school and walks by Hero who is shirtless and randomly wrestling other students for fun, Pop volunteers to wrestle pins Hero and they stare at each other, after Pop took Hero's shirt to wash it there is a scene at a convenience store where Pop helps Hero with writing/homework, they then get drunk with Pop defending his mom and putting his head on Hero's shoulder, Hero gives Pop a new pair of shoes, ties them, Pop then shushes Hero and leans in, it cuts to Pop waking up shirtless in his bed with seemingly a hard on
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And i need season 2!! the actress is so young but when i watched this i thought she was at least 2 years older she is but shes a 98 liner and she was soo cute she is a good actress and the actor was soo good looking, i have watched some of his dramas before, they make such a good couple overall their chemistry was soooo cute!! hoping for season 2!!!!
Will there be one a second season???
:)
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This review may contain spoilers
My alarm would not ring for this show
I withheld my opinions for this series until the second season came out, hoping they would tweak the things that were wrong with the first season. First off, I am all for realistic storylines with flawed characters. But what I do not stand for are characters that do not have a character growth at all. From the onset, there seemed to be a lot of potential because of the premise. An application that reveals the feelings of the other person? Interesting. Does that mean transparency from the get go? Yes (which was later on conveniently wiped out, but who cares, JoJo can do whatever she wants. But more about that later)! Refreshing? Sure. A distorted way of communicating? ABSOLUTELY.Let me breakdown what and where this went wrong for me -
1. A sudden cliched "two worlds apart" situation between the 1ML and FL. I was suspicious they might add that trope of "leaving for the benefit of the other", but I hoped, really hoped they wouldn't do that. Proved me wrong.
2. The way FL's story arc progressed flatly until the last episode where she suddenly decided to right the wrongs. It took someone to murder people for her to finally realize she wasn't really being a nice person. If I had to describe her story graph it would be _________/ At least that's what it was made to look like, for me it never picked up. There are far, far better characters arcs that overcome childhood traumas, without playing with other people's feelings and messing up their heads.
3. The writers probably wanted to show that the two MLs were unconditionally in love with JoJo, but all it looked like to me what she could do whatever she wants, and they'd still be at her beck and call. There were multiple instances she stepped on their hearts and didn't care to explain why. They still followed her like lost puppies. They both deserved so much better. Sun-oh definitely did. That man was made to cry for years - YEARS - over the FL who TILL the end never made up for her actions.
4. I would have been very happy if the bromance of the two MLs had more substance. It felt empty. I was supposed to feel it, but couldn't.
5. The second season felt so forced it made me cringe. Like a 16-episode melo was attempted to be cramped in a 6-episode mini-series. The story felt off, the wrap up was messed up, there were no emotions attached.
6. I feel I need to emphasize a little more about the FL's character. It is going down as one of the most frustrating leads I have ever seen. I see zero reason for her being the lead at all, she showed zero maturity, zero sensibility, zero empathy, zero growth in any sense whatsoever and still looked like a victim in every situation till the last episode.
There were several things I liked as well though, I should mention them nevertheless -
1. The first season was shot beautifully. I loved the setting, it was really refreshing. One word to describe it would be - promising.
2. The way the relationship between Jojo, her aunt and her cousin evolved (however limitedly).
3. The acting was good, I loved the work of the whole cast! I could see them trying their best with what they were given.
4. The overall concept of the show and what we could learn from it. It's thought provoking.
Comparing the things I liked, and the things I did not, it is safe to say it was the writing that ruined it for me. The storyline + characters. The way the flaws of the FL were glorified and excused because of her past basically undermines the growth people actually undergo when they overcome traumas. I wish the actors chose a better project. I'd love to see other works of theirs, because this show is a bad memory now. What's worse is that along with the FL, the audience is made to play ping pong with their feelings regarding the MLs. I hate when shows do that. Now the 1ML is being inconsiderate and heartless, now the 2nd one is doing the same, oh god the 1ML is hurt, oh no no the 2ML is hurt now. What exactly are you trying to do writers? Do you have no other content to keep the viewers watch your show until the end? It's a rhetoric question. They do not, in fact, have any other content.
Never re-watching this, and never recommending this to anyone.
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too many flash backs
The story lacks flow and feels scattered from start to finish. Flashbacks are usually meant to add context, but here they’re poorly handled—constantly jumping between past and present with no clear structure. It becomes confusing rather than engaging. Despite a strong cast and solid production, the execution falls flat. It may be popular, but for me, it’s a miss. I’ve watched many great dramas this year, and this unfortunately isn’t one of them. 😔 It needed tighter editing and clearer pacing.Was this review helpful to you?
The thing is: a good drama for me doesn't need to be filled with moments that will make you suffer with the characters and it can't be that foreseeable. And You're Beautiful it's just this. You can fully understand the depth of the characters within some episodes, and if you try to take a guess on what they will do next, probably you'll be right.
There's no need to keep hammering a single point in the story, and still, they do this all the time. At one point, I got tired of gritting my teeth and screaming to the screen, cause I had already seen what was happening another billion times. It's repetitive, and even though I've kept rooting for one specific character, I knew since the beginning he wasn't going to get the ending I wanted, because, once again, the story is foreseeable.
The plot was a good one to work with - it never was supposed to be a deep story, but it could be better than what we had. The drama could be finished with only ten episodes, excluding unnecessary and dull interactions between the characters and mysteries that aren't really that mysterious. The music is ok, the few tracks we have are good, but I find myself really annoyed by the fact that, one, it seems like we only have five songs along the whole drama (and three of them are different versions of the same track), and two, why do they put such a tense instrumental in moments that doesn't have the need to it?
The best point for me is the acting - all the actors besides Park Shin Hye did a fairly good job. I kept wondering, why does she represents like this in this drama? I mean, Heartstrings was ok, Heirs too, and Pinocchio is her best drama without doubts, but her acting in You Are Beautiful annoys me so much. I don't find it cute, neither funny, nor girly. It's just annoying and the scenes I liked the most were the ones she wasn't trying so hard (episode 12, the greenhouse part, is one of my very few examples). Maybe she matured since then, and for me this one is her worst drama.
I can't say the drama isn't funny. It was one of the few things that saved it for me. I laughed so hard in some parts that it wasn't all lost. And if I ignored the existence of two of the three main male characters while Go Minam was interacting with one of them, I could go through the scene without any unneeded anger. It was silly, and sometimes fun, but not my piece of cake.
All in all, I would never rewatch it, but if you like silly thingies (and amorous triangles), if you're bored and want something to entertain yourself a little bit (only until the very first cringeworthy moment), you may want to give You Are Beautiful a try.
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This review may contain spoilers
How Will I Ever Emotionally Recover???
The answer is that I won't. I won't give any major spoilers here, I'll just say.... wow. The performances of this cast really had me weeping the whole time. This show is one I'll truly never forget. And that's what I love most about stories is how the right ones will touch your heart and stay ingrained in your memory. Just a beautiful story.Was this review helpful to you?
Your Inner Beauty Speaks to Me
Face swap. Murder investigations. Blossoming romance. Gothic cinematography. These are the four ingredients that create this stunning drama. The story is about the female lead who has a scar on her face. On her wedding day, a beautiful and obsessed woman swaps her face with the female lead, in order to marry her husband (the male lead). But ends up being killed the same day. With a new face and body, the female lead begins to investigate her death in the sinful city, alongside her husband who doesn’t know her true identity.It’s important to mention that the first two episodes are unusual as they give all the screen time to the guest actress who portrays the original body of the female lead (scar face). This is a great exposition in establishing the relationship between the main leads and enhancing their love story. However, the drawback is that when the main actress shows up at episode three, it feels a little off and it takes a few episodes to get used to seeing the same character portrayed by someone else. (I discuss more about this below).
The biggest highlight for me is the wonderful writing of the male lead who truly makes us all believe that he falls in love with the female lead’s personality and that no matter what face or body she possesses, he will always choose her and love her unconditionally. I loved seeing their blossoming romance, which was kind of slow burn but more like steadily built up in a realistic and mature way.
What truly surprised me in this drama is the intricate murder investigation cases which felt real, raw and well developed. They had the right amount of mystery and cool twists to keep the audience engaged. They never felt like filler scenes as they always connected to the main conflict of the plot. The fact is that I absolutely loved the cases despite being someone who rarely watches investigation dramas or even likes them.
MAIN CHARACTERS/ACTORS:
- Pan Yue (male lead) is written to perfection. You cannot not fall in love with him. He puts personality above looks. He is a great fighter, great poet and probably great lover (hello kiss scenes). The actor Liu Xue Yi has such a strong on-screen presence, he is smoking hot and totally underrated. His character felt well developed especially in showing how he falls in love with the female lead. Perhaps his only flaw is that he might be too perfect but I ain’t complaining.
- Yang Cai Wei / Shangguan Zhi (female lead) is shown as strong-willed, brave, intelligent with a unique forensic skill. My only issue with the way the character is written is the slight inconsistency of her personality after her face is swapped (I’ll discuss in more detail the negative points below). The main actress Ju Jing Yi was fantastic in her role and especially her acting impressed me massively when she portrayed the villain in the first two episodes. I feel she did really well in playing two distinctly different characters and I was easily convinced of the face swap.
POSITIVE:
- Blossoming romance that’s built well and steadily (like a mature and realistic relationship).
- Devilishly handsome male lead with strong on-screen presence.
- Dark and mysterious murder cases that are well written and show the brutality of humanity.
- Male lead falls in love with the female lead’s personality, not her physical looks.
- Smart female lead with unique forensic skills.
- Hot shirtless scenes (yes I said it).
- Hot kiss scene (one but worth the watch).
- Perfect balance between the romance story and the investigation plot. I never felt one overpowered the other.
- Gothic and sexy cinematography.
- Liu Xue Yi (male lead) brilliant acting in every possible way. The way he speaks, the way he moves, the way he walks. He is simply captivating to watch.
- Ju Jing Yi (female lead) portrays two characters beautifully. Her villainous role, although short, is a total scene stealer.
- Engaging and well executed plot.
- Beautiful OST.
- Great support cast and guest actors that stand out with their acting.
- Nice push and pull dynamic between the leads (at the start).
NEGATIVE:
!!! No drama is without flaws and although there are negative points here, none of them took away from my enjoyment. The main issue I had was how the face swap was handled at the beginning of the drama.
- The drama gives all the screen time in the first two episodes to the guest actress (who portrays the original female lead) which creates an awkward emotional bond with the audience when she is suddenly replaced by the main lead at episode three (after the face swap). In terms of the love story, this is great as it emphasised the male lead’s love for the female lead and clearly showed the audience that he did not fall in love with her because she suddenly had a nice face and body. However I feel the actual female lead JJY suffered since the audience had to get used to seeing the same character as her. What would have made it better is, if they had started the drama with JJY (as the villain) and given her more screen time to establish her as the main lead.
- The actual face swap remained a mystery in the whole drama. It was never explained how it was done. In fact it felt very unrealistic that the characters kept referring to it as a face swap when it is very clear that the two actresses have different body types, weight and skin tone. I feel it would have been better if they had chosen an actress similar to JJY or just called it a body/soul swap.
- Personality switch. The original YCW (main character) is shown as mature, calm and level-headed but after the face swap she oddly becomes extremely carefree as SZ. We are told that the character is trying to pretend to be SZ but even when she is alone, we don’t really see her as the original YCW from the first two episodes. Having said that, in the later episodes and especially when her identity is revealed, her personality does appear very similar to the original YCW. So I do blame the writers for this inconsistency. I believe the reason they made her carefree after the switch was to give us light-hearted scenes (especially with the male lead) which meant they sacrificed logic for cuteness.
- Although the drama wraps up well and resolves the main conflict related to the leads, it still leaves it open for a second season. But we all know chinese dramas rarely do second seasons so I kind of wish the last 10 seconds of the drama were cut.
OVERALL:
This is the Best 2024 Historical drama for me so far. Even better, it’s the best 2024 drama for Youku so far too. It has gathered millions of views with a 10,000 heat index by day three of its release. In fact, it became such a huge success that Youku upgraded it to S+ treatment (promotion and live events). I’m very much impressed by what the production has done with an A level (low budget) drama.
If you are looking for a drama with blossoming romance, murder investigations, beautiful gothic cinematography with smart and skillful main leads + a male lead who falls for the female lead’s personality not her looks, watch this drama now.
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It showed what is easy, tells the obvious and avoided what could have been great!
The genre listed for this drama is Romance, Wuxia, Drama, and War, which sounds very legendary on paper, except that it managed to dip its toes in all four without actually excelling in any. This is just a guilty pleasure romcom.I came here for some sweeping war chess and tactics, and of course a razor-edged female general we were promised in the trailer and the poster. I kept searching for the "larger than life" hype that I created in my head but sadly I was disappointed.
He Yan, on paper, is everything I expect from a strong female lead. Brave, witty, with a moral backbone and we get to see glimpses of it in the flashbacks. But somehow the balance between "female general" and "romantic lead" was off almost all the time. Here is where the drama falters the most for me.
We were told she fought her way up the ranks disguised as a man, surviving in a brutal, male-dominated world of war and yet in present, that struggle barely showed. She kept acting too cute.
Yes, women are allowed to be warriors and be happy and thriving in love but for it to feel real, the transition needs to carry that weight. I missed the awkwardness, the hesitation or even the tension. I wanted to see push and pull, the conflict between her desires and the hardened exterior that she might have built over the years of disguise. That would have felt earned.
But it looked like the writers got the amnesia trope themselves and forgot all about her past when it came to romance. The aegyo (lack of a better word) like behaviour undermined the whole dark and serious vibe of the drama I was expecting.
Also that whole arc where the FL pretends to be her brother really demands a huge suspension of disbelief. But I feel they did a good job with keeping her makeup to minimal to atleast make it look believable.
Coming to romance, the sparks existed, but again, it was too mild and easy. The angst, the longing, the courtship lacked passion. I wasn't excited for them to get together. I knew they were the leads and things just kept happening. Even the key moments felt dull. It wasn't bad but nothing to run home about.
The drama also wanted to scream women's empowerment, but like everything else, it just tells and does not show for it to actually make an impact. It was just all about the grand speeches. There was one scene where she was supposed to fight to show her talent in front of the army, and I was excited to finally see that fire but they cut it away and came back when it was over. If you want to sell me a hard-earned battle warrior, show her that way. There were other fight scenes too, but none of them left any impression on me.
Also, the focus on side characters who made minimal impact on the overall story was a baffling choice. I feel there was a lot more to explore about the lead characters especially the male lead. But instead I feel I know SML better than him. The SML in my opinion got the most fleshed story. It was unpredictable and he was given so much depth as a character compared to the leads. And the whole princess and master storyline was just not needed. Some deaths felt completely pointless, added neither the shock value or the story value. I was just confused.
And can we please take a second to talk about last 4 episodes. What in the world kept happening. The character arcs were already weak but somehow they manged to destroy that as well. I am still confused about a few things as why we needed that. This includes all fronts from comedy to romance.
Production-wise, this was below average. The overall set design lacked a certain richness. The poster had better colour grading, and the overall colour palette of the drama felt muted. And whoever is in charge of the blood effects should retire immediately. I mean, what were those ruby red lipstick swatches. Nothing disappoints me more than when a tragic moment is happening and fake blood on the actor's cheeks kept distracting me. Also, the dialogues were as lacklustre as the production.
Acting-wise, this is my first time seeing the leads, and I feel this shouldn't be the story I should be judging their acting on. Ryan Cheng served with his visuals, and Zhou Ye was bubbly ( a little too much) but did show us the few glimpses of a strong warrior when the script allowed but I was expecting more. Zhang Kangle, as Chu Zhao, impressed me the most. I liked his portrayal of the antagonist part. He carried that whole cold and cruel aura with justice. The rest of the supporting cast also did fine, but I wasn't too immersed in the story to comment here.
Overall, this was a huge miss in my books. It's wasn't just about one or two incidents that can be overlooked for overall enjoyment, but it's the constant repeated choices to chip away at the integrity and heart of the story, i.e. the journey of the female general. There was nothing legendary or "general" about it. It's frustrating not because it is unwatchable but it constantly kept reminding me what it could have been.
Will I recommend this? No.
Thank you for reading my review! <3 I hope you like the drama more than me. Please take my opinion as one of many if we don't seem to agree :))
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For the most part this is an historical drama, but don't let that throw you off. It makes valuable history enjoyable to watch. I have seen multiple shows with similar plot revolving around Japan entering the Meiji era, but none as detailed as this show was, "as expected of 50 episodes."
If you are interested in a great drama that will entertain you with historical Japanese stories this is the show for you.
Sorry for not being able to express my thoughts of the drama properly. But what I suggest is watching a few episodes and if you don't like it, then you can drop it.
I encourage more people writing a better review than mine, please.
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STOP COMPARING THIS TO SEASON 1
You need to understand that every drama has it's own place....I know, we all have our own opinions on what we like or not, but one thing we can all do is, not compare stuff...I don't have a lot to say besides this,
but I wanna talk about the MOST AMAZING cameos this drama is offering...Every single episode had me like "😲Them too!!!!!????"....
The cases in this drama are interesting in a sense that, they're not about money now, they're about REVENGE...and that makes all the cases interconnected... I find that super interesting but I've read comments of people not liking this concept....
Overall, if you wanna see our fantastic cast of Player get revenge from the bad guys, this drama is for you....
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This review may contain spoilers
Love Wins
I really wish this could have been a full-length drama and not a short-episode series.I would have loved to see the back stories of our ML & FL - two flawed, broken people who come to know and accept love despite their past. I loved the chemistry between them. I loved that he was the weaker of the two, but he loved her enough to let her go. I loved how no matter how much she denied it at first, she finally let him love her till she was able to love him too.
Their love scenes were tender and sweet, even with the chaste kisses. The cinematography added to the unspoken romantic interactions of the lead couple and was quite appealing and effective.
Loved the interjection of the time traveler and her sweet (well-deserved) ending. Hilarious!
I will definitely watch this one over and over again.
*Update - I had to amend the rating I originally gave this drama because I have come back to rewatch so many times! I hope there will be a Season 2.
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I enjoyed hating parts of this drama more than I enjoyed loving them. How ironic, I know! It had me pulling out my hair, screaming and cursing with frustration. I almost wanted to give up watching, and for some reason I couldn't. I was addicted badly to it. The characters were all crazy and nobody is normal in this drama. All their lives suck and every character suffers from deep guilt, abandonment issues, mommy issues, daddy issues and what-not. Plus, it being a melodrama had the tragic makjang also. All this craziness is what makes this drama complete. Perhaps all this seems a bit too much for me since I am not a melodrama loving person. For those who do watch melodramas, I can guess it won't be a big deal at all.
The acting done in this drama is way above than normal ones. The main leads are perfect at playing their roles. This drama does have a lot of crying in it, but some scenes have been done beautifully. Especially Ko Hyun Jung- who I've seen for the first time here was outstanding. She really knows how to pull off emotional scenes with perfection. In fact, I've not been so impressed with an actress in a Korean drama before. Jo In Sung went way overboard at times when he was crying or yelling, but at least his emotions came through to me as a viewer. Plus he's so good to look at. :D I liked the other actors too especially Han Go Eun who always plays her characters well.
As for the overall story- I thought it was good. It does have flaws and boring parts in it but it manages to be decent enough. I suppose I loved the characters most. This one is an entirely character-driven drama. I loved the fact that the characters were messed up and there was no good guy here. All characters were flawed- especially Jung Eun and Eun Sub.
Jung Eun is at first a female who has been closed off and living in a shell for years due to her sad past. Then she meets Eun Ho who helps her open up and they fall in love. She also meets his younger brother- the hot, self-centered and childish Eun Sub who also falls for her. Then you have a complicated story with brothers in love with the same woman. The only question here is who she will go to in the end.
I thought Eun Ho was perfect in the beginning but later on he sort of became redundant to me. I couldn't root for him as much as I did for Eun Sub. I didn't even love Eun Sub entirely. He was too flawed. But I have to say that Jo In Sung suited the role. Eun Sub makes for an interesting literary character who has an unhealthy, all-consuming love for the woman. Not just that, he needy and desperate for love and he shows it time and again. He was unlike other Kdrama guys that I have seen till now who usually remain closed off. Here you have a guy who shows that it isn't easy to close off once you have opened up. Apart from these characters I LOATHED their mother. She drove me crazy. She was beyond INSANE, I tell you! I didn't get why she kept beating up whichever female got close to her son. Crazy, crazy woman!
I think every person would want to root for the brother that I rooted for. He's the one who suffers like hell and also gets his deserved happy ending. In fact the ending is happy for almost every one. Sort of. That is why this is one of the best melodramas according to me. :)
This drama has an outstanding background score. I also loved the main song which they kept playing in every episode. It was simply perfect.
Since it was so tiring to watch, I will never rewatch it. Ever.
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Overall, it's not really a horror movie. It starts like one, with all the suspense, dark corners and those special asian girls crawling on the floor, all wet hair and moving strangely. At some point I thought it was something like 'A Tale of Two Sisters', but it's not.
But the turn in the middle of the story was quite a surprise and left me less anxious. I was more relaxed while watching but it was nevertheless still exciting. In fact I enjoyed it even more. The beginning was a bit too calm and maybe a bit boring. I guess the producers were trying to create a really oppressive atmosphere but that didn't work out that well. Therefore the second half of the movie was more interesting (although a little more suspense couldn't have hurt).
Focusing on the little details... The scenery/setting was quite nice. I enjoyed looking at the places and the school. Also the make-up. It didn't show much but it was effective, well placed and did add to the atmosphere.
The acting of the girls was also a plus (not the principal though - too hollow). I'm starting to recognize Park Bo Young's skills. I already saw her in 'Oh My Ghostess' and 'Don't Click' and I liked her acting so far. And since I didn't watch 'A Werewolf Boy' yet, I guess I have to continue with that one.
Don't mind my rewatch value. It was a good movie but I don't think I will watch it again.
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Club Friday Season 8: True Love…or Hope
18 people found this review helpful
This review may contain spoilers
this was one of the worst dramas i've ever had the misfortune of watching.cee being controlling and insecure whenever kate so much as interacts with a man because she's a controlling/abusive lesbian tm and of course, kate is 100% going to cheat on her because kate is a promiscuous bisexual tm. the glaring biphobia that the show didn't bother to address, let alone correct, in the form of cee not being sure if kate wants to have a relationship with a woman because she used to date a man.
cee knew that kate wanted to have kids early on in their friendship. cee knew that kate broke up with her ex-boyfriend because he didn't want kids and she did. but for some reason (internalized homophobia that is, again, never addressed), cee thought that kate wouldn't want kids if she were dating a woman. lol. (also, cee thinking that same-gender couples can't have/raise kids because, "who would be the mom and who would be the dad??" that's a direct quote!!!)
and then came the worst plotline in the form of them both deciding that they want what the other wants!! (cee suddenly wants kids because she doesn't want to lose kate, and kate suddenly doesn't want kids because she doesn't want to lose cee.) since kate wants to get pregnant and she doesn't want to adopt because she wants the kids to be "theirs" (yet another issue but let's keep this review short), they decide that kate should have sex with a guy to get pregnant. makes total sense, right?? i wanted death at this point.
as if that wasn't bad enough, kate ends up marrying the dude and cee is her maid of honour, while clearly still being in love with her. no thanks.
tl;dr do yourself a favour and don't bother watching this.
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