This review may contain spoilers
Binge-able
Just finished The Art of Sarah Kim and I actually loved it. It’s been a while since I properly sat down and binged a whole drama in one go, but this one? I finished it in one sitting. That alone says a lot.It’s not a completely new concept or anything. It definitely reminded me of Celebrity and even a bit of Dear X , the whole “dark past, new identity, social climbing, using people” kind of storyline. But even though we’ve seen similar themes before, this drama still felt fresh. The way they played with identities was honestly the most fun part. Half the time I was confused (in a good way) about who she really was and who she was pretending to be.
The FL absolutely stole the show. Like… she carried. Her expressions, her control, the way she could switch personas so effortlessly, insane! But the rest of the cast was solid too. I also liked how I could actually connect with the “normal” people in this drama. The scenes of people waiting in lines, camping outside, obsessing over brands and status that felt very real. That’s literally our world right now. The commentary on how people try so hard to be something they’re not was done really well.
And can we talk about how she protected her brand till the very end? That was such a bold move. Even when everything was falling apart, she never fully let go of the Sarah Kim image. The 10-year sentence honestly didn’t even feel like that much. With the way things were set up, it almost feels like she could rebuild everything again. If she still has access to her assets or influence, who’s to say she won’t come back even stronger?
Overall, it’s such an easy binge. Not revolutionary, but addictive, stylish, and really well-acted. Definitely worth the watch if you’re into messy ambition, fake identities, and social status chaos. You will be sat and it will stay with you for a bit.
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The Stud Complex meets Naivete and Low Self Esteem
Am I often irritated with this series? DefinitelyAm I surprised by this dynamic? Absolutely Not
This is Bad Guy My Boss in a different setting. The tall handsome guy not wanting to commit but needs his needs met. In Bad Guy My Boss James played Elyes or something a CEO with a secretary he clearly wanted but he let him down more times than an adaptation series from GMMTV (by that I mean series adaptations not book adaptations it's just my opinion)
Like Elyes, Jimmy has a God complex thinking anyone and everyone wants him or something from him so he can treat people like servants and they'll always be there for Round 2 and Beyond. He's giving BD Energy (iykyk)
Toh like Pat before him is under Jimmy's spell and he's very sensitive so when Jimmy charmed him out of his fruit of the looms it was for keeps in his mind. No matter how much Jimmy emotionally abused him Toh kept running back. Toh may be older but experience wise Jimmy has the upper hand.
Now Jimmy is not a bad guy per se but I feel he's witness or felt hurt before by giving one person too much power over his feelings so he uses or hurts someone before they can do it to him. He kept Toh at arms length using him for sex and revenge but as his heart got involved fear made him hurt Toh before Toh could hurt him.
Jimmy initially wants Fah. Fah was a guy Jimmy saw as another conquest maybe even love but when his best friend and Toh's younger brother Teh swooped in and f'ed Fah right after Jimmy laid out his plan to woo Fah, Jimmy's animal instinct of an eye for an eye went after Teh's brother purely for vengeance and to have something to bargain with.
Jimmy is the king of getting in his own way but this series perpetuates the half of the story model. Jimmy realizes he loves Toh and Toh realizes he loves Jimmy but when Toh goes to tell Jimmy he finds him bragging to his buddies that he doesn't beg or love anyone. As Toh leaves destroyed once again by Jimmy we see Jimmy say But with P'Toh it's different I do love and miss him.
But taking a page from Jimmy's book, Toh is off to use Dr. Freeze by accepting his dating request even though he doesn't love Dr. Freeze.
As a write this incoherent review there are 2 unaired episodes. My prediction Toh and Jimmy are end game and Dr. Freeze is collateral damage. It's Jimmy redemption arch time.
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Accidentally watched this before season 1 - still enjoyed but a little too action packed for me
As the title says, i accidentally watched weak hero class 2 before number 1 and this did mean i was missing alot of context for some scenes in the later episodes and the storyline that sets this up. I did have some context both from the show and from things i've seen online about season 1 but yeah i was a little lost at points and didn't have an expectation from season one - through no fault of the show itself T_T.I think this was both a good and bad thing. A good thing because, like i mentioned, i had no expectations and could enjoy this by itself. As someone who often dislikes sequels as they most of the time don't live up to the original, I think I had the opportunity to enjoy this season much more than if I had watched season 1 first. But this is a bad thing because i lacked information and depth for characters that would have likely made me much more emotionally connected and invested. For example I was almost in tears for the emotional turmoil and relief that Si-eun felt in the pre-credits ending scene, but I know I would have been actually bawling my eyes out if I had the full context.
With all that said, as for the show itself I genuienly quite enjoyed the show. I feel like it had a good focus on plot, which kept me interested and excited to watch all of the next episodes which is something i often feel many k-dramas lack as they tend to get a little boring and lacking depth storyline wise as the show goes on. I do think it felt prehaps a little rushed in some areas but i still felt like it was a creative and gripping plot even so.
I think the characters were all incredidbly interesting and well written - it is hard to write morally grey characters that come across as likeable but when its done well it makes for a much more relatable and intruiging show. I also have to give a hand to the actors who all delivered incredible performances that brought the characters to life.
Though, I do feel as though the show prehaps misunderstood exactly what made the original season so popular. From what i understand the fight scenes are not what made season one so well loved and i felt like in this season there was alot of fighting and action for the sake of action that felt a little much and a little numb to emotional storytelling.
Overall though I can say i genuinely really enjoyed the show and binged it super quickly - and now I am immediatley off to watch season 1 !!
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the most useless special episode
I just finished watching the princess royal and the 40 episode was really good but I wanted to see their kids so i checked it out and omg it was everything but not the thing I was expecting to see like tf? they gave us nothing with this might as well they could stop at 40, but no why they even filmed this kind of special ep I don't understand the drama itself was really good but not this special episode I'm mad that i wasted my sleep time on this "special" epWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
In my opinion, this is a very pleasant drama to watch. There are no breathtaking plot twists or edge-of-your-seat suspense about what will happen next. There are no characters whose sole purpose is to raise the viewers’ blood pressure either. The whole story is carried out in a rather calm way, but well enough that I wasn’t bored for a single moment. It’s that kind of “comfort drama.”The same goes for the main couple — Song Ha Gyeong and Baek Do Ha. Although at first Song could be irritating, and her decisions (for example, the “relationship” with Seo Su Hyeok) felt simply stupid to me, they were at the same time consistent with her character. After all, she inherited the running-away gene from her father :D. As the series progressed, she began to change for the better, and I ended up liking her a lot. I really enjoyed their relationship. After confessing their feelings and resolving their past conflict, they weren’t just lovers but also best friends, and sometimes they had this relaxed, almost buddy-like dynamic between them. They didn’t have any major conflicts, they were a huge support for each other, and they were able to communicate. The storyline involving his twin brother and their conflict felt a bit convoluted and somewhat forced to me, but at the same time it was necessary for the plot, so it didn’t really bother me. Still, I’m not over the fact that he actually died in those mountains — I would have liked to see more of the brothers’ relationship. PS. There was one absurd moment when Do Ha fainted at work from exhaustion, then returned home, and the topic was never brought up again.
As for the admirers of the main couple, there were quite a few, but none of them were excessively irritating. Her ex — Jeon Nam Jin — was rather over the top. It’s hard for me to find a rational explanation for why she ever looked at such an idiot. A slight downside was that in the end we never found out whether he faced consequences for his actions. Her “ex” — Seo Su Hyeok — I already mentioned that their entire “relationship” felt irrational to me. He suddenly desperately asked her to start dating, even though from the very beginning he could see that she had feelings for Do Ha. She agreed despite not having any feelings for him. Then after they broke up, the three of them suddenly went on a date together — the whole thing felt heavily exaggerated. I also have to admit that Seo Su Hyeok annoyed me by inserting himself between them, even though he didn’t actually do anything wrong and I would describe him as a positive character. He didn’t try to force her to change her mind when she chose Do Ha; he simply let go. The last person was his “friend” — Yun So Hui. Although some viewers might find her irritating, she didn’t bother me and I actually liked her character. She was interesting to me, although to this day I’m not sure whether she liked the male lead romantically or not. She did admit that she liked him, but later I didn’t really see it.
Finally, I’ll discuss the second couple — I Seul and O Seung Taek. Seul was one of my favorite characters in this drama. To me, she had a wonderful personality and was an incredible support for Taek. Her love, in my opinion, is an example of true love regardless of circumstances, and it melted my heart. Still, I believe their relationship storyline could have been handled better. First of all, we could have been given more flashbacks from the time of his accident and the period afterward (this is more of a wish on my part, as it could have deepened their relationship). The second and most jarring issue for me was their breakup. I understand the idea behind it — he simply felt like a burden to her — but in my opinion it could have been portrayed better and later developed more through their conversations. There’s also the storyline with her father, which was ultimately brushed aside. From the beginning of the series, he was against their relationship, and then we suddenly get a time jump where he’s happily attending their wedding. It’s a shame we didn’t get any moment that helped us understand why he changed his attitude.
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it’s really good
I seen this drama a while ago but just skipped over and recently decided to just watch first episode to see how it is and if I’d want to watch it and honestly I wish I watched it when I first saw it, it’s really good and I definitely recommend even though the episodes are long as someone who gets bored with episodes being long this was really good, every minute was good, great acting. it’s a thriller and crime series it has romance and I’m not really big on romance dramas but this one I really liked.Was this review helpful to you?
Comfortable Watch
This series is a spin off of a show I have not seen, Hospital Playlist.This is not the usual Korean drama series.
This series follows the growth of four first year residents through day to day challenges. One of the four gets most of the attention especially early on. She was fired as a first year resident at another hospital, but we don't know why.
There's no big bad villain and no over arcing series thread with a lead up to a big climax and resolution. Instead we get gentle waves of minor sub stories as the four gradually develop their skills and along the way become friends.
The primary romance angle of the main R1 character is unusually linear moving forward step by step. I found it refreshing and unpredictable as I would check the episode number expecting the usual volatile up and down, on again off again plot development for romantic entanglements.
The characters feel comfortably real as we get to know and like them more and more with each passing episode.
The series is brought to a satisfactory end, or more accurately, endings, as each character and surrounding subplots and threads find satisfactory resting points in their lives and for us as viewers. Near the end a new nurse appears in the ward and it turns out she was one of three people present when the incident occurred that got our main R1 fired from her previous hospital and that news rewards the viewer with a nice satisfying cap to that early question.
This could easily have additional seasons as the residents have three more years of challenges to face. The writer left plenty of openings for continuation but unfortunately this is labeled as a limited series and the prospects for more are slim. That's too bad because I really liked these four characters and several of the supporting characters and would appreciate a continuation to this peek into their lives.
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Loved it, but… It was a bit heavy (mina sue and go eun made it a hard watch sometimes)
I loved this season sooo much.My beloved couples:
I loved hee sun and mingee from the beginning, and i absolutely loved their final decisions. Even tho subeen doubted between hee sun and mina sue, I loved the fact that he stood up for himself and told Mina sue the things that bothered him the most. It was actually refreshing. And then, hee sun was the sweetest, and also so intelligent, she deserves everything she wants, so I’m happy that she got it.
Mingee also was the best. Loved her expressions and that she had everything clear.
On the other hand, Mina sue had me complaining EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. She wasn’t just confused, she was using every guy based on how much interest they showed. Also, she was demanding them to be focused on her, meanwhile she had like 5 guys on the radar. And then, when everyone started ignoring her because of her little games, she started being interested in the only guy that truly cared (whom was friendzoned till the end). It made me so mad, I still think sunghun deserved better.
Other couples:
Go eun was kind and sweet but then she started acting like Mina Sue, she was demanding love expressions, but she gatekeeped her feelings till the end. I don’t think she had a good relationship with any of the guys; I geon said several times that he was a bit controlling (bad), Seungmin was chasing her (I hate that so much, he was just asking her “your feelings had changed?” Ugh, like, if you ask every hour, what are you expecting!!!! Let her breathe!!! And then, hyun woo, I loved him, but he was too much, like stop with the compliments 😞✋.
Jooyoung was sincere, and I liked that. Even if Hyunjae was my favourite, I think jae Jin and her, made a cute couple. Happy for them 💗
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FL was no brainer while ML has no mouth to tell the truth
I watched this because the premise was interesting.The beginning was quite frustrating; FL was constantly being abused and weak. Despite having the ability to eavesdrop on others' thoughts, she never bothered to use her brain to find out the truth. There were also constant misunderstandings between FL and the ML.FL mother was also completely blind to reality. The plot is dragged in the middle of drama. FLgets revenge in stupid and frustrating way.
ML is kind of tsundere CEO that looks scary but he craved for FL attention even FL recheck if she hear the thought right. I like Shi Jia acting in here.. ML didn't said anything to FL he was the actual savior which is make the drama make frustrating.
The most frustrating part was SML. He burn his parents' house, causing their deaths, and already made the FL mother take the blame. He didn't get deserved retribution after all he did.
Still decent watch.
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It was an experience
I started watching this because it said that the MFL was getting revenge against the man who murked her family in front of her. Initially thats how it started but it turned into a battle between the dad and the son for MFL. If they didnt market it as a revenge story, I would have rated this so much higher. Not spoiling it but theres not THAT much revenge. The music was really loud in some parts and I will say theres a trigger warning for the son being very forceful on the female lead. So if that will throw you off then i say stay back from this one. Otherwise it was an okayish watch.Was this review helpful to you?
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A legislative and emotional masterpiece
Beyond the Bar has a deep and intriguing plot, mixing many different emotions and struggles with daily life and the legislative system. The relationships that developed between the lead characters and also between the second leads were so cute and lovely even though they ended up differently. One of my favorite things with Beyond the Bar is the very creatively but still pretty realistically written cases.Shout-out to episode four, it was one of the best k-drama episodes I’ve ever watched and I loved every single detail.
The second leads were amazing and my favorite characters after Kang Hyo Min. I love how they after chasing each other (well mostly Jin Woo chasing Min Jeong lol) came to their senses and married each other.
I really appreciated all the small details, for example how episode 9 ended with Yoon Seuk Hoon looking at Kang Hyo Min and episode 10 ending the opposite! It really brought the storyline to a new level.
I love how they ended with Yoon Seuk Hoon saying “Love is…” and then they showed the pictures summarizing the episode, which all showed different types of love.
Could have been better: Some parts of the storyline were messy and made sense later on, but it was still a bit irritating to have to wait for the next episode to maybe understand.
The first episodes I really enjoyed the absence of romance, but the second half of the show could have needed some romance between the ML and FL. At least I hoped to get some romance between them in the last episode, but I guess that was a message left to interpret by the viewers. In my delusional dream world Kang Hyo Min and Yoon Seuk Hoon would marry each other and then adopt Choi Ho Yeon’s younger sisters since the twins really seemed to like the ML and FL, Yoon Seuk Hoon in particular (and of course Hash too)!
Strongly recommend this k-drama to everybody, especially those seeking dramas focusing on law and normal life with less romance.
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drawings on the wall
so in the episode with the wall that grants your wishes when you write something on it..then once it is erased the wish goes away. why didn't she just erase the part that says "anyone who cleans this wall will die" thereby canceling the wish/desire. I would have done that, or wrote on the wall "none of the things written on the wall will come true".story is very original and the girl that plays Nanno is a really good actress.
each story is different from the next, some are more deserving of the punishments they receive.
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My real family
Whenever my life feels like it's falling apart and nothing seems right, I turn to this. It provides me with the family I've never had, the love I lacked, and the support system I never found. With the right people, you can overcome anything. The writing, acting, and emotions are all spot on. I feel sad towards the end, not because it's truly sad, but because I know it's ending. The humor also resonates with me, and it always weaves in a meaningful life lesson. One of the only shows I can truly re-watch without it being bland or boring.Was this review helpful to you?
insane chemistry between the second couple
i must say that i enjoyed this series a lot. even tho there were some things that pissed me off the overall was really good. i definitely must praise michaeltopten for their acting as individuals and couple both cuz wow it was amazing. from the start you could feel the chemistry and tension going on between the exes that i even forgot the fact that they’re supposed to be exes. it didn’t take that long for them to solve their issues and i liked that they improved at communication as it was their main issue. toptens portray of emotions was incredible and he really showed what an amazing actor he is. with michael i always knew he was amazing from his old series but i was a little sad that sey didn’t get more scenes that he could show it in but he did a great job with what was given to him and i couldn’t expect it to be done any better. wish that we got more of them in the last episode after what they went through together but it was expected as a side couple. really hope to see michaeltopten as a main couple soon cuz they showed that they could definitely pull it off and really deserve it. i liked thupsingha as well but they already got their reviews so i wanted to focus more on the second couple who also deserve a big praise :)Was this review helpful to you?
