Reviews

Unexpectedly Good

I honestly have to give it up for Unlock My Boss...I genuinely didn't think this series would turn out to be good because I thought the story sounded silly, like you can't blame me on that part. But I gave it a go and it had me captivated, the storyline was unexpectedly good and it was actually interesting.

The only bad side about this entire series is the ending, it was rather abrupt and tho the ending was satisfying I wanted to see a little more(?) like you barely saw what happened with Min-a after Hyun-Ho got arrested and her dad returned in a PVA state and she's left only with Soojin at home — or are Insung and Seyeon still living with her? That's something I wanted to see more of and not to mention Inseong and Soyeon's romance. But I guess since the romance is just a side story it's not necessary.

Overall it's a good fantasy/thriller series and I do recommend it.

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Ancient custom drama making reference to the Cold War !

This drama is a feast for those who like world history for it took titbits especially from the pages of the Cold War. New interest must had arose in the scriptwriter when in 2017, secret JFK records (US President John F. Kennedy, 1960–1963, assassinated on November 22, 1963—drama specifically aired few days later as remembrance of his 60th death anniversary) were made public by the National Archive.This gave fresh information to make historical conjectures about the past that precisely corresponded to the facts to expound on and comprehend why particular events transpired as they did. A captivating and illuminating drama results from combining some Cold War events with some of its colorful and charismatic characters, a masterful script, and the superb acting of all the protagonists and supporting cast members.
Spoiler Alert.
The ML, Ning Yuan Zhou, was a smart and visionary espionage chief who was demoted and sent to safeguard the Wu emperor in the war. He was the composite of 2 historical figures: JFK and the powerful Director of FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, whose 48-year tenure saw the assassinations of JFK and then his brother, Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), who ran for the presidency in 1968.
The FL,Ren Ru Yin, a cool and relentless vice section head of An female assassin espionage group who was frame for killing her benefactor, the An empress. She had to defect to Wu with state secrets, seeked asylum and assumed a fake identity as a Wu princess She was also a combination of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, a benchmark for style and class among wives of presidents, and RFK, who, as Attorney-General in his brother's cabinet was known for his ruthlessness and toughness in combating organized crime.
The opening of episode 1, "The Central Plains was thrown into a century of chaos when the last emperor of the previous dynasty was killed, split into many countries; among them 2 were the most powerful, Wu and An."(The Cold War, which lasted 45 years, began with the competition and antagonism between the US and Russia after World War II.)
The An emperor seized 3 cities from Wu and the war with Wu started. ( Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were invaded under Russian leader.Stalin and incorporated into the Soviet Union)
The Wu emperor listened to ill advisers to lead the war and got captured by An, leading Wu to a state of turmoil.( JFK did not listened to security advisers not to ride in an open-air motorcar in Dallas,Texas and got assassinated which shocked and stunned the nation into national mourning.)
The Wu emperor was captured by an An general with a modern revolutionary principle of fighting to end all wars. ( Che Guevara, with his romantically Latin good looks and long, wavy hair , was a legend for freedom fighters and a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla leader, 2nd in command after Fidel Castro of Cuba in the Cuban Revolution.)
The standoff between Wu and An occurred when Wu emperor was taken hostage by An who wanted ransom for his released.( The Cuban Missiles Crisis ,the standoff when US demanded that Russian removed Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba )
The FL, as White Sparrow, and her friend LingLong were to seduce Wu officials for state secrets in a banquet.LL was betrayed by her secret An lover and killed. (John Profumo,  the U.K. secretary of state for war met a model at a party. Unknown to him , she has a secret KGB lover. When the affair was exposed, he resigned but the Conservative Party lost the general election the following year)
Prince Danyang sending his army to ambush and killed the Wu delegation, going to ransom back his brother the Wu emperor. Countrymen fighting against each other. ( The Bay of Pigs incident, when Cuban exiles funded by CIA, landed and attempted to overthrow PM Fidel Castro)
The stunning announcement of unlikely marriage between Li Tong Guan and Chuyue by the An emperor shocked them and everyone else. He was an illegitimate son of a princess, while she was a princess from a powerful tribe. (Jackie Kennedy shocked and stunned the world when she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, just months after the assassination of her brother-in-law, RFK. She was from the upper-class society of New York while he worked his way from telephone operator to tycoon.They lived separate lives, she lived months in America with her children, while he was in Greece with his children. She remarried for a variety of reasons, one of which was probably PTSD following another shooting death. She had sat beside her husband when he was shot,stood beside vice president Lyndon B Johnson, when he was sworn in to replace her husband and endured a two-hour trip back to Washington with her husband in a casket and her dress still smeared with his blood. The princess, depicted as a picture of forced composure with an interior full of agony and suffering, sat waiting for an audience with the emperor for hours on end in that scene, which was brilliantly enacted in epi. 22. )
The princess left the sheltered life of the palace as part of a delegation to An, where she witnessed the hardships and impoverishment her people had endured during the conflict.She was even occasionally thrown stones and rotten vegetables to help her comprehend the animosity and wrath, and she responded by promising to restore peace.(The involvement of US in the Vietnam War with actual landing of troops resulting in heavy casualties, contributed to a great deal of animosity and outrage that its leaders failed to anticipate. The scene where Qian Zhao held his mates' badges and forced the emperor to show respect for them was a poignant way for drama to honor the troops who lost their lives fighting in foreign soil. When Saigon fell in 1975, the Vietnam War came to an end. A few days before, there was a dramatic and massive airlift to rescue US citizens, South Vietnamese government officials,their families, and thousands of others by helicopters to the waiting US Seventh Fleet in the South China Sea.Depicted in the rescue of Wu emperor by aerial lift of cables from his island prison)
The drama dragged many episodes to rescue the emperor.From the tightly guarded pagoda prison with its many booby traps to an Alcatraz like island prison. (A parody of sharp contrast from the ridiculously easy fatal shooting of the lone assassin of JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald, to killing him at close range from another lone shooter, Jack Ruby, when he was being transferred from jail to court in police custody! Done in 2 days after the assassination and live on national TV! Real life is much weirder than friction! )
Betrayal was the drama's theme. The motive of the ML was to clear the bad reputation that his espionage organisation had betrayed the emperor in the war. While the Fl was to clear her name that she betrayed and killed her empress.The Wu and An emperors exploited and betrayed their people for their own greed and ego trips. The An Empress who experienced treachery from her father, son, and husband. The crown prince divulging his father's collaboration with the enemy country.There were innumerable such betrayals in the drama. ( In ancient times the punishment for betrayal was to pull out the roots.The writer put forth brilliant deductive speculation coupled with rumors of a connection to Marilyn Monroe, as both brothers did died of gunshots and JFK's only son died childless with his wife in a plane crash. The 2017 files also established that the Russians was not involved in JFK assassination, as they awkwardly put their defence on high security alert for attacks. The files also indicated that there was more than one shooter, as bullet holes demonstrated that the gunfire originated from multiple directions, confirming the conspiracy theorists' long-held belief. Writer theories were presented regarding the conspirators who ordered extermination with extreme caution in the ML statements of “gains and losses” and Zhong Sang ,Wu PM .This historical whodunit murder mystery can be solved upon all releases of secret files once FBI and CIA lift their blocks.).

BTW, the drama has OE like the JFK files. Is the writer venting on the viewers, or is it an act of betrayal?!!

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It's my fav drama in 2023.

It has everything I have ever loved. Slight bit of romance, friendship, action, drama and comedy! I love the end too it's just so wholesome. This drama makes me laugh, cry and it even melts my heart! It also kinda made me more interested in martial arts too.! I have always been interested in martial arts but it made me more interested in it. I like the aesthetics of this drama too. Even the bad guys are fashionable. Every single outfit can inspire your wardrobe! Well about the male lead, even though you get annoyed with the male lead sometimes, he is a really lovable character. He kinda reminds me of nobuta from doraemon it's just that nobita is way weaker (well at the beginning he was just like him) though he is a separate character of his own. He gets stronger at the end but he still remains the same. I JUST love this drama!

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Waste of Time & Potential!

I did it. I finally watched every single episode without skipping. I was miserable, but I did it because I really love Bai Lu & Dylan Wang. I wanted to give them my full attention until the very end.

This drama had so much wasted potential. I even took down some notes on my phone while I watched. How could a drama with such an amazing cast be so terrible! Okay it's time to let it all out.

Negatives:
- Unnecessarily long staring/pondering scenes. LIKE SUPER unnecessarily long.
- Yi Yang was a useless character. He added nothing to this show. Pure annoyance. This guy couldn't and wouldn't take no for a damn answer.
- Lack of communication within all of the characters. Everyone pretty much knew each other but didn't know that they all knew each other mutually. Does that make sense? Like with Guan Ji and ShanShan... why didn't ShanShan tell her best friend ShuYi that she knew who he was? And even towards the end when GJ and SS got together, she didn't even tell ShuYi until she found out for herself. I actually liked this couple in the beginning, but boy oh boy were they so damn annoying later on!
- Speaking of ShanShan - she gave the WORST relationship advice to ShuYi. And it doesn't help that ShuYi is so dumb. They're basically dumb and dumber, except dumber is giving dumb advice. HAHA.
- Nobody is straightforward with their feelings except the niece, ShiYue.
- So much hesitation with talking & texting. I can't tell you how many times they typed out a decent message but decided to delete it and not send it.
- Many many missed opportunities to clear up misunderstandings. MANY!!!!
- ShuYi's Mom meeting ShiYan was SOOOOO disappointing. We didn't get to see her true reaction to him really being ShuYi's boyfriend. That scene was so boring and the Mom just left right after? What the heck was that all about?! They could have made it so much better. I wanted to see her surprised, but instead she just looked bored and annoyed the whole entire time she was at the house.
- The wedding scene with Tang Yi and her hubby was so awkward. They didn't even kiss... they just hugged it out?! LOL.
- Ending was disappointing and felt empty.

Okay that's enough negatives, now onto the positives:

- I really enjoyed ShiYue's character. She seemed to be the only one giving decent advice, had her head screwed on, spoke her mind most of the time, straightforward about her feelings, great friend and so fun!! Loved her character.
- Great kiss scenes between ShuYi and ShiYan.
- Aesthetically pleasing actors & actresses.

Overall, this was not worth the watch. 36 episodes was way too long. This definitely could have been 20 episodes or less. What a frustrating drama with wasted potential. Disappointing!

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The overall performance was mind blowing

I must confess, I developed a keen attraction to each and every one of them, the acting and directing was a 10/10, the ending was overly rushed I had to take a break. The Fl almost made me a lesbian lol , the male lead was something else he mad me straight again haha.. he is the love of my life
The princess growth is a thing of fancy I hope the actress gets good deals she’s really an item.
And to the producers thanks for breaking our hearts and making us fall deeply in love.
I think I should be employed to give this dramas a better name, cause the drama name wasn’t just it cause I am about to go Jeffery dhamer

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Boring Zombie Series, full of Cute Girls

This show is just boring. The gist of the story is not something new, but props for trying something creative. As a zombie show, this is just trash, but it's full of kawaii girls so I get the appeal of it.

Some of the mains had okay acting, as for the rest they're very meh, from what i can see i think everybody here are newbies, the teacher had decent acting, and the news reporter is just a bad actor.

The effects were really clean especially when the zombies transform, but the fire explosions in the last episodes were really horrendous, but honestly? wtf is up with that not so scary jumpscare ad break? there are 3 in every episode, at first it caught me off guard, but since you'd be expecting it every episode, it not even scaring me anymore.

The music is almost nonexistent in this series i think that's what lacking to at least make this really eerie, but that upbeat J-pop song really annoyed the fuck out of me, wtf??? this film is supposed to be horror, why the upbeat jpop? but at least they have okay sound effects that's one point.

Nothing else to say, just skip this if you're looking for a good japanese horror, but if you like your cute girls in jdramas then go for it.

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Honestly, what on earth did i just watched?!?!

The film starts off with our 3 MLs without even exploring their characters for viewers to get invested in them, all we know is that they are a film club and they are out on Club Vacation because after this they are gonna be out in the Adultworld. They teased us in the beginning this will probably turn into a killer film. Then we got introduced to our FL and the dialogue interaction with our 3 MLs towards her was soo bad, it's soo unnatural, it looked like the scriptwriter never had a real interaction with a woman, i think it's because our 3 MLs are those virgin boys who never had a girlfriend before, that's probably why.

Then the filmed turn into a mystery for a bit then turned into a killer horror film, i don't even know what is happening and those old actors are bad at acting as killers too, everyone in this film is acting like anime characters, except they are not that why its soo bad, but whoever is the actress of Tasaki yuki, she's really cute thooo, i think i like her, she looks like a combination of Chuu and Kanna Hashimoto.

After this whole ordeal of chasing, killing then there's blood and shit, we found out that this whole situation was a big misunderstanding which was so OBVIOUS!!! because of what granny said when she was introduced and then they rewind back to where grandpa was introduced which is early in the film, just to show the other side of this movie how the misunderstandings happened.

Then we cut back where the film left off and all of the characters are sitting down for a hot pot, it's chill, nice, and cozy, they are eating and talking, getting to know each other, and then we get hinted at something, then sleep. Moments later, they finally revealed a plot twist with who's the real antagonist which was obvious as well, and what the motives are and connected the dots that were hinted at in the beginning, shit is happening, gore everywhere, police came and the movie ended with an open ending and our Main Male lead finally reunited with her crush happily.

To be honest, this was a bad film it looked like it was filmed by a bunch of amateurs that had a wacky idea and tried to turn it into a reality, and even though it came out really dumb, it was still fun, like dumb-fun, it's soo bad that it's good, that you can't even take it seriously, i don't even know if you're supposed to take this movie seriously and you're just having a good time laughing for how bad this movie was. That is my biggest compliment, yet the biggest diss for this film.

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Sadly I'm not impressed by Park Eun Bin this time.

I gave 1 star for acting, only because of Park Eun Bin. Although I love her as an actress and she is great at what she does, this time I'm not impressed by her. Everyone else in the cast did a great job with their given role.
While Park Eun Bin delivered a commendable performance as an attorney with Asperger's syndrome in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," her portrayal in "Castaway Diva" seems to reflect a lack of versatility. Despite the distinct premise of the new drama, her character appears to carry over the traits of her previous role, making it challenging for viewers to connect with the intended narrative of a woman stuck in time on a deserted island. The persistent portrayal of Asperger's syndrome in a completely different context may hinder the authenticity of the character and impact the overall viewing experience. It would be interesting to see Park Eun Bin explore a broader range of emotions and character dynamics in future projects.

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SBS Takes a Page out of TvN's Book of Boring Fantasy Dramas

TBH, I'm really sad to be negative about this show since I was so excited, but I will still be fair!

*Storyline: 5/10*
To be honest, this show was too good to be true. I initially thought it was a TvN show, a s it has a very similar style of fantasy dramas that TvN has been pushing for two-ish years. An inhuman man and a human woman, check. Forced proximity and enemies/bickering partners to lovers, check. It is kind of reminscient of Tale of the Nine Tailed Fox, which if you liked that I think you won't mind this one.

The only thing is the storyline itself is quite weak. Without boring you, here's my three issues with the plot:
1. No real structure to the magical world: We learn the ML is a demon, but we are never really told how demons are made or if there are others that are stronger/weaker than the ML. We also don't know about the limitations of the ML's powers, only that his magical tattoo somehow ends up on her, and without her, he's essentially like a human. But that is sloppy because if not having the tattoo makes him human, shouldn't her HAVING the tattoo give her some unique powers or advantages?

2. Dilly-dallying: The ML and FL only tolerate each other in the beginning because they each need something from the other. But we never see the ML consistently work towards getting his powers back, nor do we see the FL consistently work towards dealing with the bad guys. They essentially just talk about their problems and do nothing, and then sprinkle in random kissing to distract us from the fact that literally nothing happens. At ALL.

3. Poorly written characters: I really think the writers just gave the main actors a single piece of paper each and told them to do their best at this point y'all. For the ML: Bad Boy Demon. For the FL: Helpless Damsel. That's it. Neither the ML or FL have any real ambitions/desires nor any tangible relationships with the people around them. For example, we know the ML has his human companions, but we never really see that he cares about them--which he must, since he keeps them around. And for the FL, she has the second male lead, and they are both apparently super close--but we never know why they're close in the first place, nor do we ever see any of their memories together. (I will say I do love the side characters though, like FL's secretary and Madam Ju, as well as ML's male butler--they are funny and cute but also very surface level.)

*Acting/Cast: 7/10*
To be honest, I always feel bad writing this section of my reviews because it really isn't the actors' fault that the script is so weak and half-baked.

For Song Kang, I've only ever seen him in Nevertheless but I didn't love the vibe of that show so TBH this is the only real show I've seen him in. He does his best in a flimsily written role--trying to make the demon character look more serious and intimidating, and yet simultaenously cute and charming in comedic and romantic scenes. His expressions are definitely a bit boring sometimes, especially in scenes when he's trying to be cute. I do know Song Kang is known for his thriller shows, so maybe he just feels a bit out of his element in a rom-com and might be 100x better showing darker emotions. Overall, it's a valiant effort, but I agree with other critics who say an older actor would've been able to sell the demon act better, at least in the beginning when he's supposed to be a bit intimidating.

For Kim You-Jung, I watched her a bit in Backstreet Rookie and Love in the Moonlight, but I didn't like the strange young-girl-and-adult-man relationships in both series, so like Song Kang, this is also the first project of her's I've seen almost to the end. If I'm not mistaken, she is a child star, and although I hate to admit it, I can feel the energy in her work in this show. Her acting is a bit jolted, not as smooth and seamless as someone who started acting later might be. I'm sure it has to do with the more immature roles she played in the past, but she's not my cup of tea. No hate of course, and I respect her efforts and her long-standing career. I would love to see her act in a more serious role in the future, though, with some smoother acting--I think she would kill it.

Music: 6.5/10
I've said this in other reviews, but I'm not a big OST person, so I don't know enough to give you a proper critique of this show's OST. That being said, I thought the background music was pleasant and easy to hear. 6.5/10.

Rewatch value: 4/10
Unfortunately, I just felt like this show lost its direction and was written very roughly. I think for people who regularly watch fantasy and rom-com K-dramas like myself, this one is a pass (I will still be finishing it though, since I have watched this far). For newcomers to K-dramas, it might not be too bad--or for those who just want a light show to breeze through over the holidays.
Overall: 5.5/10

*Once again, no hate to any actors/directors, just my opinion. Happy Holidays everyone! :) <3*

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Strong focus on romance with likable characters; Underrated because ML is not handsome.

It’s quite unfortunate/unfair that “Once and Forever” is rated so low and mainly due to viewers not liking the male lead, Zhang Yi Shan, and think he’s ugly. He might be miscast but it’s only because I think he looks too old for the part, not because he’s not handsome enough. Having said that, his acting is great and has great chemistry with Guan Xiao Tong. They are so fun as best friends (love their bickering), while also super adorable when they finally become a couple. I never wanted Xie Qiao (FL) to be with Yang Cheng. Yang Cheng is such a bland character and Fan Cheng Cheng’s acting is not good either. I have rooted for Qin Chuan (ML) since the first episode. It hurts me when I see him hurting.

I also like all the characters. There’s only one annoying girl in the earlier episodes where her obsessive pursuit of ML annoys me. Other than that, there are many likable and layered characters. The 4 roomies are different yet get along so well. It’s rare to see a college drama where there's no jealousy or argument between them. I enjoy seeing them grow from innocent 18-year-olds, to independent strong women. Their journeys are different but each is given just enough time for me to care about. Let’s not forget the sassy sister, Qin Qian. She’s so badass! She loves so passionately.

This drama has a very strong focus on romance, especially during the college days. If you are not a romance lover, this might not be as fun. There are multiple couples and their romantic journeys are all very different. I wish the kisses were better though. I enjoy each of them and really hope they all have their happy-ever-after. But alas, this is not a fairytale and I can’t say more without spoiling it. But we have two Mr. Green Flags in this drama. Qin Chuan might not be perfect, but he’s the perfect boyfriend. His love for Xie Qiao never wavers and is always there for her. His love is demonstrated through actions. He Xiao Zhou is more of a fairytale prince. He’s gentle and kind, studious and hardworking, considerate and never complains about life's hardships. He’s too good to be true. Additionally, I’ve seen Ye Xiao Wei in other dramas before but this is the one I find most attractive. Maybe because he’s a walking green flag.

The acting is pretty good in this drama, except for Fang Cheng Cheng who is less experienced than others. I really enjoy the acting of Zhang Yi Shan (as ML), Guan Xiao Tong (as FL), Li Xi Rui (as sassy big sis) and Jiang Pei Yao (as rich girl). I am also glad to see all actors use their own voices and there’s live recording. The Beijing accent (I think) is quite pronounced especially for Zhang Yi Shan and Guan Xiao Tong, but this all just adds more flavor to the drama as it’s set in Beijing.

But this drama is not without its fault. I think it’s just a little too long at 35 episodes. Not much really happened during the college days aside from romances. The plot dragged a little in the middle but the pace is picked back up in the last 5-8 episodes. There’s quite a lot of English spoken in this drama. I give props to the actors for practicing their lines and their pronunciation is actually better than I expected. However, when the drama was set in England and no British accent was to be heard, I thought everything happened in New York. Others have also commented that US bills were used when the characters were supposed to be in Canada. There are a lot of inconsistencies when it comes to what happened outside of China. There’s also a surprising amount of subtle and non-subtle Chinese pride/propaganda in this drama. It’s not as much as other military or rescue dramas, but more than I expected in a retro, slice-of-life drama. I also find it hard to tell time. During college days, the drama will show us the year and month. But mid-way through the drama, it becomes harder to tell if months or years have passed. I really need to pay attention to the dialogs.

Overall, this is not a bad drama. It really deserves a much higher rating than 7.0. If you like the friends-to-lovers trope, or are a romance lover, this is a decent watch. But nothing really too exciting happens and there isn’t any plot twist. Though the male lead is not handsome, the ladies are all pretty and the other guys aren’t bad! Lastly, I didn’t watch the prequel nor read the novel.



Completed: 12/22/2023 - Review #384

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Drama is GOATED, but it still has it's flaws

This was trending all over my feed when this came out and i put it off from watching it and riding the hype train, since i still have a lot of shit to watch, so this is just something to keep as a treat because i know this is probably good and i know I'll probably love it and i must say... this will probably be my 2nd fave cdrama series next to Lighter & Princess.

The drama is about the love story of a Fire Fighter, like okay i can get behind that occupation since i fancied that job when i was a toddler, and a Doctor literally the occupation that i mostly stay away from in dramas, like the medical aspect, but hey let's not judge the book by it's cover. Before this, i was watching 'The Longest Promise' and Wang Churan is in there and she's great, at first i didn't like her mainly because of her character, but later on i actually got invested in her and started to like her as an actress, so i promised myself to watch this show after cuz i wanna see this girl in other dramas.

The pacing in the first 5 episodes or so is fast like really fast because in every episode there's plot convenience for ML and FL in order for them to meet each other, i was planning to watch Episode 1 only as i was about to sleep and would plan to continue watching it the next day, but i ended up watching up until episode 4 xD. You can tell i was really hooked right away in the beginning because, even though the beginning is fast paced, i don't think that necessarily was a bad thing, because i think it was done to get your heart fluttering right away for this Couple, no bullshit here's the mains that your gonna follow, now get invested, unlike in some cdramas where the first 10-20 episodes literally half of the show is a very slow burn build up and you're just sitting there waiting when the show will start to tickle your heart and by the time it gets good there's a big chance that you've mostly fallen off because of boredom.

Then 6-20 ish or so the story started slowing down and took its time to flesh out the story, side characters, the fire fighting and medical aspect, and building up the family drama and i wouldn't say that part is where you'll get bored as it was done really really well because it's like you're playing a tug of war, they would pull you in these side plots and maybe every, now and then they would let go and show some interactions between ML and FL, like "Hey, we didn't forget that this is a love story about this two. This shit that we are building up is for the bigger picture of this whole story".

20-25 is where you'll get the payoff that you've been waiting and 26-38 is where our couple with face the problems of them being together, the family drama i would say. Now, the family drama was done really tasteful here, like this is one of the best examples of how to do a family drama without necessarily making the parents be very hateable characters and a good family drama on top of that too, i was surprised like when i got near the end i realized i actually did not bear any hatred for FL's Mom and Dad, well the dad is mostly passive in this show, but yeah, i didn't really have any hatred for the parents because they've explained their side to make you understand, why they would do these things, even though its wrong for them to do it, they care for FL so much that they would go for such lengths for her, but as good as the family drama is, i noticed they didn't really show how powerful her family's influence really are, like how deep does it go? They did show it, but i think that was just a taste of how deep the connections her family got. Then the last 2 episodes tie everything all together into a nice bow.

After watching this, i can see why some of the comments said this was unnecessarily long because if you look at the number of episodes they've actually hit the max episodes rule placed by the law and if you look at the whole show, the stories in it aren't well balanced. I think they were too focused on highlighting both the Fire Fighting and Medical aspect of this show, like what it's like to be in that occupation, the struggles and stakes that you'll encounter, that is good, i didn't mind it, but when i finished the show i'm like "Yep... okay... wait it ended? now i'm sad" because we didn't even get the wedding scene that they've been building up, nor a scene where ML shows up on FL's Family dinner which he has been saying for half of the show and maybe even a time skip scene where they have a child and they're finally a happy family. It was really funny because they still managed to shoehorn a typhoon part very late in the show and because of that we didn't get the wedding scene that we'd been expecting and I noticed the lacking of backstory in this drama, the way they do back story here, they would just show tidbits of it when a situation is can't be explained enough with just words, that's where they would insert a backstory and it's scattered throughout the series.

Let's talk about the side plots... some of the side firefighters got their own side plot around the middle and i was like "Okay?" that was really unnecessary and necessary at the same time because it actually had some effect later on in the story and poor Zhan Dapeng, i was wondering why he suddenly got his own character arc very late in the game, without knowing they'll actually kill him off the next episode. Yanchen and Yezi's side plot was so obvious from the start, i could see it from a mile away from the way yezi is being highlighted every time there's a bar scene and that side plot was really good because both of them got the character development they needed. Zhao Miao, i was wondering when she'll get her big moment aside from being an annoyance to her brother and sticking her nose in other's business, even tho she's ML's sister she's really passive throughout the show, later on, her side plot made a big 180 to Yanchen and his side plot with Yezi, which rippled through the Family drama and I was like "Wow.... I'm amazed". I was wondering if Xiao Yixiao and Jiang Yu would be the only side characters that would be left alone, but good thing they also got a good endgame later in the story.

The characters, i think all of them are good. I like Suo Jon a lot in the beginning, as he is ML's closest friend they really bounce off each other really well and their chemistry is off the charts whenever both are on screen, too bad he was taken out early in the story. I don't know why but Song yan or his actor Yang yang he's so goated here, but I noticed one thing that he does in this drama like every time he's given water or something to drink, expect it by the end of the scene he would almost finish it or if not drank it all up and the way he drinks has vibes as well, i don't think i've noticed that of him in 'The King's Avatar' i don't know, that is the only other show i've watched from Yang yang, but i just noticed that here and i find it really funny. Xu Qin too has that quirk where she would scratch her fingers or external objects and it really shows what she really is deep inside every time they would highlight it and every time she would meet her family members her spirit would immediately bend, which goes to show her persona towards them, in her family's eyes she is their little baby that they really have to protect and control, i also noticed her actress Wang Churan, her acting in here is somewhat lacking for me, every time she has a serious scene with Yang yang she can't match his energy emotionally, every time both of them are together on screen Yang-Yang's presence would dominate, i wouldn't say she's doing a bad job, it's good but i felt like it could've been better and the line delivery as well and can i just take a moment to appreciate for how pretty she is?? My god!! and she looks like Sullyoon from NMIXX at times as well, like i got a glimpse of if ever Sullyoon becomes an actress in the future. ML's parents or i must say, Aunt and Uncle, in most dramas the parents of either ML or FL are just there to be funny quirky, and maybe be an actual parents at times, but here they are actually good as Parents they're not just there passively to be funny, they are actually goated at giving the words that our couple needed.

And speaking of words, one of the things that i like in this drama is the usage of talking. the way they resolve problems with each of the characters here is through words, rarely you would see them using action to resolve a problem and i really like that about this drama.

The music in this drama, ooooohhhh.... my god! 10/10 Top tier, i think that's one of the things that sold me on this drama in the beginning because it's such an eargasm, especially that piano-violin combo plus a singer that's harmonizing in the background, ugh!!! I wanna find that ost, I think that's my favorite in this drama.

So yeah, although this drama is goated, it still has its flaws, but i highly HIGHLY recommend it, i noticed this is the 3rd drama that I've watched where it has that intro logo in the beginning and all of them really pop off another minor thing that i noticed.

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At first I said, "Let's hear about the director." Now I no longer want to hear

At first, I said, "Let's hear about the director." Now I no longer want to hear

I just had some sort of midlife crisis. Because I texted my boyfriend that I love him and that I want him to be real.

Typically dramas do not mess with my head this bad. And the acting in this drama was in no way the best I have ever seen. But something about this fuck me up. Like bad. Like I have been crying bad.

I'll try to be quick. The whole plot and the ending. Where it was all a dream was fucked. It was all a dream that Dongbaek had to remember. Why does he have to carry the burden now? How is this freeing him from Min's graph?

The line: "a name binds you" was so damn deep. Had me rethinking everything I have done until this point. Is it because of the name I was given at birth? How different would my life have been if I were given a different name?

There were a lot of lines that I felt just sat inside my soul...none of which I can directly quote at the moment.

Finally, the background story was soul-crushing. He couldn't save him and now he is paying the price.

However, one thing I noticed is there has to be some sort of age gap between the two of them. I mean bro was a teenager/child when he was def a bit older.

The actor of the director had this soulless look on his face for 75% of the show. I feel like that fucked with me a lot. But I think he just has a lot of Botox to the point where he struggles to pull an expression other than stone-cold. (i could be wrong though since i did not research this whatsoever)

My final verdict is an 8.5/10. I cant go any higher because I wanted more romance and all I got was trauma.

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Kinda Weak Season, but still Good

I watched it without much expectation. Since the director really wants to continue this series even though there hasn't been a sequel for the manhwa in years. This Season 2 and the upcoming Season 3 are going on their own path, even though the writers aren't involved going forward, i still have a little bit of hope since the director said he consulted with them, so he was told of the general idea with where the story is going and just played around with it.

The story picks up right away where season 1 left off and already, it's a jam-packed action but i noticed the CGI is still the same as Season 1 if not, sometimes worse than last season, but it is well done in scenes where Song Kang and Sang Wook are involved.

Back to the story... i was kinda confused at first because things started escalating but good thing they explained it as we move forward. The scale of the story has now expanded because our characters are now out in the wider world, so many characters got added to the story and because of that they really had to compromise with the screentime. I guess it's really tight in that aspect, so there's a different shift of focus in the characters in this season and then they killed most of the characters that we followed during s1 and it's kinda boring at times when you have to care for these new characters in the story and there's a lot of them as well and most of them died off really quick, but i couldn't care less since there wasn't much for me to care about, some of them are really well done, though they haven't really contributed that much to the story yet. This season was just a setup for what's probably gonna happen in s3 i guess... because nothing really much happened, but we're still given enough information about what's happening in the world of Sweet Home, but not enough for it to move forward.

Them killing off most of the characters from s1 was kinda useless to me because the characters they've added/replaced have similar personalities to the characters from s1, so what's the point?? and their deaths didn't even leave much impact on the mains except for one, but i'm not gonna tell. Speaking of mains, I do see some crumbs of romance build up that's going on here, though i doubt they would expand on it in the next season since it's not the main point of the story, but i would love to see if they would do it since it's a nice heart fluttering side plot to have in a world that's fucked up and full of monsters.

The acting as always is impeccable there is nothing much to tell, what do you want me to say? It's good, as koreans always do

Now this part is for those who've read 'Shotgun Boy' which is the prequel for Sweet Home, so it's gonna be spoilers. As someone who has read it, after watching this, I think there's no hope of adaptation for that manhwa in the future anymore. It's just my theory though because i noticed they took some aspects from 'Shotgun Boy' and added them here, the very obvious one is the girl who can turn anyone into a monster and then you have the lab as well, but props to them because the way they integrated it here was so smooth. If they ever adapt that manhwa, i doubt you'd be able to add much to the story, the only thing you're gonna bring to the table are more characters and another mc which is gonna put off some viewers.

Overall, this season was kinda weak for me and kinda fast paced, since there's a lot to unpack, plus you have a lot of new characters as well, but it's still good. Song Kang is sooo hot in here, like he got buffed, ugh!! DADDY?! Go Min Si is pretty as always and because of the new main that got introduced here, plus his character dynamic with her, i can kinda predict who's Go Min Si's next romance drama partner, they have a good chemistry xD

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A Shallow Romance with Some Heartfelt Notes

Initial Impression:
Upon first diving into "Love Me, Love My Voice," my initial impressions were lukewarm. The opening episodes failed to captivate my interest, leaving me on the verge of abandoning ship. However, intrigued by the potential, I decided to give it another chance, and to my surprise, it gradually began to grow on me.

Story:
Pros:

-The series offers a comforting, feel-good experience, perfect for unwinding after a long day. It's the kind of show you can sink into like a warm bubble bath.

-The storyline is simple and easy to follow, making it accessible for viewers of all ages and backgrounds.

-There are moments of genuine sweetness in the romantic interactions between the leads, providing heartwarming highlights amidst the otherwise lackluster plot.

Cons:

-Despite its feel-good nature, "Love Me, Love My Voice" lacks a compelling plot, offering little in terms of depth or originality. It feels like a familiar tune played on repeat rather than an exciting new melody.

-The characters, particularly the leads, feel disappointingly one-dimensional. The male lead, a doctor and popular dubbing actor/singer, seems too perfect to be believable, while the female lead fits into the tired trope of the shy, soft-spoken girl with little agency of her own.

-The storyline is painfully predictable, failing to offer any real surprises or twists to keep viewers on their toes.

Cast:

Pros:

-Despite the limitations of the script, the cast delivers commendable performances, managing to inject some life into their otherwise flat characters.

-The chemistry between the leads feels somewhat genuine, adding a touch of believability to their on-screen romance.

Cons:

-Unfortunately, the actors are largely hamstrung by the shallow nature of their characters, preventing them from truly shining or making a lasting impression.

Music:

Pros:

-One of the few highlights of "Love Me, Love My Voice" is its music, which manages to add an extra layer of enjoyment to an otherwise lackluster viewing experience. The songs featured throughout the series are surprisingly soothing, providing a pleasant auditory backdrop.

Cons:

-While the music is enjoyable, it ultimately fails to elevate the series beyond its mediocre plot and characters, serving as little more than background noise.

Rewatch Value:

While "Love Me, Love My Voice" may offer a comforting escape for fans of light-hearted romance, its lack of depth and predictable plot diminish its rewatch value. It's the kind of show you might put on in the background while doing chores or lazing on the couch, but it's unlikely to demand your full attention or leave a lasting impression.

Final Thoughts:
In conclusion, "Love Me, Love My Voice" has its charms, but it ultimately falls short of its potential. While it may provide a brief respite from the rigors of daily life, its shallow plot, one-dimensional characters, and lack of originality prevent it from truly standing out in the crowded landscape of romantic dramas.

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