Reviews

This drama overall at the end was very confusing because it really didn't tell you who she ended up with because there were two love interests and I don't know if she ended up with her child's father or not.  

Overall this drama was unique and interesting it tells the common unplanned pregnancy and the hardships during the pregnancy and raising the child while sorting out your romance and career. But I guess at the end she sorted out all her differences with her child's father and his family and also her anchor partner.        

Her anchor partner also one of her love interests was really annoying to me because he caused her many problems but in the she forgave him to those mistakes.

Read More

This drama offered a Squad Chemistry that most dramas simply can’t manage.  Yoo Ji Tae in his role of Choi Kang Woo leads the pack, while Woo Do Hwan competes for the limelight in his role of Kim Min Joon, the adorable orphaned puppy. The rest of the squad made up of Jang Ha Ri (Ryu Hwa Young), Park Soon Jung (Jo Jae Yun) and On Noo Ri (Kim Hye Sung) provide a variety of laughs and dramatic themes.  The Mad Dog pack is just really cool.  Who would have thought tracking down insurance fraud would be sooooo intriguing and exciting, full of disguises, spying and some underhanded intel.  

This drama’s plot sometimes feels like it just prods along. The time it spends on the corporate battle between the two antagonists is painstakingly boring at times due to most of the episodes focusing on white collar crimes. 

Though this drama tends to get lost in corporate politics, it is worth watching just to see the Mad Dog team interact with each other.  Their bantering and heartfelt moments make for a good argument to watch this drama.

Read More

Influenced by all the good reviews 'Because this is My First Life' has been receiving, I decided to try it out, despite it being an out-of-my-comfort-zone Korean drama. Scarred from a past full of disappointing rom-com dramas, as well as a general aversion to the genre in any form, I was more than skeptical to start and more so finish this. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the first half of the show, displaying many cliche-breaking scenes, interesting female characters, and also some well-timed comedy. Around episode 8, things started looking a little down for me - I was tired of the plot-line, I was tired of the main characters playing dumb with each other, and generally just feeling the incoming wave of a generic Korean drama conclusion. For a few moments hereafter, the drama held itself to its previous glory but it ultimately let me down with its final path and ending. By the end, I thought some of the characters were not acting rationally for who they had presented themselves as before, and a few pointless story-lines were introduced and dropped without carrying any type of significance.

But most of all, this drama really disappointed me with its visual arrangement cliches. At some points, I found myself really irritated with the almost outdated cinematography of filming an actor while they stay still with eyes wide open, showing each character talking, or showcasing each time a character is reminiscing in flashback format. Ugh. After watching Western shows, such as Mr Robot or True Detective, I really wish Korean dramas would be a bit more experimental with their formats (though I am aware that they are dumbed down on purpose, since the general public that is watching them on TV may not be paying attention throughout the whole episode - still bad film-making). Same thing for the OST - it's the same as every other drama without any real standouts. Big disappointment for me, but I will continue to search for visually appealing dramas (aside from visually appealing scenes/sceneries, which were abundant here)

Despite all this, I recommend giving 'Because this is My First Life' a try, if not for the strong initial half, than for the tackling of some social issues Koreans face and tend to not really talk about on television.

Edit: Another reason why this drama began really annoying me towards the middle and end was the obscene amount of product placement in almost every scene.

Read More

This is a very short show so the review will be shorter as well.

Story: This is somewhat of a stereotypical rom-com plot.  A handsome guy pursues the girl he likes, people get in the way, friends and family help patch things etc. etc. BUT this wasn't 100% like all the rom-coms I have seen, there were some nice twists on the rom-com drama ideas you have. BIG, BIG, BIG round of applause for inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and questions, while it was not the best and there was some cliche aspects this is a series that openly has characters that are part of the community. I also enjoy the way they sneak future princes into each installment so you slowly get ready for the next guy. The writing was not stand out but it was written well enough and executed as best as it could be. EXCEPT FOR THIS LINE, WHICH I LOVED: "Love isn't about gender. It's about whom you feel good with." Ohhh, girl PREACH.

Cast: The cast was great. I absolutely fell in love with so many characters in this show, especially Pete. The chemistry between the leads was fairly good, as well as with one of the other couples. The family aspect was also very, very good and warmhearted. The script was not the best but the cast did well with what they had. I also enjoyed the fact that not every cast member was absurdly beautiful like carbon copies but had individual looks (short hair on some, pants rather than skirts, tougher personalities, crooked teeth etc.) and interesting features were not altered. I also highly enjoyed not every cast member was whitewashed.

Music: I was expecting some of the same music, due to the shortness of the show, but I was introduced to a fairly new OST. One theme remained to tie the series to its predecessor but there were also 2 or 3 new songs as well.

Rewatch: For me this show has a high rewatch value and binge value. This show can easily be finished in an afternoon/evening and is fairly light-hearted enough that you don't feel the time passing or want to stop. I personally liked this one more than Handsome Cowboy (U-Prince series 1) because it did not try to cram too much into 4 episodes and the male lead was not as volatile. All the characters were written much more consistently. If you want a show with romance, fun, some LGBTQ+ awareness, and eye candy this is for you.

Like I said this one is a short watch but it is a pretty cute and chill one. Like always, happy drama watching! :D

Read More

Overall I thought this show was kind of decent. It has parts that were really good and other parts that were just okay. This drama essentially revolves around a team that goes out to catch people who commit insurance fraud. Just as mentioned in the synopsis. You sort of see this at a case by case basis at the beginning of the drama. As we proceed closer to the end we see a big overlap of how this one fraud case caused many deaths and casualties that affects our main characters.

Story [8.0/10]: The story wasn't too bad, but it's definitely not anything new. It's your typical crime drama that you often see. It often starts out with episodic cases that the main cast is trying to solve. Eventually some cases may begin to overlap and then play a larger role in overarching story. Mad Dog really isn't too different from that. In my opinion, this story lacks a little bit of rising action as well as a climax. With dramas like these, you generally have the same recurring problems. You know what happens at the beginning and at the end. The drama's job is to often tell you what happens in the middle as it helps you fill in the dots.

Acting/Cast [8.5/10]: I was more of a fan of the cast than of the story. I'm a big fan of Ryu Hwa Young who recently starred in Age of Youth as well as Hong Soo Hyun. I became a big ban of hers after watching The Princess' Man and History of the Salaryman. I only wished she got more leading roles. The male actors are not too bad as well.  Jo Jae Yun is also one of my most favorite supporting characters. He's absolutely hilarious and he's the same here too while playing "Cheetah" in the drama. There are hints of romance, but there really wasn't too much of it between two of the main characters. The acting was very good as well considering you had mostly seasoned veterans playing the main roles.

Music [8.0/10]: The music was so-so. I pretty much give the same rating to most music in dramas unless it has a nice OST, is a music drama, or just has really really good songs.

Overall I was decently glad that I watched the show. It kept me mostly interested the whole time. Although I more so watched it to see my favorite actors and actresses rather than for the story itself. This show was definitely more about the characters than the actual plot.

Read More

I'm going to be honest, Mad Dog could be a boring show for a lot of people. Why? Because even though in its core, it was a typical crime drama with raging power politics and a band of underdogs trying to uncover the truth, it put a unique spin on the genre.

The concept of the drama was based on Insurance crime and for those who don't know much about it, it might as well be a little complicated to follow. The scenes where all the schemes and cases were explained were dialogue heavy with some technical terms and for watchers who want their shows easy to digest, it could be a bit of a problem.

That's not the case with me though. I don't like my dramas to hand me everything on a platter. I want to be able to think about the events taking place and then have this lightbulb moment of 'Oh, so this was what happened.' I like it when a show makes me replay some scenes to catch a dialogue I missed because this means that I care and a drama has to be good if it makes me care.

I'm not gonna say Mad Dog was perfect. It had some flaws here and there, some plot-holes, some illogical things but when you looked at it as a bigger picture you saw that actually yes, this could've happened in real life too. It wasn't far-fetched from reality and you realized that the plot was indeed very well-connected and backed up by smart characters with brilliant planning who were always trying to one-up each other.

While the show started off slow, focusing more on introducing all the characters and their dilemmas, once it hit the 9th episode mark- it skyrocketed and the real action came out in play.

However, the strength of the show wasn't its plot, rather it was the character development. This was a story about how a team (Mad Dog) of lovable individuals each with their own unique talents joined hands with a lone wolf, scam artist (Kim Min Joon) and how together they grew into one tight knit group that was closer than family.

Every role was beautifully constructed and the moment I felt that a character wasn't getting much attention, the script changed its course and swallowed down all my complaints. Besides our amazing team, there were some very endearing side characters (Nurse Sem and Manager Park) along with intriguing and well-portrayed antagonists that helped the show retain its charisma.

Yoo Ji Tae is an actor that emotes with his eyes and Mr. Choi with his vengeful looks and determined actions gave me so much life, especially because YJT's acting was exceptionally brilliant towards the end. Jo Jae Yun (my all time favorite supporting actor) once again brought forth a memorable character. Cheetah shi was so cute with his matchmaking skills, a softie heart and the gangster ways. Kim Hye Sung with his adorable Pentium; a genius and kind-hearted boy, stole many hearts and Ryu Hwa Young gave life to the badass, headstrong but caring Jang Ha Ri that you couldn't help but adore.

But, despite the presence of the more experienced and brilliant cast members, Woo Do Hwan once again snatched all the spotlights. He should honestly be named 'show-stealer' because whenever he takes a role he owns it so completely that other people are given a deadly run for their money.

Try as I might, I couldn't believe this was just the second show he's starred in because he's just too fucking good. He's the kind of artist, I can imagine in every possible role because of his humongous talent and versatile personality. Without bias, I can say that despite being a newbie he's one of the best actors in dramaworld. I love the way he walks, his charming quirks, his beautiful smile and his amazing voice. (Now, is where the bias is speaking.)

So there was no surprise in the fact that Woo Do Hwan's Kim Min Joo slayed me completely and then went for more. Kim Min Joo with his German adlibs, sneaky personality and fearless swag was truly one of a kind. He was incredibily smart with a talent in annoying people to death. He loved pulling everyone's leg, all the while calmly laughing while doing so. He was a bit arrogant, definitely not one to mess with but ultimately, a huge sweetheart. I loved how realistic his character was. He didn't develop magical super powers when people came to kill him (and they came a lot) nope, he innocently got beaten every time instead, was a huge scaredy cat and couldn't even throw a punch properly. And I loved that. The highlight of the show was seeing him warm up to other people and letting go of his trust issues and finally being given a family that he could rely upon.

The dynamics within the Mad Dog team (Kim Min Joon included) were simply everything. The way they had each other's back was extremely heart touching. These people had so much love for each other that at one point, I was shipping every-one with everyone. I loved their little missions, their secretive and conspiring shared glances, their smart strategies and their protectiveness of one another, so much.

And last but not the least: The romance. Even though it was done as a sub-plot only, it was so so good. Kim Min Joon and Jang Ha Ri were a match made in heaven. The small moments they had with each other were so incredibily sweet and their chemistry was fire. The minor touch of romance in this show was far well-done than some of the wholesome love stories I have seen. I think I've never wished for a kiss scene before in my entire life. But ah, we can't have it all now can we?

While Mad Dog did have some great 'Oh shit, what's going to happen next' scenes, it wasn't a show centered on 'the bext big thing'. The beauty of the show was in the small, intimate moments between the characters, the way they grew on each other and the way they evolved together and as individuals.

If you let it, Mad Dog will make you feel. It will touch your heart deeply and make you feel joy, sadness and love. So much love.

I really enjoyed the OST of the show. From NiiHwa's popping and catchy track to Eric Nam's soulful ballad- the sound track did great things for the mood of the drama.

I loved the cast and their antics, so much so, that I really didn't have the heart to let them go till the very end. Although the ending was a little bit rushed, it left me with a wide smile and some heartfelt happy tears.

So while Mad Dog might not be everybody's cup of tea, it was a steaming mug of delicious cappuccino for me.

Definitely one of the better shows of 2017 and one I surely recommend.

Enjoy!

Read More

Okay, before we begin there is one thing you need to know. This is a lakorn, which is not a typical drama like Korea, Japan and other places produce. Lakorns are more soap opera-ish in a traditional sense. The Handsome Cowboy is a Slap and Kiss drama which means the whole premise is that someone is a major jerk ( or more fitting, a douchebag) and/or there is a huge misunderstanding and the relationship is love-hate (emphasis on hate). So, do not expect lighthearted fights, violence or absolutely no mentions of sex. This show gets very suggestive and heavy with it all at times. That is the point of the genre. 

Story: The overall story was not bad, handsome playboy and innocent seeming girl have a love hate relationship and there are crazy and sweet supporting characters. It was not the most original story but it was done fairly well. The settings, especially the farm, were absolutely beautiful although the scripting was not always the best. This was a promising start to the series, in my opinion, although it went through phases that were very fast and at times slightly slow.

Cast: The cast made this show from meh to okay. The scripting was alright but what the cast did with the script was better. They know how to interpret scenes and how to get outlandish just enough to remind you this is based on a book/comic  series. Kasetin Puttichai had the male lead, Sibtit, down to a T and was easy to fall for -  but you know you shouldn't because at times the title badboy . However, I won't lie, with certain scenes it seemed the writer was trying a bit too hard to make him like an anti-hero even though it fit the genre. Prick Kang was adorable and feisty; she gave life to a character that came off as inexperienced rather than too innocent and dumb. The rest of the cast fit their roles well and gave the show an atmosphere I wasn't expecting.

Music: This drama had some catchy theme songs! While the OST was limited it was very enjoyable and I hope I can find it to download. Song choices and arrangements added to the scenes especially the melancholy ones. As for sound effects used in the show, they often added an extra level of comedy to scenes.

Rewatch: This score is coming from ability to rewatch and ability to binge. Each episode is about 70 minutes, which seems long until you remember there are only 8 episodes. This makes it an easy watch if you can stay focused on it and I personally recommend that because it is easy to put down and not pick up right away if other shows come up (but I do that with many shows so it may just be me). This show is lighthearted enough to binge and has certain heavy scenes to keep you invested or shock you into quitting this installment of the show. It is also pretty good for rewatch if you want something sweet because it's easy to remeber the sweet episodes and the dramatic episodes. It is a show you can easily cherry pick an episode when you want a pick me up, you have time to kill, or want background noise/entertainment.

Overall: This show is a 7 for me. It's average. Eye candy, drama, romance, comedy are all there in a nice short-ish watch. It isn't the best show but it definitely better than some of the messes I have watched.

Like always, I hope this helped and happy drama watching! :)

Read More

An advice for those who are willing to give this a go: don't take this drama seriously.

Why? Because it's a trainwreck with a capital T. It's like the writer's wanted to shove any and every cliché into the plot line, creating absurd situations and even more absurd outcomes. A comment I read on the site I was watching this pretty much summed everything up: "It's like a Wattpad story turned into a chinese drama."

Not badmouthing Wattpad stories, some are even well written and all, but what I'm talking about here is the nasty side of those stories: an Alpha male lead who's obscenily rich, kidnaps a doormart and falls for her. Actually, "falls for her" is to say the least, because he has an obsession with her for apparently no reason other than keep the plot moving. Add an obnoxious second male lead(who had amnesia no less) and an even more obnoxious pair of love rivals, evil step mother,lots of misunderstandings  and even a baby, mix everything and you have this drama.

Also, the title actually IS right: the president is a psycho. He not only tries to control the female lead, but also scars forever at least two other girls. And let's not enter the part of some other shitty  things he does... 

But...if I'm badmouthing it so much, why is my rating considerably high? A 5 is halfway to a 10, and given the quality of the drama it had to at maximum be a 2,5!
Well, I have to admit that despite it's ridiculousness, a plot and characters all over the place, this show is actually quite entertaining to watch. I found myself laughing at how absurd/stupid everything was, so in the end I lasted to the last episode(skipping a lot, but still managed).

I have to admit that despite it's massive flaws it can be pretty attention grabbing, and you will find yourself wanting to know what absurdity will happen next. So yeah, if I could use a quote to describe this show, it would be "So bad it's good"

Read More

Avengers Social Club: The drama you think you won't need but you'll look for more, crave for more once you started it.

Revenge dramas has been a household staple of dramas ever since. It's difficult to thread the waters of the typical and cliche. But, ASC, didn't swam through those waters. They flew right above it. They made the sky their mold. ASC broke all the conventions of revenge dramas. I won't even dare say this is a revenge drama after finishing it.

The first outstanding part of this drama is the story. Yes, the plot might sound albeit funny and unusual but that's what makes this drama great. Almost none is left out of hand. Every event is cohesive and is connected. The story helps the characters develop whilst gaining interest. The drama also tackles societal issues without being too exhausting or overbearing. It's truthful on it's characters and on it's audience. It's been proven difficult to describe this drama's relentless charm and wit without any spoilers.

The characters- I have never been so engrossed and engaged with characters as I did here. I salute the writer for taking the risk of putting different facets of personalities in one group and making it work well. Mind you, everyone on this drama is all rough on edges and might make you feel perplexed for a bit and watching these characters' adventures on  developing into their ideal selves is the most rewarding aspect of this drama.  The actors did well with their roles too. None of them feel disconnected with their characters. They brought their portrayal to life. It's as if you've had forgotten their names and remembered them as their characters here. They are that good.

The music and scoring fits and blends the drama. It help convey scenes in an almost subconscious manner.  No annoying or over the top sound effects present on this one.

As for rewatching the drama, I WILL DEFINITELY DO IT AGAIN. This is the type of drama that won't lose it's personality no matter how many times you've watched it. Everybody is lovable. The story is definitely worth the time.

This is the powerhouse drama of 2017. It's a gem the light is worth striking. 

Read More

Okay this was an emotional rollercoaster here. There are different reasons for this – maybe especially because you get to look in two different timelines. Here are my thoughts about the lakorn.

Story:
Woah… it’s really difficult to judge this. I like most parts of the past storyline. Accept for the two villains and their sidekicks, the people are actually quite nice. Well yeah, it’s annoying when those nice people get played by the villains but it’s always like this right? For the couples I liked the main couple for what they were. It was not really difficult to ship Prae and Laoperng. They were basically a thing right after meeting and you knew that there was tension. (It was helpful that her husband in modern times was a cheating coward.) I also liked the second leading couple with Thongriew and her decision to choose love over the expectations for her. What I liked about Prae (in the beginning) was the way she was so cautious, experimental and curious about everything once she was back in times of WWII. I liked that she was not acting recklessly or dumb but rather used her brain to explore the secrets around her. This is why I was even more surprised that the tough and curious Prae was sometimes such an easy prey for her enemies. She was sometimes so easily fooled that I found it ridiculous.

The story of the modern timeline was a mess to me. I despised almost all of them which is quite surprising. I just couldn’t get over the fact that people were pushing Prae to stay with a husband who cheated on her several times! It was ridiculous how they argued that “their own partner had affairs too, but you get used to it with time” and “he really loves you so much! The other 5 women were nothing to him”. Her husband acting all pitiful while still sleeping with his secretary was also a total let-down. I probably would have given the plot more points if not for all people around Prae. It was utterly ridiculous to be honest. The only light in the tunnel was cute little Laem who was the only one really caring for Praes thoughts and feelings.

That being said, the last episode ruined a lot for me. Not because of the ending (which I found refreshing because the viewer get to decide what to believe) but because of all the chaos and messy editing. I don’t know what exactly went wrong that it suddenly escalated so quickly. This is where both timelines mess up. If you’re a fan of fight scenes this lakorn is definitely not your cup of tea since it actually looked a little bit funny to me. People get shot in the lungs and still manage to run around! Episode 10 seemed to me like the producers were starting to get greedy and put in every possible plot twist they could think of. Some things were managed off-screen and viewers were told what happened while being super confused about the sudden change of scenes (e. g. the bad guy was surrounded by soldiers and in the next scene he suddenly escapes with hostages in a car). Because they jumped from scene to scene without telling the whole story, it got messy and confusing. Yeah, they explained later but there was actually no real need to disfigure the story in such a way.

In modern times people were so busy pushing Prae around that it annoyed me. I mean yeah she is talking about weird things but come on! She is still their friend and their family member; shouldn’t they at least talk about what they are concerned about? It was basically them judging her for everything (discussing things in her absence) and because they were judging her she was more desperate to explain herself which made her seem crazier and crazier. It was plainly unfair what they did to her.
The story premise it quite interesting so you get curious about it, but as in every TV show there are plot holes. It was going well for me until Episode 10, though.

Acting/Cast:
I know some lakorns where Mai or Mario starred in. I never really loved them or hated them. They were ok most of the time. So I watched it without much expectations and that was okay. The leads were doing a good job and it was believable that Laoperng was head over heels for his leading lady right from the start. Some parts of the script were super cheesy but well it’s a lakorn right? Mai was also doing good in both timelines. I actually wished that she would stand up more for herself – in both times. She was doing good in the past timeline but got weaker – but that’s the script. Innocent Thongriew and her lover were likeable, and I actually felt bad for them, when they fell in the trap of the evil people.
I don’t think I watched something with Sara Legge before. She was definitely a hateable villain as Ruengrayub but I wasn’t really impressed by her acting. It seemed stoic to me. The acting overall was okay – not amazing though. Especially the main villain Ausor overacted to me way too much. His facial expressions caused me to not take him seriously most of the time. And those fight scenes… oh those fight scenes. I really want to forget them.

Music:
You know how music directors in TV Shows use music to prepare/help viewers to get into the mood of what is happening or how the character is feeling right now? This music director overdid it at some parts. In the first episodes there was a change of music from dramatic to sad to funny to sad again – in one scene. I don’t know if I got used to it but the more I watched the less it bothered me. The sound effects were also funny to me – yes those already mentioned fight scenes! The OST was fine though.

Rewatch value:
I don’t know. I don’t think I would rewatch the whole lakorn. I don’t even think I would rewatch some scenes. It was okay to watch it once. I mean I liked watching it – sometimes more sometimes less – but the story is over for me so I don’t think I’ll go back to this one.

Overall:
This lakorn has its ups and downs. It’s a mixture of a fated love story and the message that you should love yourself in order to find true love and happiness – at least that’s what I want it to be. It’s neither a horrible lakorn nor is it the best lakorn ever but it gets you hooked at some points. You actually feel for a lot of characters – and obviously you curse at some of them too. Some scenes were unintentionally funny to me. I wish I could rewrite the last episode though because without Episode 10 this would have scored a little bit higher for me. Anyways, if you decide to watch it I hope you enjoy it :)

Read More

What a wonderful ride this drama was !

First I love the mix of genres, from sci-fi to romance, thriller and especially comedy.  It was well balanced and kept me on my toes.

The main couple were cute and sweet. Lee Jongsuk never deceives me. And  I personally liked Suzy in this role (although her acting wasn't as good as in Controllably Fond), they made a really good couple.

The supporting cast, especially the prosecutors with their support and humour,  brought a breath of fresh air to all the kind of dark stories around the criminels they face.

The "I've seen it happen in my dreams" was really interesting especially with how they tried to work around it to avoid bad bad situations.

I would definitely recomend this drama ! It's a good watch!

Read More

Though the story didn't seem really appealing, the drama ended up being really good. The story is simple, but what makes this drama enjoyable and entertaining is the leading lady. She was so good playing Jin Jin, funny and cute as well as elegant. However, the romance was so so and, at least for me, adding the idols to play a few scenes from the past of the main characters was just there to attract attention from the fans rather than adding something more to the plot. The side stories, moreover, were funny and good enough to fill the gaps here and there, though all the actors were really good at their parts. A small dislike on Antony's character, though the actor was good, I really didn't like him or get him. Finally, that Bella girl mystery never were completed. I wanted at least to see her or, as they brought her to Seoul, they could have made an encounter or something. So, the last two episodes were just so so, but the rest of the drama was really good and cute.

Read More

This is awesome drama. The story is good. There's many life lessons regarding relationship. The main leads are superb.  Min Ki acting as a cold person was great. He portrayed SeHee in amazing way. Cold SeHee to warm and reluctant SeHee, I found it's really cute. How SeHee became a cry baby in the end because JiHo left him.
Seriously, Minki acting's so great. JiHo's character is also great. She's not typical female lead in korean drama who too strong or too weak. I found her character was so fit, not too strong and not too weak. Sometimes she's strong but in other time she's weak. Her character was so natural. I also like CEO Ma. He's a good friend for SeHee and also good partner for SooJi. Not really like SooJi's character in the beginning, but in the end I like her. I don't really like the other couple HoRang and WonSeok. I found the last couple was too much. HoRang's love was too much unnatural. Not really like that character. Also I found Wonseok was lil bit annoying.
But overall, I found that this drama was so amazing with great casts. It worth to watch it.

Read More

Once I started watching, I was sure this drama would be the latest addition to my favorites list. It had such promising elements... A strong female lead, a revenge thriller plot, a potentially cute pairing, and a sex crimes focus (which in America is a super timely subject)... but unfortunately I became less excited as the episodes became more formulaic. I still enjoyed "Witch's Court", but I don't think it lived up to it's potential.

The best part of the show, by far,  is Jung Ryeo Won as Ma Yi Deum. She is perfectly cast as the shows anti-hero prosecutor, and who the title refers too. Never has the implied "B" when the term "Witch" is used felt more appropriate. She is ruthless, and clever, and messy, and self serving, and stubborn, and amazing! I fell in love with her arrogant smirk and red lipstick. Even when she was at her worst, I was compelled to cheer her on. If there is any reason to recommend this drama, it is her. She is the best female lead character I've seen in a long time. I just wish the rest of the drama was as solid as she was.

She is matched with Yoo Hyun Min, as prosecutor Jin Wook. Honestly, I found him adorkable. He is the antithesis of her... an extremely empathetic and considerate character, and certainly much more passive and bland. I liked their chemistry too, even if their relationship seemed forced at times. He's definitely more like a sidekick than an equally strong lead. The romance isn't a major focus in this drama anyway, and I think that was a missed opportunity, especially considering the way the plot unfolds for both of them. I think it should have been played up much more, or not added at all, but instead it feels more like it's forgotten until it becomes convenient. Still, I was happy for the lighter comedic moments since the other parts of the plot are more melodramatic

Much of the story focuses on one evil duplicitous character, Gab Soo, which is another wasted opportunity. He is meant to be an utterly ruthless character, but his storyline started to bore me after a while, and unfortunately later episodes revolve mostly around him. I think Jun Kwan Ryul played his character pretty well, making him a more subdued kind of evil, but he just wasn't memorable enough. His story line also went from intriguing to predictable really quickly. I kept waiting for an interesting plot twist, or an unexpected moment, but it never came. He just wasn't a worthy enough rival for such a strong lead.

The rest of the plot revolves around the CAGU prosecutors office and their focus on these seemingly impossible to win sex crime cases. I was impressed to see such taboo subjects explored in these cases, and I did love watching to see what Ma Yi Deum would do to solve them, but even those stories started to follow too much of a predictable formula. Unlike other dramas with similar themes, some airing at the same time, this one often took the safest and most convenient routes in resolving each case.  This could be a good thing for viewers who don't want to watch something that's too dark, but for me it made many of these stories, even the worst of them, pretty forgettable. The ensemble CAGU cast of characters are pretty forgettable too.

By the last few episodes I was barely holding on to what little interest I had left, so the ending felt oddly like it came too quickly and not soon enough.  I'd say the ending was adequate,  but they spent  time showing me what happened with characters I long forgot about, and glossed over some pretty unbelievable plot points.  

So, would I watch this again? Probably not. The story isn't good enough for a second viewing, but because Jung Ryeo Won is so good, it may be worth it just to watch her in action. As for the OST, it's mostly what I would consider her "theme song" being played to cue when she's in full "witch mode". I'd be much more intrigued by a better written second season, than watching this again.

Overall, this felt like a mediocre introduction to an awesome character, almost like an origin story. If they decided on a season 2, I would definitely watch, because that's how much I liked the lead. They would need a whole new writers team, and cast (except for her Jin Wook sidekick). On it's own, this is an entertaining, but pretty mediocre law show. Even so, I'm kinda sad to see it end. 

Read More