Reviews

Beautiful

It is a beautiful drama throughout. Both leads are so beautiful together and separately, the scenes are beautiful , the intro is as well... I think the word fits it all perfectly .
Yeah, it can get a bit over-the-top almost cliched, however it still holds.
Great production, interesting screenwriting , very talented cast that suits well the drama, nice soundtrack. The acting is very alive and captivating. And absolute kudos to the costumes, the FL is a vision, so whoever was in charge of dressing her did an excellent job.
I am reviewing this upon rewatching it, and will probably rewatch again in a few years :)

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Great production, well-casted ML, disappointing script

final personal review:
wow, I must say I am disappointed beyond anticipation. great start, questionable middle and absolutely dull end. There are great visuals and production which makes so hard not to watch. But the screenwriters were either replaced of completely abandoned any effort somewhere around the end of the first half. The characters are unrelatable (that is the kindest way to put it) and the story absolutely holds no coherence whatsoever. Now to the actors, Jo Jung Suk is probably holding the thing somewhat together, the rest is doing also well considering the script they have to work with. But I am sorry to say this ,but the FL should've gone to somebody else. She has no connection with rhe camera - and thus the viewers ( I've noticed this about the actress in the Bride of Habaek deama as well unfortunately) , she seems to be washed out by anybody else in the picture with her, and she seems very weak even in scenes where the character shows strenght.
So for the actors I think kudos are due to jo Jung Suk and honestly even Mrs Jang Young -the maniac queen was quite concicing . As for the characters Captain Joo is still my favorite as well as the mature crown prince. Sleazy ex-fiance-wannabe made nice chatacter arc taht didn't feel too forced, so that was quite good.
Overall the first episodes set the expectations hight either for political side , romance or revenge drama. I feel like the final product delivered neither, I wouldn't mind the melow political finish had it been melow from the start , as they managed to rile everything up in th wforst half, the second fell quite short. As for the romance and revenge, it felt like there was none. The main couple became so boring I couldn't even bring myself to be curious about their ending together. Both love and revenge plot seemed to peak around episode 8-9 and after that it was diluted more and more.
My finalnconclusion is, that the drama should be renamed "Captivating scenery" instead, as the viauals are really the most captivating thing about rhis drama from viewers' perspective.

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It started amazing before the screenwriter got dizzy in the middle ?

The concept and initial plot are excellent, and as a spy drama genre it has suspense that makes us hooked to watch the next episode. +Wuxia genre makes the cinematography excellent. Thats all the PROS.

It was amazing 10/10 until about ep 16 when ziyu found out who yws is. After that revelation, the plot goes downward, unclear and like a forced light comedy ? for examples:

SPOILER alert !

1. The yws revelation was not done right, ziyu not seen/no time to get shocked, sad, etc. rather he just instantly accepted and defending yws all the time.

2. The three trials and how xiyu become instantly the best fighter were ridiculous and like jokes. Literally jokes since the younger generations all helping him to get through the trials with some unserious talks or expressions.

3. The ultimate villain and motive was very weak and not believable. How come he wanted to get the thousand flame that will kill lots lots of innocent people and make the world chaos just to get revenge for his parents? At least they should link him with the wufeng. At first i thought he is at least one of the four demons or two wufeng's devil haha..

The ultimate villain also not a story twist or shocking enough, since the they already give the clue too early.

4. The whole plot revelation was told by the ultimate villain in a very relaxed way ?

5. Sqx who was also main spy just disappear alot from middle to end episodes that i almost forget she is still in the drama ? the contrast with early episodes so big that makes it weird. Even yws role also become weaker.

6. Wufeng concept which start strong also become unclear and weak in the end. This makes the last and ultimate battle also too fast and weak.

Talking about fast, the fights in the whole series are also done so fast that we audience almost cant see anything ?

7. And many of other plot holes/unclear ones, for example about the mutan, about the writing on xiyu back etc. and again they are mostly happen after yws revelation. Its like two different scriptwriters.

8. The ending purpose also unclear and could have been better. Its not open ending, but premature ending. As alternative, for example since they introduce yws's twin suddenly in the end, they could have exchanged them (the new twin is the one who go back to gong's family) etc which can be more surprising and exciting.

Its sad how they ruin the plot from the middle to the end, and turn it from dark amazing suspenseful drama into ackward light comedy ?

So sad that makes me cant help expressing the dissapoinment

Anyway the pace of the suspense still good and enough to make us hooked and enjoy it till the end since ep16 (where the plot become a mess) already 2/3 of the whole drama.

In summary, its still a decent and beautiful suspense spy drama and worth watching. I still recommend it ?

One of the memorable quote is :
"no matter how long the night is, there will definitely be a sunrise" ?

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Doctor Slump is a RomCom to start right now.

Are you enjoying the RomCom Doctor Slump, in spite of its serious message about Clinical Depression? Are not Park Shin Hye and Park Hyung Sik a perfect match for this Drama?

Doctor Slump 2024 ‧ Medical Mystery RomCom

Quote: “It was once said in a movie . . . that failure and defeat meant different things. Anyone can fail, but defeat was an utter fiasco usually found in legends. I was defeated”. Male Lead explains his bout with depression and his life in general.

All those who have been waiting for Park Hyung Sik (Hwarang) to give a performance like his iconic performance in Strong Girl Nam Soon, you might want to check out Doctor Slump. Firstly, since his character starts off in High School, Park Hyun Sik is back to his skinny-K-Pop days. Secondly, Park Hyung sik’s roots are firmly planted in comedy, therefore, the RomCom Medical Mystery Doctor Slump plays to his strong suit. With the combination of Park Shin Hye playing the straight guy to Park Hyung sik’s funny guy, I see a hit for me with Doctor Slump. The drama series is not all fun and play though. Serious issues, like depression among Doctors, are addressed as well. There is great chemistry between the ML and FL and the series also takes a sobering look into the world of gapjil, or workplace violence and bullying. When you are the top in your class and you hit rock bottom, the failure seems ever so greater.

Quote: “During these hard times, if you have someone who could comfort you, would it help you to get better?” Female Lead.

Doctor Slump is quaint and cute and is a go from me. Laughter is the best medicine for what ails you. I laughed a lot with the Korean Drama Doctor Slump, in spite of the heavy noteworthy message about controlling depression.

Actors Corner

Both actors (Park Shin Hye and Park Hyung Sik) can be both serious and/or comedic actors, even with the same character. They both have the acting tools to pull it off. Both have such great acting ranges too. Doctor Slump is a great vehicle to showcase the acting strengths and talents of these two acting powerhouses.

As a particular acting strength, Park Shin Hye talks with her eyes. Whole sentences are embellished and punctuated by her eye expressions. Look for what she is saying with her eyes. Mommy is back. Park Shin Hye has carved her acting lane in Korean Drama since her early teens.

As an actor, Park Hyung Sik uses expressive hand movements, body shapes and levels, and voice changes to add entertainment value to his acting. This enhances the viewer experience. Park Hyung Sik must have a very comedic voice in his head. Please pay attention to his hand movements and body shapes which creates his own sign language. This is his acting signature.

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Simply magical

Warning: a tl;dr review, I can't help myself.

This is officially my favourite BL series now, not only because of the story, but because the pairing of Achi and Karan worked for me and I have to praise TayNew for their excellent portrayal of these characters. They have ascended to my favourite pairing in a BL series and I hope this won't be the last time we'll see them together. They have insane chemistry and feel very natural and comfortable in their interactions with each other. Their kissing and intimacy scenes have improved considerably since Dark Blue Kiss and I've lost count how many times I've rewatched this kiss in episode 9.

This is a story about Achi's development from someone who had little to no respect for himself and used to put Karan, whom he considered perfect in any way, on a pedestal somewhere far, far away from his own imperfect self, to someone who actually planned to propose to the aforementioned perfect guy and fell on his knees in front of him to do that. It was quite a journey.

I'll speak more of Achi because Karan pretty much remained the same person in the entire series - nice, loving, patient, adoring, respectful and absolutely madly in love with Achi, the person who showed understanding, encouraged and comforted him the right way without even realising it when he had a breakdown many years ago. When it counted, when he needed him, Achi was there for him. There are several reasons why episode 6, together with episode 11, was the highlight of the series, and one of them is that we finally got a more nuanced insight into Karan's character. I was also very grateful for episode 12, because with the introduction of Karan's parents I finally got two of my questions about him answered - why he seemed to be the only one to think that Achi would have a problem dating him because he's a man, and why, before Achi started hearing his thoughts and finally started seeing him as a potential love interest, he'd waited so long without at least trying to ask Achi out. It didn't make any sense to me that a man who was so deeply and passionately in love would be happy with watching his crush from afar for years without doing anything about it. His family and Achi's total obliviousness taken together was what kept him away.

I consider portraying Achi and his journey believably the bigger challenge, because he started pretty low. His self-esteem was non-existant, and sadly everyone around him, even Karan, seemed to emphasize this - his neighbour and his mother call him clumsy and are constantly worried about him, his best friend is in the same boat as him, with just a little more dramatic personality, and he has been watching Karan win awards, buy cars, etc. for years, admiring him for being handsome, successful, smart and therefore feeling small and insignificant himself. Yes, it was completely believable and understandable he would be totallly in shock when he realised how much Karan liked him, and it would take him a while to get used to it and accept it in order to allow their relationship to progress. The pacing was exactly right and I loved how they showed these little moments between the two in the first three episodes and how Achi's feelings slowly started to change until he caught feelings himself in episode 4. This episode was and remains one of my favourites with my probably favourite scene between them prior to the kiss - the looks and happy and open smiles they gave to each other the moment Karan smeared that white substance on Achi's cheeks. No wonder Pai screamed when she saw them, I probably would, too. Such a wholesome moment, I still habe goosebumps.

I know many complained about episode 7, but I disagree, it was exactly as good as the previous ones and also a very important one, because it was the beginning of them learning to speak openly to each other and communicate in order for their relationship to work, something that was explored further in episodes 9 and 10 and it culminated in episode 11 with their first time and episode 12 with the wedding. I think the problem with episode 7 was solely that it came after the excellent episode 6 with Karan's character finally getting explored (and let's be honest, Tay killed it, he was so good) and with the confession scene, which made me tear up a little.

Episode 8 was the only episode I indeed thought was not as good as the others, mostly because it made the boss extremely unlikable and I had problems with him the rest of the series.

To sum it up, Achi's journey and the KaranAchi relationship, after it happened, were written very well and delevoped gradually and at the right pace for a 30-year-old virgin with a low esteem who suddently found himself dating the perfect guy. I've seen some comments doubting Achi's feelings for Karan, but his feelings were obvious from episode 4 forwards and they deepened further when Achi allowed himself the chance to get to know Karan better. He isn't as expressive in vocalizing his feelings like Karan is, true, but let's be honest, few people are like Karan. Achi is a more subdued character by nature, but it doesn't mean he loves Karan less.

I didn't care much about the secondary couples, because KaranAchi overshadowed everything with their love and chemistry to me, but still, at least I liked the Jinta and Min couple, they were sweet and again, well-written and I bought they were into each other. I can't say the same for Pai and Rock. They were good characters separately, but not as a couple IMO. I also, unlike with Min and Jinta, never got the vibe that Pai was into Rock like that.

Thank you so much, production team, actors and casting directors, for making me feel happy and smily and cosy every Saturday for three months. I absolutely adored this. Karan and Achi's love story taught me about personal growth and made me remember how much kindness, loving and learning to trust yourself and respect matter.

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What a beautiful ending!

I put off this show for a long time as I wasn't ready for a tear-jerker, but I'm glad I finally took the courage to watch this.

I'm really satisfied with the ending, it isn't like what I imagined at all!

If you're worried about this show being heavy or depressing, you've got nothing to worry!!

Of course, there are moments where I cried my eyes out, but there are also many moments where I feel so inspired and touched. It actually is heartwarming in it own ways and teaches us so many life lessons, including meaning of life, family values, life and death, and many more

Jdrama did it again: to be able to capture so much depth while delivering such an entertaining show at same time!

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The Messiness of Mixing Business, Pleasure and Family

It was really good. A story with a simple moral/warning that people know well but still don't heed, is that family, business and pleasure do not mix well and this 12 ep drama manages to tell the story of multiple people who do exactly that, mixing it all together in the worst possible way, and we see just how it destroys some relationships, brings some people dubiously closer and leaves a mess in it's wake for all involved.

THE GOOD:
- The acting of everyone in this is absolutely above the standard, no one got left behind on that front. The dialogue has a specific flow and tone that can easily convey the atmosphere and scenes and the actors all really nailed it.
- Likewise, I think the director of this also knew what they were doing. The flow of the narrative and the scenes were all so well timed and depicted.
- The editing and cinematography were great too. I have always preferred shows that don't drown their scenes in long drawn out shots and music. In real life, there is no sad soundtrack when bad things are happening and the deafening silence in a terrible moment is oftentimes what really makes the moment worse. I think this show had silences exactly where it was necessary and they were weighted and poignant. Also the scene cuts were good and not all over the place episodically, they actually line up well according to the timeline of the outing duration.
- Interesting yet relatable characters abound for most people. The human condition on display, well and quite realistically written.
- It was entertaining, which for any show is a must.
- Some of the conversations here are pretty interesting, insightful and highlight some good points about people and relationships.

Nothing BAD, just notes on the downside:
- I didn't like the lip syncing outro. That is a bit too extra. I mean, music is a great thing to listen to when someone is in a mood, but those scenes would have been less cheesy if the relevant people lip syncing had instead put in headphones or been listening to the song somehow and wallowing. This is just my irritation though, it doesn't affect the show at all.
- Ari's issue wasn't entirely clear in the end, I feel like she's the only one who's actual problem/actions were not too clearly defined, we needed some clarity there. Although, conclusions can be drawn, but they are vague.

THE HIGHLIGHTS:
- For me; MAXIIIN <3
- I also like Nonkul, so secondary <3
- THE ACTING. Kudos to everyone on the cast.

They honestly probably could do more with this series, because the fallout and aftermath of these situations could fuel a soap opera-esque miniseries, but even as it ended, it's fine. I really enjoyed this and I would definitely recommend it for viewers who are not here for ships, just for your fave actors or just for the hope of BL or GL scenes, watch it for the story and acting, because it's actually really good.

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Promising drama with a lot of plot holes and untold backstories.

I'm not usually the type to watch business/chaebol dramas that don't involve romance (mostly) so this drama is one of my first of that kind of genre. The synopsis seemed interesting so i gave it a try. I was told this story will involve love triangles (which is one of the tropes i hate the most), but since romance isn't the main genre, i decided to continue watching it.

From the first two episodes, I was sucked in by the bromance of the two male leads. It was good chemistry and i loved it. Later, when the female lead comes into scene, I was wondering why did the two male leads fall for her so quickly, and it felt like the bromance kinda fell apart after she came in between them. The female lead's acting is not good, as the public opinion agrees. She's expressionless and i was hoping that she can show more expression through out the series. Although, i might think that it's intentional, as female lead most probably dont view the male leads as friends, nor love interests. She might be faking everything, but that doesn't excuse her for potraying the character poorly.
The timelines of the story was straight forward, but we rarely get any backstory. It felt like the build up for the story was half baked and not well constructed, i guess it is understandable as it is only around 12 episodes. The supposely "interesting parts" of the story was not convincing nor memorable for me. The sister of the rich male lead was interesting. Her character and Tae-Oh(male lead) has amazing chemistry. I'm hoping their relationship will develop soon.

From episode 3 and 4, the "plan" that Tae-Oh has begun was suprisingly interesting along with the chairman. Their secret plans along with the hacker that ruined the Kang family was wicked indeed. The chairman faking in a coma was a plot twist for me lol. The satisfaction i got from Tae-Oh's plans is great. The fight scene between In-Ha and Tae-Oh at the beach was weird. I don't get what Tae-Oh wants or what his intentions are, and In-Ha is being so freaking childish its annoying. The way his personality went backwards 5 years later was sad. The fight at the carpark with Hui-ju was kinda spicy ngl!! I love their angst as of right now (if there's any) and I will be more than happy if Hui-Ju gets more scenes or together with Tae-Oh even if they eventually don't end up together.
I am very curious on how this story unfolds as there are a lot of stories that are left uncovered so im hoping there's more plot twists soon.

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Romance, Fluff and thrill done right! ✨

After rejecting a lot of BLs I was torn between whether to watch another teenage lovestory or just pass, cause I was not mentally ready for another "brainless fluff". But people kept recommending me this. So one fine day, which was yesterday, I saw a ray of leisure time for myself and I decided to check this out FINALLY!

As I was quite hesitant to watch I kinda felt lost at first. Everything was happening and I kept feeling clueless like Yeo-woon. Gradually the story hold its grip tight and pulled me in like a suction cup. Without knowing I was emerged in the story and emotionally attached to the characters.

Myung Ha is that drive of force which lets you accomplish any impossible action. And Yeo Woon is the result of that action. The conditions/situations between these two are same but one is simply clueless and other is brainstorming his life away for the sake of happiness.

"What's crucial to a happy life?"

The gaming interface creates a thrilling aura all over the storyline and is kept till the end of story which was really suspenseful! With the help of Romance, suspense, trauma and fluff this story created its own standard. If I say it was flawless then I would be lying. Last 3-4 episodes were quite different from my expectations and the plot suddenly escalated quickly towards the thrill part. But it turned out pretty good I must admit. Overall I would definitely recommend.

My rating: 8.5/10 ☘️

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Oh The Drama

I only watched this for Gao Han Yu (Yu Hao) because he's hot and can act. I liked the premise and the first few episodes were good. The chemistry between him and the lady lead, Jade Cheng (Su Kelan), was so-so. The story was good until it wasn't. The way the story was written around the time Yu Hao's ex-GF came back into the picture, it seemed like Kelan got more incompetent with each episode. When Yu Hao's company which she worked at, needed her, she dropped the ball and instead of sending a text message or explaining her situation to someone, she just ignored all the phone calls. Also, you would think that the guy who reached out to her to tell her that her mother was in the hospital would have reached out to Yu Hao when Su Kelan did not pick up. It was just a big plot device that needed tweaking. I almost dropped the drama when this happened. I kept going though. I am not going to watch this again. It wasn't really worth my time and I feel cheated.

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