Reviews

Nope....

One of the worst "old" kdramas, it went full old melo style which kdrama thought it was cool and trendy to do at the time. Other than the nostalgic feel, this drama is a failure and got nothing going on for it. Not recommended! At least you get to see the younger version of some familiar faces.

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flawed yet utterly enjoyable, uses narrative manipulation, explores the dichotomy of revenge/justice

i watched Revenge of Others weekly and one thing that cannot be denied about it is that it was incredibly enjoyable. the fast-paced episodes, the interesting characters, and the complex layers of mystery kept me waiting for the next episode. this show, in its essence, is an interesting exploration of the bullying culture that exists in South Korea that also tackled the themes of violence, justice, retribution, and revenge.

i will address 5 main points:

1) COMPLEXITY -- this show was a mystery/thriller so it is expected that there will be a lot of misdirecting and new pieces of information being revealed with each episode to build up the suspense. however, i think the show was too complex for its own good. everything seemed to be connected and it seemed like they willfully kept things complex and unresolved to keep the viewers guessing but even when we were at the halfway mark, nothing was revealed yet. by that i mean, there was no subplot resolution until the very end. on top of nothing being resolved, they kept introducing new plotlines and new characters to increase the complexity of the overall plot and add to the mystery. i was afraid they would leave the resolution of everything to the very end and of course, that was the case.

overall, the way they introduced information was (intentionally) disconnected, especially the flashbacks. the timeline of the flashbacks was very confusing. i knew they would end up leaving the resolution of everything to the very end but it’s still annoying how they have over-complicated things throughout the whole show just to add to the mystery. all the little clues that were given to the viewers to keep us guessing and all the theories didn’t matter in the end. i generally liked how they have misdirected the viewers at least a couple of times regarding who the murderer might be but there were just way too many variables and characters and storylines going on for there to be any actual thrill in trying to guess things about the plot. because it didn't matter and the clues that were given were only there to confuse us further and none of them actually led to anywhere. you just had to watch it and accept what the show gives you.

2) LOGICAL FALLACIES -- despite the overcomplexity i talked about above, i actually liked how detailed the main story of this show was. however, the main story and the characters' actions were full of logical fallacies that you would not even realize are there if you didn't actually question their actions. i went into detail about a lot of these in the reaction thread i did for this show on Twitter, but one of the main logical fallacies was how Chanmi was incredibly gullible at times while being smart and reserved at other times. Sejin's whole story where he painted Sooheon as the culprit was full of holes yet Chanmi attempted to shoot Sooheon based solely on his witness account and some circumstantial evidence despite being emotionally involved with him. then only a few episodes later, the same thing happens again. Osung, who they know to be a cunning liar and manipulator, said Wonseok was the one who pushed Jaebum and Chanmi didn't even question it when her not questioning witness accounts almost led her to kill someone innocent who she cares about. her carelessness and naivete were inconsistent. she was distrusting at times yet she also believed things very easily at other times. this just seemed to be a thing where whenever it was convenient for the plot for her to believe what she heard, she did. overall, i think the logical fallacies were caused by the overcomplexity of the plot. if you're giving the story THAT many details, you're going to have some plot holes.

3) BULLYING CULTURE -- clearly, the deeply complex culture of bullying was one of the main themes of this show. they showed the extent of the bullying that exists in schools, its intensity, and how far the students actually observed the silent "rules" that came with this interwoven culture. one thing i found interesting was how the show portrayed the "bystanders." when Junggyeong, the rapist, was at school bullying the victim or any other student, he was never confronted by anyone or more specifically, he wasn't confronted all the time. yet, when he had to leave the school, all the students were cheering out the windows, acknowledging his bad actions and expressing their thoughts on how he deserved what happened to him. i thought that was interesting because bullies almost always require bystanders who do nothing seeing as they will bully people in public to showcase their power. if enough students were to stand up when they saw Junggyeong bully others, he or the other bullies wouldn’t be so confident in their assumed power the next time. another parallel to this scene was when Osung was live streaming a fight between two students and the whole school joined the live and watched two people very violently fight each other. this scene provided us with another look into the workings of the bullying culture that the kids at this school were clearly so accustomed to. they saw violence taking place yet all they did was watch and react as if it was not actually happening in real life and people were not actually getting hurt.

i think what happened in the finale shows that the two instances of irony regarding the bystander students were very much intentionally included the way they were in the show. in the end, just when we thought everything was over, Osung dies while Sooheon tries to defend himself from him and we see that none of the students tell on him to the police because they all thought Osung deserved to die. so, suddenly, they didn't look at the case as a murder, even though an 18-year-old kid died in front of their eyes. they looked at it as retribution/justice/revenge. this way, we see that the students, the bystanders, yield the power to change the course of police investigations. i can’t help but think that this is another reference to the bullying culture at school and it is once again showing that the bystanders have all the power.

4) APPROACH TO VIOLENCE -- i thought this show had an interesting approach to school violence. one that i personally would not expect to see. this show explored the dichotomy of justice/revenge, and other themes of intent, responsibility, and retribution. what was interesting is they explored these topics through the perspective of the bullies, as well as the victims. for instance, you had Chanmi who did not want to rely on the cops to bring justice to her brother (they were useless anyways). she wanted to straight up kill the person who murdered Wonseok. then, you had the trio of Soyeon, Ojung, and Sooheon who were taking matters into their own hands and creating their own justice by punishing the bullies, or more like the criminals, who had severely hurt people in irrevocable ways. this means they believed in violent retribution. they believed in speaking the bullies' language. they believed in dominating them through their own weapons of violence. just like Chanmi. but of course, the incompetency of the police and the politicized and unjust nature of "justice" in South Korea (they even criticized certain policies re: the punishment of minors, etc.) played into their approach to things.

but we also saw a different side of things with Jaebum at the end. a gray area. he had been violent and done things he can never take back while he was taken over by his other personality. he had suffered memory loss and didn't even remember doing these things. now, would it have been "just" if Chanmi shot him to avenge her brother? would it still count as retribution if he cannot even take responsibility for the things he doesn't remember doing?

the show posed a lot of important questions regarding violence: is it okay to use violence with violent people? are some crimes worse than others? is it okay to hurt people if they hurt others unintentionally? what role does intent actually play in how we respond to violence? can you still be held responsible for the things you did when you didn't intend to do them? is it okay to enact violence in the name of revenge? who gets to decide what others deserve? to what level? with these questions posed and these themes explored, the show portrayed high schoolers using violence because the justice system or the law enforcement didn't protect them from violence. in the end, we also saw the students continuing to get justice their own way and enact revenge the way they want as they chose to protect Sooheon and not report anything about what happened.

5) INCORPORATION OF ROMANCE -- from the start, we all knew that the genre of this show wasn't romance so there likely wasn't gonna be any romance in it. however, there was "romance" throughout and i actually loved how they incorporated it into the genre. in kdramas, there seems to be a thing where they try to not mix romance as a genre into non-romance shows. romance is a part of life and it happens naturally. it is okay to include romance in non-romance shows because it doesn't have to be the focus of the show. romance plotlines in non-romance dramas are often badly written & poorly integrated but in Revenge of Others, the romance came naturally and it was built slowly on top of feelings of worry. so much so that, when Chanmi and Sooheon finally held hands at the end and confirmed their feelings for each other, they didn't even have to say "the words." they just knew and it was that. Park Solomon and Shin Yeeun had great chemistry and i thought they complemented each other quite well since Yeeun has a colder vibe while Lomon brings in the warmth.

OVERALL -- i really enjoyed watching this show over the weeks. i thought the finale was okay even though it was not completely satisfactory for me. i thought it was an interesting twist that Jaebum was the murderer and he was actually responsible for all the bad “acts” (e.g., the murders) yet Osung was still the actual villain. nevertheless, although an interesting twist, i don’t think Jaebum’s personality disorder was a very well-constructed storyline and that is why the finale was a bit underwhelming. the thing is, they wanted to keep Jaebum on the sidelines throughout the show so the viewers didn’t immediately doubt him but his storyline requires much deeper exploration. dissociative personality disorder (DID) is often caused by trauma. how did he develop it? when exactly? of course, the clues as to him having two personalities were given often, but it wasn't very well-explored in its entirety. in the end, it just seemed like they didn't want a basic murderer reveal. they wanted it to be unique, like, yeah, it was Jaebum but actually.. it was his other personality.

now, it is important to remember that this show relied heavily on narrative manipulation to keep the mystery theme going. a lot of the plotlines actually seemed to only make sense based on whether it was convenient for the plot or not. nevertheless, this was undoubtedly one of the best shows of the year with a great look and directing, incredible performances, and interesting themes.

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A recommended Binge Watch if you're into cheese

Plot-wise the show was definitely lacking. But I have to give it up to the characters and case for making me finish the full 16 eps of the drama. The characters are sweet and the actors do a good job of immersing me in their stories. There was some huge potential lost but the drama never promised me more than it delivered. It felt like your old-school high teen drama and was perfect for it. I skipped through the ending a bit so I have to say I have no clue what happened to the villain and idc cause he was never the point I suggest if you read this review before watching you ignore that part too!

It was nice to see Bae In Hyuk in a happy cute role, looking forward to his future dramas. I need to watch more Han Ji Hyun too

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The ticking bomb

A mystery comes with a ticking bomb, a series that pretty much entertaining, a closed room murder mystery with a key like a ticking bomb
Story :
the series is pretty entertaining, and the plot was pretty much structured and the twist unexpectedly foreshadowed.
yet still they spend too much scene for things that made just to strangle things up, some truths could have been revealed sooner, and the revelation paced too fast, the ending itself is pretty good but its just the intensity just feel so wrong
Characters :
homework for every korean drama. basically there are three sides , revengers, neutral , and the bad guys with plus a ticking bomb, as the story progressing the revengers feels like they lost their main reason why they want to find the killer which is revenge. it feels more like they are playing detective.
half of the series I really liked the connection between the male and female lead they has common enemy yet doubt each other, both are being careful about each other even after knowing they have mutual enemy. but nearing the end femaie lead being too dependent to the male lead, she forget that it was her revenge and the so known "god of war" male lead turns into war dog blinded by love, I mean the man that always minding his own business get frustrated when the female lead left like a dog lost its owner, wtf. best character progression on this side is the mediator girl as the story progress she learns that their act are too dangerous and could go unpunished, she sacrifices herself and takes responsibility for their act to cut loose ends. people will says that the police are useless but for me the characters fills their role well as neutral side that gives pressure to everyone, they doubt everyone they had some internal problem midway and solved them as an adult they stays neutral until the end, good progression I must say. for the bad guys, they are messed up, so fucked up that I almost have nothing to say the queen bee doesn't fill her role at all feels more like a tool that everyone can use, main villain has barely influence to anything at all I must say he is too weak. and then there is the ticking bomb the key to the whole series which is jaebum he serves pretty well as twist bearer could have been better, but not bad honestly I'm impressed.
Music :
Not bad, but not good either not so special doesnt add any intensity to the scenes nor ruining it. and none of them memorable either
Conclusion :
a series that you could enjoy once and never again, I really like the truth key was the only twist and comes like a ticking bomb. yet those could've been executed better, maybe the actor and actresses are too young to understand the rage of revenge, or maybe didn't directed properly. I mean the male and female lead confrontation felt pretty intense, why the ending didn't ?.
Imagining that the final confrontation of female lead with the bomb came in the middle of the dark and rainy weather pointing gun like she means to kill, every rage and frustration blew up at once. and the last confrontation of the male lead with the main villain comes with proper reasoning, show off time for the main villain to picture insanity and craziness. well that sounds too anime-ish but that would be memorable and dope.

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Watchable mixed-bag and signals

I enjoyed how the different focuses of each story flowed from one to the other, but the pacing was all over the place. I liked how certain actors in the main pov role were giving a chance to play against the their usual typecast parts and that the main characters being in the wrong is actually shown as being so, whether the respective actor was able to carry the screen time with their acting though is different per case. For a show that sets itself up to show the underbelly of the industry, it doesn't really do much of that aside from showing Pan being sold by his manager to creeps. Most of the storylines involve actors being ruthless to get their time in the limelight rather than the larger systemic issues. Even when the show mentions other issues in the industries like how it's reliant on nc scenes and "service", the show merely lampshades but doesn't have anything in particular to say about it since the show itself is complicit. It literally asks questions it doesn't really answer in form of their own gossip girl type social media account that's featured throughout. There were also fangirl inserts in the form of two characters. The writing for the live comments from both Thai and international fans were eerily spot on and added well to the tension of the scene as you tried to read the reactions and watch the scene at the same time. It was one of the most well done of this kind of storytelling device I've seen so far, so kudos to the show for that. Some of the twitter trends featured were pretty fun to see like how the changed up the names of real people and events that trended regularly in Thailand like dogexpo7 instead of catexpo9. The actor First again is the stand out of War of Y as he was in Y Destiny and props to Toru as well. Both of them carry zero ego when it comes to acting and are fully committed on top of being actually very good at it which made their storyline the most enjoyable to watch. All of the main pov characters are unlikeable though humanized and Achi was the one who got away with the least comeuppance, which is ironic considering how he complained about how Peek was getting that special treatment in Y Idol. Achi is also a rich kid with a nepo safety job waiting for him for insult on top of injury. First really did an amazing job to make Achi bearable to watch. I liked that none of the couples end up happily together. The ultimate winner and this series' gossip girl, ends up to be none of the featured pov characters, but P. Attichon who seems to have some weird unresolved negative tension between him and the actor he's shipped with, but it's never addressed and he unveals his new series about marriage equality as well showing how he uses his social media savvy to stay on the pulse of what audiences want. Overall I appreciated the effort to do something out of the norm even though the delivery didn't exactly come through, it's still more watchable than most other current Thai bl offerings around the time of it's airing.

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Great Acting by the Entire Cast But Plot Took a Nosedive in the 2nd Half

I'd seen a retro tribute modern drama already with ZLY this year but this one had a totally different premise, so I wanted to see how she would handle a harder plot and though she and the rest of the cast did a wonderful job in their respective roles, the plot took a serious nosedive towards the second half and the end.

Pros: I can't say enough about the acting of this very professional cast. ZLY did a terrific job as XBX, a stubborn, enterprising, reflective, yet very flawed character and everyone else followed. At first, I wasn't a fan of GXY as she appeared like a spoiled rich girl going through a rebellion but it became clear after a handful of episodes that though she was spoiled and bratty, she had a big heart and really cared about TXQ. The "steel trio" of XBX, TXQ, and CYZ were a great bunch who sincerely loved one another even if that sometimes came across as tough love or protection in the form of lying which backfired more often then not. The intent behind it was real.

Other favorite characters were ZL, President Gao, Dr. Su, Su Computer Nerd, and manager Jia; all were wonderful supportive people to XBX and each other wherever they fit. When it came to the good guys, all of their parts were done accordingly. The scenery and OSTs were on point and appropriate.

Cons: While I understood this was a propaganda tribute drama and that it would have a lot of that included in it, what absolutely shocked me was the hamster wheel plot of the antagonists would completely overshadow even that. There were a total of 4 really bad guys, one coward, and one insignificant idiot that came and went. The plot essentially took a nosedive in the second half when the 3 main antagonists/business partners and XBX plus her ex routinely sent each other to jail. It was a literal revolving door of prison sentences. They'd set each other up, beg for someone else to take the fall, or manage to somehow twist themselves loose so many times that all of their illegal deeds combined would probably equal a 25 year minimum for each save XBX.

Everyone of them ended up with some sort of redemption arc in the last few episodes that they didn't deserve. Even though Mr. Wu did turn himself in, in the final 15 minutes of the last episode, the amount of illegalities he'd done throughout the years should have seen him in prison for more then just a year. I didn't like the antagonists at all in this series, though their acting was on point 100%, it was because every time one would get into trouble, he'd get himself out by setting someone else up, rinse, repeat x maybe 8! The storyline hindered them completely which was very sad because they could have really done something more believable in terms of how the law worked.

Speaking of the law, how is it that TXQ got 5 years in prison for kicking XBX's ex in the balls while the latter was choking her to death (murder attempt number 1) and the ex 10 years later only got 1 month after he ran her off the road and threw a metal pipe at her head causing a head injury (murder attempt number 2)? So saving another person from near death is illegal but actually trying to kill someone isn't. In that second case plus with the antagonists, was XBX Mother Theresa? She gave the ex a debit card that she'd deposit money in each month to help him and the kid he adopted. She felt like she owed him; for what? Trying to kill her? Same with Wu, Qiu, and even Dong, they'd set her up but there she goes trying to bail them out. That kind of backwards logic was confusing. Lastly on this topic, they essentially spent the last 4-6 episodes spouting various domestic and international laws that the average viewer wouldn't have a clue as to what was happening.

Another point of contention was with poor CYZ, once it was obvious he had terminal cancer and had little time to live, they kept dragging his death out. It was brutal to watch; they could have had the pier sunrise scene maybe 6 episodes earlier then they did. Made me wonder if they purposefully did it as filler but that's like the really wrong way of going about that. Because even to the last episode, they brought him in as happy and in flashbacks. That would have been way better then what was done with his character at that time.

The introduction of Russian speaking characters that couldn't speak the language fluently like Nina was ridiculous especially to someone whose native tongue it is. The entire Russian arc in the beginning, I fast forwarded because it was off historically among many other things. The last part that bugged me though it wasn't huge were the costumes especially XBX's wedding dress which was straight out of the 1980s instead of the year 2000. Some ppl said she didn't have enough money for a new one but that didn't jive either as by that time she and ZL lived in a huge house and her car was a Mercedes, she didn't drive herself but had a driver and assistant with her at nearly all times.

So though the acting was very well with a professional cast, the storyline/plot started out strong but then just unraveled. Hadn't it been for the great acting, I would have given it a much lower score.

Would I recommend it? Honestly, only if you like ZLY or anyone else in the cast. Otherwise, plot wise it's not strong at all with many factual and historical errors.

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A very clever made romantic comedy drama with combined themes

The most important elements in a romantic comedy is the story(setting), the characters(roles and acting) and the theme(s) of the drama(in this case traditional and modern themes combined). All of these elements have a above average score for me. Everything, except for the music, (which does set up the atmospheric tone for any drama) caught my instant attention. I found it harder to skip scenes (and I can be a very impatient viewer) and loved every minute of it, bit to bit. Even rewatched certain scenes because of the references and funny scenes. As a long experienced watcher of k-dramas(especially romcoms), I can say this is one of those iconic and timeless romcoms, just done right with the right flavor of emotion and slapstick humor. It surely will be remembered. So here is my review divided by several important elements:

1. Story

I find it a very interesting storyline and the way it was set up with the setting and the characters, it really brought everything to life. I felt sort of nostalgic because it has this feel good taste to it that reminds me of the older, more iconic romcom dramas from years before, that always remained memorable to me and gave me warm feelings. The story also has much variety in it like comedy, romance, mental issues, superstition and mystery. I look forward to how to the story will continue, but interesting it will be for sure.

2. Characters

Adore the characters, played by very favorable actors who bring their characters to life. It felt like they belong in these roles, and the actors came off authentic and pure in their acting. Until now I can see much chemistry between not just the main leads, but all the characters. I also love the backstories of the characters, they are interesting and original, maybe not too realistic but that would not make it interesting if it was. I look forward to see where it goes from here, but I am very pleased with how the characters are written and shown on screen. I do wish if I must have some criticism in this review, that the main character the king would become more dynamic and come to have more depth and variety to his role. Because in the first two episodes he seemed to be constantly the same and putting out repetitive vibes that could become tiring if it continues like this. But I have hope that this will change.

3. Style of writing and how it played out in the scenes

This sense of style is very interesting to me, it is just the perfect combination of emotional and psychological writing with humor and light hearted scenes. It brings proper balance and makes it feel well rounded and interesting to watch. I can also appreciate the humoristic parts as it makes the heavier parts lighter/ Humor is a double- edged sword in writing. Used well, it elevates your work, creating a connection between you and the reader. A connection between emotion and relatability. It’s a human element that let’s you(as a viewer) be more easily absorbed by the work. Used poorly, it becomes a burden. Because humor is subjective, there is a large risk that we as viewers just won’t get it or won’t like it. The jokes might even fly right over my head. With this drama it dit not even go there and even if I did not get the joke immediately, It was so interesting that I watched the scene again when I did get it. Because I am not korean, and not very familiar with every cinematic work from Korea, some drama’s I just do not get no matter how many times I try to watch it. But this drama does not leave many people out and made it enjoyable so that anyone could get the story(with subtitles ofcourse). Watching earlier works from the same writer can help as well, or seeing as it is an historical romcom, being familiar with the korean traditional culture and superstition can make it more enjoyable. The writing has a lot of unexpected depth to some scenes as well, which makes it feel even richer to watch. There is noting like a comfy night watching a romcom with deep emotions and hilarious moments. The lines were well understood and not too cheesy or repetitive, there was always an element of surprise and variety to what was said and what was going on. Despite the story being a romcom with over exaggerated happenings at times, the lines still felt real and authentic. It fitted the characters well. It had a very rich sense if humor, with surreal humor where it takes advantage of the audience’s expectations and perceptions, flipping them over to create unpredictability. Making use of illogical thinking, absurd characters and events and nonsensical themes. The humor here is derived from the ridiculousness and unrealistic situations created by it’s unpredictability.
Wordplay, as suggested by it’s name, is a form of wit that plays around with the meanings and ambiguities of language for humorous results.

4. What I expect from this series?

Before this came out I initially did not expect much, I did capture my attention and interest as I find these sorts of rom coms with different elements to them very interesting and watchable. I personally do not have much patience so I like that the story keeps me going and keeps my attention. I also enjoy the touch of mystery in it, and the fact that it is an extra point to it and not the main thing, but just all different kind of point brought and set up together, it is very cleverly done and enjoyable to watch. Definitely recommend this series as it is appropriate for several different genres that you may like. I expect it to be endearing and have an unpredictable ending.

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I thoroughly enjoyed it but i do have criticisms

It was a realy good and enjoyable drama that pulled you with each characters story and motivation, making you understand and root for them, aswell as wanting to know more and what would happen next, anticipating for next weeks eps. it had a very strong and unique concept making it stand out 5oother kdramas but im am here writing this as i want to spread awareness, this may be an uncommon opinion but i really disliked how they used DID (previously known as 'multiple personality disorder') it is already such a stigmatised disorder thats heavily vilified by media enough and this does add to it, ppl may not realise this as people often dont know about it and thier main concept is from media which misrepresents it but i wanted to make sure people realise this and do further research onwards, but honestly other than that i really enjoyed the show as well as it depicting a queer characters and the struggles and dangers queer people go through. I rly fell in love with ok chanmi and sooheon, they very well written .

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Good ending

I’m glad it wrapped up without leaving any cliff hanger.
I’m not even mad that they all made up in the end.
I’m just mad that xu banxia had to serve one year also even though her fault was keeping silent about it. Tong should be the one who got full sentence. I hate that she always shoulders everyones mistakes.
Wu didn’t even get sentenced to jail time but he has done worst. LOL wtf is this….

I gave less score because of that and the ex-husband arc was stupid and yet again xu banxia shouldering other peoples fault when it was the ex-husband karma.
The second love line was also annoying. They have communication problem, only telling each other important things at the last minute. Annoying also about the getting pregnant arc. Like if you didn’t want a child use protection!

My only wonder is who ran xu banxia company while she was in prison? Was it zhao lei?

But overall great acting and good drama.

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Blueprint K-romcom

So - Shin Ae Ra and Cha In Pyo married IRL after this drama. They've had a daughter, adopted two girls, and are living happily ever after indeed. Cha In Pyo is living his best life as a poet/author, and Shin Ae ra is just chilling, sometimes goes on TV, sometimes just hanging out with her fellow actress mates.

The drama is only 11 episodes long, as opposed to the usual 16 for an MBC Miniseries. I'd have liked some 5 more episodes for sure, more to that later, but, who am I to complain. We're getting 5 more decades of their cuteness, chemistry and bantering at least.

It's your classic, peak korean 90s romcom. You got the bosses, the workers, the beach trips and camp fires, the biker bois and the Ha Soobin wannabes, you got the poverty and the richness all in one. She - Lee Jin Joo, is poor and works at a clothing store in the department store that he owns. He -Kang Poong Ho , is one heckuva rich boi, playboy, whatever.
He's got another woman, Eun Chae, in his life that he technically still loves? I mean they were together before he left to America to study, but she's from a rich fam too, so, yeah, in the meantime, arranged marriage with business profits, and he loses her to his biggest rival and political/financial enemy, Jung Do il. Doesn't stop him from being controlled by his... um... organ though, LOL. The drama basically revolves around how he manages his two women - one that he used to love but can't anymore, and the one that he wants to love. The two meet too - but Jin Joo's but a salesgirl at a clothing store, so she bows her head.

Also here, kudos to the wholesome writing. No jealousy, no bitching, no "take-your-hands-off-my-man". No abusiveness, no makjang suspense, no anger to be let out. They talk with respect. Jin Joo admires Eun Chae's style, fashion, and elegance, while Eun Chae just wishes to live like Jin Joo for a day. Both address each other with respect and a weird sense of affection, knowing that they won't be an obstacle in each other's paths. And even after Jin Joo and Poong Ho share their first kiss, she adresses him as "Director-nim".

Now there were so many topics discussed apart from the enemies - to - lovers trope that the both leads go through. It's the loveless, slightly abusive marriage that Eun-chae goes through with Do-il. The fact that she has a baby and chances are high it's not his. The fact that he forces himself onto her once too often. The frequent leg shots, her characterisation just show her as what he sees her as - a trophy. An object whose emotions are not to be considered. Her character starts out as the one that a watcher is slightly put off by, but in the end, we cheer for her as she finds her path and breaks free.

It's also the queer-coded character of Jinjoo's department leader, who is affectionately called "Madam Ahjusshi". It's the little office romances that kinda get swept under the rug. It's the authentic portrayal of 90s work culture that did it for me.

As far as the plot progression goes, the enemies to lovers thing doesn't drag on too long, I think we can wait some good few episodes before they kiss (they deffo dated after that ngl), especially with the "stealing the department store from the Kang family" plotline needing to be introduced, as well as the many side characters.

As for acting, Shin Ae Ra SLAYED. She embodied Jin Joo to a tee, and I never cringed at any of her actions at all. Sure, there might have been some scenes where I chuckled at Jin Joo's innocence. Like, no way girlie was THIS sheltered LOL. It's again, a testimony to writers and casting directors picking the perfect person for the role. Cha In Pyo was a literal rookie but got a lead role, and it showed. In the first few episodes, man had no emotions in his voice whatsoever LOL. But he saved Poongho just by his vibe. Same to Lee Seung Yeon, who although slightly better on the acting side, also showed an acting progression as the episodes went on. It just goes on to show that uniqueness in looks and casting is so so needed. All it was was the vibe, the aesthetic of the character that none of the lead actors had to try much to channel it.

Music wise, the theme song is an addictive melody, and the warm fuzzy feels and the basically nonexistent tension make it a great drama to watch during the holidays or with friends, best while a bit drunk, just to enjoy the cheesiness of the 90s in fullest.

The drama is so corny, and yet so loveable, which makes it super rewatchable anytime. All in all, it's the k-romcom blueprint that birthed a star couple in Korea.

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all cliches served in a plate but didn't taste bad

This drama series is surely like all clinches put together and served to the audience but it wasn't bad. Basically there is nothing called story it's like a simple rom com in which a girl meets a guy, fights with him initially then work under him then they fall in love then the anti-fl comes messes up everything and goes away in the last ep. Nothing new.
But this one was cute and funny it didn't get boring despite being super predictable.
The chemistry between the leads was good and the stories 2nd and 3rd leads were also intresting . The characters of ml and fl were pretty much like any other dramas of the same type but here the ml wasn't imported from Antarctica.
Overall there is not much to say abt this one. At the end i can only say that you can watch this one only for some cute,fluffy and funny moments and this one should not be taken seriously basically don't expect much.
U may watch it as a filler or maybe when u don't have anything better to watch.
If it's not exceptional then it is not awful either.

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LLTG : BEST HISTORICAL DRAMA OF 2022

I like this drama, I love this drama, it's as if the drama "the story of minglan" is mixed into this. I like the fierceness of LBY and how witty CSS is. I ike how cool LBY is as a general and as a man, lover and friend. Both CSS and LBY are loyal and protective of the ones they love. I like the way CSS matured and became an adult, I like the costume and the way they fetched their wine with a long spoon before drinking, I like the empress and concubine Yue, I like the emperor so much that he is for real my favourite character from the drama, I also like the grandmother too even her biasness to her youngest son(just not the way she treated CSS and separated her from her family) . I like the little villains court ladies before they all got married. I like how every topic is related to the story, the plots that's the massacre intrigue and mystery, characters and scenes in the drama, each were leading up to somewhere . I like how focus the drama is and nothing was messed up or wasn't cleared up, everything done or said were all connected.
I like how LBY never forgot his goal and got his revenge even if it meant losing the one person he loves most. His main focus has always been avenging his family and didn't stray from the part. I super love this drama and all the characters, because all characters had a role and all played it well. I will forever hold this drama dear to my heart because of the amazing leads. I love LBY two deputies that was always with him come rain or sun, death or life saving situation. I also love the grandmother acting, and while I don't like the way the mother treated her daughter, I'm trying to understand her needs of teaching her how to be a virtual lady even though I think she really had no idea how to do it and never really listened or saw her daughter right in front of her or saw her from other people's perspectives.
I like how the ending was similar to the beginning in the sense of their dressing, for the first episode during the lantern festival LBY first saw her among the crowds wearing a red Robe and him with his black robe but this time they were finally together taking a vow. I like how we finally see the parents and siblings fighting in war, we finally get to see them show us why their were really needed and left CSS at home.
Finally I like how in the last scene the emperor reminded me of why I love him. This is a good drama that made me sad that it ended.

Read More

LLTG: BEST HISTORICAL DRAMA OF 2022

I like this drama, I love this drama, it's as if the drama "the story of minglan" is mixed into this. I like the fierceness of LBY and how witty CSS is. I ike how cool LBY is as a general and as a man, lover and friend. Both CSS and LBY are loyal and protective of the ones they love. I like the way CSS matured and became an adult, I like the costume and the way they fetched their wine with a long spoon before drinking, I like the empress and concubine Yue, I like the emperor so much that he is for real my favourite character from the drama, I also like the grandmother too even her biasness to her youngest son(just not the way she treated CSS and separated her from her family) . I like the little villains court ladies before they all got married. I like how every topic is related to the story, the plots that's the massacre intrigue and mystery, characters and scenes in the drama, each were leading up to somewhere . I like how focus the drama is and nothing was messed up or wasn't cleared up, everything done or said were all connected.
I like how LBY never forgot his goal and got his revenge even if it meant losing the one person he loves most. His main focus has always been avenging his family and didn't stray from the part. I super love this drama and all the characters, because all characters had a role and all played it well. I will forever hold this drama dear to my heart because of the amazing leads. I love LBY two deputies that was always with him come rain or sun, death or life saving situation. I also love the grandmother acting, and while I don't like the way the mother treated her daughter, I'm trying to understand her needs of teaching her how to be a virtual lady even though I think she really had no idea how to do it and never really listened or saw her daughter right in front of her or saw her from other people's perspectives.
I like how the ending was similar to the beginning in the sense of their dressing, for the first episode during the lantern festival LBY first saw her among the crowds wearing a red Robe and him with his black robe but this time they were finally together taking a vow. I like how we finally see the parents and siblings fighting in war, we finally get to see them show us why their were really needed and left CSS at home.
Finally I like how in the last scene the emperor reminded me of why I love him. This is a good drama that made me sad that it ended.

Read More