Reviews

SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE

***DISCLAIMER: THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. YOU DON'T HAVE TO AGREE AND I'M NOT HERE TO ARGUE WITH ANYONE.***

LONG STORY SHORT:
IF THEY WRAPPED THIS DRAMA UP IN 10-12 EPISODES IT COULD'VE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER.
1ST HALF – GOOD / WATCHABLE, 2ND HALF – A HOT MESS.

OVERVIEW:
The drama opens with a married couple putting on a show for the cameras then the scenes pan to reality as the husband is actually miserable in the marriage and desperately wants a divorce. He convinces himself he hates his wife and can no longer live with her / remain by her side. That is until she is diagnosed with a rare condition called cloud cytoma which affects her brains cognitive functions. She loses track of time, hallucinates and begins to lose her memory. Eventually Haein tells Hyunwoo about her medical condition and he is overjoyed because now he can just wait until she dies instead of filing for divorce. He decides to be a good dutiful husband until then so nobody can suspect him. In return his friend schemes that he may be able to inherit Queen’s group if she dies and leaves it in her will for Hyunwoo. From there we follow this couple and their family through the ups and down of their marriage on a backdrop of another family scheming for their very downfall.

COMMENTARY:

The drama gets a bit silly from episodes 8 onward. It would have been so much better without the parasite plot. Don’t get me wrong at first it seemed interesting but the evil guy turning out to be the mothers son who she abandoned and put into foster care then he was adopted then she orchestrated his adopted parents death was just WILD. Too much was going on and not in a good way.

I have to say this drama quite literally pulls out every cliche from the book. I would've preferred if the writers leaned into the slice of life aspect of the show more. The family and marital relationships, the process of healing each others wounds and dealing with grief / loss of a loved one etc. It could’ve been so much more developed and I feel like even the actors could've utilized their skills more in showing how they confront those emotions by dealing with them as a whole.

QoT was just not executed as well as it could have been. It could’ve been amazing had they leaned into the "slice of life aspect" of it more. Yes the disease was fictitious but that doesn’t mean they couldn't have tried to make the plot more feasible. Even after her surgery… she had no hair loss, no chemotherapy, no check ups. After she came out of surgery she was just magically cured with the exception of her losing her memories? Once again, that was so unrealistic.

I didn't connect to the side characters at all and a lot of the storylines with them were so irrelevant. Honestly I didn't care for Soocheol and Dahye's story especially because he just accepted her back so easily, no questions asked. They did not communicate or have an honest conversation about her abusive ex, who was the reason why she kept on running away without a second thought. Which brings me to Haein and her mom’s relationship. They had an opportunity to show the complexity of it but Haein forgave her so easily just like that and there was no period of the talking things out and healing their own individual trauma and then finally coming together to work through everything? Some people would argue seeing that would be boring but no… with a drama like this it needed more depth and more layers.

The leads have visually stunning scenes but I didn't feel any sparks or fireworks between them. I'm not gonna lie, at times it felt forced. They had me rooting for them in the beginning but lost me towards the middle especially when there was no real breaking point or indication of them working through their issues. I felt like they behaved more like teens falling in love for the first time than a married couple who had been through so much. There was also too much back and forth one minute they were ready to fix everything and reconcile the next they were pushing each other away and then back to square one, AGAIN.

Honestly this drama was sad and exhausting more than anything. The way everyone talks about this drama you’d think they had so many romantic scenes when in reality it was just heartbreak and grief because they anticipated Haein's death. But they didn't work through these emotions they just kind of accepted the inevitable.

LIKES:

Honestly the epilogue episodes were really well done and I liked the fact that they gave us some insight into the couples past through Haein's memories. I really loved that scene where Hyunwoo got drunk and then told Haein he loved her.

I thought the cinematography was beautiful and everything looked picturesque especially in the flashback scenes.

I think both actors did a good job especially in the gut wrenching scenes. I always think Soo Hyun nails his emotions. I wished we could've seen more expressions from Ji Won but I guess her character was more stony and cold so she represented that as best as she could. Again, the scenes where she broke down crying were really well done.

Although I hated the villains they nailed their roles. I loved the acting from the aunt, I thought she brought some humor to the drama.

I also like all the fan edits of the lead couple as I feel those edits tend to capture their moments / emotions better while tuning out the background noise (unnecessary moments) Lol when I say sometimes edits are better than the drama itself, Queen of tears would be the perfect example.

DISLIKES:

I have a problem with how no one is allowed to criticize this drama. I feel like everyone is entitled to their opinion even the persons leaving bad reviews or who were upset after watching.

Initially I really was happy to see a drama dealing with marital issues but the problem is they didn’t really show them dealing with or working through their issues together.

In the earlier episodes, Hyunwoo wishing Haein's death was brutal and I would literally not wish cancer upon my worst enemy. Haein had her own flaws as she is a bit of a narcissist and a control freak. She also came off very condescending and cold towards others. I guess that’s her characterization but her realizing she only had 3 months to live made her drastically turn into a whole different person.

It truly felt like Haein and Hyunwoo didn’t even try in their marriage. After they lost the baby it’s like everything just fell apart, and they both allowed it. They didn’t even try couples therapy or delve deeper into their grief. I assume Haein poured herself into her work while Hyunwoo distanced himself from her, moved into the baby’s room and also got consumed by work. But I genuinely needed more than that.

The writers were unable to strike the perfect balance between showing and telling because they wanted to do flashbacks and also present day, but they didn't really delve into the loss of their child and why their marriage essentially fell apart.

I believe the writers wanted to create multidimensional characters but failed in their execution. It is clear the writers adored Eunseong and expected people to sympathize with him but they were sorely mistaken. Anyone who defends Eunseong is nuts. No matter how bad someone's life is or how terrible they feel about others, that doesn't give them the right to become a deranged vengeance-seeking murderer. Furthermore, the mother-son duo with their tumultuous relationship took up far too much screen time. It took so much out of me to not just skip over their scenes especially when a lot of it was just showing them scheming to take down Queens group.

The “happy ending” was bittersweet and left a sour taste in my mouth. We didn’t get a lot of happy moments between Haein and Hyunwoo for the majority of the drama, so I was hoping for at least some good moments between them in the finale. But no once again the writers had other plans. They wanted to end the story on a tragic / somber note, with Hyunwoo carrying flowers to Haein's grave. However, she did not die as early as expected. It was implied got to enjoy her life, they had a child etc. but Hyunwoo still had to mourn her before eventually following her to "heaven". The scene when they saw each other again did nothing for me, just made me have conflicting emotions to be honest.

OVERALL:

QoT had too many storylines. Most of the arcs were unnecessary rendering the storylines improbable. The side characters were poorly developed, annoying and didn’t add anything. It’s only watchable because of Kim Ji Won & Kim Soo Hyun. I felt like something was missing since the beginning because there was just so much to unpack that they never did.

The plot is very early 2010s formulaic and I believe this drama's weakness was its production in 2024, as well as the overdone cliches. Everything was completely anticipated and not shocking at all. The writers tried to hold people's attention by throwing in the most bizarre plot lines. It was as if whenever there was anything good, something awful had to happen to balance it out, which just didn't seem realistic or practical.

THE WRITERS NEEDED SOMEONE TO TELL THEM TO PUT THEIR PENS DOWN! They truly needed someone to slap some sense into them and tell them to stop the overdramatic makjang plots. Imo most of the characters were just used as plot devices to further the storyline and create illogical drama.

Would I rewatch? No I would only watch scenes I liked and an edit would suffice instead of the entire drama as a whole.

With all of that said, I would rate it a 7/10 rounded up to a 7.5 and only for the leads.

At the end of the day if you don’t believe some of the reviews you just have to watch the drama for yourself and see if u like it or not.

Happy Watching!

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One of the best shows out there

I had to admit Zhang Ziyi was the main reason why I clicked this title. I thought she’d play a great empress or wife of a seasoned general. Was taken aback when she came up in 1st episode playing a teenager(15/16yo i think) instead. Wth? She looked like she could be the wife of the father! How ridiculous. And they didnt even put much effort in make up to have her look like a teenager. She looked bare faced throughout, although I admire her beauty, it’s definitely the beauty of a matured woman. I could accept if her role had been a princess in her 30s, but come on, to have 39yo to play a teenager/young adult role is pretty hilarious. She looked as old as the rest of the cast who plays the ministers and their consorts ??‍♀️

However, I stuck through the show because it had a good storyline. She’s a talented actress, of course she could pull through despite the obvious seasoned look. I must say that this series is really fast paced, there are no wasted pointless scenes, and I can’t seem to put down the screen. One episode seduces me to continue to another and I feel bad when I had to put the screen down so my life wont be halted. I even brought the phone into the bathroom to watch while doing no 2 and bathing, finished bingeing all 68 episodes in 3 days!

Now this is the real palace conspiracy and politics is all about, it kept the audience on edge with one intense episode after another. I truly admire FL and ML. ML, although not handsome with rather big nose which bothered me during the earlier episodes, had me charmed with his outstanding performance. He looked perfect as the boorish man from a poor family background who spends his whole life on the battleground. He’s not flawlessly handsome with boyish look like the typical ML, he’s not ‘mad’ madly in love like any typical ML (and yet we can still feel his ultimate love for FL), and he carries the countenance of a courageous intelligent general and strategist really well. I like ML’s look with the goatie in the final parts though. He looked so much more handsome this way. I never liked men with face hair but he’s one of those men who looked extremely handsome with them.

This show is so good it even has one of the most intense, believable and astonishing battle scenes that I’ve seen on screen. My heart was pounding throughout the battle as I was anxious to see what would happen next. I’m not sure how accurate to the book this show is, but I’m glad I didnt read the book beforehand else it wouldve ruinned the suspense.

Im just frustrated that in every scene of them reuniting, there are no moving moments. They just look at each other longingly and then the next scene came up where everyone’s safe. So frustrating. But honestly this is one of the best shows ive seen so far. Although I wouldnt rewatch the entire show, I definitely would rewatch some real good episodes.

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One...Two...Three...Click

There is a saying that goes like this, “A tiger leaves its fur after death and humans leave photographs as evidence of their life.’

The Midnight Studio is now opened.

We have countless memories in our lives, but there is one we can’t photograph – it is the memory of the last breath.

If there were a studio that took photos of your last memories, the ones that you couldn’t take when you were alive, wouldn’t you want that? Somewhere between life and death. Somewhere on the treacherous and arduous path of death. It only allowed you to want it desperately. You cannot go back once you get lost on the path to death. You have to walk in the skin-cutting snowstorm, across the valley where the ground splits and fills with molten lava and go through endless mazes to finally reach this place. What place is that? A photo studio only for the dead – a photo studio that only opens at night.

The secret of this drama was based on the camera which could not only take photographs of the dead but also the miraculous power to bring them back to life. Many intruders tried to get the camera, but the Grim Reaper was the guardian and its protector.

One soul came to the Netherworld and stole the reaper’s belongings. His Excellency made it back to his child who was ready to die with the camera, but the Grim Reaper followed him. Chastising him for taking the camera and he wanted it back. His Excellency begged the reaper to let him have the camera to save his child and let him live until his age, 35. The reaper agreed telling him that his sons and all his descendants that follow will all end with the same fate. The dead would chase them during their very short lives. His Excellency agreed to the reaper’s demands. But with this agreement, little did he know that he created a curse that lasted thousands of generations.

The ML (Joo Won aka Seo Ki Joo) was the 7th photographer in his family that ran a photo studio that only ghosts frequent. The FL (Kwon Na Ra aka Han Bom) is a lawyer who unbeknownst to her would become involved with Seo Ki Joo due to their past history.

Seo Ki Joo has two ghosts who were earthly bound which were: Assistant Manager Go (Yoo In Soo aka Go Dae Ri) and a former police officer (Eum Moon Suk aka Baek Nam Gu) who were in charge of bringing in ghosts as customers as well as handling closure to cases to help the ghosts move on.

Assistant Manager Baek Num Gu was a violence crime unit detective who married his childhood sweetheart. On the night of their anniversary, he promised her he would be home on time. Chasing and cornering the perp they began to fight and in split second Baek Num Gu was stabbed and died. His partner came too late and found him dead. Staying bound and not leaving he wanted to help his partner find who killed him which eventually he did. Baek Num Gu had the ability to hold objects and move them.

Assistant Manager Go was earthly bound due to dying of a heart attack on the job from overwork. The day of his heart attack he was to go on a blind date. He thought that Han Bom was his blind date until he realized her roommate was the woman he was looking for. His ability was he was able to take possession of another person’s body for approximately 20 minutes. This allowed him to go on dates with Kim Ji Won. She did figure out that he was a ghost.

Han Bom was connected to Seo Ki Joo based off her car accident with her parents and also his uncle being at the scene at the time. He died trying to save Han Bom.

This drama gives us various poignant moments as we learn more about the studio and are given beautifully crafted stories of the "ghost" who will or are facing death.
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- The Virgin Ghost Bride
- The child is Han Bom (she was in a coma)
- The husband who the police believed killed him in the hospital
- The priest
- Han Bom’s grandmother
- The CEO
- The high school senior
- The twin brothers
- The con
- Seo Ki Joo's uncle
- The evil stalker

There is one particularly funny part when all the "ghost priest" are dancing to Aespa. Hilarious. They do get out of character; you will definitely enjoy that.

Of course, everything cannot all be happy and light. We do have an evil spirit that possesses a stalker and finally takes full possession of Lieutenant Lee Seon Ho. His demise comes on the death of our favorite detective...Baek Num Gu.

Each moment with the “soon-to-be-departed” Seo Ki Joo would take a photograph. The camera would only allow him to take two shots. The first one of the living and dead to meet each other. These are such heart wrenching moments that you better have some tissues nearby. The second photo signifies – goodbye or their final departure. This is also so gut wrenching. The lovely part is as they watch them leave and fighting through their tears, the last photo of the desperate souls last moments falls down giving them that inner peace and memory of their final goodbye.

Seo Ki Joo did find out how his brother did die. He did have the opportunity to take the last photograph of his brother.

To lift the curse Seo Ki Joo had to take the camera back to the Netherworld and to the Grim Reaper. He was successful but unfortunately, he could not leave. It took him one year to come back with the help of the twin brother who he had helped cross over.

The ending -- we see them all sitting ready for a photograph together and as we know that Seo Ki Joo and Han Bom will be happily together but unfortunately for Kim Ji Won and Assistant Go, he was just a spirit who one day would have to cross over.

I can only say how much this drama touched me personally. Dealing with the loss of my mother and sister made me wish that I would be able to really afford to have such moments one last time. I believe we all would. You will feel so much during this drama as I said, have tissues ready because it just helps in its own way to help all of us seek closure when dealing with death. We never can get over the loss of a loved one but if watching this drama can help, then I say do so, it did in its own special way for me.

Final thoughts regarding the studio: That it helped people who’d only been chasing tomorrow, cherish the precious moments right now. And I’ll ask you to cherish them today.

One, two, three…click

The Midnight Studio is now permanently closed.

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Less than stellar follow through

Overall story is good, one could even argue than it is almost great in the beginning. But midway through the writing seems more and more.... lazy is the best word I could think of to describe it. In the beginning, every conflict and thought process of the characters are told in detail, and so is the climax building. But then all of sudden the scenes are just fillers then they just tell us the ending, not in a novel way, more like news reports way, just informing us what happened, then The End. Other that that I think this drama is pretty good, especially the acting and chemistry between the main characters and the family

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what a special episode should be

Overall: we had 27 minutes of new content that was a progression of their story and fluff which is exactly what I was looking for in a special episode. Available on GagaOOLala & Viki (country dependent).

What I Like
- sweet/fluff moments
- intimacy/physical affection
- styling
- continuation of their story

Room For Improvement
- the 2 cringey fall, catch and awkward holds
- some of the camerawork felt low budget/shaky
- needed the production to include the 2 characters at the end into the special's intro sequence to refresh viewers' memories, per the review comment they are the cousin/colleague and the driver from the series, I'm likely not the only person who had no idea who they were so their appearance felt random

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Enjoyable for the most part

I actually enjoyed this show for the most part, but it has a lot to be desired. A lot of it was unnecessary... Let me get the bad stuff out of the way first...

The story had so much potential, but I think the execution was a bit mediocre. They had me in the beginning but it quickly turned to confusion; unless I don't understand the law, you usually can't get married a second time unless the first is nullified. I am always sickened by people treating their children like cattle to be married off to some family for power plays, that is sick. Get a hobby. The acting was a little forced at times but it wasn't horrifying, just mostly over the top at some cringy moments. Also, no way the legal team wouldn't recognise the name that frequenting the documents in their office as the wife.

Honestly the best character in this show is Woo Gwang, I honestly wish I had a ride or die friend like him. Always looking out for everyone's best interests, despite always being treated like he isn't good enough. So many people did him dirty, but he still smiles and supports everyone. Most of them didn't deserve him. I hope he finds happiness.
Ji Ho was kinda hilarious to watch, I don't think he ever fully became human and that was a nice touch to his development. It would have been nice to know why he has no social skills, the small flash backs didn't really do anything to support his character but at least we know he was like this from young.

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Full of lessons

This drama will make you feel seen.

As we enter our 20s and finish our degrees, there's always this unshakable feeling of anxiety about the type of life we'll be able to live. At some point, we're optimistic and full of big dreams, and we expect the world to see the light that shines through us, to see that we're trying, to understand us, and to help us.

So, not only is the journey toward stability complicated since the job market is so hard on recent graduates, but we also feel anxious when we finally get that short-term job position. We can't figure out if we will even get a fixed position or if we are prepared for the responsibilities. And things get worse when it's hard to work with the people who are supposed to be on your team. But as juniors, we must prevail, lower our heads, and keep showing that we're trying.

This drama is for us, 20-something young people who are just living life for the 1st time. And the beauty of this drama is in how by the end we get to see that there's always an alternative, a better place for us, a new opportunity, etc. So whoever is reading this, keep walking, keep moving forward, don't give up on your dreams, please, because if things are not working now, maybe you just need to take a break, or change your environment or start doing your own thing. Believe in yourself and in your talents. You got this.

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One of the best dramas all-time, a k-drama veteran verified thriller masterpiece!

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OVERALL

I really enjoyed this drama, i think that any other thriller fan will enjoy it the same. If you're someone that has begun watching the drama but the earlier episodes don't suit your taste, just hold on as it changes as time passes. It gradually picks up pace as the drama goes on. This is definitely a must watch and probably one of the best k-dramas.



STORY

As a person who immerses themselves in various cinematic and dramatic media, I would say that I am somewhat hard to please. I tend to find myself being very critical towards any type of content I engage with. Having said that, I loved this drama. I have watched many thriller k-dramas and "Blood Free" (BF) takes a place amongst the top ranks. I've seen many people mention that the drama was quite slow especially in the early episodes. However, I felt that I was enticed from the first episode itself. The first episode was almost too uncomfortable to watch and it was gruesome but it was that explicitness that conveyed the emotions in their message of advocacy. I do have a very small attention span and I get bored quite easily, even-still I was fully engrossed in the drama. In my opinion the drama was well paced. The more I watched, the more I wanted to watch. From scene to scene, the story kept me on edge, waiting to see what would happen next.

The concept such as of BF's feels very new and novel. There have been many before BF that have had their attempts at creating an advanced world in the near future and most have failed in their execution. BF did very well in executing a large combination of elements: medical, sci-fi, thriller, power-play, and drama.

With all the appreciation that I have for BF, I don't think that it was completely perfect. The earlier episodes took a path of storytelling where advocacy for environmental protection was tightly intertwined in the dramatic elements. However, mid-series that advocation aspect disappeared and it began more of a typical (still well written) power struggle. I would have appreciated the drama keeping its consistency and bringing in a stronger element of advocacy into their storytelling. That would have kept this series unique throughout. There were other loopholes that I had noticed while watching the drama but they aren't gaps that most would notice on their first watch.

The characters were all very interesting but I wished that there was character building that was done, somehow their backgrounds and foundations felt incomplete. This could be the writers intentionally keeping information in order to reveal them in a later season. However, the characters felt slightly surface level. I loved the main character (the female lead - FL). I thought that her personality and mannerisms were quite unique and interesting. I hadn't come across many FLs like that, she was different in a good way.

The drama left so many unanswered questions that it practically requires a second season. I am very excited for this new season that hasn't even been announced yet!



ACTING & CAST

The casting choices were on point. It was the cast that elevated this series from average to exemplary. The phenomenal acting by the cast brought the story together. From mannerisms to speech, it felt that the cast had truly embodied their characters. Han Hyo-Joo and Ju Ji-Hoon rightfully stole the show as the main characters. Ju Ji-Hoon exuded a mature aura to him. He was the textbook definition of a hot bodyguard. Han Hyo-Joo played a more complex role, Hyo-Joo had lived her character in even the smallest mannerisms.

To me, Han Hyo-Joo stole the show with her acting skills. She truly proved herself as a versatile actress. Ju Ji-Hoon is talented in picking characters and dramas that suit his style of acting, he delivers every role with perfection. Over time, I have felt that the characters that her employs are all quite similar at their base. That does not change the fact that he plays his roles phenomenally or that he is most definitely one of the top actors out there.

When it comes to Han Hyo-Joo I truly feel that she is underrated. She is very popular and well known but she still deserves even more recognition. She has played roles which are vastly different to each other. Spunky and sassy characters, cute and lovable characters, badass and strong characters, Strict and model characters, adventurous characters, played mothers and daughters, physically fit to intelligent geniuses... she has acted it all. She deserves more global recognition for her talents.



CINEMATOGRAPHY & EDITING

Honestly, i didn't love the editing and cinematography. There was this specific cut where it's a tour through the hallways of the BF company building in a spiral motion and it felt so out of place to me, it did not match the serious and warmer undertones of the drama. The colour grading was good, but i felt the cinematography could have definitely been better. If it was better, the drama would have been even more exceptional. Even though I say this, the cinematography wasn't horrible or even bad, it was good - better than most.



Thank you for reading my review!! <333

o(>.<)o

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One of the Best KBL

Okay, so I watched this before and the first time I did, I think it was so-so.

Then I got to the behind the scenes and some interviews for the MLs then OMG. It became my favorite. I am so happy to know that the actors really had a great chemistry even off screen.


Aaaand that kiss!! It was epic that they actually won the Best Couple Award. Like they are the only BL couple to achieve this. What more can you ask for? This is something light. You might think some scenes will be cringe but nu-uh! It works. Two good looking MLs with cute story. NGL, the webtoon material is wwwaaaayyy steamier but they kept the spirit of the story.


The OST is also a banger. Give this a try. It’s one of the best.

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A promising xuanhuan drama turned into a wrecked rollercoaster

As I'm writing this review, my head is going to explode any moment. Every time I think of Snow Eagle Lord, I can't help but getting furious. Even though it has good premise, good novel, good plot, it turns 180° and becomes a wrecked rollercoaster, aided by cheap sets and average special effects.

The plot is a simplistic. Why do I say this? Because it's about a hero trying to save his mother from her evil family. The hero made a lot of preparations, including buying a new weapon to enrolling a prestigious academy. Then, he came across fellow students and befriended them.

I don't understand why, but the script manoeuver 180° from the actual storyline. They've also added dumb and stupid elders, toxic rivals, and clever antagonists. I wish they could just clear off. But, nope. They only tried to make us infuriated with their stupid antics. That's why I can't stand it longer.

Xu Kai did well as usual, but he himself couldn't save this drama from becoming a mess. The FL (Gulnezer Bextiyar) didn't help much either, I feel that she always had those same expressions whenever she was laughing or crying. The leads barely had any chemistry. Thankfully, it's not a romance-oriented drama.
The second couple is decent enough whereas the third couple needs a slapping especially ML's little brother. To be honest, none of them has saving graces (only ML's spear choreography is worth mentioned).

Watch it at your own risk if you have the patience to withstand stupid characters and messy plot. Don't waste your time on this drama or you will regret it.

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amazing

this was an amazing special episode for the “You are Mine” series.

it was so dang cute and I’m pretty sure I now have a toothache with how sweet this was. I was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

I’d been looking forward to the special for months once I found out they were doing them for the series and I was not disappointed.

I adore we got to see their relationship progress, and it aligned so well with the story.

my heart is so full. if you loved the series you will for sure also love this added episode. I just want more of their story, this was so unbelievably loving an so well done. the perfect end to their story ❤️❤️❤️

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Good book leads to great drama

I haven't read the book, yet this drama clearly indicates that if you pick a good book and follow it to it's minute details, you end up with a classic drama. As compared to the screenplays that are hashing out clichéd crap just to meet deadlines and make a quick buck,

This drama takes the c industry to the next level. It's absolute poetry, smooth, delicate, yet hard core feminist.
Sometimes feminist dramas trample on males, but here it is a sheer sense of admiration and respect for the ML.

And add to that the sizzling chemistry, heart fluttering relationship, beautiful landscapes, wonderful supporting cast.......
This drama is a gem.......

I had stopped watching c dramas because it was embarrassing to watch female leads speak like a baby, act like a teenager and wear crotch revealing outfits.

But wow.....the last 4-5 c dramas have beaten the so-called popular k dramas of 2023-24.

Way to go.......congratulations to the full team!!

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Will be waiting for the 2nd seasonn

With some high and low moments, getting better by each the episode. For me this season ended perfectly, with the desirable suspense and all. The main actors are amazing veterans, not news, and it was very nice to see Moo Saeng acting a good and trusty character for a change.
It's not a lightly drama but also not that heavy to watch. it brings a new concept, not very far from todays society. It was fresh to have a perpective of a possible outcome and consequences. Although I felt the story was not highly focus on that but instead on the characters own stories and the terrorist attack. Worth watching it.

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This drama is stuck in purgatory

This show is not bad. The real problem is that it doesn’t know when to stop. The initial premise is interesting enough. Multi-generational curse is nothing new but it is functional. The show pushed it for all its worth though. There are plot holes here and there but the show has enough momentum to push through most of them, at least initially.

Once it gets started it gives off a similar vibe to several other wish fulfilling style fantasy shows such as May I Help You. While other shows are more focused on the “clients” and their backstory, this show used them as fillers when the main plot needs to take a breather. The overarching plot is focused on the ML and the curse he inherited. In that sense, it is a nice change from other series where the leads tend to fade into the background and only pops up at key moments. Our OTP is definitely in the fore.

However, this is a double-edged sword. With the focus firmly on the ML, this series struggles. As the saying goes, the tank is running dry. It seems to slice and diced the same plot into different combinations and pad things out. What was novel at the beginning become rather passe by the half way mark. Several times the show seems to have reached its logical conclusion only to be dragged back into the fray just to stretch it out a bit more.

On the positive side, not only are our leads more in focus, his two ghost helpers also have their moments in the sun which is rare in such shows. I appreciate that because they are both interesting characters and they deserve some growth and attention. Deputy Go does fairs better than Mr. Baek and I'm keen to see Yoo In See in other roles.

Acting wise, the ensemble cast did a decent job with what they are given. The ghostly makeup is rather low rent though and more Halloween than scary.

The last episode is probably the most problematic. It really ties itself in knots with its own DIY mumble-jumble. A case of narrative purgatory, I suppose. It all ends well which came as no surprise. The series is watchable but could have been better and tighter. If only it ended 2 or 3 eps earlier while the going was good. One time watch for me.

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