Reviews

Trapped in a castle!

This series was made in 2016 and it is feeling its age but it is still extremely watchable. It is a parody. The script was ok but sometimes seemed hemmed in by the predetermined plot lines. The actors were very good and Lee Jung-Shin was very good as a musician (obviously)
My main criticism was the siting of the family home in a huge house in the middle of nowhere and the ridiculous flooring plan inside. Very weird but all the cast seemed to cope with it! Still very enjoyable but don't take too seriously.
For all those reasons I've tried to score it taking into account when it was made!

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Hell is empty and all the devils are here

This disturbing series is loaded with mental and physical violence partnered with philosophical symbolism and deep psychology.

If you have worked in or experienced the dark underbelly of human existence, the scenarios presented in this drama are not dissimilar to reality at all ... how a series of events and/or encounters with certain people over time can tip a person to lose their humanity ... childhood abuse, workplace abuse, societal abuse where you have to toe the line or face the consequences ... all leading to the buildup of intense suppressed rage ... and then implosion or explosion. Passive aggressive people seem to better manage this suppressed rage within the societal confines of propriety, but this method doesn't work for everyone one ... like Jong Woo ... he couldn't vent that rage into passive aggression, instead he could only imagine what he really wanted to do. The times he went 'physical' he got 'punished' which lead to more suppression.

It was fascinating how Moon Jo kept encouraging Jong Woo to be "truthful" ... to be authentic. It is very commonplace in the workplace and in social media to hear people telling you to "be your authentic self" ... people spew this phrase out like they were gaining merits or treasures in heaven. What does it mean to be your authentic self when you have all this suppressed rage that cannot be expressed in the family or the society or the workplace or the country you are in??? It is impossible ... especially when you have been psychologically 'invaded' and 'conquered' by abusers in your life.

The seeds of Jong Woo's metamorphosis were always there, even before he came to "Eden". Jong Woo just needed a little 'nurturing' to tip the scale... and that is exactly what Moon Jo did ... in the same way that Eom Bock Soon did to him and the twins ... Moon Jo hijacked Jong Woo's mind like a virus and psychologically became wedded to him ... calling him 자기야 . How symbolic was the name "Eden" for the place where this metamorphosis occurred ... like Adam and Eve, Jong Woo became 'corrupted' in 'Eden' and was then cast out into the world.

When Moon Jo said they could never kill him because there were too many of 'him' ... he was 100% right ... with a plethora of "Eom Bock Soon" and "Moon Jo" type parental figures / institutions / work colleagues etc ... the next generation is guaranteed.

Jean-Paul Sartre (existentialist philosopher and playwright) said in his play "No Exit":
"Hell is other people"

They mentioned this quote in this series. Sartre was of the view that humans were very much aware of how other people perceive them and that because of this awareness and the subsequent changes they make in response, they lose their freedom to be their original authentic selves. Not being able to be your authentic self and even be punished for it ... well that leads to all kinds of dramas ... just like this one ... an age old drama. Even William Shakespeare was across such a theme ... in his play "The Tempest" he wrote:
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

Acting: The performances of Yim Si Wan, Lee Dong Wook, and Park Jong Hwan (played the twins) were outstanding.

Script: The scripting was generally of a high standard, but I felt that it went too slow in some places particularly some of Jung Hwa story scenes with her family/father and investigation processes ... I didn't think that really added much value to the story. I am glad that it was only 10 episodes (in my view it could have been less) as to flash it out to the usual 16 episodes would have totally destroyed the point of watching this blood bath and psychological descent into hell.
I found the scripting for the police scenes annoying and tropey - arrogant, presumptive know it all seniors and juniors going off half cocked doing their own thing (even though it was with good intentions and reasonable suspicion and because she got no support from her colleagues/line supervisors).

Rewatch - if you are into heavy brutal psychology and existential philosophy ... yeah it is worthy of a rewatch.

Overall: A disturbing series, but brilliant in its profound look at the human psyche in a repressed social context.

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what a surprise?

I did not like Zee character from episode 1 until the end. How nonchalant was he when he told Sprite that First saw him hugging Salmon and First was nagging. Nagging?!!!?! I did not want to see him after that on my screen. They gave his character no growth whatsoever! I was waiting on the back story to wheel me in to like him and Nothing!!!! He maintained his selfishness and jerk-ness(made that up) until the end!

What about Mom? What was that? When did she get in The Great parents club? A dinner with the family. Glad she was able to bring literally herself as father states that he bought the food! Oh that dinner, i bet that little bit of sanity left that it was Sprite’s idea. Zee is definitely too selfish to come up with that.

Sprite and First were the only reason i watched. Wish they had more time. That forgiveness and let’s be boyfriends was way too quick. Oh well, they ended up together.

Would i recommend? Yes❤

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well...same concept as all the other survival games but nothing new

I finished this show in a few hours cause honestly you can x2 speed it and watch...there wasnt any strategic plays or smart tricks so if you were hoping for those kind of shows you can skip this. This show was mostly just surviving and and once again showing how greedy humans can be. I guess one interesting thing about this show is that apart from other shows where games are set of the participants here its a blank canvas and they have to do everything themselves.

If you are bored and just want to watch something you can watch this but there isnt much of a deep plot or anything.

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An empowering, edgy period drama.

‘Bangkok Blossom’ is a raucous period drama that reinforces the reality that throughout history, prostitutes have been at the mercy of power and wealth. While this drama emphasizes depravity and lewd practices, the main focus is on women fighting for freedom. It also touches on loyalty, trust, and the importance of friends and family.

This drama has a great story structure where tension never really lets up from start to finish. The plots really draw you in at once. There's always something to look forward to in each episode. There are also empowering moments, romance, and heartfelt actions. As the story revolves around a brothel and prostitution, there’s zero nudity. The depictions of sex are expected, but the scenes are done through good direction, great camera work, and acting. Please be aware of violence as well.

This drama also has good character development and growth. Engfa, Goy, and Aom Piyada did an amazing job with their respective roles, but in my opinion, Charlette Wasita deserves the most praise for her portrayal of Tianyod, a 17-year-old teenager trapped in the life of prostitution, desperate for freedom, and driven to get an education above all else. Despite being the youngest among the actors, I personally think she shines the most.

Another thing that I like about this drama is the musical element. With all the intense conflicts, the musical portions really help balance the intensity, adding more entertaining value to this drama. It’s nice to watch a period piece that can pull off modern music. Although it's a good drama in many aspects, there are some flaws here and there that reduce the score from a solid 10, but the flaws weren't major. Overall, this is a good period drama with well-established themes of patriarchy, survival, sexual empowerment, social status, and class. Bangkok Blossom is a solid recommendation and will have you totally addicted.

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A mess

I loved Season 1 - the story, characters, setting, music. I believe it all slowly became the mess that was season 2 because of the change in actress. I'm not a fan of Jung So Min (I found her irritating in Playful kiss) but she did wonderful as Mu Deok. Now she's one of my all time favorite female characters in dramaland. I don't know what exactly happened BTS that led to her not being in season 2 but as a foreboding the last 5 episodes of season 1 had a different feel to them. The first episodes were just amazing. I couldn't stop watching and rooting for Naksu and then Jang Uk. Lee Jae Wook is great - cool and adorable. Gave me feels similar to Gong Yoo in Coffee Prince. A male lead who's vulnerable with emotive eyes.
As I said, despite not knowing what happened and why JSM was replaced, I think we fans deserved a better story that was on par with season 1. Not something that leaves a distaste as an aftermath. This season was a classic example of "love the characters, hate the story". So much potential wasted. It would have been better if they hadn't made a season 2 just because. My fave quote from the drama "It is better to die than to do nothing" doesn't work here. By the end of last episode I felt "It is better to leave it alone if you can't do it justice". They should have atleast tried to bring JSM back or used a better actress than GYJ. Don't know if it was the way she was written or her acting is just only okay.

Overall, I'm so sad and disappointed that I want to rewatch season 1 and see Daeho at its gloriest.

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copied dráma true beauty with second lead syndróme

it's quite ok, but I'm giving a lower rating because it's a copycat with (true beauty) second ml. I don't care about this drama at all, I don't care about him anymore, I would like it better if there were no secon lead syndróme because this one can't be compared to True Brauty lol it's the only one. , he is the best king. of lead syndrome of all times.. everything is copied here... I don't even like the main woman, she is so annoying, she was the same in the (extraodrynarny you) drama. , which I immediately turned off because of her, she was less annoying here, but I'm already used to bad badass female main characters in Korean dramas .. I only like strong women, not spoiled ones that don't fit in Korean dramas, it's more . in chinese dramas e movie, they like spoiled women, but Koreans are always strong.. that's why I give this rating..... the main actor is very handsome, green flags, I loved him, but everything else seemed very useless to me, all the characters , as for the story, i love time travel.. i love the drama (time called you) it's still the best time travel i've ever seen, it felt a bit similar, i was expecting a lot from this drama when i saw it everywhere. .but I'm probably the only one who has a different opinion because I'm different, I don't like things that everyone likes

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Butterfly effect caused butterflies in my who body

I started the series after the last episode was released and my only goal was to avoid spoilers about the ending, but the article titles refused to cooperate. Even so, I watched each episode intently, and even though I wanted to slap Im Sol and Ryu Sun Jae at times, I loved every scene they had.

The downside of time travel is that when the main character is transported for the first time, we can expect an episode full of awkward moments, because most of the time they think they're dreaming and therefore has no inhibitions. It was the same here, so the first few episodes had me scratching my head, but as soon as Sol got close to Sun Jae, the hour-long episodes suddenly only lasted a few minutes.

By the fourth episode, I wasn't sure if things were tangleding or unraveling or both at the same time. The further I got, the more confused I became, but at the same time it all made sense. Everything. Amnost every single detail that happened in the story, and it doesn't matter if it was in the past or the present, somehow affected everything that happened. The butterfly effect was displayed perfectly. Yes, I found some things not quite clear, but they didn't really relate to the main plot.

The story was incredibly emotional. Sometimes I laughed, sometimes I melted, sometimes I screamed and sometimes I cried. I fell in love with the main characters very quickly, and no matter what emotion I experienced with them, I really experienced it fully.

I loved how Im Sol and Sun Jae were connected from the very beginning. Their fates were sealed long before the first episode began, and it was only a matter of time before they came together. In any world, time, and universe, they were simply meant to be together and watch out for each other.

And since the story involves a fictitious music group, it is obvious that the story will be accompanied by beautiful songs. The one Sun Jae wrote for Sol is really beautiful and I'll be listening to it long after I finish watching the series.

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