Reviews

Twenty Five Twenty One is my first true experience in the realm of K-Dramas and I could not have asked for a better start. This show has delivered in many more aspects than I could have ever dreamed. The simpleness of the story, but the rawness of the actors brings together a spectacular slice of life series.

At first I did not like the main lead Na Hee-Do as I felt she was a bit too over the top, but as time went on slowly but surely I started to relate with her and see my own self in her character. Her experience with being an individual with great potential but not acting on it slowly turned into just another talented person that could have been something special. She never backed down from anyone and always stood her ground believing in what she thought was correct so no matter if you like her or not, you would always respect Na Hee-Do.

The maturity shown in this series was refreshing. Even though most of the cast was teenage to twenty years old, they really behaved in such a sophisticated manner. Never taking anything personally no matter how harsh they must have felt it to be, they always thought that there must have been a reason behind it. This speaks volumes to real life in the sense that if you love someone but do not agree with their decisions do you really love that person whole? People do things in life that will benefit them as we are all selfish beings, so why is it that we are always so surprised when it happens directly to us? We think we are special and therefore we should not be betrayed to an extent, but in the other person's brain, it is not betrayal, it is simply making the best decision for themselves.

A compact 16 episodes really tells this story in full. I do not feel like it dragged, or even went on longer than it should have. It was enough… just like friendship and relationships are. Though it might not be as long as you might have hoped, without that person or persons, could you really say you would be the person you are today? So in that sense, was it not worth it?

I feel as though Na Hee-Do’s mothers character is one that can garner some intense views, but personally as harsh as she was I do agree with her. I believe Na Hee-Do would not be the champion she became without the strong womanly presence her mother brought to her. Tough love is not always agreed upon, but it is how I was raised and I thank my mother as well for that. It brings true strength. This one line from her mother encapsulates her character in a whole “ It is not my job to congratulate you, it is to make you worthy of congratulations``. She loves her daughter as most mothers do, but feels that praising her daughter will make her be content with her standing so she does the opposite and never praises her. Forever leaving Na Hee-Do to be in a constant state of trying to win her mothers approval while at the same time bettering herself in the process.

This show is a constant tearjerker especially during the controversial final between the two main women. Seeing Na Hee-Do get comforted in the restaurant by those old men telling her that she truly did win was a fantastic portrayal of grief being overcome. Till then, no one has really congratulated her, not even her mother. Seeing the love she received in the most unlikely of places was beautiful. If that was not enough, we also see that the main male got in contact with the referee and convinced him to get a piece of his opinion on the action. This show is perfect as showing all sides, it brings up a problem and tackles it in such unique ways from all different angles. The relationship between pretty boy and Ko Yu-Rim is also moving extremely slowly but perfectly in the context of the story. Also one of the aspects I love about K-Dramas is how they portray love in such an innocent way. It all starts as friends first and slowly moves further and further as we see both characters are in love but too shy to express it in their own ways.

One of my favorite scenes in this drama is when Ko Yu-Rim is singing and later jumps into the pool. Na Hee-Do is there to watch all this and as much as she might believe she hates Ko Yu-Rim, you could see the worrisome nature in her face seeing the jump. She was genuinely fearful because as much as she might see her as a rival, she still respects her as an individual and a person. The music, the tense but relaxing atmosphere, the sight of Ko Yu-Rim being in her feelings and showing emotion made this scene absolutely unforgettable to me. Both these women are broken, yet found the solitude in fencing. As much as they compete, they do not yet know they are the exact same person. Twins born of different parents even. The next scene is the two women messaging on the chat board yet unknowing that they are speaking to each other. Truly a prophetic moment, two girls with everything in their hands and the world at their fingertips, yet at the end of each day, all they can do is go and message the one person that has been there throughout everything. The one person that they have not even seen in person yet trusts them with all their hard difficulties.

I also love the scene where Na Hee-Do hears two women in the washroom gossiping about Ko Yu-Rim and her family situation. It is at that moment where she takes charge and goes into the stall and attempts to beat up the two girls in protection of Ko Yu-Rim. This is one of the true moments we see Ko Yu-Rim and Na Hee-Do work together and it felt absolutely fantastic to see. Ko Yu-Rim had always disliked Na Hee-Do but after learning that she was the one Ko Yu-Rim was talking to, she does a complete 180 and realizes all of her past mistakes which takes a truly grown person to do. The actress that plays Ko Yu-Rim has great facial emotions. Whenever she is in a sad scene, it really makes the viewer feel exactly what it is that she is feeling. You just can't help but want to give her a hug and tell her everything will be alright.

Seeing the two embrace each other after Ko Yu-Rim confesses she is the online friend is so heartwarming. I just could not help but smile the entire time through. The two girls finally found their platonic soulmate and it is beautiful to see. All that hatred and all that anger at one another just vanishes and it turns to embrace and lovingness.

The second last episode was absolutely heart wrenching especially towards the end. Seeing the differing situations between Yi-Jin and Hee-Do was just setting this show up for a sad finale. Growing up is an occurrence that no one can ever help. You can not ever beat time. We should have known that this would eventually happen to the couple that fell in love so young, but we just never learn as humans. Relationships between humans are the most difficult thing to work out because of them having two fully functioning people. Two smart and in different mind stated individuals.

No one was simply to blame in this couple's ending, if anything it was simply the cards they were dealt. Having to be apart so early in the relationship, and on top of the already difficult long distance was the added agony of both and especially Yi-Jin’s day to day life. He wanted to succeed and in doing so he took all opportunities, but the cost was the life he imagined with Hee-Do. We see when they break up first, that Hee-Do does not even seem like the same person. She is so cold on the outside and has just fully checked out from an emotional standpoint. She thought of all different routes this relationship could go and came to the conclusion that it was a lost cause and there was no way to pick up the already broken pieces.

It gets to a point in some relationships where even if you are one of the people within, you look as a bystander. Some relationships are just not meant to last, and it gets to the point of simply watching either yourself or your partner lose the attachment once felt.

All in all, this show was a great entry and had magnificent points throughout its 16 episode run time. I do believe that it had a bit of a fall off later in the series, but the last 2 episodes were done greatly. Some questions such as how Yi-Jin and Yu-Rim know each other from their childhood, I feel could have been incorporated into the story a lot better. I definitely would not say this show has failed potential as it had a great ending and accomplished what it set out to, but I was not satisfied quite fully after the show ended.

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The Genius was my first venture into an older drama series and it was different than any other dramas or shows that I have experienced in general.

The unique nature of the editing was completely fascinating to view and it was done in such a perfect way that I was surprised that other dramas since this have no stolen the concept. In each and every episode, there would be a plot twist type of moment in which we as the viewer are dumbfounded as to how what we have just seen truly transpired and this is when the editing that has manipulated us during the episode reveals to us the hidden conversations between contestants.

The Genius was an adventure of a show and I did not find myself getting bored for even a minute which surprised even myself. A true masterclass in it's genre and I am glad to see that The Devil's Plan is getting the love it deserves because with that will come more and more season of such a show.

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Unique Relationship Dynamics with Crazy Chemistry

Story
Thought it was well paced. Appropriate amount of time was spent on each arc and I didn't feel any of the arcs being drawn out. Especially appreciated the start - never thought I would enjoy the relationship building between a man and his chicken that much! Some portions of the plot were of course slightly cliche and obvious but in general, felt that the writer kept enough mysteries for me to want more. Also loved the extra episode at the end just for viewers to enjoy the couple more! Thought the character building was great too as we can see Shen Li slowly becoming like Xing Zhi...

Acting
Amazing amazing performance by ZLY. Her apathetic gaze was integral to the show and she just looks absolutely stunning in her armor. LGX did a decent enough job for me as a supposedly cold and aloof god. Kind of wanted to see more cool sides of him.

Music
Loved all the OSTs added to my Spotify list

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Bits and pieces of old kdramas combined together

I like how the drama started with a messed up marriage and showed story of a couple who have fallen out of love and their journey to rediscovering their love. It was going good till episode 7, after that it become like a complete opposite story. All the focus was shifted on the queen’s group family being broke and falling in the trap laid by the villains. And how easily the villains got everything they wanted and even kicked the family out of the house. It’s was bit unrealistic how a business tycoon family had nowhere to go.
And in the midst of all this villain drama the main issue was left unaddressed. What about the martial issues that brought the lead couple at this point? Why hae in and hyun woo hated each other that much at the beginning of the show? The answers were vague. I wish the focus of the show was on addressing their martial issues and rekindling their love and not on the unnecessary villain drama.
The same villain story that we have seen in the legend of the blue sea. And hae in’s conflicted relationship with her mother, it reminded me of Cloy where seri had same tensed relationship with her mother.
And there were many things in the drama that reminded of the other kdramas. Hence I didn’t feel like I was watching something new. If the story had only focused on hae in’s illness and their troubled marriage. It would have been alot better.

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expected more (watch suggestions)

Overall: I normally really enjoy Strongberry productions because they focus on the couple, have good kissing and are well paced. Unfortunately, this series only did 1 of the 3 well. 6 episodes about 20 minutes each (there are actor interviews after the end credits). Aired on GagaOOLala & iQIYI country dependent.

Watch Suggestions (if you want to avoid a love rival and slow pacing)
- episode 2 watch 15-16:20
- episode 3 watch the beginning to 3:50 then 16:30 to the end
- episode 4 watch the beginning to 1 minute (or could skip)
- skip episode 5
- watch episode 6 from 6:30-19:15 and then watch the beginning to 4 minutes to avoid a cliffhanger ending

What I Liked
- easy to understand premise
- visuals
- good kissing/ongoing physical affection

Room For Improvement
- presence of a love rival and too much screen time focused on it
- pacing, almost all of episode 5 was moping
- cliche miscommunication/refuse to communicate
- why did the 1 character like the other so much/aggressively pursue him? I'm not a fan of the childhood rescue trope but at least that would explain it
- comparing m/m romance to biological relative romance was odd
- cliffhanger/non ending
- the comedy sound effects did not make things funny
- explaining things briefly instead of showing them (ie why the guy was worried about a romantic relationship)
- I realize they didn't have much of a budget but setting it on campus and having zero extras took me out of the story, they could have removed the love rival and the professor and paid some extras instead

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Quirky, Odd, But Viscerally Intriguing

This series left me in a complete conundrum. I honestly do not know what to think or make of this series. It left me exceedingly flummoxed. To be sure, it is a series about vampires but not in any traditional sense of how I understood vampires. This particular vampire was likeable; good even. In addition, to being heavenly handsome. He tells everyone he is a vampire but literally begs them for secrecy. It is one of the many ironies in this series. In fact, everything about this series is quirky. All I know is that I viscerally enjoyed the quiet fortitude that this series gave me. I am sure it is just me.

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Heavy, but thought provoking and brilliant acting

I was really excited about seeing Ariel Lin on Taiwanese drama again after so many years and this did not disappoint. As always, Ariel Lin never fails to delivery, this time as a lonely and repressed housewife. But the other casts were also brilliant like Ann Hsu, who I felt so much pity for her character that she is portraying. Mike He and Kai Ko were brilliant too.

The next part is a spoiler:

I know there are some people who hate the ending, saying why the writer/director has to kill Ann Hsu’s character with cancer when she is already so pitiful as she lose her bf to a third party and being lonely for much of her age until she seemingly found a guy that loves her but lost again due to her illness. I feel like this cruelty is in line with the tone of the drama which is for audience to reflect on their life. I have read so many young adults, at their prime, and career-headed but in the end neglected health or hit by cancer suddenly. I think Rebecca’s death is a good reminder for us to reflect our relationship with work.

Next, there are people who hate Ariel Lin’s character because she is so annoying and she is finding trouble for herself by always being jealous to Rebecca. But to be fair, her character is really not likable but there are also people who are like her as she has really bad imposter syndrome. I have some myself and I find myself so annoying when the syndrome hits. But I think it’s refreshing that a writer is daring enough to write such a not likable character as the FL.

The music is amazing in this show. The soundtrack is fully created by award winning songwriter Tanya Chua and the way she wrote the soundtrack was so different. She had four different songs in the soundtrack that she wrote for the four leads and she described them as writing from the perspective of God where the songs serves as a form of good wishes for the characters like Love you for you is a song that hopes Rebecca can love herself more while Equatorial is a song for Jian Qingfen that wishes she can find that inner equilibrium. And the background music are all offshoot from the six songs with lyrics, making this soundtrack very interesting and refreshing for a drama.

I think the only problem I have with the show is while the script is really good, I think the writer has struggles making certain directorial choices. While the drama is mostly realist in nature, it tries to incorporate surrealist moments like the reconciliation between the two FL in the end felt more like a surrealist dream where both find ways to cure their inner demons. But realistically, it’s hard to imagine two enemies able to spend so much vulnerable time like this. The surrealist tone felt very off from the realism it tries to go for as a whole. And also, the first time the FLs meet after so long felt like a theatrical speech rather than drama. It’s so unnatural and again not consistent with the overall realism.

Overall, there’s so many thought provoking and reflective moments. But it can be preachy for some and it’s better to watch this when you are not busy because I would imagine a stressful person would want something lighter to watch. But I think it’s a really good show as a whole!

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Money Can't Buy Happiness!

An old man presents an interesting premise. He asks, “What does a person with no money have in common with a person who has too much money?” His response is, “Neither one can have any fun. Having too much money soon becomes boring.” Such is the delusion of money. It cannot buy fun, love, happiness, or anything else that isn’t materialistic. It can only buy things. And things have a highly delusive quality to them. Why? Because people suffer when they don’t get what they want. And even when they get exactly what they want, they still suffer. Because they can’t hold onto it forever.

The same old man reminisces about his childhood days of being able to play with his friends seemingly forever without any rules or constraints. People are very much like children in their attachments to things. A child gets a new toy until he plays with it enough, and then he’s bored with it. Adults are no different. The World of Delusion promises only fleeting moments of happiness that always has the same result for everyone: the feeling of emptiness.

Squid Game is about human greed and how deep and low a person will stoop for a chance at 45 Billion Won (just over 33 million dollars). The target participants in these games are people who are in dire an desperate financial straits. People who owe such a debt that it’s all but impossible for them to get out from under. How they got into these situations isn’t really the issue compared to the fact that they’ve found themselves stuck in a hole they can’t get out of—until they receive a card; an opportunity to not only pay off their debts, but to possibly have enough money to secure their futures. However, nobody explains to them that nearly all lottery winners or people who win exorbitant amounts of money almost always end up broke. Such is the pitfall of “never having enough.” Even Ebeneezer Scrooge once stated, “There is no such thing as rich enough, only poor enough.”

Seong Gi Hun is a man in severe debt. He’s borrowed incredible amounts of money. He’s a divorced man living with his mother and trying to be there for his estranged daughter. He goes so far as to steal money from his mother in order to bet on horse races, with the hope of winning enough to treat his daughter to a birthday dinner. The people he owes money find him and threaten with severe bodily harm if he doesn’t come up with the money soon. He receives the invitation; an opportunity to play a game for money. More money than he could dream of!

Of course, nothing is as it seems as Seong Gi Hun and 455 other participants are whisked away to a strange island to play six games. Winner takes all. What Gi Hun doesn’t realize is that the games played to the death. He watches in horror as 200 people are killed playing, “Red Light, Green Light.” And as with all aspects of human greed, shaky alliances are formed for protection as well employing means of disposing of the competition. Sleepless nights are common as participants fear attacks in the middle of the night, and we wonder just how strong the initial bonds of friendship and comradery will last when lives and the money are on the line.

We find out that this entire game is an instrument of the incredibly rich from various countries and walks of life. Why? For entertainment. For the ability to revel in some “fun.” Never mind that that “fun” comes at the high price of human lives. Nobody cares. Not the people sponsoring the games nor the participants, no matter how much they may cry “foul” they still play. Ironically, after the first game, the participants vote to end the games, but after more time of suffering financial woes, they reluctantly agree to play again. Like people who frequent casinos, they will lose, but they will always come back. Strangely enough, even if they win, they will also always come back. That’s why they say, “The House always wins.”

I watched “Alice in Borderland” right before this series. While both series are incredibly well done and thought-provoking, I found “Alice in Borderland” far more insightful and sublime in its premise that it’s an allegory for life; that the joys and horrors of this world are not real. “Squid Game” is more specific in exposing the level of human greed and how base human “morality” becomes when money is the goal. As the Bible verse states, “For what does it profit a man should he inherit the world but lose his soul?”

It's not hard to guess that Seong Gi Hun wins the games, but interestingly enough, he refuses to use any of the money he’s won. Survivor’s guilt? Blood money? A final conversation with one of he masterminds behind the games causes him to think about his life, as he’s lived a full year without spending any of the money. Finally, after coming across another “participant” it’s clear that the writers have set up a “Season 2” with Seong Gi Hun vowing to expose the people behind the games.

This isn’t your typical “K-Drama.” It’s vicious and brutal without apologizing for it. There are characters you cheer for and others you immediately despise. There are also some you may find yourself cheering for, but in the end, you are hopeful for their downfall. And there are still others you initially despised but find yourself rooting for. Isn’t that very much like how people are treated in the real world? How ironic that most people love to pull a hero up, but not nearly as much as they love tearing one down.

The series was nearly perfect, except for one big flaw. The police officer who is able to sneak onto the island and uncover what is going on. Somehow, the police officer is able to follow a van in the middle of the night along a dark road to an exchange point. I’m not exactly sure how the driver of the van didn’t notice a single car trailing him the entire time. That was really far-fetched. I also didn’t see how the police officer was able to prevent his cellphone from running out of battery power (as he spends much time recording and taking photos). He certainly didn’t have a charger with him! The whole scenario with the officer should have been handled differently. Instead, like too many of the participants, he just had an incredible run of luck!

Performances across the board were fantastic with Lee Jung Jae leading the way. He was fantastic in “Chief of Staff” so I was already excited to see him helming this series. Even the pink hair got a laugh from me!

Squid Game endeavors to say a lot about people and the imbalance that exists in this world between the 1% and everyone else, and how that chasm is getting wider all of the time. It’s been stated that there is only one, true joy that you can have when you have “too much” money. And that, of course, is to share it. To use it to help others who are in need. The irony of money is that it can never buy happiness nor can you take it with you.

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They're back, baby!

Even though this review is late and won't probably add much to the already present lineup of recommendations, if there's one drama I will go back to for seconds (pun intended) is this one.

After a bit of a letdown with the movie (I reviewed it as well), this story came back to its drama format, which I think is the best vehicle for it. The episodic nature allows the vibe of it to be as it is, without it dragging and without plot points going around in circles.

This season finds Kenji and Shiro with a common thread of looking for permanence (at work, at home, with friends, with family, especially with each other), which was hinted in the movie but gets well developed here. I do think the movie is a necessary viewing between the two seasons (and special), a bit of a stepping stone into the themes of this season, even though the narrative of it isn't as tight as in this season.

Conversations about middle age problems, about how to find a permanent family with someone you can't legally name as such, about parents and their perceptions of their sons' lives, plus the side characters we know and love coming back, makes this one a great season and a very well written step forward for these two.

The acting is always *chef's kiss*, but this season really goes to emotional territories that allow Shiro to show more vulnerability and Kenji becoming more mature. All of this, of course, with amazing food, as always.

This adaptation came back to where it shines best and I hope this isn't the last we see of them!

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Not bad at all, satisfying ending

I started watching this show based on a friend's recommendation and a few episodes in, I came to MDL to see what the folks here were thinking. Somebody said that the middle of the show was boring and that worried me because I was approaching the middle of the show but I soon realized that that wasn't a problem for me.

Rather, it wasn't boring to me. I thought it was interesting and well-paced. There were setups needed for later and I liked all the planning that went into this. It's not the most complicated storyline ever but it was fun to see these characters uncover secrets and exact their revenge. It's not as good as The Count of Monte Cristo, the most classic of the classics as far as revenge stories go, but it holds its own.

I'm also usually big on romance but I found the subtle hints of romance here suitable and extremely fitting for the vibes and characters of the drama.

Overall, I'd recommend this for a weekend watch. It's fun, interesting, and plays with the idea of justice and power. These characters are interesting and new and fresh. I think you'll enjoy this show.

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Leads saved the show

I had so much expectation for this because it’s a Japan-Korean collaboration but the story just fail to deliver. My biggest issue with the story is how the big challenge to overcome revolve around the fate of the picture book. To me, it just doesn’t make sense why everyone is so concerned about the main lead becoming the fate as written in the book. It can just simply be brushed off as a coincidence that some other girl with the same power met with misfortunes. Everyone life path is different, why would the characters assume that same thing would happen to the main lead?? If the story was some mystic guru foretelling the main FL that she will have misfortune happen to her bf, I would take the main challenge more seriously.. and also the plot didn’t explain how the old professor link the picture book story to the Tae-o and Yuri and assume for the worst?? I find it hard to believe he can make the far association. And in the end, the reveal that the Korean girl’s bf died because of a childhood condition rather than the girl’s power felt so underwhelming. It felt like everyone is making a molehill out of a mountain. The chocolatier relationship with the researcher was also unnecessary imo.

The only plus to this is the main leads. They are so cute!!! And yea I love their interactions and chemistry. Though I like the other male character who like the FL as he was really nice and not an asshole but I felt he gave up too easily like as if he don’t even like her… overall it’s just a show with a lot of plot hole saved by the leads.

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Perfect Casting and Most Beautiful Costumes I've ever seen

I'd rate the casting and costumes as 10000/10! Truly a perfect casting, not one is miscast. The costumes are also so beautiful probably one of the most beautiful I've seen in movies and also the sets💯. As for the story overall its a masterpiece, however as I was watching it, there are some parts I find boring. The action scenes are well choreographed and the directing of each scenes made it more intense and entertaining. While the story should've a clear ending for me, i didn't dislike the part that they gave a cliffhanger in hopes that it could have a season 2. Looking forward for it and I hope they will continue the story and with the same casts if possible.
The reason I watched this drama is for Zhang Linghe and now that i finished the drama I can say that he did fine, not spectacular but at least he did give justice to the role. Ester Yu is quite a surprise and she was one of the things I really enjoyed watching in this drama. This type of role is clearly different from her past roles and she nailed it!
Overall, I really enjoyed the drama and I hope they get a Season 2, w the same casts🙏

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No chemistry and WHY THE FUCK MEW GOT INTO THIS SERIES?

Honestly I have high expectation on this series. I thought it would be a good series judging from the promising trailer. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad series since I do enjoy them but somehow the chemistry is missing. I dont know if it’s because of K BLdrama has this kind of pattern but the romance is boring. I only stay because of Mew’’s acting. I used to dislike him because of the rumours but hell with them!! He is such a good actor, i dont understand why people hating on him??!?? And also, the series plot is weak but its not an eye sore. I actually found it to be fun. :) anyway, i wont rewatch it but to give this series a low rating is really unfair. Please watch it and judge by yourself

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