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Yuck!
I'll admit that I initially really enjoyed this drama. However, after watching it the second time, I thought it was way too cheesy to be enjoyable. The relationship dynamics between Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo in the drama, much like in real life, were too convoluted and I honestly thought that it was quite a toxic relationship. No communication, just petty tantrums here and there. Like why the heck are you getting mad at someone who's risking his life to save your ass? On the other hand, I much preferred Jin Goo and Kim Ji-won's relationship dynamics as it just seemed to be a more accurate portrayal of a relationship.In terms of the story, I guess it was okay. But I didn't like the way Song Hye-kyo's character was portrayed. To me, her character just seemed dense, reckless, ungrateful, and toxic. It's like the directors were pushing for a strong female lead but it just completely fell through. If anything, Kim Ji-won's character was way more likeable.
The only redeeming thing about this drama was that the OSTs are pretty nice and well-placed throughout the drama.
In summary:
What i liked - Onew
What i disliked - Song Hye-kyo
Star of the show: ?
Rating: 6/10
Watch if you like toxic relationship dynamics
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This review may contain spoilers
A hilariously bad drama, but incredibly important for the genre
You have to admit, despite having thousands of new viewers every year, Boys Over Flowers was hilariously bad. It was a product of its time. Low budget, all the tropes you can shove into an hour for every episode, and the strangest hairstyles on earth. Despite all that, it was important. Too important. It put Korean Dramas on the map. It put the actors on the map. It changed the landscape of what foreign dramas could achieve outside their domain. The same thing happened with Descendants of the Sun. It's not equal in terms of impact, but it's up there. And for many, this might be their first Korean drama. This or Crash Landing on You. That doesn't mean it's without its fair share of problems, though. Let's do a little retrospective review as the show turns almost 9 years old now.I do think the budget was a bit higher than boys over flowers. I agree with others that the cinematography was incredible. Or rather, they did a good job with what they had to work with. I don't know if it was shot on location, that being Uruk, but they definitely took advantage of some good scenes. That scene where he helps her put on those hiking boots is pretty infamous, and no doubt some people decided to give this show a go, simply from that clip. But the show is far from perfect. But let me start with some of the good, cause there isn't a whole lot. I do like that for a show that was shot around 2015, there are very few tropes that would continue to plague Korean dramas well into 2020. There's no crazy ex-boyfriends, no lack of communication, no dimwitted characters. There are no pointless breakups or excessive storylines that distract from the first and second leads. In short, no filter. That I really liked. Some of the characters are also extremely blunt and forward. Not in a bad way, they know what they want. The decisiveness was really refreshing, especially if you had started watching these kind of dramas since Boys Over Flowers or even before. I'm talking particularly about the male lead and the second female lead. Sadly, this is pretty much it for the good. On paper, this should save most shows. But it just didn't here.
So let's list the bad stuff. Many reviews pointed out how annoying the female lead is. They're correct. But I need to point out something else before we start talking about bad characters. It certaintly isn't the actors fault nor is it a product of it's time thing. There are no excessive bad tropes here either, like I said above. To be it simply, the writing is just really fucking bad. I mean bad. The female lead is a doctor. She's seemingly 30 or young 30's and still has no idea what she wants in life. She goes on a date with a CEO of her hospital becaue he matches her "criteria" but she still has feelings for a soldier that she coudln't decide if she was really interested in or not. Basically, because he's so secretive and lives a dangerous life, she isn't willing to go down that road. The probelm though is that she keeps pulling herself into situations that involve him. She coudl have left Uruk early, but she continues to stay and this still doesn't solidfy her feelings. It's only when she's moments are anticlimatic that she finally reveals her feelings. Speaking of climatic, holy hell. Like I said, the writing is just so bad. In less than 6 months, there's an earthquake, a power struggle between gangs, a small community of orphan girls being prepped for prostitution, an ebola like virus, and much more. It's hilarious. Technically, this is a trope. The whole hospital visit and the dying cast member being saved or recuperated with help from the leads. It's typical. But it's soooo excessive here, that I feel it creates a whole new category. But it's more about how bad the writing is. A young doctor who gets bullied and controlled by a rescued victim purely because he didn't hold his hand and nearly die with him in an ongoing aftershock. He also becomes a part of the crew briefly and helps the doctors and nurses while still actively bullying the doctor who didn't save him but helps him recuperate. Wtf??
Going back to the female lead, after she finally admits her feelings she quits her job and tries to apply for a loan jobless. I kid you not, that really happened. During the story we find out that young doctor i mentioned earlier, his imother is actually one of the hospitals benefactors. She could have easily used that leverage to punish or remove the CEO for what he did. Trying to sleep with her in a hotel. Instead she crawls back to the hopsital and stay there. Nothing makes any sense. The male lead, there is nothing to say about him. Everyone knows who he is. His character is great. Charismatic and charming, but he KNOWS what he wants. The second female lead? Same. I actually kinda which they got together. Their characters had way much more in common. She also knows what she wants. She's in love with the second male lead and completely straight forward. The second male lead, good god. I think during the show the male lead said he's a man of too much or just full of principle. He was right. He's a constant yes man, who only follows orders and never reveals his feelings until the last minute. it takes 9 episodes or so before he finally reaffirms how much he loves his woman only for him to go back on and off to his principles well into the last two epiosdes. It's annoying as hell, and ruins a really good character he was paired with.
Now for the worse. In the last stretch of episodes, things go bonkers. The army characters we started to like somehow turn into secret service for some reason, the female lead becomes even more materialistic in subtle but annoying ways, the second leads have a temporary breakup due to the second leads principles that I stated previously, and much more. The male leads also get captured and they are absent for one year, but then they come back in dramatic fashion. If you want to label any of these as bad tropes, go ahead. I won't blame you, but I categorize this just like I said earlier. Extremely bad fucking writing. I won't go into detail about the last batch of episodes. I think this summed it up quite well. But I will say this, the leads ended up marrying a few years after the show ended. I think a year or two later, they married. But years later, they divorced. Just like Crash Landing on You, I think this is the reason why so many people made this show memorable. When leads marry, you automatically assume they had amazing chemistry. I think you could somewhat say this for Crash Landing, and be right in some respects. It is the better show, by far, but I think it's incredibly silly that fans make a drama more memorable when this happens. Anyhooo, please watch this show if you want, but remember my warning. Attractive actors can't save a show, only good writing. And this show just doesn't have it.
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For a drama to be a 10 for me it isn't that it's perfect no media is perfect. It's how engrossed I was in the story that I didn't notice or care about the faults. And this show just had me from the get go. The story was extremely charming and the relationship of both the main leads and the side characters were well developed and made me really route for them.
The acting was great they got really amazing actors for all the characters.
This show has one of my favorite OST's of all time even if you have no interest in the show I would highly recommend the OST.
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Bestest chemistry between the Leads
i have watched it so many times......till now,when ever i feel bored,this amaxing classic piece will give you happiness always🤧what i Most liked about is the chemistry between the Leads(but they divorced in reality 😥)and this is the first drama where i liked the 2nd lead couple so much 👌👌👌👌💚
the female leads character was so strong ...i think it was equal to male lead,
that is the greates thing which i observed in this drama
the characters feels mature
all acted so well
and this drama desrves all the love and appreciation from people all over the world
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I hadn't seen a drama with Song Joong Ki before, but he played the charming and brave Yoo Shi Jin so perfectly. I am officially a huge fan of him now. The friendship between Yoo Shi Jin and Seo Dae Yeong is so precious and funny and I wish they had more scenes together. For the romance in this drama, I am not a big fan of Song Hye Kyo and I didn't care for her character Dr. Kang Mo Yeon. I only rooted for her and Yoo Shi Jin because I loved the latter so much. BUT I did adore Kim Ji Won as Yoon Myung Ju and I was constantly waiting for more scenes with her and Seo Dae Yeong.
For both of the romance storylines, the story was pretty repetitive and the drama only feels so fast-paced because of all the action. It was sometimes too fast-paced with one disaster following another way too quickly and then being resolved just as quickly. It's unfortunate that many of Yoon Myung Ju and Seo Dae Yeong's most interesting moments were in the flashbacks but I am grateful for those. There are definitely moments that seemed so unrealistic, especially in some of the medical scenes.
The supporting cast was pretty strong. I loved Private Kim Gi Bum and Dr. Kang Mo Yeon's Urk team. I'm a fan of SHINee and I was impressed by Onew's performance as well as the depth of his character's storyline. Dr. Song and Ha Ja Ae were so cute.
The ending was super bizarre though and the last story arc felt so rushed so that was disappointing, but there are still enough moments that I loved for this to leave a good impression on me.
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It is a classic for a reason!
This was amongst the first K-dramas I saw. I found it a good mix of romance and action with a bit of humour.Although it did have some clichés and stereotypical plots and characters, I did enjoy the series.
This is the role I’ve seen SJK in that I liked him the most in.
Considering this is such a classic, I should probably write a more detailed review, but instead I will say it like this:
It definitely helped me get hooked on K-dramas.
Watching it today some effects and characters will probably seem a bit outdated.
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Descendants of the Mafia
He is her everythingStory has obvious flaws but enjoyable. Sometimes the pacing was abit scuffed. I feel like one of the events that happens feels like its happening over a year or something. When in the show its actually a month or something like that. Character continuity and them referencing things said in previous episodes was quite fun to watch.
Acting was a bit goofy at times. I find that the villains had better acting. The script was funny and well written. Music was peak. Osts were used well to fit the mood of the show or for dramatic purposes.
Minus 1 point for no title drop.
Overall very enjoyable watch. 8/10
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This review may contain spoilers
So, here I am. Two years on the site and 3 years watching South Korean media and I finally watch “Descendants of the Sun”. With an average rating of 8.8/10 over 36,639 users, this seemed like it would be an amazing watch.Now, it was pretty good, but not amazing.
First of all, I really, really did like this series. I thought it was pretty good for a few reasons.
The main reason, in fact is that, romance is not my genre. At all.
It is not something I willingly sit and watch (and truth be told, I did only watch this for Lee Jin Ki as Lee Chi Hoon). Now, normally, I’d have thrown the towel in as the romance started going, rolling my eyes, sighing heavily and coming back to this after a few months and struggled through it for the sake of completing it. For “Descendants”? I found there was actually a lot of other sub-plots going on that allowed me to remain glued to my screen and involved. The action plots were pretty superb, the medical knowledge was pretty on point with very little mistakes, and the disaster line made me cry over three episodes more times than I can count.
However, I have some qualms that really knocked the rating down for me.
On the “Descendants” media page, we’re given the tag ‘strong female lead’. I’m sorry but Kang Mo Yeon hating most men until she falls in love, meanwhile being a horrendous jealous pathetic woman constantly talking behind other’s backs just because they’re more successful than her is not in any form a strong woman. This was exhausting and I actually cared less about her than most of the characters. Romance wise, all I cared about was the third story line – not the second leads, but Song Sang Hyeon and Ha Ja Ae. I felt I connected more to their story than I did the whole fall in love romance line going on with Yoo Shi Jin and Mo Yeon. Eye rolling and boring, if I’m totally honest.
This goes the same for Dae Yeong and Myung Ju… why are they acting like cat and mouse and they despise each other when? It made no sense, and they were all boring save for Sang Hyeon and Ja Ae.
Secondly, again, the romance was just everywhere. She hates him, she wants to go on a date with him, he tells her he has a very important job, she respects he has a very important job, he goes to do his job, she gets annoyed, and breaks it off, then suddenly they’re paired up again and falling for each other all over again? Come on, at least be slightly more realistic than this. As much as I loved the acting from these Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo, I really didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters and it drove me up the wall. I also felt Jin Goo and Kim Ji Won had no chemistry between their characters; save the one hazmat scene, I didn’t feel any other feelings for them.
Other than these two points? I loved the drama. I loved the rest of it, I loved the characters, I loved so much about this. It’s just a shame that the two main points let me down quite a bit, but I would quite happily rewatch this in the future. A solid 7.5/10.
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Mixed Feelings
Let's talk about the romance—or the lack of it. For a drama that is classified as a romance, it didn't feel like one. By the end of the series, I found myself more interested in Dae Young and Myung Jeo’s relationship than in that of Shi Jin and Mo Yeon. They seemed like the main couple, while Shi Jin and Mo Yeon felt secondary.There were almost no truly romantic scenes, and the few that existed were repetitive and dull. Strangely, for someone like me who is a romantic at heart, I was more invested in the action than the romance, which was disappointing. Every interaction between Shi Jin and Mo Yeon felt uninspired and lackluster. By the end of the drama, it seemed like their relationship hadn't progressed at all; in fact, it felt stagnant. Instead of improving as they got to know each other, their connection seemed to deteriorate. The chemistry they had at the beginning just seemed to vanish.
The acting was a mixed bag. Yoo Shi Jin portrayed his character as a boyish yet badass Special Ops Captain, but at times, he came off as more childish than mature. There was a point where it felt like he was acting like a teenager in high school, which was disappointing given the character's potential established at the beginning of the story. Additionally, he took very little initiative in the romance between his character and Dr. Kang.
Mo Yeon, who played the doctor, delivered her role well, but I wasn't particularly fond of her character arc. Her emotions seemed inconsistent; one moment she was angry, and the next, she warmed up again. She would push Shi Jin away, only to run back to him shortly after. This back-and-forth was quite confusing, and I struggled to connect with her as a character. It felt like she couldn't decide what direction she wanted her character to take, which ultimately frustrated me.
In my opinion, the story was well-written. After finishing the drama, I found myself wanting more, particularly regarding the action. I was curious about the events that occurred during the year Shi Jin and Dae Young were missing. I wanted to learn more about what exactly happened to them, how they managed to escape with the help of Shi Jin's "friend", and the impact it had on their mental states. The ending felt rushed and downplayed. Additionally, the reunion between the two couples seemed bland and lacked emotional depth. I also found it strange that Shi Jin got promoted while Dae Young did not. This was really odd for me.
Overall, this drama was enjoyable, but it really fell short in the romance and chemistry department. The action sequences were impressive, and the combination of action, politics, and military elements is what kept me engaged. I don’t think this can truly be classified as a romance drama. The romantic storyline felt quite flat for me, to the point where I found the romance between the secondary leads more compelling than that of the main characters. While I would still recommend this drama, if you are specifically looking for a romantic drama with great chemistry, you might want to look elsewhere.
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