A NGM one man show ?
Well. Let's agree that all the ingredients were here to make an amazing show. Potential romance, mystery, great cast overall, very Interesting and sad story, superpowers etc...But delicious ingredients mixed up don't make a dish necessarily great.I must admit, I was clearly hyped. This drama could have been the best show of this year but can't help to feel disappointed. I think it was very ambitious to begin with and if there is no season 2, it would have been a waste of a 10/10 show.
Negative things
- Some people can find the plot lacking.
- many interesting characters and actors deserved more spotlight or to be more useful.
-The show is too NGM dependant. If not his cool vibe of a smart officer and attitude, the show would not be interesting.
- The 2nd part of the drama was dragging. The vilain was not strong enough to be entertaining unlike the first one.
-Could have been a kind of Korean "X-Men" with this ambition but took the easy route.
Positive things
-The show was entertaining enough to be worth watching and easy to watch
- NGM and the scientific lady (of wnv) charisma
-The cast overall is quite good
-The story and music are very good.
- The end was satisfying
- No kissing scene or stuff like that but you can use your own imagination and guess that they might be one, either in a season 2 or in your dreams ;).
-The hope of a season 2 is there.
Watch it without hesitating but don't hold too much on the hype.
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one of my favourites
Intense, thrilling, emotional.I was searching through dramas and luckily found this gem, I was mainly drawn in by the cast I am a big fan of Namkoong Min, I have watched most of the dramas he is in.
I love drama, crime, serial killer dramas.
Most episodes filled with suspense, others a little dark and mysterious, twists in the story keeping me on the edge of my seat.
Some parts with a bit of comedy or light atmosphere, just to be thrown back into the dark and eerie atmosphere.
I can't stop rewatching it. The acting is perfect, the music fitting in so perfectly with scenes, emotional and suspenseful.
I'm quite simple, so this drama was perfect for me.
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top tier perfection
it's hard to think of a drama that's almost perfect- from the storyline, to the acting, to the twists and turns, to the unpredictability, to the speed and the pacing.a drama that makes you not even question the 16 episodes.
this would be it.
I think one of the things that I love the most about this drama was the acting was stupendous. every single actor did an incredible job as well as their stories were written without even a little bit of cliche.
well. done. jalhasyeoss-eoyo!
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THE TRUTH IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT U SEE IN UR EYES!!
If you’re looking for a K-drama that has it all—mystery, action, suspense, and a sprinkle of romance—Awaken is here to tick all the boxes and keep you on the edge of your seat. Picture this: a psychological thriller mixed with an eerie, supernatural twist and a cast of characters who can’t seem to shake the ghosts of their past. Intrigued yet? You should be!The plot kicks off with a string of mysterious deaths that seem to be connected to a decades-old incident. Our leads—Ha Sun-Woo (played by the fabulous Kim Seol-Hyun) and Do Jung-Woo (played by the ever-dashing Nam Goong-Min)—team up to investigate, and let’s just say, their chemistry alone is enough to keep you glued to the screen. But there’s a twist. It’s not just about solving crimes; there’s a deeper, almost supernatural element at play that’ll make you question everything. The drama slowly peels back layers of conspiracy, corruption, and unexplainable events, all while keeping you hooked with that classic K-drama tension.
The pacing is spot-on. It starts slow to build up the mystery, but the moment it picks up, you’ll find yourself binge-watching episode after episode. You know, the “just one more” kind of situation. The eerie, haunting score adds to the overall atmosphere, making even the most mundane scenes feel filled with tension.
What makes Awaken stand out is its refreshing blend of genres. There’s action, there’s a bit of romance (just enough to keep your heart engaged without distracting from the plot), and of course, plenty of mind-bending twists that’ll have you constantly second-guessing. And let's talk about the villains—some seriously creepy characters who will give you chills, but also keep you guessing about their true motives.
Plus, the acting is top-notch. Nam Goong-Min brings depth to his role as a troubled detective, while Seol-Hyun gives a layered performance as a young woman whose life is entwined with the past in ways she doesn’t fully understand. Their dynamic is one of the best parts of the show, keeping things grounded amidst the chaos.
Is Awaken perfect? No, it has its moments of being a little over-complicated, but the payoff is totally worth it. If you love a good mystery that blends old secrets, new conspiracies, and a touch of the supernatural, this one will definitely hit the mark.
Grab your popcorn, lock the doors, and get ready to be awakened to one thrilling ride.
THANK U FOR TAKING UR PRECIOUS TIME IN READING THIS!!
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This review may contain spoilers
First of all, I really enjoyed watching this drama, particularly because the plot was amazing and really easy to follow even though it was surrounded by a lot (and I mean A LOT!!!) of mystery which makes it really easy for the viewers to get hooked on the story, especially if you're a thriller kinda person (If thrillers aren't your thing, this might not be for you). When it comes to the casting, the cast was all of great quality but I do have to give special props to Min Nam-Goong who I've been a massive fan of for years now and I really did enjoy the way he was able to portray his character perfectly.
With this, I do have to point out that I wasn't expecting to get hooked on this drama at the beginning because the first few episodes were a little slow-paced for my taste and I was feeling it would be a boring show, but I kept watching it, and it got way more interesting and believe me, it's real easy to get hooked on it. Aside from this, I'd also like to tell you that this show is not like any other crime-related K-drama. Usually, you know who's the good guy and who's the bad guy. Here, everything is so mixed up that you don't really realize who's the good guy and who's not.
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BLAST FROM THE PAST! BURN EVERYTHING! haha. The BEST in its Genre!
Initially skeptical to watch this but gave a try for our lovely smiling Namkoong 😍 and the summary looked interesting too.A Good Mix of fantasy + Mystery + Thriller + Crime genres.
One of the BEST in its Genre!
9.5 / 10 for me.
At the beginning, it's a bit SLOW PACED.
First 5 eps are boring, felt like they are just being prolonged (content fillers?) too much to set the background and suspense to the story.
But later on, the episodes, EVERYTHING is ON FIRE ! 😂🔥👏🏻
The PACING later, really got BETTER and RIGHT!👌🏻
(If the pacing is Right from the beginning, my rating could be 10👌🏻)
A WONDERFUL crime thriller with a VERY INTERESTING n GRIPPING STORYLINE with connected crimes or multiple murders linked n pointed to the past n present together.
The intertwining of all the Characters from the past and present in the story, is very well Written.
The writing is so creative that made to SUSPECT EVERY CHARACTER in the story😂
(I even suspected the Main Lead at times, can't really guess whether he is good or bad INITIALLY, haha 😂)
It's like a BLAST FROM THE PAST, Haunting Trauma from the Past for the Main lead n that emotion, that vengeance seeking for the sake of all the kids in the past, is well written.
Sometimes, the BEST WAY TO SAVE ANYONE OR EVERYONE and also the BEST REVENGE PLAN, IS TO BURN EVERYTHING !! haha 😅
Namkoong's character is VERY COOL.
Initially looked unruly, suspicious at every moment but by the end of the drama, a Lovable Character! 😀
Felt a HUGE RELIEF, whenever I see him on the screen, in every scene of suspense.
(Don't forget, seeing him Eating a lollipop cools u down too in those tensed situations 🤭)
Suspense is well maintained throughout the drama till the last moment, well Directed n well Acted by everyone.
Production, Cinematography, BGM n Visual Effects are cool.
The fantasy element, their powers etc is interesting 👌🏻
So Bear the first 5 eps, by the end of the drama, U won't regret watching it!
Just A Fun Thought -
HOW MANY CANDIES / LOLLIPOPS DID NAMKOONG EAT, BY THE END OF THE DRAMA !? 😂
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This review may contain spoilers
NamGoong Min!!!!!
What can I say? This was really a masterpiece. I'm just not convince on how they end the story. It will be better if they end it like everybody should have been back into proper places and live a happy life as what they wanted in the first place. No romance at all and The Writer was really brilliant in this aspect because the Character of Namgoong Min here was very different. He has emotion here but he doesn't know how to show it. Actually, without the other characters, NamGoong Min can really pull off the story alone. He is one of the few Actors in South Korea that is very versatile and that what makes this series a successful one....Was this review helpful to you?
Interesting start that falls a bit flat near the end
Well made, but after 10 episodes or so we know everything that's truly important... The last episodes were much less interesting than the first, and so it falls a bit flat near the end. Still, a solid 8 in my opinion, and a thriller worth watching.What I really liked was the backstory and the interesting character of Namgoong Min. The background music was also very good and added to the dramatic feel of it all.
What I liked less was the scientific nonsense. It's to be expected in any story that attempts to incorporate sci-fi elements of course, which makes it forgivable as long as it is not too obvious - I could forgive it here because I've seen worse. It definitely paints scientists as people without a conscience though, willing to sacrifice anything for an endgoal. But then, every story needs a bad guy so that too is forgivable. And as opposed to other kdramas, they do make the police upper management not entirely corrupt but more of a grey zone, which is something I haven't seen too often: they're either made out to be the bad or the good guys.
Regarding the storyline. It starts incredibly strong: you're wondering who the culprit is, and then Captain Do is this fascinating mystery. But at a certain point half-way into the story, all of his mysteriousness is gone. We know exactly who he is and how he came to be at this point in his life, why he does what he does. And sadly, as his mystery is gone, so is the plot development and my interest. At that point, the story is just like this. Team Evil tries to get Captain Do, they fail, and Captain do tries to find their location and gradually gets closer but never close enough. The story just doesn't move along anymore.
And so, while it was interesting enough to watch the show completely, it doesn't match up with the best of the best thrillers out there.
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unreadable.
The main character is smart and can be said to be unreadable at all at the beginning of the episode I thought he was just an ordinary detective but all the cases he handled did not think that he was the one who made the problem and I always asked what happened 28 years ago but everything was revealed when I found out I was very surprised and felt sorry for the children who became test subjects and it was all the work of rich people who wanted to live forever. namgong min acting no joke i think.Was this review helpful to you?
Just wow!
Let me start by saying that this is not my go-to genre. It's kind of hard for me to rate, because usually I rate on my enjoyment of a series. I, truthfully, can say that I didn't really enjoy it - wait, before you jump down my throat, hear me out. I didn't like the way it made me feel. It was dark and depressing, with the barest hint of clever repartee to lighten the mood slightly every so often. So, bottom line, the show achieved what it set out to do. It was so well written, and the acting was absolutely top-notch. I felt uncomfortable while watching it, watching morally/mentally gray characters. It raised a lot of questions while watching it: Where is the line between right and wrong? Is it hard to keep trying to straddle that line? Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Do we ever really know those around us?Most of the actors I had seen in other works, and they all seemed to be different versions of themselves than I had seen before. The sign of good acting.
If I didn't have to have a minimum word count, my review would consist of these two words - Namkoong Min. Always brilliant. I do have to make a complaint about the makeup on him. It looked like they went overboard on the self-tanner. His skin was so much darker than everyone else, it really bothered me. And I could have done without the sleazy moustache.
So, my suggestion is that you watch it, but be prepared to want to give up your daily life until you've finished it. It's just that good.
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the second best drama for Nam Goong Min ever
Korean drama "Awaken" is a 2020 Korean drama belonging to South Korea and is produced by Tvn. The drama I can say was one of the most beautiful dramas of this year's research that I was watching that gave me a special pleasure and a wonderful beauty, as well as the storywriter and director of the drama were at the top of it, and I don't talk about the actor "Nam Gong Min" because his works were always excellent and gave full importance to his dramas , Then the other actors of the drama were very good and there was a great chemist in it, which was very good for the dramaWas this review helpful to you?
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