This review may contain spoilers
I enjoyed this series despite its flaws
Never planned to watch Strong Girl Nam-soon but yourdramachingu's clip on YouTube convinced me to give this series a go. I watched Strong Woman Do Bong Soon after this series so I had no expectation of Strong Girl Nam-soon. I see a lot of negative reviews for this series before writing this review. Here are my thoughts.What I liked:
1) Family - This is the central theme of the show, which sets this series apart from its prequel. The FL had different upbringing because she went missing when she was a child but lucky for her, her adoptive parents were kind people whom raised her well. I also liked that Hwang Geum Joo felt secure of her role as biological mother of Namsoon. That scene when she brought Namsoon's adoptive mother to meet Namsoon was really touching - I cried.
2) The romance - I enjoyed watching the relationship of Namsoon and Kang Hee Shik. They got off the wrong foot the first time they met but later they became allies and eventually lovers. Despite Namsoon's childlike mannerisms at the start of the series, she didn't act like a child or played coy when it comes to romantic relationship. I like her take charge behaviour!
3) Kang Hee Shik - I like his character and as a romantic interest, I am more team Hee Shik. This is my first time watching Ong Seung Wu's drama. I think he did well in his role.
4) Homeless friends - I like both Ji Hyun Soo and Teacher No because of their kindness towards Namsoon when she was struggling in her environment. They also had story arcs.
5) Byeon Woo-seok - His visuals are insane, his high cheekbones and height amazes me. He is very handsome with that styling.
6) Music - I like Itzy's song for this drama.
What I disliked:
1) Comedy - There are too many slapstick comedy scenes in this series. I think this drama would rate better if the writer had focused more on the origin/genetic side of superstrength power in the format of drama rather than the use of the superstrength power in the format of comedy.
2) Characterisation of main female characters - There was so much potential with the developments of side characters such as Hwang Geum Joo, Gil Joong Gan but then they became bland. A lot people were turned off by Namsoon's characteristics which is the writer's fault. Perhaps the writer wanted Namsoon to exhibit similar characteristics as Bong Soon (childlike) but I think this is the wrong move because it led stronger comparisons and harsher comments.
3) Gil Joong Gan's love story - I don't have problem watching a love story of aged individuals. However given that this series focused too much on comedy, the love story of FL's grandma did not add any value to this series. Well other than creating suspicion of that guy's intentions.
4) Hwang Geum Joo - I hate that she fat-shamed her son. It was obvious that she favoured Namsoon because Namsoon was welcomed with open arms. Good thing Kang Nam In didn't harbour any negative feelings towards his twin sister. I also disliked the way Geum Joo treated her husband and brother.
5) Ryu Shi Oh - He's a clear cut baddie from the start but there was too much screen time for his character that people romanticised him. He did not fall in love with Namsoon, he was obsessed with her powers which is a total red flag. He has a fitting ending.
Favourite scene
When Hwang Geum Joo reunited Namsoon and her adoptive mother
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Strong Woman Do Bong Soon but different...
If you like strong woman do bang soon then this might be the show for you. The parallels between be two shows is very apparent. The mother is the star of the show for my she is an amazing actress and I enjoyed it every time she was on screen. The plot twists can be slightly confusing st times but with a quick rewind to grasp the concept it's nothing to worry about. There is a romance angle, it was alluded too all season but felt rushed at the end. The actual crime execution is interesting though.Was this review helpful to you?
I watch this only for shi oh
Tbh, when found its goin to be a sequel of swdbs i was excited but story didn't interest me much 😭 i only watch it for villain, his story was much better than main plot😭 and i was rooting for his chemistry with fl not with ml, its unfortunate he died in the end didn't expect it but bummer i like his character a lot!!Was this review helpful to you?
Fun, Fun, Fun
I cannot understand all the bad reviews for this show. Its just a fun show that never takes itself seriously with the possible exception of the bad guy. If you start with the framework that everybody in the show is crazy then you will undoubtedly enjoy it. I laughed all the way through Namson's naivety and cluelessness. The lack of logic in her heroic deeds was just part of the weirdness.Her beautiful mother, Guem Joo, was equally as reckless and crazy with her "save the world" obsession. Most of the other characters were no less quirky, especially the totally dysfunctional family.
Anyway, I watch a lot of K-Dramas and the characters in this one were some of my all time favorites.
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Nam Soon & Bong Soon are my new favorite superheroes!! Outdo Marvel by far!!
Loved this drama! Don’t listen to the nonsense comments , this drama gave me the chills in a good way! I get like the ending kinda sucked,but I can’t stop raving how much Nam Soon & Bong Soon are my new favorite female superheroes ?🦸♀️
I mean c’mon most superheroes ( like Marvel’s Avengers ) are kinda rough around the edges and such but Nam-Soon has such unique super powers that she’d oust all of them !! And she’s born with them unlike half of marvels characters who got them through unnatural circumstances… ( hulk, Spider-Man , Captain America, etc. ALL lab experiments!)
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Promising and Fun Start that became Unwatchable
THE GOOD: The show was really amusing for the first several episodes. A superhero premise demands suspension of disbelief and this one is almost a parody (which actually made it better and a lot of fun). Enjoyed the BA mom, naive/pure daughter, and comedic relief grandma . The boy toys were a satirical reversal of older superhero shows. CGI was in keeping with the overall campy vibe. It all worked... at first.THE BAD: Unfortunately, the characters became one dimensional and grating, especially grandma. Romance lacked chemistry and credibility. The villain was boring. The plot line was unfocused, tediously slow, and increasingly uninteresting. Although this is subjective, the daughter's hair cut made her significantly less attractive--the actress is a beautiful woman and mom has unlimited money, so how could she look worse after the makeover? The actors deserved better writers.
THE UGLY: By Episode 8, there was a growing evangelistic worldview being preached that is out of place in a light, entertaining RomCom. Socialism = Good, Capitalism = Evil (which seems odd coming out of a divided Korea that clearly displays the opposite). Women = Strong/Intelligent, Men=Weak, Dumb, and/or Evil. (Etc.) When the sermonizing outweighed the entertainment, I quit watching.
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don’t buy into the hate - it’s an entertaining show : )
y’all are a bit weird!! why the hate? I don’t get it. Yes we all have a crush on Byeon Woo-Seok but it’s kinda cuckoo to base our opinion only on that. He was playing a villain after all. albeit one who actually had a heart at times and had a tough upbringing, still a villain though.Personally I would like to say that this show was entertaining!! i liked it. I laughed, I shed a few tears, I swooned and I wanted to to know how it would end. I ain’t disappointed. it’s not perfect, it has its loose ends and so on but it’s definitely entertaining, kinda cute too. I really like Nam-soon ‘innocence’ - it was refreshing and it made for some funny scenes. There are lots of characters to discover, surely you’ll appreciate at least a few.
my only negative feedback would be that this show is poorly titled it should have been ‘strong women’ as it really about three generations and not one.
I have yet to watch the first one so can’t compare.
that’s my two cents. Give it a try if only for the beautiful landscapes of Mongolia and to have a few laughs.
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you'll fall in love with the characters!
I absolutely loved this drama but the thing I liked the most was that every single character was likeable, even with their flaws (and believe me, all of them had a lot; but that's the fun part, they didn't tried to hide it). Gang Nam-soon it's the best and she's also amazingly interpreted by the actress. BTW, every main actor/actress here is great!But if you are looking for something policial/suspense/too much action, you'll get disappointed. It's part of the plot (and it's well done) but it's not the main focus. It's much more fun, light-hearted and many times, just straight up silly.
I completely recommend it but you must watch with an open heart, to fall in love with nam soon, hee sik and ryi o. it will bring you good laughs, heart warming moments and, just sometimes, a good policial suspense. Recommend it!
(English is not my first language)
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This review may contain spoilers
disappointed
I was looking forward to this drama as swdbs was the first drama I've watched and my fav. I have been disappointed.The first episodes were so good! I kept looking forward to saturdays and sundays. But I feel like the story was focused more on the grandma's love life than nam soon's. The chem was so much better with the villain than with the ml, that I started to lose interest. At ep 10-12 (I think) the relationship between nam soon and hee sik started developing too fast that it was superficial. I was team ml but i hated the fact that it was so focused on the villain. I understand that they did that to enhance the effect of breaking the villains heart, but it overpowered the chemistry between nam soon and hee sik. + I didn't like how the fl acted like a child. at first it was cute or wtv but later it felt like hee sik fell in love with a child.
I'm not saying Its super bad, but I wouldn't waste my time watching it if I were you.
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This review may contain spoilers
Decent but lacking in many ways
Strong Woman Do Bongsoon is one of my favorite dramas, so I was really excited when they announced Strong Girl Gang Namsoon. Unfortunately, they did not really deliver with this follow-up series.For one thing, why is it called Strong Girl Gang Namsoon when for a majority of the show it feels like her mother, Hwang Geumju, is the protagonist? While I liked that we got three different storylines with three different generations, I often felt they preferred Geumju over Namsoon for the main story.
Namsoon was incredibly irritating to me for half of the show too. She was so headstrong and never thought before she acted, but there was rarely a consequence to her actions. It was annoying to just see her doing what she wanted with no repercussions despite being constantly warned. She felt very much like a Mary Sue.
I hated the storyline with Bread Song. It felt so disconnected and annoying for the entire show and for it to lead up to a cliffhanger in the final episode was even more irritating.
The only good thing about this show was Ryu Sio, played by Byeon Wooseok. His character’s backstory was incredibly interesting and made him very sympathetic to me. I kept hoping there would be a bigger evil that would give him a chance to become a hero, but it didn’t happen. I was disappointed especially in the way that his character ended and finding out that Binbin, his only friend, was alive and still evil.
The romantic bits between Namsoon and Heeshik were cute, but it felt like they instantly fell in love within 3-4 episodes and no time was spent directly developing their relationship. While it worked for me, it was not the strongest. Also, why did they never come back around to the fact he got hit in the head with her horse’s bell?
I really am disappointed that the show ended by setting up for another one. It left too many loose ends, which is not something I’m used to with k-drama. I’m blaming it’s rising popularity in the West that’s leading to things being done in parts or seasons instead of just finishing up a show in one go like they used to.
Overall, this series is quite funny and had some great storytelling, but had too many plotlines going on that made it convoluted and silly. The final episode feels like a speed run to tie up loose ends and also set up a follow-up series which left me feeling disappointed. Aside from the name and concept, this show is really nothing like Strong Woman Do Bongsoon and it barely deserves to be considered related to it. If you are a fan of the original series, you really won’t miss anything if you skip this one.
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ryu shio's edits on reels are the only thing worth seeing.
acting gets that rating only because of byeon woo seok, i could not care less about what he did in the drama (his role as the villain) as i dropped it after 5 eps, noting that i had to switch to 2x speed around ep2/3, but as i said in the title bws's edits were the only thing memorable about this drama.as for the other parts, im too lazy to write about what i disliked but i pretty much agree with every other 1 star review.
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This review may contain spoilers
Team Leads
"The perspective that some viewers opt for the villain over the main leads and are labeled 'idiots' or 'blind' for their preference seems to disregard the complexity of character dynamics. Often, the appeal of a well-written villain lies in their depth, charisma, or motivations, which can resonate with certain audience members. These individuals might appreciate the complexity or backstory of the antagonist, finding them more compelling than the traditional heroic figures. Dismissing such preferences as 'idiocy' overlooks the diversity of opinions and tastes within the audience. It's essential to acknowledge differing viewpoints and understand that a well-crafted narrative can evoke varying responses from viewers, making the storytelling experience richer and more engaging for everyone."Was this review helpful to you?
