Pandora: Beneath the Paradise

Steve Jobs on Crack

Where would you even begin with this crazy hot mess? The first 3-4 episodes were acceptable despite moving too fast and creating many gaps. However, as the drama unfolded, it became clear that it was biting off more than it could chew. Right off from episode 5, the drama became an irrecoverable mess. The pacing was erratic, jumping between weak fabricated plot twists, jarring narrative and bloated segments with no sense of cohesion. The drama was throwing everything at the viewers to see what sticks. Action, thriller, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, melodrama, the drama couldn't decide what it wanted to be nor it managed to mix any of them well. The characters felt like caricatures rather than fully developed individuals, and their motivations often seemed arbitrary, inconsistent and generally weak. If the drama wanted to go for stupid ridiculousness then why not raise the stakes to match? Not even the ending could measure up to its intent despite its "supposed" twist.

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Pandora : Beneath the Paradise '' is a sci fi melodrama.

The drama is messy, using too many genres, but failing to deliver in any of the fronts it opens. From a boring melodrama, to an eye-rolling spy thriller, the drama didn't handle its twists well, and so the story ended up being hard to keep up and hard to believe, even for a makjang. It seemed like the drama wanted to explain things that got out of hand by using unbelievable technological achievements without explaining anything further. Also, there were a lot of plotlines that were left half baked or unfinished.

Finally, the performances were good enough, even though the script didn't aid them.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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Not for all viewers..

It's my first time writing a review..but i had no choice, many disliked this drama. It's true that not every person might like this since it's a revenge based drama, but it was worth watching from my point of view..the story went on really quick in the beginning, but gradually began to slow down...the slow down was indeed necessary for character development.... But the story starts running fast from around ep 13...the major suspense was good... thought it could have been better... the main leads were really good in their acting skills but i found some improvement needed in the supporting characters.. and the story was really amazing, i liked the way how the writer tried to connect each character both in the past and present, yet the drama could have ended up with 12 episodes.. but truth to be told....it wasn't a waste..and ofcourse not everyone might have the same opinion..i wanted to skip this drama in the beginning after reading the comments..but then i found few positive ones too and i am glad i didn't skip it!!... 7.5 is low....if any of you haven't watched it yet, i hope you enjoy it..it was an open ending..i didn't like the music ...since it didn't match the revenge plot... I hope this review helps.. and since it's a story with suspense, thriller and secrets hidden...you might not really like re- watching it again after finding the truth in the end ...so re-watch value is low!!
Thankyou!!

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Disappointing

This show had a lot of promise. It had an interesting premise and also good actors. The leads have all had successful dramas under their belts so i was looking forward to a story of revenge, mystery, and a bit of sci-fi thrown in. I loved watching Lee Ji Ah kick ass, it was a refreshing change from the majority of her other roles.

The show started off really promisingly in the first 4 episodes. It was fast-paced, filled with mysteries to uncover and revenge to boot. However, by episode 6, it started to become draining to watch. The actors, both lead and supporting, were all stalwarts with many solid roles under their belts. Puzzlingly, they (the actors playing Yoo Ra and Jang Geun Mo and Mother Director in particular) started to waaay overact - their growling and menacing looks really annoyed me while their maniacal laughing really grated on my nerves.

I held off watching as much as i could because I had Taxi Driver 2 to distract me. Since that's ended, I thought I'd hold my breath and speed through to finish this drama. However I'm not really sure I can stand sitting through another 6 episodes or so. This is one of those dramas that suffers from being dragged out to make 16 episodes, when 12 would probably have sufficed (the main mysteries are solved before episode 10). I'm gritting my teeth and hope I make it to the end. I'll be back with an update if that happens.

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I Opened the Pandora's Box...Chaotic

I was initially intrigued as I somehow enjoyed The Penthouse and love revenge dramas. Little have I known that I would be wasting my precious time watching this. In the middle episodes, I started questioning why I watched this drama. Oh yes because of Lee Sang Yoon.
I knew that I have to stop this nonsense but alas! I kept on watching said drama until the very end. The last episodes were chaotic and unrealistic. I mean what? I have been warned by a few reviews on this drama but I didn't listen.

If you have time to waste, then go ahead and be my guest and watched this drama.

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I went into this show with Penthouse expectations, but it failed to deliver.

Initially, this show started off quite promising, but it soon petered out into something rather underwhelming that lacked any real substance. It really had so much potential on paper, particularly with that stellar cast, but somehow it all went awry, or perhaps it never really got off the ground to begin with. Either way, it's a great waste and a big shame.

Disappointingly, the writers failed to give Lee Ji Ah an adequately strong and meaningful character, for which she so readily deserves and excels at. I can only hope that she lands a far better role in another show, pronto, as she is a superb actress. Notwithstanding, she was the saving grace of this show, despite her lacklustre roll.

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Not that bad...

The reason I started watching this show was because the plot intrigued me. Despite negative reviews and a low overall rating on MDL (7.5), I'm glad I took a chance on it.

While the series is certainly not without flaws and can be confusing at times (especially in the beginning), I appreciate the well-developed story and multi-layered, mature characters.

If you enjoy mature dramas with complex characters, I recommend giving it a try.

My main criticisms would be the weak character development of Jang Gyo Jin throughout the series, and the need for a more impactful ending for Min Yeong Hwee, who was a standout character throughout the story.

The majority of the cast delivered high-quality performances, though Hong Woo Jin fell short in comparison.

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good start, bad writing

The first 4 episodes is quite interesting, mysteries, action, drama. But it started to go downhill pretty fast. The writer is the one to blame. Characters were written inconsistent and shallow. Reporter /best friend of 13 years, take on an unknown tip and jump straight on a witch hunt without doing any due diligence. Not once ask, what is FL motive, what purpose, who benefits for the murder? If I were to get some unknown tip of my BFF doing shady things, I would have a hard time to belive it. How can a reporter not have such basic analytical thinking? and FL supposed to be so in love with her husband, can just flip off the love button and be so calculating cold, without any internal conflict is beyond me. K-drama quality in recent years is declining and the script/writer is always the culprit. So sad for all the talented actors.

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✒⚗Smart Patches Diabolical Minds & Victims' Circles °3.9° °disastrous°

The 1-sentence review: Don't let the snazzy opening fool you. Keep the lid shut on this show or suffer.

Pandora, in legend, was created by the gods as payback for people obtaining fire from Prometheus. As the 1st woman, she carried a jar (or box) that contained all evil. When opened, evil & misery entered the world. Therefore, the title only serves as a metaphor for the show. Open this “jar,” & misery will follow.

Need convincing? We'll keep going.

Introducing Clover, a neural implant smart patch. It's a revolutionary medical device brought to us by Hatch. It allows direct input of data into the brain. No more studying! The chimp they've been testing on, “Red”, has an IQ of 120. After the demonstration that opens the show, Hatch is primed to make gazillions.

What could go wrong here?

The viewer is tipped off that things will go horribly wrong in many ways. The filming is dark & near psychedelic at times, while the soundtrack is heavily portentous. ‘This isn't going to be a lite feel-good watch,’ I was thinking. That woulda been OK. The problem is that 🅿 is patched together worse than Hanul Psychiatric Hospital's worst attempt at reconstructing Frankenstein.

🅿 is overrated at 89 on AWiki, which is just shocking to me. The IMDB crowd is at 6.2. It gets off to a hot start. The opening eps are fantastic. I love how Tae, the main protag, wears a very heavy gold chain that's wrapped around her neck twice. It's emblematic of being shackled. At times the action is great, especially early on. They promised the audience more, but their promises were unfulfilled. The filmcraft is outstanding - truly stunning, at times. (It's a shame that it was wasted on this effort). “So far, I don't understand the low ratings,” thought I. Turns out, the crowd is overly generous & must have weighed in before completing the show, b/c 🅿 is a disaster. It just doesn't become obvious until the 2nd half.

Gradually, it comes into focus that there is no focus, no cohesive plot. They bring up tantalizing possibilities w/o follow-through. 🅿 is not an assassin or girl-kicks-butt thriller; it's not a political nor a science thriller. It dips his toes into varied waters but never dives in. Characters haphazardly shift their allegiances. There's also gross over-acting. Bottoming out at downright insulting, it's so thoroughly incompetent that it really is breathtaking.

These people, who seem so happy, sure do turn on eachother.

The women:

Lee Ji Ah is FL Hong “Tae” Ra. On paper her life is perfect but she has no memory of her past. She's starting to get creepy flashbacks. The actress plays someone who inspires disgust in My Mister-9.5, a show that all should watch. Here she's relatable, which speaks to her skill. She's a victim. Her family life ended when her parents were killed in a car “accident “ that may not have been an accident. As an orphan, her victimization intensified.

Jang Hee Jin (Flower of Evil-8.9) plays Ko Haesoo “HSoo,” a reporter who is also a victim. Her husband & Tae's spouse head up Hatch. Her father is a former president who was assassinated & the crime has never been solved. Heartbreak drove her mother to suicide. HSoo's also an irritating lunatic. It's hard to root for a person who is that toxic & self-absorbed, even if she's been through legitimate trauma. She acts like she's the only one who has suffered loss, but none of these protags still has both parents. Something true of mentally ill people is replete self-absorption. HSoo is unhinged & blind to everyone else's pain. What's more tragically ironic is that too much self-focus only leads to despair, & HSoo crossed that threshold long ago. She's also raising a monster, so we can't even give her credit for being a good mom. Later on, they try to turn her into some kind of mastermind, but it isn't convincing, nor is it emotionally satisfying as she's still so tediously odious.

Han Soo-Yeon is Tae's sister& business partner Hong Yura. She has a new bf, but she's cryptic abt him. She seems perfect ~ at 1st glance. Soon we see that she's horrible. Yura ends up a victim as well. Kyeon Mi Ri is HSoo's mother i/l. She is often the rich mom in shows like Revolutionary Love-5.7 & Backstreet Rookie-6.4. She's a cutie, but she's distasteful in most of 🅿. Shim So-Young (Alchemy of Souls-8.3) plays the loathsome mental hospital director, Kim Sun-Deok. Her laugh is really too much; even for a heavy show, her part is over the top.

Let's hear it for Red, she really wowed the crowd before she becomes a victim.

The men:

Lee Sang Yoon (Lovestruck in the City-7.3) plays Tae's husband, Pyo “Jae” Hyun. They are deeply in love, & he seems unfazed by her shrouded past. He's preparing to take a sabbatical as Hatch CEO so that he can run for president. He's a victim. His mother was killed in the same accident that took Tae's parents.

Park Ki Woong/KiW (The King's Affection-8.3) is Jang “Do” Jin, the other half of the Hatch helm & HSoo's husband. Early on we see that KiW is not the devoted partner that Jae is. When we meet his toxic parents, we understand: He's a victim caught in his family's web. Bong Tae Kyu plays the nerdy creative force behind Hatch"s success, “Koo” Sung Chan. He's weak, which turns him into more of a victimizer. Hong Woo Jin (Squid Game-8.4) is Jang Kyojin/”Kyo”. He's a victim. He's been comatose since a motorbike accident that was prob NOT accidental.

Jung Jae-Sung is politician Han Kyung-Rok. Actors from Korea do the arrogant “knowing laugh” better than anyone in the 🌏, & he's among the best. (A funny guy I know always does a mock-up of the “knowing laugh,” so while it used to make me want to strangle the person inflicting it on my eardrums, now it just reminds me of him doing it for fun, so I giggle instead. Humor is the best medicine, indeed). He's often casted as an @$$h0le w/ power. I've seen him in Hospital Playlist-9, Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency-7.4, My Mister-9.5, Clean w/ Passion For Now-7, The King's Affection-8.3, & Big Mouth-7.4. He's been in many other wildly successful shows that I intend to get to asap. On MDL, his only sub-7 show is The Interest of Love at 6.8. He must have eaten magic beans that make him entirely distasteful but wildly successful to be in that many stellar features.

This is Screenwriter Hyun Ji Min's 1st credited work. The director is Choi Young Hoon of One the Woman, & the original creator is Kim HSoon Ok of The Penthouse series.

The theme is Victims. Sadly, most of us have been victimized in small or big ways. Being victimized leaves a person w/ a choice: Heal & move on, or let the pain rule (and ruin) your life. Healing must, at some point, involve forgiveness. (That has nothing to do w/ justice; for the benefit of society, crimes must be punished). HSoo personifies the concept that becoming a victim does not a saint create. Being victimized will tempt a person to wallow in anger, hatred, unforgiveness & bitterness. It's understandable, but in the end, those dark indulgences will only rot us out from within. Almost every character in 🅿 has been victimized, & almost every character chooses the path of bitterness & revenge. A mess it does make.

In ep2 we go back 15 yrs. The president is being inaugurated… & assassinated. Flashes of this past jolt Tae. A furtive missive, delivered by an untraceable tattooed motorcyclist, entices her to come to the Hanul Psychiatric Hospital, a visit that breaks the lock on her past. Soon we are looking at shades of the show Hanna-7, which is about teen girls being turned into assassins. This isn't the first time such a plot has come out of hiding: The 1990 film, La Femme Nikita, also involves young Iron Maidens. Bridget Fonda starred in 1993's Point Of No Return, which was Hollywood's version of the same film. (The French one is better). Let's not forget the absolute bang-jammy of the dudette insurgent bunch - Kickass. Ooo, the Swedish version of The Girl w/ A Dragon Tattoo (+2 sequels) is also as good as it gets. Once again, skip Hollywood's variant of these flicks. When thugs come at Tae, muscle memory kicks… then punches, slashes & tosses. It's SO (swordless) KILL BILL - for a scant moment, but that excitement goes away & never reappears. Whaaaa?

There's too many logical gaps, eg: It makes no sense that enemies seem to have unfettered access to a helpless person who has suffered a stroke. There's a USB that supposedly contains research files but it's inexplicably necessary to run Hatch's programs. Jae's campaign should have been dead after a voice file was released, but the problem evaporates. It's alittle too easy for enemies to sneak up on Tae, who's flawless until the show renders her impotent to push the plot. It's inconsistent & sloppy: Is she a female terminator, or a pathetic woman in distress? When we are introduced to Tae, we should have seen her vigorous workout routine. It would bolster credibility when she starts kicking butt out of the blue. In ep13, CEO Kummo is sent a packet of shocking evidence. He's elated. The problem is that all of it had already been on the national news - as reported by his own daughter i/l.

In the last half, I no longer cared what happened & rolled my eyes at every development. Eps14-16 status: ‘Officially offended’. This is when they attempt to manufacture emotion w/ some deaths, but it all falls flat. They attempt to wrap it up w/ pretty bows, but it's too little too late. While ep16 is not as painful to watch as the previous 4, it's painful, still the same, w/ a sacrifice that is unnecessary & plain silly. Not that I cared who lived or died by then. Kill ‘em all. Ease my pain.

Another thing that will ease my pain is by helping anyone who stumbles onto this review avoid that pain altogether. Try It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9, Law School -8, My Mister 9.5, or Blood Free-8.5 instead.

〰 IMHO

📣4 📝3 🎭5 💓3 🦋2 🎨8 🎵/🔊5.5 🔚2 ▪ 🌞3 ⚡5.5 😅0 😭4 😱4 😯4 🤢2.5 🤔1 💤4


Poli-wagging: 3/10. They make politicians in, general, look bad. That's fair.

Age 15+ for graphic, heavy violence; Language: R-rated $h!+, b!÷ch F💣s
Rated TV-MA: Mature Audience Only. Not that any mature person would enjoy this.

It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Law School -8,
Call It Love-8.4,
Anna-8.1,
My Mister 9.5,
Uncle Samsik-8.4,
Mine-8,
The King's Affection 8.3,
Parasite-9

Action/Crime/Sci-fi -
Private Lives 8.1,
K2 8,
Vagabond-8,
Blood Free-8.5
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9

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"Pandora" it's a thriller drama about a woman named Tae Ra and her husband Jae Hyun. They apparently have the perfect life, but nothing is as it seems.

Tae Ra starts having flashes of memories she doesn't recognize, she then goes to find answers and realize everything in her life is a lie. Since she was little, Tae Ra was trained as an black agent specialized in killings and she was the person that killed Hae Soo's father, but only because she was forced to do that. Hae Soo learns the truth and basically does everything to show Tae Ra's lies to the world, with any means possible. There's also Tae Ra's lost brother Ha Jun, who's actually her bodyguard. All this time he resented her, thinking Tae Ra abandoned him. Their reunion is short, but I liked seeing their relationship grow.

The most shocking thing in the drama is Jae Hyun's true colors, I really didn't expect him to be the villain and he was amazing in that. Jae Hyun killed Yu Ra and was the person that turned Tae Ra into who she is now. Their parents died in the same car crash and Jae Hyun became obsessed with Tae Ra, in making a perfect life for them. He was a monster hiding behind a pretty smile.
The end of episode 15 was incredible, showing that Jae Hyun had imagined this whole life with Tae Ra, for me it was a brilliant twist, that should have been the truth, it would have been a better ending to the story, but it was all a plan to deceive Jae Hyun using his mind, a way to torture him.

There's no way to forget this awful ending, it was very ridiculous and unnecessary. What was that? Is Jae Hyun's spirit in Kyo Jin's body or did he just swap faces?! Where did we enter the world of science fiction that I wasn't aware of? HAHAHAHA'
They should have ended with Jae Hyun dead and Tae Ra now being able to resume her life with Kyo Jin (for real), who has always liked her from the beginning.

Park Ki Woong is basically an expert on doing cheater characters! kkkkkk'

In conclusion, I had high expectations for Lee Ji Ah's next drama after "The Penthouse" and I wasn't really disappointed. The story is confusing at times and has some mistakes along the way, but it holds your attention and the characters are interesting, especially Jae Hyun. It's worth the watch.

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All over the place

Pandora :Beneath the paradise had great casts and most importantly great characters too, but i was sad that they made it too complicated that I can't even catch on to what's happening.But honestly for me, as a makjang lover i enjoyed it every bit.The only thing I'm not so happy about is the ending, they left so many characters' fate unanswered (ex:sungchan, mr.joo, and many more) plus what was the ending?? I'm assuming it's just hagyeong's hallucinations since she's too stressed about what happened a year ago.The other thing i loved too is the punishment that jaehyun got, so deserved!
Why did i think that there's gonna be some character revival from those who died??i watched too many penthouse LOLOL
But kidding aside, this is a must watch from a makjang drama, tho there's so many plot holes, i still enjoyed it.The thing that i disliked is that yura's death didn't even got acknowledged from jaehyun's crimes??And the fact that we didn't know if sungchan was in prison because of what they did to sujeong, is frustrating, plus he almost killed gyojin, like girl JAIL TIME.(Honestly i kinda wished if dojin went to jail because of the illegal human experimentation they did to sujeong)
But overall i had a great time laughing at the plot twists!

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