Death's Game: Where Style Outplays Substance
"Death's Game" is a visually stunning K-drama that draws viewers in with its high production value and creative cinematography. The introduction is refreshingly concise, setting the stage without unnecessary exposition. The use of inventive camera angles, particularly the POV shots, adds a unique and engaging dimension to the viewing experience. These technical elements, combined with a parade of impressive guest appearances, make the show a feast for the eyes.While the production shines, the writing and storytelling fall into more conventional territory. The narrative is serviceable—neither groundbreaking nor particularly deep. It has its share of plot holes and moments that defy logic, but these flaws don’t detract too much from the overall experience. If anything, the show’s charm lies in its ability to keep things entertaining despite its narrative shortcomings.
The first part of the series stands out as stronger in terms of writing, setting a solid foundation before the second half loses some of its momentum. Even so, the show never stops being enjoyable. "Death's Game" leans heavily on its aesthetic appeal and star-studded cameos to keep audiences hooked, and it succeeds in that regard.
In the end, "Death's Game" isn’t a masterpiece of storytelling, but it’s undeniably fun to watch. If you’re looking for an eye-candy drama with creative visuals and an engaging cast, this one is worth a try. Just don’t expect it to redefine the genre.
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Death's Game: Action-Packed Thrills with a Satisfying Finish
"Death's Game" captivated me from the start with its compelling mix of weak hero class and John Wick-style storytelling in the initial episodes. The highlight for me was the thrilling fight scenes that added a dynamic edge to the drama.What I really liked was how all the characters' stories connected, adding a cool layer to the drama.
While the second half didn't quite match the brilliance of the first four episodes, it maintained a good overall quality.
Overall, it's a binge-worthy show, and even though a Season 2 might not happen, I'm satisfied with how everything wrapped up. If there was more, I'd be curious to see where the story could go.
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Side Character Stories are Fun!
I like the concept of this drama, even though the main plot is tragic. Also, death is very straightforward, and she never lies; I like that about her. Everything aside, I feel like Yee Jae should've had a grand scheme to survive because the only thing he thought of saving was the money and not the lives he got. He has six more lives to live in the second part, and it makes me wonder how he will utilize the chances he gets now. Just like Death said, he should stop being dumb now.Aside from that, out of his all lives, I liked the ex-convict's life because he seems to be more resilient and kind of smarter than the others.Plus he didn't get any chance in both his first two lives because they both were a few minutes from their death when he took over their bodies.
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One powerful episode.
This show thrives off of one powerful episode. The casting was very good, but the writing ranged from why to wow. I finished the show feeling maybe the show will get good on episode 9. It had a lot of promise and I do not feel it lived up to it at any point besides episode 4.I honestly believe that the high rating is because of how powerful episode 4 was. It made me feel real emotion and gave me great hope in where the show was going. I was willing to forgive episodes 1-3 for feeling incomplete and consider them a lul to help make an impact for episode 4. In episode 5 I kind of got sucked into his feelings for a moment and then I was like why? The show should have been more than this. It could have been great a show to talk about for a long time and maybe bring in a fresh perspective on Korean dramas as a whole.
Instead, we get a show that for what it was trying to say felt incomplete and even worse the ending made me feel like what comes next would be the real show. I guess it fits the narrative of the character Death the end is just the beginning. In a way, I suppose the show can be praised for achieving that.
I truly feel the wasted potential in this drama and it makes me want to revisit it in the future. I doubt I will, do not want to feel this disappointment again. I do not know what other people are thinking, but from my perspective, this shows high ratings are all hinged on one episode. I think that shows how great it could have been, and worth giving it a watch once. I will give this a could have been great rating.
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Great but weird
flow of the story is pretty good, how everything is connected is also good. premises, problem, and climax are pretty good too,every character is meaningful except the baby, i really don't understand why its there, mc doesn't seem to have gratitude problem. i don't know if those were addition or webtoon adaptation.
one thing that bugs me is the 'game' plot, the rule of how you can save yourself is weirdly mixed up or even contradictive as the story progressed, especially after part 2 later on. i might say there are no game whatsoever, its a losing game and outright punishment. which makes the ending questionable for me. I personally would have face any judgment with my heads up "i did my best, with every limits, ego and stupidity i have as a human". its not like the mc refuse to admit what he did is wrong nor he lives his life as an outright arsehole, he is not that desperate to make that request. if the game is a way to repent why suffer more ?, no guarantee that things will be better anyways
"death" says she gave a chance in the last scene. its weird that along the story she insist that she is no god and has no power over someone fate, her job is only to watch over the 'game''. and suddenly she plays god with giving mc a chance, if only they could think of a small detail that differs the usual "death" and the "death" mc saw in the last scene (eg hair/makeup), and the roulette is actually the judgment
im gonna be hated for this, but i think "death" actress kind of confused about her role, idk even she supposed to represent death but when i saw her acting 'fear' or 'intimidating' is not what i feel. it feels like iu in hotel de luna, cant say good or bad just not a fan of it.
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Believe or not death is really painful
This show that told us even it's every episode little was interesting✨Episode 1✨
"You are guilty of coming to find me before I came to find you."
✨Episode 2✨
"Isn't it that what you humans do? You care more about the thorn in your own finger than the knife inside someone else's body."
✨Episode 3✨
"At first, it felt so unfair. But now, I regret being trapped in a prison called death after going out of the way to ruin my own life."
✨Episode 4✨
"Humans always struggle to live only after they die, not while they are still alive."
"The reason we're afraid of death is because there will be no tomorrow."
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What a ride! So many incredibly talented actors nicely packed in 1 drama.
Really well done. Brutal violence. Short story like format with each life experience. Fast and action packed.Really good cast of folks including the long list of special appearance & supporting actors. Epic mix of very talented people. A must watch for this reason alone. With the story telling format its easy to watch in short sittings (1 ep at a time) but you'll likely binge this list me.
Some parts are OTT with the blood or mind bending twists but thats the story they had to follow.
P1 IS BETTER thank Pt2 not sure why 2nd half is rated higher.
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THRILLING AND ZERO PLOT HOLES
Only flaw of this show is that it finished too quickly!!! ):I really loved it! Not only for the cast which is AMAZING! But for the plot too.
It's definitely something new, but it ate and left no crumds. The thrilling part were always delivering amazing results.
And i felt soo bad at some point for seo in guk that i started too cry and i was so emotionally involved with this show whish is a good sign in my opition.
The whole industry is in this drama and I'm not kidding. Kim Ji Hoon THIS SLUT always have me in a chokehold. Every drama he does he's a total psycho and I'm always enchanted by him. AND I KNOW IT'S NOT NORMAL OKAY!!
Anyways overall this is a masterpiece and so fullfilling in every acpects.
ps: in some poing i started to ship choi yi jae with death which was kinda psychotic, but nvm...
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⚰ Death Don't Play °7.8° °Excellent°
‘All I ever wanted was a clean death, so I can't die like this.’ Things aren't great for “Jae”. Then we jump back 7 yrs. First of all, what is /wrong/ with a person, if s/he says “all I want is a clean death?” That ain't normal. 7 yrs back, Jae witnesses a horror. A man gets hit by a car and dies, practically in Jae’s arms. Jae goes on to watch his own demise - in slomo. In the present day, he's been job hunting for 7 yrs. Now, he might be unemployable.DG is a 2023 release that is rated 95 on AWiki. It is 1 season (2 parts) consisting of a mere 8 55-minute episodes. In ep1, Jae realizes that life scares him more than death. Death is only an ‘end to my pain’ he yells to the darkness and jumps. So he thought. So, why is he opening his eyes again? What's that his ears are hearing? “You mocked me.” Death is talking to him. “You will be punished. You will enter the bodies of people about to die and you will die 12 times for what you said about me.” Death Don't Play. There's a loophole: If Jae can avoid death in one of those bodies, he will live out his life as that person. (But I don't /want/ to live,’ he thinks).
Special effects, all-star cast, elaborate sets… This is no small budget show. In ep1 there's an elaborate scene in purgatory with thrashing reanimated beings. Then there's a big plane crash. In ep2, school kids' faces morph into creepy zombie looks, and they did an exceptional job with it. There's also a thrilling fight scene. In one incarnation, he's an international assassin taking us on a 🏍 chase.
It's mostly well conceived, but not issue free. DG is making a philosophical point; it's not trying to explain the where/why/how Jae got into this insane mess. What happens to the souls of the poor bodies he's taking over? They are gone. He doesn't want to kill off one of his incarnations - more than anyone, he wants that person to live. But that person is already gone. That human is Jae, now. The first half of ep8 hurts. It really hurts.
Seo In Guk (The Master's Sun, Doom at Your Service) plays Jae. This is my first look at him. Kim Mi Kyung is his mother. She has been in about a third of everything produced recently, it seems. She looks great. I had to do a double take. Some of my favs she's been in are Her Private Life-8, It's Okay to Not Be Okay-9, & Saimdang, Light’s Diary-8.5. “Had he been born to a smarter woman this wouldn't have happened," mourns Jae's Oma. It's painful. Then she looks at the plaque on the wall: "The future destiny of the child is always the work of the mother.” So says the quote attributed to Napoleon. Her performance is strong in DG. It's heart-wrenching.
Park So Dam (Parasite-9, Record of Youth-5.8) portrays Death. This actress excels at playing a strong woman. In ROY she plays a sweetheart, but the show doesn't work. She's right in her wheelhouse, here. Nam Kyung Eup (Crash Landing on You-9.1, Misaeng-9.1) portrays Chairman Nam. Go Youn Jung (Moving-8.5, Alchemy of Souls-7.9) is Lee Ji Su, Jae’s girlfriend. She's a keeper. The rather beautiful Kim Ji Hoon makes an appearance as Park Tae U, CEO of Taekang Group. I've enjoyed him in Love to Hate You-8.9, Flower of Evil-8.9, & Flower Boy Next Door-7. He seems to be equally comfortable playing good and bad guys. How did someone who is so pretty end up playing such evil characters? He's attractive, but not simple, I guess. Ha Byung Hoon of Go Back Couple & 18 Again is the screenwriter & director.
Dying in 12 distinct incarnations requires many guest stars.
Kim Kang Hoon is growing up! I've seen him in When the Camellia Blooms-8, Hotel del Luna-8.4, Racket Boys-8.3, and so much more. He is Jae’s 3rd attempt at life. He is very much like Jae: Raised by a single mom, bullied and overlooked, no advantages, and he commits suicide. All Jae has to do to beat the game is not kill himself. So Jae doesn't die instantly, like his first 2 incarnations. But he does have to work his way through a severe bullying situation at school. He utterly crushes the bully. He does it so effectively the bully retaliates ☠ lethally. Chalk up another failure!
Jang Seung Jo plays Jae's 4th incarnation. He's been in Familiar Wife-8.5, Snowdrop, The Good Detective, & Chocolate, among others. He's truly beautiful. Often playing someone corrupted or weak, in this incarnation he is an international criminal. He's got 💰. He stole 10 billion from his boss. Unfortunately, every bad guy & cop in the country is chasing him for the massive bounty put on his carcass. This incarnation is big budget.
Then Jae’s an abused infant. It's agonizing. He's entirely aware of what's happening, but he can't communicate. “How can such parents exist?” Jae is thunderstruck. “No one is guaranteed anything in life. You've just been taking everything for granted. You didn't care for life and chose death so flippantly, but that baby didn't even get to make a choice. There are many others like that in the world.” Death has no sympathy for him. That's the drum beat: When there's life there is hope. Appreciate your life and make the most of it. Don't just think about yourself. Have empathy. Others are suffering too. Thinking patterns are like habits, and bad thoughts are bad habits. We need to force our minds to stay positive, and to not give up, or the darkness will envelop us.
Jae is now a model (Lee Do Hyun from Sweet Home & The Glory is Jang Geon U) and he actually meets his own GF, Ji Su. He's able to strike up a friendship with her. She's a writer, so he pitches his idea for a book to her. You can guess what his storyline is: Exactly what he's been going through. He tells her that he had a girlfriend for 7 years, but he was never able to show his best self to her. She's impressed by his “creativity.” She's also impressed by the level of detail and how emotionally wrapped up he is in the story, just like he's experienced it himself, she notes.
🎬
Part 1 gives way to Part 2, which is the payoff for our suffering. We aren't rewarded until the end, so hold on to the ledge and endure it. PT2 is more difficult to watch than PT1. The following is a rehash of my PT2 review.
In PT2, Kim Won Hae is a homeless man & Jae's 10th reincarnation. He's in 40% of everything made, I think. My favorite performance of his is in Black-9, but he's a plus everywhere he's seen. Most years he has at least 3 credits, many years he has 6, and in 2018 he was in 13 features! He has 133 credits on MDL. He's everywhere. Besides his many guest appearances, I've seen him in Signal-8.6, While You Were Sleeping-7.3, Clean with Passion for Now-7, The Hymn of Death-8.4, Start-up-8, Awaken-8.7, Revenant-7.4, and I'm currently watching Chocolate.
The great Kim Jae Wook (who is fabulous in Crazy Love-7.8 and Her Private Life-8), plays villain Jung Gyu Cheol, Jae’s 8th incarnation. Not a nice guy. One guy who chases him is Oh Jung Se, who appears in Part 1 but takes on a bigger role in Part 2. He plays a special needs character in It's Okay to Not Be Okay-9, and he's fantastic. In Revenant-7.4, he's a college professor. He also stars in the popular Mr. Plankton. Here, he's detective An Ji Hyeong. Jae’s incarnations get tangled up, partially because he chooses to tangle then, but fate is certainly at play, too. As his many living iterations unfold, a pattern emerges that reveals a certain bad guy who has a common tie to many of “his” lives. Soon, each of his incarnations turns into a mission in pursuit of this troublemaker.
DG gets progressively sadder towards the end of PT2, and when ep8 opens, things appear irreversibly bleak. “So you killed yourself because you felt hopeless? Think carefully, if you really didn't harm anyone.” Death is challenging Jae’s presuppositions. Jae’s been going on about his misery. In fairness, it's real. Life hasn't been pleasant. “It's over for me already so why should I?” “So that you can regret it, and repent.” “Will I go to heaven if I regret it now?” Jae is turning flippant. “Will repenting give me another chance at life? I won't do it.” “You really must not care about anything but yourself.” Death shoots straight. “What else should I care for other than myself?” Jae doesn't sound any differently than the entitled people he's been chasing after. He's been whining that the deaths are not avoidable. He usually dies as soon as he enters the bodies. “Figure out a way on your own; they are all avoidable,” Death assures him.
As life goes by, Jae begins to soften. “Now that I've seen what hell is like, I've realized that being alive in itself is a chance.” Gradually, Jae starts to adjust his outlook. “That's why I don't think it's too late for you yet,” Death isn't harsh for once.
“I don't know who I am anymore.“ Jae moans. Then he recalls Ji-su saying: “People are happiest when they can truly be themselves. In the end, life would be meaningless if you can never really be yourself.” Jae's been living other lives. Sometimes for months. He's done some good. He attends the funeral for the man whose life he just lived - whose death he just died - heroically, I might add - but no one at the funeral knows who he is. Who is he? It's ep7. He is starting to crack.
They eventually show us the despair of Jae’s mother and his GF in the wake of losing him. Suicide just can't be the right option, but it looks differently to me now, after having gone through multiple traumas, then it did before living became so painful. I hate it when people say that those who commit suicide are cowards. I understand the argument and it's not without merits, but I think suicide is more often the result of unbearable pain. Yes, the person's only thinking about h/h self and not the people who have to go on without h/h, or the people that have to clean up and bury the body, but people who aren't well, and people who are in extreme pain aren't really able to think about other people. I've learned that physical pain is nothing compared to emotional pain, and pain is always isolating. It's difficult dealing with someone who's hurting, but if you don't learn how to show them care they will feel isolated. It's not in your words but it might be in spending some time, watching a show together, helping h/h do something around the house. It honestly doesn't take much to make a person feel valued. Be prepared; perhaps what they say will be frustrating. I've also learned that part of love is learning what to ignore.
Jae finally realizes that the death of a loved one is more painful than immolation or death by dismemberment. Jae ends up realizing that he had always been afraid of failure and rejection. That fear is what drove him. Now what he fears is hurting others: “I just want to hug my mother one more time.”
Death made him realize that life is an opportunity, and a small life can be happier and more carefree than a privileged one.
QUOTES🗣
Isn't that what you humans do? You care more about the thorn in your own finger than the knife in someone else's body.
Death is contagious. As I disappeared from the world, my death remained behind with those who loved me.
IMHO〰🖍
📣7.8 📝8.3 🎭8 💓5 🦋3 🎨7.6 🎵/🔊7.5 🔚8.8 🤗4.7 ▪ 🌞4 ⚡6 😅1 😭6 😱4 😯3 🤢7 🤔6 💤0
Shazams: It's a Lie, by Sondia
Age 18+ gore, scary dead creatures with big sharp teeth. Language: d@mmit, $h!+, F💣; Rated TV-MA: Mature Audience Only.
Re-📺? I would probably give it another shot
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This review may contain spoilers
Unique storyline with amazing actors/actresses combination!
I love the story so much...Also everything is connecing each other. I actually started to watch this drama cause of the excellent actors/actresses.I didn't expect that the story is gonna be that awesome! That's so unique.There's so much life matter messages that give in the drama..And they gave that messages so well to us,
I appreciate that.
Especially, between the main character's mom and his girlfriend connection, their feelings meaning a lot of things in his life, but he's not aware of this connection and feeling are so special...He forgot how he gave value his mother and his girlfriend in the old days.
In the end, thanks to death (girl) he aware how special and important they are for him and life is value to live.
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Interesting plot
LIKEI loved how every character played their parts in each re-incarnation - especialy loved the third one Hyuk Soo's life
DISLIKE
Nothing to complain for part one
MUSIC - personal fav
It's A Lie - Sondia
Even If There Is No Miracle - Seo In Guk
REWATCH VALUE
Five for now
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Unhappy about a couple of aspects
March 2024. Watched Parts 1 & 2 together on PrimeI thought the casting for this was incredible. So many actors I love, in one drama, was frankly too good to be true and the acting was, predictably, great.
I really enjoyed the ways in which events began to expose a troubling connection. It wasn't obvious what that was to be, however, and even when revealed, was still far from final.
There are shocks, tragedies, grief, unfairness, manipulation and the old favourite, money and power.
The struggles are real and I don't think anyone could blame Choi Yi-jae. Having said that, there were numerous times his character didn't speak up, or did some truly stupid things; where his mother was concerned, especially. It numbed my mind.
There were also moments of brilliance in the plot though, but it did vere sharply between that and "What?!", at times.
Apart from Seo In-guk, I absolutely loved Kim Jae-wook, Lee Jae-wook, Lee Do-hyun and Kim Mi-kyung in this. None of them overacted and given LJW's part, he could have. His scenes were the most visceral for me.
Nice seeing LJW and Yoo In-soo acting together again, although in vastly different roles to Alchemy of Souls.
I do wish the story had focussed less on Yi-jae as being cruelly punished and more on his realisations, growing determination and self-worth, through the trials, as being healing. Those are positive lessons to drive home.
However, I found myself getting incredibly angry at times, because instead, to me, it really felt like they were saying suicide is a selfish choice, made with no regard for those left behind and should be a punishable act.
Selfish? Perhaps that is true, but only to a point. The reason being, it is a decision very, very rarely made by someone in a normal state of mind. Suicide isn't something a happy, mentally stable, rational person, would commit.
If life has become painful, terrifying, utterly hopeless, everything else becomes irrelevant in that person's mind. Death is, indeed, no longer frightening, but an escape.
So why portray it as though it was (is) done as a normal, conscious decision, with no care for loved ones? In that frame of mind, rationality has long departed, together with being concerned about the impact on others.
Were they trying to send a message, due to the frighteningly high number of suicide cases in S.Korea? I sincerely hope not, because it's cruel (especially to those left behind) and it's wrong.
The ending was totally perplexing, to me, for one huge reason, which I can't actually say, because it would be a spoiler... unless all the things he went through were indeed part of an elaborate game and not 'real'... but then, he wouldn't have been standing on the ledge.
Whilst I enjoyed the many actors, characters and their stories, the plot fell a little short and I wasn't happy, at all, with the unkind assumptions made around suicide.
I haven't seen the webtoon of the same name that this is based on and, therefore, don't know how close to it this drama is.
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