Genie, Make a Wish

Finally A Good Deity Romance; Crazy and Fun

My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

Uncontrollably Fond was the first K-drama I began watching (Not the first I'd completed though). I was stoked to see that Kim Woo Bin [김우빈] and Bae Suzy [배수지] would star together in another drama.

Acting/Cast: Suzy isn't the strongest actor but this role was perfect for her. She and her co-star Kim Woo Bin both did a great job. The side characters were good. I liked the casting all around. I would say that Steve Noh [스티브 노], who played the angel character, had the weakest acting (apart from very minor characters). Suzy and Kim Woo Bin had great chemistry together, as expected. 8/10

Writing: I haven't liked a deity romance since Goblin. Genie, Make A Wish really surprised me. It reminded me of Hwayugi except it was actually good—a unique female lead, well-written characters, and an engaging plot. Both this drama and Hwayugi are very chaotic dramas with random shenanigans happening throughout, but this drama managed to keep it all engaging and fun as well as maintain a solid overall plot. Regarding the romance between the leads, I do think the first kiss happened a little to soon (I prefer slow burns). Although the focus of the drama is mostly on the two leads, there are some side stories. However, they are fairly insignificant and, unfortunately, don't get much screen time. The side romances in particular seem thrown in. Also, the ending is a little strange, but it made far more sense than the ending of Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, so I can’t complain too much. 5.5/10

Direction/SFX/Music: The pacing is good. The SFX looks nice. I like the music—it has a fitting Arabian vibe to it. There are a couple songs on the OST that I really like. The song GAME by SOYEON and YUQI, in particular, is awesome. It reminds me of the Doona! OST (which is one of my favorites). 7.5/10

Entertainment Value: This drama was just fun. I didn't expect to like it so much. Especially with a lead being a "psychopath"—I usually don't like plots like that, but this drama does it different. I like that this drama didn't take itself too seriously, broke the 4th wall, and made callbacks to older dramas. 7.5/10

Overall, I gave this drama a 7/10. A score of a 6 or higher is in my ‘would recommend’ zone. This made for a brilliant Bae Suzy and Kim Woo Bin reunion drama. It was zany, unique, and entertaining. However, I wouldn't recommend this drama to those who haven't seen many K-dramas, since it does have a lot of inside jokes. If you do watch, be prepared for some grade A chaos.

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Two Wishes, One Destiny — Suzy and Woo Bin’s Magical Comeback

Okay guys, Genie, Make a Wish brings back one of my all-time favorite on-screen couples — Bae Suzy and Kim Woo Bin! If you’ve loved their chemistry here, please go watch Uncontrollably Fond too (just keep tissues nearby 😭).

Now, about this drama — I absolutely loved how they mixed Arabic culture and language with a Korean storyline. It’s such a refreshing touch because genies do come from Middle Eastern tales, and seeing that represented here was honestly so cool.

The show gives you everything — magical vibes, strong acting, heartwarming friendships, unforgettable cameos, and yes… two love stories from the same couple (you’ll get what I mean when you watch). 💫

On the flip side, I wish the ending (especially episode 12) hit a little harder — it felt slightly rushed for such a beautiful buildup. But still, if you’re a fan of supernatural dramas, magical love stories, and Bae Suzy’s charm, this one is definitely worth your time.

P.S. – I truly admire how Suzy picks her roles — she never shies away from experimenting. And if you want to see her range, check out Vagabond (for the action junkies), While You Were Sleeping (for the romantics), and Start-Up (for the dreamers).

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From the very first episode, this drama captivated me with its stunning cinematography and atmosphere. Every frame looked like a painting, and the color palette reflected the tone of the story perfectly. The production team clearly poured their heart into every detail — costumes, music, lighting — everything felt cohesive and intentional.
The performances were equally impressive. The lead actor delivered a nuanced portrayal filled with quiet strength, while the female lead balanced grace and intensity. Even the supporting cast shone in their moments.
What I appreciated most was how the story wasn’t afraid to take its time. It allowed viewers to breathe, think, and feel. By the end, I didn’t just watch a drama — I experienced one. Truly one of the finest pieces of television I’ve seen in years

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FairyTale unfolding Kdrama style

I find this drama a good combination of typical Kdrama with a magical world combined with age old fairytales. We have a Genie and human being involved with wishes with you die or I die Kdrama situation. As here the mystical being is Genie it brings all the beloved things from the Aladin cartoon. The result of this combination is pure entertainment.
We have a decent magical world with satisfying main characters but the strong point is definitely the main leads played to the perfection by the respective actors. Kim woo bin is made for this role who can showcase the different emotions within a minute only with his eyes. I absolutely loved the Ginie character who is actually a devil and wants to corrupt the human beings with the wishes at the same time he is lovable and gullible himself. This Genie wants to beat one human being which is righteous in all her previous lives and he has failed to corrupt her. Enter our main lead , lump of clay , who is in her current life does not feel any feelings and has been referred to as Psychotic. Their love story unfolds with a pretty strong universe and although lots of complicated wish granting and past life baggage is unfolding the writer does seem to have a plan which unfolds in the final showdown.
Overall the strong point with this drama is comedy with stunning cinematography and this will be a good entertaining one time watch
P.S. Kim woo bin and Suzy look amazing with beautiful chemistry in every frame,whether the background is cherry blossoms, a desert, her workshop where she is actually making coffins for herself or last but not the least inside the genie's lamp

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My only wish: take me away from this messy ride.

***Full disclaimer: I will not be mentioning anything religious in my review. There's plenty of those opinions in the comments. I also did not watch this on 2x speed, nor did a skip any scenes, episodes, or fast forward***

The Goblin crew is back for what I think we all hoped would be the next big thing in fantasy storytelling, but unfortunately this wasn't the magic carpet ride we were all waiting for.

Plot/Story: We start with our FL, who everyone calls a "psychopath" because she can't decipher feelings nor feel anything herself. She takes her annual trip to Dubai to meet her birth mother and basically cut ties with her. After taking a tour of the desert she stumbles upon the magic lamp which then begins the wild ride... I think.
Without getting into the weeds, this story is divvied up into many subplots - *deep breath*
the ML and FL's main story, including their past;
the 5 (all separate stories) of people (and 1 dog) that were involved in the FL's first wish;
the story between ML and the angel of death;
the "immortal child";
and the 2FL and grandmother.
.... to name a few.
Whew, that was a lot, right? You feel it while watching this show. It's a mixture of the main story between the leads, and then all this other...stuff. It's hard to keep up, it feels disjointed, and when you take a step back and look at it all you wonder why they decided to go down the story telling path of darkness.

Main Characters: The FL's lack of emotion felt fine throughout the series until the end, when we find out what this drama could have been like had they allowed her to act with emotions and feel - when that happened I felt a heap of disappointment on what could have been. They never shied away from her relentlessness towards the ML and being mean to him all the time which took me out of the romance element by a long shot.

The ML did a decent job with his role while we learned about his past and how he was probably misunderstood. However, they gave him a role that needed to be god-like and ruthless in one scene which he played well, but then the next scene he becomes silly and over the top at times, and I mean really goofy. Was it to play off of the FL's sternness/bluntless? I honestly don't know. One minute he's murdering everyone, the next he's being goofy. It was odd.

While the main leads acting was done well, the direction was too over the top, not allowing for basically any character development. When we think the ML will go from ruthless to understanding, kind, humane - that didn't really happen. He was kind of just always that way. When we think the FL will grow to understand those around her that love her and not feel burdened, well...that doesn't really happen either. She's very one note.

Music: There was very little music played throughout the series. What I heard was fine, but forgettable. I wish they could have incorporated more to add to the emotional elements.

Visuals: I saw a lot of people saying the CGI was poor. I don't feel that way. For a Netflix kdrama the CGI was done well. It was entertaining - it didn't take me out of the experience, and the visuals were quite captivating most of the time.

Final wish: I was hoping this drama could have been more magically captivating romance by really diving into the fact that the ML thought all mortals are corrupt until he meets FL. Their past together could have been the key to them uniting without all the BS of the other characters. I wish the FL wasn't emotionless. I really felt for her in the final episodes, and when I saw that I thought they did us and her a disservice by not having that be a part of this show.

Why 7.5/10? While this show is disjointed in many aspects, it was still entertaining. It had it's really great moments that weren't always overshadowed by the bad direction. The 5 "mini" stories surrounding the 4 people and 1 dog that started out the show felt strong, and I liked where it was going, but it turned dark quickly, and it just reminded me of "the first night with the Duke" and I just got bad joojoo vibes all over again.

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Shallow Plotline with Quick Pace

Yet another rom com plunged into a pit of downfall. Truthfully, the story of this show ain't really deep and promising from the start. But as things go on, the writer seems to do quite a good job for putting together a Genie and a psychopath. Things are looking better until the story about Khalid kicks in. This part of story is unnecessary, unimpactful and really destroys everything that have been built, especially the storyline about two previous wishes from Ka Young. Everything becomes too makjang-ish, even for a fantasy genre show. The war between Iblis and Elljael is questionable, they fought for years but somehow Iblis able to end it quite easily. The pace of the show is really quick, borderline between enjoyable and confusing. It's not easy to understand a psychopath like Ki Ka Young, but for me it's more difficult to understand how can Ka Young fall for Iblis out of nowhere though she mostly has no emotion.

The visual effect of this show gives an eyesore. It's really awful and I think for a 2025 show, they should've tried harder. On the other hand, the soundtrack is quite great.

The performance of the casts is quite alright, nothing bad but nothing too special. The chemistry between Suzy and Woo Bin is also good. In my opinion, the one who does an impressive job here is Ahn Eun Jin.

Watch this show if you're looking for a quick adventure and when you don't really need to explore some "details".

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One of my Favorite watch this Year!

I read quite a few negative reviews about this show on MDL, I’m here to refute the claims!

I’m still trying to figure out how this show raked up so many negative reviews on MDL, but then to each, their own. I’m not exactly a huge fan of the “Netflix” format where they drop all episodes on a single day. But I was intrigued by the concept and mostly invested in the main leads. I wanted to watch for myself what kind of chemistry they will bring to the table. And they do, Kim Woo Bin & Bae Suzy have the kind of chemistry that takes eons to establish. It might be because both are veteran actors, and they knew how well to deliver the premise. So, what happens when a socially awkward psychopath meets a quirky Genie who is also the Satan? Chaos ensues and all hell breaks loose, while these two circumnavigate their romance from Dubai to South Korea. Major portions of the show have been filmed in Dubai, so you can enjoy the risqué scenery. I was seated for this unusual love story from the first episode; mainly because the said psychopath doesn’t act like a serial killer. Instead, she spends her day toiling in her garage, trying to act as a normal person because that’s what makes her grandmother happy. Our Satanic Genie is even worse; he loathes humanity and yet keeps falling in love with the same human again & again. These two make a riveting pair and their story drives the narrative in the right direction!

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2025/10/15/genie-make-a-wish-series-review/#more-2098

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The Finale of Genie, Make a Wish Absolutely Broke Me… and Somehow Put Me Back Together Again

If you’re asking me whether Genie, Make a Wish is worth watching, my answer is yes… but also be emotionally prepared. This drama is one of those shows that quietly pulls you in and then refuses to let go, in the best way.

At its core, this is a love story, but not the flashy, instant kind. It’s slow, layered, and built on choices, sacrifice, and time. Ka-young and Iblis don’t just fall in love; they grow into it through misunderstandings, shared pain, and moments of genuine care. Watching them together feels intimate, like you’re witnessing something private rather than being told a romance is happening.

What really surprised me was how human this fantasy drama felt. Yes, there are genies, wishes, divine rules, and centuries of history, but the emotions are grounded. Grief, guilt, devotion, jealousy, hope, and forgiveness all take center stage. Ka-young’s quiet strength and Iblis’s gradual softening make their journey incredibly satisfying to watch.

The supporting characters also deserve credit. Pan-geum and Min-ji bring warmth and humor, balancing out the heavier themes, while the antagonists add tension without completely overshadowing the emotional core. Even when the story gets dark, there’s always a thread of sincerity holding it together.

Visually, the drama is beautiful when it needs to be. The desert scenes, the magical spaces, and the quieter domestic moments all feel intentional. The OST deserves a special mention too because it knows exactly when to step in and when to stay out of the way, which made several scenes hit harder than expected.

Is it a light watch? Not really. But it is rewarding. The finale, especially, felt like the drama saying goodbye with care, acknowledging the pain while still choosing hope. By the end, I didn’t feel cheated or exhausted. I felt like I had gone on a journey with these characters and seen them earn their ending.

Overall, Genie, Make a Wish is the kind of drama you recommend to a friend when you want to say, “This one made me feel something.” It’s romantic, thoughtful, and emotionally rich, and it stays with you long after the last episode ends. If you like fantasy romances with heart and meaning, this one is absolutely worth your time.

Romance: 9.5 / 10
The love story between Ka-young and Iblis is the heart of this drama, and it delivers. It’s slow, tragic, tender, and deeply emotional without relying on constant skinship or clichés.
Character Acting: 9 / 10
The cast truly carried this story.
Production: 8.5 / 10
Visually, the drama was gorgeous when it wanted to be.
Storyline: 8.5 / 10
This was an ambitious story with reincarnation, wishes, morality, love, and divine politics all woven together.
OST: 9 / 10
The soundtrack quietly did a lot of emotional heavy lifting.
Overall Vibe: 9 / 10
Melancholic, romantic, and thoughtful.
Final Overall Rating: 9 / 10
Genie, Make a Wish is a beautifully tragic fantasy romance that prioritizes emotional truth over easy happiness. It’s the kind of drama that stays with you, makes you think about love and sacrifice, and leaves you oddly comforted despite the tears.
If you’re the type of viewer who loves pain with purpose, this drama was absolutely worth the ride.

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Great Performances, Confusing Storytelling

The actors in “Genie, Make a Wish” were truly outstanding. Each performance felt sincere and full of emotion. The main story itself was also quite strong and had a lot of potential. However, the way it was told often made it hard to follow. Some scenes jumped too quickly from one event to another, and the transitions between fantasy and reality were sometimes unclear.

Even though the concept was interesting, the confusing storytelling made it difficult to stay fully engaged. With better structure and clearer direction, it could have been an amazing series instead of a slightly frustrating one.

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Best Drama Of 2025

I can't say enough good things about this drama. The ML and FL are both fantastic, as is all the actors in this drama. The humor had me LOL in each episode. It is a quirky take on The Bible story about Satan and the story of Aladdin. It is not yet revealed if the ML is truly Shaytan ((Satan) or if the guy with wings will actually be the bad guy. That is purely my thoughts and not the actual facts of this drama. The 3 immortal brothers have been revealed, but Christ, the Archangel and the Genie seem pretty evident. I think surprises will have us all go "aha"! This drama will keep your attention throughout this series. So many fun and funny exchanges between characters without being slapstick that keeps you watching. You can watch this on Netflix in English, but I prefer to hear their actual voices and read subtitles.

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Kim Woo Bin carries this drama & brings his A game

Kim Woo Bin has the arduous task of carrying the bulk of this drama as the plotline requires Bae Suzy to be emotionally disconnected throughout. It makes it incredibly hard to like her character & the romance between her &
Kim Woo Bin's character is problematic at best. This is a rewatchable drama that has alot of tragedy and sober plotlines that balance out the quirky amusing parts. [By the way-There is a happy ending, but it's not the kind you think you will get.]
what kept this from being a solid 10/10 is :
1) many times it seemed like a travel commercial for Dubai.
2) they muddied the story with gay characters (only)revealed later in the drama & it presented unspoken speculations that naturally come with such a reveal-such as the motivation of the steadfast loyalty of an important side character,
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Spoilers ahead
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it was also very weird that the grandmother (with no indication of having been dissatisfied in her marriage) seems to be gay once she's made young. The whole dynamic of grandmother to grandchild's best friend changing into an attraction doesn't play out well.

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