Ensaio Para a Vitória (2025)

A Come From Behind Story

An all-around good sports story about a losing team who gets a boost from their coach with a scandalous past. The actors did a nice job with their roles. The characters are all likable, except the antagonists who were devilish in their deceit. The only downside was in the story's predictability. It's a typical come from behind sports story. There are a million of these out there. But it was still enjoyable. There are funny moments that carry the story. The seven-man rugby team were cute together and I wonder how many of their funny antics were scripted versus improvised.

Read More

Fun to Watch, But Not That Good

To be honest, the last minute of episode 1 determined whether it was worth continuing to watch or not. It made me feel like I had to watch until the end — it was so good, funny, and full of chaotic situations, which I really liked.

Episode 3, however, almost made me drop it because I didn’t like the part where he finds a new player. That scene felt boring and too dramatic. The conversation between Jugaram and the headmaster about the past, with just a short flashback, also felt like a boring dialogue scene.

Yoon Seong-jun and Seo U-jin’s mom felt like useless characters. Jeon Nag-gyun (the shooting coach), the deputy headmaster, and the office of education were all really annoying characters. Kang Tae-pun also felt unnecessary for the rugby team since he didn’t come back and was just forgotten.

The romance between Ju Garam and Bae I-ji was a bit too much, which made it feel boring. I don’t know why it seemed like the show focused more on the shooting players than on the rugby team’s training or matches.

I also don’t understand why the headmaster felt like such a coward. He wasn’t strict or brave enough to reprimand the deputy headmaster or the shooting coach for being rude to the rugby team.

The drama feels way too predictable. For example, Bae Heung-nam wasn’t as rude as expected and ended up taking Jugaram’s side, and each rugby team member had their own problem, got angry because of it, and then just apologized afterward.

I don’t like how the rugby team wasn’t highlighted enough, which made the funny scenes less frequent. Personally, I really enjoyed the comedy, but I didn’t like the epilogues at the end of every episode.

In the end, I don’t know why the deputy headmaster and Jeon Nag-gyun never showed a sincere, official apology — that scene felt like nothing.

For me, it’s a good drama because it’s fun and emotional, but overall it’s not that great. Not bad for a school drama, though.

Read More