Advanced Ranked Watchlist

This is the rating I gave at the time I watched it.  I do not remember it anymore.

(14/16)  Dropped it before the rating could get any lower.  Good to know I was right.  I'm rating only what I watched, which may actually be better for it.

The show being episodic makes it more difficult to rate as it depends on the episode.  Also, I think it's easier to write in 1 hour chunks.

Came across as trying to do a lot but not actually excelling at any of it.  I don't even think the show knew what it was supposed to be.

Temporary position while still deciding.

1.  I dislike this new season format Korea is doing with these big shows.
2.  So much could've been cut out.  Kills the suspense and puts me to sleep.
3.  Again, I get it.  We've seen a similar shot already.  Again.  Why is this wasting time?
4.  I don't dislike this enough to put it into 6 but I don't like it either?

The beginning, the sign language, and some of the romance were the high points.  Great couple, if that is all you care about.  i would even give it an 8 if you cut off the drama at a certain point.  While romcoms' plots are often understandably weak, here, it seems the writer dropped in anything to continue a fake thrill, even if it made zero sense.  There has to be a .5 deduction, every time I had to think, "Seriously?".

At least it didn't piss me off.  It was ordinary.

It could've been structured differently so that the FL wasn't so frustrating.  The utter selfishness of most of her behaviors ran contrary to the core message.  The drama tried to force us to see her a certain way by glossing over giant plot holes using sloppy explanations, leading to even bigger frustrations.  One of the character's rants towards her sums up the experience perfectly.  Unfortunately, her response to that rant became a reminder of the show's tendency to give irrational excuses with the expectation that we accept it and move on.

Not all is bad because at the surface, there is a very thin layer of that message, making the show at least somewhat likeable.  But man...  touch just one of those sticks supporting the story and all will come crashing down.

It went from WTH to WTF to WTFH to me wanting to write an article about the decline of kdramas to me realizing this trash isn't worth any more of my time.

As more pieces of the foundation fall apart, the only direction the rating can go is down.

It's cute and simple to watch.  It has a great concept but the writer doesn't trust the viewers enough to figure out what's going on.  Instead, everything is explained, sometimes even ahead of time, taking away any enjoyment.  It could've been a mini drama.

Loved the soundtrack though.

You know when you hypothetically order something from Wish dot com and you're super excited because of the pretty pictures?  You get it in the mail, you open the pretty box,  press the power button on the machine and it coughs and sputters.  But you're still hyped with anticipation because surely, maybe it was user error.   ...so you keep trying until the item's structure falls apart in your hands and all you're left with is the pretty box.  Take that expectation and lower it.

The wacky tone here is on purpose because that's how seriously the show took its audience.

Started at 9⭐with hopes of receiving something fantastic.  Now I wonder if someone plagiarized the original writer for the first part and then finished the part themselves.

Oh crap.  But it IS listed under Kim Ji-woo's name.

I'm offended that I'm expected to be an idiot in order to be entertained.

Became a campy mess.

Very little story stretched out over 16 episodes.  The acting by the FL gave me flashbacks to Extraordinary You, except the cartoonish acting wasn't limited to her.  However, the most frustrating aspect was the wasted potential set up in the first few episodes.  It threw out the most interesting parts and replaced them with the worst tropey storyline.  Penalized for not finishing what it started and the excessive filler scenes.

It was so campy, I could not go on.

One of the most frustrating shows I've watched, possibly ever.  Coming from the duo that brought us Six Flying Dragons and Tree With Deep Roots, I had very high expectations, particularly when it came to character development.  Yet it appeared as if the characters would change as the story saw fit, rather than them changing because of the story.  Is it the fault of the actors' portrayal?  Not enough episodes?  The director lacking clear vision?  Being too focused on selling an ideological product (more on that later) that it became blatantly obvious when they were attempting to create an illusion of depth?  To say that certain characters grappled with morality is laughable, particularly if "evidence" of that is the show dropping the line "Actually, I hate killing people" or any of the other equivalent examples, which run contradictory to everything we had seen prior.  You can't get me to believe it without showing me.  

If it wants to sell an ideology, fine.  But the best way to do that is to steelman the opposing ideology at the same time AND THEN convince the viewers why the one you're selling is better because that is how you portray the very real tug of war that exists in the realm of politics.  Anything short of that belongs in the teen fantasy genre.  I very much doubt these writers intended to put out something so elementary because they have proven themselves to be more than capable.  Which goes back to my original point.  I think they were so focused on selling an ideology that they wrote their entire script around that, forcing the world and its characters to bend when needed.  On the bright side, that world and those characters were so one-dimensional that I'm sure it'll be easy enough to contort them just in time for the sequel.

What the hell is this uninspired rubbish?  It tried too hard to be everything but became more hollow as it progressed.  I'm genuinely offended by how bad this is.  The plot meanders... and then repeats itself to fill up the time.  Squid Games?  More like a slumber party where a bunch of lifeless characters go through therapy with each other, transforming what began as a thriller into a melodrama.  The tone is equally confused - when it attempts comedy, it suddenly shifts into a variety show.   Is it even the same show?  Did the team have any coherent goal in mind while producing this? 

 It's bad enough that it seems my time was disrespected and a 3rd season is not worth watching.  Even if season 3 turns out to be better than the 1st season, this level of failure cannot be rewarded.

It's as superficial as a contract marriage based on selfish desires.  I guess that was supposed to be the point but this drama doesn't actually properly build for that.  It managed to suck all of the life out of its characters, leaving only the husk.