This review may contain spoilers
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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This review may contain spoilers
Untouchably Sweet
When distance is a defense, chocolate became the bridge.Romantics Anonymous mixes the power of sweet, delectable chocolate, with growth, healing, and happiness.
Plot/Story: We're introduced to our two main characters both with different social anxieties/disorders - we have the ML who cannot touch anyone without going into a panic attack, and the FL who can't look directly at anyone without also having a panic attack. The two intertwine and grow together when they realize that they can do what they couldn't do before, look and touch.
The plot is a mixture of two parts -
1. the ML/FL's story and growth with each other, and;
2. the ML taking over the chocolate store "Le Sauveur" after the main chocolatier sadly passes away (with some sneaky business stuff happening in the background).
We travel through the majority of these 8 episodes focusing on one of the 8 chocolates included in the stores signature package that they sell with a short story surrounding each. This allows us to follow the ML and FL through this journey, as she hides the fact that she's the "anonymous chocolatier" that helps provide one of the 8 signature chocolates in their package.
Character Development: Through each episode the FL and ML grow closer, but don't get too excited. While this show is considered a rom-com, there aren't too many funny moments, nor too many romantic moments. There's an emotional attachment you feel with the characters, but if you're looking for pure physical moments you may want to prepare yourself - that's not really here.
What we do get is proper character development as they help each other heal and navigate through their social anxieties. Each character has a defined growth within the drama. It's handled and told beautifully, and while nothing leads to them being completely "cured" of their anxieties, they find it within one another to be strong when they face those difficulties. It was a very lovely thing to watch.
Final score: 8.5/10 - Why? For 8 episodes with an average of 45 minutes per episode, you have to showcase a lot in a little amount of time. When focusing on the leads, it worked. The second FL and ML didn't really have their time to shine, unfortunately. They were background noise to this, and they could have been explored more since they also had their own adversities they needed to face. The business side of this story was a little flat, and it only became dramatic in the final two episodes, which made it feel out of place, and rushed unfortunately.
While still a happy ending, and an appropriate happy ending at that, this is still a highly recommended drama in my opinion. This is a mature romance, both leads are upper 30's/low 40s - so don't expect any goofy romance, but for 8 episodes, this was a solid watch.
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