This review may contain spoilers
My Thoughts on the Ending (Along with other parts of the show)
A Sad Ending Doesn't Equal A Bad One.
Firstly, let me explain my ratings (I see a lot of talk about how bad the ending was, so I wanted to write my own take on it, and also talk about other stuff that happened that I only realized after finishing. Sometimes it's better not to search for all the flaws in a show and just enjoy it).
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I found the plot of the story very interesting (I did pick this show to watch because of it, haha). The Aliens had a nice design, and I adore the sound they make. But it lacked in some areas. There were inconsistencies, such as the big deal about them being attracted to sound like they're blind (even though in a later scene we get to see the world through the aliens' eyes, moreover, most, if not all, animals rely on hearing and would naturally go to where any loud noise is to pursue prey.)
Lieutenant Lee, initially, would keep visiting the second sphere that we saw fall from the sky. But we never see anything else about the alien in that one. Furthermore, I wish they would show the different sizes of the aliens, but instead, they only focused on the smaller ones.
They never explain where or why they came to Earth, nor why, after 1 year did they fell to the ground. It's said that they target humans like they have no interest in any other animal (It's pointed out like it's a huge deal), but I highly doubt that's true. The aliens felt like the Demogorgons from Stranger Things, where in each season, there were inconsistencies with them, like one moment bullets don't work on them, and then they are very effective.
We see the army try to find ways to kill them, but nothing works except for the special bullets (in which I remember them saying they don't have enough material to make them, but our characters never seem to run out, but I could be wrong). It's shown that freezing them is very effective, yet the military never thought of that? And it's only shown twice.
Why is their still spheres left in the end? We're also told these aliens are really smart (I enjoyed the scene where one of them threw a rock and knocked over a small statue onto the students, which displayed a level of high intelligence), but at times, they felt like worker bees.
I'm not Korean, nor did I grow up in Korea, and even after googling what the CSAT test is, I just don't understand why, after they regroup at the second military camp, anyone would care about it. More so, why did they say it will still happen in a month? Last I check everyone is in bunkers and aliens are invading your country. The war was not ending anytime soon; even so, it demonstrated just how life-changing one single test can be, that you'd risk your life and kill others over it. It tells a good story that when it really comes down to it, your grades or test scores don't matter and shouldn't hold such a huge weight like the world makes you believe (Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a play on how big of an issue tests are mentally and physically for students in East Asia that kids will commit because of it).
What happened to the three girls that survied? Where did they get off to? Not to mention Won-Bin just disappearing in part 2. Did the CSATs being canceled really cause Young-Soo to have a mental breakdown where he started having hallucinations? It was so devastating that he betrayed morality (it would have made sense if he had some medical condition that he took pills for and started to go crazy because he stopped taking them).
I liked the mystery of who killed Soo-Chul, who and why someone(s) rigged the votes, and who broke the radio.
Il-Ha had a nice redemption, and I found myself very sad that he got killed. Ae-Seol and Bo-Ra really reminded me of Ann and Kuina from Alice in Borderland. I loved seeing their friendship (dare I say even romantic interest) grow.
I don't think the ending should have changed in the sense that the student shouldn't die, but rather it should have been by the aliens. That would have been pretty poetic.
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I don't have much to say about acting. Because of the language barrier, I can't tell if a line was said how it should (But, when acting is really bad, I can tell). Furthermore, I don't look much into casting, I only care about seeing new faces (considering many US films recycle actors and don't give way for new actors to create a standing).
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The same thing goes for the music. I don't have much to say because nothing stood out to me. There was only one OST that did, but otherwise, the music was appropriate for said scenes; it just didn't stand out to me.
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For rewatch, that's simply because I don't want to cry again. It's not low because this show was bad.
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Now for the main reason I made this review! You're in for a ride heh... TuT
People like happy endings; they want to see the characters they adore and love get the ending they deserve. Especially when they fought so hard for it. But happy endings are overrated.
Sad ones are poetic and within them lies a deeper message. During my fight with depression, I thought what I needed was joy and happiness in my life. So I went in search of any go-happy K-dramas I could find, filled with laughter and dreams. But what I found was that it kept me afloat, delaying the inevitable, that I would soon come to sink.
What I didn't need was to pluck the dead leaves, but to cut the stem at the base. So that when it grows, it'll come back 10x stronger than before. I kept so much to myself, I was gonna down in it all, fighting back tears. When the real solution all along was to let them flow. Only then was I able to smile once more.
It's sad to see a person who you went through so much trauma with become the reason for your death. It hurts, but it's a good kind of hurt. I did not enjoy the ending; they deserve to see their families again. But death does not discriminate, and art is born out of all kinds of emotion. Happiness, fear, disgust, regret, envy, and even grief. Their deaths were ruthless and quick; plot armor did not even give them a chance.
A sad ending isn't a bad ending, and it's all the more memorable for it.
They died where they began, in a classroom. Now, how poetic is that?
(My first review! Ah I'm nervous..... I just didn't like seeing all the hate on the ending because it wasn't sunshiny and rainbows, given that there are plenty, more then plently, of shows with endings like that. And people have this consensus that if the story ending is sad, it's just bad. Anyway, I didn't proofread this, so sorry for any grammatical errors! I'm also bad at expressing deep feelings and moving messages, so this isn't as impactful as I would have liked it to be.)
Firstly, let me explain my ratings (I see a lot of talk about how bad the ending was, so I wanted to write my own take on it, and also talk about other stuff that happened that I only realized after finishing. Sometimes it's better not to search for all the flaws in a show and just enjoy it).
---
I found the plot of the story very interesting (I did pick this show to watch because of it, haha). The Aliens had a nice design, and I adore the sound they make. But it lacked in some areas. There were inconsistencies, such as the big deal about them being attracted to sound like they're blind (even though in a later scene we get to see the world through the aliens' eyes, moreover, most, if not all, animals rely on hearing and would naturally go to where any loud noise is to pursue prey.)
Lieutenant Lee, initially, would keep visiting the second sphere that we saw fall from the sky. But we never see anything else about the alien in that one. Furthermore, I wish they would show the different sizes of the aliens, but instead, they only focused on the smaller ones.
They never explain where or why they came to Earth, nor why, after 1 year did they fell to the ground. It's said that they target humans like they have no interest in any other animal (It's pointed out like it's a huge deal), but I highly doubt that's true. The aliens felt like the Demogorgons from Stranger Things, where in each season, there were inconsistencies with them, like one moment bullets don't work on them, and then they are very effective.
We see the army try to find ways to kill them, but nothing works except for the special bullets (in which I remember them saying they don't have enough material to make them, but our characters never seem to run out, but I could be wrong). It's shown that freezing them is very effective, yet the military never thought of that? And it's only shown twice.
Why is their still spheres left in the end? We're also told these aliens are really smart (I enjoyed the scene where one of them threw a rock and knocked over a small statue onto the students, which displayed a level of high intelligence), but at times, they felt like worker bees.
I'm not Korean, nor did I grow up in Korea, and even after googling what the CSAT test is, I just don't understand why, after they regroup at the second military camp, anyone would care about it. More so, why did they say it will still happen in a month? Last I check everyone is in bunkers and aliens are invading your country. The war was not ending anytime soon; even so, it demonstrated just how life-changing one single test can be, that you'd risk your life and kill others over it. It tells a good story that when it really comes down to it, your grades or test scores don't matter and shouldn't hold such a huge weight like the world makes you believe (Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a play on how big of an issue tests are mentally and physically for students in East Asia that kids will commit because of it).
What happened to the three girls that survied? Where did they get off to? Not to mention Won-Bin just disappearing in part 2. Did the CSATs being canceled really cause Young-Soo to have a mental breakdown where he started having hallucinations? It was so devastating that he betrayed morality (it would have made sense if he had some medical condition that he took pills for and started to go crazy because he stopped taking them).
I liked the mystery of who killed Soo-Chul, who and why someone(s) rigged the votes, and who broke the radio.
Il-Ha had a nice redemption, and I found myself very sad that he got killed. Ae-Seol and Bo-Ra really reminded me of Ann and Kuina from Alice in Borderland. I loved seeing their friendship (dare I say even romantic interest) grow.
I don't think the ending should have changed in the sense that the student shouldn't die, but rather it should have been by the aliens. That would have been pretty poetic.
---
I don't have much to say about acting. Because of the language barrier, I can't tell if a line was said how it should (But, when acting is really bad, I can tell). Furthermore, I don't look much into casting, I only care about seeing new faces (considering many US films recycle actors and don't give way for new actors to create a standing).
---
The same thing goes for the music. I don't have much to say because nothing stood out to me. There was only one OST that did, but otherwise, the music was appropriate for said scenes; it just didn't stand out to me.
---
For rewatch, that's simply because I don't want to cry again. It's not low because this show was bad.
---
Now for the main reason I made this review! You're in for a ride heh... TuT
People like happy endings; they want to see the characters they adore and love get the ending they deserve. Especially when they fought so hard for it. But happy endings are overrated.
Sad ones are poetic and within them lies a deeper message. During my fight with depression, I thought what I needed was joy and happiness in my life. So I went in search of any go-happy K-dramas I could find, filled with laughter and dreams. But what I found was that it kept me afloat, delaying the inevitable, that I would soon come to sink.
What I didn't need was to pluck the dead leaves, but to cut the stem at the base. So that when it grows, it'll come back 10x stronger than before. I kept so much to myself, I was gonna down in it all, fighting back tears. When the real solution all along was to let them flow. Only then was I able to smile once more.
It's sad to see a person who you went through so much trauma with become the reason for your death. It hurts, but it's a good kind of hurt. I did not enjoy the ending; they deserve to see their families again. But death does not discriminate, and art is born out of all kinds of emotion. Happiness, fear, disgust, regret, envy, and even grief. Their deaths were ruthless and quick; plot armor did not even give them a chance.
A sad ending isn't a bad ending, and it's all the more memorable for it.
They died where they began, in a classroom. Now, how poetic is that?
(My first review! Ah I'm nervous..... I just didn't like seeing all the hate on the ending because it wasn't sunshiny and rainbows, given that there are plenty, more then plently, of shows with endings like that. And people have this consensus that if the story ending is sad, it's just bad. Anyway, I didn't proofread this, so sorry for any grammatical errors! I'm also bad at expressing deep feelings and moving messages, so this isn't as impactful as I would have liked it to be.)
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