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nature vs nurture (long review)

honestly i loved hello monster/remember you to begin with. i’m not sure if others got the same vibe, but i could tell the writers were definitely trying to hit home the idea of “nature vs nurture,” which honestly gave the story SO much potential. might be a hot take, but i could find 민 redeemable. i’ll admit he was never innocent and made his own choices, but even through his crimes, there was still some humanity in him. 준영 shaped his life, controlled what he knew about 현, and treated people like experiments, but as 민 started confronting his reality and 준영 himself, you could notice that shift. 민 kept coming back to the same questions: “did 현 really abandon me?” and “did 현 purposefully leave me with 이준영?” THAT was his motivation. i think what made me pity him was how much his actions seemed tied to his need to understand why he was abandoned and what 준영 had done to his life, even if 민 thought that 준영 wasn’t the one responsible for his underlying nature but had only brought it out.

what also made me see some potential for redemption in 민 was that, towards the end, he seemed to TRY to do the right thing, even if he wasn’t completely free of 준영의 influence. you could still see that influence in how 민 thought about death and punishment, especially during the conversation about the planning officer with 현. the way he talked about what she deserved showed that 준영의 way of thinking hadn’t simply disappeared. but i think that’s what made 민의 choices behind the scenes more interesting. even while that way of thinking was still present, 민 was beginning to make choices that didn’t completely align with it. to me, that mattered. he didn’t have to suddenly become a good person or abandon everything 준영 had taught him for his choices to mean something. he could still be cruel, still have a deeply warped sense of justice, still believe that THAT was just his nature, and yet still be capable of choosing differently. obviously, that doesn’t excuse his crimes or erase the fact that he was responsible for his own choices, but i couldn’t help seeing the humanity in him alongside the cruelty. to me, THAT is what makes 민 so important to the “nature vs nurture” argument. his choices challenge 준영의 worldview by showing that, although our environment can shape us, it doesn’t necessarily determine who we become. 민의 attempt to do the right thing suggests that he could still question what 준영 had taught him, even when its influence remained. nurture can matter, but it doesn’t have to define us completely.

i know this review is already getting long, however, i also have some mixed feelings on 박보검의 acting. in the beginning, i could tell his performance felt a little awkward, and there were definitely moments where i felt as though i was watching 박보검 trying to act as 민, rather than 민 himself. his expressions felt surface level, and a lot of his performance came across as “i think this is what 민 would do” rather than “i KNOW this is how 민 would react.” it started out feeling like 박보검 was relying on basic expressions and mannerisms associated with “villainy” roles instead of conveying what was actually going on inside the character. i’m not discrediting his acting completely, though!! as the story progressed, i could notice a change in his performance. as 민 was given more emotional depth, 박보검 seemed to become more confident and comfortable expressing him. it reminded me of what the director of love in the moonlight had said about 박보검 struggling with the character early on, to the point where the first two episodes were reshot. 박보검 himself also spoke about how he initially lacked confidence in his acting. i can’t say the same thing happened here, but i did feel and see that progression through 박보검의 performance. again, i’m not saying he’s a horrible actor. i absolutely love his later work, and even some of his earlier work, but the insecurities and awkwardness that i feel have sometimes come through in 박보검의 acting seemed particularly noticeable in this role sadly. (he’s still in my top 5, i swear im not a 박보검 hater)

one of my biggest issues, however, is that the writing doesn’t always earn its emotional beats. towards the end, it felt like they tried to do the same with 준영 through his sudden desire for a “family.” who knows? maybe i missed something, and that was his motivation all along. however, when the show puts that much narrative weight on a character like him, only to treat him like some ordinary guy towards the end who just happened to “slip away,” it makes me irritated. the last episode especially felt rushed, dodged so many consequences, and left 민의 choice and 준영의 fate unresolved. i would’ve honestly accepted 민 surviving or dying, despite his huge role in my argument, but it almost felt like the writers did a complete 180 in the final stretch and abandoned their own story. this was especially noticeable when they started leaning more into the romance between 차지안 and 이현 after the time jump. the romance itself was fine, i’m not complaining about that, but it felt like the show was shifting its focus away from the conflicts that actually needed resolving. long story short, i loved analyzing this show for what it’s worth and the premise was amazing, don’t get me wrong, but it definitely deserved a much more satisfying conclusion imo. #love박보검

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no notes

honestly, this is probably the first time i’ve ever reviewed a drama that ive considered needing no corrections on. the pacing was spot on, the 8 episodes in one season didn’t feel super short, the acting was OUTSTANDING especially from 박지훈, etc etc. i don’t understand anyone who thought the repetitive nature of the gruesome bullying was unnecessary. the repetition made the bullying feel relentless, but imo it was necessary to show how deeply ingrained it was in the characters’ lives. also the show is literally titled exactly how it is, why get mad for ordering something vanilla but expecting chocolate? i definitely saw different versions of myself in many of the characters, and some parts hit a little too close to home. i will forever feel horrible for what 박지훈 went through to play this role. im super excited to start season 2. 10/10

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cooking while burning the kitchen down

i genuinely have mixed feelings on this drama. it was a good show, im not going to lie however, as the story went on, the execution just kept frustrating me lol. 운정 was probably the most interesting character by far. not because he’s just played by 차은우, but rather because of how much fun the writers decided to apparently have with his character. i understood why he betrayed 채니. he wanted to find his mother, learn about his past, and most importantly, survive. he was dying too, and i don’t think his decision makes him a bad person. however, one of my biggest irks was the constant disregard for physical urgency in his side effects. 운정 could constantly go into a million different fights with his powers, get a crazy bloody nose and faint, but face no lasting consequences from those side effects. if the side effects were supposed to be killing him, i needed the show to establish some consistency here lol. they didn’t feel as progressive and severe as the other wunderkinder. it almost just felt like the side effects were a convenience whenever the writers knew they needed someone dead, like 팔호 or 주란. another irk was the motivations of 하원도. i understood the original idea of him wanting to save the children he’d experimented on, but by the end, i felt his motives had shifted without much development. was he trying to save his children, or was everything ultimately about obtaining immortality for a “new world” and recreating the child of eternity? i never understood it. why give a very emotional background that backs up the first impression and completely disregard it towards the end to get a bigger “climax”? i can accept an antagonist with selfish, contradictory motives, but i need the writing to connect those motives properly. i’m also glad he died, for that small moment if you know what i mean Read More

my dog needs water

REWATCHED: 10/10/2026

i rewatched this for 이준영, (second review where ive said this oops), and actually paid attention this time. i’ve watched this movie three times now, although the first two times were through group watches where i was apparently more committed to being physically present rather than mentally present. so this time, i actually got to appreciate the film for what it was and honestly had a lot of fun watching. first of all, 이준영 absolutely carries this movie for me. not to discredit 서현, but 지후 is just such an interesting character. his submissiveness doesn’t make him any less confident, capable, or assertive in his everyday life. he can be self assured and competent at work while wanting something different in his private life. i like how the film doesn’t treat those things as mutually exclusive. even in his private life, there are moments where you see him be assertive, which were highlights for me honestly, but it doesn’t take away from his original submissiveness towards 지우. he knows what he wants, and i found that contrast very interesting on its own. i also ended up appreciating 지우 more than i expected. watching her slowly learn about something she knows nothing about while 지후 gives her all the room to grow without being judged was almost sweet and something i would love in my life honestly lmao. a lot of this film, outside of bdsm, really touches on trust, communication, and understanding without judgment. i would’ve hoped they touched more on bdsm though, rather than just giving us a waft of the basics, practically, but with how much they already allowed in this movie, i was almost blown away. that being said, my only irk with this film was the dog scenes, sadly…. i don’t discredit bdsm or think it’s the devil’s work or something, but i couldn’t help but get secondhand embarrassment from watching 이준영 have to act out being a dog lol. i could still appreciate the dynamic in theory and wanted to leave room for whenever the movie wanted to commit to the bit, but there’s a difference between being interested in the premise and being able to watch every single thing that comes with it. i apparently have my limits loll, which is funny because i was perfectly capable of enjoying other parts of their dynamic without any embarrassment. overall, i had fun watching it. the ending really got me because of how assertive 지후 could be, even if he preferred submissiveness. i think they finally understood each other. i think it was a pretty straightforward movie with a sweet premise under a sexual story. i wish i was 지우 lowkey…. 이준영… please do a drama like this again… just for research purposes…

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lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off

REWATCHED:
09/23/2026-10/08/2026

i don’t think i appreciated this drama as much as i could’ve when i first watched it in 2023. i only had true beauty under my belt at the time, which is hilariously sad, but after watching a lot more and getting familiar with what’s common in this genre, i appreciate my lovely liar wayyy more now. i especially liked how the relationship between 도하 and 솔희 is part of their healing rather than something that happens AFTER they’ve already healed. they genuinely helped each other grow, and i think all of the coincidences that brought them together made their relationship feel almost fated. i also appreciate the character arc with 솔희 in terms of her black and white worldview on lying. the drama just kept showing her that knowing someone is lying doesn’t mean that you understand why they’re lying or what the lie actually means. i feel horrible for 강민 now too ㅠㅠㅠ i fear if this was real life, 솔희 should’ve just gotten back together with him. however his storyline works well in terms of reinforcing the idea that lies can have good intentions. i think one of my only issues is the murder plot sometimes? i think it sometimes feels like it’s holding the story back, especially when the romance and the themes of truth and lies are much more interesting to me. overall, i wouldn’t say this is a drama that completely changed my life, but i think i can appreciate what it was trying to do more now than i did the first time around

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decent watch

i watched this bc of 이준영 ngl and it wasn’t a bad movie, just not something that blew my socks off. it had a solid message and theme, the fight scenes were satisfying, and the pacing was okay. however it didn’t feel movie quality to me, i fear it would’ve done better as a drama lol. even then, there have been other shows that portray the message better, and maybe bc i watched weak hero before this i expected the same level of intensity from a movie, however either way i wouldn’t tell someone not to watch this. long story short, fuck 수강, but i’d fuck 이준영 (pardon my french) lmao

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a step down

i’ve never read the webtoon so i’ll be honest, it wasn’t a horrible second season !! however it was definitely a step DOWN. i get the writers trying to adhere to the original however from a first time perspective, they could’ve easily morphed what we had for 시은이의 backstory into a second season. i felt almost blindsided at the plot for season 2 since i originally believed that’s what the writers were going to do, still follow 시은이의 story. however they just crammed in a shit ton of new plot lines and new people that had nothing to do with 시은. now i would love for a class 3, but i know it’ll just follow the webtoon’s ideas and not continue solely for 시은. again, not a horrible season but definitely different from what i expected. i fear a lot of others, webtoon readers or not included, felt the same way in terms of either, the webtoon’s plot was rushed and crammed into 8 episodes, while non webtoon readers felt that it wasn’t 시은이의 story anymore. i would give the series a lower rating but i can’t let my own opinions deter the whole series in itself. class 1 was AMAZING truly. class 2 was just not what i expected. as for pacing, i didn’t really see a problem but i can understand the frustration from the webtoon readers. what i did find frustrating was 수호의 lack of screentime at the end. we waited 8 hours to get barely 5 minutes of reconnecting and maybe 3 lines. all i’ll say is, please just give us a class 3 before 박지훈 goes off into the military i beg, and make it actually about 시은 this time thanks

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