Sylfie

Good quality, but boring

This drama is first and foremost a bleakly realistic portrayal of the lives of poor people in the countryside. In my opinion, this is its biggest strength. The creators add a bit of humor, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but it definitely softens the heavy, deeper meaning of the story as a whole. The cast is very well chosen, and the actors do a great job of portraying local people struggling with everyday problems. The cinematography is also very good. We get some excellent camera work here, which is quite rare in dramas made these days. And I don't think a single scene was filmed in front of a green screen, which is another plus.

However, I do have some issues with the plot and pacing. They're very uneven, and after a few interesting episodes, we get stretches of scenes that drag on without much of a point. I'm halfway through the season, and at least 30% of the episodes already feel like filler to me. I'm not expecting every episode to be brain surgery — that would be even worse — but when I watch the side characters' storylines, I get the feeling that they don't really serve to tell their stories, let alone move the main character's storyline forward. They just don't feel well thought out. Sometimes an interesting scene or storyline appears, only to suddenly disappear without going anywhere.

Overall, this isn't a bad drama. The first few episodes had their charm. Unfortunately, it's far from perfect. There are still funny or interesting scenes from time to time, but watching it has become more of a daily habit, with me waiting to see if "maybe something interesting will finally happen today," rather than actually looking forward to the next episode.

At this point, I'd rate it 7/10, and the rating is slowly going down. I'm starting to wonder whether it's still worth watching or whether I should spend my time on something a little more interesting.

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