3GGG

I agree she looks much older than she's supposed to, but so are many of the other characters, so she doesn't stick out in that respect. So far it's setting up an interesting story.

@AIKA But... even within the Marvel universe, there are rules to the world and the characters' powers that they must abide by to make the story work. Adding rules and regulations to a story/game/comic/whatever else is basic.

Let's take Thor, since you brought it up. Specifically, let's take a look at his hammer for a small example. Mjolnir is controlled by an enchantment from Odin which states: "Whosoever holds this hammer, if (s)he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." This is a rule that's applied to the hammer.

So the consistency lies in the fact that only those "worthy" of the power of Thor can lift the hammer. They even used this during one of the avenger's movies were we got to see Tony Stark, Hawkeye, and even Hulk try to lift it off a table without success. Captain America was the only one who made it budge (in some comic lines, he's been known to be able to occasionally lift it depending on the situation).

Now when I talked about exceptions, here's how a good one was implemented in one of the many universes/comics from Marvel:

In Marvel's Ultimate Universe (an alternate world that is known for its darker and grittier take on familiar heroes) Magneto (a hero we know is capable of manipulating metals) managed "lift" Mjolnir by manipulating the air around it. So he didn't actually lift it but moved it through other means (meaning he didn't get the power of Thor because he used a loophole).

Just food for thought.

I loved your article, btw, can't properly join the discussion because I haven't watched this show yet but the backbone of your arguments is well understood. Consistency is key to good writing. You can certainly still enjoy an inconsistent show, but that doesn't mean it's properly thought out. I mean, I loved Wok of Love and that show was riddled with flaws.

@purple_kimchi, do not weep for humanity, I got you. I completely understand and agree with your & KearaMH points (both the one about consistency and about politeness).

Genre doesn't matter when it comes to good writing. Whether it be fantasy, sci-fi or urban fiction or anything in between, a good author will create a world and set the rules within. A world (fiction or not) without rules isn't properly created because anything could happen. Heck, there's a reason why even games implement rules and restrictions. If anything could happen you would get Deus ex machina solutions for every problem, thereby making the entire conflict feel unnecessary (and without conflict, where's the story?).

If the rules of the made-up world are broken, then that's inconsistent/poor writing. Sure, there could be exceptions such as...:
a) A loophole the author left precisely so he/she can break the rules.
b) A believable exception to the rules.
*Those are the ones I can think of at the top of my head atm, but you get the gist.

If the rules the author him/herself set aren't followed, then that's bad writing regardless of the genre.

My two cents ;).

Not really. We all have different tastes would be the reasonable explanation.

Something I love can be something you hate. Neither view cancels the other out ;).

Thank you. I did struggle with the decision whether to post the review at all, since I just couldn't force myself to watch any longer (I started dreading whenever a new episode came out).

However, I figured there was no harm and it might help people make a valid decision, especially considering most people who post reviews only do so when they like a series. While, as a reader, I usually want to read three reviews: a high-rating one, a mid-rating one and a low-rating one to help me make my decision whether to watch something or not.

I still tried to be as fair as possible, which is why I kept adding that something I didn't like might be something someone else loved. :)

I think you nailed everything with this sentence:
"If you aren't enjoying the cheese at the beginning, you probably won't enjoy it later on. Save yourself time, drop the drama." <-- Perhaps (considering those people who might only go to your small summary at the end and miss this gem) maybe this could be useful to add there as well? As in, watch if you enjoyed the humor in the first 3-4 episodes. I say 3-4 because I think I liked the first 3 episode and then didn't get the humor afterwards (like the novelty wore off or something). But this is just a suggestion ;)

If I'd read this I would've given up on the drama much sooner than I did. Humor is so subjective and not everyone finds the same things funny. In this case, I didn't find things humorous and that contributed to me getting bored with the drama.

Thank you! Yes, I noticed based on the comments that this time we had a different reaction to the show. But that's mostly because I just couldn't get on board with the sense of humor. Had I liked that, the rating would've been somewhat higher. I did try to be as just as possible and remind people that they might still like it despite my issues with it.

I agree with you on the humor point. It just adds to the overall feeling of wishy-washy and/or inability to commit to something properly the series left me with (like there were too many hands making the cake and they couldn't decide on the flavor).

Though I didn't like the humor (I honestly found it more cringy than laugh-inducing but that might be because I'm a cynic at heart haha) the show might've been more successful if it had committed to it and embraced it. By adding the trauma and then just brushing it aside, it made everything unnecessarily vague and confusing. It was almost like they needed that plotline as a pretense to say the story is deep... when it really wasn't.

I also expected to see more of Lee Sung Yeon´s side of the story. Why and how his guilt led him to believe those things had happened to him... but then again he was made so unlikable after his introduction that I ended up not caring at all.

I have my issues with Healer and I agree that the past was frankly irrelevant. That was another series where I thought they'd tackle the physical abuse sustained by the FL and perhaps focus on her getting over her trauma... only for the whole thing to be brushed it aside (and her mother finding out about her was also very anti-climactic).

I also felt like the antagonists in Healer weren't properly developed and just felt like "generic" bad goons. The only antagonist that was interesting was the husband of FL's mom, but just as we discovered he might have psychological issues, we never saw him again.

Just between Lovers and While you were Sleeping used the "common trauma" thing a bit better than Healer IMO. JBL story did drag with all the we're together, now apart, now together, now apart... not to mention that the last arc was completely unnecessary.

WYWS I didn't mind the past "connection" since it tied up with the prophetic dream power thing. The inconsistency that bugged me had to do with the guy they saved after their fathers' funerals. Though ML did grab onto him, FL was the one who pulled both of them out... so it stands to reason that, just like with ML, he would dream about FL since she was who ultimately saved him.

Heal me, Kill me I actually loved. The trauma was handled very creatively. I also have to give it props because they deal with BOTH characters' traumas properly, rather than just concentrate on one character and brush over the other.

Also, apologies for the long answer haha.

Hi James, when I started the story had potential, I didn't mean the potential for a unique storyline or even for greatness. More like, it had the potential to become a good series (worth watching), perhaps in the same vein as Heal me, Kill me.

Of course, I also assumed (incorrectly) that the trauma related to the main lead had to do with the woman in red having sexually abused him. Though this is a dark subject, it would've set his character (and the series) apart because there are very few shows that give the male lead such a painful past. Female leads tend to be given the "sexually abused" background quite often, with the male lead's past trauma having more to do with either being abandoned or being a victim of physical abuse (beatings).

The reason I thought it would be different with this show, was because it would explain why Lee Yeong Joon had trouble being intimate. Furthermore, it could've excused his over the top behavior as a self-protection mechanism. Episode 11, however, didn't reveal any of this and the story went down a more predictable route... unless the last 4 episodes touched upon this?

I do this too! Everyone has their own tastes, so this is the fastest way to check if your tastes aligns with the writer. It's even better when I've seen more than 1 series as the writer, since that's a better assessment.

I agree. I find it extremely valuable. I usually read reviews before starting a drama to determine whether to give it a shot or not. In those cases, I pick 1 good rating reviews, 1 mid-rating review and 1 low review (if available). That way I can make a proper assessment because it's never a good idea to base your decision on only one review or by reading reviews that share the same opinion (be that high rating or low rating).

In that respect, I usually do read reviews from people who dropped out because those are very telling of the show's quality. However, I make sure that, by the time they wrote the review, they'd seen half or more of the show. So in 16 episodes dramas, I'll only read the review if they'd seen 8 or more episodes.

Really insightful article.

Although I know there's a lot of people who don't like/appreciate people writing a review before finishing a series or by the time they drop it, I find them very useful BUT only if...

1) The writer has seen half or more than half the drama. Reviews are written when the viewer has only seen 2/16 episodes aren't really helpful since there's not enough material to make a proper assessment of the plot, characters or story. These reviews tend to focus on personal taste and might be better placed in the comments.

2) The writer has decided to drop it. Again, this is only valuable if they at least gave 40-50% of the drama a shot, since by then they'll have seen enough to explain their reasons for dropping it.

From the show's I've reviewed, there was only one series I dropped. "What's wrong with Secretary Kim" wasn't a series for me. I liked the first 2-3 episodes but it went downhill from there in my honest opinion. If I'd written a review based on the first three episodes, it would've been quite a different review than the one I ended up sharing.

Though I watched 12/16 episodes (more than half the drama) I still debated a long time whether to write the review or not. I ended up doing it because I felt my thoughts and reasons for why I disliked the series might be helpful for other potential viewers, either to curve their expectations, give this a shot or stay clear of the drama. Of course, I added a disclaimer reminding people I'd dropped the drama and the review was based on the first 12 episodes. I also encouraged potential readers to seek/read other reviews before making a decision, since something I hate might be something they love.

Unlike most of your surveyed writers, I tend to spend hours putting my thoughts down on paper after I watch a drama. Then I structure everything in a way that's digestible and spoiler free. Then I leave it like that for a day and edit my review further the next day (to get rid of grammar errors) before finally submitting. Sometimes I also start to write my review when the drama is about to end. That way I have time to mull and analyse what the drama did right and what they did wrong. Then after I finished watching it I go back and edit as needed before sharing the review.

I have seen both A Beautiful Mind and Just Between Lovers from the ones you've mentioned and I found this one superior. It does resemble Just Between Lovers in the aspect that these are both hurt & comfort stories. Unlike JBL, however, this one is more focused (it has a very clear goal).

The trauma, however, is something that stays throughout the series in CaHM. Unlike with JBL, the protagonists' trauma is everpresent, since it comes in the form of Yoon Hui Yae. The story is about them not only fighting Yoon Hui Yae but the publics' perception as well. It's about staying together despite how difficult it is and helping each other understand that they are more than the tragedy. That they can, indeed, be happy.

So, if you have the time and inclination, I'd say give the story a shot. If by the halfway mark you're still not sold, then you know this story isn't to your preference (that's usually what I do).

Just keep in mind that there's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the majority of the raters. You like what you like :). There's so many series with a high rating that I'm baffled by because I couldn't stand watching them (like What's wrong with Secretary Kim, which I've recently dropped because it was so boring). It doesn't mean that the ratings are wrong or that I'm wrong. It just means that story wasn't for me. ;)

At the end of the day, there's always something for each one of our subjective tastes, after all :).

I was hooked from episode 1 and the tone & quality stays pretty consistent throughout. Is there something specific that you aren't liking?

Enjoy the ride! :D

I may be wrong, but the way I saw it (open to interpretation) was that he might've submitted the pen as evidence to lighten Hyun Moo's sentence since that proves that he wasn't an accomplice (because I believe the video the prosecutor had didn't include audio). At least, that’s the idea I got because when the detective listened to the pen, we heard the small snippet of conversation between Hyun Moo and the psycho-killer. Plus this scene was shown before seeing Hyun Moo's trial.

Having seen both series, I'd say this one is more powerful and focused than Just Between Lovers. Having said that, this is also a hurt & comfort story with some action thrown in. If you're expecting an action-packed story, this isn't it. This is more like a slow thriller (suspense/intrigue) with some nurturing & sweet love scenes thrown into the mix.

If you're looking for fluff or lightheartedness, this isn't it, though.

I get you. I had to drop the series because it hurt to see so much wasted potential.

Thank you! I am glad you feel the same way :).