Brogana Sunfrog

this series is SO good, BUT Intimate scenes were more red flag than romantic

First let me say that I love this series (AND it has a happy ending) BUT I had to put my review on hold for a couple of months while I cooled off from being angry at how they began to ruin the romance at the end of Episode 14 & proceeded to strip away all the "warm fuzzies" I had for the couple. I am baffled; Is there a cultural or generational thing that I'm missing or were the writers just frustrated males locked in a room too long & they wrote that frustration into the male lead, causing him to be super aggressive & uncontrolled during what should be a romantic consensual scene. The lead female character obviously felt the same because she acts like she's putting herself on the alter to sacrifice herself (like something she's Doing for him, or rather letting him Do to her.) Appalling & unromantic Episode 16 is totally necessary.
I liked this series enough to buy the dvds but am putting a note it the case for next time I watch this

Spoilers:
for a satisfying romance version I should end where the male lead goes to Paris & I should skip ahead & pick up after the kiss (when he proposes)definitely stop at ep 15 time stamp 49:55 when she gets in the taxi & drives away. Pick up at Ep 15 times stamp 50:21

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story rehashing & People don't stay dead! Too many plot twists & turns.

All actors did a great job & I Would have rated it higher if it :
had ended at the end of Episode 12
, hadn't been so intense with more heart palpitating action than I anticipated &
didn't haave so many twists & turns that kept the storyline hard to keep track more often than not. The plot device that was both fun, yet also infuriating was that the characters could change the plot and the storyline retroactively. I was more than ready to be done by the end of episode 12....and if & when I rewatch this, I will stop at there as it's a happy enough ending place, because what follows, is clever, but overstuffed & unpleasantly gut wrenching. They cram in a dizzying amount of twists that really seemed unnecessary. Here's why stopping at episode 12 would have been a good option for me;How many times do the main characters have to end up in jail (doesn't once sound enough ? AND doesn't the amount of time there seem like it should be relatively short ? Apparently the writers though otherwise.How many times must characters die only to be revived ? Female lead's dad (the comic creator) is not really a good guy, but what happens to him & who decides what happens to him would have been better left not being so front & center. They created an impossible plot point.Bad guys who don't stay dead are a tired trope.Second villain's reason for wanting the male lead nihilated is weak at best.Rewrites that have the storyline ending the web series (the comic in the drama) ending it it's past (? yeah, what?)Episodes 1-12 have already given us quite a bit of gruesome violence as well as forced separation of the main couple. Episodes 13-16 just makes for a long drawn out messy (albeit happy) ending. Apparently, things can't end until the villain(s) are gone.The last episodes resulted in just being exhausting , but at least things are explained & some people may like being flung around plot wise yet again.

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Depressing & All the Females are unpleasant. No relationships worth rooting for

AKA; Bo Ra! Deborah By episode 4 I really hated ALL the women. By episode 7 I thought that the sobbing would be done , but Nope, Female lead is still wailing despite the fact that SHE was bored in the relationship ! Conniving women yelling ,blame shaming & being arrogant power trippers make it crystal clear why they are unhappy. they aren't misunderstood or in need of a good man, they are toxic manipulators fixated on an ideal that they pursue like a banshee. I wouldn't be friends with women like that so the idea that any man would want a piece of that is Ludacris !The cheater is obviously a jerk, and I'm not saying that the other men are perfect, but being a clueless idiot is way better than being a scheming, manipulative , angry, aggressive female. By Episode 8 I just felt depressed and sick of all the female's smug, smirky superior attitude. he men :RUN away as fast as you can! I have seen the female lead in other things, and this just ruins watching her in anything again.

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not much of a romance & 1/3 of the movie is not translated into the English subtitles

I watched this because I liked Jang Keun-suk so much in You're Beautiful, but this left me flat and rating is higher than it really deserves . First problem: About 1/3 of the movie is not translated into the English subtitles. 2nd Problem: Female lead is combatative ,hard to get along with,rude & not affectionate. She inflicts all sorts of abuse on Jang Keun-suk, whose long shaggy orangey mane of hair really detracts from his looks. A happy ending is hinted at, but What we are given is an awkward Not sweet or nice ending. To feel good about this series you need to STOP at the the music video that is 3/4 of the way through (at a wedding scene) where they should have ended the movie.

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So tedious. You feel bad for the male lead's character as female lead just isn't worth it

I read the bad reviews & I should have listened. It started off tense & scary yet was interesting. Once the male & female lead start interacting it goes downhill. I got to episode 8 & decided to cheat & skip to the last episode. I will put a spoiler at the end of this review, but let me say that the so called "happy ending"[that happens in the last few minutes of the last episode], lacked in satisfaction. What other reviewers said is true; the female lead is totally unlikeable & don't expect her sister in law to give you anything about her to like either. this should be called : "poor Yong Pal" as the male lead seems to suffer throughout the series .
in case it's useful:
some viewers recommend stopping around episode 16 for a more "good" ending (I didn't have the interest or patience to get that far!)
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spoilers:
the romance comes out of nowhere ! cordial turns into romance in such a way that you feel as if you missed an episode because
suddenly in episode 7 the two leads are crushing on each other...[through some sort of unexplained shared waking or sleeping (?) dream fantasy where there is a montage of them in a sunlit meadow.....very weird! ! About the same time -the female lead is able to use muscles she hasn't used in (3 ?) years & stands unassisted...huh !?

The leads are separated & then reunited at the end....the VERY end of the drama. I'd say the happy ending lasted all of 2 minutes or so

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It's pretty much done by Ep.16

I rated this rather highly for something I'm dropping and something that I will never rewatch. I'm not overly fond of the female lead, (personal taste) & though the male lead is attractive, there isn't much emoting going on ,whether it's because he's written or directed that way, or is simply a minimalist actor. It's a decent enough story & a nice little romance and i felt satisfied by the end of episode 16. I don't care about the female side kick's stories, nor do I care to see the main couple go through yet more difficulties. I can guess what they are going to do with the plot & I'm not into long & drawn out when I get exactly what I want if I stop at the end of episode 16. The only reason I watch historical (?) Chinese dramas is for light fluffy escapism & there isn't anything about the story that intrigues me into continuing

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Not worth the investment. Unlikeable female lead & too much mean spirited bickering

The male lead is attractive & his character is winsome, BUT by ep 5 I was ready for this to wind down as it seemed like a good time to end. I do not enjoying the bickering & meanness between the leads. I'm not a fan of overly realistic storylines, YET I don't like romances with leads that are unlikeable Until they fall in love and then they become nice to each other (though it's an off & on thing). It's especially noxious when that change of attitude is between two lovers. The enemies to lovers trope here is tedious. I began to warm up to the male lead but by episode 12 I still hadn't warmed up to the female lead. I wasn't really sold on the lead actress for this role, so they way they wrote her just added to my dislike. There were TOO many similarities in the lives of the lead characters. It was almost seemed like the writers knew that this couple wouldn't really work unless they forced them together. However the similarities that drew them together on an empathy level doesn't work as a basis for romance.
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Spoilers ahead
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It was jaw dropping ridiculous for both leads to have annoying selfish mothers that they don't like AND they both have Ex's that are selfish , demanding, arrogant, obsessed with them & unilaterally wanting them back without even giving any thought to thier feelings or more importantly how they may have changed in the past 5 years !! The Ex boyfriend & girlfriend continuing to insist on getting back together over & over & over again became tedious & brought the drama down
By Episode 7 I was wondering why I was still watching it. I finally gave myself permission to drop the drama in Episode 12. it's obvious that the leads will end up together, because they are written that stupidly. The way they are written, you know they will be a couple that will bicker the rest of thier life together. Are we supposed to be happy for them? I actually think they would be better off not together.
When I feel this disinterested & also disappointed in a drama's characters it's time to call an end to investing in it as the "pay off" isn't worth all the unpleasantness.

music was annoyingly repetitious & needed some instrumentals to break it up

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Unsatisfying. No revealed motive for main mystery & the "link" gets limited use

I tried it because it was on Disney+ & I had a free month of it.
It was nonsensical to me that everyone was trying to keep secrets that if shared or if taken to the police, would have helped. Dropping it this early still has me wondering what happened to /who is the sister, but I'm really not enjoying it a whole lot now & looking at the reviews, I don't see a reason to continue when there is alot of other dramas that are more enjoyable.
so other reviewers mentioned :
By the end you need to use your own interpretations to fill in the blanks (plot holes)
The motive for the missing sister is never explained.
main couple separate/ distance themselves from each five+ times.
The link seemed to just be for crying and fear most of the time

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Takes empathy & sympathy too far. 3 year separation!

Though a bit on the creepy side, It seemed like a decent drama, until I got suspicious & cheated by looking ahead at the episode synopsis & read some more reviews. From everything I read, it has a "happy" ending , BUT how it gets there is why I'm dropping this drama. I don't like time skips or enforced (couple) separation/ I have even less tolerance for couple separation by choice under the guise of "noble" sacrifice. Add in a soul switch or soul sharing ,( especially mixing the genders of the souls ) & my interest level drops to zero.
From Episode 7 to the end, the plot revolves around these things.
not worth the investment for me.
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Spoilers
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To me it takes empathy/sympathy too far to have
Seong-A take Bong-su 's spirit into her own body in order to protect him.
AND go into hiding for 3 years ! leaving Gyeon-U behind !?

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desperate shirtless men who have sand for brains, selfish unlikeable slappy women

OK so there are shirtless guys wearing tight pants-fine, if that is all you are interested in-enjoy. I'm not into watching sports of any kind but I started this as a way to unwind & it DID start out very sleep inducing. Then it actually got interesting. I actually found myself caring about the wrestling matches & rooting for the Lead. Still, I started to lose interest around Ep. 7, when the build up of community gossips, and Plethora of women slapping men became over done. This is becoming more & more a cultural divide for me, for which I cannot stomach. Why is this "comedy" ? It's a trope that's past it's expiration date. I started losing serious interest in Ep 8. You've got a whole town of aggressive, loud, slappy females & it's tiresome. The the lead female repeatedly puts her own agenda over supporting the male lead & it's pathetic & sad. She is selfish & undeserving of the male lead's affection. But, apparently all the men in the community are desperate & stupid, deserving thier fate as punching bags because it what they choose. By Ep. 8 the sweetness of the story soured. I pushed through to the end, and have to admit that it ended well. If you removed all the female slapping/hitting men, cut out the males lead's irritating family scenes, AND trimmed down the amount of wrestling scenes a bit- I'd give this a solid 8.5 . Sadly, there is just no fixing the unlikability of the female lead. I would re-title this : they had sand for brains.

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Heart wrenching, crises driven drama...so far

up to Ep. 5 and it's alot of sad melodrama that tries it's best to make you cry at some point in every episode.

I love the cast & it's done really well, BUT it is a VERY crises driven drama & by that I mean that there is a crises in every episode, which makes it heart wrenching, so not an easy watch.

I mean is the acting good ? yes, but is it enjoyable ? not sure- crying or watching the actors cry is not my fav kind of entertainment. You know there will be a happy ending, but so far it's alot more heartache than I find I need in my life

Picking it up every now & again because the cast is very charming & endearing & you can't help but be fond of them & cheer them on.
In Episode 7 the mood lightens significantly & gives me hope that it will not be such a heavy drama going forward.
But will I end up rating it higher by the end ?

(Note: am I the only one that sees the male lead as a perfect in a drama playing RAIN's younger brother!?)

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