It's really good if you ignore the obvious plot flaws
The concept is very interesting, and the cast & acting is top notch. However earlier on you'll be asking WHYYYYYY would you .... WHYYYYYY wouldn't you. I can't even with this absurd logic.What I loved:
The entire cast from the leads the supporting cast
Jang Pan Seok (the fact that he's NOT playing a bad character for once) Literally every drama if he's in it he's the bad guy.
Lost souls in this village finding meaning of their new existence and new life -- family friends, love they never received during their living life etc. Heartwarming
The detective <-- why isn't he in more ML roles? His acting is fantastic
What I've hated: (don't read it if you don't want any possible spoilers)
Beginning of the story already with major illogical plot holes like why didn't ML report the girl being kidnapped? That would've been more logical to explain why HE was kidnapped in the process?
So many times, to tell ML about the girl (just the kidnapping part) and yet NOT?
Not so mysterious turn of events. 90% predictable.
Questionable ages . ML witness something 27 years ago and he looked 7ish ? 27 years later he supposed to be 30 but looking 40? Like really doesn't make much sense
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Watch for the laughs but skip the fans
Cliché executed pretty well overallThings that didn't work:
1. FL - her big blank eyes with zero expressions. She's lucky ML and supporting cast offset her inability to act.
2. Fans - Excessive nastiness. It got exhausting after ep 20 and felt super repetitive. Pretty sure you can fast through 10 ep of fan hate.
3. eSports - I see many complaints since this is more about Romance and less about accurate portray of eSports it really doesn't bother me
4. Relationship growth - if this was more focused on the romance they should've played on how they developed. It was ok just could've been better
5. Character growth - it's a fun fluffy drama so don't expect this
What worked:
1. Humor -- Lots of comical dialogue and short jokes which short girls will appreciate the struggles. Of course the subtle ones may be lost in translation
2. Supporting Cast -- Good supporting cast over all especially little fatty, he offers endless comical relief. I see some of the same cast in supporting roles in Love like Galaxy too.
3. Xu Kai -- Strong ML that executed his never exist in real world unattainable drama bf character flawlessly.
4. eSports graphics - Pretty cool graphics
5. Fun Fluffy Cringy all at the same time. There are plenty of people that enjoys this kind of stuff.
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Important Learnings
The FL was such a interesting character in her other drama on Netflix "Tomorrow" that I wanted to watch this drama.At first it was intriguing what this master plan was but then it was like "o that's it?".
Lessons I've learned from this script:
1. Daddy issues will lead to a sociopath daughter
2. Revenge can work if:
---You have a rich cheobol heir for an ex BF that still wants to get back with you and will help you no matter what.
---You have a new rich suitor who wants to be with you and help you no matter what.
Else your only grand revenge is to make a speech in a dating social to expose what the evil woman did to your dead husband.
8 short episodes of this and the story of the husband's death was repeated at least 4x. That's 1 repetitive script.
Few highlights of the drama:
Evil FL: watched her in numerous other supporting roles and this role was completely different from all her prior roles. She pulled it off perfectly. Loved her crazy eye death stares!
Rich Ex BF & Rich Suitor, both characters are quite attractive personality wise. They should've focused more on character growth instead.
Rich Ex BF's stepmom - potential interesting character. Should be a spin off on her character in future drama.
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Was strong until ep 25
The story started strong: Casting/acting/set/costume/fight scenes-- All that you hoped for in a big budget drama. I was excited and can't wait to watch more.After ep 20, it started to slow down. The drama seemed to have lost its luster. Introduction of new characters non related to the plot seem to occupy too much screen time. Meanwhile they could've used the screen time to develop a more convincing love story between the ML and FL. That connection was rushed and the dialogue between the two wasn't convincing that they would just risk their lives for each other.
The drama continued to be anti climatic. & some of the plot twists didn't even make any sense. Ending was highly disappointing. It's still a worthwhile drama until midway at least.
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Incredible cast!
Action packed with some expected twist and turns. I can't say the storyline is all that unique but I enjoyed it because so many other factors were perfect:1. Casting:
Han so Hee, I've seen her in many beautiful girl roles but here she's fierce, broken, angry, mysterious all at the same time. They had to use make up to tone down her beauty. Amazing acting and you can tell she trained hard for the role.
Park Hee Soon, ruthless gangster you'll just love. His expressions ever so captivating borderline psychotics
Anh BoHyun, I usually see him playing some jerk character so it was nice to see him in this role and he definitely pulled off the part.
Lee Hak Joo, Gangster's right hand man. Loved his character & a great supporting role
2. Production: action packed, great stunts and fight scenes. It wasn't a cheap production that's for sure but maybe that's why it was only 8 episodes.
3. Music, cinematography. Happy there was no super white light making actors pearl white. No shaky hand syndrome during fight scenes.
Sadly it could've been so much more:
There were some "ummm ok? that just happened moments"
Like how she got caught? what? How she walked away ? what? & how ML just what?
Only 8 episodes, could've used a lot more development. Dialogue between FL / ML to build that connection. They rushed through and that relationship really needed some more slow burn
Ending was less than desirable. Such a strong start then ended like that. I felt like they were trying to pull a Monster boy + Night in paradise style but didn't quite work
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Hooked till midway then series fell flat
The series started off strong. Character relationship development was interesting and all 3 couples were likeable. Supporting cast was good as well. Unfortunately like many other dramas mid way through the story got kind of sloppy. FL went from smarter than everyone to can't figure out anything. Some misunderstandings felt forced, some episodes felt draggy with too many flashbacks.What I enjoyed:
1. Wen Si Yuan's character. By far my favorite character. The way he talks is distinct and his acting just grows on you. Same feeling as when he played Mu Ci in Ashes of Love.
2. Zhu Yan - before he became his other self. Very lovable
3. Overall story
4. Initial parts had really good classic wu xia fight scenes peaked at the tournament and then..... feels like the fight choreographer quit or something.
5. Chemistry between all 3 couples.
6. Bromance between Zhu Yan & Yin Chang Ge
Downfalls:
1. 2nd 1/2 of the drama
2. Non stop crying and flashbacks
3. Anti climatic out comes
4. Ending that really logically didn't make sense on how the story was progressing. I even tried googling how and why and no answer..... ???
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0 newness to this HS cliche overload drama
Then and now kind of story with first loves but ML FL clothes change in adulthood but acting gestures don't change . It's literally the same story line which would've been ok if the dialogue was a bit more interesting. Typically for these to be successful you need strong funny side supporting characters which there aren't any. Some smart back and forth between the leads which there's like one moment.Story include:
1. FL weak doormat crybaby always needing to be rescued
2. ML cold on the outside and seems to bully the girl but is really helping her
3. Bad parenting and a terrible school official
4. Jealous side girl
5. School bully boys which only ML can defeat
6. Misunderstanding till the end
7. Countless years where no one moves on
8. Story finally resolves in the end years years years later
The End
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It will make you sm:)e
The cast was memorable. Short 24 ep didn't drag on but it could've used a few more. Ending could've been better. The development of the real 2nd lead could've used some more time to simmer the attraction. It felt rather sudden when he confessed & it was like "for real when that happened?".Memorable moments:
Shu Zhan's solo performance on stage showcased his potential. Although overall I felt he did a decent job but that scene was the best of his acting in the whole drama.
Bella Du: Her dance solo & and her screen solo audition was very moving. I love her acting through out the entire drama.
Live streaming of the 3 girls : 1st one was the best but the whole concept was fun and unique.
What makes the drama good:
1st ep will hook you with her playing dead. "professional no script" actor.
Twist of the true 2nd lead. 2nd lead who you thought was the 2nd lead really wasn't.
I also liked that no character was written one sided good or bad. This is very hard to do as typical drama has the one sided antagonist.
It was a good mix of fun but will touch you emotionally.
Could've been better:
Development of other characters.
Story could've used more development. It felt like it abruptly ended without a real ending.
Later ep got a bit more melodramatic than fun. They could've kept some more fun scenes going
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Easy watch, not a serious drama
Lately there's been a lot of this kind of stories: Free spirit strong FL. The story genre is not new but if you enjoy easy watch costume dramas with happy endings (assuming) then this is enjoyable.It's not as good as Romance of Tiger & Rose which I would say it's been the best so far but its got decent amount of humor.
Positives:
1. Supportive family for FL. The family scenes are quite enjoyable. Dad/Brother are especially funny
2. FL's character's got some sharp come backs. Quite witty
3. If there was a Chinese Ken doll the ML would be it for those who likes idol looks
4. Fun names "ran mian mian" "ying bang bang"
5. Creativity in costume design. I love the use of bright colors: orange, dark teal with some creative head pieces
Negatives:
2nd lead is not strong
The 2nd prince looks older than the king LOL
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Classic drama factory idol drama
1st episode already sets the viewers to low expectations...FL & ML are on a boat, flips over the boat. The top of the boat randomly disappears....? So she can somehow jump out of the water INSTA DRY w/ perfect hair.....
Everyone refers to themselves in 3rd person.....cringe.
The only reason to watch this is for the fans of the actors. For me it's Liu Yu Ning. He was so memorable in the Long Ballad that I've been looking forward for his other supporting roles.
Notable enjoyable aspects:
Anything with Liu Yu Ning (completely bias here)
Tim Pei as Leng Bei (He's better playing these emotionless military roles)
Mu Qing's character - classic selfless silent and suffering type
Anle Princess - badass female character
Ep 3: the solo dance was very beautiful, the only memorable dance scene.
Else this drama is very standard
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For the budget this was a success
I really like Xiao Zhan's as his eyes are so intense but this isn't his best work. I am anti voice dubbing (unless the actors have heavy accents) so happy he did his own voice dubbing. It just took awhile to get used to as it's a lot deeper. However the sound quality in general was a distraction. This is where budget shows, over drowning background music with some questionable music choices. CGI was not too bad since I didn't expect a lot.What's good
1. Xiao Zhan & FL had great chemistry right from the start
2. FL pulled off the ideal cute without being cringey
3. Storyline , from a person not familiar with the novel I really enjoyed the story. Feels like an adventure with some mysteries along the way.
4. Good friendships are formed along the way
5. Funny side characters
What's not so great:
1. Audio in general
2. Bad hair days and lots of them
3. Over acting in quite a few scenes
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Way to kill a show w/ new character introduction midway
Introduction of Su Yue pretty much killed the ENTIRE show.The story started out interesting. Karry Wang wasn't extraordinary but pulled off the young character well enough. The policeman played by Zhang Yi on the other hand was definitely a veteran actor.
The mystery surrounding the father's death is the most interesting part and it continued to be good until Su Yue, female lead cop enters the scene. She pretty much killed the drama's vibe in 2 episodes. I literally can't stand any lines that came out of her mouth. They did tune down her character down but obviously the damage has been done.
Ep 23 on it finally regained its luster so still worth watching overall.
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Took me a while to finish
There is a lot to love about this series but it took me a while to finish mainly because the ML rookie Yeom Sang Soo's character was ridiculously judgmental. I didn't like his character or sympathize w/ his situation at all. I don't know how he can pass the academy in the first place. FL's acting was a bit stiff but overall ok.Aspects that I did love:
A dose of reality, society issues that you don't see in rom coms.
Inequalities of job search completely biased which I hope it raises awareness to the gender wage gap.
Fantastic supporting cast. Lots of veterans in this drama with more interesting personalities than the ML.
Story, the crimes in this story are actually interesting, definitely brutal.
Cops are human too.
Watch it for the supporting cast & story.
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Absolutely nothing special
Typical plot with predicable dialogue.Start of the drama I already can see that there will be too many disgusting characters
Office male butt
Overbearing mom you can skip all her lines right away
I am not sure how realistic this is but the office male dominating environment with frequent sexist comments as the norm seems excessive?
Overbearing mom w/ too many lines
The ex insulting her age and income status yet comes back to assume his act can be forgiven?
She gets wrongfully terminated and she doesn't fight back
This is all within the first 3 ep and with zero comedic side kicks aka supporting characters.
What's good about this drama?
Actress - she's 40+ looks 30!! She played her character well just that the script was terrible
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Almost worked
The cast was amazing and I've always loved Park Shin Hye. She's so talented with her singing, acting and she can pull off badass stunts convincingly!! That being said it took me a while to finish the series even with quite a few characters I loved:1. FL lead's dad
2. Asia Mart Boss
3. Agent with an obsession to kill FL
4. ML's bodyguard
What worked?
1. Cast / Acting solid from supporting characters to even the young girls that played earlier version of the FL
2. Action packed - stunts were solid (minus some CGI background)
3. interesting characters - could've been more though
4. Set - Beautiful set from the home view of the city to the bunker. High budget
What didn't work for me:
1. Story telling - somehow didn't captivate me. The never ending circles didn't really work
2. Romance - between the leads, am I the only one that felt like they didn't have much romance chemistry? Don't get me wrong ML is a great actor and I loved him in "Stranger" but I didn't feel them 2 worked.
Happy I finished it finally.
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