Shannon Brown

I really like Lee Se Young as an actress, but the noises she makes while crying are equivalent to nails scratching on a chalk board. Good Lord! Even my dog starts barking…

I’m glad I read this. Episode ten is usually where I have to start fast forwarding in C-dramas. By then the need for ridiculous plots and filler episodes is too much, and at 36 episodes. Life is just too short to stick with ridiculousness.

I can’t believe I’m about to do this, but I am going to binge this 36 episode C-drama. If you don’t hear back from me in a week, then call the drama EMTs for a life saving operation immediately!

I just started this and I am only one episode in and I really like it. But…as a lover of ballet I am wondering why 2FL is dressed as the white swan, but dancing to Don Quixote music. 🤔🤷🏽‍♀️ Why not use Tchaikovsky? That bugs me… C-dramas often are careless with details like this, but c’mon!

Hmm…I am not exactly sure how I got to or finished this drama, but one day I was strolling through Viki and the next thing I knew I was watching this and enjoying it. Each episode is less than an hour, so it went fairly quickly. The ML is very easy on the eyes and he is the reason I stayed for this. I could have dealt without the love triangle, but the plot moves quickly so the melodrama is dialed back a lot. That’s to this drama’s benefit because the comedy is entertaining enough to keep things moving in a positive direction. Not a bad weekend investment.

So I have finally picked this back up after a years hiatus and I am glad I took the break. When I first started watching K-dramas this was the one on the list EVERYONE said I had to watch, but it was so outdated I just couldn’t make it past episode four. Lee Min Ho is a gorgeous actor, but that hair! 🤣😅 It’s sooo OTT I couldn’t even take him seriously. 🤣
But….after several false starts I finally picked this back up and I am loving it! I am on episode six and I am ingesting this drama like an aged wine—slowly.

I think I needed to OD on dramas of all types before I was ready to tackle this classic. It is actually very good, but if you’re a newbie to Asian dramas, then don’t let this one be the first on your imminent TBW list. Take your time and immerse yourself in several types of dramas (not just K-dramas) before you take on the great elder statesman 😉

It’s only after you’ve already watched hundreds of hours of dramas that the beauty of this classic stands out as…well…a classic.

🖖🏽

This was very enjoyable for me. I found it charming and the case of the week format helps to move things along nicely without bogging the story arc down. The romance was a bit of a miss for me. I think I would have preferred a more developed friendship where the ML gradually develops feelings instead of having him like her right from the jump. What sells this drama is the FL. She is very engaging to watch and the cast of characters surrounding her serves her talent well. I will keep up with season two simply because I am interested to see where the story goes further.

Ahhh…I didn’t realize it was for coma only. Definitely makes sense. Is that from the manga?

Yep! Everyone is Alice gone down the hole. Strangely after I watched this I needed something light and fluffy, so I started a rewatch of King: Eternal Monarch. I found it interesting that Lewis Carrol was a mathematician. And truly Alice goes to a world that is upside down. Very interesting series.

Lastly, I would love to see this director and the writers take the borderlands to different cultures where different types of people are in the borderlands.

I just want to add that I LOVE how this show dealt with death and the passing into the great beyond. You know how you hear about people who have survived a moment of death experiencing… something life changing, but they can’t remember what it was; yet, afterwards they are changed and more prepared to live life to the fullest. This show made me think about how I am living life right now in the present. I want to live the to the fullest. Kyuma was right!

Here’s a question for folks who read the manga, or have done a deep dive on the internet. Is the borderland still playing games? Is the borderland only for a lot of people who die unexpectedly?

Japanese cultural references are liberally sprinkled throughout, and the mass casualty event of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are what I think this drama is based in part on. Could we see borderlands for more casualty events?

Agreed. The intensity of the games was different, but the payoff is where it’s at! That’s why I cerebrally enjoy the second season better. I am still thinking about this show, and that is the mark of a good series, IMO. The first season is all games and “fun”. The 2nd season is where it really comes down to life, death, and the meaning of it all.

One thing I like about this show is the way each individual viewer can interpret borderland, the games, players, etc, based on their own experiences. So here is my answer to your question. I think borderland was like a crossing point into the afterlife. Some people went relatively easy. Whether it was just a quick passing through and then they moved on; or they fought to survive, but didn’t make it. So in short my answer is the borderland was like a way station and those who died in borderland moved on. Even those who elected to stay would eventually move on since time there is non existent.

Also as for why some people could take extensive damage while others could be shot once in the shoulder and bleed out two minutes later. I think that is tied to a person’s will to survive and just fate in general. Meaning some people were fated to die no matter how hard they fought.

Lee Se Young does a lot of crying in this. I’m seven episodes in and I think she has cried in every episode.

Very enjoyable. I like the one case per week format, and I thought the actress did a decent job of making the character unique. I could have done without the romance. I was more interested in Young Woo’s journey. Definitely worth the time. I like this enough to go on with a second season.

I kind of felt like she started off like the girl in season one with Chota, who always used her looks to get what she wanted. She even tried to kiss Arisu, and noted that Aguni turned her down when he caught her on top of Arisu. To me it spoke more of her immaturity, but again her arc felt a bit rushed.

And I now I realize who she is! She did a lot of stunts in that too.

She was in Rurouni Kenshin!!!! OMG….I did not know that, but my hats off to her. Oh man! Another reason for me watch all five Rurouni Kenshin movies again! Thank you!

You know.,,I am really satisfied with the ending. A third season would ruin it, unless they used a different mass casualty event and just a different story altogether.