What on Earth Was That?
Having joined the Kdrama world in 2020, I like to watch some older shows in between the new ones, just to catch up a little. Kill Me, Heal Me has a 8.7 rating on this website, a very interesting premise and the main actor is Ji Seong, who I quite liked in The Devil Judge. Therefore, I was fully expecting to enjoy this show. Instead, I kept asking myself what the hell I was watching.The plot made no sense, and I don’t mean the multiple personality part but the entire damn plot. Nobody acts logical in this drama, nobody communicates, nobody is just a normal person. All the characters are over the top but not in an entertaining way, just annoying and like caricatures. The female lead has been mentioned numerous times as being extremely loud and that is an understatement (though I will admit that some of the scenes with her brother were pretty funny). There is one stupid trope after another - from childhood trauma to evil corporate executives, it’s all there. I slogged through the episodes thinking there would be some exciting reveal or at least an explanation so it would all make sense in the end but no, not really. I could not wait to finish this drama just to be done with it.
The redeeming factor is of course Ji Seong’s amazing portrayal of the multiple personalities. Just stunning to watch. Every character looks different even without the visual aid of clothes or a tattoo that appears (which I thought was just how he saw himself, not what was actually there.) The portrayal of the teenage girl personality was absolutely hysterical. And the “bad guy” personality was just wow. I didn’t get any bad vibes there and the female lead certainly didn’t either...
Sadly, this outstanding piece of acting did not save the show from being a mess. I absolutely recommend to NOT watch it and pick something else instead. For an older show with mental health as a topic, It’s Okay, That’s Love, was much more realistic and very heart-warming as well.
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Still Very Good After Re-Watching
This was one of the first K-dramas I watched (back in 2020) and I liked it so much I re-watched it in 2022. I still like it a lot, and understood a few more words!Starting with the good, and why I think this drama is well worth watching: There are three couples with different types of relationships, the main leads with the fake marriage, the second couple with the casual relationship and the third couple who has been dating for years. All three types of relationships evolve during the course of the show and are portrayed really well. The characters are very likeable and the acting was top-notch. I especially enjoyed Esom as the fiery second female lead.
What I also liked was the depiction of current issues like expensive housing, discrimination at the workplace, a “me too” moment where the girl is just supposed to just let it slide, and the overall problem of living in a patriarchic society as a woman. There is some wry humor, too. The show overall is light-hearted but with some depths as well.
The not-so-good: The show kept a good pace in the first few episodes but then got a bit draggy. Several dialogues went nowhere and I just wanted to yell at the characters to spit it out already. The female lead in particular was a bit vague, which led to misunderstandings, which took a while to clear up and caused the male lead some unnecessary suffering. But this show definitely has so many strong points that it can easily be forgiven when it drags a little. I certainly enjoyed watching it twice.
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Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area - Part 1
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Entertaining drama with a few plot holes
I have not watched the original Spanish version so this review is solely based on the Korean show. Overall, I quite enjoyed it. One of the criteria of a good drama is looking forward to the next episode and not having the urge to fast forward through the boring parts, so in that sense, it was a good drama because there were no boring parts and it definitely kept me entertained. The plot is interesting despite a few holes – more about that below – and the premise of a reunited Korea was used well in the story, with some tension between characters from the North and the South as part of the plot.The beginning of each episode has a little backstory that helps the viewer’s understanding of the main characters. This avoided the typical long flashbacks in the middle of the action, allowing the story to flow very smoothly as it was told. Very brief flashbacks to the planning of the heist enhanced the suspenseful cat-and-mouse game. Did the robbers foresee what just happened? Plan for it? How will the police react? That part was really well done.
The acting was fine, especially by Park Hae Soo as Berlin and Kim Ji Hoon as Denver. Wish the intimate scene catered a little less to the American market but hey, I’m not exactly complaining.
Now about those plot holes! They were significant and may have been in the original script as well, but that’s no excuse. The most glaring one was a civilian barging into the makeshift police headquarters. Pfff, like that would happen. Find another way to get the character the information he’s using later on. That scene really annoyed me because it was so illogical.
That said, I have no problem recommending this drama if you are looking for six hours of being well entertained. I will definitely watch Part 2.
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