Aryael

Well, Ep. 2 opened up lots of possibilities. Good that it is veering away from what we are expecting, but I do hope that by adding layers to the story, the writer won't get caught with it halfway through the drama and ended up giving us nonsensical last parts and ending. Please, please turn out to be a good one!

In Ep. 1, the similarities with While You Are Sleeping are: ability to see future events/deaths, taking active action to prevent it, two childhood friends/fate determined from childhood, female lead lost her father because no one would believe her/ trauma related to her father's death, seeing death related to runaway soldier (seriously! are there really so many runaway soldiers in Korea creating havoc in public????). The similarities in ideas/settings are there but where Black's story will continue from hereon will be of a different path to While You Are Sleeping. Makes one wonders if this year, the KDrama trend is about abilities to see future events/deaths...which may explain why there are 2 dramas currently airing with similar settings and genre. A few years back, it was vampires, then ghosts, then time/ dimension traveling, then goblins/grim reapers.....I guess it's seers now eh? Do all the drama writers in Korea agree on the same genre for each year like some kind of under-table agreement???? You know, like how each season each year, all the major brands will churn out similar style concepts and color to trend for that particular season and year.

Goblin (Grim Reaper) + While You Are Sleeping (Able to see future events/deaths and go about changing it) + Bring It On Ghost (Being possessed that leads to special abilities)= Black? Let's hope this drama turns out good. *fingers crossed*

I know anonymity is important but can the administrators see who were the people who rated un-aired shows? I believe this is case enough to be given a warning and if ignored, banned from MDL.

I think it's only fair if those who had actually completed the drama gets to rate it; hence rating should not be made available until a day after the drama finished aired (I mean what's the point if we have an estimated end date for a drama if we do not make use of it eh?). As for episode ratings, make it separate to overall drama rating and also set it so people can only rate and comment on the episode a day after the date of the episode airing. That will give more credibility to the ratings. Just a suggestion if you take ratings seriously.

A nice little drama that stayed through to its plot from start to finish. The writer didn't let us down. Ending was good but another 30 seconds where our leads kiss to seal the real deal would have been more conclusive for viewers. But that's just a tiny complain, otherwise the story is interesting. The two main leads acted well. The second female lead was good but the second male lead was obviously a newbie with his stiff acting.

Looks like their relationship is going downhill in Ep. 12. All the unnecessary angst is quite childish actually. In real life, if the person I like does not like me back or intend to date me, I would have moved on. What's the point in wasting a good part of your youth pinning for one person? Even if can't fall for another, then shift focus to studies and career advancement. So many things in life worth focusing on. It's not the end of the world!

It's like asking if you would choose the devil or the deep blue sea! In my opinion both Goblin and Bride of Water God are mediocre products. Goblin gets more hype because of Gong Yoo and the famous writer whereas Bride of Water God was less hyped because the male and female leads do not pull as much weight. Story-wise, both can be completed in less than 10 episodes - especially Bride of Water God - it can be nicely condensed into a 2-hour movie. If you can't decide which one to start (if you haven't started on either one), my suggestion is don't start either! Try other dramas. But if you are really bored out of your mind, ran out of good dramas to watch and want to find out what all the hype's about, Goblin has a little edge over Bride of Water God - not story wise but acting and dialogue wise. It has it's quirky moments and the characters are more developed and funny.

A chaebol heir acting as a chaebol heir. Hmm.... I think they are running out of ideas!

This should be categorised under "So bad that it's so good"! Agree with everything you said from the staring and stiffness. I gotta add also -the laughable attempt to imitate Chinese culture and poor props! Despite all these glaring flaws.....I actually like this drama. That admission alone is enough to make me pull out my hair in frustration and amazement! It is most puzzling indeed! It's like that guy you love to hate and hate to love - the one you wanted to punch for being such a big jerk but can't help but sigh in surrender when you see him.

I like that they use the Carpenter's "Close to you" song as the main theme song of the couple. However, from memory...most movie or drama using this song ends with a sad ending.....I hope this won't be the case for this drama though. From the style where the female lead narrates everything that happened between her and the male lead in a somewhat regretful tone, I'm already apprehensive that something bad might befall the male lead.....*anxious* Other than that, 4 episodes in and the story is going beautifully. The chemistry between the OTP is good.

On another note, a tribute to the beautiful voice of Karen Carpenter and the magnificent music genius of Richard Carpenter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANZ1sUwg_Fg

The OSTs are beautiful! :)

He became blind from an accident. His blindness is curable but he refused treatment out of guilt. He knew his carer looked like his dead fiancee because she was hired by his best friend/secretary who told him that she looked exactly like his dead fiancee. Later on, he found the courage to undergo surgery and regained his eyesight and saw for himself that she indeed looked like his dead fiancee but by then he had already fell for her personality. The interesting twist here is we are not dealing with a case of doppleganger. Watch it to know. It's one of my fav TDrama. Nice mature romance. The female lead may come across annoying at first (mostly due to misunderstandings) but she tones down as the drama unfolds and after she gets to know the male lead well.

Lovely article and I agree with the recommendations! Good variety there too! And happy winter, mate! The temperature dropped to sub-zero during the nights where I'm at. Brrr.....with a hot cuppa, layers of clothing, socks and fleece blanket....I find myself in the mood for something dark because of the weather. Been re-watching and bingeing on mystery, war, horror and investigative dramas of late. Last week, re-watched Master's Sun for the umpteeth time. Just finished re-watching Battle of Changsha last night. Tonight, I might go for cold case since you reminded me of it! Ta! :)

And the final plot twist.....*drum roll*...wait for it... wait for it....after all those plot twists and 40 episodes later, our heroine woke up on a hospital bed and realised that she is actually a he and that his soul got transmigrated into the past where 'she' fell in love with two blokes who died killing each other in some unnecessarily complicated palace plot. He then ran out of the hospital to check the internet and read about their tragic ending in history before walking into a museum and saw an old painting of 'she' and the two blokes. Ending credits roll and leave audiences hanging dry and very frustrated with the open ending. They will wonder just why oh why did they sit through 40 episodes for such a nonsense ending! And they will end up coming to MDL to rate the drama which will push it from 9.0 to 7.5 before realising that the drama was labelled as "historical, melodrama, romance" to begin with! The end. :)

Agree with Battle of Changsa and LOTCH 2008 (in my opinion the best version of LOTCH though not the most accurate version) but I wouldn't recommend the Vigilantes. If you plan to stick to Wallace Huo's historical dramas, then try Perfect Couple instead of the Vigilantes. Heaps better! But my favourite Wallace Huo drama is the modern mystery, investigative, thriller, romance drama "Love Me If You Dare".(2015).

I love Hu Ge in LOTCH 2008 the best but his character in Nirvana in Fire (2015) is another one you absolutely cannot miss if you are venturing into historical CDramas. Another classic and a must watch (sort of a baptism into historical CDramas) is Three Kingdoms. You can't really claim you are a fan or expert in historical CDramas until you'd watched the entire Three Kingdoms series. It's the "Bible" of historical CDramas. Absolute classic!

One historical CDrama that is my pet favourite though may not be a favourite of others is The Legend of Qin (2015). If you are venturing into wuxia, you cannot walk pass all of Jing Yong's stories, especially: Legend of the Condor Heroes, Return of the Condor Heroes, Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber (these are a Trilogy), Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils, Sword Stained with Royal Blood, Fox Valant of the Snowy Mountain and The Smiling Proud Wanderer. Check out my drama list or PM me if you like to learn more about historical and wuxia CDramas. :)

Absolutely a big yes for Love Shuffle!

It is very rare indeed when I agree with all of the drama recommendations from a post and this is one of those very rare times! Well done! I agree with all the recommendations here! :)

My honest review of Ep. 1: Slow start. Too "wordy". Dialogue not particularly engaging. I'll treat this as the episode that sets the scene re. the worlds of gods, why Habaek needs to go to earth and the relationship between Habaek and So Ah (master-servant). This episode also briefly introduced the second male lead (Hoo Yee) and mentioned Bi Ryeom (the Sky God) as someone Habaek disliked despite being good friends since childhood (so, there's some story there). Hopefully, the next few episodes will pick up pace with the story.

The drama synopsis should be:
Habaek, the water god is at the verge of becoming the emperor of gods but to do so, he must gather three stones from three guardian gods on earth. He left his Water Kingdom for earth only to find that he'd lost all of his godly powers in his human form. With no powers at his disposal, his last chance in succeeding in his quest comes in the form of a woman, So Ah, who is the descendant of a man who pledged to be the water god's human servant. However, So Ah, a psychiatrist by profession, has no idea about this centuries' old pledge made between her ancestor and the gods. To her, Habaek with his impossible claims of godhood came across like a mental patient. How can Habaek solve all the challenges he faced on earth and complete his mission? And will So Ah awaken to the reality that she does indeed belongs to Habaek?