I'm sadly dropping this at ep 16. I love complex characters, messy and gritty backstories, and the bones of this drama. The acting is really good and there are so many good aspects, but they failed in the way many cdramas do-too many episodes. The plot had good bones, but they chose to prolong uninteresting aspects and barely spend time on others that would've made good subplots. The past timeline went on for too long only to abruptly end. Then the present timeline resumes, but it's within the same sets and it begins to feel bland outside of the character personalities. The leads relationship takes a backburner to the investigation plots which start off fun then lose logic and steam. If this same story had been condensed down to 24 or 28 episodes, I think the pacing would've been much better. But instead at episode 16, I find everything boring except for the lead's complex characters, I'm not even interested in their love story anymore.
If you like complex, gritty, push and pull between flawed leads, I definitely recommend will love in spring instead.
The transition in episode 11 was absolutely terrible. My gosh what were the editors thinking, it was pure confusion, zero answers, rushed, and gave major whiplash.
Does he break people down by playing innocent, confusing and annoying them until they lose patience and their train of thought--then with a weaker mental state, he uses his hypnosis? Perhaps with magic too as he is able to know intimate details about people.
My thoughts on the ending- So mamiya found the building where the first hypnotist in japan lived. He learned the secret of mesmer whether it was simply hypnosis or hypnosis plus magic. The detective falls victim to Mamiya's abilities words, revealing the darker pieces of himself but he doesn't become hypnotized. It seems like he chose to free mamiya, find the secret, then learn it himself, continuing on exactly what mamiya was doing. So the ending scene is him having created another hypnosis victim.
This isn't an intense jumpscare horror. This is much more of a creepy movie rather than scary. The goal is to make you unsettled, curious, and get under your skin. It's a slow burn horror that's effective and leads to an ending that allows for the characters' story to continue.
So don't go again expecting something crazy scary, this movie wasn't made for that.
The central plot is pretty basic palace politics with murder and mayhem, but the supernatural context make this for a fun watch. The art direction is insane, from the creative character designs, amazing set pieces, lighting, and sound designs-it's all stellar. I only wish the plot matched that. I wanted to see more of the world through Gu-Cheon's eyes. I would've loved longer episodes with more buildup, character development, and more supernatural worldbuilding. The central plot is a 7/10, but the unique supernatural aspects and amazing art design bumps this up to an 8/10. The art design alone is wroth an 11/10.
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If you like complex, gritty, push and pull between flawed leads, I definitely recommend will love in spring instead.
My thoughts on the ending-
So mamiya found the building where the first hypnotist in japan lived. He learned the secret of mesmer whether it was simply hypnosis or hypnosis plus magic. The detective falls victim to Mamiya's abilities words, revealing the darker pieces of himself but he doesn't become hypnotized. It seems like he chose to free mamiya, find the secret, then learn it himself, continuing on exactly what mamiya was doing. So the ending scene is him having created another hypnosis victim.
So don't go again expecting something crazy scary, this movie wasn't made for that.
Also what in the world is happening in this comment section? take me home i'm scared :(