ColourMePurple

A slow journey with gradual build-up and a face plant end

One of the rare times that I'm dropping the rating of a show post the finale. Adamas isn't for everyone and I'm most likely included in that list. The show had a very promising start and suddenly started to drag it's heels at the beginning making it a hard watch.

I was excited to see a dual role but by instantly separating the twins and shooting scenes separately for most of the show undid that excitement. It might as well have been played by 2 actors. The camera work that excited me at the very beginning of the series was no where to be found. The writer twin spent majority of his time roaming around the mansion repeatedly which I would just watch at 2x speed. At the time, I found the role of the prosecutor twin more exciting. But soon that too felt like it was heading nowhere.

Most of the excitement starts around episode 9 onwards. By then a lot of the secrets about the mysterious Adamas are exposed. The people fighting the bad guys all seem to be helpless and powerless despite their status and connections. It is frustrating to see them failing so badly at times and you have to wonder why they have no result to show for all the work and manpower they've put in.

There was a rare opportunity to wind everything in a positive and thrilling way but it was a disaster after disaster for the good guys. In fact, episode 14 may have been the best episode. The ending leaves you scratching your head and wondering what happened? The satisfaction that one might get from watching a crime drama is nowhere to be found here. Do some bad guys get punished? Yes. But it's so underwhelming. And one of the characters realises, "truth holds no power". This is the entire theme of Adamas.

Acting and production is good quality but if the story telling fails to enthrall you, the hard work of the cast and team is meaningless.

SMALL SPOILER:
They tease an open-ending and if just makes you think, do I want to put up with that again in the second season? Probably not, in my opinion.

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Fun and Satisfying

I picked up Miss Night and Day with 0 expectations and it has been a fun ride. I especially liked that the female character was shown as a smart capable person who unfortunately was struggling due to other circumstances and shined when given an opportunity.

Jung Eun Ji and Lee Jung Eun both portrayed the FL character well especially the veteran actress. Enjoyed all her fun moments and she made me forget the outer appearance and made me believe this was a 29 year old woman. It is definitely difficult to perfect two people playing the same role but they definitely did well.

Both male leads did well but I often got second lead syndrome because of his helpful yet unimposing nature.

Though the leads share chemistry, they aren't given too much time to explore it. So there isn't much romance. But I enjoy mixed genres so it wasn't an issue for me but it could be for some people who prefer more romance.

I also enjoyed the roles of the supporting characters. They did great!

One thing I found strange is the leads did not discuss the connection they discovered at the end. And they also decided to write the leads apart when they would need each other the most emotionally. Withholding the secret for so long would also be one of my main gripes.

Overall I found the ending wonderful and satisfying. The series is a good source of entertainment.

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Funny and entertaining with a bit of a drag towards the end

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching The Forbidden Marriage a lot. It had a strong start and I'm glad I watched it. But somewhere in the middle it lost a bit of it's steam and funny moments and felt like it was moving far too slowly for my liking.

The comedy is amazing at the beginning and I loved it a lot and I can't say that for many shows. It has a lot of references to other dramas and present world situations which is where the joke lies since this is a HISTORICAL setting. Later on, the jokes were very subdued though they still managed to make me smile.

The romance is good. The story is predictable so you are just in for a fun ride. Yes, there is a love triangle and I did actually like the second lead a lot so I was partially rooting for him too. Both male leads and nice. The main male lead did a wonderful job with his role playing a man who is broken to one is who more capable of being a leader. Kudos to him. The female lead is fiesty and charming as heck. It's lovely to see her in a completely different role than where I first saw her in Mouse. I love when actors take different kinds of roles. That's when they stand out the most for me. So the only thing I didn't like is that she was more subdued towards the latter half of the show. Guess you can call it "growing up".

There have some actions scenes but it's limited. There are plenty of dramatic scenes and mystery which I enjoyed.

The big finish was great. Just what we deserved but I just wished for a few more scenes of romance. A happy ending nonetheless. If, at times, I didn't find it too slow for my liking, I would have given it a 10. Either way, it's between an 8.5 - 9 for me which is still great.

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Immensely dull in between

When the series started, it was great... for about 4 episodes. I loved the comedy, the breaking of the fourth wall, the genius straight-faced confident female lead and the idea that it was the male lawyer who was the emotional one was also a great change of pace. I also liked the involvement of the SML cop character. But the story sharply declined after that with nothing happening and everything like I was enjoying about the series had turned into the most dull plot to the point that I kept falling asleep while watching it. There was no chance of me speeding up the show because there was a lot of complicated points being discussed which I would have then missed.

It's only from the 12th episode that the story really picked up again. It was funny again. The breaking of the fourth wall was back and the story was FINALLY moving forward. And even though I loved the last four episodes as well, I was just annoyed the entire time before this because I couldn't recognise the show. I really wanted to see things through and I'm glad I persevered because it has a satisfying ending.

I get that they wanted to build up the story, the suspense and the drama but from episode 5 - 10, it was a struggle. 11 th was good at first and then had a boring second half again. This caused me to avoid watching the drama and I fell back and only when I read that the show finally picked up did I finally binge the remaining 6 episodes. So the team basically is struggling throughout this time and it feels like there is no momentum to the show. I feel like many episodes can even be skipped as you won't miss too much.

This drama would have been better as a 10 - 12 episode series rather than a 16 episode one and then my rating for it would also be far higher but considering how difficult it became for me to continue, 7 is fair on my part.

Some additional points to help you make your decision - I liked the mystery element despite the overcomplicated story; there isn't any romance but there is a some good teamwork and friendships established; the actors did a good job and there was no character that I hated though one of the "kids" was slightly annoying.

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A fantastic ride

I had been waiting for this series for a while now and it's certainly lived up to it's expectations!

The best part for me was not being able to guess who the killer was easily. Sometimes you just know it early on but this show keeps you guessing until the end. And even then, many fans were doubting it... waiting for some kind of plot twist. That's the sign of a good mystery where the audience isn't sure until the big reveal!

I loved the time travel aspect of the show as well. Although they don't do too much of it but they have scenes of the male lead travelling in time to the future as well as the past. But the main setting is in the past. The town they created and the look and feel of 1987 was great!

All the actors performed really well. Though Yoon Hae Jun's character feels a bit cold at times, he has depth and is frank with his thoughts and feelings. He also plans things out before acting. Baek Yoon Young is, in contrast, loud and rash. They make the perfect pair for the job they've set out for. I also loved the Baek brothers' plot line. It was quite touching with one of the episodes being a difficult watch. It was good insight into how things might have been for people at the time.

The series also explores a lot of different relationships and family dynamics and how a moment in the past can have a ripple effect. This is the best aspect of My Perfect Stranger.

You can expect some romance in sprinkles in several later episodes. Though there is no full blown romance, the chemistry between the leads is undeniable. And there is a special reveal in the final episode that really got me excited.

The ending has so many sweet and satisfying moments so I hope it finds more viewers.

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Second half better than the first

When I first started watching Unlock My Boss, I was slightly disappointed because it wasn't as interesting as the promos made it seem. It has some comedy elements but not much. It's more of a mystery revolving around what happened to CEO Kim Sun Joo and how did he get stuck in the phone. If you can speed through the earlier parts of series at 1.25x, you'll start to really enjoy the latter half of the show. But because of the slow nature, I am not giving it more than an 8. That's the criticism, now onto the stuff I enjoyed.

Loved the male lead, Park In Sung, right from the start. He's a good guy and he certainly charms you as the series progresses. Same goes for the female lead, Jung Se Yeon. She has a tough exterior due to the nature of her work but isn't a bad person and we see that right from the beginning when she exchanges shirts with the male lead after she spills coffee on it accidentally. They make a good team. They have good chemistry too but the romance is hardly there, if at all. Mostly towards the end because rest of the time, it is too intense for anything to happen.

Then there is a 3rd character, Ma Pi, who was an interesting addition. We delve a bit into his background and his interactions with the male lead brings out a new side to him as the story progresses. He is also involved in several action sequences which were fun to watch and at times a little hard as well.

There is also a cute girl, Kim Min A, who is the young daughter of CEO Kim. Scenes involving her were sweet and tugged at your heart strings.

Of course our CEO in the phone is pretty cool too. And it's nice to see some comical moments involving him.

Coming to the main plot, I loved that our heroes were clever and their work towards the answer was bearing fruit step by step. To be real, the conspiracy was fairly obvious as you get to know the characters. But it was still enjoyable to see how the leads slowly unpack everything with limited resources. The show, unlike other kdramas, doesn't leave everything for the very end.

I loved the little things too:
- The way each episode is "unlocked".
- The integration of AI and VR tech especially Baro the robot.
- The little jokes and moments of positivity. This show is not a depressing one even though there are some sad moments.
- The interactions of every cast whether good, bad or grey really made this show a good watch.

I know a few people were upset with the way the show was ended but if we're honest with ourselves, that was the best way it could have concluded. There was no need to draw things out and we can imagine how things could have gone further. All the important aspects were shown.

If you can be a little patient with it, you'll have fun!

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All Over The Place

I had heard a bit of the hype surrounding this drama. A reel and a friend made me decide to finally start watching without knowing anything about the plot. Just based on the poster I figured it is a high school drama with romance and that's all I knew.

I'll start with the main positives because the negatives list is long. I binged the entire show in 2 days so it is interesting for the most part especially in the beginning. I also liked the female lead, Jay-Jay and the second male lead, Yuri along with a few side characters like Ci-N. The female lead is quite a decent actor and emotes extremely well. I could connect to her but I feel like her character was let down a bit. The theme song also grows on you (I found it irritating initially).

The not so great aspects:
1. The very first episode begins with bullying of the female lead who is new to the school and her class is full of only boys. They gang up on her and the teachers don't even care. Only 1 teacher advises her to change sections. It makes no sense because they frequently punish and even suspend students so why do they ignore the bullying? That really pissed me off. For example, they banned the whole class from the cafeteria without giving them an alternate way of buying and eating food at the school. And later they ban the FL for buying food for them. Quite ridiculous.
2. The male lead, Keifer, forcefully kisses the female lead twice. His plan to make her fall for him and then break her heart to get back at her cousin brother turned me off from him. Plus he was her main bully even before he knew she was Aries' cousin. The only reason my anger towards him subsided after the forced kiss is because Jay-Jay punches him in the face and I felt instant gratification.
3. After about 4 episodes, I found the series addictive and I was curious where the rivalry was going. I was going to rate the drama a 9 at the time. But with each episode they kept adding so much drama. Like unwanted pregnancy, rival gang and kidnapping, illegal fight den, date rape drugs, previously dead step-brother, creepy step father and return of the missing father, LGBT couple, problematic sibling, sad back stories to multiple extras, etc. But because of all these stories, they forgot so much of the set-up.
4. This brings me to next point. They introduced the female having issues with blood leading to traumatic meltdowns and amnesia. And then they forgot about it completely. It was only used as a plot point to get the male lead to comfort the female lead who otherwise was a very strong person.
5. Another back story they forgot is they brought a student back from the dead who claimed that Jay-Jay's brother was actually around her, hinting at her cousin. Then nothing came of this storyline. Even her missing father just left after 1 brief meeting.
6. Keifer, the male lead, kept insisting that he was just leading Jay-Jay on and still planning to break her heart. Meanwhile Yuri, the second male lead was falling for her. So the guy she was supposed to end up with is a walking red flag who refuses to apologise even when he broke her nose and his friend is a green flag who is nice to her. That's why it started making me really uncomfortable because in good conscience I could not root for the the male lead. On the bright side, she was also confused between the two and they don't immediately force a decision on her.
7. I expected at some point that Jay-Jay would be told about the plan to break her heart but either they decide it's not important to the plot or forgot about this as well.
8. The acting. The female lead carried the show tbh. Most of the cast are just too new and the acting was passable. The romance was cute at times but was mostly meh and the dialogues were cringe a lot of the times. Actors playing Yuri, Aries (the cousin), Daniel, etc were some of the better ones. So that's another reason why I couldn't really connect to the male lead.
9. The ending. I can only presume there is some second season coming which is why the series ended the way it did. That whole situation was just so unjust. I feel bad for both Jay-Jay and Yuri.

Despite all this, I'm giving the drama a 7 because I can see the effort behind the drama. I don't mind the added storylines because it maintained my interest and they tried to highlight a lot of issues that teenagers deal with so I respect the thought process. It is just that the acting wasn't as convincing. I would have liked to see some actual friendship between the male leads besides the plotting. Their story just revolved around the female lead. They don't really talk much else.

If a season 2 is in the works, then that might improve my rating of the show. Especially if they address the plot holes.

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Sweet but could have been better

Being a remake of a cdrama, naturally this series will be compared a lot to the original. The Thai remake is far from being a perfect adaptation but in many ways, I find that to be a good thing.

One of the aspects that I disliked in the original is that I grew tired of how many episodes the series had and how long they kept the main leads separated. The SML had more of a presence in the original. Though he was a better character than this version, it still irked me to have to wait for the leads to find each other again. This was the biggest negative of the original for me. Made me feel like watching that series was pointless. But because the Thai version has cut down episodes to 16 instead of 41, I quite enjoyed the pace of the series.

The other thing I disliked in the original is the FL's brother, who original was a wonderful character and I loved the siblings together, turned into a massive hypocrite regarding his sister's relationship. Though the brother's character was not as fleshed out in the Thai, at least you don't start to hate him. At least I didn't. He showed growth towards the end.

The negatives of the Thai drama are that the chemistry is not great between the couples. The best moment was when the FL got drunk. And no, there is no RAPE scene or non-consensual sex happening in this show. All will be cleared regarding that situation if you continue watching.

My favourite secondary characters were the office staff. The leads also did a good job considering the script.

I loved the OST - I'm Missing You. It's really beautiful!

Hope people give this version a chance.

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Slow yet Enjoyable

Miraculous Brothers is a slow paced story about a murder and how 3 men get embroiled into the case spanning 17 years. The second mystery revolves around a teenager who seems to appear out of nowhere in front of the ML's car and can't remember anything about himself. They discover he has some special powers that allows him to see more than what others let on.

Both mysteries are good and overall plot is interesting with a satisfactory ending as long as you are patient. Even the bromance takes time to develop. Sometimes a few characters can feel annoying, eg. ML's mother, but one can look past it. Unlike plots of other shows where things get left out, the writers don't leave any plot holes with this one. Just don't watch this show because of the sci-fi element as it's not present throughout the show. Whenever it is there, it's enjoyable and I do wish we got a bit more of it at times. Miraculous Brothers has a bit of a Signal feel to it. But instead all the work is being done by ordinary citizens and the police is terrible at their job which can be frustrating to watch at times.

Apart from the pacing, I don't really have any complaints with the story. So if you feel the same at any point, just watch on 1.5x speed. That was the biggest drawback for me. While watching the finale episode at normal speed, I noticed that many of the characters, other than the main leads, would all talk slowly with unnaturally long gaps between their dialogues. It's not one particular character but way too many of them which is clearly the director's instruction to the actors. Because of which I wasn't sure if there would be enough time to cover everything but they did.

The ending seemed to tease the possibility of a second season or to just say that more adventures await. :)

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Action-packed entertainment

This is one of those rare shows where I couldn't wait for the next episode! It is a crime drama with action, comedy, heartwarming moments and you can't help but applaud every character for their performance.

The story introduces a male prosecutor, Do Be Man, who reluctantly joined the military to only make money by throwing cases. During the first episode or so, you might destest the male leads actions but don't give up on the show.

Soon he is teamed up with a new female prosecutor, Cha Woo In who appears naive and helpless but Do Be Man doesn't quite buy it. He turns out to be right because she part-times as a red headed vigilante to fight bad guys that the law can't reach.

Eventually she manages to get him to team up to take down the entire unjust and corrupt authority figures in the military. The entire process is exciting because the female lead has been given equal relevance in the show which is rare to see. She can hold her own both in fights as well as the court of law. And the male lead is flexible in both guiding her with his experience in the courtroom as her senior as well as following her lead in the fight against justice behind the scenes. A very healthy relationship is seen between the pair.

Besides the strong female lead, we also get to see a strong female in a negative role that manages to scare even the men. Not only is she strong physically but also cut throat and an intelligent adversary. It was a wonderful portrayal!

A third strong female was Do Be Man's aunt who played a police captain and also provided many light moments in the show.

One thing that truly impressed me is that the show doesn't shy away from presenting the negative aspects of the military that can plague any institution like corruption and bullying and how the military court is required to be impartial in order to serve justice.

A final bonus is that not only does Do Be Man's sound like doberman, a breed of a dog, but an actual doberman also features on the show adding more joy to the wonderful show.

There are many other wonderful characters on the show that add to the brilliance of it through their depictions of positive, negative and grey characters. The show might seem predictable but the journey has many surprises in store and will make you rethink your position on some of the characters and situations. Please give it a watch!

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Beautiful but Incomplete

Twinkling Watermelon has a lot to love about it. I love Time Travel tropes already and I am happy they chose to introduce deaf characters and depicting family bonds and friendships. Despite it having several heart touching moments there is still something missing.

Ha Eun Gyeol is the only hearing member of his family. He has seen a lot of struggles as well as had to put aside his own dreams for the sake of his family. He is carrying burdens and is scarred without realizing what he means to his family. Travelling back in time helps put a lot of things in perspective and he hopes it is also an opportunity to save his father. It is only when he goes back in time, he realizes that his father was also once a teenager who had dreams of his own as well as struggles of his own. The same with his mother and he still desires to carry his family's burdens. But in the process he also ends up sharing a strong bond with his father, Yi Chan. One that he never expected. His moments with Yi Chan are the highlight of the show so the ending does leave you with a little more to be desired.

With regards to his mother, Cheong Ah, again he forms a protective relationship and a lot of instances made me tear up. The depictions are beautiful. Yet again, the ending speed runs through their reintroduction.

Eun Gyeol also meets Eun Yu. I found the chemistry between them quite lacking unlike Yi Chan and Cheong Ah's. The former's relationship didn't really develop well and felt quite choatic. We also don't see Eun Yu overcoming her own trauma rather running away from it. The series also completely skips over Eun Yu's family reunion which was disappointing.

There were moments that felt like the series was dragging and if they had simply reduced those, they would have had the time to give us a more complete picture and then I could surely rate it a 10.

The OST is nice but other than the final song, nothing really blew me away which is disappointing since music is such an important aspect of the plot. The final song is catchy but not exceptional.

Overall, the series is good and heartwarming. The actors have done a fine job in their portrayals and make this series worth watching.

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Controversial

To be honest, I enjoyed the show except for the very end. Perhaps if they had ended it differently, I would rate it higher. But it would also be no different from other shows and be easy to forget. I can see the writer's dilemma.

Nonetheless, I've rated it as a work of fiction. I enjoyed the acting and the story telling. I do understand that such lifestyles work for some people. Just like polygyny, polyandry exists. Men bragging about threesomes gets brushed away as normal/exciting. But women having several partners or partners simultaneousy is viewed as immoral or shameful. Such is the reality of most patriarchal societies that are especially worse in the continent of Asia.

If those involved are in consenting relationships, should we be offended is what it ultimately comes down to. It is possible to have your own set of beliefs without imposing it on others. In order words, live and let live.

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Even with the lows, the relationship is worth watching

I'll be honest, the reason why I rated it this high is because of the relationship between the couple is so mature that it is one of the best I have ever seen. The understanding that the male lead has towards the female lead genuinely touched my heart even towards the last few episodes. The ending of this show didn't make a lot of sense but I still cannot take away from how much I enjoyed the show to score it low. Either way it's still an 8+.

Things I loved:
- The strong female lead. She is a working woman and has to deal with a lot of misogyny at her workplace despite being incredible at her job. However she has a knack for dealing with people and it made me want to save the dialogues. I loved the way, the writers wrote her lines.
- A male lead that is understanding. Not just in a superficial sense but in a deep sense. He knows why the female lead is the way she is. And when he doesn't, he is guided into understanding her by his father.
- The couple's relationship itself.
- The lines are powerful. I genuinely enjoyed so many different dialogues.
- The OST.

Things I disliked:
- The brother and his relationship with his wife. It is toxic and I never quite got why he is the way he is.
- Though I love that the show covers the life of the female lead in her law firm but the name of the show is "She and Her Perfect HUSBAND". For whatever reason, they don't show much of their time together at all compared to the law cases. The male lead's character has less screen time which I didn't appreciate.
- SPOILER: The ending. The husband and wife get a divorce at one point because the female lead cannot accept that she has feelings for the male lead. I'm not sure why when she can admit it to everyone else. The male lead decides to wait until she is ready to accept him and her feelings for him. However, that never happens. He just moves next to her and they hug and everything is resolved. It was so rushed that this is the main aspect that didn't make any sense. I am not sure if it has anything to do the editing or they just ran out of time (they had 40 episodes) but that was nonsensical in an otherwise perfect show.

I still recommend the show for the highs. For those who aren't interested in the law aspect, it might not be suited for you but it's worth skipping parts to where the main leads are with each other or discussing each other.

I will rewatch parts of this show that I loved for sure.

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Kindness always wins

Enjoyed the story a lot. Sometimes things that seem small build up in a relationship making you feel completely alone and unloved. That is how the female lead started to feel. She also saw the loveless marriage her parents had and wanted different for herself. Everyone deserves to be cherished.

I am glad she didn't give the male lead a second chance. Old habits die hard. He would have only changed for a short while and then they would have gone back to their status quo. The biggest mistake most women make in relationships is hoping men will change and they never do. Instead she decided to give a man who truly cared for her well being a chance. In the end, kindness goes a long way in showing you care about your partner.

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Mind blowing ending

This series is proof that even dramas with short episodes can be amazing! This should be on everyone's must watch list.

Though the show has a fantasy element to it with the face swapping, the show is mostly depicting human emotions and relationships and character developments as well. The evil characters are actually grey. The story is actually simple but presented in a wonderful way. The relationship between the main couple is very sweet and will make you smile. The female lead is not powerful per say, but she is not feeble-minded or presented as helpless. She knows how to solve her own problems. The male lead is also intelligent and kind which really shines. The side characters, be it the military adviser, the child, the friend from the brothel house or the head maid, are all lovely and add their own charm to this show. The negative characters also add a very interesting element. I enjoyed the role of the prince quite a lot.

Episode 17 is probably the best. It moves super quick and brings some unexpected insights that tie the whole plot together.

The OST is very memorable and catchy. This is definitely much more than a romance drama with the mystery element but it will give you enough of both.

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