Dabosil

A case of:

Great Actors
Interesting Characters
(Korean-wise) Unconventional Plot (I know it's an adaptation of Dr. Foster)

But at the same time, the plot is interesting and also really draggy, even though I love so many of those moments.
But it really never feels to go particularly anywhere in some strange sense, even though there are new resolutions that come up.
I love Ji Sun-Woo's colleague, for example, but what is he literally doing there? What's his deal? He looks suspicious but then isn't.

I love how the characters are so gray and make human mistakes, and how Tae-Oh and Sun-Woo's parenting is horrible and they don't even realize it because they think being overly sweet to him makes up for everything when they literally are just indulging in his annoyance and rudeness.

But...
It was fine watching this one episode a day, but then even to a certain point, it felt tiring.
So it's a calming watch? even if it isn't calming,

Honestly, though- 16 episodes of 1 hour 30 minutes length!

I really felt that it could have been cut to at least 10. So I guess I stop at episode 13.

Agreed...it did feel somewhat cinematic and a bit like those indie movies, (the colour palette, cinematography, etc-), but I felt like the plot wasn't so abundant. The themes of women in the workplace was cool, but the characters sometimes made tiring decisions and I felt by episode 12 I couldn't continue on, so I never watched the last 4 episodes.

Haha, just heard it is quite flat as well. Ah well-come on iQiyi! It's your only line of mystery series that every single young actor trying to make it out of the 'light fluff romance' genre wants to be in~

Actually super interested in this. I've only have watched SHK's Encounter which I thought was a very well-rounded type of drama that did well for its genre. Her acting was okay there, and she objectively has better styling here than there, so I'm excited. Never watched anything with JKY yet though. Hopefully, it's got some interesting themes to explore regarding...breakups, not sure in which direction, at least, more than just a tale of a romance.

As for noona dramas, I think this is more of a trend in recent years no matter where I see it. I don't know if I'm getting the wrong vibe but I think the age gap isn't supposed to be the central theme.

A drama, but more emotionally-based, character-centered, raw, exaggerated to an extent.

In more simpler words-crazy stuff happening and focus is on people and their feelings.

I can kind of understand what people mean. I couldn't see that at all when I watched it, and I felt such strong father-daughter-companion vibes. In the end, I don't think anyone is really wrong, but obviously the father-daughter makes more sense due to Jiwoo's need for a father figure/caregiver. Plus both latch on their guilt and their need for someone and all that so it's not a sole type of relationship, but they care for each other deeply.

As for the ship-I think they have great chemistry, but that's not definable in terms of love. They really play off each other so well though. I think the reason people may have done this is because of the trope/ also Choi Mujin has very expressive eyes so it plays a very interesting contrast. But no, logically speaking, there was a very complicated relationship there and I liked how it wasn't explicitly said.

And yeah, she was a damn minor. So no matter what, he only saw her as an embelm of his guilt in the start. I also think both have too much trauma to really be a one entity, but they do want companionship.

I think the cast carried this one. The plot was predictable but still kept me going, the characters interesting, and the artistic styling for cinematography, sets, outfits, even the background music was great. The actors really pulled through though. It's not the best of its genre and is predictable, but somehow it's just so good.

I also have to say I'm so happy there are no fillers and that it's an 8-episode format. Really great to watch.

Personally could not get past much of Nevertheless, but Han So Hee really shined here for me, so much that I went back to watch her in The World of The Married. It's not that her acting is a lot better than great actors, but this was one of the instances where looking at two characters I never thought about the actor at all.

Amazing experience, consistent through and through.

Oh, and Kudos to some best action sequences I have seen in a long while!

Haha, I forgot I made these posts. Anyways, I thought about it after a while and tbh I don't really care about what goes on around here anymore. Mainly I do believe he has right to fair defence but I can't say I support him much because I'm not a big fan of his or anything. Also, what do you mean by rumors? Those locations were true. I think the public persona is probably out of context, and nowadays all celebrities are like this anyways so I can't bother to judge them right now. I'm not really angry at this whole situation actually but my entire point was just to say that the price of being in the entertainment industry is different in each country and there are limits, which here much is based on the outrage of the public.

I've so far watched TBK and Sisyphus, and a bit of TLN. Not Pavillion-I heard its reception wasn't as good and people don't think it's as good as the others.

I agree that Chinese Historical Dramas are the selling/unique point of Chinese entertainment, as well as Wuxia/Xianxia (but I really hope they go back to making sets, costume designs, and their colour usage with Chinese traditional elements, still so weird to see a bunch of western influences in historically related design)

For a good historical drama, I recommend Rise of The Phoenixes. Still slow in the start, though, but the designs are lovely and the acting more so.

I personally would love a historical (or fake historical), because both NIF and TROP are, to come along and top them, as

NIF has pacing, plot, characters, politics, pretty good ending
TROP has costume design, set pieces, characters, politics. romance, a shitty ending

and combine all those good parts.

Also good to have a Wuxia/Xianxia not so much related to romance or fluffy pink-land. I mean, what are those gods doing in their XXXX years of existence? A cultivation-centred storyline would be awesome too.

Once Upon a Time on Lingjian Mountain is pretty good, too.

Would be nice to see more dramas, whether modern or historical, to get rid of the heavy-white filter.

Speaking of which, iQiyi's Light On Series (Mystery and Intrigue), which includes The Long Night and The Bad Kids is pretty great and a step in a different direction.

Thanks for making this actual editorial!
Fun Fact: No matter which culture, incest is a venture that most people find morally upsetting. (You'd think it's murder or something)

I think it's something related to how we view familial and societal roles (that humans establish).

What is the higher power that upholds human morals, and which ones are right?
I don't think we know. Of course, though, it's still strange to our perceptions, or categorizations, of people.

In itself, these fake brother/sister thing still feels off as well (there's only the comfort of knowing it's not the REAL flesh and bone sibling) because the only way it works is that there's some kind of trauma or something the person is holding onto, so you can never be sure as an audience whether they even like the other person.

As for actual-I would love to be on the consenting adults side, but there's still that twitch in my heart. I suppose I'd let people live out their existence, but my morality would extend to not watching this type of plotline,

Am I perhaps the only one who thought this was just above average? I do like it, and yes, the acting of Jung Ho Yeon, especially as a newcomer to the industry, is great. In fact, the acting of most of the cast is great and I do like the implied depths in personalities. However, though I'm sure Lee Jung Jae is a highly respected veteran actor, I didn't really few the vibe from him at all-I really tried to sympathize and understand his character, It seemed he served the plot to seem light-hearted at times (talking about primary school stove in the middle of a life-and-death scenario...?) and adamant, indignant, at times where he felt justice wasn't served, and yet I couldn't follow his thought process. I also thought though it's a good message, I suppose, to have good in the world, he was a little naive and survived on wishful thinking on human interaction. But boy, it is life and death and you know the people are staying for greed when they choose to come back. He also really really depended on lots of good luck. The Ali-Cho Sang Woo dynamic I also had to figure out a little longer (wasn't sure where it was going), but when I found out, I must admit their arc is a lot more interesting and there's more thought and depth to it than. with the main character's relationships, I suppose. I also think that girl in the end who was paired up with Jung Ho Yeon's character was quite unnecessary and sudden.

Even if I did like some of the characters, I have seen these types of setups so many times before, from the character motivations to backstories, and it does well, yes, but just to that point, but doesn't do anything over it. It also really staled towards the end, and I really felt like the whole policeman arc, which was also one of the most interesting ones, really went out of the window just because they want to make a season 2. I also still don't understand the actual message of it all towards the end, even if the determination of the male lead-so eradicates all evil, evil which pits people going through this life-and-death match.

In the end, the whole system is a gray area because the people have half-a-choice. They are willing yet under influence. The problem belongs to society. And towards the end, I have no new insights about the main character at all.

Quick summary: I thought Lee Sang Woo and Ali were interesting characters, and quite fresh (arguably the most for Ali, though lee Sang Woo's character did bring a little bit of something new to the table), but everyone else (main protag, Sae Byeok, the clingy-determined woman and the bully) were all archetypes I've seen quite a lot, regardless of execution.

Cool concept, gripping one too, though not the best of executed. I don't even look for loopholes and am quite bad at spotting errors but I spotted at least 5 going through it. If I were to put on the lens of the world and ignore them, I still can't understand a lot of the plot direction and main character motivations.

In summary, it's fine. Maybe a bit more than that. It's okay-good. Sure, watch it. Not particularly stunning.

Objectively (As in, regardless of what he does, right or wrong, etc), when stars in C-Ent have had horrible scandals and have jumped back. though there remains a group of people that will dislike them, they stay strong due to a loyal fanbase. The way they get back into the public eye is through rounding off happenings of events (and it's usually not mentioned) and appearances on variety shows to increase popularity and the audience's perception towards their personalities. However, this has usually applied to cheating scandals, abuse scandals, but I've not seen a case about patriotism yet. I do know of some stars who have been kicked off Weibo for saying what is deemed unfavorable/unpatriotic, and they now lay low, so it's not a great track record. However, huge-scandal-wise, Fan Bing Bing would be an example. Many thought she would be able to get back into the public eye, and over the years she's started to appear at more events and has done a lot of charity work, etc-but the recent re-focus is definitely going to cut back her edge back into the public eye for at least a while.

So while I think there is a chance that ZZH could come in, he could also just be reinforced again with another issued notice-type reminder. Though the industry does do some crazy stuff sometimes, notices are followed quite thoroughly when they come out because you know they're not messing around.

Apart from that, I mentioned variety shows because it's to do with audience popularity. While the initial problem would be the authorities. In the end, it comes down to the leniency of the public (and stars know well enough to have to let it cool down for quite some time so the public doesn't feel so angry anymore before reemerging into the industry, regardless of scandal).

I must also say it's surprising to see he's currently #3 on the flowers stars leaderboard. I suppose his MDL fanbase is quite strong.

Perhaps. I can see why you don't like it. I just finished it yesterday and I was more 'in the flow'. Then I went to sleep and thought about it analytically and I can see how the drama is a hit or miss (kind of like Vincenzo). I think most 'craze' dramas are those types-very appealing to some, very unappealing to others. Usually, the 'meh' range for the general public gets a generic score.

Let me see....you loved Crossfire, Better Days, and The Long Ballad, all of which are (relatively) serious genres.

Have you tried 'The Rise of Phoenixes'? It's super long at 70 episodes (But I see you have 'Legend of Fuyao' on your list at 66 eps, and 'The Long Ballad' was pretty long too). I absolutely (save for the crappy last ten episodes( love it. (Let me tell you, the scriptwriter wrote the ending drunk, I'm pretty sure).
It has great production, great acting, and is a fictional dynastical historical drama. The main leads have great chemistry as well, and the politics is pretty good for most of the drama.

It's just one of those regrets towards the ending. but it was still worth it. Other than that, the start is a little slow. Anyways, do try it if it interests you.

Wow, underrated. It's one of those dramas on the Netflix reccs with a great thumbnail but still not so appealing as to bring you in. I'm glad I decided to click on it for the fun of it out of the blue. Not the most whirlwind of plots (or excitement), but it balanced the realistic-unrealistic side of dramas very well while still having a great message. Plus. production and chemistry were great. Just great overall, plots all wrapped off well. Might not be one of those I gush about but it did so well just for everything that it's one of the best. Though there will be some that make you more excited, this is the type that sticks with you for a while longer than the others. Great watch!

It's alright, don't force yourself to go through something if you don't want to. Everyone has different tastes, and thought I thoroughly enjoyed Vincenzo, I admit the start is a little ehh, and there's also different times to watch different genres.

I took a look at your list, and your highest rated dramas correspond reasonably similarly to me. Since you liked 'You Are My Glory', I would recommend the Korean Drama 'Encounter'. I've actually just finished watching it and it was unexpectedly great.

Great Article! I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially that little tit-bit on the difference between western and Asian anti-heroes.

One Correction: Feng Zhi Wei not Feng Zi Wei

I also think a more general reason why people are more inclined to like anti-heroes is because they're a lot more human and flawed, while with heroes there's a higher bar of expectations for them, as they represent the pinnacle of human greatness and potential, which is less relatable or more flat/tropey.

But I don't like all anti-heroes. Some of them have too much of a completely trope-filled storyline and as for others, well, the past doesn't justify everything.

I see that perspective, and I feel strongly for other actors as well. But to be honest, many of these works are funnels for money laundering in the background and most of the works you see these actors in aren't that great quality, to be honest. I suppose just looking at it from normal light it is a real shame for everyone else, but the quality of many Chinese movie (with big stars) or drama productions aren't that great. I guess Zhao Wei is an exception-she's known to have good works and be a great actor. So all in all, I don't don't feel like there's much to linger on-like ZS's movie (forgot the name) in which she was paid the huge sum of money, was also found to be a shell, essentially. I won't say ZZH is horrible at acting, he's okay for the roles he plays. At the same time I want Chinese dramaland to have better genres, topics to present, and actually a new generation of great actors to come to the spotlight.

I know this has nothing to do with patriotism inherently, so I can see your argument. I guess I just don't see so much to miss so I'm not that bothered in this case, but if it were something else I could probably feel the same way.

What does 'gone' mean? No, he's not arrested, detained, or anything, but he's gone from the entertainment circle for sure. Actually, ZS was not arrested either as she didn't technically break the law.

Well then
Being wrong and having how much industry power behind you are different
Just checked Weibo and lots of people are talking about it, just can’t get on hot search so obviously there’s someone behind the works
So both of them are wrong then

I suspect it’s having to do with the fact that Zhu Yi Long’s recent drama ‘The Rebel’, which was super patriotic, just ended, which would be way more highly controversial.

Edit: I don’t mean to say that they’re both deserving of this punishment but frankly I don’t believe any celebrity is really innocent or whatever, so on.