See, I don't think the show is underrated, 8.2 is a good score, but I do think it's underappreciated! I think many people didn't pay attention to the details enough to understand the story.
It was well-written and great, with not as many clishes you can see in most Kdramas.
Also, I honestly don't get why people say the romance was rushed and out of nowhere, when people clapping for romance stories that happening after the 1st meeting, basically. Their love story was developed well enough. It's just the story was shorter than most Kdrama.
"No back story on who the Snow Man truly was and why Hongrang (little brother) saw him in his dreams."
There was no need for a backstory, he was just an average soldier. The original Hongrang saw in his dreams, because his dad was the boss of the Snow Man, so he probably saw him once. It doesn't need to be said it out loud. It was obvious.
"Painter as a villain lacked a convincing villain arc, just felt very forced + cliche."
The painter was just crazy as hell, that's all. There's no need to add the usual: "I want to rule the world." etc nonsense.
"Jae-yi and Hongrang’s romance felt very rushed and almost out of nowhere."
It wasn't from out of nowhere. It was built up slowly. The signs were there. Even with the other guy.
"No closure on what happened to Knot-nim in the end."
I don't think there's need for this, she got what she wanted, end of story.
"The whole poisoning thing from the arsenic + alum made no sense that it had effects years later when in reality it would have had more immediate effects when they were children. "
I agree about this tho, but it can be explained too. For example, Knot-nim and her crew maybe helped him survive.
"I find it unbelievable she really didn’t learn any martial art skills considering the types of people she was interacting with in secret."
But she did. There was a scene with the other brother, who actually said he thought her some self-defense moves. She's obviously not a skilled fighter, but she can defend herself.
Totally agree. The early reveal really ruined the tension, though I get that they were probably aiming for a 'villain…
Yes, that's the only reason I have a problem with the reveal. Also, I'm already afraid of the drama with ML's medical problem. I hope they won't overdramatize it, because we all know he's not gonna die anyway.
Honestly, this doesn't need 16 episodes, it could be done in 10 or 12. Not only the viewer, but every character knows everything before episode 4, so it's basically like a cat playing with the mouse. The cops can't do anything, because the villain has everyone in his pocket.
The writer made a HUGE mistake revealing the villain. It already feels repetitive and dragged out for no reason.
The romance is cute and all, the characters are good, and the actors doing a great job, but I don't see why we need another 8 episodes of this.
The story would be MUCH BETTER with a weekly villain with some fun moments, because the premise of the plot is interesting, we have 5 good characters, but wasting 16 hours on 1 villain is too much.
Sometimes I really question some Kdrama fans' morals. Like, they say, FL and ML didn't have chemistry and FL is irritating and selfish etc.
Meanwhile, they're hyping up an actual TOXIC romance. The 2nd lead couple. What the heck is wrong with people? Romanticizing an online bully with a poor girl who's a victim of domestic violence?
Anyway, aside this part of the story, it was pretty good, well-written with great acting, but the finale was kinda messed up. They just can't finish a series without unnecessary drama, right?
Most people’s brains can easily grasp that on a 1-10 scale, a 7.8 is generally considered a decent score. I…
"I choose not to rate shows I haven’t finished because I don’t believe it’s fair to judge something without experiencing it in its entirety. "
I get that, but you can rate the episodes you watched, and let's be real, if you dropped it, it's not good anyway. If you watched more than half of it, I don't think that show could be better later. Also, a LOT of people already rating Ongoing dramas, based on the first episode, and I don't think they change the score later.
"So I think criticism often comes down to how something is handled, not just what it includes."
I agree that adult scenes are not always done right, and it's basically just fanservice, but we could say the same about romance dramas, too. I've seen a LOT of people complaining about these shows, even tho the actual scenes had a meaning. To be honest, I always felt that a lot of viewers forget the plot or don't pay attention. Alchemy of Souls is one of the prime example of that. The hate train about the so called "Main Lead Change" was nonsense, and it showed the ignorant side of Kdrama fans, and the fact that they only care about the romance, and that's why I can't take seriously when people complaining about adult scenes.
"I’m still figuring out what kind of shows really click with me."
Between age 15-25 or so, I watched everything from beginning to finish, even if it was crap. Now, I don't have much time to do that. I only need 3-5 episodes to see if a drama is worth watching till the end. Sometimes, I can do that after 1 episode. I very critical, mostly because that's one of my job as well. So, I don't rate or write reviews as a "fan" all the time.
"Maybe, like you, I’ll reach a point where I can predict the quality of a show just from the trailer or synopsis. But I’m not quite there yet."
You watched 760 drama so far, and that's a LOT, I watched hundreds of dramas too, I'm just too lazy to add them to my list. :D
It takes many years to predict the quality of a show. I also watched hundreds of Western TV shows and Movies, so it's hard to surprise me. Kinda miss my old naive self. :D
Most people’s brains can easily grasp that on a 1-10 scale, a 7.8 is generally considered a decent score. I…
"Personally, I rarely rate anything below an 8, but that’s because I usually drop shows I’m not into early on. "
See? This is a different story here. You don't give low ratings because you drop shows. That basically means, you're rating those shows lower than 6, probably. Also, you don't rate dropped shows at all, as far as I can see. Even when you watched more than half of it.
"contain nudity or heavier themes often get lower ratings. But again, that says more about audience expectations and comfort zones than it does about objective quality. "
Okay, but you can see the 18+ rating, if someone don't like nudity or adult stuff like killing etc, they don't have to watch it, just to rate it lower later and call it p*rn. I mean, if they do that, why not do the same with romcoms? Most of the romcoms are the same with different actors.
Many people already said this, btw. They don't want to give low score, because many people worked on these shows, but that's a bad argument as well.
I watch shows, not just Korean for over 2 decades now, so I don't really need a rating to understand what should I watch, based on 1 clip or a synopsis, I can already if it's gonna be good or not, and usually I'm right, because I only dropped like 5 shows, but there are 18 others or so that I could've drop as well if I'm not in a good mood. Pretty much every show I rated lower than 6, I only finished it, because I love one of the actors. So if I drop something, that has to be really bad.
My Liberation Notes and Descendants of the Sun was hard to drop, because even tho the plot was not good enough, I love half of the cast. :D
On this website it is indeed low. Have you taken a class where you got graded on a curve, sometimes a score of…
That's so weird. No such thing here in Europe. Or at least when I was a kid.
I get that rating is about personal taste, but when someone rate something 10 just because they loved the romance or an actor, that's when the whole rating became pointless. Rating is not always about taste, it's just pure fanbrain. Most people don't like to be critical. The rating system could work better if people would use the whole scale not just 7-10. :D
I only make judgment based on trailers or synopsis, and obv after I watched the whole show, IF it's not bad. I don't drop many shows.
On this website it is indeed low. Have you taken a class where you got graded on a curve, sometimes a score of…
You just proved my point about people don't know how to use the rating system, and the average score doesn't mean anything, basically. Let's just say how it is. Most Kdrama fans can't give lower score than 7, and if they see their fave actors or a cute couple as a main lead, they instantly give 8/10 at least. Again, this is why no one should take the ratings seriously. People don't rate the drama (story), they rate the romance or the actors.
"Have you taken a class where you got graded on a curve, sometimes a score of 50 would be an A, sometimes even 80 would be a C."
No, because I have never taken a class in a mental hospital. Let me guess, this happened in America.😂
And Netflix is the last one you need to ask about the STORIES,
That's my point, really. We can't say Netflix making crap dramas when Korean made 100s of crap Kdrama in the past couple of decades too. As I said, everyone made good and bad dramas.
Most people’s brains can easily grasp that on a 1-10 scale, a 7.8 is generally considered a decent score. I…
I'm here since 2012, so I've seen everything. 7.9 is basically 8/10 and that's already a high score. For me: 1-3 is crap, 4-5 is below average or bad, 6-8 is average, and 9-10 is great.
Most people find 8/10 a low score, because they give 9/10 for most things they watch, that's why on VIKI you can't find anything below 9.0. 🤣
People care too much about rating. Not only MDL, but on almost every platform, rating is unreliable. I'm seen so many people rating 10/10 shows with the one of the worst writing ever only because the main couple was cute. Meanwhile, I watch multiple shows with low ratings like 5/10, and I still think it deserver higher score. For example: Doona! and Hur Jun Original Story has 7.7 rating, but I give 9/10. Both show is more grounded and realistic, hence the lower ratings. The same goes for 18+ rated shows. Some nudity and people already giving 5 or lower scores.
That's why I don't trust scores. If the actors, the summary, or the trailer is good, I'll give a chance.
And Netflix is the last one you need to ask about the STORIES,
Funny, because most of the Netflix dramas has the best written stories. I mean, the ORIGINAL, not the licensed ones. Netflix made the only Kdrama I rate 10/10 after more than 20 years of watching Kdramas. "When life gives you tangerines". Not that my opinion matters the most, but I don't really rate anything higher than 8.
Every studio has good and bad shows, but the usual Korean studios still making the most Kdramas, so you can find more bad ones from them than from Netflix or any other streaming.
2 
1 
1 
It was well-written and great, with not as many clishes you can see in most Kdramas.
Also, I honestly don't get why people say the romance was rushed and out of nowhere, when people clapping for romance stories that happening after the 1st meeting, basically. Their love story was developed well enough. It's just the story was shorter than most Kdrama.
More in my review.
There was no need for a backstory, he was just an average soldier. The original Hongrang saw in his dreams, because his dad was the boss of the Snow Man, so he probably saw him once. It doesn't need to be said it out loud. It was obvious.
"Painter as a villain lacked a convincing villain arc, just felt very forced + cliche."
The painter was just crazy as hell, that's all. There's no need to add the usual: "I want to rule the world." etc nonsense.
"Jae-yi and Hongrang’s romance felt very rushed and almost out of nowhere."
It wasn't from out of nowhere. It was built up slowly. The signs were there. Even with the other guy.
"No closure on what happened to Knot-nim in the end."
I don't think there's need for this, she got what she wanted, end of story.
"The whole poisoning thing from the arsenic + alum made no sense that it had effects years later when in reality it would have had more immediate effects when they were children. "
I agree about this tho, but it can be explained too. For example, Knot-nim and her crew maybe helped him survive.
"I find it unbelievable she really didn’t learn any martial art skills considering the types of people she was interacting with in secret."
But she did. There was a scene with the other brother, who actually said he thought her some self-defense moves. She's obviously not a skilled fighter, but she can defend herself.
Honestly, this doesn't need 16 episodes, it could be done in 10 or 12. Not only the viewer, but every character knows everything before episode 4, so it's basically like a cat playing with the mouse. The cops can't do anything, because the villain has everyone in his pocket.
The writer made a HUGE mistake revealing the villain. It already feels repetitive and dragged out for no reason.
The romance is cute and all, the characters are good, and the actors doing a great job, but I don't see why we need another 8 episodes of this.
The story would be MUCH BETTER with a weekly villain with some fun moments, because the premise of the plot is interesting, we have 5 good characters, but wasting 16 hours on 1 villain is too much.
Meanwhile, they're hyping up an actual TOXIC romance. The 2nd lead couple. What the heck is wrong with people? Romanticizing an online bully with a poor girl who's a victim of domestic violence?
Anyway, aside this part of the story, it was pretty good, well-written with great acting, but the finale was kinda messed up. They just can't finish a series without unnecessary drama, right?
I get that, but you can rate the episodes you watched, and let's be real, if you dropped it, it's not good anyway. If you watched more than half of it, I don't think that show could be better later. Also, a LOT of people already rating Ongoing dramas, based on the first episode, and I don't think they change the score later.
"So I think criticism often comes down to how something is handled, not just what it includes."
I agree that adult scenes are not always done right, and it's basically just fanservice, but we could say the same about romance dramas, too. I've seen a LOT of people complaining about these shows, even tho the actual scenes had a meaning. To be honest, I always felt that a lot of viewers forget the plot or don't pay attention. Alchemy of Souls is one of the prime example of that. The hate train about the so called "Main Lead Change" was nonsense, and it showed the ignorant side of Kdrama fans, and the fact that they only care about the romance, and that's why I can't take seriously when people complaining about adult scenes.
"I’m still figuring out what kind of shows really click with me."
Between age 15-25 or so, I watched everything from beginning to finish, even if it was crap. Now, I don't have much time to do that. I only need 3-5 episodes to see if a drama is worth watching till the end. Sometimes, I can do that after 1 episode. I very critical, mostly because that's one of my job as well. So, I don't rate or write reviews as a "fan" all the time.
"Maybe, like you, I’ll reach a point where I can predict the quality of a show just from the trailer or synopsis. But I’m not quite there yet."
You watched 760 drama so far, and that's a LOT, I watched hundreds of dramas too, I'm just too lazy to add them to my list. :D
It takes many years to predict the quality of a show. I also watched hundreds of Western TV shows and Movies, so it's hard to surprise me. Kinda miss my old naive self. :D
See? This is a different story here. You don't give low ratings because you drop shows. That basically means, you're rating those shows lower than 6, probably. Also, you don't rate dropped shows at all, as far as I can see. Even when you watched more than half of it.
"contain nudity or heavier themes often get lower ratings. But again, that says more about audience expectations and comfort zones than it does about objective quality. "
Okay, but you can see the 18+ rating, if someone don't like nudity or adult stuff like killing etc, they don't have to watch it, just to rate it lower later and call it p*rn. I mean, if they do that, why not do the same with romcoms? Most of the romcoms are the same with different actors.
Many people already said this, btw. They don't want to give low score, because many people worked on these shows, but that's a bad argument as well.
I watch shows, not just Korean for over 2 decades now, so I don't really need a rating to understand what should I watch, based on 1 clip or a synopsis, I can already if it's gonna be good or not, and usually I'm right, because I only dropped like 5 shows, but there are 18 others or so that I could've drop as well if I'm not in a good mood. Pretty much every show I rated lower than 6, I only finished it, because I love one of the actors. So if I drop something, that has to be really bad.
My Liberation Notes and Descendants of the Sun was hard to drop, because even tho the plot was not good enough, I love half of the cast. :D
I get that rating is about personal taste, but when someone rate something 10 just because they loved the romance or an actor, that's when the whole rating became pointless. Rating is not always about taste, it's just pure fanbrain. Most people don't like to be critical. The rating system could work better if people would use the whole scale not just 7-10. :D
I only make judgment based on trailers or synopsis, and obv after I watched the whole show, IF it's not bad. I don't drop many shows.
"Have you taken a class where you got graded on a curve, sometimes a score of 50 would be an A, sometimes even 80 would be a C."
No, because I have never taken a class in a mental hospital. Let me guess, this happened in America.😂
Most people find 8/10 a low score, because they give 9/10 for most things they watch, that's why on VIKI you can't find anything below 9.0. 🤣
People care too much about rating. Not only MDL, but on almost every platform, rating is unreliable. I'm seen so many people rating 10/10 shows with the one of the worst writing ever only because the main couple was cute. Meanwhile, I watch multiple shows with low ratings like 5/10, and I still think it deserver higher score. For example: Doona! and Hur Jun Original Story has 7.7 rating, but I give 9/10. Both show is more grounded and realistic, hence the lower ratings. The same goes for 18+ rated shows. Some nudity and people already giving 5 or lower scores.
That's why I don't trust scores. If the actors, the summary, or the trailer is good, I'll give a chance.
It was decent, but carried by Minah entirely, basically, and the writing was all over the place.
Every studio has good and bad shows, but the usual Korean studios still making the most Kdramas, so you can find more bad ones from them than from Netflix or any other streaming.