DramaAjumma

Everything's so politicized these days. Even a place like MDL can't escape agendas.

I don't think so although it's still hard to say at this point what it is exactly. A slow burn psychological thriller might be the best way to think of this.

This is a genuinely intriguing show. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it. There's obviously some kind of mind bendy stuff going on but what exactly... I like the unpredictability of it all and it's nice when dramas try and challenge the audience.

The only people who should be rating this are those who are watching it.

Ah... we finally have some idea of what this is really about. The mental health of field operatives.

She's much better in Episode 5

I think the Longest Day in Chang'an comes pretty close.

I like her more than I liked Eun-soo to be honest.

It wasn't exactly great television but I enjoyed the leads' dynamic for the most part. It was a pleasant way to while away time. Not the worst rom com I've seen, nor the best. Could have done without the nutty sister who can't act.

The FL's best friend Zhenzhen and one of the prosecutors Pan Xiaoli. The two older prosecutors -- the single dad and his daughter's godmother.
I'm less sure about Yan Lu and Zhi Ji. They were formerly lovers but I don't know if they'll get back together.

Namgoong Min is doing some of his best work here.
Another heartstopping episode.

Yeah, but Awaken was mediocre even from the first episodes. This is actually good.

It's really not a bad show once you get past the first 3 or 4 episodes. It's always a pity when they have to resort to tropes with the leads but honestly it does get better.

Yes. From the little that I've seen.

The male lead is definitely much more interesting than the female lead. I always enjoy these sorts of Count of Monte Cristo type of characters.

I can tell just from the first four episodes that the female lead is trouble. I thought she was smart but she's too reckless for her own good. Her mother should be her priority and she should be playing the long game.
It's a good show largely because of the male lead's storyline and it's quite an unusual angle. It's better than I expected. Wonder who his father is.

I agree with that comment but I still see comments frequently pushing back on the ratings or comments that don't reflect the commenter's view.
Whatever you and I might think, people do care about the ratings -- enough to drive it up or drive it down to give a particular impression one way or another. How many times have we read comments about the ratings being too high or too low? Why have the mechanism in place if it isn't going to be a meaningful indicator of something?

I acknowledge this show is popular and that the rating reflects its popularity more than anything else. Personally I'm pushing back on the hyperbole. I just don't think the show is that amazing. In fact, if anything I find this drama rather dated. This is coming from someone who has watched K dramas for over a decade now.

Just because we're anonymous and don't know each other from Adam we shouldn't assume that the person on the other side doesn't understand what good writing or a good drama looks like. You don't know anything about me so let's not make this personal.
And as I'v conceded in my earlier post, the ratings here are very subjective. It also doesn't mean no one can enjoy a mediocre drama. It's just that when people look at the ratings later on when they're trying to decide if it's for them they might have overly high expectations as to what this is about. That's what the OP's original pushback is about. There are many shows that deal with life in the regions like Camellia, like Racket Boys, like Chocolate to give a few recent examples which are very good, all a good mix of character and plot driving the writing and perhaps the OP has those in mind.

If we're going to have any kind of civil discourse, let's not make assumptions about each other.

I agree that Vincenzo is overrated but at least I can understand the buzz around it. It was at least doing something different even if it went on longer than it should have. It played by its own rules and wasn't beholden to tropes. Same with Mouse. Both were flawed but at least they tried to play around with the genre.

Doom and Nevertheless were controversial. Audiences were divided about those. Doom was an empty nothing and Nevertheless I didn't bother.

I think I understand what you're staying here because for me as well a drama that's rated 8.9 should have something "extra" to it in terms of the ideas being put forward. Yeah, I think Homcha is watchable and occasionally it's even fun but the writing is really nothing special. The actors are practically doing all the heavy lifting. But yeah, it's all been done before, it's a trope fest and very predictable.
We just have to accept that the ratings on this site are very subjective.

Excellent start showing plenty of promise. If there's a show that deserves the accolades that's coming its way, it's this. And of course it's always a joy to have Namgoong Min on our screens. It's been a while since I've watched the British series Spooks... but this really reminds me of that.

I love me a mole hunt. :D