Eleison

The Double was good, too! Cdramas are extremely stylized, way further from reality, and everyone looks too perfect (even more than Kdramas), which usually turns me off from the fantasy ones especially, but a few with super high ratings I have tried, and really enjoyed, to my surprise. They had much better pacing and writing than I anticipated. And some very good chemistry and acting at times, too (Zhao Lusi for the win! I now get why everyone adores her.).

Yes, your P.S. is spot on. You don't watch Kdramas for "new" and "innovative." Those of us who like them just want a good variation on a theme that's been told dozens and dozens of times. ☺️

Have you tried Move To Heaven? And the dramas without romance (crime/action/slice of life) tend to be more innovative or feel more unique. You can try some of those, perhaps?

Yes, sometimes the mixing and matching of common tropes doesn't pair well--I sometimes feel the same!

Well, in my experience the ML is always somewhat similar to the description you provided of the ML here (innocent and pure, and a novice in love). I can think of Weightlifting Fairy and Fight For My Way just off the top of my head that had MLs who dated before, but most are not written that way. That's all I meant. You seemed surprised that the ML was written that way, which gave me the impression you haven't seen many Kdrama rom-coms. I apologize if I misunderstood your comment. Looking back my response does sound dismissive.

There is more variety amongst types of FLs, but the way you described the ML is what you'll find in most Kdramas (in my experience).

I guess you haven't seen a lot of Kdramas, my friend.

The only user I've ever blocked, but because I use the app I still see his comments. He drives me bonkers! 😭

Also, cliches and tropes ARE Kdramas. If people want innovation and something different, then don't watch Kdramas. They just mix and match or give some spice to the already existing collection of tried and true tropes/cliches and recycle them or mix and match them in new ways. Complaining about tropes and cliches in Kdramas (especially rom-coms), is like complaining there's too much gore in a John Wick movie, or too many people dying in a Zombie movie. It's part and parcel with the genre, folks. 😏

People complaining about the Kdrama formula is even more baffling; they do realize that ALL romantic Kdramas have SMLs, and that these SMLs NEVER end up with the FL, right? It's just a rarely broken parameter of the Kdrama formula. 😂 It just drives me nuts that people come to a predictable genre and proceed to demand unpredictability. *sigh* 🤷‍♀️

The Double deserves every inch of that 8.9 rating.

He didn't play a golden retriever in Castaway Diva. :)

I ultimately still disagree that MDL ratings are useless, but I hear you. (I think it's nice that MDL offers a variety of ways for people to research whether they like something. For you, that's reviews and comments, for me, that's ratings and comments.) You made some excellent points!

I will just venture to say, from where I sit, in order for this rating to have been manipulated extensively by fans (unless there's something I'm not understanding about how creating accounts and rating drama works, which is totally possible), they would collectively have had to create tens of thousands of fake accounts (since it finished airing) to keep this score super high. That seems excessive, even for MDL fans to accomplish (since the number of viewers has probably increased by 30,000 viewers since I started watching this).

And I don't disagree with you that the score will most likely drop, but the high score is super common right after a popular drama on MDL finishes airing anyway. It will flatten out as time passes. It always does with every drama on here UNLESS it is stellar in every way.

If you didn't like SWDBS, then you most likely will not like this. It's like SWDBS and True Beauty vibes with a fantasy time traveling element.

It's been fascinating to me to see people's perspectives on this, and very telling about their views towards mental health, and each person's agency in their own mental/emotional suffering despite biological or environmental factors. Those with more traditional views seem to enjoy it, those with more progressive views seem to think it's toxic and damaging. So interesting to observe the different takes!

A conversation piece, for sure. I have yet to watch it. :)

Entertainment is not meant to alleviate/help with mental health struggles; at best it can provide some food for thought and provide a few quotable lines and at worst it can spread misinformation about reality (which is the most common of the two options, I'd say). Can it help with mental health struggles? Maybe for some. Also, entertainment is not meant to be instructive (or even very accurate most of the time). Can it be instructive? Sometimes, but only if taken with a grain of salt and tested against more reliable sources of information.

That said, this is why I won't watch Daily Dose of Sunshine. I figure, based on observations, synopsis and comments, that it would bring up topics or issues I don't find entertaining to engage or think about, and therefore would not enjoy.

Entertainment also reflects the biases of its makers; Korea and many who live there seem to have more traditional views of suicide, therefore it makes sense their take would be more traditonal?

I agree that would have been a nice addition!

Oh, sorry I misunderstood. Yeah, I was more satisfied with the ML's arc. There were several episodes (I think around Episode 10ish) where he became very disappointed with himself and angry at how corrupt he had become.

Also, those early episodes had a lot going on and were a bit confusing, and while the ML was a terrible person at that point, I think they did a good job showing that his indifference towards fighting for justice and fighting against injustice came from watching the corrupt military justice system at work for years. He had seen that it was never fair or just and there was virtually no way of making it fair without jeopordizing his position and standing, so he stopped caring about which side he was fighting for and distanced himself emotionally and mentally from the cases so he could just do what his superiors wanted. That's how I saw his character; the FL starts working on him after that and he does start improving after those first few episodes, but it's not until Episode 10 that everything clicks and he becomes a champion for justice even though he knows it will always be an uphill--and maybe even at times a fruitless--battle.

Once I saw him agonizing through that realization that he was a scumbag, and change drastically afterwards, I was pretty satisfied.

It was Noh Tae Man who never got that development which is why his character arc bothered me.

Also, just a thought, but you might want to consider marking your comments as spoilers? :)

Yeah, his arc was the weakest part for me. It wasn't as bad as I was made to believe from reading the comments (even with spoiler comments I went into the drama thinking he'd actually raped her, which wasn't the case), but even though he wasn't quite as awful as I originally thought he'd be, his "redemption arc" did not satisfy. There was more I needed to see for WHY he changed and more he needed to do to make up for his detestable actions. Technically, he should have been punished for filming. That is also a punishable offense! And most people like that don't change, if we're being honest. Sex offenders, like cheaters, are often REPEAT offenders. 🤨

Yes! MDL ratings and popularity rankings for me have been invaluable, and I've learned how to use them (and the comment sections) to navigate my preferences with successful results most of the time. :)

I usually ignore reviews, as they reflect a very small sampling of people's tastes and preferences. I find the comments are enough to give me a sense for what I'm getting into. The only time I'll pay attention to a review is if a user's written one whose observations, opinions and arguments I usually align with in comment threads. Then I will read it since I trust their analysis.

I find MDL a helpful space for finding content I enjoy!

"A score like that usually transcends genres and personal biases unless a person is completely close-minded." My experience of comment threads on other highly rated dramas is similar to the comment thread on LR, which is a mix of mostly praise and some critics. (Though, to be fair, LR finished airing fairly recently, and the hot debates around it will take months to die down, so it's harder to get an accurate read on a drama directly after it airs (in my experience).) There are ALWAYS critics, so my experience is no drama transcends genres or personal biases, and there will always be people whose tastes differ. That said, your comment I quoted above I would only agree with if several years' distance is added to the equation. If it's been three or four years since it aired and it still has above a 9 paired with a high popularity ranking (meaning it has 100,000+ people who've rated it), the drama is indeed something special.

Some of your points remind me of arguments I've heard about voter fraud during elections whenever people don't like who won. I suppose there could be manipulation, but such accusations are easy to make, and harder to prove. I wholeheartedly believe people are messed up enough to rig ratings (or elections), but again, whether it's happening to the extent people claim is, I think, quite difficult to determine beyond a shadow of a doubt. Also, most people who do reviews do so because they have REALLY strong feelings one way or the other, but still many who enjoy shows will never write reviews but will rate them (like me), and that could also be another explanation for what has happened here to confuse you? 🤷‍♀️

Feel free to move forward distrusting MDL ratings and calibrate your research accordingly, but claims such as yours are above my "pay grade" (and my knowledge of technology), and have not applied to my experience so far, and don't adversely affect my research on this site yet.

I imagine with time the rating will be ironed out if indeed manipulation of some sort has taken place. Time will tell. If the rabid fangirls have been actively rigging the ratings since it finished airing, eventually they will move on and the ratings will plunge as you suspect. Personally, I also don't think it will maintain a 9.1 rating, but I think it will stay in the mid to high 8s at the very least, which, if it ends up getting over 100,000 viewers, means it's still dearly loved or enjoyed by many who see it. This is also why I'll usually wait some time to watch super highly rated dramas in order to let the dust settle and get more even perspectives as people calm down, but I watched this while it was airing, so I found myself riding the wave as it was happening. 😂

While I'm not sold on your claims, and don't agree with your assessment of MDL, I appreciate you taking the time to explain why you think this way. 👍

I also like it when knowledgeable, articulate, reasonable fans camp in certain drama comment threads and become consultants for the drama, if you will. 😂

For instance, @Taliatoo helped answer my questions about The Double (still struggling to get into Cdramas), and I ended up loving it. All her advice, insights, posts and takes on the drama were incisive and accurate and totally helped me know what to expect; thanks to her, it delivered on my expectations.

It's fun when you come across people with thoughtful opinions who aren't merely tunnel vision fangirls or killjoy trolls. 😂 MDL at its finest!

I'm not sure our tastes are always the same regarding other dramas, but I've agreed with all your thoughts on LR! :)