Surprisingly Charming, Self-Sabotaged in 2nd Half
My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.
I was planning to watch this simply because of the casting of the leads. I expected it to be bad, though. I was pleasantly surprised, especially since I haven't been having much luck with finding good K-dramas lately.
Acting/Cast: I am impressed by Seo Kang Joon (서강준). He really carried this drama. This was a perfect role for him. His acting performance heavily depends on the script and directing. So, you can tell when he's really liking a role (such as Cheese in the Trap) and when he's hating it (such as The Third Charm). He seemed to really enjoy this role, which is especially evident in his well-done action scenes. Jin Gi Joo (진기주) did great with her character as well. She felt like a unique and realistic person. A problem that K-dramas often have is when the main characters' distinctive personalities fall apart in the second half of the drama. Thankfully, this drama does not have that problem. This drama has pretty good side characters that are well-acted. I've seen that some people didn't like the villain, but I thought she was fine. I like a good over-the-top villain sometimes. It was appropriate for the vibe of the drama. 8/10
Writing: The first half of the drama has a very zany, comic bookish style. I don't normally like that type of style, but it was really working. I say "was" because this style was lost in the second half of the drama. For instance, in the beginning of the drama, there's a car crash scene with the male lead and he miraculously and humorously escapes unscathed. In the second half of the drama, there's another car crash scene with the male lead, but this time it's much more realistic. It was like I was watching a completely different drama. There's another major difference between the two halves of the drama that also plays a part in creating a huge disconnect for me. This issue involves the plot in general. The plot of the first half revolves more around the students in the school and the dynamics between them. This aspect was really interesting to me. The character growth of the various students was going really well. Then, the male lead's cover was blown and he has to leave the school. It's as if the entire first half of the drama was a complete waste. The side characters and all of their growth no longer matter; they have no impact on the story going forward. The main storyline becomes the focus. This is when I started to lose interest, as the main storyline is actually pretty lame (looking for gold hidden in a school). Another reason I started to lose interest is because of the extreme lack of romance. I thought the reason that the male lead was outed as not actually being a teenager was so that they could develop the love story between the leads more without it being weird. Well...don’t hold your breath... 3.5/10
Direction/SFX/Music: This drama has a high production quality as well as a fun OST. There's this music that kept playing that sounded exactly like The Incredibles and I loved hearing it. It’s called City Outlaw (by 김영성 and 박세준) if you’re wondering.
6.5/10
Entertainment Value: I was surprised by this drama's start. It was by far the most entertaining drama that I was watching during the time. Even when the drama fell apart, it was still more entertaining than the others. It sucks, though, when a drama has such a strong foundation and they still fumble it so badly. 4.5/10
Overall, I gave this drama a 5.5/10. A rating of 6 and above would be my recommendation zone. This drama didn't quite make it there and it's all because of the disappointing second half. It's like the writers forgot what they had built up in the first half and decided to try something new. I can say though, that this is one of the best Seo Kang Joon (서강준) roles that I've seen. Maybe even the second best (after Baek In Ho in Cheese in the Trap).
I was planning to watch this simply because of the casting of the leads. I expected it to be bad, though. I was pleasantly surprised, especially since I haven't been having much luck with finding good K-dramas lately.
Acting/Cast: I am impressed by Seo Kang Joon (서강준). He really carried this drama. This was a perfect role for him. His acting performance heavily depends on the script and directing. So, you can tell when he's really liking a role (such as Cheese in the Trap) and when he's hating it (such as The Third Charm). He seemed to really enjoy this role, which is especially evident in his well-done action scenes. Jin Gi Joo (진기주) did great with her character as well. She felt like a unique and realistic person. A problem that K-dramas often have is when the main characters' distinctive personalities fall apart in the second half of the drama. Thankfully, this drama does not have that problem. This drama has pretty good side characters that are well-acted. I've seen that some people didn't like the villain, but I thought she was fine. I like a good over-the-top villain sometimes. It was appropriate for the vibe of the drama. 8/10
Writing: The first half of the drama has a very zany, comic bookish style. I don't normally like that type of style, but it was really working. I say "was" because this style was lost in the second half of the drama. For instance, in the beginning of the drama, there's a car crash scene with the male lead and he miraculously and humorously escapes unscathed. In the second half of the drama, there's another car crash scene with the male lead, but this time it's much more realistic. It was like I was watching a completely different drama. There's another major difference between the two halves of the drama that also plays a part in creating a huge disconnect for me. This issue involves the plot in general. The plot of the first half revolves more around the students in the school and the dynamics between them. This aspect was really interesting to me. The character growth of the various students was going really well. Then, the male lead's cover was blown and he has to leave the school. It's as if the entire first half of the drama was a complete waste. The side characters and all of their growth no longer matter; they have no impact on the story going forward. The main storyline becomes the focus. This is when I started to lose interest, as the main storyline is actually pretty lame (looking for gold hidden in a school). Another reason I started to lose interest is because of the extreme lack of romance. I thought the reason that the male lead was outed as not actually being a teenager was so that they could develop the love story between the leads more without it being weird. Well...don’t hold your breath... 3.5/10
Direction/SFX/Music: This drama has a high production quality as well as a fun OST. There's this music that kept playing that sounded exactly like The Incredibles and I loved hearing it. It’s called City Outlaw (by 김영성 and 박세준) if you’re wondering.
6.5/10
Entertainment Value: I was surprised by this drama's start. It was by far the most entertaining drama that I was watching during the time. Even when the drama fell apart, it was still more entertaining than the others. It sucks, though, when a drama has such a strong foundation and they still fumble it so badly. 4.5/10
Overall, I gave this drama a 5.5/10. A rating of 6 and above would be my recommendation zone. This drama didn't quite make it there and it's all because of the disappointing second half. It's like the writers forgot what they had built up in the first half and decided to try something new. I can say though, that this is one of the best Seo Kang Joon (서강준) roles that I've seen. Maybe even the second best (after Baek In Ho in Cheese in the Trap).
Was this review helpful to you?
