Female Lead Gets Lost In The Noise
My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.
I wasn’t expecting this drama to be good. I was just excited for all the cameos.
Acting/Cast: The cameos are awesome. I was really missing Seo Kang Jun (서강준) once he left the drama. I didn’t really have an issue with the male lead (played by Seo In Guk/서인국 ) – who is a hit or miss actor for me. However, the female lead (played by Ji Soo/지수) disappointed me. I don’t know if it’s an acting issue or a directing issue, but she just looked confused the entire drama. I had a hard time connecting with her character because of her lack of emotional range. I’ve seen Snowdrop and Ji Soo does great in that drama (which has an extremely intense story), so I’m not sure what went wrong here. I enjoyed the rest of the characters and their casting. None of the characters felt like an extra, as if they're just there to push the story along for the leads. They all felt like unique and realistic people, which was refreshing and added a certain charm to the drama. 6.5/10
Writing: I liked the direction of the first half of the drama. With each episode, I was enjoying the story more and more. I think it was a good idea to show the events strictly from the female lead’s perspective. That way, when the male lead suddenly changes, we’re just as shocked as she is – it helps us to connect with her and how she’s feeling. However, this is the only time we are really able to do that. Her character seems so inconsistent, confused, and almost like a side character for most of the drama. I do like the healing aspect of the drama though. I think that concept was shown well through the writing – such as how the VR boyfriend experience is a way for her to come to terms with the loss of her previous relationship. There’s a part towards the end of the drama where that trauma is brought clearly into focus and I found it very relatable. I feel as though the writers really understood what someone goes through mentally and emotionally after experiencing something like that. Unfortunately, the second half of the drama is a bit all over the place. The VR plot point isn’t even really that important anymore. It splits time between multiple side character storylines that aren’t too important either. I was wondering if the drama would get into more of the psychological and ethical aspects of the VR dating. It seemed like it would because the VR AIs act like drug dealers trying to get people addicted by exploiting their loneliness so they’ll keep giving the company money. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t get too much into it aside from briefly mentioning it. So in the beginning, the VR company comes across as being creepy and manipulative (which was actually pretty entertaining as it could have gotten pretty dark and psychological), but the writers seemed to change course on this concept by the end of the drama and instead made everything all rainbows and butterflies. 3.5/10
Direction/SFX/Music: The pacing is interesting. I felt like the story was only finally set up halfway through the drama (5 episodes in), but then it changes course and I had no idea where the story was going. There’s some dragging during the second half. Then, we hit the typical Noble Idiocy segment with just 2 episodes left and it easily solves itself and wraps up very quickly. Excluding the direction, I don’t really have any more complaints in this category. 4/10
Entertainment Value: Despite my issues with the drama, it kept my attention all the way to the end. The female lead is frustrating at times. Also, the Noble Idiocy point immediately annoyed me as it always seems like a forced conflict. Fortunately, it plays out a bit differently and doesn’t last very long. I think the ending is too idealistic – too feel-good – so that caused a disconnect for me. I feel as though the plot is lacking substance, especially in regards to VR dating and its potential problems. 4.5/10
Overall, I gave this drama a 4.5/10 (4 or higher is ‘enjoyable enough for a watch’ on my scale). I like the healing element of the drama. It is relatable and insightful. However, the female lead doesn’t feel like a very strong character – she seems to kind of just blend into the background. Seo Kang Jun is easily the highlight of the drama.
I wasn’t expecting this drama to be good. I was just excited for all the cameos.
Acting/Cast: The cameos are awesome. I was really missing Seo Kang Jun (서강준) once he left the drama. I didn’t really have an issue with the male lead (played by Seo In Guk/서인국 ) – who is a hit or miss actor for me. However, the female lead (played by Ji Soo/지수) disappointed me. I don’t know if it’s an acting issue or a directing issue, but she just looked confused the entire drama. I had a hard time connecting with her character because of her lack of emotional range. I’ve seen Snowdrop and Ji Soo does great in that drama (which has an extremely intense story), so I’m not sure what went wrong here. I enjoyed the rest of the characters and their casting. None of the characters felt like an extra, as if they're just there to push the story along for the leads. They all felt like unique and realistic people, which was refreshing and added a certain charm to the drama. 6.5/10
Writing: I liked the direction of the first half of the drama. With each episode, I was enjoying the story more and more. I think it was a good idea to show the events strictly from the female lead’s perspective. That way, when the male lead suddenly changes, we’re just as shocked as she is – it helps us to connect with her and how she’s feeling. However, this is the only time we are really able to do that. Her character seems so inconsistent, confused, and almost like a side character for most of the drama. I do like the healing aspect of the drama though. I think that concept was shown well through the writing – such as how the VR boyfriend experience is a way for her to come to terms with the loss of her previous relationship. There’s a part towards the end of the drama where that trauma is brought clearly into focus and I found it very relatable. I feel as though the writers really understood what someone goes through mentally and emotionally after experiencing something like that. Unfortunately, the second half of the drama is a bit all over the place. The VR plot point isn’t even really that important anymore. It splits time between multiple side character storylines that aren’t too important either. I was wondering if the drama would get into more of the psychological and ethical aspects of the VR dating. It seemed like it would because the VR AIs act like drug dealers trying to get people addicted by exploiting their loneliness so they’ll keep giving the company money. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t get too much into it aside from briefly mentioning it. So in the beginning, the VR company comes across as being creepy and manipulative (which was actually pretty entertaining as it could have gotten pretty dark and psychological), but the writers seemed to change course on this concept by the end of the drama and instead made everything all rainbows and butterflies. 3.5/10
Direction/SFX/Music: The pacing is interesting. I felt like the story was only finally set up halfway through the drama (5 episodes in), but then it changes course and I had no idea where the story was going. There’s some dragging during the second half. Then, we hit the typical Noble Idiocy segment with just 2 episodes left and it easily solves itself and wraps up very quickly. Excluding the direction, I don’t really have any more complaints in this category. 4/10
Entertainment Value: Despite my issues with the drama, it kept my attention all the way to the end. The female lead is frustrating at times. Also, the Noble Idiocy point immediately annoyed me as it always seems like a forced conflict. Fortunately, it plays out a bit differently and doesn’t last very long. I think the ending is too idealistic – too feel-good – so that caused a disconnect for me. I feel as though the plot is lacking substance, especially in regards to VR dating and its potential problems. 4.5/10
Overall, I gave this drama a 4.5/10 (4 or higher is ‘enjoyable enough for a watch’ on my scale). I like the healing element of the drama. It is relatable and insightful. However, the female lead doesn’t feel like a very strong character – she seems to kind of just blend into the background. Seo Kang Jun is easily the highlight of the drama.
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