InspectorMegre

Super DUMB FL and Kardashiams-like plot after ep 87 ruined the drama

I WAS happy with this drama until ep 87/88 and now I am dropping it.
The FL is the same stupid in ep 88 as in ep 1!!!!!! By now the FL should transformed enough to know that one photo of SR is not a proof that SR is safe, and that the villain has no intentions to keep any promises to keep FL's family and BH safe. The villain plans to kill them all and WILL.

I do not mind that in ep 88 she thinks about dumping BH and marrying his brother. That is normal. She SHOULD be considering that as one option. But she SHOULD be rejecting it, based on some solid logic and previous experiences and information. BUT I AM SURE SHE WILL ACT ON IT and so I am gonna drop this drama.

BC FL HAS NO ABILITY TO SELF REFLECT. Runing the life of her love and his brother just so that she can get revenge by seeing the villain suffer - how DUMB is that???

Wow JM is cesspool. Her idea of love - to destroy the man she "loves" and his brother.... so that she could revenge and make HY suffer .... That is the situation in ep 87/88 when FL becomes evil and STAYS AS DUMB AS EVER

She makes the deal to marry ML's brother so that she would "save him" - whch is completely DUMB as the main villain has no intentions of keeping any promise and will kill everyone anyways.

Until ep 87/88, the drama was great for me and made perfect sense to me... Except that JM was too stupidly dumb, like The Woman Who Swallowed the Sun... seems like MCB loves creating dramas with REALLY DUMB LOW IQ FL.... Wow what a suicidal slant.

And seems like everyone wants to try Graceful Liar villain FL ... wow what a stupid slant. To appease the western audience, which is used to watching Kardashian kind cesspools...

YUCK THE REAL KDRAMAS ARE DEAD ALREADY

Some ppl complained that the drama doesnt make sense to them and wanted a bloody revenge - and they got it!!!! In ep 87, the drama turns into Kardashians. Western audience is so used to watching Kardashian-like stories based on s.x violence and evil, they just want it slightly dilluted in kdramas, and so they keep asking for it in kdramas, and they got it.... So I am out of this Kardashian story.


SO THIS IS MY REVIEW FOR EPISODES 1-86:
====================================
I love the particular feel of this drama where family people try to navigate revenge without losing track of family and love, and LIVE THEIR LIFE while doing a revenge.

I think it is super limiting to expect revenge in one particular flavor. I notice some audience wants some all obsessed bloody revenge. I say - there are a million ways to do revenge, this drama is just one way...

I like the plot and the acting of this drama, it all makes sense to me. I think it is a high quality production with a reasonably realistic plot, and with excellent acting. I LOVE the underlying cozy lovey dovey family feel of this drama. It is truly a family drama with revenge, instead of a drama focusing on revenge and using family as the props. In this drama, a loving family deals with the misfortune that has befallen them, and they do their best - while thrown into a chaos of various entities moving against them.

The drama is an amazing thriller as there are SO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE, so many "teams" of people competing to gain some info and upper hand on the opponent and then make a move... it is actually nerve wrecking :) :) :)
Quite a combo of lovey dovey and a nerve wrecking thriller.

Imo FL is an excellent actress, I saw her for the first time in Queen's house and became a fan. That was a quality production with many excellent actors, so I learned to follow the actress and ended up watching First Man too.

First Man is even better, the start of the story was fast, and things are rolling.... ML-FL pair is a good team in this drama, and they are GREAT. ML actor is fantastic.

The villain is super effective, her slimey flippant voice makes me growl any time I hear it LOL
and there are other good actors in here. GoldDigger duo is really fun, and their flirting with Tae Puyng allowed us to see how good looking they are and he is... The Chairmain is a great mystery card... the Adjuma is great too... Overall, the acting is great (except Jun Ho but he improved and is still improving.)

FL Jang Mi and ML Baek Ho come from very warm loving families, so their world is based on kindness and trust - and makes then naive and slow to understand when they are being swindled... makes them less cautious... and yes perfectly capable of having a lovey dovey romance while doing the revenge. Their whole life they have been a "sheltered kid" so yeah dealing with criminals is new to them. They are comfortble, stable, slow people who take family and love first. So of course they are having a lovey dovey romance while doing revenge!!! LOVE IS THE ONLY WAY THEY KNOW HOW TO LIVE :) and they live it!!!! no matter what :) JM also needs help for the revenge, the job is too big for one person...

It doesnt help that JM is not terribly smart :( and tends to make rash arrogant (and false) conclusions, fails to connect the dots, and witholds critical information from teammates "because she does not want to shock them" - that is seriously dumb way of thinking - and it is all a detriment to the drama...
Luckily JM was slowly getting better.... the organic slow progress made sense as it was "day to day" dramatime...
and episode 77 shows JM changed and got a LOT smarter and wiser and street smart... That's cool.

I love the character of Baek Ho bc he is that loyal doggy stable reliable loving caring guy. You know that guy, the nice neighbor, the good friend guy? He is not the smartest either but he is honest and keeps trying.
FL and ML actors really convey their characters. It is fun to watch Jang Mi and Baek Ho grow and change. By ep 66, they are getting more and more skilled in working together to overcome the crime, and they are getting more and more skilled in their romance too :) BH from a quiet "stable" shy guy turned out to be quite a charmer LOL It is possible bc BH actor is very talented and nailed down his character. In fact, I do not see the actor, it seems REAL, like BH was a REAL person.

Jun Ho is the most complex character of them all, and also Seo Rin. They both survived extreme hostile environments from birth on, and survived on their intelligence and creativity. They are crazy risk takers, have crazy high difficult-to-reach goals, they are shakers and players. When SR was the leading character, the drama was moving a lot faster!
JH has a mean streak as well as abandoned child in grief and needing his mommy streak, so it will be fun to see how his character develops.
Jun Ho actor was such a piece of cement at the start but luckily his acting is now more lively and expressive. It is fun to watch that.

Overall, this is the quality of a good weekend family drama, but with more drama - like murders and villains - and revenge and makkang, just spread into 120 episodes 30 mins each, with great cliffhangers.

Great to watch when you have some time in your breaks.

Around ep 66, about half of the drama, started getting more "faster and complicated" as more players are into the game, and the core players are smarter :) and JM and BH got foxy :)

The twin sisters SR and JM are soooo different... JM is not educated, from poor family, and slow... SR is witty, smart, fast, creative... and ends up in coma, so JM has to grow up fast...
Both sisters are acted by the same actress, the FL actress.
FL actress is very talented and she really nails down both characters.

It is harder to find good actresses, esp bc their script is typically NOT in their favor and makes them too dumb. Queen't house started with super dumb FL and finally let her be smart and successful. The FL is same there and here, and she nailed both roles. To act twin sisters at the same time, even in the same scenes, is some impressive acting skillZ. RESPECT!!!!

Read More

OMG what a gem!!!!

I love this drama!!! it is so well done!!! All episodes!!! what ppl call "too much talking after ep 5" is super interesting, as those two talk phylosphy of conning etc.

"IT WAS FAKE, BUT iT WAS NOT A LIE.
SARAH REALLY LOVED BUDOAR "

How did I miss it back then when it was airing?? BC THE MDL SYNOPSIS WAS SOOOO BAD. It looked like a really boring drama.

But this is about a female con artist who really figured out rich women and really went after them - created what they wanted and then stole from them. Wow great job

THat Budoar store and bags and the whole experience were really good, actually! Creating an EXPERIENCE for the rich... SHE DID A GREAT JOB!!!!!

This drama is SO FUN!!!!! It is "girls story" as well as class story.... about women trying to be someone... about "low girls" and "rich girls" and everyone trying to be pretty and have pretty things and higher status... about female friendships and women as enemies... FASCINATING about being slaves of the system... about the societal prejudices....

also at the time of epstein files, this drama tries to focus on women as epsteiners and their male prostitutes. What a cheesy cover up and distraction from epstein files... On one hand, it is good to show the equality of genders in doing evil things, on the other hand, it is a total coverup of the real epstein files :)

I started watching it ONLY BC I LEARNED HOW GOOD IT WAS ON THIS BLOG https://byrei.ink/

It is so nice to have a drama about women too.

ML was ML in Love Scout. He is good at this detective role actualy But his eyes look like plastic surgery gone bad. His eyes pop out so much it is creepy

Read More

A bunch of insane psychotic people elbowing up and having a mud fight in a cesspool

This is like a study of insane psychotic people
a bunch of ppl doing whatever it takes to climb up the social/power/money ladder.... Like a huge mud fight in a cesspool.... So ugly... and without ANY character growth... the characters keep going down, instead of up...
So this is very Hwood type plot .... contrary to the principles of good storytelling ... and thus, a waste of time. NO CONTENT.

The characters start being shady... FL is a chronic liar and manipulator pushing to move on up higher.... the ML is the only one who is somewhat decent, at least his initial goals were to bring justice and revenge for his father. Nana poses with her French haircut and super thick obviously plastic lips...

And the drama keeps getting only worse
This is like a study of insane psychotic people all playing mind games as to how to step over each other. BORING.
6 episodes was enough to get the idea and DROP

The drama has some good acting but a cheap plot - and the lack of content is "made up" by shocking provocative decadent scenes, like .... grabbing an item by bare hand out of a used toilet to appease the villain, or two women making out hard.

Some people said the drama is supposedly a social commentary on what actors etc are forced to do - but that is the point, this drama shows NOBODY FORCED THEM - these ppl **** willingly chose **** to engage in very low level and criminal stuff to get status etc and climb up to the top.

THE CHARACTERS IN THIS DRAMA ARE ALL SUPER GREEDY ELBOWING UP AND THEY NEVR GROW, there is nothing noble or positive (except ML had some and lost it)
Why spend 12 hours watching a bunch of ppl in deep hell and CHOOSING to stay there

Read More

Masterpiece in the making - a really fun, dynamic drama with many parallel stories

This drama has been fun. 10 star, fun and deep drama. Fighting! It will be amazing to keep this up for 50 episodes!

Just watched ep 16. Ep 15 sent me off my chair, almost fell on the floor laughing.... Omg this drama has great script and actors, and then such great acting creativity and improvisation to make the script come ALIVE and so real and funny...

The drama is so ... warm, hilarious, deep, and transformational. It is so fun to be a part of history and watch this drama being made as one of the classic masterpieces of kdramas.
The EXCELLENT acting, a smart director who lets the actors improvise and really have fun with their roles, excellent camera, and a very great and reasonable script. A great drama.

Everything i said after watching ep 2 holds. This drama keeps holding the plot in hilarious, tragic, daily-life mundane and life changing ways.
The drama presents life questions, family issues, and cultural, personal, and business success questions in engaging, deep and meaningful ways, with lots of fun. It is a great GREAT great drama.

This kdrama has the potential to become one of the classic masterpieces. GO FOR IT. Fighting!



====
Just watched ep 2. Wow fun. Lots of interesting stories and a real "native" plot, and lots of very accomplished actors and good acting, and lots of comedy..... and real life deep issues, some heavy... but told in a sophisticated compassionate way

Mi Yong the star from 3 Bold Siblings is here, but in a very very livid dynamic active and comical role LMAO you will not recognize him.... He is an amazing actor :) He is bouncing off with his brother and the two of them are hilarious.

There are a few other actors also in a more active lively version, really shining. There are some new faces we have not seen at all or recently

The characters and the plots and the side plots are really interesting and very real. Very deep and relevant in daily life... Older couples who fell apart, cheating spouses, kids in love, pressure to perform, money problems, intergenerational stuff, greedy ppl, survival of traditional culture, life habits of the new generations, etc etc etc etc it is so ... good to watch how they address these issues

it is all done with a certain lightness and compassion and great humor that is the "magic ingredient" that only kdramas have,
and great teamwork between people to make their lives better and happier,

it is very transformational

I love it

I think with this many side plots, this drama will always stay very active and moving along.

LET IS VOTE INDIVIDUAL EPISODES TO INCREASE THE RATING.
Enjoy watching!

==========
If you want to be technical about it, the magic of this drama is GREAT STORYTELLING - the script is great to start with, and actors really juice it up and make it real and very funny.
The script shows how characters grow. That is the key element #1 of a good story. A truly great story, one that we remember, shows how a character overcame their character flaws, how people overcame their bad relationships. A good story is based on the RISE AND SHINE principle, where a character chooses NOT to focus on whacking those who harmed them, but chooses to become the BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES. In the daily context, that also translates into living life in honesty and integrity and open affection adn compassion, and healing all conflicts with other people and moving into a more peaceful and collaborative consciousness. (that is why cdramas will never make it, by the default this is not possible in the Big Brother world. But I digress :)
And when there is some humor and dramaticism to illistrate the concept, the story becomes super watchable.
And for some reason kdramas can do this. Never been to S Korea but something there makes this possible - somehow there is WISDOM and CREATIVITY and a certain high standard for morals and integrity, with full acknowledgement of the realities of life. Why S Korea of all places, I do not know. But it is surely there. I have some ideas why. I think karaoke bars and throwing out bad governments have a huge role in this. And probably strong Buddhist roots.

This high level of entertaining storytelling requires people/ place that is faulty but aware of it and trying to fix it, with compassion. it is extremely sophisticated and very very fine. (Again, a key reason why cdramas always stay so crude. Too bad, China has a lot to offer, but is locked up.)

kdramas show utmost mastery of storytelling, and this particular drama so far has all 16 episodes of utmost mastery of storytelling and is a great and very fine example of what kdramas can offer

Read More

Trash. Fake kdrama. It is Hollywood with asian actors. A big STEAMING pile of script

This drama is a fake kdrama. it is a hollywoody Idiocracy mutt
FL and Hiro are excellent actors. ML sucks.
The drama is a BIG STEAMING PILE OF SCRIPT.
it lacks all elements of a kdrama - warmth, communication, inner work, redemption arc, sharing, family, lightness, humor, compassion, ...

it is about isolation, sleeping around, FL kisses 2ML, etc etc It is western isolation and miscomunication of egoistical ppl. And they re rich and feeling entitled.

The start of ep 1 gives the preview of what it is going to be like - a very TOXIC drama - an immature selfish FL and a very cold ML who covers up for her.
Then she had an accident and evrything changed and for like 2 episodes it looks like the drama might take off. It was fun to see different countries and actors from various countries. BUT IT WAS JUST A GIMMICK, to make up for lack of content and plot...

By ep 4 or so, THE DRAMA DIPS INTO DOODOO.
It quickly gets super boring as the characters keep getting stuck and nothing moves forward.
They never communicate. The dialogues are ... weird...
The drama time is taken by scenery and trivialities, instead of CONTENT. Nothing really happens.

BY ep ... 6? IT WAS DEEP DOODOO. I JUST FAST FORWARDED THROUGH EVERYTHING TO THE END AND IT WAS COMPLETELY CRAZY. I fast forwarded to the end just to make sure I did not miss a U-turn to sanity and could evaluate to the end.
The drama became completely totally crazy. Literally. It looks like a nightmare of someone on something. and actually a lot of it *is* a nightmare or anxiety memories and "hallucinations" - ML talks forever with the imaginary character of his FL, etc. IT IS LITERALY CRAZY

It starts looking very Hollywoody as everyone sleeps with everyone, seems like, ... FL kisses 2ML.... nobody communicates... and nothing is resolved....

THIS IS NOT A "NORMAL" KDRAMA AT ALL
this is ... a drugged nightmare about very unruly lives of several young people doing all kinds of things. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KDRAMAS

And I am really thinking this guy was 100% correct
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1_j6izmEX4 How Netflix killed kdrama

I was thinking - what is the goal of Netflix with releasing all 12 episodes at once? so that only Netflix drama is watched?

I think Netflix, Disney and other non-korean kdramas are a lot worse that Korean kdramas, they just LACK CREATIVITY
Disney's Made in Korea is a sinister brainwashing into the power of evil

This drama is ... ??? what is it?? A SENSELESS NIGHTMARE OF REALLY WEIRD PEOPLE

I this continues, kdramas will be dead very soon. Koreans are going to lose their creativity and freedom, they cannot address what they want but have to follow american $$$$ and do as their slave master says. kdramas will not be Korean, but american made with some Korean actors.just like this drama was. This is the death of Korean culture too

For someone tired of Hollywood cesspool, this drama could even look nice, but this is not a kdrama. It is ... a slightly less of cesspool Hollywood.

I feel like I wasted time to check this drama out, but I had to check it, before I made a decision NEVER to watch anything Netflix or Disney made ever again. THIS DRAMA IS A WASTE OF TIME.

you can watch a travel program yourself and see Canada, Italy, Japan, etc

and then watch some real kdramas, made by Koreans in Korea.

======

Technicalities:

Th filming is WEIRD, they go back and forth in time and th whole drama has a nightmarish "look"
For the first several episodes, it was bearable bc there were enough "normal"scenes and it was not too difficult to pick up th plot.

I really liked the acting of FL actress and Hiro actor. Hiro is so real, it is fantastic! The actor totally nailed a Japanese spoiled brat. To the tee... . ML's brother is my fav actor from Discovery of Love and he did his part great too. I like the character of FL's manager and their relationship.

ML actor cannot act and is utterly boring to watch, the same face and demeanor from start to finish. ANd I remember seeing that exact ffacial expression and "acting" in another drama. Get him OFF.

Read More

Cute rom com - this is teenage drama but the plot is the same as for adult dramas

The drama is again a fantasy that some really weak insecure woman magically attracts some amazing man who is her sugar daddy and totally devoted to her... and takes care of her, for the rest of his life, regardless of how shi##y she is. THAT IS THE PLOT OF MOST KDRAMAS. In adult versions, ML is often cold and cruel too, and woman is poor and powerless, and he somehow controls her financially and otherwise.
it is fascinating how this same plot is reused just with slightly differnt characters....

***** It is very stale at this point. It is the plot for long gone past - not year 2025. *****

This drama is a milder version of it... This drama is more easy to watch and unique, fun and cute bc ML is super fun, kind, bubbly person. Yes he is vain and immature but he is very open, communicative, straightforward, rambunctious, fun loving and just FUN, and he is filmed so well - scenes with him in his pink sleeping bag, dancing on the stairs when they first met in the restroom, etc it is all great comedy... Bc of him, the drama is so fun and charming, and special and unique.

And I really enjoy that actor, he CAN act and in this drama he acts..... I saw him in a recent college drama where the script killed him, the script was so boring and made him a passive quiet poker face slimey SML. What a waste of his acting talents. He is very talented.

FL is nothing special, as usual. The role is boring and flat, the acting thus has to be limited, and the plot generated by FL stupid actions is STUPID. In this drama, ML saved the day with his cheerful bubbliness and upfront mischief and huuuuge efforts. From what I can see, ML did all the work in their relationship.

SO IT IS TIRING TO WATCH A WOMAN WHO KEEPS KILLING THE RELATIONSHIP AND THE MAN WHO KEEPS TRYING, esp since that kind of scenario does NOT happen in real life often.... so the drama is kollywood, feeding some airhead fantasy to the audience.


I am watching this after the drama finished, and while Dynamite Kiss is airing. DK is a rom com that SHOULD have been a teenage drama; or in other words, the plot o this teenage drama is the same as in DK - an insecure timid FL that does nothing for the relationship but lie, cheat and run away; and a very active strong smart conident "in conrol" action-oriented ML who takes care of everything.
Very often, dramas have cruel controlling ML, like in DK, and even sexual harassment portrayed as "being hot" like in DK.

SF is such a cute drama to watch bc ML is a bubbly fun personality.... ML starts as super entitled and vain... and luckily he is a kind loving DECENT person. That is the only reason why he and the drama was so watchable and fun. ML is a super nice young man really without too much flaws. yeah he is vein and immature but he is a soft, outspoken, caring, fun-loving person. ML is *fun*


DK is irritating bc the audience sees nothign wrong with it. SF is like the training ground.... Luckily SF ML is not mean. That aspect of ML controlling FL as he has more power is often an additional component in kdramas... like in DK/
DK plot in essence is THE SAME as SF plot... except that DK ML is cruel mean autocrat.... and just adds the additional layer of adult life - work - since ML is the boss of FL and in act sexually harasses her at work. DK is a super inappropriate drama. Real "ancient history" drama. The scenes are appropriate for a saeguk, not a modern drama, as the ML puts himself very physically close to FL, touches her, tries to kiss her, pushes forward although she says no. ML in DK is a rather mean controlling person who loves toying with people. Ideal character for a gangster. SF at least did not do any sexual harassment.ML just asked to kiss and she said no and he did not push, at least in first 7 episodes.

Spirit Fingers ML is active and always chasing her but he is luckily not a mean or controlling guy. He is cute, lively and bubbly and the drama was worth watching for his antics LOL He is that really lively obnoxious teenage boy, a good kid but very rambuctious. I really enjoyed him. If would love to have a son like that.

and I loved ML actor in this role... I saw him briefly in a college level drama recently that I dropped, he was 2ML and always soooo serious and passive and quiet... it was a waste of his talent. In this drama, he gets to ACT and he is totally hillarious.

I loved how ML was filmed, all his dancing on the street, climbing stuff, etc he wrapped in the pink sleeping bag, ... He was HILARIOUS and adorable. His long legs dancing on the stairs when they first met in the restroom was so cool...

FL is frustratingly passive and weak... I was thinking omg she is a teenager but is the same type of FL character like in adult dramas... Insecure, hiding, lying, not communicating... It was unsufferable. It is just ... too much...

So when FL kept messing up, I just stopped watching. Ater ep 7, I just could not take it anymore, it was enough. Then I just fast forwarded through ep 12 to see how it ends. I saw that FL had an episode of insecurity and dumping ML in ep 10... !!!!!


It was fun to see the villain actor from One High Shchool heroes,,,, he acted the same here and there :( Not talented... ?

Mint Finger is an alcoholic... I hope she stopped. That was not a good message to the youth audience...

I like that SF trid to address home and family situations. I saw the scenes when dad came home...

Read More

Decent rom com, Wickedly funny satire/parody/office rom com, great acting, camera, music

THIS DRAMA IS INCREDIBLY WICKEDLY FUNNY, such a satire and parody on so many things!!!! I was laughing in ep 1
It is a decent rom-com, not a masterpiece, but it is still worth a watch. ML actor is a fantastic actor and comedian and he gives a great performance here. FL actress is ... hm.. not my favorite.... to cold. She has some moments where she acts deeper but by ep 6, not enough for me to actually enjoy her acting

==== WRITTEN AFTER EP 6 ========
The cliches are there - FL has a past, is cold and reserved to ML, who is chasing her, i.e. he is trying a lot harder than she is - the classic trope.
Still there are some refreshing takes - FL is a competent professional and his boss.. ML is a green flag, speaks his mind directly, and is a rather realistic male

===WRITTEN AFTER EP 1 =====
There are zillion enthusiastic comments in the Discussion yet 166 ppl gave 7.6 rating, and online 25 ppl gave 6 and 3.5 stars for ep 1 and 2 - CLEARLY THERE ARE ORGANIZED TROLL GROUPS, FAKE ACCOUNTS, WHO DOWNGRADE SUCCESSFUL KDRAMAS
So i wrote this review after just ep 1. the drama is too good to pass :) Dont Believe MDL rating!!!!

yeah there are many issues in the drama, e.g. FL is the only female on her team, etc etc - and I am not sure if HRs really investigate this kind of stuff for real LMAO
but you don't have time to think of that bc it is just so wickedly funny

And the acting, camera and music is amazing! ML actor is such a great actor and a phenomenal comedian. FL actress provides comedic effect in contrast with him. Her character would not be funny at all on its own.
And then there are other great actors in there, like Once Again bro.

I think FL denoted ML bc she/someone saw the staircase kiss, and I suspect she is already hitting on him. He is definitely a catch :)

And... last but not least... isnt it nice to see a real man as ML and a man who CAN ACT a wide range... an not a porcelain doll with plasticized glazed androgenous triangular face and super skinny body AND ONE FACIAL EXPRESSION - gloomy serious. Pursuit of Jade kind that will be replaced by AI bc they all look alike and cannot act. I am so glad we dont have to watch plasticized ppl in this drama. FL kinda smells of it but her acting luckily is ok for her tsundere role.

The reversal of gender roles is hilarious

=====================================
The drama is built on amazing surprises, it is like a roller coaster...

I understand why Koreans are concerned that the end of ep3 can start a new wave of dramas trying to up each other and going the lewd way of Hwood... We already have lots of scenes of guys in a shower, Dynamite Kiss pushed the envelope into bed, now FL almost doing a striptease,.... so what's next... I understand why Koreans are worried we are standing too close to the cliff edge of turning into Hwood cheap.....

I personally think that end of ep 3 was on the edge of acceptable, and it was cheesy, and to me it was made hilariously funny by the comments of the audience, who totally nailed it. Omg the comments are better than the drama in those scenes LMAO

I analyzed why the scene at the end of ep 3 was funny - bc it was so unexpected, bc the drama baited us to believe something else.. yet trained us to trust the drama :) So being so swindled was funny.... See https://kisskh.at/793102-secret-gratitude#comment-25998698
(Hm why is the comment labeled as "secret gratitude"??? )

Also, notice the SOPHISTICATION of this wickedly funny humor and also very compassionate and revealing. The last scene in ep 3 is effective precisely bc we see only their faces. Hwood would destroy that scene by showing everything. Then all the mystery and the fun of seeing their faces very closely and for a long time and feeling compassion and comraderie with the characters would have been GONE.

This sophisticated humor is the trademark of kdramas, it is a certain elegance and intelligence, parody, satire, jestering, exposing difficult heavy serious issues with tact and compassion, that only kdramas have.

In any case, whoever thought of this script, is a mastermind manipulator and jester :) sooo familiar with people and how to play them and in that contrast, make it super funny and also super educational. A master storyteller :) And the director and camera and production and the actors are the same kind, on the same page, they totally understand the concept. VERY VERY VERY SKILLED TEAM.

RESPECT!!!!!

And the audience here in their comments showed they understand the concept too. Very impressive. This is one of the best chat rooms. Respect!!!

On its own, the end scene in ep 3 to me is on the edge of acceptable and also very cheesy, one more step and it would have been gone off the deep end cliff of Hwood
To me, that last scene became funny bc of the comments of the audience - so incredibly funny.

I hope that other dramas will not start a competition to updo this drama... We already have plenty dramas with scenes of guys in the shower, etc... I would stay on this side of the cliff, not go any further, would rather use the time for quality content.

FYI I find it very funny, my review has 11 likes and yet was listed last. Why was that so? I reviewed 1 ep out of 12 and the others reviewed 2 or mistakenly 12.

Read More

Really fun!!!! so radiantly vital and healthy - great communication, healthy look ppl, FUN!

I am watching 3 first bc I learned about it first and since it is a good experience, I will then watch 2 and 1.
I love 3, it is so funny lmao and the characters are so realistic and the plots are realistic (well to some point, lmao everything but the tunnel)

And I love watching the actors!!!! The style of filming, acting, and overall vibe is SO RADIANTLY HEALTHY!!!!! Everyone looks so healthy and energetic, they communicate, they smile, it is lovely!!!!! And there is no tons of white powder on their faces, tons of plastic surgery, skinny skeleton bodies. People have nice normal fit healthy bodies.
E.g. Mr Yoon the taecher has crow feet wrinkles on this face when he smiles, but he is omg aLOT more handsome than any of the modern actors!!!! he just glows!!!! he is 100% beautiful healthy radiant energetic man, no modern actors can even compare with that look. The modern male actors are pale and kinda lifeless, they cannot move much, and the drama makes them act poker faced, which is sooo boring.
And the women in this drama actually look sexy in their mini skirts, they got nice legs. Modern actresses literally look like skeletons, their leg bones like chopsticks in X shape clunking under the mini skirt, it is terrifyingly ugly.

Too many modern actors and actresses look *ill* ***anorexic*** pale poker-faced tired exhausted malnourished depressed non-expressive lethargic stagnant non-moving

So I TOTALLY LOVE this drama for the overal look and vibe of RADIANT HEALTH AND ENERGY AND VITALITY! SOOOOOOO NICE TO WATCH HEALTHY PEOPLE!!!!!!!!

Yeah the series is long so Ms Park's dumbness is getting stale. Ms Park is so cringe, such cliche dumb damsel in distress REALLY dumb woman, to the point of being mentally disabled. Yet she is pretty and kind and socially aware, so she is treated as "desirable" when in reality, her IQ is about 100 and her mental capacity is like 6 yr old child - so her guy has to keep taking care of her. This is a major sexism in this drama. However, her guy is also rather mentally disabled too, he is not smart or rich either, and she is successful at work as a teacher, she is functional and socially respected, so in this drama sexism is not overdone to the cringe point like in modern kdramas.

So it is interesting how this "dumb woman requiring constant assistance of a man" concept has evolved in modern kdramas to make the woman a total loser and the man rich, controlling. and smart, i.e. the dumb damsel in distress concept is taken to extremely humiliating levels, obvious sexism and putting women down and exalting men. This imbalance leads to super boring 1-dimensional acting... yawn....

Luckily in this drama Mr. Yoon actor is very good at acting, and Ms. Park actress made the best out of her role too, so it is ok, she had smart twists and he is very expressive.

====
Nang was too hyperactive obnoxious, the acting was ... hm... a little too over the top at the start of the drama. Luckily he is kinda in the background the more you go into the drama and even acts as a mature wise kind compassionate guy

and the plot and the characters are so realistic, it is painful to watch the young TOTALLY immature dude buy like 10 hair pins... . but also that gives the drama the charm.... bc he finally bought her a Xmass gift and told her it is for her. It is nice to see progress :)

There should be season 4, that continues season 3... Bc I want to see what happened next...

I bet that ScooterGirl went to Rwanda and had a good time witih the Doctor, but also... I bet they broke up /never hooked up bc she is 16 yrs younger than him and not mature enough for him, and so I would think the best solution is that she came back to Korea to LongLegs, who, by then, will be an adult and a man.

Ms. Park and Mr. Yoon should have like 10kids, and I wonder if he still behaves crazy with that bat

The actress who is the freeloader female character that eventually works for Dr. Yoon is the weakest acting in the drama and that shows in all her future dramas

it was impressive to have a Caucasian actor in there and it is sad that modern kdramas do not use that

Dr. Yoon actor is phenomenal actor and it shows in his future dramas
Most recently, Heroes Next Door

ScooterGirl actress did a great job, as well as LongLegs actor -
Also Mom actress did a great job. It is strange that this is one of her last "nice" roles, when I saw her in Beauty and Mr Romantic and other dramas, her roles and acting were too.... cringe

Crystal actress did not have to act much, just go crazy. Her suitor is inrelatively similar category but he actually acted more complex stuff and did a good job

Read More

Fantastic piece of art, but too realistic - good to see what to change in the law

I just heard about a real-life situation of a devout church goer who loudly wonders what kind of christian message is his pastor trying to teach him when he takes his credit card and uses it to the max limit. The pastor is a BANDIT and the devout is too dumb to see it.

The same is true in this drama. Tae Joo was wronged, but he was soooo stupid and dumb, so reactive, he is guilty of being blind.

So..... I really would like to see the acting of ML actor but I am not sure I have the patience to sit through this "dumb errors" story

I am not gonna watch this to the end, most likely. It is sad, this is a great drama and I really enjoyed watching it ... to the point that TJ mindlessly and reactively beat up someone and ended up in jail under the thumb of the prosecutor. I felt too sad to continue watching TJ's further self destruction.

From the comments here, I dont get an impression that TJ changed much, that he internally grew, and THAT is why I hesitate to watch the rest of this drama.

I might decide to watch it for the sake of learning how the serial killer was debunked and how he deceived

But really, to make this into a drama that is USEFUL, we should have seen inner growth of TJ a lot earlier

As is, the drama is good to raise awareness of needed changes in the law and of serial killers and criminal officers running around freely. So YEAH that is a great controbution of this drama

Read More

deep, real, unconditional love. Amazing comedy and ML actor ; bad FL actress

I am watching this in april 2026 and HAVING A BLAST, THIS IS SO FUN!!!!! The first 2 episodes that is :) It is less fun / more serious later. But it was more warm and sometimes ... send me off my chair, laughing... Like... ep 5 hairdos LMAO all scenes from the hairdresser and on... LMAO LMAO LMAO the detective meeting them... colleagues commenting... LMAO

ML actor is so good at acting this role!!! so fun! charming, playful, creative, lively, alive, energetic, moving a lot, expressive, goofball, AMAZING comedian. My new fav actor! Scenes with him in glasses giving the hairy bag to FL, or him answering to SML's parents as if a gay lover, and so many other scenes, are total total comedy.
Seems like he was one of early idols or fashion models who got a screen role, adn then after that, so many fashion models started acting and most of them are CEMENT cannot act at all.
How this ML actor is acting is soooo off the rails, so crazy creative, so rich!!!! I need to watch the drama without subtitles or some super huge subtitles so that I can see all of acial expressions, body movements and his goof offs :) He is a super creative goofball, and his main strength is not his face but his lively warm goofy flirty CHARM. He is a true Monkey sign.
He is not good at acting fake soapy scenes LOL like whn he gave $2K to scammers and sat in the park... He is not acting well scenes with sad or remorseful feelings.... And he is not good at smiling :) he is good at acting charming with his lips closed or slightly smiling... he is some kind of fashion model, seems like.

The detective who was helping with scamming is GREAT at smiling. Wow that was 2015/2016 when actors with slanted eyes were considered hadsomone. Good old days before stupid plastic surgery and trying to look caucasian. That is really really stupid racism. I wish Asians to look themselves, they are pretty in their own way, WHY imitate someone else. Yeah sure, to sell the dramas more in the West since West has most money - I see why - but is it really needed????

The plot makes Louis autistic and also FL is rather .. dumb too - naive - they dont seem to learn fast to be careful

**** FL actress is terrible, cannot act! ***** I saw her in To My Beloved Thief this year and she acts THE SAME THE EXACT SAME faces, voice, etc THE SAME. omg that chick has zero skills. It is annoying to see her pretending instead of acting.

====
I had FUN with the first few episodes, and by ep 7, I was about done watching it... so just in case, watched 9 full episodes, then ff through 10, 11 and then watched most of 16.
It got tiresome by the end to watch Louis and BS who did not change much. Their behaviors just didnt fit with the adults they were supposed to be by then. It's ok - it was a love between two fools :)

Had fun with the side characters, Ma Ri was fun :) the acting of that actress and also the script was hilarious - stiching before going to bed, ha? lmao

So bye bye Lous and Bok Sil story, it was lovely, and we are all sure you are living happily ever after. What an epic love story.
AND THEN LOUIS AND BOK SIL, THE TWO FOOLS, LOVED EACH OTHER MORE THAN ALL LEARNED AND SMART PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.

=====

But bc of ML, I am totally determined to watch older dramas. THis is so fun!!! By chance, I watched Hello Monster before watching this drama and then recognized the ML. Hello Monster also had ML from Idol I, in excellently done support role, it was clear a great actor was being born.

I loved old dramas bc there are sooo many great actors in there, and the plots and the filming is a LOT more creative and dynamic.

FIRST OF ALL, PPL LOOK NORMAL, they are physically fit, they move, they express, it is so dynamic!!! their faces are normal, they got meat on them, their skin glows, their hair glows, ppl are ENERGETIC and look more healthy and happy.

2015/2016 is a LOT sexier than 2026!!!! 2026 is skeleton actors, so super skinny, looking tired, lifeless, serious, just BORIING, no movement, so slooow... Gosh!!! SICKLY, weak, dull....
I am thinking the ML in Practical Guide to Love, he is like a stray cat, and sooo slow in every way. Even the 2ML that the women in the audience liked so much, is pretty much a stationary slow boy too...

WOW WHAT HAPPENED IN 10 YEARS THAT ACTORS GOT REDUCED TO THIS GHOST-LIKE EERIE MALNOURISHED LOOK AND VERY STATIONARY SLOW "SERIOUS BS" ROLES?????

IT IS LIKE THE WHOLE WORLD BECAME SO DULL, WITHOUT CHARM, WITHOUT CREATIVITY, WITHOUT MOVEMENT, WITHOUT EXUBERANCE AND FUN

==========
This drama is so refreshing testimony of true unconditional love between "two fools" - there is nothing between them that is not love

If the audience cannot see it, then I will remind the audience of the famous line from a famous story....where it is clearly spelled out what you just witnessed, so that there is no wrong guesses by the audience....

It totally reminds me of the famous Jewish story about two fools in love, usually titled "Shlemiel and Cippa" or sometimes "Schlemiel the First," written by the Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer. THE STORY ENDS WITH ESSENTIALLY THIS SENTENCE:

: AND THAT IS HOW THE TWO SUPPOSED FOOLS LOVED EACH OTHER MORE THAN ALL THE SMART/LEARNED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD
==============

Ok I am watching Shopaholic Louis 2015 kdrama in 2026 and I now understand how kdramas got to be so awful since 2015.

Shopaholic Louis kdrama shows compassion, the love, the connection, the message of deep belief in goodness, in unconditional love in spite of everything.
There are greater stories of great loves, involving spiritual loves, but as far as human love goes, ML and FL here are examples of how deeply humans can love. If you cannot see it - then... ??? I would recommend you read recap of this drama on Dramabeans, the best summary is the Commentary to the 16th episode: https://dramabeans.com/2016/11/shopping-king-louis-episode-16-final/

So after seeing comments of the audience how this drama was boring, SML was too old, etc etc - even ppl who "liked" the drama complaining about silly stuff, clearly not really liking it - I can see the thinking of the Western and other non-korean audience.

THIS DRAMA IS INCREDIBLY CREATIVE AND INCREDIBLY DEEP, and if your heart is closed / jaded / callous, you miss it. And anyone who watches hwood or cdramas is trained to be a callous person.... . Kdramas also train in certain forms of being rotten, such as sexism against women, portraying women as dumb, kind, losers OR villains.

Most ppl on this site are international audience, polluted by junk from Hwood and now cdramas, very bombastic sensationalistic dramatic soapy plots, very shallow, fast whizzing flashy images, etc. Hwood too, with s.x and violence instead of content. Cdramas and hwood are like alcohol, you watch them to stop thinking about the reality. So they do NOT have any transformations and character growth, and are very HEAVY, they lack lightness and humor.

kdramas DO have meanings, teachings, transformations, character growth, heavy topics treated with compassion, lightness, warmth and humor, and hope, always seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. and always moving towards it, putting effort to move towards it.

A true, real, good story has 3 parts: PART 1: FLAWS AND SUFERING FROM IT, PART 2: EFFORTS AND SUFFERING AND FIGHTS IN OVERCOMING, and PART 3: WIN AND TRANSFORMATION
Hwood and cdramas have only part 1, and all real kdramas have all 3 parts.

Hwood-style is similar to Chistians focusing only on the story of Jesus on the cross, and totall failing to put attention on his RESURRECTION. But the resurection is the critical part of that one story, and the whole point of the story :)

SO MOST INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE WILL FIND KDRAMAS BORING AND WILL MISS THE MEANING, BC THEY JUST CANNOT SEE ANYTHING DEEPER
but they have money. So Koreans started dumbing down their dramas, and by year 2026, there are so many new kdramas in Hwood style.

And that is truly sad
and Koreans too are losing their "special feel" and becoming numbed and dumbed down.

So that part is a true tragedy - that S Korea does not produce this kind of quality often anymore,
and a true tragedy would be that kdramas go extinct.

2015/2016 has great, creative kdramas,
and by year 2026, many new kdramas are a total cesspool filmed in Western style
ALSO, the actors and actresses are all super skinny now, cannot move, lack energy and liveninss, and new dramas are o sedentary, static, serious, gloomy, with really bad characters who never experience growth and transformation. It is ... sad to see kdramas die.

What is truly Korean is left in dailies and weekenders and VERY RARE "16 episodes" dramas - which usually get lower rating.

PS - If you cannot see the very deep unconditional love and kindness in this drama adn the eforts of ML and FL to maintain it, then something went off with your own inner compass and lack of light in your mind and your heart.... And you need an emergency remedy such as watching or helping with some kittens / puppies / babies , so that you GET TO FEEL THE AWE IN YOUR HEART, THAT AMAZING FEELING OF FEELING THE LIGHT UNDERNEATH ALL DARKNESS. That sense of AWE of God's creation / karma in the life on Earth. THAT Is what kdramas are so good at, to evoke that feeling and to prompt you into your own inner transformation towards the Light.
If you are unable and/or unwilling, then ... you already live in Hell on Earth. Human life is meaningful only when we see the Light that is the Foundation for Everything, no matter how dark it looks on the surface, and when we consistently and patiently keep moving through the muck to arrive to the Light at the end of tunnel, oblivious to all discouragements, we just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
IF YOU CAN DO THAT, YOU ARE TRULY A HUMAN BEING, that is the purpose and essence of what is called "enlightment" - knowing very deeply that the laws of karma are operating even if you cannot see the results at the moment.
The Christians and communists simply have no concept of that, and that is reflected in hwood and cdramas.
Most kdramas have it - these days less and less - and most othern-than-kdramas do NOT have it

====
Ah I get it..
A true, real, good story has 3 parts:
PART 1: FLAWS AND SUFERING FROM IT,
PART 2: EFFORTS AND SUFFERING AND FIGHTS IN OVERCOMING, and
PART 3: WIN AND TRANSFORMATION or to be precise WIN BY TRANSFORAMATION, the transformation itself is a win, but by paradox, there are often tangible wins too in daily life
Hwood and cdramas have only part 1, and all real kdramas have all 3 parts.

Hwood-style is similar to Chistians focusing only on the story of Jesus on the cross, and totall failing to put attention on his RESURRECTION. But the resurrection is the critical part of that one story, and the whole point of the story

I would dare even say: the resurrection is the whole point of the story even existing :) It is the meaning of the Creation :) the story of the prodigal son, of us having a free will and VOLUNTARILY aligning it with the Divine Will.


What is the Divine? for all practical purposes, it is the Law of Karma :)

in practical terms, it is us humans making decisions based on EITHER love OR fear :) there is no middle way :) it is either-or - either you do somethiing based on love or based on fear. "doing something" can be choosing to think certain thoughts and feel certain emotions. Thouths and emotions come and go totally without our control, so it is a lost game to stop them, but we DO have a choince to hang onto them or not. That is the essence of applied meditation and being enlightened, really.

And that step is missing in organized christianity, which demands that we do not have such thoughts and feelings, which is impossible, and also we are not given any tools to deal with it, and so we feel lost, hopeless, abandoned and guilty and we "try harder" but it is totally .... hit or miss bc WE WERE NEVER GIVEN ANY USEFUL INSTRUCTIONS

I think Buddhists explain it the best, and esp Tibetans have cook-book recipes for "how to"

and kdramas illustrate the efforts through fun stories. There is more to it that you dont see in a tv series ... !, but a good kdrama certainly sends people in the right direction.

I think Buddhists explain it the best, and esp Tibetans have cook-book recipes for "how to"

So yeah what we see in kdramas reflects those Universal Laws in a microcosm applied to some human lives
but it is essentially what Gurdjieff talks about as C-level influences, indirect contacts with Something Higher, and all humans crave that, so that is why we have fairy tales, etc - so that this Contact can be couched in funny entertaining stories that capture our mind and imagination and focus it on higher-level thinkinig, engaging Higher levels of the brain/mind whatever, I am not going to nitpick here on terminology - something that invokes your Heart Brain and puts you into alpha state and higher - would be my "technical" explanation

and yeah the main reason why kdramas are being targeted for extinction. They are too useful for improving one's life :)

===
I think an older excentric SML was a perfect match that fits the script - an older, grumpy, spinster bachelor who finally finds some sweet spring chicken, and abuses his power position.
A younger male would never be a boss of such and important department and with the power to just hire FL without asking anyone; a younger boss would never be close to Gold family; a younger boss would never go for FL bc she was too old fashioned conservative; AND also a younger male boss would have 100000000 women chasing him and would forget this simpleton one in 2 seconds. Also, a younger boss would be closer to ML's age and FL could get tempted to consider him....

So - the boss HAD TO BE older and rather prickly and a lot less attractive than the ML. The boss was meant as a little bit of disturbance and also to help FL.... NOT for a love triangle :)

This drama is NOT about 2 young males chasing one doe and she picks between the two. FL was never supposed to even feel a flutter for this "uncle".
BUT the boss would have been an ok as a romantic partner for her, IF they had matched as personalities and the drama had planned to take a totally different route.

hey guys be realistic, there are couples out there with an older guy and a younger woman, by full consent. In fact, an older guy willing to kiss as@ and treat a younger woman like a princess is gonna win over some fickle moody proud young stud who will run after other women. So let them be

So it is irritating when ppl start spewing opinions without having considered what is going on. One solution does not fit all situations.

Read More

Has potential but misses to show character growth

I am interested in Love Me bc it starts with a very fascinating situation - a lulled family that maintains the illusion of 2 "good parents" trying to act as superhumans.. which creates 2 spoiled brat kids - but on the surface, they are a great "nice family" ..... Until mother and daughter's toxicity creates an accident and results in them hating and blaming each other for 7 years.. and dad and brother exposed in their toxicity too... So this setup had a lot of potential. Like american movie Ordinary People...

========
WRITTEN AFTER EP 4:

But Love Me does not work out the issues... MAGICALLY as soon as the mother dies, all these characters become open and fluid.. literally almost overnight... Hello... ! They are lucky they find more open and loving lovers, but still... there is no showing of their own inner growth.... They grow so fast and effortlessly, and it just does NOT compute...

The drama is filmed in the darkness, they need to use more light so that we can see actors' faces and facial expressions

Read More

So fun! I love this drama! And yeah there is the thriller creepy....

Really nice and really fun LOL when the small town entered into the picture, that's when I started LOVING this drama, it is HILARIOUS and it is very heartwarming

The thriller part is there and it is really scary

I like FL and ML characters they are really great people and also match as a couple
I love the makjang of the Principal, even the village bully rapping his lawsuit LOL

I love the little kiddo, he is the cutest ever

There are sooo many scenes that are filmed in a very cool way... like... the swimming pool scene - water, then high heels in red, then black male shoes... That was cool ...

FL and ML getting together at the end of ep 6 was really cool and very different ..... very ... powerful

FL actress is amazing!!! so skilled!!!

ML actor was not such a great actor in early episodes..., very often it is obvious that he is pretending instead of BEING the character
and, I have a desire to shorten his bangs, I want to see his eyes
After ep 5 or 6 he is acting better and is starting to be convincing

Read More