Juelin

Nope

Honestly, I didn't expect much from this adaptation because the plot of Hana Yori Dango (HYD) is quite awful. Yes, it is a beloved classic, but it can't get away from its very horrible storylines - normalization of bullying and abuse of power, entitlement, abusive male lead, toxic relationships, betrayal, flaky female lead, absent parents, abandoned children. A re-make means recycling these terrible storylines because they make up the main plot.

One of my biggest gripes with HYD is that the F4 are portrayed as rich and popular boys who are good at everything, except they don't do anything to be good at everything. This show did a very good job at showing them wasting time not going to class, bullying their classmates, partying, and drinking alcohol all the damn time. I would think a modern adaptation would flush out this plotline to show them participating in some activities to make their talents more believable and to give them some goddamn personalities. When Domyoji /Thyme is not a psychotic bully, he obsesses over Makino/Gorya making her want to get away from him.

To make up for the lack of character development, the actors overacted the characters' feelings making the scenes look very forced. There was very little motivation behind their actions and everything looked thrown together just to move the story forward. Thyme's mother had a lot of screen time, but the writers didn't give her any personality. In the original, she was already very cold. Here, she was a female terminator in pursuit of some mythical "perfection" while treating her children as stepping stones to achieve that perfection. Some plot lines were not in chronological order, and I quit the show as soon as the fiance showed up. I hated that storyline anyway.

Gorya and Thyme spent most of their time yelling at each other and having no romantic chemistry. Watching them together quickly became a chore. The cheating kissing scene with Ren was turned into an awkward hugging scene which wasn't properly resolved. And, the acting altogether was quite terrible. I did like that Gorya's parents were tolerable and not as stupidly annoying as in the original.

Overall, this show was just another awkward attempt at resurrecting an old skeleton that should stay buried.

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Starts with a bang, ends with a fart

Don't be fooled by the drama's clever start - fantasy/crime thriller with a splash of romance. The first few episodes are interesting with a promise of a compelling story and characters. The dream plotline is very easy to follow, which I liked. But, then the plot devolves into a series of comedic tropes, filler characters, overused flashbacks, workplace gossip, and a very boring romance. Instead of developing interesting crime story arcs, the writers proceed to bore us with immature behavior by the main characters and recurring childhood flashbacks.

One of the biggest issues is the writers being unable to pick a genre. The plot randomly changes between drama and comedy and makes the characters act differently in every scene. One moment, Jung Jae Chan is a serious prosecutor trying to solve a murder, the next, he is a clumsy, blubbering idiot. Because of this inconsistency, it is very hard to take any of the characters seriously. Jae Chan is completely unconvincing as a prosecutor looking more like a young guy playing dress-up with his father's suit. And, the best way to describe Nam Hong Ju is "annoying". She is argumentative and full of herself while doing close to nothing as a reporter. Working at her mom's restaurant would've been more appropriate for her characterization. But, she is a professional reporter with no class and self-restraint, and, similarly to Jae Chan, looks like someone playing dress-up.

Another issue is there being no character development. All of the characters are bland and one-dimensional. Being able to see the future through dreams is the one interesting thing about them. The investigator is the only character who has any depth. Choi Dam Dong is thoughtful, meticulous, and takes his job seriously. He is very convincing at what he does, while the rest are goofy caricatures larping as professionals.

The pacing slows down around episode 7-8 when the plot starts to flip flop between romance and a crime drama. Jae Chan and Nam Hong have no chemistry making their romance as exciting as watching the paint dry. Most of their scenes are very bland and worth skipping. Because the writers do such a half-assed job with the plot and characters, the story fizzles out into a snooze fest very quickly. Hooray to the fast-forward button.

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Misery loves company

The show celebrates the worst of human qualities in relationships. It starts off with an interesting but albeit old premise - two dysfunctional people enter into a contract marriage out of necessity. These two complete opposites are meant to fall in love and help each other grow, right? Nope.

One of the biggest draw backs is a lack a character development. Nam Se Hui is a human robot with a personality of a potato who only has his mortgage and cat on the brain. Yun Ji Ho is at the end of her rope with no job or a place to live. Marriage gives them an opportunity for self-reflection and personal growth, but that opportunity is completely wasted because neither of them learn anything or try to better themselves. We are constantly told that Ji Ho is strong. But, in reality, she is reckless, spineless, and possesses no self-control. To me, she is mindbogglingly unlikable and perpetually miserable. She spends too much time with a toxic co-worker and manufactures a conflict with Se Hui because she suddenly feels guilty about the contract marriage. Instead of sitting down together to figure out what to do next, she divorces and leaves her husband for some pretentious reason that now she needs to find herself. All of her problems seem artificial and self-inflicted to force us to sympathize with her. Se Hui maintains the same bland frozen face for the entirety of the show. Even his feelings for Ji Ho fail to give him a personality.

Ji Ho's arcs with Bok Nam and Ko Jeong Min are mind-numbing. Bok Nam is pushy, rude, and creepy. He makes condescending remarks about her husband and disrespects her marriage. Against her better judgment, she goes off at night to drink beer and watch him make passes at her. And this character is written to be smart. The arc with Jeong Min is even more cringe. I am not sure what the writers are trying to convey here, that Ji Ho also likes women or that Jeong Min is so edgy that even women are attracted to her? Getting drunk together and Ji Ho opening up to a complete stranger, while having no communication with her husband, makes her even more off-putting and unlikable.

Now, lets talk about Ji Ho's degree. The writers constantly remind us that she graduated from a prestigious university. But, she has nothing to show for it. At 30, she has no career or job prospects. Neither does she try to pursue self-improvement. All she does is hang out with friends and settle for a part-time job while wallowing in self-pity. Most of these issues have to do with writing. Smart people strive to improve themselves so they can succeed in life. Ji Ho does nothing to do better and gives up writing altogether. The point is that she is not smart.

The ending is a suitable culmination to this marathon of cringe. The writers try to create a relationship that subverts societal expectations where the main couple just loves each other instead of attaching labels and listening to unsolicited advice from the elders. However, the only people who makes sense here are the parents. Marriage is work that is not based solely on love. Ji Ho and Se Hui's shared experiences should lead to a mature and deeper bond. Yet, the final result is an immature, superficial relationship, completely devoid of any chemistry, that doesn't even feel like it's between two genuine people. Apparently, we are supposed to be impressed that they choose to disrespect their parents and enter into household contracts instead of being in a legal marriage. Moreover, Se Hui doesn't even look like he wants this. Everything seems to be Ji Ho's idea as she continues on a quest to find herself. What a crappy message. Avoid this mess.

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The show continues to be funny, clever, and very very entertaining. However, the story is missing a central plot that ties everything together.

It's not clear what the drama is trying to achieve. Is it a find your origins story? A quest for power? I have no idea because the plot is all over the place. Season 2 gave more explanation about Fan Xian's background, where his mother came from, but still left a lot of questions unanswered. Several key characters discussed finding the temple where mom came from, but no steps were taken to actually find it. Fan Xian constantly talked about bringing justice to the world, but the never-ending slew of conflict between the royal family and officials always kept him occupied with the current problem at hand. What is the end goal here?

I liked what the writers did with Waner's character. In season 1, I didn't think she fit Fan Xian's personality very well being very submissive and non-confrontational. I always found him having way more fun and chemistry with other female characters. But, in season 2, she came a little bit into her own and started making her own decisions. I also liked how she was able to figure certain things out without falling victim to someone else's manipulations.

Some of the character personalities completely changed. The crown prince was a lot meaner in season 1. In season 2, he is a lot friendlier and nicer. The second prince went from being kind of ambiguous to more villainous. The show spent too much effort subverting viewer expectations, than creating a central plot.

The best part of the story is the music. It's very goofy and completely out of place. We go from fighting sequences with Spanish-esque party music to Nordic yodeling. It's completely ridiculous and hilarious.

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The drama starts to pick up at around episode 12. The first 10 episodes were slow with Fan Xian and Waner trying to find each other and cancel their engagement until they found out that they were actually engaged to each other. Then, the story starts to pick up with never-ending political intrigue mixed with comedy and drama.

Fan Xian was a complicated character. He comes off as goofy and happy-go-lucky. In reality, he was calculating, manipulative, loyal, and has a strong sense of justice. His goal was to build a better world but outsmarting and getting ahead of the powerhouse that is trying to kill him proved to be harder than he thought. The story did a great job at building up the intrigue and political drama in a very interesting and clever way without being draggy. However, the plot didn't quite explain Fan Xian's visions, where they came from, and his origins. At the beginning it was a rebirth backwards story. But it seemed to be more of a time travel story with Xian's mother traveling back in time bringing future technology, but the writers never truly explained it.

The romance needed work. The first 10 episodes were spent on ML and FL trying to find each other. After they finally figured out that they were actually engaged to each other, the romance fizzled out and FL gradually disappeared. Honestly, Fan Xian had a lot more chemistry with every other woman he interacted with than Waner. The fighting "dance" with the saintress made me question where the writers were going with this and why Fan Xian was even in love with Waner.

One of the best things about this drama was the goofy soundtrack with silly background music during fighting sequences.

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Bland

The drama was exciting for the first few episodes and in the last few episodes. Everything in between was boring.

I did not like any of the characters. Both ML and FL had no personality and chemistry. The crown prince had a resting bitch face 90% of the time. And FL had one surprised/confused look with pouty lips. When he confessed his feelings for her he had the same expression when complaining about being uncomfortable.

There was no growth or character development either. The writers could've done so much with Yul's character when he lived in the village with amnesia. He hardly did anything but still complained a lot.

When I read the synopsis, I was excited about the plot. The story ended up being completely uninteresting.

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Cringe fest

Clearly, the show didn't know whether it was a comedy or a drama. The plot had very serious elements relating to mental health, trauma, and PTSD. And, then we had Jeong Woo rolling in bed and throwing temper tantrums in every episode. If that was supposed to be comedy, it was cringey as hell.

The romance was underwhelming with very bland chemistry. I wasn't sure why because they did have some cute moments. Maybe because it took them half the show to finally kiss. Maybe because the funny scenes looked stupid and extremely overacted, mostly by Park Hyung Sik. Maybe because their trauma was undermined by immature behavior that was completely unnecessary. If a man acted like Jeong Woo in real life, no amount of good looks would make him attractive to women.

The villain who caused the medical incident was also badly written. His motivations were just so very shallow. He decided to punish Jeong Woo because his mom didn't let the villain see his dad and dad died. So, Jeong Woo, who happened to be his best friend and who did nothing wrong, had to be put through hell and back for the villain to feel vindicated. Crappy reasons, motivation, and extremely lazy writing.

I like Park Hyung Sik and I was looking forward to this drama, but it left me extremely disappointed. I am going to take a break from him and watch something else for a while.

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Overrated

Interesting premise, definitely something new. I really enjoyed the first half with fun cases and all the whales. After episode 12, it was time to wrap up.

The romance needed work. Firstly, it's already difficult to write romance between an autistic and healthy person. Secondly, the romance between FL and ML was rather shallow. He started liking her after he saw her in a wedding dress. It was hard to root for them because there were more red flags in that relationship than the positives. Yes, he at first listened to her talk about whales, but it became apparent that he was getting tired of it. The recurring theme of her having no social cues and consistently disregarding his feelings was not looking good for them. Perhaps, breaking up or just having a platonic relationship would've been better for the plot. Young Woo showed no signs that she could adapt to his emotional needs and he was increasingly hurt and frustrated by her disregard of his feelings. They broke up, then they got back together and that was it. The writers showed no growth in their relationship or her fundamental understanding of how to treat her partner. That would've been an interesting plot idea to teach an autistic person how to navigate relationships.

And what was Joon Ho's position with the law firm anyway? He wasn't a lawyer. A paralegal? A secretary? An errand boy? While Young Woo was running around with other lawyers solving cases, he was mostly in the background getting far less screen time than everyone else. The romance felt like an afterthought.

The acting was really good. Park Eun Bin did a very good job portraying an autistic person. Kang Tae Oh is also talented and very very hot. I want to see more of him in major roles.

Overall, the legal procedural was mostly fun, although it became kind of boring after episode 12. The romance was pretty underwhelming.

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Decent drama

The drama was mostly enjoyable, although the slow-burn romance between ML and FL started to get really painful by episode 30. After being married for two years, they still had no sex, slept in separate beds, and had very PC tropey interactions where the female recoiled from the male as soon as he came near her. That could've been flushed out a lot better without taking 30+ episodes for them to finally confess and consummate, when it was evident much earlier that they had feelings for each other.

Some of the story lines were very cliche but in reverse. If there was any miscommunication or a misunderstanding, it was all planned. Every cliche trope was a scheme between Shiyi and company, which wasn't very clever or original. It felt more like a cop out from making an effort to create something meaningful. The writers recycled old tropes backwards in a gotcha way with lots of flashbacks to show what really went on, instead of coming up with something original.

I did like the nature of Shiyi's and Linyi's relationship being based on mutual trust and respect, instead of following the same old cliches where someone felt wronged or betrayed due to an asinine misunderstanding, and then we were back to square one.

MIL was unbearable throughout the entire show - a pompous, shallow, narrow-minded geriatric moron who only fully started to appreciate Shiyi when she was about to get executed, which was a lazy way to completely avoid holding any character responsible for their wrongdoing. I would've much rather preferred MIL being poisoned or "accidently" falling down the stairs. She was just terrible. And, the biggest letdown was how the story treated Ou Yanxing, who was the nicest character. He was treated completely unfairly - banished forever because of the actions of his stupid relatives.

Although, the drama had a happy ending, it didn't really feel happy. ML was a terrible and negligent husband and a grown man completely unable to make his own decisions in everyday life, although he was a military hero. He was also incapable of standing up to his mother and let her get away with some very terrible schit, just because she was an elder. I didn't buy the filial piety trope. Mommy dearest wasn't just a moron, she was a cruel moron who punished Shiyi without any evidence while always reminding her that she was the "matron" of the house. A matron who had no power but all the responsibility. Because of Lingyi's callousness and negligence, a lot of women suffered, which made me wonder why we should cheer for him and Shiyi at all when their relationship was built on the backs and tears of other women. It was rather convenient to banish one concubine, poison another, and send the last one away to live with her son. The Ming dynasty was a nightmare for women.

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Not great

I like Hana Yori Dango even though certain plot lines are problematic. It's a little disappointing that a live-action remake has yet to show any kind of romantic chemistry between the characters, including this one.

This drama is supposed to have a great love story, except the characters have no chemistry. She is already in love with him but acts like she wants to run for the hills every time he comes near her. I understand the story is about teenagers, so the writers have to be careful about how much sexual tension they put into it. But dear god, their romance is just so dry. This is one thing I hate about Asian dramas - so many of them have very little romantic/sexual chemistry between couples who are supposed to be madly in love with each other.

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Mostly fun with a lot of plot holes

The drama starts out strong but mid-way falls flat. Park Yun Woo travels to the 21st century where she meets Kang Tae Ha who looks exactly like her dead husband. Then, hilarity ensues. The drama is light-hearted and funny. The main couple has cute interactions and really good chemistry. The show is engaging with good pacing until mid-way there are plot holes everywhere.

The writers attempt to draw a connection between the past and the present. They try to utilize the reincarnation trope but keep changing their minds. Tae Ha is very similar to Yun Woo's dead husband. The writers drop hints of reincarnation but build him up as a different person. Towards the end, his heart condition is pretty much abandoned, even though Tae Ha is on a brink of death. And, a warm-hearted grandpa is inexplicably turned into the evil mastermind while the nasty step mom changes her mind about being evil. Instead of moving the plot towards a logical resolution, the writers turn it into a confusing mess.

Although the drama is short with only 12 episodes, the last two episodes are boring and draggy. Barely anything is happening as the characters just move through the motions. But, I enjoyed watching Yun Woo traveling back to Joseon to right the wrongs and give all the wrong-doers their comeuppance. The rest felt like filler.

Overall, the drama has a really good first half, but completely falls flat in the second half with unexplained plot holes, abandoned story lines, and very draggy last two episodes.

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A lackluster attempt at a time travel murder mystery

The drama has an interesting idea that gets lost between multiple character arcs, loose ends, and a draggy plot. The main characters are likable, but everything else is longwinded and forgettable.

One of the biggest issues is too many characters to keep track of. The writers thought it was necessary to drag out the plot by giving each character a meaningless story arc. And, the characters that are actually interesting are reduced to tropey stereotypes. Go Mi Suk is built up to be a super manipulative sociopath who has a keen sense for people's weakness to be used against them. But, she is reduced to a typical troubled teenager who acts up because of family problems and whose only transgression is plagiarism. The murderer is supposed to be a big bad mysterious villain but he turns out to be a stupid, self-serving kid with mommy issues.

If you expect a grand love story, you won't find it here. Yun Hae Jun and Baek Yun Yeong have no romantic chemistry until the very last episode. A lot of their interactions in 1987 are filled with infantile conversations about food and going to nice places. Only towards the end do they start acting like a couple.

The ending is very sweet and satisfying. Everything returns to its rightful place and mom achieves her life-long dream.

Overall, the drama has its good moments, but for the most part it is very draggy. I ended up fast-forwarding through a lot of scenes past episode 10 because I was bored out of my mind. The murder mystery was no longer mysterious and most characters were bland.

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A good attempt at an epic fantasy

Part 3 delves deeper into the concept of nation building and the fact that common and personal interests often supersede blood ties. The storytelling is complex and very well written showing Wahans gradually breaking away from the tribe and joining Tagon, and, Eunseom helping the Ago tribe to destroy narrow-minded clan leaders and unite the tribe. At the end, a need for security and survival always prevails.

Characters go through more major changes emotionally and make tremendous steps in their quest for power. Tagon becomes the king and finally accepts that cruelty is the only way to consolidate and maintain power. Taealha starts to plot her own schemes to preserve tribal secrets and attain her own brand of power. And, Eunweom finally gets a large following. One of my favorite things about the drama is how well the writers portray the fundamental differences between Eunseom and Saya. Eunseom is kind and very straight forward. Saya is cunning and cruel. Kudos to Song Joong Ki for playing two different personalities so well.

The ending feels like a new beginning. All three parts serve as character arcs for Tagon, Eunweom, Tanya, and others to find where they are meant to be before any major events start to take place. I really enjoyed the drama. It was a very good attempt at fantasy with great world building and story telling. I hope there will be more to come in the future.

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Action packed political fantasy

Part 2 flushes out the plot a little bit better breaking it into separate character arcs. Eunseom is still on the quest to save his tribe but gets captured. Tanya learns that being a pacifist will only get her killed and changes her strategy. Tagon still tries to dodge the machinations of Asa Ron and Hae Mihol while attempting to consolidate the Union power.

The plot starts to get more complicated with various twists and turns. The pace picks up with a lot more action and less conversations, which makes the story a lot more engaging. Characters start coming into their own and going after their goals. Tanya gets the most character development. She finally stops asking stupid questions about why bad things happen and realizes that life's not fair. The only way to have a chance is to gain power leading her to making cynical choices. Tagon makes a giant leap towards his goal with the help of now powered-up Tanya. And Eunseom goes through a cycle of deep depression.

Unfortunately, Eunseom does not get as much screen time as the other characters, which leads to choppy writing. He experiences the most suffering by witnessing his friends being reduced to animals groveling for food and committing suicide in a moment of despair. This completely breaks him down mentally leading to severe depression. But, the writers do not do a particularly good job at giving him character growth and allowing him to come out of it gradually. In the same episode where he is at his lowest, he miraculously gets his self-esteem back to plan an escape. This wasn't very well thought out character development and seemed like the writers tried to backtrack to him after leaving him out for so many episodes.

Overall, I enjoyed part 2 a lot more than part 1 because it is action packed and finally shows substantial character development. Now, off to part 3.

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A great start to something new

There is a lot to unpack with this drama. Part 1 introduces a violent world of Arthdal with warring tribes entangled in a timeless struggle for power. People do not dream. And those who do, are unique and destined for great things. The plot explores complex themes of what it is like being part of a nation vs. a smaller community, loss of innocence, and surviving stigma and harsh realities of life. It's a coming of age story for many characters whose lives are thrown into chaos, and who have to learn to survive and pursue a bigger destiny.

Eunseom's life is disrupted when a powerful army massacres his village setting him on a quest to rescue his friends and ultimately find his identity. Tagon plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse with his father and various factions in order to survive. What I like about this drama is the complexity of each character. There is no black and white but also a lot of shades of gray. Tagon is a ruthless warlord who is extremely cunning and manipulative. But he is written as a sympathetic characters who had to deal with stigma all his life surrounding his birth. What's more, he treats his comrades and the woman he loves with care. Tanya asks naive questions about why bad things happen in life, but doesn't blink when cursing her enemies. And, Eunseom has a violent side he has to learn to control. The writers did not draw many lines between heroes and villains. Everyone has a compelling story to tell. I got a lot of Game of Thrones and Conan vibes, but the drama is unique enough to stand on its own.

Part 1 has good pace and story telling. There is not a lot of action because the plot focuses on character interactions to allow them to learn about each other in order to set certain events in motion. However, the drama would've benefited from better editing. There are some conversational scenes that are too long and draggy or completely unnecessary, especially the ones between members of the Wahan tribe. Other than that, I enjoyed the first 6 episodes and will continue on to part 2.

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