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A 2nd Season that doesn't stand well on its own... Unless there's a 3rd season
I feel conflicted...
The Romance aspect was better in this season imho.
I was never sold on the romance in the first season because it went too high too fast. These two people just didn't know enough of each other to fall in love. Yet on the other hand, here, we start the story knowing these two characters' pasts and hence can easily root for their reunion since we understand their longing for each other especially knowing how tragically their story ended.
However, it lacks the emotional punch of the first season, the sociopolitical context, the fight for liberation, the discrimination and mistreatment Koreans went through under Japanese rule, the tough choices, betrayals, the heartbreaking love of a mother for her daughter and the desperate quest of said daughter and her father to rebuild their family. Tae Seong also had a character trajectory that went full circle from a rich dandy who only cared about money to full fledged resistance fighter who stood by his fellow countrymen… and I’m mentioning him because he was one of the lead but other minor characters also had their own arcs.
But Here? There is absolutely NO character trajectory apart from the usual memory loss from one character. They end as they started except for one… Unfortunately not in the right direction.
Apart from the romance, the rest feels flat. Maeda is just evil for the sake of being evil... and honestly we had seen enough of her in the first season, I really didn’t want to see her character again… She hasn’t changed. She’s still the same crazy b*** Tae Song obsessed lunatic, no evolution whatsoever… WHY NOBODY had yet killed her is beyond me.
If there was time to spend with vilains, I’d have prefered more time with Captain Kuroko who was way more layered and interesting than her.
Tae Song had a special bond with Seung Jo but the drama never shows how this hyeong/dongsaeng relationship was ever built, how they met etc. We're not told what are the big company's villain's aim except in cryptic quotes that I forgot as soon as I heard them and in a fudging post-credit scenes that hints at a third season we see what they’re about to do in the next season that has yet to be announced BUT WHY OH WHY are they doing this is anyone’s guess.
There's a lot of action scenes so if you're a fan of that I guess, you'll be happy... IF you manage to see something because my GOD this was DARK AS HELL. Can't see sh*** for the life of me…
Who the hell directed the photography? I want to know so that I can avoid their dramas in the future, I’m not a fan of black screens. Sometimes I could tell the fighting scenes were probably well choreographed and looked awesome but since I couldn’t see anything, I’d just spend a couple of minutes trying to see something until I finally gave up and decided that I didn’t care anyway.
In short, I’d say this season was very much an American show filmed in South Korea. Removing every nuance, every quiet moments that make K-dramas so unique and pack in a lot of action and violence but without rooting it strongly in emotions and human connections.
With only 7 episodes it’s a quick watch that raises more questions than it answers leaving viewers thoroughly dissatisfied. Without a 3rd season, this season just cannot stand solidly on its own feet because everything is rushed and nothing is properly explained.
It’s action without substance and I’m sorry but I’ve been accustomed to MUCH MUCH MORE from South Korea.
I’m VERY tired on the Americanization of K dramas. And the worst offender is Netflix’s push towards creating franchises instead of giving us complete well-rounded series that ends in one season. I fled from US shows more than 20 years ago because of it and now my K dramas are being invaded by this shitty American custom and it is RUINING the genre.
And hence like many early K drama fans, I see myself year after year watching an increasing number of Chinese dramas because I find in them what South Korea is slowly stripping away their shows in order to appeal to a global audience instead of sticking to what made their shows so unique and charming in the first place and brought people like me watching them.
If you had decided to make the 2nd season that way, the LEAST you should have done is to announce a 3rd season but NOPE! As I’m typing these line, the second season has aired almost a year ago and yet still no news of a third season.
By the time they might decide to announce one, people who have watched this will probably have forgotten season 1 and 2 and won’t even want to bother...
Anyway, with only 7 episodes it’s a fast breezy watch but I find it difficult to rate. It feels incomplete. Is it good? On it’s own… no… But can I say it’s bad? Well… no.
It’s like you’re asked to give a grade to an essay which some pages are obviously missing.
It’s not terrible but quite frustrating.
So… Since I don’t know how to rate this… That’s a 6,5…
I initially was planning on a 7… but since they didn’t even bother to give me a satisfying ending on the romance aspect, here it is.
The Romance aspect was better in this season imho.
I was never sold on the romance in the first season because it went too high too fast. These two people just didn't know enough of each other to fall in love. Yet on the other hand, here, we start the story knowing these two characters' pasts and hence can easily root for their reunion since we understand their longing for each other especially knowing how tragically their story ended.
However, it lacks the emotional punch of the first season, the sociopolitical context, the fight for liberation, the discrimination and mistreatment Koreans went through under Japanese rule, the tough choices, betrayals, the heartbreaking love of a mother for her daughter and the desperate quest of said daughter and her father to rebuild their family. Tae Seong also had a character trajectory that went full circle from a rich dandy who only cared about money to full fledged resistance fighter who stood by his fellow countrymen… and I’m mentioning him because he was one of the lead but other minor characters also had their own arcs.
But Here? There is absolutely NO character trajectory apart from the usual memory loss from one character. They end as they started except for one… Unfortunately not in the right direction.
Apart from the romance, the rest feels flat. Maeda is just evil for the sake of being evil... and honestly we had seen enough of her in the first season, I really didn’t want to see her character again… She hasn’t changed. She’s still the same crazy b*** Tae Song obsessed lunatic, no evolution whatsoever… WHY NOBODY had yet killed her is beyond me.
If there was time to spend with vilains, I’d have prefered more time with Captain Kuroko who was way more layered and interesting than her.
Tae Song had a special bond with Seung Jo but the drama never shows how this hyeong/dongsaeng relationship was ever built, how they met etc. We're not told what are the big company's villain's aim except in cryptic quotes that I forgot as soon as I heard them and in a fudging post-credit scenes that hints at a third season we see what they’re about to do in the next season that has yet to be announced BUT WHY OH WHY are they doing this is anyone’s guess.
There's a lot of action scenes so if you're a fan of that I guess, you'll be happy... IF you manage to see something because my GOD this was DARK AS HELL. Can't see sh*** for the life of me…
Who the hell directed the photography? I want to know so that I can avoid their dramas in the future, I’m not a fan of black screens. Sometimes I could tell the fighting scenes were probably well choreographed and looked awesome but since I couldn’t see anything, I’d just spend a couple of minutes trying to see something until I finally gave up and decided that I didn’t care anyway.
In short, I’d say this season was very much an American show filmed in South Korea. Removing every nuance, every quiet moments that make K-dramas so unique and pack in a lot of action and violence but without rooting it strongly in emotions and human connections.
With only 7 episodes it’s a quick watch that raises more questions than it answers leaving viewers thoroughly dissatisfied. Without a 3rd season, this season just cannot stand solidly on its own feet because everything is rushed and nothing is properly explained.
It’s action without substance and I’m sorry but I’ve been accustomed to MUCH MUCH MORE from South Korea.
I’m VERY tired on the Americanization of K dramas. And the worst offender is Netflix’s push towards creating franchises instead of giving us complete well-rounded series that ends in one season. I fled from US shows more than 20 years ago because of it and now my K dramas are being invaded by this shitty American custom and it is RUINING the genre.
And hence like many early K drama fans, I see myself year after year watching an increasing number of Chinese dramas because I find in them what South Korea is slowly stripping away their shows in order to appeal to a global audience instead of sticking to what made their shows so unique and charming in the first place and brought people like me watching them.
If you had decided to make the 2nd season that way, the LEAST you should have done is to announce a 3rd season but NOPE! As I’m typing these line, the second season has aired almost a year ago and yet still no news of a third season.
By the time they might decide to announce one, people who have watched this will probably have forgotten season 1 and 2 and won’t even want to bother...
Anyway, with only 7 episodes it’s a fast breezy watch but I find it difficult to rate. It feels incomplete. Is it good? On it’s own… no… But can I say it’s bad? Well… no.
It’s like you’re asked to give a grade to an essay which some pages are obviously missing.
It’s not terrible but quite frustrating.
So… Since I don’t know how to rate this… That’s a 6,5…
I initially was planning on a 7… but since they didn’t even bother to give me a satisfying ending on the romance aspect, here it is.
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