kara

maybe turning 16 eps dramas into 12 eps dramas is a good idea

This drama was a roller coaster of emotions. I have several complaints about subplots. Spacing at times was over the place. Why did they waste so much time on BDH's cheating husband or BIN's bully (who was pampered by writers)? Give me a good reason why Ina was forced to forgive a girl who bullied her out of the blue because others ignored her (as they should). Dohee deserved so much more and I wish that we had a better insight into her life after dropping that sorry excuse of a man. I can't believe that they dragged these story lines until the last episode. I've made my remarks previously on how leads chemistry isn't chemistrying but it's not actors' fault that their characters got together so late on the series. Also, I don't think the ending is open. It was pretty straightforward. The couple had a child (5 y.o in a clip) and Gwiju was pulled into his memory of them. Although, I wish that they would've had one episode to explain how BGJ survived the fire and maybe how their family earned superpowers in general.

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casting >>> writing

there's no much to say about the story. it starts off strong but ends on predictable note, both in terms of the plot and the characters. none of them experience any significant growth as individuals. there's no doubt that the highlight of this drama is the dynamics between the trigger crew. special mention goes to kim hyesoo, who portrayed oh soryong with incredible nuance and depth. similarly, jung sungil delivers an impressive performance that adds weight and charisma to the show. while the storyline may leave much to be desired, the chemistry and performances of the cast make it worth watching.

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how to ruin a drama with an ending

i'm going to keep this short and sweet, and say what a waste of potential.
things i liked:
- character driven storytelling
- unique premise
- leads' relationship
- great acting
things i didn't like:
- characters being numb to their past
a lot of things happened to main characters, but they remained the same. the only ones who changed were the side characters (for instance situ).
- horrible cgi effects (but that's given in fantasy series)
- inconstant writing at some parts (e.g: can vampire walk under the sunlight?)
- sad ending
even though the sad ending was hinted at for longest time, i needed an happy ending for my leads. they suffered for the WHOLE series. it makes the whole series feel like a waste of time, and i hope that cdrama writers stop that sad drama ending trend for fantasy dramas set in 19 and 20 century. at this point, i think it's censorship's fault

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more action, less connection

i hate comparing things, but there are a lot of things different this time around from editing to writing. let me start with the editing. there were two weird cuts connected to really personal scenes. firstly, when others find out about sieun's car accident. instead of seeing their actual reaction to the revelation, we see them running to the hospital. second time the same thing happened was when suho woke up and we probably got one of the most underwhelming first time meeting scenes of all time. that dialogue deserves a death sentence. why did the writer decide to have others join sieun and suho's reunion where they didn't say a WORD? we will never know. also, for the sake of the bond between the friend group, i would've loved a scene where sieun actually opens up about his past to the other guys. was it that hard? other thing that bothered me were over choreographed fight scenes. some looked downright silly. on the bright side, most of the introduced characters were interesting, and i quite liked them. i also liked overall schools' gang plot or whatever you like to call it. most importantly, i'm happy that sieun smiled more than once turning this season.

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female lead carried

What stood out for me was the female protagonist. I'm enjoying this new trend of female characters being more independent and goal-oriented. Also, kim ok bin did the series justice with her acting. That's what I would like to call perfect casting. I finished it for her character only. To all the haters out there, not every character needs redemption or development. If she was a man, you all would thirst over him.

I choose to be a villain and say that the plot-wise this drama isn't something extraordinary. Honestly, I was prepared for the worst outcome since the same screenwriter wrote my id is gangam beauty. Nevertheless, the comedy aspect of the series is surprisingly well done

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stunning cinematography and great acting

first of all, this drama’s cinematography was stunning—dare i say, the best aspect of the show after the acting. special kudos to BJT and ZRN; without these two, the drama wouldn’t have been the same. however, some questionable decisions were made about writing. firstly, WYF’s past took too long to be revealed. secondly, the side couple’s storyline became overwhelming. at first, i wasn’t annoyed by them, but after SHA’s father was diagnosed with alzheimer’s, it felt like they became the main couple instead of WYF and SY. i would have preferred five fewer episodes rather than watching these two dragged-out storylines.
that being said, i recommend this drama to anyone who enjoys stories about men longing.

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