Martelli

Based on the hype, I have expected this to be much better. I think 12 episodes were just enough. It is not that I did not enjoy it, but for me the first half of the series (it was often funny) was better than the rest (the fun scenes were a bit forced). Sometimes it was the over-the-top acting that was too much for me. I dislike excessive screaming and when people just hit each other and they act like it's affectionate (when it's not just a light hit).
Also from Se Jeong I had the same feeling here than in School - she is better with serious scenes for me, the cute scenes are kind of cringy, and the "shy-acting" was over-the-top for me most of the times. Maybe the character was written this way, but I would enjoy it more if it was toned down a bit (her walking around hiding behind her hair and pushing herself to the wall e.g.). I have enjoyed Ahn Hyo Seop's portrayal of Tae Moo a lot more, you could see it was exaggerated at times for fun, but not too much.
The kissing scenes were hotter than in some dramas, I admit that :) I enjoyed the progress in the relationships, but I did not like Young Seo's character really when she was in the relationship - while she always stood up for her friend, even if she was not right, she was angry at Sung Hoon for doing the same. And basically she had a spoilt-child behavior when she treated him, Sung Hoon was just a nice guy.

I do agree, but one thing I did not understand was that even if Sunoh did not get his answers, why he just could not move on and forget her and let her be? I mean, ok, back in high school it hurt so much because she just broke up with him, but 4 years later, he still follows her around trying to get his answers, I felt this was super annoying. It was not nice from Jojo at all that she broke up with him like this, but after some time Sunoh should have just let it be.....

However, I was glad that finally there is a drama that does not say that the person that kissed you as first would have to be your only boyfriend or the last boyfriend in life, this annoys me in most dramas. Like you ship FL with second ML, but even if they are together at some point, you know the script would split them to make the FL + ML pairing, even if they are not fit for each other. Here, I was happy that ML from the first season actually was not the true ML here, and that Jojo ended up with Hyejong and Sunoh with YookJo.

I agree that this drama was really boring, especially compared to the first season, and 6 episodes felt like 16 to me.

- the way they "finished" Wang Shik, I mean seriously??? I know he had a bullet in his head and everything, but I still hoped for some happy ending for him, plus a kind of a love story between him and Sunny (they seemed to care about each other a lot). But suddenly, he is given a bomb and just dies like that, with no goodbyes or anything? That was super sad and I was angry about this ending.
- the way how they kept Yura around (although in the end she might have been useful), but throughout the drama she was just baad
- how stupid some of the characters' actions were, e.g. like at first Wang Shik was living in hiding and secretly contacted "the elder", only later to openly meet everywhere for everyone to track them down and share pictures. And btw. if their organization was super secret (they met in that restaurant somewhere underground, I don't know), how could the aide of the Emperor's mother bribe one of them to record their conversations? Like how could you bribe a person if you are not supposed to know who is in that organization and if there is one? Or were they followed from the beginning, even tho others claimed that Wang Shik is clean when asked for background check? Then why they would not use that sooner (it seemed they just did not know).
- the way the Empress Dowager (the grandma, not the mother later) killed herself hoping the crimes would be revealed. OMG?
- just as in different dramas, if you have a super important proof, you would not contact police or anyone else, first you go to the person and "negotiate" with them, basically let them know you have it, so they can take it from you or harm you or your ppl, like wtf
etc. etc.

Oooh my, I felt very immersed into the story for about 18 episodes, but then I was watching the last episodes during about 3 weeks :D I really liked the character's development of Sunny, how she went from timid girl to a strong one that could fight even scary ppl. Btw how can her sister be called Hello? Maybe it does not sound stupid for them because it is in English, but I doubt they would call their kids Annyeong LOL
Shin Sung Rok is an interesting actor, in the lovely and funny scenes he was actually cute, while he could pull crazy really well (and he was crazy a lot).
In these dramas, I know it is to drag the story, but I never understand how they can kill everyone they do not like easily, but suddenly with really horrible ppl or just someone that is inconvenient for them, it is like "let's keep them around to backstab us later".
I hated Kang Hee and Emperor's mother a lot, they were just devils.
The sad stories from childhood still were not enough for me to justify the Emperor's actions, he could choose another way for everything.
Princess Soo Jin was just a loud and pathetic character.
I really liked Na Wang Shik and felt really sorry for him.
I have disliked a few things about the drama:

I actually did not understand Nadine's actions. I believe when she went on a Paradise date with Dong Woo, I felt they clicked, but his attitude to her changed when he asked her about being rational or not, and she said with love she tries to be rational and cannot be "all-in", and he said that actually for him that is true with work etc., but with love he cannot be only rational. I think he felt disappointed with her response.
But when talking to Jin Young on those chairs on the beach, Nadine told him that when it comes to love, she tends to be all-in. So I felt like this was super strange, like is she talking about her opinions and attitude honestly, or does she change it according to the person she is trying to win over?

In this series, Seul Ki was the most popular one, and while she rejected Dong Woo honestly, which I liked from her, throughout the series it felt like she is playing Jung Woo as her backup plan in case it would not go well with Jin Young, which I really disliked. Jong Woo seemed like the guy I would always go for (not only appearance, but also personality wise - caring, funny, sensitive etc.). Hopefully Seul Ki's decision was honest and in the process she actually learned how to appreciate a guy like Jung Woo.
With Jin Young, I disliked that guy a lot. He was kind of brash, arrogant, and I enjoyed seeing him not leaving us a couple with anyone :D He bragged about the military thing a lot, but he was a Youtuber really (sorry, but this would never be a job for me, just like an influencer).
As for others, I had many thoughts after finishing it, but it was almost a month ago, so now I cannot bother writing my opinion about the rest of the cast :D

It's funny how I hate Netlfix dating and reality shows, but I enjoy watching Single's Inferno, and I have enjoyed the second season even more - I felt like the characters here were more likeable?
I suppose I enjoyed this because the emotions felt real and because there is no money-winning ending (or let's see how many days you can avoid having sex to not have money-price deductions and similar sh** Netflix is always recommending).
I have felt like again some characters were overrated (Seul Ki and Jin Young for the cast, Nadine for the watchers), and for me it's boring a bit, when people just hover over one or two people, but at least there was no Jia type in this series for me (sorry, but I dislike those kinds of girls soooo much, like I would never wanted to be friends or even colleagues with her).

yes, but from the beginning they knew that they were not related at all...like yes, it is a bit strange still, but it would be much worse, if they thought they are real siblings and still got feelings like that for each other

I liked the fact that the relationship of In Ha and her mother was at first handled in the unusual way, just like when she said to Dal Po that he should feel free to take a revenge against her mother as she destroyed his family and their lives (literally), because normally it would be just ppl protecting their family no matter what (and she did not deserve that as she kept proving it so many times during the episodes). But I did not like that in the end it was again that kind of a "happy ending" when everyone is just having good relationships despite everything. I am sorry but I do not believe that you should forgive someone no matter what they did just because they are family of someone (especially when she felt no remorse for soooooo long, and had so many opportunities to reflect), I believe she was just a horrible person who destroyed ppl for her career. I would understand Jae Myung more, I know he killed ppl, but he killed those that caused the death of so many firefighters, destroyed lives of others and were drinking happily and arguing about money years later (so no harm was done to the society when such ppl disappeared), Jae Myung did not kill innocent ppl. But yeah, it made sense that he ended up in prison, but I felt rather sorry for him.

I was not a fan of Park Shin Hye's acting really, but I would say from the dramas I have seen (mainly older ones), this was her best role. I have no complaints really for Lee Jong Suk either. I do not remember my feelings after completing this that well as it was some time ago. But I remember thinking in the beginning, oooh, 20 episodes is too many, but I got immersed in the story and I do not think it was too dragged or something.

I am a fan of a few idol groups, but I agree that the way the idols are managed is stupid, and the restrictions too. I would understand the restrictions towards illegal behavior since like other people, they should not commit crimes etc. especially when being in public eye. But the whole obsession of the idols not being able to live a normal private life is a whole different story. E.g. Sungmin from Super Junior is practically banned from performing with the group, because he did the biggest crime...he got married without telling his fans first! But I liked his attitude, it was like so what, I am sorry but this is my life, and I completely understand that! But because of that, obsessed ppl hate him because ppl paid for his music so obviously they own his life....pathetic and stupid.

You have said that her acting in Vagabond was perfect, I have disagreed. What does it have to do with her newer projects? So people cannot say someone's acting is not that good in a specific drama, because they have not watched some dramas after that?
I have watched several dramas from around the same period, and she was overly praised even at that time, so your logic is outstanding, therefore yes, this is a completely useless discussion, thank you for agreeing with this point at least.

I see it is impossible to argue with a die-hard Suzy's fan, so I won't do it :) I would just explain myself. "Unrealistic" because there were situations when she could be shot or just her life was at risk for some reason, but she was pouting to look cute, like I would not call that a perfect acting. She can be playful when the situation is ok, but when it gets serious, the facial expressions should be serious too, that's it. Also, she was underappreciated for a reason. She was shown as resourceful in the beginning, but then she became really clumsy, and I would say believing in Dal Geon was the best thing she could do, because besides that they made her the hero in the end and oh, she is the best agent, but really???? When they were protecting and hiding their witness that could overturn things, she just brought the person into the shoot-out basically and put him in front of her. I remember watching this scene thinking "this is super ridiculous, which agent would do that". That's just another example, and I believe it is fine to not list more, because you seem like you would say Suzy was perfect in all these examples, and if others agree with me, for them these examples would be enough as well. One thing is that her character might not have been written in the best way, but another thing is that I believe she is not fit for those serious and tough roles really.

I have enjoyed the fight between Jung Hoon and the director, it felt more real than fights in some of the dramas, it was really like a fight for your life (or for the life of your loved one). And finally someone hits the other person after giving them the first hit and they fall, it is super stupid when in most situations people just start running or going away just to be hit later from the bad guys.
The pairing of Il Kwon and Ha Kyung was also cute and I really liked that they ended up together. I felt really sorry for Seo Yun, poor girl was such a nice person, but ended up horribly due to some twisted character. I did not like the professor / doctor character, he disregarded feelings of people and the consequences of his actions just for his book or research. For this I liked the approach of Tae Eun, as he did not forget how to be a friend just because he was a doctor too. Overall, this was a beautiful drama, with funny, but also really sad and heartfelt moments.

Normally I dislike FLs pushing themselves on MLs and dressing up being rude and selfish as cute, however with Ha Jin, it did not feel this way to me. Like she was actually a nice girl, quite honest and innocent in her thinking at times, so I was actually rooting for this pairing. It was like she has awaken the feelings in ML which he was afraid of having again. It was also nice to see their relationship grow, and their feelings looked genuine, so both main actors were great for me. Poor Ha Jin had just so many creeps around her.

I also could not understand how Tae Hee knew Chae Yeon is a bad person, but oh, it is his little sister, so let's actually trust her and even send her to grandma. And how he ran to her everytime, oh god...
That grandma also did not trust anyone, but suddenly here comes a fake lady claiming something, and she just trusts everything she says. Kang Jun was just sleazy, he and Chae Yeon suited each other.
What I also did not like were the makjang scenes, like the pathetic and screaming ones from the house of Kang Jun, those were super unnecessary most of the time.
And the whole concept about the beauty and so on, for me you do not have to be a supermodel, but at least you should live more healthily, especially if you have a husband and you would maybe like to have children later. Like her weight caused problems for Geum Ran too, and I am not talking about people watching or laughing at her, but when she fell in the market or in the bus, she had trouble lifting herself up due to her weight, so it is not a message that she should maybe do something about it? Of course it is stupid if people are suddenly nice to you just because you are looking all shiny and slim, but still she should have done something about herself without the surgeries.

Not sure why I have finished this, it should have had the message that being pretty outside is not the most important thing, and I am sorry, but I have finished this partially because I have felt Joo Sang Wook was seriously handsome in this. Because the story....it could have fit into about 12-14 episodes, it was super draggy towards the end and the leads made so many stupid decisions and actions....like they are supposed to be a pairing of smart + super pretty, but to me it was like in the beginning everything goes too well for them, but then it's like a duo of stupid + stupid.
I know when people comment on plastic surgeries it is like "oh, it is their own life, we should not comment about it etc.", but c'mon, if they want to pick a character that accuses Sara of being super fake and having a lot of things done, it should not be actually Gyo Chae Yeon, while I can count so many stuff done on the face of that actress, this was really annoying for me, like let at least have a natural looking character comment on it.

not sure if I have ever seen her not being pretty :D