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Perfectly Balanced Heartbreaker That Never Lets You Fully Break

This drama is like a friend who's telling you a sad story. They know you might cry, they know you might feel guilty, so they drop a random joke just to make you smile again.

To say this drama surprised me would be an understatement. When I first found out it existed, I thought it was just another short romance drama - nice enough to watch, but forgettable a week later.

Way Back Love is anything but forgettable. It's a beautiful story about love, friendship, and learning to live with the guilt you carry from your past. It's a hopeful yet sad journey, but it never becomes overwhelming. It never leaves you too hopeful, and never too sad. The director balances these emotions so well - like that friend I mentioned, the one who knows exactly when to step in before you break - and somehow, it worked for me every single time.

The story jumps between the past and present, but it never feels random. Whenever something heavy happens in one timeline, you're brought to the other in a way that gives you just enough space to breathe. Everything feels connected. When a character does something in the present that mirrors their past, you're taken right back there with them. The pacing is great - it never drags.

So yeah, you can probably tell by now - the directing here is chef's kiss. One moment the scenography is colorful and full of life, and the next it's bleak and heavy - and every time, the music matches it perfectly. Nothing feels out of place.

And the performances? Amazing. I had only seen the leads briefly in other projects, so maybe that's why I was so impressed. They were both great, but I really have to single out Kim Min Ha - she was on a completely different level. Her acting felt so natural that at times it didn't even feel like acting. It was as if someone said, "Be Jeong Hee Wan," and she simply was. Shoutout to Jung Gun Joo as well - a really good performance too.

Overall, a truly amazing watch. After reading the synopsis, one could say this is a story we've seen many times before - and I'd agree. But the key is the execution, and here it makes the story feel genuinely special.

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A Boy with a Pen and His Inner Struggle to Keep Going

They did it once again. Somehow, they managed to turn an extremely unrealistic scenario into something so engaging I didn't question it for even a second. From a writing perspective, I'd still call Weak Hero decent at best, but it offers so many elements executed so well that I honestly couldn't care less while watching.

I think the second season lost a bit of the charm and vibe the first one had, but to be fair, their structures are quite different. While Season 1 focused mainly on Si Eun and Su Ho before shifting heavily onto Beom Seok, this one does a better job balancing all the characters. Of course, Si Eun and Hu Min take center stage, but it never felt like the others were overshadowed. Everyone had their role, and everyone mattered to the story.

Si Eun is such a great protagonist. I can't fully express how much I like him. After the events of the previous season, I was really curious about what he would do next and how he'd manage to survive. His journey toward slowly finding a reason to live a relatively normal life again was just so good to watch. When Si Eun's happy, I'm happy. That's just how it works.

That being said, I think I used the word slowly a bit excessively, because that journey honestly could've been explored even more. And it's not just about Si Eun - it's about the story overall. At times, it felt like they rushed the events a bit too much instead of stopping at certain points and diving deeper into them. I don't know why it's only 8 episodes again, I think they would really benefit from making it longer here.

Back to the positives, this is how you do a show with more than one season. The first Weak Hero did this for me, and the second one managed to pull it off again. Am I satisfied with how it all ended here? Yes. Even if a third season doesn't happen, I'm still happy with what I got. BUT, would I watch a third season if it did happen? 100%. That perfectly imperfectly satisfying ending is something Weak Hero once again pulled off brilliantly.

The performances were amazing, but it's not like it's surprising considering the cast. We all know that Park Ji Hoon's eyes are built different, and they act better than some actors ever will with their entire face. And while I think everyone did justice to their roles, I really want to appreciate Ryeo Un. It's not easy to take over a spot from a character that so many people loved, but I think he did a really good job here.

Audiovisually, it's as good as it was before. This season has a bit more color, though, and that bleak aura feels a little missing to me, but overall it's still solid. Really happy they didn't change the opening OST.

Overall, this was just A+ entertainment for me. Objectively, I'd probably rate it a bit lower, but I just can't, and don't want to hide how much I enjoyed it. The scenario is over the top and the suspension of disbelief is set high, but it's not like the show ever tried to hide that. You start watching, and you know exactly what you're in for.

I also want to mention that I haven't read the webtoon, so I can't compare. If some things were left out or changed, I understand why people might be disappointed, but since this is my first time experiencing the story, I'm just happy with what I got.

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Bodyguard x Y/N

I went in expecting a heavy political drama - and I did get one, but with a romantic subplot that turned out to be just as important. Honestly, at some point it basically took over the whole thing for me.

Did it bother me? Not at all. Why? Because the chemistry between Jun Ji Hyun and Kang Dong Won was so incredible that while watching this drama I felt like a teenager kicking my feet and screaming with excitement while reading Wattpad fanfics. In fact, that's pretty much how I'd sum it up: Bodyguard x Y/N.

But more seriously, Tempest is just overall a really well-made show. Seo Mun Ju was a strong woman, always ready to do whatever it took to achieve what she wanted, but at the same time, I liked how she wasn't THAT strong. There were moments when she just wanted to breathe, when she wanted to give up entirely - she felt like a strong yet human character, and that made her all the more interesting to follow.

Baek San Ho is literally the Wattpad dream guy, and I won't even try to call him anything else. His devotion, his gaze, his determination - all of it was aimed directly at a very specific target audience. And while I'm not exactly that audience, the drama made me feel like I was, whether I wanted it or not.

That said, while I consider most of the drama great, I think in the last episodes the script kind of derailed, and some characters and their motivations either felt unclear or just plain dumb. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. It screamed cheap melodrama, but at the same time, I think it kind of worked in the context of the whole story. I like it just as much as I don't.

Back to the positives, it's one of those dramas that I feel delivered on every single aspect it promised. Action? Really good. Thriller? The thrills were there every single episode. Despite the weekly wait between episodes, as soon as I came back to this drama it instantly pulled me in, and nothing could take me away from it. Romance? I already expressed my admiration for that part. Mystery? The way everyone gathered in the comments each week to speculate who would do what and who was responsible for what perfectly shows how well it delivered on that front too.

Acting-wise, perfect. This is how you make use of the opportunity to have a cast like this in your drama. Jun Ji Hyun shines as always, and Kang Dong Won is actually a new gem for me - I'll definitely be checking out more of his filmography. The entire cast did an amazing job, with a special mention for Lee Mi Sook, who barely had to move a muscle on her face to pierce right through me with just her gaze.

It's also worth mentioning that this is one of the very few dramas where the English-speaking actors actually did a good job. It never felt like they just grabbed some random people off the street for those roles. I do think that's the bare minimum, considering the subject matter, but compared to other kdramas, it's still pretty praiseworthy.

Production value is obviously high - you can tell Disney put a lot of money into this drama, and it really paid off. Good cinematography, editing, score - consistently strong and polished, even if not particularly memorable.

So, is Tempest good? Yes. Is it brilliant? No. But was it ridiculously entertaining? YES. And for me, the good parts were so good that, for the most part, they completely overshadowed any flaws it might've had.

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Is the Devil as Evil as She Is Painted?

A glamorous and flashy journey full of tragedy, pity, and pure self-destruction.

Baek Ah Jin is called a monster by those around her - a devil in disguise who creates a world where others end up destroyed and feeling like trash. And sure, that's true to some extent, but the drama gives us something much deeper.

You see why she acts the way she does and what shaped her into who she is. Throughout the drama, I felt constantly conflicted. Sometimes I was rooting for her because of how much she suffered, and even when she finally managed to start living a relatively peaceful life, she still kept getting attacked by others. Sometimes I felt bad for the people who had to deal with her, because she really did make their lives miserable when they absolutely didn't deserve it. And sometimes... I just wanted to see her downfall - a really impactful and spectacular one.

It's not that she enjoys hurting others - she just doesn't want to be the one who gets hurt. Her actions can seem impulsive or not very smart, but that actually fits her character perfectly. She takes what she needs from others without hesitation. If she sees someone who can help her get ahead, she'll use them. And if something goes wrong for that person, it might seem like she feels sorry - but really, she's just frustrated she lost someone useful to her. Ah Jin manipulates everyone around her, and us viewers as well.

What I really appreciate is that, in my opinion, the drama never tries to force you to either sympathize with Ah Jin or hate her. It just shows her life, all its ugliness, and lets the viewer decide. That's why this drama will always be polarizing. Not everyone will enjoy following a character who just keeps spiraling deeper and deeper into her own madness.

We also see how Ah Jin affects everyone around her. Yun Jun Seo and Kim Jae Oh are always there for her, but their approaches couldn't be more different. I really liked that dynamic - both want to help her, both want her to be happy, but neither truly understands what "happiness" even means to someone who was never meant to have it in the first place.

I was honestly surprised at first by how slow-paced this drama was. The first episodes don't give that impression, but later on you can definitely feel it - and I ended up liking it. I enjoy when a story just unfolds naturally and doesn't rush anywhere. Whenever I see Lee Eung Bok listed as a director, I kind of expect slower pacing, melodrama, and lots of random character encounters - but somehow he always makes it work. And let's be real - whenever Ah Jin was on screen, whether she ran into someone she'd ruined or a completely new person, it was always interesting to see what would happen.

What really made this drama work for me were the directing and the performances. To say Kim Yoo Jung was great would be like saying nothing - she was absolutely mesmerizing. I bought everything she was selling. Her expressions, her voice, the empty, despair-filled look in her eyes - she nailed it all. The whole cast did a really good job, I honestly don't think there was a single weak link. Even though I was initially skeptical about Kim Young Dae, he quickly proved me wrong - he fit his character pretty well.

I loved the directing, even though at times the continuity of some scenes felt a bit messy. It didn't bother me much, but I think it's worth mentioning in case there was actually more of it and I just didn't catch it. The soundtrack had some really great tracks and atmospheric background music, and some shots were to die for. I especially loved the close-ups of Kim Yoo Jung's face - there were some expressions we haven't really had the chance to see from her before.

Overall, it was far from perfect, but personally I had such a great time that listing all its flaws would just feel like nitpicking - very few dramas this year pulled me into their world the way Dear X did. I kept thinking about it and genuinely looked forward to every new episode. I feel like I didn't even write half of what I want to say about this drama. It was an extremely interesting character study of a truly tragic person - the kind of story that will leave some viewers completely mesmerized and others completely turned off. Some will love it, and some won't.

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