Honestly, the show isn't as bad as it is made out to be. Just forget NJH's RL drama and watch it with an open mind. The story is a bit messy and confusing right till the end but if you love romance as much as I do, then you won't mind as much.
The exceptional beauty of most of the cast members were at times distracting. But for the most part, I think everyone did a good job. There was good chemistry between the main characters as well Moo Ra and Bi Ryum. Also a special mention for Im Joo Hwan who is always such a consistent performer. The rest of the supporting actors didn't have much to do because of the weak script.
Music was one of the best parts of the show. This soundtrack will stay on my playlist for a long while.
So to sum it up, you'll enjoy the show if you go in with little expectations. Give it a try, the romance and awesome music might just win you over.
Edit:
2 years and dozens of dramas later, I stand by my initial review. I think rewatching it helped me understand it better. Forget about the comparisons with the manhwa. On its own, it was great and doesn’t deserve nearly as much criticism it gets. The story was well planned and tied together in the end. The fact that all the answers came in the final episode made it feel a bit too artificial but other than that I have no major complaints. My only gripe is that they sort of abandoned Shin Hoo Ye’s storyline. I would have loved it if they’d have elaborated on his ending, perhaps showing some hope of gaining acceptance from the other gods that he so desired. All in all I’ll say that it was a great watch the second time around. So everyone please give it a chance and decide on your own rather than relying on the reviews.
Edit #2:
I’m coming back here 8 years later in 2025. After watching nearly 350 k-dramas since this one first released, I can confidently say that this drama is still in my overall top 5. By no means is it perfect. They could have easily done away with all of the human side characters and limited the series to 12 episodes like what we see today. That aside, I now retract statement in my first review. This isn’t a messy drama. It was actually very well thought out. When you rewatch it, you’ll see there were many things that were foreshadowed and the building blocks were there right from the beginning. The Bride of Habaek is like a well worn novel. You keep being drawn to it and upon each rewatch you discover things you hadn’t noticed before and you fall in love with it all over again. To sum it up, if you’re here for a fantasy/mystery story you might be disappointed. If you’re here for a tale of star-crossed lovers, the love story of Habaek and So Ah will stay in your memory for a very long time. It has everything I could want in a drama: beautiful romance, well thought out story, and outstanding music 10/10.
The exceptional beauty of most of the cast members were at times distracting. But for the most part, I think everyone did a good job. There was good chemistry between the main characters as well Moo Ra and Bi Ryum. Also a special mention for Im Joo Hwan who is always such a consistent performer. The rest of the supporting actors didn't have much to do because of the weak script.
Music was one of the best parts of the show. This soundtrack will stay on my playlist for a long while.
So to sum it up, you'll enjoy the show if you go in with little expectations. Give it a try, the romance and awesome music might just win you over.
Edit:
2 years and dozens of dramas later, I stand by my initial review. I think rewatching it helped me understand it better. Forget about the comparisons with the manhwa. On its own, it was great and doesn’t deserve nearly as much criticism it gets. The story was well planned and tied together in the end. The fact that all the answers came in the final episode made it feel a bit too artificial but other than that I have no major complaints. My only gripe is that they sort of abandoned Shin Hoo Ye’s storyline. I would have loved it if they’d have elaborated on his ending, perhaps showing some hope of gaining acceptance from the other gods that he so desired. All in all I’ll say that it was a great watch the second time around. So everyone please give it a chance and decide on your own rather than relying on the reviews.
Edit #2:
I’m coming back here 8 years later in 2025. After watching nearly 350 k-dramas since this one first released, I can confidently say that this drama is still in my overall top 5. By no means is it perfect. They could have easily done away with all of the human side characters and limited the series to 12 episodes like what we see today. That aside, I now retract statement in my first review. This isn’t a messy drama. It was actually very well thought out. When you rewatch it, you’ll see there were many things that were foreshadowed and the building blocks were there right from the beginning. The Bride of Habaek is like a well worn novel. You keep being drawn to it and upon each rewatch you discover things you hadn’t noticed before and you fall in love with it all over again. To sum it up, if you’re here for a fantasy/mystery story you might be disappointed. If you’re here for a tale of star-crossed lovers, the love story of Habaek and So Ah will stay in your memory for a very long time. It has everything I could want in a drama: beautiful romance, well thought out story, and outstanding music 10/10.
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