Not as good as expected
Considering the quality of the two leading actors, I expected a lot from this drama. But in the end it is not very satisfactory. The main romance looks forced and awkward. Because on her side she is on a break up/divorce process. Weird to really fall in love in these conditions. On his side, it is a childhood love. How lucky he is to find her again. The secondary couple is not so interesting even if I agree they have a good chemistry towards the end because they drag each other out of a sad situation. The main plot with its crimes an schemes is resolved way to easily with Deus Ex Machina solutions and there is no real danger or real challenge for the main couple.Overall it is watchable but not as good as expected. 8/10
Started great then became convoluted and ended boring.
1/ WHAT I LIKED:- The action, fights and killings in the first part. It was savage like in a good Jason Bourne movie.
- The set up of the story: From the events in the boat to South Korean and flash backs to China. It was intriguing, gripping and dark enough to keep me hooked until what happened to the FL.
- The secondary female lead and ML sidekick. She is the only one who keeps a sense of justice, duty, empathy and camaraderie all along the drama. She is the most endearing character for me.
2/ WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
- The leading on the audience from the middle of the drama to the end with nonsense useless turnarounds.
- The ludicrous ideas to allow everything like cars driving alone, emp and even a ridiculous " Mission : Impossible " moment.
- The plot development which deviates from a good spy action drama to a political plot and ends up in a "lets all fight for the country" hymn drippling with nice "family" values.
- The gunfights towards the end were bad with horrendous muzzle flashes even when the gun is not shooting.
- The final showdown with the bad guy. Uselessly violent and made no sense considering who the guy is supposed to be. The dilemma looked so fake.
3/ CHARACTERS:
- ML: Namgoong Min was dedicated to his role and he did his best but the character was not very well written. His ruthlessness and the mystery about his quest in the beginning made him fun in a bournesque way. But he soon appears very stiff and expressionless. If his physical condition looks great in the first part, he soon looked squeezed in his black and white suit and his demarche looked weird. Most disappointing, he is often not in control of what is happening.
- FL: I don't even know why she is the FL. Because from chasing after men in her service and working with them to do things she is not proud of, she was just despicable always pressuring the ML.
- All the other characters from NIS are annoying because they don't behave like leaders but like kids arguing in the playround and they just work against each other's interests but call themselves an organization.
- Big Boss: Ridiculous story around him. It ends in a terrible hollywoodlike way. (Spoiler: WTF, the guy is sick actually. He is not responsible legally.)
4/ OST: Decent one.
5/ OVERALL: A disappointing drama which had plenty of materials and ideas to do well but the writer was too much leading on the audience trying to look smart. This made the drama annoying to follow and not entertaining at all. Even the end and the final speech is utmost disappointing. 7.5/10.
A good and very unique drama
STORY: (full of spoilers)The drama tells the story of two brothers who have to run away and move regularly to escape from a "Butterfly" who killed their mother. There are flashbacks to tell the youth of these two brothers. 20 years later, KT and ST meet a woman called MY. She is a strange woman with a strong quirky personality with family issues as her mother disappeared and she cut ties with her father who is in a psychiatric clinic with cancer. As she chases after KT because she wants him, the lives of these three people start to closely entangles. Then the truth is unveiled about the death of the mother of KT and ST. That she was killed by MY's mother and this mother who disappeared is in fact one of the nurse working in the clinic with KT. The nurse who revealed herself as the mother then tries to separate them.
The story was simple but told in a unique and mysterious manner using flashbacks and detailed hints and moments of contradicting semi revelations which allow us to have our own understanding and theory about what happened and who is the killer. This was subtly done with a good suspense and it kept me interested in the main plot. Then came the twist and the revelation. I have to say this twist looked a stunt for me. The drama which had a Tim Burtonesque atmosphere suddenly included a psycho killer completely hysterical. How could that lunatic who screams crazily for nothing have hiden her personality for 20 years in a psychiatric clinic? And if she managed to do it, what triggered her to change? I could accept she was alive, she was in hiding as a nurse, she wanted to watch her husband suffer... but why she went back to her black clothings and her crazy days to kill a poor patient in the clinic? Because he injured her daughter? Because she witnessed her daughter becoming "normal" and she could not stand it? Finally I just accepted this unclear reversal of matters and the return of the mother like a temporary stumbling block in the new life of our 3 main leads.
CHARACTERS/CAST:
The gallery of characters presented is the greatest part of this drama. The flashbacks gave a understanding of the personalities of the main leads and made them sympathetics. The sub plots with their own guest characters, events, outcome and lesson of life were very enjoyable and described great character developments.
- KT: The younger brother. His difficult childhood made the person he is : someone who suppressed himself to take care of his brother. He slowly learns to open himself, enjoy things and find a girl for himself. KSY was pretty decent in that role. Young KT and the kid actor were good also.
- ST : He is the older brother and for me he is the most interesting of the two. He has autism disorder and relies on his brother at first but he slowly develops autonomy and responsibility. He finally become a real older brother for both his younger brother and his new younger sister. He even leaves the house in the end to live his own life. OJS did a great job here.
- MY: I just loved her character and SYI nailed it as she portrayed that weird strong quirky woman perfectly. Even her clothes were meaning ful. One woman character who will become iconic in kdramaland. Amazing performance from SYJ and the little girl actress portraying MY was lovely too.
- Jae Su: Loved him for his loyalty and unwavering friendship for the two bother and his great dialogues with KT.
- Ju-Ri: I never hated her even at the beginning. She just looked a bit pathetic but she slowly showed her immature and cute side.
- See Sang In: I liked how loyal he was to MY. He is funny but also mature and reliable for the other people. He and Ju-Ri were cute in their own little almost romance
- Ju Ri's mom: the wise one and acting mother of the people in her house and for MY.
- Seung Jae : I pitied her for always being the victim of Sang In but she had her little vengeance in the end.
Plenty of charismatic, lovely or funny but always interesting characters: Dr Oh, his son, the two patients lovers, the mother who lost her daughter and of course KGD the son of the politician. It was good that the drama gave a nice closure to all of them.
MUSIC:
This drama has the best OST. Every song is nice to listen to. It contributed largely to the special atmosphere of the drama and to its success. Releasing some songs after they were aired in the drama was masterpiece.
REWATCH VALUE:
The story is a little bit too simple but I will gladly rewatch it for the numerous funny, cute, weird scenes with excellent dialogues and quotes.
OVERALL:
Having watched around 400 dramas I have to say this one is a very special drama. I would have called it perfect if the twist was slightly better explained. I totally recommend this drama for its weird, fun, quirky, heartwarming and very human characters and its many good lessons of life. I really loved the long journey of waiting and watching this every week end and also following and discussing this. Thanks to the actors and the crew who made this drama and to the fans. This drama has some flaws but overall it deserves a 10.
This drama is a very peculiar drama but it is satisfactory on every level
1/ What I liked:- The peculiar narration of the drama. It felt very like a comic book or a manhwa with different chapters. Each one dedicated to a specific character or group of character and them all of them in the final.
- The characters: I loved the good guys but I also some of the bad guys. It is not about good ones and bad ones, but it is about humanity.
- The dual timeline between the story of the parents and the children and how they meet in the end.
- The action which is 50% of the time made of brutality but it is a very enjoyable brutality as it is not human but superhuman. Some scene are bloody and sometime gory bit still I enjoyed them as they were like fantasy and fun.
- The story overall is really interesting from the parents ‘one to the kids ‘one told in an unconventional manner.
- The fun. Some very good fun even in the saddest or most brutal moments. It is like not intented but still fun.
2/ What I liked less:
- ML's characterization to make him innocent was pushed too far. Made him look retarded and silly. I am glad in the end he progressed fast.
- Confusing timeline with flashbacks in the flashback.
3/ OST: Appropriate. Very gripping at times.
4/ Rewatch value
So fun. I will surely rewatch it or scenes of it.
5/OVERALL
Best drama I have watched in 2023 so far. 10/10. This drama has a really great story told in a very special and nice way with endearing and complex characters, very emotional moments involving love, friendship, family love, partnership, rivalry... insisting on the human side of people facing the brutality of the real evil ones. A MUST WATCH.
Total trainwreck
I LIKED:- Lead actor Park Hyung Sik, pretty convincing.
- Il Do's and Seong Yu's sons
I DISLIKED:
Everyting else...
- Main story fed to you bit by bit but finally it's no fun.
- The SFL who acts despicable and illogical.
- Main villain who is just grotesque
- Most of the secondary characters that are in a posture for no good reason
- The music that was loud and stressful for nothing
...
IN SHORT:
Do not watch this. You will not be entertained. You will be led on by the writers and director with every stupid development possible but you will not enjoy this. Especially the end that is basically BS. 5/10.
Disappointing modern love story inspired by a beautiful historical love story.
This drama is not the sequel of One and Only. It is another story with a new couple who is not the one from One and Only reincarnated. But it is good to have watched One and Only before. Because this drama makes a lot of references to the original story and it helps understanding the essence of drama and the state of mind of the two leads.STORY:
A woman named Shi Yi created for herself a fantasized ideal man named Zhou Sheng Chen based on the main character of a movie she is working on and on historical informations she collected. She meets a Zhou Sheng Chen in real life who is not really like her fantasized one. She still falls for him trusting he is her destiny. The guy is a scientist very down to earth and logical and despite being from a rich family, he is not a typical heir of a conglomerate. He just wants to be a scientist.
I liked the first part where they are discovering each other and putting the cart before the horse. Because he has family pressure and because she is just head over heels for him. They looked very cute chasing each other from city to city and from China to Germany and back. There is also some kind of love triangles to spice it up. I liked that the FL is one to take initiative, be straightforward and send signals to the guy.
The second part when they are "official" is awkward. They have to discover the things they did not take the time to know beforehand. They really look good together but it is not sparkling chemistry. She is cute taking the time to make their relationship be the most normal one but he is so awkward that it is sometime cringe. These two in their everyday routine trying to get used to each other and to their life together, explaining things to each other, I thought is was lacklustre to the point I started losing interest.
They are also facing their respective families. Shi Yi's family is not complicated and it is rather fun. But ML's family is totally dysfunctional and even fckd up. It is clear that such a family does not exist in the modern world. They purposely took some crazy royal families you can see in historical cdrama and transposed to the modern world with no nuance at all. So the main couple meets the most opposition here from people who talk family but don't act like family.
In the last part, things take a fast pace as bad schemers are unveiled. It ends with an unexpected final showdown and our couple being "separated" for some time before the happy ending. I thought it was intense and emotional and a good final stretch with some action and a proper closure for most people good or not good. Our cute leads lives married happily ever after and the crown goes to the young crown prince.
CHARACTERS:
- Great ones: Shi Yi so lovely and patient with her bf/husband, the young crown prince
- Good ones: Zhou Sheng Chen the scientist who was a 30 something y.o. virgin, Driver (uncle Lin) MVP of the first part, Shi Yi typical loving Chinese parents, Grandmother typical nice grandmother who makes nice confusions and gives away secrets, the two distant cousins who look like lovers, Mei Dong Lin Mei Xing's dad.
- Silly ones: Mei Xing who did not know better, Zhou Wen Xing who did wrong thinking she was doing right, Tong Jia Ren who barked at the wrong trees and ended empty handed, Wang Man who loved a crow thinking he is a swan.
- Bad ones: Zhou Wen Chuan, Qin Wan the mother, the bad uncle.
- Underused: Xiao Yu Shi Yi best friend and Du Feng the cop. Their story should have been better developed.
OST:
Not so good. Repetitive with one style for one place of action and sound effects for the funny situation. I am really not fan of playing these songs at key moments. It is more disturbing the pace than helping the mood.
REWATCH VALUE:
Bai Lu and Allen Ren are not enough to save this drama. The cuteness of the main leads is not enough to make me rewatch (Also knowing that there is no real kiss) .
OVERALL: 7.5/10. I watched this as a part II and it is so so. I found it was cute but the family opposition and schemes from family members were quite badly told and silly. I don't get the demise of some characters when it was really not worth it and you have to put this on recklessness or crazyness. It also lacked entertaining situations. I will stick with the first Installment. In fact, this drama just managed to make me love One and Only more. Because it made its ending even more tragic and beautiful: There is no reincarnation. Love as much as you can when you still can.
Cute leads in a cute romance to hide a wobbly thriller full of plot holes and wrong messages.
1/ STORY1.1/ Thriller:
ML wants to find his long lost twin sister. Moves back to his childhood place and sets a new restaurant. But he does nothing. No investigation with pictures, places, suspects, links... on a huge board. He wanders from his place to the grocery store or the fish market with FL. Police does nothing but chit-chat and drinks in the evening. Suddenly in episode 15, the FL remembers something and the culprit is caught. Mystery solved.
First, the triller is an engaging dark comedy with plenty of people to suspect and dark humour in life and death situations but halfway it becomes a standard korean serial killer drama. Disappointing.
1.2/The romance:
ML spends the whole drama building his restaurant. The evening he cooks food with nice wine to comfort the FL because he feels her emotional mess. They get closer and closer to the point they kiss, date, break up, date, break up, kiss, break up because their lives are intertwined with sad past events. When the culprit is caught, everything stops and they become normal couple.
2/ CHARACTERS /ACTORS
2.1/ Good guys:
Let's say it, the two lead actors save this draggy romance and draggy thriller thanks to their chemistry and their cuteness which make them enjoyable to watch on screen. The other good point goes to the child characters and actors who are mostly cute, bring emotions and are at the core of the mystery.
- ML: A cry baby who tries to solve a mystery with the FL and enters a game of push and pull. When he is not lovey dovey with FL, he cooks, walks, cries or gets angry or beats people.
- FM: Poor girl trying to improve her life but she is victim of a stalker and has nightmares. She finds comfort with ML but stalker is not happy and tries to break their relationship. Flawed character but still likeable.
- ML's best friend Jin Hoo : Does one good thing to advance the plot then spends the drama loafing about in the restaurant.
- Eun Jung: Looks evil and scheming at first but quickly spends her time chatting with Jin Hoo in the restaurant.
- FL mom and grandma: a pair of ex con look alilke who behaves suspicious and funny but soon it becomes redundant as the story stalls.
2.2/ Bad guys:
- Stalker: crazy lunatic chasing FL but she prefers the cook so he tries to piss them off by unveiling a part of their past but only manages to trigger something he is not going to enjoy. Too much screen time for him.
- Other bad guys: Don't even know where they come from, why they did what they did. They just appear, act stupid, bad guy gets caught and voilà, the end for them.
2.3/ The police: (MAJOR SPOILERS)
A bunch of lazy asses who do nothing but drive round, chit-chat and drink and commit misdemeanors. In the end, they look at a video, start running and serve the people.
- Wontak: Stupid kid with anger management issues who rat on his dad as kid and now he is a cop who beats civilians and or threatens them and finally beats up his cop boss because he is so angry he left his dad suffer for years but he prefers blame others. Stupid brute should have ended in jail but the cops covered his misdemeanor. Bravo the police.
- Police officer Min Jo: ex lover of Wontak who does nothing but covering Wontak 's crimes and torts until the end when she save her ex lover's ass from being fired and goes back to be in couple with him. BS.
- Officer An Jung Ho: the worst of all. He does not remembers key events when he is sober but he does when he is drunk. And cherry on the pie, he committed a crime of hidding a murder and a misdemeanor of getting rid of a corpse. If he investigated that victim, everything would have been solved. And he has a happy ending anyway. Congratulations!
- Officer Young Wan suspects a guy who is not the right guy but police officer is not happy so he spends time harrassing him from time to time. Harrassing an innocent civilian when you are a cop. Bravo Mr police!
- Other officers: other stupid idiots.
The message saying the police members are good for nothing drunkards and criminals with a badge and people who do unlawfully but they can escape the Law because they were internally conflicted.. This is wrong.
2.4/ The "good" people:
Some rotten people who know a part of the truth but would not talk but they would lie and hide the truth in order to protect other and they get away with it. One character should be charged with failure to asssit a person in danger. One escapes murder and another escapes the crime of hidding a murder. They are not even bothered by the law. They all walk free. But ok, so many plot holes in this drama anyway.
3/ OST:
Honestly, the drama became so annoyingly draggy the main song they played just started to annoy me.
4/ REWATCH VALUE:
No
5/ OVERALL: If you like the two lead actors and want to watch a beautiful couple on screen who look cute and endearing no matter what, you can watch this drama. For the ones who look for a cute romance but also a consistent and well paced story with an original and intelligent thriller, you can pass. The romance is draggy and the thriller part is leading on and feeding the audience bit by bit with slow progress and nonsensical twists where villains and their actions are not even explained. Also in the end, the mystery of the ML feeling FL's emotions is not explained. 7.5/8 and avoidable.
Good title. It was Affection indeed. Not Love.
1/STORYGOOD : The dramaturgy of the early episodes. Endearing leading teen actors. Cute first Love story. Nice twist of fate.
BAD: The palace schemes and action part only in the beginning and in the 2 last eps. The drama is 20eps but a long part of it is about a fake love story because it is rather Infatuation from his part and Affection from her part. It can't be called Love when it is plagued with lies and confusion and deception. The final part is rushed, messy and quite ridiculous.
2/ CHARACTERS:
- Dami/Lee Hwi:
GOOD: Dami was great. Lee Hwi was consistently written and well portrayed (kudos to Park Eun Bin and Choi Myung Bin). She was credible as a woman forced to live the life of another person and carry on the mascarade while trying to protect the ones she cared about.
NOT SO GOOD: Never understood why she kept living as CP and King just to avoid death. We all die sooner or later. Living just to avoid death means you are already dead. I was expecting her to live for something greater than herself as a woman, a person or a King. Nope. It was just about saving her butt.
- Ji-Un:
GOOD: Good kid who grew up to be a fun young man, talented, charming, a tease, dedicated to people and keen on justice.
NOT SO GOOD: He soon became a sorry character stucked in an unconditional puppy love and crawled back to his daddy to be a part of the props and be able to see the CP/King.
- Bad Grandpa: Never understood why the guy was so feared. He did not look so powerful. In the end he is a very weak vilain and his demise was a bit ridiculous and pathetic.
- Grandpa's dog: Ji Un's dad and a children killer. A man full of lame excuses for his terrible actions. No redemption for him. Straight to hell.
- Hyun: I did not like his obsession for the CP at first but he grew on me. A dedicated man, a good brother and a good friend who ends up on a high note.
- Ga-On: A man with a sword and his own agenda who achieved his goal and helped others at the same time. The real silent hero of the drama rewarded with a cute ending.
- Noh Ha Kyung and Shin So Eun: Two sad fates who are endearing enough to create empathy from me.
- Also I liked Commander Yoon good soldier and a man of duty.
OST:
I really started to hate the main song. Because it was played on every "romance" scene between the two leads and that "romance" was draggy and lopsided.
REWATCH VALUE:
Zero. Nada. 20 eps of that again? Surely not.
OVERALL:
A promising drama at first but ended draggy and disappointing with a thin palace plot and a draggy romance you can't buy because the FL and ML are on different agendas. It did not entertained me actually so I will not recommend it. 7/10 for it still has some qualities.
Pretty good for 2/3 of the drama then went downhill until the swerve.
1/ STORY:A young hacker and a rogue police inspector meet by chance when dealing with a ring of illegal gambling. Things turn bad and they part ways but they are reunited later as student and teacher in the KNPU (Korea National Police University). From there they start a collaboration to stop the criminals from the ring hidden in the university.
The thriller starts interestingly. The drama manages to present a suspenseful tracking of the bad guys and it is difficult to identify the suspect among the different characters. The duo works well on the field and emotionally. It's like a buddy cop movie. The team of two is growing bigger as young Sun Ho befriends some comrades and they help him and inspector Yoo Dong Man and other professors give contributions.
There is a romance part. ML and FL are good-looking in uniform and their romance is told in a cute and unexpected way.
After 2/3 of the eps, things get serious as the dominoes start falling. And this is when the drama goes downhill. The drama puts misery on the ML and his professor and spins 5 episodes around the question of who the ultimate boss is. The final revelation of his identity and why he did what he did is ridiculous. The drama ends with a lesson of moral as the ML punishes himself out of a misplaced need to obey the Law when the society asked nothing from him about his mistake. If he wanted to pay, all he needed to is donate the money, take down the illegal website, become a cop asap and do the right thing. Why inflict himself a dumb punishment to make him loose two years of his life. Really an immature thing to do which spoiled the ending. When everyone was cheering during graduation, he was like an idiot.
2/ CHARACTERS:
- Yoo Dong Man : loud and annoying sometimes but has his own dedication and ethic regarding his job that are not so bad.
- Kang Sun Ho: useful skills as hacker but I found him a bit bland and saying sorry too many times. His decision to punish himself in the end was respectable but the way he did it was plain stupid.
- Oh Kang Hee : Pretty useless apart from that intervention in the shooting range. She was there mainly for the romance.
- Park Min Kyu: Annoying love rival who still has a happy ending.
- Two goofy friends: nice friendship and rivals in love with a funny ending
- Judo professor : I liked her. She looked both a fun person with a sad past and a suspect of crime.
- Law professor : From suspect to buddy.
- Professor Seo: Boss of KNPU and benevolent guy with a too human side
- Park Cheol Jin : Good guy, good cop who lost his way.
3/ OST:
Nothing special. Adapted to the cop genre.
4/REWATCH VALUE:
Nothing sparkling and fun enough to make it rewatchable.
5/ OVERALL.:
Started well but ended disappointing. The last episode was crap. 7/10. You won't miss anything by passing this one.
Good fun with the two leads, good suspense with the thriller
1/ WHAT I LIKED:- The interplay between the ML kidnapper and the FL/Kidnapped girl. They are very funny together and their relationship starts on a very wrong foot, but they slowly develop a close relationship, some kind of affection for each other.
- The story. I did not expect it to include these subjects and themes: research and ethical science, international gangsters, family rivalry, abuse of children... The mix was coherent enough to make it interesting all along.
- The cops’ part: Good cops were not too ridiculous this time.
- The abducted girl: she is very smart, but she is so impertinent and mocking too. A phenomenon.
- Main bad guy Jackson: He is so annoying, but his demise is so satisfactory.
2/ WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
- A lot of characters are involved, and the pace is fast. The viewer must keep track of the many characters who they are and what they did, or it becomes confusing with far-fetched relationships.
- ML: I found him a funny, kind, courageous and dedicated guy to the persons he loves, I also found his goofy antics a little bit annoying at times. I put him in this category because in the end, I think he has a responsibility in what happened. Why he saw nothing?
- The culprit's identity is a surprise but also not a surprise. The final was drippling of good feelings, and it made me uneasy. There is a culprit but a lot of people responsible people.
3/OVERALL
Honestly, I watched this drama week in week out until ep 7 and put it on hold because things were messy for me. Then I binged watched the remaining eps. Maybe it had a consequence on how I see this drama. It is good with a good story, good suspense, fun and emotional moments between the two leads. It is entertaining overall. 8.5/10
Not what I expected. Not what I started to believe it would be. Entertaining anyway.
1/ STORY:Part 1 : Favourite grand daughter works for favourite grand father's Law firm working to become a big shot in the firm. She is ruthless, kind of jaded and indifferent and uses any mean possible to reach her goal. Gets dismissed and sent to work as pro bono lawyer with a weird guy she clashes with because of their different personalities and way of seeing Law and Life. But are they so different?
The murders happening are more than simple serial killings. Things turns darker and darker and more and more people around the lead couple are involved. It is not only murders, it is a whole scheme
2/ WHAT I LIKED:
- The lead couple: Their respective personality is endearing. They are clashing in a funny way. They learn from each other and they indiviual sense of moral and justice try to connect. The first part of the drama was very good on that point and they had a good chemistry. Second part with the murders was darker and they kind of worked "separately". The bond was distended and the drama became a bit draggy and less sparkling. Last part they are back. But not together. And this is the best part of their relationship with lots of mysteries unveiled and they finally see who the other one really is.
- The mystery was a bit draggy but overall the scheme was smart and the reason of all this is acceptable. The brain of the murders is a bad guy but the way he was depicted was good and human.
3/ WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
- ML: how the guy missed the evident under his nose?
- A bit draggy in the middle part.
- Some characters could have been better used: The wife of Gi Do of Gi do's henchman or FL's dad.
- I wished the daughter had a bigger role. And why it took her so long?
4/ OST :
Good enough but I felt the songs in the beginning and in the rest of the drama had a very different tone.
5/ REWATCHABLE VALUE:
Difficult when you know the outcome of the mystery. But very watchable.
6/ OVERALL
A surprisingly intruiging drama which slowly drags the viewers in a terrible and dark story which ends in a sad emotional way and then an optimistic note. I do not regret watching this. Recommended 9/10
Enjoyable Youth drama mixing Friendship and Love
The drama tells the journey of a band of friends from last year of high school to University and work life for some of them.1/ STORY:
The story is nice and a good balance between friendship and love. The unrequited love part is the most important anyway and it is a little hard to take but the good thing is that no matter how disappointed the characters can be regarding their Love situtation, they don't forget to be understanding and to support their friends and help them go through difficult and tough moments. All the episodes go at a good pace and make the drama a roller coaster of emotions. It is really heartwarming and fun and emotional.
The ending is disappointing though. It feels rushed and the writers mismanaged the time. They left 2episode to tell the events of them meeting again. They basically threw the two leads together in a maelstom of situations not cute nor very enjoyable and closed the story with a far-fetched cranky manner. Happy ending anyway.
2/ CHARACTERS:
- Lu Shi Yi : a troublemaker at first but grows into a reliable friend and he is allways true to his feelings. It is like he never doubted them and he was always there for the FL.
- Xia Xiao Ju : Pathetic at times but adorable in her efforts to pursue her love. Loved her bickering with the ML. She is lucky he is a patient guy because most guys would have never waited so long for her.
- Cheng Lang : Mr perfect but he has a sad part. He is as great judgement in friendship as he has bad judgement in Love.
- Lin You : She could have been the worst and she is quite annoying in her Love relationships but she is also honest in friendship. She has an interesting trajectory.
- Qiu Le Tao : Looks the plain and bland girl at first but it is all the contrary. She would not be given the stick easily. Loved how things ended for her.
- Huang Jun: Great friend. Bad Lover. Didn't like how he hid things and found excuses.
- Bao Xiang Xiang : chubby dumb guy turned into a boss.
Supporting characters were fun for most of them.
3/ OST:
It was OK. Nothing annoying. Just well adapted to the scenes.
4/ REWATCH WALUE:
It was better than expected and the drama is a roller coster of emotions. But the love triangles last very long. It would prevent people to rewatch.
5/ OVERALL:
It was good. Each episode is fast paced entertaining and you always want to know what happens next. The ending is too rushed and lacklustre because we don't see what sparkle finally put them together. It like they all schemed against the FL so she has to make her choice. But ok, it is a good watch.
Lovely characters depiction.
This drama is a slow drama focusing on two people, our main leads, their personality, character and challenge: Can they make their love and couple work? The problem is that they are both timid, introverted, candid, nice persons but they can't easily talk their mind and feelings and they are not assertive. Usually in drama it is two opposite but complementary characters. This is where this drama is different.STORY:
I liked the story even if it is slow. It was nice to see two good and cute persons meeting, falling for each other and finding a way to be together as a couple. The two leads had a superb chemistry and it was refreshing to watch them like two teens growing a cute love despite the people around them who made things difficult for them as they are all entangled in complicated past and present stories.
But if finding each other despite adversity is charming, dating each other and being a couple is not so simple. These two quiet lovers face people who manipulate them, use them, bellitle them... Their personality does not help them and things turn sour as an improbable event combined to their inability to properly communicate makes one of them take a hard decision. They needed to know their true feelings and change their way of doing, renounce to some things, speak their heart, before they win the Love of their life.
I liked some messages of the drama:
- You can fall in love before you know it but to be a couple is hardwork and communication
- To be happy when the person you love is next to you is easy but to make this person happy to be with you is not so easy.
- To love people is not to blind them of a reality to protect them but to give them the courage to face it.
- Talk well, Love well: communicating is not only to say things within a couple. It is also what not to say. And when to do these.
- When you chose the wrong path, you can keep the good memories but you must have the courage to change direction
... usual messages in drama but nicely presented here.
ACTING / CHARACTERS:
- I only saw Park Eun Bin in Stove League. I did not notice she was pretty but in this drama she is very pretty. Despite being a bit introvert and candid, she has many qualities: she is courageous, competent, true to herself and her feelings, she can also acknowledge her mistake and take step to correct her life.
- First time seeing Kim Min Jae in a lead role: he was good. Very handsome and innocent looking, struggling with personal issues and trying to find the one to make him happy.
- Other characters were good but they mostly served as obstacle or support for the leads in hugely intricate relations.
MUSIC:
Lots of classical. They used the right amount so that it does not become annoying. The OST of the drama was ok but no real song to remember.
REWATCH
The two leads were so cute I really liked some scenes: the happy birthday scene, the trip together, lowest moment of their relationship... but I would not rewatch the whole thing.
OVERALL:
I enjoyed it even if I found the last part bit erratic and unclear in its ending message. I recommend it to the ones who like slow dramas with deep and complex characters related by complicated stories. Don't expect action. It is about people deep inside their heart.
Good if you like Morlum music.
WHAT I LIKED:- Tossapol : I like Weir as an actor he is able of a lot of emotions in different genre or dramas. I liked his portraying this cool ex cop kind of country bumpkin guy . He is very dedicated to his work, his family, his hometown. I liked all the thing he does for them and he tries to woo his so called wife to make her change and improve. I like the fact he never wavered from his obtective to make her personality and her life better even if wooing her is part of the job.
- Chilo: She was unbearable at the beginning but the life in the countryside turns her into a decent and even charming character.
- Kom, the evil guy: he is super idiotic and fun but also very ruthless and underhanded.
- The Dad and Mom: two weird and fun characters.
- The little sister and her friend
- Dr Patachnon was an idiot in the begining but I liked how he kept helping Chilo and brought himself closer to the people in the village.
- Chaimanee: This actress is often a bitch in Thai dramas but here she was a fun and nice character.
- The story is pretty decent: a rich heiress in Bangkok is scammed of her fortune and has to marry a contry bumpkin she hates but their life in the countryside will make them get attached to each other. Also there is a good connection between the events in Bangkok and in the countryside that the end unveils. There is some pretty decent action too.
- A lot of thai humor in this drama: silly humor, horrific humor, salacious humor. Humor of situation. Cute little insults. Imaged mockery... I am not sure the english translation is as effective as the original words but it still is very fun.
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
- A bit draggy at times :They insisted too much and uselessly of the life in the village and events between the characters. Some storylines are useless and you feel like it is here just for fun and comedy and fill in. It made me fast forward a litlle.
- A clearer ending of the rival "Mo" whould have been appreciated.
MUSIC:
Big warning: This drama is largely built on Thai music and Thai Morlum. The main guys in the drama are a Morlum band and some actors are even Morlum singers. Every episode has its share of Morlum songs and music in scenes or as music videos inserted. It has also a lot of reference to Thai way of having fun, having parties and holidays. I like this music so I don't mind but some might find it annoying and would fast forward.
OVERALL:
It was fun to watch but this is some kind of special drama. Not sure everyone would like it as it has it main toryline but a large part of Thai morlum, Thai humor and fun, Thai family and village matters...
A good gangsters vs cops dramas in an old Hong Kong movie style.
This is typically the type of story you used to find in old Hong Kong crime movies with men and brothers fighting each other in a story of cops, crime syndicate, mafias, and undercover operations. It was usually very romanticized, violent, and dark and in the ends, the outcome left no one unhurt. This drama totally follows this path.1/ STORY
The story is rather simple. A cop accepts to do an undercover operation for a very personal reason. This leads him into a world of gangsters where bad guys also have their values and laws which make them not so bad and good guys are not always so good but have deviant behaviors and make questionable choices. He navigates in this and meets a local boss, and they develop an understanding and a friendly bond throughout time. The problem is that two women enters the scene, and they will make the two men question themselves, who they are and who and what they want and love. The result in the end is a terrible outcome for everyone.
2/ WHAT I LIKED
- The bonding between the two male leads and the bromance despite an uneasy personal situation in connection with the FL.
- The individual character development of the ML and of the SML. As I said, they are very romanticized but there is a clear beginning, a transition and an ending that is well told.
- The action and violence. I would have liked a little more of them.
- The ML and SFL. Their interplay was endearing. Cop guy and gangster girl trying to handle each other.
3 /WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
- The schemes were not so well made. I questioned some events that looked a little bit too simple or unrealistic.
- A little too much of "Who has the bigger balls". But I guess that's inevitable in a gangster's vs cops story.
- The last 3 eps were a bit underwhelming with some plot holes and far-fetched events that make them look rushed and inconsistent.
4/ CHARACTER - ACTORS
- Joo Mo: a simple and dutiful guy who becomes a gangster to bust a drug ring but he makes encounters that change him, his values and vision of thing and make him question his job. I liked the character and JCW was good portraying him.
- Ki Chul: simple guy with big dreams but a romantic who will question himself and try to change things for the best or the worst? Endearing despite his bad actions. WHJ was convincing too.
- Eui Jung: Some say she is useless in the drama. On the contrary. What she does or do not do triggers most of the tragic events. She is the main cause of everything. Im Se Mi. Second time I see here after True Beauty. Totally different. Good acting.
- Lee Hae Ryeon: the crazy and fun character who reveals herself not as hardened as expected. Superb job from the actress.
- Hwang Min Gu: The brute cop. Too much screen time for him and his antics. But his demise was fun.
Not a lot of noticeable characters beside these.
5/ OST: I enjoyed it bit nothing memorable.
6/ REWATCH VALUE: Probably rewatchable but a little too dark.
7/OVERALL
It is darker and sadder and more violent that expected. The schemes and counter schemes kind of drag the plot at times but overall, it is a good story. I would say the mafia and crime thing is not the most impressing or the most important. It is the personal situation and development of each of the main characters. From their point of view, it is a tragedy. A well told one. I totally recommend this drama. 9/10 . I do not give 10 because of the few telling flaws of the last eps but It is a good drama.

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