Not My Cup of Tea
As you can probably tell, I'm not a huge fan of this drama. I see a lot of people enjoying it and honestly, good for them but to offer my two cents on why I didn't like it.First of all, two things that caught me off guard were the level of gore and comedic tendencies. Now, I do realize it's my fault since the tags are pretty clear but if you are someone who's not very good with gore, this drama is probably not for you as it can be pretty graphic at times.
As for the comedy, I feel like it had real potential but failed to deliver most of the time. Instead of feeling like a comic relief after heavy moments, they turned the situation into some kind of joke, so it just ends up keeping you hanging between a really dark incident and a complete joke - unable to immerse into either.
One of my biggest issues with this drama was the absolute lack of collective braincells that the soldiers had. Funny is not equals to dumb. Aaron Park is a good example of that. Him along with Alex and Su Jeong were my favourite characters.
The complete lack of seriousness, order, intelligence, fighting skills and just about anything useful from a bunch of so-called military trained men, was so seriously ridiculous to me. And the only person with some common sense among them was disregarded because he wasn't exactly polite in a life and death situation and didn't want to cater to their dumb decisions.
Most of the characters also had little to no background story which made them feel flat and hard to connect at times. Moreover, despite the slow start, it still failed to effectively give a proper world building to either the story or the characters. But some characters like Alex, Aaron Park, Jin Uk, Gyeong Sik, that drunk kid did manage to stand out and gave the story some much needed depth. Overall, the acting was okay, nothing exceptional but not bad. And as far this story goes, Jisoo's character was actually rather interesting. In fact, I started this drama after watching the metro scene in an insta reel. Her scenes made more sense in both serious and comedic settings, since Young Ju is a regular girl who is winging her way through a crisis despite being scared. Civilians overall, had a way better writing than the soldiers.
As for the romance, I just wasn't feeling it. It could be due to the leads having barely any scenes together in present time, but even with all the flashbacks, I still didn't feel any chemistry between them.
That being said, I do agree that this drama did get relatively better towards the later episodes. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough for me. But if you like zombie dramas and mindless comedy, and do not mind gore, stupid soldiers and the general lack of a good plot- this might be worth a shot to you as it does take a different - albeit much narrower - angle to the apocalypse and certainly had its moments. I, however, liked a little more serious dramas like Happiness and All of Us are Dead, so this was not really my cup of tea.
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Refreshingly different - but also a nostalgic ride !
Let me start by saying that I watched and loved Hospital Playlist, so this story being based in the same universe was already enough for me to give it a chance - and I was not disappointed.While quite different in story and characters, Resident Playbook has the familiar flair of Hospital Playlist and the generous cameos in each episode is enough to take the old fans on a nostalgic ride but even as a stand-alone story, Resident Playbook has its charm and is a decent watch.
Unlike HP, where the characters were established in their lives, careers and friendships and dealt with their hardships by finding comfort in familiarity, RP is about starting new journeys, experiencing new things, making mistakes and learning new things as they try to make a foothold in a new surrounding and slowly make their way towards new friendships!
Each character has a strong individual personality and makes human mistakes; Resident Playbook portrays their journey as they learn and grow while maintaining their chaotic lives as resident doctors.
The story started a little slow and did not make the leads very likable from the start but as they story progresses, they all kind of grow on you and make you root for them. Not to mention, Oh Yi-Yeong is an absolute vibe. The romance - though not a central part of the story - is nice and sweet and takes the familiar slow-burn approach of Hospital Playlist.
Overall, the plot and characters are interesting enough as a stand-alone and keeps you curious without feeling boring. As a spin-off, it is a nice trip down the memory lane since, liked I said, this has pretty decent cameos so we can see more of how the old characters are doing. So, I'd say, pretty worthwhile as long as you realise this is a different story and give it a fair chance.
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Park Hyungsik pretty much carried. The story - while flawed, is still worth watching
Honestly, I waited a very long time for this drama and had high expectations, while it did not meet all my expectations, it was a good watch, and I did enjoy watching this.First of all, Buried Hearts is a makjang. It has over the top - crime, action, family drama, power grab, etc. that is not supposed to be realistic. If you look for realism in the story, it'll be a hard disappointment as it does not exist. You have to accept everything at face value and enjoy the ride.
For the most part, it was an easy ride for me as there was never a dull moment. There was always something happening which kept me interested despite my short attention span. The suspense and the pacing were also done really well that new elements and mysteries seemed neither too fast nor unreasonably dragged and kept me at the edge of my seat every week.
On the flip side, this also means there were too many elements with little connectivity thrown at the audience which may come off as overwhelming when binge-watching.
Which brings us to the biggest issue of this drama - the general lack of strong plot. Every few episodes, there is a new agenda which is good for suspense but when put together, it contributes little to the story. The story went in circles for a good part of the drama, and when I look back - all I remember is Seo Dong Ju almost dying and coming back stronger, of course, while looking absolutely stunning.
Now, if you are a Park Hyungsik fan, this drama is a must watch. Hands down, no questions asked. Not only did he look magnificent, but he also did an incredible job embodying Seo Dong Ju. He is easily the best part of this drama and hence, the title of my review. His acting was really good and as his fan, I could just watch him play Seo Dong Ju for about 16 hours straight. Unfortunately for the non-fans, this drama was not very far from it. Buried Hearts is heavily centered towards Seo Dong Ju, in contrast, all the other characters are very subsidiary with little growth.
Thankfully, Seo Dong Ju is an interesting character to watch as he is sassy, smart, driven, with arguably a grey moral compass. He knows what he wants and goes for it. Seo Dong Ju is always at the top of things, knows how to effectively get back at people and has all the markings of a main character. Though after some point, his emotions do get buried as he operates on autopilot to survive which kind of undermines his traumas, but I think by the end, it was wrapped up well.
Now onto my second issue with this drama, the lack of character development. In my opinion, most characters in this drama had very interesting premises and their potential were endless. Unfortunately, none of them were explored effectively, including the villains, the female lead and the main supporting characters which left the audience feel like we are supposed to be feel sympathetic towards them without invoking any real emotions.
Personally, I think the female lead was hit the hardest. Yeo Eun Nam was portrayed as calculative, self-centered and not being afraid of using other people for her own ends which would've been rather interesting but after a few episodes, she kind of faded into the background, becoming a pacemaker for Dong Ju instead of being a driving force to the story.
The romance here is another example of wasted potential. The actors had such incredible chemistry but failed to make a solid space in the storyline. In hindsight, the romance was probably never supposed to be a substantial part of the story so that's something to keep in mind when watching this.
Now if you're wondering why I still liked this drama, I admit it is flawed but somehow Buried Hearts made it work. Despite, the lack of strong plot and character development - the dialogues, the acting, the cinematography, the OST (oh I love the OSTs) and just the entire production really came together and made Buried Hearts a good drama. The ending can be a bit controversial to some, but personally I found it fitting and think the story did come together by the end. (I'll leave my thoughts about the ending in the comments to avoid spoilers).
So, if you are considering watching this drama, it's definitely worth a shot. Just beware of Kopiko ads! They are the uncredited main characters of this drama.
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Kinda cringe but hilarious
First of all, if brain-rot comedy is not your thing, then this drama is not for you. The only way to watch this drama is to acknowledge and accept the over-the-top comedy as granted and just take everything at face value. '24-hour Health Cub' is not for serious watching.For me, over-the-top comedy is not my genre to be honest. I started this because of Lee Jun-Young and my initial thought was why the hell would he choose a script like this? But once you get used to the ridiculousness of the genre, this drama is actually hilarious and good for light-watching. And while it may be a little too soon to say this, we can see them trying to tackle more serious issues like beauty standards, body-shaming, being underweight, etc. in the comedic context, so I'm hoping for some meaningful messages and plot behind the comedy. The main characters themselves are also flawed individuals with kind of biased mindsets, so I'm looking forward to seeing their character grow too. The romance also seems promising as Lee Jun-Young and Jung Eun-Ji has good chemistry and their characters are both crazy, hilarious and a compatible duo which makes them really fun to watch.
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