Genie, What A Mess
Can’t believe this show is getting praised. Sure, watch it if you want but don’t pretend it’s well-executed.
This show has no red-thread direction, no depth, and is just a inconsistent mess. It tries to do way too much and ends up doing almost nothing well. The plot feels like it was written by a first grader—childish, chaotic, and totally lacking emotional depth or any clear structure. It’s like they threw every random idea into a pot and tried to make a good soup: genies, Satan, immortals, wish-making dogs and plenty of other sub plots. The soup tastes so bad I have no idea how the recipe got approved.
The tone in this drama switches so fast it’s dizzying. The devil guy, with his Korean-style humor and constant personality switches, doesn’t even carry the aura of a devil. The female lead isn’t layered either. And any romantic chemistry between them? Gone with the sand of the desert. He even lets the female lead beat him up for "laughs" even when it’s clearly abuse. (why is abuse being normalized and funny ?!) This drama should’ve been buried deeper than the lamp that started this mess of a story.
Don’t claim to originate from a culture if you’re not going to execute it properly. Plot holes:
This drama explicitly claims that Iblis originated from Arabic mythology, was found in Dubai, and has lived there for centuries. That’s not vague—it’s cultural. So if he’s been there for a thousand years, then he should reflect that in how he thinks, behaves, and expresses himself—not just toss in a nose-rubbing for LAUGHS and call it depth.
Some people are saying he acts Korean because he’s “universal.” But being universal means you adapt your face, your language, and your culture to the context. So why didn’t Iblis do that in Dubai? And yet he claims he didn’t know the nose-rubbing gesture wasn’t used in Korea—which makes no sense. If he truly knows every culture, he’d know that’s not a Korean greeting.
And let’s say he can’t adapt and isn’t universal—despite what the show claims—then he should at least reflect the culture he’s supposedly lived in for centuries. Yet all the mystical beings default to Korean appearances, Korean speech, and Korean behavior, no matter the setting.
This show has no red-thread direction, no depth, and is just a inconsistent mess. It tries to do way too much and ends up doing almost nothing well. The plot feels like it was written by a first grader—childish, chaotic, and totally lacking emotional depth or any clear structure. It’s like they threw every random idea into a pot and tried to make a good soup: genies, Satan, immortals, wish-making dogs and plenty of other sub plots. The soup tastes so bad I have no idea how the recipe got approved.
The tone in this drama switches so fast it’s dizzying. The devil guy, with his Korean-style humor and constant personality switches, doesn’t even carry the aura of a devil. The female lead isn’t layered either. And any romantic chemistry between them? Gone with the sand of the desert. He even lets the female lead beat him up for "laughs" even when it’s clearly abuse. (why is abuse being normalized and funny ?!) This drama should’ve been buried deeper than the lamp that started this mess of a story.
Don’t claim to originate from a culture if you’re not going to execute it properly. Plot holes:
This drama explicitly claims that Iblis originated from Arabic mythology, was found in Dubai, and has lived there for centuries. That’s not vague—it’s cultural. So if he’s been there for a thousand years, then he should reflect that in how he thinks, behaves, and expresses himself—not just toss in a nose-rubbing for LAUGHS and call it depth.
Some people are saying he acts Korean because he’s “universal.” But being universal means you adapt your face, your language, and your culture to the context. So why didn’t Iblis do that in Dubai? And yet he claims he didn’t know the nose-rubbing gesture wasn’t used in Korea—which makes no sense. If he truly knows every culture, he’d know that’s not a Korean greeting.
And let’s say he can’t adapt and isn’t universal—despite what the show claims—then he should at least reflect the culture he’s supposedly lived in for centuries. Yet all the mystical beings default to Korean appearances, Korean speech, and Korean behavior, no matter the setting.
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