Unidentifiable

Yeah she's killing it. I forgot how much I liked this actress.

Reliably good, I agree. He's not really my favourite actor, but his dramas are usually very solid and worthwhile. Excepting You Are My Spring, I had lots of issues with that one.

It has. Um. I've seen it a couple times, but I can't remember where. Maybe Chun Woo Hee's previous drama Be Melodramatic? She delivers several great narrations in it, but I can't remember if she breaks the wall (at least, I can say the humour is similar)

A few other dramas, but it wasn't as great as in this. I can't recall which ones. I just know I've seen it before.

I think what's-her-name the politician is more of an antagonist. She's the one standing in the way of justice by refusing to fund the hospital.

Cha Jin Man was more of a morally ambiguous character, though I couldn't like him because of the actor.

Yes, and it's not like this drama is plot heavy.

Agreed. I can't remember the first few eps too well, but episode 9&10 were much weaker than this week. Seo Woo Jin's injury was forced (though the acting was visceral), particularly after the dramatic shooting in episode 6&7, which one I could have felt fine with, but back-to-back was jarring. I kind of understood why Woo Jin got injured as the foreshadowing was blatant, but I didn't like the execution. We are now going to see him have to come to terms with no longer being the "ace" and with the returning character, and no Cha Jin Man, I suspect the tone is going to shift again. Though it may be for the better.

I've seen him as the main antagonist in at least 7+ dramas, and then various other supporting roles. This role has more nuance than usual, but the reason I dislike him is that... his acting hardly changes at all across any of his roles. And it's boring. I love a good antagonist, as that's often what makes the story (not the protagonist) and he just doesn't ever do it justice.

I could have liked the character Cha Jin Man if he was played by a more talented actor. As it is, I only manage to like him as a concept.

Yes, then he would have been interesting even, very morally grey. But this actor, I am incapable of liking him.

This is produced by Netflix though, and global audiences won't care.

If part 1 does well, they probably invest more in part 2. If part 1 is a flop, they might outright cancel part 2/produce it cheaply. Maybe. Also, splitting shows up over as many months as they can is probably to the benefit of a streaming service, though Netflix tends to just drop things in a day so idk about that reasoning. Perhaps they expect the break between parts to add to the hype or something (I find it kills all enthusiasm and never watch part 2 though)

Idk, these are a few of my hypotheses. If someone actually knows, let me know.

Nah, all his villains feel the same to me. I think I've seen him in similar roles in at least 7 dramas by now, probably more, and I'm never compelled. I hate when he's cast, at least in my opinion.

I'd say they realise at the end of episode 4.

ah, that would be because I rated Signal from the first episodes... like 5 years ago. Signal was the first crime kdrama I ever saw, and I was initially very impressed. I re-watched it later, and realised it was an overrated mess, but by that point I no longer rated dramas. Thanks for pointing that out, I should fix it.

Jirisan deserves that rating though. For all my personal enjoyment, it was objectively very flawed.

Hm, yes and no. I dislike Signal greatly, despite its strengths, because something good should at least try to land the ending, not drive over the cliff. Watching it gave me such a bad feeling, one I never, ever want to revisit.

I also managed to enjoy Jirisan, it was much more relaxing, mostly. It was visually stunning, and there were some great moments. But I was glad it was over, once I reached the end - the story didn't really go anywhere, until it went everywhere too fast, too forced.

(I can't talk about the ending of Kingdom, as well... I'm rarely in the mood for zombies, so I haven't finished, but the start was pretty good.)

One this this writer always gets right is the tone.

Idk about that, the breaking of the 4th wall is done well compared to other times I've seen it. The FL manages to deliver the lines well. In fact, I think it makes her character feel sharper, more like the genius she's written as. Also, it feels nothing like Cafe Minamdang - that was slap-stick; this is not. And the characters are already much more interesting, after just two episodes.

I usually hate comedy, which is why I tend to stick to serious dramas. Comedy is so tiring, but it is tolerable in this drama.

Oh I'd be all for that, just no psychopath characters in a romantic relationship please haha

Which 2023 shows have you enjoyed? Because I'm kind of feeling the opposite, the year is almost half over and I haven't seen many I've enjoyed.

If it does, it will be minor. I don't think this drama needs to have romance to be interesting, and to be honest, the FL is not the kind of person I can see having a healthy relationship so I personally don't want romance.

I do not think that this is healing/slice of life at all. It seems more like a revenge thriller (probably, too early to really say, but there's some injustice in the backstory and a few murders so this is an educated guess) with some comedic breaking of the 4th wall. Just look at the genres.

Exactly, sometimes I just need to pretend I'm watching an anime (where logic might as well be an alien concept)...

Ah, the writer for Signal, Kingdom and Jirisan. This means it could be really good, compelling, but also messy. The cast will be fabulous, I love the FL.