Unidentifiable

Whoops I wasn’t planning on watching all 7 eps in one go.

I’ve only seen the first 2 episodes so far. They were pretty fun.

I remember the ML actor having excruciatingly bad acting in Alchemy of Souls. Permanently bland expression and lengthy scenes where I think I was supposed to feel something, but all I could do was cringe. I’m not holding out much hope that he has improved. Anyone who has seen both AoS and this, has he at all?

Otherwise, the premise sounds interesting and I vaguely remember the FL actress as being at least mildly compelling in the past. (Though it’s been some years since I’ve seen her)

Season 1 was brainless fun. This season is boring.

"good" is subjective. What kind of dramas do you deem good?

Ah well, at least that's not a surprise

What happened?

I disagree about the comparison to Vincenzo (that drama was pretty slow, and had boring romance) but I agree about the other two.

This is such a Kdrama. I mean that both as a good thing, and a bad thing. The antagonists were boring, the ex-wife and particularly the childhood friend were unnecessary, and I skipped most of their scenes. The story would have been better with them cut out, and the episode count reduced. The main villain, the MIL was flat, uncompelling and her monologues were totally dull. I would've skipped more of her scenes if I could have.

Coincidences were rife. Everyone leads wildly different lives, but they are all connected in some way. This requires some suspension of disbelief, but this is more common than not in a Kdrama, so it's tolerable.

Misunderstandings happen, and they were blatantly a delaying tactic to get the drama to span more episodes. I usually hate those, and I didn't love them here. The tension wasn't super high (I think it was supposed to be, but because the revelations constantly got delayed, the tension was lost). I found it wasn't a deal-breaker.

But what makes this drama still watchable is the emotional notes of the drama. I am such a sucker for parent-child relationships, and this drama really delivered. I loved this aspect, and it was what kept me watching.

I'm not sure if I could have finished if I wasn't watching this late at night, purely as a mental distraction while I finished my crochet projects. But it was enjoyable enough, and was certainly better than a lot of the dramas that have aired in this year of 2023 anyway.

Worthwhile if you are in need of something to watch. It did not leave a bad aftertaste either.

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.