The execution was all over the place!
The only saving grace for this drama is the phenomenal delivery by our leads and the OSTs.These 2 reasons are why I picked this drama up after I dropped it after ep 13. I just had to see the end of it.
The love story between Haein and Hyunwoo is beautiful. I find it lacking in the overall execution just like the rest of the drama. Even though the feelings that we needed to see were beautifully conveyed by the acting of Ji Won and Soo Hyun, there were a lot of misses in the direction and writing.
The side plots weren't interesting enough for me tbh, I could have done without some of them. They needed to be properly developed and woven into the main story seamlessly!
The villains, Eun Sang and his mother didn't get the ending they deserved! It was rushed
I think giving Dahye and Grace redemption arcs was a poor decision. Not everybody needed to sing "Kumbayah"
I understand this is fiction, but some choices and decisions that Soo Cheol made were unrealistic and made zero sense. They were just written as part of "a great love story" that failed to hit the mark. It was plain idiocy!
The dramatic effects in this drama were more prioritised than making a great drama that made sense and followed a natural progression. It was just one bad decision after the other.
I could list everything wrong with this drama but frankly, I'm too disappointed and over everything that could have been better done in this drama.
The anticipation I felt for this drama from the moment the leads and main plot were announced was completely let down. If I were to rate it based on my disappointment, I would rate it a 5/10.
It's getting an overall 7.5/10 score because the acting from our leads needs to be praised and the OSTs were so beautiful!
And lastly, the hype this drama received is due to the acting of the main leads, and their unbelievable chemistry and because of that I can't in good conscience say the drama was totally overhyped.
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The veterans delivered!
I went into this drama for Jun Ji Hyun!I would watch anything she's in and I was not disappointed.
Another selling point for this drama was the director, Kim Hee Won, whose notable works include; Little Women, Vincenzo, Soundtrack #1, and so on. I've come to expect greatness from her and she delivered yet another masterpiece.
I loved everything about this drama; the story, the setting, the themes, the cast, the director, the technical aspects, everything! The acting is the strongest aspect of this drama, I was thrilled by brilliance. And this is why talent level should always match up!
-Seo Munju (played by the goddess, Jun Ji Hyun) is a wonderfully written character. Her strength, resilience and power were never downplayed. She was shown in all of her glory and I loved it!
-Paik Sanho (Gang Dong Won, thank you for coming back to dramaland for this drama) complimented her perfectly! His devotion and dedication to her deserve a separate post. I love me a downbad man.
-Lim OK Seon was definitely the most intriguing character and Lee Mi Seok was amazing playing her. Her motivations were not cliché and were compelling. Women villains >>>>>
-Other characters of note; President Chae Kyung Sin (played by Kim Hae Sook), Yoon Un Hak (Yoo Jae Myung), Kang Hanna (Won Ji An), and several others. The supporting cast brought their A games. The cast was made up of veterans and they all delivered a masterclass in acting!
This drama gave us storytelling at its peak! And it's all thanks to the actors but also the genius that is Kim Hee Won as well as the screenwriter.
The screenwriter is none other than the brilliant, Jeong Seo Kyeong who wrote Mother and co-wrote the movies The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave.
The cinematography is also stunning and conveys the emotions of the drama perfectly.
This is a drama everyone should watch!
FYI:A woman-led, women-centric action spy thriller did that! And you should never forget it!
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FRESH STORYLINE, NEEDED BETTER EXECUTION
This drama has every component to make it great;1) The plot is fresh, having the FL be a Coroner is not something I've seen done in Chinese dramas.
2) Love and Romance, very sweet and the leads had me squealing
3) Side plots, very interesting and engaging
4) Conflicts for our main leads
5) Likeable Characters
It had everything to make it great but these things were not executed well enough.
Where this drama "failed" the most was the acting, it was not that good. Acceptable? Yes, but it could have been so much better.
The pacing was also off, too much time was spent getting to the unravelling of the conspiracy and not enough time on the unravelling itself.
Everything that happened was just convenient.
For a drama that is heavily focused on romance, I thought the boundaries of the conflict the leads faced in their relationship could have been pushed further.
The second leads' relationship also happened so fast and wasn't built steadily to make it easy to believe their love.
And it fell off in the last few episodes.
I just found myself wanting more.
In conclusion, it's a good drama, it did enough but it could have done so much more.
I rated it this high in part because of how much I enjoyed it in the beginning and middle parts
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