XingBack

-10 for unnecessary scenes that thankfully I could easily skip...
-10 for the psycho ex..........
-5 for the stalker that yeah I wasn’t focusing but idk what he wanted...
-1 for the “marriage company” which actually had no real reason to exist
-1 for some age stuff


+10 for seo hyun jin
+2 for age appropriateness tho same aged was sketchy
+5 for cinematography

Overall it’d have been enough as a healing drama, even the mystery would’ve worked better if it had actual reason
Something like the movie of SYJ and KJW, Another way, two broken lost souls and thus, this should’ve been even shorter

Ml going through an abusive dad and a controlling wife that drugged him was enough
Like she could’ve just died, and he’d live mourning her and realize later how bad she was

Fl’s one ruined relationship was enough, the whole arranged marriage company was ridiculous like that PMY drama
The trunk, it had nothing in? Why was the stalker so stalkery
Atleast make it like little women and make it about a lot of money
And the ex literally sees him since childhood struggling and thinks Ill do that too

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Political plots aren’t my thing,
It had great acting, almost like a sequel to Mr sunshine and the continuation of future problems

really great acting, heavy plot, in ways, knowing a bit here and there of korean history, their past that led them here, and the future which comes in movies like Best Friend, things make sense
they wanted to change but it wasn't the right time and as samsik said, it was like the pebble that effected the future

really tho actingwise they deserve daesangs and many awards

once power and scheming happens, it became a man’s world, and greed, double crossing, changing sides, scheming, they did have two interesting female characters, in a pool of 20000 men

1960s tho, this was also pre “communist” labeling so I guess, no matter who was “good” and “bad”, things continuing escalating

It has A+++++ lvl acting🧐 so I don’t regret watching and staying , I have no idea what was happening, worse than money game and their financial money talk

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tbh that was a really underwhelming ending, overall the cases were too extra, with too many makjangs

i remember in the old seasons, they'd use real cases so the motives felt natural..
now like everyone either has solid ill feeling or it's so obv it's not them
and i heavily miss the guests cuz now either some became the killer twice, and some never got to be the killer, it wasn't fun
and i feel like they had more fun

It’s like based on mood, each one has the same motivations as their previous characters and just one suddenly is chosen to be a murder

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it was not perfect, but it was perfect for me

this was what it exactly promised to be, not too dramatic, and not too unrealistic, I loved the characters, and their friendship
the bullying wasn't shown as too severe, the game was like The Genius/The Devils Plan, the girls made alliances, there were betrayals and there were great plot twists that warmed my heart

I really loved the cast and characters, each one had their charms and the friend group easily became a friendship everyone envied enough to want to join, not to break xD

the backstory of harin and jauen was predictable, I knew it from harin's first words "do you know the orphanage", and that story was too flat to explain why harin went crazy.. so the main problem was the teacher, I wish they dived deeper there, like yeah adults do effect kids, and yeah orphans are easily miss treated cuz the adults think they're teaching them survival skills
what confused me was, was that teacher the orphanage teacher or the schools? and why were they different
I also wanted more about her adoptive family, her grandma loved to play games, and the parents never treated her as their real daughter, especially since the dad/son was put in a coparision game against young harin

sooji always lived by a pattern, she never made any deep connections and always played a social game to fit in, and that's why in ways, she enjoyed breaking the pyramid game as much as harin enjoyed making it

jauennie was too precious, she was genuine, she was awkward and she had a heart of gold, I loved how her first impression seemed like the outcasted bully, I loved how sooji was sucked into that game
I wanted more of those things, more misunderstanding and more "mind" bullying, they didn't want it to be too graphic, so overall the atmosphere of the drama was youtful, though I do hate too much extreme gore, but still she was the daughter of an army guy, he should've taught her how to fight xD

so I wanted more tension, more side games, games they lost and games they won, and I really wanted more screentime for their friendships, I was lowkey waiting for that amusement park date

this became my "March" fav drama and easily joined my best of 2024
the ost was great, makjang drama lvl quality, and I wouldn't mind fast binging this again, I LOVE female centered plots, i feel like in the last year they became more scarce, especially diverse and well layered female characters
I'm also interested in the webtoon a bit, I read that many things were different, maybe it'll give the heavy angst this was missing, though I wouldn't change a thing

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Not hating the cast for their age, but hating the casting director for the age mess
They could've either hired an older ml/classmates or casted a younger fl. The 3 way age gap looks obv
And fl/classmates are being 35 while ml is, 30(?) So they are "close" to the age they're pretending but they don't add up on the scale
Like saying someone is 170cm then bring one 175cm and one 165cm. Both are only 5cms apart but compareing those 2 they're 10 cms apart...

41fl, 27ml, 32 sfl (+2more), 37sml, 42husband, 47my ahjumma
Basically fl was closer in age to ahjummonim or oppa husband than she was to her "classmates" or love interest... Like suuurrre, she's poor and didn't take care of herself but she wouldn't age 9 years...


Liked:
The crazy
The husband
Spy ahjummonim
The Cinematography
Rooting for fl x 2fl husband
I wish I had a drama swapping plot machine so I took 3ml's plot and switched it with the eve boring ml ie the toxic unethical crazy romance
Or, switch 1ml with eunpyung manliness ✌🏻

Disliked:
The messed up ages between all the cast
The ml, naive, helpless, bright eyed.
The non existing chemistry between fl and ml, I started skipping their scene mentally
The obv huge age and maturity gap between fl and ml. Especially now that he wants to become her "executor" Basically pawn, savior and knight in shining armor which ironically she didn't want... ie why her 2.0
The pacing..
The cut into 2 did make me reduce 1 more point
Like it barely started and now wait for 2 months until I forget..

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System says it's a 4.5

I'm not gonna insult ppl that thought this was amazing. To me as someone who's seen alot of time benders and "corruption", I knew everything from ep 1. One literally just needs to see certain actors or characters and know what's up. Tho ML here is usually the villain xD

When the limping kidnapper appeared I told my mom, he's forced into it
When old CEO came I told my mom he's the villain
When 2ml came I told my mom, he'll be the soft villain
When 2fl died I told my mom, she's probably lying
When the kid died I told my mom it's a scheme

Now one would think I'm spoiling it for my mom who was watching it with me, but I was actually throwing safety anchors so she didn't get lost xD
When everything was revealed, mom didn't go "dang you told me so" she was like ah

I had more fun cuz I watched it with my mom but this was a trash plot. Every death, murder, hindrance happened just so the future needed to call the past. And honestly everything was too connected to 2 sets of villains, 2FL, 2ML, Driver and CEO.. driver was too involved in everything, tho I'd assume they didn't want new face every time someone was dead or being killed

The past connecting them all.. the dads.. honestly why do all writers do the same conflict? Murder ppl for money, have someone try to reveal it, Murder them, then have their kids do everything, and boom last ep everything is solved


FL is a horrible actress. Not to be mistaken as a horrible person. She just can't act. She's loud. Obnoxious. Cries so loudly and she cries often.
Her character here especially. She was a murderer that was given a 2nd chance. Half way through she started cursing at future ML who was actually dead/erased/rest and blamed him for going to jail. When he literally saved her from the death raw
ML was stubborn as a mule. The writers didn't want the 2 meeting in one timeline so they kept killing fl in the future, but past ML just didn't want to listen when future ML could've given him better evidence to believe FL
2FL literally could've just gotten a divorce
2ML could've sent 2fl's dad to prison then left


Anyway this was a train wreck

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More BYUN YO HAN PLEASE

Lol I think my slump is making me rate things higher xD
So the good:
Byun Yo Han as a 1st ML
Byun Yo Han with long hair and a beard
Byun Yo Han action scenes
Byun Yo Han and Won Jin Ah as a married couple
The story and development did keep me engaged

The bad:
Short yet long
The last fighting scene got too comical
I actually wished for more undercover activities
It was kinda like squid game cop guy's pov, not much depth and too much "action"
Like I wished for the MLs to form a bond so the betrayal got deeper
I did not hate BYH not turning evil to be undercover but I also would've liked a bit more, it all felt like it happened in 2 days

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this took a while to get to the real core of the mystery, I think it was around ep7 when suddenly it picked up and from that point I couldn't miss a single moment that I binged this in 2 days

since the mystery revolved around one big plot as apposed to both The Great Escape and Busted, they had too much empty time where they sat around and talked again and again about their clues and I think that was boring. they did 1 puzzle then talked about it for half an hour
but after the murder happened more and more tension and excitement happened

though to be honest, I'm way better than them xD kim ssam was obviously evil while poor dokgo ssam seemed nice (and totally forgotten! did he die?), and they took too much with some of the clues, like the sleeping gas thing, as soon as I saw the bottles even before knowing the ending I wanted to say "take that with you!", there was a scene like that in TGE and they actually planned ahead, but since most of these ladies never experimented "escape room" variety show (beside Park Ji Yoon, I've missed Crime Scene TT_TT)
and the whole flip switch as well, they just needed to tell jae jae the 8 sets and the 3 outside could've dealt with it by crossing out the ones that didn't match, visuals are easier than listening

they also need to separate them more often, there seemed to be obvious power struggle, bibi and yena felt left out (either the others wouldn't let them or they'd think they're not good enough), but both did pretty well on their own
Park Ji Yoon had more experiment so she tried to go the comedic side more, Jang Do Yeon as well is full on easy going she was ok with being smart or not

though I do wish they'd not use such hightones just to sound younger, we all know they're not teens and that's the funny part, they strained their vocals too much

otherwise Jung Jong Yeon never disappoints and it's always nice to see female centered plots

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boring yet entertaining

this was like a mix of erin brockovich and money game. even though the plot was boring, the essence of the movie came from the "tiny" people others took for granted, so this was mainly character driven and those characters made it all entertaining enough that I never got bored.

the female power mixed with the underdog type of feel really made this shine. agh I even teared up at the end, I was like yes you tiny people, you can do it!
tiny here was more about their "significance" in the work place and how others perceived them, I think the ant thing really emphasized that, alone they were

Lee Joo Young didn't have as much screentime as I hoped but I really liked her character too. overall the acting was great, the songs weren't memorable and I never rewatch stuff

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the story was nothing new, and they wasted too much time on the repetitive fight of the bad guys turning against each other, but my girl Im Hwa Young and her arc were nice enough, I wish they focused more on her though ;(



those filthy bad guys meant to harm her from the start. they wanted to rape her or kill her just becasue she was a woman, honestly they all deserve what they got.

every time they threatened her she seemed unfazed and they thought she was just "crazy" and would never "dare" to kill them becasue she's a "fragile" woman, but joke was on them, she was a hitman? an assassin? whatever she was I appreciated it.

also IHY really showed a great balance between, weak, crazy and outright coldblooded murderer, I wish she gets the recognition she deserves!

the ost was nothing special and I never rewatch stuff let alone this.

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this is my 1st Thai movie, and I only watched this becasue it's in the "top movies" section, and sure I was skeptical at first (especially since my 1st thai drama was a disappointment), but this was high quality!

I've been paying attention to the camera works lately, and I really liked their job here~ I think they did a great job conveying the tension, the fear and the thrill in this. tbh I am a slightly nervous shy person, so sometimes I get this heavy feeling in my heart before doing something like taking an exam (thankfully I'm done with that~) or presenting something in front of the crowd, so there's this feeling that everything is heavy? and things don't work out and you drop your phone or even trip. and I really liked how they handled that.

on the other hand they had the little small lies that seem so easy to tell, like when lyn's dad asked why she left to Sydney. but usually in dramas they just freeze and they get caught and it's over.


Aokbab Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying is so pretty! and I really loved her acting, tbh she carried the whole burden of this and made it work~ I love love love love a smart female lead! and I loved the ending too~ I also loved her voice ;)

Non Chanon Santinatornkul is cute as well and he did a great job, tbh his character was the saddest(?) and I really liked that touch.

overall I've not seen anything like this in asian drama/movie world and I was really entertained by this, and I'm so glad I'm trying new things~


I never rewatch stuff though I might try more of ACC's work, and the music was nicely timed and added well to the situations~

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what better way to combine mystery and music~
a show that gives normal people that can sing a chance, a show that gives tone deafs a chance, and a show that's exciting, full of twits and great vocals~
the acting and story category here would not be considered for a variety show, but those contestants train for almost a year trying to perfect their background stories, and the writers are geniuses who come up with double identities for so many contestants... the only problem is that it needs more diverse guests, though there's nothing wrong with repeating their guest list ;)
this season had the highest ratings, which proves how this just keeps getting better and better... I'll miss this show, I can't wait to see what new twists they'll add to s7 next year~

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jerk male lead at his finest...

based on fans' reaction (that I'm not judging), one (ie myself) would think this is the sweetest romcom, but it's so frustrating. It's just 2 incredibly robotic, cold, dense and jerk MLs that bully the FLs and order them around.
One forced a marriage proposal on the 1st date, never tried to get to know the FL, then bullies her repeatedly once he finds out she lied, and the get upset she dared to not like him or "get" how he's in love with her..
DUDE, you are not 5.. "harassing someone means love" is NOT a thing.. calling a stranger at 4am cuz your ego was hurt when she randomly compared you to a dinosaur is not ok.. (1st warning)
being rich doesn't mean people need to bow down and worship the ground you walk on.. then he goes and forces her to wear the tightest dress and make fun of her when she got uncomfortable wearing it... (2nd warning)
he severely bullies her at work, even if it was cuz she "lied", talk it out you idiot.. (3rd warning)

and worst of all were eps 5 and 6 when he 1st sulks that she's "not getting his hints of love (ie the bullying). and then he scams his way into dates WITHOUT telling her they were on a date, then again he's upset that she's there for the reason he lied about (final strike, THE WORST ML around....)
oh yeah, add in when he throws her out of the car (figuratively) when it was heavily pouring rain!!!!!!!!!
how hard would it have been to park infront of her, let her comfort him, then confess...


the FL is no better.. she acts like she doesn't take anyone's nonsense but she follows his orders too much. she doesn't call him on his bs. she was "happy" when he only tied her shoes. she didn't say "no this dress in too small". she took the bullying, even though it was workplace harassment. then after he throws her in the pouring rain, she "worries" for him, and in the end forgets everything cuz he swooped in infront of her shallow friends that won't believe a handsome rich man would date her



then the 2nd couple.. the FL fell too fast then keeps getting blocked by the 2nd dense ML who now thinks "he can't love" especially a rich girl or whatever..
robotic dense MLs are not appealing..


again, how hard would it be to "express" emotions? what world are we living in? toxic masculinity that encourages men to stay quiet, harass their love interest, hope she notices him and confess 1st? and say it's "boys being boys"?
I'm sorry but I prefer my men sweet, confident in their feelings, supportive and ready to love and make the FLs feel worthy

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