Yupon68

I love the cast, but this second round dragged for me, and it took me a while to finish. That for me is not a good sign. But I did enjoy the actors and their chemistry.

He’s a fine actor with a long career. And still working at 82. I’ve so enjoyed his sensitive portrayal of the grieving yet strong grandfather in “The Good Detective” 2.

I liked the cast and the storyline as well as the cautionary part handled gently but seriously at the end about right to privacy. Smart move.

I was happy with the movie and actors until that ending. Not because it’s sad, but because it was tacked on, made zero sense, is not explained, revealed nothing at all….and was simply there to hurt the audience. Shame on the cynical writer.

The camera loves Byeon Woo Seok, and he has tremendous presence in “20th Century Girl.” With his talent and confidence, he should be the lead in all his films and series from this point on.

His quiet skill and confident maturity despite his youth show the careful attention to his training both at Sungkyunkwan and on screen. He’s a delight to watch.

Beautiful work in “The Queen’s Umbrella”—she disappears into the role, growing stronger each episode. She’s a gifted actress who will deserve major awards for this performance.

The cast worked hard and well. But I thought this could have been limited to about 8 eps. There was too much repetition and slow pace—often dragging itself along. That said, I really did like the cast, who made me care about them, which kept me watching.

I love the cast and found this film beneath them. Very disappointing.

There are great reviews already, so I’m just putting”Alchemy…” on my favorites list because I like the series very much. The Hong Sisters are among the best writers, it’s a great story line, and the cast is outstanding. I will definitely be front and center for the sequel. But I do think it is overly long: 20 eps that are really more like 24 since they are extended. I found that tiring and thought many of the secondary plots and scenes could have been cut. But it’s a great series and worth the time spent. That ending is amazing, and I didn’t see it coming.

She’s so wonderful. I adore her.

I have rarely seen an actor so completely disappear into his role as Jo Jae Yoon does in Alchemy of Souls. Brilliant.

Great article. I have mixed feelings about binging, yet I almost always wait until a series is finished so I can curl up and enjoy it over a weekend. However…..one of the best experiences I have ever enjoyed was watching CLOY each week with the fans here on DL. And, man, we figured it all out together and were right. 🥰 What a delightful time.

Park Eun Bin's performance is extraordinary, one of the finest on film. She and her director create a character to be admired and loved—-a stunning portrait of brilliance and strong character. Kang Tae Oh's character is a sweetheart whose gentle love for Young Woo is so supportive and touching. And most of the rest of the cast and direction are excellent. But when a series slips off track, as this one sometimes does, it is on the writer. For me the series is very good, but not great—and can be frustrating when it loses focus. Still, I mostly enjoyed it, especially the leads, and would watch a second season if that does happen. Recommended.

I think the series could have been sharper at 12 eps because the plot does get draggy in places. That’s not on the director or actors but the writer and the producer’s expectations. They gave us a charming but uneven romcom, not a memorable series that would be strong for years. That aside, when this series is good it’s really good, and it has some very touching scenes and others that are hilarious. The cast seemed to enjoy working together and have great chemistry.

I agree with others that the series is uneven and too much is not developed well. But that’s on the writer and director. The actors—esp the leads—work their tails off, and there is a lot of charisma between them. It’s not a great drama, but it is enjoyable, light fun. I’m glad I spent time with it.

One of KDrama’s best romances, just wonderful throughout, and for me Ji Hyun Woo‘s finest performance.

Though I like the cast very much, I had put this one off for years because it is so long. Sigh. It could have been superb if cut by half, but it is not, and the result for me is excruciating bloat and repetition under-scored by the screeching mother meme and increasingly mediocre acting by exhausted secondary actors. I ended up skimming much of the second half of the series to the predictable, overdone closure. The best of the cast deserved so much better.

The novel is amazing, and the series is excellent. I do wish the series had told the story in one season of 16 or so episodes rather than breaking it into seasons, but I’ll live with it as that’s their decision not mine. I think Americans and Koreans worked beautifully together in the production, and I thought it was a terrific cast and production staff. They are all superb, and LMH gave a performance in Ep 7 drawn from him by an extraordinary director that may have been career changing. The story told in both novel and series format is heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time: both are strongly recommended.

I thought he was amazing in Ep 7, and the director got a performance from him that was deeply touching.