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a surprisingly frustrating, cathartic, emotional, and INCREDIBLY satisfying revenge story
Wow, I was not expecting to love this as much as I did.
I HIGHLY recommend going in blind -- that's what I did and it made the revenge and plot twists SOOO much better. I try to keep it vague below but just be weary -- stop here if you don't want to be spoiled!
**WARNING: this drama is BRUTAL in terms of content/trigger warnings so be mindful going in. Take care of yourself first.**
PRODUCTION:
--- editing felt fresh, gritty with a bit of swagger? Pulled me in almost immediately.
--- the special effects the injuries were realistic and graphic
--- the camera work during fight scenes had really great tracking - I was initially scared it was going to be too choppy or give me motion-sickness, but it was actually REALLY well-done. They did a great job following the fighting while also making sure the angles and editing felt dynamic enough.
ACTING:
--- INCREDIBLE - the villains were soooo unhinged haha like seriously gave me chills of disgust at times
--- FL - great job at showing her dissociative responses to abuse all the way to her scary calm moments of anger
--- ML - I’ve always loved Yu Sin's acting. It’s so raw and never feels over-acted. Genuinely love him so much. I felt every bit of emotional rage and exhaustion towards his situation and every bit of calculating determination in his plotting of revenge.
PLOT:
Revenge plots (especially in vertical dramas) can start to feel repetitive or stale. You see one, you’ve seen them all, right? That's what I thought, but omg I really liked how this one played out.
--- the brutality of the bullying made the revenge a cathartic experience
--- normally, I like a complicated or layered villain - not here though... these guys were AWFUL and straight-forward villains. And this is the ONLY reason I was 100% on board with the brutal revenge the ML had planned for them.
--- the different revenge plots for each character were soooo cleverly thought-out. Our ML (a math genius) knew exactly how to calculate the weak spots in each one of them, so they’d self-destruct. It was so good.
--- I really loved the moments they picked to reveal plot twists regarding our ML. I was like "ohhhhh hell yeahh" - haha it was perfect, it had me leaning forward in my seat, like NOW it's really getting good.
--- the build-up to the final fight felt very well paced. - they took their time with it and really showed how our ml and villain were (almost) equal matches - it actually felt like a "final boss" fight.
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY:
--- VERY well done and extremely brutal...
--- characters got more and more tired after each punch, and every hit held weight. Like I was covering my eyes a few time because geez, did it look like it hurt haha.
--- the FINAL FIGHT was really good. I LOVED how they wrote in our ML to not be at 100% strength due to injuries and exhaustion. If he had been at full-strength, the final fight would have ended almost immediately. It was a smart way to have an intense but more evenly-matched fight without our ML seeming uncharacteristically weak.
--- Also, the choreo with the wheelchair in the final fight?? Um, hello??? INCREDIBLE. I watched that scene multiple times haha.
NO ROMANCE?:
It may be controversial, but I REALLY liked how there wasn’t a main romance plot. It made sense that both of them wouldn’t be in the right place, emotionally, to fully open themselves up to a romantic relationship. Not-to-mention, the plot would feel WAY too chaotic if they tried to squeeze a romance in alongside everything else. I could even see these two just remaining platonic, and I’d honestly love that just as much. The point was that they saved each other and, in turn, saved themselves.
ENDING:
The lack of romance is why I think the ending is perfect. They get to escape and in the final scene, they finally get to rest. It felt like such a release after the fight they went through to get away. They've had a lifetime of people messing with their lives, why should we? They deserved to rest. And now they’re free to do whatever they want. Together.
CONS:
I tried to think of negatives I had for this one but honestly couldn’t come up with anything really problematic for me. Here are few reasons that may deter others from watching:
--- this would have been incredible as a movie - personally, vertical format doesn't really bother me, but I could see why some may stay away for that reason alone.
--- you might need to turn your brain off when it comes to medical accuracy - obviously, it seems a little far-fetched that the ML would go from paralyzed to martial arts master in such a short time.... BUT WHO CARES? IT WAS AWESOME.
--- the bullying was definitely the hardest part for me to watch. I found myself watching some scenes at 2x speed or covering my eyes. It was INTENSE, but because of that, the payoff of revenge felt soooo satisfying and well-earned.
--- I would have loved to know more about his parents' deaths or how he's coping with it - I mean, he obviously has other things to worry about lol but would've been nice to have a few dialogue moments between the leads.
CONCLUSION:
All that to say, I REALLY liked this one. Very rarely do I feel satisfied after finishing a vertical drama, but his one, however, did just that. I held my breath almost the entire drama and the emotional and physical release I felt at the end was cathartic, to say the least. I thoroughly enjoyed (and hated lol) this one. I highly recommend a watch. :)
I HIGHLY recommend going in blind -- that's what I did and it made the revenge and plot twists SOOO much better. I try to keep it vague below but just be weary -- stop here if you don't want to be spoiled!
**WARNING: this drama is BRUTAL in terms of content/trigger warnings so be mindful going in. Take care of yourself first.**
PRODUCTION:
--- editing felt fresh, gritty with a bit of swagger? Pulled me in almost immediately.
--- the special effects the injuries were realistic and graphic
--- the camera work during fight scenes had really great tracking - I was initially scared it was going to be too choppy or give me motion-sickness, but it was actually REALLY well-done. They did a great job following the fighting while also making sure the angles and editing felt dynamic enough.
ACTING:
--- INCREDIBLE - the villains were soooo unhinged haha like seriously gave me chills of disgust at times
--- FL - great job at showing her dissociative responses to abuse all the way to her scary calm moments of anger
--- ML - I’ve always loved Yu Sin's acting. It’s so raw and never feels over-acted. Genuinely love him so much. I felt every bit of emotional rage and exhaustion towards his situation and every bit of calculating determination in his plotting of revenge.
PLOT:
Revenge plots (especially in vertical dramas) can start to feel repetitive or stale. You see one, you’ve seen them all, right? That's what I thought, but omg I really liked how this one played out.
--- the brutality of the bullying made the revenge a cathartic experience
--- normally, I like a complicated or layered villain - not here though... these guys were AWFUL and straight-forward villains. And this is the ONLY reason I was 100% on board with the brutal revenge the ML had planned for them.
--- the different revenge plots for each character were soooo cleverly thought-out. Our ML (a math genius) knew exactly how to calculate the weak spots in each one of them, so they’d self-destruct. It was so good.
--- I really loved the moments they picked to reveal plot twists regarding our ML. I was like "ohhhhh hell yeahh" - haha it was perfect, it had me leaning forward in my seat, like NOW it's really getting good.
--- the build-up to the final fight felt very well paced. - they took their time with it and really showed how our ml and villain were (almost) equal matches - it actually felt like a "final boss" fight.
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY:
--- VERY well done and extremely brutal...
--- characters got more and more tired after each punch, and every hit held weight. Like I was covering my eyes a few time because geez, did it look like it hurt haha.
--- the FINAL FIGHT was really good. I LOVED how they wrote in our ML to not be at 100% strength due to injuries and exhaustion. If he had been at full-strength, the final fight would have ended almost immediately. It was a smart way to have an intense but more evenly-matched fight without our ML seeming uncharacteristically weak.
--- Also, the choreo with the wheelchair in the final fight?? Um, hello??? INCREDIBLE. I watched that scene multiple times haha.
NO ROMANCE?:
It may be controversial, but I REALLY liked how there wasn’t a main romance plot. It made sense that both of them wouldn’t be in the right place, emotionally, to fully open themselves up to a romantic relationship. Not-to-mention, the plot would feel WAY too chaotic if they tried to squeeze a romance in alongside everything else. I could even see these two just remaining platonic, and I’d honestly love that just as much. The point was that they saved each other and, in turn, saved themselves.
ENDING:
The lack of romance is why I think the ending is perfect. They get to escape and in the final scene, they finally get to rest. It felt like such a release after the fight they went through to get away. They've had a lifetime of people messing with their lives, why should we? They deserved to rest. And now they’re free to do whatever they want. Together.
CONS:
I tried to think of negatives I had for this one but honestly couldn’t come up with anything really problematic for me. Here are few reasons that may deter others from watching:
--- this would have been incredible as a movie - personally, vertical format doesn't really bother me, but I could see why some may stay away for that reason alone.
--- you might need to turn your brain off when it comes to medical accuracy - obviously, it seems a little far-fetched that the ML would go from paralyzed to martial arts master in such a short time.... BUT WHO CARES? IT WAS AWESOME.
--- the bullying was definitely the hardest part for me to watch. I found myself watching some scenes at 2x speed or covering my eyes. It was INTENSE, but because of that, the payoff of revenge felt soooo satisfying and well-earned.
--- I would have loved to know more about his parents' deaths or how he's coping with it - I mean, he obviously has other things to worry about lol but would've been nice to have a few dialogue moments between the leads.
CONCLUSION:
All that to say, I REALLY liked this one. Very rarely do I feel satisfied after finishing a vertical drama, but his one, however, did just that. I held my breath almost the entire drama and the emotional and physical release I felt at the end was cathartic, to say the least. I thoroughly enjoyed (and hated lol) this one. I highly recommend a watch. :)
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