amrita828

It isn't realistic when she is a surgeon, a person who per definition knows about death better than anybody else. A thirty something surgeon should know about the meaning of life threatening situation even before meeting a soldier - and not a common soldier, but one who belongs to special forces (something she learned of on episode 2).
There's nothing wrong in loving a romantic melo, but please don't try to sell this as something realistic, because the lack of sense or realism is exactly what someone is complaining about.

You deserve a prize for this article!
Very well said and sadly true.
Just recently I've started watching a drama from a European country and guess what? The heroine is full of physical flaws: she's not skinny at all, the eyes are a little too distant, the clothes are everyday things, she doesn't run on high heels and doesn't wake up with her make up on. Result: she's a beauty, a natural one.
I clearly need a break from the Korean plastic shine. Men aren't an exception either: too perfect, too made-up, too varnished. I need a break to be reminded the world is made of average and yet handsome people who can fascinate with a simple, imperfect smile.

A friend and I had somehow challenged one another to keep on watching, until we asked ourselves why we were doing it, lol. It wasn't a challenge anymore, it was a homework!

Agreed. Flying all the way to Greece to film something that could take place in downtown Seoul between a fireman and a nurse is a silly waste.

I dropped it with a huge sigh of relief. I was feeling absolutely nothing for these characters - which is worse than hate them. Hate at least shakes something in me, but sitting there thinking I'd rather crochet is beyond me.

I know where you come from and I agree. The double standard is very annoying.
However, as Oyaji rightly pointed out, critics seldom come from men - this site alone is, after all, a women domain.
As much as it pains me to say so, male leads are rarely raved about because they are good guys, but mostly because they are hot.
As a woman, I suppose I have to deal with it and reluctantly accept this stance will never change.

This said, I don't mind if a male lead is rude towards a woman who is able to stand her ground. If there's power balance, love war can be quite entertaining and fun to watch.
So I can honestly say I get much more annoyed by meek, accepting females than by rude males.

Very well written and highly amusing! Thank you. :D

I agree with your list, except perhaps for Kang Seon Woo (My Ghost), who, if I recall, was a bad tempered, yelling chef (I suggest you never go near Pasta), but not so much as a man and eventually fiancé. He was rude as a boss, not as a boyfriend.

As for Irie Naoki, he obviously deserves the trophy for the most obnoxious jerk ever invented by a pen. However, may I humbly suggest we directed the same questions at his "adorable wife"?
Like, "who would want to spend their entire life with an ignorant klutz who has been stalking you since you were in the cradle, doesn't take a no for an answer even if it were tattooed on her face, follows you around like a besotted dog and, most of all, lets herself be treated like a mouldy doormat?"
The gods of drama invent them and then put them together.

Well, allow me: this is one amazing review!

Whether I agree or disagree with your rating is irrelevant; what makes this review stand out is the fact that it's truly useful. Yes, it tells something about you, but it tells a lot about the show too, helping viewers choose to either watch it or leave it.
Your in-depth analysis of the questions raised here is truly on point and makes me - a viewer who''s not finished this yet - think over and reassess my opinion of it.

So, thank you very much for it. :)

Yes, he is unreasonable, but do not forget that in episode 1, when they rescue the young guy from the gang, there are clear references to DY's past. If I read the hints correctly, before enlisting in the army DY was himself a thug. Added to the issues listed by CatoCat, you have bad husband material - at least in the eyes of a conservative father.

Yes, you may be right.
Perhaps I just need to give this story a little more time, to warm up to these characters. I promise I will try! :D

Lol, you spared me, thank you ;)
Of course a kiss is based on simple attraction, but when implying their behaviour was ahead of time I did not mean the kiss, rather the tears, the going against direct orders, marching to a military official to defend the other, etc. Because all this is happening too soon in their story, at least for me, when they kissed I was left rather cold. I'd have bought a kiss on episode 1 a lot better: that would have been simple attraction between two consenting adults.without... a baggage.
Not sure I'm making sense.

Personally, I didn't feel a thing when the kiss arrived. Don't get me wrong: Song Joong Ki is unbelievably sexy here, but he could have kissed a lamppost and it wouldn't have made a big difference to me. Having SJK kiss "someone" is an alluring prospect, but to feel something I'd need to identify with the recipient.
I just can't feel a connection with this couple, they are both behaving as though they were already in love but I haven't had the time to fall for them as a couple - nor have they, really.

Don't beat me too hard, please. ;)

I hear your voice tops my list, even though - to me - the age gap there was kind of irrelevant, so I don't know what it would score in your personal chart. :)
A witch's romance is fluffy but very enjoyable and if you haven't watched it yet, I may suggest I Do I Do, a drama not loved by many, but the puppy aspect is absolutely perfect there, as well as the self assured lady.

Your method of scoring these dramas is quite ingenious. Can I borrow it? :D

The great thing about reviews written 1 month and a half before the drama's complete, is that they couldn't be spoilerish even if they wanted to. :P

No, thank you for accepting a little ctiticism with such grace. :)
Now I can happily forget about the drama, lol. :D

Please forgive me if I should sound a little confused, but why do we have to watch at least once a drama you gave an overall 5 to?

Brilliant review.
I have been following your progresses with this drama via your episode reviews and I kept hoping you'll love the ride until the end. So it was, I'm glad. This drama is a jewel in my book, and deserves all the great revews like this one.
:)

So far DotS seems to be a grand display of male flesh and testosterone. I'm not really complaining, mind you: Song Joong Ki is ridiculously handsome and his buddy's just as sexy.
This said, I'm not a fan of the female lead; this is the third drama I see her in and she played them all the same, i.e. a little plastic-like. Therefore, I think I'm going to join the rank of Joong Ki's fangirls and simply ogle him...
How mature... :P

We have a reverse problem here. While in the midst of an acute addiction phase, it's quite hard to stop, but I'd venture the most simple suggestion I can come up with: go out. Real life is the only cure I know for this desease. :)

Hi Hava, thank you so much for adding: all help is welcome! :D

I remember you once helped me coming out of one of my slumps: I did follow your suggestion of watching something from my country, but that time I chose truly badly, because it was actually a very good drama and I got stuck with it, LOL.

The next time I'll choose one of those terrible and unbearably long European tv serie that always display the same exact set... :P

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Thank you for this article, and mostly for the foreword: I'm one of those who can't be bothered with musicals. Indeed, I hate them. Therefore, I'm glad you suggest something that deals with music without making it into the tool of communication. :)

Taiyo No Uta was one of my very first Japanese movies watched online and I loved it Simple and sweet, and yet intense.

The other two sound very interesting, I'm going to add them right away. :D