Amy

Is there a reason why they are separating this drama into part 1 and 2?

Another drama called Eternal Love? They should go with another English name so it doesn't get confused with the other ones.

That's the kind of noble idiocy that happens throughout the drama. A wants to protect B so doesn't tell them anything about their plans, B is kept from the truth, despises A, and suffers immense heartbreak when learning about A's sacrifice. I understand that keeping the other party out of it is for their good, and that's a form of sacrificial love, but there's also a kind of love that the other party would appreciate much more, and that is to go through hardships together and find solutions together. Trust and honesty are what Shang Gu and Hou Chi are looking for, but what Qing Mu and Bai Jue could not provide. Well but then, if it weren't written like this, there wouldn't be so much story to watch I guess.

The one thing that makes me eye roll is that Qing Mu doesn't tell Hou Chi that if she revives Bo Xuan he will disappear, but marries her and promises to be with her forever. I know if he tells her there will be no story afterwards, but not telling her such an important thing really doesn't make sense and it baffles me.

What I love the most about this drama is FINALLY there is a true powerful FL who can rescue herself out of situations. This is one of the rarest things on Asian television. Love and Redemption gave me an illusion that there was one, but it didn't really pay off.

I know it's a stupid reason, but I couldn't give this a 10/10 simply due to the fact that ML had to suffer SO MUCH throughout the series. I feel like none of the sweet moments could pay it off, and often times FL gained power just to become more hurtful to ML lol

I mean, if it was a full-blown drama about politics and it was well-written, then it would've been fine (and that would also make it a completely different drama), but this drama is not even in that genre. It was marketed as a romcom, but turned out to be a really peculiar mix of genres that couldn't really meet on either side. That and also the fact they used the first couple of episodes to establish the interesting characters and plot points, only for us to find out that it was pointless. So much wasted potential imo :/

Just finished the drama, and although it was mildly enjoyable, it also could've been much much better. Instead of focusing on the tedious politics and scheming, they could've actually focused on the leads and their quirky employees and how they rebuilt the gallery to carry out the vision of FL's father. The story would've been much more interesting if it was about the male lead and the female lead teaming up tgt (and at times clashing in ideaologies) to make the gallery great again. One is business-minded, the other with compassion and ideals, it would've made a nice contrast and complement. But in reality they went for "tell and not show" for their contrasting personalities, as it didn't have any purpose to the plot other than to show them arguing with each other in unhealthy ways, then proceeding to not interact with each other for long periods of time while the boring politics get unravelled. As time went by, the story drifted farther and farther away (in a bad way) from what it had established in the first few episodes.

I actually thought the story would've been much more interesting if it was about the male lead and the female lead teaming up tgt to make the gallery great again. One is business-minded, the other with compassion and ideals, it would've made a nice contrast and complement. But in reality they went for "tell and not show" for their contrasting personalities, as it didn't have any purpose to the plot other than to show them arguing with each other in unhealthy ways.

This is essentially the live action of "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War"

I just started this, and even from the first half I could tell why this is a masterpiece. From the acting, filming technique, the overall rhythm and pace, to the sentiments and compassion the producer has for the characters, the story about the darkness and bliss of life, the relationships... it's all done beautifully. The best scenes are the ones where people aren't saying anything, just looking at one another, or staring into space and feeling deeply about their situation... absolutely breathtaking. I seldom cry when watching dramas, but this one made me cry a couple of times. Really respect the producer and his vision, empathy, his passion to tell a realistic and heartfelt story of not just the underdogs who just want to live a dignified life, but also of everyday people who are seemingly doing fine but are suffering silently, both wanting and not wanting to be understood.

If you're looking for a drama that can give you thrills, entertainment, keeps you at the edge of your seat, this is clearly not it. If you're looking for an exciting plot with surface level emotions and likeable characters with flaws thrown in just to be plot devices, this aint it. This is a character driven, art-like piece that focuses on people and their REAL hidden struggles, shame, anger and tiredness about life, that they often have no time to deal with because they are busy just trying to survive, but ultimately need to be confronted because of their will to live in dignity regardless of their situation. It's not an easy drama to watch, because it's the opposite of escapism for modern society, but it's a process of acknowledgement, and at the end, a warm pat on the back that is capable of healing.

This was amazing. One of the best dramas I've watched in recent years!

From the trailer it seems like the third FL will fall for the FL. Hopefully that's the case cuz it would be interesting

Ok, Jang Han Seo's death scene really destroyed the entire drama for me. Although writing was pretty bad throughout, it was still watchable, up till the point where they killed off Jang Han Seo in the dumbest way possible. Vincenzo was so completely out-of-character, he didn't try to help Han Seo, he didn't react or fight like he usually would, just sat there uselessly watching him get killed. If not for the plot armor of the gun running out of amo, even Vincenzo himself would have died. That was the stupidest scene ever.

~Trailer compilation~
Teaser 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjr9u4Ex2dc
Netflix Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkdoXBT7fa8
Netflix Extended Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4zM7jHdVFc
5-min Highlight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA1cyUpnCOs

All the trailers have been posted on Youtube:

Teaser 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjr9u4Ex2dc
Netflix Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkdoXBT7fa8
Netflix Extended Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4zM7jHdVFc
5-min Highlight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA1cyUpnCOs

Dunno why but the comedy in this show just didn't do it for me. Plot convenience was also a big issue. I don't think the drama is worth 9/10. That being said, I still kinda enjoyed it and I liked how the story stayed true to the whole mafia/serving justice outside of the law thing to the end. It is a fresh and new approach that's not seen often in k-dramas.

Maybe they're just fraternal twins who happen to look alike. And the synopsis says that the son died a couple years in, that means he was still very young when he died so it should be easier to replace him with another kid who looks like him. (Young children's genders aren't as obvious by appearance)

I can't speak for everyone, because there are people who expect a #1 show to be good in all aspects and people who only expect the show to be the best of its genre. That is why they will naturally compare the show with other shows of a similar genre. (Of course, not all of this comparison is valid, because each show is unique and brings something different to the table, even if their genre is similar.) Even so, people will try to form certain standards under which they can compare dramas relatively so they can know where a drama sits among the rest.

The reason why people think Squid Game is "overhyped" - Because when a drama is popular, people will naturally have higher expectations, and this is a normal phenomenon. However, as usual, the popularity/fame of a drama is never equal to its rating/quality, just like how the highest rated drama on MDL is not the most popular drama of all time, which is also completely normal. That's why, I tend to view Netflix dramas and non-Netflix ones separately, because Netflix allows for certain k-dramas to reach a broader audience, while many others do not have the same advantage. (We all know that in k-drama land, there are a LOT of hidden gems that don't get the recognition they deserve.) Squid Game is a lucky case because it's being distributed on Netflix and has a genre that performs better internationally. But we have to note the fact that many people who rate and comment on MDL are long-time k-drama watchers who have always been watching dramas outside of Netflix. This causes a discrepancy of "hey, I've watched a lot of dramas that are better than this one, but did not achieve the same popularity (because they didn't have the Netflix advantage, of course). Squid Game is overhyped/xxx drama is more deserving" etc etc. And I don't think it's wrong to think this way, but regardless, it's always a good thing for a k-drama to become popular, because that means people will get more interested in k-dramas and general and more k-dramas will get the attention they deserve. It's like how Psy's Gangnam Style went viral and helped the spread of k-pop/hallyu in general.