ayse

I loved this series but no doubt my favourite part was the whole Aranya arc and I would love to see a whole stand alone for the Aranya arc true to it's novel counterpart.

Each episode leaves me with a peaceful mind, it's so nice to watch this.

That trailer alone was ...really something else, it looks too f*cked up, I think it needs a psychological thriller tag.

I really wanted a redemption arc for Geun Won but the last episode made it impossible, I don't know he isn't a good person, like at all, but somehow his awfulness makes sense and I just don't hate him, it is so easy to be like him and that makes him more real, good or bad his character can be realized much deeper and complex then this. He is an interesting character to watch, his relationship dynamics with Dae Hee could get the whole focus of the drama and I wouldn't mind.

p.s. I would love to see a spinoff chinese style transmigration or reincarnation story where Geun Won turns around his life and becomes one of the good guys, idk i guess these days chinese novels are rubbing off to me.

This is such a relaxing drama, I'm loving all that book club thing and if the story delves into rest of the book club members this drama could become something really special.

"It's interesting that the moment JH came to the south and saw how Seri lived, he immediately said he didn't want to go back. He wanted to stay there and enjoy a good life with her. Again, nothing wrong with that ... and I understand not wanting to live under the restrictions & oppression of the North, but I also think it speaks volumes about how much value Koreans place on materialistic trappings. I found myself being disappointed by this."

JH was already someone who lived and liked the abroad long before Seri, being a soldier was never his thing. Like you said they were being oppressed in North Korea so it's not money, JH family had money, he had influence thanks to his father but he didn't want that life for himself.

" I would have loved to see her grow a bit more attached to the village people & Jung Hyuk (because they treated her with love & kindness she never got from her own family) and become reluctant to leave them after she had adjusted somewhat. But all the time she just couldn't wait to go back to the lavish lifestyle that almost broke her. It would have been nice seeing her yearn for a simple, happy & comfortable life ... after going through so much toxicity as a chæbol dal."

She was sad to leave the people in villiage and she even remembered them even after leaving so what's there more to do or feel. And ofcourse she would want to go back to her "lavish" life where she isn't an illegal resident with a bounty on her head.
As much as this drama was unrealistic the irony was how realistic Seri was being in the midst of it.
Also Seri wasn't unhappy about her brand and company she has built from zero. It was always her family so why on earth would she give up something she has worked so hard for.It doesn't make any sense at all.

Imo the cheesyness was the charm of CLOY, I cringed so hard while watching and that was good, it was fun. Also the side characters were written beautifully. I abhor Heirs, Playful Kiss, BOF etc type of classic romcoms but CLOY was good for me.

I'm a sucker for a good chemistry if the plot is steady enough or else nope, it gets boring real quick. One of my favourite series are the Reply trio and the chemistry I mentioned is much needed in between all of the cast.
I do enjoy one on one typical romance dramas now and then but without a strong plot and overall balance they fell flat for me.
Also it's not that kdramas became boring but since we've seen it all(it's been 12 years mate) I guess everything feels less exciting now.
Actually some of my all time favourite dramas are more recent such as "Live", "Life on Mars", "Rebel", " Prison playbook". It depends on your prefered genre, I love watching all genres so the new trend is pretty a-ok for me.

p.s. imo Crash Landing On you was enough to satisfy my guilty pleasure rom-com crave for the year since it had all the cliches with an eye candy cast and a good plot to boot.

p.s.s I'm shifting my gears towards to chinese market these days, they have some real good cliche stuff.

Soo Ah actually never did anything that directly hurt or endangered SRY and it's not about SRY at all. He should be begging to Hyun Yi, he trampled over her life just like his father did to SRY.

Remember his childhood scene where he was killing the ants, I thought he would be our villian while Geum Won redeeming himself along the way but oh well.

At this point I really don't even care about him, int the last episode he was soooooo beyond that invisible line of a human and an as*h*le.
It's not about seeing the light or anything, it's about basic human trust and he broke it.

It was selfish of Soo Ah to say that yet Sae Royi actually never put her first either, it goes both ways. He keeps telling her to prioritize herself and their relationship is dependent on her desicions and when she says what she wants, he isn't complying at all.
Idk, SRY isn't that much of a lover boy and neither less selfish than Soo Ah, as we've seen his stubborness almost cost them the potential investor in ep 12. I think many of us is giving too much credit to SRY while demeaning SA.

To be fair Sae Royi never actually chose her, when he came to Itaewon for the first time she blantantly invited him to her house but he never took that chance nor made the move, it almost feels like he was fishing her for all those years, how long can you wait for someone that even ain't beside you nor made any promises.
It was her who said I like rich guys, meaning I'll be waiting for you to achieve your dreams, he wasn't the one who said I'll be back wait for me, I like you. He was always telling her to live well, prioritize yourself ect.

We all need some type of a HOLO in our lifes, whether it's good a friend, lover or family member even a pet, I really like the message behind Holo and though the last couple episodes were a bit off the mark, I'm quite happy with the overall result.
I'm a huge fan of AI genre and if you don't expect the science part to be accurate then this is pretty awesome for what it is, a bit of familial love, romance and friendship with the AI spin on all of it.

Both seasons were such a joy to watch, if this genre is your cup of tea just like me then give "Chief of Staff" a go.
p.s. This may not be the best script out there but the characters are solid and they make it up for the plot holes.

I agree how some parts of this were done for the plot's sake,

"but literally one scandal is enough to ruin a whole party. But here one part has XXX scandals, but no one minds it. Like, really? And if members dont seem coherent..would you vote for a party like that?"

but we don't see the opposing party's problems or scandals since the story is about "chief of staff" who is Jang Tae Jun hence we see what is related to him, so we don't know why people have voted for the Daehwan party, as long as they present a good image before the elections it's not impossible to win it again too.
Also the members were coherent on the farce which is only to be expected and seemed quiet realistic to me.

"There is no opposition here. Plus they made it like the whole country is about maybe 10 politicians, while no one cares about other. Ehhhh"

From what we were shown the whole country was actually all about those 10 politicians since every important position was filled with their people which again was quiet realistic to me. Everyone was taking bribes and somehow connected to one another so the real powerplay was naturally only between the upper crust of the crowd.

Of course reality is much different than dramas but in my country it's not less ridiculous. In actuality I've seen much more stupid and unbelievable stuff here even as a citizen, so who knows how worse it is behind the scenes.

p.s. "Plus its doesnt seem realistic at all. Korean people are sooooo judgemental and dont seem forgiving. So to have a politician whose two chief of staffs were having a scandal...and that politician can act like he knows nothing?mwtf? Why would someone bribe CoS if not bcs ot THE politician. Then all the scandals seem to be easily forgotten... in a country where you can be put to wall of shame if you dont bow correctly in front of others and suff.. like ehh."
Political scandals are commonly buried with celebrity news sooo idk, the weird part for me was how some of those scandals even made it to the news, I would've liked to see the real action from the opposing party maybe then it would've make much more sense but oh well.

I agree but weirdly my mind gets numbed after the first ten minutes or so and I only realize what I've watched after it's done, this has to be one of the best guilty pleasure dramas ever, it's so ridiculous that it's good XXD

That ending was really something, I mean I've seen it coming and I love when main leads' morals become questionable and essentially more realistic yet I wouldn't mind a bit fairy dust to make our leads a bit stronger.
Overall this drama is pretty good but it left me quiet frustrated most of the time, hopefully the second season will be able to solve the knot this season left in my heart.

I just stumbled upon this by pure luck and the pilot episode was awesome, what's with the low rating I don't know but I hope that the whole thing as well produced as the first episode.

edit: I've finished it and Tu Si Cheng was the cutest, what a shame that he was the villian but anyways him, cui xun and tu siya were my favourites.

Okay, episode 10 was the real deal, I love how they didn't drag things only to patch it up in the last 2 episodes or so.
If this tension continues till the very end then this drama is going to be one of those classic romcoms to watch.