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Good Actors and Fast Action, All Splattered with Blood
Warning, Gentle Viewers: graphic violence and gore ahead, but the title didn't promise a frothy love story.
The Good:
• I really like Lee Dong Wook, even when he's playing an emotionless killer. He's not a cruel killer. I'm making excuses for him!
• Park Ji Bin gave me chills with that baby face of psychotic sweetness. Fun fact: that cherubic face is 31 years old! Another fun fact: He played Geum Jan Di's little brother in Boys over Flowers 17 years ago.
• Geum Hae Na's action scenes were amazing. I asked AI if she did her own scenes: "Geum Hae-na performed most of her own action scenes in the Disney+ series A Shop for Killers. She underwent intense, lonely high-intensity training to master grappling and other combat techniques, which resulted in her gaining 3kg of muscle mass. Her physically demanding performance, which included scenes where she reportedly vomited from exhaustion, earned her a Best Supporting Actress Award at the 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards."
• I appreciated seeing some actors who looked like average people: short, old, plain, etc.
• I wasn't sure if this went in The Good or The Bad list, but the action was nonstop and the tension was unrelenting. I had to take breaks in order to handle it. I'll put in The Good, as I wasn't bored.
The Bad:
• Disney+ offers the drama only in dubbed form. It's weird and offputting. The dialogue sounded like it was written by AI without a full charge of electricity.
• The drama didn't end; it just stopped. That's regrettable as my introductory offer on Disney+ runs out before the second season arrives. I prefer binging seasons, because I tend to forget quickly, but I don't mind waiting if there is a viable conclusion at the end of each season. This left so many things hanging. What will happen with Babylon? What happened to Jin Man? With his intelligence and survival skills, I never bought things went down the way we were told. Please, let it be a diversion tactic and not stupid writing. At this point, we don't even know who is left alive. This was not a complete drama—it was a prelude.
• I would have expected Jung Jin Man to have prepared his niece better or that she would have adapted better. I'm thinking season 2 will see her character develop. Buckle up, Buttercup.
Now I'm off to watch something sweet and soothing. I had a mistaken perception that Disney+ would be princesses and unicorns, but it's violence, darkness, and blood, at least where the K-dramas are concerned. Now that I know they don't offer all K-Dramas with subtitles, I don't need to renew my subscription when it runs out.
I reserve the right to add an extra half star if the second season answers my questions.
The Good:
• I really like Lee Dong Wook, even when he's playing an emotionless killer. He's not a cruel killer. I'm making excuses for him!
• Park Ji Bin gave me chills with that baby face of psychotic sweetness. Fun fact: that cherubic face is 31 years old! Another fun fact: He played Geum Jan Di's little brother in Boys over Flowers 17 years ago.
• Geum Hae Na's action scenes were amazing. I asked AI if she did her own scenes: "Geum Hae-na performed most of her own action scenes in the Disney+ series A Shop for Killers. She underwent intense, lonely high-intensity training to master grappling and other combat techniques, which resulted in her gaining 3kg of muscle mass. Her physically demanding performance, which included scenes where she reportedly vomited from exhaustion, earned her a Best Supporting Actress Award at the 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards."
• I appreciated seeing some actors who looked like average people: short, old, plain, etc.
• I wasn't sure if this went in The Good or The Bad list, but the action was nonstop and the tension was unrelenting. I had to take breaks in order to handle it. I'll put in The Good, as I wasn't bored.
The Bad:
• Disney+ offers the drama only in dubbed form. It's weird and offputting. The dialogue sounded like it was written by AI without a full charge of electricity.
• The drama didn't end; it just stopped. That's regrettable as my introductory offer on Disney+ runs out before the second season arrives. I prefer binging seasons, because I tend to forget quickly, but I don't mind waiting if there is a viable conclusion at the end of each season. This left so many things hanging. What will happen with Babylon? What happened to Jin Man? With his intelligence and survival skills, I never bought things went down the way we were told. Please, let it be a diversion tactic and not stupid writing. At this point, we don't even know who is left alive. This was not a complete drama—it was a prelude.
• I would have expected Jung Jin Man to have prepared his niece better or that she would have adapted better. I'm thinking season 2 will see her character develop. Buckle up, Buttercup.
Now I'm off to watch something sweet and soothing. I had a mistaken perception that Disney+ would be princesses and unicorns, but it's violence, darkness, and blood, at least where the K-dramas are concerned. Now that I know they don't offer all K-Dramas with subtitles, I don't need to renew my subscription when it runs out.
I reserve the right to add an extra half star if the second season answers my questions.
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