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A Sweet RomCom with Demons, Murder, and Blood
The good: a sweet and brave FL, her loyal friend SML, and a handsome, tortured ML. I enjoyed all the casting. Kim Mi Kyung played the spiritual mother of the FL, and I always look forward to her appearance in dramas (I've seen her in 24 and have nearly that many more I want to see). She's especially good in roles of powerful leadership tempered with maternal instincts, and that's the exact role she played here. The cast of students added warmth and levity to balance the darker issues. With only 12 episodes, the drama maintained interest and didn't drag until the final episodes.The bad: it seemed all the characters took turns taking stupid pills which rendered them unable to make sensible decisions. FL Seong A told her best friend to avoid her love interest, the ML, but left out the reason why: he's demon possessed. Best friend made terrible decisions without consulting Seong A, which put numerous lives at risk. Worst of all, the big villain was taken into the household and given full run of the place when everyone knew she was plotting evil. Did bad things happen as a result? Darn skippy, they did. After all that, the viewers were treated to a poorly executed time skip at the end of the drama. The last few episodes were once again written by the janitor, makeup artist, and security. That's the only viable explanation for the disjointed and illogical mess the drama became (that, or the writer contracted brain-eating amoebas).
The drama depicted Bong Su as a supreme evil spirit, but the worst I saw of him were a few anger management failures. The Big Bad kicked a tripod once, punched his rival for love in the gut a couple of times, and got into a few altercations. He was also guilty of raising his voice several times. Hardly the evil we were promised! The true villain was the shaman who orchestrated the deaths of a hundred people, terrorized the ML most of his life, and caused the death of her spiritual mother. As often is depicted in South Korean dramas, she was given cheap grace and walked away free and unrepentant. To the very end, even when the viewer was supposed to believe she'd had a change of heart, she was still trying to solve her problems with murder.
I subtracted a star for the execution of the ending, but I added one for the delightful cast.
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The Much Longer and Less Enjoyable Splash Splash LOVE
I've got to admit I lost interest in the middle and put this on hold. I then forced myself to watch an occasional episode at a time until it became interesting again.
Due to censorship, the drama treated the time travel as a dream which inevitably harmed the story.
For not holding my attention throughout, I've removed a star, but I added a half star for the enjoyable music.
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It's Not a Cliffhanger—It's Like Everyone Just Left the Set
My relatively low score reflects my disappointment when I realized I'd watched 40 episodes and the drama just abruptly stopped without wrapping anything up. If season 2 comes out while I'm still alive, I'll revisit my rating and likely award more stars. At the moment, I'm disgruntled to have invested so much time to have been given an incomplete story.Slapstick isn't my thing, but I gave an extra half star for Dylan Wang. He's a natural at comedy, and his smile adds to the fun. FL has a cute smile, too, with her winking dimple.
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Four Stories in One Drama
Serendipity featured dystopian, sageuk, office, and fantasy stories. That's much to incorporate in 12 short episodes, but the drama did well on that. Where I took issue was in the cheesiness and silliness of tone, especially in the dystopian section, but I reminded myself this was a romcom, and those tend that way.An extra half star for ML's chiseled jawline and the cat's, Quin Quin, exquisite blue eyes.
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Nuanced Characters in Very Human Situations
Dislikes: love triangle, too melodramatic, supposedly intelligent people doing stupid things, time skip at the end, and an unfulfilling ending. Likes: a thoroughly evil villain that I couldn't help but sympathize with and like (I appreciate complex characters), a "respectable" good guy that I despised, the amnesia trope done well for a change, the clever tie in with the art piece for which the drama is titled (The Time Between Dog and Wolf is at nightfall when the world is stained red, and it's hard to distinguish friend from enemy), and fine performances by Lee Joon Gi, Jung Kyung Ho, Choi Jae Sung, and Sung Ji Ru.Extra half star awarded to Lee Joon Gi's bout with amnesia, when his style upgraded and he developed a smirk.
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Per Murphy's Law, It Went Wrong
After two enjoyable Taiwanese romcoms, I was looking forward to another. Murphy's Law should have warned me against high expectations, as this drama inevitably went wrong.The FL was a psychologist who was the least self-aware individual possible. Even when people told her in specific words how they felt, she had no clue what was going on. One would think with her training, she'd have a handle on personal relationships, but she didn't even know her own mind. Imagine a psychologist who can't communicate.
Why do older, professional FLs in dramas act like toddlers? Please stop continual pouting before the teen years.
Then there were the oddities that didn't make sense. In the beginning, the viewers were introduced to the FL as an extremely unlucky individual: it would rain when she didn't have her umbrella, plans would fall through, and Murphy's Law of "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" wreaked havoc. Later episodes mentioned Murphy's Law, but, all of a sudden, it didn't figure into the FL's life. She had two rich, handsome men vying for her attention, and her career was on fire. That's the kind of bad luck to be dreamed about! Also, FL's sister featured prominently early on. She divorced and moved in with the family, where FL resided, but then she was never seen or mentioned again.
Misguided noble idiocy, stupid misunderstandings, and an incomprehensible break-up rounded out a mediocre drama. I liked the actors, but the story needed help.
An extra half star for the cute Shiba Inu. He wasn't a particularly good actor, but he stole the scenes he was in.
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Male Lead's Jealous Expressions Were Priceless
This is one of the few cross-dressing women-pretending-to-be-men that is believable (Coffee Prince is another one). In other productions, the fact the "boy" had noticeable breasts, was tiny, and looked like a pretty actress (complete with make-up) made belief nearly impossible.In Bromance, FL started out as a strong man and ended as a strong woman. So often the "strong" woman becomes a weak, idiotic damsel in distress by the end of a drama, when she started out so strong initially. I appreciated FL's acting skills that allowed her to portray the strong male initially but gradually reveal her more feminine side without losing any of her bravery, aggression, or power.
I loved, loved that once the couple had affirmed their feelings for one another, they respected each other while maintaining passionate feelings. Especially in K-dramas, once the leads kiss, it's like they've been married 50 years: no spark or attraction after that at all.
Was the drama cheesy and unrealistic? Yes, a thousand times, yes! Did I care? Not a bit. When the interactions between the characters are as satisfying and wonderful as Bromance, cheese is just fine. Besides, when were RomComs ever realistic? We were treated to the kinder, gentler mafia, and that made me roll my eyes. But I still didn't care!
The drama made me happy with loving interactions, fun music ("your beauty is like a migraine"?; something is lost in translation with those lyrics), and the ML's facial expressions when he was jealous. ML made me laugh out loud at his possessiveness! An extra half star just for that.
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If You're Going to Bubble Wrap Your Daughter, Make it into a Princess Dress
I expected this to be a silly piece of fluff, and the addlebrained expressions of the FL in the beginning seemed to confirm this (seriously great performance by the lead actress; we have a tendency to admire dramatic performances but rarely realize the talent needed to play a comedic role). However, as the drama went on, I was treated to a slice of life with flawed humans who struggled and learned to overcome through the help of family. FL's development from an overprotected, coddled child to a competent adult was satisfying. Much more than fluff.I loved the bubble wrap princess dress at the beginning of each episode!
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Make the Most of Every Day
The leads are certainly pretty people, but the story was disjointed, and the ending seemed to be a last minute idea that needed explanation. Questions were left unanswered, and I still don't know how ML was better off at the end of the drama than at the beginning. Didn't all his original problems still remain? Even if he learned to appreciate each day, he was still in debt and going nowhere with his music.The child actress played her role well. I gave an extra half star for ML's cute smile and a half star for the music.
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The Cat Overcame the Cliches for Me
The leads were cute, but I got tired of the prolonged misunderstandings. Do all leads have to be brain impaired? I realize the writer wants to keep emotional tension going by not linking the leads together too early, but I wish it could be done with intelligence.I did enjoy when the ML reverted to his cat instincts: licking the FL's nose or nipping her ear. And I loved the silver American Shorthair, the star of the show.
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Fluff with a Tin Man's Heart
Hwang Jung Eum usually annoys me in the beginning of a drama (too much hysteria and screaming), but she wins me over by the end. Namkoong Min is a favorite; I've enjoyed every one of his performances that I've seen. Put the two together and give them a decent script, and it's a very watchable romcom. I'm surprised by the MDL rating—it seems a point low to me. I'd give that extra star for the philosophies and metaphors sprinkled through out. For a silly romcom, there was a great deal of wisdom involved. And I loved the Toy Museum set.Were there K-drama cliches? Yes, but they were reasonable and easily understood ones, not the silly misunderstandings that take way too long to resolve. There were valid reasons for most of the characters' actions. And, thank goodness, there was no "noble idiocy." Instead, the couple held hands and said they'd get through things together. I can't remember the last time I saw that. Generally, that calls for a trip out of the country and a time skip of five years!
My favorite twisted cliche was when the FL fell, and the ML grabbed her on the steps. She told him to let go, because she had good balance, and he did! She floundered down the steps, but landed triumphantly. And that seems an apt description for this drama: it may have floundered in spots, but it landed well.
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Silly but Cute
Expectations aren't high for 2-minute episodes, and this had its share of silliness (including animation), but it was also cute. Zou Jia Jia played an adorable fox who determined to repay her benefactor's kindness by marrying him. There was a solid story of palace intrigue, and it was resolved well.I enjoyed the short sweetness after some long, agonizing dramas.
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Odd but Charming
The MDL synopsis has little to do with the drama I viewed. It's so skewed: Jeju Island was purgatorial, not gorgeous; Do Hye Na never died in the drama; and Woo Shi Hyung wrongly entered the afterlife.Irish Uppercut was an odd little drama, but it had a satisfying ending. Considering many K-dramas fizzle out, I was pleased. The acting was superb, and the drama had charm and originality. I imagine the current low rating is due to the compressed story telling time of 8 episodes of 15 minutes each. That doesn't allow for extensive backstories, much character growth, or a sweeping story arc, but Irish Uppercut exceeded my expectations.
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Potential Squandered with the Worst Tropes
The drama contained much of what I despise: stupid misunderstandings that lasted way too long; a "strong" woman, which meant she can't cook or do domestic things, but she could be rude, mean, and inconsiderate (I don't find those something a true "strong" person needs to do, and everyone should be able to cook a bit); noble idiocy that led to a break-up; cheap grace (forgave someone who repeatedly tried to destroy people); and a time skip.The actors were enjoyable. I like strong, assertive women such as I thought the FL was going to be. It was a nice change from submissive FLs. However, she was routinely mean to the ML for no reason and didn't have the decency to text when standing him up for an important date. Her constant anger and nasty attitude toward the ML was exhausting. I don't know why anyone would be attracted to that. She did have a killer wardrobe, though. Great clothing throughout.
The premise could have worked. The actors were great. The script needed to be revised and cut down considerably. Removing some cringe and adding intelligence would have been a good start. For example, when our leads were in a library and the power went out, instead of stumbling over things in the dark, how about using sense and whipping out both cell phones, which both professionals carried, and light a way out? Amazingly, instead, the ML picked up the FL and carried her to safety. Holding her must have given him night vision he didn't have previously.
I should have rated 7.5 stars, but I deducted a half star for irritation purposes.
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Even Park Seo Joon Couldn't Save the Second Season of Gyeongseong Creature
It was jarring to have an 79-year time skip for season 2. Of course, everything changed in costume, set, and tone. The protagonists were no longer fighting an occupation—it became the run of the mill mad scientist bad guys. None of the new cast were properly introduced, and we didn't understand their motivations. What happened to our heroes in 79 years? We're told Tae Sang had treated Seung Jo as a younger brother, but we were never shown this. MOST OF SEASON 2 WAS A CASE OF TELLING, NOT SHOWING; that's never as compelling or interesting.If a bad guy calls, and I KNOW he's a murderer, and he wants to meet me in an abandoned building out in the boonies, I'd think to myself, "Self, that's not a good idea. Don't do it." But our heroes didn't think twice. Thinking is evidently hard. It had to take major acting skills to yell, "It's a trap!" once they were surrounded. Yeah, it was a trap of lazy writing. Of course, the cop who was tailing them must have stopped for a burger, because she was nowhere to be found until long after the mayhem had occurred. Maybe she had to pick up her dry cleaning on the way.
I have no idea why the bad guys had such a hard time keeping up with our heroes, because they always returned to the pawn shop. For 100 years, they always returned to the pawn shop. Why bother tailing them? After an especially harrowing escape, I thought (silly me!), they had best hightail to a hotel or remote cabin somewhere to elude the bad guys. No, back to the pawn shop, where everyone from the cops, who had the place bugged, to every bad guy knew where they holed up. They still couldn't find them half the time!
The ending was ambiguous, leaving the viewer feeling incomplete. Nothing was resolved, and I'm afraid there won't be a third season as there hasn't been any indication from Netflix. And I have so many questions!
TL:DR: Season 1 had compelling stories: occupation, freedom fighters, separated families, blended families, and the struggle for survival. Season 2 introduced new characters with no background and didn't resolve anything. Season 1 should have been two episodes longer and completed the story in the past with everything tied up in a bow. Season 2 shouldn't have happened.
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