A little disappointing
I wanted to watch this because of Ji Chang Wook but I think .... I have to drop this series.I don't drop series very often so I think this says a lot. I couldn't subscribe to the musical songs in this drama; they're awkward af if you ask me. Not that the singing is terrible, but the lyrics (from what I've seen) are also quite cute. The placements are just very awkward, no other way to put it. Pleasantly surprised by Hwang In-yeob's performance! You may have read other reviews that say the same thing, but I have also read reviews that loved the musical aspect so... My best advice would be to just watch the drama first, and see if you like it.
# About the plot
Already kinda guessing that the plot is gonna be some cringey cliche like "oh life is tough but you gotta believe in magic" kinda nonsense... I mean i could subscribe to that (I watch so many romcoms, cliches are nothing) but I'm not convinced by what I see. An older man taking care of a teen.. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh not sure about that.
# About the characters
I haven't found a character that I liked in this drama. I kind of want to support Ah Yi but then again, idk I don't think her character is very appealing.
# About the cast/acting
Main 3 are great at acting. The bully's face is very annoying (I've seen her before in another drama, couldn't bring myself to like her) so I guess they cast her well? Her acting isn't great tho, it's her face doing the job. One thing tho, I think JCW gotta pick his shows a little better... He's been on a little bit of a losing streak with the dramas he's been acting in recently.
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why didn't I watch this sooner?
StoryThis is a Hua Mulan-esque story, with villains who act villainously for the sake of being a villain (if you get what I mean). The story is by no means unique, original without any cliches but EVERY EPISODE was a breeze to watch. It's interesting, and I rewind moments that I accidentally miss. Even with my busy schedule, I managed to binge it in less than a week! Not entirely sure why the rating is this low, and I don't see the plot concerns that other reviewers have. This is an easy watch, with spurts of cute romance and BURSTS of cool action scenes! It’s not heavy on the politics and any politics is easily digested and well-explained. If you want cute romance and only that, then maybe this has too much action for you. I thought ep 34 was a nice way to end the show, it was a really heartwarming episode but they randomly threw a spanner in ep 35. Watch and you'll know what I mean....
Acting/cast
Cheng Lei excels in cold, stone-faced general roles, and his vibes really fit. From what I understand, he does his own stunts; HE DOES THEM REALLY WELL. Zhou Ye is a cute actress, and I think her acting is really good. I hope we'll get to see them acting in a modern drama together; their chemistry was CHEMISTRYING. I know there were complaints about the casting because of the height diff between her and Bai Shu, making the plot a bit unrealistic (yep how can a person suddenly shrink by close to 15cm? idk).
Music
REALLY NICE MUSIC. zhangyuan, curley gao, zhou shen... the lineup is crazy.
Rewatch Value
110% would rewatch, it's an easy watch that can help destress. It has a plot without being too overbearingly political.
Overall
This drama was a really easy watch with interesting episodes. Some episodes were super cute so I will surely rewatch them, even if I don't rewatch the whole thing... BUT WHY WOULDN'T I REWATCH THE WHOLE SERIES??
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Why are there so many bad reviews?
Writing this because I've seen so many bad reviews, and I'm honestly quite appalled. This is by no means a masterpiece of a drama, but I think it's a nice romcom. After a long day, just shut down your brain and turn this drama on to feel good - and let out a laugh?? maybe??Story
Simple story, easy to follow and makes sense. Certain characters are not very communicative, but you need this so the drama can span 12 episodes. xD This is a light-hearted, exaggerated drama. Think "Business Proposal"-level of ridiculous.
Cast
Great cast. Watched for the 2 main leads. The side cast is also superb; if you watch enough K-dramas, you should recognise quite a few of them.
Music
Love the music. Favourites are the ones by Miyeon, Fifty Fifty and Sung Han Bin
Rewatch Value
Not high because the plot isn't unpredictable... not sure if I can be invested in the plot more than once. But I'm sure there will be scenes/episode I want to rewatch :P
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This review may contain spoilers
I watched this because of the hype
I'm personally not very interested in dating shows like this because I'm highly sceptical of their authenticity and whether these shows are scripted. After completing the series, I would like to think/hope this isn't scripted at all... HAHA. Also, I watched Ji-A's video on youtube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrXSqRZPrxE around 3:50] , where she mentioned that it wasn't scripted (and I would like to believe her)I honestly don't think the music was that memorable so I just gave it a pass lmao.
I would say most of the cast are pretty likeable, but I don't remember much about their personalities. Maybe it's the short period of time, the lack of meaningful conversations (NOT those about their feelings towards each other) but there's not much personality being shown. There is only one cast I dislike, and that's the obsessive male (you'll understand me when you get there). There are also cast who are severely underrated/ do not get much screen time (Yea Won and Junsik my OTP hehe).
In terms of rewatch value, I feel like this series didn't "spark joy" (in Marie Kondo's words)... It's the kind I would watch once (just to understand why the heck everyone is talking about it) and never watch it again. Once is enough to experience whatever feelings you feel when you watch the interactions and whatever. It is quite juicy, but I would say the majority of the time it's quite obvious (at least to me) whoever the contestants will pick. I would say there are only 1 or 2 times when I didn't expect a certain outcome.
The reasons people might enjoy this show is because:
1) honestly kinda spicy and juicy idk sip some hot tea
2) a bunch of attractive people are on an island with no phones. this said bunch of people interact and flirt around with the others in attempt to enjoy a nice getaway from this "hellish inferno" [honestly not even hellish, no perilous waves or any survival skills required.. just the occasional caveman brawls they like to hold as contests ... okay back to the point].
3) it would be quite interesting to see how people get attracted to each other in this short span of 8-9 days
4) people talk about their feelings quite openly and honestly, which is quite nice in my opinion.
5) you get to feel the flutters in your stomach without having the pain of a breakup or sth idk man
6) for the eye-candies .. lots of abs and biceps (for the guys) and the girls dress nicely and have nice bodies as well.
7) out of boredom/fomo
If there's anything this show highlighted to me, it's that timing is very important. The timing when people say sth, the timing when people take certain actions. And also that there are obsessive guys out there who scare the wits out of me. I also have a theory that only girls find the obsessive guy obsessive and guys may actually find him inspirational (for getting the girl after much persistence)........
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Watched for Lee Da Hee
Lee Da Hee and Kim Nam Gil are great actors, KNG especially. Watched this because I was bored and the synopsis sounded interesting.Story
Nothing great or amazing. Entertaining enough but even at episode 4, I feel like I still have many questions. I think this one is more about the action................ though it's not super action-packed either. Meh.
Acting
As mentioned LDH and KNG are there haha. Side characters are familiar faces soooo great. I have to say though, Cha Eun Woo's acting improved HAHA. At least he's showing more natural expressions........
Music
I like the intro! OSTs are appropriate.
Rewatch value
nah idts. I don't see myself rewatching this.
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