etoks21

MDL members hand out a lot of Oscars. :D

I've seen the "wait until episode 4 before judging" meme a few times here and on IMDB, too, but any show that takes 270 minutes, more than 1/7th of its run time to get going, is sus from the outset.
On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed episode 1 anyway, so I wasn't going anywhere.
The tonal shift was kind of bizarre, but...alrighty, let's see how it goes.

Episode 1:
Whoa. OK

The first 30 minutes were one thing, a really powerful thing...and then all of a sudden, I was like, OH MY GOD I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING BUT WTF IS HAPPENING?!!!

Quite a change of tone there...took me some recovery time, but then, except for a snafu here and there, I was along for the ride.
I mean, what do I know, right?
It's an 1,800-minute show, and I've seen 90 minutes of it.

SJK is suave, hot, and perfect in the lead, and everyone else pulled their weight and then some.
I laughed out loud, like really loud, a few times, which was not what I thought I was on board for, but ok, I like to laugh so I'm good, it's all good.
But, now I have no idea what to expect going forward, but I consider that a very good thing.
I'll be surprised if I hang in for all 20 episodes, but I like surprises, too.

I won't be binge-watching, but that's ok, too.
We'll see how it goes.

Please let me know what you think. :)

My thought, exactly.

She is so beautiful that it took my breath away when I first saw her, and then I watched her handle every scene like a pro.
Not a single false note, which is amazing for any child actor, let alone one that young.
The director deserves credit, too.

I'm leaning that way myself, but for different reasons.
The tone is all over the map in a way that takes me out of the story now and then.
The ridiculously stupid gunfight near the end of #6 is an example.
Some of the bits of humor along the way have been expertly handled, but that went way over-the-top into eye-rolling territory.

Sounds like you know more about cinematography than I do.
I hadn't noticed anything egregious in that category.

Thanks!
I will check them out.
Whoa!
I just looked at Vincenzo: 20 episodes a ONE AND A HALF HOURS each. lol
That's a real slog. :)
I'm a fan of Song Joong Key too, so I'm going to give it a try.
I'll be impressed if it holds my interest though, as I find it hard to believe a series can maintain quality over that many eps. Hell, I see 10 episodes as stringing things out. :P

I thought I had, but I'll try again:
Producers have determined that by dropping episodes spread out over a period of weeks, it allows time for those who are watching to spread the word about the show and bring in new viewers who didn't start watching from the first episode.
Thus, as the show continues to run over that time, more and more viewers accumulate.
The theory is that in this way, overall viewership ends up being much higher than it would have been if all episodes had been dropped at once.
I don't know if the theory is accurate, because it seems to me that people who binge-watch a show that drops all eps at once, are going to spread the word, regardless.
And others hold off watching at all until the end of the run, so they can binge it all at once.

Hope that helps. :)

So, is it the case that with licensed dramas, Netflix has no input until they purchase rights or whatever for it to run on its platform?

I don't get why the product placements.
Netflix doesn't need the money.
Is it possibly a spoof on Kdrama product placements?

NOW I know where I saw Ok Taec Yeon before!
The (supposedly) gay-themed drama, "Soul Mate."

I remember commenters on that page discussing how much OTY's status as a kpop idol had to do with the script downplaying the gay in a GAY story.
I was entirely unaware of him before SM, but was annoyed at the casting.
It's so freaking weird how Korean studios keep casting actors/idols in gay dramas who aren't willing to actually, you know, PLAY gay.
So what happens is the romance gets whittled down to nothing in a story about a gay romance.
Suddenly, we get commenters explaining how it IS SO a gay romance, even though there is no romance whatsoever, unless you cross your eyes, fingers, and toes while watching and choose to interpret every perfectly average eye contact as being deeply meaningful and a sign of forever love.
And god forbid there would be any hugging or (gasp!) kissing, cause totally butch Kpop idols are no NOT gay. (lol)

Long story short, don't watch "Soul Mate."
It sucks.
But, something about OTY stuck with me and I'm glad to have seen him here.
He shows promise as an actor.
But please, OTY, stay away from gay until you're ready to play gay, okay?

I always wonder how people who fast-forward through shows know they're not missing "anything worth remembering."

You didn't watch.
You don't know.

Agree.
That was just stupid.
So stupid that it was not funny.

Put all your spoilers behind a spoiler button!

Exaggerate much?

Gold Teeth is a highlight!
I hate him but I love watching him do his Gold Teeth thing.
Great acting.

Lord, isn't that child beautiful?
I gasped a little when I first saw her.

Thanks for that!
I didn't catch the puppet/strings allusion at all. :P

OK :)

Those were effective scenes.
He is a good actor, but I'm still trying to figure out where I've seen him before, as I recognized that face immediately, just not from where.
I don't know him as a rapper at all.

Almost all of the acting, across the board, is excellent.