Gabriela

"A Superior Day" is a psychological thriller about Ho Cheol, a firefighter who witnesses a murder. His wife is a police officer, who advises him not to tell anyone about what he saw, for fear of what the killer might do. The problem is that their daughter Soo Ah is kidnapped and Ho Cheol only has 24 hours to discover the identity of the killer, to save his daughter.

There is a big problem in the development of the story. First of all, Tae Jin is a weird character. He is a hitman, who kidnaps Soo Ah so that Ho Cheol can find the so-called "Rich Girl Killer", because this serial killer tarnished his record by killing one of his victims. Is that the ridiculous purpose of this guy?! So the story here is basically two psychopaths who are fighting because they wanted to kill the same person, the big problem is that Shi Woo killed her first and that's what caused all this.

The way they kept throwing Soo Ah, Ho Cheol's daughter, from Tae Jin to Shi Woo and poor Ho Cheol who was looking for her like a fool, didn't make much sense and also what was that "painting" Shi Woo was trying to do with the people he killed? And the worst part was that we had to listen to him calling himself superior, perfect. He even cut off his own hand to complete that ridiculous thing.

Honestly, it would work better as a movie. Yes, the drama only has 8 episodes, but it's like they keep repeating the same thing, over and over again, it gets tiring after a while.
Lee Won Geun didn't work as a psychopathic serial killer, he just seemed crazy to me the whole time, that's all. HAHA'

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"The Secret House" is a drama about Ji Hwan, a young man who loves to help others, and Tae Hyung, a rich and spoiled young man who always tries to harm him because he is jealous. Between them there is Ju Hong, who is in love with Ji Hwan, but who Tae Hyung is in love with, and Tae Hee, Tae Hyung's sister who is secretly in love with Ji Hwan. Complicated, isn't it? It can get worse.

Ji Hwan's life is turned upside down when his mother disappears and his sister Min Young becomes pregnant with Tae Hyung. Min Young abandons the baby and Ji Hwan decides to raise the child as his own. Years pass and Min Young returns, but only as Sol's aunt. She discovers that Tae Hyung is involved in her mother's disappearance and when she goes to question him about it, Tae Hyung kills her to hide the truth.

Sol, Ji Hwan's daughter, becomes ill and Tae Hee uses this opportunity to get what she always wanted. Tae Hee makes an evil scheme, tricking Ji Hwan into saying she will save Sol, just so he will marry her. To save Sol's life, Ji Hwan accepts this proposal and also because he wants revenge against Tae Hyung and his mother. From then on, the story, which was already bad, only gets worse.

Tae Hee kills Ju Hong's father because he witnessed the accident in which Tae Hyung ran over Ji Hwan's mother. Since he was going to tell the truth, Tae Hee killed him. Ju Hong then goes through the same madness as Ji Hwan and agrees to marry Tae Hyung, to get revenge against Tae Hee. It's a bit pathetic that they both make the same plan. Where's the creativity?

Ji Hwan and Tae Hyung discover that they are half-brothers, but later in the story, the truth turns out to be different. Ji Hwan's mother shows up alive, even though Tae Hyung tried to kill her twice. And also Min Young's twin sister who appears out of nowhere. This means that five characters in the drama discover birth secrets: Ji Hwan, Min Young, Sol, Tae Hyung and Tae Hee. I think that's why the drama is called that, everyone in that house has secrets.

This drama wasn't even a disappointment, because from the beginning you could tell it was going to be bad, I only kept watching because I had started. The story seems to just repeat itself, the same subjects being developed over and over again, and there's nothing interesting. Not even the characters captivate your attention, none of them. A total waste of time.

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"Cinderella Game" is a revenge drama about Goo Ha Na, who was adopted as a child by an incredible family, but by a twist of fate her parents end up dying in a car accident while they were going to her piano performance. Ha Na becomes an adult, but she keeps the guilt inside her all this time. She grows up to be a very good person, she even raises the son of her friend from the orphanage who died. This friend is the great catalyst of the story.

Yu Jin is the daughter of Shin Yeo Jin, one day she disappears while playing with her cousin Se Young. The girl loses her memories and ends up in an orphanage where she meets Ha Na. The two become friends. Yu Jin's mother tries to find her for several years, but without success. When she finally finds her daughter's whereabouts, it is to discover that she is dead, but has a son named Eun Chong. Yeo Jin then creates a plan to get her grandson, who is being raised by Ha Na... turn her into her daughter Yu Jin.

This whole plot was kind of stupid in my opinion, because it wouldn't be possible to hide the truth for long and honestly, Ha Na believing it in the first place was really absurd. There were several conflicting facts and she simply decided to ignore it. I think if the story portrayed Ha Na actually finding her biological parents, if Yeo Jin was really her mother, it would have been a much better development.

Besides, what was the point of all the wrong things Yeo Jin did? Ha Na and her family forgave everything in the end and they formed a big happy family. And what about the whole story about their parents' death? She wasn't involved in the accident, but she robbed their factory and when Ji Seok came to her for help, Yeo Jin ignored him. She deceived Ha Na, saying she was her mother, then tried to steal Eun Chong in every possible way, even messing with Ha Na's siblings in the process and seriously, Ha Na agreed to be adopted by her? Where does that make any sense?

Se Young doesn't have the energy of a villain, she's actually a pretty pathetic character and Park Riwon's acting is very weak.

The romance is terrible, for lack of another word. Ha Na and Jin Goo have no chemistry at all on screen, in fact I was rooting much more for her and Ji Seok to become a couple... Just to have a comparison, I preferred her with her brother, at least it would be more interesting and also since the two are not biological siblings, it wouldn't be anything too shocking.

There's no revenge whatsoever in this drama, if that's what you're expecting, choose something else to watch. Ha Na is a disappointing character, when she returns after finding out the truth about her parents' death, I thought we'd see someone else, but she fools you for a few episodes and then comes back with that submissive personality. It's a waste of time and since it has 101 episodes, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

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"Brocade Odyssey" is a drama about Ji Ying Ying, a young woman who is independent and doesn't care much about other people's opinions. She works with embroidery and dyeing clothes, following her father's tradition and trying to clear his name of the crime he didn't commit and that caused his death. One day she meets Jing Lan, an officer who instantly takes an interest in her and helps Ying Ying in all the difficulties that come her way.

Ying Ying has someone she has liked since she was a child and that person is Xiu Yang, the two are promised to get married, but fate interferes and Xiu Yang ends up marrying someone else to protect Ying Ying... the problem is that after that he becomes a completely different person, there was no way to continue rooting for him after that, but at least in the end he found redemption for everything he had done, helping Ying Ying and the others come back home after being kidnapped by Prince Bai.

The relationship between Ying Ying and Jing Lan is cute and captivating. It takes a while for them to become a couple, but the way it happens is quite remarkable, with Jing Lan stealing Ying Ying and marrying her instead of his brother. After that, the two have some good scenes, their romance is cute, but not impressive.

What ends up being most captivating about the drama is not the romance, but rather Ji Ying Ying's journey in the brocade market, breaking new ground and becoming an example, a woman who owns a business. The big problem is that the story drags on after episode 30. I think if the drama had fewer episodes, it would have been better, because it ended up getting tiring after that.

The soundtrack is very good, specially "Red" by Mao Buy.

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"The Queen Who Crowns" is a version of Lee Bang Won's story in which Won Kyung is the protagonist, showing how she was essential in making him king.

Lady Min, later Queen Won Kyung is a strong, independent and inspiring woman, she could have been anything she wanted in this life, but her biggest problem was falling in love with Lee Bang Won and being used by him, since that's what happened after all. Without the power of her family and all of Won Kyung's support and strategies, Bang Won would never have succeeded, she was the one who basically gave him the throne and when they finally are in power, Bang Won realizes how inferior he is compared to her and begins to do everything he can to destroy Won Kyung's family and take away the power they had.

Since the drama is inspired by a true story, I think that in this version they could have changed what happens, followed a bolder development and there were some moments I even thought they would do that, with Won Kyung deciding to take power and remove her husband from the throne like in "Queen Woo" or even something similar to "Ruyi's Royal Love In The Palace", where she decided to leave and no longer endure all this humiliation and torture. How much can someone endure? Just because she wanted to help her husband become king, Won Kyung basically lost her entire family... This was all because she failed to understand Bang Won's intentions from the beginning, he would never share power with her. Everything he managed to achieve was with her help, so I would have liked to have seen how he reigned alone, without anyone by his side, which was exactly what he wanted so much.

Lee Hyun Wook's acting is very good, mainly because he managed to show us a side of Lee Bang Won that I hadn't seen before: being a coward, someone who is afraid of his own wife and what she can achieve without him. Everything Bang Won did was out of fear, instead of trusting his wife, he preferred to destroy her. Instead of ruling with her, Bang Won turns her into a subordinate.
But I have to say that the last scene is breathtaking, it's hard to find words to describe it. Won Kyung's expression as she watches her son dance for her, completely at peace, and Bang Won's sad look in the palace, as if he had understood that she would not return. The drama had its mistakes, yes, but with this scene alone, it managed to win me over again at the last second, simply spectacular.

This is a crueler version of the story and perhaps more realistic than the others, but I still like "The King of Tears, Lee Bang Won" better.

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"Blow Breeze" is a drama about the relationship between Mi Poong and Jang Go, a North Korean woman and a South Korean man. They met when they were children and Mi Poong's name was Seung Hee at the time. Her family was financially well off, but the situation changed and they ended up returning to North Korea.

Years passed, Seung Hee had to flee with her family, seeking asylum in South Korea, taking the name Mi Poong and starting a new life. Mi Poong and her family go through many difficulties trying to survive in a place they don't know, with people who treat them badly because they are from the North. She ends up meeting Jang Go again, who has become a lawyer and helps Mi Poong and her family.

The two fall in love and it was more than clear that their life would not be easy with Jang Go's mother always in the way. Mi Poong and Jang Go get married, but it doesn't last long. No one could handle going through all that, the constant humiliation, as if she were superior to them. It was obvious that it would culminate in their divorce, even though Jang Go begged Mi Poong not to leave him. I felt sorry for him at that moment, because Jang Go wasn't to blame for what his mother did, but Mi Poong didn't have to keep quiet either.

Shin Ae is the villain of the story, but at the same time I couldn't hate her completely. She stole, deceived Mi Poong's grandfather and stole her place, but if we look at it from Shin Ae's perspective, she did all of that to survive. After all, she ended up paying for her crimes.

The drama has 53 episodes, but the story is never drawn out or tiring. The romance is light and cute and watching Mi Poong's journey made for a great story. If I had to point out something, it would be that I wish Mi Poong had asserted herself more with Jang Go's mother. I didn't like how she put up with all that, like a victim. I would have liked to have seen her learning to defend herself and not depend solely on Jang Go.

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"Adamas" is a mystery drama about a murder that was covered up by money and power.

Twin brothers Soo Hyun and Woo Shin lost their father when they were children and it left an irreversible mark on them. Woo Shin became a writer and Soo Hyun a prosecutor. One day, Woo Shin receives an invitation to be the ghostwriter for the owner of the Haesong conglomerate. Woo Shin then enters this strange house, but he has a hidden plan when he makes this choice. He wants to find his father's real killer and he knows that Adamas, the symbol of the Haesong group, was the murder weapon. He enters the house with the purpose of discovering the truth.

The entire family is corrupt, even the employees in the house do not care about committing crimes, using the excuse that they are just doing their jobs. Woo Shin discovers that the head of security is an undercover agent who is looking for evidence that can reveal Kwon Jae Kyu's crimes, so the two begin to work together. Outside the house, Soo Hyun joins journalist Seo Hee, looking for clues that could reveal the truth, since Seo Hee was a witness to their father's murder.

After all, everything about Woo Shin's arrival at the house was a plan made by Kwon Jae Kyu, to use him and find the whereabouts of the real Adamas, since the object he had was a fake and the real one was in the possession of Lee Chang Woo, Woo Shin and Soo Hyun's biological father. I have to say that Lee Chang Woo wasn't even close to being a good father, how did he hide the Adamas inside the toy he gave to Soo Hyun? It's okay that he never told the truth, but leaving that object with his children wasn't a gift, it was giving them a target.

The development of the drama is good, the story holds your attention and you end up creating an interest in seeing the truth being revealed, in finding out who killed Min Joo, if the maid's son was really killed to get the heart for the chairman, who killed Soo Hyun and Woo Shin's father... and we receive answers to basically all these questions and even a well-deserved revenge on the part of the maid, who killed the chairman to avenge the death of her son, I just think that the issue of the death of the twins' father ended up taking a back seat, they should have given it a focus, but overall it's a good drama.

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"Make A Woman Cry" is a drama that follows the life of Deok In, a woman with a strong will who can't let injustice go by. As a former police officer, it's in her blood. She defends the weak, especially teenagers who are bullied. Deok In does this because her son was bullied and ended up committing suicide because of it, so this is her way of dealing with the loss, helping others who are going through the same thing.

One day she meets Jin Woo, a teacher who has a good heart and always helps others, much like her. The two end up creating a bond, but Deok In discovers that Jin Woo is the brother of the woman who is dating her husband. This creates an obstacle between them, but Jin Woo was willing to do anything to win Deok In's heart, since she deserved much more than that cheating husband.

But that wasn't the only problem the couple had to face, as something much worse was yet to come, the big shocking twist of the story: Yoon Seo, Jin Woo's son, was the person who bullied Deok In's son and made him kill himself.

The moment Deok In discovers the truth, how completely devastated and heartbroken she was, this scene is very impactful. Her telling Jin Woo how he had the audacity to want to marry her, knowing that his son killed hers, was a mixture of anger and pain. Then we see Jin Woo begging for forgiveness together with Yoon Seo, it was something necessary, to try to lessen Deok In's pain.

I found it incredible how Deok In had the kindness in her heart to forgive Yoon Seo for what he did and still help him in every possible way to start his life over.

This drama really surprised me, it captivates you instantly, mainly because of Kim Jung Eun.
Deok In is an incredible character, a strong, independent woman who still helps teenagers follow the right path. The biggest problem is that from episode 30 onward, the story starts to get drawn out and repetitive, the quality of the drama has deteriorated a lot, they should have shortened everything and ended it with fewer episodes, but at least the ending was great, they closed all the loose ends and Yoon Seo finally became a better person... I just wish I had heard him call her mother, I think it would be a beautiful way to end their story, how their relationship changed from the beginning.

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"Bravo, My Life" is a family drama about Dong Hee, a young woman whose life is completely transformed when her brother dies in a car accident and on the same day her grandmother also dies, leaving her alone in the world to raise her nephew.

Dong Hee is a fantastic character, not just anyone would become a mother like she did. It's true that Him Chan is her nephew, but Dong Hee endured all the obstacles, prejudice and difficulties of raising him as a single mother, she never told the truth to anyone and that is an incredible attitude. The scene where Him Chan finds out the truth, Dong Hee's expression was impressive, the pain she was feeling seeing her son heartbroken and she even lied that Seung Joo didn't abandon him, just so that Him Chan wouldn't be hurt again. Now that's a real mother.

The romance between Dong Hee and Cha Yeol is so cute, the two are a great match and the connection that Cha Yeol had with Him Chan made everything even more beautiful, since they instantly became a family. They went through a lot of problems, especially when Dong Hee found out that Cha Yeol was involved in her brother's accident. I really thought that maybe she would never forgive him, since even though he wanted to help, Cha Yeol left her brother to die. After all, she realized that Cha Yeol and Sung Wook regretted what happened and lived with the guilt of what they did.

Seung Joo didn't seem bad at first, just a woman who made the wrong decision to abandon her son for her career, but over time we realize her true colors, she's a real bitch. She used Him Chan as a reason to almost get Dong Hee fired, just because she wanted to keep her away from Cha Yeol. Then she decided that she wanted Him Chan back just because she's sterile and she won't be able to have any more children.

A simply adorable drama, a delight to watch. It reminded me a lot of "Person Who Gives Happiness" and "Jang Bo Ri Is Here".

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"Bloody Heart" is a sageuk drama about the relationship between Prince Lee Tae and Yoo Jung. The two met as children, but Yoo Jung's family is framed, so she has to run away and live in hiding, but years pass and the two still keep in touch.

Lee Tae becomes a cold and calculating man, who does everything to gain power, since even though he is the king, the one who controls the palace is Kye Won. Kye Won then threatens Yoo Jung with the people she loves, forcing her to take on a new identity and enter the palace as Lee Tae's concubine, with the purpose of becoming the queen.

Yoo Jung is the big reason why the drama captivates attention, she is not a woman like the others, even though she is in love with Lee Tae, she does not let herself be used by him, much less by Kye Won. When she discovers Lee Tae's true identity, she decides to stay in the palace to gain power for herself, to protect those she loves with her own hands, not using the power of others, but later she still decides to sacrifice herself, using her true identity to incriminate Kye Won, but Lee Tae decides to choose to save Yoo Jung, I think this was the only time he made a non-selfish choice.

When Yoo Jung discovers that it was Lee Tae who poisoned himself, that it was all meticulously planned by him, that he made Ga Yeon become regent on purpose, all to get her out of the way, not caring about the deaths that could occur because of his decision, like poor Ttonggeum... Yoo Jung decides that she needed to be more than just an accessory for Lee Tae, she had to stand between him and the full power of a king, to be the person to stand by his side and against him at the same time. "You're my lover, my queen and my political rival"

It's been a while since I watched a drama of this style that was this good, this drama surprised me a lot, it's full of twists and turns and conspiracies, it's not just a simple love story. Of course, the romance between Lee Tae and Yoo Jung is a very important part of the drama, but is not everything. There's also the relationship between Kye Won and Ga Yeon, which is interesting and really catches your attention, there were times when they even stole the show from the main couple.
Another positive point is the women, we have an incredible female representation here, with strong, independent, intelligent, simply badass women.

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"Gold Mask" follows Soo Yeon's revenge story. She was always mistreated by her husband's family, who found new ways to humiliate her every day, but she endured it in silence, until she was framed for adultery and her husband, instead of defending her, believed this lie that his mother created. His mother wanted to make him marry Yu Ra, someone who is more at his level.

Soo Yeon's father ends up finding out the truth and Yu Ra kills him to cover it up. Soo Yeon decides to seek revenge, to reveal the crimes and punish those who killed her father. She asks Mi Sook, Dong Ha's mother, for help and starts working as his secretary, with the purpose of slowly destroying this family that hurt her.

The premise of the story is nice, but the development was terrible, they really did a bad job on this drama. The main character doesn't captivate the audience, we can't connect with her, much less with her "revenge". I think the biggest problem was the actress, Cha Ye Ryeon. The romance between Dong Ah and Soo Yeon doesn't exist, there's no chemistry between them, so it's hard to get caught up in the story.

Some characters made the drama not a total disaster and they are: Mi Sook, Dae Chul and Jin Ah. The last one is completely crazy, but that's what made her interesting. Her obsession with Dong Ha got worse and worse, until it got to a point where she could no longer distinguish her illusions from reality. She faked being paralyzed, pregnant and what the hell was that scene with her putting flowers on sleeping Dong Ha like he's a princess? Jin Ah reminded me a lot of Hye Bin from "Red Shoes". Watching her was basically my only joy.

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"Hunted" is a thriller about a village, the people who live there, and the secrets they hide.

Young Soo often goes hunting wild boar with his friends. One day, he shoots something he thinks is a wild boar, but discovers that it is actually a person. Young Soo gets scared and runs away immediately, leaving whoever it is in the forest to die. When he returns home, he discovers that his son In Sung is missing, as is Hyun Min, another boy from the village. Young Soo fears the worst, that he may have shot his own son.

The truth is that Young Soo's friends went to the forest that day and discovered Hyun Min dead, but decided to hide the body and blackmail Young Soo for money, since he had just won the lottery. But the story doesn't end there. Hyun Min was not a good boy, he bullied In Sung and the two were together in the forest, until Young Soo accidentally shot Hyun Min, In Sung took the opportunity and killed Hyun Min by suffocating him, because he could no longer bear the torture that the boy was doing to him. In Sung was in a state of shock and that's why he didn't return home.

It's an impressive story, from beginning to end. When you start watching, you can't imagine everything that will happen, much less how it will end!
I thought the ending was deserved, since the four of them are most to blame for everything, but my biggest curiosity was: did the people from the village really kill that lady's son and daughter-in-law or was it just an accident and she ended up making up all this madness?! I wish they had answered that at the end.

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"D-Day" is a drama about people trying to survive an earthquake. We see clearly how people react differently in situations like this, how some become heroes and others run away to save themselves.

It's sad to see all these people hurt and dying, but aesthetically, the scenery and photography are simply incredible, it's also clear that no one is really prepared for something like this. The hospital was left without doctors, medicine, blood, materials, basically everything. Most of the doctors ran away from their responsibilities, but thankfully there were doctors who cared about others, people like Hae Sung and Ddol Mi, who didn't give up until the end.

Hae Sung is a person who doesn't follow rules and is exactly the kind of person you need in a crisis situation, someone who makes quick decisions and knows how to deal with any difficulty that comes his way. He literally performed surgeries wherever he could, but at the same time, this need to save others pushed him to the limit, especially when he couldn't do it. Hae Sung ended up with PTSD when a hospital was destroyed and two people ended up dying. It's not like he could have saved them, but Hae Sung carries that guilt with him, and he only starts to overcome it with the help of Ddol Mi, who is a great companion to him throughout the drama.

Ddol Mi is an incredible character, extremely funny, brave and full of energy. The relationship between her and Hae Sung is great, you want to see them as a couple, but there really wasn't much room in the drama for that, because there was a clear focus in the disaster, in helping people, so all we got was the two of them working together and flirting... but that was enough for me. Their romance is light and fun, it was what made the drama complete.

Everything that happened became a kind of redemption for Woo Jin. He started his career with the purpose of saving lives, since he was the doctor who saved Ddol Mi as a teenager and made her want to be a doctor, but as the years went by, Woo Jin became skeptical and only cared about results and money, he lost his sense of responsibility as a doctor.

One of the most tense moments for me was when Ddol Mi's father is injured and needs surgery, but Hae Sung chooses to save someone else. The problem is that her father's doctor turns out to be Myung Hyun, who causes a disaster and almost ends up killing Ddol Mi's father. Hae Sung's decision hurt Ddol Mi's feelings a lot, she felt betrayed after everything she did to help him... I understand that only Hae Sung could save the other patient, but I also think that Ddol Mi's father should have been his priority. But after that, Hae Sung suffers a great tragedy with the loss of his brother and Ddol Mi ends up understanding Hae Sung's attitude.

The 20 episodes are incredible, from beginning to end. Watching this drama was an unforgettable experience, it really makes you think about how you would act in this kind of situation.

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"Doctor Lawyer", as the name suggests, is a drama about Yi Han, a doctor who ends up becoming a lawyer with the purpose of punishing doctors who commit medical malpractice.

Yi Han had basically a perfect life with his girlfriend Seok Young, but everything changes when her brother dies and Yi Han is framed for it. In fact, it's all part of a scheme by the hospital, who stole Seok Young's brother's heart to put in a rich patient.

You can tell from the moment Jayden shows up that he's the person who won Seok Young's brother's heart, so it's not a mystery to be discovered. What we really discover are all the crimes that the hospital director committed and that until the end, he didn't think he did anything wrong. It's also easy to find out about Jayden's revenge, his actions suggested that he was looking for something more than money and after all, he was just another victim.

It's a good drama that focuses on crimes committed by doctors, an interesting theme that hasn't been explored much. The acting is great, as is the development of the story, but the biggest problem is that nothing surprises, everything that happens is predictable.

Shin Sung Rok is simply sensational, he totally outshines the rest of the cast <3

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"A Familiar Stranger" is a face swapping drama. Shen Qin had an arranged marriage with Han Sheng, but since she had no interest in marrying him, she set a trap for Shi Qi, a young artist who is invited by Shen Qin to paint a picture in exchange for information about her sister. What Shi Qi did not expect was that Shen Qin would perform a magic trick to swap their faces and thus escape the unwanted marriage.

It's a light and easy to watch drama. It was the first time I watched such a short cdrama, with 12-minute episodes. The story develops more quickly, especially the romance, and that was great, because we basically see them as a couple throughout the drama, but the rest of the story was left aside because of that.

The focus was really on Shi Qi and Han Sheng, on their relationship and on Han Sheng discovering the truth about his real wife, but everything about Shen Qin and Zi Heng was left in the background, as well as the whole situation of the prince's death. I think they could have added a few more episodes and that would have resolved everything.

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