hum

A 2 hours' worth of story that got dragged out to 16 episodes.

𓂃 A cheap trick to deceive the viewers right at the beginning. In the opening scene, they make it seem like some kind of horror event is happening, then suddenly cut to mundane everyday life. Around the middle of the episode, they reveal the answer, which turns out to be nothing. It’s just some light, childish play, not any real horror at all. They mislead the viewers just to grab attention. This feels like a cheap trick from those who don’t have the ability to truly hold the audience’s attention.

Apart from that, this drama is super slow and boring

𓂃 I almost dropped it after ep 1, but tried to give it a proper chance. It’s still too boring to watch properly I had to fast-forward and skim ahead from time to time. So, I decided to drop it again after finishing ep 7. But then, I read a review saying it only starts getting better after ep 7, so I gave it another chance.

Ep 8 still the same, though.

The past-life storyline begins in ep 9, but everything is still slow.

Ep 10 still slow. The romance, despite being plain, still manages to feel cheesy at the same time. The ending of ep 10 picks up my attention a bit, but then it goes back to be plain and cheesy and slow in ep 11.

𓂃 At this point, I can conclude that this story is never meant to be a full-fetched 16-ep drama. There’s nothing in the story. What they do is stretching a 2-hour movie into 16–17 hours. This is a scam!

𓂃 At this stage, there're 5 ep left for me, so I decided to see it through to the end. My annoyance level keeps going up, though, with the amount of time they’re stealing from me. And I expect to see the ML kill the FL in the past life now. Anything less intense would just be pathetic.

Ok, in the last 5 episodes, the ML actually does kill the FL in their past life during a prisoner chase even though he had just rescued her from prison. He even volunteers to be the one to kill her, but the reason is so lame. He says he doesn’t want her to be dismembered. What the hell! How weak the reason is! In that scene, a palace guard is already about to kill her with an arrow while the rival shaman tells him not to fear the FL's curse, guaranteeing that he can prevent it.

Each episode is still way too slow. The main plot points are scattered with only a few in each episode. They really stretch this out a lot. I almost don’t want to believe this is a Korean drama, which normally doesn’t drag things out this excessively like Chinese dramas that go on for 36, 40 or even 50 episodes as a norm. This is only 16 episodes, but it honestly doesn’t feel worth more than 2 hours.

𓂃 Apart from that, I don’t see any good acting from the supporting roles. They don’t really serve any purpose in this drama anyway. I don’t feel any presence from any of them. On the contrary, some of them are even outright annoying.

For example, the ML’s dad. What the hell is his lame reasoning? His behavior is basically victim-blaming. He also opposes the leads’ relationship like a literal idiot with no brain. He's irrational in a way that only happens in a soap opera. Yeah… this is exactly what it is—a lame melodrama soap opera series.

𓂃 After ep 1, I gave this a 4.5, but more nonsense kept piling up along the way. It dropped to 4 after ep 7. And this final score reflects my level of annoyance and frustration at the peak after finishing everything. The actual quality is probably around 3, but I’m so upset with the plot and the drag that it ends up at 2.

𓂃 ✦ 𓂃

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What the hell did I just watch!?

This movie reminds me a lot of a Chinese film called “Love Story in London”. Both represent productions that destroy themselves by pouring money into filming abroad, but fail where it matters most which is the story.

With that said, I completely disagree with the above-8 rating of this show on kisskh. It’s completely illogical to me, maybe just reflecting mad fans’ love for the male lead. And it serves as proof for producers that even a stupid work can still be profitable if you hire a lead with a solid fanbase.

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Official Review
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There are basically 3-4 storylines in this movie:

1. The ML’s refugee life
2. The FL’s family problem
3. The FL's problem with mafia gang
4. The romance between the leads

And 3 out of 4 storylines are extremely problematic.

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🍅 The FL’s family problem
The movie tries to tell us that the FL had a deep bond with her mom since she’s extremely furious about the mom's euthanasia. But it never shows her relationship with either parent. Not before the mom’s death and not after.

The dad seems decent, reasonable and caring, but we barely see any real interaction between them. The FL gets involved with mafia gang and drugs, but her dad seems to be completely unaware. He seems to only label her as rebellious because of grief, which feels shallow.

Then at the end, when she suddenly has to flee the country because the mafia is chasing her, the dad isn’t even that surprised or concerned. He just helps her get a plane ticket and lets her go - alone. This is a wealthy, well-connected man with access to top lawyers, yet he makes no real attempt to properly resolve his daughter’s situation.

And the issue is simply that the FL is financially indebted to the mafia. So, why doesn’t her dad just pay it off and solve the problem, at least in one way?

Instead, it’s the ML who decides that she has to leave the country without turning back.

How does such a decisive solution come from a naive, inexperienced refugee applicant who barely knows the country, can’t even speak the language and has only just arrived?

Also, the FL holding onto anger for three years makes no sense. She’s not a child. Her mom made her own decision, yet the FL is enraged at her father and reacts by publicly destroying her mom's memorial ceremony like a kid throwing a tantrum even three years later. If the FL is this childish, how come the father feels at ease to let her go out of the country to an unfamiliar new place alone at the end? This only feels unconvincing.

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🍅 The FL's problem with the mafia

I have no idea why two mafia groups want the FL so badly. The only thing I can infer is that the leader of the first gang might have feelings for her, but there’s no real romantic behavior to support that. The only indication is him killing members of the other gang at the end to keep her with him. But then later, it turns out he’s just following orders from a higher-up to kidnap her to Germany.

So what is it exactly - what’s so valuable about the FL that makes her worth all this?

Honestly, this is just a mess. It’s illogical and full of contradictions. I don’t find any bit of the mafia storyline convincing at all. They’re not intimidating. They don’t act with any real urgency or seriousness, and they let the FL, who owes them money, slip away too easily.

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🍅 The romance between the leads

Their relationship doesn’t convince me at all.

There’s nothing clear about how their feelings develop. Especially for the FL, who is already drowning in her own problems and has teenage shallow hostile attitude toward life, including the ML, most of the time. There's nowhere in the movie showing that the uneducated, poor-look ML is attractive to her. So where does this “deep love” come from?

When they suddenly start having sex, it completely caught me off guard because there was no buildup at all. The ML also seems decent in bed, as if he’s experienced, which doesn’t match his background of having no education while living with his mom his whole life.

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🍅 The ML’s refugee life

I'm already tired of all the disarray in this film, so let me not go too deep into this. Just that the process and details aren’t accurate while the tone of this film is realistic.

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Things in this movie are just too illogical. They try to juggle 3-4 storylines but never really commit to developing any of them properly. It feels like the writing team brainstormed a few random ideas, then didn’t bother to shape them into something coherent or at least filter out the weaker ideas.

In the end, it just comes across as a number of half-baked plots forced together onto one plate

𓂃 ✦ 𓂃

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The Most Annoying Child Actor I've Seen on Screen

From time to time, I almost couldn’t tolerate watching this series anymore because of this pretentious, fake-acting kid. He’s the most annoying child character in any series I've ever seen and he made me dislike a child character like never before. Normally, even when a story is bad, characters played by child actors still manage to be cute and likable. This series is the complete opposite.

The story itself is actually enjoyable, but this child actor is just unbearable. I honestly don’t understand why he was cast at all unless it’s because of nepotism. His acting is highly pretentious and not convincing in the slightest. I first thought he was a spy or something. He's the person who made me start hating the show.

Apart from that child, this is the first drama that I actually feel the actress playing FL has real chemistry with her ML. Usually, I don’t sense any romantic chemistry between her and her co-stars at all.

For the ML, this is the first drama since "My Journey to You" that I feel he has a impactful on-screen presence. Even though his popularity rose after that drama, the roles he’s taken on since then have been less interesting (I'm talking about "Shadow Love" and "How Dare You!?"). This role isn’t particularly special, but it suits him well. He fits the fierce, intense, violent type of character. I enjoy watching him in this kind of moments.

As for the story, there’s nothing new. It’s basically a typical cross-dressing genre drama that follows the genre's typical pattern, but the leads carry it well enough that I still enjoy watching it.

𓂃 ✦ 𓂃

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Heavy story but clever. Solid Acting from MLs. Weak logic on subplots, though.

Love how the plot keeps twisting time and again. Just when I think I’ve figured it out, it flips to another direction. And these twists don’t rely on cheap tricks like hiding information that other characters already know.

However, there's this part that feels off, which is Ji Hwa’s past marriage. It comes out of nowhere near the end and feels unlikely. There’s no real setup between them earlier, so it’s hard to believe they ever had feelings for each other.

Another relationship that doesn’t quite land for me is between Han Joo Won and his father. The story doesn’t build enough foundation for their conflict, so his hostility toward his dad feels confusing at times.

Overall, the story feels heavy, but clever, thoughtful and layered.

Note: The acting of the congresswoman is pretty annoying. She overacts and, as a result, looks fake.

𓂃 ✦ 𓂃

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Weak landing... What a shame...

The opening is interesting. It sets up in a way that keep me curious. And even though the pacing leans toward a slow burn, it doesn't feel boring. There’s a steady momentum that makes me want to keep going episode after episode.

For most of the series, I was fully on board. About 70% in, I’d comfortably rate it around an 8.5. It’s engaging, the dynamics work, and there’s enough emotional tension to keep things alive.

But then… the last stretch pulls the score down...

The series loses direction around ep 11 and especially ep 12.

In the last episode, the story suddenly introduces a new issue right at the end - something that clearly doesn’t have enough time to be developed, explored or resolved properly. At the same time, this “new opening” isn't strong enough to justify a second season. It comes off like a forced attempt to leave an impression, but instead it just drags things down.

Another thing I noticed - the ML’s laughter feels off. It's even more obvious in the last stretch when the story is heading toward a happy ending. His supposedly happy laughter with the FL feels dry and fake.

This is one of those shows that almost made it, but the finish is noticeably weak and leaves an underwhelming aftertaste.

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Nothing to the plot, but cool FL.

There's nothing to the plot; it's very shallow and one-dimensional. The movie focuses on showcasing action scenes with a cool FL. However, all actors and actresses are very capable; everyone fits their role and has done a good job in acting. I had watched a rom-com series featuring the same FL (Wedding Impossible) just before watching this movie. She did a terrible job in the romance/rom-com genre. Her deadpan expression is more suitable for solemn characters like her role in this movie. With only one facial expression, she can't convey complicated emotions, which doesn't suit a romantic series/movie at all.

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Deadpan FL expression. Logic goes downhill from halfway of the story.

Since episode 7, when many revelations surfaced, the logic behind the actions of the three main characters in coping with the situations becomes increasingly absurd. Additionally, I think the series would have been better with 8 or 9 episodes instead of the current 12. At the current pace, there is too much dragging. The dialogues, even those between the main characters, are also dull. However, the show really pulls off some hilarious scenes, especially during the first half. They had me laughing out loud a few time, which isn't something I usually do.

Anyway, a major disappointment lies in the performance of the FL. Honestly, I can't fathom why she was cast for this role. Initially, I appreciated her portrayal of a realistic woman who doesn't conform to femininity but exudes coolness, particularly in her interactions within her friend circle. However, when it comes to scenes with the ML, she falls very short. There's supposed to be a spark, some chemistry, something romantic, but it's totally absent. Zero. None. There's no romantic vibe from the FL at all, while the ML has already done his part. Furthermore, the plot does little to support their supposed deep love for each other in such a short time, to the extent of risking and betraying the feelings of another person they both care about deeply. Their love lacks conviction. Additionally, the FL's portrayal in these romantic contexts fails to evoke any genuine emotion in me. While the marriage between the FL and the ML's brother might be a sham, watching the FL and ML together, I can't help but feel their love is just as fake.

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FL single-handedly carried the show

I dove into a whirlwind of Chinese mini-series last weekend, starting with "My Villain Husband", which had such a disappointing plot. I was really let down. Then there was "A Tale of Love and Loyalty", where the logic was absurd even without considering the plot. It seemed like the writers had no sense of reason. The only thing that kept me watching till the end was the good-looking main leads and their steamy kissing scenes.

Next, I tried "The West Wind Is Strong" and "The Everlasting Love" but found them so disappointing that I couldn't even finish.

Then I stumbled upon "Confess Your Love." Surprisingly, the female lead's acting was quite impressive. Her subtle nuances were smooth and natural. Despite the illogical setup around the villain and the overall acting in this series, I'd say this actress single-handedly carried the show. I managed to stick around till the end because of her charm; she really drew me in.

The plot was okay, but the storytelling was rather illogical. There were so many details that wouldn't make sense to anyone, yet they deliberately steered the story in that direction for convenience's sake. Still, this mini-series was much better than most in its genre. I've watched 8 in total over these couple of days, and 6 of them were a lot worse than this. There's only this one and "The Deliberations of Love" that are passable in my opinion.

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PS.1 - The ML's acting was super stiff. The FL truly carried the whole show.

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PS.2 - The list of my 8 binge-watched shows is as follows:

Passable:
1. The Deliberations of Love
2. Confess Your Love (2023)

So bad:
1. My Villain Husband
2. A Tale of Love and Loyalty
3. My Cat-astrophic Lover
4. My Fake Wife

Dropped:
1. The West Wind Is Strong
2. The Everlasting Love

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Surprisingly disappointing. Good story though the logic is super off. Terrible character design.

Story Plot [+]

It's a very good story - good plot on the ML's life, quite a few of thought-provoking/impressive/inspiring moments, but the character design on the villain side is the worst. It's a story full of clever people who are intentionally unprofessional and prejudiced.

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Logic of the story [-]

I don't understand why so many people in the story try to say that a person who can't feel physical pain due to an illness isn't approved to be a doctor as well as put all the blames on the person. This logic comes out so forcefully. The series tries super hard to make this claim valid, but it still feels super off.

I don't understand either why people like the prosecutor take the idea of euthanasia of consent, terminally ill patients as something to be so vengeful toward the doctor who is willing to help the patients. It's to the point that he wants to destroy the doctor's life and career as well as put him into jail even though the action of the doctor complies with the patient's desire. This topic of euthanasia is surely a socially debatable topic. But the opposing side in this series takes this issue very personally to the point of personal grudge and vengeance. It's so extreme without a proper root or cause that would help the viewers to understand and empathize with, thus their actions feel very off. It's like this series has devalued this social issue by portraying the opinions from the opposing side as illogical to the point of absurd and psychopathic. This topic that is worth being discussed has become some nonsense, personal issue of the irrational villains.

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Character Design [-]

The first one is the prosecutor who is competent but blindsided and has the habit of rushing to a conclusion. I don't understand his competence at all. These traits of his must prevent him from being clearheaded enough to be able to have an objective analysis on his cases. Not to talk about his vengefulness in destroying an ex-verdict without a proper cause. I don't understand his long-term vengeance towards the ML who has no personal issue with him. He often blames the ML that the ML euthanized his patient to make his own mind feel at ease by not having to see the patient being tortured from the terminal illness, but he also says the ML doesn't have the right to treat patients because ML has an illness that makes him not able to feel pain thus he wouldn't understand patients' pain and just does the scientific experiment on human's bodies due to curiosity via medical treatment. Is this kind of contradictory logic supposed to come from a character who is a competent prosecutor?

The second is the hospital-management-team doctor who openly attacks the ML on all sorts of unreasonable issues no matter how nonsense the issue is to start with. It's like he is clouded by a kind of hatred that doesn't have a cause, either. The ML isn't even a threat to his position. I don't understand his stupidity at all. In reality, all the blames he openly puts on the ML would normally harm himself back as a high-level doctor. It would easily cause people to be skeptical about his qualification in his position that needs objectivity and analytical skills. I don't understand at all how he's in the hospital management team with this kind of intelligence.

The third person is the female villain of the story. She's designed to be an extreme emo. She is a stalker who is vengeful towards a murderer who killed her daughter, but later shifts all the hatred and vengefulness to the ML who put the murderer to death. I understand her upset, but this vengefulness is so offset. I don't understand how it is shifted to the ML and even after the ML was imprisoned for 3 years, she still stalks him and is willing to destroy his career and his life after he was released - all of this because he killed the murderer who had killed her daughter?! I don't understand even more when the prosecutor agrees with this person's perspective (though his son was also killed together with the daughter, his character is positioned to be highly rational.) The prosecutor always believes that he is righteous in what he does, but all his actions contradict what he thinks he is. This female villain and the prosecutor make this series super absurd and drag the overall score of the series down immensely.

With this kind of character design, this story becomes too unreasonable, excessively absurd and overly melodramatic.

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Acting [~]

I would say the acting of the ML carries the whole series. I watch this series till the end only because of him and the struggle in his life with his illness and his profession's experience. The FL's acting is off from time to time. I watched her in Red Sleeve before this one and let me say her acting doesn't improve as the years passed. The second ML's character design contradicts itself at the beginning of the story and that contradiction makes me feel off about him for the whole series. The second FL's acting and expression are not good enough to be a second FL. All other supporting roles' actings are just so-so.

By the way, I don't feel any connection in the FL's family at all. They all work at the same hospital, see one another very often, and always have interactions, but these people who are FL's mother, uncle, aunt and sister don't look like they're related at all -- not related to the FL and not to one another. There's zero family relationship among them even when they're in the same scene talking face-to-face to each other.

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Things are wrong from the start. A lot of details are beyond messed up.

(1) Bad taste in costume design despite the story being about fashion designer

The FL is a clothing designer, but every point about FL's costume in this series is absolutely tasteless. They shouldn't create an FL to be a designer if they don't have knowledge about this aspect at all.

In the first scene of the story, the FL observes the quality of a dress that forges a brand name by scrutinizing how cheap the quality and price the dress actually is. By the end of the same ep, she wears a dress to a luxurious party hosted by a renowned designer. Her dress is supposed to be the epitome of her own work, but what she wears is cheap from head to toe. Her hair ribbon is cheap. Her wavy hairstyle doesn't go along with the wavy necklace (which also looks fake and cheap). Her own dress is low quality without any trace of the design that can be praised. Her drop-dangle eaพrings pairing with her (limping) lacy dress and her wavy style make her look tangled and raveled. The costume team of this series just doesn't know what is good taste. It's very contradictory when the renowned designer genuinely admires the FL's style.

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(2) Improper (- some even get to the point of stupid) cause and effect of events scattering all over the place

Causes that affect events in this series irresponsibly come out of the blue - no root. no clue. at all. Like the writer is beyond lazy to place any solid background for the story and just finds the easiest way out to send the FL into the writer's designated events by throwing her into the situations like magic. Example:-

(2.1) The FL's close friend confidently tells the FL without any hesitation she will get the invitation to the high-class party hosted by the renowned designer for FL. This friend works as a 2nd-rated model but doesn't have proper knowledge about fashion design or the fashion circle. She doesn't have rich-family background. She doesn't have knowledge about the host apart from he is simply a renowned designer. She doesn't even know why he is famous (despite being a model - which totally deserves to be just a 2nd-rated). Where the hell is this confidence of hers to find the invitation to the party for her friend within the shortest time by the next day? As the connection of a no-name model can be that strong!?

(2.2) The FL drives a car in the rain and almost hits the 2nd ML who stands beside the pavement. He doesn't stand on her lanes, but he feels guilty as he thinks it's his fault standing there that causes the accident. What ridiculous is, despite being very good-natured the FL is, she accepts that it's kind of his fault. Excuse me?? It's you who are not skilled in driving!? Not to say that she bumps her car into a sidewalk tree. That tree is on the 2nd ML's side of the pavement. It's like when she sees him, she panics and dashes the car in his direction. My gosh, that can kill him considering her driving skills and the 2nd ML is still the one who says sorry while the FL accepting the apology.

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(3) Destructive details due to lack of knowledge and intelligence of the writer and production team

Example:-
- In an afternoon party of the high-class circle, when the FL says she majored in design, the others mention the top colleges in design as Columbia, Standford and UCLA. Hell to the writer and production team, you are unknowledgeable at all.

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(4) With the FL's dialogue, reaction and decision in each crucial event, it shows that she is pretty much stupid

Due to the intelligence level of the writer and production team, it can't help that finally it affects the FL character the most. This is a story told from FL's perspective, so the writer/production team's intelligence reflects her intelligence.

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Shallow Acting, Low-Class Cinematography - A Waste of Dilireba

Unbelievably shallow. Is this really a series led by someone like Dilireba?

There’s something seriously wrong when a drama makes you want to fast-forward even the leads’ scenes. That’s what’s happening here. I can’t sit through all these going-nowhere conversations between the main couple. If even the leads can’t make the viewers stay, that says a lot about how boring the drama is.

I wrote the review below after watching ep.9. I add this intro after watching ep.13 and still stand by everything I wrote below. It’s boring. The atmosphere feels cheap and phony. The camera angles and cinematography reflect the lack of skills. The ML’s run toward the FL in ep.13 also looks fake.

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🍅 Shallow Dialogues

There are too many vague and unnatural lines. Some are so melodramatic they become ridiculous. For example, no one would allow a prisoner of war to casually have a long ping-pong conversation with someone on the city wall, asking whether there’s enough food inside before execution.

There are also too many long speeches that exist purely to explain things. Instead of showing, the drama constantly tells. Characters, including the leads, deliver extended monologues that feel forced, artificial and pretentious. These monologues are the result of the laziness and/or the lack of skills from the writing team.

And it's even more absurd when the FL suddenly starts narrating her thoughts through voice-over in ep.9. A character who is supposed to be mysterious ends up explaining everything directly to the audience.

At this point, it’s hard not to feel that the writing team lacks capability. They don’t know how to craft sharp, meaningful lines or distinguish characters through behavior. They rely on blunt verbal explanation, which is the least convincing way to tell a story.

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🍅 Shallow Acting

The weakest performance goes to the ML.

After seeing him in several series, I think it’s fair to say his acting lacks depth. There’s no real interpretation behind his performance. It feels like he’s simply following instructions, like “smile here,” without understanding why.

His repeated light smiles throughout the first 9 episodes feel eerie rather than meaningful. There’s no emotional layering behind them. I can’t tell what he’s trying to express and it doesn’t feel like he knows either.

When he starts to show his love toward the FL at the end of ep.9, I can't figure out at all how or when this love actually begins.

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🍅 Shallow Atmosphere and Cinematography

The cinematography lacks sense of artistry. This becomes especially obvious when comparing to other dramas airing around the same time, like Generation to Generation and Pursuit of Jade, which have more beautiful, impressive scenes. I can see how these other two dramas had designed their storyboard scene by scene while I don't think Love Beyond the Grave's production team knows what a storyboard is.

The atmosphere and camera angle combined have made Love Beyond the Grave feels outdated, almost like older TV productions that the main goal is to simply push the story forward without creating moods or visual identity. They don't care to build any emotional engagement for the audience at all.

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🍅 Weak Supporting Cast

The supporting characters don’t help. Many of the extras feel exaggerated or flat. The ML’s female subordinate is particularly annoying, while the male subordinate leaves almost no impression at all. There are almost no memorable side characters.

The only one that feels natural is the child who follows the FL.

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🍅 What a Waste of Dilireba

I’ve always liked Dilireba. She’s capable and established enough to choose high-level projects. I don't know why she ends up surrounded by what feels like an inexperienced team across the board: directing, writing, cinematography, CG and even her co-lead. The result on the screen looks cheap.

There’s also a noticeable mismatch between her and the ML. It’s not just the maturity, but also the difference in acting.

And when she has to act with weaker actors, her own acting starts to feel less convincing as well. Instead of elevating the scene, she gets dragged down.

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When Technique Is Used to Hide a Hollow Story

It's long, so I'll just get straight to the point.

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🍅 Directing

It’s unbelievable to see that the director of Rebirth is the same person behind "The Double", "Moonlit Reunion" and "Generation to Generation". I actually like those three dramas, but this one just doesn’t work.

On a second look, I can still see traces of his style, especially from "The Double". But honestly, it feels like he got the wrong material to work with this time and is trying to cover it up with excessive camera work. His camera technique just becomes something convenient for him to reuse, but he doesn’t bother to align his visual approach with the story itself. There’s a lot of panning, zooming in and out, swirling, tilting, extreme close-ups and different camera angles thrown in, but most of them do not serve the story. At this point, it’s not really about technique anymore, it just feels like they have too many cameras on set. The story itself has nothing meaningful to convey, so all those camera choices end up feeling exaggerated rather than impactful.

Like I said, this feels like a cover-up. The director doesn't seem to care much about this project. Compared to "Generation to Generation", which just finished airing, it’s clear he put much more care into that one.

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🍅 Plot

The bigger issue is the plotting. They took many wrong steps with the story. There are unnecessary plot points as well as a few cheating moves, which I hate.

In ep 1, they make it clear that the ML is absolutely dead, but they still go against all logic to bring him back just so the drama’s English title can be Rebirth. This feels like a cheap reason. (I don’t know if that’s actually the reason, but at this point, I don’t see any other solid justification.)

Then there’s the 'memory loss' plot. This amnesia thing, whether real or fake, has become an old trick that’s been overused in dramas. When it’s used, it often just becomes an excuse to make characters act stupid, misunderstand things, and push the story into forced, soap-opera territory, only for everything to reset once the memory comes back - which it always does. This kind of convenient memory loss breaks the tone for me and makes the whole thing feel like child’s play.

(Note: Meanwhile, I’m watching "Veil of Shadows", which also has memory loss plot, but it’s an example of how this plot can be done well. There’s a solid origin for that and it’s a component of the core complex part of the story that needs to be resolved. They take it seriously and deal with it head-on, instead of using it as a meaningless trick or a cheap excuse.)

Then there’s also the 'being blind' plot… another overused plot device. I’ll just stop here before my rant starts to sound as repetitive as the drama itself.

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🍅 Acting of FL & Character Design of 2nd FL

As for the acting, it’s not there yet. The FL is clearly lacking.

In ep. 1, when she holds the ML in his last moments, the weakness in her acting is obvious. Her wide, bulging stare is so empty. She just maneuvers her acting move. It feels off and I can’t feel that the scene or the emotion is real.

Then, when she tries to be serious and solemn while interacting with other characters, it also feels off, like an imposter forcing herself to be something she isn’t. She’s so forced that I can’t feel these are truly her character’s traits. It shows that she’s not fully one with her character.

Outside the story, I came across some discussions comparing this FL with Ai Mi in terms of their study choice and career path, saying something like this FL made a better choice and her career looks promising. When that info passed my eyes, I didn’t pay much attention. But now that I’ve come to know her for the 1st time through this drama, it comes back to mind. I get why people compare them since they’re almost the same age. However, when it comes to acting, she’s nowhere near Ai Mi yet. Her performance feels unnatural. Anyway, since she started young, maybe in 5 years she might grow into a great actress.

Another actress I want to mention is the 2nd FL. I first saw her in "Fated Heart", where her character and storyline were actually quite interesting, but not so much here. She takes the rebellious, frustrated side from her role in "Fated Heart" into this one, but the writing just doesn’t support her this time. The character ends up feeling flat and one-dimensional.

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It’s honestly a shame. I like the ML and I like the director’s previous works. I can see potential in the FL, even though she’s not there yet. I also want to root for the 2nd FL, but the way her character is written makes it hard. And the plot is too conventional and relies on the same old cliches, which makes the excessive camera work in this drama just another cliche as well.

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Mundane old-fashioned melodrama, but compensated by the acting of the ML.

Note: I watched ep. 1, 2 and 8-10 with forward speed, so it's not really the whole series. I'm glad, though, that I didn't spend my time with every episode. I don't feel it's worth the full span of time it requested from the viewers.

1. Story [-]
The plot is super melodrama, which is too much. It's also cliche and out-of-date kind of a plot, which made it unmemorable.

2. Acting [~]
The younger actors, which are the main ML and FL, did a great job in acting, esp. the ML. I still cried in spite of being able to foresee what was coming in the storyline (that's how much the story was cliche, I can guess the whole story all right) because of their acting. The performance of the adult actors, though, are not on par with the younger ones. This is disappointing. I didn't feel along with the adults at all. And the job of the adults here drags the acting/cast score down.

3. Music [~]
Plain. It's a story particularly about a song, but that song as well as other OST and music in the story are just so-so. There are some live singing scenes on the stage and recording booth, and it should be moving if it's this kind of scene in a series that has the theme involving music but those scenes are so plain. The singing skills of those who sing in the scenes are not good enough, either. Anyway thanks to the production team. The director, cinematographer and editor here know how to do their job to obscure and compensate their weak points. Those scenes still come out passable.

4. Production [+]
Most part is artistic, but the technique they used to reveal the past story like college kids gathering around a bonfire to tell a ghost story is too unoriginal and lazy. Still, they have great skills in directing, cinematography and editing. This is another point combined that made the watching journey wasn't unbearable for me (other points are the ML's acting and I watched only half of the whole thing with forward button under my finger at all time.)

P.S. I don't really like the color filter in this series. Too much blue shade in the blue-filtered scenes and too much orange shade in the orange-filtered scenes. It is too intentional.

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