inmyrare

been craving for a romance with a little bit of darkness and this gave me that

for the name and synopsis the show didn't have much to do with the trunk. the poster conveys the essence of the show more than the title.
the first half was very good, the narration changes from the two past situations to the present mystery kept me on the edge of the seat. from the second half onwards the mystery lost its appeal cause we knew what it was.
i liked the character, our cold fl and traumatized co-dependent ml and a insane and evil side characters. their romance might be a pure one, maybe not even love, just affection coming out of a deep place of trauma and loneliness but it was still a good watch.

the cinematography made the show and the way the house was used was great.

Read More

same old thing

another rich guy and co-worker drama.
the only thing that makes this drama from others of this same genre is their backstory which was unnecessary and stupid.
I'm sorry but being that traumatized over a first love, that too an online one is too stupid.
everything else in the drama is the same old cliche: some abusive family member who gets forgiven, fl facing misogyny over dating him......same old stuff
they should have given more styling to the actor playing the ml, something to make him not look like a highschool student. they did good with showing the fl growing up,they could have tried something like that for the ml too
the leads are supposed to have a age gap but it doesn't add anything to the power dynamic or their relationship

Read More

cringy romance with an interesting time travelling plot

i was initially interested in this drama because i followed the leads and those actors were ones who usually didn't get main roles but when i saw that it was an idol-fan romance i instantly got the ick and abandoned it. the rumors of it being based on real life situation also didn't help much. now this is one of the most talked drama of 2024 so i made it a point to watch it and see what the hype is about. it certainly won't be bad if that many people like it right? i was wrong.
i would say the main reason why this drama was so successful is because it had pretty main leads who were down bad for each other. no proper/solid plot.

i was very creeped out by the fan-idol thing in many of the first episodes. the reason for her becoming a fan was genuine but her behavior was borderline obsessive. there were many times where she did things for him because she is a fan in 2023, which kind of creeped me out. also the fact that she was a 30 something year old in a highschooler's body chasing another highschooler was creepy to me.

my biggest complaint is how one dimensional both the main leads are especially sol. whatever we know about them revolves on the fact that they like each other. sun-jae likes sol but why? he likes her so much he is willing to die for her, what made him like her so much? i understand crushes but doing all this? in the first timeline it makes sense cause the accident is kind of his fault but after that? what is about her that he likes/loves so much? his whole personality was being in love with sol. at least taesung had a reason to like her. she was oddly mature with him and he liked that.
sol was so childish for majority of the show. it wasn't until the end she acted like an adult. during her first few time travels there was no difference between 30 year old her and high school her. she absolutely did not think before she acted.
so much of the comedy depended on sol making dumb decisions, it cringed me out. they could have shown sol and sun-jae better by avoiding all those cringy scenes between the brother and the best friend. sol got her ability to walk after 15 years yet it was barely acknowledged. she never seemed to spend time with her family nor her friends. same with sun-jae. u would think someone whose grandma lost her memory due to old age would be more emotional at getting her back. also how did sun-jae and sol end up in their respective careers. we don't see sol being so in love with movies nor sun-jae with acting. they could have given the characters more depth.

the time travelling plot was the most interesting part. the change in timelines and the effects they had were interesting. they were honestly what kept me through the series. even though the rules of time travelling and everything was weak it was nice. them being connected in every scenario was a nice touch.

the director/team could have just made a highschool romance with
Byeon Woo Seok and Hye Yoon and it still would have been a hit. they were the best parts of the show and did their roles well. them being casted might be one of the sole reasons the show is successful.
i would have preferred to have the idol fan thing out and make them like neighbors or something and not have the female be obsessive with the male lead, especially in the fan idol sense.

Read More

lacks the charm

they lost the charm that the other versions had.
the interactions between the ml and fl were so limited, they barely had time to connect and fall in love. they made the ml more 'heroic' and less quirky and the fl a side character instead of the headstrong girl. fl had clear dreams and aspirations in other movies while here they are just reducing her to a love interest.
the lack of connection between the leads helps with the ending, in the other versions it feels painful but here it makes sense.
its very telling abt korean culture with the changes they made. in the other versions the fl's friend is pretty but here they tried to make her as unflattering as possible. also the chubby friend was the one who goes behind the fl and actually dates her but here it the handsome rich guy

good debut by dahyun even though she does not have much to work with

Read More

a filler season to setup for season 3

would have worked better if none of the past characters were there. an entire new ensemble with new games would have been as exciting as the first season. this season felt like a filler/part one of two. they are probably leading up to the third season but this was boring for the most part. we spent so much time on the past characters, almost two whole episodes and good majority of other episodes on them we barely explored much of the new players. there were interesting new players but u could see the team trying to recreate some past characters. it was fun seeing t.o.p back on the screen.

Read More

a slice of life show with no drama and good food

this one had the feel (and plot points) to be a 10 season sitcom. there is no big plot or conflicts, just a group of lawyers coming together to eat. it was a true slice of life drama with a very calm and almost realistic lifestyle. none of the cases were dramatic. even the most emotional or sensitive things were dealt in a logical way which makes sense for lawyers. i would honestly have loved for this to be multiple season sitcom with each episode being like a day with all of them dealing different cases and de-briefing during lunch and dinner. many other plots could have hit differently if this was released in that way, all of them leaving at the end, their realizations to what their dreams are, the romance building up, the resentment and uncomfortable-ness in the familiarity. the romance was very weak here as it was only lightly touched. again, the romance would have paid off more if there were a few seasons of them working together and then finally getting together.
i love that each one has their own dreams and passions in the same field and how they are supportive of each other. them being such perfect friends might the most unrealistic part imo.
the food in this was amazing to look at!!!!! i was so hungry after the first few episodes that i started to watch this only while i eat.
i would say this might not be a great series to binge but it sure was a comfort watch for some weeks

Read More

An new try on the highschool dramas

a very interesting take on the school bullying/stress genre in kdramas.
the (maybe) romance between jae-yi and seulgi added an extra layer of depth to the series. the question of whether jae-yi is being psycho for her own needs or for her love for seulgi kept the episodes interesting for the most part. when it became obvious that she was doing this for seulgi the story kind of loses its spark (maybe that could have been the big reveal of the last episode?). seulgi matching jae-yi's intensity was also great.
i liked the 30 min episode format, straight to the point with no unnecessary ads but they could have added more episodes to tie up some plot points (like the fact that the whole school being addicted to drugs)
so overall the show started great and kept the momentum the last few episodes don't necessarily match the greatness of the first episodes. i just generally feel a bit unsatisfied with the plot, i have a lot more questions and it seems like there will be a season 2 so......
heyri and subin's chemistry was off the charts, the rich psycho heiress and her princess were a joy to watch

Read More

might have been good in 2017

a beloved drama which took me a long time to finish watching (at least a year)
this drama has three different tones: romance/cute, comedy, thriller/mystery. they shift between these without any proper transition so each episode gives u a whiplash with the drastic change in setting.
the comedy was so bad for me. it's made in 2017 and has aged badly. whatever they were trying to do with that employee in the office was not it. all of the scenes other than the romance and serial killer part were soooo unnecessary. i was so fed up with the gang plot and the highschooler plots. by the end i was skipping their scenes (which was half of the episode). halfway through the series i lost interest in the serial killer too.
the romance was cute, the one star is for the leads and the other one is for their romance.
i was kind of interested in the beginning but after that it was such a chore to watch this

Read More

its just there

felt really anti-climate/not satisfying. they actually didn't need to split this at all but i digress.
idk if its the way i consumed it but this was a chore to watch. the biggest mistake that happened was making us not care abt the contestants in the end. all the ppl that the audience grew an attachment/knew something were dead before the finale. by the last game we had a bunch of ppl who we don't even remember the names. even though they introduced new games it didn't bring anything much to the show. i can't even sympathize with our main character. i like the concept of how the game was ended/destroyed but it didn't feel satisfying with the amount of deaths. well what can i say, end of a franchise

Read More

the message of this whole show feels like a boomer telling that depression is made up and mental health problems don't exist.
the way they depicted suicide in this was very weird.
the issues yeejae faced were very relevant and true problems faced by many young adults which they could have tackled in a better manner. here they have shoved everything aside and said 'hey u have 2 people who care abt u'. yeejae was suffering so much and is in such a bad mental space, the current situation of the world drove him into death and death comes out all offended over him saying death is his way of escaping pain. a person who is considering suicide is not in the headspace to see through the fog in their mind. and in this show, the main reason they give for him to live is his mom and gf but by death's timeline they also die within a few weeks, so will it be okay for him to die then? yeejae, a person who worked hard all his life faces 12 punishments for his decision but an evil person like taewoo (who btw is responsible for almost all the deaths) gets to live comfortably for so long?
i really liked the plot of living through 12 different people and avoiding deaths and learning about their lives. even the way all 12 of them were connected to each other was amazing.
the drama could have worked better if the mc was someone evil who used death to escape punishment on earth OR if death was purely an evil entity who was just punishing him for entertainment. death was too preachy, always so superior. and her giving him a chance to re-live just destroys all the superior act she pulls in the series. i would have enjoyed her more if she was just pure evil.
im not saying suicide is the answer(it never is) but giving this as a solution to it? nah
the drama had so many familiar faces in it, it was a fun to see people pop-up here and there. all the actors did their characters full justice (even the baby)

Read More

boring for me

this series was not my cup of tea and from looking at the pattern, this director's work might not be for me
pam and rak were adorable but i feel like this show only explores them on a surface level. we get to know a little bit about them and they are immediately thrust into the relationship. the lying and dating her brother part should have been major conflicts but they got solved out fast. then we get a repetitive cycle of pam and rak being all in love, especially the morning wake up calls. we don't get to know them anymore outside their relationship. another one of the directors flaws pop up here, we don't have any idea of how much time has passed unless its explicitly told to us. we don't know how long pam and kawi dated, how long rak and pam were dating before they said their i love yous etc. in the last episode they tell us how much time has passed but nothing abt the characters change, physically or emotionally.
the whole nene thing was another repetitive cycle. we had one round of nene walking around with hate for the whole family for some reason and a master plan, both which we don't know. the next round was her repeating that she is one of his children. her hate/plan was very flawed, like one look and u can tell that man does not care abt his family, so hurting them does not give him any pain. her entire focus was on rak and kawi so all of her scenes were boring. oat was also such a wasted character. her scenes with nene were also the same thing happening multiple times, maybe once she gave some advice but that's it. they didn't even give her much outfit changes, it felt like she was wearing the same thing the whole time.
i wasn't that emotionally connected to any character, so the whole grandma story and the cafe stories were boring too.
i will give my flowers to the director where its deserved cause the cinematography and aesthetics were out of the world. the songs were great too. the design of rak's room??? amazing.
emi and bonnie did a good job with their acting, i have no complaints there.
(bonnie is such a cutie, i want to put her in my pockets)
so overall this was not for me, i can see other people loving it though. hope to see emi and bonnie together in more projects!

Read More

a decent show to let the ship of skynani sail

the only thing i asked from this show was for it to not be trash like some of gmmtv's shows and it delivered. but i would not say this was great or enjoyable by any means.
the show was well made in terms of sets and costumes. overall from a cinematography or aesthetic part this was good. but it was so damn repetitive.
we had a few major plot points but we kept circling around them by having the same conversation. up to ep 6, where we find out the reason for the friendship breakup, we keep on having the same conversation with saint and shin. the exact same set of dialogues were repeated for so long. same with the principal-teacher convo or any other conflict. we would repeat the same conversations which do nothing to move the story.
they could have distributed the storylines a bit more evenly, felt like we only focused on saintshin for the first half and suddenly everyone has a problem towards the end.
it might be the cultural thing but i could not understand the school system nor the two different campus things. people like this would have been suspended in my high school long ago. i could not also take some of the things they do/say cause they are supposed to be 11th graders here.
a lot of the back stories did not match the present for me. saint was so gentle abt shin in the past, the violence to him seems very out of character.
i feel like some of the other side characters could have some more depth as they were shown to blindly follow some leader. saint and the girls were shown to be close in the beginning but that friendship was not shown again.
i also lowkey didn't like how they showed chadjen. he was either a cute/weak character used to strengthen other's friendships.
the earlier episodes reminded me of home school the series so much. doesn't help that its the same director with almost the same cast. view, kay and the twins almost play the same characters in both the series.

nani impressed me so much. this is his best acting after f4. his works after that were very bad but he nailed this role. glad to see his improvement.
saintshin were friends on paper but the way sky and nani portrayed them added a layer of romance to it. almost all the episodes i was screaming at them to kiss. sky too gave a good performance
the rest of the cast were good too. this was bonnie's first series (i think) and she did well. can't wait for her gl next year. and viewjune, what we could have had. happy to see them together one last time.

so overall a decent show, this might be something skynani fans look at fondly after a few years.

Read More

we have seen multiple bullying focused kdramas over they years, many of them having a uniqueness to them. even this year there was pyramid game, which was very different from usual ones and handled bullying with more care. the only thing unique about this drama was its budget.

the revenge, bullying and romance didn't feel like it held weight. all the plot twists except for the murderer reveal were boring. i thought we all assumed they were brothers. it also didn't make sense for kangha to fall in love with jaei so fast (that too for no reason).

we can see that they intend for a 2nd season and where they are going with it but it would have worked better if they didn't tell that kangha was inha's brother. they should have made this season about the core 4 rich kids and their love and friendship. if this season had focused more on romance and then kangha coming in the middle innocently it would have been great. the previous scholarship student should have been just a passing thought.it would have set up for a more interesting 2nd season if the audience didn't know kangha's personal reasons for revenge. i think there might be love triangle in the next season

the romance felt rushed but it had potential to be great. the acting was not bad like all the social media commentary. im glad that these actors are getting main roles after seeing them be side characters. we need more hera and ujin romance pls

Read More

A very good romance drama

now that's a romance kdrama right in up alley.
we had an interesting male & female lead with unique characteristics which actually affect their characters and their lives instead of following the cookie cutter model. her being a shaman and his history with shamans was a good setup. the love triangle was also great, with the writers making it the comedic relief of the story rather than drama. all the characters had back stories ( even the so called villains) which made them complex and made me look at their actions with more nuance.
im not usually interested in the shaman stuff but they brought out the story well by making it a fantasy aspect. i thought i would be confused by it all but the drama did a good job of showing/explaining things without spoon feeding stuff.
this drama had the exact amount of angst and yearning that i crave. the yearning even till the end, chef's kiss.
both the leads were great and had good chemistry, hope they work together more in the future

Read More