a makjang masterclass…the main creative challenge being ‘go beyond the beyond’. and all the chaos spills out without hesitation! the actors, director and camera crew must have had a ball filming this show.
this is good! atmospheric, with nuanced performances from the entire cast, though i’m mainly watching for the irresistibly charming Guo Jing Fe, who i followed over from ‘Drifting Away’.
i found ‘Drifting Away’ slightly better in terms of storyline and characters, but the psychological tension at play in ‘Watch Your Back’ has me looking forward to new episodes. this story really emphasises the way that the cat and mouse roles played by detectives and criminals can feel like a kind of courtship…
i’m enjoying it- most of the characters have offbeat charm, and their interactions are mildly to moderately funny- but there might be an issue with pacing? the pilot dragged on quite a bit and made me worry the writers are struggling to generate genuine tension/find fun scenarios…
i think this is one i’ll come back to once all 12 episodes are up.
a little way into episode 1 i was thinking that Park Il Do is kind of an unserious name for something wicked: “just sounds like some random guy…”
only two episodes later, i’m calling on the writers of this drama to take responsibility for any consequences that result from typing (or even thinking) that name!
a sign that everyone involved did an excellent job at getting into a viewer’s head.
i’m really enjoying this. the premise is high quality: a security expert and an expert in authenticity live and work together. the execution is good, too- following these characters and the other relationships they come to value creates a lot of space for thoughts and feelings about privacy, safety, boundaries and trust.
i’m surprised that the rating for this drama isn’t higher- maybe it’s because the overall approach is somewhat low-key? anyway, i’d recommend taking a look at this if you’re looking for something refreshing/unusual.
the ending is delightfully representative of everything that went before it. (i.e. it’s more than coherent, and certainly no weirder than any other aspect of this story, which i adored from start to finish.)
Si Teng and Shen Li have made me very happy this year, of course the challenges the two heroines face are quite different, yet i believe these two would understand each other quite deeply when it comes to life priorities.
as for Rattan’s supporting cast: flawless.. i lost my heart to Fu Rui and Ma Fang, and so enjoyed the super humane yet wily in-story character played by the director of this drama.
ps- on a superficial note, at times i was shocked by how beautiful the main couple is! i’ve seen and appreciated both actors in other dramas, but seeing them work together…the chemistry + visuals are just superb.
the ending is delightfully representative of everything that went before it. (i.e. it’s more than coherent, and certainly no weirder than any other aspect of this story, which i adored from start to finish.)
Si Teng and Shen Li have made me very happy this year, of course the challenges the two heroines face are quite different, yet i believe these two would understand each other quite deeply when it comes to life priorities.
as for Rattan’s supporting cast: flawless.. i lost my heart to Fu Rui and Ma Fang, and so enjoyed the super humane yet wily in-story character played by the director of this drama.
ps- on a superficial note, at times i was shocked by how beautiful the main couple is! i’ve seen and appreciated both actors in other dramas, but seeing them work together…the chemistry + visuals are just superb.
i found ‘Drifting Away’ slightly better in terms of storyline and characters, but the psychological tension at play in ‘Watch Your Back’ has me looking forward to new episodes. this story really emphasises the way that the cat and mouse roles played by detectives and criminals can feel like a kind of courtship…
i think this is one i’ll come back to once all 12 episodes are up.
only two episodes later, i’m calling on the writers of this drama to take responsibility for any consequences that result from typing (or even thinking) that name!
a sign that everyone involved did an excellent job at getting into a viewer’s head.
i’m surprised that the rating for this drama isn’t higher- maybe it’s because the overall approach is somewhat low-key? anyway, i’d recommend taking a look at this if you’re looking for something refreshing/unusual.
Si Teng and Shen Li have made me very happy this year, of course the challenges the two heroines face are quite different, yet i believe these two would understand each other quite deeply when it comes to life priorities.
as for Rattan’s supporting cast: flawless.. i lost my heart to Fu Rui and Ma Fang, and so enjoyed the super humane yet wily in-story character played by the director of this drama.
ps- on a superficial note, at times i was shocked by how beautiful the main couple is! i’ve seen and appreciated both actors in other dramas, but seeing them work together…the chemistry + visuals are just superb.
Si Teng and Shen Li have made me very happy this year, of course the challenges the two heroines face are quite different, yet i believe these two would understand each other quite deeply when it comes to life priorities.
as for Rattan’s supporting cast: flawless.. i lost my heart to Fu Rui and Ma Fang, and so enjoyed the super humane yet wily in-story character played by the director of this drama.
ps- on a superficial note, at times i was shocked by how beautiful the main couple is! i’ve seen and appreciated both actors in other dramas, but seeing them work together…the chemistry + visuals are just superb.