The worst daily drama I've seen was The Two Sisters. That was AWFUL!
What were the others? I think I remember Shady Mom-In-Law, since I watched it live (it wasn't too great), and Phoenix 2020, which I dropped. I never watched Amor Fati. 🤔
I've been so addicted to this drama that I forgot to write my halfway-mark recap/speed review 😭 it's super easy to binge watch too! Anyways, here are my general thoughts:
I find the second half of this drama WAY MORE ENGAGING than the first half. Don't get me wrong, I've been enjoying Return for sure, but the second half is more interesting to me. They built up that twist with Ja-Hye over time... and it was so worth it.
Speaking of Ja-Hye: I love her more now. Her character shift/the big twist was SO. GOOD. This has nothing to do with the recast, I think the writers were planning this from the get-go. If you actually paid attention, there was already hints that Ja-Hye was not the woman she claimed to be. Very early on in the drama too. Both actresses did a tremendous job in playing the character, but I heavily prefer Park Jin-Hee's portrayal... this isn't to say that Ko Hyun-Jung was bad, but... I didn't feel anything towards Ja-Hye when she played her? If that makes sense... I mostly thought she came off as extremely self-righteous for the most part. She should be, but it was actually irritating to me sometimes. 🙄 Regardless, I love female villain protagonists. Not complaining, I just hope that Ja-Hye wins.
Onto the ML: Dok Go-Young. I don't know why his name is spelled weirdly in the English subs, but he... he's- well, to put it simply, I'm not really a fan of his. I think I'm neutral on him, but I hate that temper of his. He abuses his power as an officer/detective and pretty much no one calls him out on it. Hate that shit. Also the random comedic moments with him/the team feel extremely out of place in a drama as dark as this one. Also he's too impulsive, but at least he's (usually) smart. I guess I don't care too much for him, but I loved it when he showed up in front of Tae-Suk with his broken arm on a motorcycle (I think), that was badass lol
Now we're doing Na-Ra, and quite frankly, she's boring, I don't really care about her and her actress is decent at best. Also she's barely done much for someone who was GIVEN a job as a counsel at a law firm. Wild. Anyways... onto the 4 princes... Oh Tae-Suk, Kim Hak-Bum, Seo Jun-Hee, and Kang In-Ho.
Tae-Suk is just Ju Dan-Tae but far more unhinged. The guy is terrifying. Shin Sung-Rok is doing so good playing him... as for Hak-Bum- OOOOHHHH I HATE HIM SO MUCH!!!! That piece of shit! That man is just EVIL! HE'S THE WORST! THE WORSTTTTT out of those four! He has no reason to be this cruel, either! Jun-Hee... I don't know... Yoon Jong-Hoon stays getting typecast as a doctor or a guy who does terrible things then redeems himself or suffers A LOT for his sins. 😂 Has he EVER played a purely evil villain? Like already in this drama he's a drug addict, he raped a minor (apparently?), he self-harms, he has a kiwi allergy, Hak-Bum tried to kill him, then attempted it a second time with Tae-Suk, he was presumed dead, ended up in a coma, and almost died again. All within 25 EPISODES. That is crazy. 💀 These writers hate this man, bro. Onto In-Ho. This is complicated since he was the main suspect in Mi-Jung's murder, but he seems like a bystander/enabling figure compared to the rest of them. In a way I somewhat feel bad for him. If I had to pick one, I think I like In-Ho the most out of all of them.
Not much to say about the side characters... Dong-Bae is very suspicious and I feel like his character is kinda bland? He's also had the same face for the entire drama, idk if it's the actor or just his character lol. Jung-Su is interesting, though. I clocked that he killed Mi-Jung almost immediately- and good riddance to her, because she was DETESTABLE! The BGM is amazing. Very well-composed & produced. Especially the main theme. I've always loved BGMs in dramas for some reason 😂 it might be my general love for music showing, though.
So far, 10/10 for me. We'll see how things change as I finish it!
The worst daily drama I've seen was The Two Sisters. That was AWFUL!
Eh, it really depends on the plot for me. I find that a lot of the daily dramas I've loved were on SBS! Temptation of Wife and Wife Returns were both great to me.
I also think that the dumpster fire of Phoenix 2020 pretty much killed any chance of other daily dramas that were on there. 😬
She doesn’t wann meet her stupid father. I dono y these desperate idiots r forcing her. Also can’t understand…
Precisely, which is why I was very glad when he died. Also Woo-Jung is an AWFUL friend. So self-righteous- and a prick. 🙄
Wow, you watch a lot of dramas. Right now I've been watching Return, so far I am enjoying it. It's 34 episodes, but each split into 30-ish minutes for some reason...
See why Dan-Hee is the real FL to me... maybe when Jin-Ju returns as Chloe Lee you'll like her... you can be so…
I guess so! At least we cleared that up, we're at the same wavelengths but at different levels... 🤔
I have no problem with people commenting on things (after all, one is entitled to their opinion), but hating on actors for doing their job (or for no reason at all) is very, very unhinged in my opinion. Borderline schizophrenic, in my opinion. That's why the phrase "reel vs. real" exists, not just for k-dramas, but other types of media too. The Korean entertainment industry sucks enough as it is.
And I think there's a HUGE difference between having an opinion and being very nasty. Some people think that because they're behind a screen, that means that they can say whatever they want, whenever, and however. I don't think I can repeat some of the awful things I've seen about complete strangers, actors/singers, whoever (because... social media gets INSANE sometimes 💀) on the web. It's insane. There are people who send death threats (YES, death threats) to actors playing a fictional character. It happened to Kim Yoo-Jung when she played Baek Ah-Jin in Dear X, for example. Like, dude- WHAT?! 😭 BAEK AH-JIN IS NOT REALLLL
Nobody's tracking anyone. I open comments, scroll, check. "Okay, let's watch this drama. Or not. Maybe?" Just be a decent human on this site. Some people don't understand that. Criticism is fine. Opinions are fine. Being a bully isn't. And I've seen some bullies on MDL, but moderation sucks anyways, sooooo. Best I can do is just block lol
This is definitely better than the ratings indicate. Baek is an amoral hunk of cruelty. For all his charisma,…
100% agree, but I heard that season 2 takes place in 1979. So they're definitely covering Park Chung-Hee's assassination, most likely. I compared this to the anime Death Note, since that's what it reminds me A LOT of.
Episode 10. It's crazy how hard it is for me to connect to this show. I'll give creativity points for professor…
The pacing for this drama is incredibly fast, though. A regular daily drama wouldn't have even gotten to this point by now. They set up the FL (Dan-Hee's) revenge & her motive (so the drama has already "started" for our protagonist, perhaps), now they're doing Jin-Ju's. The real problem is the characterization, all the characters are one-dimensional archetypes. Jin-Ju's plot is VERY cliché. That and the constant gag scenes that are NOT funny, too.
Episode 10. It's crazy how hard it is for me to connect to this show. I'll give creativity points for professor…
I just said the same thing, it's got 10-15 episodes left to impress & hook me in (I loved that first scene with Dan-Hee), because I'm not into this drama at all. 😂 I don't like hate-watching dramas when I could be watching something even better!
See why Dan-Hee is the real FL to me... maybe when Jin-Ju returns as Chloe Lee you'll like her... you can be so…
Yeahhhh because there ARE some misogynists/sexists on here. Or at least double standards, some people are absolutely unhinged when it comes to FLs and *real* actresses. The FLs are fictional at least, but some people who attack the actresses playing them are... weird. (There's a certain person on here who loves to attack female actresses specifically and body shame them. Calls them slurs too, occassionally. Mr. You-Know-Who.) Which I've also seen a lot of. No you're not one of them, this is more of a general issue.
I do not like stupid FLs either. But I know that FLs in this type of drama usually grow and develop, which is the whole point of a revenge drama, daily or not. Not everything that happens to them is necessarily their fault unless they're being willfully ignorant or actively enabling the villain's/villains' behavior and letting them walk ALL OVER THEM. This is something I hate, but the heroine must suffer before she fights back. (I'm gonna be real with you here, sometimes I think the heroine kinda deserves it too. Why'd it take you THIS LONG to realize your best friend was a bitch? 💀) Sometimes I see you blaming FLs for literally everything that happens to them... it's very easy to do so, yes, because writers (not the character) set it up that way for clichés and whatnot. Rinse and repeat, yeah? But this isn't ALWAYS the case. That's just an oversimplification.
If I'm watching any drama where I don't like an FL I just do one of these 2 things: drop it or pause it. This is also the *main* reason why I BARELY watch dramas pre-2009 (at least the popular ones. I hated Boys Over Flowers btw), the FLs are just written so, so... badly. 😭 It makes me cringe like crazy! And it's also why I gravitate towards morally grey/anti-heroine and villain female leads instead (I have entire lists of dramas with them lmaoooo), I find the "good ones" overdone and quite boring at some point. Or maybe an atypical FL where the roles are reversed, the male is a sweetheart while the female is cold-hearted...
But let's pivot back to this drama: Again, I'm honestly not even enjoying it. I do not like or (at least) care about almost all of the characters and I find it hard to connect to... anyone, really. :/ Jin-Ju's storyline is very predictable, the gag scenes are VERY annoying, the weird accents are dumb to me, the overacting is getting hard to overlook even as a long-time daily drama fan, and the writing is barely good. But it's also only 10 episodes. And it's a daily drama. So am I being too judgemental or picky, or no? I'm not sure, but I'm (personally) giving it 20/25 episodes. Maybe that's even TOO long, you tell me, girl! 😂
See why Dan-Hee is the real FL to me... maybe when Jin-Ju returns as Chloe Lee you'll like her... you can be so…
You do seem a bit biased against a lot of daily drama FLs. There's nothing "woke" about an observation based on (some) previous comments... maybe that's just how you are! Nothing wrong with that, your POV is your POV and mine is mine. 🤷🏽♀️
Me personally I just want better written FLs in daily dramas. That's not unreasonable! Right? It's 2026, daily dramas need better heroines who are strong, take no bullshit, and fight back. Is that too woke or is that asking for modernization? I think we can both agree here at a basic level... 🤔
See why Dan-Hee is the real FL to me... maybe when Jin-Ju returns as Chloe Lee you'll like her... you can be so…
Okay, okay, wait- I watched today's episode and I see EXACTLYYYY what you mean now. I'm on your side here. THIS I can agree with 😂 daily dramas love their archetypes for sure though lol, sometimes I hate it myself, other times I love it!
Jin-Ju was WACK for that 😂 I get why Min-Jun was mad.
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I find the second half of this drama WAY MORE ENGAGING than the first half. Don't get me wrong, I've been enjoying Return for sure, but the second half is more interesting to me. They built up that twist with Ja-Hye over time... and it was so worth it.
Speaking of Ja-Hye: I love her more now. Her character shift/the big twist was SO. GOOD. This has nothing to do with the recast, I think the writers were planning this from the get-go. If you actually paid attention, there was already hints that Ja-Hye was not the woman she claimed to be. Very early on in the drama too. Both actresses did a tremendous job in playing the character, but I heavily prefer Park Jin-Hee's portrayal... this isn't to say that Ko Hyun-Jung was bad, but... I didn't feel anything towards Ja-Hye when she played her? If that makes sense... I mostly thought she came off as extremely self-righteous for the most part. She should be, but it was actually irritating to me sometimes. 🙄 Regardless, I love female villain protagonists. Not complaining, I just hope that Ja-Hye wins.
Onto the ML: Dok Go-Young. I don't know why his name is spelled weirdly in the English subs, but he... he's- well, to put it simply, I'm not really a fan of his. I think I'm neutral on him, but I hate that temper of his. He abuses his power as an officer/detective and pretty much no one calls him out on it. Hate that shit. Also the random comedic moments with him/the team feel extremely out of place in a drama as dark as this one. Also he's too impulsive, but at least he's (usually) smart. I guess I don't care too much for him, but I loved it when he showed up in front of Tae-Suk with his broken arm on a motorcycle (I think), that was badass lol
Now we're doing Na-Ra, and quite frankly, she's boring, I don't really care about her and her actress is decent at best. Also she's barely done much for someone who was GIVEN a job as a counsel at a law firm. Wild. Anyways... onto the 4 princes... Oh Tae-Suk, Kim Hak-Bum, Seo Jun-Hee, and Kang In-Ho.
Tae-Suk is just Ju Dan-Tae but far more unhinged. The guy is terrifying. Shin Sung-Rok is doing so good playing him... as for Hak-Bum- OOOOHHHH I HATE HIM SO MUCH!!!! That piece of shit! That man is just EVIL! HE'S THE WORST! THE WORSTTTTT out of those four! He has no reason to be this cruel, either! Jun-Hee... I don't know... Yoon Jong-Hoon stays getting typecast as a doctor or a guy who does terrible things then redeems himself or suffers A LOT for his sins. 😂 Has he EVER played a purely evil villain? Like already in this drama he's a drug addict, he raped a minor (apparently?), he self-harms, he has a kiwi allergy, Hak-Bum tried to kill him, then attempted it a second time with Tae-Suk, he was presumed dead, ended up in a coma, and almost died again. All within 25 EPISODES. That is crazy. 💀 These writers hate this man, bro. Onto In-Ho. This is complicated since he was the main suspect in Mi-Jung's murder, but he seems like a bystander/enabling figure compared to the rest of them. In a way I somewhat feel bad for him. If I had to pick one, I think I like In-Ho the most out of all of them.
Not much to say about the side characters... Dong-Bae is very suspicious and I feel like his character is kinda bland? He's also had the same face for the entire drama, idk if it's the actor or just his character lol. Jung-Su is interesting, though. I clocked that he killed Mi-Jung almost immediately- and good riddance to her, because she was DETESTABLE! The BGM is amazing. Very well-composed & produced. Especially the main theme. I've always loved BGMs in dramas for some reason 😂 it might be my general love for music showing, though.
So far, 10/10 for me. We'll see how things change as I finish it!
I also think that the dumpster fire of Phoenix 2020 pretty much killed any chance of other daily dramas that were on there. 😬
As for other SBS daily dramas, not sure...
Wow, you watch a lot of dramas. Right now I've been watching Return, so far I am enjoying it. It's 34 episodes, but each split into 30-ish minutes for some reason...
I have no problem with people commenting on things (after all, one is entitled to their opinion), but hating on actors for doing their job (or for no reason at all) is very, very unhinged in my opinion. Borderline schizophrenic, in my opinion. That's why the phrase "reel vs. real" exists, not just for k-dramas, but other types of media too. The Korean entertainment industry sucks enough as it is.
And I think there's a HUGE difference between having an opinion and being very nasty. Some people think that because they're behind a screen, that means that they can say whatever they want, whenever, and however. I don't think I can repeat some of the awful things I've seen about complete strangers, actors/singers, whoever (because... social media gets INSANE sometimes 💀) on the web. It's insane. There are people who send death threats (YES, death threats) to actors playing a fictional character. It happened to Kim Yoo-Jung when she played Baek Ah-Jin in Dear X, for example. Like, dude- WHAT?! 😭 BAEK AH-JIN IS NOT REALLLL
Nobody's tracking anyone. I open comments, scroll, check. "Okay, let's watch this drama. Or not. Maybe?" Just be a decent human on this site. Some people don't understand that. Criticism is fine. Opinions are fine. Being a bully isn't. And I've seen some bullies on MDL, but moderation sucks anyways, sooooo. Best I can do is just block lol
Could be a mix of both! Baseball cancellations AND audience dissatisfaction, but most Naver bloggers seem to be liking it, too.
And I keep saying this too! 😭 The characters are all one-dimensional and super boring.
I do not like stupid FLs either. But I know that FLs in this type of drama usually grow and develop, which is the whole point of a revenge drama, daily or not. Not everything that happens to them is necessarily their fault unless they're being willfully ignorant or actively enabling the villain's/villains' behavior and letting them walk ALL OVER THEM. This is something I hate, but the heroine must suffer before she fights back. (I'm gonna be real with you here, sometimes I think the heroine kinda deserves it too. Why'd it take you THIS LONG to realize your best friend was a bitch? 💀)
Sometimes I see you blaming FLs for literally everything that happens to them... it's very easy to do so, yes, because writers (not the character) set it up that way for clichés and whatnot. Rinse and repeat, yeah? But this isn't ALWAYS the case. That's just an oversimplification.
If I'm watching any drama where I don't like an FL I just do one of these 2 things: drop it or pause it. This is also the *main* reason why I BARELY watch dramas pre-2009 (at least the popular ones. I hated Boys Over Flowers btw), the FLs are just written so, so... badly. 😭 It makes me cringe like crazy! And it's also why I gravitate towards morally grey/anti-heroine and villain female leads instead (I have entire lists of dramas with them lmaoooo), I find the "good ones" overdone and quite boring at some point. Or maybe an atypical FL where the roles are reversed, the male is a sweetheart while the female is cold-hearted...
But let's pivot back to this drama: Again, I'm honestly not even enjoying it. I do not like or (at least) care about almost all of the characters and I find it hard to connect to... anyone, really. :/ Jin-Ju's storyline is very predictable, the gag scenes are VERY annoying, the weird accents are dumb to me, the overacting is getting hard to overlook even as a long-time daily drama fan, and the writing is barely good. But it's also only 10 episodes. And it's a daily drama. So am I being too judgemental or picky, or no? I'm not sure, but I'm (personally) giving it 20/25 episodes. Maybe that's even TOO long, you tell me, girl! 😂
Me personally I just want better written FLs in daily dramas. That's not unreasonable! Right? It's 2026, daily dramas need better heroines who are strong, take no bullshit, and fight back. Is that too woke or is that asking for modernization? I think we can both agree here at a basic level... 🤔
Jin-Ju was WACK for that 😂 I get why Min-Jun was mad.