This review may contain spoilers
Promising story that was too big to fill expectations - was he just a stalker?
The Witch is a 10 episode k-drama with two big actors starring as the lead couple and an interesting premise. The concept of the show seemed fresh and with the shows setting being in the "real" world, delving into the unexplained / supernatural can - and proved to be - tricky.
I, as other k-drama watchers, had big expectations for the show and waited to watch it when all episodes had been released. After finishing the show, I was left to wonder why the show had been made, and approved with so little story and plot.
The drama relies heavily on the cinematography and repeating footage to drive home the characters thoughts and feelings, but it fails to actually establish a connection between the FL and ML at all. When the show is over, I just found myself having watched a glorified stalker collect data on an innocent girl that had little interest in him beforehand.
There is no character growth for the female lead at any point in the show. She never comes out from her shell, grows a backbone or does what she wants. It's only when the male lead forces himself onto her life that she suddenly by the last episode grows feelings for him. We also have no concept of time during most of the episodes, only knowing that the characters and story is showing the either when they are in high school or when they are adults.
For the first 8 episodes, we follow the actual story of both ML and FL seperately in their adolecense as well as ML when he is investigating and collecting data when he is an adult. Nothing really happens in the story apart from the flashbacks and the study that he investigates to prove the requisites for people getting hurt around FL. That is, until the last 2 episodes.
The last 2 episodes become a missing persons-drama that results in both the lead couple AND the second lead couple having confessed their feelings for each other. The issue at hand is that there was no "leading up" nor any chemistry in any of the romances. We are also hit with the realisation that the second ML apparently also suffers with the same condition as the main FL and that the data collected could help both of them. Great plottwist, super poorly excecuted unfortunately. All we think for the majority of the episodes is "why do we keep going back to the 2nd male lead/ the bff to the ml all the time??" only to find out the reason in the LAST episodes.
I was very disappointed with the execution of the show and the storytelling overall. The actors did the best they could but this was written, planned and directed in a way that the story was set up for failing both its audience and the story.
I, as other k-drama watchers, had big expectations for the show and waited to watch it when all episodes had been released. After finishing the show, I was left to wonder why the show had been made, and approved with so little story and plot.
The drama relies heavily on the cinematography and repeating footage to drive home the characters thoughts and feelings, but it fails to actually establish a connection between the FL and ML at all. When the show is over, I just found myself having watched a glorified stalker collect data on an innocent girl that had little interest in him beforehand.
There is no character growth for the female lead at any point in the show. She never comes out from her shell, grows a backbone or does what she wants. It's only when the male lead forces himself onto her life that she suddenly by the last episode grows feelings for him. We also have no concept of time during most of the episodes, only knowing that the characters and story is showing the either when they are in high school or when they are adults.
For the first 8 episodes, we follow the actual story of both ML and FL seperately in their adolecense as well as ML when he is investigating and collecting data when he is an adult. Nothing really happens in the story apart from the flashbacks and the study that he investigates to prove the requisites for people getting hurt around FL. That is, until the last 2 episodes.
The last 2 episodes become a missing persons-drama that results in both the lead couple AND the second lead couple having confessed their feelings for each other. The issue at hand is that there was no "leading up" nor any chemistry in any of the romances. We are also hit with the realisation that the second ML apparently also suffers with the same condition as the main FL and that the data collected could help both of them. Great plottwist, super poorly excecuted unfortunately. All we think for the majority of the episodes is "why do we keep going back to the 2nd male lead/ the bff to the ml all the time??" only to find out the reason in the LAST episodes.
I was very disappointed with the execution of the show and the storytelling overall. The actors did the best they could but this was written, planned and directed in a way that the story was set up for failing both its audience and the story.
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