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an amusing but sensitive look into some deep issues: tears optional but likely
(TW: suicide and suicidal ideation) first off, it's necessary to praise the production team for this one. it was a brave choice to run with given the underlying subject matter, and the politics and social considerations around the topics of certain episodes. as you start watching, this may seem like a drama that does not take itself seriously and is at risk of devolving into a tropefest featuring white trucks of doom and grim reapers. it is actually a sensitively directed series exposing some of the types of personal interactions and societal issues that drive people towards suicidal behaviours. it would have been so, so easy to see it devolve into the type of preachy PSA trap that dramas such as Death's Game fell into, but it managed to resist the easy path and feels all the more meaningful for it.overall thoughts: manages to be light and funny but handles deep topics with the necessary gravitas and sensitivity.
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a solid watch with a surprisingly relatable lead
while we can probably all admit that the peerless Lee Youngae appears not to age, this underrated series nevertheless boasts an unashamedly un-put-together middle-aged woman as the lead? sign me up for this. add a female villain and sidekick? definitely in. this series is a pretty wild ride and diverges just enough from the usual Kdrama for its woman-centered plot to be more than window-dressing. it may not stick with you forever but it's a tantalising rollercoaster while it lasts.overall thoughts: tropey enough to be comfortable, odd enough to be enjoyable.
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a light comedic drama not entirely to be taken at face value
at first glance this is a very usual costume drama, somewhat indeterminate point in time, attractive actors, light and bright colours. it starts with comedic scenes, not entirely unusual. what is unusual is that it retains this tone overall even though it gets quite deep into what is a set of very dark topics, many juxtaposing ancient practices and modern feminism - domestic violence, women's economic rights, arranged marriages. a particularly positive aspect is the way that most of the women in this drama support each other, a far cry from the usual divide-and-rule harem politics.overall thoughts: occasionally silly but a delight.
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a disturbing story with an interesting aesthetic
(TW: domestic violence, bullying, sexual assault, misogyny and more) there is so much awful behaviour in this, it's not an easy watch. it's also shot in an overly arty, almost try-hard way that adds to the vertiginous sensation as you claw your way through this drama. yet these are not negatives. they are the reason this is a compelling watch. although the series occasionally loses a little of its early impetus, it has enough to carry it through its fairly short, but very much not neat, run.overall thoughts: this is like looking at art photos of an accident scene, it will probably leave you feeling dirty but there's an acid gloss to it that is perversely attractive.
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episode 1 rugby team > writing team
I should have left this the second that the rules of the game were steamrolled over for vibes. referees ignoring dangerous tackles and everyone treating the victim as if they're at fault rather than sending off a player who should know better than launch into a neck-breaking tackle? leaving a player with a potential concussion or spinal injury on the floor and letting the game continue while they're unattended? schoolboy rugby is an inherently dangerous sport and the complete disregard for the most basic precautions was laughable and decades out of date.then we have our superstar, the noble idiot. his idiocy is also decades behind. does he not have insurance? did he not read anything on the internet about his own sport and players from other nations? are the sport administrators completely divorced from reality? with that fundamental issue on which the story is based making no sense, the rest of the plot is very much the roof of a very shaky house of cards.
this is a story that should have been great. an underdog coach in an underdog sport takes on a bunch of underdog high schoolers to take over the world. but the flaws in the storytelling are just too huge to overlook.
I detested every single adult character. the kids were there doing their job, being kids, and every single adult was either a lying sack of trash, weak, incompetent, violent, or psychologically abusive. and at the core was the principal, a person who was so weak that her pending retirement surely also was decades behind.
worse, almost none of their motivations even made much sense. by halfway through, most of them were just doing evil by numbers. the plot demanded a movement in a certain direction so fetch the magenta crayon of evil for that.
if I have a good thing to say it's that the team was entertaining, well-characterised and, along with Seo Ujin, contained the only actors to come out of this with merit. there are moments where the sun just peeked through the clouds of tropes, unintentional parody and plot devices, but they were simply too rare to make this more than mediocre.
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going to break a personal rule just for this
I generally don't believe in writing reviews without finishing a drama but for this I'm willing to make an exceptionlook, I like trash TV as much as the next person but this is basically just an illogical thing without even the merit of a Z grade vertical
it only has points out of 10 because it's compulsory, and I'll give the main cast a point each just because it hurts my cold heart that they even have their names attached
the story feels like nothing groundbreaking but serviceably tropey, yet it feels like it was scripted and directed by a team of those robots whose day job is tightening one specific screw each at an automotive factory
if you're just here for DGZ, you probably won't be quite as disappointed as 1/10 because no one delivers that hot bodyguard visual as efficiently but if you have any other needs from a drama, he has plenty of other work to get through first, pick any of his other dramas
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