scenophile

Beautiful from beginning to end

One of the most beautiful dramas that I've ever watched, both literally and figuratively.

The characters are all so lovable and realistic — and your heart hurts for every single one of them, even the side characters that get featured for a few episodes. The thing about their character development is that it's just all so NATURAL, and it comes from the small, everyday interactions that we see between them. And to add to that, the drama did an amazing job giving everyone growth and yet maintaining their personalities throughout it.

The plot was amazing and not a single episode was unnecessary. For a drama that handles such heavy topics, IOTNBO made me shed ugly tears or laugh out loud in all the right places. It's also super refreshing to just have a plot that flows naturally, uninterrupted by dumb drama tropes like noble idiocy and miscommunications.

There's a main plot point in the backstory about MY's mother that have left some people questioning and saying that the writers left out a decent explanation — while I understand that, it's really not a problem with me for this one big reason: it's really not the point. What matters is that the characters WERE scarred and used by people in their past, and regardless of what exact form their past comes to haunt them, they're finding ways to heal together.

With that being said, I still enjoyed the first half of the drama better — before the mom sub-plot, because it felt much more emotional when their pasts felt like a dark cloud hanging over all of them. The latter half didn't quite have the same gut punch.

Still, the entire vibe of the drama is just beautiful, especially the transitions in the earlier episodes. Throughout all sixteen episodes though, the aesthetic remained consistent and everything, from the OST to Seo Yi-Ji's wardrobe (!!!) was top-notch.

This drama and its actors deserve all the Baeksang awards — ESPECIALLY Oh Jung-Se.

Read More

Really fun!

Well, that was honestly a fun ride!! The best part of this was undoubtedly the banter between everyone in the group, and they all really grew on me. We got to see really good character development and backstories from all of them — and I will say my favorite out of the bunch is the Hacker!

I do honestly feel like the Big Mission was a little underwhelming, compared to how inventive their previous ones had to be — for this one they just broadcasted the meeting and that was it, even though everything WAS wrapped up nicely.

One thing I kind of wish they extended further were the subplots for each character; it felt like the side characters just sort of dropped off the face of the earth after their roles were finished.

As a whole, I still REALLY enjoyed this and it pretty much had everything I want in an action drama: action (duh), friendship (with banter!), and a thirst for revenge.

Final thing: the OST sounds hella badass. I’ll definitely be listening to it while imagining my own revenge plot.

Read More

Honestly I enjoyed this much more than I expected. The development was really interesting as we started grew to learn more about our female lead and the house. I do wish we saw more of that and earlier rather than focusing so much on the second leads who were terrible and yet ended up…not really playing a large role in the last few episodes despite their meddling?

There were a lot of characters that annoyed me during this, but plot-wise it was pretty strong, aside from the bout of noble idiocy at the end, which I hated.

The topic of being gay was, for the most part, handled really well, and I was really surprised they had a great gay character — Director Choi might’ve been one of my favorite characters in this, though he made me so SAD.

Read More

I feel like this had so much potential — I'm a huge fan of the vengeful vigilante trope. But it ended up not being as great as it could have been for me, for several reasons.

Nana was a terrible female lead. It felt like they tried to spoonfeed the audience — every other sentence about her was that she was strong, badass, independent, and just not scared of anything. But her character was honestly really weak, both physically and mentally. Nana was a damsel in distress, but her constant "Wow, you aren't afraid of anything!" and I'm-such-a-fighter attitude honestly made it really annoying when she needed saving every other episode and never really got involved in the scheming, which is what annoyed me with MLFTS as well — the female lead was practically just there to be a love interest, to be used as a hostage, and there was barely personal growth.

With that being said, the fact that they focused so much on the romance was honestly annoying and I fast-forwarded through all the montages of their moments together. I was much more interested in the vigilante/action aspect than the romance, and the romance was also extremely cliche, with "I'm bad for you, don't love me" being the only reason they weren't together yet.

Jin-pyo was an annoying character as well, but he was the most intriguing by far, with the whole anti-hero thing going for him. I couldn't see his story going any differently than the way it did.

The action twists were really good and the backstory was fleshed out well. The fact that there were these mini plot arcs throughout the drama for each of the corrupted officials and how they were dealt with made things really interesting and I kept looking forward to the next one, especially seeing how the prosecutor's view of things would play along side-by-side.

Yet, I don't think anything really surprised me, and something about production style made a lot of scenes seem less dramatic than they could have been. I felt like the ending was kind of anti-climactic as well, and Nana stayed annoying til the very end.

Read More

Made me cry like a baby

Damn. I really didn't expect to love this so damn much, because I've had a bad rap with Taiwanese dramas, but this was actually so close to perfect, and it made me SOB.

The friends-to-lovers trope is probably my favorite trope ever, and this show did a damn good job of portraying it. As cliche as the "don't want to ruin our friendship" excuse is, it was easy to see how big of a deal it was and why our main characters would choose to keep their mouths shut, even though Da-Ren acted so much like a second lead and broke my heart every single episode. This show is SO good at displaying the little subtleties in their relationship and emotions, especially through the flashbacks. There were definitely some extended flashbacks, but they were paralleled and done so well that I wanted to see more.

The beginning was honestly a little offputting, with the female lead running away from a gorilla looking creature meant to symbolize time. Thankfully this wasn't a long-lasting metaphor, and as the drama progressed, I started to really appreciate the cinematography a lot more, from the (day)dreams that the characters had (which broke my heart too) to the phone calls that brought them closer.

Something about the main female lead, You-Qing, is so damn relatable. She's the sort of everyday badass that stands up for herself, and doesn't need to resort to punches to do so. She can be a little arrogant at times, but that comes with the territory. And even though she's so straightforward and domineering in every aspect of her life, when it came to love, everything became so confusing and scary that she found herself away from it. SO. DAMN. RELATABLE. And when she finally grew from it at the end—it was so refreshing yet heartbreaking that I couldn't help but sob along with her.

That scene where she was apologizing to her parents and didn't want to embarrass them by calling off the wedding, but all they cared about was her happiness...honestly hit me hard, and it exemplified everything I loved about their family. The same could be said for Da-Ren's family, but something about the more subtle way it was shown in You-Qing's family was more effective.

Even though friendship wasn't a HUGE part of the story, I really really loved the high school gang, especially when they were at the bachelorette party and basically collectively knew that Da-Ren had been in love with You-Qing since high school. (Sidenote: Jasper Liu is hella fine)

I also can't remember the last time I cared so much about a side ship. Maybe because it was ALSO friends-to-lovers with one side unrequited, but Ping An and Ling Kai were adorable, and I honestly also love that they played out realistically and it wasn't a random happily ever after.

A few things that I didn't like as much:

1. Something about the time jump in the last episode where we saw You-Qing go traveling was very unsatisfying to me. I'm all about the FINALE where the characters finally reveal everything and are honest with each other, and I never really got to see that. I'm okay with the concept of You-Qing needing time to find herself through traveling, but...What did she say to Da-Ren? What was his reaction when he found out his unrequited love wasn't unrequited? These questions are going to kill me.

2. I kind of wish they didn't make Ding Li-Wei a cheating scumbag at the end. Even though it might be realistic, I liked the idea that he changed his ways and You-Qing had to repent completely for leading on a guy she didn't love. Making him cheat felt like an attempt at justifying You-Qing's actions by basically saying "hey, we both did bad things to each other."

3. A minor last thing: it's true that the drama dragged a little longer than I thought it would because You-Qing didn't speak up, and I hated that especially because I hated Ding Li-Wei that chauvinistic controlling pig with a burning passion, but at the same time—and I'm also saying this for everyone saying that she was horrible for leading him on, crying about being 30, and getting so far as getting engaged—it's easy to see how a thirty-year-old woman in Taiwan would be STRESSED out about still being single at that age, considering how women in their late twenties are already treated like garbage (ex: "leftover women" in China). Add the fact that Ding Li-Wei was an ex who she still had lingering feelings for and it's honestly harder to break up with someone than it sounds...what might've been an annoying character became heartbreakingly realistic and relatable for me.

LAST SIDENOTE: Why does Ding Li-Wei randomly burst into lines of English? Even though his English is good, it still makes me cringe.

Read More

The only thing that really saved this drama for me was Cha Eun-Gyeol, who was the most lovable, adorable, relatable character ever.

The drama did that thing where they gave the second lead all the cute bantering moments, while the main lead got all the scenes where they had to save the female lead from the evil antagonists. As a result, I found myself rolling my eyes at all the K-drama cliches but fangirling over the domestic moments between Eun-Gyeol and Jae-Hee, especially because it felt like he was always there for her when Tae-Joon wasn't.

One thing that really bothered me was the premise itself—Jae-Hee literally flew to Korea all the way from America just because of a guy, and she ended up being so stalkerish and obsessive that I found her character annoying and creepy within the first few episodes.

I felt like this drama tried to be melodramatic, but the reasoning behind so many plot points were so stupid and cliche and could have been resolved with communication, ESPECIALLY THAT STUPID TIME JUMP AT THE END. Time skips annoy the hell out of me especially when it's as if everyone suddenly forgot that phone and email existed and just didn't communicate at all.

THE OST FOR THIS DRAMA IS SO GOOD., and it was another thing that made my heart feel more invested in the story and scenes, when my head was telling me to not be.

Lastly: I get that Jae-Hee came from America, but when her brother visited, was there a purpose to randomly switching between Korean and English every other sentence in every conversation? It not only sounded awkward but also made my head spin when I was trying to process what I was watching.

Read More

This drama hit us with all the cliches, but it made it work, and the "Wednesday 3:30pm" idea was an adorable addition. As someone with a soft spot for best friend to lover stories, I knew I was going to love this right off the bat—and I did, for the most part. I loved the dynamic of the main leads, and I really liked how their feelings were gradual as we got to see how comfortable they were with each other.

The only reason this doesn't have a higher rating is because of the DREADED prolonged lack-of-communication plot device that makes me want to rip my hair out every time it appears in dramas...

Read More

This show was completely carried by Seo In Guk and his adorable Louis character. Although Louis was dumb often, he was so adorable and considering his amnesia, I was forgiving.

I couldn't say the same for the other characters, especially the main lead. I've come to realize that I'm not really a fan of Nam Ji Hyun's acting in the first place, but her character in this show was even more frustrating to watch. Go Bok Shil never seemed to learn anything either, and add the fact that she initiated the lack-of-communication/noble-idiocy (MY MOST HATED PLOT DEVICE)...if you asked me what her character development was, I couldn't tell you.

A lot of the side characters were really annoying as well, including the director, who I wish had more of a father figure role instead of a love interest role—and even though his throat-clearing thing was funny at some times as it became a running joke, I also got really annoyed at it, and really annoyed at how he yells every line. His mom was annoying as well, and I didn't really see the purpose of her existence at all.

One thing I can appreciate is definitely the humor and the more light-hearted feel to the story by making the bad guys so hilariously incompetent that I couldn't help but laugh at their situations and misunderstandings. Though I liked the way it didn't show the antagonists as purely evil, I still wish there were more satisfying karma/revenge scenes, which we honestly didn't get any of., especially since neither of the main leads were the type to stand up for themselves.

The last few episodes really had a slower pace and felt more dragged out as well, and I felt like the story could have been wrapped up faster and more cleanly.

Read More

Sweetness overload

This one was really sweet but I do think it was strongest when there was some sort of conflict going on. It was interesting to see the main leads work through their past misunderstanding, and while I know the second lead is very much hated by the viewers, I liked his character and the FL's arc with it as a representation of how poisonous insecurity and self-sabotage can be.

When there wasn't conflict, I found the show kind of...flat? The main leads are nice together but they have a lot of cheesy lines that start getting quite repetitive and surface-level; the other story elements with the corporate scenes about solar panels was also something I didn't really care for, so those speeches were a lot of nothing.

I also think there are similar issues I had with this author's other works (Love O2O and You Are My Glory) where the main leads are just a little too perfect sometimes. It makes for an easy watch but hinders the depth of the story — like how financial hardship is a very real and difficult thing. I'm not expecting a show like this to write a PhD thesis on the socioeconomic landscape, but it brought up these issues and then never quite addressed them. The FL is given a pass because she's kind and a hard worker, but I just wish she had a little more of a confrontation with her own privilege. That might just be my own political leanings shining through though.

Regardless, I think this show works if you're looking for a light-hearted watch, and the chemistry is good. I appreciate that the relationship between the leads is mature. Kind of a good second screen watch.

Read More

As a historical and cultural marker, this film is pretty famous and has a lot of symbolism and motifs of modernity, tradition, Westernization/globalization, repetition, reflections, class struggles, and the circularity of life that are really interesting to break down in a culture class. I appreciate all the little foreshadowing in dialogue, and the parallel of different storylines.

Whether I ENJOYED watching the show is a different matter altogether. It was definitely long, and a lot of the time it was hard to be truly engaged. Some of the acting was kind of cringe, from over-the-top sobbing to stiff dialogue.

Read More

Comforting in a painful way

I really loved the vibes of this drama. It's a cross between kdrama and jdrama, but I actually found it to feel more similar to the latter; it felt very raw and gritty, while kdramas typically are more polished and touched up. The show really lets the acting and chemistry shine.

The theme of cultural differences between Japan and Korea is really interesting. We see the effects of it from an external source when Choi Hong faces discrimination at a ramen shop, but we also see its internal effects and how it shows up in the relationship between our leads. We see how the ML and FL are not able to speak their minds, and how this leads to CH's increasing loneliness in a foreign country. The way the language barrier is portrayed is so interesting and relatable, especially one scene where CH reverts to her native language when she's upset and overwhelmed.

It's such a good premise and it's why I wish this drama was more than six episodes, because I feel like the cultural differences was established well as a conflict, but not resolved quite as cleanly. The last episode feels a little rushed and it left me with more questions about how their relationship would work in the future in terms of where they would leave, what language they'd communicate in, how to deal with different customs and traditions, etc. It feels like the ending went for a "they both apologized so it's all okay" direction, whereas I would've preferred them have more conversations about the issues that arose in their relationship. We already knew they loved each other and that they would be okay in a vacuum, but I'm of the mind that love isn't always enough.

Overall, I still really enjoyed this and liked the melodrama vibes a lot. Despite how angsty it is, this drama actually felt very comforting to me. And I hope I see more K/J collaboration dramas in the future.

Read More

Boring and uninspired

I know this movie received critical acclaim and a lot of people loved the plot twists but wow, it did not click with me at all. I liked how the plot was set up at the start but as the movie went on, it just felt like it was dragging a lot. There were a lot of scenes I didn't care much for, and all of the characters (especially the main guy) just felt very bland and uninteresting to me.

Part of my apathy, though, I know is just a lack of interest in this genre as a whole — I found it really difficult to suspend disbelief when the explanations were reliant on religious mythology, exorcism, and themes like that. If you are a fan of those kinds of movies, you might enjoy this more than I did.

Read More

This movie had a nice vibe and there were some really cute scenes between the leads but I still feel like it was missing something — namely, context/plot. Firstly, I wish we went more into the backstories, and secondly, there was a lot of potential for actual problems to pull the couple apart (which was what the blurb sold this movie as) but each time gap felt like it was pretty much just because they didn’t communicate. It felt like I was waiting for The Big Conflict, and it never really came.

Also, and this was understandable considering how less time a movie has vs. a drama, but I felt like the relationship between the main leads just wasn’t developed enough. They had their cute moments, but in terms of depth, every time they reunited, they just smiled at each other and it was a given that they would be together again; the time gaps just didn’t feel like time gaps because they were basically the exact same people with the exact same personalities years later.

I will say I really appreciated the entire vibe/aesthetic of this show — the lack of slow motion, special effects plus the color palette, transition screens, and not overusing OSTs…it all made the entire show feel that much more intimate and realistic.

Read More