1
2
Not as good as Part 1
I loved Part 1 but Part 2 honestly didn't quite hit the same way. There are still some great scenes, but I had a lot of trouble with the pacing, and the romance moves to a pretty frustrating place. There's like 3 separate subplots (near-death experiences and all) crammed into the last three episodes alone, and we seem to skip over a lot of important moments to get there.I will say that with all the dramatic scenes we get, Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei's acting really get to shine. They have wonderful chemistry and even though the plot itself might be frustrating, I can't lie — the angst is very satisfying to watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
Intense
I knew this was going to be a fantastic movie considering all the rave reviews (and the fact that the director also gave us Oldboy), and it didn't disappoint. The Handmaiden is beautifully shot and beautifully acted. It's simultaneously depressing and full of hope, and it's extremely intense throughout.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Light-hearted, but might've been better as a drama.
Not really my type of humor (which seems to be often my issue with the comedy genre, especially those from Taiwan), but it has a few fun moments and a decent story.Pacing-wise, it feels very bloated for a film and the tone jumps around a lot — I often thought this might've worked better as a drama paced similarly to Oh No! Here Comes Trouble, which sort of did a better job of balancing different tones and exploring its characters.
Was this review helpful to you?
Not for everyone, but worked for me
I know this won't work for everyone — especially if someone's coming into this expecting a simple rom-com or melodrama — but it actually really worked for me, twist and all. It's realistic without feeling watered down, and I found that the story provided surprisingly thought-provoking commentary on perspective-taking.Was this review helpful to you?
My heart
I've previously watched the Taiwanese movie and drama so I already knew what the plot was, but there hasn't been a version of this story I haven't cried at. I've got a soft spot for the Taiwanese film just because I watched it first, but this one still tugged at all my heartstrings and made me shed tears.Was this review helpful to you?
Sweet little sports drama
For something that came in the early 2000s, this drama is surprisingly down-to-earth and grounded. The leads have fantastic chemistry and I really am a big fan of the fun little banter that they have, while also having very mature conversations.There are some moments here and there that do show this drama's time — some lines that don't age too well — but ultimately I found this show pretty sweet.
Was this review helpful to you?
Confusing
I absolutely loved the first season — it hit all the emotional beats and had a fantastic balance of political, social and emotional arcs. I was really looking forward to this season, and while I think it has some really strong moments, it ultimately felt more confusing than anything to me.There are a LOT of characters and I don't think any of them really stood out to me; it doesn't help that the timeline seems very muddy. The arson incident is not really given enough weight that clarifies exactly what happens "before" and what happens "after," and I also just missed the journalism and legal fall-out we saw in S1. This season seemed to go for more of a political perspective, but it didn't seem to be tied to the incident directly, and was instead just there as a more general backdrop.
Ultimately, I still liked a lot of the social commentary this season tried to give, but I don't think the story was told in a very memorable or clear way.
Was this review helpful to you?
Nice case-of-the-week
Another case-of-the-week jdrama, similar to Gossip: #Kanojo ga Shiritai Honto no 〇〇 or Don’t Call It Mystery. I feel like the cases in this one weren’t as memorable though (barring the LGBT one, which made me cry).The strongest part of this one is probably our trio of main characters, who have a really cozy dynamic together. One thing I would ask for though would be for the climax to hit harder — I’m not sure the big, personal case at the end really hit hard enough for me. Still, I could see this being a show that could go on for many more episodes as they went through different cases.
Was this review helpful to you?
Feel-good
I don't watch a lot of historical dramas but I found this one modernized in a way that made it very easy to get into and easy to love. The balance of humor and serious topics was done really well, and I will always love a drama that also focuses on female friendships — especially one that subverts the evil second female lead trope. The communication between the leads from start to end is very refreshing, and it made this drama a very pleasant watch overall. The leads are super cute.I do wish a little bit that the romance developed more slowly. The pacing isn't bad by any means, but they get together pretty early considering how many episodes the drama is. Still, this was a really delightful watch overall. If more historical dramas were like this, I would tune in more.
Was this review helpful to you?
Mainly cinematography
Beautiful cinematography, though I'm not sure the time travel aspect really worked for me. It's a trope I typically like, but it felt kind of misplaced here. Everything does fall into place at the end but ultimately I think I needed either a little more exploration of the fantasy mechanism itself if it was going to be used.Was this review helpful to you?
Surprisingly adorable and enjoyable
I didn't realize that each episode was only 3-5 minutes when I started watching this, but everything was surprisingly solid, from the pacing of the story to the growing romance between the characters. Despite touching on some heavy topics, this drama is light-hearted in a comforting way and the lack of annoying villains or drawn-out misunderstandings is refreshing. I'm not one to rewatch things but this would be a great one to re-binge considering how short it is.Was this review helpful to you?
Steady
A very steady and consistently written season, though I think season 1 was just a little stronger in terms of both the mystery and the relationships between our main characters. I personally preferred the episodes where stakes felt a little higher and closer to home — the earlier ones in this season where our lead was getting falsely accused and trying to get there before the next kill.The story loses a bit of steam as it goes on and the backstory turns out to be kind of predictable, but I thought everything was wrapped up pretty neatly.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Comforting
Oh I enjoyed this one so much. It has to be one of the best slow burn shows that I've seen, and I loved how much it focused on the emotional aspect of them growing closer. Their scenes feel so down-to-earth, realistic, and intimate, and I really appreciate how even the tropes don't feel tropey.It's so sad that it ends on a low note — and I know season 2 is a long shot at this point — but honestly, the ending doesn't diminish my love for the show at all. I've grown to really care about both main characters so much, and I'll definitely be reading the novel just to see how their story ends.
Was this review helpful to you?
Good themes but confusing
This film has several extremely emotional scenes between the leads that absolutely blew me away, but as a whole, it feels very janky and choppy.There's not a lot of development between the characters in between the big moments, and the timeline just feels really unclear, as if we're jumping from scene to scene instead of experiencing the passing of time. I found myself pretty confused about what had happened between the characters and how long it took.
The acting is pretty good, but I think the script needed more tightening.
Was this review helpful to you?
Didn't click
When I saw that this was a friends-to-lovers story, I jumped into it right away. But it turned out that it wasn't the plot I typically enjoy, where we get to watch two people realize they're in love with each other and slowly make their way to each other. Instead, the leads pretty much get together in the first episode, and the drama revolves more around little bumps in their relationship, some of which are awkwardly realistic like figuring out how to communicate after living together, and some of which are more trope-y like third parties trying to get in between their relationship. The last episode is also pretty rushed.Ultimately, this was pretty light-hearted and low stakes, but it didn't really click with me.
Was this review helpful to you?
