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Greedy Youth
My first impression is that these 2 male leads weren't suitable to play this type of scenario in this "youthful" setting. It's hard to see them attempting romance even when they were in their 30s. Something doesn't click no matter what! Although the drama was long but it kept you entertained watching the car crash. The revenge was tame, it never went too far but that was the drama's intent to begin with. You can get the gist of that just from reading the synopsis. However, there were some cruel parts in the process which helped selling the injustice, better than a lot of modern ones who attempted similar approach. The dialogue was fairly good, usually we don't get extended dialogues that let the characters to actually talk even if it got a bit melo along the way. The opening theme was good but when I listened to the full version I wasn't a fan of the rest. The characters went through a reasonable development without neglecting the secondary ones which typically get neglected because of their wrong doings. It did such a good job showing the wrongful side being genuine in repenting. The drama wrapped things up better than I expected, it gave an actual proper conclusion to its leads. While the drama isn't perfect but it offered an appealing package.Was this review helpful to you?
Not That Cold of a Winter
It wouldn't have been an old drama if they didn't give us the ending as an introduction at the very beginning. The even took it a step further to narrate to us that this is how it ended exactly. It kinda took away from the show when the ending is spelled out to you this blatantly. Anyway, this is a less than average love story between the trio leads without anything interesting going on. I had a few ideas at different points were the story could've taken a better direction but none of that happened. The male lead Son Chang Min didn't do a good job playing this shy and innocent kid at the beginning. It was too weird and awkward. They wanted to show a big contrast to his transition later on but they could've done it in better ways. On the other hand, Jung Sung Mo did pretty well for his character, I even think it's better than most of his modern roles. Anyway, the drama as a whole felt super limited and they didn't do much with what they had.Was this review helpful to you?
A bad spinoff
I really liked their gradual introduction to the theme and the zombies but this kind of introduction felt too long and lasted for several episodes without any pieces moving in the story. It was a bit obvious this was done on purpose to delay progress for Season 2. Meanwhile, Season 2 took a step back and tried to develop its characters even though there was no room for that. Although Kingdom as a whole is relatively short but it needed a more precise cut to suit what we've been presented. Maybe cutting it down to 8 episodes in total would be ideal. The slow atmospheric shots with eerie background music were pleasant at first, but they quickly became overused to death and an abrupt change was needed but never happened.The movie Ashin of the North was an unnecessary addition that felt empty, out of place and was missing something to make us care. In traditional Netflix fashion, always make sure to lay the groundwork for endless possible future seasons/iterations at the end of every turn. Despicable greed!
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Joseon of The Dead
I really liked their gradual introduction to the theme and the zombies but this kind of introduction felt too long and lasted for several episodes without any pieces moving in the story. It was a bit obvious this was done on purpose to delay progress for Season 2. Meanwhile, Season 2 took a step back and tried to develop its characters even though there was no room for that. Although Kingdom as a whole is relatively short but it needed a more precise cut to suit what we've been presented. Maybe cutting it down to 8 episodes in total would be ideal. The slow atmospheric shots with eerie background music were pleasant at first, but they quickly became overused to death and an abrupt change was needed but never happened. The movie Ashin of the North was an unnecessary addition that felt empty, out of place and was missing something to make us care. In traditional Netflix fashion, always make sure to lay the groundwork for endless possible future seasons/iterations at the end of every turn. Despicable greed!Was this review helpful to you?
Joseon of The Dead
I really liked their gradual introduction to the theme and the zombies but this kind of introduction felt too long and lasted for several episodes without any pieces moving in the story. It was a bit obvious this was done on purpose to delay progress for Season 2. Meanwhile, Season 2 took a step back and tried to develop its characters even though there was no room for that. Although Kingdom as a whole is relatively short but it needed a more precise cut to suit what we've been presented. Maybe cutting it down to 8 episodes in total would be ideal. The slow atmospheric shots with eerie background music were pleasant at first, but they quickly became overused to death and an abrupt change was needed but never happened. The movie Ashin of the North was an unnecessary addition that felt empty, out of place and was missing something to make us care. In traditional Netflix fashion, always make sure to lay the groundwork for endless possible future seasons/iterations at the end of every turn. Despicable greed!Was this review helpful to you?
Salamander Guru and the Shadow Members
1 people found this review helpful
Salamander-Man
The idea of a gang pretending to be fortune-tellers to scam people sounded promising, but the show had a hard time keeping up a consistent comedic rhythm throughout. It tried to mix in this absurd humor and wacky scenarios, but most of the jokes felt like they were pushed and stretched too thin. They turned more stale the longer they kept going. While the characters may have been acceptable but they lacked in verity, more archetypes were needed to bring the comedy to life and create a more interesting dynamic. It could've been a bigger problem if the runtime was to be longer. Anyway, even though there were some moments that showed off creative thinking and quirky charm, it just couldn't keep that interesting premise going.Was this review helpful to you?
Joseon Ex-Exorcist
I noticed it started and ended without accomplishing anything, it just went over a singular small event that wouldn't even fit a movie format. Then I realized it was a drama that was cancelled. Regardless of the cancellation, I didn't see anything appealing or interesting in these two 70-min episodes. These possessed creatures were your generic screechy zombies with no life in them, no pun intended. The drama didn't provide a good introduction to set up the story or a good introduction to establish the characters in these two episodes, which should have been an enough duration to do both things easily. It got cancelled but at least the cast got paid.Was this review helpful to you?
Your Country: The Imaginary Age
I have a thing or two against impervious plot armors that goes to the extremes and this drama was structured around that. The way these characters shrugged off serious injuries and strong poisons without a hitch was just plain comical circus performance. It made the whole series lose its credibility and left this sour taste lingering in your mouth. The characters transformation and development marred the story with crazy inconsistencies and illogical character arcs for the sake of forced progression. Everything went downhill after episode 4, it relied on these outlandish situations that made it way too hard to remain invested. It strained our ability to suspend disbelief way too often to be forgiven. One of the action soundtracks was straight up just a Eurobeat soundtrack, really odd and unfitting choice. Kinda ruined some action scenes. On the bright side, we had Jang Hyuk and some nice action scenes.Was this review helpful to you?
The First Attempt
At first glance, the cast was stacked but that alone wasn't enough. The drama was obviously some kind of a parody on the genre but it didn't embrace its nature. It made me realized the complete lack of parodies in Kdrama in general which is really unfortunate. Hyper intense, extreme overreactions, deranged morals, illogical by design, fueled by insanity, and unhinged characters. However, for this formula to work, the drama needed one of two things, either add more self-awareness, commit to the theme and double down or create a structure amidst this entire madness. Both of which the drama didn't do. Which left us with a half-arsed attempt to what could have been a unique experience. It would have benefited greatly if it had been cut down to 12 episodes. Will remember it for the potentials it might have had.Was this review helpful to you?
The Drama Queen
While it may have had a gripping introduction and an attractive selection of cast, however, it couldn't maintain its momentum later on. It started off as a fully fledged political drama then added a mix of other genres and cliches with an overpowering flavor of Netflix-esque type of production. Within a few episodes, it quickly lost its creative edge and began to recycle and re-skin the same attacks and counter-attacks between the involved parties. It made the scoop of the drama quite limited for its +11 hours runtime. It's a female centered plot so naturally the spotlight was on them. Each received decent characterization, good introductions, showcased interesting dynamics, and donned fashionable attire. However, by the end of the drama, all of them blended into a bland and vexing mix, losing their initial allure. The drama may have been alright but it's not quite there. At least it didn't stretch for the typical 16 episodes so that's a small win. On another note, the superheroes slo-mo walking shots were cringe. And the brief teaser at the end for a potential 2nd season was tasteless.Was this review helpful to you?
Peasants
I despise, with every atom in my being, the loathsome trope of interrupted intimacy upon any physical approximation in a semi-romantic setting—of which this drama kept repeating endlessly and shamelessly for 14+ episodes before committing to what it was trying to do. Cringey levels of cringe! Despite attempting to address important themes of justice and societal issues, the drama struggled to properly address these subjects and instead turned them into a background noise to service their jokes. Why bother then? While the cast may have been fine but their characters remained uninteresting throughout the drama. Basic characterization, none of them stood out.Was this review helpful to you?
Young Blood
The drama had all the makings of a captivating drama—a stunning setting, charming characters, and a dash of romance. At first glance, the vibrant cinematography and the chemistry between the leads were apparent. But as the story unfolded, it didn't quite live up to its appeal, dare I say, it flopped. It would have been fine if it had retained only the slice of life fluff but it resulted to cheap melodrama antics to build tension and climax which always have had its toll on the viewing experience. The other 2 male leads Yoon Sung & Byung Yeon were treated poorly by the writers, half-arsed development and even a worse conclusion. The ending also faced something similar with it being unclean, unrefined and loose.Was this review helpful to you?
Flowers Over Boys
What might have seemed an interesting premise on the surface turned out to be the farthest thing from that, it crashed and burned in flames. The cast? They might as well have been cardboard cutouts. Pretty faces without a soul. Do Joon gave nothing but extremely uncomfortable creepy vibes made my skin crawl! The characters were like shape-shifters, their motivations changing faster than the weather. I couldn't latch onto them or the storyline. The drama also featured one of the worst love triangles with the highlight being the abomination of this female lead character.Was this review helpful to you?
An awful half drama ½
To say I'm frustrated with this drama is an understatement. From reading the synopsis and from watching the first batch of episodes, it became quite clear that the prominent characters are Prince Kwang Hae and his sister, but alas, this was barely the case. Cha Seung Won left the drama half way through making the plot irrelevant later on for everything that was established earlier. His departure didn't leave an impact either for what's to come. Subsequently, Princess Jeong Myeong became a side piece to roam around the plot with little to no meaningful contribution. The second half in general was a significant downgrade in all regards. It was almost incomparable to the first half. It became as dull as you can imagine without much "character" left in these characters. It reminded of The Great Seer (2012) how there was a massive shift in every regard with the second half.Was this review helpful to you?
Mask off
I found the main cast to be quite dislikable. Heo Joon Ho was the only one who had a decent performance. Yoo Seung Ho was overexaggerating with every breath and Kim So Hyun was a plank of wood. Their characters were equally as bad and underdelivering. The most important plot device in the drama was the mask, however, although its introduction was okay, but how they handled it later on was disappointing and its conclusion and reveal made the whole journey worthless to care about the mask. At the beginning, I thought they would do something clever with the mask play but it turned out it was just some random element to kick-start the story and give the drama its title.Was this review helpful to you?
