6
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Can't recommend.
The concept is fine but the execution is poor. All stories share great similarities with small alterations, there's a consistent pattern in these relationships where all males are bad/unfavorable and all females are victims/deserve better. The drama had an overwhelming number of cast members and an overwhelming number of small scattered stories, even though this is a long format drama but it back fired.The lead couple are the weakest point for the drama. Them as actors, their story, their development, their resolution and the attention they were given all of which was borderline bad and they're suppose to be the "leads". This lead couple had a total, as I counted, 14 breakups/fights, my god I just wanted them to break up for good or die I don't care anymore fuck them! No wonder "Lee Ha Na" dropped out from being the female lead after the first script reading session. Speaking of which, the male lead Heo Gap Dol is the most pathetic loser I've ever seen, he remained a loser even at the end.
Let's talk about Heo Da Hye, the male lead's sister, she's one of the most interesting characters in the drama yet the creators completely destroyed her. From the end of episode 33 she was completely cut off abruptly from the drama with absolutely zero mention of her as if she never existed. Her mother, brother, kids, ex-husband all carried on as if she never existed. It seems like the character Ban Ji A became her replacement just for Soo Jo's sake.
The beginning of episode 34 marked a clear big shift in the writing and direction. The writer didn't no where or how to steer the ship from there, it took a random turn every now and then, some characters started to disappear for 4-5 episodes at times (including leads), the leads were treated like guest characters with minimum updates or attention, most cute moments became cheesy and cringe, half of the supporting cast rarely appeared afterwards, the whole story became too scattered and the stretch of events got too obvious as they were trying to prolong the series. One thing really bothered me is how the drama took a weird detour that included manipulating emotions in solving every single problem/relationship, rather than fixing them in a healthy way.
Can't recommend.
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Pretty good...
It turned out to be better than I initially thought of it after watching a handful of episodes. It may have the look and feel of 1996 although it's from 2006 but I guess that's just the limitation of production, still pretty decent, I will talk more about RAW files at the end. While watching the first half, you would think that Mi Chil is the ultimate representation of a toxic guilt-tripping-filled relationship and that Il Han deserve all the agony and pain but the drama managed to pick itself up afterwards. The drama does the "high" moments really well while the "low" moments are really low and awful but it overcompensates that with the campiness feel especially once the twins made up (around eps50).All the stories were good and enjoyable to watch except Deok Chil's story line which always felt dull and lack any proper characterization. One thing extra I wanted from the ending is for "Mi Chil" to have a slightly better ending to give her the chance to speak out. The time-skip ending had an insane amount of baby making, it's a strong contender for the highest time-skip baby making drama.
If you were to watch it then go to AvistaZ and choose the release from Taengoo, it's pulled directly from KBS vods and even looks much better than the DVD version although it got a slight interlaced effect for the first 30 episodes.
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The synopsis written here is wrong, it's only relevant to the last 3 episodes concerning Tae Suk's father. The story revolves around Woo Jin starting from the bottom and getting to be an anchorwoman for 9 PM news.
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They also kept forcing the viewers to sympathize with the husband and his mistress with how they told their story. The husband, according to him, never knew what love is for 20-years. The mistress, after a painful breakup and her mother's death, she had no one left for her and was in a desperate need for someone to lean on. Both the husband and his mistress were given a lot of scenes every episode and almost were treated as the "first" main leads. The drama even followed their story up until the very end to show a happy ending. They had it pretty easy for them. The wife saw her husband so sickly in love with his mistress, physically and mentally, so she agreed on the divorce. The wife didn't even had a single adult talk/confrontation scene with the mistress, how?!
The writing sucks and the story is a huge mess but the cast was fine. Don't expect romance except for the brief moments with the mistress at the start and the last 5 minutes for the female lead.
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it's kinda watchable.
Weak ending! After all this commotion, the absolute bare minimum they could do is to slap a better ending, it left me with a bitter taste. The flashback in the first 4 episodes made the drama to have a weak start. What a joke of a revenge story this is! Forgiving most parties this easily and seeing them becoming ideal human beings with a flip of switch. They ruined many lives over the years and eventually they faced no consequences. Isn't it ironic that Seok Hyun's daughter is a piece of shit psycho despite how deep his love for her mother was?The number of cast members felt too small for a 50 episode drama. Subsequently, the story also felt limited for what it had to offer and the plot stretched too thin. A long jaded 50 episode of push and pull between the Kang's family members, they had an opportunity to build a bigger plot but not much was going on beyond the Kang's house. The entire plot line of "marrying for revenge" is a whole big mess I don't want to get into.
The drama had one of the weakest female leads in a revenge story. Throughout the 50 episodes all we can see is her being tossed around from everyone like a piece of trash. Even when she attempts to fight back it's weak af. A proper female lead for a revenge story is a one that gets fierce, offensive and aggressive in the second half. This drama also had "things that were too excessive but I guess it's a melodrama" kind of cliches: the parrot, shipping container, steel beams, 15 adults chasing 1 7-yo girl, satellite images and questionable technical stuff. Overall, it's kinda watchable.
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Another YUCKY brain dead love triangle!
Comically over dramatic and another YUCKY brain dead love triangle :/The first 5 episodes were the worst, how did they manage to hook the viewers! No wonder they were teasing short snippets from events that will happen in episode 18. It's bullshit how many traits/habits/quirks they gave Soo Yeon for the ML to identify her, we get it she's the girl.
Hyung Joon presence was exhausting, an obsessed mentally ill rich dude who always plays the victim and seeks pity from everyone in every possible situation. Even the character's actor wasn't that good. Meanwhile, Jung Woo is arguably the worst cop/detective you'll ever see in a drama. The dude got beaten up and lost to every thug he went against. How did this weak-ass-bitch graduated?
One more thing, cringe ending :/
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It's a passable family drama
Obviously, Hye Won and Jae Ha were the highlights but I wanted to see more of them in the second half. Their story was almost finished mid way through, why not create more arcs for them? At least they were cute af at the end. I said it before and I'mma say it again, Lee Yoon Ji is one of the most underrated actresses.It's a passable family drama but lacks some focus on a bigger scoop. Every chunk of episodes focus on a different character/story. They missed the opportunity to make the three sisters' dynamic as the main focus, it was, but for a short period and brushed off fairly quickly. Regarding conflicts and escalations, the writer seems to know one and only one way to achieve that, this is done by isolating the victim and shift all the blame to them by everyone including their family. This was done repeatedly to most of the characters/stories, it makes it hard to watch when it's this detached from common sense. They went overboard by showing that they live in an extremely sexist society, this is not 1920 anymore, again this also comes down to how the writer choose to create conflicts. The overcooked "happy moments" for the last episode felt off and just had too much artificial flavor. Especially with this wacky 10-years promise for Ji Won, just be normal.
My god! What's wrong with Min Myeong Suk, he's abusive, toxic, manipulative, mastermind in gaslighting and borderline misogynistic. Really got on my nerves! I just wanted a better resolution for Ji Won at the end.
Anyway, it's watchable. I'm just too harsh with my ratings.
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Irredeemable
This drama was destined to fail from the beginning. Some of original selected main cast dropped off. Some cast controversies prior to filming. It was cut down from 50 episodes to 26 with premature ending. Conflict between cast. Lee Tae Im absence in the last 5 episodes because she got into an accident, they were even planning to replace her but the drama ended anyway. The writing department suffered immensely, the drama was full of delirious characters. Some complain how stupid Soon Jung is but the real smooth brain is actually Soon Jin, I believe apes have higher intellectual abilities. No wonder why the broadcast ratings were abysmal. Thankfully, it ended early anyway.Was this review helpful to you?
Alone in Love
The writer has a good track record of writing good unique shows and this drama was no exception. The drama stood out for its deep rich story and multi-layered narrative, offering a compelling journey through the complexities of life and relationships. Its strength lies in its ability to delve into the human psyche, exploring themes of love, family dynamics, societal expectations, ambition, and identity with a nuanced hand. The drama had a lot of story to tell and explore, yet it didn't feel bloated. The characters went through a tremendous development and growth during its runtime. The drama was filled with great characters and characterizations, each character is meticulously crafted, with their own hopes, fears, trauma and desires, adding depth and dimension to the storyline. I particular liked the subtle humor that lied in their casual interactions and dialogues. However, despite its many strengths, lied flaws that somewhat tarnished some of its brilliance. There were many things that could've been done better but nothing was too major. The entanglement of love square relationship may have lasted for too long and could've been navigated better, though I still love their unconventional dynamic. The drama kind of ended at episode 15 while the last episode was more like a real proper reflection and a graceful send off, I don't think I've seen something like that before in a drama. Despite some missteps and its unconventional approach, the drama remained a strong compelling watch with a star-studded cast.Was this review helpful to you?
The Incompetent Naive Detective 2
Regarding season 1, I liked the earlier episodes and I was looking forward to the upcoming ones but things didn't go as expected. They had a really poor mix of investigators and journalists/reporters working on the case. Not even the involved characters from that side were appealing to watch. You often hear in any police/investigation drama how they keep information away from journalists/reporters to not hinder the investigation, it turned out they were right. I liked how Oh Ji Hyuk didn't stand out as a main lead too much to allow those around him to have a space, he blended in nicely. Him and Do Chang had a nice dynamic but they started to drift apart a little bit later on.Compared to season 1, the main case was definitely less interesting. The involved parties were boring. The investigation was slower and much simpler. There was barely any tension, not much action and thriller anymore. Most of the time they were slacking around. Less budget maybe? Throughout both season there was a very small side plot in the background regarding Oh Ji Hyuk and finding a meaning in living but the writer didn't allow for such development and, eventually, after 2 full seasons, everything boiled down that he found a meaning in life through being a workaholic detective. The way they handled that after 32 episodes was the most disappointing thing about the whole thing.
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BOO!
The cursed case-of-the-week format! I was more interested in the FL's mother case which is the main case that was developing in the background than whatever case the ML threw himself in. I really wish this was a one big coherent case to follow or at least have the side cases directly connected to the main one. What made matters worse was the poor dynamic between the leads, they just didn't bounce off each other well. There was a weird constant disconnect between them. Thank god they didn't add romance into the mix. The side characters were an embarrassment to label them as a supporting cast. They were just a white noise blended in the background, completely forgettable and faceless. One of the most important things about horror is to set up the atmosphere which this drama forgot to do most of the time. It was more like a flashy horror with some horror elements. This was probably my least favorite Jang Na Ra drama.Was this review helpful to you?
Joseon Attorney: An Immorality
Just like any other profession focused drama, they follow the notorious bait and switch tactic and this drama was no exception. We were introduced to an attorney with a tragic past and a strong motive, he worked on 2-3 cases for the first half of the drama before shifting the drama into a love chase, hypergamy, and hasty revenge. This shift wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't been so atrocious. Somewhere around episode 9 everything took a change for the worse, including the male lead, who had been a walking disaster since the beginning. Structuring a romance around him was a big mistake; he was unbelievably creepy, intrusive, touchy, and pushy for someone who he met very briefly. His behavior came off as nothing but repulsive while going against the narrative. However, even that changed around the same shift, he began to take the moral high ground without going through any prior development. On another note on the inconsistencies, some earlier scenes had artsy edits which were interesting but none of the later episodes had something similar. It was just a one off thing to gain attraction, again, bait and switch. Overall, the drama had some intriguing elements earlier on but none of them lasted long enough.Was this review helpful to you?
