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The Return of The illegitimate Thief
Watching a drama with so much narration was kind of weird. It didn't help it case when the leads were whispering all the time with this monotone voice, almost like they were just reading lines off a script. Moreover, both of their performance was quite poor in general, I know they have the talent but not in this drama. The story itself felt like it was dragging its feet endlessly. The ending was a weak attempt at redemption. It rushed major sections with too many skips to rush progression and conclusion but ended up creating even more problems, leaving major gaps to what could have been a very simple wrap up. Releasing another version of Iljimae within 1 year turned out to be a poor decision when they have had learned nothing from the previous one.Was this review helpful to you?
The Forbidden Scam
A girl pretending to be the Crown Princess's ghost, a spirited leading lady, and a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of historical tales—the ban on love. It sold itself as this wild, carefree series, promising easy laughs and a blissful escape. However, the writers tripped hard trying to weave in melodramatic and political plots because the original concept was unsustainable for more than a couple of episodes. They birthed these laughable plots and pitiful antagonists in the process. The female lead, originally devious and witty, took this nosedive into becoming this sad, serious persona spouting profound but empty and hypocritical lines. It was hard to believe or feel anything she said or did after this drastic change in character. Again, forcing a systematic change across the board after a couple of episodes. At the end of the day, this is just another poor cosplay show.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?
Polymonogamy: The Prequel
The way they handled things was just all over the place. This loathsome love triangle infested its core amidst everything else. Forcefully pushing it in our throats around every single detour. It got trashier the longer it kept going. The drama was covered with palace politics, as always, but it was impossible to care about anything because they just obsessed over who's in love with whom, overshadowing anything the drama tried to offer. The pacing followed through in that regard—slow moments that dragged on forever for what could have been a quick tale. The drama fell way short of establishing a watchable narrative. It was like biting into a cookie and finding out it's all crumbs.Was this review helpful to you?
Grim Prince
The spoiler/teaser introduction and that first episode in general left a bad taste in my mouth. There was no need to show moments from 10 episodes later this early, if their intent was to try to hook the viewers by showing spoilers then they failed. And don't even get me started on that loathsome love triangle that seemed to stain the entire drama. The pacing was all over the place—slow moments that dragged on forever and irrelevant sidetracking. The whole sibling rivalry angle was given a generic development. The not so good brother tried to justify himself but the writer didn't put an ounce of effort into that. On another note, Yoon Shi Yoon looked weird with his baby beard.Was this review helpful to you?
Didn't hit the jackpot
A strong, solid and gripping introduction that captured the expected theme perfectly, accompanied with thrilling gambling scenes. Choi Min Soo instantly pulled all the attention to himself. He did such an amazing job embodying this harsh intimidating king. However, it wasn't all sunshine and roses, most of the glamorous elements that made the drama attractive were evaporated after 3 episodes. A handful of useless characters may come and go. The gambling became a secondary plot device. Stretching the drama thin and long by introducing three mini-bosses like an anime arc. The main lead was equipped with impervious plot armor eliminating the tension and risks. He may suffer irrecoverable fatal damage just to be resurrected from the depths of hell because the drama can't continue otherwise. A handful of other writing problems that kept holding the drama back sprinkled throughout. The only character that remained interesting was King Suk Jong, waiting desperately for his next scene of which they were scarce for a main lead. Yeo Jin Goo should stop picking up king/historical roles, he might be one drama away from being entrapped in typecasting hell forever.Was this review helpful to you?
Secret Dealer
This drama was like a rollercoaster ride without the thrills or the rails. That first episode was unbelievably bad and a huge turn off to kick start the drama but I kept going regardless. The whole mystical shaman vibe in a historical setting turned out to be quite an unsuccessful combo in this case, it felt like they slapped on those elements without any real thought. The entire story felt so limited and restricted, even the cast, when taking into consideration its length. All of that was accompanied by poor pacing, you can imagine how they were trying to push it to reach the 20 episodes mark.Was this review helpful to you?
An embarrasing piece
It started off on a decent note but hit a major roadblock somewhere shortly after, a big nosedive out of nowhere! Disrespectful atrocious writing, to say the least. You may witness one of the worst written plot devices and tension management here. I was willing to give it a chance in the beginning despite the setback, but my interest plummeted faster than a rock when the male lead got entangled with that deplorable love interest plot. In fact, this applied to all of the four female leads. The momentum sputtered and stalled like a car running on fumes and the leads were stuck in first gear the whole time. The potential for a captivating narrative was there, hanging in the air, but the execution was practically non-existent. I'm fairly certain this is the worst drama Jang Hyuk picked up in his career, hopefully the last.Was this review helpful to you?
Watching men
The drama attempted to explore the supernatural realm through the eyes of night watchmen which were a small tiny portion of a drama titled after them. The drama actually had a reasonable start but a few episodes later it got lost and scattered with no clear direction. It got increasingly messy the longer it went as it was struggling to fill its 24 episodes. There were some strange out of place pieces of dialogues that can be labeled as incoherent nonsense. In addition, a lot of inconsistencies with the characters, poor motives and sudden changes contrary to their established and developed character. The OST was awful, it was like listening to a bad cover band in a dive bar. There were moments that caught my attention but they fizzled out quicker than a damp firecracker.Was this review helpful to you?
Jang Hee Bin - The cursed
Any intimate scenes were hilarious to watch from any point of view, even from 1995. As if watching 2 animatronics getting physically close to each other. The first half of the drama was okay but the second one was a mess, it was all over the place. Once other sides started to intervene and the scope went beyond Jang Hee Bin, the drama became a generic palace power struggle royalty bullshit. The king portrayal probably the worst performance out of all the characters. The actor 'Im Ho' looks like a cartoon character when he gets angry. Amateur actors will bring more to the table than him. No wonder why he barely gets low tier main roles and the rest is between support and guest roles. I wonder why this drama managed to get 3 remakes. It would be interesting to see the 2002 version since the cast looks more appealing. The Jang Ok Jung (2013) remake was equally as problematic as this one. Maybe Jang Hee Bin as a historical character is cursed to be portrayed in any media.Was this review helpful to you?
Not good
This is when the genre lost its direction and was going through a transitional period trying to figure out how to be modern. This drama went through a similar downhill pace as Gye Baek (2011) which both were airing at the same time in July 2011. They also both shared similar problems except this one was edger, cringer and worse.Was this review helpful to you?
Very low rewatching value...
Although there were good moments but the pacing was unbearable. Too many episodes were completely useless and insanely boring. I guarantee your favorite characters won't be getting enough screen time. They had all the time they would need but random scenes of random soldiers were more important, i guess. Some high moments didn't quite deliver after a very long build up which made waiting for the next big moment more tiring. I can't say the time investment is worth it with this drama. The production seems to be acceptable for 2003 Korean TV production. But I wish for something higher than 480p would make it to the internet.Was this review helpful to you?
If only they cared....
An okay first half followed by a significantly worse second half but that wasn't enough as it fumbled the landing even harder. The drama massively under-delivered on the ending and everything it was building up for 24 episodes. The most laughable aspect of the ending was the antagonist, he was shown as a powerful big threat just to be dealt with in the most comical way possible at the end. The fantasy elements were passable with nothing outrageous other than the messy introduction. I certainly don't miss Bae Yong Joon, kinda under-delivering on his role as the main protagonist. Meanwhile, Lee Ji Ah earlier carrier was much more interesting and enjoyable than her latest roles.Was this review helpful to you?
Poor
Soulless and dry!! It got significantly worse when the drama forgot its main objective and focused on the parents opposing the ML's love interest. Too much unwarranted stupidity. The cast performance was serviceable at best. For a 16 episodes drama it didn't deliver anything substantial. Even if we were to condense down everything into a single movie, it still wouldn't be worth it.Was this review helpful to you?
It's something....
Back then when they dared to try something different to varying degrees of success. It's not fair to compare this to The X-Files, they have nothing in common other than sharing a similar genre. Anyway, the drama was a mixed bag, some cases were better and more interesting than others. The main story that was progressing in the background wasn't well fleshed out to tie everything together and the ending was just okay. The performance of the cast was alright, nothing major but some scenes lacked the effort.Was this review helpful to you?
