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The Incompetent Naive Detective
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. Moving on to season 2, 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.Was this review helpful to you?
I'm Already Tracer
It's not really 2 seasons, there was just 3 weeks broadcasting delay in the middle because of Olympics. Otherwise, it's a full 16 episodes drama. However, it would have been really nice if they kept it to 8 episodes because the smaller side cases were really boring despite their relation to the bigger one. Both main characters Dong Joo & Hye Young had a good characterization but the remainder of the cast couldn't carry their own weight and ended up being bland. Although the plot was centered around tracing money but more often than not it deviated away from the tax evasion plot trying to be a different type of show. While the ending may have been acceptable but it left much to be desired. A drama with an interesting concept but it couldn't pull through to the end.Was this review helpful to you?
Justice Not Served!
The bad prosecutor didn't live up to his name, at least not for the entirety of the drama. The first 4 episodes were decent but the rest were an imitation of its previous spark. Everything up to the final confrontation of the first guy was enjoyable but everything turned into a generic prosecutor/team drama afterwards. No more of the bad prosecutor attitude and his appeal almost diminished, there was a small recovery around the end but it was already too late. Speaking of teams, the sidekicks were pretty bad at being a sidekick especially Baek Eun Ji, just horrible! The team in general lacked a good dynamic, the ML was pulling all the weight by himself. It could've been something decent if more care was put into it.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?
The Loathful Emperor
It started off on a fast pace with big cuts, jumps and gaps. We were thrown right into it with little to no explanation or a breathing room. Sure thing that was attractive enough to hold onto the viewers' attention but that was only for a brief period before the drama hit the brakes at full force yanking the viewers from the realm of existence. Halting its momentum to an irrecoverable state which affected the set up we were given, negatively. Not only the momentum but the story as a whole took a shift for the worse. That shift happened to early to be forgiven, after 7-9 episodes I think? If the writers intent was to write Ta Hwan as an unbearably pathetic whimp then they have achieved an outstanding success! Upon a second look, there were too many males to count who were obsessed with the female lead, this drama was a complicated reverse harem in disguise. Some characters had cool story arcs, while others were just stuck being one-dimensional, making it hard to care about them while the drama kept giving them more screen time. Even worse, most of the characters that died were given a cheap death, even important ones. Anyway, the drama had an enjoyable start despite the chaos but it never managed to recover after slamming the brakes.Was this review helpful to you?
2 weak 2 die
The drama had no right or reason to get the full 16-episode lengthy runtime. Zooming out to look at the drama as a whole, they turned a movie plot into a fully-fledged 18+ hours of redundant episodes. This was quite apparent, watching the writer struggling immensely at every turn. It's also why the writer incorporated cheap antics to get around the plot, the worst of which were the cowardly sneaked-in time-skips, a deplorable trope. Anyway, the writer must have been wearing his clown costume while scripting the last episode. This drama had no respect for the viewers or their time. We were promised an oasis but we were left stranded in the desert.Was this review helpful to you?
A-sassy-nation
It ended up being a parade of tired clichés and an absolute rollercoaster of inconsistency. You have to abandon the most basic display of homosapien intellect capabilities before going into this drama. The leads were useless which made the baddies invincible and the only thing that was able to stop them was the production reaching its end. The leads' relationship was as if someone threw them together and said, "Okay, now act like you're in love!". It was one of the most unnatural displays of affection and progression which, subsequently, killed their romance, in this supposed "rom-com". How many times did the male lead roll to both sides and sighed while being doubtful of his feelings like a child being teased for liking girls?Was this review helpful to you?
Magic Knights!
I wanted Lee Kwang Soo to take on a meatier role in that drama, but alas, he was just there as a guest. I usually like Choi Won Young in serious roles but I hate Choi Won Young when he pretends to be looking serious which was what he went for in this drama. Don't expect a 20-episodes worth of content, it was mostly a boring slice of life cosplay-drama with little to no story. As shallow and thin as the slice of pizza you would get from your teacher shared between 40 students. You technically ate, I guess? The gags, the tomfoolery and the pizazz that filled its content were all unpleasant to watch. The romance and the relationships aren't even worth talking about, a total joke!Was this review helpful to you?
Decent enough
The drama had a weak and uninteresting start but it managed to pick itself back up after some time. Some patients' stories didn't blend well with what was going on and it passed off as an interruption. It shares a lot of similarities with Jewel in the Palace (2003) but with a less attractive cast. Not only that but it also shares the same problems Jewel in the Palace (2003) had had. You may refer to my comment there. In comparison, I would nudge this one slightly higher since it had a more raw feeling to it. The drama also had a modern remake back in 2013. There was no specific fundamental issues with the base story to prompt a remake. There were too many identical copy-pasted scenes and jokes, they don't take any creative freedom with the core story/scenes to make the remake worthwhile. Although the remake is longer but this came at the expense of its pace since the extended content was poorly utilized and made it a worse experience overall. A lot of over exaggeration/dramatization and a lot less human. I hoped the remake would have a better written ending but no, it was identical frame by frame to the original. I prefer this version over the remake for its roughness, rawness and concise cut, it makes for a better watch.Was this review helpful to you?
A steady downward spiral
It had a strong first episode that made the drama seems promising and interesting but turns out that the first episode was its peak and the subsequent episodes were heading in a steady downward spiral to never recover after that. The story was barely functional for a full length 16-episodes drama. The writer should be embarrassed to label this as a comedy but that wasn't even the worst part that goes for the romance. The drama would have been slightly better if they were to cut out the romance without changing anything. Not only our leads were lacking in chemistry but the romantic moments were tasteless.Was this review helpful to you?
If only...
The characters were its biggest downfall. All the characters were insane, demented, deranged and devoid of integrity. There was no layers to their madness. You'll have to humanize them first before stripping it away. Skipping the first step would devalue their actions and take away from the watching experience. Aside from the characters, the drama was excruciatingly slow for no apparent reason other than filling the contracted runtime. Slow burners are acceptable when they serve a purpose to either immerse the viewers into its world or to seamlessly build up the tension. The drama failed to do either. The twists were overdone for the sake of it rather than adding to the narrative meaningfully. Even then, they weren't appealing nor interesting. Once the memory was restored the drama took a sharp and sudden turn for the worst going against what it tried to build up to, this includes the ending. One more thing, there was an attempt to have a play on artistic symbolism but none of which landed well. Partially because of the two aforementioned points.Was this review helpful to you?
Decent
The earlier parts were dreadful to get through, they did an awful job trying to hook the viewers but it got a lot better later on. Around episode 5-6 it started getting interesting and enjoyable. However, that didn't last for too long as there was a big downtime and disconnect in the story after episode 12. Meanwhile the ending was good enough but I hoped for something better. On the other hand, the drama had a decent selection of cast but I wish we got to see more of the support cast like Park Won Sang instead of filling it with redundant scenes. The drama was promising and good enough but it left a lot to be desired.Was this review helpful to you?
Disappointing
The drama biggest problem is its both male leads. Both were incompatible, had zero chemistry and looked way older than their real age and compared to female lead. Regardless of anything else, the drama failed to nail the most basic elements of any romance. The romance itself was poor, awkward, emotionless and dull. Again, the lack of chemistry/connection isn't helping either. More or less, the comedy/entertainment value was equally problematic. This drama was a disastrous romcom from the very beginning and there was no saving it. Almost any other Choi Ji Woo drama from that era was better than this one.Was this review helpful to you?
.
The scuffed production from the beginning wasn't a good sign for what's to come but I was willing to give it a chance. However, it quickly became apparent that this level of writing was clumsy at best. The writer pulled a poor attempt trying to create a mature drama about complicated adult relationships but all these relationships came off as amateurish and bland. The sever lack of chemistry between the characters didn't help either.Was this review helpful to you?
There are better melos out there...
Cheap melodrama, its narrative shortcomings are somewhat forgivable due to the inept writer's apparent limitations in using other means to occupy its duration. However, the same can't be said for its conclusion, which regrettably left the viewers with a palpable sense of disappointment. The only thing you'll be getting is a stinging sour aftertaste.Was this review helpful to you?
