Kate

Totally agreed on the ending. Them just truly dying would be such a powerful ending. I am sure the viewers are smart enough they don't need everything explained by the end with these few scenes of them meeting with Seiren etc.

i know right! After seeing all the people he got top know commits suicide, him going there to find a way to maybe stop it or break it from the inside...

Or the writers should have make him more hesitant to make any judgement about it from the start...

It's a 3 hours long series, it can easily be viewed as a long movie.
Watching it all in one sitting helps the story to sink in.

They did so well with pacing for a short drama like that! This was one of the aspects I was more amazed and surprised by.

I agree on ML's quick change of heart. I think they made his conviction it's all fake way too strong for it to happen. If,. from the start they showed him being conflicted, I'd buy it. But dude kept telling everyone - shit is fake! and then he joined the cult 🤣

One complaint I have in terms of pacing - I don't quite believed when the ML decided to go to Yonder. I don't think they did well with convincing me of his change of heart. For me, it came a bit out of nowhere, especially with his strong stand against it before.

As for that conclusion part - I kind of wanted the show to keep it vague if the world created is truly fake and the people are not true people, but just avatars. I feel like they hinted/showed ML remembers his stay in Yonder, which would mean his consciousness was truly there... and It was not just AI made out of his memories. So then, while the place is fake, people in there are real to some extend.

But then maybe it's just a two way stream... While you can upload your memories to Yonder, you can also get the memories you created in Yonder after waking up. I need to think about it more 🤣

some parts were a tad draggy < and then there is me who wanted even longer episode, maybe even twice the length the show was 🤣

Also, same rating 😉

have i said it's depressing in a negative way?
have i said it's not entertaining?

When I said many viewers watches "for entertainment and relaxation" I meant nothing big, nothing serious, just some silly fun. Which this show is not.

About Yi Hoo not sounding like herself... to be fair, her cheerful side was far before she was diagnosed. That one scene we have seen of her after the diagnosis, she was far more calm and detached and not as "animated" in real life too. I do agree that she seems extremely fake and robotic, but it's the speech pattern, not necessarily her being not bright. Sickness can do it to you. And she said she remembers being sick.

I'm honestly so curious how the show is going to end. there is so many potential ways...

thoughts on the first 3 episodes

Episode 1 - there was literally nothing to fix, no way of improving it.
They gave enough explanation through dialogues to make sense of the sci-fi elements, but they also used a lot of visuals and simple storytelling to explain and expand the rest. It's all built on things that already exists - they are just revamped and made more futuristic.

Episode 2 has some unnerving vibes... It's hard to predict where it's going in terms of tone, and what's the deal with the company - are the good, are they cult, are they something worse?

I LOVE THE SCI FI PARTS IN THIS. Love how they are presented. Love the camera work, love the effects, from production side I truly lover everything.

And then episode 3 made me turn on my brain even more with some thoughts on the themes:

Okay I was on board with the sci fi until one moment.
Technically speaking the idea that the memories can make you "immortal" makes sense. As longas you have the technology that can process such a large data and create a sort of AI out of it - works. The memories will dictate the behavior, speech etc.

BUT one of the character's said that they are able to see their whole family that died in a fire thanks to the memories of the youngest son who did not die right away in the fire... This makes NO SENSE. On person to person level the memories works because we remember not only the events, but also emotional reaction, out thoughts, potential actions and why we decided this specific one etc. With all that data - yeah a believable AI would make sense. BUT if we are making an AI based on someone else's memories? It's IMPOSSIBLE to create a right and correct "copy" of that person, because it's just an external things one person remembers, extremally limited information of who said person truly was...

Overall... episode 3 is even more creepy. When Peach goes - they helped to recreate her dad from the emails, phones etc., the version she wanted to see "what I wanted to see as my memory" as she said - this is... creepy. It's an interesting tale on how hard it is to deal with grief that you literally deny reality. Her dad is dead and the version in By N By is not him on any level. While avatars that were created from the actual memories from the dead ones make more sense to question - is this real, can it be seen as extension of their consciousness existing... An avatar created just based on external data is as fake as it can get.

If I understood that line correctly, about Disney and photoshop, the girl literally made the avatar not only based on limited data, but also based on fake information that never happened. She created memories the avatar will remember, of events that never happened in reality. If this shit ain't creepy I don't know what is.

THERE IS SO MUCH TO EXPLORE IN TERMS OF THEMES IN THIS SHOW 😭

I had quite similar complaints. The way they treated Naksu, and overall majority of female characters was just ridiculous. They started well and then became nothing but support for their dudes...

Great review 👍🏻

1. no big names, means less buzz around the show, means less people even know this exists.
2. no romance or thriller as a leading genre. slice of life shows tend to have smaller audience overall.
3. even if sparkled with a lot of comedy, the show is still rather heavy and tackles serious themes - quite a number of viewers watches dramas for entertainment and relaxation, not to get more stressed out or frustrated
4 it's focused on one theme and genre, hence does not attract many people. there is a reason why the most popular shows are most popular - they often mix many genres so technically speaking "every" potential viewer can find something for themselves (the quality of mixing all these genres is a different thing 🤣)


Each one makes the target audience smaller. hence less people will check it out and watch it... Sadly, coz the show is amazing.

Really good review!
While my personal complained were not "addressed" in the review (which is perfectly fine, they were my complains, not yours) I still appreciate that you tried to see what kind of issues potential viewers might have while going into it. Going into a show knowing what you might encounter is a perfect way to avoid disappointment or misunderstand of what the show is truly about 😊

I agree that 24 episodes would be better. Especially since the episodes themselves were also long.
Great review 👍

thoughts on episode 10

Episode 10 made me rethink giving the show a 10. Still most likely 9 or 9.5, but one thing bothered me:
Episode 10 should have been the last episode of Oh Dal Sung since now, he brings nothing to the table. All they could have used him for storytelling wise is done.

For me, they should focus now on Goo Tae Man and his alliance with Park Seung Tae - switching a weak opponent (Dal Sung) to a stronger one (Seung Tae). Seung Tae being more vital part would be extremely interesting. He does not seem as evil as the rest, as of now he is more... uninformed? But then, we don't really know much about him. His involvement would also be interesting in terms of how Park Seung Ha would react.

As for the "romance" twist - I am so not worried. Anyone who thinks this might go anywhere - are we watching a different show? Jegal already said he sees Ga Eul as a child, a kid whom he wants to protect, because she reminds him of his past and how he had no one truly on his side. There is nothing romantic about his interactions with her.

Yes, she has a crush, but I think for a young girl her age, with all the issues she has, it makes sense, but it will pass. She is grateful, he is the only person who truly believes her and roots for her and what she wants. She was lonely, and thanks to him, she does not anymore. It would be weird if she did not have any stronger feelings for him tbh. But I'm sure they will solve it, and she will move on rather fast. I'm more scared they will use it to create some scandal, like the rumor from the past.

ALSO ABOUT THAT PAST RUMOR THE FUCK ASJDHSJDFN I AM SO ANGRY. So now we know the context of it. It was not just her talking to Dal Sung and people misunderstanding. That pathetic man tried to force himself on her. He truly needs to go.

Anyway, As much as I loved episode 10, them still having Dal Sung as part of the plot gets repetitive and boring. Let's move on.

It makes sense she has feelings to him, but even she might misunderstand what it is. He is the first person she opened to, she is grateful,. trusts him etc.

As for Jegal, 100% sure he does not have feelings for her. I think when he told the ex-psychiatrist Ga Eul is just a kid, he meant it, and he just wants to protect her, because he know how vulnerable young athletes are and where it van lead if they don't have support.

That said, I have not seen episode 10 yet lol

I think because the prophecy is well know she did not take it seriously. She just thought someone was trolling her using it. I'm sure if there was no prophecy and she got messages telling her she will die, she would at least tell someone about it.

She clearly does not believe in the prophecy, so for her it's just some dumb person with too much time trying to scare her.

9 episodes in and it's not getting worse by even 1% 😭 I feel like I'm in heaven.
Yo... if they won't fuck it up, keep the steady pace and quality as it is... this might be a 10/10 for me.
Even with the few flaws I see, it's still an amazing journey.
This shit is giving me anxiety, coz I fear any episode now it's going to turn into shit like so many dramas...

After episode 3 - I love the bish that corrects that one dude's english pronunciation. I love stuff like that. She is becoming my favorite even tho this is legit all she does and all her lines 🙃

Realistically speaking, I'm not really that interested in the plot, but I like the characters, and that's what matters 🤣Hae Yi and Sun Ja are just so bubbly and amazing.

I'm also slowly getting on the Jung Woo and Hae Yi ship, and I'm ready to sail. He is so grumpy and she is so sunshine... It's fun.