237
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10
3
10
18
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1
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10
19
4
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1
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30
Is this a good show? No. Quite honestly and objectively speaking. Characters at times make no sense, they randomly turn "gaynes and romance" from 1 to 10 between episodes, actions of most characters have no true consequences, and some ladies are just crazy. BUT it's entertaining and I enjoyed every second of it.
I planned to watch one episode, to just see why so many people are so obsessed, and ended up watching 11 episodes in one sitting. Once you start, you won't even know when you'll be on the last episode.
One of the things that for sure got people hooked was the chemistry between the main characters. The things they did... Hide the kids. Fire on screen. Overall the characters were fun to watch. Kim is my girl and the best female character I have seen in BL so far.
I don't have much to say about the plot, since it was never important in the drama itself. It's definitely driven by the relationships and interactions between the characters. The writers could completely change the setting of the show, and not many changes would have to be made.
But then there is Moira, who is basically a female version of Lhong. Throw her into the trash please.
I found the last episode a bit too over the top, even for such an over the top show. But it made me laugh and had some heartwarming moments, so I shouldn't really complain right?
Overall, as many before me said, it's a perfect guilty pleasure. Give it a shot and dive into the craze.
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Truth to be told, this season was nowhere near as fun to watch as season 1. It seemed like most people gave up halfway through and everyone was just chilling in a friendly manner. I mean, I felt the pain of the editors. The uneven screen time for all the cast, how some episodes literally showed close to nothing from what was happening in Inferno - I guess they truly struggled with finding a good footage to include in the final product.
While in season 1 I felt like almost no one was rejecting anyone because they were “playing the game” and doing what the dating show is supposed to be about, here everyone was obsessed with their initial pick, but also no one wanted to be the bad guy or rude so no rejections happened and it was just this awkward vague bubble that did not want to burst.
I honestly don’t have more to say about it. The only reason I still watched it after the halfway through point, were the fun discussions in the comment section and to know the context of some comments and replies.
Do I feel bad for any of them for not being picked by the people they liked? Or not going to paradise? No. They are all hot, young, with successful careers and even their stay in “Inferno” is a vacation many people could never afford… I think that’s why I enjoy shows like that. I can watch them with no negative emotions.
Ps. Se Jun was THE MVP. Best boy ever. Bless him. Wish him all the happiness.
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The greatest mystery - who is Santa?
Are you done with watching incompetent cops trying to solve a mystery and catch the criminal? Do you find it funny, when shows try to hide who the killer is, even though it’s more than obvious to the audience? Did you have enough of female characters being there just to support the male leads? If yes, this show is for you.There are no cops to be seen, so you don’t have to deal with their incompetence. We know who the killer is since day one and the whole plot centers around the amazing cast of female characters. Want a hero? Want a complex gray character? Want a chaotic villain? You will get it all here.
Inspector Koo is a whacky, bizarre and surreal crime comedy that presents an exciting cat and mouse chase, with a lot of traps hidden for all the characters. The show introduces a number of plot lines that, by the end, get fitting conclusions.
We follow three different sets of characters, having their own motivations, goals and ways of dealing with piling up issues - Kyung Yi and her team, K, and Chief Yong Sook. Each of them trying to be on top and outsmart the others.
Inspector Koo presents a refreshing take on the heroine trope. Koo Kyung Yi is not exactly the type of person you would admire and try to look up to. Struggling with basic daily activities, she gets absorbed into the investigation, getting close to an obsession.
Luckily, she has on her side Na Je Hee, who is able to keep the team operating, Oh Kyung Soo being the voice of a real reason and Santa, the innocent helper who cares for Inspector Koo deeply, while hiding his true identity. Who is Santa? That’s the mystery of the show.
On the other hand, we have Song Yi Kyung, who is the “righteous” serial killer hidden under the name “K”. With her wits and daring behavior, she was able to commit murders undetected. Her reasoning and personal moral code make her an interesting character to observe.
The third party involved in the plot is Chief Yong Sook and her subordinates, who team up with Koo Kyung Yi in attempts to catch “K”, serving a role of a behind the scenes power, while hiding their own motives.
The three groups present amazing dynamics and never ending scheming that kept me as a viewer at the edge of my seat. Not only that, the drama presents viewers with conflicting emotions - you know you should not be rooting for the killer, but somehow… it’s hard to be completely against their actions.
Inspector Koo is a perfect blend of crime, investigation and dark comedy. It never takes itself too seriously by trying to have a depth of the Mariana Trench, when it’s more of a puddle. It’s not here for you to break your brain trying to understand convoluted plot lines and morally gray dilemmas and issues. It gives you thrills, fun, action and an entertaining set of characters that work together in the most amusing way.
On several occasions we can witness the clever writing, when jokes or solutions are set up in the previous episodes. Some seemingly off topic and insignificant comments made by the characters are used to set a playoff in the scenes later on.
The production team committed to the bizarre characterization of the drama, elevating it by unusual, at times over the top editing and gaming elements - making the whole plot seem less realistic and surreal. Adding the perfection that the soundtrack for this show is - we’ve got ourselves quite a cinematic treat.
Overall, one of the biggest surprises of 2021. Fitting and funny comedy, amazing thrills, likable characters, unusual mystery and romance found in surprising places, scheming and wits that take you on the peculiar journey.
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It might seem like a drama with many usual tropes of rom-coms, but most of them are introduced in an interesting and fresh way. The love triangle is not as frustrating as it tends to be in this genre and gets resolved in a realistic way. The second lead female is almost non existing and does not affect the main couple in a negative way. Even the accidental kiss happened in a realistic setting.
Don’t let the tags fool you, neither is the female lead naive nor the main lead cold. She is strong willed and tries to fulfill her dreams in an industry she likes while staying positive and mature. Gu Wei Yi is a nice and truly caring guy. He might not be the best communicator and lacks the know-how in romantic relationships, but rather than being cold, it makes him look sweet and innocent.
All the characters were extremely likable, with Lin Zhi Cun being a background MVP who instead of being turned into a pushy guy that goes after a girl ignoring her own feelings, was written as a good person who is willing to help others in his smart and funny ways.
It’s a good drama for an evening when you don’t want to feel burdened with complex plots and many tragic and sad scenes. There are no weird plot twists and no moments that will make your blood boil.
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I believe this drama shows in quite simple and realistic way what happens when someone openly gay dates a person who is still in the closet and not ready to come out. Most of the problems Pete and Kao faced were the result of Kao not admitting he is dating Pete to his friends and family.
That said, we cannot place all the blame on Kao only. We should take into consideration his situation too - the fear of his mom not accepting him, the possibility of losing his job because some parents might not want a gay person to tutor their children. Pete was in an extremely privileged situation - did not have to worry about money, his dad was as accepting as it was possible. Because of that, it was hard for him to understand Kao's struggle and how, for him, there was no good way out of this situation. No matter what choice he will make, there will be negative consequences.
I also like what they did with Non's character, no matter how annoying he was. The drama clearly showed how bad parenting can influence a kid. Giving us the glimpse of what Non has to put up with at home makes it easier to understand the character, but the drama makes sure to not use it as an excuse for his bad behavior. Being a victim does not mean you yourself can create more victims.
Overall, I believe this drama addresses the important topic of coming out and how it should always be decided by the person themselves, when and how they want to do it. It should not be forced on them, expected from them. It's not an easy decision and everyone's circumstances are different. To quote the drama: "It's my choice to tell or not tell anyone. I should get to decide.".
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This review may contain spoilers
If you present an awful message, at least be entertaining to cover it up.
These 4 episodes commit 3 grave mistakes: questionable takes on serious issues, painfully repetitive story, extremely dumb main character that they tried to cover up with the cast and good production . The only thing I truly got from it was boredom and frustration.The whole idea of suicide being a sin is simply gross to me. What it means is being sick is sinning. It’s like saying someone who has Tourette syndrome that leads them to say profanities is rude and ill-mannered. They are not. These are the result of their disorder. And I think the drama could have been saved, if they focused not on him committing suicide, but how his act killed an innocent person. That I could partially understand. Saying suicide is a sin though - that’s just uneducated statement from people who know little to nothing about psychology and human’s mind. What you are saying is - being sick is a sin. Maybe reevaluate your opinion.
As for the repetitiveness - where to even begin? The whole being reborn in a new body was fun for the first three deaths, after that it became boring. The way almost all deaths were linked to greed made me roll my eyes so bad. Who gives a fuck about the complexity of human’s experience I guess. Not the writer, that’s for sure. All the reincarnations ended before they truly began, nothing was explored, there was no depth to anything. Extremely simplistic and basic. It lacked excitement and the cause of it was mostly the 3rd mistake: the male character.
Now, being perfectly honest, I think I was the most offended by how dumb the male lead was. Here’s the thing - his suicide was not a selfish act itself. That said, he was a selfish person. Egocentric to the core. Lacking any understanding of other people’s perspectives. And so painfully dumb. Did he even want that second chance? At some point I was almost convinced he started to enjoy dying since he did not really do much to survive in any of the bodies. He focused on random things that were insignificant, was always led by his impulsive emotions and never made any proper plans and back-up plans. He was overconfident in his non-existing skills.
There is not much to say about this part 1. I’m completely not interested in watching part 2.
Sure, the drama was visually well produced and the cast did an amazing job with the characters they were playing. So what, when the writing was mediocre?
Overall, I would not recommend it.
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Strong beginning, mediocre middle, lackluster ending.
Not gonna lie, I thought it’s going to be more comedy based with focus on Kaneda being a massive fanboy and trying to deal with working alongside, and later dating his idol. It was not. While it still had some scenes here and there focusing on that aspect, it was mostly just an office romance, with not that much romance.It worked so well at first. Kaneda was sweet and in the constant panic mode because of any most basic interaction with Yanase. Yanase was a nice and helpful mentor, who slowly started to see how adorable Kaneda is. And then they moved to the most basic rom-com stuff one has seen and all the spark was gone - still enjoyable, but ain’t special.
Sadly, they apparently wanted to finish with something more emotionally charged? The artificial, overexaggerated identity crisis Yanse has at some point just seemed so not fitting and out of place, I wish it was never included.
That said, the most frustrating aspect must have been the last two episodes - the fillers. This is the stuff writers add in their 16 episodes dramas when they run out of ideas. It was a completely unnecessary new chapter added at the end of the show. If they truly wanted to dive into the change of dynamics and unsureness in their current situation, it could have been quite a nice short second season - why add it at the end of this one?
Still, I did enjoy the characters a lot. Yanse was such a sweetheart and such a good boy, it was hard not to love him. He was smart, caring, trusting and hardworking. Kaneda gave me some good comedy bits that made me laugh. Sadly… the side characters were extremely forgetful. There were two female co-workers with questionable hobbies. That one guy who complained how he is not valued at work, while also not doing his work well. There was that white/half-white dude who showed up just to cause some emotional trouble. They filled the space, but that’s it.
Production wise, it was really nice. Good camera work, good set design and smooth editing. The transition between the scenes was decent and it never felt like they were completely jumping from topic to topic without caring for cohesiveness.
What was great? The outro. Expanding it after each episode was a great idea, so - to people who are about to watch - don’t skip it, watch till the end.
No complaints about the acting. I was honestly quite impressed with Seto Toshiki - he delivered both the over the top, and more subtle performance, and they both felt natural.
Overall, it’s a nice show with some fun scenes and good chemistry. Better as a binge watch.
Random side note: it had quite a few questionable falls with questionable physics.
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The worst part of the show was the investigation and overall police work. Why did all of the detectives act outside of the law? What's the point in catching the bad guy when none of the evidence will hold up in court because of how it was obtained? No one put any brain power to solve the case. Instead, we've got looooots of breaking and entering and arresting people left and right without a warrant.
Gray characters? Questionable moral decisions? Making mistakes? I love all that in characters, but still, they need to have SOME redeeming qualities. Here? They all sucked. Everyone was so painfully self-righteous and throwing themselves pity parties titled "who had it worse in life".
The production value was not bad? I'm just questioning why it was so dark for so many scenes. Creating a feeling of suspense and all that happens, when you play around with shadows and LIGHT. The light was not detected here.
The acting was good, I must admit. But I did expect a good performance from this cast.
Overall, nothing new, nothing fresh, dislikable characters, predictable plot.
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It took quite a few detours for them to reach the destination.
Flight to You is a drama that somehow manages to be both amazingly realistic and painfully ridiculous at the same time. How? The characters represent the realistic part, while the plot, especially in the last 8-10 episodes gets a little bit too close to a mental circus you just have to accept and not question the logic behind.The best aspect of the drama is how the characters have real flaws which have real consequences. Cheng Xiao might be smart, driven and friendly, but she is also impulsive and overconfident which affected her career quite a few times. Gu Nan Ting might be patient, fair and hardworking, but he is also closed off and too strict. Similar descriptions can be written by other characters, even the “bad guys” - no one is just good and pure, or evil and flawed.
Speaking of which - I loved Jiang Tao (or loved to hate him would be more fitting). What a well written antagonist. He was just a normal man that was painfully sexist and too power driven - something we see in real life more often than we should. At some point I even started to feel bad for him - his old fashioned and full of prejudiced worldview was simply limiting - both for him and for the company he cared so much about.
I also appreciated how the supporting characters felt both familiar, as many followed well established tropes, and fresh, by adding small twists to their characterization. The whole show is truly driven by how likable and relatable these characters are.
Onto the plot. Romance was so slow at times it felt like we were walking backwards. It was all in the hands guys, all the romance, love, frustration, pinning, doubt. Pay attention to the hands (not like you can miss it with all the close ups…). Truth to be told, I was completely fine with this snail pace. I appreciated and enjoyed the relationship between Gu Nan Ting and Cheng Xiao not only for the sparks, but also the partnership and friendship they built. How much they influenced each other and grew to be better pilots and better people because of it.
As for the airport related plots - you gotta close one eye and ignore some illogical aspects of it. Closer to the end you might need to close two, since the show just gives up the realism as it struggles to keep up with the plots and give them all a proper closure. That said, by then I was so in love with the characters, I was not even frustrated, but rather amused by some of the developments.
The performances were strong. Wang Kai can deliver any role and make it believable. He makes any character seem like a real life person. Tan Song Yun also aced her portrayal of Cheng Xiao - she was literally THE center of the whole drama and she carried the show on her back with no issue. Each and every supporting cast member did a fantastic job and I honestly have no complaints.
The production value was on the high end of the drama/slice of life workplace c-dramas. Something I want to compliment the show on were the transition scenes - the sped up shots of the sceneries showcasing different times of the days were beautiful.
Overall, a great show that focuses on self-improvement, fairness or lack of it in the workplace, taking on responsibilities and dealing with the aftermath and consequences of both the achievements and failures. It tackles the issues of mental health (at times in a questionable manner) and sexism and how hard it is to fight against it in a workplace. It’s easy to binge watch and surprisingly engaging.
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Killing the innocence, dehumanizing humanity.
Dark portrayals of greed, low self value and distorted view of reality based on the twisted social standards that are rooted in the obsession over money that takes away all the joy of life - all wrapped in a completely unrealistic scenario sprinkled with dark comedy tone, that emphasizes the absurdity of the characters’ choices and behaviors.The childlike locations and games present a drastic contract to the brutality of the scenarios the characters are facing. The game creators put themselves in the position of innocent keepers of the rules, and any tragic deaths are the fault of the participants for breaking them. No one is forced to participate - you signed your death certificate yourself.
Survival in the game and survival in daily life serve as another good contrast - the physical brutality versus the emotional and existential dread. It’s more than survival games drama, the true horror is the reality of these people outside of the games and what they can do in the given situation to change it.
The aspect of Squid Game I definitely appreciated was the different perspective we were able to witness - we weren’t only following the players. The behind the scenes gave this unrealistic scenario more down to earth feel - witnessing the pink umpa lumpas with some despicable, but human qualities were for me a good writing choice. The whole mystery of the workers was a small part of the plot, yet so interesting. Sadly, it did not really lead anywhere.
Here’s the thing though - I kind of wanted the majority of the people to die at the beginning. They were really painfully unlikable, and not in the “he annoyed me a bit”, but rather “kind of a trash human being” type of way. Luckily, as the drama progressed and we started to understand their backgrounds, I was able to empathize with some, and even if I disagreed with many of their choices, I still felt bad for what may happen and how they might end.
Blood and murder are this show’s best friends - be aware of that before watching. Realistically speaking, this is not some new higher level of gruesome scenes, but they don’t shy away from showcasing deaths and accidents.
The acting from all the adults was truly amazing. Like in any drama, some roles had more depth and were more demanding than others, but none of the characters felt like an empty placeholder to fill the scene.
But then we had the group of foreign actors with such an exaggerated line delivery, I was thinking I’d rather mute the screen. Not one of them did a good job. All sounded like licence free sound bites.
Any flaws or complaints?
Depends on what you are looking for. Do not expect any elaborate death traps and clever tricks - it’s far more simple. It is pure survival with technically simple rules and games. You won’t wreck your brain trying to understand what is going on, since the plot is rather straightforward with no unexpected plot twists that turn the whole plot upside down.
You might want to sit down and analyze the message of the show and what might be the meaning behind. Depending on the viewer it could be a decent kill count watch with a bit of excitement, or a depressing portrayal of collapsing morals and society, as the money sucks all the joy out of our lives.
EPILEPSY WARNING IN EPISODE 4 - not a complaint, but something viewers for sure should know before starting it. This is the type of filming I cannot enjoy. I lose interest when I can’t really see what is going on. I know, it was done on purpose. I know, the chaotic atmosphere was the point. I still don’t like it.
There has also been a random sex scene, and I don’t think we needed that “final” nail in the coffin - it was clear even without it that people would do anything for survival and money.
Some details make exactly zero sense, and I truly mean zero. If you are lucky, you will not notice them at all, since they are less than minor. Squid Game is not exactly free from plot holes, but none of them have a big impact on the story. Some plot lines do hit the dead end though.
The reasoning behind the games? Kind of weak. I was hoping for them to give some unexpected twist, but in the end, they went with exactly what I expected them to show. The more they explained, the less I liked it. The last few episodes started to take away from the message of the show, which lowered the quality of the watch quite a bit. It was going so well… and then it didn’t.
Overall, it was a brutal drama, yet somehow I found myself laughing at quite a number of scenes. The dark comedy, calling out the hypocrisy - all that was truly amazing. 2/3 of the show was a solid 9.5, and I’m a bit frustrated with where the show went after that. Still, quite an enjoyable watch, with interesting set designs, well written characters and some solid thrills. They were able to get me attached to the characters and feel their desperation and pain. One of the episodes truly broke me, and I was thankful for that.
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The greatest cast delivered us the greatest medical show up to date.
Let's be grateful for the perfection this drama is. No power struggle plot lines, no over the top unrealistic medical cases, no flawless doctors with such amazing skills they could be called superpowers. What we’ve got is a realistic representation of a hospital as a workplace with a brilliantly written set of original characters and smart comedy with depth and heart intertwined. I could not ask for more.Some might argue that the characters were too perfect, but if anything, they were perfectly written. They still had their flaws, but I wasn’t slapped across the face with them. They were insecure at times, scared, and didn't know how to communicate with others. Their small struggles and mistakes they made never annoyed the viewers, because they were realistic and made sense. Rather than frustrating everyone, it made the characters extremely relatable.
The acting was A+... I truly don’t think we need to discuss that. With that cast you can expect outstanding performance and still be surprised with how good the end result is.
Is there anything that could be considered a flaw in it?
Yes and No. I think it depends on what you are expecting to see. There is no one leading plot line. It’s simply the daily life of the characters. Each one of them has something going on, but except for their friendship, there isn’t any big conspiracy linking them together. One could say it’s a slow paced drama, but with shows like that, talking about pace doesn’t make much sense. Since the plot does not progress in a typical sense (from point A to point B), we can’t talk about its pacing. It’s for sure character driven, and I myself love it.
What’s more, the cast of characters is huge and it might feel overwhelming at first - trying to remember who is who and how they are all connected. I have an advice for you: just watch. Do not try to remember and recognize every intern, student, doctor, nurse or patient. It’s not necessary. You don’t need to remember with great detail who said certain lines. There is no mystery to be solved, no puzzles to create a perfect picture. You can treat it as if you just started interacting with a new group of friends - as the drama progresses, you will slowly learn the names, personalities and motivations of these people. There is no need to stress yourself about being confused at first.
For me this drama was perfect. I’m sad that some of my ships did not sail, but it also makes sense that they did not go with the most obvious choice. A clean 10/10. I just finished it, and yet I want to rewatch it right away.
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The Lost Tomb - Bromance edition.
Yeah, I know, the whole Grave Robbers’ Chronicles is one big bromance party, but this one truly relies on the bromance a lot. The bromance is literally the reason the plot exists here.It’s a simple, fun and well executed short side story. Most of the characters have valid motivations that justify the risks they are taking. The visuals were surprisingly good. After seeing quite a few tomb dramas/movies I am honestly not sure, but I think the wacky fighting scenes are wacky and questionable on purpose - this seems like a stylistic choice and not the lack of effort on the production team side.
I also appreciate all the deaths. The Tomb installments never shied away from killing side and supporting characters, but here I appreciate that they actually showed the kills.
Acting was great, dubbing - not so much. The line delivery was great, it just barely matched the movement of the mouth. At times it became distracting.
Overall, a quick and enjoyable watch. For sure it serves as better entertainment if you know and like the characters.
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These (basically) 2 hours felt like a summary of the story, not the whole story itself.
From the start I was not exactly amazed. Trauma, depression, and anxiety is a trend in k-bls in 2023 and I’m kind of tired of it. Still, just because it’s used a lot, does not mean it’s written well, so I would not mind a good representation - this ain’t it. It’s not offensive or anything, just painfully superficial. The whole writing lacks details to make it relatable and realistic.And then they decided to literally put most of the plot and characters progression in the time jump. Not gonna lie, this was an interesting storytelling idea - not really showing the most important developments.
So we end up with Seung Jun who had little to no personality, Jae Hyun who must strongly believe in love at first sight to start liking Seung Jun without any good reason, Joo Won - the truest man-child with toddler tantrums (probably my favorite character, simply because of how entertaining it was to watch him act in such a pathetic manner) and Ho Yeon, a third wheel that is there to fill the space.
Realistically speaking, the best part of the drama was the friendship between Seung Jun and Ho Yeon - caring, supportive, calm and collected, selfless. Because Ho Yeon was such a big part of Seung Jun’s recovery, the relationship between the main couple did not feel as sincere. What about Jae Hyun was so impactful to have any effect on Seung Jun's life - this part of the plot was not really well executed.
The acting was good. Lee Dong Won presented the anxiety in a decent manner and while the writing and directing might have been improved, the performance itself was not an issue. Don’t think Byun Sung Tae had a hard job to do, since Jae Hyun is not exactly the most complex character, but he managed to hold my attention on him during his scenes.
The production was… your typical short low budget k-bl.
Overall, this is sadly a skip.
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This review may contain spoilers
Finally, after having this drama on-hold for 2 years, I finished it. I do not regret waiting so long, before picking it up again. I might have rated it lower if I was watching it as it was airing, being swayed by other people's opinions. Now, with a clear heart and head, I can be as true to myself as possible.STORY
Cults are not exactly the most commonly used theme for dramas, since it's hard to present them in a realistic way, staying true to the complexity of how these organizations work and the mentality of people being involved. This drama did a fairly good job at it. Till the end I wasn't 100% sure if the cult leader is a true believer, or if it’s just an act. There were hints fitting both of the cases throughout the show. That being said, it was unnecessary to introduce the "corrupt politician" into the mix. Next to such a fresh idea of the victims of a cult, giving us an overused story of a power hungry older guy doing anything he can to win, was a mistake. Especially since the drama would be just as interesting without it.
CHARACTERS
The drama tries to sell us a story of 3 young heroes: Sang Mi, Dong Cheol and Sang Hwan. Sadly, they failed. They told us Sang Mi is the heart, Dong Cheol - the muscles and Sang Hwan the brain of the group, but it was Dong Cheol that came up with the majority of the plans, he was smart enough to know not to involve the cops and not to believe in Sang Hwan's dad.
Sang Mi was smart enough to fool everyone involved in the cult and survived there for years. There was no brain in Sang Hwan up until ep 14/15th. A bit too late if you ask me. There was truly nothing going on for him as a character and I was never invested in him and his journey. He was there to show up at times and solve plot problems that might be hard to explain otherwise.
As I was finishing the drama, I finally knew why I disliked Sang Hwan so much: the writer and director tried to TELL us he is the hero of the story next to Sang Mi, but they did not SHOW it at all.
He kept making the same mistakes, never learning from any of them. All the consequences never hit him directly, but hurt the people around him. Don't know if it was the director's/writer’s idea or Taecyeon's misdelivery, but I never felt that he is truly sorry for all the things that he did. The production team tried to put him in the same "I am a victim here" group as Dong Cheol and Sang Mi, which was ridiculous. His mistake put his best friend in jail and an innocent girl in a cult for years, and everyone forgave him like it was not a big deal. I don't believe that there can be a nonredeemable character and they could have made Sang Hwan work, but they did not even try. All the mistakes were just forgotten.
One of the more interesting characters to watch was Apostle Kang. There were moments when we could slowly see her breaking out of that "salvation" mindset and seeing how things truly are in Goosuwon. It made me question and wonder how her character will develop and which side she will be standing on at the end. I appreciate that she stayed true to her beliefs, no matter how twisted they were. It just shows the true power of manipulation and brainwashing that had happened in the cult.
ACTING
Except for Taecyeon, all the cast did an amazing job. I must say, I might be biased though. I never liked Taecyeon acting, not once have I thought he did a good job with the role given. I just don't feel any deep emotions and those nuances in his facial expressions that distinguish amazing actors from just an actor. Being placed between such a strong cast, I could see that he still lacks in some areas of the delivery.
On the bright side though, Jung Hae Kyun and Yoon Yoo Sun did a fantastic job, easily overshadowing the rest of the cast with their acting. Everyone truly hated Joo Ho and felt pity towards Bo Eun. Many people think acting "crazy" is an easy thing to do since you just have to do random stuff, but it's hard... really hard to make it believable. The random stuff are not really random, there is a reasons they do them, do stuff that no one else seems to understand. You need to understand the reasoning behind the unreasonable actions to be able to portray them in your character.
Overall, really good drama. The frustration that keeps rising during the watch makes the ending even better. Even the comical death of Jung Ki was a good choice, and if all the actions leading to it were not as serious and heavy, I might say they overkill him. OCN knows how to deliver, and we should be thankful.
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Too little internal conflicts, too much external bullshit.
What started as a fun cliche rom-com, ended up as a dumpster fire of convenient resolutions and dumb plotlines with close to zero proper development. How?Romantic comedies are as good as the characters and the chemistry between them - be it couples, friends and even rivals and villains. Sadly for Would You Marry Me, the writing left a lot to desire. None of the relationships was set up, developed and explored enough. When the big changes in dynamics happened, big plot twists that should have huge emotional impact on the audience, I actually felt nothing. Not only that, at times it felt as if the characters barely felt anything. Why are you reacting to this life changing moment as if it was nothing more than a daily annoyance?
Woo Ju and Meri were cute together, but all the crap happening around them made their relationship actually barely exist on screen. How do you even have time to develop the couple? Or any character? Or any of the plotlines you introduced? The same way dramas have main and supporting characters, they also should have main and supporting plots and use the proper ratio of screentime on them. Here it’s hard to even point out what the main plotline is. Was it the fake relationship and the house scheme? Maybe the mystery about Woo Ju’s past and his family? Both too poorly written, developed and concluded to be called the main. What exactly was the focus? What was I supposed to take away from this show?
I was watching episode 11 and 12, where everything was supposed to slowly get resolved and it just felt empty. Convenient ways out of serious problems, the most lucky police work when the evidence literally walks into their hands, last second relationships progresses - and I did not care at all.
I cannot even say the acting saved the drama, since it was rather mediocre. Not because of the actors and actresses - I know they are great. Jung So Min is one of my favorite actresses and I started this drama for her. The writing was just so bland and it lacked detail. Honestly, I don't know if this lackluster presentation was the result of poor writing, directing, or mix of both. One way or another, the show ended up as a huge disappointment.
On the positive side - I did like a lot of separate scenes. Some jokes were funny. I also really enjoyed the dynamics between Woo Ju and Eung Su (if Eung Su had more screen time he would probably be my favorite character). I found Baek Sang Hyeon’s story the most interesting and I liked how he was not necessarily just presented as a victim of circumstances, but also his own choices. Not to mention all the scenes with the second lead couple that seemed far more… natural and interesting than the leads.
I don’t have much to say about the production - your typical pretty shots with little to no innovation.
Overall, I’m just disappointed. There was so much going on plot wise, and yet I was painfully bored the whole second half. There were too many stupid external conflicts and issues with poorly written resolution and not enough internal development to truly make me feel connected to any of the characters. I wanted to love it, but the drama was on a mission to make me fail.
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