Kate

The good parts were truly good, but the bad parts were so awful I was annoyed more often than not.

Both the premise of the corruption and the way good guys dealt with it had a nice and refreshing twist to it, but how some extremely cliche and sometimes senseless plot points were introduced ruined the experience for me. Does it matter how good of an idea you have if you surround it with bullshit?

By episode 9 I suspected where the drama was going, but some scenes did not make any sense with my prediction. It would make the characters look too dumb, so I dropped that idea. Guess what... it did happen at the end. By episode 13 I figured out the biggest plot twist and it just got me angry, because it made no sense. And I'm not some genius for figuring it out. The writing was just predictable.

As for the characters, some were great, some were bad, some barely existed. I definitely enjoyed the detectives’ team, and the investigation aspect was my favorite part of the show. Jin Kyung and Ho Gyu stole my heart and became my favorites. Jo Tae Shik was your typical hero cop, and if it was not for Lee Min Ki's acting, I would not pay that much attention to him.

The biggest let down? Kim Seo Hui. She just never learned from any of her mistakes, jeopardizing the investigation too many times to count. For the majority of the show she had nothing to do. I am quite honestly convinced this drama could have been more or less the same even if we write her off completely. If you ask me, she should be relegated to supporting character and her image should have never been used in posters.

The big bad wolf was boring and obvious, but then it's not like they tried to hide it. I did enjoy Dong Gu quite a lot though. His desperation was interesting to watch and I wished we had seen more of him on the screen. Other shady characters were... there doing shady things? I don't know. I hated how there were excuses and explanations made for some bad characters, but not others, when they were all equal trash.

Overall, this could have been so good. There were some episodes I actually enjoyed a lot. The dynamics between detectives was gold, the rivalry between Dong Gu and Young Min was exciting, but then they ruined it all with some really cheap and lazy writing and directing choices that I just couldn't ignore.

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Tragic tale disguised as a romance.

*The title is not a spoiler. The tragedy came from the journey the characters took, not necessarily the conclusion we as viewers received. To see the conclusion, you need to watch for yourself.

Visually stunning with mediocre main characters, a villain that stole the show and side characters that saved the production. That’s how I would sum up the whole experience.

Honestly speaking, the plot was truly interesting and investing. Every character was connected to the story and had an impact on it. There were many different motivations, expectations and goals the characters wanted to achieve. The lore was surprisingly rich and well explained, compared to other Korean fantasy romance dramas. And yet, Hwal and Sang Un were so boring and poorly written, they drained all the energy out of me, no matter how exciting the events themselves might have been.

On paper, it was a gripping revenge story, showing the dark and twisted sides of fate. How far can you go to avenge the death of people you love? What if the past you thought you knew was just a shred of the whole story? Sadly, thinking and discussing these topics was more interesting than watching it on screen, because the main characters just did not deliver the emotional impact the story carries. (On that note though, I want to thank Poia for the chats that made me appreciate that aspect of the plot more).

Dan Hwal started as an interesting gray character. Nothing outstanding, not too much depth, but I could easily see him lead the story and make it believable. Sadly, each “plot twist” and explanation of past events slowly stripped away all interesting aspects of his existence. Lee Jin Wook did what he could, but the character was just a walking stone with no emotional depth, so there was not much acting needed in the first place. The complexity we saw in the past storylines was completely lost in the present one.

Sang Un was simply a saint with Stockholm Syndrome. How to describe this character? Nice, good, protective, impossibly dumb? There is “being a good person” and there is “completely disregarding your own safety, because you see the good in a person who hunts you, kidnaps you and wants to kill you”. There was nothing novel about her. She was there to be good and pure. Her priorities were often misguided - while they were supposed to present her as a kind and empathetic person, often they revealed her total lack of comprehension of any given situation. Kwon Na Ra did well acting wise, but not even an Oscar worthy performance could have saved that character.

For the romance, there was close to no chemistry between the leads. The love story we’ve got just made no sense. Why did they like each other? I can rationalize it from Hwal’s perspective. He was desperately clinging to his humanity, so Sang Un being kind to him, not treating him as the monster he was, made him care for her. What did Sang Un like about him though? The girl has some massive issues, rock bottom standards for men, or both. While the love story might not be THE focus of the show, it was a leading story between the female and male lead, and for me, it was a waste of time. It was not enough for people who want an epic romance fantasy, and too much for people who wished to watch a revenge tale.

Then we get to Ok Eul Tae, who was the most vibrant and interesting character from the whole show. The only one whose motivations made sense from the beginning till the end. I want to congratulate the writers for writing such a compelling villain, I ended up actually rooting for him and not the main duo. Lee Joon was born to take this role. The emotional rage he showed was just amazing. Whenever it was confidence, anger, fear, disappointment, desperation or hesitation - I bought it and believed it all.

The whole cast did such a good job with portraying all the supporting characters. The duality they had to present between the past and present reincarnations was not an easy job. The reincarnations had to be different enough to incorporate the external circumstances that shaped them, but also similar to each other for viewers to believe these are in fact reincarnations of the same people.

The chemistry between the cast (with the exception of the romantic aspects between the main leads) made me truly invested in the found family trope this drama presents. Watching them slowly learn how to trust each other was truly the heart of the show. I’m a sucker for the found family trope, so this was a delight to witness.

The writing was sadly not daring enough for me. The show opened with an amazing conflict for the main couple and novel perspective for the villain, but with each new revelation, new flashbacks and plot twist, they removed every refreshing element of the story, making it into the tale we already heard many times in a similar fashion. Luckily, some revelations in the last episode saved the script for me at least a little bit.

While the conclusion was disappointing, the journey itself was quite enjoyable. The writers used the trope of reincarnation to the fullest potential, giving the story many layers that were slowly discovered and explored in the episodes. They were revealing enough information for the audience to build up their own theories, without exposing the whole plot from the start. It made me as a viewer engaged, trying to puzzle the background of the character together myself.

It’s not a show that serves all the answers on the plate. They don’t give you narration with heavy expositions and explanations. The characters don’t always say out loud why they do what they do, what motivated them to behave in such a manner. The storytelling is not linear. They show glimpses of what happened in different timelines, and we need to put the whole story together ourselves. For some it will be one of the strengths of the show, for some it will cause confusion and frustration.

That said, I wish we got to see more flashbacks of the past time lines and reincarnations. Cutting down the screen time of the different monsters and using it to explore the past a little bit more would not only make the plot more digestible, but also allowed me as a viewer to understand and empathize with the characters more. It would also enhance the emotional impact the story had.

There were a few plot lines that for me became either plot holes or dead ends, but that was the result of me usually overanalyzing the plots and dramas I watch. I’m confident in saying most viewers won’t be bothered by them, maybe won’t even notice them. While they caused me a little bit of frustration, overall, they don’t take away much from the quality of the show.

Bulgasal: Immortal Souls served me a visual feast. I have to admit, the first two episodes were a little bit too much though. Most scenes had this painting quality to them, but at the same time felt visually empty and too staged - often they lacked dynamics. They became beautiful screenshots, but they were less appealing in motion. The more modern approach in later episodes fits my taste better.

While the soundtrack was not memorable, all the songs did match the scenes they were played in, elevating the mood and creating the fitting atmosphere. 4MEN’ “Leave” became my favorite song from the show, thanks to the amazing vocals.

Overall, it’s a high quality production with decent writing and good acting. It could have been an amazing tale with truly interesting and tragic conflicts, but fell into the clichés and safe storytelling in the 2nd half, trying to bring all the novelty in the last episode. It’s a show that improves from discussions and chats with other viewers, as it introduces many interesting topics that are worth taking a deeper dive into.

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One choice can define your future.

Lies, lack of accountability, denial, regret, shifting of blame, playing victim - the complexity of human experience, the cognitive biases we have that help us survive and deal with problematic aspects of our past, present and future. Rules for thee not for me.

While watching this drama it felt like the layers had more layers, the plot twists were just set up for more plot twists and I never knew what to expect in the best way possible. The thrilling aspects were accompanied by the presentation of flaws we all have to some extent, but would never admit to it.

With only 10 episodes and as many as 8 main characters, I do believe the writers and director managed to present a complex, detailed story with clear focus and ideas they wanted to showcase. It does not feel like a minute of a screen time was misused or wasted.

The acting, dare I say the best role from Jing Bo Ran? Yes. It felt like he was managing to do the job of 10 actors alone. He carried the show on his back. I do not want to take away from the hard work and clear talent of the other cast members, but it was truly Fei Ke’s story.

The production was great. I appreciate that the visual aspect was not neglected, which sometimes happens with more thriller and mystery shows. If I had to have any complaints, I;d say there were moments in the last episode so dark I truly barely saw anything on screen.

Overall, it’s hard to review the drama and show how great it is without giving any spoilers, but it is a show that is best watched knowing little to nothing about the plot. It’s a true pure mystery thriller with well timed plot twists, morally grey characters and a proper closure.

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It’s not even fun bad… It's just bad.

How they got this cast to do this movie is beyond me. The best part were the bad subtitles that kept calling Hyeri “he” and later Yoon Gyeom “sis”. There were just so many writing and directing choices I did not understand…

First of all, there is no set up for anything. They don’t tell, they don’t show. Half way through the movie you will still not truly understand the past events, current characters; motivations, who is on whose side and why. Not explicitly telling every little detail about the plot is fine, most viewers can put two and two together. Here… they told me close to nothing. I feel like I had to basically write 50% of the plot in my head, to make any sense of it. The vague idea of the plot in Monstrum is interesting, but that’s it - just a vague idea, a first draft of the plot…

I can't really comment about the acting, because the characters were so painfully one-dimensional a brick wall could play them and the result would be similar.

The comedy was also misplaced and just in poor taste. This is not a slapstick sitcom, so why are we getting fart jokes?

Overall… It’s been a while since I watched something so bad I was actually annoyed watching.

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"You know... I always keep to the side of the road as I walk and I sit at the back end every time I take a bus. And I always choose the corner table in a restaurant because I hate making contact with people. I'm afraid of being noticed. You wanna know why? Because I'm afraid that I'd die right after I open myself up to someone."

Honestly speaking, I knew exactly how the movie was going to end from the start. It’s a story that was told one way or another countless times. Does it take away from its quality? No. This is not a mystery thriller that relies on plot twists. It’s a story that serves as a reminder to cherish what we have, seek happiness, be open to others and fight our fears.

It’s a moving tale of a boy who was so scared of dying, he willfully gave up living and settled on just existing. Then Ma Xiao Yuan, one could say, forces herself into his little bubble, slowly making it bigger to the point when it bursts, letting him see all the things he was missing out on.

Is it a sad movie? To some extent. The topic is, what it is. Unless you want an unrealistic fairytale, it will have its ups and downs. Somehow, it was still able to end on the uplifting, yet realistic note. It helps you see all the little great things you have in your life.

The acting - amazing. Both Jackson Yee and Liu Hao Cun truly aced the delivery, with the depth and emotions that would touch any viewer.

The directing was truly great. I especially enjoyed the adventures montage - it brought a smile to my face and tears in my eyes at the same time. Such a moving and uplifting moment.

Overall, it’s for sure a watch I would recommend to everyone. It speaks of a tragic topic with such a delicacy and tact it does not leave you depressed by the end.

“Everyone in life experiences losses, which we’re all afraid of. Yet when it happens, the most powerful weapon we have against it is to live each moment to the fullest. Every second counts.”

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Overcoming yourself, striving for improvement over glory.

A story worth checking by all young and older viewers, that shows the importance of striving for improvement, patience, healthy rivalry, friendship and many more life lessons that one is never too old to be confronted with.

The main plot lines of the show are Shi Guang slowly discovering his love for Go, his rivalry with Yu Liang and Chu Ying’s search for The Divine Move. The main stories are surrounded by countless amazing side plots that make the character grow, mature, learn and reflect on their actions. We witness many different hardships characters have at different points of their lives - each serving us important life lessons. I feel like I learned so much, not only from the main characters, but also all the supporting ones.

While I enjoyed most of the stories told, I could not help but feel disappointed with how The Divine Move story was concluded. Loved the message behind it, and it truly fits the show perfectly, but the execution seemed lacking - it did not impact me as much as I hoped it would.

All characters were unique and served a purpose in the story - it goes not only for main ones, but all the supporting, or at times even guest roles. Ones that showed up for two or three episodes had a visible impact on the main characters and the plot even long after they were gone.

Shi Guang was a hot tempered and impulsive child - this being both an advantage and a disadvantage of his, depending on the situation. Sometimes making decisions on the spot is the only way to move forward, but at times it might lead to severe consequences. Watching this kid mature, gain more grounded and reasonable confidence in his skill was an amazing journey, full of emotional scenes that made me cry my eyes out a few times.

On the other side, we had the complete opposite - calm, collected and reserved Yu Liang. Probably my favorite from the show. His character development was less extreme and, for lack of a better word, dramatic, but I admired his love for learning. Watching him put developing his skills over pride of winning matches was in some strange way touching, since many of us would not be able to do that.

Even though these two barely shared screen together, their chemistry as characters was undeniable. I am truly amazed how I could still see the massive influence they have on each other, on the decisions they are making and progress they are striving for, even when they did not really see each other that often.

Behind a lot of the developments was Chu Ying - true master of Go. His admiration for the game was inspiring. With his guidance, Shi Guang was able to improve, while he himself was able to rediscover the true joy and meaning behind the game of Go. That said, he was one of my least favorite characters. At times, his childish behavior was too much, especially since he was supposed to be older than the two main teenagers. I was also truly not on board with some decisions he made, as the consequences were mostly negative and could have been avoided.

Acting wise - truly phenomenal. Especially Hu Xian Xu. I was amazed by his performance. Not one scene, not one line, not one emotion was a misdelivery. The diversity in his acting and the natural way he presented the internal conflicts the character was facing just blew me away.

The whole cast did not disappoint. Even the supporting and guest cast presented the level of acting worthy of the main characters. Sure, the children acting as the young main cast could have been more natural here and there, but for such a young cast, I was still truly impressed with what they presented.

I have close to no complaints in terms of production and directing. Some CGI seemed excessive and the makeup on Zhang Chao was a bit distracting, but except for that - everything just clicked well together.

“Our Adventure” is such a bop, every time it played at the end of the episode I wanted to drop everything and go on an unknown journey. Just the initial tune had quite an impact on my mood, making me want to try a bit harder in whatever I was going to do - be it work related or even a simple hobby.

Overall, I would not say it’s a must watch for everyone, since there is no drama that fits all tastes, but it’s for sure a must try for everyone. Whenever you feel like it’s something you will enjoy or not, give it a shot - you might be surprised with the result.

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Extremely simple idea with extremely high production value.

First, I like to warn anyone who might want to pick it up - it's graphic. If you have a weak stomach, move it straight to the "not interested" list. They delivered amazing, beautiful, but gruesome pictures that made me uncomfortable with the content, but also in awe with how beautifully shot they were. No doubt the production value was the best part of the drama. It's clear to me a lot of thought was put into directing and editing, as well as set and costume design. The zombies... ladies and gentlemen... These were some good zombies. I was extremely impressed by the actors portraying them. The movement they presented was true perfection.

The acting was amazing for some, good for others. At times it was hard to judge since some characters (The Queen B) were annoyingly boring and unnecessary. Overall: A+. Especially with such a large "supporting cast" of all the background people and zombies. At times, dramas cast average skilled people for these roles, with hopes no one will notice. Here, everyone did their part well.

As for the plot and characters. There truly is not that much to say. It's the old tale we all know: power struggle and fighting for the crown. There is nothing new nor innovative about it. That said, since it's executed so well, it was not boring. Not to mention the zombie apocalypse going on in the background to keep us invested and excited. I was a bit disappointed with how they slowly toned down the shocking scenes to just go with zombies running and killing, since the creepy scenes from the beginning were some of the most memorable moments.

There were some characters I loved more (Young Shin and Master Ahn Hyung), and some that seemed pointless and not interesting at all (Jo Bum Pal and the Queen), but knowing it's just the first season, I'm hopeful they will deliver more later.

Was I disappointed in anything? Yes. Last episode presented two plot twists that were simply dumb in my eyes, and the longer I think about them, the less sense I see in what was shown. One of them makes a character look too stupid for the position they hold, and the other, to some extent, contradicts everything that happened before it.

Can you watch it as a stand alone without diving into season two? Technically, yes, but it would not be a smart idea. Season one ends on a cliffhanger and more or less middle part of the whole plot (if not just the introduction).

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Zombie movie with a heart and brains.

Truth to be told, it's hard to be original with a zombie movie. We have seen it all. So now it's not about how original the story is, but how well the tale is told. Here - it's close to perfection.

People who like horror movies often joke that if all the characters used their brain, the movie would end before it even begins. And yet, Train to Busan was able to give us smart characters and not bore us to death with easy ways out. There are no easy roads when you fight bloodthirsty zombies ;)

The biggest surprise for me was how much I cared about the characters. With zombie movies I try to not get attached since sooner or later, the majority of people have to go. It was impossible to do here. I cried with every death and goodbye. The movie kept me on the edge of my seat because I liked these characters, and I wanted them to survive.

The production value was extremely high. How the movie was shot, the costumes and make up. Everything was close to perfection. CGI zombies at times felt off in terms of their movements, but as far as I know, the majority of people did not notice it at all.

Overall, the right amount of action, thrills, emotional impact and character's development. Masterpiece of the ending. Definitely worth the high rating it has.

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What an amazing story we’ve got… almost. This drama has as many beautiful characters and storylines as problems with writing and development. And by the end, it left me completely confused.

Let’s start with the perfection that was the female lead. Dare I say one of the best I have ever seen in a drama? Yes. She was so strong and so amazingly flawed, it was hard not to love her, even when, at times, her decisions made my blood boil. She was fanatically loyal to people she cared about, even when faced with a moral dilemma. At times she ignored the wrongdoings of people around her, finding excuses for them and trying to justify their actions. When Yuan Song told Xing Er he cannot look at her confident and self righteous face, I couldn't agree more. At that moment I agreed with him and his reaction made perfect sense. But that’s the charm of Xing Er. She is just a human. She makes mistakes, her convictions are not always good and her decisions are not always correct.

Another character that caught my attention was Yuan Chun. The transformation she went through was amazing, yet so tragic. How she was driven into madness and self destructing. She was the true victim of the whole scenario presented to us. She was so innocent, and how these pure intentions she had were used by all the people she trusted and loved, broke her.

I must say, I quite enjoy the whole cast. Some characters deserving a bit of attention were: Xiao Ce - the charming prince with a good heart, Yuan Song - the cute prince with a bright smile, Yue Qi - the loyal bodyguard and the true MVP, He Xiao - the only one that truly deserves Yanbei.

That said, I was quite disappointed with both male lead characters. While Yu Wen Yue was painfully, boringly perfect, Yun Xun by the end of the drama was a dumb, easily manipulated villain without any true plan nor motivation behind his actions. Pushing him towards the dark side was a good idea and it worked for the most part, but the closer to the end we’ve got, the less sense I saw in anything and everything he was doing. I had no sympathy for him even though his character build up was based on the idea that we are supposed to feel empathy towards him, taking into consideration his past. For me, he could burn in hell and I couldn't care less.

And here we have the problems with the plot. For the most part it was perfect. I was truly amazed with the pacing. I was never bored, the plotlines were nicely entangled as we smoothly moved from one story to another. The problem is, at times we did not come back to some plotlines, and they were left unsolved. What happened to Xing Er’s sisters? We saw them meet when she was rescued, and then they were gone. Not even one line telling us where they are and what happened to them.

And it happened to the majority of the characters. We’ve got amazing setups, promising us more than we’ve got. The payoffs were simply weak. Xing Er’s core ability… nothing. It was mentioned here and there, the dramatic opening eyes and awaking her true potential at the end… and what next?

We know Xiao Ce is not just this dumb, playboy prince and he has so much more going on for him, why not show that? Why not show more of his duality? Cheng Yuan’s motivations were far better and deeper than we were led to believe for the majority of the run time. He wasn’t just a cruel and evil person. His decisions could have been logically explained as any other character. His ways of dealing with the problems were wrong, but it was not any worse from what we have seen from the majority of the other characters.

The romance… oh boi the romance. From day one we knew who the end game was, and I did not mind that. I wasn’t expecting some deep love triangles since the drama did not need it. Not even for a moment I thought Xing Er might romantically love Yan Xun. As much as he was obsessed with her, she was obsessed with the dream he created for her. For me it was just an unhealthy obsession she had for the better future and, later on, the need to save him from his own demons. Her heart was always with Yu Wen Yue. I loved their chemistry, their fighting scenes were beautiful and I've rewatched many of them quite a few times. I didn’t need more from it, just the longing, stolen glances, the lovers that should never happen. So why did we get that accidental kiss I am asking? Why did this happen when it was one of the most ridiculous and out of place scenes I have ever seen. The hug that followed a few episodes later had far more impact and conveyed greater emotions than any kiss they ever had. They were simply unnecessary.

The overall production value was beautiful yet questionable. The set design, costumes - perfection. The tragic CGI - painful. The scenes that made me laugh the most were the horse riding close ups when many times it did not look like people riding horses, the movement was wrong. What's more, often the sounds did not match the movement. For the OST though, I could not ask for more.

Truth to be told, I am surprised that with that ending (I don’t even want to talk about it) and the problems I had with the drama, I’m giving it 8/10 rating, but at the same time it makes perfect sense to rate it so high. The outstanding acting we’ve got probably helped a lot, so the frustrating parts of the plot were easily covered by the brilliant performance of the cast. I enjoyed it quite a lot, and watched it in 3 and half days. That's how invested in the plot I was. The ending ruined me. I needed a drink.

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The selfishness and selflessness of human connection.

I’m still in a daze after finishing the last episode. I am not sure how to start writing since I have so many thoughts and feelings existing chaotically in my brain right now.

Our Movie is the perfect example of well executed melodrama that does not rely on excessive angst that borderline crosses to makjang territory. It’s tasteful in it’s emotional torture towards viewers. And it is painful… Even though I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, I knew exactly how it will end, the slowly creeping dread of the finality of the story was exhausting. Exhausting in the most breathtaking and touching way possible.

Da Eum is one of the most beautiful characters I have ever seen. The way she was so full of life, even though she did not have much left to enjoy it. The way she was brave in the situation most would crumble in. But what's most important - the way she cherished herself and people around her. The way she genuinely loved her family and friends, the way she craved the connection and was not afraid to reach for it. Her determination, be it in love, dreams, living, was inspiring.

Was she perfect? No. She was at times childish, stubborn, selfish. There were times when she was irresponsible. And all these moments made her that much more human, that much more lovable, complex and interesting.

While her relationship with Je Ha was obviously the center of the story, I must say I loved her scenes with other characters as much. The conflicting tension between her and her dad - the way he struggled to let her live her life, knowing it will make it shorter. The soulmate bond she had with Gyo Yeong. The complexity of the past and present relationship she had with Jae In. Every interaction she had with any of the characters felt so meaningful.

On the other hand Lee Je Ha did feel a bit underdeveloped compared to her. I still love him, love his story, but somehow I do feel unsatisfied. A lot of things were left to imagine, and it feels like we mostly got the highlights of his story, bullet points of what’s important. That said, even though the title says "Our Movie” I do believe it’s Da Eum’s story so I am not extremely mad about Je Ha not being as developed. Maybe his story was presented in a more subtle way, and with how radiant Da Eum was, I just missed the timing to make the connection to him?

Then we have Chae Seo Yeong - how much I love this woman. The raw flaws and mistakes she made were infuriating, but at the end of the day she always managed to make the right choice, to support the right people, to admit to her faults.

I truly appreciate how there were no real villains in the story, or rather - depending on what perspective you take, everyone could have been a villain in someone’s life, even without doing much wrong. The writers made sure to present the same situations from different perspectives, making sure viewers understand that human existence is never black or white. Action you took out of necessity could have scarred another person for years. What started as a selfish behavior can turn into selfless conviction. No one is bad, no one is good. We are all just humans with flaws, desires, hopes, dreams, fears - they all affect our actions. Many things can be explained, but they should not be excused. We need to know when to apologize and fix what was broken. And this drama presents it all.

Acting… are there even words to describe how amazing it was? These roles could have been so easily under and overacted. It’s a balance game not to make Lee Je Ha emotionless and Lee Da Eum borderline manic. Underacting would make them hard to relate to and feel their emotions, overacting would make the characters seem like caricatures. Both Namkoong Min and Jeon Yeo Been truly put their souls into these roles. I smiled, laughed, and cried watching their performances. It was both beautiful and painful.

What I also want to talk about is the directing and editing. Masterclass. Other directors need to study this show and learn from it. It stands out among all the mainstream kdramas from the past couple of years with its unique styling and creative shots. They truly used everything they had, but with brains and meaning. The transitions used for the storytelling purposes, not just cutting between scenes - perfection. The various filters, screen ratios, camera angles and movements. There were honestly scenes that made me gasp.

The cherry on top was the soundtrack. I am 100% sure I am going to cry when I hear any of the songs. They were so well placed depending on the scenes, creating these memorable moments. If I were to pick my favorite, I’d go with “Love me more”.

So why not 10? There were some plotlines I did not see much purpose of. Example: majority of side romances. The same conversations that were important to present different perspectives could have happened in a more platonic setting, closely related to the filming of the movie. Sadly, some moments just felt painfully detached from the overall drama and the mood.

I also wish we had seen a bit more flashbacks of Da Eum before her diagnosis. I think seeing her interactions with Jae In and Gyo Yeong before her life completely changed would make the future conflict more clear and less one-sided. Technically they did wrap it up well, emotionally I am not satisfied.

All that said, what a heart-stopping and awe-inspiring story it was. It’s a drama that makes you sad, heartbroken even, but somehow not emotionally heavy. I felt exhausted by the last episode, but weirdly thankful. Rather than depressed, I felt motivated. The bitter-sweet taste of life.

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I have to say, even with the tragic and full of scandals ending that led to the cancelation of the finale, it’s still my favorite survival show I have ever seen.

⇢ Cast aka the contestants and mentors
The most unique and diverse cast of the trainees I have ever seen. I am not going to lie, I usually struggle quite a lot to remember the contestants - mostly I just give up trying and pay close attention to two or three that I like. Here, there were so many unique characters, I was happy to do my research, make some notes and try my best to use the few brain cells I have to remember as many of them as possible.

I also believe that the production team did a good job promoting some pairing and groups of friends that had great chemistry with each other. The focus was (almost) never on the rivalry, but rather cooperation and friendship, which was simply delightful to watch.

This show also has the sunshine, the only true pure boy - Lian Huaiwei. It would NOT be an overstatement if I said I was completely obsessed with this guy. R.I.P all my friends who had to deal with my spam in chats as I was watching the episodes. Half of the messages were variations of “OMG I JUST LOVE HUAIWEI SO MUCH”.

As for mentors - almost pure perfection. I am slightly salty about Lisa being a dance mentor when she could not be present on set. This affected the dance training, and at times other trainees had to do the job the dance mentor should be doing. I also think she was sometimes not quite careful about her remarks which at times hurt the trainees as a result. I still enjoyed her a lot and her interactions with some trainees were fun to watch, but overall, she was the least mentor-like in my eyes.

On the other hand I want Chris Lee in my life. She was strict, but also patient. She had realistic expectations towards trainees, and knew how far she can push them to not cross the line. Not to mention, her socially awkward attitude was just entertaining.

Both Will Pan and Li Rong Hao took the mentoring seriously - they were both teaching, but also supporting the contestants. The interactions were funny, inspiring and at times heartwarming.

⇢ Music aka the the performances
I was not crazy about a good 50% of the stages, and it’s not on the trainees - the songs/arrangements were just boring. That said, it also had so many amazing bops that I listen to daily - from ballads that make me into a crying mess every single time I watch them, to hype pop tracks that make my heart race.

I appreciated how the trainees had some creative freedom, being able to tweak the stages and performances to add various elements here and there. We were also able to see some self written and produced songs, which is always an additional plus in shows like that.

⇢ Story aka the production
I’m just going to completely ignore the finale issues, because before that I was completely in love with the production of the show.

First of all, “more means more” aka 2 episodes per week was a great idea. The issue with these shows is, they want to showcase 100 trainees in one episode that lasts around 2 and half hours - it’s simply impossible. We get to see at best 10 seconds of some audition stages, not everyone gets a chance to be shown during the practice time, and at the end, we end up with 10-20 trainees we remember, and 80-90 guys whose names we don’t even know. Since YWY S3 gave us 2 episodes per week, each around 3 hours long, we got an actual chance to find out who the trainees are.

Another thing I truly loved was the fact I could feel iQiyi cares about international fans. Providing English subtitles is a bare minimum, but they went beyond that. We always got the indication who was speaking at any given moment (even when it was just an offhand comment made in a crowd). Most of the ranking after stages was translated, so we knew who actually got how many points (comparing it to season one, where the lists were in Chinese, and I was able to figure out the results only by seeing the reactions of the trainees).

The gold editing. Truly, the editing team needs a rise. The fitting sound effects, memes, and other visual effects added made the show so much more enjoyable. They just knew how to turn the entertainment value of the show to maximum.

Overall, it’s an amazing journey with a painful ending. Do the trainees deserve more? Yes. Was it completely iQiyi's fault and should they be canceled for what happened? No. It’s easy to criticize the end result, but if we are honest with ourselves, they could not really make any other choices. The only thing I was truly upset about and it’s truly 100% on iQiyi was the lack of closure. At first they did give updates about the current situation around the finale, but after the cancellation, there was no definite answer. I would love for them to just be honest and say: sadly we will not debut the team. Without a closure it’s harder to move on. And believe me, it was hard to move on. I rewatched the show twice.

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Exaggerated portrayal of how we failed the youth.

Starting from the message, that for me was completely overshadowed by the pure entertainment that the killing aliens brought.
What this show tries to present is how we as society created a false sense of security, purpose and goals for the teens - a path that is supposed to guarantee success and happiness. That path being higher education. The extent these teens were willing to go to get just a few more points that will help them get into a university - it showed how they truly believed that’s the only way to live a fulfilling life, to have it easier as an adult. The empty promises, the use of the pressure teens feel about their future was used to manipulate them to make dangerous choices and control their behavior. Exaggerated in the drama, but sadly truly happening in real life.

While the teens willing to risk their safety for a few points is believable, the fact teens were able to survive and fight better than train military was not. Did this completely lackluster and stupid take on the army annoyed me? Not really. They clearly showcased how delivering solid entertainment was the biggest goal and they aced it in that aspect. You just have to turn off a few neurons in your brain as you watch.

As long as you won’t question every unrealistic aspect, you will have a blast! The show is great at creating tension and keeping the viewer entertained with great pacing both in overall story, but also the episodes themselves. It had great comedic moments, good action sequences, solid character development, friendship and bonding, and some truly touching and heartbreaking scenes.

Did a lot of people die? Yes. Not enough from the main cast if you ask me. And not the right ones… Not gonna lie, the show got my blood boiling a few times when some of the most frustrating and annoying characters kept surviving against all odds. I also wish a few more students would die to make the stakes a bit more real. This is the luckiest group of teens I have ever seen and at some point I stopped being worried about them dying, because it seemed like they would be able to survive even with a nuclear bomb being dropped directly on their heads.

In terms of acting, what can I say? I am not worried about the future of Korean cinema. With this large cast of great young actors who can deliver a versatile performance, the future of movies and dramas is in good hands.

Production value was phenomenal. I love the design of the aliens, I love how they look, how they move, even the sounds they make. For some strange reason I always thought that if aliens exist they may look like fancy sea creatures, and this is exactly how the spheres look like. I have no complaints about the filming, editing, sound effects, lighting, set design. I only wish the female characters tied their hair, that was a bit so unrealistic even I could not ignore.

Overall, what a fun and exciting watch. With such a large cast they still managed to make all the characters memorable. The level of entertainment and engaging characters (be it for their awesomeness or how annoying they were) allowed me to ignore any possible flaws and just enjoy they ride. I cannot wait to see the second season.

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When the mystery (almost) ruins the show.

I’m just frustrated, because the good parts were really good, but the bad parts made it close to impossible for me to enjoy them.

What seemed like a bitter-sweet slice of life, that will move you to tears and make you appreciate the small things in your life, changed into a ridiculous no brain mystery about a character no one truly cared about and mobs. There was truly no reason to give them so much attention, and I highly doubt anyone would complain much, if they were used just as backstory devices and nothing more.

You know when a heartwarming slice of life shows work? When they are relatable. When the stories told in them hit close to home, since you either experience these things yourself, or you know someone who experienced them. It’s meaningful, because it’s a daily life we all have to deal with at some point. So why ruin the best aspect of slice of life, by adding borderline makjang plot lines and then focusing the majority of screen time on them as the drama gets closer to the end?

You can probably feel my frustration, but it’s because I truly adored a lot of the elements of this show, just for my joy to be cut short by things that were not even necessary.

Everything that was related to the Genie team? Amazing. I loved Gyeo Re and how raw the character was. The complexity of the emotions presented - perfection. Ji Chang Wook made a good choice picking this role and it’s nice to see him back on track with some more challenging projects. He managed to show vulnerability, but also emotional strength. The gradual development of the character was impeccable. Not to mention how his story clearly shows men can be victims of abuse too, and psychological abuse is as much of an important issue as physical abuse.

While I was not amazed with the writing of Seo Yeon Joo, Choi Soo Young did a great job with the role. The character was just slightly too perfect for me. The impulsivity at the beginning was gone after maybe 2 episodes, and from that point, it was close to impossible to find any real flaw in her.

Sung Dong Il is Sung Dong Il - he always delivers. Kang Tae Shik won my heart. Must say though, I liked his (sadly limited) interactions with Ha Joon Kyung the most. She was also one of my favorite characters - such a troubled person with so much pain. I wish the writers gave her a little bit more screen time, so we could truly dive deeper into who she was. That said, she might be a character many people fail to sympathize with. Girl had issues and she created a lot of issues for other characters.

The compliments go to the whole Genie cast - all actors did an amazing job, and the characters felt like real people. Most of them got enough screen time to make them an important part of the team and the plot, and flesh them out a bit.

The stories of the patients and their last wishes were tears-inducing and I welcomed the pain, but also the warm feeling they brought. Some I enjoyed more than the others, but all had meaningful messages and presented cohesive stories that many could relate to.

And then we have two side plots that I could truly not stand - the mystery of room 403, and the mob/mafia. When I started the show, I did not exactly sign up for soft makjang plot lines, but that’s what was delivered. Compared to the rest of the stories told in the drama, these two just felt cheap. Technically it wasn’t a massive part of the plot, but I found these scenes unnecessary, and that influenced how the whole episodes affected me emotionally (or rather did not, since I could not shake off the frustration caused by these two plotlines).

Still, the drama offers more good than bad. The production value was top notch - screenshotable for sure. Soundtrack, while not exactly memorable, fitted the scenes and overall atmosphere of the show. The songs I personally enjoyed the most were: I Can't Forget You by Kim Feel; I'll Protect You by Choi Yu Ree.

Overall, If You Wish Upon Me is similar to a protagonist from any well written drama - great spirit, depth, complexity that makes you emotionally invested in them, but also having a major flaw needing a major character development. Sadly, dramas don’t get character developments so the flaws stay as part of it forever.

Bonus: I want a short 2nd season with Lee Yoo Mi. She can deliver anything. Just don’t add mobs please ;)

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Welcome to the circus and the land of cult activity

…where brain cells die with every poor judgement the characters make. It’s an entertaining trainwreck you just cannot look away from.

Not one person was normal in this drama, and that’s surprisingly not the issue. The issue was how almost no one had a working brain. I can excuse villagers and the Gote family, because this is what happens when you don’t touch the grass enough, and by touch a grass I mean interact with normal people outside of your little cult circle. Male lead thought? No excuse. I was able to witness the negative black hole brain cell energy in its purest form. He truly did not know when to shut up - each and every time he just spilled all the tea explaining who he suspects, why, of what, and what he will do about it - straight to the suspects faces. Learn how to lie… But no, he had to verbalize every useless thought that showed up in his half empty brain. I had to pause the episodes because I was getting too much second hand embarrassment. And it was so much fun to see him keep getting into trouble, often of his own making.

What’s also annoying about his character was his obsession over being a detective and investigating - annoying, but well written. This is your typical man child with little self esteem who wants to feel important and powerful, and he mostly uses force and intimidation to get it. Zero planning, just straight to the action. Which then led to never ending conflicts with everyone in his surrounding. Not blaming him for being paranoid, but he could be smarter about it.

On the other side we had Agawa Yuki who went into the oblivious side of extreme. With the level of weirdness going on in the town, the fact she still claimed "Maybe we worry too much” was just amazing. The level of denial and wishful thinking is what gets many people dead. Her whole persona reminded me of a horror movie “Speak No Evil” - every time you accept weird behavior not to stir the pot, the boundary gets moved and at some point there are no boundaries left.

Even the innocent and pure kids did not escape the abnormal presentation. Agawa’s daughter was literally the worst judge of the characters, always wanting to befriend the criminals, murderers, and predators.

All that said, I think the scariest part of the whole show was not the Zombie Grandpa, nor the actual shenanigans happening in the village and Goto family, but how everyone tried to control, gaslight and force into obedience Agawa Daigo. The pressure put by the community, the shift of the quality of the interactions - going from attacking, shaming, isolating, to smiling and treating like a part of family. The gaslighting was so strong I also became paranoid and suspected everyone and their mother, cousin, kids and unborn babies of doing shady business and being part of the problem.

As for the Goto family, not stated in the drama, but there must be some inbreeding going on. They are way too closed of a community to have so many young people in the family without some Sweet Home Alabama vibes. Jokes aside, I actually loved watching their scenes. Figuring out their morals, laws, conflicts resolutions, hierarchy, culture and tradition was fascinating, even if scary. On one hand you can sense the ultimate loyalty they have for each other, on the other hand you can see that even considering any type of change would be viewed as betrayal.

I also love how this is basically a spider man meme of all these crazy folks pointing at each other claiming the other ones are the crazy ones. You are all part of the same circus, accept that. At first it was extremely frustrating to see all that happening and no one making rational decisions, even the police outside of the village. It didn't seem realistic, but the longer I thought about it, the more I started to accept it. This would not be so outside of the realm of possibility. I can totally see police just ignoring and not wanting to get involved in whatever is happening in a small village that is more or less isolated from the rest of the world, as long as the crazy does not start to leak into their own town and surrounding area.

On the technical side: really good transitions between shots - often focused on a specific item (apple in episode one) or movement - one character walking away, close up to their back, fade do black, camera moves away and we are following a different character. Small things that just work and make the shift between scenes more smooth. As psychotic as I might sound, I also think the drama was visually stunning. I love the realistic gore, the blood that looked like blood and not cheap Temu red paint, the costumes, set design - all great.

The music was just fire, amazing, perfect, both in timing and the choice. The end of the episode instrumental? Perfection. It’s literally a crime that it's not released anywhere. I am honestly mad.

As for the acting - where to even begin? Yagira Yuya aced the role of the hot-tempered detective with obvious internal issues. The way I wanted to both beat him up back into reality and witness him beating people up just shows the complexity of the character and the great portrayal - made me have conflicting feelings and it made sense. Kasamatsu Show was probably my favorite - up till now I am not fully sure how sane Goto Keisuke was, but I know creating that feeling in viewers was intentional.

From the supporting cast, the one that I want to praise the most was Yoshihara Mitsuo as Goto Iwao. I’d assume for most Mutsuo was more of a memorable character, but somehow for me the more calculative and methodological Iwao was more frightening - he almost seemed normal, and that underlying sense of danger that was less obvious, but ever-present could not be easy to deliver.

I know for many this drama was gruesome and uncomfortable to watch, but for me it was just a fun even if slightly frustrating watch. Maybe I am desensitized because of all the horror I saw, but I just kept laughing with every new pathological and shocking reveal happening on screen.

Can this drama be viewed as stand alone without watching part 2? No. It’s not the case of most of the plot getting semi-conclusion. You cannot treat it as a drama with an open ending, because it honestly presents no ending. The last scene is a cliffhanger that more or less forces you to watch more if you wish to get any conclusion. Will I watch season 2? For sure, but I need a short break first :)

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Grief, hope and sacrifice - human drama with mediocre scares.

I will forever fail to understand why movie-makers are so obsessed over filling their horror stories with mediocre scares and overused special effects, especially when the plot could be actually turned into a solid horror drama that focuses more on the human emotions, rather than supernatural aspects.

The good parts of the scripts were: the desperation and grief that Seung Do felt after his daughter's death. The regret about his choices. The sacrifices he made. Ban Hae Sin's past trauma surrounding Father Michael, and how it affected him currently. These were the gripping parts. The possession and supernatural elements should have been there to add the flavor. And yet... they went full cliche with black eyes, cults, over the top performances and epilepsy attack like possession scenes.

Performance wise, it was just flat.

Overall, nothing new, nothing fresh. Decent to pass time, but there are better movies even as mild entertainment.

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