Kate

So dumb, yet so entertaining.

Deep has a negative brain cell energy and I live for it. It's a pure brainless entertainment: the writer has no brain, the characters have no brain, and by the end of the movie, you will also have no brain.

All the build up tension and clock ticking to the tune of death are hilarious when you know there is a ridiculously easy solution to the dilemma the characters are facing. I was watching the movie laughing, face palming and asking “why y'all making it so difficult when it’s not?”.

I mean, I knew they were all dumb when female lead asked about money and not side effects at the beginning of the movie, even though she is a medical student ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

That said, the characters being so stupid, which leads to the plot being so stupid, was exactly what I liked about it. It’s supposed to be a thriller, but damn, I thought it was some dark comedy on crack.

Production wise it’s cool. Love the soundtrack, and I found it truly fitting. The effect used when showcasing the messed up perception after sleepless nights of the main cast were well done. I had some issues with the directing in terms of pacing… felt a bit jarring.

The plot twist was there… and I was like OH! But then I went into Oh? Wait… what? And then I had to remind myself that no one is using their brain in the movie, so for them the actions might make sense.

Overall, not smart, not groundbreaking, but truly fun to watch. The cast had amazing chemistry and sold the story through their acting. I love the bond, I love the friendship, even if they all shared one brain cell. Stupidity entertaining till the end. It’s the first time I truly adored such a bunch of idiots, and just for that this movie deserves a medal.

That said, Deep left me with one question: How easy is it to study medicine in Thailand if these 4 idiots not only got in, but also passed at least a few semesters?

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Slice of life murder mystery with some dark and over the top humor.

It’s such a weird mix of genres and tropes, but somehow it works perfectly. You get yourself a crime murder mystery, slice of life with some deep and meaningful moments and conversations, comedy that at times is rather dark, and in other scenes slapstick and over the top. It might seem like a silly comedy at first, but it gets dark closer to the end.

The whole story is led by a genius idiot Ahn Dae Seong. He is what I would call a smart person who is unable to make smart life decisions. How can anyone have such a strong brain power, but still be so street dumb is beyond me, but it works in this scenario extremely well. That said, he is actually a truly nice and genuine person. He apologizes when he does something wrong, works hard if he thinks the cause is worth it, and he cares for people in his life. Even though he might make everyone frustrated, it’s hard not to like him and not to root for him.

The supporting cast is also to die for. Well written and built personal stories and backgrounds with well placed hints made each one of them a perfect suspect, until we found out the truth. It’s hard to predict who the killer is (at least for the first half of the show) and why they do it. As I watched, I might have felt frustrated with how Dae Seong is suspicious and calls everyone a suspect, but when you look at it from his perspective, everyone was in fact acting suspicious, just for vastly different reasons than he assumed.

From all the supporting characters, Fish was my favorite. Truly adorable little potato, knew it from the start. They also have one of the more powerful and interesting back stories of them all, that is presented in a sensible manner.

Of all the characters, the one that annoyed me was the detective and 5dollar, but I still understood where they were coming from. Dae Seong truly did everything he could to seem like a potential killer, and literally no one in that neighborhood was helping with the real investigation. And from 5dollar view, he might have seen himself as a victim, no matter how twisted it might seem from our perspective.

That said, even though I truly enjoyed the premise and many side stories, I feel like at times they tried to do too much in too little time. Since everyone was presented as a potential suspect, they all had to have their own individual stories told to explain the circumstantial evidence. Since the number of supporting characters was high, some stories were bound to get less screen time and felt more like fillers. Since some were not explored enough, they got a little bit boring for me, as I was not that engaged in them. Yet somehow, they were able to give a perfect closure for all presented plot lines.

There were also some situations that I questioned why the characters had barely any reaction to, and took barely any actions to solve them.

The last thing that was a bit unsatisfying was the reveal who the killer was. While for the most part it was not easy to predict who it might be (since everyone seemed equally suspicious), when all suspects started to be proven innocent, all hints pointed in one direction so the suspense died.

I was truly positively surprised by the acting too. Lee Kwang Soo brings a comedic aspect to everything he does, it’s hard to deny it. I was quite scared it would be impossible to create any suspense and a more serious mood when he is on screen and I was completely wrong. He aced the emotional scenes. I actually liked his more serious takes more than the silly comedy ones.

Kim Seol Hyun shined the most closer to the end. In the first half of the show, her character seemed a bit like a plot device, but it all led to quite a prominent role in the later episodes.

All the cast members did their best to present realistic and relatable characters, and for me, they all delivered. Ahn Se Bin as Yul? Amazing performance for a child actress, especially with such a demanding role!

Production value was extremely high for a mini series like that. Aesthetic wise, it had a bit of a retro vibe. Not making it look like a big production was a good choice, since it fits the world building - all happening in a small neighborhood with just a few characters - it should feel familiar.

I have to say, one song from the OST gave me chills when it was first played - Nokdu’s Orange Dream. From the arrangement, instrumentation, vocals, to the lyrics, it truly is a perfection. It serves as a good introduction to Dae Seong as a character - someone stuck in the past glory, dreams and hopes, who is unable to move on. The whole OST was lit and extremely fitting every scene specific songs were played for.

Overall, such a surprisingly good watch. I expected nothing, and got more than I could receive even if I had rather high hopes.

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The art of becoming.

It’s a story about how often women have no say in making decisions, but also need to face the consequences of the decisions men made. How not only do they survive, but learn how to thrive in any environment. This is not a story about revenge, but a story about adaptation of oneself to the environment, but also their environment to their own goals. I appreciated how the drama tried to keep some balance and realism to the positive outcomes - you don’t always get all you wanted, but you are satisfied with the result you were able to achieve. At times it was sad to watch how even women use the vulnerability of being a woman against each other, but that also added more interesting layers of depth to analyze. Women are neither good nor bad, as people are neither good nor bad. A person’s nature is complex and has to be judged individually.

I think we all agree that Lan Xiang was the heart of the story. She might have been more stoic and reserved, but she was not a stagnant and passive character. She observed her surroundings and acted according to what's best for her survival. She is the person that teaches by example, that stands by her morals. That seeks peace and resolution, not pity fights and revenge.

She was the heart and brains of the story, but what’s more important, she was the storyteller. She was not really a central character, but rather a central storyteller. None of her personal stories are truly explored, but she is there to convey what other people struggle with, bring solutions, and empathize. And most of the things that development wise would be important for her character happen in the "time skips" or are presented with one scene solution. They often showed turning points, but never the actual development. Be it how her relationship with Lin Jin Qi changed after marriage, how she was accepted by Lin elders, how her personal goals and dreams developed. Her role in the drama is not necessarily a bad thing, but because her situation was in fact so complex - both internally and externally, I just crave for more focus on her as an individual.

That said, I do appreciate how consistently she was used throughout the show to convey all these amazing stories. Be it the tragic end of the Shen family, the hardships of the servants, the misguided pride and need for power with noble ladies, the maturity that comes with experiencing hardships. Each character had a specific role in the drama, specific life lesson and, in a sense, advice that was given to the audience. Some of my favorite supporting characters were Lin Xiu Ru, Lin Xiu Wan, Zhao Xing Tang, Ji'er and surprisingly Grandpa Lin.

I think both Xiu Ru and Xiu Wan exceeded any expectations I had. The way their stories were not stereotypical and both had amazing, yet such a distinctively different development was just beautiful. Xiu Ru, who was extremely smart and observant, yet so timid at first, found her voice and confidence. Xiu Wan who was spoiled and did not care for the consequences, learned how to depend on others, but also help them if needed, without losing her spark and want for freedom. I adore how the shy lady was not also this naive wallflower - she had all her strength from the start, she just had to learn how to use them. Or how the silly and free spirited one did not get a complete character change into a mature lady - she was still a bit childish by the end, but also good natured.

Even grandpa Lin was such a surprise. I think many of us were ready to send him to hell for what happened in episode one, but I love how the drama slowly was able to present the events from his perspective. He might have been more strict and seemed cold, but he was also wise and cared deeply for his family. He understood the dangers of politics and the consequences one might face if they get too deeply involved. Truth to be told, I believe he was far more similar to Lan Xiang, than Lan Xiang’s actual father.

Then we have Ji'er. What a journey. I honestly think her arc was the most moving of them all. She was never a bad person, but she was someone who was competitive and felt like they always had to find new opportunities and use them. With lack of experience and young age she was not able to correctly assess risks and that brought her trouble. She was naive and childish in how she viewed the world, and then the world made her mature in drastic circumstances. But she never lost that spark and drive. She just redirected it into more reliable and honest ways.

Even during her maid era, she was spoiled and made many mistakes, but she was never evil. She did think about herself first on many occasions, but in a really honest way.

And then when we witnessed the brothel era - she could easily turn bitter, and even blame Lan Xiang for not stopping her in the past. But she knew it was partially her fault, and instead she was grateful remembering how Lan Xiang actually did try to warn her and cared for her. And now she decided to help her back even if the risks are high.

I also adore how she truly was the only person who treated Lan Xiang exactly the same whenever she was a maid or now Lin madame. She was the only one who did not care for the title and saw the person in front of her.

"Not as a maid of the Lin Residence, not as Young Lady Shuang, not as Concubine Lu. I want to truly live as Lu Ji'er once. (...) From this day forward, the person who will treat me best in this world is myself"

And can we talk about Liu Mei Han? What a performance. I think she stole the show for me. I love every second of her acting and how expressive and raw it was. I cry even thinking about that scene in the brothel.

While I enjoyed all the positive supporting women in the show, I have to say I was completely captivated by Zhao Xing Tang - what a perfect performance with intense and complex writing. She was not a good person, but she was not bad at the core. She was also trapped in her position and wanted freedom. I think making her illiterate was such a brilliant writing choice - the ultimate wall that stopped her from truly being free. Unable to read or write any documents, even if given a way to enrich herself, she would still need to rely on someone for all the paperwork, she would be unable to do it herself. A perfect example of a bird in a golden cage given as a gift to whomever benefited the family the most, abandoned when deemed to bring no value.

For the man, sadly I do not have much to say? Most of them existed as either love interest, or the antagonists against the female characters. Even our male lead does not truly present much complexity. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Lin Jin Qi. I loved how he did have actual flaws, how he was at times extremely selfish and impulsive. How he always wanted to gain first and deal with potential consequences later. That led to realistic and slow paced development with him learning how and when to give up his desires and ideals, how to focus on what truly matters, how to be patient.

I also really liked his dynamics with Jiu Gao and Nan Ke. On the topic, Nan Ke was such an unexpected comedy king. I am curious if he found all the butterflies already.

I am not sure how I feel about romance though. The build up and anticipation was one of the best I have seen in any slow burn romance, but the payoff was just heavily discounted. I am not really mad that I never, not once felt like Lan Xiang truly romantically loved Lin Jin Qi. I think she loved him, but she was not in love with him. She cared for him, she admired his strength, she appreciated his character, but she was never in love with him. On paper I love it, and I find it a realistic and fascinating subject to explore, but in the drama the set up made me anticipate something more grand.

But I also love how smart the big picture of the story is with her family’s fate in the past and how the fate of her, Lin Jin Qi and Scholar Han concluded. By all means the ending mirrors the past - Lin Jin Qi did not care for the grand morals and political integrity, he made choices that let him come back to his family. Scholar Han could not abandon his principals and would rather die, leaving his family alone to deal with the consequences. Isn't that exactly what happened with the Shen and Lin families in the opening of the drama? Isn’t that just amazing writing?

Best romance though? Xiuwan and Xie Zhao.

For the schemes, the focus was on the smaller politics between social classes - on how lower class lives and how the nobles’ decisions impact them. Even if the story dived more into court politics, it was still all mostly contained in how it affects the characters we follow in a local area.

The production had many amazing touches that enhanced the quality of viewing. One aspect I truly loved was how they kept highlighting the contrast between different character’s environments and their current situation. A good example of it was the wedding between Lin Jin Qi and Zhao Xing Tang, while Lan Xiang was suffering alone. Or Lan Xiang leaving Lin’s home with her newly found freedom while Zhao Xing Tang is being shipped to the capital for another unwanted marriage. Mixing scenes that emotionally have contrasting messages was an extremely effective way to emphasize the impact they are supposed to have on the viewer.

I also liked how they didn’t verbalize everything that was happening and every decision that was made by the characters. They showed details and assumed you would get it from the context. Or how they framed the characters with architecture, which made the scenes feel fuller.

And then we have to talk about the acting - almost perfect casting. I had almost no complaints. Almost. We get back to it later, for now let’s just focus on the positives. First of all, Tan Song Yun has a more stoic and grounded character, over the more hype one she often plays, which was an amazing choice for her career development. She shined so much as Lan Xiang. Especially during the “silent suffering” scenes - perfectly capturing the deep pain she felt while trying to control it and keep it inside.

And did Liu Xue Yi graduate from toxic male lead into soft potato? Because that role fits him so much more than anything he has played (or at least anything I watched with him). Give this man more roles when he just has to look at the female lead with soft eyes full of love, let’s skip the glaring and smirking - that can be used for the villains. This man delivers being in love so well, I was left speechless and breathless.

I did have some issues though - not ones that would strongly influence my watching experience and the rating, yet ones worth mentioning.

I heard some sentiments in comments that this drama is anti-men, but for me it’s completely uninterested in men, which might be actually worse writing wise. When a show focuses on showing men in a negative light, they might still write complex and compelling villains with it, but here we got none of that. The men were by all means just props to tell women’s stories and I’m not sure how I feel about it. You can have a drama that centers around womanhood, and still have well written and interesting male characters. Except for male lead, I’d say all the other men had good moments, but in general were just… fine.

I also truly believe Lan Xiang was too perfect of a character. One could say her flaw was the fact she always took the burden of helping others without complaining and asking for help, but I disagree. Not only did she ask for help and cooperate with people around her, she rarely ever truly fixed things herself - she actually knew how to use her support system extremely well. Yes, she was the mastermind for the majority of solutions, but it was a natural course since she was in fact written to be the most intelligent character in the whole series. I think her taking charge was less about her not wanting to ask for help, and more the result of the character’s strength. I truly wished to watch her make at least one major mistake that would lead her to deal with the consequences, whether internal or external. But it never happened. She always made the correct assessment, she always managed to help others.

What’s more, I think they ended the show with the weakest villain out of all they presented throughout the drama. Du Cui Que just ain’t it. She was the most flat in both writing and delivery, her motivations were the most obvious and stereotypical and she did not have the presence to give us the high stakes ending. She did go with the bang at the end though, gotta give her that.

The biggest flaw that was actually infuriating in one of the episodes - time jumps. I am sorry, but the number of time jumps we had, and how ill fitted they were for the flow of the story was crazy. What do you mean you hit me with “6 months later” after a major revelation/confession? What do you mean you won’t show me the actual aftermath of it and how the characters dealt with it? Episode 39 was a whole ass math exercise to keep track of how much time passed.

I think they were a little bit too ambitious with the timeframe of the story. The period of the time they wanted to cover just did not work, whenever we talk about transitions between certain eras, or the casting. I see these young actresses that have baby faces making them look like they are in their teen years, but the characters tell me they are in their mid thirties. Can I ignore reality and what I see to this extent? Not really, no.

For me, the story should have ended when Lan Xiang took over the Lin’s household - a powerful and fitting conclusion. All that followed after seemed unnecessary and did not expand on the story nor the characters at all. I think they were so hyperfocused on that touching ending and showcasing truly the whole life of Lan Xiang, they kind of lost the plot, or rather the idea of how to tell it and how to get that dreamed ending scene and conclusion. I do appreciate the “many years later” at the end, instead of giving us the specific number. No one knows how many years have passed, they knew the math was gone and we were lost good 15 episodes ago.

And honestly, the scene of all the ladies together right after offing Lin Jin Qi kind of did leave a bad taste in my mouth. What I liked about the show were the moments of brotherhood, sisterhood and partnership. I liked the moments when it was focused on being a good person and helping others in need. So this shot after the lead man of the show died, with no man in frame… with Xiuwan standing next to a freaking horse and not her husband? What’s going on? It would be a great scene… but it was so poorly timed I just rolled my eyes. You gotta put something between these two scenes.

Overall, it’s still an amazing watch. Might be a bit overly ambitious and that’s where the majority of the issues come from, but emotionally it had such a strong impact on me, and I was so impressed with how well connected the motivations and events were from different periods of the story, I just cannot care too much about the flaws I saw. Highly recommended for sure.

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It's pure fanservice, but somehow it works. The comedy is silly, the characters are silly and their interactions are silly, and it’s great to watch. It has some touching moments hidden behind the comedy, and watching the characters get close to each other and form a friendship was just enjoyable. So that was a nice light gift for all the fans of the cast members. It wasn't top-notch writing, and it was not supposed to be.

Did I enjoy it? Yes. Some episodes more than others. Some characters were better written with more believable and relatable storyline, some were exaggerated and presented in a comedic way. With such a cast with a variety of truly different characters, I believe everyone will find someone whom they like and relate to.

Episodes focus on different problems all Tee's face and how they help each other overcome them. Not all tries end with success, but that's life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you always have to keep striving for improvement.

I might have enjoyed it more if it was not for episode 7 and the last storyline explored. It made me slightly dislike some of the characters ("slightly dislike" might not be the correct statement, I was truly annoyed when I watched it). The ending was emotionally heavy, but since the set up for it was quite weak, it didn't hit me as hard as it should, taking into consideration the discussed subject.

The acting was good. As always, Gun takes the trophy for the best crying scene. I could see clear improvement from all the cast members (though Krist surprised me the most).

Overall, I would say die hard fans would love it, fans would enjoy it, others it's 50/50 chance of liking or being meh about it. I enjoyed it, but with every episode, my excitement kind of slowly died.

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Great concept, confusing storytelling.

On paper I understand what I’m supposed to get from the story, but I am not sure the director did a good enough job for me to say the idea was translated well on screen. It ended up with me feeling like everyone is unhappy, because of the choices the female lead made.

While the movie had many great and poetic moments, I kept getting distracted by my own feelings which were: I felt extremely bad for the husband. Especially during the bar scene - whatever charm the scene was supposed to have, lost for me coz I kept thinking about the husband and how awful the whole situation must be for him.

The performances were great, though I was just not that into how the characters were written. Personally, I did not find Nora either likable or interesting. Not sure if I liked Hae Sung or just Yoo Teo’s pretty eyes and face, but he for sure aced the melancholic nostalgia feeling.

There was one scene that I really liked, and it was the “waiting for uber” one. I felt like it perfectly sums up the themes of the movie - connection, timing, hesitation. Would prefer if the movie actually ended there.

Overall, kind of enjoyable, but you truly need to completely ignore the husband and his side of this whole story not to feel at best awkward, at worst awful.

Side note - Polish subtitles in the cinema were awful. Maybe Korean phrases were translated in such a weird and “strong” way as if the characters were swearing left and right, when the meaning was supposed to be much lighter in tone.

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We’ve got toxic romance, and fluff, and angst - we’ve got it all, but truly we’ve got nothing.

Let’s be real, the only reason I am giving it a 7 is the entertainment value created by the insane chemistry and the insane plotlines that made no sense.

We honestly got 3 separate dramas here - toxic possessive romance, fluff rom-com with some background conflict, and the most ridiculous and illogical angst melodrama. Usually when the writers reveal new information or drop the hints of the past events and characters’ background the overall picture of the story becomes more clear. Here every new detail just made the show more and more confusing. I felt like a victim of gaslighting.

What do you mean the character that was lying is “the most honest”? The character that ran away “was not holding back and gave his whole heart”? Why do I feel like my toxic ex is trying to create some false memories in my brain? This is not what I witnessed and no amount of hot chemistry, make out sessions and choking is going to convince me otherwise.

Truth to be told - no one watched it for the plot. We all watched it for Jeong Han and his sexy voice as he gets more possessive and obsessive towards Il Jo.

Plot? What plot? The plot built on the absent development? The laughable villain with no working brain cells (which is fair with all the drugs he was doing). The sweet Alabama themes that made me want to throw my laptop out of the window and bleach my eyes? The noble idiocy? None of this mattered when we got to Jeong Han looking at Il Jo with all that fire in his eyes.

Acting wise, it’s actually pretty good. Lee Dong Joo gave me the most over the top, but somehow fitting performance. Yoon Ji Sung transformed into a completely different person and each line, no matter how frustrating, was actually believable. Jeong Ri U was able to balance between the possessive force and broken puppy - somehow making it make sense.

One thing that for sure stood out for me in a positive way was the soundtrack. Maybe it just perfectly matches my type, but I added all the songs to my playlist by the end of the drama.

Overall, fun, but not necessarily good.Maybe if they had more time to actually establish the relationship and develop the characters and the conflicts the transitions between the phases of the relationship would feel more smooth and gradual. What we've got was just hot frustration.

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The gem among the online content.

I don’t think it’s possible to find a more real, fun and natural show than this. Never seen actors, idols or other celebrities act more like themselves than here - no censoring of behavior, no fake politeness. Jessi knew how to bring the best out of people and make it amazingly entertaining, while staying true to herself.

She made every segment of the show so fun to watch. Her bold and open attitude left no room for boredom. Yes, she is loud and might seem intimidating at first, but the girl has a pure and loving heart. Even if I was not exactly a fan of the person whom she interviewed, the episodes were still extremely funny to watch - she has that talent.

Script? Don’t know her and neither does Jessi. You can see how she flips through the pages and at the end says whatever she seems fitting for the occasion. The lack of formality and more “chatting with a friend” and less “being interviewed by MC” vibe created a good space for celebrities to be more themselves without feeling judged.

I truly have nothing bad to say. I rewatched so many episodes it’s scary. Some of my favorite episode include ones with (in chronological order):
Haha (07), Eric Nam (10), Lee Sang Yeob (25), Sung Hoon (36), Highlight (49), TXT (63), Ateez (68), ITZY (69), Haha (79), A Pink (85).
As you can see, for many of them idols were the guests. We know how careful of their image they are, so it was refreshing to see them just have fun, joke around and be influenced by Jessi’s “I don’t care” attitude.

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The charm lies in the unique characters.

How I would describe the show: an unusual take on a typical romantic comedy. For starters, this show does not really have any leading plot line - there is no mystery to solve, as it often happens in rom-coms. It’s all about the characters, their relationships and them dealing with their current situation.

I do believe the characters are the best part of the show. They all have unique personalities with individual outlooks in life, personal dreams, motivations and values. Each and every one of them reacts differently to the given situations. That said, while watching their current self is fun, by the end of the show... I didn't really know that much about some of the main ones. All of the main characters have a really complex and deep set up, with many struggles happening in the past. Even the majority of the supporting roles are written in that way - they are supposed to convey some kind of serious issues and dilemmas. And while said setups, as the concepts, are as deep as the Mariana Trench, practically speaking, they were never fully explored and I didn't even get my head underwater while watching.

The show shines with the cast and their interactions. We've got a whole set of puppy-like male characters that are nice, polite, cute and understanding. On the other hand, we have strong, driven and outspoken female characters. The synergy was pure perfection. This led to many unexpected and extremely hilarious scenes. I just could not predict how the characters would react and behave. The comedy in this show has been just so fresh and fun, I could not stop laughing while watching some scenes.

While I honestly thought the main couple was amazingly adorable and enjoyed basically everything they presented, I didn't get as excited for the second one. Mostly I just felt bad for Young Hwa while watching his interactions with Dan Ah (especially at the beginning). Later, the lines delivered for their scenes became painfully corny and cliche...

The acting was on the top level. Im Shi Wan did an outstanding job portraying Seon Gyeom. The socially awkward and at times distant characters that mostly keep to themselves are extremely hard to present well - bad acting leads to the character looking robotic, boring and empty. Shi Wan, though, delivered the best performance I could imagine for this role. I cannot think of any actor or actress that was awkward or unpolished in their roles and portrayals. Top notch casting for sure.

The production value was good. The scenes were shot in an amazing way, as I would say: aesthetics on point. The unexpected turns in how the scenes were written were perfectly reflected by how they were filmed. I just felt a harmony between what the writer wanted to tell and the director wanted to show.

The OST was fine, fitting the show and scenes, but not that memorable? Only two songs truly caught my attention - “I Wish It Was You” and “Sorry”, taking the crowns as the best songs from the drama for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the show for its entertainment value, unique characters, funny twists and fresh, out of the box directing of certain scenes and plot lines. I wish they introduced less serious and complex backgrounds for the characters, focused on just a few and truly dive deeper into them. For me, having just 4 or 5 scenes in the whole show to address something is not enough.

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Disturbing story of suffering people.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around what I have just seen and what exactly I was supposed to get out of watching this show.

The idea behind the story and the issues presented were extremely interesting, but at some point I had a feeling as if too much was happening in too quick of a pace with too much of over the top action. It moved from dark psychological school thriller to dark action flick? I felt like instead of giving us a cohesive story, the writer wanted to outdo himself by writing more extra and shocking scenes and plot lines one after the other.

The biggest problem I had was the fact some characters did not feel grounded in the story. Gi Tae and Hae Gyung were the two that stood out for me the most and I failed to understand them and their motivations. The change from school bully and teen delinquent to whatever Gi Tae became at the end seems random. Hae Gyung's introduction to the plot and her obsession over the case were also questionable.

On the bright side (if you can even call it that), all the characters were bad people, morally gray at best. While it was refreshing and interesting to watch a show where there are no heroes and no one to truly root for, it can also make you feel depressed and overwhelmed.

Some plot lines that were introduced led nowhere and were mere devices to push the characters into a corner, hence never got a proper closure, like the whole side story of Ji Soo's father or the guy Gyuri's parents worked with, that clearly was interested in her.

But then, truth to be told, the whole drama had no closure and clear cut ending. The last few scenes literally presented more new questions than answers. With that heavy of a story, leaving viewers without proper explanation may be risky. I myself feel as if my brain was just turned into pudding and any attempts to understand the ending or certain plots would lead me to more confusion and frustration.

The acting was quite a masterpiece. All the lead actors aced their roles, which were not easy to pull off. To sell a story, performers often use their own experience as a reference, but with crazy stuff happening in this show, it's hard to even imagine what the characters would feel, not to mention act it out. On other technicalities, it was beautifully shot. While the pictures were gruesome at times, I still enjoyed the camera work, use of colors and shadows and the transitions between the scenes.

Overall, not a drama for everyone. Gore, death, pain, suffering, abuse, mental and physical struggle - it's a perfect combination to get yourself in a depressive state or murderous mood. I took my sweet time watching this drama, not being able to watch more than one episode per day. But then binged watched the last three just to get it over with. While, in some weird way, I enjoyed the process of watching, I also feel exhausted and happy it's finally over.

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It felt like the highlights of a greater story.

You know what? I want to watch either the show they teased in the trailer one year ago, because what we’ve got was just completely different material, or what we’ve got here, but in a longer format.

I’ll start with the biggest flaw I saw, to get it over with. Earth was miscast. To everyone who honestly thinks Earth fits the role - drop me the name of your country, I gotta go and find myself a 40 but looking 20 daddy. Don’t know what kind of fountain of youth your government is selling for you to think he is believable “about to be” middle aged man, but I want some of it.

And please don’t start with: some people look younger than their age. Sure, but this is literally not the case in this story. Not once was it part of the discussion how he looks good for his age. I mean, the fact that Wen even asked Jim if Li Ming was his son suggests, Jim is supposed to look his age. He just looked way too much like a peer next to Mix and Khaotung.

Because of that, many scenes that were more hard hitting and emotional, felt simply not sincere. He is the main character, so if I cannot connect to him, the whole show starts to fall apart. This is what happens when profiting from a popular and established pairing is more important than proper casting. Pro tip to directors - if you are not willing to cast age appropriate actors, do not try to make shows with big age gaps between characters or about characters who are in their late 30’ and 40’. (Putting this casting into perspective - the actor playing Heart’s father is 45).

That said, I’m not gonna act as if it will for sure ruin the watching experience for everyone - it will not. It’s just something that I personally cannot ignore, especially since the character’s age was brought up over and over again in conversations.

Putting Jim aside, I actually enjoyed a lot of other characters and their interactions. Wen and Li Ming were truly adorable, with this older/younger brother dynamic, and Wen did a good job being the bridge between the uncle and the teen. He made them both understand each other better.

I also found Wen’s and Alan’s relationship fascinating and wish we would see more of it. It seemed like they made almost every possible mistake to end up in this situation, and trying to fix it right away would be an impossible task.

Heart and Li Ming were obviously fans’ favorites. Did I like them? Yes. Do I feel like their interactions were too similar to My School President and it was a bit like watching the same characters just in a different context? Also yes.

Honestly speaking, Alan was my favorite character and one that I was most curious about. It should also be illegal to give Khaotung such a tiny role taking into consideration his talent. I find it a bit funny how, in my view, two most talented actors in the show were sidelined like that.

While I enjoyed Earth and Mix in their other projects, I did not quite like them here. The main couple was for me the weakest aspect of the whole show. I enjoyed the characters far more with other people, compared to watching them interact with each other.

Giving credit where credit is due, Moonlight Chicken tries to tackle more serious issues and steps away from the typical high school romance. It does not follow the “one relationship for the life” idea, showing the past relationships of the main characters. It gives us a deaf community representation in a tactful manner. It shows that at times putting more effort will not save the relationship, and the most healthy way is to just end it and leave. It shows various types of parents-kids relationships, and how there are no right and wrong universal answers, it all depends on the circumstances.

While I appreciate the writer and director bringing all these important issues to the table, I also feel like they were more of an appetizer than a whole meal. It’s undeniable that they did not have enough time to truly dive deep into any of these topics, so at the end it felt more like highlights of a greater story. Personally, I prefer my slice of life character driven shows in a slower pace, that gives me time to digest everything that is happening on the screen.

The quality of the production fluctuated quite a bit. Some scenes were a true perfection and there was not a detail that had to be changed to improve them. But then some scenes had such sloppy lighting I actually laughed. What I loved for sure though were the set designs. Aesthetically pleasing, but not over the top that it looked unnatural. You saw it and you believed - yes, someone lives/works here.

Overall, it has many great messages, many great lines. Could have been one of the best BLs if the production was a bit more daring, but also selective in terms of the story and the casting.

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Entertainment over quality… repetitiveness on the rise.

Don’t get me wrong though. It’s not necessarily bad quality, rather… basic? I’m gonna write a few criticisms I had with the show, but I want you to know, I still enjoyed it quite a bit - I would drop it otherwise.

Starting with the short points, I will elaborate on them later.

So what’s good?
◽ The characters’ personalities and the chemistry between them. The variety of amazing interactions we’ve got depending on who was on screen was perfect.
◽ The comedy was to die for. Even if some episodes felt like fillers, I was still mostly okay with them because I got to laugh a few times. Especially any scene with the Crown Prince and Mu Deok was a comedy goal.
◽ The lore. For the first proper high budget Korean fantasy drama like this, they did quite a good job with creating a believable and detailed world. Yes, they broke some rules they set themselves, but overall, in this aspect the writing was rather consistent.
◽ The production quality. This show is simply beautiful. I have no complaints about CGI either, which is a surprise, since I always complain about some details related to it.
◽ The acting from the majority (but not the whole) cast.

What had a potential, but could be improved?
◽ The villains. While on paper everything adds up - they had proper goals, motivations, plans, enough power for it to be believable, the presentation left quite a bit to desire.
◽ Love lines. There were just too many. Cutting off half of the love lines, and exploring more the ones that are left would be a huge improvement.

What did not work out?
◽ The female characters. They told us how strong, smart, brave, driven they are, but then relegated them to be some sidekick characters or just a background for the story to unfold. Including the female lead.
◽ The present plot and pacing. Having such an elaborate lore and using so much time to explore and explain the characters and their background, sadly hurt the current plot a lot. Too much repetitiveness, too much narration and filler scenes, that, while entertaining, did nothing to move the story forward.

Getting into more detail now.

So, what’s up? It was built on extremely basic and boring tropes. And while I love everything around it, the core is still... basic. Especially in terms of Jang Uk's writing - a special boy, with his special powers and special fate. Magically learning all the magic that he needs at any given time. There are literally no real stakes with him - we know he will somehow get out of all the issues with no real long term consequences.

The worst crime this show committed was reducing the revenge seeking, confident, skilled female lead into nothing more than a love interest for half of the young male cast. Girl just gave up her goal at some point and was nothing more than Jang Uk’s maid. How sad it is, when she opened the whole show with a bang and badass fighting moves. Realistically speaking, she was a far more interesting character than Jang Uk, and yet she was pushed to the sidelines.

I feel like the drama overall failed its female characters. For example, Jin Bu Yeon was an extremely important character, and yet the majority of viewers shared the “I don’t care about the oldest daughter plotline” sentiment. What does it tell me? Hong sisters and Park Joon Hwa failed to convince us it’s worth following the story. They failed at setting it up in an interesting way and failed to show how connected it is to everything happening. Which is sad, because from the few scenes we have seen with Jin Bu Yeon, she seemed like an extremely strong, brave and worth watching character.

There is another interpretation of Jin Bu Yeon’s wasted potential - Hong sisters from the start did not care about her character and never planned for her to be anything more than just a background story. And this just makes me sad to even think about. She is literally one of the most interesting characters in terms of her story - one of the most complex backgrounds and connections, and yet she was nothing more than a background?

Honestly speaking, the majority of the characters lack the complexity and depth, but they make up for it with the extremely well written and directed chemistry. There is a huge variety of different relationships (not all romantic) that are entertaining to watch. Some of my favorites are - Mu Deok and the Crown Prince, Mu Deok and Yul, Crown Prince and Jang Uk, Master Lee and basically everyone, dumb Scooby Gang aka Crown Prince, Yul and Dang Gu.

So, we know there was a high entertainment value in terms of the characters, but also some painfully unused potential. What about the plot?

The pacing was awful. Honestly tragic. They did an amazing job with expanding and explaining the lore and character’s backgrounds, but as for the present plot - it was barely moving. We were getting closer to the end of part one, but I felt like we took maybe two steps forward, and mostly just ran in a circle. And the precious screen time was wasted on random comedy scenes (which were great, does not change the fact they mostly added nothing to the plot), romance EVERYWHERE, and side plots that a lot of viewers, me included, did not care about.

The romance? Jesus Christ, you think love triangles are annoying? Wait to see all the love lines and all the geomatics love shapes. Everyone is somehow related to everyone in a romantic way - be it past relationship, present relationship, arranged relationship, one-sided crush etc. At times I felt like the love lines were more complicated than the actual plot.

What exactly was the villain's plan? They had literally everything they wanted and needed to take over… but they didn’t. Because, reasons? They were just chillin doing the bare minimum waiting to get caught.

AoS tries to set up quite a few plot twists and big revelations, most are sadly predictable for anyone who watched even a few wuxia shows. It just follows the most stereotypical story with the most common tropes leading the way. They also kept explaining things that were already revealed and explained - the plot is not THAT complicated so I would need a constant reminder about each and every plot point.

Production quality and acting were good. What many fantasy shows fail at is the over the top, complex CGI. AoS did a spectacular job with it. Everything crafted to make the show pleasant to the eye.

Acting wise, I have to talk about Jung So Min. She is one of my favorite actresses and I knew she could deliver any role, but I was still surprised how she was able to manage so many personalities and shift her acting to fit specific scenes. I’ve also been a fan of Lee Jae Wook since his debut as Marco in Memories of the Alhambra, and knowing how diverse the roles he took so far were, I did not worry about his performance at all.

I’m also quite impressed with Shin Seung Ho. The Crown Prince was not an easy role since the character has quite a few contradicting qualities, that could seem ridiculous with the wrong delivery.

Overall, being perfectly honest, I did enjoy it for most part, but I would not recommend it. At some point I had more fun ranting about it on feeds with friends than watching. Not sure if the few entertaining scenes here and there truly make up for all the mediocre and bad aspects. I might just be biased because I love the cast so much. And since this is basically a 30-episodes long drama, is it worth it to spend 40 hours watching it just for the interesting set up?

Taking 0.5 from the rating for the fact it was split into two parts for no reason whatsoever.

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Representation of mental health topics does not get any better than this. From writing, directing, acting, up to editing - everything was well thought through to convey the message and the portrayal of the depression and the consequences it has on the patient, but also people around them.

James did an amazing job as Boo. I believed every second of his acting and it truly broke my heart. I could clearly see how vulnerable he was. How he fought, gave up and fought again. The few glimpses of hope he showed, how it motivated him to take action, but also the fear that paralyzed him at times. The whole arc of the character was amazing. The parallel between the beginning and ending scenes created this perfect, cohesive picture. Truth to be told, when I saw the ending sequence with Boo's narration I was shocked by how perfect it was. I would not change anything. The most satisfying ending I have ever seen in a drama. I could see that a lot of thought and planning was put into filming and writing it.

The good writing can also be seen with Bell's character. In the beginning the conversation she has with her superior about the connection and empathy she feels to her patients was foreshadowing of what's to come. She was an amazing friend to Boo, but she was truly not that good of a psychiatrist. And I am 100% fine with it, as it was well written for her character. Not only was she just an intern, so she did not have that much practical experience yet, she also picked that specific job because of emotional and personal reasons that made it hard for her to stay objective.

I love how the show tackled the issue of how depression can affect others around the patient and how hard it is for people who have never been depressed and have no psychological/psychiatric knowledge to understand it. Starting with the dad, who had a hard time accepting his son might have such a big problem, to Simon who might have had good intentions, but at times his actions were not fitting when dealing with someone struggling emotionally like Boo.

The show hints about many issues concerning mental health. One of the lines that is stuck in my head is "You think because he's depressed, he can't do anything wrong?" said by one of Simon's friends. Just this one line made me pause the show. I started to think, how much responsibility can a person with severe mental problems really take, how can a victim of their actions feel and react when they can't even truly blame anyone for what happened? Who should take the responsibility? There were many moments that just made you stop and think about the presented topic.

I also have to talk about the clever editing and them trying to visually present the symptoms of depression and Boo's feelings. I felt like they truly wanted to make sure the audience would understand the presented content. The perfection of the scene that was Bell explaining to Boo's dad the core idea of what depression is, was too perfect for me to describe. Her psychiatric approach and explanations intertwined with Boo describing how these symptoms express in him... wow. I literally clapped as I was watching this scene, because I was simply so impressed.

That said, even though in my eyes, this show is pure perfection, it's not for everyone. It's extremely graphic and at times emotionally exhausting. It presents the severe case of depression with all the symptoms of it (including self harm and suicide attempts). It might be too heavy for some.

I would recommend it for anyone who struggles with grasping the idea of mental health struggles and feels like it's hard to imagine how it can manifest in a daily behavior and what it truly means. The explanation does not get any better than here.

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It’s a bit like an extremely pretty art, but then you find out it was made by AI and it starts to feel a bit empty. On paper it’s a perfect soft angst full of longing and pinning, but the closer you look, the more imperfections you find.

While I did find the overall idea behind the story compelling, I’m not so sure about the execution, especially on Ikegami Fumiya's side. He did not tell the truth with hopes it will save the relationship, as they can start over, but then he kept making sure to not cross the line between roommates and potential romantic partners. This behavior was something I did not quite understand. My guy was in a risky business - deciding to hide the past in hopes for a better future, without actually being sure Ritsu will never remember their relationship, and without actually trying to be with Ritsu in the present.

That said, I actually find Ritsu harder to figure out and judge. We know little about him before the accident, and his present self was driven by what he forgot - trying to remember and being confused about his place and life. Because of that, he felt less defined than Fumiya and harder to connect to.

Since this is a relationship and character driven show, I put some effort into trying to understand the characters, and that was the mistake. If you try to dig deeper into what is happening on screen, you start to see a lot of small things that make little sense and at some point it becomes a pile too hard to ignore. I think the best way to watch it is just accept whatever they throw at you without asking too many questions.

Acting wise, it had its ups and downs. For the most part I had no complaints. The slightly dull delivery was clearly the directing choice to fit the overall atmosphere of the drama. That one time Honda Kyoya literally squeezed that one tear out of his eye made me chuckle.

That said, I still think it’s a solid melancholic watch. Some of the editing and the transitions between the scenes might be a bit confusing, but for some strange reason it adds to the charm. In a subtle way it shows how all relationships need work, and without addressing the core issues, you cannot start over and be happy, even if you get to hit the reset button.

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In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to choose your line.

So much was happening, but also nothing was happening, and how is that even possible?

If we talk about the actual events, this is a 40 minute movie at best. Exorcism, chat, death, chat, exorcism, chat, exorcism - more or less the plot. But if we take into consideration the topics introduced in said chats - that's a one semester lecture for you. Lack of faith in the men of faith. The misogyny in church and the lack of equality between men and women. Nuns doing tarot readings? Sure. Also a power team of nuns and schaman doing exorcisms. I guess. Then we have illness, I guess shame, but that was not explained at all. One could say this was a women empowerment movie, but was it really? And then the whole final sequence, as beautiful as it was, was also painfully dumb.

Even Song Hye Kyo was a hit or miss depending on the scene. Her nonchalant and confident scenes were great, but every time she tried to be more angry domineering and scream it just felt painfully flat. I feel like at least for some lines, if they switched her raised voice to a really chilling whisper with the music going quiet, it would have far more impact.

Moon Woo Jin did an amazing job holding back laughter, because that performance was just ridiculous. In a good way. It was exactly what the director and writer wanted, that's clear.

Lee Jin Wook was there, acted like an asshole. Was gone. He is not the main role, that I can tell you, and Jeon Yeo Been, while definitely more prominent, had to somehow deliver a character that brought nothing on the screen.

What's good? The movie was beautiful. Quite a few breathtaking scenes and good use of special effects.

Overall, pass - in both senses of the world. I'm not mad I watched it, it passed. But also, don't waste your time, pass.

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The plot had so much potential with the reincarnation trope leading the story, but it was never really used. While I enjoyed the beginning episodes quite a lot, at some point I was questioning myself for watching it. It wanted to be deeper, more dramatic and moving, but used all wrong directing choices to achieve it, and in the end, it did not work for me.

CHARACTERS/COUPLES
Truth to be told, I was far more interested in all side/past couples than the main one. I didn’t feel that much chemistry between them. Don’t get me wrong, there were moments when I found them as cute as possible, but I always thought it was more about good directing and not their acting. The romance scenes were simply well written and shot. I still believe Pharm and Dean’s first kiss was filmed in a fantastic way.

I truly loved the fun and entertaining chemistry going on between Team and Win and I wish we could have seen more of them and how they developed feelings for each other. We kind of knew they would end up together… and then they did. Not much of that development was really shown.

Earth and Kao were really good in their roles and I truly did feel the pain and desperation watching their scenes. Wish we could have a prequel telling just their story in greater detail.

Sadly, I felt like Ohm had the same facial expression 90% of the drama, with Fluke showing a bit more diversity: happy grin, shocked grin, massive crying (+ the quite well acted total meltdown in the last episode). While at the beginning I did not mind, at some point I was just bored by their scenes and performance.

Character wise, both Dean and Pharm were nothing special. I mean… Did Dean even have a personality? I did enjoy their relationship though, because, they played off of each other's characteristics well - Pharm being on a shy note and Dean leading the interactions, but as separate characters… they had close to nothing going on.

THAT SAID, I have to applaud the drama for one specific scene. We got some good representation of setting boundaries. When Dean gets a bit too touchy with Pharm, but Pharm quickly puts him back in place, clearly says it was unwanted and it must never happen again. We don’t see scenes like that a lot in BLs.
Also, justice for Manow. Poor girl was literally forgotten at some point of the drama.

DIRECTING
Oh boy. All the long, slow scenes of them doing literally nothing, like… looking at their phone, or cooking but without interacting with each other. The dialogues with way too many pauses. They literally took breaks every 2 or 3 words. There were many scenes that just felt like fillers. Few seconds here, few seconds there… but no content to be found. It made the drama look more aesthetically pleasing, but at the same time, I could not move my finger away from the right arrow on my keyboard, because I was sure there will be more than one occasion I will want to skip the next 5 seconds of them doing nothing.

As I was watching and the story progressed more and more, I could not wait for it to end. It dragged so badly and it was so amazingly slow. Everything was slow. They talked slowly, the shots were slow, the background music was slow, how they moved and walked was slow. I was honestly getting sleepy and tired after watching. The fact that, by an accident, I was able to watch 2 parts of an episode set on 1.5x speed and did not notice says a lot about the directing.

The violin soundtrack started to drive me nuts at some point. It made it seem like every scene was so profound and important and had deeper meaning… most of them did not. The overuse of it made it not an asset, but an annoyance in my eyes (ears?).

WRITING/STORY
I feel like the planning just failed. With the minimum of Team and Win scenes, they should just cut them out completely and make a sequel showing their relationship from the beginning. Focus only on Dean and Pharm and the past story of In and Korn. Show us in more detail how they slowly connected all the dots and accepted their past and current selves.

What’s most important, introduce a conflict AND NOT IN A LAST EPISODE. With the reincarnation trope, there are so many ways to go about it. Giving me Pharm questioning his love for Dean, not being sure if it's real or it's just reminiscence of the relationship In had with Korn, it’s awesome. What’s the point of shoving it in our faces in the last episode? It could have been gradually introduced. The more Pharm knew about the past, the more he would start questioning his feelings for Dean. This way you would have two driving forces for their relationship clashing in an interesting way - them being drawn to each other by the past connection, but also driven away by the fear it’s not real. I guess this isn’t the drama’s fault, since it is based on the novel, but it does not change the fact that there weren’t really any stakes presented. They tried to introduce some struggle by the end, but since the set up was not strong enough, it failed to move me and make me care.

The mental breakdown Pharm had at the end was so ridiculous too. He knew the story, he had flashbacks showing exactly what happened. It’s not like finding the box in the previous episode gave him some new information. He knew it all… And sure, we can argue that the reality of it hit him the moment he saw the photos and the gun, but it still makes no sense pacing wise. Make it happen at least two or three episodes earlier so we can actually feel the pain of then splitting/taking a break. Give me that emotional journey not some cheap emotional thirty second roller coaster with some bullshit “three months later”.

Overall, I guess I was simply not convinced by Fluke and Ohm’s acting so the scenes that might have been sweet, emotional, sad… were, for me, boring. I was not connecting to their feelings so I could not bring myself to care. The moment I started to care, the pace slowed down so painfully, I was getting distracted by the fact nothing was happening. Sad conclusion to the drama I was so excited to watch.

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