the_sapio_nerd

Very beautiful drama with a disappointing fact.

This is a very beautiful drama with different povs of life and worth a ONE TIME WATCH. Before I review the drama, I am citing reasons why you should definitely watch "At a Distance, Spring is Green" :

1. The very rare trio chemistry between Park Ji Hoon, Bae In Hyuk and Kang Min Ah
2. Warm & slow romance between Park Ji Hoon and Kang Min Ah
3. Beautiful and unique brotherly relationship between Park Ji Hoon and Bae In Hyuk, that you see in no other Kdrama
4. Deep and meaningful storyline with plenty of things to learn from and analyze about
5. This is more of a healing friendship story where the lead characters despite of their type of relationships and personalities, help each other in growing up as persons

LET'S REVIEW-->
STORY:
The drama is a coming of age campus storyline just as it's synopsis says, based in Myung-il University and mainly involves 3 characters in their early 20s who in spite of their age stratification become close due to circumstances and uplift each other while moving forward in life. The lead trio consists of 2 MLs and 1 FL among which one ML is paired up with the FL while the other ML has a subtle or we can say minor love line in the drama. But the drama primarily focus on the chemistry of the lead trio, life values and realistic problems in personal as well as university life. It is deep, beautiful and meaningful from so many aspects that it makes you cry at many instances; not just for the sad events and heart-touching moments, also for the way the characters value life and love. The story also focuses on the youth related problems that students in their early 20s face, such as poverty, mental health, academics, etc. but disappointed how another major problem of young people, i.e. LGBTQIA+ issues has been subverted from the original story and ignored as if it never existed.

As most of us know this is a webtoon adaptation of "Campus Life" which originally has 3 seasons; 1st being focused on the campus life plus lead couple chemistry development development, 2nd being the love story between one of the 2 MLs and another ML's older brother and 3rd being the unlikely warm brotherly relationship between the 2 male leads. The 3 seasons of the original webtoon has been summed up into a single season drama though the story is primarily focused on the season 1 and a major change has been done with the webtoon's 2nd season BL storyline. They introduced an extra female character in the drama to couple with the 2nd ML excluding the minor BL part of the original story. It's a bit disappointing tbh but understandable since they had to make it a cable drama and we all know South Korea's stance on homosexuality and the limits of the industry to produce BL dramas or even feature gay characters in mainstream dramas.

PLOT:
Let's be honest that this drama doesn't have a very extraordinary storyline. I mean to say that most of the things are the old usual events that we have already seen in a lots of campus kdramas. But what matters is how they execute & represent them old stuffs and how the cast performs. And I think this dramas has been able to do a very good job in that regard.

I AM very happy with how they've focused on the trio chemistry throughout the drama which is very rare in Kdramas. All 3 of them went from being strangers to department mates to very close friends who love, care and respect each other while trying to motivate each other from every aspect.

The lead couple chemistry is warm as well where Yeo Jun and So Bin fall in love under unlikely circumstances. Although it happened at an unexpected pace but I guess it's because they've only 12 episodes in total. But overally, romance in this drama is something interesting. I mean to say that this drama could have ben entirely okay off the romance part. What I also read somewhere is that So Bin and Yeo Jun are not even couples in the original webtoon.

What's more intriguing in this drama is the very amazing brotherly relationship between Yeo Jun & Soo Hyun which stands out as a rare kind of friendship you'll ever witness between 2 male characters in any Kdrama out there. It is portrayed on the same level as the lead couple, rather I would say that it dominates the lead couple's storyline but nevertheless, as I have already mentioned the major focus is on the Trio relationship.

HOWEVER, Soo Hyun's love story is a very stupid thing in the drama. Considering how female characters have been created to get him a girl, the writer has done a poor job in writing their characters as well the plot development involving these 3 characters. Also, the mean lady professor who didn't treat his students and peers well, changed overnight and started giving relationship advices to her students, wth!

CAST & CHARACTERS:
This is not a very high cast drama as most of the actors are in actual rookies, even the lead characters are somewhat less experienced considering the number of dramas they've done and it has also has many new faces. YET, I would say everyone has done their jobs appropriately here, even the minor characters has done well with whatever they were given.

Special mention to the lead trio ofc for they had proper character development and growth in personality which obviously happened because they helped each other in the due course. Park Ji Hoon has been doing good in his acting careers for years and this role of Yeo Jun has been well played by him. Bae In Hyuk, though not that new to the industry did a nice job but honestly I didn't expect him at first to be doing a good job in playing a cold yet sorted senior character. Kang Min Ah's previous characters have been somewhat similar, this drama also brought forward a different side to which she reciprocated well with whatever acting skills she has acquired so far.

HOWEVER, I feel the major characters other than the lead trio were of less essence. I mean that's a given since they're supporting roles but still I think it could have been better. Not knowing how the characters have been penned in the original story, I think the drama screenwriter kind of did a poor job in drawing them. Hong Chan Ki's character is at ok level but Young Ran being the closest friend to Soo Hyun didn't have much to do. Mi Joo, the extra character created for the drama to pair up with Soo Hyun, is totally useless. I am not at all enraged because Soo Hyun's BL storyline with Yeo Jun Wan was changed but I honestly think Mi Joo's character went to drain with nothing to offer. They should have rather kep soo Hyun's character single in the story and that'd have been better tbh.

DIRECTION AND SCREENPLAY:
Direction is actually good being directed by a somewhat young director, thus giving out fruitful results. Execution of the script with a moderately paced screenplay editing makes it even more pleasing and catchy to watch. Arrangement of events as well as organising the OSTs and background scores have also been done properly.

OSTs:
The OSTs are actually very beautiful which add extra essence to a drama which is so deep and so meaningful. "BOM BOM BOM" by Punch, "Talk To Me" by Park Ji Hoon himself and "Way" by Chancellor are some jolly & catchy numbers whereas, "Then & Now" by Huski and "We will be not all Together" by Rothy & Han seung Yoon are heart touching and soft tracks... I love the later 2 so much.

UNIQUENESS:
The best reason you should watch this drama is the unique brotherly relationship between Yeo Jun (Park Ji Hoon) and Nam Soo Hyun (Bae In Hyuk). It's not the usual bromance you see in other kdramas where they're either fighting or clinging to each other. The 2 characters literally went from being strangers to senior-junior to best brothers. The way the development of the warm as well as beautiful bonding between them has been shown is rare to find. Even though they found each other annoying, they eventually warmed up to each other despite a huge difference in their personalities. It was as if they were seeking each other's presence in their lives. Yeo Jun who has always been deprived of love from family and looked for affection all his life AND Soo Hyun who has always been strong yet secretly looking for someone to lean on; finally find each other to rely on and end up proving how well they deserve to be good brothers. I am always gonna remember their affectionate relationship.

DISAPPOINTMENTS:
But let me also express my utter disappointment about this drama too. Apart from the poor side characters and the stupid extra female characters, I am still in denial about how the BL storyline was completely dumped into the trashbin. It's somewhat understandable that the Kdrama industry has it's limits because of the Orthodox Korean society but many other Kdramas has put efforts and tried to bring change by featuring LGBT+ characters too. Then why not a university campus drama which has 90% young characters in their early 20s as well their youth problems have been portrayed? Not just in the society, LGBT+ issues are also one of the major problems in modern day campuses. Even though the BL storyline involved one of the MLs, they could have kept it that way in order to bring a positive change and set an example for others. If they thought that no prominent actor would want to play a gay characrer, they should have looked for someone who would do this with an open mind, even if they were less popular. After all that was a minor storyline and it would have been easier to execute but still!? But they totally failed in that regard rather decided to completely remove that part. In another way, it's fine if you did but why would you create a stupid character to compensate that and get the male character a partner? I mean it's not a big deal for a character to end up single by the ending of drama. Firstly, subverting the homosexual characters then altering someone's sexuality from gay to straight; both of these facts enrage me a lot. This is another example why I think Korean netizens as a society and community is just pretending to be progressive in some aspect while they ignore and reject other major ideas which are actually important for someone's rights and happiness, due to their narrow-minded thinkings. I am both angry and sad at the same time though I will always simp for the lead trio chemistry.

So to conclude, overally, this drama and it's story are really beautiful and you should try watching. If you don't care about the original story and okay with the negative change in it's storyline, it's okay and you can go ahead ad watch this. Even I have not read the webtoon but as someone who admires the originality and also someone who himself identifies as homosexual, I am equally disappointed with the change as much as I love it for the warm vibes. I might come back to this sometimes because of the warm scenes and cry watching them, especially the scenes of Yeo Jun (Ji Hoon) and Soo Hyun (In Hyuk). It has many things to learn from which will make you relate and think about your own life, your personality, your lifestyle, your relationship with others and your way of loving ang giving away affection.

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Age is an work of art.

Created by Lotte Cultureworks and distributed by JTBC, "Thirty-Nine (서른, 아홉)" is a 12 episode long Kdrama directed by Kim Sang Ho, produced by Yoo Young Ah. It started filming in August, 2021 and was also broadcasted on Netflix, which is Son Ye Jin's comeback to JTBC after 3 years following "Something in the Rain".

The story revolves around a trio of 3 best friends who are on the verge of turning 40, but have stayed together for decades through thicks and thins of life, while nurturing their bonds and establishing a relationship on the basis of mutual love. So what the story offers? Of course, there's is a particular goal, but uttering that will serve as the most important spoiler, so watch it for yourself. This is a purely slice of life drama and hugely character driven, that is not essentially in the venture of a solid plotline with twists and development. Isn't that a perfect scenario for a slow-paced, coming of age, warm Korean drama? Well, this is that only.

Cha Mi Jo (Son Ye Jin) is a dermatologist with her own clinic; an established professional having a loving family of parents and a sister. She's the most rationale of the trio. Jung Chan Young (Jeon Mi Do) is an acting coach with a small studio and parents living in suburbs. She's the most sincere despite being outspoken. Jang Jo Hee (Kim Ji Hyun), being the softest and cutest, is a cosmetic store manager at a departmental store and lives with her mother.

Yeon Woo Jin, Lee Moo Saeng and Lee Tae Hwan are the male counterparts though story primarily focuses on the female leads. In minor roles we have many familiar and qualitatively acclaimed actors like: Kang Mal Geum, Nam Ki Ae, Seo Hyun Chul, Lee Jin Hyun, Seo Ji Young, Lee Kan Hee and Kang Ae Shim.

Plot development... Again, there is no definitive plot for this drama, however, it sets forward a goal in the very first scene, and you'll know what it is instantly. The narrative of the show is intended towards life and its unprecedented events, that test us to the extremes, making us grow and bringing the best out of us. The pacing is perfect for a sliece of life Kdrama, at least to me, it was, I don't wanna lie. Someone into long conversations, meaningful metaphors and depictive appreciations would find it their cup full of tea. Storytelling method is touchy; accompanied with monologue notes, emotional recitals and creation of alleviating scenarios.

The introduction appeared to be engaging and pacifying, enough to make you look forward to the furthering with substantial interest. The progression stays moderate for next few episodes and it does pass by the interval successfully, but around 8th episode, the flow turns mediocre. I don't think there was any lack of context and content but why few things were made repetitive and certain elements became stretchy unnecessarily. Even so, there was a casual improvement in the finale week; 11 episode being a lil rushed and 12th having back to back tear-jerking moments.

Kim Sang Ho PD with a fair share of experience of working in the slice of life dramas, as both PD and asst. PD, was able to give a satisfactory delivery with his skills. Although there were flaws, which was substantial, I am at least not disappointed. The dynamics of initial exhibitionism was smooth, gratifying and worthy of looking forward to. However, in the later half of the story, the essential integrands and some particular facets went flat, which wasn't really uninteresting but many viewers will definitely find uncomfortable.

Yoo Young Ah jakka-nim, a very familiar name in K-movie industry, with plenty of modern coming-of-age movies in her bio, over a decade of career, has always delivered on point. However, it appears that she still struggles fundamentally when it comes to Kdramas and that could be somewhat obvious at points of her episodic writings. This was the case for "Encounter" and this is the case for "Thirty-Nine" as well. Nevertheless, it was a decent delivery, which started out great, became bog-standard somewhere in the middle and ended with a passable note. The biggest flaw it bears is the inequitable screentime distribution; obviously the central character gets the most, then the supporting ones, followed by minor actors, but the disappointment comes from expectations and prenotions. But yeah! It was unjust given the popularity and skills of many factors featured in here. Regardless the flaws, I personally feel, it was able to provide a meaningful conveyance, throughout.

What I liked...
# the slice of life elements... Definitely! That's what this show was about. The numerous shades of life, portrayed through characters, their stories and emotions and the depth and essence of various relationships have been perfectly brought forward.

# The trio friendship... Though the writer failed to make it entirely about the trio, as expected from 99% of the viewers, but the amount of crux provided, accurately defined the kind of friendship that we all crave for. It was fun and healthy and most importantly, admirable.

# The character dynamics... the archs as an average for the entire main cast, was abstemious. Although not remarkable, it was enough to make your heart warm and understand the perspective of each. There could have been definitive improvements, but well.

# The flow of the story... Make sure you have it in mind that, the story has no plot, rather a goal, more like a destination, to where? To achieved eternity, to entirety and to euphoria.

# Adult romance... The romance was basically for only one couple, Son Ye Jin and Yeon Woo Jin; while it wasn't the primary focus, theirs being the only love line, felt very beautiful with subtle depths to a relationship and it's factors.

# The orphan adoption angles... I won't say who and how but just know that it has put emphasis on scenarios associated with adoptions, various aftermaths, the inner stories of the adopted ones and the ways you can deal with the odds that has possibilities of arising from it. I don't think any other Kdrama has gone to such extents.

# The aspects of death... Life has to end, love doesn't. The most beautiful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained. The drama shows, how it's not important to live forever but to create something that will.

What I didn't like...
# Son ye jin getting all the spotlight was the most annoying. It was to be made clear from the makers side in the beginning, that the drama is from the perspective only one character, even so not entirely. It felt like Mi Jo's diary, rather than a character driven story. It shouldn't have been like that.

# Jeon Mido is no longer an average artist, she's a popular star and she deserves to be at the centre and can beat every single actor out there. She not getting sufficient did piss me off, even the goal of the drama was something related to this drama.

# Johee getting substantially neglected bothered me to a great deal. I understand, her experience and considered negligible in comparison to others but she could have bewn placed in the supporting cast. The writer could have totally forgotten about her existence and the potential development of loveline between her and her partner.

# Improper utilization of supporting cast... The poster could be faulty. Just like Ye Jin, Woo Jin gets the major screentime as the former's partner, while Lee Moo Saeng's share is reduced and Tae Hwan is totally neglected just like his counterpart, Jo Hee.

Final Remarks... Thirty-Nine in overall could not be a dramq that it was expected to be and the outcomes were not hugely satisfying per se, nevertheless, the motives of the drama bloomed in an awfully beautiful ways, leaving impressions about everlasting love and relationships. There were room for improvement that could not be well utilized, which was a shame. I was more than willing to give it a 8.5 but provided the significant shortcomings, I choose to be fair. I hope people realize, the drama is not deserving of the idiotic judgements attempting to let down it's essence.

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Just how much I craved for a normal romcom kdrama!

Dali and the Cocky Prince indeed is a fresh romcom drama that we have had in while. Not like it's the only drama to have a normal romcom story this year, but it surely is the best of the kind and I shall explain why throughout. By normal romcom I meant,a romcom storyline with no supernatural or thriller elements, which has become common these days.

Kim Da Li (Park Gyu Young) is the daughter of Chungsung, the most prestigious family of South Korea, known for their contribution to art & culture. She works as a curator in a Dutch Gallery in Amsterdam. Jin Moo Hak (Kim Min Jae) is a director of Dan Dan F & B, a large gamjatang restaurant chain business company, who is uneducated yet has immense contribution in the success of his business. Dali comes back to Korea after his father's sudden demise to take over the gallery as it's director. But the gallery is already in debt and about to close down. Moo Hak and Dali with a previous encounter as good friends turn into debtor-creditor and end up working together.

The story mainly revolves around the gallery and the hurdles it face while organizing exhibits and maintaining it's dignity which also involves the developing chemistry between Dali & Moo Hak. Among other characters, there are Jang Tae Jin (Kwon Yul) as Dali's ex-fiancee and Korea's biggest family SEGI's Chairman, Joo Won Tak (Hwang Hee) as Dali's childhood friend, Kim Nak Chun (Jang Gwang), as Dali's late father and ex-director of ChungSung, Jin Baek Won (Ahn Kil Kang) as Moo Hak's father and Chairman of Dan Dan F&B, etc in major roles.

The seemingly uninteresting storyline doesn't really indicate the actual direction and mood of the story even if the genre tags say it's a romcom. The beginning of the story (first 2 eps) might not be that promising in order to decide whether to stay on this or not but I suggest you to give it a try till 4th or even 6th because after the introductory foundation of the drama, it actually becomes appealing. The ending is also well sorted. In fact, there was no point in the drama towards which felt slow or rushed and it wasn't messed up from any angle.

Honestly, the basic plotline is nothing new; its simple and typical with the classical romcom Kdramas. I loved the entire thing only for the fact that it's a normal romcom story and the chemistry between lead couples are worth remembering. Despite everything, the screenplay technique, dialogues, character development, romance progression and comedy has their own ways of representation for this drama which definitely intrests the audience. The amount of cliché elements are very less as well. It has that vibes of the old romcom stories. Adding to the main romance plot, there is another major plot involving both the leads, their families and the gallery and it goes on simultaneously and ends in the finale after all revelations are made.

Dali is talented girl with immense interest in art. She's strong yet softspoken, kind-hearted, rationale, reasonable and caring. On the contrary, Moo Hak is a rude, arrogant, outspoken guy who does talk loud all the time. He doesn't think before talking and tend to make many grammatical mistakes. All that matters to him is money, in fact he knows the real value of money. Despite all that, he's caring and considerate deep down his heart. I loved the fact how healthy Moo Hak as a male character is, no toxicity, no problem tease games and no ego. It indeed is a pleasurable thing to witness the two strangers with contrasting characters coming together to work and gradually falling in love. Not to forget, the chemistry buildup between them is sooo enticing, you'll wish more.

What I liked the most about the drama is how straightforward both Dali and Moo Hak are. Not only their personalities are crystal clear but their mindset towards their developing relationship is also firm and comprehensible. Their feelings plus expression are so transparent, you can't help but admire these two lovebirds and root for them real hard. At least they don't beat around the bush and made sure their is no confusion left. The actual romance starts in the 2nd half of the story (more like in the 2nd half of the 2nd half, haha) but what matters is the gradual buildup that was shown in a very beautiful way. Ofc, there was mutual interest and liking before that but it takes a while for the flower to bloom. Haven't really seen many such limpid chemistry development between lead couples in long while.

Both Moo Hak and Dali's outfits were aesthetically pleasing and the add-on of their visuals with those clothes, were chef's kiss, oof. Moo Hak initially was a thug-like guy and wore those floral print mosaic slim fit formals, plus his hairstyle; everything about him looked heavenly TT. Dali's sense of fashion and hair grooming styles with the bob cut short hair, my goodness, she looked gorgeous throughout. The stylist/costume designer deserves a bonus.

After the interval, I was worried a bit; even though everything was going fine I hoped the production value and writing quality won't drop low as it occurs in most of the new romcom dramas. But, thankfully, it worked out fine and till the end, they were able to put forth a reasonable and sorted outcome; such a decent story and good execution.

Lee Jung Sub PDnim surely is experienced and skilled, most of his dramas are both popular and good. The direction and management of the entire thing have been well executed. There ain't much to do with cinematography but the camera works of some instances were really nice and I loved the way they represented the gallery art museum. Screen editing is good as well, with several flashback scenes incorporated to showcase connections and revelations. OSTs and background scores are appropriately used and make the screenplay even more appealing.

Idk if it's weird but I loved the entire OST album for this drama; each and every single OST is so beautifully written. They're soothing, romantic and heart touching, they gave off suitably perfect moods throughout the drama. Imma mention all of them.

"Moon Crater" by Kim Yeji is my most fav of all. The harmony here gives me goosebumps, every time I listen to it. It's very very well composed.
"U Hoo Hoo" by KLANG is next in the list. This is sooo soothing and KLANG's vocals are always very heartfelt.
"GIFT" by CHAI has meaningful lyrics that we can all relate to, more or less.
"With You" by Ha Hyunsang is a comforting piece which well written and the vocalists high notes are gratifying.
"The Sweetest Love" by Ham Yonji is such a jolly track that can cheer you up. It has that charm to make your heart flutter uwu.
"That's Ordinary Love" by Seoho is gladdening romantic song and gives out the urge to love and be loved, truly.
"One Day It Will Be" is a duet by Ian Hug & Seoho, in which the harmony and synchronization makes it such fulfilling song, it is enough to melt your heart.

"Can't You Love Me" by Fromm and "Straight" by DINDIN are also good tracks, the former being a soulful soft song and the latter is a rap composition. "The Kiss" by Hodge is a short track with English retro vibes.

DALI & THE COCKY PRINCE, is definitely one of my favorite drama this year and undoubtedly the best classical romcom drama of the year 2021. The simplicity of the drama is what makes it beautiful and watch worthy. The simple yet, compelling chemistry buildup is worth looking forward to and deserves admiration. The overal plot, the acting, the aesthetics, the dialogues and the execution, everything are good and together make this drama a veryyy good watch. I came here not expecting much, for Min Jae, Gyu Young and Kwon Yul but didn't know I would actually like it to this point. Definitely coming back to this some times.

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Don't know what to measure in here.

Now that you've read the synopsis, there's nothing left for you to watch, except the intimate moments and the hot actors, haha. The 24 minutes story involves a college student and a man who meet in a basketball court and becomes affected to each other and end up in a relationship.

Their life comes to a point where they're entirely each others but end up finding each other's biggest secret which is a big surprise to both of them and they can't help but continue on their paths. The end! Yes, that's how it ended without any explanation and now I seek the makers to come ahead and make us understand about the essence, please?

Even for a short run time, this thing felt very average for a Taiwanese BL because we have examples of good Taiwanese BL movies like "Dear Ex" , "Your Name Engraved Here-in" who are of very high quality.

Alike any Taiwanese feature movie, they put emphasis on cinematography and sound editing and shady representation of their lifestyles. These are few of the good points about it, along with the acting elements and intimate scenes which is plenty; too much for a 24min movie, like they were smooching each other every other moment. I mean I like sex scenes too (ugly laugh) but this short movie lacked screentime man.

The most meaningful thing was the symbolic representation of uniting a gold fish and a fighter fish.

Tbh, when the protest thingy poped up halfway after the story, I was kinda intrigued because this is an unique perspective in a bl or any love story I have seen but that again was wasted with the half-baked screenplay ending with lots of confusing questions. Xiang as an environmentalist was on one side and...... Won't spoil but I am disappointed to say that they could have done better with the context by making it an hour project.

Well, it's still watchable because of the acting elements and the exploding intimate scenes. So go for it because even if you don't like it, a 24mins piece won't hurt you.

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March sisters walked so Oh sisters could run.

The first report about this remake had me excited to the seven heavens; I was overjoyed not only to have a Korean version of one of my favorite classic novels plus movie adaptations but also to see how exactly they blend it into a sageuk (historical). Was a little upset upon learning that it’ll be based in modern urban times but it didn’t take long me to make terms with it. However, starting the drama and finishing two episodes left me very confused and had me pondering about the intentions of the makers. Not long after, I had to realize that only a few elements of the original have been picked up for the so-called remake and hence this one deserves no comparison. So, what are the similarities?

◆ Sisters (4 there, 3 here) living with their mother; father long gone to places.
◆ An artist among the sisters (2nd one there, 3rd one here).
◆ Poverty-stricken lifestyle, hard ways of earning food and necessities.
◆ The great grand-aunt who favors the middle sister for her intelligence and tenacity.
◆ The prince charming with not-so-significant role, two distinct male leads here.

Let me know if I missed out any ;)

Developed and produced by ‘Studio Dragon’,” Little Women (작은 아씨들)” is supposedly a loose adaptation of the 1868 classic novel of the same title by Louisa May Alcott. Screenwriter Chung Seo Kyung creates the story in a modern Seoul-styled Korean backdrop with essence of thriller, melodrama and makjang while Kim Hee Won takes charge of direction. The 12-episode drama was originally broadcasted on tvN and internationally distributed by Netflix. Several parts of the major happenings of the drama were also filmed in Singapore.

The original plot is about struggles, love, compassion and dreams, whereas this adaption is about greed, goals, urges, fear, somewhere love and of course, dreams. The story follows a poor Oh family of three sisters with separate professional goals who, without their consciousness, get involved with the richest family of Korea and a supposed cult that is connected trough a mysterious orchid, which starts with a missing sum of 70 billion won.

Oh In Joo (Kim Go Eun), the eldest sister, works for a salaried office job and having lived in extreme poverty, she dreams about money and wishes to live an ordinary life. Oh In Kyung (Nam Ji Hyun), the middle sister, is a righteous reporter who doesn’t value money and starts working on a case that was long-forgotten in order to unveil the truth. Oh In Hye (Park Ji Hu), the youngest sister, is an aspiring artist who gets acknowledged for her natural skills though she is a realist and considers her sisters’ love for her as a burden.

Choi Do Il (Wi Ha Joon) is a part of Wonryong Group whereas Oh Hye Suk (Kim Mi Sook) is the Great Grand Aunt and Ha Jong Ho (Kang Hoon) is her neighbor and childhood friend of In-kyung. Park Jae Sang (Um Ki Joon) is a politician aspiring to become Seoul’s Mayor while his wife Won Sang A (Uhm Ji Won) is the daughter of Wonryong Group, created by her father Commander General Won Ki Sun (Lee Do Yeop); Park Hyo Rin (Jeon Chae Yeon) is their daughter, also an artist who is In-hye’s best friend.

Other familiar faces in the drama are Jo Seung Yun, Gong Min Jung, Park Bo Kyung, Park Ji Young, Lee Min Woo, Kim Myung Soo, etc. Several big faces have made special appearances: Song Joong Ki, Oh Jung Se, Choo Ja Hyun and Jang Gwang.

Its initially mystifying and allows one to think what might be the intentions of the writer though the follow-up picks up very entertaining and baffling elements creating arousing intrigues within the mind. The furtherance was as amazing with gradual disclosure of more engaging facts about several plotlines, major or minor, and what perplexed me the most was the storytelling and its naturalness despite a mixture of idealistic, realistic and real factors. There was this episode around the interval, that I clearly don’t recall, did felt a little off; the period where things were static and nothing huge seemed to be on its way, not like it became boring or something though. The later half was definitely much more marvelous with each episode bearing several peaks and each of them competing to excel. I was personally taken aback at episode 8 and how the presentations got the best of me, so this is my most favorite, though the show kept surprising even more in the rest 4 episodes. The ending

Writer virtuoso Jung Seo Kyung, known for her prodigious portrayals in staggering women-centric scripts, has once again proved how efficient her skills are to bewitch the audience and finest her creations to stagger the viewers. Admittedly and provenly, a copy-paste remake ain’t her style as reflected in “The Handmaiden”, so the decision to convert a classic English melodrama into a contemporary thriller with justifying dynamics and stupefying elements which turns out to be an appealing and positively appalling masterpiece.
Fascinating character arcs are a specialization of jakka-nim which undoubtfully is finely incorporated with satisfying development. The script is a bag full of whiplash twists, evenly distributed throughout and the picturesque convulsions that serve as delicious dishes of a sumptuous brunch. The theme creation is as bemusing as we see the ghost orchid, its backstory, the people it connects to and how it is at the center of everything.

Acquiring great skills despite less experience within a short period of time, is what Kim Hee Won known for. However, her previous work was a blunder that was finally recognised as a trumpery; though the script was hugely to blame. To see her work of creativity has always been a pleasure and without a second thought she strives to better. On that note, the cinematography of the drama is mesmerizing, from aesthetic shots to extravagant frames and swift yet detailed movement/shift, everything did their job in minds. The screenplay was visibly well-planned as the progression is periodic rather than episodic, seizing the viewer into one plotline but confusingly forcing them to other, albeit the manner was very comfortable thereby maintaining the quality.
What I also loved about the visuals are the reasoned and well-defined backdrops and setups. The Seoul-ic vistas of light and dark hue with polychromatic shades were very eye-savoring outside while rather plain and simplistic colors inside the mansions and buildings also did exhibit the contrast in between. The attempts to draw frame-wise parallels within the same show between the two halves were very ecstatic; admittedly, I wouldn’t have noticed if not for one of the users’ feed posts here.

Composed by Park Se Joon, there are two OSTs in the drama:
# “Enough” by Zior Park
# “La vie” by SOLE

(70 billion won-Truth-Art: Money-Justice-Dreams) … This is how I will draw the outline of the way the three sisters were connected to the show; one who thought money could solve all the problems, one who believed justice will bring everything to peace and one who desired art will help her escape. The combination could result in only one thing, money laundering through art pieces, haha. But the drama is much more than just power trip, greed for wealth and artistic perspective. Indeed, with her cinematic excellence, the writer uses the tool of social sin and the feelings of superior connivance in order to establish a story that reminds us how human mind is a complex matter that could cause catastrophes in the world while only truth and remain constants of time.

Oh In Joo was the most natural of a character in my opinion and apparently Kim Go Eun was the most suitable person for the role, provided her ongoing saga in “Yumi’s Cells” is also one hell of a realistic thing. From her desire for money to her being clueless and from acting cautiously to strangers to being overtly sensitive to everything, just average human being. Clearly, the best character development given to the one at the exact center, performed and excelled.

Nam Ji Hyun could have been used better, not like she was underwhelming or something, but in a way, I believed, both the character Oh In Kyung and the actress herself held lot more potential than what we saw. There were instances Inkyung was just pure dumb, as in dumb for someone who was a journalist plus it was visible the way she struggled a bit at first, which was a given since I don’t recall her playing such a fierce character(?). Anyways, it was satisfying to see her in action at times and how she changed from the beginning to end.

Oh In Hye had a magnificent arc to begin with and the actress did perform very well with her expressions and delivery. However, I was a little upset the way she was limited in the latter half; as in they forgot about her existence for some time and brought her back absurdly like oh she is a part too? All I mean her share of screentime did not suffice as someone who is tagged as a main character everywhere. Otherwise, her dynamics were naturally that of a rebelling teenager. Also loved how the makers decided to end the show with her prologue story and monologue note. The actress playing Hyorin did not have anything significant about her but she was good nevertheless.

Choi Do Il as a character is probably one of the most mysterious you will ever see and Wi Ha Joon should be commended for carrying it very well. His on and off dimension will apparently become the reason half of the audience will develop trust issues in real life. The introduction wasn’t really grand, rather felt he’d be only playing on the surface (to me at least), but the maker’s way of playing with their audiences’ mind worked like some sort of crazy drugs wow. I am not sure whether I should be saying that I was impressed but there was a point I just decided to sit at a corner with popcorn in m hand and see what he is upto. Nonetheless, I was happy at them screaming how he loves only one thing at the end of the day.

The drama is a heavy thriller; although it offered few bright and comforting elements, it mostly exhibited dystopia. Some events could be very frustrating like you are gonna drag a character out and beat the organs outta them. The plot devices like the orchid, the red heel and the architecture did serve as amazing scopes in order to create an artful story filled with thrills and excitement. And the progression is very unpredictable and mysterious for the current trend in K-thrillers, no doubt the screenwriter is a cinema maker; loved the suspense at the end of each episode as well. A galore of twists might even feel like burden in some episodes but their outcomes are relieving in some way. Again, the symbolisms, backed by their ingenious metaphors make the drama more entertaining.

The group of antagonists were not really one of a kind but the performance of the cast was what made them lively. Both Uhm and Um for the seasoned actors they are, did put forward an enthralling and captivating show, and the bad times we had clenching our teeth stands witness to it.

I believe March sisters’ struggle to keep up their dining table occupied helped Oh sisters to not just protest but fight against capitalism as they indulged themselves with the evil, for the sake of prosperity and justice though separately. Their dispute with reality urges them to opt paths they thought would be treacherous and relying on a single straw they not only strive to remain true to themselves but also thrive like a single blade of grass in the dessert. Through thick and thins, this remake remains grounded to the original in portraying how the littleness of everyone leads to a grand world of big beauties

The finale was as satisfying in the sense, it was not rushed, or even dragged unnecessarily, rather every bit of it felt good. It is not an open ending either as some people might think though in my opinion they left one plothole regarding the burried pendrive. But again, in a way, the evidence was not really useful. The ending sequence was smooth and also made mr realize that Choi Do Il's efforts were equalized with his manupulative and intelligent skills.

A personal and silly observation about the show that I made towards the ending, was that the in-situ viewership was very accurately concurrent with the qualitative graph that I have made in my mind, i. e. my episode-wise rating. Idk why I thought it was necessary to mention it here but here you go TT.

Final Remarks… A show made by women, led by women and prospered by women was quite a piece of thrilling experience as Little Women hits the floor this time around. The time will cite the show as something that is not a good remake but nevertheless a great show, which is a perfect balance between the original and the adaptation. From high production values to outstanding presentation and from enchanting performance to entertaining outcomes, this was a unique approach and definitely a must watch and easily one of the best thrillers of 2022.

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Keep calm and drink on!

While modern affairs says Moonshine is a brand of corn whisky, according to medieval literature, it means high-proof liquor that is produced illegally and the name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. The drama, in fact, is based on the same concept and truly depicts and justifies throughout.

Literally titled "When Flowers Bloom, I Think of the Moon (꽃 피면 달 생각하고)", the show is created by KBS Drama Division & 2 other companies and distributed by KBS. This drama is a debut for the writer Kim Joo Hee and directed by the exclusively KBS PD Hwang In Hyuk.

A period of 10 years ban on alcohol leads to the formation of hidden Moonshine organizations who secretly produce alcohol to do business and to take advantage of the ban by earning plenty. Sequence of events lead to the discovery of stash of such alcohol and while unveiling the forces behind everything, even bigger truths are disclosed which seem to be involving the main leads as well.

Inspector Nam Young (Yoo Seung Ho), appointed at the Prohibition Office (Sheonbu) is a law-abiding officer who craves for justice and truly carry out the ban as ordered by the King. Kang Ro Seo (Lee Hye Ri) is a poor noblewoman who got no skill but to make excellent quality liquor. To live a normal life by making money, she dares to disobey the laws but got a pure conscience and uprightly morale. Byun Woo Suk plays the naive yet calculative Crown Prince Lee Pyo and Kang Mi Na plays Han Yae Jin, a noble lady who is easy peasy and believes in being honest.

In supporting cast, there are many familiar faces like Choi Won Young, Jang Gwang, Jung Young Joo, Moon Kou Kang, Park Ah In, Kim Gi Bang, Im Won Hee, Seo Ye Hwa, Hong Yeon Pyo etc. The acting department was full of decent actors and the performance was overally very good except for Byuk Woo Suk. He didn't show any improvement from his previous dramas and him playing a main character wasn't a good impression though his screentime was significantly reduced in the later half.

Most of the major characters are likable, especially, the ones played by Seungho, Hyeri and Mina; I liked their roles and their characters. The one with the least experience is Mina and I was actually happy seeing her doing good in here.

Plot development is more than just good. It's not a brainy intriguing watch with lots of angst or even heart-fluttering moments. Plus, unlike most of the Korean sageuks, where the central plot gets diverted to plenty of political conspiracies and somehow becomes romance-centric with the goal of uniting the ML & FL in the end, this truly sticks to its main plotline for most of it's parts. The first 2 introductory episodes were able create some impression regarding the moonshine businesses and the progression throughout remained up to snuff and satisfactory.

It obviously has several peak moments as expected but not that stupefying in general; I think that's the speciality about this drama. The ending sequence however got a bit repetitive but it was okay. There's not really much to discuss about the development honestly and it was a good watch throughout. In addition, the pacing remains constant plus up to par and it didn't demand me to skip anything or even fast-forward it at all. I think the biggest plus point for this was the fact that it never ran out of substance involving the main theme, despite an average storyline.

Hwang In Hyuk PD-nim is a familiar face in KBS Drama Division with more than a couple of hugely acclaimed dramas in his resume and the decades of experience seems to have been reflected despite the drama being not a masterpiece of some sort. The screenplay management, premise settings, the scenario conduction and the cinematography have been well taken care of. The overall screen editing is nice, and despite the least amount of emphasis on colour pallettes, the vibe organization using appropriate hue, is brilliantly done. The pacing is good as well; which at few places (for instance ep 9 & 11) felt like becoming slow, but glad they picked up the acceleration shortly.

Writers making a decent delivery in their debut is not new, however, this was indeed a beyond decent one from Kim Joo Hee, and I believe, she should be paid her due credit. The overal value of the script is way more than average though I can't deny the flaws, but I feel those were manageable and I'm sure many of the viewers wouldn't notice. The plot development is simple, steady and entertaining. Some plot elements could be predictive for avid watchers but that clearly doesn't decrease the quality; I must mention, it's a light and decent sageuk. Unlike 90% of recent sageuks, the screenplay doesn't have any fillers and complementary side plots just to complete the 16 episode quota.

In fact, the amount of romance is very less and equally balanced with the bromance line. The development of bonding between different characters including the love relationships, is simple, good and not exaggerated. The patriarchal dominance is almost nonexistent and to my delight, this has so many feminist female, and not to lie, male characters. Using a contrary approach, the female lead here is the saviour of the male lead and in way, anything misogynistic has been included either.

Composed by Park Se Joon, the OST album ha a total of 9 songs and all of them are likable. My most favourite is "Even Though" by Monday Kiz which has beautifully written lyrics that render your heart. "Love Me Again" by Sojung (Ladie's Code) has the old K sageuk vibes. "Who You Are" by Ha Sung Woon is a song with is a soulful romantic track. "Missing You" by Minseo is a heart-rendering song with great vocal values. "Once In A Minute" by Seo Eun Kwang (BTOB) is a jolly track. Other tracks are:
# "Fly High" by LUCY
# "Moonshine" by JAIME
# "Someday" by Miyeon
# "Love Your Everything" by Golden Child

What I liked...
# The feminist female characters.
# The plot transition
# The character arcss and their growths
# The unique conspiracy plot
# The balance between different factors like: romance, bromance, family aspect, royal affairs, conspiracies, comedy, fighting & stunts, etc.

Final Remarks... Overally, "Moonshine" was a good watch in my opinion. It was likable, engaging and not time-wasting. It could have been a very good thing given the concept and storyline but the fact that it is one of those dramas with least amount of noticeable flaws, makes it an average and decent piece. I won't say it's a must watch but please do it in case you're not looking for a simple sageuks with typical yet balanced elements.

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Don't judge a book by its cover.

My first impression of this show wasn't really good; I didn't assume it'd turn out bad but I thought it'd be a basic average story, full of Kdrama romcom clichés. To my surprise, it decimated ( destroying large proportion) my prenotions, it proved to be a competent romcom of the current trend, and stood out in terms of using atypical elements. (using the term "decimate" because it wasn't complete finished off)

Produced by Arc Media and broadcasted on KBS, "Crazy Love (크레이지 러브) [2022] is basically a romantic comedy Kdrama along with elements of melodrama and mystery. Written by Kim Bo-gyeom and directed by Kim Jung-hyun, the show was also distributed by Disney+ Korea.

The story follows the build up of office romance between a Private Education Academy CEO and his secretary, equally emphasizing the fight for power within the company and mystery of conspiracies.

Noh Go Jin (Lee Jae Wook) is the CEO of GO-TOP Education and top math instructor, who despite of his educational qualification, has created and made the company No.1, with his knowledge and capabilities. Being as popular as a star, he is loved by the public but known to be a selfish & narcissist by his employees. Lee Shin Ah (Krystal Jung) is an introverted lady with sedulous & responsible personality who has managed to keep up with his notorious boss, with the cost of her degrading mental health. With the dream of becoming an instructor, she contributes her best to accomplish her task and strives to make her ends meet. The story begins with Gojin getting into a threat, as Shin Ah gets entangled with his life, and furthers with the consequences.

Oh Se Gi (Ha Joon) is the Dep. CEO of GOTOP, the dearest to Gojin and Baek Soo Young (Yoo In Young) is the budding educationist and Park Yang Tae (Im Won Hee) is the CEO of Ilpum Edu. Other familiar faces in the drama are: Go Gyu Pil, Park Han Sol, Yoon San Ha, Lee Si Eon, Kim Ki Nam, Lee Mi Young, Kim Hak Seon, etc.

I have mixed feelings about the plot development, more than "mixed" it's like particular moods for particular portions of the entire show. As said earlier, for the pilot episodes, I was not really interested, but then it improved and finally sored to another level and made me wish hard for it to retain it's quality. It started going downhill, right from the beginning of 11th episode, I can't say how, but I think most of you can guessz since it's a romcom drama that has to result in unison of the lead couple. Anyways, enjoy it till the fun lasts, it's extremely funny and rarely angsty and there is least amount of romance for the first 2/3rd of the show, though there is a definite buildup of chemistry between the ML & FL. You'll know when the actual romance starts and even so it comprises of clichés scenes, I guess we sometimes crave for it behind the curtains? Haha. I would have loved to see more of Ha Joon's sides and also a complexity to the mystery plot, which somehow got lost in the latter half. Anyways, the ending sequence with extreme conspiracies and power trip was interesting and the show ended on a good note.

Writer Kim Bo Gyeom debuts through the drama, and from his bio, it's apparent that he must have been a part of good script teams, led by prominent screenwriters. Provided his experience, I would say that it is a beyond decent delivery, no? The pilot ep might not be impressive, but the furtherance is amazing and the buildup is worth looking forward to, though the ending sequence isn't as nifty or crackerjack. Given the cult-classic genre with a basic story, it isn't something very difficult to plot and write, but surely implies his skill as a debutant.

Director Kim Jung Hyun with a well-known career graph, is the producer of several popular dramas of contemporary trend. The management, execution, screenplay setup, screen-editing is up to par. The urban romcom and office scenarios were of apt mode. Sound production is probably the best thing about the direction, in my opinion. It's actually that good to be particularly mentioned, for any comedy drama.

There are 6 OSTs in total and they're crazy good, I must say. "I'm Crazy" by the AB6IX duo Jeon Woong and Lee Dae Hwi is a endorphin-releasing song with lyrics that depict confession. "Stay Alive" by formis_9 is a high beat yet soulful track about warmth of love. "Bite!" by NU'EST Baekho is an enticing song meant for motivation and inspiration to climb up the ladder in your life. "Dive into you" by uri love JAY B is a heart-touching & romantic track, and his vocals makes you cry as always. "May be" by DAVII is again a track of pleasurable and fun-living love, his vocal is always a favourite. Lastly, "Wide Open" by Juniel is a softcore romantic song with the vibes of old romcom ones.

What I liked...

# The steady plot development is likable and engaging; though there is nothing outstanding, but provided the fact that the recent plain romcoms fail to retain their qualities, this is comparatively pretty satisfactory.

# The uncharacteristic plot elements and concepts used are what make the show stand out the most, in my opinion. I had assumed it will have all the Kdrama romcom tropes and still wanted to give it a try. Even though the pilot episode didn't interest me much, by the end of the 6th episode, I ended asking my friend, "Where are all my cliché scenes at?" This was the exact line.

# Noh Go Jin, the character is another factor that, in my opinion, is helpful to extents, to make the audience keep going, like a motivational force. His expressions, his reactions to things he's told, his dialogue delivery and even his way of walking, everything makes him a perfect self-obsessed plus funny male lead, which most of us tend to love, no?

# The romance build up is fresh, yes, because modern urban romcoms tend to follow the old plots and there is zero sign of creativity. But, I am glad, even as a debutant, the writer has attempted to do something outta his zone; fortunately, the implementation was successful.

# The Comedy elements are the reasons, a viewer should look forward to and stick to the drama for the amazing ride, even so the initial episodes make you wanna drop.

# Sound editing is again particularly noticeable, especially, for the heavily funny scenes, and, particularly, involving Noh Go Jin. The unexpected violin notes and softbeat instrumentals during scenes where Go Jin is teased and made fun of, were so so so hilarious, I was very engaged to it.

What I didn't like...

# Once again, Krystal's acting was a turn off. I still don't understand whether it's her acting , that hasn't improved over years, despite her constantly doing dramas, or it is the characters sje play, i. e. Bbad choice of scripts? Nevertheless, she could be better and there always that ample amount of space for learning and improving herself.

# Limited screen share of Segi and other characters is what disappointed me a lot, specially in the later half and particularly from 11-16. Ha Joon is a good actor and despite his less experience, plus given the character's importance, he should have appeared more. Ok Hee & Soo Ho also should have been given more.

# The plot turning typical starting from 11th episode, made me go mad, though the cliché romance elements were insignificant & inconsistent. Won't complain much but I would have loved if they had retained their original way of development.

# Extending the previous point, the mystery plot, involving conspiracies and counteraction, was forgotten in the later half; sometimes it was completely gone. It would definitely affect the quality of the drama and reflected in the ratings, as well.

Final Remarks... "Crazy Love" which starts as a basic random show, progressed to be an worthy ride with unexpected elements, though turned into a typical mess by the end. I honestly don't think it's something that will suffice everyone's taste but it's a fair one time watch. If you're a fan of old-styled romcoms and crave such plots, yet looking for new things in one, this is definitely for you. You might want to fast forward a little in the last 4 episodes, and that's very fine, but I suggest you don't give up on this soon. I mean, yeah! I was also proved wrong, judging it from only 2 episodes. Go ahead :)

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ACTION THRILLER OF THE YEAR

Note: DO NOT EXPECT A BRAINY CRIME THRILLER & A CONTINUOUS STORY

Yes, you read the headline right! Do check it yourself. TAXI DRIVER is not a crime thriller, rather an action thriller, where you see a lot of action and stunts and it'd not be false to say that the action by Lee Je Hoon (Kim Do Ki) is not at all exaggerated or overdone unlike crime thrillers or simple melo dramas where everyone just flies off, climb walls like a reptile or jump high places like a squirrel (lol).

TAXI DRIVER is a perfect balance between thriller and melo, and a lil romance. The drama being based on a combination of real crime cases of Korea, is created on a concept of a transportation firm, namely Rainbow Taxi Service, that help people get revenge to avenge there dear one's death.

I am happy how brilliantly the main writer of the drama came up with this idea of portraying real cases and it's actually enthralling to witness this kind of direction. At the same time, I am unhappy how people have slept on this absolutely wonderful thriller piece. PEOPLE, DON'T DO IT.

I saw some people disappointed because there is no romance between the male lead and the second female lead, but what's with you expecting to see romance everywhere? Not everything necessarily has to be about it. Go watch romcom dramas.

I loved how this drama is straight-forward. Obviously, there are back stories for each of the major characters but you know what? They are not that long; even if they had stories to tell, those were shown as prologues and epilogues at the beginning and ending of each episode. You might not like the fact that there is almost no depth in there characters but I don't see that as a problem, given the drama is an absolute treat to yoyr mind & emotions.

Are you expecting a steady plot development to back a major protagonist-antagonist story? Well, it's better you to be aware that, you won't find a solid 16 episode long narrative here. Various cases that would be over come in broken prices will come together at a time in the end to haunt you down, haha.

Let's talk about acting? What exactly should I tell you? Just ummah! People, you have literally slept on Lee Je Hoon's acting till now. I am telling you he's one of the top 10 Korean actors. Let's start recognising his skills because it's not too late, okay? Esom noona is fierce as always. She did her job really nice. And oh my goodness, Pyo Ye Jin, I really really wish this drama will be a breakthrough to her carrier. This lady has waited long enough for such a role, which ahe deserved, and she's doing nice. Kim Eui Sung-nim is as always a solid actor. Jang Hyuk Jin & Bae Yoo Ram have done a impressive job as supporting characters which they've been doing fkr a long time.

Special mention to cinematography and the screen editing. The background themes and the songs that give you goosebumps, uff! Fabulous direction, coordinated and well organized script. A bit disappointed with the change of the main writer when only 3 eps were left but okay.

Please don't hesitate to watch. I am assuring you, this is the year's on of the best thriller because 2021 is indeed the year of thrillers.

P. S. First two episodes are introduction episodes. So don't drop the drama thinking it's slow, okay?

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Not good, not bad.

Produced by JTBC Studios & Megaphone, "Green Mothers' Club (그린마더스클럽) [2022]" is a mild makjang Kdrama putting particular emphasis on parenting, education of kids and friendship between mothers. Written by Shin Yi Won and directed by Ra Ha Na, the show was also aired on Netflix.

This will be a simple review.

The story follows five mothers, residing in the same neighborhood, and the growth in their motherhood in the course of time through thick and thins, learning and unlearning as well as adapting and rejecting, ideas, notions and behaviours, while they strive to deal with the concerning problems about their own. It also depicts the establishment and development of friendship between mothers as they attempt to tackle issues surrounding them and their kids.

# Lee Eun Pyo (Lee Yo Won), a mother to 2 little boys, is a self-confident woman and a loving person, who believes in relaxed education for kids and always puts emphasis on how it's important to help children grow to become good human beings rather than making them academic robots. She's personal flaws though which is irritating.

# Byun Chun Hui (Choo Ja Hyun), a mother to a boy & a girl, is a highly ambitious woman yet under-confident, who has contradictory beliefs to Eunpyo and can go to great extents when it comes to make her kids reach the top of the race.

# Seo Jin Ha (Kim Gyu Ri), a mother to a boy, is an highly esteemed artist, yet struggles to deal with her own mental health and is greatly emotional & expressive.

# Kim Young Mi (Jang Hye Jin), a mother to a girl and a boy, is a propagator of anti-capitalistic & advanced education methods and have the ability of self-control.

# Park Eun Ju (Joo Min Kyung), a mother to a girl, is an easygoing lady who loves her family so much and can be easily manipulated by others.

Provided that the drama revolves around the child actors to a huge extent and the fact that all of them, casted in the show, have done a tremendous job in carrying out their roles, I believe they needs to be mentioned as well...
# Jung Dong Seok (Jung Shi Yool) and Jung Dong Ju (Lee Chae Hyun): Eunpyo
# Kim Yu Bin (Joo Ye Rim) and Kim Young Bin (Kim Seo Jun): Chunhui
# Henry (Shin Seo Woo): Jinha
# Sae Bom (Jeon Yu Na) and Jul Pin (Ahn Seok Hyun): Young Mi
# Lee Su In (Park Ye Rin): Eunju

On that note, I think I should mention the husbands as well, haha....
# Jung Jae Woong (Choi Jae Ram): Eunpyo. He's the best and cleanest character of all.
# Kim Joo Seok (Choi Deok Moon): Chunhui
# Louis Bunuel (Roy): Jinha
# Oh Geon Woo (Im Su Hyung): Youngmi
# Lee Man Su (Yoon Gyung Ho): Eunju

Plot development is quite a goal (for 12 episodes); def something to look forward to. While giving the impression that the writer doesn't really indulges to a single plot element, it throws light upon several things, from family to friendship, child mental health to education system and murder to mystery; it sums up everything in a decent way. Pilot episodes were good enough to expect from the show, and so is the furtherance throughout. At every twist it felt like they're gonna exaggerate the plot, they come up with another interesting element to keep you hooked; never ran outta context. The last 4 episodes did feel a lil dragging in terms of the mystery plot, but I don't think it affects the overall quality much. Coming to my personal thoughts, the show was till 12th, then the plot became a lil choppy in 13th & 14th and finally the 15th and 16th episodes somehow went wary, even so it wasn't obvious. Whatever disappointment actually comes in the 15th ep was from the 2 main ladies of the show, rather than the overall plot; their ways of dealing with the consequences, it was stupid and funny, really. Nevertheless, the 16th episode recovered the damage to a level and the ending sequence of 20 minutes was satisfactory.

Shin Yi Won jakkanim being a debutant have been able to pull off a decent and well composed script with a handful number of flaws. I am in fact happy that the story is not entirely a makjang story, rather a melodrama with both makjang and slice-of-life elements. The plot development is beyond likable and definitely makes you look forward. The pacing is perfect, with momentary rushing/obtuse, here and there, which is manageable. I suggest you look forward to the character arcs and their development, bcs it's both simple and intricate at times and reflect reality, that has been executed by natural means. The only problem with the writing from the writer's pov was the final character assessment, where the writer decides to make the characters do stupid things.

Even though Ra Ha Na PDnim debuts through this drama, seems like they've (they/them/theirs) gathered amazing amount of experience during her previous jobs. Directing a drama special, a webdrama and assisting a full length cable drama, they have taken their fair amount of time to work on their skills. The screenplay management, the scenario establishment, the screen editing tasks, the sound production, the cinematography and the overall execution has been well taken care of. The modern urban setup with both vivid and light hues or variable pallettes were able to serve the demanded essence.

There are 5 OSTs in total which are not noteworthy though addicting. "Happiness" by Nakkyeum is a jolly song which portrays the desire to have good days ahead. "Moonlight Mother" by Jang Pil Soon is an ode to motherhood that shapes in various forms, with the soulful rendition of the artist. "What If" by Jung In is a melancholic reminiscence of alternative possibilities. "Ivory" by Jemma depicts the conflict with your own as well as with others. "A Song For You" by SAya is a track for friendship or soulmates. Other than the tracks, the background music as well the opening theme credit are beautifully composed.

What I liked...

# The plot development is amazing, with each of it's major elements in perfect proportions, that too addressing them at appropriate time. I am happy that it was not a complete makjang which also chose to emphasize on education and friendship to a great deal. I admit the last 4 episodes could have been better but I personally don't think it was ruined or something.

# The natural human instincts, changes in mind, ups & downs in friendships as well as mental health issues including the side-effects of distorted mentality, etc. have been meticulously and explicitly portrayed through variety of human behaviours.

# The particular representation of mental health issues concerning children, is another reason you should be looking forward to. Putting pressure on those blooming minds and making them go beyond their limits by forcing them to overdo can lead to grave situations, and the drama stands out as an alarmist.

# Unveiling of mystery plot isn't really very impressive of sort but it surely takes you to edge during it's peaks, which is more than two dozens in the show. I love how things were still mysterious even for the finale.

# GMC indeed shows you several sides of parenting methods as well as the pros & cons of them. Parents attempting to fulfill their own dreams through their children, leading children along shoddy roads through their actions & reactions and overprotecting, could be creating a path of disaster, no matter the amount of love they pour. You get to witness, the failure of both the protagonists and antagonists as parents and everything boiled down to what the show actually allows you to take home away.

# Friendship in Kdramas aren't new but with each drama, we get to see an unique growth and bonding. So was the case here and the most valuable one was between Eun Pyo & Chun hee, which was based on their thoughts and action as mothers of their children. Look forward to it.

# The distorted education system, the way it shapes parenting and it's effect on the children have been well drawn and felt real.

# The character development on the parts of the main adult and child characters was enjoyable since the respective growths were contributed from various factors that are experienced by us in real, from a close proximity. The last 2 episodes, however, ethically ruins the main characters a bit but thankfully the writer recovered them.

What I didn't like...there isn't much, really...

# The dragging towards the ending, though subtle, was a lil annoying yet bearable. The final delivery from the characters was annoying and disgusting per se.

# I would have loved Jinha to have more screentime for 2 reasons: firstly, Kim Gyu Ri is a fabulous actrees and was able to carry out the role stupendously, exhibiting in herself and evoking in the viewers, the accurate emotions and, secondly the character had so much scope to regulate the story itself; I admit the writer could be correct in drawing the fates in her own accord, it's just I was expecting better.

# Similarly, I was really disappointed with Jang Hye Jin having very limited screentime in comparison to other major characters. Kim Young Mi definitely was the main role in her own world, who also played the most important part in unveiling one of the key facts, but the inconsistencies in her appearance throughout the show is what irked me the most.

Final Remarks... Overally, a good show with well developed storyline, amazingly directed and executed, which had a decent outcome. Would love to recommend others. My initial experiences with the drama would rate it 8.0 but with the progress and finale I would retain at 7.5. Even so I won't really discredit the efforts entirely bcs the overall thing isn't exactly bad. I believe it's absurd to reject something based on the final experiences, so yeah!

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Happiness: the state of being happy or the struggle to become happy?

We have numerous different definitions and interpretations for the term 'happiness' and we incorporate different definitions depending upon the situations or scenarios. For this drama, the most appropriate definition that comes to my mind was stated by Steve Maraboli that says, "Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them." Don't you think it resonates with the entire drama?

The basic concept of Happiness (해피니스)is apocalypse and we are having more of it these days, no? But what makes this drama stand out is a different approach of showcasing human behaviour during crisis, more than the apocalyptic situation. Yes, that's how you have to perceive and watch the entire thing keeping that in your mind. Otherwise you gonna hate this drama if you have come here to see thrilling monster apocalyptic consequences, utter dystopia and plenty of gore elements.

Happiness is about the happenings inside an apartment building that's been quarantined due to the spread of a deadly new virus, along with other apartments of the complex it belongs to. The virus has the ability to invade the infectee's brain and gain control over it by which the diseased develops monstrous symptoms and crave for blood. There's simply no cure to the virus since it's completely new and, nor is there a way to control the contagiousness. The drama is entirely about community survival because the residents belonging to different class who are stuck in the building, has to patiently wait until the restrictions are lifted. Meanwhile they have to avoid getting infected by any means as well as solve conflicts like fight for food, water, other accessories, finding network and most importantly save themselves from each other. This seems like a better synopsis.

Yoon Sae Bom (Han Hyo Joo), an SOU cop is highly decisive, righteous and straightforward as a person. She never tolerates injustice and always ready to counter any challenging situation. Jung Yi Hyun (Park Hyung Sik) is violent crime detective who never fails to get to the root of any incident and is good at dealing with any kind of unforseen event. Sae Bom & Yi Hyun have been friends since highschool and maintain a healthy friendship through mutual care and admiration. Han Tae Seok (Jo Woo Jin) an ex-military agent has the topmost hand as a pharmaceutical company executive and constantly strive to defeat the virus.

Ahn Gil Ho & Han Sang Won, PD & Jakka of the drama respectively, are very familiar names in the Kdrama industry with a good record of dramas as their accomplished works and this drama is probably the 2nd from this duo, together. Given the concept & context of the drama, the execution and screenplay management is done well, in overall. The writer deserves applause for bringing forward a different approach in apocalyptic story. Sure we have seen plenty of apocalypse but some are more about the survival against the crisis and others are balanced between along with human problems. But let me repeat that Happiness is more about the later. It's a great idea to showcase the human behaviour during the current pandemic that the audience could greatly relate to.

We have got many actors in the drama who are more or less familiar and are good at acting. I am afraid i will end up mentioning all of their names, I will just say that Lee Joon Hyuk playing Detective Kim Jung Gook (Yi Hyun's supervisor) and Park Joo Hee as Lieutenant Lee Ji Soo (Tae Suk's assistant), are my favourites. Acting department did pretty well here but i don't think it had any character with significant scope to showcase their skills.

The plot development is quite good, I wasn't actually amazed by it but sure, it's something to look forward to. It isn't really constantly gripping or something that makes you to seat at the edge except for the last few episodes, ngl. I am in fact pleased how the mood wasn't drawn to be intense and heavy, throughout. There were instances of kindness, humanity, love and care, all of these incorporated at appropriate spaces. There is no crude amount of romance between the leads here, even though they're considered couple, rather, to me, it felt like a slowburn development that was invisibly progeesing through mutual care. However, chemistry between them as best friends or even partners is superb, you are gonna love it. The first 2 episodes are not that great to keep you hooked, so i suggest you to try the next 2. Also, personally, I was with the wrong impression about the concept, so I struggled a bit initially. But it's a matter of time I changed my perceptions and to my cooperation, the show came to me in a different light. The progression is nice and the last 3 episodes are makes you anxious about the further consequences. Those are the best episodes no matter how much frustrated I had become.

There are few aspects that could have been better. I understand what the drama is about but meanwhile, they could have explained more about the virus, the restricted drug, the symptoms, which could have made it even more interesting. They could have thrown some more light on the character dynamics of the the individuals stuck in the apartment, with some background settings; Ik it would have demanded more run-time, so I'm not complaining. The sound production makes it look lame which is not the case. I am not fan of Han Hyo Joo's acting, nor do I hate her but I had hard time resonating with her character Sae Bom at particular instances here. Her behaviour sometimes didn't at all feel like that of an SOU cop. Also, Hyung Sik's acting plus voice felt unfamiliar to me since it's his comeback drama. Anyways, the sole reason I was here was the cast and I am pleased with whatever I was offered through this project.

The drama has only 2 OSTs and loved both of them. "What Lies Ahead" by Joe Layne is a country song which has trenchant values, defining the title of the drama. It's all about the anticipations and strategies about one's future, requires to achieve real happiness but little did they know that Happiness comes with hardships. "Pain" by Isaac Hong is a track that yearns to escape from pain, that has trapped them witnin an infinity loop. Other than these 2, Happiness also features several tracks from Joe Layne as background scores at several instances. I am honestly not satisfied with the sound production. Given the premise, Happiness could have produced and utilised some good instrumentals as it's background score or even theme songs but they got very of them composed. In fact, those few are good yet underutilised. This influences the screenplay in a way that the drama feels slow, when it actually isn't.

Since 90% of the runtime takes place witnin the apartment, there ain't much scope for cinematography but the CGI involving the virus infected individuals and their behaviours was upto the par.

Again, Happiness is a live-action drama of human psychology and their socio-cultural behaviour during crisis, or let's simply relate it to the current pandemic. The world has changed a lot since the outbreak of a deadly virus. Despite the difference in our status or classes of different categories, we all were exposed to similar threats of health as well as livelihood. And that's how we got to see how people respond differently to the same situation. People were scared, sceptical and inundated by informations and mental health of a large group of people went into shambles, adding financial problems to the lump of other crisis. Some were craving even for a single meal wheras as some were dealing with it sitting at home, as if nothing has happened. The pandemic in fact lengthened the difference between rich and poor even more. We witnessed people fighting over something like toilet paper. On contrary, we also got to ser different group of people coming forward to help each other and pledging to overcome the crisis together. Human psyche is inherently flawed, beset by biases that distort information. It is seen as incapable of dealing with complexity, probability, and uncertainty, and tending to panic in a crisis. This is everything you'll get to see in Happiness.

The entire piece is thrilling and awes you with its suspense at several points but it might not feel compelling which is okay because it's more important that you understand the undeaying messages which the show wanted to convey.

Overally, Happiness is a good drama which experimentally shows the social science pov of human behaviour and the underlying psychology. Please keep in mind that it's 10% apocalypse and 90% about demeanor of so called social animals, namely human beings. It's definitely worth the one time watch and I would surely recommend to give this a go, at least for Park Hyung Sik.

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Use it as a trash watch or drop it, won't matter.

Police University should have come 5-6 years back to be accepted as something good (not even very good because Kdramas had such dramas back then too which did extremely good). With a basic decent plot, this production messed up with every different aspect of a show, creating several flaws that can't be ignored.

Police University is basically the happenings of a university which is definitely different than other academic educational institutions along with an accompanying plot of cybercrime thriller that the main cast tries to solve. Yu Dong Man (Cha Tae Hyun), an ace in homicide plus cybercrime investigation with 20years experience ends up in Korean National Police University (KNPU), as a disciplinary action due to messing up a high-profile case. There he meets Kang Sun Ho (Jung Jin Young) as a fresher with whom he have had bitter experience in recent past. Due to multiple encounters at critical moments, they decide to work together on the case and gradually grow fond of each other. Oh Kang Hee (Krystal Jung) a girl determined and hardworking, have had hard times because of her mother who has been prisoned multiple times. She also finds the case to be linked to her mother's conviction and helps the duo in solving it. There are also Roh Bum Tae (Lee Dal) and Jo Joon Wok (Yoo Young Jae) who are the lead couple's closest friends in the university and are also a part of the secret investigating team.

Other minor yet important characters are:
Park Min Gyu (Choo Young Woo), who is also a good student, in one-sided love with Kang Hee and plays cheap tricks few times; Choi Hee soo (Hong Soo Hyun), a judo professor; Kwon Hyuk Pil (Lee Jong Hyuk), law professor, Seo Song Hak (Kang Shin Il), professor of Scientific Investigation & Public Administration.

I can't say that the plot development is very bad but it's definitely below average and awfully dull. It was dragged at many points that it becomes boring and so many illogical as well as useless elements. There are plenty of instances of inconsistent writing and the there is a null character development for the even the main characters. The screenplay writing skills are of poor quality, no doubt the writer is a rookie. The story, plot or screenplay, none of them felt like that of a university life in 80% of the drama. I mean police university is different from the usuals but this was very far from that.

The story is dominated by Cha Tae Hyun and Jung Jin Young giving other very less screen-timing, making them insignificant. Whatever the characters other than these 2 did, awfully looked like mere showoff which was forcefully fitted to make the drama lengthy and attractive, which became a miserable failure.

Park Min Gyu who is supposed to be the 2nd ML turned into a noone after 5-6 episodes, adding to his pathetic acting; ngl, I don't think he's prepared for cable dramas yet. Jin Young needs to improve his skills; his character rarely did give off the vibes of a male lead, his expressions to be particular were not very suited according to the mood, also annoying. I wonder why Krystal accepted this drama where her character even as a FL is nothing but an annoying, immature girl and isn't appealing even in the peak moments. The character was only there to fulfill the ML's love interest. Firstly she's not a rookie actress and secondly she's worked in good dramas but this just---. I have admired Cha Tae Hyun from his pree 2000 dramas and movies and he's a nice actor but I couldn't get myself to like his character in here. May be he was directed to act like that but that also made him lose the essence of his own skills. And Young Jae plus Lee Dal duo who are supposed to be comedy sidekicks kept passing lame jokes till the end which weren't a bit funny.

Director could have compensated this bad script but even he failed to do his best. In fact, another major drawback for this drama is it's sound and screen editing skills. I swear it low-key felt like that of a pre 2010 drama but again, those drama did better job in this regard. The camera work sucked to it's core making the viewer lose interest to continue. OSTs are good, I gotta admit.

Comparing it to some of the dramas with similar setup, a very good drama comes to mind, i.e. LIVE (2018). Though KNPU things were for just one episode followed by the story of a patrol division, the movie did an amazing job seeking attention and winning hearts but look at this mixture of light comedy and lame investigation work. I'm not sorry that I couldn't even enjoy it as a light drama.

The story felt kinda good for the first 2 episodes. The rapid yet touching progression of the plot, Sun Oh and his adoptive father plus brother, his backstory and present life portrayal were all good but it somehow fell through in 4th episode and nobody could help it. I feel it should have been a 12 episode drama only for the sake of not making the viewers lose interest and eventually drop it in between. However, one of the very few things I liked about it was the mystery plot, as for to discover who the key personality at the top of the pyramid who have deployed so many people for his greed. They managed to keep that in suspense till the very end and the revelation was quite astonishing. I'm glad for that.

Overally, Police University (2021) deserve the least hype and I'm glad it ain't that popular in real time. I had so much expectations from the story because of the cast obviously even though I was aware of the skills for most of the characters but I came here to be disappointed. It's totally fine even if you don't try this. It's just me who is bad at dropping so I anyhow forced myself into finishing this. Or if you wanna kill time, use it as a trash watch.

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Let's be honest

Produced by SLL and Zium Content, "The Sound of Magic [2022]" is the live-action adaptation of 2010 webtoon titled Annara Sumanara (안나라수마나라) authored by Ha Il Kwon. Developed and distributed by Netflix Korea, it was written by Kim Min Jung and directed by Sung Yoon.

The story follows three characters: a magician Ri Eul (Ji Chang Wook), and two highschool classmates Yoon Ah Yi (Choi Sung Eun) & Na Il Deung (Hwang In Yeop) and narrates their story of being each other's support through magic and music.

Ri Eul is a mysterious man, living in an abandoned amusement park, who performs magic for those who believe it and always immersed in his own world. Ah Yi is a responsible girl who has gone from rich to rag, trying to finance her family of 2, and still manages to do well in studies. Na Il Deung is the topper of the class with inferiority complex and a victim of domestic stress in regards of doing the best in academia. While Ri Eul helps Ah Yi and Il Deung in uplifting their souls through magic, they find out that there is more to the story of Ri Eul.

There are, in fact, plenty of familiar faces in both supporting and guest roles but their characters didn't have any scope either.

I have mixed opinions about the plot development and I must say it's an overall average delivery from the entire cast & crew. I can no way cite it 'bad' per se but it wasn't any impressive either. The dark scenario filled with misery transcending into jolly yet illusionistic colourful premise brings out great joy. While some scenes exhibit firm foundations and felt necessary for establishing the narratives, most of the events felt rather dragged and even rushed. The pilot episode starting with a long musical definitely sparked many thoughts and emotions, and fueled the excitement for the show, that were already on the peak, provided all the waitings. The show continues to be likable to some extent, particularly, till somewhere around the interval of the same episode, but that's it! Sure, it was decent but not monumental and imposing.

Together, Kim Sung Yoon PDnim and Kim Min Jung jakkanim have delivered both highly acclaimed and rapidly popularised shows and this show in particular, definitely falls into the latter category, though it was an average drama provided it's quality and execution. I had heard highly of the manga when the news about it's adaption surfaced and now, also the disappointments about how the quality of the original work couldn't be retained. The script was honestly a let down, for me and for many others, even when I attemp to judge the perspectives as someone who hasn't read the webtoon. The direction could have saved the show to a great extent, but it's unfortunate that the famous duo weren't able to understand their own homework, which is common. However, this wasn't expected from the experienced makers. The editing and arrangement of scenes required a lot of finishing and redoing. Have to commend the cinematography and VFX works, anyways, because they deserve.

What I liked...

# The musicals are what I loved the most. Given that there are not many dramas that try to tell stories through music, it was a pleasure to see the drama adapting the concept. However, the very execution of the musicals were rather lacking. They didn't feel natural, rather forced, as if they have no relevance to the story or to the characters. The random incorporation of the scenes came to me as an annoying element.

# The visuals have been undoubtedly served and everyone must agree to it. JCW in te magician attires looked 10 years younger and the aura his look for the show radiated will definitely help you get through. I personally think they could have worked a lil more on Hwang In Yeop.

# The acting was good; JCW is already experienced, HIY is blooming and CSE has done well despite her debuting background. The delivery from the supporting cast is great though the skills weren't properly utilized due to the lackluster character sketch.

# The underlying msg was the most important thing about the drama, I feel, even so the time taken to emphasize that was disappointing. Through the years, school violence and academic stresss, have nevertheless, been important topics of Kdramas. So, this drama also counts as an important factor in initiating conversation, despite the poor portrayals.

What I didn't like...

# The fantasy is the part that irked me the most throughout. Sure, it's beautiful, alluring and aesthetically eye-pleasing, etc. but what's the merit of it when that is of no significance. The author, by the end, couldn't even conclude whether to cite the magic real or not. One might think that's upto individual interpretation, but things are too unclear and subtle for the audience to decipher.

# The character arcs aren't at all likable and the only attribute you fall for is their looks, while that doesn't suffice to prove a drama. The subtle and poor development for both Ah Yi and Il Deung could have been better drawn. The characters are forgettable with not a single awe-inspiring feature. I am the most disappointed about Hwang In Yeop's role, I wondered why he went for this script.

# The plot development is off. The 1st scene was very impressive but everything that followed later was dull, inconsistent and shoddy. I was relieved the finale felt a little better and was able to deliver some important messages. Despite using elements like poverty, inequality, parent negligence and school bullying, the superficial utilization ruins the show to some extents.

# The plotholes created in the initial episode and the increase in it's number further turns off the overall essence. It's important they're filled up simultaneously, if not the makers always have a chance in the finale; this show didn't grab any of them.

# The execution and direction becomes choppy as soon as in the pilot episode itself. The forced irrelevant musicals, the time flashbacks, the sound editing, everything seemed irresponsibly done.

# The ending sequence, even so better, was not able to make everything clear. The way they finished the show without answering a lot of questions including some key facts was absurd. Even with the underlying takeaway home message, it couldn't make a significant change.

Final Remarks... The magic scenes were fascinating, the musicals were enticing and some other things were motivating, but when you combine them all, the story didn't really make sense; it was like they weren't meant for each other. I believe the drama could have been a qualitative hit if it were made around the time the webtoon came or at least before 2015, but provided how far we have come in the race, it wasn't anything great. But I insist it's a fair and decent one time watch which you use as a casual and light watch, nothing more or nothing less.

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As the name suggests, the drama itself is a doom.

WORTH DROPPING

I don't wanna talk much about it. Given the initial plotline the writer could have done a much better job but this drama ain't even average. Let alone the the basic plot, the screenplay is totally slow and a total cliché. The same old stuff sometimes are executed in such beautiful way that they don't feel cringey but this drama failed to do so.

I have a bad habit of not being able to drop anything at all. Could never leave anything no matter how bad it is even if I have to finish it at 3x and rant a lot about that later. Well, Doom at Your Service goes to that category.

So far, Goblin has been the best supernatural which not only had a good plot and story but they executed all other things well too. Even Tale of the Nine Tailed had some depth to the story even though it was an average cliché screenplay. But this drama didn't even make sense. To be honest I could manage till episode which was the introduction to the story but as soon as I entered to the 4th, it instantly became boring and unbearable.

There is no solid storyline in the drama except for the unique opportunity concept of a Doom. The climax of the story is a disaster which was even revealed way before the interval of the drama, i. e. the 8th episode. And after the interval the way they messed up the plot, I actually wanted to throw my laptop away. Everything had became repetitive from 7th episode anyways and they kept doing the same thing, over and over again, and till the very end.

There is no character development or whatsoever but one the major reasons of its failure should be credited to plenty of unnecessary characters. Lee So Hyuk, Kang Tae Oh and Shin Do Hyun...their story and characters are absolute side kicks. They are somehow related the lead couple and their main plot but the story created by the writer for these 3 people has no essence at all. The writer created it to make the drama 60mins and 16 eps, I am sure if that. It could have been a mini drama at least?

Cast is actually somewhat cool and that's the reason so many people started watching but I don't think that's how we should be be judging. I am not lying I fell for all of them too but well haha. It's actually funny how many people never knew Seo In Guk before this drama and went mad over his looks after seeing him now. Another fact, I can never with how annoying Park Bo Young is. I feel she a good potential but she always ends up choosing stupid dramas with very annoying characters.

Screenwriting is a trash and to make it worse the direction is totally poor. It felt the writer actually forgot their own story while writing the script. No significant editing and VFX skills have been shown, let alone cinematography. OSTs are actually somewhat beautiful and appealing tho. It felt nonsense, stupid and illogical. It could have been an average drama given the basic plot but I truly regret it turned out to be a trash.

It has a same plot of tragic past, miserable life, death, punishment, supernatural stuffs, reunion, memory loss and blah blah blah. Even as a romcom, it's very stupid. Because of Seo In Guk's comeback I was honestly expecting it to be a good average story, if not something fabulous but here I am willing to voluntarily hit my head on the floor after watching it.

Won't talk about the ending either because I told I don't wanna talk about the story.

It's my problem that I can never leave dramas unfinished but if you ain't into cliché romcom and illogical storylines, please give up before you even start it. Don't even bother thinking even if it's for Seo In Guk. Thank you for bearing with my rant TT.

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Basically, disappointed!

The title of the show itself seemed so powerful and Seo Hyun Jin as the central character, were the reasons I was excited for the drama. But to their sheer incompetence and my utter disappointment, the show failed to offer anything that would be worth holding onto or keep it in memory, at all. I will be precise, I promise.

Created by ‘Studio S’ & ‘Viu’ and produced by ‘VO Media’, “WHY HER ()” is a Legal-Mystery thriller with romance and comedy. Written by Kim Ji Eun and directed by Park Soo Jin, the show was broadcasted on SBS TV.

Set in multiple uncertain premises, the story keeps at the centre, Oh Soo Jae (Seo Hyun Jin), a successful lawyer at Korea’s biggest law firm, who has worked it on from the scratch all by her own. She is only a step close to adding another history in her name when one of her cases takes unexpected turn and she is made to accept the offer to become a professor at a law school. There, she meets Gong Chan (Hwang In Youp), a student with a dark past and possible ties with Soo Jae. As Soo Jae attempts to gain her position back, she seeks help from Chan and the team of other students formed as a legal clinic. And during that, they discover and decipher truths and mysterious facts related to their lives. Will she get what se wants? Well, you’ll know that if you watch, but I don’t really suggest you do.

As expected, Heo Joon Ho, who plays Choi Tae Guk (TK Law Firm’s owner), is the antagonist but accompany him, other two amazing actors Lee Kyung Young & Jo Young Jin,as two supporting antagonists in the show with moderate screen-times. I don’t think there were any other notable characters in the drama so will save my time even though the drama is filled with many familiar faces. I feel bad particularly for Bae In Hyuk who didn’t have anything significant. Cha Chung Hwa’s limited appearance was joyful for me though.

Plot development is super lousy and (you may not believe) I understood it as soon as I finished the ep 3. Admittedly, the pilot episode was good and indicated a possible decent legal thriller out of the script. But the next episode somehow wasn’t up to the mark and started feeling unesay and by the midway of the ep4, it had started crumbling bad. What happened at the end of that episode did irk me to great deals. I still thought it should be given a chance given the amount of buzz it has and for I did expect from it. However, even after the ep6, I found myself struggling more. The way circumstances were setup felt very lame and the sequence of events somehow were irrelevant.
The happenings in the revelations in the 14th episode weren’t surprising but the happenings were surely unnecessary; the writer became very cruel atp. The finale week was rushed to give the story a closure and honestly “catch-the-thief-at-the-end” doesn’t work any longer ffs. I would say the ending sequence was rather funny, I’d say totally a disaster. All the villains going down at a go isn't what I signed for when I had started this. Forget about consistency, the pacing was too fast throughout the show in terms of screenplay that it felt like they had a lot to show, when irl all those plentitude of elements were lame and futile.

Seo Hyun Jin had to be the person of the show so she rightfully deserved all the screen-share and in fact the most complex arcs to the character Oh Soo Jae. Without a say, she did do her best as a crazy female lead who is always put at the centre and the writer did a good job in presenting A-Z about her story, from her dark past to her current evilness and even her weakest sides. However, in that process, the writer went bit too much over the top, as in making her do stuffs which were not necessary at all. It was a downer to me.

Hwang In Youp need better script to be able to show his skills, ngl. He has been shining for last 2 years and to accelerate his career he must be wise at choosing. Not only the character was shoddy he himself performed below average. The mystery to him made me empathize a little but the underlying suspense did come out in an illogical manner which is another downvote for the show.
Heo Joon Ho is used to acing antagonist roles and his tone of delivery is a favourite. I felt he had sufficient exposure as well as complexions to him as the man behind the tragedy and his performance was way above the par For Bae In Hyuk, I didn’t think the character was necessary or even his presence as an actor was required for the show. Yeah, it’s sad though that his hands are a lot empty but still…

The makers have done a bad job at utilizing the side characters. With so many of them appearing at the same time, not a single one got a fair screentime or even distribution of dialogues, forget about impressive introductions and flashbacks to their stories. The concept of law school and legal clinic plus mentioning them as the possible main premise was a stupid idea to begin with, for the school didn’t even feel like one, the pupils worked like some FBI agents instead of studying or even talking about law and stuffs and the premise always went past somewhere else. It never felt like Lawyer Oh was actually demoted there, lmao.

The public broadcast of disciplinary hearing of Oh Soo Jae who was an attorney at a law firm?? How stupid one could be lmao? And everything getting revealed in that process? How lousy!

Coming to the stupidest inclusion of the drama, it makes me so angry that it was a part of it. Again, I don’t usually complain about the existence and amount of romance in any drama but I can sense when it is forced and when it goes overboard. Given the thriller genre, we did not need a couple out of this but I wouldn’t have complained if it had made any sense. The romance is not just stupidly brewed but also rushed from the beginning to end, basing upon lame grounds. It felt so forced that I was getting mad with each episode, please.

There are 4 OSTs and can be passed as decent Kdrama tracks individually but I don’t understand most of their essences in this drama.
# “Vincent” by Sohyang
# “Beautiful” by Doko
# “What about us” by Hajin
# “I will love you” by K. Will

Final Remarks… The title “WHY HER” is a befitting one given all the misery Oh Soo Jae had to experience throughout as if the writer had some kind of bad blood with the character’s name. And it was the female-centric theme plus Seo Hyun Jin plus, lastly, all the buzz around it during the initial episodes that had me excited but finding out how awful of a script this is, did make me hate it. Neither the story nor the direction, or even Seo Hyun Jin’s screen presence could save the drama. Not recommended at all.

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AVERAGE & OVERHYPED

VINCENZO is like that new dish you had always wanted to try out but it's served to you extremely bland. Good story, superb plot development. BUT, plenty of unnecessary characters to fill in the unnecessarily lengthy drama, slow screenwriting, substandard screenplay editing and dragged as well as stretched scenes to the point that it becomes BORING as early as in 4th eps. Morever, so many ILLOGICAL happenings in the disguse of fiction like typical Indian show where people get killed without a second thought and the killers get away with everything easily. They did an amazing job in casting actors for the major characters but NAHH, it's not it!

Story-writing: NICEEEEE
Script-writing: MEHHHH
Story and script are 2 different things and one doesn't necessarily has to be good at writing both. The direction could have compromised it but the director's screenplay editing made it even more boring.

They have portrayed homophobia in a positive light here hence I deduct one point from it. It was horrible to sit throught how they made fun of someone's sexuality.

Totally overhyped by people who only fall for visuals. Unreasonably rated high by people who watch selective dramas just for entertainment. It is not that bad but it definitely is not one of the best. PLEASE.

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