Waste of a Great Premise
Man where do I start?
Light Shop has such a great premise. Reading an interview, the director mentioned that the first four episodes are of different genres, and I honestly get it. The first four are uniquely structured to fit a different genre and once we get to episode 5 and beyond, the narrative shifts and we're into the good stuff.
But holy shit was it sooooooo slow.
I almost dropped it in the middle of episode 2 because of how slow the pacing was. I powered through cuz I've been hearing a load of good stuff about Light Shop but also because the trailer was so good. I had to skip a lot of the scenes because they just dragged on, and on, and on. Like I don't need a dramatic slow shot of the bus that they're riding on, just fly in with the drone to get to the next scene already.
I also really hated how they narrated/wrote the story. Like, why is Park Boyoung narrating it to me when she's not even on the screen? Why don't you show me what's happening? It was just a confusing mess of "what the fuck is actually going on?" and "where are we now in the timeline?" I believe only a few characters shone in the drama because of the confusing story, namely Bae Sungwoo's, Shin Eunsoo's and Kim Seolhyun's. Both Ju Jihoon's and Park Boyoung's characters merely felt like plot devices, ones who tell us and the other characters about how the world works but the way they wrote it is not it. Giving random exposition in the most random of moments when the scenes honestly is quite off-putting.
My saving grace was the cast, they did so well despite the shitty direction and writing. The cast were perfect for their roles that it was hard to imagine a different actor/ess playing each role. They put so much effort into each performance that they definitely deserve a standing ovation. I also loved the music, the music really made each scene more and more intense and sad, making you feel the emotions they want you to feel; paired with the cast's great acting, it was enough for me to power through the show and finish it despite my lingering sentiments to it.
Light Shop has such a great premise. Reading an interview, the director mentioned that the first four episodes are of different genres, and I honestly get it. The first four are uniquely structured to fit a different genre and once we get to episode 5 and beyond, the narrative shifts and we're into the good stuff.
But holy shit was it sooooooo slow.
I almost dropped it in the middle of episode 2 because of how slow the pacing was. I powered through cuz I've been hearing a load of good stuff about Light Shop but also because the trailer was so good. I had to skip a lot of the scenes because they just dragged on, and on, and on. Like I don't need a dramatic slow shot of the bus that they're riding on, just fly in with the drone to get to the next scene already.
I also really hated how they narrated/wrote the story. Like, why is Park Boyoung narrating it to me when she's not even on the screen? Why don't you show me what's happening? It was just a confusing mess of "what the fuck is actually going on?" and "where are we now in the timeline?" I believe only a few characters shone in the drama because of the confusing story, namely Bae Sungwoo's, Shin Eunsoo's and Kim Seolhyun's. Both Ju Jihoon's and Park Boyoung's characters merely felt like plot devices, ones who tell us and the other characters about how the world works but the way they wrote it is not it. Giving random exposition in the most random of moments when the scenes honestly is quite off-putting.
My saving grace was the cast, they did so well despite the shitty direction and writing. The cast were perfect for their roles that it was hard to imagine a different actor/ess playing each role. They put so much effort into each performance that they definitely deserve a standing ovation. I also loved the music, the music really made each scene more and more intense and sad, making you feel the emotions they want you to feel; paired with the cast's great acting, it was enough for me to power through the show and finish it despite my lingering sentiments to it.
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