This review may contain spoilers
Wasted Potential
Wow. First off wow. This was probably my most and THE most anticipated drama of 2025 and it just failed to live up to the hype it expected. Compared to S1, I expected something more. The casting was great, the story was... mid and rushed, and the osts were brilliant.
To note, I know there were many characters that were cut from the drama as opposed to the webtoon but the villains were really lackluster. The only interesting characters were, of course, the two that were the "main" villains. There were definitely interesting and a great addition but I feel like we could've gotten more with the addition of the original characters. There were the other two who were almost non-existent which I feel like in the webtoon, they actually had something to add to the story. Na Baekjin was pushed out too much when, in reality, he was like a mysterious figure throughout the webtoon. He was behind the scene most of the time. (The tattoo... the FUCKING TATTOO). Lackluster villains, Wolf Keum was the only interesting one and fucking disappeared.
Even for the main cast, there was so much potential, SO MUCH. Yes, I love the four of them (5 inlcuding Suho) but we could've gotten something even more. The original Eunjang had life to them. This Eunjang had nothing. We could've gotten 3/4 more characters who could've added to the story but were instead cut. Go Hyuntak didn't really get his shine as he should have compared to Juntae and Baku. There was almost no depth to his character. He could've been something so much more rather than being Baku's friend and good at fighting.
It's sad that this was rushed and pushed out like this, I felt like they could've put more into this. 8 episodes? Really? I mean cmon Netflix. This could've been a great 16 episode season even if we included the original cast from the webtoon. These were 30 minute episodes damn near, where it could've been at least an hour at most. No depth to some characters, Na Baekjin's conclusion sucked, the fight between Union and Eunjang could've been on a much bigger scale, the other schools didn't even get highlighted when could've added more to the story. Man.
This felt more like an original rather than an adaptation. I think S1 was too good, like really too good. You can't top it sadly. They tried with this but instead failed and burnt everything to flames. It was, of course still good but, damn. It was really lackluster and deviated from the webtoon a lot. I feel like a lot of people were too attached to Suho and they were almost forced to include him in this season, making him the main plot essentially. I felt no attachment to the other characters, other than Baku really.
One of the most anticipated but failed to live up to the people. Would've been an overall 7/7.5 but the casting of the actors were great so I had to bump it up. Would've rather rewatched S1 then watch this tbh. But overall, it was a fun watch, just not what I expected after how much of a masterpiece S1 was. Could've been something great but became Gojo.
To note, I know there were many characters that were cut from the drama as opposed to the webtoon but the villains were really lackluster. The only interesting characters were, of course, the two that were the "main" villains. There were definitely interesting and a great addition but I feel like we could've gotten more with the addition of the original characters. There were the other two who were almost non-existent which I feel like in the webtoon, they actually had something to add to the story. Na Baekjin was pushed out too much when, in reality, he was like a mysterious figure throughout the webtoon. He was behind the scene most of the time. (The tattoo... the FUCKING TATTOO). Lackluster villains, Wolf Keum was the only interesting one and fucking disappeared.
Even for the main cast, there was so much potential, SO MUCH. Yes, I love the four of them (5 inlcuding Suho) but we could've gotten something even more. The original Eunjang had life to them. This Eunjang had nothing. We could've gotten 3/4 more characters who could've added to the story but were instead cut. Go Hyuntak didn't really get his shine as he should have compared to Juntae and Baku. There was almost no depth to his character. He could've been something so much more rather than being Baku's friend and good at fighting.
It's sad that this was rushed and pushed out like this, I felt like they could've put more into this. 8 episodes? Really? I mean cmon Netflix. This could've been a great 16 episode season even if we included the original cast from the webtoon. These were 30 minute episodes damn near, where it could've been at least an hour at most. No depth to some characters, Na Baekjin's conclusion sucked, the fight between Union and Eunjang could've been on a much bigger scale, the other schools didn't even get highlighted when could've added more to the story. Man.
This felt more like an original rather than an adaptation. I think S1 was too good, like really too good. You can't top it sadly. They tried with this but instead failed and burnt everything to flames. It was, of course still good but, damn. It was really lackluster and deviated from the webtoon a lot. I feel like a lot of people were too attached to Suho and they were almost forced to include him in this season, making him the main plot essentially. I felt no attachment to the other characters, other than Baku really.
One of the most anticipated but failed to live up to the people. Would've been an overall 7/7.5 but the casting of the actors were great so I had to bump it up. Would've rather rewatched S1 then watch this tbh. But overall, it was a fun watch, just not what I expected after how much of a masterpiece S1 was. Could've been something great but became Gojo.
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