xylaar

thoughts on ep1

i think i was looking forward to it too much, first ep was kinda disappointing. first of all, taesul really just feels like korean ironman; smart-mouthing genuis with issues. that said, cho seungwoo's acting is so good that it's making that hella cliche archetype interesting to watch again. also, the interaction between cho seungwoo and tae inho may have been short but damn is it really making me look forward to the bromance in this series. park shinhye didn't have many scenes in the first ep so i can't really comment.

plot and premise seems rather interesting so far, but i feel like the directing is really letting the show down, again, it's just incredibly cliche. (i legitimately rolled my eyes at that car scene, especially when the the camera focused on the family photo zzz). cgi for the tech stuff is actually surprisingly solid, but damn that plane scene's cgi is bad bad, although it's likely that that'll just be a one-off case.

all in all, probably a solid 7 so far. nothing revolutionary, but nothing offensive either.

hahaha i'm surprised you finished it if you didn't like it that much, i was ready to drop it if ep5 was also boring lol. but it's funny, i'm really in two completely different minds about this show. like one part of me is like wow this is the most overrated trash ever, and the other part is going i loved it so much i can't wait for s2

i was genuinely scrolling through my phone and skipping huge chunks while watching the first 4 eps, i really didn't enjoy it at all. but if you can get through them i think it'll be worth it

alright i’m back after finishing this drama. the first half of the drama really doesn’t do justice to the second half. the second half was so intensely gripping, and the father-daughter relationship was executed soooo well. i chose to finish this drama solely because i wanted to see how that would go down and i’m glad to report that it didn’t disappoint in the slightest

the first ever thing i've watched from park shin hye was the call and i thought it was pretty good, including her acting. that's the most recent thing she's been in so i have high hopes

ya'll the trailer has me shaking. cho seung woo bout to drop another hit of a drama

in 2022

stranger is one of my top dramas of all time and i think it may have ruined this show for me. i can't seem to find it exciting or intriguing because i just keep unfairly comparing it to stranger zzzz. also the FL's manipulative and disregarding behaviour makes me sick. playing with people's emotions just to get a scoop? and it's somehow justified because she's a caring and filial daughter? give me a break

i find that the truly special gems usually hover between 8.7-9.1 and, unfortunately, never go higher than that (rip my all-time favourite show, my mister).

anyway, we may think of these romance stories as generic and trashy now because we've watched farrr too many dramas with the same story beats. however, don't forget how enraptured you likely were with your first few kdramas too , which i'm willing to bet was the same type of generic romance.

there is no doubt that these cliche romance stories have a charm to them, that's why they have so much mainstream appeal. it's just too bad that a lot of kdrama watchers never 'graduate' from that phase to seek out brilliantly written, stunningly directed, and thought-provoking show

(also i do like a good romance but wtf was cloy, i couldn't stand it and dropped after 4 episodes. felt like the only good think about the show was hyun bin's face)

conversely, i don't recommend watching s2 without s1. yes, technically you can understand the plot of s2 just fine without s1 because they are separate stories. however, you'll miss out on the emotional weight of some VERY key scenes in s2. i mean the kind of stuff that makes you think back on how much the character has both developed and suffered through the 2 seasons and then just cry. i think this is especially the case for the stranger series because of how lonely and distant the main character starts out as in s1.

ALSO WATCHING S2 BEFORE S1 WILL SPOIL S1 IN TWO VERY BIG WAYS

where can you find it on wetv? i tried searching it on wetv but all i got were trailers

hmm idk i feel like that happens with most popular airing drama. i really liked participating in the conversation every week when i watched stranger 2 while it was airing too. but idk i don't think i have the willpower to watch another airing drama unless it has any of my top 3 actors in it hahahah

i absolutely can't stand watching airing dramas lol. i usually just end up waiting for it to end, or just forget about it halfway. the only airing drama i've successfully and VERY DILLIGENTLY followed (literally the second it airs) to the end is stranger 2, and i think you can tell why from my profile picture.

can this end quickly so i can start watching it and binge it???? i want to watch it so bad but my heart can't take it if i have to wait for episodes :(

and i can't believe that lee soo yeon managed to get cho seung woo as the main lead for all 3 of her projects lol. i guess talents just naturally gravitate towards each other

of course, the highest paid musical actor in south korea no less. i've never watched a musical in my life but i'm just grateful they exist for the simple fact that they got csw into acting

my profile picture speaks a thousand words. an absolutely legendary actor

i think all the chinese kids in our generation have been traumatised

is season 3 confirmed? i'm halfway through season 1 now and it feels way too short for something of this quality

anyone else giving this a rewatch since stranger 2 has ended and we need a cho seung woo fix?

honestly this show brings me back. it was the second kdrama i had ever watched, and i chose to watch it solely for lee dong wook. unsurprisingly, cho seung woo and yoo jae myung stole the screen.

now over a year later, i've watched stranger 1 and 2, completely fell for cho seung woo's acting and lee soo yeon's writing, and i've come full circle. this time for cho seung woo though :) what a charismatic man, seriously.