The only reason why the plot moved at all was because of a series of situations where people kept missing each other, or simply didn't connect the dots. All the information, people and props were there, but the script annoyingly made the characters miss all of that due to either bad timing or not enough questions. It's so common and so overused in kdramas that I couldn't get into the story at all. I'm sorry, but if you let someone stay in your house for the night or longer, wouldn't you try to ask as many questions as possible? The story had great potential, but I feel like it treated fate in a very non realistic way. It was almost suggesting that a tragedy is not a real tragedy unless all the characters involved are a part of the tragic past. The show could have had a deeper message, but totally failed to deliver. Seo Ri's story was tragic enough and could stand on its own without all the extra details. I can't stand how shallow it all ended up being.
Essentially, I had a tough time getting into this drama. It got better with time, but the pacing wasn't all that great. I also didn't particularly care about the characters (excluding Seo Ri) until about the 1/3 of the drama. To me, that points to the fact that the writing wasn't great. The show had some really sweet moments, but the sweetness couldn't compensate for the lack of the actual plot development. The characters were lovable but a bit simplistic. Also, as much as I liked Jennifer, did her character really need to be that weird?
The best things about this show were the characters, the acting of the leads and the music. The music in this show is beautiful. The classical pieces were beautifully woven into the story. Overall, I liked Thirty but Seventeen because it wasn't too angsty and there weren't too many mean characters or meddling family members, but I expected it to be a bit better.
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The best xianxia of 2024!!!!!!!!
This is the fifth drama I'm watching that has been adapted from a novel written by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang (after The Blue Whisper, love between fairy and Devil, Back from the Brink, Love You Seven Times). Since I've mostly liked all of them, especially back from the brink, I decided to give this a try. And as expected, it didn't disappoint.For future viewers, I am just writing what I liked and what you might enjoy the most if you decide to give this a shot:
1. Followed 90% of the novel, so novel fans won't be disappointed. The leads had a lot of screentime together.
2. An independent and formidable female lead- Takes no nonsense from others, the perfect example of a tough exterior but soft interior, is extremely skilled at fighting and loves to protect her people, doesn't need a knight in shining armor to save her every time.
3. An all-powerful ancient god male lead- has an indifferent exterior most of the time(but is lonely and longs for companionship), loves to joke and prank others, is extremely caring towards our female lead, lets her fight her own battles most of the time even though he is more powerful than her (because he knows she prefers that even though at times he wants her to rely on him) .
4. Zhao Li Ying and Lin Geng Xin are old buddies who have starred in Princess Agents before. Being good friends they had a good level of cooperation and were able to deliver every scene perfectly. Kudos to their phenomenal acting. Also since I saw a lot of comments on how LGX looks too bulky or old for this role, let me tell you my opinion. He is playing the role of an ancient god who has lived for eons and is the highest of all beings in terms of power and position. So obviously, he is supposed to look manly and seasoned for that. I cannot picture someone who looks boyish and is skinny as an ancient deity who is all powerful and has lived for that long.
5.Perfect blend of romance, comedy, action, adventure. For me: Comedy : 10/10, Romance: 9/10, Action: 100/10, Angst: 3/10.
6. This is more of a light-hearted xianxia where the angst is followed by a comedy scene as a medicine to the pain.
7. The CGI is top-notch and one of the best you can get in costume dramas. So grateful for the fact that it was an S+ drama meaning the highest level in terms of budget. The CGI will make all those epic fighting scenes look 100% better. I really appreciate all the time, effort and money that they spent on making those scenes so beautiful. Plus the BGM's and OST's were perfect. The BGM accompanied with the CGI made the scenes so majestic.
8. No unnecessary misunderstanding between the male leads. No important sml or sfl.
9. No plot holes. People might have questions in the beginning but hold on, everything will be answered in the end.
10. A very happy ending. Not rushed and we get a full 1 episode of their happily ever after, quite rare in xianxia these days.
So undoubtedly a 10 out of 10 for me.
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Story [8/10] The story isn't exactly anything new or mind-blowing. Why does it deserve a 8 for the story then? The thing this drama does well is it does its comedy and romance very well. The story is your typical rom-com in the sense that you know how it's going to end. You start out with two people who meet. They fall in love. We see some angst in their relationship and bam they end up happily every after at the end. This drama is not too bad in the fact that the middle of the story is not to predictable even though the ending is easy to predict.
My main complaint from this drama isn't really the plot. As you can still have great k-dramas without complex plots. The thing that bothers me is the fact the characters are one dimensional (in addition to the simple plot). You can literally describe a lot of the characters in the drama in one word. I.e. You have a character who is the narcissist, one who who is loyal, one who is the klutz, another character who is frugal, and one who is lustful. If you've watched the drama, you probably know who I'm talking about. I find that stories that deserves a 10/10 has stories/characters that the viewer/readers can relate to and make connections with. I had a hard time making connections in this drama since the characters all seemed very unreal. I do realized that it's a drama and things are dramatized. However, at the same time, I don't believe the drama deserved a 10 in the story department (although I wanted it to be a 10). Hence I'm just giving some reasons as to why I docked points from the story category. This drama does great in the rom-com department, but not so great in the character development department.
Acting [10/10] The acting/cast in this drama was fabulous! I am especially a big fan of the two MC's acting. I especially loved their facials expressions. There are some pretty good kisses in this drama too if you know what I mean ;). My favorite one is probably the "chair push kiss". Someone should make a meme out of that. I also really loved Park Min Young's facial expression during the many comedic scenes. It's like she knows how to make the perfect face for the right moment. I was already a fan of Park Min Young and Park Seo Joon. However this drama has made me an even bigger fan now!
Music [9/10] I generally don't give music scores higher than an 8. However, I must say this drama did a very good job with the music. The music often made funny moments even more funnier. Other times it made awkward moments even more awkward. I think you essentially get the gist of what I'm trying to say here. The music in this drama helps put you in a certain mood when you hear it. Not many dramas do a very good at this. Often times the music is barely noticeable and does nothing to make a certain scene in a drama better. That's not the case here.
Rewatch Value [8/10] I also don't generally give out a high rewatch score. As most dramas are often a one and done kind of thing. However every so often you find a gem where you feel like a part of you is missing after you finish watching it. What's Wrong With Secretary Kim is one of those dramas. It makes me sad that this drama is coming to an end. There were so many moments where my emotions were bursting through because of a certain episode. Some times I was angry at the MCs for being annoying. Other times I'm anxious for the MCs because I want their relationship to go well. MOST IMPORTANTLY I spent a lot of time laughing while watching this drama. I would give this drama a 10/10 if we had emotional involvement as a new category.
Overall the story is probably the weakest link in this drama. Although a 8/10 for story is still great (in my subjective opinion). However, I often like to bring up both the good and bad thing about the drama. The drama does not get a perfect score for the story from because it's sort of your typical rom-com plotline with some one-dimensional characters. On the flip side it gets a 9 from me because it does its rom-com moments very well. You can feel the romance and the drama makes you laugh every single episode. It's probably one of the best rom-com I've seen in a while, if not to date!
The acting/cast is probably the strongest link in this drama. One of the things I noticed a lot in this drama is the facial expressions from the MCs. I really loved Park Min Young and Park Seo Joon's facial expressions in this drama. As I felt like their faces really added flavor to certain situations and made everything seem more realistic and hilarious. The music was also a very great asset in the sense that it played up certain moments. It made certain cute/funny/awkward scenes go from a 9/10 on the cuto/funnio/awkwardo meter to an 11/10!
All in all, this drama excels in many areas. It's definitely one of the best(rom-coms) dramas of 2018 that I've watched so far(what a great year for good dramas!). I recommend you go and watch it if you haven't already.
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2
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1Cliches overload - the whole system crashed.
There is nothing wrong with cliches, I love them. If they are well placed and executed in a proper manner they elevate the drama to new heights. Here it felt like they started throwing everything in the second half hoping something would stick - most did not.Dynamite Kiss had a phenomenal start. The right amount of cliches, with a perfect ratio of little twists and changes to make it refreshing. Ji Hyeok was technically this “cold rich male lead”, but he was also extremely goofy with a puppy heart. Ko Da Rim was technically this good hearted and pure female lead, but she was also surprisingly assertive and witty. I was able to enjoy the cliche plots with fun characters that are so loveable it’s hard to look away.
The first half gave me nice characters, great comedy, butterflies inducing moments, pinning and well structured internal and external conflicts. The second half just gave me a lot of stupidity and I’m annoyed it mostly affected the female lead - at least make everyone equally dumb.
About Da Rim… It went beyond being naive, she was simply stupid. The disrespect the writer shows towards her character in the second half is embarrassing. To ruin the lead just to push forward a mediocre plot is never a good choice. I started the show loving how unapologetically good she was, to get disappointed when they turned that goodness into dumb naivety. What they did was make her strength into her weakness - which, with good writing, could be a great character development, but the writing here was simply not that good.
While Ji Hyeon was not as infuriating, he was equally disappointing by the end. The drama opened with a solid internal conflict he had about his feelings towards who he thought was a married woman, to make him somehow the most stagnant character with little to no growth or development. Why? Because he did not really need it - he was a good guy with smarts, drive and loyalty to his people - that’s boring, that’s bad writing.
Truth to be told, I think there was far more nuance in writing for both second leads compared to the mail pair. I liked how they gave us a nice presentation of different priorities people have, and how someone with and without a child sees the same situation in a completely different light. There are things you can do and situations you can jump into with not much consideration when you do not have a child, but you need to be far more conscious when you are a parent.
Yoo Ha Yeong was probably my favorite character. At first she might seem like a spoiled princess, but she is hardworking, driven, honest and nice. And I love how she was not without flaws - being way too pushy and getting herself involved way too much into other people’s lives. While it created many heartwarming moments, it also gave me a bit of a discomfort at the back of my mind.
Putting aside separate characters, what I truly adored about the drama was the mother’s team which was the best part hands down. I like how they were not from the start showed as this savvy workers who were just overlooked by society - they were in fact not that interested in working hard at the office and at times felt entitled, but with good leadership from Da Rim every one of them changed for the better and was able to understand they are more than just mothers and appreciate each other for who they are outside of that life role. Sometimes we are so focused on who we are expected to be, we do not appreciate who we can become.
I do believe the writing for the positive things was nice, but a failure in terms of the villains so my question is: why even bother including them? Why did we even get that plotline when the shorter drama without it would be so much better? Ji Hyeok's father, sister and Tae Yeong were just stock characters with no value. The villain's arc was neither set up nor developed well. It was laughably bad and useless. Waste of screen time.
If they kept the conflict more concentrated on Ji Hyeok's family dynamics between him, his father and his mother and how it impacts his relationship with Da Rim, his work life, life choices - what a good story it would be. But no, we need some typical business shenanigans because why not. I truly wish Ji Hyeok's mother had more presence in the drama. As much as her story was heartbreaking, I also enjoyed her journey the most out of all the characters.
For the core of the drama - the romance. I loved the initial "misunderstanding" between the leads and how some people were in on it and some were completely clueless - many different interesting dynamics came out of it.
The relationship was fine, but I do feel the best part was actually the part where they were not together.
For the production, I will start with an extremely random note - I both loved and hated the styling for Ahn Eun Jin. She looked stunning. All the outfits were pretty and highlighted her beauty. Did the majority of these outfits belong to the office setting for a woman who pretends to be a mother of a kindergarten kid? No. I am sorry, but no big office would be like: ah yes wear that mini skirt and crop top to the office, that’s completely appropriate. Still, she did look amazing so I’m only half mad.
The show is pretty, like any other kdrama - they are all pretty in the exact same way. I understand there are filming and editing trends, but sometimes just following trends is not enough.
The soundtrack though? Perfect for a rom-com. Some of my favorite songs: Weny’s Say You Love Me, Sondia’s Love Is, BBGIRLS’ Don’t Give It Up (the best one if you ask me).
Was the acting good? Yes. Was it good enough to save this drama? No. At the same time, I believe the only thing that could save it is a completely different script for the second half. That said, I am glad it put Jung Ga Hee on my radar, looking forward to seeing her in more, hopefully leading roles.
Overall, Dynamite Kiss gives me a kid who got excited for the new hobby and gave up half way through. The writers need to ask themselves not only: how do we get from point A to point B in the plot, but also - will this journey in that format make any sense?
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This review may contain spoilers
If you want to see this concept done well - watch Alice in Borderland
What is to like: the cast and set design is very good quality.What I don't like:
The idea of the games according to the 'host' was to make them equal. They were anything but equal, just take the last game (crossing the bridge) as the perfect example - people that picked the first numbers had 0% chance of survival, whilst those at the end had almost guaranteed survival.
The 'organ selling' sub-plot went no-where.
The main charater was sold to us as this guy down on his luck. This is incorrect, he was just a pathetic gambling addict. I was actually happy his daughter was taken away. Not a character to root for.
I'm only writing this to make some people aware that this drama is just overhyped because it was produced in a more 'americanised' style. There weren't any signature korean OSTs to remember and there were a lot of senseless deaths (this is all too common in american shows). Overall, as a show it is pretty average but for a korean show it is pretty disappointing. Like the title says - Alice in Borderland beats this drama by a large margin for me.
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Not a romance drama
This drama left a very bad feeling behind after I watched it. The FL was spineless and subservient, and the ML was abusive, violent, and had mental issues. I fail to understand how a woman can fall in love with someone who threatens to kill her just because she bought fish and wanted to cook something special - I skipped the entire scene because it was too violent for me to watch. If this was a dream sequence of the FL, then it just leaves me flabbergasted that she still believes she is in love with the ML!Each episode is of 3 minutes and the whole drama somehow feels as if it is incomplete. Why would the mom suddenly become so avaricious that she sells her daughter to the rich? How can the daughter not have any clue of her mom's nature? You cannot be so dumb in life. And even after she realizes this, she just forgives her mom as if it is an everyday event.
So many negative characters in the drama starting from the ML, FL's Mom, her work colleagues, and her sister-in-law - who was a b***h from hell. Not to talk of the ML's father who thought it right to buy a human just so that she does not get sold off to some other rich household. For a man who has reached a ripe old age and himself a father of a girl, he appears to be singularly lacking in morals, is selfish, and ruthless - he chooses to "buy" the FL (as if she is a commodity) from her mom instead of taking aid of the law and reporting the matter to the police and getting the women arrested for human trafficking.
In the end, the writers even introduced a teacher who is supposedly in love with the FL and is willing to wait for her until God knows when. Our blind & dumb FL however chooses to stay in a toxic relationship with her so-called husband just because .........I am still wondering why??? Romance? Love??.... I say BS.
To the writer of this drama (if you are reading this review) : stop encouraging and selling abusive relationship stories in the name of romance or at least write something that inspires all those women out there who are in such relationships to find the strength and willpower to fight back.
For those who do not want to spoil their mood - please stay away from this drama - there are better and more pleasant things to do in life!
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When I start watching a drama with such high ratings and reviews calling it a masterpiece I try to fight of the hipe as much as I can but I still started watching Love me if you dare with a mindset of 'this is going to be good' and oh boy was I disappointed.
The drama started of strong with a badass female lead and a mysteriously intriguing male lead, but it all went downhill from there.
The STORY, while still not the best, was pretty interesting up until like 15 ep and then it just hit a rock bottom. It felt like the writers were trying sooo hard to be unique, to surprise us but it just didn't work for me, everything felt really forced. All the plot twists were kind of bleh. The romance was mature in a really boring way there was only one scene where I felt some kind of chemistry between Jin Yan and Jian Yao. Oh and don't even get me started on Jin Yan's investigation methods, you might as well label this as a Sci-Fi drama, because he came to conclusions and found out things out of nowhere (not everytime but I could name a few...) The story wasn't the worst thing, but certainly wasn't good it just didn't do anything for me, I never felt my heart racing, It didn't give me any questions to think about...
The CHARACTERS for the most part were so boring. I could not relate to them at all. Bo Jin Yan with some exceptions seemed emotionless. Sure you could say that he showed many emotions but to me he never looked human, in the end I was annoyed by the fact that he was so perfect. I wanted him to make a mistake, I wanted him to just loose his shit, because that is what I love about episodic shows, I can watch characters grow, I can see them fall and get back up again but that never happened. Maybe I am the only one who was disappointed, I saw that most people seemed to like his alien like persona but throughout the whole drama I didn't get attached to him, nor Jian Yao who went from badass to an accessory and for me dramas are all about getting attached. The only character I liked was Fu Zi Yu, he was fun, smart, freaking human like.
I think I could go on and on explaining why I think this drama is not worth the praise but despite all that I still encourage to watch Love me if you dare, because you will probably enjoy it considering the fact that I am picky as hell.
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Sometimes average is just perfect
The first episodes were dull, show gained momentum in the second half and the episodes kept getting better.A great plus is the stars-packed cast and the relationship between the characters. Even though the characters seem one-dimensional first, comparing their actions and overall appearance in the beginning to the end of the series clearly show character development.
Also, I just realised, I like how the depiction of character was evenly balanced out between male and female characters, if that makes any sense. Normally with K-dramas (not always of course), especially thrillers, I feel like male protagonists end up with more screen time, more depth in character and therefore are more likeable, while the female ones at some point are just annoying and dull, whereas here, for once, each character (except for the obvious villains) was likeable and the female characters were as top-notch and well-written as the male ones.
That hot shot of a professor, who seemed to be a knock-off of Annelise from HTGAWM was hard to bear in the earlier episodes but, I don't know how and when this happened, you end up liking him, even looking forward to his badass scenes.
The story itself wasn't that intriguing, but somehow still managed to pique your interest and make you look forward to the next episodes. The background score - actually just one song - was fitting and had a catchy tune like "We All Lie " from SKY Castle.
Even though romance is not part of this drama the scenes between Kim Bum and Ryu Hye Young were too cute - more chemistry than in some dramas tagged as romance. However, this was more high-key low-key in earlier episodes.
Also, I like how the show elaborates on shortcomings in the law. Especially a case in the beginning of the second half accentuated this. The 'law school' itself was not the main focus of the show, but the little insight into the lectures, study groups, mock trials and the overall struggle of (law) students with exam preparations, pressure to do well at school and fear of failing was captured well.
The show is not perfect and not even close to an outstanding thriller, it's pretty average, and that somehow works in favour of this show. It was something I would look forward to each week, but not like "dying" to watch, nothing too captivating, stressing and frustrating (like Mouse), but at the same time nothing where after a while you just can't be bothered with the revealing of the truth (like Beyond Evil, sorry) - just a decent thriller with a solid pace and surprising revealings which are not mind-blowing and yet, satisfying.
Also, this drama has definitely potential for a second season!
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Seriously ???????
I can't leave without writing a review, it's the first time I've done it, but I'm so disappointed and angry that I really feel compelled to write this. the drama is about a person who after being killed by "the villains" reincarnates as a member of their family several years in advance (more than 20 years) with all the knowledge of the future, of his new family with whom he worked in his first life, he is reincarnated as a slightly marginalized child in his new family for one reason or another, but despite this he succeeds in the first episodes in investing the knowledge of his past to attract the attention of his grandfather, CEO of the biggest company in Korea, and made a lot of profit from it, he earned a lot of money and entered the best university in Korea and even created an investment company which will later help him a lot in his revenge plan. this is the beginning of the drama.I was very enthusiastic and I said to myself that it is the perfect drama. until he started messing around in the middle of the show and I really started to wonder, do you deserve this chance the universe has given you??? why deserve such a miracle if you are not going to exploit it well. but that was a normal frustration coming from someone who loves drama, it didn't stop me from continuing to watch, despite the fact that none of the women in this show, including FL, was satisfactory in my opinion, I just closed my eyes to the fact that the aunts, the grandmother, the girlfriend .... were all either stupid or mean or weak and insignificant in the course of events.
But. the end, is the biggest disappointment I've ever had in Kdrama. I can't accept that the screenwriter decides to screw up the drama this way with such an end. I just feel like I wasted my time watching this series. I do not recommend, run away from this drama it's a big waste of time.
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The romance that doesn't even need words.
When the journey is more beautiful than the conclusion.Again starting the review unconventionally. Trying to recover from the drama? I would suggest you go watch behind the scenes, and interview where Allen Ren & Bai Lu Rewrite The Ending, it might help.. in my case it did. I'll drop the video links in the spoiler comments below.
Why I used the beautiful word? the outcome is definitely not pleasing. What is so beautiful about it.. in a cinematic way, with mesmerizing shots and locations, it's brilliant! Is that it? No. It has the most beautiful love story, the heartwarming one at the same time most heartbreaking...
The story isn't out of the box, or extraordinary but unexpectedly brilliant when it comes to execution. The dialogues are cleverly written and show intellect for sure! What do you expect from tragedy?
Tragedy (from the Greek: τραγῳδία, tragōidia[a]) is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall the main character. This is what Wikipedia says.
So is this fully tragic, surprisingly the answer comes as no. A tragedy that has some pleasing and many memorable moments.. even sprinkled with a bit of humor.
Though the politics isn't cleverly written (one of few cons) it doesn't matter as it isn't the main focus of the story.
Apart from the main leads, I adored some side characters a lot. The portrayal of friendship and loyalty is what I loved after my favorite love story.
Bai Lu, not just managed to show all emotions of Cui Shiyi through her expressions but also her character development throughout the show.. which isn't abrupt but with different phases, not only does her styling change with time but also how she becomes more mature, sensible. If you observe.. even the way she smiles is different in young age, her body language.. the way of talking or even walking... she even had to learn sign language for that applause for her, the small details.. which are clearly visible when you are fully immersed in the drama.
A lot of historicals fail in characterization especially when it comes to female leads, imagine growing up in a noble family in a strict manner with a lot of restrictions, rules, and regulations with the responsibility to protect clans reputation what would be your personality? clearly not rebellious, arrogant one? Maybe that's why I love Shiyi she isn't badass nor the strongest. She's gentle, caring, sensible, and clever. Her calm nature and temperament might be the polar opposite of Zhou Sheng Chen, but that's what makes them compliment each other.
Zhou Sheng Chen. He is the one who has both beautiful bones and skin.. where skin represents inner and bones represent outer beauty. The righteous general who don't have any ambitions and desires other than protecting and serving the country. Is he icy-cold.. mhmm nope. He's loving, caring, and warm when it comes to loved ones. Maybe this side is mostly for Shiyi.. his most beloved disciple. I loved how consistent his character was... he knows his limits, the boundaries he can't cross. He was flawed, he made some wrong decisions but every decision was worth it... right or wrong.
As always Allen never disappoints in acting. He lived Zhou Sheng Chen fully... where he never actually got a chance to express what he feels through words, but even though you can feel every emotion he has gone through just by looking at his face. The transaction of a general who has no regrets for what he has sacrificed throughout his whole life, to the person who may regret his decision but can't even express his regret or change anything just for the loyalty and his righteous nature. And you can just see through all this through eyes.. no need for words to understand what he's going through. A tear in the corner of his eyes hit more than bawling.
Shiyi and Zhou Sheng Chen my most favorite fictional couple... not just because of wonderful chemistry, their love was purest and heart-piercing. The love that doesn't need words or intimacy... even gaze, the small gesture, the embrace is enough to see their affection. Their eyes speak, the way they look at each other. The most caring and loving gaze, with time it becomes painful. The development between their relationship was natural and realistic.. where you encounter different phases. The age gap is there but not the awkward one, even though it's not physically visible, but an early stage you can see the difference intellectually. And this couple is everything.. they deserve every happiness more than anything.
As I said before the cinematography is just mesmerizing, in the technical aspects its perfection, the camera work, color grading, and even the styling are never disappointed. I would appreciate especially for Shiyi as drama includes different transactions of her life, and those are well compiled with her styling.
The music is brilliant, soothing... and sad, yes it makes you sad, the lyrics, composition everything. It manages to enhance every sentiment.
I had soft corners for dramas that make me cry... yes I'm a bit weird lol. I had a good cry but I'm not being any generous towards rating because of it, it deserves it!
Why re-watchable value is high? I'm sure gonna watch it.. whenever I'll feel my life sucks or I have the worst difficulties. This can be the best consolation, but yeah especially all moments between couple are highly re-watchable.
Hereby One and Only has become my most favorite historical... with my most favorite couple Zhou Sheng Chen who has the most beautiful bones and Cui Shiyi who has the most beautiful smile :)
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This review may contain spoilers
A drama that will give you a roller coaster ride
This is just my personal opinion.. but I completely love and drown to the story. No matter how many people hate or dissappointed with the story line, disagree with the way the production team change the script writer, or many people said they stop watching it in the middle of the story.. but I totally want to give a standing applause for the drama production team for giving me a rollercoaster ride in every episode. Pardon me if this review is long.. but the drama deserves another perspective also.Here some reasons why I recommend this drama:
1. Outstanding acting. No doubt the 3 main leads are awesome! You’ll find out that each of them can play 2 different characters very well. It’s not easy but they are successfully convey the emotion, habit, eye sight, movement. They all beautiful and perfect to be chosen for each character.
2. I believe that Love is an emotional thing. It’s beyond your logic. So do not blame how the story will bring you to an unexpected ending. Again... love is not something that make sense sometimes. I can understand Sa Bin’s choice at the end. Try to see the big picture.. do not focus on our personal taste about the male lead. I truly love these 2 male leads.. and whoever she will be end up with, the guy is deserve it. Each of them are not perfect.. each of them have secrets and lies. They have their own big mistake. But there’s 1 thing that is similar.. it is their willingness to sacrifice everything for love.
3. This story will make you fall in love with each male lead, and headache, heartache at the same time. LOL. It contains a lot of bitter facts and unfair situationalso.
It shows you the love-hate relationship between main leads. It surely can give you pain when you tried to understand each character’s secrets and lies.
If you put your shoes in each character.. yes, they are surrounded with criminals, stalker or psychopat. But you will also find a passionate, bittersweet and possesive love as well.
Last but not least... I don’t think it is a romantic comedy story... It is a crime thriller yet bloody romantic. It’s a fantasy about reincarnation and how the ill fate bring all of them get entangled. So do not expect everything will be perfect, beautiful with unicorn and rainbow things. Hang on.. and get ready to feel the sensation of rollercoaster ride like me. Haha..
No matter what... there will be people in the story who will be hurted and feel unfair. But I finally understand that the definition of “fate” itself was totally wrong for Hyunbin and Haeun. If Hyunbin can be more honest back then about how he was accidentally killed her parents.. and she can accept it.. then they can continue the journey as couple in the next life.
But actually Hyunbin is no better than Jichul who have his own bitter memories and hurtful secret to be known by the girl. If Jichul ever tried to murder someone for the girl he loved, then Hyunbin is actually do the same in the next life when he shoot Jongbum’s head, thinking it is necessary to save the girl.
I don’t think the girl keep changing her own minds or 2 timing about her feeling. She just confuse and it make sense after all, because the 2 male leads gave her the same big and crazy love, but each of them show it in different ways with different definition of true love. At the end.. each male lead willing to suffer and sacrife everything for the female lead happiness.. no matter who will be chosen.
At first.. I thought the ideal story is for Sabin and Sohyuk to be together after the romeo and juliet scene in the past and how they meet again and giving us a playing hard to get moment in the next life. But.. the more the story is continue... the more I asked myself.. “have you ever think about how much Jichul or Jongbum suffering and sacrifice for her.. It is an unconditional, egois, dominant, loyal, passionate and uncontrollably romance.” It’s not crazy. He just starving to find love and family.
Love is something that will not always give you heartbeats but also heartache.
So the one who made the same missunderstanding, clumsy choices, and wrong judgement about the criminals (based on his own logic) is Hyunbin and Soohyuk. Meanwhile the one who trust her intuition and keep struggling to trust her feeling is Haeun and Sabin.
However the one who was being humiliated, feel rejected, under bad timing and get all the blame is Jichul and Jongbum. And he decide to continue his journey to wait, dedicating his whole life for the girl and at the end... still sacrifice to give his heart (life) for the girl. I pity him... but the ending is really give him a sign of a good path.
This story reminds me with a K-drama entitled “Doctor Stranger” (they have the same female lead as well), from the story, music & songs, until the tragic side of the story kinda give you the typical feeling. The plot is quite complicated, and heavy but very detail... and the cinematography is awesome.
Anyway.. all of this is just my personal thought. I hope you can at least trying to watch it until the end before make a judgement. But again... this story is successfully influence our heart. I hope I can see another collaboration with the same casts in different drama ;)
Well... Jongbum won the heart of Sabin, but Soohyuk won the heart of all of us as the audience as well ~<3
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The drama starts with bits and pieces of the two worlds, with an overwhelming number of characters (and their dopplegangers, which you may or may not recognize--). There's a lot of foreshadowing going on, as well as important details that will come in handy later on. Hence I suggest that while you're watching, you may want to subscribe to an analysis/explanation YouTuber or something (I had the benefit of being able to understand the Taiwanese YouTubers who did episode-by-episode analyses afterward. It helped me tremendously after ep 7 or 8).
Midway through the drama, things really start coming together and then the originally-slow storyline starts picking up. I think it took me til ep 9 or 10 to really appreciate the complexity and the plot development of this drama -- we follow Lee Gon on an unpredictable puzzle-solving journey to piece together how this world works and how he can save the world from being ruined by Lee Rim.
After finishing the last episode, I began my rewatch journey and suddenly *everything I saw in the first few episodes made sense.* After learning who's who, it's a lot easier to see the significance of every detail presented at the beginning and how everything fell into place at the end. Hence this isn't a one-watch drama -- it's something where after you go through it once to get the gist of it, you will want to go through again to pick up clues to the puzzle and interesting little details that didn't make sense without context.
The main love line didn't make sense to me (since I'm not a huge "destiny/fate" person and the character development wasn't that convincing). However, you will want to keep watching the show just to see how the other characters' relationships develop, and how Lee Gon strives to defeat the evil. There's so much going on with all the characters that having a faulty main lead romance won't kill the drama. Until the drama picked up, I totally watched it for Jo Yeong x Eun Seop. Favorite bromance. Amidst all the killing/deaths, the scriptwriter also did not forget to put appropriate comedic relief, so I found myself laughing a lot during the show.
Gotta commend the acting -- Woo Do hwan and Kim Go-eun especially, who had multiple characters to play. I really hope they win acting awards (and that Tae-ra is just a foreshadow of what will happen in real life next year ;)
The OST was also great. Not as great as Goblin, but I would put this on repeat.
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Crazy Satisfying
10/10. This was rom-com done right. It had all the elements I love--slapstick comedy, character development, heart-fluttering kisses, no draggy misunderstandings, a mystery that kept you on your toes, and a satisfying and unproblematic ending. Sure, the ending was more like a gift-wrapped up and tied with a nice, perfect bow, but hey after all the previous Kdrama endings we've been through (if you know, you know), I think we all deserve a satisfying one that leaves a smile on our faces. Hands down, this will be one of my favorites! Thank you Crazy Love Production and Cast!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The Road To Revenge Is Full Of Plotholes
THIS HALF-RANT IS FULL OF SPOILERS and is written by one in need of vengeance against these scriptwriters who don't communicate with each other about what the drama they're writing is about.***
Come here, sit down and have a cup of the lovely Undying Flower Soup while I rant a wee bit.
Kill Me Love Me is touted as a revenge drama. The novel had a Blackest Flag male lead and an abused female lead who loved him in spite of being treated like dirt by him, and anyone who read this story knew there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell C-Dramaland was going to have the real version show up in their adaptation. Nonetheless, the first five episodes of Kill Me Love Me delivered an exciting promise of a different kind of male lead--one who was a bit depressed (about his loss of self and reputation), plenty angry (about his condition, the betrayal of his brother) and quite, quite ruthless in his ten -year plan to exact revenge.
Liu Xue Ye delivered Murong JingHe as he should have been THROUGHOUT the book in these five episodes and got many, many viewers hooked. He handpicked and trained an assassin in a secret assassin school, spending years making sure she was one tough nut, to be a tool in his plan. This assassin was a victim of a city siege fire that MRJH had been framed for setting, killing 100000 citizens in its wake, so this woman, who willingly underwent very brutal training would attempt to assassinate HIM, MRJH. This woman was Mei Lin, who had lost her parents, who hated MRJH, the General of the WeiBei army, so much for the death of her parents and friends, that she swore to kill him. The fascinating angle to this whole buildup to the revenge was Mei Lin having no idea that her Master Trainer/Lord was MRJH himself, who always appeared as a shadowy figure.
The set up was Gothic, full of darkness and ravens, of people screaming at an indolent and uncaring MRJH in his wheelchair, of the watchful hate in Mei Lin's eyes as she got nearer to her target. It was akin to the Madhatter's Party in Alice in Wonderland, where every character was questionably insane, yet all the colors were pretty and there were pretty cakes and silly rhymes and we the viewers were getting highly entertained by the push and pull of the sexual tension between our leads as they confronted each other in the flesh.
Then POOF, Alice in Wonderland took a pill and became tiny. The Gothic story disappeared and our ride became bumpy with the first set of plotholes before we were suddenly plunged into a ROMCOM world of happy village people living the idyllic life of happy unaffected people, and our two leads were suddenly in couple clothes and doing very romantic things. Which was all fine and dandy, except, without any transition from the danger of almost dying a few days agp from hunger and cold, of almost being killed by the evil brother, we were left scratching our heads with these three or four episodes of Happy Couple, tralalala-ing in the fields.
Then POOF. Alice in Wonderland took a pill and we were back in the Palace of Intrigue. The stakes were high and our leads' revenge was nigh. We were so ready for it because this was what it was all about--the truth would come out and the Evil Brother would die a good bloody death, etc. etc. Oh wait, Plothole ahead. Bump Bump. And I'm at a loss at how to explain what happened next.
The revenge? A whimper. The Evil Brother's death? Kinda peaceful, in the arms of the woman he freaking lied to and seduced, no less. And the ten-year plan? Long gone, actually--it disappeared in the first five episodes because Mei Lin already found out MRJH wasn't the one who ordered the fire. We were led to this point where we'd expected the PAY OFF--these two would face Evil Brother TOGETHER and get their vengeance. That's what a revenge drama is all about!
And Poof! Poor Alice. Small again. Our ML went and did the "noble savior" act and denied the assassin HE trained any of the revenge action! My head about exploded here. Mei Lin was sent off as Princess in marriage. WTF? What the loving frack?! The plothole here cannot even be filled in. Yes, yes, the noble savior trope was the cement bridging the next segment of this sad story, but can we get back to the Mad Hatter Murong Jinghe? This man, our slightly crazy hero of those first episodes, who wore vengeance with a casual sexy ruthlessness, had turned into the emo-child of some grunge festival, crying about angsty self-hatred. And Mei Lin, the amazing assassin we've grown to love was no better. She was suddenly some regal lady of the court, with the mannerisms of nobility, speaking of "different paths" and changing her focus to saving another man, her sudden betrothed.
What? WHAT? I get it. She was mad about the Big Sekrit of who had trained her. I get the angst. But shouldn't she be angrier about NOT BEING INCLUDED in their revenge? What was this about her agreeing to be saved? She was Mei Lin! She didn't need saving! She was the one saving everyone, remember? This essential change in her character gave me the second whiplash. Because...Plothole. Where were the other assassins who had trained with her? Why would she just meekly go off when she had never done so before? And if she was so clever in the beginning at figuring out that MRJH wasn't all bad, why was she not clever in figuring out that her betrothed, the Xiyan Green Tea Prince, wasn't all good?
(I know you're wondering what gave me the first whiplash. I wish I have time to include other character plotholes. But the first whiplash belonged to a secondary character, who was almost (ALMOST, if only the darn writers could decide together) the 2FL. One moment she was hankering after our ML for 13 years and then she took a whiff of sexy incense, and she was in love with Evil Bro. Y'all just have to hatewatch the drama to see what I mean)
And you know what? Alice never got big again throughout the drama. Mei Lin remained weak. MRJH said (and rightly so) that he was to be blamed for killing her. But dude, you had the cure. Why let that Other Guy take the credit?
The rest of the plot after the revenge was added on for lovers' angst, which was fine. I admit, I enjoyed MRJH's anguish because Liu Xue Yi was hella sexy when he suddenly turned Heathcliff and ran off digging up the "dead" Mei Lin. Now, THAT was a memorable scene. Where did we ever see a ML carrying a "corpse" around, drinking wine and trying to feed her medicine? THAT was the MRJH from the first few episodes--a man unafraid of the darkness within him--but this Gothic Self was merely bookends to the drama. In the middle was some other persona.
The romance was sexy at first, then turned rom-com sweet, then went all angsty. The loss of sexual tension really hurt the push and pull of these characters. They just jumped from one segment of episodes to another segment like they were in different dramas. I love the actors' chemistry, and boy, did they hard-carry this show, but many, many balls were dropped while we traversed this road full of plotholes.
Did I enjoy the drama? Yes, mostly. It had many entertaining scenes. But these stitched up scenes lacked coherence. So many things had to be explained away, until we all got a bit silly and started asking silly questions, like Where did the pet dog go? Or, how did the village people change our couple's clothes while they were unconscious and when Mei Lin wouldn't let go of Jing He's hand for days? Or, shouldn't rigor mortis have set in--why was her "corpse" so malleable?
So, yes, I was entertained, even at the "ending of repeated deaths." They should have titled the drama Kill Me Kill Me Again And Again. Just ignore the Plotholes. And the writers' attempt at making ironic symbolism like the Undying flower for the couple.
It's more 7.2 than 7.5. I'm kinda torn. I want to avenge MRJH and Mei Lin for what the writers did to them.
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