Reviews

The complete lack of chemistry was fascinating to watch.

This drama should be studied. We need a whole master thesis presenting various theories about what happened, because it’s been ages since rom-com gave me this little, basically nothing in terms of romance between the main couple.

What’s even more confusing is the fact I actually finished it, and I did not even have to force myself to watch it. Not many things worked in this show, but somehow I still kept watching the next episodes. Don’t know what weird spell this show put on me, but it worked.

On the bright side, production wise it was great. Not outstanding, but definitely on the high level of production. I wish we would get more in-game scenes since these were for sure entertaining.

What’s more, the second couple was amazing. What a refreshing pairing. Both Ha Jin and Sin Won are the type of characters I have seen in other projects. Their whole storyline was rather unpredictable in terms of typical cliches.

That would be the end, now we have reached the border to the bark side. And there is a lot to talk about.

I already talked about how weirdly weak the chemistry between the leads was. Not one scene awoke any butterflies in my stomach, there were zero sparks. By all means, the main characters felt like siblings, not like a couple. Sadly I think Choi Hyun Wook jumped into adult roles too fast, without graduating from university first. I do believe picking one or two titles set in the uni after all the high school dramas is the best option for the majority of the actors. He looked too much like a baby here, and how the character was written did not help.

And that’s what bothered me a lot - instead of making him an adult who has what is perceived as childish hobby, they actually made him childish. And with how mature and independent Su Jeong was, it felt like a babysitting job, not a romance.

Then we have Jung Hyo Seon - what was that? They painted her as a complete psychopath, zero understanding of human emotions, not just rude and cold, but simply abusive. Even in the last episode she was “confused” by normal human emotions, to then take 180 next two scenes and reconnect with Ju Yeon by apologizing. This just pissed me off. Not only did her development make no sense, it was insulting that it was accepted by people around her in the first place. Apology is a bit too weak when you were LITERALLY abusing your grandson for years.

The writing was just bad. 12 episodes, but it’s hard to describe what actually happened in the show since most of the topics and plot lines were poorly developed. Sure, they did bring some interesting topics like feeling embarrassed about your hobbies, need for acknowledgement and how it can negatively affect your life, guilt that comes from not addressing grief, inequality in the workplace, but none of them had any depth to it, worth reflection and discussion.

Overall, this is such a weird show. Majority of it does not work, but still makes you want to watch the next episode.

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The Honest Review You've Been Looking For

I'm confused. There are so many rave reviews... but it fell really flat for me? Did we watch the same drama?! & is it just me or does it seem like drama fans are really overpraising these days? I'm someone who relies on this site to help me know what to watch next... but the ratings seem to be getting increasingly less accurate imo. So, if you're a lurker of this site (as I was until today), I encourage you to join & leave your honest ratings/reviews! Please! :)

But yeah, this one wasn't it for me. I'll explain why:

******************* SPOILERS AHEAD! ********************

1.) The "romance" was PAINFULLY one-note! We witness the immense pain & loneliness in the prince's life. The writer makes us long for someone to swoop in & show him real love. Enter scene: a royal servant girl with the demeanor of a princess. She witnesses his pain & decides to help ensure his seat on the throne. She becomes extremely dedicated to the prince, more-so than her job requires. We (the prince & us- the viewers!) are led to believe that she has developed deep feelings for him. This is the first time the broken prince has felt this level of care/loyalty... so naturally, he grows fond of her. He confesses his feelings... we are holding our breath in excitement, but... she rejects him? Hmm... interesting. Ok, make me beg for it! I'm okay with that!!! :P

But here's what really set me off. This rejection element is repeated over & over & OVER!:

"I want to be with you..." "Not until you have safely secured the throne."

"Let's be together- now is the time..." "It will never happen."

"We met as children, we are destined to be together!..." "It means nothing to me."

"I'm willing to sacrifice everything for you, just love me!..." "But, I want to be free to go to the market with my friends!"

That is literally the "romance" in a nutshell. Just her rejecting him 20 times, despite the fact that she constantly looks at him with lovesick puppy eyes. It's painfully repetitive... & illogical.

2.) Her refusal to be with him made no sense. I cannot understand why a girl who had no real future would be so quick to turn down the opportunity that literally every other girl was dreaming about. An attractive, intelligent, kind, powerful, rich man who has displayed his love, loyalty & willingness to sacrifice? HARD PASS!!!! LOL! Imo, more backstory was needed to support her strong objection. I mean, there was the brief mention of the king not being a suitable husband because he will have many lovers & forget about her when she's old. Or there was the fact that she had a general distaste for the lifestyle. But... ok? What's her better alternative? As a palace maid, she has to remain chaste/can't have a lover. So... she'd rather never experience love or motherhood & do chores all day with her besties for the next 40 years? Then retire with them & read/eat chestnuts all day? That's the dreamy lifestyle she's clinging to? Spending 80 years everyday with the same 3 women? Make it make sense.

3.) Her love for him was unclear- down to the last episode! Even after being together for many years... he still has to ask her if she ever truly loved him. & I don't blame him! Because as the viewer, I also felt confused & frustrated!! I can't understand why she was so damn hot & cold with him! One minute she's caressing his face & looking deeply in love, then suddenly she's like, "yeah when you see me in the next life, please just keep walking?!" I know she mentions to her friends that she had to play hard to get (for some reason that I still don't fully understand, tbh)... but I don't think she was playing hard to get on her deathbed, lmao. Did she ever even love him?? I still don't know!

4.) The prince/king was put through way too much tragedy. I can appreciate a bittersweet/realistic tale... but this was too far imo. First his dad is "crazy" & killed as a result. Then he acts as his bi-polar grandfather's personal punching bag for about 20 years. Then he FINALLY sees a glimmer of hope in his life... which somehow turns into years of ego-bruising torment. Then he's finally winning for a minute... until his baby son dies in his arms. Then shortly after, the love of his life ALSO dies in his arms- after saying she hopes in their next life he never approaches her. REALLY?! If you're going to write that dark of a life for someone... they deserve some version of a happy ending (a happy after-life is a lazy cop-out!). When the credits rolled, I felt frustrated & wanted my 20 hours back.

5.) The pacing was horrid. The first few episodes were great... but many of the middle episodes felt like repetitive, pointless filler. Then around the 90% mark, after 18 hours of never-ending build-up, we finally get our reward- we get to see them happy together- for approximately 15 minutes. Yeah. There's a massive time jump that skips over all of their happy times together. Because apparently the writer hates San & doesn't want him to have any joy in his poor little fictitious life. *sigh* I would've loved to have seen the full pregnancy, the birth of their son, them adjusting to parenthood, etc. The good stuff was skipped over & it broke my heart. This drama was 20 hours long & contained so many insignificant scenes that could've been/should've been dropped for the key moments that truly mattered.

6.) There are a few annoying plot holes. But I'm not even going to get into it, because this is already getting way too long. Ok just one- the 2nd concubine deciding to bring Deok-Im back to the palace because she heard she was close with the king... but she's a crazy jealous-type who can't stand anyone else being close to the king? lol

7.) This a high-production drama, but in the end, when the king & others are meant to be in their 50's, not a single wrinkle is on anyone's face? They really thought just adding a beard & putting some powder in everyone's eyebrows was enough? *scratches head*

8.) The 1st concubine was 11 years old at the time of filming. Even though there were no sex scenes... it made me uncomfortable to see such a young girl being brought in to portray a prostitute. I realize that in the olden days, girls were forced to have children young... but 11 years old? Not many girls are fertile at 11 years old. It just felt distasteful & like something they easily could've avoided.

I see so many people saying that this is a masterpiece... the "best sageuk ever!". No. Not even close. It has some great acting (lee junho, lee deokhwa, oh daehwan) & beautiful scenes... but the storyline is weak/repetitive & the ending is rushed/shitty. Just before this drama I actually watched a similar sageuk, The King's Affection, which I would say was far more enjoyable than The Red Sleeve. But for some reason it has average reviews in comparison. It really blows my mind. Again, are we watching the same dramas?! >_<"

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I can't believe it's already over! Now I don't have any more new episodes to be looking forward to each week! I absolutely loved Oh My Venus! While the plot may seem typical, the whole drama is handled in a way that we rarely see and it was great.

The story is fairly simple but was executed wonderfully. One of the things that made Oh My Venus stand out to me compared to other dramas was the lack of cliches. I loved how the show could still be dramatic and intense at times but it avoided nearly all of the typical K-drama cliches. Even when they used cliches they were handled differently and didn't go down the path that they usually do. It was so wonderful! The story was super cute and had a really good message about health and beauty.

The acting was superb. So Ji Sub and Shin Min Ah had wonderful chemistry and I loved their characters' personalities. I loved that there was no drama between the main couple. It was really nice to see a k-drama couple being straightforward and honest with each other. They worked through their problems together rather than creating more. It was a pleasure to watch a drama with such a healthy (both mentally and physically) romantic relationship in it. Drama between couples can get old really fast and this was really refreshing.

I loved the side characters as well! Henry and Sung Hoon were the perfect side characters and I loved the chemistry they had with So Ji Sub. They're probably my favorite drama trio! The other cast members played their parts very well too. For once I didn't absolutely despise the 2nd female and male leads. They made mistakes, yes. But it was nice that they didn't constantly try to interfere with the main couple's relationship. Instead we got to see them work through their own problems and I grew to kind of like them.

The music in Oh My Venus was super catchy and cute. I already have some of the songs in my iPod and they're so fun to listen to. I liked the use of upbeat and catchy songs. There were fewer dramatic songs and more fun and happy songs. All of the songs on the OST balance each other out and come together to make a wonderful soundtrack.

Overall I absolutely adored Oh My Venus. I was very pleased with the final episode as well (though I didn't think there needed to be as many flashbacks as there were). This is one of the best dramas I've watched in a while. The whole message of the show is just so positive and everything was so unproblematic. It was a really nice change of pace.

My video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaVFl_Bq6c

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Top-notch production that leaves you craving for more!

The scenery in this drama is simply breathtaking, especially the Jifeng Pavillion with its elegant woodwork and raining white petals that look almost like snow. The costumes, action scenes and CGI are also on point. I'm genuinely impressed with the high-quality production.

It has a very similar feel to Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and The Journey of Flower, which were also directed by Lin Yu Fen, perhaps a little darker and less fantasy-like. And just in case you're wondering, Pearl Eclipse is pretty much stand-alone so no need to watch the others in the Novoland series beforehand.

The drama starts off with a master-disciple relationship between Fang Jianming and Fang Haishi that would soon blossom into a bittersweet and forbidden romance, where they're destined to meet but still restrained in many ways. It's not supposed to be a straightforward love, but rather the slow-burn and somewhat tormenting type. Yet, this is what makes those rare moments of sweetness even more precious. Personally, I find that the real charm of this show lies in its maturity and character development. But do get prepared, because you'll be taken on one crazy rollercoaster ride!

Yang Mi is literally in her element here playing a strong, cross-dressing FL. Despite the age difference, she still pulls off the role of the playful yet smart and daring young master Haishi very naturally. I think having Yang Mi doing her own dubbing really helps as well, so all credits to her. And those intense fighting scenes radiate some serious badass FL energy. I nearly forgot to breathe watching her shoot archery while spinning 360 on horseback! As she becomes Madam Pearl, we get to see Haishi swapping her boyish charms for a more mature and elegant persona, highlighting the different phases of her life. I particularly love her sibling bickering with Zhouying, they're such a hilarious comedy duo. But as much as they would tease each other, you can also feel their deep sibling bond and how they always have each other's back, especially Zhouying being the caring big brother that he is.

I'm going to be honest here, it took me a couple of eps to warm up to William Chan as Fang Jianming. I found his hairstyle a bit flat and awkward at first but I've grown fond of it gradually. He's graceful and calm normally but also fierce and intimidating when the occasion calls for it. I love how he's so protective of his disciples despite the cold front and prefers to selflessly suffer in silence, like all our favourite C-drama kuuderes (ahem... Ye Hua, Bai Zi Hua, Zhou Sheng Chen just to name a few). However, he's way too loyal and devoted to the Emperor that it's almost to a fault. It makes me often wonder whether they should just marry each other... Oh wait, they kind of did with the Baixi oath, where Fang Jianmiang has to act as a body double and shoulder all the injuries that befall Emperor Xu. This is surely not the 'love triangle' I had quite expected. Poor Haishi, it looks like she'll have a very fierce rival to beat, the bromance.

We're also greeted with another 2 couples along the way: Emperor Xu and Tilan, Zhuoying and Zheliu. While the fates of all 6 characters are very much intertwined, each couple still has its own pace and storyline.

The Emperor... sometimes I just want to reach across the screen and slap him hard. The guy can be so exasperating at times. His attitude towards Tilan at the beginning is uncalled for, regardless of his past suffering. As a ruler, Emperor Xu is not greedy or evil but he's not exactly empathetic or prudent either. Fortunately, his temperament does get much better and I quite like his 'passionate' bromance with Fang Jianming, as complicated as it may be. On the other hand, Tilan is portrayed as kind and supportive but I do find her character a bit weak sometimes. I guess her being a "caged bird", restricted by her royal upbringing and female status, serves as a contrast to Haishi who's "free" like a falcon having been raised as a boy in the imperial secret force.

Zhuoying and Zheliu is that one couple that you can never get enough of. I love how sweet and innocent their love is. It's adorkable seeing Zhouying gets all shy and love-struck in front of Zheliu, and then getting teased by Haishi for it. I kind of wish this couple has more screen time because the other 2 couples can get a bit too heavy at times.

I don't think there's much to say for the OSTs. I mean you open with Zhang Bichen and end with Zhou Shen, 2 of the best historical OST singers out there, so nothing can't go wrong. And the lyrics are so poetic and fit the story really well. Overall, it's a solid show with great cinematography and many unpredictable twists and turns. If you enjoy a good historical drama and not afraid to put your heart on the line, then this gem is for you.

FAVOURITE QUOTES:

"In our line of duty, people could die any minute. Every time we parted, it could be forever. So, I’m not afraid of death. I’m afraid that [Master] push me away or let me go.” Fang Haishi

"I don’t want [Haishi] to follow in my footsteps or take my path. She can’t be another Fang Jianming because I know better than anyone how painful that is. I don’t regret living like this but I hope the one I love can lead a normal and happy life.” Fang Jiangming

"[Emperor Xu] is my best friend. He is more important than my life. I took an oath to be faithful to him." Fang Jiangming

“All these years, others all think I’ve been tolerating Xu or even indulging him, but the truth is, I just want to protect him. The tougher he looks on the outside, the softer he is on the inside… as an emperor, he couldn’t share his pain with anyone.” Fang Jiangming

“Jianming, I’ve never expected you to be a loyal official. All I want is for you to live a carefree and happy life.” Emperor Xu

"Jianming, don’t underestimate Fang Haishi's feelings for you. Even if I don’t tell her, she knows you’re in a tough spot and she will do everything to protect you.” Emperor Xu

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I had no idea what to expect going into it. And the little things I did expect were completely shut down. I don’t know if I’m just not yet used to the format/style of Taiwanese dramas, but it felt weird to me.

But I liked it. I'm so torn about what to rate it, I keep going back and forth between 7.5 and 8. It's like a 7.8

There’s just something about it that kept me watching.

I started watching when there were already eleven episodes out. I kept telling myself, “This is a good place to stop. I’ll do something else, I’ll go to sleep, and I’ll finish tomorrow” and then I’d finish the episode and hit the next button and the process would continue until I was caught up with the lives.

Here’s the thing: you have to watch this drama with an open mind. I’m sorry, but I could not take the plot seriously. It was pretty predictable, and, I know this is a korean term, but it was a makjang drama. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was so weird and cheesy and over-dramatic, but I found it funny and enjoyable. If you go into the drama expecting some serious movie-like mob drama, you will be disappointed.

It was so freaking cheesy. Like every possible cliche happened within the first episode. The entire drama was like this, but it didn’t bother me because I thought it was hilarious. I know some people get annoyed with cliches though, so I’m letting everyone know now.

Also, part of the reason I couldn’t take it seriously from the beginning was because everything happened so fast. Like a whole episode’s worth (or two) of plot set-up happened within the first like ten minutes? It moved really fast and it was really extreme. But don’t stop watching because of this.

Also there were some little details with the plot that bugged me. For example: not putting someone into dry clothes when they have hypothermia, a person who just had surgery walking around without crutches. The birth. But whatever, I’m a nit-picky person.

One thing that made me really happy was that Megan actually looked like a guy. The stylists did a really good job. It was the first time I’ve seen a gender-bender drama where the girl convincingly looked like a guy. Also, she blew me away with her acting. She did a really good job at acting like she grew up living like a boy. Her posture and the way she walked were so convincing.

The romance was so enjoyable, they had fantastic chemistry together. And they had so many amazing kisses! Like a ton of them! Passionate ones! The main lead was nice from the start, and was a genuinely good and caring guy. I am now a fan of Baron Chen.

There are some issues I had with the drama, I won't go too deep into them because most of them contain spoilers. Basically I docked points from the rating because of some issues I had with the plot and some of the acting. I thought the cast had great chemistry together, but the things that should have been taken seriously, I couldn't take seriously. However, overall I enjoyed it, which is saying something coming from a person who doesn’t really like gender-benders.

What really made me happy about this drama was that there was never any homophobia. “As long as two people genuinely love each other, does it matter who the partner is?” Like damn, the messages in this drama were so good, I’m kind of wishing they were actually gay to make a stronger point. The message still came across strong, and not just through our leads, but through the other couples too.

This was a fun drama, and despite the issues I had, I’m glad I watched it.

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When you order prime rib and get spare ribs instead.

I expected Youku's short "Revenge" series to be a xianxia in disguise featuring the many hot re-incarnations of "The Best-est of the Chest-ests" Dai Gaozheng in all his topless smoking hot glory. If that is also what you are here for, let me save you some time because Bride's Revenge is nothing but chest bait. In this incarnation as Mu Anhe, Dai Gaozheng is over-dressed and so camera shy he is in hiding for over a third of the drama. When he reappears, it is uncomfortably obvious there is no spark between the leads. While their chemistry is sweet and loving, it notably lacks the passion and intensity of the previous incarnation.

The plot is uncannily similar to Maid's Revenge where two related men Mu Ancheng and Mu Anhe duke it out over the family assets and a woman. Except this time a bunch of "green tea bitches" scheme, bitch slap and scratch each others' eyes out over a scrawny and unappetising scumbag. That entire arc of not very smart people trying to out dumb each other made ten minutes feel like an hour. Even a happy ending cannot save this drama. The dissatisfaction level is just like when you order prime rib and get spare ribs instead. Give this one a pass unless you are super bored and need a quick Dai Gaozheng fix. And in that case, just watch the last three episodes or better yet, rewatch Maid's Revenge.

I generously rate this 3.0/10.0 because Dai Gaozheng is still the chesty definition of hotness.

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Strong First Strike, but Loses Its Footing in the Last Quarter

Watching this show was an emotional roller coaster ride: in the first three-quarters of the show, the cart climbed higher and higher until it could go no further, limited by the tracks that the writer had laid out for the machine. But then it started its descent, and for me, the train derailed before it reached the station.

It's clear to me that the writer knew exactly where she wanted to go and tried to careful craft a scenario to deliver her message about the elation and tribulations of first loves. For the first part of the show, I was totally engrossed with this plan. The story is told as a flashback of a little girl who read's her mother's diary, and like many other viewers, I was invested in the open question of who the identity of the girl's father - is he the main character of the mother's love story or he is not?! This was a question that kept everyone awake at night when this drama was airing. This was definitely an intentional effect as the series would intentionally omit clear references to the father, going so far as not to even show him on screen and to make dialog ambiguous so that you don't even know his name nor any hints towards his identity. Moreover, it seemed like every little detail of this Kdrama mattered -- it didn't matter if you forgot something, because boy, the writer sure remembered everything, and she often utilized these minutia to extreme emotional and dramatic effect. It was almost a masterpiece.

Almost. For me, the plot past episode 13 took a noticeable decrease in quality: characters started acting in ways that I thought were unearned - the fierce female lead that we had all come to know and love somehow became more passive and willing to give up -- this was a far cry from her "never give up attitude" that had led her to toil so hard to hone her fencing skill. The conscientious, sweet boy who put family and friends above all else suddenly became a workaholic -- he spent most of the first half of the story practicing the little, individual acts of loves for his friends, family, and love interests, and suddenly he's all about sacrificing for the greater good/his career. Yes, people can change, but for me, if we're talking about a television series, we should be shown the change and not have to infer it -- it's just jarring without a proper explanation. Even for side characters, things just started to arbitrarily work out for no discernible reasons - this is a little baffling to me in a story that prided itself on being so clear and clever with the details. The final nail in the coffin for me was dismissing things that we had become so invested in: that mystery we all cared about? Without spoilers, I feel I can safely say: it turns out it's irrelevant. Put simply, it felt like a slap in the face as if we were intentionally manipulated only to increase ratings and not for story purposes.

I don't believe that a story necessarily needs to have a happy end nor needs to have a sad end to be great. But I just feel this Kdrama did not execute its ending in a way that I felt was earned. It pains me to say: this Kdrama started as a 10/10 for me, but quickly destroyed my faith in it with just 3 measly episodes, to the point that I actually think it did the whole story a disservice. There were so many unanswered questions, that I think either the show needed a few more episodes to flesh things out or it needed less episodes to tell a complete tale without the feeling that something is missing. Either way, I can't help but feel there was a missed opportunity here. It's just such a shame.

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It went from excellent to bad to worse in no time.

Let me start off by saying I really dig Korean BLs because they usually have simple plots, which is pretty much the standard most of the time (don't take this as a negative; I'm complimenting). That's exactly why I was so excited to watch this series. For the first five episodes? Solid 9.0 or 9.5, no doubt. But man, did things take a turn for the worse in the last 2-3 episodes. By the time episode 7 rolled around, I was just trying to finish it off, not because I was excited, but more because I'd already invested so much time into it.

Let's talk about Se Heon and Do Yoon for a sec. These guys seem to have a talent for picking the biggest red flags around (Yes, Tae Yi is a major red flag; argue with the wall). Do Yoon's whole "I'll still love you even if you bully me" with Joo Ha? What stupidity! Then there's Se Heon, who forgives Tae Yi way too quickly after he S/A him. I mean, even if you want to argue that it wasn't the case, Tae Yi's response was not how a normal, rational person would react.

I gave it an overall rating of 6.5 because I don't rate any series below 5, and for the most part, it was enjoyable. It started off strong but dropped the ball towards the end. Let's just say it left me scratching my head. Honestly, I was hoping for A LOT better.

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Remake does the orignal justice

Although this was a remake of la casa de papel (money heist) it certainly does do the series justice in my opinion. I've watched and i am half spanish so when i heard there was gonna be a remake i thought ehhhhh i don't know if this is the right move by netflix because i thought the Spanish version was always gonna be the best however after watching the remake i think that the korean version of this show is as good as the original spanish version of the show. Certainly worth the watch even if u have already seen the original, there are some key differences in this remake to the original which makes the series a lot more exciting than you'd expect. I've noticed from the negative reviews that most people dropped the show within the first or second episode, all i can say to that is that if u give the show the chance and watch it fully it will grow on you and the unique storylines will certainly catch your attention here.

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A Mature Storyline

I had not expected , I thought this would be same Thai traditional cheesy BL story but I was wrong . Gmmtv did a great job .

Disclaimer - I wrote this review according to my own thoughts . This review may contain spoilers . It will be change according to the upcoming episodes .

Story - Po , a heartbroken soul , was wondering a good job but everytime for being honest he failed at the interview . He recently broke up with his partner ( Earn ) and tried to heal his broken soul . He suddenly got a job at a big entertainment company and he was tasked with documenting a boy group's ( MARS ) final concert before their disbandment . Thame ( the leader of MARS ) about to make a solo debut in South Korea for a misunderstanding with his bandmates .

Impression - A mature and emotional story . The way the actors expressed every details ,is excellent . Thame and Po , both of them were trying to understand their hearts with each other's companion . The cinematography and visuals are top tier . As William is here then the music must be good , yes his beautiful voice stole our heart . The intro was so beautiful , one of the best intro I ever seen .

Overall - Try one episode , you will understand . I am giving 10/10 .

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Overrated

I found myself thinking that I just wasted 10 hours watching this drama. This could have been impactful because it dealt with the serious subject of crimes committed by high school students but the story did not move me. The problem was the way it was presented. There was no depth. Jisoo, the central character had an absentee father, his partner in crime Kyoo Ri's parents seemed to have subjected her to abuse but there was no way for the viewers to find out more about the dynamics that defined the two characters' relationship with their parents. It would have been clearer if there was a bit of a background story that explained Jisoo and Kyoo Ri's damaged characters. There was also no backstory with the rest of the characters ie, Mr. Lee, how he became involved with Jisoo, Minhee, how she turned into a prostitute and Kitae, the bully and abusive boyfriend.

The characters were so unlikeable. Jisoo, at the beginning gave the impression of an intelligent kid with a heart that somehow lost his way. And then, he turned into a snivelling idiot who was in over his head. Then there's Kyoo Ri who caused Jisoo to unravel; she manipulated him and her stupidity almost killed both of them.

It's like a watching a hodge podge of a story with a terrible ending. Don't waste your time on this drama.

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Lighthearted fun times ahead!!

I loved it, no notes. Except perhaps that i really NEED Season 2. And I need that to have HosPlay cameos too please <33

My main two reasons for watching this drama were- HosPlay sequel and Go Youn Jung and it delivered spectacularly on both accounts. Go Youn Jung is such a good actress, I love her facial expressions. But I was also really impressed by everyone else's acting, our other three first year residents had their own journeys to go through and they were fantastic.

The story was well-wrapped with just enough threads lose for a S2 renewal and I really need that to happen.

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NO WATCH, YOUR LOSS!

What a pleasant surprise, one of the best of the year!

I would say Im a little bias going in to the show. Shin Min Ah is one of the few Korean actresses that i reallly really adore so I am predetermined to love this just for that reason. Casting the very good looking Kim Young Dae is just an icing to the cake. At first it seems like an off-pairing because of the age gap, but they worked that in the story seemlessly and i didn't think, not even once did the age gap seemed apparent because they jived so well together -it's all thanks to the strong performances of both leads.

The story is a little bit off-putting at the beginning. A seemingly modern liberated woman engaging the services of a man to be her fake husband to survive in a corporate environment. HaeYoung seems to be a big red flag at first that will do everything to move ahead of her career. It was done in the guise of light and fluffy early episodes. As the episodes go by we discovered the layers to the characters, with the last couple of episodes being so emotional, gut wrenching and heart harming at the same time.

What sets it apart from some of the other May-December affair specially the one which aired almost at the same time (Im not saying it's Cinderrella at 2AM) is how each episode of this series seems important. They developed the characters and cliffhangers in a way that you'll keep coming back for more each week. What's more, the second couple and even the third couple, for that matter, were all engaging to watch.

I just hoped they didnt end it at 12 episodes cause i feel like there's still so much more to tell and i would love to see more of Hae Young and Ji-Uk together. I know they are adding 2 special episodes for the Gyu Hun and Ja Yeon fans and will also be first in line to watch it but i still wanna see more of the main couple and the other characters.

For me, one proof of very good writing is when you wanna see and know more of each characters - and that is very evident here even up to the support casts. I would have loved to see more of the male secretary Ha Jun cause he was being initially primed as the 3rd party to GyuHun and Ja Yeon's love story plus his character has very strong personality. Manager Jang and GyuHun's parent's stories also seemed unfinished (and what an underuse of the actor Choi JIn Ho). And should i also dare to mention the non-closure of UJae and I Rin's characters (with I RIn not even showing up at the the last episode).

So will i recommend? Yes, what are you waiting for?! Definitely one of the best K dramas of the year!

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I really expected to love this drama, but instead I felt very indifferent at the end, and indifferent isn't a good thing for a melodrama to be. My main issue is that I think this story should have have never been this long. This could have been an interesting movie, or a much shorter drama, but even if the episodes were short, 32 episodes is way too many to tell this story. To fill the time, there were so many repetitive scenes, so many flashbacks, looooong intense stares, and of course lots of hugging. Very dramatic hugging.

The best thing about this drama is the acting. Jang Ki Yong and Jin Ki Joo do make a very sweet couple, enough to make the star crossed lovers storyline believable, but there wasn't enough exciting chemistry between them to make the repetitive parts less boring. I also loved their child actor counterparts, who were really good, and matched the older versions well. However, the majority of their storyline never changes, so although I felt bad for them, and I was rooting for them, I also wished something more would happen than intense stares, emotional hugs, and occasionally fighting off various psychopaths.

Speaking of psychopaths, I think the best performance was Heo Joon Ho, because I love a good villain. His performance gave me Hannibal Lecter chills at times. Still, even his character started to get a little monotonous. I wish they went a little deeper into what made him tick, instead of waiting until the end. His scenes with the psycho tabloid reporter were fun to watch, and I liked the dynamic with his ex wife, but I felt like his interactions with other characters could have gone much further than just being generally creepy. I definitely wanted to see more scenes connecting him and Na Moo (not just overused flashbacks). The few scenes they actually had together were so intense.

The only reason I stopped myself from giving the cast a 10 is because even though everyone performed their parts well, their characters weren't always engaging, which is probably the writers fault. Some of the characters were one note, which I think is what stopped me from being emotionally connected to many of them. There were parts of the story that were emotional for me, and a some other characters that had moments that touched me (Like Na Moo's brother, Step Mom, and Team Leader), but the story is so slow at times that many of the characters get lost. Some just didn't have enough interesting contributions to the story.

My lowest score is obviously for the story, but again I am surprised by this because heartbreaking romance and psychological thrillers are two of my favorite genres. I saw some complaints about this being a melodrama, but I think it wasn't melodramatic enough. There are some very intense moments strung together by twice as many moments that are predictable and redundant. How many times do we have to refer to the same flashback to get the point. Maybe I am more jaded than others, but everything I found unique about this drama was drowned out by what I found to be predictable, and uninteresting.

The only way I would watch this again is if someone spliced together a much shorter version. I'm convinced that very large parts of this drama, maybe even full episodes, could be cut and not missed.

Overall I am pretty apathetic towards Come and Hug Me. I honestly almost dropped it, but decided to finally power through to the end. I liked the overall theme of the story, and parts of the last few episodes were much more interesting, but there were also really overdramatic and cheesy parts that were not necessary at the end. If you are a fan of slower paced dramas you may be more patient with the storyline than I was. This is an interesting romance at it's core, and that may be enough to make some people excited to watch. I will say that if you don't like the drama at the beginning, it probably wont get much better for you by the end. If you're still curious, maybe have someone make a cheat sheet for you of every episodes where things that are important actually happen. Maybe pay them for it in hugs!

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An Unpopular Opinion....

*** What I Like (+):
--- Yang Yang is the Master.... Master at Kissing that is - too bad he didn't have a partner :(
--- Old Man Yu is most enjoyable character to watch .... The actor, Niu Jun Feng, is the best in the show! ... (just as good as he was in Battle of Changsha)
--- Zhang Vin is so very Hot looking as the brooding KO... too bad he didn't have much screen time.
--- enjoyable encounters .... nothing annoying.
--- Villains were not real bad .... some had a little bit of growth, a positive!!!
--- The Game scenes were shot well!
--- Good looking cast.

*** What I did NOT like (-):
--- Practically No plot .... nothing much happens .... no drama.
--- 2-dimensional characters .... No depth, no psyche ..... all the more kudos to NJF who made Old Man Yu shine!
--- Lead actress froze w/ open eyes as he passionately kissed her .... She's unhealthily skinny ... Does too many pout faces.
--- What's w/ the mystery of Mr. Beautiful and KO???.... It was probably a BL in the novel, they only hinted at it here .... but at least turn their friendship into something worthwhile!! .... not just shallow encounters :P:P
--- Her friend Er Xi is way too bubbly!!! .... trying too hard to be cute :P ... too much like a manga character .... a different actress could have turned her into someone cute and lovable ... ( I am thinking of Dilraba as the impish red fox princess in Eternal Love .... so cute and energetic w/out being annoyingly bubbly)


*** Recommended for those who like:
--- Refreshing love story, b/c no love triangles ... no angst ... trusting couple who talk things out.
--- fluff and cute scenes
--- No real villains
--- Don't mind that there is NO strong Plot .... and NO well-developed or complex characters. :(((

*** Not recommended if you want depth, complex characters or interesting plot.

*** Ratings
- Story - 3 .... simple, nothing there.
- Acting - 5 ... Not bad not good ..... some supporting were bad ... Only NJF's performance stood out as very good.
- Music - 5 ... It fit well ... bit too bubbly and "pop" for my taste.
- Rewatch - 2 ... only if in front of me, I won't turn around.... But I would never seek it out.


Basically, very bland and very blah!!!! ..... Not much to love and even less to hate .... If not for Yang Yang's kisses, there is nothing to watch.

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