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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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This review will probably never be noticed by the rest of the MDL community since there are a lot of reviews with high ratings for this drama, but I thought I'd write one anyways. I watched this drama because 1) it's pretty popular in China for a webdrama and I pretty much check out whatever is popular in China regardless whether it is popular here on MDL and 2) my best friend likes cute romances and I really wanted to make her watch something Chinese this winter break before we parted ways again.
Story:
What I liked:
1) The entire group of friends together was very fun to watch. Loved the chemistry of their friendship together. I didn't skip any friendship scenes.
2) Their high school lives were more interesting than their adult lives.
3) Need a friend like Lin Jingxiao in life. Supportive, smart, and caring.
What I disliked:
1) the main girl was literally SOOOOOO dumb like I don't think I know of a dumber female lead than her character. very few get into a good university like Zhejiang on their second gaokao
2) when Jiang Chen was jealous, he would act mean to her. I get this is supposed to be out of jealousy, but his actions seriously irked me.
3) Jiang Chen giving up the chance to go to Qinghua. And then almost giving up the internship opportunity. And also selling his car to pay for her manhua thing. Like yeah, I guess those actions are supposed to be romantic, but I thought they were straight up stupid moves.
4) liked the second lead initially. towards the end, I'd really wish he could just move on to someone else
5) lack of communication in their relationship was sooooo idek what to say lol
6) their break up was sooooooo.....anticlimatic didn't feel a thing
7) the drama felt like it was slowing down at the end
8) the second couple scenes were pretty boring, skipped a lot of their scenes as the drama progressed
9) I didn't like how even though Chen Xiaoxi knew her grades sucked, she hardly put any work into bringing them up. Like yeah, if she didn't want to ask Jiang Chen, then I get it, but her BEST FRIEND is literally one of the top students in the class and she still didn't use her resources LOL
Acting/Cast:
Acting-wise, they were okay. They're all new actors, so I have nothing to compare to. They weren't spectacular, but they weren't terrible either. I think one of my biggest issues was with Hu Yitian's line-reading skills. He speaks pretty unclearly and has poor enunciation (I am fluent in Chinese so this bothered me while I was listening, but if you don't speak it, then you should be okay with it). Also his voice is really monotonous LOL. But he's tall and pretty cute.
Music:
I don't really think there was much music played for this drama, but I quite like the opening theme song!! Ending theme song is meh but the opening one is nice.
Rewatch Value:
Never rewatching this again LOL I mean the drama wasn't terrible but I was pretty bored and not captivated
Overall:
It's a good drama to watch if you have nothing to do, or if you're like me, have a friend who likes cute romances. I heard they deviated quite a bit from the book. "Prime example of an adaption gone wrong by removing all the likeable traits from the main characters. Chen Xiaoxi was never this brainless, and Jiang Chen never leads his potential love interests on. I would’ve preferred a story that spent more time on their adulthood (as in the original), especially when it’s clear the only purpose of the schoolyard love triangles was to drag out the episode coount." (Source: Cfensi). But yeah I really couldn't stand how brainless Chen Xiaoxi was.
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Story - 10/10 I loved the storyline, it was a mix of everything. Sweet, Romantic, Tragedy, Comedy, etc. The only thing that I thought sucked was that a lot of the characters led a really sad life ;( And I won't spoil, but they did take out a love storyline that I would've been very interested in watching!
Acting/Cast - 10/10 One word: AMAZING. This is the best cast I have ever seen... they all had lots of chemistry with each other. Even the young cast was overflowing with potential and I missed them so much when they left! Everyone played their role perfectly. I had decided to watch this drama mainly because of my love for Kim Soo Hyun (since WISFC days, he was genius there), Jung Il Woo, Yeo Jin Goo & Kim Yoo Jung (I LOVED THEM IN ILJIMAE!) and pretty Han Ga In. However, I fell in love with all the other actors too! Lee Won Geun and Song Jae Rim...I found myself wanting them to come on screen every second! They're both such hotties lol~ now I'm a huge fan of the both of them! I also loved Siwan, he did a great job and he was so adorable! I think he even looks better in sageuks than in reality. LOL. Hands down, best cast, I wouldn't change a thing :) *I also loved the eunuch!* lol~
Music - 10/10 Even when I wasn't watching the drama, I had the OST as replay, shuffle, you name it. :) All the songs fit the drama perfectly, even the lyrics. The instrumentals were amazing, just like a lullaby :)
Rewatch Value - 10/10 I would love to watch it again!!! Since it's my favourite drama :) keke~
Overall - 10/10 It was perfect! :) Please go watch it ;)
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he won but what did it cost...? everything.
If you're like me and enjoy intense gripping thrillers with well written characters, I promise you, this series will not disappoint. The Worst of Evil is a crime thriller set in the 90s, where a detectives goes undercover in order to take down a dangerous drug trafficking organization only to discover that his wife seems to have a complicated past with the gang's notorious kingpin. The plot is very well written and does a fantastic job exploring themes of moral ambiguity and cynicism. The two male leads, Ji Chang Wook and Wi Ha Joon both deliver phenomenal performances and which really helps engross the audience and allow us to feel what's at stake for our main characters. Also shoutout to Bibi for her stunning performance as Lee Hae Ryeon, absolutely killed it. In conclusion, The Worst of Evil stands as one of the most captivating and well-crafted series in recent memory. From its intense, action-packed plot to its deeply layered characters, the show keeps you on the edge of your seat with every episode. The performances are exceptional, with the cast delivering emotional depth that makes even the most harrowing moments feel personal and meaningful. The writing is sharp, and the pacing strikes a perfect balance, gradually building tension while revealing twists that never feel forced. The Worst of Evil has a rare combination of thrill and heart, making it an absolute must-watch for anyone who loves a gripping, thought-provoking series. This is one of my favorite dramas of all time and I would highly recommend it to any thriller enthusiasts.Was this review helpful to you?
The Ballad of Li Chang Ge
The drama tells the story of Li Chang Ge (Chang Ge is transliterated as “Long Song”, hence the title of this drama), a princess of the great Tang who after inadvertently getting embroiled in the vicious court politics of the royal family, ends up on a journey of self discovery during her self-imposed exile. Along the way, she discovers the true meaning of friendship, love, justice and sacrifice for the greater good.When I first heard about this production and read the synopsis some time early last year, and based on the cast involved, I fully expected it to be a romance-driven “light” historical featuring popular young idols. I then came across the trailer towards the end of 2020, which totally changed my perception - the drama looked every bit the dramatic and potentially epic production it was rumoured and publicized to be, while the outstanding OST songs by powerhouse performers sensationalized it even further. Since then my expectations were exponentially raised and I had been patiently waiting for it to air. Having completed it months later, I’m happy to declare - my expectations are utterly fulfilled!
Production
The Long Ballad is adapted from the China Animation Golden Monkey Award and Golden Dragon Award-winning manhua Chang Ke Xing by renowned writer Xia Da. It is directed by prolific HK director Chu Yui Bun who has notably helmed dramas such as Singing All Along, Noble Aspirations I and II, Ashes of Love and Skate into Love. Due to legal proceedings over intellectual property issues between the writer and the publishing company, this historical fantasy manhua remains incomplete, thus paving the way for the award-winning screenwriter Chang Jiang to develop the screenplay and, in particular, the ending to the story. She has a formidable portfolio of works comprising The Advisors Alliance, Growling Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Secret of Three Kingdoms and Novoland: Eagle Flag. As a result, what we get is a very well produced and executed historical drama.
Technical Aspects
The drama features extraordinarily innovative visual presentations. In particular, the transitioning of ALL battle scenes from live action to manhua and donghua formats. Although not everyone is pleased with this and would prefer to see real action, I actually found it to be quite refreshing and artistically delivered. Additionally the usage of “monochrome against colour” juxtaposition to re-create memory flashbacks in certain scenes is creatively rendered.
Cinematography for the most part is quite exceptional, where overhead photography of the cityscape of Chang’an is featured, and some immersive camerawork for certain scenes particularly at Liuyun Abbey, and the cherry blossom valley in the grasslands. The indoor cinematography and the effective use of lighting ensures that the scenes depicted are never dim or dull. The use of soft filters and vibrant colour palettes provides a generally pleasant and vivid viewing experience.
The CGI effects are sparingly applied, although principal photography took place in Hengdian. While certain blips are exposed, on the whole it has been adequately presented. The horse-jumping at the bridge scene isn’t the most realistic, for instance.
Because this drama isn’t a full fledged wuxia, the fight choreography depicted is more grounded and practical. That said, there are demonstrations of “martial prowess” by the likes of the Taoist priestess Madame Jing Dan and the roving swordsman Situ Lang Lang in one of the more breathtaking moments of action. On the other hand, I can’t really comment on the action scenes on the battlefields, since they were not depicted as live-action. But generally there’s more than enough fight scenes to make up for the lack of massive sieges and battles.
Story and Characters
Despite being historical fiction, certain events and characters depicted are based on actual historical records of 7th century Tang Dynasty. The Xuanwu Gate incident, Emperor Taizong, the war between Tang and the Ashina clan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, among other depictions. The elements of both fiction and reality are seamlessly interwoven and thrillingly executed over the course of the entire 49 episodes. The drama has a very lively start and the pacing of the storytelling has largely been brisk and engaging. Multiple locations are showcased which sustains the momentum of the plot and provides viewers with a variety of scenery to savour. From the Tang Dynasty’s imperial city of Chang’an to the frontier city of Shouzhuo, the preceding Sui Dynasty’s ancient capital of Luoyang, the grasslands of Mongolia and the Northern Desert of Mobei.
There’s no question that the quality of the storyline is very good, which is attributed to the excellence of the source material and screenplay. However, as much as this drama is plot driven, it is also made that much more compelling by the depth of its central as well as supporting characters. I quite like the way most of the characters have been written. Apart from having sufficient character development, in particular Li Chang Ge, Li Le Yan and Hao Du, the interactions and chemistry between everyone in general are realistically and convincingly portrayed. This applies across the board to all the political factions as well as those without affiliations. I also think that the portrayal of women in this drama is deserving of praise. The major female characters are multidimensional and each of their respective story arcs is very satisfyingly fleshed out.
Cast and Acting
This is the fourth time I’ve watched Dilraba Dilmurat, having seen her in Swords of Legends, Liu Shan Men and The Flame’s Daughter. She delivers a commanding performance here and I think she has improved markedly since the last time I’ve seen her. Her portrayal of the FL made me even more invested in her character and thus her journey of redemption. The same feeling applies to Zhao Lu Si, whom I last saw in Dating in the Kitchen. This young lady is very versatile indeed and it is especially gratifying to see her infuse the character of Li Le Yan with so much believability and relatability.
As far as Wu Lei is concerned, many people seem to still view him as that baby-faced teenage bodyguard in Nirvana in Fire who has never really grown up to adulthood. Since NiF, I’ve seen his gradual development in productions such as The Imperial Doctress, and Fights Break Sphere. He has indeed matured into a fine young man with well defined chiselled features and his casting for the role of Ashile Sun is on point, where he gives a fine overall performance. My second time seeing Liu Yu Ning since Ultimate Note, he seems to excel in very similar roles - the stone-faced and distant sort of characters. However, his portrayal as the misunderstood and rather pitiful Hao Du is nothing short of commendable. It took a while but I eventually warmed up to his characterization. I saw a bit of Alen Fang in Jiu Liu Overlord (which I didn’t complete) previously and I think appearance-wise he does suit the character of Wei Shu Yu the way it was meant to be portrayed.
It’s worth mentioning the notable performances of the supporting cast in the form of veterans Geng Le, Cheng Tai Shen, Lu Xing Yu, and Yang Ming Na in the roles of Li Shi Min (Emperor Taizong), Advisor Du Ru Hui, Governor Gongsun Heng and Princess Yi Cheng respectively. Special guest stars who deserve acknowledgment are Sa Ding Ding, (the renowned singer who also contributes a track for the OST), Liu Hai Kuan (of The Untamed fame) and Richards Wang (In a Class of Her Own), for their memorable appearances as Taoist Priestess Madame Jing Dan, swordsman Situ Lang Lang, and King of Mobei Yaoluoge Pusa respectively.
Soundtrack
As usual, my habit of compiling the track listing for posterity. This drama has some of the most unforgettable songs ever composed and performed for a historical production. Featuring powerhouse singers Zhou Shen, Sa Ding Ding, Zhang Bichen and Jin Wen Qi. In addition, the lovely second couple contributes a song each.
Cocoon 繭 by Zhou Shen 周深
The Direction of Light 光的方向 by Zhang Bichen 张碧晨
If Return 如若归来 by Sa Dingding 萨顶顶
Falling Sand 落砂 by Jin Wen Qi 金玟岐
I Wish You Were My Long Lasting 多麼願你是我恆久的歌 by Zhao Lu Si 趙露思
A Love Like Before 一愛如故 by Liu Yu Ning 刘宇宁
Overall
Well made, well executed, well acted. The Long Ballad is a drama well done. If you’re a C-historical fan, do yourself a favour and get this on your watchlist asap. If you’re not a regular watcher of this genre but are intrigued by the premise, this drama would represent the perfect starting point in watching your first historical C-drama. As an added bonus, don’t worry about the curse of the C-historical for this one. Rest assured, you may enjoy it with a peace of mind.
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Another Level of Romantic Comedy Drama
At first I watched this drama, I actually think it would be a cross-dressing drama when the male lead would hard to convince the female lead about his real gender HAHAHA. But silly me, I am expected this drama way too low than the actual story. I must say that the drama is EPIC, the plot, the acting, the soundtrack, especially the unexpected villain are all ON POINT. Never expect this much for romantic comedy drama (who turns out to be melo in the second half of the drama).I love how this drama put the right song in the right scene, and make you remember that scene a lot because it was totally beautiful (especially the rain scene, the swing, and the fight scene).
I feel like a butterfly fulling my stomach after I finished watching this drama, and I know I would miss Dong Joo - Nok Du couple much. The parents-children relationship also getting me in tears much, applause to Jang Dong Yoon who brings the sad scene greatly, because when he's in tears, I feel my tears suddenly flows too. Such a great actor! Kim So Hyun acting is unquestionable, because she's veteran anyway.
For me, I am positively would re-watch this drama, because the story is so interesting (and probably would be hard to move on like I did in 100 days my prince), and Jang Dong Yoon is so handsome and pretty at the same time, it's like one package of cinnamon roll he is.
They have great chemistry on or off screen (you should watch behind the scene by the way). You know, the drama is successful if we want them together in real life, it's just exactly what we want for JDY and KSH HAHAHAH
If you haven't watched the drama yet, I think you should give it a try. If you expect the light rom-com which we could expect where the story would leads us, then you won't have it in Tale of Nokdu. Because, as I said before, this drama is another level of romantic comedy drama (in general) and would make you goose-bumped in every episode.
P.S : you will love our beloved and sassy Lady Kim
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Could have, would have, and should have been epic but just isn't.
This drama's thrilling opening had me on the edge of my seat with my heart in my throat. It is one helluva start that brilliantly sets the stage for the backstory. We are immediately transported to ancient Wei, a wicked, immoral, debauched kingdom where the dissipated nobility hunt slaves for sport. Our titular character Xing'er/Chu Qiao is no ordinary slave she is a superhero; assassin, gladiator, warrior and survivor. Her courage and fiery fighting spirit draws the interest of many suitors including her owner and spymaster Yuwen Yue, Yanbei hostage prince Yan Xun, Prince Yuan Song of Wei and Prince Xiao Ce of Liang. If not for the fact that she pulls her weight when it comes to the rescuing, this would sound absurdly Mary Sue. As it turns out, the most powerful men across three rival kingdoms simply have a death wish and are fatally attracted to dangerous, irascible and bad-ass women. Recognising her indomitable spirit and lethal fighting ability, Yuwen Yue trains her to be a top notch spy and assassin.I enjoyed every moment of the first half of this drama - despite some discontinuity in the editing, the plot is intriguing, the characters are flawed and complex, it moves at a fast pace and the fight scenes are powerful and exhilirating. The chemistry between Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin is off the charts and their supercharged one on one fight scenes are hot, hot, hot. The way Yuwen Yue grooms her, her gratitude and resentment and the push and pull attraction between them and their strong personalities results in a highly combustible build-up in passion between them. I just love how his eyes reveal how vulnerable he is, his grumpy sullen glower conveys his displeasure at being enslaved by his slave while the tiniest wry smile suggests a sense of acceptance and humor about it. The fierce answering spark in Xing'er's fiery eyes and her combative, resentful stance is a dead giveaway as to who this spitfire also most unwillingly longs for. I believe she would never have left with Yan Xun if her pride had not been so wounded at the thought she was nothing more than a lean mean killing machine to Yuwen Yue.
I have always considered Zhao Liying a vastly overrated, creepy life sized LOL doll with her gigantic head and eyes. This drama has given me a newfound appreciation for her acting skills and commanding screen presence. Her fight scenes are phenomenal and it is obvious that she immersed herself in this fabulous, kick-ass role of a fearless heroine with a big heart and bold dreams. It is hard to pull off the typical cold male lead well but Lin Gengxin effortlessly depicts the iceberg that conceals a dormant volcano. It is such a waste that his masterful articulation of such a complex and interesting character does not get nearly enough screen time. With one glaring weak link, this boasts an all star cast with complex, interesting and funny supporting characters with Xiao Ce (Deng Lun), Yue Qi and Yang Song being my favourites.
After peaking near the middle with a barbarous, heart wrenching massacre that results in irreversible divisions, the plot digresses into a long winded, meandering, melodramatic and ultimately trite tale of revenge as the focus shifts to the second leads Yan Xun and Chun'er. They are parallel selfish and amoral characters who go off the rails albeit for good reason and become consumed by hate and revenge. Although Li Qin does a fantastic job making a delusional, entitled and spoilt princess somewhat empathetic, the character Chun'er is not smart or interesting enough to command the amount of screen time she got and in so many gratuitous sub-plots. Xing'er/Chu Qiao's character is thrown under the bus in these arcs where she is dumbed down, stagnates and even regresses on several fronts when she excuses Yan Xun's misdeeds and lies at the cost of many lives. Like Chun'er she closes both eyes to the fact that Yan Xun sold her an empty dream and is nothing but a selfish, heartless prick with no game plan, is of mediocre ability and has no vision.
Yan Xun is a well written, complex and interesting antagonist. It is hinted from the beginning that he is innately selfish and quite manipulative, traits that rule him after the loss he experiences. This has to be said - this role however was badly miscast and that is why the drama pretty much implodes in the second half, from the moment Yan Xun takes centerstage. Shawn Dou is a blank actor that never compelled me because underneath the surface of his toothy, million dollar smile, there is not much to him. He can only pull off easy going, laid back two dimensional good guy roles and from his blank placid gaze it is clear he never really gets deep into character, he is the epitome of still waters run shallow. They would have been way better off sticking a Darth Vader mask over him rather than to inflict the wooden, constipated expression he wore for over half the damn drama on us. And the annoying sibilant "dark" whisper that became his voice made him the first male character I have ever been tempted to mute in a c-drama. To me, there is no believable triangle in this drama because there is zero spark between him and Zhao Liying. Put against an intensely masculine actor like Lin Gengxin, Shawn Dou's utter lack of sex appeal (男人味) is painfully obvious. I don't mean to offend his fans but this is too important a role that got way too much screen time to have been so poorly cast. I struggled to complete this drama because I lost all interest in the Yanbei arcs and the last few episodes are simply incoherent.
I was well warned that this drama has the worst open ending ever. The problem is that unlike The Rise of Phoenixes, it is not just about one bad ending episode. This drama starts to sink from about the halfway point where my intriguing historical spy / assassin drama turns into yet another boring revenge drama and my strong female allows her dreams to be subsumed by someone else's agenda. The only reason I didn't drop this is the remarkable chemistry between Yuwen Yue and Xing'er. I am reading the book (which is long but riveting) so I know their story does go on and the portrayal of both characters are quite faithful to the novel. Many much more interesting sub-plots didn't play out because they wasted 15-20 episodes on the most boring Yan Xun and Chun'er. Sadly the odds of this ever being completed with the original cast are low.
This drama could have, would have, and should have been epic but it just isn't. All it is is unfinished. Thus I rate the first few arcs 9.0/9.5 but the second half is at best a 5.5/6.0. My overall score is 7.5 which I consider generous. This is one that must be watched with adjusted expectations.
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The beginning of the show was really cute, and Yoon Eun Hye as Shin Chae-gyung the leading lady role was just funny. Her character was a normal teenage high school girl who was clumsy, a bit stupid, always smiling, getting into tons of trouble and yet has a pure heart. Her life drastically changed after meeting Shin, the crowned prince and over hearing him propose marriage to a girl. Then she was thrown into an arranged marriage with the crowned prince after finding out the marriage agreement which was done by her grand father and the king's father when they were born.
This is a show where I started liking Eun Hye as an actress. Joo Ji Hoon who played as Shin, her leading man was also gorgeous for a Korean guy, although his eyes is too squinty for my taste. I still liked his character, the seemingly uncaring guy, but deep inside he just thinks too much of others.
Kim Jeong Hoon who acted as Lee Yul (Shin's supposedly cousin who wants to take his throne away) was cute and my heart went out for him as he was that guy who had to endure an unrequited love when all he wanted was for Chae Gyung to love him back that's why he wanted to be the crowned prince. Lasty Song Ji Hyo who acted as Min Hyo Rin was just perfect. She was the girl that Shin first proposed to before getting married to Chae Gyung, she seems to be the cold girl who acted like there was nothing that could ever bother her, but deep inside, her heart is crumbling to pieces as she watches Shin fall in love with Chae Gyung little by little.
As the story progressed, there where some draggy moments that I have overlooked because the setting and music was just beautiful, and I can't just help my self but watch it even if the lines have been too redundant. The ending was gorgeous for me because of the setting once again, but story line wise it was quite bland for my taste and went way off with where the whole story was really supposed to be. It gave me a sense of confusion which I didn't really like. Although I felt this way towards the ending I am still giving it a 9 for compensating with other areas in the drama that I have already mentioned which is also essential for making this a top rated Kdrama.
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Perfect balance in plot and chemistry.
Interesting plot, Amazing cast with good chemistry. The story has a perfect balance in all areas. The cases could be heavy sometimes but there are good humor and small funny moments to lighten the moods too. The mystery keep you engaging and are fast paced and don't get boring. The story dance around the idea of revenge or justice.The cast did a very good job. both leads have an amazing chemistry with each other. A smart couple who can communicate and trust each other. The side couples are cute and interesting too.
Overall it's a very good watch for a mystery and murder solving drama with romance and good characters.
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This review may contain spoilers
refreshing and incredible.. until the later half
overall, this show was really really good. it was mostly light hearted with lots of mature dialogue, deep characters, beautiful cinematography, and more. for the first half, i was convinced this drama would be in my top three along with vincenzo and healer. up until episode 10, I think id give this show a 10/10. somewhere along the second half it seemed to have lost its spark, but none of the issues im going to discuss are reason enough to not watch this show. overall i recommend it.
as an overview, i love thinking about how much progression we saw over the course of 16 episodes. especially within the FL whom I feel was the main vessel of change, i can see a huge difference in her from the first to the last episode. same goes for the other characters, all of them had some kind of realization or moment at least once in the show, and i really appreciated how different people at different stages of life were all given a moment to have feelings and talk about their trauma, because thats real. There also arent any typical vicious drama villains: the second male lead is accepting, the teacher is actually just quietly in love with hwajeong, everyone feels real and not at all like a typical drama caricature. usually dramas forget everyone that isnt the main character, but not this one. i also really liked the vibe of the show itself, it promises and delivers a mature healing drama full of family and friendships and community and all that good stuff. The themes of second chances, the importance of emotional support, this was also so nice to see on screen. the writing was stellar, until the later episodes ( especially ep 15). The characters are all interesting, the cinematography is great, and even the ost is good, its an almost perfect drama if i ignore the later episodes.
im going to discuss stuff i didnt like because when a show is this good, the issues tend to stick out more than usual. Some of these things are very nitpicky, so dont take them as a reflection on the show as a whole.
full review below. SPOILERS
even though this drama covered many important topics such as the hardships women face (with the crazy pervert and the childbirth) and even included a lesbian (!!!), i felt that the way they addressed many of these topics was a little skewed and delivered the wrong message. as for childbirth, i was pleasantly surprised that they were depicting it on screen as well as reinforcing how hard it really is to be a woman. but it was ruined by FL saying how romantic it was when the husband promised to be by the wifes side even though the entire episode talked about how he was a horrible husband that didnt even change his kids diapers and didnt realize that childbirth was difficult. like what ?? and as for the teacher, she just comes and goes throughout the show and i wish she was on screen and talked about herself more (instead of showing up to give yeongguk a motivating speech about apologizing to hwajeong), since lgbtq are not often seen in kdramas. and then i enjoyed how they depicted change with the FL and trauma with ML, but the way his was only delved into in the last episode really sucked since i think that shouldve been a main focus along with FLs personality shift.
It feels like all of the issues I have with this show come down to an unbalance, or a right message gets skewed the wrong way, you’ll see what I mean.
as for the FL, i generally enjoyed her growth. i loved how obvious it was, how realistic it seemed. it was gradual, but there were also specific moments where you can SEE her changes. like in episode 10 where she walks in the rain even though its something she hates, just because she recalls ML saying that she should let herself just exist. i love how open she becomes, with the way she confesses her feelings so openly in ep 10 with no hesitation. when she first came to gongjin she was so artificial, pretending to listen to everyone, smiling and nodding absentmindedly. it was a complete 180 to see her be as genuine and open as she became.
For the ML, his personality was always captivating, and he was an interesting character. here is where my first issue with the show comes in: they shouldve given chief hong more flaws. he doesnt seem to have any besides his trauma, which isnt really a “character flaw”, unlike FL that is judgmental, stubborn, unwilling to change sometimes, etc etc. especially in comparison to the FL, hong is TOO perfect. Plus you’d think someone with that much trauma would seemingly have more issues: maybe trust wise or be cold and angry, but he wasnt any of those things. Up until episode 10 (which I thought were 10 perfect episodes) FL grows as a person thanks to hong which is fantastic character growth and fantastic set up for their relationship, but hong doesn’t change at all. And why would he? He’s kind, helpful, can do everything. They should’ve given him a basic flaw like being stubborn or something so he could change thanks to hyejin as well. But he was the one always calling out her flaws and mistakes while he remained the same, and although he was often justified I was sometimes annoyed at how he wouldn’t mind his own business and tried to change her when it wasnt his place.
The reason I keep saying "up until episode 10" is because after that I feel like the show lost its spark. character wise, the shift between pre-relationship FL and relationship FL was so jarring. She felt like an entirely different person. And yes people are cuter with the person they like of whatever, but they should’ve incorporated some of this into her pre-personality so it wouldn’t come off as so strange when she suddenly started acting this way. I also felt like some of her character development was wiped off after episode 10. in fact, i occasionally felt that the FL was even more unreasonable and unlikeable than in the beginning. In episode 11, she hurt ML physically and emotionally, such as when she asked him to take care of the Second Male Lead, when she has unreasonable requests, when she takes him to see the sunrise at 4 am, when she makes him wear school uniforms to take pictures. especially when she drags him around the mall and he’s clearly saying no to doing things and she pressures him when he constantly says no. And to keep their relationship a secret hyejin hurts dusik throughout the entirety of ep 11. physical violence is never okay, especially not for comedic purposes. the fact that it was done multiple times made me less and less excited to finish that episode. and the fact that her go to reaction when she was surprised was to hurt him really made me dislike her, despite all of the progress that they made on her personality. this also really pushes the narrative that shes full of flaws and he isnt because hes forgiving and understanding.
Back to the ML, he was the one that carried this Big Secret Trauma for a majority of the show which like I said earlier was made out to be his only flaw. we didnt even know what it was until nearly the last two episodes, which I have a few issues with.
i dont appreciate how they approached his trauma as a flaw, because it isnt. everyone has trauma and issues, and not everyone reacts to it the same way. hyejin was hurt by her ex bfs words that caused her to be more materialistic, but she never shares that with ML. yet she expects him to share everything with her? she had a line where she said "im okay with showing you all of me, so why cant you do that for me?" which, just because hes seen you drunk and met your stepmom does not mean he needs to reveal more than hes comfortable with. she pushes him constantly to open up about his trauma (that was much more severe than her ex saying she dresses ugly) and i thought this whole situation and episode were so unreasonable. i understand that she expected more from him and their relationship, she was thinking of their future and he wasnt yet. i empathize, im sure its hard when your S/O isnt where you are and youre feeling anxious about where your relationship is going. but they had only been dating for what, a few weeks at that point? that combined with how much pressure she was putting on someone that was clearly hurting made it hard for me to feel for her.
plus, when SHE decided they need a break, she kept rubbing it in his face saying “we are on break- BUt why arent you saying anything to me? im giving you time- BUT why wont you tell me your secrets?!? we’re on break-BUT-here i am at your house even though i suggested the break!” and then she ends the break when she feels like it- even though initially it was supposed to be FOR him to heal. this was why, despite me being understanding of how hurt she was about ML not being open about his past, i just couldnt be on her side. This was one of the moments where again, I felt that her character development was setback.
the way this led to people blaming hong when he was trying to deal with TRAUMA was just so ?? disgusting to me. no one knows what hes dealing with, but they keep pushing him. It is never anyones place to push someone to speak about their trauma or disclose aspects of their personal life if they are not ready to do so.
And hwajeong tells FL that she should give it time, which had a nice sentiment, but then she told FL to be MLs rock. Again, taking a lovely scene with a good script and turning it into something that isnt necessarily a great message. If someone isn’t in the same place emotionally where you are then you dont need to wait for them. this is another reason i couldnt entirely be on FLs side, if hong isnt where she is and he doesnt want the future she wants, she cant just force him into it. even though i loved them as a couple, they shouldve just had them break up then instead of depicting their relationship how they did. you should never push someone when they arent ready, and you dont need to wait by that person either. if you want a future, and your partner just isnt sure, then you dont need to be with them. The result of this situation was as I mentioned, FL constantly pushing ML and reminding him that she is giving him the HONOR of her patience, while he struggles to deal with his internal conflicts. The way this whole episode was handled was a big no from me.
as for ML’s actual trauma, they dragged it on for SO long. and im not saying it wasnt worth the wait, but I was underwhelmed. Maybe the trauma they gave him would’ve panned out better had they disclosed it earlier and had him work on himself for the remaining episodes, but they chose to build suspense and shove it on us at the very end. Which, okay fine, but this didnt work for me. Despite the big suspense, he wasnt a murderer or anything, he blamed himself for a situation that was unfortunate but not at all his fault. Some people hypothesized that he was in a car accident with his wife and child which i think wouldve been better to fulfill the suspense than what actually happened, which was that he was there for the death of his best friend and dohas father became paralyzed (which had NOTHING to do with hong and was entirely the fault of the father who made a reckless decision). but the show treated him like a murderer which is pointless for several reasons. for one, when doha calls him a murderer, no one in gongjin actually thinks he is one so theres no outer conflict. we are never under the impression that he is either because he has proven over and over again that he is kind and good natured, so its more annoying than anything else that the show treats him this way. that leads into two, we are watching this pan out as an audience. we KNOW none of it is his fault, so watching this poor guy blame himself since childhood for his parents and grandfathers death, and then those related to the adult deaths blame him for those, it just sucked. its just not great to watch someone get beaten down over and over again, especially since this is a made up "healing" story and the writers can do whatever they want with it, and they chose to leave the actual healing for the very last minute. in real life, yeah there are probably people like hong. but this is a drama and watching his internal conflict pan out just doesnt make sense when its entirely in his mind and he didnt actually DO anything wrong. so its just annoying and unsatisfactory when for 15 episodes youve been like WHAT is this trauma and that answer is: another accidental death that has nothing to do with hong and everything to do with everyone else. i guess in a sense its realistic that he might get blamed by those that are hurting, but i just felt like i was watching this perfect guy who has lived a shitty life get blamed over and over again, and even now when he is supposed to be forgiving himself, the wife of his friend refused to apologize and doha tells him he shouldve taken better care of his father. what poor writing, there should be a balance between the tragedy and how much shit this poor guy gets and the healing (not to mention gamri dying in the same episode??). how many times do we need to see him apologize for things out of his control and get hurt? i think his healing shouldve been a main focus, maybe cutting into the time of all of the unnecessary misunderstandings and filler moments or even into FLs personality change. because although her arc was important, we watched her change throughout the entire show and he only got the last episode.
All of this happens in the second half of the show, which like I said lost its spark. The scenes felt a little more childish, with more misunderstandings to brace us for the couples upcoming conflict, and more happy go lucky filler to brace us for the reveal of the Big Trauma. the trauma itself wasnt handled well either. honestly, i kind of lost interest and had a hard time sitting through the episodes, while before id open netflix the second the episode was up and watch it immediately. i still really appreciated the show, but it didnt give me the same feelings as before.
Also in the second half, we see less of the other characters and focus more on the main relationship. I thought this was a big mistake because initially the magic of the show was the family feel and the environment, but that dwindles away to give focus to how the main relationship develops and has misunderstandings. the other characters only seem to come in to give motivational speeches or to make minor commentary (like in ep 15 when hongs trauma is revealed and they sit there for two seconds and take turns saying they are worried about him) or to help add to the drama (like in ep 14 when doha punches hong, everyone in gongjin is there to add to the dramatic feel). I wish we focused more on everyones individual lives ad relationship at that point, instead of making way for silly misunderstandings or filler or the Big Trauma. like the scene with yijoon and his parents getting back together was so heartfelt, and i think we shouldve gotten more of that with each character.Like I said, a solution to this wouldve been disclosing the trauma earlier and gradually working on it, which wouldve given more time for hong to actually get over it (because I can’t believe that in the span of an episode his years long trauma disappears) and the other characters could’ve had more screen time.
i think the shows flaws come down to one thing: an unbalance. an unbalance within flaws, an unbalance with the pacing, an unbalance with the characters personality. There was even an unbalance of storytelling and mood: the whole drama was mature but then we have the childhood connection, really? That didnt even add anything to the story so why was it even in there? plus the way everyone was connected?? PD is related to the wife of hongs best friend and PDs editor is the son of he guy who worked at hongs company and PD went to school with hyejin and they all meet up in this one small town i mean ?? really ?? It felt unfitting for a show that was otherwise serious and realistic. And where was miseon, FLs best friend, for half of the show? In some episodes she just wasnt home, or she just isnt mentioned. She only starts showing up for relationship issues in the later half of the show. I loved their friendship, so I wouldve loved to see more of them. I also wouldve loved to see more interactions between the gongjin citizens and hyejin after her personality shift. these are just little things that could’ve been changed to greatly improve the show.
Of course I dont expect perfection, but some of these flaws were so avoidable. Just taking away the line about hyejin romanticizing the poor relationship between the market owner and the hardware owner or just leaving the line from hwajeong at “ wait for him to open up” instead of saying be his rock, all of this wouldve fixed what I think of as a flaw. Overall, I do think this show was really really good. But because I had such high expectations for it, how some of the scenes were handled really set it back.
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Slow, steady, but confusing
All the reviews rate this drama between 9-10 and I feel bad being the first one giving it a low rating in comparison, however it's how I honestly feel about it.The main story is nice, I really enjoyed watching how the leads became close despite of being polar opposites. But it didn't make me feel anything at all. It already happened the same to me with "Where Your Eyes Linger", and right before writing this review I realized that both dramas have the same director (since that's a common denominator, I guess the problem here is the director). I don't remember much of WYEL because it didn't leave a memorable impression, so I would have to rewatch it in order to remember why I didn't enjoy it.
In the case of "To My Star", the problem that I have is that they tried to include many sub-plots with not enough time... which ended up leaving more questions than answers.
What exactly happened to Ji Woo's family? How did he end up running a restaurant with Hyung Ki? How did they ended up being friends/drinking buddies with Yoon Seoul? Why Seo Jun hyperventilates when hearing something break? What exactly happened at the bar that night? How did Yoon Seoul obtain that video of the fight? Where did that english speaking reporter come from? What's her relationship with Hyung Ki? How did she ended up at Ji Woo and Seo Jun's home? What was the place where Ji Woo went after leaving his house? Why did the intern leave and come back? What's the awkward "I studied abroad" sub-plot about?
And I could keep going on and on. They tried to include so many things without giving a proper explanation, that they ended up messing up a drama with great potential. So as I've said, the only thing enjoyable was the main story (aka how the leads meet and fall in love). The rest... a waste of time.
The actors did a good job though. I liked the chemistry between the leads, and the rest of the cast was okay.
So if you are wondering about watching this drama or not... give it a try. My recommendation is that you must focus only on the leads' love story and ignore everything else. Just focus on how they meet and their time together, and just ignore the other stuff.
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a vampire and a lackluster story
i'm going to start this review warning that i'm being extremely critical of this work due to how anticipated this series was. even with the story appearing more dark and mysterious with the pilot, i understood and accepted that boun had a very particular vision about revamp and what it would entail given this was part of his deal coming into gmmtv.what i don't understand is why such a huge project was entrusted to p'new. he does not work too well (for me) with mystery or lore-heavy stories. in fact, the deepest storyline he has worked on was Absolute Zero and that was a giant fucking mess. i don't think he was the right choice to bring boun's series to life and it's a shame for this being bounprem's first work with gmmtv with a story that boun was so excited for.
to expand, the problem with how p'new works is that he has a hard time getting the story across completely. if the actors don't pull off the communication of the messages to the audience, he doesn't really fill in the gaps through his direction. in this case, ramil's story was stunted to the point that at the end i was confused about how they had decided to return to the painting. it seemed so out of left field, and i understand it was in an effort to keep themselves together forever, or whatever is close to it given that punn is human, but i think that should've been explained better than just "we're leaving" conversation.
the romantic scenes were so lackluster for bounprem that i felt pretty disappointed by even the NC scenes. maybe my expectations were hoping for too much, but the reverence that ramil sometimes hinted to when talking about punn felt like he would've been more lavish in how he expressed himself, if that makes sense. there was no passion i ever felt in these choreographed scenes and that was frustrating to see because i know that boun and prem are good actors.
speaking of good actors, barcode was incredible, but even he was made to come off too flat and it was frustrating. he had that ability to actually put in the frustration that ciar felt, would've been able to give the one-sided fight with punn into the level that would express to viewers just how angry he was about ramil prioritizing a human that, in his eyes, was not worth the sacrifice.
another topic i found entirely confusing was the lack of explanation of how exactly feratu was able to control jett like that and how deep his control over him might've been. the contrast between the jett we saw during the series to the jett at the last episode was jarring. there had to be more to that, and i'm confused on how exactly the mind control blocking device was decided on by the hunters given that jett was the only one that had not been controlled before and now suddenly he was the main concern for this while coincidentally feratu is able to control minds too? or was it his consciousness that escaped his body and made jett his new vessel? it made no sense to me.
overall, this was disappointing to watch during the entire airing of this. there was always the feeling of something missing, of any real emotions being put into this (not by the actors, just the style) and i fear that p'new didn't feel like the right choice here at least for the concern of the storytelling. i know there's a book, but what's the point of a series if you need to read the books to know half of what is going on? sadly, there was no real appeal left to this after watching all of it and is not ever going to be on my rewatch list. it's a shame, but i'm hopeful that bounprem get a better idea on how they want the storytelling to work for their next series. boun had a part in this, and i think he can use this as an opportunity to grow in his endeavors too.
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about the ´art´ of becoming an egoist
You may consider "Red Balloon" being one of those family makjang stories that come up again and again in different versions in KDrama-land. Tangled ties of fate and trauma that continue to get even more tangled and traumatizing. You might think “Yeah. Makjang again. Family drama again. Forbidden love again. Ok, you´ve seen it all. You don´t need another one.” So should you watch? You definitely don´t have to. But oddly enough: you may want to. The characters, with all their sometimes almost disturbing ambivalence, drag and pull you under their spell. Subtly, unperturbed, whether we're watching or not: they are struggling to function and survive within their dysfunctional relationships and families... and on top of it: they are even longing for far more than that.2022/23 "Red Balloon" infiltrates South Korean homes as the red-hot contemporary document of a complicated ordeal, which society increasingly has to deal with. On the one hand, family is regarded as the highest value in society. On the other hand, within the last decades national divorce rate has reached the tops in worldwide comparison. Yet, divorce is still seen as a shame – a topic for ´other´ families only (if at all). Nevertheless, more and more South Koreans are choosing this path, even the 'elderly' (those over 60 and even over 70) are increasingly opting for divorce. The KDrama juxtaposes the hardened socio-cultural fronts within a fictional story that listens to both sides equally, gives space, allows themselves to be rubbed against each other – sometimes loudly, sometimes violently – and struggles to find solutions.
Throughout the KDrama, events and emotional ordeals continue to get worse. Seasoned with gradually increasing makjang tension, with complex personality portraits, as well as poignant, excellent pleas (sometimes for one, sometimes for the other and sometimes for yet another position), the KDrama screws itself deeper and deeper into the increasingly heated minds of the audience. "Red Balloon" succeeds excellently in taking its often head-shaking viewers into truly impassable, controversial socio-cultural terrain and, with the concentrated confrontational dramaturgical charge of emotional ambivalence, exemplifies what would be, could be, yet must not be, however wants to be possible, (and after all IS possible in South Korea 2022/23).
There are multiple storylines that are heartily intertwined. But they all deal with the same topic: the critical fine line between a so called ´satisfied´ life (as one normally lives / should / has to live / pretends to live) and a self-abnegating, self-deceiving ´dissatisfied´ life; the latter mostly going unnoticed, though, because actually everyone lives that way and it seems to be the most natural thing in the world... Dissatisfaction only becomes critical, if someone can no longer ignore that this supposedly ´satisfied´ life is actually a 'dissatisfied' one. The subtle psychological tension of the KDrama emerges in the conflict between traditionally unquestioned, accepted customs and the individual urge for deviation, which (here) rages more or less intensely in almost all of the protagonists, and erupts in an attempt to break free. Daring to dream, being honest with oneself and eventually even making the necessary efforts... but, alas, also being sincere in respect to the social environment? Ready to disappointing the expectations of others? Prepared to missing duties and responsibilities? To hurting loved ones, too? Has actually anyone ever honestly tried to truly walk along his/her individual path sincerely upright? (At least when it comes to South Korea 2022/23, so far there are hardly if any role models whatsoever.)
"Red Balloon" can be considered a social study using the example of the microcosm of three families, that are connected, among others, through a (not quite balanced) childhood friendship between two female protagonists. Yes, one could bitch and nag about prevalent adultery among the protagonists. On the other hand, in this case I´d like to set a different focus, that is: Collectivism in conflict with increasingly burgeoning individualism. Against this background, it is more about the 'art' of becoming an egoist. (See side note below). In a society shaped by collectivism, social class and hierarchy like South Korea, 'egoism' (=standing up for individual needs, even in the face of social pressure) has so far not been a quality in itself. On the contrary. The development of such an independent and socially recognized value is in its infancy there. The protagonists are correspondingly insecure and sometimes stumble, doubt themselves, look for a turnaround and reflect on the old values... which include: doing what other, older, financially better off fellow human beings say, want, demand. (And thus, often enough being humiliated, too. A life full of sacrifice, humiliation and shame is quite normal. Most people live that way. Accordingly there is nothing wrong with it, right?)
Shameless adultery might be one side of the medal. The other side, however, represents the widespread, customary long ignored individual dissatisfaction for the sake of ´the group´ (family etc.) that some can no longer cope with. The KDrama team draws memorable portraits of people at different ages, who have their quirks like anybody else. At some point, they try to stumble free from the expectations of others and rather follow their gut. They want to, and choose to live up to their own desires... struggling, staggering, falling in the face of the mercilessly blowing headwind. There might be an urge to break free of a tight corset of expectations and obligations – yet, just daring to think in this direction is considered shameless and despicable... Sympathy for family struggles, sacrifices, deprivation and suffering, on the other hand, is widespread, because this individual pain results out of self-sacrifice for the 'group' and in this case is downright virtuous. (The KDrama Orbit has told countless stories of this virtue since the earliest productions.) Sympathy for 'individual' pain however, e.g. suffering from the group pressures and demands, is hard to find. With a newly found egoism and its associated pains one is left alone... Well, has been, so far. Not anymore. This is where "Red Balloon" comes in… at least with an example of role models on fictional playground.
With its tricky, controversial topic, the KDrama hits the mark of many minds in the country. The audience of "Red Balloon" had quickly doubled and after half of the 20 episodes even tripled. Eventually, for the audience throughout the rest of the world it offers plenty of KDrama-Quality, too.
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SIDE NOTE: --- Life satisfaction in South Korea ---
The latest data on quality of life, published by the Republic's statistical office in 2022, ranks South Korea 36th among the 38 OECD countries. (Only in Turkey and Colombia life satisfaction is worse.)
What feels like exaggerated makjang for some (especially for audience with nationalities of the other 35 member states) is pretty close to everyday life for many (South Koreans) sitting in front of their home TV...
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SIDE NOTE --- The ´art´ of being an egoist ---
In 1976 the book “The Art of Being an Egoist” by Josef Kirschner was published. In it, the author works out the necessary, ambiguous psychological process and the stamina, the required perseverance, you need regarding individual (=egoistic) life decisions that are geared towards personal needs (=against the interests of the community/group/family). Self-love is a crucial step towards accountability (vs. behaviour determined by others) and thus forms the basis for free, responsible, caring citizens. However, even after all those centuries, egoism is (still) widely devaluated in individualistic Germany/Europe, too.
That´s because, egoism and the group are generally at war. The more submission the family/group/society structurally expects of its members, the less space individual needs have and the more shameful and banished they are. The protagonists in South Korea 2022/23 (which is characterized by collectivism and has a strong hierarchical structure) have to deal with just this problem. The theme here is the struggle for a psychologically healthy egoism for one's own good. The thesis behind: Honestly towards myself and content, I am able to approach others sincerely and freely give of myself, contribute and care about others. That´s because I want to. Not because I have to, (even though I feel wronged, indigent or missed out.) I care for myself. And then, additionally, I can truly care for others, too. Like the sign in the airplane says: you should put your oxygen mask on first before trying to help the person next to you…
PS:
(This 'egoism', which is based on self-love and mature personal responsibility, should not be confused with insatiable, ruthless and mostly immature greed. KDrama-orbit is full of greedy contemporaries, because unfortunately greed is cross-culturally human and can thus be found all over the world. Greed has no social component. With greed, nothing positive flows back into the group.)
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The ending killed me...
So I just finished watching this movie and I'm feeling rather heartbroken. I really loved the build up of the story where we got to know the characters over the course of their lives, with their relationships changing/developing along the way.I found the romance between the two MCs to be sweet, humorous at times, and fair in its depiction of reality. There were numerous highs and lows in the relationship between the 2 MCs where each time left me hoping that they would figure it out and grow from the experience. But one particular low led to their breaking up, and with 5 minutes left in the movie, I realized they wouldn't get back together and the FMC would really marry someone else.
While I was very happy to witness the character development and maturity achieved for both MCs through the course of their teenage years to adulthood, I desperately wanted them to be happy TOGETHER. And they *were* happy together for some time before their break up, but things got strained due to outside variables, not necessarily personal issues with each other (unhappiness due to family death, bitterness/frustrations in careers). Having seen them so in-love and sweet with each other, I really wanted them to recognize their faults/problems, grow from them, and FIGURE IT OUT when things started to get messy. It was obvious that they still loved each other in the end and so them not working through it and being together in the end really ruins the entire story for me. And call me close-minded or a romantic, but after they struggled for 10 years to be together, having been there for each other during their largest hardships, there would be a strong bond that can't be so easily erased and forgotten...
I believe that the key to a happy relationship is communication and hard work. It takes a lot of effort to make a relationship work - you won't agree about everything, you will hurt each other's feelings at times, and they will piss you off better than anyone else. BUT that's normal because love is a fierce emotion that makes us that much more sensitive to our partners. This is where hardwork comes in. That's what I needed to see in the ending. He loved her, always did. And in the end, it became clear that he loved her more than she loved him, and that was really sad to me too. She gave up on them and wasn't willing to fight for them. Thankfully he bowed out gracefully.
I'm happy that they each had that heart-to-heart at the very end where they each recognized their roles in each other's lives, but why is she the only one who gets the happy romantic ending, happiness achieved in all aspects in her life? I feel like he matured to a pretty great human being, so why didn't he get a more well-rounded resolution? I can only hope that in the ficticious world, he got his whole happy ending too.
As you have read, quite a bit bothers me about how the resolution to this story was handled. And while I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the story, this ending will prevent me from watching the movie again.
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Cannot wait for Season 2! | Update:I was generous on this
Ok let me start off by just saying, this was CLEARLY my first review because I am being very generous with my comments here (as I was kind of forcing myself to finish the series at all), so bear with me. I re-edited the ratings to give an accurate representation on how I feel about this series. Moving on,,I'll first start with how I feel about each couple in M.E, then I'll go onto some other things. This is also my first review ever so...
P.S: [ + ] < critique most likely includes spoilers that are from like halfway+ of the series
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•Bohn x Duen : This pair is a complicated one. At the beginning of the story, their plot has a pretty good development. You know the standard ‘top chases after bottom despite having seen him only for like a day’. They have cute moments and this and that, but after a while it goes a bit downhill. Do not get me wrong, most of their plot is beautiful in its own way, but some jealousy and miss-communication is visible in both characters at times, But AYE you didn’t hear it from me. Duen is a beautiful but complicated character. He is a kind and very thoughtful person of everyone around him. He understands ram, he understands Bohn to an extent, he protects his sister, and he plays along with games. But at the same time his emotions and ways of dealing with things can be very hard to understand or even agree with. He is a pretty important person in this series in my opinion, he left a very very good impression on me, and I won’t lie, so did his smile.
+ a critique I have for them tho is the lack of character and P L O T development and COMMUNICATION. Like a lot of their relationship is Bohn misinterpreting Duen's actions and who he talks to. Like come on my guy, he's your boyfriend you should be able to trust him. Also, literally NOTHING interesting has happened to them since like episode 9-10. Like it's the same Bohn being jealous type stuff. Then it's them not talking to each other and having misunderstandings. At certain points I felt as if they should have been the side couple instead. But I still love them.
• Mek x Boss : you guys frustrate me . Mek and Boss are super adorable don’t get me wrong, they have their 'hubby' and 'wife' moments and their chemistry is great. But Boss's cluelessness gets me frustrated, but in a good way. It keeps making me go like 'Boss the love of your life is literally right I. Front of you.' They progress that was made is steady and pretty good if you ask me. Mek’s love for boss is honestly a little bit depressing at times, because you can tell how much it hurts him to ‘know’ that he will never be able to have boss. He does anything and everything boss asks him to do. While Boss is struggling with himself and trying to differentiate right from wrong, this can make things get a little messy later on. I just hope that they get a happy end going because boy do they deserve it, especially mek.
+ ;-; Ryan (Mek) will most likely (actually 90%+ chance,) not be in S2 so let’s all cry together
+ MAJOR spoiler: I am soooo !happy !that they both confirmed each other's feelings, I am also pretty shocked ab the fact that mekboss was the first kiss in the whole series like OOP- Also the fact that Boss told him how he actually had ALWAYS liked Mek from the start leaves me going O.O like I wonder how hard it must have been for him to convince himself that his feelings were weird and that dating some females and saying that he loves them was going to help him get over his crush, poor baby. But in the end they're happy and I'm happy so we're all happy.
+ the tiny critique that I would have for this couple is the dubbing, but I'm just nitpicking. But no srsly the dubbing can make me uncomfortable at times with how unnatural it looks AND sounds. Like why did you have to hire a voice actor with a voice that, unfitting to mek?
• Ram x King : Adorable. This word is what I would use to describe them. Ram, while very “introverted” in a sense and very reluctant to let new people in, is slowly starting to let King be in his life. While King is finding ways to help Ram without screaming 'I'm interested in you pay attention to me'. the chemistry? It's there 10/10, definitely there and I am all here for it. as the story progresses the chemistry is developing even more, the progress in character development is visible and is touching to see on screen. The way they both have their own strengths, weaknesses, and fears is fun to watch. The way one has a thing for plants and another for dogs is intriguing too. When King helps Ram in small ways it is very touching, comforting him, but not overdoing it. Even though I personally SOMEHOW did not find them my favorite couple, I would feel like they deserve a series to themselves to be honest.
+ I have nothing 'bad' to say about this couple. I love how they understand each other with no words, and just no how to help each other in different situations. I would love to have even a tiny critique but nah. It's only a music thing that's bothering me but that's in the music section of this review
+ nvM King be true to yourself in S2. Don’t hide your feelings and don’t try to just erase events that happened. Second part also goes to you Ram.
THE RLY LATE COUPLE (they came in way later than the other couples is what I mean)
•TharaFrong: Uhm- yeah. Yep that’s a word to describe them, “uhm”. Look, I have no problem with new couples being introduced like halfway through a series, but at least make it interesting. I know there are a lot of fans who liked how this couple introduced themselves and stuff, but for me after they “met” each-other they just became boring. Now this is to my own personal opinion as I did not want to invest in them nor did I have the slightest interest in mister doctor. But if you do watch the series, I can say that they were pretty “iconic” if you will. I don’t know, they just seemed so ‘unnecessary’ to me.
+ THAT ENDING, OH MY GOOOOOOD. See this couple will just frustrate me more then mekboss bcos bro HOW are you gonna say “brothers” in front of him like that like-damn :(
I'm going to talk about other things now, this is where it can get all over the place
• Storyline : the storyline isn't anything SUPER interesting (interesting as in never seen/heard of before), but I like how the story is progressing. There is nothing Happening as if it would be a story that couldn't be seen In everyday life, or as if it was out of place in the series. It's a cute little story about some cute couples with cute interactions and cute development, it's just a really nice series to watch and tone down to.
+ As the Series continues, the storyline can start to get a little messy for some couples. Like I genuinely do not know what the point of Bohn getting jealous at duen every 2 seconds is for, and how all of a sudden at once mek and boss became a thing(, IT IS CUTE THO I WONT LIE). So yeah at some point it's just repeating actions from a couple, speeding up at the speed of lightening and becoming a couple immediately. And then two normal progressing couples. A couple that started forming WAY later into the series kinda disappointed me if you get what I mean (the end,) so, it is what it is.
• Actors: All the actors are adorable and amazing and portray their characters to to the best of their abilities. Poy is a new face, but something about him just makes you wanna squish his cheeks and protect him forever like HIS SMILE? don't even get me started. Cooper isn't necessarily new so I was expecting, and he met those expectations pretty well. I didn't know any of the other cast before this series but they've proved themselves to me, like they made their series my FAVORITE one that's airing right now, they're topping whyRU and 2gether (I have absolutely nothing against these two series, I also love them very very much, to support them too). >>> Ok I love the acting. Perth (Ram) is impressing me more with each and every episode that comes out each week. Some characters frustrate me but that's good because that's what their role is tying to do, and if they do it successfully then it's good. In all, almost every single character is impressing me.
•Music: ok idc what ANYONE else says, the music in this series is amazing to me personally. From the sound effects to the OST, stream The person I waited by MOD3G x Joelong by the way (It's the My Engineer opening ost) . The music is perfect and no one can convince me otheriwise.
+ ok that one scene where Ram was asking ab his dad to his mom and they played that meme music- it's not their fault they probably didn't know that the music they chose was 'meme music', but it was kind of annoying cause it's like 'we're having a MOMENT HERE
•conclusion: This series is worth watching, because why not? Why not enjoy yourself? Exactly.
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My personal favs: for some reason, I literally don't know how I feel about all the couples anymore, maybe later on, but for now....
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