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Cheesy And Typical Tropes To Be Expected, Yet Oddly Heartwarming In Parts...
Novice screenwriter Yoo Song Yi and director Lee Hyun Suk tackle the renowned theme of time travel within their storyline with a conglomeration of staid cliches and tropes, plot holes as well as a mixed bag of characterisation. Nevertheless perhaps one thing which should be said is that even in the world of cliche K-dramas, the premise of “Hello, Me! “is pretty out there .The drama centralises its upon the main protagonist 37 year-old Ha-Ni ( Choi Kang Hee). Once a stunning beauty and popular in her teens, Ha-Ni’s life has hit rock bottom after a tragic event in her life. By a whim of fate, Ha-Ni ends up encountering her 17-year old self ( Lee Re) who has somehow travelled twenty years into the future for reasons unbeknown to both Ha-Nis. As the current Ha-Ni struggles to juggle between keeping the appearance of her younger self from her older sister Ban Ha Young ( Jung Yi Rang) , mother Ji Ok Jung ( Yoon Bok In) and grandmother Lee Hong Nyeon ( Kim Yong Rin), Ha-Ni’s life may just hide a blessing in disguise with a new opportunity coming to rise. In addition to this, the mysterious involvement of younger conglomerate heir Yoo-hyun ( Kim Young Kwang) and actor Anthony ( Eum Moon Suk), reveal their mysterious links and feelings through their shared pasts with Ha-Ni .
The cast of the series were fairly versatile in talents. Whilst main actress Choi Kang Hee admittedly did feel slightly out of place within the series at first, she was able to deliver a brilliant performance which allowed viewers to become attached and feel moved by her character. Arguably, actress Lee Re did feel slightly questionable within her portrayal of Ha-Ni’s younger-self due to certain line deliverances, however, during more angst-ridden moments of the series, the younger actress did capture certainly more heartfelt moments behind her onscreen persona .
Admittedly , Kim Young Kwang and Eun Moon Suk weren’t entirely dire within their performances and did have some genuinely heartbreaking moments onscreen , however as their characters were played more for comedy and as the “ love interests” of the drama, their performances were restricted slightly towards their respected moulds as the “ male lead and second male lead” of “ Hello, Me!” . However, this is not entirely the fault of either actor, as whilst the scriptwriting should be commended for tackling convoluted and realistic subject areas such as bereavement, family , friendship, mental health and the prejudice and difficulties of ageing in South-Korean Society , certain characters felt respectfully moulded into prosaic roles over the course of the series which were hard to renounce.
In particular this can be seen through the younger Ha-Ni. Ha-Ni is supposed to highlight a stark contrast against her older counterpart by her fractiousness , optimism and self-confidence in given situations due to still being young . On the other hand, Ha-Ni respectfully felt overly immature and benign for a 17-year old by her impulsiveness and lacking rationality at times over the course of the series. Whilst admittedly the older Ha-Ni did confess that she was fairly sheltered by her mother and doted on by her father Ban Ki Tae ( Kim Byung Choon) during her younger years, it still felt oddly out of place for a character exposed to social interactions and academic expectations ( which were never really touched upon the series) in high school to not learn to mature slightly as a consequence.
However, over the course of the series and her interactions with her older self, the younger Ha-Ni does learn to become more altruistic by helping others, as well as encouraging the 37 year-old self through acceptance than her earlier snide comments towards older Ha-Ni’s appearance and circumstances. ( Taking “ self-depreciation ” to a whole new level in the beginning of the drama.)Yet this still seems to lead to two possible conclusions; Ha-Ni should have been written as a slightly younger character ( perhaps someone nearer her mid-teens than 17 years old ), or preferably she should have been given more time throughout the storyline to learn to mature slightly from the influences of her older-self.
Naturally, this leads us onto the older Ha-Ni. Whilst the younger Ha-Ni is by default the same individual as the older Ha-Ni, screenwriter Song Yi notably places an emphasis upon the 37 year-old version of the character being strikingly different than her younger counterpart. The current Ha-Ni is more taciturn, lacking in self-confidence and was hinted by her mother and sister to have struggled with depression and loneliness in the past. Annoyingly whilst the series did enjoy placing comic relief upon Ha-Ni’s “ unfortunate circumstances” in the beginning of the series and her naivety for the latter part with the feelings of Anthony and Yoo-Hyun towards her, the older Ha-Ni admittedly did have a lot of character growth from low self-esteem initially towards a more self-assured individual who learns to pursue her dreams in the process.
However, her pairings with the male leads often felt slightly disjointed in the grand scheme of the series. The pairing between Yoo Hyun and Ha Ni felt more fortified admittedly than the more complicated relationship between Anthony and herself ( both younger and older), however, this often resulted in the series struggling sometimes to portray Ha-Ni’s affections and feelings towards either male lead outside of expected plot line and setups.
Perhaps the one element that was tackled well within the drama occurred with Ha Ni’s interactions with her mother, sister and grandmother over the duration of the episodes , shown to grow and developed from slightly estranged ( due to her circumstances) towards more affectionate and trusting over the course of the series. It would have perhaps been slightly more intriguing to have touched upon Ha Ni’s interactions and complications around her grandmother. Although primarily this did serve a major part of the story ( without any spoilers) , this did feel a little underdeveloped towards exposing the more emotional difficulties and challenges ( especially with her mental health ) for the 37 year-old Ha Ni. Nevertheless, it was a refreshing and heartwarming dynamic by the presence of Ha Ni’s interactions with her family allowing her to grow to some extent as an individual, rather than merely an asset for “romantic” plot development.
On the other hand, the two male leads of the series are a little more complicated to address by their debased characterisation in parts. “Anthony” arguably had the most wasted potential as a second male lead and his respected involvement in Ha-Ni’s life due to his “ feelings” for Ha-Ni often being played for comical gags rather than exploring his more complicated reasons, personality and past. The drama did attempt to bring up Anthony’s past haunting him again nearer the ending of the series by this particular storyline (as well of course his earlier interactions with the younger Ha-Ni), however, Anthony never truly felt like a worthy contender of Ha-Ni’s affections due to being severely limited within personal growth and screen time with the main character.
Arguably, against his initial cliche archetype as the “ immature, younger rich male lead” Yoo- Hyun was more well-rounded by his reasoning behind falling for Ha-Ni as well as his primary growth as a character . Without revealing too much about the storyline , there are expected tropes which revolve around Yoo-Hyun over the course of the drama. However against some of his more annoying flaws being his childishness and immaturity at times ( as noted by his father ), he was an incredibly kind-hearted and altruistic individual, making his interactions with the older Ha-Ni fairly sweet. Similar to the older Ha-Ni, however, it was refreshing that the series did touch upon Yoo-Hyun’s heartfelt relationship development and complications from childhood with his father Han Ji Man ( Yoon Joo Sang). Although his relationship with Ha-Ni was undeniably sweet, it did feel underdeveloped for a major proportion of the series, often resulting in their relationship being more “ friendly” than having “ romantic undertones”. Nevertheless, their bond did serve to provide warmth and sincerity into the series.
The side characters of the series were honestly a bit of mixed-bag with genuine development besides our main protagonists. Perhaps the most interesting side character in the series who had notable growth from her initial introduction in episode 1 manifested in Oh Ji Eun. The estranged best friend and shadow of Ha-Ni from her younger years, Ji Eun’s position is reversed in the present by being a successful director as well , in a fairly happy relationship with fellow managing director Yang Do Yoon ( Ji Seung Hyun). However, there’s a lot more than Ji Eun struggles behind the scenes from her initial introduction by struggling with guilt over how she left things with Ha-Ni after they ended their friendship initially, and walking around eggs shells with her mother in law and one of the arguable “ minor antagonists ” of the series, Han Ji Sook ( Baek Hyun Joo).
Whilst it is prominent to see why Ji Eun was forced into the mistakes she made in order to hopefully win the approval of Ji Sook, it felt slightly poorly-tackled how the show left things with Ji Eun. Additionally, the other side characters of the series were mostly played off giggles or to lighten up the mood over the course of the series such as kitchen staff Kang Geum Ja ( Kim Mi Hwa) and Cha Mi Ja ( Kim Do Yeon) , the “ obvious secret couple”, Bang Ok Joo ( Go Na Eun) and Kim Yong Hwa ( Kim Ki Ri) as well as of course the duo Park Jung Man ( Choi Dae Chul) and Min Gyeong Shik ( Kang Tae Joo) consigned as Anthony’s managers also.
On the other hand, the ending for “ Hello, Me!” was fairly appropriate for the genre; predictable, yet nonetheless enjoyable.Ultimately, “ Hello, Me!” was a fairly heartfelt, uplifting fantasy, family story and romantic comedy about self-love and learning to lean on others. It was not a flawless show and some notable implausibilities of character development, a sense of overarching purpose and cliches did ultimately detract from more intriguing aspects of the series. Nevertheless, it was a fairly enjoyable and easygoing watch, perhaps something to easily binge-watch when bored or looking for something to fill-out during a lazy day, holiday or weekend.
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I have to say, the conductor really really impressed me. It's hard to copy the movements of a conductor, and he did a good job. He must have suffered a lot while learning, so kudos to him!
The acting is great and believable. The drama mainly focuses on character development, but it also has moments of relationships and drama as the "obvious couple" turns out to not being so obvious after all. Despite this, you still get your solid dose of music, which makes me a happy girl.
In writing moment, I have yet to finish this, but the 11 episodes I have watched were watched in 3 days. Not many dramas manage to capture my interest like this, and I am looking forward to watch more!
*will be edited*
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This review may contain spoilers
BL Watchers Are The Reason Thai Media Isn't Taken Serious
I watched this show for the BL boys with a horror-enthusiastic friend who has never watch any Asian media, let alone Thai BL and our ratings are remarkably similar: a 9.5/10 for me and a 9/10 for him.What I enjoyed: the fresh display of improved acting into a new genre.
What he enjoyed: an interesting take on the zombie genre.
What reviewers did not enjoy: a BL production company making a horror series. Scrolling the reviews to see the claims that Domundi is homophobic for making a non-BL their first Netflix release or complaining about very common horror tropes makes me laugh and roll my eyes
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This must be the worst drama of the century. This would have been a good drama if only executed in good way. Such a waste.
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This review may contain spoilers
DON'T WATCH THIS if you hate cliffhangers! I mean HATE. The ending left me so frustrated and unsatisfied that I started googling about a Season 2 (there's no mention of it, for those who are curious). Warning Spoilers Ahead:
The plot was fairly alright, and I had no qualms about their acting. The story starts with a man being murdered. But since it was classed as an accident and since he had signed to have his organs up for donation, three high school students were the lucky recipients. They started having dreams of his murder, which led to them investigating into it. HOWEVER, just as they found a derisive clue as well as the suspect, he disappears, ENDING. THE. WEB. DRAMA. with the camera panning across the murderer standing outside their house.
HOW. IS. THAT. AN. ENDING.
It felt more like they ran out of budget and had to cut the drama halfway. It was incomplete, with many questions left unanswered.
Why did he murder the donor? Why did he also try to kill the donor's sister? Why has he been stalking the recipients enough to take on another identity to infiltrate their school as a staff? What was his motive behind all of this?
None. Were. Answered.
Also, on the romance part of it, it's very typical high school drama type of confusion, with the girl caught between two of her closest friends. She likes the one who is oblivious, the other one likes her, the oblivious one knows his heart reacts to her but doesn't know that he actually likes her, until he starts catching her hanging out a lot with the other one and starts to get jealous....
Which simply adds to ANOTHER loose end because of how the series ended.
For the sake of your own sanity, do not watch this. Urgh, ???.
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Jang Hyuk shines in this role. For anyone (me) who thought he was a one trick pony after TWDR and Chuno (since he plays very similar people) think again! He really works this role and boy does he sell it. He makes all the parts that should be just ok truly eerie after you finish it. I guarantee after you finish you will see the movie in a whole new light.
The lawyer and the prosecutor... they have an amazing dynamic. The only real problem I have with this movie was that I could not tell the two apart! It drove me nuts.
As for the music... I never noticed it and that is a very good thing but, at the same time.... I like knowing it is there. Do not pass this up. The only reason I rated it down a bit was for some quirky shooting...
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For a start, the entire drama is something quite unique. It's a mystery series, yes. But instead of the chilling tension of a gruesome murder, each episode fills you with warmth and endearment as you slowly uncover a beautiful, heartbreaking secret through the soft worn pages of that person's favourite book.
Some of the episodes do include a crime, but emphasis doesn't usually fall on it. Instead, the reasons they committed those crimes are the true mystery Shinokawa (the beautiful bookshop detective) seeks to solve. She is one of the most interesting characters I feel I've watched in a drama to date, and although I started off a little unsure of her (seemingly) emotionless character, you learn the reason she is like this as the series moves along.
Biblia Koshodou isn't a perfect drama, but one thing I love is that its "faults" seem to make it even more charming. For example, some of the plots are way, way over the top - you wouldn't try to injure others or end your marriage for a book. However, to me it feels as though this "overexaggeration" is the writers' way of trying to illustrate just *how much* they love books. You can see this in the incredible detail and research they put into each episode, each one being based off a real book and its history.
Also, the music sometimes seems very out of place; autotune and synthesisers in a drama about a quiet, beautiful girl who owns a bookshop? However, I feel this "mismatch" stops the drama becoming over-sentimental and cliched, which I eventually realised and respected the writers for.
Overall, a beautiful, heartwarming drama that I can guarantee you'll want to watch over again and again. Grab a hot chocolate, turn down the lights, and enjoy. :)
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This review may contain spoilers
When I was to the 2nd to the last episode, I was like rather excited to see how the drama was going to end. Then as tried to predict the ending, I started to smile because I thought the ending was going to include a twist, foreshadowed earlier in the series - when Ye Hua wanted to fake his own death, in front of so many witnesses, so that he can be with Su Su without the pressures of being the Crown Prince. I was like... that clever guy. But in the end, it was a stupid ending, and ending that made no sense and dragged on for nothing. This series is highly overrated. And how did they resolve Qian Qian's relationship with Mo Yuan? I mean, that was really not explained. And not to mention how anti-climatic his 70,000 year long return was. I mean, that is essentially the second larges plot of the series and the resolution felt incomplete. Was this review helpful to you?
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Dare to watch it.
Did this drama wreak my poor heart?Yes and it left me tearstained. What can I say about this drama that hasn't been said already? It's a masterpiece starting from the mesmerising story to the out of the world acting and the amazing OSTs.
The main leads chemistry was overflowing and during the last episodes it was so much that it made my not so sensitive self shred some tears. The last movie/drama that accomplished that was 2-3 years back so that says a lot.
Even though I put 10 on rewatch value I'm not sure if I can take it. The thing is I'm always down for a good storyline and great acting so my picky self will surely come back to this masterpiece.
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This review may contain spoilers
it gave me whiplash so bad I got amnesia and forgot all the reasons why I loved it - A Rant
FYI: this is mostly a rant on the ending with a LOT of spoilers, please don't read it unless you've watched the drama.Something light to begin with... the OST was good... until they played it at least four times each episode. Damn, tone it down a bit will ya?! The foreshadowing in the lyrics is another story, lol.
Now let's get to ranting:
If a sad ending is done well within one episode, I'll cry and rate the drama highly because I remember the good times but if a drama gives you whiplash and throws a million plot turns and character deaths your way for 6 hours straight I just get angry and mad.
One could search for the reason, is it censorship that doesn't allow for more than 40 episodes? So they squeezed all of their plot into the last 10 episodes... or is it because in historical c-dramas characters who (visibly) kill a lot on screen, whilst not being a general or something of that sort, have to die in the end? Who knows.
Once again we've gone through hell the last few episodes only to see a weird fever dream-esque scene, that will divide viewers for eternity, debating whether it's some "secret happy ending".
But don't get fooled... we've seen this happen one too many times to know better... to know that (especially) costume dramas tend to have this type of ending when the broadcasting platforms realize that they've got gold in their hand and want to keep the hype alive, even after finishing. Because who would try and find clues about a possible happy ending, if there wasn't this all-so-kind little scene at the end, so that we - the viewer - can ponder about the ultimate fate of the characters we grew to love, for days and months to come?
Frankly, I am sick of this sh't and if you are going to make a sad ending at least have the guts to not ruin it like that.
This drama was wonderful and if the last 2 episodes would have been sad - so be it - but for it to have 9 episodes of war, death and destruction... completely washed away any love I had for it. I'll give it an 8.5/10 regardless, since it ended up on my top 2 2023 dramas list (until today) and for that it deserves some respect.
Some things that angered me a lot :
EP29/30 we suddenly got a new CP, Yu Shisan and Chu Yue. Very surprising and thrown at us a bit like a curve ball. Nonetheless I quickly grew to love these 2 together. Now looking back at it, they rushed it way too much, should have been a red flag right away. Brings me back to my point earlier... I believe because of the 40ep cap, they cut or shortened this CP's story by a lot and just kept the essential... which doesn't work for romance. Especially not if you have a flirty playboy. No way he's gonna get whipped like that so fast. And then they didnt see each other for 8 episodes and guess what? we didn't even see their reunion! They just suddenly stood next to each other... but their dialogue gave away that there must have been scenes in between we didn't get to see. Poor girl didn't even get her father's necklace back.
Then for ep31-32 the narrator suddenly took over and things happened super fast without actually showing the scenes. That was very strange. Sure, dramas speed up at the end but they ALWAYS have a few calm moments in between. Not here. Because even if one character is sitting down for a moment, you can be certain another one is dying on the battle field in this very instance.
Plot armor, oh thy holy plot armor has done us so good for 30 episodes. What happened? Characters dropping like flies left and right. And then the big show down. Can I even call it that? Because by ep40, we've been through at least four show downs in the last 10 episodes. When the last 3 characters die, the scenes speed up even more and while we got 10 minutes to mourn the previous deaths and seen it in slo-mo, that is denied for the final 3. To be quite realistic, non the deaths were important to the story for the way it was going 30 episodes in. You can't tell me all those twists and turns of war and bloodshed was vital to the story. I mean... it even made me forget half of what happened before because it crashed, burned and set everything ablaze. Just as I am writing this rant I start to remember the good things earlier on. Is there such a thing as drama-trauma?
Lastly. No baby making was involved in this drama. That right there is where everything went wrong (if you know, you know)
'enough said. I'm just really let down by this ending. Heck, not even ending! The issue is it was 9 episodes of pure torture!
I watched Goodbye My Princess and The Rise of Phoenixes, but neither of them had such a butchering of main characters.
'since everyone in this drama got stabbed, why not stab the audience too?' - the makers of this drama probably.
post-ending clarity edit: The acting was really good, I loved the character dynamics and the lack of certain tropes. Loved how strong the girls were and the unconventional love story. Just everything after ep30 sucked.
My ideal ending, even with accepting losses, would have been blind YSS & Chu Yue to make it out alive and together… their story was cut short and I felt the most heartbreak about the "the one that got away“ situation. And of course our leads NYZ&RY to get away and live their life.
Or even an action movie type ending where everything settles down and suddenly they get a "call“ to save someone - the end! So their lives will go on and it’s not so final but rather their story continues off screen.
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Sizzling Hot
After watching The Romance of a Twin Flower, I find myself watching seemingly yet another twin flower drama with Love of Replica. The latter drama is full of suspense, mysteries, hot romance, and action. Both the main male and female actors are good looking with good acting skills, and their chemistry sizzling hot. With only 16 episodes, all the episodes are packed with clues and action that eventually lead to the unfolding of all the mysteries.Lu Jinyan’s (Tsao Yuning’s) father was involved in an accident and is now lying in a coma. He suspects his father’s accident is malicious and related to Xu Yongyu (Li Yatian), a despicable ultra wealthy tycoon surrounded by bodyguards, who would do anything to get what he wants. To investigate, Lu Jinyan gets himself hired by Xu Yongyu as a bodyguard for his beloved daughter, Xu Xixi (Yilia Yu). Lu Jinyan doesn’t like Xu Xixi because she is mean and nasty, typical of a spoiled brat as a “da xiao jie” (大小姐). But Xu Xixi is sick with an incurable disease and her father goes all out to find a cure for her.
On that fateful day, Xu Xixi gets into a car accident. The car she travels in plunges into the sea. Lu Jinyan risks his life and saves her. When Xu Xixi wakes up, she appears to have lost her memory. She doesn’t recognize anyone in her household including her bodyguard and her father. Her total change of personalities puzzles everyone, but Lu Jinyan immediately realizes this is not the actual Xu Xixi.
Lu Jinyan used to be in the military, so his bare hand combat skill is second to none. He is intelligent and calm, thinks fast, and doesn’t talk a lot. He later learns that the rescued Xu Xixi is actually An Yue, a woman who looks exactly the same as Xu Xixi. Assuming she is Xu Xixi’s twin, Lu Jinyan finds out Xu Xixi’s father tries to capture An Yue and his intention is not friendly. No one understands why Xu Yongyu loves a sickly daughter and yet wants to hurt another daughter who is in perfect health. Fearing harm for An Yue, Lu Jinyan and friends protect her from the father.
An Yue’s personality is totally different from that of Xu Xixi’s. An Yue is nice, kind and very lovable. Quickly Lu Jinyan falls in love with her. His love is passionate, at the same time he’s tormented because he knows he has broken his code as a bodyguard. He protects her with his life and always stays close to her wherever she goes. An Yue can’t help but falls in love with him at first sight because he saves and cares for her; he is also very attractive and oozing with male hormones. At this point, the plot thickens: who is An Yue? Why is she here? How is Lu Jinyan’s father involved in this? Each character holds a secret.
I have never watched Tsao Yuning’s and Yilia Yu’s work. Tsao Yuning’s portrayal of the cool and hunky Lu Jinyan is very believable; many viewers salivate over him. Yilia Yu has a mature woman look. Beautiful and sexy with large, soul-hooking eyes, she plays Xu Xixi and An Yue very well with distinctive different personalities. Without knowing, like Lu Jinyan, viewers can discern which character Yilia Yu is playing at a particular moment because she successfully exudes the qualities of each character. The other cast members are just as good, portraying their respective characters convincingly. In particular, the side couple with a love triangle is lovely and interesting.
This drama has nothing to do with a previous drama, Mysterious Love (2021), acted by the same main couple. It (the previous drama) is not a pre-requisite to watch this drama.
Love of Replica also produces a number of very good and memorable love songs, each played at the appropriate moments to accentuate the romance and love of the all the couples in the story.
My Verdict
This is an unexpectedly enjoyable drama to watch. Full of suspense, mysteries, and action, with a romance that is heart-pounding and suggestive. There is a lot of skinship for the main couple that whets the viewers’ appetite for more. Yes, this is a drama with the formula of mystery, action, and sex. Great story.
Enjoyable watch! Don’t miss it!
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I didn't think I was going to like this because I'm wary of sci-fi, I wasn't the biggest fan of the lead actress (notice the past tense), prosopagnosia is the new amnesia and it's annoying (and wouldn't you know it? mhl had both!), and the plot sounded weird, but despite these hesitations I was hooked within the first five minutes. (Note: I've also been a big fan of Yoon Hyun Min since Tunnel, and his real-person character shown in the trailer is what eventually pushed me to watch.)
I was really surprised and super moved by how emotionally complex the story was, and the psychology and emotional weight behind the creation of Holo, and by extension the relationship between Nan Do, Holo, and So Yeon. I think it was around episode three? (the park scene for those of you who have seen it already) that really got me emotionally invested in the characters... which is why I am having such a hard time rating the drama.
I saw someone on tumblr joke about how My Holo Love had every trope in the book: childhood trauma, childhood acquaintances, prosopagnosia, amnesia, accidental kiss, cpr kiss, secret/mistaken identity, love triangle, grumpy/closed off/rich male lead, and still this list goes on. All of it plus your typical action that comes from a dangerous bad guy doing illegal stuff to steal a product. But there were still times the plot felt slow. And there were times when the plot was hard to follow, most of which occurred because of technical computer lingo that I don't understand and it was hard to follow how certain things happened and how characters came to certain conclusions, etc. But there were also times the non-techy parts were hard to follow. Mainly the death of Nan Do's mom when he was a kid, I have some nit-picky unrealistic complaints about that whole scenario, but I don't want to include spoilers so.... I can't tell if the drama only being 12 episodes made the messy plot worse by seeming rushed or condensed or if it saved the drama from dragging on.
But at the same time, while all of the plot was ridiculous, the actors and the characters played it off really well. Like if I were to try to explain this drama to someone else I would sound insane, but actually watching it wasn't that bad? I seriously loved the characters so much that it's really hard to find a good rating. So basically what I did was compare my enjoyment level and critique of the plot to other dramas I have rated. This falls pretty close in line to Flower Boy Next Door for me, so I decided on a 7.5.
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1This review may contain spoilers
One of the worst cases of cultural embezzlement I've seen in this genre. The producers took a popular BL webtoon and cynically manipulated it for commercial purposes into a one-size-fits-all tale of boys and girls falling in love. The BL storyline was reduced to just one of many and in some ways felt like a sideline to display the producer's cultural diversity.We are meant to be seduced by the familiar high quality of the Kdrama team that worked on this contrivance of a series, but that was upended by the series conclusion, which just confirmed the scam that most people, I believe, suspected was being foisted on them all along.
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