Reviews

Gong Yoo And Bae Doona Were My Main Reasons For Watching…

In all honesty I sort of feel as though opinions on this show are greatly divided and I can understand why.

I’m a big Gong Yoo fan. I love his works and typically trust his project decisions just as Bae Doona is a brilliant actress and I’m often blown away by her performances. But I often struggled to warm up to their characters. The drama rarely gave us opportunities to really grow to any of the onscreen main leads and supporting cast? It’s hard to explain fully but there were never real moments which were particularly emotional or really made you fall in love with the characters.

As a non sci-fi fan I can’t really say that I’m overly familiar with this genre but I do know that a lot of the storyline did strike a slight chord with me as a bit same-old. I liked how the series helped to show you elements of the world that the series was set in but apart from that it did feel a bit boring.

The pacing was also very slow. I get that the intention was to make you wait and see what would happen but it did turn me off a little during scenes to actually engage in the storyline.

Overall I wouldn’t say this is a bad drama per say but mediocre. I know that South Korea is still pretty new to this kind of genre and I guess we have to take that on board as watchers, but I’ve certainly seen better takes on this genre by South-Korean directors in recent years.

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Loved it, and I’ll miss my weekly dose of these adorable idiots

I really enjoyed this drama. Yes, there are cliches. Yes, there are some issues with plot and logic here and there. But not enough to detract from the hilarious moments, the sweetness and the spectacular chemistry between the leads. I really loved their relationship.

Will this drama deepen your philosophical understanding of the universe? Probably not. If you are looking for cognitive enhancement and to ponder deep themes and archetypes, this is not the drama for you. But it doesn’t pretend to be what it’s not.

Will it deliver on what it promises— joyful and (mostly) relaxing viewing? Absolutely. The writing is pretty good, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. This is the drama for when you want to escape the stressors of life and enjoy something both light and earnest, a combination that often falls flat, but does not do so here.

For what it is, it’s a 10/10.

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I was absolutely addicted to this show for the first half. A charming and funny watch for those who can handle a little bit of unnecessary angst along the way.

My rating: 9.0

In Short: The first half of this drama was absolutely hysterical. As soon as the angst hit, the drama was a bit more middling, but still enjoyable. The Jang-couple chemistry was great.

Pros: A great cast, and a wonderful set of side characters. I particularly enjoyed Mi Young's mom, Secretary Tak and Dragon. I also quite liked the music.

Cons: Could have been trimmed down to 16 episodes with great effect. The noble idiocy was a bit too drawn out.

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Certainly Overrated For What CLOY Actually Gives Us As Viewers...

Whilst this comment will most likely be lost amongst others, I must admit that I was fairly amazed just looking through the top comments as to how many people gave this show 10/10 upon all categories , with few being able to critically and respectfully note some of the more glossed over issues of the drama as well ( particularly towards life in North Korea).

Do not get me wrong. Crash Landing On You was actually quite a good show, however, would I actually say that it was “ good” enough to be seen as the “ “ BEST SHOW EVER WRITTEN” , worth 10/10 on here and raving reviews on other websites ? Probably not .In all honesty, I can already think of numerous K- Dramas out there which have tackled the theme of relationships and even issues over North Korea more in depth and realistically than this drama as well as better pacing . ( Korean Peninsula , Spy, Iris and even The King 2 Hearts .)

However, let’s not bring this drama down entirely. Crash Landing On You was an entertaining rom-com and this was particularly seen through the comical gold and actual intrigue between the cultural differences of the group of our North- Korean soldiers and our female lead Yoon Se- Ri played by Son Ye- Jin. ( Language choices, gestures, popular culture etc. ) Additionally, praise must also be given for renowned scriptwriter Park Ji- Eun ( Legend Of The Blue Sea, My Love From The Star) daring to tackle the trickier concept of an international and humanising taboo relationship between a North- Korean solider ( Hyun Bin) and a South- Korean chabeol heiress ( Son Ye-Jin).

Although it makes for good script material, most of the show’s centralisation in North Korea did bring one flaw to the show, where the premise “ write what you know” wasn’t always the best solution for Ji- Eun. Whilst the show did share some evident cultural differences and dangers of life in North Korea ( especially surrounding our second Male lead played by Kim Jung- Hyun), it was never exactly going to be from the get-go a fly on the wall documentary of what life is actually like in one of the most isolated countries in the world. Yet even by Crash Landing On You’s standards , it was fairly eye brow raising to try and gloss over the oppression , lack of freedom of speech and even the fact that North- Korea is a communist dictatorship with the classic and beyond comical element of having a department store ( a very consumerist South-Korean element) and “ Rich Ahjummas” in a country where money restrictions are so severe.

Whilst I do appreciate that the show was try to humanise our characters ( and did this successfully to some extent) by showing North- Koreans to be actually human beings rather than the “ enemy” and “ threats”, it still felt poorly tackled how the show decided to gloss over a lot of these more predominant issues over actual circumstances for many North-Koreans in order to add to the angst and humanity of our characters. This also moves on to a strange plot point over our two main characters as well as Se- Ri’s debates over suicide only being mentioned when it was necessary to earlier or later storyline. ( There was little explanation over this element of Se- Ri’s decisions which would have given her depth apart from just Ji-Eun just wanting to add angst before the big plot twist in the finale).

So, what are my final words to you upon this drama? Is it worth watching, or is it a waste of time? Probably the biggest thing I should say that is Crash Landing On You isn’t a terrible drama and has a lot of fun playing with the renowned tropes of rom-coms. The ending is bittersweet, the concept is quite interesting, the characters and cast will grow on you and the cinematography and filming locations ( particularly in Switzerland and Mongolia) are gorgeous . On the other hand, the pacing simply falls after the halfway point to a slump, the glossing over and the attempts to write a mini- Seoul in Pyongyang were ridiculous in addition to the portrayal of North Korea and certain characters.

It can probably be concluded that whilst good, the show is just a little too overrated . If you’re looking for a binge-watch and something to easily watch and throw aside, it’s a perfect watch, however, it’s fair to say that if you’re looking for actual depth, characterisation and sensical storyline, then there are so many other dramas out there to consider.

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Ugh! So it seems that there will be no Part 3, according to comments found online so far. These Chinese gay dramas are infuriating as they get off to a good start, share a good story, then get banned leaving everyone disappointed that there is no ending, good or bad.

This is the last straw, I m done with Chinese gay dramas unless the entire movie is completed and available.

Such a waste of time, not just for me watching, but everyone involved in making them.

And let me add one more thing... enough with the gay shaming, movie after movie of mothers and fathers falling ill because of their homophobic points of view, enough of the shaming of being gay, by family and so called friends, and classmates.

Though being gay, anywhere in the world can be difficult, there are equally as many men and women who have wonderfully accepting families, friends and communities.

Stop the shame!

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So, I actually never watched a drama with Victoria as a lead before and from reviews I read, I went into this ready to drop it. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't say she's an amazing actress, but I also wouldn't say that she made the show unwatchable. I enjoyed what she had to show and that's that. Also, to those who care, I'm not the type that cares for age-gaps in relationship and find shows that tackle these issues all the more interesting.

***SPOILERS***

The show itself brings us into the world of family and community in an Asian culture where social perception is held highly by families. One thing I AM glad they showed was the objection of the brother's age-gap relationship too. Not that I approve of EITHER relationships being shamed, but at least they weren't gender-biased about it.

The beginning of the show highlights the brief relationship between YS and HFX where we can CLEARLY see the conflicts that arise from her lack of dating expertise or lack of perspective from the other side (the man's) and his aggressive and youthful passionate approach to love. While she tries to hide their relationship and fears from the social implications of such a wide age-gap, he trudges onwards and tries his best to go about this 'hidden' relationship.

Let's be real, I totally understand why HFX is conflicted. If I were to bring home a man 10 years younger than me, I'm sure my family would also question me about it. It isn't in the realm of 'normal' and I think that's something that the show is hinting at. Normal for HFX would be to end up YLM, but there was no love - it was just compatibility in the sense of age, career, family, and such, but there were no feelings of love involved which made it hard for their relationship to bloom. We all wish we could make love blossom from nothing, but that's not how it works. With that said though, her character still really annoyed me, especially returning of the necklace. That just isn't something you do....to ANYONE. If someone bought you a gift that you believe was well above their means, talk about it. Don't just return it. I'm just glad she realized and bought it back (and owed YLM another favor *eye roll*)

YLM isn't all bad, but he is a bit creepy. He's TOO into this plan and stalking his love interest to the point that it's freaky. Also, the writers needed to lay off the 'coincidences' of him seeing HFX and YS together when he's out on his own. I understand that he just wants to find love and that's great, but it's also interesting that he went from the guy that was all about 'his destiny' or something to trying to plan out how to get the girl.

YS was immature, but I felt rightly so. As an almost new college graduate, he's a passionate young man that wanted to pursue his love interest and taken seriously. He may have come on stronger than necessary or made decisions impulsively, but like I said, he hasn't even graduated from college yet.

I actually enjoyed the main couples interactions MUCH more after they broke up, and they were 'friends'. Not because they were broken up, but because I felt like it was less restrained. Since there was no longer the labels of girlfriend and boyfriend involved, they bickered more, had less tense-filled conversations and all of that to me felt more organic. When they were dating it felt too much like they were trying to please each other and don't get me wrong, that's great, but they also needed to know each other more and be open about who they are.

Enjoyed the side characters! Sad about her father :( He's so loving towards his children and it broke my heart when he went missing, and He Canyang cried coming home.

Also, HCY and Minmin's relationship is adorable. I found that their relationship is very balanced where they both learn from each other. Minmin is a VERY open, forward, and sensible woman and HCY though immature, has the years of experience and can see her bright and wonderful personality. The scene where he tells her that a relationship isn't where one holds the power over the other is great to see, especially in a relationship where they have a 12-year age gap. He yields to her and learns from her while also teaches her and corrects her mindset. Honestly, even if they don't stay together, I feel like they would both have a lot to gain from the other in their loving relationship.

Love the female trio storyline as well. Honestly, this drama is so PACKED with storylines and such that my review is also all over the place. But overall, I enjoyed it for what it was and would recommend giving it a try!

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In the beginning, chocolate did have a lot going for it. There was Ha Ji Won, who is undeniably my favorite actress and who succeeded in portraying a compassionate, graceful woman to the T.

There was food and whole lotta good shots of it which is basically catnip for every foodie out there and me being one, I did a happy dance inside every time I saw someone eating or cooking- which was A LOT.

There was some bromance, sismance, amazing chemistry between the leads and family bonding sprinkled all over it and last but not the least; the message it went out to portray was brilliant.
Despite the inevitablity of death, people can still find moments of happiness. It was beautiful and heart-warming to watch.
In the beginning, that is.

Despite being a slow burn in every sense of the word, the show did go pretty fast for me up to about 7 episodes. I was really really into it but then the monotony started setting in. It's the same K-drama tropes over and over again and soon enough you realize that there isn't much of a unique spin on it.

Call me heartless but when you show me the same sentimental shit and corny deep dialogues in literally every episode, I'll go from being touched to annoyed real fast. That's because over-doing emotion takes the sincerity out of it. Every case was more or less the same and that irked me a lot.

A lot of things were added as useless plot devices and left unexplored. It was almost criminal how little screentime the main couple got. You barely get to see them together till around 12th episodes and even then it's scarce and underwhelming.

I feel like the show dabbled in a lot of things but didn't truly go into depth for even one. And it's a shame truly, given the immense potential.

Towards the end, I just had to fast forward stuff- an urge I was physically restraining for about 14 episodes.

A reviewer said that it's a great drama for new watchers and I agree but if you have already seen these tropes a billion times and in their most basic form, this drama will end up being quite mediocre for you.

I'd rather watch 'Just Between Lovers' that took one of the issues also mentioned in this drama, went in depth with it and actually managed to portray sadness, heartbreak and loss in a way that was never over the top and yet, extremely impactful.

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LUAT and LD They are incomparable, LUAT is much better. Went DOWNHILL after 5th Episode

Sorry but I needa Drop out of this mess.
You'll get my initial views as well as my changed views of this drama in this review, I'll try to separate themm.
I gave the acting and cast a higher rating because this is August and Leng's first drama together, so it's understandable that their kissing scenes felt a bit awkward. However, I really wish they had shown some improvement.
They honestly need to take notes from the youngsters or recent Chinese BL actors on how to deliver a good kiss scene.
They still could've done much better, honestly their kiss scenes looked forced and uncomfortable..

*Positive review*

I've watched many historical and time travel dramas, I thought I would get extremely bored if I try this one, I thought it would have very similar other storylines and the actors I thought would not be that professional.

This series is so good, not that different though, but it's watchable and nice, I don't mind watching something similar but not exactly the same..
Even though it's quite similar to Love Upon A Long Time, suddenly after some incident both the characters time travelled to recover the past mystery.
And then fall in love with someone in the past, someone they bicker with..

But honestly I understood stuff in this series much better, it's conveying every stuff clearly, actually LUAT the characters talked in a beautiful poetic harmonious manner, I don't really understand them well so, I wasn't able to understand many parts.
Well, those lines sounded very beautiful but sometimes they were quite hard for me to catch up.

The language used in this series is much more simpler, and the storyline is extremely romantic, the way P'Muen was blushing aww that was so cute, I loved his reactions after getting picked up by Gaew ( Great ) .
They always bicker, and from inside adorer each other..
Great and Gaew do they even have a thing in common except for their faces. I don't think so!
Gaew, something wrong with him, how can he do those things to those people who raised him like their own son. He's arrogant always getting into trouble, bringing shame to his own people.. Getting into fights, troubling P'Muen, arguments with elders, what good about himm
That was stupid, him literally trying to drown the boat..

It's so damn similar to Love Upon A Time.
I want more of the main couple really, there are many irrelevant stuff, Great is literally the exact opposite of Gaew, about personality, manners, talking and everything even eating.. Great is extremely perfect to be a member of that family, cooking, medicines he's so good at everything..
I like the way Dech is discovering his own heart, the way he feels his heartbeat and hide his thoughts, even though he likes it he won't ay so instead he would hide them to save his auraa or you can say self respect. He's blushing every time he's around Gaew.

Great is doing so well between them, making the people around so shocked about this drastic change, in his personality.

About the servants honestly I secretly ship them, umm they look so good together, their chemistry's fireee, so, I couldn't help myself much. Don't mind me, but I'm already getting a feeling that they'll fall in love and we'll see some of their scenes together.

Lady jumpa is so annoying I know Gaew was type of a thug only butt howw that Great is here she still blames him unfairly, using unfair tactics. She is still picking on Great, aww I feel so bad for Great, he's always trying his best, and I'm sure Dech likes this version of Gaew the best and the most adorable..

I don't know I'm getting kind of evil vibes from that Constantine, he had a very good relationship with Great but looking evil. He killed that person, when Great was asking for his help as he was caged because he was the one who was the biggest suspect of killing that person, I thought he wouldn't help instead put the whole blame on Great only, but I was pretty shocked when he came to confess everything was his doing and Great has nothing to do with it, gave the cops all the truth and got Great out, I didn't expect that much from him though...

The visuals are great and the setting is incredibly beautiful.
Historical methods of doing things are mentioned in here, extremely different and funny. They use herbal medicines and traditional way of eating, cooking, utensils and clothes they're using, old practices.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

*Negative review*

Everything was going welll, and suddenly all those unwanted storylines entered, it's nothing but a waste of time..
I take my words back, I really liked it initially but now I really want to end as soon as possible.. it already went downhill..

The whole thing went out of syllabus, they started the story about Sriprach's love, which was really unnecessary, his love never succeeded though.

Even the servants had more screen presence that the main leads tbh. I don't know why why they suddenly moved the whole story upside down.
Even the kisses looked so fake, unprofessional to be specific, pretty forced and uncomfortable.

They realised the whole thing too late, and taking the move was done by the top, why didn't Great take the move first as he was from modern period, he should've been more open to P' Dech.

At least things actually made sense in Love Upon A Time, atleast they forced on the main couple, maintained a time line for both the couples.

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The drama had an amazing idea for a great character, but somehow it has slowly been losing the charm the closer to the end we've got.

CHARACTERS
While the writer had a clear idea for both male lead characters, Dong Sik and In Woo, and both of their stories were quite well developed and concluded, Shim Bo Kyung was left to do what usually side characters do - react the right way to progress the plot.

Dong Sik, the definition of a loser, because of a quite humorous and coincidental string of accidents takes the persona of a serial killer. Having an amnesia and being faced with the reality of either being a pushover or a serial killer, he thinks of the former being more painful and scary and he accepts the possibility of being a psychopath, rationalizing all of his humane and empathetic behaviors for them to fit his new identity.

Seo In Woo, a serial killer who thinks he found his soulmate and killing partner in Dong Sik. His growing obsession over Dong Sik leads him to also credit the main lead with more wits, smarts and planning skills than he is capable of. Never being cared for by people in his environment, he hopes for a place of understanding in Dong Sik.

Shim Bo Kyung, who wished to be a detective until her father's accident. Since that time she kept having hallucinations of her father at the prime time of his career. The hallucinations were nothing more than her repressed hopes and wishes to follow his footsteps in the crime department. Sadly, her character in most cases was just used to forward the plot, the idea of hallucinations was not addressed enough. Not to mention her character was extremely inconsistent in terms of her skills. At times she had amazing intuition and deductive skills, but at the same time she failed to notice and connect many, quite obvious clues.
The combination of these three characters made quite an interesting and entertaining story and the ever changing interactions between them made me question who at the moment has the upper hand.

ENDING (no spoilers)
The fact that the ending was quite predictable from the get go was not a problem, since this drama focuses more on the journey not the destination.

PROS
Good acting of all the main and supporting actors, a variety of different characters that make it easier to find someone we can relate to, extremely good chemistry between Dong Sik and In Woo and the shifts in the dynamics between them.

CONS
Too much comedy took away from the serious aspect of the drama and made the villain less scary and impactful (he is a serial killer after all), unrealistic portrayal of police work to the point of it being ridiculous at times, less entertaining second half of the drama, not a strong first episode.

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Another one of those Hong sisters' work and like all of their past work (eg: You Are Beautiful etc), it has all the humour, creative storyline and likeable characters. However, this drama is not without its weaknesses. Here's my review of this drama:



Story: Overall, a fun and creative story involving a love story between a fairytale creature and a human. Lots of funny and memorable scenes and interesting characters (eg: the action director and dae wong's aunt, dae wong's grandfather etc). Pretty straight forward storyline and we all know by now that the Hong sisters ALWAYS write happy endings, so no surprise there. If you love fairytales and happily ever after sort of theme with fun, this is the drama for you. However, the biggest weakness of a Hong sisters' work is the ending. In my opinion, the ending is a weak ending. They should have spent more time expanding the events and rationale leading towards the ending. The drama would have benefited from an extra episode or another 30 mins to set things in motion towards the ending. As it is, the ending felt forced as if the writers just wanted a happy ending for the characters forgoing the work that is needed towards building this happily ever after. Like I'd said before, endings are not the Hong sisters' strength. My advice for those who are planning to watch this drama:- Just enjoy the journey. It is hilarous, good entertainment with the occassional tear-jerking moments.



Acting/Cast: Lee Seung Gi's a good actor and I think we have pretty much establised this by now based on his past work. It is no wonder he draws in the ratings despite his not-so-good looks (that's just my opinion!). My biggest brownie points, however, goes to the drama new comer Shin Min Ah. This particular young lady has in the past done work on CFs, modelling and movies, but with this drama, she made a fantastic debut as the naive and loveable gumiho. All I can say is she shined in this drama!! The rest of the cast was brilliant as well. I love the actor that played the action director and Dae Wong's aunt, not to mention the actors and actresses playing Dae Wong's grandfather, friends and first love interest (yes! even that annoying woman was well portrayed by actress Park Soo Jin!).



Music: Lovely OSTs worth downloading.



Rewatch value: Good rewatch value, especially when you just needed entertainment without wasting too much brain cells to figure things out. Lots of funny scenes that are guaranteed to entertain you.



Overall, time well spent on the coach. Do not let the hurried ending spoil your mood or decision to watch this drama. If anything, it is highly entertaining.

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Strong Start, Disappointing Finish: What Happened in the Last 4 Episodes?

This is another series I was really looking forward to. The casting looked promising, the plot seemed interesting, and I had high expectations for the script and storyline. Unfortunately, the ending was very predictable and felt extremely rushed.

The series started off really well and was highly engaging. Hui Ju and Yi An were clever and full of schemes in the beginning, but in the later episodes, they became noticeably less intelligent and made poor decisions. Prime minister Min and I Rang were characters with a lot of potential, but they were severely underused. I felt that Prime minister Min was unnecessarily forced into the villain role. I Rang’s redemption arc was almost nonexistent — she barely had any screen time in the latter half. The female lead’s family was set up as having a bad relationship, but suddenly her brother and father started loving and praising her out of nowhere. The last 4 episodes were hugely disappointing. The show introduced so many new plot threads but then completely abandoned them, leaving tons of loose ends. It felt very rushed toward the finale.

I really like iu’s acting in melodramas, but in this romcom, her performance felt a bit off — although she looked stunning throughout the series. Byeon Woo-seok’s acting felt quite stiff. The chemistry between him and IU was just average, but I actually thought his chemistry with Gong Seung-yeon was better. The costumes were beautiful, and the locations were well-chosen and visually pleasing.

Overall, Perfect Crown is a series that started strong but gradually became boring and lost its momentum. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either.

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A drama definitely not for binge-watching.

I started watching this drama with high expectations because of all the comments, hype, and high rating. That’s where I made the mistake; from the first episode, it started feeling unsatisfactory. But yet, it was intriguing and baiting enough to watch more.

The acting and cast was all very well chosen and performed. It’s the only thing I do not have any comments about. They executed their roles, expressions, behaviors in quite an admirable manner.

On the other side, the characteristics/personalities of the characters were also well initially built except for that of the FL, I can say. In general, for all the characters, I didn’t see development, they really were walking around in circles. I felt especially frustrated with the FL and how much she kept going back and forth about her trust and belief. It’s as if she is the one that doesn’t love her husband, and is ready to give him up for a given reason. They tried to push the idea that she only believes what she sees in front of her, but it doesn’t justify anything. She cannot just base her judgement on what she saw at that moment, and forget the past 10 years. Even if he had lied to her about his identity, she should know how he was at first, and all the change he went through. She must know that he was being himself and not hiding his “true nature”.

Another aspect that I found problematic is the plot. In fact, to me it was the most problematic. From small incidents, to the bigger events, everything felt awfully coincidental, exaggerated and too pushed. Not just that, but very predictable also (starting from around episode 6). I somehow was not surprised by anything. The writer just somehow cannot step out of (successful) examples in drama history, and they only make the incidents in an advantageous way, in a way to continue to the story as planned, not in a rational or consistent manner at all. It is a big jumble of all what makes a drama mainstream.

To give an example, the first episode, after the ML had the reporter locked up in the basement. The scene where our man was serving breakfast, setting up the table. The wife comes, she tries to help but no she isn’t good enough. She tries to take care of her daughter, but the daughter preferred the father. That was already a lot to see, but to make the thriller meter go up and worry us all, she very randomly and spontaneously chose to go downstairs to clean. She goes into the room with no tools, with no plan, just starts walking aimlessly and looking around until she finds the piece of ceramic from the broken pot. They did not even bring it up again later, so it was an unnecessary incident. She was soon taken up again by her husband because the fact is, the breakfast is served and the there are zero reasons why she should be cleaning the workshop at that moment.

That was what first scene that bothered me, and at the end, they couldn’t avoid the overly used trope of partial or selective memory loss. Once again, I find it very unnecessary. FL was looking for the same person, and even the ML himself said he wants to look for the same person again, so what are we left with? No change. He could’ve changed slightly anyways after all they went through, it would be more realistic after he felt the huge amount of emotions upon learning of her death. They built up so much, they made them go through cruel circumstances, so why delete it all? Why destroy that and make them begin again in an awkward state?

Along with these points, I felt like slow motion in the cinematography or the physical slow motion, long-ass stares and silent moments of pondering were excessive. Before anything slightly important happens, there is a lost minute (that I would skip skip skip). If all the reactions are unrealistic, the mind cannot accept it.

With all these thoughts, I believe my high expectations could have made the drama fall short, but the points I pointed out surely made it boring. It would’ve been more digestible to watch one episode a week.

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