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Loved parts, but couldn't get past others.
First let me say that I love that this drama shined a light on so many types of mental health issues. The autistic brother was my favorite character and I loved his story line. In fact, I really enjoyed all the story lines in the show. The acting was top notch and the entire drama was visually striking.My main issue was the Female lead character. Let me try to explain...
If you knew of a person who had stolen the money from a bunch of elderly people leaving them destitute with their lives in shambles and that same person later decided not to do that anymore...at least not as much, and even built a Senior center, but never made amends to the elderly they had hurt and in fact didn't even think they had done anything wrong to those elderly, you would find it hard to see that person in a positive light.
That is how the the Female lead character felt to me. In the first part of the drama we see her cruelty to animals, her self centered attitude and lack of empathy. She does two attempted murders and two kidnappings in the first few episodes. Plus the emotional blackmail that she often uses is just horrible. Her temper flairs and she gets violent any time she is contradicted. And this part of her personality never changes. Though we see her soften toward the ML, his brother, and a few others, she easily and quickly reverts to her previous ways as soon as she is challenged. Even when she had the opportunity to make amends for destroying her publisher, she makes him choose whether he will repair his business or not when it wasn't necessary for him to do so. Effectively making him choose to stay destroyed and have to rebuild everything when SHE is the one who caused the destruction. I found her character exceedingly uncomfortable to watch and was always wary that the male lead would get hurt or that she would just turn on him at any given moment.
There is a scene where she talks to her mother and says something to the effect of how she "almost" became like her Mom. I was literally thinking...no...you are exactly like your Mom except you have yet to succeed in killing anyone (not for lack of trying) and though you are unempathetic at times, you are not necessarily evil in your intentions.
I like the two brothers and her together, but at the same time I found it uncomfortable to cheer for because of her character. It felt wrong to want the brothers to get entangled with such a person.
Without her character, the story would not have been the same, but because of that character, I had to rate the drama lower. She was just too uncomfortable to cheer for. If the character has shown remorse (beyond saying sorry for stabbing the ML...twice), or really even seemed to change, I would have felt differently but not as it was.
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A MISSED OPPORTUNITY - A Storm of Potential, Washed away by Weak Execution
BIG BUDGET, TOP STARS, BUT HALF BAKED EXECUTIONTempest drama is just another typical spy espionage thriller drama, boasting top stars, strong production crew and reputed director, screenwriter with big elements America, South Korea, North Korea, Mercenaries, International-Spies, Secret Agents everything looks solid right but it only on the story board and ultimately feels like a half-baked cake.
As a big fan of spy espionage thrillers; I had some good expectations for this drama, especially from one of my favourite director KIM HEE-WON but the execution fell down. While the story feels fresh compared to previous spy thrillers, the plot is poorly developed.
This really drama’s biggest drawback is instead of leaning into the genre’s elements – conspiracies, betrayals and psychological mind games it turns into chaebol-family conflicts in midway, slowing the pace and weaking the narrative drive.
Good at
• Initial episodes.
• Production design.
• Acting.
Major disappointments
• Underdeveloped plot.
• Midway focus heavily on family conflict rather than espionage.
• Forced romantic subplot.
• Lost momentum in maintaining real suspense and tension.
Technical aspects 6/10
Bad editing, the editing feels sloppy in some episodes. Scenes cut and jump too quickly, breaking the actual flow of the story narration and making it hard to connect to the scenario. Soundtrack and background score feels off but in early episodes it was on the track. Average Cinematography.
ACTING 7/10
One word- Underutilized talent of acting power houses JUN JI HYUN & KANG DONG WON, I loved acting and they portrayed roles perfectly but unfortunately the script doesn’t give their characters enough depth or opportunity to showcase their full range. Their characters becoming average in this context is a sign that writing failed to maximize their potential. Same goes to supporting actors they also given good performance according to roles.
Final thoughts—
Kim Hee Won is one of my favorite Korean directors; her making style is always best according to the story. She has delivered some acclaimed different genre works like—Vincenzo, Little Women, Crowned Clown, and Queen of Tears (the making style). Tempest feels like one of her weakest works. She missed bringing her mark - powerful characterizations in this drama.
Also, Screenwriter Jung Seo Kyung created a powerful story but failed to build the strong characters with enough depth. Also, instead of focusing on the story's key aspects evaluation, the narration shifts midway into a romantic track just when it should have taken sharper turns.
Some viewers may enjoy that romance subplot, but the as for storytelling aspect of this is a complete failure. Ok, let's take this as "the screenwriter approached the romance plot because they tried to create a dynamic relationship between the main leads and for a strong climax," but it backfired. Even the family conflicts sidelines the core story, and the plot twist also shows no impact.
Technically it is some appreciable - dark atmospheric tone, some well executed action scenes along with the alignment of the US-KR story setup and actors costumes. Even if the makers have a big budget and top stars and the best crew, sometimes the content is kingmaker. When makers fail to polish their strong potential into compelling content, the results inevitably fall flat. A story should be given what it really demands, forcing - in unnecessary elements only ruins it.
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Head Over Heels...Then Suddenly Flat on my face
“Head Over Heels” had a fantastic start; charming leads, genuine chemistry and a storyline that pulled me in from the very beginning. The pacing was smooth, the emotional buildup felt natural and I found myself truly invested in the characters' journeys. It had all the makings of a solid drama: laughter, growth, youth, friendship, longing and those little fluttery moments that make your heart skip.But then came the last two episodes and suddenly, everything felt rushed. Plot threads that deserved time and care were tied up too quickly and the emotional weight the story had built seemed to lose its impact (with the time skips especially). I found myself wanting just a bit more closure, a bit more depth.
Still, I don’t regret watching it. It gave me plenty of moments to smile, sigh, and swoon over. The journey was worth it... I just wish the ending didn’t feel like it was in such a hurry to wrap up.
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How on the earth I must believe that Gu Xi Xi is a fashion designer when even she doesn't have good dressing sense lol, it's not terrible but it's unbelievable. She's shown to be a smart, witty girl in the prior episodes, but if our FL doesn't become dumb at the right moment how can knight save her in shining armor lol... so yes she just loses her brain when it's needed.
Yi Si Chen is he any different. hell NO. He's cold and obnoxious.. and CEO (This is a must for contract marriages lol). 'Love changes everything' if it doesn't follow this, is it even a drama? as by the rule, due for sake of his love... he's not cold anymore, ah but it comes with possessiveness and jealousy. He does seem to be a workaholic in pilot episodes... a hardworking businessman but when he's in love, how can he be the same.... a looot of free time to wander around.
Mo Zi Xin our 'perfect' SML, seems unemployed coz he doesn't have anything to do other than following oops helping FL around. Did I forget to mention... he loved her for years, you know what? the main problem with these SMLs is timing. See he knew her way before, he liked her way before but ofc he can't get girl coz he's not icy-cold CEO... he can be ge-ge or senior. In course of time our goody perfect boy becomes a stalker... time to wear off SLS lol
Zhong Li Li... here comes I-wanna-slap-that-bitch, am I being too harsh? No! the purpose of her life is plotting against our lead couple, she seems to own some company but she legit has nothing else to do other than make plans to destroy FL, she definitely can be considered one of the most annoying SFLs even existed. Her personality qualify for being in makjang for sure.
The second couple is boring as hell, they don't have story-chemistry or anything that can stop me from pressing the FF button,
We have our perfectly-made-for-contract-marriage characters.... do we need a story? I mean first, our leads will fight with each other over the nonsense thing, then boom something comes up they need to marry... staying together makes them attracted to each other, then we have SML to create some jealousy and tension... SFL who have nothing else to do creates problems.. hence after overcoming everything happily ever after, Done!... Wow, I guess I should also try to write a plot someday... I don't think anyone needs something called creativity or uniqueness lol, just repeat some cliches and old tropes, word done.
Despite having a looot to rant about with dozens of things bothering me, the chemistry between Wang Yu Wen and Wang Zi Qi is on fire, first, they just look great together... second ah they are so adorable. So I did enjoy their time together.. the only thing that kept me invested till the end.
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An average fantasy drama that does not live up to its potential, with outdated character dynamics
SPOILERS BELOWThis drama had a promising start and and interesting setup. A secret princess and a wolf boy who was turned into a killing machine go from lovers to enemies because of fate and the evil machinations of the higher powers. Their relationship is repeatedly said to be “cursed”. But will Zhai Xing and Lang Zai’s love triumph in the end?
…No, it won’t. Because this drama’s promising setup turns into a mess of recycled tropes and predictable, cliché storylines as the episodes progress. The characters also lose the freshness they had at the beginning and become walking tropes repeating the same lines and doing the same things over and over as the story drags on. By episode 30 I was ready to drop this drama because the eye rolls were getting too frequent, but I kept watching to stick with the few storylines that I liked and to see if the ending had any redeeming qualities. It didn’t. The ending was actually the final nail in the coffin.
THE GOOD:
The best aspect of this drama is the higher-than-average production quality, that can be seen in the sets and the costumes. The CGI isn’t top notch but is also not bad for a production of this kind. The battle sequences are also well made.
The story is also not all bad. There are some beautiful scenes, some good character moments, some emotional parts. The first ~15 episodes are good and don’t drag that much. Ji Chong’s arc is, for the most part, good. He is the most normal and relatable character and I enjoyed most of the moments the FL spent with him. He’s smart, capable and caring. The FL can actually grow and develop thanks to him. He was honestly the only breath of fresh air in the middle part of this drama.
THE BAD:
My biggest problem with this drama are the two main leads and their dynamic.
Nowadays, overbearing, jerky and brooding male leads feel like a thing of the past that new dramas are moving away from or are trying to put a new spin on. But The Wolf doesn’t do that with Bo Wang.
The ML is constantly humiliating, putting down, lying to the FL to “make her stronger” or because of some other excuse. I couldn’t keep count of the cringey moments that are played as “romantic” but it’s actually the ML being an a**hole to the FL, pinning her to the wall, throwing her on the ground, physically hurting her, forcing himself on her etc. This is such a bad and outdated drama trope. You might find it sexy once or twice, but beyond that it just makes you feel uncomfortable.
I would understand the need for those moments if Zhai Xing actually got stronger and was able to strike back at Bo Wang as a result, but no, he always overpowered and outsmarted her. Even when they’re enemies, in charge of opposing armies, they’re not equal. He still treats her like a child who needs to be coddled and she just lets him degrade her.
And in the end she always falls back into his arms and he gets forgiven for the horrible way he treated her because LOVE, I guess.
The FL is mainly a plot device, with very little agency, tossed from one place to the other, from one role to the other, in service to the story and to the ML’s manpain. She can’t even get her revenge through her own determination and hard work, because it’s the ML who does everything and decides that he has to sacrifice himself to give her her revenge. And in the end they didn’t even give her a good and happy ending, but a contrived and baffling one which was the biggest eye roll of all. She truly only existed in service to the ML’s manpain until the end.
Finally, I have mixed feelings regarding the acting. I think the actors did the best they could with the script they had, that leaves little room for character depth and constrains them into too many tropey and repetitive situations. I also heard there were reshoots that probably had an impact on the performances.
In the scenes where the actors can express themselves more or play different emotions than those usually assigned to them, their acting shines more.
Xiao Zhan is probably the one who gets to play his character with more freedom and range. Li Qin is not exceptional here, but she does her job well. Out of the main cast, my the biggest problem is with Darren Wang: if he’d been able to give his character more humanity, letting us see the Lang Zai under the surface a bit more, I think Bo Wang would have come off less of a wooden jerk. But again, it's probably not all his fault but the script’s and the direction’s.
CONCLUSION:
The only reason I would ever recommend this drama to anyone is if they're a big fan of any of the actors and are just satisfied with seeing their idol on screen. If you're looking for a fantasy drama that explores love, friendship and revenge through a good story and well-written characters, The Wolf is not it.
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This review may contain spoilers
WARNING! This drama is not good for easily angered and sensitive people.
I 100 recommend this drama but, as you can see in my headline - WARNING! it not good for easily angered and sensitive people. I'm sensitive and easily mad myself but I chose to still watch.I would have given up this drama long time ago but the plot just keeps me wanting for more.
EDIT > Story - It was frustrating at first however it getting good but Min Seol Ah didn't deserve all that.
Theme Song [Life by Hedy - Crown by Ha Jin] 10/10.
Acting - tbh Ha Eun Byul is not bad, just her face expressions when she's mad be throwing me off but her crying is on point like her mom's (Cheon Seo Jin).
Cast - the main and support roles are all good looking. Fighting :)!!
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1The most adorable KIM BAEKDO
Before starting this drama, I thought it was going to be some sad and slow story, but I was here for our BELOVED Jang DongYoon and our cutie Kim BoRa....But oh boi I was wrong, this was NOT AT ALL a sad or boring story...I enjoyed every SINGLE second of this drama....I know, I know, for many people it might be a typical murder mystery BUT the warmth this drama gave us is unmatched...♡♡♡♡♡Let's talk about the STAR of this show, KIM.BAEK.DO.....Literally the most ADORABLE human being on this planet...You don't agree? well go argue with a wall....My man (yeah I'm delusional), Jang DongYoon did a FANTASTIC job at portraying this role...That chubby JDY will forever be one of my favorite memories....JDY, literally changed his whole vibe for this character...KUDOS to him for being our VERSITILE KING...
Our FL, Oh DuShik (sorry I forgot her real name) was a strong and determined character and her acting was AMAZZZZING..She gave us a perfect combination of her tomboish and feminine side....I LOVED IT....
KIM BORA didn't have a lot of scenes but the ones she had, she portrayed them like a QUEENNNNNNN(Ilovehersm)....♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Finally, the other supporting cast also did a FABULOUS job at making this drama super amazing...(especially BaekDo's friends and the fellow cop)
I did figure out who the real culprit was, not because the script was weak but because they did a little bit mistake in casting......
Overall, I absolutely loved this drama and would recommend it, if you're looking for a story that is sweet and simple....♡♡♡♡♡
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When I heard about this movie, I thought "Tssss, another movie with a poor plot standing as an excuse to say it's not porn". Then I red international critics praising it, so it got me curious. I saw the trailer, and I knew I had to watch it.
There is a plot. It's the tense fight between a rich that seems to have everything since his birth, and a poor that desperatly want to survive without anyone's help. One who fall in love at first sight, and the other who wants to avoid feelings. Who will give up first?
This movie uses silences as a real way of speaking. Since you won't have one useless line, each one is used wisely. Same thing goes for the shots. I really, really liked the way this movie was directed.
I can understand though that this movie isn't for everyone. Personnally, I'm not fond of Yaoi, so I even skipped some scenes
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I thought it would be a light romcom but it turned out to be such a weird amalgamation of thriller-romance-comedy-mystery-supernatural that it was gruesome to watch. First of all, there is no plot in this drama and its all fluff. There is no build up to any climax and it falls very flat after first few episodes. All the episodes are the same and have the same format that there was no compelling reason for me to stay even though I ended up pulling through to finish it. They go on dates, look for the culprit, and show some slapstick humor with guys in suits (and that wasn't even funny). Was the mystery aspect worth staying for? Not at all. It was so poorly written, predictable and weird. The suspect is a psychopath who targets skinny women -- this was discomforting and out of place in a drama that is supposed to be a romcom. Because it tries to be so many things, all of its "subplots" it attempts to execute is poorly done and awkwardly paced. It goes from cute and fun to outright disturbing and ridiculous farce. I ended up skipping over parts of the drama during the parts where there were just a bunch of random men trying too hard to be funny with their buffoonery and horseplay. It was just so immature and hard to watch and was completely irrelevant to the plot and characterization. Many of the "plots" are so insignificant, such a letdown and not worth staying for at all either. For example, when the person who was making threats to Min Hyuk was finally revealed, it is then forgotten about for the rest of the drama. It was pointless and anti-climatic. A lot of things happen in the drama without meaning. The drama was not mentally stimulating even though it was mentally exhausting.
Don't get me wrong, I do like romcoms but this was just too messy and predictable that I couldn't enjoy it. There are some cute moments with Bong Soon and Min Hyuk and they do a lot of aegyo if you're into that. It tries to appeal to the audience by being intentionally cheesy but I found it cringey and cliché. In addition, I was initially looking forward to seeing two of the male actors I love in one drama but even their presence there wasn't enough to make me enjoy it in the slightest. It was just so boring to watch them in that stupidly predictable love triangle. It would have made so much more sense to have Bong Soon and Gok Doo end up together, especially after they had been crushing on each other since high school. But somehow they just keep missing each other by the second. It was frustrating to watch even though we all knew the outcome of the triangle. Gok Doo, one of the main characters, felt like a side character and he literally has one emotion throughout the entire drama. Everyone in the drama just felt so insignificant and static. I know having the gay man in the drama was supposed to be funny but it would have been offensive since he was portrayed in the most typical way ever and I swear he screams everytime he's on screen. It felt like I was in some sort of replay loop whenever interactions with the side characters came into play. Bong Soon's mom was the most useless mom I have ever seen and I hated how dense and simple minded she was portrayed as even though an attempt was made to justify her actions towards the end. I also found Bong Soon so annoyingly reckless and discreetly pretentious everytime she whined about having her power yet flaunting it to other people and even abusing it while being unnecessarily disrespectful to the employees of the company. She was so childish, naive, and high maintenance and I just don't get that it's the reason why the two boys are heads over heels for her. The way she and whines cries reminds me of a child that you want to slap but you just can't because they're a child. I didn't have much patience for her even though everyone found her cute. The cuteness and fluff was just way over the top that it left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.
Unless a drama has particularly beautiful OSTs, I usually don't pay too much attention or notice it. But I absolutely hated the music here, and maybe it's because its associated with my dislike towards the drama itself. It was so annoying to listen to that I'm so glad its over now.
Overall, this drama was a letdown and caused me a lot of grief, I don't even know how I didn't end up dropping it after episode 6.
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This review may contain spoilers
This series is utter trash. I literally feel like hanging myself because I ran my ass home every day after college tryna jump onto Ccasian to watch 'Coffee & Vanilla' ((believing that the story and the god awful acting would improve)).. I mean, just from the introductional episode, I knew this series was shit but to my surprise.. it's shittier than I could ever imagine .. but that didn't stop me, I carried on (Mistake!!). ༎ຶ‿༎ຶThere was literally no storyline!!!! WHAT THE HELL DID I WASTE MY PRECIOUS TIME ON !?!!!
God knows. I absolutely would not recommend this to a living soul unless they're livin' the bum life.
Anyways, this is my list of complaints:
- ML is supposedly 30 years old but looks like a young teen fresh outta his 15th birthday .
- FL is supposed to be Hella pretty but it appears that they ran out of pretty actors .
- FLs and MLs acting is shit. it's like they're talking to trees but I'm sure we'd be a lot better at expressing ourselves to a branch. - They're stiff and appear inexperienced . . . Especially for this genre but to be honest, the narrative performed was so bad you can't analyse a single genre or comprehend jack .
- FL and ML should have had a better closet. The clothes they wore were truly dull and limited... That orange dress the FL wore is literally the only thing nice but the lighting in the episode is deceptive so I can't really rely on that comment. And what's with the fashion sense, was this series really released in 2019? It's questionable .
- Oh, the lighting was soo poorly controlled that the front cover of the series looks different to the actors in the series itself. It appeared as though the filmmakers wanted to alter the realism and throw on a filter to hide any blemishes or faulty cells.
- FL acting was as I said previously, trash. I didn't read the manga but I could tell there was gaps of story missing... Like how the characters are supposed to be portrayed and the so called 'dark past' the ML has, which is to be exposed ( they left this crucial part out so in the end you're left sighing and shouting "HUH?" )
- During intimate scenes the FL was SO DAM STIFF! This was the most vexing part becuz her MUDAFAQIN head was always drooling on the floor! Omg! Omg! Just recalling the memory is boiling my blood. And this dumbass moves like a fish! The girls floppin around just from undoing a couple of her man's buttons on his shirt!! Like WTF!?
I can totally relate if he had a sexy ass torso but this dude is skin and bones!! What's there to exaggerate @bout?!
Not to mention the eye contact! It's the most frustrating thing ever because the best thing about romantic genres is when emotions are linked with eye contact and the build up of any romance, IS EYE CONTACT! WHY THE HELL IS THIS MISSING?!?! I SWEAR DOWN, ITS THAT FEMALE LEAD!
Wait wait wait, the kissing scenes were ಠ益ಠ because everything about the FL reminded me of a FISH! She resembled a fish so mfing much ತ_ತ. If you type 'Risa and Hiroto' on YouTube, you'll be able to empathize with me 1000%
So to summarise, it's that dam FL ! For God's sake, if you don't believe me, just watch it yourself. You will die on repeat.
Yours truly,
Suicide.
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Acting/Cast: What can I say? I fell in love with Jang Hyuk through this drama. He bears the mark of a true actor in his role as the angst-revenge driven Dae Gil. His was a very challenging character and he pulled it off PERFECTLY! He spoke with his eyes, his expressions and his intonations had thoroughly pulled me into his world of slave hunters and his misery of loving and yet being unable to love. Oh Ji Hoo as Tae Ha (righteous, dutiful, loyal) and Lee Dae Hae as Hye Won (meek, fearful and a woman with a secret) were also perfect choices. Even the dudes who acted as slave hunters, mountain brigands, slave rebels and evil ministers were wonderful in their roles. I seriously could not find any fault in the acting and cast of this drama.
Music: I absolutely love the OSTs in this drama. I listen to them frequently in my walkman. I think this in itself tells you how wonderful I think of them. What I absolutely love was how each OSTs are perfectly coordinated with the scenes and feelings in the drama. Whenever I listen to the OSTs, they reminded me of the drama and the unforgettable scenes in the drama.
Rewatch value: I had rewatched parts of this drama twice. I am not a fan of rewatching dramas as I am a very time poor person but for this drama, I actually rewatched a number of parts that I absolutely love. I must admit that I had never rewatched any dramas entirely, not because they are not worth rewatching (how I wish I have the time and luxury to rewatch dramas!).
Overall: This is my advice to you who had not watched this drama..... go and get a bag of chips or popcorn, a box of tissue and maybe a pillow (because it is quite addictive and you might just decide to skip sleep to finish this drama in one go) and just WATCH THIS DRAMA. You'll never regret it! :)
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Pure boredom.
This review is rather short, because I was most annoyed with myself in the end. Why?? because I took the time to look to the end. I wanted so much all the time that Doona was blowing with her manager. it was so depressing to bear this melancholy, overly decent and pain-distorted lead actor. the story and her messages were not difficult to understand, but why on earth do you have to portray a young guy as if he were a 70-year-old high teacher who only preaches morals.. In the end, I was grateful that there was still room for interpretation..and if I want to dream msl, it was that Doona found someone who loves her unconditionally and does not want to be her father substitute. .. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend it.Was this review helpful to you?
I have fallen in love with the story and characters, so I am personally offended by the execution.
My title came off a little strong, so here’s the short answer: this drama is definitely amazing for a gay romance coming out of Korea, but has really poor editing that was consistently jarring and some loose ends.Now here comes the long answer (starting with the good of course!):
I really do appreciate this drama because it made an effort to tell a genuine gay love story, and I would say they succeeded. I especially appreciated this effort because the homophobia of Korean society tends to encroach on the acting and direction of some other BL series I’ve seen.
From the script alone we already have a good starting point, but the actors definitely took this drama to the next level. Im Ji Sub and Oh Jun Taek were stellar lead actors. You could always tell how their characters felt just through an expression or exchange. The chemistry and tension between them was on point. You could always feel a tangible mutual romantic curiosity between the two of them. It never felt stiff or awkward, or like they were forcing themselves to “act gay.” The effort and care put in the acting and direction gave the romance an authentic feel.
The setting and story were both quite nice. The school setting felt realistic, and the surfing aspect worked with the story surprisingly well.
The main characters themselves were both interesting. I liked to learn more about them, and see them grow and change throughout the series. I wasn’t a fan of Eun Ji or her writing. It wouldn’t have hurt anyone if they put a little more effort into making her a little less of a one-dimensional villain archetype, but in the end she served her purpose.
Now for my main complaint, and the achilles heel of this entire show: the editing.
I wish I was being dramatic when I said the editing made me die a little on the inside. As someone in visual arts who has experience with video editing, I genuinely started to wonder about the vision from the director and editing team, or if there was an editing team and if they got paid. Possibly they were held at gunpoint to make some of the most questionable editing choices of all time. The look of the first two episodes was alright, but the editing lost its way at episode 3 and barely managed to find its way back by episode 8. The coloring and filters were too exaggerated and varied. It very rarely did anything to add to the mood or tone of the show. At worst it was very distracting and at best it was tumblr-esque and outdated.
To be fair, there were a handful of shots I thought looked lovely.
Now if you're someone who doesn’t care about the aesthetics of a show, there is still a reason to care about the quality of the editing. The transitions. This was where the editing really started to hinder the storytelling. It made the story convoluted and hard to follow. I often had to skip back to see if I missed something, only to realize I hadn’t missed anything at all. The transitions are really just that jarring. It didn’t help that they would often throw in random scenes without context and then move on with very little explanation.
Overall, I would still recommend this show and I think it is a step in a great direction for Korean BL dramas. The integrity of the story and characters holds up, even if the transitions and editing made me want to pull out my hair.
The story also leaves me wondering about the character’s futures. I felt that we missed out on some of the development of Jae Won that the story was hinting at. I’d like to know more about our main character’s families and backgrounds, which are still partially unexplained. I would definitely tune in for a season 2. I may even rewatch it eventually now that I’ve come to terms with the horrendous editing.
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Strong start, but weak finish
I'm always a fan of Young Woo, because of his great past performances ... so I stuck with this series right till the end. It was a great story at the beginning, along with great acting by the four protagonists in their roles, but somewhere about halfway through, things changed a bit for me. I found the direction of the plot a bit confusing at times, but as I said, I stayed with it, hoping it would correct itself. Unfortunately that didn't happen, it really didn't seem to be as interesting from the middle part of the series through episode 11. The finale did have some good direction toward the very end, but I think it was just a bit too far gone for me at that point. To no fault of Young Woo, Yi Hyun or Kang Yoon, giving all strong performances, but I just wish the last six or so episodes were as enjoyable to watch as the first six.Looking forward to his future projects!
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The acting felt very real and the story along with it was touching to the point where you cry very loudly! And the music. OMG!! The soundtrack was epic in many proportions.
From the first episode on I became curious, interested and wanted to know how things would play out in the end. But one thing i was certain from episode 1 is: This would not get a happy ending...
Even though it was a sad ending, the good guys won the battle. Everything was resolved before the minute was up! But ignore bad reviews and go watch this, my low expectations for this changed after first episode. So go watch it, and make your own opinion! Don't let anyone keep you from watching such an underrated drama!
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