Reviews

i really had high hopes for this drama but honestly don’t waste your time on this
Story
The first 10 episodes were really enjoyable, it followed the plot as promised. But after that the story just became a mess? I never understood each characters main purpose in the story. You could tell the writers tried to make drama with the love triangle, but the love triangle wasn’t even that interesting, it felt so draggy and led on.
Acting
They have so much potential but this drama really hid their potential. There were some awkward moments but they still managed to get though it.
Music
They were played randomly? I don’t get the point of the music. But the music itself was great tho!!
Rewatch Value
Honestly no. I wouldn’t watch this again.

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My main reason for starting this drama is because my friend couldn't even watch 10 mins of it and I like to see just how bad or good something is so I can decide for myself and not write it off based on other's opinions.

As I dont read mangas I dont know the origional story. I set my mind to "NO EXPECTATIONS" and just watched. I really enjoyed this drama. I thought it was funny and a little bit cute/sweet. They could made it a little bit cuter/sweeter.

The cast and OST are great but character wise I didn't like Bi Ryum, (Moo Ra and even more so the CEO) but I found Bi Ryum hilarious. I also enjoyed the bromance between Habaek and Nam Soo Ri and the conflicts between Habaek and Bi Ryum. I will say that Nam Joo Hyuk might have not been the best actor for the role as I couldn't take him seriously for someone whose supposed to play a God but never mind. At times I honestly couldn't see the chemistry especially during the early kisses but I think it gets better as the drama goes on. Also, Shin Se Kyung's lack of expression sometimes put a downer on some scene but I think the other actors made up for it.

I'm kinda disappointed with how the story ended as it could've been way better.

Rewatch? I believe I've already seen it over 10 times since it aired so it's safe to say that I will most definitely be watching this drama AGAIN.

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Shark is a dark drama about man who "comes" back from the dead on a mission of vengeance.

I really enjoy watching every moment of Shark including the ending. The ending didn't surprise me. The ending left a lot of unanswered questions. It gave me hope that perhaps what I thought might have happen didn't happen because Yi Soo and Yoshimura pulled that same act before. (But that's wishful thinking. I guess it can only be answered with a Shark 2: Downfall of the Gaya Empire or Shark 2: The Real Jos are Here.)

I wish the writer would have spent more time developing and strengthening other characters rather than focusing on Yi Soo and Hae Woo. I understand they are the lead characters, but a few moments I felt the others were mere props in the drama, not supporting characters. My other wish was that they change the title to Legend of Orpheus. Legend of Orpheus is a better fitted title than Shark.

Before you spend twenty episodes watching this great drama, I recommend you read about the story of Orpheus. The Greek mythology is not a summary of Shark, but it gave me a good idea of why the writer choose to add the myth to the drama.

The similarities: Yi Soo and Orpheus
Orpheus was a poet, prophet, and musician who can make rocks and trees dance when he play his lyre. Yi Soo made people dance to his "tune of music" by manipulating them.
Orpheus and Yi Soo travelled through hell to get their loves back, but lost them when they look back. (Yi Soo lost his love because Hae Woo married another Joon Young.)
After their lost, Yi Soo and Orpheus did not seek the love and affection of no woman. One story said he seek the affection of younger boys. In the drama, Dong Soo implied twice that Yi Soo was gay. (Perhaps he was bisexual). Yi Soo had many opportunities to rekindle the flame, but quench it.

The official soundtrack was great. The song, Between Heaven and Hell by Boa, painted a picture about the love between Yi Soo and Hae Woo.

Shark, the Legend of Orpheus, is not for everyone. Some people would be disappointed at the ending. But I am one of those people who enjoyed watching this revenge drama. I will see it again.

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Worth the watch

Perfect Summer time drama! So sweet. ZLS finally found her match in an actor who can turn on the puppy charm. CZY really has the most expressive face and able to convey those tender emotions without looking effeminate. Director did perfect castin this time. All the supporting actors were great, especially the older brother as well as the rommies in college. It's such a pity that the detractors of the drama made a big stink about the age difference without watching the drama through. It's actually very well handled and even mentioned outright and it does show the FL growing more mature to meet the ML at his level. Kudos to ZLS for being able to convey both innocence and maturity all at the same time.

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Not for the Anti-fans

This is the second series I’ve seen in real time. Usually I binge-watch all the Asian dramas I want to watch. The series makes me think and I try to review my knowledge of Greek Mythology as I view the storyline every week. I enjoy the romcom elements. I relish watching Park Shin-hye being so kick-ass with her combat skills bad-ass with her pink guns. Despite being such a hardcore female, Kang So-hae still has a soft and vulnerable core. Despite his genius, it’s great to see Han Tae-sul being so playful, witty and funny. Just seeing the range of Cho Seung-woo in this drama is a treat. Maybe I should check out an episode of Stranger.

As for the story, all the questions seem to have been answered. The leads belong in a different time-space, it would be a stretch to expect a happily-ever after. This is not straight-up Makjang or full-blown romcom as others prefer. It makes you ask questions, formulate theories, draw conclusions. It makes you appreciate Park Shin-hye and Cho Seung-woo even more, propel you to check out their past and future projects.

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The revenge was meh.

I love revenge plots, especially in the hands of a highly intelligent and capable female protagonist but with the proper motivation, of course. And, there was no doubt that the people who made Moon Dong-eun's (Song Hye-kyo) life hell on earth were all more than deserving of the kind of old school, biblical vengeance reserved for the very wrathful God of the Old Testament.
And, actually, I thought that the series might have wanted to say something about the hot-button issue of school bullying and spousal abuse but opted instead (in typical K-Drama fashion) to focus on the obligatory fan service of a romantic pairing of the two leads with less than zero chemistry between them.
The level of gratuitous violence on display in both parts 1 & 2 felt unnecessary at times because the payback was nowhere equal to the damage inflicted on the victims.
Maybe if she would've exacted her revenge in the very gym where the majority of the bullying took place I would've felt more satisfied with the conclusion.

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I don't usually feel the need to write a review for any drama I watched but for this one I feel I should since it's been and still is being drilled into the ground for no reason.

Yes, the first episode that aired had a scene or 2 that wasn't very "nice" and respectful towards the culture that was being used as a setting, but you know the PD and studio were sorry when they put an apology infront of every episode that aired and they even removed said scene(s) from any streaming or ondemand services. This series is being drilled into the ground because of a mistake they made in 1! episode and in my review I'm going to look further and not let this one-time occurance get in the way of the true gem this drama is.

--The Characters--
Let me just say, the characters are amazing, they all have at least a decent backstory. No character is empty or just there to fill air. They all have some role, even abdallah who is just a right-hand and probably has the least backstory honestly for me was one of the most enjoyable characters. This actor is someone you should keep an eye out for, he's amazing.

--The Story--
If you take everything away, the story is nothing special. It's a normal plot but it's being made awesome by the cast. They truly went for it and it makes you feel good.
The humor is amazing too, choi min-soo as the rich long lost father is gold. He manages to put this silly humor into his scenes which turns all of them into magic.

--Overall--
Overall this drama is gold, the characters all add something which turns a simple plotline into so much more.
Please don't let all the hate talk on the internet turn you away from this drama, it's definetly a must watch and you won't regret it.

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Had too much expectations for this..

Watching the trailer gave me pretty high expectations for this film, but unfortunately, after watching the entire thing, it did not meet them- at least for me. I couldn't help but compare the film to Train to Busan so it was pretty lackluster in comparison. I was hoping it'd be the next Train to Busan, but nope, not even close.

Story:
It started off with a pretty good introduction with our male lead waking up to a zombie apocalypse and does his utmost to survive in his apartment while surrounded by zombies. There was even good dramatic BGM for scenes where the zombies attacked, but there were only a handful of those exciting scenes scattered through the film. Besides those short moments, the film had too much filler scenes, creating too much silence and resulting with me getting bored and losing interest.

Also, there were a few points in the film that did not make sense, even in the fake reality of zombies. Why did the two leads jump out of their apartments instead of climbing up to the roof? Why did the man tie up his wife-turned-zombie and try to sacrifice Park Yoo Bin to her? Not only that, I still don't understand how Park Yoo Bin managed to survive being locked up in that room with the zombie wife without getting even a single scratch. It felt like all logic flew out the window at that point of the film.

Ultimately, the ending was pretty anti-climatic with a lousy rescue. The male lead kept posting his status on social media but the story line hardly ever followed up on that and just carelessly tied it back up at the end.

Cast:
Yoo Ah In and Park Shin Hye did a good job with their roles, but nothing that really stood out? Yoo Ah In's character was more funny, offering some comic relief during the dark moments, but other than that, I don't have any thing else to say.

Production:
The special effects and CGI were very well done though, so I do give the production team an applause for that. I was very disturbed and creeped out by the makeup of the zombies with all the blood. It was on the same level as the zombies in Train to Busan.

I would say to watch this film if you're fans of Yoo Ah In/Park Shin Hye and are curious of this new zombie film, but don't expect too much for the thrills.

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It’s a bit like an extremely pretty art, but then you find out it was made by AI and it starts to feel a bit empty. On paper it’s a perfect soft angst full of longing and pinning, but the closer you look, the more imperfections you find.

While I did find the overall idea behind the story compelling, I’m not so sure about the execution, especially on Ikegami Fumiya's side. He did not tell the truth with hopes it will save the relationship, as they can start over, but then he kept making sure to not cross the line between roommates and potential romantic partners. This behavior was something I did not quite understand. My guy was in a risky business - deciding to hide the past in hopes for a better future, without actually being sure Ritsu will never remember their relationship, and without actually trying to be with Ritsu in the present.

That said, I actually find Ritsu harder to figure out and judge. We know little about him before the accident, and his present self was driven by what he forgot - trying to remember and being confused about his place and life. Because of that, he felt less defined than Fumiya and harder to connect to.

Since this is a relationship and character driven show, I put some effort into trying to understand the characters, and that was the mistake. If you try to dig deeper into what is happening on screen, you start to see a lot of small things that make little sense and at some point it becomes a pile too hard to ignore. I think the best way to watch it is just accept whatever they throw at you without asking too many questions.

Acting wise, it had its ups and downs. For the most part I had no complaints. The slightly dull delivery was clearly the directing choice to fit the overall atmosphere of the drama. That one time Honda Kyoya literally squeezed that one tear out of his eye made me chuckle.

That said, I still think it’s a solid melancholic watch. Some of the editing and the transitions between the scenes might be a bit confusing, but for some strange reason it adds to the charm. In a subtle way it shows how all relationships need work, and without addressing the core issues, you cannot start over and be happy, even if you get to hit the reset button.

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I still don't understand why this is divided into three seasons. "Season One" was not a complete arc so it's kinda hard to review. Realistically it should be Season One with 12 episodes and Season Two with 6. That seems to be how it is organized in Netflix anyway...

My rating here will be for this portion of the drama only. At this point, the drama started out pretty strong, got kinda muddled in the middle, but seems to be picking up again.

I wish it was better organized. I said this in the comments, but the writers, directors, editors - they all tried to do too much. A high fantasy drama is innovative enough in the Korean drama scene, but splitting it into multiple "seasons" did more harm than good. The pacing is all over the place, they established different story-lines faster than others so we had to wait while they caught up. And most importantly, there needed to be way better world building. This is a completely imagined setting with its own groups of people, religion, beliefs, society, hierarchy, government, etc. and the director or some editor or whoever thought occasionally adding captions to explain original vocabulary was enough. It's not. Some of our very important characters are missing important screen time and story development time because of the weird pacing, but it seems that this will be rectified soon in future episodes so I'm not to hung up on that point. This drama would have benefited so much from being longer; the world that they have created is fascinating and it should be fleshed out way more than it was.

The acting is phenomenal and the characters are really interesting. Like I said, I just wish it was better organized.

All in all, it's a good watch. It's not god-tier iconic, but I do recommend it - especially to people who are looking to watch something different.

EDIT AFTER FINISHING THE WHOLE THING: Don't do it. If you're reading this while contemplating watching the drama, it just got worse and worse. The story didn't get better. The story was shit. Save yourself.

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I’m going to start this off with the fact that right from the beginning, I wasn’t a huge fan of the story of this drama. All throughout the drama, I’ve been convincing myself that I should keep giving it chances to redeem itself and here we are now, after the very last episode. This drama could have been shortened to at most 10 or 12 episodes, but the writer decided that it was a good idea to extend this up until 16 episodes. There were plenty of scenes that this drama could have had without. Yes, I’m talking about the drama between Joo Hyuk’s bank colleagues. I think that it would have been alright to include those scenes if they would have some sort of impact to the main characters’ story, but there really wasn’t. I suppose that the stories about the other bank workers are a “break” from the main characters’ story or perhaps “comic relief," but there were just too much of it and it did very very little or nothing to progress the plot.

As for the main characters themselves, right off the bat, we are shown that both our male and female leads are flawed. Now that is fine, because we all love to see how their characters would develop and how they could possibly fix their past mistakes. But the writer was so good into turning the viewers’ feelings of “neutral” to “dislike” up until you’re seething with anger and hatred towards the characters that you’re supposed to sympathise with and like. Our precious main characters are quite the selfish people and their fated love prevails everything else to the point that they were cheating on their respective partners. I’ve never quite watched a drama where the writer romanticises cheating to follow one’s heart and not feeling guilt whatsoever for one’s wrongs. Anyway, since the point of the story seemed to be a better relationship between the main characters, the last few episodes would not disappoint you.

But despite such a mess of a drama, the actors did very well to portray the sort of characters that the writer had given them. I especially appreciate the acting from Park Hee Bon (Cha Joo Eun) and Oh Eui Sik (Oh Sang Sik) as I enjoyed their characters’ addition to the drama. Their portrayal of a married couple, I found, was more enjoyable than our main characters’ love story. If you are a fan of Han Jimin or Jisung, I’d say, you’ll appreciate their acting as always, but I hope that their characters here would not make you like them any less.

If there is anything that I loved from this drama, it’s the OST. The songs fit so well with the overall vibe and every time I hear the songs playing, it would sometimes make me forget that the drama has such a messy story. Even if you, who might be reading this now, was planning to watch this drama and decided that maybe you’re not going to watch it after all, at least give the OST a listen. I recommend Roy Kim’s “No Longer Mine.” Likewise, N.Flying’s “Let Me Show You” and SF9’s “Love Me Again” were good songs. Both groups did so well with the OST.

In the end, I wouldn’t recommend this drama and I would not watch it again. The drama has redeeming qualities here and there, but despite that, this story hasn’t completely won me over. I know that there are others who enjoyed this drama so don’t let all the negative things that I’ve mentioned here stop you if you really were keen to watch it. At the end of the day, this is just my opinion amongst many others and perhaps I’ve just failed to see all the positive things about the drama that could possibly outweigh the negatives.

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A show where judges masquerade as police officers

I am not exactly sure what genre this drama is supposed to be. Legal? Police procedural? Thriller? And in all honesty, I don't think the showrunners know either. This drama tries to be all of the above yet succeeds at none. The "police procedural" parts of the show are horribly unrealistic and do nothing but to detract from the main theme of the drama. "Judges are not supposed to get involved in prosecution or investigation!!!!" are words that have been yelled by 2 senior presiding judges yet main character (Sim Eun Seok) still throws caution to the wind and go on with her own investigations. Despite this, the evidence she obtained through her illicit investigations are still admissible in court! Like what??? I'm not a lawyer, but I sure as hell don't think JUDGES would get their hands dirty or even have the TIME to conduct investigations themselves. And I mean if the judges are gonna do the investigations, why do we even need the damn police? This is too ridiculous. But wait, the icing on the cake is in the last episode. In the last episode, she waltzes right into a baddie's hideout which for some reason, isn't locked and doesn't even have a DOOR to prevent entry. Surprisingly (or not) she gets ambushed and only escapes by the skin of her teeth. Injured and seriously bleeding, she gets into a taxi and makes her way speedily to guess where? HER FKIN OFFICE. I literally laughed out loud. Like ok, the show has consistently portrayed her as an obsessive workaholic (more on her character later) but this is just too far beyond the realm of realism. Not to mention all the evidence in the baddie's hideout was also nicely displayed for the authorities to collect. Just absurd. Parts of the dialogue also sounded like they were right out of a PSA on the social system of Korea, with characters literally rambling on the differences between a social care home and a facility. I get that viewers need some context on Korea's social welfare system but what?! NOBODY speaks like that in real life, unless they are narrating for a documentary. "Show, not tell" is a really apt saying that this show should have heeded.

Unrealistic parts aside, I also felt that this show had a lot of unrealized potential. There was commentary on social issues like income inequality, nepotism, lack of funding/resources for social welfare programmes etc but they were all skin deep and didn't do much to explore the issues further. For example, many cases centered on kids from disadvantaged backgrounds committing crimes. Judge Sim comes into court, makes a few holier than thou comments like how circumstances push the kids to commit crimes but at the end of the day, the kids make the decision to commit crimes themselves. The end. Next case. They could have done more with the material by portraying kids from bad backgrounds committing crimes VS kids from good backgrounds committing crimes (nature vs nurture) OR even gone deeper into Judge Cha's story of being a reformed teenaged delinquent but oh well.

This brings me to the next point of the characters. Judge Sim is extremely unlikeable to begin with, and even when her tragic backstory is revealed (they always have tragic backstories don't they?) she is still unsympathetic. She is extremely self-righteous, curt, cold and seemingly devoid of empathy whatsoever except towards the victims. Her stunning lack of empathy was on full display when she confronted her boss about his alleged corruption in the freaking HOSPITAL where his son was warded after an attempted suicide. Yes, as judges, one has to be upright and honest but dude?? Time and place man. Her self-righteousness also spills over to how she treats the defendants and even her colleague Judge Cha who is forced to capitulate to her every demand. Judge Cha is the typical "nice guy" who believes in treating kids with respect and believing in them, but Judge Sim constantly steamrolls his every opinion. In their conversations, Judge Sim goes on long tirades about how she detests juvenile delinquents and do not believe they would be rehabilitated, that they need to feel the full force of the law... leaving poor Judge Cha quaking and unable to resist as she is his senior. The show validates this strangely, going out of their way to portray the juvenile delinquents as unrepentant, lying scums of the earth who should be locked up for good since they'll just end up as adult criminals anyway. Makes me wonder if the writer had a grudge against juvenile delinquents or something.

Overall, this show is fairly entertaining but don't go in expecting to be educated on Korea's juvenile court system. The acting is decent, with the teenaged actors stealing the spotlight. Kim Hye Soo was decent as Judge Sim, though she wasn't able to show off her range as her character was mostly cold and reserved. Watch only if you can ignore the unrealistic parts and if you do not mind a show with an unlikeable main character.

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Love's Cruel Fate: A Soul-Crushing Journey of Heartache

🍁OVERVIEW OF PLOT:-

Lost You Forever season 2 continues the epic tale of Xiaoyao and explores the complexity of love, responsibility, family and pursuit of characters to achieve what they desire for.

Recap of Season 1:
-Xiaoyao got engaged to ChiShui FengLong.
-Cang Xuan became the king of Xiyan.
-Tushan Jing married Fangfeng Yiying.
-Xiang Liu is busy with arranging provisions for his army.

This season explores timeless themes, including the consequences of ambition and enduring nature of love and more of a tear-jerker.

🍁MY VIEWS:-

This season delves deeper into the complexities of love, loyalty, insecurity and obsession. Xiaoyao's hidden identity and her pursuit of finding true love or a suitable partner are expertly woven throughout the narrative, showcasing her inner conflicts. Her journey has its share of ups and downs, but unfortunately, I didn't see any notable character growth, which is a disappointment. Ultimately, Xiaoyao got what she wished for her entire life, which, in my opinion, can be said a happy ending but not entirely so. While, I don't agree with her choice, I can't bring myself to blame her, it's the result of her painful past; considering that, she was unable to do otherwise.

Cang Xuan's obsession with Xiaoyao reaches new heights, while Xiang Liu's torn loyalties between his army and foster father, and love for Xiaoyao create a poignant and tragic arc. His selfless decision to break ties with Xiaoyao and ultimately sacrifice for her happiness and his army is a heart-wrenching testament to his character.

I get where Cang Xuan is coming from for his obsession with Xiaoyao. When someone loses loved ones one after another, they often become obsessed with the one who remains, driven to protect and keep them by their side, fearing separation. This is a fundamental human instinct, observable in many people. In my view, Cang Xuan's feelings for Xiaoyao aren't romantic love, but rather a deep-seated desire to keep her close, stemming from a misunderstanding of his own emotions - a classic case of obsession.

Now, we have Xiang Liu, the one who tugs at my heartstrings the most. He embodies the true definition of selfless love. When it comes to loving Xiaoyao, no one can surpasses him. His love is not possessive but progressive for Xiaoyao. His love never limited her growth nor did it become a binding chain for her outstretched wings. Instead, it made her strong. He is the one she felt the most comfortable with, to showing her vulnerable side without hesitation. She knew he can understand her and her pain the best. That's why I always say they are soulmates. She always restrained herself to not love him but love can never be restrained. She never willingly opened her heart to him, yet he unknowingly entered her dreams. He made her strong so she could protect herself, gave her someone to rely on, and provided a place or home to go even when the whole world turned on her.

"For a general, the best end is to die in battle."
- Xiang Liu
Heed these words, for they foretell a fate that will soon unfold.

Don't even get me started on Tushan Jing.. I'm so sick of this character that I don't want him to appear on my screen. While other characters are intriguing, Tushan Jing alone makes me so infuriated that I feel like throwing my phone every time he shows up. If there's a definition of a useless male lead, he'd be the perfect fit. In Season 1, I had a slightly positive impression of him and expected him to become more assertive and active, but in this season, I found myself wishing he'd die early on just to spare myself the frustration and high blood pressure. He remained a sobbing mug and a dog wagging his tail for Xiaoyao all the time. Oh! My bad, it's an insult for dogs, implying they are as pathetic as him. This guy has nothing else to do and is incapable of doing anything. All he's got is the money to win the game. And what's the point of his so called intelligence and kindness when he can't use it to solve a single problem in his own life?! But this opinion of mine is solely based on the viewing experience of drama, I still have a good impression of Jing from book.

The character development of some characters in Season 2 is done well, with characters facing significant challenges and transformations, especially A'Nian and Xiang Liu. Xiang Liu's heroic ending is a fitting conclusion to his story, leaving a lasting impact on the audience and making me bowled my eyes out for him. Grandpa of Xiaoyao and King of Haoling are one of the best characters in here.

As this season is a continuation of Season 1, a brief recap is provided to refresh our memory of the story. However, the pacing of Season 2 is somewhat slow, with noticeable scene jumping throughout the drama. Unfortunately, many important scenes were cut and changed, resulting in a lack of depth in some areas. I am dissatisfied with the changes, which left a bittersweet taste in my mouth. This season feels somewhat rushed and jumping through story arcs too quickly, so transition is choppy waters and lacking the intensity of the arcs. Nevertheless, be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster, as I mentioned earlier - have your tissues ready!

🍁ACTING:-

This show boasts a talented cast, with Yang Zi shining bright as Xiaoyao and evoke strong emotions. Her sad and confronting scenes are breathtaking. Her chemistry with Tan Jian Ci and Zhang Wan Yi is sizzling and undeniable, while on other hand, flat and forced with Deng Wei.

Zhang Wan Yi also gave remarkable performance showcasing the pain of Cang Xuan, his obsession and ruthlessness.

Tan Jian Ci masterfully weaves a subtle magic, his eyes speaking volumes as Xiang Liu. His performance is a raging storm on a wild night- intense and unstoppable. He will make you feel heartbreak and smile like an idiot.
Other supporting cast also did a good job.

🍁CONCLUSION:-

In conclusion, Lost You Forever Season 2 is an emotionally charged continuation of the first season. With its exploration of complex themes, character development, and outstanding performances, this season is a must-watch for the ones who are looking for conclusion to the stories of the characters.

Some lost, some gained, but the gain can never make up for the loss.

While having its flaws and some characters may frustrate or infuriate, the heart-wrenching story and remarkable acting make up for it.

"You don't want me to come into your dreams.
You must sleep soundly and have sweet dreams every night.
Otherwise.....
Xiaoyao, from now on I can no longer protect you.
Take good care of yourself.
May you live in peace without worries."
- Xiang Liu

Be prepared to cry and smile as you follow Xiaoyao's journey and the touching arcs of Xiang Liu and Cang Xuan. Overall, a fantastic and memorable watch!

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