Reviews

Warm family time

The excerpt truly summarizes this drama perfectly. It is the exact plot of the drama. Nothing extra happens.

This drama is a multi-starrer. I'm sure, every once in while watching those thrilling leads give their all of their love stories, we wonder what happened to the people around them, their friends and family? Like a running joke of where the parents are in all those young adult save the world novels. If you are one of those people, you would love this series. It is centered around romance, but with the context of marriage. There are 5 (and some extra) romance plot lines.
Every parent worries about what would happen to their children when they eventually pass away. Who would accompany them, care about them with sincerity when they are no longer around? Mrs. Li also has the same worries. Truly a tigress raising her children, while single handedly fending off packs of wolves. All of her precious 5 girls are domineering, far from the delicate traditionally feminine, 'demure' behavior that is generally deemed as acceptable then (even now). They're famously called the "The 6 Fierce Li Ladies from Louyang". The drama, essentially follows the Li family's daughters as they find a suitable partner, a perfect match to peacefully live life well.

Each Li lady as her own personality, her own attitude and quirks, and the story follows how they find a groom, marry, and then get settled into family life. There were some concerns about the ML being red flags, and while they arent unfounded, The story gives each one of them a redemption arc of sorts. The drama's idea of a perfect match is that ML and FL have complimentary personalities, so even the borderline red flag behaviors of the ML is kind of directed towards only outsiders, to protect the family (their + Lis). There is an element of FL 'taming' the ML. The FL are written to be extra fierce to make up for the naturally unbalanced misogynistic power gradient due to the nature of the historic setting. An important feature to note, almost all ML have a close female family member influence - a single mother, a dear sister, a grandmother. It was very lowkey tho, idk if it was intentional or to send a message to audience.

Watch this drama if:
1. You like Multi starrer, family drama
2. The brides family doesnt abandon her in any way. As long as their daughter is alive, she is welcome at home. Even if she comes sobbing on her wedding night. Even when shes a widow. Li family doesnt abandon their daughters.
3. Ladies making it big (living well) in a mans world. Fighting against the general ridicule and malicious attacks of people who deem them as a weak spot. They're able to fend them off by themselves, and later with more ease by help of the MLs.
4. Dutiful ML- The MLs stand for and are concerned about their wives family. They willingly actively participate in family meetings and help in major decisions. Its shown that its to get brownie points for their wives, but thats not the whole reason, they are really sincere.
5. Hilarious Li family Husband alliance - little bit of bromance (tiny bit). A support group of sorts.
6. Matraich family
7. Monogamy- MLs swear that in case of death of wife, shall mourn for atleast 3 years before marrying again, (or in one case, even follow to die). Shall not take any other woman while married to wife.
8. Crash course on how not to get bullied and preventing your daughter/ sister from getting bullied/ harassed after marriage.
9. All marriage problems and discord are solved by the interference of the Li family (not unwelcome - only when asked). Li daughters arent spoiled, they are scolded also, for being to harsh on their husband (in one case). All FL, and other ML give advice on how to solve situation without compromising on self's dignity.

Dont watch this drama if:
1. I seriously cant think of a reason.
2. All the usual c drama trigger warnings apply, but no cannon fodder. No side character dies.
3. I may have forgotten since i was watching this while airing.
4. Maybe if you dont like imperfect, borderline red flag (pre - redemption arc) ML. (Every ML becomes better except the 2nd)
5. If you watched this drama for Wang Xing Yue his role is quite little (cameo like) since this is a multi-starrer. I think it was strategically placed to seemed like he is solo ML, so that by the time 3rd couple is settled, we are grasped by Li Family and no longer care about Chai An (played by Wang Xing Yue).

Possible spoilers below. Recommended read at own risk if ur concerned about red flag MLs:





I'll briefly summarise the themes around romance of each Li daughter (by order of birth):
1. Age gap, substitution marriage, poor grounded ML, mature gentle FL. Mature romance. FL 2nd marriage. Older FL. Distant to close bond transformation.
2. this was the most bland and bleh. Ig fool- naive ML (sorry). But he means well at least. (He doesnt grow up)
3. Scheming ML and FL, battle of the wits, scheming to marry each other by tricks, misunderstandings - chemistry, rich- poor gradient.
4. Upright gentle stern (green forest) ML, gentle cute yet quietish FL. Flash Marriage. Aiding other through injury- strengthening bond. Older ML. Distant to close bond transformation.
5. Rich bratty ML (very bratty - red flag, but surprisingly has a turnaround with story arc), Domineering FL (red flag - beats everyone- husband beater). Out of all, has the most 'taming' element. Bride Kidnapping. ML supporting FL against in-laws. FL standing upto in-laws. FL beating up in-laws. FL straightening out ML to inspire him to become better person. ML becoming decent man for FL.

Idk if i missed out on anything 'cause i was watching this while it aired.

Read More

want to see actors in something else (watch suggestions)

Overall: this is an old school Thai romcom/drama that should have been left in the past. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each aired in Thailand. I watched the WeTV version that had 10 episodes but most of episode 10 was the actors talking about the series. Aired on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/e36k7s4okwtoesy-A%20secretly%20love%20(Uncut%20Ver.)

Watch Suggestions (this avoids a lot of a guy harassing his ex-girlfriend, hazing and second lead syndrome)
- watch episode 1 from 5-19:20 (flashback to them in high school)
- start episode 4 at 37:40
- watch episode 5
- watch episode 6 from 23 to 34:20
- watch episode 7 from the beginning to 6, then GL at 16-17, watch 23-29 or continue to the end if you want to see a lot of music practice/performance
- watch episode 8 from 4-18:40 and then 41-42 has a nice message about funding rural schools
- watch episode 9 from 18:30-23, 26-29:40 and 34-39 (or can watch to the end)
- either start episode 10 at 6 minutes or you can watch the whole first 12 minutes (the rest is behind the scene stuff)

Content Warnings: slaps, manhandling, blood, beaten up, stalking, harassing, hazing, slaps played as comedy, non con touching

What I Liked
- clear premise
- supportive friends (the twins)
- the GL after they communicated/were honest with each other
- episode 8 message of the importance of funding rural schools

Room For Improvement
- for the majority of the series viewers saw an utterly unlikable character, he's harassed his ex, was immature, acted like a jerk, there were almost no redeeming qualities so I did not want him in a romantic relationship with anyone
- cliche (more than once) saw something and didn't communicate
- comedy sound effects that didn't make it funny, nor was the toilet humor in episode 9 funny
- was not a fun way to start a series (and I hope unrealistic)
- confusing parts, based on the summary and what was shown they first met in high school when Khon was a Freshman and Pluem a Sophomore, in the present they were a Sophomore and Senior in university, Khon didn't interact with Pluem for 2 years at the same university? he's just started the hazing/initiation stuff with Pluem?
- kind of a 'gay for you' trope
- episode 5 had a flashback montage of what we just saw in the episode
- very confusing subtitles (didn't take off points although it did negatively affect the ability to understand what was happening, Necklace was the ex-girlfriend)
- the title should have been "I Secretly Love You" or "A Secret Love" (didn't take off points)

Read More

Very perilous for the ML...

This love is indeed very perilous... but only for the ML. This guy gets stabbed and poisoned so many times that I gave up counting. The way this character is written is a collection of the worst clichés surrounding male leads in historical and xianxia dramas. He is indestructible, will do everything for the FL, except maybe talking to her honestly or confessing his love.
The FL on the other hand is a mixed package. Sometimes she comes across as this gutsy lady who wants to avenge her family, sometimes she is the clever doctor and sometimes she is a meek as a flower and as dumb as a brick.
All the antagonists had at least some decent motivation which sadly isn't a given in C-drama.
The plot of this drama could have been interesting, but the writing was just so-so which on many occasions made the story seem repetitive and indecisive. The acting was pretty good though, which is the reason why I watched it to the end.
In terms of romance this drama offers more than most of the recent high profile dramas as it has quite a few kisses and scenes of intimacy. The chemistry between the couple is really good and at least on the romance side the writers spared us a lot of the usual cliches.
Overall, it is a pleasant short drama to watch as a filler or doing some chores.

Read More

tempting cast, boring scenario

First of all, I want to let you know that I really like Yang Yang and Dilraba.

I also notice the ratings on this drama received many 10's…Most watchers think it is cute, loving and soooooo very romantic.

But, I personally find this drama dragged on and on. There are more kissing than necessary, it does not add to the plot of the drama. Largely, it emphasized on the love relations between the main casts and that is exactly what this whole “thrill” is based on and nothing else. I can't even comprehend why this aerospace engineering genius is teaching gaming? Stretching the screenplay??

I do not find the story itself interesting nor exciting….to put it another way, there is not much to this tale accept lots of smooching and hugging.

It is a drama for the wishful, sentimental romantics.

Read More

baek ahjin and her 3 sidekicks...

Maybe before I go into the details let me begin by saying the ending is terrible not satisfying at all.

I have not read the webtoon so this review is purely based on what was shown to me in the drama. Our FL is the villain and that itself is very interesting. But different from other villains who are fierce on the outside soft on the inside this character is just pure evil. Since she is the lead, for the drama to move forward all her wrong doings in the end has to be covered up (cause if shes caught then there is no drama). So the episodes are just a continuous cycle of her taking advantage of guys and making them fall into traps.

Honestly, the story of the part time boss made the most sense all the others were just blinded by the thought that "oh maybe she likes me"...Because of this I couldnt relate to any of the characters cause I didnt understand why they are so devoted to her. At least for junseo he has something to feel guilty about but the rest...they are just blindly being her accomplice.

Then her school bully just randomly one day decided to start living together with her???

The entire marriage with MDH just felt like a plot to increase the number of episodes cause it brought nothing to the drama. The last few episodes felt extremely rushed.

While they were revealing all her issues it finally felt like the drama was getting somewhere until the ending where it just messed everything up....

I read comments saying we need to really understand the characters and stuff but to be honest...the writing and development is just bad. It just feels like multiple plots being layered one after another.

For Kim YooJung definitely this drama is really something new and she managed to show the audience her acting range. Her acting was amazing and you could tell how much effort she put in to get the sociopath vibes out.

Read More

WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL

What i want to understand is how you can go from being practically the best unexpected K drama of 2025 to one of the worst in a matter of 7 episodes????
This show had the strongest first half I've seen in a korean drama for a very long time it had the old school vibes with ur cliche characters who had charm. So how the hell did it manage to go wrong? THE WRITERS THATS WHY

Here are a couple of rewrites that would have made the drama better

First of all there was absolutely no reason for the both male leads to like Go da rim ,Writers need to understand we are comfortable in a world and situation where all the men don't love our female lead i mean it practically made no sense u had 20 years but u didn’t confess until she found someone else HELLLLLLLL TO THE NO, the 2nd male lead should have liked the 2nd female lead and both begin a relationship while still trying to keep Go da rims secret

second of all the whole misunderstanding arc i understand is the basline of the drama but was dragged on too thoughtlessly only for a rather unclimatic reveal, instead the writers should have revealed it during the time he thought the 2nd ml and the 2nd fl we're having an affair. They all should have told him in a funny way they were a couple and him and Da rim would be free to date privately the show would have been 100 percent better if it followed the 4 couples hiding their relationships each pretending to be with the others parthner in public

Third of all
The sister and the chairman and the very uncessary practically useless to the plot brother in law, why were any of these characters given half the screen time??? the completely ruined any potential of character depth with the sister when that BIL was introduced,she truly would have made a perfect addition to his mom and him group to take down the chairman and he would have given her the company without issues???? And honestly that slap the chairman gave Go da rim was completely disgusting and off-putting literally no reason to do that its FKING ASSAULT

Last of all
the whole 2 last episode needed to be thrown out because why are we adding every kind of random uncessary drama cliches known to mankind? i was so baffled i even expected them to add a they met when they were children trope to wrap the huge Christmas present up since they were so keen of destroying any kind of sensible thought process i mean LEAVING THE CITY , YOUR HANDSOME BOYFRIEND WORKS TO WOO YOU BACK,CAR ACCIDENT, AMNESIA they should have made her pregnant instead of her co worker if they knew they wanted to endorse such nonsense

To sum it up
I am truly disappointed in this drama i was in a very big depressing slump this year and the first half of this show really changed that for me it hurts when a drama you know has so much potential just crumbles down due to Lazy writing i mean gather 5 k drama watchers on this app and they could think of a better Second half than this show i know my ideas are probably not the best but in my opinion they are 90 percent better than what we watched on screen it felt like a complete time waste to even invest in such a drama when it all comes burning down. But still kudos to the actors they did an amazing job and kudos to the First episodes writers. I guess we are ending the year with another When the phone rings kind of failure IYKYK.
Merry Christmas people and Happy new fking year

Read More

Disappointed by the evolution of the FL

Three Chapters – HUGE SPOILERS

Chapter 1 : the birth of a psychopath

The origin of the FL as a psychopath who grew up being self-centered. After witnessing the attempted murder of her mother, she let her die because it was advantageous for her. Then she kept manipulating people, good ones, bad ones, anyone she can to obtain the results she wants. Very well told. I enjoyed this part where she is savage and has no empathy. Especially how she schemed and achieved the assassination of her own father and still walked freely after twists and turns.

Chapter 2 : The romance of a psychopath girl and a lost boy

FL is harassed by a female colleague. She manipulates people and gets rid of her. She decides to date her rival’s ex-bf lost in drinks and drugs. Another great load of cold manipulation. She is so good at that. She sneakily approaches him using someone dear to him of course. She clears his guilty conscience, makes him fall in love with her, gives him nice moments then tosses him aside like an old sock. She refuses to tell him the whole truth of her lies. Feeling guilty and desperate, lost boy meets his demise. She finds him and tells him “you were weak” and she lets him to rot. Her move on him was a bit nonsense and out of character for me. Plus at times, writers wanted to make her look like a nice person. Like she is the poor victim of bad people.

Chapter 3: Psycho wife VS Psycho husband

FL weds a rich handsome perfect man just to be trapped and tortured until minion 2 sacrifices himself to give her a solution but minion 1 is pissed off so he decides to reveal everything and put an end to a situation that he himself contributed to. For me that part had plot holes. Especially regarding the origin of the husband, the reasons of his actions against her and how he blends in her story. FL's new rise and downfall is rushed too.

Overall, it starts good and violent then quality drops because the characterization of the FL weakens. The end is questionable as the writer chooses an immoral ending. I do not mind revenge plots where grey characters wins but when it is a cold scheming manipulative murderer who wins… It’s not so nice. 7/10.

Thanks to the actors and crew for this drama.

Read More

Another review of the most popular drama on MDL is certainly redundant; in fact, I haven't got much to add to what has already been so well expressed by many.
However, you could have the same reservations I had before someone recommended it to me, and may end up skipping a delicious drama thinking - wrongly - that it's not for you.

At first I simply left it off my list without a second thought because of the meagre synopsis. What, fangirlism? No, thank you! I'm not even a fan of K-pop, let alone pop from the 90ies, who could care less?, I thought.
If you have the same doubts, please know that this drama proved me wrong: not only "groupies" and K-pop are a simple vehicle to a completely different story, but that same fangirl I thought I would detest became my favourite character and the one I related to the most.

The story is made of small moments, some hilarious, some incredibly sweet, some profound, some all of those. There are episodes, mostly in the beginning, which take place in the space of a few hours and tell of little, at times mundane occurrences. They are the true force of the drama, along with the characters, because whether you're young or old, from one side of the planet or the other, you surely have lived at least one of those situations yourself. All is seasoned with those very Korean peculiarities we love, including huge meals, bodily needs, people losing their temper and shouting around, gossiping ahjummas and overly stubborn ahjussis.

Reply 1997 finally confirmed something I have been thinking about a lot lately: my liking of a drama is directly related to the number of likable characters. The more, the better.
These people are adorable. All of them. And on top of them, let me put Shi Won, an anti heroine full of shortcomings but wonderfully consistent, brave, straightforward and charming. Even when she's wrong, she's reasonable. I dare say, this drama is a celebration of feminism, not the trite and anachronistic one of wild females rotating their bras over their heads and claiming the ownership of their bodies, but the one combining sweetness and strength of will, friendship and solidarity among girls.

The very natural acting of all adds to the general feeling of realism. It's easy to forget these people are staging a drama. Great. At times I laughed hard, smiled or sympathized because I could see that very scene happening live in front of my eyes.

The music isn't unforgettable, but it's used very well and it's so varied it never bored me, nor did I ever think it wasn't properly chosen for the scene.

As I said, another review may not be very useful, but if it convinces even one hesitant viewer to give the drama a try, it'll have fulfilled its purpose. A very sweet and enjoyable ride I am willing to go along for again. Any time.

Read More

It gets to a point

I want to start this rant review by saying that, if A Dream Within a Dream (or alternatively, Everyone Hates Nan Heng) was trying to rage-bait me, then it has successfully completed its task, because I haven’t written a drama review in almost a year, but this one made me do it.

The premise is interesting: Song Xiaoyu, an unsuccessful actress, gets a leading role next to an A-List celebrity (Nan Feng), but her character is only a pawn to the male lead in a terrible script. She then gets sucked into the story and decides to be as far away as possible from the “God of War” male lead. Though it doesn’t sound too ground breaking, the first episode and its satirical tone of the chinese drama industry immediately caught my attention. The first few episodes were good (although a bit too corny for my taste), but it didn’t take too long for it to go downhill, and fast.

Which brings me to the first (of many) fatal flaw, the female lead of this story. I absolutely despised Song Yimeng’s character. She is supposed to be the only “real” person in a world full of fictional characters, yet somehow acts the most caricature-like absurdly of them all. Her behavior is erratic to the point of being nonsensical. She is terrified of Nan Heng one minute, pitying him the next, overconfident in between, then suddenly in love with him (?). There is no arc here, just emotional whiplash.

Also, how do you go from repeatedly dying in a scripted world without fear to suddenly being terrified of death after your situation changes slightly? The fear itself makes sense, you could argue that, since the situation has changed, she can’t be completely certain a new death scene will result in her restarting the story, but she never has a thought process that leads to this conclusion and explains her fears. And never, not once does she seriously think about going back to her real life? She’s constantly stressed and in danger, yet seems perfectly content to remain in this fictional world just because she has money and a fake family.

Speaking of which, her family dynamics? Barely explored. She immediately latches onto her fictional family without any organic development. Why not let us see those bonds form over time, rather than expecting us to care just because you told us to?

The drama tries to critique the tropes of male-centric stories where female leads exist only to further the male protagonist’s journey. But then it... becomes that exact thing. Nan Heng and Li Shiliu dominate the screen. SYM might be the protagonist, but she spends most of the drama reacting, acting ridiculously, or even, especially during the middle part of the story, off-screen. She doesn’t grow. Even by episode 27, she’s still stuck on the idea that the script is unchangeable. No progress. No inner transformation. Just a tragic family backstory shoved in way too late in a failed attempt at emotional depth and a sense of clarity that comes out of nowhere towards the end of the story that can only be described as reaching Nirvana because she saw Nan Heng mounted on a fake pegasus and dressed in white.

And then, of course, the plot holes. So many. It genuinely feels like they filmed the first draft of the script with no revisions. Characters reach conclusions instantly, they contradict themselves within minutes. Basic logic? Missing. I could list a dozen examples, but here’s the one that broke me: when Song Yimeng, Chu Guihong, and Li Shiliu are “working together”, Nan Heng (disguised as LSL) denies any alliance with the Seventh Prince and even joins a plot to assassinate himself (which, honestly, I found pretty funny). But just a few episodes later, he’s throwing a banquet at Waning River Crescent as Nan Heng, casually walking around with Shangguan He. Subtlety? Never heard of it. And naturally, no one notices, because everyone in this drama is, tragically, an idiot.

As for overall character development. There was close to none. SYM, as mentioned previously, had no character development arc, NH was perfect from the beginning (the viewer just didn’t know about it), the emperor turned a switch and went from hating his son to loving him. As for Chu Guihong, I, innocently, thought that he would have the most interesting character arc, becoming a villain and all, but it just ends up being so incredibly exaggerated and nonsensical, I can't even say I liked that.

Then there's Song Yiting. At first I disliked her because she was annoying (which, fair, so am I), but this woman is vile. She's a predator who attempts to s*x**lly assault Li Shiliu under the pretense of wanting to “ruin her marriage prospects”. There is no gray area here. She drugs a man to force him into s*x and the show barely blinks. I could talk a lot more about this, but choose not to in order to protect my own sanity.

And if all of thatr wasn’t already enough, here enters the Scriptwriter character, who shows up, becomes a moustache-twirling-top-hat-wearing cartoon villain and then ends up helping the protagonists. Just like SYM, no real person attributes, just absolute idiocracy.

I know I have done nothing but complain, but (shockingly) there were things I liked.

The soundtrack, for one, is mostly great. Unfortunately, most of the good tracks are tied to Li Shiliu, and once he’s gone, so is the music. But during his scenes, the audio experience was really good.

The drama was indeed funny. There were many moments in which I caught myself actually laughing out loud at scenes, so I have to give credit where it’s due.

As for Nan Heng, shockingly, I enjoyed his character, for the most part. He carried more emotional nuance than expected and managed to steal the spotlight from the actual female lead, Song Yimeng, in what is supposedly her breaking-the-cycle-of-female-lead-being-a-device-to-the-male-lead story. Ironically, a drama that seems to critique the sidelining of female leads ends up doing exactly that, SYM becomes more of a supporting character halfway through the show.

Well, in conclusion, powering through this drama was like when you drive past a car crash. Horrifying, and yet somehow impossible to look away from precisely because it is so terrible.

Come to think of it, the acting, costumes, setting, and soundtrack all range from at least average to genuinely great. Production value isn’t the issue, the script is, and unfortunately, without solid writing, even the most stunning production falls flat.

A Dream Within a Dream starts off promising, dynamic, and almost clever. But it quickly devolves into a bloated mess of half-baked character arcs and lazy plotting (it seems that the writers wanted things to happen and characters to develop thoughts, but were too lazy to do the DEVELOPING part, and just threw the action into the screen). The very clichés it claims to satirize, it ends up indulging in.

If the goal was to criticize bad storytelling, maybe they should’ve tried writing a good one first.

Read More

Mediocre male characters that still somehow made the fans fight.

For a drama that on the surface, on paper seems to present many interesting issues, fun plotlines, entertaining characters - this was a massive fail. With all that was technically going on in the drama, the fact that “which male character should the female lead end up with” was the hottest topic among the viewers shows how unengaging everything was.

Here’s the thing, I actually enjoyed it at first. Do Hae Yi was refreshingly bubbly and shameless about her love for money. Her enthusiasm and energy seemed realistic and fun. Loved her interactions with all the characters and was curious about a potential character development and possible change of priorities in her life (or at least some adjustments). For the most part her character was painfully stagnant, just to start hiding things and being less straightforward in the later episodes. They tried to fix that in last few episodes, but it was too little too late.

Characters wise, it felt like a huge waste of initial set up. More or less none of the characters got any development. They started and finished on the same note. We got some small changes of personalities in some side characters, but the mains were completely forgotten. The writers suddenly remembered they should do something about the main cast in the last two episodes, so everything felt rushed.

I knew we would get a typical love triangle, but with the addition of the mystery, I thought this would actually be an interesting watch. How wrong I was. The love triangle was painful to watch, since none of the male leads was that good or interesting. One, while interesting as a character and having quite a well built story around him, had an unhealthy obsession over Hae Yi. The other had the personality of a white wall and no depth, which made him simply uninteresting. Can believe we all had arguments about these basic boys in the comment section. It did have a great set of supporting characters though.

I honestly don’t want to even talk about the mystery aspect. It went from tense unknown, to barely existing, to murder thriller levels of ridiculousness. The culprit was a clown and their reveal made most of the audience question the writers’ choices. I never felt less interested in the “bad guy” reveal and the fact we had to wait so long to get any answers about the motive added to the issue.

An aspect I actually truly loved about the show were female friendships and support. There were no unnecessary catfights, no random jealousy - far more support, understanding and encouraging each other. Especially from Hae Yi and Sun Ja, and Choon Yang and Jin Hee. Honestly, I would not mind if they put more focus and gave more screen time for the mothers.

On a completely subjective note, one of my side ships failed and it made me sad. The potential behind that couple was amazing, and it was dropped for the more obvious and less complex one.

I did enjoy Han Ji Hyun’s performance. She was the only memorable part of the show. Making such an exciting, hype and enthusiastic character still feel realistic and not cartoonish couldn’t be an easy job, but she was able to achieve a believable result. Yes, the character was annoying in the second half, but that’s on the writing not the acting.

Another performance that caught my attention was Baek Ji Won as Hwang Jin Hee - Sun Ho’s mom. Her comedic addition had an underlying sadness and desperation to it, and I loved that this complexity was shown even in the limited screen time.

As for Bae In Hyuk - oh boy. I feel bad for him. He is not a bad actor, but anyone who watched Cheer Up would probably assume he is. I honestly believe the issue was the writing of Jungwoo and not the acting itself. Portraying a character that is so poorly written is just extremely hard.

Production value was high, but what’s the point when the story was not?

Overall, the show did not really deliver the cheers, nor the romance, nor the mystery. The friendship between Do Hae Yi and Joo Sun Ja was amazing and one of the limited saving graces of the show.

The show just left me frustrated. It had great potential to be a fun, light teen drama about coming of age, building friendship, learning how to give and receive help. How to believe in yourself, but also believe in people around you. And yet they wasted a good 80% of the time on useless, boring love triangles and mess of a bullshit mystery.

Read More

Intense. Brutal. Yes, I recommend it. And with a heavy heart I am also considering it valuable

"Weak Hero Class 1" leaves me with mixed emotions. It is an intense KDrama, in which the young people are remarkably slow-paced, sort of numb, at times bordering on apathy. On the other hand, there are violent outbursts. Extreme. Brutal. A cruel parallel world that actually should have no place whatsoever in the everyday life of high school students!
What kind of society do we live in? It is simply too much, what young people have to go through and deal with. KDrama didn't invent it. Neither does the webtoon, the story is based on. It is a sad and scandalous reality in many schools, in many classes, in South Korea and elsewhere.

"Weak Hero Class 1" doesn't sugarcoat anything.
And it ends just the way it is... no end in sight...

I admit, I was about to drop it. Too much frustration and violence - it actually goes on and on. (Even if the 'weak hero' develops cunning, inspiring recipes to fight back... it still remains a world of violence.)
But then the relationship dynamics between the boys (and girls) are quite intense and what they go through inside and out is touching. Ultimately, it doesn't help to look away - even if it's painful to look at. In fact, "Weak Hero Class 1" is a great, impressive production. It is a disturbing inventory - disturbing because the story leaves no perspective, no silver lining, no substantial room for hope. (At most marginal sparks of light here and there.)

The largely indifferent attitude towards life that prevails in posture and movement of the young people is one thing, the massive outbreaks of violence another. Each soul seems to have long since fled its young body, so that there are only roughly apathetic youths on the move who occasionally act as numb thugs who kick helpless bodies on the ground, or vice versa. It's actually unbearable. It's traumatizing on both sides. And yet it is everyday life. This creates a very unique flow in the world of the students. In this world, one may search in vain for serious, responsible, courageous adults. They are lacking. The kids are alone in this world and have to find their way to live in it, or rather: to survive. Which side will you be on? Perpetrator? Victim? Rescuer? Spectator?

What agitates me the most in connection with "Weak Hero Class 1" is the enormous enthusiasm among der age-group of 13-17, who with this story obviously feel seen right on. This may be 'only' a fictional story, but it obviously tells the story of the youth, we (adults) usually dont´t get. Many are thrilled. In fact, I'm NOT thrilled. I'm impressed by the intensity of the production, yes. But primarily appalled by the dominance of bullying and the severity of violence among peers in everyday school life today. I am also shocked by the documented, self-evident aimlessness and helplessness of the adults. Ultimately, I am frustrated by the lack of a positive outlook and affected by such a disillusioning world of experience of the young, growing up generation.

"Weak Hero Class 1" is based on the template of a web toon and has (via KDrama) by now reached an even wider audience, especially among the 'adults', regarding bullying among schoolchildren. I appreciate that. The KDrama was released on the young streaming platform Wavve and was thus able to give plenty of dramaturgical space to the violent excesses. Maybe more than necessary? Or just right? The KDrama has a simple mission: to show what 'we' tend not to see because 'we' (adults) have no place in this parallel world of schoolchildren. And as a matter of principle, the story does not provide any answers in terms of a way out. No.
In the contrary: 'we' adults are in the pillory... What have we done (and also missed) that it could have gotten this far! Where is this going to end? What can we do about it?

Anyway, bottom line: I recommend the series. And with a heavy heart I am also considering it valuable especially for all those who call themselves adults, parents, teachers, social workers, officials in youth welfare offices, police officers, etc....
Hello, wake up!

Read More

BUT SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS WITH THAT ENDING???

Dont get me wrong. I loved the whole series. I even understand why they chose that path. It was titled Twenty Five Twenty One so naturally i expected the story to peak when they were at that age.

But come on!!! Why end it like that? For the better part of the whole series we are being teased to guess who will end up together in a mystery-solving setup - a la the Reply series. And then when it ended it wasnt even hinted who the father or the husband is. The kid is Kim Min Chae, after all so i kinda accepted early on that the father wasnt YiJin but to not answer it rendered the whole present timeline useless. They could have removed the present Hee Do and her daughter and it wont change a thing, because they literally said its not important.

The good:
1. I loved the fencing (sports) main theme.
2. Nam Joo Hyuk. Boy has improved so much, i may be inclined to think his handlers are doing everything to make him a multi awarded drama actor. It almost worked in Start Up, hopefully this is it.
3. Choi Hyun Wook. What a breath of fresh air. I loved him in RB, but he just shined here.
4. Kim Tae Ri and Bo Na as Hee Do and Yu Rim, respectively . Beautiful and capable. Let me get back to this later.
5. The coach, and the mother. I am inloved with Kim Hye Eun, makes me wanna see her past dramas.
6. I liked the fact that it wasnt a fairy tale ending.

The so-so.
1. Kim Tae Ri. She is amazing in this role, but I get it, readers will hate me for saying this. There were some flak for the portrayal of a college student to a high school student love affair, it wasnt May December, but it was enough to make people think that high school HeeDo is way too young for an adult Yi Jin and at moments the idea is kinda cringy. I guess the producers thought, well Tae Ri is older than Joo Hyuk in real life so it shouldnt be an issue. My question however is, will the producers think differently if an early 20-year old actress was playing HeeDo? Also, like i said she did great here, but is there no actress who is younger than Nam Joo Hyuk who can portray Hee Do's emotions?

2. The pacing and length of episodes. 16 episodes of almost 90 minutes each. Sometimes i feel like episodes are a little too long and the last 2 episodes in particular crammed too many issues a little too late. I guess thats how the format is for most asian drama - make the leads break up in the penultimate episode and then cram and jampack the finale to solve all the issues. But goodness i counted a few scenes that were a little too long that could have been used for some other things like how many times HeeDo and YiJin broke up and madeup. I guess they thought extending the drama and the crying scenes will make people cry. My short attention span went a little haywire.


The bad
1. The older Hee Do. The actress portraying the older Hee Do is beautiful and i love the subtle acting that connects both the past and present HeeDo. BUT, is she really needed. Did the story changed by adding her character? Again, the non-reveal of the husband made her character useless, and i felt like that was done to trick the viewers into keep guessing who the husband is going to be. Another thing, Hee Do's mother acted the older character. Why cant Tae Ri do the same?
2. Hee Do's daughter Kim Min Chae. By the name alone, we know she is not Back Yi Jin's daughter. But still, her presence teased us with the possibility of Hee Do and Yi Jin endgame. But alas they thought it wasnt important enough to be discussed. So why do we need the whiny kid.
3. Now back to the ending. The whole series was great overall, but my heart needs closure.

Would i reccommend? Definitely, just prepare to spend some time with it. Am i going to rewatch? Sorry, its just too long, and theres just too many drama nowadays i dont think i can.

Kudos to Netflix for giving Asian dramas chance to shine in a much bigger stage, makes my subscription very worthwhile.

Read More