Reviews

Finished watching this drama. For me, it has been one of the best, is masterpiece category. I understand that the success of the drama is due to the excellent performance of Jun Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun. As main characters, got the all out. She really stole the show. Bears a resemblance to Kim Tae Hee in terms of performance is concerned. Has the ability to rip laughter while makes you mourn in tears. As for him, his character was very complex, keeping the public in the expectation of what was, is and will be, is not easy. At the same time, show that sweetness, extreme intelligence and ingenuity earned him win the best positions. And I find that to be a drama of 21 episodes, actually succeeded. I congratulate you. Now here a little while later, we'll see.

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Chuno is an odd show. It’s gorgeous to look at, if overly self-conscious, full of odd camera angles, exotic fight choreography, half-naked hunks and stylized slow-mo. However, all the pretty is in the service of a story that is essentially an extended chase scene. Jang Hyuk dazzles as Dae-Gil, owning the screen with sly humor and feral intensity. The role itself though is rather underwritten, and in the hands of a lesser actor could easily have become an inscrutable cipher. Speaking of ciphers, the principal antagonist looks fabulous massacring his way across Korea, but there is little sense of internal conflict or even compelling motivation as he instantly transforms from dutiful son to unstoppable killing machine. The female characters are also problematic. Lee Da Hae spends much of the show radiating pristine helplessness, more a walking stereotype of unattainable love than a human being, while Kim Ha Eun starts out spunky and clever, but devolves into obsessed and clingy.

Thematically, there are some interesting ideas thrown around about slavery, class, progress and authority but the writer seems unsure of exactly what he wants to say about them. The show is built around the awfulness of slavery, but it also depicts most of its slave characters as gullible fools, reinforcing the negative stereotypes stamped on them by the powerful. Folks respond to injustice with violence and/or flight, but neither tactic really seems to get anyone anywhere. There is a lot of stunning footage of running and fighting, but little clear sense of how the audience should feel about these choices. Are we supposed to applaud them? Reject them? Realize that the situation is a hopeless mess? And what is a viewer supposed to conclude from the fact that when change does happen, it results from factors almost totally removed from the actions of the central characters?

Good acting and striking visuals keep Chuno entertaining, but the narrative muddle weighs it down. There are some powerful moments, but the script never matches the dangerous, high-flying verve of its knife-wielding leading man.

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I wasn't expecting much of this drama and just started it because I was bored of other dramas I was watching.
And it was amazing!!! This drama captured me from the start and the message it had behind of this all (maybe I made that message up myself) was awesome. About self awareness, about finding yourself, in real life too, once your character develops you start to act a certain way, and sometimes you say things you don't want to and do things you don't want to, while you never do or say things you want to. Slowly loosing yourself in this hectic world and living through your karma without a way to escape. So becoming self aware makes you raise a big question "why the hell do I need to act this way? I want to make my own fate". And then you also start realizing how you can be an extra in someone's life, and even overall. And how hard it is to change the written scenario. How we may have past lives and our actions there may have led to the stuff happening here and all. Also how after becoming self-aware people get separated from normal society as they notice more and they become alone but how friendships here if they come they are much deeper.
Anyway I really liked this strong message at the start and was amazed at this drama and Dan Oh who was trying to change her fate. However the webtoon originally doesn't make dan oh a fate-changer from the start, all she wants is to find first love. In the drama however we get this strong Dan Oh who wants of course first love too but rather she wants to find someone who will change her destiny. That strong Dan Oh quickly changes into cute Dan Oh saying Haru Haru Haru all the time. At fist i loved it!! It was super cute but by the end it got too repetitive for me.
Haru comes into the scene and is like super mysterious. I loved the mystery around him it was very interesting. I loved his interactions with Dan Oh. I loved their love story! They had such a cute chemistry. Again his character became shallow and repetitive at the end. (IN the manhwa story itself extra is always shallow I understand that, and why it could be like that, but that also made many people like the "second lead")
Beak Kyung was an annoying jerk at the start. I loved him because I liked the actor in the WWW search. But here he was likable at the start for me. But at the end he redeems himself and becomes the most interesting character i guess.
The other side characters and the side "lead" characters were amazing. Like Lee Do Hwa and Yo Joo Da <3
However there were this meaningless love triangles, that became repetitive at the end.
The story got around HaruXDan Oh, Bake Kyung watching from afar, and the heart decease... Maybe they made it like that because it will be hard for them to get the mystery of that world BUT it would have been soo great if they gave us answers like "why did they become self aware in the first place? Who is the writer? Why is he drawing the same characters over and over and over again with no creativity at all? What is that hole? Why did other certain characters become aware...? Will they be stuck in this loop forever till the unoriginal writer dies? How did this world become kinda real in the first place? Why is the manhwa found in this world? Why does Haru draw so well? etc etc etc so many questions and all left unanswered.
I think my expectations just got too high because of the amazing start. It was going better and better each week jumping over my expectations even higher and higher. But the in the later part of the drama it all went downhill sadly.

Though the ending is kinda what I expected it to be... the uninteresting expectation lol. At the start everything i thought was wrong and i was sooo excited about it! I love when a drama doesn't go with my expectations but rather it goes higher. It quickly became the only drama i was looking forward each week and the thoughts that it might the best drama of 2019 crossed my mind too. But at the end it just went to the cliche direction.

Now the cast and actors did an amazing job!!! I loved each of them. I met some of the in other dramas and they didn't disappoint!! The characters were really great too!!
The plot had an amazing message and idea at the start, but couldn't execute it well. It went MUCH better than the webtoon but at the end it just returned to the webtoon..

OST was awesome!! I loved the themes I loved the songs!! I loved the love story at the start and was screaming all around xD

Overall:
It was a great drama and one of those that have super promising start and go downhill in the middle, however this one didn't fall as deep as many others do so I still rated it high because the performances and the execution was great. It just went to the kinda cliche and sad direction.

I don't usually rewatch dramas so i put a random number in there.

What I liked:
1.Self awareness message
2. Dan oh who wanted to change her fate
3. Mysterious Haru
4. All the second and side characters
5. Music
6. Idea
7. Love story

What I didn't like:
1. Repetitiveness
2. Dan Oh and Haru at the end
3. Baek Kyung at the start
4. draggy-ness at the end
5. ending
6. unanswered questions!!

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One of the best if it's your taste. ✨

I am willing to gloss over the awkward transitions and the somewhat rushed plots when it came to fixing the "stuffs" it all felt like plot convenience. The overly used illusions were somewhat tiring to watch but they did well to explain the difference between each occurrence though it was to us viewers just ... Same. 🤡

When it comes to the usual criticism. I don't mind the quite whispering as a slow talker myself the slow talking didn't bother me Q.Q The overly used soundtracks were sometimes overwhelming but I quite like them so it's a pass. Well when it comes to the Female lead I was not annoyed nor displeased with her though some what frustrated with her passiveness in some scenes.

Point deduction for the visuals came from the 🐦‍🔥 fight sequence which had pretty inconsistent quality compared to the other fight sequences. It was end game it should have been the best. To anyone who says that the entire drama's CGI is lacking I have no words maybe I am easily satisfied and this is visually just normal (can you see the sarcasm 🐣)
Another point is the filter they used kept changing so by the end of the drama all flashbacks have different filters on. 😬

The low acting score is cut for the early episodes where baiju and ying lei were really animated. As the show went on it slowly shifting though. Furthermore out villain actor at end game was meh but maybe it's just his character being a meh character. Usually older actors I tend to praise as they tend to do better.

Finally I just want to say that. This drama is about:
Humans, demons, mortals, immortals , hot, cold, weak, strong, burdened and unburdened forming a bond each one different then the other. Each villain's story tells a tragic tale. Each episode draws the group of seemingly different individuals together. Forming a family and I love it with my dear heart. Surely gonna miss this one. I ain't asking for a second session cause the ending was enough for me. ❤️‍🩹😭

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A Mess

I really had to push myself to finish this one and with them delaying the *final* single episode by a couple of weeks just added more pain to the injury. Finished it today, nothing that would change my mind happened.

I went into this one not really knowing quite what to expect other than the premise sounded interesting - someone called Gaetal organises a vote for whether to execute a criminal that the justice system has failed to handle, and they'll happen regularly. Sounds super interesting.

First couple of episodes go by and i'm starting to build up a picture of where I think it's going - and i'm *really* getting hyped for it to go there. This is a bad thing to do, and leads to disappointment. Don't do that. In my view, they were setting the foundations for a really good discussion about vigilantism, why the system exists, that they'd move on to say that "Gaetal" was a concept rather than an individual and there isn't just one "bad guy" here and so forth. It really looked like it was kinda heading that way. Debate about "if you click yes, are you an accessory to murder" etc. What happens if they get it wrong etc. Lost of really interesting things to discuss here.

Then reality dawns and their goals are far less aspiring and much more plain. I mean it's not bad, it's watchable, but I just feel so let down by it and the potential it had. This had "squid game" level capability written all over it, I could see those dog masks becoming as iconic in modern culture as the masks of the guards on SG.

The ending... it's finished, it's a conclusion, but it leaves you with implications for what would happen next and... i'm sorry, it didn't earn enough credits with me to justify that. Had it been more bold it would have been absolutely ripe for it, and even a potential sequel or even series of series! :)

I guess i'm mostly grumpy that it just feels like so much potential lost, a real opportunity to have a challenging discussion.

Is it watchable and entertaining? Yes. If you like your crime dramas then you will probably get into this. But don't get swept up in the incredible hype set out in the first two or three episodes and you will probably enjoy it more :)

Cast are fantastic - some really great crew here no complaints there at all. Music I don't recall at all (so, not good not bad :) ).

Bah humbug. Etc. :)

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Full of clichés and unpleasant leads

Similar to many rom-com K-Dramas, Would You Marry Me is another addition to the library of mismatched cast, missing chemistry and an overbloated narrative that doesn't find it's footing.

The premise was as usual, a rom-com drama imvolving a girl in a mess and a rich handsome guy. And while the initial few episodes were atleast decent, it soon turned out to be boring and irritating to watch, with too many subplots introduced towards the last couple of episodes.

Speaking about the characters, I didn't feel any chemistry between the leads, nor any humour or comedy scene made me laugh. The show was trying hard to be into something, which it really wasn't. And adding to the agony, a mystery subplot in Ep 10 and 11 made it even more terrible to watch.

My opinion, go watch something better, which focuses either on the characters or on the story, as this one failed on both aspects.

My Rating : 4.5/10

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I haven't written a review in a while so take what I say with a grain of salt. I truly believe Black Knight deserve one to serve as a buffer of sort to all the negatives comments in the comments sections.  
I have been watching dramas for over a decade now and I can fairly say that Black Knight is one of those Love it or Hate it drama. Personally I like it, it  wasn't spectacular enough to take me to the love level but it was warm enough to bring me to like.
So if you find yourself  looking for a drama were you know that there is 99% of chance that the plot and story progression will go nowhere, then you have found yourself at the right stop. Because that is exactly what you will get plotwise here :" NOWHWERE". But don't let the nowhereness of the plot deter you from 20 hours of free cheese and well place laughter if you know how to turn off your overthinking cap.
Let's  give props where there are due.
Go into this drama with zero expectations of wow moments and you will be the happiest person on earth. Go into this drama with a mind set that is ready to jump at every plot whole and expecting (a+b)=c moment and you are going to be the most miserable person on earth.

I came into this drama for Kim Rae Won and I was not disappointed, he showed that yes he is a veteran actor and he can work with whatever is thrown at him. And let's thanks this drama for giving female viewers out there a somewhat healthy male model,  Soo Hoo was kind, hard working and mature. He acted like a gentleman from the moment we met him and showed us that it is possible to want to attain childish dream while being an adult about it.  Something that we have to admit K-drama don't always show us.  So if you want to just chill and watched KRW do his thing then watch this.  

Jang Mi Hee another veteran actress also shined in the mastery of her craft. She portray reformer Baek Hee with class.  Making us laugh at her eccentricity at the right moment and cheering for her to attain the absolution she so wanted. Go in at least just to check in Beak Hee moments even if you have to skip through the drama.

Seo Ji Hye  truly surprised me with her portrayal of Sharon. I'm not going to be singing her acting prowess because to me she more of  a hit or miss actress. But  I have to say that she nailed Sharon essence.  If what we wanted from Sharon was a emotion spot holder than an actress with better control of her facial expressions and mastery of acting would have been better.  But for what the drama came to give us of Sharon SJH  was a good choice.  She has that entitled feel to her.   If you have to check this out well at least check some of Sharon clip, she was at least funny in her eccentricity. Yet also delivered the right amount at annoyance at the mastery of the lack of development her character went through ( which I personally  think was intentional.) It occurred to me that maybe the point that the writer was trying to make with Sharon lay in her lack of moral or personal growth.
 
Acting wise these three are the only one that stood out for me. While it was quite cute watching Shin Se Kyung and Kim Rae Won be cheesy and cute together. Shin Se Kyung once again failed to invest me in her character, she seemed to be a simple place holder around which everyone else gravitated in order to be positioned right.  
  Reading this I can see yourself asking what I'm trying to get at and what the point of these long review that doesn't really say much.  Well I what I truly want to say is, ignore the nagging people and the eternal discontent. Grab a bag of popcorn on a rainy and watch this, even as a place holder to cure that itch that you have for waiting for the other drama that you really wanna watch.  It would not be a wasted 20 hours.  It would just be  20 hours that you spent enjoying some nice cinematography, you will have some decent music and some visually attractive people to watch for about 20 hours.  Then you will move on with your life.

Don't come in with expectations and enjoy the laugh and MOST OF ALL: DON'T OVERTHINK THINGS.

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Rebel, as its title suggests, seethes with righteous indignation at the Joseon era’s brutal caste system, and it does a better job than most dramas of showing the ways that people internalize and reinforce their own oppression. Caught up in the way things are, characters are often believably slow to grasp the way things could be and to fight back against the structures that constrain them. The show also features a strong ensemble cast, with exceptional performances by Kim Ji Suk as the unstable King Yeonsangun and Honey Lee as Jang Nok Su, and stirring recreations of traditional Korean music and dance. Viewed as a cultural celebration and social manifesto, it’s compelling.

The plot mechanics, on the other hand, are less effective. There are tons of intriguing set-ups that never pay off in meaningful ways, and the story takes an awfully long time to build to anything approaching actual rebellion. It also introduces a supernatural element that’s too literal to be read as symbolic but too underdeveloped to serve as a unifying mythology. It ends up feeling like a distraction from the very real issues that the characters confront – an easy way to get the characters out of trouble (hey look, super powers!) without serving any broader thematic purpose. In the end, the show is solid, but I wish its dramatic revelations were as engaging as its revolutionary ideas.

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I wanted to wait as long as possible before writing a review on this... I needed time to collect my feels and push away my biased opinions.

Want a short, general idea? Go down to the bottom. *no specific spoilers*

Music: It was great music. I loved listening to it and downloaded the OST's. It seemed to match the mood perfectly (it brought tears to my eyes more than once) and I don't think I will be forgetting the music anytime soon.

Rewatch: I've already rewatched numerous scenes from Gu Family Book, either to refresh my memory on what had happened previously, or to further appreciate the beautifully heartbreaking scenes (which seemed to dominate the beginning and end of this drama). However, as an entire drama, I do not think I will be rewatching it anytime soon for two reasons: I don't think my heart can take much more heartbreaking scenes, and there were some slow parts that I am hesitant to put myself through again.

Acting/Cast: My gosh were they amazing. This was almost an entirely new cast to me, and I only saw a few familiar faces, but I was definitely taken aback by their acting ability. Yes, many of you may swoon for Lee Seung Gi and Suzy, but you will find yourself adoring the supporting cast as well. The entire cast was delightful to watch (esp Gon, the Monk, and Jung Yoon) - I found myself empathizing with them, relating to them, pitying them, loving them, and (for the bad guys) hating them so much I wanted to reach through the screen and put an end to them myself (props to the actors for portraying "evil" and "cruel" so convincingly). The crying was contagious. Once Kang Chi or Wol Ryung started crying, my gosh I just couldn't stop. Magnificent acting. No complaints here.

Story: Here we go.
Beginning: LOVED it. This may be the BEST beginning to a drama that I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot). Forget hooks, this drama was a black hole that immediately sucks you in to the story. You will not be able to stop halfway through the beginning. All the pieces fit perfectly. The romance was there and blossoming, the suspense was escalating, characterization was established, the heartbreaking scenes were present... I honestly don't think there was anything missing. Beautiful. *mwah*

Middle: ... It was so-so. In fact, it was almost disappointing after the perfect introduction. There was a big leap between beginning and middle, which almost made me drop the drama. Why? Everything in the beginning was perfect to the point where it seemed like a mini-drama itself. As a result, when the time skip happened, BAM. All the characters you loved disappeared, the explosion of suspense only left dust in its wake... it was a new beginning. One that I did not want, nor did I like. Where were the characters whom I was crying for? Yearning for? Gone. But it was ok. The hole that was left was quickly repaired by a new story, new characters to love, new romances formed, and more suspense on the way... sort of. There were slow parts, and sometimes it was deadly slow. For me (an action lover), it was frustrating. But the slow parts helped develop the romance between the characters.* A break from all the melodrama and tragedies. However, stay with it and halfway through, the characters from the beginning will come back, completely reborn. Once they did, the story sped up and there was enough action to keep me watching until the...

*speaking of romance, the romance was great in this drama. Great chemistry between all the couples, and unlike many other dramas, the romance was pure. There was no revenge after betrayal, nor doubt about their love. The women were fighters and the men were gentle, forgiving, protective, and endlessly loveable.

End: I don't actually know if I like it or not, which might be an advantage for me writing an unbiased review of the end. Before the end there was a mini end for the characters from the beginning (Wol Ryung, Seo Hwa etc.). That end... was beautifully done. I found myself crying... but I was happy and content. The problems were concluded and everything was "fixed", in a way. But the story moved forward. The actual end... hm. On one hand, all the loose ends were tied up (even the smallest of details), justice was served, and everything was wrapped up into a nice, neat bundle. Goodbyes were made, explanations were given, and things were concluded- wait what?! That was my exact reaction as I watched the last part of the last episode. I was hit in the face with a boulder that said "PSYCH. It's not over yet". I was... very surprised, not expecting the ending at all. Of course I'm not going to give it away, but remember what I said about new beginnings? Well. I'm still in shock from being hit in the face with that boulder. Then again, the end provides a great leeway into a second series (there better be a second series for the sake of my sanity) and a gateway for your imagination to run wild. What. Happened. Next?

General: All in all, it was a great drama. The beginning was a black hole that sucked viewers in, the middle was sort of like floating in space, not really getting anywhere, and the end was like you crash landed on another planet. The cast was perfect in every way, the romance was innocent and forgiving (due to Kang Chi and Wol Ryung's amazing personalities) and the supporting characters were just as interesting to watch as the main cast. Even if you are not interested in the supernatural aspect, you should still watch it because it does not really focus on that part, but more on the difficulties in life aspect.

Not your type of drama? Message me and I may be able to pull out some other recommendations for you ^^

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No cutie acts and the pace is smooth!

I am currently watching this drama after watching Lost You Forever Season 1.

The story is about a concubine's daughter, Mu Zhuohua, who is determined to take the imperial exam to earn a career as a female official in order to be independent of men. She escapes from her engagement to a local official because she refuses to be a concubine.

MZH arrives in the capital and becomes a physician to ageing prostitutes who are refused treatment by physicians due to their profession.

She encounters Lord Ding or Liu Yan, the brother of the current Emperor, who is trying to find the culprit behind the ambush which killed 35,000 elite troops. He is also the Chief Examiner who persuaded the emperor to reopen the imperial exam to allow females to take part in the court matters.

Both ML and FL are good because in the past, I have always dropped their dramas. This time, I am shouting for more episodes after completing one. Factors such as good chemistry between the two leads, no cutie acts, good plots and good direction/ production make this drama entertaining.

Age gap between the characters is evident but that's the best part of the drama. The ML kind of acknowledges that the FL is cunning and playful so he lets her 'fool' him around while keeping her in check.

Watch it.

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Not all heroes wear capes

Overall, it was a decent show, good even.
What makes the rating drop like Titanic is the production or rather video editing.
I felt forced to fast-forward most of the episodes because of it and no show is considered a good enough should for good rating if you feel that need.

All things considered, I loved the diversity (even though it felt they tossed in a few foreigners just for the sake of it so they could be somewhat true to their claim about "regardless of gender or race").
As for the gender equality, well.. yeah, no, you can't quite compare, in all honesty.
It showed quite visible the gender difference in some of the games.

The last episode was one of the better ones, because it felt more honest and less scripted, because that is the second reason for low rating; it felt scripted a lot of times. Ep was more down to earth and to be honest, humble somehow.
Compared to the beginning as it felt like a huge brag-n-clown-fest.

I still recommend to watch this, but its not like up there.

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Chosen Family (need a season 2)

Overall: "Our efforts were not wasted, right?" "Yes, it was worth it". The writing in this series is impeccable. Themes and characters I thought were random were later seamlessly integrated. Shifts between comedy and seriousness were impeccably executed. 10 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/82153387

Content Warnings: slap, internal and external homophobia, sexism discussed

What I Liked
- addressed marriage equality in a realistic way
- that I didn't know what the next episode will have in store
- discussion of sexism (one of the few romance series I have seen that passed the Bechdel test multiple times)
- how characters had their quirks, but still feel like people I could meet in the real world
- intentional characters, they might have seemed insignificant, but they came back later
- no cartoonish antagonists
- avoided evil ex cliche

Room For Improvement
- I couldn't really sympathize with the mom
- at times the pacing was a bit slow for me

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Love! Love! Love!

This is my first time writing a review!! OH MY GODDD🤌🏻😩❤️ This drama have my whole heart. The best CDRAMA I've watched till date!! If anybody are willing to watch it, just go for it without any second thought. You will never regret watching this.
Actually I became fan of CHEN ZHEYUAN after watching Our Secret. His Screen Presence and Acting are just amazing. 💗 Andddd, after watching this... He took my whole heart away with him 😭 How handsome that guy is!! 🤌🏻
The Chemistry between lead pairs is too beautiful to watch 😍 The best lead pair as far. You will never ever get bored by them at any point.
The story is well engaging... Everything is taken perfectly!!❣️
I don't have any favourite female lead till now... But from now, ZHOU LUSI will be the one 🤌🏻💗
Why only 25 episodes for such a beautiful story!!! I really miss them already 🥺
The ML and FL charecters were too good!! Not including any spoilers... People who have not watched it yet, Go for it!!

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Disappointed overall...

Really anticipated this drama as I'm a huge fan of Zhao Lusi, but this drama was a pretty big letdown.

The good: the side characters were actually quite likeable, especially YanYan. Ao Rui Peng is absolutely hilarious as Yan Yan. He was funny and over the top in a loveable way. I will definitely be looking for more of his dramas to watch. Also impressed with the SML acting! Sometimes find myself wishing he was the ML instead. Also adorable was the relationship between FL and her father especially at the beginning. The leads' martial arts master was also a cool funny character but he kind of just of disappeared after the first half.

The bad: the plot basically goes in circles. They keep repeating the same ideas (basically they pretend to fall into the villains trap but actually outsmart him again and again). The FL and the ML are not particularly interesting or even likeable. I honestly found myself not caring about what happened to them near the end. The FL and ML have zero chemistry. Zhao Lusi usually has incredible chemistry with her costars but there is nothing here. Their sweet scenes are cringey and the actors themselves even look bored. Towards the end, I felt more towards the bad guys than the leads and sometimes skipped their scenes together.

Verdict: not worth watching even for a huge Lusi fan...

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