Reviews

Trashy guilty pleasure with a side of good smut

Kinn is the second son of a mafia boss who meets the barfly, Porsche. With no parents and a younger brother to care for, Porsche is willing to do just about anything for money. Following an excellent first episode, he gets recruited to be a bodyguard for Kinn's gangster family. As the two fall in love, they find themselves mired in generic gangster shootouts and a complex family scandal that involves the mystery of Porsche's dead parents.

Which is to say, that on paper KinnPorsche sounds like fun. In reality, it's A-grade, rolled-gold trash full of Makjang twists, inconsistent characterisation and a whole lot of sexy boys doing sexy things - most of it non-consensual or involving incest.

KinnPorsche is essentially a fetish drama, with the various fetishes interspersed with something that resembles a plot only in passing: it doesn't stand up to scrutiny, doesn't make much sense and isn't important anyway, frankly.

The show is also a tonal mess, with different direction and production styles clashing (the first episode is surprisingly good, the next two are confusing and contradictory, and the tones clash regularly from there).

But once you get past the idea that this show should be taken in any way seriously - and if you're in the right mood - it could be your latest guilty pleasure watch as it quickly descends into a morass of hot guys boning; sometimes drugged, sometimes drunk, sometimes underage, and sometimes as a result of chained-up basement torture. And nearly always when they're related in some way.

There's a lot of gratuitous sex and mindless violence and the odd, weird, fluffy date episode, which doesn't fit at all. But, I guess, for some people fluffy dating is their fetish so that's here for you as well.

The acting is actually pretty good, especially for a Thai BL, and the sex scenes are genuinely steamy as long as you handwave the rape, incest, torture, murder and creepy borderline paedophilia.

Kinn rapes Porsche, gaslights him, abuses him, manipulates him and yet the relationship somehow seems the most healthy when compared to the other ones in the show. Especially Vegas/Pete ["Nobody can hurt you but me!"] and the super creepy Kim/Porschay ["You're my underage cousin but I'm going to manipulate you into kissing me anyway"].

Anyway, put your brain on hold and enjoy the abuse trainwreck. Otherwise, steer clear.

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I rate this drama 2/10 (Dropped it at episode 16)

Because if you make the rules, you can break them!

So we all know that there are two kinds of logic in this world; Real world logic and Drama world logic.When it comes to Drama world logic, you just accept it and move on but if a drama contradicts it's own logic then I'm done!

There were so many reasons I dropped this drama.

It had so much potential to be an inspiring drama about the Hwarang boys struggling and dealing with their problem. Growing, making friends, they could even have added a death of a beloved character to tugg at our hearts a little bit and in that case, it would have been totally fine to add a bit of romance but NO.

This drama contains 90% triangle love drama, 6% recapping romantic moments. 3% fighting and 1% problem solving. Not to mention that the female lead is so pathetic, there wont be an episode where they don't show a 5-minute front angle of her walking and crying...

So because the writers based most of the characters off of a real life royal family and they used the true bone ranking system to create conflict, you'd think they couldn't go wrong.... until they add fictional characters and create relationships and events that never happened while still trying to follow some of the original story. There is nothing wrong with that but if you're going to add some spice, do it right! This just ended up giving the show a lot of contradiction, odd relationships and lose ends.
(Apparently, it's okay to marry your brother if you're royal but not if you're poor.)

To me, some "emotional scenes" turned me off completely. They had so many opportunities to really rip my heart apart by adding some real brutality and feeling into it. I have a specific scene in mind and I'm thinking that they could at least spend some time on this scene to make it believable... This scene got a little over 1 minute screen time... Go Ah Ra got 10 minutes screen time for walking and crying...

Oh well... If you love triangle love dramas with a lot of romance and crying and pushing and pulling and recaps after recaps of scenes that don't really move the story forward then this is PERFECT for you! Don't hesitate to watch it! As a bonus, you get a bit of plot on the side. It's weak... not very well worked out... not very logical... and it doesn't really start until episode 16.... BUT there is one heartbreaking death scene in the first episode so maybe I should give this show 10/10

ENJOY!

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Decoded is a drama about an autist and maths genius who becomes a spy to help decoding the "purple code" the hardest code ever made.
First, I have to say that the acting was very good, especially the main character who was very skillfully portaited. He was exactly how one of my friend (who's autist) is and well, that's amazing how even the way he walks was greatly portrayed. I really loved how each characters was deeply developed.
The story in itself is good, although maybe too long. For a perfect show I would've cut a little bit earlier in the story... As there were some romance/irrealistic things that were really different from the rest of the drama. Also, at times you really get the impression that they just want to make the story longer; I guess they should've made the same story but with only like, 35 episodes. They show some scenes during 3 minutes just with a different angle and your like, yeah, well, that's not even the most epic/emotional scene so could we just advance in the story?
And the ending was a bit too much... Lovey Dovey, I'd say. But I guess romance lovers have to be satisfied too...
But that doesn't mean the show wasn't good. You stay on the edge on your seat, wanting always more and more and to know what happens to the characters, whom you really become attached to. You see how the main character grows up and become stronger, and that really is an inspiration for everybody. I actually stayed up until 2am to watch a few more episodes, and I don't do that for every dramas out there- there were really some epic moments !!
As for the music, I really liked the ending song, and the few music out were nice, although not memorable.
What is incredible is how you're projected in the 1950. The set is beautifully done and the clothes are perfect.
As for the rewatch value... Well, I'm sure I'll rewatch some part of the drama- there are some really epic scenes hehe- but maybe not in its entirety.
Anyway, if you like spy/action dramas, this is for you!
And if you love romance, well, there are some hints in the beginning and the last ten episodes are for you, hehe
(Sorry for my bad English~)

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Give it a try!

**Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, please don't take anything I say personally. We don't have to agree and I'm not here to argue with anyone.***

"Destined With You" is one of those dramas that you have to stick with until it gets better. I’m not going to lie it was so hard finding motivation to keep watching but after episode 7 it started to pick up and I have to say I started enjoying the plot twists, mystery and thriller aspect of it. It is seriously so interesting. I especially loved the backstory of Mu Jin and Aeng Cho. Though their love was ill-fated from the start you can see he killed her to ensure they would not dismember her and that she would live on through the curse. The fact that Mu Jin said in another life let them be happy… and this life they want to be happy but were unable to because of the curse and that crazy psychopath of a man (Na Jung-Beom) was so frustrating and unfair.

Rowoon looks so gorgeous in this drama… that was enough to keep me watching haha 😭 Idk but something about him with the slick back hair as the serious / brooding lawyer is. He also was giving a buzz and then when its all combed down he looks like a cute puppy / golden retriever. AHHH I love how he’s giving us rangeeee and I can’t wait to see him in his next projects.

Bo Ah is such a good actress the way she conveys what she’s feeling through her eyes alone is literally a talent.

For once I actually prefer the latter half of a drama rather than the usual trend of the drama falling off / being disappointing the end.

Let’s talk about Rowoon and Bo Ah's chemistry in episodes 13-15, 15 especially – it was off the charts! I'm talking about that kiss, whew! — I can see why shaman lady (Eun Wol) called the next morning and was like Shin Yu and Hong Jo would be conceiving a girl. I mean, I got pregnant just watching that scene haha. Jokes aside, I'm not sure why people were doubting their incredible chemistry, but you know, there will always be haters or people who don't receive media in the same way and have no appreciation for the effort / artistry that goes into it. I think the writers did a good job of neatly wrapping up the ending. Obviously they would have needed more episodes to really delve into the magic and the lore of Hong Jo’s shaman powers / lineage etc… but so far they did well with the little they were able to keep / use.

I also liked the various side characters stories especially between Mr. Gong and Ms. Ma. They were kind of on / and off all the time but I'm happy they worked out their differences and got married in the end. At first I did not like Hong Jo's workers but I warmed to them because they are very funny / silly. I also liked the side story about Shin Yu's mother and father... it seemed like they were always playing cat and mouse with each other, and you thought they were going to divorce - but in the end, they're going to have a baby. To say I was surprised is an understatement. To be honest, I thought the mom was starting to like Shin Yu's lawyer friend and that they'd end up together, but the drama didn't go in that direction at all.

I didn't particularly like Mr. Kwon / Jae Gyeong, but I'm glad he remained a good guy until the end. Life is all about timing, and he completely missed his with Hong Jo, so he can only blame himself. I thought it was a little cheeky of him to tell her that if she doesn't marry Shin Yu within the next six months, she should call him, but whatever - at least it ended amicably.

One aspect of the show that I dislike is their inability to finish the shamanism/curse storyline. They expect me to believe that the curse has been magically broken and Shin Yu is completely healed? Honestly, I was wondering if there was something missing or if there was more to it because the final scene shows Mu Jin, of the past ,walking away with a spell book of the heavens or something? I'm also curious if Hong Jo's near-death experience, which included almost being poisoned and then being resuscitated... is what broke the curse in the end? Little details like this being forgotten / not being explained is what kind of irritated me about the drama and made me take off points.

In my opinion, the ending was very touching and adorable... I was smiling the entire time and was relieved that it didn't end on a sad / bittersweet note with the main characters suffering. Spoiler alert: Hong Jo is not pregnant, but they will get married and live happily ever after. It took them 300 years to get here, but they did it!

The OST they chose is just so beautiful and heartfelt. The songs perfectly complement the story and will stay with you long after you finish watching the drama.

I for one am impressed and proud of myself for not dropping this drama and I guess I would rewatch it for the vibes and cute moments.

If you enjoy light fantasy, mystery, and reincarnation dramas, you should give this one a shot. Hopefully, you will not be disappointed.

With that, I give this drama a resounding 8/10.

Thanks for reading & happy watching!

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

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Rollercoaster of Emotions!

No drama before has ever made me feel such conflicting emotions before, I feel upset with the ML for the most part probably as FL is in a foreign land and being a female it's easier to relate to her. I feel she should not end up with him. But, at the end of each episode, I again end up back at square one conflicted that maybe they belong together. Because they are not bad people, just humans at the end of the day making decisions that are probably best in their perspectives. Both seyoung and Sakaguchi are portraying their characters brilliantly, you feel their angst and depression and that they moving with the flow rather than living according to their own wishes. Sadly, very close depiction of how people really are.

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Now that it's finished I'm rewriting this review so what you read now will be a little different than what you read before. This is because TharnType has flaws, man, serious flaws. And every attempt the writer made to overcome its flaws was hamstrung by either the source text or the dictates of Thai BL generally.

At its core, the latest addition to Thai BL had a surprisingly intelligent script with nuanced characterisation. Tharn is ostensibly a confident and comfortably gay man while Type is traumatised by sexual abuse when he was young. They find themselves sharing a room where Tharn's overt sexuality clashes with Type's apparent homophobia.

Unfortunately, the script was given the full Thai BL treatment, especially in its first few episodes. Type tries to bully Tharn out of their shared dormitory, Tharn responds by aggressively sexually harassing and even assaulting the younger man. It's impossible to see either of these things as desirable or romantic behaviour, yet the producers seem determined for us to be titillated by the sexual violence and amused by the bullying. I had neither response and nearly dropped it, since the normalisation of sexual violence is a problem I have with Thai BL generally and Type is at all times a rude and bigoted asshole - a fact that Tharn himself acknowledges at one point.

it seemed weird at the time and even weirder in retrospect that Tharn would respond to a roommate who openly sees him as a sexual threat by sexual assaulting him. I cannot reconcile this behaviour either with the character as we come to know him or with simple logic. Both Type and Tharn's behaviour is wrong and unfortunately the time constraints of the series meant we leapt through necessary relationship progression and decisions to get to where we ended up. Show should have devoted this entire season to the two navigating their way into a relationship. Maybe then viewers wouldn't have needed to do all the cognitive work in explaining it.

One thing TharnType definitely has going for it is its acting. Mew is an excellent actor who portrayed Tharn with a natural subtlety that gives his character a lot of layers. While Gulf (Type) isn't quite as good, he is elevated by working off the more experienced actor and as a consequence this has some of the best acting I've seen in a BL. The acting is possibly one of the reasons I kept watching it when I would otherwise have dropped it. That and how the show began to develop as it moved past its first few episodes.

Once the show begins to settle into itself, it tries to break free of the dictates of the genre the script has unfortunately been forced into. Tharn is a lonely man, disappointed by love and terrified of rejection following the manipulative abuse of an older man when he was young, and Type is a very confused, very damaged one who has a long road to walk in terms of coming to terms with his identity. I take issue with the idea it's Tharn's job to fix Type but thankfully the script moves away from that sharply, dealing as much with the complexity of Tharn's psychological trauma as with the obvious trauma of Type's. Or at least that's what it seemed to be doing.

It would be unreasonable to expect a Thai BL to adequately grapple with the intersection of identity, social gender constructs, trauma and bigotry. And I certainly didn't. But I wanted to give the show credit for at least trying. Some of the show's decisions around portraying trauma and assault seemed nuanced and interesting, others seemed trite and tone deaf. But even while TharnType did a better job than expected, it dropped all these themes entirely at the end and went straight for full-bore Lakorn nonsense.

I'll be blunt - I don't care about Lhong. I don't care about his character, I don't care why he became a total psycho and I also didn't need a Machiavellian villain mastermind to pop his head up at the last minute. This couple has real issues to deal with and instead we get some second-female-lead garbage ripped from a soap opera. The fact this is a gay male instead of a woman doesn't make this whole thing better, it makes it worse. For a show with an actual real openly gay character, this show's representation of the gay community got worse and worse.

I get it, I get it THE NOVEL but the novel is clearly stupid because this is ripped straight out of a bad Thai Lakorn. Worse than that, by shifting to an external issue to solve, the show refused to solve this couple's real problems - Type's trauma and refusal to accept his homosexuality and Tharn's inability to be honest due to a fear of rejection. None of these issues were dealt with (what about poor Kom, still convinced his childhood best friend hates him for being gay?). And it's not as though the finale didn't have time, devoting screentime to an endless showdown with Lhong that I personally couldn't give a fig about.

Because of this the happy ending feels shallow, a common problem with Thai BL. It reminds us that for all its pretensions, this is just another BL. A quick flash forward to a timeline after its sequel and companion piece, Love By Chance*, shows us they have no intention of ever dealing with these issues. We'll never see Type being brave enough to come out to his school friends or his parents, among many other important character moments we needed.

To say that I'm disappointed in TharnType is to imply that I expected more of it. I didn't. But I did have hope and that hope was obviously not fulfilled.

*This show is a prequel and companion piece to Love By Chance, both being based on source novels by the same author and set in the same universe. It's a universe with a great deal of sexual violence and, while the show is grappling with these issues in the main OTP, it doesn't have as much success with other plotlines across both shows. Having seen Love By Chance it is difficult to watch, for example, Techno being a loving and supportive friend throughout the show knowing that his brother's friend is going to rape him. In fact, Techno's brother being complicit in the rape is mirrored in Thorn (Tharn's brother) being fine with his brother's abuser still being in his life too. It's a dynamic that's hard to watch in both shows and, I guess, that won't be resolved unless there's a second season of Love By Chance. I can only hope that when all plotlines are resolved, the show can come down heavily against sexual violence in whatever form it takes.

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I hate this drama. Yes, hate is a strong word, but it's also accurate. I had to force myself to finish this, and the last 2 episodes were barely watchable. I can hardly remember the first few episodes, when this drama slowly started to grow on me, and gave me some Boys over Flowers type feels... Now all I have left is the wish that I had given up on this drama much sooner. Where do I even begin?

The plot makes no sense. A rich guy finds his 3 dead son's sons and forces them to live in a fancy home together, even though they don't get along. His solution is to hire a weird poor girl to move in and trick them into getting along, just as long as she doesn't date them? What???!!! Obviously the premise is just a set up to put her in close proximity with 3 cute guys (4 if you count the hot secretary), and honestly I was willing to forgive the implausibility of it all just to watch that often repeated k-drama dynamic of "which cute guy do I choose?"- but unfortunately the show dared to introduce another female lead which literally killed any joy I found watching the show. Once they tried to force feed that story into the plot, the show lost it's charm, and that brought my attention to how dumb the rest of the plot really was. Oh, and the flashbacks... waaaaaaay too many flashbacks filling up the time. Each flashback seemed to say "remember that part that you liked" as a way to distract from how bad the current story was.

As for the cast, it took me a while to warm up to Park So Dam as Ha Won. She bored me at first, the same way she initially bored me in Beautiful Mind, but eventually I started to root for her. She's quirky, and kinda naive, yet outspoken, and honest. She was definitely giving me Jan Di from BoF flashbacks. She is matched with the 3 leads, and had cute chemistry with each of them. Playboy Hyun Min had great second lead potential in the beginning. I liked many of their early scenes together. Seo Woo is super sweet, and a cute match to watch throughout the show, although they spend less time together as the show progresses. Then of course there's Jung Il Woo as Ji Woon... the reason I kept watching. He has great charisma, and his smirk won me over early on. There were moments where he and Park So Dam looked like they really could be dating, that's how cute they were together. That's also what tricked me into sticking with this show... every time I was about to quit watching they would have a moment that sucked me back in. I should also mention the cute secretary (I guess he's prince #4) who's character, and storyline, seemed like an afterthought, but I really liked him a lot (I personally would have chosen him).

So if most of the main cast was pretty good, why such a low score? The answer is Son Na Eun as Hye Ji. She is not just bad, she is a ruiner of scenes. Not only is her character terribly written... they try to make you empathize with a crazy ex who can't let go, and it did not work for me... She is also just not a great actress at all. Her expressions were bland, her emotions felt fake (tears of the crocodile variety), and I'm not an A Pink fangirl so I don't get her appeal. I felt like groaning every time she was on screen, which was more and more as the show progressed. She ruined any love I had for the show, and by the end her scenes became moments to take bathroom breaks, or check messages or my email... I wish the show was half as long and omitted her entire storyline (which also made no sense, but I won't spoil it). A good rival should add to the plot, not make you want to never watch again. Grandpa CEO was also a terrible character, and frustrating to watch, but his acting wasn't terrible so it worked. Other parents were equally annoying, but still not as bad as Na Eun (and had much less screen time). The only character who annoyed me as much is Ja Yeong, the BFF of Ha Won. I guess I was supposed to find her creepy fangirl personality cute, but she annoyed me. The forced romance implications were also not working for me. Ahh, forced romance... that brings me to the end... ugh!

I honestly wanted to see how it would all be resolved, but the ending felt so forced, and overly romantic, that I would have rather had a tragic sappy ending where everyone died. The ending scene was so incredibly cheesy that I couldn't take it. The only thing I liked was the surprise (totally predictable) backstory between Ji Woon and Ha Won, that I wish was the main focus of the show in the first place. Of course they add unnecessary drama to the final moments too, but there are no surprises, so I don't recommend forcing yourself to stick it out to the end.

The soundtrack is not my favorite, but it's the best part of the show after the main kissing scenes.

Would I watch this again? Never. I'm still wondering why I didn't stop watching weeks ago!

Overall this show is bad... really bad, in spite the cute moments that I wish could be pieced together to form it's own mini show. If you start it, you will probably be tempted to keep watching, but let me assure you that once it starts going down hill it will only get worse. Just watch youtube clips of the best scenes from the show, and don't bother trying to make sense of the messy storyline, or care who the characters are... clearly the writer didn't care either. I can't believe this is based on a book, and I wonder how much this show misses the mark.

I wish I could go back in time and drop this drama. If you're wondering if it's better to watch and drop, or to never watch at all, I would say both choices are better than forcing yourself to watch the whole thing. I give the show a 4 - one point for each of the 4 prince cuties interactioning with the lead. That's basically all the show has to offer, and that's not enough to fill 16 episodes. With soooo many cinderella themed k-dramas out there, this literal one is the one you should miss.

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Hate to love scenario between me and Jung Woo. Damn, I disliked his little smug face so much in the first two episodes, I thought it would be impossible for me to jump on the ship in the future. While I warmed up to him in later episodes, I never sailed with the two dudes.

The biggest flaw of the show is the fact we truly know nothing about the characters. What are their motivations? Why do they do what they do? Why is Jung Woo working with Laura? What is his goal? Why is Do Gun so into keeping true to the basics and so against the innovations and new ideas? Why is he obsessed with working at Laura Dining? What is Laura’s deal? They did not explain anything. Literally not one thing. Who is Jung Woo anyway?

It’s also the first time I felt exactly zero romantic chemistry on screen between the main leads in BL. While I enjoyed their bickering and them having fun, their romantic scenes just made me feel slightly uncomfortable, because it felt like they were not that into it either.

The acting was good. Both Jang Eui Soo and Lee Chan Hyung have acting experience to back up their performance.

Production quality is what we usually get from k-bls: indie web drama vibes. Personally, I truly enjoy these aesthetics.

Overall, fine to watch when you are in between BLs and have nothing else to watch. Would not prioritize this over other shows though. It’s like a filler show.

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"In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream…"

Choi Han Yong’s ‘ The Silent Sea’ is a series which will like divide its audience demographic greatly. Notable A-listers such as Bae Doona and Gong Yoo will likely attract drama enthusiasts towards the drama’s cast lineup and involvement. However ‘The Silent Sea’’s amalgamation of different sci-fi stories and Han Yong’s attempted execution of these plot points may naturally lead to some divided opinions amongst drama enthusiasts and sci-fi aficionados alike.

The plot takes place in a dystopian alternative-future where the earth’s water coverage has been reduced by nearly forty -percent. In an attempt to govern humanity and ration supplies, citizens are assigned a “water grade” based on a hierarchy ranking system that determines how much of the liquid they’re allowed to access. So in an attempt to resolve problems humanity attempts to look for answers ( quite literally) in the stars.

Astrobiologist Dr. Song Ji-an ( Bae Doona )is sent on a salvage mission alongside gruff soldier Han Yoon-Jae ( Gong Yoo) in order to collect samples at the deserted Balhae moon station. With both characters having their own personal motives for taking on the assigned task the duo come across some startling and horrifying secrets as they begin their mission.

Netflix’s ‘The Silent Sea’ origins were admittedly still quite visionary by being based upon Han Yong’s notable short movie ‘ The Sea of Tranquillity’. Yet unlike the art-house-style influences of Yong’s original directed work, ‘ The Silent Sea’ notably markets itself to a wider audience demographic as a “ sci-fi and dystopian epic” with slow- burn mystery ; a mini-series that is likely to eagerly please and disappoint in equal measure.

The plot twists and turns that become apparent throughout ‘ The Silent Sea’ will likely divide those familiar with the sci-if genre; action sequences straight out of Ridley Scott’s ‘ Alien’, a suspenseful tone familiar to Christopher Nolan’s ‘ Interstellar’, bilingual exchanges paying an evident homage to Joss Whedon’s ‘ Firefly’( changed evidently to Korean and English ) , a key plot point nearly strikingly familiar to Jo Sung Hee’s ‘ Space Sweepers’, and an unsurprising likeliness to the water -themed 2009 British series’ ‘Doctor Who’ special ‘The Waters of Mars’, will possibly highlight the fine-line between paying homage and striking similarities to other notable works throughout the drama.

Of course whilst the familiarity of some of these plot twists does come into question when looking back at ‘ The Silent Sea’ it’s important to point out that the series does facilitate a solid pace with its revelations and twists right up till the last episode. However while the plot surprises are still interesting to some extent , ‘The Silent Sea’ could often neglect a crucial element to delivering its attempted tour de force moments: the cast and the characters.

Bae Doona and Gong Yoo are the undeniable star- attractions of the drama through their idiosyncratic performances offering a subtle touch of mystique and heartache as their onscreen counterparts.

Nevertheless given the evident potential for character depth in a series which explores the complexity of humanity, it will likely strike viewers as slightly unusual that ‘ The Silent Sea’ rarely diverged into using even initial exposition for establishing character personalities and adding a tweak of depth to their seemingly profound egocentric motives . Whilst later episodes place a quintessential limelight upon the characters’ roles to play in the events of the series and plot-drive, without baseline personalities ( aside from Doctor Song), notable main and important characters in the series could often slightly shallow and uninteresting .

The design of ‘The Silent Sea‘’s “ advanced” technological world and the cinematography are decent enough during viewings. There is an undeniable high reliance on CGI throughout the filming of the series; not out of the question for a series set in space, but also leading to some heavy artistic licensing by Han Yong. ( Astrophysicists, engineers and science experts may want to look away from these scenes as the logic is often devoid during these scenes .) The established setting is also not too preposterous for audiences ; several holographic displays subtly reminding the audience that this is series is set in the near-future every so often but admittedly not quite being awe-inspiring either.

‘The Silent Sea’ delivered a promising sci-fi mystery epic that brought together a myriad of sci-fi plot point twists to an original concept. With that said the series felt as though it could’ve had more episodes in order to actually flesh-out characters and the world-building of the series , leading to a mixture of mixed-reception with the final production. Viewers looking for a quick binge-watch investment with some familiar faces along the way may revel in the series’ end result . However fans of the sci-fi genre may be slightly disappointed by Netflix’s s high- budget extravaganza which whilst satisfactory for the most part did lack more of an impactful punch.

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PURE MADNESS!!!

I understand why many viewers felt disappointed with the ending. At this point, the drama could have followed the webtoon more closely, especially since its ending, though still sad, felt more complete.

That said, I genuinely enjoyed this drama. It’s one of the rare shows where I didn’t skip a single scene. From start to finish, it held my attention.

The early high school episodes were a highlight for me. I actually wish they had lasted longer. Without them, if the story had begun only when Baek Ah Jin became a celebrity, her character would have seemed like just another fame-obsessed star willing to do anything to rise to the top. But that’s not who she is. Those early episodes showed the roots of her trauma, and because of that, I could empathize with her, and I pitied her, even if I didn’t agree with her choices at all.

And it wasn’t just her. Every character in this drama had their own brand of madness. Let’s be honest: the world Baek Ah Jin lived in was far from sane, and the people around her were just as chaotic in their own ways! Everyone was mad in their own way!

Despite all this, I admired the two male leads. Their devotion to the female lead was unwavering, and they were willing to do anything to support her. Still, I can’t say I condone all their actions, especially Jun Seo’s behavior toward the end, which was absolutely wild (although that's not what happened in the webtoon).

Overall, I’m really satisfied with this drama. I usually gravitate toward lighthearted romantic comedies filled with cute fluffy moments between the leads, and this show was the complete opposite. Yet I found myself appreciating it deeply, and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something different.

I’m just giving it fewer points for rewatch value. Because of its dark themes and how emotionally heavy it is, I feel that watching it once is more than enough.

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Not for everyone

Okay, so this is a super unpopular opinion it seems — but I did not enjoy Vincenzo. Yes, Song Joong-Ki is pretty. Yes, the cinematography was beautiful. I even came to like Hong Cha Young's extra behaviour at some point. But the plot??? The side characters???

My biggest gripe was with the story. So many parts simply made no sense at all. I understand that the over-the-top ridiculousness was part of the "fun" to some people. Personally, I hated how the show could go from sublime coolness (like the vineyard, ending of ep 4, or even the demise of our Wusang trio... talk about WOW) to bonkers slapstick moments. I can see how this contrast may add levity to a drama that might otherwise be too heavy, but it felt like a lot of bloated filler. It honestly ruined a lot of the immersion for me. The episodes could be so much tighter without so much time spent on the Geumga Plaza crew (who never became endearing to me, unfortunately). How plausible is it that they're all from such crazy athletic backgrounds too, and can take down professional goons so seamlessly? I could've also done completely without all the NIS stuff, zumba, etc. I didn't even like Inzaghi all that much, although I did like the symbolism related to him + Jang Han Seok at the end. At a higher level, I will give points to the broad direction of the story though. I am glad Vincenzo's character did not fundamentally change throughout the story though, and that the ending remained dark but neatly tied up. Vincenzo is an anti-hero through-and-through, and it's good that the writers stuck to their guns there. The "corn salad" joke was fairly endearing. Also, you have to give them some props for the horseback riding fan-service and the callback to it at the end. Hah!

Still, I will commend this show for its social commentary on corrupt structures in Korea and beyond. It does show the interplay between government / corporate / legal realms well. The OST was fitting and gorgeous, and varied enough to not give me PTSD like "We All Lie" from SKY Castle. And you can tell it was a high-budget production with great CGI and cinematography. Oh, and did I mention Song Joong-Ki is pretty yet? Worth reiterating in case you're willing to watch just for that.

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Perfect comedy and romance drama 2026!

The moment I found out what this drama is about, I started counting the days until the date it would start to air! I have been desperately waiting for a contract relationship drama with monarchy existing in the modern times! I have been blown away by this new most magnificent RomCom 2026. The moment I started watching the first episode I was absolutely hooked! Suddenly, I regretted watching it while it was airing! Because it has been long while that I have watched a Korean drama while it's airing and most annoying thing about that is you have to wait a whole week for next episodes to air!😭😭😭 but I was so addicted to it that I had to watch it everyweek even if I had to face my old enemy 'waiting painfully long'. But I'm glad my pain paid off and every second of each episode was worth the watch. 💞

💫First my greatest commendation to the brilliant director for choosing most perfect and incredibly talented cast that are unquestionably suitable for this drama 💯👌. From Actresses/ actors to their secretaries to the support roles and to the villains - All the choices are chef's kiss! This drama is studded with top class actors/actresses. IU (LJE) is my very favorite actress, her dramas are my very first Korean dramas, she never fails to mesmerise, captivate and enchant her audiences with her flawless and impeccable diverse acting skills. As an ambitious chaebol Heiress SHJ, she has incorporated her naturalistic, remarkable versatility, raw vulnerability and deep emotional restraint acting style. She excelled in portraying SHJ with quite and complex emotional pain, while also showcasing a bold, campy and magnetic charisma in this diverse character-driven role. She never fails to strike the audiences with awe, with her ability to convey heavy, complex internal trauma through micro-expressions and tone of voice. I'm also thoroughly impressed with BWS's stunning, dazzling, awe-inspiring, mind blowing, astonishing and remarkable acting. He has masterfully employed his signature acting talent in this drama to bring Prince YA (LW) to life perfectly, which is defined by his impressive emotional range, subtle microexpressions, and commanding on-screen presence. He has handled the complex emotional scenes really well. He excelled at conveying the character's internal thoughts and silent suffering through subtle shifts in his eyes and facial expressions. Both main leads executed their highly complex and layered roles to the highest standards and captivated the hearts of the audiences by bringing this gem to life working very dynamically, perfectly in sync and smoothly with other characters. All the others actors also entranced me with their brilliant, dynamic and captivating acting.


💫IU has portrayed SHJ's intricate character expertly. SHJ is extremely ambitious, smart, talented, brave, rebellious and bold character, who always wants to win, to shine brightly, fights for her way without bending even an inch and always stay on top of her game. She always wears her tough, nonchalant, daring, audacious and imposing demeanor as an Armour against all the injustice, prejudice, social, and familial pressure but in reality she wants parental love, acknowledgement, care and approval. While Grand Prince YA is also incredibly smart, brave and talented character, his ambition, will and desires are shaped and molded by king's approval/disapproval, royal relatives' meddling, past traumatic events and his regard for putting well-being and happiness of others before his. He is very used to bending down to others' will and being manipulated without a word of complaint. Although both are embroiled in similar kind of childhood traumas, their way of dealing with aftereffects and consequences were different. Prince YA is epitome of perfect prince being stoic, adaptable, possesses prudence, have integrity, balances strength and empathy, is courageous, compassionate, has magnetic presence, have virtuous presentation, respect of politicians, honor, money and power in his hands. But he deliberately let's others push him around and let's it go in fovour of the happiness, protection and peace of everyone around him even though, he wants to have what rightfully belongs to him, he wants fairness, justice and wants to sort all the affairs out. However, he always held it all in, until SHJ waltzed her way into his life again and he learned to stand up for himself and to protect who and what he must and realized that keeping his head down, remaining restrained/ suppressed and quite and just working hard to fulfill his duties is not an answer to solve every problem.

💫Both main leads have insanely sweet, electrifying and crackling chemistry! 🔥 this incredibly fiery romance and flirting was always in the air throughout the drama. They have dazzled and gripped the audience with the waves of their strong heated push and pull. Even though the enemies to lovers is not the trope of this drama, both of them managed to build incredibly intense tension, and attraction that melted the viewers hearts, compelling them to fiercely root for them to fight for their happiness together. The audience are made to vividly experience the long journey of their love life - from them being rivals in archery and acquainted as high class students to partners who came together using contractual relationship to gain something they lacked to falling in love with each other to confessing their sincere love to bravely stepping up to protect each other even at the cost of destroying what highly mattered to them before and if it meant sacrificing their life. They are very unique in making sure to be very transparent about their needs, emotions, future plans and always resolve challenges together through effective communication, trust and reliance on each other. Their character development is also executed ingeniously well both ml's and fl's character start to change after being in relationship, learning from each other and compromising to strike that perfect balance and harmony. SHJ learned to obey rules/regulations and be humble when required and Prince YA learned to be defiant, Assertive and decisive when required for the sake of each other. Together instead of being each other's weakness they became perfect support for each other and synced in perfectly to form a perfect crown that was fortress against anyone trying to step on them and harm them.

💫Other couple which have my heart are the secretary couple CH xDHJ, who are very witty, disciplined, smart, efficient, dramatic and incredibly humorous, their love chemistry is incredibly cute, sweet and adorable. They are extremely supportive and loyal to our main couple and deserve to be the right hand people of their respective bosses. They are always protecting, supporting, fiercely caring and working hard to help their bosses to best of their abilities. There is never a dull moment with them around adding their chaotic and brilliant strategic energy to the events, challenges and situations. The late older brother king YH and the queen YIR Couple were sadly a tragic pair, our main couple are totally the opposite of this couple. SHJ didn't bow her head to her dad's whims and desires at the cost of her will, desires and dreams unlike the queen and Prince YA did not follow the footsteps of his brother and didn't become a coward to bow his head to political, royal, noble, social and nations expectations and manipulative pressure. They both magnificently pulled off what the previous king and queen failed to achieve. I also absolutely loved the dynamic of SHJ's half brother STJ and sister- in-law HAY they are very sweet pair, who turned out to be very solid support for SHJ. In dire circumstances, they have never thrown her under the bus, shown genuine concern and tried their best to help her and care for her wherever they could.


💫The story/ plot of this drama is extremely engaging, exciting, mesmerising and gripping✨️. I have seen similar dramas before where the protagonists are usually nemesis or have hate/love relationship but in contrast this drama very rarely and brilliantly makes the protagonists team up to achieve their goals, making this already very unusual plot into super rare and new experience for the viewers. The humour of this drama is peak, it paired the opposites together and placed comedy in their clashing personalities and inevitable, fate-driven and also some very deliberate encounters. All the main characters have shared deep interconnectedness in the past. While primarily being romance and comedy, this drama incorporates elements from other genres like fantasy, mystery, crime thriller and slice of life. The villains in this story have done really well in portraying their characters as well, the audience are clearly shown how they have taken the wrong and evil routes/paths to fulfill their selfish desires with no regard for others feelings or their safety and wellbeing, in doing so heading for inevitable disaster or severe recompense of their diabolical, cunning, vicious and wicked actions and schemes. With the villians showing impressive amount of emotions and their back stories being very compelling, the viewers end up wishing that some of the desperate ones who went astray, find a way to redeem themselves and be happy as well. I also enjoyed the short epilouges at the of episodes revealing very interesting details . 💓

ENDING:

OMG!!! we have got the bestest and most satisfying happy ending for our main couple! LW has made a great choice in abolishing the Crown for the sake of their own future, for the royals, the nobles and the nation. I have loved how warm, close, honest and caring SHJ's family became to her while LW, his sister-in-law and the nephew are living their dream peaceful life. There is happy news of SHJ will become auntie soon. Our secretary couple also went from cute, sweet and friendly to hot streaming couple. All the villains who didn’t repent and persisted going down the wrong path for the selfish reasons, sure got what was coming for them.


💫Overall, I have wholeheartedly enjoyed this heart warming, extremely fun and exciting drama. The top notch plot and the unforgettable characters have won my heart, I am going to miss all of the amazing cast. Only bad thing about this drama is it came to an end, I really want more! So, I highly recommend it to everyone who loves romcom! 💕

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The World Is Linked To You..

This drama?? Nothing special about it and that’s exactly what makes it likable.. It’s just ordinary people living their lives with all the joy and pain that comes with it.. The highlight of the drama for me was their insane chemistry.. I honestly wasn’t expecting that..

The first half was just push and pull, misunderstandings and cringe scenes.. Nothing that would make you go ‘Wow.’. Their reconciliations after every fight were funny.. Because their fights were baseless and stupid.. Their reconciliations were stupid too.. It’s like they are all lovey dovey until it’s time to actually share their feelings..

Ep 7 was easily the best in the first half, both in story and acting.. The ML crying in his grandma’s lap was heartbreaking to watch.. Here’s a guy who felt unwanted his whole life.. For the first time he wants to love someone, but he is too scared he might pull her into his world, which is nothing but pain.. When he sees her family and hears them talking about him, it only reaffirms his doubts..

There were a lot of things about the drama I didn’t like.. Instead of having an open conversation, they both just jumped to their own conclusions.. I wouldn’t say they hurt each other, they just hurt themselves.. She literally told him ‘I wouldn’t meet that guy, you should just tell him off for me', but when the moment came she went to him and hid it from the ML.. He finds out and they take a break.. Not blaming her, just pointing out how stupid these situations were..

The funny thing is, right after this they propose to each other.. Like, seriously?? You both have no sense of security or understanding.. How do you go from that to marriage on a whim?? Not just a proposal, they went straight to get it registered.. It gets even funnier.. She is leaving the next day but doesn’t inform him.. When her friend asks about it, she literally says ‘What’s he going to do?? He just needs some sweet talking later..'

For me, them getting married wasn’t the issue.. It’s that they didn’t talk it out, clear the air or discuss anything.. There were misunderstandings that needed to be addressed and they should have had a real heart to heart before diving in headfirst.. I think I would have loved it if that had happened first and then they got married.. Because even after the marriage, their characters are questionable.. The next ep just proves my point.. Even though they are married, they still don’t have a sense of security.. He, mainly, has self loathing issues and just keeps making things complicated.. They should have talked it out.. Once they finally have an open conversation, where he opens up to her and tells her what’s been haunting him, things get better.. From then on, their relationship is stronger.. This should have happened long ago, but it took about 18 episodes to get there..

Like every other drama, there is a love rival here too.. She doesn’t really care about him, but still there is that dude.. Gou Kai is actually one of the worst kinds of people.. But they slapped on comical BGM to make him seem like a good guy.. He used another girl to get back at the FL, sabotaged her career and ruined her chance at finding evidence about her mother’s death.. All just to keep her with him.. Delusional and a complete moron.. Then he went on to ruin the career of the girl he used in the first place.. But the writers still want us to see him as some lovesick puppy chasing the FL.. How delusional do you have to be to propose to a married woman??

Special shoutout to the best character in the show and the only person who sounded sensible and mature, the SFL’s 8 year old son.. He was way too mature for his age.. What a kid.. And also Ming Xiao.. He was a fun character and he turned that attempted proposal scene into a comical fiasco.. It was too funny..

Now, her family.. At first glance you would think they are selfish and all, but they were actually too good.. Same with the SML and SFL, loved them.. Their bond with the main leads was just wholesome and their own story was good to watch too..

Overall, it’s a good drama.. And I personally liked the second half much better.. They could have skipped some of the cringe moments and that scene where they try to kill the FL and ML by setting the car on fire.. IN... THE... RAIN... But hey it’s a drama, so.. Sure, Jan..

I talked about the chemistry so I should mention this too, their intimacy was lit.. They didn’t hold back.. I wouldn’t have rated this an 8 honestly but they gave us a whole episode at the end dedicated to their happy ending.. I love it when it’s not a rushed, last moment happy ending and the fact that they gave us such a long one was really satisfying..

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