Alchemy of Souls Season 2: Light and Shadow
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This review may contain spoilers
A shorter oddly more draggy sequel, that traded epicness for romance
A deeply flawed yet highly entertaining ride this drama has been.☆DISCLAIMER☆
This review is only to those who have watched season 1 and season 2.
I will be discussing each aspect of my rating separately.
Story and writing:
The story, in terms of the fantasy and lore, unfortunately suffered a lot this season.
Season 2 hits off with a flash forward 3 years after the end of S1, we are shown quite a lot of clumsily put-together flashbacks to explain to, or rather mystify, the viewer as to what exactly took place after the death of the FL in S1's finale, and even after we manage to satisfy ourselves with the explanation given to us, we are still dealt some comically mystifying and convenienty mashed up rules to the magic involved in order to satisfy the needs of the plot and make it move forward.
To elaborate further;
Much of the rules, if they were ever properly explained didn't make much sense and left one *rolling eyes* mumbling okeeeeey!. We also come accross a couple of contradicting aspects and sudden power shifts like healing powers etc, that in hindsight leaves one wondering why they were never utilized prior. Also seeminly highly wise and powerful characters would constantly be changing their explanation of how the magic behind soul shifting works, and even worse things just ultimately transpire in a totally different manner. other times powerful side characters (park jin, seo yul, master lee) would mysteriously vanish at the most critical moments only to suddenly reappear after sh*t had already hit the fan to stand around and discuss it. A lot of these minor frustrations add up to make one feel like the writers were giving themselves enough viable cards and options to wriggle their way out of any tight spots that come up, all thanks to the highly sophisticated and complicated world that they themselves created in the first place.
Among the other smaller gripes that I had with the story writing, was how everything was built in a way that ensured our main leads were brought together, and despite that being a common trope of many a rom-com plot in K-dramaland, it still felt forced and too convenient, I guess one just has to accept the "they are destined to be together" card and simply roll with it.
But what I hated above all was creating emotional dying scenes and even holding a funeral, just for it all to turn out to be fake, only for the sake of creating a cheap cliffhanger. It made me just wish they were actually dead. I don't mind the suspense with a grievously wounded lead like Seo Yul, but to fake deaths, that was such a sick move by the writers. Also in my humble opinion, you can create an epic saga about good fighting evil with the good prevailing, while still showing sacrifices and deaths on the good side, not every single character has to survive physically to be considered a happy ending. Just saying.
The pacing was not one of the best apsects about S1, but still overall it was highly enjoyable. But season2 easily outdid its predecessor in bumpy pacing, with 2/3 of the drama wasted running in circles of ( missed hints>confusions>angst>break up>making up>and back to more missed hints ). Although watching the two re-fall in love from scratch honestly felt fun to watch, the romance plot line just took comparatively too much run time for its own good, it reached a point where it felt clichéd and dragging I just wanted the big reveal to happen already (and when it finally did oh boy was it lackluster), and it also took away much needed time from the core issues at hand that needed to be addressed to insure a proper closure, those issues were only given less than a third of the running time, leaving us with 2 last episodes that are too rushed, one almost feels like gasping for air watching them, and with sudden shifts between scenes feeling like whiplashes. We are promised a grand and epic battle, only for it to end in mere minutes with every one watching at the sides in a safe environment and Jang Uk doing all the work. Honestly, nothing made much sense with that fire bird plot, evil plotting wise or how it was handled (if it is destined to hatch then let us hatch it earlier duh!)
the characters:
Our all so mighty ML who is supposedly feared by even the greatest of mages thanks to the power of the ice stone, was somehow rendered into a middle schooler both in emotions and inconsistency. Still his journey climbing up from the dark pit he had thrown himself into at the beginning, and how the FL helped warm and light up his world was endearing and heartfelt.
The bigger problem though was our FL, who was, even by her own words, foolish and weak especially during the first half of the drama. She had the face of Naksu (for reasons that made not much sense to begin with) so I would assume that most viewers were like me in hoping that she would regain her powers and we would finally be graced with more scenes of our bad-ass FL for a change , a prospect that was dangled in front of our eyes since the character was introduced S1ep01, but alas, we only ever witness a shrivel of Naksu in character, and even Jin Bu Yeon's powers are only ever displayed briefly. There were a couple of instances where I thought there had been an ample opportunity for the writers to choose to show her stand up and defend herself, to be deserving of the powerful souls that lies within her, like when after regaining her memories she decided to face Jin Mu, the man behind her madness and death in S1, and chose to dive into a treacherous place for the sake of beating him. I thought surely then she will somehow survive and come out on her own (after all we know that among the remaining powers left within her is the ability to cast away evil writhes and spirits), but God forbid no! they still chose to create an unbelievable sequence (involving coming up with the idea that she is the reincarnation of an old powerful mage) just in order to make the ML be the hero of the day and save the damsel in distress. Even in the final scenes of the finale, they totally had the chance to show that Naksu, whose soul had been spared the owner of the body, was working on regaining her long lost prowess. But no! The exact opposite, She adamantly expresses her absolute wish NOT to train, and to stay completely dependent on the ML. That was just disappointing tbh.
As for much of the side characters, they were mostly just that, side kicks stored on a shelf only picked up and utilized for conveniency's sake or to provide some elements of humor and immediately shelved back thereafter.
while I really liked how the crown prince was portrayed here and was somewhat satisfied that his character was thankfully one of the ones that witnessed a redemption, I can not still get over the fact that he left Jin Mu to become gwanju after all his evil deeds in S1.
Seo yul, felt bland as ever for the most part, but on a positive note his brooding sad expression here perfectly matched his lone wolf life in this season more than the previous one. The only instance were I felt emotionally connected to him was in the plot concering So I , which I honestly was moved and brought to tears by.
Jin Mu this season was too comical of a villain, he was powerless and totally dependent on his minions and other higher ups to realize his evil master plan (which was utterly stupid to begin with)
The acting
Superb on the most part.
A lot of people were turned off and disappointed by the FL casting. story-wise aside, I have to say I found her acting to be very good, especially in the second half when she had started to regain parts of her memory as Naksu. I also strangely felt more romantic chemistry in this season than season 1 (which made me feel kind of torn up), maybe owing to more physical intimacy and kiss scenes, dunno.
Seo yul was a nice cool dude but I have to admit I found the actor's portrayal to be a bit lacking, and how the character was written this season didn't help either.
I can't say I didn't enjoy this drama both seasons, but to be honest, I am of the belief that if there had been less filler plots in both seasons, both could have then been made to fit nicely into a 20 episodes format drama. Then I think with such high-end CGI and great casting, this could have easily been one of a kind classic.
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For me melodrama definitely has its limits. Innocent Man thankfully didn't cross those limits. It was obviously absurd, but over-analyzing ruins pretty much every drama out there. If you take it as just entertainment, it does a good job of it. Also there is Song Joong Ki to make things easier for the female viewers. The occasional nonsense in the drama only got bearable thanks to a good cast. I believe every one of them put up a good effort and did a good job of their characters.
While I have lots of issues with this drama, I think this might be the best melodrama to exist with a not completely horrible ending. Of course that doesn't make the ending okay in any way because it is actually the weakest part of the whole drama if you ask me. Another thing that got to me was the overuse of amnesia in the plot. It felt like a cheap plot device just to make things dramatic. That is a very big flaw on the writer's part.
Apart from these things, the drama has some very interesting moments to keep a viewer hooked. It has lots of cool revenge and scheming that is enjoyable to watch. But then again- it being a Kdrama things tend to get very repetitive. I suppose I can forgive that bit though.
Overall this is a drama which was a mixed bag of feelings for me. There is stuff that I enjoyed and stuff I didn't enjoy as much. It does have a very good cast though. I have to mention that again. Sadly, in the end like almost every other melodrama it leaves no room for rewatch value. In the end, it is a highly forgettable one.
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seems so good
nice to see First and other familiar faces. I like the tone and the story. acting is good and just generally the chemistry is amazing. I am frustrated I started it as it means I can't binge it. this is a binging series otherwise you don't get so hooked and feel the slow burn between the two leads. I will defo rewatch to get that excited feeling I got. it's so call to see First like this, he often does dark roles or is the main hitter in something fighting like... so a bit of romance is nice for him . I don't know of I'm just filling up the 500 word thing I genuinely am happy with the show and just wanted to express so in 10 but it wouldn't let me. so I will went on a tangentWas this review helpful to you?
Let’s get things straight; Ghibli Studio’s film is still superior in every way. But this version is also quite enjoyable. Unlike what the general audience might think, this isn’t a remake of the 1989 animation; it’s actually based on the original novel. As a consequence, many things are entirely dissimilar from the animated version. The character and the general climax were untouched but once Kiki arrives into the village, almost everything goes into a different way. This is considerate as a positive point since Shimizu didn’t try to copycat Miyazaki’s version. The little witch still tries to find her way into the world as she goes through puberty and deals many conflicting emotions. The thing about Kiki’s Delivery Service that it inserted stimulating subplots. Of course, it’s not that all of them were successful but it was enough to distinguish itself from the Ghibli Studio’s version.
Koshiba Fuka who played Kiki was convincing acting wise but that doesn’t apply on the aging criteria. She didn’t look like a 13 year-old in any way. However her co-star Hirota Ryohei was very believable as Tombo, he definitely shined better than the main character in this version. Some other characters were altered but it wasn’t very serious.
The CGI could be acceptable but the talking cat looked so fake that my eyes got hurt. Shimizu Takashi, better known as one of Japan’s horror films master decided to go with a family production this time and he did rather well with his angles and settings, if only the CGI was better handled.
Watch if:
-You like to see another version of the outstanding Miyazaki piece.
-You like family films in general.
Do not watch this if:
-You’re looking for a replicate.
-You dislike live action adaptations.
Kiki’s delivery Service is an okay family film. It differs from Ghibli Studio’s iconic animation even if it shares the same concept.
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I love the young characters. Their acting is sooo good!
However I just don't really feel it from Han Ga In, but she's very pretty :)
The OST is good. It fits well with the drama
The love in the story was touching and sweet.
This drama didn't go deeper than I expect the story to be.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watching without expectation
I watched this without expectation whatsoever, just wanting to see Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin.The premise was interesting, and they executed it quite well. This drama is not everyone's cup of tea, but I truly enjoyed it. It might be not that extraordinary, plot wise, but acting wise, it was superb.
Gong Yoo and Seo Hyunjin really showed up and acted!!!! I also loved the one who played Seo Yeon, she potrated her role as a crazy broken woman really well.
Overall it is a good watch if you're looking for melancholy dark slow drama with adult romance.
Note: Gong Yoo be looking really so damn good here.
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This review may contain spoilers
Totally disappointed.
How can they just do that. The whole series was just jojo and hye yeong. Why did she not consider sunho feelings. I don’t know I just hate this second season. Sunho deserved way better then what he got. Jojo stole a happy smile and that smile can’t come back. Ahhh this script was not at only that good. It was like the actor were forced to act on the screen. I started the series in the thought that at last she would be with sunho but no she didn’t. Ahhhh too damn sad abt this season 2. It can be way to better but no they didn’t wanted it to be. I am covert disappointed with this season. Never watching it again.Was this review helpful to you?
1Why is it so hard to find happiness? Will this misery ever end?
This is the story of Daon's perfectly "normal" life which was turned upside down by Seong Hyeon, a lovely retriever. The plot takes a huge turn when this introduction of a good guy bothers his old college seniors. That's where this miserable life of Daon started, or should I say, that it's always been like this, unbeknownst to him.• Storyline: Was just brilliant! The writer perfectly knitted every twist so brilliantly that the audience can't even guess how the plot will take a turn in the second half of the episode. It was a thriller jam-packed with anticipation and excitement.
• Characters:
>From the beginning till the end, all the characters, Daon, Seong Hyeon, Jaemin and Su Hyeon, didn't even let me blink for a second.
>Daon's helplessness, Seong Hyeon's yearning for love, Jaemin & Su Hyeon's toxic maniac traits made me sit on the edge and feel all uneasy.
>Jaemin and Su Hyeon's obsessive nature towards Daon was hard to watch as we saw him suffer and suffer. Even if he wanted to love or be loved, they made sure not to let him live in peace, as they were both were burning in jealousy. Even if Su Hyeon was somewhat decent in comparison with Jaemin, who was a complete psycho lunatic!
>At some point, they thought of Daon as a possession that one is dying to possess by discarding the fact he's a human. He has feelings too. The burnout from the everyday pitiful life of Daon was visibly painful to watch. The scope of finding the light of hope seemed to be narrowing down the tunnel with each episode.
>On the other hand, Seong Hyeon was trying his best to be emotionally and physically available to Daon as he deeply fell in love with him without knowing that the other two would never give up on him and try their best not to let him succeed in love.
• Acting: Can you believe the actors are rookies and this is their first and biggest lead roles? I mean, I can't even imagine how hard work it needed to deliver this great acting.
• Music: The BGMs were enjoying it as they created a suspenseful environment throughout the episodes.
After so long, the BL industry understood who was the king of great plots, i.e. KBLs! There's no match! We've seen so many good guy-bad guy toxic romances, but this storyline was beyond my expectations. It's like a breath of fresh air among all the raw, poor, half-baked, NC-filled BLs out there. THE ANGST WAS ANGSTING LIKE NO OTHER! omg so hotttt ヾ(•̀з•́)ﾉﾞ YEAHHH!
Overall, a highly recommended drama for those who are bored with all the mediocre BLs out there and want to watch something that'll keep you on the edge, then this is for you. What a brilliant roller-coaster bumpy ride it was! I'm speechless!
HANDS DOWN-
THE. BEST. KBL. EVERR! PERIODT.
The way each and every episode was woven with intricate twists and turns, left me OPEN-MOUTHED!
(I'm giving it a 9.5 and deducting -0.5 because I'm petty af! Muahaha!)
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Stuck in traffic on a very long winded Road Home
My education in Chinese dramas continues apace with this romantic offering. This is 100% about relationship; every sigh, every tear, every regret, every breath, every tender touch, every long lingering look (and there are a glut of them to the point of nausea) is lovingly laid out for you. So if you’re a romance junkie, this one’s totally for you. And the leads make a very creditable job of the chemistry even though the script circumnavigated the globe rather than let them get skin on skin.Quite how they managed to act this well amidst the shambling, third rate budget production going on around them is to their credit, because once it strays into any other territory it’s like sailing through lumpy porridge. I recommend just scooting through and only watching the scenes between the leads in the first half, then skip to the end. You won’t miss anything and then the drama might seem quite good and you’ll be less likely to fall asleep at the wheel.
The ML works as a bomb disposal expert (for once the job matched the personality) however, there’s a laughable lack of procedure around it. Although, it does do a good job of highlighting the stress to the family of people involved in such dangerous work. The FL is cast in the stay-cheerful-be-long-suffering-self-sacrifice-to-the-end part: “I am willing to donate half my husband for the country”. ’Nuff said. But at least she has a professional job and a life of her own. As with most Chinese stuff, it’s got an education emphasis, complete with nifty tips and tricks. This one centres on how to be grown ups and have a long-distance relationship.
The plot has the feel of the writer gets up in the morning and thinks, as they chomp their toast and gulp their coffee, okay I need to go shopping, get the kids to basketball, ring my mother, renew the car insurance, organise a Creatively Exhausted Writers support group meeting and, oh, script the next episode. Hmmm, not got a lot of time to be imaginative today so they can just chat aimlessly for half an hour, then I’ll use that idea I had lying around from the last drama I wrote.
The problem being, they think that every morning so there’s not a lot of forward planning going on with the result that there is very little flow or cohesion, just a random sequence of scenes. Some of the playing out of crises is — well—embarrassing. Obviously where research and experience are absent, fantasy has a ball. Actually there’s very little plot at all and it could all be over and done with in six episodes including plumbing some depth. The whole thing is a perfect definition for “filler episodes”.
Okay you have to have a little bit of sympathy when they obviously had the brief to talk up some barren desert and sell it like it’s prime Manhattan real estate. Not sure what Mandarin word they actually used, but “pretty” is not what springs to mind. Don’t get me wrong here, I genuinely love the outback, but my descriptive words and feelings might sound more like awe inspiring, powerful, unlimited and silent. And I wouldn’t go out there in a skirt and high heels.
As for the dialogue; banal and directionless come to mind with occasional sparks of insight between the leads, as though someone on the writing team had some time to think creatively that day. And the pacing? It’s a very, very long road home and expect to crawl along like you’re stuck in traffic.
There’s not a great deal of understanding about how to build tension using cinematography, editing and soundtrack. Oh, just do normal tracking shots with some random music over the top, then a couple of close-ups—that’ll work. Or continuing to film in an urban location where the wind was so hard into the microphone it almost drowned out the dialogue. At times the editing is really bad, with lots of scenes rammed together like shish kebab on a skewer. Even on HD streaming some of it looked out of focus and badly lit.
On a more serious note, there’s a storyline about a kid being educated away from home, who gets shunted around like a pass the parcel. Even when he was at home, he spent long periods on his own whilst his father worked away. Then we find out that his new main carer has 200 days of business trips a year. I found it profoundly sad and not least because the writing team thought that was a situation they didn’t really need to investigate much.
What my rating means: 4+ I forced myself to go through to the end of it, but only because I was committed to writing the review. It annoyed the hell out of me. Actively avoid.
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This review may contain spoilers
Love Alarm might just be the best romantic drama I've ever watched!
[Spoiler alert] Do not read this review if you don't want the ending spoiled!I have always blamed kdramas and films in general, why there are so many girls who are attracted to "bad guys" who disrespects them and will treat them horribly. Because in most dramas and films we are taught that the "bad boy" male lead is "bad" but that it's up to the female lead to "change" him, which is such an absurd and unrealistic idea to sell to young impressionable girls.
Though I do understand the film industry that a "bad boy" male lead will cause more emotional rollercoaster rides thus a more interesting storyline. But that doesn't change how it's inflicting this unhealthy view on what is a "romantic relationship" to girls. Which is why, I have always wished and prayed for a romantic drama where the female lead ends up with the "nice guy", to show how we as girls do deserve to be with a nice guy who treats us with respect and that a nice guy is a better romantic partner.
And this is the first kdrama I've ever watched where the female lead FINALLY ends up the genuine nice guy who treats her well and with respect instead of the "bad guy". ( I would say that she ended up with the nice guy as well in Start Up, but I thought both male leads were nice guys so it doesn't count)
Now for all the Sun-oh stans out there who disagrees that Sun-oh is a "bad guy"; In season 1, Sun-oh first encounter with Jojo was because he observed and saw that Hye-yeong had a big crush on Jojo. Sun-oh then became interested in Jojo more or less because he knew Hye-yeong had a big crush on her. He followed and persuaded her and forced her into kissing him, again well-knowing that his best bro has the biggest crush on this girl + she has a boyrfriend. I'm not a guy, but this should be a huge break on bro code. And Sun-oh is lucky Hye-yeong never got mad at him over this.
But Sun-oh is so hypocritical that he thought it was okay to go after his best friends biggest crush, but when Hye-yeong said he still likes Jojo and wants to pursue her 4 years after they have broken up, Sun-oh gets so mad and petty asking Hye-yeong how he could do that to him. But what about you, Sun-oh? How could you pursue a girl you knew your best friend has the biggest crush on? And the only reason you ever noticed Jojo was because you saw that Hye-yeong likes her.
And when Sun-oh dated Jojo, Hye-yeong respectfully stepped back and didn't interfere, uninstalled the Love Alarm app so he wouldn't ring Jojo's Love Alarm all the time and let Sun-oh and Jojo be happy. But when Hye-yeong is finally dating Jojo 4 years after, Sun-oh constantly interferes, follows (basically stalking) Jojo around and even forced a kiss on Jojo.
That brings me to another point; Sun-oh basically forced a kiss upon Jojo in the first episode of season 1 well-knowing she had a boyfriend. He constantly follows (stalking) her and interferes with her life (again well-knowing she has a boyfriend) and not respecting her boundaries at all. If this was me, I would've gotten a restraining order on this guy.
Also when Jojo constantly rejects Sun-oh telling him she likes Hye-yeong, Sun-oh is so immature and can't accept that fact and is constantly blaming it on Jojo lying, the Love Alarm app or the developer. He is both selfish and arrogant and only cares about how he is feeling and not what the other party is feeling and acts with no regard to either Jojo, Hye-yeong or his girlfriend Yuk-jo.
Now, I've also had plenty of frustrations with Jojo. Like why didn't she just push Sun-oh away when he kissed her. Why wasn't she honest with Hye-yeong about the shield and her feelings? Like, is it so hard to say "I love you" in this Love Alarm world? You shouldn't be depended on an app to tell someone your feelings. (But I guess that's the point of show)
Now I got frustrated throughout all 6 episodes at Jojo for not being honest and just explaining everything to Hye-yeong. But I think we sometimes tend to forget, that Jojo is a broken person with a lot of mental issues, she might not even be aware of herself. And obvious things such as just speaking your mind and being honest, might not come naturally for a person like Jojo.
But I think the show explained very well, that Jojo is not okay mentally and why she is not good at expressing love. Both with flashbacks and imagery of her traumatic childhood and how she copes with her mental issues through The Ringing World art page. Because if you've never received love from your family and surroundings throughout your upbringing, it's difficult to know how to both receive and give love when you're older. And even harder when it is normalised that you can only give and receive love through an app in this particular world. So I forgive Jojo for acting like she does.
Now I must give Jojo some points as well for the times she is actually really proactive; She hugs and kisses Hye-yeong on the cheek to show her feelings. She actively tries to contact the developer to remove her shield so she can ring Hye-yeong's Love Alarm and express her feelings towards him. She uses the spear to express her feelings towards Hye-yeong even though she should just have been honest with him about everything here (but I'm giving her a break on that one). So I actually really liked how Jojo became more proactive in this season, but also how we more fully understood her character on a deeper level with her mental struggles and past trauma.
I feel like we got to know Hye-yeongs character on a deeper level as well in this season, We get to meet his father in prison whom he has never met before. And we learn that because Hye-yeong grew up without his father, he has always imagined his father when he looks at himself in the mirror. Therefore pushing himself to be a good person, so that his father will be a good person. Which ultimately makes him face the hard truth, when he eventually meets his dad in prison. I really love how we got to see this other side to Hye-yeongs character, and that he has so much more to him than just his nice and good personality. I could really see his inner struggles in this season and I just loved how Jojo came and supported him no matter what.
On another note, Hye-yeong is not only the perfect male lead, he is what all other male leads should aspire to be like.
Now I know that both myself and others would have really wished for Hye-yeong to be more proactive in his relationship with Jojo. But I just love how Hye-yeong takes it slow with Jojo, respecting her boundarie,s and not pressuring her to do or feel anything, and really letting it to be up to her on how she feels and acts. Exactly the opposite of Sun-oh.
And when Sun-oh tells Hye-yeong he met Jojo, Hye-yeong doesn't care because he trusts Jojo. And when he sees the viral video of Sun-oh and Jojo, he never questions or blames Jojo, only worrying if she's okay.
Though I was sometimes frustrated at Hye-yeong for not showing more affection. Like if she is hugging you and kissing you on the cheek, you can hug her back, that's a green light for that it's okay. But I also really respect Hye-yeong for respecting Jojo's boundaries and never forcing himself upon her like Sun-oh did. And letting her decide when she is ready to kiss him.
I love how the show started in season 1 with Sun-oh forcing a kiss on Jojo and ended with Jojo kissing Hye-yeong on her own free will in season 2. It really shows that girls should be the master of their own feelings and fate and that they should've never be pressured into feeling or doing anything by a guy. I really think kdramas (and the whole film industry in general) should follow in Love Alarm's footsteps teaching girls they deserve to be treated with respect.
On a totally different note, the show's sci-fi element with the Love Alarm app, and how it has become so normalised to express your feelings through this app, that we forget how we actually used to be aware of how we were feeling before this app. And how couples break up if their Love Alarm doesn't ring anymore, and that we never say words like "I love you" anymore because the app does that for you - shows how you begin to trust an app more than your own judgement. Which really criticises today's fast evolving technologies and society, where we as humans has begun to trust technology more than ourselves these days. Just like how people are depended on Love Alarm to love in the show, we are in today's society depended on various kinds of technology to "function".
But the shows also portrays how this technology can be dangerous and harmful, especially with mentally unstable people like Jang In-su. But also in season 1 how Love Alarm caused more depression and loneliness with the people in the mass suicide. We see the show obviously criticising the app's nature themselves with the protests in season 1. But in season 2 they also show that even though a technology is bad and harmful, you can't just exclude yourself from it when everyone in the world is using it. Because how will you ever date or find love, when everyone around you dates and finds love based on Love Alarm? Which really draws a clear parallel towards social media, because even though you might be against social media, everyone arounds you uses social media and that it is their only way communication, inviting you to things and so on. So you're more or less forced to be on social media if you don't want to be excluded. Like how you're forced to have Love Alarm if you ever want to find love.
I must say I'm really impressed with how the show incorporated this criticism into the storyline.
All in all, I think season 2 of Love Alarm is such a good romantic drama. I really feel that the show portrayed the characters so well, and that the storyline allowed the deeper layers to the characters to be shown. It raised awareness about mental health and criticised today's fast evolving technologies and social media so well. The show also taught girls that they deserve to be treated with respect and that they should've never be pressured into feeling or doing anything by a guy. I could really go on and on about this show. I haven't even talked about how good the acting and the filmmaking is and so many other parallels. But this review has already gotten way too long, so thank you if you've been reading this far.
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It's sad because it started out very good and had so much potential with its breaking every cliche that is repeatedly used in drama after drama, which was refreshing. But unfortunately, somewhere along the way, it lost its charm.
In the beginning, I found myself looking forward to new episodes and would watch right after the subs were out, but towards the end I had trouble finishing the drama and had an internal debate over whether or not to drop it. I decided to give it a chance to redeem itself, but it didn't improve. I think the extension it received was not necessary, it actually hurt it (even though the extension was more for giving A Tree With Deep Roots more time to film).
The story could have been told in 10 episodes instead of 18. The only worthy aspect of this drama was the comedy, and the most enjoyable character was Na Yoon. The acting wasn't great, but had the story been better, it could've been overcome.
Anyway, this was my take on the drama, and I know others loved it, but for me it was a drama that was missing DRAMA.
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BEST INSPIRING DRAMA {WORTH WAITING FOR 3 YEARS}
Actually after watching 1,2 eps i wrote a review on this drama that i'm not satisfied with it and yes after completion of drama i felt like this is what i missed . Most of the dramas these days are focusing on the side stories than main plot and i felt may be this will also change like those dramas but, doctor romantic never fails to impress us .1st of all i want to talk about the cast . They are the perfect cast for this drama. As master kim said they are the perfect team of doldam . This is really worth waiting for 3 years. Especially the reunion of season 1 cast is the best part. Along with Kang dong joo and Yoo seo jung doldam has became the unbeatable team. As per what i think may be Yoo seojung works in doldam because she has the same thought as seo woo jin on master kim. She always wanted to work with him and never leave doldam.
Hope this series continuous and give us more seasons ( just a little hope even if it never happens )
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The story begins were we meet your typical playboy aka Chris Wu although he does not like to refer to himself as that (No one does) that is what he is. He enjoys "targeting" women and philandering with them as much as possible.
We also meet Li Yi Hua a hardworking,32 year old women who dreams of having a monogamous marriage (Having one partner for life.)...she becomes the target of the Chris Wu character.
It becomes a battle of wits between the two of them. Both trying to prove the other is wrong.
In the end I really enjoyed this drama. The first two episodes are hard to get into but if you are patient and wait until the third episode you will see all of the fun within this show.
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At times I was interested, at times I pretended to be….
That being said, I don’t really know which one dominates ...but it surely wasn’t a bad drama ...even the times I felt things were dragging it never tested my patience. And some reveals were decently good ....
The storyline in a nutshell is about a fated pair sent by heaven to seal a demon who was once god of death and now has lost it, to greed. Our fated pair needs to create a magical vessel (in the form of painting) to trap the demon and save the entire human existence (so fresh ...lol)
No but even if this sounds too cliched it’s actually an interesting one because of demons and the painting as a vessel thing ...
But being honest the cliches did get on my nerves at times (not because they are cliches)...but because they were done in that way ....at one point I literally wanted to yell ...can we actually finish picking peaches ...it’s been half an hour and you’re still not over that, dude come on we have many other things to do you gotta save the entire humanity and here you aren’t willing to get over peaches !
Also it’s somewhat frustrating at times, because we know everything our characters don't know yet, and we're pretty much just waiting for them to discover what's going on.(the first half especially ...wasted a lot of time with the setup ...and still the leads somewhat lack in terms of setup...)
The paintings were really pleasing to see ...so if you expect some artistic stuff here ...then you won’t be disappointed ...the show in the later half doesn’t have many different paintings but the first half definitely had moments where you love the episode even if the story doesn’t progress much in that episode.
Certain times even the well off storyline (which I basically love and is the sole reason I finished this) lacks logic …some things never get explained and that basically drives you nuts …(later ...for people who have watched the drama)
The CGI and cinematography .... decently good ...adds to the supernatural element when required....
The cast do a good job ...even the side characters too ( no one’s annoying and thanks a ton to the writer for that)...I have no complaints ...but ofc I have a special mention to do …
The kid playing tiger goddess ...she’s one talented rookie I’d look forward to her future projects!
And of-course the other veteran actors ...just wow !
SPOILERS…(won’t disclose any major reveal ...just some observations made throughout the show)
Shall we now have a mini rant about how the ML even after being blind notices details better than everyone (I am not saying that’s impossible but it does make for a narrative that seems too convenient ). The FL was a typically emotion driven character with a one track mind; she seems to be unaware of everything when she’s supposedly the main character (not really likable). The typical villain motive ...power(throne) ...so new, so fresh wow (later they do reveal that there’s a bit more ..but then when you have been tortured throughout the show with something like that ...you don’t really care about what more is there ..do you ? )…The SML ...the only character I am attached to ...he falls in love with (?) Guess who ?...and guess what, just because he’s not the destined one (ofc cuz the heaven’s favor ML) just because he did not meet FL in childhood ...just because he treats her well and they have great chemistry...he won’t get the girl ...suffer and die (oh wait, also be called a jerk while you are alive …) ...writer doesn’t care about you ..so please just take all your good qualities and jump in an ocean …(no better not do that cuz no one would care even if you do that...) The king he’s supposed to be a sensible one (ofc bec he’s the king)...can’t really say he acted like one. Also half the time he was just crying over spilled milk instead of doing what he was supposed to. Pretty much nothing happened in 16 eps is what you realize after wasting you time ....
As for one of the most unrealistic things happening in the show is also how SML is better with art than the whole jury panel full of oldies who all their life just worked as painters ...so damn believable, oh yeah !! (divine decryption power to see through FL’s paintings ...or is it the power of love ;) lol )
The one question I always had ,...why ML’s portrait isn’t to be used as a vessel if he’s the one possessed by the demon now ...when the grandpa king was possessed his portrait was the vessel...so now shouldn’t it be ML?
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But I must admit...I really like the idea of having a demon and painting as a vessel ...
And overall the show does make for a “decent mediocre drama” (that’s a compliment...no sarcasm involved) ...and just because I was looking for a mediocre show in my watchlist …I think this one was a good bet ..!!
So if you are wondering whether to or not ,then maybe you should give it a chance. with a lot of inconsistencies the show lies in maybe you can try it to see if it fits your taste zone .
Happy watching ....(if you decide to...)
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Don't waste your time. Most of the episodes are just kids going to college. You'll go 3 or 4 episodes with almost no mention of the fantasy side or seeing any fan service.
The only thing about this show is there's two or three attractive actors. THAT'S IT. You could easily watch anything else and get more fan service, less rape, less offensive stereotypes, and better production quality.
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