Reviews

what a waste of really good idea

I am not happy about this drama because it really did not deliver. The beginning of the story has flashbacks to the modern times and ancient times but that is all. Nothing included in the plot, nothing explained. And the same flashbacks at the end. Like what the fudge??? I like both actors in lead but their story, even though it had a great potential, really was neither here nor there. The FL character was written like an imbecile, which I had a problem with because she could have been a much better one, but alas, this low budget thingy did not give us any chance to really care for the people in it. The villain was wooden and straight from cartoons. The 2ML was such a powerful presence yet completely underutilized. The 2nd couple was actually really cute, but then the whole cat demon thingy was reduced to a caricature. I am not sure if it deserves 7 points but I am writing this because after that bait beginning (with the leads on the motorcycle and in republican China which was awesome) I am left with "really??? what did I just watch???". If this was an inside joke of the makers of previous dramas with these actors, then it was really poorly executed and did not entice me to watch any of them. How would we even know that there were other dramas about this couple???
The screen writer and director need to go back to the drawing board and make it consistent story telling of two lovers across the time who sacrifice themselves for the sake of showing others that love between humans and demons is possible.

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why are we running...?

i've decided to drop this series for now. i'm definitely open to returning to it some day, but at this moment, i can't see it being worth my time to watch 7 more episodes of this. it's way too fast paced, yet it seems to drag at the same time. it's repetitive, boring, and has no original qualities. emphasis on repetitive. why have i seen the same scene of them chasing each other like, 5 times now? this is getting really draining. the actors are cute, sure, but the characters don't have a whole lot going on as individuals. they're fun as an ensemble of friends but none of them stand out. maybe my hopes were just too high, but i feel as though i've been severely let down.

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Vagabond: Double Lives, Deadly Lies

🔹 What would you do if the only way to survive in your world was to live as someone you're not?
🔹 Would I rewatch? Yes
✨When truth is concealed by power, the only way to resist is to risk everything that defines you boldly.

📕 Overview
🔹 16 episodes, action/spy/thriller/crime
🔹 Lee Seung Gi plays Cha Dal Geon, a stuntman whose nephew dies in a plane crash. Driven by grief, he sets out to uncover the truth.
🔹 Bae Suzy as Go Hae Ri: an NIS agent who struggles to balance her sense of duty with her loyalty.
🔹 The story begins with tragedy as Cha Dal Geon's nephew dies in a mysterious plane crash, driving him to uncover the surrounding corruption.
🔹 At the time of this review, I have completed this drama

🌸 How It Felt Watching
🔹 The opening immediately immerses you in themes of grief, mystery, and danger within the first few episodes.
🔹 Watching it was intense and suspenseful, with a cinematic quality and moments filled with raw emotion.
🔹 Themes: grief, corruption, justice, identity, sacrifice.
🔹 Despite the story getting messy toward the end, the action and the pairing of Lee Seung Gi and Suzy kept me engaged.

✨ Cast & Performances
🔹 Lee Seung Gi, portraying Cha Dal Geon, convincingly delivers action, showcasing a blend of vulnerability and rage.
🔹 Bae Suzy's Go Hae Ri felt real to me, with her determination as an agent balanced by moments of doubt that showed her human side.
🔹 Supporting cast: strong villains and government figures keep the tension alive, although some side roles feel underdeveloped.

🎶 OST 🎶
🔹 "Good All Days" by Lee Chan Sol
🔹 "Fallen Star" by Elaine
🔹 "Breaking Dawn" by I'LL
🔹 "Hello My Lover" by No Jeong Hun

🎞️ Production Style
🔹 The atmosphere evokes a globe-trotting spy film set in Morocco, Portugal, and Seoul.
🔹 The costumes and sets highlight agent uniforms, modern offices, and international locations.
🔹 The pacing remained gripping for me, even as the twists piled up and stretched believability.

☕ Tea Notes
🔹 What worked: blockbuster action, Lee Seung Gi's dedicated lead role, Suzy's strong presence, and the constant suspense.
🔹 What did not: there were several logic gaps, and the ending felt unresolved.
🔹 Would I rewatch? Yes
☕ SpillTheDramaTea's Rating: 9/10
🌿 Tea Scale: Rich brew worth savoring
✏️ As SpillTheDramaTea, it felt like a thrilling roller coaster ride full of twists, turns, and unexpected thrills!

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okay-ish short & simple slice of life story

I wish I liked this more than I did. The show really shined when it was focused on the queer community - i.e. episode 2 showing us how Damian and Jerry met and started dating, episode 3 at the PRIDE parade - but it was just kinda meh otherwise. Also there was surprisingly little of Kaikai given the show is titled "Papa & Daddy"? Like, obviously Kaikai doesn't factor into the flashback episode, there's A LOT of Damian at his restaurant, there's a lot of Jerry's dynamic with his mom (which Kaikai mostly isn't involved in). Like it does almost feel like false advertising to give the show that name, but then probably a solid half, if not more, of the story has nothing to do with Kaikai?

Anyway, back from that tangent, gay marriage was only legalized in Taiwan a couple years before this show was made, so I definitely understand (and support!) the intention of the show being to present a gay couple as normal parents and to combat homophobic narratives. But I did find it very perplexing and slightly tiring how much of these 6 episodes were devoted to Damian and Jerry having to come out. Episode 4 is about one of the moms from school catching Damian and Jerry getting ice cream with Kaikai and being extremely confused about both of them being Kaikai's dad and there's an implied discomfort, especially since she sees Damian's sister pick Kaikai up from school the next day and she excitedly ambushes her, assuming she is Kaikai's mom. The episode ends with Damian and Jerry asking the teacher to explain things but then.... episode 6, the gossip moms still aren't aware that Damian and Jerry are a gay couple until Jerry accidentally sends a long text about it in parent group chat? And suddenly these moms are all very excited and want Jerry to be their gaybestfriend? It's just... jarring. Also basically the entirety of episode 5 is about Jerry's strained relationship with his mom - she has no idea about him being gay and he doesn't plan to tell her, but she forces him to go on blind dates, which inevitably leads to him coming out to her and an explosive argument as she's distraught about him being gay. This is seemingly resolved by Jerry's father coming by and gifting Damian a bracelet(?, I could not tell what the gift was lol) but imo the show never satisfyingly grapples with her discomfort.

Idk. It's perfectly fine, but the intention of this show is very much to combat homophobia, and while there is some fluff (and a bit of smut too!), that definitely gets lost under the push to guide straight audiences to be more accepting.

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One of a kind! Worth watching!

Guess you can say I watched this movie because of Xiao Zhan, but then again, after completely watching the film, I can tell you with utmost confidence that not only the movie is awesome - because XZ is acting in it - but the entire movie / story line is amazing! A lot of action and fighting, with a little tiny bit of romance, but the story is amazing! XZ really did a great job - from the tan line till the goofiness of his in certain parts, it was an amazing way of him blending in with all the various kinds of roles he plays. Anyways, back to this movie, I find that all the actors and actresses did a very good job in bringing this movie to life. They all played their roles very well and this movie turned out to be extremely awesome, if you are looking for an action packed movie. Not only that, I get to listen to different types of dialects / languages from China.

The songs paired to this movie is also quite interesting and nice to listen to.

A first watch is highly recommended. The re-watch would have to see if you really enjoyed yourself watching it for the first time.

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Solid hit, but no KO

This was a solid story all around, but nothing really blew me away.

Acting:

Solid performances all around. Nothing to complain about. I love a good crier and Great delivered me that for sure. Inn was good as Dr Wandee and the supporting cast was all solid.

Writing:

Overall, this was a pretty good story. I liked the representation, though it felt a bit unnatural and they probably could have done it a little better. No 3rd act breakup which was nice, but they technically weren’t together till like the last 30 minutes of the damn show so. I feel like it went between being a mature show to an immature show often. Like at times it was aan adult show and other times it felt like a YA story. I wish they stayed a bit more consistent with the realism in that regard. Nothing blew me away with the writing, but it was a solid story.

Chemistry/Romance/Kissing:

The chemistry was pretty solid as well. They worked well together and I could definitely feel the attraction and growing love. This was a pretty good romance. Frustrating though it was for them to take so long to get there, I still enjoyed it. The kissing was good throughout.

Music/SFX:

Music was fine. They forgot to add in the punching SFX when Yak hit Ter for the second time at the ball which was funny. Other than that, it was solid.

This was a cute little watch, nothing too heavy which is a nice change of pace.

Now, for some highlights from my notes:

- Damnm okay, visuals in that ring
- Oh we got attitude coming in from all directions
- Throw a guy a pity fuck or two, won’t ya
- Congrats on the sex, ya’ll
- Ter got that audacity
- Super cool granny alert
- Not the “saving my kisses for love” trope
- Love the inadvertent roleplay lmao
- Already giving jewelry okay, ya’ll
- 69 on wooden floors is a choice
- Chances of transitioning from FWB to committed romantic relationship status are actually closer to 15% rather than 27% according to recent studies
- We’re not serious, but he gave me his necklace. We’re not serious, but we only sleep with each other. We’re not serious, but he’s met my grandma. We’re not serious, but I took him to my parents’ graves.
- Grandma is Yak’s idol lmao cute
- Two whole days with Ter sounds like hell
- Bro needs to get a cooties shot
- Yaks a dumbass
- So they aren’t together yet? But like… The kiss? The I’m yours statement?
- Taem’s entire character changed real quick there
- So they STILL aren’t together yet?
- Therapy x Yei when?
- We love to see Lookwa
- Boy, get in that damn ring already
- Oh god, not the serenade lmao
- Just go train in a gym in America for a bit every once in a while

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Generally good with one major flaw

If you are a fan of Japanese fiction authors such as Junichiro Tanizaki, you appreciate the complexities and nuances of the struggles in the mind that are explored in a slow and introspective way.

This series shares the introspective writing tradition as the characters consider their personal needs and feelings versus the needs of others and of society as a whole. All the while, responding to a changing environment and unwinding whatever misunderstandings that exist in themselves and others.

Some viewers will be bored by this. However, as other Asian reviewers have pointed out, these struggles are fundamental to many Asian identities. "Crying in H-Mart" anyone?

Technically, there is a lot that is good here. I love seeing some of the older seasoned actors who can bring some power to the screen. The cinematography, set design, and sound track are good too. The series would generally be good (for those who like this sort of drama), but for one major flaw: The kissing scenes. OMG... maybe some of the worst I've ever seen. Hori Natsuki (Mashiro) tries, but Ikeda Masashi (Kanade Shinichiro) ... just terrible. These kissing scenes often represent the culmination of some plot point and these BIZARRE kiss scenes just ruin the moment. If this a directorial choice, shame on the director. (-1.5 points)

A more minor flaw is the resolution of the typical parental conflicts. Shinichiro's conflict with this father is resolved adequately, if a little tersely. Mashiro's conflict with his mother is not handled at all. An inexplicable change of heart? Makes me wonder if they ran out of air time and scenes ended up on the cutting room floor (metaphorically speaking). (-0.5 points)

I'm giving this a 7.5 because I'm a fan of this introspective tradition. But a rating of 6 or 7 wouldn't be unfair either given the dreadful kissing scenes.

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Very elementary in its presentation of the law

This was an enjoyable drama to watch. What I like the most is that it had a separate case for each episode. The cases vary in interest and effect but all get overall satisfying endings. Well, too satisfying. When it comes to the acting, I thought the cast was great. They all showed, when permitted, a varying degree of emotions and dimensions. The music was fitting without overpowering the scenes, and a lot of interesting subjects were tackled.

So why didn't I give it a better rating? Well, it was too basic. Hyo Min is supposed to be this genius at law, yet the things she wonders are as if someone never studied law. And a lot of time she is shown as impressive only by dumbing down those around her. And by half way through the drama, it's as if all the other characters took a back seat for her to shine. Her co-workers constantly fawning over whatever she says in court. All of it did not sound natural. We barely get to know any of her co-workers. We got to know a little bit about the other female intern, but it was mostly through her absence rather than her presence. I think the cast was great for the intern, and a huge mis when they were left in the background.

Tackling Yun Seok Hun's backstory was when the drama shined for me. That episode about the husband and wife with Alzheimer's disease describing the colours a marriage goes through as life goes on and having the maturity to see it shed the light Seok Hun's own relationship. His ex-wife wasn't evil in any way, yet her immaturity hurt him in so many ways it felt evil. The presentation of the characters involved and their changing relationship was multidimensional and the best part of the drama.

I think the drama would have done much better at centering Yun Seok Hun with each intern individually. The problem here was that the drama wasn't sure if it was going to go with the romance line with his character or not, but they created a character who would never permit himself to fall for an intern yet the makers of the drama wouldn't let go of the idea. By the end of the drama, it all became a murky territory.

My other issue with the drama is a place that was actually successful for most viewers but just didn't sit well with me personally. I loved the character Heo Min Jeong. Her life, hardships and strength is something is something many women experience and can relate to. Her longing for her mother was especially heartbreaking. What I didn't enjoy was what felt like forced romance. I thought the guy was more like a pest who wouldn't let go and wouldn't respect her personal space. He's drunk in the whole being a savior while she already saved herself and doesn't need anyone's help. In my view, she was just untouchable for him. I don't see it as a successful relationship, and neither does she. And also, his character was too emotional for the role.

Good watch overall, but had a number of wasted potential.

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Easily One of the Worst Romantic Series I've Ever Seen!

100 Days My Prince? Even 10 days is far too long to have to deal with two of the most pathetically unromantic people I’ve seen in recent memory. Screenwriter Noh Ji Sul must have had a brain aneurysm when she put this farce of a story together. It’s about as “romantic” as watching an automobile accident. And that’s what this entire story feels like: a bad accident.

I have to wonder about Korean history as it seems that nearly every single K-Drama I’ve watched involves a king who is an absolute incompetent moron. He has no guards. He has no support, nor does he even know how to utilize the resources that are so obviously at his disposal. Conversely, there is also always some “First Minister/First Premier” who craves power and seeks to undermine the king. Is this truly the only scenario that Korean writers see and use for such stories? Repetition quickly becomes tiresome. And Noh Ji Sul’s feeble attempts are beyond tiresome!

Here, we have a somewhat ridiculous premise: Prince Yi Yul is summoned to a rain ritual (yeah, don’t even get me started on that one!), and, of course, he’s ambushed. He conveniently strikes his head on a rock and his found by Yun, a local villager who nurses him back to health in order to fulfill a silly edict, issued by the Prince himself: all bachelors and spinsters are required to get married or get flogged 100 times. Now under the guise of Won Deuk, as he doesn’t remember who he is, the Prince is forced to marry Yun’s daughter, Hong Sim, who is a noble woman also living under another identity after her father was murdered years ago by the current First Premier, Kim Chae-Eon, who is the mastermind behind all of the manipulations that are going on.

Won Deuk and Hong Sim live a precarious life together as a forced married couple. Never mind that they don’t sleep together (after all, the integrity of both must be kept intact until the final reveal), and they scarcely act like a married couple at all. Nobody in the entire village catches onto Won Deuk’s obvious noble upbringing in his speech and mannerisms. The only one who knows is Yun because the Prince was in his bodyguard’s attire when he was found. Meanwhile, Hong Sim is searching for her brother, whom she hasn’t seen in years, and the Crown Princess happens to be pregnant with another man’s baby. Of course, Kim Chae-Eon is trying to keep all of these “balls” in the air while trying to remedy the mess. The last thing he wants is for the Prince to come back, and when he does, after finding out about his lost memories, hopes to use and manipulate him.

It isn’t difficult at all to piece this shabby puzzle together, as we already know that Hong Sim’s brother is the father of the Crown Princess’s baby. The whole thing plays off like a bad episode of “The Young and the Restless,” leaving the viewer to wonder what else can be thrown in with the kitchen sink.

Perhaps the silliest gimmick used was during the final episode when the reveal comes out. Finally free of Kim Chae-Eon, the Prince finally has Hong Sim, right? Of course, not! Why would things be wrapped up too soon? Instead, she begs him to forget the past, as she feels responsible for all of the pain and turmoil he’s suffered. However, she conveniently chooses to NOT let go of the past herself. Such is the sound advice of a truly pathetic hypocrite and a coward. Don’t worry, it gets worse. The Prince, after a year, returns to the village to try and convince Hong Sim to marry him again, and again, she refuses. He asks her to find some books that he conveniently dropped and to return them to him. Of course, these are his diaries, and, of course, she sits down to read them. So, I guess what’s written down is far more important than a man’s spoken word? I was already tired of this silly escapade when this drivel came around! And, of course, she finally accepts him in the most pathetically ridiculous manner I’ve seen in a long time. I guess Noh Ji Sul really had no clue what she was doing.

We also get another ridiculous premise. One of the Prince’s closest allies, Jung Jae Yun conveniently suffers from “Face Blindness,” and yet, he’s always able to recognize the Prince under his guise of Won Deuk, even when Won Deuk doesn’t speak?! The stupid gimmicks for this series just kept coming, which is always indicative of a poor writer. The series is literally riddled with such poor plot devices.

When Hong Sim’s brother is finally killed by assassins, Hong Sim goes to look for him, and yet, she somehow (without being told) knows where to look for him?!

It’s bad enough that the story and plot are carried out so poorly, but then you have two of the worst acting performances to make sure it’s even worse!

Doh Kyung Soo is obviously trying to give the Prince a very haughty and high-mannered personality. However, what we get is a man who speaks robotically without any personality whatsoever! The trick is to make an arrogant character likable, and he fails miserably! Take TV icons like Sheldon from “Big Bang Theory” or Alex Keaton from “Family Ties.” Both were extremely arrogant, but the actors knew how to make those characters likable. Doh Kyung Soo succeeds in giving us a vain, rude, and overbearing Prince with virtually no redeeming qualities at all. The man needs acting lessons!

Nam Ji Hyun is almost as bad with Hong Sim. She’s got to be one of the most undesirable women ever put to screen. She acts like a little girl half of the time. Even Nam Ji Hyun’s voice sounds like a 12-year-old girl speaking! It’s unnervingly irritating! She rarely smiles, and she’s never grateful for anything at all. It’s bad enough that her father whines and cries like an old woman in just about every scene he’s in. It’s also a fact that Nam Ji Hyun and Doh Kyung Soo have absolutely zero chemistry together. They’ve also got to be the worst kissing couple I’ve ever seen. If you don’t like doing kissing scenes, then pick projects that don’t have them! Hong Sim is also a cowardly hypocrite, which makes her about as appealing as a piece of used tissue paper.

Han So Hee is a vastly superior actress, and she should have been given the role of Hong Sim. And conversely, Kim Seon Ho is also a much better actor than Doh Kyung Soo, and he should have also been given the lead role of the Prince. These two would have been an infinitely superior job, given that they both outshone the lead actors (not that that was hard to do!) of this series. The only actor who stood out was Cho Seong Ha (Kim Chae-Eon), whose masterful performance was wasted.

This is easily one of the worst romantic series I’ve seen in a very long time. Trust me, you don’t want to spend even 1 day with this farce of a series!

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A really underrated series!

To be honest, I don't understand why the show received negative reactions. I do love a lot of aspects of the series. For instance, the chemistry between the couples, the acting, the music, and the plot twists. There were just a couple of things I didn't like: how little the relationship between Wang Chan and his brother was explored, which took a toll on Wang Chan's character, and the lack of background for Ian's character, making it difficult to understand his intentions.

A very positive aspect of the series is the representation of how people deny themselves the chance to love because of trauma and guilt. Some consider this topic exaggerated, repetitive, or inconsequent for a BL production. I can understand that some topics may not resonate with all audiences, but that's what makes our world diverse, and we have the right to express our genuine feelings. I just hope that someone reading this will give the series a chance. 🤗🤗🤗

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Starts strong

Starts a bit awkwardly, then gets better. Excellent film score, good cinematography and acting with some nice chemistry. By the end of the 5th episode, I thought it was a 9.

Midway through, the situation is fully revealed, and the last half is spent unfolding the response. While some series wait until the last episode and then resolve everything in the last 5 minutes, this one chooses to drag it out over 5-7 episodes. The last three episodes are drawn out and tedious. and the resolution is barely satisfactory, i.e. a lot of build up for not much reward.

The challenge of a series is taking a story and cutting it into equal length bits to fit the episodic time constraints. In this case, because the acting, sound track , cinematography were so good, an edit of the series into a two hour movie would probably make this a great watch. There are quite a few sensitive and subtle moments, but also some clumsy and forced bits.

I give this a 7.5 because of all the great stuff that IS there, but for me, not a rewarding watch.

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Dear Eun Ho, are you healing or relapsing?

Well, that was bad. A mediocre k-drama could even do better because atleast the characters have common sense albeit predictable actions.

I have a lot of bad things to say about this show so let's start with the good ones first.

The pilot episodes have that whimsical energy and dream-like, poetic style cinematography. The director is very skilled and he has helmed Twenty Five-Twenty One and Search WWW. He has proven time and time again that he can depict age gap romance properly and without the ick. Shin Hye Sun's acting prowess also drew me into watching this. She usually picks memorable characters, one that will stick with you long after watching it.

So one might ask—what went wrong? Everything went wrong from the moment common sense flew out of the window for our main character Eun Ho (played by Shin Hye Sun), an unknown announcer with 14 years of experience.

Hyun O (played by Lee Jin Uk) is Eun Ho's ex-boyfriend (don't get me started with how their names practically sound the same). Unfortunately, they work in the same broadcasting company PPS and unlike Eun Ho, Hyun O is more renowned and has moved up the career ladder a bit. They dated for 8 years but broke up 4 years ago.

Looking back, it still annoys me how there is not a single reason why Hyun O and Eun Ho should get back together. From the get-go, Hyun O is ambiguous and evasive towards Eun Ho. He still shows that he cares for her yet he denies that he still loves her. Perhaps, this is just a result of poor writing. If writernim wants to show that two people are inevitably meant to be despite their differences and misunderstandings, maybe she should have sustained their character arc. To be honest, I don't see any growth from the characters. They didn't heal or grow by the end of the story, they just relapsed (Ju Yeon is an exception).

Let me introduce the dashing and brooding Ju Yeon (played by the ever-charming Kang Ju Yeon) who works as an announcer in a different broadcasting company Media N Seoul. The only catch? He's emotionally unavaible haha I agree with the comments of some viewers that he's not yet ready to commit into a relationship given that he tends to be emotionally dependent on his significant other. He confuses love with deep care for someone. He is also the very definition of brooding male lead because he keeps to himself and constantly thinks of negative and distressing thoughts.

Of course, there is one character who is able to see through his facade and that is Hye Yeon, his co-worker. She seems unfazed even when he answers her questions half-heartedly or completely avoids her when she shows up unannounced. Her bubbly personality does not rub off on him. Hye Yeon has a big crush on Ju Yeon, hence she took her time to memorize him and so the tiniest change of emotion and mood can surprise her. Sadly, he never looked her way and he considers him as the annoying colleague that never leaves him peace.

Going back to Shin Hye Sun, she played such a commendable performance of playing two roles: Eun Ho and Hyeri. Possibly due to the stress of her breakup and the uncertainty of her career, she developed dissociative identity disorder (DID). In the morning at exactly 4 AM, she would go to work as announcer Eun Ho in PPS. Then in the afternoon at 4 PM, she works as parking attendant Hyeri in Media N Seoul. During her stay as the parking attendant, her other identity Hyeri developed a crush on Ju Yeon, constantly saving a parking spot on him but goes into hiding whenever he is near. Hyeri has this childlike wonder yet is wise with words perhaps a thing she got from Eun Ho's eloquence. On the other hand, Eun Ho is very much grounded in reality and self-critical especially even when her dreams are crumbling right before her eyes. Hyeri is the very reason I enjoyed the first few episodes. The moment she diseappeared and never resurfaced again still baffles me. Was Hyeri just a clickbait? Did they just add Hyeri to make the plot sound more interesting? Putting a character in the background out of the blue will never not annoy me. Her symptoms suddenly stopped the moment Hyun O started paying attention to her again. This just made it harder for me to connect with the character and understand the mental health issue.

Let's also talk about how they poorly handled the mental health condition. The conclusion felt like a quick fix and merely a stereotype of Eun Ho's sickness. I am by no means an expert but the portrayal felt less authentic and more stigmatizing. Putting a therapist in the show does not instantly make the story accurate and nuanced. The pyschiatrist appears to be merely an accessory rather than someone who is willing to help and support Eun Ho throughout her treatment and recovery. In addition, the mental health issue was used a plot device for Eun Ho and Hyun O's reconciliation. The story was so focused on their romance that the mental disorder functions more as a tool for their reconnection. Her DID comes across as decorative or secondary element rather than a central conflict driving the plot. This should have focused more on help-seeking behavior and recovery rather than showing how her sickness made her romantic relationship even complicated.

Can I also just say that the art direction does not suit Jin Uk's face card? I mean I have a bone to pick with his acting as it feels stiff and pained. His face is not as expressive as Shin Hye Sun's. His acting felt monotonous and robotic and he looks like he just recites his dialogues. It cringes me everytime the camera pans to him because wtf is that acting. His face does not give away any emotions except for being red flag and manipulative lol. I know he has personal issues that's why he thinks he and Eun Ho don't belong together. But for fuck's sake, just man up and clear the air between you two. Is that too much too ask? Perhaps the title should have been Dear Hyun O, Please Fuck Off. I also didn't resonate with his torment and internal conflict. All of the characters' emotions just feel superficial and barely scratched the surface.

Overall, Dear Hyeri is just a second chance romance kdrama adorned with mental health condition and toxic, problematic ex. The pilot episodes are intriguing but by the time you reach the last four episodes please expect that nothing will make sense. You asked for deep dive into the characters' backstory that will craft their character arc? You get a baffling thought process! In short, the premise was promising but was not fully realized and properly executed. This romanticizes toxic relationships and stigmatizes mental health condition. Is this an office version of Nevertheless? Absolutely. Both kdramas ditch the good boy to an unpredictable, lackluster bad boy. But atleast Nabi sure knows how to pick her pretty boy 😪😪 and she didn't include a mental health issue just for the clout. She's just irrational and under the spell of manipulative sad boy and that worked better for me than Dear Hyeri.

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The three things I liked about this movie

I found this movie worth watching for these three reasons:

It made me laugh.
It made me cry.

It made me smile.

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