W (2016)

Ah, W. How I was looking forward to writing this review.

W was certainly one of the most anticipated dramas of the season, and for good reason: a creative storyline paired with an exemplary leading cast. I, like many others, was captivated by the idea of a webtoon coming to life. And Lee Jong Suk? Huehue. Say no more.

The writers of the show crafted a plot that is bound to keep you on your toes and send your brain into overdrive. It’s not the most intelligent story I’ve seen. At times it's confusing and borders on being nonsensical, but it’s logical enough to make it worth watching. W is especially intriguing because of its unpredictability - even if you grow used to the plot, each new problem creates an addicting mystery. You become determined to understand exactly what will happen next.

While I enjoyed W and the anxiety its suspense caused me, this drama is not perfect. A show amazing in concept, it fails to deliver in some of the most important aspects.

One thing I found particularly problematic was the romance. Some might disagree, but I found Kang Chul and Yeon Joo’s loveline to be one of the most poorly-written in any K-drama I’ve seen. I’ll admit that there was incredible potential in their relationship. However, the writers never give you any reason to like this couple except that they just are a couple - it’s the unspoken drama rule that because they’re the main characters, they have to be together. Fair enough, but that doesn’t get my heart racing.

Is the romance necessary? Yes - to an extent. Love is the easiest way to connect the two main characters. But trust me; that romance sucks badly. In the beginning episodes, you find it cute. What’s not adorable about a cool guy who’s curious about this ditzy girl? Then, you suddenly hit the point of doubt: but…but why, though? Why are they together? How? Sadly, there is no satisfying answer to these questions.

Yet, as much of a letdown as the romance was, what ultimately kept me from giving this show a higher score was its characters.

I have a burning passion for well-written characters, and I thought W would be the perfect drama to see it being done. The idea of the story is that the boundaries between reality and fiction are blurred, causing a mere created character to act and feel as a real human does. What we viewers deserve out of such a concept are heart-wrenching characters whose personalities you could find within a human in this world; who would persuade you that creations are self-aware. But disappointingly, nearly every single one of W’s characters are dull.

Strangely enough, the best example is Kang Chul. Our main character happens to be perfect. That sounds great! He’s rich, goodlooking, with an incredible sense of justice (this is where I swoon). He wants desperately to live, and you feel for him because…well, he’s not just a webtoon character; he’s a human being goddammit! Look at his perfect skin. And his eyes (oh his eyes). Also his backstory is so sad! But there’s something sadder than his backstory - his personality, which is as two-dimensional as the lines that were drawn to create him.

I’ve seen a lot of people share the same justification for why he has no real flaws: he’s a webtoon character, thus not real, thus does not have to be bound by the unspoken law that all people are imperfect. Fine; that makes sense. But isn’t that ironic? His whole gist is that he’s a human being. Where does he come off claiming such a thing if he’s so flawless? You’ll begrudgingly accept this character because of Lee Jong Suk, but that’ll be the extent of it.

And, the side characters are just that - side characters. Oh, sure, they exist. Yet I never really cared about them. Most of the time, they were convenient plot devices, not people. (I’ll say that I did very much like the role of Yeon Joo’s father - out of everyone, he feels the most realistic.)

If this were any other drama, I would let this go. I understand that a show can’t have everything, and characters are often the afterthought in the face of such a complex plot. However, I want to make it clear that if the writers are going to create a show based around the idea that these webtoon characters seem human, then they have to create characters that are human, and as a result, elicit my empathy. By the end, I should have been setting up a shrine in my house and counting prayer beads in hopes that they all get a happy ending! Uh…maybe that’s an exaggeration. But do you get me?

I know this review sounds bad, but I do want to get across that altogether, I did have a good time with W. Doesn’t sound like it, but it’s true! Its problems may be obvious, yet its strengths are enough to keep you going.

Its control over suspense had me hiding behind my hands at certain parts. And the cast itself is great - particularly the actor portraying Yeon Joo’s father; I cried womanly tears for you, sir. I’ve never watched Han Hyo Joo on screen before, but I did enjoy her role and thought she did a pretty good job with her character. I will also again emphasize my love for Lee Jong Suk: those emotive eyes. Gah. Almost made me like Kang Chul.

I recommend you to watch this drama, but simultaneously caution yourself against the blinding hype that it received. The end product of this show was nothing near to the perfection that I expected it to have, but it also wasn’t anything close to being bad.

Don’t expect a masterpiece. Watch it; have fun with it!

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W had a great idea for a good story, but failed to make it till the very end. Somewhere between the second and the third episode, the drama reached its peak. The story is quite interesting and unique, so kudos for that. Plus the romance was okay, a little weak though, and the performances very good, as the actors had to work with the whole fantasy world, action scenes and of course the exchange of worlds. However what ruined the drama for me were the flash backs. There were so many!! Except from the first five minutes, that were a recap of the whole series so far, which is kind of understandable, the back and forth-s were too tiring. And they were repeated constantly, which was annoying. Finally, the twists were interesting and entertaining the first time around, but the drama seemed to have actually ended at the ninth episode, and so the rest of them were just repeating the same twists over and over. In addition, I would have liked for the whole two worlds universe to had been explained better. So 4 out of 10.

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When I was little, I wished I was born a cartoon character or that I'll magically find myself inside my favorite story under the influence of an uncanny occurrence. Along came W with the scenario of my dreams and mostly ruined it.


But I learned my lesson: "Entering a cartoon is no child play!" It's not a messy writer's mission either.


Here's the problem: W aspired to be a lot of things: a mind-blowing, thought-provoking fantasy, a boundary-breaking love story, a thriller and a creeper, and perhaps a journey of finding oneself...


Unfortunately, it failed on most fronts, but I'm not surprised. First and foremost, we have to accredit the writer for tackling such fresh premise and attempting to explore the themes of creator/creation and free-will/predestination in such a creative way. However, unlike her previous works the writer failed to create clear and sound rules governing the travel between these two worlds. You might scream: "But, it's a FANTASY!" Then, I'll scream back: "Even fantasy has to have solid rules; otherwise, it's magical realism or Deus ex Machina conveniently controlling events."


It's hard to highlight this part without giving up the story. One might claim that the rules of entering/leaving the world were clear from the beginning. It's not true, though! We were never told why and how Yoon Joo was going in when the tablet wasn't involved. Then, there's the fact that the rules changed over and over again! They worked only when it was appropriate for the narrative. Many times, major dangers could've been avoided by simply using the rules. In all honesty, I have attempted to rationalize the show's plot more than once; I always ended up with a severe headache. It's either the plot is a collection of holes bridged by Deus ex Machina or I'm too stupid to get it.


But I could've still enjoyed the show, lapses of logic and all, had the writer tried to make her characters realistic. Isn't it ironic that the writer who criticized other drama writers for resorting to cliches to move their stories, didn't bother to give her own characters identities of their own?!


Take Yoon Joo for example. What is she other than the love interest? What do we know about her other than she'll do anything to be with Chul? For the love of God, the girl had cotton candy for brains and I was supposed to believe that she's a surgical intern. Yoon Joo was willing to desert her ENTIRE universe so she can play romance of the day with her fictional crush. How am I supposed to respect her? I'm a fangirl, mind you! But I still can tell the difference between fangirling and falling in love. The writer and Yoon Joo obviously couldn't. If I were to believe that Yoon Joo fell for Chul because he's her forever crush, why did he fall for her (over and over again)? There was a painful lack of buildup for that romance. The show ended and I was still wondering: Why were those two a couple? Why the hell I'm supposed to root for them?


They might've been cute together. But that was all they ever were!


Then, there was Chul. His life, his whole existence was a tragedy but he was a protagonist who had free-will in a predestined world. In his journey of finding himself, Kang Chul was supposed to prove his humanity. Curiously enough, I found his reactions to the world and to everything to be human in the first half of the story. However, the more he approaches the real world, the more he becomes robotic. Ultimately, he became so bland it was dull to watch him, much less to care for him. (again it's hard to explain without spoiling).


The most interesting and the only well-acted character was Oh Song Moon. I want to take a moment to applaud the acting. The levels of darkness and petty he fell into were very well acted. Unfortunately, the depth of this character was never fathomed. He was shoved away in favor of the stupid never-was-romance. His relationship with his daughter, his fears, his failures, his love were all thrown down the drain. He became a walking plot-device himself.


The acting in the show was uneven. Kim Eui Seong did wonders with his characters where Han Hyo Joo moves around with 3 annoying facial expressions (maybe four if you count her sleeping face :P). W certainly uncovered Lee Jong Suk's acting limitations. He fairs well in cute and playboy, but other than some particular scenes, his acting grew cumbersome to watch, even cringe-worthy at the end. Those crying scenes anyone?!


A shout out to Crazy Dog and Soo Bong: those two were my rays of the sunshine in the dark! Crazy Dog spoke my mind and Soo Bong was the only one who played bewilderment and every other shocked emotion well.



In short, visually captivating, definitely mind-boggling and occasionally a bit creepy, W might have started with a promise but ended with a letdown. Watch it if you're a fan of the actors or of twisty-twisted plots that leave you with more questions than answers, but don't expect any character to come off as human.

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This is my second review on here. My first one was for D-Day which is another great drama just like this one and just like D-Day this drama has a unique story/plot that is original and has not been done before as a drama.

For me this drama was amazing from the very start to the finish. The reason I added this drama to my watch list and started watching right when the first episode aired was because of the cast. I am big fan of Lee Jong Suk and I do like Han Hyo Joo. Lee Jong Suk is also my favorite Korean actor and when I heard that he was going to star in a new drama I had to watch it and I am so glad I did.

This drama did not disappoint me at all. I will say that there were a few things in the drama that could have been better but overall this drama does deserve a 10. This drama is one of the best dramas of this year that I have watched and I am so glad Lee Jong Suk was in it. He just ends up picking really great dramas to star in. In my opinion not only is this drama one of the best this year it is now one of my favorites of all time.

Story

The story/plot of this drama is so unique and to my knowledge has not been done before in a Korean drama. I loved that it was about webtoons and in particular about one where Lee Jong Suk was the main character. You cannot go wrong with having him as the main character. If the webtoon of this drama was real I would defiantly be reading it as it is the kind of story I would love. I like the concept that the main female character was able to enter the webtoon world of W. That in its self was not as unique as I have seen characters enter the world of the book they are reading before. But this one was so different in the sense that she ended up playing a part in it. I also like that this drama was not so easy to predict what was going to happen next. With most dramas you can kind of predict what could happen next but with this drama you could not. This just made it even more interesting and hard to wait for the next episode to see what would happen. As I said earlier there were a few things in the drama that could have been better or explained better so that is why the story get a 9.5 and not a 10 like the rest. I can’t really say what those things are because I would be spoiling it for you and I don’t want to do that.

Acting/Cast

The cast for this drama was so perfect. I don’t think I could see anyone else playing those characters. They all did a great job. Especially Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo. Last time I saw Lee Jong Suk was in the drama Pinocchio so it was great to have him back in a new drama and the same goes for Han Hyo Joo. It has been a number of years since she was last in a drama. She has done some movies recently but it was nice to see her back and paired with Lee Jong Suk. I think they had great chemistry together and it showed on the screen.

The other actors also did a great job and played their characters very well. I especially loved both Lee Shi Eon who played the webtoon artist assistant and Heo Jeong Do who played the professor doctor. Both of them brought some comedy to the drama which was nice to have. Also can't forget Kim Eui Seong who played Han Hyo Joo’s father and the webtoon artist. I have seen him before in other roles and he did such an amazing job playing his character in this drama.

Music

The music in this drama was so good, whether it was the OST songs that had lyrics in them or the instrumental Score/BGM. This drama had 9 songs that had music and lyrics and I loved every single one of them. My favorite of them all was the first one to be released which is ‘Where Are You’ by Jung Joon Young. I love this song and Jung Joon Young voice as he is such an amazing singer. The other ones I liked the best were ‘In the Illusion’ by Basick & Inkey and ‘You And Me’ by An Hyun Jung. Also one of the best parts about the music was the instrumental Score/BGM soundtrack for the drama. It was amazing to listen to and scored so perfect for the drama. So in all the music is really good and I have already bought all 9 of the OST songs that were released. I also plan to download the whole soundtrack once it’s available on iTunes. I know it is officially out right now and is 2 CDs but iTunes does not have it up yet. I will possibly buy the physical soundtrack as well once that is released. That is how much I just loved the soundtrack.

Rewatch Value

The rewatch value of this drama is so high for me. This is a drama that I would defiantly rewatch from start to finish a bunch of times. I will probably watch it again very soon and this time introduce it to a friend. Since I watched this drama by myself it would be a great drama to watch with a friend or friends. I told a friend of mine that she needs to watch this drama and she has added it to her list so it would be nice to watch it again with her. Also if this drama comes out on DVD with English subs I will defiantly be buying it.

I highly recommend this unique suspenseful fantasy romantic drama as everything about it was so good. All that is left to say is if you are reading this and trying to decide if you should watch this what are you doing. Go watch it now. It is a must watch drama that should not be missed. One of the best dramas of 2016.

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W can’t be accused of setting the bar low. It attempts to tell a compelling, tightly crafted story while simultaneously deconstructing the narrative tropes that drive such plots. At first, it pulls it off, pairing sly meta-commentary with unpredictable twists as characters defiantly refuse to follow their creator’s whims. However, as the story within the story goes off the rails, it becomes increasingly difficult for the “real” story to stay on track as well. By depriving itself of the traditional payoffs provided by standard dramatic structure, the show ironically defaults to the same hackneyed conventions it’s mocking (Deaths that aren’t actually deaths! Amnesia! It’s all a dream!).

What starts as an engaging meditation on how artistic works can take on a life of their own devolves into a jumble of incomprehensible rules and mangled timelines. The bigger thematic ideas get lost as you sense the actual writer struggling every bit as much as her cartoonist antihero to give her work an ending. And unfortunately, just like him, she can’t seal the deal. In a world where everyone can magically draw (or write) themselves out of difficulty, the act of creation gets reduced to expediency, not art. The fans within the show know something’s gone awry, but, alas, the fans in the “real”, real world are left hanging too. As a metaphor for how stories slip away from their authors, this one turns out to be a bit too apt.

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I have rated it 5,5, because i have high expectation. I am not comparing this with other k-dramas or asian dramas. I am comparing this with american productions or japanese tv serial. The story itself is ridiculous. It is a fantasy, i get it, but the logic in this drama is so below expectation that i feel the writer was treating me like an idiot to watch this.

The rules keep changing. Like can go back and forth between two worlds but how? Sometimes tru tablet sometimes just go in and out like that. Then killer can go in and out anytime he likes without tablet, But when tablet is not working it's safe, killer cannot go out anymore. Sometimes can go to airplanes too. What the hell? Is it me who fails to understand the logic behind this utterfly crap master piece or everyone also feels the same?

Don't even start to talk about the awkward romance. It's the most ridiculously cheap cheesy romance i have ever seen in my entire life. Or maybe i haven't found other idiot drama as comparisson. I don't know. I have high standard for movie / anime / tv show, this one is the most overrated drama so far. I watched it because of the hype. Ahh i won't ever trust the hype anymore. Wasted my time to watch this.

I feel like getting cheated by the seller (writer). The sales person tried to sell me a fruit with nice packaging, promising sweet taste. The first bite was good, really sweet and tasty only to discover after i bite more the fruit is rotten inside with all the worms squirming inside of the fruit. Yuck! That's how i feel when i watch W. Such a letdown.

What a BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT !!!

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At the beginning, there was much expectation.
"W," one muttered. "Why is the show called W?"
The other snapped their fingers. "W sounds exactly like 'Double U' - Double universe. Get it?"
"Clever!" came the reply.

........Except it was not.
Oh, it tried to be. From the offset, rules were made, broken and shaped into something else entirely. This constant shift in dynamics between real world and manwha world kept us on our toes. But two flaws held it back.

One - All of the characters in both worlds were flat. All of them. Except maybe one, but more on Oh Seong Moo later. Kang Chul was particularly tragic. To become self-aware of his own cartoon status, to gain a strong purpose to kill the creator - but then being reduced to nothing more than being Yeon Joo's chew-toy. She wanted romance, and romance was to be had! The plot would've been more interesting if he'd objected to his secondary creator's will (especially in the second half, when he had no recollections of their "romance") and resented her throughout. Muhahahaha. You can tell how sick I was of every romantic scene between them. Every-time manwha world tried to insert conflict, namely by having the killer after them, the end-goal was for their insipid reunion, that I stopped caring by episode 5. Seriously.

Yeon Joo. Man, I had major issues with this character. As I said to a fellow MDLer..."In the latter episodes, just to be walking around in pretty dresses, doing nothing but sleep and talk with Kang Chul - how is that inspirational? A woman with that much brains, will always seek for extra stimulation, not just be relegated to "Barbie" territory with fluff in her brains. Why make her a doctor in the first place? Just make her anything, if it doesn't matter so much."

I still stand by those words.

Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo's acting left a lot to be desired. They tried their best, excelling in certain points, but I was convinced by neither character in the end.

Oh Seong Moo/Hang Sang Hoon was a character portrayed well, by the actor, which is why he's my favourite, closely followed by Crazy Dog, who voiced every frustration with W's turns - he even voiced a fantastic thought. "Even though I hated the beginning, I must be respectful of the final episode"...and then, "That's it?"
Lastly Su-Bongah because he spent the majority of the episodes frightened out of his wits.

In some ways, the reason why I'm giving a high score of 6.5 is purely because the show tried something new and had an exciting soundtrack. My most appreciated scene in the show, was when Seol Hee was fading and drew attention to herself. Her will to survive was stronger, than the will of the show! And she wasn't even self-aware like Kang Chul. The only (truly) impressive dimension I saw.

Also the ending? More questions raised, than answered.

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I honestly have no words to describe this piece of art.
I've watched many kdramas since I've taken an interest in them but when I stumbled over this drama I was absolutely dumbfounded.

I'm one of those people who like an interesting, funny romance - but hate it when it is nothing but drama and the plot drags out for no reason. So with the combination of Romance, Comedy, Mystery, Suspense, and a creative Fantasy - I knew I had found the drama that I had been waiting to go back to whenever I was bored with my "currently watchings".

To start off, the actors are AMAZING. Their acting was superb within the action, comedic, and emotional scenes. They did their job without going over the top or completely emotionless.

I personally loved the story, even though I thought that the romance between the characters was too fast paced at first, but when you finally get yourself to wrap your head around the story line and the time difference between them, it makes perfect sense. It was touching, sweet, emotional, hilarious, suspenseful, action-packed, and kept me at the edge of my seat.

Also the fact that I'm actually taking my time to write my first review is proof enough to show how much I enjoyed it. I originally planned to watch it months back, but due to my busy schedule, I had to stop around the beginning, so I highly anticipated me taking my time to watch it and actually not skip through it. I did this with two dramas. And when I watched both, the first was not at all how hoped it would turn out, but this...........this one did NOT disappoint.
:)

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Ah, Jeez. What a bad show.

W, is basically a badly written drama about a badly written Manhwa coming to life.

The moment I started watching W, suddenly a lot of my chores started getting done. I had finished my laundry, a novel worthy dissertation that was overdued suddenly got completed, my cupboards were clean and my room was sparkling. Soon I realized, that my mind's will to avoid the torture that this show subjected it to, was such; that it had me do all the things that I was procrastinating on since forever.

However, the masochist that I am, I kept coming back to it. All these great reviews and high ratings made me think that the next episode would be surely better than the shit I just watched. I kept finding excuses for it and soon, the ending credits rolled in and the show finished being just as horrible as it was from the get go.

To put it simply, W is like a rotten egg that somehow hatched into a headless chicken and proceeded to create chaos everywhere. It's like somebody took a coupla mindless plot-lines, threw it in a blender and went on to whisking it to hell and back.

The plot makes no sense. The characters make no sense. The story makes no sense. The drama is essentially a hotchpotch of confused writing trying to mask itself as 'complicated'. So much is happening but you're reaching nowhere. And the worst thing of it all, is that despite all their efforts to try and have unnecessary events take place left and right; the show still remains boring as hell. Which is a shame because its premise was so unique and had a lot of potential.

There are so many flashbacks and repetition, that half of the show is filled with the same old bs. Seriously, when you see Kang Chul get shot and Yeong Joo faint for the umpteenth of time, you're about ready to shoot and pass out yourself.

However, for me as long as the acting is good I can forgive almost everything.
No such luck here.

Han Hyo Joo sucks so bad that she shouldn't even be allowed to act anymore. All she knows is to open her eyes wide like an idiot, cover her face with her hands and bite her nails. Literally, this is all she does throughout the show. Her acting (or lack thereof) is so monotonous that you can put a cardboard in her place and it would still work.

I don't understand why Lee Jong Suk takes roles like these. I believe that this was probably his worst role as of yet, for there is no growth as an actor here. There is no denying his acting chops or his looks but playing a two-dimensional commonplace character like Kang Chul really dumbed down his potential.

The dialogues often felt scripted and the actors seemed detached from the characters they were playing.

The only memorable roles were the side characters. Yeong Joo's dad was brilliant, so was Park Bong So and the Mad Dog. All of them gave me some feels but the main characters were lacklustre at best.

The kisses were good but the romance like the rest of the show was less than mediocre.

I mean, the beginning was also bad but they really just lost their shit midway. It's like they didn't even care about following a logical story-line anymore.

However, I want to really give credit to the actual Webtoon artists who drew all the manhwa chapters in the show. That's some serious talent there, not gonna lie, but that's about it.

16 hours of total waste, watch it only if you want to have your intelligence insulted.

Enjoy!

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“W”- A Waste Of Production Value And Time...

Looking through these older reviews, it would seem apparent for most drama watchers that there are two extremes from reviewers of this show; those who cited “ W” as the best thing since sliced bread, and those who believe that it is one of the worst/ mediocre K-dramas ever produced .

“W” revolves around our female lead Oh Yeon-Joo ( Han Hyo- Joo) , a rational surgeon who is fairly embarrassed about her father , the celebrity artist Oh Seong-moo ( Kim Eui Song) ‘s popular webtoon series “ W”. Things become strange for Yeon- Joo, however, when her father suddenly disappears and she is able to meet the main protagonist Kang Chul ( Lee Jong Suk) by stepping into his fictional world. Yet things become even stranger when Yeon-Joo and Kang Chul learn of a mysterious man who wants to erase the bridge between fiction and reality by somehow moulding them together. Together with Kang Chul, Yeon- Joo begins a journey both in reality and fiction to find her missing father and put an end to the intentions of this mad man once and for all.

Of course there’s no denying that “ W” has all the right markers of being a brilliant production; the actual premise was intriguing and gave food for thought(thanks to renowned scriptwriter Song Jae Sung -Nine: Nine Times Travel, Queen In Hyun’s Man and Memories Of The Alhambra), the show had a top-notch cast in particular Lee Jong Suk , Han Hyo- Joo) and having a high -production should have easily sealed its fate as an an instant blockbuster phenomenon.However, the drama’s biggest flaw can probably be found within its lacking abilities to “ pace and progress” storyline, plot inconsistencies ( including a bathos ending) and ( in particular) character progression.

By default our Oh Yeon Joo had the potential should have been a well-rounded protagonist ; highly-intelligent, stuck in a strange relationship with her father and having an even more complicated childhood than a lot of heroines in K-dramas . Yet, Yeon-Joo didn’t really have enough time or purpose aside from her “ assets” to the plot, to actually be deepened or grow as a character- she rarely acted upon her intelligence ( even in the webtoon world), was exposed to have really any emotional depth or relationships ( including friends) outside of her father’s circle and her job, and it was hard for a major part of the series to see any striking reason for her attraction towards Kang Chul ( apart from the fact that she “ had a crush on him” when she was younger) as an individual .

Arguably Kang-Chul was slightly better tackled upon this front of characterisation that Yeon Joo. ( His existentialism as well as darker personality traits from trauma to revenge play a major part in the later storyline, adding a subtle twist from the typical “ Prince Charming” trope typically taken on by screenwriters in this scenario.) Nevertheless, Kang-Chul often felt a little “ bland” as a love interest for Yeon-Joo. It is often hard to entirely pinpoint where this “ blandness” can truly be found , however, the most apparent feature within Kang-Chul and Yeon-Joo’s lacklustre relationship is that Kang-Chul never really goes out of his way “ to get to know” Yeon-Joo.

Naturally whilst some of this is obvious to the plot line, it seemed odd even for a webtoon character not to intrinsically try to strike up conversations or at least ponder the similarities and differences in personality and behaviour between himself and Yeon-Joo. Although Kang-Chul undeniably has reasons behind some of his actions , he often felt like an intrinsically selfish individual who often pulled Yeon-Joo into uncomfortable situations and emotional gaslighting over the course of the series. For a show which focused upon these two individuals as a couple, their relationship often felt too mismatched, lacking in actual depth and anticlimactic.

Sadly, however, the show didn’t really try to pragmatically “ flesh-out” their relationship, instead ironically focusing upon “ the overarching antagonist” who was sadly more disappointing than our main characters . It is wrong to entirely deny that the villain of “ W” wasn’t intriguing, as there was a lot of potential ( especially in later revelations) towards the antagonist being well-rounded, however, before even the halfway mark, the show’s later decisions with our antagonist greatly began to downgrade storyline and general interest in what was happening to our main characters. A bad writing move in any drama hoping to engage viewers through plot .

It’s therefore fair to say that “W” isn’t necessarily a “ dire ” show and actually has some praiseworthy factors including a good cast, screenwriter, production value and an intriguing premise. On the other hand, it’s fair to say that “ W” did let down a lot of expectations for viewers in regards to the fact it had such a good cast and premise as well- poorly - written and “ stock” characters ( particularly our villain), a dragged-out storyline and an incredibly lacklustre “ deus ex machina” finale, instead of ending the show on a natural and appropriate high note. Overall, “ W” is a perfect show if you’re bored and looking for something to binge watch without a second thought , however, if you’re actually looking for a fleshed-out story with well-written characters and an engaging storyline , then look elsewhere because “ W” is truly a waste of time.

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Yes yes yes!!!

We need more dramas like W in the Kdrama world. W – Two Worlds does things in a refreshing way while still including the traditional things we love about kdramas. The best part of this drama has to be the writing and this serves as the foundation.

STORY - Very unique concept along with great execution. Don't even bother trying to guess the ending because there are so many twist and turns. The story is actually believable even though the subject matter is supernatural. I loved how the story actually felt like I was reading a manga. Very captivating and I was on the edge of my seat a lot of the times.

CASTS - Great great cast. Everything Han Hyo Joo touches is gold. I find her acting to be believable and very natural, not too over the top. I am a fan of Lee Jong Suk and I thought he played his character well too but I kinda felt like his expressions were a little limited. He had three main expressions through the drama really but I'm still a fan.

MUSIC: - There was one or two songs that were really catchy but nothing too memorable or that will stick with you. Average music overall

REWATCH VALUE: Definitely would rewatch again!!!

HATE: The story did get a little complex at times and hard to keep up with the ever changing plot but that's totally subjective and I'm being picky.

LOVE: Heo Jeong Do or Yeon Joo's boss!! Haha- I totally didn't expect to like him but I thought he was hilarious and brought a much needed lighter/ comedic side to balance this heavy drama.


W- Two Worlds is definitely one of the best dramas I've watch. Believe the hype!

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W is a drama about comic book characters that come to life. Oh if only this show was as simple as that first sentence. This show is much more than that. It's also action-packed, comedy-filed, and full of romance as well. W was a show that started out very well. The first half of the show is probably one of the best parts of any Korean drama that I have ever seen. Unfortunately as the show goes on, events start to fall to the illogical.

Story: [8/10]

The GOOD

One of the good things about this show is that it was never predictable. This is the show for you if you want to be surprised every episode. I honestly had no idea what the heck was going to happen next after watching each episode each week. The more I watched the more unsure I was with where this show was going. Although being TOO unpredictable can also be a bad thing as well. More on that later.

I also really enjoyed the romance in this drama as well. I'm a big fan of romance dramas. I would give this shows romance a 9 or 10 on a scale of 1-10. It's reminds me of the romance that could be found in Descendants of the Sun. It was the same sort of cute romance that occurred during even the most strenous events for the main characters. The main actor and actress did a very good job portraying their love for each other. Of course some may like this type of romance and others may not.

The comedy in this show was pretty decent as well. The comedy gave this drama a lighter feel as it made it feel less darker and depressing.

The BAD

I was not really a big fan of the second half of this drama. One of the reason for that is because the show becomes very illogical. It seems that a lot of Deus Ex Machina was used in the latter part of this show. W is a show in which the real world and the comic book world intermix. This alone in theory makes the show somewhat illogical. However, I sort of accepted that as a truth. As it doesn't seem too difficult to believe that parallel universes exist. Even with accepting that, the show is still very illogical. This was probably due to the poor world building. A half fantasy/half realistic show should define the limits of the world. In W, a person can travel between the real world and the comic world. How is that possible? Who knows? The director/story writers just says it happens and it happens. There is no limit. In fact there was several parts in the story where I felt like the director/writers could have added Godzilla or the Power Rangers into the show and it wouldn't have made it seem that much more illogical. As it was already that illogical.

There were several times in the drama where the writers attempted to world build and explain some of the events in the story. This however was not really done well in my opinion. As many question that I had about this drama and world were never really answered. If they were, it would take a span of several episodes before they got answered. This left me clueless throughout most of the drama. This left me with more questions than answers by the end of the drama. A drama should be the opposite. A drama should answer most if not all of your question by its' ending. Also having a lot of twists also diluted the plot of the drama. It seemed that twists were added into the drama just to make it more surprising. Every new twist seemed to change the story in a completely new direction without adding to the plot from the previous episodes.

TLDR: Good initial romance, comedy, and action. Although very illogical. Lots of events where never explained or were explained very late into the story. I'd rate the first half of the show a 10/10. The second half gets a 5/10 or 6/10.

Acting/Cast: [9.0] One of the better parts of the show. The main actress and actor are very good at their jobs. They made sad parts of the drama feel all the more heart-breaking. They made the romantic scenes feel all the more lovable and romantic. All in all, a very good job!

Music: [8.5] The music fit very well with the drama.

Overall an 8.0 for this show. 32.5 total divided by 4 categories is around an 8. The show did very well in the romance, comedy, and action parts of the show. However the fact that this show was very illogical near the end dragged down the score. I probably would have given this show a 9.0 or 9.5 overall if it made more sense.

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