W (2016)

Loved, loved, LOVED this drama!!!!
A very unique story, beautifully executed, amazing cast and intense chemistry.
I found myself laughing, crying and screaming in nearly every episode, a very emotional and exciting journey let me tell you!
The first ever drama (and I watch A LOT of dramas) where I genuinely could not predict what would happen next, even the last episode. The twists and turns in this drama make you question everything you thought you knew.
OST was also stunning, in particular Jo Hyunah's 'Falling'...has been on replay since I first heard it in the drama, gives me goosebumps everytime <3
If you love a bit of action and a unique love story that defies the norm...then look no further, W - Two Worlds will not disappoint <3

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Can't believe someone invested money in this production

This story started out with an interesting and promising premise but just went to shithouse soon after. Firstly, the female lead was a stereotypical airhead. Despite being a cardiothoracic surgeon resident many of her reactions, in medical or non-medical emergency situations, were just WTF. She figures out that getting the male protagonist to have the feels allows her to move back to her world and her immediate strategy is to kiss, slap and flash him to elicit a response. Wow, what a great use of med school intellect there. There's a scene where the male protagonist falls backwards off the building in an apparent suicide. The suicide ends up being a non-fatal ploy to reset things with a dream but she didn't know that. What would be a normal person's reaction when you see someone go backwards off a building? Not just standing there with this bewildered look on their faces, for one. For someone with her medical background, the reaction was ridiculous. This type of unnatural reaction was not just confined to her char. A lot of the other chars behave in ways that's not normal and believable either that it ruins the show because of how ridiculous it is.

Secondly, I didn't find this show female friendly at all. The sexist description of the female webtoon char's big breasts really framed the way that char was perceived for the whole series, which is a pity because I found the actress' acting a great deal more competent than the female protag's. It was also weird seeing so many ultra short mini skirts on some women background chars on the show. It was a weird dresscode against the men who were fully dressed in corporate or workwear gear that it seemed an artificial add by the directors, rather than a naturally occurring situation. Plus I would've thought there were women in the police or security forces in Sth Korea but all those roles were filled by men in the movie. The amount of gender role cliches shown in W made me feel like I was watching a pre-1960s show rather than a modern 21st century one. Badly done.

Thirdly, the plot was a mess. It was extremely lazy writing that didn't even try to hide that fact. The writers just relied on deus ex machinas to explain every single thing.

I agreed with the MadDog surgeon char who said that the female char add was a weak and useless char add and the romance was childish and third grade. Whenever they stuck to the action genre side of things W picked up better pace but still could not save the nonsense non-existant plots. The romance was nonsense as well as there was no logical reason why Kang Chul would fall in love with her. In Yeon-Joo's case it's been shown that she's highly fantasy-prone anyway so it's believable that she'd fall in love with KC but it was a shallow and immature love because of her tendency to fantasise. And her char was just annoying as F. I was glad she died and the parts when she wasn't around was better to watch. I mean kdrama rom-coms are replete with ingenue women who seem to quiver with breathless anticipation at the slightest touch by a man but the way YJ behaves is just embarrassing to watch. It was too cringey not to mention. She's a 30 yr old surgical resident. It might be an idea for the writers to do some research and meet some in real life. You can't tell me all female surgical residents in their 30s are immature virgins in the way they interact with good looking men. How would they ever manage to handle any surgery with a male patient? It was ridiculous as F to watch how badly they wrote her char and how much she needed rescuing all the time by a man.

Would I recommend it? Maybe the first 3 or 4 eps but thereafter, if you want to continue just be sure to leave your brain somewhere else because not only will you not need it to finish this show, but continuing with it might kill some grey cells. By the end of it I felt embarrassed for the actors. I wonder how they felt having to read such rubbish scripts. The only character growth was Soo-Hee but the rest were robbed, imho. I can't believe someone invested money in this production.

Oh, the drawing was amazing and there's a small cute dog at the end.

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It's been a great journey for me.

It has been a while since I watched a drama without skipping a few seconds and with this much of excitement. I'm so amazed by this drama and I feel like it's definitely in my top three, without a doubt.

The story was so well made. You can easily understand how different it was. It was a lot more complicated and also, confusing at the beginning. I just gave 9.5 because I felt like they could have explain all of the details more clearly. There were a lot of things to think about. Still, it was one of the best stories I've seen so far, even maybe the best.

I'm always a fan of Jong Suk's acting but this cast was so great in general. I have to admit, Kim Eui Seong was a blessing to watch. I was really surprised to see his acting, you can't help but admire his skills. Han Hyo Joo was great as well but I feel like she still has more things to learn about emotional scenes. One of my favourites was Lee Tae Hwan though, I was really excited to see him again and I'm so glad to see him in this drama. W is a great drama but it could be really bad if this cast was not this good.

N and Yeoeun's song still plays in my head... I was satisfied with the music as well. There are many good songs such as Falling, Remember, My Heart, Where Are U, Please Say Something... I guess I'll remember Joonyoung's song a lot. My favourite is Remember though, probably. KCM's voice is amazing. I can't help but give a high rating.

Will I watch this drama again? Yeah, probably. Honestly, I watched current episodes a few times while waiting for the new and still it was a great pleasure because of the cast. Of course I'm reviewing this thinking about myself, as JongSuk and TaeHwan's fan. It might not make you feel so great while rewatching it, since you already know the story.

Overall, as I said, W is in my top three right now. It was such a beautiful, emotional rollercoaster. It's saddening that we won't be able to see Kang Chul&amp;amp;Yeon Joo couple anymore. I'm sure it's going to be those rare dramas that I won't never forget and even after many years, thinking about it will make me smile with a warm feeling in my heart.

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This drama deserves the 10. And no, it's not just because I love Lee Jong Suk. Yes, I do love him. But honestly the series managed to live up to my expectations and more. It was exactly what I wanted from this writer--something fast paced, something that poked fun at the world and the way people think, something with sizzling chemistry and fantastic acting. Best of all, it was something that didn't feel like it needed to explain itself to it's viewers. I know that threw a lot of people off--and some even put it down to the writer not respecting her viewers. But I think W: Two Worlds was like a good Terry Pratchett novel--they drop you in, make you dizzy, tear your heart in two and then patch it up again, with little meta asides to make you smile. The directing too blew my mind: thoughtful, a little bit philosophical and generally gorgeous. There were scenes in every episode that just... stick in my brain, because the directing and videography managed to capture the moment so well. Let me name a few, tell me if I'm wrong: the rooftop exit, the real world street-crossing, the crazy smile during torture, Yeon-joo's interrogation. The world reset, the forgot-me-mantage, The introduction of the book. It's rare for a single series to have so many moments that just stand out in your head like that.

But let's break it down.

Story: Is this the first time this sort of story has been told? No. Among other things there's an A-ha music video, the Inkheart trilogy and the CS Lewis classic series The Chronicles of Narnia. All feature stories that come to life and real world character's interactions in them. But none of them have so deeply explored the existential ideas inherent to the premise. As for the premise not being explained... well... it's the premise. That's like asking Harry Potter to explain why wands make magic. They just... do. Or asking Brandon Sanderson what broke the Cosmere. The story is tight, fast-paced, makes you think and allows the viewers to have an imagination. It's got the details to make it work and the flexibility to let you run with it.

Acting//Cast: Here I will admit to being biased. Lee Jong Suk is the only actor I admit to wanting a giant poster of on my wall. But I have good reason--he's one of those actors who's value lies in the microexpressions. Not all emotions need to be spelled out blatantly, and he does a great job using the minute facial tics we have to convey his thought process. Han Hyo Joo was fantastic as well, one of the best K-drama heroines I've seen to date. She had a strong will, never gave that up, knew what she wanted even when it was impossible and thought on her feet. She had good comedic timing and made a good foil for some of the more subtle emotion on Lee Jong Suk's part. And the villain killed their part, no spoilers.

Music: Since I'm not super picky I don't feel qualified to give it a 10, but I will say that the music added to the tone and world of the drama. W: Two Worlds feels like a well done super-hero story, and the music reflects that. It's not overbearing but it's not absentee, either.

Rewatch Value: So much. I rewatched episodes three or four times (in pieces, mostly) while writing my first review of the series. And I've rewatched the beginning episodes with other people. It's still just as good as the first time around (again, like Terry Pratchett).

In the end, you'll have to form your own opinion. But for me it's one of the best K-dramas I've watched to date, tying only with Marriage Contract and Signal for 1st place. I don't really know if this is allowed, but I wrote a massive 5 part review of this series on my own blog, if you want to really know what I think of it. Link is here:

https://cozybooks.wordpress.com/2016/09/20/drama-rant-w-two-worlds-pt-14/

(That's only a link to the first part, just search the title for the rest).

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I was skeptical of this drama at first because I thought it was going to be unnecessarily complicated and boring. Instead I got a one of a kind, unique drama that instantly shot up to my favorite drama of all time. It even beat out the recently finished Goblin--which I absolutely loved. Everything about this drama was perfection. The acting, the leads, the plot everything. The plot--while having a lot of twists and turns--never got overly complicated where I could no longer understand it. The writers did an excellent job explaining everything. It never dragged. Which I worried about after episode 7 but something was always happening to keep viewers on their toes. This was the most suspenseful and thrilling kdrama plot I've ever seen. The romance never slowed down the pacing, either. There was just the right amount, which I was so thankful for. The romance was written well too. No miscommunication between the leads, no hidden truths, no repetitive angst between them, and the leading man was never rude or downright mean to the lead girl like so many other dramas. Lee Jung Suk has quickly become an all time favorite actor of mine. This was my first drama of his and I want to now go and watch his other dramas. He was so perfect as Kang Cheol. I loved him to pieces. Oh Yeon Joo was a great female lead who actually thinks and has common sense. The ending was really fitting and thankfully a happy one--if a little bittersweet. I loved the ost as well. Hardly ever do I fall in love with an entire ost from a drama, but this one I did. Especially the main ending song. Oh my God, I love that song to death. I would recommend this drama to anyone. It literally has everything and you will definitely not be bored. There's no middle sag, just non stop on the edge of your seat plot twists.

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I have to be honest i expected this drama to be fun and light hearted and very comedy but what i got was totally different.
I got an amazing wonderful story that i havent seen before not a traditional kdrama i must say with all its cliches and stuff but instead it was absolutely new and different .
Dont get me wrong i thought it was fun and light hearted and also very funny but it was much more than that it was very interesting from the beginning till the end and as the drama continued it got more serious and dramatic (in good way).
there are some characters that i LOVED and some that i really HATED which makes it more real.
the chemistry is really great both of the actors were really good actually the whole cast was great.
i really recommend you watch if you havent already and rewatch it if you watched it and didnt like it give it a chance it definitely worth it.

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I am really crying while writing it... it really is end i am lost at words
Acting: Everyone acting was really superb espacially Kang chul, Oh seng moo, Da yoon and oh yeon joo just Soo Hee was little lacking
Music: it was superb in every aspect fast slow sad happy
Romance: it was nice every sweet little thing task and those five kisses
Sad: there were many sad moments and they were really heart braking i cried like hell
The moment when hero makes heroine to make him forget about her and when hero was shot and was lying at the bus station and then heroine was running toward him but disappeared in the mid way and when she was lying in the hospital crying
Rewatched value: i give it all 10 ... i can watch it over and over again this drama really is best

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Fun Don't-Think-Too-Hard Binge Watch, but Style Over Substance with a High-Concept Veneer

Good Things:

* The big budget production. It looks and feels much more modern than its 2016 air date would suggest. The bullet-time SFX have aged well, the cinematography is on point and the transitions/overlays between manwha and real life are lush and dreamy.
* The high concept premise. The sheer existential horror of the man vs god / creation vs creator set-up that drives the early episodes is a powerful hook. It also toys with related concepts like Ship of Theseus, paradoxical free will, and Zeno's Arrow (in relation to time travel) to name a few.

So-So Things:

* The romance. It starts with some unique dynamics but they're never explored and it becomes one of the textbook cases of 'We're together because we're the leads'. You don't really get to see ML and FL build a relationship; they're just thrown into high-stakes circumstances one after another with interludes of sweetness/melodrama.
* The secondary characters. They all might as well be named 'Plot Device' considering their lack of depth and development.

Bad Things:

* The adrenaline fatigue. After a while, the impact of the constant revelations and cliffhangers is hollow, especially since the consequences and implications of earlier situations are often forgotten entirely or glossed over by deus ex machina.
* The lack of internal consistency. Instead of relying on the rules it sets up early on, it continually makes up new ones that contradict both themselves and each other.
* The Jenga-esque plot. There are several key elements that easily could have provided enough material for an entire drama, but they're tossed aside in favor of more and more makjang twists; which results in major holes as well as an undeveloped central thematic narrative. It ultimately tries to do too much with too little foundation, and the story collapses under it's own weight in the final 1/3.

Interesting Things:

* Song Jae Jung also wrote Queen In Hyun's Man (2012), Nine: Nine Times Time Travel (2013) and Memories of the Alhambra (2018).

Scifi/fantasy thrillers are rare in Kdrama and stories that actually engage with it as a subject matter vs using it as a backdrop are few and far between. Compared to genre at large W isn't a standout and it has some serious flaws, but it's worth watching for its (mostly thwarted) ambitions. Recommended if you enjoy fast paced thrillers or glossy high-concept stories and are looking for rollercoaster don't-think-too-hard binge watch.

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Don't know how it got such a high rating
The story concept is good but the drama was not
It was a fun to watch drama but has many flaws
The drama felt like forced extended
It's unique but tried too much and just kept on bringing to many turn of events
The characters were not so very good
There was pretty much no character development
Only the main characters were given a lot of attention while the side characters played very few role and other than those roles had no any importance they were pretty much completely ignored
They like literally tried to focus on romance but even in that department it lacked alot
The chemistry between Kang chul and Yeon Joo was not so Good there were very little romantic moments
Even the kiss scenes were very cringy just too much of sensual stuffs
The ending was rubbish it was a forced happy ending
The drama kept on showing how a story is flawed in the webtoon but yet kept going in the same boat

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Firstly, I'd like to say that 3/4 stars for the story are dedicated to the first eight episodes. It was so gripping. The storyline was insane, the chemistry between characters wonderful. But, as soon as everything became a "dream", I lost touch of Kang Chul. His character seemed so different (understandably so, he knew and experienced different things), and I had gotten so attached to the first version of him that the new him felt lackluster.
The first half was so fast-paced which made it so hooking, but I think that's also what brought about its downfall. The story wasn't ready to be fleshed out over 16 episodes. The writing got sloppy, confusing, and filled with plot holes. By the end, it became so unbearingly slow, and I was dragging myself to finish it.
However, I did enjoy Jong Suk's acting and the OST by Park Boram.

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this was quite a ride...

W – Two Worlds is a fantasy romance about a man (Lee Jong Suk) and woman (Han Hyo Joo) living in different worlds.  Yeon Joo is a surgeon living in the real world, and her father is the author of the popular web-comic W. And Kang Chul is the main character of that comic. Things become complicated when Yeon Joo’s father decides to kill off Kang Chul and Yeon Joo gets pulled into the comic world and comes face to face with it’s hero.
W – Two Worlds was quite a ride! There’s a great fantasy story in place with a very capable cast. There are also a lot of twists and turns in W. Never get to comfortable because you just never know what’s going to happen in this crazy world.
Lee Jong Suk is a perfect fit for Kang Chul. First, he completely looks the part, and it was easy to see him transition from a comic character to real one. He really brings to life our comic hero who is cool, suave, rich, handsome, and kind. No wonder Oh Yeon Joo falls head over heals for him!
Han Hyo Joo plays Oh Yeon Joo. Her normal life is turned upside down when she is pulled inside her father’s comic. She then finds herself having to repeatedly save Kang Chul’s life while trying to figure out just what is going on with her father and the crazy scenario she has found herself in.
Through all of the craziness, Kang Chul and Yeon Joo realize how much they need each other. They become an unlikely couple who would do anything for each other. They go through a whole lot of difficulties, but these two had a nice chemistry and get to share some very lovely couple moments together.
The first few episodes of the drama were good, but a little dry. But things really get going around episode 4. The intensity really ramps up as Kang Chul and Yeon Joo keep finding themselves in one desperate situation after another.
There really are no “rules” in this drama, so just buckle up and get ready for one crazy event after another. There aren’t a lot of answers provided as to how everything works, so be prepared for that too. It’s also a long road to happiness for our couple.
I love the whole concept of a “character” having to learn he’s from a work of fiction. It’s unbelievable and devastating for the person involved. And Kang Chul is the one at the center of that identity crisis. The drama really explores all of the different aspects of Kang Chul’s character as well as how his constantly changing situation effects his thoughts and actions.
The drama has some really nice songs on the soundtrack, but I was disappointed that it didn’t seem to utilize them very well. They were mostly just relegated to the ending freeze frames rather than being used throughout each episode. I think the “feels” would have been a lot stronger if the songs were better utilized.

Overall, W – Two Worlds was one fun and crazy ride. With an action packed fantasy story, there was never a dull moment. And I really loved Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo both individually and as a couple. They brought these characters to life and made for one wild, romantic journey that I will certainly remember.

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