W (2016)

A drama like no other

It's a drama like no other. It's unique and it's fast paced. You certainly don't get bored and the story is extremely unpredictable. That is both its greatest strength and weakness. It really keeps you on your toes but since it's constantly fast-paced, it also tires you out. I needed several breaks - not because it's bad but because there was so much happening that I needed to recharge. Also heads up, because this drama will also require some brainpower for you to understand why and what is happening, so it's not something you should watch on the side. I saw many people being confused and dropping/disliking the drama because of that. Many perceived "plot holes" actually make sense when you pay enough attention. Not to say that there are no plot holes whatsoever, but it's not nearly as bad as some people claim.
I'm extremely conflicted on the romance. It happened extremely fast (and I honestly didn't understand why he fell that hard) and these romantic moments seemed quite unfitting in certain moments. The ending also left me feeling conflicted.
But overall, it's so unique and different from any other drama that it's definitely worth a watch.

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Original storyline

Stories based around alternative realities and timetravel can either be done well, or be very confusing. This is done quite well, and combined with a strong cast and good visual effects I would definitely say it is worth watching.

There were some instances when I found it confusing as to where they were, but that could also be because my attention was not fully on viewing (I was multitasking ?‍♀️).

It felt a bit dragged out at times, and the ending was not really surprising, even if the scriptwriters tried to trick us with some twist and turns in the events.

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I have never had a drama suck me in as fast as this one did in the first twenty minutes of the show. The first episode was a masterpiece that immediately captured my attention and I can't think of many other shows that accomplish that level of interest out of me with just one episode. This mystery thriller really stands out in a lot of aspects and while I have seen several other dramas with the concept of comic book characters becoming aware this one had so many new ways to go about it. Even watching this in 2023 for the first time this drama still stands strong against other more recent ones I have seen. It follows the main protagonist Chul in a very popular cartoon that has his whole family murdered and the murder then pinned on him. He then spends ten years searching for the real culprit by overcoming every obstacle in his path. The creator of the cartoon ends up becoming weary of his creation and tries to kill off Chul to end the story. Chul does not take that storyline laying down and finds a way to save himself by dragging the creator's daughter into the cartoon. This event begins the disastrous and anxiety ridden road between the two as they navigate the dangerous circumstances and fall in love.

Where this drama truly stands out is in its nail-biting edge of your seat twists and turns. Every episode delivers something surprising and unexpected at a fast pace that will have your heart racing as you watch. These unexpected events keep you guessing all the way till the end of the show so if thriller dramas is what you are looking for then you will find it here. The twists do often connect the coherent dots as the story moves along, even if you don't particular enjoy those dots at times it will still have your emotions on hyperdrive.

Where this drama had trouble was with the romance portion. I don't know if it was a lack of chemistry or not enough scenes to really convince you that the two actually like each other but the romance here was just boring. There were several cute moments in the first few episodes as they get to know each other but then too quickly and without reason the relationship progressed and that forced story line began to feel a bit awkward. The emotionally heavy scenes were not carried well between the couple either which just left you feeling a bit blah about their relationship. There was also too much hopping between worlds that occasionally got confusing and tiring. The ending also did not give me the sense of completion that I was hoping for. Almost like it just wasn't enough of an explanation to make me happy.

Even with its flaws I would still highly recommend you watch this drama as it kept me firmly attached to the screen and continuously guessing.

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I decided to watch this drama after reading the plot although by the review and comments read, people were not liking it.
When i started to watch.. It got me excited and anticipate the next episode more. I really like it. Then comes episode 9 which I think was the best episode.
I can almost feel the sadness that the characters felt. Then it started to become something that I really hope would end fast. Episode 10++ doesn't get me excited, it made me feel like dropping them. It was so much complicated that I felt bored watching it and hoping that it would end. I watched it until episode 14 and then decided to skip watching episode 15. Well I glad I skipped it because it doesnt feel like I actually missed 1 episode althought I didnt really know what happen lol.
The ending was.....rough...well..I'm not sure I like it. but it was okay.

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The plot is quite unique. so If you are looking for some drama to keep you motived watching this is your drama. You will enjoy it a lot - at least up to 12 episode.

Lee Jong Suk did a great job. Also Kim Eui Seong did, mainly in the last chapters.

But... there is many problems with the storyline and the interpretation of the main actress. These problems don't make of this drama a terrible one, but is enough to not give to it 10.

The story works well, more or less, until episode 12. Until this point is one of best drama of this year, after that is a very regular drama. It is because the drama begins to lose direction and logic.

The end is more or less expected.

I don't like the behaviour of Oh Yeon Joo, each episode she was becoming increasingly aphatic and annoying with her actitudes. In fact, the most important criticism is the poor performance of the main female. Several scenes lost even more their meaning by the way she played badly some emotions.

Park Soo Bong has the worse lines of dialogs of all drama.

I did not see him again.

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Failed execution

Y'all... I tried to finish this, I really did, but after maybe 7 or so episodes, I just had enough.

Actually, when I first started watching this, I was really invested because it had such an interesting premise, and I liked the two main leads (never watched any of ML's drama's I think but I watched HYJ's from like... 10 years ago lol). However, after the FL revealed to the ML the secret, it all just went downhill for me.

Everything just felt forced, and the more I watched on, the more it was evident to me that the two main leads just did not have any chemistry, which was a serious pain because they apparently already fell in love by the 7th episode and we weren't even halfway through the series yet (which normally, is totally fine, but again, no chemistry = painful to watch). The FL really grated on my nerves with her bumbling personality and her constant shocked/worried face and after watching one more episode, I was done with her antics.

I personally wouldn't recommend this, but maybe a good time waster for those that want to go for it.

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Let's start with what I liked about the drama.

I really enjoyed the idea of the storyline and how unique it was. It's not everyday one comes across a story where a girl can travel into a Webtoon and meet the main character of it. Not only that, the main character is the man of almost everyone's dreams. I also loved the music that went with the drama and played during certain scenes. It definitely made the scenes more dramatic and made me more empathetic to the characters' feelings and thoughts.

Once again, Lee Jong Suk has struck me with his acting skills. I just came out of Pinocchio and While You Were Sleeping, which I absolutely loved. I also loved his role in this drama. However, I don't blame him and how he delivered his character for my dislike of W. I also don't blame Han Hyo Joo either.

What I do blame, however, is the storyline and how everything played out. The idea of the drama was, without a doubt, great. I loved it. It was unique and would catch anybody's attention, mostly because it was an idea that hasn't been yet introduced. However, how the drama was planned and how certain characters were portrayed left me dissatisfied.

Let's start with Oh Yeon Joo. Maybe because it was the scriptwriter, screenwriter, director or whoever it was, but I did not enjoy Oh Yeon Joo's part in the story. Nevertheless, I did enjoy how she was portrayed in the beginning. A normal woman that was still in her residence years was suddenly pulled into an unknown world, and a cartoon at that. She meets Kang Chul and saves him. Obviously, she falls for him too. And that was when I noticed things going a little bit downhill. Since Oh Yeon Joo is the lead female character, I assumed she would play more important factors in the story. Besides revealing to Kang Chul something he wasn't supposed to know, starting the story itself and kind of pushing the plot line along, that was all I got from her.

She may have fell in love with Kang Chul and gotten together with him, but I didn't see much of a romance build. I saw what sparked their romance, but I didn't really see or feel the initiation of it. It was as if part of the romance story was meant to be another Webtoon, a spin-off almost. The failure of such romance build, I look to the script writer to answer my questions.

Eventually, from what I saw, Oh Yeon Joo slowly regressed into becoming more of a side character. Other than multiple events happening to her and driving Kang Chul into a determined state, she soon became a damsel in distress that only helped out in certain parts. Instead of acting, she reacted instead. To simplify it, she didn't have much character build and held Kang Chul back at certain points. She certainly did become the source of Kang Chul's ambition but, then again, it was as if her character was only made to support him. A supporting character. To some degree, as a lead character, I expected her to build herself and not only support Kang Chul but also herself. I wanted her to face off the villain and think, "Don't hurt the people I love," or at least something to that similarity.

However, often times, I saw her cower in the darkness when the villain came after her and waited for Kang Chul to rush to her rescue. In the end, she resulted into being a passive character instead of a more active one. Kang Chul did most of the fighting, quite literally, while she did a lot of crying while watching on the side lines. Don't get me wrong. There were many times where Oh Yeon Joo took the initiative and I am very proud of her for doing so, however, the actions should've been more driven into her character.

Not only that, focusing more into the plot line, it was a roller coaster ride. However, the roller coaster was on fire and the ride was more than just "rough". Often times, the events were a repeat of what had already happened, just in a different form. Problems sprouted and it was left for Kang Chul to solve them, however it was mostly just him. It was him running around and getting things together, while the other characters just cried and reacted to whatever was thrown at them. They were flowing with the river while Kang Chul fought against the river's current. From what I saw, it was a lone battle for Kang Chul, with characters on the side that had no idea what was going on or what to do.

To be honest, I have no problems with the acting or cast. I just have problems with how the story and characters were delivered for the audience. What I was most dissatisfied with the most was how such a great story idea was slopingly broadcasted to the viewers. Like the diamond was cleaned but not polished throughly. That's why you can see scratches that aren't meant to be there.

So, in summary, that's why I dropped the drama at episode 14 and gave it 6 stars.

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