hmmm is this Hwarang?

I started watching this drama because it was recommended to me on Netflix so much and.... i wasnt the biggest fan of it. There are a few issues i have with this drama but the biggest one is the storyline.

The story is about Jeon Nok Du, who was raised by an adoptive family far away from the "main" city. Once people who were close to him (his family) was attacked he decided to find the person responsible. ML was not properly educated but somehow he understood/learnt things quickly. In order to find the responsible person, he pretends to be someone else " hiding right in front of the king". He learns that the king/prince is to blame. Later we find out that actually he is the prince and can be crowned the next king but.... instead he choses to live a calm life with the FL. Reminds anyone of something?

In the series, as soon as they said sth among the lines of "hiding from the king right under his nose", i realised that this series was ridiculously similar to Hwarang. The only difference was that the ML was pretending to be a woman in the widow village rather than pretending to be a part of a king's army. Even at the end, he doesn't chose to be the king and decided to have a calm life with the FL. Similarities were so obvious and made me question why producers of Hwarang didn't sue them for plagiarism...

I understand that kdramas tend to have some similarities. Many romcoms follow the same development: both ML and FL dont know each other/ hate each other, then sth happens and they either work/live together, they slowly develop feelings for each other, on ep 8 or 9 they kiss for the first time, then they find out they have a childhood connection ( usually trauma) etc. However, different dramas, even when using the same development, have different feel to it. Actors play their roles in a certain way, some plots are different, etc. But here, even phrases that characters used were the same. Felt as if they took Hwarang scripts and made a few modifications (ML hides in the widow house) and thats it.

Another issue i had with this drama were the 2 different story lines where ML and FL were both after the king. The lack of synergy between those made some moments unenjoyable to say the least. When the ML was trying to execute his plan to kill the king, FL looked absolutely stupid with her strategies and aims. Thus i couldn't bare to watch her scenes where shes working so hard on her "amazing" plan while it looks absolutely pathetic in comparison to the plan of the ML.

Also the ending of the drama felt forced. Like producers were out of ideas and they made this up to end it. Why didn't Nok Du become a king? Why did the other guy (the prince) did? Why did ML&FML just HAVE TO move god knows where? Whats the point? whats up with his mom coming all the way to their island to seem them?

I guess the strongest part of the series was the romance/chemistry between the ML and FL. At least that was enjoyable to watch until she found out that he was the kings son and was just cold to him. This moment felt very 2010 romance kdrama to me. Nowadays, characters communicate more with each other so this " i found out sth bad about u so i must break up with u and i will never tell u why" trope is less common (thank god!). Also the cross dressing thing was funny.

Overall, this drama was ok ish and mainly because it felt like a rip off of Hwarang. They didn't add any value to the story line, didnt really make it "theirs". I finished it for the sake of finishing it and i wouldn't be rewatching it. Actors did a good job acting but sadly even that didn't help.

btw, Its been a few weeks since i watch the drama so i could be misremembering some small things.

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unwatchable. Ahn Jae Hyun deserves better....

The Good:
Nope. Not a single decent thing about this.

The Bad:
Man I dropped it so quick. Everyone is just unbearable..... How are there so many episodes? Why is Ahn Jae Hyun always playing in such terrible shows ? (I mean... Cinderella and four Knights is easily one of the worst shows I have ever seen) and finally, why does this series feel like a 2004 kdrama? We r in 2024 btw... the plot had a bit of potential but as soon as I saw the first episode, I realised that it's not sth I'm gonna b watching. even if u turn off ur brain, it's still unwatchable...

When I started watching it, it was still airing and the rating was above 8. Now its 7.3/10 which is still too high for this.... everyone should be financially compensated for watching whatever this is.....

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interesting story that falls apart towards the end...

Overall, I enjoyed the complexity of relationships in this drama. Like the FL realising how unhappy she is in her marriage and finding her happiness in another man. Situation is shitty from all sides so we have this love hate relationship with the leads and their special relationship.

For me, the most interesting character was the SFL. In the beginning she's presented as this perfect woman and then later on this image of hers just falls apart. Being constantly neglected by her husband, her sleeping with various men to compensate for this emptiness... At one point she just seems like an bad sad woman. Nonetheless, towards the end, she figures out her own place and finds happiness in that.

However, as the series went on it was clear that it was being stretched out with unnecessary drama. The whole thing where the FL and the ML needed to sign a contract to never see eachother again or sth (I skipped quite a bit there). Or even right before that, when the husband and wife of the main couple broke into their house to separate them. wtf was that? The wife of the ML who just became psychotic... the Husband of the FL also became awful. Like u havent paid any attention to her and now u cant live without her ? ? Anyways, in the end the victims of the affair became incredibly unlikable because their actions were just so awful....

Also, I don't understand why divorce is like the worst thing that could happen to anyone in this series ? I get that some people really think like that but to make all characters obsessed with marriage to the point where they would rather ruin themselves and people around them just to stay married ???

And again, what's up with the time skip? What is it for? Clearly, this should have been a 12 ep drama, maybe 14 at most. 16 is just too much....

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Great plot.... but not so great execution....

I tagged it as completed but i couldn't finish the last ep and have 20 min left.... so close yet I cannot make myself to finish it completely....

The plot was quite interesting, at least in the beginning. Unfortunately it becomes quite average later on until it finally deteriorates towards the end. Nonetheless actors did a great job ? the change in acting with body swap was good.

As the story goes on, it becomes more... watered down. Like somewhere the main story of her being nearly killed gets lost and then it was about ML's revenge, which was then easily resolved with some video. The body switch also gets lost, as its not really explained why it happened and why it stopped.

The revenge plot from the ML felt mostly like a way to confuse us so we don't identify the killer straight away. It's thrown in them middle, when the FL felt secure about her relationship with him and it get resolved easily. After everything, it was hard to believe that ML had this genius master plan and yeah, he didn't.

During the middle of the series the ML and the SML for whatever reason are reduced to 1 dimensional characters who are there just to be mistreated by the FL. They all pile up in her apartment, for whatever reason. Like ok, the ML kinda has a reason to be there while the SML literally had no business being there, except for being reminded that the FL isn't interested in him at all, making him seem quite pathetic.

The comedic relief of the "underdogs group" didn't really work for me. They were all 1 dimensional:
- the gay guy who has only one personality trait: being gay
-the young girl: blogger/influencer. All she does is take pictures and care only about social media
- woman that has been ther for awhile

and no one was interesting enough so all of their scenes were a skip.

The main leads also didn't have much chemistry. And it's a really slow burn romance. Yes they do kiss early on but that's the most u gonna get in the series.

Also, even the body switch, after a few episodes it just becomes a method to inconvenience the fl as much as possible. So if there's an important meeting, u know they r getting switched, which just becomes annoying.

Other side plots were just not that memorable to even be mentioned.

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a lot of deviations from the source material...

?The Good?
I read the original webtoon this is based on and enjoyed it a lot. so I was happy to c that there was gonna b a series adaptation. So the set up is somewhat interesting. The acting is great for the most part, tho ML seemed awkward at times. Honestly, I don't think they casted the right actor for the role... Ahn Bo Hyun is good, but this role doesn't fit him well.

?The Bad?
So, half way through, I noticed some inconsistencies with the webtoon story, the whole thing where ppl around the FL get sick once they know she remembers her past lives. wth? and I've read some spoilers that in the end she forgets all of her lives and lives on? wth as well? idk... knowing that, this story becames some basic childhood friends to lovers story with the extra steps of reincarnation. the tango thing is cringe as well... idk. wish they stuck to the source material.

5/10 cuz first 5 ep were decent and then.... down hill. dropping on ep 7

so overall, im just disappointed with the adaptation. If I haven't read the webtoon, maybe this series would have been better but unnecessary drama is just ehhhh.

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