I... have mixed feelings about this drama. I think it could've been amazing, but there were just a few too many little flaws I couldn't totally get into it. First and foremost, the premise that redecorated our main character with a different face. And nobody catches on. I mean, vocal cords, habits, nothing gives him away? Most of my frustrations stemmed from there, probably. It was... worth the watch, but only barely. The story was fresh in kdramaland, with political hacking and non-violent (for the most part) crime as the focus. Even that could've been spiced up a bit more, though--it never got my pulse racing like some other non-violent thrillers I've watched (Pied Piper comes to mind).

But let's break it down.

Acting/Cast: I first saw So Ji-Sub in Master's Sun and absolutely loved him. I still do love him. But here I was continually frustrated by his utter lack of expressions. There's a difference between subtlety and wooden, and I'm afraid he too often fell on the wrong side of that line. It wasn't a terrible showing, however, and I think he managed to carry the character adequately. Everyone else put in a good show as well, Song Ha-Yoon and Kwak Do-Won really brightened the place up when it needed it.

Music: Oh dear. I'm really not very picky with music, but if I burst out laughing whenever one of the songs comes on I know I'm in trouble. I love the Phantom of the Opera, don't get me wrong, it's honestly one of my favorite operettas... but that was just a little too much for my tastes. I did like the intense rap song by Block B, however--I still listen to it

Rewatch value: I'm not planning on revisiting this drama anytime soon. If I want to watch anything by this writer it'll be Signal, which I enjoyed a great deal more. I guess that's really the moral of the story here--it's not a terrible watch in the grand scheme of kdramas... but there are better thrillers to invest yourself in.

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Let me preface this by saying I could be biased... I decided it would be a good idea to watch this during the election season (you know, lighten up the time with some comedy in a relevant situation). No. Not funny. It just depressed my with how accurate it was. So I could very well watch it again and love it... but not until I get past the trauma.

But let's break it down.

Story: It's a circle. It's a constant reflushing of the same plot and that doesn't change until the end. The angst gets reused, the conflict gets reused... it's one giant circle.

Acting/Cast: I actually did enjoy the performances put in by both our leads and the supporting cast. But unfortunately the motions they were put through only allowed them to stretch themselves so much, so the drama suffered. Kim Soo Young was admittedly better than No Min-Young here, but no major complaints.

Music: I suppose it was adequate, nothing special really. And adequate gets a 7.

Rewatch value: Unfortunately the laughs are the sort that lose their funny after the first watch. So don't expect to giggle the second time through. Don't expect to giggle at all if you're electing anybody anytime soon.

In the end I might still give it a go if you're into politics... or if you know how to use your ff button wisely.

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Worth your time

I am honestly not sure why so many people dislike this drama. I didn't watch it for literally so long because I heard it wasn't great, and now I feel gipped. This drama is fantastic. This drama is gorgeous. This drama is funny and deep and makes you think, with great acting and a pretty good OST to boot.

Back to the "this drama is gorgeous". I mean this very objectively-- not in a way like I just liked the drama so I want to overlook flaws. They use a lot of gorgeous, creative shots and scene cuts that gave the drama it's own timeless vibe without being dragged on too long a la Goblin.

The drama is just plain funny. It played it's cards well in presenting "doom" as something that could also be really funny, in a "망했다" sort of way. They really explored a lot there, too, with all the different areas doom "looked after" in the world.

It was fun to wrap my head around what sort of existence "doom" would be, almost like a yin-yang approach to deity. There was plenty of time to think about what I would want to do if I knew I only had a hundred days left.

Great acting- Seo In Guk has a great range of emotions, and I liked Park Bo Young here more than some of her other roles. She was still energetic and loving and cute, but a much more mature character. In fact, the writing for all the characters felt really well done. The ML and FL weren’t flat (that's my biggest conplaint for most romcoms) and the side lovelines felt like real people processing information and reacting, for all that the storyline was drama-esque (still had the tropes and fluttery situations). The way all the characters bantered felt very real like thet actually liked each other (as friends or in a loveline) and Seo In Guk made me get all emotional towards the end. Also, the girl-god fascinated me. She, like all the characters in the drama, felt like a real person who said things, but always had more going on on the inside. Every character felt like that, so it was fun to read in between the lines, watch the body language and context, etc.

It was not a perfext drama. Not all of the cast were convincing criers. The brother sometimes felt a bit flat, and I never totally understood why the second male lead and second female lead liked each other (Her first love story gets a pass because she was discovering she'd been in love with a memory of him). But overall... there are a lot of only so-so romcoms that get rave reviews... I'm not saying they shouldn't, but this one definitely shouldn't be looked over. Kudos to this rare romcom that garnered my admiration!

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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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Let's Fight Ghost definitely isn't looking to break any records for style or originality, but I think it's a solid addition to any drama watcher's viewing history. The story itself is executed in a fresh, fun manner, and the humor is a great blend of dark, irreverent and slapstick--all combined with a lighter, fun directing style. The world could definitely have done with some more development, there were a few relationships or characters that could've been better fleshed out (detectives, grandma, Bong-Pal's crush)--even just some third party exposition would've been nice to lend context to their part in the story. But I laughed anyway, and don't regret watching it.

But let's break it down.

Acting/Cast: The characters themselves aren't super complex, but I'm well satisfied with the performance everyone put in (except perhaps our villain, who seemed a bit obvious in their acting at times to me. Taecyeon has improved since I last watched him act--although by no means a Ji Sung, he managed to portray Bong Pal like no other actor could have, I think. It was a great mixture of gruff and sweet, hard and shy, tough and marshmallow. I'd date Bong Pal, any day. Kim So-Hyun did a great job as our resident amnesiac ghost, bright and bubbly and fun. She carried some of the deeper emotions well, and I look forward to seeing more of her in the future. They acted past their real life age gap well and I didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable with anything that happened in that regard.

Music: I don't normally have a lot to say when it comes to music, but the OST here was fabulous. It's a bit more obvious than some other dramas, but that totally works for it, and the sound effects are pure gold. Enjoy every tiger growl, western twang and twinkly blink you can!

Rewatch Value: It's on my rewatch list, does that count? I watched a few episodes multiple times while showing it to friends and family, and it still held its laughs. Good job!

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I love this drama. Hands down, one of my favorites for 2016, and I've watched many this year. It's rare for a drama to tackle so many hot topics and juggle them successfully, adding splashes of humor, a touch of romance and heaps of bromance to boot. So much love for this drama. There's some amazing themes throughout the show as well, I need to go back and watch for them again. Perhaps I had the benefit of not making too many preconceptions of the plot, but I was hooked from episode one. Normally when you hear "underdog story about a band and their manager" you'd think of... I dunno, That Thing You Do. This is not that movie. Entertainer had me nearly in tears at times (I have to say nearly because I never actually cried). And you can't give it enough credit for bringing everything around full circle the way it does. Everything has a place, even if you don't see it for a while. Kudos, writers, I should have trusted you more.

But let's break it down.

Acting/Cast: Although Ji-Sung is definitely the most veteran of the actors, I think everyone did a pretty fantastic job here. I was especially impressed with Lee Tae Sun, who debuted with this drama. He's got a future here, I hope. I've never seen Hye-ri act until now but I enjoyed her performance, giving a good blend of "grew up too fast" and "not done growing up". They gave the romance space and acknowledged the age gap in-drama, so I was satisfied on that front. If there's one person I wish had developed their character a bit more it's Jeon No-min, who was just a bit too obvious in his portrayal as villain. Ji-Sung made his character shine, and I loved him even when he was a bad word at the beginning of it all.

Music: You know it's gonna be a great drama when the first thing you hear in the first episode is ABBA. Seriously, this is one of the most listen-to-able OSTs I've heard in a long time. I loved all the different "themed" songs and the songs the band made, too.

Rewatch Value: I don't often spend hours listening to OSTs set to drama clips. With Entertainer, that's exactly what I do. I seriously could watch our Ddanddara band be cute together forever. So much love.

Thanks Entertainer, for giving me a few weeks of Kdrama crack!

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