Fun and silly ride with a few potholes that make it bumpy

The first half of this drama I really enjoyed. It was light and silly and the strong willed Yeon Woo was fun to watch. Sa Wol was one of the best characters in the show. She was so funny and lightened every scene she was in but also carried her loyalty and wisdom well.

Overall and nice watch to pass the time. But there are some things about this show that I found reduced the rating for me. First was the future Tae Ha's unbelievable jerk behavior when they first meet. I know that is a trope of the overbearing boss kind but it bothered me here. When he finally lightens up and starts to accept the situation he does become more likeable. Next is how quickly the women adjusted to the changes. It did not feel realistic with how fast they changed the way they dress and act in a time that was so dramatically different than what they lived in. And finally, is the love story. While it was fun to watch them bicker and find their way to each other then the love story gets a little boring. It almost felt like filler to watch them after that and while I love romance I thought that time could have been cut out for me and just moved on with the plot.

Slight spoiler here so be warned but I also could not stand the ending for the Old Joseon Tae Ha. I was annoyed the whole time I was watching it as the character did not deserve it.

Overall the music is quite nice, the production was done well from sets to costumes, and the parts were acted well. A good way to pass the time but I could also recommend several other shows I would find better than this as well.

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This is my first BL and I'm not really sure why I picked it up. I was interested in the premise of the friends with benefits turned more where the casanova is converted. But that is not what this drama delivered. Instead you get a story of 'love overcoming trauma' which was not ever mentioned in the synopsis. The cast is all good looking which makes this nice to look at when watching, the OST is too repetitive and forgettable, the cinematography is very average, and the nsfw scenes are awkward.

From the beginning you are told rather than shown that King is a player which made it hard to grasp since for the entirety of the show he only ever was interested in Uea. I expected to see an enemies to lover trope but King never seemed to dislike Uea at all. He was charming and portrayed his emotions well through his eyes and facial expressions even though the character was written fairly one dimensional as purely the love interest with not much else to him. Their relationship begins with a drunken one night stand, which I can agree with other viewers that King definitely should not have continued that night knowing how truly drunk Uea was but King had also been drinking so you could say they made that mistake together.

Uea was not a very likeable character at all. The actor did not carry the emotional scenes well at all and I found him primarily annoying and hard to understand. His back story with trauma and toxic relationships also was not done well and was used as purely a shock factor. While victims do often get victimized again, it felt unrealistic especially in the time frame it was portrayed to have happened that he was targeted so frequently. Then you have Uea's treatment of King specifically after King's confession that truly bothered me. He was controlling and arrogant but in a way that King's previous behavior toward him did not warrant. For Uea to go from being a sex buddy to then not allow any touch what so ever felt weird. The two also showed more chemistry and interest as just bed friends than they did as a couple. The bed scenes were also odd and choppy but then nonexistent once they became a couple.

The last episode was also pretty boring to watch as it added nothing to the plot, it was just there to create an ending. Overall while this show is pretty to look at it lacks in substance.

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Super women vs. useless men

I was really hoping to love this show and get the same emotions that I got when watching Strong Woman Do Bong Soon since this is a spin off of that show. Unfortunately I do not get any of the same emotions and it does not arouse much of my interest. Comparing the two is inevitable since this is marketed as a spin off and even has a brief appearance of the original couple. What drew people in was the amazing chemistry that the parent show had. The three main characters in it had unbelievable chemistry that left you often laughing or swooning effortless. The episodes never felt long and the story was well managed and paced.

This show, however, does not meet any of that same criteria. It also does not focus on Nam Soon either. The focus of this show is centered around the 3 generations of women in this family that are strong. But some of the principles you learned about the gift in the parent show is ignored in this show. Even overlooking that aspect Nam Soon is essentially a super hero while all of the men around them are reduced to ridiculous and useless characters that carry no significance at all. It is practically an extreme feminist reversal of gender roles. Then you have the love triangle with the main antagonist, who carries most of the interest in this entire show, and the 'good guy' cop who both fall in love with Nam Soon. Personally I don't see the chemistry in either pair. You are just told by the writer that these men like her but as a viewer you have no idea why since she behaves like a middle school girl and shows no interest toward either man either. There is nothing about their interactions that convince you that any of these characters really like each other which could primarily be because the story follows so many different characters that there is not enough screen time for them to get you invested as a viewer. The mother has more screen time than Nam Soon whom the show is named for.

The story line and pacing for this show is also poorly done and not well flushed out leaving you often bored. You will find yourself wanting to skip significant portions fairly often. Personally I think that all the scenes with her grandmother could be completely removed and instead could have been used to better acquaint you with the main triangle. I have continued to watch up until episode 12 and have found myself utterly bored with this. I will most likely finish this by skimming the last few episodes just to get the gist of how it ends.

I do not recommend this if you have seen Strong Woman Do Bong Soon but if you are going into this never having seen the prior then you may find it more interesting. Just go in with low expectations.

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This drama will bring you joy and smiles from beginning to end. It's the kind of love story where fate will intervene no matter the time. A lesson in living in the moment while also fighting against fate. I truly enjoyed watching this and the beginning of my week is going to miss the giddiness this show brought me.

The story is pretty lackluster and not something overly new or exciting. Im Sol wakes up to find her entire life changed as an accident had caused her to lose the use of her legs. In her most desperate moment Ryu Sun Jae gave her the spark she needed to keep living. This spark carried her through her days and years as she fan girled for the one that saved her. But when Sun Jae unexpectedly dies her despair and a magic watch take her back in time where she can rewrite his history and save him. In the process of trying to save him she realizes things she did not know before and it takes her several attempts to try and change the fate they seem to be entangled in.

What this drama did best was the chemistry of the cast. I will never not fall in love with Ryu Sun Jae and Kim Tea Sung. Im Sol's interactions with both male leads are so much fun to watch and this cuteness is what attracted me each week wanting to watch them again and again. While the plot had its holes; such as no explanation for the stalkers obsession and no established rules for the time travel; this drama was a solid 9.5 rating for me until the last 4 episodes. In the final stretch this drama does lose its charm but still provides the happy ending fans were wanting.

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Beautiful visuals with horrendous story writing

Oh man has this become a bore. I have hung on for 10 episodes expecting it to pick up once the plot got its momentum but it has not and I do not have it in me to keep trying anymore. This show is about an obsessed ghost that attached himself to one woman and followed all of her reincarnations until one was finally able to remember him and he can kill her as revenge for her having killed him in her past life. This gets a bit messy when he finds himself drawn to this woman that is so much like the version of her he fell in love with. We have seen this same premise done over and over again lately so this show brings nothing new to your screen.

First, the cinematography and production teams did a great job as this is a beautiful drama to watch and the main couple is stunning. But that does not make up for the unremarkable story. The reincarnated lovers is something that has been seen a lot lately, as well as enemies to lovers. I have no problem with either of those tropes if the story is told well and keeps me engaged but this just does not do that. The characters are boring, both in modern time and in the Joseon period, there is no chemistry between the two to make you believe they are lovers and no engrossing story to keep you interested in how they end up. The show keeps regurgitating the same past story over and over again as if you have the memory of a peanut and can't recall what was seen the previous episode. And the snippet they repeatedly show jumps around in time and isnt even interesting or complete so seeing it over and over again is fatiguing as the viewer. They flash back frequently to their past life but not in order of events so even three quarters into the show they have not actually given you any information beyond what you found out in the first episode.

Then you have modern times which started a bit more interesting but has no focus either. The female lead is an amazing firefighter but only for the first two episodes, then she becomes some weak damsel in distress. The male lead takes over the body of a famous actor who has landed an important part in a drama but then that plot is dropped as well. A rival actor tries to run down the female lead and then is killed in a car accident which is ruled as suicide because of a note with no investigation. The problematic second female lead is just there to be obnoxious and comes and goes as the writers seem to need her to push the plot. So many storylines that are picked up and then abandoned. It's just all a jumbled up mess with no clear or logical direction which most viewers could put up with if the main couple had amazing chemistry but they do not, even the kiss seemed like he was kissing a dead fish!

Even the acting is not great. I loved the male lead in Shooting Stars but here he is lifeless and dull. His actor alter ego was annoying but far more interesting and that unfortunately only lasted for about 15 minutes of screen time. The biggest issue however is the female lead. I don't know if it is the character or the actress that sinks this for me but either way she really tanks the show. Her reactions either feel far too much or far too little and she shows no affection toward the male lead at all. The main antagonist, whom really does not present himself until about episode 10 is easy to hate but there is not enough reasoning for me to believe that this person would hang around for 1500 years for revenge.

Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

edit: after having skimmed the last 4 episodes I am completely confident in my earlier review and highly recommend you skip this one

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Spicy in all the right ways

I started this show not really knowing what to expect and that first scene was a huge surprise! Especially for a show from S. Korea. And as I watched the more I enjoyed this. It was tastefully done, oh man did the cinematography crew blow it out of the water, and had a well written and executed story. This is one of those shows you start on a whim and quickly realize it was something you did not know you needed.

Definitely marketed more toward the female viewer this show follows two female lead best friends in their early thirties as they navigate sex, love, and relationships. One friend is anti-relationships and only wants sex partners while the other has been in a five year relationship but is wondering if it is giving her everything she needs. These woman feel real and their predicament will hit home for many other woman. The podcast that the show centers around where the woman work also brings in many very real feelings and stigmas surrounding sexual pleasure for women.

The show did a fantastic job of keeping you engrossed while also not making you feel like you are watching a XXX movie. If I had to complain about anything it is that the cast is too perfect, the men are all dreamy and everyone has the perfect body. But really is the eye candy that big of a complaint? It also in a way superficially explores relationship building here since the primary focus is finding pleasure for the women. This is not a long show so it was an easy watch.

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Did we watch the same thing?

I was reading other reviews after having finished this and am honestly wondering if I even watched the same thing as many of the other reviewers. I watched season one of Sweet Home a couple months ago so this show was newer to me than for those that watched it 3 years ago when it first came out, still I was excited when I saw a second season coming since the first left on a cliff hanger.

The first season was not shy about killing people off and I was actually frustrated that almost all my favorite characters had died while the ones I did not like; the selfish and useless ones, were the ones that survived. All the trailers for this season had Hyun Soo as the focus so I expected to find him as the main focus. But he was not, nor were any of the other survivors from season one. The show honestly did not have a main focus at all, it started so many subplots and answered not one by its conclusion making this this season only a prequel for the next season which is utterly frustrating. Kdramas are rarely given second seasons let alone third seasons mostly because they are able to complete full stories in the typical 16 episodes. SO having a second season that did absolutely nothing for the show feels odd.

The acting here was fine and the actors did great with the script they were given but from episodes 4-8 I found myself fast forwarding through more than half the episodes out of boredom. They decided to focus on new characters which would have been fine had they picked a couple but they jumped and skipped to what felt like irrelevant characters that you never had any time to build any attachment for so their scenes were just boring. The only two characters that seemed to stand out from the new bunch were Chan Young and Chief Ji, as well as the psycho doctor. But again, there was the beginning of a subplot with no follow through or conclusion so all you are left with is confusion and questions. I suppose that is what they want so you will pick up the next season but it does not make for a good show.

My advice would be to wait and watch this with season 3 when it comes out and you might find this more appealing but if you watch it now you'll be frustrated and annoyed. Characters you were attached to from last season are either sidelined or killed in ridiculous ways, the monsters go from being interesting and unique to carbon copies of each other that look like blobs of cement, and there is a one year time jump and nothing is explained about that year. Just wait to watch this when they decide to give you an actual story and not this weird in between.

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Will sweep you away

I binged this until far too late into the night because of how addicting this story was. A mini series that does not feel like one. Interesting plot with stellar production from the costumes, sets, and choreography for the fight scenes. I was gripped by the twists and turns and unable to stop watching until I finished it; and at around 10 minutes per episode in only took a few hours to complete.

The story follows Yun Qi who accidentally comes into possession of a book called Book of Fate. She finds it silly and upsetting at first but as events begin to unfold exactly as was written she finds herself desperately trying to change her ill fate of being the wicked side character doomed to die horribly. There is a romance element to this story but it is a side plot to the main focus of her trying to beat her fate. The actress that portrays Yun Qi is phenomenal as she expresses the character's fight, despair, and cruelty.

Such an underrated and hidden gem of a story. Once you start the show you will find yourself completely swept into it. Highly recommend.

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I don't watch a lot of Jdramas because if I am honest they almost never score higher than a 7.5 as a rating for me. I can't even completely pinpoint why I always feel that way, maybe because they always feel like something is missing? This one is no exception. I liked this in a lot of ways. It is an easy mini series and I liked the characters and music. I enjoy the delve into the entertainment industry and the brotherhood portrayed not just within the band but with the support from their 'rival' band as well.

If you go into this story thinking it will be a romance then you won't find that here. Romance it just kind of grazed and only with one of the band members. The romance also did not work for me in two ways. First the only chemistry I saw between the two was the teacher student relationship amd the second is in the age gap which is very unclear and never really said in the series but I assume she is between 6-10 years older than him. Asuka was portrayed very well as the housemother that gave advice and helped to support all the boys and to me I saw the same energy from her with all the members and never got a romantic vibe from her for Dan. On Dan's end I could easily see his crush but it did not feel reciprocated to me.

I did think this had a somewhat realistic portrayal of the pressure and hardships put on pop bands in the industry with these hard to live up to expectations put on them. But I also think that it was glossed over as well. You are exposed to the 'downfall' of the band due to a scandal but then barely given any context or follow through about it. Same with the rise in their success. Maybe it was because it was a miniseries but it felt incomplete.

I did enjoy watching this; loved the acting and performances given by the cast, and enjoyed the music.

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the kind of show that makes you want to call home

This heartwarming and uplifting show will take you on a fun and chaotic ride back home and the people that know you best. The story follows three sisters as they return home to their small town in Jeju as they try to run from troubles and end up finding themselves again in the people they left behind.

Their hometown is full of chaotic and sometimes frustrating people but they are also the ones that know them best. The togetherness and small town family is heartwarming to watch. You watch as the girls are forced to confront the problems they were trying to run away from and find their way back to themselves and happiness. The acting from the entire cast is superb. This show also showcases a bunch of green flag men in these women's lives which is so fun to watch. I especially love the friendship of the 5 best friends that grew up together.

I did find certain parts frustrating to watch, primarily the story line about Yoong-sil's father but I could also sympathize and see in his character a realistic portrayal of grief. I do wish there had been more of an ending for the main perpetrator of the series but you were still shown that her acts were exposed so I guess that is enough.

All in all this is a fun watch that had me laughing and smiling and ultimately wanting to make a trip back home.

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enjoyable but also forgettable

I rate series based on my enjoyment of them and since I actually stuck around week after week to continue watching then I can honestly say I enjoyed the show. I am one to prefer to binge a show instead of wait weekly for installments so the fact that I stuck it out means it was worth finding out how the story progressed.

And if you look at the cinematography and the production of everything from sets to costumes then this is a very aesthetically pleasing show to watch. It is beautifully shot and the actors all did a great job with their characters. The OST feels a bit too repetitive for my taste but the songs were nice.

Its the story that weakens this drama. It starts off strong and sets up many obstacles that the main couple will have to face as well as intriguing individual characters among the main cast that make you want to watch the character development. I also like that this is not a slow burn and the main couple spend a good portion of the series actually together. But after all the build up in the beginning then the story loses steam. The male lead goes from gruff and spoiled rich kid to sickly sweet and all of a sudden good at everything. His main opponent/ conflict within the drama as well was his sister but once the reasoning was explained it felt too shallow and then resolved too quickly/ unrealistically.

The last few episodes also felt painfully slow. It wrapped everything up nicely but not in a way that made me feel excited or giddy about it. The ending was honestly a let down as it was so boring. So while this is an enjoyable show, nice to watch, it wont leave much of an impression on you. But if you are in the mood for some quick romantic fluff then I highly recommend as the main couple does have some nice chemistry.

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Lacks the chemistry, intensity, and heart that made people invested in the story

Having seen the other two adaptations and read the novels I can say that this drama loses all the excitement that made the material worth being adapted. It is actually fairly disappointing in the sense that this is a Thai drama without all the restrictions that were placed on the two Chinese adaptations and yet they managed to make this version the most boring.

The novel has some toxic and abusive behaviors in it so leaving that out actually improves it for me but what this drama lacks is the life that the novel portrayed. The basis for the relationship is centered around the obsession that, in this drama Hero, has for Pop. The obsession comes out of left field for him in a time when his life is at its most unstable. His father just remarried, wants him to join the military, his new step mom has a son that he is constantly being compared to, and she wants that son to move in to his house. In an effort to find some semblance of control for his life he runs away to a new school to avoid it. By chance he meets a boy that at first reminds him of the stepbrother he was being compared to but his background of also not having a mother makes Hero feel sympathy and kinship for him that then grows into an obsession. Even after finding out that they are stepbrothers the pair is so incredibly drawn to each other that they cannot help themselves. Even in the source material Pop is more resistant to this pull and to a romantic relationship initially but he is still unwilling to push Hero away or sever the friendship. What the chinese versions did better is the incredible chemistry between the pairs that this one lacks. This adaptation falls in the realm of it being cute and the actors are doing a good job acting but it lacks the draw toward each other that is needed to really make the show.

While all the actors here are also very attractive and the cinematography is also stunning their are other flaws that are jarring as a viewer. Editing often is abrupt and awkward and the fake kisses are too obvious. I never had a problem with the age gap between the actors because this is a job for them and its not like for them in real life the romantic scenes are actually romantic because there is a whole crew of people around them. But Stay with Me had no kisses at all and was pushed as more of a bromance and yet their relationship felt much more convincing so kisses are not needed to get a point across; fake kisses however definitely pull the viewer completely out of the moment.

It is also unrealistic to make a third adaptation of a novel and expect to not get compared to the others. If you are going out of your way to make another copy of something it needs to be better than what came before and this did not do that. It also will likely leave on the same cliffhanger that both its predecessors did which means that this drama really brought nothing to the table. It lacks the chemistry, intensity, and heart that made people invested in the story.

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A story about curses and spells and magic and a destined love? Sign me up! The premise of this sounds so intriguing and has all the kinds of things I like to watch. Unfortunately it does not deliver on any of those counts, or at least not in a way that would keep me watching or have me suggesting it to anyone. What this has ended up being is a fun first 3 episodes and then confusion and frustration after that as they add more random subplots without giving any more information about the previous ones and watering down the adorable chemistry between the leads as time passes. While they have managed to add quite a few plot lines the pacing is slow and you will feel like nothing really happened by the end of every hour episode.

The main characters in this series are fairly two dimensional with very little character building or even growth. You don't understand their actions or behaviors since neither are given much for you to go off of. The female lead is supposed to be spunky and awkward but endearing while actually comes off as a pushover with no backbone or ambition. The male lead is a strict lawyer that shows no real interest in anyone with a family curse that makes him so stand offish. The female leads coworkers are some of the most irritating to have to sit through; the only character traits they have is petty and man obsessed and are there purely to bully the female lead.

The first couple of episodes will hook you. You meet the characters and the OTP meet each other and do not particularly care for one another but get pushed together through a spell book that he needs her to use to help him. In turn she uses the spell book to make a love potion that he accidentally drinks and at this point their chemistry and his hilariously sweet behavior is at the highest. But then after the first few episodes the show just randomly drops subplots and picks up new ones without interweaving them together or giving the viewers a chance to even wrap their head around the previous random blip of information. The first episode introduces the red hand and the curse to the ML but then it is only casually mentioned again once and reintroduced, sort of, again 9 episodes later. The ML has broken up with the SFL twice now but since she doesn't accept the break up then he just continues dating her? It is so odd and makes no sense, since when is it so hard to break up with someone?! The random storyline for the SML is just a silly as for the SFL as well as the random stalker. None of these plots seem to be connecting in a coherent way but of course now at episode 10 they introduce a new subplot of them being reincarnated lovers. I assume the show will try to weave everything together, all 6 or so plots as long as they don't continue to add more.

Visually speaking the production of this is nice and the music is beautiful but the writing for this is a huge miss. The great chemistry from the two leads in the beginning has become boring with the hot and cold behavior between the two as the show progresses making it feel tedious to watch.

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There are two major things that detract from this drama. 1: the male lead is truly obnoxious and I really can not get passed the literal tantrum he threw in the first episode, it has branded his character and there is no coming back from that and 2: the music; for a drama about two musicians I expected really great music and this does not produce that at all.

This is not a new story, we have seen it done many many times where a super star falls for a no body. I started watching this because I am okay with that trope and come for the great music you often find in these types of shows. Unfortunately you won't find that here. The music is okay but kind of boring, it is all ballads and the subtitles being as bad as they are do not help me to love them for their lyrics either. The main couple has okay chemistry but the male lead is definitely over acting here which makes for many awkward or cringey scenes.

Also note for the international viewers like myself that the subtitles are really horrendous and will make your viewing experience horrible at times.

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It is hard to review this show without giving spoilers so I will try my best to be fairly generic. First I am very glad I did not read reviews before going into this show purely because the mystery of it would have been ruined. After having read a few and agreed with several points I will note that I do not feel the same about this show being fresh or new. I felt the entire time while watching this that it kept reminding me of something. Being sucked into a deadly game can be seen in several shows as well as having to turn on your own friends to survive. I do not mind this trope as I find it interesting to watch as survival instincts play out differently depending on personalities and this show did have that mystery/thriller thing going for it that kept me interested till the end to try and understand why they were forced to do this. What this show ends up doing is focusing on the gore and shock factor instead of filling plot holes and creating dynamic characters.

That being said there are major flaws in the execution of this show most notably in the story writing and the character development. First, you have the ML and FL that do not seem to have any purpose of being the mains. You are just shown them more frequently and forced to care about them as the viewer. But as characters there really was nothing to them. The FL was made to be weak with asthma and have hallucinations and seem to be fairly well liked or tolerated by everyone in the class. For whatever reason even the bullies seemed to back down to her several times for no real reason because it is never shown that she has a connection with any of them or a large presence within the class. She comes off as a quiet background character but the writers gave her hallucinations to make her seem more interesting and important in the group. The ML was at least the class president and popular but even his character seemed useless as the show continued and the strife among the class carried on for too long.

Then you have the bullies that continue to bully other students but for whatever reason everyone just lets them get away with it. While Kung Jun had very good stage presence and was loud and demanding and was able to get into people's heads, while watching the interactions I could not understand why as a group the others did not think of stopping the violent ones first. In a game that kills wouldn't a first instinct be to get rid of actual threats? The show even reveals fairly early on who the mafia are but then later it seems to forget that they already showed you and tries to hide the identity of the last one for some reason.

The biggest let down of the whole show though is the conclusion. Everything was building up to this huge mystery of why they are there, who is forcing them to follow the rules, and how to get out alive. But the momentum of that buildup was a complete letdown with a mediocre reason behind the suicide and not a believable enough excuse for the game especially when they reveal that the stakes do not seem that high anymore.

Is it worth a watch? Sure. The episodes are not long and it only took a few hours to get through this show and the mystery will carry your curiosity through the finish line. But the ending will leave you unsatisfied.

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