good start, bad progression

The story started out great no doubt, but personally I hate how the story progressed, I don't know how accurate the drama compared to the webtoon, so I can't say the drama is a bad adaptation. for me this story is a complete fail if its supposed to be a deep story. so I will just assume its just a casual romance story with a fortune game plot,

Pros:
videography is pretty good, plus some young handsome and pretty cast will definitely appealing to your eye, as a drama that constantly tries to show intense scene the music is not too loud not overused and fits well with the emotion, really like it.

Cons:
The characters are irritating, the idealist genius mc degrade to a push-over idiot runs everywhere tries to save the day, second leads somehow stayed a spoiled brat either on poverty or wealthy condition, and I hope his awful past is not just a pity fest material. main girl is just your basic cute pretty angelic girl as a flirt material for the boy, but for the second lead girl somehow has some interesting progression since she is the only character that has certain purposes in the story.
The story has a strong start but weak progression. I thought the real deal started early, its really disappointing to see the mc gave up crying after those determination he shows in earlier episodes, I assume the things starts after ep 6 as he already have a proper plan/purposes. and if the story was supposed to repeat the process of making mistakes, give up , gets backup and then tries again they should have showed more on the mc's emotion of regrets, on how the mistakes changed him, and the shifting of mc's greed for money to something more meaningful.

Overall the drama is not bad, I don't think this drama is good enough to watch each week, but maybe worth to be considered in your binge watching list and for rewatch I don't think this drama will have something meaningful enough to see some different sides of the story, and definitely not a drama you can enjoy as you relax laying back on your sofa.

First impression
This series started out great. grudge, anger, insanity, ambition set up and potrayed very well. laugh scene at police station was pretty awesome, and I can see the actor tries to potray greed on eating scene with the gold spoon, imho that didn't went well could be better.

For the story, I really loves it. the spoon could be the light of hope, or a pandora box for the mc. so much possibilities for story progression "every light cast a shadow" story that tries to defines gray area between good and evil, a perfect plot for a dual protagonist. yet no good progression so far, mc is busy flirting with girls and revealing second lead's past instead of fulfilling his ambition. while second leads enjoying carefree life taken for granted protected by mc. female leads ? so far they are just a flirting targets for mc

As for acting I just feel its weird, I know the spoon only swap their fate in the past not talents, personality, and habits. but after the swap I can see that somehow mc is corrupted by anger and revenge that drives him insane. but not for second lead I can hardly feel he is relieved that now he is away from his fears, he says some good things but still feel like a brat that taken everything for granted like no progression at all.

Music is good, not too loud yet pretty intense, 3 meals scene is very well done reminds me of death note "erasing" punishment scene, small petty details that was so important.

For rewatch value, for me personally depends on ep 4-6 forget about rewatch I might even drop the series

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Great potential, yet overhyped

This kind of series is new for a Korean series, but nothing special in it.
Japanese has a lot series that has a plot like this such as liar game, as the god says, Alice in borderland and the list goes on and on.
As for western one we have Saw, Hunger games, Maze runner (maybe ?). and so on.
I get that the director want to picture how adult play like a kid for fortune in cost of a person life in a very realistic way. but they have no idea of what kind of game they should play, so they choose to copy it from any other series with a little bit changes. here is my break down.

First gathering :
everyone sent to the game with their own consent by calling the number from the invitation number yet still asks "why should we trust you ?". really ? wtf ? you should've ask that before give your consent on the phone. AND surprisingly nobody asked "what will happened if i lost the game ?"

1st game Red/Green light game :
70 %+ of the scene copy pasted from as the god says. first they gathered the player, when the game started some random people gave zero shit about the condition and just play the game and get killed. after that everyone scared and scream and the game field become a massacre field, then a 4 eyed smart guy that get a trick to beat the game and save the day .the first game is the best example of copying and rephrasing a bit of your friends homework, good job Mr.director.

Second gathering & game restart:
everything f up. everybody scared, half of the participator want to go home and try to make a vote to stop the game, which supposed to be happened in the first gathering but no lets just vote after everyone is dead. realistic my ass.

2nd game The sugar cookie game:
I cant even call it a game, but okay lets just call it a game, everyone solving it with a brute force method nobody use their brain except for the MC and the noisy crazy girl. very realistic indeed. but at least it came from Korean culture which makes it unique I will give this game some point.

Night time war :
They changed from "game" concept to "survival" . people start kill each other just to win. the plot hole is nobody know that time that there will be only one winner or even they wont know if killing each other will make the game easier/faster

3rd game Tug of war:
Decent game not very unique, no Korean culture included. this game is just an easy answer for "what should we play next. the trick to beat the game is ridiculous. I get that they want to picture brain over brawns. but did they actually did a research about this ?.

The cheating mess and the police investigation :
this plot used for season 2 possibilities. in my opinion its too weak considering how its end.

4th game marbles :
Also a decent game, and an easy option, but they give some Korean culture in here so the game is pretty much unique because you can play however you want. and i love how the characters grow here. the mc who neglect his mother start to care for the elderly more, the 4 eyed guy that struggle to keep his sanity losing his shit, and the girl who lost trust in people found start to trust someone.

5th game The stepping glass game :
I'm not Korean but I'm sure I've seen somewhere about Kids hearing old story about knocking the stone before you step to make sure its safe. so some culture included but surprisingly nobody does that until the last guy that know something abt the glasses. nobody even try to check the step with whatever they bring such as jacket/clothes or anything that can be used. nobody use their brain, where did the "brain over brawls" go from 3rd game ?.

3 last survivor :
I love this one. it pictures how they change after all of the game. the selfish girl became a pure hearted girl, the selfish gamble addict guy became a very caring guy, and the prodigy 4 eyed losing his shit

Last game, Squid game:
No game explanation, as a non-Korean I just see it like a 2 guy fist to fist fight. no meaning, no culture, nothing. ironic considering squid game is the title yet it was the worst game in the series.

The winner :
the after game , messed up mc losing his shit. classic drama. not bad, but not good either.

Conclusion :
A great potential series with a lot of "but" and " it could be better". not a very interesting series, I found myself fall asleep out of boredom few times. I don't know most of the actor/actresses, but i think they are good since i like how they potray the change of the characters during/after the game. None of the music stuck i my ears or get into my daily playlist, not the song/singer is bad is just the song choices for the theme or placements could have been better.
worth the watch ?. yes if you just want to Netflix and chill and love this kind of genre, no if you want to watch a really interesting psycho series.

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wtf was that ?

watching each episode barely 1 hour long is a pain.
Story inconsistent, and the writing are fucked up, no setting no confrontation, no problem in the story whatsoever. shit plot ,shit climax , no resolution.
the only problem in the story is these new characters are idiots that don't even know what they are doing. i miss that glasses dude in season 1, he make sure the whole group has a decent certain goals.
why bother finding a cure to a disease that the cause are unknown yet ?, you call yourself researcher ?. "understanding the problems are half of the solution" - Einstein
why use guns and rifles when you know those shit are ineffective ?, just use flamethrowers and molotovs god damnit, those can be made easier with less resources than c4 bombs. fuckin idiot soldiers.

Characters ?. start from the old ones.
mc are confused, fmc grows brother complex, the bassist girl that fought hard in season 1. gave up easily and getting ridiculous death, i dont even care to the rest of them.
new characters. researchers and soldiers are idiots , just what do stadium people want ? freedom ? decent shelter ? handsome dudes to get laid ? just wtf ?. i dont think these characters barely needs acting at all you can just put anyone and tell them to read a script.

production quality maybe decent low, considering season 1 and 2 has about the same budget. season 1 has good monster to monster and human to monster battle, so much unique ability monster. this shit ? mother and son lizard are the only new one, we got some stone monsters and zombies out of nowhere yay!, and dont forget the eggs!, guess what ? more eggs yay!!.

at least music doesnt get worse than the first season, not better but at least not worse.

do they even do some research for this ?, at least ask the webtoon writer opinion. and there is a season 3! wow even better. silver lining of the series the main cast will get easy money.

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A god's message : "What is the reason for you to wake up everyday?"

I don't have anything to write, you have to watch it yourself, experience everything and understand it yourself.
to finally found your own answer for "what is your reason to wake up everyday ?" just as how every character in the series to find their own despite every loss they had.
I recommend you to watch from the season 1 to have full experience, and just enjoy the journey. It never was about winning the games, everything that have gone are meant to be gone, what all matters is what after it. do you want to live on or stay.
warning for those currently struggling in their life, you find yourself think back, and repent about how you've lived your life.

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Best adaptation ever.

this series has been in my plan to watch list for a long time, Since I had huch that this one is gonna be good. I definitely doesnt want to watch this partially, now second season about to come out I had to complete it. now i saw the mdl score im kind of mad this series deserve score over 9 honestly.
Story :
written by a fucking genius mangaka, then pictured and directed nicely as adaptation.
first of all the games, mechanism of the game is really good split in every each category spades, clubs, diamond, and hearts
spades games of physical and survival. diamond game of wits, hearts game of psychology, clubs games of balance of other three categories. each categories game difficulties pictured in numbers with the hardest numbers games showed with number 10, though too bad no aces game were showed since ace could be the hardest or the easiest. each game are meaningful on their own as a test if the player are worthy to lives longer, based on categories and numbers. unlike other death game that forces to have casualties, each game surprisingly fair there is actually a way for everyone to survive and hints to it. but of course not so easy.
spoiler alert if there are players of course there are dealers which revealed later on, both sides plays with their lives at stakes, really interesting.
Characters :
how work for every series, yet I pretty much like everyone. each one progressed on their own and has reasons to survive on their own each pictured really well not too long yet understandable. you'll care about every characters, every player will have regrets such as "things could have been better" as they plays every game and grow as a character.
Music :
its pretty much subjective for me, music fits well with the intensity even though none are really memorable. music fits, not too loud for you to have jump scare, thats it need to be for a good music in a mystery series for me.
Rewatch :
this is what so special, I believe you can watch this series multiple times as many as you want, especially if you are a locked-room mystery fan, there is so much solution in every game you can try to find the hints yourself. the characters that plays the game may or may not get the hints but there always is a way, spoiler alert especially in game 7 of heart.
INTP people I see you. you'll definitely love this series.

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The ticking bomb

A mystery comes with a ticking bomb, a series that pretty much entertaining, a closed room murder mystery with a key like a ticking bomb
Story :
the series is pretty entertaining, and the plot was pretty much structured and the twist unexpectedly foreshadowed.
yet still they spend too much scene for things that made just to strangle things up, some truths could have been revealed sooner, and the revelation paced too fast, the ending itself is pretty good but its just the intensity just feel so wrong
Characters :
homework for every korean drama. basically there are three sides , revengers, neutral , and the bad guys with plus a ticking bomb, as the story progressing the revengers feels like they lost their main reason why they want to find the killer which is revenge. it feels more like they are playing detective.
half of the series I really liked the connection between the male and female lead they has common enemy yet doubt each other, both are being careful about each other even after knowing they have mutual enemy. but nearing the end femaie lead being too dependent to the male lead, she forget that it was her revenge and the so known "god of war" male lead turns into war dog blinded by love, I mean the man that always minding his own business get frustrated when the female lead left like a dog lost its owner, wtf. best character progression on this side is the mediator girl as the story progress she learns that their act are too dangerous and could go unpunished, she sacrifices herself and takes responsibility for their act to cut loose ends. people will says that the police are useless but for me the characters fills their role well as neutral side that gives pressure to everyone, they doubt everyone they had some internal problem midway and solved them as an adult they stays neutral until the end, good progression I must say. for the bad guys, they are messed up, so fucked up that I almost have nothing to say the queen bee doesn't fill her role at all feels more like a tool that everyone can use, main villain has barely influence to anything at all I must say he is too weak. and then there is the ticking bomb the key to the whole series which is jaebum he serves pretty well as twist bearer could have been better, but not bad honestly I'm impressed.
Music :
Not bad, but not good either not so special doesnt add any intensity to the scenes nor ruining it. and none of them memorable either
Conclusion :
a series that you could enjoy once and never again, I really like the truth key was the only twist and comes like a ticking bomb. yet those could've been executed better, maybe the actor and actresses are too young to understand the rage of revenge, or maybe didn't directed properly. I mean the male and female lead confrontation felt pretty intense, why the ending didn't ?.
Imagining that the final confrontation of female lead with the bomb came in the middle of the dark and rainy weather pointing gun like she means to kill, every rage and frustration blew up at once. and the last confrontation of the male lead with the main villain comes with proper reasoning, show off time for the main villain to picture insanity and craziness. well that sounds too anime-ish but that would be memorable and dope.

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Great but weird

flow of the story is pretty good, how everything is connected is also good. premises, problem, and climax are pretty good too,
every character is meaningful except the baby, i really don't understand why its there, mc doesn't seem to have gratitude problem. i don't know if those were addition or webtoon adaptation.

one thing that bugs me is the 'game' plot, the rule of how you can save yourself is weirdly mixed up or even contradictive as the story progressed, especially after part 2 later on. i might say there are no game whatsoever, its a losing game and outright punishment. which makes the ending questionable for me. I personally would have face any judgment with my heads up "i did my best, with every limits, ego and stupidity i have as a human". its not like the mc refuse to admit what he did is wrong nor he lives his life as an outright arsehole, he is not that desperate to make that request. if the game is a way to repent why suffer more ?, no guarantee that things will be better anyways

"death" says she gave a chance in the last scene. its weird that along the story she insist that she is no god and has no power over someone fate, her job is only to watch over the 'game''. and suddenly she plays god with giving mc a chance, if only they could think of a small detail that differs the usual "death" and the "death" mc saw in the last scene (eg hair/makeup), and the roulette is actually the judgment

im gonna be hated for this, but i think "death" actress kind of confused about her role, idk even she supposed to represent death but when i saw her acting 'fear' or 'intimidating' is not what i feel. it feels like iu in hotel de luna, cant say good or bad just not a fan of it.

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Best k-drama webtoon adaptation

17 whole episodes just for background introduction story, I have no complain. for a deep serious story it should be that way.
almost every character is meaningful, the only problem is player role ambiguity. I assume flying boy is the mc since he is the one that has most character development through the story so far.

every character developed for the better or worse. main role, villains, even a support characters like the bully does.
at last a k-drama that gives a thoughtful love for their characters existed. let the original author do the drama writing really payoff.

last 3 episode rushed so much, many will think that still so much left out unsolved plot. moving might be planned to be multi season series, but there has to be a proper ending like episodes for this season. multi season or not last 3 episodes still bring a decent last battle vibes, pretty nice.

I'm surprised that I have no complains in the story progression or the characters, in the future k-drama webtoon adaptation really need to let the original author to do the writings or at least let them actively contribute in the writing process.

now moving to mainstream battle comic stories problem, power scaling. I'm a flipping geek, I cant believe myself talking about power scaling in a k-drama.
first of all, most op regeneration. this far regeneration means immortal, frank is still alive even after get burned yet gouged eye doesn't heal how far a wound can heal or not still uncertain.
another might be op power shown is time stop, only shown a little bit but if wanted to be shown later on this need to have certain limitation
then the induction power, in the ending shown a lightning strike. but power source of a bus definitely doesn't sufficient. a lightning strike carries at least 1 billion joules energy which needs several electrical bus energy to do that. lets say its not actually as powerful as natural thunder strike its just visual, in this series this power so far represented as the weakest when supposed to be the strongest. with proper power source bungaeman is basically a super human canon. a gun bullet speed is mach its already almost impossible to dodge, while electricity is speed of light nothing can escape that canon.

in summary, im pretty happy with this adaptation. I usually says that adaptation better to stick with the original webtoon as much as possible. but not this one, it doesnt matter this series is good enough as stand alone series. lets just hope disney will make season 2 happens

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