A whole village full of cliché

I believe that there's a way to make slice of life romance seems charming and cute -- a good writer could even make the simplest, most cliched of scenario seems watchable (and even engaging!), but I believe that it depends a lot on how good the acting and the writing is. This show just simply mediocre in every aspect that not only it is a chore to watch, but any scenes that might have a little potential become annoying to go through.

It does not help that the main leads have no chemistry whatsoever, all the side characters are cardboard or unlikeable and the story decisions are either stupid or awful. It is a show that simply offers you nothing but pretty, green landscapes of its setting. It simply has no charm necessary for a show to be good -- you might as well just look at pretty pictures or cut up clips or gifs of this show.

Simply do not waste your time.

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A Great Procedural

For avid mystery enjoyers, Mystery to Iu Nakare’s cases might seem rather pedestrian, but in my opinion, the simplicity of the cases humanize the main character, Totonou, and did a good job on making him not look like a “genius detective” and rather an observant person -- and I think that this is a very important factor in terms of the concept and how the story is built. Grounding the show and the characters in reality. Totonou, at the end of the day, is just a regular person; in terms of where the show is, the cases work in the context of his character.

Procedural is a tricky genre, as characters flip through the episode and thus it is easy for the supporting characters to just become a blur of faces, but putting the psychological and emotional aspect of the “mystery” is what makes this show work really well. Every of their stories are handled with care and depth; it reminds me a lot of the way Meitantei Conan handled its suspects, just with more focus on character-driven cases.

The tone of the show is also very balanced -- it’s in every aspect melancholy and serious at the same time as funny. The writing is good. Suda Masaki is a wonderful actor and I continue to love his range -- he can deliver any ‘preachy’ lines so well that it still seems so realistic.

Of course, if you prefer more on the crime aspects of mystery shows, Mystery to Iu Nakare is not the right show for you. This is a show that cares more about the why and the how. It’s a show that cares about the lives and the emotion and not just how a murder is done. Go into this show with the right expectations, and you will enjoy it very much.

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Oh, Cheer Up. KBS usually have a decent track record of high school dramas (crossing Who Are You from my brain right now as we speak). And as its predecessors, Cheer Up brought back the same issues that still need a conversation on in the very blossoming era like high school, as always: unhealthy rivalry, bullying, mental illness, domestic abuse, unhealthy expectations placed by parental figures, friendships and of course love.

As I'm towards the age I think this drama was aiming on, I was quickly invested by the diverse sets of characters with their own struggles. I think I was expecting too high though, because as the storyline progressed, I feel like it simply lost the humour that was in balance with the issues; and the storyline became more and more predictable and common.

I also feel like second half of the drama could have been written a lot better. The only character given development was Kwon Soo Ah, while the other seemed like they were there for her development, especially on the second half, which focuses on humanising her. It's the writer in me who likes to complain when characters aren't given chance to be developed to the deepest, but I think it's always a given for a wonderful set of characters to be developed further but they aren't. But oh well, I like how their relationships, their friendships, are written I also find that Yeon Do's mother and Yeol's father relationship to be very cute LOL.

The best performance out of this drama was of course Chae Soo Bin (Kwon Soo Ah), but as she was the one who was given the most material out of the entire cast, it's not a surprise.

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WOMEN!!!!

Absolutely going in as one of the best historical dramas have to offer. Half murder mystery and half court intrigue, I think every part of this is very well-crafted and if there were small flaws, it is very hard to remember (or acknowledge that) personally in the full context of the show. It has everything: emotional moments, lighthearted moments, well-written characters, women supporting (and destroying) other women in equal measure, and the age old question of, how far would you go for (maternal) love?

Kim Hyesoo stars in a truly once in a lifetime performance -- the writer really took great care into writing her character and portraying it a very multifaceted way, and Kim Hyesoo had shown up every day in that set embodying every quirk of expression, every pitch of voice that I truly felt Im Hwaryung was truly alive in these scenes. I'd also say this is one of all-time best female acting performance, and the best this year.

But to talk about Queen Hwaryung without mentioning the Queen Dowager Cho is discounting the core of the show. While I stumble the criticism of the Queen Dowager as a one-dimensional evil, I personally think that her character is the perfect antagonist -- especially in regards of Queen Hwaryung: she is, after all, a mother who, instead of taking her child under her umbrella, instead had given him the brunt of the guilt of her past sins. And she treats her subjects the same. She is the perfect opposite of Queen Hwaryung.

This is, at the end, a show about the intricacies of motherhood; and in the palace, a queen is also mother to her subjects.

Do give it a try especially if you're new to sageuk! I feel like this is a perfect gateway drama if you want to delve into something historical -- the story is light enough not to be too complicated. How they portray the story and the character takes the centerpiece in this :)

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