To Be honest, while I hated TharnType, I didn't mind this special episode. Was it necessary? No. All the scenes I found interesting, could have easily been included in the series, if some other non important ones were cut short. That said, there wasn't anything that made me angry while watching the special. Well, maybe except for the amazingly unneeded and blood boiling scene with Lhong. Why is he not in prison? That question will remain unanswered.

With how little time they spent on developing any type of relationship between the "Korean" guy and his roommate, did we really have to get any scenes reminding us of what did not really happen? Probably not. We are still left with no closure, and one could argue, there was no true beginning either.

I did enjoy Type and his mother's relationship and the fact we got to see the serious talk Type had with his best friend. After I finished TharnType, I felt extremely not happy with how they just left it. The fact we got to see them resolve the argument did put a smile on my face. I can easily say that Khom was the best character.

We got to see some aesthetically pleasing scenes, like the beach/sea scene of Type and Tharn, that, I must admit, was shot quite well. Overall, except for maybe 2 scenes, it was quite an "empty" episode, pure fanservice. At the end of the day, they simply gave the fans what they wanted to see (except for Lhong being in prison, even though everyone would love to see that). I can easily see how someone who loved Tharntype would be extremely pleased while watching Our Final Love. Since I was not attached to the show, I sadly could not share the excitement.

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Amazing buildup with blurry conclusion.

I did not have such a level of mind-f**k in a long time. Half way through the show I stopped making any theories, because it was just impossible to predict and evaluate anything. The only thing I knew was - anything can happen.

The events present in the show happen in 4 different timelines, and like puzzle pieces put together, slowly showcase the whole picture. Sadly, along the way some pieces have been lost, and the answers were not fully delivered, leaving me with my own interpretations and theories.

The story follows quite a number of characters, with their own back stories and plot lines, that are all connected in a convoluted way. The moment you might think you start to see the whole picture, they do 180 on you, and you are back to the beginning - confused and frustrated.

Without the doubt Uhm Tae Goo was the star of the show. Jo Kyung Ho was such a glooming and enigmatic presence throughout the drama, I could do nothing, but get intrigued and drawn to him. The calmness, confidence and the assured tone with which he delivered the lines made it that much more terrifying.

On the other side of the events we had Choi Hyung In - emotional and driven detective, and Jo Jung Hyun, who failed to run away from her fast and was forced to face it. With each episode we see the paths of the three characters getting closer, leading to an inevitable clash.

From my perspective, the show tells the story of the different ways people deal with trauma, grief, anger and fear. Some give up, some fight till the end, some run away and some dive into a revenge fueled path. Hometown presents how turning a blind eye to suffering can lead to more pain and more victims. Facing your past, working through the pain, accepting the responsibility, regretting the mistakes and working to fix them, even if it seems too late to take any actions - it’s worth living even if we suffer.

The acting from the main cast was a top level of awesomeness. I felt sad and defeated thanks to Yoo Jae Myung, confused and trapped thanks to Han Ye Ri’s performance, and uncomfortable with, but enchanted by Kyung Ho’s character, thanks to Uhm Tae Goo’s skills.

Some of the teens' performances were questionable - the characters did not feel quite real and the emotions did not reach me. Luckily, it only happened during a few scenes, and overall, all of them did a fairly good job.

The production quality could not be better. The mix of horror elements perfectly elevated the thrills, blurring the lines between the reality and creations of one's mind. For a show that is not mainly a horror, it delivers the tense atmosphere in a skillful way, giving the viewers goosebumps during a number of scenes.

Are there any complaints? Yes.

Set up that is not explained well. Till the end, even after the credit rolls on the screen, you won’t get all the answers of “how” and “why”. If we limit the story to what’s possible in reality - this makes little sense. Me and many other viewers voiced how the presence of supernatural elements could elevate the show to a new level, explaining some plotlines and character’s choices and skills.

By the end of the last episode, I was still confused about what exactly started the whole plot - what made Jo Kyung Ho what he was, why he did what he did, when he started and what exactly was his desired outcome. I have my theories, but the point is - I don’t think the show did enough in explaining what drives the villain - they fail to explain his motives properly.

Confusion surrounding some plotlines, especially circumstances around Im Se Yoon and the timeline of her death. The last two episodes confused the heck out of me. I tried to sum up all the information I’ve got since episode one, but it just does not work in my brain. I might have missed something, they might have made it far more convoluted than needed, or it might be both.

Overall, it was an extremely intense ride. The journey was so entertaining, even with the disappointing conclusion, I can’t help, but love the show. Hometown ends with a question mark rather than a full stop, but for me, sometimes it’s better to not give the answers than give the ones that are not satisfying.

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It was a simple story, simple romance and a simple watch.

Sang Yi helped In Soo hold onto his dream, In Soo helped Sang Yi step out of his comfort zone, and it was all done in a quite subtle way. We never get to actually meet the big bad guy, and his presence is introduced later on, but didn't really have that much impact on the story. Or rather, it had a huge impact, but it didn't feel like it.

It's a sweet story about two boys that fall in love with each other (and each other's music). There is a vague background about going against other people's expectations and chasing your dreams no matter what, but in only 80 minutes, the plot is not explored enough to have an actual emotional impact.

The acting was nice? Overall Lee Sang did a better job than In Soo, but none of the actors convinced me during their "sad" scenes. The emotions just weren't translating onto the screen well.

The production value was quite good. The shots had a nice indie vibe to them and the music was definitely one of the strongest points. That said, for a show that centers around music production, the audio quality in the beginning episodes was questionable...

It was an easy watch that never really got me excited, but I wasn't bored either. Watching it won't be a waste of time, but skipping it would not be much of a loss either. It is what it is: a short cute BL romance with a simple plot and pretty leads.

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A piece of advice to whoever wants to watch this movie: watch it alone. Watching it with a group of friends might ruin it for you. The ideas of where the plot is going might make the ending feel flat.

The story is quite complex and the characters' motivations make you question their every behavior. At the same time, a quick guessing game will lead you to the correct answer, because at the end of the day, the ending is not as unexpected and surprising as one could wish for.

The acting was for sure the best aspect of the movie. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. While Haneul aced the role, I didn't expect any less of him. I was the most drawn to Kim Mu Yeol - acting and character wise. He showed both a soft/friendly, but also mad and driven performance, and both were done perfectly.

There was one moment in the movie that caught me off guard and I could not stop laughing for a good five minutes. One of the quite common tropes used in Korean dramas, that turned this movie into a comedy. Thank God it was close to the end, because I wouldn't be able to take any scenes seriously after it happened.

Overall, the process of watching the movie and guessing where it's going was more entertaining than the movie itself.

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Sex jokes, poop jokes, pee jokes - that's the content you will get.

This is one of the movies that left me wondering why it was made and why did the cast agree to do it. It does nothing to their career, there was no way on the planet they got paid a lot for it, as the budget itself seems limited, and not much probability of it becoming a hit.

You know what the movie is mostly about? 3 people sitting down and talking about the most boring things ever and making awful jokes. Anything even remotely connected to horror happens in the last 15 minutes. I saw no real comedy in it either. It’s just full of nothing.

Sure, the performances were nice and the cast was solid, but what’s the point when the writing had nothing to offer?

Overall, just don’t bother watching. It's juvenile humor and poor storytelling.

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There are two ways of making a good remake: make it better or make it different.

Cube failed at both. It was not interesting, not innovative and the special effects were laughable - apparently people there have no internal organs.

Being perfectly honest, the only good thing was the acting. I am amazed how the actors were able to deliver a solid performance, when most characters had ridiculous arcs and out of the blue quick last minute changes of heart.

I think the worst crime of this movie was the fact it was simply boring. There were hardly any deaths nor traps shown. The ones we got were as basic as they can get.

There is nothing Cube 2021 can offer that Cube 1997 did not already deliver, so why bother watching?

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There is a level of stupidity even horror movies should not cross - they crossed it.

Kind of a Paranormal Activity meets The Exorcist, but worse. It did not have the fun campy feeling as paranormal activity had. Neither was it able to create the atmosphere The Exorcist delivered. Kind of all over the place, with a bit too exaggerated plot. I simply feel like they tried way too hard on this. It was also unnecessarily gross.

The things the possessed girl did were so over the top I could not stop laughing. At times it felt like a poor attempt at a dark parody movie. The level of stupidity of other characters? Unimaginable. I could have excused it, if the main lady was not literally a professional shaman - she should have known better. All these characters could easily achieve Darwin’s Award. They truly contributed to human evolution by removing themselves out of the gene pool of that fictional world.

I mean, when the movie tries to tell you a person can be possessed by the grass, you know this is going to be a crack ride. Sadly… it was not even silly entertaining - the movie dragged so much I could not even finish it in one sitting. It’s disappointing, because I actually enjoyed the first 40 minutes.

I don’t really have that much to say about the movie. It was so stupid I feel like I have to restart my brain.

It was pretty though. Quite a few screenshots taken.

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Way to strip a plot of any suspense by revealing everything from the start.

Welcome to the world of one of the worst storytelling examples in the history of horror. Why did they decide to show so much of the background and context of the supernatural events, when the unknown is the vital and most important part of any horror movie?

My brain hurts so much. I feel like the only people who put any effort into this project were the actors, and I honestly feel bad for them.

The level of ridiculousness? Unimaginable. The pacing? PAINFUL. The remake of the game takes about 4 hours of gameplay to complete. They tried to fit that into a 1 hour and 30 minutes movie, and they failed. Since there was so much to show and tell, there was no breathing moment, no time to build the atmosphere and the suspense - I was bombarded with information, action and poor CGI.

There were so many laughable moments. They literally introduced, explained with dialogue and flashbacks, and concluded a whole new past plotline 7 minutes before the movie ended. I think this tells you a lot about the writing and pacing of The Labyrinth.

Do yourself a favor and just watch a whole playthrough on youtube or play the game yourself - the story makes more sense, there is a better suspense and even the graphics for the phone remake are better than any CGI this movie gave us.

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Low-key intense.

I was extremely invested in the characters, but not nearly enough in the plot. I was not that interested in the events themselves, nor the past crimes and investigation, but I did care how they affect the characters. With that, I have mixed feelings.

There is no denying that the core of the plot are the characters and their relationships. How far can you go for people you care about? What are you willing to sacrifice? What kind of person will you become by the end? All these questions have been asked countless times in the span of these 10 episodes. I did not quite like all the answers, but that’s life - some things work out, some don’t.

For a show that tries to link a few cases and stories from different timelines in a one cohesive story - they did quite a good job. The plot was not hard to follow, I could clearly see how seemingly unrelated situations were in fact the aftermath of a larger problem. The drama even managed to deliver quite a plot twist/revelation in the last episode that I did not predict - maybe I just stopped my brain from even going in that direction?

Saiai has an amazing cast of characters played by skilled actors, who were able to portray them in an engaging and convincing manner. I might be playing favorites, but I’m totally in love with Kase Kenichiro. This character truly stole the whole show for me.

What’s also worth mentioning is the soundtrack. When the Saiai theme song starts, you know shit is about to hit the fan. I’ve gotten chills quite a few times when the first few notes started.

Overall, it’s a truly solid drama that is carried by the characters. It does not necessarily mean the plot and investigation itself was bad, it was just not as gripping as the relationships presented. I don’t even know when, but the characters creeped into my heart and at some point I stopped caring about the plot and just wanted to see them safe and happy.

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Make it make sense, because I cannot.

Inconsistencies in writing are my pet peeve and this drama was full of them - from the characters' actions and personality traits to ever changing rules and types of games. It's a show I would enjoy far more if I did not use my brain while watching.

To be perfectly honest, I loved the first two episodes. I was ready for either clever or violent games that Arisu tries to solve. But as the drama progressed, the characters completely lost their wits and the games became painfully predictable.

Arisu ⇢ Keeping the character smart only when the plot needs it.
I'm sorry for the writers, but you cannot present your characters as this genius with an almost photographic memory in episode one, to turn him into a complete idiot in the 2nd half of the show. One episode he assesses the game based on the information he gained, taking into consideration different options and overall the type of the game that is indicated by the card's symbols, the other time he has his brain just turned off and runs. Well written and consistent character? Not this one.

Games ⇢ No one cares about the rules, not even creators.
What's the point in introducing the symbols as a game categorizations, when you just completely ignore it later on? How is the first game team battle, when it completely relies on wits? Or The Witch Hunt game, which again could be won only by using your brain and wits. Or the bus game which was a team battle, but had NOTHING to do with teamwork and again, needed a brain to solve it and understand the rules. The only game that truly fitted the category given was the wolf and the lambs game in episode three. It was pure survival based on betrayal. No double meaning, no hidden ways out.

The male lead should also be dead. When The Witch Hunt begins, his Visa is said to expire tomorrow. Since he was not part of The Witch Hunt game (he did not register before the game started by scanning his face on the phone), he did not gain additional 10 days to his Visa. They did not play any games after that. Unless they found the hiding spot of the Dealers right the next day, and he joins the new game right away, he should be dead. Or the game was just paused after the Beach event, but that makes no sense, since the events in the Beach did not affect all the players in that game world.

Predictable outcomes ⇢ The games that did not surprise me.
The games were either laughably easy to solve and I hated the characters for not understanding them, or were impossible to beat and you just knew from the start which character would come out of it alive. Because of that, there was no element of surprise or excitement. More often than not, it was just me watching idiots dying and feeling nothing about it.

Players ⇢ collective 10 points IQ
I get it, most people are not amazingly smart, but I did not expect everyone to be. I just wanted them to try to survive, but I felt like most people were working hard to die. The best example was The Witch Hunt. The rule was clear: burn the witch in the Fire of Judgement. So what do most characters start to do? Kill everyone. Which is the least logical thing to do, because it's impossible to move all the bodies to a Fire of Judgment in the limited time. They set themselves up for failure. When the two characters next to the pool said "We killed so many people and yet we still did not find the witch"... well you won't know if you found her or not, because you are just leaving the bodies here, when the rule said you need to burn the witch in the Fire of Judgment. No one cared about survival and winning the game. And while they explained that it was Aguni's plan for everyone to die and not solve the game, it did not excuse all the other people. Kill everyone, but remember, you need to burn them in the Fire of Judgement - the rules were simple.

You cannot claim this show is a commentary on how people turn into the worst version of themselves in life or death situations, and when their survival instinct kicks in, because the majority of the characters didn't even try hard to survive...

Out of place emotional elements ⇢ The lack of proper characters exposition.
I'm not gonna cry during the emotional game of hearts, where two friends are giving up their lives for the 3rd one, when the writers did nothing to make me care and connect to these characters in the first place. Each and every death in this show evokes in me this reaction: oh... ok. They gave some flashbacks about some characters' pasts, but more often than not, it was too little too late.

Still camera shots ⇢ The directing beauty
I'm honestly exhausted with all the shaky camera work and angles changing every few milliseconds style of presenting scenes that is used in many shows. I truly appreciated how calm the directing here was, especially taking into consideration the chaotic tone of the plot itself. Loved the opening shots of the empty city used in a few episodes. I took a ridiculous amount of screenshots - this show was truly an aesthetic masterpiece for me, perfectly fitting my taste.

Aguni ⇢ The one that made me care and surprised me
Taking into consideration the fact this is not a character driven drama and most of the characters don't have much depth (it's really superficial), it did not even cross my mind that there could be more to Aguni than just rivalry with his old friend. Slowly discovering his past and his role in The Beach was quite a nice side plot line, and even though him killing the Hatter was obvious, the reasoning behind it caught me off guard and I appreciate that.

Overall, the first two episodes were too good, which ruined the rest of the series for me. They got me excited for some smart games that will make my brain cells do some workout, but the show never delivered after that. Each episode was more disappointing than the previous one. I wanted to immerse myself in the show, try to solve the games with the characters, and wonder if I would survive... but I guess "the game master" was not clever enough to create truly challenging tasks. There were many rules introduced, but when you truly try to digest and understand them, you find out, nothing made any sense.

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(┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻

I think it’s fair to say I felt insulted while watching, for a few different reasons. First episode I did love and it made me extremely excited, but it went downhill from there. At first I kind of enjoyed it as a hate watch, but later it was just too boring, repetitive and not crazy enough to laugh about. Before you read the review know, that there are paragraphs talking about sexual harassment and rape (TW).

First of all, the focus on sex and impotence and magic potions that will make male slaves’ lower parts useless was just weird. The number of times it was mentioned and presented as the worst type of fate one can deal with… priorities I guess. I’d say, being tortured for years would be worse. They also had a potion that made Chang Ah horny, and it was used as a torture… yeah.

The lack of strong villains was also disappointing. What were the main characters exactly fighting against? More often than not, the bad guys and ladies had valid points. And what exactly were the motivations of the villains? My favorite part was how pressed was Cha Luo about not being able to do the do with her slave man. Like damn, the lady had some major problems.

The worst part of the show was for sure the female lead - Wan Mei. She had no solid personality nor brain. After the first episode I was hoping to see a physically weak, but strong willed and smart character slowly grow, take revenge on the bad people and fight for the good. I wasn't even hoping for an interesting gray character, because I knew this ain’t happening. What I’ve got was a dumb girl who had massive problems with understanding the information other tell her. How many times she was told it’s an assassin organization - and yet she was like “I ain’t killin anyone”. SHE WAS TRAINING TO BE ASSASSIN!

How many times she was told and shown what happens when you disobey the orders, and yet she was like: nah, ain’t doing that. And then she was surprised when the consequences hit her. She was smart when the plot needed it, brainless when it was convenient. She was weak at times, and really good at fighting at other times. I mean, when her targets literally commit suicide to help her, because she is not capable of killing them, it tells you what type of show it is. Truth to be told, FL has no real personality. She is what the scene needs her to be: she is smart AND dumb, she is cunning AND naive... I am confident, this show would be so much better without her.

The love that makes no sense. I’m still trying to figure out why both the main lead and second lead fell for Wan Mei. Fair enough, let's say Chang Ah did spend enough time with her for some kind of affection to bloom. Gong Zi tho literally started to like her because she was pretty and the first person he saw after gaining his sight back. His obsession over her never made sense. Him willing to sacrifice so much to keep her alive, even his own life? Bish why? He was willing to eat a soup made of a maid’s cooked face to hide the fact he is not blind anymore, but a few scenes later he just tells Wan Mei like it’s not important. His IQ dropped so much whenever Wan Mei was close. To be honest, she lowered the IQ of everyone that was close to her - that’s the true power she had.

Another aspect that at some point just started to make me angry was how fake woke this show is. They show this society where the females are the masters, and men are the slaves. Women are making the decisions and have all the power, and the guys are just supposed to serve them - the 180 to the usual historical styled shows, where the women are the voiceless ones. This ain’t good though. This is not empowering at all. Not to mention, with all the women over men rhetoric, male characters were still far superior and better written than female ones.

Female villain going crazy because she can’t have sex with the dude? Playing into women being unstable, unreasonable and overemotional I guess. The fact they literally said the scar on Wan Mei’s face is THE WORST thing that could happen to her was laughable. Yes, it’s worse than her being tortured for days, worse than her possibly dying, worse than her being almost raped twice. Or how Chang Ah was more concerned about that small cut on her face than the fact SHE WAS MUTE! Love the message here: a beautiful woman without any scars is more valuable than one who can speak. Because beauty is what’s important.

And then there is also the whole love for sexual assault. The show opens with Wan Mei being sold to a brothel and almost raped. This did not bother me that much. It was supposed to be tragic, showing how weak and vulnerable she is at the moment. Could they do without it? Yes. But it still made sense plot wise. The thing that annoyed me was the fact she was also almost sexually assaulted by Gong Zi - and people still shipped them. There were comments saying he just loved her so much he could not stop himself. Some even said it was hot. Don't know what is more gross, that scene or people’s reaction to it.

Then, there is a whole sub plot of a CHILD being sold to a brothel and being raped god knows how many times to the point of stopping her mental development. Years later, after being saved, she is gang raped AGAIN, while mentally being a 11 years old child. I guess the writers wanted to be dramatic and edgy. So basically, for 2 years assholes took her virgin blood coz it has some awesome "magical" youth qualities. And when she was oLd eNoUgH (13), they started to rape her. And now at the age 19, after all that trauma, she gets raped again. And literally none of this, and definitely to that extent, was necessary plot wise.

So… does this drama have any good points? Yes. The acting was truly nice - I am impressed with Li Yi Tong for delivering a good performance even though the character she was playing was poorly written and made little sense. Another good aspect was the soundtrack. A Lifetime Waiting For You easily became one of my favorite OSTs. Last thing worth mentioning is - the show is just really pretty. I took almost 300 screenshots.

Overall, I would use it to torture people.

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I was promised angst, what I’ve got was clownery... kind of.

But I still enjoyed it quite a lot. The core of the show were the relationships and these in most cases they aced. For such perfect writing of the main characters, how come it did not move me on any deep level? The answer is easy - failed villains and unnecessarily complicated politics.

One and Only is a love story that was created and led by tragedies. The stepping stones for the relationship development were in most cases linked to bad events happening to the main couple. The tragedy led to sweetness, which led to more tragedy. Honestly speaking, Ren Jia Lun and Bai Lu had more on screen chemistry just looking at each other, than many other couples with full on romance going on from other dramas. The tension, love and care was so intense, I did not even need anything more than stole glances, a few hugs and not straightforward poetic love confessions. Their bond was so meaningful, it needed no reassurance .

As individual characters, I failed not to love them, even though they both possess the traits that for me is a big sin - they were too good, too trusting and too naive. Usually, this would make my blood boil, here - I completely did not mind. The fact that everyone told me to be really for the angst might have been the reason I was not annoyed too. I knew they would have a tragic ending one way or another, and it was obvious that their good nature would be the reason for their demise, so I just accepted that fact and watched in peace.

This was especially evident with Zhou Sheng Chen. He had a really bad habit of giving people chances to redeem themselves, when it was obvious some of them were unredeemable. He took too many chances with too many people, and some of these encounters and good deeds literally led to his death. Still, it’s impossible not to love the guy. He had a personality of a warm smashed potato, yet… he was perfect. How loyal he was to his people and the country was commendable.

Then we have Cui Shi Yi - the adorable angel. I don’t think I have ever seen a character more pure than her. I found strength in her innocence? She was for sure a passive character - she went with the flow of the things happening around her, barely ever taking any active steps herself. Sounds awful right? Somehow it was not. Somehow it was perfect and I loved her as a character a lot. Yes, we all love our badass warrior princesses, but sometimes a more realistic approach is much needed and just as charming.

We also have some extremely fun and memorable side characters, and few… existing with little to no personality. My ultimate favorite, the one and only mr. Sexy Monk, aka Xiao Yan. He was truly perfect - and by perfect I mean he had some interesting personality, he was good and moral, but not completely selfless and overall smoking hot. I also loved Feng Qiao with her badass fluff. That’s kind of it? I feel like many side characters were rather one dimensional. There were “the good guys” and “the bad guys”, but in many cases, they presented little if anything as individual characters.

Talking about presenting little to nothing - what a joke the villains were. The clownery was amazing. They be killing all the good guys, all the skilled people, and then being surprised the country is falling apart. What did you think will happen when you made THE ARMY your enemy? What did you think would happen after killing the only dude that was able to defend the border for years? It’s not like Liu Zi Xing had any plan formed on what to do next, after getting power. What a joke. I am truly curious how his brain works and how he perceives reality, because the level of denial he presented was truly something I struggle to understand.

Still, he was the best of all the clowns we’ve got. There was also Queen Dowager who showed up here and there to cause the issue for the main couple, but had nothing going on for herself and was just boring. There was one Prince that got involved because “power”, but he was also painfully stupid. Not to mention Yang Shao… this guy. What did he even want? What was his goal? Why was he on that side? What motivated him? We don’t know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

As I said at the beginning, the villains were the reason the emotional impact the show showed has just felt flat for me. The ending of Zhou Sheng Chen and Cui Shi Yi was tragic - truly it would be hard to make it more sad. But, since it was a result of constant extremely dumb decision making on everyone’s side (both the good and the bad guys), I could not make myself care. Last episode, I truly hoped everyone would just die (except for the monk), some side evil dude would win, and the whole country would burn and collapse. It was that ridiculous. I mean… 24 episodes and they changed the emperor 4 times - what the heck. It was never needed to go this nuts in the last few episodes. Having one, well written and presented villain would do the trick. You can get the same angsty result with less shit happening on screen.

Plot wise, not that much happened in the show - the main couple got to know each other, the main couple fought the evil guys, and the main couple died. Seems like nothing, yet because of the presentation, it was not boring. Sure, I skipped some scenes in the second half, simply because some characters felt extremely empty, but overall, I enjoyed the watch.

The amazing cinematography and some great directing choices had a lot to do with it. An aspect that I loved about One and Only was the fact, the director let some scenes breathe for a while. Lingering a little bit during some emotionally impactful scenes, with nothing but visuals and music was a great idea. Grounding the emotions, instead of skipping between the scenes as soon as the narrative was done. The show had this poetic quality to it. Not to mention, it was beautiful. Cui Shi Yi suicide was a whole ass cinematic experience.

The acting, ladies and gentlemen - Ren Jia Lun and Bai Lu are a class of their own. To be able to present so many emotions and so many raw scenes, with the plot barely happening, and most of the interactions being so tamed - they deserve an award for it. Saying I am amazed would be an understatement.

Overall, the first half was perfect. Middle dropped in the quality, but was still fairly enjoyable, but the mess that we’ve got by the end just took all the emotional impact away and left me crying from laughing so hard. Am I evil? Heartless? Soulless? Or were the events poorly established because of the weak writing of the villains?

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This show was not perfect, no show is. But it was so engaging, I was able to ignore and not think about any possible plot holes or “convenient” plot lines until I finished it. My overly critical and overanalyzing brain was so emotionally connected to the characters and plot, it couldn't care less about any mistakes.

If I had to describe the plot in just a few words I would say: Fight against the supernatural evil, and the one hidden in humanity, that leads to bettering oneself. The format is repetitive, it’s undeniable truth. They dealt with one evil spirit, a new stronger one showed up. How come it’s not boring?

At first, the cases are simply a background for introducing the characters, creating a team work and So Moon’s dive into a whole new world. Slowly, the past connections between different characters are discovered, and the background plot starts to take a forefront position. The progression from the simple procedural plot to uncovering the past mystery and dealing with the main villain is perfectly gradual, and speaks of the great pacing The Uncanny Counter has.

The core of the show are the characters. The cast is pure perfection, and whoever was the casting director, they should get a raise. We are presented with more or less four teams: high school friends, Counters, Yung partners and the evil assholes. Each group is well written and portrayed, and even the villains are charming in their own twisted ways. I still wanted to see them dead, but I was also curious about their next actions and shenanigans. The loyalty among the young friends, the protectiveness of Counters, the moral dilemma the partner’s faced - all that made me love each and every character.

The acting is top notch. Jo Byung Kyoo is a true star of the show. His acting made me cry, scream, laugh, hit my head on my desk… He was So Moon. Kind, smol, positive, but also flawed character, that was willing to slowly learn, mature and improve himself. Easily in my top 5 favorite characters of all time.

Each and every actor committed to their roles completely. I honestly did not feel that even one scene or expression was off. I was especially surprised by Kim Se Jeong's performance. I knew she was a good actress, but she improved so much with the few roles she had previously.

Production value was everything I could wish for. It is a mainstream kdrama, high quality of visual aspects is expected though. The directing of the fighting sequences was well done, making them exciting to watch. Some of the stunts in the first episode felt slightly off, but they quickly improved and became way more natural.

I’m not gonna lie, I did not pay that much attention to the soundtrack as I was watching the show. I was completely “distracted” by the plot to notice what kind of music is being played in the background. That said, I usually don’t care that much about the OST, unless they are extremely bad, not fitting or painfully overused. After listening to the song as I was writing the review, I must say: they are good. Each has a completely different feeling and emotional quality, but they are all making me want to listen to them on repeat.

So what are the flaws? The biggest one was the slightly anticlimactic ending. With all the set up, I was expecting a bit more. Tiny, convenient plots that are either added or forgotten, like Moon, at some point, is never shown attending school. We just don’t see him going there at all. Never to be addressed nor mentioned. He is still a student, he wears his uniform… but he ain’t even close to being in class. Then we have the introduction of Oh Jeong Gu close to the end that felt out of place and useless.

Taking into consideration how well crafted the story and characters are, I was able to ignore the flaws. These cons barely tipped the scale, since the pros were that good.

Overall, damn yes. This show had such an emotional impact on me, there were moments when I had to pause the episode, since I was scared/not ready for whatever was going to happen. I loved each and every character. I was curious about the plot and how the team would deal with the obstacles they were facing. There was not one boring episode, and even though I am fine with the given conclusion, I would not mind a possible second season.

*Trigger warning: severe bullying. It’s pretty bad guys, especially in the beginning episodes.

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When the victim becomes the perpetrator.

Can trauma and growing up in a toxic environment excuse someone’s awful actions? If yes, then no one is guilty in this show. From my perspective, this show quite well presents how a person can be both the victim and the perpetrator and society should make sure not to ignore their tragic past while also acknowledging their horrific actions in the present and punishing them for them.

This is not a story about righteous characters - there are no heroes. With how dramatic and excessive everyone’s actions were, it’s hard to even call them gray. It’s a journey into madness. It presents an interesting dilemma - up till which point a person is a victim that needs help, and when exactly can we see them as perpetrators that need to be stopped and punished? Can you still be called a victim if you yourself create more victims?

Not gonna lie, what started as a “fun revenge story”, ended on a bitter note, and I’m not mad about it. I thought it’s going to be a “put morality on the shelf, turn off your brain and enjoy some bullies getting their punishment” type of a deal, but the further into the story I went, the more it made me think about it and how complex of an issue bullying is. Bullies themselves are often victims of either bullying by upper classmates or abuse at home. So here’s the question - if their actions were not excused in the drama based on their circumstances, why would we excuse what the main character did?

One thing to keep in mind - the ending might leave a bad taste in your mouth, but I think it’s fitting the story, even though it fills me with rage. And the literally last sequence of scenes broke my heart.

It’s a story of the friends trio - Kyungmin, Jong Suk and Cheol. All complex, all raw and interesting. And then there is Jin Ah. Why she exists in the show is beyond me. Clearly the story could have been told without adding her, as she is not a character in the original animation. Her being the good cop, moral one just does not fit the mood of the drama. Not to mention, the whole investigation plot line was simply ridiculous and boring. I found her to be rather obnoxious, flip flopping between following the rules and playing the proper cop, to ignoring the rules when the show needed that, but still acting like a voice of reason.

All the supporting characters were rather one dimensional, but they played their roles well and created the cohesive picture of the world presented. That said, one of the issues I had with the show was how extreme it went. It’s not exactly a realistic portrayal of school bullies as adults - everyone was either awful or went on a guilt trip that dominated their whole life. I guess the closest to a more typical story was the first victim/bully, which for me was the most questionable.

The acting was great. The two performances that stood out for me the most were Kim Sung Gyu and Choi Hyun Jin. Hyun Jin, this child - he has a bright future ahead of him. His performance also led to Cheol being my favorite character. The actor is only 14, but I could feel the pain, desperation, sadness, glimpses of hope and happiness in him. It was all so well delivered, I will for sure check any of his future projects.

Production wise, I appreciate how they did not shy away from creating truly gory scenes (yes, they were blurred, but with all the horrors I have seen, my imagination kicks in fast). Some of the pictures created were just hitting hard emotionally. The pig and wolf masks were truly detailed and creepy. Honestly speaking, I have zero complaints about the production. Maybe sometimes the scenes were a little bit too dark, so it was hard to see what was actually happening.

Overall, it’s a great drama that could have been amazing if they did not decide to add Kang Jin Ah and her whole investigation side of the plot. Still, I was interested till the end and in a strange way, I was satisfied with the ending, even though it felt a little bit half assed.

Trigger warnings: school bullying, abuse, sexual harassment, blood, gore, psychological abuse, animal abuse, and probably many more. I would not call it a safe drama for the majority of people, so be warned.

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I want to start by saying:
Roy Chiu is extremely good looking and I legit got distracted by his beauty a few times.

The movie did exactly what I expected it to do - entertained me. The plot is fairly simple and they explained the lore of the ghosts enough for me to understand what is going on. The funny scenes made me laugh, and the emotional ones made me feel things (though I'm easily moved, so this is an extremely subjective statement). I enjoyed all the characters and random English words thrown by them.

I must say, the way the movie was filmed and edited was exactly my type. From the beginning I was enjoying the aesthetics of it.

Any flaws? The final scene between the big bad guy and the hero was... extremely anticlimactic. It was built up well. I could see that male lead is trying to outsmart the villain, while Hsueh is dealing with, let's say, trauma. Sadly, what followed was weak. With how entertaining the movie was, I expected some epic fight by the end.

Overall, a short, fun movie for a relaxing evening with which you don't have to strain your brain too much. If you are searching for pure entertainment based on some crime/supernatural elements, go for it.

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