The almighty pen.

From a writing perspective, it’s closer to a 7.5, but I had so much fun, I cannot rate it lower than 8.5. It was quite an exciting watch, delivering all types of frustration and thrills, but ending on a rather mediocre note.

Honestly speaking, the first half of the show was a good 10/10. It had everything one might want from a show like this - cute fighter, psycho brain, cinnamon roll who just wants to help. We’ve also got all the blood, pain, violence and the main character - the pen! I was eating it all up, could not stop watching and barely stopped myself from screaming at my laptop.

So what happened in the 2nd half? The drama changed from more plot/action driven to character driven… and it focused on the character I honestly cared the least about. With each and every scene I just started to hate him more and more. For all the buildup, all the tension, all the accumulated frustration in me, I was not delivered a proper closure. I understand it will have a second season, but even with that, rather than being excited and hopeful the drama left me fearful if they will deliver a more proper ending this time. I don’t want to dive into it and get a half baked potato with the last scene.

That said, the show presented a glorious friendship/bromance between Shi Eun and Soo Ho and I could not ask for more on that part. Both characters perfectly played off of each other's traits and the dynamic was just fun to watch. They were perfect partners in crime.

Oh Beom Seok was a complicated character and I don’t think the director quite well delivered what they planned with him. I feel like there was something missing with the way his character was developed. For such complex internal and external struggles, I was completely indifferent to whatever was happening to him - which is ridiculous as he is the center of last 4 episodes.

Plot wise, saying this drama lacks realism would be a massive understatement. Some scenes were so ridiculous and over the top I was just laughing. At times it was even hard to feel bad for these kids, because the situations they were in just made little sense. And this is one of the reasons I enjoyed the show. I watched it for the over the top scenarios. I wanted excitement and hype, and not pain and anxiety. That said - fear not, Weak Hero Class 1 still manages to create decent stakes and make you care for the characters, even if your brain sees the nonsense happening on the screen.

I appreciate how the drama tried to showcase what happens when someone is in a circle of violence. What they missed is to show why some characters were able to get out of it, while others got swallowed deeper and deeper.

Production value was good. Loved the fighting scenes, and loved the different approach the characters had to them. They delivered realistic blood and realistic amounts of it - someone gets punched, they will bleed, but ain’t no bloody waterfalls going on. Some scenes were quite aesthetically pleasing, though I wished they included more visual symbolism here. This is something I felt like the drama lacked.

The acting was the one that surprised me the most, on the positive note. I knew Park Ji Hoon is good and that's why I am even more amazed he delivered even more than I expected. This type of character so so easy to mess up. To create the aura of intimidation, you need some skills. to make him look empathic on top of that, is even harder. And Ji Hoon managed to do it all.

Choi Hyun Wook was honestly adorable. That said, I kind of felt like this is more violet, better at fighting version of the character he played in 2521.

Hong Kyung did a great job with the character he was given. Even if the writing for him felt rushed, he did great at portraying the change and desperation.

Overall, fun, violent and exciting. The characters were interesting, some more and some less likable. The conclusions for specific plots and situations could have been better. Perfect binge watch material.

Citeste mai mult

Well written romance with questionable friendships.

One of the most wholesome friends to enemies to friends to lovers scenario I have seen. I believed in everything that happened between Pran and Pat. The chemistry might not have been sizzling from the start, but it was undeniable and extremely natural as the plot progressed. Both Nanon and Ohm did an amazing job portraying actual emotions and love, instead of simple attraction.

That said, almost everything that surrounded the romance was mediocre at best, and bad at worst. The friend groups were ridiculous. It was not just teens disliking each other - we had harassment and abuse that could not be explained by them being young. The parents were just as immature and selfish, which led to a number of problems for the main duo.

Luckily, a lot of scenes were saved thanks to the female characters Pa and Ink, who seemed to be the only people with some brain cells and willing to use them.

Bad Buddy was carried on Nanon and Ohm’s backs, and if it was not for their stellar performance, it would not get half of the love from the audience. Me, and many others were willing to ignore quite a number of flaws, because what these two actors did not screen was worth it.

Another great aspect of the show was the OST. Not only were all the songs perfectly fitted for the scenes, but also… they are simply great songs that I wanted to listen to even outside of the drama.

The production value was definitely good. I loved the set design, the filming and editing. Sadly, I feel like all the focus and hard work directing and writing wise were put into making the romance storyline, forgetting that all the supporting characters are also what make the show. The pacing of all the side plots was not great and some conflicts had a Disney type of resolution.

Overall, worth the watch for the main couple. Truly amazed by the skills of Nanon and Ohm. Even with at times questionable writing, they made me enjoy the show and giggle more than once from both the comedy and the romance.

Bad Buddy was a bit like taking a walk in a beautiful mountain, but then seeing trash here and there, that’s just slightly ruining the view. Then you get to the top, but it's a restricted area… that sums up how I feel about the ending.

Citeste mai mult

It's pure fanservice, but somehow it works. The comedy is silly, the characters are silly and their interactions are silly, and it’s great to watch. It has some touching moments hidden behind the comedy, and watching the characters get close to each other and form a friendship was just enjoyable. So that was a nice light gift for all the fans of the cast members. It wasn't top-notch writing, and it was not supposed to be.

Did I enjoy it? Yes. Some episodes more than others. Some characters were better written with more believable and relatable storyline, some were exaggerated and presented in a comedic way. With such a cast with a variety of truly different characters, I believe everyone will find someone whom they like and relate to.

Episodes focus on different problems all Tee's face and how they help each other overcome them. Not all tries end with success, but that's life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you always have to keep striving for improvement.

I might have enjoyed it more if it was not for episode 7 and the last storyline explored. It made me slightly dislike some of the characters ("slightly dislike" might not be the correct statement, I was truly annoyed when I watched it). The ending was emotionally heavy, but since the set up for it was quite weak, it didn't hit me as hard as it should, taking into consideration the discussed subject.

The acting was good. As always, Gun takes the trophy for the best crying scene. I could see clear improvement from all the cast members (though Krist surprised me the most).

Overall, I would say die hard fans would love it, fans would enjoy it, others it's 50/50 chance of liking or being meh about it. I enjoyed it, but with every episode, my excitement kind of slowly died.

Citeste mai mult

In a circle we run, away from a cheeky teenager.

If you are ready for a whole lot of frustration, running in a circle, kids being scary straightforward and adults acting like shy teenagers - this is a perfect watch for you.

Here’s the thing - it was so exciting, fun and enjoyable at first. Being more or less the same age as Minato, I could easily understand his panic about starting to have feelings for a high schooler. Even the idea is scary. That said, I feel like they failed with Minato writing wise, since he just... existed and everything was happening around him. The guy did not try to process it at all and it left the viewers with repetitive scenes and plots, since nothing was changing character wise.

Shin was saving grace with his pro flirting, honesty and undying motivation to make Minato his. He was far more dynamic of a character, actually showing some change in his behavior depending on the situation and the circumstances.

There were also a few nice side characters like Sakurako and Asuka who added some wholesome platonic moments to this romance driven show.

Plot wise, we've got whole side plot of Sakuma Takayuki which was stretched so bad, taking too much screen time and becoming quite an annoying addition to the drama. The teacher might have been the sweetest dude ever, but that plot should have been resolved in 2 episodes max.

Performance wise I do not have any complaints. Kusakawa Takuya did his best with Akira - the character was just not it writing wise. Nishigaki Sho truly impressed me. He did quite well with some more subtle emotions and perfectly presented the angst related to the first big teenage love.

Production wise, it gave a high budget since of life webdrama vibes - which personally I truly love.

Overall, I am honestly not sure how I feel about it. On paper it works, but when I watched it, I was getting either frustrated or bored, and I was wishing for the show to finally end. I don’t regret watching, but I’m also not sure if I would recommend it for others to check out. I also crave second season or at least a special episode, because the payoff after all the running away was quite short-lived.

Citeste mai mult

The gem among the online content.

I don’t think it’s possible to find a more real, fun and natural show than this. Never seen actors, idols or other celebrities act more like themselves than here - no censoring of behavior, no fake politeness. Jessi knew how to bring the best out of people and make it amazingly entertaining, while staying true to herself.

She made every segment of the show so fun to watch. Her bold and open attitude left no room for boredom. Yes, she is loud and might seem intimidating at first, but the girl has a pure and loving heart. Even if I was not exactly a fan of the person whom she interviewed, the episodes were still extremely funny to watch - she has that talent.

Script? Don’t know her and neither does Jessi. You can see how she flips through the pages and at the end says whatever she seems fitting for the occasion. The lack of formality and more “chatting with a friend” and less “being interviewed by MC” vibe created a good space for celebrities to be more themselves without feeling judged.

I truly have nothing bad to say. I rewatched so many episodes it’s scary. Some of my favorite episode include ones with (in chronological order):
Haha (07), Eric Nam (10), Lee Sang Yeob (25), Sung Hoon (36), Highlight (49), TXT (63), Ateez (68), ITZY (69), Haha (79), A Pink (85).
As you can see, for many of them idols were the guests. We know how careful of their image they are, so it was refreshing to see them just have fun, joke around and be influenced by Jessi’s “I don’t care” attitude.

Citeste mai mult

Disclaimer: I did not like this drama. It will be a harsh rant review so if you don't think you can handle it, don't read it. If you do read it, don't write to me that I'm hurting people's feelings with it.
What’s more: I do NOT care about the novel. I do not care how well everything was explained and shown in the novel. I’m reviewing the drama. If the show cannot be consumed without my prior knowledge about the plot of the novel, it speaks volumes about the quality of the drama itself.

At first I refused to rate this drama. I had truly no idea what rating would do it justice. For how they handled certain topics it should get -100, but the acting was decent, at times even good, the set design, audio editing, lighting and other technical aspects were good too, and these definitely do not deserve such a low rating. That said, since MDL forces me to state my stars, I will go with my feelings, be as subjective as possible and give it “well deserved” 2.5 stars.

DIRECTING/WRITING
Sadly, the lack of experience in directing is quite obvious. While there was a lot of thought put into „steamy” scenes and how to show them in the most attractive, sensual way, not the same amount of work had been put into directing and showing the overall plot. The biggest problem I had was the confusing time progression and weird time jumps without proper explanation.

Another aspect of directing that caught me off guard was a random and rushed beginning. Why we did not see how the friendship of Type and Tharn was established? All we've got was one line of Type saying Tharn is good looking, nice and most likely will help him get a girl and exactly 1 minute and 17 seconds of them meeting for the first time three weeks ago.

The fact we did not see these two establishing the relationship and spending time together as friends was one of the reasons Tharn's big love seemed so out of place. After seeing the whole drama, it's safe to assume he fell for Type before Type found out he is gay. But we did not see that, so with how badly Type was treating him, it was given I would question Tharn's sanity and reasons behind his feelings. When did he fall for Type? That's the question the drama does not really answer.

Unanswered questions, scenes that seem to have no reason for existing, loose ends - all of them happened at some point. I kept seeing people asking questions about certain plot points and plotlines and the only way to understand the reasoning behind them was to hear from someone who read the novel which was usually followed by continuous excuses of time restriction.

If you know you cannot possibly fit all the plotlines in the time framework set for your drama, you should rewrite it. As much as I liked the “Korean” guy and his roommate, they should not be part of the plot. Not only were their characters not developed, they brought close to nothing to the show, but instead have taken away the precious time that could be used to develop the main plot and explain all the unanswered questions. You need to be smart with how you write and be realistic about it. If you know you only have 12 episodes and a lot of work to be done on the main characters and their relationship, don't waste your time on side characters and plotlines.

THARN'S CHARACTER
I know he has a lot of supporters and many people were extremely protective over him and hated Type quite a lot with how he treated Tharn. That said, while Tharn was quite a nice and sweet guy in the second half of the drama, the first few episodes showed him as a creep who disregards any type of personal space and is willing to sexually harass someone just to get back for the name calling.

Many people may claim that giving someone hickeys without a consent or rather being fully aware the person would not agree to it, is not a big deal, but it is. They were not friends back then, not a couple. Type was asleep after getting drunk. Imagine that you woke up one day and it turned out that some guy you knew, but did not have a good relationship with, gave you hickeys all over your neck and upper torso. Do you find it cute? Romantic? Innocent? I would either call the police or inform my professors about it.

Also, what kind of sane person instead of punching a homophobic asshole says they will screw him? What's in the brain of that man? I would not want to touch a guy like Type with a stick. Kissing him as revenge, giving him hickeys. It's so amazingly illogical I cannot even try to grasp what was going on. All the touching of Type's face and giving him forehead kisses when he was asleep (before they were a couple, back at the beginning when Type hated Tharn) were not romantic. It was gross and weird and inappropriate.

What also amazes me about Tharn, is how not observant and ignorant he is about the feelings of people around him. How he failed to see Lhong was sabotaging all of his relationships? How could he not see the frantic behaviour of Tar when he came to see him, which obviously would lead to the conclusion something is not right? How he ignored Type’s mental struggles and instead of educating himself about the symptoms of his mental health issues, he ignored them.

TYPE'S CHARACTER
Since I'm planning to write in more detail later on about all the mental health issues, I'll just focus on how his character was written. From the beginning there was not much thought put into developing the characters and showing their gradual change and how it happened - as a result, Type’s character is extremely inconsistent. They bring up his trauma and homophobia when it fits the storyline, forget about it when they want to progress the sexy scenes and at the end of the day, nothing makes sense. Even not taking into consideration his hatred for gays, he was not a nice, lovely and a good guy that I would root for. He was an asshole, way too impulsive and had close to zero redeeming qualities. I failed to see why I should cheer for him and his happiness when I simply did not like him as a human being.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Total disregard of any mental health topics in this drama frustrates me so bad it's exhausting to watch. Let's start with Type being sexually assaulted as a child by a pedophile, in the present times, having phobia and generalized hatred towards gays and PTSD that was miraculously cured by the power of love and blowjobs. No mention of him going to a psychologist or psychiatrist. No previous treatments as a child.

This leads to Tharn's inappropriate behaviour towards Type when he had panic attacks. If you are the clear reason for someone's panic attack and they tell you to let them go in a hysterical manner, you don't hug them closer to you, you let them go and bring help. There is a reason why rape victims are treated by medical staff of the opposite gender than the person who attacked them, why the police officer are not of the same sex as the attacker. The scenes with Tharn being the cause for the panic attack AND the one that calms Type’s down (sometimes with quite sensual touches) just shows how not willing to do any type of research on the topic the writer was.

Episode two, the scene where Tharn almost sits on top of Type, being angry about Type insulting his father - first Tharn is trying to annoy and make Type angry, when Type starts to have panic attack and begs him to let him go, Tharn says “I just want to help you relax. Calm down” as he caresses his face and tight in a clearly sensual manner, Type gets even more anxious still begging for Tharn to let him go and not hurt him. At some point, finally Type is able to move and he kicks Tharn away from himself to which Tharn says “What the hell is wrong with you, Type?” and I want to ask: What the hell is wrong with the person who wrote this scene? If you fail to see how disturbing and wrong and weirdly written this scene is, I have nothing to tell you.

That said, not all of Tharn’s reactions to Type’s attacks were wrong. When Type woke up in the middle of the night and he himself grabbed Tharn and hugged him, it was a good decision to hug him back and with a calm voice make him feel more at ease. This was one of the instances when I was nodding my head thinking - the boy is slowly learning what is appropriate and what is not. The joy was usually short lived though.

The whole PTSD, panic attacks and all the mental health related issues Type had are gone by the time he and Tharn are together. Why? Because they have no purpose to the main romantic plot anymore. They were just tools to make the romance more angsty, be a good excuse for Type’s hatred towards gays and make “steamy scenes” more “steamy”. After all that, without any professional help, by some random miracle, Type was cured. Why exactly do we need mental health professionals when you can just cure your problems with one good blowjob?

The writers also make Tharn look like an extremely self centered person who is not willing to learn and research about the serious topic concerning the person he claims to love. While his lack of proper reaction could be partially an excuse before he knew about Type’s past, after he found out, the fact there was not even one proper serious talk about it amazes me. Not even once Tharn asked if Type often has the panic attacks, how he should act when it happens, if he tried to get professional help. Nothing. The topic is gone and not mentioned again.

Tar’s depression, suicide thoughts and how the heck no one noticed it for so long? I refuse to believe that his brother did not even once come to his room before that one accidental time in the middle of the drama. It’s close to impossible for him not to know how bad his brother’s mental health is, seeing how he wasn’t truly trying to hide it well. Tar was also the only character that was mentioned to receive mental health help from a psychiatrist, how good the help was is a totally different issue. His character is still better “treated” by the writers than Type. They at least tried to show different symptoms of depression and all the more realistic implications it might have.

Lhong’s story is another way of explaining bad behavior by giving a character a tragic past. While I kind of appreciate the additional episode and the background info on Lhong, I’d say it was an amazing waste of time. Good 70% of the time in the episode was just flashbacks to what happened in the previous episode and just a few new scenes showing Lhong’s past. Why not use that time to truly develop and dive deep into this character’s motivation? He obviously had huge mental health issues, yet again, they are not being addressed by anyone.

Both Lhong and Tar should be in observation in the hospital for some time, since they are either a danger to themselves or to others. I guess, mental health help is a concept that does not exist in the universe created by the writer.

San’s love for Tharn when they were younger was quite disturbing too. The idea that he wanted to take Tharn’s virginity because he was young, cute and innocent just sounds wrong for me. Those are the adjectives you use to describe a child. I have no idea how old Sad was when their relationship happened, but it did sound alarming to me.

WHAT I LIKED
I must say, I kind of enjoyed some fluffy scenes of Tharn and Type. I had to force myself to ignore and try not to remember all the stuff that happened in the first half of the show, but when I was able to do that, the scenes were quite cute. I liked the domestic scenes when Type was playing with Tharn hair. I guess I enjoyed their interactions the most in episode 10. Truth to be told, I would not mind this drama that much, or even like it, if the writer did not introduce the topic of sexual assault on the minor and mental health issues that follow. It was just so poorly written, I cannot ignore it.

My favorite character was for sure Techno. He was one of the best written and most realistic ones. Also, probably the only one without huge trauma and mental health issues. I enjoyed most of his scenes and Mild acting was quite good.

One scene that stood out for me was when Type was confronted by his friend after that friend confessed he is gay. It was a well written and well filmed scene. I just wished there was a follow up, since it was an amazing opportunity for Type’s character growth.

It’s important to add: the last episode was a MESS. Like… “how is Lhong not in prison” was the only thing on my mind when I was watching it. I could not focus on anything else.

Overall, the quality of the production was not bad, the acting was good, the chemistry between characters was nice, the music was fine, the technical aspects were well thought through… The writing… was tragic. Did I over-analyze it? Probably. Some might say I should not try to dig deep into this drama since it’s just a romance BL and they are not supposed to be taken this seriously. I would like to say though, the author themselves introduced those deep, tragic and thought provoking themes in it, so I cannot be blamed for taking it too seriously. I cannot ignore such a bad representation. It would make me feel guilty.

Citeste mai mult

So dumb, yet so entertaining.

Deep has a negative brain cell energy and I live for it. It's a pure brainless entertainment: the writer has no brain, the characters have no brain, and by the end of the movie, you will also have no brain.

All the build up tension and clock ticking to the tune of death are hilarious when you know there is a ridiculously easy solution to the dilemma the characters are facing. I was watching the movie laughing, face palming and asking “why y'all making it so difficult when it’s not?”.

I mean, I knew they were all dumb when female lead asked about money and not side effects at the beginning of the movie, even though she is a medical student ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

That said, the characters being so stupid, which leads to the plot being so stupid, was exactly what I liked about it. It’s supposed to be a thriller, but damn, I thought it was some dark comedy on crack.

Production wise it’s cool. Love the soundtrack, and I found it truly fitting. The effect used when showcasing the messed up perception after sleepless nights of the main cast were well done. I had some issues with the directing in terms of pacing… felt a bit jarring.

The plot twist was there… and I was like OH! But then I went into Oh? Wait… what? And then I had to remind myself that no one is using their brain in the movie, so for them the actions might make sense.

Overall, not smart, not groundbreaking, but truly fun to watch. The cast had amazing chemistry and sold the story through their acting. I love the bond, I love the friendship, even if they all shared one brain cell. Stupidity entertaining till the end. It’s the first time I truly adored such a bunch of idiots, and just for that this movie deserves a medal.

That said, Deep left me with one question: How easy is it to study medicine in Thailand if these 4 idiots not only got in, but also passed at least a few semesters?

Citeste mai mult

Suspension of disbelief needed, and not because of the fantasy elements.

I’m usually one to say that we cannot excuse lackluster execution simply based on the short length of a show. Here though, I feel like that was truly the biggest issue, and no matter how they would try to approach the story, it would not improve much without additional minutes of runtime.

The story itself, the premise and idea behind it - great. It was truly a refreshing concept for a BL. Dealing with past trauma was the major theme in the show, but I feel like we get to that idea only by the end of the show. That’s when it hit me and the ending made a perfect scene in the context of the whole drama.

How about romance? It was decent. Lee Hyun Jun and Moon Ji Yong had a rather good and natural chemistry, but the way Shin Jae Woo was written made it hard for me to truly appreciate their scenes together. His antics and rather child-like demeanor makes more sense by the end of the show, but it still makes it hard for me to see them as more than just friends.

The thing about Shin Jae Woo’s character - he acted like his younger self. At times, I felt like his behavior as a child in the past, and now the grown up did not differ that much. Did it make his interaction with Ji Hoon cute and entertaining? Yes. Did it interfere with the romance for me? Also yes.

Then there was also the problem of realistic progression of the feelings. I kept asking myself “when, why and how did Ji Hoon fall for Jae Woo?”. They barely meet, Jae Woo was acting borderline creepy and weird around Ji Hoon. Does the guy just have a peculiar taste in men? Not to mention the strength of the feelings. My man, you barely met this guy. This is not a Shakespearean story to have people deeply in love on the first meeting.

That was one of the issues we usually have to deal with when watching short BLs. I kind of started to accept that, but it’s still worth pointing out with hopes of improvements in the future.

I have some thoughts about the ending, you can find them in a comment under spoiler below. Overall… I’m just not completely sure I understand the mechanics of it… It was also the part that made me question how far I am supposed to ignore logic and reality.

Acting wise, better than many K-BLs. Were these groundbreaking performances? No. They were believable though, and that’s all I need. Moon Ji Yong for sure did the best, especially in the last episode - one scene truly impressed me.

The OST - perfection. All songs worthy of being added to a playlist to listen outside of the show. “Time” was my favorite. The melody and the vocals were just amazing.

Overall, it was fun. I liked the characters and their interactions. I wish the show was longer so the pacing would feel more natural, and the relationship progression would not feel so abrupt.

Citeste mai mult

Less means more, more means less…

At least in terms of number of cliches, politines, schemes and unnecessary side characters. Develop and elaborate on what you already have - sadly the writer did not get the memo.

Yes, I am aware that all these unnecessary side plots and twists were part of the source material, but I am also quite aware of the fact one should be selective of how much they decide to bring to the adaptation. It’s okay to remove some characters from the plot if they don’t really add much to it anyway.

First half of the show was honestly pure perfection. Female lead with good character that you want to root for. Too perfect to be true male lead. Supporting characters that feel like real people. Well paced drama and conflicts and get reasonable resolutions. Villains that are so awful you kind of start to appreciate how much of a hazardous waste they are.

And then the second half happened… Adding one dimensional characters just to annoy the viewers (since the same plot could have been achieved with the already existing cast). Why? Tell me why they decided adding side plots and characters to never develop them, never give a proper closure and actually make the already existing set up more messy and unrealistic, would be a good idea. Adding one dimensional, poorly written and poorly acted characters will never increase the quality and value of your project.

But even with that messy last few episodes, the drama managed to end on an enjoyable note. One thing I for sure appreciated was the message - you do not really need magic powers and time travel to change your life. Pay attention to your surroundings, see the value in people who support you, don’t be scared to ask for help, do not let people treat you badly - you deserve better. You have more power in your hands than you might think, you just have to take that first step and start using it.

That would be the “message” part, how about the romance? As for the chemistry, it was mediocre. I honestly think Park Min Young does not have good chemistry with any of her romantic co-actors. All of her rom-coms usually feel one sided - I see a lot of feelings and passion from the men, and then… not much from her. It’s the same case here. For how unreasonably perfect and poorly developed Yoo Ji Hyuk was, Na In Woo truly sold the character and even if by the end of the drama I did not feel like I know Ji Hyuk that well, I knew how much he loves Ji Won.

While I did not vibe with Park Min Young’s romantic scenes, I do think she did a great job with the personal journey of Kang Ji Won - from the shell of a human, defeated, angry, dying, to a confident, driven and strong woman. I felt her pain, I felt her frustration, I felt her fear, but I also felt the satisfaction and the sense of victory with each and every positive step she took.

All that said, I think we can all agree that the true stars of the drama were Lee Yi Kyung and Song Ha Yoon - what a powerful duo. They could be given as a definition of characters you love to hate. Cannot believe I’m saying it, but I will miss their selfish, crazy, self pity shenanigans.

Production value? Soundtrack? Set design? Makeup and costumes? All typical mainstream drama level - great, but not outstanding and for sure not memorable.

Overall, it was extremely entertaining, then it became extremely frustrating, but still entertaining. Closer to the end it hit rock bottom and almost made me drop, just to finish on a high note again.

Citeste mai mult

Disturbing story of suffering people.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around what I have just seen and what exactly I was supposed to get out of watching this show.

The idea behind the story and the issues presented were extremely interesting, but at some point I had a feeling as if too much was happening in too quick of a pace with too much of over the top action. It moved from dark psychological school thriller to dark action flick? I felt like instead of giving us a cohesive story, the writer wanted to outdo himself by writing more extra and shocking scenes and plot lines one after the other.

The biggest problem I had was the fact some characters did not feel grounded in the story. Gi Tae and Hae Gyung were the two that stood out for me the most and I failed to understand them and their motivations. The change from school bully and teen delinquent to whatever Gi Tae became at the end seems random. Hae Gyung's introduction to the plot and her obsession over the case were also questionable.

On the bright side (if you can even call it that), all the characters were bad people, morally gray at best. While it was refreshing and interesting to watch a show where there are no heroes and no one to truly root for, it can also make you feel depressed and overwhelmed.

Some plot lines that were introduced led nowhere and were mere devices to push the characters into a corner, hence never got a proper closure, like the whole side story of Ji Soo's father or the guy Gyuri's parents worked with, that clearly was interested in her.

But then, truth to be told, the whole drama had no closure and clear cut ending. The last few scenes literally presented more new questions than answers. With that heavy of a story, leaving viewers without proper explanation may be risky. I myself feel as if my brain was just turned into pudding and any attempts to understand the ending or certain plots would lead me to more confusion and frustration.

The acting was quite a masterpiece. All the lead actors aced their roles, which were not easy to pull off. To sell a story, performers often use their own experience as a reference, but with crazy stuff happening in this show, it's hard to even imagine what the characters would feel, not to mention act it out. On other technicalities, it was beautifully shot. While the pictures were gruesome at times, I still enjoyed the camera work, use of colors and shadows and the transitions between the scenes.

Overall, not a drama for everyone. Gore, death, pain, suffering, abuse, mental and physical struggle - it's a perfect combination to get yourself in a depressive state or murderous mood. I took my sweet time watching this drama, not being able to watch more than one episode per day. But then binged watched the last three just to get it over with. While, in some weird way, I enjoyed the process of watching, I also feel exhausted and happy it's finally over.

Citeste mai mult

Amazing chemistry followed by mediocre plot?

Usually I have no problem if there are some unhealthy aspects in the relationship of the main couple, but when all the relationships in a show are toxic at various levels (or at least questionable), I might be disappointed.

THE GOOD
Realistic and flawed characters. And oh boi they were flawed. My blood boiled more than once while watching. It did make the story more probable in my eyes though. The bad characters were truly villainous. If you need to find a nice example of a psychopath, you can find it here.
True diversity in female characters. It was not just a bunch of fangirls running around after hot guys, they all had their own personalities and motivations. The chemistry, as I already said, was amazing, but not only between the couples, but also the group of friends - it had such a realistic feel to it. What's worth mentioning: development of some minor characters and how their behavior was turned into these small plot twists.

THE BAD
What was Bright's character? I'm sorry, but damn I hated him badly. The age difference in looks between him and Farm freaked me out so bad so many times. It didn't feel like a dude using an innocent guy, but rather playing around with a child. And while I appreciate where it led Farm's character (that was extremely realistic), I hate how it was not really addressed as something bad by anyone.

THE QUESTIONABLE
As I said, having some questionable things going on with the main couple I can deal with, quite realistic. There is a whole different story when there is literally not even one normal, healthy relationship in the drama. When the most typical and not-problematic one is a student going after his professor... I'd say you have overused the dramatic plotlines to get your viewers interested.

Overall, I did enjoy it, binge watched it in two days. The additional commentary from the subber did make the viewing experience better tho :)

Citeste mai mult

One could say it’s your typical Thai BL, but that would be insulting to all the mediocre Thai BLs. Technically it’s the same old story - two cute guys pinning for each other because they suck at communicating their feelings. It should be all cute fluff, pure entertainment, feel-good watch. So how come it was either boring or infuriating? The good aspects were toned down, while they exaggerated the awful miscommunication trope to some ridiculous levels.

Daonuea? Cute, chill, awkward. Somehow have like 3 guys after him, go figure. At the same time, I hated him. He claimed to care for people and their feelings while also acting like a coward leading people for whom he obviously has no feelings. It’s not like he was truly an awful character, he had his moments and overall I enjoy his interaction, sadly only with people that had no romantic links to him.

Then we have Khabkhluen… I don’t even know where to start. His whole story? Ain’t buying it. This level of lack of communication, but also ONLY when it involves Daonuea? Ain’t buying it. The “progression” of his feelings? Ain’t buying it. He was just poorly written, that’s that. While it was fun to watch his silent moody demeanor at first, as the drama progressed I simply got tired with it, since the guy had like -10000 initiation levels. He just did not do anything.

I don’t care enough about the side characters to write about them. Some had some random not well executed last minute stories presented, but who cares? Not me.

I think my biggest issue was how they built the conflict, or rather dropped it out of nowhere. What it felt like - they obviously did not have enough plot for 8 episodes, so they had to invent some random issues that had no place to exist and be part of the show, that’s how ridiculous they were.

The acting was… mediocre? I was fine with most scenes, but the cast failed me with anything involving deeper emotions.

Overall, damn this was disappointing. It had a decent start with the first two or three episodes, and went DOWNHILL from there.

Citeste mai mult

Sometimes I’m pro embracing mediocrity.

On paper it’s a story with depth about overcoming fear of abatement, fighting for what you feel is right, moving on from past traumas, gaining independence, fighting for your own happiness. In reality all these themes were shallow and barely elaborated on. They were introduced in a few lines and closed in a few lines. There was no real journey, but rather a TLDR version of it.

That said, there was one aspect of the writing that I was extremely grateful for - misunderstanding was not overused as a plot device. More than once the potential misunderstanding either did not happen at all, or was cleared right away through the magic of communication. What’s more, while the plot often leaded to the side of the cliches, the ending of many scenes took a refreshing turn. It balanced the feeling of familiarity with the well-known tropes with surprising small twists driven by the characters’ reactions.

Sadly, no matter how many little scenes and moments I enjoyed here and there, at the end of the day, it is a romance drama, but the romance was not romancing. Kang Hu Yeong was too good to be true, so even though it was fun to fangirl about him as I watched, there is nothing memorable about his character.

Lee Hong Ju was far more enjoyable in all friend and work related setting compared to her scenes with male lead - cannot believe I’m saying it, but the romance was the most boring part of her character’s journey.

Kim Hye Ji easily stole the show for me. She was so dynamic and bright, driven, smart, loyal, but not unrealistically inhumanly perfect. Sometimes she had to work through her emotions, but the fact she actually took time to think about them and what they meant and what she truly wanted the end result of any given situation to be, without just impulsively reacting was great.

Her romance was what kept me glued to the screen. I enjoyed every second of it. It's what gave me true butterflies.

I wish we’ve got more Kwon Sang Pil. He was one of the more relatable characters with fun dynamics. I always crave more female/male best friends representation with no romantic undertones or secret one sided crushes and Serendipity’s Embrace had the chance to deliver in that aspect.

Baek Wook easily became one of my favorite uncles in the history of kdramas. What I love about his character is the fact they were able to mix him being so extra and hyped, but also professional and good at his job. They never hinted he did a bad job managing the company, he seemed to have created a good working environment. Too often someone with more energy is equated to someone dumb and messy in dramas.

Bang Jun Ho was probably the worst character and it’s not about him being the toxic ex. It’s about him hitting too many tropes simply making him boring. Similar criticism about Kang Hu Yeong’s mom who ended up being one of the most underdeveloped characters I have seen in quite some time. I hate how we got close to zero explanations about that character and her motivations.

Acting wise, I think it’s time for me to accept the fact that Kim So Hyun is unable to have romantic chemistry with any of her co-stars. There is nothing behind these eyes. She looks with more care and love at chicken than Chae Jong Hyeop. I do not claim she does not have chemistry with anyone overall - the romantic one just does not translate on screen. Maybe she should dive into other genres? Chae Jong Hyeop be giving the most romance filled glances, to receive nothing back…

About said chemistry, 2024 and we still get surprised fish kisses. What makes it even worse is the fact Hong Ju kept saying how “sexually frustrated” she is, to then Park Shin Hye her way during that kissing scene. Girl, you are and will be forever sexually frustrated if that’s your game.

Big props for the perfectly fitting soundtrack. While these are not exactly songs I would listen to outside of the drama, they fit the mood and scenes sooo well!

Wide shots were to die for - visually speaking the best part of the whole drama.

Overall, it's so basic, but from the start I knew it would be and it's kind of what made me enjoy it. How this drama just... flows like 4567486754 other rom-coms, nothing stands out, you know EXACTLY what you will get. But sometimes that's how one can relax

Citeste mai mult

Honestly, what happened?

I want to start by saying - splitting it into 2 parts is dumb and I truly do not understand the logic behind it. I refuse to call it a season, because it is not - it’s the same story, same arc, same characters, direct continuation, no?

The 6 episodes we’ve got were truly just an introduction to the characters and plot - nothing less, nothing more. And I don’t even think the introduction was that good for a lot of the elements.

Van has no personality and the only interesting and entertaining aspect of his character were the few reactions he gives when interacting with Mi Ho. That’s it. I love Kim Nam Gil, I do, but this role ain’t it.

Mi Ho is fine and I love her chemistry with other characters. The issue was - for a fantasy driven action flick, they wasted too much time telling us who she is in the present time. We don’t care. I couldn't care less about her struggle for power in her father’s company and the nasty aunt. I did not need a lengthy set up on why she had to go to Jeju. Only 6 episodes - time is precious, why are we wasting it? Also, this is a side rant, but every time the magic happened and Da Hee made the moaning sound I was like: girl, this ain’t the sound you should go for in this situation…

Surprisingly, the character I was the least excited about ended up the most fun and entertaining. Kang Chan Hyuk aka Father Johan. Eun Woo should take more roles like that, fitting his personality. Yes, the more "emotional" scenes were often lacking, but overall this is a lot better than many of his previous performances.

The cold emotionless lead is just not his thing. I liked how Father Johan was honestly a rookie compared to the forces he had to go against and he was too confident for his own good. I especially loved him testing Van and how far he can push before Van starts punching back.

Eun Woo as a cheeky priest was to die for. The child became a man. Man of faith and man of kinks for many viewers.

Production was painfully questionable in the CGI department. Just the manifestation of the power/energy was great. The barrier set by “the villain” looked amazing. But then, the design of the possessed was laughable, the execution was wanky. I liked the tree spirit monster, but that’s it. The worst of it all? The CGI models for the actors when they were doing the crazy fighting scenes - the movements were just bad. Then we also have the awkward scenes where the use of harness and lines could not be more obvious. I don’t think they practiced enough…

Overall, a mess. As much as I had fun watching it and joking about it with other users on feeds, the quality of the show itself is just bad. I’m so confused… What happened? I assume they had the budget, the cast was also good… So why was the end product just mediocre at best?

Citeste mai mult

Slice of life murder mystery with some dark and over the top humor.

It’s such a weird mix of genres and tropes, but somehow it works perfectly. You get yourself a crime murder mystery, slice of life with some deep and meaningful moments and conversations, comedy that at times is rather dark, and in other scenes slapstick and over the top. It might seem like a silly comedy at first, but it gets dark closer to the end.

The whole story is led by a genius idiot Ahn Dae Seong. He is what I would call a smart person who is unable to make smart life decisions. How can anyone have such a strong brain power, but still be so street dumb is beyond me, but it works in this scenario extremely well. That said, he is actually a truly nice and genuine person. He apologizes when he does something wrong, works hard if he thinks the cause is worth it, and he cares for people in his life. Even though he might make everyone frustrated, it’s hard not to like him and not to root for him.

The supporting cast is also to die for. Well written and built personal stories and backgrounds with well placed hints made each one of them a perfect suspect, until we found out the truth. It’s hard to predict who the killer is (at least for the first half of the show) and why they do it. As I watched, I might have felt frustrated with how Dae Seong is suspicious and calls everyone a suspect, but when you look at it from his perspective, everyone was in fact acting suspicious, just for vastly different reasons than he assumed.

From all the supporting characters, Fish was my favorite. Truly adorable little potato, knew it from the start. They also have one of the more powerful and interesting back stories of them all, that is presented in a sensible manner.

Of all the characters, the one that annoyed me was the detective and 5dollar, but I still understood where they were coming from. Dae Seong truly did everything he could to seem like a potential killer, and literally no one in that neighborhood was helping with the real investigation. And from 5dollar view, he might have seen himself as a victim, no matter how twisted it might seem from our perspective.

That said, even though I truly enjoyed the premise and many side stories, I feel like at times they tried to do too much in too little time. Since everyone was presented as a potential suspect, they all had to have their own individual stories told to explain the circumstantial evidence. Since the number of supporting characters was high, some stories were bound to get less screen time and felt more like fillers. Since some were not explored enough, they got a little bit boring for me, as I was not that engaged in them. Yet somehow, they were able to give a perfect closure for all presented plot lines.

There were also some situations that I questioned why the characters had barely any reaction to, and took barely any actions to solve them.

The last thing that was a bit unsatisfying was the reveal who the killer was. While for the most part it was not easy to predict who it might be (since everyone seemed equally suspicious), when all suspects started to be proven innocent, all hints pointed in one direction so the suspense died.

I was truly positively surprised by the acting too. Lee Kwang Soo brings a comedic aspect to everything he does, it’s hard to deny it. I was quite scared it would be impossible to create any suspense and a more serious mood when he is on screen and I was completely wrong. He aced the emotional scenes. I actually liked his more serious takes more than the silly comedy ones.

Kim Seol Hyun shined the most closer to the end. In the first half of the show, her character seemed a bit like a plot device, but it all led to quite a prominent role in the later episodes.

All the cast members did their best to present realistic and relatable characters, and for me, they all delivered. Ahn Se Bin as Yul? Amazing performance for a child actress, especially with such a demanding role!

Production value was extremely high for a mini series like that. Aesthetic wise, it had a bit of a retro vibe. Not making it look like a big production was a good choice, since it fits the world building - all happening in a small neighborhood with just a few characters - it should feel familiar.

I have to say, one song from the OST gave me chills when it was first played - Nokdu’s Orange Dream. From the arrangement, instrumentation, vocals, to the lyrics, it truly is a perfection. It serves as a good introduction to Dae Seong as a character - someone stuck in the past glory, dreams and hopes, who is unable to move on. The whole OST was lit and extremely fitting every scene specific songs were played for.

Overall, such a surprisingly good watch. I expected nothing, and got more than I could receive even if I had rather high hopes.

Citeste mai mult