Crash Landing on You (2019)

it’s been awhile

it’s been awhile since I’ve watched a kdrama that I loved as much as I loved CLOY. I laughed so hard through so many scenes and even cried in a few. There were so many lovable characters, they really nailed the casting. The OST was so heartfelt too. I adored the soldier posse, the village ajummas, and ML/FL romance. The sad-happy ending has left me with a lot of feelings to sort through. I’m not sure how I’ll get passed the ‘only 2 weeks a year’ deal or the death of the SL before their relationship could blossom… but of the many kdramas I’ve watched so far this has gone straight to the top of the list.

Lire davantage

Absolutely perfect show, through and through.

What is there to say about Crash Landing that hasn't already been said? Amazing OST that will bring tears to your eyes just hearing it? Check. Interesting backdrop that provides compelling motivation for the leads? Check. Second lead syndrome so bad you will watch a whole other drama just to see the two second leads interact again? Check. Main lead chemistry so strong it quite literally launched their relationship? Also check.

Every bit of this show is dripping in love and attention. There are very few dramas where I will listen to every song in the OST after finishing, but CLOY is one of them. The only other one that comes to mind is Hotel Del Luna. The OST succeeds at pulling on all the right heartstrings to make you fall in love with the characters, or cry your eyes out when they are in pain.

Despite a lot of the clichés, like having met before and forgetting each other, somehow it works in this drama. I think the fact they only reveal the past meetings of Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jung-Hyuk after we have already fallen in love with them as a couple helps this fact. Often times, it feels like writers use the whole past lives or past meetings as a crutch to force the audience into rooting for a couple that may be lacking in chemistry. This is not the case here. You can feel the magnetism between the two main leads from the first few episodes, and it never lets up the entire show. The scenes between Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jung-Hyuk in the interrogation room with the NIS makes you heart ache, and you can see how both of them are so in love with each other that they are willing to inflict unimaginable pain on themselves just to help the other.

The supporting characters are also amazingly well-rounded. The second lead syndrome here is so real, i went and watched Dinner Mate afterwards just to catch another glimpse of the secondary couple. My one complaint is that the tragic ending for the second couple feels like it undercuts a bit of the message. Had they ended up together, it would have shown Seo-Dan that love that blooms naturally is better than trying to force it with someone who does not love you back, and Goo Seung-Jeun would have proven to himself that someone can indeed love him and he is not (at least not entirely) the bad person he makes himself out to be. Seo-Dan had an understanding of him that no one else did.

You find yourself rooting even for the background characters. Captain Ri's squad all have their unique personalities, from Sergeant Pyo's facade of cold uncaringness hiding his sensitive inner personality, to Private Tang's naivety and boyish wonder. Each is so unique, yet feels like they could be real friends if they did exist. The village also has a wonderfully petty but loving dynamic. They will fight over small things, like any small town, but when big issues arise (such as when State Security agents come to kidnap Manbok's family) they band together like family.

Speaking of the village, as a Korean, I love that the show didn't go all-in on the "DPRK is a crazy place, look at all these weird rules like mandatory hairstyles and obsession with the Dear Leader" narrative. They showed the country as you would expect to find in any other country that has been plagued by decades of poverty and war, slowly crumbling under the thumb of an oppressive state government. There is famine, plague, and all other problems you find in unstable, authoritarian regimes around the globe, but avoids any of the over-the-top characterizations of North Koreans as weird fanatics obsessed with their god emperor.

Overall, this show is a 10/10 in every regard. The OST will bring back memories no matter how many times you listen to it, you will find yourself rooting for the second couple just as hard as the main couple, and the chemistry between all four is off the charts. The show manages to strike a great balance between humorous moments and deeply sad or contemplative ones. I still go back and rewatch it now and again when I need a good cry or want to have my heartstrings pulled.

Lire davantage

When I first read the synopsis for this drama I was intrigued, but I never imagined that it would exceed my expectations as much as it did. At the beginning, I did feel some reservations because the portrayal of North Korea was far from accurate. However I don't think it's fair to count that as any fault whatsoever as this is a work of fiction, and I actually feel like their portrayal of North Korea is quite similar to the what the leaders of North Korea try to portray NK as to the rest of the world. The story simply could not exist if they had painted North Korea in the reality that it is.
That being said, this drama is simply beautiful from start to finish. The main love story developed in a very real and honest way, and all the friendships that formed were so moving. I laughed, I cried, I fell asleep and dreamed of the characters. I can't wait to watch it all over again.

Lire davantage

The OG kdrama

Oh god where to start from, my excitement as I write this review is at peak. Loved the story and it was executed brilliantly. I completed the show in 3 days and I didn’t wanted it to end. The story progressed through the episodes and wasn’t stuck in the same loop as an issue with many kdramas.
I like how half of the story covered North Korea and the rest covered South Korea. We got to see characters in both situations.
I fell in love with captain Ri and Seri is such a boss lady. Their scenes together melted my heart. The way he come to find her with scented candle. Oh My God ❤️. The train journey scene was soo beautiful. The way she put her head on his shoulder.
The 2nd lead couple was cool . They deserved a happy ending too. Dan didn’t seem that interesting in the beginning but I ended up liking her and felt bad for her.
Overall I have nothing bad to say about the show because there wasn’t anything that lacked.

Lire davantage

A Show That Demands Peace

I had heard about "Crash Landing on You" because its gained quite a large following! It's arguably become one of the most popular K-Drama series I've ever heard of. So since I just had finished "It's Okay Not To Be Okay", I figured why not pick up another K-drama to watch? Though I didn't like this one nearly as much as IONTBO, it had some really solid stuff in it and my mom loved it. So that's a plus!

The premise of South Korean and North Korean star crossed lovers really interested me. Since that's a very real issue and could potentially discuss many important things surrounding that divide. Which they did in various ways! Which were my favorite parts of the show. The romance plays a primary part of course, but that other added stuff was the gold to me. It was so interesting how North Korea was represented in this show. You definitely don't see it in a necessarily good light, with so much poverty and neglect for its citizens. As well as downright mistreatment in the judicial system and lack of medical resources. It's so much fake happiness and control. However, it made me so happy to see the people portrayed as kind. They aren't bad people, just many of them are stuck over there for various circumstances and its an extremely complicated situation that isn't black and white. There's good and bad on both sides, what's really the problem in N.Korea is how its ran by dictatorship rather than freely.

The characters were (for the most part) really well done and portrayed. I loved that Seri was not just a damsel in distress. She's a business woman with no nonsense. Who worked her way up and had struggles on her own. She's given a personality and isn't reliant on the relationship to define her character. Jung Hyuk was well done, after awhile of watching I was like "okay show, don't beat up this man too much please! It's making my heart hurt. Dude plays the piano and is actually a literal sweetheart. So leave him alone!" The side characters who became a side couple Dan and Seung Jun (or Alberto lol) were actually pretty solid. I felt for each of them and sympathized. So when Seung Jun dies, I felt terrible! I understand why he did and I'm glad to an extent that Dan is finding her own independence. It just was unexpected that he would out of everyone. All of the soldiers in Jung Hyuk's group were likable in their own ways. My faves were Eun Dong (precious child) and Ju Muk (his love for dramas made my heart sing!) Getting attached to them made the ending that much harder to watch.

So the romance is nice in this, even if it was a little too fantastical for my taste. Meaning endearing looks and peck kisses don't scream "believability" to me lol. So I kinda started to get annoyed with the trope of dramatic pauses in this especially concerning those characters interactions. They were sooooo slow at delivery sometimes and I'm not blaming the actors at all because its the direction. But holy crap! Such a solid cast of actors though seriously. The entire plot of Jung Hyuk's brother getting murdered was devastating, but amazing to watch. The Man Bok's (the rat) storyline could've been its own story. Eventually though I was like thank god were out of the North by episode 10! Because I was getting sick of those sets. Seeing the boys from the North interact in the South was so funny and entertaining. I kinda wanted more of it! Also Jung Hyuks just doing a bunch of good deeds around Seoul was so wholesome.

Now we'll get to the stuff leading up to the ending and the ending itself. People were doing a lot of dumb s*** towards the end. Like going places alone and driving in front of bullets rather than into the shooter himself which I still don't understand! Either way we lead up to the ending. I predicted it pretty early on. I had a feeling the soldiers would have to return North. It was ironic that there's writing at the border that states "peace" while the North is literally ripping people apart from their loved ones. And in handcuffs no less! It was devastating and I sobbed. I didn't want to see them go back because at that point I would die for any of those boys! I wanted them to have better lives and be happy. That didn't happen and it was disappointing. Jung Hyuk and Seri get a bittersweet ending where they see each other 2 weeks every year, which is kinda crappy but its something. He still had to serve under the North though which was like, eww. After all of that. I just wish they weren't stuck there by the end. The conclusion with the moms talking about ending the arranged marriage was beautiful. I really loved that. The ending was meh in some areas, but really solid in Dan's storyline of independence. So idk.

Finally, I wanna say the filming locations in Switzerland were GORGEOUS. It made me want to visit there so bad! Overall, I don't think "Crash Landing on You" necessarily deserves the overmassed hype it got. However, I think its an important series! If I were to rewatch it I'd watch it for only certain scenes and storylines. It was still an enjoyable experience overall and I hope someday there truly is peace between the South and North. In a way that saves all the people and sets them free <3

Lire davantage

Best Korean Romance Drama of the decade

This is one of the best dramas I have ever watched, It is simply amazing. Besides the lead actors who have scorching chemistry we have a stellar ensemble cast which includes the amazing second leads with contrasting personalities, north korean comrades, Cho cheol Gang, North Korean millitary village ladies, Seo dan's mother and uncle and Captain Ri's father. Each one of them shines in their respective roles. Every scene shot in Switzerland is breath - taking
I loved the first 10 episodes more, They are outstanding ! However in the later episodes some sub plots like Captain Ri and Cho Cheol Gang coming to South Korea by digging a tunnel seem illogical and far fetched. Similarly the way NIS of South Korea warmed up to RiRi couple's love story was a bit too much...also how Captain Ri's father casually kills a very important North korean officer (Director of Millitary to be precise) in an attempt to protect his son is over the top. The actors and story is so good that you tend to overlook gaps like these...
Besides the flawless acting and overall gripping storyline, CLOY has an amazing OST. Make sure you don't miss this one out!

Lire davantage

I wish I started watching this series on a Friday or Saturday, I probably would have finished it in one go. Great acting from the cast. The dialogues were funny. Hyun Bin as Ri Jeong Hyeok what can I say - dreamy, manly, sweet, funny. The four plus one sidekicks were a fun bunch of adorkables, they looked great suited up - Pyo Chi Su actually looked the best in suit amongst the five. Kim Jung Hyun was great as Gu Seung Jun - switching from being funny, serious and villainy. The village ladies were cool. I liked that they did not drag on unneccessary misunderstandings. Did not dwell too much on political stuff. A balanced mix of comedy and drama. A great watch!

Lire davantage

Something unexpected

Let me tell you that this drama put me in tear more than once. As I begun to watch this drama, I did not expect it to be as good as it proved itself to be. It got the perfect mixture of action filled with one of the most heartfelt romances. I admit that it took a few episodes to get into the drama fully and for the plot to improve, but it was definitely worth it. The main couple also delivered amazing chemistry on-stage, not to mention the incredible acting over-all by Hyun Bin. Their relationship felt very normal and believable, it came naturally and they displayed such emotion. There's little to nothing to criticize, however some scenes were unecessary and sometimes made the drama difficult to watch in-between the main plot. The last few episodes were full of suspense and heartache.

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