Sisyphe: le mythe (2021)

All you need is love

Sisyphus: The Myth is an intriguing drama. The thrilling teaser that was released late last year stoked the flames of excitement for many avid K-drama viewers. Coupled with a cast that’s headlined by bankable stars the likes of Cho Seung Woo and Park Shin Hye, it became one of the most talked about and highly anticipated shows for 2021. When it finally aired, however, it polarised opinions here in MDL and left a number of viewers’ expectations somewhat unfulfilled, to the extent that the ratings steadily declined to the current score hovering at around 8.

There are those who continued to enjoy the show, for various reasons, and I happen to be one of them. Allow me to share my (spoiler-free) thoughts and then you can make your own decision on whether or not to embark on what has largely been a fun-filled escapist roller coaster ride.

What is it about?
In a nutshell, a woman from the dystopian future of South Korea travels back in time in the hopes of altering the course of history by preventing the seemingly inevitable fate that befell the country, the looming catastrophe of nuclear war. Central to this mission is the man who invented the time travelling machine. These two characters are played by Park Shin Hye and Cho Seung Woo respectively.

The drama contains a mix of science fiction, action, drama, and romance genres imbued with themes of revenge, redemption, remorse, love, friendship and familial bond. The director is Jin Hyeok, who notably helmed The Legend of the Blue Sea,The Master’s Sun and City Hunter, among others. The screenplay is written by the husband and wife team of Jeon Chan Ho and Lee Je In, for only their third production.

This show is jointly produced by Drama House and JTBC, and has been publicized as the network’s 10th anniversary special drama. Its title is derived from the ancient character from Greek mythology, King Sisyphus of Corinth, and is completely pre-produced with principal photography having taken place toward the end of 2020.

What’s great about it?

The Production Values
As expected of a JTBC production, this drama is very well made. I love the cinematography (in particular the indoor lighting), the many gorgeous scenic views of both Seoul in the present time and the vast landscape of the dystopian future. The set designs for various settings are quite exemplary while the special effects (CGIs, firefights, and pyrotechnics) are considerably top tier for a show of this nature.

The Acting and Cast
In my humble opinion, the leads are fantastic and I have absolutely no complaints. While Cho Seung Woo fully embodies the character of Han Tae Sul, the same goes for Park Shin Hye’s Kang Seo Hae. They deliver very strong performances in their portrayal of deeply flawed and emotionally scarred individuals. These are the types of roles that perhaps mature actors with adequate professional and life experiences are better-equipped to articulate and convey convincingly, which is very much the case here.

It’s interesting to note that unlike Cho Seung Woo’s other more serious roles, especially that of Hwang Shi Mok in Stranger, here his Han Tae Sul is much more comedic and mischievous with a copious dose of flamboyance and swagger. Despite possessing similar social awkwardness, this character is remarkably more fun while his ingenuity in getting out of tricky situations bears an uncanny resemblance to the MacGyver persona.

Such nuanced characterization is depicted by the other veteran supporting cast as well, notably Sung Dong Il, Kim Byung Chul, and Kim Jong Tae. Kim Byung Chul in particular surprised me with his depiction of Seo Won Ju. Despite being slightly OTT, I suspect he had the time of his life being “unleashed” from his usual more understated roles. Here he plays “dual characters” where his versatility is quite commendable.

Special mention goes to the young actor Lee Joo Won, who plays the young version of Seo Won Ju. This kid truly gave me goose bumps with his chilling portrayal.

The Action
For the most part, the choreography has been outstanding. From the numerous unarmed combat sequences to the firefights involving some pretty impressive military hardware. It’s not often that we see plenty of intense (and at times, logic-defying) gun battles in a non-military drama so this aspect of the production is indeed praiseworthy. Other forms of action include a lot of hard running in chasing (and being chased by) a multitude of characters.

The Romance
This particular theme is so beautifully and convincingly conveyed. It helps immensely that Cho Seung Woo and Park Shin Hye abundantly possess such wonderful chemistry which is poignantly manifested amidst the ensuing intrigue and mayhem. The pairing of Han Tae Sul and Kang Seo Hae, in many ways, makes a lot of sense. They are each plagued by a traumatic past and rendered seriously flawed, emotionally damaged, and are now fighting against the odds to change their fate.

What could’ve been better?

The Science
I love the concept here about time travelling to the past in order to change the future which gives me vibes of The Twelve Monkeys where the premise is quite similar. However, I do feel that the science as depicted in the show is super messy. Many technical aspects are open to interpretation and left to the viewers to fill in the blanks, as the story progresses. It’s a process of trial and error where we discover new things during every episode. The finale is quite possibly the most mind-blowing of all.

The Screenplay
A parallel narrative and converging plot format is used to tell the story, which includes numerous flashbacks and flashforwards by various major characters in multiple timelines - the past, present and future. Sometimes title cards are used to indicate the date, but not when the scene is obvious. It can get a little disorienting unless viewers pay close attention to the details.

How and why certain events transpire are quite convoluted and require too much deductive reasoning to derive a sense of what the answers could be. The credibility of certain characters is questionable while quite a number of the sequences appear utterly ridiculous and fantastical, despite the sci-fi tag. The seemingly lack of logic in certain respects of the overarching plot has led me to strongly suspect the screenwriters were high on recreational psychoactive substances as they were writing this.

Overall
The sooner viewers suspend disbelief and forgo questioning how the technology works by accepting the science as it is, the less confusing the show would appear to be. Regardless of the perceived weaknesses resulting from the flawed execution of the concept, I found myself enjoying the wild and, at times, exhilarating ride once I shut down my cerebral process and went instinctive. I would advise you to do the same for this is the only way to truly appreciate Sisyphus: The Myth. And if you do decide to watch this, be rest assured - the ending is very much a happy one, for everyone (kind of).

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Watching This Drama Truly Is Like Rolling A Stone Down A Hill, Then Being Crushed By It...

Upon paper, screenwriters Jeon Chan Ho ( Fates and Furies) and Lee Jae In ( Fates and Furies) ‘s “Sisyphus The Myth “ is a masterpiece work filled with intriguing ideologies of time, science-fiction and an array of intriguing characters and concepts .However, the series often fell short of logic and characterisation over the course of the
storyline.

Before addressing the issues surrounding the show, it is important to establish that the main cast consisting principally of Cho Seung Woo , Kim Byung Chul, Tae In Ho ( playing Tae Sook’s mysterious friend and co-founder of their group, Eddy Kim) , Chae Jong Hyeop ( performing as the restaurant delivery man Choi Jae Sun who befriends Seo-hae) , Jung Hye Jin ( Kim Seo Jin), Kim Jong Tae ( Seo Hae’s father; Kang Dong Gi ) and Park Shin Hye were fairly good within their performances . On the other hand, questionable dialogue exchanges and the characterisation often demeaned the quality of screenwriting.

The premise itself is fairly straightforward; Han Tae-sool (Cho Seung-woo), a brilliant engineer, will invent a time-travel machine in the near future, however, something terrible happened afterwards which caused terrible events to occur .

For time travellers seeking sanction from this dystopian future, they travel back en mass to the era before Tae-Sool invented this revolutionary machine as a “ safe place” .One of those immigrants is Kang Seo-hae (Park Shin-hye), a mysterious girl who seems to have an undeniable link to Tae-Sool, however, Seo-Hae faces her own conflicts in the meantime between being chased after the mysterious “ men in black” of the drama, the DEA -who capture and contain time travellers under the guise working for the government’s “ Immigration Control Unit”. Meanwhile, Tae-Sool becomes interested in the fate of his seemingly deceased brother which leads him down a rabbit hole of danger and mystery as well as leading him to meeting Seo-Hae. As Seo-Hae and Tae-Sool’s lives become more interconnected, the two soon begin to realise their feelings for one another, as they fight against a seemingly inevitable future.

Wherever the show’s dilemmas manifested themselves, the main source of the problem manifested with one thing prominently ; the writing. It is fair to say that “ Sisyphus; The Myth” attempts to have it both ways; an engaging time-travel story with fast-paced action, and a complicated love story between its main protagonists.

Characters were often enforced into scenarios which made little sense within their individual circumstances . For example, illegal future immigrant broker Park Hyeong-do (Sung Dong-il) gets an -out -of character backstory as well as a shocking revelation in the final episode, that was simply illogical. Even our main protagonists Tae-sool and Seo-Hae were often shoehorned into scenarios which made little sense , reducing them to become nothing more than plot mechanisms against their more intriguing individual personalities and intriguing backstories ( which felt fairly underdeveloped).

Whilst the show attempted to rig emotions between the two main protagonists in their sudden epiphany around the halfway point that “ we like one another against all odds of our circumstances”, the cataclysmic writing underpinning their relationship made theirs arguably one of the least convincing and forgettable romantic pairings of recent years .In addition to this, there’s also the other issue regarding the actual laws of time-travel. Sisyphus; The Myth” is independent from its predecessors time-travel takes in Korean film and TV by focusing upon the actual concept of time travel, rather than choosing the wrinkle-in-time concept, in which characters from two different timelines coexist, come up time and again.

However, time-travel stories can soon become a Gordian knot ( pun intended) of tangled logic and interest very quickly, something which soon became prominent in the series . The screenwriters of “Sisyphus” added different rules throughout, only to consistently break them and toss logic out of the window , as well as new technologies or magical drugs which delivered anti-climatic scenarios to seemingly impossible problems.

Admittedly when the drama entered its second-half and introduced viewers to the main antagonist , Sigma (Kim Byung-chul), the show did undeniably shift towards becoming more focalised upon the theme of time-travel, however, as a result of this , the show’s weaknesses overall quickly began to rise to prominence also.
The halfway point resulted in the direction of plot and the ideology of time travel feeling more like a storyline filler and an excuse for for high-budget extravaganza scenes, often with little serving purpose than to make viewers squeal with excitement at eye-popping CGI and distract attention away from more notable flaws .

Admittedly, the series against all odds was fairly engaging within certain sold set pieces and storylines . Park In Hye’s fight scenes helped to make the show entertaining . However, whilst the myriads of goons of the nefarious control centre featured prominently, this scenario soon became repetitive and formulaic; the duo would face a problem, they would be surrounded and Tae-sool’s on-the-spot science to get out of close scrapes (never held up to scrutiny), whilst Seo-Hae’s Laura-Croft-Style combat scenes would help to save the day also.

As the gimmicks became less and less inventive, these concepts soon died off completely and therefore resulting in numerous action scenes being tapered off entirely . Several episodes towards the end of the show featured no set pieces at all and the control centre disappeared completely , with several major characters not featuring in the finale ( with few reasons given) . Additionally , whilst the ending was “ bittersweet”, it felt inherently poorly-written and the epitome of a classic deus ex machina ; a lazing, anticlimactic ending which created hare-brained and problems towards time paradoxes .

Whilst “ Sisyphus; The Myth” had an intriguing premise, a high budget and an ensemble of a talented actors at its disposal, not even top notch actors such as Park Shin Hye and Cho Seung-Woo could truly save the series from its own demise of abandoned logic, poorly-written characters and relationships, as well as the ineffable disappearances of main characters over the course of the series and a lazy ending also.Another classic example of the recent trend of high-budget science-fiction and action throwaway extravaganzas such as “ Alice” and “ RUGAL” with intriguing premises, yet truly lacking well-written and memorable storylines. Worth binge-watching to waste time with little else to do, yet certainly not worth investing genuine time towards.

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Mediocre Myth

At outset, the drama starts out as an interesting and pioneering perspective of time travel. With use of new ideas like uploader and downloader, the science-fiction aspect is on par with that of contemporary world of science fiction entertainment.

Along with this, is the backdrop of a nuclear war involving Koreas, it provides an exquisite playing field for proficient storytelling. These themes remind me of the "TENET" movie.

The show is almost convincible scientifically about time travel*. But that's where the spectacle of this show ends. This show has countless flaws.

One, after setting the story, the show becomes more character driven and not plot driven. Thus, giving little scope for further exploring the sci-fi elements or packing it with more plot elements. Viewers are taken through detailed narrative about various side characters. These insights could have been less detailed.

Two, Will over Wits. Almost every scene has some sort of test for characters to make a choice. Almost every character ends up making emotion-driven decisions and not reason-driven. This leads to a countless loop of bad folks coercing good folks to fall into their traps. Countless episodes are wasted in these cat-and-mouse endeavors.

Three, Lack of an alternate answer to the recurring question "Girl or World?" Right in the first instance of asking this question, the answer is undeniably obvious. Yet, the protagonist delays to choose the answer giving a false hope of possibility of an alternative answer. Had this been answered earlier, it would have ended the show quicker.

Four, Romance: The Leads' relationship feels more like comradeship and less like romantic one. If at all it is present, it is not so passionate and intense given their life-threatening circumstances.

Five, the beginning of the time loop. How did all this began that is, the events right before the first loop are hardly explained. I believe that explaining a bootstrap paradox is an unimaginable task.

Despite the flaws, there are a couple of appreciable elements like, One, ambitious production. The initial fights and stunts scenes felt amateurish in CGI. But the events of the future were well produced. The drone chase scene was a personal favorite. Fights scenes were really good, especially the last fight of future timeline. Two, despite the ever looming question of "save the world", the intermittent scenes of future events were very imaginative. Three, Badass FL and Genius ML both bring something unique to the plot. Four, the "Act of Kindness" (without letting the spoiler out), that was the best moment in the entire drama and gave the best "glimmer of hope", an essential feature of the Sci-Fi genre.

Acting wise, both the leads are exceptional. PSH stunt scenes are awe-worthy. Kim Byung Chul does an incredible job. Music wise, I really liked the title music of whizzing sound and the end song. Rewatch value is lower as sci-fi elements are hardly convoluted.

Sisyphus: The Myth is inventive concept but fails in storytelling.
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*Logical inconsistencies do exist.

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Not for the Anti-fans

This is the second series I’ve seen in real time. Usually I binge-watch all the Asian dramas I want to watch. The series makes me think and I try to review my knowledge of Greek Mythology as I view the storyline every week. I enjoy the romcom elements. I relish watching Park Shin-hye being so kick-ass with her combat skills bad-ass with her pink guns. Despite being such a hardcore female, Kang So-hae still has a soft and vulnerable core. Despite his genius, it’s great to see Han Tae-sul being so playful, witty and funny. Just seeing the range of Cho Seung-woo in this drama is a treat. Maybe I should check out an episode of Stranger.

As for the story, all the questions seem to have been answered. The leads belong in a different time-space, it would be a stretch to expect a happily-ever after. This is not straight-up Makjang or full-blown romcom as others prefer. It makes you ask questions, formulate theories, draw conclusions. It makes you appreciate Park Shin-hye and Cho Seung-woo even more, propel you to check out their past and future projects.

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Braincells... I don't know them

Am I the only one that has questions??? LIKE A LOT. I can't explain how confused I am because to me, if you're going to film a time travel theme drama, you gotta make it make sense. But Sisyphus doesn't know logic apparently.

When developing a plot so complicated like this one you gotta set some common rules for the world-building, how everything works, how people act, their arcs, etc. But to me it seemed that most of the things happening in the story were for the sake of other things to happen in the future. I don't know how to explain it but everything was too "convenient" for its own good.
I'm truly confused with the way things work in this world and with the fact that some things happen to certain characters but not to others. Like, if A happens to B (who's coming from the future), then if A happens to C (who's also coming from the future) it has to happen the same way.

I think this drama failed to explain certain rules of the world and expected us, as viewers, to understand everything without an explanation. My braincells are all gone, I swear.

I'm mad because this drama, and specially the plot, had so much potencial. The cast is amazing, the story too, but when it came to telling the story and developing it, it failed completely. The script didn't help either, it's messy and a little cringy at some parts. Don't even get me started on the CGI cause I pretended like I didn't see anything of the effects throughout the entire drama. I just ingnored them.

The thing with the characters is that I didn't get attatched to any of them, and that was a huge turn off for me. How can I remain intrested in a story where I don't give a f*ck about what happens to their characters? I also feel that there were somo characters who were totally useless to the plot and they'd only get in the way of other people. Also feel like at the end they left stories incompleted and just hanging. I also don't really understand the motive behind Eddy Kim trying to kill Seo Hae and Tae Sul, we get it you're jealous and feel like you were Tae Sul's shadow your entire life, but to me that's a pretty cliche motive to just reveal and do what you please. I don't know, I feel like that ending was messy and it came out of nowhere.

OST is pretty good. Not much to say since it's not the most relevant thing to the story.

But what I will say, and this is what surprise me the most, is that the chemistry between Park Shin Hye and Jo Seung-woo is pretty good. I was not expecting this cause usually Park Shin Hye's partners are not suited for her, but I really liked how Seung Woo and her fitted together.

Anyway, I feel sad cause I had high expectations with this drama but it kinda disappointed me.

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I'd say the best drama of 2021 so far, but for patient viewers

Not gonna lie, I have a soft spot for time travelling and alternative realities themes. That’s why when I read synopsis for Sisypus, I knew I needed to watch. I don’t usually watch dramas as they go, I rather wait for a whole season to appear, but this time I certainly don’t regret the decision. Altdough I have to admit there was some moments when I was highly irritated that I cannot just binge watch it till the end.

This show doesn’t make it easy for anyone. If you wanted a light romance drama, that’s not it. The romance is not a counterpoint of the story and that’s what’s good about it, since it’s really not the most important part of the plot. Or maybe it is. It’s not easy to watch Sisyphus. Amazing production and soundtrack is not to blame. Perfect casting, great characters and actors neither. It’s not it. Multiple timelines and characters make is somehow hard to follow. It’ not easy to swallow romance type of the story. This is full on fantasy drama with all its pros and cons.

There’re some filler episodes I’m not gonna lie. But they’e not boring in any way. Usually we just get some background story that explains what drives our main characters. After watching one of those episodes I didn’t feel bored, at the end it just hit me that action didn’t move forward much. It was more of a breather episode, when we get to know our characters a bit more before jumping to the action once more. The ending though was perfectly timed. I really hate filler episodes at the end of the dramas. You know the drill, action actually ends on ep. 15th and 16th is just saying goodbyes to everyone. Not this time, till the last minutes I was hoping on some more answers. But it’s not so easy this time. Because this drama doesn’t give you easy answers, rather more questions.

All characters are important. That’s a very valuable lesson this drama gave me. Because if you forgot someone you could be sure that he came back to stab someone in the back (sometimes figuratively, sometimes not). And that was amazing, because I’m sure that 90% of characters could easily have their own spin offs and I’d gladly watch it. It’s just that even supporting characters have greatly developed personalities. They not only exist to be a background to the main characters. They have their own adventures and their own motivations.

Let’s talk about villain. Because I liked him from the moment he appeared but in the end I’ve absolutely fell in love with this character. Because Kim Byung Chul done such a great work with a character that could basically be a cartoonish Bond villain type. He was really close to be this type of cliche lurking in the shadow, plotting how to destroy the world type and yet still he was just full blooded human. He has a clear motive and a great backstory (I cannot praise his child version played by Lee Joo Won because this kid was so amazing I cannot put it into words). Abused by his father as a child, abused by his classmates at school. Tae Sul, the only person that helped him, finally turned his back on him. He grew up unsuccessful painter, tried to seek help with the police only to be beaten again. The story itself explains absolutely everything about what he did. Doesn’t justify, obviously, but we can actually see where all of this anger came from. And that’s what is great in this character. And also, that’s gonna be a huge spoiler, so if you haven’t watched the finale, beware. The way he was stopped! It was such a great idea to actually stop him not by killing his younger version but to actually help him. When I figured out what it about to happen I screamed. This way of dealing with villain will be forever remembered by me.

We have a long list of interesting characters and the way their storylines were solved. But I’d only focus on the main pair. I loved the way Tae Sul was the brain of the operation. Man who covers his eyes while facing gunfight and yet in stressful situation can find enough courage to think logically. He’s not a fighter. He’s a problem solver, a person who can barely punch somebody in the face but can get away from stressful situation with clear thinking. And we have Soe Hae, absolute opposite. Muscles of the operation. Person who will grab Tae Sul and escort him away from the gun fight. This reverse of the roles was so refreshing that I loved to watch it, and they compliment each other so well.

Plus their romance part. I know that Park Shin Hye was criticised that she cannot act the romance scenes. But here I don’t see that problem. She and Jo Seung Woo I think were believable enough. Plus it wasn’t like an instant romance story, it took their characters a while to admit to the feeling and I think it helped a lot. Especially that Soe Hae was an opposite of a romantic character with her background and upbringing. She’s not really fun. She’s very serious and I think that worked with the actress. Regarding how much character has been though it made sense for her to be a bit bitter. And still she enjoys those little things in life.

The plot was complicated enough to leave viewer pretty confused at some points. But not for long, usually the explanation follows, but first we get the solution. Everything seems to work backwards in this drama and I have to admit, I loved it a lot.

And the soundtrack. I’ll be lying if I said I wasn’t listening to it while writing this review. It just fits the series so much, is completely unique and nicely compliments the climate of the story.

This is one of those dramas that I’d love to rewatch. Partially to get back to some motives that I cannot recall how they’ve ended. But mostly to see the events with the knowledge that we get in the last episodes. Since nothing is just a coincident every choice that characters made matters. Everything just fits together so nicely. I’m in awe with the script, honestly.

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Lara Croft meets Tony Stark

Let me tell you how crazy this drama is.
Mind Boggling.
Which is to be expected of science fiction, but still I digress. Let me elaborate.

Why you should watch:
1)The Characters
So we have the main girl who is bad ass in the best way. She has the heart and she has her guns. She fights and she can be snarky. Also she makes the funniest expression. Park Shin Hye nailed this role.
Now the main guy is basically a downgrade from Tony stark, but much more funnier and relaxed. Brilliant, genius, narcissistic, but not cruel, funny, charming, and somewhat socially awkward. I never knew the actor for this one, but he absolutely killed it. I laughed with him and my cold heartstring tugged at his emotional scenes.
We also have a villain who is tragically layered and side characters with their own emotional baggage. I enjoyed the characters, though I can think of two who I absolutely hated but that was because they worked so annoyingly well against the heroes.

2)The Plot
Hmm, it is a sci fi so a lot of logic must be suspended when watching. Especially in the beginning episodes. I think initially so many things just seem borderline ridiculous and filled with plot holes. Eventually though, things actually do get explained along the way so all the ridiculous and contrived plots actually turned out to be ...real plots. You will get it towards the end. But main thing is, it is interesting enough to keep you guessing for every episode. Literally you will have no idea what's going to happen next.

3)Chemistry
This show is about so many different kinds of love, which is really its main selling point. You have the father daughter bond (which is just lovely and kickass), you have the brotherly love (which is beautifully heartbreaking) and then you have the main romance which is honestly my favorite part of the show. The chemistry is real, and it is just so well done because it is nicely layered. You actually see them start to fall for each other and you believe it when the stakes are high in the end, because you know just how much they love each other and the extent they go for each other.

4)Breathtaking scenes
The scenes are just so incredibly beautiful. The lighting, the dystopian world, I mean everything. It was very well made.

5)It has everything
It does. This drama has action, adventure, mystery, science fiction, time travel, romance, family love, tragedy, comedy. It's all my favorite genres bundled in one and though some work and others don't, it ends up being quite enjoyable.

What the potential drawbacks are:
1) Can be draggy
Some scenes are just unnecessarily long. Or maybe I'm just not an action person so I felt the show dragged in some long action scenes though it was nicely done. There are also moments where the main female lead takes her time wandering around some places which could have been shortened.

2)CGI is....not the best
Honestly some scenes (especially the beginning) are just so ...... bad. Like laughable bad. But if you can ignore it them and allow yourself to suspend some logic, you will find yourself enjoying this a lot.

3)The Science-y Stuff
Okay I got lost somewhere in the end. Trying to figure out what exactly, how exactly and just....what? Though there is some kind of rule they use that makes sense, the drama ends up piling different possibilities together that it just end up confusing . Or maybe I missed it because I tend to zone out anything too science-y related.

4)The Directing
The plot is amazing. The cast is amazing. This show could have been phenomenal if it had better directing and execution. That's my only gripe. So much potentially which kind of withered away because of some not so great directing choices.

Overall I highly recommend this one. Some episodes where better than others for sure, but I enjoyed the whole experience and its unpredictability. Just don't watch it for the logic. Watch it for the entertainment and you will get it and more.

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Time Travel, Mystery, and a heartwarming ending.

I didn't watch any Korean drama before this on time travel. But from the start, I really enjoyed it. I wait every week to just watch this drama. From the beginning, you knew that the story is quite different.
As the story proceeds, there are things that don't make sense but believe me you don't care to know anything about it.
And the ending, I mean the last episode is the most unpredictable episode of the series. It has a beautiful ending.
From the start, I had one important question, " how the story of ML and FL, wraps up?". Because if you watch the first few episodes you know one thing for sure that the ending wouldn't be happy. However, one of them dies, or the girl goes back to its timeline. Or moreover, they meet in different timelines often. But the ending today that I watched is totally the opposite. I mean wow, it's heartwarming, yet it broke your heart how they both get to reunite after completing their mission to save the world.
It's a drama worth watching.

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Sisyphus is the type of drama where you have to stick with it a bit before you're truly invested. You should go into it with an open mind. There were a lot of "plot holes" or things that were unrealistic but they ended up being explained in episodes 15/16. There are still plot holes but its impossible to include time travel in a show and not have plot holes. One of my favorite things about this drama is the messages it sent. I don't want this review to have spoilers so I won't get into too many details but one reoccurring theme is neglect. Seeing someone in a helpless state and neglecting them. It shone a light on the cold reality of out world. Regret was another reoccurring theme. Humans go back in time to fix their regrets but why make decisions you're going to regret and then go out of your way to fix those regrets. I'm not a big fan of "fate" but I liked they way they presented the concept in Sisyphus. Some of the criticism the drama faced regarded its CGI and it's a fair criticism as it could use improvement in some scenes (some scenes it was fine) but those scenes were such a small portion of the drama and didn't affect the viewing too much. I liked this drama because of the fascinating story that draws you in, it's captivating characters, and of course, the messages it sent.

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A Beginning and an Ending

In the weirdest of ways, I appreciated the ending a lot more than I thought I would, especially since it was unexpected, and as it unfolded, it made total sense. In that only in Han Tae Sul's death would everything be resolved, especially for the future. I admired Han Tae Sul for sacrificing himself in the present for a better future, not just for himself but for all those he cared about, and especially for Kang Seo Hae. The storyline that didn't work for me at all was Sigma. Things started going haywire from the moment he was introduced. Everything about him was totally insipid; even his manipulation or attempts at manipulation, should I say of the Bureau, Seung-bok, Sun, Han Tae Sul, and everyone and everything in between didn't feel as well-grounded as it should've been for a villain of his magnitude. I mean, he is the guy who brings about the end of the world, yet I couldn't take him seriously.

The other biggest failures aside from Sigma for me were Seo Jin and Seung Bok, as prominent as they were at the beginning of the drama as non-existent towards the end; I almost forgot about them that when they reappeared, I just wasn't interested nor did I care. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even sure what roles they continued to play even when Seung Bok threatens Tae Sul and Seo Hae at the end rather than menacing, it felt contrived, and his reasoning, the age-old jealousy felt so uninteresting. The villains in this drama did, however, have one thing in common the intensely personal feeling of inadequacy and hate towards Han Tae Sul for being their total opposite.

As I said, I didn't expect a glamorous ending, but I was pleasantly surprised, not that it was glamorous, but it was indeed interesting. I give it to the writer and director. I liked the last 10 minutes of the finale and wished the show had spent more time reflecting on that rather than on Sigma and his self-pitying, hate, narcissism, jealousy, egotism, obsession, and doubt. I doubted we would get a meaningful ending, but we did -- once we get to self-interpret an ending of our liking. In the end, this was nothing more than a love story.

I love the first half of this drama, but towards the second half of this drama, I started getting this feeling that Sisyphus failed me somehow, but then I probably failed it too for not fully grasping its storytelling. I do, however, fully appreciate the acting, especially Jo Seung Woo as Han Tae Sul, Park Shin Hye as Kang Seo Hae, and Sung Dong-II as CEO Park and Sung Dong-II in particular. He was piercing in the role of a broker torn by his past self's emotional indulgences and his present self waiting, pinning to save those who matter to him most yet at the same time failing to recognize they were with him all along. I will miss Jo Seung Woo and hope the next time I see him in a drama, it will be Stranger 3.

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#SisyphusTheMyth The Best Drama of 2021

Never before have I been so much invested in a drama as I did for #SisyphusTheMyth. Everything was just awesome from the story, the story-telling, the acting, the ost and cinematography. However, this drama is for those who want to use their brain cells to work as it should be used. The exhilarating feeling of following scenes after scenes and quite fast too mind you, keep our adrenalin fired up and anxious on what's coming to be presented next. And this kind of feelings stay with the viewers until the last minute of its final episode. I fully recommend this drama to anybody who are adventurous in minds and thoughts. It has all the genre that you can imagine : scific, action, family, romance, friendship, thriller, etc, STM has it all. Its a10/10 for me .

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