King the Land (2023)

this is how you need to behave in a love relationship

for me the value of a show comes from its entertainment level. as long as I feel satisfied when watching it, I'll score it well. this show is a very light romantic story. that means no deep thoughts, no deep script, no deep character development. so much it's frustrating sometimes. but it's light and refreshing. most of all, the relationship between the 2ML is very cute. really, the writer did a very good job on this. their first kiss is also now my favorite of all time!

which leads me to the cons: the story is too lightly explored to be catching. you'll find it easy to stop and you'll probably WANT to stop sometimes out of frustration or disappointment. just do it and come back when you miss it. it's also easy to dive back in. I managed to watch it in between other shows and that was the perfect match.
there is too much short cuts and some essential info about the plot are not even revealed. some characters just disappear without reason or explanation. this is very poorly finished. (details with spoilers in comments)

when to watch: if you have nothing else to watch, or if you are bored, this is a perfect romantic story to keep your mood light. keep it as a filler between the shows you are currently watching. have fun!

Lire davantage

Competent Jekel and Hyde slow burn rom com?

I have mixed feelings about this drama, but in my assessment 7 would be a fair score. The production is top notch, amazing locations, props and costumes. The story isn't really treading any new ground, but it is competently done. The acting is competent as well; the comedy is hit and miss. Usually after two episodes one knows if it is going to be good, but this one has many threads in which it could go towards, I can't confidently speak on the subplots. Depending on the direction the author takes it will be hit or miss.

It's not a bad drama by any sense of the word. It is not trying to take any risks either. The supporting cast might be too large, and many subplots might remain undeserved. In short, this is a chill drama to watch with someone, or some people. It will be bland for experienced drama watchers. It will be fun for those new to the genre. The strongest bit of writing thus far is in the comedy. I like understated irony as the basis of comedy.

Lire davantage

A try-hard that misses

Dropped it after 1st ep.

What I liked about it:
—of all the kdramas I've watched thus far, this is one of the few that has the languages downpat. I was impressed with Sa Rang's Mandarin and English, and Gu Won's English was good too. This added truth to the reality the show tries to portray with the different countries at play.

Things that turned me off:
— obvious Euro-centrism with "we are so rich that we are overlords to white ppl in their own lands". Did they need to juxtapose their wealth against westerners to make their point? Rather smacks of insecurity and overcompensation. Was a very cringeworthy scene, to say the least
— parallel of Gu Won receiving a bouquet on his graduation and Sa Rang receiving it from her beau, as though her greatest culmination was the attentions of a man whilst his, the attainment of higher education. Real warped idea of female empowerment that clues me in on the values of this show.
— despite the above, the thing that made me decide to discontinue with this show was watching Sa Rang try to get Gu Won's attention by speeding him off the treadmill. Not quite sure what the writers had in mind but in which planet is this harmful behaviour, that can potentially kill someone, actually acceptable? Just watching the show continue on after that and Gu Won stand up and brush it off was watching a gaslighting exercise in its own right. This behaviour is not acceptable and normal and garnered me zero sympathies for the female protag from that moment on and because I have zero emotional investment in any of the characters I won't be watching the rest of this series.

Lire davantage

Can we just move past this?

It's been a while since I watched such a boring starter episode in a drama. Most of waht is shown in the flashbak is just a big waste of time and it takes the majority of the episode. I don't care about any of the charcaters and the pacing is bad.

Nevertheless, the score I'm giving here it's mainly for the tropes in this drama. Idon't mind cliché in romance, but there are certain things that need to be approached in a new and more refreshing way in need to work, while others should just be left behind. I like Junho as an actor, but his character is so bland. Of course, it's just the first episode, but in one hour there was nothing appealing in the way the character was written or acted. There's no depth besides brooding CEO.

The female lead is ok, but not good enough to make me want to stay, Look, another woman who is poor but is fighting for her dream and in the end gets the job she is definitely not qualified for! Her friendship with the other girls is cute, but that's about it.

What pissed me off the most was the depiction of the male lead's sister. I felt the drama was trying to set her up as villain, although I don't understand why exactly? I guess South Korea just loves to put down strong, independent womem. This woman has been running the family business successfully for years, but sure, let's put the man who has no experience in this type of business whatsoever and got fired as an intern on his first day to compete against her and probably take over the company for reasons. And we are supposed to root for him because he is a man! And he is hot! Please, just spare me. I'm sure the drama is going to try to justify making the sister a villain in order for us to root for the male lead, but I just don't care. Like please, let's just stop demonizing women in positions of power.

I just think we have evolved as a society enough in order to leave these certain tropes in the past. King the Land simply doesn't bring anything interesting to the table in order for these clichés to feel fun, it's just boring and the bare minimum.

Lire davantage