Drama Fumbles

What it Should have Been: An intrepid female PD fuelled by her need to understand her parents disappearance 20 years ago, partners with a 1000 year old gumiho to explore Korean shamanism and its disappearing deities.

Imagine if this drama had leaned in the direction of a X-Files style exploration of Korean shamanism and ditched the romance / sibling rivalry.

What it should have been: A hot-shot CEO becomes obsessed with an augmented-reality video game, and slowly loses his grip on reality. No romance needed.

What it should have been: A 600 year old+ immortal being, weary and isolated, battles to maintain the last shreds of his humanity while trying to prevent a tragedy from reoccurring.

Imagine if this had ditched the romance and the reincarnated lovers storyline and instead focused on a weary immortal fighting to maintain his humanity.

What it should have been: An atypical romance with heavy, constantly shifting power dynamic, wherein the FL comes to atone for her past as a ruthless assassin and the ML comes to understand the root of his abandonment issues.

Imagine if the drama had ditched much of the boring ensemble cast on focus on the master-pupil/master-servant relationship.

What it should have been: Imagine if the show had ditched much of the makjang Skycastle subplot and made a greater case for a love story between a teacher and her former pupil (with the ML respecting the FL's boundaries).

What it should have been: A poignant depiction of the struggles of young Koreans under the Japanese occupation, the friendships and betrayals that occur. Drop the modern reincarnation of the 3 characters.

What it should have been: A poignant look at former activists who taken different directions in adulthood. The show boasted an array of talented senior actors who could have sunk their teeth into a story around  former progressives turned cynical and conservative in their old age.  

Will miss the cuteness of Ji Chang Wook/Park Min Young, but their storyline was ultimately  run-of-the-mill

What it should have been:  A sociopath who's loving to his family, but ruthless with everyone else. Kdramas don't seem to ever want to depict  their leads as anti-heroes, but it would have made for a delicious watch. 

What it should have been: A funny show with a dark bite.

What it should have been: It should have explored the Korean art world, and the inherent conflict between the appreciation for beauty but the commercial needs of its owners.

What it should have been: Rather than telling me (repeatedly, and through the mouth of a particularly wooden lead), the writers could have shown why their love was all consuming enough to warrant a double suicide.

What it should have been: The first two episodes were perfect. Drama should have continued in that vein.

What it should have been: Another drama that lost its spark after the first two episodes. It should have leaned into the ambiguity of whether the FL had seen UFOs, and kept on exploring how our minds can trip us up. There are already a number of excellent dramas about cults, this drama did not need to go down that route.