Explore what a life worth living is while diving into the world of various social issues.

⚠️ SLIGHT Spoilers ⚠️

// Intro //

At first, "Death's Game" literally felt more like a fever dream than anything else. I wasn't entirely sure where it was headed, and nor did the producers I presume, until the last few episodes, when the plot, characters, and ideas all merged and the message of this show truly began to crystallize.

// Story //

Enter Choi Yee Jae. Exposition of the world he lives in, the people around him, and the issues he deals with are basic yet well-done, but it is entirely the development of the rest of the show that really sets it apart. This is not any cozy drama that you cuddle up to watch; it's a thoroughly intense yet thrilling drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting for more and more of each reincarnation, even though you're aware of the fact that each life Yee Jae moves through must come to an end.

Initially, the lingering feelings from the end of a ruined life spill over into his initial actions, but as he cycles through each life, Yee Jae must learn a lesson. After all, why did Death even choose to sentence him to such a cruel game? Early on, Yee Jae is the personification of human greed and egocentrism, and that becomes painstakingly obvious as he cycles through each life and fails to understand what lesson he should even be learning from the pain he goes through until the very last reincarnation.

A major takeaway of this show is definitely the issues that it sheds light on, including school bullying, corporate corruption, and I could keep listing things, but what lies at the heart of the show is, as the name suggests, the concept of death. Whether or not you choose the death of your life, one thing that is made clear is that you should never come to approach death before it comes to approach you. This very lesson is weaved tightly even into the rules of the very game Yee Jae plays. However, I found the implications of such a rule to be almost unfair in a certain way, especially to people at risk of suicide—a similar message to that of the show "Tomorrow".

And eventually, I came to the realization that this is a lesson that undermines the struggles and helplessness that suicidal people go through in their life. Even though suicidal people may have loved ones surrounding them, what about those that don't? The show tried to preach with religious undertones that almost felt like proselytization, and I don't think that this should be the underpinning of a show for the general masses. Another user pointed out that it would've been more valuable to let Yee Jae discover the true values of life, like, for example, how he may be able to reach self-actualization according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which could've been a far more satisfying ending than the constant droning that his act was "selfish"; he himself was suffering, so how could Death undermine his own suffering by forcing him to experience that of others!

The show wrongly tries to generalize the final message that suicide is wrong because it affects your loved ones to all suicidal people, when in reality this is most definitely not the case, with many having no loved ones at all. The juxtaposition of a flawed lesson with superb everything else, like the cast, production, etc. leaves me confused as to how to rate this drama, and this ended up making me give it a 6, solely due to the lack of an ethical message.

// Cast //

Needless to say, this was one of the most star-studded casts of all time. To be exhaustive in the list, we had our favorite 꽃미남들 including but not limited to Lee Do Hyun, Lee Jae Wook, and Yoo In Soo, favorite 아저씨들 Kim Jae Wook, Kim Won Hae, Oh Jung Se, and Jeong Hee Tae, favorite 아줌마 Kim Mi Gyung, and many other duly appreciated appearances like 우리 애기들 Kim Kang Hoon and Oh Ji Yul, our queen Go Youn Jung, and very unexpected appearance by Super Junior's Choi Si Won. Most of their appearances were short-lived and fleeting, but each and every actor, as expected, put on their best show for this show. Not a complete K-drama afficionado myself, but I wonder how they managed to get all these splendid actors.

Lire davantage

a confusing tale of music with the right intentions at its heart

TW // MILD profanity, GENEROUS spoilers

welcome to the world of 한강 philharmonic orchestra; a wonderfully chaotic sh*tshow of intertwined lovers, power dynamics, and confusing developments that make you question what the show wants you to take away.

inherently, the show isn’t all too creative, with the main character being a korean that decides to suddenly repatriate and reconnect with their roots, but it desires to convey an endearing tale centered around the beating heart that is classical music.

however, no matter how hard they tried, i simply could not get over the fact that nearly every rendition of the orchestra was MIDI; even someone with just a little bit of musical experience would easily be able to point out the artificiality of all music played by the orchestra actors, let alone the alignment of their movements to the actual sounds—though, of course, given that one is a bit more experienced in the technicality of such instruments. the only believable thing, albeit admittedly, due to the ease of imitation, was the conductor’s movements and actions. all in all, it was a major turn-off to the show which i really tried my best to ignore.

another red flag is BOTH the male leads… both are snarky and flawed, with one (영재) being outwardly so while the other one (필) becomes as such when revealing his true colors. NEITHER seem to find a way to fix themselves, and 필 gets punished for, seemingly, NOT being that way earlier, whereas 영재 seemingly gets REWARDED for it—it’s hinted that 세음 FALLS for him. yeah, FALLING FOR HIM, a WALKING RED FLAG… girl i would NEVER let that fly were i in any way, shape, or form close to her. instead, the show seemingly praises 영재’s inability to get over her, which, erroneously, pushes the narrative that it’s OK for men to NOT get over their ex-es, and to go as far as taking OVER their lives and PROTECTING them instead of letting them even try to do so themselves, resulting in them swooning for them.

one other major issue i have is that the plot seemingly goes nowhere. we want the orchestra to develop, but it takes painstakingly long for any progression whatsoever within them. all it seems to be is 세음 literally screaming, venting, or projecting on the members, giving them horribly difficult and/or gratuitous tasks, and the members collectively gossipping back, including, interestingly, the old concertmaster as well. these are the major things i’ve mentioned that i dislike about the show, but others are the seemingly unrelated case of 봉주 and his related plothole; where is he and why has nothing been said about his removal? again, what was the point of over-punishing 필, but more relatedly, why is his and 아진’s relationship dragged out for so long just to be taken down? where in the world does luna play into the orchestra as a child genius, and what is she meant to accomplish? you may find answers while watching, but there’s not really many you can give other than that the producers just pulled plot devices out of their a**es to give some filler content while eventually halfheartedly developing answers to these questions.

however, i will admit that the show does have its merits. the one thing that truly shines through is 세음. i truly stood for her endurance and mental tenacity through times of distress and her witty maneuvers—especially her courageous, even audacious, public acknowledgment of her disease, the most satisfying 1-up she scored on 필—and her sheer skill and level of rigor. i truly feel that she carried the show on her back; kudos to her actor 이영애 (she looks disconcertingly reminiscent of 김헤수). in fact, i feel that all of the actors brought about quite a good performance, as they developed the ambience, however annoying or inadequate as written, that conveyed the messages the show intended to convey, at least, to the extent that the writing allowed for.

i’m not saying you should avoid this show, though. if you’re not an avid music enjoyer, or are an avid music enthusiast and can bear MIDI, and are looking for something to get you out of a slump, this show would be a great fit. it’s terrible to binge, so one episode a day will you keep on the edge for the next, as the ending scenes are, admittedly, compelling, and 세음’s stellar performance will keep you coming back for more of her, if nothing else and all else fails. personally, i couldn’t keep watching whole episodes after episode 6 after over a week of back-and-forth watching of the show.

edit: after completing the show, i loved the seat-gripping twists at the end, which, i would say, are worth living through the show for, meriting a 1 star increase overall.

Lire davantage