Elena
I will be harsh but honest here.
First, let me say i'm very disappointed in the MDL users' judgement. They will trash some excellent dramas but then rate highly the very average ones. I'm sorry, but i have to say, i'm glad that the MDL doesn't set a standard for the Korean dramas, and the MDL users' takes are not being considered when making the dramas, not to mention that what many people here seem to think the "Westernization" means is actually a creative freedom and a less conservative approach to the m/f dynamics which is ridiculous. If i see one more comment saying that they don't want the international streaming services to make Kdramas less "pure", i will explode. But then the same people will demand that Kdramas have less romance which is exactly what the Western series are lacking. This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with this particular drama, but i just had to say this somewhere.
Moving on, i have lots of complaints regarding this drama. If i were to summarize my point, i'd say that this drama is too focused on telling its' audiences that it is good, without actually trying to be good. It takes itself too seriously but never takes any risks or makes any bold choices. Which is a pity, because this drama had a great potential but it got wasted because approach was bad and i fully blame the director.
The first episode felt very "grand" and larger than life but then it continued like your regular Goblin knock-off fantasy drama. The pacing was bad, not because it was slow, but because it felt like the storyline was going nowhere. It felt tiring (you know how HBO's Euphoria is very exhausting, but it's intentional, because we are supposed to be exhausted by these characters, the intentionality matters). There were too many flashbacks. I'm usually against the usage of them because just like the laugh tracks, they look down on the audiences' intelligence and mostly feel out of place.
The story felt empty and unsubstantial. I love a good enemies to lovers story, this is my favorite trope ever, but in this case, the range and hostility felt too one sided. Initially, i mostly felt protectiveness over the FL against ML because she felt too helpless. She didn't reciprocate his energy in a satisfying way. The director did not manage to communicate their special bond to me. And in my opinion, it would have been a lot bolder and more interesting if FL's past life actually was a bad guy who had a grudge against ML's past life (which is what i thought was going on).
The standard for the famale characters of Kdramas is higher than it has ever been, but unfortunately, this FL felt like she belonged to the older dramas. There was nothing distinguishing about her. Yes, the same goes with ML. I believe both Lee Jin Wook and Kwon Na Ra are the good actors (Lee Jin Wook was great in Sweet Home), but they did not bring the characters to life and again, i mostly blame the director and the writer.
Overall, no character was truly well-rounded and no dynamic had a truly captivating chemistry.
Okay, moving on to the good parts. Man, oh man. There are the average actors and there are the good actors, but then there are the great actors and Lee Joon is one of them. Believe me when i tell you i had a wide grin each time he came on screen because his acting was something redeeming about this drama. Not just redeeming but great. Even his voice acting alone felt more masterful and skilled than the acting of the rest of the cast and i'd say it takes a great talent to be this good when your director and the script are "meh". I really hope he will take up the great roles from now on, in more well-made projects where his talent could be fully utilized. Lee Joon is great in the roles of psychos so i wouldn't mind if he keeps being cast in these roles, since all his villains feel different.
Yeah, i rate this drama - 7, all of its' aspects being somewhere in between the 5-7,5 rating, aside from Lee Joon's acting which is a solid 10.
First, let me say i'm very disappointed in the MDL users' judgement. They will trash some excellent dramas but then rate highly the very average ones. I'm sorry, but i have to say, i'm glad that the MDL doesn't set a standard for the Korean dramas, and the MDL users' takes are not being considered when making the dramas, not to mention that what many people here seem to think the "Westernization" means is actually a creative freedom and a less conservative approach to the m/f dynamics which is ridiculous. If i see one more comment saying that they don't want the international streaming services to make Kdramas less "pure", i will explode. But then the same people will demand that Kdramas have less romance which is exactly what the Western series are lacking. This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with this particular drama, but i just had to say this somewhere.
Moving on, i have lots of complaints regarding this drama. If i were to summarize my point, i'd say that this drama is too focused on telling its' audiences that it is good, without actually trying to be good. It takes itself too seriously but never takes any risks or makes any bold choices. Which is a pity, because this drama had a great potential but it got wasted because approach was bad and i fully blame the director.
The first episode felt very "grand" and larger than life but then it continued like your regular Goblin knock-off fantasy drama. The pacing was bad, not because it was slow, but because it felt like the storyline was going nowhere. It felt tiring (you know how HBO's Euphoria is very exhausting, but it's intentional, because we are supposed to be exhausted by these characters, the intentionality matters). There were too many flashbacks. I'm usually against the usage of them because just like the laugh tracks, they look down on the audiences' intelligence and mostly feel out of place.
The story felt empty and unsubstantial. I love a good enemies to lovers story, this is my favorite trope ever, but in this case, the range and hostility felt too one sided. Initially, i mostly felt protectiveness over the FL against ML because she felt too helpless. She didn't reciprocate his energy in a satisfying way. The director did not manage to communicate their special bond to me. And in my opinion, it would have been a lot bolder and more interesting if FL's past life actually was a bad guy who had a grudge against ML's past life (which is what i thought was going on).
The standard for the famale characters of Kdramas is higher than it has ever been, but unfortunately, this FL felt like she belonged to the older dramas. There was nothing distinguishing about her. Yes, the same goes with ML. I believe both Lee Jin Wook and Kwon Na Ra are the good actors (Lee Jin Wook was great in Sweet Home), but they did not bring the characters to life and again, i mostly blame the director and the writer.
Overall, no character was truly well-rounded and no dynamic had a truly captivating chemistry.
Okay, moving on to the good parts. Man, oh man. There are the average actors and there are the good actors, but then there are the great actors and Lee Joon is one of them. Believe me when i tell you i had a wide grin each time he came on screen because his acting was something redeeming about this drama. Not just redeeming but great. Even his voice acting alone felt more masterful and skilled than the acting of the rest of the cast and i'd say it takes a great talent to be this good when your director and the script are "meh". I really hope he will take up the great roles from now on, in more well-made projects where his talent could be fully utilized. Lee Joon is great in the roles of psychos so i wouldn't mind if he keeps being cast in these roles, since all his villains feel different.
Yeah, i rate this drama - 7, all of its' aspects being somewhere in between the 5-7,5 rating, aside from Lee Joon's acting which is a solid 10.
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