Serenade of Peaceful Joy is an odd title for a drama that deals primarily with an emperor and the reforms he attempts during the Song dynasty. I like the emperor when he is governing but hate him when he’s dealing with his personal life, including the way he treats his empress and concubines. He’s not mean to them but he unintentionally hurts them because he’s basically clueless. It’s especially crushing to see the empress change from a cheerful, smart, opinionated girl trained in martial arts and swordfighting to a repressed, uptight, and infinitely sad woman. Not much joy there. Not very peaceful either. It should have been called Elegy of Endless Melancholy.

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First the positives: Shin Hye Sun is a great actor, many of the scenes were beautifully staged and shot, and the premise was interesting.

Unfortunately, my list of negatives is much longer. I felt that the promising premise was squandered by big gaps in the writing and poor execution. For example, I had trouble believing that the ML would fall as quickly as he did for a FL who stalked him and said very strange things, instead of scurrying away as fast as he could on those long legs of his. Ahn Bo Hyung did a good job when the drama required him to act emotionally frozen. Except that he pretty much did that thoughout. I thought that the child actors were very good but I struggled to believe that the leads had fallen deeply in love when children. I blame the writing for that. The whole car crash subplot fizzled, primarily because it required one to believe that characters would react in implausible ways. The ending had more gaps and, “Wait, how can that be … ?” than the average drama.

I think that the drama was ruined by poor writing.

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I felt like this drama never became too predictable. I liked the fact that the villains were sympathetic (well, except for Hosung, whose pretty face I wanted to punch (haha) by the end). Yes, there were legal bloopers but they weren’t so distracting that I couldn’t shrug and get past them. Most of all, I liked the point counterpoint as everyone tried to manipulate and out-maneuver everyone else. I sometimes feel like I’m losing brain cells while watching some Korean romantic comedies. With Punch though, I think that I had a net gain in brain cells because I was also trying to figure out Jung Hwan’s next move.

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Is it just me or is there something unsettling about the whole setup? L (Kim Myung Soo) plays a character who alternates between being a cat, who lives with the female lead, including watching her dress and undress and sleeping beside her (ewwww) and a guy who falls in love with her and with whom she falls in love without knowing he’s a cat. I feel no chemistry between the two human leads so the romance seems strange rather than charming. Every character behaves irrationally. L’s acting leaves a lot to be desired. I know he’s supposed to be a cat-like human but the actual cat is a much much better actor. I preferred the second lead Jae Soon. And I don’t feel the secondary romance between the two co-workers at all.

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The long, drawn out romantic moments between the two leads are, well, too long and drawn out. Gah. If they show one more sweet moment between those two, I’m going to go into diabetic shock. They keep gazing at each other with such sappy puppy dog eyes that I can’t believe that the whole country, let alone the rather obtuse palace dwellers haven’t figured it out. You know it’s bad when you think that Kim Yoon Sung killing a bunch of people is much more romantic than the Crown Prince declaring undying love (over and over and over) for the I-can’t-believe-no one-has-figured-out-that-she-is-a-he leading lady.

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I fast forwarded through this one a lot. Jung Kyung Ho is one of my favorite Korean actors but this drama is a mess. Is it a commentary about Korea’s class divides and rich parents and their precious children, with their associated pressures and competitiveness? a star teacher’s journey back from a stressful and isolated existence? a murder mystery? I wouldn’t have a problem with it being all of the above, if the writer had done a better job of pulling it all together or making many of the side characters more than one-note caricatures. I assume it’s also supposed to be a romance because, well, the word “Romance” is in the title, after all. But there is little romantic spark. Nam Haeng-seon comes across more like Chi-Yeol’s older sister than a possible object of his desire. Plus I really really hate how she treats her brother. Finally, why do many Korean romcoms have serial killers lurking in them? Is it an attempt to add dramatic tension to poorly written fluff?

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Many things bothered me about this drama, not the least of which was the Jang Se Mi character, who came across as predatory and creepy. I’ve never liked the drama trope that indicates that it’s a sign of true love when someone ignores a person’s NO and instead aggressively pursues that person (e.g., Secret Garden). Jang Se Mi was particularly problematic because she got too close when the object of her affection was sleeping or impaired or physically weak. I did wonder at one point whether the writer was tryng to play to homophobic fears. In addition, all of the other love lines came off as more crude and tawdry and less romance and roses to me.

The writing seemed so off that I looked up the screenwriter Im Sung Han.

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I probably would not recommend this drama. Part of the problem is Deng En Xi's acting. She plays the Female Lead, who is supposed to be a brilliant detective, but there’s something about Deng En Xi’s wide eyes and static face that seem to undercut the supposedly brilliant deductions she makes. She also sometimes comes across as pouty, particularly towards the end. Ding Yu Xi fares better as male lead Shen Du, although his character’s noble idiocy is particularly idiotic in this drama and the resolution is also idiotic, thus coming full circle. The drama trundles along improbably but adequately up until around Episode 34, when the wheels finally come off the train and the drama goes off the rails. I had some hope for Mao Zi Jun’s evil character until he caught the crazy (derailing) train. The costumes are great but everybody’s excessive makeup and hairstyles are distracting.

Was there anything of note about the drama? Well, Ding Yu Xi has one of those faces that glows with an almost ethereal beauty in one scene then looks doughy and pudgy in another. How does he do that.

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If you’re looking for an epic, heart-wrenching Bromance, this is it. I’d go even further and say that this drama is primarily about loyalty and love between two very charismatic men. Although there are female characters and hints at possible romances, the women are secondary to the romance between the two main characters, as well as many of the other men.

There were a couple of times when I thought the drama dragged a bit and it could be a little confusing, especially when it jumped back and forth in time and when the characters discussed other people (hint: learn everyone’s name). The CGI was not great nor am I a big fan of zombie-type dramas so I did roll my eyes at some of the over-the-top fight scenes with the CGI creatures. And there was one scene near the end involving Dimples where Monty Python and the Holy Grail kept running through my head: “It's just a flesh wound.” But other scenes made me feel like crying into my coffee. And I thought that the ending was perfect.

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