Forced chemistry but good story

Gyeonseong creature takes us back to one of the hardest and struggling phase of Korean history and mixed it with an appealing sci-fi plot and created a perfect recipe for mass entertainment. ( Read summary for plot you will get the basic idea) From cinematography to cast everything is well thought and I am sure it was something that people who are sucker for some more 'stranger things' and 'sweet home' would like to watch.
First episode started with a bang especially the opening that already set the tone for the drama and you will find yourself at the edge of your seat from the suspense and the horrifying things that the army was doing to create their biological weapons and the tension between the two countries and then we are introduced to our main leads. FL: Cold, bold and have a mysterious aura. ML- Typical perfect, rich, know it all character but obviously with a difficult past. I love both of them however the more I loved their scenes separately I did not find myself feeling any chemistry between them whenever they were together. Even in the first meeting, that chemistry building looked very forced ( some people might not agree with me). That slow motion scene just took me out of a perfect action moment that was going so well. ( very typical Kdrama scene). I do not know why but ML is one of my favourite actors but here I just couldn't feel anything for his character same goes for FL. Like I really couldn't connect with his or her character throughout. I had nothing to watch so I continued watching it. I don't think this show needed romance arc but it garners more audience with that subject matter so why not... anyways that is just my opinion. The creature created good suspense in the beginning but the moment they showed it...it wasn't really that much frightening tbh. The mother and daughter arc was really good though and I really enjoyed the performance of all the side characters . And they could have explored their characters a lot more but they remained just side characters. There will be a second season and it remains to be seen how it will turn out. Overall it was a good drama no doubt but predictable after some time. Not much for a re-watch but yes definitely a one time watch for sure.

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My journey to you in S...L...O...W M...O...T...I...O...N

The drama looked pretty intriguing from the story. It started off with a bang which looked pretty promising then it began to drag in the middle, then accelerated all the way towards the end and finally stopped dead in the end. (That's the gist of the drama).
All the things that I loved about the drama in the beginning began to irk me towards the end. One such example is the aesthetics. It was really gorgeous to look at the mesmerizing natural scenes now and then but they did it way too much that I began to skip them. Another example is slow motion, that is the biggest problem in this drama. It was good at first in some scenes but they were walking in slow-mo, running in slow-mo, drinking in slow-mo, fighting in slow-mo, talking in slow-mo and explaining things in slow-mo...tbh I had to watch all that in 2x many times. (I have never seen a bad guy explaining his plans for more than half an hour and that too so damn slowly that I even lost interest in the middle of his conversation. The closeup scenes for instance began to look funny because they did it way too much especially during the fight scenes which, by the way, showed really good choreography, began to look fake. It looked they were posing with a sword for some photoshoot.
The main leads for me were the least interesting couple (I just did not feel anything for them. They were good in separate scenes but whenever they were together it felt .... boring.) Even the side characters were far interesting than them. The sister was hilarious (there was overacting but still in all the chaos she was the one who made me laugh). I loved yound elders and felt more connected to their stories than the leads. Plot wise it was really interesting but due to some reasons it looked the writers were justifying ML's every action right no matter how stupid it was. The interaction of two brothers and sister-in-law was something I enjoyed a lot. I felt more connected to young elders like Xue and Hua despite less screen time than anyone in the drama even the assassin mentor Hanyesi made me cry. It had great visuals, beautiful actors, well acted suspenseful story and good songs but it lacked chemistry ( FL had more chemistry with her mentor despite few scenes, two brothers had more chemistry than second leads) and sense at times. Plus the ending which wasn't even an open ending tbh. I wonder if there will be a season 2? (So many loose ends).
All I can say in the end is that it was a good one time watch.

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Most realistic modern Cdrama

I am sure now, if Leowu chooses a drama it is going to be great without any doubt. His acting is so realistic and mature despite his age surprises me at times but given he was working in this field since his childhood days makes sense but what surprised me a lot was acting of FL. I have seen her dramas before but this time it felt so refined. Excluding the tennis bully guy who felt little extra with his character (or maybe his character was written in such a way that it felt little overboard) rest of the cast did an amazing job in the drama.
It has been a while when I last watched a sports drama and enjoyed it thoroughly. The story is pretty simple but you will find yourself engrossed in their struggles to achieve their dreams in their respective feilds. The show is very encouraging and portrays a good deal of struggle faced by women in corporate world without any filter. Office setting looked really realistic for the first time in a Cdrama. However just like any modern drama there is a catch. Whenever FL's stepsister's scenes came into play it went back to the cliche rich guy poor female storyline with the same modern Chinese drama vibe that we are all familiar with. Nevertheless I enjoyed the second lead but if I skip all their scenes I don't think it will have much impact on the main storyline of the drama. I loved the interaction of all the badminton players and their dynamic was superb. I came to enjoy amazing acting of ML but stayed for realistic vibes and encouraging storyline of the drama. The efforts of the actors to portray a realistic sports world and their hardwork is mind-blowing. Special mention for dialogue writers. I loved main couple's interaction so much. At times it felt hilarious but deep in so many ways.
Even if you are a sports drama fan or not I am sure you will enjoy this simple, realistic amd sweet drama just like me.

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How to butcher a good show...

First of all " SLOW CLAPS FOR EDITING"
People giving it full rating while I am still stuck to the episode astonished where everything came to light about ML amd that very episode which was supposed to be the most important one, for which every single viewer was waiting from the beginning...was butchered in such a way that you feel like- " Did I miss something? ". Tbh it felt like I missed many episodes in between due to all that censorship cr*p. Why make a show in the first place with that setting if it will be ruined ultimately.
Sigh* ( Finished ranting)

I loved the starting of the show. The storyline for instance was pretty unique. A dowager falling for eunuch and the revenge plot. Though it didn't come as a surprise for many of us...but they didn't really hide ML's true identity for long. I was really hoping for few twists but... Anyways it was pretty obvious from the get go. I loved the way Dylan portrays his character. He looks gorgeous but his acting makes the most cringe worthy scenes bearable. FL too was pretty lovely ( she kept reminding me of Bailu a lot probably because of same voice dub artist). She was portrait smart and quick witted unlike many characters we see in historical dramas. ( Though there were moments, where same old cliche of FL ruining the plans in the process of helping ML, were used a lot). Second leads were really good in their characters. Her maid though... She was most annoying one at times but that is just how her character was written?. The actress did really well and she is really cute too. I loved second lead's bickering a lot. Now comes our antagonists. Our double faced emperor was the one who really stood out for me. I mean his acting really deserves applause. Because he really made sure that my blood would boil with his actions ?. He was really good the way he portrays timid yet conniving person in the beginning. The other empress ( she was in LLTG) ...I love her already. I knew she would be good...I just wished she had more screen presence. Storywise it could be really great if they didn't chop many important scenes. It felt I skipped many scenes. All the anticipation that I build for the identity reveal fell so damn flat. I wished they developed their characters a little bit more ( I am no expert) but ML's behaviour changes dramatically the moment he fell in love. Just like many dramas. Revenge becomes secondary for him now that he loves someone. I wished FL could have become his inspiration to develop his character yet it all ended up in a cliched way. There are more episodes to come yet I already feel like I have watched enough. This censorship just ruined the drama for me.
If you wanna watch it for the leads then go for it they did their best but don't expect it to be like Love between fairy and devil or Love like the galaxy. You will be utterly disappointed.

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Waaaay better than expected.

I jumped into this without much expectations tbh but it really surprised me . I started enjoying it more with each episode. So the question is whether one should binge watching this?? Answer: YES YOU SHOULD. If you like light hearted stuff.
The story is pretty simple and the subject matter is something which one might have watched or atleast read somewhere. (In my case I read many mangas with this kind of story ). Here the FL accidentally summons a devil lord not devil tbh a bad guy...umm...not a bad guy either. I mean atleast that's what synopsis says. ( He is not had tbh he is more like a smart dude). Seriously unlike other dramas usually ML would take atleast 4-5 episodes to understand the new reality or adapt to a new world but here my goodness he went straight to a place where he would get all the information he needed. LIBRARY!
Hahaha...and in one day or night he read everything from ancient to modern and understood science and all new discoveries. That's... really impressive. I wish I could have that sort of photographic memory. Sigh*

All the decisions ML takes are really smart he is not just handsome man he is rather connvining at times and knows how to deal with FL in his own ways. FL on the other hand is your nerdy sort of naive girl which could irritate few people at times but I forgive that because the actress really did a great job in portraying her character or maybe that type of role just suits her. She is adorable.
I must point out that all the actors here are really good. There are subtle actions which one can pick up if you are into acting and stuff that they have done remarkable job in portraying their emotions. Not for a moment you will think...yeah that is little extra.

Though this show is little weak in writing but what can one expect different from such a typical storyline. I mean anybody can guess what will happen in the following episodes pretty easily. Another thing that I liked was the second leads though there are some issues with their decision making (probably weak writing again) but they are good actors and unlike other dramas where you will see besties of ML and FL are usually ends up being a thing as if its mandatory. Here SL have no such relationships. One more person need special mention that is FL's mother. My goodness she was gorgeous and I still think she should be FL's sister or something not Mother. But well...
As I said I have certain issues with the writing but what irked me most is the writing for FL. She like a pendulum. At times she is portrayed like a strong athelete and after some time she will be like damsel in distress and the next if the scene requires her to be stronger she will again revert back to her strong self. The FL is oscillating between strong and weak and not sticking to her character which is an athelete atleast she can remove her heal from that crack herself...you will know what I mean if you will watch.
Okay now that I have get it out of my chest...this show on the positive end is pretty enjoyable ( not to nitpick about silly things ). It is fluffy light hearted and you will keep on smiling till the end. And if you are into the dramas with beautiful cast then it will definitely be your cup of tea. Overall I did not get bored watching the show for a single moment at least for now. So go watch it and share your thoughts as well.

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Having a stressful day? Watch this one.

There aren't many shows like this. I can't believe how much I could relate to all the characters in the dorama. We all go through those times when we do some silly things. Sometimes it is funny and sometimes embarassing but we all relate to those clumsy moments. I remember the anime version of this one and to watch Yuta, Dori , Maito (all my favs) portraying these characters is a chef's kiss.
These are about 25-30min. episodes each and you will be smiling ear to ear while watching them. It is pure stress reliever.
I wish I could watch more dramas like that.

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Serious concept but no emotion

First of all the concept of the movie is pretty serious and giving it a low rating doesn't mean anybody takes it lightly. I don't know about the anime or manga from which it was adapted but I really didn't feel any emotions in this one. I didn't connect with any character. Acting wise it was okay...I guess...no one in particular from the main cast striked me as someone I would remember for long... however all the guardians in the movie were really good. I really don't know what kind of situation or pressure one goes through to even decide that this life is not worth living...but if I connect all that to this movie I didn't see anything that would make him take such a step. Or maybe they didn't show as much back story as it needed to connect to the viewers to understand and feel his pain for taking such measures. ML's family didn't look like a family in the first place. Everyone felt awkward around each other. Nobody really talked or behaved like a family member, no matter how estranged, there should be something to make the viewers believe that they were part of a family. Brother doesn't give a damn to explain anything or give more attention, spend more time or anything to ML even after the incident , yet he says he was there it was ML who didn't look. Except for his friend I don't think anyone felt close to ML and her role wasn't much to invest in either. You can give it a try but it was not my cup of tea. It felt it was missing the soul.

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It is everything what we need in a revenge drama.

Song Hye kyo is a queen and she has proven this yet again especially after all those dramas that came before it and she was taunted for her acting. I felt her every emotion in this drama. Her pain, agony, guilt and her efforts to hold back her anger. It was a long journey for her character to achieve what she wanted and unlike many dramas where it all ends with revenge, I loved it that she felt remorse for everything. That makes a difference between a pure evil and a pure hearted human being. I couldn't hold back my tears in which she remembered her past when she was not involved in bullying.

The story continues from where we left and it felt great to see karma hit all those bullies who made her life a living hell. But big applause to all the negative characters of this drama. Their acting was so good that I hated them to the core. It was satisfactory the way it ended. The music was great, cinematography was mesmerizing and as I said acting was top notch even those adorable kids.
Now that I have said all the good things, it's time for all the negative points.

First of all I felt no depth in all the negative characters. They were just pure evil. There was no grey side in them. I could understand if they had some traumatic past that turned them into this kind of people but we don't see anything that could explain their psychotic behaviour. The same goes for the man who killed ML's father. I mean the REASON!!! It was so dumb that I still cannot digest it. If he had some sort of past with him or anything along those lines I could atleast teeny tiny bit understand that behaviour but seriously ?... Correct me if I am wrong but as far as I have read even Psychopaths don't kill someone who tries to save their lives. I dunno perhaps I was expecting little bit more from his story as he looked pretty interesting character and could add extra depth in ML's story. ML's character was fine and pure relief tbh whenever he came on screen it was like a fresh breath in all the dark and emotional mayhem of FL's life.
Another psychotic character was FL's mother. I just can't....sigh. Why just WHY was she so damn annoying. Not an ounce of love towards her very own child. What was the reason? Nothing! She just doesn't care at all. I really thought towards the end she might change. I thought when she will see her scars and all she would change just for once but ...nope no character development.
I didn't see any guilt in any negative character in this drama.
There is one more thing that I found really unnecessary and people might not agree with this. But I really want to point it out because it seems that it has become a trend in many Kdramas to have all those s*x scenes. I just don't see in what manner do they add anything in the storyline. Not that I find it bad or something but I am so tired seeing naked people in most of the western dramas these days already. Coming from an Asian family these kind of scenes are big no if you want to watch shows with your family. I love watching kdramas with my fam and just because of such scenes I just can't do that.

To conclude it all it is definitely one heck of a drama that you would not like to ignore. I am so happy that Song Hye kyo chose this role. She was amazing in this.

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YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS FOR SURE

The drama is pretty simple and family centric and writing too much about it will spoil the fun so I will write some bullet points for this one.
- WELL ACTED: In comedy if actors are not good enough to express the right emotions then all the jokes fall flat pretty easily. All the actors had done a splendid job in the drama. Casting is superb.
-QUIRKY MUSIC: You would not expect such different choice of songs in historical dramas. Songs are really funny especially their lyrics. Suits the tone of comedy genre of the drama for sure.
-HISTORICAL COMEDY: I haven't seen this type of comedy drama in a while. It is very different from all the other shows. Think about all the funny moments actors would go through while shooting for a historical drama. Yup! that is what you will see here.
-FAMILY BOND: Very realistic portrayal of a family despite a comedy show. Everyday struggle, festivities, argument among siblings, mom's scolding, romance, emotional scenes...it has everything.
-ROMANCE: I really liked how they introduced all the male leads. All of them are different but so good with their respected partners that you would enjoy all of their interactions.
-NO BORING MOMENTS: Well it is COMEDY so obviously you won't feel bored even for a second. Even the elders will make you laugh so much. Sibling fights and their mom's constant nagging is really funny throughout the drama. All the misfortunes that male leads go through is really hilarious (I know it sounds wrong but you will get it after watching).
There are some slow scenes but they won't bother you that much.
If you are still hesitating to start this one then I would suggest you to just watch the first episode. You won't be able to stop after that :)

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Who the heck is writing this story

First impression: Very very questionable decisions taken by FL throughout the episodes that makes you wanna question whether the writer was high while writing the story or they think audience is pretty naive to accept it all.
What irked me - being stalked for many years but still you (FL) won't share it with your family.
- No bodyguards even though you can easily afford some help.
- Walking alone on the streets at night despite danger to your life.
- FL doesn't ask police to help her but prefer to go to some secluded place.
- Instead of taking some evidence (like photos) she always leaves the scene and doesn't even confront her husband or friend.
What I liked- It is Jang Na Ra's genre.
- Loved the intensity of the show. Just first episode and everything is like bang boom boom.
- Suspense is really good the moment you think FL has figured out everything then things again go down the drain and everyone is sus again.(despite all those dumb decisions by FL you will be on the edge of your seats.)
- Actors are doing really good. Loving our 'Go back couples reunion.'
- No comments on storyline, too much is happening so it is little confusing to comment on it. Lets see how it will unfold, I have high expectations from Jang Na Ra. Show is watchable so far.
PS: The drama has created a web of twists and turns that it itself got entangled in it badly. Despite having amazing cast the storyline is really very bad. I am contemplating whether I should lose my remaining brain cells trying to understand the plot and continue it or just drop it now or wait till I hear that the plot has progressed well and it was not that bad after all. I doubt the latter though with each passing episode. This show could have been really very great if writers tried to do something different (we are all inundated with same type of plot already) and like sane people instead of justifying questionable decisions of actors, they could have made the story more realistic with some character growth. (sigh)
In conclusion I would suggest people : watch it at your own risk.

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It is always the least anticipated one that does wonders

When everyone was waiting for all the big dramas of the year to finally air and end the wait...all they did were just to disappoint the viewers with mediocre acting or boring script. Excessive CGI and stellar cast cannot save the drama either if the plot isn't going anywhere. And we have been graced with such CDramas for quite some time in the last few months. I really find it interesting that most of the dramas that are not hyped much ends up being the best ones. It was the case for this drama as well.
The story isn't too complex to give you headache but still makes you want to stick till the end and despite having many loopholes here or there you would still be on the edge and wait for the next episode. There is nothing much to nitpick about acting when veteran actors are in the side roles and many of the actors that we already love are in the drama. I was surprised by a few actors who didn't leave much impression on me in their other shows but despite small role they did really very well in this one. The main cast and and their characters reminds me of LLTG a lot. ML is just so Ling Buyi and FL is just like Shaoshang. (If you tone down them a little). I loved all the scheming and bonding of the characters. Though the main lead do not interact a lot (especially in the first half) but when they do it is all sparks. All the subtle expressions and longing eyes are enough to make your heart flutter. Towards the end it feels as if plot was dragged a little bit and the open ending leaves audience with bitter feelings but the special episode make up for it. For CGI: Special mention for the music competition episode- it was little too much but still very beautiful. From music to production design everything is top notch.
Overall it is one of the best dramas of this year which you shouldn't miss at all. I highly recommend this one.

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What a mess!

Ok first of all I had a huge expectation since I found out Seo Yea Ji and Sang Yeob would be there in the drama. I loved their acting in their earlier dramas so much. Save me and While you were sleeping are the best one among them. However this show...how should I put it...it had everything yet it was just so unsatisfactory that it was completely unbearable towards the end. My ques is what happened to the revenge part???? It became so weird in between that most of the time I was questioning the ultimate goal of Ra El and her fake mother. Unnecessary bickering, yelling, seducing and flashy outfits doesn't make the story compelling to viewers.
Even the dialogues felt so boring...I mean who talks like that in real world? So much poetry! Ok I get it...its a drama it cant be real and blah blah blah...but it was so over the top that it was not making any sense. I was expecting more thrill and Revenge twist. What about her family? Just few flashbacks!! Thats it?? It was just Seo ye ji and park Byung Eun and his childhood trauma. So what!! Why should we care when he never really raised his voice against all the atrocities of his in laws and wife?? I must say it was pretty much ok till ep.10 but afterwards it was a pure mess. To all the people who really enjoyed this show I must say you guys really have a different taste altogether. I won't even bother to recommend this drama to anyone. Seo Yea Ji can do much better without this kind of scripts. Sigh! We really needed our queen back but not in these kind of stories.? Lee Sang Yeob's acting prowess was not even shown properly

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Good chemistry simple plot

This is a show that you should watch when you have nothing to watch in particular. You can just do your other chores while watching it in background. It is slowburn but pleasing especially in the beginning. There are all the normal tropes like family drama, sizzling chemistry, beautiful cast, foreign location, good score...yet it lacks in storyline. You will feel it after sometime. In the beginning you will be in trance the way FL and ML interact and believe me it is pretty real. Every little interaction, those subtle fidgeting moves and talking through eyes will definitely melt your heart but that is all. What lacked for me- I do not really connect with this sport (snooker/billiards ) first of all. For me it is a rich people's game like golf and I just don't feel any sports vibe from it. There is no adrenaline that you usually feel in this genre. Plus side cast is as usual pretty bland. They are there so that they can play the cupid for main lead. I was especially irked with FL's brother the way he was so obsessed with ML especially in the beginning, if they had put a bl tag I would have totally believed his actions in that way. Let me tell you NO BROTHER in this world would behave like that the way he was behaving. He was literally forcing the ship between his sis and ML. Anyway, you can give it a go to see the chemistry, or if you are the fans of main leads or just to enjoy beautiful location of Finland. There is nothing amazing or boring about it. It is a simple romantic drama with a touch of sports genre.

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Pretty promising

First impression: BANGERS from the get go.
From costume to set design plus war scenes everything is top notch. It reminded me a lot of 'Nirvana in fire' and Game of thrones maybe because of the cinematography, costume and complex political plot. I did not read the synopsis of this drama before starting it and had no idea I was gonna see Liu Yunning in this one. (He is pretty much in every show that I watch these days. So busy!) Man!! he looked really intimidating here especially his entry scene. ( Did he just put on some wait for this one? Not that I am complaining. He is definitely giving proper warrior vibes). There are many familiar faces in this one. Overall a solid cast. The first episode shows the intriguing politics that was brewing behind all the sinister smiles. The cuts in between are really adding to the suspense factor. This show is not simply a political drama. It has many elements in it. I am sucker for supernatural stuff in this genre. I am loving the way they showed the conflict between the characters yet added humours factor in it to tone down the seriousness. ML(Zichuan) reminds me of Liu Yunnings character from his last drama. I think they could have tone down his character a little bit and some characters could have given extra screen time. Bromance was worth watching atleast. You might get irritated by one of the female characters but I guess that was how it was written in the novel. Overall a very good impression. Waiting for season 2.

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Not what I was expecting

After watching first few episodes all I can say is that the CGi, costumes, and over all production looks good but...when it comes to story...it lacks a lot. First of all the age difference is giving me weird vibes. I know it is xianxia and age doesn't really matter when we talk about all those immortals and stuff but man... I just can't think of the story with them being a romantic couple, especially after watching that little one with Yangmi's character. (He was amazing by the way). It would have worked great if they were just mentor and disciple...it doesn't have to be romantic to make it more interesting. Their chemistry look forced and Yangmi in her character looks like a beautiful mannequin without much expression, who is just there to look pretty and I am saying this despite being a big fan of Yangmi since ten miles of peach blossom. Gongjun to me has become a sort of actor who really struggles to outshine his earlier roles like the one from the world of honor. Partly it could be the direction or maybe the understanding of the character by the actor himself but I don't feel much emotions from him in any of his recently aired dramas. He looks handsome and all but his acting just doesn't look natural or believable. I am still waiting for him to get back to his game but this one is just okaish for me. Other characters in this drama are not bad but again not the best to keep me engaged. I found myself skipping most of the scenes. I sometimes think CGI looks all good but it takes away so much at the same time or perhaps they overdid it in this one. I am not sure if I would be continuing this drama and I am seriously worried for the other parts as well. This one atleast for me is one time watch at most.

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