By all means, this drama should have been pretty mediocre. Not too bad, but certainly not great, either. Every element, every twist, every plot line is something we all have seen in numerous dramas before.

But it's the characters that made and wrapped the drama in shiny gold packaging for me. I know there are many people saying that the actress playing Ro Woon is extremely irritating, but somehow, I never thought that. Every action of hers fit her personality (nosy, loud, argumentative etc.) perfectly, so I could hardly fault either the actress or the character.

Which brings me to the acting. I thought most of the acting by the main and supporting cast were pretty solid. They did full justice to their characters (though I wish some of them got more screen time, but oh well). The leads were great and their chemistry was PERFECT. It's been a long time since I've seen the main couple so well casted, but they really did make an excellent pair. Their opposing personalities were surprisingly well matched and Eun Hwan Gi as a character was absolutely adorable. He was the main highlight of the show, to be honest. The couple and Hwan Gi were MAJOR points in favour of the drama, almost fully overshadowing the negatives.

The negatives were minor for me, since I could so easily look past them, but a main one would definitely be how much the beginning was stretched. There were a few unnecessary scenes which, I felt, could have been edited out for clarity. Hence, I agree that the first 5 episodes were pretty boring, which was why some people (including ones I know) dropped the drama early on.
But I highly recommend you push on, like I did. It gets MUCH better, the pace stabilises and the whole drama gets more interesting.

Lire davantage

Man, how the hell did they manage to make me actually feel not-so-angry at the dude's mother by the end of this? It takes one hell of an actress to pull her off, and Mizuki Alisa stole the whole damn show. Main characters who? I literally had shivers every time she sang in that beautiful, somber voice. God.

I will admit, her incredible performance overshadowed the rest and really exposed how...bland...some actors were, Hamabe Minami in particular. That's not to say Minami was bad- in fact, both her and Yokohama Ryusei were actually quite good on their own, maybe Ryusei more than her, but definitely nothing really obvious. A large part of this show is about their romance, which is admittedly very good, if a little frustrating. By the end, the push and pull started getting really old and I really wanted them to just sit down and have a nice conversation instead of assume random things, cry, and then separate (order might vary).

They have great chemistry, which I honestly attribute more to Ryusei than Minami in typical J-drama fashion where the male lead is usually a lot more enthusiastic than the female lead in kissing and the like. It gets really old, really fast when Japanese heroines find it perfectly okay to just stand still like the national anthem is playing in the background while the male lead goes to town on their mouths. If I could tell these directors one damn thing before I die, it would be to ensure both the characters act like WILLING participants and show equal passion. Alas.

Lire davantage

I mean, there's nothing I will say that hasn't already been said by the millions of reviews that came before me. It was a solid romance with just the right balance of fluff, angst and heart. Its my first time watching Lee Do Hyun and I absolutely ADORED him and his character- you bet I'll be checking out everything else he acts in! I see a very promising future for him. The cast is nothing to laugh at, yet he absolutely stole the show- if this character wasn't written exclusively for him, I'd be damned to find anyone else who would have been able to do as well or as much justice to the character as him.

Lire davantage

I mean, it wasn't bad. Just BOOOOORING, like, GOD just get to the point. See, I dont really rely on conflict to progress the plot- I like dramas without conflict! With, without, whatever, as long as its good, I'm game. But this was way too dry, easy and LAME for me. And 33 episodes of the FL jumping everytime she sees the ML and the ML smiling at her cuteness? Hell to the naw, 15 episodes was more than enough.

Many comments below say that there is conflict in the later episodes, probably around 20-odd or so, but good lord if I watch an episode of this show I will lose my hair by pulling them out so much in frustration.

Sayonara, Boss & Me.

Lire davantage

LISTEN TO ME, HE IS NOT A REAL PEOPLE

This review is more for the people who already watched the show and want to hate on Tae Woong; this ethnic household is a Tae Woong hate zone and a Tae Woong hate zone only. Plus, if you haven't watched a 12 year old K-drama classic, that's a little bit on you (this is my plea for you to go to Viki and watch Reply 1997 RIGHT NOW!)

After a recent rewatch, it's like watching this show with adult eyes has made the entire Tae Woong storyline even more insane, which begs the question: who the heck saw this being written, produced, directed, acted, edited and STILL went, "Ohhh yeah, a little more of this, nice, nice, nice." EVERYTHING about Tae Woong and his insanely random and creepy "love" for Shi Won was poorly thought out and irrelevant.

To start off, the Sung Song Joo storyline...because, why. I'm 1000% sure Shi Won was supposed to be an only child but they wanted to shove in a sad past for Tae Woong for somewhere and- what do you know! - why not give Shi Won a DEAD SISTER that he loved? A DEAD SISTER that is first mentioned in episode 8. A DEAD SISTER that doesn't show up in any of the family's official pictures in the living room. A DEAD SISTER that is never mentioned, even in passing, EVER. A DEAD SISTER that dies in a bus crash... and there is ZERO MENTION OF THIS ever even when Shi Won takes the bus alone to Seoul to go to college and tells her mother "don't worry, it's not like I'm going to die or something." Ma'am...the beating and lectures I would get. The agony from my family. And yet, no mention of her DEAD SISTER that DIED this way.

And Song Joo could have been the perfect reason for Tae Woong's misplaced love and obsession with a CHILD 10 years younger to him, especially when he mentions he likes Shi Won's spunk and finds her pretty. The arc could have been about unresolved trauma, lost love, and moving on...instead, he "gives Shi Won up" to his brother? NONSENSE, when she barely liked him at all! You didn't have a fighting chance, uncle-o! OOO the way that "plot twist" made me so mad because he was the one who decided to be a creep and pursue his younger brother's best friend, a CHILD he watched being born and raised, and didn't think for once about his brother's feelings on the topic. Heck, he wanted to TIE DOWN a CHILD 5 minutes before she moved away to college because he loved her that much? NONSENSE! NOOOONSENSE! That's a groomer talk.

The reveal that Shi Won and Yoon Jae liked each other was frankly the most hilarious part of the whole show for me, because tell me why a shittier, uncle version of Oscar Fishtooth from Fish Hooks looked like he was SLAPPED when he heard about it, like this was something SO shocking and outrageous. Like he doesn't get absolutely mogged by his younger, more attractive, more age-appropriate brother. When I catch the writer who put their entire sweat and tears into trying (and FAILING) to convince me this botox peasant was attractive, on God,,, its on SIGHT.

I am his BIGGEST hater, if Tae Woong has no haters I am dead. That weird thing he does with his lips every 2 minutes, where he purses them forward and smiles with 30% teeth capacity, all while serving goofy Justin Beiber in his Youtube era, makes me want to donate my eyes. Because any universe where I have to watch a minimum of 10 extras in the show talk about how hot this fruit seller-looking uncle with the fashion sense of Chinese mob boss #3 is not one I want to witness.

I wish this character died. The end <3

PS: I'm never changing the rating for the show bc I would never do my king and queen Jung Eun Ji and Seo In Guk like that, I love you guys <3

Lire davantage

The Best Show of 2023 By Far

Yeah, I said it. Not that I've done a very good job keeping up with K-dramas in 2023, but regardless, I really do think Death's Game captures everything beautiful, intricate and powerful about K-dramas. Right from how tightly written every episode is, to the complexity of each character (no matter how long or how brief their appearance), to even the subtle threads that weave the fate of each reincarnation in the show together- for better or for worse.

There's nothing much more to say about it, really. The message about suicide was a touch preachy, I'll bite, but in the context of South Korea's suicide epidemic and tightly knit society/family structure, the PSA that life is worth living if only so you can try your hardest for the people who love you makes technical sense, even if it's not an opinion I personally wholly subscribe to.

Acting-wise, you really can't get better than this. Aside from our (brilliant) main characters, every cast member played their role with such conviction, heart and enthusiasm that there wasn't a second I was unconvinced by the naturalness of their character and the situation they were in.

And what would you know, it also made me call my parents up after a long time and catch up. Powerful stuff, indeed.

Lire davantage

Imagine the most predictably unpredictable main character. Yeah.

I love dramas where the main character is in peril (character development! high emotion! fun!), and I definitely started this show absolutely knowing that this main character is going to be put through the wringer every second of her screentime. I was ready. I was so ready.

But...she, supposedly, saw it all coming. What? All the lying, the scheming, the action, the nail-baiting tension...she was always, ALWAYS, one step ahead of everybody else. And that's just unbelievable.

Therefore, this character had zero growth and zero flaws. Her only "flaw" was loving her sons too much? Give me a break! All the other characters, including the Queen Dowager and the concubines, are given well-fleshed out, thoughtful arcs where they grow as characters, but our main character is born so perfect that from start to finish, every decision she makes, every word she speaks, every punishment she mettles out, is thought through with the world's most elaborate game of 3D chess playing in her head.

Acting wise, while everyone was okay, the Queen Dowager and First Consort really stole EVERY scene they were part of! And with characters as rich, deep and well-rounded as them, it's a real treat to see how these talented actors make them come alive so incredibly. Which brings me back to the conversation about the Queen's character because this is, after all, an entire 16 episode TV show about the Queen protecting her children from certain death. The slight overacting aside, I really don't think the Queen's character really made me feel anything for her except, "Damn, she thought of this too?" Some of the "logical deductions" she made were absolutely insane given how shoddy, incomplete and limited the evidence for it was, and yet, with an eyebrow twitch and run-walking, she managed to outsmart some really, really smart people/plans.

Which is just boring, in my opinion.

Lire davantage

I thought the cast in this drama had great chemistry in the first movie. Well, not anymore.

From their acting, which was a lot more expressive (even the actress playing Kotoko) in the first movie, you could CLEARLY see they were as bored of the movie as we were. The writing was meh as well, and they skipped over such memorable and cute parts of the dramas and manga (such as Kotoko's journey as a nurse, the second lead nurse I actually liked etc.) and left in the stupid parts that nobody gives a shit about (like the dumbass Kotorin game, which was funny for like, 3 seconds.)

Of course, there was the iconic umbrella where Naoki proposes to Kotoko, but by that point, the audience was probably asking themselves, "Do we even give a shit anymore?"

No, no we don't

Lire davantage