Unnecessary elements - skippable

The different personalities portrayed actually encapsulates the typical character behaviors in any kdrama - the embodiment of the tropes. This is why I feel like the family political strife was unnecessary to the plot and was just added to add more layer and give off a feeling of complexity and depth to the series. I'm tired of this trope and skipped over the scenes showing Korean chaebol problems for the sake of sanity.
I enjoyed watching the MC deal with his situation. The family fued, not so much - too pedestrian to be forgettable - it's almost insulting to one's intelligence.

Contains the usual stale kdrama drama:
Workplace bullying
Assault
Child abuse
Dysfunctional family
Tragic past
Some Mexican drama elements

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Amateur vigilante wannabes

An episodic story about a group of people who take revenge on criminals on behalf of the victims. This certainly brings to mind Jigoku Shōjo: Girl from Hell but far from the supernatural approach, this drama tries to appeal to the viewers humanity with its propaganda of forgiveness and what happens when the law fails to protect the family of the victims and they decide to take matters into their own hands. Take note that the crimes presented are based on real life crimes committed in South Korea.

The group of vigilante wannabes is certainly equipped to deal with the requests. A rich financier, the muscle/fighter, the cyber technologist, the mechanical engineer and the inventor and of course a secret base. Watching how they deal with each request was certainly fun and entertaining. However, in spite of having done this for several years, the group doesn't seem to have learned much from their experience and even the fact that this is "fiction" is no excuse for their incompetence.

Several times throughout the series you will see them taking actions or making decisions that seasoned veterans like them wouldn't have made. Knowing their potential because of their experience made it a pain to watch them. It almost seemed like their SNAFUs were deliberately added simply to fit into the narrative and keep the story going.

Camera work during fight scenes tried so hard to imitate the shaky technique popularised by the Bourne trilogy but failed as miserably as the Vagabond series. Choreography was already good without the excessive shaking and close ups of the fight.

The last case was the dumbest in that in spite of being based on true events, whoever wrote the episode simply glossed over how the police framed and tortured and knowingly sent an innocent man to prison just so they could close the case - was it perhaps because it would become too realistic? Did the showrunners receive a slap in the hand that they were afraid to include a revenge arc against the brutal police force?
I'm not interested in season 2 so we may never find out.

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The Tale of 3 children

A divorcee successfully revives and expands a dying hotel business which offends the previous owners - her ex in-law. For having the cheek to succeed, said ex in-law decides to punish and put the FL back in her place as a meek housewife. Colluding with the FLs ambitious mother, said in-laws attempts a hostile takeover of the hotel.

This is a tale of 3 children
- a son who cannot escape his tyrant mother
- a daughter married off for the sake of power and prestige
- a mama's boy

All mothers portrayed had their own definition of what their children are only good for and took action to achieve such belief.

The kdrama trope of parents prostituting their children in order to achieve or maintain their social status always disgusts me. But the FL being able to obtain a second chance at making her own decisions made me want to root for her.

As a fan of noona romance, this series fits the bill and checks all the boxes. I loved how the story did not only focus on one person or one family.
- Unfortunately, I feel like the main leads didn't have enough chemistry. The ML looked like an ejjit smiling and grinning all the time it was creepy. Well I guess any boy would be if they met a noona like the FL.
- I also loved the OST and consider this to be a good example of a contemplative and atmospheric type of drama.

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It's like a job recruitment ad

It's 40 hours of promoting the glory and nobility of the Chinese Fire and Rescue with medical drama and romance on the side.

This is a story about a:
- A delusional mother typical of her social caste passionately obsessed with ruining the MLs opportunities in life.
- A henpecked father with a minor redemption arc
- An obstinate and secretive ML with a hero complex more obsessed with his job than improving his situation in life for the sake of his bride.
- A clinically detached FL suffering from Stockholm syndrome but decides to break free.
- A half-brother with incestuous tendencies

The interaction of the main leads seem to lack that ummph that you'd expect between lost loves reuniting - passable but I guess the writer must have led a happy life. I found their reconciliation too rushed as well and failed to reconcile the issues from their previous separation instead burying it all under a lofty "forgiveness" arc.

That they still ended up being together against all odds and that she was able to stand up for him against her family is a testament that this is indeed a work of Chinese idealistic fiction.

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Noona romance done right

The series shows the importance of keeping a core group of friends who will give you guidance for the sake of your well-being. It also shows how important it is to keep a core group of people who believe in you.

The family dynamic presented in the series reminds me a bit of Reply 1988 while the golden trio reminds me of the kdrama 39.

I loved the characters' growth throughout the series and loved the main couple. Although their chemistry wasn't the best, they played their roles as best as they could.

Being from a "study first" family who couldn't help try to experience being in a relationship, I couldn't help but see myself in the main couple - many times I had to smack my forehead thinking "so this is how stupid it looked" but it was a thrilling ride.

I disagree with the comments saying the ML is mature - rather he was surrounded and guided by mature people - otherwise he was really just a clingy and whiny kid.

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Noona romance

"Age is just a number" is a phrase overused by people who enter relationships with a huge age gap. While this is acceptable in some cultures - this kind of age gap is still frowned upon in other cultures.
I say this because viewers need to arm themselves with a good understanding of cultural norms because even though this is a work of fiction, the behaviours portrayed aren't too far from the truth. Without a thorough understanding of culture, viewers will easily question the motives of the characters portrayed in this series.
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The way this kind of relationship was portrayed was well done. I liked how they toned down the bullying and sexual harassment unlike the original which seemed to dwell on the abuse more than anything else.
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Now the elephant in the room - non blood related step siblings. ML's mother married FL's father. I'm not going to detail what the domestic arrangements are because this aspect of the story will be a hit or miss. Others in the comment section are already turned off by this taboo-like situation. I say taboo-like because again there will be cultures out there who will not be bothered by this so I chose to suspend my disbelief so I could enjoy the show at peace.
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Regardless of the situation our main leads had to go through, at its core this is still a perfect example of a noona romance which I wouldn't mind rewatching in the future.

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Misleading title and summary

While an enjoyable watch and the story is good, the title and summary provided in the site is misleading as this series focus more on the back story and the revenge plot of the antagonist. The so-called "shop" and even the niece were mere plot devices.

The back and forth between the past and the present provided a great way to stitch the narrative together and helped the viewer find out why assassins were after the niece. But then again contrary to what is on the title and on the summaries, the assassination attempt has nothing to do with the shop or the identity of the niece but has to do with what happened in the past.

It feels like the element related to a Company takeover of the shop was shoved in just so the title would make sense. At its core this is a revenge drama about a villain throwing a tantrum because he was chastised in the past for his criminal deeds.

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Hunger Games - Joseon version

TLDR
The dark comedy tag probably comes from the irony and discrepancies found in series. The funniest thing in this kdrama are the court officials labeling actions as treasonous and recommending to resolve it with actual treasonous solutions - and all the king does is glare 😂

The show was hinged on the lack of information sharing - a trope less used in kdramas compared to the worn out "misunderstanding" trope. And why da peck do they keep on discussing their secrets just loud enough for eavesdroppers to hear? 😅 😂

This entire series would have been a lot shorter if the mother just told her sons their entire line would be annihilated if someone else becomes the crown prince. Because of the lack of information sharing, they remained petulant, unmotivated, and just overall childish.

The Characters
Old granny who hungers for the "Queen" privileges she never experienced decides it was time for her main character era so she flexes and show who is boss.

The queen consort who tries her hand at being authoritarian after years of permissive/neglectful parenting but gets pushed back by her sons in spite of her efforts to shield them from the realities of palace life.

The grand princes who live a life of the idle rich and couldn't wait to leave the palace. Shielded from the realities of palace life, they remain ignorant of how their lives were already in danger just by misbehaving.

Background
Prince Sado did a lot worse than what the grand princes were portrayed to have done in the series and was not punished for a long time in spite of the atrocities and body count he left behind so I was not expecting the Queen to actively put in effort to rein them in.

Inconsistencies
I am surprised at the corporal punishment shown given how by court rules a royal body could not be defiled - but then again, it is fiction so let's shrug it off.

Considering how the kdrama wanted to portray the queen as having switched to authoritarian/authoritative parenting, it didn't make sense that she was not forthright about what would happen if they did not start behaving. One would expect a mother to be honest to her sons about the possibility of their lives being in mortal danger.

Ultimately, this is a story about women in the background pitting their sons against each other for the sake of status, pride and survival while the men strut about in their robes thinking they were actually the ones in power. A true Confucian masterpiece.

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Romeo and Juliet in their 20's (so less raging hormones)

This one's for those who love watching relationship-based shows like - love actually, lovestruck in the city.

Only 1 slap count for the entire series - good job. And just for that, this is one sageuk I will watch again in spite of the usual political intrigues and family rivalry.

- Selling off sons and daughters in exchange for social status? Check.
- Feeding your daughter poison so they can no longer leave the house? Check.
- Working in the government for the sake of family instead of the people? Check.

Now, do not be surprised at how condescending men were with women and how women were used as tools of trade all for the sake of filial piety. Confucianism taken to the extreme because this is how they interpreted his teachings - a concept that exists to this day.

This "Romeo and Juliet" kdrama is as romantic as it can go but is also a celebration of the Confucian culture and the resulting disease that plagued Joseon because of people who took advantage of it with ardent fanaticism. These and more wrapped up in a tidy bow called "fiction".

There were some really funny banters. The king was an everyday cool guy 😅 and I enjoyed his scenes the most.

A lot of gags like:
a brother nor recognising his sister because of makeup,
the king apologising after being screamed and glared only to remember he was the king 😅

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Contemplative and atmospheric

This is another one for my list of contemplative and atmospheric shows. Admittedly not everyone's cup of tea but I just love these types shows which move in a seemingly real-time pace.
We have a stoic guy and a bubbly girl who keeps the conversation going - I absolutely loved it.

The story isn't new and it's definitely been done before - before sunrise, before sunset, hello stranger. Strangers meeting in an unfamiliar city or in this case unfamiliar island.

Again not everyone's cup of tea but if you're like me who loves slow burns like these - Main leads just talking, walking looking around and talking again with a bit of music or narration then this is it.

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Title mismatch

If you are only watching this because of Song Joon-ki like many so-called kdrama fan then there's no need for you to read the reviews. Just watch it already.

In the mean time for the rest of us who do watch kdramas because of the story you will have noticed that the title sometimes is not reflected well in the show.

This show started really strong, it has timetravel and reincarnation elements and the inclusion of historical events and how the main lead used it to his advantage was very interesting. Revenge dramas have always been a joy to watch. Then suddenly the show forgot about the title and the events from previous episodes and started to take another path.

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Fun ghost story with romance and mystery/thriller on the side

I normally don't pay attention to plot holes so I could chill and enjoy the show but I have gripes with this common trope where characters act shy and bitter when the main leads won't date them - as if it was their first time going through it - when they literally just got off a previous relationship.
- the romance transition from the college friend to the FL could have been handled better in the same way that the FLs change in behaviour needed more work.
- acting was superb as to be expected with the FL.
- The amount of disregard to personal safety in this series is unreal - wasted men or women just walking about in the dark as if waiting for an accident to happen.
- I'm glad the workplace bullying aspect is toned down on this one.

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A victim's family ignored by an ambitious career woman

I dropped the series because of how ridiculous it was getting. Also I couldn't bear the mental abuse the FL had to go through because of the law enforcement officers. FLs request to include her sister got denied by investigator but when proven right, the investigator decides to rub it on FLs face that the FL is to blame.
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The plot isn't overly complicated.
A serial killer and a serial train thief is on the prowl and our passionate FL is determined to go above and beyond her orders in order to apprehend the criminal.

While labeled as fiction the neglect, limitations and lack of empathy from the police officers and their drive for results based on what they think is right in order to meet their qouta and obtain for themselves and their superiors the glory of "solving or closing" the case is definitely spot on. It cannot be denied that this happens in real life as well.

With this fact in mind you will be less frustrated watching the police officers and their bureaucratic red tape in this series.

I enjoyed this because of the different types of cases they got to handle. It's disgusting how the showrunners tried really hard to push the romance envelope between the leads and it was so cringe, uncomfortable and unnecessary - they should have just focused only on the investigation side and removed the romance element.

ML and FL did not look good together. I have to say MGY has not aged well and the way she smirked the whole time made it worse. Her acting is still top of the line of course but I think she should just stick to non romantic roles.

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If "Parasite" included superpower and romance elements

More like a dysfunctional group.
At its core this is nothing but a 12 episode series about the love story between a conman and her victim. So other than the superpower aspect, the story isn't anything new. I guess most of us watch it just to see how the writers melded these elements together.
- a cuckolded man with a hero complex who tries to betray his family in order to get laid
- an unhealthy woman in denial of her weight
- a cranky insomniac
- a woman with Stockholm syndrome
- cringey teenage love with a touchy-feely boy
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This series was definitely a fun ride - some scenes I found cringey because they seemed forced in order to fit the storyline - easily skippable. The series is a bit overhyped thanks to socmed content creator wannabes sharing clips of the series. But in the end there's nothing special about it.

All in all a great watch after you have suspended your disbelief.

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The headedstrong apprentice and the naive prince

I try to avoid watching sageuk dramas as much as I can because of these common tropes.
- the "strong" FL
- the handsome ML
- court intrigue involving a puppet king and corrupt court officials
- clan rivalries
If you've finished one sageuk drama, then you've already finished most of them.

Korea must have hated their monarchy to a point where they almost never appear good or in actual control of the situation. The monarchy is either represented as being corrupt of being mere puppets.

This is another example of a noona romance that is if you don't mind seeing an ML who is not yet legally adult during the "courtship" bumble his way about the FL who is late into the socially acceptable marriageable age at the time. Although I'm a fan of noona romances, I must admit being disturbed and cringing at the interaction between the FL and the ML. Perhaps because the series primarily centered around the female point of view instead of the male POV. I also felt like the romance between the leads was unnecessary. They could simply have focused on the court historian portion of the story.

This series is notorious for its tonal shift from being a romcom to being a serious sageuk in the latter part of the series with the last episodes being too rushed to be fully satisfying.

Regardless of the villains getting their just desserts, they still succeeded in making sure that the true heir to the throne never becomes interested in being king by starving him of freedom and knowledge while growing up. So the bad guys still won while the audience is fooled into thinking the Male Lead's freedom is all that he deserved.

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