A must for historical drama fans (and romance fans)

I have to begin this review with the fact that, in general, I do enjoy watching historical kdramas so I feel rather strongly about how much I loved this drama. I watched part 1 and 2 consecutively (in an effort to avoid writing my thesis paper lol) so this review will be based on both parts.

First and foremost, the acting in this drama is an absolute 10/10. Every character was portrayed so masterfully by their actors. I also think this goes hand in hand with the writing of the drama. The writing was well done, in my humble opinion, and all the character's actions felt true to their character. And each main character had a beautiful storyline and arc and this includes the characters that were not my faves, which I think speaks to the writing being done well. I particularly feel that the female lead's character development was done incredibly well. Also, I am a sucker for well done romantic dialogue and there were some lines that just pierced my heart so deeply. For the sake of not spoiling anything, I won't write any out. But the chemistry between the leads?! 10/10, no words.

The strong female characters were... chef's kiss. Their perseverance, resilience, and sisterhood was one of my favorite parts. Yes, this drama centers romance but it does such a good job in highlighting how amazing women are especially during such difficult times and harsh conditions. When it comes to the romance, there is a lot of push and pull and I can see how people might find this annoying or boring, but I actually didn't mind it in this story and actually felt it fitting. The other parts of the story, like the political turmoil and how it affected people, were also done well because it really makes you become invested in what is going on and how people are being affected.

There were some amazingly beautiful shots in this drama. I had to pause occasionally to take it all in. Hats off to the cinematographers. To wrap this up, if you enjoy historical dramas I think you should definitely give this a chance. If you enjoy romance that is felt so strongly through the screen because of great chemistry, give this a chance.

Lire davantage

This short series definitely has some trigger warnings: suicide, bullying, workplace abuse.

I bumped into this series accidentally and as someone who doesn't like horror I was reluctant to watch it but decided to give it a go as a break from my usual drama. The horror wasn't bad at all, it made me jump a little here and there but I can say it's because I'm chicken sh** when it comes to horror. I'm sure that to someone who enjoys horror, this isn't scary at all. Overall, I really enjoyed watching this. The pacing was well done, nothing was dragged out, and the story flowed well. It's a little gory, but not enough to scare me away (I'm super squeamish). I liked the ending, which I rarely feel I do with shows so that was a plus for me. I would definitely say give this a chance, it's not long--truly feels like one long-ish movie--and it's an enjoyable watch.

Lire davantage

I wanted to love it so much…

I’m actually really sad I didn’t enjoy this more. It could be because this one of the dramas I was looking forward to & I had high expectations. JCW and HIY are high on my list of faves, I wasn’t disappointed in their acting here, but I don’t feel like the characters were written out that great. So much happened in the end, it felt rushed & left a few characters without closure.

I did enjoy the fact that it was a musical, fantasy genre. Some songs felt misplaced or a bit off to me but it wasn’t too bad. Def a handful of beautiful scenes where the cinematography was nice. I think overall, I felt that the characters & some parts of the storyline really needed some nuance. It could be it needed a few more episodes to be flushed out all the way. Seems that many folks enjoyed it & compared it to the webtoon—I think I might have to give the webtoon a shot. But as for the drama, it left me wanting so much more & it, unfortunately, was not memorable for me.

Lire davantage