Really fun!

Well, that was honestly a fun ride!! The best part of this was undoubtedly the banter between everyone in the group, and they all really grew on me. We got to see really good character development and backstories from all of them — and I will say my favorite out of the bunch is the Hacker!

I do honestly feel like the Big Mission was a little underwhelming, compared to how inventive their previous ones had to be — for this one they just broadcasted the meeting and that was it, even though everything WAS wrapped up nicely.

One thing I kind of wish they extended further were the subplots for each character; it felt like the side characters just sort of dropped off the face of the earth after their roles were finished.

As a whole, I still REALLY enjoyed this and it pretty much had everything I want in an action drama: action (duh), friendship (with banter!), and a thirst for revenge.

Final thing: the OST sounds hella badass. I’ll definitely be listening to it while imagining my own revenge plot.

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Honestly I enjoyed this much more than I expected. The development was really interesting as we started grew to learn more about our female lead and the house. I do wish we saw more of that and earlier rather than focusing so much on the second leads who were terrible and yet ended up…not really playing a large role in the last few episodes despite their meddling?

There were a lot of characters that annoyed me during this, but plot-wise it was pretty strong, aside from the bout of noble idiocy at the end, which I hated.

The topic of being gay was, for the most part, handled really well, and I was really surprised they had a great gay character — Director Choi might’ve been one of my favorite characters in this, though he made me so SAD.

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I feel like this had so much potential — I'm a huge fan of the vengeful vigilante trope. But it ended up not being as great as it could have been for me, for several reasons.

Nana was a terrible female lead. It felt like they tried to spoonfeed the audience — every other sentence about her was that she was strong, badass, independent, and just not scared of anything. But her character was honestly really weak, both physically and mentally. Nana was a damsel in distress, but her constant "Wow, you aren't afraid of anything!" and I'm-such-a-fighter attitude honestly made it really annoying when she needed saving every other episode and never really got involved in the scheming, which is what annoyed me with MLFTS as well — the female lead was practically just there to be a love interest, to be used as a hostage, and there was barely personal growth.

With that being said, the fact that they focused so much on the romance was honestly annoying and I fast-forwarded through all the montages of their moments together. I was much more interested in the vigilante/action aspect than the romance, and the romance was also extremely cliche, with "I'm bad for you, don't love me" being the only reason they weren't together yet.

Jin-pyo was an annoying character as well, but he was the most intriguing by far, with the whole anti-hero thing going for him. I couldn't see his story going any differently than the way it did.

The action twists were really good and the backstory was fleshed out well. The fact that there were these mini plot arcs throughout the drama for each of the corrupted officials and how they were dealt with made things really interesting and I kept looking forward to the next one, especially seeing how the prosecutor's view of things would play along side-by-side.

Yet, I don't think anything really surprised me, and something about production style made a lot of scenes seem less dramatic than they could have been. I felt like the ending was kind of anti-climactic as well, and Nana stayed annoying til the very end.

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The definition of rom-com

Even though I went in knowing this was a rom-com, I can't help but feel like I was hoping for a little bit more of everything.

Firstly, I've never had so much trouble suspending my disbelief. The whole contract situation felt just odd, and the lack of logic honestly made it hard for me to become emotionally invested in this drama.

While I appreciate strong female leads, I was definitely hoping for more fire between the main leads. We got some at the start, but the main female lead tolerated a lot from the guy that I wish she called him out for. I really didn't feel the relationship between them, but I appreciate that there was no crazy misunderstandings or noble idiocy break-up.

In fact, they were a lot more solid than I expected, and maybe that's one of the reasons also felt like I was waiting for a climax conflict that never really came. Of course, we got all the cliches: the jealous ex, suspicious stock prices, a disapproving family member, fake news...but none of it really hit me as much as I wish it did.

I still enjoyed watching it as a little fun thing to do while multitasking, and one thing that I actually really liked in this was the sismance. In fact, the main FL's best friend was probably my favorite character out of them all, and especially towards the end with the emergence of a side-ship, she had the kind of fire that I thought the main lead was going to have. She stuck by her friend no matter what and their little domestic conversations were so wholesome and fun to watch.

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Made me cry like a baby

Damn. I really didn't expect to love this so damn much, because I've had a bad rap with Taiwanese dramas, but this was actually so close to perfect, and it made me SOB.

The friends-to-lovers trope is probably my favorite trope ever, and this show did a damn good job of portraying it. As cliche as the "don't want to ruin our friendship" excuse is, it was easy to see how big of a deal it was and why our main characters would choose to keep their mouths shut, even though Da-Ren acted so much like a second lead and broke my heart every single episode. This show is SO good at displaying the little subtleties in their relationship and emotions, especially through the flashbacks. There were definitely some extended flashbacks, but they were paralleled and done so well that I wanted to see more.

The beginning was honestly a little offputting, with the female lead running away from a gorilla looking creature meant to symbolize time. Thankfully this wasn't a long-lasting metaphor, and as the drama progressed, I started to really appreciate the cinematography a lot more, from the (day)dreams that the characters had (which broke my heart too) to the phone calls that brought them closer.

Something about the main female lead, You-Qing, is so damn relatable. She's the sort of everyday badass that stands up for herself, and doesn't need to resort to punches to do so. She can be a little arrogant at times, but that comes with the territory. And even though she's so straightforward and domineering in every aspect of her life, when it came to love, everything became so confusing and scary that she found herself away from it. SO. DAMN. RELATABLE. And when she finally grew from it at the end—it was so refreshing yet heartbreaking that I couldn't help but sob along with her.

That scene where she was apologizing to her parents and didn't want to embarrass them by calling off the wedding, but all they cared about was her happiness...honestly hit me hard, and it exemplified everything I loved about their family. The same could be said for Da-Ren's family, but something about the more subtle way it was shown in You-Qing's family was more effective.

Even though friendship wasn't a HUGE part of the story, I really really loved the high school gang, especially when they were at the bachelorette party and basically collectively knew that Da-Ren had been in love with You-Qing since high school. (Sidenote: Jasper Liu is hella fine)

I also can't remember the last time I cared so much about a side ship. Maybe because it was ALSO friends-to-lovers with one side unrequited, but Ping An and Ling Kai were adorable, and I honestly also love that they played out realistically and it wasn't a random happily ever after.

A few things that I didn't like as much:

1. Something about the time jump in the last episode where we saw You-Qing go traveling was very unsatisfying to me. I'm all about the FINALE where the characters finally reveal everything and are honest with each other, and I never really got to see that. I'm okay with the concept of You-Qing needing time to find herself through traveling, but...What did she say to Da-Ren? What was his reaction when he found out his unrequited love wasn't unrequited? These questions are going to kill me.

2. I kind of wish they didn't make Ding Li-Wei a cheating scumbag at the end. Even though it might be realistic, I liked the idea that he changed his ways and You-Qing had to repent completely for leading on a guy she didn't love. Making him cheat felt like an attempt at justifying You-Qing's actions by basically saying "hey, we both did bad things to each other."

3. A minor last thing: it's true that the drama dragged a little longer than I thought it would because You-Qing didn't speak up, and I hated that especially because I hated Ding Li-Wei that chauvinistic controlling pig with a burning passion, but at the same time—and I'm also saying this for everyone saying that she was horrible for leading him on, crying about being 30, and getting so far as getting engaged—it's easy to see how a thirty-year-old woman in Taiwan would be STRESSED out about still being single at that age, considering how women in their late twenties are already treated like garbage (ex: "leftover women" in China). Add the fact that Ding Li-Wei was an ex who she still had lingering feelings for and it's honestly harder to break up with someone than it sounds...what might've been an annoying character became heartbreakingly realistic and relatable for me.

LAST SIDENOTE: Why does Ding Li-Wei randomly burst into lines of English? Even though his English is good, it still makes me cringe.

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The only thing that really saved this drama for me was Cha Eun-Gyeol, who was the most lovable, adorable, relatable character ever.

The drama did that thing where they gave the second lead all the cute bantering moments, while the main lead got all the scenes where they had to save the female lead from the evil antagonists. As a result, I found myself rolling my eyes at all the K-drama cliches but fangirling over the domestic moments between Eun-Gyeol and Jae-Hee, especially because it felt like he was always there for her when Tae-Joon wasn't.

One thing that really bothered me was the premise itself—Jae-Hee literally flew to Korea all the way from America just because of a guy, and she ended up being so stalkerish and obsessive that I found her character annoying and creepy within the first few episodes.

I felt like this drama tried to be melodramatic, but the reasoning behind so many plot points were so stupid and cliche and could have been resolved with communication, ESPECIALLY THAT STUPID TIME JUMP AT THE END. Time skips annoy the hell out of me especially when it's as if everyone suddenly forgot that phone and email existed and just didn't communicate at all.

THE OST FOR THIS DRAMA IS SO GOOD., and it was another thing that made my heart feel more invested in the story and scenes, when my head was telling me to not be.

Lastly: I get that Jae-Hee came from America, but when her brother visited, was there a purpose to randomly switching between Korean and English every other sentence in every conversation? It not only sounded awkward but also made my head spin when I was trying to process what I was watching.

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This drama hit us with all the cliches, but it made it work, and the "Wednesday 3:30pm" idea was an adorable addition. As someone with a soft spot for best friend to lover stories, I knew I was going to love this right off the bat—and I did, for the most part. I loved the dynamic of the main leads, and I really liked how their feelings were gradual as we got to see how comfortable they were with each other.

The only reason this doesn't have a higher rating is because of the DREADED prolonged lack-of-communication plot device that makes me want to rip my hair out every time it appears in dramas...

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This show was completely carried by Seo In Guk and his adorable Louis character. Although Louis was dumb often, he was so adorable and considering his amnesia, I was forgiving.

I couldn't say the same for the other characters, especially the main lead. I've come to realize that I'm not really a fan of Nam Ji Hyun's acting in the first place, but her character in this show was even more frustrating to watch. Go Bok Shil never seemed to learn anything either, and add the fact that she initiated the lack-of-communication/noble-idiocy (MY MOST HATED PLOT DEVICE)...if you asked me what her character development was, I couldn't tell you.

A lot of the side characters were really annoying as well, including the director, who I wish had more of a father figure role instead of a love interest role—and even though his throat-clearing thing was funny at some times as it became a running joke, I also got really annoyed at it, and really annoyed at how he yells every line. His mom was annoying as well, and I didn't really see the purpose of her existence at all.

One thing I can appreciate is definitely the humor and the more light-hearted feel to the story by making the bad guys so hilariously incompetent that I couldn't help but laugh at their situations and misunderstandings. Though I liked the way it didn't show the antagonists as purely evil, I still wish there were more satisfying karma/revenge scenes, which we honestly didn't get any of., especially since neither of the main leads were the type to stand up for themselves.

The last few episodes really had a slower pace and felt more dragged out as well, and I felt like the story could have been wrapped up faster and more cleanly.

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To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Seven Tan as an actress, and I wasn't a huge fan of Yun Duo as the female lead. While I liked her compassion and kindness, there were also some parts that just felt cheesy.

The main ship was quite cute at certain points, but they never really went through any actual adversity. I didn't ship them as much as I shipped the second pairing, and that second pairing was the main thing keeping me watching.

The so-called "second male lead" for the love triangle was honestly just downright annoying, and there were a lot of sub-plots that I felt were interconnected but in a very messy way.

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A missing spark that crashes and burns

This is the first drama that I've watched after reading the original source material (in this case, a webtoon), so this will be a review where I inevitably compare some elements, but I'm still trying to be as objective as possible.

I really loved the webtoon — the plot, the lack of cliches, the straightforward female lead — and was really excited for the drama. But from the start the spark was missing for me. It felt pretty well written but the development of the leads felt jumpy and I'm not sure the chemistry between the actors is all there.

Plot-wise, this was really a drama that needed a full 16 episodes because of how much plot there was. There's the 18th life backstory and Jieum's 1st life backstory, and I really feel like they glossed over the car accident (18th) just to make time for the other plot. The plot that seemed to kickstart everything felt very unimportant by the end.

Now, the biggest issue I have with this drama is the backstory behind the first life and all the changes they made to it. Just in general, the backstory of the first life felt lackluster, but if I hadn't read the webtoon prior to watching this might've been something I could forgive, but knowing what I know, I find myself realizing just how MUCH the overall message was changed. Whereas the webtoon seemed to give Jieum a lot of agency in choosing who could be part of her life and going against "destiny," the drama created a lot of rules to take that away. There were consequences from the universe telling her those decisions were wrong, and even more so, the fact that EVERYONE was incorporated into her first life (vs. the coincidental one in the webtoon) seemed to underline that fate does exist, and that people with so-called intertwined destinies would meet each other anyways. Being anti-destiny was one of the things I loved about the webtoon and I felt like the drama completely undid that.

Next, my other big issue is the ending. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate the amnesia trope, especially when used at the end, and this was the perfect example of why. It just leaves SO many plot holes because she lost memories of specific people instead of just her past lives — why wouldn't she question her life changes and memory gaps? How did she get her job back? What about where she was living? Wouldn't other people talk to her about the people she'd forgotten? The only direction I can see the story going is Jieum starting to second guess herself and the people who randomly started to insert themselves in her lives. But obviously, there were no more episodes. The story just...ended.

Overall, I actually think this had a promising start. The cinematography was gorgeous, and there is so much good material. Even if I wasn't immediately convinced, I was glad I gave this a chance and I did see a few scenes that I liked, some familial bonds that touched me. By the ending however, the backstory had become so messy, the philosophy had become unclear, and the romance had fizzled out. I'd lost all emotional investment in the story.

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Has everything except for the plot

I really loved the first few episodes — there wasn’t much of a plot but the “city girl escapes to the countryside” premise promises comfort and I definitely felt that. There was the overarching plot of Samdal’s career, the yearning of an exes-to-lovers romance, and the three sisters providing the family aspect — all of which I loved.

And then as the show went on it started to drag, and I found that there weren’t that much of the countryside vibes, and they introduced plots that were detrimental instead.

First there’s the love triangle, which is the most unnecessary part of the show, and I’m saying this as a love triangle trope defender. The love triangle where the second lead has zero shot, who the FL never once considers a potential love interest, and who has no plot other than the romance and standing in the shadows looking at the main couple steadily progress…we have to leave that behind because all it does is waste screentime.

And then there was the reason behind the main couple’s initial breakup: parental disapproval. It’s a common trope in kdramaland too, and one that I also think is really outdated and frustrating, especially for a drama like this where there’s really nothing else going on.

A third thing that got too much screentime was the gossipy old ladies, who were frustrating even if they weren’t completely horrible by the end.

In terms of the subplots, I think they started out strong but also fizzled out a little. The eldest sister’s romance with her ex-husband was really funny but I wish it was more serious at times rather than making it all so slapstick. The youngest sister’s romance and relationship with her daughter was the best part of the show, especially in connecting the theme of motherhood throughout the show. It’s a fantastic theme that I wish had a better throughline rather than coming in and out, because the mother-daughter scenes always hit really hard.

I also actually really like the focus on Samdal’s career and her adversary, and I wish it didn’t come so late in the show. I also wish they didn’t lean so much into one character being downright evil, and it doesn’t quite give you the satisfaction of karma getting her in the end due to lack of screentime. The plot line of Samdal rediscovering her love for her hometown and photography was really heartwarming still.

Another thing I wish got more screentime was the friend group. We had some at the start of the show when Samdal returned and some at the end when they were helping her, but overall the show leaned into the love triangle and other scenes instead and I felt like we never really got to feel how close they were the way we grow to love the friend groups in dramas like the Reply series.

Overall, it ends on a satisfying note and wraps things up in a neat little bow, but I feel like I didn’t quite get as many comforting vibes I wanted.

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Relatable and heartfelt

It took me a little while to get into this and I liked the younger timeline a lot better than the older adult one, where there was a lot more annoying slapstick humor. It just felt more comforting and the family theme was really strong.

But the adult timeline really grew on me as the drama went on, and in the end, it was that one that hit the hardest. It was just a really beautiful depiction of family life in Tainan, and the bits of political and historical context that it included were also really raw and realistic.

I also have to especially give props to the lead actresses — both the adult and the younger versions did an amazing job of bringing the character to life and making it feel cohesive and natural. And the relationship between the siblings was actually one of my favorite parts in this show. Would highly recommend this.

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