1
1Dynamic with high intensity caused by a sheer impossible tension between self-control & surrender
Revenge and KDrama obviously go extremely well together. TV productions are full of it. Actually, the revenge-motiv appears to be eternally young, being grippingly re-staged over and over again. "Eve" from the year 2022 is one of them - idiosyncratic, with an unmistakable coat of paint. "Eve" is about a long-planned vendetta against one of the most powerful Jaebeol clans in the land. "Eve" may join a long list of KDramas in the revenge genre. However, this KDrama scores with its very own charismatic aura.Premise of the revenge-plan against the most powerful: Perfection should be brought down by perfection.
Maximum control should be conquered by maximum control.
If one wants to control life to perfection, what remains is a lifeless, loveless shell. The price of power is transcending one's humanity. The little Jaebeol preschool daughter vividly fights the emotional price of power: she's already learning to play golf, but she's still peeing her pants - she´s overstrained ... Living the Win are her parents and grandparents: feeling and behaving like deities... The perfection of arrogance finds its direct expression in the control, the unscrupulous abuse and the brutal oppression of others. It goes hand in hand with self-control. Yet, the extent of the staging of their 'beauty' and ´perfection´ becomes downright repulsive and turns 'beauty' into its opposite - disgust.
The (dramaturgically chosen) valve grounding the human being in his earthly transient body is the dance. Here especially the tango. Exotic, erotic, heavy, deep, dark. The dance, the rhythm and the music bring you back into your own body. You have to listen to it - in tango to the body of the partner, too. So it's also about perfection here, but it consists of perfectly balancing your own body movements with personal authenticity, feelings and perception. THIS ´perfection´ draws from itself and is not at the expense of others. It culminates in a state of relinquishment of control - an altered state of consciousness. This condition only lasts for the moment of the dance, for the moment of encounter. (The Andalusian flamenco even coined its own term for bringing the dance to perfection: 'Duende'. This concept stands for an almost ecstatic state of consciousness that results from surrendering to the interplay of different brain areas, physical dance technique and emotion.) This moment makes you feel alive - intense, true, pure and innocent.
Throughout the individual episodes the revenge-hungry protagonist (a fantastic So Yae-ji) maintains an extremely high tension between the poles of maximum possible emotional self-control (in the service of the elaborate revenge plan) on the one hand and complete surrender to the sensual, invigorating movements of tango dance on the other. As the dance draws its power and charisma from the depth of the subjective, authentic emotional world, maintaining this tension is almost impossible. In fact the KDrama thrives on this very special dynamic (of the sheer impossible bearing of the tension between self-control and surrender). The result is a consistently high and gripping intensity.
I have read some reviews that accuse this KDrama of the (missing) chemistry of the protagonists or the ending or the resolution of the revenge motive, or even the revenge motive at all. Well, that is of course a matter of taste, too. In any case, I think the motive for revenge suits South Korean authoritarian society. Even today. I also consider the character of Kang Yoon Gyeom being drawn (and acted) extremely well - if the protagonist were sympathetic, open, tangible (and, if you like, more classically attractive), then the relationship dynamics would be more predictable. His repulsive, calculating side suits him. The fact that he is 40 already plus he doesn't really fit the image of classic male love interest suits the role, too. So do those very subtle nuances that reveal his other (touchable, needy) side. He is not extremely likeable. I agree. Yet, thus the provoking relationship with him subtly, unintentionally and unexpectedly develops its own dynamic. The ambivalence - attractive vs. repulsive - comes across quite well in my opinion. A strange chemical mixture, an unknown factor in the revenge plan equation. The reactions triggered by this in turn leads to an ending, that is what it is. ... Either way, revenge NEVER makes you really 'satisfied'. Because the pain of the old wounds or the memory never goes away, and the loss cannot be reversed either. On the other hand, with revenge new karma comes along and is guaranteed to be saddled on top of everything else, which one has to spoon up ... (This is usually overlooked when one sets out to take revenge...)
From my perspective, "Eve" is a haunting KDrama - with a lasting impression for sure.
It might also be worth mentioning:
The staging of the cruelty within the Elite world, their madness as well as the space given for the sexual dimension of the relationship are exceptional for a KDrama. However, these deliberately staged rather animalistic or even archaic aspects of the human species (which are assigned to the evolutionarily older brainstem or reptilian brain) set a sharp contrast to the hypocritical, superhuman self-portrayal of the Jaebeol elite...
---------------------- SIDE NOTE: --- Revenge motive and KDrama - for once wanting to control the elite 'authorities' who otherwise control the rest of the country ---
South Korea (with its comparably recent dictatorship history) is probably one of the places on earth where (perhaps a little bit more than in many other places where rule of law has already gained a somewhat more solid footing) rules still mainly apply to 'simple' people, the masses. The influential Elite, the Jaebeol in particular, namely play their private, own, elitist game. They are isolated from the rest of society. They seem to own the world. They live and rule as they please in their own orbit. When their world collides with the masses, it's annoying, but rarely turns out bad for them. They simply get rid of disruptive factors (or better: let others get rid of them). They enjoy all the freedoms. For them, ordinary people are actually of no worth. They can be substituted. They can be controlled by money or violence.
The state should actually be responsible for objective justice. But 'state' is made up of people. And the less binding the objective rules are handled by these people or the more rules can be bent, stretched and interpreted in favor of the 'perpetrators' from elite circles, the greater the subjective dissatisfaction and the stronger the desire of the 'victims' for vigilantism - the desire for revenge!
However, there is a difference between the desire for revenge/subjective justice and the realistic possibility of actually getting it. For the influential powerful, a few phone calls may suffice. The common people have to be a bit more subtle and sophisticated. Vigilante justice needs to be well planned. Especially if you want revenge on a person from the orbit of the Jaebeol. It costs time and money to be able to penetrate their world at all. In most cases, sworn helpers are also necessary. After all, it is to be expected that the same applies here: a plan is there to be discarded... Not everything can be foreseen. Details have to be improvised. The space for the unexpected can only be calculated with a degree of blurriness.
Against the background of authoritarian South Korean social structure, KDrama and revenge motif often and happily enter into a dramaturgically promising connection. It offers a vicarious valve for the emotions of the many ´victims´ of a corrupt system...
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Femme fatale, where?
While I was watching this series many "what if" questions came to my mind. What if the editing was good? What if Park Hee Soon was the male lead? What if the make-up artists could do make-up? But let’s see every aspect separately.Plot
The plot was obviously full of plot holes, as expected from the genre. The problem is that the series took itself way too seriously to a point that me, as a viewer, expected something better writing-wise. At some points, it was plain stupid.
Let’s take the kids for example that were basically there for décor. When the scriptwriter needed them, she added all those scenes with them, when she didn’t, it was like they didn’t even exist.
When it comes to these series, entertainment is a must. Even though the first half of the series was entertaining to watch, the second half was boring for the most part and all the excitement disappeared.
Directing, Cinematography & Editing
First of all, if someone asked me, when was this series released, I would be confused. The majority of the series looked like a 2016 or a 2015 production, but there were some scenes -not many- that looked visually pleasing, like they were part of a 2021 production. Generally though, it felt cheap.
The lighting was bad, especially in some scenes, like the tango scene in the first episode. I only liked the close-ups in the first few episodes that added to the atmosphere they were trying to create.
The editing was also pretty bad. In one scene the character looks to the right in the other scene, he looks straight ahead.
And then, we have everyone looking fake. Someone told me how it is called, but since I don’t remember it and I can’t find it, I will just use my own words. Everyone’s skin looks fake. It is flawless and not in a "the make-up is great" kind of way. In some scenes, it felt like some characters didn’t have a nose, that’s how bad it was. And to be honest, just why? I had a huge problem with that, especially regarding Seo Yea Ji. She is stunning the way she is, why would you make her look like that? That must be an achievement.
Acting
Oh, Lord. Generally speaking, the acting was mediocre, if I want to be generous, with Yoo Sun as Han So Ra being the only one that I loved watching on screen. She did a great job, portraying her character and I dare say that I would compare her performance with Kim Seo Yeon’s in the Penthouse. Good overacting is not easy to find and she did a magnificent job. Lee Sang Yeob and Park Myung Hoon, Kang Yoon Gyeom's brother, also did a very good job.
Now to the rest of the cast. Seo Yea Ji did an okay job as Lee Ra El. I would say that she needs a bit more work in the sentimental-scenes department. Besides that, at some point, I felt like she gave up. It was like she was trying so hard to make Ra El seem like a good person, to a point that she even made her voice sound thinner.
Now to the actual problems. One of those problems is Park Byung Eun. Even though I didn’t find him as bad as everyone else did, another actor would bring the eroticism and chemistry that it was needed. My biggest problem with his acting was the inconsistency. In a close-up shot he looked shocked, eyes red etc and in the full shot of the same scene he looked like he was just staring at some flowers in the park.
I also didn’t like the acting of Jeon Gook Hwan, the actor that portrayed Han Pan Ro, Han So Ra’s father. I get that he is a veteran, but for me he was ridiculous and I am saying that in the least good way possible. I felt like his acting would suit a series from five years ago. Same with his right hand Kim Jung Cheol, portrayed by Jung Hae Kyun.
Don’t even get me started on the foreign actors and how bad they were. Seo Yea Ji spoke better Spanish than the people that were supposed to be from Argentina.
OST
I like the original soundtrack of the series, with Hold Me Tight by Kim Ye Ji being my favourite. The version of Libertango by Astor Piazzolla with the bandoneon in the tango scene was also fantastic.
Femme Fatal
Undoubtedly, Seo Yea Ji is the perfect actress for these types of roles. Besides her beauty that I personally find quite unique in the Korean industry and her deep voice, she can pull of characters like Lee Ra El. However, no matter how good and gorgeous she is, her character was downgraded by everything else.
Firstly, she is supposed to be mesmerizing when dancing tango and she is just not. The way she dances feels amateurish, cringe to watch and it is definitely not as erotic as they want us to believe. Plus the choreography they created didn’t help at all. It made me laugh at times. That’s where the director should enter and actually do a good job alongside the make-up artists and stylists which gets me to my next point.
As everyone noticed, Seo Yea Ji has lost a lot of weight. Even though we can’t know if it was for the role or because of the scandal, the people responsible for her outfits should be fired. Many of the things that she wore didn’t fit her body type. Not only that, but some of the clothing choices were just bad. Same goes with the makeup.
No, the bad make-up wasn’t intentional, as I have heard many people say. Besides the fact that it felt like they were amateurs and had the same three things to work with -colors, eye-shadows etc-, the majority of their work was awful and I am being very kind. The make-up they used in most scenes looked awful on her, it didn’t fit her outfits nor it was nicely applied. The glittery make-up was just offensive to my eyes. It was bad even in her dreams! Plus, in some shots it looked different than in others and in some scenes they made her look like a ghost.
The same problem occurs with the hairstyles. They weren’t too bad, but when you have Seo Yea Ji you must make her look even more beautiful and not degrade her beauty.
Once again, think of the tango scene. I can’t believe they made her wear that awful dress with that awful make up, when they could have dressed her with a blood red colour dress to make her look like a woman you would give up everything for.
Kang Yoon Gyeom VS Seo Eun Pyung
If you were watching this series, while it was airing, then you know that everyone was arguing about who Ra El should end up with, who is better blah blah blah.
This is my unpopular opinion. First of all, for me, Ra El should end up with no one. Confucius had said "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" and that would be the most fitting ending for this type of series.
Now, if I had to choose one, that would be Kang Yoon Gyeom. First of all, I can see why he would love her or obsess over her, take your pick. Also, people seem to forget that Lee Ra El is not a saint. She may have been through a very difficult time, but she is manipulative and uses everyone to achieve her goals, including the kids. So no, I don’t think she would make a good couple with Mr. Perfect Seo Eun Pyung. Her toxic relationship with Kang Yoon Gyeom and their similarities make them the ideal endgame, because that is what fits a series full of morally grey characters.
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a fashion show, a screaming wife and unnecessary sex scenes
Edit: Almost a year has passed since I wrote this review and I still get people bashing me for my score. Do you not know what a review is? If you don't like it, then write your own damn review and score your own drama as you wish. Because of people like these harassing me, I have readjusted my scoring. I have lowered the acting and music scores. From memory, I didn't think the villains even performed that well. It was cookie-cutter acting and the music - I can't even remember it. My overall? Still a 1.5. Harass me over my reviews and I will lower the scores further. Evidently I didn't score them low enough for these people to wake the eff up.--------------
I can't even describe how trashy this drama is, I was left disappointed and in shock over the whole thing. Honestly, I'm shocked at myself for having finished this discombobulated mess. It almost felt as if this "comeback" drama is a punishment that Seo Ye Ji had to endure before she would be given a more decent script to work on.
Where should I begin? The synopsis, maybe? This is how the synopsis goes: "Lee Ra El idolised her parents, a highly intelligent father and a strikingly beautiful mother." I was actually waiting for more snippets of her happy family life to be revealed, but none of that was given until late, where a meagre birthday celebration of 3 seconds was shown. How smart was his father? He was just described as "the Bill Gates of Korea." This was mentioned in passing in Ep 6 or so. How beautiful was her mother? Was she a walking fashion house, an elegant homemaker? The makeup and image artists for this drama did a disastrous job at dressing up her mother in the flashbacks. The mother was a typically ordinary housewife who apparently loved to dress like a countryside grandmother. They gave her granny floral blouses with straight cuttings, while Ra El gets to wear a different outfit in every scene! Ra El the fashion bombshell was the main focus. The synopsis goes on to say Ra El's goal is to bring down the fam using a USD1.6 billion divorce lawsuit. And yet halfway into the drama, we were told through another character's mouth (Moon Hee) that the original goal was to have the villains arrested using proper evidence and by way of the law. .....What divorce lawsuit? LMAO.
Nevermind that, who cares about what the synopsis says? The drama is nothing like what was advertised. Ra El should have been the glue that holds the story together. The plot centers around her revenge. But she too, changed her mind about only punishing the main culprit who killed her father midway into the drama. Her behaviour became more and more psychologically disturbed, as if she's trying to remind the audience of her past performance in It's Okay to Not Be Okay. Like, why? Wanting to exact vengeance on the person who ruined your life is one thing, but it's unnecessary to be psycho about it. You can still be human about it. There is hardly any need to portray every revenge-seeker as psychotic. Now Ra El, after finding out that Han So Ra murdered her mother, decided that she not only wanted to destroy the patriarch, but also everything in that family now. The targets of her vengeance have increased.
Alas. Despite learning who her mother's killer was, the writers of this drama still insisted on placing the man Ra El seduced, Yoon Geum, at the center of the story. They spent hours upon hours of episode time showing me the dynamics of the seduction. They kept bringing up Yoon Geum's feelings for Ra El, which started with nothing but pure lust. And suddenly, I found myself being shown Yoon Geum's miserable childhood. Do I care? What has his childhood got to do with Ra El's revenge? I know the scriptwriters were trying to say that So Ra losing Yoon Geum is an apt punishment for murdering Ra El's mother, and I'm feeling that the scriptwriters were trying to convince me that Yoon Geum is somehow a guy deserving of some level of sympathy. LOL. He was already steaming with lust the first time he laid his eyes on her. Why would I sympathise with a guy like this? LOL. Ra El uses sex as her weapon, and there's something grossly wrong about this in the year of 2022. Let us all throw a pity party for Yoon Geum, his tortured childhood, his deranged, spoilt wife, and his daughter who wasn't potty trained.
Frankly, I don't give a donkey's ass about this male lead.
The most infuriating thing that I soon realised is, when a man comes back for revenge, he gets to do things like deep researching, device-tracking, surveilling, espionage or military-style anti-reconnaisance without having to sacrifice his body or mental acuity. But when a woman comes back for revenge, she uses her body and sex to get what she wants. She goes through trauma and scarring, out-of-control situations where her mental judgement is impaired and subsequently, criticised, questioned, ridiculed. It always cheapens the female character, and this is unacceptable for me. The year is 2022, not 1972. This drama had set up the situation in such a way that the target is a bunch of fools whose intellectual processes occur in the lower half of their bodies.
The writers gave no information about Yoon Geum's father-in-law, Han Pan Ro, the main villain who gave orders to ruin Ra El's family until the end. Not much was also said about the crimes of his father-in-law's right-hand man either, Joon Cheol, who was directly responsible for Ra El's father's death. I want to know how these main two old crocs are going to get their comeuppance, chop chop. I want to know what Ra El was going to do to them and how she's going to set a trap them. But no. This drama insisted that the focus was placed on Ra El's load of chameleonish outfits, the seduction process, and the boring, lusty object of her seduction. Everything is all over the place. It's garbage.
I mean, don't we need to know, how Ra El gathered the specific evidence to nail the bad guys? Shouldn't I be learning about the villain's specific crimes? Shouldn't I be learning about why Moon Hee, the older woman she's collaborating with in her revenge scheme, and why does she also want Han Pan Ro's head? What's Moon Hee's backstory? But I got nothing. All I got up until Episode 9, was wasting 9 hours of my life watching useless catfights between Han So Ra (the guy's wife, also daughter of Han Pan Ro) and other wives of the upper class, Ra El waltzing and sashaying in different outfits to seduce the guy and finally had sex with him. I also had to watch Han So Ra have sex with a manservant. For what purpose was I shown this? What has So Ra's sex life got to do with Ra El's revenge plot? And I have to put up with scenes of failed attempts to gain entry into Yoon Geum's safe, in order for Ra El to obtain the ledger of her father's company 13 years ago, which is remarkably stupid.
No one keeps a 13-year old ledger of a company they usurped illegally from a man they killed. No one does this. They would sooner burn the ledger to get rid of the evidence. I'll quote a real life scenario: Weeks before Enron Corp officially went down, Arthur Andersen started shredding its audit documents related to Enron. So to think that Ra El and Moon Hee's aim was to retrieve a decade-old ledger (13 years lmao) with the assumption that it still exists, is all the more ridiculous. Additionally, what kind of huge company would contain its accounting info in just one thin ledger? Is this junior high accounting class? In the real world, companies in operation are allowed to destroy their documents after a minimum of 7 accounting periods have passed (7 years) by IFRS Standards, which the Korean Accounting Standards Board (KASB) adopts. It doesn't make an ounce of sense then, for the villains to have illegally acquired Ra El's semiconductor company and then still retains the documents detailing their crimes after 13 years. It's common sense that criminals would destroy evidence as soon as possible.
Again, this whole drama really doesn't bother to tell you the specifics of what really happened to Ra El's father or his company. It really only vaguely tells you that the father was accused of being an industrial spy, was forced to sign a confession which he refused, and had his life snuffed out of him and his shares of his company robbed. Which is again, dumb. There are laws which protect a director and his company shares. The script just wanted to use that cheap backstory to give Ra El a motive, and show the audience some fashion houses' outfits worn by Seo Ye Ji, show the audience some skin and sexy times. Oh, and scriptwriters had to make the seduced man's wife, Han So Ra, into a screaming, crazy mess, because it helps with raking up more sympathy points for Ra El. Imagine if So Ra was actually a good person!!! That is a no go for the scriptwriters. It would make Ra El invalid. So of course the wife had to be evil. And she had to be someone who also had a hand in Ra El's mother's death. This was only revealed in Ep 7, by the way, I guess it's the scriptwriters' way of saying, yeah, we know we're focusing way too much on the wife, but there's a reason!!! And still, that reason went to nought. Too many retroactive continuity in this trash.
The side character, Seo Eun Pyeong, the "clean" assemblyman who scorned the rich, who would never agree to meeting any of them for whatever reason, neither accepting a lunch invite nor a gift -- he was a convenient tool for Ra El in this drama. Eun Pyeong was usually so morally upright, that he was incorruptible. But of course, he easily agreed to rubbing his shoulders with Han Pan Ro for the sake of helping Ra El in her quest for revenge. What made this ridiculous was, Ra El was a mere 15-year old child he had helped some 13 years ago. She was a child he had sent to the USA to live a new life after her father's death. This dude was essentially sacrificing his entire career for her now. And the reason? Love! He decided that he loved her, and declared his love out of nowhere. This was after meeting the kid 13 years later and not even spending an inch of time to find out what her character is really like for him to fall in love with her. Nevermind, he fell in love after watching her erotic dance that one time in her studio, I guess that counts. Very logical! I swear this is one of the worst dramas I've ever seen this year.
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Swing and a miss.
Ok so i'll come out right at the front and say i'm not a fan of Revenge dramas - with a few exceptions, but I can still recognise when one has (in my opinion, of course) been put well together or not. This one ends up being probably by lowest ever review score.I found this drama hard to watch, I literally had to keep pushing myself back to get it off my plate. I have never dropped a drama in my life as I always believe it's worth giving it to the end to get the full picture (sometimes what doesnt make sense for 15 episodes can be wrapped up in a beautiful bow in the 16th and be wonderful!) - i've pushed myself to continue on some others in the past and it's usually been worth it. This one, I kinda wish i'd broken the habit and dropped it.
Difficult to talk about specific issues without spoiling, so forgive me for being vague in some cases.
Acting - Just fell flat for me. If you wanted Seo Yea Ji in "Its Ok to not be ok" (and if not, what are you wasting time reading reviews for Eve for! watch it right this second!) you'll be expecting brilliance. I didn't see that here, it was flat. Quiet. it's like there was a per-word cost and they were trying to keep the expenses down. On the flip side though, Yoo Sun was the absolute MVP on this one - her characters transformation was just brilliant, her scenes were definitely the best. The two lead male goons are more caricatures than anything else, the "good" male lead was run of the mill.
Story - A bit all over the place. You end up with no remorse for anyone, just kinda glad they've all had their endings one way or another. There's nothing to hang on to in the end and say "that was worth it" because I disliked the Seo Yea Ji's character profusely by the end, she wasn't any better than the bad characters.
The music was great, I am still humming away to some of the songs and they're in my spotify playlist.
I'm glad it's done. I want to see Seo Yea Ji (and all these other, otherwise fantastic actors) in something that allows them to shine. This wasn't it, in my opinion, and I don't recommend watching it unless you're an absolute top fan for revenge dramas and dont mind some wonkiness.
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Not with a BANG,but with a...whimper?
...Is what many people seem to think of a much awaited Seo Yea Ji comeback drama "EVE".Not too out there to be considered a spiritual successor to "Penthouse",but not out there ENOUGH to be considered a credible revenge drama.Because those are...typically in good faith?To start off every review,I like to thank the writers,producers,cast and the staff for their effort on this project,as creating a drama is no joke.Now onto the review.
Truth be told,even I at times couldn`t figure out what this drama was going for.Thought it started off as a steamy revenge story,where sex is to La El(Seo Yea Ji)what fists were to Ji Woo in "My Name".And there were no issues to be found on my part because of that.In revenge,many options are fair game and I`ll say this for people who considered this drama to be `too sexual`:If violence is fine if it`s in the name of revenge,but sex isn`t,does that mean...sex is worse that violence?Anyway,had to get that off my chest,it was REALLY bothering me.
Now,as can be seen from my grade,I liked this drama a FAIR bit more than most folks on here.And for that I have to thank grimey Japanese dramas about revenge.Which "EVE" basically is,only it`s...well,Korean.Seriously,I had to check twice to make sure this wasn`t written by a middle aged Japanese man,who wanted to `tone it down` after "Kenja no Ai".And this might also be where most viewers have the issue of pinpointing this drama.It`s not a makjang,but it`s also not a SERIOUS drama full of fury.No,my friends,it isn`t.It`s your scandal JDrama,masquerading as a KDrama.And when I got that somewhere in Episode 2,I knew the opinions are going to be wild.And I also knew I was going to like it.And I did.For many reasons.Let`s start with positives.
First off,something this team did RIGHT off the bat is casting Seo Yea Ji as a femme fatale.That`s basically half of your work done right there.If anyone can be sensual,sexy enough to make me believe men would FIGHT over her,it`s Seo Yea Ji.And it`s not necessarily her looks either.For a femme fatale character,you have to know how to carry yourself,how to speak and when.You have to charm,but also bring fear into submission.And that`s something most drama actresses don`t know how to do.Whether it`s because being a femme fatale still seems like a scary undertaking or because most writers don`t dare approach such an idea for a character in a drama,I don`t know.But don`t be mistaken,this was Seo Yea Ji`s show through and through.Even I felt like she was touching my soul in earlier episodes.And if Mr.Kang was even important for that I`ll discuss later on.For all her controversies(which in this case seem to help this role quite a bit) and speculations that this was the only script she was offered,Seo Yea Ji as Lee La El can act.And I actually think she had fun with this role.They even had her speak in Spanish,which she does fluently(even better than me and I also can speak it on a fluent level).She`s mild when need be,going from cold to heartbreaking in a matter of seconds.There were so many of her micro expressions I`ve learnt to appreciate throughout the years.I love when I can tell what a character is feeling by only looking into their eyes.And yes,part of that is because I feel like Seo Yea Ji is too talented an actress to become expendable.Even her crazier scenes(very camp) I enjoyed because she brought layers to her performance.Which,many didn`t get that message,it seems...Even during some less interesting bits,if she was on my screen I was invested.And this also has something to do with writing and the symbolism of EVE bumbling under the surface.But it`s more fun to speculate,right?There were quite a few comments about how she(Seo Yea Ji) is far above this material,but after watching six of her projects,I have to ask:Is she?When an actress is wasted on a subpar project,I usually think of a lukewarm romcom or a drama where she can`t show her acting skills because it`d compromise her character.But here she does it all.And does it well,too.Seo Yea Ji never was one to pick an uninteresting doormat of a character.Even when she played a mostly passive character("Save Me"),she injected life and fight into them.
Another positive for me is how they decided to go about the demise of the big bad.In revenge dramas,the stand off is always a SPECTACLE,something to look forward to.But in a surprising twist of that good old Japanese drama realism,the way they meet their end is as insignificant as it would be,because time waits for no one.Revenge can be fulfilled,but YOU won`t be satisfied with it,at the end of the day.And I loved that message.I always prefer that bite of nihilism in my revenge media.Oh,and this drama?It`s FUN.It sticks in your mind.At least for me it did,and after a slew of generic `deep dramas` with a message you SURELY haven`t seen before done better,I like it for every side it has to show me.It`s not sluggish!In fact,I had so much fun with it,I didn`t care if the end was going to be happy,sad or ambiguous,because I was there for the ride.And it gave me everything I wanted.
Of course,it wouldn`t be me if I didn`t offer some negatives as well.These,however were mostly mentioned by previous reviewers already.The romance is probably the biggest con with this drama.It`s...there?Unlike many viewers,I can admit I have a soft spot for Park Byung-eun playing Mr.Kang,La El`s lover and a cold conglomerate.He`s not a risky actor,but what he does,he does okay and I`m glad he found his niche.There were some parts of this I didn`t expect them to go where they did with his character,and I applaud that.But as for the romance,I actually prefer these two leads on their own,because it`s much more fun to explore them individually.Mr.Kang honestly has more to him I wish was explored deeper and with some nuance.He`s already more than just a typical cheating husband pawn I expected to get.As for the romance itself,it served as a plot device for further development and nothing more.There were also some inconsistencies in both cinematography and some characters.These some people found glaring,for me they could be overlooked but they are there.The cinematography is at times great,but overall it`s dated in terms of Korean dramas.I still prefer it over pre 2014 KDrama cinematography.That was glaring if you ask me.There were some cringy moments and the ending was appropriate,albeit a bit abrupt.
But my biggest negative,which for most was a positive it seems,was Yoo Sun`s acting.She acted like she was in a makjang.Thing is,she was the only one.Where most baddies were at the "Save Me" level of theatrics(at times twisted,at times cartoony,but there were layers as well),she was that "Penthouse" level(didn`t see her in anything before this-Edit:I did see her in "Move to Heaven" but I don`t remember her in that at all; but I skimmed over her theater resume and yeah,I can see where she got it from) where she only had two modes:insane and even more insane.I did feel bad for her in some sense,but her overacting really threw me off for most of the runtime.I`d even argue it was her acting that made people think this was going to be that makjang,not the story perse.I buy she`s a spoiled brat and an unfeeling mother,but everything else besides that really falls on her not understanding that this...well,wasn`t "Penthouse".That being said,her scenes with Seo Yea Ji were my favorite,because it was as if she got the hint that she should take a chill pill and give in a more compelling performance.But even that fits in my theory that this is,in fact,a revenge JDrama in disguise.Even there,it`s always that one person that goes over the top.
Finally,whether this project was SYJ`s pity party or not,I liked it a lot.It was cruel,nonsensical at times,sexy,somewhat different yet somewhat familiar,and it was just the type of drama I was missing.I`m well aware this is the kind of drama only a specific niche of watchers would truly appreciate,but I am one of them.And this was an insane journey,"EVE".
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What a messy plot and waste of good actors/actresses
I was really looking forward to this drama due to Seo Yea Ji performance in former drama's and was totally disappointed. May be makjang is a genre but even there I expect a more or less good or plausible plot and some character developement.The good things:
- Yoo Sun's performance being an ultimate bitch
- Seo Yea Ji was okayish, but not as good as before
The bad things, so many plot stupidities, just a selection mostly addressed to the writer and director:
- Romance of FL and ML almost no chemistry, not plausible, the church scene, so dumb
- One sided Romance of SML to the FL even less plausible from him
- The ML is a passionate Tango lover ? Are you kidding me ? That whsipering robot with one face all the 16 episodes !?
- In the final two episodes where were all the security dudes from before in the most critical times !?
- Why did the main leads have kids at all ? They seem to be an obligatory accessory in the show with no almost active role in the drama.
I could go on and on. My note to myself: Next time if makjang, wait for the end and read some reviews before waisting your time. And please all you actors and actresses: Don't spend your energy on such a messy thing. There's tons of other dramas to choose I guess. Especially Seo Yea Ji should try another style.
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Tango because you like or you need?
“She is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. 'Time' for her isn’t something to fight against. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water.”― Roman Payne
Produced by 'Studio Dragon' and 'C-JeS Ent.', "EVE (이브)" is a melodrama cum revenge show with essence of Korean makjang (not a typical makjang). Written by Yoon Young Mi and directed by Park Bong Seop, the show was originally broadcasted on tvN.
The story follows the arduous life of Lee Ra Il (Seo Yea Ji), a Tango dancer, a daughter, a wife and a mother who has the aura that can bewitch even the cupid. Coming from an infamous background, she suddenly garners overwhelming amount of attention of everyone but behind the glamorous façade, she hides a formidable past and burns in her heart, the fire of misery. As life becomes cruel to her at an early age, she comes back with master plans to seek revenge from the devil and make them crumble.
LY Group Chairman Kang Yoon Kyum (Park Byung Eun) is Ra-Il’s prime target who without his awareness serves as the greatest cause to the tragedy. Han So Ra (Yoo Sun) is Yoon Kyum’s wife who can go to any length to save her marriage and her father Han Pan Ro (Jeon Gook Hwan) is the mastermind to every evil deed. Seo Eun Pyeong (Lee Sang Yeob) is an assemblyman and Laa Il’s old acquaintance who is eager to help her by any means. Jang Moon Hee (Lee Il Hwa) is La Il’s foster mother and her partner in conspiracy. Kim Jung Chul (Jung Hae Kyun) and Kim Gye Young (So Hee Jung) are aides to Pan Ro and Eun Pyeong, respectively.
Plot development is amazing at first, in fact stayed the same for the first half; I’d say I loved it till the 12th episode. With a steady flow and several peaks, the pilot episode and the beginning sequences, including the starting scene, were all intriguing and captivating. As La-Il continues to step up, ticking off her list of plans, the show keeps getting more interesting with each episode. There were moments of uncertainties for the characters’ pasts but the way they were dealt with must be acknowledged. The furtherance of the story was as amazing, though there were instances of possible labefaction and the writer seemed lost in her own story. Admittedly, the somehow felt a little draggy two week before finale, as if nothing major was happening, and with everything out to the surface, things were only getting messed. This surely is reflected in my ratings but I also felt the overall quality never went beyond the average mark.
With an experience of over 1.5 decades, Yoon Young Mi jakka-nim seems like a lover of makjang pieces. And as she chose to make Yea Ji the star of her event, she surely has hit a huge with the show that for sure was well decorated by the rookie director Park Bong Seop PD-nim. The show is not exactly character-driven but the characters surely hold the leashes to every mightiness that the viewers were offered throughout. The background narration, the manner of portrayal and the execution as well as storytelling were pleasing to their best. The cinematography with dazzling bright hue accompanied by sumptuous eye-enticing editing were joyful visual treats. The problem with writing is that the last quarter of the show turned typical, with a moderate rush they made it a complex mess where characters went berserk and acted crazy
There are a total of 4 OSTs in the drama and all of them are truly likable, narrating the natures of the four main characters that you see in the show’s main poster. Notably, the pure instrumentals of these tracks are as alleviating.
# My most favourite is “Hold Me Tight” by again, one of my favourite vocalist, Kim Ye Ji is an English track meant for La-Il telling her intentions to make her enemy suffer through lies.
# “Adios Amante” sung by Shin Youme is an awfully intriguing track that begins with piano notes depicting confusions and suspicions and meant for So Ra. Both the lyrics and vocal are strikingly beautiful.
# As a song of remorse “Want to be your everyday” with soft vocals of Sondia is a way for Yoon Kyum to seek the presence of someone who understands and wilfully comforts him for life.
# Lee Hyun sings “Only Way” as Eun Pyeong calls for acknowledgement of his emotions that he realizes are genuine. The track is immensely soulful as well as soulful.
The aesthetics of the show was focused on Seo Yea Ji and does it sound like a complaint? Hell NO! I am beyond happy. The lady is already so gracious and the outfits she wore, were what chose her and defined her. Goosebumps kept coming in and going out every time she came into the frame. How can someone be so graceful? Her character arc as Ra-il is as beguiling and appreciable skills of hers are what should be credited. However, the aura of the character sadly faded in the later half, slowly getting diluted with typicality of the show. I loved that she stayed vengeful till the end, but the initial undertone felt lost.
Byung Eun is undoubtedly one of the best in terms of acting and as pleasing was his performance as Yoon Kyum, a man deprived of love and a man seeking liberty of worldly things through his leaning towards music and dance. A man who holds himself back knowing what is demanded of him but for the sake of acknowledgement, he suffers of misery, with no one to lean on. I would have loved to see a character development but unfortunately he stayed the same, with all the expressions and thinking process, the only change that he exhibited was the change in heart and his views of love.
Yoo Sun as Sora did a good representation of someone with multiple complexes and severe mental health issues, who seeks nothing but care and attention from her family. Sang Yeob as a sane character playing the man of influence contributed to the quality of the show but I couldn’t see anything appealing out of his character that would make me want more; his character could have been better written and provided with more screen-time.
One thing I loved the most was the inclusion of Piazzolla’s bandoneon and the underlying legend. The way the writer used that tale to narrate the lives of both leads was ecstatic even though it lasted only for an episode. Also, bringing the deep essence of ‘tango’ and narrating the story in artistic sense was also beautiful.
Some of my favourite dialogues from the show are…
“Dance is a form of rebellion by nature. People who obey orders, don't dance.”
“Love cannot be hidden, it's madly impulsive.”
“There are three things that can't be hidden: poverty, sneezes and love.”
“I will be the master. Not you.”
Final Remarks… I think it’d be wrong to forget the amazing start and the gracious furtherance of the show just because the ending faced a downfall, and rightfully so, I understand why people are mad. But, rationally speaking, I am not gonna rate it absurdly low for the unsatisfactory ending. Despite everything, it was a good show in overall. One problem is that many here perceived this as a makjang story with several moxed genre, where the makers made clear that it is a revenge melodrama. I think it is worth the time and you can speed up after 12 episodes if you want but this is not bad.
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Over the Top Drama and Dumb*ss Ending
So the story is basically about a young girl named Ra El who witnesses her father get beat up, murdered, and framed as a corporate spy just so that the evil guys, the Han family, can take over his company. You have a high society and powerful Han family, who basically act like thugs behind the scenes. It's like they're trying to make the villains seem really evil by adding hungry dogs, vicious beatings, and over-dramatic "evil smiles". Ra El herself gets injured when the same bad people come after her for her shares in her father's company. A human rights lawyer, Seo Eun Pyeong, who tries to help her but fails, sends her away to America to protect her. So Ra El comes back to Korea, under a different identity with revenge in mind to take on the Han family. She started by first getting married to one of the bad guys, (who came after her shares when she was younger), she befriends the daughter, So Ra, of the Han family while at the same time, seduces So Ra's husband, Yoon Kyeom.The only one who truly recognizes her and suspects her revenge quest is the human rights lawyer, Eun Pyeong, who is now a hopeful presidential candidate. He tries to persuade Ra El to not follow down the revenge path.
There are a few scenes that are a bit steamy but overall, I'm just not feeling the whole seduction theme with Ra El and Yoon Kyeom. All the tango dancing, hand humping, and face slapping are all a bit much. Between Ra El's wide-eye staring with sometimes over-the-top eye glitter or lined eye makeup, we have grown women dancing the tango in a kindergarten school recital. It's so out of place. How much tango can we take if this isn't a dancing show?
No one seems to notice men fighting over Ra El because apparently even her husband, is never around or cares enough to see something is amiss with her. There are older men desiring the younger Ra El and when she finally gets together with Yoon Kyeom, it seems lacking and rushed as we have to watch it in between scenes where his wife, So Ra is throwing ridiculous, childish tantrums.
There's a scene where Yoon Kyeom is playing the piano and Ra El is dancing in the room and while they try to make it sexy, I'm just trying not to roll my eyes at the cheesy scene. Like, "Dude can't see you dancing behind him, lady." (insert roll eyes and snicker here).
Maybe, I'm just not loving the whole older man and younger woman mistress. He's falling for her sexually but they're making it seem like he's "in love" with her. I'm not sure if they're going to make these two the endgame but I'm not feeling it at all. Their chemistry is just so off.
They try to make the dramatic scenes even more "dramatic" by adding over-the-top background music, like some kind of Game of Thrones orchestra, and then adding slow-motion or still scenes of just staring. The music builds up and then it's like... nothing. Lol. Getting really repetitive and boring. Also, the FL's voice is so tonal. There's something off about it. I get that she's playing a fake persona, but her voice always has the same "fake-ness" in all the scenes. Maybe it's just the actress.
I'll update my review, (watched up to Ep6 as of writing) if I can make it to the end but so far I'm not loving this. I'm not too keen on her sleeping her way through revenge.
Update: (More major spoilers below)
So I watched up to EP12 and barely made it... took me a few weeks to re-start and continue and then I watched EP 13 and I was like, "OMFG... what f*cking farce is this show?" Of all the surveillance and gadgets the FL, Ra El has, the ML, Yoon Kyeom manages to easily waltz into her "secret" lair and discover the truth about Ra El's goal to take down his company. Was this the best the writers could do?! So pathetic. What a cop-out. Not to mention he got angry for her stealing files out of his own vault that HE gave her the code to access in the first place.
-Let's also talk about how Yoon Kyeom finally realizes Lee Ra El's intentions and her reasonings that it all had to do with her father's stolen company, Gediks. The Gediks contract/ledger was stored in his vault this entire time. It was a contract with blood splattered all over it. Like that wasn't a major clue to Yoon Kyeom that something murderous transpired to obtain the company?? Ya' okay. He acts all surprised when he finds out the truth.
-The two leads declare their love for each other and it's so dumbass. After Ra El discovers all that happened with her mother's death and the death of her "fake mom" on top of all that, she's still in love with the Chairman? Like WTF. Their stupid love made me wanna vomit a little.
-By the last two episodes, basically, everyone losing their sh*t...
-You got the head of the Han family, an old man, trying to lift a sledgehammer and his daughter So Ra wearing a stupid dress with gloves and wrecking furniture with a hammer. Then she puts on some dark makeup to give us vibes that she's a crazy person but in the morning scene, her makeup looks normal. So then she reapplies crazy makeup again. Whatevs man. Okay, we get it, she's losing it. Enough with the clown makeup.
-The old man's brother tries to attack Ra El with another hammer and there's a fight between them that's just stupid, stupid, stupid because as usual, the FL gets rescued.
-Then the ML decides that the best way to end everything is by taking his ex-wife, So Ra, and driving themselves off a not-so-high cliff. He dies and she doesn't. Another WTF, laughable ending. We don't really feel any sympathy and for all the FL's acting and crying, you feel nothing. And you feel nothing for the Han family or Kyeom's side of the family. Like nothing. The only ppl you feel sorry for are the two young innocent daughters. The FL just basically wants nothing to do with the stepdaughter anymore, so that daughter loses out on a stepmom who once doted on her. Not to mention, her "fake" grandmother had also died. The ML's daughter is basically left orphaned. Why these kids were included in the first place was just so that ML could look at the FL like she was some kind of protective mother when really, in the end, she just used these kids for her own selfish gains. Sure the step-daughter wasn't hers biologically but that doesn't mean she had to be a heartless, b*tch stepmom in the end.
-In the end, Ra El's goal to take down the Han family was concluded because no one could keep their sh*t together. The Han family doesn't really "pay" for their crimes.
I changed my rating to 6.5 to 5.0. Don't watch this crap! I pushed through the last four episodes and sacrificed four hours of my life I'll never get back to save you from misery!
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Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
Rael is introduced as a femme fatale: "Aphrodite" as a vengeful goddess of beauty, the biblical "Eve" as a temptress, seductress, a serpent. We also see really fast- the vulnerability behind her facade.She’s traumatized and engages in self-harm once triggered.
There is a reason why makjang dramas are always getting some type of recognition, mainly because most people don't experience it in real life or see it anywhere else except on TV.
In the context of dramas, makjang is a stylistic, tonal, or narrative element in dramas that chooses to play up outrageous storylines to keep viewers hooked despite how ridiculous the stories become, which you will experience throughout this drama. This type of drama is difficult to understand or accept based on common sense and moral standards of an average person. These dramas will often feature things such as forced situations/settings, tangled relationships, affairs, and birth secrets
Seo Ye-ji came back with a new tvN drama called 'Eve' , which is characterized as a high-quality, intense revenge melodrama.
It has quite a painful yet simple plot actually, whose main focus is revenge and betrayal.
---"Eve" in Hebrew is "Ḥawwāh" and is most commonly believed to mean "living one" or "source of life".---
Some might be disappointed by it because, if they've seen her previous works such as being a desperate girl in 'Save Me', an iconic lawyer in 'Lawless Lawyer' and interesting, mysterious writer in 'It's okay not to be okay', Seo Ye-ji is limited to mechanical smiles, blank, wide-eyes and bouts of weeping – all of which do nothing to show the so-called fire of revenge burning inside her, unless you focus on more episodes and her intense eyes and actions she does throughout the drama.
Her voice, facial expressions, and the way her emotions quickly change as she turns bolder gave me even goosebumps sometimes. Or even a slight jump scare when she randomly raised her voice at Han So Ra. Terrific!
The drama has a promising start - the story is interesting enough that you can't wait to watch the second episode.
The wardrobe of the female characters looked insanely awesome, atleast in my opinion, where as the others could've found it funny or not so attractive.
Most of Seo Ye-ji's clothes were from interesting brands, such as DIOR, Ports, Mango, etc with a varation of prices going from 500-1000$! Through newer episodes, her clothes become bolder, her eyebrows become bleached and her makeup becomes bolder aswell which is quite metaphoric as if it's showing her 'other' side.
I might even expect for Seo Yeji to win Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actress of this year with this drama, as much as there are mixed opinions about this whole drama, it's extremely interesting to watch every character unravel in their own way.
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Changed my rating again after the last episode
***May cointain spoiler***I changed my rating to 5/10 because I can no longer take how cheesy and ridiculous the story is.
I hate how they are pitting 2 women over a man (as if he is some great reward). More than 10 episodes with just two women plotting against each other to win a man.
La El's revenge waa supposed to be about what happened to her family, her hate was supposed to drive her mad to the point of not caring about anything else except revenge.
Yet, the story only shows them fighting over chairman's love and to justify her action- they made Sora (the wife who supposedly love her husband so much) cheat on her husband, so "it's okay, she's cheating too"
La el's revenge should be on Sora's father - the man behind it all, fearsome and cruel - yet, he was doing nothing but scold his daughter, get angry, only words but no action - he wasn't doing anything, not investigating, no schemes- nothing at all.
I really don't get why the focus was getting chairman, as if getting the chairman's love will make the villain's poor.
Now if there will be a plot twist where chairman may be the one behind it all and the real culprit that will be interesting, however it still doesn't change the fact that the story has lots of ridiculous plot holes.
The casts did a great job acting..the cinematography is great and honestly speaking, Seo Yeji is carrying this drama. Her acting is what's saving this series, her acting is like a cover up for the messy plot.
****
Edited: I changed my ratings again, from 8 to 5 and dropped it to 3 after the last episode. I cannot believe how this series turns out. It started really strong but dragged in the middle and ended up really disappointing. I really don't understand why the write pushed that love story between La El and the chairman... when it doesn't even make sense and they have zero chemistry. I don't really expect La el to end up with anyone. I am starting to wonder if things would've been different if they casted a different actor for the role of chairman.
I hated that the long planned revenge just ended up like that... it's as if the writers tried to make the story (and La El) into this smart avenger but doesn't know how. It's really such a waste...
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Tango, Tango and more Tango... Oh and did I mention the bandoneon?
WARNING: This drama should only be watched if you throw all semblance of logic and critical thinking out of the window. You'll be in for a rough time if you try to take this seriously. Plot holes the size of buses, ridiculous over the top events and non-existent character development are all in the forefront in this show. I commented that the revenge plans in the other drama "Remarriage and Desires" was too lame, but Eve takes this to another extreme.The premise is fairly intriguing: FL (Seo Yeaji) tries to take revenge by seducing a wealthy chairman of a company and causing his company to implode, sort of like the corporate version of a honey trap. However, what ensues is a lot of awkward tango, bandoneon music and cheesy talks of twin flames and what not. Sadly, 0 chemistry whatsoever during these tango scenes. Part of it due to the subpar writing, and the other part due to the ML's looks. Unfortunately, the ML isn't a silver fox/sugar daddy/DILF type of a guy and more like a normal man from the street. He doesn't have the kind of smoldering good looks that make you go "hot damn!" even when he isn't doing anything. This, together with the fact that the producers insisted on having a cold, stoic expressionless CEO results in a one expression not-so-attractive ML who just kind of glowers at everything the whole time. I hate to say it, but if they had casted someone more attractive it would have gone over way better. Seo Yeaji's acting wasn't anything to write home about as well. Her crying scenes (of which there were many) weren't great and felt so unnatural. Luckily she was able to pull off her psycho and seducing scenes or else it would have really tanked this show. Star of this show was really Han So Ra (Yoo Sun) who was really carrying the show on her back. She was the main source of entertainment and I would have dropped this long ago if it weren't for her. Her character was also the most interesting and developed out one of all. I won't even bother talking about the second ML who's existence is just purely based on simping for the FL and saving her ass.
OST was ok, but I got tired of the same old song coming on whenever there was a sex scene. Btw almost all the sex scenes felt awkwardly choreographed and bordered on comedy. Cinematography was average and I found that Remarriage and desires has better cinematography.
So well, there's that. A true makjang with its gaping plotholes, shoehorned romances and a lame ass ending to boot. She got her revenge but didn't get her guy, but its ok as she still has second ML simping for her. I wouldn't say I regret watching this series as it had its fun moments but the romance was truly off putting and the ending was really flat. Watch only if you can stomach having scene after scene of tango related scenes and cheesy romance talk.
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In 10mins I wrote a better EVE
The problem wasn't the romance, it wasn't the age gap, it wasn't even the fact that ceo was trash. But the problem was the execution. Ceo had 0 sympathy, 0 chemistry, 0 personality,, and 0 common ground with raelThey never had proper conversations, they never connected on anything (beside ceo projecting his mom being treated like trash to having his own mistress he didn't treat like trash)
He saw her pain, he never pushed her to explain, but he never tried to comfort her. He never tried to get to know her.
This is a bit of spoiler from Misty, but there they start off as a married couple losing touch, and the ml makes so much effort, they connected again and build a relationship. Then the spoiler part, then the writer snatched our hearts and stabbed us right in the feels and showed the ML was the murderer.. so he was "the bad guy", but he had depth, he had a backstory, he had a connection with the fl, he had a relationship and they took us on that journey with them then broke our hearts
Here, sure I was team eunpyung (and I'll talk more about him later), but here the ML starts off by lusting over the FL. He pushes her down and tells her to be his dog. He then becomes the dog because he wants to have her. He starts doing things he was missing in his marriage and projecting it on rael. The rose house with the kids, the laughter. It was all his playbook of a happy life. Then he gets angry at her for ignoring him.. then he hits her, pushes her badly and hurts her while she runs away scared and he doesn't stop, he continuedchasing her and hurting her.. until she pushes him once and he falls like the fragile old man he is..
Non of those are love. And his redemption? "Whoops, the company I wanted, and the guy that died, was your dad? Oh no..."
It didn't matter he killed. It didn't matter he killed her dad.. he was "sad" he was the reason her life fell apart.. and his solution? Pretend to run away to die.. and he just goes to his favorite church looking perfectly ok. No pain. No drinking to ease his pain. No regret. No tears. He was jut walking in to throw a pity party but rael was already there..
SHE had so MUCH more emotion. He didn't return or deserve.
Though her emotions are wrong too. His greed was the reason her dad died. He wasn't innocent. He didn't care he killed. He never treated her right. She was practically his victim, the victim he mentally kidnapped, until she thought he was showing her kindness and love
It's not even toxic love. It's a cheap attempt at makjang that failed miserably cuz the ML horribly portrayed his flat character
And what the writer didn't realize. The real HOT painful healing torturous love and chemistry could've come from eunpyung
He was the only person she showed her true face, her true heart. But she didn't think she deserved happiness or love so she'd run away from him. but once she wavers for 1 second eunpyung would've embraced her for a passionate kiss. Then she'd again feel guilty cuz all she wants is revenge. She doesn't think she can survive and her only goal is to break them all down and possibly kill/die. So she pushes him away. But his love would be too much for her so she'd cave, and they'd have had all the sweet scenes in the beach and church, but he gets hurt so she pushes him away again. And then that church scene at the end would've been them. With the people out for bloody murder being sora, and ceo who like his scene when he found out the truth, couldn't live with the idea that rael actually loved eunpyung and never him
In both vrs, the perfect ending is bloody murder. With ceo of course being the one dying
and updating this as the drama ended but, I'm satisfied with the bloody murder🤣 I've been bamboozled by drama endings before, a happy romance ends up a tragedy, a makjnag ends up a romcom with a wedding scene ending, and many many dead leads come back at the end, I didn't trust them one bit
but this is the best option, he never repented or even acknowledged his wrongdoings, but atleast with his death rael could move on from all her pain, and with eunpyeong going to her, I can happily imagine their reunion. though no one mentioned the poor kids at the end🤣
▪︎Acting:
• Rael = 100/10. She carried the whole show with her expressions and emotions
• Sora = 8/10. She was a bit penthouse dramatic, but she was also all talk and not much bite. For someone who has killed before she was intimidated by Rael too much
• Ceo = 1/10. The only time he showed character and passion was when he tried to steal his father's company. Almost all of his other scenes were 👁👄👁
• Eunpyung = 8.5/10. He did have a bit of 🥺 face too much
▪︎Character:
• Rael = 8/10. She was crazy, not afraid, diabolical, tempting, captivating and dangerous. But her suckup persona was too unbelievable, if a person tells you what you want to hear in that low voice it's clear they're lying. Her passion and love for ceo made no sense even as someone who lacked love and couldn't differentiate between love and toxicity
• Sora = 6/10. She did all she wanted but she feared her dad. I'd have assume she'd have done more to Rael, fought back more and spread rumors instead of crying and screaming 90% of her time
• Ceo = 1/10. Zero personality, zero passion, zero drive. All lust, cheap traumatic past. Had no sense of responsibility, only cared for his child when he opposed his wife. Wanted a mistress to treat her like his toy. A murder but also a pity party thrower.
• eunpyung = 7/10. He had more potential, he ruined his character when he asked her if she liked ceo, then dug his own grave when he kept telling her she can't then put the final nail in his coffin when he told her to go after ceo..
His slow love, his care and passion for her though were beautiful, he ruined it when he became too devoted to her. But that scene when he cooked for her, and his confessions were my favorite scenes
▪︎Plot = 6/10. It was just another revenge drama, the cheating was supposed to make it different and it had potential
▪︎Plot development = 1/10. By ep 12 I just thought to myself, what did I watch for 12+ hours? Basically nothing. No character development, no move in revenge plot, and the cheating scandal became so flat and stale. The biggest tension was the kid's birthday party but it never went anyway
▪︎Romance = -100/10. I'm not a romance fanatic, I never supported the normal jerk ml/naive fl plot move. But this was even worse than that. There was no reason, no passion, no connection, no use. This should've 100% been Rael using him till the end, and then the Ceo losing his sht and showing his trash personality, which he did in ep, 12? But then they did a 180, with no real redemption and just went back to acting he was hurt. And then he would see how he was just as trashy as Sora.
▪︎OST = I love the main song so much, the whole ost was on par to seo yeji's mood and acting
▪︎Rewatch = I actually never Rewatch tho I did Rewatch some scenes to make edits and I wish I was a bit better at editing so I could take all of this and make it about Rael and Eunpyung
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