"Uh, I don't get it..." - the biggest hype monsters of 2021

Did this show knock it out of the park with production design and wardrobe? No question. That crew blew the doors off with iconic work product. And the appearance by Gong Yoo was legit one of the best scenes captured on video this past year. But "Squid Game" was a shallow and ephemeral and cliche narrative beyond all that. None of the characters were particularly memorable. Once each game was revealed, it was easy to discern the outcome. The organ harvesting subplot didn't advance anything but the gruesome quotient. If generating material for Halloween costumes and social media memes is the measuring stick, "Squid Game" wins. But beyond that, it's missing any meaningful substance.

Oy. This show. This was not a terrible show overall. It had its qualities, chief among them some very nice work by Shin Min Ah. But at the end of the year, I've been triggered by the "Best of" lists that don't merely include "Hometown Cha-cha-cha" but place it at the top. [double facepalm] 

So let's revisit it albeit briefly. First, the primary narrative functions well enough for much of the show but it falters badly once Du Shik's past is revealed. The way it is written somehow combines a hyperbolically overwrought immediate reaction followed by an illogically speedy reversal. Second, the subplots are a mess. There are too many to meaningfully cultivate any of them and only the relationship between Lee Sang Yi and Park Ye Won is compelling enough to invest in. Third, product placement is going to happen in dramas but it can be done without hamhandedly emblazoning "WE'RE PUTTING IN AN AD FOR CHEAP DELIVERY PIZZA RIGHT HERE" but that's what we get.

Last and most importantly, this production separates characters in to two types - smart and cultured urban professionals and uneducated and backwards smalltown simpletons. It uses this paradigm to punch down for cheap laughs and to artificially prop up the admirable qualities of the main characters. Ick. And Eww.

It's hard to make a decent show where the central character is so equally poorly written and incompetently portrayed . But that's Judge Ga On who is a hopelessly clueless sidekick to the title character's vigilantism. It's such a massively illogical plot hole that it swallows whole any redeeming attribute that this production might have had. "The Devil Judge" doesn't stop with dumb plot elements there though nor with the substandard acting.

There's a notable drop from Number 3 to Number 4 because the Nos. 1 & 2 were dominant global presences and "The Devil Judge" was a big budget hit. "One the Woman" didn't have quite the same level of cultural relevance but it was scoring the highest ratings during its run. The show, however, was meant to be some blend of action-comedy-romance but was riddled with cheap, juvenile humor which wouldn't have been so fatal if it hadn't been so terribly unfunny. The cast was almost uniformly lacking. The plot was a whirlwind of cliche and contrived. Had the show not been so painfully unentertaining, perhaps additional flaws would merit further exposition. Uh, but this should be more than enough analysis for this subject.

The first half of "Law School" frantically attempts to make the viewer suspect anyone and everyone which might have eventually worked out had it not flushed the strategy to highlight an obvious Big Bad behind not only the episode one murder but all kinds of other shady deals. The only resonant subplot is the abusive relationship between Go Yoon Jung and Lee Hwi Jong. It's just a show that just isn't strong at any particular thing. It rates a spot here because it seems to have an outsized presence on notable shows when the only recognizable attribute that seems to place it there is that it was the most prominent show on the biggest streaming platform at the end of the "Vincenzo" run.