JimmyChooLove
US
First the things that I liked... I really enjoyed the relationships that developed between all of the main characters and the staff at The Most (yes, THE Most). Ha Ri and Hye Jin are adorable together. While Ha Ri does have some demons I really do feel like the girls authentic friendship was delightful and not something I see in many dramas. The main couple were cute together but SIWON WAS AMAZING. If it were up to me, his character would be the lead of a spin off show. Also shout out to Shin Dong Mi as the Fashion Director. It was a minor role but she brought a lot of heart to it and was one of the main reasons that I loved The Most staff.
Okay, now despite all of that... the story was pretty superficial and a bit of a mess. We had these beautiful characters but their stories didn't really come together to tell anything meaningful. Hye Jin as a young girl and Hye Jin as a young woman have a lot of similar interests but virtually no personality traits in common with each other. One is elegant, the other goofy and the story never explains how just because she ran into hard times a person could change so much. This is just one example of MANY where the plot details are thrown in but never really integrated into the story. The Management Team, Sung Joon's weird eating/zombie habits, Hye Jin's sister, Ha Ri's bizarre relationship with her parents and step-parents, (which had oddly both too much and too little detail)...and don't get me started about the CEO's son mystery. In the end all of these things just felt like red herrings thrown in to fill time around the central love quadrangle.
In summary, I really, really enjoyed parts of this show but, despite the show being about the importance of what's below the surface, as a cohesive drama She was pretty lacked a lot of depth. Watch it for the cute fluff but don't expect much more.
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What was good:
- The chemistry of the lead couple. They were completely believable as a couple in love. If seeing two people snuggle and kiss for 14 episodes is your jam, then this is your show. I also found their journey in love pretty believable, until the end. It was flawed and realistic... except for the end, which was terrible.
- Showing tough issues like workplace harassment, domestic abuse, and what filial piety looks like in modern times. What was most frustrating was that the issues didn’t all get the discussions they deserved.
- The mood and direction. In contrast to a lot of Kdramas that are shown to be bathed in blinding white light, everything in this show was shot with warmth and intimacy. There were a lot of scenes that were shot to seem like you were intruding on an intimate moment and a lot of silent scenes where you could see the characters processing their emotions. I thought it was really beautiful and resonant.
What was not good:
- The writing. There are a lot of interesting side characters in the show and I kept on wanting to learn about their motivations and was pretty disappointed. The mom was pretty frustrating and I don’t blame the actress. The story just didn’t give her much to work with beyond being “oppisitional”... but why? Her logic made some sense but was so extreme it didn’t warrant 10 episodes of plot. Hers was just one example of the story not being handled well.
- Clumsy resolution. Without giving things away the ending was pretty cliche. There are last minute obstacles that could have been resolved with communication and then a quick resolution at the very very end.
Overall, I recommend the drama but caution expecting much from the story. Clearly the drama was more character rather than plot driven. I just feel like this couple deserved more.
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Some highlights:
- I thought the chemistry and emotional intensity between the main couple was great. It's too bad they actually don't get to spend as much time together on screen as I would have liked.
- The fight scenes were on point. It's kind of just fun watching Kim Mu Yeol beat people up. The fight scenes are really well shot and plentiful.
- I didn't care too much for any of the other side characters but really liked Jo Han Chul as Park Joon Bum. He really made you feel for Joon Bum even though he's really sleazy.
Some low points:
- My main beef with the show was that the plot ended up getting really repetitive. At a certain point it felt like Mario was trying to save the Princess... once Mario defeats the bad guys and gets to the castle, the princess gets moved (by some reason or another) to another castle, and then it starts all of over again. I have no issues with the damsel in distress trope, but I just got really tired of it by the tenth time it happened.
- Cha Yoon-Mi was an awful and sort of a stupid character. I haven't seen anything else Lee Shi Young has been in so I don't know if her role was a poorly written or if she is a bad actor, but Yoon-Mi was billed to be a badass cop and she came off as whiny, mopey, and honestly not very good at her job.
- The story gets overly complicated and introduces a lot of stories without finishing them. We never get to fully understand the ulterior motivations of characters like Do Hyun's mom or Lee Jin Sook. Also Joo Yung's mom is missing during some pretty crucial points in the story. Why? I can only assume so that we can make room for more of Do Hyun fighting bad guys and Chairman Kang eating meat. Both of which are, admittedly, very entertaining.
In summary, i really enjoyed the love story between Do Hyun and Joo Yung, but the present day story of the show is pretty repetitive and a little disappointing.
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What I liked:
- the transformation of Jae Yeol. Jo In Sung is the epitome of cool and it was amazing to watch how he played Jae Yeol as someone with ultimate swagger and later on as someone, who perhaps, could be seen as pitiful
- the chemistry among the roommates. loved how much they all cared so easily for each other.
- Jo In Sung and Gong Hyo jin. they make a beautiful, confident duo
What I disliked:
- poor resolution of secondary story lines. there are a LOT of interesting characters introduced along the way, don't expect any of their stories to get any satisfying resolution. everyone gets a quick line here or there, but nothing substantial or worthwhile.
- the transformation of hae soo. her story arc doesn't make a whole lot of sense. she and jae yeol are great together but she's not as likable in the end as she is in the beginning
Overall, really enjoyed the show as it was different from the standard meet-cute story of boy falls in love with girl.
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Nine: Nine Times Time Travel
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What I liked:
- Story-telling. Once you watch a couple of Asian Dramas you know how most of them will end. There are usually only a few ways to resolve the story and unless they completely jump the shark, most stories are pretty predictable. THAT WAS NOT THE CASE HERE. Each episode deepens and complicates the mystery in a way that I kept finding myself thinking... I have NO IDEA how they are going to finish this story. There were honestly a lot of similarities between this show and the movie Looper and the show Lost. While Looper did a good job with time travel, I feel like Nine did a much better job telling it's story than Lost did.
- The ending. I know it is a little controversial but I loved the ending. It answers most questions but because of how complicated the alternative universes have gotten, it definitely still leaves some questions unanswered, which I liked. Everything goes full circle and you realize how careful the writers/producers were with the attention to detail.
- Love story. I was honestly a little turned off by the love story at first. I thought, the couple gets together in the first episode...what kind of build up is that? Boy, was I wrong. It's okay if you don't feel attachment or investment in their love in the beginning, you definitely will by the end. The main couple has great chemistry.
- Bromance. Sun Woo's relationship with all of his male friends/family is very heartwarming. Although the Yeong Hoon character is a little ridiculous at times (he spends much of the show running around bewildered from location to location, half the time covered in blood), the friendship between him and Sun Woo is really touching. At Sun Woo's bleakest times, he always turns to his rock and best friend. Sun Woos complicated relationship with his brother Jeong Woo also beautifully evolves over time.
What I disliked:
- Jeon Dong Hwan. I thought that Chairman Choi as a character was written fine, but the actor playing him spent at least 4 whole episodes making the exact same "shocked" face. You'll know it when you see it, but it is cartoonish, unrealistic, and made me question how anyone could ever take this guy seriously. I've seen Jeon Dong Hwan in other things and he's not awful, so I don't what made him decide to be utterly ridiculous in this show.
- The music. I agree with everyone that the music is not great. The show tries to have a few "themes" but doesn't do anything memorable. If they did a better job with the OST, I think this show would be even more of a classic.
Overall, I recommend this show to anyone, regardless of if you're a Asian Drama fan or not. The time travel idea is not new but the 'rules' that are applied to the time travel in this show make it exciting, risky, and a constant tool for moving the story forward.
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Highlights:
- The relationships between characters. The main leads had amazing chemistry, but I would say that the epic bromances were sometimes even more engaging and moving. The secondary romance was incredibly moving and also very well done.
- Story. In too many dramas main characters are kept apart or tension is created for stupid reasons. This was probably the first drama I've seen in a long time where most of the secrecy, revenge, and anger are all rooted in pretty valid logic.
- A Kang played by little Yoo Bin. She might be the cutest child in the entire world.
Some low points:
- Song Jong Ho. I really liked him in Reply 1997 but he just did not do it for me as Myun. I don't believe he had enough range to play the arguably most tormented character in the show. Based on his actions, you're actually supposed to feel a lot of sympathy for his position, but he just seemed to be operating robotically throughout.
- Melodrama amped up to 10 at the end. As the stakes got increasingly raised throughout the show, the amount of tears from our beloved characters similarly experienced exponential increases. I understand the reason for the tears, but towards the end every interaction seemed to be weepy, sobby, and angsty. Not a huge gripe but I would have preferred a few more call backs from the characters to the good old times, when life for them wasn't such a bloody, miserable, hot mess.
In summary, this was probably my favorite show so far in the saeguk genre due to it's strong story and performances. I am looking forward to rewatching it again in the near future!
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The parts that I loved were the friendships forged and the comedy that came with it. You could really feel the genuine care that most of the characters had for each other which is why overall the cast did a pretty good job with the material they were given. Jung Kyung Ho is one of my favorite actors so it was nice to see him both be funny and intense. Lee Seon Bin and Oh Jung Se were adorable and I could watch a whole show with just the two being clueless.
The parts that I hated were the parts where the overly dramatic music cued RIDICULOUSLY stupid plot developments. These stupid plot developments mostly revolved around Choi Tae Ho and started out a little thrilling and ended up just laughably absurd. I kept on waiting for the motivations for the "bad guys" to make sense and while explanations were given, very little made sense. It's like the writers for the show saw Lost, watched an episode of The Office, read an Agatha Christie novel, and said YES I WANT THAT. The repetition of this vicious cycle of nonsensical plot developments also made the show pretty boring in the end.
To summarize, I really really wanted to like this show because of the unique premise and the actors involved, but it was just too much of a mess to enjoy. It started out strong but just devolved as the plot became more and more absurd.
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Some highlights:
- Choi Woo Shik is a standout and is so good at making you feel whatever he is feeling throughout. His protrayal of Hogu's growth as a person is one of best things of this show. By the end of this show I wanted Hogu to be my first love, my kid's babysitter, my goofy big brother, and my neighborhood shop clerk.
- The slapstick comedy. I haven't laughed this much during a drama in a long time. Yes, the situations are silly but the actors do such a good job with the physical comedy, it never feels cheap. Both CWS and Seulong are especially great at going all in with the slapstick.
- Hogu's family. They felt so real and existed not just to further the plot, but to really help you better understand Hogu more as a person
One drawback:
- Secondary character story arcs have poor payoff. There is so much richness and good stuff for our main characters, that there isn't enough time to really develop the secondary characters. There are a lot of interesting people introduced but their motivations are never really clear. Especially in the cases of Kang Chul's parents, Do Hee's coach, Director Park, Kim Tae Hee, and Gong Mi, we get interesting snapshots of their past and hints at their motivations, but in the end they really only exist for the purpose of furthering the story for the main characters and not as characters themselves, which is a little disappointing.
In summary, I've watched a lot of dramas and this one is a really special gem. If you need to feel good about something, you can't go wrong falling in love with Hogu.
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