Mindeulle
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After reading a lot of negative comments on this drama I felt obliged to write about it myself because I don't think the series was that bad at all. I have to note that this also wasn't my favourite series but I don't really agree with the ratings I have seen a lot of people give it.Story
Though I have to admit the story was far from the best I have ever seen, it was still quite enjoyable. I don't agree that it was necessarily all over the place but rather the story could have been a lot more than how it eventually turned out to be. Everything seemed to build up to some great secret(s), but they didn't let the suspense go on until the last episodes and instead revealed most shocking things during episode 29-30, which made the last two episodes feel more like filler.
Also on a side note, I feel like the character Sung Joong was written very poorly. At first it felt like he would have a dark side as well, but throughout the series he continued to only be (unrealistically) nice and sweet.
Acting/Cast
One aspact which made watching this series difficult were the main leads, and if it hadn't been for Gikwang I don't think I would've continued the series. I barely felt chemistry between the main leads and though kdramas can be notorious for bad kissing scenes, these must have been the worst.
*Just thinking back about the elevator kissing scene makes me shiver*
However, the awkwardness seemed to reduce a bit while the drama continued and I was actually quite content with the others actors, especially Ham Eun Yong, who played Shin Yoo Na and Lee Gikwang, who played Sung Joong.
Another thing that I did enjoy was the way Eul Soon was styled. Though I was very annoyed with her hair constantly hanging in front of her face in the first episodes, you could see her grown into a more confident person in the way she started to dress, how she styled her hair and even 'started' to wear make-up at some point. Although she was ofcourse wearing make-up for the drama, she didn't have this fake 'no make-up look' where the actress is obviously still wearing a lot of eyeliner, lipstick and looks like she just came back from a hair salon while in the series she is supposed to look like she just had a bad night of sleep. Therefore I want to compliment the stylists and make-up artists of this drama!
Music
I don't really have anything special to note on the music. This series didn't have the most spectacularor memorable osts I have ever come across, but they were still enjoyable.
Rewatch Value
I don't think I'll ever rewatch the series, perhaps only for the scenes Gikwang was in because his character was just extremely cute.
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The story was quite sad but also very (unnecessarily) violent. As I said, I can enjoy gore or action with a result of violence but this was too much for me most of the time. The film was, if I remember correctly a little over 2 hours long, which I had to watched in parts. Maybe that just took me out of the story but I felt like taking a break after watching 20 to 30 minutes. I still went back every time so the story did get me to wanting to watch more so I could see how the story would end.
All in all an good film, but with a lot of violence. The actors were great just like the way it was filmed. If you like action and are able to handle a lot of violence and blood, I would definitely recommend watching this film.
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Story
The story was in my opinion very unique and not stretched out to the max, like a lot of kdramas are unfortunately. I could best describe this series as a mix between The Walking Dead and Train to Busan, but set in Joseon Korea. The story contains a lot of gore, just like TWD, and focuses on the struggles of the weak vs. the powerful and a crown prince who wants to fight for his people. What I mainly liked about the story is how comprehandable it was. What I usually dislike about Sageuk dramas is how overly complicted the political aspect of the story can be (at least to me). Furthermore, their wasn't any cringey romance anywhere to be seen (which is also unique for a Sageuk, at least the one's I've seen). However, Kingdom had this good balance of political struggles (legitamacy as a king, poverty and dealing with the disease which turns people in to zombies) paired with bloody action scenes and, on the other hand, light moments where beautiful nature is shown and sometimes a bit of romance.
The only thing I kind of missed in the series was more backstory and depth regarding the characters. There are some flashbacks, which make you feel a bit more attached to the main characters, but unfortunately the characters were quite flat and I hope to see this change in a season 2. (However, in the defense of the series: I think 6 episodes would have been to short to give an in depth story on every main character, so for this season I think it was a good decision to build up the story and hopefully a second season will elaborate more on the characters, and even some romance). Also, the reason I keep talking about a season 2 is because I feel like the story simply hasn't ended and it has so much more to offer, so it would be weird for there to not be a season 2 looking at how the series ended..
Acting/Cast
Overall I liked the cast and their acting. To be honest I never really pay attention to acting or notice it a lot unless it's cringingly bad. Also, except for Heo Junho (who's a great actor), I can't remember seeing any other cast members in other series/films, so I don't really feel like I can fully judge the actors yet, but as for now I think they were great.
Music
Music is also something I don't notice unless I find it very bad or unfitting, but in Kingdom that's not the case. There weren't any really memorable songs/osts because it's all instrumental as far as I remember. However, the director has made perfect use of music to build tension to keep you at the edge of your seat.
Rewatch Value
I'm not the type to rewatch series, but since this drama is so short and easily accesible through Netflix, I can actually see myself rewatching the series and that's why I scored it an 8.
Overall
I definitely recommend this drama to everyone who loves Sageuk and zombies/gore. The story is very short, but very interesting nonetheless. The acting and music was great overall and, though I didn't discuss it in depth, I loved the way it was filmed and the locations, like Changdeokgung Palace and Huwon/Biwon (the palace's so called 'secret garden' which can be seen in the trailer), were stunning. The only thing I think could have been better was the character depth, or actually the lack of it. Therefore I give this series an overall rating of 9 instead of a 10.
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I started watching because of Gikwang, but I didn't know what to expect because I had never seen any dramas with him in it before. I was scared I would face the same disappointment I had with Hwarang, the show that I started watching because of Taehyung or V of BTS. The story lacked a lot and V's character could've been developed/shown way more. I was scared to face the same situation with Gikwang but luckily this didn't happen.
This show got me on the edge of my seat from start till finish. Waiting for new episodes every week was such a pain because these cliffhangers were the worst. The story was really interesting, especially because it takes place at two different times. I was really getting sick of those cliche romcom drama storylines and luckily this drama was so refreshing in comparison! Of course there was some tension between some characters, but it felt very natural and not at all like those unrealistic love at first sight storylines which romantic dramas tend to have.
The characters and actors were great. Everyone has their own backstory which you slowly find out about together with the other characters. As I said, I had never seen a drama with Gikwang in it before and I wasn't disappointed in his acting at all. This was also my first time seeing a drama with Yeo Jingoo in it, and I was so impressed by him as well. He's really great actor so I've started watching other dramas and movies with him in it too. I wasn't sure about Kim Kangwoo's character in the beginning but this changed very fast and I think he did such a great job! I won't spoil anything but his and Yeo Jingoo's character made me tear up near the ending. I'm not someone to cry that easily but their acting + the story was so sad which made me emotional as well. In my opinion, feeling connected this much to the characters is something that makes a show great.
They also added a sort of ethical layer to the story as in how far you can go in using technology on humans and about taking responsibility. Nowadays people seem to try to avoid suffering as much as they can, but this drama kind of shows the importance of pain and taking responsibility for your actions, even though that might hurt.
I don't really have much to say about the music. Not that it was bad, it was completely the opposite, but this drama didn't seem to focus on music that much. I can mainly recall the intense intro and outro music which were great and really suited the drama.
Overall this drama was great. The story was really refreshing and the acting was amazing. I was really sad when I found out there were only 12 episodes but the story fitted perfectly. I would recommend this drama to everyone. It's relatively short, has a very interesting plot and a unique way of storytelling with great acting. A must see if you like Korean drama!
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Light-hearted and fun drama
To be honest, I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this series. It did take me over a year to finish (just took a break from watching kdramas at all) but I'm really glad I continued watching. Though the story isn't something very grand or complicated, it's really enjoyable to watch. It contains some serious themes surrounding appearance, (self-)love, friendship, etc. without diving too deep into them, which makes it very light-hearted overall. Before this I had just finished watching World of the Married which often left me feeling very upset regarding the heavy topics it discusses, so if you're looking for something that does the opposite I really recommend watching My ID is Gangnam Beauty.The acting is good, nothing really outstanding but the actors are capable of making everything seem very believable. However, I kept in mind that this story is based on a webtoon so this results in the story and characters seeming a bit unrealistic/cartoonish at times (especially their obsession with looks and their ridiculous reactions where you'll just laugh at how silly it is).
I however LOVE LOVE the OST. It's so dreamy and it's one of those osts that doesn't make you feel annoyed any time it repeats.
I also consider this drama having quite a good rewatch value. Though the story is calmly paced, I can imagine putting this on on a rainy day and watching it with my bf.
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Story?I've been in to crime/police drama's a lot lately and read some good reviews on the first few episodes so I decided to watch Witch's court. The first few episodes were great and I loved our main characters Ma Yi Deum and Yeo Jin Wook. I really liked the small stories inbetween and the funny interactions between some characters. I was also very curious about the main storyline and what had exactly happened in the past etc. However the more the drama progressed, how weaker the story became. The plotholes increased and the romance between Ma Yi Deum and Yeo Jin Wook that I loved so much kinda disappeared. Everything became quite serious but it sometimes felt like I could watch these hour long episodes without important anything happening. Therefore I kinda lost interest in the main story of Ma Yi Deum and her team trying to get Cho Gap Soo convicted. I started to even sympathize with him at some point which made the ending very unsatisfying. Acting/Cast?I don't have much to say ???about the acting and cast other than that it was great. I especially liked how well Jung Ryeo Won did at portraying Ma Yi Deum as a strong woman who however did have some flaws. Furthermore I think Yoon Hyun Min really suited the character of Jin Wook. Before this drama I watched Tunnel and his character was kinda similar to this one. The same goes for Heo Sung Tae. ^^Music?I don't have anything special to remark about the music in this drama. There were only two songs that I can really remember and that were played kinda often. One was a song that ???played when Ma Yi Deum succeed (by outsmarting others) and the other, more dramatic song played during moments of dispair for Cho Gap Soo (my favourite scenes to be honest)Rewatch Value????The rewatch value isn't high on this one but I feel like I would want to 'relive' some scenes again and therefore watch some (parts of) episodes again.OverallI just finished this drama yesterday and overall I'm quite content. I might've sounded quite negative when talking about the story but the drama isn't that bad at all. Plot just isn't its strongest point so I would only recommend watching this drama whenever you want to relax and not have a very deep or complicating story that you have to think about a lot. Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Even if you're just like me and usually don't really watch Chinese dramas because of the dubbing, I would recommend this series because I found it hardly noticeable most of the time. The actors (and whoever did the dubbing) did a great job and I found all the characters very likeable. Though the plot, at times, was kind of predictable (and this comes from someone who usually isn't good at predicting storylines) I found it super entertaining (to watch, but also to predict what would happen next), and I am definitely looking forward to season 2, which is expected to come out next year.
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