Camelot
New York
After episode eight this drama falls apart because of its lack of growth. The plot stagnates. Conflicts that could have been resolved quickly or easily are instead left to fester and come to unsatisfying conclusions. For me, the worst illustration of this was JinA's indecision surrounding her mother's disapproval. JinA disregarded JunHui's feelings regularly. The sheer amount of times he was made to apologize when it should have been her apologizing to him were too numerous to count. It was so disheartening to see how she was treating him in the later episodes after the care she showed him in the first half of the show. JinA's mother is undoubtedly the antagonist of the show but in a much more real way, JinA is just as bad. By the final episode, I was no longer rooting for our main couple. They lacked basic communication skills and the disparity between JunHui's depth of feeling for JinA and her relatively shallow feelings for him were hurdles I felt they couldn't overcome. I thought JunHui deserved better.
Overall Something in the Rain is a classic case of failed potential. The writer and director use unique camera work and emotional storytelling to mask the relative lack of plot development. By the second half of the show, this becomes obvious and the show's stagnation gets boring. There was so much more this drama could have accomplished. If you're thinking of giving it a try I suggest watching My Mister first as they have very similar moods but My Mister succeeds where Something in the Rain fails.
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Allow me to expand on some of the specifics of why Goblin was life changing. If you know me you know that I am obsessed with character and character development. This drama is chock-full of amazingly written characters and all go through massive transformations. The stagnation in the Goblin and Grim Reaper's lives disappears when they meet their soul mates. As a plot device this use of love and lovers is refreshing as it is definitely the men who change for their love (instead of the usual over-accommodating woman who plagues dramaland). Aside from character there is the aesthetic. Goblin had a massive budget and it is clearly seen in every facet of the drama. The cinematography deserves unending praise, the acting is of the highest quality, the plotline is refreshingly unique. Their sets, wardrobes, worlds are immersive in the utmost. The atmosphere these minor details create lends itself perfectly to the story and makes the mood created by the actors and writers to be all the more real. Goblin's melancholy, something that so many dramas try and fail to achieve, was breathtaking. As I have said before I love sad dramas. This drama made me cry every episode, and not because it was ridiculously melodramatic. Most of the time it was the side stories I cried over (the Grim Reaper's side plots). These stories, so superfluous to the main plot, show the exacting attention to detail that was used in this drama. They were moving, beautiful, heartbreaking stories and they left you feeling both empty and full. Full of life and a love for humanity. Goblin's greatest achievement, in my opinion, is empathy. Every character (or at least every character we don't necessarily hate) can be empathized with. Every episode you can change who you most identify with and yet never feel disconnected from any other character. This is a feat so difficult to accomplish that I have only ever encountered it in Anna Karenina before.
I know this review wasn't the most informative but I feel that the emotional response to Goblin that I and so many others felt is the best possible recommendation and review I can give.
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The 25% of the time W wasn't fantastic had to do with the plot's adherence, or lack thereof, to its in-universe rules. As with any fantasy world, there are a lot of rules governing how Oh Yeon Joo's travel between the world of W and the real world works. At first, these rules are followed pretty precisely and anything that is a little unclear about how her ability works is either left unexplained because she herself does not know or later revealed in a way that adheres to the earlier established rules. But in the later episodes of the show, these rules grow more complicated. Her ability to go back and forth between the worlds grows harder and the show starts to explain things more clearly to the viewer. One would think that more explanation would be a good thing but in this case I think it had the opposite of its intended effect. By giving us more explanation, more clearly stated rules, the show exposed itself to plotholes. And the plotholes were numerous and glaring. I still don't fully understand how the ending of this show adheres to all of the previously established rules in its own universe. It frankly made no sense but was accepted because it was necessary for the plot.
This lack of consistency with its in-universe rules became very distracting for me. It ruined my enjoyment of the show's later episodes and is the only reason I gave W a relatively low score.
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It's Okay to Not Be Okay
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Now on to what I didn't like so much. I know I'll probably get some flak for this but I could not stand Moon Sang Tae. The character was just incredibly annoying. I desperately wanted him to have a smaller role in the show. I simply found everything about him infuriating. Yes, this was partly because of his autism and how that manifested in his character but it was mostly because of how he affected his brother. He was very selfish and it made me sad every time Gang Tae suffered because of him. Related to that I found Moon Gang Tae's character arc frustrating at times. His arc at first seems to be about learning how to take care of himself and putting his needs above those of others for once. But that arc is never realized. He stagnates halfway through due to guilt over his brother. I wish he had more character development. I also really disliked the plotline surrounding Ko Moon Young's mother. It simply made no sense. It was a huge plot hole within an otherwise very coherent show. To avoid spoilers that is all I'll say.
Overall I did really like the show but it wasn't the greatest kdrama I've ever seen. I'm happy others loved it even more than I did but it was just okay for me.
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This drama is adorable. It's light, fresh, unique, and oh so funny. It manages to balance the seriousness of Jin Hee and Changmin's past with the ridiculous coincidence of their present. My favorite part of Emergency Couple was how it didn't shy away from the more serious issues that can arise in a relationship. Though it remains at its core a comedy there are so many refreshingly real moments between our leads as they begin the slow and arduous process of learning to trust and love each other again. The pay off for the audience is so worth the wait. Episode to episode we wait with bated breath hoping they will be able to overcome their past, his family, and her misgivings; it all finally culminates in an explosion of romance, passion, and love that they are so tentatively grasping and at risk of losing forever at any second. The tension doesn't break until the very end and the audience is left with a sense of euphoric relief.
The thing that made this drama not just good but exceptional for me was its character development. Jin Hee and Changmin begin the drama as fundamentally broken individuals. Jin Hee has come a long way from the version of herself we see in flashbacks to the time she was married to Changmin, but she has yet to heal or move past her self doubts. She is putting on a mask for herself and everyone else but her confidence is only skin deep. Changmin on the other hand feels defeated and empty. He has lost the woman he loved mostly because his family refused to accept her, and now that she's gone they welcomed him back with open arms. He's conflicted and feels lost but he's pretending that everything is better without her when in reality he just misses his wife. She learns to see her own self worth both with and without Changmin through her growing confidence in her abilities as a doctor. He learns to reorganize his priorities to reflect what he wants and needs in his life to be truly happy. They needed their time apart to grow and mature as people and when they come together again it's as fully realized versions of themselves who can lift the other up through love and mutual support.
If you're looking for a more mature take on a comedy I can't recommend this drama highly enough.
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First let me talk about the plot. I know many people have issues with the body swap trope, but I loved it. It moved the romance along in a quick and organic way while adding humor to an otherwise sometimes slow plot. The swaps were silly and cute. I'll never forget how confused they both were or Joo Won's constant consternation about Ra Im's love for OSKA while trapped in his body. The times the plot was slow were fitting and beautiful though. The romance was built up slowly and naturally. I believed their love story fully. It was so refreshing to see JooWon be the one that head over heels for Ra Im. So often the girl pines after our male drama lead for the entire show until he grows an emotion and admits his love, but not Joo Won. Joo Won was smitten. Remembering it makes me happy. His silly antics and ridiculous posturing (the tracksuits and situps and distraction poem) were all so cute and endearing. Even the love triangle was less annoying than the usual fair. The plot, for all its twists and turns and random supernatural rules, was cute and straightforward. They love each other. It's that simple.
As for the characters what more can I say? Gil Ra Im was nothing short of amazing. She is a total badass but also very feminine and vulnerable. Perhaps my favorite thing about her is how focused she is on her career aspirations throughout the entire drama. She wants to achieve greatness in her field, to prove to Jong Soo that she is a stunt woman in her own right. And she succeeds. She is damn good at her job and everyone but her knew it all along. I also love how this is one of the major reasons Joo Won loves her. He is not intimidated by her in any way. He thinks shes fantastic despite her rough edges. Speaking of Joo Won I love how imperfect he is. He has it all yet he's bored and broken inside. While Ra Im definitely helps him through it all, in the end he takes care of his own issues. He overcomes his pain and trauma on his own and it shows his personal growth through his love for Ra Im. They both grow so much throughout the show and it's all due to their love for each other. Of course no discussion of Secret Garden is complete without OSKA. What a ridiculous human being. I love him. Any time the plot got slow or the romance seemed about to fizzle out Woo Yeong came to the rescue. The way he antagonized Joo Won and craved Ra Im's approval was so great. The fact that the body swap had the funniest effects on him also helped with his personality development; he went from hopeless washed up pop star to supportive family member and hardworking idol. His love interest and tortured history with her also added to his character as he became more than just a gag character. He was perhaps the most well rounded character on the show.
The side characters were also a great addition to the show as a whole. Yoo In Na is my favorite actress in dramaland. Knowing her better now than I did when I watched Secret Garden I really appreciate how great this role was for her career. She was her usual sweet self and i loved how excentric Ah Young was. Phillip Lee was also a huge win on this show. He was broody and moody and his hair was pantene commercial worthy. His character acted as the third of our love triangle but not even that could ruin him for me. As one final note let's talk about Tae Seon. First of all good on Secret Garden for making a gay character that was more than his sexuality (or for making a gay character at all. Korea is notoriously bad with gay anything so this was huge). Second can we talk about how cute he was?? Lee Jong Suk really played this character so well. I cried for Tae Seon but was also so happy for him.
Overall Secret Garden was a great experience for me. The show is the reason I continued to watch kdramas and I'm so happy I saw it. It is one of only two shows that has a perfect 10 rating from me and it deserves every bit of it. The show is a kdrama classic and it truly deserves the title.
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The Good:
Signal expertly weaves a story that spans decades. The writers use a circular narrative structure to pull the audience in while not revealing too much about the past while the audience and main characters are in the present. Had they not done this I don't think the time manipulation that is so central to what makes Signal work would have been effective. The plot in general is well structured and well crafted. Every episode left me waiting impatiently to start the next and the way the different cases were interwoven gave the audience much to figure out as more details were revealed. The cinematography too is excellent. The mood, tone, and ambiance of the drama is expertly achieved and adds to the storylines by alerting the audience to a scene's overall feel before any dialogue is spoken. The acting too is excellent on almost all fronts. The three main leads especially deserve praise for their emotionally impactful and gripping performances. Personally, I felt that Jo Jin Woong carried this drama. He was beyond amazing as Lee Jae Han and without his performance I don't think the drama would have been as successful and popular as it is.
The Bad:
My main gripe with this drama is with its villains. Early on there are hints of a bigger bad guy than just the perpetrators of the crimes being investigated in each episode. When he is finally revealed it was not shocking and that was okay with me as I felt that he has been built up and foreshadowed well by the writers and so the audience was already predisposed to dislike him. However, this character remains so one dimensional throughout the drama that I felt like I was watching a villain from an old James Bond film. I wanted to know more about his motivations, his character, and maybe see some growth or doubt. None of that came. The character remained stagnant with no deeper motivations or character traits beyond greed. The villain was also strikingly immoral in a way I feel that few actual human beings are. What made the villain stand out as being poorly written for me was how well the writers had done with portraying the inner worlds and motivations of the lesser villains. The perpetrators of the weekly crimes had more interesting backstories and story arcs than the antagonist. This was evidence to me that the writers could write bad guys well and simply failed to do so with our main antagonist. I also took issue with the way Park Hae Young's profiling technique was utilized. His prowess for catching the bad guy was almost otherworldly and to pin all this skill on his talent for profiling seemed highly unrealistic. He was just too good at his job for it to be realistic. I felt that Lee Jae Han's detective techniques and skills were much more realistic and better fit the realism of the story.
Overall Signal was great. It was well written and gripping. However, the antagonist was poorly written and plot devices to move the story along sometimes were too obvious. I would recommend this drama to anyone who likes both the crime and time travel genres. It is not a thriller but it is well paced and leaves you feeling satisfied with its conclusion.
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I'm not trying to hate on Hwayugi or the Hong sisters; I enjoyed Hwayugi but it was lacking originality. This is my main critique about the drama and the reason why I rated it so poorly compared to Goblin. My other critiques of the show are the ending, the main female lead, and some of the mythical plot elements. First the ending...I hate open endings. They are unsatisfying and leave too much to debate and the imagination. If I invest 20+ hours into a show I want to get an ending, any ending, but an ending nonetheless. Hwayugi did not give me one. Next our female lead...Seon Mi
was frankly boring. She was a stereotypical kdrama heroine in every way (the tragic past, no friends or family, hard working to a fault, and she smiles through it all). I haven't seen Oh Yeon Seo in other dramas but she fell flat here. She simply couldn't keep up with Lee Seung Gi and they had no chemistry. And finally the mythical elements...for the most part I actually quite liked these elements. I loved the characters backgrounds based on the Chinese parable, the powers, and the heavenly realm. What I disliked was the dragon. What was with the stupid dragon plotline??? It made no sense, was unnecessary, and distracted from the better elements of the drama. I don't have anything else to say about it. It was just bad. As for the things I liked I'll quickly summarize those as well. I loved Lee Seung Gi, the bromance between Oh Gong and Ma Wang, the powers and the fight with heaven, One's character, and Pal Gye and Bu Ja's flirting. If the show focused more on these elements the drama may have fared better in my opinion.
Hwayugi had the potential to be a unique and interesting drama with an intricate backstory and historical context but I feel that the Hong sisters wanted to capitalize on Goblin's success and their own drama suffered for it.
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I will admit the first half of the show was rather slow. There was a lot of backstory development as well as having the characters establish themselves in their careers. It took a lot of time away from what I, and I'm sure many others, consider to be the more interesting or fast moving plot of the show's second half. I feel that they could have easily cut this drama down to 16 episodes. That being said I clearly enjoyed this drama since I scored it highly. The above mentioned criticism is really my only glaring problem with the show. As for the aspects I loved there are too many to name. First lets talk about the plot. It's thought provoking, heavy on morality, and really encapsulates how different people can react when pushed to the end of their rope. Each character is challenged and broken. They either rise above, fall short of, or overcome these challenges, but the unique and believable actions of each character solidify the artistry with which this show was written. Even the addition of the fictitious and silly sounding Pinocchio Syndrome does not detract from the realism this drama embodies. If anything the syndrome adds to it by allowing the audience to see that though someone may never lie they can still be mistaken and fall short of the truth. My applause to Park Hye Ryun for her magnificent writing. The way the syndrome forces our female lead to confront her feelings is also a huge plus for me. This brings me to the romance. This is my favorite couple pairing for both Park Shin Hye and Lee Jong Suk. Their chemistry was off the charts and I felt that their friends to lovers relationship was organic and believable. They knew when to put their partner before themselves and when to put themselves before their partner. The relationship was mutual, healthy, and endearing. They were each other's biggest support system and their relationship had a note of maturity thanks to this. Even when things got tough or the relationship seemed like it wouldn't work out they never truly gave up on each other. Everyone's reaction to the relationship was also appropriate if not frustrating. In fact all of the characters had logical reactions to just about every scenario the show presented. When a character got mad I too was angry, when a character made a bad decision I felt that I would have chosen the same course, when a character finally broke down and cried it was at just the right moment. Everything was well balanced and above all logical. For me this logic, so lacking in most dramas, was the crowning achievement of Pinocchio.
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First let me talk about Yoo In Na. I love her. It was this drama that made me love her. That is a huge accomplishment. I am notoriously harsh on kdrama actresses and before Yoo In Na did not really have a favorite. But thanks to this drama I can now say that Yoo In Na is my queen of dramaland. Now for her in the actual drama. I loved how soft-spoken yet strong Hee Jin was. She works incredibly hard but also clearly enjoys her job and doesn't let it get in the way of the rest of her life. She doesn't allow people to belittle her or her achievements and readily calls out things she sees as unfair on set. Yet, she is also understanding and willing to accept the unexpected. It is a combination of these qualities that allow her to connect with Boong Do. Boong Do too is a character of note. He is proper to a fault, as befitted his time, intelligent, yet readily silly and funny in turn. He too knows who he is and where his loyalties lie. His devotion to the real Queen In Hyun is admirable and elevates him to a knight worthy chivalry. He compliments Hee Jin in all the right ways and their romance felt genuine and soft. This couple can also lay claim to one of my favorite kisses in dramaland. (This is probably because Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo were dating for much of the production but nevertheless they delivered a genuine romantic feeling). I found myself blushing throughout much of this drama. It was sugar sweet almost all the way through. And even in the parts where the sweetness gave way to bitterness or sadness one could always feel the underlying love between these two characters.
I loved this drama and wish more dramas could be this simple and sweet. It leaves you with a good feeling and full of hope for love and life.
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