michelleoc
At times it was like watching paint dry
I have to say that I struggled through this one, and the reason it even got the somewhat high rating from me is due to the excellence of the second couple. This drama could have really used some serious editing. But let me get my positives out of the way for anyone that doesn't want to waste their time reading the rest of the review - the second lead couple made this drama for me! Dai Chao as Yi Ba Dao/Yi Nan Ke was terrific. He was stoic and mysterious and I remained curious as to how things would play out for him. Zhang Yu Qing as Mi Ya was wonderful as well. I love a female character that feels comfortable in her own skin and doesn't have to connive to bring other women down. She was a driven career woman, but I cared about her as well. Kudos to the costumers for the wonderful outfits she wore. In my opinion, their storyline was the reason to watch this show. They worked really well together and they had good chemistry. The main couple really took a back seat to the second couple in this show.Story: interesting premise, but in how many scenes do we have to hear about wine making, wine drinking, wine color, wine texture, seeing people drinking wine, seeing people thinking about drinking wine, seeing people fighting over wine? I get it, the story was about wine! Plus, I thought there were just TOO many different story lines going on - gangsters, owing money, rivals, supposed fiancee (which was an extremely irritating and useless storyline), knowing each other in school, star struck fan, writing articles about winemaking, wine tasting competitions, forgotten memories, revenge, murder, just pick a couple and flesh out the stories completely, rather than just throwing in a smattering of each. And it's just my opinion, but I HATED all the drinking. I get it, it's a show about drinking, but her being in these competitions just to drink, I didn't care for that at all.
Acting/Cast: I did not think that Ireine Song was a good fit for the part of the female lead at all. She was entirely too young looking and she acted very immature as well. I did like the height difference between her and the ML. They had some cute scenes together, but the romance fell way down on the scale of importance. A lot of the other acting was stilted as well.
Music: I don't remember it.
Re-watch value: Nope. As it was, I fast forwarded through A LOT of it because I found so much of it boring and repetitive.
In a nutshell - watch this show for the second couple, and be prepared to use your fast forward button a lot.
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Disappointed in the writing
This show really frustrated me, mainly because the writers would have you believe that the FL would rather have everyone hate her for something that she hadn't done, rather than admitting what had happened to her. I wasn't able to suspend disbelief that far. She was cold, and mean throughout most of the show. I might have been able to forgive that from a secondary character, but not from the main character. I don't like mean girls and that was the focus here.I thought that the ML was mis-written as well. He didn't look or act like a teenager, at all. He acted more like a teacher, so I had a hard time with connections between him and all the other characters.
To be honest, the reason I didn't rate this lower was because of the secondary characters. They were very enjoyable to watch. The secondary couple was cute, though their big break up made no sense, other than to serve to drive the story forward. I especially loved watching the third "couple" - Kim Yoo-Shin was bubbly, positive and spent most of his time following Ji So-hyun around. He was very outspoken about the fact that he liked So-hyun, but he was such a likeable character I found myself rooting for him.
I'm not a big person on revenge; however, I felt that with the seriousness of the topic that was the focus of the show, the perpetrators should have been dealt with more severely.
This drama had the advantage of being only eight episodes. That was long enough.
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female lead was too fickle
Difficult for me to rate. There was a LOT of humorous stuff in this one, which was great. My problem came with the main girl being "in love" with three different guys. She just wanted to get married, it didn't seem that she cared who she married. There were basically three men and three women and they were all involved with one another in one way or another. I didn't like the idea that she had slept with one guy, was kissing the other guys, etc. I had to rate it lower for the premarital sex as well. That's why I like to watch Korean dramas, as long as they don't kiss like fish, I like the chaste relationships. Main girl's comedic timing was excellent. HATED the ex-girlfriend of the main guy, just unnecessarily scheming. His mother? What an absolute nightmare! But when he comes to terms with his mother - one of the most emotional scenes I've seen in awhile. I did have a problem watching Yeon Woo Jin, just from the standpoint of not understanding how someone could possibly be that good looking! Later in the episodes when he started smiling??? Oh my gosh!Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
The high point was Kim Young Kwang
Cute show. Very strong performance by Kim Young Kwang. The I loved how they revealed that he's loved her for a long time. That silent watching her, getting hopeful, then living through her being involved with someone else. He was the epitome of strong silent type. He's so serious, but when a smile breaks out, wowza! The thought of five men that were so different fighting over her was totally unrealistic. I was also bothered by the fact that she was so wishy washy. Seriously, the boyfriend broke up with you without a reason and you still consider him in the running?!?! No way! Happy ending, walking away hand in hand. Basically one kiss, but it was a good one!Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo
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As an RN, I was initially very annoyed by this show
I'll start with the positives:Cute show, no angst, lovely second male lead that wants the object of his affection to be happy, fun/funny co-workers. The premise was far-fetched but enjoyable to watch, for the most part. I felt that the male lead's attitude toward the female lead was misogynistic, but was willing to overlook this just to continue to watch actor Satoh Takeru, who was wonderful in this role. Their relationship was easy to watch and I kept holding on for the change in his attitude. And can I just talk about his stares and the kissing scenes? Worth watching this show if for no other reason than that. There is one scene where he gets emotional and you finally get to know his heart. I think Takeru smiled twice in this show, and those smiles were a treat because they were so rare.
Things that bugged me:
Sakura Nanase was loud, somewhat irritating, inept, immature and clueless at the beginning of this show. I mean, the second time you meet a man you tell him that you love him and you've followed him to his place of work?!?! I don't care for these types of women in the shows that I watch, they seem so spineless to me. I found myself getting angry during the first two episodes. I realize that she was a new nurse, but she was like a bull in a china shop and all I kept thinking was "how in the world did she pass nursing school"?! My next thought was, unless Japan has completely different metrics for patient-to-nurse ratios, there is no way that these nurses would have time to wander the hospital, sit in the cafeteria with patients, etc. It was very unrealistic. And there was so much gossiping going on among the staff. The character of Tendo Kairi was a TOTAL tsundere. He was actually mean to Sakura and called her names throughout (which apparently was supposed to be an ongoing theme), but I didn't care for that. And with him being a brilliant doctor and her being an idiot, I didn't see how he could like her. One more pet peeve (this applies to SO MANY shows!) - why in the world does she continue to call him Sensei when they are dating? That just puts a distance between them that doesn't need to be there.
The positives definitely outweighed the negatives, it became more enjoyable as the episodes went on, it was concise at only 10 episodes, and I'm glad I watched this show.
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This show was amazing!
Let me start by saying that I’m all about romance, and I’m a big scaredy cat. I don’t particularly care for suspense shows because they make me too nervous. That said, I thought this show was brilliant! When I started the series, I could only watch one episode a day because it was just too stressful. I don’t usually think about how I’m going to rate a show as I watch it, but during this I was wondering how I was going to rate it since I wasn’t enjoying it. It was good, but not enjoyable, if that makes any sense. As I got better acquainted with the characters, I really needed to see what happened next. This drama deals with nature vs. nurture – are we pawns of our parents and the decisions they make? Can we truly break free from unhealthy relationships?STORY/WRITING: I didn’t particularly care for the way Cha Ji Won was written at the beginning. She was so sure that he liked her, without any reason whatsoever. She just felt a little too needy to me. However, here are so many twists and turns in this drama, I kept being surprised in each episode. I loved the relationship between Hee Sung/Hyun Soo and his daughter. It was obvious that she was closer to her dad than her mom. This was telling to me – kids are great judges of character, they don’t hold grudges and see things for what they are. The fact that she loved him so much, there was goodness in him that he wasn’t even aware of. The flashbacks were used effectively. I didn’t feel that there were extra characters/scenes just to get the 16 episodes.
ACTING: The entire cast was good, but if Lee Joon Gi doesn’t get some kind of award for his portrayal of Baek Hee Sung/Do Hyun Soo, there is no justice in this world! He was the standout for me. At the beginning, I couldn't believe I would watch a show about a serial killer. I was so sure, he was cold and calculating. Playing a person that doesn’t know how to feel/show emotions, oh my gosh, it was heartbreaking. His performance was, for the most part, very understated, but the ability he had to convey loneliness and fear was spot on. The last episode, for me, was the one that really got to me. He was doing things that he didn’t understand, he was conflicted about his feelings, and I thought he was kind of resigning himself to living a lonely life as penance. Jung Seo Yeon as Baek Eun Ha (the daughter) was just precious. She cried (a lot) but was just so sweet. Kim Ji Hoon as the real Baek Hee Sung – oh my goodness, him switching from nice to psychopath was chilling. It gave me the creeps to watch him. Now, I need to see if he’s in something else where he doesn’t portray a crazy person.
CHEMISTRY: We got some insight to the relationship between the lead couple in flashbacks. He was so emotionally closed off and I think he started liking her and didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. Some very yummy kissing scenes. There was a lot of emotional push/pull with him because of who he was and his circumstances, but theirs was a very mature relationship without game playing/miscommunication that you see in romances. Granted, he lied to her, but the unfolding of the reasons was thrilling.
MUSIC: There were a couple of beautiful love songs, and the music throughout the rest of the drama was very effective in increasing the tension.
REWATCH VALUE: I don’t think I’ll ever need to watch this again, especially since it’s a genre that I don’t care for. But that doesn’t decrease its excellence.
My only complaint, I think, was that so many of the names were so close together that I had a hard time keepings things straight at times.
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Miscommunications and manhandling
This drama had promise, but I felt that some opportunities were missed. The storyline really dropped the ball on the potentially interesting aspect of his medical condition. They used the physical condition called hyperthymesia – but that is a condition that related to a person’s past (remembering all aspects of their own life and “living in the past”), not having an eidetic memory, and this was not how the character was presented. Toward the end of the drama the medical condition came to the forefront and then was never fully explained/resolved, other than with a sentence tossed out by the male lead. As I find with most Chinese dramas, there was an awful lot of filler, multiple storylines, etc.CHARACTERS: Han Che (played by Leon Leong) had some real issues for me. I can totally buy into the cold person being changed by the woman he loves, but he was so cold throughout most of the show it was like he was an automaton. Did he really have any emotions? Add to that his manhandling the female lead over and over again, I just didn’t care for him. It’s not love to be forced to kiss, it’s not love to be dragged from one place to another over and over again. In addition, his total inability to communicate with her and keeping things from her was unacceptable.
Nuan Nuan (played by Eleanor Lee) was pretty well-written. I really loved her attitude and her drive to succeed. The opportunities that came along for her really demonstrated that if your initial dream doesn’t work out, that’s not the end of it. However, once she and Han Che got together, I really didn’t like her attempts to be “cute” – it came off as childish and immature. Also, she had communication problems of her own in that she held a grudge against Han Che multiple times, which was immature as well. Her one friend totally threw her under the bus more than once and she forgave her without any issues, but Han Che was a different story. Also, her asking him to repeat his question over and over again at the end of the drama was especially immature and I felt like she was making him jump through hoops.
I liked the secondary couple and their storyline was cute for the most part, but again, the miscommunication/no communication/misunderstandings was overused here.
I didn’t care for the potential rivals for Han Che’s and Nuan Nuan’s love. I felt that the acting of these two, especially, was not very good. They were wooden and one-dimensional.
CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE LEADS: Many open-eyed kisses. They were both very attractive, but I just wasn’t feeling the love between the two. Han Che’s character had some very well-written and touching lines about love, but their chemistry was lacking.
I don’t often do this when watching a drama, but I found myself thinking “if only they had gone in this direction with the character” or “it would have made more sense for her to say something else”. And even after the final lines of the drama, the title of the drama made no sense to me.
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Frightening Cohabitation
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Upon watching it again, I loved it even more!
I found this story very interesting, a fantasy with serious parts that wasn't too melodramatic. I found myself smiling a lot throughout, because most of the characters were well-written and extremely likeable.STORY: It’s been done before, but this one was easy to watch without too much angst. I especially loved the development of the friendships and the relationships, Jang Ki Yong and Hyeri had wonderful chemistry, as did Kan Han Na and Kim Do Wan. I scored down because of the constant use of drunkenness (their livers would have been pickled already!)
ACTING: Jang Ki Yong as Shin Woo Yeo was very good, going from being almost an automaton to developing a deep and abiding love. Though he, at times, had some borderline control tendencies, it was kind of understandable because he didn't know how to be human. He was very effective in playing someone so old and jaded, you could feel his loneliness and his feeling that continuing to live was just pointless. Hyeri is just gorgeous and her hairstyle really suited her. Her character was kind of the girl next door, someone that you are just automatically drawn to and want to be friends with. Her bubbly personality and lovely smile were the perfect foil for his aloofness. At the beginning, I thought that I was going to absolutely hate Kim Do Wan as Do Jae Jin - he was just such a pitiful, immature, sad sack. However, when paired with the excellent Kang Han Na as Yang Hye Sun, the second lead couple was very funny, and the actors brought naivete and innocence without stupidity, which I appreciated. They were such polar opposites, and watching them grow and mature together was great to watch. I have to say that Bae In Hyuk as Gyu Sun Woo grew a lot throughout this show. He started out as a complete jerk, but I found myself rooting for him as the episodes unfolded. He cared so much for Lee Dam and was able to learn from his mistakes. I had moments of SLS, wondering if there was any way he could win the girl. I could also appreciate the love/hate relationship between Shin Woo Yeo and Yang Hye Sun – their storyline developing into a lasting friendship was seamless and very touching.
SET DESIGN/COSTUMES/CINEMATOGRAPHY: His house was just beautiful and the college had some very interesting room setups. I loved the use of light and dark, the scenes with him were darker, conveying his loneliness. Her scenes were bright with color, and that really suited her personality.
OST: Good, and I especially loved the haunting song by Jeong Sewoon.
RE-WATCH: Totally!! Upon this rewatch, I had forgotten how wonderful the romantic chemistry was between the leads.
OVERALL: It was definitely worth a watch for me (I don’t like stuff too heavy, so this was right up my alley). This moved up from me liking it a lot to loving it!
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It was an okay watch
This was an extremely short series and, for me, it was kind of middle-of-the-road. The actors did a good job with what they had to work with. Normally, I'm all for less episodes. The dramas tend to be drawn out with tons of filler. In the case of Ending Again, it actually felt too short.CONCEPT: Contract marriage. This aspect of the show was a good hook for getting the two main leads together.
WRITING: Unfortunately, this is where it went a little wrong for me. I had a hard time with the reasoning for the guy to leave her after eight years of being together. Once the contract marriage was in effect, the main leads got together too quickly and we weren't actually able to see the progression of their feelings for one another. This could have been remedied by leaving out the wasteful man-crazy friend and her relationship issues. Also, the end of every episode showed more of the female lead's back story with the original boyfriend. That would have been good if the show had been longer, but here it actually meant that we had more about the old relationship than the new.
ACTING: The acting was good. I have to say that the female lead was beautiful and she was a lovely crier. I did have a bit of a problem with the male lead and the ex-boyfriend looking so much alike.
MUSIC: I have to say that I don't actually remember any of the music.
REWATCH VALUE: As I was watching this, I realized that I had seen it before and had not remembered it.
OVERALL: It was a cute show that didn't take much time. It was a show to watch between better shows.
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Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
So much good stuff, but...
I have to say I enjoyed watching this show, especially after looking forward to seeing a couple of my favorite actors. I felt there was a lot of good in this, but there were some misses for me as well.STORY: I'd have to say this is where I found the shortcomings. At times, the story just felt like it got mired down and couldn't (or didn't) move forward. A lot remained unexplained. The writing was often very stilted (maybe it got lost in translation from Korean to English). I know writers often want us to make our own conclusions, but some of the things in this were so vague I wasn't sure what to think! The character of the female lead was problematic for me - she's dying, but you never feel that she quite "gets it". I understand they were going for that positive, spunky heroine that can soften the heart of a man with no heart, but come on! I wasn't able to quite relate to her, because her emotions were always pretty much on the surface. I think that you have to believe that someone recognizes that they are dying before you can empathize with them. The death thing never fully got fleshed out, I didn't think. I like to be able to see why people fall in love with one another. It was rushed in this show. They didn't like each other and then suddenly they are in love. She sometimes seemed like she missed him, but for the most part was her regular bubbly self, which didn't ring true. I also didn't care for the secondary romance at all - it dragged on needlessly and each of them had such problems that I could figure out why any one person would like the other. The ending of the show was quite a big letdown for me. It was very abrupt and there definitely needed to be more. I did enjoy the family relationships.
SYMBOLISM: The deity girl part of the storyline, if you could get past that all the conversations seemed like they were in code and I didn't have my secret decoder ring, was good. I've always liked the concept of destiny and people ending up together despite them trying to take different paths to change their future. The deity seemed like a god that was rooting for this couple. She started out playing with their lives but then kind of became a cheerleader for them. I felt redemption and second chances in her scenes with both main characters.
ACTORS: Seo In Guk as Myeol Mang was excellent. He is an actor that can display so much emotion with just a quirk of his brow. His progression from evil to good was spot on. He had that inhuman coldness down pat, and then when he started to change, it was lovely. Park Bo Young as Tak Dong Kyung - I love her as an actress, but I didn't feel that she was perfect for this role, but that may have mostly been the fault of the writing. She seemed that she spent most of her time speaking with wide eyes, and pursed lips, trying to be cute. And I have to say, I absolutely HATE the way she cries. It always makes me want to laugh because it is so over the top, I thought that when I saw her in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, and it was the same in this show. Dawon as Dong Kyung's brother provided some wonderful comic relief.
COSTUMING/HAIR/MAKEUP: I loved the clothes they wore in this, especially all the long coats. They dressed Seo In Guk very well in all dark colors until the end, when he got to wear some beiges and gray. That man knows how to wear clothes! Everything was tailored beautifully. I also loved what they did with the color of his hair - not black but an interesting, subtle shade of gray/black. There was an effective change in his makeup from the beginning to the end that spoke to him becoming human. Her outfits were really cute and I loved how they paired sneakers with skirts for her in a lot of the scenes. I was bothered by the fact that she was going to die in a few months, but she just kept getting prettier and prettier.
CINEMATOGRAPHY/SCENERY: Very well done. I loved the composition of his house connected to her apartment - his space was large, monochromatic and cold, her area was vibrant and full of a multitude of textures and colors. the symbolism and used of plants/flowers/gardens was very well done. I especially loved when she went into his gray world and her vibrancy brought everything to life.
MUSIC: Beautiful, especially Seo In Guk's song. The music was able to make me feel some emotions that the script wasn't able to convey.
I'm glad I watched this. I do have to say that I enjoyed the first half a lot more than the last half, when it just felt like it ran out of steam.
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wasn't the best I've seen
I watched this again, hoping to see that I'd missed something the first time, only to have to drop my rating. Let me begin by saying I love the main actress. She's beautiful and her voice is lovely, and she's a great physical actress. I've never seen the male lead in anything before, but I'll need to watch out for him, I enjoyed his performance. I did not care for the execution of this story. Why did her best friend never suggest she get counseling? Sometimes you have to tell your friend the hard things. This woman had a form of OCD that seriously needed to be addressed. The superstition aspect carried on for far too long, I thought. The clothing designer for her needed to be shot. Her outfits were ridiculous and distracting. The feeling I got from this was that she really didn't love him enough. The breakup was stupid and I felt like it was just to extend the show to the obligatory 16 episodes. Typical K-drama cliche of time passage of a year. Seriously, if you are going to make me think that people are in love, they need to be willing to fight for that love. He was wonderful and more patient than I would have been, that's for sure. That said, the times that they were together as a couple were absolutely adorable, but those times were few and far between. I loved when they were trying to keep their relationship a secret, but everyone knew. Their friends were really cute and provided comic relief as well.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
A light show that gave me all the feels. I wanted to be friends with these people!
I tend to get frustrated with the length of Chinese shows. This one has 28 episodes of between 30-40 minutes each, but there is about five minutes of credits at the beginning and end of each episode, so ultimately, this one didn’t drag on for me.I loved this drama, for multiple reasons: Very low angst, no evil parents, no evil ex trying to break the couple up, no break up for stupid reasons, no misunderstandings/miscommunication. There is a lot going on in this show. Not only do you have the main couple, you have friends, other students, teachers, and family. There was a time gap, but they were together during that time – that was SO refreshing!
STORY: The story of the main couple was very refreshing. They were supportive of each other’s dreams, they listened to one another, they enjoyed each other’s company – the way a real couple should be.
The friendships were excellent. The story is about a young man with social anxiety and how debilitating it can be. The underlying moral was that we are all different, we each have things that we struggle with, but with good friends beside you, you can not only overcome but grow as a result of those friendships.
The pacing was pretty good. Some of the scenes could have been shortened for those of us with attention difficulties, but there wasn’t any time that I thought “why did they stick that in there?”
CAST: The entire cast was very good, and I felt that each person was perfect for their part. I have to expound on the main couple, though. Fiction Guo as Nan Xi was perfect. I’ve never seen him in anything before, so I don’t know if the paleness of his skin was natural or if they made him up that way. Either way, it was brilliant. That, along with his mannerisms of someone suffering with a disability, I was immediately drawn to him and felt empathy for him. Not wanting to be touched, not making eye contact, stooped posture as if trying to be invisible, it was heartbreaking to watch, but it was absolutely lovely to see him bloom and come out of his shell as a result of the friends he made. He had to put himself out there to a certain degree, which was hard for him, but there was a definite reward at the end. Guo has a beautiful voice that was especially effective in the voice over work that he did in certain parts of the show. Wan Peng as Xia Rui – first of all, she was cute as a button (though her hair hanging in her face all the time was irritating me!). Xia Rui was where the writers of this really shone – she was very talkative and talked very fast, so she probably had more lines than everyone else. And she had some wonderful lines! She was the kind of person that you would just want to be friends with, bubbly, supportive, standing up for the underdog.
CHEMISTRY: The friendship/love chemistry was strong with the main couple. I honestly was able to understand why they loved one another. Everything made sense. There were a couple of okay kisses, but honestly, the way they spoke to one another, I sometimes felt like a voyeur.
The music was pretty non-descript. I could watch this one again, though I may not because there’s so much other stuff I need to get to! If I were to watch it again, I’m sure I’d feel like I was visiting old friends.
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Action/adventure/romance, enjoyable ride
The rating I gave this drama was due to the male lead and the chemistry, otherwise I would have scored a lot lower because of the 2FL and the kid.This show was pretty short (relatively speaking for a Chinese drama) at 16 episodes of about 30 minutes each. I’ll be honest, that’s what made me give it a try.
STORYLINE: Very good! There were no draggy parts. There was romance and action and mystery and some comedy. I loved how they had a backstory at the beginning of every episode to give you further insight into what happened in the past of the main couple. There was a twist at the end that some people thought was very predictable, but all I can say is I was sure glad it was there! I did like that the couple had a history, I’m a sucker for the destiny trope.
MAIN COUPLE: Can you say chemistry?!?! The first episode, where it showed how he was protecting her was HAWT! Some excellent kisses. There's a pottery scene (like we've seen in Ghost) that was so well done. It brought the steam. The extreme close ups of their faces, the close ups of their hands in the clay, his hands caressing hers - just all kinds of yummy. I didn’t quite understand how they went from having one conversation to being considered boyfriend and girlfriend, and their breakup was kind of meh. Luckily it was short-lived. I thought the ML was very charismatic and whenever he was on screen, that’s where my eyes went. His smoldering looks were off the charts! How he played his character was a Tsundere done right. He was very serious and appeared cold, but there was a warmth within him for his friends, and especially for her. She was a beauty, and her character was good. I like it when they don’t make the women out to be silly/frivolous/weaklings/stupid.
SECOND COUPLE: Him, I loved. She, however, was another story. For me she was too silly and like a stalker. Later on, once they got together, they were very cute. His daughter, however (and I know I’m in the minority here) was a nightmare! There’s precocious and then there’s bratty. She tipped the scales WAY over into the bratty range. She was whiny, demanding and disrespectful and she needed a good time out.
I watched this in a day and half and wasn’t in the least bored. Then I went back and watched it again!
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Be patient, this one will suck you in before you know what hit you!
This show was unbelievably good. I’ll be honest, it started out really slow and I’m not known for my patience. It wasn’t until about episode five when I felt completely invested, and then I had to go back and start it over, to give it the consideration it deserved. I’m not going to reiterate the storyline, but the writers have many, many reasons to be proud of their work here. This show moved effortlessly between the timelines of 1930’s Korea and present-day Korea, and it all made sense. One of the things I was most impressed with was that the mysteries in the show were revealed to us at the same time as the characters, so I felt like I was discovering the answers right along with them. The writing was excellent and managed to take me on a journey that seamlessly moved from drama, to comedy, to tragedy, to mystery, to fantasy, and all the while there was no need to suspend disbelief, because it all made perfect sense. I also appreciated the factual information that was given about the freedom fighters and what happened to Koreans in WWII.Cast: Yoo Ah In as writer Han Se Ju was wonderful. He started out cold, self-absorbed and isolated. To be honest, I wondered if he was supposed to be the male lead, because he was not likeable at all. As we moved further into the story, his reactions, whether serious or funny, were spot on. And it doesn’t hurt that he is stunning to look at. Im Soo Jung as fangirl Jeon Seol played her part with the perfect degree of wonder and awe for Han Se Ju, without ever becoming stalker-ish or irritating. She had a positive outlook on life, even considering her somewhat dark past. Go Kyung Pyo as the mysterious Yoo Jin Oh was excellent. His part, more than any other, had the potential to become farcical, but he imbued the perfect amount seriousness into the role. I also have to mention Kwak Si Yan as Han Se Ju’s competition (both personally and literarily). Early on, he owned this role, giving it just a touch of possible sinisterness. Were you supposed to like him or hate him? As time went on and everything started being revealed, he literally made my skin crawl.
Cinematography and sets: Beautifully filmed! There was a clear delineation between 1930 and present. The close ups allowed you to really see and feel the emotions that the characters were feeling, whereas the far shots really gave a feeling of space and grandeur of the things that you were looking at. The play of light and shadow was used well to give a feel for danger in the 30’s and the positivity of present day. I loved how every place had different ways of showcasing books. His home, the other writer’s work room, bookstores, etc. Every place was very creatively put together, always reminding us that he was a writer. The set for his home was amazing!
Skinship: Two amazing kisses and some hand holding.
Camaraderie: This is where this show shone the brightest. The friendships of the past affected the friendships of the present and the writers/actors did a wonderful job of the slow, seamless progression of their relationships. They communicated well, they were honest with one another, and their experiences in both times cemented how they felt about one another. I love a show with a good bromance, and this was definitely one for the books!
Costumes: The clothing for both eras was perfect. Especially the clothes that Yoo Ah In wore – his clothes were classy, loose and fit him well.
OST: Hauntingly beautiful. There were times that just the music would shift your emotions before a word was even said.
I’m so glad I gave the time and attention to everything about this show that it deserved. It was amazing!
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The cast was excellent! Yoo Seung-ho as Kang Bok-soo was terrific. Yes, I thought he went overboard on the anger aspect of his character but his love for Soo-jung was a treat to watch, his deep voice pulls you right in, and that smile! Jo Bo-ah as Son Soo-jung was lovely. First, she's stunningly beautiful. I actually liked her more as a teenager, because the adult Soo-jung was kind of a mess. Kim Mi-kyung as Bok-soo's mom, she's the mom that we all want. Kim-Yeo-kim as Oh Se-ho's mom, yikes! That character was an absolute nightmare and she played it perfectly. I had seen her as a sweet character in Terrius Behind Me, so to see her as this evil, cutthroat character who would stomp over her own son to protect herself was a revelation. I had seen all the previously-mentioned people in other things, was impressed before and continue to be impressed; however, Kwak Dong-yeon as Oh se-ho was new to me and this acting was spot on! The intense stares and the sudden evil smiles actually gave me goose bumps! He was the kind of evil that is difficult to watch, but then when they had flashbacks you could feel his loneliness and vulnerability. Then, later in the show, when he wasn't quite so creepy, I enjoyed watching him so much that I'm going to see what else he's been in. I hope that in the future he gets tapped for the male lead that is a cold CEO and meets his match, he'd be perfect. everyone that played the students were very good and I liked the way friendships were forged.Chemistry - the kisses between the leads were wonderful. No open-eyed fish kisses. And there's a little added excitement when there is a danger of them being discovered.
Storyline - implausible, but I was willing to suspend disbelief. The problem, for me, came in the writing and the way it was executed. It went on entirely too long and there were so many things going on that they were never completely and fully able to address any of them. It flitted from one problem to another. After 32 episodes, the ending felt rushed (as so many K-dramas seem to, unfortunately). And I'll be honest, once they redeemed Oh Se-ho, I was disappointed that he wasn't with the other main characters at the end, with their friendship renewed.
I was glad I watched it, but it's not something I would re-watch, because it was too long.
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