Mask (2015)

Good Actors, Bad Drama

I honestly regret sinking the time I did into this drama. The story was garbage due to bad character writing and development. The characters and overarching plot had everything laid out to be something unique and a good drama; they really could've made this into a masterpiece. Instead, they chose the worst way to go about telling this story. If you have to throw common sense out the window and dumb down your characters in order for the plot to work..then your plot doesn't work. If you have to have a bad guy "oops" and casually mention something they shouldn't have in order for the plot to work...your plot doesn't work. The writers not only disrespected us viewers, the actors, the crew that works 12+ hour days tirelessly on set for months and months, but also themselves by writing such a cheap story this way. Writing your characters to be beyond stupid might make your job easier as a writer, but people will no longer be interested in your story. No one likes cheap plot tricks; no one. There's a difference between dumb decisions/character naivety and just plain stupidity that's clearly made to push the plot forward. 99.9% of issues could've been avoided had the characters used common sense befitting that of any intelligent life on planet Earth. To me, that is the definition of bad writing.

I found it really hard to watch; if dramas start to get frustrating for me, I speed them up to get through it quicker. Normally I try not to speed it up so quickly so that I can still retain details. Well this is the fastest I've sped up anything, including my college video lectures. I had to watch the last few episodes in 2.5x speed in order to get through it, I just couldn't take it anymore.

Some things I actually liked about this drama was the music and actors. The actors were the most disrespected in this drama, because their performance was better than this story deserved. To me, Seok Hoon carried this show. I was more interested in Min Woo's plotline at first, but throughout the whole thing was the most fascinated with Seok Hoon as a character. The complexities of his character are honestly amazing and it's the only prop I can give to writers. I personally don't mind the ending "change" but I also think it could be argued that it went against what they had built his character on for 20 episodes. Regardless, his character is one of the most interesting out of any TV and movies I've seen. I am very interested in seeing more of Yeon Jung Hoon because I honestly think he should win an award for this role. (I think that would require someone forcing themselves to sit through 20 hours of foolishness, though.) If you happen to be a fan of the actor, this is a great role to see him in, but be prepared for the rest of the drama you'll painfully have to watch.

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I highly recommend you guys to watch this drama!! The final eps in this drama has made me cry alot until i fell asleep. (I even cried in my dream :( ) i love the actors & the actresses in this drama they are superbly talented!!! plus the storyline is great!! the love stories between the couples in this drama are fantastic and not boring at all (ain't like the typical love stories) I really adore the way mi yeon protected her brother from any danger.

So why don't we together vote for this drama and the casts for upcoming awards? And i wish there will be more upcoming dramas like this.

Well done!!!

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What an amazing journey! I was addicted to this drama from episode 1 and continued to stay addicted to it until the very last episode! It's a masterpiece to me <3 The story starts off so amazingly crazy and stays crazy good all the way until the end (at least to me it did). A lot of people seemed to have compared this to 'Secret' b/c of the writer - but don't. I honestly like the end of this drama much more than the end of secret. (I honestly was disappointed by something that happened at the end of Secret - but this drama left me with no disappointments.

Story: [I wanted to edit this right away but MDL was shut down so it's updated a little late...] Byun Ji Sook is a hard working young woman burdened with debt. Seo Eun Ha is a rich heiress. They are doppelgangers (they look exactly alike) - when circumstances and situations shift, Ji Sook finds herself having to live the life of Seo Eun Ha. As she is pressured into this life that she didn't ask for, she at first does her best to survive & protect her loved ones (old and new), we see her character grow from a weak scared individual to a strong and brave woman who is willing to take a risk in order to set things straight. Enemies along the way try and hold her back and stop her as much as possible. Min Woo is the heir to a huge conglomerate and he wants that title but little does he know that someone has been messing around with his sanity. This drama is full of mystery, crime, romance, deception and uncovering truths. It's a melo in every way - but not your typical melo - It's breathtaking (maybe even more so if you marathon it - I personally watched 13 episodes in the span of 2 days! and watched week by week there-after) - but I knew from episode one that this would be a drama that would be best reserved for a marathon and I never lost that conviction.

Cast: The entire cast did an excellent job! Joo Ji Hoon as Choi Min Woo portrayed a tormented man scarred with loneliness, pain, and lack of affection/love. His character is the most beautiful to watch. While he fights himself - fights to keep his sanity and fights to keep his belief in himself. He does his best to stay strong but in the process he avoids as much contact with people as possible - that is until Ji Sook enters his life. ^^ Soo Ae as Byun Ji Sook/Seo Eun Ha - she does a wonderful job showing fear, anxiety, love, hurt, pain and joy. Even if she wears a 'Mask' she still stays true to herself and is loyal and protective to those around her. Yeon Jung Hoon as Min Suk Hoon, he can pull of a bad guy so well - his face literally looked evil - with one glance of the eye, one lip twitch... he can be so creepy - he almost seemed immoveable. Yoo In Young as Choi Mi Yeon - I really pitied her character, I understood where she was coming from and where she didn't want to go - but she did a few things that no matter how much I understood her - it was still wrong... I would describe her as being stuck between a rock and a hard place - she was trapped in a cage she created for herself, and that was just sad. I didn't hate her - but I did get angry at her a couple of times. Soo Ae and Ho Ya actually look like real siblings! lol

Music: The OST was simply BEAUTIFUL! I love each and every song! 'One Person' by Moon Myung Jin, 'It Hurts' by Zico & Sojin, 'I'll Pretend I'm Dead' by Chancellor & Vasco, 'One Day' by LYn, 'I Hoped It Was a Lie' by Navi, 'No Love' by Byul Ha, 'Where' by Yoon Do Hyun, 'Similar' by Junggigo, 'I Miss You' by Seo Eun Kwang & Mi Yoo - My personal favorites (I love them all though) are: One Person, No Love, Where and I Miss You ^-^

Re-watch Value: 10/10 - I will definitely re-watch this drama! To me it's a masterpiece, it may not have been perfectly perfect but I loved it! I highly recommend this drama and hope you'd enjoy it as much as I did :D

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It's a "meh" drama

It's one of those dramas that you don't regret watching but you didn't get anything from watching it as well or to say it simple it's a "meh" drama.

## Story:

The story was interesting not unique but interesting, but at some point they started to fill it with useless filling stories just to have something to show. Useless side character romantic plots which they didn't expand on, useless revenge plots that they didn't disclose until the last episode, stupid plot progression and reusing plots over and over again.

Like most k-dramas there were some very questionable decisions made from the characters, but I don't think there is a point in bashing a dead horse since this is present in most kdramas, so it's a given. Blame the screen writers.

To be honest if they stripped the useless stuff it would have been a better drama but the filling was too much to extend it to 20 episodes where probably 12-14 episodes would have been more than enough.

## Cast:

To be honest the casting was OK it was not bad but it wasn't ground breaking as well. For me the gem in the show was Yoo In Young, her acting was the one I took notice and I actually cared for her character the most.

## Rewatch Value:

I don't think that I have a single scene that I would like to rewatch at a later stage. Pretty much the show is watch it and forget about it afterwards.

## Overall:

If you don't have nothing else to watch you can give it a try, but if you expect to be blown away by it -> skip it.

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The journey is the most important

This show took me through a wild rollercoaster. I honestly was not able to see a lot of the twists and turn in this show and when they happened like 90% of them made sense. The show covered its tracks really well. My only complaint is the lack of explanation of how they got the evidence to prosecute the bad guy. I am also curious how ji sook got out of jail. For me it would have been great to have a heartfelt conversation between ji sook and the assemblyman about the stuff that ji sook found in eun has apartment. A conversation about how ji sook could feel the love that eun ja had for her mother and father as she lived in her shoes. It would have also been really cool if the chairman had approved of the couples marriage amd we got a happily ever after picture with all the families together. (including eun ha's) i feel like ji sook developed a deep understanding of eun ha as she lived as her and as she read her diary and went through her belongings. This was the key part of the show that really made me give it a 10/10. It was just unfortunate it didnt deliver that ending for me. It was good nonetheless.

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Se você procura por um drama com uma história madura este drama é uma ótima opção. Estava procurando por um drama onde a personagem não se comportasse como adolescente e este realmente me surpreendeu.

Este K-Drama tem uma história que prende a atenção, não deixou pontas soltas no final e foi capaz de explicar toda trama que se desenvolveu durante os episódios. Assisti super rápido pois não foi maçante tem um suspense na medida certa e o romance foi bem legal. As interpretações também me agradaram e tenho que dizer que o Joo Ji Hoon melhorou muito não só na atuação mas também na aparência desde os tempos do clássico de 2006 (Goong - Princess Hours) que o fez bastante conhecido. Com toda certeza entrou na minha lista de favoritos!

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When the evil characters are more interesting than the main ones

- **Story/Plot**: 2/3
1. Synopsis (0.25)✅
2. Initial Impression (2eps) (0.25)✅
3. Genre Adherence (0.25)✅
4. Emotional Engagement (0.25)✅
5. Logic (0.25)❌
6. Plot Coherence (0.25)✅
7. Dialogue (0.25)✅
8. Pacing (0.25)❌
9. Character building/Development (0.25)✅
10. Story Richness (0.25)❌
11. Plot Twists (0.25)❌
12. Messages (0.25)✅

- **CAST/Acting**: 1.75/2
1. Lead Actor Performance (0.25)✅
2. Lead Actress Performance (0.25)✅
3. Main Cast Chemistry (0.25)✅
4. Supporting Actors/Actresses Performance (0.25)✅
5. Casting Precision (0.5)✅
6. Character Transformation (0.25)❌
7. Scene Stealers (0.25)✅

- **Directing/Camerawork**: 1.25/2
1. Camera Movement (0.25)❌
2. Editing (0.25)✅
3. Continuity (0.25)✅
4. Visual Effects (0.25)❌
5. Visual Details (0.25)❌
6. Cinematic Tension (0.25)✅
7. Lighting (0.25)✅
8. Flashback Integration (0.25)✅

- **OST (Original Soundtrack)**: 0.5/1
1. Background OST (0.25✅/0.5)
2. Overall OST (0.25✅/0.5)

- **Style**: 0.5/1
1. Costumes (0.25)✅
2. Set Design (0.25)❌
3. Colors (0.25)❌
4. Poster (0.25)✅

- **Ending**: 1/1
1. Closure (0.25)✅
2. Emotional Impact (0.25)✅
3. Logic (0.25)✅
4. Personal Satisfaction (0.25)✅

Total Rating: 7/10 +0 Bonus
>>>>Final Rating: 7/10

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PLOT: Ambitious but unfocused
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This isn't an original plot. You have two girls from different families & backgrounds who coincidentally look exactly the same. Then something happens that forces one of the girls to take over the life of the other. So far so good, right?

Unfortunately, the two girls seem to have such a similar personality that none of the other characters notice or even question the change. Thereby diminishing the impact of the "switched" ploy. And sure, for the first few episodes, we are given a "medical" reason why that may be so... but that doesn't apply to the latter half of the series.

The other problem lies in how unfocused the narrative became as the episodes went by. At its core, this was a revenge story with the switching of the girls becoming a means to an end. Eventually, Byun Ji Suk (the female lead) enters in direct conflict with Min Seok Hoon (the main antagonist) because the former wants to protect her lover and his family, while the latter wants to destroy them for "reasons".

The problem rests in that this type of story relies on how well explained, executed and developed are the antagonist's motivations. But for most of the series, Min Seok's motivations were vaguely addressed. By the time we fill in the blanks, the story had run out of steam and the impact was lost in the wake of its dust.

MAIN CHARACTERS: A mixed bag
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Before I dive into each lead, I'll address some general issues that apply to all the characters. First and foremost, there's a lot of ambiguity. Perhaps the writer didn't take enough time to build each character's personality, because not only were there a lot of inconsistencies, but the characters even started to act the same at some point. It was like they all became one core character with little variation. This extended to the way they spoke and solved problems. Ultimately, it made their acting fall flat and somewhat boring.

Byun Ji Suk | Seo Eun Ha (female lead, played by Soo Ae): The actress plays two different characters... sort of. It has less to do with her acting and more to do with what I mentioned before, which is that neither character had a strong enough personality to tell them apart. Now, this is CRAZY considering how different the two characters' backgrounds are.

So by the time Byun Ji Suk took over Seo Eun Ha's life... there was no learning curve. She was never caught by anyone, despite knowing very little about her counterpart. Whatsmore, even when she applied herself to study Seo Eun Ha's life so she could stand up against Min Seok, her personality didn't change. She just "knew" people now and used them... so why didn't any of the people who supposedly knew Seo Eun Ha thought that she was different?

There were also some inconsistencies with her character. Byun Ji Suk --who had been working as a store vendor-- was put in charge of assignments that should've been out of her league unless she was a genius. And yet she does them with ease and with little help.

The inconsistency and lack of personality aside, Byun Ji Suk had her good points. One of them is that she was given tremendous character growth, which is always appreciated. From a weak woman who had things happen to her, she grew into her power and became a woman who made things happen. It's also worth noting how refreshing it was that she remained a protagonist throughout the series, rather than fall into a supporting role to the male lead (which usually happens).

Choi Min Woo (male lead played by Joo Ji Hoon): Like with Byun Ji Suk, he lost his personality (alongside the quirks that identified him) as the story progressed. He was a sympathetic character, someone who had been broken down by living in a house full of enemies. However, the transition from withdrawn and antisocial to normal functioning and sweet came out of nowhere. He was also later sidelined into a support role (the fate of many female leads) and, therefore, wasn't an active participant of a good chunk of the story.

ANTAGONIST: Malicious but not fleshed out
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Min Seok Hoon (played by Yeon Jung Hoon): He started out as an intriguing antagonist, but the lack of depth crippled his growth. We didn't get the full story behind his motivations until the last chapter, by which time there wasn't any impact to be had. Out of everyone's acting, Yeon Jung Hoon did stand out. But that's not saying a lot considering there weren't really any powerful moments...

Choi Mi Yeon (played by Yoo In Young): She was a character who became more and more unlikable as the episodes rolled by. Though they did try to give her something of a good side, it was inevitably squashed by her malicious actions. Whenever Mi Yeon tried to change for the better, she would quickly (as in the same episode) return to her devious and unhinged ways. If anything, I give props for realistically depicting her character as being unable to change her base nature.

SUPPORT CHARACTERS: Okay
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I'm not going to say a lot about the support characters because there's not much to say. They contributed little to the story. Some of them were used to further the plot with one or two actions, others were used as motivations for the main characters and quite a few others were there just to fill the gap. Nothing extraordinary or hateful, really.

PORTRAYAL OF ROMANCE: Like a negotiation
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The romance was okay. It did start out rocky and toxic, but it soon moved to a more mellow relationship. If I'm honest, the transition was a bit abrupt but not overly so. The romance is consistent if a bit plain. Their relationship felt like a negotiation (which is realistic), with some sweet moments accompanied by short conversations to set their rules of engagement. Though there weren't any moments that stood out, it was still an overall "cute" romance.

OVERALL: Not memorable, but watchable
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This is a watchable series. It's nothing out of the ordinary and it can get a bit heavy if you're not in the right mood, but it's not the worst series you'll ever watch.

The thing I can highlight is the fact that the female lead is the true protagonist of the story and isn't sidelined as the plot progresses. She's the one who goes toe to toe against our main antagonist. Despite the inconsistencies, she's overall a strong protagonist, even if the story did lack focus and diminished her impact.

If you have time to kill and want to see what an active female protagonist, you can always give this a shot. If you like cute romances and aren't too serious about plot consistencies, this might also be something you'd be interested in watching.

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Watch it for the romance and the leads (but basically nothing else)

This is a fairly good drama! The spoiler free specifics are below but here is my verdict on the drama: it's quite good, but suffers from some big issues with the writing of the plot and the secondary characters. However, the acting and romance are the strongest parts, so if you're watching for the leads or the romance aspect, I still think you would like it. But don't expect a super smart story behind that romance. I still made it all the way to the end and that's an endorsement in itself, but I would not recommend it to everyone.

The GOOD:
The acting! All the main cast, especially the 2 leads but also the second ML and FL did a great job. Even when scenes didn't make sense, they still managed to sell the emotions well.
The music: it was nice, it fit the scenes and there were a few good songs that I came to like. I think ballad lovers will appreciate the music more than me.
The romance: the romance is that forbidden love, slow burn type of thing and that was the only thing I enjoyed all the way through about the story. If you are watching for the romance, I don't think you will be dissatisfied. There are also some very nice kiss scenes haha thank you, Joo Ji Hoon.
The FL and ML characters: I saw some people complaining on recaps that the writer made the FL a damsel in distress and so annoying, but thankfully, that was only halfway through her character arc. I think she came out the other end of the story as a strong character even if she was kind of whimpering in the middle parts. I thought she and the ML were easily the best written characters, leagues above the second ML and FL because they were written much more consistently and had much more believable character arcs.

The BAD:
The story: it had a lot of potential and was super addictive for the first half because it felt like the writers were dropping a lot of interesting hints about the underlying story, but then a lot of stuff didn't seem to matter. The story did get wrapped up fairly cleanly, but a lot of it felt pretty weak and the last 4 episodes were pretty disappointing in some ways.
The villain: despite the great performance, the writing of the villain was so dumb... like his motivation for his entire life's revenge was just....... dumb. Plus things at the end pretty much got worked out because he started acting really stupid.
The second FL: I didn't actually hate her ending, I thought it made sense... But it was like the first thing she did that made sense in the entirety of the drama. Her character was so wishy washy, one day she's trying to protect the ML, the next she's a villain... it's like the writers didn't know what they wanted to do with her, so they just tried something new every episode. And again, I'm not trying to fault the actress, because she was really good! But the character was not.
Rewatch value: that's hard for me because I don't rewatch things usually, but I think this one doesn't have a lot of rewatch value even for people who usually do.

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This is a great drama about revenge, dysfunctional family dynamics that bring individuals’ worst persona to light, and finding love amidst all chaos. This drama offers revenge planned through years of growing up with an ardent desire for retaliation carried out by two of the greatest pathological liars that concocted all the dark and dubious doings along the entire drama’s duration plus their underlings. There is mystery and intrigue as well as a blossoming romance between the lead couple. The storyline is well though, written, and executed by a great cast. The drama has a somber tone with some funny events to lighten up the mood. Enjoy it!

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Not like the drama much

So - so story .
It is a sad story and in whole drama this had been shown . Not much romantic scene because she came into his life as a fake so when ever they came close her conscience stop her to do so . To see the last episode it had seemed that director was in hurry to over the drama so he had gave such final episode .
Atleast in last episode they could show that they met after so many hurdles and then she got married with him again with her true identity and then they became parents and then live happily ever after.
Such ending I was expecting but...
So I didn't like the drma much.

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