Epic final to a great saga... I still want more!

I watched, back-to-back, in this order:
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning, 2021
Rurouni Kenshin: Origins, 2012
Rurouni Kenshin 2: Kyoto Inferno, 2014
Rurouni Kenshin 3: The Legend Ends, 2014
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, 2021
I watched the first 3 ages ago, but decided to watch all of them again, in story, not release, order, which I recommend doing.

I absolutely love these films to bits. The life of the main character is a mix of almost aimless at times, tragic, then enlightenment and atonement.

The fact the film about Kenshin's origins, was made 9 years after the character first appeared on screen, is amazing. The main reason being, when watched in the order I did, it is a seamless story.

Many cast members appear throughout, pieces from the earlier, film 1, are blended in so when watching the next instalment, it makes complete sense. I was honestly blown away.

Satoh Takeru is brilliant in every film. The sword fights are incredible and they must have taken all the cast involved, a huge amount of work and energy.

The pace of each film is excellent, with a balance of action, everyday life, love, friendships, fighting for a cause (sometimes blindly) and defeating not only enemies, but those taking advantage of the powerless. Some sad elements too. There is also humour and a growing camaraderie between some characters that began as enemies.

I love Himura Kenshin and how he evolves. Supporting characters are varied, some villains are pretty OTT, strong female characters and the cast in all the films is great.

This final instalment brings us full circle, with Kenshin's bitter past, rearing it's painful head.

Films are rarely, if ever, perfect, but these just do it for me. Firm favourites.

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Not a bad watch overall

June 2024
This is described as a Horror Film, but my idea of that genre is different. It can be horrific, but it isn't ghosts, demons and stuff going bump in the night.

It's a mild (hence rating, which is 15 on Netflix) slasher type film.

Kazuya is my cup of tasty and plays a cold, emotionless lawyer, Ninomiya Akira, who goes through the motions of 'normal interactions' with others.

He ends up on the radar of a criminal profiler and also becomes the target of a serial killer.

He is to marry a woman whose father's law firm he held a high position in; but on the shocking death of her father, he is now its Head.

As the investigation, serial killer, Akira's past and his own investigation into The Lumberjack, all converge, there are shock revelations and surprising outcomes.

I quite enjoyed this, but in true Japanese fashion, it is crazy, OTT and does have something of a 'B movie' feel to it. For me, that actually adds to the enjoyment.

There is obviously blood, but honestly it's unrealistic for the most part and really tame in comparison to some drama series, never mind other films!

There is also a quite disturbing aspect to it, too, which I found surprising and made me feel sorry for characters involved. Somewhat thought provoking at times.

I think it would have benefitted from more in-depth coverage of the past, when key characters were children. I found some aspects rushed and had the story given more time to those parts, that would certainly have created a stronger connection with some characters.

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Haphazard at times

June 2024
Google's "in a nutshell" description for this drama reads, "Unsettling, hopeless and cynical", which pretty much sums it up!

Whilst the cast and their acting, is really good, the script is all over the place.

The story keeps haphazardly jumping between the recent past (pre-asteroid) and present, with no warning and little reason for doing so, quite often. This can be confusing and at times I wasn't sure where we were, so to speak.

As news of the asteroid strike breaks and the subsequent countdown to impact begins, we of course see the worst coming out in many people.

From the wealthy and powerful leeching off the ordinary citizens in communities, to secure a way out of Korea (ground zero), to criminal gangs who see ways to make money and exploit the fact law and order has broken down, and it's swiftly become every man for themselves. They seem oblivious to the fact they'll never be able to spend it!

The reactions of some characters to decisions they make, are often inappropriate and/or baffling, given circumstances, reasons and situations. I found this frustrating and irritating.

It does also show a close knit community as well, however, and that stops it being dismal, although it's by no means upbeat.

It is a very weak script, with several plot arcs being speedily concluded, at the cost of the story. Disappointing.

It's a huge shame, because I liked many of the characters, but the build up and the conclusion were incredibly mismatched, even though it made sense.

As is often the case with a good cast who give it their all, they carried this drama and made it watchable. Even though I'd never bother watching it again, I can't say I disliked it, but I was very disappointed.

I've said it before and will say it again; if Netflix are going to make K-dramas, they need to stick to the format that is one of the reasons many of us fell in love with them in the first place. A story told completely, in usually 16 to 20eps.

Not 6-12 eps, with no conclusion and a possible S2, but that being dependent on ratings. Or as in this drama, a complete ('Limited') series, but with an inadequate number of episodes in which to give any depth to the story or coherent conclusions.

Great OST and I loved the acting, from all the cast. One would never have known how much YAI must already have been suffering, at this point.

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Incomplete

Watched March 2024
A pretty gory, violent, tense, gripping and thrilling watch.

Jung Hae-in is excellent, as always, and Go Kyung-pyo's character is very unnerving and he plays it really well.

A lot of very unsavoury characters in this and the nothing-new trope of anyone different being ostracised, victimised and, where possible, cruelly used for financial gain.

There are a lot of adult themes, so not one for [young] family viewing.

JHI's character is a mystery. Alone, a loner and seemingly without family or history/background, which is almost completely non-existent in the drama. He is sweet, kind and sometimes comes across as vulnerable, but he has an edge when he becomes protective of others. He is totally unaware of his 'situation', too, until the trigger point; which raises many questions. In fact, how certain characters exist at all, whilst hinted at a tiny bit, remains a complete mystery as well.

A very dark, seedy, mony powered and selfish side of life is portrayed, with aggressive and brutal people and police.

I did like the pace, feel and the soundtrack to this. There is also a sound effect used for a specific 'thing', which I found rather cute, although I am totally unsure as to whether that was intended, tongue-in-cheek, or just me perhaps!

S1 ends with a wide open door for a S2, which is desperately needed to make any sense of this drama at all. Without it, it's really just a vehicle for gore and shocks.

Sadly, it seems nothing has been confirmed on that front. I absolutely hate it, when American backed productions don't film/air a complete story, and release a S1 without committing to a S2, at the outset.

It happens all the time now. Island, Move to Heaven, Moving, Song of the Bandits, to name a few... none of these provided conclusive endings and many also lacked the depth needed to explain why/how things became the way they are in the present.

It is frustrating, and, is honestly making me think twice about starting Netflix, Disney+ or Prime short-episode K-dramas at all. It totally spoils the viewing experience and story.

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Fasten your seat belt!

March 2024
Wow. The brilliant Lee Dong Wook has made many action dramas and films over the years, and this is a stonkingly good addition.

From the moment he turns up at his family's home after a long absence, one just feels things might not be quite right.

Another where there is a lot of story, incorporated into a relatively few number of episodes. However, with this drama I didn't feel like there were any gaping holes. There was sufficient depth and character backgrounds (connections, experiences etc), relevant to the plot, to make it feel very solid.

It's an adrenaline, nerve fuelled blast, with totally OTT fight scenes that are off the scale exciting, but very easily bought into. I never found myself thinking 'that's ridiculous'.... far-fetched? Definitely. But totally fitting for a fictional roller coaster that's bang-on entertaining for every single second of exciting, nail-biting, viewing.

Brilliant cast, some very tough and clinically ruthless characters, and some harrowing scenes. Balanced, as I so like it, by laughs and buckets of dark humour, which never detracted from the feelings of threat.

I will definitely watch this again. FAB-U-LOUS. I stayed up all night because I couldn't stop watching and didn'teven feel tired... until after
;~D
That doesn't happen often.

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Bit too laboured

Jan 2024

Overall a fairly enjoyable watch, although it took me quite a long time to complete.  I couldn't binge-watch this.

I liked most of the cast and am a fan of Park Hae-jin, although I find he often carries the dramas he appears in. I like his action stuff more and this isn't the best thing he's done.

The pace, or just the writing perhaps, was pretty laboured for me, with certain scenes from the past being replayed too often.

I do really like the idea of this story, I just wish it had been better executed.

Unfortunately, the modern day lead female character, I found really irritating; the way she spoke (often too loudly), too brash at times and overly headstrong; Jin Ki-Joo also seemed to me to be kind of ungainly at times, in her portrayal.  Weirdly, she suited and played the dual role much better, which therefore means it may well be the Director's fault.  Her chemistry with PHJ, however, was just 'off' somehow, to me.

Some overly silly parts to this, but also a few genuinely funny, also gripping and quite sad scenes, too. However, I did find it ridiculous when characters known to their colleagues/friends, started behaving totally out of character and no one seemed to notice enough to do anything about it.

Not one I'd want to watch again, but I don't regret having given it a go; even if only to see PHJ on screen!

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Shocks a plenty

Dec 2023
Well! I knew S2 would be very different to S1. For a start they'd left Green Home Apartments and there were fewer characters than when S1 started out.
I found ep1 of S2 to be quite shocking at times (especially the monster and then its baby scene ~ I found it really upsetting). I wondered whether they might be going for the shock factor over the plot/story.
However, it did not get any worst and the story was portrayed as well as in S1.
There is a time jump after several episodes, which was needed to move the story forward without exceeding the number of eps they appear to have decided on.
Why have they split it again, with a S3 scheduled for summer 2024?... ??‍♀️ Seeing as it was filmed at the same time, I just find it irritating, tbh. Spoils the flow too.

S2 introduces us to lots of new characters (we did lose a lot in S1), familiar faces and not a few surprises.
Song Kang's character, Hyun-soo, is not the focal character and missing from a number of episodes, but I think that fits (not to everyone's liking, I've read).
The human beings in this run, are worst overall, than in S1, to me. Some truly horrible characters and I more often than not, find myself on the side of the 'monsters' that have also retained some of their humanity.
As usual all are tarred with the same brush, which really is just like real life.
Many of the soldiers overreact and the levels of violence in their treatment of both people and monsters, is sickening.
There is no compassion or feelings that these were people once. Many seem almost gleeful in the act of stamping down on defenseless and weaker targets.
However, I thought it a captivating watch, even though it was emotionally hard going at times and could also be frustrating.
Left on a really surprising cliff hanger ~ again.
Is it as good as S1?.... it isn't far off, but I thought S1 was more atmospheric; it felt more claustrophobic and threatening, especially with the possibility of people turning at any moment. There was less of that this time around.
I liked most of the OST, but it didn't impact the same as in S1.
To really judge the story though, all the series needs watching, so...
Looking forward to S3!

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More fun than not

October 2023
I so enjoy watching Lee Min-ki; like Han Ji-min; Suho was suitably unreadable with a dodgy edge; and a nice supporting cast.

I didn't find myself laughing out loud very often and did cringe a couple of times. Overall though, it was an enjoyable watch and the hunt for the serial killer managed to keep me guessing until the moment their identity was revealed.

There were some plot holes, due to either lazy writing and/or compromising to fit the story's direction. I'm never sure which, or even if it's purely that they know many viewers (with different tastes to mine), will still be happy.

I do get really frustrated when the realms of what's actually possible (even in fantasy), are chucked out the window... no one that gets repeatedly punched in the face during the same fight, or throws multiple punches themselves, will escape without a mark on them... including knuckles. The killer, however? Not a blemish. Seemed the only way their identity could be hidden in favour of many red herrings.

That's all OK really though. What wasn't, however, was Jang Yeol's far too aggressive and violent behaviour towards Ye Bun, early on in their acquaintanceship. I do not find it at all funny to see a man almost twice the size of the woman, flipping her on her back to the floor and almost throwing her around like a rag doll. The fact writers and directors seem to think that's OK and funny, is also a problem to me. I do get context and if these scenarios were based around defense, or a fighting lesson with humour etc, it would work. Not in this context, for my taste, though.

I loved the OST, especially Joohoney and Jemma's contributions; all songs are now on my playlist.

All in all, an OK watch. It got better, but some aspects were drawn out. The cast made the story for me.

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Sep 2020
Well written, gripping thriller with fair bit of fighting and some gruesome, disturbing murders.
Seung-ho can read people's memories and so is employed by the police to help identify criminals. He's quite an angry character when he 'sees' the crimes committed by felons and reacts by regularly attacking them, which would never be a good or helpful reaction really.
The story connects him with a profiler, the past and re-emergence of serial killings from years ago.
I love watching this actor; he's a favourite and looks good in this. He always acts well, but for me this isn't the best character he's played.
Good cast, with a few of my favourite support actors (M & F).
I found the reactions of the main characters and police, on a number of occasions, quite frustrating.
However, it kept me glued, although the pace of the drama isn't exactly fast. That didn't bother my viewing pleasure though.

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Layers upon layers

Aug 2023
Why did I wait so long to watch this?
I really enjoyed the pace and intrigue, and binged in a day, staying up 'til silly o'clock.
Great mix of characters, with the 3 sisters it centres around being each very different.
It really was gripping drama with some well placed, but nothing standing out as being really childish, humour.
The story twists and turns, with more layers than an onion.
All 3 sisters end up entwined with one ultra powerful, sociopathic family.
The story follows their struggle to unearth past and present secrets, lies and fraud.
More than a few surprises along the way.
There were a few times when things got more than a little ridiculous and characters did do truly stupid things for the circumstances they were in, but overall it's not badly written and is a pretty intelligent story.
I'd have liked more on the youngest sister, as I felt her character's story was sacrificed somewhat for the main plot.
I also wish one particular character had a more fitting end; they didn't suffer nearly enough for my liking.
I adored Choi Do-il, played by Wi Ha-joon; a great character that kept me guessing to the very end.
Well worth a watch.

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Not sure what this drama was trying to be

Nice cast, with well known supporting actors.
It didn't actually feel like there were main male & female characters at times (not a bad thing).
It had an ensemble feel, with the lives of all the characters in the 'team 2' of this small provincial Prosecution Service, taking centre stage, at some point.
There are 2 characters, which more of the scenes revolve around, however, and their strained relationship with each other.
The dynamics of a small, close, often overworked, under pressure group of colleagues, is interesting.
We get to see the cases they have to handle, from less significant fallings out, to more serious crimes.
The effect a new team member, transferred from Seoul, has on all of them, but mostly on the main male character, is also interesting.
The ML is a fairly gentle, principled person, good at what he does and intuitive. He doesn't seem particularly ambitious, nor does he suffer the politics sometimes involved when dealing with high profile, well-connected suspects, easily. He is likeable and personable.
His feathers get ruffled, however, with the arrival of the transferred female prosecutor.
She takes an immediate dislike to him and he cannot work out why.
Their bickering, barely concealed, sometimes out in the open, animosity towards each other, which fuels his competitiveness, is a central theme; as is the slow reveal of why she dislikes him so much.
There are light and amusing parts to the plot, including a totally bizarre side one that involves 2 members of staff and an online game. Sadly, it just didn't fit for me, and I found it totally odd, to say the least. Perhaps the writers were going for quirky, but for me, it really didn't work at all. It just made the drama seem a bit all over the place.
The central female character of Cha Myung-joo, is also the only reason that I couldn't watch multiple episodes in one sitting. I absolutely loathed her, so I just couldn't stomach more than 2 eps at a time, and couldn't even watch every day! That meant I took ages to finish this, but I didn't want to drop it just because of that.
I found her stuck-up attitude, arrogance and petty vindictiveness, really hard to watch.
She's great at her job too though, but because of how riled up she gets Sun-woong, he often jumps to the wrong conclusions and gets paranoid at times, which affects his judgement and usually good intuition.
She is completely unlikeable for me, even when more of her background is revealed, or when she shows a rare, softer side. It's not enough. I suppose the actress did well, seeing as I reacted that way, even though she's not a favourite!
I can't believe for one minute, that this is in any way a remotely accurate representation of the prosecution service and if it is, God help them! ? So if you're looking for realism, give this a wide berth.
The usual mistreatment of subordinates, money and power providing protection, looks the other way and outright incompetence, is all in this drama.
It isn't memorable, but an OK watch. There are, however, far better legal dramas out there, both in terms of wit and characters.

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Not the average sageuk drama

I was gripped from ep1 and found this drama a cut above the rest of the more like-real-life based historical dramas.
The characters are wonderfully diverse, considering they are almost all Royalty, politicians or servants.
Of all the many dramas of this type I've watched, not many actually make me contemplate the polar acts of revenge and acceptance, or of putting the desire for a peaceful, unified future first, ahead of personal feelings of hate and injustice.
This was, at times, very violent and hard to watch. Not because it was particularly gory, but more because of the way people were used as pawns; ripped from peaceful lives to be tortured and villified, with entire families wiped out, purely to suit a desired outcome.

The same reason that different characters have, to murder and plot, are revealed through each episode. It is a vicious and cruel circle.
Yet only 1 character seems to identify this and it changes the course of their own path, which underpins the story.
There is plenty of action, not all of the sword fighting type either. It's a well thought out and intelligently written story.

I did feel that as the series neared its end, however, things got rushed in comparison to the early to mid episodes. If limited to 16, it's understandable, as apart from hugely pregnant pauses between characters at times, I couldn't think of anywhere that earlier scenes/eps could be shortened.

Jang Hyuk is so good at portraying the type of character that he does in this drama. There were odd occasions when I felt his signature booming voice, when raised in anger, was used inappropriately, which made it lose its impact. That, however, is not down to his acting, but to direction.
(I honestly feel actors are too often blamed for the poor choices and decisions of Directors in how they want the MCs portrayed. A great actor will struggle in a badly directed drama or film; the Director, not the Star, is the boss on a set.)
He is very good at adding weight to a character and at times one can almost feel how the character does, through him, and Park Gye-won is really something. Traumatic and horrifying experiences, a total loss of trust in any King's ability to rule without indiscriminately spilling blood and certainty that his resulting actions are for the greater good, leads to yet another tyrant being in control. What he was willing to sacrifice (and force others to) and do, to have his perfect Joseon protected, was cruel, selfish and heartless.

Lee Joon is very good at playing characters who veer from sensitive and caring, to deeply cold and frightening, in a split second. His malevolent stares are second to none (with Jang Hyuk's matching on several occasions). His tragically steep learning curve from the idealistic, naive young Crown Prince, to becoming a King that's forced to live in constant fear for his life, controlled and manipulated, again produces a character who trusts no one and believes his means to attaining revenge and stability, are justified. Due to the aforementioned rushed final episodes, I did feel his character's personality suffered a bit of whiplash, but his reaction to the loss of a significant character kind of brought it back in check. There was the odd occasion, however, where I wondered what on earth was going on with him! Again, that's no reflection on Lee Joon's excellent acting, but on the writing, pace of the story, and its direction.

Kang Han-na was well cast as the FL; Yoo Jung's lot was really hard and yet she presents with such dignity, patience, strength and foresight. This character, to be honest, felt too good to be true and would give Mother Teresa a run for her money. Yet, I still bought into her and admired what I felt the story was getting at, in her choices and decisions. Revenge has to stop somewhere and irl, history is full of examples of the bloodshed and lost lives caused by living in the past and seeking revenge on the future generations, of those who committed the crime, regardless of whether they were involved, or pose the same threat.

Of the other characters, I thought the Queen Dowager (Park Ji-yeon) was another example of personal hatred, jealousy and fear taking a person over. The surface is a lot more beautiful than what lies beneath, although she was used by a character for whom her love never really died, but consumed her. Another, Gye-won's wife, Lady Yoon (Seo Yoo Jun) was the epitome of loving someone more and putting her duties as supportive wife, mother and family protector, before all else. I wonder how he would have been, if she'd been more like Yoo Jung.

The relationships between and types of other characters, were pretty well done, even if not as in-depth, I got a sense of the dynamic, affection and type of people they were.

As mentioned, the ending felt somewhat weak in comparison to the rest of the drama (if it hadn't been so good, maybe I wouldn't think that), but at the same time, it didn't ruin it for me. I'd just rather have had more. Some things were over simplified to fit, I thought, and what becomes of several characters, after everything that happened, was what stopped me giving this a 10/10. More thought should have gone into it.

Jo Yeon-hee (Minister of War's daughter and Royal Concubine also in running to be Queen), was vile; she hadn't had a hard life, but was totally spoilt, with no regard for people below her ~ she saw them as chattle and their lives were hers to take if needed. She felt no remorse, no guilt, nothing at all ~ only that she might be in danger herself as a result and be hated by the King, whom she adored and coveted. Her actions, schemes and desires should never have gone unpunished; I was livid!
The end marked a beginning and I interpreted it as alluding to the fact that their future would not be easy. Their decisions made, to not cause more bloodshed, would likely create danger and plotting against them in the future, but they would deal with them as and when; and not take the easier path of their forebears, murdering, creating cover ups and scape goats to cover their tracks, 'just in case'.
This drama is really well worth watching; a classic.

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Totally OTT but an engrossing, exhilirating watch.

Full of great action, with many genuinely funny scenes and a tongue planted firmly in cheek. Such a good cast with Do Kyung-soo heading it perfectly. I love his acting and how he always seems to really immerse himself into character. His role in this reminds me a bit of 'K' in Bad and Crazy.
Some typecasting in the form of Kim Chang-wan as CE, Seo Hyun-kyu, as well, as I'm sure I've seen him in a very similar role, but I just can't think of the drama.
Whilst it's total fiction, there were a few occasions when I felt the writing became lazy and how characters behaved in some scenes was eye rolling; like walking into situations alone and seemingly unprepared, or going to a secret rendezvous with no concept of being tailed (which she was).
I liked the character of Ah-ra, but got irritated when she was made out to be defenseless, when in fact she was an excellent fighter. So, when she sat back and did absolutely nothing in a rooftop fight scene, even when the baddies had legged it and the others were desperately struggling to pull someone back from falling off said roof, I got very irritated. No one would do that.
Ep7 had the most flaws for me and I noticed more weak writing (or direction?) after that.
However, overall I still really enjoyed the action and entire cast.
Totally OTT at times, but a great ride! Worth watching for sure.

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Gritty and consuming

A very dark, sometimes shocking and visceral drama. TRIGGER WARNINGS definitely needed, as torture, abuse and rape (that bit isn't graphic, but obvious) are included.
A prosecutor with a tragic past, up against an intelligent, sadistic serial killer who carries all the text book trade marks of a psychopath.
The story had a strong start, but as the episodes unfolded, some aspects became overdone and too much; from the often inept police, that seemed almost comical in their approach, to the obvious connection that several characters and places obviously had to the perpetrator, being woefully overlooked, even when visited.
Several characters were too quickly 'marked' and other avenues that should have continued to be investigated, weren't. It was all a bit haphazard at times, especially given the severity of the case.
However, this was the 90s ~ the era being well portrayed I thought (even if I don't come from Taiwan, I recognised the vibe), when perceptions were different (and sadly still exist in too many cultures).
The acting of the MCs carried the story, however, and so it still made for a compelling watch.
The lengths the prosecutor ended up going to, to get his man, were life changing and cathartic; the transformation of that character was very cleverly done.
There was some overacting at times, but overall, many characters were excellently played. The actors that stood out for me, head and shoulders, were Chen Bo Zheng as a victim's grandfather (I so like this older actor ~ he always plays his characters in an understated way and is good to watch even if the drama isn't!); the actor who played Chris Wu's character's Uncle, so convincingly; and Chris Wu himself in the leading role.
The plot did leave a lot to be desired at times, but it was still a very watchable drama.

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Very watchable

I'm a big fan of Cho Seung-woo and he didn't disappoint in this role as a divorce lawyer .
His background story is unusual, as is his amazing ability to come up with winning strategies in the court.
Few characters have substance and the portrayal of S.Korea's attitude to divorce (with the women always being the mistreated party in this drama, yet still getting the worst attitude for going down that route), is massively out of step with modern times. The country is too often portrayed as misogynistic with attitudes more at home in the 70s. It really does not do any favours.
With the crap some of the women are living with, anyone who still believes all divorce is wrong, needs to live that life. Bet they wouldn't last a week.
The marriages depicted are all too real for many, so I can hear a lot of shouting at the TV when the women are looked down on.
Perhaps with this drama they are trying to show that divorce is better than living in misery (and let's not forget that men get abused too).
However, for me, it wasn't the tragedy and personal fight in Shin Sun-hang's life, or the stories of the women he represented, but the wonderfully portrayed friendship between him and his long-time (and suffering) friends, Hyung-geun and Jung-shik, that totally made the drama for me. 3 very different characters, who bicker, drink, eat and laugh together. They are always there for each other though and take the kind of liberties only true friends could.
With an ending that made me happy, this drama is not a difficult watch at all and I certainly enjoyed it.

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