I can’t understand why is this a ‘cult classic’ ?

When I started watching KDramas, I was told this is a must watch, rite of passage for a Kdrama fan. Even today it’s immensely popular and leads to thousands of podcast listens for folks who talk about it and love to listen to about it . I’m honestly baffled because this drama is super problematic. The romance is toxic, the second lead was used by the female lead, the female lead has no self respect whatsoever and becomes a ping pong ball tossed over by the male lead, the male lead character - kidnaps the female lead, bullies her, causes kids to jump off school buildings owing to bullying, dumps the female lead without any reason, and has no guts to stand up to his own mother for his love, has to be helped by the only sane character in this drama - the second female lead. And we are supposed to root for these characters?

The acting is meh and there is no story. I have watched enough Bollywood films to see this level of irrational melodrama.

It’s 2022 , can we stop recommending this drama as must watch to new Kdrama fans.

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Great mashup of romance + legal + comedy + thriller

I don’t care what others feel about this drama but I absolutely loved this drama. It’s my number one romcom purely for the amazing chemistry of the two leads - Ji Chang Wook and Nam Ji Hyun. Their chemistry was off the charts and I’m yet to see a kdrama couple that can beat their chemistry. Ji Chang Wook has looked and acted his best in this drama (sorry Healer fans).

Story : The story is predictable but it starts off strong with a murder mystery backdrop and the leads getting entangled in it. The pacing suffered cause they made it a 20 episode drama, it could have been better with 4 episodes edited out.

Cast : One of my favourite ensemble casts, along with the leads the supporting cast was ace and the lawyer office gang was my favourite. They had a natural chemistry and great comic timing, those office meeting scenes are my go-to scenes for a laughter dose. I loved how they stood by each other. Mr Bang, Eun Hyuk and Mr Byeong are my absolute favourites. Even the bickering moms were hilarious. Kim Ye Won as JiHae grew on me and her frenemiship with Bong Hee was superb. Dong Ha was great as the villain

Music : Contrary to majority folks here, the album of this drama is one of my favourites. The songs captured all the moods and elements of the drama & romance - the longing, the missing, the happiness, the chirpiness and the whole feeling of being madly in love.

Rewatch Value : A zillion times, I have lost track of how many times I rewatch this drama in the last 2 years since I chanced on it in April 20. Highly recommend - I don’t understand why people wouldn’t like this. There is zero toxicity in the romance nor any OTT melodrama which is prevalent in the so called cult or famous dramas.

Overall : Love it, recommend it. I’m yet to meet someone to whom I recommended this drama and did not like it. This drama is one of my comfort dramas.

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Another average tropey Kdrama

I had read the webtoon which was as decent and I was keen to watch because of the leads . Yoon Skye Sang was superb in Chocolate and I liked Seo Ji Hye In Crash Landing on You.

Story: The main leads of the story both have special abilities - I mean only a Kdrama can come up with these abilities - how they end up getting them and how they lose them. Office romance with childhood destiny trope and fantasy element.

Cast/ Acting: I stuck till the end only cause of the delightful chemistry between the two leads but I was quite disappointed with how the relationship post the loss of their special abilities was shown. Why do KDramas make 30+ year old couples behave like teenagers once they are in a relationship I do not know. They show the perfect slow burn and then ruin it by childish gimmicks - this was my gripe with HomCha too. Especially when there are excellent actors essaying these roles. Yoon Kye Sang and Seo Ji Hye both are superb in their roles. good looking and have great chemistry. I didn’t care about rest of the cast and ended up skipping most of the sub-plots. Like in the webtoon , here too I felt the second male lead as the ex-boyfriend suffered a break-up for no fault of his own. Though the actor was good and I liked his arc better in the drama than the webtoon. I’m not a fan of love triangles so I’m glad he found his own happiness even though the second female lead was irritating as hell.

Music: Nothing really memorable, no song really stuck with me,

Overall : If you like the leads, watch for their chemistry alone. From a story perspective it is quite illogical as any other fantasy drama and super tropey.

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Underrated Gem

This drama needs to be on every list compilation of thrillers in KDramas. The plot is quite unique and as the story unfolds all the characters are tied to each other in some way or the other. I binged this in two days - it’s so fast paced and gripping and only 12 episodes.

Story: A group of people are selected and get the opportunity to reset and go back a year in their life. Interestingly they get tied to a series of murders. Lee Joon Hyuk is the detective and Nam Ji Hyun a webtoon writer get together to solve the mystery.

Cast/ Acting: Good cast but Lee Joon Hyuk and Nam Ji Hyun clearly steal the show. There is zero romance but their chemistry is fire. Nam Ji Hyun’s female lead is so sharp , fearless and intelligent in this , I was in awe of her as much as Lee Joon Hyuk’s detective was in her ability to be one step ahead in solving the clues. Also the dog Maru - very important character !

Music: Don’t remember much of the album but it supported the mystery element of the drama.

Rewatch Value : I haven’t rewatched it except for the scenes in the leads. It’s because of lack of time, I should go back and watch it again.

Overall: Highly recommend this, what an underrated gem and really needs more hype!

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One of the best slice of life dramas in Kdramaland!

This drama was on my watchlist for long since I absolutely loved Reply 1988 , it’s the same writer - director duo, plus the ensemble cast and the premise had caught my attention. I was just delaying it thinking it might be a grim watch cause of the prison setting and the 1.5hr length of each episode. Episode 1 was slow to take off but from episode 2 onwards this show was unstoppable! I was bingeing one episode after another.

Story: I admire this writer for her ability to take such an excellent ensemble cast and weave meaningful, heartwarming stories for each no matter how small or big their role is in this drama. She has done it splendidly in Reply 1988 and she does it again here. Kudos to the director and casting director for on-point casting as always.

What I loved:
1. I enjoy slice of life dramas and this one blended the grim prison life with heartwarming backstories really well. The humour & satire was subtly built and that is a sign of intelligent writing to me.

2. The dynamics between the prison guards and prisoners - Prison life is hard but it was nice to see some cheerfulness, comic relief, and ample tender human moments existing on both sides of the prison door.

3. I’m willing to ignore some of the loopholes, simply because the drama served some great life lessons especially in friendship and mutual respect. Also the villains or bad guys didn’t get too much footage and most of them got duly punished ( may not happen in real life).

What didn’t work for me: The main leads love story fell flat. Partly cause the female lead was meh , the age gap didn’t sit right given that she was his coach’s daughter whom he knew since she was a kid. And it didn’t add any value to his personal arc or prison story.

My sole gripe with this drama which made me strike off 0.5 points from a perfect score : Two characters had abrupt ending to their story and third one who was dealt a raw deal. Yes reality is that prison cell mates don’t get farewells and goodbyes, transfers happen randomly and it’s hard to stay clean once you are deep into addiction - but this is not reality, it’s television and for such a feel good story that the writer wove, she could have given the 3 characters a more fulfilling ending.

Acting/Cast: This ensemble cast was mind blowing. After Park Hae Soo’s character Kim JeHyeok enters the correction facility, I literally opened my notes to tick off which actor I had seen before in which series! The bromance between the cell mates , and how they all stand by Kim Ji Hyeok at all times. The bromance between Jung Kyung Ho and Park Hae Soo’s characters - how is this pair not on every best bromance in Kdrama list.

This was an insanely great cast . Like in Reply 1988, I cannot pick a favourite character in this ensemble - they were all so wonderful in their portrayals. I enjoyed every minute of their banter, camaraderie and constantly looking out for each other, If you have come so far reading my review - read about my favourite characters here:

https://kdramagab.tumblr.com/post/682806971461779457/prison-playbook-favourite-characters-my-quick

Music: The title track was catchy but none of the other tracks stuck with me much,

Overall : For this writer director duo (apologies to HP fans here) but for me Reply 1988>Prison Playbook >>>>>>>>Hospital Playlist in terms of writing, characters development - their story and arc and the amount of times I welled up watching the series.


As you can see, this is my longest review here so far - so you must have got it by now that I loved this drama and I will not stop raving about it! It’s a must watch and rewatch recommendation from me :)

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Predictable but entertaining

This was an extremely cliched romcom. Predictable but entertaining and good one time watch.

Story: Not much to comment on story , it was full of typical kdrama tropes of which I lost count after a while :) I was more invested in the second lead pair cause of their chemistry and since I had read the webtoon. I was therefore, very disappointed with the way the drama showed their relationship developmen. If like me, you feel robbed of seeing their story, I would suggest you definitely read the webtoon right away.

Acting - It was very average and nothing that that blows your mind or you remember or want to rewatch. The lead actress Kim SeJeong had good comic timing, I loved the second lead pair more than the main leads.. Rest of the cast scenes I skipped a lot.

Overall: Nowhere near my top romcoms list, but if someone likes a light hearted, cliched romcom, this is one time watch worthy.

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Delightful Drama

For the readers here let me share my bias - Nam Ji Hyun is my favourite actress and I have watched every drama she has starred in as a lead actress , so my review has a slight bias :)

Story : The story is typical of any period drama with politics, allies, enemies being killed, kids of opposition families ending up as lovers in the adulthood. But what differentiates this drama is the story telling, the cast and an extremely fiercely independent woman lead in the Joseon period. The drama has the typical tropes - childhood friends, destiny, memory loss, love triangle, breakup and reunion , but it is still an extremely endearing watch.

Cast/Acting: The 5 leads make it an enjoyable watch. Given that Kim Seon Ho is my favourite actor, obviously I liked him more than the male lead. Nam Ji Hyun though stole the show - and I loved her entire village squad.

Overall : It struggles in places with the pacing and like most KDramas a couple of episodes less would have helped the drama.
But if you are looking for a light hearted romance in a sageuk backdrop and two very handsome supporting male leads - then this is the drama to watch :)

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Came for the sports, stayed for the leads

This drama is going to be an underrated gem just like Be Melodramatic which had similar low ratings when it aired and then developed its own following later. This drama has also had really low ratings and Disney’s international distribution strategy is baffling.

If you come expecting 2521 , you will be disappointed. If you come expecting a Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo , you will be pleasantly surprised like I was. The director, writer and leads only have few dramas under their belt and the rawness is evident as you watch the drama. But the sincerity of the story, the innocent charm of the leads, the pacing in the writing is what keeps you hooked.

Story: The story isn’t ground breaking. A corporate badminton team with coaches and athletes where these athletes are trying to achieve their dreams, get over their respective traumas and find their place in the sun. A tragic incident binds the 3 leads and they must detangle themselves from this unfortunate past. How they do this is the crux of the plot. The only time the pacing or the writing felt a bit dragged is when they stretched the melodrama in the episodes 10-14, which was in contrast to the funny banter , budding romance and camaraderie we got to see in the first 8 episodes. But I’m willing to overlook this for the fact that the writer has penned down the best boyfriend in Kdrama history ( hands down!) and lovable characters.

Cast / Acting : Park Ju Hyun as the female lead grows on you, she has portrayed the inner turmoil of Taeyang to perfection. Her being in love and yet never losing a chance to banter with Taejun is a delight to watch. Kim Moo Joon as Yuk JungHwan surprised me, I heart his portrayal a lot. From being an arrogant ass to being the highest supporter of Park twins, from being unsure to being totally committed to Yumin, from being a pest to his coach and then pushing his coach to aim higher, JungHwan’s character arc was great to watch. Special mention to all Yunis team members, their little side stories were lovely, their bonding superb. The coaching trio led by Jo Han Chul was a riot, but so awesome being protective of their athletes’ well being. Seo Ji Hye was adorable as Yumin and she and JungHwan were such a wonderful pair to watch. Park Ji Hyun was all right as JunYoung, Parents of both leads were the most passive aggressive parents I have seen, especially TaeJun’s mom and you will know why when you watch.

The real star of this show though was Chae Jong Hyeop in the lead role of Park TaeJun. Even if you get disappointed with the drama, there is no way you will be disappointed with his character and performance. He is that good. Taejun like I said above is the best written boyfriend in KDramaland. He was perfect in every way - as a son, brother, player, teammate, friend and boyfriend, even as an ex-boyfriend. He was loyal, supportive, emotionally mature, honest, and not afraid to call out bullshit and stood up for what was right. His admiration and support for Taeyang was unwavering despite the tragic past. I loved how his face lit up everytime Taeyang was in front of him. Chae Jong Hyeop’s eyes talk and it’s the one thing that I love in an actor. Also his bright, wide smile - just warms my heart!

Music : I loved the opening track , it gets your adrenaline pumping, and rest of the songs are also nice.

Overall: I went with minimal expectations. I wanted to watch for CHJ after seeing him in The Witch’s Diner and because I enjoy sports based shows. But I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this drama. It’s not perfect, but it’s a drama that has good mix of lighthearted comedy and warm hearted moments. The banter and rivalry between Taejun and JungHwan is my favourite. My only complaint is that the badminton element went into the background in the second half; I definitely would have liked to see their growth on-court more. I have already rewatched this drama twice - so I would definitely recommend it to you all.

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Laugh your heart out, bawl your eyes out

How is this drama not more popular? How is this drama not on everyone’s recommend to watch list?

This drama has the most intelligent writing I have seen amongst the 80 odd KDramas I have watched. The humor is quirky and brillIant. I loved how the drama has pulled a meta on the drama industry and the references are hilarious.

Story: The story is simple, 3 women friends finding their way in their 30s in their career and personal lives. Find me a drama that has a great balance of emotional upheaval and comedy. This one does it splendidly.

Cast/Acting: Again a fine example of great casting. Jeon Yeo Been and Chun Woo Hee are the stars but the rest of the cast is also brilliant. My favourite scenes are the ones between the trio and Eun Jung’s gay brother and Ahn Jae-Hong & Chun Woo Hee’s characters bantering. I couldn’t stop laughing at the funny lines and sarcastic takes. Jeon Yeo Been in her emotional breakdown and dealing with depression was phenomenal - it made me a fan of hers for life. She dazzles in this role , if you loved her in Vincenzo, don’t miss her in this one.

Music: The entire album is brilliant, but come back to me if you listen to ‘Your Shampoo Scent in the Flowers’ and don’t get addicted to it, we need to have a serious talk ;-)

Rewatch Value : Zillion times and over. It’s my comfort drama , I have rewatched it twice and I keep going back to many scenes when I’m dying to have a good laugh. This drama never fails me!

Overall : Go Watch Now if you have landed here!

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Dropped it cause of the FL character

I started this drama cause I was told it’s a beautiful drama that tackles mental health. Well the relationship between the brothers and their friend was the only good part of this drama and the story of Kwak Deong Yeon really touched my heart. It was quite heartbreaking.

The female lead character ( I appreciate the actress is good) is what put me off this drama, though her fashion was outstanding in the 5 episodes I saw. She is a toxic character, we don’t hesitate to call out male leads who are toxic , so not sure why this character gets away because she is a female. She is over bearing, treats others like crap (including her manager) and cannot take no for an answer, is imposing herself on the male lead despite him saying no to her. These are all clear red flags. She needs therapy (given her childhood trauma which I read in reviews since I couldn’t continue to watch her on my screen) but never gets any! If love could cure mental illness, we wouldn’t need psychiatrists / psychologists - so much for this messaging that love cures her trauma in a drama that focuses on mental health.

I know this drama is well loved, but I didn’t like it and this is just my opinion.

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Disappointed

I had such high hopes from this drama given the cast and the writer as. I had liked her series It’s Okay That’s Love and The Most Beautiful Goodbye. I saw the first two episodes and they were super grim, nothing made me smile. I continued to follow the show updates and episode reviews on podcasts and not one update reflected happiness for any characters.

I have heard great reviews about Cha Seung Won and I love watching Lee Jung Eun but neither impressed me in the first 2 episodes I saw. Shin Min Ah looked miserable in the scenes I saw and Lee Byung Hun isn’t an actor I look forward to watching on my screen. Too much misery was shouting at me from these characters. I don’t know if I will ever watch it - I cannot deal with so much drudgery and sadness on my screen.

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