MEANT TO BE ICONIC!

the 2024 surprise of the year!
the main theme? i was skeptical... the storyline? sounded cliché... first episode? meh...
i gave it a chance because of the good local viewrship!
i was glad because this is a whole world of a story!

best thing about it?
ITS A STORY THAT DEVELOPS SEAMLESSLY
that's becoming a rare trait in kdramas, unfortunately...
this is a show taken from an original russian tv show that had 5 seasons and movies! they had all the chances on their side to make it a success , and bravo its already renewed!

the Main actors and side characters were all amazingly played! they all had their personality, deph, meat!

the drama had the perfect blend of episode cases and the ML and FL arc stories.

i also loved the jazzy music, the 'personnified' inn soo, his victory/cool sign, his logo, it was all well done to be iconic!

the things i liked less? sometimes reveals were a little overdone... the story can be predictable but its always engaging!

i'll be tuning for s2. i'll try not to watch the original in the meantime haha

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idylic/classic 'kdrama' twist on a demon, BUT IS IT WORTH WATCHING?

CLICHÉ but still ENJOYABLE....
without spoilers , keep reading to see my thoughts as someone who loves fantastical characters like demons, angels, vampires etc.

its a story of dodo hee who gets entangled with a demon guwon. the suspense, twists and full of drama story of these two also wants to be a fractal or smaller depiction of good/evil in the world (in a figurative way). there are direct references to christianity ( i assume some producers rely on christian concepts while others on buddhism? ) that are very well done! others less ( the God references, but thats my personal opinion)

on top of all of this, we also get historical past lives and let me tell you, its one of the best ones done!! ( and i've seen many cliché impossible love stories with past lives issues!)

i like a drama that gives titles to its episodes that sets the mood and has a reliable main female lead that has room to grow too.

i did not enjoy all the secondary characters but i did understand their presences in a bigger picture. i was relieved to see the main actors 'own' their characters better and better as the show progressed!

its undeniable the main leads actors were really an almost perfect duo! age, traits and vibes, we could easily root for them! and i hope to see them again in other dramas!

now... the less enjoyable elements of this show...

this drama is fast paced, sometimes too much, tries to do too much, and dives too fast in the characters before we have the chance to actually connect with the characters. theres a lot of clichés/cheese too...
i honestly had a hard time connecting with the main leads until a few episodes in, not because of the actors, but the rushed events!
it felt really immature teen-style fantastical story at first, but the story holds itself just enough to see deeper things unfold!

its an almost idylic classic kdrama.... but is it worth watching??

if you like fantastical stories, definitely give it a chance!

i really appreciated the original parts and special scenes ( 3 words: CAKE, TANGO, JOURNAL) and i wished there was more creativity! i will remember it as a good show overall.

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DECAYED CAPTIVATION

this historical drama bases its title on 'captivation', a kind of love/hate dellusional state... it sounds amazing, but did it hold the bar???

without spoilers, the show definitely start with a BANG !

At least the first half is definitely worth it for the unmatched quality: the plot, dialogue, characters, concept, the pace! loved it all!

SPECIAL MENTION: the ML truly held the bar from A to Z till the last minute of the show. HIS PERFORMANCE puts him in the top actors in my view! it's also my first time seeing a show of his!

now for the things i liked less:
-the show looses pace & same quality after the first half, petty plotting takes over unfortunately...

- the FL performance was underwhelming. mainly her passion & strongheadness. In her defense, she had a multilayed character as she would disguise as a man to play baduk. the gender disguise trope has been done in other historical dramas, and many people compared the starring difference in performance. I think the production did not help the FL in solidifying her character ( ratio of women vs man disguise scenes) and historical context to show the limitations of women in the social sphere that pushes her 'stronghead' character... in other scenes, we had to assume her passion for justice or her emotions as it was not clearly vehicled in her performance. i like this actress a lot, but ubfortunately it was a stark contrast with the main actor performance...

- many unecessary dialogue scenes between ministers that can be a little boring.

-LOVESTORY: if you were expecting a passionate love story, this will not fall under your expectations! while it wasn't a bad thing per say, just know the lovestory part starts as an intellectual love and soulful more than emotional as the main characters are portrayed as geniuses that expect the same from their ideal partner.

All in all, i think this show is worth STARTING for a great captivation of the ML, and the amazing lines/plots of baduk geniuses ( ML & FL) where they may be planning 2-3 steps ahead of everyone.

REWATCH value: since i watched it as it was airing, i'd often rewatch a few scenes from previous episodes because the writers carefully put clues & hints in trivial things which i enjoy a lot! it's stimulating!

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Redflags, done well!

I wasn’t gonna write a review because i thought msnotes’ one was perfect already! And captured most of how i felt! But i wanted to rate it?

here is what i can add:

-you will find many reviews calling for toxic relationship, redflags etc… and first episodes the mess is quite crazy and a bit overdone , but along the episodes i came to realize it was well done!! How ? What i mean is doona’s character and actions slowly reveal her fears & vulnerability behind her mess.

-both ML & FL go through their weaknesses and both evolve. (FL maybe more?)

-the ML character us so genuine, he really made me reflect on how kindness can be perceived as flirting, lol

-i loved the dialogues, the said & unsaid , the questions that echo a lot of imagery and deep conclusions about fame, ambition, loneliness, abandonment and love


- i dunno if it was binging the episodes that made it look so overdramatic at times, but towards the end i got that feel.

- i wish it was a longer show! The pace was nice, i rooted for the characters and i think their evolution/story was not yet complete

-Doona’s character suited suzy soooo well! I think this kind of drama makes her shine so much!

-the secondary stories were really a bore ( i dont know why ! They felt so disconnected… ) but i looooved their evolution.

Its a show that reveals itself slowly and keeps getting better n better w each episode. A highlight of 2023 so far for me!

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Clever plot, awesome actors, memorable story.

I haven't watched the original: but I was really impressed with the storyline. I've seen an oodle amount of shows in general that have plot twists that spiral out of control and it's just nonsense, but not this one. yay!

I was scared it would happen in this show because it has multiple layers of complexity, but the story is handled with precision!
midway, two episodes were veryyyyy confusing because they were not revealling everything, but it all "makes sense" by ep 8.

IT IS A GOOD STORY! for those who like mysteries and twist hard to guess.

someone in the comments said it's not Kdrama but Ktrauma, and I can't agree more. the story is very heavy. it has a lot of existential questions and self esteem, courage, loss, death and grief. But the story wraps itself in a way that tries to answer most of these current issues in high school and life in general.

For the actors, I really thought there were two different actors from the past 1998 and the present. I was also extremely impressed an in awe in the execution of the minjoo- jun-hee dichotomy. we could feel the essence of each character even if it was played by the same person.

This show left me with an inspiring feeling overall in the end and it made me reminisce about my high-school years, about my own hopes and confidence.

I did wish there was something more after the final scene and more about this time travel system, but if we analyze all that it was, all the clues were in the show.

Clever plot, awesome actors, memorable story about a connection between two people.

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