nobody knows

in the drama Nobody Knows they say this line, no one really knows what happened during a crime, everything is just a recap from different povs, so no one can really know, especially the people looking for the answers..

1st off, the acting was OFF THE CHARTS, and the whole idea of showing the pov of the "falsely accused" without revenge or random BIG corruption was refreshing

this had corruption, this had people who didn't care for the answer they just wanted someone to blame, they wanted to wrap it up, but it had more substance than the usual

in 2021 especially I felt like dramas have failed to capture my emotions, I used to cry over anything but lately it's just meh. that's why this was different, the emotions embodied by KSH was amazing, I could feel the tension, the struggle, the heartache and even the final emotinal burn down.


I'm not a true crime fan or whatever but I've always heard this, when they interview neighbors and witnesses of a serial killer they always say "he was quiet", "he was a good student", "he was clean cut and handsome and soft spoken", "I could never imagine he had 100 bodies in his basement"

and that's why the cop is so focused on KHS. he looks nonthreatening, he looks pitiful and vulnerable and that's triggering for him.
the prosecutor just wants to win a big case and that lawyer lady just wants to be known as the person who had that case

basically everyone was projecting their own greeds on KHS and that's why his situation is heartbreaking


SPOILERS

but if I may be the critic I am, I didn't like eps 5 and 6 because they added nothing to the drama, it was just repetition. I also didn't like who the killer was... they questioned EVERYONE, beside the drug dealer... the guy that was beneficial in the 1st trails verdict reduction? they never mentioned it again.. she gave him the drugs.. tbh I don't know law but if he had killed under the influence of drugs she gave him then as they 1st said, he didn't "do it on purpose"
it's like 14 days.. after the whole "whodunit" they go and say the killer was severely drugged

anyway... the way they caught the killer after the trails, the way the last ep played out, the scene of him on the roof (even though I get the heartache of him becoming so detached) was too long, and then they bring another similar case.. atleast he has more experience this time
but overall, I wanted to see what will happen to KHS.. would he recover, go to law school and defend the falsely blamed, or would he get eaten by the darkness and drugs..
also my poor Ji Taeand bone breaker ;(

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I miss EXO, I love EXO ;)

kyungsoo really came back and wrecked everyone's bias list xD it was so so short, though the last ep being 20min is basically like having 7eps
the last ep was the best xD
it's so funny, they're only missing a few members but their empty spots are so huge! I miss jongdae's WAE and laughter, suho getting caught in their mischiefs, and well even Lay all confused. this makes me so nostalgic

the games were too short, they recorded all of this in one setting so it makes sense, they really just wanted to gift EXOLs one last variety before baek and chan enlisted, time flies by. kyungsoo and xiumin are already back but baek and channy left so fast. and then time doesn't move like where are jongdae and suho already ;(

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I used to think the saying "the criminal is the one you suspect the least" meant the criminal was too good at hiding that no one could "see them".. but now I realize, it just means the writers just keep them hidden..
the level of the twist was vernica mars s4 level.. and I actually think this season felt more scripted and that they had more adlib in the 1st season. I mean, it's not a drama, but it's not a variety show..
the camera work sucks and and editing was too rushed during the solving of the puzzles.. it's not all bad per say, but I prefer crime scene (which I highly miss) and the great escape.
the cast though were 10+ everyone did great, especially the girls❤ the best part is that they actually let them have their own characters. and sehunnie baby did great too!
it's kinda smart that they used high skilled actors for the side characters, it almost felt real ;p

my rewatch values are either a 1 or 10, and this is fine with one watch ;p

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my initial rating was 9, went to 7, went to 8, then ended at 5

it felt like a story inside of extraordinary you, totally "scripted", overly fantasy, bright, dreamy, with zero intellectual depth. one would say, it's a drama ofc it's scripted, but that's why mdl reviews need a "plot development" rating as well

as the story goes on, for a time traveling plot, one might be pleasantly surprised by the early twists and think, wow this is so well thought out, but reaching the halfway mark, and one starts to wonder, why is everything going in a spiral, new developments, but never any resolution

im sol, as a time traveler, was really really not smart. she never thought logically, and she was not really a teen to no think a bit more.
her first answer to anything was to run away, first cuz she didn't think she was good enough for him, then she thought he got swayed by her love and deluded himself into loving her, later she worried their love was the reason for his misfortunes...
so even when she could tell him about her truth, she still didn't think...


Some aspects are so frustrating, like both like each other but both act distant and cold
As if the writer controls them so they can’t be true to themselves, and later with their last plotmove, of making him forget her, she wonders why he's so cold when he was always a bright sweet person... did she have the amnesia as well? cuz literally he was cold to her from the start


Like her awkward “I’m not spending the night with you” just to see the bar sign two seconds later, just because it’s outside the shot doesn’t mean she couldn’t see it
or her saying "yes i'll stay the night" just to realize he wasn't talking to her... or him saying "so pretty" then say "i wasn't talking to you"


like he was happy she was there, and heard she wants to stay, yet he was the one who kept trying to make her leave
And every time he smiles outside the shot then acts cold in front of her

i hate that push and pull, cuz it's not cute flirting, it's bringing one down and embarrassing them, just so the confession looks sweeter
and it was fine for 18 year olds, but not for 34 year olds..




Like yeah sure he’s hurt about her young vr being so cruel to him and that also adds, if she didn’t love him as an idol she wouldn’t have cared for him as a guy and she’d have rejected him, so this drama wasn't about saving his life but about making sol stop being a self centered cringe fest to finally seeing the guy infront of her xD

but he’s not a teen anymore, again sure “being broken hearted and finding his true love” made him not date anyone even as a 30year old, but he doesn’t need to act like a kid, sure his pure hearted ness is cute but his coldness is such a kids behavior





This is what I like about this drama, it’s not just going back and fixing one or two things
It has consequences, unexpected elements and good back and forth that became too much by the end
Tho I do feel a bit of unfortunate lack of depth in character and friendships and connections but it doesn’t overshadow the good flow

I’m sensing a bit of the movie A Day from the taxi driver, but they never explained or explored it? literally no answers, he was just a random dude who randomly liked to kill random ppl and sungjae/sol were just some random ppl that randomly crossed his path?



Going back to a changed future is a cute touch and fun especially seeing sungjae is the same as always

Tbh I feel like sol accepting him as a friend and telling him to stay by her side would be sweet, cuz he’s not a creep and he can just approach her as if she doesn’t remember him and just be friends, but instead they had a whole reset, to "naturally" keep them away,,

They’re like dumb and dumber, solah as a teen was a handful, and not the cute na hido type

She was mean to her mom, she was clingy af, kinda like some day or one day’s young vr, you just can’t like her
Then comes her old self and some scenes it’s like she just freezes or faints, for the convenience of the writer
And sure he’s cute but he’ll also too obsessed about her, I don’t see them working out as teens, so at least not really meeting in the past saved him alot of cringe and heartache



The thing twinkling watermelon had that this doesn’t is the great characters, bonds and feeling of youth
Here the bro and fl friend are a snooze, the taxi thing is frustrating, his feelings are creepy and I now don’t like the “sol was the first love” it’s like now she only likes him cuz of his idolness rather than him as a person

Ironically if this drama didn’t have that ridiculous mystery element and just stayed as a time traveling romance drama where their worst struggle was her not being able to tell him anything and each thing she changed by being in the past made a new future, like anytime she changed the future, he dies, so ofc the answer would be keeping memories as memories and not meeting in the past so he can live
and I do have to say this, 34 year old sol, no matter how naive, kissing 18 year old sungjae, and the whole past romance parts, was eeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

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one of the best 2019 drama

I think people (including me) started expecting more of this drama because it was something new and never seen before. The promise of the story itself opened so many options about how the drama was going to unfold, and as I started theorizing, it kinda made me disappointed when they didn't happen. (this also happens to me when I watch crime dramas that hide their main criminal, I start expecting something that's just basically "my version of a story".)

Basically that's why I tried to minimize MY writing/interpretation of this drama and I just tried to watch the drama's version of events. that became harder when the drama started it's last chapter, mainly because I'm an overanalyzer and things were too clear that I even fell for the writer's trap at one point xD

IF I wrote this drama I would've done it differently, but that doesn't mean the original writer's version was bad. this also goes for the characters, but seeing the end made me accept that "this" danoh, "this" haru and "this" school were made for "this" story.

I don't want to make this review long, though this might be my longest review to date, and I don't want to add spoilers, so I'll try to summarize the next part ;)
the acting were really perfect for "this" story, I already knew most of these young actors, and I'll keep an eye out for their next projects ;)

for the OST, I have to say I really loved how each character had their own little theme song, I need to find A3's song and make it my ringtone xD

my rewatch values are either a 1 or 10, and now that I've seen the ending I really want to watch the drama with a different view point ;)

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Worst writer of 2022

This is one of those cases, the writer only has the synopsis and nothing else so they use the forbidden book. Also, enemies to lovers is better for dramaland cuz sweet fl meets sweet ml and they don't play games, so they get together fast, and "breakup" or get thrown in a mess of we can't talk right now...


The story of a girl who worked at the funeral home that could see the ghosts in their final moment and grants them 1 wish
She had X amount ppl to deal with, some wanted small revenge, some wanted a message or a gift delivered. Sounds interesting right?
And it was until the writer stopped using that and instead went to the "sht my characters got together too fast, bring in the ex" honestly atleast 3 or 4 eps were wasted on the ex and her nagging.. and her mom...
Then the writer not only had the most basic past trauma, which was the exact copy of love is for suckers, but she made the three leads share the same traumq and worse, made 2nd lead a psycho..
And that took 3 more eps until poof, 2nd lead feels remorse and regrets it..... oh whoops, I didn't help a dying kid cuz I wanted a better life.. and I blamed my brother for it. And I tried to kill fl, omg I never wanted to be like my dad TT

And the last straw that black listed this writer... SHE MURDERED FLS DAD! the sweetest dad in dramaland, the most harmless dude... and how? By reusing another pregnant lady.. like where was her husband? Why kill the security guard/dad... why leave the house if you're not smart enough to not get near a movers truck..


Sure I knew with the countdown someone important had to die, which is another cheap mistake. But a big accident with multiple ppl would've been tragic enough

Maybe the itaewon tragedy made the writer change things but I doubt it. The story was laid out from the start. The writer obv used the "cliche kdrama guide for dummy writers" but things moved as planned

Cuz no drama makes the fls dad meet and like the ml unless what? They wanna murder the dad

Like there were 2 uncles they could've taken.. the fl was already momless.... just a few tears and she moves on for her happiness with the ml...

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I understand why this wasn't subbed, the story kinda felt like an exotic foreign film that needs a required taste. You know like they are not really korean drama/movie fans but self proclaimed intellectual "film" fans?

The thing I had the most issues with was the texts xD I gathered that the 2 mains somewhat met as "online pen palls" who never met in person and when they met they didn't know they knew each other? I mean I might need to look at the names of the texts to be sure xD

Anyway. Both were broken souls. The ml was a cop who let a drunk driver through the checkpoint "for a reason or no reason -another missed subless context xD" and that guy got in an accident and hurt a woman and himself too so he was questioned and even got wrongfully accused by the victims husband for taking a bribe.

Now he had more trauma around him. 1 was his girlfriend breaking up on frozen Han River -and I don't know if it was implied that she killed herself? Or they were just talking about how thin ice was.
Anyway his other trauma was his mom cheating on his dad and his dad trying to commit suicide in front of him but he only got half paralyzed? though, the synopsis says it was his mom? so why was his dad sick too? ;)

Then we had the fl. Again things seemed really vague. Her mom was paralyzed and she had to take care of her, she worked for a party planning business(?) And the boss was her dad? Also from that knife scene I kinda felt like she wanted to kill him, because he was the one who hurt her mother?
And her mom telling her "next time take me with you on a vacation" was kinda a sign that she didn't want to stay alone and the fl cried because she knew she wasn't coming back?


fast forward to both ending up in the same island (?) Which both went to so they could kill themselves but then they met and randomly (maybe even wistfully hoping for a life line) they agreed to meet on the day they both wanted to commit suicide. But the ml tried to kill himself before that meeting time so he never went to her even though she waited until the last minute (because she didn't want to do it either!!!) And thankfully a little girl saw the ml drowning and he was saved so his 1st thought was to check on their meeting location and the fl was there locked in her car! But again he was able to help her out while the taxi driver called 911 and so both survived TT__TT it's kinda like a reversed Romeo and Juliet :(
And that was the message "they didn't want to die they just wanted to end the lives they suffered in" TTT____TTT


I feel like the story needed a little more depth and connection between them, like the texts felt too impersonal and maybe they both talked about going to that island to kill themselves and that's why the fl kinda looked like she "recognized" the ml after seeing him in the ferry, and also maybe she did tell him who she was -I blame the lack of subs for missing this- but it needed more especially since it was only 1 hour and 20min. overall I liked it

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Dirt wrapped in facy bow

there are 2 categories that's missing from the above rating system, cinematography which was a 100/10 and plot development which was a meh 5.
so like, the shots were so extravagant, so beautiful, so well though tout, so well balanced, but the story? the backstory for the evil organization was trash. the "twists" eventhough they were shocking were stupid, basically the villains were so smart yet gave away their own lives and worse make a stupid revenge scheme that compromised herself more than her victims..

like sure, sangah was a psychopath, but an elaborate acid water scheme, that obviously put herself at more risk? and the tree bottom becoming an acid pool and boom one push and it's over?
here's how I'd have done it differently. poisoned gas, and she wears a protective mask but it gets cut off by accident and boom we see her suffering chocking on her own plans. (don't judge me, I'm writing this with a writer mindset xD)
her whole persona was "conducting plays", a puppet master if you like, she planned and played everyone, we as viewers needed to see her plans fail and her seeing the wires cut off, that was the real suffering, she had no real power

and suddenly everyone was rich, when her friend got 12 years in prison.. so it was that simple? there was no death mystery cuz she never died. they didn't need to piss sangah off when they could've laundered the money that easily?




some people would look at this as a fancy metaphor for "the top 1% and people exposing their true colors infront of money" or whatever else one likes and they are not wrong
but to me it wasn't that deep. it was just 1 psychopath that married another, and her father conveniently had an organization of psychos that liked to kill to reach their goal, for what? petty angst, why? cuz that's how shallow the writer is
squid games is not a metaphor of rich and poor, it's entertainment. you can ofc see any metaphor you like, it's not wrong. we can all look at the ink on the page and see a flower, a monster, or just a splash of ink.
one and two aren't crazy, and 3 isn't a cynic that lacks creativity. I can look at a literature piece like little women the book, and say it wasn't a rich vs poor, it was just a love story. or personally I think it was more about a woman's position in society, regardless of background, women are forced with 2 options, marry rich or marry love, and the 3rd variable is the rebel's "if I don't want to be either I'll be neither"

I did not compare little womens cuz besides the basic, 3 sisters, poor, artist, material world, nothing is similar. others can see more similarities but no one is wrong


sooo, long story short, as an entertainment piece, ep8 was the best. the psycho's Truman Show was a great touch, the manipulation, the step by step puppet show and everything just being for sangah's enjoyment watching injoo's reaction was a better story choice than the veitnam, sad mommy issues, money, Vietnam and 99% of the show thinking Do Il would betray her. or being over involved in his feelings for injoo when like literally 7m is a great reason for someone to help cuz 70b is way too much to want to escape with

the songs were great, Uhm Ji Won as a calm psychopath is a great addition to makjangs and their recent love for screaming women. Kim Go Eun also rocks heavily emotinal scenes. for me, her meltdown in prison, and sangah's scheme in ep8 deserve to be in the "acting" hall of fame



going to compare this to eve, both are makjang, both wanted to go crazy, and tbh I'm sick of romance dramas breaking up the best couples and say "sad endings are realistic", it's not sad to beautiful people didn't end up together, real sad endings come from death, and the ones that need a sad ending are makjangs, a happily ever after makjang isn't worth all the pain and angst
killing the villain is not a satisfying ending. they get caught? they kill themselves. they go crazier? they fall and accidentally die

real suffering comes from detaching the villain from their power. let their world crumble. and thus, in Eve the ML saw the amount of destruction they caused and what did he do? suicide but with murder. and that's they point, muurrrrder (again don't judge I'm a writer xD) but how to make murder worse? one dies and one lives but loses everything, her memory, her sanity, her personality, her life, and she lives in a state she doesn't know what's real or not, she's just a shell
but I guess Eve got there 1st so this couldn't copy it. and psych ward is the 3rd option for villains anyway

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the best part about this movie is how well balanced it was, it's hard to add comedy to suspense without losing the thrill. they had me at the edge of my seat while also bursting out laughing because of comedic timing xD

the story was slightly more biased on the male lead, it was his story, his family, his survive story, BUT they gave the female lead the screen time and development she deserved.
there were times she'd put his wounds/worries 1st, but then as a realistic person, she'd still feel overwhelmed and slightly selfish. plus Im Yoon Ah's crying face was comedy GOLD! and adorable too! I think I liked her in The King in Love, but this made me love her❤
I didn't like Yong Nam's slight tantrums, but it did add to his character xD

I loved the family in this, the story shows Yong Nam as a jobless "loser", and he felt disconnected from his "perfect" family with their perfect husbands and perfect children but the 1st moment he was in danger the worry and fear from his family was heartwarming..
especially the dad made me tear up ^^ tbh I'm deducting 0.5 from the plot because I wanted more! I wanted them to show an ending scene where Yong Nam and Eui Joo around his family laughing and having fun!

the flow of the story was nice, it had suspense and desperation without losing hope, and tbh there were times I thought they'd die, even though in most movies the heroes don't die..

I also really loved how they used technology in this movie! we are in a digital world, and everyone has a phone, so it was the small touches like the phones ringing in the street as a sign of people looking for their loved ones becasue there are other people effected in this beside the 2 mains. also the drones, the mukbangs, the sns and the whole community behind it was really well represented.

the ost and audio were nice and I never rewatch stuff, but I will recommend this to my friends~

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it could've been better

the drama started out interesting, but the middle part was empty, repetitive and boring.. I always say shorter dramas don't get 16eps just because the producers know they can't drag it for that long.. basically, a movie or 4 eps would've been enough...
the acting was PHENOMENAL from everyone.. I think they all portrayed their characters perfectly, and I think they alone carried this show.. but they also felt like, puppets? the writer didn't let them reach their potential...
and beside the main "group" the rest of the characters were empty fillers..
the gore and graphicness of this was, funny.. they promised a 19+ last ep and they still blurred the tiny knives and blood splatter.. and the fight scenes looked over dramatic to the point it was comical? also I think the writing was weak too.. by the last ep everyone just started to feel forcibly flat, like the writer just wanted to wrap everything up in a little bow for his own perfect ending..

The ost was another beautiful thing about this drama, it was perfectly hunting and mesmerizing..

Noh Jong Hyun stole the show for me.. among psychopaths, there needs to be something you can connect with. also that last friend, he was a hero :)


my rewatch values are always a 1 or 10 and I don't think this needs anther watch..

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this is probably the best acting from PSH, but that says nothing because she can't act, even here I could sense her typical whimpering crybaby surfacing, and she talked in a faked aegyo. YAI is not any better, he's over reactive.

it was highly unrealistic how a trained cop died in 2mins but a nonathletic girl who only mountain claimed and a gamer dude could survive that long,

plus that drug wore off way too fast, like 5min. they just wanted to add yet another plot move to drag this out, basically 80% of the movie is them in their apartments and literally no one else in their area survived, but magically there was a boy, there was a girl, and they fell in love ;/

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the story was simple, it starts with jean wanting to live a "militaristic" lifestyle, which is when you only have the basic furniture and utensils. it sounds easy until you realize it means you need to get rid of everything you ever collected.

in some ways they were kinda like hoarders xD they had too many things laying around, they couldn't let go of them. everyone has boxes of memories hidden somewhere, gifts, childhood stuff, CDs and anything that has sentimental values. and in someways getting rid of the objects was like getting rid of that memory so it's actually harder than it seems.

now I didn't get why most of the things she had were actually things she borrowed or took from other people xD tbh I do keep things but I'd never keep something that's not "mine"..


aokbob is a really great actress, this was basically mostly about her character, though her brother was a cutie and her friendship with pink was nice too~
the directing and camera work were good quality but the audio was weird, especially that random horn(?) sound when her korn friend asked about his picture..

also tbh other people were selfish too, the moment they heard she was giving things back they started asking her to look for a random photo or a belt. I get the photo but it kinda seems random that everyone remembers what she took..

I never rewatch stuff so it's eitehr a 1 or a 10

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this was just as great as the 1st season, Section Chief Hong was the queen, it's so rare to have supportive female seniors in dramas. also, behind every "guy saves the day" was a woman ;)
this series should be a manual for companies. for one most of them don't even know what they are doing "wrong", and basically, they are way obsessed with the "norms" that even a man wearing pink and baking is not "manly", a woman that stands up for herself and says no becomes "noisy" and "unappreciative".
also, the whole "sunbae" lineage thing needs to chill. this doesn't justify them, but even a man speaking against the mistreatment becomes outcasted, and so basically they are forcing the younger generation to keep quite to gain the sunbae's approval. I really didn't like Sangwook, but the change in him just proves, change is easy.
they really need to make laws and talk about these issues.

my rewatch values are a 1 or a 10, and I'd prefer a 3rd season instead of a rewatch ;p

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Watch the original instead

The best part for me was the opening scene. I hoped this went with the quirky "live actioning" their webtoons as a theme instead of copy pasting the problems from the original and dragging it to death

The original felt like Misaeng, the fl was "out of toon" with the business world since she never worked, the manga world looks detached but the editors were mentors, managers, supporters, cheerleaders and sometimes parents to manga writers
It takes several layers of attachment, social interactions "normal" workers don't usually do, and more severally our fl
But she brought a new outlook from her own experiences in life, she didn't react in ways to please the writers and instead she was sincere


And those are the things I felt lacking in this adaptation , mauem felt like a company maknae that has worked in several companies so she always had a "people pleaser" attitude. She was always bright, social, fun loving, self centered, and insensitive. She always said what's her on her mind without thinking of others

The problems were the same from the original but dragged out and boring


I loved seok jihyung the most, the world needs more bosses like him, and I'd have loved a romance focused with him

Their main big conflict was also flat.. their villain just a dude that was doing his work.. so what the company wants to close their webtoon section? one can easily make their own company. In Misaeng, the ml was too desperate for his work life to take off, and he's desperation felt raw and his connection to his position was like a baby duck finding his mom. Here, no one cared cuz honestly it'd that simple. It's just a job, there'll always be more cuz the webtoon world is successful and huge, editors won't disappear

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Trying too hard

this just tried too hard to be sad, the stories felt too convenient and after watching the same sob stories it kinda makes it less moving.
the whole dynamic of the cold guy, the dysfunctional family to the "guardian" that needs to change thing happens way too often, even the whole life full of misfortune that makes the ML jaded thing

but I have to say, lee je hoon's acting was amazing, he played the sad soul to the hopeful soft soul really well. a little too well cuz everyone else seemed basic.
Lee Jae Wook and the whole meeting with LJH had more depth than the story though the ending again was just another move for the tears so it felt meh, but his acting was great too
and Ji Jin Hee as well, he did the perfect father role really well


the story about Jung Woo finding the baby, and the slow building love from Sang Gu were the best parts. I also liked Choi Soo Young, I wish she had a bigger role

the ost was basic and I never rewatch stuff.

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