Cha Eunwoo literally owned the character Yohan
The show was fabulous. Episode 1 & 2 were a bit slow but that drama picked up a pace from episode 3 onwards. I was rooting for all 3 main characters - Van, Miho and Priest Yohan. I was not interested in romance scene but I loved all the action scenes. Priest John/Yohan was my favorite character. He made me smile and then he made cry. Cha Eunwoo's acting in this drama is on next level. If you are not a blind h@ter, you will see how fab he was as Yohan. NamGil and Lee Dahee are awesome actor. Can't wait for Island season 2 and to see more of Sung Joon aka Gungtan. Again, I would like to say Cha Eunwoo really acted well in this drama. Episode 6 was testimonial of his incredible acting. I smiled and cried with him. I felt his pain.Was this review helpful to you?
Why split into 2 seasons?
This is actually pretty tough to review, as my reactions and feelings about the drama are split so far (kind of like the airing).WHY OH WHY did the makers, or Amazon Prime (whoever is responsible), decide to air in 2 halves?! It's not like it's 32 eps long...if S2 is also 6eps, that's less than a normal K-drama length of 16eps.
I am loving the supernatural element and characters.
Kim Nam-gil is so good as Van (although his name seems to be pronounced as Pan). I so like this actor and how he can still manage to convey emotion while marble faced.
Cha Eun Woo is a revelation; love his Italian ~ very authentic ~ and he seems both comfortable in and enjoying of, his character. The personality of Johan (reason for the name is made clear), is double-sided... he is cocky, witty, sometimes narrow minded, but also gifted in his area of expertise, caring and will do what has to be done.
I love the older lady who is Van's shelter and ear, too. A really good actress.
The FL I have mixed feelings about. The actress plays the part well, but the character is really irritating. I love strong female roles, but there's a fine line between confident/assertive and arrogant/know-it-all who doesn't listen. This character comes down on the wrong side of that line a little too often. It is just sits all wrong, how she often treats Van like a servant, when she's seen his power and must feel he's no ordinary human.
There is also something too comedic about the way she approaches several of her demonic encounters and she takes everything a little too much in her stride. It doesn't always work. I'm a fan of dark humour, but not when it jars with the credibility of the plot.
In its entirety, S1 feels choppy. There are too many frayed edges, questions where answers aren't even hinted at and a lack of substance.
But, the action when it happens, is exciting and exhilarating. There are some really moving moments too.
S2 should never have existed, unless needed and following a 16-ep S1. That would have been far more beneficial to the feel of the story and its continuity.
I await S2 (airing Feb 24th I've read) and am really hoping that all the muddy parts of this drama will become clear and my 8/10 doesn't
drop ??
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This review may contain spoilers
Korean X American Supernatural Mini Series
Watched this drama solely for Eunwoo but didn't expect to get more eye candy- Namgil, Sungjoon and Taejoon. And honestly the cast for this series was fantastic!!!I really enjoyed the Korean Dol hareubangs and the American Christianity/priest/exorcist theme was really cool to see. I loved the graphics of the fights and how all the scenes looked so beautiful!!
The only dislike was the storyline- it was kind of confusing and it left me wondering what was happening at some points. I was expecting Miho to unleash her powers fully but I guess there's gonna be a season 2???
Overall, a decent short mini series that is very nicely produced!
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Worth watching but be patient
This is one of those shows where I really don't understand the need for 2 parts. Why did TV or cable stations think they were doing? Did they think it was a good idea to have 2 parts? I waited until Part 2 had finished broadcasting before I watched both. Same with Glory and Alchemy of Souls. All there have suffered from a dismal Part 1 (altho Glory was better). If I hadn't had Part 2 to follow up with, I would have never bothered beyond Ep 2.The Part 1 of this is slow. It spends at leat 4 episodes building up the characters and giving their back stories. Finally, the mission of the characters begins around episode 5. If I had to wait several months/years for the main story to unfold, I would not have bothered continuing on with Part 2.
The actors are fantastic and I won't go further as many other reviewers already have. Overall, it's a good entertaining drama of a different genre (I'm so over romantic idol dramas) if you're able to binge watch.
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Fantastic
Full disclosure, my main drive for watching this series was purely for the fact I have a thing for hot priests. Just laying that out there for all the world to know.This series was so much more interesting than I’d anticipated. It felt like a combination of Jujutsu Kaisen and Goblin: The Great and Lonely God. The action sequences were brilliant and not too over the top (which I feel you sometimes find in fantasy Kdramas), and the storytelling was easy enough to follow without the writers having to go too deep.
Being only 6 episodes I expected things to feel very rushed but I didn’t get that at all. The lore and connections were very balanced, not giving you too much or too little.
I’m so glad season 2 is out soon, because that cliff hanger? Ooft!
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This review may contain spoilers
I love it
I dont know about others but i really loved it.. it confused and thrilling me untill end... and for me itz not slow too.. i am not yet watchd seson 2 but this seosn is good for meAs for acting i dont thnk i need to describe cha eun woo s acting.. itz always in high point no... main actress is did well too... as for main actor, he dosnt hve energy and his personality is not matchd to character of van but itz not big problm just ok.. all other actors are good too
Overall i recommended to watch it who like supernatural things...
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Very boring to watch.
- Very very very boring fantasy story- Van is so boring and that he is half a demon makes him disgusting because there are no nice demons. Demons are demons so the story is so strange to make a human half a demon half a human...it's disgusting
- The female lead acting is much better than her acting in this drama. Sometimes the female lead acts like a girl which does not suit her at all. The female lead has in other drama better acting skills than here
- So the whole story is very boring to watch
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Island best drama
I love it and I love Cha eunwoo he's so good even though his appearance was short so far, and the other casts are so good too!!I know in the next episodes it'll be more crazy and scary scenes not just for eunwoo but for everyone!!!
I love it and I love Cha eunwoo he's so good even though his appearance was short so far, and the other casts are so good too!!
I know in the next episodes it'll be more crazy and scary scenes not just for eunwoo but for everyone!!!
CHA EUNWOO X ISLAND
#IslandEp1and2 #Island #아일랜드
#차은우 #CHAEUNWOO
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I just love that they kept it short for we can finished it one go and infairness I enjoyed some scenes and gave some a bit entertainment for the audience. Still recommendable if you're here for the cast or idk but don't expect more. I am not sure if I will watch the second season, I'll just wait for the feedback if its good or not.
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Pure entertainment.
Korean fantasy weaved with a hot priest and evil spirits and demons and exorcism and reincarnation. Good acting and all performances were a delight to watch. There wasn't much depth during the first half, but they built up things nicely for the finale. And opened up a whole new arena of things to leave us anticipating a season 2. But ya, since it's fantasy, the world-building is completely upto them. It's okay so far but I feel there isn't that much detail and very little that overlaps with any fantasy or myths that I am aware of. Except for the exorcism.But overall, if you just wanna binge some wild CGI mixed action, no need to look further!
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Boring, forgettable
Some fantasy series hold you by your neck and throw you off the realism we survive in, something that "The Tale of Nine Tailed" did successfully.Island however fails miserable at this job. The only character story worth looking forward to is Cha Eun Woo's character Johan rest all feel like forceful characters in a storyline that doesn't do justice to its gigantic world building, it's sheer potential acting and production wise.
The only time I felt a tad bit interested in the series is when Van transforms other than the "twists" in this story feel so badly done. The scenes that should make you feel a certain way, horror or love or funny or otherwise make you feel nothing, absolutely no emotion at all. You can see them coming from a mile away and it feels almost disappointing when the scene actually occurs infront of you on the screen.
The reason I even started watching this series is because of the captivating premise of it. Exorcism, evil powers, fantasy, half demon half human lead, all marks of a supposedly great drama but alas I concluded this series with heavy disappointment in my heart.
Am I looking forward to Part 2? Despite the fact that it feels dumb and without any reason at all that the series is broken down into two parts, I would still give it a try till the end ( considering each part is just 6 episodes long and that is very short and fast to watch ) but I am going to go in this time without any thoughts or expectations in head.
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Dysfunctional Characters
The drama kicked off with good modern visuals and an interesting fantasy setting on a mystical island. However, it quickly unraveled. The fantasy elements, though visually appealing, peaked in the first two episodes, while the remainder felt like a rehash of what we'd already seen. It's strange that they revealed all their cards in the beginning, leaving the rest feeling empty. The female lead was sent to the island to work as a teacher, but this plotline was completely irrelevant and didn't last for more than one episode. The direction the drama took with the fantasy story turned out to be quite disappointing afterwards. More on characters, the female lead was an unstoppable cringe generator with her non-serious interactions, especially with the male lead in the earlier parts. It was the writers way trying desperately to build chemistry between the two, but it was impossible without rewriting the characters themselves. However, the character that suffered the most from both the writers' curse and the cast choice was Goong Tan. It doesn't take a blind man to see what was wrong. The drama ended up being this shallow shipwreck of recycled ideas and bland characters.Was this review helpful to you?
