Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023)

I feel like they could have done more with the characters and paced the story better.

There were parts that were compelling and gripping, and then parts where the plot dragged like crazy and I could only get through it at 1.5x speed, especially the middle. I think they spent too much time on the townspeople gossiping about Samdal and Yongpil when they had their own lives to live. I also felt like Yongpil's dad coming around was too sudden and we should have seen a gradual change start several episodes earlier. I also think the downfall of the villain was too brief for the grief she caused. Overall I feel mixed about it. I think this story could have been told and been better in 10 eps max. My favorite character is probably the little girl. She was too cute for words but was also the voice of reason a lot. I don't think I'd recommend this for most, there's better and there's worse.

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Great actors, bad writing!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Jeju scenery and the photography in this series. Some of the support roles were excellently played, and for me Kim Mi-kyung stood out, together with the other Haenyeo women. I found their interactions very believable.

Unfortunately, the lead actors were dealt a different card: Shin Hye-sun, excelling in Mr. Queen and JCW, absolutely great in Healer and Empress Ki, were cast as a couple that (to me) had no chemistry at all. But that would be hard in the first place if you are dealing with a bunch of rather misogynist writers who live in the past century. In that case the 'love' story becomes a rather ridiculous and non-entertaining spiel between two 40-year old "Never Been Kissed' virgins. Because they have been pining for each other for 30 years.... The repetitive whining, 'misunderstandings', temper tantrums, the sentimental look-backs: I found it all unromantic, unrealistic and...boring.

It made the series quite unwatchable for me. All of the actors deserved better writing. Because they are all great actors!

Jeju Island is a wonderful location, and in well-written series like Our Blues or Legend of the Blue Sea, the scenic beauty adds great value. Here it was the main attraction...

Let's hope that these SK drama writers will revert to writing strong female lead-stories, and treat their cast to well written dialogues and realistic story lines. It makes or breaks a series!

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