if it weren't so damn over-the-top with emotions, it'd be a good drama. but the female lead's character was too emotional and should not have been a judge at all. If the melodramatics were omitted, I'd give this drama an 8, actually. Good writing and the legal cases are compelling and relevant, but again, the emotional part of the lead was too much and made me sick of her.

The acting of the other two leads was alright. The older actor--I always enjoy him! I like the characters that he plays in dramas.
The young lead's acting is alright. Not bad, not good. Decent.

Read More

A Hidden Gem!

This was such a gem of a find! I don't understand why this was limited to only 5 episodes, unless there's a 2nd season? You could tell that the story was becoming cohesive by episode 4, and once you got midway to episode 5, you knew what was gonnna happen to our female lead. The truth about the farmer was actually surprising and refreshing! I loved the ending. It felt like an end to a season (rather than the end of the show).

This was a light comedy and had an anime-flair to it. If you rely on subtitles (like me), then the arrows and labels on people/things may become overwhelming on screen. **If you're not used to watching anime, you might be bothered with the bits of added narration and arrows to explain a scene.** It didn't bother me too much.

I definitely do NOT recommend this show to someone who is NEW to J-Dramas or to someone who is not an anime geek. Why? Because the style of humor is expressed using the same exaggerated motions and expressions in anime/manga. It's meant to be ridiculous, but may come off as being ridiculous. You know? ;) ;p

Also, it's obviously low-budget. I actually stopped watching a few minutes into episode 1 because of that; plus it seemed too informational and became almost like an educational program. But when I watched the preview shown on Netflix, I laughed out loud, so I went back to the episode looking forward to the scene from the preview. Next thing I knew, I was counting how many episodes I had left and got sad when I entered episode 5. :(

I just couldn't believe I had only one episode left and it was only 5 episodes that made up the show. :(

Considering that it's only 5 episodes with a 45 minute episode length, I would re-watch this show with a friend.

It seemed like the entire cast had fun energy and chemistry with each other! This was such a funny show. It's so quirky and silly. The actress cast for the lead was a great choice. I have no idea who she is. I think she carried a good balance playing an airhead without becoming irritating.

Fingers crossed for season 2!!

P.S.
Music Rating: there is no music in this series.

Read More

I absolutely hated who directed each episode. Wtf is up with the soft glows and weird angles in every single f***ing scene? It is so damn distracting that I get mad thinking about it, still.

The romance for all three women was so weak. The main couple had no chemistry at all and their conversations were exhaustingly dull and trite. I literally skipped all of their scenes from episode 5 and onward.

The topic of how search engines are run and the influence of users and politics was what kept me hooked to the end, but how did I get there? By skipping so much in each episode that I was actually viewing 30-40 mins worth of an episode.

The two things I enjoyed in this drama was the plot of politics and search engines, and the spunky woman who literally kicked ass... except her love story was meh, but the best out of the women.

The advertisements in this show was disgustingly blatant. I hate shows that essentially become a commercial. I get that advertising sponsors are needed and I'm used to the weird interruptions in a scene to include product placement, but this show is nearly on Goblin's level of advertising, except this show sucked because it tried SO HARD to look beautiful.

I highly recommend skipping this show. Unless you enjoy watching 80% of scenes filmed in a weird angle, with a diffused and soft look, and fashion-like commercials.

Read More

i skipped a lot of scenes in each episode. it was a compelling and grounding drama. it wasn't overdramatic when it could have easily been. it's a drama that defied the drama genre in that the plot was dramatic, but not at all convoluted. it wasn't over the top and it never bordered on that. I think the female lead was rather bland. The male lead was strong! I saw him in Coffee Prince and the movie Parasite (2019). I saw this show after Parasite (2019). The actor has range.
He played his character really well. You could see his turmoil under his quiet demeanor. There were times where the actor had the potential to become melodramatic or underwhelming at times, but he did NOT! His acting is what makes this show strong.

The rest of the cast was ok. Chemistry was ok. The female lead was pretty bland. I saw IU in that Scarlet Lovers show. Her acting abilities did not improve. The role she plays here is the same role in Scarlet Lovers when that character becomes all sad. I think Park So Dam or Kim Go Eun would have added dimension to the female lead's characters.

not a re-watch.

Read More

Pure, unadulterated, comical comedy.
It is light hearted... but very SLOW in the beginning. It wasn't until episode 7 or so that I began binge watching episodes. Totally worth it.

It is an intentionally absurd comic made into a tv show. Bromance is STRONG with this one. The chemistry is present with every single person. If you want something warm, fuzzy, and absurd, watch this.

BONUS (or not): lots of accounting and economics talk! I LOVED it. It can get esoteric if you don't understand accounting, but that doesn't detract from the story.

No romance, btw! Pure fun!

Read More

This would have a 10 star rating, or even a 20 star rating, but a few episodes used some goofball humor totally incongruous with the personality of a (few) character(s). I really didn't like that, even though it happened maybe, two or three times? It detracted some integrity from the show. But, look--it detracted only 0.5 a star! So, do watch the show!

It was something that stayed on my watchlist because I wasn't sure if I wanted to potentially waste my time on a too-serious historical drama, but... it took my by surprise.

It was like a gift had fallen into my hands. :)

Read More

Amazing! The entire cast was just amazing. The actor who plays Yoon Jong Woo should receive an Emmy Award. His metamorphosis was so real. I later realized that I had seen him as the main role in Incomplete Life which was also amazing. This guy has real acting chomps on him. I look forward to seeing his future works.

Also, the guy from Goblin played his psychopathic character really well!! I didn't see his usual "handsome" guy character in his other shows. He was truly terrifying. The actor definitely proved his range in performance. He broke out of his "handsome" guy role and now I will definitely think of him as an Actor instead of "just the guy from Goblin." Know what I mean?

10, 1-hr episodes was perfect for this drama. There weren't any fillers. I had to take this show relatively slow because the torture is pretty gruesome.

OCN truly does make cinematographic art pieces. This is the network for serious and compelling dramas.

The ending is definitely not ambiguous, by the way.

Read More

Don't waste your time. The first few episodes were great, but then it was like the writers gave up and the show went downhill.

I had HIGH hopes for this show because of the genre, the premise, and the actors! Great cast of talented actors.

But the show bombed. I've never given a 1 star to anything. This is the first.

-
Don't waste your time. The first few episodes were great, but then it was like the writers gave up and the show went downhill.

I had HIGH hopes for this show because of the genre, the premise, and the actors! Great cast of talented actors.

But the show bombed. I've never given a 1 star to anything. This is the first.

Read More

I want to give this show an extra bonus star. This is one of those shows where I was pulled in all the way the ENTIRE time. I did not lose interest by even an inch! I was watching other shows and losing interest when I finally gave this one a chance. By "finally" I mean that I was scared to begin an intense and serious show of this genre.

I'm glad I did. I def see myself re-watching this in the future.

It is not for the faint of heart. I have PTSD from an abusive childhood. This show has been very triggering. I actually considered stopping myself from finishing the show as a form of self-care.
Well... damn, my intrigue outweighed my self-care.

The only, real weakness I can identify with is the female co-detective's backstory.
Her backstory was literally introduced in episodes 31 and 32. WTF.
It was like the writers thought "oh! we forgot about the detective's side story...let's fit her background in two minutes." Honestly, it was unnecessary and crude.
They should have (1) shown a scene where the detective shows extreme empathy and later explains the origins of why her reaction was triggered, or (2) dialed down the backstory-related characters' actions and treated the detective with respect and dignity.

Go in with a box of tissues for each episode.

Read More

fuck the ending. the last episode was so abrupt and rushed. and the ambiguity felt forcefully inserted at the end. so stupid. it felt like a cheap way to end the show. This would've been a solid 8 were it not for the ending. I seriously feel like I got cheated. I wasted my time watching a pretty decent conspiracy drama only to have it cheapened in the last 5 minutes of the last episode. Dude, I'm pretty angry. It felt like the writers suddenly went "hey, let's try this cool thing to fuck with the viewers muahaha." The end was seriously... gawd.

Solid performances by the leads and the little girl was amazing. That's why I kept going, honestly. I don't shy away from giving up a drama. I stopped at episode 15 out of 16 for one drama because I thought it was just too ridiculous at that point. With this one, I would have stopped by episode 12, but I love the two leads so much, and that little girl is too damn adorable and such a great actress.

This has no re-watch value. I think it's sort of worth watching for the acting, you know? Maybe. The mom's character was annoying at time with her capricious actions and the typical cliche of characters NOT EXPLAINING ANYTHING in a span of like 5 minutes. Like, you had 5 minutes to reveal pertinent information, but instead you mumble your apologies and confusion for 5 whole minutes only to die. I hate that trope the most in Korean dramas and it is used a lot here.

So, a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions are left hanging.

Read More