3
Zogitt
Australia
This review may contain spoilers
Lovely healing romantic drama. Shame about the unravelling plots
Genre meshing is very common in k-drama. Supernatural/romance, romance/crime and many other combos. A lot of the time it works and that is usually because the plot grew around each other organically. In this case, the opposite happened.
Before you assume this is a negative review, it is not. I really liked this drama and the romance/healing plots were so well done and it was so sweet in a natural way. The crime/revenge plot was also very intriguing and complex, it is the lack of cohesion between the two at the later stage of the drama that pains me.
In terms of the positives, the acting from the cast is great. There were the odd overacting but their characters demanded it, otherwise it was well above average. The love story was cliché but seasoned actors pulled it off and pulled you into their lives so that you really want to swoon at their cheesy antics. The cinematography was wonderful. So many scenes were beautifully shot with depth and nuisances. Some were very thought provoking and impactful as well. Ditto the use of colour and lighting to signify moods. The production values were good all round and the OST was thematic. Most rooftop dwelling in k-drama equate cheap and cheerful housing for the lower income protagonists but this one is luxe. I want to live somewhere like that!
Now the not so good bits. The main issue for me is the two main plots were intertwined in the beginning and the crime side was very impactful for a few episodes but then it started to head off into its own space. There were intersecting points along the way but it felt like meeting of acquaintances rather than close friends. This is a shame as the crime thriller side could stand on its own but there was only about an hour of solid footage in 16 episodes. The tonal shift between the main sunny romance plot and the much darker revenge plot was getting uncomfortable as the show progress and the relationship between the OTP and the 2ML become more and more tenuous. It was never jarring but it does beg the question what impact does one plotline have on the other and the answer is not a lot. I'm sure the writer wanted us to see the self destructive nature of the revenge plot but it yin-yang too much. In the end. I pretty much focused on the romantic stories and basked in the warm sunshine and frolicked with the unicorns while paying less and less attention to the revenge subplot. I think that is a shame but I was shipping the OTP too hard to suddenly shift my mood 180 degrees every so often just because the writer-nim wanted me to.
I would still recommend this drama but treat it almost as if it is two separate dramas and how much enjoyment you get out of this will depend on where your focus is.
Before you assume this is a negative review, it is not. I really liked this drama and the romance/healing plots were so well done and it was so sweet in a natural way. The crime/revenge plot was also very intriguing and complex, it is the lack of cohesion between the two at the later stage of the drama that pains me.
In terms of the positives, the acting from the cast is great. There were the odd overacting but their characters demanded it, otherwise it was well above average. The love story was cliché but seasoned actors pulled it off and pulled you into their lives so that you really want to swoon at their cheesy antics. The cinematography was wonderful. So many scenes were beautifully shot with depth and nuisances. Some were very thought provoking and impactful as well. Ditto the use of colour and lighting to signify moods. The production values were good all round and the OST was thematic. Most rooftop dwelling in k-drama equate cheap and cheerful housing for the lower income protagonists but this one is luxe. I want to live somewhere like that!
Now the not so good bits. The main issue for me is the two main plots were intertwined in the beginning and the crime side was very impactful for a few episodes but then it started to head off into its own space. There were intersecting points along the way but it felt like meeting of acquaintances rather than close friends. This is a shame as the crime thriller side could stand on its own but there was only about an hour of solid footage in 16 episodes. The tonal shift between the main sunny romance plot and the much darker revenge plot was getting uncomfortable as the show progress and the relationship between the OTP and the 2ML become more and more tenuous. It was never jarring but it does beg the question what impact does one plotline have on the other and the answer is not a lot. I'm sure the writer wanted us to see the self destructive nature of the revenge plot but it yin-yang too much. In the end. I pretty much focused on the romantic stories and basked in the warm sunshine and frolicked with the unicorns while paying less and less attention to the revenge subplot. I think that is a shame but I was shipping the OTP too hard to suddenly shift my mood 180 degrees every so often just because the writer-nim wanted me to.
I would still recommend this drama but treat it almost as if it is two separate dramas and how much enjoyment you get out of this will depend on where your focus is.
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