This review may contain spoilers
Death's Game: An Overview
This show is genuinely the most heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, action-filled series I have watched in my entire life. I cried throughout the entirety of Episode 8 from start to finish. I was shocked by all the twists and the amount of plotlines that collide so nicely just makes it that much better.
From Episode 1 I was a bit like, hmm how is this gonna go, you have 12 characters to go through and the first 2 just got cast aside very quickly. Episode 2 was the first cry I had when he was Hyeok-su, not gonna lie I felt his character was just a shock one to throw in, seeing as the only real plotline it creates is the one with his Tae-sang reincarnation and Jin-sang, but when he saw his mom through Hyeok-su's mom I genuinely teared up so much.
The end of Episode 2 and the Ju-hun reincarnation was some of the best cinematography I've seen in a non-action movie. The intensity was just perfect considering how heartbreaking Hyeok-su's death was. Plus the way Ju-hun dies was such a gag, I had to pause the show and walk away because I did NOT see that one. Tae-sang's death was also pretty sad, but considering his intentions were to give the money to Tae-sang's mom, who we didn't have a connection with, it just didn't hit hard enough. I feel Tae-sang, Geon-u, Gyu-cheol, and Ji-hyeong's characters were all just for the Tae-u plot and to show Yee-jae's selfishness, but it was good for tying in future plot points near the end.
Episode 4, I was bawling my eyes out so much. It's incredibly sad to realize that this is a pretty common occurrence, maybe not the infanticide, but the abuse is. It was such a quick reincarnation but it was the one that was a lesson for Yee-jae for sure. Not being able to get out of the situation and being forced to just let it happen was so emotional and it's just a horrible thing to happen to anyone.
Also in that episode, when that fucking car hit them I SCREAMED. I was so fucking mad like Geon-u and Ji-su was the only reincarnation that I probably felt a connection to and I just really wanted him to live on much longer and have a life with Ji-su and THEN die. But the pen being a common motif later on in the story was just so wholesome and I'm happy the show ended the way that it did purely because of that fucking pen lol.
Episodes 6 and 7, are not really a lot if I'm honest. It was definitely the dud plotline which pissed me off because at the end of the storyline, it just wasn't necessary? Like, Death rewinds time at the end and so Tae-u would never have had those things happen, so he just carries on being a psychopathic killer (potentially)? So that was just action packed and omds Gyu-cheol's death actually made me squirm that's just fucking awful. Also, the speed they just killed off the 10th and 11th reincarnations made me giggle a bit.
Finally, Episode 10. For a full 40 minutes, I just had tears streaming down constantly. The cinematography, 10/10, the acting, 10/10, the story, 10/10, the emotional fucking-with, 10/10. Honestly, I would rewatch this entire series just to bawl my eyes out at this episode again. I called my mum straight after and told her I loved her it's changed me as a person. If you're thinking of not watching this show because it looks boring or from what I've said you don't like it, it's so worth it for this ending. Plus the final shot of the text right before the credits made me kinda spooked out like, yeah, there is ONLY one of me in this world.
Overall, I rarely think a show is an overall 10/10, but even with episodes 6 and 7 they were still amazing just not in comparison with the rest of them. I think everybody should give this a watch, it's so enjoyable and so worth like 6 hours of my life.
(PS: My fav shot is when he visits the Columbarium as his mom and then it shows his memory of her and there's the parallel shot in the glass of him as if he was standing on the other side of the columbarium. Ugh it was so perfect in a satisfying mirror way.)
From Episode 1 I was a bit like, hmm how is this gonna go, you have 12 characters to go through and the first 2 just got cast aside very quickly. Episode 2 was the first cry I had when he was Hyeok-su, not gonna lie I felt his character was just a shock one to throw in, seeing as the only real plotline it creates is the one with his Tae-sang reincarnation and Jin-sang, but when he saw his mom through Hyeok-su's mom I genuinely teared up so much.
The end of Episode 2 and the Ju-hun reincarnation was some of the best cinematography I've seen in a non-action movie. The intensity was just perfect considering how heartbreaking Hyeok-su's death was. Plus the way Ju-hun dies was such a gag, I had to pause the show and walk away because I did NOT see that one. Tae-sang's death was also pretty sad, but considering his intentions were to give the money to Tae-sang's mom, who we didn't have a connection with, it just didn't hit hard enough. I feel Tae-sang, Geon-u, Gyu-cheol, and Ji-hyeong's characters were all just for the Tae-u plot and to show Yee-jae's selfishness, but it was good for tying in future plot points near the end.
Episode 4, I was bawling my eyes out so much. It's incredibly sad to realize that this is a pretty common occurrence, maybe not the infanticide, but the abuse is. It was such a quick reincarnation but it was the one that was a lesson for Yee-jae for sure. Not being able to get out of the situation and being forced to just let it happen was so emotional and it's just a horrible thing to happen to anyone.
Also in that episode, when that fucking car hit them I SCREAMED. I was so fucking mad like Geon-u and Ji-su was the only reincarnation that I probably felt a connection to and I just really wanted him to live on much longer and have a life with Ji-su and THEN die. But the pen being a common motif later on in the story was just so wholesome and I'm happy the show ended the way that it did purely because of that fucking pen lol.
Episodes 6 and 7, are not really a lot if I'm honest. It was definitely the dud plotline which pissed me off because at the end of the storyline, it just wasn't necessary? Like, Death rewinds time at the end and so Tae-u would never have had those things happen, so he just carries on being a psychopathic killer (potentially)? So that was just action packed and omds Gyu-cheol's death actually made me squirm that's just fucking awful. Also, the speed they just killed off the 10th and 11th reincarnations made me giggle a bit.
Finally, Episode 10. For a full 40 minutes, I just had tears streaming down constantly. The cinematography, 10/10, the acting, 10/10, the story, 10/10, the emotional fucking-with, 10/10. Honestly, I would rewatch this entire series just to bawl my eyes out at this episode again. I called my mum straight after and told her I loved her it's changed me as a person. If you're thinking of not watching this show because it looks boring or from what I've said you don't like it, it's so worth it for this ending. Plus the final shot of the text right before the credits made me kinda spooked out like, yeah, there is ONLY one of me in this world.
Overall, I rarely think a show is an overall 10/10, but even with episodes 6 and 7 they were still amazing just not in comparison with the rest of them. I think everybody should give this a watch, it's so enjoyable and so worth like 6 hours of my life.
(PS: My fav shot is when he visits the Columbarium as his mom and then it shows his memory of her and there's the parallel shot in the glass of him as if he was standing on the other side of the columbarium. Ugh it was so perfect in a satisfying mirror way.)
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