thisisgettingridiculous
This review may contain spoilers
Underwhelming for actors with great chemistry...
**spoilers ahead**
This is my first JoongDunk series - I watched this the while I excitedly waited for their new series "Hidden Agenda". I honestly expected a lot more since my last watch was "Bad Buddy". Needless to say, this was not as good. I understand it's not a fair thing to compare to but the disappointment after watching such a good series and then this. I point this out to give a context on my mindset while I was watching this. The thing that bugged me the most was that there were a lot of irritating plot points and if there was anything that could sum up the plot it’s one word: miscommunication. Because Kluen doesn't know how to communicate. Or DaoNuea didn’t say how he felt and lied to himself about how he felt. Or WHATEVER. This series made me realize I loathe miscommunication tropes. While it's understandable that Kluen may have valid issues about communicating (something we never got a reason to, were we to assume it's just something he had from birth? Literally all his close friends and Nuea were frustrated at him constantly for this), it was so exasperating to see him navigate through situations that could have been easily resolved with him just saying what he fucking needs to. It was more frustrating that he also knew this about himself but until someone he cared about (DaoNuea) was hurt was when he finally did something about it. He had plenty of time to work on it and get better but didn't do anything about it.
I understand that this is a short series, but "Bad Buddy" was able to captivate and made me feel for the characters just from 5 episodes, something Star in My Mind failed to do so through all 8 episodes. I feel like we barely got to meet each character so it makes it hard to understand their actions too - especially when we don't really have a true understanding of who they are and what they're like.
The acting also took me out in most aspects. While I love and respect both actors, it’s not difficult to see that they are novice actors as some scenes felt awkward and forced- something I personally think they can definitely improve on as I believe they have the true potential to be amazing actors. I can't fault the actors for this alone though, as I feel like the director could have put in more effort on directing and guiding the actors. Their plot and idea were good but the implementation is truly lacking.
Overall - as a series, it was underwhelming as JoongDunk have amazing chemistry. Though I still have my reservations about their next series “Hidden Agenda”, seeing as it's the same director as the travesty that is "Step By Step", I am enthusiastic that since it's been over a year, "Hidden Agenda" will be both an improvement from this.
Satang/Sean was the perfect comic relief!
[END]
This is my first JoongDunk series - I watched this the while I excitedly waited for their new series "Hidden Agenda". I honestly expected a lot more since my last watch was "Bad Buddy". Needless to say, this was not as good. I understand it's not a fair thing to compare to but the disappointment after watching such a good series and then this. I point this out to give a context on my mindset while I was watching this. The thing that bugged me the most was that there were a lot of irritating plot points and if there was anything that could sum up the plot it’s one word: miscommunication. Because Kluen doesn't know how to communicate. Or DaoNuea didn’t say how he felt and lied to himself about how he felt. Or WHATEVER. This series made me realize I loathe miscommunication tropes. While it's understandable that Kluen may have valid issues about communicating (something we never got a reason to, were we to assume it's just something he had from birth? Literally all his close friends and Nuea were frustrated at him constantly for this), it was so exasperating to see him navigate through situations that could have been easily resolved with him just saying what he fucking needs to. It was more frustrating that he also knew this about himself but until someone he cared about (DaoNuea) was hurt was when he finally did something about it. He had plenty of time to work on it and get better but didn't do anything about it.
I understand that this is a short series, but "Bad Buddy" was able to captivate and made me feel for the characters just from 5 episodes, something Star in My Mind failed to do so through all 8 episodes. I feel like we barely got to meet each character so it makes it hard to understand their actions too - especially when we don't really have a true understanding of who they are and what they're like.
The acting also took me out in most aspects. While I love and respect both actors, it’s not difficult to see that they are novice actors as some scenes felt awkward and forced- something I personally think they can definitely improve on as I believe they have the true potential to be amazing actors. I can't fault the actors for this alone though, as I feel like the director could have put in more effort on directing and guiding the actors. Their plot and idea were good but the implementation is truly lacking.
Overall - as a series, it was underwhelming as JoongDunk have amazing chemistry. Though I still have my reservations about their next series “Hidden Agenda”, seeing as it's the same director as the travesty that is "Step By Step", I am enthusiastic that since it's been over a year, "Hidden Agenda" will be both an improvement from this.
Satang/Sean was the perfect comic relief!
[END]
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