bimil
In the dungeon
While the storyline's not the most original thing ever, the main leads did well in portraying the growth and development of their relationship. Eugene's character was the epitome of a damsel-in-distress. Though she had her highlights, the overall vibe that the character gave was a weak woman. Lee Jung Jin was pretty good with progressing through a relationship while following his views. His logic and reasoning was well done in the drama and a character that has depth. Hands down, Park Won Suk was the greatest actress in the drama. Though she's the "bad guy" in the drama, she had the best facial expressions and ways of conveying her emotions and frustrations. Yoon Ah Jung as well was very good at portraying her feelings and reactions.
The soundtrack was alright, though I could do without some of the music at some scenes.
Honestly wouldn't rewatch this again since it's too long and I could do without all this exaggeration in life. I might watch certain episodes just to relive the highlights of the drama, but I won't go through the whole thing again.
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The plot on paper seemed very interesting and compelling but once transferred to the screen, its weak points were revealed. The plot moved quite slow, especially in regards to the main couple's loveline. Since this is a drama ultimately focused about relationships, I expected, and was not surprised, by the ups and downs of a relationship. However, what ultimately disappointed me was the way these ups and downs were shown. The common tropes about a cheating ex who won't let go, the bratty third party, a meddling mother, etc. are all nothing new and didn't add anything exciting to the storyline. Rather, it made it predictable and quite boring.
Acting: (8.5/10)
The actors honestly were the ones who saved this drama. Although the character themselves are written very 2D, I must commend the actors and actresses for bringing them to life and adding depth. The good acting and chemistry between the main leads were the only reason I didn't drop this drama entirely.
Overall: (7/10)
This drama could have been great, but ultimately felt flat with the weak writing, even with the great acting. I would not watch this drama again, or if I did, I would skip the first 2/3 and get right into the meat with our main couple. The side characters are very 2D and common tropes you can see in any other romance storyline, so eventually they become repetitive fillers that are just there for the purpose of dragging out the storyline instead of being an actual obstacle to the relationship or allowing the couple to grow.
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The storyline was great, both romantic and funny, especially with the puns that were scattered throughout each episode. The subtle messages between that fine line of appropriate and almost-sexually-inappropriate was hilarious and wonderful. I don't think that I've actually ever watched another drama that has this same storyline, so props to the scriptwriter for originality. If there's anything that I would want them to work on, it'd be the storyline for the whole kidnapping thing. It seemed like the central theme at first, but then slowly got pushed to the side. Don't get me wrong, I'm not peeved about it, but it seemed to be dragged out a bit too long since it kind of got pushed to the shadows after the first few episodes.
The cast was fantastic! I could not have chosen anyone better to play Gong Shil than Gong Hyo Jin. I can't even imagine another actress that would have played Gong Shil's character better than how Gong Hyo Jin portrayed her. So Ji Sub was a pleasant surprise when I first heard that he joined the cast, and now that it's over, I would love to see him in more romantic comedies after this performance. He plays the character of a sarcastic but realistic CEO very well.
The OST was incredible as well. The background music was played in very well-suited parts that fit the mood, and I could not have asked for better singers that could bring forth their emotions.
Just for the comedy and the sexual-but-not-sexual puns, I would definitely rewatch this again. Even though the chemistry between the two leads isn't exactly steamy and sizzling, they definitely have that connection there. The extra episode extension was played well too, as it didn't feel rushed at all. If anything, I felt like the extra episode sort of dragged things out a bit, but it's nothing that deters the drama from it's value.
Overall, this drama was very well-done and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a romantic-comedy.
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This review may contain spoilers
Be prepared to throw common sense out the window
Being a huge fan of Marcus and Puff, I was so excited to see the two headline this drama, but I came away largely disappointed.Story: The first episode makes sense if you lost your brain somewhere in the streets of New York City. Maybe it's because it's been a while since I last watched TW dramas (last one I watched was Back to 1989, actually), but it's just so out of touch with reality and not believable at all. I honestly wanted to toss my iPad out the window just to see if it would still be alive just like how Tianxing was barely alive after falling from the rooftop of a skyscraper. BUT, if you're okay with: gangsters showing up to a corporation's board meeting, gangsters openly beating up a board member at a board meeting, siblings trying to kill each other just to get a glance(!) at the will of their (still alive) father, a murder witness not calling the police about an attempted murder, murder witness believing that there's no need to report said attempted murder because the victim is a vegetable, etc., then please, by all means, continue watching. I get that it's a fantasy romance, but there should still be some logic (especially when we're still in the real world!). It would be much more believable if there was some more underlying motivation to He Mingli's quest to murder half-brother than just wanting to be the CEO.
If you can get to the 2nd episode and beyond, you should be (mostly) in the clear as that's when we actually start to get into the main story, and we see the romance we (and Si Tu Ao Ran) know and love. In addition, the second lead syndrome is very real in this drama. so if you're one of those people who fall for our second leads, be prepared. In this case, I think the writing for the second lead is too strong, because usually even though we all silently cheer for the second lead, there's always a reason why the ML is actually more endearing and fits the FL better. Unfortunately, I, cannot really see that because Qing Feng really seems more ML material than our actual ML in how he treats our FL. Therefore, 5/10.
Acting/Cast: As I said, I love Marcus and I love Puff, they're two of my favorite TW actors, so no questions there. They've always had great chemistry with their co-stars in the dramas they've starred in before so no surprise that they have great chemistry together in this one as well. I do wish Vivian's wardrobe was better, but it's not as distracting as other dramas (cough cough Go Go Squid cough cough). Simon's acting is too good because Qing Feng has landed me solidly in the second lead's camp. 9/10
Music: I love how the music is used at appropriate times and it's not too obtrusive either. 10/10
Rewatch: He Mingli flash froze my soul and broke it into pieces while Qing Feng picked up all the pieces and glued it back together only for Si Tu Ao Ran to kick him away and sweep me into his arms. Do I want to go through this painful process again? No :( Would I watch it just for Simon as Qing Feng? Heck yes. 5/10
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One of the biggest upsets I have with Korean dramas in general is the weak female characters. Often times, they're portrayed as a damsel in distress (see Park Shin Hye's Eun Sang in Heirs) or "Candy" girls (see Han Hyo Joo's Go Eun Sung in Shining Inheritance), which can be frustrating when you're wanting a strong female lead with development and with more spunk instead of being dragged around all the time. Age of Youth, being a slice-of-life and romantic drama, manages to avoid that by showcasing the different personalities of five different women who each have their own story to tell.
While romance and lovelines certainly do play a part in the drama, it's really the relationships between the girls that really give this drama that special touch. It's about letting down your walls and allowing your friends, roommates, and significant others to care for you and tell you that it's okay when you're feeling like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Through this drama, you'll discover (or maybe rediscover) just how precious friends can be, sometimes even more so than family.
Park Eunbin is perhaps quite easily the most breakout star of this drama. She certainly has this wonderful presence on the screen that grabs your attention and is one of the most memorable characters as well. Han Yeri is also one of the more memorable characters as well. She has this great control of subtle facial expressions and is able to convey many emotions through her gaze, which is quite impressive. Ryu Hwayoung also deserves an honorable mention, as she's been playing side characters for a while and has continued to show steady improvement and growth in her acting. Her character was perhaps my favorite; strong on the outside and very straightforward in her words but she knows when to soften up and really take care of people.
While I do love this drama, if there's one thing I would say I'm dissatisfied with, it would be the ghost storyline. I feel like we've only barely scratched the surface of the stories behind the girls, and some were barely touched upon (such as the backstory of Yoon Jinmyung's brother and Jiwon's tendency to overexaggerate or overdo things at times). It would be great if we had more episodes to really flesh out the stories and get to know them better. At the same time, I can understand why we only get glimpses of their backstories as well; it's not the past that matters, but who they are now and how they choose to move forward from here on out. As people, we shouldn't live in the past, but rather keep the memories in our hearts and move forward. That's the greatest service we can do for the people we care for and the people who are not here with us today to join in our happiness and sorrows.
I would definitely rewatch this drama again. It's a pretty light-hearted drama, so if you're looking for something to sort of pass the time with, I definitely recommend this.
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Perfect for those that like How to Get Away With Murder
If you're a fan of How to Get Away With Murder's premise and set-up, Law School will most likely appeal to your taste as well.Both dramas are very similar to each other, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if Law School took inspiration from HTGAWM for their writing. Both are set in a law school and open with a murder. Both students and professors come under suspicion, suspect each other, exonerate each other, etc. as they try to figure out who the true murderer is amidst the secrets that each person is hiding. While it's early yet, hopefully Law School can show us something different from HTGAWM, as it currently just seems like a Korean remake of this drama. My rating will change depending on how this drama fleshes out its characters, and if it will bring something new to the table as it progresses along.
Actors and actresses are very well cast. I enjoy how there's no clear-cut hero/heroine, and everyone's characters are morally ambiguous. With the right price and condition, even seemingly righteous characters can do ethically questionable things and vice versa.
OST so far reminds me of Sky Castle's OST, so a little haunting, a little tense. Nothing that detracts too much away from what's on the screen.
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