The second half of the drama was not as much fun and may be interesting to people under the age of 25 or those who are still interested in philosophy. I found the second half pretty predictable plot wise, but did enjoy the struggles these young people went through.
The end was very satisfying.
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The story of this drama was epic. 7 (actually 8, including Kang Mi Reu) students remaining behind at school during the winter holidays because of letters that were sent to them, because of the sins they had all committed going towards the death of a student. That itself is just an amazing synopsis and was enough to pull me into the amazing world of White Christmas. It's full of thrills, laughter and anxiety, which is all the elements needed to make a great psychological drama.
Everyone in this drama was amazing. Previously, when I watched Hyde, Jekyll, Me and High Society, I didn't have much respect for Sung Joon as an actor, but now, I have a lot. He played his character of Choi Chi Hoon exceptionally and he definitely was one of my favourite characters of the series. I don't know what happened to his acting over time, but at least I know he's done one well done character. But, of course, Kim Woo Bin (who played Kang Mi Reu) was, by far, my most favourite character. From what I've seen, this is Woo Bin's first drama and he did a superb job. His popularity is definitely understood. I also want to give my hand to the actors who played Yang Kang Mo and Lee Jae Kyu, because their acting was so great to watch. The only actor I had a problem with acting was Lee El, who acted out the character of Oh Jung Hye. I liked her at first when she was messing around with Mi Reu, but her acting dropped rapidly when she came across Kim Yo Han. I don't want to see that happening when a character suddenly changes. If the character changes, the acting still shouldn't.
I loved the soundtrack to White Christmas, it was such a lovely listen. My favourites were the Opening Sequence, and the one track I don't know the name of but happened during most intense scenes. Although I do wish the staff of White Christmas made its own soundtrack for the drama, but I still loved most songs in it, so I don't mind all that much. Not much else to say, but listening to the entire soundtrack without the drama is such a great thing to do.
I would love to watch this again, but this drama wouldn't be as thrilling to watch when you know what is going to happen. That's the problem with most thriller-psychological dramas. Once you've watched it once, you'll never be able to return to a state of ignorance towards the series, and enjoy it as much as you did the first time.
Besides Lee El's sudden acting change, White Christmas was a great ride to watch and I would most definitely recommend this drama to anyone. Anyway, I enjoyed watching White Christmas and it's the most compelling drama I've seen. Also, Kim Woo Bin with red hair is extremely sexy.
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This review may contain spoilers
Hard to get to the end
How can I start it. The drama seemed really promissing, the plot was great, the story at the beginning really caught my attention, but then, the slow pace, the useless long dialogs started to make me lose interest. It seemed like they were stalling to fill those 8 episodes with unnecessary scenes like 5 minutes of the boys playing shirtless on the snow .Plus the biggest hole in the story is how the hell the teacher was still alive, and if he was alive who was that person dead under the snow!
I have to admit that situation had a deep meaning, but the execution was terrible and it was a shame.
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The drama is special from other dramas because of the plot and writing. The plot about elite students being taken hostage by a crazy man is really interesting and I think that the writers and producers did a really good job and how to make the murder mystery work. The drama is short which makes it much more approachable for the viewer to start the drama.
What is worth noting is that the cast is absolutely amazing! So many famous actors today are in the drama and it is so interesting to see them so young. The group of students are what makes the drama so great. They are an interesting group of different types and all of them gives something to the story.
I would definitely recommend this drama! The drama is a bit slower and on the older side, but it is a real gem!
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This review may contain spoilers
White Christmas is a psychological thriller. Mystery is important in the beginning, but that is not the focus of the drama. Instead, this drama focuses on human behavior and begs the question: "Are killers born or made?". I admit this drama is a bit boring at the start, but you really have to stick to it. I even dropped it the first time I tried watching it, but I'm so glad I made the decision to go back and finish it. The conclusion does not disappoint. I have actually watched this drama 4 times. I have only ever rewatched one other drama, and I only rewatched it once. I notice new things every time I rewatch White Christmas, and I love every minute of it. A huge bonus: The fan videos of it are great! (But I don't recommend watching fan videos until you finish it, as there are spoilers in most of them.) Was this review helpful to you?
Despite all the nature vs. nurture psychobabble, this drama doesn’t really address it that much. I think they used the theme to knit it together but it didn’t quite gel for me.
I’ve been meaning to watch this one for ages.
To start with, there’s a long list of suspects that appear to have the potential to be a crazy killer. We’ve got a bullying sociopath, giggly rockstar, victimised nerd, a silent mathematician, etc. I enjoyed the characterization of each personality.
The history of how each character relates to another is all slowly revealed. Why does this one hate that one? There are some really complicated relationships.
“Why didn’t I ever confess? The Eun Sung that I like the best is the Eun Sung that’s with you.”
Yoon Su – the muso
“It’s OK. It’s my fault for being born into a rich family.”
Moo Yul – the obedient one
Moo Yul is the guy you need in a crisis.
“Besides, Park Moo Yul is there. He’ll take care of it.”
Yep, for some reason Moo Yul has this magic about him that makes the toughest bullies and the most stand-offish characters listen to him. They respect him – they know he’s fair. He has to break up so many fights the poor guy.
He’s a really average kind of dude. Smaller than the others, 2nd place in the academic ranking and motherless. He has his own grievances against his classmates that seem slight, but it turns out there’s something more. Of course there is.
Jae Kyu – the follower
I found it funny that this guy is just like Moo Yul 2nd. I was just glad to have him around so Moo Yul wasn’t alone. In a world of loners having an ally really helped double the power of rationality. I found Jae Kyu’s presence comforting.
Chi Hoon – the genius
We don’t see much of this guy, but he comes in and out at key points to make a good point or ask the important questions. He actually becomes really important and his quiet reliability was on point. I loved how he always supported Moo Yul and those intense stares when they needed to communicate without words was great.
Despite them all keeping their distance from each other like typical study-holic students they still have some sense of camaraderie.
There’s an unusually limited use of music. We get heaps of silence at critical moments.
Musical complaint: or maybe a translation complaint? Kang Mo said he was playing the cow bells in school but the flashback clearly shows him playing hand bells.
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Overall, I'm glad I did but it really wasn't as exciting or suspenseful as some of the reviews made it out to be. The first half of the series dragged and was quite boring. The second half picked up and got better. I wouldn't say it wasn't worth the watch and there were things I liked about it. But I can't give it a much higher score due to the 1) slow, dragging pace of practically half the show and 2) there is a glaring plot hole that stretches my suspension of disbelief a little too much. Let's say that in these type of shows, the police/authorities are usually portrayed as somewhat inept in order for the leads shine in the detective/issue solving. In this case, the error was over the top- I couldn't even imagine a rookie cop making such a mistake. I know they wrote it this way so that the leads could have a needed showdown with the antagonist but I had to take away major points since the flaw is inexcusable.
There are good things about White Christmas. All of the teen leads did a good job with the acting and were able to potray the differences in their characters, as well as represent their character issues well. I also liked how each of them (with the exception of Cho Chi Hoon/Cho Ji Hoon) got some character arc focus at some point in the drama. Park Mo Yul was clearly the MVP, but each of them had their moment to 'shine' or something like that. Their interactions with each other, and with the adult characters, were the highlights of the show for me.
I think White Christmas was trying to achieve something unique with the crime/mystery genre but I'm not sure if it succeeded. I will say that it had significant differences compared to the run of the mill whodunnit murder mystery, police procedural or even Battle Royal/Hunger Games type of show where the leads are pit against each other...but did those differences amount to a cohesive plot where all loose ends are tied up in a way that is credible? I'm not so sure. The drama goes on and on about whether or not 'monsters are made or born?' but it doesn't really resolve it (or even leave an open ended question) in a way that made sense.
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If you find Thriller/ Detective/ Unique/ Mystery/ Suspense drama to watch, it will the NO.1 I would like to recommend.
Im defenately impressed by the thought of the mudder that he wants to test "the mosters were born naturally or they are made". The mudder's psychology and the storyline are both well here.
The music and the scenes are really professional as same as Hollywood movies/dramas
And it's totally my mistake if I dont mention that the main actors here are so handsome :)) (they are all Korean models)
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When I started the series, I actually got bored a little since the suspense was a bit slow, but as I continue watching it I just simply got hook since the development of the charas were drastically amazing, especially that they were all student.
I've been watching a lot of crime mystery series now a days, and I'm not quite satisfied with the ending like on Gapdong and Hello Monster, but this series is one of the exception since its ending was terrific. I love how the writer twisted the story like that, and though it was a bit tragic, somehow it was still a happy ending with a really big bang on your consciousness and brain.
So to finalize this review, I do hope that many people would watch this since it is also an eye opener not only to teenage, but also to the parents who raised them. :)
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This review may contain spoilers
More than shirtless boys frolicking in the snow
I feel like this one will stick with me forever.I don't think a lot of people would like White Christmas.
It's slow and dark.
There's no romance or intentional comedy.
It's shot in 60 fps.
It's snowing the entire time.
But I love love love this show. It's so good. 10/10 if you like slow, deep & psychological film with that weird nostalgia for the time it was set. It's 2019 now, so the clothes, phones, music, ways of interacting in 2011 become a feature you can't ignore.
Most epic scenes are followed by Arcade Fire, literally. That just seals it in that time period.
You also can't ignore the era back then that was shooting every drama in 60 frames per second. The hd soap opera effect with barely edited audio.
The characters are acted out brilliantly. I can never put my finger on why this film does so much for my interest. It feels like it could easily be a play on a stage. Like you are watching more of a play of dialogues and monologues rather than a film.
It's psychological and strange.
The question it explores the entire time is;
"Are monsters created or are they born that way?"
A boy enters a boarding school and finds a journal hidden in his room from the previous student.
That student had been driven to suicide by a group of students and one teacher.
The new boy plots revenge on behalf of the dead kid.
These characters stay behind at school during Christmas break.
The revenge kind of goes to hell when a serial killer shows up in the guise of a doctor whose car crashed.
They're trapped in the school for eight days because an avalanche blocks roads & phones don't even work.
There's not a single one of them who is mentally stable if not actually psychotic.
By the end I realized these characters and their dynamics around the concept of "trust" really affected me.
You see this struggle between hope, despair and escapism along with character developments that make it even more difficult to ever forget. I watched this two months ago and my mind still wanders to what happened with the kids in White Christmas.
The camera placements were so unique and these things are ultimately what gives psychological dramas their "feel." The snow everywhere was a huge part of the frames used for the isolation, awe and hopelessness felt by the characters.
The scene cuts into flashbacks felt painful to take in while watching the story unfold. To realize how fucked up these kids all are.
The characters are what makes this whole show great. They are almost slightly exaggerated into their traits and behaviours. Taking their emotions nearly too far in most scenes. And the quiet between those scenes is even more beautifully depicted. The actors made all of it seamless.
The ending of White Christmas is brilliantly dark, hands down. Endings have such a huge effect on the entire experience of taking in any series, always with the potential to ruin everything. The ending here ruins nothing and feels awesome to watch after all they had been through. For the mindfucks the entire drama delivered in every episode.
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The first six episodes (so almost all of the show) are all very slow, and the character building feels un-organic and added on. I can not stress how slow this show moves, even in the more 'thriller' like scenes, the editing cuts down the pace.
I will say that the last two episodes, the last one especially, were the highlight of the show. Finally bringing some of the psychological thriller elements that I had been waiting for - especially the ending was a highlight for me.
Another issue I found, was that the characters weren't likable, especially the main character Moo Yul, who was like watching a wall act. I don't think the problem there was Baek Sung Hyun's performance, instead the character Moo Yul was just incredibly boring.
Some things I did like about the show: The story line/idea of it all, though it wasn't executed as well as it could have. The soundtrack was amazing and really fit the vibe of the show. The cast really did their best with the material especially Kim Sang Kyung. And the visuals were great as well.
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To hear more of our thoughts on the drama, check out our podcast review of the first episode.
https://certifiednoonas.podbean.com/e/certified-holiday-spirit/
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