This review may contain spoilers
Unsatisfying/Incomplete Ending(Beware Main Couple)
This is a wonderful and heartwarming drama.The male lead is one of the kindest and most principled male lead and characters that I have ever seen on tv. He cares so much for others, especially those who have ever shown him a slither of kindness. He’s meant to be “stupid”, but I feel he’s actually an incredibly intelligent person-he resolves every problem that comes his way without ever compromising his values/principles.
The other characters are just as great-everybody brings their own brand of special to the story.
My issues with the show are as follows:
Loony- I don’t have as big an attachment to looney as most people seem to but I still have issues with the way his story ended. It was poor writing with really crappy logic. For starters, who gets into their dealer’s car the moment after they exit prison from serving time for drugs? It’s also highly unlikely that someone who spend months in agony to get sober for a reason tied to their sobriety, chooses to shoot up or use literally a minute after they get out and when they’re like 30 mins away from getting the love of their life back. That’s stupid and I know the show was basically a “anti-drug” ad and they were trying to show how bad addiction is but that was just ridiculous. Sober people don’t necessarily crave drugs the way those using do-he went through withdrawal, and he no longer had any in his system which means his rational faculties should’ve been intact enough for him to say fuck off and keep walking-if he had fallen off the wagon a month later or something-I’d get it-but this was a minute after he got out. You’re telling me that a sober person decided that all the pain he went through to get clean for his boyfriend was worth throwing away 30 minutes before he’s reunited with his boyfriend because someone gave him a syringe? Also, this whole thing was illogical as hell-there’s entrapment and there’s ENTRAPMENT and this was ENTRAPMENT. The entire sting was pointless because it would never hold up in a court of law, they intentionally caused a citizen they are meant to protect harm, and they essentially admitted that the justice and prison system are useless by entrapping looney. It also made no sense that the cops were so worried about a junkie being back on the streets that they wasted valuable hours and resources to find his release date, locate his dealer from Japan and carry out a sting operation to coerce him to use again so they could arrest him-no one would do this unless he was freaking El Chapo or something. Why did they do it? What are they going to say when they try to indict him-we waited until this completed his sentence for his crime and then we coerced him into re-using so that we could arrest him for using because…? This would make sense if like a month later he was dealing drugs, they knew and sent an undercover agent to try to buy some from him and then arrested him-but he wasn’t committing any crime(s). They created a crime and then forced him to be the main player. The only way this ends out is looney is released and suits are filed against the department, but all his efforts would have been wasted as he would have to start all over to get clean.
The male lead’s relationship-why? Why did they show us the flashback of who she is? It was a really cute relationship until then. I loved their story when I thought they were best friends from grade who ended up falling in love, but they ruined it by showing us that she was actually they child of their coach whose house they used to stay at. I can’t reconcile with that. Some people have argued that there’s nothing wrong with their relationship because they aren’t blood related and big age differences in adults dating is a non-issue but no, just no. They aren’t blood related, but they knew each from when she was like 8 and he was like 18-he lived in her house, and she called him and his best friend uncle and then it changed to brother as time went by. He looked after her and she looked up to him as an older figure in her life. It’s one thing if he knew her when she was 8 and he was 18 and then he left and never saw her again until she was an adult and while getting reacquainted, he fell in love with her, but this is not the case. He was in her life the entire time-that’s low-key grooming. Like how can we be certain that the emotional attachment she feels towards him rn is romantic and not admiration mistaken for romantic feelings?
The ending-I understand that the show is about Je hyeok but it was also sort of an ensemble cast yet we never got to see how everybody else was doing after the time jump and that bothered me. Min-Chul who’s been in prison for like 22 years finally gets out and also gains 2 children in the process-I want to see how they are, how is he acclimating to the new world and so much more. We never get to see Captain Yoo walk out of prison, I also wanted to see if his brother’s life got back on track after pausing it to help captain yoo. Even Crony-we don’t get an estimate on how much time he has left, if he got out-has he remembered how to “be a human/person” on the outside or did he regress? What is he doing? -i thought he had a real knack for catching and could’ve potentially become a catcher.
I don’t know, if felt incomplete without knowing how everybody fared-it would have also been cool if they ended it with them in the stands at his first game back, but this really is a great show and despite this issues that I personally had with it, you should give a try. You won’t regret it.
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If you like the American drama Orange Is The New Black, you'd like this drama too!
I have one episode left, and I am shocked. I guess this drama was so good, that I didn't realize that I had made it to episode 15. If you like the American TV show, Orange Is The New Black on Netflix, you'd like this drama too! It's 90% similar, the main difference is Orange Is The New Black, setting is in a female prison, and Prison Playbook setting is in a male prison. Even the characters are very similar (e.g. the female lead in OISTNB vs male lead in PP - they are both ditsy, and Crazy Eye in OISTNB vs Looney in PP). Essentially the same show, but different actors/actresses, and a different country.This drama is not your typical Korean drama, the whole vibe is different (it rings American lol). I really liked the male lead character, besides his wonderful physique, his character was so likeable, I actually really found the actor attractive. BTW, I am not into BL, and that's the reason why I rated this drama a 9.5, instead of a 10.
Oh yeah, the soundtrack is dope (meaning good). There's this one song that is sung by a woman Korean singer on this drama, it plays every time the female and male lead characters are together, and I freaking love that song. It gives me 90's R&B vibes!
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The ost are great. Each actor/cast did a wonderfull job
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The story was inspiring & the characters were really funny and developing. Be patient if you watch episode 1 because the story will definitely get interesting. I couldn’t say more but I just want to say. you Must Watch This Drama??
Storyline: from sad, funny, suspense, romance... all are blended well in da drama.
Characters: every actors played important role not just the main role. I still love the additional Ji Ho, I think she played really important role as well. The rest of the actors were amazing & really funny ????
You won’t regret it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Bravo my life
Esse drama é incrível! Eu realmente achei ele um pouco mais lento, os episódios são longos mas ele tem uma história por trás em cada um e isso incentiva você a continuar.Eu realmente fiquei triste nos dois últimos episódios, eu queria TANTO todo mundo prestigiando ele na volta ao jogo, uma reunião 😭
Me doeu o que aconteceu com o pancada, em não saber dos outros da cela, o Dr Ko, o senhor kaist. Mas eu entendi que não tinha como mostrar no drama, era mais como o pessoal que passou pela vida do je hyeok enquanto ele estava ali na prisão, mas eu realmente queria que tivesse mostrado como eles estavam. O final deles.
Eu amei a história, os guardas prisionais. Tudo. O que eu mais gostei foram os personagens e eles que me fizeram continuar assistindo, a gente cria empatia e conexão com eles. Foi um drama muito bom e que valeu a pena. As esccolhas que eles fizeram os levaram até lá.
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On aurait presque envie d'y aller passer ses vacances...
Pour Prison playbook, j'en suis à l'épisode 10, donc plus de la moitié et j'aime toujours beaucoup !Ce n'est pas le truc qui te tient réveillée jusqu'à l'aube pour voir la suite, mais plutôt l'histoire qui s'installe tranquillement, les personnages qui s'approfondissent et auxquels on s'attache peu à peu.
Le fil rouge du joueur vedette balancé dans le milieu carcéral n'est, justement, qu'un prétexte pour voir toute une galerie de portraits (détenus au passé plus ou moins chargé et gardiens plus ou moins sympathiques)bien que le joueur lui-même ne soit pas du tout un faire-valoir banal ! On se demande au début si, à part lancer des balles, il est capable de comprendre quelque chose, mais peu à peu on s'aperçoit que derrière sa naïveté et sa maladresse indéniables se cachent un grand cœur et beaucoup de finesse !
Et j'adore voir Jung Woong-In (officier Paeng)si parfaitement odieux dans Empress Ki ou I hear your voice en gardien de prison bourru mais très humain, ça change tellement qu'au début j'étais sûre qu'il allait être le gardien sadique typique !
Alors bien sûr peu de femmes, sauf dans les flash-backs sur la vie du héros au temps de sa gloire, et aussi dans la vie du gardien Lee Joon Ho
Il y en a qui partent, (libérés, transférés, ou vers un monde meilleur… ) de nouveaux qui arrivent apportant de nouvelles histoires et de nouveaux caractères.
Bon, j'aimerais être sûre que le système carcéral coréen est comme dans le drama (il faut voir la taille de la cellule de 6 personnages centraux !!! )avec un tel soin apporté aux prisonniers (nombreuses activités, et surveillance compréhensive.. )parce qu'on pourrait envoyer en urgence notre ministre de la Justice prendre des leçons !
D'autre part le drama a clairement pris le parti-pris de rester du côté humain de la Force, car si les brimades et le côté sadique de certains petits chefs de cellule est évoqué, il reste très "soft" et plutôt en arrière plan
Maintenant je l’ai fini, et je peux conclure qu’il est vraiment agréable à suivre, les acteurs sont parfaits, et l’histoire finit comme on le souhaitait, sans cependant que ce soit ridiculement bisounours !
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Un piccolo gioiello da non perdere assolutamente!
Questo drama si è rivelato davvero una gran bella sorpresa. L'avevo messo in lista per via della presenza di Jung Kyung Ho, attore che sto apprezzando sempre di più. La serie conta in totale 16 episodi, estremamente ricchi senza mai essere frettolosi: incredibile come con un ritmo calzante ma non precipitoso, riescano a susseguirsi un gran numero di eventi in un singolo episodio. Il tempo sembra dilatarsi, in senso positivo, si arriva alla fine di ogni puntata soddisfatti di quanto appena visto e contenti del fatto che ce ne siano ancora altri da vedere.La sceneggiatura è solida, il background complesso e ben curato. L'attenzione dedicata alla serie si evidenzia sotto molti aspetti, dalle riprese, dal montaggio, dalla sceneggiatura stessa, dalla cura per i dettagli. Forse un attimo di smarrimento all'inizio del terzo episodio, dove ho avuto l'impressione di un tratto disconnesso dalla fine dell'episodio precedente, ma pazientando un poco tutto torna nello schema logico. Belle le riprese che diverse volte sfumano quasi nel bianco/nero, mai per caso ma sempre a sottolineare momenti salienti. Se parliamo dell'ambientazione, ci troviamo davanti a una serie ambientata per la maggior parte del tempo all'interno di un penitenziario ma dove la tematica sportiva del baseball è di fatto costante e motore di tutta la storia. Presenta l'accenno di due storie d'amore, un coppia che si riunisce e una che si forma da zero (che poi è quella che più ho apprezzato). Parlo di accenno perchè il fulcro del drama è in realtà l'aspetto bromance, ovvero il legame tra quelli che a conti fatti sono i due protagonisti, due amici - migliori amici d'infanzia e del periodo scolare - ritrovatisi in età adulta vestendo i ruoli rispettivi del detenuto e del secondino. Una delle poche cose che non ho compreso, anzi diciamo l'unica, è come mai i due si fossero persi di vista da un decennio, dato che erano migliori amici e che, una volta che il destino fa incrociare nuovamente le loro strade, riprendono lo stretto rapporto di prima come se l'amicizia, negli anni, fosse rimasta intatta. Ad ogni modo, dall'interazione non solo a parole ma anche negli sguardi, nelle azioni e nei gesti trapela questo stretto legame, questa fiducia indissolubile e conoscenza dell'altro, dove con uno sguardo si può capire il non detto e il non voluto dire. Davvero, il sentimento fraterno è rappresentato in modo impeccabile. Loro due sono i protagonisti del drama, ma la storia è ricca grazie anche a numerosi personaggi secondari che tanto secondari non sono, ma che con le loro singole vicende calcano a turno la scena. Dal Galeotto al Pazzo (una delle figure più complesse, con storia altrettanto complessa alle spalle), al capitano Yoo, al tenente Paeng (splendido personaggio interpretato da un bravissimo Jung Woong In, che per una volta non veste i panni del cattivo di turno ma sa ritagliarsi un ruolo di tutto rispetto nello schieramento dei buoni). Per quanto riguarda Jung Kyung Ho (l'attore che interpreta Lee Joon Ho), ha dimostrato ancora una volta grande talento e versatilità: è un attore che trovo sempre molto sobrio - anche nei momenti divertenti e scherzosi - con un'eleganza intrinseca che sa esprimere attraverso gli sguardi, il portamento e la voce (di quest'ultima, timbro e cadenza mi ricordano incredibilmente quella di Namgoong Min, punta di diamante tra gli attori coreani, per quanto mi riguarda). Che dire, una serie davvero complessa e completa, di alto livello e con minimi difetti, che consiglierei a chiunque di vedere perchè davvero merita! Non do il massimo come valutazione poiché sono irrimediabilmente fan dei grandi romance, e questo no lo è, nessun batticuore da grande amore al centro della scena. Ma, al di là di questo motivo, è come se gli avessi dato il massimo del punteggio. Da non perdere!
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Corre y mírala!!!!
Hace tiempo que tenía Prison Playbook en mi lista de series para ver. No me había decidido aún porque el tema de prisiones es duro y tenía ganas de ver algo más light. Las calificaciones estaban claras, es de las series más valoradas en MYD y está en el top junto a otras series maravillosas como Goblin o las Reply y no es para menos. Si estás en la misma situación que yo, dudando, no lo hagas y corre a verla, porque netflix está haciendo sitio en su catálogo de dramas y están desapareciendo algunas joyas. Y esta es una joya que reluce de verdad. Tantos valores tiene este drama, tantas enseñanzas, es una gema maravillosa, una serie para ver y revisar no una sino muchas veces, con actuaciones asombrosas, superlativas, historias muy tiernas y emotivas, y uno de las amistades más maravillosas de dramalandia y un romance que es muy "cute"!!!! Además todo está contado con tanta maestría, que sus capítulos de hora y media se te pasan en un santiamén y tienes la tentación de ver otro capítulo cuando sabes que es una locura y que la noche está para dormir. Esta serie es un arte, nada es excesivo, todo está muy bien hecho, los flahsbacks donde conocemos las historias de los diferentes personajes son un 10, la música es fantástica, los momentos comicos son hilarantes y los momentos emotivos son buaaaa, he llorado sin parar con ellos!!! Para siempre en mi top de series "slice of life". Además y eso es importante para mi, tiene un final satisfactorio para casi todos los personajes!!!!Was this review helpful to you?
Não existem pessoas ruins, apenas pessoas que fizeram escolhas ruins.
A trama conta a história de Je-Hyuk, um famoso jogador de beisebol que está prestes a assinar com um time americano, até que um acidente ocorre e ele descobre que irá perder sua liberdade indo para a prisão. Ele defende sua irmã de uma tentativa de estupro, e o estuprador acaba falecendo.Comecei achando que seria uma série pesada por se passar em uma prisão e por já começar desse jeito, mas a verdade é que todos os episódios contam com uma BOA dose de humor. Com personagens carismáticos (saudades, Pancada), a autora nos mostra que não existem pessoas ruins, mas sim pessoas que tomam decisões erradas na vida.
A série fala sobre resiliência, amizade e amor. Mesmo em um ambiente que parece nada ter a ver com isso.
Os episódios têm em torno de 1h30 (juro que por mim teria até mais) e a trama se aprofunda em cada um dos personagens para conhecermos suas histórias a fundo. Total o estilo da autora Lee Woo-jeong, que também foi responsável por Reply 1988 e Hospital Playlist. Inclusive, se você viu esses dois, vai se surpreender com vááários atores atuando nessa série também.
Minha única decepção foi o último episódio não ter mostrado MUITA coisa dos personagens que passaram pela vida do Je-Hyuk. Mas fica na imaginação, já que segunda temporada que é bom, nada. Coreia, por que faz isso comigo?
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