When the Devil Calls Your Name (2019)

This drama was such a contradiction.

The first half was so poignantly and beautifully written while the second half was just plain bad writing. The music was phenomenal with stunning instrumental and heartwarming lyrics, yet the drama used those songs so repetitively that I got sick of them a little bit by the end. The acting was unbelievably amazing and yet, there was a lot of over done theatrics.
I cried, laughed, cared so much, and yet there were times where I was bored out of my mind.

It appeared quite sunny and cheerful on the surface but it had a lot of deep, dark psychological elements to it. The main character Ha Rip (Jung Kyung Ho) is goofy, sexy, mean like a feral kitten and oh so adorable and yet his actions were greedy, desperate, selfish and downright awful. It's painfully slow at times and yet it moves so fast in others. It's horribly predictable in one episode and then there's mind fuckery waiting for you the next.

It's both so good and so bad. Depending on which you choose to focus on, the drama will become that for you.

Despite all the bad, I personally enjoyed my time with it. I forged a connection with all the characters and felt so sentimental in almost every episode. I wish it was better written and all the unnecessary draggy parts to stretch the episodes weren't added but I felt like the cast did their best with it and it showed.

P.S Jung Kyung Ho. Enough said.

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What a pity the drama ended. I have been saying this since beginning, but I think that it's still underrated. I have a lot to write, hence I don't know with what I ought to start.

The ending! It was so good! For me, no matter how good drama was, last episode is always the worst, even when the ending was happy. I think that a lot of writers and directors struggle with this topic - If I was a one, I would too. It's so hard to let go of your own characters, tie everything together and deliver the right emotions and message to viewers. Here, chapeau bas! I can confidently say that it was my favorite last episode ever. I cannot recall any other ending that did such a great impression on me. I will praise creators of this drama for a long time. I'm almost 100% sure that we didn't have any plot holes and everyone's actual situation/ending were explained.

I truly loved these characters! The actors here were an absolutely top tier. I had been watching actors I knew before and some new faces for me that I automatically added to lists with my favorites. At the beginning of this series I commented here that "all of them have their good and bad sides, which can't be that obvious in the context of this drama". I still think the same. The story and relationships were unique. Creators misleaded us countless times. Also, I learnt so much thanks to this drama. The story, sentences and morals were meaningful.

It is almost hard to believe that this is a drama. It has a lot of movie vibes. I think it would be even better to watch the whole series at one time and I will definitely rewatch it.

I was surprised that a lot viewers were confused with episodes 12/13 and 14. In my opinion, scenes you didn't like, direction and pace of them were somehow meaningful and in the beat of the scenario. They greatly highlighted main sense and concerns of this story, even when you found it extravagant.

I adored all of the plot twists here. Usually, I could predict some of them but here... Not really. It is one of the biggest virtue - you never knew what else can happen. They handled it in the best way and I was surprised almost every episode. Definitely on one of the highest positions in my ranking with dramas which were the best in this topic.

Music. It nourished my soul and I will listen to the one of the best OST's in the history for a long weeks or months. I memorized these songs so well. They're just beautiful: words and melodies are worth every minute. The actors did a great job singing here.

Definitely in my top three of favorite dramas ever. Everything was so consistent and I can't criticize anything here. I will miss it so much. If you didn't watch it, I encourage you to do so.

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