why such low reviews?
am i the only one who actually enjoyed it? the rewatch value may not be high but it was still good, i honestly have no clue why right now the reviews are this low, to me i actually enjoyed the drama and thought it was quite good. i enjoyed the acting and the storyline, i suppose the reviews may not be high now due to it being new. the cast was good in my thoughts and it had quite a few plot twists but some were expectable, still, it was not as bad as some people put it. i also liked how it only had 8 episodes, and that they didn't drag the story out to 16 episodes as it usually is in kdramas, it was the perfect length and i really hope it gets the recognition it deserves because in my thoughts it was actually good and enjoyable!Was this review helpful to you?
Ready-made. Still worth seeing. Social satire about status & by all means climbing up social ranking
"Remarriage and Desires" tackles a central theme of South Korean social life: who should I, can I, must I or do I want to marry? Marriage, family and status throughout the centuries have been forming a magical triad in this Confucian shaped country - a triad which can decide how happy or unhappy life will become... Yet, these days within the framework of the short-timed everyday life and performance-oriented professional life in modern South Korea there is simply no time for naturally meeting someone and dating. However, the right choice is crucial. So instead of spending time, you spend money and thus can be matched up professionally. This actually has a good tradition in elite circles, where matchmakers were already in high demand during past Joseon days. Arranged marriages - whether devised by shamans, personal matchmakers, professional matchmaking agencies or parents - are widespread today and have recently become trendy even among the less elite classes of society. ... As a good choice can decide everything..."Remarriage and Desires" takes this subject into the grotesque - in a satirical guise with a proper breeze of Makjang. A stately squad of spiteful, greedy contemporaries at the highest ranks are brought together to tell a bitter tale of revenge on revenge on revenge. The bad news first: the Netflix production unfortunately does not get beyond a script that has been polished for the international streaming audience and that also seems to be off the shelf. The good news: KDrama is even good at telling such ready-made stories, too. By the way, it's the intensity of the female leads who are allowed to rock the makjang-show: Bad, worse, the worst... and there still is worse (The men rather become victims and ornaments.)
My criticism: Scheme-F. Ready-made.
The heartbeat get´s lost. The depth is missing. It's not really possible to develop an emotional closeness to the protagonists. Overall, "Remarriage and Desires" thus comes across as somewhat distant and stiff in comparison. As a spectator you will feel less sympathy (from the inside) and instead watch more (from the outside).
You might binge through the (only) 8 episodes pretty quickly. But without the nuances, something is missing. For me at least. I didn´t feel an emotional bonding growing of any sort. Too bad.
However! the KDrama is still worth seeing as a satirical social study about the South Korean middle and upper class (or a general would-like-to-marry-into-the-still-higher-class class).
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This review may contain spoilers
Lamest revenge in the history of makjang revenge plans
Expectation: Makjang drama about rich people and their arranged marriage woesReality: A scorned woman's half baked attempt at revenge set in the backdrop of a dating agency for rich people
Honestly, I would barely even consider the FL's revenge as revenge, because it just involved a. telling anyone who would listen how much of a bitch Yoo Hui is. b. Trying to stop Yoo Hui from getting a man. Both of which would have failed SPECTACULARLY if not for the 2 rich MLs. Revenge was never her goal in the first place; running into Yoo Hui at the dating agency somehow reminded her that she ought to embark on the most ambitious plan of ruining someone's life with virtually no plan in place at all! Compared to the other makjang revenge drama next door (Eve), the "revenge plans" in this drama were like child's play. Thankfully, this drama is only 8 eps long so FL's idiocy and helplessness wasn't dragged on. HOWEVER, this show tried to be overly ambitious by throwing in a multitude of kdrama tropes that were sufficient to last several dramas: 1. Illegitimate child trope, 2. white truck of doom, 3.childhood sweethearts trope, 4.corrupt politicians, 5.chaebols, 6.disapproving parents 7.Getting backstabbed by your BFF and more. In particular, the politician trope was so unnecessarily convoluted and illogical and the show could have done without it. The antagonist (Yoo Hui) was portrayed fairly realistically and wasn't omnipotent like in other makjangs but her motivations were so poorly explained it was like the writers forgot halfway why they made her bad in the first place. The only bright spot in the plot was the CEO of the dating agency (Choi Yoo Sun) who was extremely charismatic and manipulative. Her backstory was never fully fleshed out but it still intrigued me more than whatever the hell Hye Sung wanted to do to get "revenge". As a whole, the whole "dating agency for rich people" premise had a lot of potential and for it to just devolve into a cliched kdrama revenge story is just sad.
Acting wise, I had higher expectations from Kim Hee Sun considering how experienced she is. She looked like she was phoning it in the whole time and her "romance" with the 2 ML could barely be considered as romance, just like her half-baked revenge plans. No intimacy AT ALL (not that you need intimacy to show romantic feelings... but still?) and barely any chemistry. Her scenes with the 2 ML just looked like she was hanging out with friends and when she got married to one of them it was like oh? okay then. She had a perpetual damsel in distress look which isn't a good thing in a revenge kdrama at all. Yoo Hui (Jung Eugene) was great and I actually found her despicable. The 2 ML's acted well, bonus points for their good looks lol.
Cinematography and music were good, and I find that in this regard Netflix always maintains a high standard. Still, the rewatch value is 0 due to the lame ass revenge plot and the low entertainment value.
Conclusion: watch only if you are a die hard fan of one of the actors. Else, don't waste your time. For a makjang that is more over the top and entertaining, watch Eve or Penthouse instead.
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Enjoyable short watch!
This 8-episode drama was enjoyable for me. I went in with 0 expectations but simply knowing Kim Heesun is in the cast. The story was not over-complicated but my only complaint is there were many characters to keep up with.The tension between Hye-Seung & Yoo-hee was building up throughout the drama. Both Kim Hee-sun & Jung Eugene did wonderfully in their roles. Jung Eugene literally took on the role of Yoo-hee and basically acted out such a horrible character that makes you hate her
Overall, I enjoyed the plot twists the writers dropped in but I think towards the end I expected/predicated things would end that way. Good resolution to the drama!
It was an enjoyable watch and if anyone wishes to watch, give it a try!
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Too short with underdeveloped plots and loose ends
Completed - 8/30/2022First half - 8.0
Second half - 7.0
Makjangs or makjang-like dramas are usually not my kind of genre. I’ve only watched “Sky Castle” so far and I’ve enjoyed it. So I am not sure how makjang-like “Remarriage and Desires” is. I would say that it was very interesting to see what the rich will do to gain power and money through marriages and remarriages. The good and bad thing about this drama is that it’s only 8 episodes long. You don’t need to worry about a draggy plot in the middle, yet you should worry about under-developed plots and loose ends.
I quite enjoy the first half of the drama and would rate it a solid 8.0, but a 7.0 in the second half, especially the ending. There are way too many loose ends that weren’t tied, and everything just magically resolved because the main plotline is completed. I was excited to see Kim Hee Sun again after “Tomorrow” where she was such a cool badass female lead. Unfortunately, I am disappointed in her role and acting.
Since this is a short drama, I’ll forgo my usual long review/ranting and go with quick bullet points of what I like and dislike.
What I Like:
1. High production value - glitzy, sexy, beautiful sets and costumes. Jin Yoo Hee has the most beautiful outfits in this drama. I love the scenes at the masquerade and wanted to see more.
2. Interesting setting with Rex, the high-end matchmaking company for the rich and powerful. It’s interesting to see how they match people up.
3. Jung Eugene (as Jin Yoo Hee) - she is sexy as hell and makes me hate her so much, thus, translates to excellent acting on her part. She is the STAR ⭐️ of the show.
4. I like the theme song - matches the feel and tone of the drama.
What I Don’t Like:
1. Boring and Bland female lead - I was waiting for her to do something more exciting to seek revenge. The whole revenge storyline is not revengeful enough.
2. Aside from being a little younger than the other rich guys, I don’t see the appeal for Lee Hyung Ju.
3. Not enough time to develop a believable romance; no chemistry at all especially from our boring female lead.
4. Many events and conversations were told instead of shown.
5. Ending - too many loose ends and everything just magically resolves. What about the company troubles? Legal troubles? Business partner trying to take over? All goes ‘poof’ just because the main revenge plot is over.
Other Random Observations:
1. Choi Yoon Sun (CEO of Rex) moves and talks so slowly. She gives me an evil and cunning queen vibe.
2. Two male leads have cakey and unflattering make-up. Personally, they are not my kind of handsome.
3. I got cheated by the poster. FL does not give off that vibe at all in the drama.
4. What is up with the ugly wedding dress?
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Maybe I expexted too much going in
I don't know why but the fact that it was a Netflix original made me think, it would have a stand-out storyline but turns out it was a very average show, that could have been easily made by any other traditional korean channels like MBC, SBS etc. A expensive looking Penthouse rip-off without much substance to support it's exgaratred plot.Caricatures in the name Characters (some of the decisions 3 of our main characters make are so erratic and unexpected that it does not make any sense whatsoever).
The instrumental themes are more than good though, they are better?
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Underwhelming plot and chemistry between the leads
This type of drama is not my usual thing but the trailer looks so promising that I was waiting for the drama to drop on Netflix.I think the first few episodes were fine but then the plot sort of took a nosedive and the last 2-3 episodes I was just plowing through to see if it would get better. Despite all the crazy stuff that happens in the show, I found it quite underwhelming and I think the issue is that I just lost interest / stopped being invested in the characters. With the messy plot and lack of chemistry, I found the conclusion quite unsatisfying despite being a "happy ending".
I think one of the biggest cons of the show is that I just didn't find the romance between Seo Hye Seung and Lee Hyung Ju believable at all. He goes on dates with other women and even sleeps with one of them, and then all of a sudden he loves her even though they've just been on one dinner and gone on a boat trip together? Hmm.
I think the character I felt the most strongly about was the villain, played by Jung Eugene. I haven't seen any of her dramas in a while, but I think she played the part of the evil mistress really well although I would have liked to see more depth to her character. I feel like she was just pure evil and there were no redeeming qualities.
I would pass on this show, unless you really have nothing else to watch.
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No sparks
After Alicd and Tomorrow, I was really looking firward to a new drama with Kim Hee Seon. While actors offered a solid performance, the plot was pretty weak abd the music did not offer any help to underline the " dramatic" moments. Not even the love triangle saved the drama, since there was no chemistry whatsoever and this is because KHS made no effort ! She kept looking like an average housewife / mother, and we all know she can do better ! Not even a look showing she is interested, no holding hands or at least a hug to let het cry...And we are talking about mature people, not teenagers..Talking about makjang - Love, ft Marriage & Divorce was 10 times better, and after 3 seasons I keep hoping for the 4th..
For this, I only regret it took such good actors to make a rather unsatisfying show.
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I felt like the drama only took off after Ep 3, altho it was only 60 mins each ep, idk but it felt really slow, at least to me. it wasn't EXTRAORDINARY-ly good (like there is nothing really special or that anything stands out) but it's not bad, a short makjang revenge drama done well i guess.
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Money, Power , Betrayal and a bunch of really angry women
This is a pretty short drama showing the viewers that it is pretty tiresome for women to live in a world where men utterly suck... Can lead to a whole lot of frustration... And a feeling of wanting to get back at them by any means.As we gather some petty creative woman who will stop at littearly noting to get what they want or more like to get their revenge...Blackail, framing, embezzlement, marriage,, calling rape... And more or less anything else you can imagine. There is truly nothing these angry woman are not willing to do to get what they want or kill them all while trying.
What I love about this drama is the pure evil, the corruption, the twists and the feeling of wtf... and can a person really be that evil (apparently yes). All keeping my interst to click on that next episode and binge it in less than a day. However I did feel that the ending was a little bit predictable and kind of rushed and would have wanted another episode or two to wrap things ups a bit better. Another thing I did not like about this drama was the crying rapa narrative, as these types of things often discredit woman who have actually been raped as most women will not report this patly due to fear of accusations of crying rape.
I find it kind of cute that a man who says he only sees women as vessels for sex, somehow is the most allegeable bachelor out there... That woman, mothers heck politicians keep fighting for. While there actually is a rich, handsome guy out there who nobody seems to want to give the time of day? However for a drama not listed as a romance it actually has some pretty decent romance, feelings and unrequited love here and there. At least if you are willing to believe these people have the ability to love which I am not really sure of... Not really the type I would want to be part of but entertaining to watch.
So to sum it up, this very short drama delivers what it promises, has some pretty interesting characters and is indeed fun to watch. It may not always make sense and it may not be a masterpiece but it does the job and will cater for all your evil, corruption and revenge needs.
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Ah, netflix didn’t disappoint. At least not me!!!
I have said this before and I’ll say it again, I love makjangs!!!The story you have a weak female lead trying to make ends meet when she’s reminded of her tragic past as she sees the person who destroyed her life living on with no regrets. She then decides to do something about it.
I feel like there were a lot of things lacking in this show but I still rated it high because I loved it! Lacking as in, a lot of things were unexplored. Biggest complaint I’d have is that main leads getting lesser scenes together.
Female lead is a “weak” character who has no power. She wants to get back at the villain but has no means to back herself up. But in due time, she finds her way to get back at the villain.
Male lead is *ahem* gorgeous! I liked his character a lot. But I do wish they had some more scenes together.
Music is the last thing I want to talk about. It’s Netflix so ofcourse the ost is greaaat!
Overall, it’s a short series that will keep you entertained if you do not care much about critiquing the shortcomings. If you’re a fan of Penthouse and High Class you should give this a shot. It’s entertaining to say the least
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Could have been better
This really should have been a full 16 episodes, at least. There was no character development, no backstories, a lot of the connections between characters didn't make a lot of sense, the pacing was off - so many missing pieces. It almost felt like a waste of great talent, like an outline of a really good makjang. I only recently started to appreciate the over-the-top silliness of makjangs, and this one still had me yelling at the tv even though it was partly out of confusion lol. The kdrama format is going in a direction that I'm not particularly fond of with Netflix, first with multiple seasons and now with cliffs notes versions of dramas.Was this review helpful to you?
