Refreshing

To be very honest, i went into this drama with low expectations. My initial perception was that this was just another one of those dramas they try to weave in too much unnecessary fantasy and romance. But it really exceeded my expectations. I feel like it really touched me because I could relate to how some of them felt, and before I knew it there would be tears in my eyes. It’s really what koreans call a ‘healing drama’, it’s short and light, but heavy at the same time when it hits to close to home. The way the story played out was largely smooth but I feel like the last episode could’ve been broken into 2 episodes instead with a cliffhanger. I didn’t like how the problem was just solved so fast and they could do whatever they wanted again,, like isn’t that against the rules of atonement and karma as they emphasised so much on in the front? But it was mostly great, and I really enjoyed it :-) Finished it in 2 days lol.

As for the casting, I personally adored choi wonyoung. He fits his role so well, and i could literally feel the warmth oozing out from him through my phonescreen to me LOL. He was the embodiment of sweet for me lol everytime he appeared w his unkempt hair and made one of those casual but extremely thoughtful statements I would freak out HAHA in a goodway. And hwang jung eum, i honestly thinks she is a pretty good fit for this role, her voice is soo good for the nagging scenes lol and she’s like young but old at the same time(?) she has that vibe. Yooksungjae- I’m sorry he’s just a meme to me. Whenever his gf would pinch him and say MY BOYFRIEND IS SO HANDSOME I’ll cringe lol. And I feel like this role is so UN-him it feels slightly weird. But he did a good job with the acting. However, the real problem I had was with the bodyguard. Overall, this actress didn’t deliver the vibes I think the story intended for the character to give off. She didn’t feel tough or unapproachable, or even cold when I could tell she was supposed to, and tbh the stunt scenes to me looked very weak (not very cool). I’m not saying it’s the actress’s fault, she did a good job w the acting, it’s just that she isn’t the best fit for sure. I wished they casted someone who could portray the coldness of her character, the warmth and shyness underneath that, as well as the tiredness of the alter ego from her previous life.

But overall, this drama is fantastic. Before I knew it, I was done. Smiling as Choi Wonyoung and Hwang Jungeum smiled back at me through my tiny phone screen lol

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I just finished this drama, I don’t know where to start on how good it is. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be one of my favourites, dongbaek just seemed like a character that I would get tired of watching with his impulsiveness. But I found myself unable to drop the drama, even though I usually prefer to marathon dramas instead of watching 2 episodes a week because of my short attention span. I followed it closely every week, the storyline just got better and better and dongbaek slowly grew on me. And Han Sunni omygosh, she’s my idol. I loved Lee Seyoung in this, I really hope she gets more of these serious roles. Yoo Seungho is one of those actors I like but don’t seriously follow, but he did decent in this drama I guess, I would personally have preferred if he was more intense and fierce, but at this point I don’t think it’s his acting but his boyish visuals HAHA.

The plot is great but I feel like the pacing could have been a lil better. The prologue was dragged too long, and I felt like I was most likely to drop the drama after the 1st two episodes. Otherwise, episodes 4-14 onwards were all pretty great. I also felt like the last episode was a lil rushed. Things just kept happening and they could’ve been developed a lil more. Also not a fan of the last episode “smile while doing everything” ”tie up loose end vibe”, but that’s just me. I love the fact that there’s no romance in this. If they tried to squeeze in a kiss or some slow or heart fluttering moment I would’ve probably dropped this. The characters stayed true to their personalities and watching their teamwork made me smile. These 2 individuals which are so drastically different in their thoughts and actions always managed to reach the same goal with their own methods. The storyline is not like your typical serial killer, 1-case-per-episode drama, it was an entire web of discovering his past + identity, corrupted officials and a thin line between right and wrong, many characters struggled because of their unwavering belief to follow their morals and *no spoilers*

Alarge part of what made the drama so good was the cinematography, the appropriate use of angles and slowmo. It made the tension rise at every scene and I was always left in curious confusion after every scene. Seriously!! I can’t elaborate on this because I’m not an expert but it really really contributed to how great this drama was and is honestly one of the most essential things for crime dramas.

I saw a lot of people complaining about the music but I personally didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. I loved the 2 themes they played at the end of each episode and the beginning theme got me excited for each episode. Also that one creepy track they played everytime one of the detectives went exploring made me so anxious and tensed.

Loved it, as much as every single one of my romance or contemporary faves. Definitely worth a watch and rewatch.
9/10 because it doesn’t deserve that full marks yet, but it was A in every sense.

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One word to describe this drama: meh. If I had other better dramas to watch, I would’ve probably dropped this. But personally, I don’t like leaving tasks uncompleted so I made myself finish it and tbh, after finishing it, it wasn’t all that bad.

The start was pretty interesting, when they introduced the characters etc etc. But the middle part just got so draggy and boring. And the ‘interesting’ scenarios were all too typical. I feel like there was no storyline for the middle 5 episodes at all ... the storyline in general isn’t the best but the setting was good, like the idea of the matchmaking agency etc and the kings story etc but the small milestones were all so insignificant and boring. Personally, I really hated the 2 lead roles, I just didn’t like the fact that she fell in love w the matchmaker and I was shipping her w the king all along, it actually took me pretty long to realise he wasn’t the male lead zzz

The actors in this are all fantastic on their own, I don’t dislike any of them but together, I felt like the 2 leads were very awkward (not their acting but compatability in general) I just didn’t enjoy watching them at all and many lines felt very cringy and forced to me, even as a melo kdrama fanatic. However, this drama really drew me towards seo jihoon, i feel like he shone the most to me. His crying scenes made me want to cry too and when he looked at gaettong w those eyes, my heart melted istg. I felt like he really outshone Kim Minjae in this, which is strange since I actually really enjoy Minjae’s Acting normally. Gong Seungyeon did average too, she was great sometimes but there were some scenes that were just so awkward.

I feel like it has potential to do so much better, if they made a few tweaks to the plot and did some recasting. I feel like Kim Minjae wasn’t the most suitable for this role, he really didn’t manage to stand out. Seungyeon, however, despite her not fantastic acting skills honestly fit the character pretty well in my opinion. But they need to cut down the number of crying scenes istg theres at least 2 people crying every episode.

The couple that felt more natural and I actually enjoyed watching were the 2nd Leads. I felt much more chemistry watching them than the main leads. And the way the guy looked at the girl omg my heart beat so fast,, they cast him pretty well in my opinion, he had that seductive vibe LOL.

The music was fairly good, no complaints. Overall, this drama was meh. It could’ve been much better but wasn’t terrible. And I can see why so many people dropped it and why others like it so much. It’s a mix of typical cringe + a interesting setting so it’s worth a try if you think you’ll like it, I guess.

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