KSO
The Couch Downstairs
I know, I know... This is like the fifth time I gave a show the score 8.0... in a row...
I swear I'm not trying to be lazy, but for some reason, that's just my score for average shows. Which matches perfectly to what this is to me: Average.
I'm glad to have it completed, although I'm a bit irritated over certain things.
But even with the irritation, I found myself really enjoying other parts, making so much good and bad to deliberate over.
So let's cut into the turkey!
Story 〆(・∀・＠): I'm not a huge historical person, so that part of the show isn't what drew me in. I went in not expecting much and was already surprised by how the show begins. It starts in the past, but not in a flashback type of way. The first few episodes illustrate the conflicts and introduce the characters (their child versions that is). I was a bit unsure about it, but believe me when I say that the beginning is probably one of my favorite parts of the show. It started so strong, and the child actors all did amazing. One of them even did better than their adult counterpart, which I'll discuss later. This made my average expectations turn into overloading excitement. METS had one of my favorite beginnings. And getting to watch Heo Yeon-woo "die" was enjoyable. I'm not trying to sound like a cold-blooded monster, but just seeing everyone's acting and the emotional turmoil so early on made me feel extremely invested. She didn't actually die, so maybe that's why I liked it so much.
The excitement slowly died in the middle, though. Everything felt so flat, and all the hopes I had for it turned into boredom. It was never too severe, and I still found a way to enjoy it, but it definitely does not hold a candle to the emotional beginning. The second half picked the pace back up, but it still never felt the same. The characters slowly got more irritating to me, and the unused potential it had made me feel bad. Regardless of that, I still found myself liking the show quite a bit. There was more good than bad in the final few episodes, which is why I'm a bit more forgiving. But not enough to where I can feel the same investment I once felt.
I also feel that it should be known that this is a romance through and through. The whole political aspect didn't feel as enforced and seemed like a side story to the leads' romantic journey. Everything centers around the two lovers, and all their decisions were made with the other one in mind. I'm all for an undying romance, but it becomes a bit of an issue when that makes the characters into flat pieces of cardboard. There were still a lot of cute moments with emotional ones not far behind. The two leads did have a chemistry that I can get behind, but I wished the writers exceeded them.
But as much as I keep ragging on METS, I will admit that the heartwarming moments did manage to reach me. There was so much passion put into it by the actors and made the dull moments somehow likable. If you're into romance, then this is your show, but if not, I wouldn't recommend it.
Acting ｡゜(｀Д')゜｡: I wish I could say that all the actors did flawlessly. To be honest, 90% of them did do a fantastic job. You have to consider that they had to find child and adult actors that had some sort of resemblance to each other, so there was a pretty big limitation put up. But casting wise, they did spectacular. Some characters didn't look exactly the same, but close enough to where I could believe it. For example, the two actors playing Princess Min-hwa (Jin Ji-hee and Nam Bo-ra) could honestly be sisters. They were just one of the many pairs of successful casting that I witnessed. So massive round of applause in that department!!
Without appearance in mind, the acting was also done really well. As I mentioned earlier, there were many emotional scenes that only hit the mark due to its cast of talented actors. Most of them I already knew, so I had a lot of faith that they could do anything the writers gave them. The only one I had a problem with is Han Ga-in. I don't blame her entirely since the writers had a hand in worsening her character, but she just felt like an emotionless piece of bread to me. Her younger self was a much more established character with a much more likable personality.
Yeah yeah, I know she loses her memories which is why she becomes a bit boring, but even when Yeon-woo regained them, she didn't recover any of the spunk her child actor self brought. It was kind of disappointing. Not my favorite female lead, but what can you do? At least Kim Soo-hyun swooped in and saved the day a bit. Jung II-woo was also a big help in the acting side of things. Good job boys and nice try Ga-in.
Music ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪: If you like traditional Korean music, then you'll like the soundtrack a lot. And by soundtrack, I mean the opening song. It was a charming tune to listen too and suited the show really well. Other than that, nothing hit me as impressive. The background songs were all the same to me and did their jobs just fine. They helped set the mood but nothing else. Nothing for hardcore music fans but never out of place.
A completely average show music wise.
Other (ง°ل͜°)ง: Yes, there was supernatural stuff. And a whole bunch of it too.
The show brought in the idea of spiritual magic and shamans who can use it. I can't talk about loopholes since the whole magic side of things was extremely open-ended. It's one of those things where the world is so open that anything can happen, making all the questions okay without answers. Did I have a few of them? Yeah, but not too many.
Nothing was plot threatening or confusing. In fact, everything was laid out pretty well.
The magic stuff never felt too overpowering and seemed like a helping hand in making the show unique. It didn't even look like a cheap plot cop-out and was only used to help strengthen the main events. Something I can entirely get behind!
My last thoughts on METS is that it's a waste of potential that I still found myself enjoying.
I'd recommend it to those who love romance but not to anyone else.
And if I could see myself maybe going back to watch a few more of the gut-wrenching scenes. I might even rewatch it if I'm ever bored or going through a show hole phase. But no promises since I might not want to sit through the boring middle again.
I just wish it could have kept up with the fantastic pace that was laid out in the beginning.
But I guess beggars can't be choosers...
Happy Watching <3
I swear I'm not trying to be lazy, but for some reason, that's just my score for average shows. Which matches perfectly to what this is to me: Average.
I'm glad to have it completed, although I'm a bit irritated over certain things.
But even with the irritation, I found myself really enjoying other parts, making so much good and bad to deliberate over.
So let's cut into the turkey!
Story 〆(・∀・＠): I'm not a huge historical person, so that part of the show isn't what drew me in. I went in not expecting much and was already surprised by how the show begins. It starts in the past, but not in a flashback type of way. The first few episodes illustrate the conflicts and introduce the characters (their child versions that is). I was a bit unsure about it, but believe me when I say that the beginning is probably one of my favorite parts of the show. It started so strong, and the child actors all did amazing. One of them even did better than their adult counterpart, which I'll discuss later. This made my average expectations turn into overloading excitement. METS had one of my favorite beginnings. And getting to watch Heo Yeon-woo "die" was enjoyable. I'm not trying to sound like a cold-blooded monster, but just seeing everyone's acting and the emotional turmoil so early on made me feel extremely invested. She didn't actually die, so maybe that's why I liked it so much.
The excitement slowly died in the middle, though. Everything felt so flat, and all the hopes I had for it turned into boredom. It was never too severe, and I still found a way to enjoy it, but it definitely does not hold a candle to the emotional beginning. The second half picked the pace back up, but it still never felt the same. The characters slowly got more irritating to me, and the unused potential it had made me feel bad. Regardless of that, I still found myself liking the show quite a bit. There was more good than bad in the final few episodes, which is why I'm a bit more forgiving. But not enough to where I can feel the same investment I once felt.
I also feel that it should be known that this is a romance through and through. The whole political aspect didn't feel as enforced and seemed like a side story to the leads' romantic journey. Everything centers around the two lovers, and all their decisions were made with the other one in mind. I'm all for an undying romance, but it becomes a bit of an issue when that makes the characters into flat pieces of cardboard. There were still a lot of cute moments with emotional ones not far behind. The two leads did have a chemistry that I can get behind, but I wished the writers exceeded them.
But as much as I keep ragging on METS, I will admit that the heartwarming moments did manage to reach me. There was so much passion put into it by the actors and made the dull moments somehow likable. If you're into romance, then this is your show, but if not, I wouldn't recommend it.
Acting ｡゜(｀Д')゜｡: I wish I could say that all the actors did flawlessly. To be honest, 90% of them did do a fantastic job. You have to consider that they had to find child and adult actors that had some sort of resemblance to each other, so there was a pretty big limitation put up. But casting wise, they did spectacular. Some characters didn't look exactly the same, but close enough to where I could believe it. For example, the two actors playing Princess Min-hwa (Jin Ji-hee and Nam Bo-ra) could honestly be sisters. They were just one of the many pairs of successful casting that I witnessed. So massive round of applause in that department!!
Without appearance in mind, the acting was also done really well. As I mentioned earlier, there were many emotional scenes that only hit the mark due to its cast of talented actors. Most of them I already knew, so I had a lot of faith that they could do anything the writers gave them. The only one I had a problem with is Han Ga-in. I don't blame her entirely since the writers had a hand in worsening her character, but she just felt like an emotionless piece of bread to me. Her younger self was a much more established character with a much more likable personality.
Yeah yeah, I know she loses her memories which is why she becomes a bit boring, but even when Yeon-woo regained them, she didn't recover any of the spunk her child actor self brought. It was kind of disappointing. Not my favorite female lead, but what can you do? At least Kim Soo-hyun swooped in and saved the day a bit. Jung II-woo was also a big help in the acting side of things. Good job boys and nice try Ga-in.
Music ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪: If you like traditional Korean music, then you'll like the soundtrack a lot. And by soundtrack, I mean the opening song. It was a charming tune to listen too and suited the show really well. Other than that, nothing hit me as impressive. The background songs were all the same to me and did their jobs just fine. They helped set the mood but nothing else. Nothing for hardcore music fans but never out of place.
A completely average show music wise.
Other (ง°ل͜°)ง: Yes, there was supernatural stuff. And a whole bunch of it too.
The show brought in the idea of spiritual magic and shamans who can use it. I can't talk about loopholes since the whole magic side of things was extremely open-ended. It's one of those things where the world is so open that anything can happen, making all the questions okay without answers. Did I have a few of them? Yeah, but not too many.
Nothing was plot threatening or confusing. In fact, everything was laid out pretty well.
The magic stuff never felt too overpowering and seemed like a helping hand in making the show unique. It didn't even look like a cheap plot cop-out and was only used to help strengthen the main events. Something I can entirely get behind!
My last thoughts on METS is that it's a waste of potential that I still found myself enjoying.
I'd recommend it to those who love romance but not to anyone else.
And if I could see myself maybe going back to watch a few more of the gut-wrenching scenes. I might even rewatch it if I'm ever bored or going through a show hole phase. But no promises since I might not want to sit through the boring middle again.
I just wish it could have kept up with the fantastic pace that was laid out in the beginning.
But I guess beggars can't be choosers...
Happy Watching <3
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