1
kimzibeom
This review may contain spoilers
What snapped is my patience and what sparked is frustration
I know I shouldn't watch expecting a lot from a web series but I didn't think they'd disappoint this much. This by far has been nothing but very frustrating and disappointing. (Little note that I may end up sounding incoherent I have zero hours of sleep)
ACTING/CAST
Okay, let's get the one thing I loved from this series. It's the acting debut of Kangmin and honestly, I didn't expect him to be THIS good. All of the cast were great though it definitely helped that there were no much heavy scenes for them to stick out like a sore thumb. I commend Kangmin for being such a natural because he delivers Seonjae's happiness, annoyance, longing, sadness, and more with just his expressions. Wooyeon did a wonderful job as Yeji, she definitely had the school's it-girl vibe on check and her acting, specially in the end when Soobin was missing and she clearly was feeling his absence. Jeon Geonhu, like Kangmin, is a new actor but he still did a pretty good job. He was kinda stiff and stoic at times but he did his heavy scenes well. Seo Soohee was another standout because she did her job as the villain so masterfully, I'd say she's the most outstanding out of the cast. E.Ji and Jinwoo were very cute as a couple too, just a shame we didn't have more scenes to savor their chemistry.
PRODUCTION
The production was quite good and I really love how webseries are becoming better and better by the day. I remember my first webseries around 2014/2015(?) when webseries weren't as big as it is now. The cinematography, music, and timing were really like of high production value so I guess it deserved all the views it had.
STORY
What Snap and Spark seemed to have difficulty in is establishing just what the story is about. They left out too many details that the viewers end up being confused on what's happening. Unlike other series with a straightforward premise, Snap and Spark just didn't have a focal point to guide the story through. Is it about the arts competition? Is it about the impact of SNS to student life? Is it a love story between CSB and MYJ? In only 8 episodes, it was so vague about its focus and ended up focusing on none so everything became so messy and all over the place. I understand subplots exist, but to make a story make sense, it still needs to have one primary synopsis they should follow (e.g. One Fine Week - it focused on Daeun and Byul's switch but had idol life and the horrors of the industry as its subplot).
I watched the series for Kangmin and I'm trying to be as objective as I can be but you don't have to be a Verrer to feel like the ending was too much on Joo Seonjae. He was just minding his own business and pursuing music (which by the way he would've been successful even if he don't go to school or end up dropping out) but Yeji had to USE him to get back at Soobin for teaming up with Daeun. She violated his privacy by posting Seonjae's photo on her IG fully knowing the power her SNS has with complete disregard for Seonjae's being, not even knowing that Seonjae had a painful past caused by SNS itself. Now that triggering Seonjae's trauma is done (which by the way wasn't addressed nor given importance too), she used him for the arts festival, and when Seonjae fell in love with him, she kept him hoping when she obviously had Soobin in her mind all along. Seonjae's trauma stemmed from a previous lover and being thrown rocks at online and Yeji magnificently traumatized him even further.
It's not like Seonjae is a better person than Soobin, Soobin in his own right was understandable and I wouldn't hold his lack of communication against him because he really needed what Daeun can offer and he can't confess to Yeji with all the stuff that's going on in his life which is healthy. If he's going to return out of nowhere, then why on hell did he visit Seonjae before leaving school? And why, in Seonjae's event while performing a song he made with/for Yeji and in front of the man you asked to take care of Yeji of all places, would you hold Yeji's hand and come back like that? Evil. Sinister. This drama should've just killed him off while they're at it. I knew from the get go that Seonjae is the second lead but couldn't they have given him the tiniest bit of happiness in the end? Was that too much to ask?
Well, I loved the Daeun and Saena dynamic and the complexity behind their characters. I, for one, have a speck of sympathy for Daeun because you would think that she's just vile and manipulative but her reveal that she just wanted to help Saena was understandable, albeit in the most wrong ways. To Saena's end, because she's not as well-off as Daeun and because Daeun was seemingly "copying" Yeji, it came out as challenging and conniving but to Daeun's end, she probably just wanted to get closer, to help, but had it done the worst ways possible. Daeun also wanted the credit to her good deeds which can be attributed to just simply wanting to become closer to Saena. Daeun's behavior with Soobin is psychotic and is a different conversation, however.
I'd not over-analyze Juhyuk because he's just a sweet ball of sunshine and don't deserve any negativity from this mostly negative review.
Rather than having an ending that makes you look forward to a second season, it just leaves you stuffy and frustrated. Here are some questions that are left unanswered at the ending. There's probably more but here are just some that I can think of on top of my head.
1. What the hell is Seonjae's past?
2. What happened to Saena and Juhyuk?
3. What was the past between Daeun and Yeji?
4. What happened to Soobin and what made him come back?
5. Why the hell would the boys set up a freshman like that?
And most of all... 6. Where the hell are their parents?
CONCLUSION
I'll not conclude that his series is terrible to the core because it's obviously beaming for a second season so I'll give them a little bit of slack until they make a second season and if they do and still not resolve any of the plotholes and answer any of the questions, I may just become a Snap and Spark (and Moon Yeji) hate account.
P.S. Soobin and Yeji are fit for each other because both are weird. Seonjae deserves someone better.
ACTING/CAST
Okay, let's get the one thing I loved from this series. It's the acting debut of Kangmin and honestly, I didn't expect him to be THIS good. All of the cast were great though it definitely helped that there were no much heavy scenes for them to stick out like a sore thumb. I commend Kangmin for being such a natural because he delivers Seonjae's happiness, annoyance, longing, sadness, and more with just his expressions. Wooyeon did a wonderful job as Yeji, she definitely had the school's it-girl vibe on check and her acting, specially in the end when Soobin was missing and she clearly was feeling his absence. Jeon Geonhu, like Kangmin, is a new actor but he still did a pretty good job. He was kinda stiff and stoic at times but he did his heavy scenes well. Seo Soohee was another standout because she did her job as the villain so masterfully, I'd say she's the most outstanding out of the cast. E.Ji and Jinwoo were very cute as a couple too, just a shame we didn't have more scenes to savor their chemistry.
PRODUCTION
The production was quite good and I really love how webseries are becoming better and better by the day. I remember my first webseries around 2014/2015(?) when webseries weren't as big as it is now. The cinematography, music, and timing were really like of high production value so I guess it deserved all the views it had.
STORY
What Snap and Spark seemed to have difficulty in is establishing just what the story is about. They left out too many details that the viewers end up being confused on what's happening. Unlike other series with a straightforward premise, Snap and Spark just didn't have a focal point to guide the story through. Is it about the arts competition? Is it about the impact of SNS to student life? Is it a love story between CSB and MYJ? In only 8 episodes, it was so vague about its focus and ended up focusing on none so everything became so messy and all over the place. I understand subplots exist, but to make a story make sense, it still needs to have one primary synopsis they should follow (e.g. One Fine Week - it focused on Daeun and Byul's switch but had idol life and the horrors of the industry as its subplot).
I watched the series for Kangmin and I'm trying to be as objective as I can be but you don't have to be a Verrer to feel like the ending was too much on Joo Seonjae. He was just minding his own business and pursuing music (which by the way he would've been successful even if he don't go to school or end up dropping out) but Yeji had to USE him to get back at Soobin for teaming up with Daeun. She violated his privacy by posting Seonjae's photo on her IG fully knowing the power her SNS has with complete disregard for Seonjae's being, not even knowing that Seonjae had a painful past caused by SNS itself. Now that triggering Seonjae's trauma is done (which by the way wasn't addressed nor given importance too), she used him for the arts festival, and when Seonjae fell in love with him, she kept him hoping when she obviously had Soobin in her mind all along. Seonjae's trauma stemmed from a previous lover and being thrown rocks at online and Yeji magnificently traumatized him even further.
It's not like Seonjae is a better person than Soobin, Soobin in his own right was understandable and I wouldn't hold his lack of communication against him because he really needed what Daeun can offer and he can't confess to Yeji with all the stuff that's going on in his life which is healthy. If he's going to return out of nowhere, then why on hell did he visit Seonjae before leaving school? And why, in Seonjae's event while performing a song he made with/for Yeji and in front of the man you asked to take care of Yeji of all places, would you hold Yeji's hand and come back like that? Evil. Sinister. This drama should've just killed him off while they're at it. I knew from the get go that Seonjae is the second lead but couldn't they have given him the tiniest bit of happiness in the end? Was that too much to ask?
Well, I loved the Daeun and Saena dynamic and the complexity behind their characters. I, for one, have a speck of sympathy for Daeun because you would think that she's just vile and manipulative but her reveal that she just wanted to help Saena was understandable, albeit in the most wrong ways. To Saena's end, because she's not as well-off as Daeun and because Daeun was seemingly "copying" Yeji, it came out as challenging and conniving but to Daeun's end, she probably just wanted to get closer, to help, but had it done the worst ways possible. Daeun also wanted the credit to her good deeds which can be attributed to just simply wanting to become closer to Saena. Daeun's behavior with Soobin is psychotic and is a different conversation, however.
I'd not over-analyze Juhyuk because he's just a sweet ball of sunshine and don't deserve any negativity from this mostly negative review.
Rather than having an ending that makes you look forward to a second season, it just leaves you stuffy and frustrated. Here are some questions that are left unanswered at the ending. There's probably more but here are just some that I can think of on top of my head.
1. What the hell is Seonjae's past?
2. What happened to Saena and Juhyuk?
3. What was the past between Daeun and Yeji?
4. What happened to Soobin and what made him come back?
5. Why the hell would the boys set up a freshman like that?
And most of all... 6. Where the hell are their parents?
CONCLUSION
I'll not conclude that his series is terrible to the core because it's obviously beaming for a second season so I'll give them a little bit of slack until they make a second season and if they do and still not resolve any of the plotholes and answer any of the questions, I may just become a Snap and Spark (and Moon Yeji) hate account.
P.S. Soobin and Yeji are fit for each other because both are weird. Seonjae deserves someone better.
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