I promised myself to write a review after finishing this series and here I am. This is my first attempt, so bare with me.

I wanted to say that I didn't plan to watch the Gifted. Actually I didn't even know it existed before the first 5 episodes. After finishing it I am not disappointed with my choice. If you are looking something with no romance (or maybe some hints of it) and you would like to think about some serious topics like education and equality then this is for you.

Plot wise the series is near perfect. The depiction of the students and the fact that they didn't use over the top 'gifts' like flying , made this quite unique. The best part of it was that the scriptwriters didn't only focus on the advantages of the students abilities, but they also commented the serious consequences not only to themselves but to others too.

If you are a student and have asked yourself "Why am I studying so hard?", "Why do I have to do this?" or "Why am I not good at this?" this is a must watch.

This is a realistic depiction of the 'law of the jungle' and our educational system that ignores some of the students as 'not all deserve the same treatment'.

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A fun ride, but...

Special Delivery is an action movie that is certainly not ground-breaking in any way. When I am watching action movies, my goal is to be entertained and throw my logic out of the car window. However, in this case, the movie did not offer the kind of entertainment that would make me turn away from all the ridiculous things that were happening at times.

The plot was structured like many films of the same genre, and the action sequences were definitely fun to watch and very well-made. In other words, if you are looking for some nicely shot and fun to watch action scenes, you will surely be entertained.

What ruined it for me the most was the acting. The female lead is a badass protagonist, and Park So Dam definitely didn't have a hard job, when it comes to the acting department. Her character was mostly expressionless, but in my opinion, she didn't deliver even in the scenes that she was supposed to show the slightest bit of emotion. She was very wooden. The main antagonists mostly overacted and to be frank, I couldn't take them seriously. Generally, the majority of the cast was mediocre.

It was obvious that the scriptwriter tried to make this an action film with some kind of emotional impact, taking into consideration the way the plot progressed. However, the characters were poorly developed and the acting was lacking. As a result I didn’t feel anything for any of them.

All in all, even though there are some aspects that are there in almost all action films, like people not dying, unless the script says so or individuals suddenly turning into super humans with great abilities, the acting and the way the plot was structured didn't make it entertaining enough to make me feel for the characters or ignore some of the absurd things that were happening on screen. Don't get me wrong though. This is an entertaining ride and an ideal movie to watch, when you are looking for some fun after a long and difficult day.

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Chishiya’s show

When I first watched season one I immediately rated it a nine. However a few weeks before the release of S2 I decided to give it a rewatch and honestly I would probably rate it a six now. It had many flaws that I didn't really care about in my first watch but when I rewatched it, it was almost painfully bad at times.
After rewatching S1 and reading some of the comments here on MDL about S2 my expectations were low.
That being said, this time, probably once again, I didn't really think it through when I rated it a nine, because I had fun and that is the most important thing in my mind. That doesn't mean that it deserves it or that I won't criticize it in what will follow, so here we go:

What I liked:
- Production quality: Everyone knows what a good production quality means and you can see it here. It is expensive and it shows.

- The games: If you ask me they were much better than in S1. First of all, the characters that appeared in the games were extremely interesting. Besides that, the games were much more suspenseful, difficult and not as predictable comparing with S1. Lastly they were much more violent.

- Chishiya: Okay, I will be honest. This guy should have been the main character and he is caring this show on his smart brain cells. He is so fun to watch and Murakami Nijiro's performance is on point. He is intelligent, flawed and has the best lines in the entire series. He is just a pleasure to watch and I believe that without him the series would be half as memorable.

- Manga feeling: First things first, I haven't actually read the manga, but the series does give you a manga-feeling. The action scenes, the way the characters act and look and some specific scenes are like they came out from manga pages, something that is probably one of the biggest advantages this drama has.

- New characters: Even though our old fav characters like Kuina and An are still there and they have kept their awesomeness, new interesting characters appeared like Kyuuma or Akane.

- Easy to watch: Look, some of the episodes were very long (with the longest being 1h and 20m), but generally the series was very easy to watch. Yes, there were some draggy scenes and some boring moments, but I didn’t feel the urge to see how long it is left from the episodes.

- The ending: As probably all sane people that were planning to watch season two, I was very concerned -and I mean very- about the ending. Will it be nonsensical? Will I want to break my screen?
The ending surpassed all of my expectations and it was the perfect way for the final episode to end. It was so mind-blowingly good that I had to rate the show a nine. It was also unexpected -at least comparing to what I had in mind-.


Things I found mediocre:
- Philosophical aspect: In this season there were many philosophical questions regarding the meaning of life, justice, the ''price'' of humans etc. Even though I liked that they added these existential questions, sometimes it felt a bit forced especially since it wasn't that evident in the first season.

- Main leads: I know, I will get killed for saying this, but the main leads were just boring to watch. They were so uninteresting comparing to the rest of the characters and their plot armour was so huge that even with a nuclear disaster they would survive.

- Nonsensical stuff: I know it is based on a manga and to be honest I didn't really care because I had fun watching, but the amount of disbelief I had to live through was just unimaginable. I think that they could have handled it a bit better to make it more suspenseful and ''realistic'' before the grand finale.

What I disliked:
- Acting of the two mains (and some other characters):
I had a huge problem with the acting of the two main leads, especially with Yamazaki Kento. He was overacting most of the times and no matter how much I tried to feel for his character his expressions were so ridiculous that I had the urge to laugh than actually care about him. Tsuchiya Tao also wasn't that great and her way of talking in some scenes felt like she was pressuring herself to sound in a specific way.
Let me be clear about something here. I know that in many Jdramas actors tend to overact, but there is a difference between good overacting and bad overacting.
Even though this is based on a manga (so I can get the need to overact) the only character that was overacting badly was Yamazaki Kento (and another character that barely appeared). Acting is acting and to be able to succeed in this type of acting you must know how to pull it off in moderation, something that our main lead obviously did not know.
They both had their good moments though (thankfully) and most of the times their acting was bearable.

- "Romance": Once again it is ruining the show and it is just not there, I am sorry. I saw no chemistry between the mains even though it was obvious that their affection was building from season one.

- Emotional moments: this series is about death games and people will die, they will get hurt (physically or emotionally) and they will question their existense and values. Even though there were some scenes that made me emotional (which I won't mention because of spoilers) the majority of them didn't work. They even used sad music as background and managed to make it feel bland. The fact that some of these scenes lasted longer than what they should have, reduced the emotional impact to zero. Funny thing is that I felt so much more when it came to some new characters comparing to what I felt for the main leads.


All in all, I had fun watching this season and -even though this is an unpopular opinion- I believe it was much better than season one especially when it came to characters, pacing and games.

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Was it worth the wait?

When Narco-Saints was announced it was immediately added to my plan to watch list, even though I am not a huge fun of series or movies with drugs as the main theme. Was it really worth it though? Let’s see every aspect individually.

Production Quality
From the first scene of the series, it was obvious that they invested tons of money to make it. Long story short, it looked realistic and expensive. However, for me at least, the production quality was the best thing this drama had to offer along with the acting of the two main leads.

Cinematography & Directing
As many other Korean series, this was another well done drama in the directing and cinematography department. The colour grading gave the same vibe as other series or movies that deal with drugs. It was well done and thankfully they didn’t overdo it with the darker tones.
Was it anything that I haven’t seen before? Definitely not. There was not even a single scene where I was like ‘’Wow, that looks so good’’. Even the action and fight scenes were not that well directed or choreographed. There were a few times that I shouted on my screen ‘’You could have killed him by now’’. To be honest, after My Name my expectations for fight scenes skyrocketed. This is just the typical directing that we have seen way too many times in the past.

Plot
Narco-Saints has nothing new to offer to the genre. I personally expected something better, after a very well-executed pilot episode. However the plot was a bit boring and draggy. Some things were happening over and over again. I think it would be wiser to make this a two hour movie or a series with three episodes. There were also some matters that stayed unresolved. Even the last few episodes that were more action-packed didn’t feel that suspenseful.

Acting
Well, well, I will probably get killed for this, but I definitely expected something better. The thing is that the actors themselves are fantastic. Taking a look at the cast is enough to understand what I mean. Ha Jung Woo and especially Hwang Jung Min were fantastic and it is worth a try just for these two. However I have two main complains.

The first one is the believability. We have Yoo Yeon Seok portraying David Park. He is supposed to be fluent in English and he is script-wise. It is his comfort language. He prefers speaking in English and he uses the language, when he is angry or emotional. Nevertheless, the way Yoo Yeon Seok speaks English makes me believe that someone is forcing him to do it.

My second problem is the fact that the main language of communication is, obviously, English. It is given that the pronunciation of the majority of the actors won’t be great. After all, it is not their mother tongue. The problem is that in some scenes specifically, it feels like the actors don’t know what their lines mean. They are awkward to hear and sometimes it is pretty cringe to watch. It feels like they just memorized them and forgot to act. On the other hand, when they are speaking in their native language they are fantastic.
The foreign actors were not bad and that’s a first. Okay, honestly, they were not fantastic either, but they were decent enough.


All in all, Suriname was a decent watch that had nothing new to offer to the genre and in my opinion, it would work better as a movie. On the other hand, if you are a huge fan of the main theme, you may enjoy the series much more than I did, even though it has its downsides.

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People who have never seen an asian series or movie in their lives, will watch this and enjoy it!

First of all, I really like Japanese series in general so I was quite excited when this was announced by Netflix. Why? First and foremost, because it is based on a manga that is mainly focused on death games (and we all know how good the Japanese are in this kind of themes) and secondly because of the budget.

One of the main things that people get to complain about, is the low budget that most Japanese series have. Many Jdoramas are character-driven stories, with dark cinematography and the absence of flashy clothes, homes or buildings in comparison with Kdramas. I personally don't really care about the low budget, since it adds realism to most of their series, but with this one it was different.

This is the kind of series that needs a good CGI and a very high budget. Many other Japanese series and movies could have been very famous if the production value was higher (Signal 100, Class 3A - All of You Are Hostages From Now On). And let me tell you that the production in this one is top notch. The directing is very well done and the music, even though not very memorable, adds to the suspense.

As for the plot, this is an ideal series for people who like death games. It is quite suspenseful, especially in the first challenges and the fact that the viewer tries to solve them together with the protagonists adds to the excitement. The characters are very unique and some of them stand out more than others (Chishiya and Kuina I am looking at you).

As for the portrayal from the actors I have a lot of things to say. Firstly, the majority of them were very good. Machida Keita was amazing and so was Asahina Aya. Secondly I want to apologize to Nijiro Murakami, because after watching him in Aogeba Toutoshi, I was very disappointed that he was going to play such an interesting character in this series. Not only he wasn't bad, but he was also the show stealer with his performance. Lastly, I will probably get killed because of this, but Yamazaki Kento was not as impressive as I expected him to be. He wasn't bad, but I felt like he was overacting at some points. Even though he might have wanted to give life to the manga by doing this, it felt very forced since all the other actors were very natural.

Give it a chance!

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Life is a difficult equation

Melancholia comes from the ancient Greek medical term μελαγχολία that has two compounds; μέλας (melas) that means black and χολή (kholḗ) that means bile. Basically, it is used to describe someone that feels deep sadness. One of the first appearances of the term "melancholia" is found in a Hippocrates work called "Περί νούσων" (About deceases). The word captures the idea that some ancient Greeks believed (mostly Hippocrates) that the character and the mood of a person depends on the blending degree of several bodily fluids.

I have mixed feelings about this series. It kept me company and I got used to watching it almost every night. Nevertheless, even though I enjoyed it, it also had many flaws that I need to mention. Starting from the technical aspects, the directing is quite good, but at the same time not that good to make you eager to congratulate the director. Let’s be honest, good directing is something that many Korean series have, especially when the budget is decent, so this is just another one of those. The cinematography of the series is very eye-catching and I personally think it is one of the best things this drama has to offer. The original soundtrack was decent, but, in my opinion, nothing worth remembering.

Plot-wise, melancholia is nothing groundbreaking or to be more precise it could have been groundbreaking, if some things were handled differently. As the synopsis suggests, the series is divided into two parts. The first one is taking place in Aseong high school with our two protagonists being the positive Ji Yoon Soo, the math teacher, and Baek Seung Yoo, her brilliant student. The second part of the series takes place four years later, with our two main characters trying to get revenge after a sexual scandal that involved them destroyed their lives.

Unfortunately, the drama does a very poor job at mixing the light-hearted and romantic aspects of the series -that are barely there and mostly one-sided, since we all know it couldn’t have been portrayed otherwise- with the more serious subject of school corruption. Especially in the first few episodes, it feels like you are watching two different series. The second part focuses much more on the corruption plot, but was also poorly handled. It felt unnecessarily long and it wasn’t exciting to watch or suspenseful. Generally, the series is quite slow paced and it could have easily been reduced down to twelve episodes making the script much more interesting to watch. Making a slow paced series doesn't mean that it will be draggy or that it will need less episodes. In this particular case though, I felt that the scriptwriter tried too much to make this impactful by making things move slower and as a result we had many unnecessary scenes.

There were some aspects in the story that I enjoyed, even though I wish that all of them were much more developed. The love for math and how you can find them in the simplest of things was one of the best parts of the series. Even though we have seen many series about students and corrupted schools, what I enjoyed about Melancholia is that it portrayed a genius student and how a person that has such talent can also have many problems that we can’t really imagine. Lastly, there were some interesting characters, like Jin Hyeon Uk (Yoon Soo’s father) and Ryu Sung Jae. Even though I would like to see more of their story, they were still a delight to watch.

The acting in the series is nothing phenomenal, but all of the actors did a fairly good job at portraying their roles. If there was one actor that fascinated me with his performance once again, then that would be Choi Dae Hoon. I realized his potential in Beyond Evil and he had another quite interesting character to portray here (in comparison to his usual bland support roles). I truly wish he gets to showcase his talent more in the future. There is also some overacting here and there, especially from Jin Kyung that portrays Noh Jung Ah, the director of Aseong high school. It seemed, at times, like she was trying to be another Cheon Seo Jin from Penthouse, something that could never work, because this type of acting is not appropriate for this series.

Perhaps I shouldn’t mention this in the review, but I have seen many people using the word "pedophilia" to talk about this series and I feel the need to say that this a very wrong term to use. Please, don’t use such a term without first searching what it actually means, because there are certain requirements for someone to be considered a pedophile. However, if you find the theme even a little uncomfortable, it is better to avoid it.

All in all, melancholia is a visually pleasing series, with some interesting characters and good acting that has a very promising start, with one of the best first episodes I have seen in a while. However, unfortunately, it seems like they were unable to make the different parts of the plot connect in a balanced way and halfway through the series lost its spark and it became quite uneventful and bland.

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In the mood for love

“We can’t pause time. Things grow old as life goes on..."

Chastity High popped up on my Netflix account a couple of days ago and I started it out of pure boredom. I concluded once again, that series that I have no idea about end up being the most entertaining.

Love: Battle Royale -that is the much better Japanese title- is a binge-worthy and highly entertaining drama about a "love ban" in an elite Japanese high school and it is unexpectedly -or not so much- based on a true story, at least according to some sources.

I enjoyed the series a lot and it was even objectively quite good in many aspects. I will be briefly mentioning below the things I liked and disliked for whoever may be interested and then I will comment on my most and least favourite thing in the drama.

Things I liked:
- Production quality
- Acting (from the majority of the cast)
- Music
- Concept: It sounded pretty “cheap” and idiotic, but it worked perfectly
- Cliches and predictable moments: There were many cliches, but they were mostly done right and they ended up being extremely entertaining to watch
- Anime/Manga vibes
- Fun to watch characters
- Actors "looks": Despite the actors being over eighteen, they fit their roles perfectly and many of them can actually pass for high school students.

Things that I disliked:
- Typical emotionally unstable/villain characters
- Some overacting here and there
- Quite a few “easy way outs” for the plot to move forward


MY FAVOURITE THING → Last scenes
Chastity High manages to craft some quite emotionally impactful last scenes in many of the episodes. Despite their typical structure, by having the main protagonist talk, throwing some pretty great lines, while the viewer watches scenes unfold, they create a very beautiful and sentimental atmosphere.

MY LEAST FAVOURITE THING → The last episode
"My Life, My Rules", as the last episode is titled, is the least interesting and the most unrealistic episode of the entire drama. Of course, I know the series was never meant to be realistic to begin with, despite the fact that it deals with quite a few sensitive subjects. The thing about the finale, though, is that it feels a lot more “ridiculous” than the atmosphere and plot of the rest of the series. What bothered me the most, though, is that they could have taken advantage of some plot points to make it emotionally impactful, but they didn’t. As a result, it felt quite idiotic at times and it didn't really left a good impression on me.

"....love, jealousy, hate and joy. It all just slips through our fingers."

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The complexity of human nature

I will keep this short.

Even though this series is not perfect in any way, it has something that I rarely see in other historical dramas. The core of it is the people. Not the palace, not the romance, not the schemes, just the people.

It is about ordinary, every day people fighting for their rights to live decently as human beings and not just survive. It is about the beauty and the cynicism of human nature. It is about change, about hardships, about love, about identity and so many other things.

It is a story about people like us, people that were full of strength and dreams, but also full of fear for tomorrow, people with their own weaknesses.

It is an important story that everyone should watch.

Even though the series is based on historical events, the liberties that the writer has taken are integrated into the main story in a great way.

Like it is mentioned in the series, "It's always been the weak who changed the world", and that is something that we all should remember.

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I'm sorry, but this is definitely not one of the worst Korean movies out there

According to the know it all internet, this film is considered a huge failure, both commercial and critical, and generally one of the worst Korean films to ever be made. Now doesn't that make you more eager to watch it?

It is stated in the very beginning that the movie is a fictional dramatization inspired by true events and that's exactly what it is.

The story is taking place during the japanese occupation of Korea, when an idealist believes that it is vital for a Korean bicyclist to win in the races that take place in the capital. The reason? The morale of the Korean people should be raised to strengthen the cause of the resistance.

It is a -mostly- fictional film based on the barely known life of famed cyclist Um Bok Dong that raced against the Japanese.

Now is this a great movie? Not really. But is it extremely entertaining? Hell, yes!

This movie has everything that you will find in similar films. Fighting against the extremely evil Japanese (and the equally evil Koreans that have chosen to work for the enemy), having a hero that is a bit pure -that's how they like to call him- (or if we are being real a bit dumb with a big heart) and of course watching some things that are hard to believe and impossible to happen.

I won't lie. It looks very cheap at times with some awful CGI and some questionable acting performances. The plot is as simplistic as it could get and it definitely doesn't look like a 2019 film. However, it is so damn entertaining and it achieves its goal which is to make your heart feel for the Korean people and everything they went through.

It has some nice comedic elements and some heart racing parts and generally, if it was not evident from what I said before, it is an extremely easy and fun watch -with a pretty well edited trailer that makes you want to give it a chance even more-.

Should you expect something great? Not even close. Is it an amusing watch that is better than just staring at the wall after a difficult day at work? Absolutely!

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Blood ties

"Each person lives their own life passing on the desire to protect those dear to them to someone else".

A Suffocatingly Lonely Death -based on the titular manga by Inoryuu Hajime (story) and Itou Shouta (art)- is a mystery drama about a crime committed in the Haikawa Mansion where the remains of 13 children were found.

Despite some plot conveniences and some exaggerating acting performances here and there, the series manages to weave a dark and intriguing story posing one main question: "What is family?"
It deals with quite a few sensitive subjects and moral dilemmas in a delicate way, managing to make the series an easy and entertaining watch full of twists and turns.

I think saying anything more will spoil the drama, but I believe that people who like series with darker themes will thoroughly enjoy this one.

Last but certainly not least, a big thanks to Luwuang for her great translation. She gave me along with many other people the opportunity to experience this series.

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I swear, this is two different series in one!

I will start off by saying that you, yes you who is currently reading this review, should give this one a shot, cause it is not as bad as the ratings suggest.

No Way Out: The Roulette was definitely a ride, messy at times, but still fun to watch (for the most part).



What I liked:
PRODUCTION QUALITY
They surely invested some money on this series. Nothing more to say.

ACTING
If you are watching Kdramas for a while you will see many -and I mean MANY- familiar faces. Generally, even though there was some overacting here and there, the performances were pretty good and one of the best aspects of the series.
Yoo Jae Myung as the evil Kim Guk Ho, Sung Yoo Bin as Seo Dong Ha (Kim Guk Ho’s son) and Kim Sung Cheol as well as the actor that portrayed him as a child did a truly amazing job with their roles.

MR. SMILE
See how I didn’t mention Greg Hsu above? It’s because that man deserves a separate mention. Was Mr. Smile the most fun to watch character in the series? Yes. Would that be possible without Greg Hsu giving a freaking great performance? No. I am shallow, I know, but that man did so well and his sexy voice while speaking English -that didn't sound cringe for once- was like the cherry on top.

THEME OF JUSTICE
Again, if you have been watching Kdramas and Kmovies for a while, you know justice is a prevalent theme. This series may not be the best in the long catalog of "moral dilemmas dramas", but it is definitely a good one.

VIOLENCE + DISTURBING/SENSITIVE THEMES
I like my dramas extra violent, and this one delivers in that aspect. Of course, because this is an OTT drama, there is zero censorship, something that adds to the atmosphere they are trying to create.

SOME GREAT SCENES AND EPISODES
No Way Out is a bit divided in my head. It had some truly amazing scenes, with great directing and fantastic tension and some that were exactly the opposite -but we will get to that later-.
For me, episode 5 was the best episode of the series and the one that truly reminded me of Korean cinema.

UNPREDICTABILITY
Now, “unpredictability where?” you will say and you will be right. Despite the fact that the show has many predictable moments, I can’t help but praise the fact that there are also some things I did not expect to happen.

FINALE
Generally a pretty entertaining ending, but those last ten minutes or so where a bit unnecessary.


What I disliked:
MAIN LEAD WAS NOT MAIN LEADING
Baek Jung Sik is the main character and he is -of course- a police officer. My problem with him, besides the fact that he is either purely unlikable or uninteresting most of the show, is that he is again a typical police officer that you have probably seen in many Korean series. What do I mean? He can get (very) dumb! And that aside, at times it seems like he changes personalities, like when he suddenly remembers he is a police officer…

CHARACTERS
Don’t shoot me (pun intended). The series had some pretty great and generally well written characters like Mr. Smile and Dong Ha. BUT, it also had some plain bland and boring ones, like the mayor and that lawyer.

There are two things that went very wrong with these two characters -there are others that were bad, but these two take the cake-. One, the approach of the scriptwriter. It is a typical technique introducing characters separately and then as the series proceeds, heading slowly to the climax. However, in this case, the characters were not only super boring, but basically felt like plot tools to keep the series going. Two, they were such typical Kdrama characters, especially the mayor. Like think of any political figure in a Kdrama (you know the corrupt, evil one) and there you go.

PLOT ARMOR
Some of the characters and mostly Kim Guk Ho have a crazy plot amour. They literally feel like the superhuman characters you see in comics, where they just do not die no matter how much someone tries.

CONVENIENCE
There are some things happening way too conveniently for some of the characters, something that made some scenes look quite dumb and unbelievably irrational. You know, like things conveniently appearing somewhere to help the characters.

PACING
Now, second half of the drama was definitely better overall, but first half and especially episodes 3 and 4 were draggy and boring as hell. No Way Out could be a magnificent and suspenseful series, but it was impossible cause of the pacing and (half of) the writing.

MISSING CHARACTERS
There are some characters that feel super important to the plot -or at least they are important enough- and they just simply disappear. I expected to find out what happened to some of them, but no, ending was like ''we don't remember of their existence''.



All in all, this is one of the better Kdramas than you can find on Disney+, but it does feel like two completely different series at times. One that is draggy with some typical Kdrama characters and boring moments and another one that is super entertaining with some fun to watch and intense scenes. I feel that the series would be much better if it focused more on Guk Ho and less on the officer or even if it focused on the attempted murders and the stories of the people behind them. There is only one conclusion though. No Way Out: The Roulette may be flawed in many aspects with the worst being the pacing, but it is certainly worth the watch.

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UNIQUE

Tender Light is another one of those underrated gems that come out once in a while and feel refreshingly different.

This review is mostly for people that are hesitant to watch it, because of the rating, the length or any other reason.

I will briefly mention some of the things I didn't like and then I will refer to the things that made me really enjoy this series.

Things that I disliked or could have been better:
- Some of the actors' performances. I specifically think that both Tong Yao starring as Nan Ya and Wang Zi Xuan as Qing Li were not as great as they should be in their roles.
- Last half an hour - no spoilers-, but it could have definitely been better execution-wise, but unfortunately it ended up being another example that proves that censorship ruins creative freedom.
- Some plot points, character choices in the last few eps were very sudden and out of place.


Now to the things I loved and why I think you should give this a watch:

Length
Despite its 28 episodes the drama manages to keep your attention. Even though it could be shortened, since there were quite a lot of scenes that felt like fillers, I think they added to the atmosphere. It was ideal to watch, while it was airing, since it is definitely not a binge-worthy show.

Zhang Xin Cheng
I haven't watched many Cdramas and even though many actors and actresses were good, I can't help but mention specifically Zhang Xing Cheng. He did an incredible job portraying a very complex character and honestly I can't believe he is the same person that starred in Justice in the Dark and The Day of Becoming You. It's like he completely transforms, when he acts (and no not all actors manage that, despite being their job).

Characters
Tender Light has some of the most complex, realistic, flawed and raw characters I have seen in a very long time. Some are a joy to watch, others can get frustrating, but all of them manage -for the most part- to feel very very real.

Directing/Cinematography
I must mention that the series is visually stunning. It's nothing like the typical Cdrama, it is obvious that the director has paid attention to every single shot and most importantly he managed to make every frame filled with emotions.

Atmosphere
The series is talking place -mostly- in 1999 and 2000 and the atmosphere captures greatly that time. The subtle transitions because of technological advancements is evident and even though it may feel sometimes that the series is talking place years earlier, I think it was a great choice taking into consideration that the drama is taking place in a very small town/village, where things obviously can't be as advanced as in the capital.

Mystery/Plot
No spoilers allowed, so I will just say that generally speaking the plot is pretty well written. Even though the series is slow paced and character driven, the mystery and the revelations will keep you glued to the screen.

Village/Small town setting
Well, apparently this is one of my favorite things. I love this setting, mostly because as viewers we know all the characters. As a result, it is much more entertaining when guessing who could have done what, cause no new characters are going to pop out of nowhere.
Plus, it is a great ''excuse'' to deal with themes like marginalization, stigma and of course the whole ''everyone knows everyone, everyone judges everyone'' and my most favorite ''no matter what happens, it's none of our business'' one of the biggest problems in any society.

Sensitive subjects
One of the strongest, if not the strongest, part of this series is the subjects it is dealing with. Tender Light deals with many -non-sensitive- themes like unconditional love and friendships, but also with many sensitive subjects like abuse, mental health, obsession, greed, jealousy (and many others I will not mention cause of spoilers, but if you have any triggers, please check the tags.)

Eroticism/Love
Many people argued about the existence or romance in this series, but I disagree. It is there, but it is a dark kind of love and it can be difficult to watch at times, especially since it starts quite differently. Regardless, the eroticism radiates from many of the scenes and even though romance is not the main theme it is equally -and I would dare say more- impactful than most love stories.

Music
Oh, dear. Amazing. Mostly instrumental music is used, but all I can say is that it is a pleasure for the ears. I would even say that the music in combination with some of the scenes, gave off -strong- Wong Kar-wai vibes.

Daring
Even though I mentioned about censorship and artistic freedom above, I must also mention that the series plot-wise and character-wise was very bold. Some of the scenes felt very real and were hard to watch and at the same time the characters' actions or even their whole personalities were so flawed to a point I was actually wondering how this managed to pass censorship.

Director's skill
What do I mean by that? Well, besides the gorgeous shots and generally the stunning cinematography, the director upgraded the skills of his actors -something that I rarely see, even though it is part of their jobs-. Like mentioned, some actors were good, others not so much. The thing is that he managed to make the good ones look even better and he also managed to make the bad/less good ones seem pretty good -at times-, cause of the shots, the angles he chose. That deserves some applause honestly, because we would be talking about something completely different if he wasn't the one in charge of the directing.


Now, as mentioned, this series has many positive points, but is it for everyone? No. Why?

Here are a few notes for those wondering if it is for them:
- It is quite slow paced
- It is mostly character driven
- It deals with themes that may trigger people or just make them uncomfortable
- A lot of attention is focused on the visual storytelling that many people don't enjoy
- Characters are quite flawed, something that may cause annoyance
- The ''romance'' tag is there for a reason, but the series also doesn't have the usual, healthy or at least lighthearted love story you may be used to watching and can easily make someone uncomfortable, since it starts quite intensely.


All in all, Tender Light is unique. That is the only word that describes it perfectly. It is different and that makes it shine, despite its flaws especially during the last few episodes.

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MISSING: EPISODE 1

For once I will try not to be a chatterbox and get straight to the point.

Pros
- Production quality
- Acting
- Kim Seon Ho's performance in the last episode
- Dark atmosphere -it can get too dark though, so have your brightness as high as possible-
- Action scenes
- Violence/Gore
- Lim Sang as a comedic relief -that wasn’t too much to ruin the atmosphere of the drama-
- Ja Kyung! She was the highlight of the series and I hope we get to see the actress more in the future
- How I love ruthless women in action series!
- Good concept
- Pretty entertaining last two eps

Cons
Plot
This is the biggest flaw of the series. The Tyrant starts very abruptly. It’s like they expect the viewers to know what is happening and what has already happened. There are way too many characters that appear and we don’t know who they are, what is their aim and who they are working for. It’s funny, cause I actually double checked to make sure that I was indeed watching the first episode of the drama and not like the third. As a result, first two episodes were not only a bit boring, but also incomprehensible (especially if you haven't read the synopsis). In other words? It felt like an entire episode, that was supposed to work as a set-up for the plot and the characters, was missing.

Duration
Why is this even a series? It felt like a movie. Like they didn’t want it to be too long and they were like ‘’let’s just make it into a four episode drama’’. There are no cliffhanger episodes and no real character development that would justify making this into a series. And let's be honest, it wouldn’t be even that long as a film, if they combined all the episodes.

Kim Kang Woo as Paul
He was overacting here and there trying to be the bad guy, but it felt completely out of place in a series that was pretty dark and had a serious atmosphere.

English
They have to add this in every series apparently! I do not get what is the point of having that one scene where an actor is in a foreign country, speaking English and heading to Korea to "take care of a business". There was zero reason for that, and it got worse when they spoke English in Korea out of freaking nowhere. It is extremely obvious that the actors, and mostly Kim Kang Woo who was the main English speaker, don’t have a good understanding of the language. It was like they were just reading the script and it was cringy at times, even though -and I will admit that- it was one of the better performances in that aspect compared to most series/movies.

CGI/Special Effects: They were great when it came to action scenes and violence, but what was the point to try making something more from it? I won’t say anything specific, cause of spoilers, but that one scene in the beginning of episode 2 was completely unnecessary and ruined the drama.


All in all, this ended up being an entertaining watch with some commendable action scenes, but it is in no way a great series and unfortunately it is not close to the greatness of The Witch: The Subversion.

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Heartbreakingly beautiful

I think that when something makes you emotional, there is something truly well done execution wise.

When I Feel your Warmth is, in simple words, a very well crafted love story with great acting.

The stares, the hidden emotions, the love, the strong and complicated feelings between the two characters were portrayed in such a delicate and memorable way.

A bittersweet series, full of angst and heartbreaking moments, but also full of warmth and inexplicable emotions, something that accompanies first love and how special it can be for each person.

I truly hope we get to see more works like this in the future.

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It was really hard rating this drama. It was highly anticipated as a Netflix original Korean series and after watching the trailer I could see that the budget was high. To tell the truth I wanted this series to be a hit. Why? I wanted people who don't give a chance to series from countries like China and Korea to know what they are missing.

I read multiple comments saying that the series had more politics than it should have and I completely understand their point of view, but I also disagree. I think that the drama didn't want to be just a source of entertainment. In my opinion the writers wanted us to see that even in a life-or-death situation, the politicians - no matter being in the Joseon era or in today's society - will only think about their own personal gain. But if there are no people to ''obey'' does having power really matter? It was great to think who are the real monsters and see in what extremes can people go to survive. I loved the fact that it showed the corruption among the people in the palace and the courage of every day individuals.

What made this different from all the dystopian films and series was the fact that it didn't only have dramatic scenes but it also had comedic elements. The cinematography was great, so was the music. The only minor problem for me was the acting. Don't get me wrong it wasn't even near to being bad, but I expected more from such well known actors - also more screen time for Bae Doona-.

All in all, it is definitely worth watching and I would recommend it to non Kdrama watchers for sure.

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