I strongly recommend the Chinese drama this for those looking for a thoughtful, intelligent, beautifully acted drama. The main characters are too upper class for the drama to be considered slice of life but their struggles are very real and relatable. The male lead is flawed but at the same time admirable and swoon worthy. I started out heartily disliking the second male lead but grew to like him more and more as the story progressed. The two female leads may be my favorite female characters of all time. There is a lot of heartbreak in the drama but it is an ultimately uplifting story about friendship and love.

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An interesting watch, all in all. I think the writer left some logical gaps and the supposed romance never gelled for me, primarily because the female lead spent most of her time crying. But I also think that an actor better than Park Shin Hye could have done more with that role. Hyun Bin, on the other hand, did a good job.

My biggest complaint is the number of in-your-face and out-of-place product placements in the drama. There was one date scene that seemed to serve no purpose other than to advertise make-up and Swarovski crystals. Other scenes prominently featured Subway or instant coffee, together with the actors awkwardly commenting about how delicious the products were. And I think that the primary reason that the characters spent half their time driving around Grenada and Seoul was to advertise Lexus vehicles.

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Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist, has a lot going for it. The female lead, ably acted by Kim Hyang Gi, is intelligent and competent. The male lead, played by Kim Minjae, is compassionate and sweet, with a nice story arc and real character development. The respect with which the ML treats the FL and her work is refreshing for a historical Korean drama. The romantic rival actually backs off gracefully, which makes him quite swoony. The king is smart and conscientious. What are all of these nice people doing in a Korean drama?

There are some repetitive subplots and cartoonish elements but I think that this drama’s positives outweigh the negatives.

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I like the fact that this atypical drama took on the superpower genre and turned it into something original and unexpected. Rather than following the usual “with great powers come great responsibilities” rule, the family had little interest in saving the world. Instead, they tried to use their superpowers to live an ordinary life, even as ordinary life kept getting in the way of their superpowers. The counterpoint to the family was another atypical family of scammers, simultaneously despicable and endearing. The music in the drama was also unusual and, I thought, wonderful. I found The Atypical Family’s ultimate message of love and sacrifice to be much more compelling than that of the other Korean superpower drama, "Moving," which ended in the usual apocalyptic superpower battle between good and evil.

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I enjoyed the exposition of each major character's story, particularly that of Kim Bong Seok's and his mother's. Han Hyo Joo is one of my favorite actors and I thought that Lee Jung Ha did a great job. I loved the way that the writer teased out the connections and tensions with the more minor characters, which made me care about the minor characters almost as much as the major ones. So far so good. But the drama went downhill for me during the climactic battle scenes between the superheroes. The battle seemed like just the usual over-the-top but predictable superheroes battle. The "surprise" plot twists were emphatically not. Argh.

Perhaps I would not have been as disappointed had my expectations not been raised sky high as a result of the earlier episodes as well as by praise from reviewers everywhere? I kept hoping for one of those "I did not see that coming" moments. Maybe it will come in the sequel, in which case, I might reevaluate this review.

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Knight Flower was an entertaining watch, due primarily to Hanee (Honey?) Lee, whose comic timing and dimples are always spot on. Her loyal sidekick, played by Park Sehyun, was very funny, too. I heard some people criticize the choice of Lee Jongwon as the main love interest due to the age difference between him and Hanee but that did not bother me. It was his relatively green acting rather than his age that struck me at first. BUT his acting really grew on me as the drama developed and by the end I was completely Team Sooho. Or should I say Team Jongwon. Plus I think that Lee Jongwon did a better job of portraying love smitten than Hanee Lee did.

I was most disappointed by the antagonists, who were just straight up bad guys. I like dramas where the bad guys are more nuanced and complex, a mix of good and evil, whose morals are more ambiguous than in this straightforward, but admittedly enjoyable, drama.

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I like dramas that offer up something original while including some clever twists and turns. Thus, I enjoyed The Golden Spoon a lot. The drama attempts to illustrate how helpless and powerless the poor can feel and the lengths some might go through to claw their way up to become rich and powerful. There was a lot of good acting in this drama but the biggest revelation to me was Lee Jongwon, who played Hwang Taeyoung. He managed not only to switch convincingly between his rich and poor iterations but also made me care about a character who started off as seemingly entitled, shallow and flawed. I think Lee Jongwon stole the show from Yook Sungjae, who is no acting slouch himself.

I recognize that the Hwang Hyeondo character was one-dimensional and that his apparent omnipotence was not believable. Plus, as another reviewer also noted, there seemed to be an excess of golden spoons floating around towards the end. But the drama was so much fun that I didn’t really care.

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I just finished Flex X Cop and would advise people to check logic at the door because this is an entertaining watch as long as one doesn’t think too hard about it. For example, instead of wondering in what universe police would throw someone into a case with zero prior training (just imagine the potential liability), I would enjoy instead the protagonist’s fish out of water fumbling and his gradual acceptance by his peers. I had been underwhelmed by Bo Hyung Ahn as an actor in “See You My 19th Life,” but I’ve completely changed my mind after seeing him in this drama. He really sold his character and his story. I also thought that Park Ji Hyun, who plays the female lead, was good.

The ending left A LOT of loose ends. I heard recently that there will be a second season, which explains all of the dangling threads.

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I Liked: 1) The funny parts, such as game day in the Afterlife and Manager Gwi talking to the chicken. I think Korean dramas often shine when it comes to comedy. 2) The actor Choi Won Young. He’s such a versatile actor, funny in one drama and sinister in another. 3) The little vignettes of people and how they were helped by the Mystic Pop-up Bar characters.

I was not crazy about the following: 1) It was difficult to connect the present-day characters emotionally with their characters 500 years ago. It’s possible for one’s personality to change a lot over the years, particularly over the course of 500 (!) years, but because the characters seemed like completely different people, the past felt detached and less like a 500-year tragedy. 2)The ending. I am sometimes disappointed with Korean drama endings due to many writers' penchant for ending dramas happily, regardless of logic or consistency. I don’t have a problem with happy endings per se but too often the ending feels tacked on and added just for the sake of a happy ending. I felt that way here.

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Death’s Game has an interesting and thought-provoking premise. There is also fun to be had from spotting famous Korean actors in cameos or supporting roles. The amount of blood is not too surprising since death is the main topic but it gets very very gory several episodes in -- the type that curls your toes and feels gratuitous after awhile. On the plus side Seo In Guk does a great acting job, as do most of the other actors. But I wish that Park So Dam as Death had showed a little more nuance or range towards the end. Her acting seemed monotonous after awhile. There are also some logic gaps in the story that one has to ignore.

Mild spoiler: This is a drama where nothing changes but at the same time everything changes. And it is pretty powerful as an anti-suicide argument. I give it points for that.

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I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, party because of Han Hyo Joo and Park Hyung Sik. They both play likeable and relatable characters whose friendship to lovers story is natural, despite the unnatural setting of the story. I've always enjoyed Han Hyo Joo's dramas. Park Hyung Sik is more hit and miss for me but this one is a hit for me. The drama raises interesting questions about how a government might respond to a frightening and highly contagious epidemic, how infected people are treated not just by the government but also by each other, and what people might do to fight for survival. It can be ugly -- people can behave pretty badly when they're frightened -- but this drama shows that people can also be surprisingly generous and self-sacrificing. I suspect that the inspiration for this drama comes from the first major COVID epidemic before vaccines were developed and the world was terrified.

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This drama is a welcome antidote to all of the revenge dramas out there. Watching revenge dramas such as "The Glory" or "Vincenzo" is vastly entertaining and satisfying. "Call It Love," on the other hand, shows the emotional costs to one’s humanity and to innocent bystanders when one seeks revenge. Refraining from seeking revenge after one has been deeply wronged can be a sign of strength, not cowardice or weakness, and choosing to forego revenge can paradoxically leave one satisfied and more at peace with oneself. I’m glad that this drama shows the other side of revenge.

Shim Woojoo’s and Han Dongjin’s stories and their developing attraction to each other are beautifully told. I was impressed with Kim Young Kwan’s acting, which nails the still waters run deep-personality of Han Dongjin. Too often such attempts result in wooden acting (like Bo Hyun Ahn in "See You In My 19th Life"), but Kim Young Kwan is excellent. Even his back does a great acting job (you’ll understand if you watch this drama).

I watched this on Hulu but the subtitles were pretty bad and too often unintentionally funny. For example, when a tall, broad-shouldered, deep-voiced guy would laugh the subtitle would show, “Giggles.” Someone would cry and the subtitle would say, “Sniffles.” Big sigh. Or, as the subtitle would say, instead of sigh, “Snort.”

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The drama is decent, although not my favorite Jung Kyung Ho drama. I think that he did a great acting job as usual, along with the always terrific Park Sung Woong and Lee El. I think that Lee Seol suffered by comparison, particularly her one-note portrayal of Girl Gone Bad. But it was the script and story arc that I had the most problems with. The drama took on the topics of free will and divine guidance and made kind of a mess, which isn’t that surprising considering that theologists and philosophers have wrestled with those topics for centuries. I appreciate the fact that this drama made the attempt. I’ve noticed a lot of recent dramas dealing with the subject of free will and a character’s struggle to act independently of an omnipotent being, whether it’s a god or gods, manga writer, or game creator. It’s an interesting subject and deserves a better drama.

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This is a sweet and heartwarming story about young love. Watching the drama does require a large amount of suspension of belief because none of the characters look like athletes, particularly the so-called weightlifters. The swimmers also don't have the proper physique or form. (Why couldn't they have used a body double for the swimming scenes?) But the friends to lovers story is charming and well done, not least because Nam Joohyuk's acting is natural, relaxed, and believable. I could have done without the birth mother story line but luckily it didn't take up too much time.

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