Dramatic, Gorey, Enthralling

From start to finish, the presentation and story-telling of the show were gripping and exciting! Both the leads - the uncle and the niece play a fantastic part in this entire series - both together and separately! It definitely makes it a MUST WATCH.

If you enjoy action, thrillers, suspense - this show has all of that. You might have to put up with a bit of gruesome gorey killing sprees along with it so "Listen Well" - watch at your own risk depending on what you are able to handle. It did get a bit much for me. Though they try to spare you a bit with the camera panning to the killer rather than the victim. The story is actually not very complicated which is a plus point. There is a bit of back and forth with episodes 5 and 6 giving important background information but never for a moment did this show lose it's pace or get boring so don't let that make you hesitant.

The show is unrealistically realistic. It doesn't make superheroes out of nobodies. People are what you expect them to be and rely on their wits and other skills. Of course there are still unrealistic aspects to the show but the series completely draws you into the world despite that.

Just FYI, the story isn't complete and although there is no confirmation as of now but there probably should be a season 2. That is the only thing I wish wasn't the case. I would have liked an extra 2 episodes and the series to be concluded. Not sure what new season 2 could hold as expectations will now be through the roof.

The OST fits the series perfectly. The actors did a good job and I'm especially happy that Lee Dong Wook took up this project. He's just the icing and cherry on top of the cake!

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Slightly above average fantasy drama

The show started off interesting and it was good until the point when the ML gets his demon powers back. After that the story is the weakest with little happening. And quite a disappointing end.

The strong point of My Demon is it's OST and opening theme. The cinematography is good but not really used. They didn't try to showcase much of the Demon's powers except for comedic purposes. A lot of recent fantasy drama tropes have been repeated in this one so it felt boring. Still, among the recently airing/aired fantasy dramas, this was one of the better choices.

Repeated tropes included:
1. Chaebol parent forcing their child to get married where they end up in a contract marriage in order to make sure their parent does a health check up (similar to The Story of Park's Marriage Contract).
2. Past life connection - also in The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, My Man Is Cupid.
3. Mystery of a murder(s) - same as above
4. One lead realizing they have a past life connection and other lead slowly getting their past life memory back close to finale and - My Man Is Cupid
5. Cold ML, Warm FL - TSOPMC and My Man Is Cupid
6. A Superior being who is the boss of the supernatural lead - My Man Is Cupid
7. A SML that makes you wonder if they are playing a negative or a useless positive character - My Man Is Cupid, TSOPMC

There isn't much to the story that is new except that they added an element of religion more heavily than other dramas. It just felt a bit cheesy by the end because of it.

The couple make a really cute pair but at times their cuteness gave me sibling vibes rather than a hot couple. For the most part I wasn't bored and I'm giving it a 7 because I enjoyed the first half. Just wish it had more of a wow factor. The ending left a lot to be desired with the villain just turning out to be crazy for no good reason. Many of his actions didn't make sense. Like stealing the demon's book and not really ending up doing anything with it. And sacrificing his son. His end goal wasn't clear at all.

It's okay for a one time watch.

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Started great then got annoying

A lot of people rave about Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo so I had wanted to watch it since a long time. But after having seen it, I find it a bit overrated. I had an idea what kind of drama ending this was and this isn't about the ending but rather the turns the plot took that got too frustrating after a very interesting start.

Present day Hae Soo is a woman who had a series of unfortunate events happen to her and as she's sitting by a lake drinking her woes away, she notices a child floundering in the water about to drown. She decides to jump in to rescue him and instead finds herself 1000 years in the past. Now this was certainly an innovative way of time travel but by the end of it all, I began to wonder what was the point? It was only at the very end that it was explained but I was beginning to lose hope of getting an answer.

Initially, I loved every episode. I enjoyed Hae Soo's relationship with all the different princes. I loved her personality and teaching them modern vocabulary. The comedy was great with lots of cute scenes. The action was decent too as was the suspense. Then it started getting darker, Hae Soo was losing her spirit and there were a lot of time skips. The thing I found odd is, at one point someone refers to Hae Soo as being 29 years old and even after multi-year time jumps, she still refers to herself as being in her 20s.

It's understandable that life was difficult during that period with several discriminatory norms like "the king cannot marry a woman with scars on her body" and a lot of blood shed and politics trying to unseat the king. But that aspect of the show got really tiresome after watching 3 rounds of politics. At one point, the episode could no longer hold my attention and I just wanted to speed through to the end. I just about kept myself from skipping.

The actors all did a nice job. I liked the various personalities of the multiple male leads. Enjoyed their bonding and the changes they went through. Couldn't stand Queen Yoo and Princess Yun Hwa

My mental rating of the show went from 9 to 9.5 to 8 and finally 8.5 at the end. Though there were some emotional moments, I didn't really feel much for the most part of the series. The ending was decent but still left a lot to be desired. I wanted just a little bit more towards the very end since they seemed to have teased that there is something more but there hasn't been any talk of new seasons.

The OST is nice. A couple of songs stood out the most.

It's a good show to binge, but I don't see myself rewatching it.

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Better compared to the first season

Although season 2 is a good series, a huge reason that I did not enjoy Shadow Detective 2 is because of the gap between the two seasons. I wish they were released together or closer together. Splitting them up dampened the impact the series could have made. I had found season 1 quite confusing and difficult to follow and that made it harder to recollect incidents while season 2 was airing. The series also has a very long list of characters and names of people keep getting referred to so if you have a hard time remembering names, you'll struggle a bit to follow along.

The positive side is that since this season is about concluding the initial and current mysteries, towards the latter half of the series, it becomes much easier to follow along and there are fewer important characters to remember.

The pace of the story is quite slow and the tone is very serious so the dialogue delivery felt monotonous. That is what made it harder to watch even when things got interesting. There was not a single episode that I could continue without dozing off. I did enjoy the series when I could see the picture as a whole. The mystery aspect was stronger in the first season and the second season is quite different from that so it's possible to enjoy the first season more for that reason alone.

Ideally, in order to properly enjoy this show, one should watch both seasons one after the other. However, this series didn't leave a strong impact on me unfortunately.

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Riveting and a Breath of Fresh Air!

Kim Tae Ri has done is again. She keeps proving what an excellent actress she is and I am enjoying all her projects. Revenant is a gripping thriller-horror series that is a must watch in 2023 if for no other reason then for Kim Tae Ri's performance.

The opening theme starts off with a strong and creepy vibe and the story is a slow build up of the suspense. However, the pacing is good as so much is happening in each episode. The ghostly visuals are really a unique take on horror in the form of shadows. So if you are faint of heart, this show is still enjoyable.

Folklore professor Haesang, Gu Sanyoung and officer Lee Hongsae work together to discover the identity and the mystery surrounding the evil spirit that has possessed Gu Sanyoung and is going on a murder spree. They are forced to try and solve the mystery through bits of information that Sanyoung's father left behind, along with other clues they slowly collect along the way starting with the 5 mysterious objects related to the evil spirit.

The story is captivating and the series has a high production value thus making is visually appealing. Most enjoyable was the chemistry between Hongsae and Sanyoung despite this not being a romance series as well as the final episode.

The final reveal of the spirit's story is done in the last 3 episodes. But with the evil spirit always aware of their actions, it's a race against time to get ahead.

With 12 episodes, this series is not difficult to binge. You'll enjoy every moment of it.

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An emotional rollercoaster at first

For the first 6 episodes, I was crying because of how deeply I felt Bora's break-up. I was not expecting this. I thought it was a fun and light-hearted show. It does have plenty of those moments but it is also pretty realistic and I enjoyed that.

The female and male lead of this show are far from perfect. They mess up quite a bit but the good thing is that each of them are learning through their experiences and learning to grow instead of repeating mistakes. The main thing you see with them is that even when they don't necessarily like each other, they are considerate of each other. When they see the other in their lowest moments, they offer support without being asked. These are the things that win hearts and it certainly won mine. Though I did feel frustrated with the way each of them dealt with their exes at first. In fact, I was especially annoyed when Bo Ra allowed her ex to try to be friends with her. I would have blocked him and not given him an opportunity to ever contact me again. But that's just me. With So Hyuk, I could relate actually. Not being able to fully express himself. Although, I didn't fully understand his reason for it.

Let's move on to the side couples. HEAVY SPOILERS.

1. The best friend and her husband. Honestly, there were so many moments where I thought she's going to divorce her husband. They had no communication or understanding of what the other wanted. And I can imagine that after a while (beyond the ending of the show), everything will go back to the way it was.

2. The sister, Bo Mi and the soldier dude. Yes, they were cute but the sudden pregnancy just spells disaster to me. Neither of them were financially ready for a relationship, let alone a baby. Both are naive and clueless. A shotgun wedding might seem great for a drama conclusion but few years down the line, when bills pile up, they might start resenting each other. The only positive point is that the guy did not shy away from taking responsibility. They still should have figured their life out rather than acting like teenagers which I am guessing they are not. In fact, there's next to nothing we know about them. The show just seemed to suggest that Bo Ra will move in with So Hyk and Bo Mi and her fiance/husband will live in the house Bo Ra paid for. Convenient.

3. The CEO and the young office worker. I really expected him to reconcile with his ex-wife considering they ended things on a misunderstanding. They kept running into each other and it would have been nice if they could at least try on a new note even if it didn't work out. The office worker was too child-like. Not sure why they wrote such a character. The CEO also seemed a bit off to me at times. Like indulging in back-biting, giving horrible advice, not supporting the office worker in front of everyone, forcefully removing the partitions when clearly most of the workers aren't comfortable without it. He's not a bad guy but he still gave me weird vibes at times.

There are a few moments that I felt were not needed.
- Comparing the situation during the holocaust with self-care was far too extreme.
- Promoting books by Trump considering most of his businesses were failures.
- Quoting Elon Musk when most of his success is on the back of what others already built.
Not blaming the actors but rather the writers for adding these points. It made me think there is a disconnect between how Korean society thinks and the west. Or maybe it's simply a language barrier. Or maybe anyone can have an issue with a famous personality. I just have my reasons for finding these mentions unnecessary.

In any case, I still enjoyed the show because the lead couple made watching worthwhile.

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Kept me hooked with their mystery

Despite being 18 episodes long and a bit slow at times, there is enough drama, mystery and some very cute romantic moments that keep you hooked.

Although the series took a long time to finally get to it's conclusion, I enjoyed the characters a lot. Loved the bromance between Kang San and Si Yeol especially. Loved the romance between Dan O and Kang San. They were truly cute together. Jung Yoo Ha, Kang San and Si Yeol's contrasting personalities worked so well together. And the mystery of who is who and what will happen was worth watching. The ending is only predictable when you have 2 episodes left so the show makers did a good job in keeping us guessing.

Although I liked Si Yeol and Dan O's sister, Hong Joo, interactions as well, there were moments were she completely pissed me off.

All the actors have done a marvelous job.

The OST is also nice.

All in all, I had an enjoyable time watching it!

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Laidback Series

Divorce Attorney Shin isn't like other law dramas where there is a lot of dramatic cases and dialogues in courtrooms. It's a quite down to Earth style of story-telling.

There is a bit of mystery surrounding what drove Attorney Shin to change careers from being a pianist to studying law but it's not an over the top story. A lot of the cases that are dealt with in this show are quite realistic and sometimes divorce is quite necessary. Shin makes sure to never judge his clients.

If you are hoping for a romance plotline between the leads, there is none but there is romance as a secondary storyline. There is also a very mature version of bromance that grows on you.

The child actors played a wonderful role. Both mother and child and Shin and his nephew had heart-warming relationships.

Overall the show is quite enjoyable.

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Educational to a degree

Before you begin watching this series, you must know that it is rated 18+ for a reason. The first episode bares all quite literally. However, the rest of the episodes are somewhat milder with some explicit scenes in between.

The two main female leads host a podcast that deals with talking about sex from the female perspective. It also includes discussion on periods and premenstrual syndrome. Some of the information discussed in the show is good but I didn't find it exceptionally new. There was potential but it missed covering aspects like those who have never had sex to begin with. Most of it is related to those who have been having sex for a long time and issues they have faced. The series also tries to deal with healthy attitudes towards the discussion of sex with partners. Again it seemed to miss the opportunity to teach men explicitly to listen to their female partners which a lot of men don't seem to grasp very well or don't think they need to. They do cover healthy partnerships but they could have driven the point across further.

It's a good show to watch for conservative audiences that don't have much access to information related to sex. But it cannot be considered an all inclusive show about sex education. It's better to pick sex ed websites/videos and not entirely depend on such a show. It just discusses a range of topics that one can then further research into.

Although the plot is good, the characters are good, there were at least two scenarios presented without any real advice given. A lot of the advice seekers were left on read. I'm not sure why. In any case, it's not a boring show. Pacing is good. Good for a one time watch. I watched it hoping to learn some new information and have rated it accordingly.

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Intense and loved it!

Finally completed the series and what an incredible part 1 it was. Can't wait for part 2!

Some things that really stood out to me:
- The intro theme is just so stunning visually with the haunting music and the clues. Also love the lavender colour scheme!
- The bullying in the beginning is horrid and I genuinely hope there are no real cases of people like this. I cannot imagine them as normal human beings. However, this should not dissuade anyone from watching. It's awful but still watchable as they do not linger on such scenes.
- The female lead, despite going through a terribly traumatic experience, managed to still maintain her kindness and we see hints of that. Even though she is out for revenge, she is still more moral than her bullies.
- Loved the early interactions of the intern and the female lead.
- Episode 6 ending brought tears to my eyes. I hope this ends in the best possible way.
- Even though the terrible trauma, two women manage to bond. I loved those scenes and both actresses.
- The doctor's back story is a plot twist I didn't anticipate. It explains his decision moving forward. It's also nice to see Lee Do Hyun in a different sort of character.
- I am interested to see the position the husband takes in this revenge plot.
- Are children more cruel than adults or do the adults just have more to lose? The bullies were far worse as teens. Definitely more menacing. Not sure if the student actors just did a better job or it's because the punishment as adults makes them more careful. I'm not sure if it was a directorial decision or just talent. I can't decide.
- Song Hye Kyo as Moon Dong Eun is perfect. Yes, she is more sure of herself and her plan but we see through her in her weak moments. This is a person who never overcame their trauma. Not all wounds are external. I'm glad we see these so as to not forgot why she is doing this.

It was a little ironic to see Shin Ye Eun as the bully, Park Yeon Jin, in The Glory after seeing her seeking revenge for the murder of her twin in Revenge Of Others. She definitely knows how to play both contrasting roles well. Props to her!

I would have given this show a 10/10 if it was complete but it leaves us hanging in anticipation for part 2. It was still a 9.5 as it kept me hooked for every second. I enjoyed the pacing overall. Perhaps a little slow in the final episode (I didn't mind) but that's mostly because the show was split up post-production. I have high expectations for the remainder of the show. There is a hint of a romance but not really. It's mostly a very focused plan that we are led through. The stage is set. I am ready for the revenge to be served.

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Lots of Gore

It's hard to rate it because I didn't hate the show but I didn't fall head over heels for it either. The concept is interesting. The male lead has a special ability to reconnect and heal it's broken parts within seconds. It's a lot like Venom (which I loved) but much more bloody. One day he is just walking along humming a song he wrote when he gets himself kidnapped by organ harvesters. His eye balls get removed but he manages to wake up and plop one of them back in before bolting. Meanwhile his other eye gets placed in the head of another man. The male lead starts to see visions of him and in trying to find and get back his eye, he discovers the man's secret. He's a serial killer.

Up until this point, the show was pretty interesting but it just goes downhill from there. Lots of running around. Lots of incompetent police officers which drive you nuts. SO MUCH GORE. If blood and torture and dissection of bodies bothers you then you will probably hate this show as there is a lot of it from time to time. I just about managed to make through it by watching it in 2x.

I did love the visuals of the connect. The CGI was top notch. I enjoyed the intro theme. Looks beautiful. The main song also really grows on you. There are some action sequences that I enjoyed but too few to really enjoy. More of it would have increased my rating. I actually enjoyed the serial killer aspect to the story because without it, there wouldn't have been anything interesting about the story.

However, the twist related to the serial killer was just a little too much. It wasn't needed in fact. And if anything it made the story a little over the top. There's also an unnecessary sex scene in episode 2.

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
I also found the end frustrating because when you are trying to escape a building, you go down and not to the roof.

Overall, I thought it could have been improved in several ways which is probably why I wouldn't bother rewatching it. But it's fine for a one time watch being such a short show.

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Lost me in the second half

Season 1 was honestly great but season 2 didn't live up to the mark. There were many times where I felt the show was trying too hard to be perfect that it lost the natural feel to it.

As a summary/recap, Deib was a popular high school kid who had a popular group of friends. He used to bully Max, a poor but strong girl and eventually they fell in love. Deib had an older brother, Dale, who was shot and left for dead for which Deib blames himself for being inebriated at the time. His parents also blamed him for a while. His father continues to be harsh with him and nothing Deib does to make up for it seems to be good enough for his father. Deib had hired a private investigator who then went missing at a crucial point. When it is revealed that Max's uncle Boyet is at the center of Dale's shooting incident, it puts a strain on Max and Deib's relationship.

There is nothing wrong with the story as such. In fact, up until the mid point it was pretty interesting. But after a while, you start to feel bored and wish the story could move faster. Or something new would happen. And when it does, you feel like this just doesn't make any sense. There are some interesting side characters - Niah, Ysay and Lee, but even their plot appears to move in circles. The sudden disappearance of a character also felt strange and unresolved. There's a death that felt like it was added for the shock value as it serves no purpose.

Acting wise, I felt the cast did a really good job though I did feel like there were more crying scenes than required. Sympathetic crying happened a bit too often. Also some of the characters feel more like cheering squads in this season and don't have a life of their own even when they could have had their own stories that were initiated in season 1.

By the end of season 2, I felt a bit tired to continue. It is mostly filled with cliches. That is why it took me 3 days just to finish watching the finale.

There are some good moments and positive messages like loving yourself, doing what is good for you, sisterhood, etc. It's just the presentation that feels unfamiliar.

One thing that does stand out is the exceptional OST. There are some beautiful tracks that I fell in love with while watching this show like Kahit Na Kahit Pa, Did You Let Me Go, I Just Miss You and the title track He's Into Her are some of the most memorable ones.

The show couldn't live up to the first season's performance but it is good for a one time watch so that the story is tied up.

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A very long vacation aka a slow burn

The first episode was not great as I was watching and I wondered if it was a good pick but the ending of the episode touched my heart and that is when I began to enjoy the story.

The acting and characters are wonderful and the story is sweet but there are times when you wish they had gotten together already. Then again the show is titled 'Long Vacation'. You're in it for a long ride.

The piano and OST are beautiful and catchy but there are times when the music overlaps on the piano playing which is a possible drawback. I would have liked to listen to Sena play more.

Sena and Minami make a good pair with her outgoing and overly positive and peppy nature and his introverted, shy, and hesitant nature which she brings out the best in while he provides her with the dependable sweetness that she longs for.

I would have loved to see some moments of them as an official couple where they know where they stand with each other.

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I am not one to watch horror shows generally but I was curious because it only has 8 ten minute episodes. That is great for binge watching. If you scare easily like me then let me just say that the show is watchable and probably won't give you nightmares. But it does have a major jump (or in my case scream) scare. There is some amount of gore but it's not that bad. Or at least it didn't bother me and I can't stand gore.

Getting to the story, I liked the setting of the call center and the concept of the show. It not new in the least but it is interesting enough to make you want to watch and find out what is going to happen and why things are happening the way they are. So that mystery element is a good driving point. I won't claim it to be the best show but for 10 min episodes, it's a fun watch. It's the length of a movie.

If you are a huge horror fan, then you might not enjoy the series as the scary parts are mild. Then again it might be worth giving a shot.

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Wasted potential

This could have been one amazing thriller/horror series but it was truly disappointing after a great start!

The story revolves around an archaeologist who is requested by monks to translate the inscriptions on a seal. This seal was placed on a Buddha statue that contained an evil spirit and buried by a powerful monk a long time ago. There was so much to explore in terms of who this evil spirit belonged to. How did it come to possess the Buddha statue? Why was the only option to seal and bury the statue and not destroy such a dangerous thing?

The first two episodes were really good but the 3rd episode made it all about people getting possessed and killing each other. I understand that it was important to explain why the statue was so dangerous but it would have helped to understand why the evil spirit works in this way. This episode just reminded me of zombies. Also, there was no consistency. Some people were affected very quickly while others were delayed in getting affected. What was the importance of having a strong heart? It seemed like there was no one strong enough to resist the statue.

I thought the scene with the crows was quite incredible visually. I just felt like it was pointless to the story. Why were they attacking people? Would they cross towns eventually and attack everyone?

Finally, why did the archaeologists go there unprepared? Dipping his magazines in the muddy water and hoping it sticks to the statue is a terrible plan to save people. Also, the cop mother was infuriating. She had no idea her son is being bullied. She had no trust in him and there is no explanation why. It felt like something was missing since her son was making amends. Also, she was acting foolishly several times which added to my frustration with her. As a cop, you expect her to be more sensible.

Finally, the show moves on to a new mystery without exploring what happened after everything was done. What happened to the villagers who survived and if anyone who was possessed managed to survive besides the main characters? The ending was a bit too abrupt. There was so many ways of making this an incredible short series. I wish they would have taken 2 more episodes in order complete the story and explain a lot of the events instead of rushing through things and hinting at a second season. I just hope they read these reviews and work on their story for next season.

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