I never rewatch but this drama made me rewatch EVERY episode while airing!

This drama is an art, a masterpiece! The writing and directing is genius, and the actors are monsters themselves in becoming one with their characters. Beyond Evil is just such a treat to watch!

This is definitely a slow burn, but the type where you can’t even notice how much time has already passed - a lot of the episodes left me feeling pleasantly surprised that an hour had already gone by. It is engaging and enchanting at the same time.

I will always love the buildup in this drama, most of similar style would somehow bore me but the direction here fits the narrative perfectly, I can feel the intensity of each scenes even without much visual stimulus! Just showcase the facial expressions of each characters, and you’ll know you’re in for a ride. It is evident that every detail is placed with very careful calculations, and I must say, the roller coaster ride becomes crazy once episode 5 starts, and it’s showing no signs of stopping so far with 10 episodes in. The writer and director are very effective in showing multidimensional characters and that adds so much more depth to the story. The way this drama portrays their “humanity” sets it apart from other series with similar premises.

This is indeed a PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER. The state of the characters when faced with incredulous situations matched with amazing acting makes you marvel at the grays of human choices and its inevitable outcome. We are already at episode 10 but I still can’t grasp where this story is heading...and I would gladly follow it blindfolded!

Definitely a must watch!

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Shooting my heart dead

Where do I even start? The storytelling was superb. How the first person POV fits the whole narrative will always get me. I watched this twice already yet still felt the same pain. So much more pain, even. This film literally shot my heart dead. Twice.

I love how they used the scenes to evoke specific emotions from the audience. Scenes that are so mundane, so natural, so human. Not a thread of forced sympathy was weaved in this beauty of a story. The message was quite subtle and fragile (you just want to take care of it and watch it evolve/unfold), but the way they portrayed it was loud. Loud with reality, not with noise.

Also, the actors were stellar! They brought the characters to life. They have this nuance and amazing understanding of the characters’ core and embodied that for the world to see.

Need I say more? Because. I cried. A lot. More than a lot.

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INTENSE!!!

I have no words to truly describe this work as I was left speechless after all that intensity.

Nonetheless, now that I’ve been given the time to make sense of everything that had happened...THIS MOVIE GAVE ME COGNITIVE DISSONANCE AND I’M LOVING IT. Amazing plot! Intense scenes! My heart keeps on jumping out of my chest with the blazing intensity!!!!

The plot was amazing, it left me clutching my heart not knowing what to feel. Human nature and relationships...what could be more confusing than this? Yet this movie made so much practical use of this confusion which made the whole experience of cognitive dissonance paired with that level of action/gore scenes a mind-boggling and heart-stopping one. This movie was DARK. It shows you the dark side of humanity that we would do everything within our power to look away from. This movie clasps your face, looks you in your eyes, and make you not look away at the capacity of human darkness. Yet, it also seemed lacking in that part mostly because of how they didn’t show much of Hwayi’s relationship with the other characters, which brings me to my next point...

The only reason I didn’t give this a 10 was because I would’ve liked more story about how he grew up with his “5 dads” as this would’ve made the plot richer, and the story behind his “stepmom” and how she became a captive of that house of criminals just because I want to know the whole story and not just fragments of what they’ve shown. Also, I keep on wanting to know if Hwayi intentionally killed that 1st dad or was it accidentally, I think that was an important part of Hwayi’s determination and actions after but they didn’t address that: only that he didn’t answer when it was mentioned but that could be interpreted based on how the viewers want and no other hints were given to make the answer sure :( these were just minor points and wouldn’t necessarily affect the whole plot which is why it only affected my rating as much.

Honestly, although the plot was amazing, the storyline was not as solid. But the thing is that even that makes sense and that this fits the premise of the plot more. Why? Because it’s a story of 5 criminals with different personalities and specialties, raising a child with a complicated and secret past that only their somewhat “leader” knows. That’s one heck of a rather bumpy ride.

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A beautiful disaster with a happy ending

I love how raw the emotions are portrayed in this drama and although some of these emotions were heavy and ugly, they were still able to effectively translate it into something the viewers can relate and sympathize with. The main cast is amazing here, they have undeniable chemistry and just made the story seem like the viewers are with them in their journey together - especially loved how they incorporated themes of different fairytales.

What I found anticlimatic was the supposed-to-be final revelation for the resolution to happen, it just didn't sit well with me and felt a bit sloppy and far-fetched, though it still was a surprise.

Nonetheless, the main plot of this drama which is highly grounded on the mental headspace of an individual was effectively portrayed and conveyed. This might fall a little heavy on those dealing with issues but the title says it all: "It's Okay to Not be Okay".

This is also quite a pure story of different kinds of love from different types of broken people, and I think that, by itself, is worth the watch.

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Heartwarming with a bittersweet aftertaste

I am in love with what this drama makes you feel! It gives you this bittersweet taste of not knowing for certain what should be bitter and what should be sweet. A lot of scenes were shown to supposedly be pleasant yet the emotions it translates leaves you clutching at your heart; confused as to what you should actually be feeling.

There are certain plot holes but they could be easily overlooked because of how flexible the plot is: anything can happen when it's fantasy. The main couple also exudes with chemistry and I am loving how pure and selfless their romance is with the whole "I love you enough to let you go" trope. I also love their cute and wholesome bickering, adds so much fluffiness to my heavy heart. Their love is very subtle yet leaves a very deep impression to the viewers.

Each character also has their individual subplots which adds more flavor to the overall story - especially loved the whole parallelism of the female lead's past and present (and how they tackled reincarnation). I will always remember how effective this storyline is in evoking conflicting and contradicting emotions, which takes this drama a notch above other dramas with similar premises.

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Interesting plot with uninteresting end

I really love how the comedic aspect was utilized in this drama, it never felt forced and was just so naturally injected into the characters' roles - very seldom can dramas effectively incorporate comedy without it feeling randomly shoved at the viewer's face.

It was overall a fun watch, I especially enjoyed the budding romance of the king and queen (considering the male soul intermixed with the original one) and enjoyed even the interactions of the other characters, but it failed to properly wrap-up its loose ends which made episodes 18-20 a bit sloppy and disappointing. The way they ended this drama made it feel rushed and out of the blue.

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A lot more “popular” dramas are worse than this...

This may not have one of the most cohesive and solid plots out there but there are a lot more “popular” dramas that are worse than this...I don’t get the hate, really...but I do get the frustration because I am frustrated with the lost potential of the story - even the performance of the actors can be easily overlooked because of this.

I honestly believe this drama would have had a more solid storyline if it was just 16 episodes long (as compared to 20 episodes). The reason I gave this a chance even after the gruesome episodes 13 and 14 experience was because of how adorable Zero Nine was, Yeo Jin Goo never fails his fans with how talented he is at portraying and owning his characters...but even my love for him barely made me continue watching as I have decided to stop agonizing myself if episode 15 was as unbearable to watch...surprisingly, the story went back to its natural and original flow and that’s how I got to finish this drama (with an active choice to forget about how episodes 13 and 14 ruined its potential).

I honestly loved how the story built the love line between the main characters; it wasn’t forced in any way - it was realistic, relatable, and surprisingly natural. I loved the adorable robot but I couldn’t find myself rooting for their love at the beginning (obviously) whilst knowing how inevitable their separation would be, but the story had me going with its flow and mesmerized me with the natural development of their feelings for each other (how astonishing it might be for a robot to become self-aware, yet the one amazing thing in this drama was how they effectively integrated this in the story).

Yes, I ended up tearing my very own logical and rational mind apart - throwing away all reason and just asking the writer/director to let the main couple be happy, robot and all, I didn’t care anymore. That’s why, although I wouldn’t be able to recommend this drama to other people if you aren’t an avid fan of any of the cast or if you care so much about the cohesiveness of the plot (like me), but I also won’t let other people call this trash without even trying to watch past the prejudice this drama is getting. Because compared to other “popular” dramas, this actually left more of an impression.

This drama did RomCom justice, the cringe it gives you isn’t sappy - it actually leaves you giddy. Just that the writer/director weren’t able to give the plot and the cast proper justice - it was the engaging talents of the actors which saved the whole show. This drama had a whole lot of amazing potential, I tell you, and if you take away episodes 13 and 14 (or at least made better use of the scenes here), it would’ve spared this drama from a lot of criticisms and judgments.

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Heavy in all the right places

This drama would make you keep on anticipating the next episode/s because of how heavy and intense the scenes are. I would always need time to pause before watching because it keeps me at the edge of my seat. Every episode has its own twist and when you thought it was over, another bomb would drop! It's just very well-written!

I can say, with full confidence, that this drama is a masterpiece! It will make you feel like you're reading a book with the amount of detail it gives you. The flow is truly astounding, you can feel how much care and thought the writer and director have given to produce this amazingly intricate and solid feast of a story. Everything is just beautifully laid out, the storyline is well put together and the production effectively executed! I am by no means despising how this drama played with my heart (with all its heart-stopping scenes), it's just such a beautiful experience!

Honestly, the journey towards the ending was a bit worrying and all the more excruciating as the story progresses even more profoundly...I kept on thinking how they would plan to end such a powerful story, but my worries were proven to be in vain, for this drama didn’t even give me any time to breathe! I could think of only one scene to make the ending better (for my preference) but other than that, I could say no more. One of the best storytelling done on screen!

P.s. I really think both the king and queen died in the end...the ending part was a bit of an open-ended one with how they played with bits of “dream-like” features for that last scene which suggested how it is possible that both have died and met each other at the after life (I prefer this though, making this drama an utterly beautiful tragedy)

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Slowly creeps in your heart

This is the very definition of a feel-good drama genre for me. The characters have enough depth for you to relate and sympathize with, and they were very effective with the subtle comedic touch.

The subplots were very well-executed, and this made the main plot more rich and entertaining.. At the same time, the main plot and subplots blended effectively in which the main couple weren’t there to overshadow the other couples, but instead showcased the beauty of their own stories.

This is a really enjoyable watch! It’s a simple and straightforward story that slowly entices you until you just can’t help but watch the remainder of the episodes.

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