Brianna
Michigan
This review may contain spoilers
***Mild spoilers in this reviewStory: The premise of this drama was interesting. Ha Na and Doo Na are twin sisters living with their mom, attending school, and enjoying life. However, Ha Na discovers she can see ghosts and become possessed by them after witnessing the suicide of a fellow classmate. From there the drama touches on a few different storylines. We have the murder of Ha Na’s sister Doo Na who goes on to possess Ha Na to seek revenge, the meeting between Ha and criminal psychoanalyst Shin Ryu who ends up using her supernatural abilities to kill criminals, and exact his own vengeance, and two separate murder cases that are used to drive the story a bit further.
Pros: The characters were engaging, and I really enjoyed the connection between Ha Na and criminal psychoanalyst Shin Ryu. You could see how Ha Na and Shin Ryu descended into their own personal madness, and there were some extremely sad moments that made me feel for the characters, especially Ha Na. It was a very powerful look at how one should be prepared to dig two graves when looking for revenge.
Cons: As much as I enjoyed it, there were flaws. There were lapses in logic and the direction of the story. Yes, it was a tad cliched with all the screaming and the “scary” bits, but I didn’t really mind. What I did mind were some of the plot holes and unnecessary scenes.
For example, at the beginning of the very first episode, we have this scene that seems super important, a foreshadowing of events to come perhaps? Well, not exactly. It had no impact on the story whatsoever. I went in thinking that this scene was going to happen somewhere in the 10 episode drama, but it didn’t, so why include it?
Another example of a lapse is the reason for the murder of Ha Na’s sister Doo Na. Ha Na witnesses an altercation between the girl who commits suicide and the male bully in her class. After the girl commits suicide her ghost leads Ha Na to the roof where she dropped her phone before jumping. The audience is lead to believe that there is some sort of incriminating evidence on the phone that would be bad for this bully and his two goons. The bully finds out about Ha Na and the phone and devises a huge ploy to get the phone back involving kidnapping Doo Na. But the phone is never mentioned again. Ha Na left it in the basket of her bike which she threw aside to save her sister, and it disappears. But it doesn’t even seem like the bullies have it. There was no indication they took it, and the next day nothing is said about it. They instead worry about if they’ll be found out for their involvement in Doo Na's death. You’d think the writers would’ve spent a few minutes on why the phone was important, or at least shown these guys taking it back. That was the purpose behind kidnapping Doo Na. What was on it, why was this bully harassing this girl? It seemed like the writers were going to make a big deal about why this girl killed herself and the phone, and it wasn't properly conveyed.
There were other things such as characters knowing information they shouldn't have known (the main antagonist learns about Ha Na's supernatural ability, but it's not shown how), or when Ha Na finds a picture of Shin Ryu looks him up and states that they’re the same age (this really bugged me). Maybe the subbers got it wrong, but there is noooo way Ha Na and Shin Ryu were the same age. No way. When they first met she was in high school for crying out loud and he was a 30+ something-year-old man working with the police. Sure there's a 2-year jump and she's older towards the end, but they still wouldn't be the same age. It was just another situation that made me scratch my head.
And, in the last few episodes, we have another murderer loose who is killing white collar criminals. Other than a few TV broadcasts, Shin Ryu’s interest (he subsequently teaches a class on this new killer), and the fact that the antagonist frames him for these murders (the audience is never shown how this is done), we have no idea who has been killing people, and don’t get any resolution on the matter. I mean maybe the bad guy hired someone to do these murders to frame Shin Ryu, but again if this was the case the writers should’ve conveyed that to use somehow.
Overall: Plot holes aside I still enjoyed it and I would recommend it. I love the revenge aspect of any show, and it was satisfying to see the bad guys get their due. The ghost scenes were pretty cool, and honestly, this is perfect for people who are into suspense and a little bit of horror. Are there flaws? Yeah for sure, there wasn’t a lot of closure on certain things, sometimes the acting was cringy, and the ending was very sad, but it’s short and sweet compared to other dramas that have 20+ episodes. Just be ready to question a few things and shake your head at times.
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Story: Claire is a massive K-Drama fan who by some crazy miracle gets sucked into her favorite drama "Taste of Love." She then becomes a Facilitator, someone who works behind the scenes to make sure the characters get their happy endings. She's introduced to fellow Facilitator Seth who quickly shows her the ropes and recruits her. See, something bad is happening in Dramaworld, and the story is in major trouble. It's then up to Claire to get it back on track so our beloved characters get their happily ever afters.
Pros: I thought the story was enjoyable, and I was certainly engaged with the story. I laughed and shouted at my screen in frustration, and there WAS A TWIST THAT I WASN'T EXPECTING, so that was pleasantly surprising. The best part was the portrayal of your stereotypical K-Drama characters and the tropes, and I found myself nodding and laughing as all the best parts of a K-Drama that make you roll your eyes were pointed out. You have the hot, but arrogant leading man, the sweet leading woman, the secondary shady woman, the second male lead, the overbearing mother, etc. The way they poked fun at the tropes was great too. For example, rushing to a help a guy after he's hit by a car will cause him to fall in love with you at first sight, there's the "magnetic pull," where drunken piggyback rides are galore, female characters will always be saved by a male suitor before hitting the ground from fainting or tripping, the "mandatory" hot show scene so the leading male can show off his abs, flashbacks that cause time to stop, dreams can be manipulated to further the story, etc.
Cons: I wanted more character development. Not necessarily with the characters of "Taste of Love" since their roles were that of your cliched drama characters (and their memories are reset when their drama comes to an end, with them adopting new personalities and stories for the next drama), but more with Claire and Seth. Of course this is a 10 episode 15-20 minute series so I can understand the lack of development.
Overall: It's a fun, creative comedy series to watch if you're not looking for anything serious or gut-wrenching. I will say that for a short show it pulled me in, and even had a few surprising twists and a pretty great cliffhanger that has my hopes high for a second installment; and maybe even some more character development. I mean the possibilities are endless.
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