Myaiv
A big disappointment
What I liked:*Music. I liked the minimalistic score and how silence was used. The silence fits well with the portrayal of the loneliness and isolation of the moon station.
*Cast.
*Visual effects and the set. I don't think this show had a huge budget but they did well with what they had. The effects are pretty good. The set looks pretty sturdy as well.
What I didn't like:
*Camera work. It was inconsistent. In the earlier episodes it was so shaky it was distracting and later in the show we got more creative techniques like the dolly zoom. I'm confused about why no one tried to fix it.
*Performances/script. The script was empty, it didn't build the character's backgrounds, we only get a vague idea of why every crew member is partaking in this mission. The dialogue felt unnatural. The performances suffered greatly due to how bad the script was. The writer didn't research at all that astronaut crews are trained to work under pressure but the crew in this show is all over the place.
*The story/worldbuilding. With the show's duration, we could have had a small world with its own logic and rules but we got an underdeveloped something. There were a lot of unanswered questions like what caused the water shortages, what did the people do to solve the problem, why was the original co-pilot switched at the last minute before departure, why did director Choi have that picture, why didn't the moon station fill up with water during the first incident, why did they introduce the spy storyline and gave no background on their mission, why did the sick people saw starfish?
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Fast-paced and unpredictable
This show has an amazing script. I haven't read the webtoon so I can't say how accurate this show is or how much of the script's "goodness" is due to the good quality of the webtoon, all I can say is that the script is awesome. I feel that all of Yi Jae's reincarnations will have a joint story arc since we are already seeing some of that at the end of part 1 of this series. I also like the overarching commentary about suicide and how strongly it can impact a person's loved ones and oneself if they survive the attempt. I think it was impactful and tastefully done. Other themes that this drama touches are also well done in my opinion. Please check the trigger warnings because some scenes and situations can be disturbing!!!The actors and acting are also pretty amazing.
I don't know much about camerawork and cinematography but those drone shots were cool.
I can't say that the music is very memorable but it didn't annoy me so that's that.
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Masterful writing and acting
The plot is amazing. It has action, interesting and intertwining character arcs, and most importantly commentary about the value of life. This drama is one of the best, in my opinion, regarding plot and storylines. Of course, I have to credit the webtoon authors Lee Won-sik and Ggulchan as well because this drama is based on their creation.I liked the first part of the series better because of the action and higher stakes. But the conclusion of this part delivers the main message of this drama - you get to live only one life, you are loved, and you should cherish your life, and live it to the fullest.
The acting was also phenomenal. Each actor put everything into their role and knocked it out of the park. I believe some actors delivered some of the best performances in their careers.
Can't say that I noticed the soundtrack. To me it was okay, it didn't enhance my experience watching this drama.
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Atrocious horrible awful writing
This drama sucked out 16 hours of my life that I'll never get back.What I liked:
*The performances. The acting is pretty good in this drama, considering the awful script, except for one and a half (?) actors who gave consistently bad performances. Baek Seo Hoo who plays Lee Man Hwi... No comment. I'm not 100% convinced about Won Ji An though. It could be In Hae's unlikeable character or the actress herself, I haven't seen her other dramas so I can't judge it fairly. Yoon So Hee who was unfortunately given a horrible character (Hae Won) played her well, good for her, I hope in her next drama she is the MFL, I kind of want to watch her play a well-written character.
*The characters of Woo Heol and his friends, Do Sik and Hae Won. Overall the characters are pretty shallow and one dimensional but they don't annoy me. I felt bad for Hae Won at first, she seemed like a good person, and she was honest the whole time and got nothing, she deserved better, until, of course, her character's assassination happened and erased some part of the complexity (which it doesn't have a lot in the first place) in this drama and turned her into a stereotypical evil and jealous female second lead.
*The soundtrack is pretty nice, especially the title song. That song introduced me to the singer Han Seung Yun whose discography I liked a lot. Btw stream Han Seung Yun's album 'Lovender'.
What I didn't like:
*I don't like how the main female lead has no chemistry with either of the male leads. I'm not rooting for either of the couples. I wish her 'falling in love' arc was about finding herself and loving herself but alas.
*The plot dragged. If the characters weren't so slow figuring out the basic plot, this drama could have been shortened by half. Also, there are weird cuts/transitions between scenes/plotlines. Lots of unnecessary flashbacks when the flashbacked snippet happened literally one scene ago. Also, why did the plot start normally happening only after the 10th episode? Overall, an interesting premise ruined by dumb slow characters, horrible pacing, and overall bad script. From the 14th episode, I started to skip through filler parts where nothing was happening. Thank god I saved some time which I'll be using watching better dramas.
*This drama has a 'no communication' trope instead of the 'miscommunication' trope which is so much worse: (Woo Hyeol doesn't say that he's going to die if In Hae doesn't fall in love; Do Sik doesn't directly ask In Hae about Woo Hyeol being a vampire immediately after seeing Woo Hyeol's supernatural powers; Do Sik takes out the journal about vampires, which he has been safekeeping as a family relic, straight after finding out about their existence and does not read it right away (????????); Mr. Ko telling Woo Hyeol the conditions of turning himself human bit by bit during the drama and not at once). Everyone is lying/omitting information and being vague about everything being okay. This only artificially builds conflict to solve later in the drama. All of the conflicts arise from not communicating properly and not actual problems/dilemmas. It's just bad writing.
*In Hae's character and Lee Man Hwi + other characters. She is a girlboss for being principled and not letting anyone push her around but dear god she's so annoying. In Hae has the audacity to be angry when Woo Heyol rightfully states that she ruined everything by waking him up early. She also has the audacity to forbid Woo Heol from leaving the house. Is he a child, is she his mother? Also, her personality turns 180 degrees after she confesses she likes Woo Hyeol. She said she needs him in a too-dependent kind of way. It's so weird and uncharacteristic of her. 'Don't you think it's selfish' says In Hae to Woo Hyeol who said that he would rather die than kill her because he already has lived a long life. Absolutely unhinged behavior by the MFL. This was done with no organic build-up. /// Baek Seo Hoo who plays Lee Man Hwi gave a pretty terrible performance, his portrayal of a villainous vampire seemed so fake it took me out of the drama. /// Most of the other characters are also written pretty badly. Everyone, including the characters that I do like, is so slow/dumb, they do not understand basic subtext/meaning when somebody says something or they don't understand what is happening. Watching them question what other characters have said or done when it's obvious is torture.
*The character assassination of Hae Won. At first, she was a nice, ambitious woman, straightforward about her intentions but then, after Woo Heol rejects her (very nicely by the way), she turns into a cartoonish villain who says 'This (the drawing of Woo Heol's first love who looks just like her) is enough to kick out In Hae (from her own freaking home that she owns and take over her place so Woo Hyeol can fall in love with her instead)'. Pardon me? Who wrote this? Because this is not how good writing looks. She spews similar absurd obsessive statements a bunch of times absolutely demolishing her character.
All in all, I will be avoiding the screenwriters of this drama because this is the worst writing I've seen in a long time.
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A beautiful disaster
What I liked:*The characters. The writers put so much detail into the characters, they felt so real and multilayered. The writers gave everybody a reason to act the way that they did and created very realistic and messy characters.
*The performances. Everybody was pretty good in this drama. Han So Hee stood out though, her performance was phenomenal. It was a delight watching her.
*The soundtrack wasn't very memorable but I really enjoyed that orchestral/instrumental music was used most of the time. It really gave more drama to the series.
What I didn't like:
*The plot was a bit too drawn out for me, it dragged a bit. If the drama was shorter by a couple of episodes I think it would have been less exhausting to watch. The plot was great nonetheless, very dramatic but still realistic. Due to being on the heavier side, I don't think it's very rewatchable.
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Pretty good but nothing extraordinary
I liked this drama, it was light, sweet, and a bit dramatic. Of course, it had its problems and cliches but I enjoyed it nevertheless.What I liked:
*The cast. All of the actors and actresses were chosen very well, they played their characters amazingly. The main cast aced their roles. Baek Kyung's actor Lee Jae Wook was absolutely amazing. There were some unconvincing performances by the main couple's actors but I can overlook that and maybe blame the script.
*Soundtrack. It was nice, it fit well within the drama it didn't blow my mind, however. Neverending story by SKZ is a bop though, I can't believe they didn't play the chorus in the drama.
*The set/visuals/effects. The school looked really nice, reminded me of pretty boarding schools from TV shows. The comic book effects like flowers, leaves, and the spotlight were implemented well, I liked that these effects were 'drawn by hand', it showcased that we're watching the panels of a comic book. I also thought that using cool and warm color filters for the 'stage' and 'shadow' was genius. It was easy to understand and follow which plotline we were watching without unnecessary explanations.
What could have been handled better:
*The story. The premise was interesting the execution could have been better. I think the essential plot was too simple and the show dragged out because of that. It could have been more tightly packed, maybe that would have given it more impact. Or they could have introduced other conflicts, for example, trying to travel to the other comic book world through the portal, or finding out who the writer is and changing their story that way, or traveling to the 'real' world.
*The cliches. I know that they are part of the plot because they are part of the comic book the Writer is writing but they could have been handled better. I can overlook them in the 'stage' but seeing the same cliches in the 'shadow' was a bit exhausting, it made the characters flatter.
*The characters. There were a lot of main and supporting characters and it would have been impossible to give every character a well thought out background. I understand why the supporting characters, who are not aware of themselves, are bland but we also saw more main characters than usual and they lacked depth, unfortunately.
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This review may contain spoilers
Amazing performances yet messy writing
It's an interesting premise that tripped and rolled down the stairs at the last steps. This drama is good overall and the acting is amazing but the messy script in the last third brings the whole thing down.What I liked:
***The performances. I think all of the actors gave really good performances for their characters. The main leads were great, and I especially liked Kang Seung-Ho who portrayed the grandson of the late Madam Joo.
***The soundtrack. It's nice, not overly noticeable though. I loved the intro song.
***The basic premise. If I overlook the messy details of the drama the fundamental plot is pretty interesting.
***The characters. Except for the villain and both second leads because of the flawed writing.
What I didn't like:
***Messy script/characterization in the last third of the drama.
(1.) It was an interesting decision to reveal Noh Suk Min as the main villain in the 9th episode just like that. We get to see a nice compilation of him doing his villainous deeds, and then a face reveal. Just like that, on a pretty silver platter and everything. Do the writers consider the viewers to be so dumb to not figure out who was responsible for everything? Why can't we piece everything together with the main leads? It would have been so much more interesting if we got to 'investigate' with them together. Also, Suk Min has the audacity to cry when his son and eventual victim tragically passes away due to how Suk Min was treating him? As of episode 12, we didn't get to see a close bond between the two of them to believe Suk Min's tears if they were genuine. If the tears are fake, he is not portrayed as a good actor/two-faced manipulator who has a curated persona shown to the public; he is shown as a cold and cruel person so it would be uncharacteristic to fake the tears. Whichever option doesn't make sense of the tears anyway. To me, it translates as bad writing.
(2.) The technical decision to make a whole separate episode for Gu-Won's past life instead of delivering the same information in a more elegant way. Maybe giving him wisps of dreams of how in his past life he fell in love and was made into a demon. He could have had a separate arc of finding out/trying to forget his past life with echo-y lines and foggy visuals from his dreams (you know, how people usually remember their dreams when they wake up). Mans had a whole movie play out in his mind one night instead and became conflicted about how he could be the cause of Do-Hee's downfall. This conflict could have been delivered with better writing quality and no changes to the amount of material filmed. Also, we get to see almost the same dream sequence backstory when Do-Hee remembers her past life. I can get past the first huge dream/past life backstory exposition but repeating it again and almost shot for shot? Exhausting and boring.
(3.) We are shown that after Gu-Won loses his powers his contracts are terminated, they literally burn to ashes, it's as if the wishes were never made (the little girl gets sick again). Since he got back his powers were his contracts magically restored? Why? Is this how it works? Shouldn't he make the contracts anew, the old ones burned away? I know it's nitpicky but hey, the drama should stick to its own rules.
***Stereotypical 'evil' second leads. Why do writers still rely on the drama created by second leads to drive the main romance forward? Can people truly not write good multidimensional characters that have their own story regardless of their feelings for the unattainable main leads? Both Jin Ga-Young (the dancer) and Joo Seok-Hoon (the not-really-cousin of Do-Hee) are one-dimensional 'pathetic' characters with unrequited love for their corresponding main lead. Nearing the end of the drama they come to realize that they have no chance to win over their main lead and move on, as ALWAYS with these types of characters. Uhhh. I'm just disappointed that the writers made these unsubstantial characters to drive the main leads away from each other when the main thing that is holding the second leads together is their unrequited love, warnings of how the other main lead is bad news, longing looks with eyes full of tears taped together with a few pieces of office tape.
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