Unapologetically overdramatic makjang

This is a makjang, through and through. If you're out looking for blood (in television, of course), this is the drama for you.

This was always going to be polarizing. It's got a lot of glaring flaws: unrealistic setting, convenient plot devices, plot holes, and a whole lot of need for a suspense of disbelief. But heck if it isn't addictive if you're willing to turn off your common sense. Approach it as if it were a fantasy show, because you're probably going to need that mindset.

Anyways, this has everything you want in a soap opera. It primarily features extremely wealthy families constantly at each others' throats, out of jealousy, desire for power, and sometimes for no reason at all. All this leads to affairs, backstabbing, bullying, and of course, deaths. At its very core, there is a revenge scheme, one that causes ungodly amounts of collateral damage.

The show only follows a loose sense of logic, but it doesn't abandon it entirely, which would've made it impossible to follow. Everything is exaggerated, but it's built around the foundation of the real world. But the real reason you'll be staying is that the show is absolutely one thrill of a ride. For some reason, everyone in the show is obsessed with training their child to become an opera singer, but the show makes singing seem so high-stakes it's borderline hilarious. But then it really hits you with the consequences, and you're just suddenly invested in this war of opera singing because you want someone to end up very badly. That's basically how it is with the show. You're mainly driven by hate, and you're going to hate different characters in the different stages of the story, and you're going to keep watching because you want something unfortunate to happen to them.

In all, it's one heck of a ride, because you never know what's going to happen next. Most of the characters are villainous, some comically so, but it all works in the show's favor, because you're rooting for whatever causes them misfortune, and you're just dying for them to get their comeuppance.

In short? CRACKTASTIC.

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fun, fast-paced, with fantastic chemistry

knight flower was thisclose to garnering a perfect 10 in my book, but the last two episodes fell off somewhat plot-wise, so we have a solid 9.5 on our hands instead.

the show does a remarkable job juggling comedy, historical gender politics, palace politics, and age-gap romance. it is primarily concerned with comedy and romance, but it can also effortlessly shift to the show's more serious endeavors into the hierarchal shackles of the joseon dynasty when it wants to. even the palace politics, an area that i often find lacking in kdramas, were reasonably well-written for what small part it played in the first half of the show.

now onto the real highlights of the show. the actors & their characters.

i've never seen lee jong won in a drama before, and can i say that this man absolutely served in this show. his aesthetics were on point and he played suho convincingly. can we all just take a moment and appreciate how swoonworthy lee jong won's suho was?

and honey lee. i won't lie, i wasn't sold on the casting for yeohwa at first. but she quickly proved that she was perfect for the role, and her comedic timing was unparalleled. when it comes down to it, i wholeheartedly believe that honey lee as yeohwa carried the show -- she made all of it work so well together. she set the tone of the show whenever she was onscreen, never let any heavier issue drag its feet, and commanded charm, charisma, and chemistry with effortless finesse. her yeohwa was strong, funny, clever, innocent, and cute all at once. i've no doubt that the show's frequent shifts in tones were made seamless mostly by honey lee's exemplary performance. in short, honey lee is magnificent in this role.

also i don't know about y'all but our main romance was sizzling despite its age gap. these two actors absolutely nailed their dynamic. their characters were well-developed on their own, and their relationship was organic. no love at first sight (unlike the webtoon, whew!), no childhood imprinting, no contrived misunderstandings, just good old organic growth. and i call that refreshing.

now the plot was fine for a good chunk of the story, and that was enough for me, because this is primarily a comedy with romance that's character-centric. however, when the show really dives into the politics, its weaknesses began to show. this is made especially obvious by the puppet king's play for power in the penultimate episode -- that was... dumb. the whole overthrowing of the villain was a little oversimplified for all its setup. i'd also like to point out that at one point, when the main characters crashed an enemy fort of sorts and fought off an entire group of people who were supposed to be well-prepared with their expert swordsmanship -- that arrows are a whole thing.

but the thing is, except for the last two episodes where the show tries to bite off more than it can chew by taking a stab at being traditionally epic, the show knows, for the most part, that it's a comedy with not one but two considerably shippable couples. and when it's focused on what it does best, it excels. it also does a remarkable job of being swoonworthy without need for much showcasing of skinship.

in all, this was a heck of an entertaining ride that i would have easily given 10 stars, if not for the slightly lacklustre final week. the ending though, stuck its landing.

absolutely recommend to anyone looking for a fun and lighthearted show!!

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a satisfying revenge story that should have left romance alone

this show is at its very best when it showcases the FL and the SFL. their scenes are electrifying, elevated further by song ha yoon's exemplary portrayal of the abominable soomin. FL serving both SFL and SML what they deserved is the heart of the show, and it is so very satisfying to watch the SFL + SML slowly ruin themselves all the while thinking they have the longer end of the stick, and only realizing too late that they've walked straight into the trap they thought they laid for FL.

but that's what the show is good at. the revenge.

the romance between FL and ML is already bland and unengaging in and of itself, but it becomes criminally annoying when juxtaposed with the off-the-charts energy of the revenge story. i found yoo ji hyuk's character especially uninspired. he's a run-of-the-mill cardboard cutout love interest that was thrust into the midst of two well-established, fully developed characters. what is good old 'rich boy with a dark past' jihyuk against the disgusting minhwan, a weak-minded clown of a unapologetic scumbag, or the ruthlessly manipulative, deliciously narcissistic soomin? i wasn't a fan of na in woo's portrayal, either. it's almost always the same sad, tortured expression, and you can argue that it's just how his character is, but to me it felt like emotional constipation and a little too reminiscent of his performance in Mr. Queen (which i was not a fan of either). the latter half of the show spent too much time on FL & ML's romance, and added further unnecessary makjang elements only tangentially related to the core revenge against SML & SFL, so if you don't like the romance, there's essentially nothing to gain from those scenes. let's not get started on the addition of the totally eyeroll-inducing ex-fiance character.

that said, the revenge was schadenfreude at its finest and will get you invested in the story for a good chunk of the show's run. the latter half of the show, however, was a major letdown in its failure to focus on what we care about most -- jiwon bringing about soomin's downfall.

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Great visuals, with nothing else

The short version? Goblin wannabe with worse story, worse setting, worse chemistry, and infinitely worse acting. Go watch Goblin instead.

After failing to bring myself to open the next episode on multiple occasions, even in times of extreme boredom and suffering from a long drama drought, I've decided that this is it. The show is not worth it.

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The trailers and concept photos looked great. The premise looked great (but reliant on execution). The actors looked their part.

So far, 4 episodes in, and that's all this drama has to offer. Every ounce of energy was invested into making the leads look as attractive as possible. Their impeccable outfits, their perfectly coiffed hair -- only the overzealous filtered lens leaves something to be desired. But the story, the pacing, the direction, and last but not least, the ACTING, is nothing short of atrocious.

For rom-coms, you don't necessarily need a novel concept to make a good, enjoyable watch. And this is certainly no original plot. However, when the plot is predictable, a heavier burden is placed on the cast. Business Proposal notably makes a tired story come alive with the superb chemistry amongst its cast. But from what I've seen so far from Song Kang, I'm sorry to say that the man cannot act to save his life, and this drama is no exception. I haven't watched enough from Kim Yoo-Jung to say anything about her acting in general, but she is not good here either. In their defense, the dialogue is stunted, and the story has no flow. Their encounters and interactions are incredibly forced. Certain story elements are nothing short of cringe. Perhaps TOO MUCH of an emphasis was put on their looking absolutely perfect that acting integrity and script delivery was compromised. Either way, I did not feel the chemistry, which is arguably what is supposed to hold up the entire drama.

Aside from the failure to establish a swoonworthy romance and the cringeworthy moments abound, the family power play and serial killer subplots are underwhelming and curiously uncompelling. The company politics in particular are laughably childish and painfully unconvincing. In short, the only reason to watch this drama as of right now is for pure visual enjoyment, because it has nothing else to offer.

Alternative upgrades:
- Park Marriage Contract is a currently airing drama that's also a rom-com that focuses on a contract marriage with fantastical elements. However, it actually has good pacing and a cohesive storyline that isn't hellbent (see what I did there? ha ha ha.) on being purely aesthetic-centric.
- Goblin is the show that this drama is trying and failing to emulate. It has everything this drama doesn't: good acting, a good balance between romance, comedy, and drama; funny but not cringey banter; chemistry between different actors. Also good acting. Wait, did I mention good acting? Yeah, Goblin has good acting.

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an underwhelming attempt at adapting 'elite' for korean audiences

Here's the thing. Different countries are good at portraying different things. I didn't even like Elite, but it knew what it was doing. It knew its audience, it knew its strengths. It didn't shy away from violence, sex, drugs, all that gritty jazz.

It's no surprise that Korean TV is subject to more restrictions -- it's a cultural thing, they're just more conservative, and that's not inherently better or worse. But that doesn't mean Korean TV can't have its own strengths. In the context of thrillers, Koreans sure know how to make revenge thrillers, and they know how to portray bullying and all its horrible ramifications. Look at King of Pigs. Look at The Glory. They knew what they were doing. They knew it very well, they were sure of themselves.

And that's why they were good.

This show tries to emulate Elite, but it's ultimately limited by what it can show on the screen considering its target audience. Instead of trading the Spanish flavor for Korean elements, it simply settles for a washed-out, toned-down adaptation of the original show. There is little to no shock factor in this supposed revenge thriller in a supposedly high-stakes setting. The plot is nonexistent, the characters are caricatures, the cast is miscast, and the pacing is nothing short of atrocious. The camera is always trying to find some angle to showcase the prettiness of the actors, and sure, the production, the lighting, it's all very good, but this is not an advertisement for some high-end brand. This is a TV series, and the audience expects something to actually happen. Thousands of pretty shots featuring pretty people staring into space is not adding to the story in any way whatsoever.

I was hoping to see something along the lines of Cheongdam International High School (Bitch x Rich). While that show definitely had its flaws, it also knew how to properly drive a soap opera. BxR was similarly filled with unlikeable characters, but there was a much clearer plot and all the characters had different motives and personalities. It didn't meander or fill the runtime with scenes of pretentious posturing -- there's only so much grandiose walking and emo staring a viewer can take.

A terrible drama that tries to be a teen soap set in the ultra-rich, but completely squanders its potential and wastes its obviously high production value.

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Rom-com with a good premise that ultimately fails to deliver.

The trailer teased a rom-com with two characters with strong personalities who are hopelessly prejudiced against each other, but the show winds up being a rather watered-down, run-of-the-mill romantic dramedy with good production and decent acting, but misses the mark on both the chemistry and the social commentary.

For a title supposedly showcasing a strong woman, the FL did not feel "strong" to me at all. I wanted to see the FL kicking ass, yes, but not LITERALLY. Being able to knock grown men to the ground isn't empowering to me. Being good at what you do, being confident, and being able to face off adversities in life is. And right off the bat, FL doesn't seem to be particularly capable at anything besides resorting to intuitive violence.

I am perhaps less forgiving towards this show due to how high my expectations were going in, thanks to the spectacular trailer. I was looking for an independent and successful FL with a strong personality, which would seem like a well-equipped matchup against the ML, who was presented as rich, popular, but flat-out misogynistic. Instead, FL is a (once again) struggling lawyer who is physically strong, yes, but not at all professionally savvy, and far from being able to establish a balanced power dynamic with the ML, who just so happens to be the top actor in the country.

I'd have loved an enemies-to-lovers a la Pride & Prejudice , with both of the lead characters realizing their own misguided beliefs and falling for each other in the process. Even without it, enemies-to-lovers is in itself my absolute favorite rom-com trope of all time, and fake dating is also high up on that list. Therefore, it seemed as if this drama was headed straight for success in my book. Yet the enemies-to-lovers setup somehow fell flat. They never seemed to have much basis to hate one another. Perhaps if the showrunners had dared lean further into the characters' respective misogyny and misandry, it would have seemed more convincing. But in between the lukewarm characterization, uncompelling storyline, and untimely attempts at slapstick humor, nothing worked. There was no insightful commentary, no sizzling chemistry, no gripping drama, no nothing.

It felt like the show wanted to make a strong FL, as opposed to the typical romantic k-drama FL, namely, the cheerful, kind-hearted, and naive girl. I thought the show failed in that respect. However, I have seen quite a bit of backlash against the decision to incorporate gender politics in this show, so it would seem that at least some people do find the FL "strong". Yet my complaint isn't that the show does too much with the politics, but that it does too little.

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