3
Zogitt
Australia
A tropey show that was stretched to the limit
This Show started fine. The meet-cute was functional and the first few episodes motoring along setting up the relationship between all the characters. However, this is when cracks start to appear. First of all, this Show is tropey. It has all the cliché situations lined up one after another. Many shows are tropey, but this Show was rolling in them and make it too predictable. Secondly, the pacing is slow and got slower as the Show progressed. It is a classic case of stretching a thin plot to fill up as many episodes as possible. Honestly, you can half the episode count, and it will be a much better show.
The Show is, unsurprisingly, split into two main themes, the various romances and business shenanigans centred around the "hostile" takeover of the hotel managed/owned by the ML and his sister. On the business side, everything was focused on the hotel. It would have been decent if there was some clever business manoeuvring but it mostly came down to dirty tricks and back stabbing. It was good that the leads were shown to be able to stay one step ahead of the schemes but it went on for the entire length of the show and the plot was definitely wearing thin. On top of that, the obsessive behaviour by the antagonist was never fully explained. Was it revenge or spite?
On the romance side, the chemistry of the OTP is not particularly strong. There is a bit of skinship, but the kisses shot from afar looked staged and the closeup ones are awkward. There were the usual push-pull and then it just coasted along until we were served the longest non-breakup breakup that went on for too many episodes. It was draggy to say the least. The FL certainly did most of the heavy lifting in this relationship. Honestly, the 2OTP’s love line was actually cuter and more engaging. Sad to say that there was barely any skinship with the second CP.
Acting wise, it is a mixed bag. The ML’s sister was given a lot of screen time and she has mental health issues, but her storyline seemed muddled and darts all over the place. Sometimes she is normal while other times she was out of control. I understand that it is symptomatic of certain type of mental illness, but the problem is that the actress portraying that role is not up to the task. Her delivery is either flat or over the top, there is little nuisance to her acting and made her character unrelatable. Yes, she needs help (which was not given) but the script needs help too. On the other hand, the ML was just flat for the bulk of the Show. At first, he was the aloof GM of a luxury hotel so you can say that he is in character, but as time goes by, you can sense that he is really not giving 100%. Maybe because the role is not challenging or maybe he was typecasted, he was just going through the motion. It was workmanlike but hardly inspired. Thankfully, both the FL and the 2ML did a much better job and are more engaging.
The Show is watchable if you don't mind the draggy pace and simplistic story. There are nice moments, but it was just too long and the thin plot cannot sustain it and only served to exposed all the shortcomings of a mediocre show. I didn't drop the Show but I watch a good portion of it at 1.5x speed which is about the right pace for me. Not a rewatch.
The Show is, unsurprisingly, split into two main themes, the various romances and business shenanigans centred around the "hostile" takeover of the hotel managed/owned by the ML and his sister. On the business side, everything was focused on the hotel. It would have been decent if there was some clever business manoeuvring but it mostly came down to dirty tricks and back stabbing. It was good that the leads were shown to be able to stay one step ahead of the schemes but it went on for the entire length of the show and the plot was definitely wearing thin. On top of that, the obsessive behaviour by the antagonist was never fully explained. Was it revenge or spite?
On the romance side, the chemistry of the OTP is not particularly strong. There is a bit of skinship, but the kisses shot from afar looked staged and the closeup ones are awkward. There were the usual push-pull and then it just coasted along until we were served the longest non-breakup breakup that went on for too many episodes. It was draggy to say the least. The FL certainly did most of the heavy lifting in this relationship. Honestly, the 2OTP’s love line was actually cuter and more engaging. Sad to say that there was barely any skinship with the second CP.
Acting wise, it is a mixed bag. The ML’s sister was given a lot of screen time and she has mental health issues, but her storyline seemed muddled and darts all over the place. Sometimes she is normal while other times she was out of control. I understand that it is symptomatic of certain type of mental illness, but the problem is that the actress portraying that role is not up to the task. Her delivery is either flat or over the top, there is little nuisance to her acting and made her character unrelatable. Yes, she needs help (which was not given) but the script needs help too. On the other hand, the ML was just flat for the bulk of the Show. At first, he was the aloof GM of a luxury hotel so you can say that he is in character, but as time goes by, you can sense that he is really not giving 100%. Maybe because the role is not challenging or maybe he was typecasted, he was just going through the motion. It was workmanlike but hardly inspired. Thankfully, both the FL and the 2ML did a much better job and are more engaging.
The Show is watchable if you don't mind the draggy pace and simplistic story. There are nice moments, but it was just too long and the thin plot cannot sustain it and only served to exposed all the shortcomings of a mediocre show. I didn't drop the Show but I watch a good portion of it at 1.5x speed which is about the right pace for me. Not a rewatch.
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