clairethecapricorn
This review may contain spoilers
Style Over Substance
This drama was so promising at the beginning. The dark fairytale aesthetic was so beautiful and it had me under the impression that there might be some magical realism or even fantasy aspects to the story, which it really didn't have.
The Good:
Mun-young's wardrobe was iconic and really added to the fairytale aesthetic. The dark fairytale vibe and the incorporation of the storybooks was very visually interesting to watch.
All three lead actors had great performances and chemistry with each other. I liked how they became a little found family and she developed her own friendship with his brother. All of them staying together in this huge, gothic mansion was also a cool dynamic.
There are funny parts of the show, especially when Mun-young just has no filter.
The Bad:
The portrayal of mental health is terrible. At certain points the show tried to display empathy for people who had committed terrible crimes because of their supposed mental illness when truly mentally ill people are rarely violent to others.
The relationship between the leads just did not work for me most of the time. They did have some good chemistry, but they did not show how he developed feelings for her or why. He seemed to go from feeling disdain for her to loving her very quickly and it was a struggle to understand why his feelings had changed, especially when she did act so over-the-top towards him.
The character's backstories were so traumatic and it seemed like that was never handled with care or dealt with. Based on the title, I thought this drama would have a lot more healing in it, but that was almost never seen. I was taken aback a couple times by how little empathy was displayed towards characters experiencing trauma. Spoiler: there is one scene where Mun-young's father tries to strangle her at the psychiatric hospital and the other characters just left her on the ground and no one seemed to comfort her or make sure she was okay? Parts of Mun-young's backstory also felt so impossible that I wondered if the show really was going to have a fantasy element to it. I really wish that mental illness and trauma had been handled better in this show, as it felt a little bit like a joke.
The Good:
Mun-young's wardrobe was iconic and really added to the fairytale aesthetic. The dark fairytale vibe and the incorporation of the storybooks was very visually interesting to watch.
All three lead actors had great performances and chemistry with each other. I liked how they became a little found family and she developed her own friendship with his brother. All of them staying together in this huge, gothic mansion was also a cool dynamic.
There are funny parts of the show, especially when Mun-young just has no filter.
The Bad:
The portrayal of mental health is terrible. At certain points the show tried to display empathy for people who had committed terrible crimes because of their supposed mental illness when truly mentally ill people are rarely violent to others.
The relationship between the leads just did not work for me most of the time. They did have some good chemistry, but they did not show how he developed feelings for her or why. He seemed to go from feeling disdain for her to loving her very quickly and it was a struggle to understand why his feelings had changed, especially when she did act so over-the-top towards him.
The character's backstories were so traumatic and it seemed like that was never handled with care or dealt with. Based on the title, I thought this drama would have a lot more healing in it, but that was almost never seen. I was taken aback a couple times by how little empathy was displayed towards characters experiencing trauma. Spoiler: there is one scene where Mun-young's father tries to strangle her at the psychiatric hospital and the other characters just left her on the ground and no one seemed to comfort her or make sure she was okay? Parts of Mun-young's backstory also felt so impossible that I wondered if the show really was going to have a fantasy element to it. I really wish that mental illness and trauma had been handled better in this show, as it felt a little bit like a joke.
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