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Mystic Pop-Up Bar korean drama review
Completed
Mystic Pop-Up Bar
6 people found this review helpful
by drama-watcher
Jun 25, 2020
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
I will admit, the first episode I had trouble focusing even though it gives you insight on why Wol Joo is currently in her situation. It does get better the 2nd half of the 1st episode. The ending, though happy, I kinda wished it would've been handled better. It is predictable on who is who but that didn't stop me from enjoying this drama.

Character/Actor/Actress wise: Some may hesitate on watching this because of actress HJE being in another comedy. I've seen her other romantic comedy dramas and yes, I was annoyed by how she was portraying her characters in those other dramas but in this one, she hit this role perfectly. It felt natural to me her comedy side and her vulnerable side. I love every moment and scene of her character.
Choi Won Young, wow. I've seen him as a villain in Doctor Prisoner but this role, he's just adorable and funny. That's what makes him a great actor but please don't do anymore villain roles. I like this nice side of him. lol.
Sung Jae, great acting being the passive & vulnerable character but I kinda wanted more from him. It's not the actor's fault. His character lines just didn't give this actor his full acting capabilities. I mean I got to see another side of his acting when his sacred tree spirit came out. That was awesome but short. I wanted to see more of that. But overall, great actor. I expect more roles for this guy when he comes back from military duties.
The younger cast of Crown Prince and Wol Joo, they were spot on as well. I saw more of them in this drama than I expected for being a young cast. I love how they got to be reunited in the proposal of Ep 11. That just melted my heart. I hope to see them more in other dramas.

Story: I love the plot from beginning to the end. Because of Wol Joo's goal was to handle 100,000 grudges, we got to see a different story in each episode that pertain to the hardships of one's life. There's always a special meaning in each episode. I kinda wished the main plot was handled a bit better though. What I mean is that instead of revealing everything in the last 2 episodes, it would've felt less rushed if pieces of the truth were revealed in each episode say after episode 6.

A few things that bother me about this drama. There is a plot hole that was never mention in this drama: why Wol Joo and Crown Prince looks older as a spirit but everybody else looks like how they were as a spirit when they were human. When they enter the after life as spirits, they were their younger selves. There's no mention why they age but everybody remain the same, like the spirits of the crown prince mom, the evil friend, the advisor of the crown prince (aka death), the cinnabar. Also, how did nobody know what the evil friend spirit was doing? You know, he was killing and absorbing other spirits, possessed his dad, the grim reaper. I mean there subtle hints that the grim reaper wasn't the same usual guy and yet nobody took those hints, not even the higher ups. It would've been nice to have at least 1 main character being suspicious about this. Last episode felt very rushed. Given that there were only 12 episodes total from the beginning, the progression of the plot stalled for too long. Too many things still happening for the last episode.

But overall, despite those small plot holes and issues and a rushed last episode, I stilled enjoy this drama. I think this is a first for me where I see a main lead character ends up with a support character. Interesting and yet their chemistry was on point. So many cute moments of them. Even Wol Joo and Chief. While they may not have spent the time together as Wol Joo knowing Chief was the Crown Prince, her lover, they still had many adorable & funny moments together. So I say romance definitely occurs in this drama even though it's not the main focus. You won't waste your time watching this one.
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