Solid Production with an Exceptional cast!

A lighthearted and not too serious dramatization about family & work life, My Treasure is one of the better directed & grounded tv shows in terms of family drama standards. It does not feel like a typical sitcom. All the sets and places are real which creates that real ambience city-life workplace setting. The heart of the story is Dong Na, the main protagonist who is a fresh out of college student finding employment in a professional work environment at an accounting firm.

Vicky Chen is charming. One of the more skillful actresses her age even with a cast of veteran actors, her acting ability holds up so well. She has an incredibly good onscreen presence with her costars. She portrays Dong Na with a lively energy without it being over the top & has a natural presence both in acting & line delivery. Vicky Chen hits every beat. Dong Na is great example of a proactive protagonist, not just reactive who is up for any ventures. She is headstrong, smart, stubborn, and goodwilled who always finds a plausible solution to everyday problems in her life. She draws strength & knowledge from people around her, specifically her mother Qiu Xiao Xia.

Roy Chiu is charismatic as an unconventional type-boss figure, both in mannerism & speech to his appearance. He conveys emotions well through body gestures & facial expressions. He knows how to sell that image of Gu Fei who’s rational, capable, and honest who knows how to handle and take care of business and people, specifically in regards to Dong Na. Although Gu Fei falls into the trope of a male character with a tragic past, his trauma doesn’t hinder his efficient work ethics and professionalism in the workspace.

The drama builds ups great relationship between female characters. One of the major core relationships of the story is Dong Na & her mother Qiu Xiao Xia. Vicky Chen and Liu Min Tao portrays the daughter and mother relationship duo so well it is believable. Dong Na’s relationship with her boss Cheng Fan Yang starts from a cold-shoulder iciness to a warm almost maternal-like bond between the two. Her love-hate ‘frenemy’ relationship with Chu Ning, her college classmate, is hilarious & somewhat endearing. Their bickering towards each other is great throughout.

Dong Na forms a significant relationship with Gu Fei. There are memorable scenes between two from amusing banter and in-depth conversations in casual settings that doesn’t feel hollow, repetitive, or redundant. Dong Na & Gu Fei has a great momentum onscreen together with witty, heartfelt, & engaging dialogue. Their mentor-mentee relationship is a standout, both navigating through their uncertainties & trouble all while consoling the other when needed. I was wholeheartedly surprised by the chemistry and their unconditional support for each other. Dong Na and Gu Fei’s mutual and platonic sides of their relationship is more intimate and profound than any romance. The relationship develops & unfolds with such a natural progression. It has been a while since I enjoyed a relationship between a female and male character onscreen that does not make me want to pull my hair out.

My only gripe-issue is the romance. I don’t have anything against romance between the characters themselves but because the age difference between the actors. WenQi was a minor and Roy Chiu was an adult. The presentation of the romantic apsect towards the last few ep was awkward to watch. The story could have gone easily without any romance.

One of the strong suite is the dialogue, specifically in the conversations. The writer did a fantastic job creating a natural essence between the characters in the way they act, feel, and talk. Even with their appearances, nothing is overdone or gaudy. Besides the exceptional cast, the directing style is great. It is shot from a distant and at certain times from a wide-panoramic like angle which allows an immersive viewing of the characters within the environment they are placed in. It does not have those near close up shot that feels overly melodramatic. The comical sound effects is befitting to the drama’s humor. The last few episodes were a bit lackluster, in terms of its direction of the story. I like where the story was heading but not necessarily the execution in its writing. Cheng Fan Yang’s storyline in relation with her husband is the weakest since it is stagnant throughout the drama up until the end.

All in all, the drama had great moments between the characters. If you enjoy a more character driven-relationship type of drama with a hint of slice of life and humor that ends on a positive note, this is a good one to watch. There are definite tropes here and there but its not done in an overt exaggerated way in the usual family drama fashion.

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A Mixed Bag with a Dose of Deus Ex Machina.

Before I started the show, I expected a fun lighthearted youth drama about a bunch of 20-something year olds finding success in a saturation of big coporate businesses. Boy, was I wrong because I got the opposite. If you're someone who enjoys full blown gushy romance, this show is not for you. It definitely gives off an anime-risque vibe on the first few watch with its vibrant setting & flashy array of costume/outfits with a rambuctious main theme song sung by the talented Gaho. The core essence of the show is the main character's journey towards his ambition of success & revenge against the largest food company in Itaewon, J Co run by Jang Dae Hee.

The story is presented to the viewers from Saeroy's perspective as a teen boy into his adulthood as a 29 yearold. Saeroy is a socially inept adult who comes off as revering, & upright but also awkward & aloof at times, but nonetheless a calm, collective person who doesnt let injustice fly by. As a teen, he is somewhat distant to social circles due to his nature but after unfortunate circumstances, grew up to be someone of compassion & friendly. Saeroy's finer quality is that he's very patient & understanding of others. He is a man who lives with a set of principles. But his greatest attributes is also his greatest flaw which hinders his development. He's stubborn as a mule.

Park Seo Joon does a great job playing the role of Saeroy. There's alot of nuances in his body language & facial expression that doesnt rely heavily on dialogue. I dont consider myself to be a fan but this drama actually made me like him.

Yiseo is the main counterpart to the drama's story to helps Saeroy on his path to success. She is introduced as genius teen turned 20 years old who has behavorial issues & depression. She's nonchallant towards people, crude, unmannered, impulsive & reckless with a disregard to rules. Because she grew up self-absorb, so she is also narrowminded. Her quality is being wellversed in todays tech/social media & her expertise in management/business although she reads a bit like a know it all- encyclopedia. Her partnership with Saeroy as a friend/business partner is one of the show's highlighted aspect. Because she's presented as a terrible person, her flaw is her change to be good heavily relies on her love for Saeroy, not neccessarily for herself.

Kim Dami is a star. Her performance on this show has been my favorite thing about the drama. She plays off Park Seo Joon really well. Theres alot of nuances. She's a great emotional actress who cries effortlessly well. She's given alot to do in terms of dialogues & physical performance and she hits every beat.

I appreciate the heavily flawed characters since majority of them are introduced to be purposely terrible, which is quite refreshing from the usual cast of goody two shoes. The villians are fine. After or so they become a bit cartoonish & downplayed along the way but good performance by Yoo Jae Myung & Ah Boh Hyun. Kwon Nara does a fine job with what she's given with to do as Soo Ah.

I wasn’t too keen about the way the show highlighted social issues, specifically regarding bullying, mental health, sexual harrassment, anti-lgtbq, & racism. It is great that the show decided to delve into these kinds of issues especially in retrospect to todays's out look on marginalized people, depression, problematic behavior. The problem is when social issues are presented to the viewers, it isnt quite explored in depth & is gloss over in a light manner. It has potential but the writing barely scratches the surface. There's definitely psychological aspects pertaining to certain characters but it's not addressed in depth. Everything seemed to resolved by mere call outs and hollow apologies.

Overall, the characterization left something to desire, somewhat 2-dimensional. There's potential to explore the complexities of the characters. Everyone's existence barely revolves outside of Danbam or Saeroy's character. The viewers dont get to see how characters lead their daily lives, where they live, how they eat, sleep, the usual domestic activities. The writing lacked character development. The sudden growth exist to serve as a plot point. Drastic character action/change without buildup. The story suffers from a dose of deus ex machina. Certain things happen too seamlessly. The struggles/obstacles don't hit hard enough & is resolved in a short mannered. A story like Itaewon Class & its cast of characters, the show needed to be atleast 20 episodes to give everything more depth or maybe it's just the flaw in the writing. Because of the show's short span of 16 episodes, its drawn out sometimes as heavy-handed exposition rather than gradual progression.

Dont expect romance. Kim Dami & Park Seo Joon does a very great job at portraying the heartfelt moments between the two. SRY & YS were obviously two depressed people. The fact that the show didnt delve more in depth into their psyche to make it more palpable through out from have made SRY & YS much more relatable than how they were presented. YS was intrusive half the time. Im not sure if the writer intended this to be read as romantic because it is not. The codepedency is jarring. I initially liked the idea of YS & SRY as a pair more than what the show presented them to be overall. Their platonic relationship rings much truer early on as friends/business partners although Yiseo exudes verbal harassment & uncceptable behavior in the workspace.

Visually, it is a good looking show. The cinematography is beautiful. The ost & music composition is great. The show does suffer from straight cuts, which is apparent in the later episodes towards the later run in the show. Ep 1-10 are the strongest in terms of direction/acting & in writing. Ep 11-12 are fine. Ep 13-16 during the timeskip arc has glaring issues from a technical standpoint, both in writing & direction. The early essence of the show is bare & the storytelling feels bogged down. It almost reads something out of a telenovela or a kdrama from early 2000's. It's all very anticlimatic & everything is tied into a nice little bow at the end. Certain events felt contrived.

The way the show-writer handled the overall story is a mixed bag. It does have its moments but potentially to have more finesse throughout. If you want a revenge story with more grit, you might look somehwere else. But all in all, its one of the more unique & entertaining dramas that I watched with its distinctive cast of characters.

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Feast for Your Eyes!

Fresh & Unique take on the zombie-genre that's popular in mainstream media over the years. Like every zombie concept, Kingdom is quite simple. A disease breaks out/infects the population/city & people must find a way to survive. What makes this one all more unique is the setting/place of ancient Korea(Joseon), so the genre strips away the usual bombastic/array of explosions, handguns, & tactical gear when fighting off zombies in the typical Hollywood/western fashion.

The limited use of CGI, the practical makeup/usage of actors for the zombies makes up for a more realistic vibe. The sound editing/mixing for the show is really great, specifically for the zombies' transformation
/movements. With only 6 episodes, there's not much room to fully flesh out the characters w/ depth in the usual manner of a 12/25 episode format. Hence, development & events unfolds pretty quickly early on.

The main cast consists of likable characters. Ju Jihoon portrays Prince Chang, the Crown Prince who's an illegitimate/only son of the sickly Emperor, set to rule the current regime/state of Hanyang. He's an empathetic/just character with a mild temper/somewhat reserve nature who learns to understand the plight &
mistreatment of the common folks. Prince Chang becomes embroiled in the political upheaval & conspires to overthrow the Queen/Hak Ju clan's corruption, along with the help of his trusty/dependable personal guard, Mu Yeong.

Bae Doona portrays the thoughtful/kind Seo Bi, a physician's assistant who specializes in herbs/medicine at Jiyulheon clinic located in Dongnae, who tries to find the cure for the unsual outbreak. Even with all the turmoil, she puts the interest/well-being of others first.

Kim Sung Gyu is Yeonshin, who's a bit brash & sinister. He's also has a nicknack for combat/firearm. Much like Prince Chang & Seo Bi, he sympathizes with the common folks. He's member of a hunting clan from Sanju.

The intro/credit is visually pleasing. The overall writing is simplistic. Super straight- forward/
easy to follow. There's a bit of twists, not too shocking but satisfying as mystery unfolds. The dialogue/interactions between characters is decent, not too heavy handed, although there is bit of exposition but lacks depth/complexity. The acting is fine. It isn't overly dramatized but not quite memorable either.

The music score is underwhelming, not quite distinctive. Not much of an emotional core to it, but the dramatic pieces for the more frightening parts is befitting of the tone/atmosphere. The cinematography is beautiful with its wide shots/overpass of scenic views of lush forest/palace buildings. Kingdom reads more like a 6 hour length film then a TV show. The ending is a bit anti-climactic with a cliffhanger & twist. One thing in particular is left unclear, specifically the origin of the disease. If you like zombies & historical fiction mixed with a bit of political intrigue & likable characters without it being muddled, give Kingdom a watch.

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Ambitious Production but Loses Momentum!

Stumble upon this show on youtube & i was instantly hooked. It's an ambitious production but after 2/3 into the show after ep.40, it's where the show really falters alot in storytelling, depth, & cohesiveness along with editing/cuts. The story is heavily revolved around palace politics & vengeance. It's not unique persay but the approach is rather refreshing in Royal Nirvana. It's about a Crown Prince Xiao Ding Quan who tries to right the wrongs & an imperial minister's daughter Lu Wenxi who becomes embroiled within the palace politics & schemes.

The essemble cast is excellent. Luo Jin is superb as the crown prince with exceptional execution in dialogue & facial expression. Li Yi Tong portrays the intelligent & talented Lu Wen Xi, who is just as great/if not equally has the same caliber of acting alongside Luo Jin. They both have great screen presence & chemistry. Great performances. Luo Jin is a great crier. Tears falls down effortlessly & same with Li Yi Tong. I'm not familiar with these two works but they are excellent in Royal Nirvana with the materials they are given. Ep 1-18 is the set up of the story & characters in terms of relationship to eachother. Ep. 19 - 39 are my favorite episodes & probably where the writing is the strongest. I watched ep. 40-41 but ep. 42-50 without subtitles. This is where the writing becomes much weaker to the point of absurdity. The editing/abrupt cut from scene to scene is a visible. One of the biggest gripe of the show is the ENG translation. It lacks clarity & even dialogues are left out at a certain point. The original essence/meaning of the dialogue is lost & becomes a bit hard to understand certain scenes/situation of the story, which makes the political aspect/storyline of Royal Nirvana convoluted due to rough translation.

Xiao Ding is introduced as a very well versed/smart young man whom seems to set out an agenda against the imperial concubine & her family. His character is likable, especially with Luo Jin's impeccable acting. But his character becomes quite insufferable along with the palace shennanigans, especially after 40 episodes. His character lacks depth & character development is bare. There isnt a natural change or progression in his personality/mindset. He's somewhat stagnant throughout the show. His mannerism towards Lu Wen Xi also rather odd/becomes a tad unnerving onscreen later in the show as he physically wears her down. There's an imbalance of power, which makes their relationship unequal. There's also a huge lack of communication between the two which causes more dismay for Lu Wen Xi. Many problems could be resolve on the show if the writers had the two lead characters communicate/be on the same level of thinking/planning.

Lu Wenxi is a great character of talented feat. Unfortunately her characters get bogged down, beaten, yelled, & whipped. It's hard to not to feel frustrated with the writers, since she has so much potential, but she's put in many degrading situation that undermines her character. I enjoyed her character alot onscreen so it saddening to see a great female character exposed to an onslaught of repetitive assault. The romance for the two leads has potential but the progression towards it is rather abrupt/flat & questionable because of the imbalance between the two leads which can be fixed with proper development in the writing.

Royal Nirvana's strongest suites, besides the acting/cast, is the cinematography, costume designs & the beautiful music score. It is a visually pleasing show to watch, with it's attention to detail in colors, from the setting to the clothes the characters wear. It's not over the top/gaudy but it is definitely not cheap/tacky. The stage sets is also very nice. The music score on this show is amazing. The opening sequence has resemblance to the sound of Evernight's op sequence as both show shares the same music composer. Although Royal Nirvana has two composers. Music can either make/break the show but the music score here really heightens the show on an emotional aspect. Overall there are many things to like about Royal Nirvana & it's production. It has potential to be great but the writing drops in quality in cohesiveness & development/depth for the storytelling & characters.

This show reminded me alot of Rise of the Phoenix but revenge plots are pretty half baked in the C-Drama department. If you want a show that respects its female lead character with an excellent male lead character plus awesome character development, I recommend Story of Minglan. The story is also much more unique than your average palace politic shows.

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Great for a Younger Audience!

I found this gem unexpectly and didnt have much expectation but Im really satisfied by its overall production, acting, and storytelling. Super straightforward & fun with sense of adventure & a hint of mystery & twists that makes the show engaging. I love the themes about friendship and family love, which is prominent throughout the series. The cinematography is great with its appealing music score to enhance/elevate the show. Although there is a huge use of cgi, its granted with this kind of a story but its never too offputting. The fight/action sequence is choreographed with so much fun and hilarity. The worldbuilding/fictional setting is great. The costumes are nice and sets the tone of the 1980's. The writing, characterization & storytelling really impressed me, specifically its handle on female characters. With 40 episodes, nothing ever feels wasted or dragged out. There's this continuity and constant flow from arc to arc, and by the end of the show, there's a cliffhanger that leaves me wanting more.

The juxstaposition between the two leads is great. Bao Qing is a snarky/quickwitted and carefree city boy while Caigua is an independent and intuitive rural gal from a village of eagle hunters. The main characters are very animated/lively, in a suprisingly charming way.

Caigua is a well writen female character/heroine with depth and personality. She's resilient, independent, compassionate, and stubborn. I love that she is given alot of agency as a character with her own story arc, that isnt tied to/associated with the male lead, about wanting to be a hunter and breaking the mold from a patriarchal society. She's tough as a nail with great hunting skills and fares well in combat. Athough she isnt quite wellversed in literacy. WenQi did an excellent job portraying a multifaceted character with her microexpression & sheer presence. She emotes well with her eyes.

Bao Qing is such a fun/expressive male character with alot of personality. He's snarky, quick-witted, carefree and smart. He also comes off as ignorant and condescending at times, but Caigua always knows to how put him in his place with her witty remarks and fist. He is loyal/caring when protecting his friends and love ones. Karry Wang acted well in his part, with his natural youth/playfulness and energy. There's this earnest yet a sense of tenacity in his eyes.

Bao Qing and Caigua's chemistry and friendship is my favorite aspect of the show, a truly dynamic pair that shows onscreen naturally, showcasing a blend of teamwork and communication. Not only is their friendship established early on, the relationship between the two gives room for both characters to learn, teach, and grow from eachother throughout the show. I love their interactions and exchange in dialogues. Its fun, witty, and even sometimes, comical and endearing. One of my favorite dialogue exchanged from Baoqing to Caigua is about freewill and never giving up that goes along the lines of, "Rules are set. People are not. You only have one life. Why should you give in?" With this, Caigua ingrains and implements it through her actions. Bao Qing grows to adapt & learn the ways of the Eagles Village and admires & respects Caigua. They both are active agents & well-fleshed out individuals throughout the story.

Baoqing and Caigua's constant reassurance and understanding/support for eachother is touching and sweet. I like how their relationship develops from being complete strangers to a profound companionship, as both becomes enamoured in admiration of eachother's presence by the end of the show. Although nothing is ever romantic, the feelings Baoqing and Caigua have for eachother is definitely there, which is prevalent in their actions rather than spoken words. Their newfound feelings for eachother never detracts the plot from moving foward.

The distinction between Baoqing and Caigua's 1st interaction from the first episode compared to their last interaction in the last episodeperfectly illustrates the development/progression in their relationship & perception of eachother. They both leave a significant impact on eachother's life. I felt sentimental seeing these two at the end of the journey. The potential for their relationship to go beyond friendship and grow into something more can further be explored if E&Y S2 ever happens. Because both are young characters, a second season will allow for more character growth/development.

The other main characters in the show are also likable. Caigua's brother Er Bizi, unlike her, has a love for food and doesnt want to be a hunter. Hongguo is an aspiring geologist whom is helpful and sweet. Yang Ye is a leader of a geological research team whose a bit stoic but responsible. They are all well developed and dont feel like throwaways, which cant be said about the antagonists. I like the set of antagonists that appears in the show. They are all distinctive and crucial to the overall plot in its course/run but are merely presented as obstacles. Although, this keeps the tension up and challenges the main characters through their journey together as they form unlikely friendship, uncover truths behind the mystery of the hidden gold kingdom, and discover revelations about themselves.

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Breakout Hit but Sometimes a Miss!

Theres many things to like about this show. Evernight is a high production/ambitious adaptation of a webnovel by the name of Nightfall. The cinematography is breathetaking, showcasing natural landscape of snowy mountains, dessert plains, and grasslands. The music score is great, which heightens the scenes in every aspect. The cgi/effects are well done. The fight choreography is brilliantly executed, with alot of intensity and energy. Its a beautiful drama for viewing on a large screen format. The worldbuilding is neat/unique.

My overall nitpick & setbacks about the show is the writing and its direction over the course/run. The onslaught of exposition makes the dialogue pretty heavy-handed. Too much telling, not enough showing. Example, Ningque gains abilities/powersets too quickly without any steady progression. The physical/learning process of Ningque's growth is shown onscreen inorganically. There are some faults in characterization, specifically the male lead character.

Ningque's personality isnt distinctive enough, other than he's a bit haughty. His characterization is inconstistent so he comes off a bit dull and overbearing at certain times. His growth is stagnant throughout the drama. Ningque exceeds well in combat and literature, but his finer quality is his relationship with SangSang. He's more interesting when he's interacting with SangSang or his peers. Chen Feiyu embodies Ningque in terms of appearance, voice, and physicality, although he can definitely improve in terms of acting. He underperforms in the emotional department, although he executes the action sequence with ease. He doesnt quite emote well with his eyes, and he twitches/furrow his brows quite often to my slight annoyance.

Sang Sang is my favorite character in the show. She's loyal, sweet, and endearing. She's also emotional and expressive, as she is seen moving around alot and drench in tears in the more emotional scenes of the show. She adores money and has a thing for cooking. Unfortunately, her character isnt written with much agency which results in less screentime & minimal dialogue compared to her onscreen counterpart. Its quite abysmal. Song Yiren portrays Sang Sang very well. She cries effortlessly and definitely makes Sang Sang appear as the heart of the story. She's very animated in her gestures and face expressions when she's emoting.

Ningque and Sang Sang's relationship is one of my favorite aspect. The chemistry between the two plays out naturally onscreen. Chen Feiyu and Song Yiren both portray their characters in terms of their relationship to each other well. The relationship becomes a bit muddled around episode 30 & up. Sang Sang gets the short end of the stick as Ningque becomes the the product of several girls' affection later on, which downplays Ningque and Sang Sang's importance to each other. The power imbalance between the two characters is offputting, which can be fix with proper development, but it lacks in the writing. This lessens both of the character's development and growth as individuals and a pair.

The antagonists in the show are somewhat decent. Longqing is rather stale and doesnt serve as any challenge for Ningque at all. Ningque's path to vengeance gets bogged down through various arcs, as he doesnt officially meet his eventual foe a little over halfway into the show without any builtup tension.

The way the romance played out in the show is rather odd. Too much underdeveloped characters that appears and are forgettable. Things happen to abruptly and things happen way too late which can be resolve much early on in the show. The show needs more emphasis on the cultivation aspect for Ningque's character. The writing juggles between several themes but the execution is a bit convoluted due to its focus on prolong arcs & extended list of various characters.

I'd say one of my favorite thing about the show is definitely the music score, not necessarily the original soundtrack. The mixture of traditional sounds & orchestral pieces really elevates the show in the more emotional/dramatic parts. Easily one of the best music score I've heard in any drama. It's almost quite majestic, fortunately, in comparison to the lackluster of the writing.

The action sequences is really great! Well choreographed and lots of energy.

Overall, there's many things to enjoy about Ever Night. The writing is questionable and falters a bit later in the show, although I commend the director for pulling off such a large scale of a show with it's setting, set designs, costumes, and fight sequence.

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Even aesthetics can’t save this drama from dullness!

I was curious to see what the buzz is about since this drama garnered an international fanfare & the god/deity-human relationship seems to be popular in dramas in recent years although the storyline of ‘ancient man-being’ meets ‘pitiful young woman’ seems to be overwrought in Kdrama land.

The show definitely had a big budget as to why they were able to do many things from CGI visual effects, costumes, set production & film location. But money can only do you so much if your writing is stale as a burnt toast with bland & forced characterization. This show relies a lot on aesthetic. Gong Yoo is an excellent actor but his role here is so drab. He’s a 900 year old goblin but talks & acts like an insolent teen-man. First time watching Kim Go Eun. I’m not a fan of the childlike mannerism or kiddish voice. It’s a bit overdone & comes off unnatural.

The opening sequence of Kim Shin’s backstory is great. The only part worth watching. Fast-forward to the present, Kim Shin realizes his fate is tied to a poor teenager. Eun Tak’s financial woes is suddenly fixed by an ancient rich man & Kim Shin’s life problems is at the stakes of a teenage girl. This doesn’t make an interesting dynamic. I’m not buying KS & ET ‘fated’ relationship or romance. It’s ridiculous. There wasn’t any development to begin with for them to feel remotely attracted to each other romantically. It’s all too superficial given that they were complete strangers from the get go. The development is totally inorganic. No chemistry between the actors nor the characters. The dialogue is insufferable with repetitive & dull scenes with a cast of characters that does nothing interesting. Everyone is just walking around looking pretty & talking without any depth. The playback of the flashback scenes is redundant. The comedy is cringeworthy with unintentional laughable moments in a not-so-good way.

The only saving grace for the show is the stunning cinematography and great OST. The directing is overly melodramatic with a plot barely half-baked.

Also, the product placement is so apparent, the drama reads like an ad commercial.

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More like Boredom at Your Service!

The major gripe about the show is the stilted and dry dialogue. You cannot have an interesting storyline, cohesive plot, engaging interaction if the dialogue between characters reads like cryptic codes or flowery proses that does not mean much, or it means too much without any depth.

Park Bo Young is a brilliant actress but her tv project roles are a boorish snooze fest. The story has potential, but it is overstuffed with tropes and clichés from Doom & Dong Kyung first encounter to their soon to be romance relationship. The biggest nitpick about the main character Tak Dong Kyung is she falls into the trap of the “pitiful woman” who is bombarded with 100 pitfalls in the first 30 minutes of episode 1. She is diagnosed with terminal illness in which she only lives for 3 months, is ambushed & assaulted by her cheating boyfriend’s wife who is pregnant, gets yelled at by her misogynistic boss with no one to defend her, a pervert films her on a train, and she gets soaked in the rain walking home alone. Not only that, but she is also an orphan who has an annoying money begging brother. The writer wants the audience to sympathize with her plight by having all these mishaps happen to her all at once, but the execution lacks nuance and an emotional core. I am supposed to feel sorry for her, but I am simply underwhelmed by the writing.

Doom, played by Seo In Guk, is a god who lacks interest in human affairs unless it benefits him by bounding himself to humans’ desire/wishes with a contract. All he does is walk around places and enter his lavishing home as he pleases. His face reads like he’s bored stiff & annoyed. Doom & Do Kyung’s ‘romance’ is not believable one bit. They don’t even have a decent interaction or any development between the two. There’s no connection. How does she suddenly plan to love Doom whether it’s sincere or if it’s some sort of loophole to work around the contract that’s placed on her? Weak world building that lacks a cohesive magic system. Even the secondary characters are bored stiff to watch. The story is uneventful and certain characters feels out of place & downright uninteresting onscreen in terms of acting. The tone of the drama is mundane. It lacks energy & direction.

The visual effects are nice along with the set design, specifically Doom's house. It's has a traditional interior that is befitting to Doom's personality. Although pleasant to look at, it’s pretty colorless just like the drama itself.

This drama has the appearance of cotton candy. It looks and taste good but that immense feeling disappears quickly & it is bad for your teeth. If aesthetic is a factor for you to enjoy a drama, you might find this pleasing to watch but if you want a story with more substance and polished, you might have to look somewhere else.

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