Sae
This review may contain spoilers
If you are looking for a well written review, I don't think this is it. I suck at writing reviews as I cannot fully put my thoughts correctly into words. ALSO, I MOST LIKELY MIGHT INCLUDE SPOILERS. SORRYI know that this drama had a lot of potential but it seems like all of that was neglected as the show was approaching its ending.
For me, all the complications that were all piled up instead of getting resolved was kind of disappointing and it made me wonder if I am still watching the drama for its plot or whether my remaining hope for the two main characters is what's making it bearable. (But alas, the ending broke my heart into dust) Maybe because it was pre produced and the editing was not enough to salvage some parts of the plot but towards the ending, a lot of scenes didn't make any sense to me. Maybe I was just being stupid for not understanding and if that's the case, I'm really sorry.
As for the characters, 4th Prince Wang So really caught my heart. I like that his character was concrete and was not easily swayed by the palace's and political affairs. He stayed true to what he believes, does a reasonable and responsible decision even though sometimes, it was kind of stupid. But what I really like about his character was that no matter how strong and independent he appears to be, he is just like a child yearning for some love and companion and you'll realize how vulnerable his heart is. I could understand how he always claims Hae Soo as his and always refuses her to leave, (heck he managed to dodge every friendzone remarks Hae Soo made), when he got mad when people were doubting him being the appointed king and when he selfishly stayed by his mother's side alone without letting Jung into the palace. Everytime his mother makes hurtful remarks about Wang So, my heart aches with him. I just wanted to give his character a slow clap for being loveable not only because of his sweetness towards Hae Soo but also because I could fully understand his character. It is rare for me to find a character like this as most of the times, character build up in dramas tend to be confusing with too much back-and-forth with their feelings. I cried hard in the ending scene especially the one where he was standing alone. The realization that his happiness only lasted for a short while and that he was again left with no one on his side, tore my heart into millions of pieces. His character did not deserve that kind of ending. I just wanted him to be happy that in the ending scene, I just wanted to give Wang So a big loving hug. For our heroine, I liked how she was presented as a refreshing character from the start and as she slowly get used to living in Goryeo, I could see that she has learned a lot and has matured. I just found it a bit lacking how she seemed to not worry about the real her, Go Ha Jin, and the only time that we saw her was when she cried with Lady Hae in the praying stones. I was also disappointed about what happened to Hae Soo's character that after all the promises that she made towards Wang So, she ends up doing the exact opposite. And of all the struggles that they have gone through, they couldn't have the happy ending that they deserved. Although I could not really blame the ending on Hae Soo's character, I feel like her sorry in the ending was unfair for us viewers. Finally, the other characters that contributed a lot to this drama. At first, I thought Wang Wook would make a significant role all throughout the drama. I was disappointed that his change of character was just used to make the plot more complicated than it already was and I feel like he was slowly cast aside and appeared only when more complications needed to happen. I applaud Lady Hae and Court Lady Oh for being so selfless. They were the only two characters who were not selfish even though their circumstances are. It was hard not to love these two. To Queen Yoo and Princess Yeonhwa, I don't know why you guys are so greedy. I think that if they have been born as men, they'd kill each other for the throne. I didn't expect that I would pity the 3rd Prince in his last moments. I blame it all on his mother. Lastly, can we just give 14th Prince Jung a big hug? He was really selfless and he kept his promise to Hae Soo even if he received nothing in the end (he wasn't even able to confess. Poor Jung).
To all the actors and actresses that gave life to these characters, Thank you! I believe they all played their part very well. Lee Joon Gi is amazing in playing the part of Wang So. His facial expressions always get me. It is amazing how he is able to express those emotions very clearly. (even though my friend says otherwise). Also, I don't know about you guys but, I really liked IU's acting here and of course, to the other actors and actresses that we have come to hate and love like Kang Ha Neul, Hong Jong Hyun, Nam Joo Hyuk, Ji Soo, Kang Ha Na and many more.
Like I said, the plot had a lot of potential. It was just kind of disappointing how it became confusing towards the ending, like they gave us so much complications and sometimes, it was hard for my mind to digest. Also, I still cannot get over the ending. My heart still aches. I am giving this drama a rating of 8.0/10.0 to give credit to the amazing actors and actresses and also to its production design and editing. I know saeguks really needs a lot of effort to make. This drama has been a rough ride for me, f rom the funny relationship of the princes with Soo, their cute brotherly times, evil eyeliner characters, Wook hate, and finally a heart crashing ending.
I hope my review was not as confusing as I think it is and I hope you get what I'm trying to point out if ever someone is reading this. I might have contradicted myself in writing this, I'm sorry. I do think that there are still some things that I want to include but I've already confused myself in writing this a lot. I'll try to improve in writing reviews in the future.
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While I always try to both enjoy the story and look at the logical side of the dramas that I watch, I tend to be more emotional and that's how I was for the most part while watching the plot unfold. This drama started out really good and I think it introduced twists with the right timing to keep us engaged in the story and I think we all fell for NamShin III's charms, because who wouldn't? It was hard to resist all of his soft, sweet smiles and all his gestures even though some of them were literally programmed. However, it became very chaotic when human Nam Shin got involved. I think midway through the drama, the writers got a little confused on whether they should focus on the AI logic more or continue on making NamShin III seem more human.
As for the plot development, I think the company politics got stretched way too long when I think most of us were more curious about the development of human Nam Shin and his relationship with his mother and NamShin III. Human Nam Shin's character could've been written better. He had a good background and I could understand why he turned out the way he was even if he almost became a *SPOILER* murderer. Because let's be honest, some antagonists have painful backstories on why or how they became evil and even though human Nam Shin isn't exactly the antagonist, he somehow became one. Although some of you might disagree with me, human Nam Shin was the character that I wanted to give a hug the most even though I could not accept the crime he almost committed. He was the one who experienced the most pain until the end and I couldn't accept that his hatred has suddenly subsided just because the story was coming to an end. I'm sure we've had evil protagonist/antagonists characters before with a painful past that were written with better character development. They introduced his pain but forgot to let him heal and only remembered to do so on the last episode.
The story, to me, focused more on portraying how humans can do extreme measures for greed, hatred and revenge. Almost all of the characters had their own flaws and faults, even NamShin III, which was good. I just wish that they could've reflected on these more towards the ending. I don't think the grandfather realized how much pain he caused to human Nam Shin and his mother and I don't think what happened to him was enough. Young Hoon, Dr. Oh and the others that tried to help Shin should've reflected more on how they did things. Sure, they wanted to help him, make him a better person and heal his heart, but they were using the wrong methods, which only ended up in everyone getting more hurt emotionally. Soo Bong was also into NamShin III a bit too much that she sometimes didn't care if another human (Shin) was in danger (maybe because that's human nature? idk).
I like how Are You Human Too tried to both show the negative side of humans and how a robot seemed to have more humanity in him, but I think they focused more on making NamShin III the good one and human Shin the evil one that they wasted a character that could've been someone that viewers could also relate to. They tried to show two sides of the story but failed to have a good balance in between.
Lastly, I just want to say how talented Seo Kang Joon, as well as all the other actors and actresses that played in this drama. I hope they get the award/s that they deserve.
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I've seen people on the internet that really liked the series but maybe it wasn't for me.
I even thought of another flow for the story. Lol
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