kae-seolin
A must watch for those who like faster paced shows and drop slow paced shows.
This is now my favorite Korean drama of all time. And no, I'm not over exaggerating.
One benefit of this show is that for people with short attention spans, this drama will keep you hooked. As someone with severe ADHD, I don't think I've ever finished a show without periods of time where I forgot about finishing the series. I have dropped so many shows. I have also taken months or a year to finish a show. Sweet Home is now the exception. If I could have, I probably would have finished it in one night. This show captivated me to where I was dying to finish it so I could know what happened. Except for the last episode because truthfully I was sad knowing it would be the last episode.
The downside to this faster pace is that a lot of viewers felt that the characters were not fleshed out fully. I can see how this might make sense for the explanations for some of the monsters and I do think that there was probably not enough time to go fully in depth considering this series was only 10 episodes compared to your typical 16 episodes. BUT I personally felt that the characters were actually very well-written (and especially well acted!) if you detach this show from the original webtoon. Plus the faster pace pays off more as a benefit than any of the downsides for me personally.
A second benefit of this show is the production and universe build. The universe isn't like other darker Korean dramas but is more like a Western superhero flick. One scene that stands out is a scene where Cha Hyunsu is shown fighting monsters to BewhY's Side by Side. I love this song, it kind of reminds me a bit of Kanye's Yeezus era. Personally those ballads have always been a huge turn off to me so the grittier, urban vibe was a major plus. I really hope that in the future we can see more dramas with hip hop OST songs as opposed to the cut+paste ballad. Also side note, we're just going to ignore that Imagine Dragons song. It never happened.
Lastly, the acting was incredible. I've read a lot of praise for Lee Dohyun, but let's get this straight--everyone was phenomenal. There was not a weak link in the acting. Even though some webtoon fans complained about Pyeon Wook's character's deviation, Lee Jinwook did an incredible job. It isn't much because I'm a terrible actor myself but at one point I had a moment watching him that I thought, "This is what excellent acting is." But great job to everyone involved. I loved this show so much and I hope there's a second season.
P.S. I read an interview where Lee Dohyun said he wants to be a king of romcoms. I really hope he considers other action/thriller roles because he shined more than ever in this role. Another case is Song Kang who is known for Love Alarm but also got to shine more than ever as Cha Hyunsu with his legitimate talent that you couldn't see as well in Love Alarm. Ik they'll never see this comment but if anyone can relay the message to give thought to taking more serious/challenging roles in the future please do so!
One benefit of this show is that for people with short attention spans, this drama will keep you hooked. As someone with severe ADHD, I don't think I've ever finished a show without periods of time where I forgot about finishing the series. I have dropped so many shows. I have also taken months or a year to finish a show. Sweet Home is now the exception. If I could have, I probably would have finished it in one night. This show captivated me to where I was dying to finish it so I could know what happened. Except for the last episode because truthfully I was sad knowing it would be the last episode.
The downside to this faster pace is that a lot of viewers felt that the characters were not fleshed out fully. I can see how this might make sense for the explanations for some of the monsters and I do think that there was probably not enough time to go fully in depth considering this series was only 10 episodes compared to your typical 16 episodes. BUT I personally felt that the characters were actually very well-written (and especially well acted!) if you detach this show from the original webtoon. Plus the faster pace pays off more as a benefit than any of the downsides for me personally.
A second benefit of this show is the production and universe build. The universe isn't like other darker Korean dramas but is more like a Western superhero flick. One scene that stands out is a scene where Cha Hyunsu is shown fighting monsters to BewhY's Side by Side. I love this song, it kind of reminds me a bit of Kanye's Yeezus era. Personally those ballads have always been a huge turn off to me so the grittier, urban vibe was a major plus. I really hope that in the future we can see more dramas with hip hop OST songs as opposed to the cut+paste ballad. Also side note, we're just going to ignore that Imagine Dragons song. It never happened.
Lastly, the acting was incredible. I've read a lot of praise for Lee Dohyun, but let's get this straight--everyone was phenomenal. There was not a weak link in the acting. Even though some webtoon fans complained about Pyeon Wook's character's deviation, Lee Jinwook did an incredible job. It isn't much because I'm a terrible actor myself but at one point I had a moment watching him that I thought, "This is what excellent acting is." But great job to everyone involved. I loved this show so much and I hope there's a second season.
P.S. I read an interview where Lee Dohyun said he wants to be a king of romcoms. I really hope he considers other action/thriller roles because he shined more than ever in this role. Another case is Song Kang who is known for Love Alarm but also got to shine more than ever as Cha Hyunsu with his legitimate talent that you couldn't see as well in Love Alarm. Ik they'll never see this comment but if anyone can relay the message to give thought to taking more serious/challenging roles in the future please do so!
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