Linus
US/Poland
'Black' managed to pull me out a long and deep drama slump that I've been for a couple of months now. It is not a drama for everyone, though. The story is dark, violent and gloomy for the most part. As it unravels, it gets even more creepy. Be careful if you don't handle abuse, especially abuse towards women and children, well. The script doesn't have mercy on anyone. I personally hate watching violence on-screen, yet I couldn't stop watching. I really wanted to see what is going to happen next. I thought that the pace of the show was exceptional.
Story: the writing is tight. The first 2 episodes are super confusing, but then we slowly start getting an explanation of what is going on. Almost every episode gives us a bit more information about the cruel world of everyone involved. The vast majority of the events and details in the story are connected, though some of them might be a bit far-fetched. I have to say that I am impressed with how the story slowly comes together and even small details matter later on. I haven't seen many shows that did this well. Sometimes I would yell to myself: 'of course! That's why x happened!' However, it is a paranormal romance story, so of course some of the elements that move the story forward can be a bit ludicrous. Unless you are a fan of supernatural elements, you might not really like how the story unfolds. I thought it was done very well. I liked the nice mix of grotesque and somber scenes at the beginning of the show. I wish there was a bit more of that later on.
Acting: Omg, Song, Seung Heon... need I say more? If not for the story, the show is worth watching just for his acting. The two completely different personalities that he portrays plus the development of his character... his acting is perfect. He is a great mixture of cold, charming, funny, serious, narcissistic and deep. He completely and totally stole the show. SSH wasn't the only one who gave a phenomenal performance, though. Lee El (the doctor) was very believable in her role. I really felt for her throughout the show. Many people complained about Go Ara, and I agree with the criticism. I kind of wish Lee El was the the main actress instead. In general though, acting was pretty stellar in this show. The police officers, the hospital staff, the countless people the leads meet along the way... almost all of them felt very real.
Music: Nothing that special, to be honest.
Re-watch value: I think that watching it again would be equally enjoyable, especially since all the clues left by the writers in the opening scenes would start making sense from the very beginning.
I was really NOT A FAN of the ending. It seemed like written by a completely different writer and I doubt it satisfied anyone.
Story: the writing is tight. The first 2 episodes are super confusing, but then we slowly start getting an explanation of what is going on. Almost every episode gives us a bit more information about the cruel world of everyone involved. The vast majority of the events and details in the story are connected, though some of them might be a bit far-fetched. I have to say that I am impressed with how the story slowly comes together and even small details matter later on. I haven't seen many shows that did this well. Sometimes I would yell to myself: 'of course! That's why x happened!' However, it is a paranormal romance story, so of course some of the elements that move the story forward can be a bit ludicrous. Unless you are a fan of supernatural elements, you might not really like how the story unfolds. I thought it was done very well. I liked the nice mix of grotesque and somber scenes at the beginning of the show. I wish there was a bit more of that later on.
Acting: Omg, Song, Seung Heon... need I say more? If not for the story, the show is worth watching just for his acting. The two completely different personalities that he portrays plus the development of his character... his acting is perfect. He is a great mixture of cold, charming, funny, serious, narcissistic and deep. He completely and totally stole the show. SSH wasn't the only one who gave a phenomenal performance, though. Lee El (the doctor) was very believable in her role. I really felt for her throughout the show. Many people complained about Go Ara, and I agree with the criticism. I kind of wish Lee El was the the main actress instead. In general though, acting was pretty stellar in this show. The police officers, the hospital staff, the countless people the leads meet along the way... almost all of them felt very real.
Music: Nothing that special, to be honest.
Re-watch value: I think that watching it again would be equally enjoyable, especially since all the clues left by the writers in the opening scenes would start making sense from the very beginning.
I was really NOT A FAN of the ending. It seemed like written by a completely different writer and I doubt it satisfied anyone.
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