So underrated

This was so cute! No love triangle, no second leads, no toxicity, no misunderstandings — it was just the main characters and their friends growing up together.

The most interesting thing about this drama is first and foremost the main female lead’s personality; she’s headstrong and stoic but still cares about her classmates, and even when she has a crush she doesn’t stop it from getting in the way of her dreams and goals. It was just super refreshing and different from the typical cdrama cutesy female lead.

The main couple don’t have a lot of skinship but when they do it really gives you butterflies, and they absolutely sell the “innocent first love” feeling. I really liked how they went from butting heads to being partners-in-crime, and that even when they fought, they never stopped caring for each other and ended up talking things out and apologizing. I’m going to sound like a broken record at this point but I just loved how down-to-earth everyone was.

My only criticism might be that the ending seems a bit rushed; while I enjoyed the twist, I felt like the drama chose to go for the shock factor and time jump, while I’d rather have they spend more time showing the “in-between” for both our main leads and also for the side characters, whose arcs just sort of fell off. Some of my favorite moments ended up being in the special episode, which I’m so grateful for.

Ultimately, this was a really great watch — comforting, for sure. The side characters aren't that memorable to be honest, but the main leads are, and for that alone this drama is very underrated.

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Peak action

Oh that was PEAK CINEMA. It's actually not a new story — this kind of revenge drama and twist has definitely been done before, but the way it was executed, from the action/fight sequences to the soundtrack, to the emotional beats and tension...everything was just top notch.

Han So Hee is absolutely amazing in the role; the stunts (which I learned she did herself) are amazing and really make your heart pound, and she hits the perfect balance between being stoic but also being overcome with emotion. Ji-woo has to be one of my favorite female leads I've ever seen in a kdrama, EVER.

I absolutely loved Ahn Bo Hyun in the ML role as well; his role is not as heavy for sure, but he plays the part well and matches the emotional aspects perfectly.

With that being said, I cannot say enough about Park Hee Soon as Choi Mu Jin, who just absolutely blew me away. This is a drama that manages to keep its lines blurry and its antagonist characters morally gray, and I find that so impressive. The acting is amazing in both action scenes, and the quieter, tug-at-your-heartstrings ones.

While the ending was understandable and actually very fluid, I did think it was a tiny tiny bit rushed at the very end. I think I just wanted some of the other side characters to get the arc wrapped up, instead of just focusing on our female lead and nobody else. I get why the choice was made though, and in the grand scheme of how much I enjoyed this show it really is just small potatoes.

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A great short drama

For a show that's only 4 episodes, the cinematography and script are really impressive. The visual transitions are awesome, the main female lead is smart and able to hold her own, and the world-building is actually very strong and able to incorporate social commentary without being too heavy-handed with it. The additional layers of family expectations and peer pressure make the drama more grounded and relatable even with its fantasy elements, and the ending is satisfying while also setting up an intriguing season 2. I'm also really happy that we got elements of female friendship and I'm excited to see more of that in the next season.

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The best short drama there is

For a short drama, this was amazing. I was impressed with the story, the production value, the OST…everything.

One issue that has plagued a lot of cdramas is draggy pacing — it’s hard to manage when a show has 40 or even 50 episodes. Being so short absolutely worked in Provoke’s favor. Not a single minute was wasted, and it felt like the show trusted its audience enough to pick up on the story fast. It was simply really convincing.

The actors should also get their flowers for this. This chemistry between the main leads is very good throughout every single step of their relationship. The tension, relief, playful banter — it was all there. I really enjoyed seeing their dynamic develop, and the show really hit the sweet spot between making them stubborn and strong individuals and still having them communicate and respect each other.

The humor is really clever and well-timed, and the side characters all played their roles too. Ultimately this was great. It’s probably my new favorite short drama out there.

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A nice watch

This had been on my list for a while, as someone who loved The Gifted. For the most part, this was enjoyable and well-written, and all the side characters were fleshed out.

Its biggest drawback, I’d say, is the pacing. While it may be consistent and steady, it’s SLOW. Especially in the first few episodes, it feels like it takes the characters a very long time to figure things out, and it also gets a little repetitive with all the characters acting similarly in how they question the Masters. Even Maki wasn’t doing much with her backstory.

As the drama went on, and Run played a bigger role, I think that was, for the most part, fixed. I enjoyed gradually getting the backstories of all the side characters and learning about the school’s origins. The pacing was still a little slow, but I didn’t mind it as much.

I, however, do wish the drama was a little braver with its themes. The “don’t sink to their level” and “be a good person” theme has been seen in a lot of Thai dramas, like The Gifted. While it’s definitely a valid worldview in the real world (and one I hope many people follow), it unfortunately makes for boring television. Our main characters are tossed around by the antagonists who are actually willing to do things that move the plot forward. And the stakes also feel lower because we know that nothing is going to end up happening to them — after all, they have to be rewarded for their goodness in the end.

Ultimately, I still enjoyed this one a lot. Though I think it could’ve been a bit more compressed and more extreme, the themes are good, the ships are subtle but cute, and the story is well-written.

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The main couple is the best part

Oh dear. This one is so universally beloved on the internet that I’d been saving it for a long time; as a lover of the zombie genre (the fast ones) and of healthy, best-friends-to-lovers romance, I felt like this had everything I could ever want. In the end, though, I felt like it was just okay.

The best part of the show is the main couple — I loved every scene they had together, and I loved how much they communicated and supported each other through everything. But I felt like they were very underutilized.

Even though this drama is filed under Action and Thriller, there’s actually very little of each. Compared to most zombie outbreak shows, this one is relatively contained: for most of the episodes there’s one or two that pop up, but they’re fought off or pushed outside the building, and everyone retreats to their apartments and their food rations.

I don’t mind a bit more organization and government response, and Han Tae Seok is actually one of the most intriguing characters in the show, but I feel like the show needed to escalate much more to make the stakes feel higher and for us to see the main leads in a more raw and desperate state. We got a little bit towards the end, but it felt very late and the scale just never felt as big as it could’ve been.

Additionally, when the plot started expanding, there were a few unnecessary plot elements that were included. The “people are the real monsters” theme is very common and I enjoy it, but it didn’t quite feel cohesive. Sometimes the character decisions didn’t really make sense, and the “zombies” ended up being pretty underutilizedwith the final resolution being too quick as it jumped to the epilogue.

Ultimately, I think this is a very character-driven drama, which is good if you like that sort of thing. I think the side characters were all very well done and there’s adequate commentary through them about human greed and selfishness — I just wish the drama moved the plot forwards while it was doing all that.

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Amazing vibes, intriguing story

Japan has got the horror vibes down because I absolutely had to take a break between episodes — it was just so dark and heavy. And yet, by the end of the season, I was surprised at how hopeful the drama made me feel despite how much paranoia and anxiety the show also gave me.

Overall, I'm really impressed with how this was written, and how it really gave itself time to develop and set up the story. There are some common horror elements like the main character's backstory, but it still feels really original. I don't know where the plot is going and I'm excited to find out.

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Good premise but confusing

This was barely coherent.

My order of how much I liked the acts goes 3 > 2 >1 of appearance, but everything really did not have to be in reverse chronology in the first place. It was confusing and the film basically asked me to care about all these unlikeable characters before it showed me why I should.

Act I. There was no reason for the genre to be dystopian sci-fi. It was a pretty interesting set-up in the first act but started to feel forced, not thorough, confusing...and by the time we got to the other acts it was forgotten anyways. The film showed nothing about how society became that way and why it mattered.

I actually enjoyed the dark and grittiness of the film (especially in the later acts) and the setting in the first act should've just stuck with being in a world with lots of corruption and wealth inequality (like Gotham). That would've been a lot more believable.

The acting in the first part was also the worst in my opinion. I already mentioned not really liking the characters, but I also found the performances all just very blah.

Act II.Lee Hong Chi was the only good part here. The acting was great but there was really no good story to work with. The cliche of the Unforgettable Girl You Meet One Sad Night And Then Lose Contact With Forever is cliche and boring.

Act III. This one was actually my favorite because it actually did have a story and decent character writing — until it all devolves just like the other parts.

Generally, all the parts had something going for it until it tries to do something violent for the shock factor. It makes every sub-story end on an unsatisfying note and it sucks because I think the cinematography is pretty good.

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Super cute, but then falls into common web drama traps

This was SO cute. I think there's very few actors that could take on the role of Aoki — who's sort of a bumbling, clumsy character that could'e easily become annoying — but the actor managed to make him so adorable, endearing, and a fantastic lead to follow.

I also really loved the side characters; it's nice that there's not really a villain in the drama at all, which makes it a lot more light-hearted and fun, and also allowed the show to discuss discrimination and internalized homophobia without making them really depressing and hopeless.

The premise itself surprisingly gets resolved pretty early, and it's more focused on the gradual development between the leads. I liked being able to see them hanging out without being "forced to," but my favorite part was actually still the beginning, where they were getting to know each other.

I was really pleasantly surprised with this drama...all the way until the last few episodes, where they started doing the "big climax cliche" that many shorter dramas do: the dreaded break-up + big realization + romantic reunion. It was probably the first moment in the drama that felt cliche, whereas previously the show had managed to make common tropes still seem fun and refreshing. I also think it just felt a little rushed to have it all at the end, though I don't think it's that out of the ordinary for a drama with this runtime.

Overall, it's fun and I liked it — it's a show that you don't have to think that much about.

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Exhilarating

I'm still filled with adrenaline after watching this. The first thing that stood out to me were the action scenes, which have extraordinary choreography.

Ultiamtely, I think the best part of this drama is, without a doubt, the main lead. There's an abundance of "stand up against your bullies" stories out there that feature main leads with physical prowess, or leads with some sort of superpower (lol), but very rarely do you get a lead who counters physical attacks with intelligence and attitude. His archetype is just so intriguing, and Jihoon's acting perfectly encapsulates every step of his arc.

The other acting standout is of course Choi Hyunwook as Suho, who brought all the charisma and humor that the show needed. Bumseok was also really interesting as a character study. Maybe the one person who I felt was sort of random and out of place was the female character Young Yi, who throughout the show always felt more like a plot device.

There's so much to unpack here — I'm a bit torn between thinking the 8 episodes is just perfect because it made the pace lightning fast, and wanting just a few more episodes to show more of the trio and dive deeper into Bumseok's downward spiral, which ultimately still felt pretty sudden despite the backstory we got for him.

Overall, still, I think this is a fantastic watch that really did deserve all the high praise it got.

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An intense experience

At first glance this seems like your typical police thriller, but watching this gave me a much more intense experience.

First off, this drama isn't afraid to show violence and gore, which really made it all feel so immersive. Huge props to the prop department (pun intended) and to the makeup department. Every slice, every body part felt super REAL.

I'm also impressed with how this drama managed to humanize and provide depth to all its characters — main and side characters included. I have always loved Taiwanese dramas for their ability to extend stories beyond their characters, and this is no different; it's more subtle in this show, but there's social commentary and it makes every single character and case feel really heavy and important. It also shows that it's so much more than a simple detective drama; this show knows how intelligent its audience is.

I'm definitely looking forward to S2.

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Two great ships in one fantastic show

Look, I’m usually not someone who likes the one-night stand trope because I prefer the gradual development of feelings and two people getting to know each other. But omg. This was so good and we still managed to get that.

I really loved Jim and Wen and seeing how they started learning about each other’s lives and helping each other grow and make hard decisions, and that’s not even mentioning that the chemistry was off the charts both in terms of physical and emotional intimacy. They completely sold their characters, and it couldn’t have been done without the great second leads that were Alan and Gaipa.

Heart and Liming were also a fantastic second couple. As a foil to Jim/Wen, both of who were somewhat jaded about life and romance, we saw a much more innocent first love situation as two people started spending time together. The commentary on deafness and communication was really beautiful as well. They stole every scene they were in and between these two ships I found the show not having one boring moment.

It was actually so refreshing that there were no villains and no terrible misunderstandings between any of the couples. I was so impressed with how much JimWen and HeartLiming both communicated, and having the story focus on the theme of parenthood was also really powerful, between seeing Jim/Liming’s relationships, to seeing Liming’s mother return, and more.

I really do wish this was longer because the plot developments felt kind of thin sometimes when it came to Gaipa’s mother — who I didn’t really see enough of go get emotionally attached to — and also when it came to the chicken diner and the corporation that wanted to buy the land. Despite what we learned out about how the diner started, the place itself never really had “personality” after the first episode, if that makes sense, and I didn’t feel the high stakes of losing it.

Nevertheless, this is a comfort drama for sure and it just might’ve changed my mind about the “one-night stand” trope.

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Hilarious main romance, with some other blah stuff

As a rom-com, this is awesome; I love how chaotic both the characters are at the start and seeing how they went from that to gradually enjoying each other’s company.

As a more slice-of-life drama, this show hits the spot as well. The theme of motherhood is really powerful, especially seeing the “found family” aspect between the main female lead and Hae-e. I also loved seeing the different types of families and seeing how academic pressure played into familial expectations in different ways.

And then we get to the other genre: the mystery or thriller or whatever. This part of the show didn’t work for me at all. I don’t think the show was very good at switching between tones, so it was jarring to go from a rom-com scene to seeing a random murder, especially because it felt like show often forgot about its murder subplot; there would be few consequences for things that happened so the tone of the show never balanced itself out.

Other than that, I think there were almost too many threadlines sometimes, and the show sometimes dropped the ball on them, or there were smarter ways to tie storylines together that the drama didn’t think of. For example:
- When Hae-e wakes up, the entire murder plot is already over. It just makes everything feel pretty anticlimactic.
- Su-a, whose arc is about academic competition, should’ve played a much bigger role in the Sun-jae/Hae-e accidental cheating arc. Instead, she just disappeared during these episodes.
- Su-a, who started getting hallucinations about hurting Hae-e, could’ve also played a role after Hae-e’s accident, like not being sure if she’d been involved or not. Instead, her hallucinations just randomly stopped in the penultimate episode.
- Hae-e’s mom comes and causes a rift between Haeng-seon and Hae-e, which they never resolve through communication. Instead, Hae-e’s mom leaves of her own accord and the problem just goes away. I felt like this could've been a really good opportunity to highlight the motherhood theme again.

The second couple romance also feels really out-of-the-blue — it comes in halfway and by then ’d really much rather have the show focus on the familial relationship between him and Haeng-seon and Hae-e, because most of the time he seems to just be…there. There’s no chemistry or depth between him and his love interest, so I think the show should’ve either built up the plot more from the start, or not have done it at all.

Overall, I still had a fun time watching this. Even with the murder aspect, it feels generally low-stakes, and is a light-hearted watch.

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Stranger Things, but darker, grittier, and bloodier.

Ko Ja Yoon is a fascinating main character, and she makes the film intriguing despite the world-building being sort of thin and the plot being generally predictable. I think the most impressive thing is that nobody in this film is stupid. When strangers are creepy and weird, characters — both side and main ones — recognize it and act accordingly. It was refreshing.

In fact, I'm pretty impressed with the more down-to-earth elements of this film actually; the dynamic between KJY and her family and friends were really interesting, and I want to give a special shout-out to Go Minsi, who really sold her role as the spunky best friend.

On the other hand, while Kim Dami and Choi Wooshik have fantastic chemistry together — the fight scene between them is one of the best moments in the film — I feel like I didn't feel fully convinced by the main scientist or the other "powered" people. Going back to the thin world-building, I think the environment of the government facility, the motivations of the people in charge, and the backstory of other experimented people were just not altogether there.

Overall, it's still a quick, engaging watch and I can see why it got so popular.

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