Real Estate Scam: The Real Scam

The drama paled in comparison to its predecessor, managing to somehow be an even bigger problematic piece than the troublesome first season. From its lackluster plot to its uninspired character dynamics, this spinoff felt like a cheap imitation rather than a fresh spinoff. Gone are the scuffed and endearing dynamics of the characters, replaced instead by awkward interactions and forced romances, resulting in a disjointed narrative that struggled to find its footing. The writing was lazy and contrived, relying on tired recycled storylines, it also shamelessly recycled the exact same jokes and bits from the original, albeit with even far less finesse and charm. Both male leads were unbearably cringe and the female lead was equally doormat. While the original may have had its faults, the spinoff took those flaws and magnified them, resulting in a soulless spinoff that tarnished whatever shred of goodwill the original may have had.

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Barely Advertisable

At the surface it may seems it's the type of show that goes through workplace cases one after another, while that was slightly true initially, but it was just a drama themed around an advertising agency, or so I thought, initially. After the introduction, the drama began with an advertising assignment then followed by a bigger one with more tension, stakes and clever plays, however, this all happened in the first half while the second half became a regular melodrama/power struggle in a corporate setting, no more advertising assignments. This was unfortunate because the second half couldn't carry the same impact, especially the last 4 episodes. Ah In & Han Na & Young Woo had a great dynamic between each other and those around them. On the other hand, Han Byung Soo was the worst character, his character didn't fit any scene, he lacked a good dynamic and story given that he was close to the female lead, even the actor himself was out of place and a big mismatch to his task. The personal stories were a hit or miss, take for example the female lead story, the writer put little to no effort into her childhood/trauma, everything started and ended with a few scenes which led to a weak resolution to her trauma. It was really disappointing in this specific case after building up her trauma and problems for so long. Han Na and her secretary might be a highlight for some but Eun Jung and her child were a highlight for me. The final wrap up felt a bit strange after just 1 year time skip, an obvious uncalculated afterthought for the sake of it. The drama offered a decent package with a lot more potentials on the table but it also left a lot more to be desired.

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A Capitalist Happiness

Having a plot around mothers competing on social media over whose life is the happiest is such a dystopian sad present we currently live in. The concept itself was limit testing my cringe-o-meter really hard but luckily the mystery plot took over after 2 episodes. This drama was very similar to Green Mothers' Club (2022), it started with a group of housewives/residents living in their fancy neighborhood until it turns into a mystery plot after a few episodes. The mystery itself here was limited, swinging between who's the killer and digging up the past, however, it wasn't enough to fill 16 episodes and was often stretching each event really thin. Most of the characters were trashy which made it hard to sympathize with when they were given a turn over and a resolution. For a plot around who done it mystery, usually we get a handful of suspects with good motives but in this drama most of the suspects had a weak motivation and their attempt to play innocent was rather unconvincing. One thing that bothered me was how the drama never addressed the big daughter properly after her initial introduction and purpose, which was kinda important for the narrative. In fact, most relationships between the characters were given a half-arsed follow up and resolution, leading to an unacceptable wrap up.

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Money, innit?

The veteran actor, Lee Sun Kyun, delivered a powerful performance that anchored the show, as expected. It's really heartbreaking to lose such a big talent. Rest in piece. The drama didn't exactly break new ground with its plot or characters, but it managed to hold one's attention through its well paced narrative, occasional power shifts and a few unexpected twists thrown in. The cast does their thing, but some of the characters feel a bit like cardboard cutouts, lacking some life in them. While the drama dipped into melodrama sometimes but it struck a balance between suspense and storytelling. Overall, it's a pretty decent drama around corruption and power struggles.

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Budget China Town

The drama had a rough start to assemble some attractive elements for the hook but everything boiled down to its nature being bilingual and bicultural. The story itself was bland through and through, and it kept playing it super extremely safe until the end. The cast was good enough given the material they had to work with. Its excessive length didn't help its case. Despite that, the romance was somewhat brief and unremarkable, the language barrier was clearly showing. The leads chemistry was quite questionable, it came off as forced more often than not, I've seen better efforts from Kim Jae Won. Han Chae Young went through a lot, her character got robbed off, playing a secondary lead didn't fit her well. All in all, the side plots were definitely the weakest link, none of them fit well, nor were they appealing and they contributed little to nothing.

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Joseonless Behaviour

I don't how I feel about the on-screen text. There's distinct level of absurdity and abnormality that's easily recognizable from a certain Korean writer, that is Im Sung Han. From writing the characters, constructing the narrative and story boarding, all felt quite familiar to her other shows, Apgujeong Midnight Sun (2014) & Miss Mermaid (2002) in particular. However, this drama is unfortunately one of her unsuccessful ones. I didn't like the direction she took with the drama. The women from Joseon were an interjection into the Dan's family, they were more like a support characters observing the surrounding and getting accustomed to living. The entire story was stagnant for 15 episodes after their initial introduction and only the last episode brought some change but it was too late. The story went through the bare minimum of characters exploration and made the Joseon women existence more useless. If anything, it reminded me of the bizarre storylines transitions and conclusion of Miss Mermaid (2002), really close when drawing parallels. On a second thought, although I'm a fan of the writer but I don't quite agree with how she writes the last few episodes of her projects.

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Weatherless Behaviour

Just at a first glance, the synopsis isn't encouraging to launch the first episode. The only thing left is to check out what were they gonna do with the forecasting setup. They failed to establish why their job is very super important early on and waited a while to do so, nullifying the little bit of early tension it could have had for a good hook. As expected, forecasting turned into a small side plot. They barely done anything with it after a few episodes. The story was straight up not good. Whatever plotlines the drama had, it didn't put enough effort to bring them to the finish line, everything just magically worked out. The writer had no clue how to write and establish human and love relationships. What made matter worse was the non-existent chemistry between the leads. Even further much worse, the atrocious dynamic between the four leads, what even was that?!

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A Sketchy Tramway

They had a solid idea for a drama but they were totally clueless for how to fit it into a 16 episodes mold. The trolley dilemma was a poor idea to implement in the drama. They were afraid that the viewers may not notice so they went ahead to explain the trolley dilemma multiple times. The FL's kid was learning about it with visuals in school. Kinda insulting. Its finale execution of this analogy turned out to be disappointing and bland, especially after shoving it in our faces endlessly and having the drama named after it. Anyway, the drama was plagued by narrative and writing problems, especially with its horrible and dysfunctional characterization.

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Definitely Loveless

The drama was a frustrating experience, primarily due to its main plotline which flopped majorly. They probably choose the worst route to execute its main story. Both leads and their love interests were a bad combination that spawned a dreadful dynamic for 65 episodes. Subsequently, the resolution after endless quarrels was equally dreadful and ended in a flat let down. On the other hand, the side plots and relationships were better in comparison but nothing stood out. Conflicts seemed forced and resolutions lacked any real emotional impact. The drama failed to offer any redeeming qualities that could compensate for its lackluster central storyline. It was unbelievably forceful and super giga cringe to have the FL attend her ex-husband wedding for the ending. Really tacky!

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The Peasants of Cheongdamdong

The synopsis is wildly misleading, there was no global Korean high society scandal. Everything was confined to a small scale within the characters' lives only. The synopsis is trying hard to sell it as a grand story on a big scale. Anyway, the drama left me utterly disillusioned, as it offered nothing but the same tired and rancid formula without a single redeeming quality to make it stand out. From the poor setup to the uninspired characters, it quickly unraveled with repetitive plotlines, and convenient coincidences that were a big stretch even for a makjang, lacking any semblance of originality or creativity. While some dramas manage to take familiar tropes and breathe new life into them, this one offered nothing but a bland and forgettable viewing experience. The cast members were average, doing what they can to get the drama to the finish line.

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A Mental Coach

The drama kicked off with a solid start, drawing its audience with a compelling premise and a cast of captivating characters. In the first half, emotions ran high as we were watching the dynamics between coaches and athletes. The character development was superb, and the storyline was peppered with unexpected well written materials that sat the expectations high for what's to come. However, as the drama progressed into its second half, it seemed to lose some of its momentum. The pacing felt uneven, with certain plotlines dragging on longer than necessary while others seemed rushed and unresolved. The writing got a bit lazier and less profound. It couldn't deliver the same impact as the first half, even with its climax. Despite these shortcomings, the drama still had its moments of brilliance, particularly in its character development and for its strong promising start.

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Cornless Behavior

The main leads were quite good with their performance and dynamic, while the supporting cast were a mixed bag between bad and decent. It's a sitcom so the main selling point would be its comedy. It was interesting initially with a good pace but it didn't last for too long before things started to get repeated while some jokes remained in the bland and quirky territory. Aside from its comedy, there was a little bit of story going on which was brought into the front in its second half. With it, there was a shift into a regular drama tone, and personal relationships became the focus. Also, for some reason they found it necessary to pair multiple people together, they should've wrote more material within its initial theme instead.

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Typical Homeschooled Behavior

I didn't expect much from the cast but I've seen a better performance from Yang Dong Geun and Park Min Young from around the same era. Especially Yang Dong Geun, his 2 previous projects prior to this drama "Dr. Gang (2006)" and "Ruler of Your Own World (2002)" brought a better performance from him. They both feel out of place here with a less than average performance and dynamic, let alone the questionable chemistry. I wouldn't label this drama as a romance since it's mostly a mix of drama, slice of life and pseudo-comedy, and the little bit of alleged romance was left to the end. Additionally, the story was barely serviceable with little to no room to move around. The case is even worse with the side characters and plots.

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Not even Noah's ark can carry these sexless virgins

The general impression is justified, however, its perceived problem is far from being the only problem. The drama is a good case study to be examined for newcomers in the industry, especially screenwriters. These 14 episodes were absolutely marvelous in stacking up a web of irrecoverable problems. I'm not sure if it takes a talent to achieve that or the lack of it. I didn't major in theater, literature, or creative writing, but I can certainly conclude that Jang Ah Mi, the writer of this abomination, is an inept writer. She had no idea what she wanted to do or accomplish. She even had a reference from the source material to help. Writers like her make me reluctant to get into shows with a screenwriting debut credit.

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Better Off To Die A Virgin

The drama took a promising premise of time travel advice and turned it into a bland rom-com experience. The "future self" advice failed to build a convincing and compelling case with proper nuances. There was a constant disconnect between both selves character's narrative and motivation, regardless of the nature of time travel mechanics. The humor surrounding the main cast interactions fell flat, especially when both love interests were equally uninspiring. The initial attempts at romantic chemistry were forced and awkward. For this story to work, they needed to remove any love triangle/square and solely focus on the main relationship to give some justification to the existence of "future self" and to build a stronger bond which would bring with it more emotions, higher stakes and a bigger climax. The twist in the last 2 episodes was a sad attempt trying to salvage what's left in the drama to bring some kind of climax for its finale. It's a drama that might leave you feeling like you settled for instant ramen when you were hoping for a gourmet Tsukemen. The sad thing, I wasted time, electricity, and heat encoding its BluRay discs just to see it end up this way.

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