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Setting that was impossible to execute well.
I want to start with the disclaimer that it's a completely personal and subjective review. For some strange reason the first two episodes just made me feel extremely uncomfortable and I cannot even explain why, but I was barely able to finish them.My biggest problem was the set up for the two main characters which led to a questionable power difference that needs good writing and enough screen time to execute well. We didn't have it here. With that, the dynamics between Shi On and Hong Seok felt off. Everything was rushed and I could not stop myself from saying: this would never ever happen in reality. This is just ridiculous.
Many actions done by the characters were there simply as a lead up for cute moments and interactions or for the plot to progress, but from a logical standpoint, they should not exist.
I would be lying if I said I didn't like anything about the show. Some scenes were truly adorable and I found the chemistry between the two main actors quite nice. Sadly, all of that was surrounded by too fast of a pace with not enough content to make it make sense. The plot wasn't even fast-forwarded to ridiculous speed. We literally jumped through time and space and plot points.
The character that made the least sense to me was Cha Soo Ryeon. She flip-flopped and did some massive 180s here and there, and nothing was organic, cohesive and fitting the story.
The acting was nice. Fanny enough, my favorite performance award goes to Lex, who played Jung Hoon - Shi On's dance classmate. The few scenes he had, he has done justice to. I also enjoyed Chu Young Woo's performance in the last episode.
Overall, it's just a nonsensical show. The performances were nice, the editing was ok, but the writing and directing just left a lot to be desired. If you watch it for the two main leads and their fluffy scenes you will most likely enjoy it, but if you look for anything that has a good structure of the story and characters - this will fail your expectations.
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The worst part of the show was the investigation and overall police work. Why did all of the detectives act outside of the law? What's the point in catching the bad guy when none of the evidence will hold up in court because of how it was obtained? No one put any brain power to solve the case. Instead, we've got looooots of breaking and entering and arresting people left and right without a warrant.
Gray characters? Questionable moral decisions? Making mistakes? I love all that in characters, but still, they need to have SOME redeeming qualities. Here? They all sucked. Everyone was so painfully self-righteous and throwing themselves pity parties titled "who had it worse in life".
The production value was not bad? I'm just questioning why it was so dark for so many scenes. Creating a feeling of suspense and all that happens, when you play around with shadows and LIGHT. The light was not detected here.
The acting was good, I must admit. But I did expect a good performance from this cast.
Overall, nothing new, nothing fresh, dislikable characters, predictable plot.
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Simplicity with a twist that will keep you engaged.
Technically speaking it’s a really simple story with a simplistic presentation of complex issues, and yet it works so well and it does not feel boring thanks to the refreshing and fun characters.What you think you’ll get is a shy nerd who does not care for romance and a confident playboy who will try to win him over. What you get is a confident and at times sassy nerd and socially awkward “playboy” psycho who cannot say no. These two gave me some of the most enjoyable and unexpected chemistry.
Personally I loved Kim Jin Woo from the start, but Jung Ki Sub is a sneaky one, slowly making me fall for the character more and more. There was something irresistible about this character, it does not matter how annoying he might have felt, you kind of craved more of his screen time.
While I understand the appeal of the supporting couple (who does not like some angst in their lives?), I was not quite sold on their journey. I really like Balgeum, I did not care much about In Ho. That said, even if I was not that into them, the couple did deliver one of my favorite scenes in the whole show.
Plot wise - simple is the best. Were the issues at times presented in a comically simple way? Yes. The message was clear though, the story was not confusing and all the aspects got a closure. With short dramas like that, I could not ask for more. I appreciate the introduction of the topics like unintentional neglect, trying to please people and losing yourself in the process, being scared of your own feelings/not understanding your own feelings. The shame one can feel about their economic situation and how it can affect all aspects of a person's life.
The acting… I’m definitely a can of both Kim Sung Hyun and Nam Shi An now. Kim Sung Hyun did great with presenting both being rather cheeky and confident, and completely vulnerable with his feelings. Nam Shi An just… what an emotional journey we witnessed with the character he was presenting and how he slowly put away the positive mask and started to show more and more real emotions - that progression was perfect.
What’s more? The ost is just amazing. Silent goes straight to my playlist and I’m gonna play it on repeat for quite some time. Do It Over? Fun song perfect to start your day on a good note. I Will delivers great vocals and Isolation the best melancholic vibe.
Overall, I kind of want to rewatch it right away. It was sweet, fun and really entertaining. The characters were great and I would not mind either second season or a longer version (with the same cast, obviously).
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This review may contain spoilers
The best as the support.
I honestly fail to understand how the weakest of the actors and the most basic of the plot were picked to lead the show, instead of showcasing a great, but uncomfortable to witness story of the supporting couple… make it make sense.Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy Tae Yi and Se Heon, but I also could not stop myself from feeling like it’s basically The Eighth Sense 2.0 with no improvement that would validate its existence in my eyes. Their story was unnecessarily complicated and too simplistically presented.
On the other hand, even though with criminally little screen time, I totally bought everything going on between Do Yoon and Joo Ha and if given more chance and focus, this could have been quite a refreshing concept to see in BL.
I’d love a story of how the one that protected becomes a bully and how it creates conflicted feelings in the leads. How it would be hard for Do Yoon to forget the warmth he felt when he first met Joo Ha - the hope that what he first saw is still in him. The internal conflict - for how long and how much he should put up with to keep that hope alive? When to give up?
How one magic kiss does not cure your internalized homophobia. I loved the locker scene. I loved how Seo Do Yoon said: I won't confess nor kiss you, let's just stay like that in a hug for a little bit. And that was as much as Joo Ha was conformable with at the moment, and it was fine. Relationships are almost never 50/50 all the time. There are times when one gives 80 and the other 20, and then other times when one gives 30 and the other 70. And I think they could have had something real good with this side couple. Would it be uncomfortable to watch? For sure, but some of the best stories are the ones that make you face some unpleasant feelings.
What’s more? Realistically speaking, Tae Yi was far more violent towards Se Heon, but somehow people don’;t really have as much issue with him. Poor boy was slammed across various surfaces quite a number of times.
Acting wise… it had its ups and downs. Ji Ho Geun and Kim Jin Kwon did great with lighter scenes, but the more emotional ones did not really reach me. Song Han Gyeom aced everything. It’s a fact. Kim Jung Ha surprised me with the more vulnerable scenes, especially since most of what the character presented was being a douche.
Visually speaking it was good. Each year we can clearly see improvement in the quality of production, filing and editing in Korean bls.
Overall, perfect for a binge watch, but made me crave a full story of the side couple and I will be forever salty if I won’t get it.
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I’m here for pity fights and family drama.
Not many dramas can make a certified clown out of me, but this one did, and I kind of appreciate that. Countless rants in the first half, but at the end I became speechless - the twist did its thing.What got me to start the show was the premise of the female spy assassins arc. What made me stay were the family drama and pity senseless fights when the focus should have been on the enemy. The dynamics between all the siblings were extremely entertaining to watch. While I still believe some of the motivations were… not the smartest, I don’t think it’s the case of characters being poorly written - it was intentional. Because the reasoning was flawed at times, it made the characters more relatable, even if the setting of the drama itself was something none of us could relate to.
Did I care about any of the romances? No. Funny, because that was also one of the things I actually wanted to watch this drama for. The puppy love was too puppy, the “toxic” romance did not get enough highlight to be well developed, the comedy crush was too much. Personally I would prefer if they switched the pairings around a bit - get the puppy with the cunning one, and the cold and heartless with the good natured one.
What the drama did perfectly though were all the visual aspects of the production - from set design, costumes, make up, accessories to the way it was all shot. The fighting scenes? Perfection. This is how you use slow motion to highlight the sequences and certain moves, instead of overusing it to hide bad choreography and lack of skills. Each fighting sequence deserves to be watched at least two or three times to fully appreciate it.
The acting was great. I was kind of traumatized by Yu Shu Xin in Love Between Fairy and Devil and her toddler character, and I’m glad to see how well she does in more mature roles. Personally, I think they fit her better. Zhang Ling He was fine. I do believe Gong Zi Yu’s character was the most boring, so I never truly focused so much on him… My favorite performance goes to Lu Yu Xiao - easy choice. Ad for Ryan Cheng, let’s say I get why everyone got so obsessed with him in that role.
On the bad side - I hated the line delivery of most of the main cast. Separately, they were great. The issue is: they all spoke with exactly the same whisper, slow mannerism, it became exhausting. Any dialogue heavy scenes between Yun Wei Shan and Shangguan Qian? Close your eyes and it’s impossible to tell which one is speaking - they sounded the same. I get it, they are all mysterious spies, but that does not mean they have to speak in the same way.
At the end of the day, it’s a great show. The middle part is the slowest and probably the reason why someone might drop it (I was close to dropping it too), but it picks up later when a lot of things get slowly revealed and explained.
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Felt more like 2005 than 2015.
I enjoy Japanese rom-coms for how cringe they often are, but this show just took a few too many steps too far. While the beginning was so ridiculous, it was actually entertaining, at some point I just got tired watching.All the men in this drama were a mess and should stay single looking for a therapist rather than a girlfriend. God bless Kimura Arthur for being the only good guy. Kiyomiya Makoto also had his moments and great potential to be the lead.
On paper I should like it, but there was something… cheap about this writing. Random stereotypical feminine gay men, child stripping professing their love towards female lead, random almost sexual assault to give a chance for ML to save FL, awful future mother-in-law, both best friend and boss being in love with female lead, but then this leading nowhere and barely being addressed, questionable romance with teenager. And most of this just felt meaningless and useless.
The leading couple? Insufferable. I honestly wanted the drama to end with a tragic ending, and the idea of them together just annoyed me. The male lead was a weak selfish ass, and the female lead was a true doormat cross-dressing as a competent lady.
What’s more? I wanted to make it a murder mystery “Who killed the grandma” and end it with an open ending - the culprit getting away with it, never being found. That’s a happy ending I would be satisfied with.
While the ending was great, the characters were just not it. Hard to enjoy the performances, when you don’t even want to see the characters on screen…
Overall, had a fun and ridiculous start, but somehow ended up more boring than entertaining. Did not like the ending at all, the closure for many plotlines felt too easy to achieve taking into consideration all that happened throughout the show.
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Would I be able to see the person behind the crime?
It took me 3 days to finish this movie, it simply made me uncomfortable - not because of the content presented, but rather my thoughts, ideas and values. It made me think about a lot of issues and reexamine some of my opinions.Many of us like to pretend the rehabilitation of the criminals is the goal, that the justice system should strive to make sure they can reenter society and live normal lives. At the same time, we don’t really treat said people in the way that would support what we think. The punishment for their crimes does not really end with their release from prison - they only face obstacles after obstacles even after regaining even partial freedom. How can they start living like humans, when they are not treated as such?
And that’s what the movie focuses on. What is more important - punishment or rehabilitation? How long should criminals pay for their crimes? Agawa Kayo tries to see the best in people, she believes people deserve 2nd chances and that they need support to live an honest life. And that’s what she strives to do working as a probation officer - be that one person support system. We observe her interaction with different parolees, how these interactions change both her and the people around her.
Arimura Kasumi and Morita Go delivered amazing performances that could break one's heart. The amount of pain, fear, but also hope - all so natural and clearly visible through their acting.
Overall, it’s not an easy watch if you watch it while reflecting on your ideas and values.
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“I didn’t come to Love Village to find romance. I came to find the final partner of my life”
And that quote presents both the best and the worst aspect of the show.I found it interesting how vastly different were the motivations of contestants in this show compared to all the dating shows with young people. Romance and thrills were almost never the priority. With how almost all dating shows are focused on the initial attraction, Love Village shines with something different.
At the same time, the production team was not quite on the same page. From participants' side we saw how they were looking for someone to be their partner, but not necessarily lover. Which is fine, but there was a disconnect on how the production team was presenting it. They kept making it seem as if these people had true romantic feelings for each other, when their interactions and conversations painted a different picture.
Some other flaws were how little interactions we actually saw - the real time progression completely did not match the episode's pacing, so when a couple started to have feelings for each other, I often questioned when they even got close to each other, when we saw them talk maybe three times. What’s more - adding contestants close to the end was questionable at best. It was obvious they won’t have a chance to even get to know others, not to mention find a partner, so what’s the point?
On the other hand, I loved Anchovy. This guy is an unintentional comedic genius. He lived in delulu land, misunderstanding every interaction he had with any women. Gold quality of content.
Also, Minane is such a kind and thoughtful woman. I do think she should start thinking about herself more, but I’m also truly impressed how she can see different situations from different perspectives. I have a lot of respect for her and how she presented herself in the show.
Overall, the show was a bit too condensed for my liking. I would love to see more meaningful interactions - slower pacing by either adding more episodes or making them longer.
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Fluctuating quality…
It’s honestly hard to judge this show. I liked some parts, I was bored with others.Starting with contestants - on one hand I appreciate how distinctive everyone’s personality and style was. It was easy to remember everyone from their first introduction and not get people mixed up. Because many of them were so drastically different, the interactions were that much more fun and interesting to watch.
At the same time, because everyone was rather far on the unique side, they truly did not feel like your everyday people, but rather high profile influencers (which some of them were, and most had some entertainment connections). The thing that is enjoyable for me in dating shows is the fact these are normal people and not celebrities… But here, the line felt blurred.
That end result was rather predictable. I was not shocked or surprised by anyone’s choices. Did it bother me? No. I know some people did not like the predictability of the show, but I honestly don’t know what they expected. These are real people, they won’t change their mind just to deliver a plot twist. It would make no sense to randomly pick someone else, and not the person you spent most time with and had some type of chemistry with.
About the hosts - while I loved the 4 main ones and Bambam fitted into that picture perfectly, I am kind of disappointed how little screen time test rest had. I questioned what was the point of even having them there, when they barely shared their opinion and just reacted to what the main panelists were saying.
For the length of the episodes - 2-3 hours long ones never felt like too much. Granted, I did skip scenes and interactions between people I did not care about, so that might be the reason why the length did not bother me much. Even with that, I still believe it’s better to show more than less with dating shows like that. The level of enjoyment depends on how much the viewers will feel like they know these people and connect to them emotionally. If you skip all the build up, and only show the highlights, it will all feel scripted and unnatural.
Overall, it was fun. I thought kdramas made me have high standards in men, but then Jung Hyun Gyu happened and he is just a walking perfection.
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Fairytale quality with disappointing reveal.
I have to say, I enjoyed the whole movie quite a bit, up until the end. Love the mysterious aura the movie had, the complex and hard to grasp relationships and interactions between the ladies, the obvious ominous undertones. And yet, the ending was disappointing.What started as an atmospheric drama with horror elements that could potentially evolve into a fantasy dread, ended up underwhelmingly cheap. It’s like eating in a fancy restaurant, but for dessert they give you plain bread.
Saying it gives a censored romance vibe would be correct. Whatever was going on between Joo Ran and Yeon Deok definitely was more than just friendship - be it romantic feelings or just codependency.
The moment they started to explain all the “behind the scenes” and the cause of all the unexplained events, the movie started to get worse. When the villain has to almost spell their motivation with the dialogue, it means you did a poor job with showing the viewers what they want in a natural and gradual way.
I still enjoyed it though. The performances were truly strong. Not the last time Park Bo Young played a timid character - she gets the roles for a reason, she aced them.
Overall - beautiful visuals, decent scares, though number could be higher, great performance and well built characters. Sadly - weak ending.
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I have no idea why writers still like to pretend shows like that can be 40 episodes long and it makes sense - especially if the episodic elements of the plot ain’t that good to carry the show in-between the main plot moving forward.
I greatly liked the relationship between Mika and Ke Lei - before and after they got together. It’s rare to see a couple in a drama actually act like a couple, being silly, joking around, all the great and fun domestic business. The show did lose some spark after they officially started dating, but that’s because the writers kept keeping them apart. All the scenes they actually shared were great.
That said, do I think Mika and Ke Lei are good as individual characters? Not really. Mika is a saint - the good, moral, hard working, forgiving, flawless. I truly cannot think of one bad trait she had that would allow for some nice character development. She was truly boringly perfect.
Ke Lei was a bit better in that aspect. Still ridiculously good, but at least he showed lack of assertiveness when dealing with people he knew… a few times.
On the other hand, I had exactly the opposite issue with the second and third couple - they did not work that well together, but they were more interesting individually. Qing Xia was fun and a little bit spoiled, Wen Bo was an honest and reliable guy, also clueless af. Ke Yao and Dr. Shao felt the most realistic out of all the characters, but their interactions together were also the most boring.
Truth to be told 2 duos I like the best to watch were Ke Lei and Ke Yao, and Mika and Dr. Shao. Positive family relations and uplifting mentor-mentee pairs are some of my favorite aspects of the shows.
There were also some annoying side characters that deserve no redemption, and yet it was given.
For the plot, except for the romances blooming left and right and some nice slice of life elements, the show does not really offer that much. Majority of the work related plots and scenes were either boring, or poorly developed - sadly they took quite a bit of the screen time.
Everyone delivered in terms of acting. I did question some crying scenes from Ma Si Chun, but it was not bad enough to complain about. Wang Yang was my favorite - I am biased though, I love this man so much. He is just natural and he makes every role he plays a worthy performance.
Production value was nice - surprisingly many aesthetically pleasing shows. Editing was also nice. Liked the set design, even if at times it felt ridiculous how these people can afford the places they are staying at. For the soundtrack, I honestly do not remember one song from the show.
Overall, it’s a decent show. Nothing amazing, but serves as a good chill after work watch.
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Horny zombies? Did we really need this movie to exist?
When I started the movie, I was ready to keep my finger on the skip button. I read so many people talking about how explicit it is. Even though I am not easily fazed, better safe than sorry. I also got my drink ready… And oh boy I needed that drink double strong to survive this.This is basically a torture porn here to only deliver shock value content. I don’t know what the movie is supposed to be? It’s not the case of people just losing control over the primal urges, because violence is not one of them. We are literally wired as social creatures by nature. So while the zombies were not brainless, they were still zombies with little to no agency since the virus turned them into violence seeking assholes. So it’s not like an amazingly fresh take on zombies…
The only thing the movie has to offer is gore and, for some twisted people, content fitting their rape fantasis. Some of the gore was gross, some was so ridiculous I actually laughed out loud. One dude lost the amount of blood that no human can possess in their body. There is literally nothing worse than a movie that is both gross AND dumb. I gave up everything when the female lead just sat down in the staircase chilling and also took her shoes off. SHE TOOK HER SHOES OFF DURING ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE.
I give half a point for the acting and half the point for some gore. That’s it. There is no plot, some violence scenes are painfully dumb, all rape scenes are gross. This movie literally serves nothing worth watching.
I want to be clear though, I have no issue with excessive violence in movies, but it has to serve a purpose. Violence for violence is just boring. When the credits rolled I am sure I just looked like a disappointed parent, when your child acts so stupid you have hardly anything to say and just leave the room.
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⇢ Cast aka the contestants
Chuang 2021 is probably the most culturally diverse survival show I have seen so far. Not only were there trainees from many different counties, but they also were on the run for the place in the debut team - they weren't there just to fill the spot and get international attention.
There were quite a few professionals in their field, bringing many amazing performances that left me speechless. I could see many trainees grow, not only in terms of music related skills, but also maturity, perspective and personalities. I must say, this is my favorite part of these shows.
⇢ Music aka the the performances
Sadly, I have to say that not all performances were good. Some were even bad, but that's kind of how these shows go. Few I loved, one I am obsessed with and watch daily. The biggest disappointment were the vocal performances of Vocal Group A during the finale. Most of the solo stages were of questionable quality. Lucky, the dance stages that followed brought back the hype and good quality.
⇢ Story aka the production
I have my criticism on this part. Because the show was quite short (only 10 episodes), the production felt rushed and not polished. I feel like we never got enough time to watch the trainees actually practice the songs and interact with mentors.
As for the mentors, sad but true some of them were pretty useless, at least in terms of skill they were supposed to mentor trainees in. I love Amber and she is a GREAT performer, but she is not a professional dancer, dancing is not her specialty and she is not known for it. There were too many trainees far better than her in the field. It was evident she was not much of help in terms of dancing, when all her mentor classes were about the feels and emotional delivery and not actually dancing.
Then we have Vin Zhou, again, an extremely talented guy, but he does not have enough rapping experience to be mentoring other trainees.
I have no idea what Ning Jing's purpose in the show was. All she did was react to performances exactly like the normal audience did. None of her comments were insightful and it was stuff a random fangirl would say: "you looked so handsome on stage" or "you improved so much"... How about giving some helpful advice?
God bless Charlie Zhou, since he was the only person who truly tried to help the trainees improve. His vocal classes were full of useful tips and exercises. He was able to "diagnose" the problems contestants had and help fix them.
Overall, I feel like the trainees were left to figure out most things alone, and not much mentoring was going on.
Another small thing that could be improved and would make a huge difference for the international audience is adding in the subtitles the name of the person who is currently talking. They did that in editing for the Chinese subs, but not for English. It's harder for international fans to remember the names, so I see no logic in not adding the names to the subs.
There were some technical aspects during the finale that I was not impressed with: the backing tracks were way too loud, so at times it was hard to actually hear the trainees' singing and rapping. The audio quality overall was not the best.
One last thing I want to talk about was Lelush. Poor boy. People love to talk about how cruel these types of shows are, but then the same people pull a stunt like they did with Lelush up till finale. Many people who voted for him gave some ridiculous excuses, but at the end of the day they simply did not respect his wishes and treated him like a child who needed to have his life dictated by fans.
Overall, it was a fun watch. I am curious about some trainees and their future project, will be checking out INTO1 works. The best part of the show were trainees, the worst: fans and the production. I'm not completely happy with the top 11, but that's how the shows roll, it's impossible to make everyone happy.
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This review may contain spoilers
The cast did well, the characters were entertaining, villains not that bad, production value was obviously high... so why didn't it work out? Not enough brain power was used in writing the plot.Fantasy set in modern times should explore the unexplained, but never go against what we actually know and contradict the reality. When they dropped the "I got resurrected in a new body, but my DNA stayed the same" I was extremely close to dropping it again. Honestly, I did not think it could go any more illogical.
Sadly, the lack of logic was a prominent part of the plot. Characters, depending on the given situation, turned either smart or dumb. The show used exactly the same plot lines over and over again. How many times can I watch Hee Jin's mom being kidnapped? Or Se Yun being in the same type of danger?
The ridiculousness of the script made it entertaining though. There is one secret child, and then there is another... and third. Cross-dressing Cha Min DEAD BODY and putting a wig on it, so the killer can bring him back to life... And the weird plot twist in the end with god (?) showing up, just to give us that sweet forced happy ending.
I'm sorry, but when Cha Min started disappearing Thanos style I laughed like crazy. How nice of the Abyss to start from the bottom to the top, so he had these few seconds to say goodbye. The rules of Abyss make no sense; that's the conclusion.
Also, at some point I wanted to (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻ after hearing all the "Se Yun is not as pretty now, she looks average" jokes and comments. It was laughable with how beautiful Park Bo Young is.
So, did I like anything? Yes. I'd say the cast did an amazing job portraying the characters and the chemistry between the leads was truly great. The thing that caught my attention was how natural the skinship was.
Overall, I kind of enjoyed the experience of watching, simply because my expectations were as low as possible. My forehead hurts from facepalming.
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Truth to be told, this season was nowhere near as fun to watch as season 1. It seemed like most people gave up halfway through and everyone was just chilling in a friendly manner. I mean, I felt the pain of the editors. The uneven screen time for all the cast, how some episodes literally showed close to nothing from what was happening in Inferno - I guess they truly struggled with finding a good footage to include in the final product.
While in season 1 I felt like almost no one was rejecting anyone because they were “playing the game” and doing what the dating show is supposed to be about, here everyone was obsessed with their initial pick, but also no one wanted to be the bad guy or rude so no rejections happened and it was just this awkward vague bubble that did not want to burst.
I honestly don’t have more to say about it. The only reason I still watched it after the halfway through point, were the fun discussions in the comment section and to know the context of some comments and replies.
Do I feel bad for any of them for not being picked by the people they liked? Or not going to paradise? No. They are all hot, young, with successful careers and even their stay in “Inferno” is a vacation many people could never afford… I think that’s why I enjoy shows like that. I can watch them with no negative emotions.
Ps. Se Jun was THE MVP. Best boy ever. Bless him. Wish him all the happiness.
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