W (2016)

STORY: For me, this story was pretty original. I have never watched a drama that involves a webtoon coming to life. Honestly, I thought it was a very good storyline and most of it fit together. BUT it did seem as though the writers tried to make it a little too complex and struggled to bring that to life. There were some confusing parts and a few loopholes/empty spots in the plot making sense 100% of the time This is a drama you cannot overthink and try to rationalize. You just have to go with it and enjoy it, highly logical thinkers may have an issue with this and find it frustrating. I did not really have this problem but I know my friends did. There was also times where the show seemed to know that viewers may lose interest and they created unneeded problems; there were also moments of romance that did not quite fit the moment considering all the other occurring events at that time in the show. However, the production quality was simply amazing. That was one of the best parts. The cinematography and lighting fit everything, camera angles enhanced the experience a lot. The transitions between worlds and characters v. humans were fascinating and well done. For me, the only reason I am not giving the story a 10 is because of a few weak spots in the plot, some of the scenes that were written made it seem as though the writers were trying too hard to keep the attention of the audience or were trying to do exactly what the audience wanted - this occurred more towards the end of the show, and the ending was not quite what I hoped for, but much, much better than I expected. There was nothing super unsatisfying about the end, like what I have experienced with other shows. There was a balance of good and bad throughout the show, happy and sad, and I think the ending brought that fairly full circle.

ACTING/CAST: Holy crap. There were many actors in this cast and I loved all of them to an extent. I did not hate a single person, even the villains. I will break it down person by person, but I am not going into all of them. Han Hyo Joo (Oh Yeon Joo) is the main female. The only other thing I had seen her in, before W, was Postman to Heaven. I loved her in that movie and I loved her in this show. Her acting fit the character so well, subtle cues that added to a character that could easily be flat. From her interactions with other cast members to portraying different emotions, she did it all in a fairly realistic manner you can connect to- considering the subject matter of the show. For me, she alone deserves a 9 or 10. Now, Lee Jong Suk. I want to say he had a stellar performance, but it was not the best thing ever. I do not think that was him so much as it was the role itself. Kang Chul is, in general, a bit too perfect, a bit too flat. He was not written with the depth I was hoping, but I think Lee Jong Suk put forth as much as he could into the character. I would give him, maybe, an 8 on his own? The romance between Kang Chul and Oh Yeon Joo was a bit too perfect, withstanding all the problems a little too easily, but it was by no means the worst romance I have seen. It was not 100% natural, but I thought it was pretty good. BUT we must talk about Kim Eui Seong. Kim Eui Seong plays Oh Sung Moo (Oh Yeon Joo's father) and I loved his performance. He by far was one of the most complex characters, and Kim Eui Seong's acting throughout the show, no matter what was demanded of him, was simply amazing. I quickly figured out he is an actor I would watch in anything. He is so good at portraying emotion and interacting with his fellow cast. I assume this comes from his being older and having more roles under his belt, but I think he was my favorite in this show. By far, the best performance in the show. He alone would receive a 10/10. The reason I give the overall cast an 8 is because not everyone was a stand out in this show, but I think that was less about the actors and more about the character roles written. They seemed awfully flat and you could tell they were only there because they were needed to push the story at times. Do Yoon (Chul's best friend and bodyguard) was fairly good and I think pushed his character as much as he could considering how it was written, and Soo Hee (Chul's friend and secretary) was not as great as I was hoping. She was a letdown, but again I think I blame the writing.

MUSIC: I really enjoyed this soundtrack. The songs used in the show are pretty recognizable and some get stuck in your head. It was not a soundtrack you end up hating, at least not for me. I actually saved up money and bought the entire soundtrack, which I have only done with a few shows. The best song for me was Without You by N of Vixx and Yeoeun of Melody Day. However, not all the songs are great or memorable, you realize that it was how they were cut and used in the show that made them better, but it is by no means a letdown. I must also mention, the placement and editing of the songs for the show were very well done. They simply added to the moments of the show and made things happier or more heartbreaking depending on the scene in action.

REWATCH: I actually have watched this show twice, once by myself, once all the way with my friends. I also enjoy it if I need a dose of romance or action for the background while doing homework. Many would probably rewatch this show, it definitely has the potential to be rewatched, and it has a bit of everything to appeal to different audiences. I have watched it on my own and with multiple friend groups - all the way and random episodes. But I do think it is a show you have to be in the mood for, It is not something I watched religiously but in binges. This is a very binge-worthy show. But I struggled to watch it week to week while it was airing.

OVERALL: I would give this show a 9/10. It has great acting and a good storyline, but it is not perfect. Many dramas are not perfect, so I have learned not to nitpick but I Think this show did a fairly good job and considering it was much anticipated I did not find it to be disappointing at all. I think many will like this show and should give it a try, especially those who are new to dramaland or want a high production show (think high production like City Hunter or Descendants of the Sun).

Leia Mais

Why I watched it: Lee Jong Suk and I needed a break between Sageuks.

Was it worth it: Yeah.

What I liked the most: I knew nothing going in, so I appreciated the unique plot gimmick.

What I disliked the most: The story got a little hairy towards the end and I checked out for a bit.

Moment Meter: 6/10 – Lots of good ones, especially at the beginning.

Other thoughts: My jury is always out about Jong Suk’s acting ability. Is he really a good actor? Or am I subconsciously forgiving of it because of his very appealing face? I don’t trust myself there. That aside, I really liked the premise of the story. It was unique and I’m a sucker for suspended belief. At times the technicality of things slowed the story down a bit, but it was also somewhat necessary too due to the unusual story. Han Hyo Joo did an awesome job and I found her to be very likable. This is another one where you really have to pay attention or you will quickly find yourself lost.

Conclusion: The story line was unique and the actors were gorgeous. A little better than your run-of-the-mill drama, but not a chart-topper for me.

Leia Mais

So much potential!

I have to start by saying the concept of this show is really cool and different. I went into this show super excited because the whole being able to go into a comic/webtoon and a creepy cloaked villain sounded right up my alley. The show started pretty strong and intrigued me quickly, there weren't a whole lot of explanations on how or why the main character was able to go into the comic, but I figured it would be answered later on in the series (it never was). I personally felt like they stretched the show out more than necessary, and I saw about ten different places they could have stopped. Towards the end, the storyline began to get confusing and strayed from the magic it started with. There were also times I didn't really connect or feel the chemistry between characters. I do have to say the acting was great and the music was good, which is a plus. I mainly think it was the storyline that was lacking for me. I'm still really glad I watched this show, I feel like everyone should watch it at least once, but I do not think I would rewatch it in the future, sadly.

Leia Mais

Loved, loved, LOVED this drama!!!!
A very unique story, beautifully executed, amazing cast and intense chemistry.
I found myself laughing, crying and screaming in nearly every episode, a very emotional and exciting journey let me tell you!
The first ever drama (and I watch A LOT of dramas) where I genuinely could not predict what would happen next, even the last episode. The twists and turns in this drama make you question everything you thought you knew.
OST was also stunning, in particular Jo Hyunah's 'Falling'...has been on replay since I first heard it in the drama, gives me goosebumps everytime <3
If you love a bit of action and a unique love story that defies the norm...then look no further, W - Two Worlds will not disappoint <3

Leia Mais

Can't believe someone invested money in this production

This story started out with an interesting and promising premise but just went to shithouse soon after. Firstly, the female lead was a stereotypical airhead. Despite being a cardiothoracic surgeon resident many of her reactions, in medical or non-medical emergency situations, were just WTF. She figures out that getting the male protagonist to have the feels allows her to move back to her world and her immediate strategy is to kiss, slap and flash him to elicit a response. Wow, what a great use of med school intellect there. There's a scene where the male protagonist falls backwards off the building in an apparent suicide. The suicide ends up being a non-fatal ploy to reset things with a dream but she didn't know that. What would be a normal person's reaction when you see someone go backwards off a building? Not just standing there with this bewildered look on their faces, for one. For someone with her medical background, the reaction was ridiculous. This type of unnatural reaction was not just confined to her char. A lot of the other chars behave in ways that's not normal and believable either that it ruins the show because of how ridiculous it is.

Secondly, I didn't find this show female friendly at all. The sexist description of the female webtoon char's big breasts really framed the way that char was perceived for the whole series, which is a pity because I found the actress' acting a great deal more competent than the female protag's. It was also weird seeing so many ultra short mini skirts on some women background chars on the show. It was a weird dresscode against the men who were fully dressed in corporate or workwear gear that it seemed an artificial add by the directors, rather than a naturally occurring situation. Plus I would've thought there were women in the police or security forces in Sth Korea but all those roles were filled by men in the movie. The amount of gender role cliches shown in W made me feel like I was watching a pre-1960s show rather than a modern 21st century one. Badly done.

Thirdly, the plot was a mess. It was extremely lazy writing that didn't even try to hide that fact. The writers just relied on deus ex machinas to explain every single thing.

I agreed with the MadDog surgeon char who said that the female char add was a weak and useless char add and the romance was childish and third grade. Whenever they stuck to the action genre side of things W picked up better pace but still could not save the nonsense non-existant plots. The romance was nonsense as well as there was no logical reason why Kang Chul would fall in love with her. In Yeon-Joo's case it's been shown that she's highly fantasy-prone anyway so it's believable that she'd fall in love with KC but it was a shallow and immature love because of her tendency to fantasise. And her char was just annoying as F. I was glad she died and the parts when she wasn't around was better to watch. I mean kdrama rom-coms are replete with ingenue women who seem to quiver with breathless anticipation at the slightest touch by a man but the way YJ behaves is just embarrassing to watch. It was too cringey not to mention. She's a 30 yr old surgical resident. It might be an idea for the writers to do some research and meet some in real life. You can't tell me all female surgical residents in their 30s are immature virgins in the way they interact with good looking men. How would they ever manage to handle any surgery with a male patient? It was ridiculous as F to watch how badly they wrote her char and how much she needed rescuing all the time by a man.

Would I recommend it? Maybe the first 3 or 4 eps but thereafter, if you want to continue just be sure to leave your brain somewhere else because not only will you not need it to finish this show, but continuing with it might kill some grey cells. By the end of it I felt embarrassed for the actors. I wonder how they felt having to read such rubbish scripts. The only character growth was Soo-Hee but the rest were robbed, imho. I can't believe someone invested money in this production.

Oh, the drawing was amazing and there's a small cute dog at the end.

Leia Mais

It's been a great journey for me.

It has been a while since I watched a drama without skipping a few seconds and with this much of excitement. I'm so amazed by this drama and I feel like it's definitely in my top three, without a doubt.

The story was so well made. You can easily understand how different it was. It was a lot more complicated and also, confusing at the beginning. I just gave 9.5 because I felt like they could have explain all of the details more clearly. There were a lot of things to think about. Still, it was one of the best stories I've seen so far, even maybe the best.

I'm always a fan of Jong Suk's acting but this cast was so great in general. I have to admit, Kim Eui Seong was a blessing to watch. I was really surprised to see his acting, you can't help but admire his skills. Han Hyo Joo was great as well but I feel like she still has more things to learn about emotional scenes. One of my favourites was Lee Tae Hwan though, I was really excited to see him again and I'm so glad to see him in this drama. W is a great drama but it could be really bad if this cast was not this good.

N and Yeoeun's song still plays in my head... I was satisfied with the music as well. There are many good songs such as Falling, Remember, My Heart, Where Are U, Please Say Something... I guess I'll remember Joonyoung's song a lot. My favourite is Remember though, probably. KCM's voice is amazing. I can't help but give a high rating.

Will I watch this drama again? Yeah, probably. Honestly, I watched current episodes a few times while waiting for the new and still it was a great pleasure because of the cast. Of course I'm reviewing this thinking about myself, as JongSuk and TaeHwan's fan. It might not make you feel so great while rewatching it, since you already know the story.

Overall, as I said, W is in my top three right now. It was such a beautiful, emotional rollercoaster. It's saddening that we won't be able to see Kang Chul&amp;amp;Yeon Joo couple anymore. I'm sure it's going to be those rare dramas that I won't never forget and even after many years, thinking about it will make me smile with a warm feeling in my heart.

Leia Mais

This drama deserves the 10. And no, it's not just because I love Lee Jong Suk. Yes, I do love him. But honestly the series managed to live up to my expectations and more. It was exactly what I wanted from this writer--something fast paced, something that poked fun at the world and the way people think, something with sizzling chemistry and fantastic acting. Best of all, it was something that didn't feel like it needed to explain itself to it's viewers. I know that threw a lot of people off--and some even put it down to the writer not respecting her viewers. But I think W: Two Worlds was like a good Terry Pratchett novel--they drop you in, make you dizzy, tear your heart in two and then patch it up again, with little meta asides to make you smile. The directing too blew my mind: thoughtful, a little bit philosophical and generally gorgeous. There were scenes in every episode that just... stick in my brain, because the directing and videography managed to capture the moment so well. Let me name a few, tell me if I'm wrong: the rooftop exit, the real world street-crossing, the crazy smile during torture, Yeon-joo's interrogation. The world reset, the forgot-me-mantage, The introduction of the book. It's rare for a single series to have so many moments that just stand out in your head like that.

But let's break it down.

Story: Is this the first time this sort of story has been told? No. Among other things there's an A-ha music video, the Inkheart trilogy and the CS Lewis classic series The Chronicles of Narnia. All feature stories that come to life and real world character's interactions in them. But none of them have so deeply explored the existential ideas inherent to the premise. As for the premise not being explained... well... it's the premise. That's like asking Harry Potter to explain why wands make magic. They just... do. Or asking Brandon Sanderson what broke the Cosmere. The story is tight, fast-paced, makes you think and allows the viewers to have an imagination. It's got the details to make it work and the flexibility to let you run with it.

Acting//Cast: Here I will admit to being biased. Lee Jong Suk is the only actor I admit to wanting a giant poster of on my wall. But I have good reason--he's one of those actors who's value lies in the microexpressions. Not all emotions need to be spelled out blatantly, and he does a great job using the minute facial tics we have to convey his thought process. Han Hyo Joo was fantastic as well, one of the best K-drama heroines I've seen to date. She had a strong will, never gave that up, knew what she wanted even when it was impossible and thought on her feet. She had good comedic timing and made a good foil for some of the more subtle emotion on Lee Jong Suk's part. And the villain killed their part, no spoilers.

Music: Since I'm not super picky I don't feel qualified to give it a 10, but I will say that the music added to the tone and world of the drama. W: Two Worlds feels like a well done super-hero story, and the music reflects that. It's not overbearing but it's not absentee, either.

Rewatch Value: So much. I rewatched episodes three or four times (in pieces, mostly) while writing my first review of the series. And I've rewatched the beginning episodes with other people. It's still just as good as the first time around (again, like Terry Pratchett).

In the end, you'll have to form your own opinion. But for me it's one of the best K-dramas I've watched to date, tying only with Marriage Contract and Signal for 1st place. I don't really know if this is allowed, but I wrote a massive 5 part review of this series on my own blog, if you want to really know what I think of it. Link is here:

https://cozybooks.wordpress.com/2016/09/20/drama-rant-w-two-worlds-pt-14/

(That's only a link to the first part, just search the title for the rest).

Leia Mais

I was skeptical of this drama at first because I thought it was going to be unnecessarily complicated and boring. Instead I got a one of a kind, unique drama that instantly shot up to my favorite drama of all time. It even beat out the recently finished Goblin--which I absolutely loved. Everything about this drama was perfection. The acting, the leads, the plot everything. The plot--while having a lot of twists and turns--never got overly complicated where I could no longer understand it. The writers did an excellent job explaining everything. It never dragged. Which I worried about after episode 7 but something was always happening to keep viewers on their toes. This was the most suspenseful and thrilling kdrama plot I've ever seen. The romance never slowed down the pacing, either. There was just the right amount, which I was so thankful for. The romance was written well too. No miscommunication between the leads, no hidden truths, no repetitive angst between them, and the leading man was never rude or downright mean to the lead girl like so many other dramas. Lee Jung Suk has quickly become an all time favorite actor of mine. This was my first drama of his and I want to now go and watch his other dramas. He was so perfect as Kang Cheol. I loved him to pieces. Oh Yeon Joo was a great female lead who actually thinks and has common sense. The ending was really fitting and thankfully a happy one--if a little bittersweet. I loved the ost as well. Hardly ever do I fall in love with an entire ost from a drama, but this one I did. Especially the main ending song. Oh my God, I love that song to death. I would recommend this drama to anyone. It literally has everything and you will definitely not be bored. There's no middle sag, just non stop on the edge of your seat plot twists.

Leia Mais

I have to be honest i expected this drama to be fun and light hearted and very comedy but what i got was totally different.
I got an amazing wonderful story that i havent seen before not a traditional kdrama i must say with all its cliches and stuff but instead it was absolutely new and different .
Dont get me wrong i thought it was fun and light hearted and also very funny but it was much more than that it was very interesting from the beginning till the end and as the drama continued it got more serious and dramatic (in good way).
there are some characters that i LOVED and some that i really HATED which makes it more real.
the chemistry is really great both of the actors were really good actually the whole cast was great.
i really recommend you watch if you havent already and rewatch it if you watched it and didnt like it give it a chance it definitely worth it.

Leia Mais

I am really crying while writing it... it really is end i am lost at words
Acting: Everyone acting was really superb espacially Kang chul, Oh seng moo, Da yoon and oh yeon joo just Soo Hee was little lacking
Music: it was superb in every aspect fast slow sad happy
Romance: it was nice every sweet little thing task and those five kisses
Sad: there were many sad moments and they were really heart braking i cried like hell
The moment when hero makes heroine to make him forget about her and when hero was shot and was lying at the bus station and then heroine was running toward him but disappeared in the mid way and when she was lying in the hospital crying
Rewatched value: i give it all 10 ... i can watch it over and over again this drama really is best

Leia Mais

Fun Don't-Think-Too-Hard Binge Watch, but Style Over Substance with a High-Concept Veneer

Good Things:

* The big budget production. It looks and feels much more modern than its 2016 air date would suggest. The bullet-time SFX have aged well, the cinematography is on point and the transitions/overlays between manwha and real life are lush and dreamy.
* The high concept premise. The sheer existential horror of the man vs god / creation vs creator set-up that drives the early episodes is a powerful hook. It also toys with related concepts like Ship of Theseus, paradoxical free will, and Zeno's Arrow (in relation to time travel) to name a few.

So-So Things:

* The romance. It starts with some unique dynamics but they're never explored and it becomes one of the textbook cases of 'We're together because we're the leads'. You don't really get to see ML and FL build a relationship; they're just thrown into high-stakes circumstances one after another with interludes of sweetness/melodrama.
* The secondary characters. They all might as well be named 'Plot Device' considering their lack of depth and development.

Bad Things:

* The adrenaline fatigue. After a while, the impact of the constant revelations and cliffhangers is hollow, especially since the consequences and implications of earlier situations are often forgotten entirely or glossed over by deus ex machina.
* The lack of internal consistency. Instead of relying on the rules it sets up early on, it continually makes up new ones that contradict both themselves and each other.
* The Jenga-esque plot. There are several key elements that easily could have provided enough material for an entire drama, but they're tossed aside in favor of more and more makjang twists; which results in major holes as well as an undeveloped central thematic narrative. It ultimately tries to do too much with too little foundation, and the story collapses under it's own weight in the final 1/3.

Interesting Things:

* Song Jae Jung also wrote Queen In Hyun's Man (2012), Nine: Nine Times Time Travel (2013) and Memories of the Alhambra (2018).

Scifi/fantasy thrillers are rare in Kdrama and stories that actually engage with it as a subject matter vs using it as a backdrop are few and far between. Compared to genre at large W isn't a standout and it has some serious flaws, but it's worth watching for its (mostly thwarted) ambitions. Recommended if you enjoy fast paced thrillers or glossy high-concept stories and are looking for rollercoaster don't-think-too-hard binge watch.

Leia Mais