Do not recommend. Not painful, just really boring.
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First thing I imagine when I read the title, is something flashy, magical and colorful. "A Korean Odyssey" definitely scores a hit in that category. Bright colors and places that make the world our characters are living in seem a little extraordinary. On the other hand (and my personal complaints) is the way those elements were executed. You might disagree with me and say that if the story itself is good, one can overlook failed CGI effects. Well, for me it's a really important factor because well done special effects can lift the quality and increase the impact of a certain moment a lot. You can probably imagine how I had to cringe whenever such a scene occurred - most of all in the finale.
Despite that though! When it came down to the really important things which involved feelings, difficult decisions, realizations etc, you can say that the job was done neatly. They were even able to offer some killer minutes of emotional torture.
Looking at the story, yes, the first half didn't feel like having a clear structure or a straight path to follow. It seemed uneven and tortuous. The second half though was more focused on progressing the actual story and preparing for the finale. As you can see, I liked the plot. The cast was great and fun to watch. Lee Seung Gi had great chemistry with all his co-actors, esp with Chae Seung Won (it's a matter of fact that these two are a match made in heaven - literally) and Oh Yeon Seo. I was worried about some awkward kisses between them and they were indeed a little coy at first, but in the end they did really, REALLY well.
What else to like... I became a big fan of the supporting roles in this drama and the one who needs to be mentioned so much is Lee Se Young. In "The Best Hit" she didn't leave a lasting impression, rather the opposite. That's why I was even more surprised when I finally spotted her in this. Yes, it took me a while to even recognize her and if you haven't watched the drama yet, you will get what I'm talking about right then. Let me applaud to that girl, she was a real bombshell.
My second favorite was/were Fairy Ha and Winter General. Two characters, two genders but one actor. Sung Hyuk was incredible. He pulled off these two totally different and yet so similar personalities, made both appear with their own aura and was able to touch my heart with their story.
Lee Hong Ki aka PK. I enjoyed his character the more I saw of him. Just like all the other heavenly creatures he was flawed, self-centered and never left out an advantageous opportunity (even though he was interrupted most times). But he had his heart in the right place and defended that one friend he got impulsively - although not always with the most clever methods.
My happiest moments while watching "Hwayugi" were whenever I noticed certain elements of other mangas. Yes, you did read right. It doesn't sound nice, I know. But believe me, it's not meant in a bad way. It's exactly the opposite because there were so many different things packed in this one drama, that they became a sweet additional ingredient. Some examples are Inuyusha, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Sailor Moon and Naruto. Feel free to search for other ones. It's definitely a fun side game.
I mentioned "striking flaws" earlier and I already noted the most annoying things for me. If I were to add one more thing it would be the music. Don't get me wrong, the songs were a beautiful mood supporter. But whenever they changed scenes, they cut off the tune so brutally, that they ruined my special moments and gave me a hard time getting into the new scene.
This being said... I don't know about others (although I saw that not everyone was satisfied and expectations were shattered cruelly), I for myself had a great time watching "A Korean Odyssey". I was not able to overlook its blunders, but they were not overwhelming enough either and didn't diminish my enjoyment. Call it guilty pleasure or whatever. I had a great time.
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When I first started this drama I was very torn whether to continue or drop this drama. Yes I'm speaking the truth even though my rating might make me look like a liar. Halfway through the first episode I asked myself if I shouldn't watch a drama of which I am sure that I will like it. In the end I watched two episodes of this drama and I don't regret it. In my opinion, that's when the drama started to climb the hill, slowly but surely. (I started to like it after 3rd/4th episode)
First of all, the story: Since you should've read the plot summary already I won't talk as much around the bush as I just did. It's a fantasy story which can be liked even if fantasy usually isn't your type. Because I speak from experience, I just can't stand fantasy because it makes a story so hard to feel realistic, but this oh this drama felt so real. The plot twists were what I liked the most. When you think the situation finally calmed down another event takes place and it's just entertaining to watch this story. Many people said something about fillers and I do agree, but to be honest those fillers were what made the story even better. Otherwise it would've been a short dramatic ride.
The cast did one amazing job! Because this is a fantasy show I had a hard time to get used to the characters but the cast's acting made it really easy! They acted so natural, as if it's the most normal thing to happen that you talk to a god and the next second to a demon or whatever. All, and when I am saying all I mean all roles were played well. Even the most unnecessary ones. And the characters lived through a development that every drama wishes to have. The people from the first/second episode had nothing in common with the ones in the last. I mean, they were both perfect but it was just fascinating how good and realistic the character development was made. And not to mention the chemistry between the main leads. I loved every relationship there was. But Son Oh Gong and Jin Seon Mi aka Sam Jang were really really well played. Both were extremely hard roles but pulled off by pros!
Next is the music. The OSTs are reason enough to watch this drama, I'm not kidding. Every single OST made my heart melt like I don't even know what. I can't find a better word as perfection to describe them. And they also fitted every situation very well. Not only OSTs but also random background melodies were so well produced and fitted perfectly.
All in all this drama was a ride of emotions, it could break your heart in one second but the very next you had to pause the episode because you can't stop laughing.
Maybe this review is so much better than others because I expected nothing from this drama. But maybe you just look into it and find out for yourself if it is wort it. But however you decision might look like, in my opinion it is a must-watch drama. Even though some people didn't like it I'm sure they still were glad that they watched it. But please don't judge the drama by not having seen everything! I was about to drop this drama after about 40 minutes and now look at my ratings.
I hope you will watch this and most important enjoy it at least as much as I did!
Whatever your choice is, have fun!
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Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
==!! This review contains some pretty big spoilers !!== It has been a while since I’ve been obsessed with a drama as much as I was with Hwayugi and it is with an aching heart that I bid this show farewell.
While at times cheesy, over-the-top, brimmed with questionable fashion choices, and suffering from some terrible CGI work (was there really no better way to portray that dragon?) Hwayugi constantly dished out exactly what I wanted and for that reason I will always love it.
The good:
LEE. SEUNG. GI!! What a comeback! I have seen all of Lee Seung Gi’s dramas and love him more every time. His portrayal of Oh Gong here felt very reminiscent of his performance in The King 2 Hearts which made me all sorts of giddy.
The writing – The Hong Sisters proved that they’ve still got it! As leaders and trend-setters in the Korean drama industry, The Hong Sisters have been pioneers of the modern K-Drama. They’ve always pushed the boundaries and dared to be bold with their writing. Hwayugi is no different and by far one my favorite shows from them thus far (I’ve seen them all except for Warm and Cozy which I have very little ambition to watch). There were moments I didn’t necessarily enjoy but overall I felt like the story and their take on this classic tale was pretty solid. Plus, it was often times hilarious. I love it when writers are able to bring out humor in their shows naturally…like a scene where you are laughing your head off but if someone were to randomly glimpse it they would have no idea why you think it’s so funny. There were so many inside jokes, sidesplitting cameos, meta references, and subtle nudges of humor that remained consistent throughout the entire run of this drama.
The music – I really enjoyed this soundtrack. It was a little repetitive at times but the music fit the mood well and did a good job at wringing my emotions along.
THE KISSES – Hot damn, we got some good kisses *fans face*
I also loved the use of the bracelet as opposed to the headband from the original story. It was a very clever way to keep both the characters and the audience on their toes wondering about Oh Gong's true feelings. And while I really did enjoy how the scene of him taking off the bracelet for the first time was played out (flawlessly) I wish it had happened in the final episode, after he regained his memories. They still could have even done it the exact same way, I just feel like the emotional pay-off would have been higher. As it is, all of the flashbacks in episode 20 felt pointless and like a huge waste of precious screen time because we already knew and I would have much rather been on board with Sun Mi waiting for that big reveal. The emotional punch would have been much more profound.
The luke-warm:
Sun Mi’s character – She was alright (at times cute, at times strong) but overall she kind of paled in comparison to the rest of the cast.
The end to Boo Ja’s story – I won't say here, but if you've seen it you'll know why I'm upset
The inconsistency of the bromance/friendships – I loved the relationship between Oh Gong and Mawang but it felt really inconsistent to me. One minute they would be bromancing and the next Mawang would be contemplating eating Sun Mi. Not cool. Plus, I was holding out hope for Sun Mi to make some real friends during this but in the end it turns out the only one who really cared about her was Oh Gong (and Boo Ja, I suppose). When she lost her "Sam Jang"-ness there for a bit everyone else just deserted her and didn’t seem to care about her, personally, at all—which was really disappointing.
(!!!!!! WARNING HUGE SPOILERS !!!!!!)
The ending – The ending itself has left me feeling conflicted. On the one hand, it didn't end how I wanted it to (ie miraculously Happy Ever After) so I feel like whining, complaining, and sniveling. On the other hand, the ending remained true to the trajectory of the story (the Hong Sister's interpretation anyway, definitely not the original) and I realize that it could have been so.much.worse (this is me giving the side-eye to Black and Gu Family Book). I like that they at least gave us that open-ending since we know that Oh Gong is going to turn Heaven and Earth upside down to get Sun Mi back, no doubt about it. I just wanted to see it happen and not have to use my imagination. I feel like as viewers, we deserved that much. Plus, it would have been way more exciting to see a final episode where Oh Gong goes off to save Sun Mi from the underworld or whatever, than having practically an entire episode devoted to flash backs. Just sayin'.
The climax – I also felt very frustrated with the overall Doomsday arch. And this is again where we could have devoted more time to Saving Sun Mi rather than just waiting for her to die. The climax of that felt very anti-climatic and it's my one huge problem with the writing/directing. I felt pretty bored and boggled down in politics when it came to the End of The World plotline and in my option there was just a million other directions they could have gone with that to make it way more interesting, especially since they had endless possibilities given the world that was created for this drama. I think this is the show's weakest link and a huge stain on the last 4 episodes or so that cooled me down from obsessively invested to just wanting them to get it over with already.
Overall there are way more things to love than to hate about this drama and I could still go on and on. It’s not perfect but I know for sure I will definitely be re-watching it in the future and gushing over it just as much.
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.... because I have never experience frustration like this, ever before.
I don't even know where to start, to be honest.......
+ Positives
- Negatives
= Summary
~ I recommend this to...
Let's get this death over with
+++++++ POSITIVES +++++++++
+ The acting was good. I think the whole cast did a good job portraying their roles even though their characters weren't that well made to begin with.
+ The relationships between the characters are amazing. Some supporting characters had a beautiful romance bloom from innocent caring and that's a kind of purity you don't see often in modern day dramas.
+ There were definitely some funny moments in this drama that made me chuckle or smile or sometimes laugh out loud. The comments and the way the characters are interacting with each others, was at times, very entertaining and gave them a very special bond.
+ The story took turns that some other dramas avoid because of the great risk that the audience disapproves. In my opinion, risky moves like killing off characters or confusing the hearth is a good way to capture the audience and make them feel something.
----------------- NEGATIVES -------------------------
- All the characters have a character development except for the, dense, ignorant, clumsy, slow, innocent, annoying, female lead. She doesn't do anything except make things harder for everyone else in this drama and she was the one who needed the development the most. I think the writers got too stuck in victimizing here, there was no space left to make her human.
- The story does not follow it's original so this version has enough plot holes to make cheese with holes in it, feel ashamed of itself.
- The story builds up way too much into something that doesn't even climax. I was severely disappointed with the twists and obstacles that were constantly introduced. I have to admit that some twists were really sweet and really good but for the majority of the time it was dog noise.
- Some of the dialogue didn't make sense.
- The CG was worse than some, early 2000 Japanese horror films, I've seen
- The focus was in the wrong place most of the time. The way the creators proceeded the story made it seem like things were only happening to support their romance, instead of their romance being something that bloomed from the incidents. A bit like those high school movies where something completely illogical happens just to make the main couple share a room and create tension. This drama would have been a lot better if the romance was a part of the story and not the center of it.
- The romance in itself was a never ending tug-of-war which is the result of having it in the spotlight. When you want to focus on something but there isn't enough content, it ends up repeating itself.
okay, enough!
========== SUMMARY ============
For the most part, I was disappointed watching this. Even though it did really well with character interactions and relationships, not to mention the great chemistry provided by the actors, the writers failed at their most crucial points. The plot. Even though this is based on a novel, I think the writers took the opportunity to free style a bit, which was a huge mistake on their part. Their desire for wanting more than they could achieve, resulted in major plot holes and a lot of build up without climax.
~~~~~~~~~ I RECOMMEND THIS TO ~~~~~~~~~~~
People who like romance no matter the quality of the story. Even if this is more of a spicy romance with some action, tragedy and blood, the main focus here is love and it comes in all sorts of varieties. If you're easily scared; there will be some blood but this should not be considered a horror drama. If you've ever seen a bad horror movie and made it through, you'll be fine watching this.
ENJOY!!
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A Korean Waste of Space
I was really loving this but by episode 8 or so I started to notice the dramas flaw.Honestly I just ship the heck out of PK and our cutest zombie girl. Their interactions sincerely added 50 years to my life. They are just so darn cute.
I also have to admit that while at first I thought the Devil King's tantrums were funny, they kind of have become really repetitive. I mean c'mon can't you think of something better to do with this epic character?
Somehow this kdrama went from a 9 to a 7, and ultimately a 6.
I was also starting to ship the heck out of Son O-Gong and Seon Mi but honestly that bracelet is stopping me from fully shipping them. In all honesty, if Seon Mi really loved him she would have removed the bracelet by now since it's only hurting the person she loves. But does she remove it? NO! And there's honestly no reason for her to keep it on Son O-Gong. Like if you want to be in a healthy relationship you need to remove that bracelet and you need to trust him. I get that she still needs him but he probably would still help her because he obviously loves her too and he still has the deal with her which they made years ago. I'm really getting annoyed, well I'm actually fucking pissed off, that the bracelet is still there. For fuck's sake it is currently hurting him even more as in he literally threw up blood because of that fucking bracelet but she still didn't take it off him. I mean how is all of this healthy and how can this ever result in a supportive, trusthwortgy, healthy and swoon worthy relationship if she never takes the braces off him? I really REALLY fucking hate this. I DON'T GET IT, I DON'T UNDERSTAND. SERIOUSLY TELL ME WHY
Also, this didn't really need to have 20 episodes of seventy minutes long.
However, I do like the mix of the past and the present & I especially loved the episode when they went into a film set in the time when Korea was occupied by Japan. I sincerely need more dramas about that time period.
The side characters also made this show. I truly loved PK, Richie, Ms Ma, Seon Mi's employee, the fancy CEO and maid to Son O-Gong, and the octopus. I also really liked Son O-Gong, he was pretty epic too.
I'm fucking mad about the ending that my babies PK and Richie got. They deserved so much better!
To be honest, this show could have been so much better and really good, amazing if it had better writers. I'm not really a fan of the Hong Sisters. I don't think they're that great. The concept and idea were really cool but the execution of the story itself really lacked. Once again better writers could have solved this and saved this kdrama that never fulfilled its potential.
The ending was just straight up bad. I honestly regret waisting my time on this kdrama.
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Too many ideas
This one started off promising. The cast is full of great actors, the story seemed interesting, and I was excited to start it. However, as I was watching it I realized that it had too much going on. I started wondering if they had written everything before they started filming or if they made it up as they went along. There are too many characters and most of them don’t do anything. There are too many subplots that don’t go anywhere. There’s honestly nothing that makes this drama worth watching.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
- Good introduction that drew in audience's interest but story got dragged around meaninglessly after the first few episodes.
- Good bromance, love-hate and witty interactions between the two main male leads
- An ending that makes sense and wasn't forced
- The side stories and pairings, eg: General Frost and his sister, PK and Bu Ja etc, is more interesting than the development of the OTP's romance
- Could benefit from a shorter version, eg: 13 episodes, instead of the draggy 20 eps.
- Story and plot too simple with many potholes
- A weak female lead character that does not shine as well as her co-stars
- Poor chemistry between the OTP
- Questionable script with 'dodgy' conversations of kindergarten level in poor attempt to make the characters sound witty
- Use of poor quality CGI
- A final showdown that was a disappointment after spending 18 episodes to build up towards it
Therefore, DO NOT watch this drama if you are looking for:
- Good and sizzling chemistry between the OTP
- A tight good story with complex characters and addictive plots
- Clever and witty conversations that does not belittle the characters' (and the audience's) intelligence
- A drama with good quality CGI that does not stick out like a sore thumb
- A conclusive ending that may defy logic and the laws of nature itself
- A drama with fresh new ideas
- Trying to find a drama that will restore your interest and faith in Asian dramas again
Watch this drama if you are:
- A fan of Lee Seung Gi, Cha Seung Won and Lee Hong Ki regardless of how bad the story is
- Like the sort of love-hate witty bromance interactions similarly found in Goblin
- Not into strict happy endings
- Doesn't mind a non-outstanding female lead who's just there as long as the main lead's handsome and charismatic enough to attract your attention
- Looking for a drama that recycles old ideas previously used by the same writers such as having the OTPs wrapped around in a big comforter as they exchange sweet nothings while staring out of the window (eg: Secret Garden) or use of Asian drama "must-haves" such as memory lost or as this drama termed it as "fragmented memories"
My conclusion:
- It's an okay drama but I won't be re-watching it soon.
- It's time the Korean entertainment industry consider employing new writers with new ideas and styles coz recycling the same old ideas using same old writers who most likely have given us their very best and can no longer offer anymore better is frankly getting....well, OLD. Time to consider retirement, Hong sisters. Make way for new bloods.
- Sad waste of great names and talents. It's like placing a Lamborghini engine in an old Toyota car! What sad waste of resources!
- If I want to be lenient and consider the star-studded cast much loved by many (despite the disaster of the story), it can get away with an 8.0 but if you have a list of things to assess this drama on like in a Quality Assurance assessment, as you tick things off without consideration for the big names, you'll realize that the best rating you could give this drama is 7.0
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Enjoy this as a standalone but not an adaptation of "Journey to the West"
Completed - 6/10/2022This Korean adaptation of the Chinese classics “A Journey to the West” is mainly a fantasy-romance drama. It is quite interesting to me to watch these characters and think of their Chinese counterparts. This is definitely not a serious adaptation, but it’s a fun and comedic version (some might think it’s a little over-the-top). If you don’t take the word ‘adaptation’ seriously and just watch it as a standalone Korean drama, this could be quite fun. I am a little late to the game, since I am watching this 2017 drama in 2022.
Plot/Pacing - As a binge-watcher, I watched about 5 episodes a day and finished this in 4 weekdays. I think splitting them up helps with not feeling the drama dragged out in the middle. I think the pacing would be a lot better if this was only 16 or 18 episodes long. This drama revolves around demons, deities and evil spirits living among humans. We learned about their background stories from thousands of years ago, and how they’re still affected by the consequences of their actions. The main plot is about the fated love story of Song Oh Gong, the Monkey King 齊天大聖 and our female lead, Jin Seon Mi/Sam Jang 唐三藏. Just like in the Chinese version, everyone wants a piece of Sam Jang. We follow their journey of love and how they save the world. We also learn of the tragic love story of Woo Ma Wang, and his interesting bromance with Song Oh Gong. The main cast also includes pop idol Jo Pal Gye/PK, CEO Sa Oh Jung and Secretary Ma Ji Yeong. I actually would like to know more about these characters. How did PK come to work for Ma Wang? Why is CEO Oh Jung serving and listening to Oh Gong? How did Ji Yeong end up being Ma Wang’s loyal secretary/dog? I also think the ending is a little anticlimactic. I don’t want to say too much as it’ll be spoilery. The ending is not really a big surprise. The last episode explained the aftermath through many dialogues. When the main event happened, I didn't feel a lot of emotions. I wanted more!
Acting - I am surprised that this is my first Lee Sung Gi drama. After watching “A Korean Odyssey”, I can understand why he has such a large fan base. Son Oh Gong is a multi-layered character and this role allows Lee Sung Gi to showcase his acting skills. This is also my first Cha Eung Won drama and I am so not expecting how hilarious and over-the-top his character is. Personally, his acting or character just tipped over the cheesy/cartoonish line. I actually enjoy the more subtle comedic moments of Secretary Ji Yeong. Coming from watching Lee El in “My Liberation Notes”, I like her so much better here. She’s perfect as the loyal dog. However, I am most impressed by Lee Se Young as our zombie/priestess. She was young then, and was able to portray the innocent zombie well (and her mannerisms), yet also the complicated feelings of the evil priestess. No wonder she continued on to deliver excellent performances in “The Crowned Clown” and “The Red Sleeve”. Our female lead Oh Yeon Seo also gave a pretty good performance, but I think Lee Sung Gi, Cha Eung Won and Lee Se Young might have overshadowed her a little.
Romance - I enjoy watching the slow-burn romance of Oh Gong and Sam Jang. Because there are so many episodes, the back-and-forth question of whether Oh Gong’s feelings for Sam Jang are real lasted a little too long and became repetitive. I do think they have good chemistry and it doesn’t hurt that we got a few good kisses. On the other hand, the tragic love story of Ma Wang and Princess Iron Fan is a little lacking. I don’t think the drama is showing us enough about their love for us to understand Ma Wang’s pain. Instead of gazing at the princess’ painting repeatedly, why not provide us with some flashbacks of their times 1000 years ago? Show us how their happy lives were before. How did a demon and deity get married and have a child? How did she steal souls for her son? I just needed more.
Bromance/Frenemies - I quite like the dynamics between Oh Gong and Ma Wang. They act like rivals, trying to con and outsmart each other. They will lie and hide the truths. Yet at crucial times, they care and help each other out. Their interaction is interesting, but I do think Ma Wang’s complaints about his bull acting as a coat hanger got a little repetitive.
Ghost Stories - The ghost/evil spirits stories are not as memorable as the episodic stories as in “Mystic Pop Up Bar” or “Tomorrow”. They don’t carry as much weight, only seem to exist to move the plot along to show that Oh Gong will save Sam Jang at all times.
Other Random Observations:
1. I like all the random but casual celebrity name drops
2. Great fashion for the whole cast - I love FL’s long coats, even though they are all black
3. Watching this in 2022, the special effects were not that great.
4. Great OST - like all the songs
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Disappointing. Giving it 6.5 stars is generous i believe, don't bother with this drama if you're looking for something that gives off "the goblin" feels.
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And o boy, what a show! I immediately fell in love with this story and the cast. The OST gave me goosebumps everytime. I'm still playing all those songs every day. I love fantasy kdrama like this and Lee Seung Gi can kiss!!!
I cried a lot during this show, i never thought i would be so addicted to something in my life.
At first i didn't know how to think about Lee Seung Gi. But i slowly fell in love with him and also his character Son o Gong. The chemistry is amazing between the cast, even the dorky Cha Seung Won is funny to see.
I told myself i had to buy this dvd, and i finally bought the dvd a few weeks ago online. My very first kdrama, this means so much to me!!
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Story: I actually really enjoyed a lot of elements of this story. I thought it was a clever re-imagining of Journey to the West with the geumganggo being a hold over his heart rather than a crown over his head. Many of the throw away lines about his position in heaven prior to throwing a fit were great references. There are elements of this story that I found wonderful and interesting. The back and forth of whether his love for her was real or not could have been fleshed out so much more and made more interesting. There could have been a lot more sturm und drang on the both character's feelings toward whether his feelings were completely manipulated or only gently coaxed. It feels like it pops up a few times for her, but she never really reckons with it and continues to abuse the relationship. It's odd. Also, the entire last episode bothered me. I'd rather the last episode be about what they suggest the open ending to be (him breaking into the afterlife).
The characters, however, were extremely uneven. Ma Wang, in particular, is a mess of writing. They use him for physical, ridiculous comedy over and over, but honestly his strongest scenes were those with emotional gravitas and his misery over Princess Iron Fan and feeling used. I also struggled with how he treated Son Oh Gong. They seem to not know whether Ma Wang is supposed to be a villain or hero. That works for me a little, but it just KEPT going back and forth to a ridiculous degree. He kept making broad statements about how Son Oh Gong deserved all this misery, but the show only gives us Son Oh Gong doing innocuous and non-hateful things to Ma Wang. So, it felt misplaced. (7/10)
Acting/Cast: Honestly, this cast (for the most part) was the strong point of the drama for me and completely wasted.
Lee Seung-Gi was wonderful. I've seen him in a LOT of mediocre dramas, but his performance is never the weakness for me. It was interesting seeing him play a character that on paper is relatively similar to Choi Kang Chi from Gu Family Book (literally - a 'demon' who is controlled by a bracelet who falls in love with a woman, and one of them is prophesied to die by virtue of their relationship with the other) but vastly different on the screen. I liked seeing him take similar subject matter and spin it. He plays the emotional heart strings well, and I buy his comedy a lot more than the others. He did a good job of playing mixed and confused emotions, and I enjoyed the slow change to how he said "because I love you". To me, he clearly commands the screen.
Cha Seung Won - I already addressed this a bit above, but the character was a mess which made the performance suffer for me. He committed to the humor, but I didn't find the joke itself funny which isn't his fault. The extended physical comedy bits (like the bit about his body odor) just fell flat. I almost always preferred him playing drama.
Oh Yeon Seo - The character and performance were just so flat to me. There was almost no change to character whatsoever across the course of the show. I know we're supposed to feel this subtle change of her letting people into her life and building a found family of people who care about her after shielding herself for so long, but I never saw her emotionally open up for it to happen. It was more like... it just happened. There was no emotional catalyst for it. I found her pretty expressionless throughout, and it was made all the more obvious by how much gravitas Lee Seung-Gi had as a scene partner.
Others - special mention to Lee Se Young who had to play like 5 different characters in this show and was legitimately outstanding. She did creepy horror physical zombie comedy at the start, young hopeful idol trainee in flashbacks, broad comedy zombie, "Bu Ja" the bright and innocent, sweet zombie, and then the Priestess - conflicted and heartbroken but dark. And then all the shades in between. Priestess as Bu Ja. Priestess feeling Bu Ja seeping through, etc. I found her wonderful, and I hope she gets more leading work in other dramas soon.
My other special mention is to Lee El who always seems wasted. Secretary Ma was such a great minor character, and Lee El was just great. I always felt drawn to her in scenes. (8/10)
Music: I actually really liked this OST. A lot of the songs stuck with me, and the lyrics were pretty appropriately on the nose. The only thing that drove me nuts was the lyric "Always behind of you." I know that English inserted into Korean songs isn't always perfect, but "of" isn't necessary there, and it was used so prominently in the drama. (8.5/10)
Rewatchability: Some episodes are pretty good, and I could see myself rewatching. But honestly, this wouldn't be high on my list of dramas to watch again. (5/10)
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