Snowdrop (2021)

A Masterpiece

I don't write much about drama. However, this drama is deserving of praise. We all know from the beginning that we will all cry in the end. I don't know about the others, but I had a sense it would end in tragedy. Every episode piqued our interest in the next. This heartbreaking storey is far too much to bear. Suho and Youngro's love tale is incredibly sad.I knew we'd have to deal with this catastrophe, and I guess I was prepared for it. But it was the ending that made me cry. In the end, I just feel sorry for youngro. She had literally lost everything and everyone.Let's talk about one of my favourite scenes: one way ticket. I fell in love with Suho and Youngro after hearing this song and seeing their lovely dance. I particularly like the scene in which the other two spies were discussing what they would eat once they arrived at their destination. Right now, I'm sobbing uncontrollably. I believe the episodes should be extended because there are still unanswered questions. When it comes to Bunok, I practically despise her during the entire show, but at the end, I am happy for her because, despite her numerous issues, she received a happy ending.I'd like to know how Dr. Kang is doing; I'd like to know if she's secure and living the life she desires. I realise it's a terrible finale, but I suppose it's a fitting conclusion to this storey. Because Suho can't live in either North or South Korea, and Youngro can't live with Suho, this can't be a happy ending. I'm still in tears. I'd want to see Jung and Jisoo in more romantic dramas. I'm not sure how I'll be able to forget about this drama and move on.
This is one of the dramas that we should absolutely watch when it airs. I just consider it a bit of luck that I didn't watch once everything had aired. This is undoubtedly a must watch drama.

Leia Mais

Is it human nature or just evil?

If you are here for the romance then back away... and do not come back... or just watch the first two episodes and then back away that works too.

This has more or less everything I love in a drama making me feel more or less every emotion possible, intrigues, dark humour and Jung Hea In... (JHI) yes JHI flirting, JHI smiling, JHI on a bike, JHI working out, JHI acting cold, JHI acting soft, JHI with a suit, JHI without a top...

It also has some annoying elements that annoy the "#"#¤ out of me with luckily just a few scenes with these unnecessary annoying characters only there as comic relief but there is so much else to make me laugh that I deem them just an unnecessary pain especially when laughed at for wearing "women's" clothing after being peed on. Just annoying...

The drama starts off a bit disneyish, making the female lead and her dorm seem like some kind of Disney type princess dorm... only missing birds and talking pets... The acting and music seemed very disney as well something that if allowed to continue would have ruined the drama but instead became a clear thought out move to set act as a contrast enhancing the very dark and evil plot.

Besides JHI, Ioved how this was made, how it kept me on my toes with more or less predictable twists (some more than others), the many aggravating characters as well as well sitting punches and punchlines... and well the darkness of the plot. I loved most of the main characters and loved to hate the others (not the annoying ones) the evil the bad ass agents with soft spots and the oh so pure evil... a feast for the eyes of any conspiracy lover... all with a well fitted ost and well lighted settings. 90% of the drama is in the same building and though I will admit that it at times I just wanted them out of there they did keep it interesting and the setting was actually very pretty with lighting and colors thru windows and what not...

TI think this also has that sky castle complexity to it... that is hard to explain to those who have not seen it.... Where greed, humanity. fear, lust and love meet... with absurd lines and absurd situations...

I am not going to say that this was perfect in anyway and yes it probably got an extra star ot 2 for JHI... but it is definitely a well written, well casted, well directed drama worth a watch. It may not be worth all the hype but it I am pretty sure the controversy around it was resolved...

Also Yoo In Na rocks!

Leia Mais

Not the masterpiece everyone says it is

Don’t let promotions fool you this is not a ROMANTIC drama, it would be better described as a political drama, and by the lack of romantic scenes in all 16 episodes, it should hardly ever be considered a romance.

In terms of plot (not going to discuss the controversies, I believe there are better articles that explained it pretty well), I consider the first 2 to 3 episodes and the last 3 as the best ones in this big mess. The first episodes show us a glimpse into the life of Koreans in the 80s, especially the university/dorm life, and for me, that was captivating and interesting. However the drama loses its train of thought the moment the hostage situation begins and we spend the next 10+ episodes stuck in a loop, where the story sort of repeats - Main characters just look at each other, the north and south talk on the phone, somehow Young Ro starts crying, and in the end we see all the politics betraying just to save their skin.

All of this is amplified by the running time of each episode, after seeing the same repeating plot, patience starts to become short to continue. Because of this, the story starts to show its flaws, one of them being the introduction of already known character's hidden/past life, in most cases, they weren’t needed and it only created a new story line that by the end we didn’t get all the answers we wanted to it. After a dull plot for most of the running time, it appears the writers remember that they have to finish the drama, so they rush every good aspect in terms of action and character development to the last 3 episodes, which makes the ending feel very much rushed and while a lot of the questions got a response, the last 2 episodes created even more questions to arise - what happened to the students, the friendship of the roommates of room 207, the blooming friendship of Boon Ok and Pi, what happened Kim Man Dong's son,where did doctor Kang go…
One positive, I appreciate how humor scenes were done, it helped at times to pick the flow back again, even if most scenes were over the top. I feel this drama would benefit if it had a smaller running time.

The performances by the cast were phenomenal with Jung Hae In, Soo In Na, Jang Seung Jo, Yoon Se Ah and Kim Hey Yoon giving everything to their characters, we could see their growth and emotions very well represented, especially Jung Hae In. The actresses that played the students were well cast, giving their all, in particular the roomates of 207. One character that I did not like was Nam Tae, for me he became a very annoying presence.
Jisoo's performance wasn’t a bad one for a rookie actress, however in terms of development, her character barely had any, she spent most of the drama crying, and at times not only would she barely appear on screen but her story would be overshadowed by other characters life. In the end, I feel that Young Ro was not used by the writers to the full potential, in particular in the scenes with Sooho as both actors had great chemistry, and I feel that in a way Jisoo was mostly used to attract audiences to see a drama that even before its premiere was already in hot waters in South Korea.

Finally, for me, the only aspect of the drama that was executed to the point of perfection was the OST, which gave the drama a different dimension. The SET, maybe because almost 90% of the drama was spent in the same location, the production/design team gave it all in the details and you could see the high quality on-screen.

To the question would rewatch this drama, my answer is NO.
(English is not my first language, so I apologize if something is wrong or hard to read)

Leia Mais

The brightness and bubbliness that faded

Eun Yeongro is probably one of the most pitiful leads I've seen in a while, since Kang Yoo Jung of Secret Love 2013. all the hardships she had to go through was heartbreaking. Furthermore she was such a loveable character that it was full of angst watching her struggles

Though I've expected the drama to be like what it was, I was still disappointed for various reasons. There we're a lot of things I loved about it however considering the wait and anticipation JTBC made us felt. Adding to that is the A list cast and Jisoo debut drama it didn't live up. I have a few reasons for this but let's first start with the good parts.

Good

Cinematography
This is by far my favorite for Snowdrop. it was shot sooo well and gave an atmosphere that we're living in 1988 with them. Furthermore I specially love the parts during flashbacks and the silhouette shots, it showed amazing lighting and camera motion.

Music
The choices for the soundtrack and it's singers we're fantastic. It perfectly encorporates the tragic love story of our leads. I love most of the OSTs but Jamie Miller's one was prolly my favorite.

Comedy
This could easily been a dark and depressing film however I applaud the balance it decided to give. For me Nam Tae IL played by Park Sun Woong carried this section as the perfect comic relief even as a antagonist.

Acting
I was reluctant to add this here because let's just say some did not give their best performances in this. Our FL Jisoo is good here especially for an rookie but we can see a noticable amount of moments where it's exxagerated, still applause to her. Our ML Jung Hae In was by far the best one in the drama. I honestly think he suits this cold outside but warm inside characters it perfectly close to the image he created. Furthermore we saw the complex emotions felt by Sooho the anger, sadness, betreyal, and dilemma of having to save his love one's.

Bad

1. Character development

2. Too much happening in the ending yet unclosed stroylines

3. Too political

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Overall
If you're a fan of Haein or Jisoo I do recommend this. The same goes for me, I did enjoy it and thought it was really good but as a objective review it definitely lacked some parts.

Leia Mais

A drama that insult your critical thinking.

I would say that this drama is kinda living proof of what's called 'the danger of romanticism' and that's how such an idiotic excuse accepted as logic, spread like a virus then became a common ground.
Honestly, the story is good, the act is top notch, though I can't exaggerate Jisoo's acting as outstanding but indeed for her first act project she did well done (maybe should not start as a main character).
Thumbs up for the cinematograph too especially in the first two eps. It's just the lies intentioned here, the way the production faces controversy over the drama, and how they use a real sensitive historical figures and events where the survivor still alive and the story not yet enough to be told as a tale like Roman war or even the WW for the 21st century born generation, shielding behind the wall of 'fiction' is pure ignorant!
For people that care enough to through the fact and learn the history, it would be fine, we mature enough to accept it as fiction. But, how about those who are born in less than two decades ago and fed their knowledge through the drama, concluding that's the truth? Man, such people does exist! And their ignorance preserved! It's not enough by just let it be, why bother burn the fire?
If wants to make such sensitive historical-political based story, then make it a pure fiction.

I didn't see any humor delivered here, most of the time I wouldn't laughed. The romance indeed touching and tragic as expected, but what's intentioned as a romance drama was dominated by political agenda. The political scene that's started ambitiously and vanished like a cotton candy towards the end. The story is indeed good, only if it respect the history!

Leia Mais

Came here for Ji Soo ,Hae In and stayed for the plot

I am not gonna lie that I came to watch this drama for its star studded lineup. It has so many great actors in it that if I started talking about it is gonna take a while. It was also Blackpink Jisoo's debut work. So I was pretty hyped about the drama. This drama had its fair share of up and down moments too as it was criticized in South Korea for distorting its history. Since I was not a South Korean I didn't had much issues with how they are presenting the drama. And I take a drama as a fictional work.

So getting back to the drama I think the drama started pretty fast paced and you see a lot of Jisoo in the first 4 episode. Not that I disliked but we don't get a lot of the other actors except for Haein of-course. Each episode span out for about 1 hour and 30 min which is lengthier than your normal Kdrama length. But you don't feel that you are being forced to watch the drama for your favorite actor. The drama shifts gears after the first 4-5 episode and we see how the story is looking and where the writers are trying to go with the plot. We also start to get a lot of other actors on the screen. Which I personally loved it. They all were great actors. Jisoo also did a pretty decent work for her first role. Even though she cried a hell lot after the first 4-5 episodes. But her character was by no means frail. She would naturally improve after shooting for more dramas. I don't need to talk about other actors. They all were fantastic. A special shout-out to Kim Hye Yoon for her character though from my side. Man I hated her character more than anything. But to bring so much out of her character when she didn't had that much of screen time was definitely praise worthy.

You can't predict how this drama ends. You just can't predict that. I am currently on the 14th episode and still I am not sure what the future holds for this drama. Even though there are many fan-theories it is still not easy to predict this drama. I think this unpredictability makes this drama a gem. The writers did a pretty great work. Hats off to them. The bonus scenes after the end of the drama were a +1 from me. Do give this drama an eye. I am sure you will love it too.

Leia Mais

awesome drama.. !! worth watching one of the best melodramas ever in kdrama!!

so.. something this review may be lengthy... but pls read it. / i am a fan of blackpink for around 1 and 1/2 yrs and jisoo is my bias .. when i knew she was enacting in a drama.. i waitted for so long for this drama to be released.. i was new to kdrama.. so i did not know about jung hae in at all. but i started watching his drama after seeing him in snowdrop.. to say precisily his chemistry with jisoo is just awesome.. [ no words can explain].. each episode keeps you on the edge of your seat i saw many videos on every ep predictions... some came true but some came like from nowwhere.. like we would have never thought.. this is what s special for this drama.// a slow [better very little] romance was the only disspointment for me .. other than that i loved every part of the drama .. jisoo as a rookie actress isawesome .. though her acting can improve she is a very capable new actress. i hope she gets the new actress award 2022 that would be awesome .. how can i forget the bromance between soo ho and kang moon .. i am telling no.. they are perfect for each other.. their mindsets are alike so it was very smooth in them working together... lovely.. but i hated bunk ook in the whole drama... she was selfish , arrogent, celf centered, brainless and gold digger... she would do anthing for the money !1 but sometimes i feel bad for her.. maye she was not like that it was because of her family situation that made her a bad girl...! roomates of youngro were savage girls in ep 1,2,3 but i hated all the three in ep 14 .. the students and the boys [ heeld hostage ] were idiots for blaming jisoo for everything happening.. i was like fucking idiots she is also a victim... ms pi seemed like a ad person with a dark past in first few episodes.. then i realised she was traumatised and thats why she did like that... in the intension that something like what happened to her should not happen to anyone.. first few episodes were humororus and lovely.. i feel if they had not made sooho a north korean spy , but insted changed him into a south korean person with their romance more.. surely this story would be a flop.... this drama is a hit because of its unique story, love,plot etc.... viewers if u want to watch this drama.. i tell u for few episodes u will love it.. suddenly around ep 5 to 8 u will feel like dropping it..because they will e a lot of harsh and emotionless scenes. where we will feel bad .. so we might want to drop it.. but i say dont do it ... ps co ntinue and i am telling no.. u will love it ..

Leia Mais

The Actors >>>> The Writers

The actors were amazing and the OST and cinematography were good but we spent almost the whole freaking drama in that dorm which personally I wasn't a fan of.

We learned little about the main characters, I related a bit because of the great acting skills the actors have but I feel I couldn't relate as much because the writers made this drama gloomy yet not deep enough and too slow-paced with unecessary action scenes.

I already figured the ending would be sad but it still felt like it could have had a sad ending but been better closed off.

Jisoo, Haein and the rest of the cast deserve awards but the writers don't.

Leia Mais

its a political drama not a romance drama

the story was too draggy, it had so much potential. I did not feel the chemistry between the leads, the romance was dead. dr.Kang and soo ho had so much more chemistry and could've ended up together, but no he had to go back and save her. the ending was kinda inconclusive and had no proper explanation. Young ro's character was so poorly written, hardly ever empathized with her. the poor girl is gonna have PTSD from all the shit she had to go through. the support roles were pretty interesting and well written. soo ho's character was really good and had an amazing backstory but the ending kinda threw me off. Overall the cast was really strong. I honestly really liked the scenes with the wives of the politicians, it was entertaining

Leia Mais

Despair let you remember the beautiful moments

I initially wanted to give 8.5 but I gave 1 more because of Hae In's acting and Jisoo's chemistry with him ...
We all know from the beginning that one of them has to die ... It was their fate ...
They were never supposed to be together...
Soo ho never died because
In Young Ro's heart , he is alive
They loved each other and protect each other even though his/herself was about to die ...
This drama portrayed all kinds of emotions without happiness
Man see
We can feel anger , hatred , betrayal and many things
That's why I loved this drama ...
The whole cast was my favourite....
Every character was necessary...
Everyone did a good job ....
I mean see the negative characters they really made me hate them

Gye Bun Ok
I hate this character so much ...
Tho I love Kim hye Yoon ...
She really showed us her versatility....

Nam Tae il
Nam Tae il was the character I literally couldn't hate.
Maaannn , his character was sooo funnnyyyy... He really made me laugh in everytime he had screen time ...



Ms.Pi
Ms. Pi aka Yoon See Ah was really a good soul ...
I know which she did was wrong....
But she was forced to do


Ms. Oh
One character I was really annoyed at the end was Ms.Oh ( I hate her )
If she didn't ran away there were chances for sooho not getting killed...

Man Dong
Let's talk about Mr. Man Dong
To be honest he didn't gave me shock
Because I was expecting that he was northern spy ...

Kang Cheong Ya
She was really a clever woman...
Yoo In Na is a really good actress...
She was so perfect to portray this character...


Lee Gang Mu
I really hated him at the beginnin...
But he really win my heart in the ending ...
I thought he's gonna betray Soo ho ...
But no he didn't...

Jang Han-Na
A smart woman..
Who can do everything for her love






Let's talk about most important characters
Lim Soo-Ho and Eun Young Ro



Lim Soo -Ho
I hate you writer for one fu*king reason
Why you have to put all miseries in his life ...
His mother I hate her .. she wasn't a human ...
Soo-Ho literally saved numerous souls in the every corner of the world..
A really good gooooooddddd soul ...
He saved all the hostages ...
But in the end he died ...
He only loved Young Ro till the last ...
He could never came back and live a luxurious life with Kang Cheong Ya
But He didn't
He chose Young Ro till the last...
Last not least
Jang Hae In is the best ...


Eun Young Ro
I have nothing to talk about her ...
I mean is this girl even a human
No absolutely not
She is an Angel..
She is too good for this world...
How she desperately tried to save all the hostages
And tried to save Soo-Ho
Her love for Soo-Ho was so pure ...
I bet she's gonna love Soo-Ho in her entire life...
Soo-Ho will be alive in her heart ...
As a debuting actress Kim Jisoo did a fabulous Job ...
( Jisoonie saraghaeyo )




Ending
Tbh , this writer didn't have to show us Soo-Ho's death so horribly...
I mean one bullet was enough...
Why they have to show us cross fire ...
That really broke my heart

The whole drama was really good ...
I know some people will rate this drama so low only for ending...
But guys
Ending isn't everything...
And sometime we need to experience tragedy
Our leads chemistry, acting, plot was really good
You can't ignore that ..

I never write so many things and snowdrop made me do this ....
I'm sorry you had to read so long paragraph ?
I'm sorry
If I wrote something wrong

Leia Mais

A story about choices

I've been wanting to write this review since the finale but wanted to take some time to see if my thoughts about it would change - they didn't. This doesn't deserve anything less than a 8 in rating & the only reason why I gave it a 7 for rewatch value is because I don't think I would be able to watch all 16 episodes again, at least any time soon.

Looking at the poster & romance tag may disappoint viewers as the romance is more of a subplot & subtle. Because of the hostage situation that the leads find themselves in, it wouldn't really make sense for them to be all lovey dovey. Their love is the love at first sight kind & one that is expressed through lingering looks. (&, boy, do Haein & Jisoo do an amazing job acting with their eyes.) Given his status & circumstances, Sooho tries his best to protect Youngro, at times acting as if he doesn't care about her. So, while I would've loved to see more lighthearted sweet moments between them, their actions speak louder than words - they literally are willing to sacrifice their lives for each other.

While the political part of it can be confusing at first if you're not really paying attention, this story is a dark comedy more about the decisions that characters make. Even if you hate a certain character and hate/don't agree with their actions, I think the writing does a good job in setting up the characters so you aren't really surprised by their actions. What I mean to say by that is that characters aren't acting out of normal of how they've been written. While you may not be able to guess what they're going to do or say, when it happens you have that feeling of "yeah, they so would do/say that."

To speak more about characters, this was Sooho's story & everyone else was along for the ride (I don't mean that as a bad thing.) I loved seeing Sooho's journey as he questioned his beliefs to the moment he realized he couldn't follow them. As for Youngro, I personally liked that she wasn't completely jaded by everything & stayed kind at heart. (Some may complain that she cries too much but her reactions are perfectly warranted with everything that she's gone through. Also, she has her moments of bravery when she tries sacrificing herself for the hostages more than once. Keep in mind she's only a young woman in her 20s .) Moving on to Boonok, she was a menace whose actions can't be justified because of her sufferings, especially when you had other character who suffered just as much or more yet didn't resort to being horrible. She was an infuriating good antagonist though. I thought that the headmistress & doctor kang were the most interesting characters.

This drama isn't without its flaws but the few things I could criticize about it weren't enough, or strong, to stop me from completely enjoying this. (Even the end that had me in a slump for months was fitting because of the way this story and character was developed.) Every episode was full of tension & felt like watching a movie. (But, if you don't like character driven stories & stories that take place in mostly one setting, then you may not like this.) The acting was all around great & the actors make you feel invested in their characters. (I think this is Haein's best role/performance so far. Jisoo showed great potential with her acting debut. Kim Hye Yoon & Yoon Se Ah were amazing .Yoo In Na was a show stealer, etc.) The cinematography was beautiful & the ost is one of the bes & one of my favorites now. Snowdrop is a drama that broke my heart yet I'm thankful to have watched, especially as it aired.

Leia Mais