BlackPanther
I honestly was hesitant to watch this because the plot summary sounded so boring to me. It's about reporting the news, with a tragic background. Just reading that line makes me yawn. A lot of people have been telling me to watch this since 2016, and while Lee Jong Suk is my favorite kdrama actor, and Park Shin Hye is one of my favorite kdrama actresses, I still didn't watch it. I finally did though, and all I can say is that I regret not watching this sooner. This is a work of art!
(Trying to do something different from the usual reviews, so I'm changing the format of my reviews this way)
Positives (Pros; Strengths of the series; Things that I liked)
- Unique Plot: While sounding really boring when you read the plot summary, the plot is actually really good. It transitioned from a kid, who grew wanting to get revenge from the reporter(s) who destroyed his family, to actually loving what he does for a living (which ironically, is reporting).
- Genre Mixes: I had a hard time classifying the genre of this drama because it was so dynamic; There was obvious romance, a ton of witty comical scenes, there was some hints of slice of life, a dash of melodrama, and a whole lot of revenge-scheming. While each on their own wasn't fantastic, when mixed together, they turned out to be really really really well.
- Park Shin Hye: The whole cast was really good. Even the supporting characters were delivering their best. But with one look at the show, you can already see who stood out. It's Park Shin Hye. Personally, I feel like this is my favorite role of PSH (I've watched a ton of her dramas, what I hate most is her role in the Heirs); she showed a lot of her funny-quirky side, made me feel flustered when she's gazing at LJS, and made me cry when she was delivering those melodramatic monologues (while hiccuping of course). I wish Park Shin Hye lands more good scripts like this. Doctors was really bland, The Heirs was really stupid. For her acting prowess at her age, I feel like she deserves a whole lot more good scripts like Lee Jong Suk. Speaking of Lee Jong Suk, he was also phenomenal in this drama (but then again, when has he failed to deliver for us?). His acting was superb, but by Lee Jong Suk standards, I've seen better roles from him (Kang Chul from W, Jae Chan from While You Were Sleeping).
- Character development (Choi In Ah, Ki Ha Myung, Seo Bum Jo): All 3 main characters showed some serious character development throughout the series. Choi In Ah, from being nervous, easily-rattled pinnochio to being a reporter who brings out the best of what pinocchio can offer in situations, especially when judgement is involved. Ki Ha Myung, from being a vengeful, reporter-hating, plot-scheming guy to being a fair reporter who checks every detail. and Seo Bum Jo, from being an overprotective, privileged mama's boy who's obsessed with a girl to being an understanding, more competent person as a whole.
Negatives (Cons; Weaknesses; Things that could've been done different)
- Overuse of Plot Twists: There were so many plot twists that some of them already looked predictable. From episode 1 alone, I already knew In Ha's mother was a reporter. That's a good twist (i'm just really good at sensing these stuff). Then there comes the Ki Jae Myung, coming out of nowhere to start killing people. Ok kinda weird, but what's weirder is that he actually changed IMMEDIATELY once he talked it out with his brother. Wait what? This is the funniest and most absurd plot twist in the series................... (see below)
- Character development of Song Cha Ok: The character started out really well for me. From episode 1, I felt irritated and angry at her lines in the series. Signs of what a good villain in a show is. From episode 1, it was clear that she was the villain of this story and should've been the villain 'till the very end but for some really odd reason, they made her to be an anti-hero (episodes 15-17) then a good character from episode (18-20). They just placed the blame on Seo Bum Jo's mom; they suddenly drew a connection from the past that will make Song Cha Ok not really bad, because there's someone badder than she is, and that character wasn't properly given screen time until episode 14. I felt like they tried to make it different from the norm; making a villain become morally good towards the end or at least an anti-hero, but I really think they could've done it without bringing up another antagonist to the story (and for heaven's sake, without connecting it to the past. Koreans love connecting things to the past as if things that are happening are always connected; happening due to destiny or some shit).
Verdict
Worth the watch. If you want to see the beauty, and perfection of this show, watch episodes 1-12. The series started of blazing hot, like a big burning warehouse but as the series grew on (13 onwards), all we can see were smoke from what was once a really monstrous fire, and reporters were just doing their best to try to make a story out of it
(Trying to do something different from the usual reviews, so I'm changing the format of my reviews this way)
Positives (Pros; Strengths of the series; Things that I liked)
- Unique Plot: While sounding really boring when you read the plot summary, the plot is actually really good. It transitioned from a kid, who grew wanting to get revenge from the reporter(s) who destroyed his family, to actually loving what he does for a living (which ironically, is reporting).
- Genre Mixes: I had a hard time classifying the genre of this drama because it was so dynamic; There was obvious romance, a ton of witty comical scenes, there was some hints of slice of life, a dash of melodrama, and a whole lot of revenge-scheming. While each on their own wasn't fantastic, when mixed together, they turned out to be really really really well.
- Park Shin Hye: The whole cast was really good. Even the supporting characters were delivering their best. But with one look at the show, you can already see who stood out. It's Park Shin Hye. Personally, I feel like this is my favorite role of PSH (I've watched a ton of her dramas, what I hate most is her role in the Heirs); she showed a lot of her funny-quirky side, made me feel flustered when she's gazing at LJS, and made me cry when she was delivering those melodramatic monologues (while hiccuping of course). I wish Park Shin Hye lands more good scripts like this. Doctors was really bland, The Heirs was really stupid. For her acting prowess at her age, I feel like she deserves a whole lot more good scripts like Lee Jong Suk. Speaking of Lee Jong Suk, he was also phenomenal in this drama (but then again, when has he failed to deliver for us?). His acting was superb, but by Lee Jong Suk standards, I've seen better roles from him (Kang Chul from W, Jae Chan from While You Were Sleeping).
- Character development (Choi In Ah, Ki Ha Myung, Seo Bum Jo): All 3 main characters showed some serious character development throughout the series. Choi In Ah, from being nervous, easily-rattled pinnochio to being a reporter who brings out the best of what pinocchio can offer in situations, especially when judgement is involved. Ki Ha Myung, from being a vengeful, reporter-hating, plot-scheming guy to being a fair reporter who checks every detail. and Seo Bum Jo, from being an overprotective, privileged mama's boy who's obsessed with a girl to being an understanding, more competent person as a whole.
Negatives (Cons; Weaknesses; Things that could've been done different)
- Overuse of Plot Twists: There were so many plot twists that some of them already looked predictable. From episode 1 alone, I already knew In Ha's mother was a reporter. That's a good twist (i'm just really good at sensing these stuff). Then there comes the Ki Jae Myung, coming out of nowhere to start killing people. Ok kinda weird, but what's weirder is that he actually changed IMMEDIATELY once he talked it out with his brother. Wait what? This is the funniest and most absurd plot twist in the series................... (see below)
- Character development of Song Cha Ok: The character started out really well for me. From episode 1, I felt irritated and angry at her lines in the series. Signs of what a good villain in a show is. From episode 1, it was clear that she was the villain of this story and should've been the villain 'till the very end but for some really odd reason, they made her to be an anti-hero (episodes 15-17) then a good character from episode (18-20). They just placed the blame on Seo Bum Jo's mom; they suddenly drew a connection from the past that will make Song Cha Ok not really bad, because there's someone badder than she is, and that character wasn't properly given screen time until episode 14. I felt like they tried to make it different from the norm; making a villain become morally good towards the end or at least an anti-hero, but I really think they could've done it without bringing up another antagonist to the story (and for heaven's sake, without connecting it to the past. Koreans love connecting things to the past as if things that are happening are always connected; happening due to destiny or some shit).
Verdict
Worth the watch. If you want to see the beauty, and perfection of this show, watch episodes 1-12. The series started of blazing hot, like a big burning warehouse but as the series grew on (13 onwards), all we can see were smoke from what was once a really monstrous fire, and reporters were just doing their best to try to make a story out of it
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