Movies are built on “what ifs”

Devastating, cruel, heartaching, bleak like a domino effect of misfortune
Just like Saw and The Mist, everything would’ve been better if they worked together
But in this black cold interpretation, one bad choice, one act of unkindness, led to another bigger deeper hole

In ways no one was to blame, he was scammed and he lost everything and then some when the earthquake hit and took his family so all he had left was that empty shell of apartment
They had to kick the intruders cuz they almost killed a person
And with that power came dark responsibilities
He took his anger at the supermarket guy and I think that should’ve been the line
But that was just a spark that made the “outsiders” fear and despise the apartment ppl
For me, the most heartbreaking thing that really made me burst out crying was the “kidney” guy that hid the kids and mom, lose it and killed himself after he saw how the apartment ppl made the others who hid outsiders apologize so cruelly 😭
Then it got darker when the “outsiders” attacked and 902 was just really trying to survive and fit the narrative of the apartment ppl, they were the ones who suggested the kicking, he just wanted to grasp and survive
But dang dude went crazy when he threw the kid in the never ending hole but the way he still tried to help the rest and threw the bomb… things were just so grey…
Now minsung and myunghwa should’ve stayed cuz 902 had time to go back to the ninth floor, yet another sad symbolic way of his desperation to grasp at the last thing he “owned”, but in ways minsung was already over his limit when he didn’t help out the ppl cuz he to was just desperate to survive with his wife
And myunghwa needed to go out and show the ironic and simple way ppl beside the “cockroaches” lives, a simple act of coliving and helping each other out
Tho another plot hole was how eventho they always went out to look for food, they rarely met other ppl and never found other survivors in such a big scale
Tho the news about the crazy apartment ppl would surely make ppl try hard not to show themselves

That was honestly beautifully acted tho, every emotion, every devastation was perfectly executed

Leia Mais

I personally prefer crime scene and the great escape more as a theme, here it's like a stiff improve acting class and the line between drama and variety shows blurs
like the ending credit with their real goofey self was way better but this too was a new sort of theme so I did still like it, though I have to say their villains were the most obvious people xD

I especially like how sehun, sejung and minyoung were in this since they're not the usual faces seen around in varieties and it was really great to see them solve cases and show their smartness
I really want to see minyoung and song jihyo act as villains tbh, I feel like they can pull off the deadly assassin character welll

Leia Mais

the story started off lighthearted and funny, we had 2 teenagers (yes both 30 year old mains were acting as 18 year olds, but they did a really great job showing the youthfulness), who wanted to make money, Go Taek Il left his house and ended up working at a chinese restaurant, while Woo Sang Pil became a loan shark but he didn't know how dangerous that job was.
I do fee like they brushed past the key points a little too fast, but since it was a webtoon it must've been hard to squeezed all of that in a 1 hour 45 min movie.
I really liked how each character had their own backstory and traumas, usually movies just focus on the main and everyone else just exists in their world. by the middle part we got to see the emotional baggage the side characters had, but I do think they solved everything way too easily. the tension was going up up up and then it disappeared.

still though I did highly enjoy the characters and it made me laugh a little and sometimes that's all I need. not everything needs to be dramatic.

I never rewatch things but maybe there's hope for a 2nd season ;)

Leia Mais

I've been vocal about my support/love for Sunho from the start, and that's not just because it was Woo Dohwan. as a character Sunho was more layered and deep. I am thankful for the writers that they didn't make the 2nd lead a one dimensional jealous narcissist just so the main lead looks like a hero (as some other historical dramas do).
Sunho was loyal, everything he did was to protect his friend and his sister, and I kinda hated Hwi for not seeing it..

and so I'll stop talking about Sunho and go to my next point. Hwi was such an inconsistent character.. it was like the writers changed him throughout the story just to fit their vision, and that took away my interest for the character.
Hwi from the start, Hwi from the middle and Hwi from the end were different people driven by different objectives. maybe it'd have been better if they added a 3rd friend?

as a "younger" audience I found myself really captivated by the idea of two young friends fighting for their vision of "my country". I'm not not a fan of historical genres, but I am slightly bored of the "fight over the crown" story every drama needs to have, even if it's based on a real story.. maybe my point is, it doesn't have to always be about real events to make a dark intriguing historical drama.
overall I was not happy with the script, and I think the writers/producers hit the jackpot only because of the great cast (and they were ALL great).
I did also dislike the forced romance between the two mains, those 2 side characters, and even Hwi's sister, I feel like they added them just to appeal to the "younger" audience, but it'd have been better off without it..
and the ending could've been better too...

the whole OST was great too, I liked how each kinda had their own background music, like the "main" teams fighting scenes ;)

my rewatch values are either a 1 or 10, and I might just look at WDH's photos so ;p



Edit: I actually did end up rewatching it in 2022 and I appreciated it more, dark historicals are rare

Leia Mais

8.6? 8.9?

the story was great but there was something missing.. the process was really lacking, it didn't need 16 eps.. like the overall main mystery happens in the first 2 eps and is resolved in the last 2.5 eps.. though the side plots were not bad, I enjoyed a few and they made the younger side characters shine...
but tbh I wasn't focusing most of the time, and some things went by without even leaving an impression on me. like I didn't focus on the older cast, specifically the parents and that prosecutor who was so cold she was emotionless..

also, I felt like they over complicated things, like they didn't really have a "is he the killer or is she the killer" moments -they didn't have too many (or any) solid suspects- but then again, how did it take them so long to think "aha, this might be the killer"...
and those 3 always had their brain storming sessions, but like the mystery wasn't that complicated, I honestly don't know what they wasted their time on...

I don't know, I've been in a crime/thriller slump lately. all writers think they are too smart, and some make me believe it for a while, but then I'm not fully engaged with the story.. though I really enjoyed the ending, it had a balance between open ending and conclusion..
overall I liked the "main" actors, I'll keep my eye on them.. also the ost was nice...



my rewatch values are either a 1 or a 10 so ;)

Leia Mais

this is like the TKEM of makjang, and LBY/KHS were the WDH of the show

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lee Bo Young, Kim Seo Hyung and even Ok Ja Yeon did a great job, before I go to the buts I have to applaud these women for carrying this show on their own, this show had no plot just amazing acting.
whether this was a sismance between Seo Hee Soo and Jeong Seo Hyun, or if it was a starcrossed lovers (which would've been a better plot twist), their relationship and love for each other was the highlight of this show

The writer did an amazing job with Woman Of Dignity so where did this go wrong? when she decided to follow the ONE big mystery format? when she thought crazy family makjang would distract the people from the fact that this show had zero plot line?

This show has one "murderous night" that gets revealed peace by peace each ep while the rest of the show is about the over complicated lives of rich people.
long story short, everyone had a kid that wasn't theirs. one loved him as her own. one took care of him and raised him with everything he needs, and one hated him which resulted in the biggest makjang of all

but does that justifies his actions? I think we've seen enough "mistress's kid", "abusive dad" in rich guy/poor girl romcoms that this does not look like the fault of the horrible parents, he was just a psychopath.
now I can't remember if the step mom faked the "1st love's" death or if Ji Yong told her to do it, but overall the starting point of this makjang was moot.
he wanted his kid to have what he didn't, he married and perfected the fake ideal husband that everyone was happy but his crazy self went ahead and brought the real mom around becasue he wanted both women to give double the love and care to his son
when he remembers how horrible his own mom was. so instead of appreciating Seo Hee Soo, he goes and brings chaos to his house then cry about the 2 women not wanting to be manipulated.. way to go genius psychopath...




soooo that's it. that was the whole plot, everything else was a filler and a "what happened", then they kept showing multiple scenarios as if the 1st thing they showed didn't reveal the whole thing... tbh even before their "big reveals" I knew what will happen right after the 2 women realized who the really enemy was
even when they kept showing different truths, the 1st truth was obvious..

the funny thing was, they only finally revealed everything at the end, and it was another WOD knockoff. in WOD I thought it was genius, but that just shows, you can't use the same plot move and expect the same result. I wish the killer was heeso's assistant xD

now on to the maid and the rich dude. penthouse really ruined that one. sure knetz are suckers for that but the fact that that move got so hyped in penthouse writer's think everyone wants that..

Leia Mais

the story was really original, but the execution lacked, it felt rushed, not planned out enough. for one thing the fact that the fl had 2 outfits (even in a flashback from several years ago) and the ml had 1 outfit kinda made it seem low budgeted.

the main idea of rohan's super power was amazing, the execution on that part and the cgi was also great, and each story was a stand alone that kinda connected each ep, but it wasn't that well developed. they didn't have time to add substance to each character though I easily loved the 2 mains, I wished for more connections, more interactions, more backstory ;(

so basically it was too short and too rushed but still great idea~

the outfits, well the fl's 2 clothes were really really pretty, and for rohan, his head piece felt weird and he should've worn tighter pants. and the other manga guy's outfit just like rohan's head piece felt too cosplayish. it's like they walked right out of the manga xD

the acting was great, Takahashi Issei played off the eccentric goofy manga artist with a wast knowledge and a deep secret really well. though I love to see him do more dark dark roles, that doubled feeling felt right for rohan.
Iitoyo Marie too was cute enough to be the bubbly kind and she was kinda clingy but then it came off as uncertain assertiveness that blended well with rohan's 2 faces and I just liked to ship them ;D

the songs were nice enough, the way each book had a different style was really clever and though I never rewatch things I wish for a 2nd longer seaon

Leia Mais

The usual medical dramas like to glorify doctors. most of them only deal with fast paced medical emergencies that has people running, screaming and fighting each other just to perform surgeries.
but this, this shows the real side of a hospitals life. they had ungrateful patients, the "I saw this on google so I know more than you", the "you MUST save my family", the ones who blamed the doctors for inevitable deaths, the impatient patients waiting to be examined, the complications of surgery, the wait for donors, everything!

just like prison playbook the first couple of eps felt slow and rushed at the same time, they gave us many characters and then took their time introducing them, so tbh at 1st I did contemplate whether I should drop it or not, but soon the realness of the characters, their friendship, the different type of relationships, won me over alongside the relatableness of them..

Lee Ik Jun seems like a carefree nutjob but he's sweet, caring and friendly that he's friends with everyone and he knows everything
Ahn Jung Won looks naive and absentminded but he's a softie with kids and has a big heart
Kim Jun Wan looks cold, scary but he's assertive and tells people what they need to hear
Yang Suk Hyung is unappreciated! especially by his friends and everyone thinks he's selfish but he's the real sweetie and the core of that friendship
Chae Song Hwa looks like the ideal modern woman, but she's a marshmallow once you get to know her.

this made me cry, laugh, get frustrated, relate, fangirl, and feel jealous in every episode. I loved their jam sessions and the ost was nice, and I never rewatch stuff but I need s2 now!

Leia Mais

The good: Aesthetic, FL with great charisma and fashion sense, cute yet slightly shallow teammance, eps14 to16 were the best part so it would've been better if this was less episodic and bit more connected. Like HDL had the same bits of vibe of "helping" people but in HDL each help reflected on manwool.
And a bit of sailing ships I preferred more than romance genres. It's sad non romances have great ships but they're never the focus.

The bad: a bit flat characters and connections. Too easily solved and brushed past depression, bullying and suicide. Sadly it's not how real world works and sadder cuz this probably won't "teach" people to be kinder.. the bit at the end made me tear up because it is that simple to just stand up and be there for someone but no one wants to do the "extra work". It was a bit too long and I can't say I actually watched it full heartedly

Leia Mais

my mom only hated 2 dramas, into the ring and this
she said the whole plot and characteristics felt like something made for teens should've been played by teens xD

anyway, they had three good things, 1, no breakup*, 2, no childhood connection and 3 junho's smiles

the bad, well everything... no real plot, no real thought process just a bunch of random cliches after another, no follow through and all cliffhangers/angst/conflicts were resolved and brushed over...
and tbh, woong felt too clingy, too "involved", too rushing it too fast
and sarang felt too uncarying of him, not as in love and I don't mean she put herself first but like she didn't seem as happy and she always found a reason to nag at him and lecture him..
i thought she was a bit of a gold digger but i'm glad she built her own career xD tho speaking of her successful fully booked business. no one besides woong was ever there. even the first night, no one came after booking which made me think she only had one room and he was the one always booking
mom was also sad the friends didn't visit her there, like was it really one room no one could ever book in? xD
the stupid sister building 30 years of anger over him being loved by his parents when she could've just joined in, no one hated her... and the mom leaving over the grandpa, and never coming back as if she was a side character to her son's life when even the dad still loved her... atleast they should've made a sob story of her getting ill or whatever... and ofc the deadbeat husband of 3rd fl was wrong but dang she made him a doormat... yeah fixing the problem isn't done by making another...
and the final ep, one stupid ad after another, that's how cheaply they thought of this drama, just a fan service and piggy bank...

Leia Mais

their editing team needs to calm down a bit, for example in the last ep during the keyword reveal they showed such extravagant and over the top themes but the restaurants themselves were pretty mediocre

like they put luxury aquariums for num1 and a flying restaurant for num2 but they were just meh. and so I think the show's weak point is hoping for extreme concepts people would think "that doesn't exist" while it seems many actual businesses keep it calm if not a little overboard

just like the great escape the production companies need to keep and sell their businesses xD like the idea of building something from scratch in a few weeks is not that crazy if they just hire an architectural company and give them enough money so they work fast xD

overall though the dynamics were really fresh, variety shows are rarely female based and yu jae suk is the ideal guy to not only handle their jokes but also help them shine more. that's why yu jae suk is the national mc, he's really sweet and caring. I really hope for s2 with the same cast

Leia Mais

there are 2 things; one, the director had a vision of weirdness they wanted to express so this felt like an independent film rather than a drama, and I feel like the plot lost substance trying to achieve that vision.
and two, I don't know what they teach to all korean writers but they cannot explain their plot in less than 16 eps and they need 100 side plots to distract people from the main plot, so in this it felt like they had a 16ep plan that got reduced and they just picked random events fit the drama.

I'll cut this into 2 story points too,
one is the main plot around the fl and the ml which was ok, they explained well why she used toys and they even gave her a nice solid base that didn't feel flat. she had a past and she didn't just "start" when the drama began, most stories do that they give us a written back story and the main character starts from point 0 when the drama starts so they are as clueless as the viewers -which might have it's charming points but it's over done.
she had friends and a life around her and I really liked her arc with the friend though again like everything else in the drama it was not used well. also she cried weirdly alot, they literally had her flop down like a 5 year old and cry ;)
on the other hand the ml felt flat, he didn't have much base and he just felt like he suddenly manifestation for the fl's story. he didn't have much characteristics, friends or a life outside the fl..

and the other part is the kids..
I feel like they were the weirdest thing, their stories were weird, their actions were weird that they felt exactly like the jellies, they were floating around with their plot moves as if they too only existed for the fl's arc



my favorite part and character was Mr. Mackenzie, not because I'm biased with yooteo, but his character added conflict, mystery and depth to the story. though I think he just disappeared, I didn't pay too much attention to the last two eps..


for acting I think both mains did a better job than their previews works, Jung Yoo Mi was less awkward than her character in live and Nam Joo Hyuk finally broke away from the teen roles they forced him on, he really felt like a nice grownup.

the music was as weird as the flavor of this drama but it was nice and I never rewatch stuff.

Leia Mais

the story is nothing new, the process and the overall flow was too common that it got boring and hard to focus on the side plots, and I felt like we needed a little more drama on Kang Bong Rae and Jeon Yoo Kyung's side of things instead of the long chase.

it was kinda too long that I dozed out a little, but tbh they could've just bought the nuclear bomb, and the whole "stealing" kinda felt ridiculous. like the idea of "we bought the bomb to save our country from a natural disaster" feels like a more normal approach than "we stole the bomb to save over selves" becasue at the end of the day, they stole nuclear bombs and just because they didn't use it on another country or for war doesn't lesson that thieveryness?

anyway, I really loved the acting and the unexpected bromnace, and though the ending was clear from the start, the last scene made me tear up a lot ;)
I also shipped Kang Bong Rae and Jeon Yoo Kyung ;p

I never rewatch stuff and the ost was basic

Leia Mais

I don't usually watch Taiwanese dramas, tbh, beside my 1st ever asian drama I never even tried another one.
in some ways I got attached to the characters, and the actors are actually pretty hot (not to sound shallow xD) but I have to say, the hair in their "interpretation" of age was actually horrible xD

the story lacked consistency. the first 6eps were really repetitive and unnecessary, I considered dropping it many times. they might've tried hard to make us "feel" or understand what they wanted to overall do. and sure, it is a great plot with a nice balance between the complicated time traveling and desperation of it all..

but it's like they tried to out clever the viewers while they still worried everyone would miss the point, and I could feel the hesitation of that.

they put alot of forced melodramatic feels between the 2 main couple just for the sake of a little angst..
I'd have preferred more time in the present, but I guess they wanted to complicatedness of the past more.

I really loved Huang Yu Xuan as a character, she was fun and outgoing but she was also sweet and mature. Li Zi Wei was also really sweet, but at times he just felt, naive? he was just too 1 minded, in some aspects. this might've been for the sake of the "melo" feel.

for some reason the ost by SHI SHI just touches my heart and makes me feel nestalgic, overall the full ost was really fit for the atmosphere of the drama.

I rarely rewatch anything so it's always either a 1 or a 10 ;)

Leia Mais