Reviews

OMG.

Okay, the premise sounded very interesting, and the drama started out very well. I enjoyed the back and forth between past, plane crash etc, and present. All the characters had substance. Loved it for the first, say, 6 or so episodes.
Then stupidity happened. Lots of it, on the part of the writers and the characters. Failed logic, the frustration of those 'trapped w/psycho killer but too stupid to hide from him" horror films I hate, total leaps of idiocy - I almost stopped watching this by episode 9.
Then it got better, somewhat. The island scenario finished, so the above mentioned stupidity vanished. It became a recognizable suspense plot, complete with scheming chaebols & corrupt prosecutors. Not very original but since the acting was excellent & I like most of the cast I could manage. By episode 14, EUREKA! Some brains emerged! I liked that episode!
Then the writers got hit once again by the stupid bug, which eroded the logical progression of the narrative into increasingly WTF moments, concluding with what has to be the most insane, ridiculous, maddening ending I've ever seen in KDrama.
I had held out hopes of one of our supposed murder victims being resurrected - which would have made as much if not more sense than what the writers forced on us, plus made so many of us much happier - but noooo, that was not to be :(
Do not waste your time on this, really, unless plot actually means nothing to you. On the plus side, the interactions of the characters in this show was excellent - I totally enjoyed watching them as long as I forgot whatever plot point was supposed to be happening.

Leia Mais

The most overrated drama ... (pls read the whole review)
The female lead made me cringe. there were moments that had to make her look mature but failed... The writers probably wanted her seem like strong person- bullied and neglected by a lot of people, but even with such a hard life she keeps being super kind and joyfull, tries her best in school and ect... ok, that is good... but the writer forgot about her behavior. They trully over did it. She acted like a 8 year old girl, she way too cozy in a strangers house . I dont know if the actress (she is good) is in the wrong or the writers. I really tried to force myself to watch this till the very end ... Maybe the drama should have been about the grim reaper, cause I always saw the goblin more as a father figure to the female lead. Its seems creepy and she doesnt help with acting kind of spoiled sometimes. The goblin legit acted like a creep sometime tho, how is that sweet or romantic? I hope that those that liked the drama wont feel bad if they read this~ XD
I just wanna add, that I have seen similar type of "relationship" in real life to the one in the drama. Thats why maybe I am a little triggered. He legit can get registered as an offender (done something or not), cause she is a minor in the start. So ya, think about that and other unwise things Eun Tak did though the drama. Then you will understand maybe why I kind of dislike it :(

Leia Mais

While I was watching this drama, I kept going through these rabid fangirl moments where I recited in my head, the praises I would sing for it after I completed it, but as I write this now; words simply elude me. I'm emotionally spent, harboring a subtle lingering ache in my heart and overcome by a deep sense of satisfaction all at the same time. All these emotions are making it extremely hard for me to explain in just a few words what this drama truly made me feel because the truth is; you don't just watch Kill me, Heal me- you experience it, you breathe it and it morphs into unrelenting claws and keeps you with it till the end.



Ji Sung- I have so much love for this man. He captures my soul every time he comes on-screen. He has always been one of my two most favorite actors and will always remain that way. I can sing odes in way of his acting and it still wouldn't be enough. In this drama he plays a Chaebol with 7 different personalities and his transitions are so real and vivid, that each of the seven personalities seem like entirely different people.



Shin Se Gi= The over dramatic bad boy who made me giggle, swoon, cry and fall in love.



Yona= The side-throbbingly hilarious and bratty mean girl who I wished I was friends with.



Ah Sub= The genius and serious teenager who had a penchant for suicide.



Perry Park= The ahjussi who shined so brightly and tinkered with bombs for fun.



Nana= The child without a voice.



Mr. X= The man who brought forth reason and rationale when Do Hyun was truly ready to embrace himself.



Cha Do Hyeon= The beautiful and complex man who suffered so much and yet, never stopped fighting.



I used to believe in the stupid "real men don't cry" stereotype that our society worships. I was so awful that if a hero in a show I was watching cried, I'd think him weak and turn away but Korean Dramas changed it for me. Korean characters often communicate with their tears, the feelings they don't verbalize, express themselves in the way of salty water. Tears are not a sign of weakness, they are a sign that you're alive. Cha Do Hyeon often had tears leaking from his eyes and every single time they moved me. Sometimes my heart hurt from all the pain, sometimes my lips hurt from smiling wide. His tears were gorgeous as was his struggle and will to become whole again.

Ji Sung deserved that Daesang and more.



People call Ji Sung the king of Kill Me, Heal Me and he no doubt is but what many don't say is that Hwang Jung-Eum was also undeniably the queen. I've heard many complaints about how Jung-Eum screams too much, how her obnoxious loud voice is unbearable, how she over acts and tries hard and frankly, I think all these people are just tripping. True, she does shout more than is necessary and she'll probably rupture your ear drum with all the noise she makes, yet there is not a single other actress who can even dream to properly pull off the roles she has executed.



She always grows on you and makes it work. She is the Empress of expressions and I don't know why but whenever she cries ( and she cries a lot and it's rather ugly) I always cry too. I don't even know why. I love her so much and to this day, she's one of my favorite actresses. The roles she plays, whether it's the self-sacrificing woman in Secret or the scarred psychiatrist in KMHM, always show inner strength. Oh Ri JIn is a brilliant, full of light and empathetic woman whose strength knows no bounds.



Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-Eum are undoubtedly the Korean industry's most powerful pairing. They are both excellent actors in their own right and together they are undeniably magic. Their chemistry is off the fucking charts. They move in sync and it's apparent how much they understand each other. Secret had left an impression on me and yet, KMHM without being influenced by that, made its own indent in my heart. Usually, in K-dramas the female character is overshadowed by the male's but Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-Eum exhibit equality of the sexes. They are both formidable players at their game and they play effortlessly together and bring the victory home, every single time. Despite the fact that Ji Sung's role was very powerful, Jung-Eum held her own and due to that, they co-existed beautifully.



Then comes Oh Ri On. Ah, my baby. He was also one of the best characters in the show and literally the best brother ever. He loves her but he let's her go. Park Seo Joon couldn't have done a better job in my opinion.



Every single actor from top to bottom brought their greatest to this drama and made it the masterpiece it was. I think it's rightfully one of the best Korean productions ever made. It had me bawling and heaving at one point and clutching my stomach laughing and gasping for breath at another. It made me feel bittersweet melancholy, made my heart fill with warmth and made me be so unwilling to let it go that despite dying with curiosity, I wanted to prolong it in some way so that it wouldn't end. This drama has pain yet joy, tears yet laughter, incredible heartbreak yet so much love. Not a single second is filler, it's filled to the brim with powerful dialogues and the suspense element is excellently done. You simply cannot get better than KMHM.



The OST (Auditory Hallucination) is definitely one of the best ever made. It always played on the perfect time and made the already soul stirring scenes a thousand times more impactful.



Yes, there were some medical errors in the drama but despite that, mental illness and trauma have been wonderfully explored to their core. It offered a peek in the life of a man waging war against his own mind and how an equally scarred woman became his sword and together they were conquerors.



This drama showed everything that makes Asian dramas so raw and poignant. If you haven't watched this and you call yourself a K-drama fan, I say you need to check your priorities.



Rewatch value is worth more than can be described. The moment I even begin to forget it (which will be hard) I'll watch it again because I never want to lose all that I felt while I was on the journey of watching Kill Me, Heal Me. I am sincerely thankful to Jin Soo-wan for writing this gem.

Leia Mais

I really liked the whole idea of the story, the acting and cast was great. I gave it a 10, because you have to watch it :( Lets get to the point, the ending(last 5 min) ruind it for most people( for real it was the only... big... problem in this drama), because it was confusing. Its noticeble that they probably had problems in the last filming- it looks like scenes that show what happend were cut off- and so the ending became confusing. Because of that I recommend not to watch the last episode at least the last 5 min... still there a LOT reasons to watch this drama:
1. Quality of filming and sets
A LOT of work was put into this drama... Its sad how a lot of people rate it low. As someone who loves creative work, this gets me a little T.T. From their clothes to the sets- everythings was carefully planed. It really deserves to be praised, can some of you even imagine... wait you can see in the special episode what conditions the actors and staff had to work in.
2. Cast/Acting
The cast is amazing, its full of great actors :) !!! If you pay attention some times you can notice things- like you can see in the last episode how Ji Ah is holding her wrist( if you watch you will know), you know things like that. For real you can watch this drama just for the cast.
3. The story
Its REALLY interesting. Normaly if watch Kdramas you listen to Kpop too, right? The drama, might give a better view of some things in the ent.industry, its not all rainbows, smiles and abs. It shows how politics handle and view the public. It has all of it media, politics, law, crime, drama, a LOT of mystery, some silly moments too( which really get to you T.T).
Dont let others stop you from watching it, because overall is GREAT only the last 3-4 min were what got the rating down :(

Leia Mais

Missing 9 won't be for everybody. It was for me and then it wasn't anymore.

I guess I still like it a lot because I appreciate that the drama kept my interest the whole time. I wasn't bored, and I didn't skip. Since suspenseful dramas stress me out quite a lot, the frequent comedy here kind of put my heart to rest, mostly when needed. In my opinion, though, this is also it's weakness. The comedy was out of place most of the time and when you just thought something really big happened, they just took it away with silly music.

Story:
The story overall was good. It wasn't the best in my opinion and pretty predictable in an unpredictable way (when you know what I mean) but at the same time fascinating. At some point, I just thought that the writers tried too hard to lay every possible difficulty in their way, and it got a bit annoying. Also, if you are looking for romance, there isn't really any. I mean it does seem like it, the whole time, but the romance plot is more like an anti-climax.

Acting/Cast:
The acting was great. Everybody fitted very well into their roles. There were some roles, I found a bit annoying and at some point I wasn't sure if it was the actor's acting or the actual character that made me cringe. Overall, I don't have anything I didn't like about the cast.

Music:
I don't even remember the music tbh, I know, that it was used to lighten up scenes a lot, and it was used for comic relief.

Overall:
Missing 9 is a good drama. I don't know if I would recommend it, though. It's something you have to stumble on by yourself. Personally, I also think that since I watched it weekly, it kept interesting for me. Probably not the best drama to binge-watch.

Leia Mais

The reality is that Missing 9 was amazing for me, well the first 9 episodes. It's crazy episode 10 was such a huge turning point that it killed the drama from there on. I could see in episode 8 and 9 that things were mellowing out to be predictable, but I could have never guessed that the story would become a mockery of the first 9 episodes. The reality is I built this drama up in my mind—expectations—and the first 9 episodes were so great for me that I had the utmost confidence that it could win out and pull off a fabulous drama.

I have now discovered that when a romantic drama that seems typical becomes stagnant and a trope it sucks. However, when a drama that is unique and has so much promise does it's like a knife to the gut. I became so ticked off with the last 7 episodes that there is no redemption for this drama. Maybe it's my fault for reading so much into the drama and expecting awesomeness. Everything I thought meant something was stupid. Such as the color scheme of beige switching to vibrant colors, it's never fully addressed though there is a turning point in the drama. I actually wonder if the writer had somewhere to go, but someone on the side was like no make this an average and underwhelming murder mystery.

That's right. It all boiled down to a murder mystery that happened years before this plane crash. Which is perfectly fine. Except that the drama treated it's viewers like we were dumb and couldn't figure it out right away. So the last 5 episodes are all “What really happened?” and I had guessed it around episode 5 if not sooner. Sighs. So let me tell you it was boring.

Not to mention that the killer apparently “accidentally” did it, but it was someone else who pushed him over the edge. Somehow meaning that the 4 murders he committed on the island where, okay? No really. He gets a happy ending painting with his friends. DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE MALICIOUSLY KILLED PEOPLE. Murdering his own friend and continued to try to kill people until the end.

The true awesomeness of Missing 9 is in the first 9 episodes. (Holy drama! Did this drama curse itself?) Was the dual storytelling of the timeline of the plane crash, the past of the idols, and the present in which the one survivor is trying to piece her memory together. Somehow Missing 9 found this perfect balance of psychological thriller and horror, with humor. I loved it. Characters who were clearly annoying stereotypes became well developed on the island. I truly believe that if the writing hadn't given up on itself that the idea of solving the old murder from before would have been enough to deliver this drama. Yet the last 7 episodes tossed all of the character development and commonsense out the window. Then continued to shoot it up as it sped by in the getaway car to abandon the storyline that the writer clearly didn't know how to wrap up.

Normally I do a rating scale of my average rating per episode which is actually 5/10 for Missing 9. The first 9 episodes are at 8/10 rating, and the last 7 episodes 2/10 (to be honest right on the verge of 1/10). So I look at the 5/10 average episode rating and compare to the numbers I put in for MDL's rating scale (which is 3/10) and figure it out from there. (Yes, I put a lot of though into how I rate.) To be quite honest I am so tempted to go back and lower all my episode ratings on the first 9 because I now realize that the show's story goes no where. Yet, I can't because those first 9 were awesome for me and despite the story losing itself it deserves it. (Though I'm still bitter.)

When the writing was good the actors were amazing. YES, even the idols did a magical job. They balanced fear and humor well in the first 9 episodes. It's not their fault their characters became tacky in the last half, they acted what was created. The music was all right, though I can't really remember it right now.

In the end this was another drama that I had high hopes for and faith that the writer wouldn't give up on the story in the latter episodes because it didn't know how to end. Part of the problem is I had too much faith and believed in it. That the first half of the show was truly amazing. Yet, the last 7 episodes were so utterly painful that it killed Missing 9. I will never rewatch this drama again, and I will think back on it with absolute and utter dejection. In a move I normally don't make I am rating this completely on feeling. If I went by my normal system I'd pick between 3/10 to 5/10. (Which is why I wrote that huge paragraph on my rating system above so you could get an idea.) However, the last part of this drama ruined everything. It made characters that started out annoying and grew into pretty awesome characters, annoying again. I couldn't stand characters that I loved from the beginning. Not to mention that the female lead was so awesome and then just turned into a damsel at the end. *Sighs* Everything hinged on a clearly obvious plot line. In then end this drama transformed into a painful drama memory that I wish I could forget.

Leia Mais

First of all, the number one reason to watch Age of Youth is that it's the rare k-drama that's entirely female-driven and, on top of that, isn't driven by romance.

Of course, there are plenty of great k-dramas out there where women drive the plot; in those stories, though, the female protags usually share equal space with male leads. And there are a few gems I've come across that aren't about romance, but these examples are very much male-driven (Misaeng, SUFBB, White Christmas — all of these shows respect their women, but none of them are *about* the women).

Age of Youth, however, is an anomaly in revolving around a main female ensemble with all male characters being pushed down to supporting character rank (just check out the cast list here). This is in itself is a little bit momentous, and it's the kind of thing there should be more of.

Don't get me wrong, in general you can count on k-dramas for female characters with points-of-view. Still, the bulk of them follow the YA novel tradition of revolving around *one* girl, meaning that relationships between different women are rarely fleshed out (or at least, not as fleshed out as that of the female lead/male leads). Age of Youth, however, isn't about one girl. It's about five girls — five girls with their own inner lives, goals, and ghosts-in-the-closet (thanks to Jiwon for that unnecessarily dramatic metaphor). These stories might feature romantic subplots, but they're not the main event. The way these girls relate to one another is the real emotional core of the series.

Since I've sung my praise, for the sake of fairness I'll touch on a couple of the show's weaknesses.

Being such a short drama, AOY is definitely hurt by trying to do too much with a lack of time. The upshot is it suffers from the typical ensemble show problem of uneven character work. While some arcs are fully realised and flawlessly constructed (particularly, the growth of Hwayoung's character), a couple of others sadly fall to the wayside. (Han Seungyeon's character is the most egregious. If I didn't know there'll be a season two, I'd find the lack of time given for Ye Eun's post-traumatic arc absolutely unforgivable. Since there *will* be a season two, though, I aggressively expect this to be the #1 priority.)

My other gripe is about tonal inconsistency. Again with the trying to do too much, AOY teeters between realistic slice-of-life and... dark psychological thriller? Let it be said that it's much more successful at the former. Some of the darker story-lines work because they're *character-driven* (again, not sorry about Yina's narrative), but most of the show's dips into other genres are unfortunately half-baked. Considering that lack of time thing, AOY would have been more cohesive by cutting the excess.

THAT BEING SAID, these flaws stick out only because AOY is so quality in every other way. If you want a drama that actually cares about women's stories (and why wouldn't you), you arguably can't do better than Age of Youth.

Leia Mais

This is a strange one for me. As I was watching, I remember thinking constantly that many things didn't make sense, some parts were unrealistic, the mood was weird and some of the characters felt incredibly shallow. But even so, I still liked this. I looked forward to the new episodes every week and I always watched them the moment I got the chance. Missing 9 wasn't a perfect drama, in fact, it's far from perfect or even great but it had its moments.

Story: The basic premise of the story is simple. Nine coworkers from an entertainment company end up on a deserted island together and have to rely on one another to survive. But as it turns out, that's not even half the actual story. The plot jumps around in time and we get the uncover pieces of mystery slowly which was both confusing and intriguing. In the end I felt happy with the development of the story and the way it was concluded but I found myself doubtful on quite a few occasions.

Acting & Cast: I have no complaints. No one stuck out like a sore thumb, everyone did their part and some were simply sublime.

Jung Kyung Ho / Seo Jun Oh: A lovable, misunderstood character. I rarely like the main characters the most in a drama but this time there was no question. Jun Oh was cute, smart and funny, a very well built character. I don't know why I've never watched Jung Kyung Ho before but that's about to change, dammit. He was absolutely wonderful.

Baek Jin Hee / Ra Bong Hee: I used to not like Baek Jin Hee but she changed my opinion of her with this drama. What an awesome female lead! Strong, quick, smart and cute, there's nothing she can't do. Baek Jin Hee's acting was, in my opinion, flawless. While looking conceivably innocent, she packs a better punch than all the men in this drama combined.

Choi Tae Joon / Choi Tae Ho: I love Choi Tae Joon, I hated Choi Tae Ho. That goes to tell you how good he was. I was afraid they were going to completely neglect this character and leave him to be an empty shell but that wasn't really the case. The character wasn't great but they managed to somehow scrape the pieces together by the end.

Oh Jung Se / Jung Ki Joon: Such a sweet ahjussi. Trustworthy and caring. Again, great acting, and chemistry with Lee Seon Bin was great.

Lee Seon Bin / Ha Ji Ah: Now I finally understand why she is called the ultimate girl crush. She is beautiful and acts well, sings well, dances well. I'd date her. Ji Ah was also one of my favorite characters in the drama, she was stubborn, but loyal and strong-willed. I love how we got to see many strong female characters.

Ryu Won / Yoon So Hee: I didn't like her but I don't think I was supposed to. She was an important character for the development of the story but her presence still felt rather insignificant to me.

Yang Dong Geun / Yoon Tae Young: This feels like the first time I've ever seen a character like this one. A very interesting portrayal of a distressed brother and a professional prosecutor by Yang Dong Geun. I ended up enjoying his performance more than I thought I would.

Park Chan Yeol /Lee Yeol: From the beginning till the end, he was the most insignificant character in the drama. Without him everything would have turned out in the exact same way. Chanyeol's acting seems to have improved a little but his part was too small to draw any concrete conclusions. He was cast only to get viewers, let's accept that and move on.

The characters were definitely the driving force of this drama. Although the plot was quite dynamic, on its own it would have been completely disappointing. A successful casting was in the end the strongest point in this production. There were so many characters that I honestly can't bring myself to write individual comments on all of them. Kim Sang Ho and Kim Pub Lae were great as expected as was Tae Hang Ho. Song Ok Jook made me hate her passionately so I'll give her credit for that. Some of the actors in the smaller roles were hilarious and really freshened up the mood of the drama.

Rewatch value: I might consider watching this again because there were some really cute moments that made me laugh. The story in itself wasn't mind-blowing but the acting and humor made up for it quite well. I might recommend this if you're a fan of some of the cast or if you really enjoy light suspense with some comedy on the side. It's an easy watch, you won't have to think too hard.

In a nutshell this is simultaneously a frustrating and juvenile, but quite whimsical and fresh drama. I'm glad I watched it but I'm also glad it's over and I can move onto other things.

Leia Mais