I’m beginning to think that my fangirl love isn’t a very resilient thing, heh.
I had every intention of finishing web drama The Secret Message. To begin with, I didn’t expect very much from it, and therefore, to finish watching it seemed like a reasonable goal in my head; easy, even.
I mean, we’re talking short little 15-minute episodes, which the teasers all indicated would be prettily shot, featuring the very handsome TOP in a cute romance. What could possibly be hard about that, right?
THE SHORT VERDICT:
A fun rom-com that, in-between the comedy and the laughs, manages to get under your skin in the best way, with its warmth.
Some of my favorite things about She Was Pretty are the heartfelt performances, the lovingly-drawn characters, and the relationships brimming with organic, sparky chemistry.
On top of these, the breezy pace and the ear-wormy OST – not to mention the uplifting themes of self-worth and self-love – make this a satisfying, enjoyable watch indeed.
Not perfect by a long shot, but Show gets the important things so right, that it’s hard to be nit-picky.
When I first heard the set-up for Scholar Who Walks the Night, I was really excited.
I mean, a supernatural drama world featuring Joseon-era vampires with glorious bone structure, and a girl who goes undercover as a boy to earn a living and support her family? It sounded like the perfect mashup combining the best of Arang and Sungkyunkwan Scandal, both of which are dramas I really love.
Plus, Scholar stills promised that I would get to see Lee Jun Ki wearing guyliner and a deeper red lip, sorta like how he did so spectacularly in his breakout role in The King and The Clown.
Basically, I couldn’t not watch this one. And I couldn’t wait to feast my eyes on the Pretty too.
So I recently went through a phase where I was completely out of it due to a medical situation; I felt light-headed and woozy, and my brain basically felt like cotton wool.
Given that not too long ago, when I’d felt too exhausted for more regular-type drama-watching, I’d found quite the lovely little drama snack in Noble, My Love, I thought that this time around, I might find a similarly fun and fluffy distraction in I Order You.
At about 20 minutes an episode, the commitment was low enough, and I had it on good authority that the kisses in this were better than the ones in Noble. Ahem. Good kisses are always a plus, no doubt.
Too bad this little web drama just didn’t work out for me the way I’d hoped it would.
If you’ve been watching kdrama for a while, you’d probably know what I’m talking about when I say that there is a particular brand of drama that draws you in with a fun, light, completely innocent sort of premise, only to pull out the rug from under you without warning, by turning dark & weepy all of a sudden.
And then you’re left wondering, Waaaiit. Who are you, Show, and what have you done with my sparkly fun rom-com???
The good news is, Oh My Ghostess isn’t that brand of split-personality drama. But I must admit that there were distinct times when this show went a lot darker than the zippy, entertaining rom-com I’d signed up for.
The other bit of good news, I suppose, is that in spite of its darker streaks, there’s still a lot to enjoy in this show.
A lot of the time, I look for the full package when I’m choosing a drama to watch.
Basically, a show that boasts an interesting story, is delivered by strong actors, and features an OTP that’s believable and shares great chemistry. If I get lovely music and gorgeous cinematography on top of that, all the better.
This.. is not one of those times.
After a physically and mentally exhausting several weeks, all I wanted – or could handle, really – was drama comfort snack food. Y’know, something light, easy, packaged in small bite-size servings, and that hits the right notes without requiring my brain to actually do any work.
Happily, Noble, My Love fit the bill nicely.
Despite Hidden Identity pretty much flying under the drama radar, I was curious to check it out for a couple of reasons.
One, this was tvN’s first foray into the crime thriller genre, after establishing itself as a steady producer of quirky rom-coms. I wondered how they would do, especially compared to OCN, where crime thrillers are a mainstay.
Two, Show promised gritty, badass Kim Bum. Given my soft spot for Kim Bum and my weakness for badass leading men, I couldn’t say no to that.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
An updated, refreshed, and much more polished take on the classic Retro Hallyu favorite themes of Fate and First Love.
Show is filled to the brim with classic tropes, but manages to be engaging for the most part, thanks largely to solid performances by its cast, as well as careful touches by PD-nim’s clearly loving hand.
There are draggy, frustrating stretches, but if you love classic retro dramas, there’s a good chance you’ll like this too.
If Mask had a report card, and I was its teacher, I would write on it something along the lines of, “Mask displays strong potential in many areas, but seems to have a short attention span and does not work to maximize his potential.”
That, and maybe also, “Mask would do so much better if he would seriously apply himself.”
Yes, this does kinda-sorta sound like what I recently said about High Society, but I think because Mask managed to show more real potential, the disappointment here feels, well, more real, too.
I mean, for a good stretch, I actually really enjoyed watching this show.
Let’s put it this way. High Society is pretty much The Drama Who Cried Wolf. Except instead of Wolf, Show was crying stuff like, “I’m interesting! And dramatic! My leads have sparky chemistry! And! I bring hawt kisses!”
Insistently and repeatedly, Show sang its siren song. BUT. Consistently and repeatedly, episode after episode, despite managing to coast by on the faint promise of things to come, ultimately, Show failed to deliver.
Can someone point me to the Time Refund counter in dramaland, please? Coz I’d really like to have my 16 hours back.