The Bond is basically a sprawling slice-of-life family drama, that is showcased in a pretty condensed sort of format.
Show does a very good job of making its characters feel like real people with real flaws and real struggles, and one can’t help but be interested in the lives of these characters, as a result.
Our cast is strong, in the sense that you don’t really feel like these are actors putting forth their best performance; you just feel like these are real people, with some flaws more glaring than others, all trying to do their best, with their varying lots in life.
A solid watch, particularly if you enjoy everyday insights into Chinese culture and China’s modern history.
Where has 2021 gone, seriously? This was a strange year, in that it felt like time was passing really fast, but it also felt like we were stuck and frozen in time – or is that just me? 😅
I think it’s safe to say that it’s been a tough year for us all. For hanging in there; for continuing to put one foot in front of the other; for continuing to look for and appreciate the good in your world: You’ve done well, my friends. ❤️
Even though things in Dramaland have continued to evolve, there’s one thing that remains constant, and that is, our dramas are always there for us, ready to whisk us away into another world, at least for a little while; ready to introduce us to new friends, as we meet new characters; ready to offer us vicarious experiences, even if we’re in the thick of a lockdown and can’t leave our homes.
Just like it was last year, dramas helped to make life a little brighter and sweeter for me, and I hope they’ve done the same for you too. ❤️
Full disclosure that I checked this one out purely for the love of Lee Do Hyun, you guys.
After he up and stole my heart in 18 Again, I just can’t seem to help myself, when it comes to wanting to see more of him on my screen. 😅 You guys know I typically don’t do horror or monsters, but I legit watched Sweet Home because he was in it.
..Which means I kinda had to at least give this show a try, since he’s this story’s male lead, right?
Unfortunately, this is one time where my love for Lee Do Hyun is just not going to see me through a show. I’m officially calling it quits on this one, after 7 episodes.
So full disclosure, I didn’t hard drop this show. I just.. wandered off from it, after 4 episodes, and never managed to go back to it.
In the interest of closure, I’m writing a Dropped post, and will describe my experience with the show in this post, just to give you an idea of my impressions of its various working parts. I suppose you could think of this as a First Impressions sort of post; that works too.
If you have more experience with this show than I do (ie, you watched the whole thing, or at least, more than the 4 episodes that I watched), please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, to help everyone else decide if it’s a show worth checking out?
I really, really wanted to like this one, you guys.
I mean, Park Gyu Young in her first lead role? Yes, please! And, Kim Min Jae, as a romantic leading man again, after a wonderful turn as romantic leading man in Do You Like Brahms?Also yes, please!
The thing is, though, after 4 episodes, I’m just not feeling this one, to be brutally honest. 😝
Tis the season for talking about our drama years, and this year, well, we’ve got an unexpected bonus for everyone!
Basically, over on the Drama Exchange on Patreon, I saw that Shahz had floated a cool idea to the community: that everyone come up with their own year-end lists, to complement my annual Year-In-Review post (which will still publish as usual, in case you were wondering!). She even came up with a bunch of categories for everyone to work with, and everybody was pretty buzzed about it.
Some days later, it suddenly occurred to me one morning, that it might be fun to invite those who are keen, to turn their year-end lists into guest posts here on the blog. I asked the community, and got lots of positive responses! Those who couldn’t commit to writing a post, were enthusiastically supportive anyway, and basically, that’s why we’re here today.
This kick-off post is by Shahz, who volunteered to go first (yay Shahz!). Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be seeing 5 more posts (yay!) by mystery guest writers from the Patreon community – whose identities will be revealed when their posts go live. Thanks for doing this, you guys! 😘
Thanks to another brilliant idea by Shahz, we’ll cap everything off with a poll (which I will announce after everyone’s guest posts have gone live), to see which dramas you guys as a community give your stamp of approval to this year!
If I had to pick just one word to describe the watch experience of this show, it would be “fresh.”
Show is just really good at what it sets out to do. It’s great at mixing the live-action with the animation stuff, and it’s also great at shining the spotlight on all our human thoughts, reactions and foibles. And Show manages to be funny and entertaining, while remaining heartfelt and relatable. Really impressive, all-around.
I’d suggest putting this on your list, even if you were originally going to give it a pass.
Slick, gritty, and with more than a dash of blood and violence, Show isn’t your typical nor traditional Korean drama, that’s for sure.
I think what Show does well, is tell its story in a manner that’s equal parts twisty, action-packed and emotionally compelling. In that sense, I feel like Show is quite well-rounded and perhaps therefore more able to reach a wider audience.
For example, you might not be into fight scenes per se, but you might be emotionally invested enough in our protagonist’s journey, to see it through anyway.
Very solid, and very bingeable, if you’re in the mood for a revenge tale with its fair share of grit.
