Review: The Haunted Palace

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Less about a central romance and more about a supernaturally-inclined Scooby gang on a ghostly mission, The Haunted Palace is well-paced, generally well-plotted, and really quite entertaining; certainly more entertaining than I’d originally imagined or expected.

Yook Sung Jae and Bona are well cast as our leads, though I would say that Kim Ji Hoon steals very, very large chunks of the show, as our resident King, at least in my opinion. 🤩

Worth a look, even if you’re not typically into ghosts or shamans in your dramas.

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Review: 18 Again

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Don’t let this show’s silly, farcical trappings fool you; this one has so much heart that it simply never runs out of feels.

Fatherly love, familial love, romantic love and even platonic love; they all get their day in the sun in this drama world, and the result is a deeply heartwarming watch that I never wanted to end. This show made my heart so, so full, and I happily drowned in all of the feels.

Our cast is very strong, but I do sincerely think that this would’ve been a different show without Lee Do Hyun. He delivers such a heartfelt performance, with such a distinct sense of gravitas, that I am completely blown away.

The heart-eyes that I’ve grown for Lee Do Hyun are completely involuntary, and likely permanent. 😍

Unreservedly recommend.

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Review: Mystic Pop-up Bar

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A warm, heartfelt little show, Mystic is sometimes a little (or a lot) sillier than I usually like, but is, on the whole, so sincere and full of heart, that I can’t quibble with it too much.

Hwang Jung Eum is quite wonderful as our protagonist Wol Joo, and importantly, displays zero screechy tendencies in this role.

Choi Won Young and Yook Sung Jae round out the little Mystic team really nicely, and these three make a surprisingly endearing trio, as they strive to help their customers resolve their grudges – for heavenly credit, of course.

The overarching backstory is bittersweet and poignant, and Show does a nice job tying it in with our grudges of the day, with an impressive degree of consistency.

Importantly, Show starts strong and manages to end strong as well, making for a solid and satisfying watch, overall.

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