As promised, here I am with my Reaction Post to Part 2 of the Radio Star special episode on The Red Sleeve. (Spoiler: I liked it as much as I liked Part 1. 😉)
If you haven’t checked out my Reaction Post to Part 1 of the special, you can find that here!
PS: Link to watch is at the end of the post!
PPS: I also have a Reaction Post to The Red Sleeve Talk Show Special, which you can check out here. And if you haven’t yet checked out my monster review of The Red Sleeve, you can find that here.
So I’m trying something new today, you guys (yay..?).
Now that I’ve finally finished watching The Red Sleeve, and have written an appropriately hearts-in-eyes monstrous review for it, I am finally in a position to watch the various spoilery specials that are out there, in its honor.
I mean, I’ve seen lots of snippets floating about, to be sure (you just can’t avoid them completely, can you?), but it just makes me happy that I’m now able to watch the special in full.
And I thought, why not make a post out of it – just because I can? 😁
The biggest compliment I can give Show, is that it knows what it wants to be, and accomplishes its core purpose with finesse and aplomb.
Sure, there are some narrative decisions I didn’t prefer, but Show demonstrates such a profound understanding of its key characters, and teases out the finer points of each of these characters so very well, that I’m more than willing to look past any dissatisfaction I might have with these other details.
Lee Junho and Lee Se Young are wonderful in this, both individually and together. It’s no exaggeration to say that these two had my heart, unequivocally.
Beautiful, poignant and completely worth it.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Fresh, different and quirky, Into The Ring is much more than its premise might suggest.
Rather than a pedestrian look at politics at the municipal level, it’s more of an underdog story with a dash of superhero flair, and a good dollop of awkward, adorkable romance.
Nana and Park Sung Hoon are great in this, particularly together, and they were the bright spots that I consistently looked forward to, during my watch.
I do have some quibbles with Show’s general handling, but this is, overall, a solid watch that rocks its own brand of weirdness and kookiness, and is, in the end, a pretty unique breath of fresh air, in Dramaland.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Show really is everything that many of us have come to love in kdrama.
It’s gorgeous to look at, our actors are pretty darn capable all-around, our characters are mostly endearing, there’s amped-up, epic romance to be had between an OTP that shares solid, sparky chemistry, and, well, Hyun Bin is appealing in this, to a rather staggering degree. Flail.
As a bonus, Show possesses a cheeky sense of humor around drama tropes, even as it revels in them. In addition, the glimpse into North Korean life feels fresh and novel as well, and is a major highlight.
On the downside, there’s a bit of drag in the mid-to-late episodes, which is compounded by rather heavy-handed narrative angst, and Show’s long episodes. That can feel a bit or a lot hard-going, depending on your appetite for angst.
Overall, though, Show does a great job bringing the feels, and is well worth the watch.