It’s slow, meandering, slice of life, and our characters take time to become more understandable and endearing, all of which are things which I think can work against this show.
However, at the same time, Show is thoughtful, thought-provoking and quite meaty, if you are so inclined to engage.
It’s not quite an escape from real life, like many of us tend to look for in our dramas, but instead, it’s a pretty great gateway through which to reflect on life.
I was in the mood for something easy-breezy and escapist, and this little jaunt to Jeju Island seemed like just the ticket.
At just over 2 hours, this little mini drama worked out to be a very laidback, enjoyable drama snack, that kinda-sorta felt like a mini-vacation to Jeju Island.
Beautiful scenery, beautiful people, and the idea of romance in the air. What’s not to love?
I think it’s time to admit that this show just isn’t working for me, you guys.
To be clear, I don’t hate it. There are definitely some things that brightened up my watch, and like I said in my 2020 Year In Review, there’s quite a bit of potential in this show, to examine why people might behave a certain way, with its mockumentary approach giving its characters regular airtime to talk about events that happened in the past, and reflect on them.
It’s just.. Show’s not floating my boat the way I want it to.
But y’know, just because this show didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you? Continue reading →
A show that manages to showcase friendship, romance, family, and reaching for your dreams, all in one cozy, ragtag package.
Despite bits of heightened drama, Show manages to feel organic and relatable pretty much all the way through. A thoroughly believable & sparky OTP, a solid supporting cast, and a breezy OST all come together to make this a warm, cracky, comfort-food sort of watch.
Homey and heady, at the same time, in the best way.
Even though Descendants of the Sun is not very well-written and far from subtle, there are things to enjoy in this show, if you’re willing to close your eyes to its shortcomings.
Things like appealing lead characters (most of them, anyway), character relationships, the romance and the bromance. And not forgetting Song Joong Ki in his most schmexy drama outing to date (ahem).
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.
This story bubbled like Korean stew in my brain after seeing the recent press on 2 handsome Lee Min Ho lookalikes. Kfangurl knows I like inventing ‘brother stories,’ so I couldn’t resist.
Second, I really like Fusions. Like the Japanese dramas “Boku to star no 99 nichi,” a cute drama starring Kim Tae Hee (she did an amazing job speaking Japanese), and the crime classic “Rondo,” starring Choi Ji Woo, who also spoke both languages.
I also adored the sugary sweet “Love Actually” with Lee Da Hae (she was dubbed, but sounded fine after the first episode when they changed the voice!) and my favorite Taiwanese actor, Joe Cheng. Their chemistry was off-the-charts smoking.
I’m sure there are more good ones out there. I was set on creating a Fusion for my second Dream Drama, and chose the pretty and popular Taiwanese actress/singer Rainie Yang. The more the story developed, the more I felt she and Lee Min Ho would look awesome together.
Interestingly, one of Rainie’s most popular co-stars is Mike He, and he’s often compared to Lee Min Ho.
Third, I love creating rich backstories, and after writing this one, I really want to see Jang Dong Gun and Jeon Ji Hyun work together. And lastly, I love using “Meta” in my stories. And this is chock full of it!
I hope you enjoy the second Dream Drama for The Fangirl Verdict!
~ Lady G.
Quick Synopsis
A dramatic, bittersweet forbidden love between a lowly fisherman and a precious rich princess gives birth to 3 beautiful sons. When tragedy befalls their little family, the boys are parted from their parents, and the youngest is separated from his brothers.
How will he find his way back to his brothers? Will the boys ever know the truth? Can love in the present heal the hurts of the past?
Follow the now-grown boys on their sometimes amusing, often heart-tugging, ultimately heartwarming, life-changing journey of growth and maturity, forgiveness and love.
~ kfangurl
Main Cast
Lee Min Ho as Youn Joon Min
Jung Il Chae (Real-life Math Teacher/LMH-Lookalike) as Youn Joon Tae
Ye Xiao Kai (Real-life Media Reporter/Other LMH-Lookalike) as Youn Joon Kang / Yun Jun Qiang
A teen melodrama dressed up to pass off as a posh teen rom-com.
At first glance, this show might look like it wants to do too much, what with its over-bloated, gigantic cast.
In actual fact, though, the show doesn’t really want to do anything except provide a platform for its OTP to go through the requisite angsty steps (angsty coz this is ultimately more melo than rom-com) to get to their happy-ever-after, which was a given from the very beginning (ok, the happy ending’s sorta more rom-com).
On the plus side, Kim Woo Bin is the resident scene-stealer (and he steals those scenes, so well), while several other secondary characters are likable and amusing. Just don’t expect a properly fleshed out story or robust character & relationship development arcs.
Pleasant enough but far from cracky, Heirs is a show that never fired up my emotions one way or the other. I neither hated it nor loved it. And indifference, I realize, is really not a very inspiring place to be.
This drama had a somewhat raw, rough-around-the-edges sort of feel to it, which gave it a sense of realism.
Several plot-lines felt under-developed, which made the show feel a bit off-kilter, but some great characters and a couple of meaningful plot-lines which did get nicely fleshed out made this unassuming little show one that I enjoyed quite a lot more than I thought I would.
The characters snuck up on me and made me start to care about them, which is always a plus in my books.
You might like this if you’ve read the manga &/or seen the other versions and already know the story, plus you don’t mind a drama that’s trying to be both a manga and a regular kdrama at the same time and therefore seems to have a split personality.
Acting is mostly average and random plot points are plenty, but the writers do give quite a fair amount of couple moments as fanservice.
I loved the Japanese version, which helped me to make sense of this version, and I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would.
This has a niche fanbase. Very, very niche. It just depends on whether you’re in, or you’re out. Continue reading →
