Moon Joo Yeon Archives - The Fangirl Verdict

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A tightly written, multi-layered crime thriller that manages to engage both the heart and mind, Beyond Evil lives up to its Best Drama reputation and then some.

Show is amazingly consistent and efficient in its writing; it not only manages to keep episodes compact yet compelling, it also manages to keep up the suspense for its full 16 episodes, which is No Small Deal.

Our cast is very competent all-around, but the stand-outs are undoubtedly Shin Ha Kyun and Yeo Jin Goo, who both put in outstandingly nuanced performances, and who bring equal amounts of skill and presence to the screen. The OST is interesting and well-applied, and adds a good amount of value to lift the watch experience.

Well worth the watch, even if you’re not typically a crime thriller fan.

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THE SHORT VERDICT:

Thoughtful, understated, and yet so full of accurate teenage feels, At Eighteen is the youth drama that we didn’t know we needed, but which we absolutely deserve.

You don’t even need to generally be into youth dramas to enjoy this one, methinks, because this is arguably the most “grown up” youth drama I’ve seen yet.

There’s no hyperbolic cutesy here; growing pains and teenage euphoria are portrayed in such an organic way that it makes me feel like these writers remember exactly what it’s like to be a teenager growing up, and with amazing attention to detail, to boot.

Show manages to create a world that feels real and raw, while still retaining enough pretty and polish to give it that drama lift. The entire cast does an excellent job, but extra kudos goes to our young actors, for making their characters come to life in such an organic-feeling manner.

As a bonus, the music in this is by turn breezy-heartfelt, tinkly-ethereal and gently poignant; all astutely applied just so, to give the watch experience that extra dimension of immersion.

Quite excellent, all-around.

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