Ryu Seung Soo

Review: Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Given that Show is, at its heart, an homage to pansori and gukgeuk, it is surprisingly approachable; ie, you don’t need to actually already know or love pansori or gukgeuk, to enjoy this one.

The underdog theme running through, the characters and relationships, and the excellent performances of our cast, make this easy to get into – and then the pansori / gukgeuk education comes as a bonus.

Show isn’t perfect, but it manages to be engaging and absorbing, in spite of any flaws, and on balance, I liked this very well.

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Review: Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Ironic, tongue-in-cheek and cheekily self-aware, Show is a fun twist on the traditional Cinderella fairytale.

In that way, Show feels refreshing, because it doesn’t vibe like other kdramas.

I personally found the ride on the uneven side of things, but that may not be the case for you, as there are many who love this show unreservedly.

Worth a look, if only to see if this one will work for you.

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Review: Bloody Heart

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

When Show is at its best, it’s pretty darn excellent.

We have gorgeous cinematography, lots of dramatic tension between deliciously gray characters, plot twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat, and excellent deliveries by our cast, to anchor it all.

When Show isn’t at its best, however, it can be rather perplexing and underwhelming.

Stuff doesn’t feel organic, some threads feel dropped, and sometimes, stuff doesn’t actually make sense.

Overall, I’d say that Show is still more solid than not, and more worthwhile than not. But oh, the could’ve beens. 🫤

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