This little show kind of defies easy definition; it’s everything it says it is – but it’s also more than the sum of its parts.
It’s a dark comedy; it’s a story of personal journey; a story of relationships; a story of hope; a story of regrets; a story of contentment.
It’s a wild ride of a rollercoaster for both the heart and mind, managing to balance all the chaos with a deep sense of pathos, and it’s surprisingly, profoundly affecting.
Highly, deeply, absolutely recommend.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
This show is very ambitious, in just about every sense of the word. It aims to be this very shiny, expensive, mind-bendy parallel worlds thing, with an epic romance at its center, and it therefore aims to blow your mind and sweep you off your feet, in one fell swoop.
Because Show is that ambitious, though, I feel like it doesn’t quite manage to keep all its ducks in a row, all the way through.
Sometimes it kinda-sorta blows my mind, and sometimes it kinda-sorta sweeps me off my feet, but it doesn’t manage to do either with any degree of consistency.
Ultimately, Show is neither as brilliant as its fans say it is, but neither is it as terrible as its critics say it is, either.
It’s actually not bad, with some slightly hefty lens management.
Beez writes:
Dear Kfangurl, Are supporting actors too funny to ever cast as leads?
I keep waiting for my favorites – Park Jin Joo, Kim Seul Gi and my all time favorite, Kim Sung Oh to be part of an OTP or at least a single lead in their own dramas. I’ve seen all of them give snippets of really moving scenes so their acting talent is not in question. What gives?
And phl1rxd writes:
I would love to see an article on your favorite supporting actors|actresses.
There are so many that pop up in our drama world all the time, and while they are not the leads, their work is great none-the-less.
THE SHORT VERDICT:
At its heart, My Country is a polished, beautifully-shot tale of star-crossed brotherhood, and the search for acceptance, meaning, and self.
Granted, Show has its flaws. Sometimes the logic stretches require more suspension of disbelief than I would like; sometimes the emotional tension feels like it’s stretched out for too long and gets tiring; sometimes Show feels like it’s cycling in place, just a little bit.
On the upside, though, Show is filled with strong performances from its cast, knows how to take us on our characters’ emotional journeys, and is scored with a consistently evocative soundtrack that is by turn gloriously epic and plaintively poignant.
If you’re able to roll with Show’s shortcomings, it’s not hard to get sucked into this one.
You know, for a hot second, I thought I might actually like this show.
Right off the bat, it kinda-sorta felt like an off-shoot of Heirs, but better done and more interesting.
Similar to Heirs, Seducer’s drama world is also centered around a bunch of rich kids, with one pair of them sparking off each other, his sexy rebel cool to her prickly pouty petulance.
All that spark, whether acknowledged or not, is blocked – or would that be amplified? – by their parents getting hitched to each other. Oh, plus there’s also an innocent, not-rich girl in the center of it all.
Unlike Heirs, there is no Kim Tan character, which I counted as a huge plus, since I hated Kim Tan, with a passion.
…Too bad my cautiously positive first impression didn’t last very long at all. I lasted 10 half-hour episodes of this one, dragging my feet through the last few of those 10 episodes, and have had zero desire to go back to this one.