Yang Jo Ah

Review: When The Phone Rings

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

When Show is at its best, it is cracktastically good.

A tight narrative; sparky, smoldering OTP tension; cliffhangers that kept me on the edge of my seat; it felt like Show had it all. 🥲

Unfortunately, when Show is not at its best, it’s quite disappointing indeed.

Show makes some perplexing narrative decisions in its finale stretch, which I found disappointing not because of their makjang flavor, but because of how these decisions missed the mark of what had made Show so compelling to begin with.

However, Show’s still worth a look for its fantastic first half, in my opinion. 🔥

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Review: Romance In The House

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

If you enjoy family dramas but tend to be short on time and therefore can’t commit to a 50-episode family drama (coz that’s the length they tend to be, historically), then this one could work really nicely for you.

It’s a little rough around the edges like most family dramas tend to be, and it also manages to serve up the slightly chaotic, warm family feels that come from the type of family dramas that I personally enjoy.

An investment of just 12 episodes, to get family drama type feels? Not a bad deal, I’d say. 😁

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Review: She Would Never Know

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

You might need a tiny bit of patience with this one in its early episodes, but Show turns into such a thoughtful, sweet, sensitive love story, that it’s completely worth it. Our story leans restrained and slice-of-life in execution, so some viewers might find it too small of a story, but I love it.

Our central love story is teased out with a detailed, sensitive and tender touch, and the resulting feels are organically swoony and so satisfying.

Our leads are great together, and Ro Woon is especially wholesome and endearing as a young man smitten with his sunbae.

As a bonus, our supporting characters and their relationships also get a similarly thoughtful treatment, making for a very enjoyable watch overall.

Show remains consistent all the way through, and even manages an ending that feels earned and satisfying. Highly recommend. ❤️

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Flash Review: Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung

| kfangurl

In a drama landscape where characters have been traditionally subscribed to a patriarchal way of thinking, and where women – especially women in sageuks – have often been relegated to being pushed around by men who believe they know better, Rookie Historian stands out for daring not only to present a different perspective, but for presenting it as the better way.

Say, what?

Make no mistake, Rookie Historian is not a perfect drama by any means.

I’ll talk more about why that was the case for me, shortly, but really, for its bold stand alone, I feel like Show deserves some acknowledgement and praise.

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