April Watched
- 4 days ago
- 10 min read
It feels like this month has been going forever. Imagine my surprise that I finished watching "The Art of Sarah" this month, and not two months...
Watched:
Let me know your opinions on the dramas!
First impression: Hooked me up from the first few minutes.
Last impression: It was a very entertaining mystery
Synopsis: The story of Sarah Kim, who wanted to embody luxury, even if it meant being fake, and Park Mu Gyeong, who traces after her desires. Sarah Kim is a mysterious character whose name is everywhere, yet she can’t be found anywhere. As the head of a high-end brand’s Asia branch, she suddenly becomes the victim of an unidentified murder case. Park Mu Gyeong is a sharp and persistent detective in the violent crimes unit. As Mu Gyeong delves deeper into the case, Sarah Kim’s mysterious identity — involving different names, ages, jobs, and backgrounds — is gradually unveiled. Who is the real Sarah Kim, and what secrets is she hiding? (Netflix)
The drama has short episodes, and not a lot of them, but it managed to show what they wanted with good storytelling.
People might argue that some places can feel confusing, as the story is not linear, but as you get engrossed in the story and pay attention, it is not that hard to grasp what is happening at what time.
It helps that there is always a change in clothes, a change in Sarah's attitude or something else to showcase it.
From the plot perspective, there are still some things left unexplained (a random body, which was found and never talked about again), but to be honest, it's easy to forget when you're trying to catch up with everything that is happening on screen.
Shin Hae Sun as Sarah was amazing to watch. The differences in her personality as she manipulated various people, and the way she still executes this charm.
The detective was also interesting, but his obsession with Sarah sometimes felt out of hand.
In a way, it's understandable that the writer doesn't want to lead everyone to think about another person, as this is Sarah's story, and there are not many episodes to explore everything, but at times, the obsession was too much.
The ending was okay. After revealing the story, it did not have a wow factor, but it was an interesting journey to go on.
9/10
First impression: The premise is interesting, so I want to continue.
Last impression: This was not what I wanted from the drama.
Synopsis: Yun Ra Yeong, Kang Sin Jae and Hwang Hyeon Jin have been friends for about 20 years. They first met in their 20's, when they were university students, and they now work together as lawyers at L&J Law Firm. The law firm specialises in defending female crime victims. A secret from 20 years ago, which Yun Ra Yeong, Kang Sin Jae and Hwang Hyeon Jin could not speak to anyone about, rises again and shakes the lives of these women. The women grit their teeth and fight back, showing solidarity and tenacity that cannot be broken. (Asianwiki)
The start was not very strong, but there are some aspects that make you curious. Who killed the journalist? Who is behind the 'Connect' thing? How are these three women going to deal with it?
Something to cling to while watching the drama.
One of the good sides of the drama is that it focuses on the victims, getting them help, and reminding them that this is not their fault. It was reiterated many times, and that was needed for both the viewers and characters.
However, for a drama which is about lawyers, prosecutors, policemen, etc., they never go to court. It's understandable as they're building the case, but they go on more television shows to say something batshit crazy than actually work through court.
Even if we are still trying to focus on the good things of "Honour", the female leads are not helping the drama at all.
They're all in some way unlikable, especially Hwang Hyeon Jin. She cheats on her husband, but doesn't suffer any consequences because of it. (Oh, sorry, her husband was very upset at her that one time)
We have men way worse in this drama; this is what the conversation should be about. However, we have to remember that women get crucified way easier, so why make the focus of the story something that people will cling onto?
The storyline of Kang Shin Jae and a random man, who wants to be her husband, happened so quickly and out of nowhere. It feels like a season 2 plot line that has been building up from season 1.
There is no chance that this drama is getting another season, but maybe not adding that storyline would have made other plot points stronger.
Yoon Ra Young and Park Je Yeol's past connection and how it transferred to the present day were interesting, but again felt a bit rushed.
You could also say that I'm the problem, too, writing only about the three leads rather than the bad guys. Don't get me wrong, they're insanely despicable in all ways, shapes and forms, but it didn't feel like the point of the drama.
The main focus was on the trio, them finding out more and more, but there's no climax or tension, and it doesn't feel dangerous. They're the ones who are always on screen talking while barely anything happens.
In the drama, they want you to believe that these women have such a strong connection with each other, which is hard to believe sometimes. They barely even plan things together: one just goes off, does something, and then later they try to fix it.
5/10
First impression: It was cheaply made, background sounds are louder than their voices, but it still has some points that interest me.
Last impression: I need a reminder of why I kept on watching.
Synopsis: This is a sweet but quite bloody story of two people overcoming their traumas. Yun Bi A is a CEO who created an era of romance with AI, while Han Sun Ho, a novelist, sticks to his analogue ways. However, as they meet up, an unknown secret unfolds before them. (Mydramalist)
After starting the drama, you can clearly see that it's not going to be a masterpiece, but the premise sounds good, and it made me curious how they're going to portray AI love compared to "Boyfriend on Demand".
The drama has also brought up interesting discussions, for example, how weird it is to date an AI person, some of the fan behaviour (the novel writer is more like an idol), trauma, and how it affected the leads.
However, this turned out very messy with potential still peaking through, but never unravelled. The treats are there, but never explained or quickly forgotten.
Add this all with not-so-good acting.
The characters are very one-dimensional, and they kind of change on demand. Bi A is probably the only one who's flashed out the most, obviously, as she's a lead.
However, Han Sun Ho gets a different story, and not a good one. We see him being cold, annoyed, but after a few dates with Bi A (who just toys with him), he becomes a complete puppy, who will do anything for her.
He has a storyline, how he wants to write again, why he got into a slump, but nobody cares about that.
Seol Jae Hee was the most intriguing character, but she quickly became one of the worst. She's been past high school years ago, but still acts like a teenager, and it's hard to believe that such a smart, confident woman somehow cannot put two and two together to understand her father.
There is no chemistry between the leads, and the secondary couple is cringeworthy and nonsensical, so this does not help the drama either.
It's not like I'm disappointed with "Love Phobia", as there was no expectation, but I wished it would change my mind in some ways. Now we have a clutter of many plots and no proper storyline.
3/10
First impression: The start is intriguing
Last impression: I needed something more...
Synopsis: Set in the late 1990s, Hong Geum Bo is in her 30s and is an elite supervisor for the Financial Supervisory Service. She goes undercover as a 20-year-old high school graduate, Hong Jang Mi, and begins to work for a securities company where suspicious flows of funds are detected. There, she meets Sin Jeong U. He is the new CEO of Hanmin Securities Company. Sin Jeong U is a natural-born management consultant and a corporate raider who believes that only numbers are honest. He meets Hong Jang Mi, whose face is the same as Hong Geum Bo's, whom he once loved. They become complicatedly entangled. (Mydramalist)
This has definitely been one of the better dramas of this year.
The storyline is interesting, finding out who this yehpee person is while Hong Geum Bo tries to act like she's in her twenties.
As much as Hong Geum Bo is strong and brilliant alone, the biggest joy in the drama was her scenes with her roommates and the team she created while working at the company.
It would have been more amazing if it had happened sooner, and we've gotten to see more of their teamwork, but this is what made the second half amusing. This was finally not the drama that gets boring after the first 8 episodes.
The finance plot line can be a hit or miss for people. Personally, it felt like those points (as important as they were to the plot) slowed the drama.
"Undercover Miss Hong" showcases that 16-episode dramas can still be interesting and steady if they manage to do it right. It knew what it wanted to portray, what kind of story the writer and director wanted to tell.
8.5/10
First impression: The definition of guilty pleasure. It's bad, but I'm still here
Last impression: I wanted to drop it...
Synopsis: The story follows exhausted webtoon producer Seo Mi Rae, who is accustomed to a nonexistent dating life due to her hectic schedule. Mi Rae receives a ‘Monthly Boyfriend’ device by chance, allowing her to enter a virtual world. Entering this virtual reality, she encounters unrealistically perfect boyfriends, awakening her dormant desires for romance. (Mydramalist)
It was hard to finish the first episode of the drama, but the need to see Seo Kang Joon won me over to continue through this cringefest.
Surprisingly, he was the one who made the drama feel so much better. Mi Rae's daily life was barely shown, and there wasn't anything interesting from there, so as soon as she gets into the virtual world, it suddenly becomes amusing.
Very ironic to write this, as the reason why this virtual world was created was that real life is boring.
Now, as soon as Seo Kang Joon is gone, the reason to watch it for longer stops too. There's not much buildup in Mi Rae's work life; her friendship is shown once or twice, and they probably wouldn't pass bachdel's test, so you can imagine how interesting their talk is.
Though I would watch a drama where Ji Yeon dates 901 of those fake men.
There is no chemistry between the leads; Kyeong Nam is just always there yearning for Seo Mi Rae, and has no story of his own. It's funny to think that they invested in a better story with Seo Kang Joon than with the literal MAIN MALE LEAD, a.k.a Kyeong Nam.
But we all have to believe that they're such a nice couple and perfect for each other!
This drama would have done way better if it had focused more on dating in the virtual world aspect or delivered the romance between the leads sooner.
The acting has been the talk of the town with this drama. I'm not sure what the writer and director had thought when they put Ji Soo with these many good actors, but it was clear as day that she was the weakest link.
Her acting is quite alright sometimes, but when you put her next to Seo Kang Joon, Seo In Guk, Jo Han Chul, etc., there is no place for her to shine. Maybe if she were in "Love Phobia", where everyone was bad, she could have shown a different side of herself.
6/10
First impression: Please, don't let this be a lot of misunderstanding drama
Last impression: This was full of misunderstandings, drama...
Synopsis: Sunwoo Chan is a bright and lively animator who works at an American animation studio. Despite his cheerful energy and positive facade, he’s a mysterious figure who hides a lot of secrets. Song Ha Ran is the eldest among three siblings and a renowned designer. Her natural artistic sense, creativity, and work ethic have earned her a solid reputation in the industry. The drama depicts the story of Sunwoo Chan, who lost his hearing and memory through an accident, and Song Ha Ran, who becomes his saviour. (Mydramalist)
This was supposed to be a healing drama, but somehow my anger skyrocketed during it.
The plot is about nothing, yes, there is some healing, especially on Ha Ran's side, but it's been going in circles for the longest time as the main leads act like they don't have phones and even face-to-face cannot speak properly. Even in historical dramas, you could find a better way to talk with each other rather than running everywhere searching for the person.
Thankfully, this drama doesn't only include the main leads; we also have the whole family to look at. (If it had only been them, this drama would have been dropped quickly.)
The middle sister is less annoying and has some really fun moments with her love interest, but it feels like the writer gave up on putting everything in the right place. There is no backstory to the guy (he has more of it than Kyung Nam from "Boyfriend on Demand), but it ends up just being cliched and boring.
They could have pulled off that his father killed her parents or something.
Grandma and the old man were kind of cute together. Everyone in this drama had to have some kind of childhood connection, and of course, they are the first perpetrators of it.
It is no wonder the granddaughter cannot communicate properly with her partner when we have the same thing with Na Na. However, here she has a man who knows how to deal with things better.
The youngest sister and her boyfriend were the cutest. They have this "first love" story, which can be endearing at times. They're still naive, learning, and the most tolerable, as they have an excuse of being young and dumb.
"In Your Radiant Season" had some potential, especially from the first episode, but it was just badly structured. For example, the anniversary of their parents' death: the youngest sister starts shouting how she doesn't remember her parents, and it escalates so quickly with barely any notice.
Most of the time, she's worrying that her boyfriend is cheating, then we get a scene at the cemetery, where she seems annoyed about something (this is the point where she's thinking about how she doesn't have memories of her parents), and then in the next scene, she's crying and shouting.
It was also clear that by the end of the drama, both writer and director had given up on it. Most of the episode was a 30-minute filler from previous scenes.
At some point, you have to trust your viewer to remember some stuff by themselves.
There were also scenes where you can see that it was just not edited/filmed properly, and the mistakes are quite visible. A.k.a getting stuck in a 'snowstorm' where there is barely any snow around...
3/10
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