Goodbye Earth (2024)

What would you do if you had 200 days to live?

This drama actually blew me away. The low ratings really scared me at first, I was wholly expecting a hot pile of garbage. But watching the first episode I was entirely and extremely pleasantly surprised. While I must admit the first two episodes were kind of patchy and had a rocky start, the development of the story was certainly something incredible to watch. It is WAYYY more than just about the world ending. It's deeply philosophical, political, emotional, uncomfortably realistic, and eye-opening. The story was so unique and had so many layers, I liked seeing how some of the plotlines ended up intersecting at one point, and how it ultimately always came down to the wellbeing of the innocent souls (children especially) being harmed by selfish and greedy humans.

It reminds me of the short drama Monstrous, where both works reveal that humans are inherently evil, and society is a f*cked up place rid with black souls ready to ensue chaos at any given moment to fulfill their greed for worldly desires. But the main message is that, of course, the consequence of this greed and selfishness will never be good. I enjoyed Sungjae's story the most, because it seemed most of the drama revolved around the church and the support system they created for their community during these trying times. JSW's emotions and gaze during many of his scenes, especially the city hall memorial scene and fasting period scene, WOW, actual chills. Special shoutout to all the main cast because they were all amazing. I was especially excited about this drama ever since it was first announced because all my faves were in the main cast, seongwoo, eunjin, yoonhye, and they CERTAINLY did not disappoint. They were perfect. I have never watched a YAI drama before, and honestly I was fully expecting they would cut him completely out of the drama's footage, but he had many scenes! His character was nice, but nothing that stood out for me, personally. I enjoyed seeing eunjin and ahin together more, they had good chemistry and their love story was really interesting to watch given the context and both of their situations. I LOVED the dynamics between the four friends, they were worked so well together. Obviously I was very excited for a Diary of Prosecutor eunjin x seongwoo reunion, but they barely interacted tbh LOL. Also a ton of bromance between YAI and JSW, so good, really unfortunate that YAI didn't actually get to promote the drama with the gang.

This drama has overall given me very much jdrama vibes, and i guess this makes a lot of sense because it IS based on a Japanese novel. Within the plot there is just a lot of ruminating and reminiscing and enjoying the little moments in life, even amongst a catastrophe like the world ending. But I quite enjoyed that aspect of it. Because, HONESTLY, if we were to face a countdown to the end of the world right now, what else could we do besides just go on with our lives until the end? Maybe create a bucket list and do everything we've always dreamed of? Or maybe panic ration, remaining in denial that the world is not ending? Or maybe do something bad, because the world is ending anyways? This drama showed pretty much all of those aspects of human nature, which I really really loved, because it made the drama and story feel so real. I am highly considering to read the novel this drama was based off.

Overall, I think the MDL rating for Goodbye Earth is way too low, it doesn't deserve such a low rating. I think the YAI scandal just caused a lot of people to start the show with very low-expectations and the fact it was more slice-of-life and slow-paced rather than a thrilling action plot probably gave a lot of people whiplash, leading to the overall low rating. I recommend giving it a chance! It might be your cup of tea if you usually prefer slow-paced plots with more slice of lifey elements rather than fast-paced plots meant to keep you on the edge of your seat. This drama most closely reminded me of a drama I watched recently, the korean drama Live, which is that intersection of slice of life with crime, emotional topics, and thriller. It is certainly NOT everyone's cup of tea.

The only reason I give this drama a 9 rather than a 10 is because while the whole drama was so good, the ending felt a bit vague and I didnt feel like it was quite enough closure for all the characters. It could definitely use a special movie sequel or something, I need more 😭😭😭 Like I'm actually gonna miss them so bad, I got so attached to the church gang. The scene at the end with the doggy and sungjae was the CHERRY ON TOP, it was for me >>>>>>> also ina lesbian agenda is SO REAL AND TRUE

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The world may come to an end, but it will never be in anyone's hands

I'm writing this review as I bawl my eyes out from this unexpected conclusion. I never saw that coming at all even though I've read countless of spoilers here. Heck, you guys should have told me.

Desperation comes for when you have everything you could lose, but it comes in the form of letting it all go and losing yourself. Goodbye Earth presents the bitter truth of our society within an apocalyptic dystopian setting. Although fictional, it says a lot about human nature and the innate drive to survive regardless of morality and dignity. We tend to sacrifice everything for what we thought was the greater good but we end up losing ourselves in the process. 

I figured the reason for the low ratings are either the disappointment about Yoo Ah In's reduced screentime or it's about how most of the people here expected a typical action-packed-end-of-the-world-series where people are crawling from the ground for their lives to be saved, yet this drama went deeper than that. It goes beyond natural disasters and people running for their lives. It went for the horrors of existence and the heart-wrenching reality. As for YAI, he is actually pretty much reduced to a side character despite being initially a lead role as well which is one of the biggest flaw of this drama. There were many unanswered questions regarding the story of Ha Yun Sang. It didn't ruin the drama per se, but there's certainly feels unfinished. But it made me happy that his screentime is pretty huge for someone who's character is already reduced. Ha Yun Sang is a key figure of the drama and I hope someday they'd release a director's cut version. Please don't let his hardwork go to waste.

The cinematography is superb and it was able to immerse the viewers with each scene. Fantastic color grading. The casting is chef's kiss. Each and every actors and actresses did a phenomenal performance that was able to tug my heartstrings. It's just that it felt a bit too rushed. I think it's supposed to be a 16-episode drama. Oktokki's character wasn't given enough backround and spotlight as well. Yet, I'm probably going to cry over the characters for a period of time and I probably won't be able to move on for awhile.

The plot is really something else. It was able to portray the harsh realities of life and circumstances that aren't far from truth if we ever get to be in such setting. It wasn't just a drama about a stupid asteroid. It was a wake up call. It was designed to open our eyes about the atrocities and injustices in the world we live in. But it also showed the heartbreaking fact that no matter what we do to change the world, as long as there are monsters in power, we are bound to fall unless we work altogether as one. One person may be enough to move so many, but one person will never be enough to put an end to everything. Jin Se Kyung and Kang In Ah are the proof. We, people, are inherently born with an instinct to survive. Yet, we are also born with rationality. We are not supposed to be monsters stepping over each other to survive, we're supposed to help each other hand in hand and it's not that hard to do. Yet we are blinded with money, power, and recognition. As if we are what the world revolves around with.

Will I watch it again? I'm probably going to rewatch the last episode just to cry about it again. The ending definitely feels like it's what the director planned as an ending, yet it felt really incomplete. It wasn't about the asteroid. It was never just about it. It's probably due to the many cuts they had to do due to the issue. Yet it feels like it's the ending that's really supposed to happen, and it doesn't help because we didn't get any closure. It left a very heavy feeling in my chest to watch the drama end just like that. It definitely wasn't something we'll ever expect.

In conclusion, "Goodbye Earth" is a haunting exploration of humanity in the face of impending doom, offering a philosophical take on life amidst an apocalyptic dystopia. While the narrative may not cater to those seeking action-packed thrills, it profoundly delves into the essence of human nature and survival. Despite its flaws, such as the underutilization of Yoo Ah In's character and the feeling of an unfinished storyline, the drama succeeds in presenting a stark, realistic portrayal of societal collapse and moral dilemmas. The superb cinematography and stellar performances elevate the series, leaving a lasting impact. Ultimately, "Goodbye Earth" challenges viewers to reflect on their values and the true meaning of survival, making it a compelling and thought-provoking watch. And remember, the world will never revolve around you.

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Its been good , and could have been better

ML look like he was high in Episode 5 when he visited city hall,
and director shoot that scene like that and don't even edited it out Great..
most of time ML look at FL he look like a Pervert then her lover....
Girl and her Boyfriend and her ARMY Friend and her Pastor Friend
all are 1D character boyfriend is boyfriend army friend is just army friend
i like Army Captain were a fan or crush on her after watching her in shooting stars,
so i was more interested in her story but Director just focus on Stereotype strong woman image, Army girl who is strict with a iron wall build around herself, has no weakness not feelings
she don't have a love interest when she is around so many handsome soldiers , since she is the captain she cant have feeling for solider below her rank and there isn't anyone that is above her, and those above her are old uncles
WHY male can have crush on FL who is below his social status as CEO and his Assistant but Female cant have those to make her look strong it just made her look old fashioned stereotype ,
i wanted to see her have love line or flirting to make her more human then only a army girl and a friend, she is also a woman and human being with a lot more feelings
you don't like someone after seeing there rank in army, she is cute and pretty but no solider got a crush on her ?
i know this is Dooms day drama, and they have 199 days left to live so , that more important to give more your own feelings and desire then trying to look cool Captain.
main couple love story was boring as someone mention FL has more chemistry with Army Captain then her Boyfriend who half Seens where cut,
In ah needed a partner other then her Bestie FL or any other thing with her so she wont look 1D character just a solider nothing more then that,
You father 2nd ML was useless for most of the drama,
his church was useless

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BORING

First episode, we got all these characters thrown out on us. Onto the 4th episode, still a bunch of characters without any background story. I mean, you know what their role is, but don't know who they are. Which left viewers with no connection with anyone of these characters.
Plot was all over. They didn't do a good job of showing the flashbacks. Making it confusing without much to differentiate between the past and the present.
Episode 1-4 just all about drugs and human trafficking. So boring how they took up 4 episodes on just that.
I don’t think this will have a season 2. Lol

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One word, DISAPPOINTING

Watching the trailer I really had my hopes high. But it was sooo slow and barely anything related to End of the World. The first 2 eps, I was like okay them taking their time for deeper story build-up but Nope, the whole series was like that, bland. At least their acting was good otherwise I wouldn't have been able to skip n finish Watching. They got such good actors for every role but what's the use if the story and main plot is lacking-_-
And the last few episodes, I waited for the boom asteroid blasting ending BUT NOOOO, they even robbed us from that. It was really really trash plot. Maybe they could've gone for another base line story, rather than going on bout goodbye earth, it should've been Goodbye my stars n removed the whole wnd of the world BS.

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