Don
US
This review may contain spoilers
Why are you not watching this drama right now?! Why are you still here reading this?!Fantastic, from beginning to (almost) end. Here’s a few adjectives: Creative, swagalicious, crazy-wtf epic, pee-in-your-pants funny.
Characters: I could not, for the life of me, hate a single character, not even the bad guys. Yes, they were flawed, sometimes too flawed, but isn’t that what makes them more complex and, you know, human. I had read some comments about how much they hated Hang Woo (one of the 4 main characters) in this one scene, followed by liking him in another scene, then wanting to strangle him in another, then back to wanting to have his babies (oh, you guys). Although our actions may be black or white, our human hearts are not all black or all white. That character did very bad. Yes. Then, he did very good. Okay. That character is either bad OR good. No. That character is human.
Music: Zero complaints. Fit the scenes. When a song helps move a scene along and send chills down your neck for what’s about to go down, somewhere, out there, a music director deserves a hug (and a basket of cookies). (-1, not memorable)
Does it drag: Not once. Even when it seems like it is, think again.
Is there romance: Yes.
Is there a lot of romance: No.
Is it actually funny: Yes. The scenes following episode endings are hilarious.
Will I hysterically laugh: Likely.
Will I cry: My heart’s partly made of steel, so I can’t properly answer. There’s actually very few tearjerker moments.
Almost a perfect score. Why not? Was it not a happy ending or a satisfying drama: Happy, you betcha. Not satisfying (as a whole).
Rant with potential spoiler: There were some plot conveniences, nothing big (-1). There was a two episode extension, but an extension to the extension could have helped. That, or the ending could have been better executed (-1). I wanted more from the romance department (not asking for the whole cake, just a slice). It was a bit awkward watching the relationship, of one of the main couples, advance, as there wasn’t much chemistry to begin with, as there weren’t many romantic opportunities to build chemistry (without deviating from the plot). The story started in one direction and shifted to another towards the end, with a somewhat clichéd and not-as-creative-as-previous-episodes ending. ***I wanted a bigger final showdown between the male leads or have all main characters join forces against the bad***. I wanted an epilogue. I need a part 2!
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Acting/Cast: Korean actors were excellent. The ones that stood out to me were the princess and the villain. Painfully awful foreign actors.
Music: Honestly I can't remember it being fantastic, but I also can't remember it being bad.
Characters: The script may have called for an over-the-top bad guy, but, personally, he was so exaggerated it was funny. I couldn’t hate the guy, annoyed maybe; instead I wanted to skip his parts. I appreciate how they really took their time molding Prince Jae Ha. I grew to like and admire him. Heroine Hang Ah's personality softened and became less bubbly, as her new environment and love interest required. However it became - Combat-mode: Hurrah! Not in combat-mode: Interest lost. My favorite characters were the young princess and the 2nd male lead. Her character was beautifully written and you’ll find it easy to fall in love with him.
The foreign characters (for the most part) where just misrepresented; it made them out to be pretentious, self-righteous buffoons. Apart from the acting (talk about cliché), I actually felt insulted, and I don’t even know who to blame - director?casting director?writer?actors?all of the above?
What I liked about this drama: the action scenes, the romance, the bro-mance, all around some good ole’ psychological warfare. I had no hopes going in, so I’m not disappointed. Towards the end: The romance between the leads lost its spark and the bro-mance was still cute but not as strong. The characters, to me, are the heart of drama. The problem was that, yes, I liked the characters, but, no, I was not emotionally invested in either of them (didn’t love, didn’t hate). There were so much emotions bouncing off the walls. Very little of it hit me (I only almost-teared twice).
I would have given it a lower score but, minus the cringe-worthy foreigners and the villain (hey, you might like him) there was just so much more awesome.
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