Marry My Husband doesn't want you to think about it that hard

Okay, I’ll say it: I really really didn’t like Marry My Husband.

That’s not to say that it’s a drama without redeeming qualities. While I might have resorted to “hate-watching” at some point, Marry my Husband always felt addictive and binge-worthy. There was always something exciting going on. The over-the-top nature of this show certainly prevented it from feeling stale or boring. The acting performances were??? okay??? Probably??? Everyone does too much all the time but hey, that again works for what this was trying to be. The fashion choices also made me laugh at points (why did she wear a wedding dress to a class reunion???). That’s not a strength of this show, but at least I got great enjoyment out of it.

This is most definitely a Makjang drama and I knew that going in, which meant that the lack of realism was never going to be a factor in my review. Prolonged silliness was what I was signing up for. Still, Marry My Husband left a bad taste in my mouth for reasons I still find difficult to articulate. Is it wrong to dislike a story for feeling mean? Because personally, even though this show bent over backwards trying to make me loathe the villains, I still didn’t get much enjoyment out of them getting their karma. Ji-won transforms over the series from a victim into another vapid mean girl. That in itself is a topic worth exploring but I am not entirely sure if anyone in the writing-room even considered that my sympathy for the protagonist could only last that long. The message is less that cruelty is wrong, more that cruelty directed at the wrong people is wrong. The goofiness of the plot and insanity of everyone’s performance constantly clashed with the severity and realism of the presented issues. Setting another woman up with a man you know to be abusive is an incredibly hard sell. The show only could attempt said feat by making sure that their female antagonist didn’t feel like an actual woman. Su-min had to be comically evil so no one in the audience thought about the implications of the plot. But in doing so, they also robbed me of all the fun I could have had with such a story to begin with.

But okay, even though this drama really doesn’t want me to, let’s talk about the implications of Marry My Husband and Ji-won's mission. When Ji-won is facing domestic abuse, Marry My Husband rightfully recognizes her situation as pitiful. But when Su-min is presented with the same fate, it’s fine because ultimately Su-min is a lot less likable. She’s just getting what she deserves. Women are only victims when they haven’t done anything wrong.
“But Ji-won had to act this way because someone had to fill her place in her abusive relationship”- cool, in-universe this is totally true. But Marry My Husband doesn’t exist in a vacuum. This rule in its worldbuilding only exists, because the author decided to write it. No one made them do that. Even worse, this creates a cycle where abuse is a necessary evil. Someone has to be at the end of the stick. And we have to choose the least likable person who deserves it the most.

This show also has a very strange relationship with class, which I found very questionable. Most villains in Marry My Husband are lower class. This is not necessarily a problem but it sure is noticeable. And the one time there is a valid criticism of class society, it gets dismissed entirely because it comes from the least sympathetic guy in the entire show.

Also, even though this is a classic exercise in Girlbossism™ arguably too much of Ji-won's revenge was reliant on the aid of her rich chaebol boytoy who was just a dreadfully boring character. Booooo, I am throwing tomatoes.

Maybe this is my fault. Maybe I just wanted something from this drama that it was never interested in giving. One-dimensional villains that you can just hate certainly still can be fun. I loved the arguably similar The Glory for that exact reason. But even though she was pure evil, I had fun watching The Glory’s villain. Because I could recognize actual attempts to make her feel somewhat real instead of a straw woman.

When I voiced my concerns about this show, I was assured time and time again that it’s “not that deep”. This is just a silly Makjang drama. Its main purpose is to just entertain me. Granted, it did that. Against my better judgement, I sat through its insanity. But I ultimately am the one who decides if it’s that deep to me. You're free to take away from it whatever you want, but what if I'm dissatisfied with the surface level? Marry My Husband might not want me to ask the big questions. Well too bad because I am asking them anyway.

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Death's Game toys with some very sensitive topics

Hm. Huh. Much to think about.
I feel like this critique is less of an examination of whether I enjoyed Death’s Game because I did, I had a lot of fun with it in fact. No this is more of a critical analysis of how K-Dramas continue to mishandle the issue of suicide.

As far as my actual review goes, I think this is a more than competent show. The premise is fresh and out there, the acting is overall very solid. It’s a visually stimulating and flashy drama. At times actually too flashy. Sometimes more is less, I feel, especially when it comes to sub-par CGI. I’m not going to fault the series for looking a tad cheap at times because I find that somewhat endearing, but occasionally it felt like they were throwing every visual effect in the book at me for no particular reason. So, there’s that. Other than that I really like the look of Death’s Game, I felt the gore especially, which shocked me every single time, was somehow still really tastefully done, if you can call dismembered bodies tasteful, that is.
The plot structure might have been a tad wonky. I kind of felt myself preferring the first few episodes for their pace, that being one person’s life being dedicated to roughly one episode. And the revenge subplot kicked in a bit late and then ended a little early, in my opinion. But I mean, I wasn’t bored or anything like that. Death Game was an overall thrilling drama and it most definitely made me think. But my thoughts might not have been entirely in line with what this drama was trying to convey.

This was a show which clearly considered itself to be very witty but more often than not, that attempted wittiness felt more smug than actually intelligent. Considering what prevalent and pressing subject matter suicide is in Korea, it’s rather strange that I can’t think of a single piece of Korean media that I think handled the topic well. Maybe it is the fact that that would warrant a more nuanced discussion about systemic issues. About stigma around mental health, the insane pressure Korea puts on its students and workers, outdated structures etc. Maybe that would not necessarily make good television. But for a story that I assume is supposed to function as some type of suicide prevention, Death's Game felt incredibly judgmental.
Our protagonist is literally sent through hell and back for struggling with his mental health. He is punished with physical and mental pain for feeling alone. How dare you feel this way? See the anguish your feelings have caused? You’re selfish. You’re cowardly. Cho Yi-Jae wants to die, and the best alternative this story seemingly had to offer was: Noooo don’t do that. Which, fair enough, I agree, you shouldn’t kill yourself. Suicide is bad for a variety of reasons, shocker. But what Yi-Jae needed, what this show needed was compassion. Someone killing themselves might seem like a choice. But the human mind is deceptive. What appears to be a choice often is not truly a choice. This story frames it as if our protagonist willingly abandoned his mother and girlfriend. And he selfishly decided that their love wasn’t good enough to stick around because he had failed in his career. But to presume and then perpetuate that those who fall victim to suicide did not have concern for others is wrong and harmful.

I don’t think that every story needs to be an after-school special. I don’t think every narrative has to be centered around what would be the morally correct answer. How dreadfully boring would that be? But suicide is a topic so incredibly delicate and if you get it wrong, there are actual repercussions. Imagine someone having those thoughts that Yi-Jae is having, watching this show, and the answer that they get is that they’re arrogant and that hell is waiting for them. Granted, if that deters them from taking their life, that’s good. There are no bad reasons NOT to kill yourself. But I don’t think that this was a super productive approach. Choi YI-Jae spends this show ironically enough literally living for other people. And sometimes that’s enough for a while. But that conclusion can also feel like a heavy burden to carry. I feel like Yi-Jae deserved the conclusion that he should stay alive regardless. Not only because you don’t want people to be left with the grief, you’re going to inflict, but because life is simply always worth living. Stay alive because your mom is making your favorite food next week. Stay alive because you’re not caught up with your favorite TV show. Stay alive to finish the book you’re reading. Stay alive because you’re not out of shampoo yet. Stay alive because honestly, most problems in life are temporary.

By the end of the drama, nothing has changed for Yi-Jae except for the fact that he has been through additional trauma he didn’t need. He had all these different lives to try and live out and nearly every single one was more terrible than the last. How much more powerful would it have been to reclaim life because he genuinely wanted to? Because he was reminded that no matter how hard it gets, on some days you get to see people you love and sit in the sun or see the city lights? Yi-Jae stayed alive because the alternative was hell, but what we needed to see, was that life on earth can be heaven sometimes.

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Is it camp though? GAP and the messy politics of lesbian representation

We did it folks, Asia’s first full-length Girls Love. There is a lot to say about what GAP represents. As the name suggests, this was an earnest attempt to well, close the gap for lesbian representation in Thai cinema, which is mostly known for its variety of BL content. It's a groundbreaking drama that's breaking barriers for sure, but did it break the mold of mediocrity? This review will be a wild ride so let’s strap in (no pun intended!).

I’ve been advised to go easy on this drama and I will do my best. I fully recognize what GAP means and represents for Asian sapphics, and I also recognize that no one involved in this was going for art-house cinema. And I myself am also not immune to charming cheesy trash. But I can’t write this review without addressing GAP’s quality in some capacity.

Since I am trying my hardest not to lose my lesbian-license it might be a good idea to ease in with the good stuff:
GAP’s cinematography is a bit of a hot mess but it does have its more stylish moments. Surprisingly enough those ended up being the sex scenes. I genuinely felt like these were the visuals that the director put the most thought into (I will not comment on how I feel about that) and I appreciated that GAP didn’t feel the need to dial the steaminess down just because it featured two women instead of men. This was an aspect I had been largely worried about before GAP even aired. If BLs are produced primarily for a female audience, would that mean GAP would be produced for a male audience? The fact that the director/producer was male, didn’t ease my concerns. I feared that what I would be served was bound to be a product of sheer fetishization. But I also did not want GAP to feel sexless, just because it had female protagonists. Women having sexual desires is cool actually. Well, I am happy to report that I actually had no issue with how GAP portrayed lesbian sexuality. The male gaze might be impossible to escape but it was subtle enough that I, a bitter lesbian, could still get something out of those scenes.
I struggle with critiquing an actor’s performance, especially if it’s in a language I am not very familiar with, but I will say that Sam’s actress Freen brought a lot of charm and humor to her role. Sam is a bit of a bitch and while I don’t think that her character was executed brilliantly, I also recognize that a lot of measures were taken to make her more likable, which is an effort I can appreciate. One of those was making Sam sufficiently awkward, something that the actress embodied pretty well (maybe because she did feel a bit awkward, who’s to say). I appreciate this effort even more so, after I have been informed, that Sam actually behaves a lot worse in the source material. I think softening those edges was the right move for sure. But script changes aside, I thought that Freen’s characterization came across as charming either way. Charisma is a difficult thing to evaluate because it’s very subjective and also innate to a person, so it might be something that you can’t really praise someone for but I do think that Freen really did the absolute best with the material she was given.
I don’t want to imply that my favorite aspect of a lesbian love story was a male character but I do have to earnestly commend the show for Kirk. The show’s main antagonist is Sam’s grandma, someone so comically evil that all that’s missing is a big mustache she can twirl. Kirk is not that. In fact, Kirk is the guy that everyone at the office loves. Someone that at first glance might even seem like an ally. The guy your friends insist you should marry because he seems “like one of the good ones”. And Kirk is an absolute douchebag. This was a character that appeared likable, had solid motives for the way he behaved, genuinely believed he was doing the right thing, and he still managed to be a huge asshole in a way you had to build up to. Kirk didn’t “suddenly turn out to be evil” because he isn’t and he never has been. But his crime was entitlement. He believed he was entitled to the company as he believed he was entitled to Sam. It’s, dare I say, an attempt at social commentary, that managed to be both subtle and effective all in a show that tended to be painfully on the nose. Kirk as an antagonist amidst the mess was truly a breath of fresh air, I think the casting choice was also great. Choosing some BL-heartthrob to portray him was the right call.
I guess as far as representation goes, this is pretty solid. We obviously have two morally dubious sapphic disasters for our protagonists but we also have one trans woman who is not entirely played for laughs (and one that is….) and a butch/masc lesbian which is something you rarely see on TV these days. None of these characters are entirely “unproblematic“ representation but that is also such a boring standard to uphold so I can live with a little messiness if it means that we get a more diverse cast.
This is such a small thing and I am not sure if it even was intentional, but the OST when something 〜shady〜 was going on and when Sam and Mon were getting down to business were pretty much alike. This furthered the impression that their relationship was a bad and ominous thing that was happening. This might not have been what the show (that presumably is first and foremost trying to be a love story) was trying to imply, but since I have been blessed with both eyes and a brain, this was a conclusion I inevitably arrived at. The OST seemed to point at the concept that Sam’s and Mon’s inherent toxicity was supposed to be text instead of subtext, which I thought was neat at least.

The bad:
One fun fact about me is that I have severe scoliosis and awful posture which is why my physician ordered me to do extensive physical therapy for an entire year. This painful progress might have been erased entirely by sitting through this show as I had to watch it with my head permanently tilted. I am not exaggerating, nearly every second shot of GAP is a Dutch-angle (tilted picture). Sometimes this made sense. A Dutch-angle creates a certain uncomfortableness, an eeriness if you will. Also: Sam is in a higher position than Mon. The scales are tipped. But more often than not this was a creative decision that puzzled me. It’s obvious that the director just thought it looked cool so he decided to use it ALL THE GOD DAMN TIME WITH NO THOUGHT IN MIND. I thought about making a drinking game out of it but that would have been a genuine health hazard.
What is it that this company does? This is an office romance but I m not even sure what this office is ordered to do. Something something social media something something. I wouldn’t care about this if it didn’t play such a big role in the overall plot. Also: Sam wants to keep her company and we’re supposed to think that she is deserving of that but we never see her work ever. It is implied that she is harsh on her workers because their performance determines whether she can keep living her life or will be married off. Well girl, how about you do some work then? I get it, it’s inherent to the cruel nature of the exploitative capitalistic system that the CEO never does any actual work and only leeches of their employees so this is quite accurate to real life but GAP is a silly romance and I am supposed to root for the undeservedly rich. I can’t do that if I never see Sam actually achieve anything. Every little success is due to the work of someone else and it’s not because of her management style but despite of it. To a wage worker like me, this is quite the hard sell. And I actually kind of like Sam and for her to be a bitch and a bad boss at the start of this show is fine, but we never see the needed character development from her. Sure, she warms up a bit, but arguably not nearly enough to excuse her prior behavior.
Sam and Mon suck. Not nearly as much as individuals as they do as a couple. It’s not so much that they’re unhealthy, I think the show knew that to some extent and I don’t think all love stories in fiction need to represent what is desirable in real-life. It’s more that they were… annoying? Which is a weak criticism, I’ll admit. But their constant bickering never seemed worth what they were getting out of the relationship. I was never sold entirely on their love. They had chemistry, sure, but that is very little to build a relationship on. If this was supposed to be a fatal-attraction sort of deal where they cannot keep away from each other despite how unhappy they make each other, this drama also failed to address that in a productive way. I like messiness and flawed, dumb people (I myself belong to said demographic), but Sam and Mon only seemed to always reunite because the narrative needed them to. Not because they were good together or it seemed like something either of the characters would want.
The sound quality was pretty atrocious in a way that I can't explain how it even got like this. Some passages of dialog were completely fine while others sounded like they were recorded with a fork. But I am not a casual lakorn-watcher and I have been informed that for a production of this size and budget, this is quite normal so this is probably just something you have to get used to and I am willing to let this one go.
I want to address the plot but it’s difficult to critique something there is so little of. Which is fine, intricacy is not what anyone watched this for. I guess the story is best described by things happening. One thing happens and then another one. Are those events correlated? Who is to say. But things certainly kept happening, that’s for sure.

So, is GAP an amazing show? God no. Is it an okay show? Also no. Should you watch this? I don’t know, I honestly don’t. I don’t know if I am capable of celebrating something solely for what it might represent. And I can’t recommend this show no matter which framework I use to analyze it. But yet I find myself wanting to. I once wrote that there are two schools of thought when it comes to LGBT+ representation: Either “we want stories that represent our experience, even if painful at times” or “we want access to the same rom-com escapism that heterosexuals get”. And personally, I see value in both. The problem is that I don’t think that GAP managed to deliver either one though I can certainly see attempts in both. There are some hints of social commentary and there definitely is the over-the-top rom-com storyline. But GAP is not good, it simply isn’t.

Is it camp though?

Define “camp”, please. Well, camp describes “art or entertainment that deliberately does not follow traditional ideas about what is considered good in order to produce a humorous effect”. The two types of camp that exist today are purposeful camp and unintended camp. As the name implies, intentional camp refers to the purposeful use of camp in humor. Unintentional camp results from naïveté or poor quality or tastes. It’s “so bad it’s good”, it’s the love of the unnatural, artificiality and exaggeration. This sounds like an insult but truth is that camp and the LGBT+ community have been intertwined from the beginning. Being excluded from mainstream society and mainstream art meant that we had to create our own. And this is where we got our ability to celebrate the ugly and weird. Camp evaluates tasteless kitsch whereas the bourgeois feuilleton high culture scorns it. The camp's level of sensitivity ranges from intense adulation to sardonic, disinterested amusement. Therefore, the definition of kitsch and camp is mostly subjective. And in my subjective perspective, when I look at GAP and see the nonsensical plot, the questionable performances, the Dutch-angles, the fake crying, and the constant yelling, I see camp.
Is this too little of a basis to recommend something? That is up to you but this is the hill I choose to die on.

I understand why so many people needed this to be good. One of my first comments on here reads “If this show turns out to be bad, I will simply gaslight myself into thinking it’s good”. It’s not just the lesbian representation, it’s the longing for a story that is not dependent on men. And now that GAP failed to be even passable, there is the fear, that no one in Thailand’s entertainment industry will ever try again to produce a WLW-story. But truth be told, I think we will be fine. I have never been a BL-watcher but according to all sources, Asia’s first BL was absolute dogshit and yet the genre found its niche. More importantly, however, while successful representation is undeniably incredibly important, social progress comes first. Good LGBT shows, books, and movies have always followed social changes in the real world, not the other way around. As East Asia becomes more progressive, the entertainment they produce will inevitably diversify. But we shouldn’t put our hopes and dreams in these capitalistic constructs. Our liberation should not be dependent on how much money people can make off us. Instead of hoping that rich men in production companies tell our stories we need to get out there and fight for the rights and resources to tell them ourselves.

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Losing Games

Ah what a shame it is to report that I didn’t love Alice In Borderlands second season.
That’s right: Didn’t love. Not didn’t like, not hated. Just didn’t love.

I was tempted to write my review immediately after finishing the finale but decided that I had to read at least the last few chapters of its source material, to determine how much blame I could actually place on the screenwriters. So, have it confirmed that I am aware that this is accurate to the manga. Okay, that fact acknowledged, I am still unhappy with it.

Alice In Borderland continues to deliver outstanding cinematography. But it also seems to be a case of style over substance. While I wanted to happily welcome this drama’s entire change in atmosphere, many creative decisions invited more questions than answers. Back in 2020, when the first season aired, pictures of the almost empty modern Shibuya seemed to unintentionally mimic a COVID-19 reality. This second season was created during a period when deserted shopping malls and shuttered businesses were more current memories than fiction. Which is why the choice to move away from such images, even if it might be true to the source material, seemed a tad puzzling. While compositions of Tokyo in ruins were beautiful to look at and reminded of post-apocalyptic titles such as The Last Of Us, they failed to generate the familiar eeriness the first season provided.
I thought that at some point, there would be a point to this decision beyond aesthetics. Multiple characters comment on how weird it is, that nature has taken over the city this quickly. How the growth of plants seems impossibly fast. But we never get an answer as to why this development took place. It actually doesn’t do anything for the plot in the long run, except underline how this world “doesn’t seem to function like the normal one”. But we already knew that, because our world also doesn’t contain gigantic Battle-royal-esque games or killer lasers.
When Alice in Borderland featured more familiar settings such a courts, prisons or deserted halls, I found myself in awe of its picture compositions. Now that I have read at least a good bit of the manga, I can truly appreciate how masterfully this show recreates comic panels into moving images. During the games, every aesthetic choice taken felt very intentional.

I don’t want to compare this title to Squid Game because I feel like they both function perfectly as its own thing and they honestly don’t seem that similar to me. However, in my opinion, the deciding advantage this show had compared to the Korean title, was the thought and care put into its games. Squid Game never bothered to feature complex challenges, because that was never its focus. Instead, the games in Squid Game almost had to be arbitrary to highlight the random and cruel nature of capitalism. Alice In Borderland had the privilege that it could have complex trials where the players got a chance to outsmart the system they were up against. It’s thrilling, to watch Arisu come up with complex and clever solutions to challenges that are rigged against him.
While season two does have a few interesting concepts for games, quite a few of them are riddled with logistical errors. The show seems to be aware of that fact, so often the players only can win based on conveniences or by trying to gaslight their rivals. And a good chunk of the time, our characters play no real games at all. Instead of clever challenges, this season wastes a lot of time on action segments that get so repetitive that I almost started feeling bored with them. While these scenes were executed well technically, I found myself missing the days when we were provided with games that truly tested their players. I made the mistake of believing that this show was supposed to be about missed potential. Arisu spent his pre-Alice In Borderland-days, wasting his talents by sitting home and being a NEET, so now he gets challenged to show what he’s actually capable of. But he can’t do that when the majority of this season he is preoccupied with being chased by an almost omnipotent master-shooter.

So then, what is the point, really? What is it all about? When Arisu and Chishuya no longer win by making use of their talents and no longer get a chance to self-actualize themselves, what is this show trying to tell me, really?
The writers seem to wonder the same thing. Which is why we get a lot of dialogues of characters philosophizing out loud. A lot of subtlety is lost that way but Alice In Borderland has always been everything but subtle. What does it all mean? Why are we still doing this to ourselves? What is the meaning of life?
Those are all valid questions. Problem is, no one in Alice In Borderland seems to have an answer for anything that has been going on. While the drama's last episode got closer and closer and none of my questions got answered, I worried that I would be subjected to a finale of tiring exposition. But I didn’t even get that, or at least not really. Alice In Borderland fails to answer its biggest riddles, not only about its theme but also its logistics. Who is the mastermind? She’s just a random person. What was her end-goal? Who knows, she doesn’t even seem to be real. Who were the aces of the game and how did they even get to this position? I don’t know and it doesn’t matter because turns out that all of this has just been a mass hallucination.
When Arisu had his last conversation with the gamemaster and she gave him multiple possibilities of what the reality behind this world might be, I found myself preferring every single one of them to the real one. The one where all characters willingly put themselves through a cruel simulation in the future, because they were so bored with their lives, could have been a powerful commentary about how we the viewer also seek thrill in gruesome fiction to distract ourselves. A world where the rich and powerful bet on the players as a form of entertainment, might not have been particularly original, (hello Squid Game, hello Hunger Games), but it would still have had a tighter theme and message than the actual ending. Hell, even the visual of Arisu trapped in a mental hospital could at least have been haunting. But then the show's mastermind literally laughed in my face for believing that the finale could have been something cooler than what it ultimately was. I was a fool for thinking this show was about anything meaningful in particular. What is the meaning of life really? The gamemaster gives the answer to the viewer: “Life is a game. You should try to have fun.”
So there you have it, the theme of Alice In Borderland is to turn our brains off and have fun.

Arisu walks out of the experience and we have to just believe that he is a changed person. But even if that should be the case, the reason in his fundamental change does not lie in the things he learned while playing games, he doesn’t even seem to remember any of them. He’s changed because he lived through a traumatic environmental catastrophe that tragically killed his friends. He doesn’t get to remember all these times he has been clever or brave and he doesn’t learn about the potential within him.

Here you go, those are all the reasons I ultimately felt let down by this finale. Rest assured, I did find myself turning off my brain at some points and having fun. I loved the character King Of Clubs, I cried over Ann's and Hikari's tender moments of friendship. I found myself smiling at Arisu's and Usagi's blooming romance. But ultimately this show has been all spectacle trying to make up for its very apparent flaws. Like an elephant in a hot spring. It’s beautiful to look at, sure, but eventually, you ask yourself how it even got here.

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On aliens and alienation

I am sorry about the punny title but it was either this or "Out of this world" and I feel like this one causes less physical pain.

A lot can be said about Glitch but conventional sure isn’t the word that comes to mind. Watching this drama as soon as it came out while following the reactions online has been a wild ride indeed. This isn’t supposed to be about other people’s opinions, this is my review, my thoughts, but I was perplexed by how badly this K-drama bombed. Reading the initial impressions, it sometimes felt, like I was watching a different show entirely. Upon further consideration I am adding a very mild spoiler warning to my review here, I won't go into any detail about how this story progresses, but will talk about a few elements of this show that were not mentioned in the synopsis or tags. So here you go: VERY MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!

I think the one thing the majority of watchers can at least somewhat agree is on, is that the performances are the aspect where Glitch shines the most, though this was to be expected considering the stellar cast this show provides. Our two lead actresses are of course especially to be praised here. Their dynamic and chemistry might be what this drama thrives on and Nana and Jeon Yeo-been add charm and believability to their roles. But even less prominent roles, like Boras squad of conspiracy theorists or overwhelmed policeman Kim Byung-jo, had their moments. Even Hong Ji-hyo’s abducted boyfriend who had little to no presence, felt like a somewhat fleshed-out character all thanks to his actor’s performance.

But my personal favorite aspect of this drama might be Glitch’s distinctive look and style. It’s quite challenging to present yourself as a sleek-looking drama, while also featuring a ginormous blue alien in your first episode. I will not be too soft here, when it came to extraterrestrial beings, the CGI left something to be desired, but the drama was kind enough to not rely on their presence all too often. When we’re not subjected to computer-generated monstrosities, Glitch remains a surprisingly artistic show, especially at the times where it does get more experimental. Lighting and colors played one of the biggest parts here, switching between soft warm tones when we’re shown flashbacks of Bora’s and Jihyo’s past and the cold blue-and-green tones we’re used to from our sci-fi-flicks. I especially have to commend the usage of green-tinted lighting, whenever a situation was supposed to be uncomfortable or unnatural, it really generated the feeling the script needed. But shot composition, cut, and camera also stood out here. The hand-held camera shined in fast-paced action scenes and in general Glitch very rarely felt or looked static. If there is one thing I have to critique when it comes to the overall look and feel of this show it’s the (rare) moments of slow-motion that always felt entirely out of place to me and like a misguided attempt to stretch shots that might have been too short. But this might just be my personal preference.

This might be where agreements about Glitch end. The plot and script are where opinions tend to differ drastically.
Pacing is something this drama has been harshly critiqued for. While it is true, that Glitch’s start felt somewhat slow, it does pick up speed after four episodes. But I would actually go so far as claim that the show‘s arguably monotone beginning was needed, to create the atmosphere the drama relied on. That’s because we follow the story through Ji-hyo whose life also feels like it has come to halt. At thirty she works a monotone job she doesn’t seem to care about, still lives with her parents, and isn’t willing to take the next step in her long-term relationship. All she’s trying to be is normal, boring even, while she desperately attempts to ignore all the things that make her different, attempts to even ignore the side of her that wants to be different. Things accelerate drastically for her after she reconnects with Bora, so it’s natural that the same goes for the overall essence of the show. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea and it does take some commitment to give the show a chance and see where the plot takes you, but personally, I enjoyed that Glitch took its time.
That the viewer experiences this story through Ji-hyo’s eyes also means that we’re bound to be confused as the plot escalates. Glitch keeps its audience on its toes and toys with plausible deniability. What is hallucination, what are aliens, what is the cult? The viewer doesn't know anything more than the protagonist does. We feel lost because Ji-hyo does too.
This does not excuse the few plotholes Glitch sadly contains. I fully understand frustrations with the ending, a few too many knots were left untied for my taste. So I am not arguing that the plot’s structure is flawless, God no, but I do feel like the pacing of this show isn’t nearly as off as many claim. Some stories just take time and I’d rather be along for the ride than for a script to feel rushed.

“But this isn’t what I signed up for! I wanted sci-fi and aliens! This is too weird!”
Not trying to come across as condescending or pretentious but I am once again begging people to read between the lines when they consume media. Glitch isn’t the conventional alien tale it seems to be at first glance because it isn’t trying to be. And it also doesn’t have to be that in order to be good. Because what is hidden under layers of UFOs and religious symbolism is the story of Ji-hyo’s emancipation. It is a tale of a young woman trying to escape the norm and her passive role in society. It’s about feeling like you literally don’t belong on this planet, like you yourself might be alien because you do not fit the mold people are trying to force you in. And it’s about the role that religion plays especially for people that feel alienated, a tale that showcases how simple it is to persuade them to believe once you have earned their trust. How you can influence individuals to believe in a religion based on self-interest, force them to see UFOs, and make them question everything they thought they knew.
I thoroughly enjoyed this show, it’s rare to come across stories that are entirely female-centric without even the hint of romance (unless you count our two female leads who honestly had enough chemistry to go steady). I got a lot of joy from the portrayal of female friendship. Bora and Ji-hyo’s dynamic worked excellent. But I also just genuinely had fun with this plot and was fully invested in it. Yes it was strange, that’s what made it good. I can certainly say that this wasn’t anything I had seen before.

I shouldn't care what others think but I really really wish people would give Glitch a fair chance. “Too weird” should not be a valid critique, especially when a story is obviously more interested in being interpreted than literal. It’s frustrating because Asian cinema already very often relies on the suspension of our disbelief. How out there or downright Ludacris a plotline is, doesn’t seem to be relevant in romance dramas but as soon as a story requires some form of critical thinking, people shut the door on it. Others obviously are allowed to take away from this show whatever they want, I am not trying to imply that everyone who rated this low is a simpleton who just didn’t get it but I do think that there is a lot more to this story than what meets the eye. I am not trying to argue that Glitch was anything close to perfection, just a lot better than people gave it credit for.

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Tomorrow seems to be a step behind

One can’t say that they didn’t try. In fact, they tried so so hard. Impressive visuals, from shot composition to visual effects, big, big emotions and genuinely good acting moments, relevant subject matters and an important message- Tomorrow went all out. And yet, I am feeling lukewarm about it.

Let me tell you what I sincerely enjoyed about Tomorrow, and there is plenty because my heart is not made out of stone, believe it or not: This drama balances a thin line between goofy comedy and over-the-top tragedy, that I think, sort of worked a good amount of the time. The silly moments gave the viewer a much-needed break from all the heaviness on screen, without taking away from the seriousness of the topics. That can largely be attributed to the characterization of our leads, who all had great chemistry together. I genuinely loved all our four protagonists and the end had me shedding a few tears.
Episodes two and three had some visually very impressive moments, I am not just talking about the quality of the CGI, there were clearly also very creative ideas and strong aesthetic concepts present, and while I feel like the rest of the drama was not able to live up to the standard these episodes set, it was still appreciated and overall Tomorrow was a stylish show nonetheless.
Eventhough I was not always happy with the resolutions the narrative offered (I will go into more details soon), there were a few episodes, or at least moments, that tucked on my heartstrings. While undeniably cheesy most of the time, Tomorrow offered genuinely bittersweet moments that were bound to move the viewer, and at the end, I couldn’t help but feel at least slightly touched by the hopeful messages this show at least tried to convey.

But I can’t help but think that Tomorrow just fell short on more levels than I can ignore. Suicide is a touchy topic obviously, and it might be too complex and nuanced for this format. This doesn’t mean that you can’t try but you are bound to run into a few problems sooner or later. There are so many factors that can drive a person to end their life, and those don’t need to include those larger-than-life tragedies the drama relied on. I often feel like Korean cinema does too much when it comes to tragic backstories, they just pile tragedy on tragedy to the point where it almost feels comical. This becomes especially troubling in this format, where the concept is to introduce and resolve a complex issue in the same hour. And even when the narrative wasn’t centered around unnaturally huge disasters, the time constraints this drama set itself, weakened its genuine-ness. Sadly, recovery is not a straight line. The right words at the right time might put you on the right track, but the road to betterment will inevitably include a few steps back at points in your journey (wow have I run that metaphor into the ground yet?).
One of my favorite episodes featured a woman battling an eating disorder. The plot didn’t rely on over-the-top tragedy, the dialogue was at its most poignant and genuine and I feel like this episode was probably one of the more relatable, comforting and helpful ones. But by the end, I could not help but think that the problem had been grossly simplified. The character who had been determined to terminate her mental-illness-ridden existence like a week ago is seen smiling and eating again by the end of the episode. And I won’t say that I wasn’t moved by that moment, that it didn’t put a smile on my face, but to someone who has seen the effects of eating disorders firsthand, this conclusion came across as a bit weak. And I get it, the actual nuance of the topic might not have been a satisfying story. It might not have fit the hopeful message this show is so desperate to convey. You want to show the audience that the character is recovering because that is how illness is usually portrayed: as a challenge to be overcome or a war to be won. Illness is a story told in the past tense. But it’s never that simple or pretty. The actual story of illness might have been less feel-good. But it also might have been the more realistic, important story to tell.
Here is the problem of Tomorrow simply put: Depression doesn’t make good television. That sounds harsh but it’s true. Mental illness is not a three-arc story with a satisfying conclusion. It is a never-ending battle that you have to pick up every single day. And that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t get better, or better said, that you don’t get better at fighting, but it means that when your plotline is centered around suicide, you can’t provide your audience with a clean happy ending without coming across at least a bit ingenuine. No deeper issues or the roots of those were discussed. Every problem seemed to only exist at surface level and could be resolved with the right monologue. It felt like at points, Tomorrow was more concerned with giving its leads witty one-liners that save the day, instead of portraying the complexity of the present issues.

There are a few more problems with Tomorrow, the episode centered around a suicidal dog felt laughable, ridiculously out of place, and almost sort of insulting to me, considering the heaviness of other discussed topics. The episode around a veteran was so oozing with patriotism and propaganda, that it was almost difficult to stomach. The main conflict between Ryeon and Joong-gil could, in theory, have been resolved at any given point in the story, so it felt like a plot point dragged along for drama’s sake. The actual rules the suicide-prevention-team has to follow, are incredibly unclear and seem to only matter when the narrative relies on them, there were multiple moments where the cheesiness of this drama got unbearable for me et cetera et cetera. But compared to my main issue with the show, these criticisms seem minor.

When I look at Tomorrow, I see a drama that is desperate to make me feel better. I see a country, that has one of the highest suicide rates in the world and doesn’t seem to understand why. I see a team of people that genuinely tried. I see a story that failed to understand its own nuances.

You can call me bitter; you can look at my review and say that I simply didn’t get it. That the point all this time solely laid in the show’s hopeful conclusions. That it never tried or had to be gritty or complex. That there is no shame in a clean happy ending if it provides someone out there in the world comfort. And you would 100% be correct. If Tomorrow gave just a single person out there hope, it probably did its job. I don’t have to get something, for it to have worth. Maybe this drama simply wasn’t made for me. But all this doesn’t change how I feel. Tomorrow represents a big swing and a miss for me. But maybe I just need to be thankful that it attempted to swing big in the first place.

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How much cheese is too much?

Listen, I like cheese, okay. Literally and figuratively. I like it on my pasta and I like it in my TV-shows. The world is a cold, cruel and uncaring void. Every story that tells me that goodness and kindness and miracles and magic exist out there, is very much needed. I think a big part of the charm of K-dramas is, how unapologetically cheesy they tend to be.
That being said, there comes a certain point in life where you will have to ask yourself: How much cheese is too much?
I feel like I know my answer now.

Clearly The Sound Of Magic offers enough redeemable qualities, otherwise I would not have sat through the entirety of it. I think our magical lead has the charisma expected of the role. I think some of the choreographies were kind of fun, especially the opening scene of episode one. Sadly, we got very few numbers with the same energetic vibe but it was still appreciated. The acting across the board is solid, albeit a bit over the top at times. There were moments of neat cinematography and a few creative ideas. It was not all bad, definitely not.

I guess this is the one K-drama where I cannot ignore the music? I don’t particularly care for K-pop or Korean ballads, so maybe this was doomed to disappoint me. I don’t think any of the songs were bad but none of them stood out to me either. I guess I just needed something a bit more upbeat and energetic. The premise of this show is so stupid and fun, but it was just ballad after ballad. I guess I liked the opening song, and the song by Na Il-Deung dedicated to our protagonist in a field. Or at least these are the only ones I can actually remember because they did not sound as similar as the rest.

The plot is anything but subtle. People are either practical saints or cartoonishly evil. Our female lead had to suffer through so much injustice that it almost felt comical at points, it all just seemed to pile up. I guess this was just too much. All of it. Every single aspect of this show. When our protagonists were riding away on flying carousel horses I was about to give up. It felt like Walt Disney on crack.

Despite my harsh words, I think media like this has a purpose. If this story about a poor girl getting what she deserves was heart-warming to you, that's your right. There is nothing problematic or offensively bad about The Sound Of Magic, so if it brought you joy, by all means, indulge in it. But this simply was not my cup of tea.
Cheesiness is omnipresent in K-dramas but more often than not they also have this tongue-in-cheek self-awareness about it. That was completely missing for me here. The premise was too out there to be played this straight. It's almost impressive how this drama had an actual magician as a protagonist and still was not even a little bit of fun.

How much cheese is too much? This much. I know that now.

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Delightfully awkward, refreshingly sexy and suprisingly empowering - the whole romcom package

Listen, this probably is not 9.0 out of 10.0 movie. The plot is thin, the pacing odd; I will gladly admit to all of that. But what can I say- I am not immune to the charm of a romance done right, and that is why Love and Leashes essentially is. But I am getting ahead of myself.
I was thrilled when I read the premise of this. I think the way sexuality has been tackled as a subject matter in K-dramas in the past has been sufficiently awkward and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen when kink got thrown into the mix, expecting to get a genuine gem or something so bad it just had to be good. I am happy to report that this movie definitely belongs to the first category.

Let’s start with the vanilla part of it all, before we dive into the plot. All the actors are pretty solid. Our male protagonist was a bit stilted and awkward at parts, but nothing that bothered me too much. While this movie isn’t overly sexual compared to Western films of the same genre, there are more than enough scenes that must have been pretty uncomfortable to film, but the chemistry between our leading pair stayed strong, so props to the actors. I thought they both brought a lot of charisma to their roles and I really enjoyed watching their dynamic evolve.
The cinematography is also pretty good. I can’t think of a word better than stylish. Sexy but not too much, to the point where it feels like you’re just looking at raw meat. In fact, this contains very little nudity but still managed to be pretty steamy, which I would largely attribute to the lighting. This is just very cool-looking sleek movie. The cinematography might not have been terribly creative overall but it definitely had its moments. I also thought the way this was cut added a lot of charm, the office scene (you will know which one hehe) especially stood out to me, I enjoyed it a lot.

Ok now let’s get to the meat (terrible choice of words, I apologize):

I haven’t read a single chapter of the webtoon, so I had absolutely no clue what the heck I was getting into but I can’t help but acknowledge how healthy this romance was! When it comes to bedroom-activities I want to everyone to do as they please as long as it is consensual. That being said, sexuality does not exist in a vacuum. I don’t want this review to be a deeper discussion of the ethics behind BDSM, as I for sure am not an expert on the subject, but it’s worth noting that, from a storytelling-standpoint alone, it’s difficult to justify why someone would get enjoyment out of beating the shit out of their partner. Dominant and submissive- these ideas are all about power. It is an incredibly delicate and difficult task to tackle that subject without immediately falling into unhealthy tropes. A story about such a relationship gone wrong can still be meaningful and interesting- but you have to be aware of the toxic dynamic as to not accidentally glamorize abuse. Many other stories have tried and failed the exact same thing (looking at you 50 Shades Of Grey) but for the first time ever I feel like I was offered a believable and healthy glimpse into the world of BDSM.

So what has this film done differently compared to other popular kinky franchises? Let’s first talk about the obvious: our dom is a woman. This might sound trivial to some people but for me this played a huge part in the power dynamic of this couple. As mentioned in the paragraph above, our typical relationship-patterns are not something that have appeared out of thin air. The woman taking a passive role and the man taking the dominating one- that is not a phenomenon that just sort of happened but the result of a deeply patriarchal society.
I want to avoid comparing this film to the 50 Shades-franchise too much because it’s simply too good to be branded as its Korean counterpart but since both tell, or at least attempt to tell the stories of women falling into the world of BDSM and finding sexual liberation, I will have to draw a few parallels:
In 50 Shades we have impressionable and painfully naïve Anna who is being coerced into her partner’s lifestyle. Christian is her first ever boyfriend and other than his attractiveness she virtually has zero reasons to be into him, as he tends to be extremely cruel to her, even outside of the bedroom where it’s all supposed to be part of the play. Anna never seems to make peace with her partners fetish, she just learns to love him despite that until he finally overcomes his trauma and gets over it.
Ji-woo on the other hand is confident and outspoken, those being the very reasons Ji-hoo starts to feel attracted to her. He treats her with immense respect, constantly making sure that she is okay with the whole thing, as he is worried about traumatizing her. She gives him the clear okay for a BDSM-relationship, does extensive research on the topic and gets to explore fetish on her own terms. Ji-woo takes an active part instead of just taking it. We actually see her find joy in taking the lead and being playful and kinky in the bedroom.
Our male love interest here, does not have to be taught to be vulnerable, it’s a core element of his part in the relationship. That alone made for a much healthier romance than I have seen in countless vanilla love stories. Neither does he have to overcome his kink, unlike Christian Grey. Instead Ji-hoo, while being aware and open about his his fetish, is still on a quest to find self-acceptance. This means that he, just like the female protagonist, has to grow into his role of the BDSM-partnership. Our pair gets to explore new things together because they are both equally inexperienced. There is balance in the unbalanced. Their power might be unequal in the bedroom but in the real world both characters maintain a healthy relationship as they figure out how to navigate a master/servant-dynamic together.
But the film doesn’t stay uncritical of the dangers that come with a kink built on an offset power-dynamic. Not only is there a scene dedicated to “fake-doms” abusing their power, our female protagonist herself has to learn the boundaries of her role. The film makes it clear that just because Ji-hoo is a submissive, does not mean that he is entirely passive or anything close to pathetic. Clear communication and respect are still what their relationship thrives off.

It makes a huge difference whether you’re watching a female character grow into the role of a submissive partner or a dominating one. I don’t want to give the impression that I think that every woman that enjoys getting spanked is singlehandedly upholding the patriarchy. As I said, everyone should do as they please as long as it’s consensual, but Love And Leashes makes a much better and more convincing case for female sexual liberation. And ultimately makes a more interesting story, especially taking cultural differences into account. While sexism is an issue everywhere, when it comes to emancipation, East Asia still has a very long way to go. Women being submissive isn’t just role-play, it’s the societal norm. So it is not surprising that Ji-woo expects her coworker to be the dominating type after learning of his fetish. That role already reflects what we as a society expect out of a man. But getting to see Ji-woo find genuine joy in fulfilling her role as a dom was strangely empowering to see. This was a genuinely educational, romantic glimpse into the BDSM-world. They treated the subject matter with the respect it deserves while still being lighthearted enough to work as a romcom and I can’t recommend it enough. While this might not strictly deserve the high rating I gave I think this charming film excels exactly at what it is trying to be with all its flaws and awkwardness. Love and Leashes is a must-see this Valentines-day for everyone looking for a refreshing take on a truly unconventional relationship.

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A fun ride with some inconsistencies

Is how I would describe the experience that is All Of Us Are Dead. After feeling let down by Netflix's last few darker K-dramas, my expectations for this were rather low, but looking back on it, I am actually surprisingly pleased with this series.

All Of Us Are Dead is an eye-catching show in many ways. For starters, it definitely didn’t hold back when it came to gore and edge. Which I greatly appreciate actually. I wasn’t familiar with the source material but when I originally read the summary, I was under the impression that a highschool setting meant, that the target audience of All Of Us Are Dead was supposed to be teenagers and that the violence would be accordingly mild. Let me tell you, it is everything but. I can’t remember the last time I saw this many heads rolling and guts spilling out. Truly a sight to behold.
Aside from that, I think this series has pretty solid cinematography. The shot composition was visually stimulating most of the time. I think the simplistic single-camera really shined here. The action- and fight scenes were choreographed surprisingly well. Honestly, the show looks its best when all hell breaks loose. Suspension was high. I was on the edge of my seat throughout numerous scenes.
I really enjoyed the performance of our female protagonist Ohn-jo. She was my favorite character by far but I feel like I am in the minority here, as I have read countless complaints about her being annoying. I actually can’t relate to that sentiment at all, I found it very easy to root for the female lead. I haven’t watched any of the actress's previous work but considering that she is rather young and seemingly inexperienced, I thought she did a pretty convincing job.
I also appreciated the rare moments of comedy (well, most of them, not sure what to make of the two cops, to be honest). They didn’t feel out of place to me, instead, they were much needed to take off some edge from this dark dark drama.
In the series’ more humane moments, feel like I got to connect with most of the cast and got an idea of their dynamic with each other. In a very weird way, I was reminded of The Breakfast Club, the way our group of widely different angsty teens was forced to work and bond together. Just, you know, with more people dying. A lot more. While you have characters getting killed off left and right, most deaths felt impactful, which is difficult to pull off when your body count is this high. This for me signifies that All Of Us Dead did a solid job with setting up its characters and making me care for them, even if their screen time was comparably short.

But this show sadly also has its dull moments. I am not going to list every single plothole, for the sake of avoiding spoilers and also because this isn’t Cinema Sins. Also, unpopular opinion, I don’t care that much about stuff like that. This is a zombie series; my disbelief is already suspended. The only real crime you can commit as a story about the flesh-eating undead, is bore me, which this show definitely did not. Still, you have to accept some level of idiocrasy going into this. If logic is terribly important to you, I imagine that you will be frustrated a lot here. Everyone behaves rather irrationally but I mean, they’re teenagers. That’s what they do. Still, I can understand where the outcry is coming from, multiple moments don’t make a whole lot of sense if you really think about them for longer than a second.
I appreciated All Of Us Are Dead's attempt at social commentary but I don’t know if it was always warranted here. I don’t think zombie films have to be dumb, if you have something important to say, by all means, go ahead. But I think this show tried to say so much, that it ended up conveying very little. Maybe pick a message and stick to that one to avoid feeling like an After School Special. At its best, All Of Us Are Dead’s societal critique felt a bit preachy and on the nose. At its worst, it felt entirely out of place and took me out of the story.
The pacing started off great. The plot was developing fast and I was fully immersed in the experience. And then somewhere along the way All Of Us Are Dead got kind of lost with segments that took up way too much time. The last few episodes felt a bit draggy as a result. I don’t mind the typically ambiguous Netflix ending but since we started off so strong and plot-dense it seems like we got a lot of set-up with comparably little pay-off.
I struggle a bit when it comes to evaluating acting- I can vaguely tell what makes a story good or bad. Or what makes cinematography less or more interesting. I don’t possess the same talent when it comes to performances, it’s even more difficult for me when it’s in a foreign language. But for once I can point at one specific performance and go “Wow that was not exactly great”. That critique goes to the actress of Nam-ra. I am so used to Korean actors doing too much, honestly, overacting is part of the charm when it comes to Asian dramas. Well for the first time ever I witnessed a K-drama actress doing too little, it was honestly kind of puzzling to me. I understand that being stoic is part of the character but Nam-ra’s actress just gave me nothing, absolutely nothing at all. Maybe it’s because most of the time she did not have anything interesting to do, besides saying pseudo-poignant things at the entirely wrong time. Her chemistry with her love interest (who is also a rather bland character) was also close to non-existent, by the end, I honestly shipped her more with our female protagonist.
Speaking of romance, it also belongs to the show’s weaker qualities. I didn’t mind Cheong-sans and Ohn-jo’s developing relationship that much, but maybe this is due to my weakness for the Friends-to-lovers-trope. The love triangle???square??? though, felt entirely unnecessary and took up way too much time. It’s incredible that everyone had time for this petty drama while they had all these zombies to deal with.

I sometimes curse the day Train To Busan premiered. It seems like the existence of the movie alone has made it impossible for people to critique any piece of Korean media with zombies in it, without somehow comparing it to Sang-Ho Yeon's masterpiece. Even in universe, the title has to be somehow referenced, apparently, it’s just unavoidable.
Listen, is this the next Train To Busan? No, absolutely not. But I don’t think it has or tried to be. I think there is an important dissonance between entertaining and objectively great. At its best, All Of Us Are Dead was both but even at its worst I was still having fun, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what really counts?

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All is fair in love and war…

… And this is a little bit of both.
Delightful is the one word that comes to my mind when trying to describe Our Beloved Summer. I will not lie, this series nearly lost me in its second half, but now that is done and all wrapped up, I can’t help but miss it. I try not to have too high expectations in dramas these days no matter what I hear as to not set myself up for disappointment and then be too harsh on a show, as it has happened in the past, but I couldn’t help but be excited for Our Beloved Summer before it even aired. I love the cast and the mature concept and good God- I just love a mockumentary format. It’s a trope that I will never ever get tired of. So yes, I would say that had pretty high hopes for this drama. And while this is definitely not flawless, it still delivered what I wanted from it.

Even at its weakest moments, Our Beloved Summer felt comfortingly youthful from start to finish. The actors, as expected were great. I adore Kim Da-mi, I find her oh so charming and looking at the webtoon, she seemed like the perfect choice for her character. And without a doubt, she definitely did end up being my favorite aspect of this romance. Gook Yeon-su is such a great female protagonist, I couldn’t help but fall for her. Strong-willed, smart, competent, cold but never cruel, childish but never annoying. She was just a wonderful lead.
Second lead syndrome also definitely hit me hard here, Kim Ji-wung was my second favorite character by far. I read many complaints about him being hung up on a girl for years despite having little to no contact with her and while I will gladly admit that he was annoyingly whiny about it at parts, I always viewed Ji-wungs affection for our female protagonist as an extension and manifestation of his jealousy towards Ung: His best friend already got the restaurant chain named after him, the loving family to come home to, how come he has to get the girl as well? So even though I didn’t necessarily agree with our second-leads actions at certain points, they made sense to me from a storytelling-perspective. Him being in love with Yeon-su didn’t feel like a plot point shoe-horned in for a love-triangles sake, it was pretty clear from the beginning on, that his romantic attraction was entirely one-sided. Instead, his unresolved feelings were something for him personally to overcome, and considering that, he felt like a more well-rounded and realistic second-lead than what I am usually used to from my K-dramas.
The chemistry, the most important thing in any romance, was definitely there. Our two leads were great together and a joy to watch through all their bickering and loving scenes. It’s hard to convince an audience, that two characters are good for each other even if you see them constantly fighting and making each other miserable but I think this was achieved here. There was never a doubt in my mind, that our two protagonists deeply cared for each other. Their relationship felt heart-warming and believable and I just had a lot of fun watching them interact.
I don’t think that Our Beloved Summer’s cinematography was necessarily anything special in terms of shot-composition but the color-grading definitely stood out to me and largely contributed to the youthful vibe of the show. Also: the documentary format worked excellent here. The many hand-held shots made this feel even more intimate, like I was genuinely eave-dropping on this couple and experiencing their love with them. The interview parts also fit in really well and were the shows main source of humor. In not many stories do we get to see the dissonance in how a character views themselves and how they actually behave, I thought it made a really fun addition to the show and allowed me to get to know the two leads on another level.

But I had mentioned in the first paragraph that this show nearly lost me in its second half. Even though this is a pretty mature and fresh story in concept, I can’t help but feel like this series still fell into all too many K-drama tropes it really didn’t need.
I loved Ungs family, they were incredibly lovable characters, but I am so sick of secret-adoption plot-lines. No matter how maturely they are handled, and I feel like Our Beloved Summer did its best with it, they always seem so cheesy and needlessly melodramatic to me. Like, was this plot point really necessary? His adoption wasn’t something for Ung to work past, he kind of just makes his peace with it without any major events, and I wouldn’t say that this detail about his past really added to his character. The whole thing felt like something written in solely for a plottwists-sake. I don’t think you need to justify a character having adoptive parents, unconventional families are definitely something that should be represented more in media, but I much would have preferred it, if Ungs adoption hadn’t been like a grand reveal or something his parents kept from him. If this was an attempt to further normalize adoptive families, I think it would have been much more sincere and overall tasteful, if Ung had simply been adopted by a loving family, aware of that fact and at peace with it. To me that way, this plot point would have felt much less out of place.
Speaking of out of place, I don’t know what to make out of NJs character. In no way did I find her unlikable or unpleasant, if anything I think she is rather cute but something as glamorous and otherworldly as an idol didn’t really fit into a story that, other than her, felt pretty grounded and somewhat thrived of its relatability. I don’t know, I have to admit that I enjoyed her dynamic with Ung but I can’t help but feel like her presence took away a lot of realism from the show.

However, both of these flaws really didn’t bother me all that much, they were just minor things that took me out of the show a bit. My main critique is something else and it’s a sentiment I don’t think is shared by many people. In my opinion Our Beloved Summers biggest weakness is Ung himself.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Ung, he is funny, kind, intelligent and thoughtful. He is basically flawless, perfect even. But herein lies the problem: Ung is too perfect.
“It is her fault we broke up”, is something Ung says about Yeon-su in one of the first few episodes. Through the majority of this show I was under the impression that this attitude would be something he would have to overcome. That Ungs weakness was supposed to be his ignorance about his own shortcomings. Very rarely can you blame a break-up entirely on one person, I thought that would be something he would have to come to realize. But then a weird thing happened: The plot validated his thought-process.
It is very subtly implied, that Ungs immaturity and sunny mindset are the reason our female protagonist doesn’t feel comfortable sharing her pain with him. That his nonchalant attitude seems othering to someone who has had it rough and I figured that, since he, for the most part, had lived a comfortable life, Ung can sometimes be ignorant about the struggle of others. But then the show portrays it as if that is something for Yeon-su to work past alone. She should just get over it and open up more. It is stated by herself that the reason they broke up was her own pride, no questions asked why she never felt completely safe to share her burden with her boyfriend. Ung never has to self-reflect. He is someone that was wrongfully left by his girlfriend because she had issues to overcome. His carelessness not only gets portrayed as something that makes him more lovable but as an actual strength Yeon-su has to learn from. Meanwhile her strengths, like her strict work ethic, are actually also portrayed as her biggest weaknesses that made her miserable all her life while her ex-boyfriend got to follow and achieve all his dreams.
I don’t understand why so many K-dramas are so terrified of giving their male protagonists actual tangible flaws to overcome. Maybe it’s because romance dramas mainly serve as female wish-fulfillment and the writers are terrified that we will lose interest if the love interest is not perfect in every single imaginable way, but it is something I am starting to grow really tired of. It’s especially tiring because Yeon-su is such a great example of a perfectly imperfect character, with an equal number of strengths and weaknesses. She had an actual character arc, wisdom to share but also things to learn. I just feel like the same thing can’t be said for our male lead. That is why this felt more like a story about Yeon-su’s growth than like a story about two people both working past their issues to rekindle their relationship. That didn’t make this drama unenjoyable, I love Yeon-su and her learning to open up was still an interesting character arc I enjoyed watching, but I just think that this show could have even better if it had provided Ung with chances to grow as well.

All this doesn’t change the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed Our Beloved Summer. I feel like 2021 had been somewhat disappointing on the romance-front but this drama truly was a breath of fresh air. Hopefully this is a good sign and I can expect more out of 2022. Despite its flaws, Our Beloved Summer really felt like summer to me, keeping me warm through this cold winter season.

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As nutritious as cotton-candy (and just as sweet)

I’ve never necessarily loved Chinese romance dramas for a variety of reasons but I’ve had a rough start into the year which is why I was looking for something wholesome to soothe my troubled mind.
Well I am glad to report that Put Your Head On My Shoulder served its purpose!

This is so sickishly sickishly sweet, if this show was any longer it would be health concern. But there are actually a bunch of things that I genuinely appreciated about it.
For starters, I really really liked the female lead. I found the performance of the actress a bit cringe-worthy at times (does this woman ever stop smiling??) but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy her character. Often, I find myself annoyed by the female protagonists in Chinese romances, often they’re painfully naïve, incompetent, endlessly forgiving and chase after the male lead (who usually doesn’t even deserve it) to an embarrassing degree. Well, none of these tropes were present in this drama. I had a really easy time rooting for Situ Mo, she was confident, witty and funny and also good at her job. She wasn’t a genius but she wasn’t a complete idiot either. Situ Mo was driven by her emotions but never irrational or irritating to watch. She had an actual personality outside of her love life, had hobbies, interests and friends. She got along with other women, was never threatened by them or petty and treated even her romantic rivals with respect. And I also really like that she wasn’t afraid of taking the lead when it came to progressing her relationship with her housemate. Long story short, she was a complete person before falling in love. Never was she reliant on the male leads help, she was doing her own thing and chasing after her dreams, it was truly refreshing to see actually.
Another problem I often have with Asian dramas in general but Chinese romance dramas especially, is that I simply don’t see the appeal in a hypercompetent, arrogant male protagonist. I might be in the minority here but I find the idea of a perfect man whose only flaw is his ego so so incredibly uninteresting. When I read the premise of this drama, I thought that was what I was getting into with Gu Wei-Yi. But he turned out to be one of the most charming male leads I have seen in a long time. What can I say, I just enjoy watching a guy who is a little bit pathetic. And this is exactly what Put Your Head On My Shoulder delivered. Gu Wei-Yi was such an embarrassing loser, an academically smart idiot, a simp, as the teens would say. And I couldn’t be any happier about that. The first few episodes, when this show tried super hard to convince me that this character was supposed to be the coolest most intelligent dude ever, I found myself a bit bored by him. Only a bit further into the drama, when it got more and more clear that this man 1.) was down bad and 2.) had no clue what he was doing, I was truly charmed.
A lot of the comedy of this show came from Gu Wei-Yi embarrassing himself, which I really enjoyed. I am so used to the female protagonist being the butt of the joke, but this was rarely the case here. I think this was very needed to make the power dynamic of the lead couple more balanced, as the male protagonist was supposed to be a handsome genius that every girl desires and Mo Situ just a regular woman. He was also responsible for her living situation so all of this could have turned really toxic very quickly. But making Gu Wei-Yi incredibly socially awkward put the odds back into the female leads favor and I had a fun time watching this guy try super-hard for our protagonist even though this show initially tried to convince me that he was way out of her league.

The biggest weakness of this show has a name and it’s Fu Pei. I am usually soft for the childhood friend second lead, nope, not the case here! Man does this guy suck. Not only was he super unlikable and a borderline creep, he was also oh so boring, His prior relationship and dynamic with Mo Situ was poorly established and so was his further character development. Luckily you can just skip all of his scenes and miss exactly nothing, that is how irrelevant he was.
I also found this drama a bit redundant the second our lead couple got together, because, as mentioned, I think most of this drama’s comedy and charm lies in Gu Wei-Yi chasing after Mo Situ, but I also understand that you can’t stretch this plot line for longer than like 15 episodes so maybe this show could have done with like 16 episodes instead of 24. But the later episodes were still somewhat enjoyable to watch and I found them charming enough so I am nitpicking here.
Also: this is definiteley a drama that will make you cringe a lot, I don't think that that has to be a bad thing, often enough the show was self-aware about it and making the viewer feel embarassed was part of its charm/humor but it's something to watch out for if you're especially prone to second hand embarassment. I dare you to watch any of the "spicier" scenes with a straight face. Or any scene where any character soeaks English, it's a tough ask, believe me.

Put Your Head On My Shoulder is like cotton candy. There really is nothing to it except for its sweetness. This drama offers nothing of value, no themes , deeper ideas, barely any plot to be honest, but that was never what I wanted from it. I thoroughly enjoyed this show for its simplicity. Through the entirety of its runtime, I found myself expecting some kind of major conflict, that one of the characters would have a depressing past, that there would be a major love triangle, a big fallout, anything that would disrupt the peace I found within this, but to my surprise that moment never came. And you know what, I am glad it didn’t. There are times where I am looking for maturity and realism in my love stories, this wasn’t one of them. There is nothing wrong with silly wish-fulfillment and media that makes you feel nothing but good. Life is depressing enough, sometimes after a long day, you need shows like this.

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Deadly charming

Gosh, what a show! It‘s been a while since I was this charmed by a drama but this did it for me.
What can I say, I love everything about Inspector Koo, even its flaws, which I would argue, make this even more endearing. Yeah, it’s riddled with plot holes and conveniences, yeah, the performance Mrs. Koo gives, is a bit strange and over the top, but man, that’s all part of the experience baby!
I am struggling, trying to take this show apart, and truly critiquing it because, for the first time in a long time, I was too entertained to pay attention to the details.
In no way is this a realistic crime thriller, but I don’t think it has to or even tries to be one. Somehow this show managed to be intelligent while having the most Ludacris plot ever. Inspector Koo definitely knows its strengths and you will catch yourself suspending your disbelief to new extremes simply because you’re too hooked to do anything else.

How refreshing to see a K-drama that is truly driven by its women. Female competence all around. Inspector Koo is a quirky anti-hero that you cannot help but fall in love with and Na Ja-hee is one of the coolest women of K-drama in 2021. But I especially lost my heart to psychopath and dream-girl K. Most people probably already know her from Kingdom but the only drama I saw her actress in before this, was some sleazy lesbian-fanservice 5 minute-episode web show. But man, she did such a fantastic job here! I was having fun whenever we got to see K on screen. No matter how deranged or downright evil she was acting, it was nearly impossible for me to hate her, that’s how much I enjoyed her performance here.

However, the biggest strength of Inspector Koo is its distinctive cinematography and cut. This is a drama that stands out because of its style. From opening to its montages, this show felt fresh, interesting and most of all: charming. Never did this drama go the easy route of conveying something, even simple scenes of people casually talking to each other were visually stimulating, thanks to the quirky look and feel of Inspector Koo. I was strongly reminded of the cinematography of Scott Pilgrim Vs- The World, which I love. The color and quick cut took the edge of the dark premise of the show and made this thriller fun without making the gruesome crimes of K feel trivial.

The OST is SO DAMN GOOD!!! I am not someone that cares for K-drama soundtracks or even K-pop, not at all, but I’ve been listening to the OST non-stop ever since I watched the first episode. It’s so catchy but never felt out of place. I found myself grinning ear to ear every time Round And Round by TRRP came on.

Inspector Koo is a silly drama, but it’s not a stupid one. I would somewhat compare this dark comedy with Vincenzo, which I also truly loved, but Vincenzo was a show that felt like dumb fun, with not much else going on. And that is not a dig at Vincenzo, I adore that show. But with Inspector Koo, I think there was more method to the madness and yet it doesn’t feel like it tried as hard. Amidst all the weirdness, there is something genuinely poignant and important about this drama. What is good, what is evil? And what should judgment look like, when those two ideas start to blur more and more?

I strongly strongly endorse this drama, I would even go as far and call this my personal K-Drama of 2021. The 8.2 does not do this show any justice, this is criminally underrated, in my humble opinion. Yeah it has its flaws, Inspector Koo‘s acting, as mentioned above, the plot holes, and at certain points, the plot was kind of slow and repetitive. I might be overly generous, I will gladly admit that, but no matter how hard I try to be objective, I just can’t stress enough how much fun this drama really was. TLDR: I think Inspector Koo is absolutely brilliant.

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Pretty but soulless

The Silent Sea seems to have all the right ingredients, from premise to set design to casting, but unfortunately somehow failed to truly grab my full attention.
I don’t consider my time with this show wasted at all, I did sit through all eight episodes in three days after all, but this is not a drama I see myself ever coming back to nor thinking about ever again

Visually speaking, this is a very impressive show. Probably the most expensive-looking Asian drama I have ever watched. The CGI definitely didn’t disappoint. And yet, for the most part, the cinematography didn’t leave a strong impression on me. Not implying that it was bad, not at all, I consider this to be a pretty visually stimulating drama, but it wasn’t anything more than competent. None of the shots felt bland or flat per-se but I can’t shake off the feeling, that The Silent Sea just lacked a certain something. Nice to look at, but not particularly interesting. The only thing I can say with certainty is that this show is dark, thematically, but also literally at many parts. So dark in fact, that at many points I was having real difficulties figuring out what was going on. That can be a stylistic choice of course, but I still don’t feel like it was an exactly smart one.

However, in my opinion, the biggest fault of the drama lies in the characters, which I couldn’t bring myself to really care about. For starters, I thought that many of them were too similar in personality. But I also just failed to connect with anyone emotionally. I don’t think that the actors are at fault here, if anything I was more than pleased with everyone’s performance, but it seems like The Silent Sea didn’t leave any room to showcase human emotion. For the most part, I don’t feel like we got to know anybody. There were very few scenes where I got a clear image of the crew’s dynamic with each other. I don’t need media to have banter and funny and witty one-liners every second scene, in a Marvel-movie-fashion, but I still needed something, anything from The Silent Sea that would have convinced me that these are truly individual people with their individual flaws, strengths, quirks, aspiration, and dreams.

Plot-wise I think this show was fine. The premise was what originally attracted me and the twists and turns kept me engaged, but I really do feel like a story can only be as strong as its characters and unfortunately, this drama just missed the mark here.

Please don't read this and conclude that I consider this to be a bad drama, I truly don't but it didn't really leave me feeling anything. It didn't make me smile (which, considering the genre, was to be expected), it didn't make me sad, it didn't frighten me, it didn't even really make me think about anything much.

Would I recommend The Silent Sea? Kinda a tough question. Personally speaking, it didn’t hit the spot, but I also feel like this might come down to a personal preference in genres. If you like science-fiction, violence, and (most importantly) cool-looking space-stuff, I’m sure you’ll have a field day with this. If you’re looking for a more emotional experience, maybe skip this one.

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Too short to be great, competent enough to be good

If I had to describe The Fragrance Of The First Flower in one sentence I would call it a great show trapped in a good show.
Words cannot describe how excited I was when I discovered this drama, I think that usually, Taiwan tackles LGBT+ subjects in its media in a very tasteful and impactful manner and on every level, from looks to premise, The Fragrance Of The First Flower looked like it was going to fill the GL-shaped void in my life. Needless to say, that I was gutted when I discovered that each of the only 6 episodes was going to be barely 18 minutes long. Still, I decided to give this drama a fair chance, even though I had the sneaking suspicion that that short runtime wouldn’t be enough to tell this story. And I’m afraid I was correct.

The Fragrance Of The First Flower is a beautiful portrayal of right person- wrong time. The show’s strength without a doubt lies in its gorgeous cinematography and especially in the colour grading. Every shot had purpose while still being aesthetically pleasing and I really feel like the colours dictated the mood and feel of each scene. Some people have pointed out that the actresses look way too old to play their teenage selves and I will have to agree but I still appreciated bot of the leads’ acting. I’ve also seen people complain about the lack of chemistry between them, but that is a sentiment I cannot agree with. I was fully immersed in the relationship between the two characters. There was a lot of subtlety in their performances which I feel like can be traced back to the subtlety of the script and plot. It was very fitting, in my opinion, that the thing that killed the relationship of the two protagonists in high school before it even began, the thing that triggered Yi Mins internalized homophobia, was the painful reminder of the inherent sexualization that comes with being a young woman. The scene in which the two leads almost kiss for the first time until they are interrupted by a pervert was the one that left the biggest impression on me in the whole show. I think it was a brilliant and subtle way of addressing how lesbians are viewed under the male gaze and how their sexualization makes it harder for young queer women to find themselves.
I also think the scene in which Yi Min finally confesses to her husband that she has fallen for someone else is a really strong one. She is desperately looking for another reason to break up with him because on a surface level, she should be happy. Her husband is not a bad man and she has everything she wanted in her teenage years, the house, family, and the role of a wife. Yi Min is looking for something wrong in their relationship so she doesn’t have to address what is really keeping her from being content.

Still, as I mentioned before, The Fragrance Of The First Flower ended up not fully living up to its potential and I really do feel like its main fault lies in the infuriatingly short runtime. In no way is this drama flawless but in my honest opinion most of its problems could have been addressed, if the show just had a few more episodes, or at least longer ones. Everything felt just slightly underdeveloped and it’s such a shame because all the ingredients to make this really special were there. But you just really need that time to develop a believable relationship between two people and unfortunately, time is the one thing this drama didn’t have and that might be the reason the ending fell completely flat for me.
Admittedly, I am a little salty. The BL fandom practically gets content shoved down their throat (eventhough most of said content to be fair, is not great) while I have to look for ages to find half-decent WLW representation. I just kinda had held on to the hope that this drama would be the one to kick off the success of the GL genre, and I doubt it will. But then again, I fully realize that what I am asking for is the same fetishization that gay men have to deal with, so maybe I should just be happy with what I get.

In the end, I feel like The Fragrance Of The First Flower did its best with what little it had. I have certainly seen way worse and at least I can confidently say that this was an earnest attempt at believable, well-meant representation. I have no problem recommending this show to other people who are also starved for WLW-content. The short runtime might have been what killed this drama but at least this way it doesn’t feel like a big commitment.
I will do my best to be optimistic about the future of GL and I’m sure that dramas like this one pave the way to better WLW representation.

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Confusing and confused

(very light spoilers, nothing major revealed)
As everyone else, I was very excited for Hellbounds release. And I wouldn’t say that I was let down, but I still think that this drama left a lot to be desired.

Without a doubt, this show has a lot going for it, including cinematography and a few stand-out performances, especially coming from cult -leader Jung Jin-soo who had me captivated every time he was on screen. But this is a very plot-heavy show so it feels fair to focus my review of this drama mostly on that.
Hellbound has a few interesting concepts that I really appreciated. I think the most interesting aspect of this show, is how it explores the exploitation of tragedies. How would we act, if the existence of God and hell were confirmed in our universe? Wouldn’t our first instinct be to capitalize on those events? How long would it take us to try and rationalize what is happening, to twist the stories until they fit in our world-view? I think it was very fitting that no matter how out of control the events of the drama got, even after literally proving the existence of Angels of death, capitalism was the one thing that prevailed. That gave the entire show an air of capitalist-realism that I found really interesting. I got a strong Death Note vibe from the whole premise but the story had enough additions to make it feel like its own thing. Analyzing how we as our society would react to such a setting, factoring in the internet, mob-mentality, streamers, and video virality made this feel fresh and relevant. I also know that South Korea has a pretty serious cult-problem so the premise of the show also appealed to me on a cultural level.

So yes, in theory, this drama could have been great. But as the MyDramaList score shows: it’s not. It’s merely alright.
When I first read the synopsis of this show I was wondering, how the hell (no pun intended) they were going to pull off a story as complicated as this one in six episodes. The answer to this question is simple: They don’t. While I could, more or less follow the plot, Hellbound ended up being not only a confusing but also sadly a deeply confused show that doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. A lot of elements, metaphors, and subtext were introduced and then quickly dropped, because six episodes simply weren’t enough to tell this story. I think the best example for this problem was demonstrated in detective Jin Kyung Hoon who, for a good amount of this drama on every level seemed to be its main character but suddenly disappeared when a new protagonist was introduced by episode four. Now I enjoyed both these characters but still was left kind of stunned when the show, past its mid-point, suddenly decided to tell the story from the point of view of someone we never even met before. Then there is, of course, the open ending, which I did sort of expect but at this point, I am very doubtful that we’re ever going to get a Hellbound season 2, and considering that, this story left way too many knots untied for my taste.

Also, and I don’t know where else where to mention this as it’s only a half-serious criticism of the show, but good God Bae Youngjaes baby is ugly. I felt like laughing every time it was on screen. I understand that the majority of the CGI-budget probably went to the monsters and action (and understandably so) but this has to be the worst animated infant I have seen since Twilight.

I read that many people were disappointed with the drama's lack of gore and that many were hoping for an experience more similar to Sweet Home. While Sweet Home is a show close to my heart, this is not the case for me. I think all the ingredients were there to make this drama special. I didn’t need any more blood from it, just a bit more focus. Sadly the potential to be great doesn’t make something great and so Hellbound simply isn’t.
Still, it’s not a total waste of your time. I am not mad about having watched this. The questions this story poses were interesting enough to keep me engaged. There’s enough about this drama to be somewhat enjoyable, plus while the short runtime might have weakened the quality of the show, this way it at least doesn’t feel as big of a commitment. Should you watch this? Sure but lower your expectations. I will say this: If you liked Death Note you’re probably going to get some kind of kick out of Hellbound. Just bear with it for those few episodes. You’re not going to get a whole lot of explanations from this show but a few interesting thesis statements about the state of the world (plus an ugly looking CGI baby).

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