Reviews

This drama has consumed my entire being

I hated mondays and i look forward to mondays now. Ryu Sunjae and Im Sol appeared out of nowhere and took over my life with their epic romance. Their love story was like a whirlwind, pulling me into their world of passion, trials, and triumphs. Every moment they shared was filled with intensity, from their stolen glances to their heart-wrenching confessions. They navigated through misunderstandings and obstacles with a determination that made me believe in love's power to conquer all. I really cant put into words how precious this drama is. If youre wondering whether you should give a chance or not, please do. Trust me on this.

(How do i get over this drama y'all i literally dont know what im gonna do with my life when it ends next week ?)

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A thought provoking drama that is not a Squid Game clone.

My first disclaimer is I fully embrace my bias toward Ryu Jun Yeol so of course I was going to watch this (I know nothing of his dating scandal life because he is my Bae in my head and that's all that matters lol). I also love "Squid Game" and while anxiously awaiting the sequel I was excited to see anything even remotely similar. I never heard of the webtoon so I started watching knowing nothing besides assuming it was another twisted game scenario, so I will try to continue this review with as little spoilers as possible. I think this drama works best if you go into watching this with as little info as the participants. Just know that no, this is not just a "Squid Game" clone, even though the outfits are just as iconic, and the characters are just as "yell at the screen" worthy. This is a very small cast who did a great job of keeping me engaged and invested even when the story seemed to drag a little. If you like stories that explore human nature this is an intriguing, infuriating, and hilarious one.

Ryu Jun Yeol as Bae (appropriate name lol) Jin Soo doesn't disappoint. His adorkable awkwardness makes him the perfect lead to balance out the intensity of the plot. I think every single actor nailed their role, and I will be vague about the specifics because of how much their relationships and personalities drive the story, but the definite stand out in the cast to me is Chun Woo Hee as Song Se Ra... If you watch enough K Dramas you learn to feel a certain way about "Se Ras" and she is definitely on brand. The show focuses a lot on relationship dynamics more than deep connections so to some the characters may seem 2 dimensional, but I think that's what makes the story work so well. The characters don't even go by their names which makes them feel more like archetypes you can easily root for or against. This isn't about their individual stories as much as it's about society reflected and that may be a turn-off for some, but I found it super interesting and even fun to watch until the end.

I agree with many reviews that said the story starts to drag in the last 2 episodes. There is definitely a shift and things get a bit more abstract and surreal but I still think the story is well done as a whole. Maybe the ending could have been stronger if more questions were answered but some of the open-ended things just made me keep thinking about this show long after it was done. They definitely wrote this with the possibility of a sequel in mind so I am curious if it's the same ending as the webtoon or not.

Would I watch this again? Definitely! I'm curious to see if there are any details I missed initially. I was able to binge-watch the whole show in one day so it's the perfect length for a second watch. The performances are also entertaining enough to keep me engaged even knowing what will happen, especially Ryu Jun Yeol's cute antics.

Overall, I am surprised this show isn't more popular. I think it would be unrealistic to think it would match the appeal of "Squid Game", but it is certainly a show worthy of massive viewer numbers and discussion. If you like thought-provoking yet disturbing stories like "Parasite" I would definitely recommend watching "The 8 Show". If you are more of a romcom or light-hearted family-friendly Kdrama watcher then this is not the drama for you. There's no real shocking gore or explicit sex shown but the story is very dark. I look forward to hearing more reactions to this drama as time goes on. I think the brilliance of this drama, and others like it, is that it makes you wonder what you would do in a similar situation, and I finished this drama not quite sure, to be honest. There is also a guilt you start to feel as a viewer that may be the key to why the last episodes aren't as fun, but I feel like even that is saying too much. There is so much I want to comment on but the less you know watching the better.

Want a drama that's conversation-inspiring? "The 8 show" delivers. It may not be 100% unique as far as the premise but it is certainly a memorable stand out in its execution. As much as part of me would love a season 2 if the concept was right I feel like this show was the perfect length for what it was.

And on that note, I should end this review before I am tempted to say too much about what I think, how I feel, and why it works so well... and to me, that's the sign of a great drama!

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Basic but done very well.

I feel mostly the same about the series as I did about the manhwa. I think the story doesn't rewrite the genre in any way or do anything different but it does the basic beats very well. I really enjoyed the visuals in the first episode and I think everything with the production was really nice. It didn't feel overly produced as some things do these days. I loved Jaeyoung's work space and everything about his styling - as I did with the manhwa as well. Everything about him was really well done and he continues to carry this story for me.

Sangwoo got me a little irritated similarly as the manhwa story because I don't think Jaeyoung deserves all the confusion - but they are both stubborn and hence they compliment each other.

Also huge crush on Choi Yuna. Everything about her. Yes.

Now that I've consumed this story twice in different mediums I don't think I'll be revisiting it any time soon, but the artistic components of it I do love and I think will stick with me.

I think this is a cute starter BL and definitely a heartwarming story. I was giggling through some of the scenes and I do wish we got a little more like the final scene of how their dynamic works together post confession.

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Discovered this 17 years later. beautiful tragic love story.

Things you need to know about me: I am a total and complete prude, I don't watch sexually explicit shows, I hate tragedies, and I hate gore. This is all of those. And it was exquisite. (I did close my eyes during the gore -- and there's a lot.) I've watched in four times since then.

This is an intense, emotionally intense sexually explicit/sensual love story. It is highly erotic, and those scenes are beautiful. (and smoking hot too.) But even their glances at each other are sensual. It's not just the sex.

It does not have a happy ending, and yet I was satisfied with the ending. More on that later.

For the homosexual relationship, the king considers the ML as his lover and clearly loves him. But it is a relationship with complete imbalance of power. You can see that the ML had no choice from the beginning, has lived with the king for years since he was a little child, is under his complete control, and is effectively the sex slave of the king. Subtle glimpses of this throughout -- his humiliation that he has to wear the delicate feminine clothes that the king gifts him in front of the soldiers he leads, and the mocking he endures by the other soldiers, who all know he is the "chosen one" of the king.

He is forced by the king to have sex with the FL, but you know that he is intrigued with and interested in her beforehand -- his glimpses of her before this event, and his gentleness in their first forced encounters reveals that. By the middle he is torn between knowing he is owned by the king, and his own love for the FL. He has guilt and despair knowing he is hurting the king. You see ML's experience of Stockholm syndrome throughout the film. In contrast, the two heterosexual main FL and ML experience a sexual explosion that leads them to experience a deep love for the first time in their lives. You see his utter bliss of finally feeling loved and sexually fulfilled after being with the FL in different situations, not just sex. By the middle of the film, you see the ML pursuing his own desires and wishes, and not just being used. He pursued the FL (not just sexually) as opposed to his relationship with the king, where he is the pursued, and, now knowing what love truly is, he has to bear it. For the FL, who is also being used, she also discovers that the ML loves her, and is blissful and fulfilled for the first time.

The three main actors are unbelievable in their parts. The ML actor is INCREDIBLE. His every subtle expression -- you have to see the film more than once to see how brilliant he is.

Why I was satisfied with the ending: despite knowing that their life-changing love will end in tragedy -- the ending is beautiful -- because both the ML and FL realize that the other loves them (no one ever has before) they both stand up to the king and speak their truth, despite knowing the consequences. Their love for each other has given him courage and power to break off his shackles and stand up to the king, no matter the cost.

It's utterly beautiful. I highly recommend it.
Sincerely, the utter prude with delicate sensibilities.

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Predictable + Entertaining = Good Enough

I will admit-- I thought this movie was more about healing and overcoming past tragedies to welcome new beginnings, based on the synopsis and posters. However, I wouldn't say it's much about healing-- but rather, this is an action thriller film with hints of revenge drama that keeps you on your toes, but doesn't want you to use your brain too much.

If I have to discuss about the story, there isn't much to say. There's not much to hate, but there's not much to praise either. Most of it was predictable, the plot twists didn't have much effect on the overall film's shock value and the characters aren't the type you haven't seen before. If I have to nitpick, some scenes were a bit too illogical for me to look past, the antagonists were cliche, and some of the choices made by the main characters were stupid (but I get it, since those choices conveniently made way for shit to keep happening throughout the 2-hour runtime). If you watch stuff for the plot and the plot only, I wouldn't recommend this film.

However, there's a pattern with Korean noir/action films that I've noticed as of late, upon watching another noir action drama the other day-- Ji Chang Wook's 'The Worst of Evil' (which I dropped, because it was just not worth 12 hours for me). The plot is a background character, the writing is not important. What IS important, is pretty much everything else-- the directing, the production, cinematography, acting, action scene choreography etc. They want you to focus on everything BUT the writing. It is a bit lazy and un-creative, but if you're looking to entertain yourself (and nothing more) with a movie, then these are it. This is it. I, on the other hand, care a lot about the writing of a film or tv series, so perhaps that's why I was pretty bothered with the screenplay throughout this movie. It didn't hinder my enjoyment way too much though, because 'Night in Paradise' is visually striking.

Now, to sum all the good points of this film up, the cinematography and acting from the main leads take the cake and eat it. Set conveniently in Jeju Island, the cinematographer didn't have to think too hard in order to make this film pleasant for the eyes. That, but the actions scene were nicely shot too and didn't make my eyes hurt from trying to find a point to focus on. Next, the acting performances were nothing short of amazing. This was my first time watching Uhm Tae Goo, and I might've become a fan. And Jeon Yeo Bin gave exactly what I'd expected from her-- excellence.

The music wasn't anything special, sadly. If the music slapped, I might've rated this higher.

In conclusion, this is an entertaining action film that's easy on the eyes-- and might've been a little too easy on the brain.

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yeah I watched this for cha eunwoo !

The first few episodes of this series do a great job at setting your expectations high. I thought this series would be cute and wholesome, something that's easy to digest. To some extent, I was not wrong, but it was not what I was hoping for. Ultimately, this series' first few episodes are better than the rest. After the couple gets together, things get boring. It's unfortunate I enjoyed the suspense more than the conclusion.

I felt like the FL lost her entire personality and charm at some point. It played a huge part into my loss of enjoyment for this show, I don't know if I am just horrible at reading human emotions, but she seemed so out of it after a few episodes. Additionally, I wasn't actually happy about the way the FL and ML got together. For the secret to be revealed the way it was just seemed so cliche. I really did not think it fit the personalities of the characters, it seemed so out of place..I just...I did not gain satisfaction from this.

This series has a past that takes place in a historical period. It actually focuses more on two side characters rather than the main pairing, which isn't an issue...except it completely overshadowed the main pairing during the second half of the show (again I am criticizing the second half of the show). As you already have read, I do not like the second half of the show, but these two side characters that completely overshadowed the main pairing ended up giving me the strength to complete the series. The historical aspect feels very distant from the actual plot, especially because it does not have much relevance to the main pairing (despite it being its intent). The blending of the genres wasn’t done properly, it felt so awkward to see the past lives compared to the actual modern setting. I did enjoy it immensely, but I wish there was more foreshadowing for it earlier on so it wouldn’t have been so awkwardly placed in the story. To be honest, I might've actually preferred a series ABOUT the past lives instead of the modern ones.

I enjoyed this series but it truly was wasted potential...cute dogs tho waf waf

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surprised by the reviews here...

i'm very surprised by the reviews this show got. Of course is not for everyone, the show takes its time to get where it wants. People who wants action by the first or even third episode will not like it and find it very boring (and that's ok). I would recommend people to pay more attention to what is happening in the show, a lot of details is being explained throughout it but it really needs to pay attention.
For the characters, some people complain that Taeoh becomes the good one, while Inha the bad one. Life is not that simple lol. The show is quite clear that none of the main characters are one thing or another, since the second episode it shows that the three of them are moved by their own greedy. Inha doesn't do things out of blue, he was always a emotional person, that's why he start to like Taeoh from the beginning and falls in love for Hye-won with just few interactions. He is quite a obsessive person that is doing things without thinking from the start.
Hye-won, I agree, could have much more impact in the show. Her development gets lose every time something happens with Taeoh and Inha. She is a good character and should have more time for us to see her plans.
(I won't even talk about people saying that is bad Hye-won and Taeoh have kissed a day before the marriage, of course is not right to do, but yeah people are human and make mistakes - this doesn't imply that you should kill someone and put the blame into your ex-friend)
A lot of dramas struggle when doing the Succession plot and I won't say that Impossible Heir does it the best, but for sure it makes much more sense than what has been done in much others.
Recomend people to give it a try until the episode 8, when I think it really makes everything more interesting and, since it only has 12 episodes, I don't think one would be wasting much time doing so.

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Boring and pointless

Sorry, but it seemed like more like a half-baked mid-sem student project than a bl from a popular production house.

The actors looked like novices, esp Yoo. chan who felt like he had taken one too many roundhouse kicks to his head during practice. I understand he is supposed to be a "puppy seme" but he was literally acting like 3yr old on a sugar high.

The other love interest, I didn't care much for. He had too much screentime and absolutely no character presence. They could have replaced him with a lamp post to the same effect. I know he was supposed to be a love rival but his chemistry with KMJ was negative and I couldn't see him as anything other than some classmate who got a lot of unncessary screentime.

Same with that weirdass professor. Why even have him in the drama or give him so many lines while the leads make awkward small talk to humour him? It felt like the drama was centered around the old guy and they just added some leftover bl plotline as an after thought. The only consolation was the kissing scenes in ep 6 (which was ruined by that weird ending).

I honestly expected more from Strongberry, but after Our Happy Ending and now this, I feel maybe I shouldn't have.

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Dorian Gray in Grand Amsterdam Hotel

If you are looking for horror, you are in the wrong place in spite of the genre mentioned on this drama's page. It is a murder mystery, comedy and fantasy but not horror: horror is scary, gives you nightmares. Here, except for a very sexy serial killer, there is nothing to be jumpy about. Unless the sexy serial killers give you nightmares.

The plot in this drama is reminiscent of those many c dramas where the FL falls into a novel and has to find a way out. The FL here is an editor in an online publishing company. When her boss, on whom she has a crush, disappears, she goes looking for him and discover the existence of magic laptops: when you write a person's name on it, that person disappears into the novel the laptop writes all by itself. So the FL writes herself into the novel and while trying to save her boss's life, she discovers the truth behind the writer and the laptop.

How far are you willing to go in order to succeed as a writer? Sell your soul to the devil? There are parts of Dr Faustus and Dorian Gray in this drama. There is also a slight criticism of the writers' system ruling the korean entertainment world: when one writer rebelled against the constant harassment by her writer boss, she was immediately blacklisted in the whole community. When you touch the bottom, you either sell your soul or sink deeper but they never realize that by selling their soul they would inevitably sink deeper! The choice is only superficial!

The hotel setting of the novel reminded me very much of Wes Andersons' film Grand Amsterdam Hotel with the exterior aesthetics and with its quirky staff (well here we only get to see the receptionist but he is bizarre enough!).

I found the FL very annoying in the first couple of episodes, with her swooning over her boss who does not notice her, batting eyelashes at him and speaking like a little girl. But she is actually very smart and, with the help from a couple of coworkers, she eventually figures out how to get everyone out of the novel.

This is a well written drama with the plot which survives scrutiny: no major plotholes noticed: every question gets an answer in the last episode. The acting is correct, the music is there. Except for the jazzy bar singer: she was good and the songs steamy!

An exceptionally good short drama, definitely worth your time!

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Funny mini series

I love mini C-dramas; this one was seriously funny. I do not always laugh out loud, nor do I leave reviews, but since no one reviewed this, and I did laugh out loud more than once, I wanted to leave one for the peopleeeee!

The two leads were both really funny, especially about halfway through; you can tell they have great off-screen chemistry and similar humor by the way they act. The storyline is a typical mini-series storyline. Lol, nothing to brag about, but the leads were so funny together, you'll see what I am talking about after the couple 'makes up.' I will say I am always impatient and fast-forward through things when I am bored, lol, so I did that once in this series & that's probably a personal problem (meee), not the fault of the show (..◜ᴗ◝..)

A really quick, cute, and funny story. The love-letter trope is not something I typically see, so I liked that as well! All in all, I would give this an 8.5, but bc of re-watch value, especially when I am doing other things, definitely a 10/10, so I rated this an overall 9. I cannotttt go higher than the 8.5/9 bc the only annoying thing is that the music overpowers the voices on certain episodes which was annoying. Anyway, I am pretty sure if you like mini-c-dramas you'll like this one ᵕ̈

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Destiny seeker

The story begins with two boys experiencing what love is, fighting for the dreams they want, I really liked it a lot, the story the story the characters the setting University, I recommend that you watch it because it is truly a fight against those who hate the LGBT community, colleagues who also hate that the protagonists are going to fulfill their dreams, they work in engineering and building like some kind of machine I don't remember what it was but but the I recommend that you see it, because they work very hard to fight for that dream, despite the fact that their colleagues, some of them, try to destroy them in any way, doing everything possible to prevent them from doing so. Realize your dream

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Love me again

The story begins with a night of passion, the girl falls in love, but the boy also falls in love, when the years pass he does not recognize her, she has changed, she wants to make him fall in love again, and for him to recognize her.She changed completely so that he wouldn't recognize her, because he had forgotten that night of passion. I liked the story a lot and if I would see it again, it is a story of a girl who fights. Because the man she loves recognizes her, and in the end he does and he was in love with her from that day on, I recommend that if you see it, it is very pretty and there are only six chapters.

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Real-life crush VS gaming crush in complications

The show started on a good note as FL likes ML in real life while he likes her in gaming ..both are gaming enthusiasts working towards the gaming industries in their own way.. the concept was cute, especially as he gets jealous of himself unknowingly when he here's about FL's crush ( who is he himself in real life) ... There is soft romance ..healthy jealousy... Sparking chemistry with almost enough comedy between the two.
I must say Zhou ye was the perfect choice for FL role she is my fav and I love watching her in playful roles. ML character compliment it even better (but I live for the FL here ?)
Coming back to plot the only thing I felt missing they added very less scenes about the process of creating games ... These days people don't watch drama just for the sake of love story but they actually look into the purpose/profession of characters. I wish they could have elaborated the process of game programming or something ... Rest is well directed ...

A soft delight to watch ..you can definitely go for it.

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