Reviews

Best of its class

Starting watching this due to a YouTube short that highlights the relationships of the best friends. I could have never guessed how amazing this show would be. From the acting to the fight scenes, the annoyance to the heartbreak, it was truly a masterclass in making a great show.

Story wise, it had some clichés, but it was vastly outweighed by the impeccable writing and execution. The twist of superheroes being punctuated by regular family drama and passion gave the the best dynamic ever. I loved seeing how their relationship evolved and how they protected each other at all costs. Mae connection to her other world partner was heartbreaking to find out but it made me want to protect them even more. Having mo tak story be intertwined with their destiny was also an unexpected touch. You all did him dirty though, I mean come on, he now finds out about the ring thing and has to go a funeral. I was constantly guessing and hoping that things wouldn't happen and found myself screaming at the TV, like if that would make a difference. That is the sign of a great show.

Moon was a bit to irrational for an 18 year old, but I'll excuse him because he has been through a lot. He started off as a major liability but redeemed himself. His relationship with his besties is the stuff of fairy-tales, it was so refreshing to see how much they genuinely loved each other. That rooftop scene between the three of them was gold, it's always great to see friends holding each other accountable. Even them taking care of the bully was done right.

The acting and chemistry between everyone, even the main spirit was amazing. His evil smile, his evil giggle... I was here for it. Lee Hong did an amazing job, to the point where I felt sorry for him when they reveal how he got that scare. They honestly made no mistakes in the series can't wait to see season 2.

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When I watched the first time, I found the short more and more stupid, stupid to the point where it was almost funny and constantly jumping between drama, comedy and stupidity. But when I thought about that story, read a review on MDL, I wondered why his classmate was so pointlessly explaining quantum mechanics using the example of a cat in a box. Who has ever encountered, seen, read or studied this, when a particle is thrown at an obstacle and it avoids it from above and below, it simply develops, always the way we look at the matter ... so I thought the conclusion was GENIUS and I would agree with the opinion that a lot of viewers don't have time to perceive it precisely because it is a very complex field of science, not for us "average viewers" and I could be wrong, but maybe Ji Ho didn't leave the two of them with that in the very end that the friend got what he wanted, but that he FINALLY LEARNED THE MATERIAL FOR THE NEXT EXAM* ("... The cat can be both alive and dead. We can only decide when we open the box ourselves and see what the reality is. Then it will depend on how the observer reacts. According to the reaction of the observer ... it will become reality...")*

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Best spy drama ever

Wow wow really wow what an amazing suspense drama . I didn't even imagine that this story will make me love this
Every scene every twist is amazing how the ml destroy mafia gang is absolutely amazing.
Ml friendship with rao sheng is like they become brothers but later when Rao sheng find out his real identity that scenes is worth watching.
Chemistry between the leads is ok bcz there relationship is something else it's a big twist and secret, and that's cool
I really like the fact that ml is always ahead of his enemies and truly mastermind
You guys should watch this amazing masterpiece

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Amazing

This drama is so meaning full like his every script have a meaning and connected to his character life ,
Chemistry is amazing the way they he always there to protect her and he even left his most precious day . I like the fact that he always keep her first in his life . Like first priority is so sweet .
And I personally really like his police story so amazing.
This drama is not everyone cup of tea those who like romantic scenes and unnecessary ultimate scenes will always find problems in this but if you let the thought out of your brain and focused on the story so you will definitely like this drama . This the mature romance and I love this ,

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It's a bit disappointing from kdrama writer giant Park Hye Ryun, still this is no Start-Up.

Screenwriter Park Hye Ryun is responsible for 3 dramas on my all time top 10 list. Because of that even though Start-Up was a huge disappointment I let the comment section's hype get to me.
What's good news I suppose that this is far far better than Start-Up. (Which I may have dropped half way or so in, I'm not even sure anymore)
Anyhow the plots and themes in Castaway Diva are very much Park Hye Ryun-like, despite the fact that she is not the only writer, probably the other writer Eun Yeol contributed more to dialog, I don't know. Anyway anyone who has watched the big three dramas I mentioned before (While You Were Sleeping, Pinocchio, I Hear Your Voice) will find many subplots & the general direction of the story in this drama oddly familiar. Near the finale there is a pretty iconic scene that is 1:1 While You Were Sleeping as well. Not that I mind this too much, Park Hye Ryun always heavily built and iterated from her previous works in all her dramas and I absolutely adored them..
So you might ask, why did I rate the writing at 5.5? Well, out of all the preproduced (non live filmed) dramas this was perhaps the most inconsistent (that I can recall anyway). To me it seems like the writers shaped the plot assuming that the general audience won't remember the minutiae of what they've seen 2-4-6 weeks ago. Unluckily for me I binge watched this over the course of 4 days during long daily workout sessions, as such in almost every episode I had several moments where I was rolling my eyes at all the gaslighting that has been presented to me. Also even if I ignore the plot itself and look at the various world building elements, the drama is -even by kdrama romcom standards- just incredibly poorly researched. Pretty much every little detail about the Island was wrong. I understand this is fiction, but it would not have been very hard to ask someone well versed in wilderness survival to give the writers some tips & to use common sense. (I could list countless things here, but just to say a few: potatoes, FL's well groomed-ness, swimming in baggy sweatpants/shirts, the shoes)
The biggest writing related pain point though is that this is like a romcom with most of the romance ripped out of it, but the rest of the things are left as they would be in a really silly drama about a cat shapeshifter or something else like that.
Anyway I did not really feel the leads bonding at any point in time, as opposed to the second lead doing some of that. Basically the love triangle here is very similar to what we've seen in While You Were Sleeping, but with the amazing main romance missing, if that even makes sense xD (meaning the second ML is not a nuisance, it's just this is so weird overall)
If you are curious what a good romance-less romance drama is like, take a look at the cdrama Reset.

Onto the second big problem I had with the drama, which is Park Eun Bin, or more specifically her portrayal of castaway Seo Mok Ha. I have seen this actress before shine in Age of Youth. (I don't think she is lacking in skill, in fact she is probably awesome.) Also while in Attorney Woo I very strongly disliked how she acted as an autistic lawyer. There she did the usual Hallyu version of "person struggling with disability" act and probably did it as well as it is possible, but I always found that incredibly offensive in any drama, but I digress. The point I'm trying to make is that someone had the genius idea to not only cast her for this role, but also make this castaway character's portrayal essentially the same, or maybe because this was her next drama after Woo she did not completely recover from that role which she has taken way more seriously as an actor. I suppose instead of all this ranting I could have just said that she is overacting in this one, but it just feels wrong & weird.

The casting in general is not all that great. I love watching good sismances in dramas, but I did not feel that sister chemistry all that much, though all the back and forth in the plot did not help. Nor did FL have good chemistry with ML, but there was barely any time to build on that, so I could be wrong. Though I must admit the evil dads were quite fit for their roles, despite not having seen these supporting actors in evil roles thus far.

Remember how the final 3-4 episodes of Pinocchio were after to it being a huge success they extended the run from 16 to 20 episodes? Walkaway Diva has ~8 episodes like that, out of 12 which is obviously not great. Earlier I ranted about the writers expecting the audience to forget stuff, now that I think about it, perhaps that could have totally worked for me too, because I don't think I'll remember much of anything of what happened between ep2 and 10 in a couple of weeks.

I apologize for all the rantish walls of text so far, I too am getting tired of writing this review, so I'll quickly list -in no particular order- what I actually liked about the drama:

⌲ Episode 1 is a great short film, with very talented child actors [10/10]
⌲ Everyone is really attractive, with very pleasant, almost hypnotic voices.
⌲ The entertainment industry related procedural parts are usually far far worse. (they avoided many common themes that tend to ruin things in other dramas about idols)
⌲ The parents -adoptive dad+mom- were adorable.
⌲ The OST and all the singing is really really and I mean REALLY good. (though it's annoying that everything is basically lip syncing, because all songs are perfect studio recordings, where there was no effort made to make them live-ish during editing)
⌲ There are no significant misunderstandings.
⌲ It's a high quality production with great photography & across the board great audiovisuals.
⌲ Evil Dad #2 was a relatively high class kdrama villain & did not overstay his welcome. (similar to other Park Hye Ryun villains)
⌲ There were some very satisfying -power-fantasy like- scenes.
⌲ The dialog has some rather great moments, here and there.

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This Was Supposed To Be A Glowing Review

I am acearo but I am now also desparately in love with Man. The amount of times I said "goddamn," in response to his mannerisms cannot be counted– he exudes attractiveness, and I normally only find people pretty at best. Chot is a perfect character, I wish Chot was in every scene, but I am biased here as well as I have been ferociously interested in Bruce since Lovely Writer. Up until episode 8 or 9 this was an almost perfect series to me and I intended my review to be a dissertation on how wrong it is that the rating is 7.1. Obviously, my rating now is now far below that, so let's get into it.

Pat is uniquely irritating. He cries at the drop of a hat, is never in the wrong despite always being the problem, and generally manages to make every issue excruciating to watch. I do not like the character. I actually did at first because he had a lot of pizazz and determination, but that kinda disappeared around the halfway mark.

The storyline gets more disjointed as the show progresses and, at some point, it feels distinctly like the writers forgot their own plotlines. The coworkers (Ying especially) are gossipy, mean, and basically bully Pat and then they all chat happily at badminton?? Jen tells Jaab he'll stay away from him and then....doesn't. Like at all. Not even for one scene. Jaab tells Jen they should stay friends but last we saw them, Jaab was still 300% cooked for Jen and we get no insight as to why he suddenly decided not to go for it. Actually, speaking of JaabJen, I've never been so disappointed by a formerly interesting couple. Up through the kiss, I was invested in them. Right after the party when Jaab for some reason decides to shoot himself in both feet, I had to force myself not to skip through their following scenes right through to the end. It was just so stupid, entirely unwarranted, and woefully under-explained.

The entirety of the Jeng's dad plotline was meh. Put was.....there? I was kind of indifferent to him (I love Up, so he was at least nice to see) and the story around him and Pat, especially after he's shown caring only about Pat, then taking him for granted the moment they get together, then caring only about Pat again once they're apart. He felt more like a plot device than a character. I really want to disparge Pat more right now, but we'd be here all day.

Jeng is perfect, I have nothing bad to say. except maybe he should leave Pat and the company and just vibe at his restaurant.

Tbh, I had a feeling that, to maintain my high rating, I should've just stopped at episode ten because we all know how ep. 11 goes, but I chose my path because Man is not in any other BLs and I do not like him enough to subject myself to any form of not-queer media. I enjoyed how much of the office we saw and the maturity (read: this is not the right word) of the characters (bar Pat and like, all the side character coworkers). It's rare to have older characters be the focus of a BL so I really appreciated it in this series— not being in high-school, college, or fresh out of school is really a blessing for this genre.

The music was okay at first but once the waterworks kicked off (so much fucking crying is2g) it got irritating hearing the sad piano all the damn time. The acting was ok to good. I can see why people might be underwhelmed with Man's acting, I thought he was good though, provided he wasnt trying to act sad. Pat was good provided he wasnt crying or being dramatic or speaking. Chot was perfection, as was Ae and her husband.

I will probably rewatch this, but really just for Bruce and Man, so make of that what you will. Maybe worth one watch if you stop at episode 10 before the bs. 3000% worth multiple watches if you drop it around episode 8. I actually like that the episodes were long, I didnt really get bored, but I always watch everything at at least 1.5x so.

I am once again trying not to hate on Pat but dear lord he is the entire reason this show went to shit. Like even the bullshit storyline between JaabJen has nothing on how annoying Pat's character was. I hate that he was babied throughout the show; everyone can hear mean or realistic things except Pat. But Pat is the one who needs the reality check the most. I had a lot of sympathy when he was being bullied at the office but the moment it stopped he became one of the most insufferable characters I've ever had the displeasure of watching, and I've watched some real garbage. Pat's character feels like the type of person to show up to a wedding in white and then cry when they're reprimanded. Just spoiled and self-centered. My rating was actually still a reluctant 7 until episode 12, at which point Pat wore through my already hair-thin tolerance and I dropped it. What a waste of good potential. Tbh, I'd give this a 9 if Jeng didn't take Pat back. Fuck Pat fr.

Thats about it. This started great and then shot its own feet until it was just mediocre.

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Mixed feelings

This is one of my rare time I've decided to try writing my impressions on a movie in which I feel like I understand it but at the same time, I don't.

I wanted to watch it a while ago and I've taken some time because of diverse reasons and finally, I've watched it by curiosity. I didn't know if it was too vulgar or too violent but I finally gave it a try.

This movie is like an independant, underground (I don't know how to describe it) movie which is not for everyone's cup of tea. Despite a beautiful cinematography, the relationships were natural, acting is nice and some interesting and serious matters to discuss with... The pacing felt a bit too slow for me so it didn't really hooked me or made me want to be invested in the story.

However, it sure left me with some mixed feelings. It's not that I don't like it but I feel bit left out?? Did I regret watching this? Not really.

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the MFL has no expression

I think I don't like mini format dramas. it's very difficult to dive in if the momentum is cut all the time. but this story is still cute and it can be interesting to watch a mini drama if you have no much time to spend on a regular one.
this being said, the most annoying thing about this drama is the face of the MFL, who is just cold and composed all the time. even when she is supposed to be upset, in love, afraid or crying, her expressions are just so odd and cold... maybe too much botox? she seems too preoccupied to be beautiful to let the emotions change her face. that's a big loss for a romance's drama.

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Worth It

Loved it. From Acting to OST loved everything.

Goblin is lonely, depressed, blunt, ill-tempered. Loved Gong Yoo as Goblin. Nobody would've done it better than him. His acting was phenomenal.

Ji Eun Tak is a bubbly, straightforward, strong, positive person. Despite her past, she turns out to be a happy-going girl, which is rare, because in most cases, girls who are bullied by their family always turn out to be a crybaby or timid. Kim Go Eun's acting was awesome. She played a bubby, fun-loving girl very easily.

Grim Reaper is competitive, funny, poor at communication. I thought he would be a serious, no-nonsense kind of GR because most are like that, but his personality is totally opposite. Lee Dong Wook played Grim Riper mind-blowingly.

Sunny is cool, sarcastic, beautiful, blunt. Liked Yoo In Na as Sunny.

My favorites CP is hands down Goblin & Grim Reaper. Loved their bromance, silly fights.

Things I liked :

Goblin & Grim Reaper first meet & the way Goblin said a vulgar hat to Grim Reaper.

Laughed when Yoo Deok Hwa said that Goblin isn’t that dashing.

Love Goblin & Grim Reaper silly fight, their back & forth arguments.

Goblin & Ji Eun Tak chemistry, the way she talks to him & straightforwardly asks if he is Goblin & she also wants to marry him.

I laughed so much at the scene where the Grim Reaper was going to sleep & suddenly Goblin barged into his room to ask if the outfit was better. Because he wanted to look smart & perfect when Ji Eun Tak summoned him. He keeps on cat walking, disturbing him. Goblin changing Grim Reaper bedsheet into a flower print one.

Grim Reaper sings Goblin’s underwear song to make him irritated. Their table fight, throwing stuff at each other.

Loved the shot where Goblin & Grim Reaper both walked to save Ji Eun Tak & the song playing in the background.

Goblin & Grim Reaper were talking telepathically & Goblin yelled at him to shut up, but Ji Eun Tak thought he yelled at her. Poor Goblin tried hard to explain to her.

Goblin was jealous because Ji Eun Tak called Grim Reaper handsome & him ordinary.

It is funny to watch Goblin doing magic to two strangers, a girl's hair tied with a man’s button, then she falls into his arms, things we see in K & C dramas.

Ji Eun Tak bluntly saying 'I Love You' to Goblin & proposing to have children quickly.

It’s funny when everyone in the restaurant, even Grim Reaper & Yoo Deok Hwa watches that drama with a lot of interest & Goblin being totally annoyed.

I laughed so hard when Goblin's expression changed after he realized whom he was with last night.

Grim Reaper expression when he starts seeing Sunny everywhere

It’s sweet when ghosts help Ji Eun Tak with bullies.

Goblin & Grim Reaper for the first time using a phone.

Goblin is anticipating what Ji Eun Tak will do next & is happy because he is right.

Love how, in between their argument, Goblin declares himself as Ji Eun Tak's boyfriend.

Loved the emotional talk between Goblin & Ji Eun Tak Ep 6..

Laughed when both Ji Eun Tak & Grim Reaper say 'I Love You' to Goblin so that he doesn’t take their stuff back.

It’s hilarious the way Goblin reacted in the movie theater after warning Ji Eun Tak not to embarrass him.

Goblin getting jealous is so cute.

I laughed my ass off when Ji Eun Tak friend thought Grim Reaper was her father.

Sweet moment Goblin sleeping on the floor & Ji Eun Tak keeping him company.

Loved scenery where Goblin back hug Ji Eun Tak. The background wasn’t anything awestrucking but the sky & sun shining on them. I loved the shot

Sweet & cute when Grim Reaper started to laugh wholeheartedly when Sunny started to sing.

Ji Eun Tak calls Goblin her man & he repeated it. Poor Grim Reaper hearing everything.

I find Grim Reaper & Sunny cute. Now I can't wait to watch Touch Your Heart.

Goblin way of starting conversations with white egg & egg yolk.

The Samshin Lady helps Ji Eun Tak every way possible.

That brother-sister reunion between Kim Shin & Kim Sun.

Goblin acts as a protective brother.

Love how Ji Eun Tak was jealous of herself.

I find Park Joong Hun's character irritating.

I thought Ji Eun Tak would see the thing on Goblin at the end of the drama. In the end, they'll be confirmed that she is his bride, but it's good that she can see it within a few episodes. The ending Goblin & Park Joong Hun was fated. She was supposed to die but was saved by him. Became his bride to fulfill her destiny, to bring peace to his life. But he chose her over everything & fought his way back to her.

Loved it. Lovedddddddddddddd the OST. Best OST. After Till the End of the Moon OST I finally found another OST which I'll be listening to on loop.

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The Show I Needed to See

This was the show I really needed to watch for all the wrong reasons. I am so tired of show after show allowing villains to get a slap on the hand or buy their way out of prison time after destroying other people's lives. But not this show. For once, pretty much all the bad guys get exactly what they deserve and even a few bad girls too. It was immensely satisfying to watch a little vigilante justice being dispense when the police were completely inept.
The casting was great, acting was good the story is a little weak but not too draggy so I highly recommend it for anybody who yearns for a long tall glass of justice.

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hm.... this proves to be yet another cursed survival show

im in the middle of watching the first ep and i just have to write this review because i cant take it anymore. first of all i noticed all the contestants literally look identical and im not tryna be rude or anything but they really do look so similar to each other, like im tryna root for specific people but i cant for the life of me differentiate them like.... also the amount of reactions they put in, i literally counted the amount of time before they put in a reaction cut to the performance, it was 2 SECONDS WHAT YALL EDITORS OUT HERE REALLY PUTTING REACTIONS EVERY 2 SECONDS???? and the performances arent even that good, the vocals and dancing are so mediocre, ig their stage presence is good, but thats just from what ive seen so far, ill come back and talk about my fav and which contestant i want to support, brb yall

OKAYY BAGGY JEANS TEAM GET IT i think that team absolutely devoured the stage up, im definitely gonna root for all 3 of them they did so well omg i think yuju shouldve gotten in ngl, like she was way better than some of the other people that got in (FIGHT ME) ALSOOOO DRAMA TEAM??? EAT THAT UPPP god i love bang jeemin, i was so salty she didnt get into illit

okay guys heres who im voting for (at least)
- koko
- jeemin
- jungeun
- yuju

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Great start, 2nd half a bit disappointing

PLOT: FL, a struggling extra-actress, agrees to marry her best friend, a gay painter, to hide his homosexuality from his family, and possibly inherit his grandfather's company. But the future groom's brother, ML, fighting with his half-brother and sister, does everything to prevent this marriage.

PROS:
+ Brilliant leads, particularly Moon Sang Min, the ML, for whom I expect a promising career. (FL meh...)
+ The production is lively, dynamic.
+ The story is coherent, but full of clichés.
+ The short format (12 episodes) does not allow any downtime.
+ K-pop OSTs are enjoyable.

CONS:
- I had difficulty adhering to the character of the FL, not always very coherent, and I am not very convinced of Jeon Jong Seo's acting skills.
- The characters of "perfectly idiotic good friends", recurring in dramas, annoy me deeply.

=> a good drama, which Moon Sang Min carries on his shoulders!
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PLOT : La FL, figurante-actrice en galère, accepte de se marier avec son meilleur ami, peintre gay, pour cacher son homosexualité à sa famille, et éventuellement hériter de la Cie de son gd-père. Mais le frère du futur marié, le ML, en lutte avec ses demi-frère et sœur, fait tout pour empêcher ce mariage.

PROS:
+ Des leads brillants, particulièrement Moon Sang Min, le ML, pour qui s'annonce une carrière prometteuse. (FL bof ...)
+ La réalisation est vive, dynamique.
+ La story est cohérente.
+ Le format court (12 épisodes) ne permet pas de temps mort.
+ Les OST K-pop sont agréables.
CONS:
- j'ai eu du mal à adhérer au personnage de la FL, pas toujours très cohérent, et je ne suis pas très convaincue des acting skills de Jeon Jong Seo.
- Les personnages de "bonnes copines parfaitement idiotes", récurrents dans les dramas, m'agacent profondément.

=> un bon drama, que Moon Sang Min porte sur ses épaules !

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