My Dearest Part 2 (2023)

One of the best Korean dramas I've seen in a long time!

The best thing about part 2 is that the pace is much faster than in part 1 which makes total sense in a way because there had to be a character buildup. In this second part there is no time to breathe, you have so many things happening that I cannot actually write about since I would spoil the drama so I'm going to leave it at that. But I will say one more thing, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous!

The acting is excellent and of course, Nam Goong Min nailed it. Proof that he won the Daesang award. The acting overall was so good, great job to all the cast!

Beautiful OST, especially the song sang by Kai.

It's totally worth to watch this, the ending was one of the most beautiful endings ever!

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"Do you hear it? this sound, the flowers sound"

This is not a proper review just my first thought now that I finished it and without spoilers.
Just finished it, it didn't take me long to finish this wonderful drama considering how I had to pause it many times for a short moments to heal of the much sadness and furstrating it gave me(especial in part2). I was struggling to find a TOP K-drama recently, to add to my TOP K-dramas list, but I found what I was looking for here.
I always knew how great diverse actor NGM is, he conviced me in a psycho, evil, comedy, romance, melodrama and action roles. But seeing him in melo romance will always be my favorite, because his eyes say a lot that many other actors can't say with their mouths. He deliver his lines to us through his eyes before openning his mouth. His character here will be one of the most perfect ML we ever had.
AEJ, first saw her on HP she was great, but seeing her as a FL here gave her more space to show her talent, very proud of her performance, it's not easy to show that you're a good actress in front of NGM but she did it. YGC character is one of the best well written characters, she wasn't perfect she had many flows especially her actions at the beginning but she had great character developpement and she is a survivor, strong FL that makes hard decisions and bears the consequences.
The plot wasn't perfect, but it was the closest to perfection that I saw for a while now. It made me care, feel furstrated, angry, sad, happy... and that's more than enough. 10/10 For me.

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CAMBIO LA TRAYECTORIA DE MI VIDA

la cinematografía 10/10
la actuación 10/10
y claramente 10 para la historia también, este drama sabe como mantenerte atrapado durante una hora y q los capítulos se sientan eternos pero no in bad way, la historia es tan desgarradora y grafica en algunos momentos que me dieron ganas de vomitarme y llorar al mismo tiempo.
creo firmemente que la temporada 2 es mucho mejor que la , empezando por el desarrollo de personaje de gilchae, el como paso de ser una niña mimada rodeada de flores a una mujer valiente que sufrio TANTO.
El protagonista una total green flag definitivamente mi fav boy de kdrama historico, el amor tan genuino que él tenia hacia ella es imposible no patalear de emoción al verlo.

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Very powerful love story!

I became addicted to these dramas during Covid, and I’ve seen several hundred of them. For the mature people, the love story is the best I’ve ever seen, my favorite show was Empress Ki, but now it’s my second favorite. The music was exceptional. The story lines were perfect. I just wish it would have been more episodes! The ML, I will be looking out for him in more of these period pieces. His acting is believable, he’s very captivating. The leading actress is also phenomenal, she’s definitely not a weak woman. The Qing princesses acting was so good, she was a horrible wretched princess, but if the writers could add more episodes, maybe we could find out why she was so pitiful. It takes a real good show to entertain me, I’m a black woman, born in the USA, and I don’t even watch regular shows anymore because of my addiction to these period pieces, it’s definitely worth watching over again!

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Caution! This will mangle your heart.

I needed a few days to process what I had just seen before writing a proper review. My heart was way too invested in this and I needed some clarity before proceeding...

If you are a sucker for a good romantic melodrama, this one tops the list. The heat in the room gets turned up by the smoldering male lead, Jang Hyun, played by Namkoong Min. He falls for his lady the moment he set eyes on her and sets out to steal her heart by any means necessary. Our female lead, Gil Chae, is aptly played by Ahn Eun Jin (Hospital Playlist). Gil Chae has no interest in our ML, however, because she has her eyes set elsewhere. What is obvious to us, though, is that our FL has fallen head over heels for our ML but she is the only fool who doesn't realize it. What transpires is a delicious game of push/pull and how Jang Hyun would cut his heart out of his body for Gil Chae if she wasn't so self-absorbed to appreciate it.
We get a sweeping epic of historical fiction that will throw our leads together or tear them apart. We get lost in the intense gaze of Jang Hyun telling his lady he resents the hell out of her, while granting her the simplest of wishes. We are swept along in the tidal wave of their love and it is beautiful.

Unfortunately, this beautiful epic love story has its flaws. Most of the plot was taken from Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, in the first part and then riddled with cliches and sloppy writing in the second, leaving us confused and asking a ton of questions. There were time lapse issues, abandoned story arcs, and implausible scenarios. How is it that Jang Hyun can fight so well? He hates war and is a bit of a dandy, so when did he train to be so deadly with a sword? His past is alluded to but not clear. The storyline gets muddled and repetitive, so it would have been better to just stick with a simpler plot. After all, it was delivering spectacularly in the romantic aspect.

The OST...what an OST!! It was sonorous, sweeping, simple, and unforgettable. It conveyed the romantic emotions, the angst, the desperation, and the deep longing of two people who can't live without the other. Bravo!

Then there are unforgettable lines like, "I tried to hate you when you left me, but I couldn't, So, I hated myself instead." "I never left you, I just couldn't bring myself to have you." Add these to the stellar acting and breathtaking cinematography and you have yourself a noteworthy production despite its flaws, deserving of its many awards for best actors and best drama of 2023.

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Constant state of pain and agony, washed with the holy waves of never-ending angst…

and yet, somehow… Part two made me feel far less than part one did. By the end of the drama I felt like the writer loved their story and all the characters too much to give some aspects up. Too many things were not set up and developed enough, too many plotlines felt rushed, luckily the closure was solid.

Don’t get me wrong though, I still enjoyed the show a lot, but the progression of the story and the lack of focus just lost me a bit. The politics and war were mostly the context in which the characters operated and explored their beliefs, personalities, morality and relationships in part one. It was great. We had many powerful scenes showing the contract between the royal family and the common people. Not knowing any real details was not an issue, because these royal idiots were never main characters in the first place.

Sadly, this whole royal drama gets more attention in part 2. It takes away precious time from the main characters. Where even was Eun Ae? Why did most of Yeon Jun's character development happen between the scenes? He took a couple of 180 in terms of his morality, but we never got enough reason for it to even happen. And it's not like the screen time they took away from these characters was even enough to truly develop and explore the palace storyline. It felt like I needed to do a lot of work myself to fill the gaps of the plot in my mind based on vague ideas and shallow set ups. It's like they tried to turn a character driven show into a plot driven one half way through...

All that said, the drama is still dear to my heart and even if I enjoyed part two less, I still enjoyed it a lot. We've got more of the exploration of different themes relating to morality, justice, duty, honor. Many scenes connecting to events in part one in a smooth and eye opening manner - adding to already intriguing commentary on social standards and gender roles.

Undoubtedly, the best gem, the true treasure of My Dearest was Gil Chae. Easily my favorite female character in 2023, probably top 3 from all the dramas I have ever seen. The masterfully crafted character development, the realistic flaws, the strength that was inspiring. The depth of emotional performance given by Ahn Eun Jin. There are no words that can truly describe how much I adore this character. The drama shows, you can have a female lead that is feminine, compassionate and good, without making her a stupid pushover. Gil Chae was smart, cunning, witty, and resourceful, but also stubborn. At times shortsighted and blind by her perception and understanding of the situation. Her character was beautifully complex and for her existence I am grateful.

Did I love Jang Hyun while watching? Of course I did. Do I want one in my life? Yes. Did I think he was not as developed as Gil Chae and I wished they explored his character more? Also yes. Since the past story did not really lead to anything significant and it felt more like a cheat and easy fix for some plot developments, I could not stop myself from feeling disappointed. The set up for the mystery of his background was perfect, the conclusion answered all the questions, but the overall picture created by that opening and ending felt a bit lacking. With little to no background for the character in part one, I thought they would explore him more in part two, but this did not really happen. From start to finish he was badass, smart, driven, caring (even if he kept denying it) and madly in love with Gil Chae.

What’s more to love? A strong set of diverse supporting characters that felt so real and humane with their, at times questionable ideas and actions. Ryang Eum with whom I went from friends, to lovers, to enemies to lovers trope, with how my feelings changed towards him. Jong Jong who was a loyal friend and support for Gil Chae, even if on the surface it felt like it was mostly Gil Chae protecting her. Gu Jam who always provided a solid dose of entertainment with his sharp comments and badass actions. Yang Chun, who truly shows that good people can have backwards ideas. Even Prince So Hyun and Crown Princess Kang’s scenes had many meaningful and touching moments.

Still adore the production and the attention to details in terms of how the characters are presented. You know how in many historical shows, as long as the female character is part of the main cast, they will have make up worthy of the royal family, looking like Crown Princesses themselves? Not here. From episode 1 till the end of episode 21 of the whole series, there was a lot of care put into making the looks realistic and fitting the context and hardships the characters went through.

Overall, I loved it, but maybe I loved it a bit too much, so it made me expect more. I wish the whole story was more simple, with less side characters and plot lines. Wished the plot focused on the common people more and kept the palace drama and the war as the context and background the story is happening in, rather than the focus of the plot. From the start, I loved this drama for its characters and countless social commentaries and powerful scenes, and it was never truly about the plot for me. While the conclusion was amazing, giving proper closure to it all, I wished the journey itself was either more detailed, or more simple…

That said, once you sell your soul to this drama, there is no coming back, so while I might have had some complaints, they were delivered through tears of both sadness and happiness, and complete devotion I had to the main characters and their journey.

Review for pt1: https://mydramalist.com/profile/Shini/review/300809

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My Dearest 연인 The drama of the century

The most incredible drama I've seen, I finished it around 1 a.m.... I was dreading this moment when I finished it because it's such a masterpiece 💔 The story is incredible, especially for a historical drama, In this drama, boredom does not exist. The romance is the best I've seen so far, it's really perfect between the two, nothing to complain about. Even where sometimes I said to myself “no why is she doing that” or that kind of thing afterwards I understood.. if for example she wouldn't have married Mr Gu (I’m pissed) but it was important otherwise the story could not continue. Everything was logical ahaha sorry I don't know if we understand what I'm saying, I'm getting carried away but 10/10 I'll have to get over it after finishing it..

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Wow…Masterpiece!!! The best drama ever

Wow what a masterpiece!!!
The production and acting is amazing. Namkoong is fenomenal actor and I love his voice. It is the best drama I had ever watched.

I like how EunJin character envolved in the drama and in the end she knew what is in her heart and never stop loving Jang Hyun and finally she started to persue him. It was painfull journey but she never gave up.
It was hard to watch all the intrigue and betrayal of family and friends. Jang Hyun had fallen for her at the first sign and he always protected her even he had to sacrifice himself. I really hate his father and the crazy king just gets on my nerves. I am so glad they got their happy ending and survived all the obstacles on theirs journey.
Of course there is unsolved story how Ryang ended up in prison and we probably will never know unless we have season 2.

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E O VENTO NAO LEVOU...

O prota lá na China, salvando os cativos de joseon.. a prota em casa casada com o nojento 🤮 do oficial. Só que ela é raptada e levada como cativa pra China.
O nojento acha q a pobre fugiu de novo, a amiga defende ela e o estudioso tbm. O cantor q foi esculachado pelo prota por ter dito q ele morreu,  com medo da prota morrer e o prota enlouquecer quando souber, vai atrás dela. Volta pra China e avisa q ela tá lá como cativa.
O prota só fica sabendo disso depois que a pobre sofre… sofre… sofre demais. Ela é a Jong jong foram raptadas.
O marido chega a ir atrás dela, mas quando descobre q ela foi abusada pelos invasores, simplesmente larga ela lá e volta pra casa mentindo q mandou alguém atrás e q foi roubado e não pode pagar o resgate.
A pobre, achava a o marido ia buscar ela. Ela salvou a amiga, salvou o estudioso da cadeia mas ninguém foi lá atrás dela. Só o prota quando soube, ficou louco
(Se prepare pra cena mais linda quando ele a vê no mercado de escravos 😭😭😭😭😭 ) chorei horrores
Daí ele começa a fazer tudo pra salvar ela. Tudo mesmo, inclusive mentir e dizer pra ela ir embora pq a cascavel 🐍 da mulher mascarada quer ela longe dele.
Daí a pobre volta pra joseon
Ele pensa q ela foi acolhida pelo marido. Ela pensa q ele vai ter uma vida melhor sem ela. Os dois sofrem
Ele volta pra joseon, vai atrás dela pra vê se ela tá bem mesmo. Descobre a ela tá só e divorciara. Daí os dois ficam juntos… prepare-se para a melhor cena 🎬 da vida (quando ela diz q foi abusada ) pra ele e ao contrário do nojento 🤮 ele a acolhe. 
Tem um monte de coisa, mas no final eles ficam juntos.

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