"2024" ||Dramas Completed||

Light, warming unexpected friendship, beautiful soundtracks, with lots of violin and cello—these two are my favorite musical instruments.

I love the first four episodes. Just them, surrounded by nature, enjoying good food, and making a tiny argument about their cuisine habits intrigue me. These moments intrigue me instead of the plot twist, specifically, it is the mystery part of this drama.

This intriguing emotional youth drama, inspired by a true story, has quite predictable twists, but everything appropriately falls right into place, and finally, it kept me hooked until the end.

It is not simply a silly romantic school-life drama but conveys a deeper storyline; the voice of youth—where the desire for love collides with the rigid rules of society, the struggle of emotion and reason, between the right to love and the duty to obey, poor-rich classes, family abuse, heartfelt mother love, and LGBTQ+.

The female protagonist is well-written. She is a symbol of courage, a voice for the oppressed. Her struggle is not only a legal battle but also a spiritual revolution, challenging social prejudices. Another is Fujino Sawa. Her redemption arc is done quite well. My girl is just craving love.

Consistently precise plot, layers upon layers, without throwing out all the unnecessary details to hook the audience and then superficially resolving it in just the first few minutes of the next episode, the screenwriter Lee Soo Yeon always makes me "confused" with my predictions.

And well-written characters, each face is an important and surprising link in the entire case, no character is redundant, all are cards waiting to be revealed and are always revealed at the most unexpected times.

 Cho Seung Woo perfectly portrays a conscientious, tough prosecutor, his face is always indifferent and emotionless, and his nuanced expression acting is top-notch. Bae Doona as Han Yeo Jin, a warm-hearted, enthusiastic person who stands behind prosecutor Hwang. Lee Chang Joon & Lee Joon Hyuk are excellent as complex characters.  

Conveys a completely different topic from the first season. It delves deeper into political issues, exploiting the power conflict in the investigation between two law enforcement forces, the prosecutor and the police, when both sides are determined to take control of the investigation without being influenced by the other side.

I felt a little draggy in the first half, but until 9-10, it took back in the driving pace like S1. Every plot twist was still unpredictable, except the villain, they were not as complex, or interesting as S1. I planned to give this an 8, but the way each knot was untied in the last three episodes drastically changed my mind, the twist in the end made me feel complete.

The spotlight of the two seasons was ofc, Hwang Si Mok - a sharp knife and a talented prosecutor with many achievements, calm, steadfast, not yielding to any force, and having a strong sense of justice, Si Mok's point of view is the truth, what he needs is the answer to each case. Cho Seung Woo's performance is top-notch.

The writer was trying so hard to make the plot have depth, but it turned out like a whole shallow water reservoir which can see clearly the amount of mud stains. 

Plus, the characters were all unlikeable, except Tanyong.

Gorgeous cinematography, gripping soundtracks, flawless performance of the leads, and nice color grading make every scene look beautifully artistic.

 Focused on exploiting the psychological developments of each main and supporting characters. Thanks to that, the details depicting the character's personality and inner thoughts are made quite clear. More distinctively speaking, the interweaving of present and past details creates depth, arousing the audience's curiosity, but also makes it confusing and sometimes makes the drama lack coherence. In this case, it did affect the enjoyment, it failed to immerse the viewers, and I lost my focus while watching.

However, the slow-burn romance was to die for. Gong Yoo & Hyun Jin had such fantastic chemistry that I could feel the tension whenever they looked at each other. Lastly, there were some not needed nudity scenes of the side couple, which made me skip and skip.

S2 on-hold.

The self-discovering, healing story of a doctor who never gives up, doesn't want to be a burden, using all her knowledge to help patients regarding her unfortunate circumstances. The process of it is heartwarming, compelling, and completely a piece of art.

Inspiring and moving dialogues, reflecting the human experience in all its complexity. Each story of character mirrors the circumstances of people’s lives. Miyapi is indeed one of the most compassionate and endearing FLs, her resilience, effort, tender & heartfelt smile, and soft-spoken manner can soothe and reassure every person she meets. The brilliant, nuanced performances of the cast, especially Sugisaki Hana, her smile, her line, her teary eyes are all so excellent, and her dedication to her role is undeniable.

The drama maintains a steady pace, building suspense and providing relief at the perfect moments, thus making it not only a superb medical drama but also a great one in its way: I love the vibe, the pacing of Miyabi's self-talk, and inner struggle scenes.

"The Whirlwind" is not only taking place on the political front but also infiltrates every corner of society: from the media, and tycoons to the military, even within families.

Although exploiting a dry topic, surprisingly made me hooked just by the first episode, with its thrillingly fast-paced, masterfully written plot, layer upon layer, twist after twist, and brilliant profound acting by the veteran actors.

Interestingly distinct characters. A respectful president turns out to be covertly working with the enemy, a Deputy Prime Minister who always speaks morally but is only acting, and a ruthless Chaebol willing to sacrifice his child to maintain his legacy...Even other supporting characters make their own calculations. Nobody is truly "innocent" in the complicated realm of politics.

Finally, this drama has one of the best endings ever.

A good storytelling historical short film, the costume design, the camera works, and the dark color theme make the story aesthetically pleasing, with this worldbuilding, this film deserves more than just 30m.

Thrilling, intriguing world-building, stands out with eye-catching and vivid action scenes, combined with spectacular CGI effects, making the moves used by the characters more impressive.

Conveying messages about brotherhood and comradeship, praising courage, and solidarity, overcoming material desires, fame, or personal gain. However, with 5 eps and just 40m per ep, need to speed up the storyline, going straight into the battles and omitting the "breaks".

The result is this lack of depth, many characters are not fully exploited, and the interactions between them are also greatly simplified, making me hardly emotionally invested in them.