Celebrity follows the rise and fall in popularity of a celeb with humble beginnings. What really piques my interest is the mystery behind our female lead's statement that she is actually dead.

With a stellar cast and a promising trailer... I was anticipating a lot from this drama. Also, it's directed by Kim Chul Gyu who also directed Flower of Evil, which is one of my faves of all time). I would say the pacing is great: the writers are doing a really good job at dropping breadcrumbs for multiple different storylines. The camerawork is also very creative and I want to praise it as it enhances all the emotions going on.

But my overall impression is not positive. After I watched half of Celebrity, the story didn't build enough tension for me. The depictions of wealth and glamour were quite enjoyable, but they're visual fluff that just doesn't really appeal to me. I was getting whiplash with one episode that would be so painfully boring, and then the next episode I saw the glimmer of potential conflict, but it never like reached the point of solid storytelling. Also, I don't personally feel as connected with the lead character. She lacks the charm for me to feel sympathy or buy her motivation. I feel like there's a lot about her that I don't know. So I didn't get invested in her relationships with other characters as well.

The last two episodes of this show were quite a drag for me to get through. Even though the episodes are short (20-30 mins), I watch them like in 10-minute chunks. I found the ending so dissatisfying. I wasn't shocked by any of the reveals. I wasn't happy. I wasn't sad. I was pretty emotionless because I could see that the show was ending and I just didn't care.

-July 2023, Yovita
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