Wasted Potential

I started Only For Love for Dylan Wang. BaiLu has also given an impressive performance in a previous drama. Both are talented actors but this drama gave both of them nothing to work with. The plot is terrible, the characters are terribly written and there is no chemistry.

I watched the first 8 episodes of the show with the greatest of difficulty because nothing was happening with the couples. The drama revolved around a CEO making business deals (boring!) and a financial reporter who is trying to secure interviews by flirting with him (ridiculous!) on the advice of her best friend.

I didn't get far enough to see what happens afterwards because there was nothing to look forward to. Dylan is not fit for a serious CEO role maybe because there is literally nothing interesting about this character. He doesn't even have interesting conversations. BaiLu has also been dealt a bad hand with a character that is unprofessional and immature in her dealings and the series sends a terrible message. We are just expected to believe both are good at their jobs without seeing any real work being done.

I was recommended to skip ahead and watch the last 6 episodes. Episode 31 also doesn't really carry much weight. Episode 32 made me fall asleep in the middle of it. I don't know if I have the ability to even watch the last 5 episodes. I'm so disappointed. But you can see some bits of romance thrown in if that is what you were waiting for. In order to save this drama, it should have wrapped up in half the episodes it actually has. It is so rare for me to drop a drama but I just couldn't do it. Not even for the leads. I hope in future they will work together again in something that has a decent story. As for this drama, sincerely, don't bother.

Leia Mais

Fluffy RomCom with Minimum Drama

King The Land is a wonderful romcom. It is light and funny with not too many ups and downs in the lives of the main leads. And perhaps that is it's biggest drawback. If you're looking for a pure romance story with lots of steamy kisses (leads only) and minimal drama otherwise, then this is probably perfect for you. The male lead is the epitome of a perfect rich boyfriend who loves and supports his girlfriend and also her friends. He gets along with her family. He's the perfect gentleman who will fight for her and be there even when she doesn't know she needs him. It's like the honeymoon phase of all romance stories with 0 conflicts between the leads.

The flaws of the story, however, is that despite them introducing some interesting plot points, everything is pretty much subdued. Whether it's Gu Won (male lead)'s struggle to prove his value to his dad, him trying to get along with his older step-sister who wants him to have no say in the business, the mystery of why his mother disappeared, etc - none of it is that big a deal and is all resolved fairly easily or isn't given much time at all. It all comes secondary to the time between the couples. Because of that it feels a bit pointless at times to even have these things happen. And it's not just these that get quick and easy resolutions. Sarang (the female lead) has two friends who also happen to be working in the same hotel's King group - in the sales department and in the airlines. Oh Pyeonghwa is a stewardess and has a younger male colleague who likes her. I was quite invested in how things go for them but besides only getting few scenes and a bland kiss, we don't get much. The other friend also has an interesting story of a pathetic husband who has lost his job but does nothing except order his wife around. There are other work issues involving these friends. Though they had more drama and interesting scenarios, both friends get quick and easy resolutions with their problems and storylines. Makes you wonder why these two smart women were putting up with so much nonsense for so long.

King The Land also had a controversial character - an Arab guest portrayed by an Indian actor that drew a lot of criticism. Personally, I didn't find the portrayal as bad as some of the other viewers. I would have preferred they chose an Arab actor to portray the character who could have also given them some cultural insight that would have avoided any issues. But to really enjoy those episodes, you have to remember this is a rom-COM after all and some silliness is to be expected. I also don't blame people for their criticism considering how common it is to misrepresent or negatively represent Arabs and Muslims in dramas thus making viewers slightly more sensitive.

None of the above was really a cause for me to dislike the drama. I enjoyed it quite a bit, in fact, because of it's light nature and the comedic moments. But there is a recurring theme of toxic authority and forced respect throughout the show especially in the workplace. It's actually quite honest on how people in higher positions misuse their power and take advantage of those working under them. Where the show went "wrong" was when the best staff working at the hotel were shuttled off to the Gu family home and made to work as personal caterers for a month's worth of salary. Sarang went in blindly for this job without knowing what was required of her and when she tried to ask, she was shushed and reminded of the NDA she had signed. This scenario would otherwise be a hotbed for exploitation where it would be very easy to violate the rights of the employees. The whole aspect of this story was unnecessary. I wish more thought had been put on how this was presented. It was also a tacky rich man poor woman romance cliché where the poor woman has to wait on the rich man just to show the difference in their status. There also created a hurdle with this scenario that they simply forgot about. So I failed to see the point of it all.

Hope this review helps explain what you can expect with King The Land. Don't expect for any great revelations or any kind of rollercoaster or overcoming of great hurdles. The male and female lead are progressive and mature by nature and treat each other with respect. Though Sarang being constantly excited about everything is a bit too much at times. I would probably get sick of that first, if she was a real person. lol. But that's me. Otherwise all the actors did a good job. It's a fun drama. Maybe not the absolute best, in my opinion, but a good stress-buster. That's all we can really ask for.

Leia Mais

Based on an authoritarian propaganda piece

My main reason for dropping the title is that the book plot eventually revolves around war and authoritarian regimes and normalises xenophobia. We can further understand the mindset of the author, Liu Cixin, for his statement defending the Chinese government's mistreatment and mass internment of its Uighur Muslim population.

Speaking on the show, it's a slow moving story with multiple repetitions, eg. "The scientists are killing themselves!" every so often which was unnecessary. The people investigating these suicides don't really seem to care nor have any intelligence capabilities. It all rests on one scientist to act as a spy agent and provide them with answers and a cop that acts as his handler. Three Body is based on the first of three books. 30 episodes is overdoing it for an already slow moving plot.

The aspect that originally attracted me was the science which the series then proceeds to drive the point that "physics isn't real", again repeatedly.

Up to the mid of the 9th episode, the women in the series don't seem to serve much purpose apart from minor roles and eye candy. An apparently talented female officer is treated like a maid and 'errand boy' while doing the work of 10 men and not paid much (by her own admission). So much for equality.

There's also a game which seems pointless. One of the benefits of a computer is it allows us to do calculations and run simulations at a faster rate than a human would take. If a pattern exists, a computer would likely find it as long as some basic information is provided. The game offers no insight towards a solution. It's just added CGI effects to further drag the plot along that explains nothing. With every episode you are left with more questions than answers.

After reading the author's disdain for other humans, I didn't feel the need to watch further and it pretty much killed my curiosity. If these things don't bother you, you might be able to enjoy this lengthy series.

Leia Mais

Lacking compared to part1

My review is for the second half of the drama rather than the entire drama. I quite loved the first half (part 1) but this second half (part 2) was so much more weaker.

The first 3 episodes are decent, there are light moments (when you compare to the tragedies of the first part) and hope. But episodes 4 - 9 were such a drag to watch. You get brief moments of happiness and then problems. To the point that it seemed like a never-ending mess. I was prepared for a tragic ending. Apart from that, the story was really moving slowly with not much happening. You can easily watch these episodes on 2x because everyone talks so slowly.

Some of the characters really annoyed me. One being the king. He was so hell bent on retaining power and his position that he lost trust in everyone including his ministers, his son, and his people. To target his own people who already faced so much was simply unforgiveable according to me. What does loyalty mean if the other party unreasonably wants to sentence you to death in order to feel "peace"?

The other character was the scholar who acted all noble and could see that the king's fears are driving him to cruelty and he made the same exact choices by giving into his unreasonable fears. Though it just proved that he was always a cruel man and he never regretted his part mistakes. He would repeat them again without much hesitation.

Finally, it was Officer Gu, who we all knew was not worthy of marrying Gil Chae.

It's easy to blame the "barbarians" for the sufferings of the people of Joseon but this part highlighted that the people of Joseon were far more cruel to their own. They abandoned their own family and wives and sisters and daughters if they deemed them to be "tainted" and were obsessed with keeping Joseon "clean". They were willing to kill their own by labelling them as traitors without proof. They forced women to kill themselves. They humiliated anyone who survived. They truly disgusted me because instead of easing each others suffering and giving each other comfort after all the hardships and sorrows, they rejected and ridiculed them instead. They didn't allow their own people to heal. So the real traitors were the ones who escaped "unscathed". Problem is, I don't know if majority of the audience will understand this because of the way it was presented. Unless you can relate to being "othered" in your own country, it's unlikely that most of the audience will understand this aspect of the story because of the way it is presented. It will probably get sidelined as an aspect of war.

The last two episodes were the best compared to the rest of this part. Though there are again unnecessary hurdles and part of me wanted to know what happened to all the politics that we were forced to suffer through, I am glad we were not forced to suffer more on the leads' story front. If not for the last 2 episodes, I would have certainly scored this part lower just for those middle episodes. The male lead also said and did all the right things and he truly was a blessing for everyone. The growth of the female lead was also nice to see and a good contrast between part 1 and 2.

One aspect they glossed over is what exactly happened to Ryang Eum.

The OST of this show continues to be enjoyable.

Leia Mais

Nice but missing the wow factor

The concept of the show is pretty good. In the Josean era, a king dies and a physician known for his talent in acupuncture is blamed for his death and banished by the crown prince. A conspiracy surrounds the death of the king. Dejected, the physician nearly kills himself but is rescued by a maiden who also has great interest in forensic medicine. The physician joins a clinic in a nearby village and starts seeing patients but is unable to use acupuncture again.

The series shows different cases and each episode has it's own story while developing the story behind the king's death. However, the show focuses most of the treatment on the use of acupuncture and herbal medicine and there are not many cases involving psychiatry so the title will not make sense until you realise the series is expecting a second season.

There isn't overt romance and the drama and mystery progressed slower than I liked. There are comic moments but again, it may not be to everyone's taste. I felt like the drama had become a bit stagnant midway and finally picked up the pace in the final 2 episodes. I quite enjoyed the two episodes and feel like the show was simply delaying the inevitable for a few episodes.

If you do not like cliff hangers and open-endings, then you can wait until Jan 2023 when the second season will air and watch this season just prior to that.

Leia Mais