loved it
i just loved it.the acting nd visual is perfect.i want season 2🥺❤️..please give us season 2🥺❤️.it feels empty now that it's finished.i don't know what else to watch next.i am stuck on this drama for now🥺❤️..i have no ideas why some people are giving negative reviews.it was a great drama.though it would have been better if there was one more episode.then the ending would have look more satisfying.i want another drama of both of them together.i wish there will be a season 2.Hu Yitian is soooo damn good looking.Xing Fei is sooo pretty.i loved xiao ci nd du lingfeng's character too.nd the wingmans of captain shen qingyiuan was also cherry on the top.i loved there characters alsoEsta resenha foi útil para você?
Vic and Barbies preformances were flawless and spectacular. Other than the 1 Litre of Tears drama, I've never seen such amazing acting.
The director had a habit of not playing music at times which just added to the creepy atmosphere. I thought it worked well with the scenes. When there was music, such as the theme song, they were all well chosen.
This is one drama you won't regret watching.
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I started watching this drama knowing that it will be a sad one. However, I never thought I'd fall in love with all the characters. This drama made me think and feel emotions that are not part of the drama. It made me pause and look back on my own life. Am I happy? Did I ever make anyone around me happy? If I die will people I consider family and friends act like how Yuri's family and friends did? It made me value more the meaning of life. Thus, I believe, this drama exceeded what it was suppose to do which is to share a story. Through every episodes of the drama, it tried to impart with us a lesson we can take in life.
I'm happy that the writer did not choose to give us an ending which is absurd. It stayed true to its title. I know somewhere along the way, we somehow wished that Yuri will stay and live but we started this drama knowing that she will die again eventually, heck, the title of drama gave it away. It literally is "Hi, Bye Mama!"
This is me being greedy but I wished they had a longer epilogue for everyone. I would've loved to see how Yuri's family is coping with losing her again and of course her best friend Go Hyun Jung.
PS: I was really hoping that Lee Si Woo's character (Jang Pil-Seung ) would've gotten more screen time. But will just wish to see him more in his next project.
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This is the story that everyone deserves to see
Alright, so now I can finally write my real review of Gaya Sa Pelikula, when I first saw the trailer of Gaya, I knew I had to watch this series cause the trailer had so much packed into it but I was skeptical because I have seen so many series with like great trailers and the series would turn out to be absolute trash but that’s not what Gaya Sa Pelikula was.IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO START WITH THE ENDING QUOTE OF GAYA
‘LIBERATING LOVE AND EQUAL RIGHTS, TO EVERYONE OF US, THE REAL FIGHT IS ON THE OUTSIDE. WE WILL WELCOME YOU WHEN YOU ARE READY’. This is the most important message of the series and what I want you to carry away with you
GENERAL REVIEW
Gaya is what I consider a real-life series, where it reflects actual real-life series. I am so glad it didn’t have any of the tropes you see in a lot of Thai series [I pointed out Thai because I have seen Taiwan doesn’t do this as much even Pinoy series don’t], like the ‘I am straight bro, but I just love you because mystical forces in the galaxy fell in the right places’, no, they gave me real gay characters, they gave me some hard truths about the coming out process, how some people saying the word ‘GAY’ or treat it like a taboo sometimes, they showed most of the fear and emotions that accompany coming, they didn’t paint it like this rosy path and all love, the internal conflict so many people face to come out and be themselves. Gaya was not another annoying jealousy storyline [eyes tharntype 2], it was a series that actually kept its cast small and made sure that no character was left undeveloped and they actually had a story to tell, one which they executed perfectly.
Gaya Sa Pelikula is the life story of you or someone you know; it feels really right from the get-go and everything done in it has a purpose and is very relatable. The story, cast, soundtrack, and acting are a heavenly match and have easily stepped up to become my best BL of 2020, in fact, I stopped characterizing this as a BL but a story about two people meeting and falling in love with each other, it almost emphasizes the fact that their story can be yours too.
Don’t get me wrong when I say I classify the story as a normal story, that’s not to take away from it as bl because they did definitely handle the theme of discovering one’s sexuality and oneself but it felt real to me. I almost don’t know how to explain. The cast members each had a story to tell, a different struggle to tell, a different perspective and it explored different backgrounds meeting and interacting with each other. Like the person who struggles with an identity crisis and a feeling of inadequacy [sometimes linked to their sexuality], the protective family member who sometimes oversteps certain boundaries to protect the one they love, the person with the happy smile all the time but comes from pain and struggle and how that influences their action, they might make you mad, they might have made you tear up a little, they may have made you happy or disagree with their actions but there was no wasted character, each had a purpose and honestly watching this while my day the series was like a balance, I didn’t have to deal with illogical jealousy from stupid exes kidnapping dogs for no absolute reason or trying to murder someone and everyone hugs it out at the end, no each character had a purpose and I loved that about them, that they felt real, they felt like actual people not some weird fantasy of some random person of what a BL feels likes.
CHARACTERS AND DIALOGUES
I feel the dialogues amongst the characters gave a lot of background to the characters and made them somewhat ‘real’ to me. So I would review the characters because of the dialogue they had, especially keywords or parts they said that had a lot of impact on me.
The lead characters, Karl and Vlad have such insane and beautiful chemistry, its mind-blowing, their flow is just so natural, they did not feel forced, which brought a lot to the story. To talk about the characters I would intertwine it with some key sentences and I would actually refer to this person on YouTube that made the best reviews after each episode [ if you check the comment section you would get what I mean]
Vlad is gay and open about it, he is outgoing, quite stubborn sometimes, and gives you this first impression of a rebel, but we come to see that he is this soft, cute loving guy, who is quite vulnerable and has been hurt before. Karl is someone who grew up with expectations and dreams of another placed on him, so he has never gotten the chance to be a person of his own and he is very reluctant to shake the status quo but, shortly after meeting Vlad, he becomes more courageous about his own person.
Here are some lines that I found remarkably interesting and telling of the series
1. ‘I will not be the plot device to trigger someone else’s identity crisis’
This line could honestly easily one of the most powerful lines in the series and one of the scenes that Gaya started to pull away from other series which give us this usual trope of, ‘YOU ARE DIFFERENT’ ‘YOU MAKE ME FEEL THINGS I CAN’T EXPLAIN’ ‘It is JUST YOU AND NO ONE ELSE EVER’, now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there aren’t people that have only been with one person of the same gender, I mean my friend is an example but the fact that we have been overfed this trope in almost every series makes it tiring and annoying, SOTUS, Dark Blue Kiss, Water boy, Theory of Love, name the series, it is just like a back to back-feeding of being gay is not normal, a once in a living thing. I first loved the fact that Vlad was openly gay and proud of it. This line just held a lot of meaning to me. This line also showed me a little bit of Vlad’s history with the infamous ex that starts all his pain in the first place.
2. Do not be scared of the word, you can say it, it is not an insult, I do not mind
This line could easily be my most memorable line of the series, like if I could forget every single part of this series, I do not think I could forget those words ever in my life. This is basically I think what the LGBT community does not do on our own part sometimes, we do not educate and communicate and that was what Vlad did for Karl [I would focus more on this role in my review of my last few dialogues]. Communication and trust are the most key things in every relationship, and I appreciated how calm a reasonable Vlad was with Karl especially allowing/guiding him to come to terms ‘on his own terms’. This line kind of debunks how homophobia has changed the view of the word ‘gay’ or anything associated with it, as almost taboo, but this line presents Vlad has someone who has gone through it all and has arrived at a position that he loves, a representation that I loved.
3. I never said I was a perfect ally. I am still learning through this [I am actually not sure if this was the perfect quote but it was something along this line]
I know a lot of people were not fans of Judith, but I think she represented two important things, family as well as being an ally. Let me start with the ally part, I actually argued with someone about Judith’s role during the dinner and being an ally, but I linked it back to her statement in the past, now I am not excusing Judith for putting Karl on the spot, she crossed the line but at that moment, she was not being an ally but a sister rather, a sister who for the love of her brother wanted to protect him from heartbreak. What she right, we can debate that, but the truth is that is what a lot of family members would do, not just for their gay family member but for any family member. At the ending of everything she was a sibling first before an ally and the truth is that sometimes we are too quick to ‘cancel’ people for not being the perfect ally but honestly, I do not think we have a single perfect ally in the world, every ally is just learning at their own pace and the conditions that surround a particular ally of the community definitely impacts their behavior both past and present, Judith represents that, her change from someone that bullied Vlad with her words when she was younger and naïve to someone ready to protect him shows how a lot of families really process in real life. I feel she was a very necessary character to tie this together. Because Judith shows the potential of people to grow and for their mindsets to change, as well as what a single conversation can change
4. “I don’t know if I’m like you. I don’t even know who I am”
This statement perfectly represents Karl and so many people in the world, when we first meet Karl we understand that his image in the eyes of his parents is very important and we come to learn along the line, his parents stopped differentiating between him and his dead brother. He grew up carrying the burdens of living his brother’s life to make his parents, from a young age he never got to know who KARL FEDRICK ALMASEN was and this is representative of so many people, basically empty shells working around. I mean I was a law student, I have had the pleasure of having parents that have supported me through and through everything but I know so many friends in law school who were just there because their parents were judges or owned powerful law firms and the mere thought of disappointing their parents seemed like an impossible scenario. Many people in life don’t actually know who they really which made Karl’s struggle more real, cause he represented so many people who never got to know themselves, discover what they actually wanted, but the truth is that we need to all face those scary truths, at our own time but eventually we do and if we are forced to face them before it’s the right time, a lot of people will shut off to the world.
I think it was great that Karl was actually given the time to face what he needed to face at his own time [like I said I would treat their contrasts in the review of the last episode dialogues]. The truth is that it is scary to face the truth and we got showed that so many times in Gaya, but what is most important is that we move our own pace, we shouldn’t be forced to rush.
5. I don’t know if I can point to a specific quote to Anna and her child but I felt the need to mention, I think I would probably discuss it with Santi [contrasting Santi with Karl and Vlad]
Anna represents when a change comes into your life, how to accommodate that new change but at the same time not lose yourself, trying to balance out the new change to your entire life while maintaining you, cause sometimes, when you lose yourself, you start to hate that thing or person who changed you. Anna wasn’t abandoning her child with her getaway but making sure she was intact herself, that she was complete as a human, because how do you raise a child if there are parts of you that are fundamentally missing a part, you cannot give what you do not have, hence her actions would impact her child more than mere words [as we see is the pattern with so many families, kids tend to pick up the traits of their parents whether intentionally] and honestly I think every human deserves that tiny bit of greediness and self-love.
For Santi, he mentioned something about not growing up with love in the finale and it reminds me of the privilege that LGBT youth like myself that is in their 20s or younger enjoy. Things were not always like this, we genuinely need to appreciate that people fought to get to where we are and that’s why it bothers me a lot when my generation wants to throw away the work the older generation has done to get to where we are, I know they aren’t perfect, they have messed up majorly but we must also respect and recognize that people before us got us what we have not. I think that’s the problem we face majorly.
I genuinely loved that they didn’t waste any character, each character portrayed a lesson to me.
6. I am going to merge a bunch of statements from the finale
a. I know I am not doing anything wrong but why am I still afraid – Karl
b. I’m gay but I still can’t tell papa, I love Vlad but I am not as brave as him – Karl and Santi replied – Soon
c. I don’t want to be silent about my love, I want to be out there, I deserve it just like you deserve to take your time inside – Vlad.
d. Can we just stay here forever – Karl, I want to take you everywhere – Vlad
I think these statements basically carry the most basic story of the entire series and maybe the most important, everyone deserves to move on their own time and I think that is what made me love Vlad in the end realizing that Karl deserves to move at his pace while he himself didn’t have to give up what he deserved to fit someone else. I know a lot of people were a little disappointed by that ending but I think it was a beautiful ending because it appeared to me that both parties actually loved the other person but they truly were not on the same wavelength in terms of growth, the both realized they both had to make a compromise, not necessarily to the other person but to themselves. Karl listened to Anna to be out there, not ‘OUT’ but we get to appreciate that he is making an effort on his own term to be out there. This symbolizes he is taking baby steps until he’s ready to be out there.
Vlad on the other end also understood her deserved not to be someone’s secret [that is genuinely damaging sometimes, speaking from experience] but the most important thing was that he did not force Karl either, he chose to look out for him and be with him, not necessarily in a relationship but being there gave Karl the right support and strength to push forward and for me, that is what love actually is.
As I said, I love Gaya because it didn’t just give me two handsome guys and a lot of skinship, but everything was so well planned, I don’t know if there was a second of the series that was ‘irrelevant’ to the overall story and experience, everything came full circle [or is it cycle] at its own time, no story was rushed, no action was left unexplained, no scene was accidental or without purpose, which I think goes to show great writing on the side of the script. To be able to masterfully explore your script to its full extent and make sure, every single part was explained, the audience wasn’t left hanging on why a specific character acted a specific way, like Judith trying so hard to be there for Vlad because she was lowkey terrible to him as a child, the fact Vlad hated his hair being touched, honestly, I was just as surprised when they explained that it was because it was the last thing his dad did to him before she permanently left which made him feel like he had failed his purpose of saving a marriage, I WAS KUDOS TO THE WRITER, THIS MIGHT BE THE BEST WRITING POSSIBLE. As I said, no character, scene, or moment was wasted
They perfectly complement each other in the cast and characters, they somehow all just felt like the perfect balance, and the fact they never really left that single Unit/building is another mind-blowing thing, like, minus the car scene with Judith, I don’t think they left the building.
OST
I have never been someone that really cares about OST, I am rarely big on OSTs, they don’t really move me, but Gaya’s OST is the first series asides UMWA, history 3, where your eyes linger and the effect, where the OST perfectly fits every part of the series, it makes you feel their joy, pain, and every emotion... Like even if the series was utter trash, which it isn’t, the OST would carry it for me, like 5 songs from the OST made my top 200 songs of 2020, that’s how good it is. Several times I found myself just sobbing or in tears listening to the OST.
The people in charge of the music department were as brilliant as the actors, directors, producers
This was a series that was made with a purpose and they executed perfectly I am so grateful to everyone who was a part of this movement because you truly took us on a beautiful journey, one I would never forget, you made me care for people, made me happy, made me laugh, cry with someone in their pain if that is not arts at its best I don’t know what is. Thank you for bringing this to the world in a year as dark as 2020
IF YOU ARE READ THIS FAR, I WOULD LIKE TO END WITH THE ENDING QUOTE OF GAYA AGAIN
‘LIBERATING LOVE AND EQUAL RIGHTS, TO EVERYONE OF US, THE REAL FIGHT IS ON THE OUTSIDE. WE WILL WELCOME YOU WHEN YOU ARE READY’.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE REVIEW AS MUCH AS I LOVED WRITING IT
BYE FOR NOW
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Confusing start but great conclusion
…. I actually liked it lol. Went into this thinking I was going to get dollar store Bad Buddy lol but honestly they are only minorly comparable.Destiny Seeker is technically about rival dorms, but frankly it seems like literally no one takes that seriously lol.
The first episode was confusing as hell. There’s this sudden time jump in the middle of the episode and three years have passed all of a sudden. I swear to god, it was so sudden, I thought it was an elaborate daydream.
It would have been better if they approached the first episode in a linear fashion. Personally, I also think they could have done a job establishing the rivalry between the dorms as well. They basically just show two seniors argue a little and that apparently makes a bitter rivalry.
Instead, I think they should have shown the viewers all the ways that the two dorms compete. Show a montage or something of the next three years, in which the leads are separated and forced to pit against each other even though they are actually kind of friends.
Songkhram said he had been pursuing Ai for three years and we didn’t see any of it. Instead of some of the filller padding they added to the show, it would have been better to at least briefly establish some of the missing gaps in the narrative.
Anyway, once you get passed that, it actually settles down into a pretty standard “rivals” to friends to lovers pipeline. And surprisingly high heat… which I was not expecting at all lol. Despite being high heat, there was actually proper, expressed consent and it wasn’t toxic at all. Shocking but it’s hard to come by.
This story really shines in its leads. They have great chemistry, a solid rapport and it is clear they must have run proper workshops to get them comfortable with one another.
The plot is basic but pretty sweet. I liked that they briefly went the “secret dating” route, but they were literally so obvious that their whole friend group knew already. Good twist on a common trope.
It’s a pretty easy watch, I would recommend toughing out the slightly confusing intro because overall it is a pretty cute story.
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Rare case of love triangle done right
Under the cliché high school romance full of tropes, there is a hidden depth. Don’t expect this show to change your life, but it might leave you with some thoughts to think about.It’s a short story of finding yourself, standing up for your beliefs, improving and changing your environment. At first all the characters might seem stereotypical, but there is more to them.
Tae Kyung is not your typical introverted shy boy. While he might not be the life of the party, he is confident and honest, never scared of voicing his opinion to the people he cares about.
Shin Woo seems like a cold, distant lead? Could not be further from the truth. He is a shy, sweet and loving potato that needs some time to open up to other people. He values his friends, trying to stay honorable while not giving up on what he desires and loves.
Da On might seem too good to be true, but he is battling his own demons. The external and internal pressure to be a perfect student, friend, son took a toll on him, and we witness his slow change, as he discovers who he truly is.
Shi Woon is not just a comedic relief that is supposed to brighten up the mood. He is the most caring and emotionally mature of all the characters, always giving wise advice and making sure everyone is taken care of.
While the drama follows all the well known tropes, by changing some details, and giving the character more nuance, it becomes more interesting and engaging. The love triangle? Chef’s kiss. The way the story unfolds, you cannot stop yourself from understanding both main ships, since they both work and have their charming aspects.
The acting could be improved. I know many people say Tae Kyung is just that awkward character, hence the acting is fitting - for me it’s just not good. While I ended up liking the awkwardness behind Sae On’s line delivery (it was cute), I do think he needs to train his acting skills quite a bit. The rest of the cast did rather well. Some more emotional scenes from Seo Hyun seemed a bit empty, but So Hee’s character was not worth even caring about, so I let it pass.
Light On Me is an amazing step forward for Korean BLs. The audience wants a longer format, the audience wants better production quality and the audience will appreciate the hard work. This show proves it. While I don’t think it’s the best K-BL, I completely understand the sentiment of people who do believe so. With more and longer episodes, the main leads were fleshed out more, the story had a steady pace and the supporting characters were more than just extras filling the space.
I also have to appreciate the job done behind the scenes - the cast supporting the genre in the interviews. The whole production team seemed to do it for more than just money, there is a true important message they are trying to convey. Even the OST singers A.C.E showed support for the community on countless occasions. On the OST - opening song is such a bop.
Some complaints though. While I understand the purpose of So Hee’s character, I also believe the show could have done without her being the antagonist. The same result could have been achieved without making the only female character the "villain". Her character progression was also not quite believable.
Another small, but extremely distracting aspect was the makeup. Damn. What they’ve done to Sae On’s pretty face should land them in jail. It was extremely unnatural, which added to the robotic vibe Tae Kyung gave because of the, at times questionable line delivery. They literally looked like plastic dolls, with white faces not quite fitting the tone of the neck.
The last thing worth mentioning - the first episode does not represent the drama well. It was not the best introduction to the story and the characters, but I promise it gets better with each episode.
Overall, such a fun and enjoyable ride. It truly brought a lot of people on mdl together to discuss the characters and relationships. Getting so many people so attached and engaged speaks volumes about the show itself.
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Unpredictable Plot with Script that Makes You Constantly Think & Analyse (Ending Explained)
I really love this drama as a whole. I love how groundbreaking and interesting it is that each episode seemed like its only 15 to 30 minutes long. I love how unpredictable it is like literally, you cant guess whats coming and I love how it is structured to make you speculate and ask questions. The editing was made to show the future first and later flashback scenes will follow aka Christopher Nolan’s ‘Momento’ kind of storytelling. You know that a story is great when it can evoke you all kind of emotions and this drama is exactly that. It made you care for the characters, only to play you around and makes you wanting for more. And I salute the writer for her ability to engage the viewers like she did in this drama.Aside from that, I really love the writer’s little clues here and there. She did a looooot of foreshadowing in this drama. It sure raise a lot of questions but you know whats coming with that. I mean, we after all can predict Jeong Hun’s death the moment Jin Woo asked Jeong Hun to join him at Granada (as in the train flashback scene, Jin Woo is alone and not with Jeong Hun). We also know right away that Marco is the one who hunt Se Joo the moment he made his appearance in the drama (as a blue checkered guy is the one who shot Se Joo). We also know as early as in Episode 2 that Jin Woo’s leg will be injured but his limp is cured the moment he’s playing the game. The dynamic of Jin Woo and Hee Joo’s relationship is also foreshadow since in the earlier episode on how she’s sitting in front of Jin Woo in the rain is making him feel protected and safe. Hee Joo didnt kill the enemies like Jeong Hun would (since after all she cant see Hyeong Seok's NPC), but her presence and existence is like a buffer between Jin Woo and the game and that particular scene perfectly show what would her role be in Jin Woo’s life in the future.
Jin Woo has become one of my very fave Kdramas’ lead characters ever. And I have to give credit to Hyun Bin for that. He played Jin Woo in such a depth that you literally feel his pain just by looking in his eyes. I have watched Hyun Bin for the past 15 years and I have to say that this is simply his best role to date (although Hyun Bin's Robin from 'Hyde, Jekyll, Me' is my soulmate :P). Its been a really long time that I’m this emotionally invested in a character and Hyun Bin portrayal of Jin Woo made me feel Jin Woo’s soul. Aside from his outburst in Episode 1, Jin Woo is actually a really nice, humble and level-headed guy. Its evidenced with the way he talk to other people despite their status – he actually use a polite language (instead of Banmal) to everyone even to his low-level workers. And not to mention that despite his trouble with the game, he still treat people with utmost respect and care despite he himself is facing a real life and death situations.
Now regarding the romance part of the drama, I thought it was done very tastefully and slowly -- in a mature kind of way. You could see clearly why Hee Joo falls for Jin Woo. The mixture of Jin Woo kindness (still giving her the full amount of the contract), to him touching her soft spot (playing guitar), to him still taking care of his ex-wife (despite he didnt need to), to him facing real & death situation when he falls at her hostel, to her taking care of him and Jin Woo asking her to stay... And later when she realised the length Jin Woo went through to find Se Joo. All this small details contribute to why she loves him. And as for Jin Woo, its obvious that he falls for Hee Joo's kindness and strength. He was impressed with her ability to feed her family and was also taken back by her kindness (the length she is willing to go to help him either in interpreting to taking care of him when he's sick), to her quirkiness on how she explodes when she's mad. Plus, the most important of all is how her presence made him feels safe -- even when Hyeong Seok NPC is in front of him (during the rain scene). Hee Joo is like a buffer between the game and Jin Woo. He just unintentionally ask her to stay by his side since he is just too scared to be alone. He didnt understand it either but later, he realised that he likes her for her sincerity -- the one he never get from Su Jin or Yu Ra. And he actually smile and laugh when she is around him which he never did the whole 1 year after their last meeting at Granada when the game make him question his sanity. That is why he had the urge to see her before he completed the final mission since she is someone important in his life. IMO, the romance part was dealt with many minor details and mature way thats why I ended up really liking how their relationship grows despite the horrible situation they're in -- its not too much nor too little. When you are deal with real life and death situation, your feelings intensifies which explain their relationship perfectly.
All in all, I give the drama 9.5/10. It is not perfect but it was interesting as hell and full of unpredictable plots. I would love it more if the writer actually explain how the characters die because loss of blood when they were killed in the game but I guess she just lump sum it up as part of the 'fantasy and mysterious’ part of the game when Emma made the reality and game world collide when Marco stabbed Se Joo with real knife. But aside from these minor details, this drama has become one of the most nerve-wrecking Kdramas in my book. Its rare for me to have palpitation when I watch Kdramas but this drama is one of a rare case and it will always be special in my heart because of that. :D
~ SPOILER ~
Explanation on the Ending:
ITS OBVIOUSLY A HAPPY ENDING. WHY?
I know that many people are really dissatisfied with this drama’s ending. I personally thought the writer trying to be creative with her ending but kind of backfired as many people got confuse with the game concepts and thought that the bug cycle was repeating themselves over and over again now that Jin Woo is still stuck in the game.
On the surface, the drama ended with a bittersweet note with a glimmer of hope at the end. However, after a second viewing, I have to admit that it is after all a clear cut happy ending. I realised many small details that the writer gave to us – that it was clear that despite the ending is ambiguous, the writer aimed for a happy end to both of our main leads. First of all, lets clear the confusion regarding the concept of the game world.
1. At first, I thought that Emma, while one of her features is to delete bugs, is a bug itself as she’s the reason why the game world and the reality world collide when Marco stabbed Se Joo with real knife. I mean, if she’s not there, the whole mess of the game become real wouldn’t happen as Se Joo will just bleed after the stab and probably recover after he go to the hospital. Jin Woo wouldn’t be in that mess and the only one suffers is only Se Joo with the stab wounds on his stomach.
2. Marco is Se Joo’s bug thus he do not need to be deleted for Jin Woo to reset the game. Plus, Jin Woo can't see Marco anyway unless he made an alliance with Se Joo. Bear in mind that Se Joo is the one who create this game and he set the rules. Among the rules are those who gave Fatima the Key to Heaven will win the game and become the new Master. And he also put one of Emma’ s features is to delete bugs and once bugs are deleted, the game will reset. And that is exactly what Jin Woo did; level up, get the key, kill the bugs and hand over the key to Emma and Emma reset the game. Now, why Jin Woo is a bug and need to be deleted? It is because he played the game while the game is in error state. Had other testers of the game made a duel and killed their opponents like Jin Woo, they will be in the same position as Jin Woo as well.
3. Jin Woo made sure he killed all of the bugs and also sacrificing himself in the process to end the game’s sinister elements. Since he already do this and reset the game to zero, there are no more evil cycle of one has to sacrifice themselves to save the others. Once Emma reset everything, it is a new game without bugs/errors/glitches. J One lost all the data and build the game back from scratch that is why it took them another 1 year to release the new game as they have to rebuild everything. The good thing about the whole thing is that is game is finally safe to be played unlike Se Joo’s original game which mix game world and the real world. The writer made it clear that the evil part of the game was buried once and for all when Jin Woo sacrificing himself at the end.
4. It was obvious that Yang Ju finally delete Emma from the new game when we hear that he regretted of keeping Emma where Emma in the end reset the whole game and delete all their hard work for the past 1 year. So no Emma, no more error in the game. There is no more Emma so the features of her to delete bugs and reset back the game is no longer there as well.
5. Regarding whether Hee Joo can see Jin Woo or not, she can see him as she is wearing lenses. All game users can see Jin Woo if he made an appearance that is why the guy at the restaurant insisted that Jin Woo is not NPC but an advanced user. But why there's no name for Jin Woo in the new game? It is because Emma has deleted everything including Jin Woo's game name 'Zinu' that is why he is without name. ‘Instance Dungeon’ is to make one become invisible from the enemies and hide themselves. Se Joo did hide himself for 1 year as Marco is there to hunt him so he keep using the instance dungeon feature to remain safe. Jin Woo in the other hand just use the feature to save himself from getting deleted by Emma. So if he didn't use the instant dungeon feature, other game users can see him. The problem is getting him out of the game and I believe that is Se Joo's task to do that.
And now the for ending, the writer purposely tell us about the 'Instance Dungeon’ and how a user can use it to hide themselves. And later at the end, it is shown that Jin Woo after all did use that feature to save himself. But why is he helping in killing low-level NPCs for other game users just days after the game was released? It is not actually a 'Master’ task to do that and he knew the game is now free from bugs and no one is getting killed for real. But he did it anyway. Why? He did that as a call of help to alert everyone that he is after all still alive but somehow still stuck in the game. He clearly let them know that he is still alive by helping the other game users. Now that Hee Joo knew that he is alive and hidden, it is only a matter of time for him to be saved just like how he saved Se Joo the year earlier. So, technically, it is only a matter of time before he can get his happy ending.
I am pretty much disappointed with the ending but upon second viewing, it wasn’t really that bad like I initially felt. The writer for surely aimed for a happy end, it just that, its not in-your-face type of ending like other dramas.
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Unfortunately, like an emotion, it has to be felt to be understood. Just like words frequently falter at expressing our feelings so they also falter at describing this beautiful drama.
With dismal ratings in Korea, the show even ended up being cut to 12 episodes. But even though the loss of those four is a tragedy and the show was forced to speed up its storytelling to compensate, it is still an almost-perfect study of grief, loss and how we grapple with the hole people leave in the world when they pass.
Jung Hae-in always gives lovely understated performances and his portrayal of the inventor Moon Ha-won is no exception. Ha-won has loved and lost but always from afar as he observes life but fails to live it. He is an inventor in the world of artificial intelligence working on recreating the personalities of lost loved ones for therapeutic purposes. He is driven by the need to understand both the sudden death of his mother when he was 18 and the loss of his childhood friend, Kim Ji-soo (Park Joo-hyun), whose husband insisted she break ties with him after their marriage.
While working on the project he acquires a recording studio to lay down voices and meets orphaned sound engineer, Han Seo-woo. Chae Soo-bin is wonderful here as the warm but still grief-stricken Seo-woo. These two embark on a healing relationship of mutuality and reciprocity. This couple's ability to understand and accept the other's losses and to each give and take to an equal extent is heartwarming to watch unfold.
At one point in the drama, Ha-won suggests Banbogi: a meeting between two people who love each other at a midway point between the two. Bangobi encapsulates the reciprocity and mutuality between the two. One does not go to the other, whether physically or emotionally. They always meet in the middle.
Our core couple orbit the black hole that is the loss of Ji-soo. But around them swirl a host of other damaged characters. Ha-won's niece , Moon Soon-ho (Lee Ha Na) who has taken nine years to get over a bad breakup. Jis-oo's controlling and almost-abusive husband, Gang In-wook (Kim Sung-gyu). And the found family of guests living in the boarding house that Seo-woo took shelter in after the death of her family.
While the show examines grief in all its iterations - whether through the death of a loved one, a relationship, or even the person you used to be - it's also about the way in which we grapple with the hole a person leaves in the world when they're gone. How we want just a piece of them to hold onto and how we struggle with the realisation that we will never know what they were thinking because we can never speak to them again.
The Ji-soo AI that Ha-won creates becomes that piece. But it's through Ha-won and In-wook's reactions to that piece that we see most clearly what this drama is trying to say. People are not pieces or object to possess, control or dominate. We will never own them, just as we will never know truly what they think and feel. But that isn't necessary to gain comfort and strength from them and to give that comfort and strength in return.
Grief is overcome by connection and community but most of all through true mutuality. And that's the most heartwarming message of all.
I can only hope that now it's over, people can finally realise what a gem this show was. And maybe, just maybe, next time Korea produces something as finely-written and beautiful as this, people will watch it.
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I doubted that I would like this movie at first. The dialogue in the first scene was long. But I came to understand it was important. I don't regret the stubbornness I had to sit through that particular scene. Then came the confessions. Just...wow! What a brilliant scheme! This was a really clever one.
The music was very good and it achieved the desired effect. Even added an artistic tinge.
The characters were very well portrayed. I even sympathized with the worst of them (psycho kid). Had a conflicting sense of hating the things he did and feeling sorry for his situation.
I hold great admiration to the writer of this movie. Thank you, this actually had everything I ever wanted to see in a movie. It leaves a deep impression that I won't be able to shake off anytime soon.
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this had everything:
+ a slow natural "friends to lover" relationship.
+ no cliches, or better yet realistic twists to the cliches (like the girl "rivalry")
+ a normal 2nd ml that didn't secretly love the fl
+ a cute friendship
+ female power
+ dimples everywhere!
+ a male lead that apologized and didn't over step his boundaries, ie a real "nice" male lead
+ girls taking care of their own "problems"
+ and the best part, the nice healing plot development~
I kinda wish it was longer though ;(
the ost highlighted the strong female characters well, and I rarely rewatch things so it's either 1 or 10 ;p
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(There are heavy spoilers ahead for those who haven't watched it, since this is a review mainly about the details of the plot.)Burning is the type of film that has multiple themes but still manages to bring them out clearly through layers of symbolism. Recurring themes are sprinkled throughout the run time, and seemingly unimportant details become essential to the appreciation of this work. The slow-paced, character-driven plotline may be a turn-off for certain viewers, but rewards those who are patient and attentive to details. In this review, I will try to unfold all the themes that I have observed throughout the story.
Theme #1: Fact vs Imagination
A recurring theme in the story is what is real and what not. This is first mentioned through Haemi's depiction of an imaginary tangerine, peeled and consumed between her fingers. "Rather than imagining its existence, you forget about its non-existence... and naturally your mouth waters", she says. Another instance is Haemi's cat Boil, which Haemi tells Lee Jong Soo to feed while she is gone. The cat is never seen in the apartment despite Jong Soo's frequent visits. This could be a reference to the "Schrödinger's Cat", a quantum thought experiment in which a cat is simultaneously dead and alive, until it has been observed. Another reference of this is when Ben says he is "here and there, at home and out travelling, in Korea and in Africa". Haemi also talks about falling into a well at the age of 7, feeling disappointed that Jong Soo doesn't remember him saving her at the time. After further enquiries, Haemi's family claims that there was never a well at their place, while Jong Soo's mother remembers the well having existed. Was there ever a well? Or was it all made up by Haemi? The dual nature of existence expands further to the actions of the main characters -- whether there was truly a greenhouse that Ben burnt down, why Haemi suddenly vanished, and whether Ben was the culprit behind Haemi's disappearance. Did Haemi run away to escape from her debt, commit suicide because of her existential depression, or was she really killed? Near the end, Jong Soo calls Ben's new cat "Boil", and the cat runs into his arms. We never know if this is a mere coincidence, or if Ben killed Haemi and adopted her cat. These events highlight the ambiguity and uncertainty of life, that we can never be sure about what we seem to know, and everything is up for interpretation and our own belief.
Theme #2: Presence vs Absence
Another theme is an unsettling tension caused by the desire for something and the lack thereof. The absence of Haemi and the lust that Jong Soo has for her, the absence of a mother figure in Jong Soo's life and his loneliness as a person living a solitary life in a rural area carrying the weight of his father's prosecution on his shoulders, the absence of the cat that is believed to exist, and the phone calls that remain silent regardless of anticipation. This unsettling tension is evident even to the audience, whose questions about the plot are never answered. Jong Soo fails to find enough evidence to prove that Ben killed Haemi, and it leaves us hanging forever even after the credits roll. Our emotions become one with Jong Soo, and we become Jong Soo himself -- we want to search for truth, to be certain that we know something, to the point we start to believe what we want to believe just for the sake of filling that void in our minds. The movie ends without answering any of our questions, because the essence of this movie is not what the truth is, it's how we and the main character react to not knowing the truth. Something is off, but we don't know what exactly is wrong. It's always the absence of something that makes our skin crawl. We keep answering that anonymous phone calls hoping that someone will say something, so that we can know the "who", "what" and "why", and every time they aren't answered, we feel more impatient and curious, and "burn" with the growing desire of receiving a response -- this brings us to the next theme that we will explore.
Theme #3: Burning
The title of the movie is "Burning", so there are plenty of "burning" symbolisms sprinkled throughout. The burning bonfire of the "Great Hunger" dance depicting Haemi's desperate search for the meaning of life, the burning greenhouses suggesting Ben's unruly and destructive tendencies, the burning clothes of Jong Soo's mother representing the desire to sever ties and erase memories, the burning scene of the crime when Jong Soo kills Ben representing his hatred, and the burning lust and passion that Jong Soo has for Haemi that is never satisfied after Haemi drifts apart from him and eventually disappears from his life. Even the audience experiences a burning sensation of wanting to unravel the mysteries but is unable to -- resembling a slowly burning pot that never gets to boil.
Theme #4: Working class vs The "Gatsby"
There is an apparent gap of living between Jong Soo/Haemi and Ben/Ben's female friends. While Jong Soo is unable to earn a living as a creative writer and Haemi is struggling to make ends meet with all that endless debt, Ben lives a worry-free life cooking pasta at home and blurring the line between "fun" and "work". Jong Soo cannot do anything but frown when he realizes that he has lost his love to a man in a speeding Porche. The way Ben yawns and his friends laugh is almost humiliating sometimes, even though they try to cover up their lack of interest and degrading attitude behind their noble facades. To Ben, people's possessions (and probably people too) are only toys to him, things that can disappear without a trace without drawing any attention from the police, because they are too insignificant to be concerned about. The haunting thing about this is how true it is. When Haemi disappears, nobody seems to notice or care at all, because losing one lonely and ordinary girl does not matter at all to the world. Regardless of whether Ben murdered her, the indifference of the world towards a girl's disappearance is brutal enough, and shows how frail a person's life is if they are a nobody.
Theme #5: The clash of characters
It was brought up multiple times that Jong Soo's "occupation" is a creative writer, yet we never see him writing except in two distinctive scenes. Jong Soo spends most of his time managing his father's farm, passing the time at home, feeding Haemi's unobservable cat, and satisfying his sexual desires. The only piece of writing we see from him is the petition he writes for his father who is being convicted, implying that rather than using his writing skills for creative production, he can only use them to solve his real-life issues. One of the possible reasons could be that he is incapable of writing, because he is merely a mindless empty shell stuck in his past. He resonates with Faulkner's work, because he thinks it resembles his own life (his past), but he has no other thoughts aside from this past, nor does he have enough connection with the outer world to come up with any story for a novel. Due to having a broken family and lacking maternal love he is unable to properly interact with the world and enjoy life, but deep inside he longs for a connection, and tries to address this loneliness through touching himself. He is only surviving, but not living. Haemi, on the other hand, is drowning in debts but living her life in complete spontaneity. She is free-spirited and always has her head in the clouds, as if she is drunk. She smiles at one moment, and suddenly bursts into tears in another. She dances wildly, strips herself naked, without social schema ever crossing her mind. Haemi may seem insane, but she could be the most sane character in the story -- the only character that is truly living, that knows what is real and what is not, and contemplates about life's meaning. Despite having plastic surgery, she is more raw and authentic than those who live wearing a mask. And this is what Jong Soo likes about her, but what Ben finds boring. The three characters have different personalities and backgrounds, which ignites interesting sparks in their encounters.
Theme #6: Gender roles
The movie briefly touches on topics of toxic masculinity and female oppression in society. Quoting from Haemi's friend, "there is no country for women", women are often subject to scrutiny and harsh standards. "You're ugly", "Only prostitutes take off their clothes like that in front of men", Jong Soo is the typical traditional male who applies the scrutiny of appearance and behaviour. To Jong Soo, Haemi is the target of his sexual fantasies, the serrogate of a mother figure, and just an "ugly" girl that he doesn't remember from his past but a smoking love interest after her physical transformation. Ben takes on the role of playboys in society, those who pretend to respect and treasure women because "women like that are interesting", but actually see women as objects of possession, and to the extreme in this case, "trophies" that can be collected.
There could be more themes in this movie waiting to be discovered, but the above is my take on its more easily accessible themes. Burning is a masterpiece when it comes to having multiple themes perfectly woven together and presented through a single sit-through. It is a hidden gem among the countless fast-paced Korean films of this era, as it manages to go against the tides to adopt a more relaxed pace of story-telling, and such attempt was highly successful.
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I was so much enjoyed watching this drama, the plot is nothing new, it’s about to pursue your first love to become yours.
It’s nice, funny, and you won’t find someone really cunning in this drama.
Every episode ends well, you will excited to watch how the story goes on.
I love watching how good the chemistry between the casts Takeru and Mone.
I am also impressed with the relationship of doctors, nurses and patients in Japan as well as their technology in medic.
You will love to see the cities of Tokyo and Osaka in this drama.
Nurse Sakura is a hopeless romantic.
From the beginning she declares to the whole world that she loves doctor Tendo.
She may looks naive and irrationally in love to him, but her love towards him is pure, strong and sincere.
She works so hard to become a good nurse. She is clumsy, kindhearted to patients, and cheerful. She likes to fantasize dating with doctor Tendo, and like a Warrior - she never gives up on her love to him. She remains optimistic that someday he will love her even he seems ignorant and cold to her.
The two opposite characters of this couple are the main attraction of this romantic drama.
Since a million years he knew that she doesn’t suit him, she is not as smart as him, but still he starts falling for her.
It’s so sweet to see how doctor Tendo's love for nurse Sakura develops slowly and in the end he loves her as much as she loves him.
Believe me, you will not regret watching this drama. Highly recommended!
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Disgusting 3rd party and draggy ending
The last 10 episodes destroyed the show for me. What I hate most are 3rd parties who use underhanded methods to get what she wants. Fighting for love in the open or creating challenges for the leads - are acceptable to me and can actually be interesting to watch. But when underhanded means are used to deceive the leads and they don't even find out, thus creating a severe fracture in the relationship due to a fundamental misunderstanding (which cannot be resolved) - that is just pure disgusting and painful to watch.In this case, a prenuptial agreement (for the benefit of the FL) was swapped by the pure evil and disgusting 3rd party, Anna with a divorce agreement - causing the FL to misunderstand the ML and break up with him, and separation for 3 whole years. During this time, Anna tried to get together with the ML, but it is so clear that the ML never loved her, yet she never felt any sense of guilt.
I only felt anger and disgust when in the 2nd/3rd last episode, the ML got together with Anna and the FL got together with Anna's brother. This kind of relationship is very disgusting because there is no love and happiness involved; and it only came about due to the thick-skinned Anna, without any conscience or sense of shame.
It was only in the last 30minutes of the last episode that Anna's brother realised what happened and told the truth to the ML. This ending to me is very rushed and unsatisfactory. I was looking forward to some good moments of the FL and ML together - and this is robbed away from me.
What makes it even worse is that this problem can actually be resolved with some proper communication. The FL's best friend is aware of the prenuptial agreement. She tried to explain but the FL cut her off. Or the ML and FL could properly talk it over - there was even a scene 3 years later where the ML tried to explain, but it is clear the FL wasn't listening properly and had no intention of trying to understand what was going on. Totally childish of the FL. Dragged on a conflict for 10 episodes that can be easily resolved in 2-3 episodes. 10 episodes of such push and pull is too draggy.
Terrible and disgusting ending.
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I am not going to say that it's the best medical drama. But it's definitely one of them!
I solely started this drama because of Ji Sung. I can't say I dislike medical dramas but they aren't exactly my go-to genre. But like always, Ji Sung didn't let me down. I am so glad that I decided to watch this drama!It's no breaking news that Ji Sung has acting chops. Well, that seems a bit of an understatement. Every character that he plays on screen, you can't help but fall in love with. With that much charisma he is surely one of the most lovable ahjussi on TV right now.
Lee Se Young has grown so much as an actress. Maybe her character didn't sit well with everyone, but she did grew a lot throughout the series. Though that girl's hair is a mess, that I cannot deny.
The chemistry between the leads! Woah!! I loved them!
This has a slow burn romance, but it's so worth it! The drama doesn't shy away from their age gap, but it's never creepy or uncomfortable. Their relationship begins simply as a mentor mentee, but gradually develops into more, and it's so beautifully portrayed!
This series has seriously one the best second lead, hands down. That is, of course, if he does actually qualify as a second lead. I really enjoyed watching Dr. Lee on-screen! Of course, one of the things I loved about him was the fact that any chance he got to leave the two leads alone, he did it. He is such a far cry from.other clueless second leads. Also his minor love line with Mi Rae was cute.
Aside from focusing on one big idea on which the series was based upon- euthanasia, it also focused on day to day dealings of the doctors. How they suffered with their patients, how they learned from their mistakes, how they worked together as a team. There might be a few medical moral dilemmas involved, yet again, euthanasia aside. But try to remember that its a work of fiction. You can't expect them to provide accuracy on everything.
Euthanasia is quite a sensitive topic. It's hard to pick right or wrong with it. That debate has been going on for quite some time, an I believe it will go on for longer. Everyone has their opinion on the subject, and it's hard to say which one is right. If it is even possible to say so. For the most part, I think they did a wonderful job with it. In the start, you get to hear both their sides. You get to see why one is against that and why one is for that.
What I wasn't satisfied with though, was the fact that later on in the show, the writer decided to include personal reasons behind their stances on euthanasia. While it did not completely negate the whole debate about the topic, it still lessened the effect, at least for me.
Maybe I am unjustified in feeling so, but I feel like Lee Kyu Thing's talent were a bit...Well, wasted to be honest. He deserves a better character. I feel like his character wasn't really that fleshed out. It makes me sad, because even though he did a really good job here, his character was just so underwhelming.
One more things that I was unsatisfied with was that the "ending" felt a bit, anticlimactic, shall I say? After building the tension up gradually with each episode, it wasn't really satisfying to watch how it eventually unfolded. It's like the writer realised the moral dilemma with the situation, and decided to bring in a third party to put all the blame upon.
Every drama has something's it does great, and something it does not. Doctor John is no exception to that. But what it does manage to create, is something that is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It manages to create a charming, captivating and engaging storyline, series and characters, which I loved following straight from episode one, right to the finale.
So give this a go, chances are, this series would pull you right in!
Happy Watching!!
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What a fun ride!
I never enjoyed any drama as I enjoyed this from the very first episode till the last episode. It was a roller coaster ride for me filled with so much laughter. I don't think so that any drama can be this hilarious with perfect execution, script, cast, and everything, I loved every aspect of it and surely Mr. Queen has become one of my most favorites.I was hooked from the first episode. It didn't leave its track even for one episode. It was consistently good and hilarious until the very end. It was a beautiful journey which I enjoyed very much. I guess it had set up pretty much high standards for Korean historical for me.
Hat's of for the Shin Hye Sun I don't think that anyone could have done a better job than her. She was perfect for this role she nailed it. The whole cast was amazing everyone did a great job portraying every character, the acting was excellent and top-notch. It couldn't be this better without this cast. All dynamics of every character were great and three-dimensional even the villains did a great job as I hated them with whole my heart. The King's character was really great though it was a bit confusing in the start things got clear later The changes we did see in Queen in every episode her journey was phenomenal. The chemistry between leads was amazing it was the perfect pairing. I also loved side characters and their interactions as well.
The story was indeed well written and executed. The soundtrack and ost were perfect and the cinematography was brilliant.
Overall it was wonderful drama though it's not everyone's cup of tea if you like historical and comedy then definitely give it a try. It was a wonderful experience.
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