So this is part 1 of my disappointing drama reviews. Multiple people mention a drama that disappointed them and I watch and see if I have a different perspective. Contains Spoilers.
- Dramas reviewed
- Hyde Jekyll Me
- Cinderella’s Sister
- Memories of the Alhambra
What it is about (from asianwiki): Koo Seo-Jin (Hyun-Bin) has two different personalities. One of his personalities is cold like Hyde and the other is sweet like Jekyll. He works as the director of theme park Wonderland. Jang Ha-Na (Han Ji-Min) works as the master and actress of a circus at Wonderland. Koo Seo-Jin tries to kick the circus out of Wonderland and Jang Ha-Na reorganizes the circus to stay. In the process, Jang Ha-Na falls in love with Koo Seo-Jin.
My thoughts: When I started this I knew it was not going to be good. The very first episode literally had a weird CGI gorilla. I had only a vague idea of what the drama must be about before starting it. What I didn’t know until I was at episode 12 that this drama was actually 20 episodes long and not 16. By that time the plot already felt like it could be resolved sooner. By ep 15 they caught the ‘bad guy’ who was trying to hurt the leads. You would never guess who that is by which I mean you most probably would. What could they possibly fill the remaining episodes with? So of course a lot of it was filler. Now I must say that I kind of enjoyed the first half of the drama. But soon it was obvious they were stretching the reveal for far too long.
Honestly I wasn’t too thrilled about watching just another drama about another arrogant rich person overcoming his childhood trauma. I didn’t care about the main guy at all. And said childhood trauma which had to do with a kidnapping was also connected to the ‘bad guy’ and the female lead. I am sure it sounds familiar, remember What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? Not to mention Multiple personalities had been done in Kill Me, Heal Me which also aired around the same time which I haven’t watched. So I mostly liked his other personality ‘Robin’ better cause he was the very opposite of the other. While Seo Jin was someone who literally would push a woman into harms way cause he was too scared, Robin was his more gentle, protective personality. Meanwhile they needed the female lead’s help in finding the person who kidnapped their Psychiatrist, as she was the only one who had seen his face but couldn’t remember it.
The plot was divided between finding out the person who is trying to hurt the leads, Ha Na and her relationship with ‘Robin’ and Seo Jin, and Seo Jin overcoming his issues and dealing with his other personality. So of course there was short of a rivalry between them over Ha Na. There came a point I started to get annoyed with both and how they behaved when it came to her. But I was back to feeling bad for Robin in the last few episodes. Ha Na was obviously interested in Robin but Seo Jin wanted her to like him instead, despite the first half of the drama which he spent avoiding her. So this unusual ‘love triangle’ made things quite complicated. I ended up caring less and less about it.
The drama had a song that repeated so many times and annoyed me so much, I could almost put it on par with ‘Love is the moment’ from Heirs. The ending was a bit disappointing but it was kind of expected. Because there wasn’t much of a plot in the last five episodes it was mostly about the characters coming to terms with the possibility of Robin disappearing. The plot was all over the place with its inconsistency.
Verdict: Did not have enough of a plot to justify 20 episodes and I get why the ratings ended up dropping very low. So I have to agree with others on this one, considering the lead actors this would be disappointing to many and you would most probably decide to drop it.
What it is about (from asianwiki): Eun-Ju (Moon Geun-Young), who lost her father many years ago, finally moves gets a new family home when her mother remarries. Although things seem to have turn the better for the cynical Eun-Ju, she immediately faces problems when she meets her new step-sister Hyo-Seon (Seo Woo). Hyo-Seon with her bright character is the apple in her father’s eyes and the clear favorite in the house. Furthermore, Eun-Ju’s mother also seems to have fallen for the charismatic personality of Hyo-Seon.
Making matters worse for Eun-Ju, Hyo-Seon seems to like Eun-Ju’s prince Ki-Hoon (Chun Jung-Myung). Eun-Ju decides then and there to take matters in her own hands and exact revenge on her Cinderella like stepsister …
My thoughts: This 20 episode long melodrama is pretty heavy on the angst. Every character seemed so miserable and so was I by the time I was nearing the end. This isn’t really about revenge as the synopsis makes it out to be. But this story is not about Cinderella but her sister and how she comes to try to live with and adjust with the family. The first four episodes were okay but then the time jump happened. Honestly that part didn’t disappoint me cause the it wasn’t like the first four episodes impressed me and I actually expected it wouldn’t get that much better. Still one could hope, cause before I started it, I was actually very interested in watching it, but alas. Those four episodes were rushed but once it slowed down you’d wish the drama would pick up pace again.
This drama seemed to have got good ratings. It was also Ok Taecyeon’s debut drama. The first episode felt too rushed to me. Moon Geun Young’s character was quite jaded and cynical and it was hard to watch. And then our Cinderella, Seo Woo, was spoilt for affection and demanded it, and it was pretty annoying at times. Things changed halfway through the drama when something major happens in the story. It seemed like the sisters were now starting to get along. But there was a lot of things that needed to happen before they did.
Honestly there’s really nothing much I can say about the drama. The romance wasn’t that compelling to me either. The triangle, square or whatever it was. I think I would have enjoyed it better if the drama was shorter because a lot of the things felt unnecessary. By the time I reached the end I was actually glad to finally finish it. There were plenty of fights and shouting between the two sisters, with the stepmother and I wondered why they had to spend so much energy on it. I did cry at times and was invested in parts of the story but maybe I don’t do well with dramas like these.
Verdict: A frustrating watch from the characters to the storylines. Becomes a chore to watch till the end.
What it is about (from Wikipedia): After receiving an email regarding a groundbreaking AR game about medieval battles in the Alhambra, Yoo Jin-woo (Hyun Bin), CEO of an investment no company that specialises in optical devices, travels to Granada, Spain to meet the creator of the game, Jung Se-joo. However, Se-joo has gone missing and there, he meets his older sister, Jung Hee-joo (Park Shin-hye), who is the owner of the hostel he stays in and a former guitarist. Both get entangled in mysterious incidents, as the border between the real world and the AR world built by Se-joo begins to blur.
My thoughts: The second Hyun Bin drama on this list (sorry) that people found disappointing. This one wasn’t as bad to watch but I could see from the first episode itself it’s flaws. I think it is with this drama that my interest in Park Shin Hye as an actress has lessened. I thought it would be great it she were utilised properly but I think I have seen 3 dramas too many of hers, where her character didn’t do much for me. Sure her crying scenes are good but that’s about it. Don’t want to be mean, but if I were her fan it would have annoyed me a lot, that they didn’t give her anything important to do. She was just there to play the love interest and also an in-game character, that was probably more useful for the plot.
I think the most I cared about any of the characters was when the ML’s secretary died. FL was literally told not to do anything and just leave things to the ML, including finding out where her brother was. Which neither was able to do on their own anyway. This was the ML’s story and the romance was just there cause the drama needed one I guess. The drama was well shot and looked great but there were a lot of things that didn’t make sense. If you feel like making theories don’t bother, it would not be worth it as there are obvious plot holes. I wish I was there during the fun people over at Dramabeans had, cause reading some of the comments over on the recaps make me kind of wish I was a part of it. That’s one of the only thing I have come out of the drama thinking (okay I don’t know everything that happened, if people were fighting in there don’t tell me).
I didn’t hate it though I swear. I prefer this over the other two dramas in this list, as well as over Sisyphus and The King Eternal Monarch both of which I have dropped. The world building was obviously very flawed. I think to me it was obvious when in the first episode the ML got a call from FL’s brother, travelled from Barcelona to Granada, spend quite some time at the FL’s place, tried playing the game and the drama tried to tell me it all happened in four hours? Sure. The drama was left kind of open ended. But there were some great ideas, and it could have been so much better if there was more thought behind it.
Verdict: Disappointing ending, rules that don’t make much sense and an unnecessary romance that could have been left out. Interesting concept but bad execution.
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