sheherizade3

Where do I begin. First and foremost, the exceptional, amazing and powerful acting from two of the best actors of K-dramas, Park Shin Hye and Ko Hyun Jung. It's seldom to watch a drama with a female villain and in that sense this made the story unique. Ko Hyun Jung's character, Im Jung Hee embraced the dark side to avenge the unbearable tragedy brought upon her and her sibling as part of a group of children living in a welfare centre. I was mesmerized by KHJ's acting as she wielded power over everyone around her. She was soft spoken, hardly raised her voice and yet, behind her smile one can sense a seething anger and the promise of a tragic ending for anyone who dared to cross her path. She was highly intelligent and used that intelligence and cunning to break her enemies and in several instances, outsmart Lawyer Jo. The other half of this powerhouse couple was Lawyer Jo Deul Ho, the friendly neighbourhood lawyer. He was on the right side of the law, fighting for the poor and downtrodden. His disheveled appearance and questionable approach to hygiene aside, he happened to be a brilliant lawyer, totally devoted to his clients and dedicated to uncovering the truth like a dog with a bone. I can only describe Park Shin Hye's acting with one word, outstanding. Together, PSH and KHJ made the drama addicting, gripping and spellbinding. This was for me, more character driven as both Lawyer Jo and Jung Hee used everything in their power to outdo and outwit one another so that the story became secondary. I'm surprised that season 2 did not garner higher ratings than season 1. Season 1 was ok but forgettable and the main lead actress' poor acting ability was blatantly obvious every time she's onscreen with PSH. Overall, if you like crime thrillers that this drama has in spades and magnificent acting, I highly recommend this drama.

Hi kitty. I'm curious. If found out, are these rich parents in South Korea indicted? Lori Loughlin and the other parents are looking at jail time for their participation. William Singer (he would be Kim Joo Young in the drama) who earned $65 million from the scam, could face up to 65 years in jail. His co-conspirators have all been indicted. If Han Seo Jin in the drama lived in the States, she would definitely be indicted. In the drama, HSJ did not, so, I'm assuming that South Korea don't indict the parents. What she did to her daughter would be considered child abuse (she''s been programming her daughter since she was 4 years old) as well as child endangerment (I'm not sure with this because KYS was already in high school). HSJ was aware that KHN may have been killed but did not report the crime immediately. Had her daughter showed no sign of stress, she probably would have kept the crime a secret and allow the crime to go unpunished. So, I did not really buy into her overnight "repentance." KJY was right when she called out HSJ as being equally guilty in the last episode. What is heartbreaking is KYS suffered the brunt of her action. She was expelled as a result, she may not even be accepted in med school while her mother, the perpetrator, went scot free. Tutor Kim did not get out of jail. I think the last scene was the writer's way of saying that people like KJY would always be around as long as there are parents like HSJ. It's just sad to know that parents in South Korea put tremendous pressure on their children.

My eyes are gritty after I just marathon watched this riveting drama. Ironically, a huge scandal appeared on TV and in the news today, "Massive college admissions cheating scandal snares Hollywood stars Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman" describing a scam among the elites that involve bribe payment for their children into elite colleges, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Southern California. Lori Loughlin and her husband paid $500,000 for their three daughters to be included in a rowing crew. This drama depicted parenting to the extreme. It's chilling to realize that there are parents like Han Seo Jin and her ilk who would go to excessive measures to ensure the acceptance of their children to medical school. In their blind ambition, they were easy prey to Kim Joo Young who turned out to be a manipulative, crazed lunatic bent on breaking families to ease her own personal pain. The finale was, for me, a bit disappointing. It was too neatly tied in a bow considering the horrendous circumstances that resulted in the death of Kim Hye Na. Han Seo Jin keeping KHN's identity from her husband, her cruelty towards KHN, her complicity in the cover up of the leaked test questions that led to KHN's death was unforgivable (even if at the end, she relented and reported the crime to the police). Her actions warranted her husband leaving her. Kang Joon Sang did not exhibit enough remorse after he learned that he killed his own daughter. He shed a few tears, promptly went back to his amoral wife and played happy family with their daughters. Resigning from his job to assuage his guilt was not enough to compensate for his throwing out his daughter from the OR. Instead of his colleagues asking him to stay, they should have condemned his action. Afterall, who wants to have a doctor who makes critical decisions based on political gain? At best, he was a mediocre doctor with a trail of complaints from his patients. Again, Lee So Im, No Seung Hye, Jin Jin Hee playing kumbaya with HSJ right after they discovered her part in the crime (she should have been indicted as a co-conspirator) was problematic for me. Sky Castle will be added to the list of my favorite Korean dramas. Congratulations to the cast for their excellent job. Love the cinematography.

Hi widala. I also agree with your observations. There were a lot of important missing pieces in the story that the writer missed. What sometimes frustrates me with Korean dramas is that, the writer's focus becomes muddled along the way so we get unnecessary, oftentimes repetitive scenes. Like, how many times do we have to see PDH's brothers cleaning a building or their friends drinking in a bar, the love story of Jun Hee and the monk (it's so unrealistic that, at this day and age, a woman would pine over a man for 20 years), the snivelling actress and her equally snivelling boyfriend, Gi Hoon. The drama wasted time on the above. Time that did not contribute to the main story. I'd rather see a meaningful conversation between Gwang II and LJA instead of watching him threaten and repeatedly brutalize her without giving us, the audience, a deeper understanding of his character. Jang Ki Yong did great at portraying Gwang II. The expression in his eyes showed anger, pain, frustration and it would been awesome if the writer and director took advantage of this actor's talent to explore and delved deeper into his character.

I just finished watching this beautiful drama about two people who met each other at the lowest point in their life and found redemption from their individual pain. I skipped this drama when it aired because I thought it was a romance between an older man and a young woman (the tile My Mister was quite misleading). I stay away from May/December romances. Thus, my late comments. I'm particularly impressed with our main actors Lee Sun Kyun as Park Dong Hoon and IU as Lee Ji Ahn. This was my first time to watch IU and she played the role of Li Ji An brilliantly. She deserved the best acting awards for this drama. I consider My Mister as one of the best Korean dramas. It depicted the life of a man in his forties having a career crises, while unbeknownst to him, his wife's having an affair with his boss, and a young woman struggling to make ends meet, caring for her ailing grandmother, at the same time being physically abused repeatedly by a loan shark. The story included PDH's relationship with his his wife, his own family, two brother as well as his co-workers and friends. Overall, this drama had everything; intensity, humor, drama, suspense and love especially between PDH and his two brothers and LJA and her grandmother. It also showed greed and intrigue in the workplace where the executives where fighting among themselves like rabid dogs. My only beef with the writer is that I find the imbalance in the way the drama was presented. There was so much emphasis on the life of PDH and his brother, his mom, his friends but there was hardly on LJA's side. Although PDH's brothers were lovable, I find their constant crying and bickering so over-the-top and childish for two 40 something year old men. I would have wanted to know more about LJA's best friend Song Ki Bum. There wasn't much background about him except he's a very interesting and nerdy character who happens to be around LJA. It seemed that he was LJA's partner in scamming people not only at the company where she met PDH but on her previous jobs. But the character that fascinated me most was Lee Gwang Il, the loan shark who used to be her very close friend until LJA killed his father. How did he transition from a loving friend to a cruel, abusive individual. It is hard for me to accept the writer's brutal version of him especially when he witnessed firsthand his father's cruelty and that he knew LJA killed his father out of self-defence. Their backstory was not expanded. The finale was heart wrenching. I was crying so much I ended with a headache. PDH got his somewhat happy partly unresolved ending (his wife's away with her son) but LJA broke my heart. Although, she had new friends, she's still basically alone. There was no resolution between her and her tormentor Gwang II. Apart from him returning the wiretapped conversations, it would have been great if he fell on his knees and begged for LJA's forgiveness. There was too much emphasis on PDA's brothers and LJA grandma's funeral that could have been put to better use. I would have wanted to see more of LJA's life after she parted ways with PDH, her best friend as well as Gwang II. My Mister should have been a 9 but I give it an 8 because of the unresolved issues on LJA's side of her story.

Anneyong loveukoo. I have not been posting for a while but I always check this thread for news about our Koo. Hoping and waiting for news about her taking on a new drama. Miss her.

GOO HYE SUN RECENTLY POSTED AN EYE-CATCHING PHOTO ON HER SNS. By Nicole Caluag | January 9, 2019 In the photograph, actress Goo Hye Sun is seen leaning on another’s shoulder, with a pensive expression on her face. Her bare-sided shoulder outfit catches attention as it shows of her thin shoulders. With Goo Hye Sun’s charm together with the latest outfit, the image drew attention from the netizens who praised her for her beauty. Goo Hye Sun first entered the entertainment industry in 2002, and rose to stardom after taking the female lead role as Geum Jan Di in Boys Over Flowers (2009). In 2016, she got married with actor Ahn Jae Hyun who was her co-star actor of medical vampire drama Blood (2015). https://www.hellokpop.com/internet/goo-hye-sun-updates-photo-sns/

I'm sure you've heard this line before when a boyfriend dumps his girlfriend..."it's not you...it's me. This drama had a great storyline, the cinematography excellent and it fits right up my "all I want in a drama" category. But...in spite of all the positives that I gleaned from watching the first few episodes, I could not continue. I know, it's not the drama....it's me. I felt Park Bo Gum was miscast. He's too young and his face, although handsome, was a little bit effeminate for the role. Song Hye Kyo as Cha Soo Hyun portrayed a character so controlled and stoic so I thought that what she needed was a more passionate man that would awaken her from the placidness of her life. The encounter or love story between Cha Soo Hyun and Kim Jin Hyuk lacked the intensity I expected and without that, the rest of the drama became a meh for me. There was a total lack of chemistry and they looked more like an elder sister and younger brother. I'm not concerned about the age gap because it does work if the characters have the right chemistry to make it work (to this day My Name is Kim Sam Soon is still my favourite K drama). A So Ji Sub, Jo In Sung (think What Happened in Bali where both were fighting over the same woman) or a Lee Dong Gun (Love Now) would have been perfect for the role. They're not only gorgeous but they have the depth and ferocity to portray a man deeply in love with SHK's character.

@maris1 I too at first ignored watching "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon." I probably attempted to watch it three times then stopped. At that time, I was a newbie viewer of Korean dramas so I was not familiar with Kim Sun Ah and the fact that it's a story of an older woman and a young man was enough for me to lose interest. But then I found out that this drama was one of the highest rated Korean dramas so that it piqued my curiosity. I finally decided to watch it more out of curiosity and to find out what the hype was all about. Guess what, to this day, it's still my favourite Korean drama. This drama was brilliantly written with witty, sophisticated dialogue not to mention the off-the-charts chemistry of Kim Sun Ah and Hyun Bin. I've probably watched it more than fives times already. Highly recommended.

Just finished watching the final episode. I was reluctant to watch the last episode because of so many negative comments, but surprisingly, I liked the ending. This drama was more action/adventure with a bit of romance thrown in. The story followed Jin Woo, a wealthy CEO bent on acquiring the AR game before his rival beats him to it and along the way, something went terribly wrong so that he was sucked into a dangerous game of survival. The writer focused more on Jin Woo and his quest to solve the mystery behind Se-joo's disappearance and his friend's death and the others that followed. There were blatant plotholes that the writer did not bother (or too lazy) to clarify. It was never explained how a game could kill humans so I decided from that point on not to wrack my brains about it, suspended my disbelief and just enjoy the drama. Hyun Bin was just so fantastic and swoon-worthy as he battled warriors, zombies and soldiers. He must have been so exhausted in the end because of the physical demand of this role. The romance between Jin Woo and Hee Joo was more gratuitous fan service. With the little amount of time they spent together, there was very little opportunity for the romance to develop. Hee Joo fell hard for Jin Woo and was doing all the initiating, following him around like a lovesick puppy. Jin Woo, on the other hand was a reluctant boyfriend and when he reciprocated somewhat her feelings, I felt that he was just doing it to spare hurting her feelings. After two failed marriages, Jin Woo had a jaded opinion of relationships and marriage. Based on that and the fact that the ink on his divorce papers was barely dry, I really doubt that he was mentally and emotionally prepared for a new relationship. So I understand why the writer did an open ended ending. Jin Woo was more focused on his quest rather than pursuing Hee Joo. What I did not like about Hee Joo's character is that she came across as clueless and weepy. Her brother was missing, she knew that the emails she was receiving were not from her brother and yet she never bothered to look for him for one year? She cried at the drop of a hat which is kind of irritating after a while. Now, if I were to write the story with lots of adventure and sizzling romance, I would make Hee Joo portray a brilliant hacker who is looking for her missing brother. Like Jin Woo, she's also playing the game to get a clue as to her brother's whereabouts. They meet at her family's inn in Granada. At first, she resented Jin Woo's arrogant, entitled behaviour but when both of them discover they share the same mission, they get together to battle the enemies and find love along the way. Love the scenes in Alhambra and it would have been perfect if the drama was shot there in its entirety.

It did occur to me after I've posted my comment. The stepmother in all probability committed manslaughter rather than 1st degree murder because her action was spur of the moment, not pre-meditated.

I agree with you that bludgeoning her stepmother would be stooping to her level... that of a murderess. One cannot right a wrong by committing another wrong. I was actually cringing watching the scene while silently screaming "don't do it." I understand your premise of healing but without atonement on the part of her stepmother first, there will never be healing. As the drama concluded, there never was any form of atonement from the stepmother. So that is my problem with her character. She's narcissistic, self-absorbed, lying and cruel woman proven by the fact that, even after she killed Woo-Kyung's sister, she continued to treat her grown stepdaughter and her own daughter with the same cruelty sans the physical abuse. In spite of Woo-Kyung's attempts to win her love, she never reciprocated and insulted WK every chance she gets. She even connived with WK's ex husband to have custody of her daughter. She may even be suffering from a personality disorder. First step for WK is to ensure that her stepmother get counselling, maybe even check her in a mental institution. At the same time, WK should give time for herself to heal, let her sister mend physically and mentally, allowing her to rid herself of all the hate and resentments she felt for her mother. As a mother myself, I will never allow my daughter to be exposed to this poor excuse of a human being. I'm surprised that there's statute of limitation for murder in South Korea.

This was a great thriller. The drama maintained the suspense from beginning to end, and kept me at the edge of my seat as the story unraveled. As always, Kim Sun Ah did a superb job of portraying the tragic heroine Cha Woo Kyung. Ok, having said that, I have a few gripes with the writer in that, the story did not delve deep enough to shed a light on how Yoon Tae Joo became the monster, Red Cry. Because Red Cry was the central character amidst all the savage killings, the writer should have provided a backstory of Yoon Tae Joo, what happened to his childhood from the time he was abandoned. Did he have a traumatic experience that became the catalyst for turning him into a vicious killer as well as manipulating his brother and others to commit those vicious killings? He was well educated, he seemed to have had a normal life in the States so I can't reconcile the fact the he suddenly emerged as a killer and therefore I conclude that he was nothing but a depraved serial killer and that protecting the children was his excuse to go on a killing spree. I also could not reconcile the fact the Cha Woo Kyung, after learning that her stepmother killed her sister, continued to have a relationship with her. After all the built up angst, she really did not do much to avenge her sister's death, like banishing her stepmother from her and her daughter's life. It's beyond creepy that she allowed her daughter to have a "normal" relationship with her grandmother just because she happened to like her. In my opinion, this weakened the narrative of her dedicating her life in pursuit of finding out what happened to her sister. Not only that, she was emotionally crippled throughout her adulthood as a result of being abused as a child.