Kara Williams

This review comes from someone who has not read the books it is based on and I wanted to call out a few things i noticed in other reviews : 1. 'This show has an unrealistic amount of gay people' - Okay slow your role, of the 11+ characters we get to be introduced to about 4-5 LGBTQ+ characters 2. 'This show forces topics like racism and feminists' - There are talks that go on around this topic BUT most of if revolves around the scenes that occur in the 1970's/1980's when racism and gender equality were still HUGE topics of conversation. All in all, if your looking for crazy amount of scares and ghosts, this show may not be what your looking for. I enjoyed it because of the storytelling aspect similar to a lot of Mike Flanagan's previous works. It leaves you with a deep thought around topics such as death and the need some of us have to leave a name for ourselves before we are nothing more than a body in the ground. What I do agree with is this show could have easily been 5-6 episodes.

This show is a great casual series to watch. It brings in a very interesting perspective on a mother and father battling the stereotypes that come with what a family is suppose to look like. What i enjoyed was the two of them agreeing that each of their life goals/needs should not be seen as lesser than the other and that they should continue to root for one another each and everyday. You more than likely won’t enjoy the show if you go into it already unpleased with the idea of a man ever being in a situation like this.

I really liked this show. (Spoilers ahead) The acting could be better but the plot is right up my alley. Some comments mention that the characters seem really stupid with the choices they made but honestly if i was thrown into a game like this, no matter how “smart” I’d like to believe myself to be, I probably would have died the first round. It’s easy to say they are making stupid mistakes when your the audience. (Spoiler!!!!!!!!) The main character loosing his friends so early on is actually what intrigued me, most shows hold on to the close friends till the very end or mid way but to see him be hit with a brutal sense of reality so quickly was interesting to me. This was not going to be a day in the park with his trusted friends there to help him, it felt much more real because the game isn’t about the smartest people wining, it’s primarily all about luck and manipulation. You see this played out when we get to see the characters past, in the game they are kings and queens (the ones doing well) but in their real lives many of them had nothing going for them. All in all, excited for season 2!

A bit of spoiler : I liked this show, my rating is based on the simple fact that everyone expects these young kids to have a reason for everything at that age. Why did the two main characters not end up together at the end of Season 1? Because not every high school relationship ends with clear cut and reasonable actions BECAUSE they are young. Jo Jo ran from conflict, she had no adult figure in her life who she could look at for guidance so i can understand her wanting to just run away when things get hard especially with the trauma she grew up with. The sad conclusion is just because you love someone that doesn’t mean it will end well if the two people in love desperately need the time to grow. Also, Hye-yeong deserved the opportunity to fight for who he loved. Sun -oh didn't stop himself in Season 1 even when it was clear as day Hye yeong (the guy who did everything to protect and loved Sun-oh) liked Jojo, so I don’t see why he needed to show any restraint when the opportunity opened up a good 4 years later. The only thing Sun-oh needed at this point in season 2 was closure so that he could open himself to someone else.