C White

I see an unrealistic amount of 1-star reviews, so my 5-star rating is my raindrop in the ocean of review bombs. My actual score would be more of a 3.5-4. Yes, I was in the wrapped-around-the-block lines to see Star Wars in 1977. I’ve of course seen the original trilogy, and a few of the subsequent films. I’ve had no interest in the tv show adaptations, and I only tuned into this one because of Lee Jung-Jae. What I didn’t like: Episode length (too short). Short episodes should have led to entire series being released at once. Many of Osha’s lines were delivered in a very Disney channel tween attitude tone. The witches’ labored legacy build up and the very cringy chanting in Ep 3, though the episode itself was fine for backstory and progression. The incompleteness of entire compound destruction and surviving a crash without any detail. I personally didn’t care for the fight scene with Carrie Ann Moss. The martial arts choreography with Sol was much more engaging and extremely well executed. The 3 Jedi deaths were all anticlimactic and didn’t lend itself to a sense of urgency. What I liked: The retro vibe of the technology, the androids, and the overall sense that we were in the “time before”. The general gist that the Jedi once had an arrogance and inflated sense of moral integrity and importance, which eventually leads to dramatic changes seen in later chapters. The costumes and hair were interesting, colorful (again, suggestive of the Jedi Order’s self-importance at the time), and the sets were well designed and lit. I’ll include the musical score here. It was unobtrusive yet still very Star Wars. As previously mentioned, I came for Lee Jeong-Jae, and he did not disappoint. I applaud his apparent and successful efforts to master his lines in English, and to bring his personal interpretation to his role. He was brilliant (as he always is). I hope to see him in more English language productions going forward. So while this show has a suspiciously large amount of misplaced and overblown complaints, in my view it is watch-worthy, entertaining, and even enjoyable for what it does well.

Cultural missteps aside, this was a fantastic series. I hope the people perusing these reviews before watching will recognize that mistakes were made, but do not negate the quality of the series as a whole. I personally loved this series very much, would rewatch many times over, and definitely recommend.

It gets a 2 from me for the male lead, the 2nd female lead, and the supporting cast. But I have to say I don’t recommend this at all. It was so incredibly slow that I kept falling asleep during parts of all 16 episodes and having to rewind to whatever I’d missed. There were too many blank stares, for far too long, from the female lead; and too many long pauses between often very repetitive dialogue. The flashback scenes also became too frequent. Also didn’t like the non-resolution of the recording and the lie about the cheating. Most times when I start out disliking a character, they get a redemptive arc that helps me understand and develop empathy for them. This never happens for Ms. Ahn. Her deer-in-the-headlights expressions, often followed by smirks right before she lies about something (again), always answering questions with questions, never being believable if she does manage to answer something, willfully choosing such a cruel way to break someone’s heart, and the constant cowardly running away. Just ugh! The only thing that really irritated me about the male lead was his continued attraction to her despite the director’s never showing us anything remotely attractive about her. Her words and actions towards him from the beginning were extreme, dishonest, and frankly toxic. There’s nothing trustworthy about her, and if they got together, he’s in for a life of always second-guessing anything she says or does. I was rooting for them to not end up together by episode 15. I ended up disappointed that he’s obviously still stuck on her and the subtle hint that they might try again.