Paula Kim

Didn't watch it when it came out because of the colossal hype it was getting. But now that the noise has died down I was able to watch it in a couple of sittings. *SPOILER* A whole series built on desperate adults playing deadly Korean children's games. Very unique story with lots of twists and turns. A couple were predictable with Min Nyeo surviving and the Front Man being the brother but Il Nam at the end was a juicy surprise. Gi Hun is a really famous actor in Korea and it's not surprising he did a good job here. Other than Gi Hun and the Front Man, most of the cast are relatively unknown. However, I feel like the strength in the acting and the entertainment value came mostly from them. I especially enjoyed Min Nyeo with her scrappy survivor sorry-not-sorry attitude. It was very cool to see an older woman in that role which is not that common at least in North America. I could tell some of the cast members were stifling their laughter when she got kicked out of the thugs' group. I enjoyed the first part when she was helping Sae Byeok and would have loved to see their relationship develop a little more. I even enjoyed the heavy Deok Su. Yes, his storyline was a little too predictable but thankfully his acting and tussles with Min Nyeo made you care about his character. What I didn't enjoy was the translation. That was painful. A lot of what was translated was just wrong. My Korean is not perfect but the mistakes were so glaringly obvious it was distracting. Tried to find a way to send feedback to Netflix but they make it difficult. You would think at this point they would be doing a better job at translating properly.

The series had its' faults but it was very good. I find it interesting how all the negative feedback centered on how much Harry and Megan made the series about themselves. I frankly don't remember Megan speaking other than on stage introducing her husband. When Harry spoke from his perspective, he spoke mainly about the veterans and the spirit of the Games. I actually enjoyed knowing Harry's connection to military veterans and what inspired him to find the Games. Not really having followed the whole drama with him and the RF I was able to see the documentary for what it was. Yes, Harry did not suffer trauma from the war but neither did one of the most relatable personalities, Gabe. He lost his arm in a motorcycle accident outside of conflict. Although he didn't go into too much detail, he went into enough. Most of his trauma was from his childhood which is probably why he connected with Harry. *SPOILER Apart from one, the veterans' personalities seem multi-layered and their individual stories are incredibly compelling, especially Yulia whose trauma was shown in real-time during active war in the Ukraine. You see her POV in a heart-pumping scene as she carries an injured child to the hospital. She stays with the two hurt children encouraging them to be strong and assuring them it'll be fine. But then one dies and we see the normally no-nonsense resilient Taira (her call sign) find a corner of the hall and break down. There were a couple of things I would have wanted to know more about. I wish they explored the specifics of Gabe's pain as opposed to just seeing it. The pain that he was experiencing seemed constant and severe to the point where I wouldn't blame him for wanting to end it all. Was this normal? Do all amputees feel this? Some context and medical expertise would have added to the story. Finally I wanted to know more about Vicki Ross from the British Rugby team. We saw glimpses of her husband, her daughter and a couple of interviews but nothing in-depth. She was an aggressive player and a big personality so the camera kept shooting her. She was able-bodied so her disability wasn't physical which would have been worth exploring.