Tag: Series Review

Doom At Your Service

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https://www.netflix.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Park Bo-young, Seo In-guk, Lee Soo-hyuk, Kang Tae-oh, Shin Do-Hyun
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: It is one of the best Kdramas out there. It shows the maturity in storylines and side character development we have been asking to see

Tak Dong-kyung (Park Bo-young) lost her parents when she was very young, and had taken the responsibility for her younger brother early, with the help of her aunt. Currently, she is working as an editor for a web novel publishing company. One fateful day, on the anniversary of her parents’ passing incidentally, she discovers that the man she was in a relationship with is married and is expecting a child, and that she has glioblastoma and has about 100 days to live. She goes back to her home all alone, gets drunk and in anger wishes upon a shooting star for the world to end (understandably). As fate would have it, Doom (Seo In-guk) is actually listening, and decides to meet her to fulfil her wish. He introduces himself as Myul Mang, and Dong-kyung makes a deal with him that gives her pain-free 100 days to live as she wants, in exchange for the world to end or someone she loves will die. The rest of the movie is about how she navigates her fate, ironically finds love in Myul Mang and wants to live. In turn Myul Mang starts appreciating humans and their emotions, realises the worth of a life and looks for redemption for himself. The supporting cast in Lee Soo-hyuk as Cha Ju-ik, Dong-kyung’s boss is heart-warming without the drama and his relationship with Na Ji-na (Shin Do-hyun) is also relatable.

This drama defies the standard love triangle which are the norm in Kdramas and by that alone this series sets itself apart. It is also low on comedy and high on emotional drama, making it not similar to the popular Bo-young’s work, Strong Woman. There are some genuine themes touched in this one, like mortality, the futility of life, hope or lack thereof, and world’s fate. In between this, we humans need to find our purpose in life and do everything to achieve it, no matter the grief it brings. It is profound.

Bo-young and In-guk had a good chemistry in the series, and though Bo-young’s screen presence is difficult to equal, In-guk does stand on his own, even though in the story he exists because of and for Bo-young. This is not a typical love story of boy-meets-girl or enemies-to-lovers trope. It is a story of growth, of reliving, of suffering but smiling through it. The side characters are kind of annoying in this set-up, as their story is not as deep or holistic and that is kind of a bummer, but it still offers a relief from the heavy topic of our main characters. Watch this to appreciate the growth we are seeing in Kdramas, let them know that their efforts are seen. It is actually a good story.

MobLand

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Probably the only decent thing Guy Ritchie has been involved with recently

https://stanzedicinema.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Paddy Considine, Joanne Froggatt, Lara Pulver, Anson Boon, Jasmine Jobson, Mandeep Dhillon, Daniel Betts, Geoff Bell
To watch or not to watch: Pierce Brosnan in his Irish drawl, Tom Hardy as a loyal fixer-upper, and Helen Mirren as a psycho/socio-path in a story about mobsters, family business and political play? Who can ignore it?

The Characters:
In a land up north, there are two families controlling the business of the underworld- the Harrigans and the Stevensons. An increasingly chaotic and unpredictable Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan) and an evil Meave (Helen Mirren), who can put Shakespearean villains to shame make up the patriarch and matriarch of the Harrigan family. They have three kids – Kevin (Paddy Considine), the youngest and the one most involved with the family business, Brendan (Daniel Betts) who has screwed up all the deals he ever put his hand in, and the sophisticated and efficient Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon), a result of Conrad’s “quickie in the bathroom”, and forever a belittled by Meave. Kevin and his wife Bella (Lara Pulver) have a son Eddie (Anson Boon) who has been spoilt rotten by Meave. And all this is tied together by their man Friday, Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) who is their cleaner-advisor-messenger-fixer-upper all rolled in one. Kevin and Harry were in the juvenile correctional facility together, and since then have been more brothers than friends.

The Scene:
Eddie Harrigan has gone off and killed Tommy Stevenson, and Richie Stevenson (Geoff Bell) is out for blood to avenge his son’s murder. While Eddie’s antics are not totally difficult for Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) to fix and wipe clean, this is something which requires him pulling all stops. In this mess, there is Meave being an out-an-out sociopath and urging Eddie to continue being the slimy sleazeball that he is. In the parallel, Harry wants to control the fentanyl business which is currently with the Stevensons. We also have Bella concocting a plot of her own for some personal reasons. Then Brendan goes and tries to get Seraphina to participate in a plan with some dangerous people, all to prove to Conrad that he’s not a screw up. As can be expected, all this requires a lot of people management, change management and micromanagement of the conceited, spoilt brats, which is in the repertoire of Harry, keeping him busy, all to the chagrin of his wife Jan (Joanne Froggatt) and daughter.

MobLand is a really good show. Like, really good. The star is undoubtably Tom Hardy, followed by the plot, followed by Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren, then everyone else follows. But this description itself casts a wide net as Tom Hardy is almost EVERYWHERE. He is probably the best and most efficient consigliere. There is nothing he bats an eye over, no problem too big/small/complicated. It is almost inspiring to watch his attitude to the jobs the unhinged and chaotic Harrigans ask of him. The plot with the multiple people trying to play to their own vanity, often to complete disregard to consequences is both frustrating and exhilarating. There are some sub-plots the series could have done without, but it doesn’t take much away from the main story. This is the gangster story audience can get behind, all complete with Fontaines DC’s Starbuster as title track. Cannot wait for season 2.

Poker Face

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https://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring:  Natasha Lyonne, Adrian Brody, Simon Helberg, Benjamin Bratt, Ron Perlman, Rhea Perlman and many other celebrities who appear for 1 episode
Where to watch: Peacock+/Jio Hotstar (2 seasons, 22 episodes in total, 50 min per episode)
To watch or not to watch: A must watch for people of all ages, preferences, inclinations, etc. And guaranteed fun!

Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) is a real life human life detector – she doesn’t need to check your pulse, or pupils, or anything such thing. She just knows, there is a tell, a small flicker somewhere in the voice, face, anywhere, which makes her call people’s bullshit. Excellent for a poker players, not so good when you run into criminals everywhere you go.
Well, Charlie is a layabout, easy going, cigarette smoking, beer drinking free spirit, who is banned from gambling because of her remarkable ability, but it helps the owners of said gambling dens to catch cheaters. But things take a turn for the worse when she becomes a target of the mafia and has to be on the run, where she inadvertently runs into murders and murderers and their victims leading to the case-of-the-week structure with many celebrity cameos.

The format of the show is similar to Columbo, where we see the crime happen in the opening sequence of the episodes and then we see how Charlie falls into the scene, only Charlie notices things like Psych or The Mentalist and solves the crimes with the help of her power. Of course, some episodes are better than the others, and the episodes go from good in the beginning of the season to mid in the middle and ending with real good ones. But even the mid episodes will not dim the charm of the show, primarily contributed by Lyonne’s Cale. This Johnson-Lyonne duo is a match made in heaven, where it looks like everyone was having fun while making it. The vibe of the show is easy and fun, and the cases they present are serious crimes.

There are quite a few articles comparing Poker Face with Elsbeth and it is a fair comparison – they both have the same format of opening sequence revealing the crime entire followed by the sleuthing to uncover it, where Elsbeth relies too much on the character’s quirk, Poker Face divides that between the quirk and the quality of the story. There is also an over-arching theme of Charlie Cale’s run for her life from thugs, which adds a bit more spice to the show. Over-all, Poker Face is just better. It is that simple. Rian Johnson has found his niche and is doing a good job in this genre enough that the fiasco of The Last Jedi can be forgiven, unless he ruins the Knives Out franchise with the new installment, that is. His story writing skills are equal to the directorial ones, giving us one banger after another. This one is not to be missed!

The Residence

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https://www.theguardian.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Uzo Aduba, Giancarlo Esposito, Molly Griggs, Ken Marino, Randall Park, Susan Kelechi Watson, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Edwina Findley
Where to watch: Netflix (8 episodes, 50-odd minutes each)
To watch or not to watch: A closed mansion mystery with multiple suspects and Rian Johnson style storytelling. It is highly recommended for fans of typical whodunnit.

It is the night of Australian state dinner at The White House, rather THE WHITE HOUSE, where Hugh Jackman and Kylie Minogue are also present. In the middle of this, they find the chief usher AB Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) dead on the third floor. The chiefs of all the major intelligence/security/investigation agencies are at the scene and are quick to call the death a suicide, except Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), the greatest detective in the world (not unlike Poirot, only she is female and has less differentiated mannerisms) is called upon. She declares the death a murder and presents compelling evidence or lack thereof to boost her statement. What follows is a non-linear sequence of statements, evidence, lies, corroboration, congressional committee, exposure of personal lives and bird-watching to arrive at the truth. Oh! And Kylie Minogue performs. She is chiefly assisted by Susan Kelechi Watson (Jasmine Haney) who was Assistant Usher until Wynter’s death, and Edwin Park (Randall Park), an FBI special agent. Did Jasmine murder Wynter to quicken her promotion, or was it Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino) who was suspected of having a fight with the victim sometime before the “incident”, or was it the drunk butler Sheila (Edwina Findley), or even the pastry chef?

The brilliance of the series lies in the manner of storytelling ie, the pacing. It is quite like Knives Out, with the opening scene being the discovery of the body, fun quick cuts to scenes which lead to non-linearity and dizziness in the viewer, also making the viewer’s attempt to solve the crime difficult. Cordelia follows clues, which are lost on everyone, gets people to talk by not asking questions, push people into the corner by questioning everything, all in all, the fast-paced movement of scenes and dialogues and characters themselves, make for a really fun viewing. There are multiple characters and storylines, complicated by lies and small incidents deemed insignificant but turn out to be the real crux of the matter, Cordelia’s shifting focus to bird-watching, ensuring the viewer is kept on their toes. The show doesn’t take itself seriously and is self-aware enough to acknowledge the heavy borrowing from Christie and Johnson and what-not, it is funny despite the fact it is based in The White House, not because of it.

This show is a brilliant first watch, testing the viewer’s willpower to not binge it in one sitting, but only the first time. After that, the plot holes, the ridiculousness of the setting and extravagant mannerisms are easy to see through as distraction tactics. Aduba is good at her job and has an engaging screen presence, but someone alluding to her ability to solve unsolvable cases is not entirely believable, we are expected to just accept it. Then there is a whole origin story in the middle of the series, which was only a filler to make it last 8 episodes. The uncovered truth about the murder and the murderer is underwhelming so adjust the expectations accordingly. This is also the point where the series loses a score in the rating. There is so much underhanded display of female empowerment, that it is tiring. If you want real female empowerment in cinema, start paying equal wages, but putting men down only reverses the problem. Sigh!
Shonda Rhimes has made women-centric content in the past, while they were highly superficial, this is much, much better than the convenient, self-congratulatory plotlines of series like Scandal. It is flawed, but there is progress. And it is a good watch for all the mystery-starved people out there.

Inside Man – a study on wasting good actors with bad writing

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https://m.imdb.com/

Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Starring: David Tennant, Stanley Tucci
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons and episodes: 1 season, 4 episodes, 1 hour per episode
To watch or not to watch: Please skip this despite the stellar cast

The series opens with Jefferson Grieff (Stanley Tucci) in a prison cell helping someone solve a murder. He is a former American law professor convicted of murdering his wife, to which he confessed and is haunted by his act. In the parallel, there is Harry Watling (David Tennant) who is a vicar in a small town in England. He has a troubled parishioner Edgar who lives with his verbally abusive mother. Edgar hands a memory stick to Harry to safe keep, away from his mother. Harry picks up his son’s maths tutor Janice Fife (Dolly Wells), reaches home and deposits his keys and memory stick in a bowl at the entrance. Harry’s son Ben (Louis Oliver) gives the stick to Janice to transfer some material. Janice pokes her nose into what is stored on the drive to find child p*rn, and thinks Harry is a pedophile. This leads to a lot of misunderstandings, and a comedy of errors.

If they had made the series into a real comedy instead of whatever it was, it would have gone down better with the audience. From the opening scene with Tucci’s Hannibal-esque Grieff acting as a consultant because somehow he is a criminal mastermind to the taking of memory stick home, when it was equally safe in the church is farcical. Ben tries to save his father by declaring ownership of the offending memory stick, but the father is digging a deeper hole for himself. Maths tuition and all is fine, but maybe a cognitive understanding class was more needed in this household. There was no confusion which couldn’t be solved by a simple conversation with Janice, which would have taken barely 5 sentences and need not involve Edgar’s identity. Instead, Janice is locked in the basement, she is a believer in making a bad situation worse, by the way (maybe she also needs lessons in cognitive understanding), Tucci is doing something, which has nothing to do with anyone or anything but still features in the series, and there is a reporter investigating Janice’s disappearance? SOS, brain not computing.

Netflix, my dear Netflix, what is wrong hun? All ok? Childhood trauma working overtime? Why take the stellar cast, drive up your production cost and not have someone go through the script once? How did you even get Tucci and Tennant to sign up? Are you blackmailing them? Ok, apologies, got carried away for a bit there, but then the series is unbelievably bad. And the actors did a fantastic job. So much so that a case can be made that Janice was the real villain (and if you go by some of the reviews online, many writers have the same opinion), such is the residual emotion for her character. Listen, the premise is great, and with good writing, it might even make for a beautiful thriller. But working with what was given to us, unfortunately it makes for a horrible horrible play, which cannot be saved by acting alone. Please do better.

The Undoing and what’s wrong with Nicole Kidman

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https://www.imdb.com/

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Starring: Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman, Noah Jupe, Matilda de Angelis, Donald Sutherland
Where to watch: HBO Max and JioCinema (India)
Seasons and episodes: 1 season, 6 episodes, 50 – 60 minutes per episode
To watch or not to watch: Watch it if you must. This can be a decent thing to pass time, nothing spectacular

Grace Fraser (Nicole Kidman) is a psychotherapist, married to pediatric oncologist named Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant) and they have a son Henry (Noah Jupe). They have, for all intents and purposes, a perfect life, with successful careers, well-behaved son, wealth, home in the Upper East Side which reduces the school run to a stroll across the Central Park. The couple has also maintained the spark in their marriage, with most of the credit given to Nicole Kidman’s apparent sex appeal. Their schedules are quite busy but they do manage to squeeze in time for their social events, including the school functions for their son (Grace’s wealthy father is a huge donor). To complete the picture of the perfect American family, Grace is a part of the fundraiser committee of mothers for school events. There she is introduced to Elena, who is a not-yet successful artist and whose son goes to the same school as Henry on scholarship. On the day of the fundraiser, things start to unravel for Grace from the time she finds a disturbed Elena crying in the bathroom. The next day Elena is found dead in her art studio, which causes an uproar with the parents of the school. Grace is unable to reach Jonathan on his cellphone for a few days and as the police discovers clues to the murderer, things start coming closer to home for Grace.

The protagonist of the series is essentially Kidman, but Hugh Grant is charm made flesh. We have seen this version of him in A Very English Scandal and The Gentlemen, but imagine if the whole personality of such a character is only charm. Impossible not to simper. He brings his inherent sarcastic and self deprecating nature to the fore, which is in a high contrast to the way upper echelons of New York is shown to behave. Then we have Matilda de Angelis and Edgar Ramirez who have more than deserved to work in a high value production. And there needs to be special recognition for Noah Jupe who is very promising.

The plot of the series feels quite similar to Big Little Lies, even when it is not. They both have affluent parents playing a major role in their kids school events, and they have high powered jobs which provides them with privilege the rest of us will need 9 lives to attain. Both series have a much less affluent female protagonist who is mysterious and trying to fit in with other mothers. Not to mention, both series are book adaptations. But while Big Little Lies did a fantastic job of balancing the drama with the thrill, The Undoing is totally lost in trying to find its vision. The makers were torn between showing privilege but not really, resulting in a murk where opportunities to show some key elements of the story were lost, while focus on glamour took center stage. Glamour is not a story and has a shelf life of approximately 12 seconds.

This brings us to the reason which inspired this post – Nicole Kidman and where acting is victimized by sexual appeal. Take Big Little Lies for example – it is centered around Kidman. She had some character traits, primary being clueless about what people closest to her are doing, ultimately being a “victim” to them. In Undoing, she is supposed to be a psychiatrist with close to 2 decades of experience and couldn’t figure out there was something wrong with her husband??? Then she is not a good psychiatrist, not earning as much, dependent on her father to provide for her, and her whole character strength falls away. The compliments paid by her well-wishers is that she is strong, beautiful, cleans up well, has expensive clothes and is successful in her chosen career. But in the series, she is totally lost, depends on her father to clean her mess, is unable to take decisions which affect her son, and as cited above, not really a good psychiatrist. This leaves us with her being pretty and attractive. This is one of the biggest reasons her husband is with her.

This is not a Kidman bashing, but this is apparent in the two roles she has done recently, which are getting attention of audience and news media alike. This peaks through in her other works like Nine Perfect Strangers and older works too. The problem is that through Kidman women are still being reduced to objects of physical appeal. Women are still not seen enough to fight their battles, but always have to be a victim and rely on the men in their lives. Their female friends are also done a disservice where their lives are around how their more popular friend is doing. Haven’t we had enough discussions on this toxicity, how unreal and harmful this portrayal can be? Is the best thing a woman can bring to the table her feminity? Is there nothing more to a female character? Are other females supposed to be in service of the victim queen? C’mon, we have moved from this discourse a decade back. Bring more to character building than just one easy thing.

The Patient

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http://www.hotstar.com

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Steve Carell, Domhnall Gleeson, Andrew Leeds, Laura Niemi, Linda Emond, David Alan Grier
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
Seasons and episodes: 1 season, 10 episodes, 20-odd minutes per episode
To watch or not to watch: A must watch for all the thriller lovers, and non-thriller lovers. Will need a tolerance for violence

Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson) is a serial killer, seeing a renowned therapist, Alan Strauss (Steve Carell) because he doesn’t want to kill anymore. Since the information given during the sessions can be used to implicate him in the crimes he commits, he kidnaps Alan and chains him in his basement. He then opens up about the abuse he suffers at the hands of his father, which might be the root cause of his killing behaviour. Alan is shocked to discover the truth about his patient and is appalled by the nature of the crimes. He is also struggling with the loss of his wife to cancer and the estranged relationship with his son. He tries his best to control Sam and also gets out of the captivity. There are bouts of clarity and craziness for Alan as he thinks through his situation.

The series is essentially a two-hander with Steve and Domhnall in leading roles. Other characters like Sam’s mother and Alan’s family come and go. Plus their roles are not entirely centric to the plot. The plot is completely about Sam’s struggle to stop himself from killing people he thinks look down on him and on Alan’s recollection of his past and hallucination of his therapist. The series is a slow burner, but it manages to keep the audience engaged by keeping with the theme of a kidnapped therapist to a serial killer. There are dark humour moments which lend a certain lightness to the theme and maintain balance, otherwise, the viewers might go crazy themselves. Alan’s past is well explored, including his relationship with his religion. It plays a major part in the story too, where Alan compares living in Sam’s basement to living in a Nazi concentration camp. That felt a bit tangential and if they had directly explained the feeling of being trapped, it would have garnered more sympathy.

Hats off to Domhnall Gleeson for this incredibly acted out part – it wouldn’t have been easier playing the role of a person who is so socially challenged. Steve Carell is perfection, but that doesn’t surprise anyone. These two are the main reasons that this series is a wonderful watch. Other reasons are the subject matter itself – imagine a serial killer wanting to get better and struggling. It is almost like Single Drunk Female, but without the hilarity and much severe consequences. It is by no means perfect – if they have given more insight into Sam’s behaviour and how his mother is also partly responsible, it would have made for a better protagonist, who also has some warranted sympathy. Right now, we have to take a lot at face value. Unless one sits and muses on the series, these factors will not take away from the enjoyment. It is highly recommended.

Single Drunk Female

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https://www.primevideo.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Sofia Black-D’Elia, Ally Sheedy, Rebecca Henderson, Sasha Compère, Lily Mae Harrington, Garrick Bernard, Jojo Brown
Where to watch: Disney+
Seasons: 1 season, 10 episodes, 20-odd minutes each
To watch or not to watch: A nice, decently-paced dramedy on adulting

Samantha Fink or Sam (Sofia Black-D’Elia) is an alcoholic. After a major blow-out at her workplace where she arrived late and drunk for a meeting, blamed the “system” and assaulted her boss for firing her, she is mandated by the court to go to rehab, do community service, and is put under probation. As she was broke and without a job, she had to move back home and go through the 12 steps of recovery. Not many people struggling with addiction have a well-functioning family, and such is true for Sam as well. Her mother, Carol, (Ally Sheedy), is not exactly happy to have Sam back, wants to carry on with her life unencumbered after losing her husband. The loss of the father/husband is the major cause of rift between mother and daughter. Anyway, Sam finds help in the AA support group, gets a no-nonsense sponsor, Olivia (Rebecca Henderson), a job in a supermarket under a warm-hearted Mindy (Jojo Brown) and a potential for romance with James (Garrick Bernard). She also confronts the reality of her ex-boyfriend marrying her ex-best friend.

The above synopsis sounds like Mom without the fun, and it is not entirely false. It is only much more than just that. There is hilarity in the struggles of sobering up, a comfort in seeing an adult “adulting”, and succeeding in it. Sam beings as a train wreck but by the end of the 10 episodes, she has been 1 year sober, is more in control of her wants and expectations and that feels like a personal win for the viewer. It is a class of work which makes us wonder why we have the series, since it doesn’t feel like a sitcom, a slapstick and other types of comedies but still delivers. It upends the common belief that humor is in being drunk and consequences thereof, instead there is humor in growing-up while being an adult along with other adults around. Felicity (Lily Mae Harrington) is a single mother who is a party girl, and at the same time, she is highly responsible of her son and her job. This embodies the essence of the series.

Single Drunk Female is made on the real life experiences of the creator Simone Finch, and hence this is not an over-the-top series which makes us live vicariously. Many viewers would know someone struggling with addiction or are that person themselves, and can absolutely relate. It tells us, it is not fun being wrapped up in a childhood which once was, but there is happiness, comfort and pleasure in growing up as well. In this day and age, the media we are exposed to tells us that growing up and taking responsibility is hard and hence it is better not to. This series tells us that that thought is a potential fantasy, and life is hard at all stages, we just need to embrace it nonetheless; there are others who are in the same boat and together we can sort our lives out. This process is not limited to misfits, minority or marginalised groups, but is applicable to one and all. Also, it is refreshing to see new/lesser-known actors and that takes nothing away from the quality of the production. It makes for a light-hearted, feel-good, fresh dramedy which is highly recommended to binge watch.

Magpie Murders

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https://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Lesley Manville, Tim McMullan, Alexandros Logothetis, Conleth Hill
Where to watch: Sony Liv
Seasons and episodes: 1 season, 6 episodes 45 minutes each
To watch or not to watch: A unique plot and investigation of a murder. Absolutely a must watch

Alan Conway (Conleth Hill) is a writer of the famous Atticus Pund novels and is writing a much-awaited book in the series (think Sherlock Holmes meets Hercule Poirot style murder mystery detective). Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) is a London editor for Alan, and doesn’t get along with him – mainly because Alan is an irascible man who is not happy writing Atticus Pund and punishes everyone around him for his unhappiness. Susan receives the latest Atticus Pund book, titled Magpie Murders, but it is missing the last chapter where the murder in the book is solved. Susan then goes to meet Alan to get the chapter, and finds that Alan has been murdered. Also, the last chapter is nowhere to be found. She then talks to everyone who was associated with Alan and slowly uncovers the real identities of the people Alan had used as characters in his book, and people had grudges against him for one reason or another. The suspect pool grows bigger.

The series is depicted through the parallels between the case in the book and real life murder of Alan Conway. While Susan is the real detective in real life, she is often thinking like Atticus Pund, to the extend that she hallucinates him. And since the people in the book are same as those in the vicinity of the murder victim, this whole depiction can be understood even with the chasm of the timelines.

The fact that the detective in the series is an editor, not someone who is qualified to find criminals makes the detection even more interesting for the viewers – it makes it more relatable. She is sure that the solution to the murder in the book will help with the murder of the author in real life, and she needs to solve both. Although the series is across timelines with frequent jumps from one timeline to another, it gets confusing only once through the entire length of 6 episodes. It keeps the interest going, not to mention refreshing. Lesley Manville is a very unlikely detective, she is a perfect editor and this goes with the vibe of the series. Highly recommend to watch.

Another Miss Oh

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https://asianwiki.com/

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Starring: Eric Mun, Seo Hyun-jin, Jeon Hye-bin
Streaming on: Netflix
Episodes: 18 episodes, each close to 70 min long
To watch or not to watch: Should watch, it leaves a happy feeling in the heart

One day before getting married, Oh Hye-young’s (Seo Hyun-jin) (aka just) fiance calls off the wedding, saying he has fallen out of love with her and that he doesn’t like to watch her eat. Understandably devastated Hye-young has only one condition, that the world should know she has called the wedding off. Some time passes, and Hye-young meets Park Do-kyung (Eric Mun) and they start to fall for each other. There comes the twist in the story. Park Do-kyung was engaged to be married to another named Oh Hye-young (Jeon Hye-bin) (aka pretty), who left him on the day of the wedding. One year after that, he hears Oh Hye-young getting engaged to another man, and ruins his business as revenge. Only that woman was not his Oh Hye-young. So yea… Also, Do-kyung is suddenly clairvoyant and can see how the future will pan out.

The biggest reason why this series stands out is because of Oh Hye-young’s (just) attitude. She is the boss. Despite being gossiped about, ridiculed and almost cast away from society for cancelling her wedding, she owns it like a bada**. Whatever her internal emotional state may have been, she never let anyone put her down. Another reason to like the show is because it is good. The story line is very different and refreshing and all the main character and most of the supporting characters were well crafted, they had depth. The human state of mind is pretty rightly defined, there is jealousy, revenge, want of societal acceptance and self-esteem issues. The chemistry between the main characters is lacking though – Oh Hye-young (just) has a better on screen chemistry with her ex-fiance than the man she is supposedly in love with.

K-dramas do know how to play on the heart strings, they have that right. The viewer cannot help but feel Oh Hye-young’s words when she says she is ok to not be happy later, but she wants to be happy now. As with all other K-dramas, the series could have been wrapped up within 12 episodes easily, if they had reduced the work which Park Do-kyung was doing. And his sister’s absurd behaviour was overly exaggerated and at some places stood out like a sore thumb with respect to the tune of the main story. These can be easily skipped. But the rest is well worth the watch, highly recommended.