Year in Review: Minutes Refund

Happy New Year! As we kick off 2017, we took a look back at all those dramas that were somewhat a waste of time. We wish we could unsee these shows and get minutes refund for the time we lost. Unfortunately that is not possible. Instead we are giving you a quick rundown of shows that you too might want to avoid (in our opinion).

Moorim School: Complete 100% Refund

• Awesome trailer that bumped my expectations, followed by a below average execution. I had thought that is was going to be like a X-men type series, going by the trailer. However, the drama only delivered a weird school where nobody really had any real powers.
• Choppy and draggy plot where you have romcom/makjang/thriller. What are you trying to be? Each of the actors was acting in their own drama. Soon-Duk was doing some slapstick, Chi-Ang  was featuring in a romcom, and Shi-Woo angsting away.
• Really bad CGI

Descendants of the Sun: 40% Refund

• I know, I know, the amount of popularity HAS to mean it is a super awesome drama….but not really in my opinion. Don’t flame me, but I admit it was not all bad. That’s why I’m only asking 40% of my time back. To be honest, the ending two angsty episodes made up for most of the drama. However, the ones listed below are problems that specifically bothered me:
• Dialogue: I was literally laughing at the cheesy scripted dialogue between Shi Jin and Mo Yeon. How fake can you get? The dialogue was so vapid in my opinion and things that you wouldn’t say without cringing. Seriously.
• Situations: Actually just one, can Mo Yeon not drive cars anymore. All the ones she does end up at the bottom of cliff. And by the way if you hit the water like that, have fun being paralyzed.
• Medical: Please don’t get me started. Being a ICU RN, this was the worst. The extremely fake CPR, to the point where it just looked like chest massages. Other medical dramas seem to portray these scenes fine, what happened to some credibility here? Being shot up five billion types, coding (flatlining), and then waking up to say a pick up line. Have fun being intubated for a week. Taking off a cast? I can’t even.
• Overhyped due to Song Hye Kyo and Song Joon Ki (even though I love you). Plot > popularity.

Goodbye Mr. Black: 75% Refund

• Your drama poster reminds me of Twilight. Enough said.
• Great beginning, poor progression. Honestly, the story was set up great. Ex-special forces, betrayed and forsaken by his good friend with an inferiority complex. His quest for revenge was supposed to be the highlight. But it started to meander, in a bad way, towards a makjang melo with tumors and amnesia, and sickness, instead of an intense thriller.
• Wasting Moon Chae Won’s excellent potential. She had been so plucky and cunning, but her character deflated into a melancholy doormat.
• Yeah, you can say thank god, GOODBYE Mr. Black

Madame Antoine: 45% Refund

• Round and round and round we go. The story got so repetitive and hard to watch as our characters kept on taking steps back as soon as their character received some growth. It felt like a never ending drama, especially on Choi Soo-Hyun’s part. He is more in love with his experiment than with Hye-Rim
• Side characters stories became more purposeful than our main characters stories.

 

Cinderella and the Four Knights: 85% Refund

• It became too obvious who Ha Won would end with. The drama had an opportunity to stand out and bring an unique twist to the well-known fairy tale by presenting all four guys as strong potential suitors but quickly gave away the edge it had.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: 40% Refund

• I hope that IU masters more facial expressions and that she can wisely choose from them. Looking at her face always got me wondering: Is she sad, happy or confused? All three? It all ended up looking the same. I am thankful for Lee Joon Gi’s performance because if it wasn’t for him I would ask for a higher refund…
• I have one main question about the ending: Are they meeting again or nah? Did she remember? I get the open ending thing but was it really necessary after all the angst already experienced?
• I know a lot of people enjoyed the story of side characters but I didn’t, especially 10th Prince Wang Eun’s story. Baekhyun’s acting was meh… and I skipped watched his scenes.

Legend of the Blue Sea: 30% Refund

• Riding on My Love from Another Star’s coattails. Hell nah, I refuse. Only Jung Ji Hyun’s performance can save this show. She does a great job at playing the confused mermaid and brings about a few comic gimmicks.
• Past-present: A lot of jumping around but clear connections are missing.
• A lackluster chemistry between Lee Min Ho and Jung Ji Hyun. The cuteness hasn’t melted my heart and I am still waiting for it to happen.

U-Prince Series (Handsome Cowboy): 80% Refund

• I was tempted to ask for a 100% refund but I like both of the lead actors so I leave 10% for each of them.
• This drama was supposed to be a cute and heartfelt short show but viewers get taken down a path of angst and endless (unnecessary) drama. The male lead is a total nutcase and there is no justification for is insane behavior. In addition to being a serial cheater, he is possessive and verbally/physically abusive. This is something that happens a lot in lakorns but the way this lakorn is first presented is misleading.
• The ending doesn’t tie any loose ends. It’s like we get all this tension and an abrupt reconciliation in the last episode.

See our Minutes Refund posts for the past years:

• 2015
• 2014