| KDRAMA - Blade Man |

SYNOPSIS: Blades started coming out of the back of a man.

RATING: 5/10

NUMBER OF EPISODES: 18

STATUS: COMPLETED

REVIEW: 

I really had a lot of trouble writing a synopsis for this because the story was all over the place. It had so much potential but it wasn't delivered well. The main reason why I watched this was because of Lee Dong Wook. Maybe if he wasn't the lead character, I would not be able to finish this.

The story was not bad. It was actually pretty okay. It had the typical bad boy-ish character who is going to be cured or helped by a kind and sweet lead girl plot. However, it had a very slow pacing. I actually watched this with 4x speed (the playback function in vlc) just to get through. A lot of other subplot were opened but they weren't really pushed. A lot of confusing details were mentioned but not explained. A lot of random scenes that didn't make sense. A character made an appearance which ruined things for everyone. No justice for the characters and punishment for the villains. More importantly, the blades coming out of Hong Bin made no sense at all. It wasn't explained. It was just there.

The cast and characters were alright. Lee Dong Wook was able to portray Hong Bin really well. Honestly, Hong Bin was adorable but I really wanted to kick him a lot. He had many issues in life, so mean to others, and acted childish a lot. I didn't feel like he had much character development except the parts concerning Chang. He was adorable to Chang and that was one of the parts I liked. I am amazed though that Lee Dong Wook looked much younger in Goblin than in this kdrama even though this was showed in 2014. Shin Se Kyung as Se Dong was alright. She reminded me a lot of Jan Di's bestfriend in Boys Over Flowers. Se Dong was an alright character. She was annoying sometimes though. She acted really sweet and kind and so concerned of others I wanted to kick her sometimes too. I know she had her own backstory and shit it was heartbreaking but ugh. I like her friendship with her friends though. The character I loved the most here is Secretary Ko. He was very loyal, supportive, and caring towards Hong Bin. I loved watching him especially during the parts where he teases Hong Bin. He took care of Hong Bin a lot and was really concerned about his well being.

• Se Dong had a really sad life. She had no money. Her aunt and uncle were bitches. Her mother died while she was ignoring her. Her father died because of work. You feel so much heartbreak for her in the first half. Sadly, as the series progresses, she bores you. She was just there. I didn't feel that much for her after the first half.
• I really didn't feel much for Se Dong and Hong Bin. They were cute together at some points but at some I felt 'meh'. Especially since I watched Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na in Goblin. Those two were perfect together.
• There are so many flashback scenes and it felt kind of annoying because if I remember correctly they weren't explained much. Ugh.
• I thought the head maid was pretty fun in the beginning. Little did I know that she was the main cause for everything. She had Tae Hee beaten up for Hong Bin's father even if that wasn't what he meant. I just hate that nobody knew (except Hong Bin's father) who was really at fault and Tae Hee didn't get any justice at all.
• I liked seeing the character development of Hong Bin's father. He grew from a prickly bastard to someone decent enough to apologize to Tae Hee before she died. I don't really know why he thought that Tae Hee took Hong Bin away from him. It was really his fault for trying to separate those two but this is kdrama land and things make no sense at some point. Plus, I liked his relationship with Chang. It was slow but pretty cute.
• I love the relationship between Chang and Hong Bin. They were cute together especially after Hong Bin realized what he was doing wrong. I love seeing that Hong Bin moved Chang to his room.
• I love Seung-Hwan (Se Dong's bestfriend). He took care of her so much before Hong Bin came. I love the fact that they did try to go out and it wasn't just a one-sided love anymore. It was genuine care at that point. I love that he got his happy ending in the end.
• I really didn't like the ending. Sure, they all got their happy ending but everything felt rushed and patched up together. There wasn't even a timeskip. Nobody knew how much time elapsed before they finally came together. 
• I felt conflicted about Tae Hee's character. Sure, she was an obstacle in Se Dong and Hong Bin's relationship but her backstory was really sad. Her only crime was loving Hong Bin. It was heartbreaking watching her get beaten up and see her protect her stomach because she was pregnant. I hate what she did - leaving Chang and confusing Hong Bin but it was reasonable enough for me. I was happy that she got to spend time with them before she died. Plus, I was amazed to Han Eun Jung. The last time I saw her was in Full House which was years ago.
• Seeing Tae Hee's parents broke my heart. They loved their daughter so much and they lost her. I was happy that even though Hong Bin was partially at fault, they didn't treat him badly. I loved seeing Chang with them.
• The bromance between Secretary Ko and Hong Bin was something I liked. I love watching Secretary Ko take care of Hong Bin a lot. I loved watching Ko tease Hong Bin whenever he wanted to be alone with Se Dong. I felt sad for him whenever he got beaten up by Hong Bin. I loved that he got a girlfriend in the end.