The Legend of the White Snake

Episodes: 36
Synopsis: This drama is basically another retelling of the mythical story of the white snake and her romance with a mortal. It tells the story of Xu Xian, a virtuous medicine apprentice, and Bai Su Zhen, a 1000 year old white snake spirit. After transforming into a woman, the two fall in love. However, they face many challenges.

Review:
        The only thing I really liked about this drama was their OST. It was very beautiful, mysterious, and upbeat all at the same time. I think that is the only redeeming quality of this drama. This drama definitely has many weak points, and it was pretty easy to deem as not up to par.
         The cinematography of this drama is extremely overexposed. The characters were blindingly white...basically like you're looking at a blank Word document for most of the drama. In some scenes, the brightness did enhance the viewing experience because you can see things clearly. However, more often than not, it just resulted in a very monotonous viewing experience. The plotline was also fairly weak. A big part of it may have to do with the fact that this story has been told and retold in so many formats that it is hard to really spice things up/give it it's own identity. All in all, I found myself very bored with the plot for most of the drama as it was fairly repetitive. I was annoyed at the monk because I felt like he was causing more problems than good to begin with. I was also annoyed with Ruyi. She was just so obnoxious in her pursuit for Xu Xian despite knowing that she wouldn't get him. Hence, the character shift toward the very end where she became "good" seemed so abrupt and inconsistent with her irrational her character is. There were also many things I did not find necessary for the plot either. I felt like there were a lot of loose endings and no comforting resolution to any of their issues...especially those tied to the monk and Ruyi. There was never a clear cut answer and they seemed to continue to be a hindrance.
          Other than poorly written plots and characters, the acting was so bland. I felt like all actors and actresses were trying to make their faces as stiff and perfect as possible. There were no expressive emotions throughout the entire drama. Every emotion these characters felt seemed to have the same expression. There was no depth in the acting. I found myself getting annoyed with how boring the acting was. Our main character, Bai Su Zhen, was played by a beautiful woman. I think she would have been a great lead actress to have if her character allowed her to have more depth. I wish the director allowed her to be more expressive rather than just sit there and look pretty/dainty. A good example of good acting despite acting as a spirit/deity would be Yang Zi's performance in "Ashes of Love." I became more invested in the green snake despite her acting being fairly shallow as well.  I did find the green snake's story more interesting, and I wish the plot focused on her a bit more. I was so glad when they let go of her human lover because the moment he appeared and started interacting with her, I got bored so fast. I loved her more as an independent because she was just so much more quirky and impulsive than when she started to fall in love.

In conclusion, I do not recommend this drama.

The Night Watchman

Episodes: 24 

Given Synopsis (viki.com):

Being able to see ghosts and other supernatural spirits is a heavy responsibility. Prince Lee Rin (Jung Il Woo), like his father before him, discovers that he has the ability to see ghosts and other supernatural beings. Armed with his newfound abilities, Lee Rin becomes the leader of a group of night watchmen who patrol the streets from dusk to dawn to protect the people of the Chosun Dynasty against evil spirits. Moo Seok (Jung Yun Ho) is the best swordsman in the land who is the prince’s trusty bodyguard. But their loyalties will be tested when they both fall in love with the same woman – Do Ha (Go Sung Hee), the successor of the Ma Go tribe who seeks their help to protect the Baek Do mountain’s spirits. But Park Soo Ryun (Seo Ye Ji), the daughter of a court officer, will stop at nothing to marry Prince Lee Rin. “The Night Watchman,” also known as "Diary of a Night Watchman," is a 2014 South Korean historical drama series directed by Lee Joo Hwan.

Review: 

      When  I started watching this,  I wondered if this was going to be something similar to Arang and the Magistrate. It really wasn't despite the fact that ghosts were involved and the main leads could see the ghosts. There were many times I didn't want to continue watching it but I sat through this whole thing mainly for the three ghost characters that followed the protagonist around. They were extremely trustworthy and caring. This drama definitely did not become a favorite of mine. It was watchable but there were too many factors that bothered me. The story dragged at times and I constantly had to sit through the antagonist's weird rituals as he tried to summon the dragon. I had to constantly watch the king struggle with his inner self (I think he might have been schizophrenic) and also watch his weak character buckle throughout the entire series. The acting was really bad for a lot of the scenes and I did not feel any chemistry between the protagonist and the girl. I did not think romance was necessary in this series and their relationship felt unnatural and awkward. 

        On the bright side, the OST was really cool. I really like the one that EDEN sang because it's so action-packed. The whole drama was very fantasy-like and their clothes were not exactly historical. Many parts of this drama reminded me of Harry Potter (music, the strange whispering scenes, and the demons that looked like dementors flying). I spent the majority of this drama enjoying the acting of the three minor characters that were ghosts. They added comedy and great acting to this drama. I was surprised that the little girl acted better than Do Ha (the girl lead). I admired Jung Il Woo's nose in a lot of the scenes as well. Other than the three ghosts that did a great job in acting, the emperor also did a great job in acting out his messed up character. All in all, it wasn't the perfect drama and I wished that the storyline and acting could have been better. This drama could have a lot of potential but it failed to do so.