Category: Reviews

Under the Queen’s Umbrella

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I personally love historical dramas. I love the imagery they evoke and the references they make to the history and culture they portray.

Under the Queen’s Umbrella follows the story of Queen Im Hwa-ryeong, played by actress Kim Hye-soo. Side note before I continue: her portrayal of the role is phenomenal. Every expression conveys so much emotion — I simply love her performance.

Back to the series: the story centers on a queen who is truly the backbone of her family. It shows how a woman, even within the strict boundaries of earlier times, does everything in her power to protect her loved ones. She works quietly in the background, never demanding recognition, but finding joy in her family’s success.

After losing her firstborn son — the Crown Prince, played by Bae In-hyuk — under suspicious circumstances, the Queen quickly realizes how his death has placed her family in danger. Traditionally, the younger brothers of the Crown Prince were not educated to the same level, so they would not be considered rivals to the throne. This practice was meant to protect them from harm. However, after the Crown Prince’s death, rivalry erupts among his brothers and stepbrothers, each competing for the title. The Queen understands that her sons must adapt quickly and become worthy candidates.

She sets out on a mission to prepare them for the throne, all while learning the true challenges each prince faces and giving them courage and support to overcome those struggles. At the same time, she navigates the schemes of ministers, the other wives of the king, and the King’s mother. Unknown to her, hidden enemies with secret agendas are plotting against her in ways she never expected.

The series portrays the extent of a mother’s love and the lengths she will go to protect those she cherishes. With a strong plot and a wonderful cast who embody their roles and emotions perfectly, Under the Queen’s Umbrella is a drama I would wholeheartedly recommend. It offers a relaxing watch, distinct from the usual K-drama trope of romance. While there is a love story, the series keeps its focus firmly on the politics of the royal household.

Teach you a Lesson

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The Netflix series is adapted from the Naver webtoon Get Schooled which takes a bold look at the failures of Korea’s education system and the troubling leniencies given to juvenile offenders. In Korea, young offenders often receive lighter punishments due to their age, a loophole that has drawn many teenagers and young adults into crime. The series dramatizes this issue through the creation of the fictional Educational Rights Protection Board (ERPB), an agency formed after the tragic death of a teacher at the hands of a student. Its mission is to reform schools so that students can thrive regardless of their backgrounds, while ensuring that offenders are held accountable for the harm they cause.

Led by Education Minister Choi Gangseok, the ERPB team—Na Hwajin, Im Harim, and Bong Geundae—travels across the country to confront problematic schools. Their approach is uncompromising, using every method available to “straighten out” troubled students and teachers while tackling the root causes of dysfunction. This narrative highlights the importance of early intervention, showing that shaping children’s minds at the right age can prevent destructive adult behavior and, ultimately, reshape society.

The series is compelling in its social critique and gripping in its drama, but it leaves viewers wanting more depth in the characters’ backstories. While the focus on systemic reform is powerful, the show misses opportunities to explore how each ERPB member’s own school experiences shaped their moral drive to fix the system. I think that if there were more detailed flashbacks to their personal struggles of the team members could have added emotional resonance and made the characters more relatable. It feels as though the 10-episode format constrained the storytelling, prioritizing the reform narrative over character development and limiting its ability to connect deeply with viewers.

Despite these limitations, Get Schooled is definitely worth watching. It offers a refreshing take on education as crime prevention and demonstrates that the right actions taken at the right time can transform not just individuals but society as a whole.

Fate: The Winx Saga

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Winx club is a popular cartoon series that followed the depicted the lives of teen fairies. However, unlike the lively and fun theme that the cartoon series followed when Netflix decided to adapt it for the platform it literally “Took a dark turn”.

Bloom the main character of the cartoon series is shown as a person with dark secrets around her magic. The cartoon series revolve around the friendship that the fairies Bloom, Stella, Musa, Flora, Aisha and Techna build. The series however focuses on how each of them harbors a secret or an uncertainty in their lives which ultimately allows them to connect with each other. The series completely eliminates Techna, Flora was given a second fiddle role to her cousin Terra who is the earth fairy in the gang and Musa rather than the power of music was made an empath.

The Netflix series overall take a hard hitting stance on how the teenage fairies learn how to use their magic all the while facing the challenges of a normal teenager. When Alfea is in jeopardy because of scorched monsters or the “Burned Ones” Bloom gets her wings and uses her Dragon Flame powers to undo the magic that disfigured the Burned Ones in Season 1. The Season 2 of the series follows on the true story of the Burned Ones rather than the myth that was perpetuated.

All in all, in my opinion, the series is good for a one time watch but the avid viewers of the cartoon series may be disappointed in how the Netflix series has turned a light hearted story into a dark and mysterious watch.

Juvenile Justice

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

The series revolve around the South Korean legal system.

In South Korea, children between 10-13 are sentenced to “reformation” which aims to for rehabilitation of the child back to society. However, children between 14-18 can be punished either with reformations or official punishment such as prison terms.

The series follows the story of Shim Eun-seok, a judge of the Juvenile Court who seems to harbor a strong dislike for juvenile offenders. At first look she seems like a cold hearted person with a vendetta to punish the children with the worst ruling that could be given.

Over the course of the series, the viewer will understand that Eun-seok is the kind of judge that goes above and beyond her job requirements. She sought to understand the mind set of the offender, to understand if there was any sought of genuine regret of the crime that was committed and not just taking the words that are spoken by them at face value. She is well aware that the lawyers that take up such cases try to give the offenders a loop hole to get the minimum sentencing possible.

In the series, we get a backstory to her life which puts a light on why was she so severe towards the juvenile offenders. We also see the life of another judge by the name of Kim Mu-yeol, who seems to be the other side of the coin. He believes in second chances and always believes that children when given enough care can be better. The series gives a peep into his past as well to understand the development of his character.

The series is definitely worth a watch in my opinion. The writer certainly knows how to tap into the emotions of the viewers helping one really connect with the main characters as well as the different situations faced by the children in each of the episodes.

Marry My Husband

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The plot is an adaptation of the web novel of the same name. It follows the life of Kang Ji-won, a middle class working woman who is diagnosed with late stage stomach cancer.

She is portrayed as an ordinary woman – timid, hardworking and in simple terms the “not so popular”. She is married to Park Min-hwan, who was initially shown as a caring partner but changes since their marriage. Post the marriage he chose to quit his job and ended up being a burden to Ji-won. Things were just made worse by his mother who thought that her son could do nothing wrong and in turn pressurized Ji-won to work harder.

The stress takes it’s toll and she ends up falling sick. In those times her closest friend Jung Soo-min was her only companion when she battling with cancer. Her friend regularly visited her during treatments and encouraged her to fight.

Little did she know that her life was about to be turned upside down when she was sent back home from the hospital due to non payment of the hospital bills. When she arrived at home the scene in front was that of her husband cheating on her with her closest friend. They all the while were plotting a way to get rid of her to cash on the life insurance.

She threw a fit of rage on discovering the truth but neither of them regretted on what they did to her. They said “The living needs to keep on living” and in the scuffle pushed her sending her crashing to the floor. She saw her life drain out of her.

When she wakes up again she is back to the year 2013. To a time before she made all the wrong decisions in her life. Given the opportunity to change her fate, she now has to make the right choices to ensure a better future than the one she lived.

The series follows the changes she makes to enact her revenge on the ones that had killed her and all the while claiming her right to to a “Fairytale Happy Ever After”. With the help of her romantic interest Yoo Ji-hyuk who seems to be in a time loop of his own they sought to alter the present to make their future one in which they finally win.

In my opinion, it is a light-hearted revenge tale which is a nice break from reality giving the viewers the motivation that it is never to late to change their destiny.

The Glory

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

One of best portrayed TV series I have watched in a long time.

Part 1 and Part 2 of the Netflix series, inspired by true events, revolves around the life of Moon Dong-eun. She came from a broken home with a mother who had all but abandoned her. She cherished the dream of one day becoming an architect. She take to take odd jobs to survive and in the time that she had she studied hard. She is seen as a happy child before things took the turn for the worst.

On the other end of the spectrum, a gang of bullies. Park Yeon-jin, Jeon Jae-joon and Lee Sara came from wealth and had parents who threw money at anything that came in their children’s way. Accompanying them were Choi Hye-jeong and Son Myeong-o, though they were not well off like the others they were party to everything the other 3 did.

The storyline shows how over the course of the schooling years this gang of bullies ragged their fellow students and ruined their lives. They chose victims who were poor or from desolate homes. When the victims asked “Why Me?” Yeon-jin’s response was “Because I can and nothing will ever change for you”. That one statement shows that the bullying was not caused by an event but just for the pure pleasure of hurting someone.

Their bullying broke the protagonist Moon Dong-eun, but she sought to take revenge. She sought to change the what was told would never change. The whole plot is how she enacted her revenge on each of them for the crimes they had committed. The story also shows hope in a desolate circumstance through the love interest Joo Yeo-jeong.

Truly, a well scripted and picturized series worth the watch. The series awakens emotions in the viewers and drives you to join in the revenge plan of the protagonist.