Sweet Home (2020)

I was scared that I was going to overhype this drama myself, so I waited a little while before watching it. But I gave in and decided that I really needed to start watching dramas that I really want to watch and this one did not disappoint. If you like the intensity of The Last of Us & The Promised Neverland, where you are trying to fight to stay alive, then this is for you. But there is also the intensity of your favorite characters dying like season one of Attack on Titan. Still, an amazing drama that makes you want to keep watching, but super depressing because all you want is the best for everyone and for them to be badasses and survive. But also, the reason why I couldn't give this a full 10 stars. Loved this drama, but it got to a point where I got annoyed that people were dying left and right, and mostly the ones I got attached to.

This was a drama about the ugliness of human nature as well as the bits of good - you have an apartment full of different people who are battling their own evils, and they are trapped together during a pandemic, trying to find some kind of synergy on how to survive together. You have people with a lot of character development and you even get to see some backstory on a few people, which made it a lot harder when you weren't sure if they were going to survive. I would say my favorite part about this drama, besides everything about Cha Hyun Soo, were the character teams. It seemed that a lot of people seemed to tag team together and build this emotional attachment that gave the drama life. Yoon Ji Su & Jayhun (or guitar baddie & katana Christian - so many people, couldn't keep up with names, had to give them nicknames) were the freaken dream team and became my favorite characters seeing how they grew together. Then near the end, we got Pyeon Sang Wook & Park Yu Ri (mafia & caretaker) who softened one another but still kicked major ass. There were other characters here and there that I tried to keep track of but Lee Eun Yoo, Seo Yi Kyung, & Lee Eun Hyuk were the three I couldn't figure out. Eun Yoo & Eun Hyuk had really cute sibling-building moments, but they were both just very extreme people. Yi Kyung is a fan favorite from the articles that I have read, and she was a badass, BUT I really never knew what her morals were in comparison with her end goal of trying to figure out what happened to her fiance.

Overall, I am excited to see a season 2 come out and even might decide to pick up the webtoon/manga. With the ending we got, I really want to figure who was really in that car and if it is possible for people to fight this "plague."

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Entertaining but lacking

Overall, a pretty entertaining show with some good visuals and action. Love the premise of the show, just wish it was executed differently. I haven't read the webtoon, so I'm reviewing solely the show itself.

First off, I agree with many other people who think that adding the Imagine Dragons song to dramatic scenes was a little unfitting to say the least. Ruined some of the dramatic moments, but still, not that big of a deal for me. My problem was with the way they develop Song Kang's character, Hyun-su.

I was under the impression that Hyun-su was going to be the main character and have a lot of scenes. Unfortunately, with such a large ensemble cast, he was often pushed to the side in order to focus on the other 10 main characters (not to mention the side character's screentime). They gave Hyun-su a very sad and dramatic backstory that looked like it was going to develop as the show progressed, allowing him to overcome his demons and possibly utilize it to help others. Although he does help others intermittently throughout the show, he rarely gets any satisfying scenes where he saves the others and is often the one who is needing saving in the first place. Most of the main cast were given strong characters who are capable and have their moments to showcase their strengths, whereas Hyun-su didn't really get any satisfying moments (except at the very end).

Even at the end of the show (spoiler warning), I was expecting Hyun-su to do something dramatic and possibly sacrifice himself to save the others, showing them that he was a good person even if he was labeled a "monster". This doesn't really happen, and his climactic ending moments are overshadowed with the "sacrifice" of the other main character, Eun-hyeok. Speaking of, I don't understand the need for Eun-hyeok to even sacrifice himself in the first place. He could of gone with the others to safety, but instead he decided to sit in a room and die for no reason? I don't know, maybe I'm missing something (I was often confused by the plot). This just overshadowed Hyun-su's part that could have been so much more impactful.

In general, that is my biggest complaint about this show. I understand the need to showcase all of the characters in this large cast, but I feel like they could have done so much more with Song Kang's character. There was so much potential to develop him into something great, like having him transform at the end and sacrifice himself to save the others as a clear indication of him accepting himself and having grown as a person, but instead he just leaves. Not really a sacrifice, no recognition or satisfying ending, and doesn't even get to prove to the others who judged him that he was truly a good person and could control his inner demons. Even the whole relationship between Hyun-su and Eun-yu could have been more impactful at the very end if they didn't unnecessarily throw in Eun-hyeok's death.

Overall, decent story with some hard to follow plot progression and plotholes, great acting, questionable music choices, good effects and animations, good action, but with the unrecognized potential of the character of Hyun-su.

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Onde estamos realmente seguros?

Eu confesso que quando vi a sinopse a série não me chamou atenção por já ser um tema batido, logo pensei: "Outra série de zumbi, que saco". Porém, eu vi que o casting era muito bom, então resolvi dar uma chance. Foi a melhor coisa que eu fiz. A série já me supreendeu pela qualidade logo no primeiro episódio, eu havia imaginado que seria um drama de horror, no entanto é muito mais focado em ação e suspense.

O primeiro ponto que me chamou a atenção foram os personagens, eles possuem mistério e charme próprios, que cativam o espectador, você fica curioso e quer conhecer um pouco mais sobre cada um (até os coadjuvantes). É interessante notar que a série também aborda conflitos da natureza humana, então não é só uma série com monstros, ela é mais profunda. Aqui também preciso deixar o meu elogio aos atores que trouxeram vida a esses personagens, elenco muitoooo bommmmm!

A segunda coisa que chama atenção é produção e a qualidade dos efeitos visuais, os monstros são muito perfeitos! Essa série não perde nada para Hollywood. Uma das coisas que eu gosto nas produções coreanas é que apesar de ser um tema pesado, com bastante cenas de ação e sangue, elas não são indigestas. Eu tenho um sério problema com cenas fortes, passo mal, fico revendo a cena na minha cabeça, é horrível. Mas quando eu assisto as séries coreanas isso não acontece, eles focam na fluidez da cena e não em mostrar os detalhes chocantes e desnecessários.

Por fim, a trilha sonora é super envolvente, ela ajuda a dar o ritmo da série e aflorar as emoções do espectador. Eu espero que a segunda temporada saia logo! Se você gosta de séries de ação e suspense com excelente produção e um quê de mistério, Sweet Home é para você.

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Promising and popular, but can be slow at times

I started Sweet Home after hearing how popular it is and my friends' recommending it. I loved how different each monster was and the CG of how real it looked. The story is also quite unique as it does go into the depth of each of the character's personality and backstory.

However, I wish that they answered more of the questions around "why?". I felt like I was confused most of the time in the drama and some episodes can be quite slow. The pacing is quite odd as it starts off with a great concept and then slows down until the last 2 episodes.

Still, the acting was really solid and so was that soundtrack, especially when a monster approached. I might check out the webtoon too.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama 'Sweet Home' has awful CGI, but it makes up with the on-point atmosphere. The settings, the costumes, the music, the performances, everything is and feels perfect, as the group of residence is trying to survive. However, this season felt more like the introduction, as we start to get to know each character and bond with them, without, nevertheless, getting too deep into the mystery of what is happening and why and how to move forward. Still, this season sets strong foundations for those to come.

In addition, everything is well constructed, with enough screen time for each character and each storyline. The pace is also perfect for the action element of the story. Finally, the performances were all quite emotional.

So, overall, 7 out of 10.

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Is it a good show? Maybe. But something is off.

First of all, english isn't my mother language, but i hope everyone at least know what I mean. I think nowadays, almost all tv shows which have good ratings, just part of hype, in fact not all of them is really good. After watching 2 ep, this show is pure action, and i quickly noticed something is off, which is, the logical action of the character based on situation. Enter Lee eun-hyuk. This guy shares a room with his sister. One night, he told her he was going to work. At ground level, he found some occupants grouping together & they seem can't get out. Then a monster attack. Tell me, in your logic, what should the guy do? First he tries to help others to fend off the monster & close the door. Pretty logical. Then he groups up with other. He forbids anyone opening the door to leave. Ok. He goes to security room and watches the monitors. He sits there with others & planning what to do. Errr...wait, did you say he has a sister?
Yep, that's exactly why i told you something is off with this tv show. The character doesn't act logically enough. Does he forget he has a sister up there? And when her sister finally goes downfloor, he just hands her a shirt for cover. No talk. Nothing.

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