Tempted

The great seducer was one of those dramas that got everyone talking about. The posters and teasers were full of a dark spark, promising the best dark romance in the drama land. Seductive and aesthetical was the description as well. And then, Episode one was a dive in reality. It seemed more of an episode from gossip girl rather than what it was promised to be. The characters were rich, spoiled youngsters, playing drama with anyone. Plus, the "great seducer" had, like one (?) girl seduced and that was it. So, seducer was more like a title that everyone repeated rather than the real deal. So, one should expect that the big plot will play nice and with a slow built up so that the drama will keep up with appearances. Well, that wasn't the case either. The romance was developed so fast, that we spent the rest of the episodes lovey dovey or breaking up. Wasn't the girl supposed to be cold and not to believe in love? In addition, there were too many secondary characters, so many stories here and there, to, probably, distruct you from the main story that wasn't going as planned. But, they were boring too. Even the secondary love story didn't help. And there was the ending. I personally don't really like the "five years later" spin offs, but here we are, having one of those meaningless time skips, with no real ending. Finally, the acting was okay, and it did got a bit better, though, I think that Joy didn't fit her character. Maybe I see her more of the younger girl characters, in a more happy concept drama. I really enjoyed Min jae at least. He was a nice delightful surprise. So, 3 out of 10.

The Great Seducer (also known as Tempted) actually became one of my favorite dramas of 2018. There were certainly some issues with the script and direction; with the plot and writing at times letting down a talented cast. The drama isn't tied to one genre, with it shifting between a darker mystery and a romantic comedy. This could be confusing to some viewers, but I was able to enjoy the way the drama didn't fit neatly into one definition and I embraced both the comedic and the dramatic scenes. The two leads had great chemistry, with Park Sooyoung and Woo Do Hwan delivering fine performances ranging from romance, comedy, and heartbreak. Overall I thought the cast was able to make their characters compelling enough to make this drama a worthwhile view and one of my favorites in 2018.

I was excited to see this because i have a massive crush on Woo Do-Hwan but .... it was a bit of a let down. I get it , the series is about young love and it's target demographic is definitely not the mature crowd but I couldn't help but thinking his talent was wasted on this script.

The female lead was cute and I did feel she acted good at times, but most of the time she was not believable and really ditzy (not sure if that was on purpose). The other female lead (the mean girl) was tiring to watch constantly angry or pouting. The story was good ,a bit drawn out which is the case with most k-dramas but after the 10th episode I was losing interest. Only Woo Do-Hwan kept me watching..., I guess it was a fun project for him and he is trying to appeal to the young female crowds.

I would love however to see him in more mature love story ... maybe something similar to "Something in the Rain" with a more experienced/older female lead.

I was one of those viewers who never saw any teasers, had no idea the show existed, so didn't have any expectations going in. I just watched it now in 2020, and really enjoyed it. I thought the actors did great jobs, and I was really rooting for the main characters to figure things out.

Some of the characters really were mean at times - but I could see why they acted as they did, given their messed up families / emotional problems.

The ending was 'okay', my main issue being that not all ends were tied up. I would have liked to see what happened for all the minor characters. It seemed like the end was a little rushed, with the two main relationship plot threads sort of being resolved in the last 5 mins. But maybe that's just me. I would have liked to see how things ended for the 'tutee' (e.g. girl who was tutored ;) ) and so on.

Screen play: 8/10 moral of story lacking Drama Direction: 7/10 not balanced by a moral Actors: 10/10 Characters: 10/10 well drawn Entertainment value: 6/10 due to sociopathic behaviors Soundtrack: 10/10 Art Direction: 10/10 Cinematography: 10/10 Series classification accuracy: doesn't classify as romance comedy. Watch at your own risk if tender hearted.

Comments: excellent acting by all, not just the leads. This is a high intensity drama with roles showing clear sociopathic personalities. 19 year olds with too much money, little responsibility or direction in life. Idleness is indeed the devil's playground. The Director could have adjusted the end storyline to show how (if at all) the main characters were molded into responsible adulthood. So the end was a real slash and burn with little satisfaction for 15 hours of high level emotional trauma. In other words, an overload of emotional distress dismissed by 5 minute happy ending.

Final thoughts: the greatest consolation in this drama is Joy who plays Tae Hea so remarkably well. Her smile lights up the screen and brings transforming joy, beauty and peace into the darkness Shi Hyun's world.