Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth

I only started watching Hwarang because of V from BTS, but the show is so much fun! Didn't quite enjoy the first two episodes but it does get better! The funny moments had me laughing hard! The songs might not be what you expect from a period drama, but I think that's what makes it fun to watch. Loved the actors (Park Hyung-sin especially!) and Kim Taehyung gets to show off his dancing skills!

The script had great promise and deep, thought-provoking dialogue, but unfortunately was ruined in the hands of the director. The director was terrible, constantly replaying previous scenes over and over again (some of which were in the same episode just 5 minutes ago!), which did nothing except to bloat the episode count and waste our time. The acting was atrocious by most of the cast except for a handful of actors. The lead actress was especially bad, she only had that one mopey frowny expression throughout the show. There were a lot of useless scenes with over the top slapstick humour that weren't funny and didn't add to the plot. The romance was boring and unnecessary. Overall, a complete waste of time.

Absolutely fabulous young male warrior historical drama! Just adored the comedic bantering and comradery among all the guys: the brotherhood-esque narrative really made this series unique, and extremely enjoyable. (Sure wish more of these all-star male humorous genres were created.) The entire cast's performance was over-the-top extraordinary. I initially began watching this drama because of my fangirling Park Seo Joon, who is brilliant in all his works. Cheers to the outstanding costume drama and fantastic cast and crew. (By the way, excellent ending!) Loved it!

All the male actors who play Hwarang are brilliant and do a wonderful job. Their characters are also well written and the casting is quite appropriate. However, the female lead just boils my blood by her constant crying. There isn't a single scene in which she is NOT crying. Why did the writers do this? They could've made a more strong-willed and stable character out of her.. completely missed the opportunity. Overall a good drama! Oh also, I didn't know about BTS and Kim Taehyung when I watched it so really didn't pay attention to his character :)

"Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth" quickly became one of my all-time favourite series. It features an array of phenomenal performances of Park Hyung Sik, Park Seon Joon, Kim Taehyung, Go Ara, Choi Min Ho, Do Ji Han, Cho Yoon Woo etc. This series never feels slow, it never feels stale and you can't help but get sucked into the show's engaging world.

The storyline is very well made. The main male character, Dog-Bird, is a nobody, a peasant who ends up in the capital. He had to join Hwarang because of the Queen and quickly makes enemies and friends. The main female character, Ah Ro, is cheery, youthful and the daughter of a physician. Everyone in the capital likes her. The other main male character, Sam Maek Jong, is the hidden King. He is a romantic, strong, friendly man. He wants to be the King, but at the same time is afraid of not being strong enough.

So, in short, this drama has love triangles, fights, friendships, betrayal, war and a whole lot of good-looking faces. These will make you laugh, cry, angry.

Although, I will say that the pacing falters towards the end as the show rushes to meet its inevitable conclusion. In the end, I also wanted to know more about what happened to Princess Sook-Myung and Suk Dan-se.

Therefore, according to me, Hwarang isn't perfect, but for what it is, it's damn good. If you haven't seen Hwarang, I highly recommend checking it out. It's one of those shows that feels like sitting down to a good meal. Every part of the dish is enjoyable and you're able to walk away feeling satisfied when it's done.

(Ps- Honestly speaking, I started to watch it for Kim taehyung, but then I fall in love with every character. Especially I became a fan of Park Hyung Sik. After Hwarang, I am watching all his series and movies!)