> Another star-crossed lovers Sageuk that goes rotten with expected cliche's at the end

It's another Gumiho story staring Lee Seung Gi, but it's completely different from My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. Though there's a familiar theme of star-crossed lovers, Gu Family Book is more of a fairy tale, and Choi Kang Chi's story at times feels like a superhero origins story.

This drama should have not been called: Gu Family Book, because it was less about the book and instead more about the Gumiho family, and half the time we forget about the book, anyway. I really started watching this because, I love Gumihos and Lee Seung gi, but, for me who really stole the whole show was Choi Jin Hyuk and [spoiler] the ladies who played the younger and older roles of [/spoiler] his wife. I wanted the whole drama in the end to be about them rather than the main characters a.k.a **Secondary Couple Syndrome**

PLOT
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The story centers around 2 ill-fated loves. Gu Wol Ryung & Yoon Seo Hwa's tragic romance had me hooked from the very beginning; then Choi Kang Chi & Dam Yeo-Wool's chemistry was non-existent . The story was a bit predictable at times, and there were a few frustrating questions left unanswered (specifically about the Gu Family Book) and I was really bored.

**The show be can divided into three parts : **

Beginning: LOVED it. The beginning was soooo DAEBAK! A love story between Choi Kang Chi's father and mother was something that it made me keep watching it! l And then (after the first 2 episodes) my addiction started! EVERY SCENE IS UNPREDICTABLE AND FULL OF TWISTS!!!!! This may be the BEST beginning to a drama that I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot). All the pieces fit perfectly. The romance was there and blossoming, the suspense was escalating, characterization was established, the heartbreaking scenes were present , There was a promise on intense revenge... I honestly don't think there was anything missing. Beautiful. *mwah*

Middle: ... It was so-so. In fact, it was almost disappointing after the perfect introduction. There was a big leap between beginning and middle, which almost made me drop the drama. Why? Everything in the beginning was perfect to the point where it seemed like a mini-drama itself. As a result, when the time skip happened, BAM. All the characters you loved disappeared, the explosion of suspense only left dust in its wake... it was a new beginning, new story, new characters to love, new romances formed, and more suspense on the way... sort of. There were slow parts, and sometimes it was deadly slow. For me (an action lover), it was frustrating. But the slow parts helped develop the romance between the characters.* A break from all the melodrama and tragedies.

End: The ending for me was quite disappointing. I did not feel that there was enough resolution in the end for some of the plot points and characters. Before the end there was a mini end [spoiler] for the characters from the beginning (Wol Ryung, Seo Hwa etc.)[/spoiler]


CAST
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If you watch this drama for the acting you will not be disappointed. All the main characters are great actors and it really makes the drama interesting and fun to watch.

Lee Seung Gi is one of my favorite action stars. I've liked him in every drama I've seen him in, so it was great seeing him in a role where he gets to evolve into a true hero. He was perfectly complimented by Suzy ( I thought it was Park Shin-he and not Bae-Suzy becuase she acted well lol ) , who plays a strong heroine, not just the pretty damsel in distress. They worked well with each other, and even made some of the cheesier love moments almost work. But their characters lacked development in the middle making same mistakes again and again repeatedly . In the end they tried to make Yeo-wool a damsel in distress.

Though they played 'over the top' at times, I think the entire cast did a great job, so it's hard to single any actors out, even though I did have a few favorite characters. I hated who I was supposed to hate (Lee Sung-jae is such a good villain), and empathized with the entire colorful cast of characters. I also loved that many of the characters, weren't completely good or bad, which gave them more depth (Choi Jin Hyuk looked so good being bad, and Jo Jae Yun was hilarious). I felt pity for Chung-jo and the way she is sidelined midway.

MUSIC
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The music in this drama will not disappoint you, in fact, most of these songs you will love and want to listen to again and again. The bgm effect in the fights are also good.

VERDICT
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In general though, I did find the story entertaining and fun to watch. But, it lacked some necessary elements to make it one of the top dramas of the year.

The beginning was a black hole that sucked viewers in, the middle was sort of like floating in space, not really getting anywhere, and the end was like you crash landed on another planet. The cast was perfect in every way, the romance was innocent and forgiving (due to Kang Chi and Wol Ryung's amazing personalities) and the supporting characters were just as interesting to watch as the main cast. Even if you are not interested in the supernatural aspect, you should still watch it because it does not really focus on that part, but more on the difficulties in life aspect.

**_High emotional impact. Amazing cast. Great music! A story we can always watch._**

_NOTE: There are no spoilers. However, some people might consider some information as such. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED._

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**I. Story**
There are two stories in this series, the first is the political rivalry; and the second is the relationship between the Main leads.

The political rivalry story was well-written. There were always fresh "content" (if we can call it that) in every episode. They avoided repeating the same plot or reusing what was already "solved" in the previous episodes, while maintaining the overarching plot.

The story between Kang Chi Choi (played by Seung Gi Lee) and Yeo Wool Dam (played by Suzy Bae) was more than perfect. I loved how they did not dive into romantic scenes and dating game, otherwise it would've ruined the whole show. They carefully built-up the expectation and tension between the characters and perfectly used the intense emotions they captured from the audience at the right time, at the right moment.

The finale episode (ep. 24) was beyond perfection. While writing this review, I can still feel the impact and weight of this episode. Anyone can easily feel the emotions of both characters and the dialogues were realistic, what most people would say if they're in the shoes of either of the characters.

**II. Acting**
Everyone successfully brought to life the characters they played. The seriousness, the anger, the laughter, and craziness were also reflected on their faces. Superb acting!

The Main leads--Seung Gi Lee and Suzy Bae--captured the hearts of the audience which made it easy to feel their characters, to think like their characters, to be their characters. The way they gave life to their characters was natural, we can feel their humanity.

Special mention to Suzy, if I am not mistaken this was only her third Main role in a TV series, the delivery of her lines and they way she showed us her character's personality was at a veteran actor level. It wasn't perfect, similar with Seung Gi, there were a few scenes which were awkward or maybe forced but both of them quickly recovered (even in the same scene).

**III. Music**
The best music/OST. Perfect timing, at the right place, at the right scene, at the right time. The songs were also memorable and easy to listen to. They also did not forget to lower down the background music a second or two before a dialogue, something often forgotten in many other shows.

**IV. Production**
It was clear they gave a very good budget for this show. The texture and colours of their costumes and props were awesome on the screen. It helped in bringing-in the audience to live in the world of "Gu Family Book".

**V. Verdict**
Highly recommended. 20 out of 10 stars. Very high in the re-watch list.

Great job!

The introduction wasn't encouraging at all with this extremely superficially imaginary cuts of pseudo romance. Even after the time-skip it didn't improve much in that regards. The romance throughout the drama was overbearing with prolonged dreamy shots that made the lengthy runtime even worse. The drama featured your typical low-level boring villain to keep you bothered. Bae Suzy was too soft to play the role she was given. No matter what she does, she doesn't look intimidating or fierce enough. Sung Joon's acting is usually better than this, I don't why he was so bad here.

High emotional impact. Amazing cast. Great music! A story we can always watch.

NOTE: There are no spoilers. However, some people might consider some information as such. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

---------------------

I. Story
There are two stories in this series, the first is the political rivalry; and the second is the relationship between the Main leads.

The political rivalry story was well-written. There were always fresh "content" (if we can call it that) in every episode. They avoided repeating the same plot or reusing what was already "solved" in the previous episodes, while maintaining the overarching plot.

The story between Kang Chi Choi (played by Seung Gi Lee) and Yeo Wool Dam (played by Suzy Bae) was more than perfect. I loved how they did not dive into romantic scenes and dating game, otherwise it would've ruined the whole show. They carefully built-up the expectation and tension between the characters and perfectly used the intense emotions they captured from the audience at the right time, at the right moment.

The finale episode (ep. 24) was beyond perfection. While writing this review, I can still feel the impact and weight of this episode. Anyone can easily feel the emotions of both characters and the dialogues were realistic, what most people would say if they're in the shoes of either of the characters.

II. Acting
Everyone successfully brought to life the characters they played. The seriousness, the anger, the laughter, and craziness were also reflected on their faces. Superb acting!

The Main leads--Seung Gi Lee and Suzy Bae--captured the hearts of the audience which made it easy to feel their characters, to think like their characters, to be their characters. The way they gave life to their characters was natural, we can feel their humanity.

Special mention to Suzy, if I am not mistaken this was only her third Main role in a TV series, the delivery of her lines and they way she showed us her character's personality was at a veteran actor level. It wasn't perfect, similar with Seung Gi, there were a few scenes which were awkward or maybe forced but both of them quickly recovered (even in the same scene).

III. Music
The best music/OST. Perfect timing, at the right place, at the right scene, at the right time. The songs were also memorable and easy to listen to. They also did not forget to lower down the background music a second or two before a dialogue, something often forgotten in many other shows.

IV. Production
It was clear they gave a very good budget for this show. The texture and colours of their costumes and props were awesome on the screen. It helped in bringing-in the audience to live in the world of "Gu Family Book".

V. Verdict
Highly recommended. 20 out of 10 stars. Very high in the re-watch list.

Great job!