Hwayugi Episodes 11-12 Drop a Bit in Ratings as Narrative Treads Water

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• This is the first time a Hong Sisters drama failed to make the OTP have sizzling chemistry. Even their biggest failures like Big and Warm&Cozy had amazing OTP (probably the only thing that was salvageable in those dramas).

  But here, there's simply nothing. I don't know if the problem is the actors having no chemistry or the characters itself. I wouldn't fall for Sunmi personally so I don't get how monkey fell for her either. It's a weak drama honestly, because in a Hong sisters rom-com, they usually only need two things: a story that makes narrative sense, and OTP that makes you want to root for them.

  In this case, narrative isn't very weak (neither is it very strong) but OTP is super weak. I ship Oh Gong with Winter Frost and Summer Fairy more lol. They have adorable chemistry and interaction. And Bu Ja ❤️ Pal Gye. I love that couple even if I'm sure it's not romantic for them.

  • Lmao the pig zombie is just terribad and act cute crap lol......At least SOG and Sunmi actually have a more mature relationship than that pos......You must be a kid to like those act cute shy crap......

    • You must be a kid with that kind of argument. Lol grow up and accept others with different opinions.

    • Kinda true but Buja brain is rotting that's why she is so dumb. Imagine if Sunmi did all those stupid things eg. going to your killer trap again and again. She would have been bashed to death

      But yeah, people wont admit that they love kiddish cute female lead
      When the female lead is realistic and mature, they will start whining how she is bland

    • @Butterfly the same could be said for you no? I put up a different opinion no? Lol how is having a mature relationship instead of a kiddo 1 not an legit argument? Lmao take a look at your own sentence you look more like a kid than me.....And i guess you are a fangirl or some sort with your petty assumptions as well lmao.....Hey too bad korean and chinese viewers in korean portals naver,daum, nate and chinese sites actually have the same opinion as me lmao.....Lol your bias is getting bashed atm for bad and off character acting....In fact the only 1 who isnt bashed atm is lsg lmao

    • Agree with you. Sohn oh gong, Jin sun mi were the core of this show. Without them this drama won't achieve high ratings

• Agree... never get the loveline in the first place, is it necessary? I won't blink if Sun-mi disappears... her existence with the monk's blood puzzles me and now she is merely a pawn for Mawang to collect his points. Hong's sisters have failed terribly in developing Sun-mi's character. I prefer all the side stories with Buja/Priestess, PK, Dragon Prince, Summer Fairy/Frosty; they are entertaining... but what is the main theme of this drama? Immortals/Monsters-Merry-Go-Round??

  • Sun Oh Gong will forever be the selfish, arrogant, destructive, monkey forever without Sunmi.
    Sunmi should have let the bookseller becomes the new owner of the Geumganggo.
    Why bother.. just let the world be destroyed. Let Oh Gong be used by that demon till he dies pfft.. that would be super fun.
    Sunmi should just stop living her lonely sad life with all these demons using her for sacrifical lamb. Just live as a successful real estate CEO and marry a normal guy

  • Did you even watch the drama.....Sum-mi was punished to be sam jang for releasing OG.......lmao all your side characters you stated are pretty shallow and have no depth at all except as filler with some comic relief once in a while and are pretty cringy act cute pos lol.....Neither are their acting spectacular as they dont execute nuance acting nor have depth......At least the leads lsg,oys and csw acting are decent and can actually emote and do nuance acting with depth......

    • I can't get why they are satisfied on how the Pig demon is being portrayed.. the way he acts is not the same to the original new journey to the west. I won't even watch this drama even it has a high ratings. Thanks to Lee seung gi's acting and oh yeon seo. I was surprised by Seung gi. This is my 1st time watching him act. He literally carried this drama in my eyes. Without him. This drama will not bloom.

• Buja herself is a dumb zombie who needs help. She is revived by Sunmi anyway
  She should have burnt hee from the start
  At least sunmi is an independent career woman. It's not like she chose to be samjang.. she was forced into it because of Monkey scam

  All the demons are selfish with their own agenda
  But even before reading the comments and the article Koala's wrotr, i'm not surprised with the biasness ?

  • Oh and even Palgye is just a selfish pig with agenda. He wants samjang blood
    Putting samjang in the car to let Buja eats her is so off putting. He totally forgot who makes Buja alive in yhe first place
    Her existence in the drama is merely for annoyance and comedy

  • i have never watched a smart zombie, yes she wants to be burnt but she is saved everytime against her wishes. Yeah, it seems like both Buja and Sunmi are forced into their current states unwillingly. This shows how bad Hong's sisters writing is!! LOLOL... I am not surprised if rating continues to drop, I am starting to lose interest bcoz the story is going in circles... Of coz demons are selfish, they are not here to save the world...

    • Sunmi herself has her own selfishness to survive hence she doesn't want ro take off the GGG yet.
      But guess what? If it's the demons: they are smart, funny.. if Sunmi decides somethinf dor her own sake: selfish, frustrating

• Better write a hugh school lead who whines and do aegyo everytime. That is more interesting than a grown woman who acts like her age/s

• I liken their romance to plucking petals off a flower. She loves me, she loves me not,he loves me and he loves me not. It is such a petty and childish portrayal of the characters an love in general. I wouldn't be watching this if not for LSG. I think he has more sparks with Buja.

  • Like a father and his daughter

• Lots of clever ideas but let's face it the story is really hollow and lacks depth and focus. The drama isn't generating a lot of buzz at all, coming in 4th and 3rd on the drama trending list the days it airs.

  • If scoring rating btw 5-7% for cable dramas. isn't generating lots of buzz the. I don't know what to say lol

    • Exactly. A TVN drama scoring 5-plus ratings should be trending no. 1 on the drama trending list on the two days it airs, but it is not. Which puzzles me, especially with the great hype before it aired. Does this mean that though many people are hanging on to the drama they are not finding a lot to say about it?

    • I think for cable dramas, getting 5% is no longer a big deal. Now they can go as high as 18%, as with Youn's Kitchen. So that's why there's not much buzz?

  • You forget that there is family drama "Golden Life " which scored 45%. It's been years since a drama score thay high... and family dramas are watched by all ages.
    People love writing "Rating dip" , Rating drop" cos it brings joy to bash.
    It's common anyway. The drama is still scoring high that what matters lol

    • Misty trended no. 1, followed by Money Flower, followed by Golden Life, and then this drama.

• Misty pushed this drama away

  • They are not airing on the same time slot.. pfft
    You said it like Hwayugi have 2% rating while it's still gathering 5.6 % rating

    • no i mean in plot

  • i cant even passed the 1st episode of misty.

• This was my worry about Hong sisters. It has a great set up but spittle out midway. The OTP is not helping. I find the female lead to be underwhelming in this role while she's proven to be awesome in Come Back Ahjussi. Although she's a pawn but she doesn't have to be boring. Actually in Journey to the West, the monk is really a lame figure cos he's always getting into trouble and needs saving. But the "monk" in the korean version doesn't have to be lame too!

  At first i was so excited to watch new episodes but not now. I seriously don't know what's the deal with the otp. Is it a direction from the PD? They have zero chemistry, so how do we root for them? Maybe they should change the OTP to the Bull King and his loyal dog instead.

  • Actually in terms of acting the chemistry is there as both execute nuance acting with depth and emote pretty well in both gaze or facial expressions.....I thk its the directing as its helm by 4 pds atm.....So there seems to be a gap between a scene to the next and no continuity.....The story does not link up......Also it does not help the story is pettering out as they are trying to extend it to 22 episode......

• I feel like this is one of the drama where the otp chemistry is really good. I love seeing a childish male lead with a mature calm female leas for a change.
  All the other characters are comical so Sunmi character is a balance to them. Much more realistic

• Maybe I am biased but I thought the OTP chemistry is great and believable! They were thrust into this relationship..

  They were not sure where it will lead them so they were cautious with each other..as they spend time with each other, other feelings surfaced for Seon Mi..you could see it in OYS' eyes and mannerisms; an awkward grown up lady who has never been in love or been closed to a person or being...

  Then you have Son Oh Gong who does not seem to be in love before is trying to attribute his strange behaviour to the GGG bracelet..but his actions betrayed his thoughts..

  As a viewer, I could sense the attraction between these two awkward beings... I SMILED to myself as I watch SOG does the sweetest things to Seon Mi and how touched SM is.. Then you can sense their apprehension as they become aware that they are not supposed to behave in this manner.. Then he will act like he is forced to do so...I get all the vibes from looking at them..

  I can feel Seon Mi shyness when she is caught fantasing about SoG and herself by SOG!

  Maybe I am biased but i totally love both of them.so fun to watch...

  With the writing, i don't find it messy because the original Journey to West is episodic so i can live with it. The main theme for JTW is growth in the character as they journey together as well as overcoming evil... I believe that's what we will see in Hwayugi.. The characters are learning about love, trust etc... We as the viewers get to reflect on gluttony, loneliness, abuse, death, revenge... Quite alot of things to reflect on.

  Sorry for the long post.. I am completely biased aren't I?

  • Nope you're not biased. I love and appreciate the narrative developments, OTP chemistry and mythology as well! Hong sisters have done way worse (Big, Warm and Cozy), I actually think that they are back into their groove for this show.
    Haters gonna hate and everyone's got their own personal preferences. Having grown up with the Journey to the West narrative, JSM is actually the least annoying monk character in all the versions so far and I like what they are doing to change things up. The ratings are probably a disappointment because of all the hype but honestly, it's not doing badly (especially given that incident early on that resulted in negative PR). Hopefully they can recoup via international sales- a number of my kdrama friends are watching it and enjoying it :)

  • I so agree with you! I also love the way the story is going. I don't care much about the ratings as long as I love the series. I actually look forward to it when it comes on. I initially didn't want to watch it because I am not a Journey to the West fan, but when I realized the story was different, I took a chance and loved it. I guess everyone has shows they hate and love. This one is no different. As long as it is doing good, then it's okay to me.