These days, many of the shows that I am attracted to feature strong female characters. More often than not, these are women in the action genre or something close to it. It is because of this recent preference that I got pulled in to watch a new kind of K-drama. This was one of the shows recommended to me so I got curious. I saw one episode of Pandora: Beneath the Paradise on Disney+ and I could not help but binge-watch it! I'm excited to share my review of this show and give you an update on the actors I loved in this one!
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| Photo Credit: Studio Dragon |
Plot
The series revolves around the main character, Hong Tae Ra. She is the wife of CEO Pyo Jae Hyun, who is part of the booming tech company Hatch. Together they have an adorable young daughter named Ji Woo. They also live next to their closest friends, particularly news anchor Hae Soo and her husband Do Jin. Jae Hyun and Do Jin work together in Hatch with another friend, Gu Sang Chan. It is a picture-perfect life. A loving husband and child, a happy and comfortable life. Her husband is even running for President of Korea, which would then make her First Lady of the country.
Tae Ra is a woman who has no memory of her past. The series reveals that she had an accident where she lost her memory. Since then she relied on her sister Yu Ra to tell her about her past life. While on a visit with a friend to a mental institution, something triggers her memory. This leads to a series of events showing that her life isn't as perfect as it seems.
Review
I loved watching this show. There were so many things happening beneath the surface with every character. There were so many plot twists that you cannot trust that everything was as it seems. They always end up in situations that you would never expect.
I thought the reveal that [SPOILER] Taera was an assassin was already a big thing for the story. The writers had more reveals to share than that. There was so much going on beneath the surface in her world. Plus so many characters playing the long game to get their goals and get ahead. A lot was going on! There was so much to unpack and it was very exciting to see how it all played out.
It was a pleasant surprise for me to see Lee Sang Yoon as Pyo Jae Hyun in this series. I last saw him in One the Woman, and it was a bit of a funny sort of show, and he played a role very different in that one. I got to appreciate his talent as an actor after seeing his range from the earlier series to this one.
I wish that I could say the same for Lee Ji Ah, who played Tae Ra. I know that she is an established actor in Korea, but I did not feel that much emotion from her in this show. It's possible that this was because her role was as a cold-blooded assassin. Her interpretation was to give this poker face/expressionless look for the role. I wish she could have shown more with her acting.
Action-wise, I loved seeing Ji Ah in Tae Ra's fight scenes. I know it was most likely a stunt double, but those scenes were impressive. In a way, it made up for how she lacked in emotional scenes. I wanted more from her, but I didn't get it.
One thing that I thought was interesting in the show was the concept of the product that Hatch produced. It was an interesting technological idea. I can only imagine how amazing it would be to have something like that to heal the body from paralysis and coma. Is this something that people are already looking into? It would be such a great idea!
I would love to see those advancements – as long as it's not used to kill people or erase their memories, that is. I’m not sure which movie or show it was that I saw a similar concept from, but this idea was in another one before. I’m not saying that it’s bad that this show copied the concept, I’m only noting that another writer has had a similar idea.
I also loved the concept of living next to your friends in this one large compound. I couldn't help but notice that these homes have been in other series that I've seen before. They use different angles but I found myself recognizing parts of it a lot! I've read the location is a place you can tour when you visit Korea, provided no one is shooting at the time.
According to Wikipedia, the show is also titled Pandora: Fabricated Paradise. That is a better title for the show. After all, Tae Ra's life was a fabrication made by the person responsible for erasing her memories.
As far as endings go, I was a little disappointed with this one. I thought that the series was exciting from the beginning to the end. I only had beef with that final scene. It made the show fall flat because of how they concluded it.
Everything was exciting. They could have ended it on a high note, but the reveal did not make sense. It felt a little forced. Like it was trying to give viewers something to think about: Was it all fabricated in her memories? Was she fooled in the end? Is she in a coma and this is all part of data uploaded in her brain? It leaves you with so many questions, but not the good kind. It felt frustrating.
Yes, it seems exciting to think that there is more to the show with that ending. But how can you make sense of how that could happen given the last scenes of the series? It all felt off. I wanted a great ending that I could clap my hands to after everything that happened in the show, but I did not get it.
Then again, a lot of the K-dramas I’ve seen have not had good endings. A lot of shows start very well and then have a so-so ending. I guess it should not be a surprise that this show wouldn't be any different.
Ending aside though, Pandora: Beneath the Paradise is still worth the watch. It is something that I would recommend to people looking for good Korean dramas to watch on Disney+.
Where are they now?
Lee Ji Ah
After this series, her next project is the 2024 show I Will Go Until the End. On a little side note. I found out while doing research on the show that she was once the wife of Seo Tae Ji, one of the pioneers of K-pop. This was before she became an actress in Korea.
Lee Sang Yoon
After Pandora, his next appearance was in a cameo role in the series Celebrity. He was also part of the TV show Leave Anything.
Jang Hee Jin
I couldn't find any information on any future projects after Pandora. It's too bad because she was so good in this show and was hoping to see her in another series.
Park Ki Woon
His next show is in the series My Man is Cupid after Pandora. There is no release date for the show yet.
Bong Tae Gyu
Apart from Pandora, he was also in the show No Money No Art in 2023. There are no listed future projects so far.
Kwon Hyun Bin
I didn't realize that he was an idol from watching the show. He has no other listed TV projects after this series. He debuted under the stage name Viini in 2019.
Hong Woo Jin
He was part of the show Squid Game before Pandora. He moved on to the show Han River Police after this series.
Shim So Young
She was next seen in the movie Smugglers with Zo In Sung after this show. I'm looking for waysto see this one since I found her to be such a character. I'd love to see how she does other roles!
Kyeon Mi Ri
She does not have any other roles listed after Pandora. I kept trying to place her because she looked so familiar. Turns out I've seen her before in the series Dae Jang Geum way back in 2003! What a throwback! You all need to check her Instagram (click her name in this post, it's linked to her IG), she doesn't look it, but she's already 58!
Pandora: Beneath the Paradise doesn't get much hype from fellow K-drama fans in my area. I was a little disappointed with that since it was such a good show, despite the ending. I hope that by sharing my review of the series I could encourage more people to see this show.
If you found this review and watched the show because of it, please share your thoughts on it! Leave me a message in the comments section! If you have any more information on future projects of the cast, please let me know!
Catch this show on Disney+ while it's still there!
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