If a plate of scrambled eggs wrote a screenplay, it would have written this.

You may or may not have fun watching this one. But you'll probably have fun talking about it in the comments.

So many things don't really make sense. So. Many. Things. Where to even start.

You will be confronted on many levels by this drama. It begins with an ML who is supposed to be "almost 30".... being played by an actor who is 47. That is an 18 year age difference. Some say the ML is hot and manly. That is up to you to decide. But we can safely say there is something strange going on in his neck area, and his hair makes him look like an ancient chinese car salesman. Maybe that will bother you. Maybe it wont. Who knows.

Then you will be confronted by a 2ML who you will have to decide if you ship. Will you think he's Simpy McSimperson, an NPC with no real character of his own, who is annoying and stupid and serves no real purpose in the show? Or will you think he's sexylicious, and the FL's only real friend, and she's stupid for not running off with him to live a live of banditry in the woods? There is no telling, you'd just have to find out for yourself.

Then you will be confronted by the way the ML treats the FL. Is he manly and protective with reasons of his own for doing what he does? Or is he stockholming the FL and being a spineless passive aggressive douchebag? That's up to you to decide.

You will also be confronted by ML/FL kiss scenes. Will you think they are fiery and electric? Or will you think they are disturbing and strange. There is only one way to find out, and that's to see it for yourself.

And then... you will be confronted by plot holes. Lots of them. You could make a game out of it.... how many plot holes did YOU find? Five? Ten? Twelve? Winner gets bragging rights. You will likewise be confronted with a mind boggling amount of scheming and villainy. Sometimes you will not understand why a character did what they did or said what they said. Does anyone have the answers to clear your confusion? Perhaps. Or perhaps not.

I can say, the styling was really phoned-in and lo-effort. There were some scenes where I was looking at the dotted pattern along the wigline on ML closeups. I can also say that there is an abundance of overacting. It's not THAT bad, but it's there. Many actors and actresses on this drama were overacting to one degree or another. For some, it was just a hint of overacting, like the FL. For others on the supporting cast, the overacting was really quite much. And that's fine, I don't really mind that so much if other factors are present. But just so you know going in... this is less of an understated, subtle drama.... and more of a thrill-ride drama. I guess what you'd expect from 30-min episodes, really. Let's just say these performances aren't winning any awards, know what I'm sayin. It's meant more for fun, and not for serious viewing. If you go into this one very serious-minded.... you are going to have a BAD time. But if you go in to watch just for fun.... who knows what kind of time you'll have.

It's all mixed up. It's kind of mindless. Plot and logistics of things are pretty nebulous. Ending was kind of.... shall we say conversation-inspiring. Will you like it? Maybe. Or.... maybe not. I am reminded of a Blackadder quote by Lord Talbert Buxomley: "This drama talks like a plate of beans negotiating it's way out of a cow's digestive system." And I think that says it best, really.

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I've seen 250+ dramas, and this is the only drama I've ever given a 10.

I am a vampire freak, who loves romances when they are dark, slow-burn, supernatural, obsessive, angsty and passionate. I love stories with an ML who is red-flag, possessive, controlling, antihero, badass, or morally gray. I like stories about demons, devils, gumihos, legendary beings... you get the idea.

This drama isn't about vampires at all. But it's so close it might as well be. He looks, talks, acts, and thinks just like a vampire. All that's missing is the fangs and the superhuman abilities. And it's funny that a drama that is in no way about vampires, is the best vampire romance I've ever come across. It just satisfies my vamp-cravings so perfectly.

SoKP is deliciously slow burn. The best slow burn I know of besides Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre'. An unbelievable amount of patience is required to get to the payoff. But what a payoff. The fire that finally sets off is so hot that it permanently scarred my brain.

Aesthetics and color palate, styling and makeup and costumes... everyone in this drama was made to look incredible. Even the tertiary characters. I'm not saying everyone was stunningly model-hot. I'm saying they brought out each actor's best. This is true on an acting level as well. The directors and producers cared about each actor and actress, about their inner beauty and their natural talent shining through. The execution of this story was almost completely flawless. The casting was perfect in every way. Ling He is so excruciatingly gorgeous, and Bai Lu is beautiful beyond compare in her role here. Supporting cast was incredible and perfectly suited to their individual roles.

The political/intrigue part of the story was interesting, immersive, sufficiently complex to hold your attention, but not overly complex to make you feel muddled and mentally taxed as you watch.

I cannot recc this drama enough. HOWEVER. You will not like this drama if you fall into one of the following categories:

Looking for a green-flag ML---> this ML is morally gray, controlling, manipulative, forceful. There is some throat-grabbing and forced kisses as well.

Like to watch "boring stuff" on 2x and FFW'd during dramas regularly when your attention isn't engaged ---> this story requires your full attention, immersion, and patience in order to experience the full effect of the romance. It will not hold up to someone who is skipping or 2x-ing through parts, because you'll kill the pacing and atmosphere that needs to be established. You can skip some parts in episode 1 to get you going, but after that, I'd strongly advise against it.

This is a very special drama. You can never watch it for the first time twice. So, if you do decide to give this a chance, savor your first watch-through. Watch it on a dark, rainy weekend when you can binge it fully. with the lights out and some candles going or something, and let yourself get really into it. Happy viewing <3

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A masterpiece of the twisted and scandalous...

This drama is a very strange blend of deep psychological exploration and taboo romance. Because of this reason alone, it will only attract a certain kind of viewer. Not everyone finds psychological analysis interesting. And not everyone can hang with a story that includes incestuous feelings and actions.

Unlike many dramas, the main strength of this one is it's screenplay. It is original, the dialogue is thoughtful and intelligent and at times wickedly hot. The characters are full of dimension, and the writer makes them come alive. The dynamics between characters are complex. The psychological insights are simple, profound, and treated with great sensitivity.

This is a story about a bunch of batshit crazy people. They're rich, for starters. The drama is very good at imparting to the viewer the kind of claustrophobia that rich/famous people live inside of. They rarely leave their house. Most scenes are in someone's bedroom, in the living room, in the kitchen, in the backyard. When they go on vacation, they just go to another house (their villla). The only animal that makes an appearance in the drama are horses. Which is a good parallel of the characters. They spend most of their time either in a little stable, or running trying to be free. When they leave their cocoon to go out to eat or to experience a new situation, they inevitably have unpleasant experiences with "outsiders"... this teaches them further that they are better off staying at home. Even within their home, there is a feeling of people continually trying to invade their privacy for one reason or another.

The characters all handle this strain by retreating into themselves.... and then the FL comes along and draws them each out of themselves, making them into healthier people with stronger loving bonds.

Because they are all perpetually rich, isolated, and withdrawn, they don't perceive themselves as abnormal. They don't have people in their lives to compare themselves to. Normal people are just "outsiders", and their opinions are not only immaterial, but unknowable. So the crazy is treated as normal.

SPOILERS NOW.....

What kind of crazy, well a crazy absent-parent actress mother. One brother whose girlfriend died and he went completely off the deep end and is living in the wake of his own deep grief, and becomes attracted to his newly arrived sister.... but only when he's drunk. Another brother who is likewise attracted to his newly discovered sister, and also attracted to his brother and dresses like the dead girlfriend to get his attention. An older sister who thinks all of this is perfectly normal and amusing, and enables their behavior.

Each of these characters is thoughtful, sensitive, intelligent in their own way. They have a lot of depth. Yet the perversion is always there running through everything. Sprinkled sparingly through somewhat normal scenes, theres scenes like.... the brothers arguing over which of them is going to take their sister's virginity.

It's shocking to the viewer, and yet the show plays it off as normal. Which makes it somehow even more shocking. And yet if you are into the twisted romances.... it's just so damn hot. Like 3rd degree brain-burns level hot. You will NEVER see this in another asian drama. And the best part is they treat the subject with so much maturity and delicacy, not like a joke or an embarrassment or a tool to be used for shock value alone. This drama is NOT for a psychologically squeamish viewer, and NOT for someone uncomfortable with the topic of sex, because so much of this drama revolves around the subject of sex.

The acting is somewhat amateur, but the actors all have a natural talent that shows through. So you could call it good "bad acting". But yeah, the acting is bad. Especially the ML. The screenplay is such a powerhouse that even saddled by the ML's novice acting performance, it still delivers. Soundtrack and OST doesn't intrude much on the show. A little bit at times, but for the mostpart it was fine. It has more silence than most dramas, and that in itself is such a great relief for the viewer who might be tired of overproduced garbage.

Some people are going to find this boring, because it's mainly dialogue-driven. The interpersonal relationships are the focus, and there is lots and lots of dialogue, most of it involving one degree or another of psychoanalytic conversation. They are also going to find it boring, because the characters themselves are bored. They're all so wounded that nothing from the outside world reaches them anymore.

I give this drama a 9+ because you will NOT find anything else like it in the world of drama, and I'm not kidding here. It is so different from anything else I've ever seen. And some of the scenes achieve a level of hotness you can rarely find in romance dramas, yet without being cheesy or explicit. It has massive imperfections, yes. But it also has a vision and a depth and a sick hotness that leave a lasting impression to say the least.

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