Reviews

Amazing social psychology drama, with masterclass writing.

Review contain relation and character development minor spoiler, but not contents or events spoilers for the story. It's my first review on mydrama, hope you will find it helpful.

First, it's worth noting that this is almost not a romance. Polarizing reviews may result from expectations of a romance, but the story could just as well fit into the realm of friendship. The main couple only embraces in the most dramatic moments, never kisses, and doesn't share a bed. However, I recommend this drama for those interested in psychology and social psychology issues. This should be the main focus of our interest to fully appreciate this work.

Emotions

First, it's essential to emphasize that it avoids what many others drama do - 'dramatizing' based on uncertainty and unrest. There are few unusual 'villains' or admirers for the female lead (FL), but the drama manages to make it less anxious for the viewer, not due to a lack of emotions but because of the strong principles of the FL. She knows what she wants and what is good for others, with no gray area or hesitation. However, the downside is that she decides things for herself without consultations or communication, which is connected to her struggles.

Facing trauma, social and family expectations, fighting fear, anxiety, obsession, guilt, and finding meaning and happiness are just a few psychological topics explored around the characters.

It feels like across characters, their traits are always more than one-dimensional. For example, love confused with obsession or love confused with respect for mentorship. Good intentions escalate into bad things due to control cravings, anxiety, etc. Bad emotions dissolve and transform, and even bad intentions rationalize as good, only to result in more bad. The drama also features a sophisticated psychopathic antagonist, but I won't spoil his actions.
The series also has an interesting approach to presenting events beyond human influence, directed nowhere - like nature. All events are just things that happened, not inherently good or bad, depending on people's reactions to them. The consequences of choices are just consequences, not bad karma, fate, or anything else.

Characters

The main pair of characters is likable from the beginning. They are compassionate, genuinely helpful, altruistic, caring for people around them. However, sometimes, they are distant and lost in their inner world, adding an interesting dynamic to their relationship. One wants to be alone while the other needs externalization. Sometimes they are just beside each other, but over time, with daily courtesy and care for each other, they inevitably drift closer.
The 'calm drift' of everyday life is often interrupted dynamically by relationships with other characters, who are well written and memorable.

The screenwriter does an amazing job at separating external reality from characters internal thoughts, emotions, and reactions, allowing us to observe the whole internal process.

It can be said that the characters develop by building experiences. When one might expect a focus on reminiscing about the past and fixing wrongs, thats an positive surprise. It shows that sometimes, in a seemingly hopeless moment, the only option is to move forward without seeing a solution, but having hope that new experiences and new people will create a way out. This is a valuable element of life wisdom, often overlooked in psychoanalysis, which can be focused on analyzing cases separated from the patient's life when the process and time can bring answers.

Paceing/Structure

Apart from situations showing social relationships and psychological behaviors in relationships with others, there are also some flashbacks and cases of FL's clients. Still, the main element that changes the pace is ML's creative process. When he writes a script, we get snippets of mini-dramas with actors in new roles. These stories are genuinely interesting and could be developed into full-fledged dramas. Often, when many threads are heading towards difficult and heavy themes, the invented script contains something lighter, and vice versa. This also gives actors the opportunity for often different roles, showcasing their abilities. (By the way, allowing the audience to distance themselves from actors roles they might not like).
Working on scripts and characters seamlessly intertwines with the main plot and is revealed in ML's behavior. He becomes more open, bold, versatile, engaged, and responsible. Over time, the changes occurring in him due to FL find reflection in his scripts. It is a very accurate and interesting depiction of the creative process in the evolving life of the creator.

The only downside is their lack of involvement in deepening romantic relationships, overlooking not only the supposed romance but also the natural desire to get to know the loved one better. It seems challenging for FL to talk about certain things, making it look like she doesn't trust ML enough to confide in him. Even if the screenwriter wanted to show internal struggles, he could still show attempts at conversation that fail, then the audience would see not only hesitations but also the desire for closeness (it's shown basically in last 3eps). Living next to each other won't magically become living with each other if there's no effort in it. Even in the last episodes, FL preferred sleeping together and confiding in her bestfriend rather than in her supposed beloved. Why? Therefore, the ending, with an open ending, may be disappointing, but it is still interesting, especially if you don't expect anything more about the second season.
Oh, and I don't understand why there are so many music montages, especially with the same two songs throughout all 40 episodes.

In summary, this is one of the most complex, multi-threaded, and multi-layered scripts in TV shows that I have seen. Moreover, it ties up and specifies by circling with smaller and larger cycles of different threads.

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Showed us the darkest sides of humans and monsters

This season creeped me out !! It was way more scary with improved CGI and violence. This made me think are monsters more scary or humans fighting for survival.

I am not really a fan of series with multiple seasons as i forget what happened in the previous one, same thing happened to me here as well, had to go back for season 1 highlights for character and plot refresher.

This season was about the survivors of season 1 with additional surviors from different places , saw few characters come and go. So i kinda didnot feel very connected to the new characters and the old ones didnot make much progress . Every scene and every episode didnot impress me. The fresh plot which started after first half of the series was intriguing and the last episode was such a BANG ON!! Now i am waiting for season 3 just because of this.

Though this storyline failed to impress me as much as season 1, this too had its own assets. CGI was just amazing, humans were much scarier than monsters. I am a little disappointed as i didnot get to see more of the people i expected to see but instead that got taken over by new cast and plot . The actors were just Amazing!!! Like how did they even manage to bringout such amazing acting despite the cruel makeup and dark sets!! Were they not drained out after the shoot? The little intro and twist they had in the plot caught my attention and kept me going.

I was way too immersed into it that for a second i lifted my head and found myself out of the screen and thought. Ok, this is real world, that is just fiction, dont worry , You are SAFE , you wont turn into monster.

Warning : this has lot of disturbuing and violent scenes.

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Such a great start

Honestly I'm just here to say I wholeheartedly appreciate a feminine gay man as the lead role and not a side character.
He's cute, he's sassy and seductive. He reminds me of Uea from Bed Friend serving it down look after look with the upmost confidence and I'm absolutely loving every minute of it.

This first episode was so tasteful and easygoing, I love the "messy" drama so far, I'm enjoying the characters of the two main leads, the NC scenes were well placed and made sense. This series is kind of a strange cross between the vibe of Only Friends and Bed Friend (concept-wise at least)

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Scriptwriter

The series is finally over. It was one of the most flawed and wrong scripts of the TV series I've watched recently. I mentioned this frequently in my comments. But I watched it until the end. It ended well. It's all over. Those who made mistakes, those who did wrong, and the traitors were punished. Of course, Li Ni became emperor, but since he did not want to be, he left the throne to the son of the previous Crown Princess, even though he was his son. This is not a very common behavior. If I were emperor and I had a son, I would leave the empire to my son. This is normal. However, there was a show of heroism here, an event rarely seen in history, and the throne was left to one of the grandsons of the previous emperor. Let's call this a utopia. It could be. Because empire is not a job that can be done very well. It may be better to stay in a more comfortable area. Li Ni preferred this. In fact, according to the role assigned by the scriptwriter, he became responsible for the security of the border. Sounds like a simple job? Does he sleep until the evening? It's nothing like that. But he was shown as living like a commoner. They are happy. I guess this is what is meant.
The scriptwriter may have made mistakes in editing. He may not have been able to make the desired transitions and mannerisms correctly, but he was successful in love games. He painted a beautiful image of love. Although the sickly stepchild had a lot of love. He also helped in the last moment, but apart from these, the love between Li Ni and Cui Lin was handled well. The love between Taozi and Chang Er was also depicted very humorously and sincerely. In that respect, I congratulate the screenwriter. I think he should write scripts for Romance TV series. He should never engage in TV series that involve such strategic, game, cheating, political, or activation activities. Don't say that my series was watched well or got ratings or anything like that. Not because of him. Let him pray for the actors and the director. The cast was very good. The actors played incredibly well. Let's not violate their rights. Our director was excellent. The scene where Gu Wan Niang wandered around the city and said "I am the Crown Princess" in the last scenes, out of her mind, was very, very good. Our actress, Jia Min, did this beautifully, just as she portrayed the traitor under her pure, innocent beauty. I wouldn't expect it from him. I say well done. I show him as one of the best in the series. I want to see him as the lead. It is announced to the directors.
As for the script, as I said, it was below par. I got very angry while watching it. Although the series should have been rated 8-9, I gave it a lower score for that reason.

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SASSY MEETS CLASSY Joo Won-nah See This! °8.5° °Excellent°

This show is adorable, with nearly every moment enjoyable. Like Bridgerton, they sometimes wink at historical seriousness and just go for a fun story.

Visually, MSG is a treat. The sets, filming, and costumes are gorgeous. Its budget is clearly more than many historical dramas with its sophisticated fight scenes and costume after gorgeous silk costume.

The story features Princess Hyemyung (Hye) and scholar, Gyeon Woo (Gye). Back in time, we see Hye's mother, the queen, dethroned to open the show. Though assassins were sent to kill her, she was aided in escape and gave birth to Hye's brother, who was returned to the palace. The new queen is backed by the conspirators, and while Hye doesn't know /that/, she knows she hates the new queen. This explains why she grows up surly. Gye just returned from Qing (China) where he excelled. His moniker is: The Treasure of Joseon. Whatever. Hye couldn't care less.

Within days (hours?) of his return home, Gye runs into Hye. She's sauced. She burps in his face, leaving him gasping in her wake. He rounds a corner and there she is again! She's picked a fight with a horseback rider who almost hurt pedestrians. Gye helps diffuse that situation. Hye turns and pukes on him. He's horrified.

Gye has no idea who she is. Hye isn't allowed out of the palace, afterall. He is assigned to be the prince's (soon to be crowned prince) tutor. The prince and Hye are very close, so as soon as he shows up to work, he sees what he'll be dealing with. Of course, they can't stand each other.

It's good ol' plain fun to watch how Gye is thrown off by Hye. He declares her his enemy, but he can't shake her, & his pain is our gain. The device used to bring them together is her lost ring. She demands he help her find it, or he'll be in big trouble. That premise could be improved upon, but just roll with it. That enables her to introduce Gye to fermented skate, which everybody agrees, is some of the worst smelling stuff on the planet. She also feeds him chicken feet. While a somewhat weak premise got the two there, strong stomachs brought us these fun scenes.

Then it all starts. Look for the ring. Who is this wacky broad following Gye around? Gye complains to his friends that he can't shake a crazed stalker. One of them, a popular romance novelist, says they'll go from bring enemies to friends, and then to lovers. She meets his friends as Lady Hyemyung. They love her. They gamble and play a dare game at the lantern festival. She rocks all their worlds. Girls that are interested in Gye hate Hye, but Gye falls for Hye & she falls for him. Gye's parents want him away from that sassy princess! The king engages Hye to a prince from Qing. Gye has to stop that! And they finally tackle the mystery from the past.

It's tagged as a romance/comedy, but though it starts funny, this is no mere romcom. There's teary moments, intrigues and decent action as well. There's many Kdramas that start out like a romcom that go on to be very romdram. In order of importance, MSG is:

1. Romance
2. Drama (even though most of the drama comes later)
3. Comedy
~and to a lesser degree~>
4. Thriller
5. Action.
Do they have a name for a feature filled with all of that?
RomDramComThrAction?
Does simply everything have to fit in a mold? No, thank you.

The characters are well written and the acting is fantastic. Joo Won, as ML, Gye/Gyeon Woo, is astounding. He communicates with his eyes like few others. I loved him in this role. Go Na-eun, as Councillor King's daughter, Da-yeon, is fabulous at showing a calm (phony) demeanor while seething underneath. Yun Se-ah, as Queen Park, also gives a riveting performance. None of the performances detract from the whole. The directing is also top-notch. MSG has that lighthearted side, but it runs much deeper at times. The plot and dialogue are intelligent along with being amusing.

The court intrigues are done especially well. The king is weak, and he has deferred to his counselors for too long, his power mostly drained. The tension builds in the background and develops into full fledged drama in the second half of the show, when the past and present meet up. There have been forces at work against the present regime for decades.

Notes on historical context:

I watched MSG before I learned to not read any reviews prior to writing my own. Whenever I read before writing, my review would either reinforce one that I read, or I would rebut it in my review. I know now that I have to keep my head clear. In this case, I had read a review stating that the actors were too old for the parts. Per their bios, they were both born in '87, so that's fair, but they both did a great job, and I wouldn't trade out Joo Won periodt. Another complaint is that the court intrigues are nonsense in MSG. I decided to do a quick fact check on that claim (Wiki). Turns out, MSG is not inaccurate at all.

Per Wiki, "government officials were ranked in 18 levels. For much of the dynasty, a complex system of checks and balances prevented any one section of the government from gaining overwhelming power until the 19th century when political power became concentrated in a certain family or individual.

While the king commanded absolute loyalty from his officials and subjects, the officials were also expected to try to guide the king to the right path. Political struggles were common between different factions of the scholar-officials. Purges frequently resulted in leading political figures being sent into exile or condemned to death. The power of the bureaucrats often eclipsed that of the central authorities, including the monarch." Therefore, rather than a valid complaint, historical accuracy can be removed from MSG's liability column.

MSG was enormously popular in SK when it first aired. This led directly to making the much loved Rookie Historian (which also depicts fights within the bureaucracy) and 100 Days My Prince. Both of those dramas borrowed quite a bit from MSG. That's why the current rating confuses me, though less than 600 people have weighed in so far. Jun Suck Oh is a competent director whose works are all rated over "7" on IMDB except for this one. Two-for-two with me, he directed My First First Love(8), which is also lighthearted fun done right. I am confident the rating for MSG will climb when more people watch - as long as they give it a fair shake, meaning 2 episodes minimum. Ep1's in Kdramas are often set-up for the rest of the show, including introducing the characters as extremes of themselves. MSG is no exception. Princess Hyemyung is slop drunk when we meet her, and Gyeon Woo, though better than the sassy princess, seems 1 tick above a complete egghead. They get adorable with each other pretty quickly.

Gyeon Woo is, perhaps, the primary driver of the show's appeal. Not only is Joo Won enormously talented (MSG is worth watching for him alone) but once he decides what he wants, he works towards it, step by step, one challenge at a time, while being enormously brave and clever. So much for egghead, he can fight, too! With Hye around, that's a necessary skill. So, Don't be scared off by Ep1, and don't be afraid: Gyeon Wu is the only one suffering. Just avoid thinking about fermented skate and the rest should be a stroll through the garden.

Watch again? Did✅+would✅

IMHO
Directing 84
Writing 80
Acting 85
Romance 88
Flutters 76
Warmth 80
Art 80
Thought provocation 60
Ending 70 (due to MSS)

Age 12& up


MSS: Mandatory Separation Syndrome, an overused Kdrama trope in which couples, once get get together, must separate. 'I love you! Finally, we're together! Now I'll catch you later...' Huh? Sometimes, it's a good thing - a generous 15% of the time. On top of that, most of these people are pushing 40. They ain't getting any younger. All flights appear to be grounded as well, because, even if the separation is 4 years, they never seem to visit each other in that time period.

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This series is totally worth watching

I'm writing this review not just because I love it but because of the rating which is currently 7.6, however it definitely deserves more rating...

I don't know why people are being negative about this, but I'm loving it, i watched all 13 epis and re-watched few epis which is very rare for me to do especially during ongoing

Firstly Pitbabe and Charlie has great chemistry, but if people can't see it then something is wrong with them (sorry for being rude) because I have seen people saying that Pitbabe has more chemistry with Way... Like what?! You can't be biased just because you people watched his previous series, it doesn't make any sense, for this plot Charlie is the right choice be it as a role or as an actor and I feel this is the uniqueness of this plot...
Unlike other series, this one broke the stereotypes or usual standards which are continuing from years, people are so used to it that now they're complaining about this drama without understanding or realising the beauty of it

Charlie being the Top and Babe being the bottom is what I call the plot twist and unique, even though Charlie is younger, looks kinda soft and innocent but it doesn't mean he is actually weak, he proved how strong he is for multiple times
And just because Babe is strong and special doesn't necessarily mean he can't be a bottom..

Now what I like about this series is naturally the plot, scenes, cast, chemistry, music and cinematography.. it's all so well made.. the suspense it held is so interesting and exciting...

The only flaw is that they should've given some explanation or background details about werewolves in fantasy world (like what Alpha, beta, omega and Enigma means) because I have come across some comments where people have problem understanding this.. Afterall not everyone read comics or fictional novels, so the only fault I found from this series is the lack of explanation about this one topic, However a lot viewer's are trying their best to explain it those who doesn't understand this concept which shows how happy and excited they're, so in my opinion it's so good and worth watching

I finished watching the series and liked it very much, true that I felt a little bad for Way in the end but still I'm satisfied with the ending they gave to others, atleast they included many roles and scenes for other characters which were not there in novel which is already a very good thing in my opinion

I hope people give it a chance and try to understand it, if such series doesn't gain more ratings and reviews (recognition) then I'm afraid they will hesitate to make such great plots which is a loss for the people who loves to watch various type of concepts...

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So close to perfect

I don't know why, but I OBSESSIVELY loved this. Maybe because of Dylan Wang and the way he just *waves hands* is. But both the leads were absolutely fantastic and I thought there was a really interesting, unique, and hilariously fun dynamic. Like it didn't take itself too seriously sometimes.
I skipped work to watch this show. I was so, so obsessed with it from episodes, maybe 4 to 24ish. But around the late 20s and early 30s, I started to get really annoyed. It was the same juvenile, intentional miscommunication that was used as a plot device. I skipped through a lot of parts during these episodes.
And I didn't love how some of the "reveals" were done. Reveals are my favorite part in a story, hahah. Like if someone is dating the hot, rich, millionaire and then the reveal to (other guy who likes her) or (her parents) or (her ex), etc. Some were okay but I wanted moooooore.
Either way, I loved this. I'd probably gladly watch another 30 episodes just to see Dylan Wang, lol.

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generic school cdrama which is weirdly unique

Professional Single (2020) -8/10 cdrama

this drama is puzzle for me...
story is dumb school romcom with no innovation[dont think by brain just watch by eyes], :villain: is just sticky girl which dont get NO as answer quite weak and annoying. Second ML couldnt be more generic and FL is epitome of :ugly girl:[ok I am exaggerating here... but she cant be called beauty nor cute, more average]

Still I quite enjoyed it.

plot - ML and FL are art school students... ML is :cold prince of campus:. FL is average student girl. They both get into few accidents in which ML starts feel something for FL. Well and story continues with classic theme.

genre - school , romance

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Story that doesn’t translate right on screen

I hate to be that person who whines about how dramas fail to live up to its original comics or books. But I really can’t let this review slide because See You in My 19th Life was, is my favorite Webtoon series of all times.

SYiM19L has such an interesting premise. We have Ban Jieum as the female lead who found herself in her trickiest predicament yet - being her own love rival. To be more exact, her 18th reincarnated self was the girl whom Mun Seoha, her love interest, cannot forget. Being someone who can remember all her past 19 lives, would she be able to use her century old wisdom to win Seoha’s heart again?

When I first excitedly tune to the series, I kept telling myself to enjoy my beloved Jieum’s and Seoha’s romance on screen with an open mind. After all, I get that comic storytelling and drama storytelling aren’t exactly alike.

2 episodes in though, I couldn’t help but found myself picking up the webtoon again and put on the comparison lens. After crawling through 5 episodes, my verdict is in, the drama wasn’t appealing enough - even if I were to see it as a separate story.

All in all, the drama version made certain simple plots that already worked well more complex than necessary. I also didn’t enjoy the chemistry between drama version of Jieum and Seoha.

>>>Spoilers alert from here on<<<

1 Changes which weaken the core of what I love about the couple

In the webtoon, Jieum as her 18th reincarnation met Seoha first in the library. Though they didn’t like each other at first, they eventually got to enjoying each other’s company reading books and chitchatting. It was here where Jieum mentioned how she felt more like a 12 year old being around Seoha - and it was an important moment for her considering she had already lived for a century.

Instead of this simplistic meeting in the library and them enjoying each other’s company overtime, their first meetup is changed to the pool, which some element of fate.

Maybe it was trying to add more context to convince us how their love story could transcend 2 lifetimes. Maybe it was trying to add more shared moments that they could use to create that typical dreamy romance vibe that on screen. The pool scene was indeed pretty, but this pretty moment somehow drowned Seoha and Jieum. Added the cliche-y touch, cut away the couple’s unique vibe I love from webtoon. It’s something I appreciate less these days with romance dramas.

Another example of change that didn’t work well for me - was Jieum’s confession to Seoha.

In the webtoon, the confession was simple and pure. Jieum realised she liked Seoha and thought the moment was right to confess. There was an internal monologue shown to us on how Seoha’s actions that day impacted Jieum. It became clear to her that her affection towards Seoha remains romantic in this lifetime as well and thought it was important to confess. So she did. Simple, decisive and clear - like how someone who had lived for 19th life would rightfully do.

In the drama, they made Jieum ran in the rain from her place to Seoha’s (okay she ran to the taxi, then to Seoha’s, in the rain), then babbled to Seoha that she wanted to confess on his birthday because it would made him had a good memory to go by (instead of linking it to Joo Won’s death anniversary). And then, the moment got to predictably get interrupted by a “fake” love rival for a needed tension. I got tired typing this scenario out.

This change diluted the confession.

There were many more scenes like these that dial up the cliche-y moments. But let me move on to my next point.

2. Drama Seoha vs Webtoon Seoha
In the short 5 episodes I watched, I eventually warmed up to Shin Hye Sun’s portrayal of Jieum even when I didn’t like it either, but I sadly can’t say the same for Bo Hyun Ahn’s Seoha.

One of the most fun things about SYiM19L webtoon version was Seoha’s and Jieum’s banters - in particular, Seoha’s reaction to Jieum’s confessions and general remarks. The drama Seoha is too reserved, which dull a lot of the humorous moments I had enjoyed back then when reading the webtoon. The webtoon Seoha wasn’t friendly either, but he had way more reactions to Jieum’s teasing.

Hye Sun’s and Hyun Ahn’s on screen chemistry was also only so so to me. Not enough for me to like them separately from the webtoon version.

3. Jieum’s mystery and the finale
For remaining part episodes, I ended up googled others’ reviews to catch up on the story plot at high level.

If I had disliked the aforementioned changes, I am definitely upset with this one - they made Jieum forget the people in this lifetime too if she wants to break her curse. Whose genius idea is this to add this unnecessary cliche plot? Some critiques already pointed out the loophole on this.

In the webtoon, she simply won’t remember them anymore when she reincarnated in her next life. And this made so much more sense. After all, Jieum’s love story with Seoha happened because she remembered her past 18 reincarnated self. If she needs to forget them in this lifetime, what’s their love story without it anymore?

>>>Spoilers ends<<<

This concludes my review on See You in My 19th Life. It failed to capture the key spirits that made the webtoon version popular and enjoyable. The quirky and sassy female lead, the equally lovable male lead, their humourous and heartwarming love journey as well as the occasional nuggets of wisdoms from someone who has lived for centuries on life - I wasn’t able to see them on screen. While I give the production team a benefit of doubt, it’s hard for me to rate this higher than it is.

There were plus points though. The cinematography is great. The actor and actress are great too, even if I don’t felt convinced by their on screen chemistry. Also if you haven’t read the original webtoon like I did, maybe you will be able to enjoy See You in My 19th Life much better than me, without the bias and all.

I will “see y’all” in my next review.

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Good palace politics, Horrifying ML

OVERALL
This drama is another heaven-and-hell production. Watch it if 1) you LOVE palace politics, 2) you're looking for mature cinematography and filters, 3) you want a drama with a smart(ish) FL. If you're looking for a great ML or a heartfelt love story, I can't urge you enough, SKIP!

THE STORY
So I was looking for another good historical drama after watching Wonderland Love and saw that this one was highly rated, so I decided to give it a try. Uff, what a disappointment! But let me start with the good stuff:
- The premise of FL going back to her youth to change history is interesting (while not original) because you want to see if she'll succeed. This I really liked, and I think the drama does a good job of handling this part of the plot.
- FL is smart (when the drama wants her to be) and in a mature, age-appropriate way
- For once (in a long time), we have mature cinematography with nice, dark(ish) filters and none of that childish quirky music that always plagues Chinese historicals
- Palace politics is thrilling, with the bad guys making the good guys sweat sometimes (which is good, it's boring when the good guys are always ahead)

Now, onto the bad stuff:
- Top of the list, 200%, is ML. He is so boorish, I can't believe a C-drama came up with a character like that in 2023. It's okay to have a cold or slightly aggressive ML when there is enough backstory to make us feel bad for him AND if he redeems himself. Kunning Palace's ML has neither. The backstory is definitely not enough to make me sympathize with him, and he never, NEVER redeems himself. He's just dislikable, from beginning to end.
- Obviously, the love story then falls very short. It was extremely funny (and disturbing) how his outbursts of anger and violence towards FL were romanticized. I just can't...Also, having such nice, 2nd and 3rd ML made it all worse, because in what world would a smart girl like FL EVER choose this abusive ML over her other options? It's hilariously ridiculous.
- The fact that ML is FL's teacher adds an extra layer of weird and bad for me, because of the power dynamics. He's already boorish, then you add to it the fact that he can just boss her around and treat her like a 5 year old as her teacher? Yuk.
- A third flaw in this drama (definitely less important but still worth mentioning) is how brushed aside the story of FL's sister was. I think the character is presented as somewhat important but then we never see what happens to her after a major event, which feels like a loophole.

Overall, if you are not into romance and are indifferent to ML's terrible character, go ahead, watch this drama. The palace politics will keep you going. If you really care about character development and you were craving a good love story, do yourself a favor and skip!

THE ACTING
Good, though nothing out of this world for me. I wouldn't say there was any chemistry between FL and any of the guys in the show either.

THE MUSIC
That, I liked! I'm all for more mature vibes!

REWATCH VALUE
Absolutely null. I'd rather re-watch Yanxi Palace than this, and I used to think Yanxi Palace's emperor was the absolute worse ML hahaha

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didn't feel the chemistry

Overall: although I like each lead character individually, the high school student/teacher dynamic was squicky and I thought Nekoto and Sahara worked better together. I haven't read the source material and am reviewing it on its own merits. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala and iQIYI.

Content Warnings: fights, high school teacher/student relationship

What I Liked
- we rarely see a "delinquent" character, he was adorable
- crack comedy (it had the overacting vibe but it worked for me because it didn't have constant comedy sound effects)
- that chase scene in ep 1 was fun
- how a nerd character was good at sports
- styling (except 2 characters were styled younger in the present and older in the past which was strange)
- production value

Room For Improvement
- the writers really got me rooting for Nekoto, they seemed much better matched especially with how everyone (including Toki) continually emphasized that Toki was not an adult, there was a lot of screen time with Nekoto even in the final episode
- high school student/teacher dynamic (the accidental kiss, no shirt/head in Toki's lap, confession) all while Sahara was still Toki's teacher (which has an inherent power imbalance with grades, it is immoral/unethical and in most places illegal as it should be) and then the kiss at the end while Toki was still in high school was squicky, I think they could have mitigated this by having it take place in university (and Sahara not be Toki's teacher, or only for a semester and then they start their relationship later)
- Toki smacked Sahara on the back even though he knew he had a back injury (also reinforced Toki's immaturity)
- the side couple basically vanished

Age Notes: it was difficult to figure out the ages of the characters but in the final episode Toki mentioned that he was in his second year when most of the series took place and by looking at Japan's high school structure (3 years 15-18), Toki would have been 16/17 and then 17/18 at the end when they kissed (still at the high school). In the flashback, it said Toki was in 4th grade. Calculating backwards, he would have been 9 or 10 and Sahara mentioned the incident when he was in high school, let's say he was 16/17 so they'd have about a 7 year age gap. For most of the series in the present, they were 16/17 and 23/24 and then at the very end 17/18 and 24/25.

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The curse of humanity

Go Hyeran is a larger then life character. She has iron will, and unfathomable ambition. She's smart, confident, powerful. She never bends nor retreats, but when faced with adversity, with ruthless efficiency she pushes onward. She doesn't just hang from the rope, she climbs it.

All of that to create a just society where truth prevails and wrongdoers are punished. This is a single goal she devoted her life to, due to a traumatic event in high school that set her on that noble, tho self destructive path.

Unfortunately, Go Hyeran is still human. For all her strength and passion, she is burdened by curse of humanity. That curse made her involuntarily develop feelings to two, arguably three men in her life. She knew it's a weakness, she didn't want this to happen. She knew it will cause her trouble, that people guided by feelings rather then rationality make mistakes and bring misery to their own lives and lives of others, but it still happened.

There are all kinda people in these show. Cowardly people, weak people, jealous people, petty people. As long as Hyeran opposes them, sees them as enemies, she can defeat them, even turn them into allies circumstance eventually. But developing feelings for someone weak and undeserving is nothing short of tragedy, and brings tragedy and pain to her life and life of others.

That tragedy is the main plot of Misty, a character focused melodrama with elements of thriller and mystery. The who dunnit and how dunnit isn't as important here as why dunnit. As various people's ambitions and feelings clash, sparks fly and turn into raging inferno that swallows everything and everyone.

This is not a story with a happy ending. Yet what a story it is. I can not not recommend it to anyone and everyone who still happens to suffer from having a semblance of heart, and wanting their heartstrings to be cruelly pulled over and over again.

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One of the Best Light-Hearted BLs

It has been a long time since I sang the praises for a light-hearted Thai BL, but this one richly deserves it. Except for a few weak spots (which I am choosing to ignore), this is one of the best, if not the best BL of this genre from Thailand in a long, long time. Although the story is nothing new, and it does have its ineffective moments, overall, it simply works because of the strength of its two leading men. And overall it was all done with grace, dignity, with a sense of beauty and quiet devotion. And one of the only times I can remember when we see an actual gay couple committing themselves wholly and fully to be together. Not just romantically but in every way. For this, this series deserves a special distinction. Kudos!

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