Reviews

I like how their life end after the story, how about you?

Lin Ru Lan's story was sad and painful throughout the drama, also for Meng Wan and many other girls who became Wu Lian's victims. Wu Lian can still walk around freely in most of the drama too, which really makes me angry. When Wu Lian got his own karma, I was the one who was happy about it, even until the end of his life I was still less willing because he only experienced a little of what all the girls faced, who had to endure guilt and shame throughout their lives.

The plot does take us to see Wu Lian's past and the "reason" why he acted so evilly, but I still couldn't feel sympathy for him. Having a bad past is not an excuse for him to hurt other people.

Apart from the ending of the drama which was satisfying for me, I liked the special episode (eps 25), because we were told what the life story of all the characters in this drama would be, if all these events had not happened. How Wu Lian chose to stay on the right track. Meng Wan and Lin Ru Lan didn't know each other, and the others also had a good life too, only they didn't know each other. I'm satisfied with the special episode!

Even though this drama is emotional, there are many scenes that are more or less related to women's lives, both in that era and now. Hopefully no one will ever experience something like Faithful 九义人.

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This show sorely lacks a coherent plot. Instead, it relies heavily on repetitive and melodramatic scenes of Fiat's tearful outbursts, followed by conveniently resolved crises presented in a disjointed manner. It is a perplexing and frustrating viewing experience, to say the least.

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One of the major flaws lies in the portrayal of the central relationship, which is undeniably one-sided. One party constantly gives, while the other consistently takes without reciprocation. Initially, this dynamic may hold some intrigue, but it quickly becomes tiresome and predictable. It is essential for a series to evolve and offer a more balanced and dynamic relationship to maintain audience engagement.

Furthermore, the series fails to delve deeper into the complexities of the characters and their motivations. Instead, it relies on surface-level portrayals, leaving much to be desired in terms of character development.

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I can tolerate a certain degree of flaws in a drama as long as there is at least one character that I can connect with and find likable. However, this particular drama failed to provide even that basic requirement. To be honest, it was utterly nonsensical and left me feeling perplexed. The characters themselves were unappealing, and their actions seemed to lack consistency throughout the series. In fact, I would go as far as to say that half of them were downright despicable individuals. It wasn't until the final episode, during a brief five-minute period, that any sort of redemption or resolution was attempted, effectively disregarding all the previous episodes' shortcomings.

What baffled me even more was the fact that this drama revolved around an arranged marriage, yet there was no actual marriage taking place. It felt like a major letdown, as the premise held potential for interesting developments. Unfortunately, the writing was so subpar that it failed to even reach the level of being "funny" bad. Instead, it was simply painful to watch. This was the first time I found myself fast-forwarding through parts of a drama, as I couldn't bear to endure the entirety of it.

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10 stars because trauma

Like all the others I fall in love with, I ask again, why did I put off watching this. All the ones I love sit in my watchlist for quite some time before I actually watch them. But then I have way too many on my watch list but man. LOVED the mental health representation. This one was so relatable in many aspects. The villain of the story still couldn't get past my ADHD character analysis brain, so I called it pretty early on. There was a couple times I said "oh didn't see that coming." so I give them props for that.
Cried and if you have read my one other review then you will know that's a favorite of mine so if you too enjoy crying, and you too have trauma, definitely worth the watch.

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TRS walks too far down the path of a fantasy rom-com before deciding it does not want to be one

First, some friendly words:
The music was on point (much better than say in The Crowned Clown).
The few fight scenes were fine.
The emotional scenes were well made (except for any deaths). In general, the production staff did a fine job.
Most of the actors were decently chosen for their roles (but all politicians were weak/unremarkable).


The first maybe 40% of the show are a generic Cinderella fantasy rom-com. The little attempted comedy isn't funny too often, but the leads and their chemistry are alright. After that though, there is so much dragging and nonsense, before it eventually culminates in something like a Wikipedia article. In hindsight, I just want my lifetime and sanity back.


== FULL-ON SPOILERS & COMPLAINTS FROM HERE ==

The core issue of the show is that it wants to both be a Love In The Moonlight- or Tale Of Nokdu-esque pure fantasy show, but then at the same time match the tragic real story to get those tear glands going. While it's still a romcom, you not only have the very silly secret Maidumminati organization of moon-sourced court lady villains complete with death temple and ninja girl assassination squads — but most importantly, only while it is a romcom, the FL has agency. The FL does things. The FL makes things happen and is pretty much the center of the story. The FL (of course) is a sassy FL that talks back to her king-to-be, yet at the same time they save each other's lives numerous times (through competence & effort!).
Admittedly there is a bit of puffing about the initial villain having set up the FL with the ML from her childhood on with the hopes of spying on him, as well as using their affection to prove he desires the king's "property", but that goes nowhere.
These characters they show us could just dandily shack up together in some royal arrangement, make babies, and live happily ever after. We don't even have an angry grandmother-dowager opposing this union! There is literally no obstacle to this union besides them opening their mouths to converse about it and ... the plot, its writer, and actual history.

Alas, the historical background to force into this is "this court lady rejected the king twice, and then at some point 15 years down the road she gets pregnant a bunch of times, and even tragically dies while pregnant; the king loved her a lot though".

Supposedly the real historical maid/consort (FL) had reasons like "I can't become your concubine if your actual wife hasn't born any children", but since Junho must stay pure and virginal for his one true love, no actress is even cast as his life-long historical wife. She is mentioned in passing like once or twice, and that's it.

So what do you do as a writer? Obviously, the FL does not want to be his wifey because.. well, dunno? Because she doesn't love him? Unfortunately they already showed that she did, so let's go for the next best thing: pretending not to love him. Even better, make it some grand parable about womens' rights. A poorly-treated palace maid has the freedom to go out to the market once per month, she can leave the palace for a short bit, wow, such independence in-between being forced to do menial jobs and being mistreated by those higher up! Meanwhile, a concubine/consort with maids of her own can't leave the palace at all! The horror! She only has one freedom left:
¯\(°_o)/¯ Loving the king sincerely, but not admitting to it. (⊙_⊙;)
It's one of the dumbestestest things I've ever seen in television.

As the FL refuses a reasonable happily-ever-after for very poorly defined, poorly expressed, and barely if at all comprehensible reasons, the ML is forced to wed the SML's 12 year old sister, but because Junho (ahistorically) does not want to be a pedophile, she (historically) dies of overwhelming sadness, and that makes SML turn into an insane traitor with a private army of ninja man assassination guards. For that stuff he (historically) is not beheaded, even though he really should have been, and not even exiled into far-away thorny shrubs – only so that he can later be an allegedly-not-scheming emo kid lurking around the palace to either get some power back, or have the FL for himself as a form of consolation prize because the ML can't (yet) have her. Ultimately he stays alive for a bit merely to send a truthful letter to the ML about how the FL and not him dutifully saved him a very long time ago. This whole arc is a waste of screen time.

In summary, TRS' FL repeatedly refuses the ML's declaration of love with the following consequences:
– A child she befriended has to marry him and dies unhappy. (Sparking the abuse/torture of other court maids as well.)
– Some mean lady is hired as the next consort, abuses the FL, and tries to get her beheaded.
– She herself presumably dies of pregnancy complications that would have been less likely at a younger age.

Needless to say, I vastly preferred watching the generic romcom Cinderella in the first episodes to the annoying troll that came after.

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Stuff that just never got cleared up:
– ML/FL never talk about the tattoo FL has.
– ML/FL never have an earnest talk about how the evil head court lady set them up to be together.
– What is the book of Yeong, ML's grandmother, even about?
– In the show, Head Court Lady Jo herself "caused" Sado to become unstable (as explained by the oppressed nearly-dead Court Lady Park), of course intentionally, merely out of jealousy for another woman. So she herself is the architect of the calamity that she claims to warn about. Why does the Maidumminati ninja clan follow her blindly when at least some of them know this? Why do they try to assassinate ML even after her death?
– Early on the show makes a huge deal about the funeral convoy for a royal consort versus the way a maid is evicted from the palace to avoid her even dying there. Given this, we should be shown FL's funeral procession, and the ridiculously long Wikipedia-style episode #17 has more than enough time for this.

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a sweet watch

Cute but a bit dry. Sweet storyline but wish the ML broke out of his shell a bit more. He was inside sweet and did somewhat break out of his shell but I wanted the female lead to see a new side of him. Even see him smile a bit more. I wanted to see him melt for her and be cuddly maybe. Wake up and snuggle with her, or be staring at her and look away a bit shy... I also wanted the female lead to be a bit more confident by the end, to stand up and demand the love she deserves.
I'm also a bit partial to her childhood crush who stood by her side, who gave her comfort when she felt uneasy, who fought for her, and worried over her when people were causing issues.

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With such a high rating I expected better

Usually BL shows with ratings higher than 8 have been really good and worth my time.
This one, I couldn't even finish episode 1.
The plot line is mediocre and everything feels over-acted. Good series like Bad Buddy, the dialogue feels natural with only brief comedic moments that might be overacted.
The only "supposed to be romantic" moment was awkward and forced.
I was almost going to force myself to finish the episode, but then I asked myself "Why am I forcing myself if I'm not enjoying it?"

A show that can't interest me in 30 minutes isn't worth my time, and I've watched a few dozen BL that actually did manage to interest me in that much time or less, so I'm going to pass on this and find something better.
Also going to stop trusting the ratings on MDL. It's a little too weighted if it only reflects users who watched half of the show or more. All the ratings will be higher because very few people will finish a show they dislike.

I'm starting to the think GMMTV is only able to produce so many BL series because they don't worry about quality. They make a formula and plug actors into it, regardless of how boring it might be.

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Disappointing...

Started and held out for the main actors but other than them it was meh.
Lacklustre school setting, boring story and just generally disappointing.
I mean the debate plot was so flat and fake notmany things could've been worse.
Watched 8 episodes, about 5 normally then the rest on 2x speed, got halfway through ep 9 and realised i genuinely didn't care what happened so dropped it.
It was cute and while bad bearable at the beginning it didn't offer alot to warrant sticking around for 12 eps.
Hope the actors can star in something better.
Don't recommend, not even if you like the actors.

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confused by negative reviews..

Beginning this review is somewhat challenging, but I started watching the first season out of mild curiosity. While I didn't feel as emotionally connected to it as some of my favorite shows, I found it enjoyable and would often tune in during my free time. When I embarked on the second season, I was delighted to see one of my favorite actors, Insoo, which played a significant role in my decision to continue. The initial episodes felt a bit slow and somewhat obligatory to watch, but not necessarily in a bad way. However, as I progressed through the season, I unexpectedly became deeply engrossed.

In my opinion, the second season marked a substantial improvement. Around the halfway point, I became so emotionally invested that I developed an almost obsessive urge to keep watching. Now that I've finished, I'm feeling a sense of sadness that it's over, but I truly loved the ending. The character development throughout the many episodes was exceptional, and I have grown fond of the cast. I hold this season in high regard and have a great affection for the show. It's a remarkable watch, and I wish I had taken more time to delve into each episode.

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Refreshing like a watermelon on a hot day

Here is a drama that is about youth, coming of age, with hints of romance. Overall the whole feel to this drama is nostalgic and friendly, tragic sometimes, happy sometimes, it gives a lot with just the first two episodes alone.


The first twenty minutes of this drama is really good. The chronology of events are easy to follow, and I personally love how they had the childhood backstory at the beginning. It is a smart way to get you to know your characters upbringing, and you will understand them better because of this. The child actors are amazing and for the most part none of the actors I have a problem with.

Ryeon gives an amazing performance, and his parents and brother have hearing loss so the communication between all of them is nice to see. I like to see how they adapt to their circumstances, and how it holds them back, etc. Ryeon's character Eun Gyeol has a lot of depth to him, and it is a hard character to fill. He acts as a bridge between hearing and silence, a communicator and a 'trophy' for his family. He is a very good son and doesn't put himself first other than his music. So that right there is a well written character/family.

The pairings and relationships between characters are where this drama shines. I loved all of them and was looking forward to each episode to see how the characters grew. I can tell they had fun filming and everyone really cared for the roles they were in, so when watching it didn’t feel like roles, everything felt natural.


For Seol in Ah and Ryeon The chemistry between the two is so fun and credit to Seol In Ah, she really is good at differentiating her roles here. It’s really fun to see her character develop. She seems at first to be arrogant and not caring about how she affects others around her, but she is actually very perceptive and has tragedies that shape her to who she was, and she also grows as a person through the drama and her journey. I am finding her to be one of my favorites if not my favorite character.
These plot lines of time travel are tricky but very interesting. Because in the end it is about growing and learning about characters, rather than them shaping their own fates. Maybe Gyeol's future will change because of this. The logic is confusing with this, that is ok thought because it is a drama and its just fun.

As the plot developed those stories and characters become more clear, personally I am rooting for the parents to get together (as I’m sure we all are). I love how this drama just gets better and better with each episode.

This drama really was a gem out of all the dramas I have seen this year. The amount of care and learning that went behind the roles particularly amaze me. I enjoyed this a lot and it is one of those I would recommend to anyone honestly.

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very confusing plot line

Starting this review for the show is quite a challenge because it was incredibly intriguing. It managed to captivate me right from the beginning, which is a rarity for me when I start new shows. I particularly loved the initial storyline involving the office worker and her secret streaming hobby; it reminded me of the movie "Cam" that was released a while ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

However, the aspect that left me somewhat perplexed was the feeling of a complete 180-degree shift in the story's plot. If I were to skip ahead a few episodes, I wouldn't have thought it was the same show. Towards the end, it felt like an entirely different narrative. It's not that the new storyline was bad; it remained intriguing. Still, I couldn't help but feel that I missed out on numerous elements, leaving me rather bewildered about how it transitioned from point A to point B. I do believe the show had great potential, but I wish it had delved more deeply into the initial plot because it felt like we rushed through so much in so little time.

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