Reviews

Run of the Mill BL

**Brief Synopsis**
T (Boss): Yu Zen
B (Employee): Shi Lei

- Beginning: B is a normal employee and T is his new boss. They start their relationship on the wrong foot because T is a perfectionist with OCD and needs everything done his way. B is not impressed by his boss no dating rule. However, when B gets kicked out of his apartment with no where to go, his boss lets him stay at his apartment.

- Middle: At first, B was only supposed to stay one day and after that no longer have any other contact with the boss outside of work, but they start spending more and more time together. Feelings starts to develop and they start getting more intimate.

- End: Before they could have their happy ending, T’s ex appears. It is revealed that the ex’s departure was the source of T’s trauma and the reason he didn’t want anyone dating in front of him. Unfortunately, T still couldn’t let go of his past despite loving B. B finds out and distance himself from T until he figures himself out. After realizing he might lose B if he didn’t act, T finally let go of the past and went to find B to confess. The series ends with them happily together.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- I really like the concept of enemies to lovers in a company context. I like boss-employee relationship stories as well.
- I like how T changes throughout the series, from his closed self to being more open with B.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- I just didn’t like how the plot was executed. I really didn’t like the angst introduced towards the end of the show.
- The plot is just so predictable and simple with no memorable moments.

**Conclusion**
This is a show I won’t be revisiting.

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Censored Snoozefest

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Bodyguard): Yuan Zong
T (Rich Kid): Xia Yao

- Beginning: B is an athlete and T is a rich kid. They are from two different worlds. Their universes collide however when B’s sister as B to approach T so he can ask T if he would consider her and T’s sister asked him to approach B so he can ask B if he would consider her. At the beginning, B really didn’t like T, but end up having to spend more time with him.

- Middle: As they spend more time together, they start developing feelings for each other and starting a relationship.

- End: The series ends with T saving B’s life by getting B out of well. They both end up in the hospital but reconciled.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- I really like the concept of enemies to lovers with an added twist.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- The acting is just terrible. It’s so awkward and cringey to the point I really don’t want to watch anymore.
- The plot is super boring and the show is censored in many ways to make it more bromance than BL.

**Conclusion**
This is a show I will never touch again.

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What a wonderful drama

I haven't watched historical dramas in months because none of them pleased me, but Wonderland of Love
It really got me, this drama is simply INCREDIBLE. Seriously, it's a good drama, and the actors are also doing very well in their characters. I especially liked the female Prota Cui Lin.
I've never seen a woman as incredible as her in a drama, and I really like the way she interacts with Li ni, she's always up to their antics, I don't really like it when they fight, but I know that's part of the story. And these fights have to happen because that's what makes their relationship change.

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One of the best coming of age in a school setting dramas! <3

My heart feels warm and fuzzy now. I adore this drama. Loved the characters to pieces!! Loved to see them love, grow and learn from each other without being overly dramatic or cringe. All the chapters of their life felt good enough and even the "time skips" were organic as if time flowed naturally. I believe both the original story and the script for this drama were very good, but also the actors! Considering for some of them it's their first major work that got recognised internationally too, this is something to be proud of! C-dramas are slowly winning my heart over Japanese/Korean and you can understand why. Added this to my comfort shows list even before finishing cus I knew even the end would be satisfying enough to give it a 10/10! <3

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Best show of 2023, yes you read that right!

I have never ever left a review until now, and I've been a fan of kdramas for at least a good 7 years now... but this drama though definitely had me gripped from start to finish and never let me get bored of it. It's got a bit of everything- fantasy, comedy, slice of life, music... the best romances and relationships.

My favourite relationship, by far, was definitely that of EG and YC, father and son. Don't even get me started on the actors and actresses... I will say that I started watching it because I liked them in their previous shows (especially Seol In Ah!), but the plot, characters and 1995 storyline made me forget why I started because I loved the journey I went on with them. Don't get me wrong, I know it's not perfect - I still have some questions, but to be honest, life is all about interpretation! Just like the Time Master says...

A warm yet refreshing time travel drama, this is one not to miss. For lovers of Reply 1988, 25 21, My Perfect Stranger, 18 Again, The Best Hit, Hotel Del Luna and much more... I think I will continue to gush over this drama for all of time. Viva la vida!

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Nice Show

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Student): Type
T (Student): Tharn

- Beginning: B and T are roommates but T is gay and B starts off as homophobic because of a past experience with a molester. B doesn’t like T because he’s everything he doesn’t like in a person, but T is attracted to B since the beginning and is determined to stand his ground. Despite B’s open hostility, T is determined to stay, especially after finding out the reason B is so against gays which makes him feel bad for teasing B and making him think they slept together. He starts being nicer to B, comforting him and taking care of him in his time of need. Because he is so nice, B starts feeling bad for hating him.

- Middle: As B starts not being so against having T nearby, his feelings for T starts to change. T continues to show his affection to B and confessing to him on a regular basis, but B, despite knowing that T wants to sleep with him, isn’t so against it as before. The change is obvious despite B never admitting it out loud. It’s even more obvious when B agrees to sleep with T as repayment for T helping him out numerous times. After that, B stops being so against T’s PDA or intimate touches and would even kiss T when he notices that he was a little down. Despite not being officially boyfriends, they start getting extremely intimate while alone. They also start being sappy and missing each other when they are apart.

- End: Before they could have their happy ending, T’s ex appears and he wants to break T and B up. He keeps appearing near T and made B misunderstand their relationship. B eventually has enough of feeling like shit second guessing everything and breaks up with T, which really breaks T. But he didn’t really want to break up with T, he wants T to see the ex’s true colours. And when he did, B apologizes to T and confesses his love. They reconcile.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- I like how T changes and learns how to take care of B. I really like the scenes when B is unconscious and T is taking care of him. Just by looking at his smile, we can feel the affection he feels for B. Although at this point it’s mostly physical attraction but it’s still pretty cute.
- I really like the straight guy getting confused because he starts being attractive to another guy trope. In real life, sexuality is fluid and you aren’t 100% gay or 100% straight. Love is without gender and you can fall in love with anyone. I like seeing young confused boys figuring themselves out.
- I really like B’s shy little smiles at T’s PDA when he thinks T isn’t looking. I love how much B changes over the course of the series.
- Their relationship develops really fast and while some might consider this too fast and lack build up, it’s nice we don’t have to wait until the last episode. They’re daily as a couple are adorable and they look great together.
- I really like how sappy they are when they are part, missing each other and smiling in to their phones. It’s just so sweet.
- The chemistry between the two actors is just insane. They really look as if they are in love. You don’t need intimate scenes to show their love.
- The crying scenes are really good. Especially the reconciliation scene, it was very emotionally impactful.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- The non con. In the beginning episodes, T would kiss B and touch him without his consent, something B actually seems to be distressed about. He immediately stopped when he found out about B’s past trauma, but that didn’t change the fact he kind of forced himself on B. Although the intention was probably to disgust T and make him freak out, but that doesn’t make this okay. After that there are still moments of dubious consent but T stops if B is showing distress, but when he is only telling him to stop but his body does nothing to push him away, he continues.
- The acting when B is having a freak out is really bad. I know it’s very difficult to act out a freak out nightmare scene, but still, the acting is really unconvincing and it makes the scene awkward to watch.
- I didn’t like the plot with the girl. B starts chatting a girl because he was still a little confused about his feelings at that time and gave the girl hope he is interested. When he inevitably breaks it off, the girl seems extremely sad. He had been intimate with T at that time. It seems extremely dickish to involve an innocent girl in his messy world.
- Use of misunderstandings as method to introduce angst and conflict. For example, B finds out that T has an ex boyfriend he didn’t divulge, leading to conflict. It’s even worst when a friend tells B that he has seen T at the mall with that person. He doesn’t give any context, making B think T is cheating on him. Later on, the boy in question forces himself on T and B sees, although he knows T didn’t do anything, he is terrified by how much T can influence his emotions so breaks up with him. They reconcile but still the reason for the break up is just lazy writing: the ex causing the conflict and brings two lovers to break up.
- There is mention about T being assaulted in the past but no more mention of that is made as if there aren’t any consequences to that.
- The acting is really not good from the ensemble cast, especially in the crying scenes. And sometimes their interactions can feel unnatural.
- There is a lack of intimate scenes but that’s normal for shows of that time.

**Conclusion**
It’s a nice show but it has its problems.

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My favourite drama this year

I loved the light-hearted but deep start to the drama, but what kept me invested was how it showed such a beautiful relationship between the good and bad things in life.
When I first started watching this, I didn't know what to expect, I just liked the title and decided to watch it - no trailer no reading of description. And I'm glad I did.
This show gave me emotional trauma, but it also healed me. I've not felt such strong emotions for a show in a while and this was a roller coaster. I feel like it definitively hits differently if you can relate to any of the experiences shown throughout, but even if not I think this can be enjoyable for anyone.

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Extremely mediocre with very little plot, the secondary romance though kept me watching for a bit . . .

What else is there to say that hasn't been said already about the primary romance? Male lead takes no action or initiative, Female lead bounces around the edges hoping he will take notice. Doesn't make for great chemistry or interesting watching.

HOWEVER, the secondary romance between Guan Ji and Bi Ruo Shan, is sexy, mature and intriguing. I really liked the intrigue there between two sophisticated people who have dated around. I also bought into the conflict! Two people used to being slick and superficial having trouble being vulnerable makes sense to me. But, in the end, this relationship wasn't given enough screen time to keep me watching . .

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Better than I expected

I watched two episodes in September while I was on a camp with my new colllage classmates (imagine it like the trips in almost every BL) and I got back to it in November. Honestly, it was better than I expected.

THE STORY: I was kinda bored in the first half, but then it got better. My thoughts about Kondiao and Hia Yi while watching Cutie Pie weren’t positive. I thought they were extremely toxic. I’m really glad they weren’t like this in Naughty Babe. They finally comunicated with each other. Their common trauma brought them together tighter then before. And also their families. Kondiao was literally like Cinderella :D He had an evil step-mom and spoiled step-siblings. No wonder he was easy to manipulate by Hia Yi. Poor boy!

CHARACTERS: Hia Yi was a manipulative guy in Cutie Pie. He’s better in here. He actually talks with Kondiao and tries to be better. Good for him… Also, his dad was HOT! (And Max’s mom too!)

OVERALL: Kinda an unpopular opinion, but I found Kondiao and Hia Yi more interesting than Kuea and Lian. MaxNat’s chemistry was incredible. I was literally blushing while watching the last NC scene… Wow. The ending was SO SWEET AND THE CUTEEEEEEST! I need more endings like this in other BLs too!

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A Mess

I really had to push myself to finish this one and with them delaying the *final* single episode by a couple of weeks just added more pain to the injury. Finished it today, nothing that would change my mind happened.

I went into this one not really knowing quite what to expect other than the premise sounded interesting - someone called Gaetal organises a vote for whether to execute a criminal that the justice system has failed to handle, and they'll happen regularly. Sounds super interesting.

First couple of episodes go by and i'm starting to build up a picture of where I think it's going - and i'm *really* getting hyped for it to go there. This is a bad thing to do, and leads to disappointment. Don't do that. In my view, they were setting the foundations for a really good discussion about vigilantism, why the system exists, that they'd move on to say that "Gaetal" was a concept rather than an individual and there isn't just one "bad guy" here and so forth. It really looked like it was kinda heading that way. Debate about "if you click yes, are you an accessory to murder" etc. What happens if they get it wrong etc. Lost of really interesting things to discuss here.

Then reality dawns and their goals are far less aspiring and much more plain. I mean it's not bad, it's watchable, but I just feel so let down by it and the potential it had. This had "squid game" level capability written all over it, I could see those dog masks becoming as iconic in modern culture as the masks of the guards on SG.

The ending... it's finished, it's a conclusion, but it leaves you with implications for what would happen next and... i'm sorry, it didn't earn enough credits with me to justify that. Had it been more bold it would have been absolutely ripe for it, and even a potential sequel or even series of series! :)

I guess i'm mostly grumpy that it just feels like so much potential lost, a real opportunity to have a challenging discussion.

Is it watchable and entertaining? Yes. If you like your crime dramas then you will probably get into this. But don't get swept up in the incredible hype set out in the first two or three episodes and you will probably enjoy it more :)

Cast are fantastic - some really great crew here no complaints there at all. Music I don't recall at all (so, not good not bad :) ).

Bah humbug. Etc. :)

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Last episodes ruined it for me

Ok, so, how do I start? I mean, I loved this drama, the romance, the couple, the interactions between them. It was going to be one of the best cdramas I've watched ever, BUT... last episodes ruined it for me.

For starters, DWL tells the story of how Su Kelan, who loves cooking, teaches Yu Hao, her boss, how to cook and also some manners along the way. This is a typical "brooding boy/gentle girl" situation, he's cold and annoying, and very rude to his subordinates, while she's caring and sweet and everyone seems to like her. I usually tend to like these stories, and it was no different here. All the romance parts went really well, she was penetrating his barriers and he fell in love with her. They started to date and everything seemed to be alright. There are some sweet and fluffy scenes of them together, which I loved. They were happy and making plans for the future. Until FL has to make a work trip, without ML, and when she's on the plane she gets a call from the hospital saying her mother's health worsened. What happens from this moment on is a sequence of bad choices made by FL.

When FL gets the call she simply leaves the plane (where she was headed to a VERY important work meeting btw) and gives no explanation whatsoever, neither to her colleague who was going with her nor to Yu Hao who kept calling her to know what was happening. I can't explain how outraged I was in that moment. It's not that I'm diminishing her mother's situation or her love for her mother. But what harm would be done if she just... idk... called to let him know?! If only that was the only mistake, it would be fine. I could forgive her. But then, after this she decides that the best choice is to break up with Yu Hao bc she felt she was neglecting her mother for him. That didn't make any sense for me bc 1) FL didn't have any social or personal life beyond work and taking care of her mother. And Yu Hao gave that to her, she was happier and her mother felt that. He was even going to live together with her mother bc of her health issues; 2) ML was her boss, so she could just step down and quit if it was too much for her. I know he would understand, he became a very much more understanding person BECAUSE of her. But she'd rather break up with him than try a different way. And so, they spend a long time apart.

But I knew there was a happy ending to this story. Only I was hoping that because it was her decision to break up due to her personal problems, I thought she was gonna be the one to start the reconciliation. How naive of me. It's him who makes the move and proposes to her after he knows her mother is 100% well and she's "free" to be with him. And to make matters worse, this only happens like in the second half of the last ep. So we spend the last episodes just seeing them apart living their lives. FL taking care of her mother during treatment; ML working to become a better person. It was the worst. I honestly thought he deserved better than her. She got so annoying close to the end, acting like she was the victim and like he wasn't waiting for her to change her mind and come back to him.

The second couple (the leads' bffs), on the other side, were way better. I mean, they had problems as well but they always chose to work things out together instead of leaving each other. There's a moment that they get divorced but, at least in my view, it was understandable bc they married on a whim so it made sense that when they had a big fight they ended up divorcing. But, like I said, they work things out, have a child together and end up happy.

The other side couple (the director and the actress) were very disappointing. They had a lot of potential, but it was a total waste bc they spent a longer time than it should trying to separate the main couple. Both of them had a crush on the leads and that brought them together, she falls for him eventually but he doesn't apparently, and for what I remember they never really get together in the end. He just signs that he might try with her. So I got very disappointed with them.

As for the production, it was really well done. It had a kdrama vibe to me. Not only bc of the number of eps but also the story and pace as well. In the beginning it was really good. It tried to kinda discuss some topics and it wasn't just drama for drama. It felt deep somehow. So it was great.

The rating could've been worse but the drama was the best for most eps so I had to consider that as well. But it really deserved a 5 or 4 just because of the ending. Regardless of all that I said here, if you're reading this bc you're planning on watching and don't want to watch silly dramas with stupid characters then I'd reccomend this one. Most people seemed to have liked this drama here. Just be prepared for the last few eps cuz FL gets annoying af. But apart from that, it's not a bad drama.

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