Reviews

THIS is romance done right!

OVERALL
Watch this drama if you 1) are looking for a series that actually gives enough screentime to the love story, 2) want a FL who can think for herself and knows how to fight, 3) crave a fast-paced series, with plenty of action/adventure. If you are prone to ML bias, though, I guess you should skip. Your loss!

THE STORY
I have to say my expectations were quite low for this drama because on a cinematographic level, it's nothing great. Really basic shots, bright filters, quirky BGM, and the CGI *eyeroll* BUT BUT BUT...as it turns out, I LOVED it! Let's begin with the good stuff:
- Absolute #1 for me is the perfect balance of action/adventure and romance. 90% of Chinese dramas seriously have no clue what a romance drama is supposed to be like. They're always 85% palace (or work) drama and 10-15% love story. For once, here, we have a solid 50/50 (maybe even 60/40 sometimes) and that alone makes it an above-average drama for me!
- I loved FL because yes, she knows how to fight and she is pretty smart, but she is also a bit of a trickster. Nowadays, so many dramas give you a "strong" FL but they're all the same. At least she has something different!
- The relationship between ML and FL is cute and fun. Their arguments are sad and frustrating, but realistic and (for the most part) understandable. I really appreciated how they never really broke up due to cliché misunderstandings (or maybe just once)
- The drama is also pretty well-paced. Especially at the beginning, you always feel like the characters get out of one situation to jump right into another. It's a good change, compared to dramas that drag. At some point (starting ep 25 or 26), you have a couple of episodes that feel slower, but it doesn't last very long.
- The ending is satisfying

Now, the drama is definitely not perfect. It does have its flaws:
- While I liked the pace of the show (with lots of action/adventure), I have to say the action/adventure plot got kind of repetitive. Lots of poisoning and kidnapping. It also was pretty predictable.
- Ironically, they did well with the fresh and fun romance, but SO bad with their third wheels. You can't get more cliché, obsessed unrequited lovers than the ones in this drama. This probably was the most infuriating part.
- Finally, I appreciated the fact that the relationship drama was understandable (and not random, plot devices just to separate the main leads), okay, I did...but I have to say it was kind of tiring how, for about 6-8 eps, the main couple just goes from one argument to another. You just want the drama to end and for them to be happy together (or fighting evil together)! haha

The bad is not enough to ruin the drama, so I'd still give it a try, but it's good to keep in mind!


THE ACTING
Stellar cast, nothing else to say. Pretty good chemistry between the main leads and they both did well on their own too (Xu Kai probably a bit more, he really was great!). Some side characters sometimes stole the show (eg. Crown Princess) too. All good!

THE MUSIC
Don't remember much...I guess it was fine?

REWATCH VALUE
Very high.

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A Song of Fire & Flower ♧ Ode to the Toxic Mother & the Emptiness Within °6.4° °good & bad°

AOL opens to a goddess giving birth & this is one angry goddess. Wronged by the baby-daddy, she commands everyone to keep the birth of her dtr, Jimni/JM a secret. Auguring a disaster in JM's first 10,000 years, she forbids her successors to allow JM o leave the flower realm and also gives JM an elixir that blocks love: Love will only give her daughter pain. Zifen, the goddess, passes away on the birthing bed leaving a rift between the flower realm & the heavenly one. The flowers have disappeared from heaven & relations have faded. Raised as an orphan w/ lots of supervision but no family, the loquacious JM is lackluster in her cultivation & unmotivated in her studies. JM wants °escape°. She also wants to help her lost friend, who was murdered, revive. JM has preserved her spirit in a small potted plant, believing a supreme being in the heavenly realm can restore her fallen loved one. These are her wishes on a meteor JM sees shooting through the sky one night. Wait. That meteor is headed right at her! A partially roasted bird, that she takes for a crow, is all that JM finds at the sight of the crash. It's actually the emperor 's son, Xufeng/XF, who is a phoenix. JM renders him assistance (of sorts) & finagles a ride w/ him back to the heavenly realm where she's an instant hit.

Don't judge JM too harshly. She's actually weak b/c her spirit has been blocked. No matter how much she practices, she can't get ahead. Over time this has corraded her resolve & she's given up a bit. The Heavenly Realm is a new setting that injects fresh hope into JM. People there are exceedingly wealthy when it comes to spiritual prowess, & some of that begins to trickle her way. She begins leveling up by doing favors in exchange for power. She's totally cheating. Bully for her!

AOL is a 2018 release that is rated 8.2 on IMDB. It is 1 season consisting of 63 45-minute eps. Based on the novel, Heavy Sweetness Ash-like Frost (2009) by Dian Xian, AOL & the book it's based on seem to provide inspiration for 2 novels that were also made into shows: Ancient Love Poetry(8.6), & Love & Redemption(10). For that, I'm eternally thankful. As the latter two seem to be standing on AOL's shoulders, comparison isn't entirely fair. In the realm of personal taste, L&R currently holds 1st place as the best thing I've ever seen - despite the often clunky special effects. ALP takes the viewer on a painful journey & flirts w/ being over the top, but they pull it off. It's magnificent. Director Chu Yui Bun also has Who Rules the World & Under The Power(8.6) to his credit, along w/ other popular shows that are all on my watchlist. I want to see everything he's done - his work is of the highest caliber. His shows are technically outstanding but even moreso, they touch the heart. He may or may not have been involved w/ AOL. On most sites Cheng Feng is credited as the director; consistently 1 or 2 steps behind, he hasn't caught up to Chu Yui Bun yet, but he is successful nonetheless.

AOL is a great story, but not perfect. It has pacing issues, it lacks crispness & actually drags. It takes a loooong time to pick up steam; eps1-9 are mostly set up that tickled the interest but failed to grab it. It floats on the surface & does not delve into the depths. That's fine - not every show has to, but one reason Shakespearean tragedies are so popular is that they are cathartically satisfying. Real-life is heartbreaking enough. I don't want to watch something that's going to grab my heart, stomp on it, and leave it to bleed out. I'll be straightforward & say that I didn't like AOL very much. Some parts I loved, but overall the show pales next to other fantasy pieces. I'm already spoiled. Seeing how popular AOL is, I feel quite out of place. I want to like it. I tried to like it. However, AOL is not congealed well. It languishes & drags, the plot isn't tight, the characters aren't engaging enough so it fails to pull in the viewer fully from an emotional standpoint and it doesn't sell the romance. Furthermore, what occurs is heartbreaking, yet my emotions remained 70%... detached? Suspended?. It began to feel like a pile of compost. It kept accumulating and nothing cleared it away. That's how AOL became a weight on top of me that provided no release. It ironically does to the viewer what Zifen did to JM!

When JM has to "do time" in the mortal realm, north of ep20, things get more interesting. Typically, earth is where all the fun is in a fantasy Cdrama. Quite often they mention the bland food in heaven & how Earth's food is much more savory. {For those of you who have faith only in yourselves & not a higher power, please skip this; no offense intended. This is reminiscent of how in the west we think of Heaven as sitting on a cloud w/ a harp. We just can't imagine it. I'll say to people of faith that if you believe God made this world w/ all the beauty, love & laughter in it (despite all the evil - that's another topic) you should be able to believe that if God says Heaven is better, it is better.} Anyway, in the human realm, XF is a king & JM is a healer. Since the king has never taken a wife nor a consort she believes him to be impotent. He takes special exception to that rumor and he lets her know what's what. As he's falling for her and tries to win her over, he and his general liken the process to war, which leads to countless amusing analogies. Around halfway they provide fascinating backstory.

Back in heaven, though, it starts to drag again. I believed it would come together & be wonderful based on what I had read. It didn't. I ended up forcing myself to watch the final 20 eps 1-at-a-sitting to complete the deed. This is not to criticize anyone who loves AOL. Emotional connections are based on a myriad of factors, none of which have to do w/ technical excellence. There's plenty of awful stuff that I love to watch. Everyone is entitled to h/h own form of mindless entertainment. Technically, though, AOL is not at the level of Ancient Love Poetry, Love & Redemption, Love Between Fairy & Devil, The Romance of Tiger & Rose, The Sleepless Princess, Eternal Love, its sequel - Eternal Love of Dream, the action thrillers Handsome Siblings, Duoluo Continent, or Heavenly Sword & Dragon Slaying Saber, & it's not on the level of the period dramas The Rebel Princess, Under the Power, The Sword & the Brocade, The Rise of the Phoenixes, or even Overlord. I'll go out on a limb & say that even Once Upon a Time in Linglian Mountain is better. With the benefit of hindsight, I would not choose to watch AOL for the first time, while I would watch any of the above shows again, & some I already have.

The characters are as likable as generic vanilla ice cream. The viewer cares about them, but those feelings are limited & the emotional investment tops out at mid-range. Many of these characters are irritating & I'm not very irritable. They're either too weak, too blind to the faults of those they love, too forgiving of evil when it suits them, too naive, or too quick to accept false choices. We see this in every drama, & the last two are common tropes in Cdramas, but there's a delicate balance between what one is able to brush aside & what starts obstructing enjoyment. Yang Zi is JM. She's got a dry quality that shows up in The Oath Of Love, one of the better modern-day Chinese shows. (China leads the world in imaginative fantasy, but their modern-day stuff is almost as bad as their fantasy & historical features are good). Simply likable, Yang Zi carries OOL. Going into AOL w/ such positive feelings about her carried me through many eps before I realized that I don't like her character very much. She isn't cute, she's not smart, she's not diligent, she's only marginally brave, & she's mostly bland. Just don't blame it on the actress.

Now for some Mosts: Wang Yi Fei plays Sui He, the empress's niece & the woman who feels that she's most entitled to marry the soon to be Crown Prince, XF. She has the most beautiful eyes. She's an iceberg & adept at playing a loathsome character. Speaking of loathsome, Kathy Chow is queen b!+ch, Tu Yao / the Heavenly Empress. She's perfect for these roles. In Heavenly Sword & Dragon Slaying Saber, she plays a most domineering martial arts sect leader & she kicks butt! Most of her work was in the 80s & 90s. Chen Yu Qi is the most likable character as Liu Ying, the Bian Princess. You should see her in Heavenly Sword & Dragon Slaying Saber - She's fantastic. The character that tugged at my heart the most is Runyu/ RY, the Night Deity (Luo Yun Xi). His story is tragic; he never gets a fair shake. He becomes more and more like his father. It's understandable that RY gives up, but he certainly pulls an Anakin Skywalker: Once steeped in bitterness, he goes real bad real quick (that's a mini spoiler, but one can see it coming eps ahead of time. They painstakingly build his resentment. The dam cracks here & there, then it breaks. Does he stay that way? Not telling…). He Zhong Hua is Tai Wei, the Heavenly Emperor. He plays a completely different character, though also a ruler, in Love &Redemption. He looks quite a bit different (older) as well. Talk about most in-demand, since 2011 he's appeared in 3-6 shows/yr, and he's usually in a movie or two as well. How is that even possible? Cloning program?

Deng Lun is XF/Phoenix/Fire Deity. He mostly looks like an Italian kid from South Philly. No complaints about his looks or his acting; he's solid. His character runs out of the baselines, however. The way XF hangs on seems deranged. He pursues JM as if he's entitled to her w/o regard for his brother. While he's not wrong (JM does not love RY) his sense of entitlement & lack of perspective or empathy for RY is icky. RY's Descent into a bitter quest for revenge is heartbreaking. If a story is going to break my heart, I need something back in exchange. AOL creates an unpaid debt to the viewer. The way XF defends his mother is off the righthand path. We should be true to family, friends, & most of all our parents, but we should be most true to what is right. Otherwise, it's selfish indulgence. The emperor lived for selfish indulgence and, later, his sons did the same in their own ways. XF acts like he owns JM and he expects his toxic, downright evil parents to be respected regardless of the heinous things they've done, while RY wants to kill everyone that crosses him, as is the case w/ most that obtain power. Being wronged doesn't make a person right. Wallowing in victimhood leads to the bad 7: discontent, ingratitude, anger, unforgiveness, hate, bitterness, & misery. They will turn the victim into the victimizer. Emotions are much stronger than logic, but if we don't check them w/ a humble perspective they will create chaos & misery. Pretending a person's dirty is clean is just existing in lies. It all leads to XF 's regret. He and his father drove his mother to act out. She is still fully responsible for her own stuff, but he contributed. Is there such a thing as loss w/o regret? Doubtful. It's very tricky: Taking on ALL the fault would be overstating his own importance which is another form of self-absorption.

Narcissistic mothers & toxic women drive the plot of AOL. The ambitions of the Heavenly empress for XF have everything to do w/ what she wants & nothing to do w/ her son. They taint her outlook like mud smeared glasses. All she can see are things related to her, for her, & against her. Her niece, Suihe, is her disciple & follows suit. RY's birth-mother is near sadistic as she plots her devastating revenge. Zifen, JM's mother, utilized extreme measures to exert control as she left the world. Even the floral realm has a harshness to it, though their motives are mostly pure. One way people pass down trauma to their children is by overreacting to it & exerting hyper-vigilance. Not only does that hand a knife to the children (if they want to hurt their parents, they know exactly what to do) but it keeps a family enslaved to the ongoing pain. Women & men are equal - they are equally guilty of toxic self-absorption. In AOL, the emperor is ultimately to blame. He married for power & pursued what he wanted every step of the way. He speaks of love, but he only loves himself. He never checked the empress b/c he couldn't be bothered. He created the incubator for the disease that spread later.

Narcissists tend to develop from imbalance - from spoiled or neglected children. Narcissistic behavior is handed down generationally & only results in bitter misery. It's a trap, & those who fall into it are enslaved and, in turn, enslave those in their sphere. Self-involvement is like a whirlpool: It's hard to escape once we get spinning inward. It creates appetites that can never be satisfied, leading to the bad 7. We don't need to love ourselves: We need to accept ourselves (imperfection is reality) & always strive to improve. Suihe is a good example. She wastes her life wanting something that clearly won't be hers. At the same time, instead of focusing on self-improvement which will lead to the right mate & true happiness, she works towards what she wants. One thing getting older has taught me is that people don't want the right things. I never wanted the right things. All I want now is to help others avoid some of the regrets that I have. A simple life of love & contentment w/ enough - but not too much - is the best we can hope for. Don't let wanting the wrong things rob you of love, peace & joy.

Aol is a visual banquet. Some of the sets are excessively busy; Flowerworld is almost too colorful, but there's no denying that they labored on the art of the show. What is fascinating is what looks like 1930's streamline design in the heavenly realm. Streamline is simplified Art Deco. The Russian designer, Vladimir Yourkevitch, birthed this look when he crafted the design for the SS Normandie. I don't know if the AOL set designers relied on traditional Chinese motifs or if they incorporated western elements, but there are objects of stunning and familiar detail in the show. Even traditional Greek block scrolling design lines many heavenly structures. (Evidence of a common human origin?). The mosaic lights at the bird realm are my favs. In one masterfully innovative shot, faces are reflected off of a drop of wine. They mention that something is made from ancient mithril - That's from JRR Tolkien's works! That connection gave me a thrill. The big battle scene is impressive. The soundtrack, particularly Sa Ding Ding’s song, is beautiful.

The viewer will smile here & there. He's a phoenix, son of the emperor & the most popular boy in the heavenly realm, but she calls him a magpie. That's once she generously stops calling him a crow. Unfortunately, there aren't many laughs. What goes on in AOL is very bitter. It gets dysfunctional, and we aren't provided with any elixir to help us manage it.


QUOTES
You judge me from a villain's perspective.

{She} involves her preconceived ideas in her words, which is a bit biased.

You know yourself least.

《《IMHO》》
Directing 68
Writing 68
Acting 75
Romance 67
Flutters 71
Warmth 49
Art 65
Action 60
Sound & music 68
Laughs 35
Tears 55
Fright 40
Tension 40
Gore 35
Thought provocation 44
Snores 48
Ending 73



Age 12+ Language: hell &darnn; violence; references to sex & abusive situations; we see the start of a sexual assault - the woman is dragged away from the camera as she grabs at the ground.

Re-watch? No

In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

Historical/Period:
The Romance of Tiger & Rose 9.8,
Overlord 8.4,
The Sleepless Princess 9.1,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1


Fantasy:
Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Love & Redemption 10;
Heavenly Sword 9.

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Best C. Drama in 2023

I want to write a review but am too lazy to write a review so please understand me...sorry Bai Lu and Dylan Wang...love you too


Zheng Shu Yi is a hard-working reporter for one of China’s leading financial newspapers. She’s determined to land a front-page story, so she is pulling out all the stops to land an interview with one of the most talked-about young CEOs in the land – Shi Yan. For his part, the businessman is looking to make a series of investments in promising startup firms as a way of giving back to the community.

A mixup occurs between the two, and their paths cross again. But as they (inadvertently) get to know one another, they start to realize their destinies may be intertwined. Shi Yan discovers that Zheng Shu Yi’s extensive reporting career means very few people know more about local startups. He agrees to let her write a series of stories about his company, causing them to meet again and again. But could this blossoming working relationship also lead them on the path to love?

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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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