Reviews

Initial cringe aside, deep themes and societal exploration enrich the narrative.

"Lesson in Love" is like the surprise party you didn't see coming, earning a solid 7.5 stars. Now, I'll admit, at first glance, you might roll your eyes and think, "Oh, another teacher-student romance," but let me tell you, this show is a rollercoaster that defies all expectations!

The drama starts off with what seems like your typical forbidden love affair, and you might think, "Okay, seen it before." But hold on to your popcorn, my friend, because it's like you're suddenly whitewater rafting through a river of unexpected twists and turns. The slow start? Just the calm before the storm. When that 'white water' hits, you better buckle up for a wild ride that keeps you clinging to the edge of your seat.

Emotionally, it's a rollercoaster too. You'll find yourself laughing, cringing (especially at the start, I won't lie), and you might even shed a tear or two. The characters, especially Zhang Yi Xiang and his wise dad, inject depth and charisma into the story. Edward Chen's portrayal of Yi Xiang? Absolutely deserving of a standing ovation. He transforms from a bratty teen to a character oozing integrity and tenacity, and you can't help but root for the guy.

Now, this drama isn't afraid to dive into deep themes. It's not just about the 'forbidden' love angle; it delves into challenging assumptions, tearing down stereotypes, and unraveling the hidden complexities within relationships. And let's talk about the art of misdirection—it's like watching a skilled magician at work, keeping you guessing and second-guessing until the very end.

Sure, there's an initial cringe factor, I won't sugarcoat it. But trust me, it's worth pushing through. The brilliance in storytelling and character development is like unwrapping a gift—you don't know exactly what you're getting, but you know it's going to be good. The ending, despite being emotionally charged, gives you that warm sense of closure that just feels right.

In conclusion, "Lesson in Love" goes beyond the surface. It was worth the watch, but if you're asking me if I'd re-watch it, well, I'd have to say no. It's a one-time thrill, the kind that leaves a lasting impression but doesn't necessarily call for a repeat performance.

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A Mess

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Angel): Krit
T (Doctor): Phakphum

T is a doctor with the ability to see ghosts, something that is extremely intrusive. B is an angel on Earth to help T get rid of his problem. They end up falling for each other. The series ends with B giving up his angel status and returning to Earth to be with T.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT
- There are a few funny moments where the exagerated acting is funny and not cringey.
- Fluke's eyes are really pretty. And he's so cute in some scenes. He looks really young, like a high school kid even if he's way past that age. I like after he had stopped being the angel.
- I liked the ending where the angel decides to give up his status, returns to the human world without his memories and the doctor tries to get him to remember again. The angel's new identity is a celebrity which is an interesting twist.
- The reunion scene was pretty cute even though I don't feel anything. Their intimate scene at the end was rather pretty as the two actors look rather good together.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT IT
- The visual effects looked super cheap and tacky. For example, the angel's glowing body or the ghosts that appears. It looks really fake.
- The acting can be a little unnatural. Actions are exagerated and we just don't feel whatever the characters are trying to make us feel. The writing can sometimes get ridiculous (for example the scene where the lady doctor made such a big deal out of seeing something but it turned out it was her pen) and doesn't make sense.
- Fluke's angel is just weird and cringey. Perhaps it was the acting or the script, but he doesn't feel angelic at all. And Heaven where he comes from just looks so unheavenly and looks like a normal office with overexposed everything.
- The show takes a long time to get to the point. Episode 1 is simply introducing the mc's ability to see ghosts and nothing else. The show feels longer then it is because it has a lot of useless scenes. The plot is difficult to follow. Some times we have no idea what is going on and makes us want to skip forward.
- I didn't like Fluke's hairstyle at all; it looked a little weird. He looked a lot cuter in UWMA.
- The editing and sound effects are sometimes really weird.
- No true buildup for the relationship. No buildup tension before hand explaining why they would be attracted to each other so their first kiss came out of nowhere.
- There are a lot scenes where nothing seems to happen or we are not sure what is going on.
- The clothing choices in this is really terrible. Especially the main character the angel. I don't know why his clothing are the way they are. It gets a little better in the second half of the show.
- Absolutely no chemistry between the main leads. They just don't look as if they know each other very well. And no one even mentioned the first kiss so that was a waste of time and didn't contribute anything to the plot. Then at the end of the series, they mention that the angel loves the doctor, which doesn't make sense at all.
- The angel is way too hyper most of the time, making him somewhat cringey when he is like that. When he's calm, he's actually really good looking.
- The idea that the angel is borrowing someone else's body to get intimate with the doctor is just so weird, especially when the owner of that body is not happy about it.

**Conclusion**
A show that doesn't really deserve to be watched except for the fluff scene in Episode 6.

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Sad Ending

Story about a girl who had an incurable disease ,and it's a genetic. To make it curable she did everything but she got nothing . Her aunt also had this disease. she tried everything to save her but she failed and then to till last breath she fought for it .
A boy who was a doctor met with her accidentally in a foreign country . She was a good translater so she started work with him . Slowly slowly they both having some sort feeling with each other than the boy realized that he had fallen in love with her and proposed her but she declined him because of her disease which she had never told to him. He pursued her she couldn't controlled her feeling and accepted him . But one day she realized that if she dies then he would go through the heartbreak and because of this she disappeared from his life .
This part of the story had filmed in foreign country and had taken more than 10 episodes and this part of story was bored. They could finished it in 5 episodes.
Rest part of the story had filmed in China. In this also starting five-six episodes were boring . In Rest part had shown how they met again ,how he knew about her disease and so on . Story was good but episodes were boring . Story had some romantic scenes which balanced the drama . Only to know the ending I bared some of the episodes .
Bored drama but story was good. I hate sad ending.

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Amazing acting undercut by a stumbling storyline

I had a lot of hopes pinned on this drama, and for the most part, it paid off. Particularly for Part 1, I felt the raging angst of Gil Chae and Jang Hyun's separation. In Part 2, those feelings were severely dampened, and I felt the romance took a sharp backseat to the rest of the plot--something I surprisingly found myself OK with because the rest of the cast and subplots were quite compelling.

There will be spoilers throughout this (admittedly long) review. I'm trying to keep it brief, I swear. This is my first review on this website, and I think that's a testament to this drama in and of itself. I binged the whole show (Parts 1 and 2) over 3-4 days, and while it didn't pan out how I hoped for, it's been a journey that I enjoyed. This review focuses on Part 2 for the most part, although I make allusions to Part 1 as I didn't review it.

THE GOOD
- The pacing of the drama in general was excellent. There were rarely plot points that lingered for more than an episode, which made the frustration of their existence (e.g., the amnesia storyline, miscommunications, the repeated separations and reunions of our main couple) easier to bear. I found myself appreciating it because the story moved briskly forward. However, there was the related drawback of timeline issues.
- The scenes that were built up to be emotional more than delivered. I can't get Namgoong Min's eyes out of my head--they are SO expressive and tender and carry every emotion. Just his gaze alone! Scenes like the one where he sees her 'for sale', or whenever he and Gil Chae are saying goodbye. The whole scene where she's pretending to be pregnant and you can feel the mixed feelings of 'this is all I ever wanted for you, but this could have been our life for real'. It was achingly beautiful. Ahn Eun Jin more than held her own (ugh, the way she looked at Jang Hyun towards the end!), but I think Namgoon Min stole the show. The emotional acting, yes, but also the fighting choreos, as well as the way he emotes through his words. Actually scratch that--gotta call out him and Ahn Eun Jin for that one scene in Part 1, when they meet, and you hear the audio overlay of them looking back on that moment from the future. The sad happiness in their voices captures the heartbreak of their romance so very clearly, so early on in the drama. Beautiful.
- The cinematography was utterly gorgeous at parts. Cinematic, but also artistic. So many times did I want to pause and paint a whole scene. Coupled with the costuming, and the way the characters (esp. Gil Chae) are gradually and gracefully aged as the show went on...excellent.
- I loved how they treated the SA storyline for Gil Chae. For everyone, but particularly Gil Chae. By keeping it subtle and purposely vague, the writers solidified the theme of 'not losing value' because of it. Gil Chae is never defined by what happened to her, and her confessing it to Jang Hyun and Jang Hyun alone--and we, as an audience, don't ever see a moment of her thinking about it alone--then becomes a powerful scene where she's trusting him with the knowledge, knowing he won't see her differently. It's a sensitive topic that was handled very well imo.

THE BAD
- Timeline--I had no sense of it. I couldn't tell at all. Was Ryang Eum meant to be in jail for 20 years? Neither Gil Chae ages, nor Jang Hyun, nor Ryang Eum (even though his hair turns grey). Yet the dialogue (and the scholar who finds him) suggests that it's been many years, possibly enough years for the scholar to have grown from a boy to a man. I assumed that it was 3-ish years, because that makes most sense all things considered, but I'm still confused. The timeline issue was exacerbated in the final episode, but it was ever-present throughout the show, a by-product of the brisk pacing. The costuming and side cast (babies) did a lot to help contextualise, and I liked how subtle that was. However, because Jang Hyun never changes and only Gil Chae begins to look more mature, it's hard to gauge how much time has passed from the start of the show to the end. My guess is ten years.
- Ryang Eum???? There is no closure to his character. Does he wander the earth thinking Jang Hyun is dead? That's so sad! And who captured him? What did he say that they called him insane? Also, the actor is 22 but the character is supposed to be, what, 8 years younger than Jang Hyun, max? Maybe 10-12, at a stretch? Again, timeline issues. It made it a little hard to follow.

THE UGLY
- The story and plotting was a mess. I found that the main pattern in this drama was for Gil Chae and Jang Hyun to reunite and then separate, reunite and separate, over and over again. It got tiring after a while, and it didn't make sense after a certain point because truly? I missed the selfish Gil Chae and Jang Hyun. I wanted them both to dig their heels in a little and fight to stay together (like Gil Chae tried to stay by his side in Shimsang. But then, what? He called her shameless and chased her away? OUCH.)
- Related to the above, the last half of the final episode was stretched out, repetitive, and made me impatient. Although the emotional climax was a beautiful note to end the drama on, it was somewhat ruined by the panned out shot of Gil Chae and Jang Hyun hugging, and you can hear him sobbing but the shot they chose features a blank-faced Jang Hyun. What????? I blame the editing but it made me laugh out loud. And this is coming from someone who hugely enjoyed the way the show was directed, and the slow-paced shots between Gil Chae and Jang Hyun where it felt as if the episode was paused, but it was the characters who were that still, not the video. It didn't work as the final shot, however, because it completely broke the emotional bubble for me.

OVERALL
All I wanted from this show was to sob over a relationship that appeared to be tender, heart-breaking, and romantic. That was it. That didn't happen. While I didn't feel let down by the ending, exactly, I wanted something MORE that the writers just weren't able to deliver.

Part 1 set-up the angst and the heartbreaking ache of their separation beautifully, but the plot was a lot more coerced in Part 2. For example, Gil Chae being kidnapped to the Qing was so mindlessly illogical, even if it provided an excuse for the leads to reunite. I wanted to see more of Gil Chae's spunk, too, as well as her innocent happiness. For a large part of the drama, Gil Chae and Jang Hyun only loved each other when they were apart. I know it was intentional to show Gil Chae's immaturity ("I will stop teasing you when you grow a little more"), but I wished we'd have seen some more light-hearted flirting between them before the first kiss.

That said, the acting not only makes up for most of my cons here, it surpasses them. Namgoong Min and Ahn Eun Jin carried oceans in their eyes, and I'll be thinking about them for a while. Even if the plotting didn't carry it across, the acting was every bit as tender, as heart-breaking, and as romantic as I could have wished for, and this drama is one that I'll remember for a long long while.

(Oh, and while I was already an Ahn Eun Jin fan from The Good Bad Mother...Namgoong Min has earned another admirer of his works. I didn't like him at all in The Undateables, and now I can't fathom why. He is a masterclass in emotion.)

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Excuse me... where's the real story

When I read the book, Jade was a kind naive young man. This series version makes him an idiotic simpleton. There's more depth to this story than is portrayed. Overall instead of giving this story a little more true content the series creates a frantic confusing portrayal of Jade. Bedfriends had a complex story line with character development and relationship building. This unfortunate redition is childish and has an undeveloped romantic relationship. Jade is so silly it's hard to imagine him being in love or sexually interested in anyone. Mai definitely has a swoony persona. The series doing a little more justice to his character. I'm going to perservere and watch all 8 episodes simply because I enjoyed "Bedfriends" so much.

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Choice between Wonderland and A Cage named 'Royal Palace'

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Plot:
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The plot looks promising and lived upto it.....

There's a kingdom named DaYu ruled by Li Family. The kingdom has three Great Generals: Sun Jing, Pei Xian and Cui Yi. Sun Jing rebelled against emperor and massacred Royal Family, Pei Xian is loyal to emperor, and Cui Yi is loyal to himself and country but not to emperor. All of them have their own army.

The story follows the seventeenth grandson of emperor LiNi (Xu Kai), who was nowhere near to become a heir for throne, and Cui Lin (Jing Tian), the sole daughter of Cui Yi.

LiNi lost his mother just after his birth, despised by his own father and grandfather because of his mother's humble background and exiled to borders to guard the country.

Cui Lin is a lieutenant in Cui Army renowned as 'Lieutenant He' and lost her mother while she was young in a war as her mother sacrificed herself while guarding the city with bravery.

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Characters:
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LiNi (Xu Kai): Also known as 'Shiqi Lang'. A clever, loyal, brave and free-spirited person. He is a kind, warm-hearted and emotional young man. He lead Zhenxi army to quell the rebellion of Sun Jing and intended to make world at peace by assigning throne to its real heir. Not an ambitious person and never wanted to return to the palace, let alone to be emperor. He just wanted a peaceful life (as he never had a loving and peaceful family) with his brothers in army, his wife and children, far away from royal court and politics. His intelligence, capabilities and war strategies are second to none. He loves Cui Lin with his whole heart and wishes to travel the Wonderland after marrying her.
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Cui Lin (Jing Tian): Also known as 'Lieutenant He' and A'Ying. A cunning, strong, prideful, ruthless but a practical and warm-hearted lady. She is ambitious and wanted to rule the kingdom if there is not any suitable person to rule in the royal family. Her cunningness could be considered as a cut above LiNi's 'cause she knows how to manipulate someone and make use of them. As she lost her mother in war so her motivation of life is to make world at peace by stabilizing the court and end the sufferings of common people caused by continuous wars. One of the best female leads I've seen in dramas so far. The only person who can match upto her is LiNi and she loves him but wanted him to shoulder the responsibility of throne to make peace to the world.
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Liu Chengfeng (Gao Han): An orphan, raised by Cui Yi as his own son with the identity of Cui Lin (means he is the fake Cui Lin) to deceive the court (as he only has a daughter and court would not accept his daughter as leader of Cui Army). He grew up with Cui Lin and was obsessed with her. He wanted her to be by his side all the time. He turned into a toxic person and I lost all the sympathy I once had for him.... I wanted him dead throughout the drama.
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Gu Wan'Niang (Zhao Jia Min): She is a shrewd lady, wants power and a powerful husband i.e., LiNi. I would have admired her character if she loved LiNi sincerely but she is on verge of becoming a toxic person who just wants her own good.
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Other support characters like Xie Chang'er, TaoZi, Lao Bao and the people in Zhenxi army are decent characters, not very interesting but good ones. I hated LiNi's father the most.... He is the most stupid person in whole drama. LiNi's elder brothers are greedy and after their father and Liu ChangFang, they are the ones I hated.

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Acting and Chemistry:
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Xu Kai is great as always... He did exceptionally beautiful job portraying his character. It's my first time watching Jing Tian's work and I'm impressed with her acting.... Their chemistry is on fire....the flirting and fighting, their bickering with support & love.... though it sometimes feel boring whenever they meet in Wonderland.

It's a long since I feel Xu Kai get a great deal. Their characters are a perfect match to each other in terms of intelligence and capabilities and as actors they also made a perfect match in appearance, acting abilities and everything else. There are a lot of sweet moments when you can't help yourself feeling butterflies in your stomach.... and emotional moments when you can't hold your tears back.

Other actors also did good job especially the old actors and I'm impressed with the actors who played Sun Jing and LiNi's father.

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OSTs and Costumes:
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OSTs are good. I loved the costumes and armors of main leads when they are in army but the womanly costumes for female lead... I didn't like it much. Designers could have done more better in costumes of other actors too.

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Pace of Story:
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It starts with an engaging plot and keep its pace maintained. Story drags a little in the midway but pick up the pace again after few episodes. The thing I have complain about is, makers made Cui Lin as a weak and dumb lady while dealing with Liu ChangFang and her actions didn't make sense despite her being a cunning person.

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Ending and Recommendation:
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After a lot of ups and downs its finally a happy ending. If you're considering to watch it then go for it without a second thought.... It's not perfect but definitely an amazing one....

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This drama has a great plot, and I think it would be a good drama if it was a 16-episode with one hour per episode drama. Since it was just a mini drama, the "whole story" was not deeply portrayed that I could engage with it. It was a light drama, not as much as I thought.

The actors did well in the acting aspect, but the main female lead lack that masculinity of able to take a role of a man or detective so I was not convinced. Since it was just about 10 minutes per episode, it was not really a waste of time.

The transition and pacing in the drama is also bad for me as watcher. Would not recommend.

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A GREAT POWER DRAMA FOR 2023

Last year there were many power dramas that kept us happy, this year not so much. But fortunately, we have one in Story of Kunning Palace. It has the actors (some A-listers) playing intense parts with martial arts skills in a great plotline with gorgeous costumes and a superb soundtrack that adds to the different scenes in a wonderful cohesion. I don't usually give dramas a 10 rating, but the story and the acting just makes me riveted to this exciting drama. There is also its share of light-hearted moments and characters. Case in point; the actor who plays Dingfei gives this otherwise serious drama the comic-relief that is needed to keep it from becoming too gloomy. I highly recommend this power drama to binge on. Happy drama-watching.

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Loved it.

Great fantasy/historical series. The ML totally shined in this series. The acting was amazing, Yes, he was amazing.

I had been waiting for a good one and I totally found it. This is a captivating one. You’ll grow to love the characters even the ones you think you’d dislike. There was action, drama, romance and a little humor. The chemistry was very present between the leads, even before the things progressed. You could sense it. The ML did an amazing job keeping me captivated. He totally lead all the way. His wits, dominance and communication were strong and enjoyable. The FL was great as usual.she was smart as well. Her character did frustrate me a bit in the beginning but she pulled through. Although we have all seen a somewhat similar storyline, I have yet to see one that was this rail, well written, and had so much passion behind the cast. I love the consistency amongst the characters in this drama, and I also love how their character grew and we had the opportunity to see that through their actions and their communication, and let’s not forget the emotions that they portrayed through all of those things.

I love how the story revolved around a redo of events, they didn’t attempt to delude us with major character shifts, however they did show us the change in how our FL chose to interact with others and how that impacted the outcome. It also revealed things that were previously misunderstood. It really brought back to the forefront of how we often perceive things a certain way, but they may not be what actually true. If you are looking for a great historical fantasy fiction, you will absolutely love this one.

Chemistry was onsite everyday. Action didn’t miss a step and the love boat was definitely afloat.

I loved the ending as well. It was hilarious, sweet and cute.

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Sweetness

Series revolves around a girl with an ability and her desire to free herself from the confines of the world she was caged in. How she was raised to use it versus how she chose to use it was absolutely beautiful.

I really enjoyed this. It starts off with a really good pace and it continued to develop in a way that allows the characters grow. There were very few moments where I felt the need to fast forward. I absolutely enjoyed watching the lead interact as well as how their relationships develop. Although it is fictional the progression of the relationship and the realistic elements of it were relatable.

This one kept me on my toes. The way the FL interacted with others and how she blossomed into her person was amazing. I loved how she became someone that everyone loved.

There was action, romance, comedy, drama and some heartfelt moments. Chemistry was very present along with my beloved happy ending.


Definitely a rewatch.

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Focused point, Great actors, and a plot line that hooks you

It’s just unique, it has its own unique plot. I watched it thinking it would be something about catching weird thieves or solving mysterious crimes, but it turned better so much better (by the way I didn’t saw the trailer) I love how the plot is, like a police that is committing crimes (well not crimes but in law it is) and a reporter who is kind of helping him, and a rich fan who wants to be a team with him. I watched it mainly because (nam Jo hyuk) but also I liked the plot line that maybe can happen in real life,(you know like it is half way logical). Also we can’t forget the cinematography, sounds and the editing they can make a movie with that, It’s Superb. Of course the actors they portrayed the emotions and the feelings so well they chose the right actors for this Drama, they all did such an excellent job.
Real Justice can’t be real without one losing and sometimes it’s the victim losing. Like Kim ji woong’s Story made me feel terrible about how they just sent that trash to prison they let him away with it while she was killed I am sure if Kim ji woong was real his umma would be so proud of him. And so is the people who didn’t got their rights.
His every emotion was understandable, the only thing that makes me so mad is letting killers go away without receiving their punishment.
I like how he is just 2 different people, in the morning he is Kim Jiwoong and in the night he is the “vigilante” it always made me excited.
If we talk about the name I feel it’s the right name for him he is the meaning of vigilante, in case you don’t know the meaning of vigilante, it’s a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate. But he did by himself, he is such a strong person.
If we talked about the actors I feel if any other actor played Kim Jiwong no one would portray it like nam Jo hyuk.
I wish the ending will be happy one. Can’t wait for Wednesday.

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FL almost ruined everything

If I'm rating based on Baek Beom alone, this drama would be 11/10!

Granted, he can be harsh but there's a backstory to it, which is already mentioned in synopsis, duh! Plus, his comment makes sense, despite the tone being harsh

Now, the 2nd FL is a typical spoilt princess trying to prove herself. Wearing high heels to crime scene, touch body without gloves and then upset just because she is told off. Hello?! Even I, a non-prosecutor know you shouldn't do all this, and you, don't know? What have you been doing in law school? What's worse is she often go around shouting and screaming and throwing her tantrum at Baek Beom, like hello?! Oh gosh.

The saving grace is at least she is smart and is useful at times (not always, btw) and she does get better, holy cow. There are more than once I almost dropped the show ebcause of her. I've been staying because of Baek beom and the storyline, as I love forensic + prosecutor +detective combined!

The other male prosecutor is another annoying one. He has been having confirmation bias since day 1 and dares to call himself prosecutor. But, thanks God he quit and realized his mistakes

Towards the end, the two main annoying characters get better, hence making me wanna watch S2, otherwise I seriously can't stand more of them lol

Plus, the addition of the new prosecutor is a bonus. This is what i'm talking about. Someone who is fierce, bold, daring, but realistic, reasonable and cool, all at same time. No princess tantrum or prince tantrum for that matter

At first, I wish the ML is hotter, but then I grew to like Baek Beom character more and more, so all is well LOL

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