Reviews

Beautiful drama albeit not perfect

What I really enjoyed are the fighting scene, the war and the epic visuals. Great pacing, and good casting all around! Lee Joon Gi's screen presence and his role as Eun Som especially live up beyond my expectation. They couldn't have picked a more perfect recast than Lee Joon Gi! He does all his own stunts, is a master in actions so I knew he would be spectacular in this. The only recast that devastated me is Tanya, I found no passion in her line deliveries.

I miss the very pretty Tanya and Saya… they are not the same here. In defense of the time jump: their portrayals did change as how their characters come across here. they grow up and their political positions and motivation also evolve, so I eventually accept that. I feel bad a bit towards Saya as he seems to be the most inferior among Tanya, Eunsom, or Tagon. Tanya pity him too for his role in prophecy, Eun Som is now a war leader beloved by people, Tagon sees Eun Som as a threat but not towards Saya, I wish he is given a bigger role... I mean, he's children of prophecy too.

I admit that it is hard to appreciate significance of the mythology aspect, if you haven’t watched season 1. I went back to rewatch season 1 before got on board with season 2. Personally, I think the previous season's costumes and music are superior. I don’t think her romance trope necessary, it feels more like a reward than earned. The ending is well-wrapped up and I am satisfied if the drama ends here. I watched it with a patriotic passion I felt watching Mr. Sunshine!

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Even when I know this drama is going to upset me, the journey and visuals are outstanding!

A young man moved to a cheap but in poor condition run-down building, planning to stay just until he can save up for a better place. Right away, he experienced strange occurrences in his corridor, around the neighbourhood and he starts suspecting there's some weird stuffs going on. He has a growing suspicion that someone has been entering his room...

Everything on screen is super unsettling and mysterious. All characters, including our male lead Jong Wo (Yim Si Wan) are creepy, sweaty, and they’re interacting in a weird way in this dirty old building. At first, I kept wondering whether they are truly strange people or if there’s something evil within the walls. This whole set up is so masterfully directed and it kept me guessing between reality and imagination even after the end.

Trigger warning: this drama might potentially distress you, as there are very explicit torture and gruesome killing scenes. I was ready to peace out by ep 4, but one character kept me super damn curious; He’s our creepy cool-headed Moon Jo (Lee Dong Wook), who is a friendly professional dentist and seems to be obsessive towards Jong Wo. Moon Jo is goose-bumping but also hilarious when he’s being a stalker. Anytime right now, he appears nowhere, catching people red-handed, like “Boo! I see you!” and I got jump-scared and giggly. Jong Wo has no idea that Moon Jo loves watching him all the time through a pin-sized hole in his claustrophobic room. As the story reveals more and more facts, I enjoyed how Jong Wo's point of view gets me psychologically engaged. Both leads’ performances were incredibly impactful, especially when the stakes are heightened, they played each other in a really powerful way but yet so refined.

On a personal note: I met Lee, another fan of SFH and since we relate with their bromance a lot, we immediately got so giddy talking about them. Any edit or meme of SFH are now a laughing drug for us. The free eggs, sashimi and the teeth that we can't yet get over with. Oh, we’re so messed up! XD

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Clever casting transcends a great show into a masterpiece.

Doona is something special. Not just among K-Dramas but among all love stories.

The plot line of a celebrity falling for someone remarkably normal is nothing new. Cue: Notting Hill and the Hannah Montana Movie. Doona, however, is something entirely different. Washed-up, abandoned, and functioning on a half-hearted nicotine addiction, we find this particular "Star" dimmed and burnt out. Inexplicably enigmatic - even without recognising who she is, Wonjun is pulled toward Doona. Her attitude and her body language imply she is both rude and defeatist, but there is something in her eyes that say otherwise. Behind the scorn and the evasion, something in Doona's eyes calls out to anyone who looks at them long enough; an ardent plea; "save me from myself". Wonjun can't help but do just that.

There is a lot to be said for the directorial style and the overall character development in this drama, but undeniably it's greatest testament is the performances. Whoever cast Suzy in this role was a visionary. Who better than an idol in a disbanded group to portray the ugliest sides of their industry. At times, based on Suzy's own experiences with Miss A, it was hard not to wonder how much of the acting was drawn from past experiences - particularly after a revealing cosmopolitan interview on that very subject - but I'll leave the speculation to rest. The key here is to say that Suzy's acting in this drama always feels raw and authentic, so much so that whenever she's on the screen, you can't tear your eyes away from hers. Like Wonjun, we are entirely consumed trying to work out exactly what pain it is that Donna isn't able to overcome. In the end, the answer isn't so simple.

As for Wonjun, although I feel that the Drama rather conveniently skipped over a few important plot points toward the end of the show, I am at least glad that they made sure to provide clarity and finality to the two leads in one particular aspect. We know that for Wonjun, he isn't a person who can cope well with things that are uncertain and precarious. He takes a gamble on Doona, but in the end he sees that she is still broken and dangerous; he doesn't have the courage to stay with her. Meanwhile, Doona is overly reliant on others. When she was confronted with the prospect of what her life would be like without her career, and, by extension, her fans - she spiralled. The anxiety became so bad that she ended up losing another pillar in her manager, and by this point, she was a shell of her former-self. Although it never becomes clear how she ends up becoming a woman who no longer needs to rely on men, by the end of the show she is independent and able to cope with life on her own.

Without Doona overcoming that flaw, the 'open ending' can't be a happy one. Although its mention is only brief, we know that Wonjun is altruistic. He moves into the room at Doona's house in order to escape the dire reality of his situation at home, having spent his first years of university commuting in order to take care of his ill sister. He mentions the relief he felt when the responsibility of looking after her was taken away from him, yet jumps right into another person dependent on him in Doona. Wonjun doesn't necessarily see it as his job to fix Doona. By contrast, her presence alone has been enough to calm him and comfort him through difficult moments. Yet, the fact remains that Doona is overly reliant on Wonjun, regardless of whether or not she's helping him.

This is the crucial point in the show's climax - while Wonjun is at military service, Doona must become a person who no longer practices over-dependency on others, just as Wonjun must learn to to so easily let others be overly dependent on him at the expense of his own happiness. This is, in my opinion, a factor which hugely contributes to his decision to break up with Doona when she returns to fame. It's too hard, it's too precarious, and there's a large chance he'll get hurt if they stay together. However this is also an example of Wonjun's hypocrisy. Jin-ju explains to Doona from the moment she first suspects that she likes Wonjun that he's not a person who can cope which a personality like hers in the long-run. Whether or not it came from a place of jealousy was irrelevant, because it was true. Although at first Wonjun believes that he doesn't mind what Doona does or how she feels about him he eventually realises that he doesn't like her to an extent that he can ignore his own jealousy and hurt. Even after admitting this to her, he does the same thing when he swears he won't mind if she returns to the spotlight. Doona, too, at first thinks that her newfound happiness with Wonjun is enough to fill the void left by her early retirement, however she harbours a deep need to be loved, and Wonjun's love alone was never going to be enough to satiate her. Neither one seems to truly understand their emotions, except for the fact that they truly love each other.

As for my sprinkle of negativity, even though this show managed to escape practically every K-Drama cliché of a celebrity falling for a normal person, it failed with it's side characters a little more than miserably. A seemingly random arsenal of side characters (save for an albeit-underdeveloped Jin-ju) served only as lacklustre comic relief or as devices to further the plot through causing jealousy or misunderstandings. Although the side stories and supporting characters aren't the worst I've encountered, compared with the addictive story of the two lead characters they are inevitably mundane. Doona's mother, too, although perhaps the most interesting of the parental “figures” seems to be entirely written off as someone who uses her daughter for money. Sometimes in life it really is that simple, yet with this character it feels more like two-dimensional writing than a purposeful choice. The same goes for Ira. She is no more than a device to make Doona jealous.

Despite its flaws, Doona succeeds in something that most shows cannot. Deceptively simple, its story engages you without ever throwing its quirks and messages in your face. Often in Dramas a character’s true feelings and thoughts are spelled out to the audience, but in Doona, when Wonjun looks behind Doona’s eyes and can’t figure out what really lies behind them, the audience find themselves doing the same. Even when he asks her to tell him she’s sorry, we are just as surprised as Wonjun when she tells him she loves him instead. These twists aren’t shocking, but they aren’t predictable either, which demonstrates perfectly the complexity and depth of the two lead characters, even if those same dimensions are lacking elsewhere in the show.

In the end, you can’t help but root for Doona and Wonjun. The same goes for the show. It’s perhaps one of the only shows I genuinely think has benefit in a second watch. Knowing from the beginning what we know from the end, it must be an entirely different experience, and an experience well worth it.

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Delayed justice is 'injustice'.

The series is a murder mystery pertaining to serial killing. The story starts in AD 1609 of the Ming Dynasty, Du County in Jiangnan. Qu Sangeng(Bai YuFan) a Yamen runner/bailiff of Hunter squad and Gao Shicong(Liu YiTong) a Yamen auxiliary bailiff, find corpse of Captain Leng(Wang Ce) displayed as a Scarecrow in a field of Qijia Village. This is the first murder followed by a series of murders. Master Wang, a scholar running a school, Chen Wang a servant of Lu residence who supposedly drowned 20 years ago, Dr.Cheng a genius doctor, Mr.Zhang the butler of Mr.Xue, Mr.Zhao former business partner of Lu Yuanbao....Sangeng who has a personal interest in the case because his master and mentor Captain Leng was the first victim, finds a link to all these murders. The murderer is killing all survivors of the fire that engulfed Lu residence 20 years ago, taking the life of Lu Jinxin the owner of Lu residence and his family members along with many servants. The killer is leaving quotes from The Analects of Confucius near the victims' corpse, however the messages are left in a sarcastic manner opposite from its intended meanings.

During the course of his investigation aided by his friends a scholar 'Turkey' Feng Ke Zhui (Zhang Hao Wei) and Shicong, Sangeng discovers clues to dark conspiracy, changed identities, hidden motives and dark core of human psyche taking the viewers on a thrilling adventurous ride of never ending guessing game.

Two main themes that I perceived from the series are;
1. Injustice and how different people deal with it.
2. Principally all Humans are prone to corruption in spite of eons of teachings from great Sages.



[ 1. Injustice and how different people deal with it.]

I am referring to Judge Song Chen previously Song Zhongqiu a very talented poet and a Calligrapher(Nong Li) and County Magistrate Wei's conversation in Episode 12, Magistrate Wei alludes to the injustice Mr.Song suffered due to faulty justice system that throws and tortures suspects in the prison and then after conducts investigation. Many guilty people are roaming free and many innocent people are wrongly indicted having their lives ruined even if found not guilty later.

Magistrate Wei is eager to know what Judge Song has to say about the word 'INJUSTICE'. Mr.Song replies that there are countless victims in this world, but absolute justice never happened. Magistrate Wei wants to know what Mr. Song means by that. Mr.Song continues that Wei may not know that there is no single window in the prison. But a person in prison can't tell when it is day and night. But a person in prison can feel the day elapsing.

Magistrate Wei becomes serious and inquires how a person can perceive day and night.

Mr.Song grimly replies that a person can watch his tortured flesh slowly rot away. Mr.Song used to think there was a threshold between life and death, Life is on one side and death is on the other side. Just a momentary thing but then he found out death could be very slow, and people could die little by little. One day, the prison door opens and someone comes in and tells you that your case has been overturned. Mr.Song laughs sarcastically at this.
Magistrate Wei looks sympathetically at Mr.Song.. Mr.Song in a bleak continues that by that time a person is already half-dead. Half of a person becomes ghost, and you can never turn back into a human. You are half human, half monster. Mr.Song is of the opinion that "JUSTICE THAT COMES TOO LATE IS NOT JUSTICE".

Magistrate Wei responds that Mr.Song's grievances are not from prison. He doggedly continues that Mr.Song was known as a top talent, famous for his painting and calligraphy.

But now he can't even pick up a pen with his right hand. He asks Mr. Song, " IS THAT THE GREATEST INJUSTICE FOR YOU? " Wei continues to speak when Mr.Song returned home, the court had reversed his case, but nobody believed that Mr.Song was wronged. All of the people talked about how much Mr.Song would have spent, whom he had bribed, and how he had used his connections to avoid lawsuit, " ISN'T THAT INJUSTICE CRUELER THAN THE PRISON SENTENCE? " Magistrate Wei says Mr. Song had a good friend, they were as close as brothers but Mr.Song couldn't withstand the punishment and betrayed him in prison by putting the blame on him. His friend used his death to prove his innocence. "COULD THIS BE THE GREATEST UNFAIRNESS IN MR. SONG'S HEART? " According to Magistrate wei's opinion Mr.Song can't live in peace even if the court cleared Mr.Song's name, Yet those who reported in the court, those who caused his disability, those who were busy with infighting and those who accused him of bribery, none of them EVER RECEIVED any punishment. Magistrate concludes "IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT INJUSTICE. YOU JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO TAKE REVENGE. "

The above conversation reflects two different ideologies. Magistrate chose personal revenge to honour his dead friend Lu Buyou's sacrifice. He gave more importance to personal grievances and spiraled down the dark path becoming as guilty as the original conspirators... Where as Judge Song leaving aside his own personal issues and grievances chose a righteous path and tried to uphold justice for other innocent people who were ensnared by the flaws in the justice system and decided to punish all guilty people lawfully, irrespective of their status. He became a role model and epitome of the most sagacious judge.



[2. Principally all Humans are prone to corruption in spite of eons of teachings from great Sages.]

Here I am referring to the conversation between Sangeng, Turkey and Shicong in episode 3.

All three Shicong, Sangeng and Turkey meet at night and get drunk after finding relevant facts. They sigh that a person can never know another person. ... They toast a drink to Confucius because he's been teaching people morality for centuries in vain. In the end, the world is still filled with animals who don't talk, think or behave like humans. But Confucius should not be mad, he should not see it as his failure. It's just so hard to be a decent man. [All three agree very hard, very hard]

Also ironically, In episode 12, Young Xiao Baozi "Turtle" accidentally discovers Lu Zhong's golden treasure. They were slabs of engraving of The Analects of Confucius. One engraving was "Some people hurt others for themselves (referring to Lu Zhi). While some hurt themselves for others (referring to Lu Buyou). Master Lu you hurt yourself for someone else. So I will repay you for your gold.... In a twisted manner Turtle decided to hurt someone else too in the name of justice.

CONCLUSION : The world is full of bad men ready to commit follies and their basic nature cannot be changed by nurture.


Overall: A wonderful series, all the dialogues are meaningful, focusing on true beings of Humans. In my opinion, it should be watched again at least once. Kudos to the scriptwriter and actors, it was a tightly written drama keeping the audience guessing right up till the end.



PS: I have written an in depth summaries of all 12 episodes, posted in the discussion thread of this drama page.... If anyone is interested in reading it use the link below, I will ALSO leave a clickable link as a comment to this review. (Summaries are in depth so they contain MAJOR SPOILERS)


https://mydramalist.com/discussions/fan-cheng-zhi-xia/120497-detailed-episodic-summary-and-musings-contains-spoilers

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The type of love that lasts

While this drama does have a central couple, there are multiple characters who make this series the amazing series it is.

Maybe its because I just watched Professional Single (another cute drama with Song Yi Ren) but this is a story is the sweet romance that could have happened with her childhood friend if she didn't start dating the high school hunk. I found this drama to be bursting to the seems with sweet story lines between all the characters, which was lacking in professional singles

To start the main couple is Chi Chi and Fang Fang who grew up together from the age of 8 when they became neighbors. They were the best of friends who enjoyed pranking and daring each other all through school. It was one of these dares at the end of their high school year that leads to a fall out between them and they don't speak until they are in the same college months later. While their friendship becomes strong once again, Chi Chi begins to see Fang Fang in a different light and realizes that he had a crush on her for "centuries" >.< Their romance is one of sweet love that grew out of friendship and while they do hit a few obstacles it is due to their strong foundation of friendship that they are able to stay together even with distance between them.

Now the other characters are just as important in this series, Chi Chi's family is broken due to decisions that her parents made when she and her brother were little, something that not only hurt her then but when she learns the truth it only seems to reopen the wounds that never got to fully heal.

Chi Chi's absentee mother is one of the characters that was pivotal since it was due to that trauma that made her so scared to lose Fang Fang but he was also the one who gave her the security she needed since they were young and how they were able to grow together to build a strong, healthy relationship.

Her brother and father are sweet characters, and while you don't learn much about the father you learn how he impacted her life even when he knew he made mistakes and was at a loss at what to do.

Chi Chi's roommates are just as cute as any other rom com college roommates but they also made each character unique with actual personalities and story lines of their own.

I loved the introduction of the archery team who are a rowdy bunch who are more than just jocks and work hard to prove themselves against other teams who are seen as unbeatable.

This series takes place over years, and while it can be a bit hard to pinpoint how much time has passed sometimes, you can see that these friends all become a second family to Fang Fang and Chi Chi. And it is with this second family that they overcome the hardships of college and becoming the best versions of themselves.

If I had to criticize anything, I just wanted more normal days between fang fang and Chi Chi, I wanted to see them hanging out or on a date. While you do get some really amazing scenes, it did seem to be sparsely scattered. But that really picking at small things.

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they have created heaven and hell for themselves...

when the first trailer came out, the hype was already there.this series felt different, fresher and rougher than the standard high school BL. And thankfully it delivered!
What makes this series so special is not the NC scenes,which while very risqué by GMMTV standards, individually are no more so than what other studios have been doing for a long time, but its characters. In particular, Boston, Ray, Sand and Nick are characters that most of us have probably met before or perhaps find ourselves in them.
That and the unsparing and revealing look at their dysfunctional relationships is what makes the series unique. It's not all sunshine and roses and not black and white. People struggle, act toxic, can't always define their feelings, have their own baggage of traumas. and hurt other people.
And that shows Only Friends like rarely any other series before and also the courage it takes despite all this behavior to get involved with another person and trust the feeling we call love.

Acting-wise, this series is always at the highest level. First and Khao can unleash all their talent, with characters as complex as Sand and Ray. Sometimes it's just nuances, a little shadow in their eyes, but they make you feel all the emotions.
But also in the scenes where the big emotions are asked for, the two deliver like no other and probably create some of the most emotional scenes in a drama of this year and with sand and ray have already created two iconic overly complex characters who combine vulnerability, security, selfishness and devotion in themselves
And Neo-Oh my God, finally give this man a leading role, because he is pure gold! He didn't just play the f*ckboy Boston, he was it! If you look at his other roles, he's probably one of the most versatile scene players GMMTV has to offer.
But Mark doesn't have to hide either, even if his role as Nick was a bit simpler, he was always convincing.And his character shines and shines more and more, the longer the series goes on.

Staying with the characters, we also come to the biggest negatv point of the series, called Top and Mew. Their characters seem more like stereotypes, their relationship not so believable and their story arcs feel strangely flat, and even though their relationship becomes more intense, I just didn't warm up to the characters too much.

Apart from that, one parts were too rushed and other parts were obviously designed to make even more mess.
But even in these parts, Only Friends is more entertaining than the competition, making it, in its worst parts, an entertaining mess and, in its best parts, a beautiful, fragile, unpolished paean to love and thus an undeniable drama highlight of 2023.

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A bumpy first romance

Is this a fun series? Yes, it has all the cute scenes you expect from one of these rom coms, the guy trying to act cool but melting for his love interest. The main female lead is just adorable and she really embodies the "new to dating" awkwardness. You see Yuan Xian grow from a shy, unsure partner to being confident to tell Ling Wei, girl who likes Qin Shin, that they are dating even after the she used every opportunity to guilt Yuan from "gifting" her a job to using depression to keep them apart.

Now for the negative, I was a bit shaky on the romance between the main character since up until they started dating, I felt more chemistry in them tentatively showing their feelings. Then after they were openly dating there didn't seem to be any "chemistry" other than a very cute scene with him giving her a necklace and him barking >.< When you watch it, you will see what I mean.. just "ahh?"

Also I was a bit frustrated with how he seemed to punish her for quite some time, and it was seen as ok? I get him being upset for a bit but it seemed to be over a span of a long time.

All in all it was a cute series that took place over the span of freshman year for majority of the episodes and then a peak at them at graduation.

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Redflags, done well!

I wasn’t gonna write a review because i thought msnotes’ one was perfect already! And captured most of how i felt! But i wanted to rate it?

here is what i can add:

-you will find many reviews calling for toxic relationship, redflags etc… and first episodes the mess is quite crazy and a bit overdone , but along the episodes i came to realize it was well done!! How ? What i mean is doona’s character and actions slowly reveal her fears & vulnerability behind her mess.

-both ML & FL go through their weaknesses and both evolve. (FL maybe more?)

-the ML character us so genuine, he really made me reflect on how kindness can be perceived as flirting, lol

-i loved the dialogues, the said & unsaid , the questions that echo a lot of imagery and deep conclusions about fame, ambition, loneliness, abandonment and love


- i dunno if it was binging the episodes that made it look so overdramatic at times, but towards the end i got that feel.

- i wish it was a longer show! The pace was nice, i rooted for the characters and i think their evolution/story was not yet complete

-Doona’s character suited suzy soooo well! I think this kind of drama makes her shine so much!

-the secondary stories were really a bore ( i dont know why ! They felt so disconnected… ) but i looooved their evolution.

Its a show that reveals itself slowly and keeps getting better n better w each episode. A highlight of 2023 so far for me!

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This is not a love story

Rather, this dorama is about the changing societal expectations of relationship, the roles of gender, and their interplay. Questions like what does 'to protect the woman' in a relationship or the significance of a piece of paper to define your romantic connection is discussed in modern society where nuclear family is no longer the norm. So, this is not a love story. It's a story on navigating modern relationship, both platonic and romantic. It doesn't necessarily give you an answer but it treats the audience as intelligent and invites you to ask these questions yourself. This is probably one of the most thought-provoking dorama I've watched ever that questions self-love and the relationship without shoving an answer down my throat, which I so much appreciate and recommend this.

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The Shades of Justice

In this gripping thriller, we delve into a world where the boundaries of justice are not clearly defined. The story revolves around a young servant who masterminds a heinous crime, leading to the murder of his master's entire family, heirs, and servants. With their wealth in his hands, he vanishes for years, only to be confronted by justice two decades later. This short drama, spanning just 12 episodes, is a rollercoaster of enigmas, mysteries, ironies, suspense, and dark humor.

Constable Qu Sangeng, portrayed by Bai Yu Fan, embarks on a harrowing journey to uncover the gruesome murder of his beloved superior, whom he regarded as a father figure. Soon, a string of similar murders emerges, all pointing to a common culprit. Qu Sangeng must untangle the web of connections between the victims and decipher the motive. The trail leads back to an incident that occurred two decades ago at the Lu mansion, which was razed to the ground, claiming the lives of most of its occupants. Only Lu Zhi, played by Yu Yao, and a handful of others managed to escape.

As the narrative unfolds, viewers will empathize with Lu Zhi, understanding the circumstances that drove him to commit these atrocities. As a clever adolescent, Lu Zhi believed he had executed the perfect crime, unaware that someone held knowledge of his dark secret. This mysterious individual resurfaces two decades later to exact vengeance on those responsible.

While Lu Zhi's story is the genesis of these events and the serial killer's vendetta sets Constable Qu Sangeng on his quest for justice, they are not the central characters. The focus of the story shifts to Qu Sangeng and his decision to prioritize justice over personal vengeance, as well as Song Chen's struggles, portrayed by Ning Li. Both the adult Lu Zhi and the serial killer make only hidden or fleeting appearances as the story progresses.

Every character seems to harbor a motive and arouse suspicion. As the present-day plot unfolds and investigators attempt to piece together a complex puzzle, flashbacks shed light on the events from two decades ago. While the drama hints at hidden and illicit affairs, there is no central romantic subplot, reflecting the societal norms of the era.

Without good translations, some viewers may find this drama hard to understand as it is laden with riddles from verses and poems by the ancient sages. Even those well-versed in Mandarin and written Chinese may find themselves struggling with certain scenes and story elements, as the narrative moves swiftly and some details remain unexplained, catering to a more discerning audience. Rewatching becomes essential not for cherishing particular moments or characters but to gain a deeper comprehension and capture the subtleties that might have been missed.

My Verdict

This thriller is an adrenaline-pumping ride, offering a captivating storytelling format, top-notch direction, and commendable performances, with Yu Yao's portrayal of the juvenile Lu Zhi and Ning Li's portrayal of Song Chen standing out the most.

What makes this drama truly striking is its realism, even in today's world, in depicting the complex backdrop of wealth and power. Characters like Lu Yuan Bao, portrayed by Zhang Xi Lin, who transformed from a bandit to a wealthy and influential figure, highlight the murky waters of power dynamics. The story also portrays corrupt government officials who can be easily swayed, and the wealthy who, despite their outward respectability, remain to be despicable and thuggish. The concept of justice is portrayed in shades of gray, demonstrating that what one person sees as justice may be viewed as injustice from another's perspective. This theme resonates with the contemporary geopolitical landscape. For Qu Sangeng, choosing justice over personal vengeance is a wise choice given his superior's role in his father's death which he remains unaware of.

Great watch!

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The love between a pair of brothers who are not related by blood is wrapped in a pretty good story

I think the story in this drama is not bad and I think it should get a rating of 8. I don't know why on this website, ordinary good dramas only get a rating of 7 while trash dramas get a high rating of 8-9. this drama doesn't have any clashes that make ml and fl break up, there are just a few skins that make me feel they should be more firm in taking action and not be too naive or kind because in the real world maybe they wouldn't do something like this which I mean is too good of a character against the enemy in this drama. I watched non-stop for 3 days and until episode 26, I skipped a lot to episode 30 because I felt the story was a bit boring because it tells a lot of characters, which doesn't mean the story is bad. Chinese drama always has a lot of episodes, so there are lots of scenes that just waste time. I watched this drama with enjoyment even though I skipped a lot of SML and SFL in the last episode. Overall I give a rating of 8.

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What?

I started this before and dropped it at three episodes but i thought maybe the was something wrong with me, my state of mind, or something. So i gave it some time and tried again. This time i got farther-- episode six-- but now I'm going to permanently give up.

I don't know how this could get such high ratings. The plot is absurd. Why would he fight so hard to keep this building? Just move the gold, which is what they end up doing anyway...

The acting was pretty bad. I love Song Joongki, but the character gave him nothing but deadpan looks and flat emotions to play with. Deadly and tough is great but it gets pretty dull after a few episodes. The actor that played the father of the FL was great and i liked the lead gang guy with the curly hair, but that was pretty much it for good acting. Everyone else was just so overplayed or dull.

It went out of its way to make SJK look cool but without the emotion to back it up, there's just no soul to it. With such flat characters, it really needed a great plot to keep you interested but it didn't have that either.

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