Reviews

Strong Start, Weak Finish | Amazing Rom-Com, Mystery But Failed to Tie the End

I went gaga as this drama began with all the right elements: beautiful romance of main & second leads, right dose of comedy and mystery that piqued interest in past/present timelines. They also maintained focus on women empowerment which was executed well through the FL's work in past/present. But ALL this is maintained and peaked till Ep 10, but the last 2 episodes seem to be written by some other writer/director, cause it was just a chaotic mess that leaves you disappointed especially after the high that initial episodes gave.

Best Parts:
- Amazing Cast &Performance in respective roles. Especially of ML, FL, SML, FML, FL Mon, ML's StepMom, Step Bro ❤️
- Great chemistry and Romance of ML/FL & SML/SFL
- Good build of of past/present timeline and mystery
- Pretty dresses, locations!
- Great intro & build up of evil characters

Messy Parts:
- Could not deliver the ending well for romance or the mystery
- Some support characters are just forgotten in end episodes

VERDICT:
Recommended for one time watch, just be cautious of the ending being a mess. So if you can handle it for the sake of concluding the story, watch it.

PERSONAL FAVS:
- Was already a fan of the FL and SFL - but now am also in love with the looks, acting and voices of the ML and SML.
- I really want the actress who plays Step Mom to be cast as a Good Mom role. Have already seen in negative roles here, Extraordinary Attorney Woo and My Lovely Liar. She deserves better although in all 3 she has a redemption arc.

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fascinating !

After the first part, this is my review : It is without any doubt a wonderful series. You are not bored a second, it is always in motion, the casting is great, the plot is original. All this is made with several tough subjects, and they managed to deal with them pretty well.
Yi Jae will face several deadly situations (all of them are original), can he change this ?
Obviously some scenes are difficult to watch but this is the price to pay to have the maximum realism.
Seo In Guk is awesome, as expected, but the entire cast is compelling (always a pleasure to see Kim Jae Wook after Alchemy of souls).
Edit : after the end of the series : it is still great ! I wont spoil, but you have so many surprises lol ! The writers play with our nerves it s very nice !

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Underwhelmed

I love Park Bo Young and this drama was pretty high-rated on Mydramalist, but ended up being not my thing. I finished it but I wish I didn’t invest my time in it at all. It was about mental health, all 12 episodes of it, but it went absolutely nowhere with everything else.
Mental health is a very important topic. We all experience depression and anxiety at some point, we have family members that have PTSD or intellectual disability. It’s very important for the society to be educated about this but reality is that people could not be more indifferent to those strangers with mental health issues. I know firsthand about this, having an autistic family member. I learned a lot from this drama when doctors were explaining conditions of their patients’ health in detail. But all subplots were unrealistic and shallow, and went nowhere. Also main female character was very sympathetic and caring but mentally weak and did not make good decisions and it affected other people. You need special training to be psychiatric nurse. The way you act, the words that you say…

10 for acting, 4 for the plot.

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shitty ending

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De retour du gouffre (2023)
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Affiche De retour du gouffre (2023)

8.5
Votre note: 7 /10
Notes : 8,5 /10 de 6 608 utilisateurs
Nombre d'observateurs : 17 145
Avis : 109 utilisateurs
Après la trahison d'un amant, l'ancien dragon Tian Yao s'est retrouvé grièvement blessé et le cœur brisé. La femme qu'il aimait l'a trahi en le démembrant et en le dépouillant de ses écailles de dragon, puis en scellant les parties de son corps à cinq endroits. Ce n'est que par chance que son âme s'est échappée. Aujourd'hui né de nouveau, il rencontre Yan Hui, qui jure de le protéger pendant qu'il récupère ses os manquants. En découvrant un phoque dans un lac, Tian Yao voit son opportunité. Après avoir rencontré Yan Hui, Tian Yao a repris espoir, sachant qu'elle possédait son échelle de protection cardiaque qui pourrait briser ce sceau. Tian Yao utilise Yan Hui pour récupérer les parties de son corps volées. Yan Hui planifie alors son évasion mais échoue. Étonnamment, elle constate que leur relation s’approfondit avec le temps. Tian Yao admire les efforts répétés de Yan Hui pour le sauver, tandis que Yan Hui apprécie le lien fort qu'ils ont créé. Les mystères abonderont à mesure que Yan Hui apprendra sa véritable origine. (Source : ChineseDrama.info ; édité par MyDramaList) ~~ Adapté du roman « Hu Xin » (护心) de Jiu Lu Fei Xiang (九鹭非香). M

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For everyone that isn't into romances

I started watching this drama a while ago, but gave up after the second episode because I couldn't follow the plot. I'm glad I came back after watching other dramas. They gave me more background knowledge to follow the complex political structures and plots.

While the plot was interesting, it was the characters that really got me hooked, especially Wang Zhi. His character and story had so much more potential and I would love to see a whole show with him as the main character. It kind of blew my mind that he was so young - and while his actions sometimes made you forget that, the show manages to remind you of his youth in some really great scenes.

Overall, the show suffered from the same problems that many shows do: the plot gets too convoluted, the stakes don't fit the established tone of the show and some plot holes are hard to overlook. For example, there should have been a better way to introduce the Empress as a warrior, as it came out of nowhere (twice). While the action scenes were great in the beginning, when they tried to raise the stakes in the last few episodes, it became over the top and felt out of place. Also, some of the serious issues they were trying to address (e.g. PTSD, domestic violence, human trafficking) went nowhere and had no consequences.

Despite these problems, I really loved the show and its main characters. They had great chemistry, and I'm curious to see what a BL adaptation of this show would have been like.

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It's worth sticking with the show, even if you struggle with the first few episodes

The second part of this drama is much better than the first. It's yet another example of how a superficial script can lead to poor performances. Once the actors were actually given some nuance to portray, they did a great job. Kudos to Dylan Wang as Dongfang Qingcang and his supporting cast for their emotionally powerful performances. The scene where he cries for his father is still one of my favourites. It made me realise how rare this kind of emotional outburst from male characters is on television!

Esther Yu's character(s) were difficult to watch at first. The voice and one-dimensional character of Orchid and later Xi Yun have thankfully undergone some positive changes. Similarly, Zhang Linghe as Chang Heng felt rather flat for most of the show.

I found the concept of the conflict between the Fairy Realm and the Moon Clan quite interesting, although the Fairy Realm lacked some depth. The main villain of the show ended up being quite disappointing and some of the twists and turns were unnecessary. While I won't be re-watching the whole show, it had some really impressive and memorable scenes that I'll be back for!

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Daily Dose of Sunshine '' is a slice of life with a psychological theme.

The drama starts off quite simply, appearing to be another office-medical romance. However, halfway through, it changes tempo, giving a more in-depth view of people with mental health and their journey towards acceptance and healing.

The drama, as a whole, blends every genre nicely and smoothly. And even though the start of the drama feels blunt, the second half was quite strong and masterfully handled.

The performances were also quite enjoyable by every actor and actress in the cast.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Castaway Dive '' is a music melodrama about family, romance, friendship, and music, of course.

The drama is poor sunshine, even though it deals with sensitive and dark matters, like domestic abuse. Still, it oozes love, positivity, and warmth, as the characters heal each other and support each other through many difficult situations, as well as in chasing their dreams.

And even though the drama had a few boring moments towards the ending, and it did start focusing on the family rather than the main lead and her career, the drama overall was a roller coaster of emotions, intense, enjoyable, and with great songs to boot.

Finally, the performances were excellent, as expected, especially by the main female lead.

So, overall, eight out of ten.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Boss Dol Mart '' is an idol drama of few episodes.

The story is pretty simple, with few heartwarming moments here and there to spice things up. The relationship of the boys was probably the best part of the drama, even though the story tended to promote the mystery of the past, which, in the end, was a big letdown.

Still, for what it is, the drama was enjoyable enough, with some funny moments, and some more 'dramatic' ones. The drama keeps things light as well, without getting deeper into any situation, or even any character.

Finally, the performances by everyone in the cast were good enough.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Good Enough

'' Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun, Season Two '' is the long awaited sequel to the epic historical fantasy drama, with a change in the leads, starting the story a few years later from when the first season left things off.

The drama does suffer from the time gap between the seasons, and that is not because of the change of the actors. On the contrary, the new leads do their utmost to flesh out their characters, even though Tanya felt spineless at times. However, the story was stretched too thin, and, having lost the momentum of the first season, the few action scenes here and there weren't enough to keep things intriguing and fresh. Hence, the drama ended up being blunt, with only Ta Gon and his family the main source of thriller in the series.

As for the love story, it felt awkward. Again, time wasn't on the romance's side, and the couple had too few moments together in order to be convincing. Hence, it could have been easily omitted, keeping only the second lead as the love interest for an idea of a love story if it was necessary.

Finally, the CGI and costumes were nice and the performances were enjoyable.

So, overall, five out of ten.

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Last case very rushed and ending on an open cliffhanger

After the first case I felt like taking a break, but from the second case forward, the storytelling becomes more enthralling and I felt like binging directly to the end without stopping. This Song Ci’s brainstorming and case-solving is so very similar to the mindset of the infamous 1990s manga and anime series Detective Hajime Kindaichi. If you watched that series you’ll get this feeling starting from the second episode. One criticism is after around episode 5, the chosen quotes from the historical forensic handbook are just tacked on and start to have nothing to do with the contents of the respective episode. There doesn’t seem to be news of a second season yet but there’s very strong hints of a season 2 coming up concerning the medicine fairy’s biological father and song ci’s eminent ascension into courtly politics.

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The story is almost as tight and lovely as Yeon-woo's embroidery

The heroine's adventure threads into the future, loops back to the past, to hold together and set right both history and the present. Lee Se-young shines in her role as the bold and talented Park Yeon-woo. My only qualm is that the writers could have given her more qualities/abilities that could have translated better or assisted her in her travel to "New Joseon", so she does not always seem so helpless and always have to be saved by Kang Tae-ha (she was glorious when she went back to her own timeline in ep. 11 and 12, standing up for herself, her husband, her family, and for all women in the country).

Bae In-hyuk plays two characters of the same name but manages to emulate first male lead vibes for present-day Tae-ha and lovelorn second male lead vibes for past Tae-ha, which is an impressive feat in itself.

The shift in the tone of the story is not that abrupt for me-- because the darker, more serious aspects of the plot have always been there (Tae-ha's illness, the whole Kang family conspiracy), just highlighted in the latter part of the series because they needed to be addressed. I also love the fantasy and Chun Myung's lore, and how they kept it a little mysterious without digging plot holes.

Multifaceted characters with different motives (from the seemingly benevolent grandfather, the "evil" step-mother, the "shifty" half-brother, to the seemingly dependable co-workers and most certainly loyal and badass friends), along with beautiful cinematography, and good chemistry between the two leads make "The Story of Park's Marriage Contract" a generally pleasant drama to watch.

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Story of Kunning Palace has one of the best pacing of any 2023 drama. The storytelling is intriguing, with suspenseful arcs from the very first episode. The show does a great job of introducing the many characters and establishing their motivations. For the first 30 episodes, the twists and turns, as well as Jiang Xuening's personal growth, captivate the audience. The female friendships are beautiful and the discussion of female power is interesting.

The romance isn't the main focus of most of the show. In the beginning, Jiang Xuening struggles with her best friend's romantic feelings for her, while trying to save him and his family this time. In order to achieve this, she begins to plot with her teacher Xie Wei, but only in the last arc does she develop feelings for him. Instead, she longs for her former love, Zhang Zhe, an upright official with a strong sense of justice. One of the main themes of the show is that Jiang Xuening is not a good person, not in this life and certainly not in her last, but she is trying to be better. While Zhang Zhe is not a good match for her, the scheming and violent Xie Wei is. The story of Kunning Palace is not about love, but about intrigue, friendship, ambition and doing the right thing. It's only in the last 8 episodes that there is a real romance, and then the show loses its intrigue.

I was rooting for them right up until the moment their actual relationship developed. Firstly, I'm generally not a fan of the trope of men forcing themselves on women and women giving in until they like it, even if it's under the influence of trauma. Is it reasonable for his character to react that way? Yes, it is. Did the writers have to make him do it? Absolutely not. Especially when it is all framed as sexual tension. They were great as partners in crime, but at that point, is just using trauma for the sake of drama.

Overall, Bai Lu really stole the show. She was absolutely perfect for the part. As for Zhang Linghe, his performance again lacked nuance, but it was better compared to other shows I have seen so far. As for the side characters, the only other one that really stood out for me was Lui Xiening as Princess Le Yang/ Shen Zhi Yi, as well as the scheming Xue Yuan (by Huang Haibing) and his sister, Empress Dowager Xue (by Liu Min). These two were such great villains!

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The real male lead…

Just finished the drama and saw a few spoilers that broke my heart. Out of the 4 ML I gotta say Xiangliu is the real one. Just based on the name of this drama, FL is bound to lose XL (which he will) and the 相 is the same character as XL’s “Xiang”. He truly loves XY, secretly supported her, willing to sacrifice himself, and never pushed XY into liking him after her rejection. One thing I really like XL is that he seems cold on the outside but is actually a man full of promises and will do anything for FL if she say so. I believe XL was actually the first person XY fell for, in the earlier episodes she was very comfortable and shared a lot of her past experiences with XL, looked for him even though he was abusive and slowly understood that he isn’t that cold blooded and have trouble expressing himself. I felt that after XY expressed her worries and rejected him, XL thought she was scared of him and transformed into FFB to make her happy, which I also think FFB is his true personality and XL was just a shell burdened with the troop responsibilities. FFB had also halfheartedly asked XY a few times to test the water if she wants to leave everything behind and be with him. All these small misunderstandings and chances to be together caused the other ML to take their chance. Cough cough TSJ binding XY with an empty promise and one misunderstanding leads to the next, XY will eventually lose XL forever…

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The story could have done without the jealous stepmother angle

I loved the cast and romance bit of the story. Seo Do Guk is another green flag of a character we got to see this year. He was always looking out for Yi Joo even when she didn't really notice his actions and was drowning in grief. His support through it all made her pull through all the horrible things she went through.

Yi Joo's adopted mother was in a class herself. In the beginning, she was psychopath who decided to toy with her adopted daughter's feelings and later took her life. That was enough, they didn't need to make Yi Joo biological daughter of Jeon Noh Min (adopted father), it was too cliche. That guy got an redemption arc, he purposefully neglected the abuse Yi Joo was put through all these years and then had the guts to deny that Yi Joo was his daughter even when she brought him the proof. The point is he stood by, the bystanders of the abuse make it harder for the victim to trust anyone, a point they failed to focus on.

Yoo Se Hyeok, the ex husband was garbage, like Yi Joo rightfully said. His wife was lying in the hospital bed about to die and he couldn't muster up an ounce of feeling. At the time, all he cared about was his crush on a women who had zero morals. His character was honestly very disgusting . Him begging Yi Joo to forgive him on knees was not even that deep because it lacked sincerity and someone who only apologizes because they are in deep shit.

Saying that, all of these actors did a great job in portraying the characters. I had expected a bit more from Do Guk's grandma ad sister since the cousin made them out to be such difficult characters but his mother made up for that personality. I'm just glad that Yi Joo got her happy ending, she deserved it.

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