Reviews

Hidden love is a complex and light drama

First of all, I would like to congratulate the two actors who succeeded in portraying their characters very well.

OK, first I will discuss property and fashion. Of the many Chinese dramas, I think Hidden Love is Very ready, many modern dramas use that same fashion. However, hidden love shows different nuances in each depiction according to the development of the character.

Sang Zhi's character was portrayed well, and made me very Excited sometimes it made my heart ache to feel what he felt. Sangyan's depiction is also very good. It made me think of my older brother, Victor ma really succeeded in bringing the character of his older brother to life in real life.

OK, regarding Duan Jiaxu, somehow since the first appearance I was hooked. The eyes of the actor who plays him seem to speak sincerely to his heart. What a beautiful sight, He plays it with such sincerity that the feeling carries over to the audience. Great...


Okay, about the songs, I always felt that Korean dramas were superior before, however.... Hidden love is extraordinary. I love the touch of the beautiful and sweet songs that are there.

I am very grateful to the writer, and everyone involved in the film for presenting something extraordinary. So much so that I don't know what drama to watch after that?

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Whenever Your Heart Calls To Me, I Will Come To You

This is a very touching and innovative series despite some serious flaws in the story. Whenever you are dealing a “time travel” movie or series, careful attention to detail is necessary, otherwise, when you pull one thread that doesn’t quite work, the whole thing can come apart like a house of cards. Einstein once said, “Nothing happens until something moves.” This was his reference regarding time and space, which he scientifically proved, do not exist because it’s all relative.

The series is about love, time travel, and a chilling murderer, and how all three are intertwined and what can be done about it. Of course, some suspension of disbelief is necessary, but in many cases with this series, even that isn’t enough. This is a case where the series might have worked better had it extended the story another four episodes to give the characters time to be more grounded and realistic.

A big flaw in the series is how quickly everyone accepts the time traveling component. I’d wager that if someone approached you with this explanation, you’d laugh in their face with disbelief. Even if the person seems to have “changed,” time travel would likely be the very last thing you’d accept as a plausible explanation. Something else was needed to try and convince others about time traveling being the cause of a personality change.

In 1998, Kwon Min Ju is a lonely, shy high school student who walks around, staring at the ground and never really looking at anyone. She meets Nam Si Heon and his friend, Jung In Kyu, and she seems to come to life a bit, especially when the tall, handsome Nam Si Heon is around. However, he has absolutely no interest in her.

In 2023, Han Jun Hee is suffering from the loss of her boyfriend, who has died in a plane crash. She looks like Min Ju, except that she is outgoing, vivacious, and spirited. In short, she’s full of life, whereas Min Ju is a girl suffering from extremely low self-esteem. A mysterious tape player with a tape is sent to Han Jun Hee, and upon listening to it, she finds herself transported back to 1998 and in the body of Min Ju. However, it’s Han Jun Hee’s personality, and everything she is, inhabiting the body of Min Ju, who can only sit and watch from within Jun Hee’s mind.

Like many time traveling stories, this one is about attempting to prevent the events of the past in order to change the future. On the one hand, Jun Hee is trying to find a way to get her boyfriend back. However, a cold, serial killer is on the loose, and Jun Hee is also trying to prevent the murder of Min Ju.

For the most part, the story actually works, largely due to the performances of the two leads in Jeon Yeo Been (Min Ju/Jun Hee) and Ahn Hyo Seop (Si Heon/Yeon Jun). You might feel like you need to keep a notebook handy in order to keep track of all of the time movements and who is embodying whom! Jeon Yeo Been just an exceptional job of playing the dual role, so much so that it took me an episode to realize that she was playing Min Ju and Jun Hee!

Another big problem is the character of Oh Chan Yeong, the serial killer. Now, by the end of the series, Jun Hee is able to prevent him from inhabiting his brother’s body and going to 1998 to kill Min Ju. However, Chan Yeong is still alive in 1998, and very likely, he will still become a killer, and yet nothing is mentioned about this, and it’s something that should have been addressed.

The suicidal aspect of Min Ju doesn’t entirely work either. Someone who is that determined to commit suicide, even to the point allowing someone to murder them, is someone with severe problems. Min Ju’s issue with being “too hopeful” or having “too many expectations” are laughingly bad. Her issue has to do with incredibly low self-esteem and not feeling worthy of anyone or anything. If you deal only with the symptoms rather than the cause, then you aren’t doing anyone any favors, and Jun Hee is hardly a therapist who can easily diagnose Min Ju. A person with such a low self-esteem is highly likely going to attempt suicide again, especially when something bad happens in their life.

I also didn’t think that Si Heon would so blindly accept Min Ju’s explanation about “making up Jun Hee” when the handwriting is still the most solid evidence against such a whimsical attempt to explain her.

Also, the emotional depth could have been much deeper than it was. I was disappointed in the scene when Jun Hee finds Si Heon at the morgue, having just been murdered by Chan Yeong. She lost of the love of her life, then briefly got him back only to lose him yet again. She should have been far more distraught than what we’re shown. Anyone else in that situation would have been completely devastated. Now, it’s all right for her regain her resolve to try and set things right, but in that immediate moment, I was waiting for a deeper and much more realistic reaction. I just didn’t feel it all from the usually sound performance of Jeon Yeo Been. I think that part of the problem is that there simply wasn’t great chemistry between the two leads. It was good, but not great, and you can always easily tell when chemistry exists. There are a number of youtube videos from actors/actresses who speak to this. I’ve seen Jeon Yeo Been and Ahn Hyo Seop in a couple of series now, and their acting chops in this one is very good. I was just hoping for more.


The series starts out strong, but by the end, it felt a little rushed and a bit contrived as well. It also needed more heartfelt moments which could have served the overall story even better. While this is actually a very good series, it felt like a missed opportunity to be even better. I haven’t seen the original series from Taiwan, but it made me wonder if that version filled in many of the gaps that this version left. A good series, but in the end, it also felt like a letdown, a missed opportunity.

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Sky's storyline was much better executed

Phayu’s and Rain’s story was meh, but they had crazy sexual tension and the chemistry was through the roof. the plot was a bit sloppy, and it still bothers me that they never actually got to /know/ each other. Sky and Prapai were sooo cute tho ? sky had me almost crying with his story, and their development didn't feel rushed at all; they also got to know each other and I loved that, it felt more real. However, I do think that sky’s ex coming back and traumatizing sky was completely unnecessary (typical Mame’s show ?), and Sky’s trauma should be treated. Sure, he found true love with Prapai, but love is not enough to heal the wound that something like what sky had gone through leaves on people. It would've been so much better if they mentioned at the end that Sky was seeing a therapist, and that he was feeling better bc of that. Overall, I liked the show, and Sky's and Prapai’s arc was much better than phayu's and rain's in my opinion.

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Worth it for Ryan Cheng's bombastic side-eye

Ryan Cheng stole this one. Except a few crumbs stolen by Lester Lin, Ryan Cheng staged a heist and legit burgled the whole dang show.
THINGS I LOVED:
1) Every scene with Ryan Cheng (or Lester Lin) was captivating.
2) The fight scenes were awesome.
3) Cinematography and set design
4) Costumes
5) Background of story and set up of story

THINGS I DIDN'T LOVE:
1) I love Esther Yu and Zhang Ling He, but the script was not great and many of the scenes were waaaaaaaay to slow. By all accounts, Esther Yu and Zhang Ling He had good chemistry, but weren't given the scenes or the dialogue to demonstrate it. Their interactions were boring after a while (because of the pace and script), which was a shame because you could tell (with their expressions and eye contact) that they gave it their all.
2) Someone said in the comments that every scene was overly dramatic. I co-sign this statement. The panning to everyone's face to see their facial expressions and reactions would've been fine if it had been used as a device for one or two scenes, but it was waaay over used.
3) Not only was it slow, but the show had a huge amount of repetition, showing the same scenes over and over.
4) Also, this was weird: the show did this thing where they'd show a character once and then kill them (someone I'd never seen before or hadn't seen much of) and then do a flashback with that character for 20 minutes where we were apparently supposed to get to know them via a summary of their past and then feel sad about their current death. This never worked. I just fast forwarded these flashbacks after the 4th time this happened.
5) The second to last episode was absolutely nothing but exposition wherein the bad guy spent 45minutes telling us how he did it. That's just lazy storytelling.

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A Cute Watch For What It Is

As a long time K-Drama fan, I pick my dramas on actors I like, or if it's a general genre I enjoy. I am an absolute sucker for rom-coms. Rom-coms are such a hit or miss in the K-Drama world. I walked into this one with zero expectations and actually enjoyed it. If you take it for what it is, it's a cute drama.

With that said ... ONTO THE REVIEW!!

Story wise, I thought it was an absolute mess. it started off with this cute build up to the idea of "Cinderella" and a quirky montage/backstory of each of the characters.

The first three-ish episodes of what I thought was the story that would carry the drama quickly fizzled out to unrequited and awkward one-sided love hexagons? The whole premise of "become a family" gets lost, but magically is perfect at the end.

Hye Ji made for a terrible "love triangle antagonist". Her backstory was stale and she was such a third-wheel character with no real potential.

The acting itself, I thought was as good as it can be. Each actor made their character believable and shaped them to the best of their ability and it goes to give them credit to that.

The OST was my jam! Not only did I run and add all the main songs to my spotify, but absolutely sang along each time they made the tune hit during the dramatic scenes.

As for rewatch value, I wouldn't be opposed to playing this in the background while I knit or crocheted. I'd definitely opt to skip some of the fluff episodes.

Overall, coming into this drama with zero expectations and an open-mind, it was cute, quirky and I appreciate the fact that the FL wasn't a helpless, fragile, pretty face.

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For Me it's 10/10 ♡⁠‿⁠♡

Lee Young Ae Unnie
as expected she never disappoints,Such a Queen . I really waited for her to return to the kdrama world, when I found out that she will have another drama, I really waited for it HAHHAHA

I finished watching, so all I can say is that for me this is my cup of tea drama ( although I like all the genre but this one is Wow, ♡ ♡Amazing ♡ ♡, and I also enjoyed its Ost because for me it fits the whole vibe of the drama.
maybe it won't have a season 2, I'm satisfied with the ending, so I'll just rewatch it HAHAH
♡ ♡♡ ♡♡ ♡ Congratulations and Thank You MAESTRA ♡ ♡♡ ♡♡ ♡♡ ♡♡ ♡
✨✨Unforgettable Harmony ✨✨
#Maestra #마에스트라
#MaestraStringsOfTruth

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It's a gay, gay, gay world and I love every minute of it!

I honestly cannot pinpoint exactly why I loved this bl so much. Its 3 storylines are fairly generic(although 1 has some dark elements) and nothing new is really explored. That being said, the fact they were able to hold my interest with all 3 stories in such a short span-20-25 minute episodes and 10 episodes-speaks volumes about the production. Each story was given equal airtime and I was left satisfied with each outcome. I never felt there was "missing" plot pieces. Overall, all 6 leads were likeable and did well with their roles. Some were a bit "greener" in their acting but to be expected from some newcomers. Each couple had great chemistry, but if I had a criticism, it would be some suspect kissing between J-min and Kim Yong Seok, mostly from J-min, but this being his first role, I gave him some slack. This was a light, breezy and fun watch!

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A stressful watch

Few dramas have stressed me as much as Oshin, and it's all because the female lead's life can only be described as: struggled and conquered. In every corner there was an issue for her to overcome, and in every corner I was right there with her, anxious and stressed over what she was about to suffer.

So while I absolutely see its merit and understand why people loved and continue to love this story so much, I can't help but rate it based on my enjoyment, and sadly I barely enjoyed this. The level of vitriol and abuse that Oshin suffers from so many people in her life (her father, her brother, her husband, her mother-in-law), made this so very tiresome to watch, and almost impossible to finish, I had to keep stopping constantly to the point where I lost count how many times I put this "on hold".

And yes, it is 100% a product of its time, but I'm a 21st century woman and I can't help but judge it based on my 21st century values, and to watch her husband beat her multiple times, once to the point where she was left disabled, was unbearable. Even more so because this is an 80s story set in the Meiji era, so his behavior was not only never criticized, but all in all their relationship was portrayed as prosperous, where she says many times that she was happy and proud to have been his wife. So it's safe to say that this did not make an exciting watch for me.

I'm sad that this is how I feel about such a beloved classic, but I'm not someone to lie and say I liked something just because of its status. It is what it is.

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BEING YOUNG COULD BE BOTH EXCITING AND DANGEROUS

STORY :
First of all I quite did not find the reason why the title of this show is Dangerous Romance, is it because Kanghan Loving Sailom is dangerous for him coz Sailom's brother is involved with thugs ? or is it only dangerous when everyone thought it was Sailom's brother tried to kill Kanghan's Father ? I don't know, but I liked the story though, for me it was quite good ! For me it was just like a life of a teenager on their times of curiosity and exploring that could be Dangerous and Exciting. I prefer this kind of show where something is really happening rather than wasting the airing time with unnecessary scenes that makes the story hard to understand. There were only parts where for me this should be the right script or scene, or he should've be like this, and like that and so so, like when Kang seems has despised Sailom after knowing that his brother tried to kill his father and when Kang Saved Sailom from the thugs that when Sailom was taking a bath and Kang back hugged him, he did not pushed Kang away , like for me in some ways I think it would be better if Sailom ranted first and show his hate to Kangs actions of his despising coz that his brother was involved to the incident of his Father to give justification to Sailom's feelings, specially when Kang did not even stopped Sailom of quitting the school and even he himself of all people like of all people who knew Sailom's situation removed his badge ! I hated Kang on that part ! , but I thought maybe Sailom knowing no one left by his side on those times, he disregarded his feelings and accepted Kang right away. And also there are scenes that left me kept asking what happened to this, why is that? how will this be and that ? and so so , well those were just a minor scenes, and can not be easily noticed so I just let it go coz it was not bad anyways, still good job. On the part of Kissing scene, in some ways the awkwardness was noticeable , but it was not bad, like the boys are trying , what am I saying !? HAHAH. On the part of The Thugs masterminds trying to really kill Kang's Father, the action was quite so so like Oh Okay .. HAHAH but it was not bad also, Kanghan was shot, but I was looking where was he shot ? what part ? where the hell was he shot ? and later It was in the arm !HAHAHAAH . My fave scenes was when Sailom went back to escorting to earn more money after Kangham told him to get out of their house, where Sailom was about to be raped maybe ? and Kang suddenly came and save Sailom, Kang was so angry that he threw money to Sailom and told him he will be the one buying Sailom, of his ruining his Dignity just to earn money , Damn ! that scene was perfect ! like I love the script I love the emotions, they were so great on the part, also one of my fave was Guy Sailom's friend and Nawa Kangs Friend's scene, where Nawa had to make Guy angry to let him push harder on playing football, coz Nawa knew that Guy can always do so much more, and when they realized they both were looking at each other all those times, I was so touched , Actually I was always been looking for the scene of these two guys, but they had only few scenes here and I thought it is still enough for the whole story, funny that they were one of those love to hate couples like TayNew or PeteKao but damn ! the chemistry is big deal ! so yeah I am glad that this show was not like those of so many unnecessary scenes, so much worth to watch every seconds of this show, I enjoyed the story that made me realized I've watched 3-4 episodes unconsciously
ACTING :
I must Applaud Perth here, His acting was superb ! well, I've seen him on Love by chance and from there I knew his acting is great ! he has this vibe of a very manly young brave man on his actings. Chimon, I just now appreciate his cuteness , and by the way when I first discover BL , he was the first actor I saw as I first watched Sweet boy way back 2020 before the Pandemic and yeah he is adorable here and gave just right emotions to every scene, he portrayed well his character ! Let me just say that Kangs Dad is so hot HAHAHHA, also Kangs Grandmother was also so kind hearted that she seems like just everyone's dream of a grandmother that surely will never be existing HAHAHHA.
VISUAL EFFECTS/CINEMATOGRAPHY :.
The cinematography is a lot ! I commend GMMTV for a great visual on this show! you can see how much they have improved if you watch those of their old shows, it was not simple and usual, it was excellent nowadays ! I also liked the plot of this show and the progression, the character developments, two thumbs up, the story ended well, not to rushed not too slow just enough, just right, not too perfect but A very Good one

All in all I don't regret watching this show, so worth it I enjoyed it and I was entertained, This one is one of the shows I would recommend to my friends in the future, and If I were to re watch this ? we'll see

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Not going to waste too much time…

Because there’s nothing worse than wasting time on a drama when the evil characters take over the show.

I started getting frustrated after episode 7 and the middle of episode 8 when the Chairman was bought off. I’m ffing all the bad guy BS.

Decided nope not going to waste too much time on the rest of the episodes. First Tae Ho gets a press conference claiming Jun Ho killed everyone only to have survivors show up. Come on, give viewers a break with such nonsense. I can’t stand it when the drama gives so much time to the bad guys. If you’re going to do this please let it make some sense.

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Emotional roller-coaster

It was really emotional in some parts. The cast was amazing,as always and never dissappointed in K dramas. Overall 9.5 from 10, only because there was some part I didn’t understand and it did not connect with the story.
Beautiful acting, beautiful emotions with trace of comedy and funny part and amazing chemistry between the leaders. I love this drama even though the comments are not so great, but it is okay to have own opinions.
I know it is hard to believe in magic, SciFi and some “other” world, but if you believe in unbelievable, everything can happen in our lives.
That’s why my title is Emotional rolloer-coaster. When you. Pay attention really hard in this drama, you can put yourself in the story.

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Reuniting

A bittersweet drama about reuniting with each other. Their relationship was soo honest they had such different lives but attracted one another in other ways. They found what made them happy but had to let go of each other more than once to make it work in the end ? The ML has such a strong personality and never gives up on his dreams and proves everyone wrong but when he comes to love he’s such a softie, the FL is a hardworking character that doesn’t want to get in people way but really loves people dearly just doesn’t know how to express them.

- I’m shocked why this drama how lower rating compared to #1 but this is such a bittersweet drama that makes you cry.

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Super Cute!

BT21 Universe is a mini talk show series created by BTS that follows them through the process of creating their individual BT21 characters. You get to watch the process as the boys draw their own sketches and then work with artists to create these cute little characters that represent themselves. It’s an adorable little show that warms your heart ARMY. I definitely recommend ARMY to give this a watch. It’s fun to see how the boys came up with the ideas for their characters and see the inspiration sketches they created that turned into the adorable little characters we know and love.

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Hidden Motives, Crouching Fire

The Longest Day in Chang’an is a drama that can make you rave and rage. The production values were excellent, building a world that seemed real. For the most part the acting was also above average. What was rage worthy were all the characters from the ruling class that lied, cheated, stole, tortured, and murdered to move up or keep their vaunted positions. Completely out of touch with the people’s reality, the more they talked about the great Tang or serving the people, the more they ignored the truth, often seeking to find scapegoats for any problems that arose.

“Humans have always acted differently than their words”
The basic template was simple. Bad guys were in town to cause problems and the Crown Prince was about to be passed over for the Right Chancellor. Li Bi, a young prodigy, headed up the Peacekeepers Corp which had a database of information to draw from. The database picked death row inmate, Zhang Xiao Jing, to solve their problems. All he had to do was track down the bad guys and round them up before the Emperor’s giant lantern is lit at 2:00am on the night of the Lantern Fest and make the Crown Prince look good in the process. This being a drama filled with political intrigue, nothing was that simple when everyone was vying for position and trying to be on the winning side, especially when being on the losing side of power could mean death. Much of the action also occurred because of a military squad’s loyalty and near annihilation due to bad military management ten years prior.

“Kindness must be repaid, vengeance must be served”
Ex-soldier and ex-Sleuth Hound Commander, Zhang Xiao Jing , was a hardened warrior who was completely devoted to the surviving 9 from a disastrous military campaign and the daughter of their leader. He also held to the dream of what Chang’an could be for all people and would fight to protect the commoners with his last breath. Lei Jia Yin gave a strong, if not varied, performance as the super fighter who seemed to always be fighting large numbers or having to sacrifice to gain information. I was curious how a prisoner confined in a tiny cage for months would have had the stamina to run across Chang’an over and over all day and night as well as fighting almost non-stop.

“If I can’t save the present, I can’t save the future”
Jackson Yee as Li Bi, was more limited in his range as the leader of the Corps who found that despite his intelligence, he was often outplayed by people outside of and within the Peacekeepers. Rayzha Alimjan as Li Bi’s servant, Tan Qi, at least gave a strong female presence in a largely male cast. I was surprised and pleased to see Djimon Hounsou in the role of the Underworld Lord. Feng Jia Yi played the much older and retired on duty Emperor, with his white beard and eyebrows reminding me of Lo Lieh’s iconic character from Clan of the White Lotus. The most mesmerizing performance, however, was from Zhou Yi Wei as Long Bo. His every move was captivating in a nuanced and menacing performance that in lesser hands could have been ham-fisted.

“Numbers are the truth”
How many times did someone pull out mint to chew on? I stopped counting at 17 times. How many times was Zhang accused of being the perpetrator of a crime? Around 1,756, 230. The Emperor has indigestion. Dang that Zhan Xiao Jing! How many times did someone promise protection and then renege on it? The odds were not good for the person being promised. Pinky swears didn’t count for anything in Chang’an. How many characters did I wish would erupt into flames, but didn’t? Around 10. “A good man will be rewarded” or blamed by the bad man who will then be rewarded in his place. How many times were the good guys captured? Let me pull out my calculator.

“Truth doesn’t matter as much”
What Longest Day in Chang’an did well was world building. The excellent sets, teeming streets of extras, and costumes that looked worse for wear as the day went on, transported me back in time. The multi-layered narrative, intriguing characters, and well-choreographed action scenes were engrossing. Again, Zhou’s Long Bo was captivating and Zhang’s dogged determination was admirable if not exhausting. Where it didn’t work as well was when it became bogged down in the details and desire to give small history lessons. By giving many minor characters important screen time it side-lined others. Certain elements also became redundant. And a character that was talked about often, the Crown Prince, had relatively little screen time making it hard to tell if all the hearsay stories about him were true. Whereas, the despicable Right Chancellor's every loathsome move was shown. Despite focusing on numerous characters, the big reveal at the end was rather anti-climactic as the “mastermind” divulged pages of exposition regarding his evil plan in order for it to make sense and even then left a golden clue dangling.

“Human beings need to hold onto some kind of dream. That is what will drive them forward.”
Zhang and his buddy Wen, both knew Chang’an was not an ideal place, but both hoped it could be. There were people who fought to protect the citizens, even a Catholic priest who could do parkour! The suffering was largely due to the corrupt political system. The royalty and officials constantly looked for a way to destroy their rivals and rise in power with little thought for anyone else. Commoners, soldiers and servants were expendable and interchangeable. Even the terrorists who desired to set the system on fire had no compassion for those who struggled to make a life and living in Chang’an. The Longest Day in Chang’an was gripping and well worth the time even when I was ready for the day to end.

17 January 2024

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