Derailment (2023)

Interesting Premise Executed in the Most Boring Way Possible

On Viki this drama is tagged as romance and fantasy, and it's not really either. From the little I knew about it going into it, I thought it would be an action sci-fi thriller, but it wasn't that at all. Then when I started it and wasn't getting the sci-fi thriller, I thought the romance would be strong. And while there is definitely romance, it wasn't as strong or impactful as I think it should've been.
Whenever the show did focus on the sci-fi elements, it was interesting and I wanted more of that, but the majority of the show is weirdly about the FL making her way through life and starting her career in hairdressing and makeup. The amount of time spent on the makeup drama was so strange to me. It just didn't fit in with the other world/messing with people's brains storyline.
Basically, this show took a really fascinating idea and told it in the most boring way possible. Okay, that's not really fair, because I did finish the whole thing and I didn't hate it. I just think that this could've been so much better if time had been spent on exploring the relationships between characters (Jiang Bo and his mother, Qi Lian and his father, Qi Lian and Jiang Xiao Yuan) and actually given us more of the hunt for answers (in a cinematic and exciting way instead of the slow plod that was shown. There really wasn't a moment where I thought the stakes were high and I was on the edge of my seat).
All of that said, I didn't hate it. I just wish it lived up to it's potential.

Read More

I love you in every universe - ft. rags to riches !

If you want something you have to make yourself worthy of it !

Same goes here - If you want to have a good rating you need to make yourself worthy of it ...and this wasn't ...it could have been so much more than just "ENGAGING"! - (cuz first half has great buildup)- yes I believe that's the most perfect word for it!

Synopsis -
Jiang Xiao Yuan finds herself struggling with her identity as she believes to have traveled across parallel universes. Once the owner of invincible wealth overnight becomes an ordinary working girl who has absolutely no idea about how the world works, but is determined to make it through.

All this fuss to cross paths with Qi Lian, who shall lend a hand in uncovering the mystery around her, and in journey of discovering her "real" identity.

To pick or not to pick ??
- well to be honest I am not a Lin yi fan and to me the very obvious reason is his expression that didn't make me feel anything and this goes for all of his projects till date. That does include this one too. But the FL does " make up" for what the ML seems to lack. She's vigilant , self reliant, caring, optimistic, hardworking, determined and everything nice !

So if you can bother tolerating lin yi for some time like me ....go for it ! Warning - ITS NOT THE SCI FIC YOU ARE EXPECTING !
and you'll be finishing it to know how it ends and not how it went !

this drama is very promising except for the fact that they cast lin yi and waste a lot of time in "make up and hair dressing" which apparently lead the story nowhere. The makers are so hell bent in showing us revolutionary make up (i don't know what is so revolutionary about it but yeah fuck it i mean skip it) that even if we have 2 eps to go or even if we are on the last ep ....the talk of the town shall be MAKE UP !
- yes I am so very annoyed !

The journey in the mid episodes is a bumpy ride - a lot of it went in circles and you may feel like quitting but the curiosity of how it shall end will keep you hooked !

the overall idea is so well built that it would be too difficult to actually believe that everything you believe is just a build up ! - you'll know what this means once you reach there ! (spoilers towards the end) - very convincingly done ! like commendable !

The music is nice so is the cinematography ! - the FL looks cute , The SML does look cute too !
Not a lot of time is spent around the mystery - which seems to be a down point to some( like me) - who signed up to see it after reading the synopsis !

But on the other hand ..the couple take time to develop - they are given space and you can see their dilemma - both have an awesome back story - like you feel that there's so much going on no one can be trusted no one knows who the villains are ....and there's just so much to the story. - but they be still crying over make up !

-- SPOILERS ------------------------------------------------------------------
The fact that it wasn't a time travel ....just took off all my excitement and thrill of watching. from then on the leads were nothing but lab rats to me. lab rats who were trying to get out and will probably do too ...but not that any of it was as enchanting to me as the time travel would have been.
that being sad ...even tho I was disappointed the build up was so well done ...so convincing that yes it had to be time travel with some parallel universe !

Tho makes sense that in FL's imaginary world everything was as she would have wanted in the real world !

The ML's reveal of being a lab rat himself - great
but his friend not existing - mehh - You emotionally invested me so much to come up with that ...and then lin yi didn't act it well on top - he cried and I knew it was all fake - so unbelievable that I skipped through it! - yes what was supposed to be a scene I cry for ...was skipped without a thought ! - at last all of those memories are fake and the wrap us is so unbelievable ! - wasn't it a car accident ?
When did we decide it wasn't ? like wtf ? - explain ?

At some point I just started watching for the curiosity and nothing else - so this lacked fun !
The villain has no motive what so ever and has no story at all ! - she's just bad bec she is bad ...it's 2024 bitches ...that shit ain't likable now !

I feel so bad for SML - like his story is the one I liked the most - less time consuming , well done, well portrayed ! - and they even turned him into a puppet ...any sort of redemption arc ? Like hello pls ? - he's also sick ...wth ?

Also the neck choke sucked ...like WTF bruh !
Even in the end it's MAKE UP ! - wow ! they wasted ep 29 and ep 30 doesn't give good enough closures but they have time for Make up !
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- The show is good but not worth the 30 eps it took ...more like if they just had more fluffy moments instead of make up or maybe more efforts towards unraveling the mystery I'd have liked it a lot more !

tho still hooked ....just so to say ...the makers did a good job making me curious enough !
Watch if you are good at skipping !


PS. I am not here to argue all of it is just my opinion ! - lin yi fans pls note !

My Fav part of the show
"People's memories determine who they are. Erasing their memories is equal to erasing them.
If one day you find out all your memories are fake, would you be willing to forget them ?
would you let yourself become someone you don't even know !? "

Read More

Long hair/makeup plot, unexciting mysteries, lack of romance and chemistry

When I first read the synopsis, I found the plot quite interesting. Although I have not read the novel, I know Priest is a very popular writer, especially her BL novels. So, I was interested to find out about this non-BL story by her. If you read the novel, I would love for you to write me a comment and let me know what you think of the adaptation. Unfortunately, I am not impressed with the script and find the plot uneven and lack excitement for a mystery drama. Is the adaptation bad? Or the source material bad?

Plot/Pacing
The drama spent way too much time on the hair and make up plot. I understand the need to set up each character and their different circumstances. However, spending so much time in the hair salon with unimportant characters (all the hairstylists) is a waste of time and slows the pacing of the drama. Additionally, there’s also too much time spent on the backend of the drama on FL’s makeup career. I also do not think the drama has struck a balance between romance and mystery. The mystery part is forgotten when the hair salon takes so much screen time. By the time the drama remembers its mystery plot in the last third of the drama, I have already lost interest and don’t really care. I also have some plot holes to pick. I know ML is rich, but he seems to have unlimited resources and can dig up dirt on anyone in record time. I wanted more background on Xu Jing Yang’s reason for involvement and how he and Qi Lian connected in the first place. I’d rather have more flashbacks of their friendship, instead of more hair and make up. The villain’s story is also weak and I don’t care about her enough to sympathize with them.

Romance
Unfortunately, I am not feeling the chemistry between the two main leads. If you are a romance lover like me, you might not be satisfied. There aren’t enough romantic scenes and I am not talking about pure kisses, skinship or PDA. Just the feel of the drama and the scenes of the main leads are not romantic enough. On the other hand, if you are NOT a romance lover, you might be turned off by the seemingly focus on the romance in the beginning and the lack of fantasy/mystery element. There is also a period of time when the male lead changed 180 degrees and became such a meanie. There’s too much animosity, wrist/arm grabs and manhandling of the female lead that is uncalled for. Those scenes are hard to watch and totally not in line with male lead’s calm, smart and mature personality, no matter how surprised and disappointed he is. The drama seems to finally realize the lack of romance, especially after the leads officially became a couple, and then in the last 2 episodes, we finally get more scenes of them.

Acting
This is Liu Hao Cun’s first drama, though she has done movies in the past. She single-handedly carried the show on her back. I’m so glad to have discovered her. She and her character are a breath of fresh air. Li Hao Cun is able to portray Jiang Xiao Yuan’s spunkiness, independence, stubbornness and grit. She is the best part of the drama. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Lin Yi. This more mature role doesn’t suit him. He frowns a lot and when he’s crying, it seems forced and exaggerated. I think he got better towards the latter half of the drama, but I am disappointed in his acting. He does not appear to be mature enough to be casted in this role. The rest of the supporting cast did fine. Luckily, there isn’t anyone too irritating, and no actor/actress sticks out like a sore thumb.


Unfortunately, I don’t think I will recommend this drama, unless you want to check out Liu Hao Cun. “Derailment” is unable to hook me in on the fantasy/mystery plot and the romance is so lukewarm that it’s not enough for me to tolerate the lack of excitement.


Completed: 3/13/2024 - Review #416

Read More

Ending and overall

So the drama itself was very interesting as we first thought that the FL time travelled from 2025 to 2015 (or something close). The first few episodes were very confusing as we didn't know if the FL was in a parallel universe or not?, (but then moving on it made sense). Episode 7's tense of then the ML's mood suddenly changing towards the ML was very sudden and good but in a way it was too much.

Then moving on throughout the drama, I really hoped for more romance between the male and female leads as yk, the ML found out that the FL is actually the girl from his youth so I thought maybe alot more romance would build up.
The romance was there but not as the way where yk we would be behind our screens smiling ykk, but I do get it as this drama is based on life and fantasy.

Overall, the acting of the leads were very good though, like the crying scenes and ect by the Fl. I don't know why others are saying the ML's acting wasn't good, it was very good. Also its really cool how we found out it was just erased and editing memories and not time travelling. I would totally recommend this drama to those who love plot twists.

Read More

uyum harika

uzun zamandır böyle uzun diziler izlememiştim. Çünkü hep ileri sarıyordum ya da sıkıcı geliyordu bakmıyordum. Birkaç ay önce hidden love dizisini izlemiştim. O diziden sonra pek akıcı dizi bulamadım. Ta ki bu diziyi keşfedene kadar. Dizi başlamadan birkaç ay önce görmüştüm izlemeyi düşünüyordum. Çok şükür dün bölümleri yayınlanmaya başladı ve bayıldım. Bu ikilinin daha önce bir dizisini izlemedim. Ama burdaki uyumlarına bayıldım. Boy farkları keşke bu kadar fazla olmasaydı ama yine de izlenebilir bir dizi. 30 bölüm boyunca iyi bir izlenim bırakır inşallah🇹🇷💝

Read More

Mystery + Everyday Life + Romance + Plot Twists

This drama is a mix of a few genres/vibes. Mystery aspect (the female lead is trying to figure out her world/the time travel stuff and the male lead is looking for his lost friend). Everyday life aspect (a big part of the drama is seeing the female lead working as a hairdresser/make-up artist and her struggles at work). Romance (more as a sub-plot but definitely there, the romance is darker and NOT a rom-com). Because of all the things mentioned above, the drama alternates every few episodes between very light and fun vibes and very dark and angsty vibes.

The drama tells the story of the female lead who has a car crash and believes she has travelled to a parallel universe and at the same time has jumped from 2025 to 2018. She meets the male lead who knows her parallel self and together they try to figure out the mystery of who the female lead is and how she ended up in 2018.

POSITIVE:
- Several fantastic plot twists.
- Hot chemistry between the leads. I could always feel the intense love and angst between them.
- No plot holes. All mystery questions are all answered in the end and make sense.
- Suspense aspect is done well as I was always at the edge of my seat.
- Mystery aspect is done well as the story keeps you guessing what’s real and what’s not.
- Strong-willed female lead. She was abused, yelled at constantly for no reason and yet she stood firm and strong. Her character development was amazing (seeing her being anti-social to making long-lasting friendships).
- Cinematography is stunning, especially during rain and snow scenes.
- Acting is top-notch especially from the female lead.
- Happy ending that is wrapped up well.
- The portrayal of mind distortions are done well, especially when the female lead is losing her mind and seeing things.
- Hairdressing/make-up scenes were cool to watch as it was unusual to see in a cdrama.

NEGATIVE:
- Last few episodes focused too much on the female lead’s career and a particular side character which made the drama a little boring and draggy.
- Needed more cute romance. Only one fake kiss scene (which I can get past that) but I wish we had seen the main leads hug more and have more cute scenes together when they were a couple.
- In episode 7 the male lead is manhandling the female lead. I personally didn’t mind it because it’s fiction not reality but if you are sensitive to these things, it might be best if you skip this drama.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a drama that has mystery, career/life struggles, mental health issues, darker romance and cool plot twists, watch this drama.

Read More

Dark, Romantic & Sad Story

The story is a truly sad one, & lacking a lot of aspects to consider this as romantic because of its dark theme but you can consider it one if you want to but it is not explained or shown indepth in story how dark it is but let me just say that i pity the FL.

ML actor truly wasn't the one for this show.

Reasons: Lackluster attitude, could've gotten himself in trouble and arrested multiple times if this wasn't a fictional story, don't let me tell you about the fight scenes, it's like watching bots fight because of ML's face expressions & considering how every guy treats ML like he's their daddy, they could've given the role to someone who was as handsome as Lin Yi and tough looking to make this plateable.

FL is awesome, considering her role, she's all good and her expressions, sigh, what praises what good things can i say about her? i was hooked because of her acting from the first episode, PERFECT.

A lot of filler episodes, useless characters & no actual progress, producers should've considered making this as long as "Reset" to make this better.

The story is good for a one time watch, only giving this good enough ranking because of FL's acting considering this was her debut series.

Lin Yi is a very good actor, i have watched his acting in "Put your head on my shoulders", quiet roles in romantic setting suite him but this wasn't romantic more like tragic.

Overall the story is good for people who did not consider this as romantic from the start because considering the romantic part, there were hugs and face expressions that clearly conveyed the feelings of both ML & FL that they loved eachother but regarding the kisses it can be seen from the scenes that the "Actress" has considerations regarding kiss scenes because she clearly avoided them, might be because of her family or whatever like i read in comments but considering the story it can be seen that we should avoid criticisms regarding these scenes.


Satisfied with the ending.

Read More

time travel drama with crazy storyline

okay this one is definitely NOT boring. ive watched upto ep 26 and i absolutely love it.. the cast and acting is so good. the first two eps confused the f out of me lmao

the way my jaw dropped when it hit me that she wasn't actually time travelling and it was just some brain and memory experiment like they fully convinced me that it was time travelling

in ep 7 probably, the ml got a bit violent which was not expected but he gradually got better and also linyi's acting is not actually that bad as yall were saying hes pretty good

the fl's acting was on top.. the crying scenes, the scenes where she was almost losing her mind were chef's kiss

there were not one but multiple times where my mind was blown.. i had to take my little walk to process everything when they showed us that qi lian was also a participant in that brain experiment

everything was good, in short this is an amazing drama.. i would love to watch it for the first time again

Read More

ML's character officially killed the drama 7 ep in

FL actress is quite good and the storyline started out interesting. There's mystery of why she went into another world or did she? Going from highly privileged life to a girl with nothing. Her character is believable. I like the transferable skillset from her art major to hair and makeup is not so farfetched. She shows how resilient she is proving herself over and over again.

The ML's character initially is quite likeable. He's caring and helping her to survive in an unfamiliar environment.
However 7 ep in how the ML acted is so irrational making you think who write's this crap? That neck choke was way out of left field. It's not like she wants to stay here. Why go crazy serial killer on her? Doesn't help the ML isn't a great actor either. He's pretty much unwatchable after that.

I continued watching for the FL. Her emotions are on point and hits so I can see why she is such an upcoming actress. Her crying scenes are superb!

The story developed in a complete direction without things making much sense. Rushed ending to explain what happened and amend all relationships in one episode.....

Read More