Sweet Secrets (2025)

Idk if you're gonna like it honestly....

I think if you go into this seeing it as less of a drama, and more of an extended music video or the movie cut from a video game, you might like it better.

It's the direction that's the most at fault for this... many scenes that in a normal drama would be filmed with a still camera shot, are instead filmed with a thatrically lit moving camera shot. Not just key parts of scenes, but little things like "the chauffer picks up the FL and takes her to the mansion" etc, are filmed dynamically and stylistically, and this creates the "music video" effect.

Everyone's makeup is just a liiiiitle too thick, everyone's clothing styles are just a liiiiiiitle too tryhard.

The acting is amateurish, especially on the part of the FL, who has weak acting and weak kiss game. She's holding her mouth closed like a nun sometimes during kiss scenes, and it looks like she's not into him at ALL. She just wants to act out the scenes, pick up her paycheck, and gtfoutta there. The ML is the only one who could keep up his end of the story. His acting was a little flat, but he got some riz and with more experience and a different director, he could probably improve quite a bit.

The story is ok, but it's hard to keep your attention on it because the director's sense of pacing is ALL OFF, and so it puts you to sleep when it shouldn't. The ending was interesting, although it's like 50% cool and 50% facepalm. With better acting and directing, maybe it could have been more like 90% cool. If this was how Sima Jao's story ended it would be sort of cute I suppose.

It does have a few redeeming qualities, but I was not a fan.

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A Great Idea That Never Reached Its Potential

I had mixed feelings about this drama. The premise immediately caught my attention because the combination of a Republican-era setting and supernatural elements felt fresh and different. Unfortunately, while the concept had a lot of potential, the execution never quite lived up to it.

The story often felt unnecessarily convoluted, repeatedly going in circles instead of steadily moving forward. By the end, the conclusion was more or less what I had expected from the beginning, yet I still felt that parts of the backstory and mythology weren't explained clearly enough. The plot also shares many similarities with *Tale of the Nine Tailed*, particularly the central premise and the dynamic between the three main leads. Because of that, viewers who haven't seen that drama may find themselves even more confused by the story.

The male lead was easily the strongest aspect of the series. Shen Hao Nan delivered a solid performance and did his best with the material he was given, but even he couldn't completely overcome the weaknesses in the writing. On the other hand, I struggled to connect with the female lead. Her desire for revenge made sense, but many of her actions felt frustrating rather than convincing, which made it difficult for me to become emotionally invested in her journey.

I did enjoy the overall chemistry between the cast and the interactions between the characters, but the visual effects were a noticeable weak point. The CGI often looked unpolished and, instead of enhancing the supernatural atmosphere, it frequently pulled me out of the experience.

Overall, I don't think it's a bad drama, but it never fully realizes the potential of its interesting premise. It has an engaging male lead, enjoyable character dynamics, and a unique setting, but the confusing storytelling and inconsistent execution ultimately prevent it from becoming something truly memorable.

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