uoow

Cooking survival show but make it Joseon

(updated 2026)

I started this drama simply because I was bored and had nothing to watch and it didn’t disappoint
The first 2 episodes were funny.

In terms of acting, wise idk yet, but for the amount of criticism LCM has gone through for playing the male lead, I think he did well, especially that he only had a few days before shooting started
Yoona's acting falls short for me in this drama. I'll be honest, she's expressive and does have her moments, but besides that, there wasn't much.

By the time more episodes came out, I just realized that this was just a cooking survival show but instead of Gordon Ramsey possibly screaming at you, you can possibly lose your life instead

The editing is really funny cause I was rather shocked whenever they ate the food and just transcended, and those edits are just hilarious that I have wondered what in the food porn is this lol

Story-wise, it's rather underwhelming when it focuses on its political royal storyline because it's just too dramatized for me. I know it's fiction, but at some point, there needs to be a line on how exaggerated it needs to be, which is why a lot of K-dramas nowadays fall short for me. The real highlight has to be the cooking part of the drama, and it's a mini survival show lol.

I have to add that 12 episodes did mess up the pacing for the story as well, which is a shame because it had some good aspects. Unfortunately, this is a recurring problem within the K-drama scene nowadays. 16 episodes either drag the story, or 12 isn't enough to even tell the story

I haven’t read the source material, but I deeply hope it’s not a k-trauma (it wasn't thankfully)

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I love you even with all your flaws, you are worth it, wen shuanjiang

Okay dont quote me on that cause I’m not sure if he did say that or not but he has said some of these words

Anyways I still remember when I first heard the news’s of this drama and coming back once and a while to check on any updates then the excitement of hearing it started filming then it wrapped up filming then impatiently waiting for the airing date (excuse me I’m just getting emotional)

Okay onto the real review
This drama itself is quite slow pace and does have triggering scenes involving SA (I cannot remember all episodes that include SA scenes but those I can remember is ep 25,27,28 maybe there is some in the beginning episodes as well)

if you are a person that is rather impatient I would not recommend this drama but like bai jing ting said in a interview recently for this drama “I hope they give it a chance” cause in the end everything is quite subjective
This drama itself is quite different from hidden love despite having the sang siblings as the main love interest both of their stories are drastically different so please don’t compare them

I enjoyed this drama as someone who has read the manhua but it does have its own flaws such as the arc from ep 24-26 I understand why they did that over the novel version of what was supposed to happen but there is quite some plot holes in that arc
Such as how yifan friends found her so easily in such a big city tho they probably had a ruff idea of where she was

It had its own comedic aspects as well which was nice nonetheless I wish they could’ve handled the second storyline better as there really wasn’t much balance between the main storyline and the 2nd one and sometimes it felt random in certain episodes
I wish they could’ve showed us more of Qiao qiao side of feelings when it came for hers towards haoan
The 2nd lead mu cheng yun was really annoying, it seems he doesn’t have this much of a annoying role in the novel but it looks like they really dialed him up for more dramatic effect

Nonetheless it had many amazing aspects that appreciated them for and it showed just how much effort the director,writer and crew did
The cinematography was beautiful, we were able to see so many beautiful done scenes that added depth in the episode itself
I appreciate how they added flashbacks to their younger days back in highschool in majority of episodes because it really adds more depth to our characters relationships and meanings to some action as well
I don’t know how it was supposed to go in the novel despite not really hearing good things
But I like the direction they took as the fan of the manhua I’m happy
I also appreciate how in a majority of the episodes they add sang yan pov at the end cause we get to see a bit of how he felt or what he did during that episode
Also how they gave us one last scene after a “this story is not over yet” like a bonus scene lol

The soundtrack I loved it and it seems I won’t stop listening cause it’s ending today the drama and I’m too emotional attached to it
A lot of the songs and lyrics fit the drama very well which I’m glad
I used to skip the openings but I learned to appreciate it more and more plus bai jing ting said in the interview for this drama something about how it’s unskippable or something similar but I agree with him

On the acting both leads did such a good job so did the supporting characters and the villain
To me bai jing ting did a great job at portraying sang yan it’s as if I saw him come to life from the story honestly and his subtle acting through his eyes in important scenes such as ep 27
Zhang ruonan did a great job as well portraying wen yifan especially the dead eyes in a way to make us see how Wen yifan really live in a way but just like BJT it’s as if I saw wen yifan come to life despite yifan being described more as a cold beauty and zhang ruonan having more cuter features she did a very nice job
The actors who played her family did a nice job as well cause they made me hate their characters so much

I love this story because we get to see two characters who are flawed in their own ways, learn and grow from the past selves so I hope you give this drama a chance than just listening to reviews and decide for yourself if you like it or not

This part is more of my own opinions/view on both Sang Yan and Wen yifan
So I hope that if you ever struggle to understand them this could help offer you a new perspective

The comment section on MDL (here) has been quite hell for the past few days because of certain opinion that has resurfaced many times to the point it’s scary how similar they are

For Wen Yifan it’s clear since the beginning that the girl has issues and pain
She was abandoned by her own mother, got SA by her aunt’s little brother(he’s a grown middle aged man) , got told to hide this SA by her mom and aunt and that it’s shameful and at her previous work place she got harassed
However I have seen the same argument come up in a lot of people’s opinion
“I understand her pain but why is she so selfish and not one ounce intelligent enough like she was described or she’s a reporter”
It makes me wonder did you really understand her? Or that she just went through pain and trauma?
It’s clear to me that WYF decided to lock that part away in hopes that it will be forgotten
and has been surviving everyday trying her best to be away and afar from her own family who caused her pain
Ultimately when her perpetrator showed again and hurt Sang yan bar’s reputation she spiraled after the threats her perpetrator made and now hurting her lover then went to threaten them hoping that this could be the end but it wasn’t and she ran because she only knows how to do that and even in these moments where you’ve spiraled it’s hard to think “rational” like someone said
I myself see a lot of me in wen yifan that’s why I love her as character and I know what it’s like to spiral and honestly during those times I was more overwhelmed by emotion then able to think smart or rational

I saw a lot say they don’t prefer this coward and weak FL and wish she stood up and stop being a weakling
Nevertheless haven’t we all been a coward in our life? Courage isn’t something you earn the moment you’re born
The reason why she ran away was after all those years of not confronting her trauma ultimately led to this situation we saw in ep 23-24
It’s not that she doesn’t trust Sang Yan and her coworkers or friends, it’s that she’s too scared she’ll be the reason why they get hurt whether reputation or physically even
During that arc of ep 24-6 I don’t think she was healing but took the time to find her courage and properly process the situation also to give herself time to think
Dont we all sometimes take a walk to clear our minds? In a way this is what I mean and she was planning to return after that long walk so she wasn’t planning to live there hiding

Some people forget that legal action or police reports always need evidence or her perpetrator can get out of it easily then
So I don’t understand why call her dumb when you’re dumb of not thinking that
Seeking help isn’t always easy especially someone like wen yifan who got abandoned and no one bothered to care about she thinks, trust issues are there but also who’s to say they would believe her? In our modern day, victims get more scrutiny than the perpetrators
Isn’t that ironic? Instead of asking if she was okay, it’s more she was the one who seduced him by her looks or provocative clothes in response

She herself has acknowledged that she hurt Sang yan with her words back in beiyu and how the moment she chose to run she knew and left it in her vague letter that she doesn’t deserve to ask for sangyan forgiveness

Not everyone is gonna react the way you want them to, she did her best as an adult to stand up for herself despite no one being there, she got distant and cold cause that was the only way to protect herself from anymore pain
After all this pain, I admire how strong she is for still even living and breathing and got herself a career

She herself is a flawed character that’s what makes me love her more, I relate to what she went through despite not going through the same pain. She herself is a complex character that’s not many understand after all they say “you should walk a mile in someone’s shoes before you judge them” and I guess seeing so many not understanding her means you probably lived a better life then her which you should be very thankful for & dont take it for granted
She is flawed but aren’t we all? So is the Justice system, we get to see her grow even tho the journey might be slow as hell for many but love can’t heal wounds such as trauma
Somehow we get to see a different side of a story that not many has seen in real life or fiction

Sang yan
many have complained about how this guy is too unrealistic and a SIMP
But pray to god we get a guy who is emotionally intelligent, chose to understand someone
And knows how to take care himself and devoted/loyal, he gets labelled as a doormat
These individuals can’t help but make their comment come off as rude and hateful
I didn’t see people complain about other green flag guys who are “simps” instead they get praised for that, example sungjae from lovely runner or minhyuk from strong women do bong soon

However I have seen majority a dissatisfied with how it seems yifan barely makes much effort as he does (we do see she cares like in ep 28 or how she bothered to cook for him)
She does care it just that not all of us are quite expressive in words or actions and I know well enough that if this is reversed y’all would be slamming the guy like no tomorrow

The thing about him is that since reuniting with her, he never had hopes the she would reciprocate his feelings. After all the young him that separated with her didn’t knew of her pain and struggles and believed what people said around him
To quote what user (u10146071) said in the comment “And he buys into the narrative that then everyone in school would have: oh, SY played himself. That pretty admired girl was never serious about him. How embarrassing.”

In ep 28 we see him say that lowering his pride means nothing for him now especially if it can put her perpetrator behind bars because the young him never understood why she hurt him with those words that day in beiyu until he learned of her past by himself and through her own words. He learned that he was immature and foolish to have had those thoughts about her with his broken pride

He was frustrated with her decisions especially that in ep 24 because then he didn’t understand why but still chose to give her space well he did search for her like a maniac so one can say he maybe lost his mind

Nonetheless he told her how his world crumbled and how sorry he was for his judgments about her back then

The sang siblings love surely is selfless they both don’t expect anything back from their lover but some individuals complain on “his behalf” saying this dynamic is bad
Let’s be honest sang yan himself never expected anything back from WYF, he just hoped that she lives a better life and one she deserves above all he just wanted to make sure she lived a good life and a happy one and he would have been satisfied

He simply saw what life she lived and decided to stay to help her and make sure she knows that he is there for her, that she isn’t alone

So I hope this could’ve offered you a different perspective on these two characters and what I thought of them and If you have made it this far omg congrats I typed a lot

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“Just focus on loving yourself , as for the rest leave it to me”

Getting emotional and nostalgic since now it has ended and that it’s already been a year since I remember even finding out about this series 🤧

As for the story I enjoyed it as someone who barely watches a lot of cdramas
I like how comforting it was and how healing it is
How both leads were able to be each others cure in a way
The funny moments and seriousness was nicely done

When I first began the drama I was frustrated that He suye fell for xifan at first sight but xifan was still in a relationship and it might be a lot of turn off for many but don’t worry He suye won’t do anything like cheating or stealing

I myself relate to xifan as in mostly our goals but I saw some people hating on her simply because she rejected Hu suye confession and yes it was heartless but you also got to understand that xifan herself never planned to have feelings for him cause she was planning to study abroad and the moment she kinda knew she in a way suppressed it because she was hurt by her previous relationship that left a scar

For the couples, I gotta say for the 2nd one I wish they showed how xiang ya had gained feelings for senior lin cause I do feel that it was random and quite rushed but overall I love their dynamic
I’m glad that kexin didn’t have hard feelings towards xifan when she got rejected by he suye and moved on by herself to a better path than a petty one

For the acting it was nice but I do feel like xu ruohan crying scenes could be a bit better as in I felt like she was trying to force the tears out but in the context of those scenes it doesn’t matter too much

Their voices did threw me off a bit in the beginning cause I kept wondering if it was dubbed over or not? But I got used to it and idk why but for me it was quite obvious that Zhang linghe didn’t really skateboard in those scenes lol

The cinematography is stunning and has given us so many beautiful shots of spring and their love and moments, it does not disappoint
Plus the soundtrack is amazing as well I loved it tho at the end everything is subjective but it’s definitely gonna be on repeat for me

To end this I’m sad it was this short cause I enjoyed it a lot, I know this is not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea especially if you find more healing and romance stories boring and lame but as a romance fanatic I loved it and honestly I think Zhang linghe really should consider more modern dramas cause he looked dashing in this drama
(Also hair theory is real guys)

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Disappointing storyline

I don’t know how to start this, honestly.
I was super excited when I heard Rowon and boah would be the main leads for this drama and thus I had quite high expectations.

When the teaser started to release, I thought it might be a bit cliche but I thought, let’s wait until it’s out, and yeah, it’s cliche.
The storyline is basically solely focused on the fantasy aspect that we have seen plenty of times before, and it’s nothing new.
The only interesting part about this was the fantasy storyline; besides that, the romance and characters were barely interesting

I didn’t see a point in it being 16 episodes instead of 12 cause the only thing the drama had going for it was the fantasy aspect, and that was it.
The overall story was okay, but I wouldn’t rewatch it, 'cause nothing interested me enough to keep watching.
The romance was messy, I guess an attempt at making some drama in the hope that it would keep the viewers interested, but instead just made me question it.

The characters were annoying, the most annoying characters I have ever watched in a kdrama so far
The female lead was just annoying and because of the writing, I hated her every time she was on screen. I couldn’t even focus cause the writing of her character made me dislike her so much, and I can say that for the male lead as well. Plus, her colleagues are so annoying that I wanted to slap them and her team leader.

One thing I have to say is that the relationship between these characters really had a lot of inconsistency. I mean, they go from hating her to being friends? And the way they did that is just so bad; there were so many inconsistencies.

Overall, this drama was just not my cup of tea, which was a shame cause I really was excited for a rowon and boah pairing, but the writing ruined it.I hope that they would get cast together again in another better drama, and this whole enemies-to-lovers wasn’t even enemies-to-lovers; it was just badly done.

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Even the most beautiful vases have cracks

I was looking forward to this drama when I heard that Cheng Lei and Bailu were starring together and it didn't disappoint

I didn't read the novel but the story was interesting. Sadly, there wasn't much romance as I thought there would be. I heard the novel had a lot of chapters, so 40 episodes weren't enough to adapt it and I agree. When we start at the beginning, it takes us right to the wedding of the characters with no time to spare, which I appreciated because they didn't drag much of the plot around for filler episodes. As the episode aired, we came to find out more about what happened off screen but their past as well. However, it is noticeable that the 40 episodes weren't enough because in certain episodes, the pacing suffered in return, just like pursuit of jade. The romance was alright but I wish it could've been more prominent. Sometimes I got confused on whether Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao were together or not romantically lol.

We will come to find out about Ye Li past as more episodes come and it was tragic. Since we saw her in the first episodes, we could tell that something was wrong with her. It was as if she were a beautiful vase that was on the verge of cracking as more episodes came out about her past and suffering. Her story reminded me once again of how humans truly can be the greediest yet worst people alive and those same people would be your own family. I wanted to hug Ye Li so badly because the poor girl has been failed so many times by the people around her.

Her story as well was a reminder of just how resilient she was, she never gave up, even if her own mind tricked her just to protect her. It reminds us as well how her will to survive pushed her to survive till the male lead's household. Both the female and male leads' resilience and will to survive showed us how strong they were, but also a beautiful message to us about survival and to never give up even if you want to die.

Now, one thing I found rather just funny was how the female lead was able to cure the male lead's leg so easily with acupuncture and medicine. It just felt a bit unrealistic to me but I'm not surprised that the male lead's legs would be able to work cause I definitely foresaw that trope (just kidding, it's a hunch). I did want to see more of Ye Li reaction when she found out the truth because I just felt it was rather short and quick and that she accepted it fast

Besides that, the styling wasn't bad; we did get a good sense of how frail Ye Li looked, especially the hair looked so big that sometimes I wonder if her head can carry all of that weight and if she would fall. Cheng Lei looked handsome with that grey hair.

The acting from both Bailu and Cheng Lei didn't disappoint! Bailu was able to portray Ye Li complex emotions really well and her strong yet fragile side. Cheng Lei portrayed MXY resilient and patient side really well. He had that soft-spoken voice whenever he talked to Ye Li and I found it sweet how patient he sounded.

The cinematography wasn't bad either; the more muted gray tone in some scenes really matched the eerie vibe of the story, especially surrounding Ye Li

I would recommend this if you want a more plot-driven story with two good leads who know how to act, just don't expect very strong romance

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Beautiful couple, Dull storyline

The reason I started this drama was because of the lead pairing of Meng Ziyi and He Yu. (I might update this when it finishes airing )

The story is getting rather repetitive now that we are reaching the halfway point. Every episode so far is practically the same pattern: some trouble arises, the female lead comes and saves the day, the male lead follows her around, then flirts with her to win her heart (sometimes saves her) and she outright rejects his advances because she doesn't want to lead him on. This pattern does make it easier for people to follow along or get into. Unfortunately, this creates a Mary Sue complex for the female lead, which makes the story very boring because she isn't flawed in any way. It makes me lose interest in her character as well, but her ability to recognize incense is rather cool.

I have to add as well that I have yet to really understand why the female lead is appealing to the people (drama, not the viewers ), especially in one of the recent episodes where a foreign prince comes to ask for her hand in marriage because he heard that the main lead's relationship is on the verge of "collapse".

Not to mention that this story tackles transmigration and somehow the main character barely even reacts to being transmigrated into this new unknown body. She doesn't even feel scared or bother to ask any information about the body's owner, she just accepts it. The servants around her don't bother to question her anymore and accept that their lady is different but it does make it interesting that her ex-husband (the fifth prince) is the only one that recognize her due to her habits.

The only storyline that is keeping me interested is Bu Shu Lin and Cui Jin Bai. They honestly have more chemistry than the main couple right now. I have to mention the styling as well because they did a really good job at the male disguise for Bu Shu Lin because for the first time I was so confused if she was a girl or guy, despite her face giving total feminine vibes.

The acting of Meng Ziyi falls short. Since her character is cold and aloof (in the drama, from what I've seen ). It does work in her favour but the only drama I've seen her in was Blossom (2024) and her acting in that didn't exactly move me either. I also want to note that her styling isn't helping her much. I've noticed how she usually has a similar styling throughout her latest dramas, especially her hair and makeup. This makes her look like a beautiful doll in a good and bad way; the good being she looks absolutely stunning every time, the bad being it affects her face in terms of acting/expressions in a way. Still, I hope that in the future she'll be able to star in more dynamic roles because she does have some good acting moments.

He Yu's acting in romantic scenes really shined through. Whenever his romantic scenes came on, I couldn't help but swoon because his gaze was really good ( he can really show a longing lol) and he did really well in those scenes where he had to act playful. Besides that, in serious scenes, I haven't noticed much, to be honest. Sadly, due to the acting, their chemistry just falls rather short so far but I guess it's because we are in the chasing phase right now, and it could change when they get together.

I found it interesting that this was apparently the same production team as Blossom (2024)! No wonder He Yu's dubbed voice was familiar lol. It seems that there are a lot of the same supporting actors as well. The cinematography isn't bad either, especially that scene where the female lead finally finds out the truth about the male lead, that yellow gingko tree and muted colours plus snow were beautiful.

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Inconsistent story, but amazing acting from the leads

When I first heard of this casting, I was against it as many others were, because of the age gap and I decided to watch this because I was bored and I was curious to see if the director was daring enough to actually add romantic scenes. So yes, I am gonna talk about the age gap and invite you to scroll away or ignore it if you're sick of people complaining about this

The story has some inconsistent aspects about it and the one I noticed the most was the female lead's character. She is introduced to us as a genius inventor but also a spoiled noble lady who grew up sheltered. She has a loving family and a lovingly clumsy father who dotes on her and a lover. This whole facade started to crumble when it was revealed during the coup d'état (rebellion) of the prince, whose name I forgot, that her "father" was the one who planned the prince Qi uprising to the throne as a regent. It led her "father" to force her to go back to the male lead's mansion and be his perfect pawn and killed her maid.

Here is the inconsistency that started to begin. For someone who is described as naive, she didn't have much of a heartbreaking reaction when she found out her "dad" wasn't the person she thought he was. She accepts it rather calmly and quickly, which didn't sit right with me because she is someone who is supposed to not know much about the political world. I thought that when her maid died, that would've lasted more of an impact on her and actually caused her to have more nightmares. Instead, she only did once and moved on after she buried her body. After those events, I thought it would've led her to gain a purpose to drag down her "father"; instead, she just went on to live a normal life in the male lead's mansion with his consort and parents for a few episodes.

The female lead can be surprisingly childish and smart at the same time. One moment she hates the male lead for being stupid, then the next she surprises us with her smart brain. This duality isn't bad until you notice how her naivety shines through and leads her to misunderstand the male lead's actions, which causes her to dislike him even more. I hate this sort of misunderstanding because they are the most frustrating type. Not to mention that whenever they speak about politics around her, she somehow understands without much of a second thought for someone who's supposed to be "naive".

I feel like they might be suffering through the same problem as Ashes to Crown because both dramas for me weren't just engaging enough. I guess it's sadly due to the series having a short episode count, which causes the pacing to rather suffer because it tries to fit the most and wrap up the storyline within the given length. Which is a shame cause the key of the Phoenix Heart emblem was really an intriguing part of the storyline. I'm still gonna turn this on when im bored tho since its only a short amount of episodes.

The acting doesn't disappoint at all. HmH really knows how to display a longing gaze for the female lead. Aimi portrays the childish side of the female lead quite well, which really makes her be able to stand on her own with actors like HMH.

The cinematography is rather disappointing. The lighting sometimes makes it look too modern, which turns me off because it's supposed to be a historical drama or maybe it's a me problem



Personally, I've seen a lot of people complain about how many netizens are voicing concerns about the age gap, but also about the lack of romance, and I think we've lost the plot here. Recently, (the time I'm writing this it's recently) at a promotional event, the director of the drama made a rather disgusting comment about Aimi that stunned both the stars (Hou Minghao) by his comment. This is the exact reason why minors shouldn't be cast in a role that is way older and with disgusting men of the entertainment industry. The reason, in the first place, why people were concerned was because of the disgusting predators that are around in this industry. For one thing, I'm glad Hou Minghao was there on set cause he seems like a sensible adult.

I've also seen disgusting comments about Aimi recently turning 18 and people saying it's okay now to cast her in older roles because she's in college, which means "legal". NO! SHE IS STILL, IN FACT, A MINOR EVEN IF SHE'S 18! I find it a shame that her company is pushing her for older roles in more popular dramas when she's such a talented girl. I don't understand the rush when she's still young and has plenty of time in her career to have a breakout role that leads her to more immense popularity than this drama.

We can tell that they are trying to make her older as well through her styling and makeup. I noticed how her makeup would be a lot when there was a close-up scene of her. This doesn't work well because Aimi naturally has more rounder and cuter features that make her look her age and younger, which makes me wonder if they casted an older actress, maybe they wouldn't have to try to make her look older.

I personally enjoy romances but that doesn't mean I won't watch something that doesn't have romance. I'm always seated for a good political intrigue of a drama that contains revenge. Which makes me wonder if they had romance in this with an older actress, would it have saved the plot for me? ( I doubt so) So I think the people who complain about the lack of romance are stupid and sometimes h*rny who want a dark romance or something like The Prisoner of Beauty. Not everything needs romance because the moment everything does, everybody would be sick of it, including them.

To end this off, F that director for making such disgusting comments towards Aimi and a reminder to not ship the real actors, please.

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The queen’s gambit but make it revenge

I had no expectations when I started this drama because I discovered it one day randomly whilst I was bored scrolling through the upcoming section on Netflix lol.

From the first episode, it hooked me! I do admit that the short run time did catch me off guard cause I was expecting at least a 40-50 min episode, but it did work okay in the beginning, but ultimately not much by the end.

The revenge was rather disappointing cause in the end it was revealed that he only abandoned her and her mom due to his inferiority complex towards his own genius daughter and the drive of wanting to get better, but stuck and thinking his family must have been a reason why he couldn’t do his best.In that moment, I was like “Ofc it’s that reason, men”.

It felt rather anticlimactic because by the end, for me, it wasn’t clear if she had come to love shogi and wanted to continue it, basically having a goal. It’s like throughout her revenge, we just lost the goal...

I feel like if it was given 2 more episodes or a longer run time, then maybe we could’ve gotten a bit more on the story cause the ending felt just super underwhelming, and that’s the problem about revenge stories cause it can either be done well, or we just don’t know how to write it.

It’s a shame tho cause it started strong only to end up lackluster.

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A journey that goes nowhere

To begin, I have heard of this drama for a while since I got into K-dramas, then C-dramas, and decided to check it out.
I was mostly intrigued by the whole female assassin plot and I already knew a good chunk of what this type of trope was (the spy sent to kill but falls in love with their target) I was rather curious about the execution.

It was disappointing because it loses its intrigue by the middle of the story. The beginning was good, the middle point it got rather boring and slow, and by the finale episode it got interesting again, and the ending was just what? That's the problem with Guo Jingming dramas, is that it's beautiful aesthetically and world-building-wise, but besides that, his writing goes nowhere, then somewhere, then ultimately nothing. Basically a nothing burger.

I liked seeing Gong Ziyu's character evolve; I mean, who doesn’t love an underdog story?
It was rather annoying how long the breaks were between each trial because I mostly felt it wasn’t taken seriously, and the constant back and forth was hard to keep up. Tho he is the master of his family now, so it’s understandable why they did that, but during the middle arc of the story, if it wasn’t for his older sister's comedic timing, I would’ve gotten bored quite easily.

The ending was just badly done. I did some research, and it is confirmed by the director that the ending was intended to be sad, and it seems he doesn’t have any plans anytime soon for a season 2.

I know this drama went through difficulties back then because of an actor who got into a scandal, but the ending was rather badly written. Because I interpret it as more of an open ending, probably like many others, but as an open ending, it had way too many storylines that they didn’t bother to wrap up. So if they plan to ever make an S2 in the future, I think it would be rather difficult to pick up where they left off without some weird/awkward pacing

The romance plot line was rather disappointing because I looked forward to the ZLH and YSX pairing, and it a shame it didn’t really do them justice (I hope they get reunited in a future romance drama together)
The 2nd couple tho! They stole my attention with their tension in every scene, like omg, I was invested!
I hope they reunite in another drama as leads as well!

YSX was so cool in this role!! that I wish she would get more opportunities to portray similar roles like this in the future, rather than the typecasting of a constant cute, adorable, sunshine, positive character
I mean, I have nothing against these types of characters, but it rather limits her abilities.

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Wattpad story ruined by it's final episode

When I first started this drama, I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did until the last episode.

During the first two episodes, I immediately knew this story was cliché or Wattpad because I have seen so many to the point I can recognize within minutes, and it was done quite well for most of the story, but I do understand why people think this is very overhyped or hate it tbh cause I do enjoy it, but the writing is disappointing.

Despite it being a cliché, I think the acting wasn’t bad tho it could’ve been better as a longer drama, seeing how 12 episodes couldn’t wrap it up properly, and some storylines could’ve been developed more, such as the 2nd couple or how Heejo falls for Saeon.

The last episode was quite a ride, to say? First half good, 2nd half you lost me cause suddenly there’s this whole argan plot and how the ML is there right now fighting as a soldier and how the FL goes into a war zone but ofc they had to make sure that South Koreans looked like saviors by donating money to people of colour who are unfortunate and “poor”.

I’ve read some comments saying how in the novel it's written out better this arc, so I’m gonna trust that with a grain of salt and I’ve also read that apparently it was the director's idea to include a new report on 🍉 and its ongoing war...
Gotta say, very insensitive even if the goal was just trying to be more “realistic”.

Overall, the drama is quite cliché, so if u enjoy a possessive ML type romance with a badly written ending, then go ahead

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Aesthetically pleasing and that's it

Shine on me was the drama I ended 2025 with and started 2026 with. I started this because I was bored, simple as that.

The only engaging plot that pushed me to continue to watch was the storyline between the female lead and 2nd male lead. I was curious after all, because what happened between those two to make them look at each other with such sad gazes filled with pain? The more we came to find out, the more we realized that it was because of misunderstandings and an inferiority complex. It reached a point in the story that I felt so bad for the female lead because she kept getting accused and misunderstood by her friend group, that I wish she wouldn't have forgiven them easily.

The second male lead is the perfect example of needing therapy and a hesitant trash, because he was so indecisive. One part he was caring towards the female lead and protected her, the next second he decides to throw insults towards her about being lazy and being a silver spoon. It was frustrating to watch because he was projecting his insecurities onto her, and even when she decided to move on, he couldn't accept that it was really over, when he never did anything in the beginning to start a relationship with her. He was acting all high and mighty about being the real victim of his relationship with the female lead when he self-destructed it himself.

The only time the story was engaging was when they focused more on the drama of the relationships. Besides that, whenever the female lead was working at the company and talking about the job, I couldn't help but get bored.

I don't have much say about the acting, to be honest. ZJM doesn't disappoint, especially in scenes needing emotional expression, but when it comes to romance, I just really can't get engaged when she is in romantic scenes because I don't feel like she's in love, and her acting doesn't convince me much.

SWL acting isn't that noteworthy in this drama either. He plays the perfect green-flagged male lead who has a tragic incident, which is why, when he's so perfect, there are no flaws, and in turn, makes his acting boring and his character less engaging. The chemistry was fine.

LWM acting was decent; his character was cold and distant, so it worked in his favour, but when it came to crying scenes, he wasn't bad and delivered it quite well.

I still haven't finished this drama despite it already being halfway through 2026 lol, but maybe I'll finish it someday or not, but until then it's on hold for me cause i just can't finish it.

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Revenge is a dish best served cold

I don’t have much to say but I really enjoyed it despite not picking it up when it first aired.

I’m a avid fan of revenge stories, as I’ll always be in for a good, juicy revenge story and when I heard this had a romance subplot? Like, count me in (I had nothing to watch T-T).

This is the first drama that I’ve watched of XZ and I didn’t notice much about the acting but he did really well. I was rather more focused on the story lol.

Some would have preferred there would be no romance, others wish the romance would have been a higher percentage of the story, but I think the balance was done nicely, at least because a lot of stories liked these or have two very opposite genres would usually have a hard time finding a balance between the two, so it would leave either one of the genres badly done. With how the story was, the romance wasn’t done badly or interfered too much with the defence plot, unlike badly done revenge stories I've seen, so I think it was nicely done, and romance wasn’t the main focus anyway.

There were some rather commonly used plot devices or tropes in the revenge that made it kinda predictable, but they were still able to write a rather original story.

The story arcs can be separated into 3 arcs, so arc 1 being enemy 1, enemy2, enemy 3
In Arc 3, it was rather surprising who the final enemy was. It reminded me of the quote “keep your friends close but your enemies closer” and was a shock factor. Tho whenever they started to talk about tombs and contraptions like puzzles, I kinda got bored or sometimes lost.

Overall, I would def rewatch this in the future whenever I'm in the mood for a revenge story

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A reminder of how scary humans can be

I had this drama on my plan to watch but didn’t get to it until I needed to play something whilst I was working. It wasn’t until episode 5 that it really got me interested.

When we start the story, we see two narratives in play: one of Lawyer Baek and Yoon Soo. We start to wonder which one is the truth? Is it that of the lawyer saying she killed her husband or Yoonsoo's narrative that someone masked killed him.

Frankly, I believed that this would be your typical story of the main female protagonist who gets abused and kills her husband, then finds a way to dodge jail, but I was wrong .

This drama also tells us how strong of a story the so-called lawyers and police officers can tell the public and how easily we, the public, are swayed by such words of confirmation from authorities that plan to run with a side of one story that seems the most likely.

It once again shows how weak and easy the justice system is, how many people have been wrongly accused by such “authorities”, how once again this so-called justice of the system fails many people more than it can save and serve the justice that it is intended for.

At first, I kinda believed that Yoon Soo did kill her husband. Then comes out the 2nd key player, Moeun
I don’t remember if she mentioned specifically why she helped Yoon Soo and why she did that, but I really thought she might have been the main villain of this story in the beginning.

Later, we find out that the family she killed was the family of the son who abused her little sister and made her jump.

As the ball of yarn starts to unravel itself by the final episodes, I can’t help but feel it started to get rather overwhelming because of the characters introduced, which caused the final revelation to be rather underwhelming, which a lot of shows, whether western or Asian suffer from (some example are why she chose to film herself and go on livestream and the grandpa being rather random).

The acting from Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Go-eun did not disappoint at all
I saw some comments saying how the killer's motive wasn’t a motive at all, and I very much disagree because, as much as this is fiction, this part does happen in reality.If you have ever seen any true crime stories or cases, you would be very shocked to hear how many of the killers' motives were rather petty.

I’ve heard some stories from social media in the news, such as a South Korean man sexually assaulting a random woman simply because he didn’t like how she looked at him- crazy, right? People just don’t realize how scary we as a human kind can be and how just small words and the simplest stuff can be such a trigger to many people, and they resort to violence. Such as the wife snapping and killing Yoon Soo's husband simply because Yoon Soo's husband told a lie, and the wife’s husband had to suffer at work due to his boss believing Yoon Soo's husband.

Many people don’t realize just how scary pent-up emotions, especially frustration and negative emotions and how that can be a ticking time bomb.
So I would just say a killer can have a very petty and emotional reason to kill someone over the simplest thing, as well as we also suffer from mental problems, which can be a very big deciding factor on how the person will act in that moment without realizing it.

Overall, it wasn’t bad; it was rather interesting, but the 2nd half does fall short like many kdramas nowadays. The acting from the main female leads was great and it’s a rather slow story that picks up eventually.

With the amount of dramas I’ve watched within like last year, such as Law and the City, Speed and Love, Typhoon Family and this, Thailand is really getting its spotlight lol it’s so popular.

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The depiction of the ugly side of friendships

We all have a definition of toxic relationships whether it may be love or friendships, or an images of what a toxic relationship can be

I considered this a toxic story.

When I first saw the trailer, I knew we were gonna be in for a toxic ride.

In the beginning, it was kinda hard to watch because it didn’t really interest me. The thing with melodramas is that they can be really well done or disappointingly boring.

Story-wise, it was decent. I did find it a shame that the guy was a pushing factor in the drama of the friendship and that once again it's romance that is used as a plot tool to separate and cause drama among the two female leads. I rather wish we got more focus on the two women instead of a trio, a good majority of the time

I know sang yeon was the antagonist this whole time, leading to a lot of people hating on her, but I would say that the world isn’t always in black or white but morally gray, and that can also apply to characters and stories.

I’m not saying sangyeon deserves redemption; she rightfully got what she deserved by the end of the series.
I myself relate a lot to sangyeon cause I share that sentiment of loneliness all too well but also the feeling of inferiority.
We could see that she drove herself to the results of her life by the end of the series, a.k.a self-sabotage. I felt a lot of pity for her because all she wanted was to be loved and accepted.

I consider their friendship to be rather mentally abusive. They both had their wrongs during their friendship and college years but ultimately it was sangyeon who choses to end it due to her jealousy and envy. Also, if an ex-friend like her reached out to me like that after what she did, I would be mad!

I myself went through a toxic friendship with someone I considered my best friend of 6 years, so the betrayals that hurt the most are always the people who are close to you.

I think it portrayed it rather realistically on how ugly friendships between humans can be and how emotions like envy, jealousy, etc can be such a driving point to crumble that structure built.

I noticed how, when they met up for the third time in their lives (office), Sangyeon grew out her hair and became more social whilst Eun Jeong sported shorter hair and tomboyish clothes, as if sangyeon was trying to imitate her in a sense? idk if it is intentional or not, but that wig was cheap as hell.

I think 15 episodes were enough to tell and depict the three stages in their lives and how their friendship impacted each other's lives.

To end this off, it was interesting but I would not rewatch it. The acting was done really well and I saw comments about the two leading actress were not being convincing enough as young adults during those college years but I think otherwise cause Kim Go-eun looked so young!

I wish that no one, like Eun Jeong or just people in general, finds themselves in these sorts of friendships that will hurt them deeply cause it is hell!

I hope that people can be more kind and understanding towards one another because sometimes our worst enemies are ourselves and we fail to notice before it’s too late.

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Every single cliché romcom trope you can think of

It was one of my anticipated dramas since last year

The story is boring. Simply to say it's your average romcom that tries to be innovative. The problem with romcom is that the comedic parts are usually quite well done, yet the romance is every single misunderstanding trope in the book just to create tension and anticipation, but also drag it out.

The acting is nice. I didn’t notice anything much, but Kwak Si-yang really steals the show for me. I’ll be honest, he’s hilarious in this.
Besides that, I don't see much creativity or identity of its own besides that of a noona romance.

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