Alaskan

A Dream Within A Dream is a funny parody of Chinese costume dramas. It skewers many typical historical drama tropes, such as Male Lead trying to kill Female Lead, OTC surviving falling off a cliff, and underwater kiss. Even the beautiful costumes in typical historial dramas merit a snarky comment. It’s fun trying to identify references to specific scenes and music from other dramas (e.g., Love Like the Galaxy, Till the End of the Moon, A Journey to Love, The Romance of Tiger and Rose). Viewers expecting logical progressions and likeable main characters will be disappointed because the drama turns even that on its head. For example, the "rules" of the script are openly inconsistent and the female lead is annoying as hell. You will not like this drama if you go into it with the usual drama expectations...or any expectations at all.

Liu Yuning, who is the Male Lead (hence the sign above his gate that says “Male Lead’s House”), seems to be a good sport because the drama makes fun of his roles in other dramas, as well as his modern day Male Lead actor image. I burst out laughing watching him cough out purple poison dust. It was such a contrast from the calculating and ruthless male lead characters he usually plays. And watching him become so mushily lovesick was tolerable if viewed as an exaggeration of the enemies to lovers arcs in countless other dramas.

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This drama made me happy. The OTP was one of the best I’ve seen in a Chinese (or Korean) drama. After a brief rocky start (why do too many Male Leads in Chinese dramas start out wanting to kill the Female Leads?), the OTP quickly come to treat each other as true equals. The chemistry between the two lead actors is incredible and they radiate intelligence and competence--it’s no wonder everyone wants those two on their side. There were many beautifully filmed scenes, e.g., the ML skidding slow motion on his knees to gather the FL in his arms or leaning over while on his horse to kiss her. The music, especially the opening sequence, really grew on me. The pacing seemed nearly perfect. I was less impressed with the development of the royal intrigues, especially people's sometimes illogical motivations for doing the things that they did. I enjoy watching historical dramas for their political machinations and maneuvering so that was a little disappointing.

Hint: Be sure to watch past the closing credits for the last episode. It explained something that I’d assumed had been dropped and made the whole drama make a lot more sense.

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I loved this drama! I may be in the minority in that I think that Mr. Queen ended well, better than I'd expected.

I always thought that Bong Hwan would eventually return to the modern world. He took great pride in being a talented chef at the Blue House and he would not have been able to pursue that calling had he remained as a queen in the Joseon period. He also mentions his parents, including his Zumba dancing mother, several times and I think that it would have upset him had he died in the modern world and broken their hearts. Further, the fact that he went after Han's ancestors seemed to indicate that he hoped to return eventually. I'm not convinced that that ever truly changed. Much of Bong Hwan's boldness and frankness (and cheekiness) was a result of him always seeming to have one foot out the door despite falling in love with Cheoljong. Yes, I think that Bong Hwan fell in love with Cheoljong and Cheoljong fell in love with Bong Hwan, not so much So-Yong. But I also assumed that Cheoljong would remain in Joseon as King because he was the type of person who would not give up his throne and his responsibilities to his people to follow Bong Hwan to the modern world, even if Cheoljong had had the choice. Thus if Bong Hwan must return to his world and Cheoljong must remain in his, then their separation is sad but inevitable. As for So-Yong, she clearly loves Cheoljjong. Cheoljong may or may not eventually love So-Yong as much as he loved Bong Hwan but is that really the only thing that matters in life? They work together to institute reforms in Joseon and are remembered as wise, compassionate rulers. Seems like a good resolution to me.

Some people seem to fault Cheoljong for not realizing that So-Yong is not Bong Hwan but it seemed to me that Cheoljong realized something was different. He couldn't figured out what really happened (for obvious reasons). If I could change anything about the ending, it would have been to add a scene where So-Yong comes clean with Cheoljong. I do feel sorry for Cheoljong, being left in the dark.

Finally, I think that Mr. Queen would not have been as good as it was without stellar acting by Shin Hye Sun, Kim Jung Hyung, and Kim Tae Woo.

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I started and dropped this drama three times before finishing it. The biggest problem I had with it was the Orchid fairy character. I rarely enjoy dramas where the female lead character is artless, naive, and not too bright. There was also something about Esther Yu's wide-eyed delivery that exacerbated all of those characteristics. But I kept hearing such glowing reviews about the drama that I pushed through to the end. I think I understand why people like it. Both the Esther Yu and Dylan Wang characters do evolve over time. There is some welcome humor to leaven the plot. Plus the costumes and sets are alternately beautiful and over-the-top campy, which made it fun. I also liked the Dan Yin and Jie Li characters.

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The Niao Niao character makes this a great and entertaining watch because she is one of the toughest and smartest drama heroines out there. Although the love story is beautiful, it is watching her stand up for herself and come into her own that makes this drama special. There is a lot of intrigue and fighting and revenge but there is also a lot of humor sprinkled throughout, which makes the 56 episodes race by. Ling Bu Yi makes for a worthy suitor who is just as principled (and stubborn) as she is, but just as emotionally damaged too. Watching the two of them clash and fall in love and clash some more is addictive. There are also some great side characters. One of my favorites was Empress Yue, who deserves an entire drama devoted to her. I also really really liked Niao Niao's interactions with the scholar.

I think this is one of the best, most epic romances around.

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This drama was mind-bending and imaginative and a lot of fun. I liked the fact that I never knew what was going to happen next. The writer was very very clever and managed to pull it off, for the most part. Lee Jong Suk was perfect for the role. After all, he looks like a manga character come to life. I always underestimate his acting ability due to his looks but he routinely exceeds my expectations. No exception here. And I always love Han Hyo Joo, who seems to pick good projects. There were a few particularly inventive things that stood out from the usual drama. The fading in and out from manga drawings was magical, especially due to the fact that they kept the manga aesthetic rather than trying to make the portraits exact copies of the subjects. And I could tell that the writer tried really hard to make everything tie together, while throwing in unexpected delights such as the water in the bathroom, probably my favorite scene. Well done, everyone.

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I strongly recommend the Chinese drama this for those looking for a thoughtful, intelligent, beautifully acted drama. The main characters are too upper class for the drama to be considered slice of life but their struggles are very real and relatable. The male lead is flawed but at the same time admirable and swoon worthy. I started out heartily disliking the second male lead but grew to like him more and more as the story progressed. The two female leads may be my favorite female characters of all time. There is a lot of heartbreak in the drama but it is an ultimately uplifting story about friendship and love.

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An interesting watch, all in all. I think the writer left some logical gaps and the supposed romance never gelled for me, primarily because the female lead spent most of her time crying. But I also think that an actor better than Park Shin Hye could have done more with that role. Hyun Bin, on the other hand, did a good job.

My biggest complaint is the number of in-your-face and out-of-place product placements in the drama. There was one date scene that seemed to serve no purpose other than to advertise make-up and Swarovski crystals. Other scenes prominently featured Subway or instant coffee, together with the actors awkwardly commenting about how delicious the products were. And I think that the primary reason that the characters spent half their time driving around Grenada and Seoul was to advertise Lexus vehicles.

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I watched about half of this drama, spurred on by glowing reviews, but even that much felt like a forced march. From the ML instantly falling so hard for the FL that his love endured through years of separation to the way that the FL’s crush on her idol became a reality because they’d known each other before, the romance struck me as kind of tweenies, and immature tweenies at that. I also kept wanting to shout, “WAIT, THINK!,” whenever the FL’s poor self-preservation skills made her do questionable things. Plus, once again South Korea seems to be the serial killer capital of the world. Because it can’t be true love unless someone wants to kill you.

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I finally finished the Chinese drama, Glory (not to be confused with the Chinese drama The Glory or the Korean revenge drama The Glory). The FL in Glory was one of the iciest Ice Queens ever. She was quite a contrast from the ML, whose emotions seemed to ping pong all over the place. Although it was difficult to see what they saw in each other (especially since she kept telling him that he could leave her) it was kind of fun watching their relationship develop. Or not. I also liked the fact that the FL character stayed consistent until the end, rather than melting into a mushy puddle of love. Like I said, ice in her veins.

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Great ensemble cast and female characters

Blossoms in Adversity is a historical drama with a strong Girl Power feel. The main story seems to revolve around the way the women in the extended family come together and find their voices. The female lead, Hua Zhi, is everything one would want in a female main character--smart, brave, morally upright, and hard working. Yanxi, the male lead, has similar qualities, but also killer martial arts skills, beautiful hands, and a cute, bouncing ponytail. Together they make an ideal couple, who actually talk things out with each other. (Maybe this is less of a historical drama and more of a fairy tale.)

I do have some quibbles. There are a number of unrealistic elements, such as the way that Hua Zhi gets away with mouthing off at people in power, the speed with which the Hua family claws its way out from ruin, and the repeated use of poor but virtuous and grateful commoners as plot points. Thank goodness for the emperor, who adds some much needed ambiguity and malevolence to the story.

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