Befriend is that breath of fresh air that's needed to ground you in reality after watching so many fantasy/melodramas. Although there were melodramatic parts and the typical drama tropes, I really appreciated their exploration of how friendship can grow into romantic love. The drama has a great theme of selfless giving and love; but most importantly, the significant roles friends play in our lives. It's a slow paced drama, but it works for the message the drama conveys. The only thing I didn't like was how rushed it felt at the end. It felt like the writers were trying to create obstacles that didn't need to be there just to squeeze in one last heart-wrenching dilemma for the main character.

Acting/Cast
Zhang Liang's (played by Tsao Yu Ning) character was a bit naive for me; but I had to remember he grew up in a sheltered environment, so he may not have been exposed to situations that would given the foresight he so desperately lacked. Yes, Kang Le You (played by Shu Yao Guo) may have been annoying; but, I think she encapsulates the essence of an immature young woman. As the drama progresses, you really see her growth. Ding Shao En (played by Bo Chieh Wang) was defiantly eye-candy; but, he played his role well.

More Please!
Duan Duan's (played by Bean Sun) BL imaginations were the best!

Honorable Mention
Great soundtrack.

Would I Re-watch?
Yes! I've already seen this twice.

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Disclaimer: I do not know the history behind Empress Ki, so my review will be based on the drama only.

Story: It was overly long and unnecessary, especially towards the end. There were so many time skips, I was left wondering if anything of importance was happening during the present. The drama started as sageuk and ended as makjang, which I disliked because I am a sageuk fan.

Characterization/Acting: Wang Yoo was the only character I felt had any development through out the drama. Wang Yoo showed the fragility of being human. The amount of pain Wang Yoo went through should have broken any human's spirit; but, because of his duty he was willing, at times too often, to set aside his own needs for the betterment of others. Joo Jin Mo did an excellent job as Wang Yoo, he has an ability to portray emotions with his eyes alone. I felt hurt when he was hurt and I also felt happy when he was happy. Emperor Huizhong on the other hand only had one moment of character development, which was closer to the beginning and after that his childish antics felt annoying. It would at times slow the plot of the drama. I am glad I saw Ji Chang Wook in Healer before Empress Ki, otherwise I would not have been a fan of his. Overall he did an excellent job. Ha Ji won always kills her role but the development of Empress Ki felt misplaced at times, especially at critically moments where it was important for the audience to understand the reason behind her actions. Of course, they were likable characters like Bang Shin Woo and Joem Bak Yi that kept the story going.

Music: Great music. I am not sure if they were original scores; but, the music fit perfectly with the drama.

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Overall, a solid drama. My Wife is Having an Affair this Week will take you through the emotional roller-coaster. You will laugh, cry, scream, panic, etc. While on the ride, you will learn lessons on marriage, the pressure on parents (particularly moms), the effects of cyber bulling, and meaning of friendship. On the same note, the drama sometimes suffered an identity crisis. In a single episode, you can go from rom-com to melodrama to action. Perhaps, this was deliberate on the director's part; but, sometimes it can be confusing to a viewer if they are not paying attention closely.

On a special note:

Acting/Cast: Casting was superb in this drama. Everyone played their part well enough for you to either hate or love them. One thing I noticed is that Lee Sun-Kyun has played a similar role in All About My Wife (also a good one as well)

More please!
I would have loved to know more about Kim Young-Ok's character's story. Also, more exploration of Ye Ji-Won's character - she was hyper aware of her surroundings.

Honorable mentions: Kim Hee-Won for providing comic relief and Lee Sang-Yeob for his relationship with both Kim Hee Won and Lee Sun-Kyun. Jung Ji-Ahn, you go girl!

Would I re-watch?
Yes, especially as I patiently wait for Goblin episodes - lol.

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This review is long over due and I wanted to write one because I am not sure why the ratings for this drama is so low; especially considering not a lot of people seem to have heard of it. To simply put: this drama was good, not great - but good. It has a unique story line, good amount of action, hints of cute romance, and some philosophical teachings. The however is that sometimes the execution was rough. The explanations for some of the themes in the drama seemed a little rushed and left more to be desired and the ending felt lack- luster. The show fell victim to it's own grandiose ideas but it didn't make the show less enjoyable. I recommend this drama if you are looking for something light but with a good pace.

On a Special Note:

Acting/cast: Takuya Kimura(one of my favorites) and Kou Shibasaki (another one of my favorites) did amazing jobs as leads. It also helped that they had a great supporting cast.

More Please!
I was really hoping for some romance between Lloyd Ando and Asahi Ando - maybe this was a territory the writers did not want to explore.

Honorable Mentions: Sapuri and the evil little girl. Sapuri was the comic relief for this show; her character did a good job of keeping the light-heartedness of the drama. The evil little girl was just that - evil to the core and I love when characters have no redeeming qualities; because sometimes people do not change.

Would I re-watch?
Yes, this was actually a re-watch for me since the show last premiered.

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I don't think I will ever understand why Chinese dramas are ridiculously long - and for no good reason either. With that said, General and I (G&I) suffered greatly from said long episodes and the annoying drama tropes I dislike: unexplained time skips, disappearing characters, lack of character development, illogical character motivations and of course the drawn- out episodes. This may just be the only drama that I will review before finishing because the remaining episodes are very predictable. I managed to watch up to episode 56 before I decided to write my opinion on the drama; but, the writers could have just stopped at episode 32 and saved us the 30+ episode of rubbish. But, you should still watch it for amazing action scenes and cinematography.

On a Special Note:

Acting/Cast
Chung Wallace as Chu Bei Jie was great casting. Outside of the fact he literally carried the show, his actions scenes were also a treat to watch. There was plenty of eye candy from Angelababy as Bai Ping Ting, Sun Yi Zhou as He Xia, and Qi Hang as Ze YI - the casting directors did not disappoint.

More Please!
I would have loved to see more character development of Zou Yang as Zui Ju. She was an interesting character that the audience needed to understand her background and her motivations. Also, Wei Bing Hua as Chu Mo Ran killed it. Especially during his action scenes, he could certainly go toe-to- toe with Chu Bei Jie. Chang Xiao's cuteness overload was giving me life.

Honorable Mention
Gwei Fei for having no redeemable qualities. I love when antagonists are bad to the core.

Would I re-watch?
Only up to episode 32.

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Where to begin for this drama - how about wow, spectacular, well done. It is very rare you come across a drama that is so well done, you don't see any flaws whatsoever. That is what you have in When a Snail Falls in Love. The drama does a great job of balancing it's romance, crime, drama, thriller genre that I was never confused at what I was watching. However, for those who want all fluff, this may not be your cup of coffee. I also appreciated the director's use of filming styles and the cinematography was just beautiful. It is definitely in my top 10!

On a Special Note!

Acting/Cast: Well done! The chemistry between the leads - Wang Kai (Ji Bai) and Wang Zi Wen (Xu Xu) was fire!

More Please!
I loved the OST of this drama. I wish they would have played more of it; but, I know this is just a selfish request.

Honorable Mention: I sincerely appreciate when women play non-traditional/unusual roles. Zhang Yan Yan's character was a good breath of fresh air.

Would I Re-watch?
Yes! Yes! Yes!

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