“Love” and Ambition Brings out the Cunning and the Crazy

Xue Fang has what seems to be the perfect marriage to Shen Yu only for him to betray her in the worst way. This was one of the many interesting things about the series that Xue Fang and Shen Yu’s marriage was actually good. I think he even loved her, to a point, but he love himself and power more. Hence, the reprehensible decision he made.

This story has been done before. So overall the premise and even the execution wasn’t anything new. But that still didn’t make the story less intriguing. Though I enjoyed Xue Fang/ Jiang Li ,she was the typical and predictable heroine of the story. Superior intellect and always 10 steps ahead of her enemies. The Duke was the predictable male lead in being smart, tough and always there to get the heroine out jams she couldn’t get herself out of. Very predictable characters as was the love story but still entertaining to watch.

I found it interesting that many of the women featured on the show had been through some type of trauma or was heavily influenced by a parent, usually a father, which was a big part of why they were either kind or hateful. This was a nice touch by the writers which worked to give the villains some complexity rather than being one note evil.

The Princess was the perfect example of this. She’d been through hell and as a result had some interesting vulnerabilities , but she was a horrible person and quite mad. Shen Yu was similar in that he was put in a difficult situation beyond his control. Thus he at times generated some sympathy. However, he was a coward . Yet intelligent, cunning and ambitious. Both were vile characters whom I loathed but I found them compelling to watch because of their complexities.

The writing in this was generally good, but at times there were scenes that went on too long or too much unnecessary detail was provided. The show spent a lot of time showing backstories for supporting characters that wasn’t needed. The big battle with General Chen was anticlimactic. The Longwu “army” was only about enough soldiers to fill a courtyard. And the “face off” consisted of tender moments between Xue Fang/Jiang Li and the Duke. Xue Fang/Jiang Li was completely out of place here, and the Duke, General Chen and Shen Yu pontificating about their issues with each other. Very disappointing.

The last episode was way too long. It had about 5 different endings. They could’ve cut out most of those scenes and still tied up the series nicely. Honestly the last 8-10 episodes could’ve been compressed down to 3-5 episodes making the series 30-35 episodes rather than 40. The show lost momentum in the last several episodes and as a result dragged quite a bit. Again a lot of time was wasted on unnecessary backstories and such.

Despite all this , the acting was strong.. The leads had good chemistry. The love story was well done as was the conspiracies and treason. Overall it was a good series. The bonus “episode” was cute. I’m glad Xue Fang got her HEA with the Duke. Is this worth watching? Yes but just know it’s more about the conspiracies than the love story. Would I watch again? Probably not.

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Bad Sex Framed Around A Poorly Written Version of the Oedipus Complex

So the ML becomes a call boy because ...I'm not sure why. But it's revealed that he has a thing for older women, which morphs into this weird Oedipus complex implying his attraction to older women is due to his mother who died when he was 10.

The ML had no personality and no boundaries. There was no insight into his character, what was driving him, except the reveal about his mother’s death. There were no details on how that impacted him and thus was driving his decisions in the present. Nothing to indicate why he was indifferent about life and school. Why he found women “boring.” Why he would choose to be a call boy.

The call boy jobs were boring. The madam framed it as him making love to his customers, but he was not making love. He was f***** them. And he was HORRIBLE at even that. He was like a bull in a China shop, ravaging his customers, and even the woman he did know, with no care or finesse when sleeping with them. I didn’t believe for one second that he grew as a lover and learned to read a woman’s body and focus on how to give her pleasure. He always went from 0-200, with no in between, when having sex. The title of the movie was right he was a call boy, because he did not have sex like a man who knew what he was doing.

There was no depth to the story whatsoever. And even weirder was the madam, having her deaf and dumb daughter test out the call boy candidates, potential in bed, while she watched. Just weird and frankly abusive and disgusting. Oh, they gave the excuse that the daughter wanted to do this and who was the madam to stop her, but it still felt very wrong. I didn't understand why the ML suddenly fell in love with the madam and wanted to "make love" to her. They barely interacted throughout the whole movie. So him "falling for her" was not shown. I guess they needed that poorly written storyline to make the big reveal that she used to be “on call” herself and as a result caught AIDS.

Again, this movie had no depth whatsoever and overall was just bad. After a while I just started fast forwarding through all the horrible sex scenes in hopes of getting to some substance in the story. Unfortunately, there was none. This was not worth the two hours I spent watching it.

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Nice Romantic Drama with some Surprisingly Well Placed Humor

The FL , a rough around the edges Geologist ,who loves the outdoors is poached from the adventures that is her work in the field, to take the place of her famous twin sister who’s vanished from her life of acting fame.

This had the typical storyline of the FL struggling with her new life but eventually settling in nicely to fame as well as a PR relationship with the ML, who surprisingly has a keen interest in geology himself. What sets this apart from other shows that have done similar storylines is the humor. These amusing moments happened at the most inopportune times which made them perfect in the context of the story.

The supporting characters were hilarious and had great chemistry with the leads. I enjoyed the FL’s team, especially her manager. Some of his facial expressions were spot on. Lol. The love story was organic and well paced. The leads had good chemistry. The push, pull, conflict and misunderstandings that eventually led to them getting together was entertaining.

However, once they got together there wasn’t much story. There were some really nice romantic moments, but essentially the series meandered along with the monotony of day to day life and love with some business “drama,” that was hardly drama at all, thrown in. The twin sister finally returned to potentially stir things up but instead brings with her a WTF moment when she reveals that their mom had died a year earlier unbeknownst to the FL. Very bizarre story twist which really was just drama for drama sake and not needed.

The inevitable exposure of the truth about the twin’s deceit and subsequent breakup of the leads made sense considering the situation. However, it wasn’t as explosive as it should’ve been. We were told rather than shown the impact. This made it difficult to feel the hurt and separation angst between the leads and thus failed to deepen my emotional investment in their journey. The other love story between the ML’s sister and right hand man didn’t work for me. Though they had chemistry, it was sibling chemistry not romantic chemistry. He looked too old for her and she was too immature for him. She was very young and should’ve enjoyed dating guys her age before settling down to marry and have a kid.

The series ending was rushed, leaving several storylines unexplained or making little sense, but I liked that it was only 22 episodes. Overall this wasn’t outstanding, but it was enjoyable and will make for a nice re-watch.

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Romance Takes a Backseat to the Monotony that can be Medical Research

This started off as an engaging show. The adventures in Lakanya served as a nice foundation for the romance to build between the leads. Moreover, the timing used to move the story to China was well orchestrated . Though I enjoyed the ML being utterly smitten with the FL at times he came off embarrassingly pathetic especially when he and her first got together. He became less desperate as the story progressed but could still be obsessive and stalkerish.

Nearly all the supporting characters could be annoying but they too mellowed out with time. Save for the FL’s nemesis who was nothing short of insufferable and cartoonish. The SML had potential but unfortunately the writers decided to turn him into an un ethical ass whose only excuse was mommy and daddy issues. SMH.

The series introduced characters that could’ve been integrated into the story in an interesting way but were promptly dropped without warning. There were storylines that could’ve been key to the overall plot that were dropped as well. The love and angst of the romance was at times good but got bogged down with the Huntington Disease plot. Though the ML was obviously deeply in love with the FL I found it hard to believe he’d give up his research on glioma and being a neurosurgeon both of which he was passionate about to go into the black hole that was researching a disease in which finding funding and finding a cure was futile.

The ending left me confused. Was the FL dead? Or in a long term care facility and thus unable to attended the conference on the breakthrough the ML had made with a drug to treat Huntington’s? The way she was framed in that last scene it looked as if it was the former. Either way it was sad.

The acting was good. The leads had nice chemistry but some awkward kisses. Not sure why that was, being as the actors heights matched well which should’ve made their close moments easier to pull off realism in those romantic moments. This started as an interesting love story but then became all about Huntington ‘s Disease. I can appreciate the writers going there, as it’s so rare for Asian dramas to address disease and imperfections but I much preferred the focus on the neurological activities and medical emergencies that arose with known and random patients

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Lies were the least of this love story’s problems

The business storyline in this was good. It had some nice layers. However, the SML’s involvement was over the top. Everything he did was about his obsession with the FL. It would’ve made more sense if greed was driving his behavior. But then again the writers did a good job at showing how creepy and insane he was so that kind of helped justify his actions.

One of the funniest moments in the series that probably shouldn’t have been was when he thought he was going to take the easy way out to prevent being arrested, by leaping to his death off a building, only to land on a huge air mattress which saved his life. He was immediately arrested and carted off to jail. Lol.

I liked that the ML wasn’t perfect. He was an amputee on the verge of being an alcoholic. His disability wasn’t focused on much to start, but did come into play a little more in the later episodes, adding depth to the romance. Speaking of which, the romance was a good story. I liked that the leads met by chance during a rock climbing excursion, connected, lost touch after that weekend together then happened to meet again two years later but under unscrupulous circumstances. The business conflict threatening to destroy any chance at them having a future provided nice conflict as did the crazy SML. Though I got sick of him in the last few episodes. Additionally the FL,, would frequently make foolish decisions which would cause unnecessary difficulties for her and the ML

Though the writing for the romance was strong, the problem was the leads. They had no chemistry. This was mainly due to the FL who I’m sorry to say is a horrible actress. Unlike Luo Yunxi, she had no charisma. She put no emotions into the character except when she was trying to cry. Her line delivery was flat. Many times it was almost as if she was just reading the lines off a piece of paper.and she infused no zest into her character, leaving the FL with no personality. As the series went on I found that she would’ve made a great cyborg in the Terminator movies. That’s how bad her acting was.

Overall the series was watchable. It wasn’t bad. It was just okay. I think if a better actress was cast as the FL it .would’ve improved the show tremendously.

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Similar to Love Between a Fairy and a Devil but falls short of matching its greatness

Luo Yunxi was compelling as Tantai Jin/Devil God, cold, cunning and aloof, yet deep down having a desire to feel and understand emotions. He went through hell “killing” his mother during child birth, being hated and abandoned by his father, only to be betrayed by those whom he thought cared for him most, then cruelly bullied throughout his childhood and early adult years. It could be understood why he embraced the darkness within and chose to destroy the world considering the viciousness he’d experienced within it. Then he met the *new* Ye Xiwu. She defended and protected him. She showed him kindness and taught him love. She challenged and angered him, but she always came back to him - ultimately changing him for the better.

Though the show explored an interesting journey of war, politics, love and layers of past/future lives/identifies of our leads and the supporting characters, the show fell short with the love story which was ultimately driving the overall arc on the show. It was clear that Tantai deeply loved Ye Xiwu. Not only did he tell her, he showed her in his actions. Ironically though Ye Xiwu did many things that would be deemed as loving for Tantai, her feelings were always questionable because her actions were direct by her mission. In the end I did believe she truly cared for him but the show took too long to make this clear.

The past/future/present lives of the characters gave wonderful insight, especially the past, into why these people became who they were. However, I found I enjoyed the present storyline the most when they were in the Kingdom of Sheng, especially when it came to the love story. There was a sexy flintiness between the leads that worked so well and I could see the cold walls crumbling within Tantai. I liked seeing the connection building between them string by string. The special effects were outstanding but the show never used that grandness to create epic and unforgettable moments, which I think it should’ve had considering the content. The only moment that came close to being epic was when Tantai killed Yue Yingxin and jumped off the boat into the river. It was such an unexpected moment that was well acted and written.

One thing that annoyed me about the show was the FL going to bed in gowns she’s worn all day, dangling earrings and elaborate head dresses. No way was she getting sleep with all that stuff on. lol.

The acting was great in this. The leads had really good chemistry. When their character got serious and close there was a heat between them that II wish we’d seen more of. The story was good, not great. The ending hurt and the very last scene was bizarre, but overall this was worth watching.

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Manipulation, Mystic and Romance makes for an Unpredictable and Intriguing Marriage Contract

Park Yeon-woo is a free spirit determined to live life on her own terms. So when her parents arrange for her to marry the “ugly old” master I figured some type of marriage contract would come out of the union. Imagine my shock when the “ugly old” master ended up being young and hot, then ends up keeling over on their wedding night. And that’s pretty much how this story went with some predictability but having a few great twists.

It’s always difficult for shows to do the fish out of water stories but the writers did well with this one. They addressed some of the bafflement Yeon-woo would have with living in the future without it overwhelming the story. Though the series was supposed to center around the marriage contract this element had little relevance to the overall story. It played no role in the drama and tension within the story, which actually worked. The game of chess between Tae-ha, Sang-mo and Hye-suk over the future of SH Seoul and SH New York generated enough tension and entertainment to keep the story interesting.

Moreover, the relationships between the friends, enemies , families and lovers was fun to watch. Though I didn’t care much for the stepbrother to start, he seemed like an annoying spoiled brat,. He actually turned out to be a good person whom I grew to enjoy. The villains had their “reasons”, but thankfully no one was at a mustache twirling level. Sang-mo could be nasty but she had some layers once her backstory was revealed. Though the story had its serious moments it also had some really funny comedic moments. The leads had great chemistry and the romance was well done. It started off as a slow burn but then built and built until it became swoonworthy.

The present’s tie to the past was done in a way where some found themselves in the same place while others had an alternative setup. The stories intertwined nicely in both timelines. The show did drag just a little in the last couple of episodes. At times it seemed like the writers were using filler until they were ready to move the story forward. I did think they kept present day Yeon-woo and Tae-ha apart a little too long in the final episode, but overall this was a really good show. The story, acting and chemistry of the characters was great. The love story was beautifull and the business shenanigans was entertaining. Its definitely worth watching and is a show I’ll rewatch in the future.

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Uninspiring Title. Nonetheless Solid Horror Flick

The act of a couple selling their home leads to strange and creepy circumstances that put their daughter in danger. It was obvious pretty early on that the husband had some role in the strange incidents happening around his and his wife’s daughter. The movie did a good job at incorporating some creepy and suspenseful moments. Having me waiver between the motive for the weird happenings being sinister or some ritual to protect the daughter from some unseen force, but with rotten food, black crows and a mysterious malevolent figure frequently appearing it became apparent that some evil plot was afoot. The nice twist was that this explored a similar theme as Annabelle Creation. Where in this case the husband had lost his 7 year old daughter, from a previous relationship, years earlier, to a horrible accident, and inconsolable with grief he made some terrible choices in an attempt to bring her spirit back to life.

Of course his attempt wasn’t as innocent as he was being led to believe and as a result he was duped into helping an evil priestess plot to regain a new body to possess. I felt for the father’s grief but I could not understand how he could essentially sacrifice the daughter he had with his new wife for the daughter who died. Moreover, it was unconscionable that he was asking a 7 year old to consent to her body being possessed by the spirit of her dead half sister.

The ending was confusing. It was clear that Ing’s body was taken over by Jaa. But it seemed for a second there that she’d become possessed by the evil entity as she appeared to have killed Ing’s mom. We later learn she survived, and killed Rattree whom we never see alive again after the attack. But last we see Ing/Jaa she appears to be a sweet little girl with no indication that evil resides within her. This was an entertaining horror movie with some nice twists. Definitely worth watching.

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Old Concept with An Interesting Twist

This wasn’t perfect, but did its job in being suspenseful and entertaining.

Right off students on a school trip are forced into a game akin to the Hunger Games. Kill or die. Thinking it was truly just a game the students played until they came to the realization that their vote meant death to a fellow classmate.

I knew this was some type of virtual reality game when the adults disappeared and were never seen again. This was confirmed when the students tried to find a way to escape but found the outside world presented the illusion of an escape when there was none.

Things that annoyed me about the show, the bullies, specifically Kyung Jun and his crew. These guys were utter assholes who despite the situation didn’t even attempt to make nice to save their own lives. In fact they were worse than ever. Thus, in reality they should’ve been the first ones voted out the building but somehow they managed to survive for most of the series. Most of the students not questioning what was going on and why. Once they realized they had to kill to survive they did it without question with only Yeon Su questioning the why behind what was happening and investigating to find the truth.

Other questions, how long had these kids been tortured in this virtual game? Was no one looking for them? Where were their families? How did they even get to the game room to be put into this virtual reality? How long did Se Eun’s parents plan to continue their revenge?

I could understand them wanting to take revenge on those who drove their daughter to suicide. However, their method was too much. Moreover, they also blamed those who weren’t aware of their daughter’s pain and punished them too, but failed to extend that punishment to themselves. They did not take into account their own ignorance about her struggle which was hypocrisy at its worst considering how they were punishing those who were just as ignorant as them about what was going on.

Though concept is not new , Thw writers did a good job keeping it entertaining and suspenseful and the acting was strong. This is not the type of series I’d rewatch, but despite its issues it was good and worth the watch.

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Curious and Creepy Horror Story

Like with most horror movies almost all the characters were stupid save for writer who was trying to finish a book and so he left what sounded like his difficult marriage to live at this creepy apartment building (not mansion) so that he could focus on his work.

The pharmacist kind of deserved her fate considering she was willing to run off with the man whom she'd been having an affair even after learning he killed his wife and kid.

The student who'd returned from abroad should've left his "friend's" apartment immediately after arriving there and seeing what he saw.

Though nicely done for the genre. The audience never gets the real story behind why the apartment building is haunted. It's said that it used to be the sight of a church, but then a dead mummy is found in one apartment chain up in what appeared to be some ritualistic killing with a large amount of money hidden in a nearby closet. Weird. Also, it seemed that strange things happened to the residence of the apartment building even when they left the building, which wasn't explained. It was also never made clear how long the property had be closed and condemned and how long ago all these incidents happened with the people who'd gone missing while living in the building.

Despite these unknowns, this had some nice vignettes and a great, yet predictable, twist in the last chapter. The "scares" weren't scary, but this did have a creep factor. Good movie. Definitely worth a rewatch if one is in the mood for horror.

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Matchmaking Has Never Been so original, and fun!

What an interesting idea, a group of men running a matchmaking agency. Loved this premise. They had the brains and money behind the business, the charmer, but also an intellect who knew how to get the ladies to provide him much needed tea/gossip and connections to do his job and then they had the fashionista who was responsible for the brides looking lovely on their big day.

The guys had their successful business, but then came Gae-ttong to shake things up. She was rough around the edges but ultimately had a good heart and made for a great addition to the team. Her story was interesting in that she and her fiancé were once clients of the agency, but fate changed all of that with her being left abandoned and in need of help. The owner of the agency stepped in to help and things progressed from there. What also made this interesting was that the marriage matches were nicely intertwined with the political power plays going on at the palace.

I felt bad for Lee Soo, the new king, and Gae-ttong’s former fiancé. For he was forced into a life he did not want and tried his best to recapture what he had with Gae-ttong, but once it was made clear that she no longer wanted a future with him, his attempt to force the issue made him less endearing. Thankfully he eventually came to his senses and backed off.
Though Do Joon was deeply into Ji-hwa, I could not stand her. She was not a good person at all. I thought he could’ve done so much better than her.

The ML/FL had great chemistry. Their love story was very well-done. I was so pleased with their ending. Even better, all the individuals working at the agency had interesting backstories that were nicely worked into the stories of the series.
My only gripe, despite the show doing a good job tying the matched marriages to the power plays at the palace, the power plays on their own could’ve been stronger. The palace drama in the long run was not well written or thought out. Still, this was a great series that I thoroughly enjoyed and will be one that I will frequently rewatch.

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20 somethings navigating university life and love.

Cute story about 20 somethings navigating university life and love. The mystery behind M in the synopsis is said to be at the center of the story along with the group doing an investigation to determine who it may be. This is not exactly how the series went. The mystery of M was sprinkled throughout the series but there was no investigation. However, the reveal of who M was in the end was a nice twist.

Though the series was entertaining, the monotony of university life could at times be boring. There wasn’t much drama. It was mainly focused on the students going to class, working on school projects and trying to get a romance off the ground or salvage it. I liked that the main couple were best friends before realizing they had romantic feelings for one another.

I also liked how the FL at first rejected the ML’s interest. Though they were best friends her fear of losing that friendship if they became romantic and things didn’t workout were valid. I did think the series spent too many episodes with the ML moping around after initially being rejected by the female lead, and almost took to much time for him to reveal his feelings for her.

Things that weren’t well fleshed out, the storyline about the ML being duped out of his savings. There was a scene or two before he was shown to have been scammed and that was it. I didn’t fully understand what happened there. Also, the story about the guy who came from a rich family who was trying to be an app developer due to pressure from his father. That story seemed mostly like filler with not much relevance to the overall story.

I liked that a character was featured who had diabetes. This type of thing is hardly seen in k-dramas as the protagonists are almost always perfect in every way with no health challenges.

I did think it was unrealistic that the interloper to the popular couple was so obsessed with them, hating the SFL high school. But after her planned to destroy the SFL and steal her boyfriend, she shrugged off her obsession. Based on what she’d already done I would’ve expected her to escalate her behavior and at least need some type of therapy before moving past her obsession.

This series had some rewatchable moments, mainly with the leads, but I don’t think the series as a whole would be something I’d rewatch. Still this was a descent series.

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A Perfect Disaster

The premise for this was intriguing but it wasn’t well written.

The FL has been having an affair with her married boss for years. Then in walks the ML (Dori Sakurada) a colleague who has transferred to the Tokyo office from NYC. He understandably turns all the women’s heads in the office including the FL. Right away, he discovers the affair between the FL and her boss, and immediately starts demanding she breaks off the relationship, which was odd since he knew nothing about her. He does give her some good advice about looking out for herself. Claims to dislike her, but then proceeds to come on to her before showing up at her apartment late one night demanding she ends things with her boss then attempts to seduce her. She surrenders to the seduction, sleeping with him. Why is baffling considering she knows nothing about this guy.

But suddenly after knowing the ML for about a day and sleeping with him, she has feelings for him. And thus breaks off her affair with her boss as the ML has instructed. The FL has no personality, no self-awareness or realizations of her own. Throughout the series most of her decisions are directed or heavily influenced by the men in her life.

The characters had no depth and were simply there to serve the plot. Hence the “love story” in this was not endearing at all.

The best thing about this was Dori Sakurada. It’s always great to see him, but even he is not enough to save this series.

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Adult and dark, yet interesting perspective of marriage and infidelity

This series leaves little to the imagination when it comes to the intimate interactions between the couples who are featured. However, that aside it did explore some interesting angles of infidelity.

The main couple who owned the salon were the most triggering. His blatant infidelity in sleeping with anything in a skirt and abusive behavior towards his wife was infuriating. It was understandable why she left him and ran into the arms of the guy who owned the goldfish shop.

The depressed alcoholic wife and her runner husband were the most likable out of all the couples. They still loved each other and wanted to be together, but their lack of communication with each other is what nearly destroyed them. I was glad to see them figure things out before they made a mistake, specifically the wife, which would’ve done irreparable damage to the marriage.

The storyline with wife who ended up having an affair with her cheating husband was weird. I thought the way their story wrapped was too easy and unrealistic. He cheated on her and that cheating was so painful it caused her to develop a mental disorder. Instead of him getting her help when he learned of her mental problems, he took advantage of her memory lapse and ultimately used that to worm his way back into her life and their marriage. Very manipulative. He did not deserve her forgiveness after all he’d done.

The wife who was fixated on getting pregnant by her asexual husband and the wife whose husband wanted to watch her sleep with with his co-worker were the least interesting. As was the interior designer who had a pity marriage which made her bitter and unlikable.

I liked how the series explored the many different situations that could lead to cheating. I also liked how they showed that marriage is not unicorns and rainbows. Though some of the reasons for cheating were strange a lot of the situations were realistic even if they weren’t right. I was satisfied with the endings for each couple except for the wife who lost her memory of her husband and I explained why previously. I was pleased with the ending for the salon owner. Though it was completely unrealistic that her abusive and controlling husband would’ve let her walk out of the marriage, in reality he would’ve killed her, I was glad she was able to free herself from him with minimal damage. The gold fish guy was a god send, but I never bought he was the love of her life. He was there to help her through a difficult time in her life and once he served his purpose fate moved her to the next phase in her life. She needed to be on her own again, relearn who she was and establish herself without having her entire livelihood depend on a man. I was very happy she was able to do this. And therefore was not upset when her and goldfish guy never reunited.

This was a really good series, very different from the usual love and rainbows that permeates these “romance” dramas. It was easy to watch. The acting was good and the storylines were engaging.

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Another Contract Marriage series that’s NOT so charming and fun

The contract marriage trope is one of my favorites. However this one doesn’t work as well as others I’ve seen. Despite the reason for the contract making some sense, how they got to that point made little sense.

Some how the female lead’s BFF manage to get control of the deed to the FL’s home and then sells the house behind the FL’s back. First off I’d think that’d be fraud. What’s worse is the FL continues to be friends with this girl who committed such a betrayal and continues to do questionable things to her throughout the series. Though I liked the interaction between the leads, their relationship was more like a friendship at best or a very innocent puppy love at worst. It was not believable that they fell in love or could have a real marriage. They never kissed, hardly hugged and there was no sexual tension between them. I know this is an Asian drama and therefore sexual tension can sometimes be scarce, but the director did nothing to play up a potential romance brewing between the two. The relationship really came off as two people who were kind of lonely, especially the male lead, and as result, they developed a friendship and really liked living together. I didn’t see a love story.

There were many missed opportunities though to build a believable love story, specifically on their “honeymoon” and when the female lead lost her memory. There were opportunities missed to really create some romantic moments that had an air of sexual tension. But it just didn’t happen. Also, I was confused as to whether the agent who was managing the male lead’s career wanted him for herself or just didn’t like the fact that she was no longer the only woman in his life. Moreover, her “romance”, if that’s what you want to call it, with the female lead’s male BFF was awful. They had zero chemistry. He looked like a kid standing next to her. They weren’t even close to being compatible considering their vastly different lifestyles. The relationship was completely forced.

The second male lead was annoying in that he fell into that trope of having met the female lead when they were kids. He was being bullied, but she was the only kid out of all the kids he knew who was nice to him. So from that he has decided she is the love of his life and he must reignite a relationship with her. RME. SMH. Very ridiculous trope and childish for a grown man, or woman, to be living their life by such an idea.

The acting was it the best. The female lead had pretty much the same facial expression throughout the series. Even when something dramatic was happening like the male lead confessing his love, she had no response. Or when she was supposed to be crying or upset. There was no emotion in her eyes. She just stood their blank and looking pretty. The male lead sometimes made the right acting choices, but at other times was too over the top, especially when angry, which made his character seem as if he could potentially become abusive. The second female lead, and the male lead’s family, were the strongest actors in this and thus the most believable. Everyone else were not very good.

The only thing that I consistently enjoyed about this was the home the leads lived in. It was a beautiful unique design. I liked the airiness of it, all the natural light, and that it was on the water. Everything else about this show was just okay.

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