Pretty good for 2/3 of the drama then went downhill until the swerve.

1/ STORY:

A young hacker and a rogue police inspector meet by chance when dealing with a ring of illegal gambling. Things turn bad and they part ways but they are reunited later as student and teacher in the KNPU (Korea National Police University). From there they start a collaboration to stop the criminals from the ring hidden in the university.

The thriller starts interestingly. The drama manages to present a suspenseful tracking of the bad guys and it is difficult to identify the suspect among the different characters. The duo works well on the field and emotionally. It's like a buddy cop movie. The team of two is growing bigger as young Sun Ho befriends some comrades and they help him and inspector Yoo Dong Man and other professors give contributions.

There is a romance part. ML and FL are good-looking in uniform and their romance is told in a cute and unexpected way.

After 2/3 of the eps, things get serious as the dominoes start falling. And this is when the drama goes downhill. The drama puts misery on the ML and his professor and spins 5 episodes around the question of who the ultimate boss is. The final revelation of his identity and why he did what he did is ridiculous. The drama ends with a lesson of moral as the ML punishes himself out of a misplaced need to obey the Law when the society asked nothing from him about his mistake. If he wanted to pay, all he needed to is donate the money, take down the illegal website, become a cop asap and do the right thing. Why inflict himself a dumb punishment to make him loose two years of his life. Really an immature thing to do which spoiled the ending. When everyone was cheering during graduation, he was like an idiot.

2/ CHARACTERS:
- Yoo Dong Man : loud and annoying sometimes but has his own dedication and ethic regarding his job that are not so bad.
- Kang Sun Ho: useful skills as hacker but I found him a bit bland and saying sorry too many times. His decision to punish himself in the end was respectable but the way he did it was plain stupid.
- Oh Kang Hee : Pretty useless apart from that intervention in the shooting range. She was there mainly for the romance.
- Park Min Kyu: Annoying love rival who still has a happy ending.
- Two goofy friends: nice friendship and rivals in love with a funny ending
- Judo professor : I liked her. She looked both a fun person with a sad past and a suspect of crime.
- Law professor : From suspect to buddy.
- Professor Seo: Boss of KNPU and benevolent guy with a too human side
- Park Cheol Jin : Good guy, good cop who lost his way.

3/ OST:
Nothing special. Adapted to the cop genre.

4/REWATCH VALUE:
Nothing sparkling and fun enough to make it rewatchable.

5/ OVERALL.:
Started well but ended disappointing. The last episode was crap. 7/10. You won't miss anything by passing this one.

Read More

Good fun with the two leads, good suspense with the thriller

1/ WHAT I LIKED:
- The interplay between the ML kidnapper and the FL/Kidnapped girl. They are very funny together and their relationship starts on a very wrong foot, but they slowly develop a close relationship, some kind of affection for each other.
- The story. I did not expect it to include these subjects and themes: research and ethical science, international gangsters, family rivalry, abuse of children... The mix was coherent enough to make it interesting all along.
- The cops’ part: Good cops were not too ridiculous this time.
- The abducted girl: she is very smart, but she is so impertinent and mocking too. A phenomenon.
- Main bad guy Jackson: He is so annoying, but his demise is so satisfactory.

2/ WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
- A lot of characters are involved, and the pace is fast. The viewer must keep track of the many characters who they are and what they did, or it becomes confusing with far-fetched relationships.
- ML: I found him a funny, kind, courageous and dedicated guy to the persons he loves, I also found his goofy antics a little bit annoying at times. I put him in this category because in the end, I think he has a responsibility in what happened. Why he saw nothing?
- The culprit's identity is a surprise but also not a surprise. The final was drippling of good feelings, and it made me uneasy. There is a culprit but a lot of people responsible people.

3/OVERALL
Honestly, I watched this drama week in week out until ep 7 and put it on hold because things were messy for me. Then I binged watched the remaining eps. Maybe it had a consequence on how I see this drama. It is good with a good story, good suspense, fun and emotional moments between the two leads. It is entertaining overall. 8.5/10

Read More

Fluffy romance but thriller part was quite disappointing

The drama is a decent watch if you like fluffy romance. The ML and FL are cute and very complementary in their personalities. They meet again and start to learn about each other, trust each other and the dating stage drags to arrive but there is obviously something between them. SML is not too clingy, and he has his priorities. SFL is childish so no worries from this side. There are also 3 secondary romances that were not so interesting for me, but I believe that some others will enjoy them.

The thriller part is interesting and intriguing at first. Because there are little infos and the mystery has huge consequences on the ML. But when the truth starts to unveil, the victim gained little sympathy but more pity from me. The final twist is surprising because it follows an unexpected and unusual path for kdramas but it also looks cheap and lazy writing. To put all this on one sided feelings and accidents…

The drama suffered from the characterization of the ML. He was way to nice always saying sorry and full of good intentions… to the point he looked bland to me. He also had little good impact on the others and he barely contributed to the solving of the mystery. I loved the FL. She brought light and fun to the drama with a great personality dealing with ML, SML, clients, her parents, employees, rival… SML Is my fav ML. I liked how he dealt with his personal issue and how he did his job despite the uneasy situation. The culprit was also a complex and interesting character with good intentions and very bad actions.

Overall, it was ok but wish the ML was stronger or maybe it was the lead male actor. His acting was below par compared to the other lead actors and especially the SM lead actor. It showed. But I wish him the best like to the others. 7.5/10

Read More

Not what I expected. Not what I started to believe it would be. Entertaining anyway.

1/ STORY:
Part 1 : Favourite grand daughter works for favourite grand father's Law firm working to become a big shot in the firm. She is ruthless, kind of jaded and indifferent and uses any mean possible to reach her goal. Gets dismissed and sent to work as pro bono lawyer with a weird guy she clashes with because of their different personalities and way of seeing Law and Life. But are they so different?

The murders happening are more than simple serial killings. Things turns darker and darker and more and more people around the lead couple are involved. It is not only murders, it is a whole scheme

2/ WHAT I LIKED:
- The lead couple: Their respective personality is endearing. They are clashing in a funny way. They learn from each other and they indiviual sense of moral and justice try to connect. The first part of the drama was very good on that point and they had a good chemistry. Second part with the murders was darker and they kind of worked "separately". The bond was distended and the drama became a bit draggy and less sparkling. Last part they are back. But not together. And this is the best part of their relationship with lots of mysteries unveiled and they finally see who the other one really is.
- The mystery was a bit draggy but overall the scheme was smart and the reason of all this is acceptable. The brain of the murders is a bad guy but the way he was depicted was good and human.

3/ WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
- ML: how the guy missed the evident under his nose?
- A bit draggy in the middle part.
- Some characters could have been better used: The wife of Gi Do of Gi do's henchman or FL's dad.
- I wished the daughter had a bigger role. And why it took her so long?

4/ OST :
Good enough but I felt the songs in the beginning and in the rest of the drama had a very different tone.

5/ REWATCHABLE VALUE:
Difficult when you know the outcome of the mystery. But very watchable.

6/ OVERALL
A surprisingly intruiging drama which slowly drags the viewers in a terrible and dark story which ends in a sad emotional way and then an optimistic note. I do not regret watching this. Recommended 9/10

Read More

Enjoyable Youth drama mixing Friendship and Love

The drama tells the journey of a band of friends from last year of high school to University and work life for some of them.

1/ STORY:
The story is nice and a good balance between friendship and love. The unrequited love part is the most important anyway and it is a little hard to take but the good thing is that no matter how disappointed the characters can be regarding their Love situtation, they don't forget to be understanding and to support their friends and help them go through difficult and tough moments. All the episodes go at a good pace and make the drama a roller coaster of emotions. It is really heartwarming and fun and emotional.

The ending is disappointing though. It feels rushed and the writers mismanaged the time. They left 2episode to tell the events of them meeting again. They basically threw the two leads together in a maelstom of situations not cute nor very enjoyable and closed the story with a far-fetched cranky manner. Happy ending anyway.

2/ CHARACTERS:
- Lu Shi Yi : a troublemaker at first but grows into a reliable friend and he is allways true to his feelings. It is like he never doubted them and he was always there for the FL.
- Xia Xiao Ju : Pathetic at times but adorable in her efforts to pursue her love. Loved her bickering with the ML. She is lucky he is a patient guy because most guys would have never waited so long for her.
- Cheng Lang : Mr perfect but he has a sad part. He is as great judgement in friendship as he has bad judgement in Love.
- Lin You : She could have been the worst and she is quite annoying in her Love relationships but she is also honest in friendship. She has an interesting trajectory.
- Qiu Le Tao : Looks the plain and bland girl at first but it is all the contrary. She would not be given the stick easily. Loved how things ended for her.
- Huang Jun: Great friend. Bad Lover. Didn't like how he hid things and found excuses.
- Bao Xiang Xiang : chubby dumb guy turned into a boss.
Supporting characters were fun for most of them.

3/ OST:
It was OK. Nothing annoying. Just well adapted to the scenes.

4/ REWATCH WALUE:
It was better than expected and the drama is a roller coster of emotions. But the love triangles last very long. It would prevent people to rewatch.

5/ OVERALL:
It was good. Each episode is fast paced entertaining and you always want to know what happens next. The ending is too rushed and lacklustre because we don't see what sparkle finally put them together. It like they all schemed against the FL so she has to make her choice. But ok, it is a good watch.

Read More

Lovely characters depiction.

This drama is a slow drama focusing on two people, our main leads, their personality, character and challenge: Can they make their love and couple work? The problem is that they are both timid, introverted, candid, nice persons but they can't easily talk their mind and feelings and they are not assertive. Usually in drama it is two opposite but complementary characters. This is where this drama is different.

STORY:
I liked the story even if it is slow. It was nice to see two good and cute persons meeting, falling for each other and finding a way to be together as a couple. The two leads had a superb chemistry and it was refreshing to watch them like two teens growing a cute love despite the people around them who made things difficult for them as they are all entangled in complicated past and present stories.

But if finding each other despite adversity is charming, dating each other and being a couple is not so simple. These two quiet lovers face people who manipulate them, use them, bellitle them... Their personality does not help them and things turn sour as an improbable event combined to their inability to properly communicate makes one of them take a hard decision. They needed to know their true feelings and change their way of doing, renounce to some things, speak their heart, before they win the Love of their life.

I liked some messages of the drama:
- You can fall in love before you know it but to be a couple is hardwork and communication
- To be happy when the person you love is next to you is easy but to make this person happy to be with you is not so easy.
- To love people is not to blind them of a reality to protect them but to give them the courage to face it.
- Talk well, Love well: communicating is not only to say things within a couple. It is also what not to say. And when to do these.
- When you chose the wrong path, you can keep the good memories but you must have the courage to change direction
... usual messages in drama but nicely presented here.

ACTING / CHARACTERS:
- I only saw Park Eun Bin in Stove League. I did not notice she was pretty but in this drama she is very pretty. Despite being a bit introvert and candid, she has many qualities: she is courageous, competent, true to herself and her feelings, she can also acknowledge her mistake and take step to correct her life.
- First time seeing Kim Min Jae in a lead role: he was good. Very handsome and innocent looking, struggling with personal issues and trying to find the one to make him happy.
- Other characters were good but they mostly served as obstacle or support for the leads in hugely intricate relations.

MUSIC:
Lots of classical. They used the right amount so that it does not become annoying. The OST of the drama was ok but no real song to remember.

REWATCH
The two leads were so cute I really liked some scenes: the happy birthday scene, the trip together, lowest moment of their relationship... but I would not rewatch the whole thing.

OVERALL:
I enjoyed it even if I found the last part bit erratic and unclear in its ending message. I recommend it to the ones who like slow dramas with deep and complex characters related by complicated stories. Don't expect action. It is about people deep inside their heart.

Read More

Good if you like Morlum music.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Tossapol : I like Weir as an actor he is able of a lot of emotions in different genre or dramas. I liked his portraying this cool ex cop kind of country bumpkin guy . He is very dedicated to his work, his family, his hometown. I liked all the thing he does for them and he tries to woo his so called wife to make her change and improve. I like the fact he never wavered from his obtective to make her personality and her life better even if wooing her is part of the job.
- Chilo: She was unbearable at the beginning but the life in the countryside turns her into a decent and even charming character.
- Kom, the evil guy: he is super idiotic and fun but also very ruthless and underhanded.
- The Dad and Mom: two weird and fun characters.
- The little sister and her friend
- Dr Patachnon was an idiot in the begining but I liked how he kept helping Chilo and brought himself closer to the people in the village.
- Chaimanee: This actress is often a bitch in Thai dramas but here she was a fun and nice character.

- The story is pretty decent: a rich heiress in Bangkok is scammed of her fortune and has to marry a contry bumpkin she hates but their life in the countryside will make them get attached to each other. Also there is a good connection between the events in Bangkok and in the countryside that the end unveils. There is some pretty decent action too.

- A lot of thai humor in this drama: silly humor, horrific humor, salacious humor. Humor of situation. Cute little insults. Imaged mockery... I am not sure the english translation is as effective as the original words but it still is very fun.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
- A bit draggy at times :They insisted too much and uselessly of the life in the village and events between the characters. Some storylines are useless and you feel like it is here just for fun and comedy and fill in. It made me fast forward a litlle.
- A clearer ending of the rival "Mo" whould have been appreciated.

MUSIC:
Big warning: This drama is largely built on Thai music and Thai Morlum. The main guys in the drama are a Morlum band and some actors are even Morlum singers. Every episode has its share of Morlum songs and music in scenes or as music videos inserted. It has also a lot of reference to Thai way of having fun, having parties and holidays. I like this music so I don't mind but some might find it annoying and would fast forward.

OVERALL:
It was fun to watch but this is some kind of special drama. Not sure everyone would like it as it has it main toryline but a large part of Thai morlum, Thai humor and fun, Thai family and village matters...

Read More

STORY: It is a story of a young girl who was an orphan and she has been taken care a grandpa in France who died and she clashes with the guy who inherits his Vineyard and property. They find an agreement, separate and then meet again in China. Starting from there they get involved in a plot of rightful heir vs. fake heir of the Group they work for and how the situation is resolved.

The drama is good and bad. I would say the Romances were well done. The main couple was great. There is a very nice chemistry between the two of them. Not only they look good together but also their interactions from the beginning to the end show that they really care for each other and they evolve in the way they see each other, fall for each other and fight to be together. I thought their romance was well described with nice moments. I wish they had more moments together in the last part of the drama when they were roughly challenged. The second couple's story was fun to watch also. From allies fighting a same cause to friends and then not lovers but something almost like it. Their personalities made a good pair too: She is a spoiled playful kid and he is a quiet orphan who becomes a rich heir like her.

The bad part: the main plot around the exchange of heirs. Full of holes and inconsistencies. In the beginning, the nanny said she did something to the real heir (as a kid). Means the real heir met the grandfather so why the grandfather did not made the difference when he saw the fake kid? Weird. I think the worst thing about the plot is how cliché the villains are (the father, real mother... ). I cannot fathom how the father can be a Chairman with this kind of personality and behavior. It was grotesque. The real mother the way she treated her son was too unrealistic. And the last evil guy ... He confessed like there was not enough money for more episodes.

ACTORS / CHARACTERS: I thought Zhang Zhe Han was good. He has charisma and he did well portraying Zhang Min. An guy abused who hardly can fight back and must cope with the craziness of his parents. He looked honest and sensitive when building his story with the main girl vs. adversities and caring about people. But in another hand, one thing which really impaired the quality of this drama was his personal character. I never felt any admiration or sympathy for him and never cheered for him. He was completely lacking strength and courage and ability to have a general view to take decisions and solve his biggest problems. Almost everything that happens to him from start to end is the result of the decision/action of other persons. He does nothing in connection with the plot. He is one of the weakest male lead I have seen since a long time.

Zhang Ruo Nan was ok. She was good as Luo Xi. She is courageous and supportive and I liked how unwavering and honest she was when facing the confessions of her childhood friend. She is bit bland and has little character's evolution. Too bad. Other actors did pretty well. Riley Wang was convincing as a good friend, patient lover or angry heir. Anna Hollen was bit behind in term of acting as sometimes I thought she was doing too much but ok, her character was interesting nonetheless. Other actors: Liu Zhe Er as the secretary was excellent. Loved the way he treated his boss. The little girl was fun but the uncles are useless and sometimes even annoying.

MUSIC: Nothing special

REWATCH: Definitively not.

OVERALL: I do not recommend this drama unless you are crazy about romances and you like so much to see cute couples finding each other that you can pardon a lousy plot full of clichés. Apart from the romances, I thought it was really not good.

Read More

I had great expectations for this drama as it starred two of my favourite Taiwanese actors and the plot looked mature and fun.

STORY:
The story starts with a handsome and successful man Chu Kehuan (Jasper Liu) who unexpectedly meets a woman Zhou Weiwei (Puff Guo) and decides to pursue her to take her to bed because he is bored in his love life and he doesn't care she has a boyfriend. In the end it happens. They do it. But in the meantime, there is a long journey during which their character change, evolve to show their frustrations, insecurities, dreams and wishes and their true personality through encounters during which they say one thing and their eyes say another thing and their body just crave for skinships with each other. The story goes from a game of seduction to more serious feelings and crisis ensue as they their lives are entangled together emotionally and professionally.

I really loved the story describing how these people interact and evolve for the first part of the drama. It was like in real life. Sometimes you are just with the wrong person or your love the wrong way and you lack the courage to face it and change it and it takes someone else or some events to give you the courage. Then comes the writing accident. At some point, it turns into an office drama and some characters just unexpectedly evolve in a very unrealistic way which spoils the good things before. The story becomes quite draggy and annoying at some point. I almost wanted it to end quicker. The chapter is finally closed in the best way possible considering the events and people's evolution. Not a happy ending but an open ending which gives you a big smile.

ACTING / CHARACTERS:
Puff Guo and Jasper Liu were just great. Their natural chemistry they showed in previous drama was at its peak here with nice dialogues and an incredible sexual tension. They both managed to portray two very human characters. She started a docile but frustrated gf and learnt to accept her own needs and aspirations to deal with a stalker she had feelings for and her over controlling boyfriend. In the end, she is the ones who takes charge and it was very satisfactory to see it. Jasper Liu is naturally charming and he had no difficulty portraying this golden boy stuck in a sad relationship and using his high IQ and cunning plans and schemes to trap himself and fall for ZWW. Finally he keeps his best quality (being cool) and learns to be sincere and accept others' choice (her choice).

The second leads turned to be a disappointment. Phoebe Yuan showed great talent portraying an incredible friend faithful to the very end with XWW and always helping her or triggering her to show her the right way. She was great and very fun as a person outspoken and not afraid to assume her own desires and play with men. Then the tragedy happened. She who could not bear to see the second male lead just turned into a freaking gold digger. The second lead actor portrayed an annoying guy from start to end. He had little evolution of character and I really had difficulties to understand how he developed feelings for Han Kefei and vice versa. ZWW boyfriend was ok as a guy obsessed with his own plans but he was mainly pitiful. The worst was the second female lead who was quite convincing in the beginning as a desperate housegirlfriend but then she turned into their "boss" just to throw roadblocks at them despite all managing and leadership logic. This was a very weak part of the drama.

/EDIT 29/07/2020 : I watched this drama again recently. 13 eps in a row. I was too harsh with Kefei and Dawei. I understand better now that the last part is different because they needed to develop multiple characters to properly give them a closure. This is why the love story beetween these two. I still think it was not so greatly done. I understand now that Dawei, apart from being annoying, is actually naïve, quite innocent and a bit idiotic and not the playboy type at all but a guy with little experiences with women. So I can believe he can be infatuated by Han the bulldozer, volcano always in eruption, plenty of experience, Kefei. I still have doubts about how a woman like her can fall for a guy like him as his two main qualities alledged were his money and his technical equipment . But OK, I will accept their love story as credible.

I also noticed Weiwei last sentence to KeHuan. "May I buy you a coffee?" . The first time I watched it I did not even notice it directly referred to the beginning of the dama when he said that to her. Makes the ending more romantic and even more satisfactory. /

MUSIC:
I found it was good and it reflected well the situations and feelings of the characters. I did go to look for the OST and main the songs as I do that for dramas I liked. Still listening to it from time to time.

REWATCH VALUE:
This drama has some incredible scenes of couples very well written and memorable but the second part of the drama is quite a letdown before the nice ending. I would rewatch it but fast forward the annoying parts.

OVERALL:
It's a good drama. I recommend it.

Read More

A good gangsters vs cops dramas in an old Hong Kong movie style.

This is typically the type of story you used to find in old Hong Kong crime movies with men and brothers fighting each other in a story of cops, crime syndicate, mafias, and undercover operations. It was usually very romanticized, violent, and dark and in the ends, the outcome left no one unhurt. This drama totally follows this path.

1/ STORY
The story is rather simple. A cop accepts to do an undercover operation for a very personal reason. This leads him into a world of gangsters where bad guys also have their values and laws which make them not so bad and good guys are not always so good but have deviant behaviors and make questionable choices. He navigates in this and meets a local boss, and they develop an understanding and a friendly bond throughout time. The problem is that two women enters the scene, and they will make the two men question themselves, who they are and who and what they want and love. The result in the end is a terrible outcome for everyone.

2/ WHAT I LIKED
- The bonding between the two male leads and the bromance despite an uneasy personal situation in connection with the FL.
- The individual character development of the ML and of the SML. As I said, they are very romanticized but there is a clear beginning, a transition and an ending that is well told.
- The action and violence. I would have liked a little more of them.
- The ML and SFL. Their interplay was endearing. Cop guy and gangster girl trying to handle each other.


3 /WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
- The schemes were not so well made. I questioned some events that looked a little bit too simple or unrealistic.
- A little too much of "Who has the bigger balls". But I guess that's inevitable in a gangster's vs cops story.
- The last 3 eps were a bit underwhelming with some plot holes and far-fetched events that make them look rushed and inconsistent.

4/ CHARACTER - ACTORS
- Joo Mo: a simple and dutiful guy who becomes a gangster to bust a drug ring but he makes encounters that change him, his values and vision of thing and make him question his job. I liked the character and JCW was good portraying him.
- Ki Chul: simple guy with big dreams but a romantic who will question himself and try to change things for the best or the worst? Endearing despite his bad actions. WHJ was convincing too.
- Eui Jung: Some say she is useless in the drama. On the contrary. What she does or do not do triggers most of the tragic events. She is the main cause of everything. Im Se Mi. Second time I see here after True Beauty. Totally different. Good acting.
- Lee Hae Ryeon: the crazy and fun character who reveals herself not as hardened as expected. Superb job from the actress.
- Hwang Min Gu: The brute cop. Too much screen time for him and his antics. But his demise was fun.
Not a lot of noticeable characters beside these.

5/ OST: I enjoyed it bit nothing memorable.

6/ REWATCH VALUE: Probably rewatchable but a little too dark.

7/OVERALL
It is darker and sadder and more violent that expected. The schemes and counter schemes kind of drag the plot at times but overall, it is a good story. I would say the mafia and crime thing is not the most impressing or the most important. It is the personal situation and development of each of the main characters. From their point of view, it is a tragedy. A well told one. I totally recommend this drama. 9/10 . I do not give 10 because of the few telling flaws of the last eps but It is a good drama.

Read More

Not the ending I wanted but still a good watch

WHAT I LIKED:

- The main romance. How they met and made a promise and it led them to become a couple years later and nothing and nobody would come between them. Cliché but cute.
- The love triangle: Not too annoying. SML was nice because he could have forced a final twist...
- The story and narrative arc of the Third ML. It was clearly the most interesting part with everything enjoyable: sad fate, duty, destiny, revenge, swordfights, romance, forbidden love...
- The "Who is who?" game in the first part of the story. The mystery was well made.
- The young gisaeng
- Jang Tae Hwa: His action are bad and he justifies them with his obsession and need for revenge. He was a proper bad guy.
- The pace of the story was good. No draggy part.
- OST was ok.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

- ML characterization was a bit erratic and ultimately disappointing. He first appears to be a soldier then he leads a rebellion he did not instigate and in the end, he goes live an idle nobleman life. Too bad because he had nothing less than the other guy to become King. He just renounced his duty and responsibilities in the name of Love. It undermined his character for me.
- SML: not an interesting character for me. Not a charismatic leader. He won the race because his opponent quit. In the end the royals lied to the people.
- The King : grotesque character until the very end. Should have been more evil and less crazy.


OVERALL: The story is interesting with each one of the leads having their own trajectory that combines well with the others. 8.5/10. A good historical kdrama to watch.

Read More

A surprisingly good historical kdrama with a great Queen

1/ STORY : A Queen Lioness has to defend her cubs against an evil who hates her and her sons just because she needs to constrain and manipulate people to feel happy. A Drama with standard plot of palace struggle for power between a faction led by high ranking royals + officials against the Queen and the great princes using the rest of the harem and their princes. But a drama with a modern tone.

2/CHARACTERS:
- The Queen: She is a modern woman in Choseon era and a benevolent Queen. A caring mother with a strong personality and an ability to scheme and counter scheme to defend her sons and her people. Loved that character.
- Grand Prince Seong Nam + Chung Ha : I liked the two characters from hot headed GP to taking his brother's role and becoming a father and from rogue daughter to CPrincess and becoming a mother. A Cute little romance.
- Most of the princes are good kids who love and support each other despite their different moms instigating some against others. Fav: Prince Bogum, Prince Muan, Prince Hodong.

- Main villain: Awful person who causes deaths and tragedy just for the sake of manipulating people and having them in control.
- Second main villain: The guy looked funny and most of the time he was in a crossfire.
- Third villain : Kind of pitied her despite all her schemes she looked miserable.
- Son of villains : Annoying guy and cold blood murderer and conspirator
- The doctor : Sorry mate but you did bad.

2/ WHAT I LIKED:

- The pace : The drama has 16 eps but it is fast paced with a good development of the main story and sub plots that are funny and emotional especially between the Queen and her sons.
- The story has a lot of characters involved and their relations or connections are intricated. At some point it looks messy but the ending twists clarify the situation and unveil an unexpected but entertaining story.
- The drama tackling modern questions: gender identity, teenage pregnancy...

3/ WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
- The demise of the bad guys is not really satisfactory. The death of the big villain is too lenient. After all the murders, attempt murders, conspiracy to murder... Her ending is still on her own terms.
- The cold blood murderer and conspirator got away with his bad deeds and crimes. Shame.
- The character GP Seong Nam takes a nose dive towards end. Probably the writer did not want him to overshadow the Queen and they gave him less screentime and less importance.

4/OST: A good sageuk one.

5/REWATCH VALUE: Valuable. But probably I won't rewatch it.

6/OVERALL: I binged watched this drama after it ended airing and enjoyed it. It is a good drama with a few flaws. An unclear plot at some point because of characterization, the lack of sense of danger as the good guys would always prevail, some repetitive elements, and the closure brought to the characters not always satisfactory for me.

Still this drama is one of the most entertaining historical Krama I watched since a while thanks to many good characters and their rivalry or their cute and kind, heartwarming interactions. I totally recommend it. 9/10

Read More

Not perfect but still enjoyable with a good last part.

1 / GOOD
- Magician: Very interesting and intriguing character. A magician who is protective and charming but also dark and scary and weird at times. His backstory and the events around him towards the end is the best part.
- Female lead: She is endearing even if she is struggling. I liked her evolution from ugly and persecuted and struggling to understanding the world around and finding her own path.
- Final plot twist. Good. I did not see that coming even if it was an easy one.

2/ NOT SO GOOD
- SML ; I could not believe in his character. He had too few interactions and knew too little about the magician to change his path the way he did. I was never convinced by his new passion.
- SFL: She was annoying. Her actions lacked of clear motivations. So it looked also unrealistic at times.
- They tried to provide too many messages about life, choice, happiness... and some were messy and redundant.

3/ OVERALL
The drama almost lost me until the plot thickened with the thriller part. It is enjoyable. 8.5/10

Read More

Addictive but not really entertaining

WHAT I LIKED:
- The chemistry between the two leads is good. The actors Kem and Mookda did great.
- Prin : He is a very human character with his flaws and qualities. The story starts with him doing something terrible to Mitra that should send him to jail but he gets away with it. The good thing about him is that it is possible to understand him without excusing his wrongdoings. After making several mistakes he really put his heart into redeeming himself and try to win back the woman he loves and their children. And for that he is selfless, super charming and has a lot of patience dealing with Mitra. He is the best part of the drama.
- Chen and Kaweena : they are the fun and fresh touch.
- Gun : Not a popular opinion but I had sympathy for him. I could understand his choice to try to win Mitra but also how and why he rekindled his friendship with Prin. Too bad he kind of just disappeared in the last eps.
- Pam: typical evil woman in Lakorn but the actress was successful in making her look a crazy lunatic with wtf schemes just because she is jealous.
- Than Thawee's wife: she has little screen time but she is savage.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
- Mitra: She made wrong choices since the beginning because she is spoiled and stubborn. I could excuse her first mistakes because she was too young but after she decided to reconcile with Prin and he wasted the chance she just went sulking and taking weird decisions which just brought problems for everyone. For me she was not a great person and sometimes she was too extreme. I could not have sympathy for her.
- The arc of narration with the Dr Traitor and his lover is weak. They did all this just because one wanted money and the other wanted to please him.
- The final vilain was there just for the revelations about the kids and Prin's origins. He was so not challenging I was disappointed and even laughed during the final showdown between him and Prin's father.

OVERALL:
The drama is nothing special and full of clichés and tropes but at least it manages to make the viewer curious of what will happen next for our two main leads and how they will get together. Finally it is nice to see how it ended well for the good ones but there is not a lot of fun in this. There are a lot of misunderstanding to solve and secrets to unveil but not enough intensity. The truth about the kids was unveiled in such a funny way. It is an OK drama but not an unforgettable one.

Read More

Emotional and fun drama and a story of a mother's love and of her flaws.

1/ STORY:

I liked the story. It was very emotional as it dealt with mother and son relationship. It tells how sad events, and a life of hardships shape the mentality of a mother who loves her child but gives him a strict tight upbringing which impairs their relationship and create a gap between them. She will have to do the job of taking care of her son again, but her methods do not change, and she does things right but also wrong again.

There is also a subplot where the misery brought on them, mother and son, is not because of coincidence. The son will decide to find out the truth of what happened. This will deepen the ditch between him and his original place. That part of the story was interesting but not the focus. It helped to give depth to the leading characters, and it triggered some thrilling moments and funny action.

Romance: not a typical romance told in an unusual way. It is like a puzzle. Put the pieces do take their right place and unveil a cute romance that ends happily despite the misunderstandings and the time passed.

2/ CHARACTER/CAST:

- The mom: Loving but also authoritarian mother who uses strict and extreme methods thinking it is for the best. She is awful at times but also human as she does not know better and that was the best she could do as a mother. At the end of the journey, she will be able to turn back to see the road made and despite the many mistakes say it is a good journey. The actress Ra Mi Ran did a great job portraying that character.

- The son: Despite adversities, he grows up to be a nice intelligent loving young man, but he takes a decision that will cause his life to totally change. The road back to himself will be long and painful. Lee Do Hyun impeccable.

- Mi Joo: I liked her personality. A young woman who seemingly falls out of love and struggles to provide for her family. But she remains positive to keep it up and earn her happiness. The actress bluffed me.

- Sam Sik: The guy is useless during almost all the drama until he is given some action. He fails to be funny most of the time.

- First bad guy Assemblyman Oh: terrible human being portrayed by the usual Jung Woong In and his best sneering face.

- Second bad guy Chairman Song: murderer who became a grotesque gang boss behind an honorable façade. Underused character.

- The ex-fiancée: Spoiled rich girl got totally manipulated until she decides to save herself.

- The villagers: A collection of farcical characters who are mostly fun to watch.

- The twins: They are not very realistic but absolutely cute to watch.

3/ OST: Nothing special but good enough

4/ REWATCH VALUE: A lot of emotional scenes. A lot of funny scenes too. But it is quite heavy at times. Rewatchable.

5/OVERALL: It is a good and entertaining drama more focused on the people and the relationships between them. The mom and son’s relationship is full of difficulties but in the end it is a beautiful story. I enjoyed watching this drama week in week out. The thriller part was ultimately a bit lacking for my taste. It was resolved in a rushed way using info dropping, clues dropping, Tchekov’s gun, with a final surprise twist. But the most important part was not there. I will still give it a 10/10 as it had me glued at every the ep.

Read More