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Soju
somewhere between the monsoon rain and you.
In fact, I had a childish grudge on Kim So Hyun after I watched "Moon Embracing the Sun"-- that sort of held me back from watching this drama for the first few after this drama ended.
BUT I AM SO GLAD I WATCHED IT!
From the get go-- THIS WAS AMAZING!
I love Kim So Hyun as a female lead (although I am tired of her hairstyle) and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Ok Taecyeon! His smile, his face, his shoulders, even the way he talks! It's amazing and he is so brilliantly gifted as an actor!
This show was so good I even found myself loving the villain because he looked like such a small adorable boy.
My say? Watch it you all! Trust me! If you enjoyed "Master's Sun" -- you'll enjoy this for sure!
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This review may contain spoilers
Why you may want to watch this drama?+ plot line is very sweet
+ ROSE IS AMAZING (You'll know when you watch)
+ BL
+ hot hot hot main male lead with amazing seduction/teasing skills
+ he also has great hair! (and a killer jaw)
+ even the second leads don't do much damage to the main leads' relationships
+ potential misunderstandings are discussed rather than acted harshly on.
What should you be cautious of?
+ the hero and heroine literally do the mating dance (per say) for a long long time before they finally end up finalizing their feelings.
+ the main male lead gives too much of his attention to his idiotic ex GF (aka second female lead)
+ the second male lead is an idiot. I repeat, an idiot.
SPOILER:
+ A happy ending.
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This review may contain spoilers
Why you may want to watch this drama?+ the OST is AMAZING!
+ the second leads' love story is the highlight of my life. I love them.
+ the first leads' also have a very cute love story. Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo are OTP.
+ amazing plot line. I was literally very impressed.
+ love. love everywhere!
+ Onew of SHINee is the most adorable little kitten to walk on this planet.
+ not a single episode that's boring.
+ no jealous second female leads
+ big boss' love rival was hilarious.
+ great English skills by the cast!
What should you be cautious of?
+ I loved the second leads' love much more tbh~ I lived for their love throughout the 16 episodes.
+ be ready to see a very sexy, yet evil villain.
+ subtle/ intentional/ unintentional racism on some parts.
MAYBE SPOILER:
+ A happy ending.
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I didn't expect to like this drama so much. In fact initially I only watched it because I had run out of other things to watch instead.
It's hilarious, because by the end of it I almost was embarrassed at how judgmental I was when picking dramas. It served as a nice occasion to remind myself not to judge a drama only at face value.
I must admit, it was partially because of Cinderella & the Four Knights why I may have judged Shopping King Louie so superficially — but I'm an glad I finally did watch it.
For anyone wondering why I brought in Cinderella & the Four Knights — I didn't complete the drama because the second female lead was the queen of pettiness & she didn't deserve to finally get the guy. She actually needed to just stop, move or something and learn to love her own self. Aish. Rant over.
Back to the current review!
I'll just give you guys an easier way to decide if you want to give this drama a go, okay?
Alright!
Really consider watching this drama if you:
~ love Seo In Guk
~ really want to see Seo In Guk being the most cutest little puppy alive! #FR
~ or see him being super clingy, which is totally contrasting most of the previous roles he played where he was completely in charge, like in Hello Monster and Master's Sun.
~ want to laugh like crazy almost 70% of the drama.
~ want to watch a drama where no one is actually bad. Where you understand even the villains. Where villains actually repent.
~ don't like having an super rich aunty, mum, grandmother or stepmother from the rich Chaebol dude's side completely against the poor girl and wants to make her life hell. Have no fear, there is no such female or male present in this drama!
~ love sweet grandmas #RIPDoctorsHalmeoni
~ don't like second lead syndromes. Tired of getting the SLS, guys? If that is the case! HAVE NO FEAR! The second lead in this drama doesn't cause ANY SLS! Because you will eventually start shipping him with Louie! (Wait.. maybe that is SLS, too?)
--
The only reason the rewatch value is 8/10 is because I don't usually watch a drama more than once, but I'm sure to watch this again ... maybe 10 years along the road?
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> Despite its flaws ~ this drama has been wonderful. I've never been more intrigued with a drama that doesn't have its primary focus on Romance.
> Coming to the flaws, the one thing that I could never digest was that this show gave more screen-time to the villains than the heroes. In some episodes, almost half the runtime would be just of the villains drinking tea and scheming, or gloating over their stupid achievements. Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find this annoying because I really really hated the overachieving military baboon. I can't explain how much I wanted to kill that officer! I don't think I've ever felt this much hatred for someone — that too, someone completely fictional. I suppose I'd have to appreciate the writer and actor's talents despite it all. They did do a good job at making me loathe the character. But still, I always knew I'd have a reason to despise his very existence from his first scene.
>Speaking of villains, I must say, apart from the military baboon and the other three villains, Chen Pi was the world's biggest idiot. Initially, despite seeing how cruel his character could be, I still had hope that he would have a better understanding because of his shameless love for his mistress (Lay's wife). But this boy didn't even want to seek reasoning or understand the situation. He just jumped in with the evil bandwagon and began making everyone else's lives miserable. Despite how adorable the fella looked, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have thought before smashing his face into a toilet because he was a complete shitehead**.
> Although Romance is of a secondary issue in this drama, the romance between the main couple is amazing. It was very refreshing to watch the exchange between Da Fo and the female lead because Zanilia's character was so upfront about her emotions and motive and a complete sass machine! Once again, Zanilia did a wonderful job! (Complete fan after watching Boss and Me)
> While we are on the topic of acting skills — Great acting by Lay! I'm very impressed tbh. I just confess out of guilty conscience, I didn't even know who he was until I thought I'd seen him somewhere while watching his second or third scene. Googled him up and BAMN! Kpop Idol! (Sorry, I'm not that into EXO yet. Although I'm very much into Lay now.) *clears throat* Back to Lay, he didn't make me feel like I was watching a 25-year-old~ somehow he had a very old soul vibe. I loved him!
> Since I've mentioned Lay making me feel like he was an old soul. Even the first male lead looked younger than him tbh. And William (Da Fo — first male lead) is actually 31! Six years Lay's senior.
> Again, Lay, I can not even explain how much I wanted to just reach into the screen at times, grab his face and apply chapstick on those lips of his during so many scenes! The boy really dealt with a bad case of chapped lips almost throughout the drama. I suppose it was completely freezing in China during the shoots and the poor lad has really susceptible lips.
> My favorite character in this whole drama would have to be split between Lao Ba (fortune teller) and the Luitennent ~ They were quite the characters! And their bromance was something to watch!
> At first when the drama moved to the 'Lao Ba and the lieutenant searching for Da Fo in a small village' angle, I was a bit apprehensive ~ but then I really began to get interested in how the village was structured, and the chieftain. What really pulled my heartstrings, however, was the bittersweet secret unrequited love angle there was between the Chieftain and Er Ye (Lay). It almost made me cry with how beautiful it was ~ it actually made me think "This could be such a beautiful drama on its own"
> Speaking of Lay's love angle in this; ALMOST EVERY FEMALE IN THIS DRAMA FALLS FOR HIS CHARACTER! His wife, that evil Madame Hu girl, the Chieftain, EVEN DOCTOR MO! By the end of the drama I couldn't even deal anymore ~ I once even screamed that I'd take him just because there were so many females into him!
> My personal eternal love in this drama? The lieutenant. I spent every second of his screentime wishing that he get his own main lead in a proper drama someday soon! Those acting skills and looks would really suit the role of a lead. Heck, he'd even look great as a Korean main lead because he has those looks!
> Slowly moving to the more sour points in this drama — Er Ye's eternal, unconditional love for his wife slowly made me feel suffocated every time he refused to even try to give up finding a way to be with her. I mean the lady's dead. She said she's content with her life. Okay nevermind, maybe I don't understand the mechanics of true love.
> While I adored this intriguing drama~ I got really tired by episode 39. Everything felt too confusing, and I got very bored of the folks still having to deal with the tombs. You'll need a lot of patience to pass through the episodes after 35, to be honest.
> The ending? Open-ended tbh. I don't know.. I just somehow didn't feel it.
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