ShortCircuit

WHAT?! Oh sh!t...

So did they ever say why he was listed rank-7 before? I know he and his agency immediately fought it off, but if there was genuinely a reason for it... wouldn't it be dangerous to go active-duty soldier instead of PR duty or whatever some of them get?

From Dusk Til Dawn is perfection, IMHO. Some of them are more ickish, LOL, but this is someone who read and LOVED You've Got Mail, there's no extra in MDZS that scares me :D . (Besides my own personal opinion is that MXTX doesn't know how to write good smut, LOL. In ANY of her novels.)

Yup, the CGI is bad, LOL. Still they did what they could with a web drama that long, I'll take it. And TBH, it's been a while and some low-budgeted dramas look BAD BAD BAD even with the top of the damned cast possible (don't let me start on Twelve, it's the disappointment of the year for me).

Most production companies learned their lesson already, I've been watching LOTS of cdramas that have amazing CGI and special effects in general (just LOOK at Fangs of Fortune, for example!) At least they can learn. Why couldn't ABOD's production team learn too? Sometimes less is more, but then it takes skill and sadly... there's not a lot of skill other than some of their acting in this one.

This is tattoo misunderstanding level, LOL.

"I want this on my skin, it says Peace and Love in Chinese."
Actual meaning: Poop Rat Chick Was Here.

I don't get the flying on swords thing (unless the point is that the CGI isn't top tier). They DO fly on swords in the novel and it's a trope in xianxia, what's the problem, LOL?

This drama's problem isn't the lighting (YEAH we all got it, it's supposed to be pitch dark, they can't see etc) - they're freaking ALPHAs, smelling and recognising known pheromones it's their whole thing, why can't either - ShaoYu and WenLang - recognise their partners by their freaking SCENT?

MY problem with this is that it's actually a change for the worst from the novel (yeah I did look up the scene), freaking WenLang was supposed to be dead drunk and intoxicated by the pheromones and in the drama he's just... I don't know what - ready to go rape an unknown Omega just because?! Why would they change that?? How is their relationship supposed to go on from that?! (SPOILER Doormat Gao Tu actually STAYS in the business for a while, gets pregnant from this rape, and only leaves because WenLang AGAIN says he won't touch a filthy Omega and if there's any child of his gotten from such an inferior being, he'd force the Omega to abort it. Which yeah - here's prime material for a husband and lover, NOT.)

I won't even talk about the ~chains that Hua Yong had on him, LOL, I've worn stronger chains in my wild Goth days. And if his location was so strongly closed-up so nobody could enter, how come those two wannabe kidnappers just waltzed in?!

This was freaking clumsy and an insult to anyone's intelligence.

But I don't care anymore, TBH, because what bothers me the most in this drama isn't even the rape (since it's a trope in ABO anyway, I expected it). It's the freaking pacing. Everything moves soooooo slow, and it's always ShaoYu being actually interested with no hidden secrets and Hua Yong being underhanded and playing games (WHY?!), and nothing changed at all in their relationship. And then there's doormat Gao Tu - that I actually liked for most of the drama, who also STILL hasn't taken any decisive action in his hopeless one-sided love. Now I've read some spoilers from the novel and all that's keeping me watching is Gao Tu growing a f!cking spine finally and serving WenLang one of his own dishes.

But it will take forever, with this pacing.

No - how big a spoiler do you want? :D They love each other (they are married throughout the series, and they don't break up) but at the end... things are a bit complicated.

It's possible at the end of the drama. They're both still alive and in contact.

Not really the same genre, but you wanted good acting from FLs. Why not take a look at Blossom, The Prisoner of Love or A Dream of Splendour? All of them are costume dramas.

OR if you want to stay in-genre, why not Nobody Knows (SK 2020 one)? It's another great detective story, female-lead, too.

TBH, going by your watched list, this won't be easy for you to get into. You seem to like action and/or fantasy, and this is mostly a melo thriller. Yes there is (some) action, yes there is police work - but a large part of the main plot is based on a romance between two long-married people, one of whom is a police detective and the other is a wanted fugitive.

For me, I watched - and REALLY enjoyed it because 1. Lee JoonGi is one of those actors who lose themselves into their characters. There are very few of them and I love watching dedicated and talented people act their characters and not as themselves being those characters. 2. There is real chemistry between the leads, and most of the cast - the serial killer in particular - did a great job of bringing up the true horror of the story. 3. This is one character-driven story. It's about (at least) three separate psycopaths and the roads they take in their respective lives, and the relationships they establish with humans. And then there are the sociopaths, those who know what they're doing is not right but choose to put themselves and their needs and wants above anyone else.

If you decide to give it a try, be warned there's going to be some gore, there's a serial killer case ongoing (so expect victims and/or killing details) AND there will be some tropes. Some watchers aren't happy with the ending, which, though not exactly a bad ending, isn't a happy one either. I find it fitting to the story.

He was way better (and more alive) in Bad Guys. But the role there was also pretty similar to this one.

There are only 12 animals in the Zodiac, and the Crow isn't one of them (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig). The Rooster is the only bird in the Zodiac.

The one animal who was swindled out of its place in the Zodiac is the Cat because the Rat did something to cause it (and that presumably explains why cats eat mice/rats).

The Crows are Sun-related and they're freaking considered birds of wisdom (well, most Corvids, not just the Crow).

On the other hand, what we have here are Zodiac Animals who are called Angels and a solitary (there should be 9 if related to anything celestial) Crow who does Brandon Lee-style trust falls (yeah they look epic, TBH BL did it better. And no wings cheat either!) They're messing up some mythologies like nobody's business and in the end it won't cling cleanly to either and call it fusion mythology or something.

Oncoming rant, you've been warned. Also I'm going to use my potty mouth/writing, if you're sensitive, don't read, kthxbye.

What the f!ck is wrong with the lighting on this one?! It's so monotone and way too bright for a drama about MYSTERIOUS freaking BEINGS!! Who is in the production team, someone who last made some weekender?!

Then the direction... We've SEEN MDS duck-walking around. MOVE ON. We've SEEN him collect money and then (uncharacteristically for his animal) go stash it in a vault, very probably for HER. That's what an EUROPEAN freaking DRAGON would do. HELLOOOOOO~~~~~ This is NOT an European dragon FFS!!! Asian Dragons are a completely different SPECIES for crying out loud!! WE GOT IT, he's an idiot in love with the Dragon sign - DO A FREAKING ASIAN DRAGON THEN!! And they DO. NOT. HOARD!! Have him make her a pool or an underground river complex, SOMETHING characteristic... not treasure vaults!!

Yeah I saw red at that. I'm European, we (well, most of us) KNOW our dragon lore, Chinese or other Asian Dragons DO NOT BEHAVE THE SAME. So get rid of the freaking vault goddammit.

Okay so now Ogwi is on. For what, a minute per episode? Yeah that's not going to cut it. And BTW, his whole purpose in life is getting everyone into Hell? Because why? It would make sense if this was some primordial fight using primordial forces and some battles ripping off the face of Earth and reforming rivers and mountains and sh!t - but THESE GUYS are wearing freaking Temu second-hand tiger training outfits, can't keep their mouths shut to save their lives (like seriously, Pig, THAT was the most important thing in your life that morning?? Fighting it out with a freaking French Bichon?? Dafuk is this stupidity?!), are WAY TOO STUPID to be majestic and world-defying FIGURES OF THE FREAKING ZODIAC who are supposed to save the world from Ogwi.

He's on for WHAT?? And why did that freaking priest who's been around since BEFORE Ogwi got put away (hellooooo, you said that last epic fight that we won't revisit because 8 eps and we already wasted 2 of them was back in the PALEOLITHIC!!!! That's when Ugoo-Ugoo was barely out of the caves (or still inside) and making stone tools and most of our gone cousins were not even around YET! Why isn't that priest some Homo Heidelbergensis then?! Or AT LEAST a Homo Neanderthaliensis, if we can't get Cro Magnons. Which BTW WE DID NOT have in that region of the freaking world because there it would've been MAYBE some Denisovan and/or Neanderthal hybrid or maybe some even older version of Homo Pekinensis!)

... anyway, that priest was supposedly around since before Ogwi got put away and now, only some thousands of years later, he wants to be immortal?! How in the f!ck did he survive til NOW, then?

Which reminds me of the opening scene in this second ep - dafuq was that lame lame lame scene?!! So you go around supernaturally saving some medieval peasants, they come kill you because they think you're evil or something and you decide to not ever help THE WHOLE SPECIES?

Then why the hell are you living on anymore for?! Collecting debts from thugs?!

Oh and they're obviously stronger than the regular human BUT some drugged up minions are now suddenly stronger than them?! Boo!

Anyway - acting pretty much 1/10 (this is definitely a one-man show and they just pretended the rest of the cast would matter, and PHS is there only for the face card, so far and that's where it's going to stay for me since I'll be waiting for his next drama, hopefully with an actual plot this time).
Directing: 0/10
Editing (WHAT editing??): -2/10
Music: 5/10 just because the ED songs exist. The rest didn't even leave an impression (is there any BGM?)
Cinematography (WHAT CINEMATOGRAPHY????): -1000/10

So yeah, cutting the rant short, this is not exactly a drama I'd like were I to keep watching. So I'll just save myself some headaches and stop.

/rant

You know what's wrong with this, among many other things? It's filmed like one of those 50 eps family dramas that air in the weekends. The difference is that those know their audience. This one is aiming completely off the playing field.

More ranting under the spoiler, but the conclusion is - to all who are going to keep suffering, trust me, this won't be worth those 40-50 seconds of PHS face card in each ep that will be all going in its favour. You can see it from the Mouth of Hell already.

So yeah, f!ck this sh!t I'm out.

PS The ED song(s) are still pretty good, though, I'm gonna look them up.

They did hint it was MengMeng (the couple's daughter) who started the cycles, after dying when she ran out in the middle of the road because she had been assaulted in the bus.

I guess they couldn't be more explicit than that because well - ghosts in a police story. Big no-no in cdramaland LOL.

The photo was uploaded to a cloud deposit as soon as the assault in the bus happened. In the previous cycle, LSQ was given the password to it by the original owner, so when the new cycle began, she didn't need to go through the same motions again - the cloud was there, she had access, she downloaded the photo immediately.

When it ends, you're going to be sorry there is no more.

(There's a second season, but it involves different characters in another timeline.)

Don't miss this gem - the very good dramas are already rare and pretty far apart.

PS For a better impression - DON'T watch the official trailer above. Watch the DVD promo trailer - much better and a lot less spoilers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYSZpTICPzs

(Subs on)

I'm promising you rainbows and unicorns :D

Well, maybe not the unicorns. But there'll be some rain so definitely rainbows :D

It's a heavy political+revenge story. It's slow in the beginning, but as it goes on it gets faster and smoother and unstoppable. There won't be much romance (there is some, though), but political plotting and stratagems and swindling, and some action, and personal hurt and gain. Give it a bit of time in the beginning to get used to the pace, and then you won't feel where time goes :)

One of the best cdramas ever made - yes it deserves all the high praise.

It could be explained away that he didn't really recognise him, since he was basically a kid and in terror of the whole army and his family being betrayed to their deaths - by supposed allies/friends. But then, the way he revealed who Xie Yu was didn't imply he hadn't already KNOWN. He just had to have him confess so that the people who had to hear it - JingYan and Xia Dong - did hear it. Showing the rest of the world what he had known for so long.

MCS had years of planning, spies sent way ahead of time to the capital, info squirreled away in tiny bits, he didn't come and improvise a revenge path. (Not that his actual main plan was the revenge - what he planned for was giving JingYan the throne.)

One and a half eps and it'll all get better, don't lose hope. Because this time around... LWJ is definitely not letting anyone get any wrong ideas about the man he loves. Keep watching - it's going to be awesome.

And YES, all those cultivators WILL get their deserved face-slapping too.