autumn carrot

Could be gayer?!

Warning: This movie is for 18+ viewers ONLY.
A year ago, I came across this movie but it wasn’t available anywhere so I read the summary on Wikipedia and gave up! Now about a week ago, by complete dumb luck, I found the movie on a website and thought I’ll watch it, anyway. It’s a good movie. The production, the story, the acting, etc. were all nice. On top of it all, it has a well-executed love triangle of the type I like. So it was a shoo-in for 10/10. It’s just…I liked the first two-thirds but the third act was kind of…meh? I wanna say it was a total sad surprise but I kind of could already tell I wouldn’t like the ending when I read that summary a year ago. No, it’s not negative bias that affected my judgment. Because when I started watching the movie, I expected to be underwhelmed but the movie surprised me by how good it was. Then the third act happened!
I’m really conflicted over this film. About how I felt about it and what to rate it. I said I’ll give myself some time to think it over but a week later and I’m still none the wiser.

You should check this out if you like:
1. Historical fiction
2. Tragic endings
3. Love triangles
4. Internal conflicts
5. Betrayals and moral ambiguity

Summary: The king of Goryeo is gay. He’s been sleeping with his chief of guards (whom he may or may not have groomed since childhood) for a long time. The problem is that Goryeo is now a vassal state of the Yuan dynasty and if the king can’t provide an heir, his country will basically get taken away from him. So, the king has the brilliant idea to have his queen and lover provide an heir for him…because that would still be in the family, right? Well… wrong!

Plot: Love triangles get a bad rep because these days we are sort of sick of them and also because they have turned into formulas that are uninspired, repetitive, and stale. Back in the noughties (The author of this review was on a noughties drama nostalgia bender at the time of watching this movie and reviewing it!) the trope wasn’t done to death yet and people still had the guts to go really wild with their love triangles. That’s the kind I love. Like here, where all three points of the triangle are involved with each other romantically and everyone is simultaneously in love with the others and jealous of them. It’s a MESS! And believe it or not, love triangles are only fun to watch when they are really bunkers. If you can already tell which side will end up together, then it’s not a love triangle. That’s two people in a relationship and a stalker. Anyway, this movie really impressed me because, for two-thirds of it, it delivers all the delicious, terrible feelings of being in love with your love rival and feeling hella conflicted and guilty about it. The final act though was rather tonally different. It was still great. The best of the acting happens during that time and it’s packed with plot and action but it fails to deliver the satisfying emotional punch that was building up in the first two acts, for me. Because while things seemed ambiguous and uncertain before, the last act tries to deliver fast and concrete answers to those questions and it cheapens the story that was told before.

The acting: It was great. I wasn’t super impressed with Jo In Sung here. His expression began to meld into the same two after a while. (But then I watched WHIB right after this, so I think he’s great anyway!) Joo Jin Mo was really good though. A Standout. Everyone else was fine. I wanna pour a drink out for the female lead who had to do so many explicit scenes though. Girl, I wouldn’t wanna be you. That looked so awkward.

Music: Great music elevated the emotional scenes in the film. It set the sad and somber mood perfectly and was also pleasant to listen to.

Rewatch value: Probably not. It’s a tragedy and has too many explicit scenes.

Negatives: For the record, yes, it does matter if the story has gay romance or not. The whole conflict exists because of the issue of sexuality so there’s no way to think about the plot by pretending the tension would still exist if the love triangle wasn’t set up the way that it was. Because the thing that makes this movie interesting and watch-worthy and the thing that sets it apart is the fact that it is known for the relationship between the king and the guard dude. If the guard was just a friend, the story would immediately be way less interesting. That would be something they would make nowadays. Not the noughties!!! With that said, I think the story was a bit conflicted in itself. Like they hesitated to lean into the implications. It didn’t know if it wanted to be about the tragic gay couple or the star-crossed straight couple and that hurts the last act because a lot of the nuance disappears as the king and the guard take the shape of stereotypical rivals more and more. The thing is, by modern standards, the straight part is not a love story at all. It’s just a physical relationship so there’s just no charisma to it. I couldn’t root for the guard and the queen to save my life! They have nothing in common except their physical desires. I can’t fault the story though. In a historical setting, I can understand how that was as good as either one could wish for. It’s just that their romance became the main drive of the last act and that was just not a strong enough romance to carry the plot. So it’s a bit less interesting to watch than when everyone is in love with everyone or married to them and they have all these feelings of lust and betrayal and confusion that they don’t know what to do with.
There were also way too many explicit scenes! Omg, just…so many! Why?! I fast-forwarded most of that because I just couldn’t stomach it. It almost looked clinical. Really disturbing. I felt so sorry for the actors…just YIKES!

Overall: The film has such a perfect set-up. When we meet the characters, the king and the chief guard seem to have a very good and intimate relationship. Same with the King and Queen who though obviously not romantic, still get along. The queen and the chief guard have this mellow rivalry which is very polite and respectful in appearance and the political unrest is interesting. Then the stuff happens and the conflicts are deliciously tantalizing as we see the three characters torture themselves and each other with their silences, with the things they keep from each other, and the stuff they want but can't have. It’s just such an interesting story to tell. The ending is still good even if it doesn’t live up to its potential. The beginning promises an epic fallout and we do get one. It’s just that it could have been an even BIGGER fallout. I think it’s worth a watch. It’s a very well-made movie.
Sidenote: If you think about it, all the problems would be solved if Hong Rim could just identify as a bisexual.

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How to boil frogs alive?

Warning: This show has a lot of triggering content, including suicide, drug use, corporal punishment, abusive language, and sexual assault to name a few. If you have any trauma-specific triggers or cannot handle extreme violence, then tread lightly.

Violence breeds violence in this visceral, dark study of what it takes to break a person who is getting broken every day, over and over again, to the point of no return. The show connects violence in male-dominated environments to domestic abuse, to complacency and apathy in an ominous epic where heroism is nothing but the polished facade over a sick and rotting within.
This was such an unexpected watch for me. I wasn’t planning on watching this because I dislike military and everything connected to it (including fictional works about it) but it’s just 6 episodes and I like the main lead’s acting to I thought I should give it a watch and I was blown away (pun not intended). This was not at all what I had expected from a Korean show. They never hit as hard as Korean films do but this show is a visceral, horrifying watching experience. I can’t say I enjoyed watching it. It induces a lot of stress but I also couldn’t look away. The show tackles the military with a critical eye. It has a “lord of the flies” lens and it shows how the hierarchies in the military enable sociopathic, violent people with dark fantasies to do as they please without any consequence. It’s a system that sustains itself with gore, intimidation, humiliation, and mind-break. The show is almost too successful in exposing these and also connecting the issues of that environment to the hierarchies and toxicity existing in the society outside of the military compound.

You should watch this show if:
1. You hate the military like I do
2. Can handle violence and injustice (extreme)
3. Short format with no wasted moment
4. Subtle character developments
5. Realism with a touch of dramatization
6. Buddycop dynamic
7. Tragedies
8. Police procedural
9. Dark humor

Summary: The show follows Ahn Joon Ho, an apathetic young man with no prospects, no future, and no emotional attachments who joins the army for his mandatory 2-year service, seemingly on a whim. He survives the initiation process through his sheer will to feel nothing! Then his observation skills and sharp mind land him a job with the deserter pursuit unit and with every new case he follows, his icy veneer melts away as he starts to care. A bit too much, maybe.

Plot: This is a very sharply written show. There’s no one scene wasted on unimportant matters. The show is subtle with its character arcs and humor, which helps put the exaggerated and extreme violence in the show into stark focus, making it feel more jarring and uncomfortable. Foreshadowing, symbolism, and parallels are used with great cunning to help flesh out the world and the characters in it. I really like that detail about it. Aside from technicalities, this is an adrenaline-packed, mystery-solving, action story wrapped in trauma and social commentary. It’s an exhilarating watch that will hype you up while also draining your emotions. The format is more or less episodic with each episode following a case. This does dampen the show’s edginess a little bit, as all procedurals do, but thankfully it’s super short so it doesn’t get pedantic.

Acting: The acting was amazing! I already knew Jung Hae In was an amazing actor but I just couldn’t imagine him in a violent, macho military show. Turns out he’s not just good at dramatic acting and being an extremely ideal love interest. He’s also really good at throwing punches. But I have to say, the show benefits from his skills in delivering emotional punches (lol so many boxing puns!). With his naturally sad eyes and empathetic expressions, he raises the show above just being gratuitous violence. Koo Kyo Hwan plays his sardonic, eccentric character to PERFECTION. His humor is not slapstick and cheap and when the emotional moments come up, he keeps his performance steady and mature. He was amazing. Jo Hyun Chul deserves some sort of award for his performance. If he doesn’t get anything then the awards must be rigged. The ensemble was all good in their roles as well.

Music and Production: The music was fine and it worked well for the show. This was a very well-produced show. The camera work, details, sets, everything was done with great care. I guess it’s a Netflix show so it’s expected to deliver a certain level of professionality.

Rewatch value: No. It was too much. I can’t watch it again. I’ll watch a sequel, though.

Negatives: There is an overarching plot and there is character development and the whole show is a very in-your-face social commentary but the procedural format does redact a bit from it. When the plot really starts connecting from episode 4 to 6, it becomes a bit too melodramatic and certain parts are not as enjoyable as the very stylistic first episode that has you hooked. It survives though. There’s extreme violence and it can be argued that it kind of goes against its thesis by showing such over-the-top violence but I rarely see anyone critic compulsory military service so whatever, I’ll take it!

Overall: Definitely a good show. I would give it a 10 but that’s for shows I have fun. This was not exactly fun to watch. It was painful. Just the kind of pain that is worth getting through. One thing I loved about this show was that it has that "get revenge from the bully" situation but it manages to make you not enjoy the righteous violence despite the justice in it? At least for me, it was so. I’m curious to see if the show will get a second season because it has space to say more. As it stands, it could pack a harder punch. It does show the absurdity of the military so well and it almost makes fun of it but the humor is so dark that it’s almost no longer dark humor, just dark. I would like to see them explore the problematic structure of military a bit more. I won’t ask for justice or a journey of righting wrongs because it’ll be tacky but I want to see more of the show.

So how do you boil frogs alive? Well, how about not doing that, you sick sociopathic monster! Not every man has to be a killing machine. Some men like to plant flowers and draw comics and teach children that they are worth it and they deserve good things and you know what? They are more heroic than those who kick a person just because they can, because they have big muscles or a weapon and whatnot...anyway, don't boil frogs but if you do, just expect one to jump out and bite your head off.

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Generational trauma is a b*tch to get rid of, I tell you!

Yeah, okay this wasn't as bad as everyone made it sound! It was actually fun! So there was a lot to love about this show. The depiction and use of shamanism in this plot makes it very fresh and engaging. It's contemporary fantasy but make it VERY Korean and I don't know, it was a breath of fresh air. And the show stays very consistent with its involvement. Now, I'm not familiar with the religion or shamanism at all so I don't know how true the practices were to the actual thing but at least the story stayed consistent with its rules. You had the deity-patronized shamans and you had the deity-less shamans and you had your vengeful ghosts, evil spirits, the faceless ghosts, and the lost souls...it was such a consistent and engaging canon. Then there is the character arcs and the plot.

So the story follows Seong A who is a teen shaman who wishes she was just like other teens and then you have Gyeon U who is a teenage dreamboat cursed with misfortune. When Gyeon U walks into Seong A's temple upside down, she knows he is bound to die in 21 days. But he's so handsome so she instantly falls in love with him and vows to save him no matter what. Then he also walks into her ordinary life as the new boy at school and it's like a blessing and a curse all at once as she tries to hide her shaman status from the gloomy Gyeon U while maneuvering her crush and her fate-defying heroics to save him. But little does she know, there are dark forces at work behind the scenes that are trying to thwart her plans.

So the story has two main characters with their own arcs, right? Well, it also has 3 supporting characters who are also going through their own stuff and by the end, all characters reach the end of their arcs having overcome their problems from the start. In addition to all this, there is a great love story (even though it's based on appearances at first, the show makes a not-at-all subtle point of proving that appearances are not enough to love a person without a nice personality to boot. I love that!) that defies convention as our guy is the damsel in serious distress, great friendships that build through the show with humor and compassion, a whole comedy side show, and a freaking sport plot too! And I kid you not...the show pulls it all off. I know, I know! Some reading this are getting angry because I'm ignoring the blinged elephant in the room....I'll get there! Wait!
The thing is, the show takes some odd detours to reach its conclusion but if you actually try to follow each thread to its bitter end, you'll see that by the end of the show, everything is in its right place. Now as for the elephant...the issue with the plot is that, it seems like a while episode is missing between episode 10 and 11 which makes the start of episode 11 very jarring and completely messes up the pace the show had lain thus far. It's a hiccup and that's why this is not a 10-star show because it skips over two very important questions in-between those two episodes but I think it bounces back by sticking to its guns and standing by the rules of the story for the rest of the remaining episodes and two, the fact that even before then, the show keeps some serious mysterious vibe going by not over-explaining characters and their backgrounds. So omitting vital information is already on-brand for the show and if you pick yourself up and get over the sudden jump between those episodes, the rest makes sense again. But they definitely cut an episode out in the middle there. I wonder if they thought a show about shamans having 13 episodes was just too ominous! lol
But really, despite all that, this is a solid show with A+ humor and immaculate dialogue that really steals the words out of your head, at some points. The show also does something really amazing with the second male lead which makes the show that much more fun to watch and leaves us with a very memorable character to boot. That is of course if we ignore the other...SML...but I don't know if that menace counts as one...can someone be their own love rival?! ANYWAY! That brings me right down to...the acting!

So the acting...boy! Choo Young Woo is seriously one of the best young actors coming out of Kdramaland lately. Possibly the best one, actually. This is my second show with him and in both, he has shown such astounding skills that I genuinely think he has an MO now of picking really difficult roles that no one else can really pull off other than him. Like I really don't know which other actor could have pulled something like this off so well...maybe that guy from Weak Hero Class? He could do this too, probably. Anyway, he did so well here and I got chills because he is so detailed with his choices that it's impossible not to be impressed. Cho Yi Hyun is very cute and she pulled off her character really well as well, even though the cute acting isn't my personal favorite but I think she did well objectively, regardless of personal taste. The ensemble were great too. Some of the older actors are tried and well-known actors but the younger cast didn't let themselves be upstaged either.

I think the production was great too. Set design was gorgeous and beautiful (Seong A's bedroom was legit gorgeous! The most beautiful bedroom of dramaland. And Gyeon U's whole house was so cottagecore goals), the white washing in the show wasn't super severe either so the actors looks natural...good thing too! Otherwise how were we to tell the humans and the ghosts apart?! The music was awful...like ew! But thankfully, the show didn't do the slow-mo music video montages so I could easily skip those awful songs...

Now the negatives: The second half of the show has this fundamental hiccup as it depends on the assumption that viewers will have enough emotional investment in the evil spirit to watch and stay with the plot...and I don't know other but omg I could not give less of a F---...I could not care less about that lil menace. And because I didn't like the character, watching a lot of the events of the last three episodes was painful...but I wouldn't accuse the show of lobotomizing itself or to have fundamentally changed its tone. It's more that the show stays true to itself but it's just that the bitter path they're on isn't particularly likable. The show does make a solid point of saying how the scars of war are still deep in the consciousness of the Korean public and how the trauma is inescapable and will still hurt the people. And that the only way to move forward is to remember those who were lost to the unfair violence. That's a beautiful and melancholic message and if you stand by the show, you get to feel that at the very end. Sure, the show skipped one or two fundamental steps there but at least the end was a proper pay off. At least in my opinion.

Overall: Is it worth a watch? YES! Absolutely! This is one of the most fun shows I have come across this year. 2025 has been an amazing drama year, actually and this show definitely falls into the good side of that. I suggest you watch this if you like high school dramas, contemporary fantasy, star-crossed romances, or just a show with a good balance of angst and fluff. It's a great show to binge for sure.

P.S: I would like to congratulate Korea for finally figuring out a show that has 12 episodes but has fans begging for more! This has literally never happened before. Like the 16-episodes-curse is so real and alive and yet! Here we are! *standing ovation* truly another amazing showing by SK drama writers! How do they always manage to miscalculate the plot to episode ratio is truly amazing!

P.P.S: This show was plenty angsty, right? Like Gyeon U would have been a whole edge-lord if he wasn't so wholesome and sweet all the time but then Yeomhwa was like 5 degrees more angsty than the rest of this whole production! lol! Like, she was WAY too dramatic at some points! I was like, girlie needs to unwind a bit! lol

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If I was gonna sell Byeon Woo Seok, I too would make a perfect crown shaped ad

I don't really have a lot of nice things to say about this show but I also didn't hate it. This is a very simple show. It's not here to challenge you or inspire great emotions in viewers. It's a comfort show. The type where you have to turn your brain off and let the romantic tropes sweep you off your feet in a classic waltz scene or a kiss in a rose garden. This show is a challenge to the romantic affectionado's ability to locate as many romantic conventions as possible. But the turning off your brain part is imperative! Because if you think too hard...this show is a nightmare! but we're not going to do that! I'm actually turning my brain off for this! This is about watching a hot man do his hot man thing, gorgeous gowns, royal parties, perfect date settings, and just nice colors and castles! I'm not even being sarcastic! This is one of those shows that will make you smile after a hard day. It's just feel good! but That's it!

It follows an unconventional Cinderella story in which the Cinderella isn't poor or mistreated but instead she is a rich and ambitious CEO whose biggest hardship in life is a lack of legitimate status. On the other hand, the prince charming isn't a real prince at all. He's the grand prince and the uncle to the king; hated and sidelined by the royal family but loved (I'm assuming for his unearthly good looks) by the people who must all want to get with him (same, public, same!). And their romance? It's not a romantic at all! It's a contractual marriage that will presumably benefit them both. She gets her much wanted status and he gets...I don't know, an excuse to piss the dowager queen off?! I forgot. But it doesn't matter anyway, because this is not really to his benefit. He clearly has a massive crush on this vain, brash, and cold-hearted woman since they were schoolmates in high school! So he's in it for real! And that's about as far as the romance in this story goes.

Very simple premise. And most importantly the show doesn't rock the boat by doing anything new or unconventional. The prince is extremely handsome and gallant and he's just...so swoon-worthy! And the show knows it! Most of this show is beauty shots of him walking around or sitting around while wearing the most gorgeous outfits with perfect lighting, a devil-may-care smile, and a smoldering gaze that pierces straight through the camera to reach the equally mesmerized female lead and viewers alike. His main personality is being vaguely melancholic due to his grief and hardships, and "protect the female lead at all costs" vibes. He can be petty or irritable. But only in that vaguely inoffensive way that pretty people are so you forgive him all his faults. Because he has none! He is perfect! Shut up!
Our female lead gets ALL the personality. Selfish, vain, ambitious, obsessed with power, and cold. She is set up to be hated and I bet all her high school classmates were crying when they found out *she* landed the most eligible man in Korea (side note: This is alternative Korea so BTS don't exist, I guess...). And yet...She's IU! She's adorable! And while she gets these temper tantrum moments, mostly she's just...nice to people! If anything, she's hard only on herself. Even the sibling she seems to hate is not really hated by her. They're like unhappy co-conspirators! Antagonistic towards each other until some common enemy shows up. So you can't really hate her! She's not actively doing anything. Her biggest crime are those cringe aegyo poses but we can't really get mad at anyone in Korea for that because no one will be left!
So you see, these are very easy to deal with characters! In a very palatable and easy to digest plot! With nice locations and cinematography and yeah...it's just that.
Every sweet and swoon-worthy romantic kdrama trope shows up here. The couple are trapped in this never-ending cycle of perfect date set ups. Every interaction is another chapter in a perfectly crafted romance novel. Even the drama that comes their way is simply another chance for him to play the knight in shining armor or for her to sweep in and piss off his enemies! Perfect harmony on paper.
But then...is it actually romantic?! It's kind of meta. Everything is the perfect romantic set up...because it is a set up! They're crafting this fake romance narrative for the cameras and the public. And as a viewer, you get swept up in their constructed reality too! You swoon and sigh when you know they're faking it. Are they also falling in love along the way? Yeah, they are but that's almost happening in spite of the plot. Things in this relationship are moving too fast and too slow at the same time. They're already kissing and that's somehow a moment of emotional revelation for them when they can barely hold a conversation with the other. This was rushed and under developed. You're only telling yourself this is romantic because they're performing every romance trope like a checklist!
I had the weirdest emptiness feeling while watching this. I would smile goofily as they delivered another perfect romantic moment and the next I would feel so...cold. Like seeing a picture of fire and remembering warmth but not actually feeling warm!
This was such a nothing sandwich with every filling stuffed inside it!
Was it good? No. Was it bad? No. It just sort of...was. But while you watch it, you enjoy it. And then it's over and I'm like...that's it?!
The last two episodes, the show suddenly grows a spine and develops an opinion but it works to the detriment of our romance which becomes very dry and compulsory as a result. The last episode too is just a crash course through sponsorships and the cliche happy-couple tropes. Everything is neatly wrapped with a bow and finished off.
I can't say I disliked this. I liked it. But it was also embarrassing to watch something that so blatantly plays into tested and assured romantic traps. So I didn't love it. I just sat through it.
The acting was good? Though...I don't think you're supposed to care about that while watching Byeon Woo Seok here. Like I started to question if he could ever act or if I just hallucinated that amazing personality from Lovely Runner. Like...what was he even doing before this?! I don't remember! I just know he looks nice when he wears lowcut V neck silk shirts! Ad his hair stands nice and his skin glows! And his lips are definitely kissable AS F!
...Anyway, I'm not even talking about anything beside the male lead's good looks and IU kinda being there too because that's all I took away from this show. But everyone else was operating exactly as you would expect too. Yes, the second leads are evil. There's a child who is cute and also cried a lot. The assistants are loyal and funny and devoted as always while the parents are disapproving. Family dynamics need mending, and the media is a bunch of evil vultures, as always. This is an alternative world. The world of kdrama where everything is exactly as you expect it to be. And that's nice. But also a bit weird?
Maybe, I'm just not used to not being stressed, I don't know. Maybe peace and fluff just feel alienating to me because everything else has always had a struggle and this was a little too smooth sailing? I don't know!
Do I recommend it? Yes! Go watch this for 13 hours and relax and enjoy the eye candy! It's fun and light like a fluffy pancake. All sweetness and air.

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I finished it but at what cost (spoilers ahead but I feel like you might want to know this one...)

I feel like a vampire.
I'm not gonna explain that...
So this is...a show. Very disturbing show. Tseng Jing Hua is such a good actor and he always picks interesting projects and unfortunately, he doesn't have many lead roles so when I found out this show was coming, I was vibrating with joy! Now, I am vibrating with a mix of rage and sadness. It's really hard reviewing this show because there are two completely different things going on here.
On one hand, this is a show that follows two documentary creators as they get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to interview a serial killer on the death row. Things go south very fast as one of these people starts to have weird visions of this serial killer in a past she has never been a part of. And then we get transferred to the past and see what drove this cold-blooded killer.

The show is well-acted, the plot is doing its job for the most part though there is a level of confusion that never really gets resolved, you just sort of forget about it as the trauma and ruin piles up. It's partially very square and clear. It's a story that shows class divide, failing systems, and the bittersweetness of first love. It's only once you add the future parts that things get complicated because...what is happening? Is this a haunting? Is this a transmigration story? Is it a murder story? Are we solving some puzzle, here?
But the show really just drops the ball on that front as the second, or the last third really, of the show rolls in, bulldozes over the plot and stabs you 57 times in the stomach before dropping into a very slow-mo ending.
And that's the thing.
So on one hand, this is a drama, on the other, this is a horrifyingly realistic depiction of a violent group rape and the fallout after it and the absolute failure of the corrupted justice system that bamboozles the victim and the viewers.
How am I supposed to talk about this like it's a regular drama?! Because it wasn't. I'm just filled with blood-thirst now! Who even cares, I'm gonna be the rainstorm killer! We should ALL be the rainstorm killer! Who wouldn't be after what happened?!
And that's my point.
Certain elements once introduced into a story, completely hijack any conversation about that story. This is not a show anymore; this is a SA story. It's only about that.
If I was to review the rest of this show, I would say: it's painful and frustrating to watch at times but there is hope somewhere in it and it was a nice watch. But then if I consider Episodes 8-10, then that was a traumatizing and way too detailed display of SA and I don't think anyone should watch that. Also if the creators thought it was okay to show the violence of that part, then I want a gorey stabbing scene! Give me the part where the rapist pissed his pants. Show me his organs falling out of his stomach as he screams his last breaths, I don't care! Is that too much? Well, why is it that showing the worst nightmare of all women in gorey details is okay but we draw the line at a monster getting slain?!
Now, I think part two might give my inner Vampire some peace but as it stands, part one has both upset me greatly and angered me to the point of dying from anger (But this is not Wuxia, so I'll live. You know who won't? Those villains! We know because Rainstorm killer is gonna get them!!!)
So yeah. First part of the show: great. Well-made. Well-acted. A bit confusing. A solid watch.
Second half: Drop. Not worth the trauma. Still well-acted and unfortunately, well-written, possibly better written than the first part. Like, this is the point they were getting at this whole time. This is the climax of the story. But I felt sick. Could it have been worse? Maybe. Definitely if it was a US show. (They just have no sense of stopping before it's too much.) But it was enough to be traumatizing.
Anyways, it's a good show but the ending just runs you over like a train and honestly, all I wanna do is scream curses at something or someone, now. I'm really not coherent anymore.
And you know what makes it worse? I am finishing this show, right after I watched a report of an almost-identical crime having been committed in UK, now in 2026. This isn't fiction. This is just documented reality with fictional names. It's happened now in UK, it happened 20 years ago in SK, and the years between, before and beyond, it has been happening all over the world. And all those monsters are getting away in the exact same way.
So that's why I'm a vampire. Well. I guess I explained myself after all.

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Maybe I just hate romcoms.

Either I hate rom-coms or Korea has lost its touch because wtf was this?! First of all, what a weird choice to pick the creepy pervert from Trecherous and try to make him the main character of your "history misunderstood this monster" narrative. I may excuse the trick for Wang So because there is evidence to support his not-awfulness abolishing slavery, hello?!) or making the puppet king Cheol Jung into a tragic rebel but this one just makes no sense! The show just gives up trying to be even slightly respectful to facts about two episodes into the show. Because there are honestly way too many corrupted officials in this story that they have to whitewash so they just go for silly buffoonery and don't even try to make this a respectable narrative.
Next thing, why did they cast a 12-year-old to play the king?! At no point in the show does it ever work to suspend the disbelief that this child is a formidable, dangerous king with immense power and bloodthirst... that's literally a teenager throwing a temper tantrum! And yes. I could TELL both women in his life had like...a decade on him! Those actresses just carry themselves with the wisdom and confidence that comes with age and this kid was in the kiddy pool beside them. Was there not one actor in his 40s who was willing to take this role?!
But I guess if Oppa doesn't have that kpop idol glow, the romcom charade won't sell, then, would it?!
Then you have...the plot. First of all, this was not romantic. At all. Why is this woman interested in the king?! He has no depth of personality to make him attractive. He is either threatening to kill her or throwing a temper tantrum over his mom, or putting her in situations that are life threatening. None of this was remotely romantic. Even him falling for her makes no sense. A dude known for his perversion and debased behavior, blusing like the actual teenage virgin that he is over a woman who is literally just doing her job...I have never been this angry being fed cliche kdrama rom-com moves. I swear if I was richer I would have thrown my slipper at my TV (but I can't afford breaking my TV!).
Someone needs to stop. Either the drama writers. The producers. The directors...someone needs to stop. This is garbage. How many times are you going to reuse a grown woman going noodle leg and falling on top of a giant man who should be strong enough to hold his footing when a feather-weight woman trips into his chest!
LIKE AT LEAST TRY TO NOT BE SO CLICHE!
It's been two weeks and I'm still mad.
This was not dark enough for the character it was trying to redeem. It was also not light enough to be treated as substance-less fluff like something like First night with the duke. At least that was is so silly and stupid that it can't be held responsible! This show was stuck somewhere between being a serious historical romance and being extremely stupid fluff.
Also, I don't like Yoona. She isn't bad in any visible or obvious way but she gives me bad vibes and no matter what she does, I'm annoyed. Not her fault. (Maybe a little her fault) I just don't vibe with her.
The show fairs slightly better on the food front though the over the top reactions are so silly!
I didn't like this. I do not recommend this and I want to yell at everyone who hyped this up. What is wrong with you?!

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Great concept, less than great execution

This show had such a funny and different concept that I was immediately drawn to it, and the beginning of the drama had a great balance of humor and sadness that it was interesting. But then the quality really dropped, not on a technical level but just in their storytelling. It seemed like, and I do understand this, in order for the story to reach its conclusion, some time needed to pass between episode 1 and 12. Because the passage of time is very much a part of the message of this narrative. But then, the show didn't really have enough plot for the in-between time, or at least not an interesting plot for it so a lot of the show was just wasted on repeatedly showing sad parts of heaven with pets and animal-centric jokes that were not funny, and then alternating that with the serious plot that involved the main characters. It became exhausting. I'm sorry, I get that animals are cute and people love their pets but can we give it a rest?! I would have much preferred some funny shenanigans that actually built up the relationship between the main couple to show us their love instead of just showing their exasperation with each other, and maybe some plots involving the residents of heaven...you know, like the human residents, not the animals! Like, why were there two separate cases of the "rainbow path" opening?! Why did we get therapy sessions for mistreated pets? It felt like a cheap way to get tears out of viewers, and also it felt like they were forcing PSA messages in the middle of the show...I don't know but maybe we could do an episode on not mistreating children or ...god forbid people of other races?! *gasp*

Besides the pandering, the plot wasn't bad at all. It had a very meticulous web of connections. Everything connected so neatly to each other (I even appreciate the attempt to connect the animals to the whole thing), and the blending of reincarnation into the heaven/hell realm was very neat. I just wish we had gotten to that sooner. The story felt slightly aimless when it came to its belief system. Sometimes, it was too preachy that it lost the thread of the plot, other times it felt like they were just too excited to show off the heavenly gimmicks of their show. Seemed like they wanted to offend no one, but also they wanted to represent Korea's beliefs, so I guess this was only a heaven for Korean people?! The world-building was a bit flimsy, maybe...but if you stopped thinking too hard about it and just went with the flow, it was a small town with a few Korean people who reincarnated, but also there was a church?...and only a church! lol
Lore-wise, this was a cross between Howl's Moving Castle and the good place! And now that I'm saying it like that, it makes more sense, actually! Anyways, so after a strong start, a below average middle, the show finally makes its arguments on the philosophy of life, and the ending is better. At least, once I started fast-forwarding the animal subplots, it was interesting! And a real tear-jerker. I feel like I never stopped crying while watching this and maybe that's something to applaud this show for because the kind of jeong that is displayed in the relationships between the characters is truly beautiful, heartwarming and touching. How the show displays the essence of reincarnation and lingering regrets is thoughtful and emotionally devastating. And trauma naturally has to rear its ugly head too because (and I really appreciate Korea for doing this) Korean writers truly understand what trauma does to a person and they are always looking for more and more interesting ways to visualize that. I hope this helps their people come to terms with their issues. I hope they're healing.
Last but not least, this drama felt like old-school Kdramas in its homely setup of characters and its focus on nurturing human emotions while honoring human connections. Although, it still felt almost sterile in comparison to something like Hotel De Luna which was so similar to this but actually had more obvious elements of Korean mythology.

Acting: The cast here are stacked! This was an A-list drama as far as I'm concerned; they had strong, professional actors who were the main draw of the show. Even though I was disappointed that certified stud, Son Suk Ku, was portraying a man-child in this one, I think his character grows on you a bit as the show goes on. Kim Hye Ja and Han Ji Min, on the other hand, are a golden duo who really need to stop meeting like this in dramas (lol), and them being in the show was my main reason to watch this. But then again, I didn't love Han Ji Min's character or her portrayal of the character in this. She was incredibly annoying, both for her posture (I know that sounds weird but once you see how she stood, you'll get it) and for the ridiculous outfit she was wearing THE WHOLE TIME. Neither of which are her fault...well, the posture is, actually...but still, I think the cast was very strong. The cast was great, their characters weren't always written well, is what I want to say, I guess.

Music and Production: I don't know about the music, I guess it was fine, but the production was very acceptable. Everything looked as it was supposed to and all things operated as they should. I especially loved female lead's outfits while I HATED Han Ji Min's! lol

Rewatch: No.

Overall: Strong start, weak middle, okay ending. A real tearjerker. Subplots were bad but main plot was touching. I wouldn't go back and watch it, though. It was a bit of a chore to end it. I feel like this would have been better as a movie rather than a TV show.

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Life imitates art and art imitates life

I wasn't very impressed with this. I somehow expected more drama, intrigue, and obsession from this. I think for me this film falls short of executing what is otherwise a very interesting premise. It's partially due to the ambiguity of the narrative but it's not just that. There's also the fact that the film's intrigue is amped up too high because the actual film fails to deliver its meaning at certain points so it's both ambiguous and vague.

Plot: An idol rapper is (for some reason) doing a super moody theater production with a famous theater actor known for his method acting. This whole thing seems convoluted because theater is too prestigious for idol actors like...seriously! But whatever. After initial disinterest and rebellion, the young idol slowly becomes interested in acting as he watches the seasoned actor. He tries to imitate the method acting technique and soon, things get weird!
Btw, the idol coming from a group called "P2S" is so gauche...Korea, please do better. Seriously...

Plot: So I could not understand the narrative from watching the film. It was so vague, choppy, and scattered for me, that I ended up reading the plot summary on Wikipedia in order to figure out what was happening in the film. I have since read some interesting interpretations of this film which partially succeeded in redeeming some aspects for me but for the most part, I could not understand why characters went from one point to another. Basic details of the plot were so convoluted and unnatural that I also failed at suspending my disbelief and spent a good amount of the film distracted by technicalities that made me feel second-hand embarrassment. Like how are they getting away with making a racy theater production about a gay affair?! It's been seven years and Korea can barely accept a TV show with a gay character in it, in the year of 2024! And why is an idol actor doing theater to begin with?! And why is everyone so chill about the bizarre behavior of these men?
That said, it wasn't all bad. The plot has a cyclical nature and that's so interesting. We're thrust in the middle of a script reading with no context of the drama's plot. We slowly figure out that the drama is the final, bloody moments of an affair gone wrong but we have no idea how the characters got there. Then we see the actors going through a process of living as the drama's characters, becoming them in every way. It's a self-fullfilling prophecy. The actors' attempt to embody the characters sets into motion a series of events that eventually come to precede the events of the drama they are supposed to act in. Real life becomes the cause and history of the drama's events and the drama is the cause and catalyst that brings about the incidents happening in real life. It's actually brilliant! There's also a seriously interesting point made about sincerity and bravery and it's completely entangled with the queer representation in the story which makes this an exclusively queer narrative, impossible to recreate with any other type of dynamic and that's so amazing. I love that!
But I didn't really get all this from just watching the film. I only put these together with the help of other people's analysis and reading the summary! So while I think the idea is great, I think the execution of the plot was sloppy.

Acting: and that brings me to the second point. I don't think the acting was great. It was too much and too little in different scenes and only hit the mark occasionally. I know there's supposed to be ambiguity in the story and we're not supposed to be totally sure if the characters are being honest or pretending but for that to be shown, sincerity and insincerity need to be contrasted against each other. Here though, characters are unreliable and vague all the time! I could never grasp a normal behavior standard for them to measure their abnormal behavior against. So that led to more confusion.

Production: I think the main issue of this film is directing. A better director would have directed the actors better, established the world order better, chosen the best shots, and made sure the editing was immaculate. Then this movie could have been a 10. I really think a better direction would have fixed everything. And that's odd because I believe the director wrote the script too so they should have been the perfect candidate to make this. I wonder why it fell short a bit.

Rewatch: Not really. It wasn't that interesting though it wasn't awful. Once was enough.

Overall: If you're curious, just watch it. But it's not a personal recommendation, for me.

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Could use more kisses, tbh

Watching this I realised I barely remembered the show, actually. Now, I'm not sure if this had extra scenes and that's why I didn't remember those or if I just forgot big chunks of the plot...we might never know!
So my enjoyment of this show/movie is a 10 but if I'm 100% honest the quality is at 8.5 stars. Some plot points don't make total sense to me and sometimes the never-ending onslaught of tension feels a bit suffocating but I like the overall drive of the narrative and the upward development of the story. The plot doesn't feel stuck and the writers always find a way to push the characters forward even when the plot reaches a standstill. I also just find the romantic plotline so cute. This is how you do enemies to lovers! Don't let those tiktok fantasy fanatics trick you! Enemies to Lovers was always about petty crap like the initial tension in this story and this show/movie is a great example of how you develop such a plot in a cute and satisfying way. It's such a wholesome story with the right mix of tension, fluff, and humor that you will feel comfortable revisiting it over and over again.
The acting here is also better-that-average. They are obviously new to all this and still learning but I think they both did a good job. Lots more to learn for sure but they still did such a good job here. Better than most K-BL actors. This one really stands out. The supporting cast were great too. They endear you to their characters and though we see them for a limited time, they all feel fleshed out and real.
Production did such a good job. There's a podcast out there somewhere which explains the use of color theory in semantic error. If you can find it, it's worth a listen. The editing is also good. At 2 hours and 57 minutes, this is officially way too long and it took me a whole day to finish it(...I don't know why the math is mathing like that) and yet, I would say, it's worth it. I swear the show didn't have all this detail, somehow the flow of the story makes better sense here? Hmmm...odd!
I would also say this is a rewatch-worthy movie. It's romantic. It's cute. It's fluffy. It's a feel-good film to revisit when you're down. It's like a bite-sized feel-good pill.
Overall: I highly recommend it. You can also watch the show but I feel like this one is more convenient. Especialy for bingable reasons. No need to go to "next episode" like a procastinator's version of walk-of-shame.

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Who is the monster?

This has to be hands down my favorite watch of the year so far. I'm probably not even coherent enough to talk about this but the storytelling in this was just brilliant and I could not stop watching but I was also feeling every ounce of dread, anxiety and sadness that the characters went through.
Long story short: The storytelling in this is simply brilliant. Long story long: the plot unravels each point of view and fleshes out the characters in such a masterful and thoughtful way. I don't want to reveal too much because I think one brilliant part of this film is to experience it as you go; just watch it with no context and let the narrative and the suspense take you over.
The acting in this was also probably some of the best acting I've watched. I wish Jdramas were like this, honestly. The raw performances from the adult actors was so moving and encompassing. I could put myself in the mother's shoes almost perfectly. Feeling every ounce of anger and anxiety that she felt. But even more amazing is the performance of the little ones. They were too good. Too precise. Too touching. They just grab your heart, sueeze it then fling it into the sun!
The production is also brilliant from the fire scene to the torrential rains to the details of the mundane and arranging the different perspective of the same scenes over and over again. Everthing was brilliant.
Negatives: None. But if you have a weak heart, maybe keeping some sweet drink near you for possible fainting spells that may catch you unawares as you freak out over the turn of events.
I highly, highly recommend this film. It's one of those movies you don't want to miss.

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So corny!

Whoever wrote the dialogue for this film, didn't ever hear humans talk to each other! Haha! The dialogue is just so corny and cringe and unnatural. It's probably the biggest issue of this film.
As for the rest, it works well enough. But I have to say, I thought the main couple's relationship didn't have the necessary build-up to inspire loyalty from viewers.
What do I mean? I mean, the reason why they should be in love is so vague and underdeveloped. We see the aftermath of the obsessive love but the love's existence in the first place is not explained well-enough. And I don't mean exposition or info dump. I mean, nothing is shown in the beginning that makes me believe this is a genuine mutual love. Why should I care or even believe that this is love when these characters have barely had any interactions and what little interaction they had is fraught with conflict and rejection? However, a well-written conversation would've solved this issue. Unfortunately, the dialogue was too shabby so it didn't help matters.
That said, if you suspend your skepticism and accept that sure! They are in love, whatever! Then, you can enjoy the bizarre and tumultuous second half of the film.
The acting is good. Kim Nam Gil is in this and I think this is my first time watching him. He's pretty! Lee Young Hoon is very good too and now I'm wondering why he isn't active anymore.
The film is almost old, so I don't know what to say about the production. It's okay I think. The editing is a bit choppy but I think that is intentional. This has a very indie movie vibe.
And the final act is so exhilarating and shocking.
No regrets about watching this. I recommend it. And no...it's not THAT explicit! Grow up! Stuff right now are so much worse. That said, it's still an Adults Only film. So minors stay away. Seriously!!!!

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Unexpectedly good

Looks like this is the gay year! This is the second watch of the year and this year is off to a great start with one great surprise after another! I had no expectations when I picked up this film but it was so hilarious, emotional, and well-crafted. It made me laugh so hard, but it also shocked me with its plot twists and made me cry. That's so special since I've just gone through some shows lately that were so emotionally uninspiring or lacking. Then there's this film. It goes the extra mile in its silly, goofy humor but also stays level-headed enough to tell an interesting story with a logical plot and give that extra emotional kick by the end.

Summary: A homophobic policeman accidentally gets himself into a ghost marriage with a gay guy. In his desperation to get rid of the ghost, he tries to help him reincarnate by fulfilling his wish. The last wish? Avenge his death by finding the killer.

Plot: It's not super complex but it's very well-made and it just works so well from start to finish, it was so satisfying. It also had some elements that I'm so not used to seeing from East Asian shows that I was a little shocked! hehe... I also liked how bold they were with both trying to land the jokes and also just pushing the characters out of their comfort zone. The film was committed to the gags and that was impressive.

Acting: Everyone did a great job. Better than their other projects that I have seen before. Now, if I think about it too hard, I can see some people complaining about cliche stereotypes but I feel like that would need a dive into some philosophical arguments about heteronormativity and socially expected behavior and asfdaghshd....it's not that deep! The acting worked in context.

Music and production: It was good.

Rewatch value: Sure, if you have the time.

Overall: This was a good funny film and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended. Warning: It has nudity. Just...saying.

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A good start for the year

This was such a good watch as the first show of the year. A sweet, hopeful, and cozy watch, with adorable and sympathetic characters you enjoy watching and rooting for. It is a very balanced story with proper mystery elements, dramatic buildup, and emotional stakes, as well as, sweet moments and appropriate humor to keep viewers entertained. Nothing was overdone here. No over-the-top emotional meltdowns or exaggerated humor (which is my main point of dread while watching Jdramas). The plot is not complicated but it works and while there were certain plotholes, they didn't harm the story nor negatively impact the flow so it would be a bit nitpicky to point them out when they were so insignificant.

Summary: A man is stabbed in an alley and left for dead but miraculously recovers after seeing an angel. When he returns home, he finds the angel to be very real and still very much there, crankily asking for food and informing him that he has amnesia and nowhere to go. The humanitarian move would be to give the poor angel a place to stay and so Koukisan does just that!

Plot: As I already explained, it's a cute story that mainly leaves you with warm and fuzzy feelings. It's balanced, not too long nor too short, and every important question of the plot is answered by the end. A lot of aspects are resolved off-screen however as the plot is very character-driven and only focuses on the dynamic between Kouki-sad and the angel which...can be interpreted differently based on the viewer's preferences I guess. For me, it was just a sweet dynamic and I enjoyed their easy banter and development throughout.

Acting: The only real actors of this are the two main characters. While others appear briefly, they are not very significant so I am mostly ignoring them. But the main two actors were both great with Nishimura Takuya having the best deadpan delivery of jokes and just generally looking so angelic and disgruntled at the same time. He comes across as innocent and pure and simple and it was so good. Uesugi Shuhei was also great for his part as he showed the character's development and changes both with on-point expressions and body language. His emotional acting was also very touching and clawed at my heart which I thought was impressive to achieve with only 6, 25-minute long episodes.

Music and production: Tbh, I didn't even notice the music, sorry. Production... it was perhaps cheap? There wasn't much to it as it was mainly the inside of the eponymous "one room" of the title. That said, it doesn't *look* cheap. It looks just well enough for the show. Some flashback scenes to Kouki-san's past felt a bit under-budgeted but since they were not relevant to the present plot, I can forgive the vague setting. In the end, any shortage was covered by good directing choices.

Rewatch: I never rewatch but I can see the value in rewatching this for others. It's short enough.

Overall: Loved it! Recommended. I'm glad to start the year with a good show.

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♡✧( ु• ⌄ • )

Let's be honest with ourselves! I only watched this for one reason and one reason only: I missed Tae!
Despite that, this show was actually enjoyable and I got really into it. Be warned though. You will catch the worst case of munchies and want to cry as the craving for Korean food will reach an all-time high! The food looks SO good! I craved stuff I've never even tried (and probably never will because I can't eat spicy food)!
The cast really grows on you, even if you're only here for Taehyung. Still, he was the best part and I personally think, the show could have MORE Tae. Yeah. Personal comment: More Tae!

Plot: The plot is very straightforward. They just run a restaurant. Someone mentioned that it gets repetitive and well...yeah! It's the same thing over and over! You don't watch this for the plot! The people are why you sit through this so if you're hoping for some special event or exciting incident, this is gonna be boring. But the human interaction aspect is so fun. It's also lovely to see all the people who try Korean food for the first time. Those who keep coming back. The funny or cute interactions. It's all fun and wholesome in small doses.

Cast: I'm gonna say it, I don't much like Seo Jin. I said what I said. He was mean in unreasonable ways and call me a protective Army but I didn't like how he talked to Tae, either! It wasn't just me though! I was watching with non-Armys and they all said he was acting weird even before I said anything. I almost didn't watch this because I knew Seo Jin would be mean but ultimately, it was worth it so he's not a turn-off. He wasn't all bad. He had his moments but eh. Least favorite character. Yu Mi is an angel! I came out of this, feeling so impressed by her. She rolled those Gimbaps like a pro! Standing on her feet all day long, making so much, and never complaining. What a sweetheart. I'm gonna check out her other works just because she was so sweet. I also really grew to like Seo Joon and Woo Shik whom I didn't like before. I didn't dislike these random actors but I was pretty indifferent toward them but then, Seo Joon impressed me with his professionalism and focus and Woo Shik is just such a charismatic, kind, and warm person! It was really delightful to watch him interact with the customers. I might make a second attempt to watch Our Beloved Summer... And Tae. What do you want me to say?! He worked so hard! I'm so proud of him! They said he was slow. HE WAS NOT SLOW! Omg...he could barely make noodles before this!lol...and he was very cute. The whole family is in love with him now!

Music: BTS music: perfection! Classic music: also perfection. The rest of the songs were good too.

Rewatch: Yeah...I actually watched this show twice already! We basically watched every episode twice so...very high rewatachability!

Conclusion: If you like cooking shows, watch it! If not, don't! lol

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You've heard of daddy-issues as tragic backstories now get ready for...MOMMY ISSUES!

*The characters are a metaphor for bad parenting!*
This show didn't leave a huge impression on me but it gets a 9/10 for being the first Chinese modern drama that I watched all the way through and that deserves recognition if anything does. It's also not a bad show.
You should check this show out if you like:
1. Found family trope
2.Second-hand embarrassment
3.Slice of life
4.Food
5.Watching other people eat food while you're not
6.Food as a love language
7.Extensive and blatant verbal abuse of children throughout childhood and well into adulthood
8.Barely-there romance
9.Friendship and girls-supporting-girls
10.Easily resolved misunderstandings that don't stress the viewer out at all
11.Half-assed, there-only-for-laughs love triangles
12.Stories that handle concepts of trauma
13.Barely hidden implications about non-traditional family units (aka families with same-gender parents) being healthier than forced traditional family units.
14. Mothers having weird things for their kids...it's...complicated!

Summary: The story follows a widowed man named Li Hai Chao who runs a small noodle shop and takes care of his daughter on his own. He ends up becoming the primary caretaker for two neglected boys in the neighborhood and together with the upstairs neighbor dude, they make up a sweet, unconventional family unit. Then years later, the abusive parents show up and take the boys away just to prove that it's never too late to deeply traumatize and scar your children if you are determined enough!

So this show...is so comforting and cozy while also giving the viewers terrible anxiety. It's truly awe-inspiring how much drama they fit into a show that essentially has no central plot. Like I mentioned, the show is a "slice of life" type of show so for the most part it's about these people dealing with the banal difficulties of real-life but the circumstances of the characters are so dramatized and heightened that their daily issues involve weirdly high stakes.

Story: I really appreciate the time the show takes to really drive home the level of abuse and trauma parents can unpack on their children, intentionally or not. The whole concept of this show as I see it is challenging parenting norms of China, revealing the dark side of filial piety and asking real questions about what a true family consists of, and if blood really is thicker than water, or more importantly...should it be?!
Every one of the younger members of the cast (That is the main three kids, Jian Jian, Ling Xiao, and He ZiQiu as well as Ming Yue and Tang Can) are each different manifestations of traumatized children who grow up with some form of parental deficiency.
Jian Jian: Motherless, great dad. she is the least f*cked up one of the bunch. Her thing is that she was pampered because her dad didn't have the heart to be hard on her and she ends up rather demanding and unruly. She's very normal. She has almost no drama going on a personal level (just romantic bs). Although I did find her lack of sexual identity a bit odd given that she is the main "romantic" lead of the show. But I'm just gonna assume that's a cultural thing since "cute" girls seem to outweigh "mature" girls in terms of likability.
Next comes, Ling Xiao: Abusive mother, absent-ish father. He's just SO traumatized. He is the result of the most uncomplicated form of abuse. Depressed, with anxiety disorder. (He has little sense of preservation because he thinks he is unworthy of love and deserves the abuse he gets.)
He ZiQiu: He is the result of abandonment. He is emotionally suppressed and a perfectionist. (because he thinks he has to prove he deserves love)
Ming Yue: Is the result of a controlling mother and an absent father. She is childish and helpless as an adult. She is incapable of making any decisions. Utterly paralyzed between pleasing her mother and resenting her.
Tang Can: Commodified child star, burnt out. She is the example of a child who was used by her parents and praised when she brought in a profit and then later beaten down and ridiculed when she lost her benefits.
The story takes such good care of showing how damaged each of these characters are as adults because of everything that happened to them as children. The big event of the plot comes around episode 10 when Ling Xiao and He ZiQiu who had gotten away with moderate trauma, end up getting dragged back into really terrible family situations, suffer a form of arrested development, get traumatized even worse than before. The show is so good at showing their frozen mental and emotional state once they return to the story.
Then there's a lot of random plots at every turn with each revealing a new level of awful things that have happened to these kids. There are unnecessary love triangles but they seem to mostly be there for humor and they are all resolved quite fast and easily.
My main issue with the plot is that it ends up debunking its own hypothesis. By the end of the show, every single bad mother (and OH they were all bad!) gets redeemed one way or another and the children just resume their filial piety. Sure, there are important conversations that come up but it feels a little pointless. Plots are either undone or swiped under a rug to make a happy ending possible. There's no real statement made about bad parenting patterns.
There is also the fact that the healthiest family unit in the story consists of two men raising three kids together which says a lot about the argument that families must look a certain way for children to grow up mentally stable and healthy but then three fourth of the way into the show, it has to make up a romance for one of the men, in a very meh performance of "no homo".

Acting: The older actors were amazing. The younger ones were good too. Particularly Steven Zhang whose fans will not let anyone forget just how great he was in the show! lol. Seven Tan is praised a lot for this show but except for a couple of scenes here and there, I didn't love the choices made for the character so I didn't love her performance even though I think she did great with what she was given. Song Weilong is the one member of the main cast I am hesitant to pass judgment on. He plays a deeply depressed character and his character comes across as extremely depressed and introverted, so I think he did do an amazing job portraying that but that also means his character is significantly less flashy than Steven Zhang's so he can seem like he didn't do a good job and was just awkward. Didn't love the supporting casts' acting much. But again. similar to Seven Tan, their childish and exaggerated performances do add up with their characters' personalities so maybe they didn't have bad performances so much as their characters were just exaggerated and irritating!

The music was fine. Except for when that one song keeps repeating a million times over every time something emotional happens. A lot of cdrama/kdramas do this. Much to my displeasure...

The production was good. Especially compared to all the modern cdramas I have dropped. The audio was good, set design, cinematography and etc. were good in the way that good things go unnoticed because they are natural.

Negatives: There is a romance between two of the main kids. I think it's best to know this and go into the show because some people tried to make a "this is incest" argument which, no it's not. Stop trying to make a mockery of a serious issue. It's like, people love the childhood friends to lovers trope until they actually get to see that transition and suddenly it's gross and "how can you fall for someone you played with when you were kids?!" well that's what friends to lovers looks like in practice, Karen. It's literally in the name! Don't like it, don't watch! Knowing what to expect, you can notice all the tiny easter eggs the creators put in the childhood era about a possible future romance. It's also decidedly melodramatic. Some would say the childhood era was better than the adult era. I think everyone needs to accept that people can't stay kids forever and it's weird to love watching grown-ass people acting like 15-year-olds.

I would not personally rewatch it. It's not really something that I was super wowed by. It was good but just for one watch.

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