Short fluffy romance done the Japanese way

In a nutshell this show is a workplace romance/age gap love done the Japanese way.
It is short, fluffy and pain/angst free. The meet-cute is, honestly, illogical but j-drama excels in carrying this type of setup forward and creating a whole drama around it. It worked but this is no high drama and it will not get your little grey cells working overtime.
What this show gave us are swoon worthy moments and skinship with the works. The cute and naïve FL trope is on steroids so we have the whole (cough) inexperience package. Thankfully, the experienced and much older ML did not exploit this but just ate her up with his love and lust.
There is barely enough material to last 8 episodes but they padded it out with lots of flashbacks. A few red herring subplots and a half hearted love triangle tried to raise the angst level but it was never going to be effective against the rusted on OTP and it is all about the OTP.
A decent watch in the end but goes down better with popcorns. :)

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Great CP chemistry and romance but questionable values did not sit well with me

So many c-drama are set in the corporate world that is itself a trope. Sometimes it works but a lot of the time the plots are filled with jargons and then a bit of magic drama dust to create a company collapse or save the company in the nick of time. This show is heavily business focused and there was no ends of "intrigue" and dirty tricks.

The basic story is straightforward. Two old school mates met up again after many years apart and found love. The twist here is that the ML was in love with the FL since their school days and he tasked himself to protect her. The reason is because she is allergic to tears and it could kill her if she is not treated quickly. He tried to toughen her up so that she won't cry but it was seen as bullying. He was going to confess to her before he went aboard to study but circumstances made them part in bad terms and he missed that chance and lost touch for years. This misunderstanding lasted well into their new working relationship as he became her boss in her new job.

There were no doubt that the pairing of Bai Lu and Leo Luo was a masterstroke. They looked great together and have bucket load of chemistry. They did not shy away from the touchy feely stuff either so there were lots of skinship. The 2OTP was cute and they tried hard to tell their story but there were a number of plot holes. In the end, it was underdone as their romance felt contrived. The 3OTP (noona romance) came out of nowhere and it was a stretch. 2 other pairing of fellow workers overflowed the CP quota.

The romantic story of the OTP would have been good enough to sustain a shorter run but they had a lot of business subplots to get through and it is here that the tone and plots did not sit well with me.

Most of the early episodes have the OTP investigating various companies as part of due processes before the company goes public or are bought out by another company. However, instead of doing the sums and highlighting dodgy transactions so that the authorities can follow up, they (including junior analysts) behave like private investigators and some kind of corporate crusaders riding out to right wrongs. That would be ok if the message is clear but again and again, the punishments do not fit the crimes. We are talking about someone who embezzled a lot of money as well as a manager who drugged and raped a young worker. That is a criminal offence, is it not? This type of moral greyness ran right through the whole show. The FL was drugged and dumped in a hotel room (unharmed, thankfully) and even though it was obvious who did it, there was no retribution. Other people who did wrong were just spoken to or cut a lot of slack. With that, what appeared to be a righteous stance soon turned into a mess of confused messages. It speaks volume about the business environment in China if it is even partially true.

I also have issues with the SML storyline. There was little chance of a second lead syndrome from the start but he was given a lot of screen time in the last few episodes. Once that subplot started, there was little doubt how it would end. It did little to progress the main plot but managed to turn the SML into a despicable character.

There were funny moments and lots of swoon worthy moments. I did liked how they set up the OTP as competitors after the time skip and their interactions were cute but it ended almost as soon as it started. If they did the time skip and just have them working in their own small company or even in competition, I'd ship them even more. The ML's proposal short movie was clever and the doggie is so cute throughout. :D

Production value is high but there are gaps. OST was fine. If I ever want to rewatch this, I would start at ep.20 and then watch the next few episodes where the OTP was white hot then skip to the last episode just for the feel good fan service.

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Sweet healing romance that managed to be underdone and overcooked

As a rom-com I can't fault its setting, both M/FL and support casting. OTP chemistry and swoon worthy moments. They are all present and accounted for, if anything, someone must have done a checklist so that every item was ticked and double checked. The problem lies more in the show's desire to please "everyone". To be honest, the writer-nim largely succeeded in doing this but it was also its Achilles heel.

The premise of the show is simple, the FL is forced to restart her dentist career out in the boondocks and there she found love as well as new friends and found family. It is a well used trope and with the show navigating a fairly safe path meant that for the longest time, it never hits any real highs or lows. I think that may well be because it is the FL's first show after 2 years away from the limelight. She probably wanted a high profile hit and this definitely delivered.

Having said that, the meet-cute and the OTP's journey to true love was well done and there is always something happening to push them closer together. The seaside village of Gongjin cannot be more idyllic. It was picturesque day and night. The FL is in her 30's (ML is 1 year older), well dressed, sophisticated and pretty. She became all giggly and with aegyo dialled up after she fell in love. To be honest, it was a little jarring. This was initially matched by her best friend who also fell in love with a local and formed half of the 2OTP but she is a lot more grounded as the relationship progressed. The ML was handsome, charismatic, chilled, helpful, friendly and a bit eccentric. A total opposite to the usual cold, rich, man-child of a ML. The local villagers were a eclectic bunch. They are classy actors who knew their trade and will steal the scene if you let them. It was clever of the writer-nim to drip-feed their backstory slowly so that what appeared to be just the usual nosy neighbours and busybodies were shown to be true friends and have raison d'être for their behaviours.

The deft hand of the writer-nim is evident else where. There are lots of tropey plots and cliché scenes but they were seldom over the top to the point where you facepalm and groan out loud but they can also be undercooked so that it became a bit superficial. One area where the writer-nim went a bit overboard was the fate motif. There were just too many coincidences to be believable.

Hence, it was quite odd when around episodes 14,15 the story became a potboiler/melodrama. There were certainly buckets of tears (have tissue handy). The whole plot about the ML's role as a fund manager was overcooked. Seriously, it wasn't really his fault and certainly in regards to his friend's death. So it was drama for drama sake and not very convincing. After all the hints of a dark past, it turned out he was even more saintly than he already is.

The "tread lightly" approach also meant that there was not a lot of growth in the characters but more like story progression. Old wrongs were righted, broken or strained relationships were healed. Naissance love triangle morphed into a bromance. The snobbish and judgemental FL became someone who appreciates the country lifestyle and her new friends but she was essentially the same decent person. The ML stays the same except now everyone knew his backstory and loved him even more.
It was no surprise that everybody got a happy ending. Sunshine, rainbows and a herd of unicorns roamed the land. :D It was sugary but it brought the show to its own logical conclusion. At least it was not rushed and there was enough time to give everyone a proper sent off.

OST was nice and breezy. Production value was high. Quality cinematography captured the lovely sceneries. I really enjoyed this show so rewatch value is there for the swoon worthy and feel good bits but skip ep.15 if sentimentality is not your cup of chai. Almost forgot to mention the PPL, there were quite a bit of it. Not egregious but more than I'd care for.

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Surprisingly good rom-com that managed to tiptoe through the cliché minefield

This show has been on my watch list for a long time but the synopsis gave off the wrong tropey vibes for me so I kept skipping over it. Recently, I dropped a bad rom-com so I thought, "I can't do much worse". I'm glad I finally committed, it was surprisingly good.
First of all, this is not a big budget production. There are no big names or famous city as a backdrop. The production value is good through and there were not a lot of PPL, certainly not egregious. The OST is nice and totally serviceable. I liked that the ML's are handsome but not idol level good looking. The FL's are attractive and looked natural which made them more relatable.
The first half of the show is pretty much as expected. A head strong manhua artist decided to use a cold college professor as her template for the ML in her next comics. She has never been in love so she sucked at drawing romantic scenes. At first, he was just an interesting research subject but over time she fell in love with him. Of course, there were lots of push/pull and ambiguities. Nevertheless, she was brave and focused in her pursue of him. By the mid way mark, he was in love and they became official. Yes, there were cliché moments but there was no shock twists. Clichés were handled with a deft hand and you won't get worked up about stupid plots holes. But then I was overcame with anxiety because I have seen many shows expending all their energies in getting the CP together and then after a bit of CP bliss, they'd turn their laser focus on breaking them apart by any means just so that they can engineer a 11th hour happy ending. I'm grateful that this didn't happen. Sure, there were lumps and bumps along the way but their love was strong and they were the A-team and push back against all the Forces of Evil. Hazzah!
Another aspect which I found satisfying is the communication between the CP's. Of course, there were misunderstandings, jealousy and doubts but issues were never left to fester and they were resolved quickly with some straight talking. Another one is the age gap between the CP's. All the CP's have significant age differences and while some show will milk that for tension and be judgemental, this show just took it in its stride. It was part of the story fabric and you can take it or leave it. There was also growth in all the characters which was good to see. For example, the ML went from a cold and aloof character to become a kind, considerate and hot blooded BF. The 2FL was a bit of a seductress in the beginning but she became a super loyal GF to the 2ML.
In so many Chinese rom-coms, the 2/3OTP is either angst filled or just a convenient way to park the M/FL's best friends and provide a bit of down time for the 1OTP. Our 2OTP also had a rough start but while they did not have as much screen time as the 1OTP, their trajectory were similar well plotted and had more attention in the second half. Their love also grew stronger with every challenge. The strong 2FL definitely wore the pants in this relationship.
This brings us to the FL's. All three were forthright with their approach. They didn't hide or play dumb but push hard towards their goals. Ok, may be not so much for 3OTP because their pairing was a bit iffy but the 3FL knew what she wanted in her heart as well.
I'm glad that the show can see the tropes coming and it is wise enough to use them in a positive way and not be subsumed by them. Time and time again I expected the worse but good things happened instead. That made the show engaging and very watchable in my book.
The show is not perfect. There are script issues and some of the younger actors are still a bit rough around the edges but the positives outweigh the negatives. It is light, funny and sweet but not to the point of sugar overload nor was it overran by non-sensical plot twists. I enjoyed it so much that I binged it.
P.S. I watched this on Tencent official YouTube channel and every episode had the same audio issue whereby the dialogue track would randomly drop out for a minute or two and for no apparent reason.

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It is all about the CP, silly, and now some messages from our sponsor.

Watching this show is a guilty pleasure. You know that the leads are too beautiful and perfectly matched, you know the storyline is pure fluff but nicely done and everything is just so romantic. If you want to forget your worries for a while then binge watch this.

There is a coherent story but nothing overly dramatic or deep (at least by the usual c-drama standard). The romance is sweet and wholesome. There is a good deal of skinship and when they play in bed they weren't doing crosswords! The show is so full of nice people that it must be a record. The FL's agent is a mother hen type but without any manipulative behaviour of the typical talent agent. The young assistant is not a slave but a happy, bubbly soul. The parents are all lovely people. Most of their friends are sweet and some are a bit nerdy or gossipy but likeable. The senior staff members are all father figures with wisdom to spare. Even the antagonists (and I used this word very loosely) were not trouble makers. No breakups, no forced separations, except for one patch of misunderstanding, it was plain sailing for the whole show. It is a funny thing to say but taken in totality, it actually made the show felt a bit odd.

Why? I think the answer lies in the Chinese government wanting to change the narrative around the entertainment industry and the greed culture. Consider the recent controls placed on rabid fandom, cancelling of several high profile celebs and the push for "common prosperity", I can see some subtle messages imbedded in the show. For instance, early on, the FL actually asked the question "am I worth this much?" during a discussion about a new contract (and in RL reference to how much some actors are paid for a few weeks of work). As the show progressed, Dilraba got more and more grounded and they even got married in a group wedding (to much acclaim from netizens) when most c-drama would have gone all out for a lavish wedding as the finale. Social media played a fairly neutral or even positive role here instead of a hot bed of venomous slander. Paparazzo were made fun of and "chased out of town". National security officials were helpful and understanding(?). Yang Yang is an aerospace engineer and that is topical as China has successfully landed a Mars rover just recently so there should be a lot of interests. But more importantly, he was considering joining an investment bank for the money but changed his mind. The message here is that greed is no longer good but contribution to the society is more rewarding. This is reinforced by the fact all the "loser" characters were bankers boasting about their pay checks and their excessive consumptions. The FL's ex was a stereotypical rich CEO type but in this show, he definitely did not get the girl and Dilraba made it very clear why. Ditto when the rich BF of a co-star arrived with in a convoy of fancy SUV's and truck load of fancy food for the casts and crew, it was not well received but when the ML arrive in an old jeep and fixed their internet with his own hands, it gained the approval of the upper echelon aka the Director. May be I'm over thinking this but this show certainly have a mix of PR and subtle messages to promote Chinese aerospace achievements and also amped up the positive feedbacks when you are perceived to be doing the right thing by society.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this show a lot because it was so sweet and entertaining. They knew their ace is the OTP and they dialled up their chemistry and gave us as many swoon worthy moments as we can handle. Is this a realistic portrait of modern Chinese lives? I would say it is better than one that is filled with devious plots to breakup our CP and manufactured dramas just to stir up angst but is the pairing of a movie megastar and a chief aerospace engineer likely in RL...?

There were some issue with the YouTube dialogue soundtrack but otherwise, the OST was very nice. Production value was high but some early science stuff was a bit dubious.

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Light and fluffy rom-com that is weighted down by its setting

If you look at this show purely from a rom-com perspective then it is quite good but tropey. Nice cute CP with not a lot of "drama". Some swoon worthy moments but I can't help but feel that the ML did most of the heavy lifting. The FL is cute and pretty but for the longest time, she has minimal facial expression and a pout. When they do kiss, I felt that she was kissed rather than they shared a kiss, if you know what I mean.

The elephant in the room is the backdrop of the e-sport scene. There has been several other shows using that theme but this one has a very singular focus on one MOBA game and it does felt a little claustrophobic as all the antagonists and protagonists came from that pool. Sometimes it is the fans or management or players behaving badly. No wonder they got some backlash from gamers saying that they portraited e-sport in a bad light. To be fair, the show did expend a fair bit of energy on promoting the goals and aspirations of the players but they do live ostentatiously so the message is definitely mixed. It would be interesting to see how much traction this show will have in the current push by the Chinese government to limit online gaming by the younger generation. Just to round out the topics de jour, we also see the issue of rabid fandom and cyber-bullying. Maintaining the light tone, things never get truly out of hand.

OST is light and fluffy and rewatch value is limited as the show is padded out with a lot of gaming sequences which you will either love or be confused by.

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Speaker for the Dead meets Rain Man

TL;DR: Move to Heaven is special, go watch it. We need season two. Now.

The longer version: Let's try to keep it short before it turns into a postgrad thesis.

MtH doesn't hit dramatic highs but it works slowly and steadily to breakdown your emotional defence until you can't help but be touched by the many emotional moments presented by the show. On the other hand, it is not a non-stop tear jerker either. How the narratives affects you will depend on your background and your EQ. Have tissues handy, you have been warned.

It tells simple stories of people who have passed away and became clients of this specialist cleaning company. Each short story was handled touchingly and delicately. Their lives seemed mundane on the surface but that was the whole point of the show. These cleaners do more than just clean and pack up the belongings of the deceased. The father and son team have the knack of seeing beyond the flotsam and jetsam of a person's life and see some of their essences and what was their last unfinished task. Their goal is to try to complete that task on their behalf and bring closure to people closest to them, in a sense, they are the speakers for the dead. Along the way, the show touched on many societal ills such as domestic violence, bullying, elderly neglect, etc. They are not unique to Korea but they are certainly prevalent.

The show is almost perfect but not quite. The writer can be too clever and withheld information from the viewers and then did the big reveal and tell you what the clue was after the fact. Most of the heavy lifting was done by the young ML who has Asperger's but also a savant . While he is surrounded by a very supportive found family, they don't seem to do a lot other than bicker among themselves or provide the contrary views to move the plot along and for which the ML debunks as par for the course. It is not quite an ensemble cast in that sense. The uncle's cage fighting and back story added a nice action component and complexity to his character. However, some misunderstanding that lasted for years was too easily resolved in the end.

Speaking of back stories. The show was arranged sort of back to front so the show started with the forced cohabitation of basically strangers and the second half of the show revealed their complicated back stories via lots of flash backs (have tissues handy) and explained how their lives were changed. It worked quite well but the problem we have here is that the show felt like it came a full circle and then it ended. If it was the standard 16 episodes, it could have ended properly. In the 10 episodes we got, we got revelations, character growth, some closures and everything was in place for the show to go forward but it just stopped. There were hints of budding romances, the cleaning company was finally on solid footings, an antagonist that was set for revenge, even a curious new job offered in the dying minutes of the show. If that does not hint at a second season I don't know what does. Please, please give us another season. We besiege you, Old Mighty Netflix!

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Counters trapped in a maze of their own creation

May be I'm swimming against the tide but I have some serious issues with this show.
Not saying that it is a bad show and there were certainly elements which were very well done and some scenes were thrilling, heart warming, uplifting or gut wrenching but it is not perfect, far from it.
One of the biggest problem with the plot was the writer laid down rules that counters must obey while they are hunting evil spirits so that they have minimal impact on the human world. The problem is that the counters kept on breaking them because the bulk of the story is about them seeking revenge or meddling with societal issues. It got very awkward and painful to watch as they constantly tried to bend the rules or fix damages a la wiping people's memories and healing the wounded baddies. The writer ended up just throwing the rules away mid show by having the counters appeal to their handlers to let them have a free hand. It made half the show felt claustrophobic.
Another issue were the villains used. In the beginning of the show, school yard bullies were the main antagonists. It starts with typical bullying and extortion but it quickly escalated to attempted murders. Just remember these are technically minors. The Rules made all the counters' corrective actions meaningless. Those bullies were behaving worst than the thugs and gangsters used later on in the show without being possessed by evil spirits so why were they so nasty? It got real bad for the junior counter until the problem was pushed aside by his ultra rich benefactor. So all the special powers of the counters achieved nought but money and connections did. Consider how much the show was about money, corruptions and secrets, this was sending a very confused message.
Most shows have plot holes but this show have more than its fair share. For instance, after the counters were assumed killed, they closed their restaurant but continued to live openly inside. The thugs showed up once, rattled the door a few times and said no one is here so they must really be dead. Geez, anyone could have chance upon them for the longest time. Similarly, the level 4 evil spirit was being chased by the police as a mass murder and his face was on TV and posters everywhere. However, once they faked his death and the police made the announcement, everyone seemed to forget he existed. He was walking around everywhere without any disguise. Why didn't anyone noticed? There are a number of other holes or subplots that went nowhere.
The effect of these problems made the middle section of the show seemed adrift and suffer from some kind of identity crisis. All the characters were there and there were great fight scenes, more death and destructions and the odd funny subplots but it doesn't feel like it had much to do with the original uncanny counters concept (aka super heroes vs evil spirits). Maybe uncanny eco-warriors, uncanny thieves? They expended so much energy setting up the central theme and yet it was underused for a good half of the show.
There was also a writer change after 12th episodes. The standard "creative difference" reason was given. There was definitely a change in the plot and tone with the last few episodes. The bulk of the last episode was very much sugar overload with resolution of plots and closures for all main characters and even a MiB style makeover for the team.
Generally speaking, the acting were good. The junior counter probably had the most growth but then again, he was stuck in self pity mode for half the show so it was expected. The found family trope was well used and there were good warmth between the fab four. There was little romance, certainly nothing more than wishful thinking.
OST was good, I probably won't rewatch it as the problems would annoy me even more on a rewatch.

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Short and Sweet romance with a decent plot

I have only watched a few Thai dramas and this is another good 'un
Let's be honest. this is no high drama. It is low angst, low impact drama by any measures. It is a rom-com that can be easily binged as it is only 13 episodes long (about 45 mins each). Because of the short run time, the pacing is good and the plot moves along without too many deviations.
What I did like are the OTP's chemistry, they are hot together. Yes, lots of push/pulls in the beginning. The development of their relationship was well paced. It is not like they hated each other for 80% of the show and then just jump into bed because they ran out of time or ideas. You can see from their expressions and their private musings that they were falling for each other as the show progressed. They also have this easy going sexy vibe with each other.
I also like how the writer used the dirty tricks cooked up to harm the OTP as catalyst to push them closer together and take their relationship further. This is so much better than just set them up as the OTP early on and then throw roadblocks at them until the inevitable breakup. In this case, you still get the impact of the misdeeds but it was also a positive force and you can enjoy their growth as well. Nicely done.
What I didn't like was how the antagonist was used. She got away with too much. Even after being called out again and again, she just kept escalating her scheming. Yes, it moves the story along but she was not really punished in the end (she paid a price but it was a fraction of the pain she brought unto others) and then she even gets a happy ending. This is a pet hate of mine. Many dramas allow the antagonist a free run, give them a slap on the wrist and then hands them a happy ending as bonus. Not really sending a strong message, are we?
Support cast did a fine job. Some were a bit one dimensional but that is to be expected in such a short run show. They served their purpose by introducing some angst. The main support roles were more fleshed out. I loved the BFF of the FL. She was such a perfect foil for the FL. The 2ML (Tawan) was too weak for my liking. He enabled the antagonist ceaselessly, called her out repeatedly and then just hanged around like a love sick puppy (which he was).
All in all, an enjoyable watch. Nothing amazing but well worth the time to binge it and recharge with some swoon worthy moments.

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Genre bending wuxia rom-com that takes irreverent fun to the next level

A word of warning. If you are a wuxia aficionado then you probably should skip this show. The setting is familiar and the characters played roles that are instantly recognisable but almost everything in between have been flipped and turned around so that it became irreverent and very tongue-in-cheek.

The plot is classic wuxia. I would even go as far as saying it was old school. All based around sects, secret sutras and the attainment of the highest level of martial art form with special powers and lots of flying around. The basic plot was the typical blood feud that spanned years and wicked plots to secure the secret sutra. However, that storyline was largely used as the skeleton for the meat of the story which was the romance of the OTP.

Here I am going to on a tangent because it has been bugging me. From the first episode to about the 1/3 mark, the show gave me strong "What's wrong with Secretary Kim" vibes. I know the setting is completely different but if you look at the basic outline then you can see quite a bit of WWwSK's DNA in this show. The handsome and VERY narcissistic boss (ML), beautiful, long suffering and super efficient assistant (FL) who had been with him for years. Once the boss realised the FL was going to quit, he decided that the only way to keep her was to marry her. There was even a childhood trauma which the FL only vaguely remembers and a "brother" that saved her which could be either the ML or the 2ML. Curious, no?

Anyway, back to the review. The romance was the focus of the whole show and luckily, the writer kept a steady hand on the wheel and did not allow the show to go from rom-com to melodrama at the blink of an eye. Yes, there were death, injuries and destructions but the Love is strong with the OTP. Once you get past the standard wuxia storyline, the writer really got "creative" with the subplots and twists. It was Sillyville for much of the show. Everything from slapstick, funny dialogues to visual gags were thrown into the mix. Even the presentation was not spared. We had scenes shot like black and white silent movies and even a cartoon segment. You certainly have a feeling that there were some influence from webtoons.

Was the show funny? A fair bit of the time and there were even the odd hilarious moments. Some jokes did fall flat but that is to be expected. Most of the plots were telegraphed in advance so it is almost like having laugh tracks, you know something weird and crazy was going to happen soon. Credit goes to the writer and director for sticking to their guns. The humour didn't stop until the last scene.

It did get a bit draggy during the second half of the show as it was a long retelling of their courtship but from a different perspective.

A lot of the main support cast were there as comedic foils so their characters were deliberately one dimensional or exaggerated but they earned their pay. It was not an easy gig.

Yes, it is a silly show and you are not talking about fantastic acting, intricate plots or heartfelt emotions (most of the time) but in a sea of same-same dramas, it is a nice change of pace and it did have some cute and funny moments. I enjoyed it more than I expected and that surprised me. Rose-tinted glasses helped a lot. :)

The OST is weird. Not much Chinese music, almost themed like a Benny Hill show (look it up if you don't know that reference ;) ). Rewatch value is there if you want a break from heavy going dramas.

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Text book rom-com with a love of clichés

The TL;DR version: it is a very tropey, cliché laden rom-com that failed to hit any heights and ended up meandered for too long before a predictable ending.

The longer version: This show started fine. Very tropey setup with cold, rude CEO ML and feisty college student FL in a contract marriage. The logic behind the plot was questionable but we'll let that pass for now. It was set up and running within the first 2 episodes. Consider the show runs for 30 x 30+ mins episodes, you would think that there is lots of time to develop the characters and watch their relationship blossom but alas, the real confession didn't happen until late in the show and nothing much happened (drama wise) between those two points. It was overstuffed with every colour of clichés that I wish I was a cliché spotter! Time and time again, just when you see the obvious set up and waited for the ML to utter the 4 immortal Chinese words (我喜欢你) and seal it with a kiss, the scene faded to black and they took a collective step back.

They did amped up the sugar moments after the confession but it was all bait and switch as the writer threw even more CP roadblocks in their way and culminated in the predictable plot arc. If you think that I'm talking about the OTP both dying in a plane crash then you should get a job with them because you are way more creative.

I'm not saying that every rom-coms have to be full of original ideas but better ones handle clichés like delicate building blocks, be creative with them. This show used them with extreme prejudice and with little return. It was like they took the "Chinese Rom-com for Dummies" to the pitch meeting.

Acting was patchy. The FL is fine. A feisty college student is bread and butter for young actors these days. The ML suffered from the Chinese idol syndrome. They have the looks and the physique but his acting skills are limited. Stoney face might be ok for the cold CEO role but when the role expanded and he couldn't stretch to meet the demands then we have a problem. The FL's BFF and one half of the 2OPT was problematic as well. It was almost painful to watch her in some of the lovey-dovey scenes with the 2ML. There was little chemistry with the second pairing but they can be cute together. There was a decent amount of skinship with the CP's but not a whole lot of passion. One surprise was the ML's mum. She was a scene stealer and a fount of wisdom and so sweet and understanding. Shame that she didn't have a bigger role.

There was little growth in the characters, more like Jackal and Hyde personality changes. This was especially true for the ML and not in a good way.

The ending was sugar coated and the FL's male junior did the honourable thing but the happy ending was never in doubt. It was a decent conclusion. I'm not too sure why they did the CGI chapel in the end. Seemed a bit unnecessary.

OST was serviceable. Rewatch value is low.

I started off enthused, gradually became irritated (aka almost dropped) and then finally settled on resigned indifference.

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More of the good things and a few niggles

Oh, so much I loved the Dr Romantic's drama-verse. It was a little microcosm of a perfectly crafted world where love, skills, compassion and friendship can overcome all evils. Dr Romantics 2 certainly had that in spades but there were awkward moments with the storytelling, a bit like your dog peeing on the rug while your friends were visiting. Do you ignore it or not?
As an ensemble drama, this show is second to none. The old hospital was a great setting and the main/support cast were always superb. You can pretty much just watch them chat while washing dishes and it would be ok. ;) However, where DR1 was a wonderful journey as we observed how the team grew, worked and played together, DR2 had the hospital well and truly humming along (still short staffed and poorly funded) but a lot of the enjoyment was just seeing the regulars in their roles. Some of them were angrier, some were more stressed, they all got older and one had to retire. The pacing was so fast and furious that you don't have time to worry about the in between bits.

Some reviews lamented that this is not DR2 with the same cast. I understand that but I don't think there is a dire need for that. DR2 is strong enough to be judged on its own merits and the time and plot have moved on. This left us with a time shift and 3 new doctors. Two of the new doctors were very flawed and scarred individuals. It was good that they came to Doldam Hospital because Dr Kim saw their potentials and he made them whole again.

That worked but because it included the OTP we had to deal with their romantic subplot. It was true that the ML had a crush on the FL since their med school days and we were left with no doubts by the flashbacks. Her feelings towards him was a lot more ambiguous. In a way, backstory stuff was a bit redundant as they were the classic trope of opposite types being thrown together in high pressure situations. You can literally get a spark off two wet sponges. No surprise then that after lots of push backs from the FL, she fell head-over-heels for the ML. It got the job done as the plot goes but it felt heavily scripted. On the other hand, the 2OTP were cuter and felt more relatable but they didn't get enough screen time, IMHO.

Another niggle is that after many episodes of trials and tribulations showing us the M/FL's personal issues, it all got resolved too easily so that it lost a lot of the impact. The main antagonist (Prof. Park) was a bit grey, neither truly evil nor chaotic. Deus ex machina was in full force at the end of the show where most of the evil plots and scheming were largely resolved in one stroke. It was a most satisfying conclusion but I couldn't help but felt like I was the only one left out of a prank.

Don't get me wrong, when this show gets it right (and that was most of the time), it was a masterful piece of medical drama. So many heart warming as well as gut wrenching moments. I still felt a bit choked up when I recall certain scenes (no spoilers!). But I do feel that the writer-nim succumbed to the demand of a romantic plotline and the desire to give us a happy ending at all costs.

The OST was great. Rewatch value is high.

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Cute, watchable youth drama with a hard edge

At its core, it was a youth drama, a college romance but it was also a modern take of a wuxia drama which got me interested.
The core story charted the FL's growth in her tai chi skills and the romance between the FL and ML who was her college senior as well as tai chi teacher. Yes, that was an over simplification as a lot of it was tied up with the ML's plan to modernise the teaching of tai chi and the competition/bad blood between different Kung Fu styles/clans/sects. If you are thinking that tai chi is taught around the world right now so what's the big deal then you will have to watch this and see for yourself. ;)
The likes:
* The aesthetics was beautiful. One of the best looking c-drama I have seen. The cinematography and sceneries used were superb. No CGI required. There was an almost calming, ethereal quality to it with old architectures and lots of Chinese arts on display. The colour palette was warm and natural.
* The main cast were so good looking. The guys won, by the way. ;)
* Most of the fight scenes were expertly choreographed. Looks amazing and impactful.
* The story was not draggy (see discussion below).
* It was relatively angst light (see dislike below) and a lot of the misunderstandings were resolved fairly quickly with some straight talking.
The dislikes:
* While the aesthetics was beautiful, it did have its inconsistencies. The classic was the B-roll showing ancient tile roofs and in the background were high rise buildings shrouded in fog/pollution. Some scenes transition between rooms can feel weird. Like a really modern room (with digital wall switches) to a traditional Chinese sitting room that was suppose to be part of the same building. Not impossible but . . .
* I initially thought the production deliberately downplayed mod-cons like TV to keep that ethereal feel but then towards the end of the show, the OTP switched on the TV and started singing karaoke. Hmmm
* While the skinship was kept very much in the G rated realm, the fighting did get graphic and bloody (especially towards the end). Some themes were also very dark. It did felt odd that death and major crimes were ok but skinship was not.
* The romance was there and we even had 3 couples but they were all very restrained. There were chemistry (sort of) but there was little progress. A bit of hand holding, side eyes and a hug or two. We didn't even get a proper kiss for the whole show. The 2OTP is where the writer usually have more freedom to play with emotions and passion but we only got more angst and little passion. The word chaste came to mind.
* Costumes was a real mixed bag. The worse was probably the ML. His costumes went from standard sombre street wear to weird baggy Chinese trad/mod fusion. I won't call them stylish. For the OMG moment. Check out his costume for the final fight in the dying minute of the show. It is straight out of a video game.
Acting:
I thought the FL looked familiar and then it dawned on me that she was the FL in Dr Cutie. She did better in Dr Cutie but I think a lot of that was due to the script and the character had more freedom to express herself (and improvement in her acting abilities over time). She did a good job here as a young feisty college student.
The ML did ok for the most part. I believe he is an idol so we can't expect too much acting skills. As to be expected, he was supposed to be cool and aloof but at least he managed to appear more aloof due to his senior tai chi rank rather than just being a stuck-up. He was a bit out of his league with his wooden delivery during some big emotional scenes.
The rest of the support cast were mostly young and they did a decent job. Most have fairly straightforward roles.
I just realised I kept saying "towards the end". The reason is the last few episodes just felt odd. The directing, subplots and acting all felt misaligned. Episode 22 was the turning point for me. There were scenes and editing that didn't make sense. The tai chi dojo was supposed to be trashed but we saw none of that. A couple of girls got rescued but why? The cliché breakup that wasn't a breakup?
The National martial art competition was the main focus towards the end and it was done well. Lots of awesome fight scenes. There were also plot holes but you sort of just go along with it. It hit me later on that the competition was suppose to have lasted over 30 days?! That is ridiculously long. Even Wimbledon only lasted 2 weeks.
Episode 24 was mostly fan service but it felt underdone. We have the big dramatic scene (not spoiling) then relationship doubts then happy group scenes with cameo of the Japanese actor (for no reason). Final twist at the send-off was poorly handled and if it was meant to be a surprise then it landed with a thud. It just felt like a mishmash of scenes and messages. Something happened to the script writing for the last few episodes and it was not good.
Oddly enough, episode 1 was a bit like that. Things just happened that didn't felt connected. If I had only one word to describe it then it would be messy. Just as well things got a whole lot better for the next 20 episodes.
OST was quite good, especially when it matched well with the beautiful sceneries. Dubbing was a little patchy at times.
I would rewatch it for its aesthetics, the cute moments and the fight scenes but it is not a high priority.

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Sweet ensemble cast (some with 4 legs) that delivered

Very few drama trope can stir your emotions like those involving animals and with 6 furry pets involved we are guaranteed emotion and cuteness overload.
To be honest, the movie didn't break any new grounds and everything was fairly low key in the drama department but it was written that way so it delivered as expected. The stories were nice and sweet but it can hit you in the feels when it wanted to and I was really saddened by one of the stories. The rest were sweet, heart-warming and uplifting so mission accomplished.
Best to watch it with family or SO and your own pet on a lazy day.

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Awesome drama but for one narrative misstep

There has already been dozens of review written on this popular k-drama so I'm not going to go into great details about the bulk of the show other than to say that it was amazing, funny, sad, heartfelt, thought provoking, exciting, etc. Definitely worth the watch.
Superb acting by the FL and the ML was great as well. Oodles of OTP chemistry. Support cast was top notch. We'll just say no more about the palace intrigue plot, it was integral to the story but nothing new.
Now, some of the reviews focused on THE ending. I understood their sentiments but I don't agree with the more extreme views that the show was ruined by the ending. Yes, it was a bit of fancy foot work on the writer-nims' part in last 30 minutes but to do it otherwise would be to create and ignore longer term problems. You can't really have a 21st century person living the rest of their natural life in the Joseon era without turning history into swiss cheese. Even the few month he was there was already throwing up narrative issues that will make you cross eyed if you think about it. The problem is that most of the negative review all centred around the point that the 21st century person should be allowed to stay on and live happily ever after in the past because he earned it. Is it possible? Viable? Butterfly effect? What happens if he dies in the present?
The writer-nims did their best to push the two threads back together and it was done in a fairly light hearted and conclusive way. Let us not forget that the main relationship between the OTP was getting messy and confusing and it was sustained by the "true love conquers all" motif.
Other reviews also assumed the FL's soul was completely banished and it was obviously not true. By the half way mark, you can see glimpse of her old self popping to the fore. My reading of this is that the FL's soul was always there and can see, hear and feel everything but it was in a passive voice. So the original FL was a "silent" partner and fell in love with the ML along the way, possibly more so. She might even had taken the lead (subconsciously) at some key moments (you will know what I mean if you have watched the show). So it was not that much of a stretch for her to carry on once the 21C person departed. Her later comments and actions all pointed to her being aware of everything that had happened. Her eventual persona also changed a bit so it was a two way street. On the other hand, if they let the 21C person stay on then another segment of the audience will rail against that ending because of all the timey wimey and interpersonal issues.
It was brave of the writer-nims to go down the time travel/body swap theme and it was a deep rabbit hole they went down. At least with this ending, we can have the unicorns and a workable conclusion that I can live with and still smile at the happy thoughts.

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