Emily

A drama with so much heart (you will cry)

Guys, I am not okay.
This has got to be one of the best cdramas I've watched this year, probably ever (EMOTIONAL CRASHOUT INCOMING).
The characters, the story, were truly one of a kind, uniquely attaching, in a way I haven't seen since When I Fly Towards You. The drama makes you care for each of the characters, their backstories, their goals, and ambitions in an organic way that makes you laugh when they are happy, cry when they are at their lowest, and rejoice in their achievements as if they were your own.
The pacing of this drama is so well done; at no point did it feel like it was dragging or that anything unnecessary was happening. The timing of each event perfectly connects to the next, so everything's coherent and equally impactful.
Ok, so I'll ditch the seriousness now.
OMG OMG OMG YOU GUYS, THIS DRAMA IS SO GOOD WTF????????
I was literally laughing and crying every step of the way. The boys in the football team have my whole heart, and then some. Like, they are my children that I will protect with my everything. Wen Chengye, my baby, was so misunderstood and just needed a friend, or like, 10 plus 2 extra parents, someone please hug him. Fu Xinshu was my sweetheart, someone who cared so much and deserved every bit of love back. Qin Ao, I love this goofy, adorable boy. Not just them, but every single one of the boys on the team holds a special place in my heart, and seeing them grow and develop was an amazing experience.
And how could we forget the main characters? This is the first time I've seen Esther Yu play a non-babyish character, and her amazing acting skills shone even brighter. She should pick more roles like this. Anyway, Wanxing's trauma runs so deep, but she never lets her scars affect the team. She is guarded, but also has so much love to give; it's beautiful. Wang Fa, as he slowly opened up and trusted Wanxing with his fears and past, he healed her too. This drama showcases amazing communication and how it's okay to lean on others when you are at rock bottom, and to hold someone up when they aren't at their brightest, either. They were so cute, istg, I was screaming into my pillow every time they showed up on screen.
These characters found a family in each other and healed wounds they didn't inflict. It was an honour to embark on this journey with them.
TL: DR
Best drama I have watched in a while, with phenomenal pacing and an emotionally attaching story. You will care and cry for these people. IDK how to move on ㅠㅠ.
Sidenote: This drama was surprisingly 'open-minded' if you know what I mean, what with Wen Chengye and Fu Xinshu, and the Fl's bestfriend. I'm telling you I picked up a very strong vibe (am not complaining). Definitely trying to push China's restrictions.

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So much potential for nothing.

This was by far the most disappointing thing I've watched this year. It's a shame, really, because this had so so so much potential. It started cute and just a little bit angsty and yearning. I was sat. Then at some point, they started going off the rails, and I started to understand nothing. It got frustrating. Their actions, intentions, and thoughts were never made clear to the audience. They would just show a close-up of the actors and expect us to fully comprehend and piece together what, or why, was happening just by guessing what the characters felt. It felt like trying to solve a puzzle for which I didn't have the pieces.
I swear the writing was the issue, because the acting was great. And the cinematography was beautiful. But that's really all there was. Beautiful nothing. I think the drama tried to portray some hidden depth, but ended up just feeling like nothing.
The production was beautiful, but the writing lacked any real substance and made the audience feel more confused than anything.
They don't end up together, and I'm not against that, but I felt like in the effort to have a "realistic" and 'deep" romance story, they failed to make the audience feel anything at all, cuz I was too lost to focus.
For example, at the end, he goes to her house and changes her lightbulb. What am I supposed to make of that?? No context, just a random action with no explanation.
I don't need things spelled out for me; any good drama shows instead of telling, but I never truly understood what it was trying to show, because I didn't really feel like it did have anything to say, just hid behind beautiful scenes and confusing plots to hide the fact that it really did have nothing.
The fl frustrated me, and the side characters felt so surface-level, like their sole purpose was to be plot devices for the main leads, and they didn't have any development or even a story or depth of their own. For example, the male lead's brother. There was so much potential to explore him, and I was genuinely curious about him, but they didn't show his story, or his thoughts, dreams, or anything; he was just a reason for the ML to stay in his hometown.
TL;DR
Beautiful acting and cinematography, no essence to the story. FL was frustrating, and side characters felt empty. Waste of a good story.

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This is the best portrayal of enemies-to-lovers I have ever seen. In the beginning, they seriously hated each other, and not just a mild dislike. The ML was honestly a jerk, and I admit to hating him, just a little. But seeing the way their relationship morphed and shifted into love and admiration made me love them all the more, because it was so realistic. And don't even get me started on how hilarious they were. They bickered like an old married couple, and I sat for every second of it.
On to the side characters.
OMG, I loved the generals so much, they're freinship so much, and watching them healed me. Every character was done and developed so well, from the Wie household to the FL's own family, I was impressed. Even the villains had so many layers to their characters, which a lot of dramas cannot seem to do.
Now for the stuff I didn't like (SPOILERS):
I feel like anyone who has watched the show is going to have the same complaint: the deaths.
I mean, I think it's just cruel to make the audience care so much about Wei Liang and then just kill him off. The same goes for the FL's cousin. All she wanted was to live a peaceful life with her husband, and she ended up giving it all up.
This was entirely unnecessary and felt like their deaths were only done to cater to the genre itself, rather than to serve any real purpose to the story, because I would have been perfectly fine if they were alive and well, which they were in the original novel.

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How did I even make it through this??

I can not tell you one single thing wrong with this drama, because there is just so much wrong with it. I don't even know how I finished this.
First off, the story. The e-sports thing made no sense, and I just didn't get how or why the scandals even mattered that much, or who would even care, like, why are we acting like they are idols or something??? None of the storylines, plot, or relationships served any purpose. It felt like watching a dumpster fire of nothingness. The relationships had no substance, and felt sudden and at no point was I excited or even gave a damn about what was happening on screen.
Now for the acting. oh. my. god. I have never seen more horrid acting in my life. The main actress showed no emotion whatsoever, regardless of what was going on. The main leads had no chemistry at all and felt so forced and awkward. Not to mention how pretentious this made the male lead look. Like, he randomly started flirting with her, and then boom, they love each other. To add to that, her acting just made her look like she was being harassed, further disassociating me from the drama. I only watched this for Zhou Yi Ran. He was the only one who could act.
I was dragging my feet, forcing myself to get through each episode. Literally nothing about this drama, from the production to the plot to the story, even the sets and lighting, for some reason, made me want to watch it.
TL: DR
Everything about this was terrible. Don't know why this is so hyped. Only watched this for Yi Ran.

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A great drama with a few problems.

I have a lot to say about this one.
To be clear, generally, I think it's a good drama that really is worth the watch. The story is compelling, the characters are interesting, the chemistry is good, and the pacing wasn't bad either.
The story starts with Gu Qing Zhi, the eldest daughter of the Gu clan, as she kills herself. She then somehow merges souls or overtakes the body (idk; they never made it clear what even happened) of Shen Xi He, the Commandery Princess. The previously gentle, kind, and delicate Princess transforms into a ruthless, fierce, and strong woman overnight, and literally no one, NO ONE, questions it. They're like, 'oh ok whatever'.

The Crown Prince is portrayed as this frail, sick, and weak poisoned prince with a short lifespan. But surprise surprise, he is actually really strong and agile, completely mastering martial arts, and really smart, the big brains behind everything. He saves the Princess from drowning, falls in love with her, and becomes the most devoted, dramatic, delulu fictional man I have ever seen.

The Princess has to choose a husband between all the princes, 3 of whom are completely in love with her—for some reason. This part was really dragged out; my girl refused to CHOOSE, like come on, you have like 3 fine shyts pursuing you, one of whom is literally just the EMBODIMENT of green flag. However, when she does eventually choose the Crown Prince, it gets significantly better.

I really did like both characters a lot. Xi He is a headstrong woman who doesn't fear anyone. The Crown Prince is a downbad diva, but also really smart. Both are calculating and always 10 steps ahead of their opposition (perfect for my delicate heart), so it's never a matter of IF they can outsmart them, but more so a question of what masterplan they have to knock everyone out.

The 2nd couple has got to be one of the best parts of the show. It's a shame they got so little screen time. I was squealing every time they showed up on screen.

The villains of the show were all really well done, I just wished that the 2nd ML wasnt part of them, I really hoped they would finally make him let go of his obsession, but NO, this is a cdrama and no one can healthily deal with regection (I am joking, the other guy who was in love with her did let go, which I loved)

My biggest issue with this drama was the ending, which felt very incomplete and riddled with unanswered questions. The Crown Prince dies, and I cried, truly. They then spent literally the next 4 episodes developing what happened after and that whole plot, which I really liked; it was flushed out well and was interesting. The real problem is when, like 5 years later, PLOT TWIST, the Prince ISN'T dead and was like stowed away somewhere (idk) and somehow magically recovered from the poison which was uncurable the WHOLE show; he suddenly didn't care WHO poisoned him (also a big part of the show), is really old with grey hair for some reason, and what? Xi He knew the whole time????
There was so much left unanswered: How did he fake his death? Where did he go? How did he cure himself? Is he the emperor now? Why is the physician also suddenly really old? What were the people's reactions when the dead Crown Prince suddenly comes back to life??

Although I was heartbroken when he died, I had come to accept it. It worked for the story. It made sense; it tied up most of the loose threads. But to cater to the happy ending, they destroyed a perfectly good ending, instead introducing something completely useless, so instead of inducing any lingering feeling after watching the drama, all I felt was confusion. I'm not mad he's back; I just think the story didn't need it, at least at that point, or in that specific way.

I understand that the novel probably answers these questions, but I wasn't here for a novel adaptation; I was here for a drama, so I expect an ending that makes sense, and I expect the drama to deliver it, not a book I do not want to read.

TL; DR
A good drama, with a compelling story and great characters. It only had some logic and ending problems; otherwise, it was a satisfying watch.

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Cute and funny with...quirks

I absolutely loved the main couple! I did expect more romance, but I didn't really mind, because their hilarious banter made up for it. They gave off major best friend energy, which was the only thing that held me up, because they got together at the very end.
Their relationship era felt really rushed, but I still think the ending was done well, at least better than most modern cdramas I've watched.

Now, for the side characters:
The 2nd lead couple were really cute, and I truly enjoyed the 2nd female lead, especially her friendship with the FL.
Here is where I have an issue: the 3rd lead couple. I just didn't like them at all, and it felt like we were excusing straight-up stalking and harassment. I have a big issue with that, and honestly, whenever they showed up on my screen, I just pressed skip.

I recommend just watching the main lead couple and skipping almost everything else. I didn't even find the plot that engaging.

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A Breezy Watch

While not groundbreaking, this drama was cute and comforting. It doesn't really take itself too seriously, and the pacing wasn't bad either.
It's a story about an actress who hits rock bottom after an abuse-of-power controversy, and a therapist with a dead father.
I was a little worried about how it would pan out in the beginning, because it was paced like it had 12 episodes, so it didn't feel rushed--in the beginning.
Just as I suspected, during the last episode and a half-ish, I felt like it was really trying to rush its story, to wrap up all the plot lines they had built up, so it kinda just dropped.
Even the end felt a little pointless, like why break them up if they get back together not even 5 minutes later?? But eh, I wasn't expecting this to be a masterpiece anyway, just a fun timepass.
The actors did a good job; they just didn't have much chemistry. It was nice to see Kang Min Ah in a lead role to, i hope she gets more with better scripts.
Overall, it was good for what it was. It was short, didn't try to go out of its way to have a lot going on, and was cute and comforting.

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