A very decent drama about a dark, angsty, misunderstanding-fueled red-flag romance.

(I don't want to spoiler anyone, so click "read more" to view, if you want the quick and dirty summary of this show :P )

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Mannn, it starts off with ML doing some really messed up shit to the FL. But it's all good, because she goes to great lengths to get even. And then mannnn does she do some messed up shit to him! Then they both feel very regretful, and kind of decide to do like a "do-over".

The kisses are decent, the show is kind of tame, but with a spicy kick. The ML and FL have mad chemistry, they look so freakin good together, and they both are great actors. They make such a good pair.

The other parts of this show are really on point. Acting by supporting cast, costumes and styling, music, direction, everything fits together very seamlessly and is so well done, that it's almost hypnotic how you get immersed and just want to keep watching another episode and another and another.... There were parts of the storyline that could have been made more clear, so it's kind of blocky and disjointed. But not too much, it's mainly fine. None of the dialogue really stands out as genius, but it flows nicely and there's no cringe.

This starts out as a toxic as hell romance, but it doesn't end as one. I guess you could say they get it all out of their system and become cured of their sadistic urges toward one another. There is an HE, but it's one of those last-minue HE's that isn't really super satisfying. But the bulk of the show itself is very satisfying, so..... you could see it as a trade-off.

I think it's mayyyybe rewatchable. If I decided one day to rewatch it, it would be for the ML and FL performances, and for the pretty ratcheted-up levels of angst combined with a pleasing dose of spice. The kiss scenes could have been better, but they also could have been a lot worse. This is a cut above the average short-length drama. Definitely worth a one-time watch at least.

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If a plate of scrambled eggs wrote a screenplay, it would have written this.

You may or may not have fun watching this one. But you'll probably have fun talking about it in the comments.

So many things don't really make sense. So. Many. Things. Where to even start.

You will be confronted on many levels by this drama. It begins with an ML who is supposed to be "almost 30".... being played by an actor who is 47. That is an 18 year age difference. Some say the ML is hot and manly. That is up to you to decide. But we can safely say there is something strange going on in his neck area, and his hair makes him look like an ancient chinese car salesman. Maybe that will bother you. Maybe it wont. Who knows.

Then you will be confronted by a 2ML who you will have to decide if you ship. Will you think he's Simpy McSimperson, an NPC with no real character of his own, who is annoying and stupid and serves no real purpose in the show? Or will you think he's sexylicious, and the FL's only real friend, and she's stupid for not running off with him to live a live of banditry in the woods? There is no telling, you'd just have to find out for yourself.

Then you will be confronted by the way the ML treats the FL. Is he manly and protective with reasons of his own for doing what he does? Or is he stockholming the FL and being a spineless passive aggressive douchebag? That's up to you to decide.

You will also be confronted by ML/FL kiss scenes. Will you think they are fiery and electric? Or will you think they are disturbing and strange. There is only one way to find out, and that's to see it for yourself.

And then... you will be confronted by plot holes. Lots of them. You could make a game out of it.... how many plot holes did YOU find? Five? Ten? Twelve? Winner gets bragging rights. You will likewise be confronted with a mind boggling amount of scheming and villainy. Sometimes you will not understand why a character did what they did or said what they said. Does anyone have the answers to clear your confusion? Perhaps. Or perhaps not.

I can say, the styling was really phoned-in and lo-effort. There were some scenes where I was looking at the dotted pattern along the wigline on ML closeups. I can also say that there is an abundance of overacting. It's not THAT bad, but it's there. Many actors and actresses on this drama were overacting to one degree or another. For some, it was just a hint of overacting, like the FL. For others on the supporting cast, the overacting was really quite much. And that's fine, I don't really mind that so much if other factors are present. But just so you know going in... this is less of an understated, subtle drama.... and more of a thrill-ride drama. I guess what you'd expect from 30-min episodes, really. Let's just say these performances aren't winning any awards, know what I'm sayin. It's meant more for fun, and not for serious viewing. If you go into this one very serious-minded.... you are going to have a BAD time. But if you go in to watch just for fun.... who knows what kind of time you'll have.

It's all mixed up. It's kind of mindless. Plot and logistics of things are pretty nebulous. Ending was kind of.... shall we say conversation-inspiring. Will you like it? Maybe. Or.... maybe not. I am reminded of a Blackadder quote by Lord Talbert Buxomley: "This drama talks like a plate of beans negotiating it's way out of a cow's digestive system." And I think that says it best, really.

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Unique story that could have been reworked into a great drama with more time and attention.

People are comparing this to 50 Shades, but they're not all that alike, at least in terms of plot. The reason why it reminds people of 50 Shades is because it's the same type of spice (overtones of S&M), similar color palate and styling (black/white/gray, expensive and spartan interiors, simple & classic styles for hair and wardrobe), and an extremely controlling ML.

But where 50 Shades' story focuses more on the relationship itself, and the growth of the characters, this story does not. Deep Love Love Again reminds me more of Secret or My Lethal Man, with pretty outrageous plotlines and characters. It seems like it might borrow some of it's inspiration from the classic story 'La Femme Nikita'.

It wasn't bad at all. The actors were exemplary and their chemistry was fire. But it just had too many shortcomings to rise above mediocre. For starters, the story was laid out in a disjointed way. It was meant to be mysterious and keep you guessing, but it missed the mark and turned out simply confusing. It was meant to reflect S&M tastes in spice, but the characters don't have enough depth and consistency to create a good S&M relationship. There are some loose ends that never get wrapped up. The dialogue is too sparse, vague, and devoid of emotional content.

These are technical issues that could have been remedied with enough time for the scriptwriters to go back over it and fix it, but all projects are on a budget and a schedule, and I'm sure they just ran out of time to polish the story. But the basic plotline is solid.... moreso than many dime-a-dozen short length dramas. And the aesthetic is different than what you usually see in a mini c-drama, which was refreshing. None of the problems with this drama had anything to do with the actors, who all gave excellent performances and were very well cast.

There was a decent level of spice, but even so, it should have been spicier. It was a decent one-time watch, and the plot deserves to be recycled into a longer drama by someone who can actually make it shine.

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What an absolute cowpie.

I will sum this bad boy up for you real fast.

(Click "read more" so I don't spoiler any of the masochists who want to torture themselves on purpose.)

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Here goes.

Blahblahblah some republican era shit blah blah blahblah secret weapons cache. Blahblah blah blahblah gun points at FL, FL tied up and dragged and crying and strangled and thrown on the bed and yelled at blah blah blah. 2FL justwow blah blah fake pregnancy blah blah whatever some secret meetings and uniforms some army shit idk. Blahblahblah blah blah gratuitously shirtless ML doing some shit idk wound dressing or nonconsentual sexy time or drunken undressing blahblahblah.

WHAT, A FACE CHANGE SURGERY OMG blah blah and FL is like YOU LYING PIECE OF SHIT IM NEVER TALKING 2 U AGAIN. Blah blah crying crying getting drunk breaking glass coughing blood. Blah blah blah blah ML DIES.

Thats ok though because the peoples army lives on or some shit. And maybe if you close your eyes really tight and wish really hard, ML isnt dead though so hey.

THE END.


*Bad dubbing
*2FL is a mentally retarded narcissist with an underbite problem.
*Villain does the villain-laugh like literally after every sentence and its so cringe. Bro. Get a desk job and give up acting, srsly.
*I give it a generous 4.5 because at least it didn't put me to sleep 20 times.
*I would recc this to, say, a coworker I pretend to like because I have to, but who really deep down I don't like.

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I've seen 250+ dramas, and this is the only drama I've ever given a 10.

I am a vampire freak, who loves romances when they are dark, slow-burn, supernatural, obsessive, angsty and passionate. I love stories with an ML who is red-flag, possessive, controlling, antihero, badass, or morally gray. I like stories about demons, devils, gumihos, legendary beings... you get the idea.

This drama isn't about vampires at all. But it's so close it might as well be. He looks, talks, acts, and thinks just like a vampire. All that's missing is the fangs and the superhuman abilities. And it's funny that a drama that is in no way about vampires, is the best vampire romance I've ever come across. It just satisfies my vamp-cravings so perfectly.

SoKP is deliciously slow burn. The best slow burn I know of besides Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre'. An unbelievable amount of patience is required to get to the payoff. But what a payoff. The fire that finally sets off is so hot that it permanently scarred my brain.

Aesthetics and color palate, styling and makeup and costumes... everyone in this drama was made to look incredible. Even the tertiary characters. I'm not saying everyone was stunningly model-hot. I'm saying they brought out each actor's best. This is true on an acting level as well. The directors and producers cared about each actor and actress, about their inner beauty and their natural talent shining through. The execution of this story was almost completely flawless. The casting was perfect in every way. Ling He is so excruciatingly gorgeous, and Bai Lu is beautiful beyond compare in her role here. Supporting cast was incredible and perfectly suited to their individual roles.

The political/intrigue part of the story was interesting, immersive, sufficiently complex to hold your attention, but not overly complex to make you feel muddled and mentally taxed as you watch.

I cannot recc this drama enough. HOWEVER. You will not like this drama if you fall into one of the following categories:

Looking for a green-flag ML---> this ML is morally gray, controlling, manipulative, forceful. There is some throat-grabbing and forced kisses as well.

Like to watch "boring stuff" on 2x and FFW'd during dramas regularly when your attention isn't engaged ---> this story requires your full attention, immersion, and patience in order to experience the full effect of the romance. It will not hold up to someone who is skipping or 2x-ing through parts, because you'll kill the pacing and atmosphere that needs to be established. You can skip some parts in episode 1 to get you going, but after that, I'd strongly advise against it.

This is a very special drama. You can never watch it for the first time twice. So, if you do decide to give this a chance, savor your first watch-through. Watch it on a dark, rainy weekend when you can binge it fully. with the lights out and some candles going or something, and let yourself get really into it. Happy viewing <3

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Mind-numbingly predictable CEO romance with hideous aggressive OST and no chemistry.

First let me say that the best part of this drama BY FAR, was He Rui Xian's incredible performance as the 2FL. She's so amazing and deserves high caliber 1FL roles.

The rest of this was, to put it bluntly, total crap.

While it would take a dissertation to fully enumerate the ways in which this was crap, I will do my best to keep it brief.

*No ML/FL chemistry. I dont know where the problem lies. Maybe Kai keeps getting handed FLs that dont mesh well with him. Maybe he has a really hard time letting go in front of the camera. Maybe hes RL gay. But whatever it is, this is another flat Kai Soso performance, lacking sexual chemistry, passion, and depth.

*Flat ML performance. Kai is good in some situations and dramas, but this isnt one of those dramas. Its impossible to distinguish the difference between his "straight man" character, or just his limited acting ability.

*FL is not sexy and has a bad haircut and boring clothes. Shes cute. And she is a good actress. But shes not sexy. She should be playing roles other than romance FLs

*Kiss scenes are tame

*Moderately high cringe-factor

*Slow slowwwww pacing. This should have 10 episodes shaved off

*Tired, cliche storyline. The actual business story is good. But every other aspect of it is insultingly cliche.

*Mediocre dialogue all the way from beginning to end.

*Background music is stupid and out of touch

*OST is so aggressive it should be arrested and tried for assault.

*Characters are simplistic and too perfect, like a teens dream of what life is like and what people are like, and a teen's dream fantasy.

*They take an indoor cat, in a cat carrier, to the park for its birthday. They lay out a blanket, and put a TINY HAT ON THE CAT. The kind with an elastic chin strap. Then they let the cat out of the carrier. And the cat stays on the blanket. It stays on the blanket, and just... sits there. Mkay. This is the kind of show we are dealing with here. If any one scene could sum up how I feel about the show, its that one.

I would recc this to mushy romantic sentimental people whose favorite color is fuscia/magenta/hot pink, and who still have at least one stuffed animal on their bed.

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Awesome acting, directing & music meets tired plot with cop-out ending.

Wow the acting was so good, especially considering many scenes were probably difficult to stay in character, due to cgi or cheesy script. But ML and FL were truly believable with awesome chemistry. Directing was really good, everything was beautiful, sexy and exciting. Music elevated the scenes and pulled the story into cohesion. Costumes and makeup were budget-excellent.

But the plot is cliche af, and the story/script are loaded with cheese. This could have been overlooked if the ending was satisfying, but it isnt. So very worth one watch, but idk about a rewatch though.

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This is not so much a romance as it is a serious work of art

This is not a linear romance story. This is the story of an event (a teacher and a student getting together and falling in love), and how that event came to be, and how it impacts the future and the world around them. If you are looking for a strict romance story, then drop this drama. I can see from the comments that some girls with hearts in their eyes for the ML, watched this and took it as a romance. But it's clear that was not the intention of the creators. This is for people who are looking to appreciate a deliberately crafted piece of cinematic art.

Taken as a romance story, this was total crap. Taken as a piece of serious cinema, this was absolutely stunning.

(SPOILERS FROM HERE ON)

Art does not shy away from controversial subject matter, and neither does this drama. Some people have rated this based on the level of disgust it evoked in them. That is completely unjust. The drama depicts their relationship through the lens of realism. It doesn't ask you to condone it, or to judge it. It simply tells it's story.

We have an ML whose mother has transferred her romantic feelings for her late husband onto her own son (an only child), and buries herself in work and part-time romance with another man, to try to escape this truth and hide it from herself. The ML needs to get away from her claustrophobic feelings for him but is barely conscious of the unhealthiness of their dynamic, and doesn't really have enough self-awareness of the situation to rise above unconscious reactions. So he is an isolated, indifferent "bad boy".

We have an FL who is a walking identity crisis time-bomb waiting to happen. Her father is overbearing and strict, emotionally cold and distant, and withholds approval to get what he wants from his family. Her mother seems content with this, but she is not.... not at all. Her fiancee "needs her", but what he really needs is not her, it's the IDEA of her, he needs what she symbolizes to him: sex, stability, a sense of pride in being a man. He seems so unconcerned with her true feelings about the relationship, that he doesn't even realize that it's a bad sign that after 7 years of dating, she still can't cook for shit. Or that you shouldn't give your GF a halfassed proposal in your boxer shorts at 2am and toss a ring at her and call it all good. She didn't like that, and it was visible that she didn't like it. He paid no attention. At work, the FL is the bottom rung of the teacher totem pole, being only a 26 year old teacher. She's too young to be a respected teacher, and too old to be respectable as a single woman. There is seemingly nowhere where she fits in for who she is.... only her making herself fit in to be appreciated for what she is.

When these two people meet, they cannot resist what the other offers. ML is the opposite of every man she knows. He is sweet, considerate, listens to her, and sees he for who she really is. He encourages her to open herself up more, and discover what she really wants. FL bears an eerie resemblance to ML's mother, is everything his mother is, only FL is warm and emotionally available and gives him the kindness and balance he needs in his life. Needless to say, they fall HARD for eachother. Not only because of the love they share, and the attraction.... but also because each one is a manifestation of something the other yearns for deep in their wounded psyche.

And then..... the aftermath.

Because the relationship they have shakes every other relationship and interpersonal dynamic around them to it's core, the relationship itself becomes their vehicle to freedom (a theme that runs through the drama), and without it, they are trapped and utterly lost in their own lives, over which neither one has any degree of personal agency. But when they follow their hearts, the ways in which others have them trapped in codependency begin to crumble, and their unhealthy relationships with others start to topple. So they find that increasingly they cannot live without eachother. They don't want to live without eachother.

Yet their undertaking is enormous: He was an unsuspecting child, who suddenly becomes completely responsible for a grown woman who is emotionally stunted and avoidant. He is totally unprepared both logistically and emotionally. She was used to relying on everyone in her life, because most people treat her like a perpetual dependent, and now she has a 17 year old boy she has to protect and raise up into a man by herself... so she also is totally unprepared to be a provider and an anchor for someone. Since she is avoidant, she has to summon up a lot of willpower to keep her heart open to the ML no matter how afraid or upset she is. Both of them fail many times as they learn to bring out more of themselves for eachother They attempt to break up multiple times, until they finally come face to face with the fact that they NEED eachother or they'll die of sheer despair.

When they fall in love and run away together, everyone who was dependent on them to hold up their own psychological illusions begins to deteriorate and flail around. Should they stay apart to hold up their families? Or should they begin a new family, and let everyone who was misusing them falter and crash? On it's surface levels, it appears as though their love for eachother is killing eachother and those around them. But on deeper levels, their romance is the only thing keeping them - and therefore everyone who depends on them - alive.

The acting was on fire. The script was a thing of beauty.... there were many silences built into the script to give the directors and actors room to create genuine emotions and evocative scenes, and the grasp on human psychology was totally brilliant. (For example, when ML runs away with FL, he realizes out of the blue that he wants to visit his long-lost paternal uncle... because now he needs to grow into a man, and is desperately looking to any other man in his life or connection to his deceased father to give him some direction, or even just a hint of a direction... it's so poignant) The cinematography and use of visual symbolism were on point, and gave added meaning to the story. I do think the music and soundtrack was where everything kind of fell down. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as the other elements that went into this, it wasn't as thoughtful and elevated as it could have been.

It was painful, thrilling, moving, sentimental, passionate, and all in all a really great watch.

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It will occupy your attention... but it probably won't leave much of an impression.

I liked this one for the easy, mildly interesting plot, and the way the pacing flows so nicely through the beginning and middle.. I also liked the actors. The leads had some chemistry, the kiss scenes were decent. FL was wisely cast -- she was the only thing elevating the show into something that could almost be taken seriously. ML did his best and it wasn't bad at all, he just needs some more acting experience under his belt and he will improve.

The problems: The way the story unwinds towards the end starts to get laggy and a little bit boring. The storyline, plot devices, dialogue.... all of it is really tired and cliche. The main couple kind of loses a little fizz in the final few episodes. Some of the soundtrack was slightly overdone to try to boost the dramatic or emotional content of the scenes.

I thought it was a little bit refreshing and ambitious for them to try to miniaturize an epic wuxia into something compact like this, and they didn't do too bad of a job. They just didn't do too good of a job either. This is a good between-shows watch with some decent kiss scenes, but definitely not of rewatch caliber.

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Way better than your average short-length C-drama...

Style is devastatingly on point. Wardrobes are so beautiful, and that's exceedingly rare for a c-drama. Actors are HAWT, and actresses are cute and sexy. Settings and aesthetics are satisfyingly luxe and gorgeous with sumptuous colors.... (really REALLY amazing achievement considering I'm sure they had budget constraints). Ep 1 WHIPS you into the story immediately. Pacing is really good. Chemistry is fire. Kilig? Yes. Spice? Yes. And oh my GOD it is so. frikkin. FUNNY.

Issues ---> the pacing is almost too fast because you just want to slowww down and enjoy every second of it..... the subtitles are really rough going..... some of the soundtrack is buffed out because it's like a youtube thing or whatever... and the basic plot they build off (writer gets sucked into their own drama, and slowly realizes that the villain is actually the ML), is pretty tired in current year. Finally, the biggest problem imo.... not enough kisses. I think there's only 2 or 3 kiss scenes, and they are pretty decent. But considering this couple's chemistry and the fact that it's a short length series, there should be more.

Definitely worth a watch, and likely a rewatch too.

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ML/FL chemistry fell flat, and story loses focus about halfway through.

This held my attention well and had me interested until about halfway through, and ML and FL have their first kiss. I had been hoping this was a sweet slow-burn, where the attraction ramps up as the story moves along, but it was clear from that first kiss scene, that there is no chemistry between the actors. This appears - to me - to be the fault of the FL, but honestly there's nothing coming from either side that feels like attraction or passion. ML looks like maybe he could act more passionate if it were a different FL. But FL looks like she can't convey attraction, no matter what ML would have been cast. She has a limited range of emotion that she can act. There are some emotions that she does act out well. Sadness, kindness, humor, she is very good at that. But to me, she shouldn't really be doing anything involving kiss scenes.

Because the chemistry fell flat, the drama lost my attention, and I had to really slog through the back half of it to finish it.

Which is a shame, because I was really liking the way they interpreted the story of splash splash love, I liked the problem-solving stuff involving the irrigation and that kind of thing.

At the core of any romance story, should be two people who can convince the viewer that they are actually attracted to eachother. Without that, the romance falls apart, and the story loses its soul. All I got from these two was a comfy plantonic "buddies" vibe, that worked well for the humorous scenes, but not for the actual "romance" part of the romance story.

6.5 because of the way this drama fell off for me at the halfway point. In retrospect, I'd say it was not worth my time. For me, 7's and above are for things that at least I thought were worth watching ONCE. This wasn't.

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Visually beautiful production and charismatic ML but terrible editing, pacing, and sound editing.

This drama is very aesthetically appealing. Settings, lighting, camera direction and acting all came together to create a gorgeousness that feels immersive, dark-sexy and intriguing. The production values are somewhat higher end for a short length. I love this ML, ive seen him in other things and hes great.

Romance was more tame than I expected, and it was sort of presented as a side-dish to an overly complicated plot about drugs, power, secrets, and scheming.

The real problem was completely bad editing and pacing. It slows down way too slow, then speeds up way too fast with flashback scenes presented in disjointed ways and lots of skipping around from one thing to another.

The writing and directing werent the best either, there was an awul lot of cringe moments flying around here and there.

The bgm/ost were so "off" to me... nothing struck a note that matched the tone of the scene. It was all this accoustic femmy music with a dynamic range imbalance problem, that just killed any sexy and drove me to hit mute. Very loud in comparison to the drama, and distracting/detracting. Some people really like the songs. I dont.. this is not my kind of music. But aside from that, the music didnt match the tone of the show at all. You have a very dark aesthetic, lots of use of black and dimly lit interiors, and rainy nights, the ML has a very dark, smoldering quality to his looks, hes supposed to be a badass, protecting his ballerina girl from blood, bullets, drugs, and crime bosses. That just doesnt call for sentimental accoustic female ballad songs. It calls for something that sounds dark and smoky. The juxtaposition of music to show was imo jarring and detracted from the overall tone they were trying to create.

Supporting casts acting was neither great nor terrible. But since this romance was very short on actual romance, and my focus was challenged by the drama and not gripped by it, i give it a 6. Imo a wast of time, not totally worth the watch.

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A decent story with a good amount of spice, but missing that je ne sais quoi...

In many senses this drama was "very good".... there is good chemistry between the leads, acting was good, styling and aesthetics were good, story was good, and it's spicy enough to give you some good cheap thrills. And the soundtrack was very very good, and served to elevate many scenes, while never at any point becoming too intrusive.

But for all that it had going for it, I wouldn't call this exemplary. The story was told in a kind of blocky, disjointed way that leaves viewers with a few questions afterward. The plot unfolded in a way that could have been made less confusing, although it was good enough that you could basically follow along. The actors are great and their chemistry is good, but neither of them is displaying a lot of charisma. (At least their kiss scenes are somewhat satisfying, so that was nice.) The settings and wardrobe were supposed to reflect money and sumptuousness, but they just felt a little bit cheap sometimes (not too bad though).

The plot itself was a little bit ho-hum... it was too makjang to feel realistic, and too realistic to feel makjang. The subject matter was predictable and tired, and didn't throw a lot of twists at the viewer.

For me, 8 is the threshhold score of shows I think are really satisfying and worth a re-watch. I gave this a 7.5 because there's nothing that *wrong* with it, and yet it just didn't quiiiiiite come together in a way I felt was truly satisfying -- but sooo close though.

Basically the highlight of this drama is that it has a spice level that's higher than most shows. So it's good for if you want a few hours of viewing that will give your heartrate a goose. But I wouldn't go into this drama very serious-minded or expecting something epic. I would recc it for a one-time watch to someone who wanted an "Inbetween-shows-show".

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Good smut + Lynchian darkness + raw depth + strange cheesiness = cult classic

This was like watching Wild At Heart, My Lethal Man, and The K2 blended together in a Vitamix and then smothered in sexy.

I see a fair number of watchers taking this drama only at its face value, which is an in-your-face raciness combined with a wild plot more full of holes than swiss cheese. So it begs obvious comparison to My Lethal man, in that afterward youre like "I dont know what the hell I just watched but it was hot." And that is a fair comparison.

But I was also strongly reminded of David Lynch. (Thats the director that did Twin Peaks, the original Dune movie, Wild at Heart with Nicholas Cage, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive)

Like Lynch movies, there is a strange, dark, quiet, beautiful, unsettled, disoriented feeling to this drama, that makes you wonder how many mysteries the show holds. Are the plot holes accidental or deliberate? Its riding a fine line.

This odd balance between darkness/lightness... quiet/dramatic... depth/simplicity.... cheesy/sexy..... is what I think has the elements of an instant cult classic.... like Repo Man, Heathers, True Romance, Twilight, etc. Many cult classics have a strange and stylish, mysterious blend of hokey and twisted and profoundly deep that makes the story so rewatchable.

There are weirdly placed intrusions of cheesy frivolity sure. But there are also scenes of real emotional depth that some shows try so hard to bring to the screen and fail at. I teared up at many scenes despite myself, because the emotions were so raw and beautiful, and well placed.

And the wholllle thing is just covered with sexiness everywhere. Even the "villain" is strange-sexy and hot af. Reminds me of a young asian marilyn manson with no makeup and a haircut. His looks are captivating and his acting is excellent. The ML and FL are sexy af and hot like fire and good actors. There is real kissing in the kiss scenes. GOOD real kissing, that make me think the ML is in rl probably an excellent lover. And for any kiss scene affectionados out there ----> there is french kissing in this one.

The casting was so excellent, the costumes and styling will stand up to a test of time... in 10 or 20 years, it will look just as hot as it does now, it will age well.

A very unique style that I appreciated greatly. The dumbness of this drama is deceptive. Beneath the dumbness lies real artistic skill and vision, and the dichotomy between the crappy cheapness and the refined elegance was, imo, highly enjoyable and very genious.

Im a hard grader, I dont give out 9s lightly, but this drama was truly excellent and had a distinct style all its own.

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A mixed bag of pros and cons with a few pretty good kiss scenes.

I know Cheng Yu Feng (the ML) is capable of some pretty brilliant performances, but this isn't one of them. However, his portrayal of this character was solid, and I think he did the best he could with what he had to work with, considering the mediocre script and rushed feel of the production. For the FL, this was sort of a breakout role for her and I think she also did pretty well. It wasn't anything super spectacular, but you could tell she was putting effort into taking this lead role seriously and I think with experience she will grow into a really amazing actress.

The bgm/ost were actually not terrible, which to me is a nice surprise for a short-length c-drama. The wardrobes were very nice, and some of the settings were beautiful and interesting -- although some of the interior shots were tres tragique. The script had some points that could have made it really great. But it also was packed with a lot of npc-level dialogue, cliche moments, and storyline fails. The side characters and backstories are not fleshed out properly, the whole thing feels like a half-baked budget production that just wasn't planned out carefully.

I found it particularly annoying that the ML and FL don't share a lot of onscreen chemistry moments. Their kiss scenes are really good, and there are some scenes where you can feel a little angst and passion rise from the actor's performances. So I know the chemistry COULD have been there. But actors just can't give their best performances when they're being rushed and poked and prodded at by a director and production team that won't devote the effort and time it takes to create the right atmosphere for their actors to actually ACT.

I wish ML and FL all the best on their future projects, they are both far better than this mediocrity. Is it worth a watch? Yes, if you're truly bored and without anything else to watch. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen. It just isn't very memorable.

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