Reviews

The reason you should watch this.....

According to me this drama has everything that you look for in a drama. After reading the synopsis of the drama in MDL and you feel like you understood the story, then you are mistaken. I wanna complain about the way where only few people have watched this drama until now. It is such an underrated drama.

The story, especially the way the games were designed, is the highlight of this drama. Every game they play is so interesting and dreadful. I love the screenplay and the writing. Kudos to the author, the screenwriter, the director and the actors for making this drama happen.

Coming to the acting, everybody have done a phenomenal job. Kudos to them. Yeah, like I said there is everything in this drama friendship, fear, happiness, love, jealousy, romance, subtle comedy. I don't know how others felt regarding Xiao Kai Zhong's(Qiang Ge's) acting, but to me he is the entertainer in the entire show. According to me he is a comedian(this is the highest praise I give to someone) in this drama.

Yeah, I do some complaints other than this show not being recognized by a larger audience. That is this technology that they introduced in the drama is too much for me to believe. It just felt like something that only happens in a drama not in reality. Also, I did feel like Chun Yu's character could have been played by someone else. Sun Qian did a great job but idk why I felt that way.....

PS - Irrespective of the genre you like, my suggestion is WATCH THIS DRAMA!!!!

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--Note: this review contains minor spoilers--

If I had to describe Man of Honor in one word it would be disappointing, because disappoint it will. The story was supposed to be about a nurse and a baseball player who find love in their journey. This was EXTREMELY misleading. Yun Jae In (Park Min Young) was a nurse in training, and Kim Young Kwang (Chun Jung Myung) was a washed up baseball player with one successful game in his career, for about two episodes (and one more after being absent for 20 episodes). The remainder of the series mainly deals with faux-cest and revenge. The story was very makjang driven and unstable. It seemed like the writer didn't really know where he was going with the story, which made it feel unfinished towards the end.

Despite these flaws, Man of Honor was fairly enjoyable until midway through, after about episode 12, the story went on an unsalvageable downward spiral.

While the main problem lies within the writing, the acting was also poor. There was a lot of overacting, and Park Min Young looked as though she had a mental illness when she smiled widely for minutes on end.

Overall, this is not a drama that I would recommend, and it is longer than the average of 16 episodes (this one totals 24). There are many good to outstanding dramas out there that can be substituted for this much inferior one.

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AKA boys on crutches

AKA so many confused bisexuals

This one gave me My Engineer vibes from the start, only with a better main couple, but much weaker side dishes. This is OLD school Thai uni BL. It felt like it was meant to come out in 2018 but I was grateful to get it in 2021. It went up against GMMTV’s FUTS without the same level of production or quality control and STILL knocked it out of the water (or sky, as it were).

Neither offering was strong on story but Nitiman had more redeemable and sympathetic characters, a great tsundere uke redemption arc, and a fantastic pining seme who yearned without bullying, grooming, or gaslighting his uke.

It was very much a university drama in that there were lovable surrounding friendship groups for both main characters with their own relationships, issues, and nosiness. I really like it when uni BL feels socially collegiate.

All that said, absolutely nothing happened in this BL. And I thought Oxygen lacked drama. I enjoyed it but it felt a bit just like really good vanilla ice cream, I was left rather scrabbling for the missing peach cobbler. In other words… was there a point? Do I care to eat vanilla ice cream for it’s own sake when I consider it the condiment of the dessert world? I honestly don’t have an answer.

You’re gonna have to watch it for yourself and decide if it’s you flavor.

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For the most part this drama was ok.

I really enjoy slice of life dramas as they usually a commentary or a reflection on life but I felt like it that didn't really happen in this drama.

What was weird about this drama was that it was slow paced and over done at the same time. Weird combo but they did it. Usually with slice of life, the drama is slow paced and progresses naturally with very little or no "action conflict" i.e. fight scenes and whatnot, which is what happened. But then on the flip side the drama had a lot to unpack. Childhood trauma for both Male and Female Leads, the long pining love romance but then betrayal love triangle for the FL, with family secrets, stigma against the ML and many, many, many subplots.

Somewhere along the way I lost the point of the show when the emerging subplots took over. It became all about the secondary characters and not about the leads and with so many people coming to the forefront I lost all relatability with the characters. So I guess that my biggest problem with the show is that I lost the connection I was developing in the beginning with the characters.

I liked the OSTs and the instrumentals as the helped set the tone in the first half of the series. The acting was good, especially with Seo Kang Joon and Moon Jung Hee. Their performances were really outstanding for this drama which was probably the main reason I watched till the end. The end however was unsatisfactory to me.

Not sure if I expressed my point of view well but I think the show is definitely one to watch and I would surely recommend.

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Wow, this was such a fun and light-hearted drama to watch. The story was really simple and I feel this is perfect to watch on a weekend, as it's so feel-good and chessy. I couldn't help laughing-out-loud at many moments. The characters were so endearing amd funny, especially Yoon Tae-oh. I mean Ji Soo portrayed the character of Yoon Tae-oh so perfectly, I was totally smitten by him. I have watched only one other drama of his, Scarlet Heart, where I did not pay much attention to him, but in this drama, I absolutely loved his character and his acting.
My only complaint is that I wanted more episodes,I mean, how could they end at just 8 episodes? But there has been reports that other 8 episodes are already filmed, so fingers crossed for that.
You can watch it on Netflix if you are in the mood of something light and mushy.

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(Sorry for my english)
It's incredibly rare for me to give 10 to something because I think that's the vote reserved to just masterpieces and nothing else but that's exactly what is Sotus for me: a masterpiece and the most beautiful and perfect love story I've ever seen.
I love every aspect of this drama, the actors are great (especially the two leads who seem really in love, I was blown away by their performance, they deliver all the feelings in an incredible realistic way) the characters are all likeable and adorable, the music is beautiful and perfect in every scene, the love story is finally a realistic one (I was so tired of the love at first sight of movies and drama..) that keep me in tension since the very beginning ... I have no complain at all and I have to say that I hope that there won't be a second season, I'm too afraid that if there is the magic will be ruined by the same old cliches ..
I must, howewer, admit that not all in this series is perfect, there are some incredible bad mistakes like bracelets that change to one arm to the other and many things like this that could have been avoided with more attention.. the sound also is somethimes really bad but I know that is a problem of all the Thai series.
These two problems anyway for me don't ruin at all the magic that I feel in this serie that I must say it became my favourite serie of all time... yes, I'm madly in love with Sotus XD

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DON'T JUDGE BY THE RATING, THIS IS THE BEST ROMANTIC DRAMA

This is my honest review. At first, I am not really into in to this drama because I thought that this is just an ordinary romantic drama. But I tried to continue watching, and now I can say that "THIS IS THE BEST DRAMA". The story is amazing, kind of realistic relationship between two people. How do you find a love, loving each other, how to love our self, to understand the partner, and yea maybe there is a part a little bit frustrating of the story, but you have to watch, why there is a "frustrating scene". There is a reason for that, so don't stop in episode 2, you will get nothing. The line of this drama is so deep, really.

The concept of this drama is fresh, like an interview. The way they tell us about their story just funny for me, like they are talking with us. Some people can't accept this new concept, but this is good concept. I mean it. Beside the good story, the ost of this drama just beautiful. Every scene has their own music, so you seem carried away into that emotion.

Ji Chang Wook is the best actor for this role. You can see by yourself from ep 1, how the emotion change every scene every episode, so does with Kim Ji won. If you watch episode 8 you can see that they are the best actors. They are perfect couple for this drama. The chemistry, the emotion just amazing.

Overall, this drama is amazing. The story, the cast, the music, cinematography, color, the view are really good. So don't judge by rating. You have to watch it first.

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awesome setting/styling, slightly confusing plot (watch suggestions)

Overall: while I loved the setting/styling, there were way too many characters/plot for 12 episodes and I was ambivalent about the romance aspect with the leads. Because of the collaboration, actual kisses & wide release, this got a bit of a rating boost. The series is based on a book but I reviewed the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired 2 episodes per week on: YouTube, GagaOOLala, Viki, iQIYI, WeTV, Loklok & Heavenly (more info at the end of this review)

Content Warnings: murders/deaths, rape?/non con turned consensual?, suicide, non con kissing, strangling, manhandling, fights/violence, blood, torture, manipulation, drugging, theft, kidnapping

Watch Suggestions (focuses on the leads, takes out love triangle, most violence/angst/pain)
- watch episodes 1-5 (beware episode 1 has non con/dub con)
- watch episode 6 at 31 minutes if you want a plot explainer
- skip episode 7 (angst and torture)
- episode 8 watch 5m30s-9 for a side couple, the rest is angst, pain, love triangle stuff
- episode 9 start at 29 minutes and watch to the end to get more plot developments
- episode 10 skip 7:30-20 or watch the whole episode
- episode 11 start at 11 min to 14:40, 18:30-20:20, 23:45-25
- episode 12 watch 7:45-18, 26:30-30, 34:10 to the end

What I Liked
- an opposites attract dynamic
- sweet moments
- setting/style
- really happy that a character convinced another character not to see/forgive a truly terrible character in episode 12
- got actual, shown kisses
- the production really made an effort to get this on as many platforms and to as many people as they could, they also wrote out the countries on their social media that had access to each platform
- collaborative effort between China, Taiwan and Thailand; hope this was successful and we see more collaborations

Room For Improvement
- exposition dump to start the series
- too many characters and plot given and I was confused until finally in episode 6 at 31 minutes they explained the plot more clearly, spent too much time on the leads apart
- wish they had modified the scenes in episode 1 and in episode 6
- how no one was concerned about the sister's fate
- wanted more relationship development shown of the side couple, it seemed that it mostly happened off screen
- Su Yin was infuriating and had way too much screen time
- the dubbing especially with 1 character (I guess he was speaking Thai and then they dubbed over it)
- odd camera angles

Thoughts on Grey Characters/Their Romantic Relationships
Sometimes these characters and their dynamic work for me and other times they don't. Here are the factors that I think about:
1. was there a realistic reason why the character/s acted the way they did in the past (Huai En was tortured/abused/manipulated his whole life but that doesn't forgive what he may have done in ep 6)
2. how bad was/is the treatment (because this is fade to black and based on reaction afterwards, I'm not sure if episode 6 was rape or turned consensual but it was still terrible, and in episode 9 he was choking the other lead)
3. were both characters grey or was one squeaky clean (Xiao Bao was pretty squeaky clean, he's very dense, Huai En was a cold blooded killer)
4. was there some kind of apology/amend making (I don't think Huai En apologized, he did save Xiao Bao and his family and risked his life to do so)
5. was there character growth (episode 9 and Huai En was still physically violent, in episode 11 he did have a revelation of the tighter he tried to hold on to Xiao Bao the more he slipped away)
6. do I believe that the characters will stay together in a happy romantic relationship (maybe)
final verdict: I'm nervous that the first time Xiao Bao looks at another attractive person Huai En will rape/kill him, but they did seem pretty happy at the end


Airing Platforms/Links/Countries (country info was from the production company)
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkzvQsQu-ofvkwO5v1gax9jqOYNYvhWN4
Airing everywhere except: Thailand, Japan and South Korea

GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4541/meet-you-at-the-blossom-2024-e01
Airing everywhere except: Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong China, Vietnam, Philippines, Canada, Australia, India, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Brazil.

Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40650c-meet-you-at-the-blossom
Airing: Americas, Oceania, Middle East, Europe, India

iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/meet-you-at-the-blossom-2024-1689d4pr2sl
Airing: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Macau China, Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil

WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/album/c5o1ffdwm6yhwy5
Airing: Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Macau China, United States, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal

Loklok - airing: Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Mexico, Spain, Russia

Heavenly - airing in South Korea

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Being honest with everyone: there isn’t anything amazingly fresh nor outstanding about this show. Whether you will like it or not, depends all on whenever you will like the characters and their interactions.

It’s another show about a confident jerk male lead and a nice and madly in love female lead who is willing to get dumped countless times and still cannot give up on the dude. What is surprising, though: they are both somehow likable (many would disagree, so don't quote me on that). I wanted to slap Soo back to reality more than once, but I also loved all his scenes and found him to be an interesting character. Woo Yeon, even though desperate with her unrequited love, still seemed like a strong character that is slowly gaining more confidence and learning how to put herself first. The flaws were presented in a way that made me curious about the development, rather than annoyed with their current state.

The show is full of cliches, but I was weirdly not mad about them at all. I saw these plotlines in other dramas, I should be bored, but somehow I wasn’t. Why? Because I cared for these characters. I was emotionally attached to them and was genuinely interested in their stories.

I also have to appreciate they at least tried to give a better explanation for Soo being such a selfish jerk. It wasn’t just random, short conversations we usually get in dramas to explain the behavior. His past was mixed well in the overall plot and, even though it did not excuse his actions, it made me understand him more.

They took a similar approach with Woo Yeon. While she was a weak person in terms of her love life and the desperation she presented, she also was strong and striving to achieve her dreams. She wasn’t weak in all areas of her life. She was flawed in one. And that made her an interesting character.

The chemistry between all the characters was amazing. Not only romance felt natural, but also the friendship between the main and supporting cast. Nothing felt forced or unrealistic. Great acting from the cast for sure helped achieve that.

The sub-plots were also interesting, with 2 supporting couples bringing something different to the table. We got comedy and we got melo. Such a striking difference, but even when their scenes were one right after another, it never felt disconnected or like they belonged to different shows. The flow and transitions were just right.

For me it was just a fun romantic comedy that had a good amount of sub plot surrounding the main one. Nothing felt like useless fillers for me (though I am sure many people would disagree).

Do I think this drama could have been shorter? Sure. I honestly believe getting 12 and not 16 episodes would be ideal, but I have exactly the same opinion about ALL romantic comedies. They are just not meant for a longer format. The last 4 episodes were painfully full of cliches. I'm pretty sure I saw my brain a few times when I rolled my eyes so hard. That said, I am unable to name even one rom-com that avoided cliches at the end. I think it's just given and expected in the genre.

Overall, if you cannot get over the over-confident male lead that is extremely selfish most of the time and desperate for his love female lead, this ain’t for you. The characters are far more than the flaws, and I myself found them likable, but if these are your personal pet peeves, you will not like it.

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Geniuely a really good drama, not what everyone is making it out to be

I’ve never written a review for anything, but I feel like this had to be my first. As I think people are making Nevertheless out to be worse than it is. Personally I really enjoyed this drama so much.
My favorite things:
1. The cast was truly amazing and their chemistry was so good that I always found myself smiling at the screen and repeating many scenes
2. THE ACTING!! The way they portrayed every single scene truly came down to the chemistry between them but just wow Song Kang and Han So Hee's acting truly needs more credit than what they are given
3. Every single ost in this drama was beyond beautiful, I looked forward to every week adding a new song to my ost playlist to have all the tracks on constant loop
4. The story was very realistic for their situation and this is the biggest thing I think people are making out to be worse than it is

One main thing I think people are forgetting or pushing aside is this is supposed to be a friends with benefits relationship and it is very emphasized from the beginning that that’s all that’s wanted. The word “toxic relationship” keeps being thrown into correlation but I personally don’t see anything toxic about their relationship when everything was put out there about the friends with benefits narrative. Yes, their relationship can be seen as flawed as the aspect of feelings are very evident but we also have a character who has never felt any of that and it’s an unfamiliar feeling that they don’t know what to do. In addition, communication between Na Bi and Jae Eon doesn’t really happen except for the times they explode in anger since they don’t address what they’re feeling.

Nevertheless (haha), I think everyone has mixed reviews depending on your stance on a friends with benefits relationship, but if you’re looking for a drama that’s more raw with sexual scenes and tension. A cast with amazing chemistry and a lot of fun scenes when they’re all together. In addition to people trying to understand their emotions and feelings when it comes to love this would be a great drama.

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Meandering plot that leads to nowhere, unresolved subplots, ridiculous ending

The series started off decent enough. I was rating this a 7.0 at Episode 6. By Episode 10, I was completely disillusioned by the terrible writing that didn't really allow Lee Jong Suk, Im Yoon Ah and Kwak Dong Yeon to display a wider range of their acting skills. Surprisingly for me, Yoo Tae Joo is probably the best thing to emerge from this chaotic, confusing mess.

This series spent more than half of its episodes in the penitentiary. It wasted most of its time getting the audience trying to guess who Big Mouse is, who in the world is the "invincible" guy who managed to swindle something like 100 billion from crooks in the upper echelon of a shady corporation. The possible suspect moved from person to person, and this was how the drama dragged its feet from Episode 1 until Episode 10. The inanity.

The mayor, Choi Do Ha, turning out to be the big bad was no surprise, it was obvious from the point he sought out Park Chang Ho and got him involved in his quest to retrieve the ever so secretive "scientific paper". CDH's reasons to enlist PCH's help was superficial and illogical, it just didn't make sense to me. Right here and there is a big glaring plothole. There's no such thing as a "secretive scientific paper". Do the writers know that peer research papers go through a lengthy review process and is processed dozens of times before the final publication can be made? There's no way a paper that exposes the hazards of a radioactive substance of that magnitude can be kept secret for so long. It's just ridiculous writing.

Not to mention Hye Jin's murder was unnecessary, and to top it off, her death didn't even serve any purpose other than providing nonsensical shock value to the audience. She escaped to the US only to come back to get murdered. LOL. Why? If I were thousand of kilometres from my psychopathic ex, I wouldn't go back to where he was. Yeah, her ex-husband is worse than scum, and he didn't even get punished for her murder. Her body was never found! This subplot was completely dropped by the writers. For what? Yeah the mayor Choi Do Ha is also scum for helping him dump Hye Jin's body. Then it turned out Choi Do Ha wasn't even Choi Do Ha, he usurped the identity of a dead boy! What in the world. LMAO. Tell me how you do that as a kid. Who helped this kid changed his legal papers? This trope is tired and old, and honestly if people want to pull this in modern storylines, they need to provide a more viable and cogent explanation.

After all the twists and turns this drama flipped out, it was revealed that Big Mouse is really not a single entity. It's one guy, who's the head of some secret organisation, like Freemasonry, but mafia ala vigilante-style, with some dozens of members who abide by a set of organisational "code" - that also wasn't made clear to the watchers. Lmao I don't even know how to describe this circus house - this is the worst drama Lee Jong Suk has ever been in.

There was a scene where Park Chang Ho was tortured in a white chamber - why?! To extract information about the 100 billion dollars he siphoned off - allegedly. After he became Big Mouse, did PCH expend any energy to find this place he was held in, and did he bust it with his newly gained cronies of the Big Mouse organization so as to prevent future abductions and illegal imprisonment? No. And because of that, while we saw that the mayor truly "loved" his wife Joo Hee, in the end he nevertheless subjected her to the same white chamber torture after learning that she had betrayed him. It was just so inconsistent with their characterisations.

Holy crap, I still have so much to go on, but I'm trying to end this review quickly. The loving relationship Park Chang Ho had with his wife Ko Mi Ho was dealt a cruel blow after she was exposed to "radioactive" water. She quickly developed cancer, which progressed to Stage 4, within weeks of exposure. Like?? LOL, that's crazy. First of all, the drama told us NK9 is a highly toxic material that was found in the wastewater of their plant, but we weren't told how toxic it was. We just have to believe that it's super-super toxic, okay? I wonder if the writers came up with this idea from the time Japan announced dumping wastewater from the Fukushima plant into the ocean, which was met by protests and condemnations from Korea and China, but endorsed by the US. Anyway, in real life, allegedly, drinking water with radionuclides in it could take years for harmful effects to show, and yes, that includes an increased risk in cancer like leukemia. But the people in the drama who had contact with this radionuclides-filled water actually developed leukemia and died within weeks after its one and only exposure (Tak Kwang Yeon, Ko Mi Ho)! What's even more hilarious is that Choi Do Ha was eventually killed by the same radioactive water (that looked as clean and clear as your normal chlorinated pool water btw) on the same day he swam in it. Upon being told by Chang Ho that the water was radioactive, Do Ha then crashed into the pool like a plank. LMAO.

So what about the 100 billion that everyone was after in the first place? The 100 billion that placed Park Chang Ho in this predicament he said he didn't want to be in? Where is it? Gone, Soon Tae said. Someone stole it, and that was that. No mention of it ever again. What about the hospital that Joo Hee was serving director at, the hospital that had forced the next-of-kin of their dying patients to sign DNR agreements? Joo Hee had been serving at the hospital as a director, there's no way she was ignorant of all the criminal activities in the hospital. She's very much aware, and her last minute redemption by exposing everything her husband had done gave no closure on whether she was being held accountable for her actions as well. For a massive scandal like that, she would have been imprisoned IRL. I mean, really, what about the rushed cremations of the dead patients, what about the evil head nurse and all the other bitchy nurses who distributed life-threatening pills and injections, masquerading them as flu shots, medicine and vitamins? There was no comeuppance for them. Nothing. So really, what the hell did I just watch?

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The Longest Disappointment

So, because My Drama List is filled with people who say if you hate the drama you're ruining it for them, and upvote automatically any ratings that praise the drama highly, despite people telling you over and over it's bad and people hating the writing, I'm going to write this review for more balance. I love xianxia dramas. I've watched a ton of them, but this takes the cake on how terrible they can be. And yes, I watched all 40 episodes. Me and a bunch of other people who tried to defend it to the end, ended up flipping on the drama once they figured out what I said was consistent throughout the drama. But those people are less likely to write reviews.

The only saving grace of this drama is Xiao Zhan and maybe the production values, but that's about it. And pretty production values when you don't have the story isn't enough for me. I've never particularly cared about pretty faces. I care about in order: Story first, acting next, production values (which include costuming, CGI, props, etc) last. If I wanted to gawk at pretty faces, I'd look at runway photos. The problem with this drama is squarely on the story.

The writing sucks so, so much on one key issue: The female lead's agency is all over the place because the motivations aren't clear in the character.

Kinda passes the Bechdel test. Sexy Lamp it's questionable about her agency. And she kinda fails Mako Mori at turns--they give her a goal other than a man, but do they ever implement that goal within the story? No. Not once.

The thing is that there is this bit where she's supposed to protect this dress, and after the tenth episode watchers drop like flies because of this dress. She could have climbed out of the ravine the entire time--which is shown in a later episode. She fights with her best friend's sister over said dress saying her best friend's sister can't wear it, but then by episode ten you understand why people dropped the drama hard. After all that lecturing about how her best friend's sister shouldn't wear the dress, suddenly she decides to dance in it herself. Which is a mind-numbing plot point. It makes no sense whatsoever for her age.

There is a difference between innocent and air headed, and she's air headed. Innocent is going into danger to retrieve her friend's dress. Air headed is wearing the dress after yelling about how terrible it is to wear it. Air headed, to me, is being oblivious of how others will react to your actions even when you know it's wrong and taking the worst action anyway.

And then if you think this is the largest crime of the female lead, you're wrong. It gets worse as the drama goes on and the agency of the characters is all over the place.

Let me be clear here, I don't mind delayed agency, I don't really mind passive agency. I don't mind a long try fail cycle. What I really, really do mind, is when the principles of the character are laid out, the lesson is stacked in the "I really learned this lesson" pile and you've spent say 2-3 episodes establishing what this lesson is, the character demonstrates they have learned it, and then the rest of the story doesn't apply it when it's clearly critical to apply it right then. Why did we waste our time with those episodes then? The writer actually put into the drama several spelled out points where she couldn't figure out how to get to the next section, so literally had another character tell the female lead what she needed to do in order for the plot to change direction, rather than it coming from the character. And for those who've watched the drama--this is the female lead in a nutshell.

OK, you want to skip the female lead. Zhi Yuan isn't better. He had a straight line until the end of the drama. His agency looked consistent, and then he made a mind-numbing decision in the last part of the drama along with one of those accidental amnesia events the writer comes up with where the female lead suddenly forgets all her past knowledge, and then both characters make this really odd decision together. First he fails and it makes no sense to the point that people on the main comments objected strongly. And then she failed by not applying her past knowledge when she learned the spell she could have applied right then just the previous 3 episodes making you go, that makes no sense. If any agency or moving forward for the FL isn't about the male lead, then the female lead forgets everything with no reason for it.

And you think, at this point, "But the male lead can't be affected by this, right?" Hahahaha. So wrong. By the middle of the story, the writer, who is lost on how to make character motivations work, has other characters telling the male lead character what his motivations are. She's jerking around the male lead by having other characters tell the male lead where to go, but without building a reason why he needs to go there for himself. I'm going there because Sifu said I need to go there. I need to do this because someone else said I needed to. Do I have a pesonal motivation for it? Meh, nyahh, I'm changing my mind because someone else is telling me to.

This leads to a lot of empty moves and the character agency being scattered to the wind, as the characters forget everything they've learned from the few episodes before them. Because their motivations are all external and nothing internal. So there wer people who wanted to defend the book and the drama to the end--until they got there and then realized really sharply what I said about the dress chapter being signs that the drama is going sideways was true. One watcher who was of this sort got frustrated both with the drama and the book saying both were a waste of time.

The female lead character--all of the characters need to learn things and apply them at key times. They shouldn't be told what they want from other characters. It's poor writing. And since the writing was terrible, I can't recommend the drama. My relative's B movie had better throughline of character motivations than this. And it's not a slam against Chinese dramas, since I've watched plenty of older ones and also have read classics and folktales--I do recognize how this employed older drama conventions. It's telling you that the main female character lacks motivation and agency which then infects the rest of the show and this is why I don't recommend it.

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THE STALKER DOWNSTAIRS

But for real though, Cir needs therapy not a boyfriend, cuz this man has a master's degree in stalking and graduated with honours in lying. Still, did y’all see that CAKE?? Lord, have mercy. Anyway, cake aside, what in all things confusing was 85% of this drama? Is that fine delulu stalker from a parallel universe or not?

Now, before we get into the review, let’s put the confusing plot, characters and the drama itself aside for a moment and talk about that CAKE… I meant, Cir, and kissing. The chemistry in this drama between the leads was insane, though, I’m still laughing at that scene in ep6 when Phu pulled down those pants and went into shock. LMAO, what did that poor boy see with his eyeballs? Anyway, the CAKE, I mean Cir, makes kissing look like an art form. That stalker needs to give classes on kissing to some people. I don’t know who, but some… oh, who am I kidding, I already have a list of who:

PEOPLE WHO NEEDS TO ATTEND CIR’S KISSING CLASSES.
1. Who: PEEM. Drama: We Are. REASON: Y’all saw him kiss Phum at the beach right? Poor Phum would have had a better time making out with that canoe beside them instead.
2. Who: STYLE. Drama: The Heart Killers. REASON: I’m sure his twins Daonuea and Zo would agree with me, that you need to open your mouth to call it kissing, otherwise what’s the point?
3. Who: KONGTHAP. Drama: My Love Mix-Up! REASON: Boy was giving Atom nothing, and Atom was trying very hard.
4. Who: SAINT & SHIN: Drama: High School Frenemy: REASON: They gave us nothing, literally, nothing. Their faces and lips didn’t even touch, not once. Boooo, out there using the excuse of bromance. Talking 'bout we're just friends. Booooo.

That being said, imma also need either Joke, Bison, Joe or Third to teach Cir how to cry beautifully cuz… damn fam, he’s crying during that scene when he returned from the parallel world, and it’s all sad and I feel for him, sure the CAKE was like right there too, but for once it’s not the focus cuz my thoughts went: ‘damn, is that the crying we going with?’ Brotha, why?

Also, is every lead character allergic to the rain? Why these people out there acting like they’d die or melt if they get wet? Let us be serious in this life peoples! It’s just water, you will not die. Cir rushed in there, CAKE and all, wet himself, like Phu was seconds away from dying and if he didn’t bring him that umbrella he’d turn into the wicked witch and melt! Dude—W-A-T-E-R! Or am I just bitter no one brings me an umbrella? Whatever, it’s still h2o.

Anyway, not gonna lie, it took me days to watch the first episode of this drama, cuz it was so dull and boring it put me to sleep each time I tried. I read the novel, I knew what was happening, still, five minutes in and I was counting CAKE, sheep. It took about 3-4 episodes before I got into the rhythm.

First off, to me, this is genuinely the most interesting Me Mindy drama I’d ever watched, and that’s saying something cuz we got what we got here, lots of stuff, confusion and no glue to hold it all together. Even so, the premise was interesting, super confusing and lacked substances, yes, but interesting nonetheless. And apart from that we got a decent acting from Boss who’ve improved sooooo much. Applauds, dude, you did a good job with this CAKE, mhm, sorry, this character.

Listen, I read the novel before this aired, and like many of you was super disappointed when the conclusion was that Cir was a stalker this whole time. Immediately, I wanted to throw my tablet away cuz dafug? I’ve been rooting for a delulu stalker this whole time, and I’m supposed to be happy he got his happy ending? Nah fam, get that boy some help, don’t make him come add his trauma on top of Phu’s own. But—but, I was still happy they at least found each other, healing together and whatnot.

PLOT:
Interesting premise, but as mentioned, confusing, and they could have done so much more with the execution and the characters. All the back and forth of whether Cir was from parallel universe or not, only for episode 8 to say yes, and then episode 9 to completely undo it like: 'nope, he’s just a CAKE...mhm, sorry, a stalker. Like, pick a lane drama, what are you trying to sell me?

Side note: why the hell did Cir keep that book with pictures and evidence of his stalking? Child, at least be professional and hide it under the bed or something like a proper creep. It was like he wanted to get caught. And as for Phu, all those years and you telling me he didn't notice him once?? Literally, he was everywhere, close, stalking you. Come on child!

For anyone who is still confused, let me try and confuse you some more by explaining the plot how I understood it:
—The parallel universe thing is as real as that CAKE. When Cir got hurt in ep1 trying to stop those thieves from stealing Phukan’s car, his soul was exchanged with one of the Cirs', or at least he went to that white room where he saw the lives of the other CAKES, hmm, Cirs with their Phukans. He saw a similar universe to his own, where instead of not answering that cup telephone in his universe, in that universe he did. So, when he woke up, thinking it was only a dream, cuz he wished he’d answered that cup call, his lying arse was like, ‘damn son, I almost died, and I still don’t have this boy I’ve been stalking since high school, so let me rush over there and tell him I’m from another universe'. Either that or he was still high on the dream , or that CAKE he’s carrying around made him tired and he actually thought everything he saw in the parallel universe was his real life that's why he rushed over to Phu, but by the time he came to his senses it was too late, Phu already believed him, and he was closer to his heart desire now and didn’t want to loose him. So then, the lying games begun.

So yeah, parallel universes exists, the CAKE is real too, and Cir just thinks they are his dream cuz it’s the lie he told Phu and he thinks it's why he’s dreaming about it. Cuz the P’Payu looking Cir did not have a scar and stalker Cir had a scar, so there must be a parallel universe, right? or at least some soul/body changing stuff going on. Plus I think in the finale they eluded to Cir himself knowing/believing the parallel universes exists.

Anyway, that’s what I understood from both the drama and the novel, and it make sense in my head, so yaay for me. Also, I was happy the writers decided to give us more indepth-ish explanation of the parallel universe than we got in the book, cuz it helped explained a thing or two. Another difference between the novel and the drama is, the novel was sadly devoid of any CAKE. For shame.

CHARACTERS
I liked Cir and Phu together when all is said and done, cuz they needed each. After the truth came out, they realised they were the light in each other's lives. Yes, Cir was a lying stalker with trauma the size of the iceberg that sunk the titanic, but underneath it all he was a caring boyfriend. I’m not excusing his behavior, just stating facts, cuz when he did get Phu he treated him right, like he was the most precious thing in the world, which he was, to him.

Still, Cir was a stalker. Yes, he was handsome and had CAKE, but what we won’t do is excuse his actions. He did stalk Phu for years, asked about where he'd attend uni, and even moved into the same building as him. Like?? and how the eff did he know about Phu's private stuffs and the passcode and whatnot? This dude manipulated Phu into thinking they were together by knowing so many private things about him, and some of y’all don’t find that alarming? Sure Cir was scared of what his crazy mother would do if he went after Phu, still, he didn’t need to turn into a professional stalker. Plus even when he pretended to be from a parallel universe so they could be together, the mother still tried to have people ran Phu over with a car, so…?

Phukan on the other hand was very demure to the point of naivety and needed to be slapped with a rubber chicken a few times, cuz who would even believe that parallel universe nonsense? But then again, if that CAKE, I mean, Cir, had shown up on my doorsteps soaking wet and saying we were dating, heck I’d have done the same. I’d have been like: ‘Yep, I super remember. You're my boyfriend. You went out to get me bread and didn’t come back. I thought yous was dead, glad you aint though, welcome back baby boo.’

When all is said and done, they both needed each other. Phu is alone, his mommy gone cuz she couldn’t handle the father’s death. Cir is whatever he is now cuz his mother is a psycho and his father is whatever. Together I’m sure after all the trust have been rebuilt, they’d healed each other and be amazing together. Acting wise Boss improved from what I saw in LITA. Noeul... well, there’s always the next drama. But when it comes to chemistry, hands down these two are one of the best in the bl world. WOW.

Secondary Characters:
I liked Jin and Wim, so straight to the point, refreshing. Though that mind reading powers did Jin so dirty when he needed it. I’d watch a whole drama with them if they give us one. They could have done more with Jin though, he just smiled and stared at people and that was it. What a waste of an interesting power. I'm glad they had their happy ending, though in the finale when Wim was confessing with all that mmms and his back to Jin, I was like, 'Well, congratulations Jin, I guess you're now dating the back of his head.' LMAO, I get he was shy, but it made me laugh. Also, Wim was a good friend to Cir.

The two girls were very protective of Cir, but like, a bit chilling please. Then again Cir was so naive, like you’re in uni, you’ve been letting Cir and his CAKE do stuff to you, start acting your age so your friends don't treat you like a child who needs protecting all the time.

Achi, dude was self obsessed and so dumb, then again a beautiful girl was involved, which brings me to the wannabe fiancée. I am sorry, but if I looked like a tall beautiful goddess like she did, I would definitely, 100% not be chasing after any person. Sure the CAKE was a plus when it came to Cir, but like, to look like that and have people labeling you crazy cuz of some dude who don’t even want you is next level sad and pathetic. And Cir's mother... that woman needs jail or rewiring. Cir's parents were the worse. Not his brother though, he's the best. Saw Ozone and went... 'Omg X, what you doing here? Is Namping still dead?' nooo Nampinggggggg :(((.

One thing this drama did very well was their soundtrack. Already the title truck was so dope, I didn't skip it once, loved the way Boss started it, and how Noeul came in. Loved it. That 'Shiver' song in ep5 while Cir did that thing with his mouth and the CAKE was like right in our faces... well, it's been on repeat, the song I mean. Thanks for the song rec drama, though having to remember Cirs work and Phu's reaction each time it plays is...? And what did Cir do in that bathroom after that scene? You know what, am too innocent, don't tell me.

FINALE:
I went into the finale with a list of questions waiting for answers, so I jumped when Jin was like:
Jin: Oh, I can read minds, so I know Cir wasn't lying to Phu.
ME: OMG, really? then explain it to us, slowly, in baby language!
JIN: So 20 something years ago, I was born... *insert him telling us his life story.*
ME: Oh no, so sad. Real sad for you. *Me on the inside* DUDE JUST TELL ME WHY ALREADY THIS AINT ABOUT YOU.
JIN: *Proceed to talk about his feelings and tries to get himself a boyfriend*
ME: OMG, FIND LOVE ON YOUR ON TIME SHARON. Peoples, we only have an hour and we've wasted half on Phu's brooding!

Of course, the biggest question of the finale was if Phu would forgive Cir. So during the video, when Cir said he knew Phu might think he's a disgusting psycho, which well... and he was explaining stuff, I felt bad for Cir. Yes, he's hurt, but it's by his own actions so, do the crime, do the time. Still, I was all emotional and feeling sad for him and going 'Come on Phu, forgive the stalker, he loves you so much, get that CAKE,' then this dude, start's singing/crying. And normally I'd cringe, laugh and skip like I did that first time he sang to Phu, but he was just so sad and pathetic, it would have been cruel to laugh, so I just sat through the whole thing with confused emotions. The whole scene was just so awkwardly...sad, both in an emotionally and 'I'm judging you-ing-ly' way.

But of course, as it is with these dramas, after the video, boom, Phu forgives him, and even end up saying he's sorry. Oh love, love, love, love, how I wish I could throw rocks in your eyeballs. This boy, later was even asking about all the ways Cir stalked him, and smiling like...child??? Love is indeed blind, or dumb as eff depending on how you look at it. I'm not saying anything, but I'm sure the CAKE made Phu's decision to forgive him a little bit easier.

And that Mother calling her children properties. Some people don't deserve a family. And although I saw it coming, watching Cir leave his brother in his place to their psychotic mother was wild. Homeboy left with Phu, and while Phu was getting his back blown against the wall, I was like... so you're just gonna throw your brother to the defected wolf like that, huh? No effs were given by them, whatsoever.

Anyway, everything ended happily for our two pairs. Well, Ozone's stuck with that mother. Someone better check on him, he might be out there stalking someone too to stay sane. Oh, and we also got to see a glimpse of the next world with the P'Payu looking Cir, so I'm guessing there might be more coming our way.

Overall, this was a decent show, some confusing things we’d never get answers to, some cringy acting we’ve learned to accept, very good chemistry between the leads and an interesting premise, but that was about it. It felt rushed towards the end, and many things could have been done differently or explained better, but overall, it was an enjoyable show. Stay with it, even if like me, in the beginning, you find it boring, it is, but it gets better. I’ll recommend it to bl lovers, cuz it’s worth at least a watch.

I’m looking forward to BossNoeul’s next drama, I'm sure it would be as interesting as this CAKE, I meant, premise... oh who am I kidding, y'all saw that CAKE too right? Like, it was right there, in every scene and... you know what, nevermind, let's leave it as it is. CAKE.

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Typical story yet well executed.

A group of good-looking boys struggling with their individual issues and a broke girl is forced to live with them under one roof. The entire story revolves around how the girl helps them deal with the problems while also falling in love with one of them who is the rudest of all. Yes, you have watched a lot of this sorts.

This will be a short one bcs this drama doesn't need a detailed review nor it's anything productive giving scopes to talk a lot about.

"Let Me Be Your Knight" is clearly a pre-2015 Kdrama romcom script; in fact a trend that existed till 2015, somewhat. There is no lying in this regard from either sides, i. e. the makers and the audience. So the question should be whether it's worth a watch in the year 2022?

So to summarize this particular story, LUNA is one of the most successful KPOP Idol band known for their good looks and quality music. Things start going wrong when Tue leader of the band suffer from sleepwalking, to counter which the members have to live with an in-house psychiatrist. The psychiatrist is basically fake, who is forced to pretend like a doctor due to her financial situations. The story is all about the fake doc helping the 5 of them to overcome their hurdles accompanied by a developing love story alongside.

The acting department is pretty average, full of young actors and plenty of rookies. In Yoon Joo/Kang Sun Ju (Jung In Sun) isn't highly ambitious but aims to save a fortune and purchase back the house she lived in her as a child. Yoon Tae In (Lee Jun Young) is the lead vocalist and the leader of LUNA with horrible childhood experiences, that has led him to having sleeping disorders. Not gonna mention rest of the major characters but I must say the casting was fair.

Plot development is steady and moderately up to par. The story starts with addressing thw issues lying with LUNA and it's public image as well as the FL and her life. It mainly focuses on the ML's healing process with the FL's help. In constantly provides the audience with fluffy romcom elements along with emotional scenes. Idol life issues is equally emphasized by putting the individual members of thd group on the pedestal at different times. There is nothing much to talk about the progression, ngl. The ending was smooth and satisfactory.

I honestly never knew the makers of this drama and guessing from their biographies, this is their debut. Regardless, the director didn't have much to do given the storyline, expect for screen editing, organization and cinematography, which I think have been well taken care of. I wonder what was the need of 4 screenwriters for such a story, but well (haha). What I didn't like about the writing is the soddy character arcs; wasn't really expecting anything but it seemed very bland.

The set of OSTs are well composed. They aren't really memorable in comparison to the vast sea of songs but I like how it was mostly relatable to the story and it's essence. The theme song having the same title as the drama "Let Me Be Your Knight" is my most favourite. It's soulfully versed, beautifully composed and exquisitely sung. Other songs by the imaginary group LUNA are: "Love Paranoia" , "Beautiful Breakup" and "Love One Day". I liked all 4 of these. OSTs sung by non-cast are.

"Dreamin'" by Seo Eun Kwang (BTOB)
"You are my soul" by Monday Kiz
"Because it's you" by Kim Woojin
"Rainbow" by Celine
"Sunshine" by SUNNY

What I liked...

# The OSTs are the best thing about this drama. The entire album is so good I swear; this was the only thing I expected from and I'm glad it's been delivered.

# The way they have addressed and presented almost all of the major South Korean idol issues is thought provoking. Idol dating issues, absurd rumors, career insecurities, competition within a group, struggles in the showbiz, etc are the areas they've covered. Just disappointed that one of the issues wasn't solved how i wanted.

# I am happy it wasn't much focused either on 2-3 characters or on the romantic storyline. Other members of LUNA have a fair share of screentime unlike other Idol dramas.

# The slice-of-life references put forward were heart-touching and emotional.

Well, it is a decent thing in my opinion which can be used to pass time. Irrespective of a story full of cliché, this has the least drawbacks to be pointed out. It's an example of typical story but well executed category. This is entirely no-brainer and very predictable and not really something to look forward to,so I would have given less but the fact that I found the least numbers of technical flaws, encouraged me to be kinder, haha. I can't say it's a must watch but if you're craving old romcoms and looking for something new & light-hearted, then here you go.

P. S. In a final confession, I wanan mention that this is better than "Imitation" in the perspective of an Idol drama. I don't wanna compare "Idol: The Coup" bcs it too was better than Imitation. In fact, the former was about a script and the latter was about idol issues, whereas, "Let Me Be Your Knight" is a perfect balance between both.

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