Reviews

Tragic and yet beautiful in the dark side of love. This drama is too heavy that I get too depressed and saddened over it. OMO! Those tone is too heavy also, they really set the right atmosphere to set the mood with good music transition. T__T

This is BRILLIANT, I must say.

If you really ask yourself this: "Why do they have to commit crime over and over again? To cover their sins?" -- Actually, children can't blame for their actions when they respond to anything. I mean, THEM. Why? They are only children. And their experiences leads to a traumatic situations that if they've been found out, they will do the same thing to cover it again. It's like "Defense Mechanism". Hhhhmm.. Am I right? :|

If you're not agree then I must say.. "That wouldn't make much of a story, would it?" :)

Oh well, Journey under the Midnight Sun is indeed a bit too harsh when you come to think of it in a metaphorical way that.. LIFE is all about surviving.

Anyway, if you're familiar with the novel "Gone with the Wind".. You will somehow knew about these two very flawed people I'm referring to. :)

Well, if you're into a melodrama with heavy tone. Then give it a try! ^_^

Leggi di Più

Sketch is well written, acted and directed. The premise of the drama is interesting and there are some great twists and turns. It has great action and emotion. I was taken aback by how far the writer was willing to go. Also, I love the fact that I wasn't sure where it was going at times. There are a lot of predictable dramas out there where I usually figure out what is going to happen, but this drama kept me guessing. The characters have depth and helped drive the drama. it is rare for both the pace of a story and the characters to come together so well. The writer did a good job connecting the dots. I didn't feel like I was left wanting and the ending was well done. I like how the writer made the 1% seem like they are untouchable unless the 99% get together to stop them. I wish people didn't judge money as success. There are a lot of ways to be successful in life with out money.

All of the actors are good. Of course, Rain as Kang Dong Soo, Lee Sun Bin as Yoo Shi Hyun and Lee Dong Gun as Kim Do Jin were daebak. But Lee Seung Joo stole the show as Yoo Si Joon. I was so into his character and what drove him. It is hard to write a lot with out giving a way spoilers.

The music is good. Especially what they used for suspense.

I will probably rewatch this at some point.

If you like gritty, suspense with a little supernatural thrown in, then you will like this. I recommend it highly.

Leggi di Più

Soundtrack #2: A second chance love story

Soundtrack #2 tell the story of two ex-lovers who broke up due to unavoidable circumstances and problem. They meet again after 4 years but the thing is, sparks still fly between them, unsaid feeling still hurt.

TROPES- Ex-lover, rags to riches ML, strong willed FL, lovers to strangers to lover, love traingle.

Soundtrack #2 feels like a typical romance drama, except it's only a few hours long. But, the portrayal of the "lovers to strangers to lovers" trope/EX-LOVER trope feels very realistic and pragmatic.
The story is straightforward, but the manner in which it is told is entertaining.

We see the ML's POV and side of story both post and pre breakup, which is great BUT we never see the FL's POV. Which literally makes the FL look like the villian in their story. The ML's POV make you sympathize with him. His character is really likable and outgoing which again makes the FL's almost secretive and grumpy character look evrn more bad.
Even the FL's reason for the way she acted in the past and present were NOT strong enough to make me understand her. Honestly she felt like the problem.

Their acting was excellent though, specially the actor playing the ML. They were able to accurately convey the emotions of the characters. I don't have much to say about their performance. I enjoyed their chemistry.

The music was also okayish, like i didn't really find a single song i would love to add to my Playlist.

This is a nice drama to watch if you want something short. There isn't much else to say about this brief drama but it was nice enough to watch if you are bored.

Leggi di Più

As a person who watches many dramas, I expected clichés in all Korean drama. But in this drama the cliché only added to the plot of the drama(in a good way). I've watched almost every single Korean drama(I would hardly give any of them this kind of rating) that could exist on earth, but none could compare to this one. I have stayed up all night crying, laughing and raging. This drama is so touching and teaches very valuable lessons.

In this drama there are people who deserve to get all the happiness in the world which were taken from them since the beginning. And there are people who deserve to be slapped in the face. The comedy is great, with all the grandmas and moms. BUT IF you are going to watch this drama bring a bottle of punch and a box of tissue, because you'll be laughing and crying all together. This drama was a great experience for. I have watched it five times. It teaches lessons about greed, secrets and lying. I recommend this drama to everyone.

Leggi di Più

Don't pass this show up!!

Oh my goodness gracious, I can't stop smiling! This was an absolutely wonderful show, with so much going for it, I almost can't figure out how to express why I loved it. But here goes...

Male lead - Lin Yu Shen (playing Lu Jin). Straight-laced, up-tight businessman. His entire life seems to be all about work. He tells someone that there is no room for emotions in work, but there wasn't room for emotions anywhere, until he met Gu Shengnan. He was able to convey so much emotion with just his facial expressions. One scene in the second to last episode almost broke my heart.

Female lead - Zhao Lu Si (playing Gu Shengnan). Perky, positive, self-taught chef. Her personality was effervescent. Her smile was so bright, she did this squeal/scream thing every so often that just made me laugh, and was anyone else obsessed with her hair? This character was someone you would want to be best friends with, knowing she would always cheer you up and cheer you on.

Lu Jin and Gu Shengnan as a couple - their chemistry was off-the-charts! For me, this was the crux and highlight of the show. There was an obvious age difference which, to me, made this even more cute. I felt like Lu Jin didn't know what life was about until he met Gu Shengnan. I have to give the writers kudos for such a marvelous script for these actors to work with. The dynamic between these two was special - they were both really good at the physical comedy, and the expressions on their faces? She was almost always full of joy, and there were so many times he had a look like he had no idea what to do with her, but was going along for the ride, and actually looking forward to it! Once they opened up to each other and expressed their feelings, each scene was heart-felt and romantic in so many ways.

The script wasn't overly drawn out, and I'm so thankful that the main couple got most of the screen time. It took me twice as long to watch this show, because I kept going back and replaying episodes. The scenarios for the most part seemed believable and I felt that the entire cast was good.

And can we talk about the food orgy?! Oh so many scenes of food preparation and presentation - the colors, the textures, oh my. Her food preparation played a big part in them getting together, and when she cooked for him in her apartment, each scene was funnier than the last.

I only rate a show 10 if it's rewatchable. I'd rate this one higher than 10 if I could. It's a slow (but not dragging), sweet show of discovery and love. If you are in the mood for lovely romance without too terribly much angst, I can't recommend this show highly enough.

Leggi di Più

A True Love is Love Series

I don't consider this series your typical BL series, rather a Love is Love series. Couple number one is a male-female couple, and for the first time in a very long time, they aren't watered down or given a stupid vibe. There are definitely several BL relationships, and contrary to many series with multiple couples, they all seem to have complete storyline with real relationship issues. This cast really impresses me off screen as much as they do on screen. They aren't fake with the fan service we see sooo often. The music for the series is fun and upbeat, and other than the fact that it's yet ANOTHER university setting, I'm very impressed by this series.

Leggi di Più

A Whole Lot of Frustration in a Gorgeous Package

Most of the other reviewers seem to have really liked The Rebel Princess, which is great, but I thought I'd offer a different perspective since I ended up being very underwhelmed by this drama even though I really wanted to like it. Keep in mind that my c-drama experience is limited (this was my 21st one) and I'm not familiar with the source material of this drama. Also, I watch dramas mostly for the romance.

Positives:

+ really nice set design, costuming and lighting, which made the drama feel more realistic and quite refreshing after all the wuxia dramas
+ shot well
+ A'Wu and Xiao Qi were smart and nice and respected each other
+ the acting was fine

Negatives:

- another reviewer suggested that this drama should be watched for the slow burn romance, but I thought the romance wasn't that much of a slow burn and the main couple ended up together quite fast all things considered
- I was mostly invested in the main pair's relationship during the first ~15 episodes, after that their relationship stayed pretty much the same throughout the rest of the drama, which would've been fine had their dynamic been more interesting. And no, I don't mean that I wanted to see a drama-filled tumultuous relationship, I just wanted the drama to explore more in-depth why the two characters loved each other and what made them a great team. Now I just got the feeling that they were together because they were literally the only two equally powerful good people in the show that liked each other well enough. Actually A'Wu and Xiao Qi were mostly in separate places during the show, which might have been technically realistic but also very frustrating if you're in it for the romance.
- the drama was way too long considering how little happened in it
- there was a heavy emphasis on political scheming, which I'm never a big fan of but this time around it was somehow especially boring
- most of the characters were unlikeable and/or uninteresting
- the characters who did bad things during the story didn't get punished either at all or at least not in a satisfying way
- like in some other dramas I've seen, there was an overemphasis on forgiving absolutely everything because fAmILy and bEinG a gOOd pERsOn, which at this point is one of my biggest pet peeves
- rape and the threat of rape was used as a plot device at two different parts of the drama, and in my opinion it wasn't handled very well
- I spent most of the drama just waiting for something interesting to happen
- normally I dislike unhappy endings but now I was low key waiting for someone to die because at least that would've been vaguely interesting
- okay actually I was so unattached to the characters that even if they had all died I would've been like "huh, okay" and moved on


Watch if you enjoy:

- more realistic historical dramas
- political scheming
- heavy emphasis on side characters
- forgiving people who don't necessarily deserve it
- slow story progression
- emphasis on other aspects of life besides romance

Don't watch if you're looking for:

- a plot-heavy story
- surprising plot developments
- strong character development all throughout the story
- in-depth romance
- frequent interaction between the main pair
- revenge plot

Leggi di Più

Movie just made to "compete" against Solo Leveling's anime

As someone who read the novel, and was, in a way, saved by it, Orv holds a pretty important place in my life, which makes this live adaptation even more disappointing.

While at the very beginning, I was really disappointed when I saw who was going to act as Yoo Joonghyuk, one of the main protagonists, in this live adaptation, it seems like he is actually the best actor out of them all ?

Not only has the director butchered, spit, stomped, shat, burned the original story, but he took everything that made Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint so iconic and important in the eyes of the readers, and just swapped it out for some generic, stupid, male-main lead of any random isekai, and didn't even bother to try to do something decent with it. The main actors don't seem to understand even the most superficial things about their own characters. I'm not going to delve into how the use of gun is also going against what the author, SingSong, wrote in the novel, but damn the CGI was utterly trash too, but the script sounds AI made and has a few plot holes too, which makes the whole movie unbearable to watch.

Here's a few examples:

-Kim Dokja was a lonely reader who kept living for THIRTEEN YEARS just to be able to see the ending, even though TWS was literally the most boring novel in the world, so much that KDJ was the last and sole reader of the novel. It's explicitly written a the beginning of the novel that he was disappointed that the novel was ending but he was really grateful to the author tls123, and was very polite to them. SO WHY WOULD HE READ THE NOVEL FOR 13Y IF IT'S JUST TO TELL THE AUTHOR THAT IT WAS ASS. It doesn't seem like Kdj appreciated the novel at all ?

-Kim Dokja was, again, a very lonely guy who didn't have any friends, and he basically hated life smh. Anyway, he's not someone that really looked forward to living, and is a morally (very) gray character, which made him a lot more relatable that the typical mc. Why would he start to want to save the world ? Out of pure compassion ?? Compassion he doesn't have ??????

-KDJ has a few skills that are extremely important to the plot but they don't seem to exist (like omniscient readers viewpoint, yk the name of the WHOLE STORY)

-The name of the movie doesn't make any sense since kdj says he ISN'T a prophet in the novel

-Kdj straight up lies by saying he's a prophet (which he isn't btw, he's just a READER) FACED WITH A LIE DETECTOR

-Constellations weirdly enough don't exist so the whole plot can't actually be called an adaptation ?

-Butchered the characters of JHW, YSH and everyone basically.

-KDJ trying to save the character he hated the most in TWS and that he killed in the original novel lmfao ?

-Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk whole interactions, of a reader and his favorite protagonist, being weird, unnatural, unnecessarily homophobic (they're not gay, but you can feel that they REALLY wanted Kdj to be "straight")

-Missed the whole central point of the story of friendship

While the movie had an enormous budget, the results are more than disappointing, be it from the directing, the acting, the CGI and everything from start to end. The movie can only leave the readers upset after watching the movie, and the non-readers confused, about the plot.

Even by forgetting the misogyny that's hidden in the LA, the directing team made Kim Dokja (a lonely and pitiful reader who only wanted to discover the epilogue of his favorite story) a writer. By doing that, they entirely missed the whole point of the story, that was thought and written for the readers, for them to be able to relate to the main character.

I'm not going to keep trashing the story because my review is in fact very long, but I'll say, the story left me in tears, not because of how good or sad it was, but because of disappointment and anger.
The utter lack of respect from the directing team is truly maddening, and I hope, I really hope that SingSong-nim isn't too disappointed by this.
Because it can be felt that this LA was made just to compete the anime of Solo Leveling, made with money in mind and not the audience.

Thank you a lot for taking the time to read this, and please DON'T watch the live adaptation of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, it's a waste of time.

Leggi di Più

Unenjoyable Art

This is ART, no doubt about it. Stellar acting, exquisite editing & script and gorgeous, breathtaking shots. This Korean BL shouldn't be called just a "BL". This is "the BL" of the year for sure. This is the result when the directors & scriptwriters finally took its audience seriously. It's a near-perfect series. Beautiful & honest. But as it stands, I could NOT wait for it to be over.

STORY & CHARACTERS: It's painful. The whole story. And no, I'm not talking about the heartwrenching scenes. I'm just saying that it drags. GOD, it drags. Painfully dull. I bet that the majority of the people here who rated this a perfect TEN for a rewatch would never watch this again. Because the story is all the same. It's a repetition of self-sabotage. The MC Yeong jumps from one guy to the other and sabotages the relationship himself. Honestly, it's one disappointment after the other. And here lies the pain. It's too realistic that it fails to be enjoyable anymore. I can't even root for the MC because he's a raging asshole. He' a hypercritical, pretentious coward who demands so much from his partners but in the end, he's the one who's going to run away. And I get that this is a drama and supposed to show an honest portrayal of relationships but it just feels dismal and almost cruel.

The ACTING is at least superb. I must say, the casting is so good. Everyone really stepped up to the plate. I just want to give Yeong's gay friends a shoutout too. They stole the spotlight for me. Their shenanigans are very entertaining and very real. Speaking of them, I should mention that whoever wrote the summary for this BL is tripping. What a misleading summary. Thought for sure the girl BFF, Mi Ae would be there for the MC throughout the whole series. Made it looked like she'll play a huge role too, but she was barely there.   She was not even there for Yeong's mother's funeral. Why put her in the summary at all? The summary should've mentioned Yeong's very loyal and wonderful gay friends instead! Not the hetero girl who barely did anything for Yeong. She even outed him just to save her boring-ass relationship with the judgmental guy.

MUSIC: Could not remember any memorable bg music or soundtrack for this BL because I must have fell asleep halfway thru. (Not kidding).

REWATCH: Obviously 1. Would not touch this again. It's not a waste of time. At least I learned something. There were a LOT of memorable quotes and nuances. The scriptwriter really did a great job with MC's lines and POV but they're not just enough for me to care at this point. MC should just be single forever. He's perfect alone. He has great talent and have such great friends. I don't know why he has to feel like he needs to be in a relationship just to feel happy or feel complete.

Bottomline: Most definitely NOT a love story. It's ART & a critical success for sure, but its hopeless and bleak, and awfully unenjoyable. It's like a painting you'd admire for its details but will never keep.

Leggi di Più

what i really like about this series is that there acting were all natural specially the stubbornness of the two characters (Gu Hai and Bai Luo Yin), i really love their character ... its not really a typical gay series, the content was good ,the scenes were great and for me its a perfect series... I was able to relate it with my previous relationship of which we were stubborn but with a soft heart!!! Gu Hai and Yin Zi's character proves that no matter what the obstacles are , they are ready to fight for what they think is right and what they love!!!! So So love this series!!!! please update us for the 2nd season of addicted Heroin!!!!
Godbless you all guys~!!!! Fighting!!!!
:)

Leggi di Più

A Journey Too Late

This was originally 2 different comments I made on the message board that I have slightly reformatted to make a review. I get it lacks some of my normal wordsmithing and is brief, but it gets the job done easily enough.

Watched entirely in 1 sitting starting at realease time to around 6:30 am in the morning in my neck of the woods. I wont go too in depth here.

So let's quickly breeze over the strengths.

Great acting, good intimacy, some strong chemistry, appropriate realistic skinship, 3 dimensional characters, some real-world struggles, heartbreaking moments, and adorably cute moments. Directing was strong, cinematography solid, texture and feel to the series was complete and both realistic yet simutaneously dreamlike. Hour long episodes in a Netflix-like 8 episode dosing with a decent budget and a cast with some recognizable faces and not just no-name-this-is-their-start actors.

I do want to interject here that our main lead Nam Yoon Su gives an outstanding performance. He brings the character to life and doesnt hold back allowing our Ko/Go Young to be a fully realized being. He should be proud of his performance, and more than any role he has yet had, shows his acting chops.

I also want to give a shout-out to the deft Jin Ho Eun. He is a true chameleon on screen. He has a sturdy list of shows under his belt and has skillfully shown how to be both a monster to, as in this series, a cute as a button bright eyed engenue. I feel he is overlooked a lot as he has delivered strong performances one after another and again doesnt dissapoint here. I also am happy to see him in a role that actually highlights how attractive he can be.

HOWEVER, it has some flaws and shortcomings which hold it back from being an exceptional experince. Which I'll list in a spoiler tab below. Thus, it's held back from being great to instead being a solid good show. It is worth your time but its real world approach and overall sad and depressing ambiance and general story will keep it from being most peoples favorite or go to series.


BELOW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

The flaws:

1) Usage of time.

There are a lot of missteps in how the 8 episodes covers almost 10 years of the main characters life. This is aggrivated by how they break the story into 2 episode mini stories, thus the 8 episodes tell 4 different love/encounters. Making large swaths of time defaulted and inserted inbetween the blackout of 1 story and the fade in of the next.

Since they only have 8 episodes many of the significant relations come and go very quickly and are delt with too clean and neatly. Our main character's relationship with Mi Ae seems little more than a blip on the radar with no lasting significance. Same goes with the loss of his complicated relationship with his mother, who if you add up the time jumps had a very slow march towards death over at least 3 years. The main characters childhood is told in blink or your miss it clips that bring up some serious trauma and issues that are mostly left unexplored or dealt with but seem just to be reasons for his bahavior, sadness, and state-of-mind.

Also, the clothing, accessories, look of the world and characters doesnt change from begining to end...which for a decade of time...especially for hip 20something city boys, is not realistic.

The final 2 episodes are dreamlike in their delivery and feel like a very different show compared to the previous 6 which make it a pain point that this is where we end our journey with these characters. In a weird sexual depression fever dream while having an affair with a married man who takes our lead to various hotels around the world while he recalls the love of a relationship he had ended, as far as i could tell less than a year ago, these episodes are supposed to symbolize the end of this era in our leads life, but they are so whimsical and non-concrete, it comes off more like a mental exercise than true substantial growth and a solid seal to this slice of our pritagonists life. The relationship that plays in our Go Yeoung's mind didnt yet seem to hold the gravity and importance it should as it was still very fresh. Youd expect this type of story after many years have expired and with age you look back and realize that was love and you lost it. The wisdom of old age making you see your regrets. It was further exacerbated by the relationship being mere minutes ago in the viewers mind as we had just spent 2 episodes moving through it begjning to end and seeing many of the scenes already...again a failure of how they use time

2) Stunted emotions and growth.

Possibly it was just the time limit but a lot of the emotions came and went with the wind. Like mentioned above in the time problem, it bleeds over here into a stunted growth and emotional problem. Our main lead has many revelations but changes very little of himself due to them. He deals with major life altering hurtles, death of a lover, death of his mother, suicide, and of course contracting HIV, but all of it comes in a scene and leaves in the next. This could be a societal issue, yet other Korean shows do not operate as such. This could be a character issue, but then the whole point of the show is about the emotional and mental growth of our lead andnwhat he wants and expects out of life which makes this here then gone approach to the story feel misplaced. It may be the fault of the writer of the original work or the writer of this adaption, as in they all have Peter Pan complexes, much like our lead, and thus do not know how to write true explorations of healing, moving through trauma, overcomming, and changing ones life. Instead its shed some tears then run to the bar and get trashed and then never talk about or deal with it again. Its solved, the emotions were let out...

It makes a lot of the issues, which are devstating and hefty, feel skin deep and easily managable. When he is driven to suicide by a toxic closeted self hating lover while trying to mend the broken relationship of his mother dying from cancer who has the same Christian damnation outlook on him...it grows until he tries to check out...but then wakes up saved, gives a thumb heart to his friends, and then moves on never talking about it again. Like well he didnt die...lets go get drunk....and party. And this his how the show handles every truly emotional milestone. As if acknowledging it happened is the same as healing through it.

3) The HIV card....

It is the gay plague after all...even though world wide, it is more prevelant in heterosexuals than homosexuals since the late 90s...but still this is a gay story, we must have HIV.

For Korea, and where they currently are on LGBTQ+ representation and stories, as well as real laws and overall societal view of homosexuals, I can see how having a realistic story that represents the trails of a realistic homesexual and what he faces including the taboo HIV seems bold and groundbreaking....

As a westerner this is 30 to 40 years too late...this whole series was reminiscent of a 90s gay story. From the film Jeffrey to the show Queer as Folk to even the 80s independent film (which too has a splattering of famous male leads) Longtime Companion. Let alone award winning Angels in America...which is currently being performed by famous Korean actors in Seoul as I type this.

At least they didnt make him die in the end.

But Korea has had films, that have dealt with these themes already, and are much older, let alone the western stories that can be watched. It made the story seem archaic and out of place. Made too late.

This is exacerbated by the fact the story would not have changed at all, if the character DIDN'T have HIV. It affects nothing. It is even brought in only half way through as an almost suprise twist. His contracting it is a brief monologue. He tells only 1 person that he even has it, he has no health issues because of it. It does not cause him to loose any relationship or sexual encounter. And it is little more than a plot point. Thus, simply having him NOT have it was an option as its only point is for him to say its with me till i die. Again it feels superficial and a stunted and an unneeded poor use. Thus, just as point 1 bleed into point 2, now point 2 bleeds into this point 3.

Last note on this, the way they introduce the HIV was confusing..as in did he contract it between his mothers dying and meeting this new boy. But then he meets the boy on the night of his mothers funeral. And it has only been 1 year since his last relationship...and then he says hes had it for 5 years...and then your like...did i miss a time jump...there are alot of them...and then you relaize wait...this happened b4 the show started. Hes been HIV positive since the first frame. And it slowly sinks in that you watched him have sex with mutliple partners and carryon two meaningful relationships without telling anyone involved that he is HIV positive. He then has more partners and doesnt tell them...this weirdly, at least for me, makes the HIV have a detrimental effect on the character. This is a serious sexually transmuted disease and he selfishly and irresponsibly goes around and does whatever he wants while hiding it so he wont be stigmatized or ostricized. He pretends....and it kinda makes him a really bad person.

8.0 = B+, 4-Stars. A solid all around entry that will likely not disappoint.

Leggi di Più

I personally loved this drama. I felt that the main leads were a perfect couple together. This drama is really adorable and cute. It has the sweetest scenes in the world. Not only that, but I loved the cast considering I'm a big Yong Hwa fan. Lots of people only watch it for the cast and think the story line is poorly written. However, I strongly disagree. The story line is fresh, new, and I don't think it's very cliche. Even the songs were great and addicting! I can also see myself re-watching this drama thousands of times. This drama is definitely must watch for all ages!

Leggi di Più

You only live twice.

Fan Xian is back!!! There are no words to describe the pure joy I felt after what was for me, a three year wait. I never expected S2 to be as strong as S1 and as much as I enjoyed it, it is not quite at the same level. To begin with, killing a character onscreen is never easy to unwind and their walk back of the S1 cliffhanger was long winded, cumbersome and comically farcical. What saves it is that most audiences are so grateful to see the whole gang, villains and all, back together again they willingly suspend disbelief.

The most noticeable difference with S2 is the visible shift in the narrative from plot driven to largely character driven. After narrowly cheating death, an introspective Fan Xian who realizes you only live twice, returns to the capital. During S1, Teng Zijing showed Fan Xian that some things are worth dying to protect. This season explores what those things are for Fan Xian. He reflects upon his mother's ideals and begins to see the injustices that made her want to change the world. The plight of the common people resonates with him as he comes to understand that he is also but a pawn in a high powered chess game. He embraces his mother's legacy with a sense of purpose and a clear vision of what he means to do with it. The most exhilarating moments of this season are not action packed or full of intricate twists but pivotal moments in Fan Xian's character journey. It is less exciting if you are an action junkie but this is the season that reveals who Fan Xian really is and more importantly, who he wants to be.

With the signature Joy of Life verve and wit, important plot points or character motives are conveyed indirectly with humor. As the laughter abates, the manifold implications, often dark and diabolical start to sink in. The most chilling aspect of S2 is Fan Xian's complex, multi-dimensional chess game with the emperor, who is the grandmaster firmly in control of the board and all the chess pieces. It is not even clear that Chen Pingping is really on Fan Xian's side; after his "miscalculation", he seems just as dangerous as friend or foe. It is from such a disadvantaged position that Fan Xian plays to win even though winning could also cost him his head. While the emperor's end game remains murky, he reveals a guarded, almost resentful affection for Fan Xian that has me hopeful and fearful at the same time. Some of the emperor's schemes and motives are too intricate and have to be explained via dialogue, which is something I am not a fan of.

Inasmuch as I quite miss the rounder and carefree Fan Xian, Zhang Ruoyun's lean and mean new look lends a sense of maturity and gravitas to the role. My mouth goes dry at the layer upon layer of divine masculinity that comprise Fan Xian, the man. His scenes with the emperor where they both test and measure each other are mesmerising until the tension is broken by at times offbeat humor that has me yodelling with laughter. Every dysfunctional Li family gathering is a hilarious parody of a feast at Swan Goose Gate (Hongmen banquet/鸿门宴). There are many insanely well acted emperors in c-drama yet Chen Daoming still manages to stand out with his complex, differentiated, infuriating and utterly unpredictable portrayal. Just when I am sure I loathe him, he blindsides me with an unexpectedly moving expression of almost regret. Fan Xian has yet to get the better of this sociopath but at least he still manages to run circles around "Mini Me". The moment he scared the living daylights out of the second prince is one of the highlights of the season.

It is no small feat that they managed to reunite such a large and sought after cast and practically all the roles are well conveyed. Ye Lingér however was obviously abducted by aliens and replaced with a bot. Hopefully Si Lili rescues her offscreen and returns with the real Ye Lingér just in time for S3. I won't deny that I basked in every moment of this reunion of my favorite characters, good and evil. That said, outside of Fan Sizhe, no one really gets to do anything consequential. Many new characters including the first prince, the Beiqi princess and Fan Xian's scholars are introduced with unclear purpose. Everyone is being teed up but the punchline is put on hold until S3. This unbalanced focus on introducing and fleshing out characters and relationships comes at the cost of plot movement. This makes me worry that this leaves too many open plot arcs to be closed in S3. While I wouldn't dare to explicitly wish anyone's bestie villain dead, I think they should have closed at least one of the villain arcs instead of pushing everything into S3.

The character arc of S2 closes triumphantly with Fan Xian reclaiming his power and free will by choosing what family means to him and in doing so, he changes the game. I expect S3 to be once again more plot driven like S1. While I savored S2 and appreciate that they took the time to flesh out the characters and key relationships, there are just too many open plot threads for me to rate this the 9.5 I gave S1. Thus this is a 9.0/10.0 for me for now. If everything comes together well in S3, the series overall will easily be 9.5 or a 10.0.

Leggi di Più

Balancing angst and comedy

Combining the angsty plot of terminal illness while also trying to maintain loud and slapstick humor is a very difficult feat but Mr. Plankton managed to do it extremely well. The humorous scenes are laugh-out-loud funny, while the sad scenes still hit really hard, and I never felt like I was getting whiplash between them.

As much as I love green flag MLs, I do think several kdramas have overcorrected recently; it's actually refreshing to get a drama that gives both its leads stories that have equal weight, and to see an ML that has more purpose than to just be in love with the FL. With that being said, Hae-jo's character is absolutely the best part of this show, and WDH plays him to perfection.

I feel a little more mixed on the other characters, to be honest. While I liked Jae-mi's plot, I wish we focused more on her desire to be a mother and have a family. The flashback we got of her at the orphanage is extremely touching. Instead, it seems like we get a lot of her relationship with Eo Heung and his mother. I don't necessarily dislike this, but it's weird. The drama does a fantastic job of making Heung a sympathetic character. His capacity for love is so great and his relationship with his mother goes through such important development, but I still never quite felt the emotions of it, not when Jae-mi and Hae-jo's dynamic is so strong and heart-wrenching. I also felt liek the love triangle was dragged out just a little too long; we saw clips of Jae-mi/Heung and they're cute but as a viewer I never once believed that they belonged together.

I did, however, still enjoy the humorous scenes with the three of them, and I almost wish we got a longer road trip type plot, with a new character (Gi-ho, Bong-suk) joining them in the car ride to each next sperm donor. It would have made the party scene at the end feel more meaningful, because I actually don't think we saw them spend much time together before then.

Overall, I think the first half worked better for me. Something about the bickering and the chaos was just so fun, whereas the last few episodes seems to have Hae-jo leaving Jae-mi stranded as a plot point multiple times. The ending also needed to be extended a little longer for things to get tied up. The plot is pretty outlandish — sometimes it works because it absolutely leans into it, and sometimes I had to remind myself "this is a DRAMA and that's why Hae-jo is still allowed to drive." Either way, it's fun.

Leggi di Più

I feel like I need to add a warning to my view. This drama presents itself as a mature melodramatic romance, and in a lot of ways it is, but a good portion of this drama also centers around Hospice care, which means a lot of stories about death. There are also other very sad themes like abandonment and trauma, so if you're looking for a lighthearted romcom this ain't it. Instead expect a lot more sadness and internal monologues.

I decided to watch this because of Ha Ji Won, one of my favorites, and she does a great job as Cha Young even though her character is pretty one-note, basically melancholy and apologetic. This matches the mood of Yoon Kye Sang as Lee Kang as well, who is equally somber and melancholy. They do have pretty good chemistry, and I liked their story in general, but there is way more heaviness and sadness than butterflies in their story. There's the expected destiny theme as well. It also builds very slowly, and although I didn't mind the pace, it definitely made me watch more casually instead of being excited to watch each new episode.

I also liked the rest of the cast as well. To me Jang Seung Jo as Lee Joon is definitely the standout, playing a role he's so good at, the "rich guy rival" (like his performance in "Money Flower"). The cast is also full of great performances by the supporting cast as patients, staff, and relatives... although The Lee family did seem a bit cliché at times with their typical greed and scheming. I blame that more on the writing than the cast.

The story is this dramas weakest point for me, not because it's a bad story, but more because of how somber and standard it is. However, instead of comic relief, this drama's most uplifting moments all center around food. Yes, this is the kind of drama (like the "Let's Eat" series) that will probably make you very VERY hungry. So many food close-ups. So much emotional eating. Sooo many chewing scenes! It's about way more than just chocolate too. Food is the real star of this drama.

It's also beautifully shot. The scenery is amazing and all of the food looks delicious (even stuff I don't eat). It has a cinematic feel visually which helps with the slow pace. I was much more forgiving of certain scenes because of how beautiful it looked. At the very least, Netflix definitely knows how to make pretty dramas.

Would I watch this again? I don't think so. I was honestly caught off guard by how sad this was, and I didn't love any part of this drama enough to endure that sadness again. The story is also pretty typical as far as the "Who's gonna take over the family business" tropes go.

Overall, I appreciate the main theme of this drama, which is to appreciate every single moment of the life you have and that a fulfilling life is more about love and giving than about how much you can acquire. That theme really hits home by the end, and I shed a lot of tears throughout this drama, so I think I would recommend this drama but only with that warning. Death comes up constantly, which could feel therapeutic or like too much. For me, it was a combination of both.

"Chocolate" is a low key melodrama, so there's less excitement and much more contemplation. If you don't like the mood of the first episode, don't expect it to pick up later. The resolutions are also subtle. Some things were left hanging, which I'm ok with, and it's much more about going on a journey with each character through their personal traumas, dysfunction, and moments of failure and empowerment. This drama from beginning to end will try to come for your feelings!!! Make sure you have enough tissues and snacks while watching.

Leggi di Più