Reviews

The Icing On Top Of The Cake With Yeri, But Not Quite Having That Extra Cherry On Top…

Unravelling time- travel where our frantic heroine finds herself rescuing her lost love or crush from moral peril, isn’t new ground for K-dramas. Yet the immediate status around idol actress Yeri ( Red Velvet) being cast as lovelorn female lead Oh Ha Rin, has undeniably attracted the web series to receiving hype .

On a strong note Yeri’s acting is pretty solid here. She has a vibrant ambience around her character, immediately dragging viewers into sitting up and paying attention to the storyline. As it has been said beforehand, there is no beating around the bush that ‘ Blue Birthday’ is a fairly “ seen and done concept”, but this doesn’t mean that the director isn’t willing to try something new either. Park Dhan Hee’s cinematography was really mesmerising in a lot of shots. You could tell by the array of palettes, the pathetic fallacies that the director was trying to convey. Light hues of daylight could animate Ha Rin’s jovial mood , whilst darker, moody blues of the sky, a room or the rain brought the scenes surrounding Seo Jun ( Hong Seok)’s death or Ha Rin’s bereavement into a more hard-hitting and colder reality.

Yet ‘ Blue Birthday’ can truly be defined as a mixed party bag of flaws also. Whilst Yeri’s acting was decent, her fellow costars often struggled to pertain the same level of solidity over the course of sixteen episodes. Not unwatchable, just certainly not bringing these characters to life either. Admittedly this wasn’t entirely the fault of the cast as character writing could also be a cataclysmic problem with the mini series also . This is mainly because none of the characters ( including our mains) really seem like everyday people. Now it is arguable that this is the point of the series; it is a fantasy-romance mini series about two teens in high school and so nothing regarding their personal lives outside of this main plot is that important . On the other hand what makes a character feel relatable and real is drawing parallels and similarities with our own lives by their interactions and relationships with other characters which whilst it did exist, was only really shown to make the storyline move or crack into some “ comic relief” moments.

Again it’s wrong to entirely condemn the series here. There was some surprising twists and revelations with Seo Jun’s familial background which played a major part in unravelling the enigma of his death, as well as adding angst-ridden chemistry to Seo Jun and Ha Rin’s onscreen potential relationship.

On the other hand whilst Seo Jun was a useful plot device to keep the mini-series’ storyline on its feet, it’s hard to truly define Seo Jun’s greater calling as a character by his build-up, typically revolving around school ( rather than the series gradually building this up through small revelations of his family life) and his potential romance with Ha Rin. Sadly similar to Seo Jun was Ha Rin. Whilst it’s understandable that her main goal was to save Seo Jun through her “Groundhog Day” setup, it was baffling that Ha Rin seemed to have little interaction or revelations about her relationship with family or a personal past problem during this period that she wanted to focus on as an individual. To explain this further it’s fair to say that we’ve all made personal mistakes in the past and most likely often wish we could change them. Arguably part of Ha Rin’s “great mistake” is the feeling of letting down Seo Jun by being unable to prevent his death. That’s understandable and what made her grief resonate with audiences, but that’s also only necessary to the major plot line. Rarely do we see or delve into Ha Rin diverged subjective regrets on a personal level either with friends or others also.


In terms of our antagonist ( and without spoilers), it is fair to say that the storyline indicates subtly but early on through portraying this character in a negative light towards the true villain. Are they well-written? This character really just serves one purpose and that is to be a plot device to add tension and drama to the series. Whilst they do have some motives, they’re mainly disregarded and rarely fleshed-out in order to paint this character as “ being evil for the sake of evil”. Not entirely terrible for the pragmatic purpose of the drama, but certainly fitting more into the “ moustache twirling villain” category than complex.

On more nuanced note, there are also some seriously questionable moments within the drama’s writing logic that made little sense realistically in the drama such as Ha Rin ( despite being a fairly witty character when she wants to be) talking in a public place about a key plot revelation which could’ve easily put her in further danger ( and refuses to acknowledge further risks) or liability for her previous fatal mistakes , the main villain’s classic mistakes which could’ve been easily picked up upon earlier, the incompetency of the police ( including lack of DNA testing) and of course the shift between the present and a decade ago for Ha Rin not feeling that significant for viewers. It is arguable that perhaps the screenwriter was trying to show this from Ha Rin’s perspective by this suddenly becoming part of her normal everyday life. However for Ha Rin this is also a nostalgia trip down memory lane of her teens. It would have been understandable if small passing popular cultural references, slang, technology or fashion had brought it home for Ha Rin ( and viewers) towards being in the past. Instead it was hardly to truly grasp when we were stepping back in time. Aside from a quick wardrobe and makeup styling change for Yeri which was meant to indicate; “ Oh, Yeri had on a school uniform, and schoolgirl bangs. We must be in the past again.”

In conclusion ‘Blue Birthday’ wasn’t an unwatchable mini-series. The ending was decent enough and in between aesthetic cinematography shots, Yeri’s performance and the plot premise as well as the mysterious events surrounding Seo Jun’s demise in the storyline remained enticing factors for watchers. On the other hand, the screenwriting with characters, mismatched dialogue and logic as well as the acting and pacing remained the mini series’ greatest downfalls. This was certainly not a terrible with an easy amount of fluff and darker themes to keep you watching , but not without its evident inconsistencies either.

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So I decided to watch this movie since it was the only Korean film on a plane I was taking. I had also heard that it was Korean's Oceans Eleven, and since I had enjoyed that movie, i decided to try out this one. I was NOT disappointed.

Story 10/10: The story is extremely interesting and has you on the edge of your seat. At first you hate a character, then you're not so sure, and by the end your view has flipped every which way.

Acting/Cast 10/10 : The cast did an extremely great job. They were absolutely flawless and I loved watching them act together.

Music 6/10: I don't really remember much about the music. It fulfilled its part but it didn't stand out and I wont' really listen to the ost.

Rewatch Value 4/10 : I don't rewatch movies or dramas. But if a friend wants to watch this I would watch it with them for sure. The greatest thing about this movie is the plot twists and already knowing them does kind of put a damper on the film.

Overall 9/10: It's definitely a must watch. Especially if you're fans of action/heist movies. If you love films with lots of plot twists, then this is the perfect film for you.

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Disclaimer: I did not like this drama. It will be a harsh rant review so if you don't think you can handle it, don't read it. If you do read it, don't write to me that I'm hurting people's feelings with it.
What’s more: I do NOT care about the novel. I do not care how well everything was explained and shown in the novel. I’m reviewing the drama. If the show cannot be consumed without my prior knowledge about the plot of the novel, it speaks volumes about the quality of the drama itself.

At first I refused to rate this drama. I had truly no idea what rating would do it justice. For how they handled certain topics it should get -100, but the acting was decent, at times even good, the set design, audio editing, lighting and other technical aspects were good too, and these definitely do not deserve such a low rating. That said, since MDL forces me to state my stars, I will go with my feelings, be as subjective as possible and give it “well deserved” 2.5 stars.

DIRECTING/WRITING
Sadly, the lack of experience in directing is quite obvious. While there was a lot of thought put into „steamy” scenes and how to show them in the most attractive, sensual way, not the same amount of work had been put into directing and showing the overall plot. The biggest problem I had was the confusing time progression and weird time jumps without proper explanation.

Another aspect of directing that caught me off guard was a random and rushed beginning. Why we did not see how the friendship of Type and Tharn was established? All we've got was one line of Type saying Tharn is good looking, nice and most likely will help him get a girl and exactly 1 minute and 17 seconds of them meeting for the first time three weeks ago.

The fact we did not see these two establishing the relationship and spending time together as friends was one of the reasons Tharn's big love seemed so out of place. After seeing the whole drama, it's safe to assume he fell for Type before Type found out he is gay. But we did not see that, so with how badly Type was treating him, it was given I would question Tharn's sanity and reasons behind his feelings. When did he fall for Type? That's the question the drama does not really answer.

Unanswered questions, scenes that seem to have no reason for existing, loose ends - all of them happened at some point. I kept seeing people asking questions about certain plot points and plotlines and the only way to understand the reasoning behind them was to hear from someone who read the novel which was usually followed by continuous excuses of time restriction.

If you know you cannot possibly fit all the plotlines in the time framework set for your drama, you should rewrite it. As much as I liked the “Korean” guy and his roommate, they should not be part of the plot. Not only were their characters not developed, they brought close to nothing to the show, but instead have taken away the precious time that could be used to develop the main plot and explain all the unanswered questions. You need to be smart with how you write and be realistic about it. If you know you only have 12 episodes and a lot of work to be done on the main characters and their relationship, don't waste your time on side characters and plotlines.

THARN'S CHARACTER
I know he has a lot of supporters and many people were extremely protective over him and hated Type quite a lot with how he treated Tharn. That said, while Tharn was quite a nice and sweet guy in the second half of the drama, the first few episodes showed him as a creep who disregards any type of personal space and is willing to sexually harass someone just to get back for the name calling.

Many people may claim that giving someone hickeys without a consent or rather being fully aware the person would not agree to it, is not a big deal, but it is. They were not friends back then, not a couple. Type was asleep after getting drunk. Imagine that you woke up one day and it turned out that some guy you knew, but did not have a good relationship with, gave you hickeys all over your neck and upper torso. Do you find it cute? Romantic? Innocent? I would either call the police or inform my professors about it.

Also, what kind of sane person instead of punching a homophobic asshole says they will screw him? What's in the brain of that man? I would not want to touch a guy like Type with a stick. Kissing him as revenge, giving him hickeys. It's so amazingly illogical I cannot even try to grasp what was going on. All the touching of Type's face and giving him forehead kisses when he was asleep (before they were a couple, back at the beginning when Type hated Tharn) were not romantic. It was gross and weird and inappropriate.

What also amazes me about Tharn, is how not observant and ignorant he is about the feelings of people around him. How he failed to see Lhong was sabotaging all of his relationships? How could he not see the frantic behaviour of Tar when he came to see him, which obviously would lead to the conclusion something is not right? How he ignored Type’s mental struggles and instead of educating himself about the symptoms of his mental health issues, he ignored them.

TYPE'S CHARACTER
Since I'm planning to write in more detail later on about all the mental health issues, I'll just focus on how his character was written. From the beginning there was not much thought put into developing the characters and showing their gradual change and how it happened - as a result, Type’s character is extremely inconsistent. They bring up his trauma and homophobia when it fits the storyline, forget about it when they want to progress the sexy scenes and at the end of the day, nothing makes sense. Even not taking into consideration his hatred for gays, he was not a nice, lovely and a good guy that I would root for. He was an asshole, way too impulsive and had close to zero redeeming qualities. I failed to see why I should cheer for him and his happiness when I simply did not like him as a human being.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Total disregard of any mental health topics in this drama frustrates me so bad it's exhausting to watch. Let's start with Type being sexually assaulted as a child by a pedophile, in the present times, having phobia and generalized hatred towards gays and PTSD that was miraculously cured by the power of love and blowjobs. No mention of him going to a psychologist or psychiatrist. No previous treatments as a child.

This leads to Tharn's inappropriate behaviour towards Type when he had panic attacks. If you are the clear reason for someone's panic attack and they tell you to let them go in a hysterical manner, you don't hug them closer to you, you let them go and bring help. There is a reason why rape victims are treated by medical staff of the opposite gender than the person who attacked them, why the police officer are not of the same sex as the attacker. The scenes with Tharn being the cause for the panic attack AND the one that calms Type’s down (sometimes with quite sensual touches) just shows how not willing to do any type of research on the topic the writer was.

Episode two, the scene where Tharn almost sits on top of Type, being angry about Type insulting his father - first Tharn is trying to annoy and make Type angry, when Type starts to have panic attack and begs him to let him go, Tharn says “I just want to help you relax. Calm down” as he caresses his face and tight in a clearly sensual manner, Type gets even more anxious still begging for Tharn to let him go and not hurt him. At some point, finally Type is able to move and he kicks Tharn away from himself to which Tharn says “What the hell is wrong with you, Type?” and I want to ask: What the hell is wrong with the person who wrote this scene? If you fail to see how disturbing and wrong and weirdly written this scene is, I have nothing to tell you.

That said, not all of Tharn’s reactions to Type’s attacks were wrong. When Type woke up in the middle of the night and he himself grabbed Tharn and hugged him, it was a good decision to hug him back and with a calm voice make him feel more at ease. This was one of the instances when I was nodding my head thinking - the boy is slowly learning what is appropriate and what is not. The joy was usually short lived though.

The whole PTSD, panic attacks and all the mental health related issues Type had are gone by the time he and Tharn are together. Why? Because they have no purpose to the main romantic plot anymore. They were just tools to make the romance more angsty, be a good excuse for Type’s hatred towards gays and make “steamy scenes” more “steamy”. After all that, without any professional help, by some random miracle, Type was cured. Why exactly do we need mental health professionals when you can just cure your problems with one good blowjob?

The writers also make Tharn look like an extremely self centered person who is not willing to learn and research about the serious topic concerning the person he claims to love. While his lack of proper reaction could be partially an excuse before he knew about Type’s past, after he found out, the fact there was not even one proper serious talk about it amazes me. Not even once Tharn asked if Type often has the panic attacks, how he should act when it happens, if he tried to get professional help. Nothing. The topic is gone and not mentioned again.

Tar’s depression, suicide thoughts and how the heck no one noticed it for so long? I refuse to believe that his brother did not even once come to his room before that one accidental time in the middle of the drama. It’s close to impossible for him not to know how bad his brother’s mental health is, seeing how he wasn’t truly trying to hide it well. Tar was also the only character that was mentioned to receive mental health help from a psychiatrist, how good the help was is a totally different issue. His character is still better “treated” by the writers than Type. They at least tried to show different symptoms of depression and all the more realistic implications it might have.

Lhong’s story is another way of explaining bad behavior by giving a character a tragic past. While I kind of appreciate the additional episode and the background info on Lhong, I’d say it was an amazing waste of time. Good 70% of the time in the episode was just flashbacks to what happened in the previous episode and just a few new scenes showing Lhong’s past. Why not use that time to truly develop and dive deep into this character’s motivation? He obviously had huge mental health issues, yet again, they are not being addressed by anyone.

Both Lhong and Tar should be in observation in the hospital for some time, since they are either a danger to themselves or to others. I guess, mental health help is a concept that does not exist in the universe created by the writer.

San’s love for Tharn when they were younger was quite disturbing too. The idea that he wanted to take Tharn’s virginity because he was young, cute and innocent just sounds wrong for me. Those are the adjectives you use to describe a child. I have no idea how old Sad was when their relationship happened, but it did sound alarming to me.

WHAT I LIKED
I must say, I kind of enjoyed some fluffy scenes of Tharn and Type. I had to force myself to ignore and try not to remember all the stuff that happened in the first half of the show, but when I was able to do that, the scenes were quite cute. I liked the domestic scenes when Type was playing with Tharn hair. I guess I enjoyed their interactions the most in episode 10. Truth to be told, I would not mind this drama that much, or even like it, if the writer did not introduce the topic of sexual assault on the minor and mental health issues that follow. It was just so poorly written, I cannot ignore it.

My favorite character was for sure Techno. He was one of the best written and most realistic ones. Also, probably the only one without huge trauma and mental health issues. I enjoyed most of his scenes and Mild acting was quite good.

One scene that stood out for me was when Type was confronted by his friend after that friend confessed he is gay. It was a well written and well filmed scene. I just wished there was a follow up, since it was an amazing opportunity for Type’s character growth.

It’s important to add: the last episode was a MESS. Like… “how is Lhong not in prison” was the only thing on my mind when I was watching it. I could not focus on anything else.

Overall, the quality of the production was not bad, the acting was good, the chemistry between characters was nice, the music was fine, the technical aspects were well thought through… The writing… was tragic. Did I over-analyze it? Probably. Some might say I should not try to dig deep into this drama since it’s just a romance BL and they are not supposed to be taken this seriously. I would like to say though, the author themselves introduced those deep, tragic and thought provoking themes in it, so I cannot be blamed for taking it too seriously. I cannot ignore such a bad representation. It would make me feel guilty.

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excellent chemistry in a fantasy/soap opera-y plot

Overall: Daou and Offroad did a great job with a more soap opera type aka lakorn plot. 10 episodes 1 hour each. Aired 2 episodes per week on YouTube except SE Asia with delayed English subtitles https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXopbKxiivxq9qaU0XyhJiHY5za79C2ev&si=qAIRIqP0gomWPMe2 ; GagaOOLala everywhere except SE Asia, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4563/century-of-love-2024 ; Netflix for SE Asian countries. Later aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/century-of-love-2025-18jnrov7xy9?lang=en_us

Content Warnings: please see my comment with a spoiler tag as there were several in the first episode, theft, attempted kidnapping, attempted murder, blood

What I Liked
- clear set up
- a character said she could dress how she wanted to
- supportive group, supportive grandma
- that one character was a bit flirty/mischievous and was not a pushover
- the scene at the end of episode 1
- child actor did an excellent job
- need a whole series of that demon fox scene
- a character clearly stated that he was bisexual
- two complex characters and not just stereotypical villains
- non cliched female characters

Room For Improvement
- the sound effects during the fight scene
- too many flashbacks of recent scenes
- too many catch & falls
- some cartoony villains that were extremely obvious
- low budget CGI
- nonsense stuff: a character was smart about hiding something and then none of them were smart about it later
- they kind of kid a cop out with the world building at the end but I guess it goes with the "live in the present"
- the angst/pain stuff went on for too long
- (neutral) there were comedy sound effects

Note: I was not bothered by a character's reaction to learning something in episode 1, he had a very long time to build up in his mind what that person would be

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This review is hard for me to write. This drama was a little difficult for me to finish. Which threw me. I expected to love this drama and for the first half I really did love it. I liked the premise of the lovers meeting in the 70's and their children meeting and falling in love in present day. The first few episodes in that world were awesome!

The director of this drama really knows his stuff. The cinematography, set design and costumes were stellar. I wish MDL had a ratings section for the technical aspects of dramas because I would have given that a 10 plus. This drama was nothing if not beautiful to look at, both technically and aesthetically.

I really enjoyed Jang Geun Suk in this role. He has improved as an actor and really seemed mature. His acting wasn't as stiff or forced as I have felt from him in other dramas/movies I have watched. I adored Joon during so many moments of this drama. I enjoyed Yoona too. Their characters and their love story was in many ways adorable!

But somehow the writing of this drama fell flat for me...grew redundant and boring. It was likable but I am still confused as to where it went wrong for me. I think somewhere around episode 16 I began to struggle to keep my interest unless the main pairing was on screen together. The plot just didn't grab me and follow through in an exciting way. The final episode was cute but also at the same time, a bit choppy and didn't flow smoothly.

The Older Couple just made me kind of sad and I wish I could have felt the passion carry over in the adult version of the pair that I felt from them during the scenes from the past. It seemed that in every conversation they said the same thing over and over.

I liked the music but nothing really grabbed me, made me groove or move me emotionally.

Ultimately I would have to say that if I could condense this drama down to 16 episodes and keep the main (modern day) pairing on screen I could have given this a higher score. Gah! I wanted to LOVE Love Rain!

And because I was fond of this drama and because of the main leads...I am bumping this up to an 8 when realistically in my head, I think it probably deserves lower.

My re-watch value is set at 5...middle of the scale. I know I probably won't watch again.

But I say this...I have much more respect for Jang Geun Suk as an actor. He was also extremely adorable... And the director really did a great job. If only I could say the same about the writing and plot.

*sigh*

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I maybe the first one to give this a lower score but in all honesty as much as I want to give it a 10, I couldn't. I give this a solid 8.

This had all the recipe that I look for in a drama. it is dark, moody, raw and sad.I got hyped when I found out that it was the same director as MISAENG and SIGNAL and especially when I checked that it beat SIGNAL as the top rated drama here in MDL. But it wasn't depressing enough for me. Yes there were scenes that made me tear up but it was just like a scratch, I want it to be skin deep just like what MISAENG, DEAR MY FRIENDS and LIVE did where scene after scene it kept piercing my heart all the way through. Although that wake scene at the last episode made me cried buckets of tears, that's what I've been missing throughout the drama, give me more of that emotional-punch-to-your-soul scenes.

The major hold back in this drama for me is the love story of his brother and that actress, to me it was lackluster and took too much screen time, it was like my tears are about to fall from the leads'scenes and then it gets cut by their lousy romance story. it was well acted though but TBH it was unnecessary to highlight their story in which I wished that they could've put the spotlight more on Jang Ki Yong's story.

Jang Ki Yong's character's story was the big miss. To me his story is much more interesting than the two brothers honestly. his inner conflicts within himself is so captivating to watch. The way his character developed and gradually finding out why he is living that way was not stretched enough. I wanted more from him.

But man what a departure this is for IU from her previous roles. I think this type of character suits her personality more that's why she was able to pull off a stunning performance. And can we talk about Mr. ahjussi for a moment, why does he always get cheated on by his wives? first on MY WIFE IS HAVING AN AFFAIR THIS WEEK and now this, poor thing.

p.s. that OST is golden! I would recommend y'all to listen to every song, it just breaks my heart.

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Narcissistic protagonist

I watched the whole drama just to confirm how bad the story is. In order to create a fresh narrative they portrayed a stereotypical narcissist who is cruel and toxic in every relationship she enters, and in the end, she becomes an even worse person. It's basically a twisted retelling of female empowerment, which fails miserably as a romance and it is offensive as a feminist plot. I would never classify this story as 'polyamory' because that would mean that there is honesty and acceptance from all parties involved. What FM did was lie at the beginning, take advantage of the emotional dependence of the ML when they find out about each other, and toss them aside when the hype of the relationship passed. Traditionally we see the same situation with the man in the manipulative role but it doesn't make it acceptable by reversing the genders (that's why I think it offends feminism to say that this is some kind of "girl power"). There is no ending that would validate this plot but the authors certainly went above and beyond to create the worst possible one. And if you relate to the story on any level, I strongly suggest that you seek psychiatric help.

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I've been really disappointed with the amount of hate that this drama received. Even the ratings didn't give it justice.
I'll be honest and say that the whole drama contains all the elements of the typical romantic K-drama. But we shouldn't focus only on the story and forget the cast. I think that the cast is the best thing in this drama. Ji Chang Wook is -as ever- perfect at conveying his emotions and feelings. I also discovered Won Jin Ah for the first time in Melting Me Softly. Her acting is really good and the two protagonists had and incredible chemistry.

At some points, I found some scenes really sappy and even noticed some plot holes. But overall, this drama is suitable for everyone who is looking for a typical romance with a very handsome male lead and a beautiful female lead.

I think that Ji Chang Wook could have done better for a comeback drama in comparison with his previous projects. I really like him for being able to demonstrate the feelings of his character with incredible sincerity. In Melting Me Softly, I felt like crying during some scenes and especially the last episode. Concerning his acting skills, he's never disappointed me.

To resume, I would say to everyone thinking about watching MLS don't get your expectations very high concerning the story. It's a typical romantic drama. However, if you're looking for wonderful chemistry and a happy ending then go for it. After all, it has Ji Chang Wook as the male lead !!!

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unexpectedly dark for a lighthearted romcom

Overall: I was okay with this as a 'turn your brain off' romcom, but then there was an extremely dark plot line (also zero consequences for a trash character?!?) and the plot ran around in circles (definitely could have been 8 episodes instead of 12). I'm rating this more harshly because GMMTV has the money and experience to make an excellent series. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed with this one. Aired on GMMTV's YouTube channel. Later re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40373c-a-boss-and-a-babe

Content Warnings: past rape for 3 years involving a child/step parent, past suicide, mental health struggles, non con/dub con touching, homophobia, fight/beaten up, non con picture taking/posting, unwanted public outing

What I Liked
- good friendship dynamics (and that they raised the difficulty of the boss/employee romantic dynamic)
- Yacht with his blue hair
- the established couple is adorable (but they didn't get enough screen time nor a plot)
- addressing mental health struggles (except that Cher should not have talked about Jack without Jack's prior approval and they also made it seem like everyone was happy that Jack stopped taking medication when in reality as I understand it medication is something to be taken as a management strategy, it's not a long term cure)
- a supportive ex
- neutral, comedy sound effects

Room For Improvement
- this was oddly very dark, I think they still could have had some serious parts (focusing on the mental health struggles as an example), but it almost felt disrespectful to have the rest be a light romcom, I'm not sure how to explain this but I didn't like the combo of extremely serious plot with silly plot
- lack of consequences for a trash character and instant forgiveness for the mom
- Thup, there are things that even if your loved one says you should keep secret that you don't keep secret and tell the authorities/school personnel and what was going on was one of those things. Thup wasn't a young child, he should have been around 12 to 15 when this was happening and then afterwards to let rumors circulate about Cher, he did not seek justice for his sibling and he had the gall to blame Cher....ugh
- paper thin plot that went around in circles
- cliche poor communication with fully grown adults, Cher's totally stupid "plan" in episode 11
- consent problems: there were some things they did really well but there was also poor consent including Cher ignoring Gun's physical boundaries in the beginning, Gun locking Cher in his car, "if you don't let me touch you I'll kiss you instead"
- I realize they were going for comedy, but many jokes didn't make me laugh
- Gun letting Cher be jealous for his own entertainment instead of clearing up the miscommunication
- nonsense things (we won't get into the hr headache this would be in reality), Cher is never shown to be doing anything with his ASMR channel, we barely see him gaming
- the cringey title

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I have waited to watch this for about 3 months. During the last month I was constantly searching for it every day just to see if it was out. And when I finally found it u can't believe how exited I was.!! >_<

YeoJinGoo who's only 16 irl and playing the character of HwaYi was amazing. He has many scenes and the story was overall about him. His acting and performance was spectacular. The upbringing he had in this "family" containing 5 fathers and a women who was taking care of him. The things he had to go through and how it affected him. Him still being so soft and sane inside while hurting. Him laughing, crying, hurting, fighting and getting furious. The look in his eyes when he realized everything. OMG. I bet he's getting an award for this. Korea is all over him saying he's gonna be THE next TOP actor. Seriously the guy is only 16 but looks around 20. I can't believe I'am saying this but I LOVE HIM. He's smoking HOOOTTT and 4 years younger than me. His voice is so mature and sexy…. ahhh I'am boiling. xD
Every one of them deserves an award. The actors playing the father were great at their roles. They had me hooked on the spot.!!

The storyline was amazing. The concept of the monster and the symbolic meaning behind it was very well-thought. I looooveeed the action, fighting and car scenes. It was just perfect. I loved the pace of the story too. There wasn't a single moment I was bored.

Warning: It contains a lot of blood-splatter so it aint for the REALLY weak-minded. But if I was u I would watch it. It's a must watch. Goes right to my top 5.

ENJOY :D

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The story is a typical melodrama with some comedy, cute moments, and the supernatural thrown in. I get why the drama was cut short. The story was going nowhere fast. Maybe it was a lack of chemistry, but the romance was lacking. I appreciate the writer's attempt to delve into the psyche of a person with a horrible or devastatingly sad childhood. I also enjoyed the dynamics of all of the father son relationships. I just didn't see the point of the supernatural aspect. The story was just so pointless. It wasn't horrible. It is just nothing special even with all the potential. Plus the ending sucks.

I would have dropped this f it weren't for Lee Dong Wook. He strangely made Hong Bin seem real to me. Through the bad writing and quirky character I could see the man with a warm heart that was so in pain that he made himself and those around him miserable to the point that he grew blades. It is an interesting concept. Too bad that is all it was.
OMG...Shin Se Kyung will just never get better. She had her cute moments as Se Dong, but they seemed forced and in the end she reverted back to that blank stare. I knew it going in. I only have myself to blame. It wasn't all her though. The writing of her selfless character isn't great either.
The other actors are fine, but nothing stands out.

The music is OK.

I will NEVER rewatch this.

I don't recommend this drama. It is mediocre at best. I only gave it a 7 because of Lee Dong Wook. I probably over ranked it.

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No

A 10-hour-late head pop.

Just wasn't for me. Maybe you will get more out of it!

This drama is a train wreck. If you're looking for anything good – a decent story, interesting characters, watchable acting – just turn around now. Seriously, save yourself. This thing is a mess, and it's not just a harmless mess; it actually pushes some pretty toxic stuff, especially with the male lead.

The biggest problem is the writing. It's just bad. The story jumps all over the place, like the writers just threw a bunch of random scenes together and called it a plot. Nothing makes sense, and you're constantly wondering what's going on. The dialogue is even worse – it's full of cheesy lines and awkward conversations that'll make you cringe so hard you might pull a muscle. You won't remember a single line five minutes after you hear it. And the pacing? Don't even get me started. It's either dragging on forever or rushing through important stuff, which makes the whole thing super boring.

But the absolute worst part? The male lead. This guy is a walking red flag. He's not just bland; he's straight-up toxic. He's controlling, he ignores everyone's feelings, and he has zero respect for boundaries. And the worst part? The show acts like this is okay, even romantic sometimes, which is a seriously messed-up message to send. The actor doesn't help things either. His performance is so wooden and lifeless; it's like watching a robot try to act human, but a robot programmed with toxic masculinity. You never get why he does anything, you never feel for him, and you definitely don't root for him. He's just there, being awful and making the whole thing worse. His behavior shouldn't be excused; it should be called out.

And the side characters? They're totally useless. They're just there to move the terrible plot along, and they have no personalities of their own. They barely get any screen time, and when they do, they don't do anything interesting. They're just… there. They don't add anything to the story, and you forget about them as soon as they're off-screen. They're like background extras who accidentally wandered into the foreground. And they just accept the male lead's awful behavior, which makes it seem even more normal than it should.

The lack of decent side characters just makes the male lead's awfulness even more obvious. He's supposed to be the main focus, but he's completely empty and, honestly, kind of scary. There's no connection between any of the actors, especially with him, which makes everything even more awkward and uncomfortable.

Pros:
• It's a great example of what not to do in a drama.
• It's short, so at least you won't waste too much time on it (but even a little is too much).
• It might get people talking about toxic masculinity in shows.

Cons:
• The writing is awful.
• The characters are boring and badly written, especially the male lead, who's also toxic.
• The acting is terrible, especially from the male lead.

I hope that Lee You Mi gets better script next time. Definitely want to see her in more FL roles. This just isn’t it.

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Messy Sequel

First of all I only watched this cuz LYR was in it and the story was kinda interesting at first even though there were plenty of messy parts but ML and FL acting was really good some are saying they don't feel the chemistry but ig it's cuz they can't freely do pure romance cuz of FL actresses age.
I'm genuinely so disappointed of the times I even defended this drama on diff soc med platforms just for it to go downhill after 30+ eps and I actually really do like the Ximeng part UNTIL THEY MADE IT MORE COMPLICATED 😭💔.
Tbh Idc what anyone says but FL keeps making irrational and SELFISH decisions like I just don't get how u lit save each other and have the chance to be together BUT STILL DID NOT CHOOSE THAT 🤦‍♀️ like I'm career driven person myself but if I truly love someone and they sacrifice a lot for me, then why the heck not ill choose them over anything else.

Also the freaking ambitious ending oh fck noh 🙄 all that sacrifice and blood just for an open ending like btch it's straight up dog sht.

But overall I think the FL despite her age she's still incredibly talented and I hope she gets to have a proper drama cuz this drama made her a scapegoat. I truly feel bad on all the hate she's getting instead of blaming the writers and director.

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A Bittersweet love story of a wolf and a girl

guys go grab your tissues!! i bawl my eyes out.Such a heart breaking bitter sweet story, loved it so much.

I applauded Wang Da lu and Li Qin, they did great to act as Lang zai ( wolf boy) and Xing er ( Star)

When the female lead was young, she went to Wolf mountain and there she met a boy who was raised by wolf. She and the wolf would play together and she would forget about her sadness. Female lead ( Xing er) wanted to bring Lang Zai ( male lead ) to people and civilization. Meanwhile the people in town heard about how there is a scary beast inside Wolf Mountain. One day an official gets murder and the blame is on Lang Zai. The Ma family send their troops to find him. The Ma's son kills the wolves and hurts Lang Zai. He jumps off the mountain , Xing er gets her leg hurt trying to save Lang Zai. Fast forward 8years has pass. Lang zai was saved by the evil king, and healed him and trained him underground warrior, he is also given the new title as Bo Wang ( the 3rd prince). An order is sent to Bo wang's subordinates to kill the Ma family, but leave the daughter. ( the female lead's family is the Ma's) She is devastated, soon after she becomes Bo Wang's empress. Bo wang held a grudge against her because he though the Xing er betrayed him. He's initially cold to her but Xing er is sweet, pure and kind and what Bo wang does to her does not stop her from being kind. She brings warmth to the Bo wang household. Through a serious of encounter she figures out that Bo wang is Lang zai, who she has been longing for. They had their sweet moments but not for long they end up becoming enemies and fight against one another. ( there's a little more after that , but dont wanna ruin it all)

This story the relationship between the two is soooo sweet and cute! I loved the parts with Lang Zai and Xing er, just tooo cute, but their relationship is not all sweet. A lot of its really bitter because Lang Zai is no longer Lang zai but Bo wang, the third prince. He has to follow orders of the evil king. Xing er and Lang zai's relationship is so heart breaking and bitter sweet, i cried so much for their separation, hate and hurt. The sad parts are super sad and the sweet parts are like honey, tugs my heart strings so badly!!! Their kisses are very passionate and filled with chemistry.

I had second male syndrome!! I think a lot will like him Xiao Zhan !!! He was so kind and good to Xing er, only did good things to her, while Bo Wang hurt her alot!

This was the one drama that even though did not have the best ending I still liked it. It was really touching to see Xing er do that for Lang zai.

What I really liked was how she maintained a pure, kind heart even despite losing her family, betrayal, lies from Bo wang. She didnt really turn ruthless and cold hearted. In the end , she still had him in mind.

AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE MUSIC? so good!!! all the songs were perfect for the moments and sounded so good! i give the music like 20 out out 10. love love love it!!!

I didnt give such a high score for re watch because i dont want to go through all the crying...

I LOVED THIS DRAMA!!! GO WATCH IT PLEASE!!

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