Reviews

My love for Ji Chang Wook is no secret. Whenever he comes on-screen I have an almost physical reaction to him.

Really, you should watch me watch him.

I have a huge school-girl crush-y grin on my face, my heart starts palpitating and all the Aaahs and Ooohs on the spectrum emit from my mouth.

However, my personal bias aside, there is no denying that he is an excellent actor. No matter what role he's given, he puts in his 11O% and owns it. Unsurprisingly, he does the same in Suspicious Partner. I spent all my time swooning at his adorable actions, fawning at his beautiful face and admiring the way he is able to smoothly deliver so many expressions all at once.

My obsession with him is exactly the reason why I hate giving any drama JCW stars in, a rating less than 8. It makes me feel all sorts of 'disloyal', but unfortunately sometimes you just gotta tell it how it is.

And the 'it' here is the fact that aside from Ji Chang Wook, this show has little to nothing going on for it.

Suspicious Partner starts as a strong, romantic suspense drama but somewhere in between it loses its identity. So much so, that when we're done with it, it fails to properly execute either of the genres.

I want to give credit to the female lead, for she does try and do her best to be quirky but unfortunately, I don't feel much for her. She feels like a support role, at best. There's also the fact that I had to put a lot of effort in getting over her role as the annoying kid Queen Seon Duk, which was a feat in it self 'cause ten years later, her mannerisms are exactly the same as before.

While there is a good dynamic between Ji Wook's Law Team and some hilarious moments between them, nothing really stands out. The sisterhood and bromance has so much potential to be a golden point of the show but unfortunately, it is left untapped.

There is some majorly good acting put out by the antagonist but the show does not develop his character as much as it deserves to be.

The whole crime mystery is dead and very predictable. The second lead romance falls flat and more often than not, the drama stumbles into the realm of utter boredom.

There are some good OST songs here and there but again, there's nothing I would lose sleep over. A lot of questions are given unsatisfactory answers, plot-holes are abundant and so are convenient plot-devices.

The story-line is mediocre, if we're being kind. They use so many ideas from Ji Chang Wook's other shows. Some scenes are copy pasted from The K2, a whole plot-line regarding the heroine's father is taken from Healer and it is all just more of the same ol' same ol' bs.

If it wasn't for JCW, I'm sure I'd rate it even less. And even though I am an eternal fangirl; I love him to the moon and back and I think he is as perfect as always in this show, I will still say that I didn't see him go the extra mile here. This role couldn't have been a challenge for him and because I know that he's an incredibly versatile actor; I'm so ready for him to bring us something phenomenal and better than this.

So over-all I guess it's a good time-pass.
Not too bad, not too good but extremely forgettable.

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First impression: a exploration of desire and the consequences of following it blindly

The opening episodes of Only Friends: Dream On reveal a series that is very aware of its own appeal. Rather than softening the emotional chaos that made the franchise popular, the new season dives even deeper into it. The result is an intense start, filled with tension, provocation, and questionable decisions that always seem on the verge of setting the characters’ relationships on fire. There is a clear enjoyment in watching this game of messy emotions and poorly calculated impulses unfold, and the direction knows exactly how to make the most of that unstable atmosphere.

Much of this strength comes from the cast. The chemistry between the actors is the true engine of the narrative, and the camera often relies more on glances, pauses, and teasing than on long stretches of dialogue. The interactions carry a constant energy of attraction and conflict, creating a sense of unpredictability that keeps the viewer engaged. Some pairings thrive on the almost provocative friction between strong personalities, while others build a softer, slower tension. This variety helps prevent the drama from feeling repetitive, even when the story fully embraces its more exaggerated side.

Another strong point lies in how the series treats its characters as flawed people. No one appears entirely right or wrong, and much of the dramatic interest comes precisely from that moral ambiguity. Jealousy, insecurity, and desire are presented with very little filtering, giving the conflicts a raw and spontaneous tone. At the same time, the production maintains an engaging rhythm, balancing moments of intensity with pauses that allow emotions to build before eventually erupting.

On the other hand, the series occasionally stumbles over stylistic habits that attempt to add a level of sophistication that is not always necessary. The cuts to testimonial-style interviews, while intended to provide depth, sometimes interrupt the natural flow of scenes that would stand perfectly well on silence and subtle expressions alone. By over-explaining the characters' internal worlds, the script risks insulting the audience's intelligence, trading organic tension for a structured commentary that feels more like a safety net than a narrative leap.

There is also a slightly risky sense of comfort in the casting. By relying on pairings whose dynamics are already well known to fans, the narrative loses some of the “who will end up with whom” mystery, making the script feel a bit too dependent on the actors’ charisma rather than the unpredictability of the plot. Some musical transitions also feel somewhat dated, with a soundtrack that occasionally tries to dictate the emotional tone more loudly than the performances themselves.

Even so, these details rarely undermine the overall experience. Technical issues in mixing and pacing are easily forgiven thanks to the series’ willingness to present characters who are flawed, possessive, and delightfully human. Only Friends: Dream On does not try to be a philosophical treatise on love, but rather a vibrant exploration of desire and the disastrous consequences of following it blindly.

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Perfectly Imperfect Romance

MUST READ REVIEW IF YOU'RE HESITANT TO START THIS DRAMA :

This drama is based on a spin off ( original side plot ) from the manhwa(Korean comic) with the same name .
The original manhwa has a total different plot .
If you're here to watch a fantasy drama with God's fighting , or expecting fantasy things like power and more . Sorry to disappoint you there's no such plot as that .
Morelike the central plot of this drama is empty . It's the romance which has the main focus on . I don't believe you always need some quirky
twists to build up romance . The more the natural , the better it is

This drama is the maturest romance drama . This drama is what you call
" CANDID " . It has a new way of direction and plot writing which many people are unable to digest as they are used to watch bullshit . Those who demand unnecessary twists , a begginning and a ending .
It's slow initially but picks up the pace after episode 4 .
This drama is based on the interaction of a god and a human .
Their romance , fights , moods , jealousy , and somewhat comedy .
It was about the romance and love of a god and a human in the most human way ever . I mean how often do you come across a romance plot was has the power to continue itself with just focus solely on 2 leads .
It's tempting in that way . Slow , but worth it .

When people hear supernatural they always expect more ,
If you have watched My love from another star , that's it .
This drama has the same romance but without any powers or much of a fantasy .
As simple as that .
I always decide to watch a drama based on it's poster .
And it always pays off , this drama has a tempting poster . And mind you posters never lie .
Coming back ,
What surprised me was the interactions , the cinematography , the dialogues , the satire .
Both the leads do have a chemistry . I am a romance maniac and I don't watch things which don't connect .
This one did , and so I did .
I hesitated so much to watch this drama after reading such mean comments . But finally I did after 8 months . All the comments here are BULLSHIT which are criticizing this drama .
This isn't perfect , Yeah I accept that . But this isn't that bad .

They could have had made this drama a 100 or a 1000% times better ,
It's just like that irritating feeling that when you have such a great plot why not try to make it better . But I'm not disappointed with what I watched . Rather i enjoyed it to the fullest coz it was interesting .
THIS IS WORTH A WATCH . ONE OF THE BEST ROMANTIC DRAMA'S I HAVE EVER WATCHED MOREOVER THIS HAS THE BEST ROMANTIC SCENES . The scenes aren't copied . They are surreal , something that you could connect with .

Plot 8/10
Cinematography 10/10
Dialogues 10/10
Soundtrack 10/10
Acting 9/10

Overall 9/10

P.S : Somehow after reading the comments I felt people nowdays don't like mature romance . Maybe the audience who are watching this are teenage girls or boys . --_-- to make such abrupt bullshit statement about this drama .

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Nothing Cute About It

I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this drama and having liked Zee's acting in Why R U?, I decided to give it a shot. It was, quite frankly, a hot mess. I honestly don't even know where to begin. There was so little good about it and so much bad. It all felt very forced and unnatural and much of the story made little to no sense.

I was not impressed by the overly preachy beginning and ending dialogue. Do not get me wrong, I think same sex marriage should be legalized in all countries. That being said it felt out of place and unnecessary. I feel like there were more subtle ways of getting the point across that would have been more tasteful and again, less preachy.

The story was a complete and total mess. More than a romance, I felt like it was a drama about toxic relationships and how not to communicate. It is very and I do mean very, kiss scene heavy. I think those scenes were put in the drama to try to draw attention away from all the problems both in the story and in the relationships. Both Hias are depicted as being very controlling and possessive, to the point of wanting to know what their SO is doing at all times. While they try to portray this as them just being worried and caring, it came across as extremely unhealthy to me. For example, Hia Yi sets a curfew of 9pm for Khondiao who has to leave his friends in order to make said curfew in one scene. Hia Lian has had someone monitoring Kuea for who knows how long and is fully aware of the secret life he is living. Both men also seem quite unconcerned about the fact the men they love are afraid of them. The level of control the Hias have is just disturbing especially considering their SOs are grown men. At least with Yi and Khondiao's relationship, there is a moment where Khondiao stands up to Yi and their relationship seems to achieve some level of balance though still very much skewed in Yi's favor. Lian and Kuea's relationship, however, is stagnant for the entirety of the drama. Though Kuea has a few moments of defiance, in the end he always gives in to Lian. After the scene at Lian's father's birthday party, I was really hopeful to see a change, but it was basically everything back to normal with no real growth or resolution. Overall there was such a complete lack of character development.

On top of the toxicity of the relationships, there's the lack of explanation for why characters acted the way they did or why things are the way that they are. When and why did Kuea suddenly feel the need to act like a perfect person to suit Lian? When did Lian turn into the cold, emotionless jerk and why exactly did he tell Kuea he didn't love him? I felt like his reasoning and his initial behaviour was glossed over and dismissed far too easily for all the damage it did. Also, what was with the arranged marriage? Why was that in any way necessary? And how did their families even know each other since they were from such different backgrounds? The background was so completely lacking and nonsensical that there was no way anything else could make sense. On top of all that you have Yi and Khondiao's story which was incredibly vague and disjointed. I was actually semi-interested in it because of the mystery of what Yi did to Khondiao. The "mystery" was that Yi didn't actually do anything, it was an accident. And the flashback regarding that incident made it seem like they had a similar relationship to that of Lian and Kuea which was out of the blue as I never got that impression previously.

The plot positively drags. Scenes are drawn out that don't need to be drawn out or are just repeated multiple times. The couples keep lying to each other and failing to communicate. There's this constant theme of maybe telling the truth would be the best thing and then in the next scene they're lying to each other again. Its honestly so frustrating to watch because they never learn and even at the end, it doesn't feel like anything has really changed.

While the story was terrible, the acting was not. Zee and NuNew in particular had good chemistry and while there were a few moments where I felt like NuNew's acting was a bit forced or awkward, I thought he did really well for his first role. I also have to give a shout out to Poppy as Foie for bringing some much needed comedic relief. He was absolutely hilarious and I laughed every time he was onscreen.

The characterization, though, was lacking. I have rarely seen a drama with such stagnant characters. Very few had any real growth and most of them seemed to be in the same place at the end as they were at the beginning with nothing or very little learned from their experiences. That was very disappointing for me. I can generally forgive or at least mostly forgive a bad storyline/plot if the character development is good, but it just wasn't there.
-Kuea really does come across as a doll, maybe not an Annabelle doll, but a doll nonetheless. He acts the way he assumes others want him to and even when Lian tells him he loves him no matter what, he refuses to trust him. On the one hand, I can understand that lack of trust based on how Lian is at the beginning, but after a while it just seemed like an excuse. His roundabout way of trying to get information was also frustrating, adding to the whole lack of communication theme. His constant assumptions made things worse for himself and others. In the end, I didn't really feel like he had learned how to communicate to prevent the same issues from recurring.
-Lian's cold then hot attitude was confusing and, again, never clearly explained. It also felt overdone and too abrupt going from his cold boss persona to adoring partner. I feel like that could have been pulled back to make it somewhat more believable. Based on his personality, I have trouble imagining someone like him making out in public. And although his attitude changed to lovey-dovey, he still came across as controlling.
-Khondiao came across as more of a kid than an adult so taking his relationship with Yi seriously was a bit of a stretch. I did appreciate him standing up for himself though and I felt like he had more character development than others. He seemed more able to stand on his own and stand against Yi if necessary at the end.
-Yi seemed like a sadist who enjoyed the control he had over Khondiao and the fear he could incite. He supposedly feels guilty towards him for something that happened during their childhood, and so takes care of him, allowing him to live in his house. But, he does control much of his life, wanting to know where Khondiao is at all times and even setting a curfew for him. The communication between the two is just nonexistent. They get together without discussing any of their issues really and it just feels so forced. While he does soften, he doesn't ever seem to trust that Khondiao can take care of himself and remains overbearing.
-I can't say that I had much of an opinion about the other side characters. Foie was an amusing diversion when he was onscreen and added some much needed comedic relief. Kuea's university friends were also amusing. Of them, I did enjoy Nuer and Syn's love story. As a side couple, their story was not really elaborated on, but they made a cute couple and were by far the healthiest relationship.

There were two moments that I particularly appreciated, though one promptly got thrown out the window shortly thereafter. The first is just before Lian and Kuea have sex for the first time, Lian asks for Kuea's consent, making sure that he's not drunk and knows what he's doing. It was nice to see since most dramas just imply that both parties are consenting. To actually have it verbally given was refreshing. That was promptly thrown out the window multiple times afterward when Kuea clearly says no or to stop and Lian keeps kissing him. Apparently you only need to ask the first time and its fair game after that. The second moment was when Kuea is with his university friends and one of them asks the sole woman in their group if she's on her period because she's cranky. She gives him a proper verbal beatdown that was kind of awesome to see.

As a side note, I always have an issue with the way most pets are treated in Asian dramas and this one was no exception. Aside from the Golden Retriever who, unsurprisingly, seemed to be content being on set and getting pets, the Chihuahua really bothered me. The poor thing's body language screamed that he was stressed and did not want to be there. I felt so bad watching. And also, having Yi give him as a gift, just no. It is never a good idea to give an animal as a gift, there are too many things that could go wrong. And I will now step off my soapbox.

The music was overall good. I did like NuNew's voice and I think he's frankly a stronger singer than actor. I didn't love the song that Lian and Kuea sing to each other though so having to hear it twice was a bit painful. Actually both those scenes in general were just awkward to watch.

I will also comment that the whole engineering/university setting is massively overused and this was no exception. While the automotive engineering aspect was different and more interesting with the students working on their project, it still felt repetitive.

This is not a drama that I would ever recommend anyone to watch. It has no substance and instead promotes toxic relationships as being hot. It uses steamy scenes to make up for the fact it is lacking in anything remotely genuine. At times it felt like an infomercial about gender equality, but I couldn't take it seriously because none of the couples, aside from Nuer and Syn, portrayed anything resembling a healthy and normal relationship. I highly recommend NOT wasting your time with this one.

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First off, kudos to Yoo Ah In and Lee Jee Hoon for each having eye candy take-your-shirt-off scenes.

The acting for the rest of the cast was at least commendable, except for Se Kyung who was mostly crying or running back to Young Gul with that expressionless face of hers.

There were too many loose ends here that half way through the drama, it felt like they were writing an entirely new script.

I feel that Jae Hyuk was one of the most believable character in this drama. He is a young chaebol with a tyrant father who beats the sh*t out of him and a typical rich mother who constantly meddles with his love life. He is a confident and arrogant businessman who wants to be at the top of the fashion industry but always stops short at meeting his father's expectations.

At least, I understand why he would fall in love with the helpless, absent-minded and doe-eyed Ga Young because he feels that with all the pressures in his life, there is one thing that he is capable of, and that is his to help Ga Young reach her dreams of becoming a top designer and in turn this gives him strength.

Young Gul, however is an emotionally unstable, struggling designer cum knock-offs factory owner and a greedy, conniving and deceitful man who feels that rich people like Jae Hyuk has the moral obligation to help him every time he is short in cash. The depiction of his character is so extreme that I don't think anybody else can pull it off other than Yoo Ah In.

The entire runaway from thugs because you bedded the boss' woman and be an illegal migrant to America part is just so crazily random that it doesn't add to anything in the drama.

I think that the fierce competition between Jae Hyuk and Young Gul's businesses and Ga Young's love would have suffice as the main reason why they want to kill each other.

Anna and Jung Ah are the worst antagonists everrr. Thank heavens for the crazy woman aunt and the sadistic rich father!

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You know when you start writing a review and you realise you may as well be writing about every third-rate Korean rom com? Well, that's this show.

People will love it if they like that sort of thing, even if it's not even the best example of it. But if you're tired of everything about the setup and execution of romcoms then strictly avoid. The worst thing about this show is that it was made in 2017 but feels much older in how regressive it is.

Candy is here in all her incompetent, self-absorbed, whiny victimhood and she falls for Chaebol in all his asshole finery. Candy is a nutritionist, not like that matters either to her or anyone else. Especially not to the writer who seems to have only a vague notion of what nutritionists do for a living. It's just a new way to throw her in the path of Chaebol, with whom she shared a (naturally drunken) one night stand three years before. Can't have anyone thinking she's a slut by letting her choose to sleep with a guy when she's sober.

At the beginning of the show, there was quite a nice connection between these two characters. Both were incompetent losers even if one of them was a rich one. But when the show shifted forward three years, any goodwill from their initial interactions was quickly lost as he uses his position of authority to bully her and she acts like both a martyr and an idiot about it - not necessarily in that order. Episode after episode involved him ordering her to bring him food and then either abusing, insulting or harassing her when she did. She endured, as Candy does, and still liked him even after all of this. Dude must have been amazing in the sack. That's the only explanation.

There's a second female lead in this. I don't even need to tell you about her - you already know. Get a life, old-school second female leads. You're pathetic. There's a thing called feminism. It's well over 100 years old. You might have heard about it. It'll help.

There's also a second male lead. You've met him too. He's perfect and in love with the female lead but at least he never Nice Guys her so he has that going for him. He deserved to be in a better show.

While Asshole Chaebol at least retains a core of vulnerability that allows you to keep some sympathy for him as a character, Candy is endlessly self-absorbed and wedded to victimhood, especially around her mother and the dreaded S.E.X. on account of being a good girl and not one of those sluts.

One of the show's biggest fakeouts revolves around Candy's little brother whom she treats as a burden and refers to as "her dog" so people won't discover the scandalous fact that he exists. These are not her finest moments in a show filled with extremely poor behaviour on her part. One of my chief gripes about romcoms is that they only include sex if they want to do a pregnancy fakeout. I was willing to give the show credit for not going there except - oh no, it went there! Not only did it include it but it executed it in the most annoying, most sexist, and most horrible way possible.

Basically, this show is a quintessential old-school Korean romcom dripping with sexism and misogynism, double standards, nun/whore dichotomies and a female lead who is as annoying as she is useless. Her actions especially in the final episode are teeth grindingly annoying.

Some people who love this kind of thing will no doubt be annoyed by how much I hated this show. I just think it's a shame that shows like this are still being made.

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Its a struggle to decide a fair score. It would depend on your expectations. I started not really expecting much and found myself surprised by Min Ah who made Gong shim very endearing and cute. Then theres Nam goon Min's Ahn Dan tae, super goofball that makes him different among many k dramas over the years. This was a pairing i wasnt sure will work on paper but onscreen their sparring hair pulling and banter was an easy watch. Throw in a second male lead Jun Soo that was puppy cute and a nicely written bromance with Dan tae. Suddenly im game for more episodes.

Then the focus was lost or shall i say shifted. The Dan tae birth secret and uncovering culprit should have and would have made an okay side plot. Instead this thin plot with an unremarkable antagonist (that was transparent and revealed very early on) was stretch to fill many episodes. If they had stared true on the Gong shim path, more on her character development, growth in career and confidence and interactions with both Dan tae and Jun soo this drama would have been better. Instead she became a prop, mostly on the sidelines and only utilise when the writers feel like it.

Overall the storyline is forgettable but i will remember the wig, the brush Gong shim used to brush her teeth and some of the cuter moments of the trio.

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Volcano meets a Tornado !

Oh boy I have a lot to say about this drama, and I invested my time worth of 59 episodes to watch this so I really do have A LOT to say on this.
First and foremost, the basic story is nice. Actually it is really good. Although I was tad creeped out by Xianji suddenly turning to a man and I was swept into a world of BL (which I totally like, only creeped out because I was not expecting it), the drama have a strong backstory. One could almost feel the pain the FL character went through in her past, (mainly because the star of mosha done a better job in acting than the god of war). And although I did feel sympathy for Si Feng, in the later episodes, the more he felt pain the more I found myself rolling my eyes, honestly is there any episode where he did not fell pain or was acting like a fool in love sacrificing himself, or comically jumping in front of the blade?

Summarized review (SPOILERS)

i) Slow and gradual process of love story. We can relate to the love story and it feels quite natural (as compared to Ashes of Love where everything seemed forced). However I personally find myself more moved by the 'sacrificing' part, probably because the ML sacrificed himself way too much that it lost the gravity, or perhaps the deliverance way not upto the mark. (or maybe I am still caught in the aftermath of Ashes of Love)

ii) The secondary characters were interesting in a way, and perhaps not so interesting in another. Honestly I did not care too much about Linglongs storyline, and her trauma really did not make any sense to me. I mean, it was the flower demon who did all that, and sure they are sharing same memories and all but why was she so affected by it? I found it rather bother than being sympathetic to be honest. Same goes for the Lize palace lords love story which rather feel stretched to be honest. But I think it might have contributed to the storyline and perhaps it was necessary but I found myself bored to the core. Now the storyline I found more interesting was of the fox and monkey, the fluff was just amazing. That reminded me, I really do not like silver snake and her death did not move me to tears sorry.

iii) The villains were... confusing. The deputy palace lord who never seems to die, dijun, who disappeared easily without any sort of punishment for all the things he done, and wu tong, for a mere mortal, dang, he did made the mighty demons run for their lives.

iv) The righteous sec leaders were just a no-no. They were harshly accusing someone with no evidence. Also arent they supposed to be kinda strong? But honestly the sec leaders felt really weak.

v) The final arch of the flask or torch or whatever that thing was tipping over to destroy the world??? Dear lord where did that come from???

Xuanji - At first she seems so childish, to an annoying level. Sure, its her naivety, so it can be pardoned. Her character development was steady, and it was sort of nice to see. However, the might of god of war was not that satisfying, in a way it made no sense? Sure she is the god of war but even the immortals cant stop her? Even when she is just a mortal? Now why is that just weird? Even with the misunderstandings, she stayed (or tried to) stay loyal to Si Feng, now that was satisfying (I am looking at you, Ashes of Love). Although she tried her best to portray the emotions, I rather felt it was fake when she did most of the time.

Sifeng - Apart from him spitting out blood all the time, and jumping in front of the blades to protect xuanji (probably because that god awful god of war armour was as useless as it seems), and sacrificing himself for love which he seems to be doing from the very beginning to the end, I really cannot understand his character. To say honestly, he really seems to lack a character outside the 'lost in love' thing. I was waiting for him to flutter his wings and show everyone that he was the son of the heavenly emperor and make everyone fall to their knees, but it never really came. It was like I waited all for nothing. Till the very end, his only character was to sacrifice and dot on Xuanji in a very toxic relationship which everything seems one sided if we look at it this way (but lucky for us its not because we know she was loyal to him) But I must say, him as the lord of Lize palace had me drooling. I mean im always drooling over him whenever he is not there spitting blood (which is like 90% of the time)

Linglong - Idk she annoys me.

Sixth senior - There was nothing much to say about him, although I found him and linglon lack chemistry and perhaps that was why the whole storyline felt dull.

I am lazy to go on about other characters.

It was a nice drama, although the story felt lacking in the later episodes, I dont regret watching it. The costumes were amazing, so was the setting. The CG was worthy to be praised. The supporting casts were amazing with their work. The OST was not that great, I expected something more. (lets blame Ashes of Love again). And the fluff was just heart eyes. but would I go back and watch it all over again? No.

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I consider high school to be the worst part of my life; the pressure, the stu-dying, the loneliness, the bullying, the unnecessary competition among students, continuous never-ending exams, the physical and mental weariness ect. More or less we can all relate, therefore you can imagine my excitement starting a drama that depicts exactly that.

Solomon’s perjury is a dark, gritty drama, taking a realistic spin on the awful, inhumane educational system, the gloomy side of teenagers -bullying as one of the main topics-, the lack of compassion of grown-ups and the general selfishness of people caring only about their lives and nothing more. The drama illustrates a very clear and vivid picture of school system and teenage life not only in Korea per-se but on a world-wide spectrum.

The drama is centered in a high school where a student presumably commits suicide, or did he? The students take things to their own hands and try to find what exactly happened after the disinterest of the adults. Solomon’s perjury primarily focuses on two elements; firstly the unfairness of the educational system and secondly the rough life of adolescents.

We get very close insight on how the educational system works, teachers and professors caring much less than expected about the education of their students, but mostly want to secure their jobs and reputation of their school. Furthermore, not only we understand how private schools work, where equity is sacrificed in the name of money –as everything else-, but also how no adult really cares about justice but essentially for their own profit and well-being.

Furthermore, we see first-hand how the students cope with their cruel reality. Talking about barbaric situations, bullying in school as well as domestic violence take the first wheel here presenting the severe repercussions they have on teenagers. The drama focuses heavily on the brutal reality of students having to take on numerous exams, unceasing pressure to succeed and be perfect as well as endure heartless teachers, problematic classmates and merciless parents. Several strong messages sent here as well targeting domestic violence and bullying most significantly: “violence only breeds violence, but in the end it’s also a choice!”

It was inspiring to see a bunch of 18 year olds caring much more about justice and fairness than people who get paid to do so, showing that kids even in the midst of their beefs are way more lawful than adults.

The drama is quite short and I’d say fast paced. It focuses on 3-4 specific characters trying to solve this case and their personal lives at home. I’d describe Solomon’s Perjury as an ambitious mystery thriller. It had its fair share of twists and it was interesting from start to finish and strong but I can’t say most of it wasn’t predictable. Still very entertaining though.

Having said all that, I can’t deny for a drama wanting to depict something real and significant it went on an increasingly unrealistic route to stay original. While I do appreciate where the writers were coming from and all the serious and important issues they addressed, I can’t deny I raised my eyebrow in front of the way the plot was developed.

The students decide to start their own school trial to solve this case and find the truth. What type of authority this school trial has? Considering students were barely interested in signing the petition to start the trial in the first place the auditorium was awfully packed when the trials started. Suddenly the students cared? We get a bunch of 18 year olds playing court, acting like proper prosecutors and attorneys and actually starting talking like ones. How? Did they stop studying for their high school final exams and picked up some legal books or they’ve watched too many legal dramas?

On top of that they started calling themselves prosecutors, attorneys and judges. You are students accept it! And to top it all off, when this little joke started getting out of hand, attacking teachers ect, the teachers barely did anything as well as the parents. The “judge” who was supposed to be a suppressed kid who only studied was yelling at his mother “take her out of the auditorium” and she just walked out? My mother would have come up to me, slapped me and dragged me out by the ear… I didn’t know if this was a bunch of kids playing court or a legal drama set in a high school somehow. This was all just too much to go with and accept.

What’s more, the seemingly normal, ordinary students started feeling increasingly difficult to relate to, acting like brats with psychological problems or one-dimensional wannabe “prosecutors” who couldn’t keep their emotions at place. At some point I felt the need to scream, y’all need serious psychological support before trying to solve anything. There’s only so much I can blame to troubled characters and abusive parents. 80% of the parents happened to be awful people somehow; just too convenient, a tad too much if you ask me.

In all its questionable nature Solomon’s perjury did leave a strong and memorable impression which is enough for me to recommend to everyone who wants to watch something more serious than usual and is into school dramas and crime mysteries.

Since this is a habitual question I’ll mention it. The drama offers only limited and subtle comic relief, while it has little to no romance, so you’re informed about what you’re getting into.

The acting was pretty satisfying considering I’d never seen any of the actors before this and all of them are very young. However, I can’t say any of the performances was memorable. Still, I’d love to see each of them again in the future nonetheless, especially Jang Dong Yoon who left the strongest impression.

Even in its far-fetched nature Solomon’s Perjury sent a lot of meaningful messages like the fact that we barely know the people around us, but it’s in our hand to acknowledge and appreciate them; the significance of friendship, forgiving ourselves firstly and those who wronged us, the unlimited potential of life and most importantly an extremely strong message of never giving up. No matter how difficult it might be today, there is always a brighter day coming tomorrow. If it’s winter today, just remember spring is coming!

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Must Watch- One of the best I have seen.

First of all, just. wow. This drama is definitely one of the best dramas since when I first entered the drama world in 2015.

Story: I found it really entertaining and suspenseful, and I like the story from my point of view. Again I repeat my point of view, we all have different opinions so don't judge :). I do feel like there were some mistakes in the storyline, but however, the majority was good.

Acting: The cast is very good, definitely gives you like " heroic" vibes, the directors also made the fighting seems VERY realistic.. It is my first time watching the FL drama and I find her acting very natural, definitely will be watching more of her works. And same with ML. As well as the supporting characters, although they might be sometimes a tiny winny bit irritating.

Rewatch Value: Even though I have just seen 12 episodes and I already started to rewatch so definitely 10/10, Update, I just finished the 51 episodes, for sure will be re-watching the series.


Music: I found the music very nice, and one thing very special is it actually RELATES to the drama. Like it will relate the plot, for example, the sword, lyrics.


For sure a must watch

Warning: I gave this a ten mainly because I feel like this can just be a quick drama to watch, and fill your time, but I wound't obsess over it. However I love it in which its nearly perfect that it keeps you busy for days when you are finishing. THIS IS NOT THE DRAMA FOR DETAILS, :D

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tried something different

Overall: though it was cool how they tried something different, the tonal shifts and writing didn't work for me. 12 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired uncut on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/jack-joker-u-steal-my-heart-episode-1-l2dlqwi91c?lang=en_us (I watched the uncut version which originally was the only MDL listing, if there is a cut version released at a later date that I can watch, I'll try to update this with the differences)

Content Warnings: past suicide, suicide, attempted suicide, theft, violence/beaten up, blood, bullying, attempted kidnapping, coercion, manipulation, punch, kidnapping, blood

Watch Suggestions starting at ep 5 (uncut timings) (to take out nonsense plot, brutality and focus on the leads' relationship, I might go back thru earlier episodes for suggested timings later)
- episode 5 watch 5:30-9:30 and 16-50:50 if you want to see a caper, otherwise watch 9:30-12:40 and 50:50-56:55 for 2 hurt care scenes
- episode 6 watch the beginning to 9:10, 16-21:40, 24:45-29:30 and 38-1hr2m30s
- skip episode 7
- episode 8 watch 1hr10m45s to the end
- episode 9 watch 1hr4min to the end
- episode 10 watch beginning to 5 and then 12-12:45
- skip episode 11
- episode 12 watch 53:30-54:20 and 1hr 24 to the end

What I Liked
- best grandma ever
- unique premise
- sweet/flirty/caring moments
- fight/action sequences
- grey protagonists
- how Jack called out his coach and then the coach apologized and got his karma
- non cliche female character

Room For Improvement
- tonal shifts between inept comedy caper and brutality/action
- the romance took a backseat to the nonsense plot
- characters were stupid and inept
- because 2 characters relished in violence at the beginning of episode 5, it made me uninterested in any romantic pairings with them involved
- ep 1 started with a flash forward
- I didn't laugh at most of the jokes including the food poisoning/farting
- there were a ton of nonsense things, one example being it didn't make any sense why a character was so angry at another character when the result would have been exactly the same
- failed redemption arcs
- the character acting like someone with less money and then having fake dirt on him was in bad taste and the knock off Squid Game video game thing was completely uninteresting
- a character's instance on something in the NC scene in ep 10 felt dated
- characters just stood around while a character was hauled off by very shifty looking dudes
- lack of trust between romantic partners
- lack of consequences for several characters

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Due to explicit scenes, no minor should watch that movie.

When I heard about this movie, I thought "Tssss, another movie with a poor plot standing as an excuse to say it's not porn". Then I red international critics praising it, so it got me curious. I saw the trailer, and I knew I had to watch it.

There is a plot. It's the tense fight between a rich that seems to have everything since his birth, and a poor that desperatly want to survive without anyone's help. One who fall in love at first sight, and the other who wants to avoid feelings. Who will give up first?

This movie uses silences as a real way of speaking. Since you won't have one useless line, each one is used wisely. Same thing goes for the shots. I really, really liked the way this movie was directed.

I can understand though that this movie isn't for everyone. Personnally, I'm not fond of Yaoi, so I even skipped some scenes

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It was ok

The setup with ML tormented over a friends death and FL appearance were basically pointless as soon enough this settles into standard fair.

1. Pedestrian/Car accident despite all the time in the world to avoid? check
2. Love triangle where center (FL in this one) is oblivious? check
3. Mean mom suddenly overcome with grief when learning of child's hardships years too late and suddenly all is forgiven? check
5. Character disappears overseas for an extended time and returns with no advance word. check
6. Pointless breakup? check
7. Hospital visit due to gastrointestinal issue? check
8. Third wheel heroically gives up and helps main leads get back together after being annoying the entire show? check
10. Best friend betrayal to return later to allow lead to forgive to show how wonderful lead is? check

It's like there's a list that must be checked off at all costs to the story and characters. Still as formulaic as it is, it's not offensively bad.

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