Reviews

Ripley's syndrome

I'm adding this review only because the synopsis is vague and doesn't help you decide whether to watch it or not. The tags however are helpful. I googled Ripley's Syndrome which is described as a antisocial personality disorder where one makes up grandiose lies and believes in this distorted reality. The person feels no shame or sympathy for his/her victims. This last point however doesn't quite fit the depiction about Anna as she does seem to experience guilt and shame.

From this, you can kind of guess the storyline. I'm going to leave it here as I've only watched 2 episodes. However I will add that Bae Suzy is again the consummate actor. She has once again turned a flat 2D script into a 3D person with complex and often conflicting emotions and motivations, and really made the character hers. I look forward to watching the rest of the series, thankfully only 8 episodes in all, and will be back at the end with a deeper review.

Updated: I have now finished watching the whole series. 8 episodes cut down to 6 and I can say that the last 2 episodes were the weakest in the whole show. Clearly there's been heavy editing to fit the last 4 episodes into 2 and for no apparent reason. It's puzzling that they needed to cut; were that ratings bad? If ratings were so bad, why are they going to broadcast and extended version in August?

I have downgraded my overall rating because of these last 2 episodes. Pity. I certainly won't be watching the extended edition in August.

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STORY: This was probably the most inventive and creative dramas/story plot I've seen in the Korean entertainment industry yet! I adore fantasy because it strikes the imagination part of the brain in a fun way and I've seen some fantasy-genre Korean dramas but they don't involve a lot of fantasy elements. Most dramas I've seen that are labeled as "fantasy" or "supernatural" usually use these elements to support a story. They were more tools to carry the story along rather than being the main focus. 'Queen In Hyun's Man' was the closest I've seen to making fantasy as the main focus point, but still lacked emphasis on the genre. This drama really made the "fantasy" element THE main focus and you see the story support the genre rather than the other way around. I'm so proud and happy for Kim Eun Sook. She did a FANTASTIC job writing this drama! The world she created was so vivid and realistic in the sense that if there were such thing as goblins and grim reapers in this world, she made the idea fit into our 'real world' construct to make it believable that they might actually exist. I thought it was unique to have the idea that there were many grim reapers, instead of just one, and that they were organized in a governmental way. The reasons for their amnesia were pretty sound and the search for the goblin's bride was pretty inventive. Kim Eun Sook could've been lazy with the why of everything and make them the most conventional reasons possible, but she definitely took great stride into creating a story that weaved in and out with every action and every decision so that almost everything had a meaning and a real reason behind them. Kim Eun Sook did a sublime job fleshing out the characters too! They definitely aren't the cookie-cutter type of characters you usually see in almost all romance Korean dramas, and I super appreciate that! It gets soooooooo unbelievably boring when I see the same type of character over and over again in every typical romance drama. Especially the male characters. They always turn out to be super mean and only to the main female character, but has a hard time expressing their feelings from their golden hearts. -__- !!

ACTING/CAST: This has been the best casting I've seen EVER! I'm not even joking! My favorite actress (for the current time) is Kim Go Eun and even though she's still young in the industry, she has AMAZING acting talents! She pulled off her character without a hitch. Same goes for Gong Yoo, who is a veteran in the entertainment industry and brings flourishes of experience from his time in the k-drama and k-movie business. Lee Dong Wook also did surprisingly well in this drama, although I still wish he was a bit more expressive. Maybe I'll get some upset comments about this, but he always seems to have this same indifferent look about him in every drama I've seen him in. But still, he did great in this drama, despite this fact. I considered Yoo In Na as a bit of a newbie in the entertainment business, but glad she got to be in this drama because I definitely see good potential to grow her acting talents and be a very talented actress. Also have to give props to Yook Sung Jae and Lee El for their great portrayals of our Gods. Lee El has really good potential to be a great actress as well and hope that after being exposed in this drama, she'll have the opportunity to be in many more dramas as well. Maybe in a lead? She's always been the side character, haha!

MUSIC: I don't really pick on the music unless it's extremely good or extremely ill-fitting. Goblin's soundtrack was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! It fit the tone of the drama so perfectly and carried the emotional and lighthearted scenes so PERFECTLY! This is one of those rare moments where I want to download the whole track list to my phone so that I can listen to it whenever and where ever! What people don't often notice is that the music of a drama and the story is kind of like two halves of a whole. They really do have to fit well together or else the overall picture/concept of the drama becomes a little....off. But these two fit together absolutely perfectly!

OVERALL: I was going into this drama with big apprehension because the writer was Kim Eun Sook, who also wrote Descendants of the Sun, which I was absolutely bored to tears with. With the awesome cast in this drama but with Kim Eun Sook being the writer, I was worried that she would do the same thing as she did with DOTS. But I was thankfully relieved and pleasantly surprised! I know I sung praises up and down in this review for this drama, but please keep in mind that I rarely ever do this unless it demands that kind of praise. There's really only one other drama I gave a 9/10 or above and that was Liar Game (Korean version). This drama was well-directed, well-acted, and put together so well and so impressively that I really can't help say nothing but great things about it! The only reason why I gave this drama 9.5/10 instead of 10/10 is because of 'the contract' reasoning for our goblin (don't think that's a spoiler because you'd have to watch and know what the contract was) But other than that little lazy reasoning, Usually, I leave about a week to review a drama because I don't want the added hype of my own excitement to affect a review, but I'm very confidant that my thoughts and feelings for this drama will not waver for the reasons I wrote in this review, even as time passes. I would wholeheartedly watch this again and again! The cast, the story, and the music all blend and mesh together so well that it's painted the most beautiful picture I've seen yet!

NOTE: This is a somewhat slow-paced drama, so please understand that before watching. Some people don't like slow-paced because of our tendency to want instant gratification (especially with the younger folks, haha) But to be honest, this drama wouldn't have done so well if it were more fast-paced. I think being slow-paced as it is was the perfect speed for the story. If it were any faster, we'd be left with a less desirable ending and very rushed story.

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“A Medical Tension That Never Quite Takes Off"

Really wanted to like Doctor on the Edge. With Lee Jae Wook and Shin Ye Eun leading the cast, plus the unique setting of a doctor working on a remote island, it had all the ingredients for a heartwarming medical drama.
The first few episodes were genuinely promising. The island setting was refreshing, the medical cases were interesting enough, and I was curious to see how the characters would grow. Unfortunately, that's where the excitement ended.

After the strong start, the drama quickly loses its momentum. The plot barely moves forward, the conflicts feel repetitive, and the romance lacks the emotional spark needed to keep me invested. By episode 9, watching it had started to feel like a chore rather than something I looked forward to every week.

Lee Jae Wook and Shin Ye Eun do their best with the material they're given, but even their performances can't save a script that feels painfully slow and uneventful. Their chemistry is decent, yet it never reaches the level that makes you root for them.

The cinematography is beautiful, and the peaceful island atmosphere is definitely one of the drama's strongest points. Sadly, gorgeous scenery isn't enough to make up for a story that spends too much time going in circles instead of building meaningful character development or compelling drama.

Overall, Doctor on the Edge is a frustrating watch. It had plenty of potential and started on the right foot, but it gradually became dull and repetitive. I'm still watching out of curiosity, hoping the ending will redeem the journey, but as of episode 9, it hasn't lived up to its promising beginning.

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Love the story, even its kinda mainstream.

I've already watched lots of dramas with the similar vibe. About love story between boss and employee, about company that working in fashion design. And I think this drama is the best. Why?
1st the FL not that desperate, she has her own competence. She know what she wants, and try her best to achieved it. About her love to ML, of course at the beginning I'm sure she should be reluctant, not because she feel insecure, but she know that falling in love with the ML will bring some difficulties, most of all because the difference of their family.
2nd, the ML very sure and sincere about his feeling towards the FL, even there are some doubt in the beginning (because age gap, and trauma from the past) He wants to help her achieved her dreams and gives her space to grow.
3rd, the love scenes between two leads really cute, little bit of jealousy, and lots of love.
4th, the ML and FL clothes are awesome, and make audience believe that they really works in fashion line. The dress they showed in fashion show look very very beautiful.
Okay, now about the second ML, he's a little bit creepy but if we know his background, I'm sure its understandable. About second FL, wooowww she's really blind because of love. Thank God the 3rd FL (2nd ML little sister), is kind. I hope the writer will make her happy and healthy in the end.
So, overall I think this drama is lovable =)

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An Emotionally Moving Journey, That Is More Than Just Skin Deep

"Fangs of Fortune" or also known by its native title as "Da Meng Gui Li" which translates to "The Big Dream Returns" is a fantasy drama which incorporates Chinese mythology from the 'Classics of Mountains and Seas'. It's an adventure that revolves around mythological creatures ; demons versus mortals. Leading to action packed scenes with visually pleasing CGIs, eye-candy visuals and delicately detailed costumes. Not to forget the banger ost titled 'Unintentional Big Dream' which adds to the excitement as it rings for an eventful scene. This is the first initial impression, but as we dive more into the storyline and if you ask me how I perceive it on a deeper level, here is what I would tell you...

Fangs of Fortune is a tale that is more than just skin deep. It's an emotionally evoking journey that touches meaningful themes about life, death, love, hate, friendship, family, growth and dreams. This is definitely not just a mere demon versus mortals story, but it's an intricately woven story about self discovery and what makes one's life worthwhile. The underlying meaning of the title is about the acceptance of fate and the defiance of fate, that concludes to one word: willingness. It tells you how powerful that one word is when faced with life choices or when devoid from having a choice.

STORYLINE₊ ⊹❀
The first half of the story began on a light hearted tone with comedic scenes inserted. Although, this might come as an unexpected surprise for those who thought this drama to be heavily dark theme and gloomy. I thought otherwise, the addition of the comedic aspect didn't add as a mere filler or entertainment, I saw it as another layer that adds to the complexity of the characters. The first half tells more about the coming together of the demon hunting team as they venture out solving one case after another, however, their relationship among each other is still at the state of testing the waters due to the fact that the well-renowned vicious great demon Zhao Yuan Zhou who everyone fears or hates the most ; except for Wen Xiao, turned up to be part of their team.

As the story progresses more, the characters who seemed to be one-dimensional in the beginning have started to have complex layers upon the small revelations that were revealed about them through the use of flashbacks. Slowly, the story had started to touch grey areas that is more than just black and white, or in other words good and bad. The flashbacks weren't thrown in one full blow but instilled into the storyline parts by parts, therefore incorporating a mysterious effect which I found intriguing. The inclusion of backstories for the side characters - demons who were the prime suspects in the cases they were solving, added depth to the storyline. Furthermore, these flashbacks and backstories serves essential as they contain the key details that would play a role in the latter part of the story.

The second half of the story is where a complete tonal shift from the previous part takes a turn, despite the consistency in insertion of a few comedic scenes, the emotional heaviness and angst played a pivotal role here. After the long journey of the demon hunting team, the revelation of the truth took a toll on everyone, but this toll became the fuel that served for the fruition of their newly formed bond. What I like about how their bond was formed is that it wasn't handled in an abrupt way, but rather the complex characters were given time to sit with their own feelings, it allowed them to self-reflect and process acceptance of the truth in their hearts, as a result, it led to a more genuine formation of their bond ; it's realistic and well-thought of.

The romance aspect between Zhao Yuan Zhou and Wen Xiao isn't heavily the focus of this drama, it was rather balanced with the friendship aspect and other themes. Despite this fact, it didn't hinder me from actually feeling the romantic chemistry between the two leads, their romantic story is convincing enough. I truly loved their scenes together and found every moment of theirs heartwarming. The playful banters, the bold flirty remarks, to the heartfelt conversations. The slow burn trope. It was all conveyed well.

The ending of the story (including the special episode) is absolutely phenomenal. While it was all painfully heartbreaking and tragically sad, it was a very meaningful and touching end that does justice for the underlying message of this drama ; the willingness to accept their fate, and the willingness to defy their fate.

The cinematography for this drama is aesthetically pleasing, it is definitely one of the things I love about it. Apart from this, I find the slow-motion effects on the action scenes as a great way to highlight its stunning details and movements, hence making it more impactful. While I didn't really have much problems with these areas, I did notice at least two scenes that were abruptly cut but I found them minor so they didn't really affect me to the extent that made me dislike it.

CHARACTERS & ACTING₊ ⊹❀
Neo Hou as Zhu Yan | Zhao Yuan Zhou
Zhao Yuan Zhou is a heavily misunderstood character in the drama. He had spent his life in seclusion, surrounded with constant loneliness and tormented by guilt. He lived life awaiting his deathbed. Upon seeking for death, he unexpectedly found friendship, love and felt happiness for a while. He's an extremely selfless character that lived up to his name as a great demon, not because he is powerful, but because he has the biggest heart. He is the epitome of willingness, which is why I found the drama centering about him to be touching.

Neo Hou gave a stellar performance in his portrayal of the great demon Zhao Yuanzhou, he brought complete justice to his role. He didn't shine in this drama because of his action scenes alone, his emotionally impactful expressions of all the complex emotions of Zhao Yuanzhou in different intensities, from the light-hearted to heavy scenes made him really stood out. In addition, he nailed the comedic side of his character. I must say that this is his best role to date, this is the first time in a long while that I actually liked a character he played. He truly carried his role here.

Chen Duling as Wen Xiao
Wen Xiao is a mortal who possesses the power of the Baize Goddess but even with such powers, she has been presented to be a physically weak character. Despite her physical weakness, her strength lies in her cleverness, her ability to strategize, her strong determination, and resilience. She's a character that served as a pillar who brings the team of misfits together. In the storyline, she is utilized in a way that adds balance to the demon hunting team, at the same time she served as both a moral compass and a light of hope for those who lived in complete darkness ; ZYZ & ZYC. She might not be an over powering character, but she's an essential character.

Chen Duling proved her versatility as an actress in this drama. Her portrayal of Wen Xiao and the Evil Wen Xiao deserves praise. She's definitely talented and can pull both roles very well. Her crying scenes is heart wrenching, I cried so much whenever she cried. Her character was well-written, and she had her shining moments. I did think she deserved more screen time and wished her character was given a bit more focus in the storyline. However, I still did appreciate Chen Duling's portrayal of Wen Xiao.

Tian Jia Rui as Zhuo Yichen
Zhuo Yichen is a righteous character who lived his life awaiting for the day he could avenge his family. He seemed like an aloof character who is bad at expressing himself at first, but he is actually a very soft hearted character. His character development throughout the drama proved how he is truly the roof of the demon hunting team.

Tian Jia Rui had pulled off his role as Zhuo Yichen really well. He was able to show more of his skills as an actor through this character he played. As much as I loved his Gong Yuanzhi in MJTY, I think it has now been officially replaced by his character here as Zhuo Yichen.

Others
At first, Zhen Xuan's Ying Lei and Lester Lin's Bai Jiu portrayal threw me a bit because of how anime-like they both were, eventually though I did manage to get used them. As for Cheng Xiao's portrayal of Pei Si Jing, I had a bit of a similar experience but in a different aspect, I knew she was written to be a cold and strong character, but I found the first crying scenes of Cheng Xiao lacking, thankfully she did improved in the latter episodes in this aspect. Meanwhile, Yanan's villain role as Li Lun is commendable.

OSTs₊ ⊹❀
The songs that were mixed into this drama were meaningful, as they not only made the whole watching experience better, but each of these songs were perfectly tailored to match each of the characters stories and the casts personally singing them adds as a cherry on top. My favorites are definitely 'Yuanzhou's youth', 'Heaven and Earth Are Unrivaled' and 'Spring Breeze Does Not Ask'.

OVERALL IMPRESSION₊ ⊹❀
This drama has left a lasting impression for me. The overall experience has been an enjoyable little adventure which I will definitely remember. The compelling storyline and well-rounded characters which crafts the underlying message of this drama is certainly what adds color to the dark and gloomy cinematography style. As someone who doesn't mind angst and sad endings, I can say that the whole journey from beginning to end has been of value, all emotions spent regardless whether they were laughters or tears shed definitely didn't go to waste.

The actors hard work and effort put into this drama has certainly paid off. The chemistry between Chen Duling and Neo Hou. The brotherhood between Neo Hou, Tian Jia Rui and Yan An. The formed little family of misfits in the demon hunting bureau. I am surely going to miss all these.

FAVE SCENES₊ ⊹❀
- Zhao Yuan Zhou's big dream revelation at the peach blossom house
- Wen Xiao's 300 years in the sundial
- Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuan Zhou's "one day"
- Wen Xiao and Li Lun's game of questions
- Tian Xiang Pavillion scene
- Lord Bingyi and Yinglong backstory
- Bai Jiu and Ying Lei's almond cheese
- Li Lun, Zhao Yuan Zhou and Zhuo Yichen's collaboration
- Zhao Yuan Zhou's last moment of hesitation

˖ . ݁❀𝜗𝜚❀. ݁₊

"There are thousands of laws in the world but none of them can defeat a single word of willingness" — Qing Geng

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Head Over Heels...Then Suddenly Flat on my face

“Head Over Heels” had a fantastic start; charming leads, genuine chemistry and a storyline that pulled me in from the very beginning. The pacing was smooth, the emotional buildup felt natural and I found myself truly invested in the characters' journeys. It had all the makings of a solid drama: laughter, growth, youth, friendship, longing and those little fluttery moments that make your heart skip.
But then came the last two episodes and suddenly, everything felt rushed. Plot threads that deserved time and care were tied up too quickly and the emotional weight the story had built seemed to lose its impact (with the time skips especially). I found myself wanting just a bit more closure, a bit more depth.
Still, I don’t regret watching it. It gave me plenty of moments to smile, sigh, and swoon over. The journey was worth it... I just wish the ending didn’t feel like it was in such a hurry to wrap up.

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It was good unti it wasn't

I stumbled upon this drama because I have seen so many clips of it on Tik Tok and decided to check it out. The result is that it didn't disappoint... until it did in the latter half.

- THE GOOD -
1. Acting:
I had seen many of Lee Jong Suk's (Park Chang Ho) dramas, such as W, Pinocchio, and When You Were Sleeping. However, his acting didn't really make me go "WOW" in those dramas. However, it was incredibly good especially in the first half of the drama when his character was in prison but got stale as the drama progresses (after he got out of prison). Nevertheless, it was still tolerable for me. It was my first time seeing him in this kind of role so it was definitely refreshing and I really enjoyed it. This is my first time watching Yoona (Ko Mi Ho) in a drama but I have heard many people saying that she was mediocre. To be honest, I don't really see it. Her acting did justice to the character and it didn't distract me from the main events of the drama.

Apart from our 2 protagonists, the acting of the antagonists was so so so sooooo good, especially in that funeral scene where Kim Joo Heon (Choi Doha) was fake crying and that smirk he gave Park Chang Ho. OMG. Chef's kiss. I love it. Overall, the acting was brilliant.

- THE BAD -
1. Story:
The first half of the drama was what got me hooked! There were so many questions that were unanswered and the biggest one was "Who is Big Mouse?". There were a lot of theories and speculations regarding this and one of my favorites was the theory that Big Mouse was Park Chang Ho and he's just fooling the viewers (breaking the 4th wall). This theory is definitely so much better than the actual Big Mouse reveal (the Room Leader - No Park).

Because Big Mouse is the driving factor of this whole drama, of course when we reveal who the real Big Mouse is, it should be grand right? No. The Big Mouse reveal was so underwhelming that it made me feel that there was more nuance to this, but there wasn't. And then it got revealed that Park Chang Ho's best friend was in the Big Mouse organization too which was totally out of left field because we never learned what the reason behind him being in this organization was. After a disappointing reveal, the great Big Mouse who conned everyone got killed off in like 10 seconds and so Park Chang Ho became the new Big Mouse. What is funny to me is that when Big Mouse wasn't revealed, everyone had a difficult time figuring out the mastermind behind this alias. But when Park Chang Ho became Big Mouse, he was walking around the neighborhood with lines of bodyguards and followers and people bowing to him as if he was parading around that he is the new Big Mouse.

We were introduced to so many plot points prior to the final episodes and so the ending was rushed. It felt as if the drama completely changed its tone after Chang Ho got out of prison - it became dull. The elder was portrayed as someone who got immense power but he was killed off in an instant. The main villain Choi Doha was also killed off too fast and easily so it felt anti-climactic. It would've been better if they followed Vincenzo's route when doing this (iykyk). But then again, this is being posted on Disney+ and Changho is much nicer than Vincenzo so I doubt that would've worked. Miho's death had no impact to it, I was expecting it to be more emotional because she's literally one of the main characters but it felt flat. The final scene went from colours to black & white while Miho's dialogue from wanting to Changho become a good Big Mouse played - this scene was kind of good and it left me with many thoughts like what is the line between wanting to be a good Big Mouse for his wife and becoming a Big Mouse who punishes and kills people, is Park Changho going to become evil, etc.

2. OST:
Personally, I don't know but there wasn't any notable OST in this drama.

-OVERALL THOUGHTS-
Overall, the theories for this drama were far better than the actual plot. I enjoyed it up until the part Changho left prison and the whole new arc began. This drama is worth the binge if you have nothing to watch but don't go into it with huge expectations cause you will get disappointed because of the ending.

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THIS REVIEW IS ONLY BASED ON THIS MOVIE, NOT THAT OF THE ORIGINAL WORK.

***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***
[If you haven't read the novel, watched the TV drama version, and know nothing of the plot and do not want it spoiled for you, then read no further... if that's not you OR you don't care, read on....]

I'm not gonna break my review down by sections. My review is a juxtaposition of the others and how I felt it compared:

The consolidation of scenes, characters, and information in the movie version was interesting. Not horrible, but definitely not 100% true to the original story. Zhen Shao Xiang's personality being consolidated into a combo of him and Cao Guang was kind of abrupt for me. Or KO being the manager of the internet cafe?? Wasn't expecting that. ..putting Hao Mei and KO's story as filler while rolling the credits was kind of dumb. Without "context" you missed the significance of that and it just became some kind of embarrassing moment for Hao Mei. ..frankly, I think they came at this project with the idea that everyone had either read the novel or watched the TV version. There's so much missing that without knowing anything, this movie would feel incomplete.

This Wei Wei is more outgoing than she's supposed to be. That's the aspect of her character that's really important in her connection with Xiao Nai. She's pure, innocent, shy, humble, and doesn't like to draw attention to herself. In this version, she's really not that way at all. She's much more extrovert and dominant, no where near passive. If you like her better this way, it's simply personal preference, but it's not the true character of her as written in the novel. And just as this Wei Wei is more extroverted, and not so shy, this Xiao Nai is a bit more emo and less hard-to-read, badass, cutthroat who was always 2 steps ahead of everyone else.

...and bottom line, what I really want to say, the BROMANCE and the relationship between him and his "brothers" and Wei Wei was really, really, REALLY, really lacking for me int this movie version. For me, that was as important if not MORE important than the romance between Xiao Nai and Wei Wei. I loved the whole "family" feel and it just enhanced their romance all the more. In this version, I just felt wanting; I felt lacking; I was waiting for there to be more of a close feeling with Wei Wei and the "brothers" but, more than half way through they barely had anything to say to each other. It was sad.

The ending was beyond rushed. Not only did they really let us down with anytime with the "brothers" but the whole 2nd part about their company and Wei Wei and Xiao Nai becoming closer to the point of marriage was basically completely skipped over. Not fulfilling for me at all.

My Best Fangirl Moment:
~At 1:32:00, when the Chinese League of Legends team, Invictus Gaming [IG] gets interviewed by Panda TV about the "Young" company of Xiao Nai. Rookie introduces himself and the team. Rookie is one of those South Korean players that the Chinese spent loads of money to transfer to China to play. Then, from left to right, you have Zzitai[top], Kitties[support], Rain[ADC] and another South Korean player, ending with Kid [jgl]... that means obviously that Rookie is IG's midlaner.... I just simply loved this little moment in time!!

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Mediocre Myth

At outset, the drama starts out as an interesting and pioneering perspective of time travel. With use of new ideas like uploader and downloader, the science-fiction aspect is on par with that of contemporary world of science fiction entertainment.

Along with this, is the backdrop of a nuclear war involving Koreas, it provides an exquisite playing field for proficient storytelling. These themes remind me of the "TENET" movie.

The show is almost convincible scientifically about time travel*. But that's where the spectacle of this show ends. This show has countless flaws.

One, after setting the story, the show becomes more character driven and not plot driven. Thus, giving little scope for further exploring the sci-fi elements or packing it with more plot elements. Viewers are taken through detailed narrative about various side characters. These insights could have been less detailed.

Two, Will over Wits. Almost every scene has some sort of test for characters to make a choice. Almost every character ends up making emotion-driven decisions and not reason-driven. This leads to a countless loop of bad folks coercing good folks to fall into their traps. Countless episodes are wasted in these cat-and-mouse endeavors.

Three, Lack of an alternate answer to the recurring question "Girl or World?" Right in the first instance of asking this question, the answer is undeniably obvious. Yet, the protagonist delays to choose the answer giving a false hope of possibility of an alternative answer. Had this been answered earlier, it would have ended the show quicker.

Four, Romance: The Leads' relationship feels more like comradeship and less like romantic one. If at all it is present, it is not so passionate and intense given their life-threatening circumstances.

Five, the beginning of the time loop. How did all this began that is, the events right before the first loop are hardly explained. I believe that explaining a bootstrap paradox is an unimaginable task.

Despite the flaws, there are a couple of appreciable elements like, One, ambitious production. The initial fights and stunts scenes felt amateurish in CGI. But the events of the future were well produced. The drone chase scene was a personal favorite. Fights scenes were really good, especially the last fight of future timeline. Two, despite the ever looming question of "save the world", the intermittent scenes of future events were very imaginative. Three, Badass FL and Genius ML both bring something unique to the plot. Four, the "Act of Kindness" (without letting the spoiler out), that was the best moment in the entire drama and gave the best "glimmer of hope", an essential feature of the Sci-Fi genre.

Acting wise, both the leads are exceptional. PSH stunt scenes are awe-worthy. Kim Byung Chul does an incredible job. Music wise, I really liked the title music of whizzing sound and the end song. Rewatch value is lower as sci-fi elements are hardly convoluted.

Sisyphus: The Myth is inventive concept but fails in storytelling.
~~
*Logical inconsistencies do exist.

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Made me want to vomit blood

Watching all 59 eps made me feel like I was going through my own tribulation. Honestly, the amount of times people spit out blood in this drama is enough to paint a highway. But that’s not the point. Due to the overwhelming positive reactions to this drama I was excited to watch it. The first few episodes were interesting and the backstory of the God of War was my high point. I was interested to learn more but none of that gets revealed until nearly the end. What I got for the remainder of these 40ish eps was a weak ML who got stabbed more than a pincushion, a stupid annoying FL who is controlled by the worst villain to ever exist, hypocritical “righteous” sects who made me feel homicidal to the point that I ended up rooting for the demons, contrived misunderstandings just to drag out unnecessary plot points and so so so so SO MUCH TALKING! Good lord!

I was not a fan of the leads going in and while they probably did the best they could I feel the FL is miscast. She does not pull off the duality of Xuanji/God of War well. I kinda laughed at how big her hair piece was and the armor was terrible. The ML was also kind of one note due to the character being selfless to a fault. Watching him getting stabbed, poisoned, tortured over and over again got so boring after the millionth time. It made the character feel pathetic and weak and it felt like the only reason he kept living was the thick slab of plot armor they padded him with.

The story went off the rails once the Star of Mosha returned and things turned weird and made me wonder if this was a BL drama all of a sudden. But to be frank, the actor who played Luohuo Judu pulled off his duality better than the FL anyway. When he’s menacing, he’s terrifying but when he goes soft it’s so believable.

I appreciate that the drama focused so heavily on the FL’s backstory and the ML served more of a secondary role to her journey. It’s kind of a nice role reversal but the writing and characterization was just too elementary and sub-par. While there’s a lot of depth to the villains, the main heroes felt so one dimensional. For 90% of the story FL has no agency whatsoever and is manipulated by nearly everyone around her. The only time she takes control is when she turns into the Star of Mosha who just so happens to be a man. Kind of a bad subtext there. The other female characters in the drama revolve entirely around men as well and have no agency of their own. I began to fast forward a lot towards the end. This could have easily been cut short into a 30 ep drama and saved me a lot of time.

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I am a fan of PoT and for me this is an okay drama to watch. If you like the humor and friendship side, this is a good one. But if you like to watch matches, not so great. The bad side of this drama is that most matches are cut shorter and some fillers are draged longer. Matches are based on the manga. Some fillers are created, may be based on the anime. It is quite frustrating if you watch this at the same time as it was aired( I’m Vietnamese so I got to watch it with Vietnamese sub a day later). But as a rewatch, I don’t think it’s that bad. If anyone like shipping, there are hints in this drama, all of them are cute. I’m glad that they kept all the techniques. The actors/ actresses are good, they portray their characters quite well. It’s nice to have a series that is related to PoT.

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As unending as an oath, this drama drags on forever...

This drama is truly a test of love and patience. Your love and patience that is.

After YAMG, I thought we would get another sensible modern drama since, the novel this show is based on received immense praise but sadly, I live to be disappointed.

Yang Zi’s Zhi Xiao is immature and annoying. Her only saving grace is her good choice in a partner, Dr. Gu. The side couples are two-dimensional characters whose life's purpose is to get on your nerves. This drama is a struggle to finish from beginning to end. I had to hug the thighs of the fast-forward button to skip a lot of senseless scenes but Zhi Xiao still managed to annoy me.

The first four episodes were ridiculous but did get better until we were confronted with a father that likes to torture his family. He is a victim of circumstance and ‘woe is he’ but for some reason I could generate no sympathy for his plight.
We are introduced to the second male lead and female leads who try to get in between our main couple’s awfully sluggish love story. Misunderstandings abound and their resolutions like the story take forever while leaving an unsatisfactory aftertaste.

By episode 20 I stopped caring about the storyline and the side characters. The male lead and my unending patience were the only things keeping me watching this travesty. There is a minor rise in interest when the male lead suffers a setback. I was pleasantly surprised with how the female lead stuck to her guns and at the same time supported the male lead. This was probably the only sub-plot where I found her behaviour admirable.

While the plot in romcoms has always been a foregone conclusion, as viewers we watch it for the cast, subplots, setting and dialogues. Unfortunately in The Oath of Love the plot is thin, the pacing highly inconsistent, most conflicts un-engaging, with forgettable dialogues. The female lead was annoying 8 times out of 10 and the narrative became repetitive in the middle phase. I am just glad this wasn’t 40 episodes as my corpse would have to review this drama then.

The only positives in this drama for me were the cinematography, the background music, the lure of a happy ending, the little theatre at the end of each episode and the eye-candy, Xiao Zhan. Unfortunately none of these positives were strong enough to overcome the tragedy that was the drama.

It’s possible that some will like this drama for all the same reasons that I did not. But would I recommend anyone to watch this? No. Unless you are a staunch fan of YZ or XZ and gifted with boundless patience, this drama is not for you. For a middling fan lacking in patience this drama cannot score more than 5.5/10.

You've been warned. Watch at your own risk.

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I've actually finished this drama 10 days ago but somehow I wasn't able to let it go, I wanted it to stay longer in my currently watching list. And that's because I completely loved it. Yes I did. With all its holes, stupid, unnecessary and illogically evil Guo family, with less screen time of the Yin's who were the most important folks in this drama, with some rushed moments that looked like they were cut and with very uninteresting villains. And still it was an amazing journey. Because of those details I couldn't give more but I seriously fell in love with this drama.

The plot seemed very intriguing and engaging right from the start and we follow Liu Xiu's and Lihua's journey through the whole drama, from the moment they find each other after long time through many fights together against the current Emperor and for the people till he finally became an Emperor himself and then with classic palace intrigues, we live the life in palace with them. I wanted to learn and find more about this part of Chinese history as I was interested to hear more about her, about that woman who was a true companion for her man and who became an Empress with humble and pure heart. And it did live up to my expectations.



Let me tell you something about the leads and characters they played. Honestly you don't get to see such fantastic leads often in some drama, who carried the heaviest roles, who acted so believable to the point I literally wanted to wipe off their tears, kiss their foreheads, hug them tightly and smile with them when they were happy, they really engraved in my heart for a lifetime. Lihua and Liu Xiu deserve the title of the best couple ever in whole historical dramaland. I simply couldn't take my eyes off of them. Their relationship that is built on ultimate trust and honesty above all, so strong that nothing could destroy it. I really appreciate that between the couples. I became to feel respect for Liu Xiu cause he treated Lihua with such love and care, with such relaxing and positive attitude, he didn't care when she pretended to be a guy as he didn't care when she stopped pretending because for him she was one and only Lihua who he loved since he was a kid, he loved his men all equally and he trusted them, he wasn't jealous when Lihua was alone with them, the only woman between men and still he had real trust in all of them. For me that was the biggest strength of this drama, one big comradeship, men who fight for one cause and who built such powerful friendship along the way. Really worth seeing and experiencing that.

Not to mention chemistry between our leads, it was electrifying, you could feel it in your bones from their every move and I came to wonder how it's possible that Ruby and Justin are only friends? Amazing actors indeed. Justin has been my favourite Chinese actor since Scarlet Heart but Ruby, I didn't think she was this good, the woman is outstanding actress, that's for sure. Her gracious figure when she was a Lady Yin in the palace, her coldness and calmness when it was needed, her passion and courage in battles, her endless love for her family, she was the actual hero of this drama and she carried all of it. I don't think I've seen till now female character like hers, that much educated, smart, brave, loyal, tomboyish yet feminine, strong yet fragile, lovable yet very strict and someone who was selfless when it came to her family and closest people she loved. The one woman I'll admire forever. Yes in some scenes she exaggerated, all of the sudden she acted weird and not like before, that's when I thought that this drama has some flaws but most of the time I could totally relate to her and understand her.



This drama is also very good cause of the females, you get to see many intelligent and strong women who were most of the times more brave and smart than men which is a rare thing to experience in dramaland. Hu Po, Ding Rou I completely loved, those two girls were such support to our heroine and the ones who were beside her all the time never abandoning her. They are supporting characters but they mean so much, without them this drama wouldn't be the same. I enjoyed in their love stories too, one with Lihua's brother who was such adorable and wonderful guy, and the other one with Gongsun, Liu Xiu's best friend and most loyal general.



What was one of the biggest strength of SaA is family. Bonding between members of a family, between Liu Xui and his brothers, sister and mother, between Lihua and her brothers and mother, between them and Deng's, it was such wonderful sight, watching so many family members being so close and taking care of each other. For me Lihua and her family were the ones that captured me, they gave me feelings of warmness, coziness, feeling of home, I really fell in love with them and their relationship, every one of them had important role and each one of them simply crawls under your skin. I cried so hard when some of them died, I felt like my heart was ripping apart when some events happened and the way they happened, I really think that my heart died a few times during this drama and that's when I knew that this drama will become one of my all time favourite.



Many scenes were so real, battles were done in very good way, effects pretty realistic, sceneries breathtaking with beautiful usage of colours-red, blue and green, astonishing costumes, I wanted so much to try at least one of those dresses, everything seemed really on high level with high budget. For that part I don't have complaints.

Also music, opening and ending songs are so beautiful, the lyrics are among the most powerful I've heard and they have such deep meaning, every time I listened to them I get goosebumps. They fit perfectly with the drama and its plot.



I think I said everything I wanted to say, I think SaA is definitely a drama worth watching cause you don't get to see lead characters like that every day. And you don't get to see relationship building like that every day nor such comradeship and brotherhood. Those things are for sure the ones that will win you and keep you interested to watch it till the end. Despite all the plot holes and some really stupid characters and happenings. I would love for more dramas like this one, please.

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