Reviews

TRIAGE IS A MASTER PIECE

Everything in this Bl series is perfect the acting, the background music 🎶 played at the end of each episode fits the series. The story is perfect and I won't like to spoil it for you but just to let you know episode 4 and 11 are deeply connected by timeline. Remember Triage is not about sex scenes but of true genuine love 💕 and sacrifices . Triage will go down in history like "Not me" an unexpected,underated but excellent 👌 Bl series! Just watch it . Prepare your pillows, your popcorns, your tissues for some highly emotional 😭 scenes( I have cried on three different occasions ) as a fantasy this story will be remembered lovingly like the chronicles of Narnia. Author Sammon has once again presented us with a novel which like Manner of death ( Triage outshines manner of death ) is realistic and relates to our struggle in this world! Triage is a bl series that I will be sitting down to rewatch again and again! Triage is definitely in my top 5 Thai Bl series this year
1,Dr Tin: In the beginning I viewed him as a lazy doctor who didn't care about his patients especially after how he causally announced Tol's death and even Yawned when professor Sadka reprimanded him. However I have grown to love him! Yes he rose perfectly to the occasion, his resolve to save Tol at all cost is heart warming. Despite being ignored by Tol, being punched by Tol, being rejected by Tol he stays by his side through out all the loops and finally he wins his trust and heart! That he's determined to save Mia's mummy,Ritt from sucide, Tol from heart attack and to become his boyfriend is cute and noble! When he gets stabbed I cried 😭 out my eyes not because he was going to die ( I knew he wasn't) but because he risked his life to prevent harm to his fellow doctors. His death left me in shock he laid down his life for Tol unconditionally and lovingly and fulfilled his promise to protect Tol!

2, Tol: my first impression of him was a paranoid,rich boy who suspects everyone around him of being a threat to him. His love life with Mia was to me a facade, a forced relationship and a one sided obsession.The way he punched Tin without waiting for him to finish explaining boiled my blood! To me he treated Ritt to shabbily.However as I progressed I find him to actually feel insecure. When Tin delivers his first kiss, Tol is flabbergasted and pretends to be angry though he liked it. His love for a lone cat he found got me.( I'm a cat lover ) Tol is a true friend standing by Ritt despite their quarrel,he saves Ritt from the assassin,saves him from repeating his last year in university and goes ahead to even apologize at the party. For me Tol redeemed himself.

3, Art: a friend in need is a friend indeed. This describes Art completely who like Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the rings has remained completely faithful to his friends. He risk his eye for Ritt, his life for Tol when he accompanied him in his car to go after Mia and her boyfriend. He exposes the green snakes {Lupakatir and Win} to Ritt. He accepts Tin unconditionally,he tries to mend the broken relationship between Tol and Ritt, he prevents Tol from drinking alcohol and he's totally honest!

4, Ritt: To me Ritt is easily manipulated, his weak, always depressed and a coward. He can't see the handwriting on the wall! He's scared of being killed so he doesn't go to the police (that didn't stop the assassin from trying to kill him) he believes that Tol hates him that he's being oppressed for being poor. Luckily for him Tin has come to save him

5, Lupakatir and Win: who needs enemies when you have such friends. That aptly describes the duo who are jealous of Tol and Ritt and destroys their relationship by sowing lies, hatred and malice between Tol,Art and Ritt. They got what they deserve for cheating in the examination hall.

6, Gap: he's a lovely doctor,who jokes around but is serious with his duties. His friendship with Tin is rock solid as he dances and plays with him. He loves Sing and cares about him. However don't be deceived by his lovely, cute puppy face he's not weak,as he takes on Dio who welds a loaded gun. And he's also brutally honest telling Ritt that he can leave a perfect life with one kidney.

7,Sing: here's a doctor who believes in hardwork, who's strict and looks merciless but he has a soft heart which he hides beneath an exterior of a frowning face. He dislikes professor Sadka and works hard to expose him! His love for Tin was shown when he uses an extreme bloody method to try and revive Tin ( can get that bloody scene out of my head )

8, Mia: She's a good example of a girl who wants it all! She wants Heart's love, Tol's money and her mother being given cosy treatment. She is indirectly responsible for Tol's death and rather than tell Tol her true feelings for him she plays him around her fingers. Tol has however ratified that part thanks 😊 to Mia he meets his true soulmate and love.

9, Professor Sadka and Dio: my first impression of the above mentioned professor didn't last. At first I thought him an upright learned man not knowing he was a beast in human flesh. Him and Dio works together to reap what they have not planted, they're both filled with greed and covetousness. They kill innocent patients as to harvest their organs. Dio is Sadka's lackey who carries out the heinous acts in collaboration with some Nazi nurses and doctors who euthanize their victims and harvest their organs. Dio carries out the dirty jobs while professor Sadka remains and looks innocent in his immaculate white. And as a someone stated in this group Dio owing student loans doesn't excuse his evil!

10, Jinta: Dear me Jinta and Tol makes a comical pair and you will surely laugh when you watch them both in episode 12


EDIT: JUST FINISHED WATCHING IT ONLINE TODAY BEING JULY 11 ON ITS OFFICIAL CHANNEL AISPLAY YOUTUBE. THE FINAL EPISODE WAS REFRESHING AND YOU WILL LOVE 💕 IT. JUSTICE IS SERVED AND LOVE PREVAILS!

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Mix of comedy and deep characters

It seems that a lot of people thought The Heart Killers would be a lot more thought provoking and serious than it actually is. For me I expected it to be a little comedic in GMMTV fashion, so I ended up liking it a lot.

I think it brings a perfect amount of plot, comedy and character depth together.

If you're expecting a piece of work that will go in depth about crime and mafia in Thailand this is not it.

However, I liked that the story was more focused on character development, especially with these 4. It feels like, for the first time, at the beginning of a BL, we already get 4 characters that have their own personalities ans then they meet their future boyfriends, instead of the entirety of a character revolving around the relationship itself.

Fadel
I'll start off with Fadel, because he absolutely stole the show for me. I followed Joong very casually before the show, but he made me fall in love with Fadel's character by episode 2. Fadel is a very damaged character, that keeps people, even his brother, at a distance, because of his bad past experiences and the fear that he'll hurt them. He has such an intense and even scary presence, furrowed brows, dark eyes, but we see him softening as he falls for Style. He's also repressed, the way he keeps rejecting Style, but then thinks of him when he's not around was addictive. The garage scene when he says his car broke down ???? crazy... The scene where he finds out Style is a snitch absolutely broke me. I loved how he still protected and indulged Style, even while pointing a gun at him. Also, Fadel breaking down and crying while Style comforts him, him saying that he wants to spend more time living to be with Style....
Every scene, featuring Fadel had me hooked.

Style
Style is such a unique character, I love how he has a somewhat "uniform" (crop top, tank top/cropped shirt and baggy pants) and we just see tons of variations of that same outfit, it brings out even more personality. I love the fact that they ended up changing up his hairstyle for the show, from the pilot trailer, because a car mechanic with his hair down makes a lot more sense. Style, on the oustide is such a typical rom-com character, with his snarky faces and funny lines, but he uses that to conceal the fact that he's actually very vulnerable, e. g. when he breaks down because he's scared of death, but before that he's been putting up a front of not being scared at all. Also, the fact that he uses his handsomeness and the fact that people hit on him to boost his confidence, but later on admits Fadel is his first boyfriend was so crazy to me. Concluding, I also like Fadel's rough romantic side, Style.

Onto FadelStyle, as a couple they also surprised me. I watched both of their previous dramas, I enjoyed them, but FadelStyle brought out the feral in me. I know JD's chemistry off-screen is amazing so, I didn't expect any less on-screen from them, but they totally exceeded my expectations. The sexual tension was so intense, the transition between sexual attraction to love was done perfectly. Style being intrigued by Fadel, and forgetting about the car, because he starts wanting Fadel to actually let him in got me. Their kisses were so intense, especially the one on the beach, after they reconcile and personal favorite: Style in Fadel's lap at the therapy group room. The parallel of Style saying that one day he'll be Fadels 100% percent, and then Fadel saying he loves Style a 100% - absolutely finished me. The couple, even though their relationship progressed were quickly and was very intense, felt very well paced, they brought the chemistry, the angst, the kisses and I absolutely ate it up.

All in all, if you're looking for characters with personality, comedic characters, backstories, chemistry, realistic couples THK is absolutely the show for you.

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Hard core gore.

This review covers both Season 1 and Season 2 as it does not make sense to review them separately.

This is a gripping and fast paced psychological crime thriller that explores the dark side of justice and how the road to perdition is paved with just intentions. In a desperate race against time with few promising leads, Captain Tan's investigative team are under intense pressure to put a stop to a bunch of brutal serial killings. Prison inmate and gifted former profiler and attorney Liang Yandong, is on trial for murder and is convinced that his case is linked to the serial killings. He persuades hungry young rookie cop Ren Fei to share information in the case with him in exchange for his assistance with profiling the serial murderer. The first season solves the first case only to reveal a larger conspiracy that intertwines with a devastating unsolved cold case.

I really enjoyed Vic Zhou's performance as the inscrutable Liang Yandong, especially in the beginning when he teases us with the question of whether his motives are benign. Among the big name cast, his performance pulls the production together as his rapport with each of the main characters seems the most natural. Sandrine Pinna also pleasantly surprised me in her ability to pull off a complex role although some of her scenes in the latter half could have been more nuanced and less forced. Although I like Christopher Lee, his Captain Tan did not really connect with me or with the other members of his investigative team. Part of the problem is that Zhu Tingdian's performance as Ren Fei is hit or miss and his character interacts the most with Captain Tan. His Ren Fei "clicks" with Liang Yandong and Teresa Daley's Ji Siqi but not so much with Captain Tan and the rest of his team. The broader investigative team's dynamics is also not convincing enough to inspire me to root hard for the "good guys" and feel pulled into their mission. To some extent, the cops in this show are dumbed down a little bit too much so that Liang Yandong can look really smart.

The plot overall is fairly tight and it fast paced, full of good twists including a hidden antagonist that reveals themselves a tad on the early side. There are some holes and some suspension of disbelief is needed but it moves so fast and is so action packed you won't have time to dwell too much on on them, which is fantastic. The ultimate villain is known fairly early on and their motives are not that convincing or well explained but there are enough other interesting characters. By pretty much the same team as the highly acclaimed and more memorable Victim's Game, I like this better as a pure suspense thriller for its better focus on a well explored big case that ties everything together and its lack of digression into social issues.

My main problem and reservation with this drama however is that it goes far beyond hard core gore. In general I am fine with dark themes and I don't get triggered that easily but what I found deeply disturbing about this drama is its heavily in your face misogyny. You will be repeatedly treated with gratuitous, extended gore images of women being tortured and mutilated. It is completely unnecessary to the plot or the exploration of the killers' psyches. To give the production the benefit of the doubt, I can tell from The Victim's Game that this team overly delights in showing off their technical prowess at detailed, realistic and almost pornographic gruesome scenes. However I cannot help but be offended and put off by the almost exclusive focus on abusing women and in such loving and repeated detail. So I am really struggling with this review and avoided writing it for quite some time. If they had toned things down (a lot), I would be tempted to give this an 8.0/8.5 but my anger at the extreme misogyny makes me think 6.0/6.5. I am just going to make life easy for myself and call this a 7.0 while acknowledging that is maybe a bit unfair. If you can get past the hard core gore, this is a very enjoyable thriller for fans of the genre.

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There are plenty of reviews already explaining how awesome this movie but I'm still amazed. The plot is just so refreshing and different but not too complex. It's great! I think everyone would enjoy this movie regardless of age and preferences. To put it in short, it's a sweet love story of two people alone in this world. A woman who suffers from domestic violence and a mysterious boy who breaks into people's homes when they aren't around but only eats and sleeps there and retreats right after the owners return.

The cast is amazing! The two main leads express themselves so beautifully without any use of words. I would recommend it to everyone. One of the finest Korean movies I have watched till date.

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Just What you Want it to Be!

Oh heck! I loved this. Some people complain about the pacing being too slow, but that's expressly because one of the main characters has never been in a relationship before and the other main character is coming from a traumatic past. Anything but slow pacing and it would have felt rushed and weird. That being said, the episodes are 25 minutes a piece, so the pace isn't THAT slow. And the evolution of all the relationships is what we come for, yes?

The music in this was very, very pretty. The theme song was sweet and the song that played when they are dealing with hard moments was just so bittersweet that it perfectly reflected the mood.

I loved the setting. As an artist myself, seeing a BL set in a designer jewelry studio was so fun. And I also got a kick because when I first saw Aaron on screen, I was pointing and yelling "He looks like an East Asian Superman". And then came the Kryptonian jokes in the plot itself! Ha!

There was a shocking moment for me when I saw Aaron topless I stopped and paused the video because I used to work in the medical profession and I immediately said "That is the best, most realistic scar makeup I have ever witnessed". As the show went on and I got to see the scars from more than one angle, got to see how they pulled, I began to suspect they were real scars. So I looked Aaron up and was amazed to find that prior to the filming of this show he had been in a car accident that nearly killed him. He was in a coma for months. Then rehab. And straight into the filming of this project. In an interview he said that the actor who played Shi Lei was the first person outside of his doctors to ever see his scars and he had been very self conscious about it. So yeah. Wow.

As for the relationship between the main 2 characters, it's awkward and sweet and careful in all the achingly tender ways you might want it to be, without being gooey. Their chemistry is magnetic and immediate. And poor Shi Lei coming out to his mom was the best coming out scene ever. It was so well acted! And really, Aaron did a superb job bringing a quiet, very wounded guardedness to Jin Yu Zhen.

Everyone did a great job. Kudos to the secondary pairings and support cast too. They rounded out the plot and drove it forward at useful moments in a seamless way.

This just took a spot in my top 5 favorites! It does NOT disappoint. Loved the pace. Loved the actors. Loved the story. My only complaint is that there just wasn't enough of it. I would have loved the episodes to have a longer format or for there to have been more of them.

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Empty vessels really do make the most noise

Just for my edification, I need to know who signed off on this. I would then like to snack some sense into them by travelling to a time before they agreed - and this stupid setup I've come up with is aces better than anything they did.

Who? Who thought this was okay? This is a masterclass on how to create lackluster hype and somehow ruin the lowest of expectations anyone has for you. Because even the combined forces of over ten seasoned professionals could not save this sinking ship.

The non - existent plot follows Tae San, who is the incarnation of the tiger zodiac. You may be wondering why I say that when the show is called Twelve.
Let me explain.

The story is mostly about Tae San, while the other seven zodiacs are basically reduced to his rag tag bunch of followers. And there are only eight zodiacs! Because the very first scene introduces us to their backstory, but we're left wondering for over two episodes why there are only eight of them.. when the show is called Twelve. This is because their absence was explained in a truly blink and you'll miss it moment. Seriously, blink and you will miss it.

Thereon, the entire setup of the show is that the Zodiacs were basically guardians of the universe, who are now living without their powers after they saved the world the last time around, which they lost when they sealed all the evil in something called the Hellmouth. So now all they do is lend money and eat. They spent more time eating than they did saving the world.

Of course if you have heroes - you need villains. Here it's a group of evil spirits who want to awaken the spirits of two ancient evil beings. I say evil because if you look deeply enough, you could argue that they were more than just villains. But the show didn't care to be anything more than superficial and I don't care enough to be dissecting their past and personalities.

The two evil spirits they want to awaken are Ogwi and Haetae, the crow incarnation and some random name they pulled out of a hat for reasons. Basically, they free Ogwi and they need to collect some soul stones to free Haetae, so they can all be evil again. Avengers knock off but not really so I'll forgive them. And they do it! All while our heroes are powerless and of course, they take over the town! This is six episodes by the way, this is all that happens in six episodes.

Then we find out that Ogwi was some angel adjacent and involved in a random soulmates storyline with Mirr, wanted to become a zodiac adjacent, couldn't for some unknown reason and chose to become a demon instead! Someone call the Academy, man, what a brilliant plot! You have conveniently thrusted every Kdrama trope into your trash narrative only to wrap it all up in the name of.. love?

After all that, we got the actual backstory in the final episode (which true to form made no sense), a bunch of corny and senseless fights and a return to mukbangs. It was all so bad. And if they were setting up a sequel with that, just ask them to read my review, because IT'S NOT NECESSARY.

This is an incredibly basic plot - and they couldn't even execute this properly. Episode after episode is spent watching our heroes eat, while our villains stand on rooftops sporting red eyes. They pretend like there's some plot - we have a bunch of moments where Won Seung (Monkey), Mal Sook (Horse), Kang Ji (Dog) and Jwi Dol (Rat) go on random side quests as debt collectors, to show off subpar fighting skills and terrible editing, Doni (Pig) and Bang Wool (Snake) are used as comic reliefs, and Mirr (Dragon) is straight out of a melodrama, like she transmigrated from some other series. None of it makes sense together, they're all in their own worlds, painstakingly held together by Marok (Manager) and his magic staff.

Episode after episode these people stand by and watch as Tae San attempts to deal with his emotional baggage, as Mirr deals with hers and Marok runs around trying to get them all together because some pendant they have notifies them that evil is back. Kind of like when your food is out for delivery, but you can't really track your driver because the app is broken. Their app is also broken because their powers are non existent, so they spend six episodes running around aimlessly and causing more damage than they repair stuff.

This may as well be the worst thing I've ever watched. You wait.. and you wait.. and you wait for the story to pick up.. and you'll keep waiting. All the episodes are spent setting up nothing, it's the continuation to a story we don't know because apparently we all had the script beforehand and knew the entire story, introducing random plots and characters like we're supposed to know who and what they are.

And I will complain about this, because this is one of the reasons I don't trust K Dramas, why the hell do you need romance??! Like this didn't already have ten thousand other genres to cover, romance?! I don't understand this obsession with forcing romance into a plot that has no substance, for what? To create some emotional connection? To make me feel for the characters? If anything, I felt more distance after that reveal, because on what level did they think romance between Ogwi and Mirr, two characters who had twenty minutes of screentime combined would be something enjoyable? STOP. FORCING. ROMANCE.

All the characters were terrible, just FYI. I hated all of them and for having actors with such name brand recognition, not a single one of them acted well. Half of them did not move their face muscles and the other half went to extreme levels of overacting.

If they'd spent just a shred of the budget they did on the cast on good writers, editors, costume design or VFX, this could have been watchable. There's no way I say it would have been amazing because this was rock bottom, but I genuinely believe there was a levél below they would've hit if it went on longer.

Do yourself a favour and do not go anywhere near this - it is irredeemable levels of terrible and even Seo In Guk couldn't do anything for me in this. And if you're watching for Park Hyung Sik, he had 10 minutes of screentime and his character is so forgettable, just do yourself a favour and stay away.

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A spoonful of sugar helps the dodgy script go down

This show aimed high, but ultimately missed the mark. Much of the blame lies with the script.

Let's take a step back and look at the fundamentals. Early plot progression feels like bullet points in a presentation. It leaps about rather than flows.

Our FL went from hero to zero in a few scenes. Her whole backstory was summarised on the back of a napkin and took about as long to play out on screen.

Two issues are soon apparent. Firstly, this drama is based on a web novel, but it cherry picked key scenes and subplots. The connective tissues between plots feels weak.

For instance, the FL in the novel died and soul swapped with a girl from a poorer family. This is the foundation of her story arc and eventual growth. Our FL didn't die so it is more a sidestep than a do-over. It fundamentally altered the depth of her struggles. I understand changes are part of adaptation. However, this seemed to be the low road.

Secondly, whatever tracking device the FL is using, I want one! Any time the FL is in mortal danger, either the ML or her sifu will come to her rescue. It is uncanny.

A case in point, our BLIND female lead "stumbled" up a mountain while being chased. Really? After falling down a cliff, she is found by her sifu who happens to be tramping there. Really? The plot armour is next level!

There are also serious plot holes. From a young age, the FL was forced to take on the identity of her stepbrother, He Ru Fei. I have nightmares about masks now, just saying.

Her brother returns at the beginning of this series. Pushes her aside unceremoniously and subsumed all her glories and merits. He then poisons, blinds and tries to silence her with extreme prejudice. What brotherly love!

Then this "fake/real" General He arrives in court to accuse the ML's dead father of traitorous acts. The man has a different voice, is a head taller than the FL. Nobody notice that?! Including those who fought next to her for years. That plot hole is big enough to drive a Big White Truck of Doom™ through!

But wait, there is more! The first dozen or so EP has the FL playing Mulan in a training camp. We have all the cliché moments. They are low hanging fruits.

My jaw dropped when the ML suddenly realises the FL is a girl the moment her chest touches his back. Holy Mother of Drama Gods! How? Did the FL not bind her chest? She dressed as a man every day and nothing "shows". Inconceivable!

I almost sloth quit several times by this point but I hung on with grim determination. Sunk cost fallacy is real, my friend.

The show changed tack and sends them on an undercover mission as a married couple. Yes, you guessed it. All the couple/dating tropes got an airing. Oh, the sugar hits, I gave it a second chance. I'm weak, ok? Don't judge me!

I can't deny our OTP have their swoon-y moments. It did drag on for too long. When we finally get THE confession, the skinship blossoms. It was rainbow and unicorns for a while, but another problem looms.

Normally, we would get a final confrontation with the antagonist just before the HEA ending. In this case, it happened several eps too soon. We did get an episode of fan service, and I can't complain. There is no way we are going to get 4 eps of fan service. I'm not that naïve.

Sure enough, the show hit us with the angst train. To wit, the SML manipulated the King so that he can wed the FL by royal decree, thus sundering our OTP.

Speaking of the King, he is the ultimate plot device. Need someone punished, the King! Need someone send to the frontiers, the King! Need a wedding planner . .

To cut the story short, the FL marched into the palace and told the King this is total BS. Think Éowyn from LoTR. ;) Instead of sending her to the salt mine, he capitulated. Just. Like. That.

Our leads simply sworn to forsake all others and carries on. Geez, that's a win-win for His Majesty. Did we just wasted an episode?

The predictable ending arrives. I'm not going to spoil it. One hint, the show came full circle. ;)

It pains me to pen this. I had high hopes. It should be a slam dunk. When it is good, it is watchable. The battle scenes are mostly style over substance, but they are well done. The romance is sweet with a decent amount of skinship. Acting is decent. The sets, costumes and OST are solid. It just needs a good script. Did no-one proofread it?

So close, yet so far. Peace.

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LA that sit on same table as AOT LA and Drangon Ball LA

I’m SCREAMING. WTF is this?! It'd like the director read half the source material, said “nah,” and decided to yeet the soul of sNs masterpiece into the void. They changed SO MUCH, and I’m not okay! Kim Dokja deserves better, and this mess is sitting at the same cursed table as the Attack on Titan and Dragon Ball Evolution LA!! Let’s talk about how they fumbled this bag and why it’s giving the same vibes as those other disasters.First off, WHY THE HELL are they giving everyone GUNS?! Like, are you kidding me? They’re out here handing Hee Won daggers like she’s in an Avengers flick and giving Lee Hyeon-seong some high-tech gauntlet nonsense. And don’t get me started on Yoo Joonghyuk’s sword looking like it was forged in a sci-fi lab. This ain’t the apocalyptic struggle we signed up for! It’s like they saw the Attack on Titan live-action films and thought Let’s copy their homework and make it flashy but soulless. This is not My ORV!!!!!

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It felt like the highlights of a greater story.

You know what? I want to watch either the show they teased in the trailer one year ago, because what we’ve got was just completely different material, or what we’ve got here, but in a longer format.

I’ll start with the biggest flaw I saw, to get it over with. Earth was miscast. To everyone who honestly thinks Earth fits the role - drop me the name of your country, I gotta go and find myself a 40 but looking 20 daddy. Don’t know what kind of fountain of youth your government is selling for you to think he is believable “about to be” middle aged man, but I want some of it.

And please don’t start with: some people look younger than their age. Sure, but this is literally not the case in this story. Not once was it part of the discussion how he looks good for his age. I mean, the fact that Wen even asked Jim if Li Ming was his son suggests, Jim is supposed to look his age. He just looked way too much like a peer next to Mix and Khaotung.

Because of that, many scenes that were more hard hitting and emotional, felt simply not sincere. He is the main character, so if I cannot connect to him, the whole show starts to fall apart. This is what happens when profiting from a popular and established pairing is more important than proper casting. Pro tip to directors - if you are not willing to cast age appropriate actors, do not try to make shows with big age gaps between characters or about characters who are in their late 30’ and 40’. (Putting this casting into perspective - the actor playing Heart’s father is 45).

That said, I’m not gonna act as if it will for sure ruin the watching experience for everyone - it will not. It’s just something that I personally cannot ignore, especially since the character’s age was brought up over and over again in conversations.

Putting Jim aside, I actually enjoyed a lot of other characters and their interactions. Wen and Li Ming were truly adorable, with this older/younger brother dynamic, and Wen did a good job being the bridge between the uncle and the teen. He made them both understand each other better.

I also found Wen’s and Alan’s relationship fascinating and wish we would see more of it. It seemed like they made almost every possible mistake to end up in this situation, and trying to fix it right away would be an impossible task.

Heart and Li Ming were obviously fans’ favorites. Did I like them? Yes. Do I feel like their interactions were too similar to My School President and it was a bit like watching the same characters just in a different context? Also yes.

Honestly speaking, Alan was my favorite character and one that I was most curious about. It should also be illegal to give Khaotung such a tiny role taking into consideration his talent. I find it a bit funny how, in my view, two most talented actors in the show were sidelined like that.

While I enjoyed Earth and Mix in their other projects, I did not quite like them here. The main couple was for me the weakest aspect of the whole show. I enjoyed the characters far more with other people, compared to watching them interact with each other.

Giving credit where credit is due, Moonlight Chicken tries to tackle more serious issues and steps away from the typical high school romance. It does not follow the “one relationship for the life” idea, showing the past relationships of the main characters. It gives us a deaf community representation in a tactful manner. It shows that at times putting more effort will not save the relationship, and the most healthy way is to just end it and leave. It shows various types of parents-kids relationships, and how there are no right and wrong universal answers, it all depends on the circumstances.

While I appreciate the writer and director bringing all these important issues to the table, I also feel like they were more of an appetizer than a whole meal. It’s undeniable that they did not have enough time to truly dive deep into any of these topics, so at the end it felt more like highlights of a greater story. Personally, I prefer my slice of life character driven shows in a slower pace, that gives me time to digest everything that is happening on the screen.

The quality of the production fluctuated quite a bit. Some scenes were a true perfection and there was not a detail that had to be changed to improve them. But then some scenes had such sloppy lighting I actually laughed. What I loved for sure though were the set designs. Aesthetically pleasing, but not over the top that it looked unnatural. You saw it and you believed - yes, someone lives/works here.

Overall, it has many great messages, many great lines. Could have been one of the best BLs if the production was a bit more daring, but also selective in terms of the story and the casting.

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LONG AWAITED FLOPPY WEDDING ...

What a rip-off! Having to pay 12.99 US$ to watch 1h 10 of extracts from the series' episodes that I had already seen and 10 poor minutes of the wedding itself is really dishonest. I was expecting an entire episode dedicated to the wedding: preps, ceremony, guests, banquet, party, a lot of emotion and tears, etc ... in one word: a wedding.
This episode was so cheaply made: first, as I said, images and scenes already seen in previous episodes, the same damn song all along the 80 minutes, obviously no budget for extras at the wedding (we see the same buddies and some members of the families).
The ceremony itself was totally botched: the couple gets out of the house into the garden where the guests were waiting, Tharn and Type stand up in front of the guests, facing each other, nobody was there to welcome them, introduce them, they exchange the rings and that's it. Pathetic! Nothing happy, "over the roof" as Tharn was feeling in the weeks preceding the wedding.
In our streaming world, $12.99 is more expensive than the release of a new film, a large public blockbuster ...
This shows a true contempt for the fans who follow T & T since the first image of episode 1. I'm not only disappointed but also furious to be the naive victim of this inglorious trap.
Please, save your money and do not attend this cheap wedding.

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The Hong Sisters Are Back…

The Hong Sisters have produced wide scope of dramas over the years with respectfully mixed results . Enter ‘Alchemy Of Souls’: The Hong Sisters’ latest fantasy creation and arguably one of their most ambitious works yet.

In the series, main heroine Naksu (Go Yoon-jung-‘ Sweet Home’, ‘ Law School’ and ‘ Moving’) is a fearless and sword-wielding assassin. She lives in Daeho; a magical land where sorcerers have extraordinary abilities and powers. Yet despite the beauty of different types of magic, there is still one major taboo in Daeho: soul transfiguration. ( The act of displacing one soul into another body.) Caught between a rock and a hard place, the ruthless and instinct-driven female lead is forced to partake in this soul shifting process in order to save her own skin. She finds herself in the body of peasant girl Mu-Deok (Jung So-min- Playful Kiss’, ‘ Because This Is My First Life’ and ‘ Monthly Magazine’).

Meanwhile unbeknownst to the female lead , her destiny is about to change even more when she winds up striking an unconventional alliance with Jang Uk ( Lee Jae Wok- ‘ Search: WWW’, ‘ Extraordinary You’ and ‘ Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol’), the notorious son of the prestigious and magical Jang family. Jang Uk has his own personal reasons for striking an unusual contract with Naksu. However, thanks to their new relations, they will soon discover that their bond will greatly alter their own destinies for better or for worse.

As mentioned previously, ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ is arguably one of the Hong Sisters’ most ambitious works yet. While the series has admittedly received mixed-reception by some for its format, it is filled to the brim with the duo’s creative and imaginative world-building in a manner that will likely remind some of their previous hit-drama ‘ Hotel Del Luna’. However while ‘ Hotel Del Luna’ seemed to heavily lean into the genres of dark fantasy and melodrama, ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ is predominantly focused on its action fight scenes and the conflicts surrounding its setting and the lives of its characters. The series certainly does lean into heavier scenes ( especially with regards to the magical lore of Daeho ) but a lot of these more “morbid” or “disturbing” moments often came through the ambivalent moral choices and decisions of the drama’s characters. ( At the end of the day, the jarring decisions made by humans.)

However on a slightly lighter note, it is fair to say that ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ is fuelled on pure fantasy. The world-building of the series is detailed at times and filled with a lot of fascinating beauty also. On the other hand despite the creativity evidently present in the Hong Sisters’ drama, ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ does admittedly hit a few ruts when it came to execution.

Some of the forms of magic tackled in the Hong Sisters’ drama are certainly impressive. However while the presence of magic in ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ was often detailed, there were moments in the narrative where viewers were expected to “ just know” things without a lot of further clarification or information provided. In addition to this, there is also the prominent issue with the patchy lore of ‘ Alchemy of Souls’ in different parts of the narrative. ( Such as the hierarchies of magical families, the out-rankings of certain magical abilities and exactly why certain noble families are able to get away with literal murder while others accused of killing individuals are subjected to literal witch hunts.)

The Hong Sisters’ drama is what many would probably define as an eclectic mixing pot of genres. There are noticeable elements of action-fantasy but surprisingly romance and comedy at times also. This variety of genres will likely offer viewers with a wide range of different moods and tones in different episodes. However despite the continuous strain of creativity in ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’, it is hard to not bring up one of the drama’s more tiresome issues; the tropes. Of course, the induction of cliches into K-dramas isn’t always a bad thing per say.

However, it did seem slightly surprising that even for well-established writers such as the Hong Sisters, there wasn’t a lot of originality or creativity put into these tropes. Instead enforced cliches such as the love triangle, the strong and cold heroine, the snarky male lead, a troubled past lover and some questionable comic relief wormed its way noticeably into ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ with some varying and mixed results.

Lore and genres aside, there is also the crucial discussion surrounding the characters of ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’. The Hong Sisters seemed to have attempted a ‘Game of Thrones’-style approach with introducing a consortium of different characters (often with dubious morality) in a short space of time. This approach is not always terrible from a writing perspective and certainly did allow viewers to be introduced to some intriguing players in the narrative such as Yoo Jun Sang ( Park Jin), head of the mysterious group Songnim, Go Won ( Shin Seung Ho), the crown prince and potential future king of Daeho and Jin Cho Yeon ( Arin) , the youngest daughter of the Jin Family. However while some of these characters were well-tackled and intriguing in their own right, the lack of opportunities to flesh-out some of these characters did become noticeable as the season progressed.

Main heroine Naksu ( alternatively known as Mu-Deok in the body of the peasant girl) is played by two different actresses; Go Yoon Jung and Jung So-Min. Both actresses delivered fairly consistent dual performances as the main female lead. Admittedly main actress Jung So Min could feel a little flat with her line deliverances at times but this wasn’t entirely the fault of the actress per say.

As a written character, Naksu is a bit of a tough nut for viewers to crack. The Hong Sisters establish early on to viewers that she is a strong, fearless and powerful female assassin. Even in her newfound predicament in the weakened body of Mu-Deok, she takes advantage of her situation by allowing others to underestimate her abilities and seek revenge on those who have wronged her. ( For reasons which are roughly outlined in later episodes.)However in terms of being a likeable heroine who viewers can actually root for, Naksu will likely either be loved or hated by viewers of equal measure .

Of course, the Hong Sisters have attempted to offer sympathy for Naksu to viewers. As the season progresses into later episodes, the writing duo present the fact that Naksu is motivated for particular reasons and motives as well as her unconventional relationship with Jang-Uk.However, writing a strong character(especially a heroine) can often lead to writers falling into the trap of making their characters feel somewhat overly “invincible” or “overpowered” rather than human with actual flaws and issues. Of course, the Hong Sisters have arguably attempted to show this by certain vulnerabilities for Naksu but often this was approached in a way of a “ challenge” for the female lead in order to overcome. Rarely was this shown as an actual problem or flaw that truly allowed her to flourish and grow as a main character.

Costarring alongside the main female leads, there is also the actor of main male lead Jang Uk, Lee Jae Wook. Jae Wook is likely familiar for most viewers for his stoic potential love interest roles in romance dramas. Similarly in ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’, the actor is typecast somewhat again in the series as Jang Uk ; a brooding and deadpan character that viewers will ( similar to Naksu) either love or hate. Of course it is wrong to make out that Jang Uk is a purely despicable character. Similar to the show’s heroine, Naksu, the male lead has his own motives, his own complex backstory and is shown to be an intellectual than allowed him to be fairly interesting in his own right.

In addition to this , there were certainly moments regarding the main male lead’s backstory that were given a dedicated amount of coverage by the drama’s writers also. However, it could sometimes feel as though that Jang Uk’s dominating traits of arrogance and haughtiness were often mistakingly justified by the Hong Sisters as a “result of his situation” rather than simply being explained and used as a stage of further character development. (Often this resulted in some of Jang Uk’s actions feeling frustratingly repetitive or justified even when there was a necessity for them to be called out otherwise.)

Naturally, it is hard not to discuss the main leads without bringing up their oddball relationship over the course of the season. The Hong Sisters play upon the old trope of the cohabitation drama with the “ master and servant” roles being unconventionally swapped throughout between Jang Uk and Naksu ( in the body of Mu-Deok). This unusual relationship dynamic was certainly compelling for viewers and did allow for the slow-burn romance to satisfyingly thrive in this written relationship setup.

Although often entertaining and certainly generating a few laughs with their comical antics, it could grow a little repetitive at times to see their relationship going from one or two extremes without a lot of middle ground between either being serious or overly jokey . This became especially noticeable when it was placed against the somewhat convoluted induction of the “ love triangle”; a trope that while not overly dominant in the major storyline events of ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’, did play a role beyond its necessary requirements.

As for the narrative structure, ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ is approached in different layers by the Hong Sisters. In early episodes of the series, the writing duo used their time wisely to establish some of the main narrative events, while later episodes heavily dived into further execution and progression. On the other hand while this is certainly not an unusual writing decision in K-dramas, it did often make the series feel somewhat somewhat slow-paced in parts. As a result of this writing decision, ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ often felt as though parts of the events surrounding subplot and even some moments of the major storyline weren’t as well-rounded as they should’ve been. However, the Hong Sisters did deliver a thrilling season finale that will likely surprise and intrigue viewers with its ending note .

The stylistic approach of ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ is admittedly where things become a little more rocky. Under director Park Joon Hwa ( ‘ Bring It On, Ghost’, ‘ What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?’ and ‘ Touch Your Heart’), the series did present a gorgeous array of sleek and gorgeous scenes and palette schemes. However, it is likely that the opinions of viewers will remain somewhat divided by the heavy reliance on CGI over the course of the series. ( Especially with regards to the quality of green screen scenes not always matching up with the desired intentions of the Hong Sisters’ vision.)

In addition to this, there is also the slight nuanced issue surrounding the more stark modern presentations of certain characters with dyed hair and modern-takes on historical outfit designs. Although this is a fictional work and can maybe be excused on some grounds with an artistic licence, it was sometimes hard as a viewer to really immerse yourself in a historical fantasy world when certain actors had their hair dyed in an obviously modern manner.

Nevertheless despite some liberties being taken with the outfit designs, they were certainly impressive outfit decisions taken by the costume department onscreen. The shades of silk and materials used were often vividly bright in the show’s lighting ; often seeming ethereal on the frames of the actors as they were adorned in bright shades of peacock blue, marigold and deep vermillion and certainly helping to embody the magical element of the show.

Aside from the stylistic approach of ‘ Alchemy of Souls’, the OST was mainly composed of schmaltzy ballads. Certainly some of these songs were more memorable than others such as “ Scars Leave Beautiful Trace” ( 상처는 아름다운 흔적이 되어) by Car, the Garden and "Breath" (숨결) by Kim Na Young.

‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ is an ambitious fantasy epic by the Hong Sisters. It is imaginative and filled with some intriguing world-building, characters and a fairly enthralling plot objective that will keep viewers intrigued. In addition to the writing of the show, Director Hwa’s varied palette schemes and lighting choices help to truly bring the series to life in a magical manner. On the other hand, the writing duo’s project is not flawless. The CGI is varied from scene to scene while the characters of the series and the events of the narrative felt somewhat overly niche and rushed at times. Nevertheless with a potential sequel in the works and a certain possibility to fix some of these weaker writing moments, season one of ‘ Alchemy Of Souls’ is certainly a satisfying appetiser for any fantasy lover.

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A Hot Mess!

Gosh, I don't even know where to start. This was one of my most anticipated BLs of this year, and I am so disappointed.
Let me start with the good. I adore Zee. I have been following him since Why R U? and he is literally why I was looking forward to this drama. His acting did not disappoint, and I was pleasantly surprised by NuNew. For a first-time actor, he did a great job. There were a couple of scenes where I felt like he could have delivered more, but overall them and the rest of the cast did a pretty good job acting-wise.

Another thing that actually led me to finish this instead of dropping it, is the side couple. Syn and Nuer. OMG. They are just the cutest lil beans I have ever seen in my life, and if I had to watch an entire drama of them just staring into each other eyes, I would!!!!

Finally, the music. I will be honest and say I don't know much about Thai music, but this drama introduced me to so many great songs that I have been listening to on repeat.

Now let's move on to the bad. The story was a complete mess! And honestly, calling it a storyline, is a bit of a stretch. The same plot was dragged and spun for the entire twelve episodes and the characters just kept lying and deceiving each other. Not to mention, the pacing was so hard to follow. I felt like I had no idea what was happening half the time. I get that the whole point of this drama was to watch them grow and learn to communicate, but I still feel like they haven't. In fact, this show had some of the most stagnant characters I have ever seen. There was little to no character development for both of them, in the end, they both found out each other's secrets, did nothing to resolve the miscommunication, and continued on in their lives like nothing was wrong, but NOTHING CHANGED! There are so many things that I felt went unaddressed. The show should have focused less on being preachy and more on actually writing a plot with substance.

Hot kissing scenes are always fun to watch, but it's not going to save a drama with a boring messy plot or boring stagnant characters. The saddest thing is, this had the potential to be so good. A stellar cast, a good budget, and an established fanbase. It had everything going for it. Unfortunately, it just couldn't deliver.

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What Did I Just Watch...?

I feel like the last two days that I've been watching this show didn't happen. I feel like I lived in a simulation in which I thought I was watching this, but I would just end up waking up to it being all a dream. But nope, I really watched this. I heard nothing but amazing news about this series -- "It's perfect", "It's the best BL in a long time". I genuinely think we were all watching something different. No, I'm convinced there is another My Beautiful Man out there that is what everyone was talking about because this can seriously not be it. Utsukushii Kare is a perfect setting with the absolute worst story possible.

Let's Dive In.

The basics of this story is that Hira is a nobody and everyone treats him like trash, even including the guy he deems the beautiful-est human ever, Kiyoi, who is the high school's most handsome, and treated like a god among the others. A great premise, and sure, we've heard similar ones, but Japan has a way of telling a story that you can just never get bored with it, and I think this really could've been a good series -- heck, a great series. However, it crumbles under its own hold by having terrible characters, a god-awful plot twist, and a lackluster ending.

Let's start with what I liked: I liked Koyama more than anything else. He falls under the Second Lead Syndrome for sure. He was the definition of the perfect boyfriend: cute, funny, charismatic, thoughtful, caring, there to help Hira with his stutter, there to be his friend, someone he could talk to -- and Hira can't seem to see any of that..? It's okay, Hira doesn't deserve a Koyama, I do. I will take Koyama, because, who wouldn't?

Again, I think production was nice. The bike scenes were really nicely shot. I liked the sceneries and the lighting the most. There is a way Japanese series are shot that I just fall in love instantly, so this was a big bonus of watching.

The acting was really good, especially Hagiwara. Even if they really did his character wrong, he still played it to the best of his ability, and it comes off really nice. The rest of the cast did an excellent job too, even the bullies were good.

Alright, now into the terrible: Both Hira and Kiyoi were just horribly-written. Hira can't seem to stand on his own two legs, which is fine, some people are super shy, and stuttering's not even the problem -- it's the fact that he let everyone walk all over him, including the guy he liked. He would automatically do anything they asked, without hesitation, and it made me sick to my stomach. It was so hard watching him on the screen, I just couldn't stand him in any way. And Kiyoi was just the worst. I was thinking at some point, Kiyoi was going to be like, "Ha! I was only being mean to you so that you could finally grow some balls and stand your ground," nope, instead, he bosses Hira around like the rest, calls him disgusting, gross, a stalker, kicks him, pushes him down, and Hira still manages to fall for him for god-knows-what reason. Looks can only get a person so far. Instead, Kiyoi's big plot twist is that he also liked Hira, he just didn't know how to tell him. This plot twist is just pitiful. Why harm Hira then? Why call him names, have him do things for you? Nope, it still doesn't make up the fact that in the entire series, Hira is bullied to death by his own love interest. There's no turn in Kioyi's behavior until the very last episode. It's disgusting. And what makes it worst is that the ending is so lackluster. How could I care about them after all this time? I sat and watched Hira be used like a ragdoll, and you want me to sing Kumbaya..? No, just no. I think this behavior is dangerous in a BL, especially with me seeing so many people praising their relationship, and for what?

Ratings:

Story: 5 - How could I give two craps about the story when for the entire series is was Hira being picked on? I'll give it 5 stars for Koyama, and Koyama only.

Acting: 9 - I think the acting was the only good thing about this series.

Music: 5.5 - I don't remember it, meaning it wasn't a distraction. Great.

Retwtch Value: 1 - No.

Overall, this is one of the worst, if not the worst, series I've seen in a while. I can't comprehend what people like about this, and quite honestly, I don't care to know. It's sick. A BL like this is dangerous, it shows that a toxic relationship like their's is revivable, that it's okay when it's absolutely not! If this were real life, Kiyoi would've been cut off immediately, or he would've put a restraining order on Hira, cause I know I would. Not recommended in the slightest.

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A Story About Dreams & Destiny: "Although I know my destiny, I still courageously choose to face it"

Fangs of Fortune is a fantasy drama that is based from Chinese Mythological Creatures. It tells a story about a heavily discriminated great demon named Zhao Yuan Zhou and the journey of his life as he chooses to face his destiny. Along his process of walking onto this new path he had chosen, he managed to be involved with a group of beings ; either mortals, gods, demons. They later formed into a team at the Demon Hunting Bureau who at first were only bonded together for the sake of solving mysterious cases about creatures that had gone rampant. They each face each other with indifference and mistrust at first, but the more they unravel truths about the past - especially of their own, they gradually began to warm up to each other and thus, formed a friendship that later turned into found family. Regardless of their differences, they began to understand each other and stand in equal footing eventually learning to separate evil and good from origin, and coming to accept life's greyness and the complexities of beings - whether mortals or creatures.

What had heavily made me gravitate towards this drama is its compelling storyline that is thought provoking and how it finely touched different gradients about morality. It isn't all for a captivating watch as viewers are also challenged to put their perspectives into each of the characters shoes to understand the different contrasting layers of these characters ; their decisions and actions towards certain events or situations. Adding to these is the unabashed portrayal of intense emotions from every character no matter what gender which in turn pinches at the corners of the viewers hearts. To say it is merely a fantasy drama is a bit of an injustice, beyond the excellent cinematography and gorgeous visuals lies a much more meaningful story about life and its lessons.

The great demon Zhao Yuan Zhou's journey came with a lot of loaded heartache but as the plot progressed, his heart became vividly clear. He is a very courageous character who had accepted and had long awaited his destiny, yet still he chose to face it. In the process of doing so, he found himself spreading warmth towards everyone and at the same time receiving the same warmth which he thought he is undeserving of. His selfless act of sacrificing his life for the greater good and his loved one despite having already grown roots for living, proves his heroic character, great love, and how he holds his dream of a peaceful and carefree life ever so importantly. He didn't just simply accept his destiny, he fulfilled his dream along with it. The immense amount of greatness of his character is immeasurable.

This drama might not have been centered solely on the romance between the main leads, however, their love story turned to be the most beautiful yet tragic to be foretold. The love between Zhao Yuan Zhou and Wen Xiao is one that is seen as subtle on the surface, barely palpable - but as you take off the heart shaped rose colored glasses, what awaits is a love that conquers all. Deeper than the romantic moments or sweet intimate scenes, it's the strength of their feelings towards each other that time and time again, they constantly and gravely chose one another. Zhao Yuan Zhou's journey to life started because of Wen Xiao, but it also ended because of her. His love for her is so vast and selfless. While Wen Xiao became the living testament to his deep love, her devotion to wait for 300 years in the sundial and her willingness to guard his home ; the wilderness, while endlessly waiting for their reunion. The nuanced and subtleness of Zhao Yuan Zhou and Wen Xiao's love, proved against odds how deeply rooted and ever lasting their love is, even if their fate is tragic, their feelings for each other never cease to exist, and continue to live on, for every rain shower is their reunion.

All the performance of the actors in this drama are praiseworthy. I specifically have to praise Hou Ming Hao's phenomenal acting skills, his portrayal of Zhao Yuan Zhou connected the most with me. The expression and emotions he delivered on screen screams how great and talented of an actor he truly is. He always left me in awe. I instantly became a fan of him. On the other hand, Chen Du Ling's role as Wen Xiao spoke so much volumes about humans limitations when faced with destiny, her portrayal has been admirable. Tian Jia Rui and Cheng Xiao doesn't fall behind much, they also did a commendable job with their roles. I am looking forward to seeing more of Lester Lin's growth as an actor, he carries so much potential at a young age. Lastly, Yan An, Zhen Xuan and Lai Wei Ming deserves more recognition for their acting performance, I applaud their performance too.

I highly recommend this drama. Perfection is something unachievable in life, even the best comes with flaws. This drama is no exception from such flaws but what makes this stood out is the amount of good qualities it had. From storyline, to cinematography, to acting, to characters and to chemistry.

The 'Fangs' in 'Fangs of Fortune' surely carved into my heart ♡

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Ideal living

I love this drama.
This is my first review.
One of the most riveting modern Chinese dramas that I have watched in a long time. No need for any of the bells and whistles like fantasy fairy lands, CGI, nice fancy costumes/makeup, kung fu choreography, original songs. Even without all that, this drama still stands out. Why? Story is riveting, uplifting, storytelling is logical, and the actors deliver in portraying characters brilliantly.

What drew to me to drama to begin with was SunLi. I have not watched any of her previous dramas before so was curious why she’s so famous. And after watching her here in this show, I now know why. The first few episodes were difficult to follow, but I stuck with my rule of thumb on watching at least 5 episodes, and if I didn’t feel invested by then, I was out. But not with this one. After the 3rd episode, it was game on!

The title of the drama is The Ideal City, and it delves into the theme of what is the ideal way to succeed, and what do you do when you get there. Does the end justify the means?
It follows the story of a young woman (SuXiao) living in the big city of Shang Hai, and how she makes it in a male dominated industry despite the many adversities she has to face.

It’s natural for people to want to succeed, to climb the ranks of the corporate ladder, make more money, and to be respected. But what will you do to get it? How low will you go to get what you want? Ideally, we should strive and work hard to get what we want in life, but so many times, some people cut corners to attain that outcome.
Many times, it’s those at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy who suffer the consequences of the decisions of those above.

SuXiao is a principled woman who is talented in her field of work.
From the get go, she is served with wave after wave of injustices. Betrayed professionally and personally by those she loves and trusts. What I love most about her is that even though she is struck hard by these people, she does not stoop down to the level of her rivals. She does not use their methods to beat them.
Also, she doesn’t stay down. She picks herself up, soldiers on, and takes up any opportunities she’s given, proves her worth, and thrives.
To me, SuXiao’s journey and response embodies power through resilience and hard work.
She did it fair and square. She was a victim of unfairness, but she rose as a victor.
Life knocks her down, but she got up. Step by step she rises and proves her worth with sheer hard work. She shuts the mouths of critics by her actions.
Full of dignity and integrity in life and work.

She is the ideal.

But not everyone can enjoy the same idealistic journey.
Some others made it to the top by utilising inglorious methods like: back-stabbing, holding others back deliberately to not let them outshine you, taking credit for other people’s work, bribing, framing, scheming, and just knocking others out of the way to get to the top.
It’s ugly, dirty, desperate, and simply despicable. It’s unideal.

Also, when you get to the apex. What do you do? What is the endgame for all the headache associated with corporate boardroom struggles, mind games, schemes?
Be a vortex to seek to hoover in more money for yourself? Or should you look at how you can pull others up to be on the mountain with you.
It’s the reasonability of those higher up to be transparent, expose truth and administer justice.

I may be a bit philosophical in my drama review, but what I enjoy most about this drama is that it holds a mirror out to the audience and asks “what will you do to get what you want in life?” What this show reminds me of is that ultimately you are in control of your own destiny. Whatever your background, whether you have billionaire father, education, or a poverty stricken family to support.
Everyone has baggage to carry. Life is hard for everyone.
You can wallow and whinge, throw pity parties for yourself and continue in your state of victimhood.
OR you can after you fall down, re-evaluate how you can do it differently, and dust yourself off and try again. It is ideal to choose the latter, even though it may be a rough and hard journey, and, to not leave a trail of resentment and disgruntled people to get there.

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