Reviews

WHY???

Season one left a big TinCan cliffhanger, so on paper, it did make sense to push for a second season even without Saint. We were also led to believe that this is a season for the second couple who gained a lot of following.

But then this mess happened: Ae and Pete's, and Techno and Keng's story continued, but Tin and Can's story was rebooted, and we as viewers are just supposed to accept that.

At first i was willing to give it a chance, after all, thats more screentime for Mean and Plan. But then what they delivered was 6 episodes of TinCan rehash which was so poorly executed and rushed to cover all their important events from the first season. Unfortunately, the chemistry just wasnt the same anymore.

Whats worse was that the episodes after their supposed breakup and makeup, upto the finale, didnt improve things.

Ae's story, and the constant crying and/or sulking was so annoying that you cant help but fast forward his scenes. Techno's stupidity and the pretend hard-to-get with Keng is also tiring. Tum, Tar, Pond, Bow and Keen were also all useless. None of the stories made sense and didnt contribute to the overall cohesion of the series.

What they could have done is to just continued with TinCan's story line and focused on developing their characters.

What was a good season 1 suddenly transformed into a season 2 that felt like a high school film project. It felt like there was a contractual obligation and expectation to deliver a 2nd season that the makers didnt care whether its good or bad. Then at the end, they had the audacity to put a cliffhanger, i think in the hopes of producing a 3rd season. Please i beg the producers not to, and just let this story rest.

If you have seen season 1 and not seen this yet and you want closure of TinCan, just watch episode 1, then skip to episode 6 or 7. Play it in fast forward mode too, you dont need the lines. Giving this a 5.5 just because of MeanPlan. Im sorry Perth, i like you but this kinda diminished your star.

Leggi di Più

Utterly disappointing (Only good for a HATE-watch)

The Next Prince feels like an underbaked cake with perfect icing, visually stunning, with gorgeous cinematography, lavish costumes, and clearly a high budget… but the writing is flat, disjointed, and lacking depth.

I actually enjoyed the first episode and felt a spark of interest, but after that, it was all downhill. Each week I found myself less engaged, to the point of skipping entire scenes. The writer set up a promising world and then just… walked out of the room.

Let’s talk about Khanin, or not, because what is there to say? He started off strong with a sassy, confident personality, but the moment he stepped into the palace, all of that disappeared. He became a lovesick puppy following Charan around for no clear reason. Was it just because they’re Zeenunew? Because nothing in the story really justified the romance. Imagine your entire life falls apart after some random guy shows up, and somehow you're supposed to fall for him anyway?

And don't get me started on how Khanin completely forgot his life in the UK the second he entered Emmarly. That entire backstory might as well have been deleted. As for Charan, the idea that he has a debilitating trauma response to rain, and still gets sent alone to the UK to retrieve the crown prince, is just absurd.

Their romance had zero momentum for me. It started with promise but became boring fast.

I adore JimmyOhm, but the Ramil–Paytai dynamic was just bad. Paytai deserved to run far, far away from Ramil, who was cowardly, frustrating, and made no smart choices.

Calvin and Jay actually had an interesting storyline, but they got the screen time equivalent of a fruit fly's lifespan, blink and you miss them.

Princess Ava had potential to be iconic, but her character was reduced to spouting "girl power" lines while being surrounded by constant misogyny. She deserved much better writing.

Now Chakri, Chakri is the moment. Scene-stealer, fan favorite, and honestly the most consistent character in the show. No notes there.

Overall:
The Next Prince is style over substance. Beautiful to look at, but hollow. The cast did what they could, but the writing left them stranded. If you're looking for something to roll your eyes at while admiring the outfits, this might be your perfect hate-watch.

Leggi di Più

Started out great but went downhill

I’m not the type to write reviews here but I just had to .
It’s been about 5 days since I completed it but I feel I won’t be able to rest properly if I don’t write this review.

This is honestly one of the worst dramas I’ve ever seen . The drama had so much potential but the writer ruined it .

The ml Dino was so dumb and easily manipulated.
I also found him a bit manipulative with the fl
The fl was too trusting and naive .
There’s a thin line between being naive and stupid, and she leaned more towards stupidity.

The drama was a hot mess . From the hypocrite of a grandfather and mother , to the annoying second leads.

Honestly, none of the characters were lovable.
I initially started it for Luke but I guess even his looks weren’t enough to save this .

I genuinely wouldn’t recommend this drama to anyone except you enjoy experiencing anger and frustration

Leggi di Più

This is one of those dramas that are not meant to be “bestsellers”, like mentioned in the drama, but tv stations would still produce them as they bring warmth to those who watched it. LJS left such a great gift for fans before his military enlistment.

There were not unreasonable plot twists, nerve wrecking happenings, hate-able antagonists etc. Just a well thought through storyline, stellar acting, pretty cinematography and lots of beautiful references to books.

This is an inspiring drama, which I feel might be more relatable to a more mature audience. It’s the type of drama I would watch when I feel down because watching it, I can’t help but have a smile plastered across my face. LJS’ handsomeness in this drama definitely doesn’t help.

Leggi di Più

Worst season

First of all, the selection of participants is extremely questionable. Instead of presenting interesting personalities with different backgrounds and life experiences, “Love Chaos” relies on stereotypical clichés. The characters are shallow and superficial, making it difficult to connect emotionally with them. It seems like the production was looking for appearances rather than authentic stories. I'm disappointed with this season. The participants couldn't have been chosen worse. I don't understand how so many people could get hung up on a red flag. The guy is the epitome of red flag. He was given too much airtime and the others significantly less. I almost felt compelled to fast forward from this one man. I hope that next season will be significantly better. I was really looking forward to the new season

Leggi di Più

Ok, to start off, I am a major fan of drama's like this. I could go on for days about how much I like them, but I won't. Try to make this short.

I recommend this drama highly if you are a fan of the genre. If your not, don't waste your time. This drama is a lot like the Japanese drama MR BRAIN, but its also very different in that it involves more police work. As I said, CSI met House, and had a baby, and this is it.

The story is a good one, or as I put, a very good one, some things were just to predictable, so it didn't get a higher score.

The actors, did an extraordinary job, they were very believable.

Music, I never even noticed if there was music, so very low score on that.

Rewatch, I probably won't rewatch, but may someday.

Overall, a very good drama, and an interesting thought process while watching it. Watch it!

Leggi di Più

Boring and Disappointing

I will keep this short because I have nothing but negative things to say about this drama.

The games were boring and anticlimactic, the plot is extremely predictable, there were way too many annoying characters and unnecessary drama, cringeworthy acting from some of the supporting characters (don’t get me started on the VIPs), the cinematography was not as good as I expected from the trailer, and lastly, the ending was so bland.

If you're looking for a suspenseful survival game type of drama, watch Alice in Borderland instead. I'm still giving it a rating higher than 5 because as much as the plot is predictable and banal, I still paid enough attention while watching and it was fun guessing what would happen next.

Leggi di Più

Unpopular Opinion: I didn't love this drama.

I binge-watched Flower of Evil over the Christmas holidays with my boyfriend, but I think I'm going to stay away from melodramas for a while.

I think the show has a lot of interesting elements that make it stand out. Firstly, the ML is not your typical good guy. He has antisocial personality disorder and his dad is a serial killer, so from the beginning the show keeps you guessing on his motivations/actions. Part of what makes the show good is you keep wondering - would he have done ____? what is he really like? is he really a bad guy?

In terms of romance, I feel like the ML and FL were a good couple / complemented each other. The flashbacks in each episode were really well done and made me want to keep finding out about their love story and past together. As the show progresses you also learn more about the ML and I felt so bad for him. It was so sad seeing the flashbacks of him in the village being taken to be exorcised and the other stuff that he went through. This is definitely a show that makes you think about prejudices and people's judgements and what actually makes a person evil.

I was enjoying the drama until Episode 9, which is when things just went downhill for me. Once the real Baek Hee Seong opened his eyes, I feel like the drama was just a bit too melodramatic for me. Previously I felt like every episode ended on a cliffhanger and that made me want to keep watching, but by that point it's quite obvious that the ML is a good guy and nothing bad will happen to him so a lot of the suspense is gone. There were multiple times where things could have gone wrong for him...and then they just don't happen so it feels like they were pulling their punches at that point with the plot. I'm all for happy endings but I feel like in a suspense drama there needs to be more stakes/uncertainty to keep you watching.

It felt like regardless the ML would be okay and the plot pivots to finding the accomplice, which I wasn't that invested in.
It also got a bit predictable when it came to the bad guys and what they were going to do. Watching episodes 9-15 were honestly a struggle, but I didn't want to just drop the drama without giving it a shot to get better later on. The reveal about the ML's father's death was interesting but I wish that they delved into that more later.

The acting was good but ultimately the plot was just too much for me.

Leggi di Più

Perfect combination of script, director, and actors - Comprehensive ongoing review

Well ... I am not going to say that I wasn't disappointed with the ending. I was hoping for a wedding. However, it ended like a Disney movie without any surprise.
I also felt disappointed that the last 6 episodes spent too much time on a repetitive theme: revenge. First, CSS was kidnapped by an obsessed woman. Then the revenge again with Yao's sister-in-law.
I also felt disappointed with the way YS went out without any emotional scene from the book.

In any case, the director did well in most of the parts but the ending could have been a little better.

--------

Once in a while, Chinese drama delivers a high-quality production with some artful direction, entertaining script/humor, and solid acting.
The 2nd part of the drama is about how the romance between LBY and CSS will develop to a climax: they will separate and reunite after 5 years. Questions that will be answered: Why do they break up? Why does she become engaged to a YS? Will she forgive him? If so, why?
While the first part of the drama is lighthearted, the second part will propel the characters to new heights: deeper love, revenge, separation, and redemption. It will be an entertaining ride. I hope the script will not deviate so much from the novel.

DIRECTOR:
The director of this drama is probably one of the best. He delivers high-quality cinematography and shows the interaction between the characters to create an entertaining drama. This drama is basically family oriented. It's difficult to make it entertaining. But it delivers!

SCRIPT:
The script is almost better than the novel. There are a few changes but overall the changes are for the better. Comic relief moments are appropriately inserted.

CHEMISTRY:
All the MLs have chemistry with ZLS. The looks (eyes) between them and her show how much they like her. This drama would not have been what it is without ZLS. She carries the show, acting like 15 years old girl convincingly.

ENDING:
Happy Ending in the Novel. They didn't get married only talked about it in the epilogue. No actual ceremony. Let's hope the drama will script it in.

EPISODE REVIEW:
49- CSS raced to be with LBY despite his not telling her the truth. She confronts him. He has to take revenge before he marries otherwise he would implicate her family.
48- LBY revealed his identity to his enemy and killed his "father" who is really his uncle. He swapped identity with his cousin.
47 - LBY's mom died
41-42 episodes mark the beginning of the revenge arc.
41 has a lot of romance. LBY volunteered to go to battle against a defector. CSS makes outfits for him.
42 while LBY & CCS's father heads out to battle, CSS's father was accused of treason. The whole family is imprisoned while waiting for the case to be solved.

39-40 The murder case of the Crown Prince's ex-fiance's husband...

37-38 The Queen's birthday banquet

35-36
Mostly, these episodes continued the romance and added more intensity to the conflict between the 5th Princess and CSS. It's a peaceful time during which CSS planned the banquet for the Empress and showcased her talent. Because of the banquet, her family misses her. LBY came to bring her belongings to the Palace so she won't become homesick.
These episodes show a gradual progression of their relationship after the engagement party.

33-34
These 2 episodes are more balanced in terms of Palace drama and romance. So much happened in ep 34: the first kiss, the engagement party, the abolishment of 2 scheming ladies (the king's aunt and the stepmom).
Moments I especially loved:
1) the humor in ep 34 ... so funny and gratifying to finally see the bad people being effectively dealt with
2) the cinematography: the camera looks directly down at CSS's face as she thought about CSS while discussing her feelings with her friends in 33, the heads of the empress and the aunt as they confront each other, and the men waiting around as spectators while the women came up with the solution.
3) a fresh take on Palace drama: both the empress and the consort work together to maintain harmony. You always see the opposite case because it's more dramatic. Here, it's just as dramatic ... and funny at the same time.


31-32
Not too many romantic moments here. These two episodes develop the characterizations and conflicts of the main players in the palace: the polarization of the two personalities of the 3rd prince vs. the Crown Prince, who doesn't have the personality to be in politics or rule the country. He is too soft-hearted.
The episodes also show the lovers in conflict: LBY doesn't tell CSS all the details so CSS doesn't know any politics in the palace; she blindly follows her independent thinking as she often did except now the stakes are much higher.
The Palace drama is slowly heading toward more and more conflicts to a resolution that necessitates the removal of the Crown Prince. The good thing is there are no absolute bad people: one prince is more suitable for ruling the country. The other is just as happy to not be a King!

29-30
I normally don't like Palace drama because it's full of cliches and catfights. There is some of that here. But the difference is that it is seen through the eyes of a 15-years-old girl who has no power to intervene, and yet she did. She herself will navigate this perilous journey through the palace life and triumph. Here she will learn to adapt and distinguish between good and evil. What makes these palace drama stories different is that they are not ridiculous caricatures! The evil people are curbed appropriately. The royal parents don't allow their kids to go wild: they punish them.

In these 2 episodes, we saw the difference between Consort Yue and the Empress: the former is strong and decisive while the latter has a soft heart. Likewise, the difference between their sons: the Crown Prince, who caters to useless people to keep the peace, while the Third Prince, who like his mom, speaks out.

Romantic scenes:
1) the stars in the sky and CSS is the brightest star of them all in LBY's eyes.
2) the first innocent kiss on the forehead and she felt giddy
3) CSS is starting to feel loyalty and love for her fiance

28
Love doesn't conquer all ... Adjustments and compromises are required. I find this scenario to be very realistic. Romantic love is balanced with conflicts and character development. I like how smoothly the script transitions the story to the Palace.

Leggi di Più

Promising premise but drag midway too much

San Young ended up being possessed by a juvenile ghost when she touched a cursed inheritance. This ghost takes control of her body, acts beyond her consciousness, and separates from her body to commit murders. A folklore professor Hae Sang, who is able to see ghosts met her and try to get rid of this ghost.

Revenant is a supernatural thriller drama with a promising premise set up strongly in the first 4 episodes. Besides our male and female lead investigating these based on the folklore pov, the two police officers investigating them through logic pov. I like how both of them were coming to the same conclusions despite working in very different ways, but I wish that they interacted a little bit more.

Production-wise, the camera angles, lighting, and the sets are creepy yet intriguing. Kim Tae Ri's portrayal of San Young is perfect; whiplashing between her character and being possessed. The folklore aspect are described with clear rules and they follow these rules. It’s very important to the story so I appreciate the writers for that.

But the plot is super slow after 6 episodes. It’s like watching the same episodes, and our protagonists are mostly bark but not bite. Each case did give clues, but they were repetitive and the lessons about folklore is a bit preachy.
They conveniently wrap up well, but left some loose ends.

Leggi di Più

Better than I expected

I started watching this drama just because of Luo Yun Xi (Leo Luo) and Cheng Xiao pairing. I just wanted to check how well it worked. The whole drama turned out to be better than I expected.

Plot (8.5 stars)
------------------
I am quite disappointed by the plot. The synopsis had much potential than the actual drama. The romance is given more importance than mystery. The amnesia plot was rather disappointing as it only lasted for a few episodes. The truth that LZL was not instigator wasn't revealed little by little. So, the SXY's hatred towards LZL did not last for long. As said in the synopsis, SXY didn't have to try 'desperately' to save their relationship as LZL was always ready to go back into her arms.
The romance plot was quite interesting. It is not much of a 'hard-earned romance' as it is mentioned in the synopsis. The only disappointment is that it was there throughout the drama, for almost the beigining to the end. Had they given more importance to the mystery pIot, the romance could have been more sweeter. Also, have not seen much dramas like this, in which the FL usually initiates kiss.
The drama had many nice quotes too..

Acting or Cast (9 stars)
----------------------------
I would have given the cast 9.5 or 10 stars if not there were scenes where the FL cries lol. Cheng Xiao had improved but she has yet to study how to handle emotional scenes. Yun Xi nailed his character perfecty as usual. The chemistry between the leads was quite lacking. And there is Gao Han and Tian Yi Tong. Their acting also was really nice and I really liked Gao Han's character very much.
Then, Chestnut. I don't know if he could be said as a pact of Cast haha.. He was the cutest of all and the most sensible one!

Music (10 stars)
---------------------
The music was superb. The title song really blended with the theme of the drama. Music was played exactly where it was needed. Some songs I like:
Meory of Last Life by Curley Gao
Circle of Love by Tien Chong
Venus by By2
This drama had many songs and I like most of the songs in English.

Rewatch value (5.5 stars)
-----------------------------
The rewatch value is actually quite low. I don't think I would rewatch this drama at any point of time.

Overall (7.5 stars)
----------------------
I liked the drama eventhough it is not one of my top favourites. Overall, it turned out to be better than I expected. I am also at ease seeing Cheng Xiao improve in this drama. This drama is an enjoyable watch.

Leggi di Più

Chinese Writers need to create better material and stronger female leads.

Back when I started watching dramas in 2018 I preferred Chinese Dramas over Korean Dramas. Now here I am in 2024 and it's hard to find good-quality Chinese Dramas. This Drama was the worst for many reasons. I absolutely HATE how mild-mannered they make FL in these dramas. The first half of the show was just the FL with no backbone being bossed around by the ML who slowly started to develop feelings for her. Even the build-up to their dating was so anti-climatic and immature. The female lead acted like an abused victim who mumbled when she spoke and never spoke up for herself. I guess she was good at her job but not really she was just passive and gave good customer service. The case from episode 15 I think it was really irritated me. It was messed up for them to interfere with the mistress, wife, and daughter. It was clear the mistress wasn't a good person and that doing the DNA test would only hurt the daughter who was the most genuine out of the situation. That situation bothered me and the fact they never corrected the error and just let the story die out like that was ugh! I also think the revenge on the sister's ex-husband was so anti-climatic it was like girl this was your big payback... I feel like if this were a Kdrama revenge would've been sweeter.

I started to fast forward after a certain point and here is why It took the FL half the show to figure out the lead liked her (episode 21) and then we get to episode 26 where the ML's admirer comes back and is about to play mind games with her. The second female lead was only there for a day and threw some compliments at the FL and defended the FL in a situation she started to gain the FL's trust and with that the 2nd FL was able to convince the FL to join her team. Of course, when she switched teams the 2nd FL was able to make her feel so insecure she ended up leaving the company altogether. I just wish they would write better, stronger, and smarter female leads in Chinese dramas. The 2nd FL is always more competent than the weak mild-mannered FL. It's crazy to me that the FL was so awestruck by the 2nd FL all it took was some kind words for her to switch teams. so annoying. This drama has no re-watch value and I'd only recommend it if you like the cliche dumb FL smart ML asian drama.

Leggi di Più