Reviews

A minority of one here

I can understand the praise which all the other reviewers shower on various aspects of this series. The cinematography. The acting. The writing. The music. From a thoroughly dispassionate standpoint, I am able to give "good" ratings to some of those dimensions too. Anyhow, I leave it to The Shipper's many enthusiastic fans to praise it to the skies, as they do. But I found the series so intensely disagreeable that my feelings of shock and unease will probably stay with me a long time whenever I think of The Shipper. In brief, it gives us a very weird message about life and death, and a bitterly homophobic account of human love. The one and only love story here is a heterosexual love story about a girl trapped in a male body. This might lead to an interesting exploration of trans identity, or an attempt to look at a non-binary self-understanding. But no. She's in a male body, that's all, and the nature of the relationship is utterly conventional heterosexual girl/boy romance. As for the same-sex possibility here (no point even referring to the concept of "BL"), it is literally killed off, stone dead. There is no chance of love between males, the storyline seems to say - it's doomed. Fatal. Something which has to be terminated, erased. As happens here. The only way love could exist between two seemingly male persons, the series tells us, is when one of them in reality is a woman - meaning it's not really any sort of "m/m" relationship at all. It's a hideous and cruel message and it's what this whole series is based on. Hence my low rating. Yes, I should have abandoned it long, long ago. And I did. But I came back to see how it ended. I'm sorry I did.

Footnote: I realise I am not in a minority of one. Fortunately. There are a couple of other discerning viewers who were equally alert to, and dismayed by, the crude homophobic message conveyed by The Shipper. Meanwhile, however, I've read the other reviews here, and I'll say that I'm - well, intrigued. One could say they exhibit a ... striking unity. First of all, there are a great many of them. A huge number of reviews. All for The Shipper. OK, very well. This suggests that it was an exceptionally popular series, watched by a very high number of viewers. Was it? I'm not sure I got that impression ... Next: many, if not most, of the reviews are rather close to identical. They seem to follow a set formula. Read along, and you'll quickly get the picture. The reviewer immediately announces that the series isn't "BL" - and always finds space to make some dismissive comment about BL fans. Then we're told that The Shipper is a vastly superior product - with more than a few reviewers going out of their way to pour scorn on BL, yaoi, m/m romance, LGBT material etc. Next, they tell you that this series is an edifying moral lesson, or a series of inspiring moral messages. Finally, they award it a series of 9s and 10s.

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Too many episodes, not enough story…

I know I’m probably in the minority with my rating but this drama was good but not amazing to me. The plot was a basic setup, very similar to some other modern dramas but managed to keep me until the end.

What I liked:

The TCM profession was interesting and I would have liked to see more about it in the show. I know the focus was on romance so it only skimmed the surface of the profession. I also enjoyed the story between Shen Xifan and her ex. It definitely pulled on my heart strings when it reached the conclusion because it’s very relatable. Although there were some moments where I felt the directors trying to push the drama to be for a younger audience (i.e. them tiptoeing around Shen Xifan’s need to spend the night), overall, the drama did offer a more mature view on relationships and I appreciated that especially since most of the cast is late 20s/early 30s. I like when dramas provide a more realistic take on adult relationships in this age range.

What I didn’t like:

This show shouldn’t have been no more than about 16 episodes. There wasn’t much story to tell especially after the main couple got together. There was a ton of uneventful dialogue and basically we were just watching a couple date, sending random text messages about nothing, having conversations about who fell in love first and late night dinners. There just wasn’t a story, it was just a series of random events between two people. I wish I would have but I didn’t find that very entertaining because it dragged on for so many episodes. One thing that bothered me was the overuse of slow-mos. There were so many slow motion scenes throughout this drama when watching the main couple date or stare at each other. To me, it just dragged the already uneventful scenes even more. The supporting cast also didn’t add much value to the story. They attempted to give us a little bit of them here and there but most of the interactions with the main couple was just uneventful and they didn’t flesh those characters out at all. The final thing I will say is the character setup between Shen Xifan and He Suye was cliche. Follows the same formula as a lot of other modern dramas. Female Lead is in a long-term relationship when they meet and Male Lead is single but falls first. Would have been nice if maybe the roles were reversed or both were in relationships or single. I wish these dramas would give us something different.

Overall, if you’re just watching because you are fans of the actors, then you’ll enjoy this along with most of the ratings here. Judge it for yourself.

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Escaped the world, Forgot All Things, and Fell Down a Long Romantic Dream...Under Moonlight

I "fell down a long romantic dream...under moonlight." This is it... Xiao Zhi Yu and Hu Xiu 💗 Watching Love Between Lines is like a wonderful dream with falling snowflakes, cherry blossoms, warm light, sunsets, and sitting on the rooftop in quiet conversation. Listen to the OST "Special Nights", and you will feel the vibe that resonates throughout Love Between the Lines. Then watch the love grow slowly yet steadily. It is in the flicker of a smile, the glances, the gestures, and those quiet moments when they were simply in each other's company.....under moonlight💗🌛🌸 This is a "watch and rewatch immediately" type drama. It is that good! There are some thoughtful moments, emotional moments, and some humorous moments. I smiled, I laughed, and I felt a little sad in a few parts, but on the whole, it was a light, uplifting romance drama. The chemistry is so beautiful💗

🌸Love Between Lines begins with the premise "life is like a game." And at first, you might wonder if this might be a virtual game drama. It is not the focus, so don't think too much of technicalities. The virtual game illustrates the theme of dreams vs. reality. The line between the virtual world and reality is not defined —at times, the leads fall out of their game character roles. "Between illusion and reality, parallel lines intersect." (OST) After the first two episodes, the drama shifts more into the real world with visits to the virtual game world here and there. I am one of those who wanted to rush through the first two episodes because I am not keen illusions and fantasy. However, I find myself going back to the earlier games because it all makes more sense now. There is a significant connection between their relationship in the game and their relationship in reality.

MAIN CHARACTERS

🌸Lu Yu Xiao, as Hu Xiu, shines as a natural actress. Her performance was so believable that I can imagine she is really this person in reality because she didn't appear to be acting. Hu Xiu is a kind, intelligent, resilient, and determined FL. She delights and captivates Xiao Zhi Yu/ Qin Xiao Yi, with her vivacious personality. She is honest and not afraid to share her thoughts, and when she does, she is clear and to the point, but gentle and warm. She went to the virtual game to escape the reality of her life. Yet, it is in the game that she faces her inner conflicts when Zhi Yu/ Qin Xiao Yi's asks the question, "Do you know what you want?" She decides to reclaim her dreams instead of keeping a bad option, as those who do "spend the rest of their life with that bad option without realizing it."


🌸Chen Xing Xu, as Xiao Zhi Yu, is captivating with his calm perfection. Zhi Yu is strong, steady, perceptive... he listens more than he talks. He plans his way carefully. He doesn't rush to interfere but rather observes and allows Hu Xiu to make her decisions. His quiet strength gives the romance a sense of calm. He is protective but knows when to step back. I have to mention his expressive eyes, his slight smiles, and his aura. They were everything! There is a sense of mystery as his goal is to clear his father's name and reclaim his original identity, which, due to the circumstances of his father's death, has been kept a secret since childhood. For Xiao Zhi Yu, the virtual game is where he can reclaim his name, Qin Xiao Yi. In the virtual world, he is Qin Xiao Yi, Warlord Commander, described as "cunning as a fox, deep and complex." Needless to say, he is just as cunning in the real world.


🦊THE RELATIONSHIP🐰

🌸 Hu Xiu and Zhi Yu's relationship is mature and based on equality. They work together. They come to trust each other. They come to love each other. Zhi Yu sees Hu Xiu's talent and potential. He knows she is clever, but does not realize till later that she is the clever rabbit who outwits the fox 😂 He sees her as someone who "doesn't need anyone's approval to prove her worth." He allows her to grow, and he doesn't try to make her who he wants her to be:

~~~~~ 💗 " She exists, she grows, and she becomes who she wants to be. That alone is already beautiful enough." 💗

🌸And even though Zhi Yu doesn't share all his plans and thoughts with Hu Xiu at first, she somehow understands him. She senses his needs. He tries to protect her by keeping her out of his problems, but it is Hu Xiu who gives him the "token" he needs to win in both the game and reality. She guides him to open up to his mother because she might never know what he is thinking. And Zhi Yu showed his support sometimes in silence and sometimes in open communication. Hu Xiu knows she has someone who believes in her as she tells him :

~~~~~💗 "Because of you, I have more courage to chase my dreams and make up for all my regrets." 💗

🌸Love Between Lines isn't only about the blending of illusion and reality. It beautifully depicts the balance between two different people who seek to reclaim a loss. Hu Xiu is the gentle emotional rabbit. While vulnerable, she is fiercely resilient and quick-witted. Zhi Yu is the cunning fox who finds himself softened by Hu Xiu's enthusiasm and passion. They come to an understanding and a relationship based on trust, equal respect, and appreciation for each other.

🌸 Episode 7 marks a significant point in the relationship when Zhi Yu brings Hu Xiu with him to a wedding where he plans to have a business meeting. The groom turns out to be Hu Xiu's two-timing ex-fiancé. It is here that Zhi Yu and Hu Xiu grew closer when he helped her face her past and move on. I loved it when he told her that she did nothing wrong, so she didn't need to hide. I loved it when he retrieved her missing shoes and knelt to put them on her feet, even though she said she could do it herself. I loved it when he carried her on his back when he saw her limping. The lyrics from the OST "Closer"fit so well here.

💗How long did we wait, going from strangers
to familiar faces ?
It was destiny that brought me to meet you.
In my heart, there is now a place for you;
Believing in this is the ultimate meaning of life.
Drawing closer to you and closer to myself,
the frozen night begins to flicker.💗


WHAT I LOVE

🌸 I have many favorite scenes, but it was the leads who made me love this drama. Lu Yu Xiao is delightfully natural. She gave Hu Xiu the energy and sweetness that brightened Zhi Yu's life. Chen Xing Xu's expressive eyes, his calm, his charisma made Zhi Yu stand out as the male lead we all want to watch. I cannot tell you how many times I would go back just to watch his facial expressions. He made me love Zhi Yu!
🌸 Beautiful OSTs
🌸 The ambiance: the moonlight, snowflakes, cherry blossoms


OTHER CHARACTER ROLES

🌸Pei Zhen is Zhi Yu's stepbrother and rival. Sadly, Pei Zhen is driven by desperation to prove himself worthy because his father never finds him good enough. He blames Zhi Yu for taking all that is his. I realize many will hate him, but I found myself feeling pity for him at the end. And before anyone misunderstands, at no time did I feel any sml syndrome. I am too in love with Chen Xing Xu as Zhi Yu for any of that! But I don't see Pei Zhen as evil. He is too caught up in his need to win over Zhi Yu. He lacks love and affection, so when Hu Xiu puts a bandaid on his forehead to cover his wound, it means more to him than many would imagine. The fact that he emptied a small box of something that was probably of more monetary value than a Band-Aid to store the Band-Aid from Hu Xiu, is a clear indication of how much her simple action meant to him. The band-aid is a symbol of his inner wounds. He feels he needs Hu Xiu. His desire for her is desperate, selfish, and aggressive, while Zhi Yu's love is steady and patient. Pei Zhen represents the theme of redemption. He knows he is wrong and seeks to know if a building can be changed if the foundation is already set. To this, Hu Xiu tells him:

~~~~~💔"So what ultimately decides a building's final appearance isn't the foundation but your vision." 💔







ENDING SPOILER

🌸It is a happy ending, but I have one disappointment. There is an "elopement", but it is only to the top of the high-rise building designed by Zhi Yu. There is no married life with kids, but you will get a cute kitten that they decided to adopt to make them a family of 3. (I understand the kitten as a pet opens up the converstation that we shouldn't fear loss). After watching the ending to Shine on Me, it is hard to settle for anything less than an adorable child. There is no cute child in LBL. There is no engagement ring. Nothing. Some might say it works for the drama as Hu Xiu focuses on her career goals. I suppose I could try to see it that way too😢 And I suppose it should be enough that it is a solid happy ending, as they are never going to break up the way they love each other. It also helps that they discussed marriage, and Hu Xiu appeased Zhi Yu's frustration saying, "You are not part of my plans. You're already written into my life." And of course, I have no doubt Zhi Yu will get his wish. Eventually.

Don't miss the scene following the credits of the final episode.
It is a new story.
"Welcome to Rongcheng. It's a new world. Embrace your destiny."

I wonder if this means season 2 and a wedding. I know it doesn't, but I can only hope💗

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The Real Villain of Honour Isn’t Violence. It’s Cheating.

Welcome to MDL comment section where infidelity outranks abuse in the hierarchy of outrage. Where people are united to criticise hypocrisy of women in this drama while silently accepting the existence and actions of pedoflies. I am not here to discuss whether cheating and sexual violence belong in the same moral category. I’m pointing out the public reaction to them. It is telling that the priority of some people lie in the judgment of a "messy" cheating woman over the systemic reality of assault. Honour drama matters because it refuses to give us "perfect" victims and some people seem more disturbed by that imperfection than by the violence itself.

—-
SELECTIVE MORAL OUTRAGE VS. STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE.
My question is does a character’s moral failure invalidate a story’s thematic argument?
Reducing a drama about trauma, coercion, sexual violence against women and minors, pedophilia, and female solidarity to “she cheated, therefore the show is trash” is intellectually lazy and critically shallow. Cheating is being treated as the central moral failure of the drama and SA is being sidelined in discussion. Honour isn’t a tale about infidelity, it’s a story about how past abuse shapes lives, how women navigate power and vulnerability, and how solidarity and resilience become survival tools.

To focus solely on Hyeonjin’s affair is to ignore the narrative’s core. The hypocrisy is the point. These women are legal warriors for justice who are simultaneously messy, dishonest, and compromised. This isn’t a narrative flaw… it’s realism. Trauma doesn’t produce moral saints, it produces survivors navigating shame and survival. That does not diminish the responsibility for their actions. The cheating storyline is ethically messy. Hyeonjin is not written as triumphant or empowered in her betrayal, she is destabilised. The encounter itself is narratively uncomfortable: she says no, attempts to leave, and is kissed again before ultimately giving in. That sequence introduces ambiguity around agency, coercion, emotional vulnerability, and unresolved attachment.

They are not romanticising cheating. It reads as a moment of weakness entangled with power dynamics and unresolved past trauma. The subsequent lies, the hidden earring, the possibility of pregnancy… these are not celebratory plot devices. They are destabilisers. The drama does not present adultery as liberation. They are not offering her a "get out of jail free" card, she is clearly driving toward a cliff of social and personal consequences. Presence of moral failure among the protagonists complicates the message, it does not ERASE it. The story depicts a survivor who is a brilliant advocate for others but a fragmented, self sabotaging disaster in her private life. To demand she be a "moral saint" to be a worthy protagonist is to demand a fiction that doesn't exist in the real world of trauma. We can hold her accountable for the betrayal of her marriage while simultaneously recognising that her personal failures do not justify or diminish the systemic violence she fights against.

Criticise Hyeonjin. Dislike her. Hold her accountable for the betrayal of her marriage, the narrative certainly does. But to let her infidelity become the only takeaway from a story about the industrial scale violation of women and minors is fundamentally dishonest. In dramas like Penthouse/ Love in the Moonlight/ Shine/ Eve, the infidelity outrage is the point of the exercise. For this drama to be discredited, it would need to trivialise sexual violence, glamorise coercion, or selectively condemn certain moral failures while excusing others without consequence. The cheating arc generates tension, fallout, and instability rather than reward. It complicates the characters’ credibility but does not erase the seriousness of the issues they confront in court.

We should be capable of holding a character’s personal failure in one hand and the world’s systemic cruelty in the other without dropping the latter because the former makes us uncomfortable.

—-
PERFECT VICTIM
Focusing on SA victims in this drama, I want to make one thing clear: abuse is defined by the actions of the abuser, not the personality of the abused. Must a victim be perfect to deserve sympathy? Does a woman’s imperfection erase the harm done to her? If she isn’t universally likable, are her bruises, fear, and trauma any less real?

Societies often measure women against an “perfect victim” standard: she must be passive, gentle, sexually restrained but not prudish, emotional but not hysterical, composed but not cold; she must have no prior mistakes, no anger, no contradictions, no complex history. People subconsciously look for reasons to distance themselves from discomfort by asking, “What did she do?” rather than “What was done to her?” suggesting if the woman harmed is even worthy of belief. Sympathy is granted most easily to those who fit a narrow image of innocence. The myth of the perfect victim allows people to believe that violence only happens to the exceptionally innocent, and therefore can be avoided by behaving correctly.

People find it hard to believe victims because believing them is uncomfortable. It forces people to accept that harm can come from ordinary people and that it could happen to anyone, including themselves. Doubting the victim feels safer and easier, and blaming them gives people a sense of control, as if bad things only happen when someone “does something wrong.” Many also misunderstand how trauma works, mistaking confusion, fear, or emotional reactions for lying /exaggeration /weakness. Public cases involving women such as Tara Reade, Amber Heard, Angelina Jolie, Christine Blasey Ford, Chanel Miller, and Anita Hill reveal how credibility is filtered through race, sexuality, likability, timing, demeanor, and presumed motive. Credibility cannot be based on how likeable someone is. Imperfection becomes evidence, anger becomes instability, sexual history becomes motive, delay becomes fabrication, survival strategies become aggression. The demand for “purity” is less about truth and more about preserving social comfort.

“If the victim is flawed, the world feels orderly. If she is difficult, perhaps he isn’t so bad.”

A woman can be brash, ambitious, selfish, queer, contradictory, difficult and still be abused. Suggesting otherwise shifts responsibility from the abuser to the abused, inflicting a secondary violence by silencing survivors who fear disbelief and internalise blame because they don’t fit the archetype they were taught. A victim deserves sympathy not because she is pure, but because she is human and her flaws, whatever they are, do not retroactively justify someone abusing her.

Showing empathy to victims doesn’t mean ignoring fairness, it means remembering that real people are carrying real trauma. We should be more outraged by acts of violence than by the imperfections of those who survive them. Sexual violence is a choice made by the perpetrator, not a mistake or weakness of the survivor. Instead of questioning what the victim did or didn’t do, we need to ask why someone thought it was okay to violate another person. It’s time to assign the blame where it belongs… on the perpetrators and not the survivors. Holding perpetrators accountable, rather than scrutinising survivors, is how we show true justice and compassion.

—-
MAGNITUDE OF SA
“He was my friend/ relative/ father/ brother/ colleague.” ONE IN THREE women can say this. Violence at that scale is not an anomaly, not a “few bad men”, not a misfortune. It’s a pattern and patterns are built and tolerated by societies.

While you are reading this, 8 more crimes against women will be recorded in my country. Every 16 minutes, a man in my country makes a decision to violate a woman. 86 new victims every single day. We panic over rare dangers, redesign airports after one incident. If 86 bridges collapsed in one day, we would call it a national emergency. But 86 women being assaulted? It has become a statistic and routine news cycle. Just a number we learn to live with. For every case you hear about, there are many you don’t. Silence is not absence. People think of SA as isolated incidents, but for many women it functions like an atmosphere, shaping daily calculations about what to wear, how to walk, who to call, and when to share their location. It is not just something that happens occasionally; it quietly structures ordinary behavior, from gripping keys between fingers to texting, “I got home.”

—-
MEN’S BRIGHT FUTURE
Are women’s lives and suffering expendable when weighed against a man’s “bright future”?
As someone who listens to true crime all the time, it’s impossible not to notice how often phrases like “boys will be boys”or “but he has a bright future” are used to excuse harm. They frame cruelty as immaturity, entitlement as potential, and accountability as something unfair or excessive. By doing this, people protect the idea of who the man could be rather than what he actually did.

What’s disturbing is that these excuses almost always come at the victim’s expense. No one asks about their bright future, their lost sense of safety, or the life altered by someone else’s actions. Instead, the narrative centers on preserving male promise and comfort. Society is often quicker to mourn a perpetrator’s consequences than to acknowledge a victim’s suffering. Her losses are emotionalised and minimised and his losses are treated as tragic and unjust.
This is because systems of power have been built to protect men’s futures over women’s safety. When accountability is seen as cruelty and harm is seen as collateral damage, it decides whose life is worth defending. Until harm to women is treated as more serious than discomfort to men, the message remains the same: women are expected to pay the price so men can keep theirs intact.

Men especially those with status, authority, talent, or social connections are seen as more valuable to protect than to hold accountable. Admitting harm would mean questioning respected institutions, friendships, families, or one’s own judgment, so people minimise, excuse, or deny the behavior instead. There’s also a long standing culture that normalised male aggression and entitlement while doubting or silencing those who speak up, especially when it would “ruin a good man’s life.”

—-
GLAMORISATION AND DESENSITISATION OF SA IN FILM.
There is long tradition in television where sexual violence appears less as a lived trauma and more as narrative currency. Violation often functions as ignition and what lingers is not the wound, but the spectacle that follows it. When violation repeatedly serves as character development, as motivation, as spectacle, people expect it as part of storytelling grammar. The trope embeds itself quietly, shaping cultural assumptions about whose pain advances the plot and whose pain is secondary to it.

Experimental evidence suggests that repeated exposure to sexually violent films can dull emotional responses, reduce empathy for victims, and lessen the perceived seriousness of abuse. Sexually degrading portrayals may also shape beliefs about sexual assault, reinforce objectification, and foster harmful attitudes toward women. Research indicates that sexually aggressive media can affect not only men’s attitudes but also women’s psychological responses and self perception. Media can distort understandings of consent and responsibility y normalising gender stereotypes, blaming victims, or presenting male aggression without critique.

I also think romanticisation of SA plays a huge role in desensitisation. 365 days, Ffifty shades of grey, GOT, After and many other films aestheticise dominance, persistence, and forced intimacy as proof of desire. Threat becomes foreplay and control becomes charisma. Resistance is framed as tension and coercion as chemistry. Over time, audiences learn to read violation as romance not because the act changes, but because the framing does.

Desensitisation often looks like reduced shock, reduced empathy, treating it as “just another trope”, but reduced outward reaction doesn’t automatically mean reduced empathy. If you respond emotionally to real world harm but not to dramatised scenes, that’s often media habituation, not moral desensitisation.

—
INFIDELITY IN CINEMA.
Imagine looking into the eyes of the person you love, the one you trust without hesitation, the one you depend on, the one you’ve built your life around and not knowing they are choosing again and again, to lie to you. Just to protect the betrayal instead of protecting you. Cheating isn’t just a mistake. It is a form of moral bankruptcy. It shows a complete disregard for the very person you promised to respect and protect. In this drama, what happens cannot simply be dismissed as a “single lapse in judgment.” Even if the physical act happened only once, it did not exist in isolation. There was secrecy, emotional boundary crossing, rationalising the situation, staying despite discomfort, and then continued deception. She lies to her husband even when confronted with evidence. When pregnancy enters the picture, the consequences of those choices become even more devastating. Calling this a momentary mistake is an oversimplification of what cheating really is. It reflects not just one impulsive act, but a series of conscious decisions made when there were multiple chances to stop, to leave, or to tell the truth. It reveals a willingness to betray when the opportunity presented itself. The damage is not measured by how many times it happened. For the person who was betrayed, even once can permanently shatter trust. One breach is enough to change how love feels, how safety feels, and how the entire relationship is understood.

—-
HOW DESENSITISED ARE WE?
Romanticisation frames cheating as emotionally profound, fated, or spiritually meaningful. Glamorisation emphasises aesthetic appeal (luxury/ sensuality/ thrill/ personal liberation). Both reduce moral weight by reframing cheating as self discovery, emotional authenticity or rebellion against restrictive norms. Because viewers are repeatedly exposed to these portrayals, desensitisation occurs where infidelity begins to feel more normal, less shocking, and more understandable. This opens a possibility where repeated narrative framing can reshape moral perception and relationship expectations.

In recent dramas I have watched (Shine and Love in the moonlight) there was intense romanticisation of cheating. Storytelling is designed to make us deeply identify with the central couple framing their relationship as destined, pure, or emotionally unavoidable. When cheating is presented within that emotional framework, people tend to evaluate it through empathy rather than moral principle, seeing it as tragic or justified instead of wrong. Over time, this emotional alignment can make infidelity seem more acceptable within fictional contexts, even if audience might not support it in real life.

—-
MY THOUGHTS ON THIS DRAMA
It is not a bad drama people are claiming it to be in the sense of poor craft. It is purposefully provocative, and people mistake their own moral discomfort for a failure in storytelling. When a show refuses to provide a "perfect" protagonist and instead mirrors the messy, compromised reality of survivors, it stops being a comfortable escape and starts being a mirror that many audiences are unwilling to look into.

This drama is challenging the very hierarchy of outrage that allows real world trauma to be sidelined in favor of "safer" scandals. Low ratings suggest a "moral purity gap" where audiences conflate a character’s personal flaws with the show’s overall quality. While viewers frequently tolerate or even celebrate "anti hero" men, a messy, unfaithful female protagonist often triggers a visceral likability tax, leading audiences to "downvote" the show as a form of moral protest rather than focusing on its technical or thematic core messages. People prefer glamorous escapism over the gruelling confrontation.

We must move beyond "likability" to understand that mirroring a messy reality is not an endorsement of it. Rejecting this entire drama because the victim is flawed only upholds the "perfect victim" myth, suggesting that empathy is reserved for the stainless. Don’t fall into the narrative trap of selective empathy. Husband is undeniably a victim of a devastating personal breach. His suffering also does not negate or compete with the systemic violation of women’s bodily autonomy and these are not mutually exclusive tragedies. When we allow a husband’s heartbreak to become the loudest part of the conversation, we are choosing the "safer" anger of a private scandal over the necessary rage required to confront a culture of sexual violence.

(Explicit terms for sexual violence are omitted to prevent this review from being flagged. It is not a self censorship. I know the legal distinction between general SA and more severe violations (r word). My goal here is to address the collective trauma of survivors. I have documented all statistical references used here so feel free to message me for the source link.)

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I didn’t think I’d like this, but I really did

I’ve watched so many college BLs. And just when I thought I couldn’t possibly be satisfied by yet another 2 young and dumb boys … I SOMEHOW LOVE THIS!

The story of Kluen and Daonuea is a classic tale of meeting your high school crush after entering college and falling in love with them (all over again). Variations of this plot have been done to death – recall 2moons, 2gether and Bad Buddy? OK, so the plot isn’t terribly original, but so what?

I think Joong and Dunk have created a pretty solid product together with their chemistry. It’s always the chemistry that makes or breaks a typical plot or trope.

The entire show is a string of misunderstandings that could have been averted if they were brave enough to speak plainly from the start. But as the web gradually untangles and their feelings for each other are uncovered, this frustrating rollercoaster ride turns out to be quite lovely and rewarding after all.

Yes, this is yet another college BL. And one day, maybe this high school sweetheart plot will well and truly go extinct. But not this time. And until then, please take it from me: Go watch Star In My Mind.

My full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/05/27/star-in-my-mind-bl-review/

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Warning BL CLICKBAIT, played more like a Bromance

I was in total disbelief when i saw Tine crying before the end of the penultimate episode. WHY WOULD HE cry like that? Way to go from being Mr Chic to becoming a confused little sissy.

The problem is I see this a lot in Thai dramas - the one main lead gets jealous of the other main lead when he sees him kissing or hugging another guy (or girl). There will be no talking, just the couple breaking up. It is just lazy writing, cant they think of other ways to create drama for their series?

I blame the show's weakness on the story, the script and the directing. This one started out strong - 2 alpha males fake dating and falling inlove. Although Tine was a typical Thai BL character of a 'straight boy' loving a guy, I liked the fact that Sarawat was always a guy who likes a guy and never pretended to like a girl.

What happened in the later episodes were somewhat of a mess - after they became 2gether and lived in the same flat, the editing and jumping from one scene to next just happened way too fast in an attempt to give us more story from the source material. There was also lack of real conflict to further develop and create a mature story. There was also obviously a conscious effort not show a lot of couple emotions and activities. Its like watching 2 bros living together. What i think the series needed is 2 to 3 more episodes to better tell the story.

However, despite all the flaws, cliches and shortcomings, I still immensely enjoyed it.

First, the cast. Win and Bright - definite eye candies however may need a bit of acting workshop. I love Frank and Drake and i think they have relegated them to a very minor supporting role- i keep wishing they used them more, Mike and Toptap, Gun, and even the friends did a good job. Without The 4 main lead i would have dropped this series midway.

Second, the music - this is probably the Thai series with the best choice for music, i loved the opening and end songs, and i loved the songs they used within the show.

Would i rewatch it, i would initially say yes, but after careful considerations i think ill just move on to the extension series. If you are new to the BL genre, this may be a fun watch, just keep in mind that it is definitely not the best drama.

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One more "Flower Boy" series are over... and I am left with yet another broadly smiling face. Though I will not spill compliments that these series left me breathless, like the previous, "Shut Up Flower Boy Band", did, but this drama, in its genre of bubbly, funny, cutey-cutey-cutey, totally had me from the first moment till the last.

First of all, I am now noticing a pattern in the series as I have watched all of them, though they are called "Pretty Boy" and hey, who can say you don't see enough pretty here, but has anyone also caught him/herself on the thought that the characters crated for these series seem very real? I mean, forgetting about the bubbly front, there were real people, real feeling, real problems, and I like it so much, that it feels real watching these characters. I like characters that have depth, and the series have never failed to give me the characters. And though at first you may thing Enrique is the most funny, cute and bubbly character you could ever see, throughout the series he will show you so much humanity, so much sadness, so many unforgettable words... Though Dok-Mi may seem the girl who has closed herself and hasn't thought about her life ever since, will show you so much smile, so much strength, so much pain that she has been through and how much she grows by the end of the series, how much she changes Enrique and changes herself...

As the drama is mostly a comedy, I thought it is important to note that you'll find here not only comedy but also real characters who will make you feel for them, which I really appreciate.

This was the 3rd drama I was watching with Park Shin-Hye, and she again proved her abilities, I adore the girl.
Yoo Si-Yoon was just adorable as puppy-panda Enrique, I hope to watch other things with him.

Music was, like the drama, cute and calm. I really like the slow piece during the sad parts, and Park Shin-Hye's song, so alike her character and warm to my heart.

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Don't like the ending at all!!!

This drama was great at the beginning but in my opinion she was really mean to him, and in the end he always came back to her i think she was really narcissistic and thinks only on her and not on hyuk feelings for my it wasn't fair or gain at all , and she only said that she loves him in the last episode when all he did for her from the beginning was love .
They deserve better ending, the secondary leads had better ending than theirs this was a complete disappointment for me because it was a great drama.
For me was more gain than love , for the secondary actors than them .

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pure, healing and beautiful

the plot is nothing special, the story is really basic but somehow this is one of the most beautiful dramas I've ever watched, and not just in 2020.
there are 2 things I love that as long as they don't mess it up then I'll give the drama a 10/10 without a second thought. one is a strong independent smart capable diverse female character, honestly they can never go wrong when they have a female character that carries her own weight if not more.
And two is character driven slice of life healing dramas, I LOVE these types of stories, they are just raw and emotional and sad but beautiful enough to make you feel jealous

at a certain point in the drama they handled the mains "complicated" bickering relationship, they focused on Moon Sang Tae's natural jealous feelings because he was no longer his brothers "one and only" and it could've gone really badly if the writers used it for cheap angst but they handled it so beautifully that the developing relationships became 1000x better.

"mystery" wise I do think they lacked a little, but it's becasue they didn't use it for cheap thrill and looming danger but it was the base for their healing.
even throughout their "inevitable breakups" it was never about their selflessness or selfishness but it was another natural step to overcoming their past and struggles.
I was worried after ep14 that things might get off track but they stayed true to their story and I'm really pleased about where it's going

side character wise, again they lacked in delivery, the side stories and the effects they used to deliver the stories were beautiful and heartbreaking but I felt like they weren't 100% invested in their stories and they felt like mere time fillers, like Yoo Seung Jae never got any character depth and even though Jo Jae Soo was Moon Gang Tae's best friend for 10 years I couldn't understand how they all miraculously ended up in ok town (I'm sorry I don't know the name of their location xD)
that didn't make their unexpected friendships and familial bonds any less meaningful, but I wish they gave them a little more thought

the editing is beautiful, moonyoung's fairy tales and the use of fairy tale resembles, the ost and moonyoung's OOTD's just made this drama more enchanting and amazing~

I never rewatch stuff but it's only ep15 and I already miss them so much that I'm crying so I'd like to rewatch this again and again and again ;D

watching the ending I'm even happier now, this drama didn't use the past connections and the trauma as the main dish, it was always just the spice.
like in itaewon class the revenge and past trauma was the last big fight and the end was just a cleanup but this, it was always about the "cleanup" and I'm really satisfied with everything

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Rich, atmospheric and utterly entrancing, Blood River is all those things and more.. It’s a fantastic concept that kept me enthralled till the last episode.. Blood River is an adventure in all the best ways.. The characters are interesting, memorable and have quirks and distinct personalities that make them feel vividly alive.. For me, this drama shines.. It’s a world filled with assassins and clans whose loyalties are written in water, where every character seems to whisper an unfinished feud.. It’s a place where righteousness is fragile, trust is a rare currency and the river runs dark with history and betrayal.. The action begins right from the first scene and never really lets up.. There’s no onerous worldbuilding, no tedious introductions, Blood River gets to the good part immediately..

Blood River has beautiful visuals and some breathtaking sequences, along with masterfully crafted fight sequences.. All wrapped in that dark, moody vibe, it was pure bliss.. And in that same vein, this drama introduces a whole lineup of compelling side characters.. While the main characters are good, the side characters are all really interesting too.. None of them are particularly well developed, but there are intriguing dynamics at play..

No idea why Peng Xiao Ran is listed as second lead or even a main lead.. Her only role seems to be lovesick for a character we are barely invested in.. Honestly, she wouldn’t be missed if she wasn’t in the drama.. She is completely underused and her story arc feels disconnected from the main plot.. The supporting cast had far better storylines to be honest.. There’s nothing else to her outside of being the girl who desperately looks for love, she has no real personality, no aspirations and nothing beyond the basic 'love me, love me, look at me' behavior..

Chang Hua Sen was really good here.. I actually felt he was even better than Gong Jun in terms of screen presence and performance.. Gong Jun’s facial expressions looked odd at times.. Even in the final reunion scene, he looked like he had eaten something bad and was wondering why the camera was still rolling..

If I had to choose a favorite character apart from the two male leads, it would be Bai He Huai.. I loved her mannerisms and her costumes were really beautiful..

Now, the world building here is rich, detailed enough and well thought out.. The plot stays consistent and true to itself.. The pacing fluctuates a bit in the last 18 or so episodes but mostly stays fast paced thanks to the huge number of fight sequences.. And that last fight was really something.. I liked that they didn’t show the main leads as overpowered, we actually got a long, hard fought battle where they had to go all out to take down their foe..

Overall, Blood River has the full spectrum of feelings.. From good to bad, joy to frustration, excitement to depression.. It puts everything together in a well balanced plot with a weave of storytelling that pulls you as far away from reality as you can possibly get.. Blood River might not have been perfect and it definitely stuck to some of the mid cliches I expected but I was pleasantly surprised by how much this story kept me interested.. Even with such a large number of characters, it managed to make me care about their lives and the outcomes of their struggles.. Well, except PXR I guess..

Then why did I rate it only 8.5?? Because the last few minutes of the drama disappointed me.. I watched 38 episodes of their struggle to reach the other shore only for the result of all that hard work to show up as a subtitle.. Like you couldn’t give us a 10 minute sequence?? And what was that whole happy ending after 12 years thing?? Just stupid.. There was absolutely no need for it.. If you are going to give us a last minute reunion, why bother separating them at all?? Was that separation even necessary?? I honestly don’t understand this obsession with time jumps for happy endings..

Well, them getting a bittersweet kind of hope instead of a dramatic ending fits the wuxia tradition, since it rarely gives perfect happy endings.. I guess it works as the completion of Su Mu Yu’s journey, with Bai He Huai returning as the light in his life and it gives an ending that isn’t fully happy or tragic, just human..

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No Tale to Tell Indeed

This drama turned out to be a huge disappointment. I was initially excited to start this drama. Fantasy romance is my absolute favorite drama genre. I thought the first 4 episodes were the strongest. They set the story up nicely and I thought we were going to get a descent story. Unfortunately, after the 4th episode, this drama just faded into a nothing burger. Nothing interesting really happened. There wasn't much growth in the characters. The shaman plot was so ridiculous and unnecessary. The other villain was annoying at best. I honestly should've dropped this around episode 7 or 8 but I felt if I made it that far, I might as well finish the last few episodes. Save your time on this one, there are much better dramas to watch.

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The revenge was meh.

I love revenge plots, especially in the hands of a highly intelligent and capable female protagonist but with the proper motivation, of course. And, there was no doubt that the people who made Moon Dong-eun's (Song Hye-kyo) life hell on earth were all more than deserving of the kind of old school, biblical vengeance reserved for the very wrathful God of the Old Testament.
And, actually, I thought that the series might have wanted to say something about the hot-button issue of school bullying and spousal abuse but opted instead (in typical K-Drama fashion) to focus on the obligatory fan service of a romantic pairing of the two leads with less than zero chemistry between them.
The level of gratuitous violence on display in both parts 1 & 2 felt unnecessary at times because the payback was nowhere equal to the damage inflicted on the victims.
Maybe if she would've exacted her revenge in the very gym where the majority of the bullying took place I would've felt more satisfied with the conclusion.

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Only two episodes and I'm already obsessed with them.

Oh my God,
A masterpiece or A legendary drama or what..?? 🤌 What I just saw man. 😍 I just got mesmerized by this Series. I don't know how this story will turn further, only thing I know that I can't wait for the next episodes to be aired.

Both the main characters is likable and not just only the main but the supporting characters also quite fun to watch. When it comes to main characters chemistry and sexual tension between them that is also super fine. I thoroughly love this series .

Just please don't be a sad series don't know why but i'm getting sad vibes. 🥺

Nothing much for now, I'm just in love with this series ❤️ and waiting for more episodes.

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I only watched this show because Lee Min Ho was in it. The plot did sound funny to me but it turned out to be completely different from what I expected it to be.

Sorry to say, but the pairing is one of the worst I have ever seen. Their chemistry was just lousy and the characters terribly annoying. I stopped caring where the story went after 8th or 9th episode. It got better at this time and suddenly it went downhill again. It seemed more like a sex comedy at times.

Also, this show is poorly written. None of the sub-plots or side characters were interesting. All of them could have been killed in an airplane accident and I wouldn't have cared. I only watched it out of boredom. I absolutely hated the character of Park Gae In. She was clumsy, childish, annoying and dumb. She looked old but acted like a little child. I get that she never had the love of a mother, but that doesn't mean she has to stay crippled like a loveless child for her entire life. The only good quality she had was that she was caring towards the people she loved. Other than that, it was hard to stand her. Jin Ho's character was also boring and lacked depth. He was standoffish throughout the entire show. I really never understood his character. It had a lot of negative traits as well.

The show is not very enjoyable. I would not recommend it to anyone. There are much better shows out there. Go and rewatch your favorite drama than watching this absolute trash.

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