Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island
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beautiful cinematography & filled with symbolism
Overall: I would call this a coming of age story. It hurt at times, was beautiful at times and worth it in the end (ending spoiler in the comments). 7 episodes that varied between 12 and 23 minutes long. Aired on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-CWu74qAe0yVW9kUOx_UDuBzYdQl4fZ3&si=t4oKRorq2rzxDprd (note that the playlist is not in correct viewing order)Content Warning: bullying, homophobia, vomiting, slaps
What I Liked
- acting
- production value (cinematography especially)
- symbolism (how blue/red represented each of them, with the artwork and putting/moving that black patterned overlay)
Room For Improvement
- not totally clear on the timeline/how much time passed
- who was the other guy in episode 7
- the beginning voice over was not subtitled and the hard coded subtitles were extremely small/difficult to read though I do appreciate there being subtitles
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WELL WRITTEN ,WELL DIRECTED, WELL ACTED
I can never miss a drama that has Liu Yunning in it. If diligence of an actor had a face it would be him. (Especially for all the hate that he gets for his looks) I just find him stunning from every angle tbh. He has grown so much as an actor since the first time I saw him in long ballad. Shi shi who is FL in here has also done really very well though she is already a big name in this industry but for me this is her best performance so far. Not just the two main leads but every single actor in this drama has surpassed their previous performances.Moving on to the story...man this is by far the best written original story of this year. Every single scene makes sense, no nonsense. Everything just holds onto the main plot without putting fillers to make audiance have a humorous break in between which is so common in Cdramas. It is good sometimes but it disconnect viewers from the main plot. But this drama really knows how to keep audiance connected without putting filler episodes. I never skipped any scene. Big applause to the writer who made such layered characters as well.
The most important thing...THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER and not just FL but other characters as well especially the one who plays princess. My god! So good! Her character development, her evolution from weak to strong willed girl is something one should not miss at all. People should really write female characters like that instead of making them some bold girl but damsel in distress the moment ML arrives. These girls are CLEVER and SMOOTH in their actions. No dumb actions at all.
Story, acting, direction, song and production everything is amazing. The cinematography kind of reminds me of old shows especially in fight scenes but I don't know it is kind of nostalgic for me. Apart from some fight sequences which are sometimes little slow and with too many cuts, rest was really good. It is not perfect but that is what makes it real. Especially the dialogues. They pinpoint all those things that we viewers always think like " wait a minute why didn't they notice it?"
Like girl pretending to be a boy. They pointed out the Adam's apple part. There are so many scenes that really questions everything that we sometimes forgive them for.
To conclude it all I would highly recommend this show. You won't regret it for sure.
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- Good looking actors with great acting skills.
- Perfect romance.
- Wonderful story line.
- Hilarious comedy.
- Tearful situations.
- Great music.
But most important of all, this drama gives me happiness. it expresses so much emotions and feelings that when i watch, i forgot that i'm watching a drama. i feel it completely- what is actually happening on the screen. I laughed so much, i cried so hard, i felt so happy watching this and to be short, I ENJOYED IT SO MUCH. this may not appear to be great to some but i'm sure that most will enjoy it just like i do.
Strongly recommend it to any one at any age.
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1Script Full of Details with Unique & Creative Storytelling (Ending Explained)
''Seeing you is like seeing another me. My heart has been crushed, never healed. You are a protagonist and so am I. Souls with the same color. Finally, a light shines upon me. In the dark corners, accompany me in breaking free from the shackles.''This is a question that I always struggle with myself on whether I want to watch my favorite actors/actresses with a hit drama that is popular or a drama with quality script. And everytime, my answer will always be the latter and this drama is a perfect example of this. I truly love this drama to pieces. I love how it is full of depth and details, have substance and full of complicated and layered characters. And the greatest thing about this drama is the script. I have never come across this kind of creative scriptwriting before. The drama from the surface just look like a normal slice of life or romance drama but the elements and depth that the script possessed makes it unique that managed to stand in a class of its own.
Due to this, I will only explore the substance that the script possessed in my review:
FORESHADOWING ELEMENTS IN SHAN SHAN'S SCRIPTS
It is actually clues to us, the audiences on who is the villains and who is the real nice people in his life. We should know the plot twist in the Shan Shan’s police script ‘Pursuit’ since the same character has started to show his fangs in his life as early as Episode 2. There will be unknown faces that makes cameos in his script and this is all clues on their motives when they finally appear in his life. My favorite is the big guy; Brother Kuan from basketball and when he finally appears in Shan Shan’s life, I knew instantly that he will be on his side. I never seen this kind of creative writing from any dramas before. I thought it is very refreshing -- how the foreshadowing for future events are told from his stories.
SUBSTANTIVE PLOTS WITH DEPTH
I like the fact that in the first glance, we thought the leads are just normal people since they hide it so well with all the smiles and their out-going personalities -- then the story start shedding their tragic past one by one and you can see how these two characters are broken people and are connected since they are 'Souls with the same color' just like the OST lyrics indicated. In fact, the whole theme song is a reflection of their relationship in a nutshell.
COMPLEX CHARACTERS WITH LAYERS & SUBTLE DETAILS
The scene where Shan Shan watched a movie and Liu Xia said it is okay to raise the sound even more but he told her that he already did when you can barely hear the sound. Only a person who has been hurt will act as guarded like that. Or the scenes where Grandma gave him the chicken soup and she offered him a drumstick as an add on but he just said ‘No need’ as he is too happy just receiving the soup only. Now all these scenes make more sense. Or the fact, all Brother Kuan did is feed him and offer him a small kindness but he went all up and beyond to write him a script for free with no credit. This guy just wants to be loved and appreciated. Taking all the small kindness he received at heart and gives more in return. The abandonment issues that Shan Shan’s suffers truly made him as ‘People Pleaser’ and as guarded to everyone despite the bright out-going personality that he has on the outside. All these cracks in his personality are excellent, subtle and were revealed slowly as the drama progressed. Same can be seen with Liu Xia on how she always smile yet, she never truly happy. Her BFF always like 'Why I'm always happier than you when something great happen to you?' as she always ready to receive all these bad things that keeps happening to her, like she was expecting all of it, deserving everything, like she used to never catch a break in her life. All these little hints from the characters are like puzzle that made perfect sense in the end on why they behave as they did in the drama.
HEALING SCRIPT
I love how the leads’ tragic past didn’t make them feel bitter about the world or make them treat other people badly -- but they are really good people, with very beautiful souls. I love all the conversations they have with each other, they have the same views and values on what's important, and they also view the world with the same kindness -- it is a realistic portrayal of how two people falls in love -- the similarity, the calmness and the tranquility that they found with each other. They had this tacit understanding like 'soulmate' kind of relationship which is really beautiful to watch. Like all shits are happening outside for them, then they come home, see each other and feel happy with each other's company; 'Us Against Them' mentality. I love how Ren Jialun has amazing amazing chemistry with Angelababy. They were captivating to watch on screen and their scenes emits the peaceful aura and vibe that is so healing to the soul.
BALANCE WRITING
This drama mastered the arts of balance writing which I personally think should be the case for any dramas out there. In many episodes, you will find yourself shed tears for the characters and feel bad for them -- the dark past they are hiding in their heart, the bad things that keep happening to them but in the same episode, there will be healing scenes that makes you feel heal and happy. The balance that this drama achieved is one of the reasons why this drama is really fantastic in my book. Good deeds’ rewards are shown in many forms. We are used to see characters suffers in dramas but here, it is shown even though evil people are making the leads’ life miserable, there are many good people out there that will look out for them and ‘punish’ this bad guys FOR THEM (karma). I rarely seen this in dramas but it is so satisfying to watch. It shows all your actions has consequences and the universe will reward you for your good hearts and deeds.
SCRIPT WITH RESEARCH
The whole psychology matters in the script was handled delicately. I love how since early in the episode, the drama made clear the different between psychologist and psychiatrist -- so patients that required doctor’s diagnosis and medication, Lui Xia told them she cant help them since it’s beyond her expertise. Then the breathing technique is one of the most important thing in this profession and we can see how it is being used constantly in the drama. And how depression is not a taboo illness but something that we can seek treatment. Then we have Shan Shan as the scriptwriter – the different between writer VS scriptwriter, his dilemma of writing original script VS following what the client wants, focusing on plot VS romance plot, to writing tighter script VS writing script filled with filler scenes and overall the toxic environment on set and the exhaustion he faced in trying to meet the deadline.
REALISTIC SCRIPT
Many details that other dramas always overlook was taken into great consideration here. Like after finding out that they were online friends, instead of romanticize the encounter, Liu Xia was weary on whether their whole meeting was planned like other normal person would. Or to transfer large amount of money, need a token and can’t be done online on the spot. Then how Shan Shan has asthma and it can be seen how he fainted after he carried Liu Xia on his back. Then the hospital scene, despite after waking up, all Liu Xia wants is to sleep again since that is normal due to medication in her body. This kind of small details always being taken for granted but this drama didn’t which make me appreciate it very much.
THOUGHT-PROVOKING WRITING
This drama has so so many memorable phrases! I love how it makes you think and change your outlook and perspective on life. Like the one that Liu Xia told Shan Shan; ‘Memories don’t make people sad. It’s sad because people always perceive things from only one perspective. But if you change your perspective, it might not be that sad.’ Or one of my favorites; ‘I told you to step on the brakes to wake up and get back on track. Not to make you give-up entirely.’ Or the best one in the drama which is ‘Life is like a stage where the light/goodness shines on it. And it only took one step to cross over to the dark side.’ This one is the best yet as many people disregard on how easy it is to cross-over to the darkness and once you cross that, you can never go back to where things were. And I believe the most famous one from the drama would be; ‘When you unexpectedly encounter someone as radiant as a rainbow, everyone else is just a passing clouds’ which first comes out in the third episode of the drama yet you know this phrase is to foreshadow the leads’ relationship in the future.
NON-PRETENTIOUS OUTTAKES ON LIFE
There is no right or wrong in certain life’s situation and I’m glad for certain dilemma, the writer didn’t force to us on what he think is the right way. Like who should the Drama Producer listen to? The words of award-winning scriptwriter or an experienced director? Then you throw in the bits that when the last time this experienced director had a hit movies/dramas? There is no right answer to this question and I love how the drama didn’t force it to our face on the moral compass in this type of situation.
UNCONVENTIONAL BAD GUYS
This drama has different type of bad people. First, the one that is outright evil and show no attempt to hide it. Second, the worst kind of enemies which is the ones hiding in a blanket. And the last one spectator that watch the evil deeds being done and remains silent about it. The slow progression of toxic behaviors are explored to the fullest here. It started from small things such as not being honest about a simple car purchase, then the 'acting' mad in a manipulation attempt to get what they want then the gifting part to make the other party feels happy -- all of this can be passed as something small but this is actually seed of red flags of a toxic relationship. Then add the sprinkles of how people keep asking Shan Shan 'Is he always treat you like this?' 'Why are you taking this job?' 'Did he always do this to you?' to show to us how everyone can see how wrong it is but Shan Shan, just passed it as something normal since he is used to these small abuses. This kind of toxic relationship did not happen in just love relationship but as well between friends and someone close to you.
EVERYTHING COMING INTO A PERFECT CIRCLE IN THE END
Shan Shan’s police script ‘Pursuit’ is actually the exact depiction of every person in his life. You don’t realize this before but it all comes to a perfect circle when the story reached its climate ending -- from his Police character to Yuan Yuan's character in the story. Also, this drama ‘Twilight’ as a whole is actually the last script that Shan Shan wrote which tells the story about him and Liu Xia. All this coming seamlessly into a perfect circle at the end. This part is strongly foreshadowed during the scene when he asked Jia Zhen’s help with a script where Jia Zhen described Shan Shan’s script with depth and full of details on characterizations -– exactly like this drama itself -– a foreshadow that this drama that we watched, is a script written by him. Then the hot pot date scene happened where Shan Shan described to Liu Xia the reason behind why the chose ‘Twilight’ as the name of their story which further cemented this theory. And pay attention to the bedsheet -- all scripts that Shan Shan wrote has the same bedsheet as his bedsheet to show how this drama 'Twilight', is also his script. Its not a matter of production budget since we can see Liu Xia changed bedsheet a few times but not him. The attention to detail in this drama is just amazing!
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THOUGHT-PROVOKING ENDING
On the surface, the ending of this drama can be interpreted with these three possible endings:
1) All things happened just like in the drama.
or
2) It’s all fractions of imagination in Shan Shan’s mind.
or
3) This whole story is written by someone else.
All these 3 endings makes sense and is supported by various clues such as cars' plate number and etc.. However, when you look at the drama as a whole, it pointed more towards the first ending since if you look at the script in details, its more towards the fact that it indeed happened as this drama 'Twilight' that we watched is the last script that Shan Shan wrote, which is the story about him and Liu Xia. Since it is his script, that's why it becomes a comic strip at the end. But where his script inspiration comes to be? From his real life -- from his life experience with Liu Xia -- this is their story. Its a play within a play and within a play -- School love story (which has penpal element) IN Twilight (the drama that we watched) IN Shan Shan's real life story with Liu Xia. One might argue that the fashion has changed for Shan Shan in the last scene but remember the scene where Shan Shan went shopping for new clothes and Liu Xia said she will style him in the future? The clothes that Shan Shan wore in the last scene is totally what Liu Xia might style him -- the smart and clean look that she explained in the same scene.
Also, when they play the full second verse of the theme song before the ending credit, then you realized that the one sentence in the lyrics ‘YOU ARE THE ME who broke free from the shackles. Living the life of freedom, basking in the sunshine.’ is the actual message of this whole drama. The theme song is actually can be interpret into 2 meanings -– that the leads indeed healed each other’s hearts BUT when it comes to the outcome, it can only be achieved when the person itself wanted to change as well. The drama ended with Shan Shan telling Brother Kuan on the phone that he has 2 endings for the script that he wrote. At first, you can just pass it as something insignificant but then you realized how all this has been foreshowed since early in the drama. You have his school romance script with 2 endings. Then his crime script 'Pursuit' ended with a shot with no real hint who fire it which indicate that the good or bad guys could possibly win at the end. Then you have his last script ‘Twilight’ with 2 possible endings as well. This is to show that at the end, it all depends on your choice – on whether you want to choose light or darkness in your life.
And these 2 choices have been emphasis in many different scenes in the last 2 episodes of the drama as well:
1) How Mr. Cao told Coco that Shan Shan needs to settle his ‘brother’ matters on his own despite no matter how much they help him, he is the only one can make that decision for his life.
2) Liu Xia teacher saying that how Liu Xia going to overcome her PTSD is all depends on her on whether she wants to confront it or remains in the dark forever.
3) The slap Yuan Yuan gave to herself –- on how she is responsible for her own life and its finally the time for her to wake up from being a bystander and see Jia Zhen on who he truly is.
4) The inner thought of Jia Zhen when he read ‘Pursuit’ ending as in his version, he is the one who making the shot (bad guy won) and in the end, we can see which choice he chose to make in his life as well.
This kind of ending is indeed rare and very creative, so when you understood the reason behind it, then every little hints in the drama makes sense. The ending really elevated the whole story. Due to all this, 9.5 is the only appropriate rating that this drama deserved. I have no idea when I can come across with this type of script again but I’m so glad to find this gem among all the airing dramas right now.
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A relationship between a 17 year old girl and a 35 year old guy seems creepy, and if not portrayed correctly it can go terribly wrong. However, this has to be one of the best student-teacher relationships that I have seen. They were very likable together and none of it seemed forced or stupid. Both the older guy and the younger girl had solid reasons to fall for someone so unexpected. I really liked their love. And I was touched by the girl. In the beginning, she is a bad girl. As in real bad- she works as a prostitute and bullies others. When it seemed like she hardly had any redeeming qualities, she changes completely. It's basically about character development which was the focus point of the story. The girl turns into a very nice and serious person. She stops fooling around, studies hard and changes her ways entirely.
The best thing about their relationship was that she changes a depressed, anti-social person to a happy and expressive person. And while she seems so mature in front of her friends, she acts exactly her age with her teacher. She is attracted to his serious side and he falls for her youthfulness. It was very sweet to watch them together.
Another good thing was that we get informed of the incoming "serious" problems beforehand in the first scene itself. I hate when things drop in on the viewer unexpectedly, out of nowhere! I would have liked to focus a bit more on how she became a bad girl because I found that rather interesting.
The movie has a fairly good star cast and I particularly liked the main actress. She was pretty and was able to act well. I also loved the clothes she wore throughout the film. She even made carrying umbrellas look trendy! She had a pretty magnetic personality. I was also happy with the direction of the film. It was not a well written screenplay and there were a lot of inconsistencies with the plot and pace. But that part gets compensated with good cinematography. Even the soundtrack is cool. I loved the songs they played in the background, plus they were in English so I will probably download the soundtrack later.
Anyway, the movie is overall a very nice effort from the director and writers. While it is not THE best, but it is still great and manages to get its point across to the viewer. It made good sense.
I will definitely rewatch it again when I feel like it.
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A good cdrama sequel to the taiwanese original drama
1/ STORY:It is based on the concept of time space overlapping where an apartment becomes the point of junction of events happening in 2021 and 2022 with a 4 months gap.
The ML from 2022 defends a female friend (SFL) who is divorcing her husband (SML). The case leads to 2022ML being sent to live in an apartment where he meets FL from 2021 from 10:06 to 10:52. The apartment is a point from where they can go to 2022 ML time space using the front door or to 2021 FL time space using the backdoor.
It appears that SFL is ML's friend and SML is FL's friend and their divorce in 2022 leads to tragedy. While 2022ML and 2021FL are bickering and discovering each other, they try to save their married friends from that tragedy. They ask the help of the 2021 version of the ML and they go thought different situations and cases in 2021 which modifies 2022.
2/WHAT I LIKED:
- The relationship between the 2022ML and 2021FL. It starts in a weird but funny way. They are forced to be roommates and to learn about each other. The romance which ensues is very cute and convincing with their fun and loving moments and their moments of doubts. They develop deep feelings for each other. Their Love for the other ultimately requires each of them to make a determining choice.
- The back and forth between 2021 and 2022. I thought the time travel was pretty well made and quite easy to follow. It kept a level of logic that made it admissible.
- The ending was really well made for me with an unexpected turn of event and a soothing time to wrap up everything.
3/WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
- Usual break up which does not last long in term of story time but too long in term of episodes.
- Cases are a little bit cliché: cheating/divorce, bullying from corporation, gambling problems, sexual harassment...
- The usual lecturing about family, friendship, behaving right, forgiving...
- The ending is way too lenient for the bad guys. They get nothing serious despite their bad deeds.
4/CHARACTERS:
- Loved the leads: 2022ML, 2021 FL, 2021ML.. I thought the three characters and their relationships were well crafted. They are the best part of this drama. The lead actors were convincing too.
- SFL: Bland character who is the cause of everything.
- SML: Bro, just divorce her, have a good divorcee party and find yourself a new gf
- The mistress: Not so bright but funny.
- The brother: A liability
- The rival lawyer: Why so much hate?
4/ OST: The songs were ok. Contributed to the cute romantic tone.
5/ REWATCH VALUE:
Maybe I will rewatch it after some time.
6/OVERALL:
This looks like a remake of Meet me @10:06 but it is rather a sequel. If the original concept of time space overlapping and the early episodes have similar situations, the development of the plot and story is totally different. It is possible to say that the phenomenon happens with a different couple. The story is good and the lead characters are endearing. I will recommend it as it is one cdrama that I enjoyed watching since months. 8.5 /10.
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A career of the dismantling of a wife´s self-esteem and the almost impossible attempt of recapture
A highly valuable socio-critical study about being a wife, a mother, a granddaughter in South Korea today (actually 2012). The KDrama offers an in-depth (at times disturbing) insight into everyday Korean reality around the hierarchical concept of family and the upbringing of children. There is also a lot of local color about the simple everyday life of the lower and upper middle classes.The framework is provided by the madness about education, which in South Korea means that mothers in particular are under enormous pressure to perform (long before it really reaches the pupils themselves). The mothers are expected to support their child for the glory and honor of the family in such a way that it later has the best outlook on a professional career. Career in that sense is starting early...
"A Wife's Credentials" puts a critical magnifying glass on exactly this social dynamic. It also puts the magnifying glass on the disadvantage for women who give up (should give up!) their job with marriage/family life. Additionally, the KDrama also spotlights the issue of sexual assault in the workplace, the stigma of a single parent and finally social hierarchy.
It centers on So-rae, a once-creative young graphic designer and children's book illustrator who (one could say rather accidentally) stumbled into marriage and is now forced to prove herself as a housewife and mother in an ungrateful environment. A little bit of sunshine is provided by her son. However, in the end he too might be taken away from her. "A Wife´s Credentials" is basically illustrating the career of the dismantling of a wife´s self-esteem and the desperate, almost impossible attempt of recapture.
More than once you want to shake and shake even more not only So-rae but also many others. Yet, this is all due to family values and the social context in South Korea (...I wasn't aware of its extent the first time I saw the show). The tremendous injustice that So-rae is confronted with from several sides in addition to what she actually allows and gives in to, is rather disturbing and can eventually get on your nerves. For me as a woman, too, (yet being sozialized in Germany) it was sometimes extremely hard to bear.
This social study of a woman´s life (in South Korea) is painful to look at, yet told in a highly authentic manner. Thanks to veteran high-end actress Kim Hee-ae at its best, So-rae's emotional processes are brought to life even more authentically. With the example of her male protagonist facing the same subject - an unhappy marriage and a potential divorce - the dramatically differing social stand of men and women are presented rich in contrast!
The soundtrack stands in fresh contradiction to the sobering subject matter, which repeatedly embeds the events in a cheerful, confident atmosphere and encourages facing the challenges of life optimistically.
The various side plots profoundly round off the picture of contemporary society of that time. (Compared to more recent dramas, society´s expectations in that respect unfortunately doesn´t seem to have changed).
--------- SIDE NOTE --- Divorces ---
... in South Korea are still hardly socially accepted. At least ´adultery´, which was at the time of the KDrama still an illegal issue, that could be punished (in fact even with years in prison) is no criminal act anymore. However, a law is still in force, prohibiting adulterers in South Korea from starting divorce proceedings. Plus, in order for the divorce to be legal, both spouses must agree. And if so, at least significant monetary compensation must be expected. However, this obviously doesn´t help prevent adultery (especially among husbands) to happen. It´s rather a matter of hypocritical morals - a South Korean study in 2015 found that of surveyed men 50,8 percent cheated at least once. It is among men almost considered normal with no consequences for the valued concept ´family´. Whereas among women it was 9,3 percent - and there it seemingly happens more often at a point within the reationship, when the wife might also be prepared to end the ´failed family project´ - but cannot simply do so.
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At last, I deliberately want to mention the relationship between So-rae and Tae-oh, which is told in such a refreshing way that goes beyond the usual clichés. For once, no silly chastity. No romantic exaggeration. Real. Grounded. Not a hero, who would do everything unimaginable for his loved one so that the sun would rise in the west (...yeah, a little bit, though...) ... Instead, an appreciative, loving, grounded, not completely selfless, but patient partner at eye level and at your side, if woman needs him. Not Mr. Perfect, yet a man, who is prepared and willing to grow in relationship (even if it might be bothersome at times).
Finally, the coherently told story convinces with an ending that provides emancipated happiness - noiselessly, softly and with balanced steps.
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A crime novel read!
TWO things have happened: an affair and a murder. The entire story is about answering TWO questions: did he caught? who is the culprit? The narration style is typical of crime novels, often reminding me of Agathe Christie's novel style. All the clues were shown to us and drama tempts us to pick pretences as clues misdirecting us, then showing the truth with right clues making us think "I saw these, why didn't I think in this perspective?" "Ah, Brillant, you outwitted me". And this aspect can come off as hit or miss for many. Taking a look at comments would prove that.The pacing was in an exponential fashion with initial episodes setting the "mood" very slowly and deliberately with even minor characters given screen space. (It has a mix of all the genres: romance, comedy, drama, mystery, investigation, political, action, thriller. It might have well been a makjang.) The ending was rapid with putting closure to several substories halfheartedly or even open (It reminds me of "Absent in the Spring" novel of Agathe Christie which too has vague ending). I am still wondering if what I had watched was just a big drama adaptation of Kang Yeo Joo's novel (As she says "that's what the audience want" to her assistant) or actual story of Kang Yeo Joo. Yes, even with incomprehensible last 5 minutes the final episode was brilliant. The brilliant narration style and suspense building ( note, it is not the story I'm praising because when all the layers of mystery are removed, it just felt yet another ***-*** character story) has quashed the ambiguous ending. (Now that I look back, the ending was so finely crafted putting all puzzle pieces together that you can't even skip the last episode.)
I can't imagine anyone else other than Cho Yeo Jung playing the Kang Yeo Joo. The aura, the eyeliner, the elegant dresses everything made the character all the more legendary (You would feel she isn't worthy of that legendariness but wait for it patiently.). First things first, I too was initially annoyed by shenanigans of Kang Yeo Joo, and I almost felt like dropping it. But I really stuck around and found she was the most complex character. If the Parasite's Choe Yeon Gyo was "simple" then Kang Yeo Joo is super ultra-complex. There is this scene in episode 6 when Han Woo Sung says he will take her gift to his grave the reaction KYJ gives is golden. That was one of the few moments in early episodes when the poker face of KYJ falters. There are only a few people who can truly understand her and one has to wait till later episodes to know the reason.
Other characters were equally interesting. Go Joon (why late-blooming) did a great job in portraying HWS, I can truly understand why every woman falls for HWS. HWS is truly worthy of his reputation of Nation's Husband. (Even when he is cheating he is thinking about his wife and I didn't bother myself with judging him. We never get to know more about his motives.) Mirae is yet another flawed character in this drama. She can come off as homewrecker but truly her transformation and her past are awe-worthy. I am one of the few people who wasn't shipping Cha Soo Ho with KYJ but the way he looks at her wow! The Umbrella scene reminded me of K2 and how he protects her. I want to see more of Kim Young Dae in future projects. As for all other characters, they added funny elements and depth to stories. But a few didn't have proper closure/development but I'm not complaining. (It would be humanly impossible to deliver both mystery narration and character development perfectly)
Music was good and suited for scenes. Sometimes there was opera style music for hyped/dramatic scenes which I liked. As for OST, OVER by Suran shines out. Rewatch, to make sense of certain things it might require to rewatch. I too wanna rewatch it but it is kinda sad it ended so I can't bring myself to watch it again.
A crime novel: keeps hooked and makes you say "ahh!" and keeps you thinking about it even after it ended.
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It adressed some really important issues in a very respectful way
I am usually not a fan of series where characters travel forwards in time, so I wasn’t going to watch it at first. But then I saw some scenes about Army and Joe and those go me hooked, so I decided to give the show a try. And before I knew it, I was not very patiently waiting for new episodes each week.The series is amazing! I really like that the cast was given mature roles instead of just making it a high school series. I feel like the topics addressed in the series can be better portrayed with some maturity from the characters. Even if there are a lot of comedic scenes, the series takes a very healthy and open-minded approach to relationships, intimacy, kinks, and sexuality. I really want to point out that seeing an asexual person and them expressing their lack of need for intimacy was really refreshing to see, especially as asexuality is often ignored (I was wrong on this - the character in question is actually a side, check the comments for more info). The fact that Alex is a gynecologist also helps to open topics such as STDs and safe sex.
We get to meet a lot of side characters that each have their own very detailed story, but I didn’t find it overwhelming, as they all connect in the end. Alex had quite a few photo mysteries to solve, not all of which were love problems. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I am not going to say who ended with who when that is not already obvious.
Army & Joe – Fluke and Thor did an amazing job portraying their characters emotions, I could sense when Joe was uncomfortable just by glancing at him. The two characters are quite different but I think that’s what makes them a good match for one another.
Jedi & Rose – I really love their dynamics. It was not really what I expected and the episode dedicated to solving their problems was really interesting. The plot twists were brilliant!
See-ew – I was really interested in what would happen with See-ew once we got to see his future photo as it looked very bad for him. I also like how his kink was not just something that others could make fun off.
Kat – I really appreciated how they approached her picture story. The trauma she experienced was not taken lightly, not by her nor the others around her. It was refreshing to see, as many series and movies just ignore the amount of damage such an experience can leave.
Nim & Molly & Bew – these three ladies were an interesting bunch. Nim and Molly dated in high school but broke up, so Nim then started dating Bew. I think we saw a lot more growth for two of them, but marking the third one as just plain selfish would be too simple. There is complexity behind her decision that might seem very self-centered and damaging at first.
Alex – he showed a lot of growth and understanding for what was happening and what has happened in the past. He fully accepted his responsibility for the hurt he had caused to those around him. He did try his best to correct his wrongdoings, but he never denied his responsibility. And that is something that I really appreciate, no matter how much I wanted to hate him at some point. Not all mistakes can be fixed, and that is something we need to learn and accept.
Jean – she was a badass character! I enjoyed her high school self, her activism and the way she clearly expressed what she wants. Her story is probably the one that hurt the most, I was upset for guessing right what happened. I like how supportive she is to those around her, friends or not.
As for the ending, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for. I do understand why they decided to end it as they did though. I was not really happy with how they handled Jean's story towards the end of the series, which did bring my rating down.
I know a lot of people are / were bothered by the reason why Alex is solving all this mysteries and trying to make things better. I do agree that the whole idea that his main end goal is to be able to climax again is just ridiculous. But to be honest, it completely slipped my mind most of the time. Only when it was brought up by the characters did I actually remember it. So while it was not my favorite end goal, it wasn't that bothersome.
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The Honest Verdict ;"Oh My”, This Was A Dire Drama ...
Have you ever found yourself watching a show, and generally wondering whether the screenwriter had a dartboard, was blindfolded and throwing randomly to see what random plot point to come up with next? Well, most drama watchers out there can probably agree that this perfectly describes ” Oh My Ladylord".
Before critiquing the drama , it is important to start on a high note.Against all odds of the female animosity trope, there was a surprisingly profound relationship between female lead Oh Joo In’s mother Yoon Jung Hwa ( Kim Ho Jung) and male lead Han Bi Soo’s mother Kang Hae Jin ( Lee Hwk Hyang). However, this is also where the series hits a major snag also. The main leads’ mothers were simply more interesting than either of our main leads.
It shouldn’t have been this way by default. Nana ( playing Oh Joo In) and Lee Min Ki ( costarring as Han Bi Soo)are both really good actors. ( Alongside Kang Min Hyuk playing second male lead Jung Yu Min.)Sadly, however, whilst the actors did put effort into their performances, they were fairly limited towards what they could actually do with Jo Jin Kook’s questionable script.
To start off this problem, it is important to talk about our female lead Oh Joo. Oh Joo wasn’t an inherently " terrible" character in the beginning. She had a strong, heartfelt relationship with her mother and seemed to defy the typical cliches of being the " spoilt and aloof actress" also. However, the show soon goes down hill when Oh Joo is introduced into her romantic pairing with Bi Soo. It isn’t necessarily the chemistry between the leads which was " bad", but, rather how she was reduced to the equivalent of storyline cannon fodder not even halfway into the show.
This moves us onto the next prominent issue. The dreaded creme de la creme of tropes; the love triangle. There’s nothing entirely wrong with love triangles per say in a drama, but, the problem with " Oh My Ladylord”’s love triangle happened to be that it was incredibly hard to root for any
chemistry in Jo Jin Jook’s trio of one-dimensional main leads.
To give Bi Soo some credulity , he wasn’t entirely a “terrible person at heart”. However, as this is a formulaic romantic drama where flaws have to be exaggerated for plot development, Bi Soo’s aloofness, jealousy and selfishness at times just became tiresome and repetitive .This is exemplified when around the halfway point of the drama, Bi Soo was so caught up in his attempts to make Oh Joo fall in love with him, that he did not make time even once during a pivotal revelation in this episode to visit his own dying mother. (Then, there is also the poorly-written fantasy element tied-in with Oh Joo, which did not add anything of relevance to Bi Soo’s characterisation.)
The final component of our love triangle is Jung Yu Min. The archetypical ” second male lead” who has ” been in love with Oh Joo for a long time”, Yu Min was just shallow and uninteresting . He had potential to be intriguing and well-written ,but (typical of cliches), Yu Min’s biggest problem occurred by his infatuation with Oh Joo. This is because Yu Min exists only as an obstacle in the story for Bi Soo’s affections . He had no sense of individuality with family, friends or his job outside of the romantic pairing. Even after Oh Joo confessed her ambiguous feelings whilst they were " dating" , it was predictable that Yu Min lashed out manipulatively at Bi Soo rather than just sitting down to talk with Bi Soo and Oh Joo like a decent human being .
Then there’s the biggest elephant in the room with the drama; the genre. Genre shifts can work well to a show’s advantage, and then there’s " Oh My Ladylord".
Admittedly the screenwriter does attempt to make amends by bringing the fantasy elements again into the storyline, however , this resorted in the overall genre shift being nothing more than a lazy plot Macguffin. ( In an attempt to make a poorly-written romance story interesting with little success. ) The ending was even worse, attempting to deliver a tearjerking solution to an otherwise horrible storyline , but , with little success.
So, is " Oh My Ladylord" actually worth watching? This is entirely dependent upon expectations. If you’re a fan of trope-filled, terribly outdated storylines with toxic relationships then " Oh My Ladylord" is right up your street. However, if you’re looking for a modern, well-written and dynamic romance tale with a supernatural twist, then look elsewhere because " Oh My Ladylord" certainly isn’t it.
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As for the female lead and male lead, they portrayed their roles very well done, they both nailed it.. They acted naturally. 👍🏼
The storyline is also unique, no cliches and I swear you wouldn’t get bored watching each of 20 episodes.
Music, acting, rewatch value, storyline, etc. good job to those directors and screenwriters...
Hoping to watch whatever upcoming roles they are into...
I’ve heard KJH issue,the way he handled it and the way he apologized, he’s forgiven... everyone of us makes mistakes, we all have our own flaws... In other words, we are not perfect individuals.... So let us move on and look forward to more of his shows... He’s an amazing actor in any way.....
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180 Degree - Right In The Feelings
This LGBTQIA+ series is all I ever visually dreamed of, not in a "how handsome the actors are" or in a "the romance is so explicit" but rather the entire CINEMATOGRAPHY was ON POINT. So good, that I´d even forget my doubts about some part of the story. It´s a heavenly gift for everyone who not only watches the series for the plot but also for the techniques of filming and editing. It’s BREATHTAKING!(TW: age gap, loss)
Story >> 8.0 >> 9.0
As I said before, I still have a few doubts about the plot. Nothing extremely bothersome tho. All in all, I loved the portrayal of this kind of “unspoken” story and all the time they took to emphasize on the characters conflicts and true, growing emotions.
Acting/ Cast >> 9.5
The relatability was archived by extremely good acting and an incredible production team. I hope I can expect more of this top-notch acting in the future because it felt unreal. Especially Nike´s performance was drawing my attention.
Music >> 8.5
I really hope that other thai LGBQTIA+ series could make use of soundtracks and background music like this series does. Not that there was any specific soundtrack that I liked, but they just all fit the mood well and did not bother me in the slightest, which is rare.
Rewatch Value >> 8.0 >> 7.5
It is so beautiful to watch, not even question if I´d rewatch this. I definitely will sooner or later!
100% RECOMMENDED if you are okay with the main characters' significant age gap.
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A GUILTY PLEASURE NO ONE WILL ADMIT TO.
How do I explain My Day? A perfect storm, a chaotic mess that keeps you coming back for more like the series is just all over the place that it makes it super interesting, I mean the fact that it has an 8-star rating generally and I am giving it a 6.5 despite everything should tell you enough.On to my review, I will first start by saying if you come to My Day with expectations of Oscar level acting and scenes, then you will be disappointed, annoyed, and disgusted. But if you have an open mind you will actually come to enjoy this so much. BTW, gmmtv have NOTHING on oxinfilms in terms of sliding in advertisements, like in fact, gmm can learn from oxinfilms, lol. When I was watching My Day I was watching 17 other ongoing BLs weekly, yet out of the 17, My Day, Gaya Sa Pelikula, and Still 2gether kept me excited for the next week's episode. PLUS EPISODE 8, IT HITS YOU OUT OF NOWHERE, OMG
I am going to be reviewing this as episodes 1 to 3, then 4 upwards because I warn you now, 1 to 3 have been some of the worst episodes I have watched in a BL or series, by episode 4, they step up their game a bit and by episode 5, you have hit some good stuff.
NOTE; Some shows are just to be enjoyed, not necessarily analyzed, discerned, methodically detailed, or examined for ultimate correctness. Sometimes, a show is just for a little humor, laugh, and entertainment. I totally agree that this series is "campy," a little "off-beat," and possibly somewhat politically incorrect at times. But, it does have some "heart," and an occasional "feel good" moment
EPISODES 1 TO 3
Episodes 1 to 3 are just plain chaotic, weird and happens so fast you get whiplash. Like the scene where Sky was begging Ace for a job or how fast Ace suddenly went from mean and terrible to cute and fluffy with Sky. Like then the driving scene and restaurant scene were just......... To summarize it all, episodes 1 to 3 will make you want to lose your mind
EPISODE 4 BEYOND
It's not like I am saying after episode 3 you will start getting perfect episodes, but the series gets better and more enjoyable there is still some cringe here and there but overall, it does not take away from the fun of the series. So the thing about My Day is more of the story of 2 people falling madly in love, giving us the gay version of romcoms and Disney movies per se, than being a story with a specific storyline, like struggling with sexuality or family or any of that. It's meant to be about Sky and Ace Tan getting together, I mean there is the layer of Ace's dad being the worst and a homophobe but it is not the focus of the series, the series is about them falling in love mainly.
There were parts that were like loud and obnoxious but like they are ultimately okay, sometimes their acting was sport on and good, then other times, you would be so perplexed by the acting, as their facial expressions, expressing emotions and tonations were just kinda bad.
There are parts that were like the scene draws out or a part that is so unnecessary to the story but like I don't mind them, anything to make an episode longer is worth it cause I didn't want them to end, like Moira and the entire dog kidnapping scene was such a waste of time but I mean it gave us Sylean insulting Moira savagely, lol.
EPISODE 8
The blessed episode, they sealed themselves in the league of MaxTul, MewGulf, and SaintZee... Like everyone that watched that episode thought that was the ending after the fireworks, then BOOM, they hit us in the face, like Woah Ohh.
Episode 11
Episode 11 so far has been one of the best episodes in terms of control of everything, emotions, acting everything as a whole, like I never expected to feel pain in My Day but episode 11 did that, but the ending confused me a little I won't lie but it wasn't bad or anything
OVERALL.
I love the chemistry between the actors, they go so well together and their ever-present sexual innuendos made it so much better. They were cute and fun, easy-going and a nice way to relax, like episode 6 'dry and wet' remarks or the 'he is used to big ones' or 7 and the reference to 'prove to me you are the top' and all the Sky is the top chant. I loved seeing them on my screen. I mean there was the acting misses but ultimately it was an okay series
Miss Becky was a guilty pleasure, lol, I stan her.
Then also the music is kinda great like I got a few songs from the series so far.
the found it in was interesting like Banana Ketchup or Yam Flavoured Ice Cream or Yam Bread. it picked my interest in trying food from the Philippines
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wish Lom had a different "plan"
Overall: if Lom had just been honest at the beginning (ep 1 or 2), then I could have enjoyed their cute moments. This is based on a book written by MAME which I haven't read and I will review the series on its own merits. MAME also wrote the screenplays for Don't Say No, Love By Chance 2 and TharnType specials. 7 episodes 45 minutes each aired uncut on iQIYI (had steamy scenes starting at the end of ep 4) and cut on YouTube (the steamy parts cut out/shortened). There will be a special episode.Content Warnings: non con kissing/touching, manhandling, body shaming, manipulation, slaps, homophobia
What I Liked
- cameos/characters from Love In The Air characters (episode 3 of part 4 was great)
- m/m steamy scenes are done well (need the uncut version to see them)
- MAME cameo/reference of signing the guestbook
- the line of "you look perfect now, don't listen to others" (though he's the one who brought Nuea to the gym so...)
- GL couple (but strange that an established couple avoided kissing in the beginning)
- Nuea's family/friends
- Nuea stood up for himself with that farm dude
- production value (especially the color/light)
Room For Improvement:
- Sailom had a terrible "plan", if he had been honest in the beginning then I would have rated this series significantly higher, but all I saw was Sailom lying and hurting Nuea and he knew he was hurting Nuea, it would have been a 2 minute conversation or a text message but Sailom couldn't find the time??? other characters even told Sailom his plan/method was bad
- Yiwa and Sailom had a bad plan as well, how would that work in the long term, what a disservice to their significant others
- Yiwa had to take all the blame and Sailom got everyone's sympathy and lied to his mom, this really rubbed me the wrong way
- the non con kiss
- too many "comedy" sound effects including the gulp noise
- why make them speak English during the wedding vows when they didn't speak English in their series, also the English subtitles were wrong
- unnecessary long water skiing scenes (2 in the first 3 episodes)
- not a good kiss for an established f/f couple
- fictional drunk character who is so drunk he needs help walking but then a few minutes later is an active participant during sex
- nonsense things: Sailom was a sound sleeper, wasn't the wedding supposed to have a huge guest list, looked like 50 guests
- the moms yelling/fighting
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But the story is quite interesting and cool, I like how it wasn't focused around a guy struggling with his sexuality or any of that drama but rather they knew what they wanted and they kind off went for it straight. Yes, there were moments when I physically cringed but on an overall basis, I liked the show, because they were able to pack everything into 4 episodes and gave it a good finish.
STORY: So when the series kicked off after Vee and Mark slept together, I thought it was going to be a Together with me remake when Vee said his girlfriend cannot find out, but then I like the fact that they didn't make it the stereotypical struggle with being gay or not but rather a struggle with love itself that so many people have. The struggle between a loveless love but love you have grown used to, and new exciting love with all the ups and downs that come with it. I like the fact that they were a bit appropriate for once, not portraying them as backstabbing cheaters, but allowing Vee to "properly" break it off with ploy before appropriately getting with Mark. The only downside to this may be the fact that the big drama was not all that (btw never agree to the last kiss with your ex) and the story was cringe and unnecessary sometimes, like Pack, he literally was just a tool to get Vee and Mark back together
Music: They were superb with this, I actually enjoyed the music
Acting: Acting was good too
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