SO much wrong with this
I came to this because I just discovered Takeru Satoh - I just watched all the Rouroni Kenshi movies and wanted to see something else he was in. This was one of the few things I could find - and man was this a horrible shift.Everything about this drama is so wrong - from beginning to end, this drama is what is wrong with Asian rom-coms. That someone thought this was a good story of a ‘romantic’, healthy adult relationship is just a bit disturbing.
While commenters have issue with the age gap - that is not really the problem - its the maturity gap. She has the maturity level of a teenager while the ML has the maturity level of an adult . Not to mention the power dynamic that he is her superior at work. It’s all just so wrong.
Let’s start with the idea that a teenage girl, on her day of graduating from high school, goes to a temple to pray that she finds a good man, stumbles upon a woman with a medical emergency and the dashing, handsome doctor shows up, smiles at her, pats her on the head and whola! - I’m in love! To the point of running off to become a nurse so she “can be near him’ - not because she wants to be a nurse and help people, doesn’t decide to become doctor because she just witnessed him saving the woman - but, no, lets be a nurse so I can stand next to him - wrong!
She then spends 5 years to go to school so she can get a job at his hospital, then shows up and runs around proclaiming her love for this person in the middle of the workplace- to a man who she has only even, met briefly once in her life. She then spends all her time bumbling around, acting like a pre-teen with a crush on an idol. And she never grows out of it. Wrong!
Then there is the whole awkward dating situation - again, the maturity gap happens - he clearly has experience and she clearly has none. She has this very romanticized, teenager mentality of what being in a relationship means and it just doesn’t fit - most of the time she seems terrified - that dear-in-the-headlights, ready to jump out of her skin look on her face and in her demeanor - very subservient, bowing and apologizing all the time - all the while he is calling her an idiot every five minutes. It is just the most unhealthy dynamic and yet the writers/directors and even viewers - all think this is ‘romantic’, it is not.
You never get a real sense of why he likes her and it isn’t event until the second to last episode that he says anything. He spends most of the time ignoring her, glaring at her and generally looking like he is annoyed with her and then one day, just turns around on the street and kisses her - what?!?!
I also do not see, not just one, not two, but three grown men falling in love with her - that this idea of an immature 22 year old, who behaves like teenager is somehow so appealing that men are falling over themselves - is just absurd.
And then there is the older sister of the dead girlfriend who shows up and just happens to look EXACTLY like the dead girlfriend, hasn’t seen the guy since she died and is now ‘in-love’ with him - seriously! I cant even with this stupidity.
Overall - most of the problems come back to this maturity issue. it would be one thing, if through out the show you see her mature and him soften - but that never happens (he does, ever-so-slightly - but not really enough)
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no, just no - awful writing
Overall: the writing in this is terrible. It's the worst cliches written in the worst ways possible. Episode 5 was awful writing and episode 6 wasn't much better. Based off a book which I haven't read and I reviewed the series on its own merits. 6 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired uncut on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/fva9tft4vxjyol2/j4101l2vf7x and cut on on WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/play/efp3uken3u5ahjm/w410159dtry (the first episode seemed to be the same run time, they shortened NSFW in future episodes)Content Warnings: rape (episode 5), torture, manhandling, hit, dub/non con sex, vomiting, bullying, cyber bullying, punch, beaten up, violence, kidnapping, drugging, non con picture/video taking/sharing, unwanted outings, gaslighting, threatened self harm/death
What I Liked
- visuals
- though kind of random in the beginning, I did understand the plot
- laughed at the line "lucky you for choosing to be a medical student because your acting is super fake"
- GL, especially eps 4-6
- the high school MLs in eps 4 & 5
Room For Improvement
- it was awful to watch how the rape in episode 5 was shot romantically, that was zero romantic and there were hints that they would end up together romantically and zero consequences for the rapist
- Sun was supposed to be the hero but he was anything but, why on earth would he listen to his enemy over his boyfriend/jump to conclusions, he cheated (kissed and had sex off screen) and then had the gall to ask why his boyfriend broke up with him and then when given evidence said he deserved to have 1 mistake?!!!
- started with a voice over to describe a character instead of showing it thru actions/interactions
- choppy, characters were in university and then suddenly we saw high schoolers with seemingly no connection between them
- love triangles
- cliches: drunk sex, hobbling the day after and a fever, multiple evil women, childhood connection (with the gross kids' "kiss"), refusing to communicate/listen
- applying the ointment (on the uncut version)
- piano music over NSFW
- mom vanished from the finale
- no resolution for the high school couple in the finale
- cliffhanger ending
- nonsense: how he was apparently not attractive with glasses and then removed the glasses and became irresistible, bodyguards were there until they were needed and then they were gone, CCTV cameras located far away that picked up crystal clear sound, the contest was apparently people standing around doing nothing, a fully grown person can't live by himself?
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The same old, same old...
When you think you get something like "To My Shore" - no, you don't. It started interesting but then degraded rapidly. We have the same 2D villain fathers and the brother Ken as in many other shows. While not as over the top like in "Wicked Game", it's still not satisfying at all. There is no sophistication in either the script or the villains. It's all very stereotypical. And of course the finale is quite ridicilous as it's typical with thai shows.At least the MLs got to play something different and in most parts they succeeded with the acting. Nobody can deny their chemistry. The NC scenes are the same old, so nothing new or interesting there. I guess that is the second time we got a GL side-couple, this time not stupid or silly as in "Love Sea". Also the action scenes were not as amateurish as in many other shows, so that got them on my good side 🤣. Production value was high. The timejumps made the story not easy to comprehend.
It's an "ok" show for me, it's watchable but of course can't come close to "To My Shore" which had a much more refined script and even more tensions between the MLs. As usual the viewer gets an happy end and the end scene may be a hint of a coming show in the same universe or a special. But beware that some scenes might be very disturbing (psychical abuse, selfharm) and mentally unstable people should not watch it.
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A Story of Mental Survival
At first glance, Mo Li (First Jasmine) feels like a standard revenge drama, giving you that satisfying taste of payback right from the start. But as the story unfolds, it transforms into something deeper and more reflective. This shift in pacing might frustrate those waiting for bigger revenge moments, but it allows the story to deliver justice with more depth and realism. That being said, the last few episodes might feel disappointing to some, but I see them as an important part of the characters’ growth, despite the noticeably slower pace can feel dragging at times.Its most refreshing element is its exploration of mental illness, a theme more commonly associated with modern dramas than historical ones. Both leads suffer in different ways, physically and emotionally, and their relationship is built on mutual healing and understanding. The romance is mature. They heal each other, support each other, and stand by each other. It’s not the kind of romance that makes your heart race, but the kind that makes you feel safe.
On the downside, some of the heavy Tang dynasty-inspired style makeup on side characters felt excessive and distracting, especially compared to the leads. As for the acting, if I’m being honest, while I enjoyed the leads, it didn’t feel particularly remarkable, especially Bailu.
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Everything was pointless after the ending...
Since the ending is happy, what was the point of all those episodes if Na Bi learned nothing? If she falls into his trap both at the beginning and at the end, then we have watched a pointless drama and wasted 10 hours. For this, the story does deserve the lowest score because it didn't develop at all. Instead, it was an endless circle showing the same situations without any progression.Very dissapointing.
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FL didn't work for me & Yet I can't stop watching for Jang Seung Jo....
Predictable story + failed FL casting but I can't drop the show either...I've seen enough of Kim Ha Neul's works, she's not terrible but she's never been amazing either. I am definitely not against mature actress/younger actor pairing but they need to have good chemistry. Still the biggest issue is her character portrayal of this smart tough reporter isn't convincing. When scenes of the MLs express their hurt and love for the FL, you can feel their heart aches and then the FL just looks like she's trying to react, but her facial expressions just so lacking.
The MLs carried the series for me. Jang Seung Jo (The husband) especially is amazing. One minute he looks like the loving husband with puppy dog eyes then the next minute he delivers that psycho killer vibe -- Hot & Deadly! He's painful crying scenes make you feel like someone close to you just died. Gut Wrenching so good!!! Why I can't drop the series.
At Last it's over!!
For those who got offended at my bad "FL / MLs pairing":
1. You missed the point, I said proper pairing. There are many older FL/younger ML that WORKED in other dramas.
Lim Soo Jung/Jang Ki Yong in WWW 13 yrs age gap
Lee Da Hee/ Lee Jae Wook in WWW 14 yrs age gap
Gong Hyo Jin / Kang Ha Neul in When the Camellia Blooms 10 yrs age gap
Son Ye Jin/Jung Hae In - Something in the Rain 8 yrs age gap
just to name a few. ALL had chemistry and delivered in their performances.
2. I did state the BIGGEST issue is her acting.
3. This is my PERSONAL opinion. No need to attack me.
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Good, BUT ONLY IF YOU BINGE WATCH
For me, this is a confusing one. I managed to binge the first 12 or so episodes and then had to wait for the next episodes to be released. From episodes 1 to 12 I loved Private Lives pretty much. I thought it was great, although in some parts a little confusing. But when I had to wait a weekish to watch the next episodes, I just found myself lost and alot less interested in the story and characters. Although the acting and chemistry was superb in this, I thought how characters were introduced were not the best.Anyways, follow my advice and I'm sure you will love it to the end. Private Lives is definitely a great watch as long as you are consistent with it and don't wait too long to watch the next episode.
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I was sadly mistaken, once I had looked up the full story of the manga (about half way through the movie) I noticed that there was a fair amount missing plot wise - although not vital to the plot, but it would have explained some things a bit better, and that the plot itself was kinda dodgy anyways.
Now, don't get me wrong, I have watched quite a few dramas and movies where you sit there and think what on earth have I just watched & how did they get away with it, but this movie seems to gloss over certain aspects of people's characteristics to make them 'loving'.
I however, cannot fault the cinematography of the movie, I thought that this was beautiful. If you want to watch a movie purely for research on cinematography I would definitely recommend, I just wouldn't recommend the movie for the plot.
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The biggest plot twist ever in history...continue reading to find out!!!!!!Story: (SPOILER)
It starts out with the physician and his assistant visiting the King's chamber. The next day, news broke out that the King is gravely ill, upon hearing the news CP Lee Chang decides to visit to see his father. Upon getting there, the Queen forbids him from seeing him and tells him that if he catches the flu who would be the nation's next King. He later sneaks into the chamber and discovered something gruesome; a shadow-like a beast follows by a foul stench and the smell of blood that could not be described. The thin paper bamboo door suddenly slides open with the guards outside questioning him why he is there. He follows with that there is a beast in the chamber and proceeds to persuade everyone. The head guard tells him there is no such thing and that it must be the tiredness. CP heads on to see his father, but again failed to meet as he was stopped by an official. CP tells about the sighting of the beast and to his amused the official replied back with saying he's seen it too, a son who pretends to be concern about his father but really he wants to see his father dead so he can guarantee his safety to the throne was the monster he has seen (referring to the prince). CP is escorted back and finds out that the last physician to see his father lives in Dongnae and so the journey to see the physician embarks. The next morning, all the official gets together to plot a scheme to kill the CP, and so he was going to be arrested for treason. Meanwhile at Jiyulheon, as the physician returns with the dead body of his assistant, those who was close to the boy was confused and lost about how he had died. Seo Bi, a woman who's also a physician returns from her daily findings of herbs to see all the sick patients happily eating. Confused as there is shortage on food and nothing to eat she rushes to the kitchen and sees this guy (honestly I can't remember his name or did he even have a name, can someone confirm with me cause I really can't remember/ gonna call him GUY1) Seo Bi asked him where he got the food from and he tells her that he hunted a deer. Pleased that everyone gets to eat meat, she was asked to refill another bowl of delicious meat soup and so she proceeds to do so to find out it wasn't a deer. The soup was made from a dead body. Shooketh, not shocked but shooketh, because I was shooketh too, she confronts GUY1 about it, meanwhile, the start of the epidemic starts to happen. CP and his trusted body guard arrives to see the place locked up from the inside and looking like a mess. They get inside and discover the bodies of the dead and sends them to the magistrate. When all hope was lost guys, GUY1 & Seo Bi did not die, yes they did not die and is friggen alive. CP and body guard finds Seo Bi in the mountain looking for a herb that can cure the dead, she finds out that the body has been moved to the magistrate and tells them that the bodies are not dead. They were literally like girl what you on about, but she keeps insisting them that the body will start to rise at night. CP slowing believing her asked her if the creature has a foul stench and blood smells and she said yes, and with this, it proves the theory CP has. CP sends his bodyguard and seo bi to the magistrate to check out what's happening. Seo Bi and GUY1 starts explaining about what the bodies do but no one believed them and they both end up in the jail. As night fall, the bodies starts to become alive and the village becomes the walking dead. The epidemic starts to spread and at this point in time, everyone finds out about the CP. This is basically the story, the CP ends up helping the people and everyone ends up at this city call Sangju, there with the help of his former teacher and his people, they start to build forts and trenches and traps to kill the zombies. As this was unfolding Seo Bi discovers the herb that can cure the epidemic. Back to the traps, they waited all night and nothing showed up, relieved they killed off the fire and everyone was ready to go and rest...and then...as the CP looked into the distance, a disturbance in the wood had set off the bird and the ground was trembling and trees was literally shaking!!!!! Seo Bi hears something and turns around to see that there are the zombies standing behind them,- you can see it in the reflection of the water...BIGGEST FRIGGEN PLOT TWIST she realises that they do not rise during the night but to the temperature, yes temperature. THE END. Another plot twist, the Queen is not pregnant, repeat she is not pregnant. & now the wait for season 2. I literally watched this when I found out it was on netflix via IG and I literally stopped watching my current drama because I was that excited to see it. I can't even explain it lmao, but like each episodes had it's own feels like my siblings and I we were so into it that like we commentate the whole series cause we didn't want bad things to happen t the good people and we were rooting for the bads to get eaten by the zombies. haha. But check it out.
Acting/Cast:
It was soooooo good, like props to everyone who has to run like that like yalls MVP of the year already.
Rewatch:
I would definitely rewatch this and rewatch it when season 2 comes out.
Overall:
Everyone has to watch it like its sooo good, like I could not find any fault with it. Like its amazing. Shoutout to NETFLIX for being MVP and subbing this.
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The acting was top notch. Ji Change Wook, Park Min Young, and Yoo Ji Tae were daebak as Seo Jang Hoo, Chae Yeong Shin, Kim Moon Ho respectively. There is so much I can say about their chemistry and acting abilities, but I'm going to concentrate on the supporting cast. I have always liked veteran actress Kim Mi Kyung. She killed it as hacker extraordinaire, Jo Min Ja. I loved her quirky character. Also, Jeong Gyoo Soo was scary and creepy as Kim Moon Shik's assistant. That hand covered smirk made me want to beat the crap out of him myself. For such a minor role, he made me hate him the most. All of the actors are good.
The music is really good. I have a lot of it on my play list already.
I will probably rewatch this at some point.
I highly recommend this drama.
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A cliche love story about your pick me ex-idol next door & the ordinary boy she falls for.
***DISCLAIMER: This is just my opinion, we don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone. This review is kind of long so please bare with me.***A/N: I went into this drama blind without reading the webtoon or having any preconceived ideas.
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, friends to lovers, on and off / toxic relationship
General Overview:
I kind of liked this drama because it is really nostalgic and takes you back. The cinematography is beautiful and it seems like it was meant to be a documentary or memoir of sorts recounting Doona and Won Jun’s experiences and how they crossed paths and essentially changed the trajectory of each others lives forever.
An ordinary guy and a superstar girl – that’s a cliche if I’ve ever seen one. I found it kind of tricky getting into this drama because the first 2 episodes are slow and you’re not really sure what exactly is going on because theres not much context but as you keep on watching and bridge the gap between episodes 2 & 3 and really delve into episode 4 & 5 things start heating up and becoming more interesting. I like the relationship between Doona and Won Jun because it shows us what a new adult / young love is and how at times it can be messy especially when there’s a lot of miscommunication thrown into the mix.
Their love story is by no means perfect but it’s also realistic in the way that other people watching can definitely relate to it and look back on their own past relationships / first loves and be reminiscent of a similar time / experience in their lives. Even if you have never experienced something like there are a lot of important life lessons to be learned.
I honestly feel like this drama lacked depth and they could’ve done so much more to better capture the struggle between wanting to live a normal life with your love and choosing to chase/ follow your dreams and be an idol. The ending sucked big time but again, I had already predicted it would be a sad/open ending by episode 5.
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A More Detailed Review (spoilers ahead):
Doona opens with Doona submerging herself in a pool of water and seemingly sinking to the bottom of it and drowning… I believe this is a reflection of how she truly feels on the inside.
The drama follows Dream Sweet Doona, a kpop idol who has fallen from grace and has taken a hiatus from being an idol due to an on-stage accident in which she stated she could no longer sing. We see her smoking profusely in a lot of the shots... we're not sure what's going through her head. Doona appears forlorn and despondent, as if she is fighting to find her place in the world while being neglected by the individuals she most badly wants to hear from. The number one person is P (her agent), who does not respond to any of her texts or phone calls.
As the story progresses we see Doona meet Won Jun and a love/hate dynamic develops between them. She can’t believe Won Jun doesn’t know who she is and that he’s not a fan as she sees him sporting a sweet dream hoodie. Anyways a uncanny dynamic develops between them and Doona finds herself annoying him and asking him out to eat for the fun of it. Won Jun thinks she’s only teasing him and is not actually serious. They get into a spat one night as Won Jun says something that hurts her feelings and sends her over the edge.
From there they make up and you see them hanging out and Doona giving Won Jun advice on love as Won Jun still seems to have feelings for this girl (Jin Ju) from his past. It seems they were almost high school sweethearts and did like each other but in the end things did not work out. Now a year later, Jin Ju has re-entered his life and Won Jun wants to obviously be more just friends but they keep missing the timing. I think this is essential to the plot because Jin Ju is a symbol of the past… and past memories while Doona is a symbol of Won Jun’s present and future. Back then, Won Jun was weak timid and was not able to confess to the girl he liked and win her over. This past Won Jun seemingly no longer exists as he is intrigued by Doona. He enters unfamiliar territory when he is with her and so she seems enthralling and fun to hang around. Even though Jin Ju and Won Jun have all the history and memories, it shows you can only hold onto a person for so much and no more. This was demonstrated when Jin Ju finally starts showing interest in Won Jun and was able to confess her feelings, he had already mentally moved on and was now interested in pursuing Doona.
Insights:
Doona lacks emotional intelligence because she has never led a typical/normal life. She also has trouble controlling her emotions, which I believe is related to her lack of emotional awareness. As someone once said, you have to be good with yourself before you can be good for other people. I think Doona needs to take care of herself and prioritize her mental health. It was very saddening watching her go through these psychotic breaks and moments of weakness completely alone. If “being in a room of crowded people and still feeling alone” was a person, that would be Doona.
Given that Donna appeared to have been groomed from the age of 13 or 14 until her early 20s, my heart ached for her. Doona became codependent on her agent as he effectively made her into an idol. It's obvious that the agent did not view her as a real person, but rather as a product or item. He was a manipulative man who only valued her when she was complying with his wishes. Her agent was simply emotionally absent and only doing his job but Doona misinterpreted it for love and concern. In essence, he exploited her as a tool as Doona only piqued his interest when she brought in big bucks and advanced his career. The moment the flip switched in her head and she told him she could no longer handle the idol life he became very cold and distant. It just showed that his affection for her was conditional on her performing and acting a certain way.
It's clear that Doona is a complex individual who has led a very one-dimensional existence. She had a one-track mind because her life was always regimented and linear. Her walls and fences gradually started to come down when her celebrity faded and she had some alone time without others chasing her, revealing the shell of a girl who genuinely needed to repair her inner child. Her mom dropped her off and was too busy coning others out of their money, so only her grandmother took care of her. She did not regard Doona as her daughter or child, but rather as a paycheck. She seemed more liberated and at ease when she spent time with Won Jun. I feel like hanging out with Won Jun made Doona feel free and ordinary. In a way he came into her life as a blessing.
Likes:
I enjoyed the cinematography and the setting. It was a very cozy and fitting drama to watch in the fall!
I liked Se Jong’s performance as Won Jun. It was refreshing to see a very emotionally intelligent man grace the screen. He literally was such a green flag and gave off the impression of a man who was ready to open his heart to someone who didn't appear to deserve him. Se Jong portrayed his innocence and naivety to perfection. It was endearing, but it also demonstrates how males are capable of feeling emotions and having strong feelings for the person they love. I can understand why he was only able to see the best in Doona because love is blind and gives people rose-colored lenses.
The chemistry between Won Jun and Doona was off the charts, if that's what you were mainly watching for. Warning if you are currently single this drama will definitely make you feel even more so. I felt like a third wheel or like I was intruding when watching some of their scenes because it was a bit intense and caught me off guard.
I thought Ha Young’s portrayal of Jin Ju was endearing. Her character brought so much light even in darkness and was one of the best to come out of this drama. Ha Young is seriously so charming on screen and has one of the best smiles I’ve ever seen. Her story was so tragic and she smiled and pretended to be happy on the outside to conceal the fact that she was actually breaking inside. She has strict parents which I’m sure people on here can relate to however the emotional and physical abuse she faced daily was so uncalled for. I liked how Jin Ju handled it with grace and eventually left her home situation. I was lowkey rooting for her and Won Jun in the beginning because she seemed like the of ray of sunshine he needed in his life. To me their personalities seemed more compatible than Won Jun and Doona but they took too long to confess how they felt. Even though her and Won Jun did not work out I am glad they are still friends… and you never know they might have missed their timing now but they could always reconnect years from now.
I also enjoyed the performances of the supporting cast. I-Ra and Jung Hoon were cute and I am happy they got together in the end. The friendship dynamic between everyone was refreshing and I’m glad they still met up to hang out and drink together rather than the friendship being lost after everyone moved out of the building.
Dislikes:
I must admit that Suzy's performance was not the best and fell flat for me. I believe she could have put more effort into truly selling the role. She mostly just posed in the scenes and kept on smoking and sighing which got really repetitive. She seemed to be in unfamiliar territory and did not have a similar experience to channel when playing Doona (a pop star fallen from grace) This led me to believe that she had never really had a had first-hand experience with despair, mental health concerns, and depression / loneliness as an idol. This role was clearly daunting for her and it showed.
In the 3rd act conflict when Doona saw her ex (the agent) and dropped Won Jun’s hand not once but TWICE I was pissed. Like that was an immediate red flag! And then she legit got in the car with the ex and didn’t like that he wasn’t reassuring her and saying all the things she wanted to hear then she opened the door, threw herself out of the car and hurt her foot?! That was absolutely psychotic and batshit crazy. Then she wants to come crawling back to Won Jun and playing the victim?! LOL this was so toxic and messy but at the same time realistic portrayal of young (blind) love. But more seriously, in those moments I questioned if Doona actually had any care or sympathy for Won Jun or his feelings. She was saying one thing but her actions always consistently proved otherwise. I guess this is what people would call a contradictory character but to me it was apparent she needed to work on herself because her behavior was deplorable.
The miscommunication between the leads was absolutely unnecessary and they could have fixed their issues with a simple and honest conversation. When Won Jun asked her if she’s back bc her agent didn’t want her I was like damn! Get her again for me. Being the other person, who appears to be someone's fallback or backup plan in case they can't get the main person they're seeking, is a tragic situation. The exchange between Doona and Won Jun eloquently encapsulated how awful it is.
I was irritated by the agent's attempt to minimize Won Jun's significance. He pretended to be concerned about Doona's welfare, but his true motivation was to use her as a means of generating income for himself. He presents himself as superior to everyone else and shows pretends like he has no concern for those so-called "kids." Mind you he's in their business 25/8 and suggested they break up immediately. In my opinion, the agent acts like a whiny boy who gets upset when he doesn't get his way in a situation.
9 episodes seemed too short but also too long because if you think about it this drama could’ve easily just been a 2 hour movie lmao… there’s so much unnecessary dragging out of the plot.
As I reviewed my episode ratings, I realized that I only ever gave one episode an 8/10, while the others received ratings between 4/10 & 6/10. Tbh, this drama suffers from a severe lack of depth and overcompensates by focusing too much on ridiculous relationship drama. It does far more showing than actually telling. Then again, there is only so much they could fit into 9 episodes. Realistically speaking this drama only needed to be about 5 or 6 episodes long, after that it became tedious and started to drag on.
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Quotes I liked:
“𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙.”
“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙’𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙨. 𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙊𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙮.”
“𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩.”
“𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘.”
_____________________________________________
Final Thoughts:
Overall this drama is the definition of a friends to lovers, toxic love story with miscommunication at the forefront. It’s comforting and nostalgic in the way that sometimes you just need a soft drama you can watch without focusing too much on a heavy plot.
Doona is champagne problems coded, a total disaster waiting to happen. I think a lot of people only like this drama for the “steamy” or “hot” kissing scenes, which feels like a very one-dimensional way of viewing it.
Chemistry alone is not enough to sell me on a drama or make me rate it highly. If that were the case, what would even be the point of watching and reviewing anything? Additionally, the ML also had chemistry with the SFL, but that often gets ignored because toxicity tends to be more “entertaining” for viewers.
Should you watch it? It depends on your taste. If you enjoy cliché, predictable, toxic romance dramas, you might like it. It feels similar to Nevertheless. It’s slow at the start and not everyone will stick around long enough for the relationship to develop. If you do watch it, brace yourself.
Would I rewatch it? Absolutely not. Once was enough. Most of the conflicts could’ve been solved with one honest conversation, but instead everything was dragged out unnecessarily to seem deeper than it actually was.
To me, people see stories like this in real life but often romanticize the toxicity and ignore how exhausting it is to constantly want to be chosen with the same intensity you give someone else.
What frustrated me most was that both characters had flaws, but Won Jun still tried to understand Doona and give her a chance. Meanwhile, she was emotionally unavailable, immature, and kept hurting him because what she actually needed was therapy, not a relationship. Even knowing it wouldn’t last, she still used him as a placeholder, which made her behavior difficult to watch.
Still, there are some lessons here. This drama can serve as a warning about getting attached to emotionally unavailable or toxic people. It’s easy to ignore red flags when you’re lonely or emotionally invested, but recognizing those patterns matters if you want to avoid repeating them.
Doona and Won Jun both lack secure attachment styles. She leans dismissive avoidant and he leans anxious. Combined with her abandonment issues and emotional instability, the relationship becomes draining to watch. Realistically, what they both needed was professional help.
On a brighter note, another takeaway is learning that not everything is meant to last. Sometimes people meet at the right time, not for forever, but for a chapter. And that’s okay.
I ultimately scored Doona a 6/10, as the drama sits firmly in the realm of mediocrity despite a few notable moments.
__________
Once again, this is just my opinion, you can watch it & see for yourself!
Thanks for reading and happy watching!
˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
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Shiny But Dull…
I’m probably in a small minority here with ‘ Our Beloved Summer’ but the series really, really, really didn’t do anything for me.Don’t get me wrong. I have always had a lot of respect for Choi Woo Shik and Kim Da Mi as they are both brilliant actors and their roles over the last few years have been really varied. Even here I’d say that their parts as the main leads remained a really strong factor throughout the show.
But the chemistry? It’s hard to describe really. I guess it was a bit lacklustre. It shouldn’t have been because Woo Shik and Da Mi were really brilliant together in ‘ The Witch’ but it was hard to really feel any dynamic charm between their characters. It was existent but it felt a bit fabricated imao.
As for storyline it’s nothing really new or exciting per say. I really like how the series did take on a lot of old-fashioned tropes though and gave them a bit more depth than just the second female lead/ male lead being purely “ potential love interests” and having their own feelings and reasons also.
I felt as though the pacing was a bit off personally. As much it was kinda sweet to see characters grow, the plot did feel as though it had run its course by about episode 12. After that whilst there was still some element of plot, it was a bit overstretched. I felt as though the series could’ve done with either stopping at 12 episodes, or at least bringing in a more exciting plot-drive rather than feeling a bit repetitive after the 3/4 mark. The ending was to be expected in all honesty.
The scenes and cuts were arguably one of the strongest factors of the series. The colors were really bright and bubbly and helped to reflect a lot about the characters and the actual tones were glossy and slick. I felt as though maybe the series could’ve been a bit more creative with certain shots than just including standards sequences, but apart from that, I can’t deny a that the filming was pretty much eye candy. The OST was also good personally also.
I felt as though maybe like a lot of romance dramas with big names, ‘ Our Beloved Summer’ was a little overrated for what it was worth as the storyline and pacing were a bit tedious and dragged in parts and there wasn’t really anything new offered to the table. Yet I can’t deny that it was quite pretty with scenes, the acting was very good and the OST did particularly stand out. A strong 7.5/10 for me; not perfect but a decent romantic melodrama.
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beautiful start into a melancholic love story but then...
after finishing this drama today I'm sad to say it jut get's a shaky 6 in the end - when it was almost a 9 for the first few episodes.Why is that?
-this drama started sooo promising, good story with some kind of a fresh twist I like -
a male lead character who is handsome, rather rich but still very unhappy and lonely in his life. As a counterpart, a female lead character who is stubborn, painfully straight forward, but rather strong willed.
This is a mix I have rarely seenin K-dramas yet, and I feel it's refreshing and realistic to show that men, also handsome, rather successful men, can be unhappy and lonely and hurt.
The story was progressing rather slowly from the beginning and I did like that pace as the main characters neeed the time to find ways to reach each other, it only makes sense in all the story context.
I found the pace and development perfect until episode 7. From episode 8 on and I was a little worried that due to the fact this has 16 episodes, it suddenly started to drag.
The lead characters both around at least 30 or even 40, first needed some very understandable time to become aware of their feelings for each other, given they are both shy people when it comes to personal emotions, and given the difficult circumstances.
But from episodes 8 on we got more and more if these dragging scenes, the characters just standing around in slo-mo forever looking sad, or walking along a street in slo-mo. looking sad etc. It felt like time fillers to me from a certain point
We had the lead characters confessing their feelings for / to each other from episodes 8 to 10, they go camping together sleeping in the same small tent and spending the night there (the writers just completely leaving out what happened there? What did they talk about? how did they say good night? how did they interact? how was the next morning waking up togther etc. etc?)
We even have them spending a real night together as lovers, the fl openly confessing her love to the ml and then? Nothing, the next day these two people, who are not teenagers but between 30 and 40 years old and very good looking both of them, act like 13- year old teeagers, awkward, cold, distanced, even like they don't know each other personally? I didn't find that convincing.
(In reality: These two lead characters have been drawn to each other for what feels like forever. They finally spend the night together. Yeah, you know what would happen after that? If you ever had that situation yourself with such a prolonged...'forepaly', you know exactly that hormones are in crazy mode after spending such first night finally, and there is no way these two people would act like strangers and all cold the next day. Normally, after all that and confessing to each other, you search the next possible time window to spend more time together and you definitely interact differently, even when it's small things, and you look at each other differently.)
After epsiode 12 the dragging gets worse. There are so many silent scenes in slow motion repeating themselves, where you see either the ml or the fl walking down any street suuuperslowly (especially the fl), looking dazed and sad, or the ml sitting somewhere (either his appartment, a noodle shop or his office) looking blank and sad.
It was just too much of that slow motion walking and looking sad for me. You can use that to accentuate important moments, or moments of real daze and sadness, but when it is used like here the effect wears off and it feels artficial and annoying.
So, the story unfolds, the ml finally hears that the fl is the daughter of his dead stepdad and one of the siblings who got thrown out of their house because of his bitchy, nasty mother. He tries everything to clear the situation, even gets them the house back.
His mother, remaining the nastiest person, gets forgiveness from everyone (which I find HIGHLY unbelievable, especially because she did not change one bit and was just a bit softer for a short moment because she felt pity for herself for having been caught.) What happens to her in the end? We don't really get to know.
I found the last two episodes even worse to be honest. Apart from lots more dragging slow-mo scenes, we suddenly see the pharmacy guy getting together with the fl's older sister - which felt forced to me. I didn't feel like that could have really happened like it did, simply because the pharmacy guy had strong feelings for the fl for years. Suddenly switching to her sister felt strange to me.
So, back to the leads; after all is cleared, surprisingly everyone forgave the ml's awful mother, the siblings get back the house etc - and our leads? - still do a supertragic ' we have to seperate, goodbye forever' - ending of their relationship at a point when it's not necessary anymore? Oo (All of it by the way with both of them having almost robotic blank and sad facial expressions all the time, even when they are alone with each other in the woods.) Ok, even if so, and although I don't get why at that point, they don't do it the way most probably would, by particularly _not_ meeting again to not make it even more hurtful, but istead send a message or talk on the phone to say goodbye, - our leads? They go the extra painful length of driving out of Seoul two hours to go to the favourite wooden trail of the ml, walking together in the sunshine at the most romantic place to then really, expresionlessly, saying goodbye in front of the fl's house? No way!
Then, a time jump all of a sudden, one year later. So for some unknown reason the leads really haven't seen each other for a full year. Then, for further unknown reasons, the older sister suddenly tells the flthat their mother kind of forgave the ml already a year ago (which makes me wonder why the mother wouldn't have told the fl herself a long time ago knowing perfectly well how much her daughter is in love with the guy), the brother sets up a meeting of the leads at a rooftop concert, they both get there, the ml has a bunch of flowers, (endless slow motion again Oo) - they smile at each other and?.....THE END?
I was just annoyed at the end, thinking like what? Why? Why didn't the mother tell her way before she forgave the ml? Why didn't they get together after it was all cleared up a year earlier and instead do this reall weird break up scene with the wooden trail? Why all of a sudden can they now meet exactly a year later, why the flowers, why now? What then?
And I just couldn't get past this unchanged behaviour of the leads after they had spent that night together, I felt like I just saw they were actors acting, and that these two people have not spent a night together. You know, when you are in love like that, when there is such longing, and after you have finally spent a night together, knowing the other person intimately, their body, their scent, etc, you just look at each other differently, you act differently etc. It was just obvious it was an artificial script with two actors who played their roles like it was written down, but these two characters didn't really exist and they were not in love or had spend a night a after a long time of longing for each other.
All in all, almost the whole second half of the episodes was rather disappointing and it got worse with every episode. If the writers would have kept the good tension and realistic vibe they had from episode 1-7, It could have been one of the best and most touching stories in a long time then.
I personally think Kim Young-Kwang is actually a very good and versatile actor, and he plays his characters very convincing and different every time. In fact I meanwhile think he is the best male Korean actor concerning versatility and playing his characters absolutely convincing, easily switching from genre to genre. Sadly, the directors can't get it right and give him a drama that has a good and convincing storyline from start to end.
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Imagine having a good story and butchering it in the adaption?
Listen, I won't bother going on a rant or comparative review between the novel and show. This aint the review. It is safe to say they murdered the novel. So I will just dive into the mediocre drama ON it's own.The drama started off pretty well, but slowly but surely went downhill. Our heroine needs to be saved too many times when we are told she is the guy's equal. Our hero HAD to be the sole center focus of the drama instead of it being about the two of them. They are called Bai-Hei-Feng-Xi. But we got is the Hei Feng Xi show featuring the desirable side-chick Bai Feng Xi. Bai Feng Xi was tailing and running around for Hei Feng Xi like she didn't have her own life or journey to do.
Meanwhile, Hei Feng Xi was the boring Good Boy with Daddy Issues and Brotherly Feuds. Placing the focus on him was a mistake. They set him up as smart with a spy network and he couldn't even resolve his own problems. He also got tricked way too many times to be considered smart.
There was also a lame side plot mysterious and a piss-poor make a shift villain. Oh the villain, don't get me started. He was so boring and played "Looks Nice But is Evil" card.
The reason this drama gets 6.5 was that it was still watchable for the FIRST HALF, the actors were pretty to look at (yeah I went there) and had good heroic moments but that is just about it. The costumes were nice and cinematography wasn't bad. Very disappointing overall considering this was my MOST anticipated drama of the year. Oh well, boo hoo for me. I guess I will go find something else.
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Almost Dropped It at First Episodes, but...
yes, i almost dropped IS after watching episode 1-2, but thanks God i choosed to skip a bunch of episodes and went directly to watch ep 15, the river of forgetfulness scenes, and i got hooked ever since, and now it turns out to be THE BEST XianXia Drama i'have ever seen.*ofcourse then i back to early episodes that i skipped at first, to get some foundation of the stories, haha.
well, we should admit it didnt start right.
first episodes were not appealing, especially episode-1 which was bad and slapped our high expectation for this drama. the plot was nothing new, flat, I didnt like to see Yan Dan because she seemed to me just the same as JinMi from Ashes of love, and the worst is the CGI, weird and cheap.
I was not a fan of Yangzi or Chengyi, so i couldnt stand it and almost dropped it. because i am in waiting of LLTG new episodes and nothing to watch in between, then i tried to skipped and went right away to ep 15, and unexpectedly got surprised by the beautiful scenes, interesting plot and especially the main lead's feeling portrayed by the actors was so real that i can only say WOW.
and then the rest is the history, because the plot become more interesting, and i am fascinating with ChengYi's skill of acting (eventhough i watched Love and Redemption before, and it was good), but i never thought that i would felt so moved by an actor's acting like now.
He indeed not just has a great acting skill, but an acting that ensoul the character to become truly alive, and we watchers could realy feel the pain etc.
And for the plot, what i could say is if we analyze it honestly, its better than classic popular xianxia TMOPB and AOL. If people watch IS first, they will agree with this. Lots of people may say IS has the common xianxia plot, yes because it launched after all the classic popular ones.
But actually after watching more episodes, most of the plot is different from previous xianxia's drama.
Here in IS, the character development happens slowly and clear, that in some way may make some people complaint about it as slow paced. i dont think so, since its better to know the process of falling in love and how the deep love rooted than just a short meeting and little foundation of love just like in most other dramas.
The ML falling in love with the FL not because of her appearance nor just lust, there were no scenes where the ML amazed with her look. They fall in love each other because spending time and knowing more each other's character, which make the cause of deep feeling they are having and the sacrifice acts more valid, comparing to sudden fall in love, out of nowhere.
Acted by ChengYi, this deep feeling of love, expressed ten fold. The way he kissed Yan Dan in ep 10 was so beautiful, i have never seen deep longing emotion kiss like that before in any dramas.
Kudos to the hairstyler, this is the first time i watch ML in white/grey hair become much more handsome than in black hair version, haha. You have raised the standard and i dont think it would be easy for future dramas to surpass this look of Ying Yuan and Xuan Ye. YY and XY is the most handsome and charismatic look ever in xianxia dramas.
About ChengYi, after watching IS, i browsed and watched all his live interviews, variety shows etc on youtube, i truly appreciate such sincere, humble, and very polite actor like him. He is a hardworker. Its a rare for introvert person like him to standout in film industry, everyone let him down and scloded him before, and it took 9 years for him to be widely recognized as he is now. His personal character and struggle, has inspired a lot of people including me, and he indeed deserve to be supported by all of us more than any other high profile actors.
He knows what he loves to do (acting) and go all out for it as we can watch his dedication on his marvellous acting. In IS he plays 3 different characters, YY, TZ, and Xuan Ye. Cheng Yi’s acting as Xuan Ye really surprised all of us, because usually he plays suffering protagonist roles. Xuan Ye is a scumbag and devilish asura king, and Cheng Yi make this character literaly become the hottest devil king ever alive in any dramas, hahaha..
I sincerely would like to give thanks to the scriptwriter, director and the whole casts and crews, you all have brought a little joy in our chaotic life.
So, if you love to watch a xianxia genre, if you only have to pick one xianxia drama in your life time, this is the one. period.
*if you feel the plot on first episodes are flat, boring, the cgi is bad, etc... just hang on, or just skip them to ep 9, it started to get more and more interesting from this episode and so on.
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