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1A deeper dive into a gripping tale of revenge, redemption and karma meeting heartfelt drama of life
A webtoon adaptation that did justice and honored the original creation without messing up with the storyline; a proper execution of its true kind!⚠️ Disclaimer: Before you proceed, you need to know that I read both the novel and the manhwa; so my review will have comparison of both original content and the adaptation.
When I got the news that "Payback" manhwa would get a Thai adaptation, initially I was skeptical as the original language and the setting of the drama were in Korean. So, naturally, I thought we'd lose lots of cultural nuances in the adaptation, as both countries possess different cultures and characteristics of their own. But to my surprise, it was way better than I expected it to be! They religiously followed the manhwa and added all the important scenes and, honestly, I can't be happier. Unlike the Korean adaptations, this Thai adaptation gave justice to the storyline and proved why, in making BLs, Thailand is superior to other countries. The adaptation faithful towards its original material and they preserved all of its raw and unhinged emotions intact to the point that it felt like I was seeing those manhwa characters coming out of the page and taking a human form to present exactly what I had read. I didn't watch this, it consumed me.
"When you truly understand karma, then you realize you are responsible for everything in your life."
Sun knew it.
Storyline wise, this drama has everything, from a sad backstory, thrilling revenge plan, emotional turmoil, finding oneself, a dramatic roller-coaster ride of a rotten system to falling in love with unexpected people in unexpected ways. It covered everything skillfully with its true emotional intensity. This had the most gripping atmosphere spread throughout the series so that one cannot just stop at one episode and keep it for another day. It's so deliciously addicting, that watching this ongoing might feel like an emotional torture.
It'd be a crime if I didn't mention how the intimate scenes of Jay and Sun were unexpectedly bold and beautiful at the same time. They just nailed the right balance of the seen and unseen emotions as they did not hesitate to illustrate their body chemistry. Jay displayed toxic, controlling, and possessive behavior towards Sun initially looked concerning but soon Jay's constant coercion and unfiltered love-shower made Sun break his black and white concrete boundaries and let him free from his suffocated shackles he bound himself with and see the colourful moments of life like everyone else.
Acting wise, I have to say I couldn't find any flaws here. If you have read the manhwa, you'll know how composed, emotionless and indifferent the Sun was. Minlee portrayed the originally written character so well that at first it might feel like he's frozen and can't act well, but his character is like that in the manhwa. On the other hand, Toptap as Jay was a brilliant cast. His overall figure, body postures, way of talking and doing things were too good! He perfectly grabbed the cocky, crazy yet smart, calm and cool executive director aura. Even though both of them were playing the lead role for the first time, they did their homework very well.
From the supporting characters, Sky, manager Kajorn and Jay's uncle Jo stole my heart. They were fabulous. Sky's acting and his backstory brought tears to my eyes. Even Sun's story couldn't do that. I'm just so in love with the manager, Kajorn, and his unwavering commitment to his artists. He was clumsy, nervous at times, funny and heartwarmingly lovely father and manager. He only wanted the best for them. And uncle Jo, maybe he was there for some comic relief, but it was well needed. He was the only one who made Sun smile for the first time. With his silly words, he kept the mood light when Sun was tensed and agitated. The intricate detailing of each and every character was brilliantly portrayed on screen.
Without the clean cinematography and pumped up OST, it would be as impactful as it is including them. They kept the suspense and mysterious atmosphere of the thrill alive.
Overall, I had a great time binging this series. It kept me on the edge till the end of the series to see what happens to the characters. So, if you want to watch something that is thrilling, spicy and full of shady people doing people dirty, then you can trust my words and give it a try.
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they better stay with me
did i love addicted? yes.do i love this even more? shit, i might.
but then again, i am absolutely a sucker for found family, and this is just that. also, the tension between wubi and suyu? it it clear they're drawn to each other, in the most beautiful way ever, i'm not sure they're even aware of it most of the time themselves, but it is clear, that they'd do whatever it takes to save the other, no matter what happens to them - which is also, more than clear in the last episode.
and with that said - what the fuck was that last episode? i think i might still be sobbing, currently writing this through my TEARS. there better be a season two - and soon.
wubi and suyu deserve nothing but happiness and all of the love in the world.
is this a hard BL? no, but is it still a BL? most definitely, which was obvious to me, very quickly - the stolen touches, the stolen glances? the possessiveness? we don't always need kisses, we don't need physical touch for there to be love.
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Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
Starts good but goes for a free fall in the end
Started good and strong but went straight down hill in the last episode. Till E5 she was just one greedy woman who wanted to earn lots of money but in the last ep they turned her into a cheating woman too who blames and gaslights ML for her sleeping with the ex bf. Instead of talking with her husband for lack of intimacy she cheats on him and then calls him out for not being good enough. ML suffered the entire show for her greed and all he gets in the end is this. The best ending would have been them moving on separately but NO they just get back together like nothing. Ruined the entire show and character for me.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Part Fictional Part Historical Story
Despite the really vile and annoying antagonists, this drama has done quite an incredible job by incorporating a romance fiction into the actual historical characters and events during the period of Emperor Taizong (626 – 649) and later Emperor Gaozong (649 - 683) of Tang Dynasty. This is the love story of Kudi Liu Li (Gulnazar aka Guli Nazha/Gülnezer Bextiyar) and Pei Xingjian (Xu Wei Zhou aka Timmy Xu) who was an actual historical figure.The story is adapted from the well-loved novel “The Bright Moon of Great Tang”. According to readers, like many other adaptations, the original characters and plots have been relentlessly butchered, rendering the final production with incoherent logic and badly modified characters that could cause viewers to spew blood. They claim the screen writers have made the Liu Li character stupid, impulsive and annoying. The screen writers have also given unlimited power to the seemingly unimportant head of the palace seamstress shop, making the Zhuo Jin Niang (Li Xin Yi) character vile and despicable, which to many, is bizarre and a total hogwash. They have also made the Cao Wang (Prince of Cao) character extremely dislikable, turning him into a nincompoop who does not receive equal retribution for his heinous acts, like trying to murder the Crown Prince, umpteen times. Many viewers also criticize the acting of the main leads for being mediocre and unbelievable.
The Characters and Acting
Kudi Liu Li (Gulnazar) is the daughter of the world number one best embroiderer and seamstress who is framed and executed in the palace. Little Liu Li escapes execution and has been disguised as a boy living in the palace. Inherited her talents from her mother, Liu Li becomes a gifted embroiderer/seamstress for the Emperor. I really love the beautiful little girl who portrays the juvenile Liu Li. Her acting is wonderful and believable. Many viewers dislike the grown-up Liu Li character and complain about Gulnazar’s acting. I can see why viewers are frustrated because Liu Li has the tendency in running into trouble because she is too impulsive and naïve. However, in times of trouble Liu Li can analyze her situations quickly and come out with good solutions, hence saving herself and those she cares. According to actual historical record, Pei Xingjian’s second wife was of Turkic ethnicity. Gulnazar’s Uyghur background appropriately fits her role as Liu Li. For me, Gulnazar’s acting is not totally a flop; I quite like her as Liu Li, even as the disguised Xiao Douzi, she is rather cute and believable.
Pei Xingjian (Timmy Xu) is a super intelligent person, well verse academically as well as an incredible fighter. He later becomes a good friend and the bodyguard of the Crown Prince Li Zhi, saving him from all kinds of danger and near-death situations. Timmy Xu is very good looking with a wonderful physique. However, I wish he were more relax in his acting with more natural movements and facial expressions. As Pei Xingjian, he does make the character very lovable and enjoyable.
My verdict
Apart from Pei Xingjian, this drama makes references to many real historical figures including Wu Zetian (the famous/infamous female Emperor), Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong of Tang), Li Zhi (Emperor Gaozong of Tang), among others. As expected, many of the events in the drama are fictional, including the exaggerated wickedness of the antagonists and their blatantly heinous schemes and crimes. Many viewers feel such acts are overdone and illogical. Some viewers even claim, rightly or not, the plotline and characters are copied from the Korean drama "Jewel in the Palace" (2003). Whatever it may be, don’t let the low ratings mislead you. From the perspective as an entertainment, the story is indeed entertaining with clear line between love and hate, black and white, right and wrong; there's simply nothing in between.
For me, I find the fiction ties in very well with the actual history, romanticizing historical figures and events, giving the viewers a part fictional and part historical story. I love the beautiful Tang era dresses worn by the ladies, the street scenes, the palaces and the overall settings – all carefully done and shot. The embroidery, especially the double-sided embroidery, one of China's pride, talents and legacies, is exquisite and breathtaking.
Until the final few episodes, the writers still continue to add on more outrageous antagonists and twists at whims. I believe they really enjoy watching viewers being disgusted.
Enjoy the ride!
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GAY GAY GAY
Skynani never fails to amaze me. I know this isn’t a BL but I swear to god it’s more romantic and deep than the majority of BLs atm, for me at least. Like, leaving the obvious plot aside, I MEAN SOULMATEEEESSS !! But their acting and chemistry is just on another level. Sky looks at Nani like it’s the only thing he sees and vice versa. I just love them so fucking much 🥹If you love supernatural things, this series is straight-up made for you. But even if you don’t usually go for fantasy, the way it wraps all that crazy world-building around the most devastatingly beautiful partnership between Pete (Nani) and Niran (Sky) will have you hooked from episode one.
The plot itself is addictive as hell. Every episode escalates and the action is actually well-choreographed and exciting (those fight scenes hit different when you’re emotionally invested in the two leads protecting each other). The mystery keeps twisting. But none of it would work without the emotional core, and that core is 100% SkyNani.
Also the eye contact in this series should be studied in acting schools. The protective touches. The way they are risking everything for one another without ever needing to say the obvious out loud. Like I don't even need a love confession. I KNOW THEY ARE MARRIED!!! They are one soul, and they even gave us an actual OST called “We Are One” sung by Sky and Nani themselves in the later episodes. GMMTV knew exactly what they were doing and I’m grateful.
LIKE SOUL BINDING SCENE?? HELLOOO???
What makes this hit harder than most BLs for me is how deep the emotional intimacy goes without needing labels or typical romance tropes. Their bond is built on mutual reliance, sacrifice, seeing each other at their absolute worst and choosing to stay anyway. Pete’s growth from this angry, unlucky guy who thinks he’s cursed to someone who learns to wield his power and fight for others is really beautiful.
And the found family vibes with Team Wu is pretty immaculate. The side characters add so much flavor and stakes without ever stealing focus from the main duo. I LOVE THE TRANS REPRESENTATION.
Anyway, end point is:
Skynani stans, we won. Again. After High School Frenemy already proved they have insane chemistry, Wu took it to a whole new dimension. I was already obsessed with them, now I am straight up in love. 🫶😭💖
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The women should have been arrested for stalking
Honestly the only reason I could complete the entire show is because I am a Deng Lun fan. This show is full of negative Chinese female stereo types that we are supposed to find cute and funny. Perhaps if this had been a high school drama it would have been less annoying. The FL had the maturity of a five year old through most of the movie and all the women would have been arrested for stalking in the United States. One of them committed acts that had it been a male done to a female they would have been sent to prison but we are supposed to forgive her. The men tell them no but the women don't listen.To all the DRAMA writers out there... NO means NO. If it's not acceptable for a man to do to a woman, it's not acceptable for a woman to do to a man.
I'm not going to go into other plot holes and disasters. I am mainly writing this for those of you who are parents... don't let your girls watch this.
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While the drama looks like a cheesy romance at first glance, it is actually not. It's a story about healing, about learning to accept yourself, about learning how to accept others, about how it's okay not to be okay from time to time. I believe the drama had a great impact of the viewers who are struggling with life and needed to be comforted.
The plot itself could have been a lot better. The introduction was strong as well as the first half, then the second half was kind of inconsistent. But well, if it doesn't get overdramatic and way too cheesy, is it even a Korean drama?
The cast was very well-chosen and I must say, Kim Soo Hyun chose the perfect drama for his comeback. I was never a fan of his, but he won me here. He was simply perfect as the selfless Moon Gang Tae. His character went through so much and Soo Hyun portayed his emotions so well, I believed every word of his.
And there's our queen, Seo Ye Ji. Such a versatile actress, she can seriously pull off any role and she always looks stunning. Go Mun Yeong is not an easy character to pull off but she did it flawlessly. I can easily say that this is the best role of hers.
Oh Jung Se though... if this man doesn't win an award for this role--- Like, honestly, his performace was insanely good. A total show-stealer. He has all of my respect.
Overall, if you're looking for a good 2020 drama, then congrats, you just found it. An engaging story, a smartly written script, a couple with great chemistry, brilliant directing and an amazing cast -- what more do you need?
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Disappointing
This was very disappointing - I was especialy looking forward to this series, and by the latter part of the series I just wanted it to be over.The acting in this is excellent. Up as Gene, Bruce as Aoey, and Kenji as Hin were great. The production quality was very high.
But the writing is terrible. The central problem is that Gene is merely the writer inserting herself into the story as a self-indulgent fantasy where she gets the man of her dreams. Because of that, Gene doesn't really have a character, and almost no agency. Things just happen to him - whatever is necessary for the plot, or for a particular "moment" the writer wanted.
Sib is even worse, because his only purpose as a character is to be a hot guy that wants the writer and will do anything to get her - so there is absolutely nothing to his character except for his desire for Gene.
If the point was not clear to any viewers, the actual writer appears in the last episode to literally insert herself as Gene, and Gene & Sib indulge in insipid and stereotypical fantasies (although there's one that's dark but funny).
Gene's father has a small but important role, and Nu's performance was perfect - but his character's motivation was so baffling and stupid that it was a waste of a fine actor.
Aoey was the only person who acted like a real human being. A damaged and complicated human being, but at least a realistic person. Bruce deserves credit for breathing life and even some sympathy into what could have been a cardboard-cutout antagonist.
The plot is incoherent. In nearly the first half of the series, Sib hides who he really is for absolutely no reason whatsoever, because if he'd just told the truth he would have been extremely well-received. Gene's reaction when he discovers the deception is so OTT given how trivial it is, and if his reaction was that negative, he sure gets over it incredibly fast.
There's the usual Ep 11 drama, which is totally artificial, makes no sense, and has viritually no importance to the story, as there's a 4-month time-jump and it's more or less hand-waved away for the finale, instead of showing us the consequences of the drama and how the characters process it. But again, because Gene is just the writer inserting herself, and Sib is only there to want her, she has no interest in that. Sib relentlessly pursued Gene, until he didn't, until he did. There's no consistency to the character. I can't give away details, but you will say "WTF?" when the final episode starts. The plot crawled along at a snail's pace for the entire series, then a huge amount happens between the penultimate and last episodes, and we get to see none of it - we have no idea what any of the characters were doing that whole time, especially Sib.
The 11th ep drama itself is completely ridiculous. All they need to do in the situation presented is tell the truth about how they know each other, and it explains everything and would have satisfied everyone. Instead they do something totally unnecessary that makes no sense.
Also there are no stakes. Gene is extremely wealthy (Gene is 25 and he owns two residences, one of which is a large house. His parents live in a giant mansion that has an entrance so grand you're not sure if it's a hotel or a house.) Sib is even more wealthy. So both of them could be blacklisted by the BL industry and the worst thing that would happen to them is they'd have to choose which of their mansions to retire to to sulk. So the entire plot is meaningless. Whatever they do, they're set for life. I know Gene wants to be self-reliant, but he's already a successful author and he'll still be able to write. Sib is a college student and can go into any career he wants.
There are many, many characters that serve no purpose in the plot and just chew up time. Among these are Tum and Tiffy, who at first are intriguing, but quickly become tiresome (although I'm totally obsessed with Ken, who plays Tum), and there's never any resolution. Mork seems to have an intriguing history with one of the main characters, but it's never explored and then he disappears. Gene's brother has a mysterious conversation with Sib's brother, but nothing happens with that either (I love Poppy, but his character was a waste of time).
Even if you love this series, I don't think you'll like the ending - you may even be upset by it.
Finally, the show pretends to examine some of the darker aspects of the BL industry, but it doesn't. The tiny bit present (fanatical shippers of the real-life people) is merely a plot device, and when it has served its purpose, it's never mentioned again. Real BL actors need the money and have no choice but to go along with the machine. Sib doesn't, and doesn't even care about being an actor, so nothing matters, and Gene isn't an actor to begin with, so again, none of it matters.
Despite it's purported critique, the series is utterly formulaic & predictable and loaded with tropes. Gene is an extreme uke, totally useless without a seme to guide and protect him. Sib is an extreme Seme, who guides and protects Gene 24/7. He even has the power to teleport to whever Gene is to save him whenever the plot calls for it.
The first couple of eps are so loaded with silly sound effects that I had to turn off the volume and just read the subtitles. Fortunately, it stops after the first couple of eps. I think that was supposed to be parody, but it was just intensely annoying.
I think it's time to retire the expedient of adapting mediocre and formulaic novels, or at least there's a need for more skillful adaptation of the written medium into the visual. In any case, this was a missed opportunity for what could have been a great series. I wouldn't watch it again, but a lot of people liked it, and maybe you will too, so I have no recommendation. Just be aware that it starts as a comedy and ends as a very standard drama-romance.
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I was wrong. Those things are on the story, but we can't deny that it has its own way to develop it. Su-min is a poor man who goes to the big city trying to be someone; blind by his proud, he tries to succeed without no one helping. Jae-min is a playboy who has everything he ever wanted, but it seems he never experienced love before. The way they interact the whole time is so sutile, and at the same time is so intense... Su-min, Jae-min and the rest of the characters are people living their own lives, without that "protagonist-personality" and way of thinking so present on romantic movies. There's not heroes and villains. All we see is just people.
Like Juniko ?? said here, "each one (line) is used wisely". That's a story conveying extra-real feelings, bringing us the real emotions in our own real lives. More than romantic dialogues, the movie talks in the action, the gesture, the finest expression of emotion, at the point the story flows by that aspect. The whole thing goes naturally. It's not like a boring scenario that had a good make-up.
Has been a while since I watched a movie like this one, so I watched again a lot. Not only because of the sex scenes, I'm not a pervert! I just love seeing their love being build in such a rich way.
If any of you have such a good recommendation, please tell me. Thanks in advance. ^^
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GMMTV ensemble romcom
Overall: this was a Thai ensemble romcom with several sweet moments, but I wish they had increased the pacing. 16 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI exclusively for U.S., Canada and Thailand; on GMMTVs YouTube channel for everywhere else. Later re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40679c-we-are The director's more recent BL works include: Absolute Zero, A Boss & a Babe, Between Us and My Only 12%.Content Warnings: hit, hits played as comedy, punches in the past, vomiting, manhandling, manipulation
What I Liked
- seeing many GMMTV actors again
- whale spout hairstyle
- took a taxi when drinking
- the friend groups
- sweet moments
- the bloopers at the end of episode 16
Room For Improvement
- some lackluster kissing which in 2024 and a major production studio meant that I took off a half point
- slow pacing, the story could have been told in 8 episodes instead of 16
- voice over exposition dump/main character intro
- the myriad of comedy sound effects did not make me laugh
- nonsense "plans", cliched poor communication skills
- art students transported important paintings without any carrying cases
- because there were so many couples I (and likely others) had favorites and tended to fast forward/skip other couples
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Just a Typical Romcom with badly executed cliches
My dearest nemesis fails to be the romcom it was promising to be with the trailer and the first two episodes.Good points for Drama:
Easy Watch when you're not looking for any deep story.
All Cliches included.
2nd Lead dynamic is fun.
Bad Points:
No innovation to the plot
Shallow Characters with no real motivation.
The drama forgets it's main focus midway and turns into tragic ml trauma thing.
It is fun till ep 6 and then goes downhill from that. Watch at your own risk, the main leads are a little childish and you probably won't get a satisfying ending, but it has some good moments.
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A pleasant surprise
I personally didn't have any expectations or set any standars on what a drama should or shouldn't have if its a fantasy and maybe that and other points where the reason i enjoy it so much.(I may be changing the rates because i'm very indecisive and correcting some of my spelling and wording mistakes, english isn't my first lenguage so please have that in mind if you want to skip this review)
What i love about this drama?
1) The characterization of the protagonists Tak Dong Kyung and Myul Mang.
I never felt they were cartonish or that there was a lacK or rushed development. They felt real and the combination of good writting and an excellent acting from both parts ParK Bo Young who made you cry in every scene she wants you to cry and Seo In Guk who is able to carry a scene with just his eyes make them as individual characters and their relationship probably one of the best things of this drama and what makes it worthy of your time.
2) It felt like poetry
Quoting George Lucas "Its like poetry it rhymes' thats the way i felt about this drama. When you have an audience engage and making theories after every episode, picking up the little clues you were leaving in every episode and that those theories become true in a way that fit the story and its true with the message that the story wanted to tell just tell me its good writting. Im Me A Ri did an really good job making common tropes their own and give the story a closure that feels like poetry.
3) The messages behind every episode
I never leave an episode feeling unafected once i start to care about this characters (something that happend slowly but for me that makes it even more satisfying) i always end up either crying or thinking about the quotes and messages behind every episode. I never felt the sadness was shadowing the story it has always a message of hope and kindness.
4) The romance between the main leads
The chemistry between both actors was on point and they could carry every scene no matter what dialogue you put them through i could watch only scenes of them for hour without getting tired. Writting a story that starts with the typical 'enemies to lovers' is not a easy thing and i think the writter nailed every aspect of the main romance. It didn't felt rushed or that it was throw in my face. I understand why they both felt that way and why they made sometimes such extreme decisions. It was entretaining and then beautiful and sad it was everything i could ask for a 'fantasy' romance and more because the best part of it was how human it felt.
5) The concepts of 'life' and 'death'
I don't want to go to much into the spoiler territory but the way this show captures the personification of life and death its very unique and interesanting. For me it was never a problem how poetic both deiditys speak in fact i enjoy the scenes between them a lot. Jung Ji So as the deidity who represent life does an amazing job and it takes you to a ride of emotions that's for sure.
6) I doesn't lose it charm but it gets better
Something i was hapily surprise is how some of my favorite episodes and in my opinion the best written and acted were torwards the end. I think episode 14 for example is brilliant and it gives closure in a good moment and leaves the story a moment to breathe on episode 15.
7) The Cinematography and OST
Something i love about this drama is how the cinematography doesn't distract you or i feels like you are watching a very expensive AD. In fact the most beautiful moments are without CGI and makes you appreciate the little things in real life like leaves falling or the flowers blooming. And the OST its beautiful its melancholic and every song felt very special "Breaking Down" its probably my favorite OST in the year and it may go as one of my favorites ever from a kdrama.
Now what i dislike and i will go a little bit in to the spoiler territory but not that much:
1) The 'love triangle' between the second leads, in one aspect it doesn't really take that much of the screentime (the romance between them) so it wasn't something that it stop me from watching the whole drama. I have a few problems with one is that it felt flat, compared to the main romance and in general it just wasn't my cup of tea. I think the reason was i couldn't understand why this people were even in love to begin with, i guess we can say its sort of realistic the childish romance between Ji Na and Hyung Gyu and by episode 14 i could see what was the intention behind this storyline (about how your first love isn't always your last and about two people living with the ghost of a relationship when love is no longer there) but the execution just wasn't for me. Between Ji na and Joo Ik it just felt flat in general and compared to the main leads. The "back story" was weird and not really well written. I didn't like or enjoy the romance between them. I honestly didn't like either male characters of the love triangle for various reasons (as some people said here if i re-watch i'm defently going to skip those scenes). Thats why i'm giving a 8 in story, this should had handle better (the actors were good so this is not on them at all).
In general i love the main leads, Dongkyung family and Jina, and i enjoy every scene with those characters. I fell in love with it by episode 3 and 4 and i wasn't disappointed i cry i laugh and i loved to read people theories and see them come alive.
It made (no pun ineed) my days better. So thank you for the cast and crew (and also the fans who write so many good theories and posts) i will remember this experience forever.
In addition: I read some reviews asking why peope are giving high reviews i can't speak on everyone so i'm speaking on myself. For me the drama was Dongkyung and Myulmang and the dynamics they have with each other and with other characters that was probably a 75% of the screentime and i enjoy that (Spoilers: I loved how the MMDk relationship envolve i didn't found it rushed they become one of my favorite main relationships in kdramas i loved the found family scenes with Myulmang i love the message of you aren't alone and the scenes with Dongkyung family being there for her also the emotional scene with Jina was brilliant and they are so many i could write an essay). I think the acting was impresive i had never watch anything with PBY or SIG and i was truly moved by their perfomances and on my personal view their acting and their characters elevate the drama for me. I spend my time doing video editing since 2012 and watched a lot of media to work with and i found a lot of scenes from those characters memorable they moved me inside and make me cry when i'm not a person who cries easily. This rating system is tricky but since as i mention before i dislike the love triangle and two characters of it i'm giving to the story for now a 8 who knows maybe i change it because i'm very indecisive. But in general because all that i mention above and again the acting of PBY and SIG is why i give it a 9. But that's just MY personal opinion.
If you haven't watch the drama yet and are wondering my opinion is you should try and see it for yourself at the end of the day maybe for one person was boring for other wasn't for one person suceed their expectations and for other didn't they are just opinions.
For me just because of Dongkyung and Myulmang i was entretained for the 16 episodes and i wait for every Mon/Tues to see the episodes. They will remain in my heart more because my country still in lockdown and sometimes every day felt the same but with DAYS (i just love the tittle haha) i have something to look forward too. I hope i manage to reply those people question a little.
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Story
The story is a combination of a romantic comedy with a grain of melodrama accompanied by a revenge subplot to spice things up. Tsundere male, seeking revenge for his destroyed family, meets the naïve and gullible female lead who tries to find her impeached mother. The two are intrinsically linked and form an ill-fated relationship that develops into a deep romance – havoc, tears, cheesiness and twists ensued.
The drama, despite its 75-minute-long episodes, was extremely easy to watch, enjoyable, not too basic plot-wise and not too complicated just enough to keep things interesting. Even if it was extended I can’t say it was dragged. The plotline was well-thought out making forward steps either on story or character-development.
My favourite part of the drama was the fact that it had a something for everyone. Mainly a romance-comedy, it was heavy on romance and even if I didn’t see any particular chemistry between the leads they shared some steamy, fan-servicy kisses, they looked great together and had good synergy.
Moreover, the comedy was kinda cheesy but cute and entertaining. While lastly, my favourite part, the backstory was not new but well-written and strong, implicating families, revenge, had twists and some melodrama, good for every taste and thorougly entertaining. I sincerely enjoyed the whole thing.
Continuing, the music was sensuous even if it was regularly repeated. Worth downloading, what I mainly enjoyed was the re-arrangement of the title song to fit many different situations, dramatic scenes, comedy scenes ect.
Character development and the concept of forgiveness and selflessness drives the story and gives significant lessons to viewers.
Acting
The acting wasn’t the drama’s strongest suit but I can’t say it prevented me from enjoying it.
Liu Eugene is probably the weakest link of the chain, maybe it was her character maybe not. It was kind of annoying to watch her being that defenseless at first, also her childlike attitude didn’t help, but it was part of the character, similar characters are usual in dramaland. In some scenes I was enjoying her performances some other times she couldn't convey her feelings properly tending to fall short or overact. Not bad overall, but a bit weak.
Hong Angel excelled in being a bad bitch with anger issues, I loved her, her role was a bit limiting, and she also couldn’t cry express any other emotion other than fury to save her life. She was good though as a raging mean girl and that was why she was there.
Yang Esther is probably my favourite out of the female characters, cute, funny and badass with a misunderstood emotional side. Beautiful as well.
I left my personal favourite for last; Chang Marcus wasn’t only the best actor in this but also he is easily the most handsome Asian actor that has graced my laptop screen. Extremely charismatic and charming he had the arrogant, mean bastard with a soft and kind interior act down. I’ll be stalking his next projects.
The full supporting cast did alright but the drama was mainly Eugene and Marcus, even the rest of the main cast didn’t really have a prominent role in this. –also thank god no unnecessary love triangles!
Recommend/Rewatch
As it was already mentioned, behind your smile has something for everyone. Rom-com fans will definitely enjoy this; the backstory makes this good enough for people who like more serious dramas too. It is a light-hearted drama, easy watch but still interesting with a strong plot. Even if there is nothing innovative about this drama, it is cliché done right. I will never rewatch this but I can see how it can hold some rewatching quality for some viewers.
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As far as I know, there isn't a single other film/series that has polyandry in its plot.
I love how unique the story is and there honestly isn't one like it. I'm glad the advertisers and team took the show's quirk to heart when deciding the title. From the title; "Princess! You have five husbands" you already know what you're getting into when you start watching the show. The aspect of male royalty having multiple female lovers is a storyline that has been overused. It always seems like the girls just accept the fact they're sharing their husband but themselves can't so much as speak or look at another man in a normal level, so it's nice to see that scenario switched for a change; where the men are sharing their wife and they have to live in that reality as if it's normal.Overall, everything about this was fun to watch, so I would absolutely recommend this for someone who would like to watch something different from "I love you and only you, Your Highness, so please let me sleep with you after you are done sleeping with your concubines, consorts and empress! I only have you in my heart 'till death!"
This story is very subtle too, bringing this new theme with humor.
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