Reviews

Backwards, outdated and downright misogynistic. AVOID.

(PSA: This is a rant rolled up as review bc i could not keep my cool writing about this cesspool of a show. Thus it contains some swear words. Just as a head's up.)

For a family drama written in 2022/2023, TRHC is oddly stuck somewhere in Joseon era, or 1970 if we are feeling generous. Worst of all is that all of these backwards views of the writer is covered under a mantle of pseudo LOOK HOW MODERN WE ARE progressiveness at first. But you always get glimpses of his true views here and there, those bits of misogyny, how a woman is not allowed to exist without a man and husband, can't do anything without a man. Or his obsession with bloodline superiority portrayed by the grandmother at first who feels like a writer mouthpiece of his own views in hindsight.

Because for a show supposedly about how family is chosen and that chosen family is just as valid as bloodlines, he does his damnest to portray adoption in the worst light. As something lesser and THE fatal flaw a person can have. Later on ML is also CONSTANTLY ridiculed for wanting to take over the father's role for FL's baby because he is not the true blooded father, not valid nor good enough and every character lets him know so. While the literal shithead of dna giver of the child is elevated to the writer's favorite pet the narrative tries to manipulate you into feeling sorry for a literal stalking, harassing, cheating, blackmailing, threatening and gaslighting abusive bastard who made the leads life hell for 30 eps plus. But he is the "father" of FL's child so he has a "i can do what i want" permit of the writer who seems to sympathize with abusive men treating women like shit and objects to possess waaaaay too much, if you ask me. Yikes. But of course none of the stalking and domestic violence is ever addressed or SML held accountable in any way or form, nope. Of course not. It was just there for shock value and to show you that this poor poor man just did all this because he was lonely, had a bad childhood (???), and was upset of not seeing his child or something. Awwww. F-- OFF. The trivialization of abuse (that starts not just at physical, mind) is staggering and super disgusting, but totally in line with this writer's overall misogynistic views.

Which perfectly shows in the complete obliteration of FL Yeondoo's personality in the second half as well, Because except for her apologizing and cowering to everyone no matter what and why, if she is allowed to speak at all, she does nothing, is allowed nothing. In latter eps you even have ML, her then legal husband, speaking FOR her even if she is directly addressed by others and yikes. Not to mention how her career fell sideways and was forgotten about in favor of her letting it housewiving out till the writer remembered she once was a star instructor five minutes before the very end. Which okay if a stay at home mom is what she wants there is no problem, but there was NEVER any discussion about her future, nor what she wants to do going forward. The complete lack of agency while two men have the worst written, and factually and law-wise incorrect, custody battle over HER child, for whom she is the sole custodian parent, is more than appalling. It is downright sexist. (In fact, no female character is allowed to exist or act without a man in here, again yikes.)

While the show was airing, we have talked at lengths in the comment section why the romance is not romancing, especially of the leads who are like roommates raising a baby together, post timejump. A lot of it comes down to this writer and simply baaaaaad directing, but there is more to that. It is the pure dislike of the writer for romance in general. Watching this, you get the clear impression that he always found romance and calm scenes boring, and not just in regards of the leads. Every romance subplot we had in the first half was dropped after the worlds worst and most unneeded timejump, and forgotten about. The singular one we had aside the leads (romance, what romance?) with the youngest couple was a trashfire of circular on/off nonsense going nowhere. But oh well that fitted into the rest of the repetitive narrative dragging on to the point of complete suffering. Which, coincidentally was THE motto and theme for the last quarter of TRHC. Joy was killed as was the lead's romance before it could ever fully bloom and develop by this hack. And it got replaced by a onslaught of perpetual misery piled on misery, especially for the leads. Whose actors looked progressively more exhausted the longer this overwrought, pointless drama dragged on, reflecting the audience perfectly. It feels from eps 1 to 50 AJH and BJH have aged several years, and with this abysmal script and dialogue they were forced to follow i am not surprised. Because for the viewer aka myself, it was also just pure suffering and exhaustion to watch the backyard bin Iteration of Groundhog Day with everything repeating over and over, down to what i would call the worst written drama in recent years after Woori The Virgin.

So, in case you are insane enough to still want to watch this trainwreck on top of a flaming pile of garbage... my advice is still to run away and find something better to do with your time. Like take a walk, work out, pet a dog. So much that you can accomplish in 50 hours that is not watching this dungfilled, backwards ass mess. Failing that however, you best watch eps 1-33, mentally slap a one year timejump under it and go to eps 39, watch that. Then jump to 41 to see the leads register their marriage and then go DIRECTLY to eps 50 for closure. Do not stop at start and look at the mUh bLoODliNEs Kim Junha writers pet show this drama becomes in the last ten eps. I repeat: DO NOT STOP AND GO DIRECTLY TO THE ENDING EPISODE and thank me later for having spared you ten hours of your life as nothing of value happens in there. Except a lot of pointless bs and abusive man apologia but that is right in line with this wreck of a writer. AVOID.

Leia Mais

Realistic Portrayal of Anti-Trafficking Cases; No Sugar-Coating. Good Drama with a Shoddy Ending.

Originally wanted to watch for Reba stepping out of her comfort zone of pretty and taking a gritty role and it paid off. Also knew the ML and several supporting characters. This series was a heavy one but it was a very real portrayal of anti-trafficking cases, zilch sugarcoating. A good drama but sadly with a shoddy ending.

Pros: For the first time in a long time it was the storyline and plots that took center stage not the actors themselves. Yes, they were important but they took a more sideline role here. The families, victims, the stories or abduction, captivity, abuse, sometimes torture, sometimes being sold more than once, release and reunion with family, which many a time took decades as the victims they focused on were children and women. You saw the absolute destruction of families when it happened, how they treated the anti-trafficking cops with panic and then rage which was very sad to see but understandable on both sides; families were frantic while the cops could only work when and if they got clues. Those didn't magically fall from the sky.

The FL or DY has childhood trauma of her own as she watched her best friend get kidnapped when she was no more than 8 years old. 24 some odd years later she still hasn't been found. That was why she joined the police force and eventually after getting successfully kidnapped on purpose and rescued, she was promoted to director of the anti-trafficking division. She also reconnected successfully with the mom of her kidnapped best friend who ran a simple noodle shop that doubled as a place where people with missing loved ones could come, pin their photos and write loving messages on the walls, they were also a community that held meetings where they branched out new ideas. As each case came along both sets joined in sorrow and gave the division something to work with. Turned out that they were essentially taking down a massive trafficking organization from the runner ants to finally the big boss (Cripple) himself at the end. It was he that kidnapped LR or DY's best friend and he had done it himself as his first time doing this.

Many were rescued or saved throughout but not without misery and sorrow. You really sometimes cried for these victims. Some were saved quickly, others not until decades later, and some were brought back no longer living but their families were still able to say their proper goodbyes. ML was a very enigmatic character who I'll speak more about in the cons but he did have his unfortunate realization that he lost his father who drowned saving a young boy who grew up to work as one of the middlemen for this trafficking organization. It took him a while but he finally was able to come to terms with it and decide that he in fact belonged following in his father's footsteps as a cop in this particular department. Sadly, we lost one officer and an elder on duty and that was a heavy hit for the department and viewers.

DY definitely was the brains but the team came together as a whole. There wasn't a time where they just sat there twirling their thumbs. Meanwhile the focus on the families was the most important and how they coped or didn't; divorce and even suicide was attempted, thankfully thwarted. Mom of LR was such an important part of the story and really the first case; she was the rallying force behind all families in the show. And her case was the last one solved. Every family and character, protagonist or antagonist were well portrayed; I can't think of one that was extra or unnecessary. The stories varied and many things felt unreal like even deaf and mute women were not off the table or because in poorer villages it seemed like they didn't know buying a human being was illegal. OSTs, small amount of makeup on everyone leads included made it more real. The twists in the story sometimes were pretty wild.

Cons: That ending made me pretty unhappy because DY and her friend's mom were the first case of this story and after everything they went through; the pain of 24 years of not knowing and than slowly inching closer, plus with the mom diagnosed with mid-stage Alzheimer's and starting to forget people and how she made her noodles causing one costumer to get sick because she put a cleaning solution in the noodles instead of what she thought was sugar. She even made the decision to go into a nursing home for proper care; so you would think once they found LR working in some field picking onions or greenery in some godforsaken village, they would have this amazing reunion; the three of them? Nope! DY called LR's name or nickname RanRan who picked up her head and smiled as she recognized the name and DY and than the camera panned away to a propaganda meeting where DY's division got an award and she made a speech where flashbacks of all the cases they solved and the families plus the officer they lost and her making some declaration about how they would keep working to bring more families back together. It was so unnecessary and made you feel cheated for the mom, DY, and LR! The entire show, there was barely any propaganda but now when it was the least needed, they packed it on and at the worst possible time. They could have had this wonderful reunion and than ended with a short ceremony in their office like they did the first time they got that award and then end out the show with flashbacks of everyone they saved with an OST. Why not? At least it would have done the three of them justice. This was just sad and inappropriate.

I had a problem with the ML; the man has virtually no expressions. He can be yelling or laughing and his face is frozen though his eyes do run around their sockets a lot. At first I thought when I saw him in Under the Skin that that's just his character but now I've noticed that nothing changes, even in real life when I saw him on an episode of Hi6. My assumption is that he's a high functioning autistic so these are the roles he takes. I do wish they had him practicing with the movement of his face more.

Felt the last few episodes were rushed as they were trying to get the rest of the rats caught in the net especially catching "Cripple" himself and his whole running for the border halfheartedly attempting to kidnap his supposed best friend's (whom he pushed off a building; dude lived, lord knows how) wife as he's obsessed with her, than holding her hostage at knifepoint and getting taken out by a SWAT sniper. Like what even? It was smooth going until those last few episodes, you could tell the pace picked up. It was still good up until this point and that BS ending.

Would I recommend it? Yes I would. Though the subject matter was heavy, it was also very hopeful. I'm proud of Reba here; she really played DY well and showed all of the proper emotions when needed. This was a realistic show and y'all should give it a shot.

Leia Mais

Touching, Humorous, Thought Provoking, Calming. Philosophical, Scenic, Idyllic

The Chinese title for “Meet Yourself” is “Going to a Place Where there is Wind”. Wind is a very important concept in the Chinese culture. It is the source of life, a flow of air and energy; without wind, a place is like a pool of dead water. This story is set in a fictional Shangri-la called Yun Miao Village, a sleepy hamlet. The drama is shot at Feng Yang Yi, an actual village near Dali in Yunan Province where many of the Bai people, one of the many minority ethnic groups, live.

To my delight, the drama is directed, and screen written by the same director and screen writers for “Go Ahead” and “Find Yourself”. The first episode makes me cry, empathizing with the characters of their misfortune and loss, but this is not a heart-wrenching story. Indeed, it is a story about normal life of normal people with normal experiences, embellished with humor.

In today’s world, most working people are just like Xu Hongdou (Liu Yifei aka Crystal Liu), mindlessly working like a robot, in pursuit of materialistic rewards. Xu Hongdou wants to buy a car and an apartment in Beijing which is ever so unreachable with her paycheck. Just like most people would, a shattering life event can change the outlook of life for a person, and it does for Xu Hongdou in the untimely death her best friend, Chen Nanxing (Wu Qian aka Janice Wu); she’s abruptly awoken, finding herself lost. She begins to question the meaning of life and what she wants in life herself. She has no answers.

Xu Hongdou quits her job and leaves Beijing. She flies all the way to a tranquil and idyllic village in Yunan and rents a room for several months in a cozy cottage. There, she meets a struggling web novel writer, a failed entrepreneur, a fallen livestream singer and a down-and-out musician. All these people have come here to lick their wounds, to reflect and to recharge; each has a story. They become good friends, help, learn from each other and grow. But most of all, Xu Hongdou meets the man of her life, a successful investor who has returned to his village with a vision and a noble mission.

Almost all 40 episodes of the story have taken place in the little Yun Miao village and its surroundings such as the ancient old city and Erhai (a giant lake that is called a sea). Some impatient viewers may find it slow and boring, but the overall plot is about life, and how to look at life philosophically, and how our characters grow against all odds. It is more like a travel journal, documenting all the people Xu Hongdou meets, all the things she eats, does and sees, including the birth of a colt from start to finish. It focuses on the village, the inhabitants’ traditions, culture, and family relationships. Most of the elderly women don in traditional costumes, some sell their handicrafts and food products in the marketplace.

The romance is mature and slow burning, not unlike how real people would have experienced. Xie Zhiyao (Li Xian) doesn’t confess his love for Xu Hongdou until Episode 26 and tells her to go have a life she is searching for by letting her return to Beijing. That confession is moving. Their official romance starts only in Episode 31 when they kiss, and for the rest of the drama, they are like bee and honey, sweet and lovely. The director and screenwriters have given the romance buffs some very heartwarming loving scenes of the lovebirds till the end - almost 9 episodes of solid sweet romance.

Liu Yifei is amazing as Xu Hongdou. She is beautiful, elegant and natural with no visible makeup. She speaks softly, gently and poetically. Li Xian’s performance is just as good as the handsome, affable and warmhearted Xie Zhiyao. The whole cast is wonderful with very convincing performances by the older actors as grannies, and the juvenile actors as village kids. Like Wu Qian, Zeng Shunxi’s appearance as a lowkey bookstore investor/strategist is very brief. There are no nasty characters, no ex-boyfriends nor ex-girlfriends, and no love triangles. The settings are idyllic and comforting, rich with heritage and culture of a minority group. The efforts to bring prosperity to the village and at the same time, balancing conservation and preservation of the traditional way of life of the inhabitants, are challenging and inspiring.

The official soundtracks are lovely, consisting of several English songs, most accompanied by acoustic instruments. A few of the songs used are from the previous drama Go Ahead. I particularly love the lullaby which is repeatedly played and sung throughout the drama; it is endearing and gives a sense of nostalgia and homeliness.

My Verdict

If you love China and its beautiful people, you'll love this drama. If you love travel and to live an idyllic lifestyle, you will love this drama. If you have fallen and are hurting, you would love this rejuvenating story and its background setting. If you're an urbanite and would like to get away from your dreary life as an armchair traveler, this is your drama. If you're a dreamer and love a layback lifestyle that allows you to dream your dreams away, you’ll find inspirations here. If you're none of the above, simply just want an authentic beautiful drama to watch, you'd love this drama.

Some critics find this drama a promotional tourism project. Indeed, after the airing of the drama, tourism picks up by almost 2,000% in the once sleepy Shangri-la. Visitors jam the few cafes and restaurants, and walk the historical Tea Horse Ancient Path (茶马古道). Many take pictures with the cottage Xu Hongdou once stayed. That said, I have enjoyed the great breath-taking views and the message of the drama.

As it goes, “Time never stops, happiness is never limited. Sometimes there are dark clouds, but there is always wind.”

Realistic! Beautiful. Great watch! Highly recommended!

Leia Mais

Honest Review to Rise Above the Angry Chatter

I got very frustrated with MyDramaList and the reviews/comments on this show because it seems *very* one-sided, so allow me to include my own opinion of the show. I hope this is helpful for those like me who are looking for actual reviews and not angry, short tirades.

**First Impressions of the ML & FL
ML - Actor: Shawn Dou (insert major heart eyes here, because WOW)- Xia Bei Chen - He's charismatic, charming, beautiful, and immature. I can tell his arc will include a lot of growth, and I'm excited about it. He is the spoiled son of a father in high power, and he lost his mother at a young age which, I feel, has both scarred him and impeded his emotional maturity. He has chemistry with his FL in a childish, teasing-bullying way (like kids in a playground), and I can sense a long journey for them both as they mature and experience hardships individually and together.

**FL- Actress: Chen Du Jing- Lin Hang Jing- She's aloof, mysterious, headstrong, and has a low tolerance for Xia Bei Chen's bullshit. I LOVE that; I think it's very complimentary to their dynamic because he needs someone who won't take his bratty attitude and who will also elevate him as he gets his act together. They fit well because I can see how they'll bring out each other's best traits together. I see a lot of hate toward her character, and I'm immensely curious if I'll eventually board the hate train. So far, I like them as individuals and their chemistry as a future couple. As of right now, she's dealing with an impetuous child (Bei Chen) who keeps bullying her to like him while she spends her energy writing articles about abandoned children needing homes. I'd be irritated too.

"But let me ask you, do you even have a dream for your life, society, country, loved ones, or even just for yourself? That's why I said I look down on you."

**Plot: It's very engaging so far. I can sense A N G S T in the future, and I'm ready for it.

**Episode 1:
The episode has a disjointed first half where it's clear (at least to me) that the editors aren't sure how they want to leave their first impressions, so both the music and the scenes start and end a bit jarringly, and it pulls me out of the scene a few times. Set design, costumes, and Shawn Dou's visuals kept me pulled in, though, and I'm glad because the episode finds its footing in the 2nd half of the episode, and I found myself easily engaged.

***Episode 6 Update:
The plot has been interesting so far, and I like the dynamics between the ML and FL. A few episodes ago, a moment in the garden was a clear turning point for the ML in his feelings toward HangJing. However, she is still very much locked in the mindset that BeiChen is just a pompous bully who meddles in her life when he doesn't get his way, so I totally understand why she's standoffish and suspicious of him when he does something noble. How would she know? Only we, as the viewers, understand his mind clearly. Still, when ***SPOILER** his friends take it upon themselves to have her kidnapped, and he's disciplined for it, she defends him; then later, when their group is attacked, her first instinct is to block him from harm, and I can see her eyes softening toward him. There is a much slower but still obvious transition happening for her as well. His friends are dumb and make it difficult for BeiChen to come off likable when they often do fairly despicable things to manipulate HangJing into doing his bidding. She's obviously assuming BeiChen is the reason behind it all, so I'd be irritated too. Despite that, they meet up anyway (she was coerced, and he was tricked) for the first time in a solo outing at the Lantern Festival and have the *cutest* time together. Their chemistry is really fun to watch here, and the lighting makes them both look so beautiful.

***Episode 14 Update:
I love the father/son relationship. It's complex, full of unspoken words, and it's undoubtedly full of love. As imperfect as he is, I think his father really cherishes BeiChen. There has been a time jump of several years, and I like the maturity BeiChen has gained while still being his usual silly self at home. I still have no problem sensing the chemistry between him and HangJing. She admires him and finds him attractive; it's easy to see in her lingering expressions and body language. If anyone is threatened by her relationship with Zi Zheng, I find that pretty ridiculous. He's been kind toward her from the start and has been working with her at the newspaper these years Beichen has been gone. As far as I can tell, she doesn't reciprocate Zi Zheng's feelings (at least not on the same level) and is only reciprocating his kindness. Relax, y'all. I find both the plot and the revolving changes within BeiChen and Hang Jing to be very interesting.

***Episode 20 Update:
The series has had a few major developments in its storyline from each major aspect. The ML/FL doesn't have any shortage of misunderstandings between them. Any forward momentum in their relationship has required some kind of misunderstanding/fight to occur first, and it can be frustrating for anyone watching who can't see the forest for the trees. I think, on a very basic level, the initial misunderstandings occurred because the ML is insecure and emotionally immature within their relationship when conflict arises, and the FL is too passive and prideful (what a terrible combo) to admit her faults or address the misunderstanding. These misunderstandings then spiral into stretches of time where they'll avoid each other and avoid any solution. For example, their argument over the kite in her room could have been quickly smashed had she insisted on explaining her side instead of angrily clamming up and letting him walkout. It's an interesting parallel to watch with Beichen since he holds such a respectable, high position within the military that requires him to see the bigger picture and know how to strategize properly, but when it comes to love, he's still very immature and hotheaded. I'm glad both sides have revealed true feelings, and they understand there is true love and care there. We've also been introduced to the secondary foil (the first being Zi Zheng), the MLs childhood friend (who's also deeply in love with him and wholly toxic as a character), so we'll get more misunderstandings and unnecessary fighting in the future. Still, I'm enjoying this series.

***Finish. Overall final thought:

* This series isn't nearly as bad as some of these commentators make it out to be.
* Shawn Dou as Bei Chen isn't just a delicious snack, he's a whole meal. Not just visually, but as a very impressive and emotive actor. I only wish we could have heard this real (very attractive) voice instead of the dub, especially for his more emotional scenes since I believe there is nuance lost when a voice is dubbed over.
* Chen Du Ling as Hang Jing *really isn't as bad as everyone makes her out to be*. Throughout the misunderstandings, I never suspected that she didn't love Bei Chen. Did she make a lot of unnecessary decisions? Definitely. Could she have been more vocal about her love for him, especially considering he's the type of person that *needs* that vocal confirmation? Most definitely.
* I didn't like the ridiculous amount of death at the very end and Bei Chen losing pretty much everyone around him.
* The series sometimes had a soap opera-y feel to it that I wasn't a huge fan of, but when I was in those thoughts, I just stared at Shawn Dou's face and felt better.
* The music is the most jarring aspect of the series IMO. It starts and ends so abruptly mid-scene to indicate to the viewer a shift in tone, but it's so unnecessary and always throws me off. The selections are also sometimes so melodramatic and corny.
That said, Zhou Shen's song, Shining Galaxy is gorgeous. I also really love the instrumental version of it that's played in scenes with the ML and FL.
* The ending is not open-ended in my opinion. It's very clearly a happy ending for our ML and FL - there's even a photo of them reunited online that was eventually cut, but it exists so I'm firmly rooted in that they end up together as a family at the end.
*I would have liked more lovey-dovey scenes between the ML and FL to at least help counterbalance all of the fighting and misunderstandings. I would have also liked to see a little bit more emotional growth toward each other since their fighting throughout all the years together never seem to improve tremendously.

* TLDR: I wouldn't watch this series again but I don't regret having watched it, and I really hope to see Shawn Dou in more leading roles because he's truly an extraordinary actor and a very, very, beautiful person to watch on screen. His BTS is also super cute to watch, he seems to be a silly and charismatic person in real life, so that's fun to look up if you're into behind-the-scenes footage. I also found it interesting to see Chen Du Ling behind the scenes because their chemistry is even better there. Her dubbing and the way her character is written certainly don't help her much in terms of likeability, but as I said earlier, she's nowhere near as bad as most of these reviews have said.

Leia Mais

Too Much Hype, Not Enough Sustenance

Before I begin, I will be spoiling a lot of key plot points in this review. Please read this after watching the drama.

Plot summary: Two men, Pran (Nanon) and Pat (Ohm), grew up next to one another. Even though they're the same age, like Romeo and Juliet, their families hate one another due to past bad blood between Pat's father and Pran's mother. The two had been secret friends since childhood, but once Pran's mom found out that her son was friend's with Pat, she moved Pran to another school. Years later, the two are reunited in university studying at rival majors: Engineering and Architecture. Once the two meet, they discover that not only are they in the same school, they also live across the hall from one another. The more time they spend together, Pat realizes that he's always loved Pran. Pran has always had a secret crush on Pat. The two decide to get together, but being from rival households and rival majors at school, they have to navigate carefully or else they will have to break up.

The overall plot of the story is quite easy to follow, as it's a tale that's been told a million times. So there's not much originality when it comes to the plot, except that instead of a man or a woman, they're two men. My biggest critiques about GMMTV plots is that they're predictable. Episodes 1-4 usually spend time on exposition. 5-7 the two characters start falling in love. By episode 8, they are usually together, and in episode 9 we start running into the 3rd and final conflict in their relationship which takes the remainder of the drama. Episode 11 usually wraps up the drama, and episode 12 closes everyone's story arch with (usually) happy endings for everyone. I've watched so many GMMTV stories that the predictability can be a bit annoying, especially with a well known plot like a Romeo and Juliet romance.

I will now discuss my X number of grievances with this drama in no particular order.

1. The side characters did not get enough time for what I think was needed for them to actually have a role. A pet peeve of mine with side characters is that if they aren't doing significant work in the drama to have them, why show them at all? I felt like Pa and Ink's addition to the story was quite welcomed. I loved having a lesbian couple, but since the story was not about them, we barely saw their relationship bloom and even focus on them after they got together. It was just like, they're together, but we don't have time to expand on how the two developed. Mo, Louis, Safe, and Chang had no reason to be in the story as they barely had lines and could easily be removed without changing anything in the story. Korn, got more lines in the later episodes, but he was basically unneeded except to start fights. Wai is probably the only side character that mattered as he becomes a villain of some sorts in the middle.

2. Half of the story felt like fanservice. Ohm not having his shirt on for most of the drama, or taking it off every chance he could get was well great eye candy, but was it needed for the story? I felt like they knew it would attract fans by him having it off. Like a lot of the extra things that the characters did with one another to me felt like it was to have us enjoy them having sweet moments together, but not because the characters themselves would have acted like that with one another.

3. I say this about every GMMTV show. Stop having actors sell products. It takes away from the drama. Figure out a way to sell your sponsors without literally praising how good the product is in the show. Like, every show has sponsors but at this point is to have it in the background enough times that people implicitly see it and recognize your brand. It's not for your actors to sell it in the show. It disrupts the flow of the show.

4. Pran has already known and accepted his feelings for Pat. He already knew he liked him. However, Pran up until episode 4, thought he was completely straight. I would have like more than the simple one-liner where he says something like "Love is love, and I can fall in love with anyone regardless of gender." I felt like this just a revision of the horrible, I'm not gay, but I just love you trope. Instead of just saying the character is outright gay, it's that they're in love with the person or pansexual, which is fine. However, to me, it reads as, we're still keeping the female fans by giving them a bone and making them fall in love with Pat's character because he could still be in a straight relationship.

5. I read in some other review that this drama was made for the LGBTQ+ community and I couldn't disagree with this comment more. I felt like it was quite targeting to women and not the LGBTQ+ movement at all. As a gay a man, I would've loved to see more actual support for the community than fan service to make the girls fall in love. Being openly gay, or in an openly gay relationship is quite scary even if you're in Thailand. I love to see the inner struggle that gay characters go through to be themselves.

6. The plot was a bit childish at parts. Like why are grown adults fighting like high school kids. I asked my Thai friends how realistic this was and they all said not at all. It's like, why are grown adults fighting on campus? Because of some stupid rivalry. Give me a break. Unfortunately, this plot takes the first 4 episodes which makes it so boring. Even the parents. Like, I was pissed at the dad, but this whole plot point was introduced and never really resolved.

7. The pacing was poor. We spent so much time, like 4 episodes, setting the fact that they all hate one another except Pran and Pat who secretly know each other. That needed one episode. The building of the two group's tension was unneeded since most of these characters have no importance in the plot, let alone lines. The ending felt rushed from episodes 9-12. It was like, we needed to tie up loose ends, so let's even jump ahead 4 years. Show that things are kinda changing but not really... Or, that tag at the end where they're 5 years into their relationship and playing a drinking game about what they don't know about each other, albeit cute, was just fan service.

What I did Like:

1. Despite having a lot of things I overall disliked, I did find the drama enjoyable. I do recommend people to watch it because Ohm and Nanon are both excellent actors. The two had great chemistry. Especially episodes 5-8. These episodes were really well-written and well-acted. The emotions were very raw and I related to it quite well.

2. Some of the plot was interesting, especially during the whole Wai saga. He became a super villain and I was all for it.

3. The cinematography was gorgeous. I loved a lot of the emotional night scenes.

4. I loved Pa and Ink's relationship. They both had chemistry. I wish they would have their own series. I think they're both great actresses.

Final Thoughts:

I liked it. I don't think it's better than some of the other BLs. But I think it's worth the watch, especially for the episodes where their acting really shined.

Leia Mais

kbl is back!

After some months of not watching kbl shows, I finally got the same feeling as I started watching kbls. Its actualy improving and I hope we can see more of this.

I admit that there are some lapses but I really enjoyed this. Its like a breath of fresh air to have this kind of plot that we only see on mainstream media. I think its good to have this too though some may not like or fond of it but there are really many stories to show and their definition of love. For this we are aware that this kind of story and many more, are existing in this world. And its up to us on how we will dwell it, hoping in the right way.

So much to talk about, but I enjoyed it, liked it and thats it.

Leia Mais

A lunar apocalypse.

Silence is not empty, it's full of answers. It's upon us to find them out and unless there is an effort, it remains in nothingness. The sea that is full of beings, has the capability to engulf the entire world in it's womb, yet it knows it's limits. But what about the sea that's sleeping silently somewhere out there in the universe and knows no way of self-control? That's what we are here to discover.

THE SILENT SEA (고요의 바다) is a mixture of sci-fi, thriller and apocalypse; it has no romance elements and unlike most Netflix Korea shows, it's not gore and creepy, which means even for a thriller, it's not a heavy watch. The story is presumably an adaptation of "The Sea of Tranquility (2014), created by the director of this show. The drama is set up in far future (probably 100 years ahead). The world has changed a lot and the climate change has brought forward severe issues. Simultaneously, the development in case of aeroscience has sky-rocketed, resulting in easier travel to different planets and facile communication with earth.

A team of 11 has been formed to recover important samples from the moon, before they could shut down a station that faced a tragic accident 5 years ago, killing all the inmates. The team travels their on the spaceship 'Nuri 11' and sets out to 'Balhae Space Station' located on the lunar land. On their mission of retrieving the sample, they discover unusual activities and come to find out mysterious facts about the station that had happened 5 years back.

Song Ji An (Bae Doo Na) is a scientist who previously served as an astrobiologist but had to switch after a tragic incident to her sister. She was convinced to go on the mission. Han Yoon Jae (Gong Yoo) is a soldier for the space agency, who joins the team as it's captain. Dr. Jian's knowledge and Capt. Yoon Jae's leadership, are what drives the entire show.

Dr. Hong (Kim Sun Young) is a doctor who joined the team to provide medical assistance. Chief. Gong Soo Hyuk (Lee Moo Saeng) is also a space soldier who joins the team along with his space engineer brother Gong Soo Chan (Jung Soon Won). Lieutenant Ryu Tae Suk (Lee Joon), Chief Kim Jae Sun (Heo Sung Tae) are some other major characters.

The plot development is nice. The first 2 episodes that were expected to lay an introductory foundation, did a good job in establishing a good impression, except that they were slow paced. The space scenarios and the lunar premise were pretty intriguing to witness, for it also created a good amount of curiosity about what is next. I can't say that the entire story is immensely intriguing, because it had problems with pacing and storytelling. I expected some more back stories and for all of the characters, but it's understandable given the limited runtime. The gradual unfolding of mysterious facts and intentionally hidden secrets, were indeed intriguing. The ending, ummm, not something fabulous, that I was expecting but I liked how simple and meaningful it was.

Netflix Korea seems to be giving chances to previously failed or lesser experienced directors, writers and makers but it must try providing them with resources to nurture their skills. Just like Squid Game's, the director of this drama lacks profundity, though the show is not mediocre like SG. The pacing is inconsistent, not slow or rushed constantly that makes it boring or uninteresting of some sort, but a little noticeable.

The sound production is apt bcs it's Netflix, haha. The screen-editing is quite good; the connecting plots, revelations of elements and the suspense build up is up to par. CGI, well, Netflix is surely trying to improve thia area after serious criticisms; it was visible through this show. Even so, the CGI was actually poor in first 2 episodes, I can't lie about it though it improved with episode.

Writer Park Eun Kyo is an underutilized talent. She might seem a rookie to the audience, but she's the co-writer of the critically acclaimed Bong Joon Ho directed movie, "Mother (2009)". The basic concept of this show, though taken from another movie, had to rely on a well-written script, as the short movie was turned into a 360 minutes webseries. In that regard, jakka-nim has done a pretty good job. The overal story and screenwriting might not be something amazing, but overally as a show, it's a nice piece. Few things about the spaceship that went wary in the first episode could have been easily avoided but duh..

The drama addresses future world problems that we now only assume and predict with theoretical studies. The world has undergone enormous transformation due to severe climatic changes over years. Because of desertification, there is a scarcity of water as the water bodies including the sea dries down. All these are the concerns of future societies. The drama also narrates the possibilities that the future beholds in the area of space and planetary researches.

The pseudo-science created for the drama is compelling for sure. It is less of space science and more of a creative or fictional astro-biology. The lunar premise and the technological advancements are what we are gonna see in far future. Space show, in all aspects, is a new premise in the K-drama industry and it's good to see that it didn't entirely go phut. This is to a great extent an experimental drama. Just keep in mind that, the basic idea of the drama relies on astro-biology and not aero or lunar science.

There is a clear message of how greed and over-ambitious anticipations can bring destruction to mankind, even when it gives greater scope of research in science. Regret, responsibility and guilt are some other major elements incorporated in the characters. Good news is that, unlike many other Netflix Korea shows, The Silent Sea doesn't end with a cliffhanger. It didn't leave any single thing open or showcase any possibility of another season.

Overally, "The Silent Sea" is a good and interesting one time watch. The sci-fi elements and the actors are the prior reasons to watch this drama. I wasn't expecting anything excellent outta it since it's after all a Netflix Korea original show which is famous for creating 6/10 stupid shows. But anyways, this was good and moderately likable judging from all the points; be it technical and cinematic aspects or the message it wanted to convey. It's not very nice, still a decent watch, for sure.

P. S. Can't cite it bad just because of the poor CGI and faulty space facts used solely. There are plenty of aspects in a drama to be judged.

Leia Mais

Good :)

What a ride!
I must admit I had high expectations for this, and at the end I was a bit disappointed.
The story flows well and the acting is good, but I guess there are some parts that are a bit lacking.
I enjoyed most of the show, but didn't really get attached to TopMew's couple, even though I liked how they ended the story.

Story is obviously filled with toxic characters, but there is a lot of development.
In this sense, I think Khaotung (Ray) has done a tremendous job. If I have to make a note, I think that they skipped a little the mother's complex, in favor of Ray's choice to make everything better for Sand.
I want to be totally honest: I watched the series for Khaotung and First, and for Mark, and I couldn't stop because I wanted to see more of them.
That said, I think that some parts are just not necessary (the whole Boeing's plan and its liaisons with Sand and Top - I just got annoyed although I wanted to watch more of Mond's) and the overall story got a bit slowed down from episode 9 onwards.

I liked a lot the fact that they didn't force BostonNick, and that Nick finally chose to be by himself. It was great to see a happy ending. Nick was my favourite character overall, because he was always so pure and honest, yet caring. He was not trying to change Boston, but realized he was just faking the whole boyfriend thing and "I've changed, now I only see you" thing.
That was my favourite part.

I screamed when I saw Mix at the end, but it was unnecessary to the story xD
At first I thought they would've proposed a new version of Boston, but I'm glad they didn't.

Overall, it's an enjoyable story, "spicier" than usual for GMMTV and I guess a little bit more realistic than the average GMM series.
It's not a masterpiece, but you can watch it without thinking "oh gawd, I wasted a lot of time".

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

A Cinematic Journey To Love...

When it comes to writing love stories, romance dramas often tend to blow out relationships heavily into cliche territory; the female or male lead is head over heels for their significant other, jealousy spins around their love interest approaching (respectfully) other men and women, and an onslaught of dramatic misunderstandings occur as a consequence.

When you decide to sit down and watch “ Run-On” for the first time, it may strike viewers as unusual to come across several prominent, atypical features within our leads and their relationships; the most evident being that our female heroine and translator Oh Mi Joo (Shin Se Kyung) and our male lead athlete Ki Seon Geom ( Im Shi Wan) are intrinsically written as individuals, rather than the typical “ unit” approach taken in most romantic dramas.

Shin Se Kyung is brilliant within her role as our fairly down-to-earth female lead Oh Mi-Joo; a talented and hardworking translator with a difficult childhood , Mi-Joo alongside her best friend Park Mae Yi ( Lee Bong Ryun) , is more focused on her career and struggling to pay the bills than anything else.Contrastingly, Ki Seon Geom ( again, brilliantly played by Im Shi Wan) comes from a wealthy family, has a successful career as an athlete, however, he is quite simply fed up from others using him, his money and status as a social climbing ladder as episodes progress. By a whim of fate, the two individuals from opposite walks of life end up meeting and gradually developing a relationship. However, this is also where the series hits its biggest snag as well.

The “ opposites attract” cliche is one of the most infamous storyline usages in romantic dramas, yet when it came to Run-On, one of the notable elements of a storyline intrinsically based on this cliche seemed to feel unexpectedly lacklustre. By default, it shouldn’t have done; Mi-Joo and Seon- Geom were well-rounded individuals with intriguing backstories , storylines and striking similarities as characters, yet, principally rather than playing out their similarities, the show seemed to ride too heavily upon their differences which often resulted in their relationship feelings fairly indifferent for viewers .

One reason behind this can be explained by Mi-Jo and Seo Geom’s relationship progression over the course of the series. Despite their differences, Mi-Joo had many similar impacts of her past like Seon-Geom, however, neither character really tried to reach out, to talk or bond over this matter either.This should have helped to bring our couple together more throughout the drama, however, this would have only been possible if the storyline had more of an arching development for our characters, (due to little sense of climatic building),strong pacing or intrinsic development over a course of sixteen episodes.

Alongside our main couple, the drama attempts also to introduce the romantic pairing between slightly naive art student Lee Young Hwa ( Kang Tae Oh) and the cynical young CEO of a talent agency company, Seo Dan Ah ( Choi Soo Young). Before commenting upon their relationship, it is fairly striking that Dan Ah has numerous deep and likeable qualities as a character ( despite her sometimes “ overly abrupt” personality); she isn’t written off as a figure of female animosity nor as the “ antagonist”, but rather an individual hiding deep secrets, a naturally hardworking businesswoman and who is the type that struggles to reach out to others both emotionally and socially ( often leading to both comical and sad misunderstandings).

Against all odds, the relationship between the pair was arguably more appealing to audiences than our main couple at times. This is intrinsically due to the fact that Young Hwa and Dan Ah are truly the epitome of different within their backgrounds, moralities and even personality types, yet are still able to develop and bond due to their similarities( particularly their admiration of art). On the other hand, their relationship will still notably lacking in depth; a consequence of several plot inconsistencies, tropes as well as the series possibly running out of time to not truly captivate “ life imitating art” to the fullest.

Overall whilst Run-On was an intrinsically sweet romance drama which had several surprisingly well-written characters, an appropriate ending , humour and touched upon several notable realistic issues including homosexuality, illness, mental health and family, notable relationship portrayals , development , plot holes and of course an overall didactic purpose for the show, felt both lacklustre and lacking in the grand scheme of things.

Leia Mais

Expected more...

I'll start from the beginning - the main reason why I started to watch this kdrama is because based on trailer, it was supposed to be mix of genres - school, detective, thriller, maybe GL. I know that GL series and movies in SK..well, very rare. And even if the series based on GL webtoon, then probably all GL stuff will be cut out from the series/movie. The only good, popular GL drama which I can remember is Handmaiden. I didn't expect from Friendly Rivalry something similar, but trailer looked promising. BTW, I'm not a big fan of LGBT series, but if they have a good story, I'll watch them...and probably because I'm a guy, I prefer GL movies and series. And as far as I know, GL in SK is much less popular than BL. So... I was hooked.

First 8-9 episodes were good. Not great, but good, interesting, with small detective parts, and mind games between Jey and Seulgi. You basically didn't know what to expect from Jey, what's on her mind, and this fact made the whole story even more interesting. So, the first half of the series, I would rate with 8. Pretty good story for its genre.

But after episode 9....I don't know how to describe it properly, maybe because of my bad english, but in simple words - story became overcomplicated, characters change their behavior almost every episode, transition between scenes became less fluent, more random. everything felt rushed, and the story's main theme changed completely. All gl stuff like in episode 4( I know it was a dream but still) and how ML look at each other in episode 8( don't tell that this how best friends look at each other, because it's not) was almost removed. Episodes 13-15..and especially 16 have too many strange, stupid, absolutely unrealistic scenes. I would rate the second half - 4 out of 10...but because ending wasn't as bad as I thought, I will rate the whole story with 5. It doesn't mean that I like the ending - it just not the worst, considering where story went. Below few thoughts about particular scenes, especially ending.

SPOILERS( BTW, I'm new here, so if anyone knows how to hide spoilers in review, please tell me)

I'm not a big fan of open endings, especially like in this series.
1). Box from Jey. Who brought the box??
2). Jey's dad. Basically, this man has nothing to lose now, and he's stalkering Seulgi like some maniac, waiting for her to reveal Jey's whereabouts. Even if Seulgi would like to go to Jey, if we consider that gift means "run away to me" how would she do that, if even her step-mom said that they can't move to another place, because Jey's dad is watching them?
3). What happened to Jey's sister after the events of the final episode? Everyone knows that she's alive now, but what's next? Where is she now?


Also, Ye Ri interactions with Byeong Jin. In first half there were plenty scenes, where she looked at him in a special way, but then they had only few interactions between each other. What was the point of those scenes in the first half?

It looks like as if in the middle of the series, screenwriters decided to change the script completely. And those changes weren't good.

I don't think that this series needs second season( even though there are a lot of events from the original webtoon which wasn't in series, but considering how the series script differs from the webtoon's story, and considering the ending...it's gonna be hard to make a proper story ), but maybe special episode or at least Q/A with the main cast about some scenes.

SPOILERS END

So, after all this why did I rated this series with 7? Because of acting and chemistry between cast. All four girls nailed their roles, especially Hyeri. I never watched anything with her, but I heard that here she played completely different character, not like her previous roles. And she nailed it. And her chemistry with Chung Su Bin is something not from this world) To be honest, I watched every new episode almost immediately after it aired, not because of the story, but because of their interactions. Also, Oh Woo Ri...amazing job. Interesting character, great acting, awesome chemistry with Kang Hye Won and Chung Su Bin.

I assume that, if there was another cast, and actresses wouldn't be as good as thoses four ( although Kang Hye Won was the weakest in terms of acting among them, in my opinion), this kdrama would receive much worse reviews and reception. But because of the acting. dedication of Hyeri and the whole cast, good cinematography, and considering that this series had very low budget, I can't rate it less then 7. Unfortunately, because of the second half of the series, even though there were great scenes, I can't rate it higher.

Leia Mais

refreshing slice of life- with some drawbacks

i didnt have any expectations for this drama at all, but it ended up being fantastic (for the most part). it was so authentic and organic, from the friendships to life situations. i found all of the characters to be very human and interesting to follow. this is one of the few kdramas ive seen that depicts humanity so realistically, with their flaws and growing pains.

i will mostly be discussing the negatives of this drama, because everything was good besides a few things that i felt prevented this drama from being perfect. ill still mention all of the good things briefly, and in short i recommend you watch this drama (i recommend only watching ep 1- the first ten min of ep 15 and calling it finished)

a slice of life romcom would be a good way to describe the plot. teenagers and adults alike are struggling amidst the imf crisis, and two young athletes struggle at friendship while competing. kim tae ri is endearing as 18 year old heedo, a fencing prodigy that is strong willed, stubborn, kind, and energetic. yurim, a gold medalist fencer, was difficult to like at first but she became a great friend and worthy of praise. nam joohyuk feels grounding as yijin, forced to grow up too quickly but learning to find happiness again with heedo. jiwoong and seung wan started getting more screentime later in the drama which i greatly appreciated as i thought they added a lot to the overall show. i loved discovering the hidden sides of themselves, how their opinions on the world as teens wanting to rebel in their own ways was slowly shown to us. overall i really enjoyed watching them all grow and form bonds with each other, it was truly the definition of youth.


the friendship between heedo and yijin was one of my favorite on screen relationships to date. i thought they would do well whether it was romantic or platonic and the show did a good job at showing why they would work together, but also why they wouldnt have. they started to rely on and support each other, becoming a source of happiness for the other person. but they were also in two different stages of life: yijin had to grow up too quickly and became more mature and grounded while heedo still had a sort of childlike optimism and persistence. these were traits that drew them to each other: what the other was lacking. they needed each other, but they were still growing on their own. regardless of the romance arc this friendship was just so believable, healthy and organic.

the friendship group formed between heedo, yurim, seungwan, and jiwoong was lighthearted and refreshing. what really brought them together was their willfulness and stubbornness, each in their own ways. heedo in fencing, yurims in her love for her family, jiwoong in his interests, seungwan in her morals. the drama touched on a lot of important subjects, especially with the jiwoong/seungwan school punishment arc. yijin also ended up as a part of this group, and i loved the mentor role he took on. he knew what it was like to grow up too fast, so giving heedo and yurim a school trip and reminding them to enjoy their youth was so heartfelt. when he stepped in to save seungwan from the reporter as well, hes using his knowledge to save them from going through troubles. there were a lot of parallels between the characters and the relationships depicted were all complex and realistic.


and of course the cinematography was unique to the show, the soundtrack was nice, and the acting- obviously- top notch. production wise i have no complains. the 90s vibe and aesthetic alone is enough to watch this drama. i compliment the writers for creating such realistic and smooth conversations and such believable characters.

some of my favorite moments:
-heedo telling yijin they should be happy with each other while running around at night.
-the mini school trip where they all sat on the beach watching sunset.
-the friend group watching the fireworks on the rooftop
-them watching heedo and yurims interviews on tv
-when heedo and yurim cheered seungwan on for quitting school
-jiwoong not being able to park the car and them all jumping around in happiness when they lifted it

some things i disliked about the drama that affected my rating:

1. false advertising

it doesnt actually take place when they are 25 and 21. its mostly when heedo is 18 (korean age) and yijin is 22. considering the description says “ Two people first meet when they are 22 and 18 years old and fall in love years later when they turn 25 and 21. “ i was a little confused. so why did they called it 2521 and give a misleading description & title ? probably because they knew the age gap might cause a problem, leading into my next point.


2. the age gap.

ive seen some people defending it, 18 and 22 is not that far off after all. id love to say “this is just a work of fiction, lets just enjoy this wholesomeness!” but i just cant. especially because it IS a work of fiction and the writers couldve done this differently.
a four year age gap isnt a big deal between two adults at the very least in the same stage of life. if this romance actually happened when they were 21 and 25 i wouldnt be writing all of this right now. thats what the description states after all, and yet the romance happened prior. but heedo was a highschooler, an immature one at that- remember how she dated and broke up with a guy just to see what its like? she thought you have to wash lettuce with soap. when yijin and heedo were out together, it was so uncomfortable seeing her in a school uniform and him in a suit. yijin, despite being a good man, was an adult. not even a college student, but an adult living alone with a job out in the real world. luckily, they started dating when she was old enough to drink alcohol, so i suppose thats adult enough.
but i think the problem lies within his confession to her. we know they like each other, it wouldve been better build up and more comfortable for the general audience had the writers waited for them to both be full grown adults (or at least for heedo to graduate highschool) to have them confess. this is made worse by the fact that ALL of his friends highschoolers. i do understand that this is a small neighborhood in the 90s and it was all by circumstance- yurim due to family, heedo by accident, seungwan as the neighbor etc etc. but he rarely hung out with adults his age outside of work, that’s what makes this whole situation weird to me. and its not just yijin: in ep 10 seungwan tells yijins 15 yr old brother “ 4 more years? ill wait for you”. gross. what is with this show and its love for inappropriate 4 yr age gaps? overall im blaming the writers for not being a little more nuanced about a potentially inappropriate relationship. i dont think this is enough to write off the drama, but this is important to note:

this is the most avoidable problem in the whole drama, especially when since the beginning yijin has said “adults should only date other adults” and “highschool drama is for highschoolers, im an adult” and has brought up how young they all were and how different their lives were. the writers know this isnt okay and made a point to comment on it- but did it anyway.
i dont care if this age gap doesnt matter to you, i dont care if you think this specific situation is okay or if “the 90s were a different time!” or if “theyre both technically adults!” this drama has a responsibility to portray this relationship with a certain sensitivity. a few simple changes couldve been made to make it a little more acceptable to the general public, but like i said i dont think this is enough to swear off watching it.

2. yurims arc

the writers really pushed yurim as a bully from the beginning. she was cruel to heedo, belittled her, affected her personal and school life. she often played the victim despite constantly being supported by everyone around her. being poor and scared of losing was the excuse they gave her, it caused an inferiority complex. i didnt think this was strong enough to combat heedos problems, although i suppose theyre meant to be equal. yurim is poor and loved, while heedo is rich with a dead father and an absent mother. i understood what the writers were trying to do here. but the actual switch, the injeolmi reveal, was a weak turning point. if you watch the episodes one after the other, it makes it obvious how jarring and simple yurims personality shift was. pre ep 8, she caused the whole nation to hate heedo on her behalf and constantly belittles her. none of this matters until yurim sees that she was her internet friend. only this sparks her apology, which means if they hadnt been internet friends she would be forever cruel and unapologetic. this makes yurim seem continuously self centered and flimsy as a character. after ep 8 heedo and yurim are awkwardly kind to each other and start building a friendship. yurim kind of explains herself in the later half but i just thought they built the mean yurim up too well, or at least didnt put enough care into her arc. i am glad yurim retains some of those feelings (ep 11 she says she is still scared of heedo) so it isnt like she woke up a different person.
i guess your opinion on this depends on which you empathize more with, but i always felt more on heedos side. we saw her walk home alone after matches, advocate for herself, practice until she couldnt stand, be bullied by someone she admired, win a gold medal with no support from her coach or mother. im sure yurim went through difficulties, but it was heedos that were shown on screen, so i resonated more with her. all i wanted was the best for her, especially in terms of her and yurims relationship. and when heedo forgave yurim, their scenes were very cute and heartwarming and i did grow to love her and i enjoyed all of their scenes together. but i cant just pretend she wasnt a horrible person for half of the drama. heedo is clearly more forgiving than i am.

i did end up having to just let my feelings on this go in order to enjoy the drama, but i wanted to mention this.

3. the present time

this drama wouldve done well just focusing on the past. it felt unbalanced, we start off in the present and heedos daughter is sort of a narrator, but then we exist in the past uninterrupted for periods of time. i guess 2521 was going for a reply series kind of thing, but i would’ve preferred it to just take place in the past. the story of the friend group, the romance, the sports, the imf crisis, it was all enough to keep us going for the entire duration of the show. the present time brought down the whole mood of the drama and made it dip more into melodrama territory. i didnt want to worry about if someone was going to die or get amnesia. i didnt want angst, i wanted to watch what seemed like a lighthearted slice of life character based romcom as promised. like id be watching the characters laughing and having fun and bam- heedos daughter is on screen killing my vibe. or we are having a cute moment and we have a flash forward sequence that makes us question who breaks up with who. i dont think this drama needed extra mystery or suspense, it already had a sort of darker tone with the imf crisis (which was all but forgotten in favor of other side plots). yijins family troubles were as much sadness as i needed and like i mentioned before, there was plenty of side plots to keep this drama going. i guess some people didnt mind, but i definitely noticed much of the audience speculating on the ending constantly instead of just enjoying the show, which is major buzzkill for anyone wanting to watch and hoping to just enjoy it. perhaps this is just a personal preference but i strongly think this couldve been more powerful as just a slice of life. those are hard to pull off, and they were so close. i ended up not watching the future scenes as they ruined the vibe for me.

4. the ending
just trust me on this, dont bother with the last two episodes. the characters were completely different people, too much angst and a lot of decisions made by the end were so distasteful. the writers just stopped caring by the end. it just goes to show the drama was written to be anticipated for weekly ratings and not just to be enjoyed.

and thats the end of my review. i know it was mainly negative, but again- everything besides these points was top notch. id still recommend this drama to anyone.

Leia Mais

Amazing Acting | Brilliant Ending

This is the story of Liu Yikang, a real historical figure in the Liu Song Dynasty (420-479 AD). It was one of the most tumultuous eras of Chinese history. The aristocrats were wealthy and powerful, and the commoners were poor and suppressed. Parricides, filicides and fratricides were rampant. Historically Liu Yikang’s life ended tragically, killed by his own beloved and trusted brother The Emperor. The drama stops short of his tragic end (fortunately or unfortunately?).

In this drama, a lot of the events and villains are fictionalized. Though Liu Yikang (played by Qin Hao) is a real figure historically, his beloved wife Shen Li Ge (played by Li Qin) and her family are fictional. Despite their more than 10 years age difference, Qin Hao and Li Qin have very courteous chemistry together as a couple as there are no passionate kisses nor hugs (just a peck on the lips or a lean on the shoulder). Nonetheless, such chemistry doesn’t reduce our enjoyment of the plot and story. There are quite a few nail-biting close calls and frustrating near misses scenes throughout the drama, keeping the viewers sitting at the edge of the couch and captivating our full attention.

The drama starts with a bang, introducing Shen Li Ge as a beautiful and talented assassin. Li Qin is so beautiful that she looks amazing in every costume and hairstyle that she wears. As a fearless badass, Li Qin is convincing without losing her elegance. Her acting is on the notch.

Qin Hao is a veteran actor. He has the charisma as a powerful ruler. At the beginning of the drama, many viewers complain that Qin Hao is too mature to play the role. But Liu Yikang was exactly as this age during the time of the story. As the story develops, Qin Hao melts together as the Liu Yikang character; he gives a very convincing performance.

Both Shen Li Ge and Liu Yikang are facing a faceless mastermind. Despite taking down various powerful aristocrats who conspire to hurt them and their family, the plot continues to the very end, eventually revealing the identity of the mastermind behind all the destruction and killings, and his motivation for doing so. Though going through a lot of hardship and heartaches, Shen Li Ge and Liu Yikang combat the villains hand in hand and continue to outwit them with their determination and conviction.

This drama is filled with tropes, such as evil sister, falling off cliff (but not dead), loss of memory, accidentally kisses etc. There are also multiple unnecessary deaths just to make the characters martyrs. Many of the logic is illogical with flaws and plot holes. By the end of the story, there are still multiple unexplained loose strings.

I believe the visual director has had a field day with the palace décor. This is the first time I have ever seen such European inspired décor of the palaces with giant statues and water fountains. The mother consort’s clothing even matches her walls and furniture which may be a bit on the wild side of the imagination.

The ending is very typical of Chinese dramas – open to interpretations. Overall, if you like slimy infallible villains who always seem to outsmart the good guys, you may find this an exciting watch. If you’re an emotional person and have a tendency to invest deeply into likable characters, you may be in for some heartaches. For me, this is quite a good watch mainly because of the two main characters, Shen Li Ge and Liu Yikang and the fine acting of the actors.

With my epiphany which came one day later after the final episode, I find the ending brilliant. This is a drama strongly recommended (despite the tropes).

Leia Mais

My impression of "My Annoying Brother" is that its a great family type of movie, at least in my opinion...
I expected a sad story about how Du Yeong(D.O Kyungsoo)becomes blind and deals with his brother Ko Doo Shik(Jo Jung Suk)who goes out of prison(i remind you,a SAD story(its worse XD)). Well...it was actually really different from what i imagined. First the swearing is a lot, i dont know if Korea sees this as a family movie, considering they blur out knives and guns...And i like how they delivered the story! There was Comedy, swearing, family drama, sadness and tragedy(duh!what can you expect from the peson who made it)brotherly bonding and love, i'm glad the movie is not another sad tragedy movie hit ;) , which i expected from the person who made it(well....proved my expectations kinda....). The reason im giving the story 9.5 is because i feel something was missing, just a little in the beginning. Im still in shock from the ending, i did not expect it at all. So im not gonna give you a spoiler, watch it and see if your gonna be just as shocked.
The acting was great. The bromance made me scream, cry and laugh. It was funny to see the swearing which is really really a lot more than in any drama you have ever seen. Jo Jung Suk is one of my favorite actors because of this movie(in my top 3). His acting is out of this world, i did not doubt his acting for a second. Next lead D.O Kyungsoo: I was worried about D.O because, since "I Remember You" i havent seen him in a lot of dramas or movies. Gladly there was nothing to worry about,he is just as good as always. Lets hope we can see him in more dramas and movies.
Next: Park Shin Hye(Lee Soo Hyeon) was a big suprise for me when i found out about the cast. Her acting was great i'm so glad she was in this movie i cant imagine another female in this role (that's not an A list actress) to grab my attention. Otherwise the role would be very simple, bland and waste of screen time. She delivered the role of caring for Du Yeong so well, that felt it! I dont know why i expected romance between her and the brothers. I shiped her and Du Yeong so hard, but i have a feeling, that if it was a romance movie she would go to Ko Doo Shik and Du Yeong would be the sad second lead who is blind.... so maybe its not good to have romance in this movie after all but just cute, lovely-dovey bromance. The acting is a 10, best cast ever!
Now to the topic about the music in the drama. Its the only thing that didn't stick out enough to
impress me. I dont get it they had D.O Kyungsoo of EXO and Jo Jong Suk(they sang one song at the ending which was good) who can both sing couldnt they make them sing the songs or at least give the signers better songs! They werent bad dont get me wrong but they were not on the same level as the story,acting and visual of the cast and scenery. That's why im giving it 8.5.
As a rewatch value i would soo watch it again. Yes, yes and yes. I only wish i could watch it with my family but they don't even understand english. Thankfully i can watch it with my sister because its a great family movie that plays with your emotions. Even if there are a little shirtless scenes XD. 9.5
Overall its a great movie it had comedy it wasn't all sad like i expected it to be.(Thou from the discription is missing a few generes besides those "Comedy, Drama, Family, Life". Well what happens in the movie can be summed up in genre ''Life'' i guess.)The relationship between the brothers really made my legs jelly. I really liked it! Even if i gave the music 7.5 im still giving it a 10 for overall impression because the other movies that could hold my attention that long without me spacing off are only Train to Busan, Miracle in Cell No. 7 and Werewolf Boy. And as i said in the beginning SAD....prepare food and prepare a place where you can blow your nose and hang your face to dry after the movie...my face is still drying from all the tears....

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Pit Babe Season 2, Final Episode – A Masterclass in Disrespect

Pit Babe Season 2 has been a frustrating ride from the beginning. Unfortunately, the final episode cemented what many of us feared: this production was sloppy, rushed, and made with zero care for the craft or the audience.

It felt like the goal was to slap together something just to push to market and make a quick buck, rather than to tell a meaningful story or respect the fans who’ve supported this series from day one.

What truly pushed the fandom, especially SailubPon (AlanJeff) fans, over the edge was the complete erasure of a scene that had been heavily promoted. Not just by the actors themselves, but by the company. A significant, intimate scene between Alan and Jeff, played by Sailub and Pon, was teased for weeks. It was in the trailer. It was proudly shared by the actors, who spoke about how meaningful it was and how much work went into it. Over three hours of filming, for just that one scene. It was even included in the official photobook, which, let’s be clear, fans paid for before the final episode aired.

But when the episode dropped, the scene was gone. Completely cut. No warning, no explanation. Just a choppy jump in the edit where something clearly used to be. The fandom, confused and frustrated, assumed it might be saved for the “uncut” version released on the paid platform, as is often the case with more sensitive scenes. But no, it was missing there too. In what was falsely labeled an “UNCUT” episode. That’s not just poor editing. That’s false advertising.

This wasn’t just a creative choice. It was deception. Fans were sold something we never received. We were manipulated into anticipating and paying for content that was deliberately withheld, with no transparency or accountability. To this day, the company has offered no explanation. We’ve asked. We’ve waited. Silence.

What makes this worse is what happened to the actors themselves. Sailub and Pon were made to sit with the rest of the cast and watch the final episode live on camera. You can see them waiting, excited, like the rest of us, to see that scene. Something they worked hard on and had publicly shared their enthusiasm for. The shock and embarrassment when they realized it was cut was painful to watch. Imagine that. Being blindsided on camera by your own company. No warning. No chance to prepare. Just humiliation.

This isn’t just about fans being upset over a missing scene. This is about a complete lack of respect for the actors’ work, their emotional investment, and the trust of the audience. We’re not just disappointed. We’re heartbroken and angry. Until the company addresses this with honesty and accountability, that wound will remain wide open.

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