Editoriais 
Hard core gore.
This review covers both Season 1 and Season 2 as it does not make sense to review them separately.This is a gripping and fast paced psychological crime thriller that explores the dark side of justice and how the road to perdition is paved with just intentions. In a desperate race against time with few promising leads, Captain Tan's investigative team are under intense pressure to put a stop to a bunch of brutal serial killings. Prison inmate and gifted former profiler and attorney Liang Yandong, is on trial for murder and is convinced that his case is linked to the serial killings. He persuades hungry young rookie cop Ren Fei to share information in the case with him in exchange for his assistance with profiling the serial murderer. The first season solves the first case only to reveal a larger conspiracy that intertwines with a devastating unsolved cold case.
I really enjoyed Vic Zhou's performance as the inscrutable Liang Yandong, especially in the beginning when he teases us with the question of whether his motives are benign. Among the big name cast, his performance pulls the production together as his rapport with each of the main characters seems the most natural. Sandrine Pinna also pleasantly surprised me in her ability to pull off a complex role although some of her scenes in the latter half could have been more nuanced and less forced. Although I like Christopher Lee, his Captain Tan did not really connect with me or with the other members of his investigative team. Part of the problem is that Zhu Tingdian's performance as Ren Fei is hit or miss and his character interacts the most with Captain Tan. His Ren Fei "clicks" with Liang Yandong and Teresa Daley's Ji Siqi but not so much with Captain Tan and the rest of his team. The broader investigative team's dynamics is also not convincing enough to inspire me to root hard for the "good guys" and feel pulled into their mission. To some extent, the cops in this show are dumbed down a little bit too much so that Liang Yandong can look really smart.
The plot overall is fairly tight and it fast paced, full of good twists including a hidden antagonist that reveals themselves a tad on the early side. There are some holes and some suspension of disbelief is needed but it moves so fast and is so action packed you won't have time to dwell too much on on them, which is fantastic. The ultimate villain is known fairly early on and their motives are not that convincing or well explained but there are enough other interesting characters. By pretty much the same team as the highly acclaimed and more memorable Victim's Game, I like this better as a pure suspense thriller for its better focus on a well explored big case that ties everything together and its lack of digression into social issues.
My main problem and reservation with this drama however is that it goes far beyond hard core gore. In general I am fine with dark themes and I don't get triggered that easily but what I found deeply disturbing about this drama is its heavily in your face misogyny. You will be repeatedly treated with gratuitous, extended gore images of women being tortured and mutilated. It is completely unnecessary to the plot or the exploration of the killers' psyches. To give the production the benefit of the doubt, I can tell from The Victim's Game that this team overly delights in showing off their technical prowess at detailed, realistic and almost pornographic gruesome scenes. However I cannot help but be offended and put off by the almost exclusive focus on abusing women and in such loving and repeated detail. So I am really struggling with this review and avoided writing it for quite some time. If they had toned things down (a lot), I would be tempted to give this an 8.0/8.5 but my anger at the extreme misogyny makes me think 6.0/6.5. I am just going to make life easy for myself and call this a 7.0 while acknowledging that is maybe a bit unfair. If you can get past the hard core gore, this is a very enjoyable thriller for fans of the genre.
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Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
TL:DR It's a good DRAMA movie, but it's not a thriller.Just a little note that I watched it raw and I am not a fluent Korean speaker, so I may be wrong on certain occasions.
The things I loved:
- Character portrayal. I loved how this movie took its time to show what the characters thought of each other using actions and glances rather than just words. I believe that it creates a certain tension of the viewer thinking whether the characters mean what they do, or whether it is simple over analyzation. This gives credit to the amazing casts and storyline.
- The suspense. Yes I said that this is not a thriller, and I mean it, but there is some level of suspense (or tension) throughout the movie, and I credit the music for that. It's not your dramatic movie suspense but those everyday suspense that normal people feel because of human relations.
The things I didn't quite like:
- The trailer vs the movie. I came for a thriller movie and so I had certain expectations when I started watching. Therefore I am not going to lie. I was a bit disappointed when I watched it (but that added the element of surprise, which is always nice) Don't get me wrong though. I thoroughly enjoyed and was indulged in this movie.
- The last scene of the movie. No spoilers, I know. But when you finish watching, tell me that if I am wrong when I say that the crew/director kind of miss the point of something and maybe thought we didn't notice something. Idk, might just have been me.
Anyway, Choi Taejoon is in here and I love him, so this movie is borderline BOMB.
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The cast is amazing! The two main leads express themselves so beautifully without any use of words. I would recommend it to everyone. One of the finest Korean movies I have watched till date.
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Just What you Want it to Be!
Oh heck! I loved this. Some people complain about the pacing being too slow, but that's expressly because one of the main characters has never been in a relationship before and the other main character is coming from a traumatic past. Anything but slow pacing and it would have felt rushed and weird. That being said, the episodes are 25 minutes a piece, so the pace isn't THAT slow. And the evolution of all the relationships is what we come for, yes?The music in this was very, very pretty. The theme song was sweet and the song that played when they are dealing with hard moments was just so bittersweet that it perfectly reflected the mood.
I loved the setting. As an artist myself, seeing a BL set in a designer jewelry studio was so fun. And I also got a kick because when I first saw Aaron on screen, I was pointing and yelling "He looks like an East Asian Superman". And then came the Kryptonian jokes in the plot itself! Ha!
There was a shocking moment for me when I saw Aaron topless I stopped and paused the video because I used to work in the medical profession and I immediately said "That is the best, most realistic scar makeup I have ever witnessed". As the show went on and I got to see the scars from more than one angle, got to see how they pulled, I began to suspect they were real scars. So I looked Aaron up and was amazed to find that prior to the filming of this show he had been in a car accident that nearly killed him. He was in a coma for months. Then rehab. And straight into the filming of this project. In an interview he said that the actor who played Shi Lei was the first person outside of his doctors to ever see his scars and he had been very self conscious about it. So yeah. Wow.
As for the relationship between the main 2 characters, it's awkward and sweet and careful in all the achingly tender ways you might want it to be, without being gooey. Their chemistry is magnetic and immediate. And poor Shi Lei coming out to his mom was the best coming out scene ever. It was so well acted! And really, Aaron did a superb job bringing a quiet, very wounded guardedness to Jin Yu Zhen.
Everyone did a great job. Kudos to the secondary pairings and support cast too. They rounded out the plot and drove it forward at useful moments in a seamless way.
This just took a spot in my top 5 favorites! It does NOT disappoint. Loved the pace. Loved the actors. Loved the story. My only complaint is that there just wasn't enough of it. I would have loved the episodes to have a longer format or for there to have been more of them.
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1It felt like the highlights of a greater story.
You know what? I want to watch either the show they teased in the trailer one year ago, because what we’ve got was just completely different material, or what we’ve got here, but in a longer format.I’ll start with the biggest flaw I saw, to get it over with. Earth was miscast. To everyone who honestly thinks Earth fits the role - drop me the name of your country, I gotta go and find myself a 40 but looking 20 daddy. Don’t know what kind of fountain of youth your government is selling for you to think he is believable “about to be” middle aged man, but I want some of it.
And please don’t start with: some people look younger than their age. Sure, but this is literally not the case in this story. Not once was it part of the discussion how he looks good for his age. I mean, the fact that Wen even asked Jim if Li Ming was his son suggests, Jim is supposed to look his age. He just looked way too much like a peer next to Mix and Khaotung.
Because of that, many scenes that were more hard hitting and emotional, felt simply not sincere. He is the main character, so if I cannot connect to him, the whole show starts to fall apart. This is what happens when profiting from a popular and established pairing is more important than proper casting. Pro tip to directors - if you are not willing to cast age appropriate actors, do not try to make shows with big age gaps between characters or about characters who are in their late 30’ and 40’. (Putting this casting into perspective - the actor playing Heart’s father is 45).
That said, I’m not gonna act as if it will for sure ruin the watching experience for everyone - it will not. It’s just something that I personally cannot ignore, especially since the character’s age was brought up over and over again in conversations.
Putting Jim aside, I actually enjoyed a lot of other characters and their interactions. Wen and Li Ming were truly adorable, with this older/younger brother dynamic, and Wen did a good job being the bridge between the uncle and the teen. He made them both understand each other better.
I also found Wen’s and Alan’s relationship fascinating and wish we would see more of it. It seemed like they made almost every possible mistake to end up in this situation, and trying to fix it right away would be an impossible task.
Heart and Li Ming were obviously fans’ favorites. Did I like them? Yes. Do I feel like their interactions were too similar to My School President and it was a bit like watching the same characters just in a different context? Also yes.
Honestly speaking, Alan was my favorite character and one that I was most curious about. It should also be illegal to give Khaotung such a tiny role taking into consideration his talent. I find it a bit funny how, in my view, two most talented actors in the show were sidelined like that.
While I enjoyed Earth and Mix in their other projects, I did not quite like them here. The main couple was for me the weakest aspect of the whole show. I enjoyed the characters far more with other people, compared to watching them interact with each other.
Giving credit where credit is due, Moonlight Chicken tries to tackle more serious issues and steps away from the typical high school romance. It does not follow the “one relationship for the life” idea, showing the past relationships of the main characters. It gives us a deaf community representation in a tactful manner. It shows that at times putting more effort will not save the relationship, and the most healthy way is to just end it and leave. It shows various types of parents-kids relationships, and how there are no right and wrong universal answers, it all depends on the circumstances.
While I appreciate the writer and director bringing all these important issues to the table, I also feel like they were more of an appetizer than a whole meal. It’s undeniable that they did not have enough time to truly dive deep into any of these topics, so at the end it felt more like highlights of a greater story. Personally, I prefer my slice of life character driven shows in a slower pace, that gives me time to digest everything that is happening on the screen.
The quality of the production fluctuated quite a bit. Some scenes were a true perfection and there was not a detail that had to be changed to improve them. But then some scenes had such sloppy lighting I actually laughed. What I loved for sure though were the set designs. Aesthetically pleasing, but not over the top that it looked unnatural. You saw it and you believed - yes, someone lives/works here.
Overall, it has many great messages, many great lines. Could have been one of the best BLs if the production was a bit more daring, but also selective in terms of the story and the casting.
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LONG AWAITED FLOPPY WEDDING ...
What a rip-off! Having to pay 12.99 US$ to watch 1h 10 of extracts from the series' episodes that I had already seen and 10 poor minutes of the wedding itself is really dishonest. I was expecting an entire episode dedicated to the wedding: preps, ceremony, guests, banquet, party, a lot of emotion and tears, etc ... in one word: a wedding.This episode was so cheaply made: first, as I said, images and scenes already seen in previous episodes, the same damn song all along the 80 minutes, obviously no budget for extras at the wedding (we see the same buddies and some members of the families).
The ceremony itself was totally botched: the couple gets out of the house into the garden where the guests were waiting, Tharn and Type stand up in front of the guests, facing each other, nobody was there to welcome them, introduce them, they exchange the rings and that's it. Pathetic! Nothing happy, "over the roof" as Tharn was feeling in the weeks preceding the wedding.
In our streaming world, $12.99 is more expensive than the release of a new film, a large public blockbuster ...
This shows a true contempt for the fans who follow T & T since the first image of episode 1. I'm not only disappointed but also furious to be the naive victim of this inglorious trap.
Please, save your money and do not attend this cheap wedding.
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The Real Villain of Honour Isn’t Violence. It’s Cheating.
Welcome to MDL comment section where infidelity outranks abuse in the hierarchy of outrage. Where people are united to criticise hypocrisy of women in this drama while silently accepting the existence and actions of pedoflies. I am not here to discuss whether cheating and sexual violence belong in the same moral category. I’m pointing out the public reaction to them. It is telling that the priority of some people lie in the judgment of a "messy" cheating woman over the systemic reality of assault. Honour drama matters because it refuses to give us "perfect" victims and some people seem more disturbed by that imperfection than by the violence itself.—-
SELECTIVE MORAL OUTRAGE VS. STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE.
My question is does a character’s moral failure invalidate a story’s thematic argument?
Reducing a drama about trauma, coercion, sexual violence against women and minors, pedophilia, and female solidarity to “she cheated, therefore the show is trash” is intellectually lazy and critically shallow. Cheating is being treated as the central moral failure of the drama and SA is being sidelined in discussion. Honour isn’t a tale about infidelity, it’s a story about how past abuse shapes lives, how women navigate power and vulnerability, and how solidarity and resilience become survival tools.
To focus solely on Hyeonjin’s affair is to ignore the narrative’s core. The hypocrisy is the point. These women are legal warriors for justice who are simultaneously messy, dishonest, and compromised. This isn’t a narrative flaw… it’s realism. Trauma doesn’t produce moral saints, it produces survivors navigating shame and survival. That does not diminish the responsibility for their actions. The cheating storyline is ethically messy. Hyeonjin is not written as triumphant or empowered in her betrayal, she is destabilised. The encounter itself is narratively uncomfortable: she says no, attempts to leave, and is kissed again before ultimately giving in. That sequence introduces ambiguity around agency, coercion, emotional vulnerability, and unresolved attachment.
They are not romanticising cheating. It reads as a moment of weakness entangled with power dynamics and unresolved past trauma. The subsequent lies, the hidden earring, the possibility of pregnancy… these are not celebratory plot devices. They are destabilisers. The drama does not present adultery as liberation. They are not offering her a "get out of jail free" card, she is clearly driving toward a cliff of social and personal consequences. Presence of moral failure among the protagonists complicates the message, it does not ERASE it. The story depicts a survivor who is a brilliant advocate for others but a fragmented, self sabotaging disaster in her private life. To demand she be a "moral saint" to be a worthy protagonist is to demand a fiction that doesn't exist in the real world of trauma. We can hold her accountable for the betrayal of her marriage while simultaneously recognising that her personal failures do not justify or diminish the systemic violence she fights against.
Criticise Hyeonjin. Dislike her. Hold her accountable for the betrayal of her marriage, the narrative certainly does. But to let her infidelity become the only takeaway from a story about the industrial scale violation of women and minors is fundamentally dishonest. In dramas like Penthouse/ Love in the Moonlight/ Shine/ Eve, the infidelity outrage is the point of the exercise. For this drama to be discredited, it would need to trivialise sexual violence, glamorise coercion, or selectively condemn certain moral failures while excusing others without consequence. The cheating arc generates tension, fallout, and instability rather than reward. It complicates the characters’ credibility but does not erase the seriousness of the issues they confront in court.
We should be capable of holding a character’s personal failure in one hand and the world’s systemic cruelty in the other without dropping the latter because the former makes us uncomfortable.
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PERFECT VICTIM
Focusing on SA victims in this drama, I want to make one thing clear: abuse is defined by the actions of the abuser, not the personality of the abused. Must a victim be perfect to deserve sympathy? Does a woman’s imperfection erase the harm done to her? If she isn’t universally likable, are her bruises, fear, and trauma any less real?
Societies often measure women against an “perfect victim” standard: she must be passive, gentle, sexually restrained but not prudish, emotional but not hysterical, composed but not cold; she must have no prior mistakes, no anger, no contradictions, no complex history. People subconsciously look for reasons to distance themselves from discomfort by asking, “What did she do?” rather than “What was done to her?” suggesting if the woman harmed is even worthy of belief. Sympathy is granted most easily to those who fit a narrow image of innocence. The myth of the perfect victim allows people to believe that violence only happens to the exceptionally innocent, and therefore can be avoided by behaving correctly.
People find it hard to believe victims because believing them is uncomfortable. It forces people to accept that harm can come from ordinary people and that it could happen to anyone, including themselves. Doubting the victim feels safer and easier, and blaming them gives people a sense of control, as if bad things only happen when someone “does something wrong.” Many also misunderstand how trauma works, mistaking confusion, fear, or emotional reactions for lying /exaggeration /weakness. Public cases involving women such as Tara Reade, Amber Heard, Angelina Jolie, Christine Blasey Ford, Chanel Miller, and Anita Hill reveal how credibility is filtered through race, sexuality, likability, timing, demeanor, and presumed motive. Credibility cannot be based on how likeable someone is. Imperfection becomes evidence, anger becomes instability, sexual history becomes motive, delay becomes fabrication, survival strategies become aggression. The demand for “purity” is less about truth and more about preserving social comfort.
“If the victim is flawed, the world feels orderly. If she is difficult, perhaps he isn’t so bad.”
A woman can be brash, ambitious, selfish, queer, contradictory, difficult and still be abused. Suggesting otherwise shifts responsibility from the abuser to the abused, inflicting a secondary violence by silencing survivors who fear disbelief and internalise blame because they don’t fit the archetype they were taught. A victim deserves sympathy not because she is pure, but because she is human and her flaws, whatever they are, do not retroactively justify someone abusing her.
Showing empathy to victims doesn’t mean ignoring fairness, it means remembering that real people are carrying real trauma. We should be more outraged by acts of violence than by the imperfections of those who survive them. Sexual violence is a choice made by the perpetrator, not a mistake or weakness of the survivor. Instead of questioning what the victim did or didn’t do, we need to ask why someone thought it was okay to violate another person. It’s time to assign the blame where it belongs… on the perpetrators and not the survivors. Holding perpetrators accountable, rather than scrutinising survivors, is how we show true justice and compassion.
—-
MAGNITUDE OF SA
“He was my friend/ relative/ father/ brother/ colleague.” ONE IN THREE women can say this. Violence at that scale is not an anomaly, not a “few bad men”, not a misfortune. It’s a pattern and patterns are built and tolerated by societies.
While you are reading this, 8 more crimes against women will be recorded in my country. Every 16 minutes, a man in my country makes a decision to violate a woman. 86 new victims every single day. We panic over rare dangers, redesign airports after one incident. If 86 bridges collapsed in one day, we would call it a national emergency. But 86 women being assaulted? It has become a statistic and routine news cycle. Just a number we learn to live with. For every case you hear about, there are many you don’t. Silence is not absence. People think of SA as isolated incidents, but for many women it functions like an atmosphere, shaping daily calculations about what to wear, how to walk, who to call, and when to share their location. It is not just something that happens occasionally; it quietly structures ordinary behavior, from gripping keys between fingers to texting, “I got home.”
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MEN’S BRIGHT FUTURE
Are women’s lives and suffering expendable when weighed against a man’s “bright future”?
As someone who listens to true crime all the time, it’s impossible not to notice how often phrases like “boys will be boys”or “but he has a bright future” are used to excuse harm. They frame cruelty as immaturity, entitlement as potential, and accountability as something unfair or excessive. By doing this, people protect the idea of who the man could be rather than what he actually did.
What’s disturbing is that these excuses almost always come at the victim’s expense. No one asks about their bright future, their lost sense of safety, or the life altered by someone else’s actions. Instead, the narrative centers on preserving male promise and comfort. Society is often quicker to mourn a perpetrator’s consequences than to acknowledge a victim’s suffering. Her losses are emotionalised and minimised and his losses are treated as tragic and unjust.
This is because systems of power have been built to protect men’s futures over women’s safety. When accountability is seen as cruelty and harm is seen as collateral damage, it decides whose life is worth defending. Until harm to women is treated as more serious than discomfort to men, the message remains the same: women are expected to pay the price so men can keep theirs intact.
Men especially those with status, authority, talent, or social connections are seen as more valuable to protect than to hold accountable. Admitting harm would mean questioning respected institutions, friendships, families, or one’s own judgment, so people minimise, excuse, or deny the behavior instead. There’s also a long standing culture that normalised male aggression and entitlement while doubting or silencing those who speak up, especially when it would “ruin a good man’s life.”
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GLAMORISATION AND DESENSITISATION OF SA IN FILM.
There is long tradition in television where sexual violence appears less as a lived trauma and more as narrative currency. Violation often functions as ignition and what lingers is not the wound, but the spectacle that follows it. When violation repeatedly serves as character development, as motivation, as spectacle, people expect it as part of storytelling grammar. The trope embeds itself quietly, shaping cultural assumptions about whose pain advances the plot and whose pain is secondary to it.
Experimental evidence suggests that repeated exposure to sexually violent films can dull emotional responses, reduce empathy for victims, and lessen the perceived seriousness of abuse. Sexually degrading portrayals may also shape beliefs about sexual assault, reinforce objectification, and foster harmful attitudes toward women. Research indicates that sexually aggressive media can affect not only men’s attitudes but also women’s psychological responses and self perception. Media can distort understandings of consent and responsibility y normalising gender stereotypes, blaming victims, or presenting male aggression without critique.
I also think romanticisation of SA plays a huge role in desensitisation. 365 days, Ffifty shades of grey, GOT, After and many other films aestheticise dominance, persistence, and forced intimacy as proof of desire. Threat becomes foreplay and control becomes charisma. Resistance is framed as tension and coercion as chemistry. Over time, audiences learn to read violation as romance not because the act changes, but because the framing does.
Desensitisation often looks like reduced shock, reduced empathy, treating it as “just another trope”, but reduced outward reaction doesn’t automatically mean reduced empathy. If you respond emotionally to real world harm but not to dramatised scenes, that’s often media habituation, not moral desensitisation.
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INFIDELITY IN CINEMA.
Imagine looking into the eyes of the person you love, the one you trust without hesitation, the one you depend on, the one you’ve built your life around and not knowing they are choosing again and again, to lie to you. Just to protect the betrayal instead of protecting you. Cheating isn’t just a mistake. It is a form of moral bankruptcy. It shows a complete disregard for the very person you promised to respect and protect. In this drama, what happens cannot simply be dismissed as a “single lapse in judgment.” Even if the physical act happened only once, it did not exist in isolation. There was secrecy, emotional boundary crossing, rationalising the situation, staying despite discomfort, and then continued deception. She lies to her husband even when confronted with evidence. When pregnancy enters the picture, the consequences of those choices become even more devastating. Calling this a momentary mistake is an oversimplification of what cheating really is. It reflects not just one impulsive act, but a series of conscious decisions made when there were multiple chances to stop, to leave, or to tell the truth. It reveals a willingness to betray when the opportunity presented itself. The damage is not measured by how many times it happened. For the person who was betrayed, even once can permanently shatter trust. One breach is enough to change how love feels, how safety feels, and how the entire relationship is understood.
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HOW DESENSITISED ARE WE?
Romanticisation frames cheating as emotionally profound, fated, or spiritually meaningful. Glamorisation emphasises aesthetic appeal (luxury/ sensuality/ thrill/ personal liberation). Both reduce moral weight by reframing cheating as self discovery, emotional authenticity or rebellion against restrictive norms. Because viewers are repeatedly exposed to these portrayals, desensitisation occurs where infidelity begins to feel more normal, less shocking, and more understandable. This opens a possibility where repeated narrative framing can reshape moral perception and relationship expectations.
In recent dramas I have watched (Shine and Love in the moonlight) there was intense romanticisation of cheating. Storytelling is designed to make us deeply identify with the central couple framing their relationship as destined, pure, or emotionally unavoidable. When cheating is presented within that emotional framework, people tend to evaluate it through empathy rather than moral principle, seeing it as tragic or justified instead of wrong. Over time, this emotional alignment can make infidelity seem more acceptable within fictional contexts, even if audience might not support it in real life.
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MY THOUGHTS ON THIS DRAMA
It is not a bad drama people are claiming it to be in the sense of poor craft. It is purposefully provocative, and people mistake their own moral discomfort for a failure in storytelling. When a show refuses to provide a "perfect" protagonist and instead mirrors the messy, compromised reality of survivors, it stops being a comfortable escape and starts being a mirror that many audiences are unwilling to look into.
This drama is challenging the very hierarchy of outrage that allows real world trauma to be sidelined in favor of "safer" scandals. Low ratings suggest a "moral purity gap" where audiences conflate a character’s personal flaws with the show’s overall quality. While viewers frequently tolerate or even celebrate "anti hero" men, a messy, unfaithful female protagonist often triggers a visceral likability tax, leading audiences to "downvote" the show as a form of moral protest rather than focusing on its technical or thematic core messages. People prefer glamorous escapism over the gruelling confrontation.
We must move beyond "likability" to understand that mirroring a messy reality is not an endorsement of it. Rejecting this entire drama because the victim is flawed only upholds the "perfect victim" myth, suggesting that empathy is reserved for the stainless. Don’t fall into the narrative trap of selective empathy. Husband is undeniably a victim of a devastating personal breach. His suffering also does not negate or compete with the systemic violation of women’s bodily autonomy and these are not mutually exclusive tragedies. When we allow a husband’s heartbreak to become the loudest part of the conversation, we are choosing the "safer" anger of a private scandal over the necessary rage required to confront a culture of sexual violence.
(Explicit terms for sexual violence are omitted to prevent this review from being flagged. It is not a self censorship. I know the legal distinction between general SA and more severe violations (r word). My goal here is to address the collective trauma of survivors. I have documented all statistical references used here so feel free to message me for the source link.)
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However this was a huge disappointment. After watching the first two episodes I already knew I didn't like this, the plot felt really poor and Minho and Shinhye's characters annoyed me. I'm surprised I even managed to finish this.
I felt like the story never moved on, they had pretty much the same problems trough the whole drama. Eunsang kept crying over everything and I honestly wonder why in hell did she get two guys crushing over her. Also the ending was really poor. I felt like nothing changed in the story in the end. In my opinion this drama didn't need 20 episodes, it was too much.
There were also too many side stories that didn't have anything to do with the main story. They only left me confused and frustrated.
There were some good things in the drama, though. For example, Woobin's character was my favorite. I also liked Kim Tan's and Eunsang's mothers' friendship. Minhyuk and Krystal's characters' relationship was also adorable. I liked Krystal's character anyway.
They chose good actors for this drama, can't deny that, but the whole script was just a mess that even good actors couldn't save. Kim Tan was uninteresting and Eunsang was a cliche kdrama main actress.
I hated the OSTs. I think they played mostly 3 same OSTs, and seriously, none of them were good. 'Love is the moment' was overly used and if I ever hear it again I think I'll have to hit something.
I'll never ever watch this again, I'm just glad it's finally over.
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1STOP AI!!!
people have to wake up!!! I don’t care if i’m seen as dramatic but please don’t normalise AI.it’s not just a few minutes scene, it literally replaced actors. humans. and if you let this slide, companies will keep going, AI will be more powerful and we won’t even recognise/spot the difference between the real things or AI things and many people will lose their own jobs. we only will have AI everywhere, it’s already replacing artists, music, creativity, motivation, people’s work..
(i did see 4 eps not 9 i keep changing it to 4 but it won’t submit it at all…)
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Ideal living
I love this drama.This is my first review.
One of the most riveting modern Chinese dramas that I have watched in a long time. No need for any of the bells and whistles like fantasy fairy lands, CGI, nice fancy costumes/makeup, kung fu choreography, original songs. Even without all that, this drama still stands out. Why? Story is riveting, uplifting, storytelling is logical, and the actors deliver in portraying characters brilliantly.
What drew to me to drama to begin with was SunLi. I have not watched any of her previous dramas before so was curious why she’s so famous. And after watching her here in this show, I now know why. The first few episodes were difficult to follow, but I stuck with my rule of thumb on watching at least 5 episodes, and if I didn’t feel invested by then, I was out. But not with this one. After the 3rd episode, it was game on!
The title of the drama is The Ideal City, and it delves into the theme of what is the ideal way to succeed, and what do you do when you get there. Does the end justify the means?
It follows the story of a young woman (SuXiao) living in the big city of Shang Hai, and how she makes it in a male dominated industry despite the many adversities she has to face.
It’s natural for people to want to succeed, to climb the ranks of the corporate ladder, make more money, and to be respected. But what will you do to get it? How low will you go to get what you want? Ideally, we should strive and work hard to get what we want in life, but so many times, some people cut corners to attain that outcome.
Many times, it’s those at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy who suffer the consequences of the decisions of those above.
SuXiao is a principled woman who is talented in her field of work.
From the get go, she is served with wave after wave of injustices. Betrayed professionally and personally by those she loves and trusts. What I love most about her is that even though she is struck hard by these people, she does not stoop down to the level of her rivals. She does not use their methods to beat them.
Also, she doesn’t stay down. She picks herself up, soldiers on, and takes up any opportunities she’s given, proves her worth, and thrives.
To me, SuXiao’s journey and response embodies power through resilience and hard work.
She did it fair and square. She was a victim of unfairness, but she rose as a victor.
Life knocks her down, but she got up. Step by step she rises and proves her worth with sheer hard work. She shuts the mouths of critics by her actions.
Full of dignity and integrity in life and work.
She is the ideal.
But not everyone can enjoy the same idealistic journey.
Some others made it to the top by utilising inglorious methods like: back-stabbing, holding others back deliberately to not let them outshine you, taking credit for other people’s work, bribing, framing, scheming, and just knocking others out of the way to get to the top.
It’s ugly, dirty, desperate, and simply despicable. It’s unideal.
Also, when you get to the apex. What do you do? What is the endgame for all the headache associated with corporate boardroom struggles, mind games, schemes?
Be a vortex to seek to hoover in more money for yourself? Or should you look at how you can pull others up to be on the mountain with you.
It’s the reasonability of those higher up to be transparent, expose truth and administer justice.
I may be a bit philosophical in my drama review, but what I enjoy most about this drama is that it holds a mirror out to the audience and asks “what will you do to get what you want in life?” What this show reminds me of is that ultimately you are in control of your own destiny. Whatever your background, whether you have billionaire father, education, or a poverty stricken family to support.
Everyone has baggage to carry. Life is hard for everyone.
You can wallow and whinge, throw pity parties for yourself and continue in your state of victimhood.
OR you can after you fall down, re-evaluate how you can do it differently, and dust yourself off and try again. It is ideal to choose the latter, even though it may be a rough and hard journey, and, to not leave a trail of resentment and disgruntled people to get there.
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Meng Shao Fei (Jake Hsu) is a cop who has spent the last four years chasing gangster Tang Yi (Chris Wu). Tang Yi is trying to go straight to fulfil his late mentor/ father figure’s wishes. While he seems to be in charge of his organisation, there are rumours that not everybody is happy. However, Meng Shao Fei doesn’t seem that interested in Tang Yi’s criminal activities: he mostly wants to know what happened during an incident four years previously when his Sunbae was killed. After playing a cat and mouse game for four years, Meng Shao Fei and Tang Yi are probably too aware of each other for their own good. So when fate throws them together a few times, sparks fly.
As a BL premise, this a pretty good one. Meng Shao Fei’s dogged – almost obsessive – pursuit of Tang Yi translates pretty well as an analogy for a romantic pursuit. Whether Shao Fei wants justice, the truth, or Tang Yi’s hot bod is something even he seems confused about from early on. It shows a laudable kind of emotional honesty that, when Shao Fei finally realises his feelings, he pursues them with the same persistence with which he pursued the original case. He will get his man, it seems, even if he’s been in denial as to what he wants him for. After all, he’s a cop and Tang Yi is a gangster.
And therein, unfortunately, lies the show's problem. The writers simply don't understand the action genre and are not capable of grappling with the ethical issues at the heart of this relationship. From the beginning, the characters seem to be pasted in from a different show; one where cops are adorable and incompetent and nobody cares that one of them has completely compromised all their unit's ongoing investigations. The action elements are not used well or written well and the writers clearly struggle with a genre they don't know how to write.
It says something about the HIStory series that I stayed shipping the main couple even as it became clear that their relationship would not work (in the real world, this of course is a clear fiction). There is a lot of chemistry here - so much so the writers copped an unfortunate amount of flak over skipping a scene where that chemistry... culminated (and then quickly threw their audience a bone - literally as it turns out).
I can admire the writers' ambition as they try to write a much-longer series in a genre they're unfamiliar with. But, unfortunately, their execution has failed to match that ambition even if the series still produces consistently-good BL stories that are far above anything else on offer today.
By all means watch and enjoy but temper your expectations about the show's plotting. It does fall short.
Watch it for the romance instead.
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Some programmer friends recommended me to watch this drama. In turn, I recommend this drama to my other programmer friends. I myself am a programmer.Finished watching the drama (twice!), I really enjoyed how it depicts start-up world in relatively good accuracy:
- started up at plain uncomfortable loft
- having full support by family members and close friends at first, and getting their doubts as time goes by
- focused on technical aspects instead of business calculations
- having little taste of design ("retro" business card!)
- easily challenged when there's technical problems to solve
The drama maintained the story pace successfully. It introduced main characters and their personal conflicts early and smoothly. I didn't remember moments when I got bored watching the drama.
Each character personal conflicts are well told. There are motives for each character decisions and actions, even for HJP indecisiveness regarding his affection to SDM.
The actors played well. I really like the elevator scene, the actors were using body language very well. Conversation between HJP and KYS (as the new CEO) was also interesting, portraying how their characters developed.
I will miss those Sam-san Tech guys.
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could have been a masterpiece
Overall: I rated the beginning episodes 9.5 with the amazing production value and acting; however, I was extremely disappointed with how they portrayed something as well as the final episode. 7 episodes about 24 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/5039/when-it-rains-it-pours-2025-e01 ; re-aired on Viki April 2025 https://www.viki.com/tv/41013c-when-it-rains-it-poursWatch Suggestions (to skip the parts that derailed it for me)
- watch episodes 1-5
- episode 6 watch 17:15-end
- episode 7 watch 21:30-end
Content Warnings: past death, off screen *rape (yes it happened, it was in the source material - see below for more info), **abuse
What I Liked
- acting
- awesome dream
- the conversation with pushback on gender stereotypes
- good consent between 2 characters in episode 5
- production value (beautiful cinematography, art in the museum was a visual feast)
Room For Improvement
- *the writers reinforced the myth that people during sexual assault either fight or flee, Sei's reaction and misplaced remorse (it was zero his fault) are common in reality; however, no character actually called a spade a spade leaving room for interpretation (in comments/online I've seen people who didn't think it was rape or that Sei was also toxic instead of an abuse victim/survivor), this was a major writing misstep
- **Fujisawa had a failed redemption arc, he was a rapist and an abuser (he isolated Sei which was emotional abuse and even admitted he was happy isolating Sei)
- too much told in internal monologue
- way too much time in episode 7 spent on Fujisawa and the other friend (the leads had 2 minutes together!)
- I have zero faith the main couple will stay together, they didn't have good communication and we didn't get screentime to see character growth
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The story was all over the place. It started off exciting and I loved the thrill, but as soon as Han Yeo Jin became a part of Kim Tae Hyun's life, it started to drop from there onward. I watch medical dramas for the medical stuff (e.g. surgeries, transplants, medical dilemmas, etc.), but we only ever got the occasional one after the fourth episode. I hated how this become a soppy love story between the money-loving surgeon and the suicidal, rich chaebol's daughter. Not only was it really cringy to watch, I felt like that Tae Hyun was the only one who cared for their relationship. Yeo Jin only saw it as something to rely on when her plans failed, and she even put her revenge over Tae Hyun himself. That's not how a love story should be portrayed and I never want to see something like that done again. Also, too many political scenes.
A lot of people I know exclaim how much they love Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee as actors, and I can certainly understand for Joo Won, but not Kim Tae Hee. Her acting wasn't all that well done in my opinion, and I believe she made no more than three facial expressions. Although she did fit well with her character, her acting still can't be accepted for the way it was done. Anyway, Joo Won was so lovely to watch and I am most definitely watching some of his older dramas now.
Hmm, I can't say I enjoyed many of the quiet, relaxed soundtracks that Yong Pal gave to us, but I most certainly loved listening to Come To Me by K. Will. His voice is so beautiful to listen to, and he definitely makes up for the rest of the album. Oh, but I did also really like the action soundtracks. They were so exhilarating to listen to, even if the scene that accompanied it was boring as could be.
Would I want to re-watch Yong Pal again if I was given some free time? No.
Overall, the writers of Yong Pal should be glad that I even gave it a 7 out of 10. If it wasn't for Joo Won and most of the other actors, and the soundtracks, this drama would have definitely been a lower rating.
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It's Fine - That's the Highest Compliment I can Give It
You ever watched a story and found yourself thinking, 'had this aired at a different time, or perhaps if I were a different personI'd have liked (tolerated) it better?' When this started airing, I thought I'd love it. I left myself a note at the end of episode 2 stating how much I enjoyed how the plot and setting both reminded me of 'Business Proposal' & 'Welcome to Samdal-ri'. Dramas that, while I thoroughly enjoyed, had (and still get) scathing reviews.The scathing comments kept coming in, and for the initial 5 episodes, I tuned them out. The show worked for me, and I like what I like, so whatever. Screw what the naysayers were peddling. However, after episode 6, I started slowly siding with the masses.😭
Let's start with what I liked
🍄🟫The comedy - They did have some funny bits. Did I find myself laughing to the point I lost my breath or had tears running down my face? No. But they did manage to get several chuckles out of me.
🍄🟫References to previous dramas - They had Anh Hyo Seop on the team, and they decided to milk that for all it was worth. They had multiple references to 'Business Proposal' -some obvious, some not-, as well as K-pop Demon Hunters. I also believe that the sprinkler kiss in the mushroom greenhouse was a little nod to 'King the Land.' That's my kind of fanservice and I was very happy about it.
🍄🟫The live selling aspect - This is purely based on the fact that it's a niche interest of mine. I kept wishing (and still do wish) that they gave us a deeper look into that. Because 2 reasons
a. It serves a particular interest of mine.
b. It showcases a much different career path than what we're used to in dramas
🍄🟫The villagers and Dam Ye Jin's 2 coworkers - The villagers' r/ship with Mechoori was quite endearing to watch - you know, b4 they turned on him. I liked that tsundere r/ship he had with them. I loved how Dam Ye Jin and her coworkers remained friends, and they had her back despite her being kicked out after the scandal. They worked well together
My Frustrations
🍄🟫Noble Idiocy - Ah! The Achilles heel of many a Kdrama (Cdramas and Jdramas included).
So both characters are struggling with things in their past. Ordinarily, I would be empathetic; however, I found myself struggling in this case. If you look objectively at both their past traumas, any reasonable person would at least suspect a setup. Even without damning evidence against the other party.
Based on that, the burden they chose to carry (because, yes, this was very much a choice, and a bad one at that) really made no sense to me. I understand when authors and screenwriters wanna write green flag, pure characters, who feel deeply, but it comes to a point that..... Nah man.
🍄🟫The therapy debate (or, rather, the lack thereof)
Our mains needed some serious therapy to help deal with the issues of the past. But, despite being well off enough to afford it, no one suggests, considers, or seeks it. She, abuses sleeping pills to the point of detrimental side effects and is a workaholic. He, on the other hand, hides, becoming a corporate life recluse in an idyllic farming village.
I would want to yell at this drama for this one, but this is an overarching Kdrama issue - not one specifically tied to this one show. Therapy is for the birds in dramas. Depression, suppressed trauma, and other mental health issues are fixed by copious amounts of alcohol (I'm looking at you, Doctor Slump), comeuppance, and the amazing power of love... sigh
🍄🟫How do time and distance work in this world?
In the 1st (?) ep when she has to go to the village to meet him, it takes the better part of the morning. She also mentioned that she needed to leave the village early as she had a broadcast later that night. When they started meeting daily so he could give her the meds, they showed on the navigation that he'd have to drive about 2, maybe 2.5 hrs to get back to Seoul. This is at around 1/2 am, when one would assume there's no traffic.
Now, based on those instances, can someone tell me how this man got from the village to Seoul and managed to save her from almost getting run over that one night? Can he teleport? Could his car achieve speeds of light speeds and they never told us? I hate it when seemingly turn off your brains shows make me turn my brain back on. You need to find a balance with the absurd, unbelievable nonsense. I can only gaslight myself so much
🍄🟫The sleepwalking and the sleep phone calls - Went on for too damn long
🍄🟫 I wish we had gotten her mother's side of the story.
Something more than 'I will sabotage and be rude to my daughter for years after the tabloids said that she took a bribe to sabotage my career - and she said she did in a heated moment.' I think the story about a woman choosing a career over being a mother is such an interesting one.
We rarely see these types of stories. It sucks that they never explored it. I would've liked to see her internal battle/struggle with this vs the trauma on the child, coz both sides are valid. We only get to see how Dam Ye Jin was hurt, but never quite the mom's side. But perhaps this particular drama wasn't the best vessel for such a deep and nuanced conversation
🍄🟫The romance/chemistry - I didn't get butterflies or swoon. Were they cute? Sure. But while they told me they were in love and they acted as people in love, I didn't buy into it. Into their chemistry.
This is in comparison to dramas like 'Filling for Love' and 'My Royal Nemesis'.
As I type this, the former is 2 episodes from the finale, and so far, I have loved the chemistry between the main characters. I bought into their journey to each other and the romance. They are swoonworthy and spicy. In the latter drama, both of them are crazy. We are halfway through airing, so they have every chance to fuck it up (fingers crossed they don't), but their journey so far is more on the giggle, kick your feet side.
Now having this show air in tandem with the other two... yeah, not a fair fight. The romance and chemistry in this were certainly and glaringly lacking.
🍄🟫Final Thoughts🍄🟫
While it did start with the potential to be good in my eyes, the plot, pacing, and absurdity of some choices and sequences put me off the show. IMO, skip it. But if you wanna try it, perhaps watch it as a background noise drama. It has some good, but they are overshadowed by the bad.
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