Reviews

I have a love/hate relationship with this drama. The story is all over the place. I can't even begin to tell you how messed up it is. The GREAT scenes are with Hyun Tae and Mong Hyun's story line. I enjoyed it the most. Mong Hee's story line turns into a nightmare. ALL of the moms except Hyun Soo's mom are CRAZY and EVIL. How they ended it with them ticked me off. Hyun Joon's story line is just sad. I ended feeling like he struggled the most because some of his earlier actions were against his true character and because of his mom and wife. OOOOHHHH...Sung Eun gives me the creeps. Hyun Soo's story line is also strange. I won't go into how much I disliked how they handled some of it. I guess they thought a time jump was enough. I liked Yoona's character the most and she isn't even in it much. The grandmothers are boring as all get out and to tell the truth I ended up skipping most of their story line. I didn't miss anything by doing so. Mong Kui's story line is barely there, but it doesn't suck. I really like Yoona and Hyun Soo's mom interaction toward the end of the drama. I can't post spoilers or I could write all day about this drama. I can't say it was horrible, because there are some great and precious moments. I ended up with mixed emotions.

This cast is great. It is really too bad they ended up in this drama. I wasn't disappointed in the acting. Han Ji Hye is the main reason I watched this, because I loved her in May Queen. I think she did well playing two different characters as Mong Hee and Yoona. Then of course there is Yeon Jung Hoon as Hyun Soo, Lee Tae Sung (I loved him in Rooftop Prince) as Hyun Joon and Park Seo Joon and Hyun Tae. All very good looking men and excellent actors. Very yummy!!! Baek Jin Hee as Mong Hyun is too cute. All the veteran women actress also did well playing the crazy moms. I really disliked them and I think that is a huge credit to their acting abilities.

There is some good music in this.

I don't know if you could pay me to rewatch this.

I would not recommend this. It is only my second 50 episode family drama. It isn't so bad that I wish I had my time back, because I'm glad I got to see some of the actors and some of the cute story line. If I were you, I would read the recaps that people have written to find where the cute parts are and just watch those. :-)

Leia Mais

Romance, Comedy and Acting

This drama was better than I thought, I had it in my list and waited until it fully aired and subbed to watch it, I did see some comments and review and was a bit nervous, but i decided that I rather not read anything else and watch this for myself, if it was trash so be it and if it's great then I'll be happy.

Well, compared to all the nonsense drama they have, this drama was great, it was way better than i expected, that's why recently it doesn't matter the reviews, comments and ratings, i determine what I wanna watch and if it's no good then fine, if not then that's great, because not everyone gives honest reviews, or not every drama is for everyone, but this was for me.

I'm a sucker for romcom, heavy on the rom and the com, i also like romantic drama, and i love historical drama's, I'm picky but I try my best to give the benefit of the doubt, and I also go into shows with no expectations, I've learnt that the hard way, I rather have no expectation and be happy with a drama, rather than have high expectation and become very disappointed.

With that being said, This drama was very funny, very romantic, yet sweet and sour. The acting was pretty good, the villain well he stood out a lot, i hated his character lool the actor was way too good. The ML and FL tbh i loved there chemistry and i love the romance between them, they ha a very healthy relationship and i enjoyed watching them, i also loved this drama because of the comedic relieves, i get kinda down when i watch something with too much drama and angst, but i loved how this was very balanced.

The other thing i really liked with this drama, i loved the progress of the FL, the different stages of educational and career growth, I'm trying not to spoil lol, but i liked that it didn't stay in one stage the entire time, but we get to see her growth, and the ending was very nice, truly represent the message from the title. There was also a lot of character development for a lot of the characters, I loved that as well

So with that being said, i personally enjoyed this drama, everyone did great, the acting, chemistry, romance, comedy, drama i thought it was well balanced, i did not leave the drama feeling burdened or heavyhearted hahaha, i enjoyed this show and i am happy i watched it, good show to just chillout and watch. Every show has it's little flaws, but personally I was too busy enjoying rather than critiquing, I've seen more than 250 shows, trust me this compare to others is one of those simple nice ones, ratings should definitely be higher.

Ps. If you're going to watch, try not reading too much comments, reviews and so on, judge for yourself and give it a chance, not just this show but every show, go in with a neutral expectation and then let it flow naturally.

Take care and happy drama watching ❤😊

Leia Mais

Too close to RL or not close enough?

I think this drama will have a solid core of supporters but also its fair share of detractors.

I find myself in two minds about this show as well. Fundamentally, this series is uniquely Korean. Its main subject matter will be much more relatable to locals who has children who has lived through exam hell or spent half their youth in tutoring academies themselves. However, even then, there are those who would consider this not realistic enough and is nothing more than dramatisation.

I suppose from my perspective, this show is much more "real" than the usual romcom. Even those set in a tutoring ecosystem like Crash Course in Romance feels almost cartoon-y in comparison.

This is a double-edged sword. The day-to-day aspect is a bit dull. There is a lot of jockeying of positions and details about the Korean education system, especially the last years leading up to the all mighty CSAT. The fact that our leads teaches Korean literature makes it harder for non-Korean to form a connection. Any nuisance about a particular author or a piece of writing is mostly lost in translation.

This is not helped by a slow burn romance. There is a lot of push-pull in the beginning. The age difference and their original teacher/student status adds to the complication. While the ML is all in, the FL is very hesitant to accept his advances. While some scenes are touching and heart fluttering, the majority are mundane, and work related. This improves once they are a couple and there are more emphasis on them. Nevertheless, most episodes are dialogue heavy.

The acting of our leads definitely help to steady the ship and made it watchable. The ML is handsome in a manly way and the FL has good chemistry with him. Their portrayals are on point. The rest of the ensemble cast is a mixed bag. Most of the senior cast members did well. The grey witch’s role is a challenging one and SJY is a class act. However, some of the lesser support roles are one dimensional.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed this show. This is not your typical idol drama full of beautiful people. This one will not grab you from the opening scene and hook you till the end. You have to be patient, invest your time and walk a mile in their shoes to appreciate their struggles. These are mostly normal people doing a challenging job. BTW, I’m glad that there are no murders or psycho stalker. I’m getting tired of that trope.

OST is fine and catchy. I doubt I’ll rewatch this drama anytime soon.

Leia Mais

If you’re not watching Story of Kunning Palace you are missing out in life!!!

Whoever, is trying to find a drama that will send you in comas back and forth, turn your heart inside out and back in, give you series of asthma attacks!!! Highly highly recommend watching Story of Kunning Palace!!!

Story of Kunning Palace is literally the masterpiece of all masterpieces!!! Bai Lu and Zhang LingHe’s acting of course is spectacular!!! Their abiliy to immerse themselves into their characters as if they were actually JiangXueNing and XieWei and expresss such powerful and deep emotions is insaneeee!!! In addition, their chemistry sky rockets into the sky!!! This is what scientists should study!!! And their visuals!!! Do I need to even comment on that!!! I mean whatever scene they are in they look heavenly beautiful!!!

The storyline of this drama is also sooooo well-written and addictive!!! Just the 1st episode and I was completely immersed into this drama!!! The fact that 5 epidoes were cut due to some issues, this drama is still perfectly paced and doesn’t have any missing parts!!! Also each character has their own moments to shine and have a storyline without it being unnecessary and boring!!!! This drama is probs the 1st drama where I never played forward or 2x speeded it!!! In addition, tho this drama seems to be on the serious and dull side, I guarantee you its not!!! There are many scenes that were soooo sweet, romantic and hilarious that’s makes you blush and smile while sleeping!!!! However, there are also scenes that make you hold your breath from the tension and cry rivers and oceans from the story!!!

Ultimately, everything about this drama is perfection!!! The whole cast, storyline, cinematography, OST, costumes, etc is a chef’s kiss!!! Honestly for me this drama is an infinite out of 10 but MyDramaList only lets me rate it 10/10!!!

Leia Mais

This show is like an abusive partner - gaslighting you into thinking the trauma was not that bad.

What an emotional journey it was. This is how you write a complex female lead and realistic portrayal of how hard it is to deal with your past traumas and fears. Sometimes after moving forward one step, you go back two.

This is a one woman story. Kang Hui is the main character and everyone around her is just an accompaniment to her solo performance, and it’s great. She was a deeply hurt, scared, insecure, but also strong-willed and brave person. Yes, you can present the opposite characteristics depending on the circumstances you are currently in. That duality was what made her unique compared to many other kdrama characters.

She was so beautifully flawed and frustrating to watch. Constantly making mistakes, not knowing how to stand up for herself, lying, running away, pushing forward. I wanted to slap her back to reality, and hug her to console her. But when you frame her behavior in the context of her life, it all makes sense.

She faced abuse and neglect since childhood. She had the whole town against her. Adults telling her she is the reason her mother died. She felt unwelcomed whenever she went. She was blamed for her mother's actions. She was blamed for others’ mistakes. The town treated her as a plague that brought misfortune, even when she was just a small child.

The way they presented her get back on her feet and then crumble over and over again was painful to watch, but also so refreshing. She felt like a real person.

However, as good as the journey was, the conclusion could not have been more trash. Since when do we show victims of years of abuse apologize to their abusers on their knees? The whole last two episodes were kind of insulting. The way one beautifully shot scene of Kang Hui apologizing to her younger self was a conclusion to years of abuse, bullying and built up trauma she faced in that town just made me angry.

Why try resolving and fixing the extremely unhealthy relationship between father and daughter and make the father take accountability of the neglect, when you can just give him cancer and make the daughter feel guilty about it?

I honestly feel gaslit. With the last two episodes and how casual everyone was about Kang Hui’s past and how everyone treated her, I started questioning if I imagined parts of the plot. The same people who screamed at her and told her she is the reason her mother died are now saying her father raised her well? Am I losing my mind, or is the drama truly showing this? WHY WERE THE BULLIES INVITED FOR THE DINNER AT THE END?

Every time they showed one of the town people acting nice I kept asking - Why? What happened? What changed? Did you all have group therapy behind the scenes and reflected on your actions? Why now? Ladies and gentleman, the credits are about to roll - smile and act nice, we need a happy ending. It does not matter if it makes sense or not.

You CANNOT make a whole drama focused on how hard it is to heal from your traumas, with the female lead who keeps going back to her bad habits, running away, pushing people away. Showing how poorly she was treated not only as a child, but also as an adult. How none of the people in her life truly understood how abusive they were. To then magically heal everyone and make it the peaceful happy town where everyone is friendly and they all support each other.

The whole show was filled with hypocrisy that was never addressed. Love cures it all was the ridiculous approach to this story. Probably one of the worst conclusions I have seen in the past few years.

Back to the good - the performances. To be honest, I picked this drama to get over my unreasonable dislike towards Lee Se Young, and the magic happened. Her portrayal of Kang Hui was truly stunning. Perfect in every area. There was nothing I would change nor improve. On the other hand, Na In Woo was kind of there, filling the space. Maybe because they never truly developed his character to the same extent they did with Kang Hui, his take on Yeon Su felt a bit flat. While I disliked Chun Pil as a person, I adored Choi Min Soo’s portrayal of him. What a vibrant performance it was. The role was painfully hard to present. He had to show both the nonchalance, but also the seriousness of his personality.

For the visuals - it is a show that you will want to take screenshots of every few seconds. Beautiful.

Overall, I might have been traumatized by the laughable Disney ending. Magically everyone was cured, everyone was nice, pretending like the past never existed. I loved Kang Hui, I loved her journey, but the express trip to Happy Ever After by the end, kind of made me angry.

Leia Mais

Great, underrated drama

This was such a great drama with quality writing, story, and acting. You just love and hate characters, you think about it, you enjoy every thrill and everytime you think you cannot be surprised, you just are. This is definitely one of the best dramas of 2023 and its a shame, that such drama has such low rating and not many watchers, just because it's not promoted as some other overrated dramas are... This is an absolute gem and if you love a good thriller with interesting characters, an original storyline and storytelling, and natural emotions, as the drama goes on.... please watch it and forget about ratings, that doesn't decide if the drama is good, or not.

Leia Mais

Oh boy, strap yourselves in for this review.

It seems I’m starting to have a type for Cdramas: Modern Woman gets Chucked Into Chinese Ancient Times - A World Full of Hot Men.

Kinda crazy when you think about, imagine diving into your own fanfic (every girl’s dream)

However, this drama was the definition of a mess. On paper, the premise and plot sound interesting (it's what drew me to the show after all) but watching it was a whole other story. There are so many flaws I don't even know where to begin.

The biggest problem in this show is the female lead. Chen Qian Qian is so ditsy, I found myself cringing at her actions 90% of the time. She spends so much time trying to make the story go exactly the way she wrote it in the script. Always trying to play wingman for the male lead and her sister and referencing the original storyline she wrote. All I wanted was for her to finally have an epiphany like ‘Omg, things can go different from the original story!’ What a concept! She wasn't dealing with a Back to the Future situation where she had to fix the past - this is a FANFIC. A story can go in ANY DIRECTION and I wished that she would just go with the flow rather than constantly trying to make things go her way.

I was also surprised how quickly she adapted to feudal life, she literally went from 21st century norms to historical China (or a made up version of it at least) and she was like “oh this is what’s happening, okay”. The only thing that separated her from everybody else in this world was how she kept trying to keep the plot on track. Speaking of, I don't understand her reasoning behind this. She has this idea that by making the story come to its written end, it will just magically plop her right back where she left off in the real world like some bad dream. Where is her logic behind this???

But what I missed from her character is she never has any 'modern' moments. For example, her saying something contemporary only we would understand (but would sound like gibberish to everyone else). I guess what I’m trying to say is: apart from her awareness that she is in a fake world (that she wrote), you wouldn’t even know she was a modern woman. She never has any times where her modern (future) knowledge comes in handy. For e.g. in ‘Moon Lovers’, Hae Soo helped the crown prince who had eczema because she recognised the symptoms and knew what would help his condition. Or Xiao Tan from ‘The Eternal Love’. She made endless modern references, forged a scooter, had a Victoria’s Secret fashion show, did a fun public dance in the street - she was iconic. I guess I just consider it wasted potential for Qian Qian's character.

Speaking of wasted potential, I need to talk about the second female lead: Chu Chu. I was so upset that her character regressed into the typical bitchy second lead (to the extreme I might add). At the beginning of the drama I found it so refreshing for the 2nd FL to be nice! After such a kind sisterly relationship in the beginning, it was such a let down to see it turn sour (especially when a lot of it was related to stealing a man). It hurt to see Chu Chu totally embrace the dark side, she has some major insecurity issues when it comes to Qian Qian.

I should also add, can the writers stay true to what they've written please? This whole time the plot has been centred around which princess will become the Young City Master, the heir to the City Master position. We are led to believe the City Master is the one in control of Huanyuan. But after some major political changes as everything is falling apart, the audience's concept on who controls the city does a full 180. Wasn't the City Master the one who had all the power and made the rules? But apparently the Minister of Defence has the power to instil laws and make political moves as well?? Like, how does a Minister of Defence get to decide on the city’s dress code??

And can we take a look at the logistics of this whole world please. Is EVERYTHING in this world written by Chen Xian Qian? Every character? All the backstory and history? She’s only a scriptwriter, I swear the drama script she wrote wasn’t that detailed. So…does the world just fill in the blanks? Because I don’t understand how this entire world was written by her, yet she knows nothing. For e.g. she wrote traitor Su Zi Ying’s character right? Yet she had no clue how Qian Qian’s character treated him badly when they were kids. How can that be? Did she write that in the script or not? Or what about the gasoline that was discovered under the mines? Total shock to her. How much of this world DID she write? Or is this universe just making its own rules and history? So many questions

Now, onto the couple. We all know that it's practically inevitable for a couple to have one of those forced breakups. Especially the ones that involve telling hurtful lies, secretly for their partner's ‘own good’. What I've always hated about this trope (apart from the obvious) is they can achieve the SAME RESULT by communicating with their partner and saying what needs to happen. Qian Qian could have literally told Han Shuo: "hey can you go to a secret location for the time being? I have a feeling a storm is coming and I want you out of harm’s way." it's THAT simple.

Another thing in regards Han Shuo: his heart condition. I feel like I need to voice the words of Dan Oh: “I have heart disease, why am I coughing?”

Where do I even begin with Han Shuo. Look, I love him a lot and he has many great moments. He is a loyal partner and supports Qian Qian wholeheartedly. His devotion to her is true, I completely acknowledge that. BUT there is something that happened that I feel like everyone forgot about. BIG red flag here.

There is a scene where Qian Qian is under house arrest (under Han Shuo's order) and he tries to sexually assault her. He keeps going until she just bursts into tears, it’s so hard to watch. He stops and you know what he SAYS? “You ruined my mood” yikes, yikes, yikes

And then he comes out of the house to see Mr 2nd lead out who's out in the rain and says “Do Chen Qian Qian’s screams sound nice?” Is it possible for my skin to crawl even further?

(I do know he had his reasons behind it - but even if he wasn't planning on going through with it, does that make it okay??)

I also understand that they eventually heal their broken relationship afterwards, but it was such an impactful scene (in all the wrong ways) that I couldn't forget it.

Another thing about their relationship is how Han Shuo calls himself her husband, but it feels so weird because did they REALLY get married?? They skipped literally every tradition and ceremony and didn’t consummate, so what DID they do to earn their marital status exactly?? And especially considering it was a marriage of kidnapping, does it really count?

(( And did they have their first time in a jail cell of all places? Ouch ))

Okay I should talk about what I did like about the story though so it's not just a review of negativity lol

I loved the idea of these 2 cities which the story is focused around. Xuanhu: where men is the superior sex. And Huanyuan: the other where woman are superior. It’s interesting to see a world where the roles are reversed and the women are in control. I was entranced by the beginning where they showed Huanyuan's social norms and history (where it's a blessing if the baby is a girl and a disappointment if it is a boy. A city where only women could study, have important positions, be soldiers, be the head of the household, etc). There is SO much to unpack with this concept. Unfortunately we only scrape the surface for the majority of the drama and only in the final 3 episodes do we finally get to see Xuanhu city. It's only then when we start to get into some good stuff like gender equality and comparing the two cities. I wish there was more focus on this!!

(And along the way there's a reveal that Han Shuo is Mulan’s son??? Say what? What IS this universe lmao)

Honestly... why do I feel like my favourite thing in Tiger and Rose is the costume department? XD
Chen Qian Qian had the most gorgeous clothes!!! Everybody has exceptional clothing, did all the budget go towards this hahaha

On the whole: the premise for Tiger and Rose was intriguing. However, it needed to be properly executed for it to be a drama worth giving credit to

Leia Mais

Dear lord…

I started watching this show because I liked the casting and everything else, but this is it. I watched the first two episodes and decided that I wouldn’t watch anymore, but my mom started watching, so I just went with it.

Why in the great heavens a couple that has been married for 3 years and almost had a child together so against skinship? Don’t get me wrong, I know they aren’t close anymore because of their fights and lack of communication, but this is beyond that.

Hae In got pregnant with Baek Hyun Woo’s baby but was surprised just by seeing him shirtless, like, let’s be real, PLEASE. I’m saying this because they didn’t seem like a real couple that married each other because they were in love and attracted to each other. It was so robotic and weird. And the damn plot of Hae In being sick was so dragged through the episodes and solved in like ONE episode.

The only thing that I really liked about this drama was Kim Ji Won’s acting and her character clothes.

Leia Mais

Not sure...

Immortal Samsara is the first Xianxia that I'm rating so low. I mean, I usually rate them a 9 or above because they are worth it. To be honest, Immortal Samsara was even one of my most anticipated dramas of 2022, mainly because of the cast. But, in this case, I'm not able to do so. There are many reasons for this, which I'll be explaining in the review.


THE STORY

This drama is adapted from a novel Chen Xiang Ru Xie (沉香如屑), which literally translates as Agarwood Like Crumbs, by Su Mo. The drama is a typical eternal love story portrayed in Xianxias. There is not much difference and it has great similarity to Ashes of Love (even the kisses are similar!). FL and ML are dieties in the heavenly realm who fall in love, where their love is forbidden and opposed. They'll be hurting as well as sacrificing for each other because of their love. They'll also have love rivals on both sides who constantly stir up trouble and try to make them fall apart. Then, for some reason (mostly because of those love rivals), they will go to the mortal realm, fall in love again, and one of them will realize that they fell in love for the second time with the same person who hurt them before. But, they can't hold off their love and realize how deeply the love has been rooted in their hearts, etc. etc.. This is the common story arc of Xianxias, which is again repeated here. The only difference is that they fall in love a little too early, i.e., the drama is fast paced. I'm honestly bored out of my skull by these kinds of stories! True, there were many new elements in the story which should have made the story much more interesting, but the love story of the main lead is a total let down. But, towards the end, it seems that their story is taking an interesting turn. Fingers crossed for an interesting part 2!

A good thing about the story is the side couples. Many may not give much attention to side couples but, here, they are very hard to ignore because, somehow, I've got a feeling that they have a better love story than that of the main couple!

Note: The story has a lot of time jumps and flashbacks, and therefore, it may seem a bit confusing.


THE CHARACTERS

The male lead, Lord Ying Yuan/Tang Zhou, is not so different either. The typical handsome and cold-and-aloof-on-the-outside-but-warm-inside type of high diety/cultivator whom everyone looks up to and fairies are head over heels for. The FL has the slightest difference: she is not the usual dump girl who doesn't know what love is or the clumsy, not-so-intelligent pretty face. Yan Dan here is much more mature, witty, and strong. She has great willpower and knows how to love. That was refreshing to watch.

All Xianxias come with at least a love triangle, or should I say, an obsession triangle lol. Anyway, it's a square in this case. But, the SML, Yu Mo, is not so obsessed with Yan Dan here (he truly loves her!). In turn, it was Fairy Ying Deng who was obsessed with Ying Yuan.

Another thing is that it is the ML who usually suffers the most in these kinds of dramas. But, it's not the case here. Both Ying Yuan/Tang Zhou and Yan Dan suffer endlessly. Sometimes, it's a bit hysterical to watch, but it's immensely satisfying to see that pain and misery are not biased towards one lead XD


ACTING AND CAST

I don't think I'll have to talk about the cast. This drama sure has a star-studded cast, which will compel you to watch the drama no matter what. They were the main reasons why I held on to this drama till the end. If you are a usual watcher of Xianxia/Wuxia dramas, you'd probably notice many familiar faces throughout the cast.

Cheng Yi, the God of Blood-spitting, finally has a lot less blood-spitting scenes in a drama. I'm happy but somehow sad too. He was so hot during those scenes with some red lipstick! Taking about his acting, I have nothing much to say. He is as awesome as ever! And so is Yang Zi. If you have watched at least one of their historical dramas, you'll understand their excellence and the quality of their acting.

Yang Zi and Cheng Yi can make chemistry with whomever they are paired with, but, in this case, it's even more so! They can't be more compatible as a bickering couple!


MUSIC

The music in Xianxia dramas is always so pleasing! They always give the right feeling in the right situation!

Some of the notable OSTs in this drama are:
Agarwood (沉香) by Jane Zhang and Jackson Zhang
World Records (红尘录) by Jackson Zhang
Watch the Day (望辰) by Yang Zi
Forget the River (忘川) by Cheng Yi
Partial Star (偏星) by Jane Zhang
Never Forget (无忘) by Zhang Lei


OVERALL

If you ask me if this drama is worth watching, I'd probably reply no, because it's not. You'll know this is definitely not the best Xianxia, nor is it any different from other Xianxias. Actually, it's even worse. But, it's definitely worth a try at least for the cast. Anyhow, I doubt if this would be a good watch if you really did try.

Leia Mais

The juice wasn't worth the squeeze

This show infuriated me by the end. Snowdrop came in with a bunch of promise halted by waves of controversy — if you avoided this show because of that, congrats, nothing about it should tempt you to watch it after all.

To be honest, this show started with a bunch of potential. I loved the nostalgic vibes and shiny wide-eyed jaunt towards first love. Snowdrop started to lose momentum once they got into the hostage situation. It dragged on way too long. I understood the point it was trying to make about politics and corruption, but we got the point after just a couple episodes. Someone joked that they blew their whole production budget on the dorm, and honestly, that sounds like the most plausible answer (considering they had to pay an all-star cast too... but we'll get to that in a second). Moreover, the last couple episodes were tropey and infuriating beyond belief. I didn't care enough about the romance to feel anything for Youngro or Sooho; the show didn't do enough early on to make us cheer for them. And then before we knew it, we were being bombarded by noble idiocy and regular idiocy galore. So many situations toward the end could've EASILY been preventable. Trust these competent agents; don't insert yourself into situations unnecessarily (this is directed at BOTH of our leads).

Jisoo especially frustrated me. All of the actors were incredible EXCEPT for her. And I swear, I enjoy Blackpink music! But she was so clearly out-acted throughout the whole show. She was tolerable for a couple of episodes, but once the hostage situation kicked in, she was clearly out of her depth. She gasped so much throughout the rest of the drama that I'm surprised she didn't pass out from the hyperventilation. She was the most useless person in the whole drama — you could arguably consider her a "candy" (not in the classic kdrama definition of the trope, but by effectively serving as bait for the ANSP and Sooho). Worse than a candy girl though, I'd argue that she was a straight-up liability. She was unwilling to compromise or sacrifice anything for the greater good of others. This was exemplified in a situation at the end that involved saving a random side character and harming four other main characters in the process (even leading to the demise of the one she cared about the most!). She blindly ran into situations without a plan and without being equipped to do anything, thus putting other people at even greater risk as they sought to protect her and achieve whatever random agenda she cooked up. I hate that she faced no consequences for this behaviour either; it wasn't even acknowledged as problematic. Jisoo's acting was awful too — I always knew I was watching JISOO, not some character named Youngro. This character could've had so much nuance and depth: idealistic, innocent, and in love, sure, but she could've also been defiant, emboldened, and thoughtful. If her actions were clearly borne of some strategic thought, I would've sympathized with Youngro. Instead, she was stubborn without seemingly any rationale, which made all her actions seem rash and ultimately stupid.

Then let's talk about the romance: it was cute at first, but based on where the story went, it really should've been relegated to a side-plot that took up less air time. Leave it as "Not meant to be" and move on. We lost so much closure and momentum towards the end of the drama by unnecessarily focusing on the romance. Think of all the moments Sooho and Youngro spend gripping each other, asking the other to go, and staring into each others' eyes without any interruption. You know what they could've done in that time? THEY COULD'VE ESCAPED INTO SAFETY TOGETHER. Of course, the more realistic situation would've been if there were constant pressure and action instead, with no time to shoehorn their longing for one another. Because of those moments, especially towards the end, it made their entire tragic situation seem completely avoidable. I found myself shouting at the TV during each of these moments, yelling at them to just GO already instead of standing there (in the basement).

Aside from Jisoo and the romance, the other actors did a wonderful job. I never cared for the moms' machinations (although I suppose they added some levity) or the political squabbles (how silly they turned out to be, although perhaps that was the point?), and I felt too many people were overly motivated by love (Jang Hanna, Kang Cheong Ya, and Lim Sooho especially), but some of the acting was truly superb. To me, there were four standouts: Jung Hae-In excellently blew past his archetype as only playing the boy-next-door in noona dramas. Kim Hye Yoon (Bun Ok), you somehow make me sympathetic towards you while truly giving us the least to cheer for. My only qualm was your choice to help Youngro save Ms. Oh towards the end — how was that choice in any way aligned with Bun Ok's motivations to SAVE HER OWN HIDE above all else? Yoon Se Ah (Ms Pi), I CANNOT believe you are the same person that portrayed Noh Seung Hye in SKY Castle — un-freaking-BELIEVABLE how incredibly she embodied that role as the headmistress. I would seriously watch a movie based on Ms. Pi's life alone. Yoo In Na (Kang Cheong Ya), who knew you had this role in you? I honestly wished Sooho spared her a single glance (or even wound up escaping with her as a way to avoid putting Youngro in harm's way). The rest of the cast did their job too; shout-out to students like Jung Shin Hye (who I liked to think of as "Madonna" for her stylish 80s fashion) and Kim Mi Soo, may she rest in peace.

This drama got my blood pressure up from the suspense; very much shades of SKY Castle. Unfortunately, it didn't critique current issues or hit the zeitgeist the way SKY Castle did, and it also didn't have the cathartic payoff due to its lacklustre, romance-oriented finale. Save yourself the pain of finishing this one!

Leia Mais

I'm curious,

Why waste PMY in such a way? Why 'romance' is listed as the main genre? Who the heck wants to watch that cheating couple overcoming their problems given a heck of screen time? (sometimes I even felt they got more scenes together than the main cp did) and the most important: Why does this drama even exist?

When the whole romance, getting into relationship part was in bullet speed, I tried to understand. Fine they going differently, elsewhere first there's good development then leads get together but it's okay if here it's vice versa, but no lol, that development never existed so the chemistry.. first their relationship was bombarded then they 'love' each other onto us, why they do? I think the writer left that question to viewers... other than the addition of boredom there's no purpose so we have some questions to solve, right?

When I was bored more than enough from their bland and tasteless love story, it wasn't enough as we have a whole weather forecasting plot... that does give vibes is this a thriller drama? I never knew weather forecasting has that impact on common people's lives... okay I get it there are some fields where it's important, but I'm talking about common folks from my personal experience no one gives a damn to weather forecast here... some even say proudly that their predictions are always opposite to outcome. Or is this is thing is SK? or as usual glorifying every profession, it seems later case to me

It's a Netflix drama so, with their usual production quality and cinematography, I didn't give attention to osts, see if a dish is a disaster you don't care whether the parsley used for garnishing is of top quality or not.

What writer was trying to tell... I never got to know till the end, was it noona romance? (would be most bland ever), Thrilling experiences while forecasting, How to keep bitchy attitude even though you cheated... maybe it's another example of putting all random stories, most uninteresting characters (including leads), with most boring scenario.. together to form a thing called drama.. and yeah garnished with annoying... unbearable characters. Voila!

I actually have a lot to rant about but I really don't want to waste more words for ranting.. so I'll stop here, definitely not recommended. Maybe if you need to watch something that'll bore you to death then you should.

Leia Mais

Lacks depth and substance

This drama takes on a very serious and nuanced topic -- marriage and divorce. Unfortunately, instead of leaning into all the difficult issues surrounding a failing marriage and dealing with them head-on, it skirts around all the important parts and instead delivers nothing more than Hallmark-type cheesiness without any real substance. A lot of people are saying it was good up to Episode 10 or so and then went downhill. But for me it was downhill, or flat, from the get-go. I don't really get what all the hype is about. Frankly, despite the fact that I love Kim Soo-hyun, I did not enjoy this drama, for several reasons.

1. Supposed to deal with marriage and divorce but fails to get into the real issues. This multilayered topic needs to be handled with maturity, depth, and honesty, and this drama just fails in that regard. While we are led to understand it was just a simple case of miscommunication (or lack of communication) between the leads that led them down the dark road to divorce, this matter is never really fleshed out or given any further treatment. We are not really made privy to what really happens between them. There is one scene that deals with a miscarriage, but that's it. No context or follow-up is given and it is hardly ever mentioned again. In other words, there is a lack of context and story development to enable the viewer to participate and empathize. The drama instead chooses to focus on external conflicts with one-dimensional, cartoonish villains. The failing marriage is dealt with shallowly and romanticized, and the real issues are swept under the rug. Suddenly, this couple has the perfect relationship and their only problems are actually how to recovery the company and vanquish the baddies.

2. Unlikable characters, especially in the first half. In the beginning, the ML seems to have been made deliberately weak. I felt like the drama was pushing some sort of feminist rhetoric -- subversion of the patriarchy and all that. But there is no need to emasculate the male in order to emphasize the strength of the female. Likewise, the female need not be an uber rich girl boss with a bad attitude in order to come off as a "strong independent woman." Anyway, Baek Hyun-woo is introduced as a seemingly shallow, silly, ill-intentioned weakling who could not even stand up for himself or make up his mind about what to do with his own marriage. He relies on a friend to tell him what to do. To make things worse, he actually seems relieved and even slightly elated to learn his estranged wife is terminally ill. Now, I like falling in love with my kdrama/jdorama men for the space of a few hours, and I definitely was not going to fall in love with someone like this. Neither could I relate with the wealthy CEO girl boss who was cold and arrogant and disrespectful and had no qualms about berating her husband in front of their colleagues. It just wasn't working for me. Even later when her arrogance is toned down, Hae-in just comes off to me as abrasive and unrelatable. Many people are saying the leads had great chemistry, but I never saw it. They're both great actors for sure, but there was something off for me about their pairing. Strangely, I felt like the FL was patterned after the typical Asian mom or aunt -- brash, brisque, pragmatic and unromantic, and the ML has the typical henpecked husband vibe. And their romance felt to me like I was watching one of my stoic aunts suddenly becoming lovey-dovey with someone. Goosebumps. But because the actors are both attractive, it probably seemed that the characters were attractive too. The writers seem to realize this and tones down everything in the second half, which leads to my third point:

3. Inconsistent characterization. I guess the writer wanted to show that the characters have a deeper dimension than what was shown in the first episodes, but somehow the sudden shift in the overall tone of the characters didn't work for me. Suddenly, the FL is vulnerable and in love (but still, just for me personally, unlikable and unrelatable). Suddenly, she is a silly lovelorn stalker. I mean, sure. One can argue that her coldness and arrogance were merely a facade or a coping mechanism and that she actually really is a softie, but somehow, that doesn't feel believable. And the ML suddenly becomes strong, capable, fiercely loyal, very loving, and knows exactly what he wants and what to do. Yes, writer-nim. This could have worked if you had written him that way from the beginning. Making a character's real personality a plot twist just does not work for me. I need to connect with the characters immediately or as soon as possible for the story to work. That is the most important factor for me in any story. The plot could go to hell but as long as the characters are well-written and feels real, I am in. I think it just is bad writing overall, the way the characters were set up. Again, the actors' face cards and sex appeal covered this up for most viewers.

4. The drama can't seem to decide what it is, and the main relationship lacks substance. In the beginning, it seemed like it was going to be a romcom. But wait, Is it a thriller? Is it a makjang? Is it a "beautiful love story?" It tries to be all of these but fails. The thriller part wasn't thrilling enough. The romance part was, to me at least, somewhat cringey (probably because of the Asian mom/ahjumma peronality of the FL). And the romcom just failed to show up. Instead, the drama seems to take itself very seriously and seems to think of itself as a "beautiful love story. " In order to show this, it resorts to cheesy lines and overly sentimental scenes that don't really show any real connection between the husband and wife, at least none that you could really feel or that is properly developed. Instead, their strongest and most powerful connection seems to be the dreaded "childhood connection thingie" that Koreans seem to adore -- unmyeong. In other words, their love is one for the books because they were fated for each other, as evidenced, apparently, by the fact that they had a chance encounter when they were children. This is a pet peeve of mine in kdramas. This is a very shallow type of sentimentality, IMO. Instead of trying to establish this childhood connection, why not focus on their current mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul connection instead?

5. The loopholes. In a romcom, I usually could look past the glaring leaps of logic because most romcoms are meant to be a little silly, and so the logical inconsistencies just seem campy, not a writing failure. But you can't really call campy on this drama because it takes itself way too seriously. One major example of a glaring lapse in logic is the fact that the villain manages to step in and claim to be the guardian and fiance of a patient who has lost her memory. What an insult to European hospitals! You're telling me, writer-nim, that the hospital does not have any protocols at all regarding patient security? Furthermore, Baek Hyun-woo actually sees the villain walk in as he was being scandalously arrested (another huh moment). And he doesn't do anything about it, apparently. Yes, he got arrested and dragged away to prison on false charges, but that should not have prevented him from instructing one of his lawyer friends (or hello, Hae-in's family) to immediately contact the hospital and inform them that that man should not be allowed anywhere near the patient as he is not family and not her authorized guardian. And why didn't Hae-in's parents, on their own initiative, do anything? A phone call would have done it if they didn't want to fly out to Germany to look after their daughter. They knew than man is dangerous and Hae-in is in an especially vulnerable position after having lost her memories, and not a single one of them tried to contact the hospital? LOL. There are many, many others. This is just one example. Very shoddy writing.

To sum up, again, this drama tries to be something -- an epic, sweeping, memorable, beautiful love story, or a deep dive into marriage and divorce -- but does not really have enough meat and bones/substance to actually succeed. Instead, we get a lot of cloyingly sentimental scenes, cheesy dialogue, a half-baked thriller element, and a kind of surface treatment of a serious topic that is more suited to a romcom or light drama, and a dancing or skirting around the important issues about love and hate in a relationship and all the nuances and layers of emotion that are involved in a marriage, and all the heartbreak of divorce. This weird, half-baked stew just didn't work for me at all. The actors did their best to hold it up, but it is not worth all the hype and is way too overrated, in my honest opinion.

Leia Mais

IT'S A CANNONBALL

Firstly, there are tropes you'll agree with me are made for some countries and just incase another country adopts it even if by chance and executes it well enough, that's going a bit higher and matching up to a standard. Originally Thai BL'S from being as scanty as 15 shows annually between 2018-2021, every trope was good enough because for the first time it felt new since we were having BL couples instead of heterosexual ones but after that 2022-2023 was a massive wave of close to 80+ BLS in each. The exposure was good but it seemed that some plots either felt too bland, some actors aren't the right choices for the shows or simply, BL fans are getting bored and we are looking for something unique.

Here is THE SIGN. First and foremost, the fact that this is the first Thai BL original that deals with Special forces was enough to intrigue me and just as I had mentioned that I felt this kind of plot had become more of a western monopoly a part of me was rather eager. The trailer delivered it well to have me quite expectant but after watching the first episodes I say the long uneasy wait was worth it. Of course the Special Investigation Forces part of it might feel unreal and rather having it too easy if you're to compare with Western Series like FBI and GANG RELATED. No offense, for Thailand I do respect that they could take this gr8 shot and it doesn't bother me that much since it was never the gist of the story so it didn't occupy space unnecessarily.

Also considering the fact that we are moving out of the bedrooms and condos and getting more into the real adult world. I felt that highschoolers and campusers had overdone it and for some reason high school and university settings were making the BL STORYLINES lose an aroma. We have seen from Until We Meet Again back in 2019 the notion of lost lovers but never a profound and rather intensely chaotic couple like Celestial lovers who were never meant to be which makes the sign yet another one of those BL series that is exceptional.

I equally came to admire the fact that the character design here is quite mature and we are moving away from some stupid couple fights which were starting to get annoying to some point. We have seen love that challenges gender and social norms in my perspective but never one which challenges religious ones like the Sign which I had always anticipated at some point. The Lovestory of Billy and Babe unlike many challenges what you would considered some of the most powerful cosmic forces in existence.

Thirdly, finally beating an office romance, you’ll find out from this show how it is very cute when a special agent is playing hard to get and another is practically a naive big baby that's struggling at expressing themselves. Of course even if there is a progression of feelings, the top knotch of this chemistry is that two people with different personalities start to create a common ground for intimacy

New faces and ships to the genre who have gotten their jobs right is also the real deal, I don't believe that being a rookie actor justifies one to be a bad actor and in any case The Sign proves it right. Everyone seems to comprehend, fit in their role and even grow in it with literally every scene that it starts to feel more like a sincere portrayal than a very flat pretense. I have seen series that have gone South when they could have been better because of this annoying excuse.

Besides, the Supernatural fantasy in a cop drama hits different and right, Billy literally flirts the scene well and quite unobviously which keeps the show interesting, these guys are so past the point of stereotyping gay couples as sweet people with nothing to do, for once I feel a gay couple has real work to do in line with promoting law and order now you get to see them in action and in a way even offering a civil service apart from struggling with anger issues, overkissing and I think I literally LMAO at the fact that these guys each had way many sex dreams or thoughts.

All in all the pacing of the series seems quite right and after all this I can certainly say, coming from Thailand, they have found a way to end the year and begin a new one in style by giving us a show that is quite unique and hints on personal and spiritual diversities which have been confined to perfection and give us an unspoken warmth, sweetness despite the cruel designs of the world, fate and karma which make you see how every character lives every day as if it were their last.

Leia Mais

shut up, dont think about it and GO WATCH

it has been a hot minute since im done with the drama
THIS. THIS IS BETTER THAN AT LEAST 40% OF K DRAMAS AND THE BEST C DRAMA IVE EVER WATCHED
1. GET YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT
2. THERES ROMANCE
3. ITS JUST SO GOOD

the synopsis helps explain everything without much spoilers and i tell you, no synopsis will do true justice to the drama. its just 15 episodes, 45 minutes each, even if you dont think its good at the end which i dont know why you would think that way, at least not much of your time is 'wasted'

OST not my type
chemistry is RIGHT THERE
super heartwarming. every character in the bus has a story behind, except for the internet celeb and the macho guy who was honestly useless :/

i just wish wang meng meng was able to tell her parents a thing or two in a way or another. i wished that her truth would have come out earlier so all these ordeal wouldnt happen. but legit a 100/10 drama, i will surely rewatch it. this drama is the first drama to make me scream and shout out of thrill and suspense. real good. im buying the novel like RIGHT NOW

fyi i watched without eng subs because chinese is my mother tongue, i dont think english subs would do that much of justice to the show as well. BTW there are like SHIT SHIT ton of easter eggs in the show! leave a comment on this review and i will perhaps share more that i know.

one that everyone should know is that wang meng meng and the FL are almost identical
1. they are wearing blue tops/outfits
2. have almost identical if not the same bag with the same keychains and pins
3. they both go to the same school
4. wang meng meng's mother taught at FL's high school
there are more similarities i just cant remember!

please go watch the show, it made me cried out of suspense and relief, no show has ever done that!
<3

Leia Mais

Mixed feelings....

NOTE: This is my opinion. If you agree or disagree, it is ok. Just respect my take on this thank you

This drama started off strong and got me hooked with the first 2-3 episodes. However, as it progressed, I felt that it deviated from the initial question of Who killed him???

While this is fictitious, I felt that the overall story was really a stretch. I wanted to see Park Solomon in a new drama after seeing him in All of us are dead. But sadly, I didn't feel that this really showed his potential. It was my first time to see the FL though I felt that she looked a bit old to be considered a high schooler. The blondie was also a thumbs down for me. She comes off as a child wanting to play the role of an adult....

Anyway, there were several things in the story which eventually didn't have much to do with the whole plot. Like the brain tumor angle plus the fake GF of the deceased..... You would think it's tied up to the story but in the end, you'll even wonder if the story needed them in the first place. The reasons each "villain" did what they did was also a big HUH???? I guess what I really wanted to say is..... I would probably veer away from these type of dramas where everything revolves around high schoolers.

By the last 2 episodes, I was already in fast forwarding mode just to be done with it.

Leia Mais