Reviews

LMAO They Left Atom’s Arse In Phuket

The side characters in this drama were as interesting as chalk. Also, Atom. Child. You touch people with that hand!!

That being said. HAHAHAKKJSHFN That ending bedroom scene was just foul!! How you gon’ do that in broad-daylight with your grandmother sitting right there?? The poor woman had to listen to her grandchild getting eaten for two days while making dessert. Yikes.

Also, for a show trying to be ‘gangster’ they sure forgot that random bathtub gangster real quick. Mfer got killed and I was like ‘Oh, so what happened with that gangster group?’ and the writers were like ‘Whomst? We don’t know them. They don’t go here. '

ACTING:
Listen, I sometimes think most bl actors take their acting lessons from a block of cheese, or from like one of those red bricks, but I'd be the first to admit that MeenPing has improved. Sure, I still went ‘Child, what are you doing with your eyebrows? And it's your arms supposed to be doing that?’ more times than I can count, but their acting did not distract me as much as it did in their first two dramas. So yaaay for improvement. Love that for them.

What distracted me though was Ryu’s parent situation. Like, it’s Meen ever going to play a role where he has loving parents? In their first drama, his mother took half his kidney and ditch him at the corner of like a soup shop, he ended up a lonely gangster in the second one, and his mother here made him sleep in the dumpster because he liked to play basketball. I’m curious what his next parents are gonna bring to the table.

CHARACTERS

Like I said, the characters in this show were as interesting as a pineapple. Literally, except for Chogun, I have no idea what anyone’s name on the team was. I think two of them became a couple because the other one collected parking lot tickets or something? Whatever, I guess every show needs background noise.

I liked Ryu and Zen, sure Ryu came with a lot of baggages, that one gangster friend? and his mother, and Zen had his sick granny, but I like how supportive they were of each other. I enjoyed watching them together, they didn’t annoyed me so much and MeenPing had great chemistry. My fav part was when they were mature enough to let the other follow their own dream. Finally, there was no unrealistic love gestures like 'I'll move to Phuket with you' and I cheered.

That being said, did Ryu leave his fancy mansion to become a hobo, where he gets beaten every 2-to-3-business-days because his mama won't let him play basketball??

Zen came off as a pushover and at times I wanted to throw sticks into his hair for being a dumbass. Literally, he had so many chances to push Atom into that damn pool but instead he ended up in his bed. It seemed like he was afraid of setting boundaries. Be firm boy, no you don't want to go watch no darn movie!

And Atom. Oh ATOM. Antony my boy. Why? Homeboy just won’t give up and leave. Am I the only one who was like ‘aww poor Atom, such a nice guy, he deserves better’ in the beginning but somewhere along the way every time he showed up went, ‘My friend go sit somewhere, that’s enough of you.’ No really, Atom’s first coach must have told him the meaning of rebound, and homeboy decided to make it his entire personality, cuz why the eff did he keep coming back knowing full well he had negative 2.0 chance with Zen?

And what the eff was up with all the nonsense romantic gesture he made for Zen?

Listen, Romantic gestures are supposed to make you swoon and go ‘awww’ You know, like in the episode where Zen got on his tiny bike and rushed after Ryu when he was kidnap for the how-many-times-can-one-person-be-kidnap-and-beaten-until-it-gets-boring time? like:

ZEN: Ryu, wait for me, I’m coming to save you. I have no plan, no fighting skills. I in no way told anyone where I was going and of course I did not bring anything pointy or sharp. But, I love you sooo much and I am coming to rescue you. *in-love noises*

Me, slowly chewing my popcorn while Zen was being thrown around like a piñata.
ME: Dumbass nooo... they beaten your arse…yous is bleeding…but awww you came to save him. *cries in stupid love* #sosad

So yeah, stupid arse romantic gestures are supposed to make us swoon. So tell me why every time Atom made some sort of romantic gestures I wanted to snitch to his dad about it like: ‘Atom’s dad, come collect your boy, he’s out here making unnecessary romantic gestures and embarrassing his ancestors.’

Literally, nonsense stuff Atom did that no one asked him to do.
- Confronting his team alone: His arse got beaten and all he got from Zen was sympathy.
- Given up his scholarship: Sure, there’s nothing wrong with being in love with a guy you met under the public pool one time, but given up your future because the boy you have a crush on’s boyfriend got beaten is wild. Like was that supposed to make Zen fall for him?
- His arse getting left in Phuket. LMAO, what, he thought getting Zen that scholarship was going to make him love him? Boo-boo.

His character was created to be the second lead that never got the guy, so he didn't bring a whole lot to the table. Sure the writers tried to make him mysterious, and interesting with whatever the hell was up with him and his dad, and sure he quit his future for a guy he met at the bottom of the pool one time, but like he was a very nice fella in the beginning.

And, yes, he was born with a hand and knew how to use the pictures on his phone to you know—do stuff, but like, he was still such a nice fella until he got on my nerve for always inserting himself in their business, like dude, read the room, you are the elephant.

Side note: Atom sure knew how to use that photo galley on his phone huh?? ^^I don’t understand why he want a boyfriend when clearly, he and himself can have a good time all on their own. See how quickly the whole thing lasted, his hand must work wonders.

Anywho, I wanted to know what happened to him in the end, but I guess I can be satisfied with his arse getting left in Phuket.

LIN LIN LIN.
What was the reason Lin fell in love with Ryu? It felt like she woke up one random Thursday and went. ‘Let’s see, what’s on my to-do-list today?’:

1. Pretend not the see my dad’s drinking problem
2. Ruin the school’s basketball team cuz im nosy
3. Fell in love with that guy I saw through the fence one time
4. If there’s time, put my nose in Ryu’s family problems, cuz, yolo right?

No, Lin having a crush on Ryu made no sense to me? Atom’s crush I understood. He met a cute boy while sitting under the public pool that one Tuesday. So he fell for his rescuer, but what was the reason Lin had a crush on Ryu? Was it because she saw him through that fence one time on the basketball court?

Whatever, her nosy arse was so annoying, getting in everyone and their mama’s business but ignoring her own. Child your father is a drinking away your collage fund, hows about we focus on that, huh? Good luck to that one dude who confused to her, now he has to deal with her and her drunkard dad.

PLOT
i actually found myself watching most of the game, instead of fasting forward. Good camera angles and I was intrigued. That being said, there was not much of a plot going on here. The gangster plot went nowhere. That one bathtub dude died in a black scene, and these children who just witness so many deaths went home and took a nap.

Zen’s grandmother being sick got annoying, because what’s with parents figure hiding their sickness? It vexes me every time it happens. Do they think them suddenly dying and leaving their loved ones alone without any closure, and feeling guilty for not noticing their sickness will be the better option?? Arrggg.

And was Ryu’s mother allergic to basketball or something? homegirl was doing too much. Like, go take a nap.

Also, why the hell did the writers expect me to cheer for that coach? He’s an alcoholic who deserved to be fired. He caused the death of his wife, and still keeps drinking, even at school, and what does his daughter do, give him more. And even when he was in trouble for it, he was still drinking it in front of the students. The way I rolled my eyes when the board voted for him to stay. Talkng about ‘I wanna keep coaching’ how about you coach yourself some rehab first!! Nonsense. And did his hair keep getting blonder?

FINALE
The ending was rushed. We didn’t get to see why the school board change their mind, how it was in Phuket, and what became of Atom, but I guess this half baked conclusion is better than waiting for a season two, no?

I was so happy when the team lost, cuz Zen is such a dumbass. Who the hell tells his team and bf his moving to Phuket seconds before a big game? Literally, he couldn’t have waited?

And also was the other team waiting for them while they were having their moment in the middle of the game? You know, cuz now it’s the time to hug and take a breather. ‘Yes, you moving to Phuket. So what do you want, a medal?’ Thank God they lost, I’d have riot if they won.

HJAJAHAHHA LMAO. They forgot that gangster friend who found him in the dumpster, only to bring him in the finale and have him literally disappear after he said like two lines. Then they proceeded to show us he turned into some hooded stalker, with a montage of his and Ryu’s time together, and I’m just rolling my eyes going. ‘Move it along, I literally don’t care about this person.’

With all that being said, y’all lying if you say you didn’t want that throuple during that awkward bed scene. Hush your face, you know you wanted it. But like, that scene made me laugh so hard—poor Zen, if only his pushover arse knew how to say 'no'.

Oh and, that theme song was dope!!!

Anyway, if you like basketball and MeenPing give this a watch, it’s good for passing the time, and I recommend it.

Leia Mais

I rarely ever write reviews of shows but I gotta write for this one.
Why? Because I saw a lot of poor reviews and it made me postpone watching this.

Let's get down to business now shall we?
This is a show for the patient ones. Those that are not seeking steamy fast paced romance. Those that want all the healing they could get. This show is the definition of forgiveness and healing. It balances out every emotion you could think of. Anger, sadness, pain, happiness, loneliness and just gives you general warmth.

Is this Romance?: Hell Yes. There's tons of romance in this. Beware though, it is not a romantic drama. This is a slice of life.

Why should I watch this?: The scenery, the ost's, the production, the actors, the story, EVERYTHING.

To All those that said this show is slow, I won't say it's not, but what I will say is, the pacing is perfect for the gem it is.

SPOILERS:
While watching this show, when Hae Won found out about the truth behind her fathers death, I discovered a lot of people called her selfish for leaving and going back to Seoul and for disregarding her family's feelings.

I saw it as the opposite. I saw a woman who was hurt by her family. A woman who went through so much hurt that could have been avoided if only her family communicated. A woman who needed time to accept that her family was messed up. To me Hae Won's reaction was spot on. I would leave too. I would be mad at everyone including myself. I would need space to reevaluate everything just as she did. Remember she had a hard childhood because her mum was a "criminal." Something she didn't have to go through. That being said, I commend her for leaving to sort out her feelings.

As for Eun Seob....I've never been a Seo Kang Joon fan, until now. I fell in love with Eun Seob as a character and Seo Kang Joon depicted the character so beautifully. A hurt child who never expresses himself but always wants too.

As for the supporting characters, I ABSOLUTELY ADORED IM HUI AND JANG WU. They were real comic relief.

THE OSTS: Beautiful

OVERALL? Watch this and decide by yourself. Don't follow any one's review. I personally will be re-watching this sometime later.

Leia Mais

good plot, meh ending

the biggest struggle with 2020s kdramas is delivering a satisfying ending—and friendly rivalry falls into that category. it might be based on a webtoon, but that's not a good enough excuse for the writing errors, especially in the second half. the cast was hit or miss in terms of acting. some actors made the show feel like a web series, while others gave it the quality of a netflix drama. however, the acting highlight was without a doubt lee hyeri. she shined throughout the series. hopefully, she takes on more mystery dramas because this genre suits her. as for the chemistry between the leads, it was okay. I don’t really understand the complaints about the lack of kisses. they did the best they could considering their environment (korea).
overall, i would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys high school dramas with a touch of mystery.

Leia Mais

‘Tomorrow’; Death Meets Satire In Rowoon’s Latest Fantasy Series…

Mortality is never an easy subject to tackle in dramas.  Based upon the eponymous webcomic (‘ 내일’) by Llama, fantasy series ‘Tomorrow’ decided to bring forth the topic of death in a powerful smorgasbord of social issues and topics. Instead of reimbursing the old cliché of grim reapers being harbingers of doom and death, ‘Tomorrow’ rebrands its morbid psychopomps as fashionably suave members of the Crisis Management Team, attempting to save certain unfortunate souls from suicide.

The series focuses upon an alumnus from a prestigious university, Choi Jun-Woong (SF9’s Rowoon-‘Extraordinary You’, ‘She Would Never Know’ and ‘ The King’s Affection’).  Struggling to land himself on the job market, Jun-Woong’s life is changed forever when he ends up encountering angels of death Goo-Ryeon (Kim Hee-sun-‘My Fair Lady’, ‘Angry Mom’ and ‘ Alice’) and Lim Rung-Gu (Yoon Ji-on-‘Dear My Room’, ‘Be Melodramatic’ and ‘Jirisan’ ). 
 
Waking up outside of his corporal body after an accident, Jun-Woong discovers that he has been physically rendered in a comatose state. He  is given the choice by Director, Jade Hwang (Kim Hae-sook- ‘Precious Family’, ‘My Father Is Strange’ and ‘Inspector Koo’): he can choose to be trapped in his unresponsive body for three years, or he can work with them in a ‘’half- dead’’ state, reducing his comatose state to six months and then landing any job he wants after he wakes up.

Woong is assigned to the Crisis Management Team alongside Goo-Ryeon and(, by default of being her protégé,) Rung-Gu. As the unlikely trio attempt to work together as a team, Jun-woong soon discovers that his new position is far from being a walk in the park.

Adapted to the small screen by novice screenwriters Park Ran, Park Ja Kyung and Kim Yu Jin, ‘Tomorrow’ places heavy emphasis upon prominent social messages and themes.( Including sensitive issues such as suicide, the trauma of war, inequality,  bullying, the  generational trauma of South-Korean comfort women, depression, peer pressure and eating disorders.)

Without a doubt, ‘Tomorrow’ is a varied accumulation of satire, provocative angst and mirthful wit. Although the series was often tactful within its approach to various subject areas and themes (in particular helping to offer light-hearted respite in-between heavy-hearted points of the narrative), the screenplay could admittedly feel somewhat out of place at times with its attempts to balance between hard-hitting messages and comic relief.
 
Of course this is not necessarily to say that the comedy shouldn’t have existed at times. Certain issues tackled in ‘Tomorrow’ were certainly supposed to be heavy-hitting and the requirement for an interim of  slapstick  comedy or comical exchanges was certainly necessary. (In particular, this was shown at times by Park Ran, Park Ja-Kyung and Kim Yu Jin being  able to strike a surprisingly harmonious balance for most of the series through the kaleidoscopic array of themes and contrasting tones for their audience.)

However despite certain commendation certainly having to be given to the trio of screenwriters for their consistently provocative themes and tones, ‘Tomorrow’ could sometimes feel as though it disengaged between its plot and themes. To explain this further it is important to reiterate that comic relief was often quintessential within the screenplay in order to offer respite from darker themes and subject areas.

On the other hand, it did become noticeable at times that the series would often fall victim to divulging deeply into comic exchanges. This would often divert attention away from building-up the narrative events and characters, or alternatively struggling with the opposite problem by failing to allow a necessary brake or moment of light-hearted respite for audiences to grapple with events or characters. ( This seemed to flare at times later in the show in episodes such as ‘’Someday, Because Of You’’. Although the episode tackled a heartfelt subject area and was surprisingly bittersweet , it often felt as though the prominent meanings behind the messages in the episodes weren’t as reinforced as they could’ve been.)

Of course, this is not to make out that the entirety of the writing for ‘Tomorrow’ was inadequate or unwatchable in any way. Although perhaps certain issues ( in particular mental health and eating disorders) were perhaps
not fully explored by the screenplay or given speedy outcomes , ‘ Tomorrow’ often placed a certain level of open finesse with addressing issues and helping the audience and the characters coming to terms with them.( In one of the later episodes of the series entitled ‘’Spring’’,  the audience were supposed to be particularly hit home with an onslaught of emotions with the controversial and historical subject area of Comfort Women, focusing on a dark chapter in South-Korean history.)

Naturally this brings up the discussion surrounding character-writing within the adapted screenplay for ‘Tomorrow’, as well as the performances by the main cast.  Perhaps one of the most notable roles in the drama  is given to main male lead Choi Jun-Woong, played by idol-actor Rowoon.

Rowoon has often been the subject of intrigue and debate with his previous career trajectory as the ‘’ leading man’’. Nevertheless, Rowoon offered a fairly consistent onscreen performance as the main male lead and it is fair to say that for many viewers, this could easily be seen as one of Rowoon’s best performances yet. As the main character of the narrative and storyline, Jun-Woong embodies what many would probably classify as the ‘’everyman’’ trope.Of course, this wasn’t a bad approach per say. It is sometimes common in fiction to see a main character become a medium for the audience, especially with a character being uprooted from their mundane, everyday life and being placed in an unfamiliar world or setup.

For main lead Jun-Woong, this was evident through being caught between two worlds: the afterlife and then the everyday mortal world. ( This was also shown arguably through Woong being conflicted in initial problems with common problems of interview and job struggles and then again with attempting to navigate his new role as a member of the Crisis Management Team .)

However, this also brings up an intriguing debate with regards to Jun-Woong’s character-arc. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Jun-Woong is purposefully supposed to be flawed at times. Naturally this did not always enforce Woong to be placed as ’ heroic’’  figure at all times within the series.

He had his evident flaws and ‘ Tomorrow’ placed heavy emphasis upon some of Woong’s values feeding into an evident critique of social conformity by South-Korean society vs developing subjective morality and beliefs. ( In particular the screenplay would sometimes bring this idea up in early episodes with Woong’s shared social views on issues such as bullying, before contrasting this in later episodes with the main lead developing his own values and standpoints.)

Although it certainly allowed Woong to act as an embodiment of social views, it is noticeable that this often forced Woong into playing “ certain roles” in order to propel the storyline. Again, this isn’t always a bad writing decision but it did often feel as though there were some poorly tied loose ends such as Woong’s own personal struggles with his situation, his backstory and personal goals were often disregarded until the ending of the series.
 
In addition to the casting choice of Rowoon, it is hard to ignore Kim Hee Sun’s performance as grim reaper Goo-Ryeon. Hee Sun’s acting career has been eclectic and while respectfully her acting performances have varied, the actress’ pink dye job certainly helped Kim Hee Sun to embrace her suavely mysterious onscreen persona as the female lead. Alongside fellow costar Yoon Ji-On who played her laidback mentee Rung-Gu, audiences will likely find themselves tearing up and laughing at the antics of the two characters’ interactions and appearances onscreen.

As an onscreen character, Goo-Ryeon is arguably one of the most enigmatic and intriguing characters in the series. She is often fairly detached from overtly emotional displays like Woong but she is impassioned by her cause to help others. Initially viewers are supposed to remain uncertain of Ryeon’s onscreen presence. In particular, her unconventional acts of tough love towards the main lead and those she is seemingly supposed to save will bring about topics of intriguing debate for viewers.

However as the series soon reveals, Ryeon’s root cause for her actions are sourced from genuine sincerity for her position as a member of the Crisis Management Team, especially as a result of her complicated backstory. Naturally as a consequence of this writing point, ‘ Tomorrow’ placed heavy emphasis upon her mysterious backstory in the latter half of the series, similarly echoed to a lesser extent with side character Rung-Gu also.

Despite both characters having their fair share of traumatic and difficult backstories, it often felt as though Ryeon’s character arc felt a little rushed in particular. . Of course while audiences certainly did see a few hints of foreshadowing at times earlier on in the series ( in particular with Ji-On’s trauma), it certainly felt as though some of these backstory revelations and plot twists could’ve been developed or built up. There was a lot for viewers to digest with regards to Ryeon’s past and her important connections to other characters but due to an anticlimactic buildup, the momentum of these events rarely felt as though that they had reached their entirety even by the finale.

Aside from the main characters, it is also important to mention about some of the reoccurring characters of ‘Tomorrow’ also. Model-actor Lee Soo-hyuk ( ‘ Vampire Idol’, ‘The Scholar Who Walks The Night’ and ‘ Doom At Your Service’) starred as Park Joong-Gil, the straight-laced head of the Humanitarian Management Team who shares a complicated past with Ji-On, as well as  Kim Hae-Sook playing the role of the Jade Hwang, the head director of the afterlife and the bureau of  grim reapers. The supporting characters certainly had their necessary roles to play in the events of the narrative. In particular during the later events of the series, viewers are given several surprising backstory revelations but admittedly these side characters felt as though they deserved more screen time or interactions with the main cast in order to build up their character arcs slightly more.

Then of course there is the discussion surrounding the execution of the series. Perhaps it is important that ‘Tomorrow’  decided to offer viewers with a fairly systematic approach; introducing viewers to main lead Woong’s predicament and his unlikely alliance with the main leads, the new dilemma or issued faced in the episode, the reactions and causes of debate for the characters and viewers, the dilemma reaching its climax and then helping to resolve or bring a conclusion to the events of the episode.

This approach by the trio of screenwriters certainly allowed the screenplay to tackle a wide array of issues and problems. However, it certainly did not come without its problems either. A lot of the storyline’s early plot objectives were rarely sketched out aside from the “ mission of the team”, leading seemingly important events or obstacles for the main leads being disregarded at times and then being given half-baked conclusions by the ending of the series. As a consequence, the ending of ‘ Tomorrow’ will likely leave viewers with mixed-feelings; bittersweet and certainly offering a denouement to the events of the storyline but rarely tying off all loose ends or bringing a complete feeling of satisfaction for viewers also.

 Stylistically under the leadership of directors Kim Tae Yoon (‘Another Family’, ‘New Trial’) and Sung Chi Wook ( ‘Special Labor Inspector Jo’,‘ Kairos’), ‘Tomorrow’ was often caught up in an impressive onslaught of aesthetic shots and glossy gradients, with mood lighting and tones helping to add emotional turbulence and significance for characters and viewers in certain scenes. Perhaps one slight nag with the cinematography came through a lack of consistency. Rather than attempting to stick to a particular consistent form of filming or shots and tying these scenes and moments with the worldbuilding and lore of ‘Tomorrow’, the extravaganza of surrealist scenes and panned shots heavily influenced by big-budget movies felt somewhat disengaging from the screenwriting and world building at times. Nevertheless it is fair to say that ‘ Tomorrow’ did boast an impressively stunning array of imagery and scenes.
 
The OST for ‘Tomorrow’ was comprised mainly of a collection of modern pop tracks, varying somewhat dependent on personal tastes. Perhaps there may be certain songs such as the surprisingly upbeat rap song ‘’Red Light’’ by J.don and the morosely lovelorn ballad ‘’My Loneliness Calls You’’ (‘’나의 외로움이 널 부를 때’’) by Suran which will appeal across the board for viewers.
 
The sixteen-episode webcomic adaptation will offer viewers with a surprisingly heart-wrenching mixture of social commentaries, traumatic character backstories and comic relief. At times, ‘Tomorrow’ often struggled slightly with maintaining a harmonious balance between its writing and messaging. ( This often lead to parts of the storyline feeling rushed or lacking a sense of completion such as the ending or certain character arcs.) However for those looking to indulge in a fantasy series beyond the surface level with some prominently current social and critical commentaries with a touch of traditional Korean folklore and mythological beliefs in the modern world , then ‘Tomorrow’ will certainly offer viewers with a good watch. 

Leia Mais

Why romance when we have bromance !!!

Am a big fan of medical dramas and love seeing all the surgeries and doctor-patient interactions. But this drama is just shot in the hospital premise and has a little medical aspect, it's more of the ghost world. with ghost and doctor helping each other to fulfill their needs to survive the cruelty of the world proving the title GHOST DOCTOR so apt.

●PLOT VIEW
Having seen a lot of K-drama, I had known that the secrets are meant to be known by villains, benevolent, and some family members. Wherein some try to use this secret and some protect you, the same happens in this drama too. The secret of ghosts in the body getting exposed in layers is done geniously. This drama while maintaining its ghost essence manages to cover today's society of greed. But it highly disappoints in the romance section, because it seemed very unnecessary in this drama. The Ghost Cha Young Min who is an ace cardiothoracic surgeon goes into a coma. And he somehow enters the new resident Ko Seung Tak who is not skilled. CYM is rude but seeing KST struggle, he needs to enter his body to save the patients. CYM's body gets better when they both do good, so KST helps him to wake up soon.
Also, I didn’t like the senior doctors who want to transfer the patient just because they don’t have one genius doctor. Why are they even there if they cant treat the patients properly? I mean the interns are shown running around every time for emergency and surgery both. And seniors don’t even give the basic treatment to the emergency patient.

●ACTING/CAST
I loved the entire main cast of this drama, but KIM BUM's character is so amazing. He is a man of exception. His witty nature and Ghost impolite character were done exceptionally well. I have been a big fan of him and seeing his various character it's hard, to not be one.
RAIN was good, I never get impressed by him but he is good. His angst and rudeness are pretty good to watch. His struggles of being a ghost are hilarious.
UEE is such a good actress but this role didn’t utilize her. She didn’t have a big part in the story and just felt like a supporting character.
SON NA EUN was a friend and keeper. I wanted to see more of her chemistry with KIM BUM.
The three ghosts and their head Tess had also made a good part of the story.

●MUSIC
The music was mediocre. “I can Fly Away” is the only OST that gives the vibe of ghost doctors which I enjoyed.

●REWATCH
Overall I liked this drama a lot. As I can acknowledge the flaws It's not going to make my favorites list, but it's certainly one of the good dramas I've seen in a while.

●RECOMMENDATION
It's a good watch, The story was pretty decent but got a bit draggy near the end, tho it was tolerable because of the bromance storyline. The chemistry between the male leads is undeniable.

●FAV SCENE
When the three ghosts show CYM how to be a better ghost.

●QUOTES
A doctor can wait for the patient, but the patient can't wait for the doctor - Ko Seung Tak

Leia Mais

Oh what am I suppose to say for this drama it has a great cast everyone's acting is amazing. Literally all of the characters were written and acted so well that all of my emotions were brought out. Loved how Qing Chen was a feisty but reasonable character she wasn't obnoxious or anything she's just a girl who wants the best for everyone that she cares for. Oh god now onto Yuan Ling the amazing 4th prince that's so loving n great at fighting too lol loved how he was so devoted to Qing Chen there's no weird love triangle, overly cheesy moments, or bad cgi. Everything in of this drama was amazing definitely  recommend to watch this if you want something that not too crazy or has stupid characters then yes this is definitely it! Oh btw the side characters were played well too this is now one of my top dramas Cecilia n William has so much chemistry that I honestly want a season 2 or for them to collab again.

Leia Mais

Lost the potential of adapting a classic original romance story.

I have watched every Boy over flower adaptation: Meteor garden(2001/2018), Hana Yori Dango(2005), Boys over flower(2009) and have re-read the manga too many times to count. I'm trash for this franchise, so when I heard a Thai version was announced, I was super excited to see how it would go! I loved the first half of the drama, but unfortunately, after finishing the second half, it lost a lot of potential by having an unsatisfying execution of the boys over flower storyline. If you are a fan of the boys over flower franchise or want to know what the fuss is about, I'd still recommend this drama; just don't expect a lot of screentime for the main couple's romance in this drama remake. It's not the best Boys over flower adaptation for everyone, but it's entertaining most of the time.

SPOILERS
Story:
Rating for first 8-9 episodes: 9/10-9.5/10
I absolutely fell in love with this adaptation for the first half of the story; as a college student too stressed to take a break, the only highlight of my weekend was catching a new episode of F4 Thailand! It started with a bang! The Japanese version(Hana yori dango) is my absolute favorite franchise adaptation. I was so thrilled to see that the Thai adaptation followed a similar storyline in the drama's first half. It did a great job to set up how Gorya started to fall for Thyme; I hated the whole Betrayal scene at the beach with a burning passion in the manga/meteor garden/BOF. I'm glad the Thai version also omitted that scene, similar to how HYD did. So things I liked OVERALL in the series

F4 friendship- it was a good amount of screentime to show how close and strong their friendship is and they had their bromance moments. Kavin and MJ were a funny pair! You can see how close the F4 are super close to each other.

Ren was the best version of Rui. I was never a huge fan of Ren's characters and never got second lead syndrome from him or the drama other version. I would either think he was pretty bland or feel bad for him since he always remained alone at the end of the story. The Thai version is the only one where I looked forward to seeing Ren! Ren falls in the list of characters in the story who didn't get the screen time they deserved! Still, given that only 16 episodes, I liked Ren! He supported Gorya whenever he could. There isn't a lot of screentime for Ren after episode 7, so maybe the writers just didn't have time to add Ren pursuing Gorya more, which I honestly didn't mind since I'm not a huge fan of the love triangle in the story anyway, lol.

Amnesia arc- It definitely should NOT have been that fast pace BUT since it was super short, the writers didn't have to add the bitch character who tries to steal the Thyme from the Gorya due to memory lose( I strongly dislike that whole arc in every adaptation/manga haha)

The chemistry between the leads - I like it! Despite the lack of many potential romance scenes, the casting choice was well done.I don't know why many people have a problem with Bright's acting; he was able to portray Domyouji(Thyme)'s character pretty well by pulling of a variety of wild emotions from acting angry, sad, confused dork, and love he gives Gorya takes a lot of energy to pull of this character. Thyme is not my best version of Domyouji for me cause Matsumoto Jun will always be my all-time favorite to pull the lovable dork off; however, I really liked Thyme and was always rooting for him whenever shit was getting bad; so well done, Bright! Even though I'm not a huge fan of Gorya's character development, but Tu completely nailed her acting for whatever the script told her to do. She's definitely a monster rookie actress; I still can't believe we're the same age! She's got a great acting career ahead of her! Bright and Tu have great chemistry, and it's a shame they weren't promoted as much as a pair due to their company; I'm hoping they can be a couple again in another drama someday!

Cinematography- I don't think it's the most important thing in a drama since the story is most important. However, it does add a nice extra layer, such as the directing shots/ locations chosen and camera angles that made the drama look pretty to watch.

Rating last half for episodes 10-16: 6/10-7/10
Pretty much the downfall of the series. Too many story arcs were being squeezed into one episode, resulting in Thyme and Gorya's love story being poorly executed since it was so rushed. There was soo much lack of romance between Thyme and Gorya; it was completely frustrating. Hana yori dango is a ROMANCE story between a rich guy and poor girl being the main center of the plot, but F4 Thailand made me question if I'm watching a coming of age/drama/comedy instead and having the romance be a filler. Based on the original Hana Yori dango series, the main leads have a very strong, passionate, and emotional love toward each other because they spent so much time in a relationship. But Thyme and Gorya's love was more like puppy love; it was not strongly developed as it should be since there was already a lack of romance in the second part of the story. Gorya and Thyme BARELY spent time as a couple. So when they had their rain breakup, it was so underwhelming, I didn't feel emotionally super sad about it cause they didn't spend so much time developing a deep, strong love relationship. Suddenly there was a 1-year time skip yet, after which felt strange. And I always felt like Thyme loved Gorya WAY more than Gorya loving Thyme equally back. They should equally love each other; if only they had more time to be a couple at least it would have shown. The drama tried to make up more of Goya's affections for Thyme in the last episode, but it wasn't enough to convince me they both strongly equaling loved each other.

Here are the many issues I had in the story:
Lack of screen time for some supporting characters that I grew to appreciate and enjoy in the original storyline and relationships built, which could have been improved if they had done 20 episodes rather than 16 potentially.
Thyme's sister
Gorya's funny dynamic family
Thyme's maid- The original story she was such a huge support to get the main leads getting together in the maid arc!! Where the hell did she go? She even had her own bittersweet backstory with helping Thyme in the original plot.

Thyme and Gorya's brother: I thought the writers would bring them even closer like how the Japanese version did. That would have been nice to see.

Kaning and Gorya's friendship- I absolutely loved Makino and Yuki's friendship in the manga! Yuki(Kaning)was such a good best friend; she was very important in the story for Makino(Gorya) to bounce her feelings to whenever she was confused about what to do with her relationship with Tsukusa(Thyme). Yuki's character was well done in all the other drama adaptations. However, I'm very disappointed with how the Thai version did to Kaning. I think she had the potential to be better from episodes 1-4, but afterward, I barely felt her existence in her characters.

Kaning and Kavin's relationship was not very development and underwhelming: second lead's relationship in this adaptation feels like a complete joke! It's so sad cause I liked the relationship built in the manga and other drama versions, but here, the Thai version doesn't care about them and gives a poor wrap of their relationship in one episode. Sometimes I forget they were even dating until the last episode.

Talay's (kidnapper) story was too long and unnecessary, I honestly couldn't care less about how close and special his backstory was with his friend which Thyme beated up. Instead, the drama should have focused and included more screentime to see how Thyme is not fighting back and getting beat up for Gorya since she could get hurt by the kidnappers. This was supposed to be a sad romantic scene between the leads, but oh well….

Thyme should have given Gorya the necklace AFTER ending with relationship with Lita, it was felt odd and concerning for him to completely forget that he is still in a relationship wit Lita when he did that.

Gorya's downfall: I like Gorya but sometimes I didn't because she was violent with Thyme. It was okay, I guess, back when she didn't like him and still felt Thyme was a bully; however, even after she came to love Thyme, she was still abusive by punching him on the balls, like wtf. How is this comedy? I might have let this pass if I was still in middle school; however, I'm in my early 20's now, and this is just wrong to see. It makes Gorya unlikable and hard to root for her to be in a relationship with Thyme:( Also, not trusting Thyme by blindly believing the Talay about the red card completely messed up all the buildup she had with her relationship with Thyme after episode 7. I know Makino(Gorya) is way too ridiculously naive in the manga at times and believes and forgives a lot of characters that she should not have done; however, I don't think Gorya should have been portrayed this extremely naive. Also, what are Gorya's goals in life?! We don't even know what she wants to do? At least in Hana Yori dango ,meteor garden and boys over flower, we know that Makino wants to be a lawyer, Shancai wants to be a chef and Jandi became a doctor. But Gorya doesn't even have any ambitions besides yelling all the time lol. Another reason why 16 episodes is not enough.

Thyme's mom redemption- so rushed at the last episode by squeezing it with the amnesia arc drama in just 20-25 minutes lol. The Thai version made the mom probably the cruelest and most evil out of all the adaptations, including the manga! The mom lied about having an illness to Gorya and not giving Thyme his medication to regain his memories until the very last 20 MINUTES of the drama. Last-minute, she finally lets Thyme and Gorya be together after all that so fast?! it just feels too rushed for her redemption. It could have been done in 2 episodes and slowly have her change and think things differently about Thyme and Gorya's relationship instead since she was so cruel from the beginning anyway. Suppose the drama was going to do their way. In that case, they should have cut the whole amnesia arc drama and just focused on ONLY the mom's redemption arc in the final episode, similar to how t Meteor garden 2001 handled it.

It's like the series lost its sense of direction of what made it so good in the first half of the series; maybe the writers were rushed when they had to make it 16 episodes cause the drama had so much potential to be better than what it became, it could have been 20 episodes max to improve on a lot of issues like deepening Thyme and Gorya's relationship, but unfortunately, a lot of things felt flat, rushed and underwhelming when the characters overcame to their challenges :( Maybe I would have enjoyed the drama more if I binged it like I was normally planning to, but waiting every week for a new episode made me very critical and reflected on each episode during that time.
I did like the final 10 minutes of the drama; glad they included the odd memorable F4 dance that happens in almost every drama adaptation! I was just bummed out Thyme and Gorya didn't get engaged; I was anticipating so much for a proposal, similar to how Hana Yori Dango did lol.
Anyway, I'm glad the drama is finally over with Thyme and Gorya having their happy ending.

Leia Mais

OFFGUN IN THE KITCHEN HITS SWEETLY DIFFERENT

I must say that people are being just too paranoid about this. After Not Me, Senior Secret Love Puppy Honey, Theory of Love. Everything about Offgun makes these guys undoubtedly one of the best and most successful onscreen couples in Thai BL. While of course each of these shows portrays them as relatively mature characters, I guess Cooking crush has given me something different.

We've seen these guys act cute before, I mean there was I'M TEE ME TO but that was literally like a pure bromance, Cooking Crush on the other hand has given me a chance to appreciate these guys as a pair of naive Campus kids and the Comedy in this story feels right.

First and foremost, I feel it's worth noting that for me, seeing these two in a rom-com kind of plot after a full year is quite good, I have seen funny shows like VENUS IN THE SKY but on Screen I have never seen a couple that makes it seem that they are so meant to be like Offgun.

The Offgun Chemistry never dies out as I feel each of the actors are comfortable in their roles. Besides, I feel that they have got a more sincere progression in their onscreen Cooking Crush relationship than in pretty much any of those other shows that make the actors look like hungry sex addicts that I do not want to mention.

On top of that, a rom-com like trope is one you'll hardly expect to see Off and Gun executing very well but Cooking Crush will surpass your expectations. Trust me, the storyline feels simple, and we have seen how very many so called "simple and complicated storylines" have ended up this year, but Cooking Crush is nothing like that.

Is the show worth it? Yes. Cooking Crush will most likely drop in my top 10 BLS of 2024 because it has a catchy opening theme, it is a well paced narrative and shows you that even something simple doesn't need a lot of effort to become beautiful as long as it is sincere. Besides for Offgun fans, I dunno about most of ue but for me, this show hits just right.

Leia Mais

Where to start, from where to begin... I'll try this
God bless you TV network and may you always entertain us with such dramas that I consider jewels. I can't possibly think of a any better way to say goodbye to year 2015 and welcome year 2016 than watching this beautiful masterpiece. I'm not the best writer and I'm not english native speaker, I don't have much vocabularies to support my reviews or to say the least about this drama so I really thought this over and over and decided to write one even though I'm sure it won't be good enough (that's how much I loved this drama).

I never had feelings for any show the way I have for this one, as soon as I open my eyes in the morning and as soon as I close them at night this drama never left my mind all day long. How long has it been for me to think about a drama during my daily life, and recall scenes and smile by myself just from recalling flashbacks? To be honest I don't think it ever went to that extent with dramas that I've seen, I don't think I got attached this deep before. I'm definitely going to have hard time letting go of this one and hard time getting back on track with other dramas.

Story
Taken from life, there is nothing new here everything you've seen and watched and might even have experienced. Two childhood best friends, never relaised their feelings for each other because of certain circumstances. Their friendship is so beautiful you'd wish you had someone like that next to you. I've seen friends turn into lovers but I've never seen it or felt the way I felt with this one. I love how simple yet deep this story is. As I'm writing this review now I find myself smiling...The story had so much depth had so much feelings to share. I find it hard to relate on the emotional and mental level when I'm watching dramas or shows because at the end of the day I'm very much aware that all this is created even if it's presenting real life it isn't real and those are actors.
However Bubblegum has managed to connect with me in every level possible I can't express enough how happy I am with this and how long I've waited for such a drama. To some of you this might be seen as a slow based story because unlike other dramas this drama does not have side stories, pretty much no events happening therefore it is taken as it's going no where and dull. I don't know how can I explain that this is not the case at all I really wish I can and I will try to. This is not a dull not a slow based story this is actually the THE ONLY drama that I've seen so far has something new each ep. In every ep the story has new feelings to share and new development of feelings. I never watched drama with a smile on my face all the time, I never cried in a happy scene in my life. In fact, of all the dramas that I've seen I cried in only two of them and they were sad scenes, I never thought that I would tear up for a happy scene. I guess I have completely forgotten that this is a drama I'm watching and those people aren't real, I felt for them I was supporting them I cheered for them I got hurt for them I felt their pain and finally I felt their happiness. Nothing was taken for granted in this story including their love it wasn't taken for granted and it wasn't easy to make it happen.

Acting
Lee Dong Wook as Ri Hwan: I love this guy, I respect him as an actor he never disappointed me even if his drama did. I was feeling sad for him because he's such a great actor yet his past dramas after Scent of a Woman were all flops. Everyone was telling him to take on a cable drama and I'm so glad he did!! I can never imagine Ri Hwan being anyone but LDW. This is when the character is written well enough which gives a great actor a chance to prove his worth and show his acting skills. Ri Hwan as a character is someone you will definitely be thinking "Can I have a friend like him" He is so sweet so kind and so caring, he chose to be traditional medicine doctor in consideration for those who fear hospitals (as his best friend did). I could't help but feel envious towards Haeng Ah for having such a friend. Ri Hwan's "Believe in me, if we are together we will be Happy".

Jung Ryeo Won as Haeng Ah: She is such a wonderful actress with a great smile, I always admired her which surprised me how come I have only seen few of her dramas!! This will change as I'm definitely going to be watching everything I missed on. I can't imagine anyone else as Hang Ah other than JRW she took in a simple yet deep character and gave it life and more depth I really believed that she is Haeng Ah and when I searched it turned out that she felt the character was very close to her personality (no wonder why it felt so natural). Haeng Ah is simple kind girl, she's very caring and sweet to everyone but not weak. Her character just like all the characters in this show felt real, not over the top not angels or devils but simply normal human beings with flaws. Haeng Ah's "The Happy Child is the meaning of my name, and I want to be happy".

Park Hee Bon as Yi Seul: One of the drama's strongest points, she portrays a very rich girl but how was it presented in this drama? very much different than all that I've seen so far, she is not skinny (which in korea means fat thick huge... you name it), her face is very much natural (I find it pretty) but according to their standards Big = Ugly, she doesn't dress up like all the rich female characters in every other drama, she is down to earth the most modest the simplest girl I've ever seen in drama and the most natural one. Korean dramas finally presented someone who I could see as normal and could be the girl next door, the girl I can see in my real daily life. Even though her self-esteem is broken because of her mother (which is also a character that is taken from real life as I know some mothers are like that) she still stands up for herself and makes a point without disrespecting her mother. She continues to be herself refusing to change anything she believes that is her true identity, yet she is still the obedient daughter who would listen to all her mother's demands as long as it does not involve her changing herself.

Kim Ri Na as Tae Hee: I love this character very much I love the kind of female character she is presenting. Tae Hee is a very straightforward woman, she speaks up her mind without the slightest of hesitation. Her spirit is strong, her personality is strong, she is open up with her feelings and is very comfortable to talk about them. She would go straight up on a guy and tell him that she likes him, she doesn't waste her time playing around with words or worrying how strange people would think about her. She may seem cold on surface because she's very honest but deep down she's very caring person and always looks out for the ones she love. I really admire her character and I wish to be as strong as her.

I would love to write about each and every character is this drama because I loved them all but because I loved all of them that's too many which would make review even longer. I love every single character, I love ALL the female characters (this never happened before). Every character was essential I wouldn't imagine it any other way.

Music
Beautiful!! I loved two OSTs
Because I by Lasse Lindh: This is my favourite, it's so beautiful that even my friends who haven't watched the drama loved the song so much they will watch the drama.
My Time Towards You by Alex: My 2nd favourite, I don't know how were they able to make such fitting OSTs 10/10 doesn't even begin to say it.

Rewatch
Are you kidding me? I'm rewatching this as soon as I submit my review. I have it saved on my computer.

Overall
When I talked about this drama I'm not just talking about the main couple's story, it's not just their happiness or their love story. It was about every single one of them every character got to share his/her story and love and their pursuit of happiness. This drama has different feel to it, so it may not appeal to some of you, I think it takes much more than reason of "entertainment" to watch this. I do hope that there are people who enjoy, love and appreciate it the way I do. All I can say is that I do very much from the bottom of my heart recommend this drama.

Leia Mais

tempting cast, boring scenario

First of all, I want to let you know that I really like Yang Yang and Dilraba.

I also notice the ratings on this drama received many 10's…Most watchers think it is cute, loving and soooooo very romantic.

But, I personally find this drama dragged on and on. There are more kissing than necessary, it does not add to the plot of the drama. Largely, it emphasized on the love relations between the main casts and that is exactly what this whole “thrill” is based on and nothing else. I can't even comprehend why this aerospace engineering genius is teaching gaming? Stretching the screenplay??

I do not find the story itself interesting nor exciting….to put it another way, there is not much to this tale accept lots of smooching and hugging.

It is a drama for the wishful, sentimental romantics.

Leia Mais

Extremely Strong 1st Half Which Slightly Fizzles Out in its 2nd Half...

This was my first K-drama that I watch while it was currently airing. To be honest, I've never heard of this K-drama before. I was just randomly browsing through Netflix, saw the notification bubble, clicked it out of curiosity and the title "It's Okay To Not Be Okay" piqued my interest. So, I clicked on it, read the synopsis and watched the trailer. It seemed interesting so I gave it a try and BOY, am I glad that I did! The production was stunning! The animated opening was beautiful! The cinematography was interesting and caught my eye for being adventurous. By the middle of the first episode, I was hooked! With her stories, Go Moon Young is like a female Tim Burton, who I was completely in awe of back in the day when I was in high school. She also reminded me of Jo Yi Seo from Itaewon Class with her antisocial behaviour though I do prefer Go Moon Young more. Moon Kang Tae is extremely attractive and the most attractive male lead of a K-drama that I've seen thus far no doubt. The chemistry between Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji is electric! The acting is all-around top notch! The story is intriguing and engaging! I loved how this is a drama with a mystery in its background about the unsolved deaths of the two leads' parents and the reason for the mental illness in each family. Without a doubt, the best drama that I am currently watching at the moment! Hopefully, the drama is able to maintain its momentum throughout the rest of its episodes!

Upon watching Episodes 3, I continue to be impressed! Everything is just so good! The story. The acting. The production. The visuals. The costumes. Ugh. The back-and-forth banter between the two leads is just perfect! And I love how they can help each other to grow to become more fully themselves. And that last scene at the end where Kwon Gi Do is on stage having his voice heard whilst avoiding his father's campaign workers while Gang-Tae looks on longingly at his freedom and utter joy. STUNNING! To stop being so repressed and to just let go. To be free and have fun. I can only wish...

On a side note, I'm having a hard time trying to put my feelings of this drama into words. Everything is just so good! It's easier for me to criticize than to praise as I can point out plot points or story elements that don't make sense. However, if everything is consistently good from episode to episode, I don't really need to point out anything.

Upon watching Episodes 5 and 6, I felt that Gang-Tae's transition from being nervous and suppressed around Moon Young to being happy and loving seems a bit rushed. Same with Moon Young being cold and calculating to being warm and affectionate to Gang-Tae.

Watching Episodes 7 and 8, I kinda felt like this series is losing steam as it was pedal to the metal in the beginning but was unable to keep that momentum, which is understandably hard to do. The episodes are still entertaining, but I wouldn't say that they're compelling unlike the first few episodes.

Upon watching Episodes 9 and 10, I realized that the horror-fantasy elements that were present in the first few episodes kinda disappeared for some reason and the series became just a standard drama, though still a good one at that.

Episodes 11 and 12 were quite riveting as the mystery surrounding Gang-Tae and Sang-Tae's murder gets revealed and the romance between GT and MY is shown to be ill-fated. I hope that GT is realizes that it is not MY's fault that her mother killed his mother. We can't blame the actions of one's parents on them. And it looks from the preview of the next episodes that he doesn't blame MY. I truly hope that MY's mother will be caught and that MY and GT will have a happy ending... I'm so sad that there is only 2 weeks (4 episodes) left. I'm going to miss waking up late on the weekend and watching this drama right after I eat lunch :'(

Episode 13 was very slow and a bit dull to be honest. Only the last scene was interesting as it was shown that the nurse was the mother, not the patient. What an unexpected twist! I've always thought that the nurse was kinda weird and a bit off. But if I remember correctly, the nurse never interacted with MY. For someone who is willing to kill another to keep her daughter, the fact that she is able to distance herself from her daughter whenever MY visits the hospital doesn't make much sense. Either way, I'm hyped for the next few episodes! We're in the home stretch now...
Episode 14 was also quite slow and dull to be honest. I felt that there was a lot of filler as they drag out the confrontation with the mother. Also, there were a few questionable plot points, such as why GT decided to leave ST unprotected at the house instead of stay with him and MY at the cursed castle where he could protect them both. Also, why wasn't there any police at the cursed castle or any protecting MY, GT or ST? There weren't any police even looking for the mother, which didn't make any sense. And why didn't GT call the police after the mother kidnapped ST? Anyways, there's only two more episodes to go. I'm still interested in seeing how this series ends.

Episode 15 was underwhelming with quite a few plot points that don't make sense. The mother is angry that MY doesn't listen to her because of GT but MY thinks that her mother is dead. So, how can she listen to her mother when her mother is literally hiding underneath a different face? That doesn't make any sense. The mother's reason for killing GT's mother makes no sense either. All GT's mother did was suggest that MY go get help. She didn't try to take her daughter away or try to report to the authorities. There must have been teachers or other adults who saw MY's antisocial behaviour and talked to her mother about getting her help. If MY's mother is triggered that easily, she must have killed several people before which she hasn't. So, it doesn't make any sense. And anyways, I'm pretty sure that MY would be completely fine with GT killing her mother since her mother did kill his mother and she actually wanted to kill her anyways. But no, save the mother so that the mother could kill MY or GT. And anyways, how did MY get there so quickly without a car? The climax where GT and MY truffle with MY's mother was also quite underwhelming. Hopefully, the season finale will be better.

Episode 16, the season finale, was good. It wrapped up all the plot lines in a nice way and showed ST seeking independence from GT, allowing him to live for himself.

All in all, this Kdrama was entertaining. The cinematography and production design were excellent. The characters were well-developed. The acting was all-around good, especially Oh Jung Se who portrayed the autistic ST perfectly! His performance was Oscar-worthy! The story however was lacking. The first half of the series was strong! It was unique, interesting and fascinating. There was a fantasy/horror edge to it. However, the series delved into a standard melodrama in its second half and all that potential was wasted. The drama was good, but nowhere near what it could've been if it leaned into its macabre, fantastical element which would have differentiated it from the other Kdramas out there. Crash Landing on You, the first Kdrama that I watched, still remains as my favorite K-drama so far...

Leia Mais

Not awful, but a disappointment.

On the positive side, the cast is really good, especially the side characters, but Prem is surprising at times and can be really affecting. I guess it's not really surprising given how much presence he had in My Only 12%. Tae Weerapat is both adorable and sexy as the bumbling Bee, Yacht and O are a great pairing, and I even like Manow's romance.

But there are two central issues. The main one is that they've taken a side couple that had 20 minutes total screentime in a previous series and stretched it out to twelve episodes, and for that to work, you have to add plot and character elements to the central pair, or you end up with a dull, repetitive, boring mess. How many times do we have to watch the flashback of Team's friend drowning? For that matter, do we need two flashbacks of every scene? If it's about something that happened at least an episode ago, fine - but sometimes it's the previous scene. If the actors can't convey to us what they're feeling about the previous scene without a flashback, you either need better actors or to trust the actors you have (it's the latter in this case).

And this problem intensifies the other one: Win & Team's relationship is icky. They don't interact as boyfriends, they interact as parent and child. Team is infantilized to the point that it's hard to see him as a man, or even an older boy - he's a small child, who needs protection from everything and constant guidance from his "dad". A power imbalance in a relationship is fine, but this is way too extreme, and not sexy, it's just creepy. The power imbalance is hot when it's physical/sexual. When it's emotional to this degree, it's disturbing.

And as if Team isn't infantilized enough, he actually sleeps between his parents in their bed. I half-expected him to breast-feed, especially as there had been a lot of cow/calf comparisons in their scenes.

I come away from it feeling like Team needs serious psychiatric help. He has two kind and loving parents, but still seeks a parental figure in a lover - he behaves like a sexually abused child. His dad seems sweet, but I'm keeping my eye on him.

There's a scene (which was one of the best in the series) where Team and the mother of his dead friend are processing their grief at a grave, and Prem plays this perfectly, showing just the right amount of grief - tears without wailing, like an adult. But then this is destroyed by him calling Win for help, wailing like a child, and he sits in the rain at a gravesite for TWO HOURS waiting for Win to come rescue him, when his actual parents are a few blocks away. This is supposed to be romantic, but it makes my skin crawl. His friend died over ten years ago when he was 8. Come on. You can still feel grief and guilt, but if you're that incapacitated you need mental health treatment.

The end result is that I end up hitting the +10 seconds button repeatedly through their scenes (you only need one second in ten to grasp it all. Actually you need 0 seconds in ten because all their scenes are the same) to get to the other much more interesting relationships.

This series is a real disappointment - I remember how much I liked them and what a refreshing respite they were in Cry Babies and Their Talking Mannequins (Sorry. I was that one guy who didn't like UWMA.)

A highlight for me was Tul & Wan, who for me stole every scene they were in - both of them were able to create fully realized and consistent characters with very little screentime, and their conclusion, which was quite sudden, worked. Because we'd seen Wan's desperate loneliness and frustration & repression throughout the series, when Tul came on to him, you could see his natural defenses try to fall into place, until a lifetime of pent-up need blasted them like the walls of Jericho. He still did the planking-sex, but at least there was some real heat between them.

Minor points: It was nice to see Fluke's hair non-mutilated by whatever sadist was styling it in Sunshine Night. Someone spiked Santa's Refreshing Tea Drink with cocaine - but it worked and I enjoyed him. Art is so beautiful it hurts to look at him and it's a crime only Aam uses him as a leading man. I love that Tae has a "dad bod" instead of the usual seme's chisled abs and pecs - he's not pefect but very sexy. Boun's hair isn't long enough to tie up and I don't like it. He looks so good when it's down.

Why do Thais allow anyone anywhere near a swimming pool? We already know water in Thailand is deadly since your chances of getting a debilitating fever if rain touches you is 100%. Your chances of drowning are 90%. That's one of the reasons why Team's past didn't really move me. If you drown within 30 seconds of entering a pool, maybe you're not supposed to live.

Leia Mais

Story: Many would have you believe that this is the Korean adaptation of the highly successful Chinese drama Bu Bu Jing Xing (BBJX). It is not! More accurately, there are only a few similarities (can be counted in one hand) of circumstances but other than that, this is an entirely different story. In a nutshell, it's a story about a woman from the current time accidentally ended up in the ancient times where she became a part of a royal household and became friends with the princes of that era. She was caught in the middle of the political rivalry between the brothers for the throne.

I would like to reiterate that this Korean version was not written by the original Bu Bu Jing Xing writer. This is entirely a Korean written drama. The biggest difference are the characters. The main male lead in this drama is a bit of a ruffian and pariah with tendencies towards brutality. The female lead of this drama is a weak character who is always the victim and never a success of her own (which is so unlike the female lead in BBJX!). Maybe the idea of a strong, arrogant, cold male with tendencies towards brutality and a weak, simpering, without backbone and a blur-bordering-on-being-stupid heroine appeals to the Korean audience as per the rich, arrogant, powerful, abusive chaebol guy and the poor, happy, innocent woman formula. In any case, the lack of strong lead characters (including that of the second male lead) totally spoiled this drama for me.

The charm and success of BBJX relied heavily on its unforgettable characters. The storyline of time-traveling and involvement in palace politics itself is not new and pretty 'standard' in the Chinese drama scene. Popular examples include Palace: Lock Heart, The Myth and the recent web-drama comedic hit Go Princess Go. The Chinese have been making such time-traveling dramas for decades now. What made BBJX achieved such a big success was mainly because of its unforgettable characters and not necessarily the storyline itself. The Koreans went and adapt the main idea of the story and the open ended ending but pretty much made a mess of all of its characters.

Do not get me wrong here. I am not comparing the Korean version with the Chinese version. To do so, will be like comparing chicken to duck. Both are two very different products although from the same story idea! I am merely stating that if the Koreans had decided to do a drama based on time-traveling, palace politics and romance - they could learn much from their Chinese counterparts about writing characters that create lasting and strong impacts instead of following the usual mold of what constitutes a successful Korean romance pairing (rich abusive guy with poor weak woman). I believe if they had dared to break away from this mold and give the audience a strong female character with a strong, upright and strategist of a male character against a kind but ambitious second male lead, the drama would have been a much bigger hit. The only characters that this drama did well are the characters of the 10th prince and his wife. To this day, I cannot decide if I like BBJX's 10th prince and wife better or this Korean version's 10th prince and wife. In both versions, the characters of the 10th prince and wife were given good justice although both had different stories and endings for the 10th prince and wife.

Acting/Cast: Most of the male casts did well, as did the supporting actresses. The female lead, however, was a total let down. She only had three expressions: shy smile, expressionless and shocked. Her body language was a bit stiff too - making it hard for me to be convinced that there's even chemistry between her and the male leads; hence making this so-called 'great romance that caused brothers to fight against each other for the throne' less convincing. Even the shocked look looked rather unconvincing. In cases like these, there are 3 possibilities: 1- This was how the character was depicted in the script, or 2- The actress is bad in acting and shouldn't be acting, or 3- Both 1 and 2. I do not know much about the female lead as I do not follow news of Korean young idols and since this is the first drama of hers that I'd watched, I cannot make a concrete judgment of her acting skills. The jury is out on this matter. What I can say for absolute certain was the lead female character was the reason why I dropped this drama after 6 episodes and only caught up after it has finished airing (with fingers firmly on the fast forward button!).

Music: Nothing that stuck in my head.

Rewatch value: I will not be re-watching this.

Overall: Enough said. I recommend that you go watch Bu Bu Jing Xing instead if you haven't watch it.

Leia Mais

WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL

What i want to understand is how you can go from being practically the best unexpected K drama of 2025 to one of the worst in a matter of 7 episodes????
This show had the strongest first half I've seen in a korean drama for a very long time it had the old school vibes with ur cliche characters who had charm. So how the hell did it manage to go wrong? THE WRITERS THATS WHY

Here are a couple of rewrites that would have made the drama better

First of all there was absolutely no reason for the both male leads to like Go da rim ,Writers need to understand we are comfortable in a world and situation where all the men don't love our female lead i mean it practically made no sense u had 20 years but u didn’t confess until she found someone else HELLLLLLLL TO THE NO, the 2nd male lead should have liked the 2nd female lead and both begin a relationship while still trying to keep Go da rims secret

second of all the whole misunderstanding arc i understand is the basline of the drama but was dragged on too thoughtlessly only for a rather unclimatic reveal, instead the writers should have revealed it during the time he thought the 2nd ml and the 2nd fl we're having an affair. They all should have told him in a funny way they were a couple and him and Da rim would be free to date privately the show would have been 100 percent better if it followed the 4 couples hiding their relationships each pretending to be with the others parthner in public

Third of all
The sister and the chairman and the very uncessary practically useless to the plot brother in law, why were any of these characters given half the screen time??? the completely ruined any potential of character depth with the sister when that BIL was introduced,she truly would have made a perfect addition to his mom and him group to take down the chairman and he would have given her the company without issues???? And honestly that slap the chairman gave Go da rim was completely disgusting and off-putting literally no reason to do that its FKING ASSAULT

Last of all
the whole 2 last episode needed to be thrown out because why are we adding every kind of random uncessary drama cliches known to mankind? i was so baffled i even expected them to add a they met when they were children trope to wrap the huge Christmas present up since they were so keen of destroying any kind of sensible thought process i mean LEAVING THE CITY , YOUR HANDSOME BOYFRIEND WORKS TO WOO YOU BACK,CAR ACCIDENT, AMNESIA they should have made her pregnant instead of her co worker if they knew they wanted to endorse such nonsense

To sum it up
I am truly disappointed in this drama i was in a very big depressing slump this year and the first half of this show really changed that for me it hurts when a drama you know has so much potential just crumbles down due to Lazy writing i mean gather 5 k drama watchers on this app and they could think of a better Second half than this show i know my ideas are probably not the best but in my opinion they are 90 percent better than what we watched on screen it felt like a complete time waste to even invest in such a drama when it all comes burning down. But still kudos to the actors they did an amazing job and kudos to the First episodes writers. I guess we are ending the year with another When the phone rings kind of failure IYKYK.
Merry Christmas people and Happy new fking year

Leia Mais

Phenomenal! Zhao Lusi & Wu Lei Rock!

月升沧海 (Love Like the Galaxy Part 2) is the continuation of 星汉灿烂 (Love Like the Galaxy Part 1). Therefore, viewers must watch Part 1 first before watching this Part 2. Adapted from a novel, the background is set in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD) during the reign of Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57 AD) (this is not explicitly stated, and the names have been altered). Like Emperor Guangwu, the Emperor in this story is also a founding emperor who does not kill and is benevolent to his subjects. Some of the events taken place in the royal palace are written based on the actual historical events, and many of the characters are based on actual historical figures.

My review here combines Part 1 and Part 2, giving my verdict for the overall drama.

In the novel, a girl time-travels back to ancient time and into Cheng Shaoshang’s body. After 23 chapters later, then only Ling Buyi appears. In the drama version, Ling Buyi aka Ling Zhisheng (Wu Lei) appears in the opening scene of the first episode. According to readers, the story is beautiful but extremely slow burning. I can see that in the drama: for the first 25 episodes of Part 1, the main couple is still at odds with each other though Ling Buyi has already fallen head over heels in love with Cheng Shaoshang aka Niao Niao (Zhao Lusi) because she is so different from all the girls he knows.

Ling Buyi, a dark character with a secretive background and few words, is cold and expressionless. Inside, he is full of anger and vengeance, seeking justice against those who had caused the death of the entire population, including his family, of a city he used to live in. He was adopted by the Emperor and treated like a prince. As a fearsome warrior and a powerful general that everyone respects and fears, he is the most eligible bachelor every girl in town covets, but his eyes on none as he despises those pretentious, bitchy, bratty, and unlikable girls, until he meets Cheng Shaoshang.

Wu Lei grows rapidly from the adolescent in Nirvana in Fire to a man with chiseled good look. His acting skills have also improved markedly by the years and in dramas he acts. Here as the 21 years old Ling Buyi, Wu Lei fits into the description of the character near perfection. Though at times he looks a bit stiff trying to walk like a commanding general, his subtle facial expressions are done very convincingly especially when he transforms from a cold character to a soft and caring character while gazing into his love. He looks emotionless but when he turns to look at her, his face softens, his eyes exude love and care. Despite being a military man, he’s gentle, caring and attends to details. It’s really hilarious to see how a formidable general who would find excuses so that he could stay close to the one he loves in secret. Wu Lei is spot on. I have thoroughly enjoyed all his scenes and wanted more.

Cheng Shaoshang is an unconventional girl. Left to fend for herself since she was born, she becomes very strong and fearless. She has a sharp tongue and is quick witted. She would hit back whenever she is being hit. Her motto is “an eye for an eye”. I love this character to bits, probably because deep inside me, I wish I could live as such a character, punching back whenever being punched, with no regrets nor fears; I have always taken such characters as my role model, to the horrors of many.

For me, this is probably Zhao Lusi’s best acting thus far as the 15-year-old Cheng Shaoshang. Her mischievous behavior to take revenge against whoever wrongs her is fun to watch and satisfying. Her rebuttals and unforgiving tongue make the viewers love her and so does Ling Buyi. I love Zhao Lusi’s innocent look, the huffs and puffs she makes when she clumsily climbs onto the horse or up the ladder over the wall, and her sweet smile beams like a blooming flower. Zhao Lusi is simply amazing, and her acting skills have improved leaps and bounds since the first time I watched her.

The writers have brilliantly brought out the personalities of the Empress and the Consort through their conversations with the Emperor, contrasting their characters, setting the stage for eventual development. Consort Yue is upstanding and badass, and denounces even her own children if they don’t get in line, whereas the Empress is soft-hearted and forgiving, even to those undeserving ones, which are depicted vividly in the actions of her own son, the Crown Prince, who is said to take after her.

My Verdict

Not having read the novel when I first watched the trailer, I thought this was a slapstick comedy and another Zhao Lusi’s rom-com. But as I watch the drama, these outrageously funny scenes appropriately fit into the overall story; they are genuinely hilarious and intriguing. I have re-watched those scenes multiple times and each time, I still laugh out loud and relish every moment. Though very comedic and funny, the plot is dark and bloody.

This is a very slow burning story. Despite so, it is not boring as it captures all the details of the events with lighthearted dialogues (most very funny, cute and unexpected), in-depth development of each character, and an appropriate pace in unfolding of the plot. Every action taken by the characters has a purpose that leads to the final consequences. So, nothing is redundant.

The writer has a great sense of humor in telling the story and resolving the conflicts. Insanely exaggerated, all the characters are realistically written. This is perhaps the first drama I watch with so many shameless characters. Grannies and young girls alike, simply throw themselves on the ground to demand their wants like some bratty kids. Greed, selfishness, hatred, indifference, cowardice and evil versus generosity, selflessness, love, compassion, valor and good are all vividly depicted in every character, and their ultimate outcome. With the bad ones being horribly bad, it is satisfying to see their eventual endings and lessons learned.

This drama gives us some of the greatest official sound tracks. The tune, Sigh of the Galaxy (星河叹) (Cheng Shaoshang character song), played by Cheng Shaoshang on the flute is one of the most beautiful tunes I've ever heard. It sounds melancholy when she is sad, and it sounds serene when she is out in the beautiful countryside. The other orchestral pieces and songs are equally well composed and performed to greatly enhance the mood of the story.

With Zhao Lusi around, the fun never ends! For romance buffs, this is a must-watch. The chemistry between Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei is simply the best of all the romantic couples I've seen. Unlike most lazy writing with endings where everyone dies, this drama let the bad characters die a slow death, and reward the good guys. Having said that, many of the details have not been properly explained, and towards the later part, many scenes are choppy. This is most likely due to the later editing, trying to fit in the approved length (some say about 10 episodes have been taken out). All in all, the first part (ie. Part 1) is full of details and super slow moving, and the second part (ie. Part 2) is action packed and faster pace. Though it has its flaws, this is still a better drama than many. As of the writing of this review and the drama still airing, it has garnered over 5 billions views already. Everyone seems to be talking about the drama because it is so absorbing.

Brilliant storytelling, great acting, excellent camera work and directing. This is a worthwhile watch, definitely a TWO THUMBS UP!

BRAVO!

Leia Mais