Reviews

CHAIN YOURSELF TO THIS LOVE

This is the first time I’ve written a review for an incomplete series, but it’s a MUST WATCH. So far, it’s kept me on the edge of my seat. You get a wonderful balance of romance, political turmoil in the court, battles of wit and did I mention the romance? The cinematography is stunning and the costumes are phenomenal.

Dylan and Yukee shined in their roles. As a couple, they’re definitely a force to be reckoned with. Dylan’s portrayal of the cold, cunning and ruthless high chief “eunuch” is outstanding . The way he speaks, the small gestures, the intensity of his eyes, they command your attention and his powerful aura dominates the screen. When he’s in love, he gives everything to his lover and that’s how a real man should be.

Yukee’s portrayal of the late emperor’s consort is breathtaking. She’s a breath of fresh air. She’s smart, quick witted and I love that our girl takes initiative! She’s not afraid to love who she loves despite the obstacles. I adore her.

What you get so far is a fantastic storyline with a beautiful couple who communicates, don’t have dumb misunderstandings and are courageous in their actions. I’m looking forward to seeing their story unfold and I don’t want this to end!

Edit: I finished it… and I got excited too quick. The first part of the series, led us in one particular direction, but the latter part of the series for some reason diverted from the original theme into something else. What we thought we were going to get was a serious drama with a dark tone about revenge, blood and gore. But towards the middle, it turned into a romcom that was unexpected. I’d prefer the original intent of Dylan’s character to be this brooding character filled with hatred and the thirst for revenge. However, he turned into more of this lovable, playful, goofy guy in love, which took a different direction from what I wanted. The ending itself felt very rush. Like a very typical Chinese drama. Overall I give this a solid 8/10.

Leia Mais

I'm going to be critical and vent omg

Okay, so this review will contain SPOILERS so if you're looking to avoid them, don't read beyond the spoiler warning!
Also, these are my OWN views and can wildly differ from everyone else's. Please keep that in mind when reading the review :)

It's a fairly typical lakorn filled with all kinds of tropes... Guilty FL, identity confusion (?), love to hate etc. But I had come to love the subtle slow burn chemistry between the FL and ML. They're cute together. But with the FL all but running away to avoid the ML whose only being fueled in his determination to catch her, it descends into something typical and oh so familiar.

Why, omg why do all FL's have to be such Mary Sue's. Like shit. This is early episode 1, so technically not a spoiler. But the sister was clearly jaywalking. It was plain as day. Like there's no crosswalk, she didn't check both ways, she literally just walked into oncoming traffic and the car was equipped with a dash cam too apparently, so why, just WHY did the FL face prosecution. Also, it was NOT hit and run cauz she stopped, got out and checked on the girl. She didn't just drive away. She even went to the hospital with the girls family and apologized to them there repeatedly. In which sense does this look like a hit and run. Roads are meant for driving, NOT walking like you're in a park. So why did everyone villainise the FL. She had to face threats over the phone from the so called angry brother, went into debt just to pay off the family, which was mind you, already very well off. The FL literally had to change her name and move. Her dad's health deteriorated, the mental pressure, the stress, and I could go on and on. But like WHY ALL OF THIS WHEN IT'S NOT HER FAULT OMG...

So enters the ML, who takes over the company when his grandmom falls sick. Obvio the FL is there, working as an assistant. He's drawn to her like a moth to a flame, I kid you not. He's literally buzzing around her, 24x7. But thankfully, it's not I'm invading your personal space, forcing myself on you in hopes you'll like me buzzing. But a more teasing, subtle version which was cute to watch cauz clearly the FL feels something but her guilt is holding her back. It helped his case that he had Lee, his so called girlfriend, who was clearly someone that was more of a best friend than anything, so she helped him clear a path to the FL and occasionally even gave him advice on how to win her over. I liked the girl. She's one of my fav characters in the series. Okay, so now that you've gotten the gist, let's move on to the more frustrating part.

SPOILERS START, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

SO now, despite the FL trying to resign multiple times, the ML has managed to win her over. She's confessed to him, they're going strong, a ring is mixed into the equation. I think you know what's coming next. That's right. The big reveal. I'm the one that hit your sister with a car and caused her to be paralyzed. The scene, while the setting was good, lacked impact. It was over too soon. I wanted them to have a proper confrontation. It just felt a bit lackluster in a way, especially since he was about to propose and all. Don't get me wrong, they did get their confrontation like it was shown in the opening, but of course he didn't hit her and drove around her and moved away. Then came the I hate your existence cauz I love you so much, but you lied, so here's some torture to make up for it. No better way to phrase it honestly. The ML did apologize, directly at that, for his actions to the FL and her family. So that does work in his favor. But not enough, I guess.

I'll admit, I did like the FL telling the ML that he's already taken everything from her, so what else can make up for it. But that's it. That was all the range of complaints she had. It mostly went from stay away from my family to kill me to satisfy your bloodlust. I was honestly very annoyed cauz everyone, including the FL and her family just assumed that it was their fault when it wasn't. Last I checked, jaywalking is a crime. There's a reason why there are traffic rules in place. Ugh, moving on.

The sister. What a trainwreck, I tell you. Half the time she was either in denial, being spiteful, crying or just doing everything she can to make the ML and FL's lives miserable. She literally fueled her brother's anger against the so called perpetrator of the accident and then pretended like she just wanted to move on with her life. Like, just move on then. Why are you riling up your brother by egging him on. I can accept that it was not totally her fault, the parents where partly responsible for her behavior too, but really? She sold out her own brother, who was always running around trying to get revenge for her, at the words of someone who got her pregnant and then actively threatened her to get his hands on her family's company. Messed up doesn't even cover it. To top it off, she accused her brother of raping her and told her parents that the kid was his. Like WTF. Apparently she was supposed to be adopted but wasn't really. That's when shit hit the fan for me.

Then, true lakorn styles, comes another revelation. And another. And another. Honestly, I'm not even going to write it down here cauz it makes my blood boil just thinking about it.

Idk how the FL and fam just forgave the ML and fam for literally dragging them through hell and back when it wasn't even their fault. Like, just no girl. Go sue them or something and enjoy your life away from these people. But of course she doesn't. It is all wrapped up in a rush in the last episode cauz that's all that they're for. To tie up lose ends. Ya'll had 16 episodes and yet you chose the last one for an information overload and then they drive off into the sunset like nothing happened. When will you learn, lakorn world :/

In conclusion, I'm pissed. And annoyed. And there weren't even any decent kisses to make up for it. So watch at your own risk. If you want more spoilers, drop a comment or a message and I'll be more than happy to spare you the pain from watching this.

Leia Mais

Hidden Gem

I am so sad to see that this drama not getting any support.
I am often very picky with dramas and have dropped countless dramas in the first few episodes.
When I picked this one, I really wasn't hopeful that I would like it but right from episode 1, I was hooked. In fact I binged watch this in three days!
Although I don't know any of the actors, I am very satisfied with their work esp the dreamy like Master who puts me in a trance!
The story is good enough to make you want to keep moving to the next episode and the filming and production is of good standard.
I very much enjoyed it and now I need to search for the movie version to catch the better ending.
So please give this drama some support.👍😀👍

Leia Mais

Cute, adorable romance with few question marks included!

This drama was low-key a catfish. Hear me out... I went in fully expecting a light, sweet, fluffy romance with cute bickering, unresolved tension doing the absolute most, and nonstop soft vibes. And yes it is all of that, but then it randomly hits you with grief, regret and an existential crisis you did not see coming. It tries to unpack all of that through a fantasy lens and that’s where things start getting a little shaky.

At its heart, it is cute, romantic in a fluffy sense but it's not just that. It's also about timing being terrible and fear absolutely ruining the party. The whole idea of romance is constantly competing with "what ifs", which gave a little emotional bite to the story.
The story runs in two tracks- The present or the fluff where the feelings are finally being named out loud, and another shaped by fragmented, anxiety-induced visions. The rules of how the second world works aren't exactly clear though.

At the centre of the drama is the relationship between Jerome aka "J" and Jinn, our classic rivals-to-lovers trope. Their relationship has been marked by years of unresolved tension from childhood.
J is the definition of realising things too late and then spiralling about it. While his heart was in the right place, sometimes the lack of commutation trope was stretched too thin considering how understanding and accommodating his partner was. I understand the decisions were driven by fear and it took a while for him to figure it himself but the writing could have cut it short.
Jinn, on the other hand, was not here for instantly rewarding apologies. And I was glad because years of emotions being side-lined don't magically disappear because J got self-aware. He was genuine, funny and cute as a button. I enjoyed their bickering, affection and chemistry between them. Cute, comforting but not boring.

Coming to the second couple, Van and Farm. This is also the opposites attract trope (more on the friends-to-lovers side). While I sympathise and sort of understand Van's emotional distance stemming from unresolved grief and fear of attachment, the way he treated Farm at times pissed me off. I was glad Farm took a stand for himself. But I did like their story too and was glad as the second couple, they had their own storyline with themes of troubled love different from mains but still cohesive to the overall storytelling and were not there just for decoration or filler scenes.

The drama's strength lies in romance and emotions but where it stumbles and fumbles is in its final stretch. The pacing becomes uneven in the later episodes, with certain conflicts lingering longer than necessary while key explanations never arrive. The supernatural element, though thematically effective at the start, felt like a gimmick rather than a logical subplot. These choices don't derail the whole story but they definitely softened its impact on me.

Visually, the production is polished. They managed to portray the difference in timelines well, considering I wasn't confused between them. Though it was hard to believe they were 31, at least they tried.
Acting also elevated the material when plot holes tried tanking it. Sea and Keen continue to impress me. I know they are cute and everything, but they can definitely act and deliver when asked. There were a few emotional scenes where I felt Sea was a bit stiff, but nothing too distracting. Surf and Java were adorable too. I will definitely look up to their new projects.

Overall, even if my thoughts above makes it sound like I didn’t enjoy it, I really did. It’s one of those dramas you watch to destress, even though it might low-key stress you out but it’s wrapped in the cutest fluff, which somehow balances it out... I digress, but yeah, I liked it. I would recommend it just with the expectation that the fantasy element isn’t meant to be taken too seriously. You will likely be left with a few questions, but also be fed with cute romance.

Leia Mais

A highly personal review.

First of all I started watching this because I am a Lusi fan. Second of all I knew this would be a patriotic drama aimed at a specific audience containing political views and opinions. The political theme is not subtle, so if you are not a fan of something like this I do not recommend you watch this. As someone who did not learn anything about this particular time in Asia in school I took this as a history lesson written from one point of views.

The story: The first episode is probably my favorite. It starts in the year of 1950 in Beijing with our 18 year old female lead Tian Zao, an orphan, wanting to avenge her father. This particular plot point is finished quite quickly, as there is only 14 episodes to complete the story. Her childhood sweetheart Tie Dan, our male lead, is a wrestling teacher who studied under Tian Zaos father.
The new government is formed and Tian Zao is impressed with the way they want to help the common people in Beijing and therefor wants to join her local government. This will as the story goes on lead her to help catch spies, gather support from her neighborhood to support the war effort and more. She is often too enthusiastic in her efforts, and causes problems at times, but she is well liked by her area and by her chosen older sister who works in the local government.

Acting: I have no complaints about the acting whatsoever in this. Zhao Lusi and Hou Ming Hao made me believe they had known each other basically all their lives and they were very cute as a couple.

Tian Zao is an orphan and grew up in a hutong area in Beijing, where she has a very big support group amongst both adults and the other children in the area, which helps her throughout the story.
She is a very headstrong girl and acts before she thinks at times. She was described as a person who dares to love and hate. I also find her very passionate about wanting to improve the lives of the people in her community.
Tie Dan is not your usual male lead with a stone face, he is actually a guy who is well liked and smiles a lot. He is also one of my favorite personalities in mls since he is not just kind to his one true love but an overall good guy. He is also willing to communicate with his love when there is a problem, which is definitively a skill more leads need.

I found most of the side characters quite interesting as well, but my focus is mostly on the leads.

Music: There is not really a lot of music in here but I do enjoy the instrumental music.

Rewatch: Would I rewatch this a whole? No. If I do rewatch something it will be the parts that I enjoyed together with the main leads.

Again, this is my point of view so you may not agree with me and that's alright.

Leia Mais

Everyday life of the hubby and wifey who have secret identities

This drama is about the love story between a smart and beautiful woman and a royal, morally grey but secretly softie man. The female lead suffers from amnesia and has a secret identity while the male lead pretends to be her loser husband for his schemes to catch a bandit.

I loved the first half of the drama that focused on the everyday life of the main leads. We could slowly see the male lead from constantly deceiving and manipulating the female lead, to subtly falling madly in love with her. Even though there wasn’t much going on aside from watching the daily interactions, somehow the two joking and teasing each other but also caring and nurturing each other, really warmed my heart. I love that sometimes it felt like a cat a mouse game or Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibes due to the double identity of both leads. To the outside public they are known to be ruthless and cold, while at home they are both cute softballs. The comedy was fantastic, with the male lead being a capable and high ranked leader but having to pretend to be a complete loser in front of his fake wife. A big part of this fantastic dynamic I have to give it to the main actors Zhang Wanyi and Wang Churan who did a fabulous job portraying their roles.

However, the drama felt short for me in the second half where it becomes unnecessary draggy. I felt the political plot was cliche and the main leads not being together took away from my enjoyment of the couple to the point I stopped caring about them. I feel like the charm of the drama was the main leads and their secret identities, which should have continued to be the focal point of the drama instead of the court stuff.

POSITIVE:
- Hot chemistry between the leads.
- Morally grey leads.
- Secret identity (both leads).
- Great comedy and light-hearted scenes. The jokes revolved around the characters and their actions/personality rather than some random jokes. And despite all the laughter, the drama balances well, the maturity of the characters.
- Mystery backstory plot.
- Truman Show vibes in the first half.
- Smart, mature, composed female lead.
- Fake marriage trope that’s written well.
- Business scenes that provided the female lead’s character to shine with her intelligence.

NEGATIVE:
- Second half of the drama was a snooze fest. The amnesia plot in the first half felt well written but once the female lead regains her memories, she feels too much of a different character. Even though I liked her cold-hearted nature, I wanted to see more of her inner thoughts to connect with her more. The drama felt very draggy (ep 24-30) because for many episodes she was cold towards the male lead while he was grovelling and trying to win her back. By the time the main leads got back together, the drama had already lost me and I started skipping lots in order to finish it. From absolutely loving the main leads, in the end I simply didn’t care about them.

OVERALL:
The plot of the drama starts off great and the first half delivers in terms of romance, comedy, character development and everyday hubby/wifey vibes. But the second half being draggy and boring, took away all my enjoyment and care for this drama and characters. So, I don’t really know if I would recommend this. It’s all about personal choice I guess. For me, this drama is very forgettable.

Leia Mais

Heaven's Promise is one of the best makjang revenge melodramas that I have ever watched. There were so many birth secrets that it is a wonder someone didn't marry a parent or sibling. LOL The story wasn't really anything new, but it is wonderfully absurd. I can't tell you how many times I laughed during this drama, but I also cried a few times (I rarely cry watching drama). It is weird how connected I felt to the main female lead regardless of story line. I think what I liked most about this is that the main female lead has plenty of support and she is smart. I get tired of the "good guys" searching for revenge being stupid and alone with maybe one or two people to help. I was bothered by a few things though.
Again, it annoys me when the "bad guys" don't even understand what they did wrong. Also, the ending left a lot to be desired. There is plenty of crazy for every character though.

I'm totally in to Lee Yoo Ri. Even that I'm not going to feel anything stare she had to have for part of the drama made me feel something. She played both Lee Na Yeon and Baek Do Hee really well. I could definitely tell them apart regardless of hair because they had different personalities. The transformation Na Yeon goes through after the tragedy is palpable.
All of the other actors are good too, but Kim Hye Ri stole the show as Park Yoo Kyung. I love to hate her.

The music is good.

I probably won't rewatch this. Once is enough.

If you like revenge dramas, then this is one of the best. I recommend this to everyone. Just ignore the absurdity of the plot. LOL :-)

Leia Mais

This drama is so under-rated, it's not even funny. I LOVE this drama! The actors do a fantastic job! Everything just feels so real. The romance is bitter-sweet and filled with innocence (hence the title.) I loved the song by Hikaru Utada "Eternally". It goes well with the drama. I also love the fact that the main girl is Christain. Not many Japanese are Christain, so it's nice to see it in dramas. This drama will make you cry, smile, laugh, and sad all at the same time. It is so simple yet so sweet. The two must overcome serious obsticles to be with each other, so much so that it would tear anyone apart. When this was airing, I would rewatch episodes while I waited for the next one to come out. The only thing I really didn't like was the end. I thought it was a bit off, but that's just me. I was still satisfied with it though. I would recommend this drama to anyone. Watch this!

Leia Mais

strong start, but disappointing end

This drama had such a good start! I was immediately hooked within the first few minutes. The intrigue of the what exactly was going on at the welfare center, who all the kids were, and what had happened to them had me thinking about this drama for days. I looked forward to the weekend so that I could watch the new episodes and then discuss possible killers with my sister. It was so much fun and I was excited to see how the story played out.
However. About midway through the drama, when things started to be revealed, I started to get frustrated with the writing. What I mean is that the writers seemed to treat the audience like we're dumb and continuously tried to trick us. They would HEAVILY imply that certain characters were the killer and then in the next few episodes be like, just kidding! It's actually this other person (who would proceed to act incredibly suspicious). I can't stand when shows do that. It feels like lazy writing. Instead of doing proper foreshadowing they spend all their time writing twists into the plot just to confuse/trick the audience.
I really did like the first part of the drama and I enjoyed watching all the actors, but overall I was just disappointed by how the story played out.

Leia Mais

This is your trigger warning.

This "review" is really just for those who need a warning.

Because I tend to stay away from the comment section because of spoilers, I wish I had somewhat peaked at them this time. Because they're right. It's not for the light hearted.

This movie made me physically sick.

Zombie lovers; feel free to pass this movie. It's pretty much just rape gore on steroids under the guise of zombies.

I get this movie isn't for everyone. it sure in hell wasn't it for me.

Leia Mais

Great concept!!!

My Stand-In has multiple layers, making it a highly textured and emotionally complex BL series.

The show has a highly refreshing concept, which brings up some interesting questions on the relationship between love and personhood. If the person you loved died and revived as someone else in a different body, how does that alter the nature of the relationship?

The series should be lauded for not shying away from complex, and deeply flawed characters. It explores fairly mature themes, given the show’s sexual relationships and the characters’ manipulative nature. Perhaps it can be criticised for romanticising toxicity, but I don’t think it is any series’ job to be an ad for civics and moral education. Characters like Ming are everywhere in real life.

Ming’s mercurial tendencies and obsessiveness makes him challenging to like and root for as a character. But for Joe, who has been collateral damage from getting caught in the crosshairs of power struggles – he finally gets his turn to understand what it means to have somebody to fight for you.

And it was superbly satisfying to watch.

Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2024/07/20/my-stand-in-2024-bl-review/

Leia Mais

Finally, a Japanese BL That Gets Intimacy Right

I have watched every Japanese BL released this year and honestly the kissing and NC scenes have been disappointing across the board. But this one is easily the best I have seen. The NC scenes in episodes 2 and 3 were hot, steamy and beautifully done. Japanese BL is finally stepping up and shining in this area.

Since I only watched the Thai version a couple of months ago, it is still fresh in my mind. This remake is almost identical, about 90 percent the same, right down to the lines and even the NC positions. That said, I did not mind because the chemistry here really works. The male leads are handsome, comfortable with each other and their intimacy feels genuine instead of forced.

Overall, it is a solid and enjoyable watch. If you loved the Thai version, you will enjoy seeing this story retold through a Japanese lens. For me, it is a well deserved 8.5 out of 10.

Leia Mais

Cooking drama with military setting and strong comedy

For me it started really strong, the comedy is really good and food scenes are superb. Military is very good setting for this as i could believe most shenanigans which happens there and characters are very relatable. Lead actor Park Ji Hoon is strong as ever and Lee Hong Nae is superb at supporting them. I feel like all the other characters were bit on the background noise levels and i couldn't say much about them, other than maybe Lee Sang Yi who does seem to excel in comedies.

I'd have to admit that throughout the serious plot line was super underwhelming and i think it failed to connect me at any level, i get what it tried to do but every time i almost started to care about it comedy overwhelmed it and it just lost its flow with me. Thus latter part where it tried to do turn more serious, it fell kinda flat and i just didn't care for the latter half as much as the start.

Ending was another underwhelming part, it seems like they've already sold the 2nd season and didn't really care to do too much of a big bang for the season 1 ending, if someone told me this would've continued next week i could believe you. Villain so bad, i don't really have anything say about him, kinda non-character. Secondary villain was better by a wide margin but he got dealt earlier already.

Conclusion
Top tier comedy but falls flat at its serious message, strong lead and second lead while side characters kinda fell flat. Villain was bad and didn't really offer any ''scares'' during the drama, so i didn't have any delusions that main character wouldn't win.
I'd give it 8/10, it was 9/10 but the obvious season 2 launch soft ending brought it down.

Leia Mais

A missed opportunity

I have been contemplating for some time whether to write a review about this, but I was struggling to get my thoughts together as I was left feeling quite disappointed by the end of this series. It held quite a lot of promise, and the premise of the show was good when it was first introduced. It also had an overall good cast with talented actors, and incorporated mature themes about real life and real life situations.

Did it deliver? Only partially. I'm going against the grain here I know - I've seen a lot of reviews give it a 10. Come on guys a 10? The perfect series? Is any series perfect? Please be realistic in your reviews. As the famous philosopher Socrates said: “Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults.”

I don't know about you, but I personally ignore any review that gives a series a 10.

Anyway, let's start with some positives.

1) Acting. This was probably its strongest point, although at times it was a bit hit and miss and there were a couple of miscasts.
2) Production. The production was good with decent locations, settings etc.
3) Messaging. I think some of the messages and points it conveyed were valid and important.

So why do I think it only partially delivered. My issue is with the writing and story. It was too overengineered. Too many undeveloped arcs, events that took up time but did not add to the outcome, situations that were unrealistic etc. I found myself wondering what this series was about. A love triangle? Being poor? Homophobia? Working class people? Inequality? Growing old? Cheating? Relationships? Growing up? Teen angst? Coming of age? Sadness and loss? Unrequited love? Disability? It's almost like they tried to fit all of it in and it fell flat.

Bearing in mind that only 8 episodes were filmed (albeit some more than 1h long so it's more like 10 based on a normal series), there's only so much you can fit in and I think the story went way overboard with stuff which ended up distracting me as a viewer. Examples:

1. The property development project. Time was spent on this as if it was integral to the storyline and outcome but nothing came out of it. In the end Jim just walked away.
2. Jim's search for a title deed to get a loan. Didn't come to anything in the end. Again, he just walked away.
3. All the deaths and accidents, like Gaipa's mum dying and Alan getting into an accident needing therapy, and Jim's ex-bf's death in a fiery boat accident (this one was absolutely ridiculous).
4. Saleng getting his girlfriend pregnant and somehow making it Jim's problem.
5. Wen taking up a job at the restaurant (even though he's a full time architect?).
...and my biggest issue...
6. Time spent on Heart / Li Ming's relationship. Almost half the time is spent on their relationship. This series is (was?) supposed to revolve around adult relationships and situations, and the hardships they face, yet the majority of the time is spent on Heart / Li Ming hanging out. Don’t get me wrong, the characters were well acted and portrayed by Fourth and Gemini, and I am a fan of both, but the amount of airtime their relationship received overtook much of the rest of the story. It would have been better to "introduce them" and give them a separate spinoff series.

There were other things that just did not make sense or were factually incorrect. Here's a few:

1) Jim's attempt to get a loan. I know I already mentioned this but what was it for? If your landlord is selling the property to a developer to tear it down, and your lease is up, what do you need a loan for?

2) Wen working for the developer/architect didn't seem to bother Jim. "Oh don't worry love, I know you and your employer are trying to destroy mine and other's livelihood, but I'll shag you anyway. As long as we don't complicate things". Wouldn't you say Wen's involvement in the project is a wee bit of a complication...?

3) Gaipa's mum's life insurance . His mum had a precondition so she wouldn't be able to get insurance in the first place. And why was her insurance important? Comments at the funeral: "I know his mum has died but he's set for life now!". Wow. Really? Or was it all so the writers had a reason to introduce Alan to Gaipa? Gaipa obviously couldn't just visit the bank to open a savings account and bump into him.

4) Li Ming's move to the US. Come on, some lady with dodgy English hands you a form to sign and you're off to the US? All this after reading a pamphlet? There is no chance in hell he would be allowed anywhere near the US.

It's lazy writing. Character development at times is all over the place. We go from nice guy, to douche bag, to selfish. Too many things distracting the viewer. A common thread is missing.

They should have picked a story to focus on and developed it properly. In my view that should have been the love triangle between Alan, Wen and Jim and possibly Gaipa as well - along with the business/property developer. Episode 5 (and parts of 4) with the breakdown of Alan and Wen's relationship is very good. First is excellent in it and and so is Mix. It felt like it had taken inspiration from Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece film "scenes from a marriage" (brilliant film by the way, you should watch it). I actually thought it was finally starting to get better but unfortunately past episode 5 it just went downhill again. Alan just dipped in and out - this time with crutches, Wen and Jim had long walks at the beach while Heart and Li Ming were drinking more boba tea.

Stick to simple and effective, with the focus on the relationships between the people, the feelings, the emotion and the dialogue. This would be my idea:

- Alan and Wen have been together but their relationship is starting to get shaky. Alan doesn't understand why Wen is being distant. They have a fight, Wen goes out stumbles upon the chicken shop, gets drunk and has a one night stand with the owner. Alan finds out and drama starts.
- Wen grows more distant and goes back to pursuing Jim, who doesn't want the drama as he has better things to worry about, such as a failing business, a developer trying to tear down the property and a sulky teenager. Gaipa also has a business with his mum nearby, and is equally worried about the future due to the proposed development. He has fancied Jim for some time, but Jim is not responsive.
-Wen is involved in the project threatening the businesses. Jim finds out and more drama ensues. Gaipa is also mad. Wen is torn between his career, his love for Jim, the impact his company has on Jim's business and on top of that he still struggles with Alan.
- Wen and Alan have another massive argument and Wen leaves again and goes to stay with a friend. Alan thinks he's gone to Jim so he goes to face him and they end up fighting. Alan and Wen finally break up. Wen approaches Jim again and something begins. Wen begins to re-evaluates his career choice.
- Meanwhile Gaipa wants to help save his mum's business from the developers (and in the process save other local businesses too), so he rallies the locals including Jim to preserve the historic location and starts a campaign to make it a historical tourist destination.
- He goes to the bank to see if he can maybe get a business loan and perhaps be able buy the property himself where he meets Alan. He approaches the local council to see if the buildings can be listed as historical so it can't be bought and redeveloped.
- Alan likes him and his passion, loyalty, and is starting to fall for him etc. He gets involved in the campaign and gets closer and closer to Gaipa and their relationship blooms. Wen and Jim also enter the campaign with the locals.
- The campaign is finally successful and the area and property is eventually listed as historical with funds assigned from the council and government to restore it and making it a destination. Businesses are saved.
- Wen and Jim get together and so does Alan and Gaipa. In time mutual respect develops between all of them. Li Ming grows up and goes to University with Heart.

There you go.

And finally, in the above I would have made Jim/Alan/Wen/Gaipa around the same age, i.e. late 20s early 30s. Poor Earth was terribly miscast as a 40 year old man and, through no fault of his own, has received a lot of criticism for his portrayal.

This review ended up being longer than I expected. Apologies for that. But it's my two cents anyway. On to the next series...

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