5This review may contain spoilers
A moment connected to the soul will follow us for a lifetime.
A moment might just be a period that lasts for a second, but a moment connected to the soul will follow us for a lifetime.Every moment is like that, every second is the same, each raising of a hand, each breath, or even hours sitting still without moving, will become a part that follows a person's life, forever.
It's been so long since I watched a youth-themed film, and strangely, any film I previously watched—that I considered good—had an unfulfilling ending, to prove that youth is forever the most beautiful period in a person's life, a time where "even if we had to bathe in the rain, we would want to go back one more time." Perhaps that's why, among the forest of youth films, only "Always Home" achieved such emotional heights for me, making me feel empty after watching, feel unfulfilled, not because of an incomplete ending, but because of an ending, a process, a film, a message so complete that I felt hollow, because the ending meant the film had truly ended. And I realized that hollow feeling is what comes after watching a truly good film, one that has truly filled me, comforted me and brought me so many emotions. The film ended, and I felt lost. Perhaps "Always Home" also marks a period in my university days, and has become a part of me?
I must admit, this is a film suitable to watch while I'm in university. I see the past, I see the possible turning points in the future. Society resembles school, and also carries many unknowns, with young people standing vaguely at crossroads, vaguely striving, vaguely running. I have many questions for my future self, and so many words of advice, comfort, and encouragement for my past self, yet, ultimately, the present life is still the most wonderful. The process of growing up isn't actually the moment the clock strikes from 11:59 PM on the day I'm 17 to midnight on the day I'm 18, but the process of time gradually flowing, the soul collecting each second and minute, each choice, each action, each person around us, becoming the soul of our present self. Youth in the drama is beautifully dreamlike, making me feel empathy, admiration, and longing. But thinking again, whether youth is calm or passionate, whether young age is reckless or simply quiet days, in the end, those are still the days of youth we are living, have lived, and will live in. Youth may not be impulsive, people may not be extraordinary, dreams may only appear in dusty frames, the people we've met may just be visitors with no set date to meet again, the cycle of the universe will not stop, and youth has never stopped being brilliant, in the unique way of ordinary, mundane people who have no second version.
The characters in "Always Home" are also ordinary people like anyone else, like me, except their lives only exist in a short period packaged within the duration of a film. They existed in their lives, loved and were loved, lived the most complete life under our observation. Meanwhile, our lives continue out there, perhaps without such beautiful friendships, open career paths, a warm family, a dream love; perhaps to us, they are the lucky ones, the extraordinary ones, but who knows, to those around us, we might be such the lucky person too. The luckiest person in the end is the one who knows they are lucky; each person has their own life, a blank page is the beginning of all the colors we will paint later. Making mistakes is okay, being foolish is no problem—youth is a stage of life where if we make wrong choices, we fix them together because we're still young, we still have time. Therefore, I want to say to my future self, keep living in your youth, even if you think you've matured, don't be afraid, never feel that life has lost its meaning, you still have, and always have, enough time to fix mistakes. Mistakes are also a part of the soul, don't mistreat them, don't regret, don't resent.
Writing this long, in the end, they're just words, old stories about that childish "youth" motif. The cycle, the impermanence of the world, ultimately are all flowery words about things people often mention when reminiscing about the past and knowing nothing about the future. But that's how people operate, everyone is the same, we're all ordinary with flaws, and it's these ordinary things that make us, that make this life. Perhaps it's been a long time since I gave a film this maximum score, because I always feel everything lacks something. But if I don't make an exception for "Always Home," then perhaps I couldn't explain how my mood and emotions operate. My emotions have filled in each flaw, and I feel emotions should still play the main role in each process of my experiencing cinema (art).
So there it is, the characters have accompanied me, entered my thoughts, aroused my anticipation, indescribable emotions, joy, satisfaction, sadness, contentment, excitement, hope, nostalgia, and impression. The setting, music, plot, lighting, colors, ending, meaning... all contributed to creating a story neither short nor long, not telling an entire human life, but stayed with me for a short time, then became a part of my soul.
A youth film, nothing more, and that's a compliment.
In conclusion, I want to affirm that I truly liked the story of each character in the film, the story of their everlasting youth, of young people and those no longer young in age, of those who love and those who are loved, of those still there and those who left their souls there. Perhaps my process of watching the film was truly a special journey that I will never forget.
And, the final final word, the acting was super excellent! I believed in Zhai Xiaowen's acting from the start, but Zhou Keyu surprised me, really. I'm not describing, evaluating, or deeply critiquing each story and character in this review because I'm truly seeing all their stories as one story with a common name—love. (Though I must say I really liked the Song Tong - Du Man couple—the kissing scene truly left me speechless and I had to pause for five minutes to calm down.) Everyone's chemistry was good, from family to friends to romance, especially scenes depicting very slight stirrings, very light touches, for which I must separately praise the director for the scene arrangement, and can't forget the sound and the actors' gazes. For a film with such complex romantic storylines to be so smooth and understandable, such scenes depicting emotion are truly valuable. And really, thank you to my past self from last week who decided to watch this film despite its "roundabout" nature, because these films aren't frustrating about relationships at all.
In general, this is a beautiful film, in every way.
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Story- The first couple episodes sets up the plot and storylines for everyone. I’d say it took me about 5 episodes before I saw myself wanting to see more. I do have to say the writers did a fantastic job. When the story was funny it was hilarious and when it was dramatic you felt the emotions. My favorite part of the writing though was definitely the subtle comedy. I found myself laughing like an idiot whenever something random happened. I liked that each brother had their own loveline and enjoyed watching each one develop. Although the UEE/Joo Won pairing was just too cute! In the end everyone gets their happy ending. That’s not to say it was all sunshine and rainbows throughout, cause everyone had their fair share of drama…
Acting/Cast- Perfectly casted. I liked that everyone got their time to shine. This family felt like they were really a family in real life. I wanted to live on the Ojakgyo farm! Lol. I thought UEE did a fantastic job playing the naïve but temporal Ja Eun. Loved all the brothers. The rest of the supporting cast was awesome as well. Just loved everyone=)
Music- Really liked the score. When it was suppose to be light and funny they had this awesome weird music played that really added to the effect and when it would come on I knew something hilarious/random was about to happen. The ost was good but nothing I’d listen to outside the show.
Rewatch- The episode count is quite large so because of that I’d probably put off watching this for about 2 years.
Overall I’d say Ojakgyo Brothers is the best family drama I have seen and it’s a must watch. You will definitely be entertained and fall in love with all the characters=)
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Youth, friendship, family, love, and school. This drama was so heartwarming, light and realistic. It perfectly depicts the beauty, the joy, the sadness and the stress of being a teenager.
I loved how all themes were developed equally, there wasn't too much of anything, everything was perfectly dosed. Everything took its time to develop which make this drama more realistic. You will find yourself rolling with laughter at the friendship the characters had, smiling at the small selfless acts of kindness towards each other, getting angry at the trouble they had to go through, sympathize with them, and having your heart skip a bit at the sweet moments. A lot of the things these characters experienced, we have also experienced during those years of our life. With all this, I can assure you that this drama is so light that will make your heart warm and leave you clicking on the next episode with a huge smile on your face.
The acting was great! these young actors did a great job at depicting all emotions a teenager goes through, from falling in love to having worries about family issues. The chemistry between the main characters was impeccable. I always try hard to stop myself from having a second lead syndrome because I know that I will be the only one getting hurt in the end. "When we were young" did not even let me have a second lead syndrome because Hua Biao's character is so great that it's impossible not to ship him with Yang Xi. On that note, I must admit that Hua Biao is such an inspiring character. Usually, someone like him in dramas would be a cold-hearted asshole but Hua Bio was PERFECT! Yes! he is the embodiment of perfection. From his beautiful smile to his caring attitude, his intelligence and bubbly personality, he is perfect. I LOVED how hard working and independent he is, how he always tried to solve misunderstandings as soon as they arise and how selfless he is. His character is inspiring and I think I personally should learn more to be like him.
I LOVED the 1990s vibe, very similar to the REPLY series and A LOVE SO BEAUTIFUL. Just like there is some drama set in different eras of history, I hope setting dramas and movies in the 1980s and 1990s will become a thing. I am in love with the aesthetic and the whole vibe just bring about a lot of nostalgia.
AWESOME Chinese drama overall. If you know anything similar to this please hit me up :)
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Hopeful Bond Against the Dark Odds
“It bothers me when one out of every seven of us is missing. I don’t know why, but I just don’t like it. I hope we can be all together. When we are all together, I don’t even think about wanting to die.”This drama is an adaptation of BU and I'm glad it's really good. Despite some changes, they did an excellent job on the build up between the characters and their relationships, along with the actors' portrayal and chemistry. From the awkward first meetings to building trust with each other and getting closer together. I love watching their friendship and brotherhood despite their different backgrounds and problems. They unite to become each others' ray of light amidst the struggles they faced during the darkness of their separate lives. This drama is so heartwarming with the precious found family trope. But at the same time, the dark themes about their childhood traumas and family secrets are so emotional and intriguing.
This drama is so meaningful and deep while tackling various social issues about dysfunctional family, mental illness, discrimination, poverty, politics, education and more. The mystery regarding the past of their parents and connection to the principal shows how generational trauma starts and their children bearing the pain of their mistakes. Innocent teenagers are forced to suffer due to the evil adults that comes from each of their different environments. This drama is a reflection of reality that conveys important messages while providing consolation and angst to the youth who are beginning to face the world.
From the original BU storyline, this drama acts like a prequel that introduces the 7 protagonists while adding more details about their backgrounds and families. Eventually, this drama left with an open ending where the fantasy aspect of time travel only begins at the end. Hwan, the oldest of the group, carries the weight of responsibilities and guilt, so he goes back in time to save all his friends and prevent them from their tragic fates. He sacrifices himself while being stuck in time loops. This leads to suspicions and demands for Season 2. There's no official confirmation yet, but I hope they really make it happen so the boys' stories can continue.
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Very dark, very painful but exceptional acting from the whole cast!
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS MOVIE CAN BE TRIGGERING AS IT DEALS WITH VERY DARK TOPICS SO WATCH WITH CAUTION SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO!I really don't know how to critique or review a story/plot that was so deeply disturbing and uncomfortable for me. Was it good? I don't know. Was it bad? I don't know. All I know is my heart ached for these characters (specifically the twins and their friend) and loathed everyone else. I suppose in a way that makes it a great story because I was soooo immersed in it; every dark turn made me physically sick.
And that was kind of the problem. There were many parts of the story I hated but did I hate it because of the triggering nature of those scenes? Or is there something to critique about the plot itself? It's hard to distinguish for me. I do think the story flows well. The way they showed the present with the flashbacks of Wolwoo is done really, really well. There wasn't ever a point in the movie where I thought "huh this is jarring". Like I said, I was genuinely, intensely immersed.
I went to watch for Jinyoung. As a fan of his since Got7, I've followed his career pretty much from the beginning, and this was truly something special. He was phenomenal as both Ilwoo and Wolwoo. I forgot he was Jinyoung. I forgot everything and just wanted to jump into the screen and protect these boys. His heartbreak, pain and trauma were more than just believable, like I said, it made me really uncomfortable (due to the nature of the topics).
The whole cast was phenomenal.
So that's why I'm giving it a 10 solely for the acting.
I really can't say more about the plot than this because... there's a reason why the synopsis is so vague. Let's just say that.
Would I recommend it? Yes, if you are a fan of Jinyoung or any of these young actors. Or if you're a fan of dark, intense movies about vengeance.
Would I rewatch it? Absolutely not. I'm so sorry, Jinyoung, but once is enough. My heart can't take more.
Anyway, I don't know... Good luck if you do watch haha.
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The synopsis has already revealed that a female lead lost her family and was seeking revenge or justice. This plot of hers is how our leads cross paths. Initially you will find their banter really cute and you get the feeling that this is only going to get better and better. I honestly had a hard time figuring out our mail lead. This man did an amazing job portraying a strong person, a smart person, a weak person and a cunning person. His facial expressions were second to none.
What I liked about the series is that it is a historical film and I really do enjoy watching historical fans and if you manage to tie in a little bit of romance that is just a big bonus for me. I am truly not a fan of political plotting however the relationships of the royal family was so unique that you really somewhat hope that everything worked out fine. For me I found it somewhat odd that I actually like the villain. Not because they were feelings but because of the scene they were in with their brother and father and even their nephew at times were quite hilarious. This is rare that you get to see our villainess people in a somewhat comical yet plotting manner.
Now for the hard stuff. What I did not like about the series was that thing that hooked me in somehow died off. That’s right it was completely eliminated. That banter between our two leads that was funny and get you wrapped up for more of their entertainment died when or female lead entered the palace. Our feisty, brave, outspoken and tough female lead turned into a submissive palace person. It was a complete 360° change. I am really not exaggerating. It was just like she made a decision and that decision meant she was humble submissive and whatever else you want to call a person that don’t talk unless spoken to. That most certainly ruined it for me because her personality and our male lead personalities were on fire to begin with but because her personality change it just turned bland..
In addition to this, watching the beginning of the series you would naturally assume that there was gonna be this great love, great chemistry but oh was I wrong. There was no amazing love. There was no amazing romance. There was no amazing chemistry. There was no amazing anything about the relationship between the leads. It was just awful. She essentially turned into just another person that is obedient to the emperor and it was no longer fun to watch. After a major turn of events, I don’t want to spoil anything, our smart cunning and strong male leave turns into someone who does not handle pressure well. It was so conflicting and confusing at the same time.
If you’re into historical films and politics you’ll like this one. If you’re into historical romance I would advise you not to cheat yourself because you won’t get it here. This is 62 episodes of politics and plotting. Don’t go looking for love in this place. It ain’t here. Lol.
90% politics
10% palace/harem/romance
The acting was good in the first 22 episodes and it was entertaining. Anything after the 22 episodes was just a blur for me. A blur of going to war and plotting. Not exaggerating.
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This drama surprised me so much. The story is just as crazy as it sounds, memory loss isn't anything new in kdramas and often I shudder when I hear the words amnesia being used to advance the plot, but the story is told in such a amusing, cleaver and sincere sort of way that you can't help but be hooked by it. The show always seemed to be very aware of itself and what it was trying to do and just very comfortable with its absurdity.
The tone of the story is rather slice of life some places, but achieves those more dramatic moments when it needs to, humor is on the black side and takes advantage of how ridiculous everything is around what I appreciated and it always managed to blend it, thrill and more the mundane story of the characters we meet along the way.
I didn’t feel like the drama thread a lot of new ways with some of the tropes it used, or dives too deeply into them. It more so just has a lot of fun with them. There is a very nice balance between the comedy, the absurd and then the more thriller aspect of the show, which makes it stand out. It makes Psychopath Diary become unlike other kdramas I have seen before.
I expected the more serious side of the show to take over at some point, for the comedy to sort of step aside as the story got bleaker. But the story always seems to flow well between those different genres the show has all mixed up in there. It had a rhythm going on. There is always some twist to every aspect of the story, and the comedy interrupts the tension a lot of the time and vice versa. There was such a nice mix going on there, one that I didn’t think would work as well as they did. It never gets too tired.
They never make you guess too much, not even with who the real psychopath is; that makes us just in on the joke. You have a hunch about where this is going, but still the drama is so cleverly absurd that you do have a hard time guessing what will happen next. And the drama makes great use of it.
In Woo also always managed to be one step ahead of the other characters, and while it did feel a bit repetitive (and very annoying towards the end, but in a good way), that I still found myself very enthralled and excited about each new episode. In Woo is a killer I could really enjoy. He's just evil, no trauma or explanation needed, and it’s just great to watch. It worked out well for the story and you somehow never knew what he would do next.
Sometimes he seems a little too cartoonish as the bad guy, smirking and laughing in the background. But it felt so intentional and in the spirit of the humor within the show, that it sorts of works.
Sometimes the comedy goes a bit overboard, and sometimes you can sense when the switch between the tension, the more dramatic points, and the more comedic aspects of the shows (like when the twists are revealed) but it is always so very entertaining and just a very fun ride throughout. I was expecting it loose steam at some point, for the plot to become way to ridiculous, but it just went full steam ahead and just made this crazy plot its own.
There is very little romance here. I was expecting more, but I was very happy with how little we got. There was plenty else to do within the story already and adding romance on top of that would have been too much. We just got more solid character interactions and different relationship development instead. There was definite fondness, possible attraction between Dong Sik and Shim Bo Kyung. But there weren’t much more than a few longing eye-contacts and so on between them
I liked Bo Kyung, our female heroine, as a character. She was always very consistent with herself, rather sensible and smart and always went after what she thought was right. Her character was never set aside as the story went along, people listened to her, she was valued, and she had real impact on the story. So often female cops on these shows are just there running along with the men and just there to get into dangers. Not here.
Dong Sik who goes from being a pushover to someone who learns to stand up for himself, , and over the story does a good job with presenting the characters to us so we can understand them, and get behind their actions and why they did things the way they did them; despite the absurdity that is prevalent all around them. Yoon Shi Yoon plays Dong Sik so well. He is so good in this role and he gets to show all his aspects as an actor here. All the actors here are very good in their roles.
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This review may contain spoilers
Everyone is a walking meme
I've been waiting for this for a while, mainly cause of FL and also cause I wanted the haters comments to blow up in their faces. And I'm glad it did!! I had expections and I was not let down. From the comedy, to the acting and the production quality everything was satisfactory. Expect for the controversy regarding the Japanese clothing.The chemistry between the couples were good like even the secondary couples made me root for them. Would have liked more romance tho. Most of the characters being a shipper for the main couple. I like how no one is necessarily the villian, regarding the FL father, I genuinely thought he was downright evil but his relationship with the FL mother and main leads was so cute to watch. It's definitely not a serious show, the dialogue is witty which makes it a easy watch. I died laughing a couple of times.
The characters actually got some decent character growth, the FL started as a lovestruck girl and was oblivious to anything except the ML but she learnt to hold her ground with issues she cared about. Her smile and laugh is so infectious. I love how the ML fell for her without even realising, and he fell hard. The way he winks just cracks me up.
The OST is good and catchy, caught myself humming it a couple of times.
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When a remake does what the original couldn’t
The Korean remake was much better than the Thai original, at least in my opinion. While there are many differences between the plots, I found this one much more interesting and enjoyable to watch. The original dragged on forever, there were too many couples and no logical continuous story. Korean remake of the series had a much better structure and story development, it also only focused on the main two couples which gave the two relationships time to develop. I also found the two couples in this drama much more interesting.I think the visuals and the aesthetics are very nice. I really enjoyed the locations as well. I liked the change from engineering students to something a bit more artistic, I think it fit the whole overall vibe of the drama better. I do believe it has a lot to do with the cultural differences between the two countries, but I don’t know enough about that to actually say anything. I still think it was a smart move.
I think the pacing was not the best in certain parts, and scene cuts and changes were not the best at times. But I didn’t find that too bothersome.
Kim Ji Oh & Jung Lee Won: I absolutely loved them! I might be in the minority, but I actually really liked their bickering. I find it cute and funny, it’s not obnoxious or feeling awkward. Kim Ji Oh was obviously the first to realize he is enamored with the other boy. Jung Lee Won was just as in love but was living in denial. I mean, who would want to admit that their sibling was right about something? No one. Jung Lee Won’s reactions whenever something happened that was similar to what his sister wrote were everything! I think the two actors had great chemistry. I loved seeing the two on screen together, either being cute and adorable or bickering and annoying each other.
Ko Yoo Kyeom & Woo Sun Woo: I found the two cute. It was very obvious that Ko Yoo Kyeom was struggling with his feelings. He wasn’t sure how to act around Woo Sun Woo, but he knew he wanted him close. Ko Yoo Kyeom remembered a lot of little details about him. And don’t get me started on him wanting him for his project. Woo Sun Woo didn’t seem to struggle that much, but he still felt very guilty about possibly taking his friend’s boyfriend. I liked the slow progress between the two of them. The chemistry between the two actors was really good too. The longing glances and soft looks. How sweet!
I liked the side characters too. We didn’t really see that much of them, but what we did, fit well within the whole plot. Woo Sun Woo’s relationship with his sister was so adorable! I was really enjoying their interactions. Very typical siblings stuff, I assure you. The friend group was fun too, even the acting teacher!
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While Master Devil uses many familiar romcom tropes reminiscent of Itazura na Kiss and Hana Yori Dango (amongst others), the show stands out well in being a GOOD well-written romcom WITHOUT all the unnecessary angst, frustration over stupid/extreme characters or developments, and exaggerated/pointless drama.
The plot is well-balanced and well-written in being reasonable in its developments, while staying true to the classic tropes of romcoms. There is not only a good balance of romantic development between the leads, but also ample time given for the female lead Chu Xia to independently develop her own story arcs and interactions with other characters without the male lead.
The plot is written in a more realistic way for instance, such that it is NOT a girl-against-the-whole-world trope like the desperation felt in Hana Yori Dango. Similarly, the characters are also written quite distinctively and developed in a reasonable way. Contrary to the title, male lead Qi Lu really isn't an ass at all, even if he may be unfriendly. Many of the supporting characters are really nice, and even the antagonists themselves aren't completely irrational or hateful in their behaviour.
Admittedly still, there is still about ~10% of plot development that doesn't quite make a lot of sense and requires suspension of disbelief, e.g. the first episode lol. (But all will be well once you get over that bridge.) However, I feel like the amazingly funny/cute character interactions would completely make up for this~ (especially interactions with the male lead ;))
It was really a breeze completing this show, helped by its short 20-minute episode length and addictive previews. Forgiving the laughable CG (from the first ep) and not-that-great OST due to its lower web-cdrama budget, the young actors and plot still held the show up well and hit all the right notes for me in delivering almost everything I'd have wanted to see in a classic romcom, without the frustration.
That being said, it's EXTREMELY important to leave a disclaimer that these 23 episodes is NOT a completed story and will be directly continued in the upcoming Season 2 (which I'm still dying in anticipation for). Hence, with the HUGE POTENTIAL for romantic development being left in the air for Season 2 to pick up from, I have been left in a state of withdrawal, which also makes for the high rewatch value of the show, simply from being classic, light and cute.
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1Revenge drama done right, thrilling and satisfying
Revenge is one of the most common genres used in dramas, but The Double stood out because it never lost focus and strayed from its main revenge theme. Too many revenge shows started off strong but lost their way when romance became the central point. To add salt to injury, smart leads suddenly became love brain and lost all common sense, or even worse, any ounce of intelligence that they used to have.Not this show.
Oh, there was definite romance, one so tantalizing and the build up of our lead couple's relationship so engaging that it set my heart aflutter even when there were no kisses for most of the show. However, the plot stayed on course, showing how our female lead, Xue Fang Fei slowly but surely got revenge for herself and her family, and also for her savior, Jiang Li whose identity she assumed after getting a second chance at life. Furthermore, the crew and cast, from the director, the screenwriters to the leads and supporting actors, they owned this show, expressing the story with their own unique voices and perpectives.
Revenge is visceral, evoking deep feelings and grabbing our attention. Viewers hate to see a grave injustice go unpunished and most of us can get behind a little vigilante action in our dramas, especially when we get to watch the deeply wronged victim avenged. In this show, the injustices were montrous and I find it completely justifiable for Xue Fang Fei to seek out the people who so badly betrayed her and wronged Jiang Li. The drama unfolded well, ensuring that the viewers formed an emotional bond with the characters, getting outraged, wanting revenge as much as Xue Fang Fei did.
What is great about Xue Fang Fei was that she was truly likable, a protagonist who had most viewers firmly in her corner, rooting for her. She was of course full of rage but she was not one-dimensional, driven only by revenge. I would not have been surprised if Xue Fang Fei felt the desire to overstep moral boundaries, not caring about others, but she almost always exercised a degree of restraint, trying not to harm the innocent as she carried out her elaborate plans of punishment. She reflected on everything including seeking justice for Jiang Li, even prioritizing Jiang Li's retribution first. Even when she had a love interest as enigmatic and attractive as Duke Su, she stayed on the revenge course. There were moments when she wavered, foiled by the villains' scheming but she always managed to recover and retaliate beautifully. Even better was how she considered the interests of Duke Su, protecting and helping him in her own way. Xue Fang Fei was a female lead worthy of respect.
Duke Su or Xiao Heng, now he was a drool-worthy male lead. Powerful, skilled, intimidating while being gorgeously green flag. What I love about this character was his interesting dualities. Xiao Heng will tease, and be all assertive and domineering but also be so attentive via his acts of services and care. I enjoyed watching this cocky, confident and composed man stay consistently that way and yet was also clearly a great partner to Xue Fang Fei under all that so called posturing. The thing is that he was really all that, but he made sure that Xue Fang Fei knew that they were equals, that she owed him nothing and most importantly, she should live her own life for herself, and no one else. Not even him.
The show hit the jackpot with our lead couple! As individual characters, they were endearing and as a couple, they were a force of nature. I appreciate the consistent portrayal of both leads, who did not suddenly lose brain cells or rationality just because they fell in love. They were sensible and intelligent enough to come to the right conclusions about each other's actions. Gotta love a show where there were no tropey prolonged misunderstandings.
While some may think the romance too slow-burn and lacked passionate acts of love, I find it tantalizing and meaningful. It reminded me of myself experiencing the thrill of a love interest, getting to know the person, developing feelings, finally falling in love and wanting to protect. The interactions between the leads was packed with chemistry and emotions, showing how from enemies, they've become friends and finally lovers. There were no official moment of when they finally got together. Even when Xiao Heng confessed with just two lines, it was more of an acknowledgement of how they were already one. This is one show when waiting for the full culmination of the leads' love will be worth it. The last and special episodes nailed that.
Wu Jin Yan as Xue Fang Fei and Wang Xin Yue as Xiao Heng were excellent. The directors' use of close up shots was very effective and all I can say is that these two can really act with their eyes and facial expressions. I am so impressed with the lead actors and also the supporting cast. There were so many times when I thought that the directors must be amazing to inspire and draw out so much emotion from the individual actors. Speaking of the cast, it was a very attractive set of actors who can act including the villains.
The array of villains was an interesting mix. At first I thought the earlier ones were caricaturish, almost one dimensional but as the plot developed and revealed more of the backgrounds, I understood that there were a lot more angles and aspects to these antagonists. They were shown in different lights, evoking sympathy and at times doubt. All the female ones were victims of circumstances in the beginning but ultimately decided to take control of their fates by choosing the paths of self-interest that made them into villains in some form or another. Joe Chen deserved a shout-out. She clearly had the female lead aura which drew eyes to her when she was on the screen. Not so much the actress playing Princess Wanning, there was just something off about her expressions.
The best part though is that who we thought were the worst villains turned out to be victims and the ones who perhaps evoked sympathy in the beginning ended up being the ultimate evil ones. I enjoyed the twists introduced in this drama.
Another aspect that the show did well was its pacing. The show did not end up dragging on way too long or climaxing too soon. The revenge and romance kept me invested until the end. Watching karma do its thing provided a nice catharsis, the final release of tension that led to satisfaction. With the great OST, beautiful costumes and setting, excellent cinematography, this show is worthy of its excellent rating if not higher.
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A not-so-cozy mystery/thriller!
More on the light-hearted end but perfect for fans of Beyond Evil, Sell Your Haunted House and He Is Psychometric.This series is a fabulous blend of romance and mystery. Right from the first episode, you see the actual mystery (and I mean MURDER mystery) unfold in no time! This drama is fast-paced and speculative. The opening scene is indeed very gripping. However, the main characters' encounters seem too cliche, abrupt and convenient—basically, there's too much plot convenience!
But if you are here for the thrill, the guessing game and can pull through a few cliches, STAY! It seems like we have an exciting mystery brewing. The past and the present follow two separate suspicious disappearances, so let's see if they tie together at the end. I like the alternating timelines, the flashbacks add multiple layers to the story. There is an equal degree of suspense surrounding the other people living in the neighbourhood whose past connects them all to each other. With so many characters to account for, the possibilities are endless. You can't help but keep speculating and theorizing.
The actors have such great on-screen chemistry and the acting is like—chef's kiss (get the reference?) Their relationship has the ideal amount of pushing and pulling, ideal amount of pining and ideal amount of jealousy and love.
The music also seems quite promising for this one, so look forward to the OST's!
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storyline is a 10/10 for me
the storyline caught my attention, for me it's a uniquely well storyline, i like the casting as well and they act very well. i love the tension between the two characters all i can is that the actors who portray the characters is very good with the acting.
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This review may contain spoilers
Disclaimer: Spoilers for the drama and novel ahead but I will try to minimise them as much as possible. I watched the cut version of the drama (56 episodes in total btw) but did watch some scenes from the DVD version that were cut; I also read the Chinese novel and I will be comparing both in one of the major points below.I felt so strongly about this drama that I specially created an account to review it. It had the potential to become one of my favourite dramas ever but ended up being an incredibly flawed drama even if Lu Zhao Yao and Li Chen Lan are one of my favourite couples ever. They honestly deserved better. Let me point out what is so flawed about this drama while listing a few good points:
1. The editing of the scenes and the transitions between scenes
This was really just a mess, where random important scenes were cut here and there [I am looking at you ep 19 and 21] and for the last 6 episodes it just felt like random scenes were tacked together (not in chronological order). Nevertheless, I did enjoy the prologue at the start of each episode as it felt like a foreshadowing of what was to come. Also, the rampant use of '5 years later' felt out of place and over-used. Honestly, it didn't seem realistic at all that Lu Zhao Yao established Wan Lu Men and sealed Jin Xian in only 5 years.
2. Random plot holes/bad CGI/random mistakes
The CGI was bad but was quite typical for a Chinese drama. However, I did notice various mistakes in the Chinese subtitles, as well as some mistakes in some of the lines delivered by the characters e.g. they referred to other characters by the wrong names. Some of the scenes didn't make sense too, for example in some scenes it felt like simply using teleporting will have resolved a major conflict in the drama, but the character in question chose not to do so for some unknown reason. The props moved about randomly as well probably due to poor editing.
3. Changes from the novel [major major spoilers in this section]
The drama decided to change the whole 'possession' aspect of the novel, which is acceptable if they had explained properly why Zhao Yao had the same face as Qin Zhi Yan and how she got her face back later. I don't see how cleansing herself in the pool to purge herself of everything she ate in Qi Zhi Di would have helped to get her face back.
They added a lot of scenes for other characters to lengthen the drama as the novel was not very long. This was done well sometimes, when some side couples were covered more and their relationships explored in greater depth. However, this felt rather pointless as none of the side couples ended up with each other; they even killed off one of the side characters when the guy totally survived in the novel. Sigh, why will you make us care about the couple and then kill that character off unexpectedly?
As for the antagonists, I immensely disliked how they got a lot more scenes. No one cares about the nth scene of Liu Su Ruo moping about Jin Xian or the nth scene of Lin Zhi Yu moping about Li Chen Lan or the nth scene of some random antagonistic character plotting. Although Jiang Wu was portrayed a lot more sympathetically towards the end, I didn't like how he was essentially just a gigantic lightbulb in the OTP's relationship.
Honestly, if you wanted to make the drama longer, you should have included some of the scenes that were cut from the novel of the OTP or just included the long epilogue from the novel. I did however like the proposal and wedding scenes for the OTP that were not inside the novel.
They also made the OTP much weaker both in personality and powers. Li Chen Lan was practically invincible in the novel and Zhao Yao was always a strong badass female character. In the last 20 episodes, they became so weak that it almost felt as though they were not the same characters anymore.
4. The ending [also major spoilers]
Like I mentioned earlier, the last 6 episodes were just a mess and totally not in chronological order. It was kind of a happy ending, but I was really confused about how they resolved the whole conflict and whether the scene where Zhao Yao 'killed' Li Chen Lan was a cop out or not. Also, I thought it was weird that they used the same actor and actress to portray their children because I had to imagine them as siblings instead of a couple??? It would have been much sweeter using child actors with the couple...
So then, you all may be wondering why this drama is rated a 7.0 despite all my criticisms above. It's basically because of Li Chen Lan and Zhao Yao in episodes 5-41, as well as the general good acting across the board. This couple was the best with such good chemistry that I really felt as though they were in love. They really deserved the ending in the novel instead. The comedy was also pretty good and was one of the few things consistent about this drama.
Sigh this was such a major disappointment in the end...
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This is what all kdramas should aspire to be
My biggest issue with Kdramas is that they tend to get complicated for the sake of being complicated and there's a lot of them that are like that. This one, is not one of them.Is the story original? No. Does it have to be? No. You get what you expect when you read the synopsis and everything stays in its lane which is very, VERY rare for a Kdrama. You expect a medical, bromance drama with a touch of supernatural and that's exactly what you get. There's a bit of romance but it only adds a bit of flare to the characters and story and it stays in its lane and does not take over which I find that WAY to many does, which is why I tend to stay away from anything that hints about romance in the synopsis.
The story ties itself up nicely and there's pretty much only one thing that I felt was a bit left out, a character that leaves in the early, middle-ish part of the story. I felt like he should've been there to tie some things up but never shows up again. Though it is possible that the character added some character development to the main characters that wouldn't have happened otherwise that I never realised. This is only a minor detail though.
Now the acting was great as usual. Rain and Kim Bum did great as the main characters and their chemistry with each other made the show. I've seen a lot of people complain about Uee and saying that they don't like her acting. I haven't seen her in anything else so I can't speak of her other stuff but here I thought she was fine, so I'm just gonna put that complaining to the usual hate I see pretty much every female lead/actress get because they are the female lead and the male lead is "so hot" and can't do anything wrong.
I also saw some stuff about Son Na Euns character. Not really anything about her acting but rather that her character didn't feel like main, which I kind of agree with. Amongst the "mains" she had the least impact on the show but she definitely was an important support character and I don't agree with the comments that the character is useless and doesn't do anything.
Of course we can't forget about the veterans such as Sung Dong Il and Tae In Ho which you'll see in like every other drama, doing what they do best as usual.
The music is not bad, just that the last couple of dramas I've seen has had amazing soundtrack and these ones didn't really hit me in the same way.
All in all, It's been awhile since I've followed a Kdrama from start to finish without any breaks which in my opinion speaks for itself. This is a great watch, that all I can say.
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