Despicable Me.
This sublime wuxia revolves around two atypical protagonists and their scorching, profound connection. A bold BL adaption that makes no attempt to suggest the relationship is just a bromance, the love story is so charismatically portrayed that it will captivate even mainstream viewers. Both protagonists are morally ambiguous and flawed characters with their own code of conduct. They fall far short of conventional da xia/大侠 or martial heroes but still manage to beguile us into caring and rooting for them.What elevates this drama is the scriptwriting , the writer put her heart into this and while I cannot compare it with the book, I couldn't be more satisfied with the drama's storytelling. Important plot and character points are planned and planted well in advance and the story unfolds in a way that pulls us into various the plot threads and the partial reveals. Many questions, including when Zhou Zishu recognizes Wen Kexing; are never clearly answered but can be surmised upon re-watch from hints in the dialogue and the characters' subsequent actions. The playful, flirtatious dialogue heavily laced with double entendre and layers of meaning with its facile parlance of idioms and ancient parables has won widespread praise from educators and broad audiences, inspiring young adults to dust off their classical texts with renewed enthusiasm. This winsome first work of a young scriptwriter sets a high bar for historical dramas going forward and puts the often lazy and tired works of more experienced writers to shame.
At surface, the backdrop and many characters are classic wuxia themes and anachronisms - various jianghu sects are vying to recover five shards of liulijia, a glazed artefact that can unlock a hidden repository of the most elite martial arts and miraculous medical manuscripts. Sound familiar? Its been done many times. But it scarcely matters because the two main protagonists, Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing immediately sweep us away with their outrageous, titillating courtship. Gong Jun's shamelessly flirtatious Wen Kexing, is the most predatory, lecherous, and utterly delicious display of physical attraction I have seen since John Malkovich's iconic Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons. I am quite certain most of Zhang Zehan's eye rolls were not acting and I just love his improvised comment - even my fart smells good! Both actors deliver immersive resonating performances - Gong Jun with a wild vengeful ferocity behind flashes of vulnerability and Zhang Zhehan with a subtle nuanced complexity that hints at a multitude of emotions within micro expressions. Classic wuxia themes and archetypes are woven into an addictive tale of friendship, love, betrayal, loyalty, ambition, sacrifice and of course revenge.
While a bit heavy on the slow motion, the fight scenes are stunningly choreographed and delivers enough hairy, scary, dicey, slicey moments to have me at the edge of my seat. I was stunned by the raw ferocious rage and naked hatred that spilled out of Gu Xiang in the epic finale. The bloodthirsty, brutally lethal and absolutely berserk final mortal battle where the master of the Ghost Valley emits rage with the wild light of cruel insanity flashing in his eyes is without doubt the highlight of the action. This of course excludes Lao Wen and Ah Xu's exuberant fight scenes because everybody knows its really a mating dance where they are actually just ogling at each other. The story is well paced with a good balance of mystery, action and and ends spectacularly with enough twists, surprises and a breathless cruelty that pays homage to the true spirit of the genre. If I have to find fault, there are too many sects and side characters that don't advance the plot. The relationship between Zhao Jing and Scorpion King also feels off in a creepy way and even though the role is very well acted, Scorpion King's motives are not well developed. In general the villains feel rather two dimensional but perhaps this is unavoidable given how grey and complex both protagonists are.
Even though this is hands down one of the best wuxias I have seen in years, this is more of a character drama in the sense that the core characters are what really brings this story life in a differentiated way. I am going to discuss them in greater detail in the following paragraphs. Be warned there are mild spoilers so you may want to stop reading here and revisit after completing.
*Be warned - mild spoilers ahead!*
The narrator Zhou Zishu is a dark character and while he is not a villain, he is amoral and thus the story is told via the lens of a world view that is defined by personal loyalties and relationships rather than some over arching sense of morality. In Zhang Zhehan's own words, Zhou Zishu has thousands of layers and is thus the most fascinating and difficult character to both write and to portray. In this both writer and actor delivered brilliantly in striking that perfect balance of revealing not too much but just enough to create an enigmatic character with insidious lingering impact. Zishu is a cynical and disillusioned cold hearted assassin who is only bound to and motivated by his word of honor - yes for once we have an aptly titled c-drama. He doesn't blame Jin wang for his fall from grace nor does he try to avenge his fallen sect brothers because like himself, they all must live and die by their oath, their word of honor. By the time he encounters Zhang Chengling and Wen Kexing, he is resigned to his self inflicted fate and means to spend his remaining days wandering the world drinking himself into oblivion. He epitomizes despicable me, stricken by self loathing for his weaknesses, for his failings that led to the deaths of his sect brothers and Four Seasons Manor's downfall.
Zishu is pulled back into the world of the living by his promise to see Chengling to safety - his intent is to do no more than that and is indifferent to the boy's pleas to accept him as his disciple. Although he was attracted to Kexing, he dismisses his outrageous overtures and distrusts him but lets him stick around to keep an eye on him. It is only after Kexing hallucinates and calls him Zhou Zishu that his attitude changes. That must be when he suspects who Kexing is and for the first time, sees a path towards keeping his promise to his shifu by resurrecting Four Seasons Manor and thus he accepts Chengling as his disciple. But he is really only putting his affairs in order so to speak. Even though he acknowledges Kexing as his soul mate, he does not deem himself worthy of a long and happy life.
Wen Kexing on the other hand is innately a good person, who is driven by hate and vengeance into doing some terrible things. Unlike Zishu, he still longs to be a good person and deep down still believes he is indeed a good person. While Gong Jun brings the many facets of Wen Kexing from the terrifying to the vulnerable alive vividly with his expressive eyes, the character itself is a more easily understandable, angsty, revenge driven wuxia archetype. Zishu is a much darker character than Kexing and he does not save or redeem Kexing, it is actually the other way around. Although Kexing at surface gets more screen time, as the narrator that always seems to know more than he reveals, Zishu is omnipresent and invites the most mind share. As they change each other and extend their found family to include Chengling, Gu Xiang, Cao Weining and even the irascible and hilarious Ye Bai Yi, Zishu subtly comes to embrace life again.
This drama peaks spectacularly in the gorgeously shot penultimate episode that has everything - clever final reveals, plot twists, shocking, shattering losses, violent clashes and epic showdowns. I screamed, I jumped up and down, I cried, I couldn't believe my eyes! This is the way a drama should end, at its peak. Yes, there are small loose threads but overall, I am very happy with the ending. True, the final afterthought episode is a bit of a non sequitur but everything else was so spectacular I am willing to not look that hard at it. This is by far the best wuxia I have seen in many, many years and I can happily call this a perfect 9.5.
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Best start to the year 2024!
Probably the best modern c-drama of January 2024! Do give it a try for the main leads chemistry!It is a wholesome mixture of funny, fluffy, cute, funny and romantic at the same time. It is not overly cringe at all. The female lead is smart, cute and kind, and most importantly she is NOT a Love Brainer... she knows how to separate her relationship with her work, which makes it stand out from others. She doesn't need her man to protect her always.
Male lead on the other hand is rude and unsympathetic at the beginning but as the story progress he turns out to be the most caring and kind boyfriend who would do anything to protect her girl.
Oh and how can I forget the people who make this drama so damn funny, Wu Jun (ML's friend) and ML's mum had me every time it was their scene. Plus ML's mum is the best Mother-in-law out of all c-dramas, she is the cutest lol!
Edited- This drama had so much potential till episode 30 but lost all its momentum after that. My expectations were not met by the ending... to much happened that too in a short span of time. The writers did an amazing job till ep 30 but after that it got bad and worse! Overall it is still a good drama for light watch
Overall a very good drama to watch if you are looking for something light and cute but not cringe... It's a Must Watch!
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The overall acting is solid! Joss Wayar finally gets a leading role in a series and he doesn’t disappoint playing Neo, the tall, dark, street-wise survivor looking for a place to land. Tay Tawan is equally as successful playing Shin, the shy, naive, gay, introvert son of a big time mafia boss. It’s great to see Tay show his acting range as he’s successfully played the strong, knows what he wants role in other series and he portrays himself as a happy go-lucky guy in the various reality type shows that he does. This was definitely a good departure from his usual. Mild Lapassalan rounds off the big three with a good performance as Miw the hapless trouble follows me girl. Honestly, not a huge stretch for her as she does the strong female character well. It was really nice to see Jennie Penhan finally get a significant role in a series, arguably she too is a lead in this series. Her performance here will hopefully lead to more significant roles for her in the future.
Overall, a worthwhile series to watch! Watch it for the acting and unique storyline.
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Fighting for Stupidity
When I read the synopsis I was excited with the premise of a strong female character who excels in war strategies and becomes a female general. The FL is intelligent, devious at times and cross dresses as a man, there's a lot of male brotherhood camaraderie she develops with other male characters which is nice because sometimes its not all just about romantic love. While she is talented, the parts where she goes from commoner to elite fighting soldier with top notch archery and horsemanship skills was unrealistic.The love story really falls flat in my opinion. The ML is good looking but he's a bumbling idiot supposed playboy. His character is really flat and not bright. Its hard to believe he can last as a general for even a minute. I can't really feel drawn to his character. The love story between them doesn't have any emotional pull, its a bit robotic and forced in the acting. Maybe its me but it might be more interesting to see two robots fall in love than the FL and ML.
The SML and the FL seems to have more chemistry as they are on opposing sides and the SML is smart and bold. I watched it because I wanted to see how their story unfolds even though its pretty clear the FL will not end up with the SML. They should have really developed their story more because it was more compelling and a bit more complex than the FL's love story arc with the ML.
Overall it could have been executed better, the last dozen or so episodes was a bit of fast forwarding. I completed it because I was curious how it works out between the FL and SML and how she breaks through to become a general.
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It starts off with a girl that has a traumatic past that goes through something mentally and it sucks because she doesn't know what she needs to do or how to help it in any way. You have a business man that really just minds his own, has a funny assistant, has a strained relationship with his brother and all in all, this show is like What's Wrong With Secretary Kim but like...not as dramatic honestly. Lol. The two cross each other because of fate really and the rest is kind of history. The perks of this show is the female lead is sweet and adorable, hard working and understanding. The male lead tries to be aggressive and mean but he's really sweet, has a soft spot for the FL and even when he's trying to be tough, he cares for her and I love that for them. LMAO. At first things are a little put off because of misunderstanding and your average bickering but the chemistry they had and evolved into was wonderful and the kisses were...*chefs kiss*; also the side stories, not even bad. I also LOVE that the girl that had a crush on the ML didn't come and try to be a home wrecker lol love when it's not toxic.
The acting was great! I personally have never seen the main leads in any shows but they did fantastic and I like that they clicked together. I liked the brother a lot more in Girlfriend because he wasn't a jerk but he played a good actor because you couldn't tell who he was actually helping. I also liked the best friend, she was great in Go Go Squid, great in this show too. So all in all, I liked everyone and everything.
The music was sooo nice. Like so nice. I really liked that they timed the instrumentals perfectly; it's a rare occurrence for that.
You know what? I rarely rewatch shows, but I think I just might. They were honestly so sweet together, had great kisses, were not toxic at all and they really were just trying to do what they need to do for each other and I dig that. So overall, a great show. A fluffy kind of show with a cliche storyline but you know what I say, old but gold in my book.
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This is a very well written, well acted, well produced mini series I highly enjoyed.
The cast was very charming, their interactions felt natural, the chemistry was on point. I really liked how they included the volleyball theme. It's not only a series about cute boys falling in love, it's also about your dreams and not giving up (even though they had not enough time to explore this further). All the side characters were great to watch. It was funny, light hearted, romantic and really kept you on the edge of your seat. The music is worth mentioning too. Very, very beautiful. Unfortunately because of the low budget, the development felt rushed sometimes. Even so they did a lot with 8 episodes.
10/10
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STORY - Interesting storyline! It has great drama, touching romance, some suspense and action, (somehow annoying) politics, and humorous moments. And it gets more and more exciting as the story unfolded. I was easily moved with the story. What else could you ask for? I didn't expect to have lots of laughs from this drama. And of course, you'll see a lot of sad scenes, a lot of crying. But it wasn't until the last episode that I cried my eyes out! Really. Some were really heartbreaking. Some was just too illogical, and too sad, to happen. Other than that, the ending was lovely. (You'll laugh with still tears on your eyes.)
However, I can't get away with its downsides. I think the drama lost some of its energy on the second half. (Or I guess the first episodes were just too good!) I won't say there was no boring moment because there was some time that I just wanted to skip episodes and proceed to the last, I just find it predictable. (But I'm glad I didn't or else I could have lost the story.) BTW, I hate it when one character just can't move on, being so martyr, when he deserves to be happy.
ACTING/CAST - I loved to watch this drama bec. of Jung Il Woo. But in the end, I also learned to love Kim Soo Hyun. For his superb acting, and looks. He gave justice to his role as the King. (Young Lee Hwon was equally amazing.) I couldn't say any flaw. As for Il woo, he has always been good. Though I think I love his character here less. Han Ga In was a real beauty, but I honestly thing the younger Yeon Woo did her role better. I also enjoyed watching the side characters, each of them. The younger actors also did a great job that I quite got sad when their characters got older.
MUSIC - I love Back in Time and the instrumentals. I thinks they we're all perfect for the diff. moods of the series. But to be honest, I didn't get to appreciate its OST until I listened to it after finishing the drama.
REWATCH VALUE - I'm not into rewatching but I suppose I will still watch it in the distant future. :)
OVERALL - I give it a 9 overall. I love it to bits. Definitely a must-see. =))
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STORY
Byun Ji Sook is a hard worker trying to help her family get out of debt. Seo Eun Ha is a rich girl who doesn't really have to work hard for anything. They look alike but their not related. Circumstances happen that end up with Byun Ji Sook taking over Seo Eun Ha's life. How long can you keep a secret? How long till living a lie eats you up inside. A story about greed, revenge, family politics. This story has everything, romance, mystery, drama, intrigue, slice of life. Whenever a drama takes me on an emotional roller coaster, it's a good one for me.
ACTING/CAST
Soo Ae was pretty good at portraying two characters who are polar opposites from each other. I've only seen her in one other show and it was the movie "Sunny" which I can't really say I liked her acting there. I can't remember her acting there. >_<
Joo Ji Hoon, what can I say, I just love him. I love his stares and this acting reminds me of when he was Prince Lee Shin in "Goong".
Yoo In Young was pretty good at playing the annoying older sister. She has the perfect villainess look. :D
Yeon Jung Hoon, now this guy wore his mask real well. I don't know how he could keep lying with a straight face all throughout the drama. He is one of the characters I love to hate. I just wanted to shake him.
Hoya, I saw him in "Reply 1997" and I like him in Infinite. But this drama, I really loved him more. He wasn't like in a lot of scenes but in the ones he were in, he's showing some promise with his acting.
Jo Yoon Woo, I want him as my secretary :D. He really cares for his boss and he's just too darn cute.
MUSIC:
Lyn's song "Just One Day" I can just keep listening to it over and over. Navi's "Tell Me A Lie" is pretty good too. I really like the instrumental during the Ji Sook/Min Woo moments.
RE-WATCH VALUE:
Yes, I would re-watch this. I like watching the main characters' journey of overcoming the multiple obstacles to their happiness. How they did their best to protect the ones they love.
OVERALL:
I would recommend it. If you like a little mystery, intrigue, romance with great actors then this drama is a good one to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
Like dramas with contract marriages? Think this is the drama for you?YOU ARE WRONG.
STOP NOW.
DO NOT PRESS PLAY.
This is the strongest warning I can possibly give about a drama.
At the beginning, this drama had a lot of things happening that were ridiculous - and by that I mean silly, overblown makjang. To be honest, for the first few episodes, I kept watching just to see how ridiculous the plot could get.
Unfortunately, it's not the overwhelming list of silly that is the problem here.
List of silly:
Amnesia
Hypnosis
Drugging
Stalking
Cancer scares
Kidnapping.
And more...
The biggest problem with this drama is that it is a shocking apologia for domestic abuse of a particularly subtle and manipulative kind.
Cut it whichever way you want: Xia Lin's husband is almost sociopathic in his possessiveness. He controls her every move, manipulates her, gaslights her, tracks her, stalks her, lies to her, imprisons her. And worst of all, all of this is framed as evidence of his great epic love. It is not. This is not romantic, it is hugely disturbing and hugely wrong.
This is the story of an abused woman who tried to escape her abuser but ends up falling back into the relationship anyway. It would actually work quite well as a warning against men who behave like this; using their wealth and power to control another person. Ling Yi Zhou is the most abusive male lead I've seen in a drama in a long time.
The only acceptable resolution to this scenario would be Xia Lin being strong enough and brave enough to leave this toxic relationship behind and forge her own path in the world without Ling Yi Zhou. Anything else serves as a justification for horrible domestic abuse.
Even after the huge TWIST I admit I kept watching because I wanted to see how the show would handle the revelation. But by the time he was microchipping her with diamonds to track her every move, I realised I was done.
I am not just sorry I watched this - I'm upset that dramas like this exist.
I wish I could give dramas a 0 because if I could, I would.
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With a strong start, it manages to leave a really good first impression (if we just ignore that violin scene).... unfortunately it doesn’t remain consistent enough to continue the pace, as for the middle episodes it loses track and becomes unreasonable, a bit unbearable, losing its charm.
Realistic portrayal, characterization of leads, the story stands out in the initial episodes. Corners of furniture in Nian Qin’s house taking consideration of blind people, having a poster of ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ in the room of an aspiring radio host. Sleepless in Seattle is a Hollywood movie from 1993, radio being the core part of the story. Such detailed writing with beautiful dialogue writing sure left an impression on me. But in the second half, the execution failed and some parts almost felt like filler. Unnecessary situations were added near the end but improperly dealt and some were abandoned in the thin air.
As much I was interested in the main couple, that much uninterest in the secondary couple, skippable parts for me :')
Thinking about the relationship dynamics between Nian Qin and Wu Yan is very natural and pleasing to see, there are some cute moments together, some heart fluttering moments (Special mention: Ending scene of 8th episode, I bet everyone has seen it more than one time lol). And this isn’t just about writing, as Evan Lin and Wen Peng’s chemistry just brightens up everything, plus they really suit each other very well… easier for us to imagine them as a couple. Actually, I didn’t expect much from Evan Lin giving a decent performance in the debut work, his acting is natural, he managed to perform a blind person very well that was challenging as it’s more difficult and detailed oriented work other than playing a fit and fine person and of course his looks also stand out most. Wen Peng is doing a great job as usual. So the acting from both the leads adds more points.
Now if we talk about characters. I found Nian Qin pretty reasonable, having a difficult childhood, with a disability, and no one as considered as his beloved one besides him. He's very stubborn and heavily sensitive nature in the words of dramaland Cold nature is quite normal... If his personality was any kinda different than this then it might have been unrealistic. This is definitely not a typical cold man/warm woman story. Wu Yan is cheerful and energetic with plans, dreams for the future. Still, I’m not convinced that she’s a psychology graduate taking into consideration many of her actions. In my opinion, the personal development of Nian Qin is almost non-existence as he becomes childish with time. Not to forget his stalkerish that almost pissed me off.
Music has a big role in the relationship between Nian Qin and Wu Yan, it’s given that this drama has it remarkable.
Meeting you (遇到你) - Evan Lin Yanjun & Wan Peng
As I believe (苏诗丁) - Juno Su
Fall (沦陷) - Wei Chen
Not just OSTs but the background music is also very suitable. The piano piece is very soothing and refreshing to hear.
Aside from the lazy writing of some episodes, it’s pretty enjoyable, entertaining, and even meaningful and it's also so pretty as well in both visuals and cinematography. The couple is worth everything, as their chemistry rocks!
How to get a man, tip from Wu Yan: "You have to be shameless and nuisance."
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The excitement that NEVER STOPS!!
For someone who have never read the webtoon, I just gonna say: this drama is more than just amazing! It took me less than 3 days to finish the whole series simply because I just couldn't stop watching!!!!From casting, to plots, to action scenes, and production, this drama is a perfection! There isn't any dull moment throughout the series and it's like a thrilling ride! So if you haven't watch it, you should go ahead and enjoy the ride, it will end before you even noticed! As there are a lot of shows with a pretty good start and went down the trail in the second half, but for this one, nope! It gets higher and higher that gives you a lot of anticipation till the end!
You could say it is a comedy, a thriller, a mystery, a fantasy, or an action drama, because it has all the genres in it!
If you are skeptical and worried of horror scenes, I can assure you it's not that scary, I don't fancy horror dramas too but this is perfectly fine for me! But do expect some tense up whenever you see the evil ghosts in action, but trust me, that excitement is just the thing that keeps you going! XD
I really adore the counter squad SO MUCH! Although they weren't related to each other and share different personality, when they come together, they became a bunch of sweethearts that make you smile :) Plus, their acting are really ON POINT that gets you into it! Action scenes or crying scenes, you name it! Never underestimate those young actor and actress; Byung Gyu and Se Jeong totally slayed it!
I would say they had a pretty good production too, literally nothing to pick on! Besides the action scenes, I really love how the male lead was summoning out the Territory, those colour effects!!! Gosh so heroic and I love it!!!!
Well since I couldn't name anything that I don't like about the show, it gives an absolute 10/10! Or maybe one bad thing of this drama is that "It ends"!!! I heard they are having a Season 2 and I can't wait for it! Definitely one of the best dramas I have seen in the past year!!! Highly recommend :)
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Wallace lives and breathes his role as Bo Jin Yan. He's adorably awkward when it comes to romance, and level-headed when it comes to his job as a criminal psychologist. Wallace also plays his 'split personality'; very well, showing that he's a versatile actor. I think Sandra was the perfect cast actually. She's pretty, and yet she gives off a girl next door vibe, complementing Bo Jin Yan (Wallace) fabulously. In a way, their relationship reminds me of Edward and Bella from Twilight- cool, seemingly emotionless male lead and sensitive yet observant female lead that brings the warmth out of the male lead. In my opinion, they have great chemistry and Bo Jin Yan's cheesy lines were hilarious. I can't forget Jin Yan's love for fish. He loves to eat fish so much that it was part of the storyline-kind of cute. I actually didn't guess the ultimate Big Bad so I was shocked when the twist came out. In that respect, this drama did a great job because it kept me on my toes.
The cinematography was gorgeous as well, the fish eye lenses were a cool touch, and I loved the car, Andy. So high-tech, and hilarious-Andy's like part of the cast! The cases were interesting and not too predictable. Every case was drastically different so it didn't get boring. I especially liked it when Jin Yan does his criminal analysis because it's so interesting to listen to. The cases flowed well together and connected with one another, each case spanning around four episodes, and led up to the Big Bad storyline. Though it seemed like each case was separate, they were all ultimately connected to the Big Bad, and the drama explores the deepest aspects of human desire through the cases. All the leads had a backstory as well, lending more depth to the story, making the drama come more to life. It was a little graphic but not too intense/gory either.
I loved Zi Yu (Andrew Yin), he is the ultimate best friend. Their bromance was fun to watch and a good comedic relief from the serious tone of the crime investigations. Xun Ran (Wang Kai) was a good second lead but the drama never really gave him a chance to be a serious romantic threat to Bo Jin Yan. Nevertheless, I admired his dedication and willpower as a cop- his acting was also spot on. The beginning was a bit slow but it was needed to set up the story. It starts rapidly speeding up after around three episodes. This drama didn't drag that much; rather, it went by quickly in 24 episodes.
The music kept me barely breathing in lots of suspenseful moments so it definitely did its job! There was a lot of orchestral music which was a nice change from usual dramas.
Re-watch? YES! I will most definitely re-watch this and so far this is my favorite Chinese drama! I recommend this drama if you're into suspense, crime scene investigations, and lots of romance. I wouldn't recommend this if you don't like romance intertwined with crime scene investigations. That said, this drama was fantastic in all respects so I recommend it to everyone. (10/9.75)
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This review may contain spoilers
Booty Call Appointments
Oh, Mr. Khun Elyes, now talk about a guy you wanna punch under a mistletoe. Yes, this show is not called 'Very Nice Tall Guy My Boss' but damn Susan, did Elyes have to be so good at being a red flag? He got under my skin so much, I'm lowkey having beef with a fictional character. And can someone please slap Pat with a rubber chicken? cuz I'm this close to throwing the holy Bible at his head. Homeboy is so pathetic I can physically see myself losing braincells with every decision he makes.Reasons why this show gave me headache, and yet, cuz I'm nosy and love drama, I kept coming back for more. This is the whole romance plot sums up in one:
Pat: I love you so much Khun Elyes. Do you love me too?
Elyes: *crickets* y'all hear sumthin?
Pat: Well, then you have to leave. I have my dignity.
ME: Dignity? Where? Child where is it?
*Khun Elyes and his long legs leaves*
*Five seconds later*
Elyes: I bought you bird nest soup. I'm gonna take care of you, although you don't need it.
Pat: bird nest soup? You are the best human in the whole wide world. *In-love noises*
Me: Child, that's not bird nest soup, that's literally water with rock salt and some plantain leaves, ask him about the feelings thing.
Pat: I love my water soup. *opens legs*
ME: Ah, there was your dignity... ON THE EFFING FLOOR.
This show lived up to its title. It promised exactly what it said it was gonna give us, a bad boss. What it didn't though, was how my blood pressure was going to hit the roof because of Pat. Homeboy had me fighting to stay sane with every decision he made. Pat was in love with a boss who had a schedule for his booty calls, treated him and his feelings with no care, and still he kept forgiving him, and coming back for more. Pat, son of Adam, please, quit!! He kept threatening to quit every 2-3 business days, then comes running four seconds later.
Like, tell me why you gonna love a guy who makes you drive him to his booty calls, schedule the appointments for his hoes, and knowingly plays with your feelings, and is somehow also still hung up on his ex who cheated on him? No, but Elyes is an asshole with a capital jerk! He's the kind of character you wanna shove down a long cliff, then throw a bulldozer over just to be sure.
Cuz, literally 2 episodes in, and Elyes have:
1) Double booked a booty call. Homeboy has a schedule where he appoints his booty calls!! Nah ah, it could never be me! Come try that in my backyard, child, see what happens ho! I dare you.
2) Made Patt filled in for a date so he could get with another booty call instead. The angry girl threw water on Pat for his troubles, while Elyes was having a good time against some wall.
3) Made Pat buy a birthday gift for his booty call, just to hurt him. He was like, 'you know what he likes, get to it.'
4) Humiliated Pat by letting him serve him and yet another booty call as their waiter.
5) Forbad him from quitting, or being friendly with people he dislikes.
And after all that, all THAT, Pat still loves him with a capital stupid, and let him kiss and bed him. Child of Adam, why? Why yous so stupid?? Pat deserves no right. Do you enjoy getting hurt?? QUIT, child, QUIT! Listen, I love drama, and stupid arse characters with no self respect makes me love myself more, but this was just sad. And the worse part was, Pat knew he didn't deserves how he was being treated, yet he still stayed. And to that I say once again, ON THE FLOOR. At this point, I don't even blame Elyes for how pathetic Pat was, cuz homeboy should have known better, he was literally the one in charge of Elyes' eff-buddy list. Falling in love with a guy who actively hurts you to teach you a lesson cuz he sorts of cares---miss me with that BS!
I still can't get my head around why Pat didn't just quit and save himself the tears. Pat helped Elyes build an empire in five years only to remain an assistant, a booty call, and the designated driver while Elyes is out effing everyone and their mamas. Elyes even made him a stand in for his dates. And he has to wait in the car while he's out ho-ing. Plus, after all that Pat have genuine feelings for Elyes. Like, why? Literally, why you gonna fell for someone who treats you with less respect than dirt? Sure, there was a scene where Pat said he didn't mind the ho-ing and felt nothing about it, but dude, you have a random else photo of your boss and you, with you in the corner in a frame, on your bed-stand, probably taken off the internet. Come on son, have some shame! Self respect Susan, do you have any? Cuz bish, after 5 years together, working so close with him, many late night dinners, if he doesn't know you're allergic to seafood, you should riot.
And the sad truth is, it's not that Elyes didn't see that what he was doing hurt Pat, he did, and even knew when he was mad at him for it. Plus he seemed to like him back, and didn't want him to quit. Then of course he got all jealous and possessive when that random ex-girlfriend showed up. (Sidenote: Literally, are there girls like her who can't take a hint and just disappear?) So yeah, Elyes still liked Pat while hurting him, which was the worse.
Listen, I felt so embarrassed for the villains in this show. No, really, they were pathetic and flat-out cartoonish. Like, that one guy who went to steal whatever from Elyes's computer. Mfker was like grinning, doing whatever with his eyebrows and trying to look very sly, but came off looking constipated. Like dude, give it a rest. And the two big bad villains. HAHAHAH, like, one of them was like:
Villain #2: We need to kill Run cuz his lover is a mafia. Big bad mafia.
Only for the big bad mafia to show up to a kidnap/blackmail with one hand in his pocket and get totally beat up. Then in the end, he was standing there doing some real hard staring and breathing, while Villain #2 fell down like he did something, and my arse was like, my brother, my brother, go find somewhere to sit, you've embarrassed me and your ancestors enough for today. While they were fighting, I was laughing my arse off, all that guns and both weren't smart enough to keep one on them? And in the end one of them pulled out a knife and got shot in the head.
PLOT:
This had an interesting premise, falling for a bad guy who is also your boss. I went in knowing there would be nonsense drama, and that's what I got, so they nailed that part. The execution of the plot however was all over the place. The bad guys were mid, the secondary characters were uninteresting, and the mains kept going in circle with their relationship. Yes, after a while they made Elyes changed his way, and with some backstory, we came to understand why he's the way he was, so it added to his character. Unfortunately, there wasn't so much meat anywhere else to make this go from interesting premise to a very good show.
I'm still wondering what the reason for that random arse time jump after all the close up shots was about. I went from: how many close up of his effing shoes did we need to see, how is the camera work weird and all over the place to, 'a time jump literally after 1 scene is rubbish'. The director and editors might have thought they ate with that, but my arse was staring like... pack it up and bring it back Sharon, you've done nothing impressive enough to time jump.
CHARACTERS:
Though both leads had my head spinning, I enjoyed the drama they brought to the table. Stupid, braincell losing drama, but still drama. As for the acting, it could have used more work to weed out the awkwardness, and whatever Elyes kept doing with his eyebrows. Most of my attention was on the leads, but Run's character also seemed very interesting, though he was as dumb as Pat, falling in love with an abusive cheater. I wished we'd have gotten more depths from the other characters, but even with Pat, he was a nice guy, stupid and a pushover, and that's basically most of what he was. Once in a while he'd get some bold genes but they deflated pretty quickly. I almost reached into the screen to shake him when he couldn't just be straight with the ex-girlfriend. Though in his defence, homegirl just couldn't take a hint.
As mentioned, the story with the business part was uninteresting, and all that bidding stuff went straight over my head, so it didn't make the secondary characters any interesting than they were made to be. Even in the finally whatever problem arose, all we saw were different montages and Pat putting his pen to his chin. I'm sure they solved it, cuz they had wine, so... yaay for them, I guess.
FINALE.
That finale pissed me the eff off. Literally, after all the work they did with Elyes, only to have him cheat one last time. He could easily have told Kim they should just be friends instead of making out with him. And Pat, after... you know what, why bother, homeboy is officially too stupid to insult, so whatever. I stayed in this show for the drama, but damn, did the writers even know what they were doing with the plot? And was I supposed to cheer that Pat and Elyes ended up together? cuz all I did was roll my eyes and laughed at that corny arse candle love scene. Literally, why?
All in all, a typical bl, nothing special, but watchable like most bls, but you gonna need patience for this one. So if you're looking for some dramatic arse show that's probably gonna make you want to reach into the screen and slap yourself a lead, then this show is for you. Grab some popcorn cuz we've got a red flag and a lead who is colorblind by choice, it doesn't get any dramatic than this. I am looking forward to more series with James and Kad in a different drama. Hopefully, something that will keep our interest from start to finish, and with their acting improved.
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Offbeat! Complex! Intriguing! Not for every taste. Nevertheless, consistent in itself
“Perfect Family” presents itself in the now almost impenetrably dense jungle of the KDrama orbit with an idiosyncratic selectivity. The production, which is carefully selected down to the last detail, contributes to this, as the mimes, music and story are perfectly coordinated and prepared as a splendidly distinctive thriller soufflé. And it is rising so well! Perfect.(I could actually leave it at these words. But for all those for whom that isn't enough...)
The Perfect Family? Does that exist at all? Or isn't that concept made up of a highly controlled lie? Doesn't the control issue inherent in (whatsoever) perfection rob family life of its air to breathe? There are those pretty clean and distinguished in pole position for life. And then there are the ones with the 'loser' card, rather daring and lost, provocatively repulsive. And yet, if you look closely, both are just human beings, with light and dark - neither just saints nor devils.
“Perfect Family” also juggles themes such as friendship and betrayal. (And then there's more to it - but especially with this KDrama, a spoiler would be downright fatal.) In its consistently calm pacing the 12 episodes stroll along by leading us on one wrong track after the other, thus keeping us hooked with our open questions.
Ultimately, the story revolves around what follows a sudden death. At the beginning, together with the young protagonist, we are stumbling from one nightmare of conflicting feelings and confusion into the next. Over time, the confusion seems to clear up. The conflicting feelings, however, remain.
All of this is musically framed by a selected mix of classic classics and plenty of cello, piano, etc. - on top of that there are a few enchantingly soothing songs as a tasty acoustic icing on the cake.
Offbeat! Complex! Intriguing until the end!
In terms of pacing and style ultimately not for every taste, though.
Nevertheless, consistent in itself!
PS:
With a progressive message about the correlation between perfection, family life and authenticity... rounded by the exemplary reflection of when it comes to one's own accountability...
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The end of the world can even change my taste in man?!
In a normal situation I would have hated Ritsu so much that I could not have enjoyed the drama. But with this set-up, I have to say, while I still don't really agree with how it turned out, it makes sense! They have found a reason to live, regardless of the end of the world, now it's up to them to make this reason flourishOverall:
The HISTORY is super interesting! Especially the little details about the characters that are revealed in each episode. And Yuuma ... I won't say anything because it is a spoiler but I loved Yuuma's part in this story, I found him strange, magical but kind of lovely
The CAST was not bad at all! I read the manga before watching the drama and I think their interpretation was quite good.
I loved the MUSIC, especially the last song! I think the music reflected the melancholy but bright world they lived in.
A little note, I didn't like masumi's comment about meguru's clothes, but it's a very small scene and he kind of redeemed himself later on
In general I recommend it! It's not the usual highschool drama, some of the themes can be a bit heavy but the execution of the plot was done well in my opinion and FOUND FAMILY VIBES!! If you like this theme you must watch it✨
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