Story: The story is hit-and-miss for me. The hits being the sisters and their adorable romances, the misses being the crazy mothers involved. It's actually kind of frustrating when you think of how much MORE time was spent on the mom's instead of the sisters. Really, if the drama had paid more attention to Lee Soon Shin, Yoo Shin and Hye Shin, then I probably would have given this a higher score. Instead, we got buckets full of frustrating mama-drama. Plus, Hye Shin and Jin Wook's story had so much ignored potential. In fact, a whole lot of side stories had ignored potential. It felt like the writer was just making this up as she went along without the foggiest idea of how much time she wanted to spend on story arcs.
Acting: So. Much. Wasted. Talent. Seriously. Jo Jung Suk was perfect here, but his character felt sorely underused. IU had a pretty decent break-out role, and I'm glad this drama was so popular, otherwise Jung Woo would have flown under everyone's radar for his awesome turn as Jin Wook.
Music: Like this drama, it was cute. But when the *same* song repeats the *same* word fifty thousand times at the end of *every* episode, I start to bang my head against the wall.
Rewatch Value: There were a lot of cute scenes in here that I'd like to rewatch, but I will never *ever* rewatch the entire thing. It just won't happen. I don't want to deal with premature hypertension.
Overall: My recommendation is that you have your finger on the fast-forward button while watching this. Otherwise, you're going to lose a lot of hair in the process.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Well when I found about this pairing i really happy & quite surprise, never expected to watch Xing Fei & Hu Yi Tian in 1 drama together....I've never laugh so much when I watch Hu Yi Tian drama, because u know with his still face usually he get rather serious drama with no much funny scene that can make me laugh. But here, as Shen Qing Yuan, he is just so naive, flirtatious & have acute level of love sick.... Hahaha.... Let's elaborate more...
What I like:
+ No love rival. I really glad when they decided to make Shi Xiao Ci (XC) only as friend in the club, not another Girl that fall for the idol in the club.
+ They show us the dirty part of spormanship in the sport world. Yeah not all human is pure & can compete with pure heart. Here we can see the athlete still human & sometimes they did dirty stuff to make sure themselves is getting the spot in the competition and even also mean they do anything to make secure the winning spot for themselves.
+ They once more emphasize the importance of mental health in someone heart. Like in here Shen Qing Yuan (QY), Tang Xin (TX) & Chen Hai.
+ Really like the performance of Hu Yi Tian here. QY is a naive young boy at first, he listen to all his friend suggestion about love & relationship & then he like any other man, he quite flirtatious when he tease TX after they're in relationship, he is also one of the winner of jealousy king, yet he is still so kind when he's treating TX....
+ Everyone keep making the other party better. Like XC & Du Ling Feng or how QY making his teammate better overcome in the sport.
+ They show us one of marriage problem, like Dr. Ding Fang & Zhou Zu Guang, & I really like the way Zhou Zu Guang make in the end, yeah sometimes we have to step back so we can go forward.
+ Not too much skinship. Even though QY quite clingy but the skinship not as much as other drama. Sometimes Xing Fei drama a little bit too much skinship...
What I don't too like:
- Yeah the duration is a little bit too long. 40 ep for this kind of story is a little bit much. They kinda stretch it until almost we reach our boring button.
- Once again, why they have to choose 20s almost reach 30s actor & actress to play university student. Although I really like they performance sometimes quite wonder can't they choose actor/ess more appropriate for their age....
- the return memory of QY feel like anticlimactic for me. It just like it happen already...
if you are the fans of Hu Yi Tian this drama you should watch... I really like how he is getting better at choosing the drama where he can act not only one particular role. Overall I really like this drama, this drama make me laugh until my stomach hurt, but I don't think I will re-watch this...
Was this review helpful to you?
Well, that was a fun ride!
First off - I really wasn't that interested in "The Player", to be honest. But I like the actors so I thought, "Why not give it a shot?" And I have no regrets. First and foremost, I really liked the script. It is a puzzle that you have to piece together. Scene after scene, episode after episode, the writers and the director would leave out just one small detail...that they would eventually get back to somewhere down the road and, by episode four, you'd be wondering who was lying and who was telling the truth. I'll give you a hint - there is a lot of lying going on. Characters that you would think are just passing through wind up being so vital to the plot. Things that were brought up in early episodes that you didn't even remember suddenly became so important in the end.Okay. The Acting. First off - there is a clear villain from the get-go. Then another villain shows up. Then another. It got to a point where everything was so shady that I didn't know who to trust. And the actors just throw themselves into their roles. and play it all with so much conviction that you almost start to believe whoever is on and start watching the others suspiciously. By the end of the first episode you swear allegiance to one character but, I guarantee, you will switch allegiances before the end of the next episode. I remember at one point saying, "Is everybody lying?!?" The director does a really good with this great script and the actors are right there with them.
Look - if you're expecting something deep and profound and life changing...this is probably not the ride you want to take. If, however, you're up for a fun ride, just hop on board! A good time was had by all!
Was this review helpful to you?
Coming to the characters. I loved them all! They were amazing together but even individually all the characters were so lovable in their own different ways. Kai was my favorite. I've always loved the name "Kai" ever since I read The Snow Queen. But the Kai here is just awesome. He's such a caring and sweet person. You know, the kind of people who just attract you with their personality and you can't help loving them and it's all about the substance, not the looks. Not that Kai wasn't good looking. I mean, he was hot, working those spikes like no other man on this planet (lol)! I loved Sae too. I could go on staring at her all day long while she talks in sign language. Ok, that came out a little wrong. I'm just saying that I'm really intrigued by the sign language. I feel like learning it now! Her character was awesome. So strong, despite feeling the blues of her situation at times. She was pretty funny too.
The music was great for this show and the re-watch value is super-high for me. Total ten. This drama is beautiful and addictive and I think most people would love it and should give it a try.
Was this review helpful to you?
Touching, Humorous, Intelligent Characters, Great Side Couples
Many viewers drop this wonderful drama at the beginning episode because they don’t like the main characters – a crass and fearsome female lead and a timid and fearful male lead. After reading my review, I hope viewers give this drama a chance and I hope you would not be disappointed. This drama does remind me of many real couples from the older generations (for younger generations, they would have divorced each other) with strong empress dowagers for wives and scaredy-cats for husbands.Hu Jiao (Zhang Hanyun) is illiterate, unsophisticated and fierce, for she is a butcher and also a shrewd business lady and knows how to fend off enemies and protect her family. She is betrothed to Xu Qingjia (Tong Mengshi) since both were children. Xu Qingjia is a learned man, poor and rather faint-hearted. He is appointed as a lowly magistrate in another small city, and after their wedding, the couple moves to live in that city. Their relationship started off rather hostile as Hu Jiao is unwilling to marry without love to such a weakling for a husband; she is a lot stronger than him physically. And how she treats Xu Qingjia is almost like a slapstick comedy at the initial part of the drama; multiple times she strikes him faint because she doesn’t want him to get near her. The scenes are hilarious. In their journey struggling through hardship and danger, they grow to trust and love each other. At the moments of despair or weakness, they give each other courage, and energize each other; she's his mental support, and he hers.
Though both female and male leads have totally different traits, they complement and supplement each other like a toothed gear working in harmony and precision. Both are honorable, upstanding, wise, strong and courageous. They believe in one simple philosophy: 尽人事安天命 or “do your best”. With their magnanimity, they convert enemies into alliances, and serendipity follows.
This is a new cast for me but I have enjoyed everyone’s acting here. Zhang Hanyun puts up a very believable Hu Jiao, and her knife skills, either in mincing her pork or shaving the scoundrels’ hair, are very convincing and funny. Tong Mengshi’s Xu Qingjia is humble and lovable. As much as I love the main characters, my favorite character is Gao Zheng (Chen Yilong), the county lieutenant sheriff. This is one of the best supporting actors I’ve seen. Gao Zheng is cold faced with no emotions, and yet, when he’s ticked, by words or actions, the skin on his side forehead jerks subtly, even for an ephemeral moment, showing viewers that indeed this man has deep hidden feelings. This drama also gives us some very lovely side couples. I love the story of Gao Zheng and Yu Niang (Zeng Yixuan); it is beautiful and heart-wrenching. Though kissing scenes are very limited here, the emotions shown in the actors’ eyes, especially in Chen Yilong’s (Gao Zheng) and Zeng Yixuan’s (Yu Niang) when they look into each other, are authentic and believable.
My Verdict
The writer has a great sense of humor. Many of the characters have very funny names representing the characteristics of the characters. Hu Jiao has the homophone of “peppercorn”, Qingjia (homophone) means “in-law”. And there is the Zhen Fugui (Truly prosperous) shop keeper, Jia Yi (Pretend), Jia Quan (Fake Power) the powerless housekeeper, Fei Jing (Strenuous) the failed thief, Hua Tuo the herb collector (Hua Tuo was a very famous miracle doctor during the Three Kingdoms period), and others.
At the beginning while the characters are being introduced, the viewers are not given a hint whether the introduced characters are protagonists or antagonists. Initially I even thought Hu Jiao’s father was bad because he forces her to marry Xu Qingjia. And we have a very funny blackface thief (whom I have thought harmless but turns out deadly) who has never been successful in stealing Xu Qingjia’s umbrella. Then we have a tea house owner whom I had thought a loose woman. Even Cui Wulang and Ning Wang seem flirtatious and unworthy. The writer even teases the viewers with some seeming bromance. All the characters turn out to be rather surprises as they are not what they seem to be.
Do not be deterred by some negative comments here on MDL. This is actually a very good and funny drama with an interesting plot and story. There are very few noticeable plot holes and the logic is sound.
Our characters embrace a courageous risk taking approach as how they perceive what it means to be a worthy human, and that's the message of the story.
Amazing watch. Don’t miss it. Bravo!
Was this review helpful to you?
Story - For me, the story seemed both strong and weak at the same time. While the concept of the story is good, there were definitely some draggy parts that made me feel the drama was unnecessarily long. This drama is mostly about family, secret birth identity and ambition (that goes very wrong). During the episodes the child actors starred in, it's more based on family but when the kids grow up, the episodes focus more on company-related ambitions where people fight for ownership of the company. If you don't like depressing dramas, this drama can be sad at times because there are a lot of emotional moments in the family that made me cry a lot. It's not surprising that the drama had draggy episodes though, most long dramas do. There are episodes where you can't wait to see the next episode but there are also episodes where you can get a bit bored. There's good and bad about the story.
Acting/Cast - The child actors were incredible and I really enjoyed the episodes they were in, I even missed them when they grew up. But I also liked Jung Il Woo and Uee, they were also good in portraying their characters. Do Young (played by Jung Il Woo) was so funny in the first half of the drama, he offered a lot of comedic relief with of his antics. I love how he acts like he's an idiot (especially during the childhood episodes) but in reality, he's actually really smart. I feel like in the second half of the drama he cried too much for my liking but I think that can be justified since he had a pretty good reason to. Kim Baek Won (played by Uee) was an interesting main character. She's a not intelligent but not stupid sort of character, she's the main character that fights for what she believes is right. Although her inference with things was annoying sometimes (mostly in the beginning). She's a bad ass when hunting criminals down as a police officer xD She can be weak and break into tears though, both main characters kind of cry a lot but in their situation it makes sense. Chun Won, the second lead character... let's just say she's the typical annoying character that gets in the way of things often. She has a serious ambition and does anything she can to get what she wants. She's smart, like Do Young but she abuses her intelligence. She seems to have no conscience throughout the series. Man Won, second lead actor. He's a pretty cool guy, he can be unreasonable and impulsive but he looks out for Baek Won and cares about his family. There are a bunch of characters that you'll hate and a lot you'll probably love. Young Won (Baek Won's youngest brother) was my favorite character, he was so adorable when a child and when he grew up he continued to be awesome!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
The acting is great - Sato and Kamiki have amazing chemistry between them! It helps that I've seen them in loads of interviews together lately xD Of course Sometani and Kiritani and Yamada were perfect too! -, the comedy was so good, the cinematography was spot on - seriously this director has it going on! -, the CGI was amazing, the music - pretty sure the theme song is ONE OK ROCK or someone similar - and sound was great (the sound of the pens drawing made me shiver all the time!), I thoroughly enjoyed this!
The only reason it's lost one point is: I wanted more so MAYBE this would've been better as a dorama but damn, I wanna rewatch it right now and I've only just finished watching it!! xD
I think this is my second favourite movie of the year!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Best BL of 2020 so far? I think so
This review is a personal opinion. It is not meant to sway or discourage anyone from watching this series.What an amazing little Gem of BL that came out of the Philippines. Truly a great series to watch.
On to my review
Aptly named Gameboys the series, this new “BL” drama changed the game (no pun intended) in the way stories can be told with characters having little to no physical interactions. I put BL in quotation marks because I wouldn’t consider this a Boys Love Drama, but rather a true representation of LGBTQ+. The drama breaks a lot of ridiculous cliches while at the same time using other cliches properly.
The backdrop of the drama is centered around the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect world wide, particularly in the Philippines. The main characters find themselves on mandatory lockdown by the government and must spent majority of their times indoors. Cairo, a self-proclaimed gamer and a nerd, spends his day doing live broadcast, amassing a following that include the cheeky and always smiling Gavreel —who we later learned has been following Cairo’s live streams after the death of his grandmother and went into depression-and develops a crush on the gamer.
Through a series of “video meets” the two being to grow closer, despite Cairo’s reluctance to Gavreel’s advances. We later learned that Cairo has been struggling with his sexual orientation-and the consequences of that which centered around his father’s health.
This drama touched on a lot of things, but for me the most amazing part was the way that Mental health, guilt/blame, and forgiveness took center stage.
Acting: Elijah (Cairo) really stole a lot of the scenes for me. There were so many instances where I felt his pain. Though he masked that pain through “grouchiness/shade” the boy was aching for someone to listen to him. Which is why Gavreel’s existence in Cairo’s life came at the right time (maybe some would call it Fate)
It was refreshing to see a confident gay man in Gavreel—his confidence, cheekiness, fun loving nature truly made the drama memorable, but at the same time, the layers that kept being pulled away bit by bit revealed a young man who had gone through great loss and grief. He was depressed and found solace in Cairo’s live streams.
I loved Pearl! What a great friend who was in a way the “voice of reason” for these boys exploring their relationship. Supportive female characters like Pearl always make the series much better.
Ah the villain ex-boyfriend ended up being such a good character in the end. He acknowledged the mistakes his made and realized that he needed to FIX himself before he could love anyone else.
Overall, this was a very good drama series and I highly recommend it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Pros: I think the cast was strong on all fronts from the core 4, to their friends, to the villains, and the extras.
While Fon's Smile did get a little annoying at times, she had a tenderness that you couldn't help but love her.
The chemistry between Mond and Fon was off the charts. I could do with them being a go-to couple.
Cons: The Boy For Rent concept could have been expanded on more. We know that Kyro is part owner so then why does he work and not just get profits? Also, Badz having to work there for his sister was a good plot but it was weakened by the quick explanation. Kyro and Liz had family issues related to the plot but they were much better executed.
Overall: Smile and Badz were the better couple but Liz and Kyro were the more fleshed out characters.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The biggest mistake of Best Mistake Season 2 is that it's centered around a mean and deceitful new character while at the same time trying to tease us with a love triangle where the conclusion is so foregone that you just feel sorry for the poor sap who you know is destined to be turned away by his crush before the last bell tolls.What's also annoying is that the writers endow the mean and deceitful character with a seemingly superhuman ability to manipulate people, allowing her to get all of these close friends to distrust and turn on one another after what for some has been years of friendship. I hate it when a series is so lazy that it resorts to something like this. Unfortunately, it's all too often what a series will do in a second season because they can't think of anything else to be dramatic about.
The problem is, with Best Mistake Season 2 everybody watching knows that if these close friends were to have just one realistic conversation amongst themselves to compare notes, Ahra's lies would unravel and she'd be exposed within a couple of days. But instead we're supposed to believe that almost every one of these people has undergone a common-sense lobotomy that renders them incapable of anything but wide-eyed wonder over Ahra's beauty.
Also at issue during Season 2 is Hyunho's struggle over being misjudged by the education system, and in particular by a teacher who has a knack for popping up every now and then just to lower his self-esteem a little bit more. On a couple of occasions she takes a few shots at Yeondoo as well, telling her that she owes it to herself to break up with Hyunho because he's a loser who will just drag her down. Smart girl that she is, Yeondoo will have none of it, but alas poor Hyunhoo proves to be not as strong. Since the teacher is blind to his efforts to improve, cruelly dismissing him at every turn, he eventually starts to believe her BS and ultimately decides that he should, indeed, break up with Yeondoo, supposedly for her own good. The breakup is half-hearted at best but still manages to devastate Yeondoo.
This is where the love triangle comes in, and where Season 2 actually does something wonderful. No, it's not the love triangle itself, but rather the introduction of a new character who is complex and interesting. Seunghyun is an athlete who starts out as aloof and unapproachable. His standoffishness is what especially irks Hyunho, whose territorial instincts go haywire from the get-go. He becomes very wary over Seunghyun, and it is to his credit that it eventually turns out that in this regard he does, actually, have something to worry about.
Although many viewers (mainly out of loyalty to Hyunho, I suspect) are put off by the way Season 2 develops the friendship between Yeondoo and Seunghyun, I think the tentative way that Seunghyun builds up his trust in her is very sweet. Pretty quickly it develops into a one-sided crush on Seunghyun's part, and that's another thing that I believe is depicted realistically and with great insight. As Yeondoo slowly breaks down Seunghyun's somber exterior we start to see someone who is ethical, sincere, and probably more than a little bit lonely. Yeondoo has precisely the personality to pry open the feelings of someone like that, just by being herself, and through one kind-hearted interaction after another that's exactly what happens.
I think people can hate the love triangle itself (blame the writers for that) but they shouldn't take it out on Seunghyun, who turns out to be respectful of Hyunho and Yeondoo's relationship even during most of the time when they've supposedly already broken up. Seunghyun can sense that their breakup isn't really final, so in his insistance on always playing fair he waits until the moment when he finally gets word that they are definitely, positively over with before making his move. For this I think the guy deserves a lot of credit! It's got to be the first time he's ever approached a girl so there's so much potential for a rookie mistake, but he still navigates the situation in a way that avoids hurting anyone. In Seunghyun I think we have an amazing character, and Lee Jung Joon's performance in the part is nuanced and masterful. He gives us a Seunghyun who in some ways is even more compatible with Yeondoo that Hyunho is.
(Also, one thing we should always keep in mind is that Seunghyun is the one who finally manages to expose Ahra and eventually get Hyunho and Yeondoo back together again. So please stop hating on my boy!)
Regarding Hyunho, I think one of the reasons Yeondoo chooses to take him back in the end is not only that they're the main couple for the whole series (duh) but given her nurturing personality she knows that Hyunho just needs her in his life much more than Seunghyun does. Hyunho's fragility in this regard is just one of the ways that I think Kang Yul does such a terrific job in playing the role. He gets it right when depicting how such a person is always struggling between bravado and vulnerability. It's this very duality that endeared Hyunho to viewers so much in Season 1, and Kang Yul keeps up the good work in Season 2.
Another great thing about Hyunho's character is that he's always skeptical about anything the evil Ahra says or does. (Big ups to Ryu Sul for also refusing to be taken in by Ahra. She's not only skeptical of her but downright combative about it. Hey, Ryu Sul, I didn't like you in Season 1 but in Season 2 you're killin' it.)
Meanwhile, Yuna proves that she is shallow, dumb and pathetic by wallowing in her ridiculous one-sided love for Seunghyun, and allowing Ahra to convince her that Yeondoo -- Yeondoo of all people! -- is a phony. I can only be grateful that the writers didn't toss her a bone in the end by actually pairing her up with Seungyun. Yuna, girl, you are a sad excuse for a best friend. If there's a Season 3 please do not show up.
Another new character who deserves a thumbs-up is Ah Hoon. He's a cool kid who just needs some big-brotherly guidance, and that's exactly what Seunghyun provides for him. It's not clear to me what purpose he really serves in the season other than to provide comic relief in what in many ways was a bleak season, but it must be said that Keum Dong Hyun does a fantastic job in his drama debut, and I enjoyed the bromance between him and Seunghyun immensely. Part of me hopes that there will be a Season 3 and that the reason for Ah Hoon's introduction in Season 2 is that he'll be the central character in it.
As a last complaint, I think another dishonest thing the writers do is to surgically remove Ji Sung's backbone when it comes to Ahra. She humiliates him to the core after her plot unravels and she's exposed as the snake that she is. She even tells him to his face that she could never really be attracted to someone like him. This is one cruel person, I'm telling you. After all of this treachery, what we see in the last episode is that Ji Sung has skipped the big reunion lunch with his friends and actually decided to SIT WITH AHRA in the cafeteria. Seriously? Here we have a series that has spent 15 episodes showing us what a total lowlife Ahra is, then in the finale they suddenly want us to feel compassion for her. Well, sorry, no sale. Seeing Ji Sung sit with her was just annoying af. I'd rather they just hadn't shown Ahra at all in that episode rather than extract the last modicum of self-respect from poor Ji Sung. I know we're supposed to view it as a teachable moment and think he was doing something noble by extending forgiveness, but people like Ahra need to feel the consequences of their actions or they will never stop.
So, while I could rewatch Season 1 over and over (and actually did during Season 2's airing), I don't think I'll be returning to Season 2 that often. If I do it will mainly be for the two characters, namely Seunghyun and Ah Hoon, who can't be found in Season 1. The franchise still has lots of life in it and I'd be super excited for a Season 3. Either center it around Ahoon or follow the gang to college. The characters are so vivid and lovable and I don't want to be missing them for too long.
Final word: It's funny how my review of Season 1 is really short but this one turned into a novel. I guess it's because I feel that a review that's mostly negative needs to do some explaining. If you got this far while reading it then I'm very flattered and thank you for your time!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
OBSESSED ♥
Literally incredible, i had so much fun watching. A little confusing at the start but it was so satisfying to see all the threads of the story come together, and the story and characters were so complex and beautiful. I loved how Great and Thyme's 4 minutes reflected things about their personalities as well ♥♥♥ such a great watch. The storytelling was just so well done and everything about it was so incredible to see play out. Also, petition to give Bible better TV dads in the future lmao.Was this review helpful to you?
Story: The story was definitely planned with details and had me interested every episode. I get why people say it’s similar to W but the story is more lighter and isn’t as melodramatic as it. Also the drama is geered towards friendship as well as romance.
Acting/Cast: The cast were all pretty good looking and the acting was decent. So not very perfect but definitely not cringey. The males in the cast were handsome and some looked even better with time. The main couple were very sweet but natural in their romance so there wasn’t any yucky feeling about it.
Music: It wasn’t annoying and was light/flowly. Basically a sweet voice singing a somewhat sad song is the best way I can describe it.
Rewatch Value: I would definitely rewatch as a light drama with some crying.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Unexpectedly dark
Just finished this a few mins ago and i’m still reeling from the unexpected assault lol. First thing first, im going into this series blind without knowing anything regarding the plot or the novel, just knowing CZY and LJ from their previous works and kinda liking it, so wanna give this a chance. And who can resist a man in uniform? Lol. And the fact that they make LZ as an expert demolition engineer instead of the usual Special Force officer like other dramas make it more interesting and fresh. the first half was so light hearted to me, Song Ran/Li Zan’s back and forth flirting kept me entertained (and blushing/squealing) for the first half. I mean, Li Zan is basically the epitome of the greenest green flag to ever exist in cdramaland so far. Lol. Their flirting, even though sometimes felt so awkward, but you just cant help loving them even though I have to grit my lips, or smash my face onto the pillow cringing from secondhand embarrassment quite a few times. Then the storyline goes further into PTSD. I was quite surprised of the length they go into this topic, it was a journey, and not just a side point being introduced and then was amazingly healed like other dramas so far i’ve seen. And when the battle looks to be won, dangggg comes the final boss of trauma (and i love that the trauma was so believable that you cant help but accept that someone may not survive the ptsd this time). The final 2-3 episodes basically sealed the deal. I was quite flabbergasted by the end of it. Lol. Damn open ending! The only flaws I have problem with the plot is why oh why Ben was so foolish trying to rescue A-Zan by himself when he has the whole squad at his disposal aishhhh shiball sekiyyaa haha. Tsk2 poor planning mr capable captain! Oh. I also have a problem with how they didnt give a backstory on how Luo Zhan and Jiang Lin related to Li Zan in the first place, those 2 characters seem to be holding quite an influence on Li Zan (or did i missed it?) There’s also quite a few hiccups as well in terms of writing, like the glaring medical side (how come someone with a cardiac arrest and multiple intraabdominal injury/neck laceration was not intubated? And dont get me started on a hormone injected to make a dying pt able to wake up to talk for 30mins. The heck. Give me that drug and basically half of the hospital’s problem can be solved. Lol. And special force dont just let their explosion expert goes on his merry way after such a big explosion/mission without medical clearance or debriefing. And seems like people can get into the special force (or even being its captain) so easily.p/s: the battle of ?motuman is done well imho though. The sequence, the battle idea, the camera works all tied up nicely
Acting was tiptop. CZY was amazing and LJ appears to be quite natural, especially after they got together. Both of them are an A class cryer (lol) they can basically cry at the drop of a hat i felt like. I spent quite a few episodes bawling my eyes out with them two tbh. Li Zan like i said, is basically the greenest green flag ML so far in recent years of watching cdrama, the way he treats Ran Ran is basically like a queen, even when he is in the throes of ptsd episode. And a round of applause to CZY for his portrayal of a ptsd victim. His was so far the most believable portrayal i’ve seen, far surpassing even Yang Yang’s in Glory of Special Force or HBQ’s in Operation Special Warfare. While I basically have A Problem with YY and HBQ’s version, CZY on the other hand, able to tackle the character going thru ptsd without it being cringey or over the top. Song Ran is a little complex of a character, have her own weakness, but still lovable (and relatable) nevertheless. And tbh, I like all the supporting characters as well, from benjamin to saxin to dr pei to shen bei all the way to SR’s mom and LZ’s father. They all make this story more enjoyable, rather than making me more stress or exerting effort in hatred. Lol.
Ost was nice enough, it grows on you. Usually english ost in chinese dramas sound weird, but the Te Amo song kinda grows on me somehow. The battle song was also appropriately energetic.
Totally recommended this drama, even with its darker theme and twist. If not for how they decide on the ending, this probably gets a 9.5 or even a 10 from me. But alas, im just a mere mortal, and mortal likes happy ending! Lol
Was this review helpful to you?
Obsession and Possession
Enthralling. Intriguing. Mind-blowingIt is probably the perfect three words to describe this drama.
The whole drama narrates the story of Lou Qianyi and Hou Youze's relationship after an avalanche that renders Qianyi amnesic and how Qianyi tries to figure out her identity.
Initially, the plot of this drama is not straightforward and kinda complicated, which may leave your mind and train of thought all over the place. However, as the plot progresses, you will be able to gradually grasp the background and motivations of the various characters and understand the past incidents that shape current events.
The show is not draggy, you might get hooked unconsciously after watching a few episodes!! If I'm not mistaken, this drama was initially planned to have 40 episodes, and I am glad that they cut it down to 29 episodes. 29 episodes are the right number, it is not draggy and it is well-paced too. The pacing is well-paced and the drama also transitions seamlessly between suspense, tragedy and thriller with a few twists and reveals mixed in.
What makes this show spectacular is of course the male lead's acting. Ou Hao acted as Hou Youze, an obsessive yet pitiful person. His acting is spectacular!! He managed to bring Hou Youze role to life through his gaze and nuanced micro-expressions. I can't help but feel a bit scared while watching his acting. I watched a few of Ou Hao's dramas before, and he is really versatile, a quality which hopefully garners him more varied roles in his future projects!! Victoria Song's acting has also improved much!! She managed to play 2 different roles so well, she is getting better and better in each drama she stares in.
The background music and sound of this drama fits in perfectly with the whole ambience. The background music makes you feel the suspense and your adrenaline rushing. Though I feel like the background music was excessively used in some parts to the point that the background music is dictating you what you should feel. As for this scene, suspensive background music is used, therefore, you should feel suspense. But regardless of it, they still managed to make me feel the suspense and be on the edge of my seat while watching the drama.
As for the flaws, there are some scenes where it lacks logic and coherence. For instance, how can someone who just suffers a heavy accident and need to go through cosmetic surgery look so normal in just a month?! But if you don't really care about all the small details, you will love the drama!!
Another flaw is the CGI used during the avalanche, the CG looked so fake that I can't help but laugh a little, the cuts and CG used in the avalanche scene does not do justice to the quality of the storyline. But it is only a small part of it so don't mind too much!!
You might like or hate the ending. But for me personally, I think that ending is a perfect ending for this drama!!
Lover or Stranger is probably one of my favourite dramas of 2021!! It is rare to see a Chinese drama that takes on this genre, and in the future, I hope to see more kinds of Chinese dramas with this genre!! Give it a try, you might love it!!
Was this review helpful to you?
