Top notch
I had high hopes for this and I am glad i didn't get disappointed. Although i would say that I thought that this would be more wuxia oriented rather than political but the storytelling is great, the flow is good. The pacing is good, kinda slow but only cause there is so much going on so the plot and characters have to develop accordingly. The characters are interesting to watch. It resembles Joy of life a quite a bit but it is own story. The acting is great. There are a lot of familiar faces, so make it easy to watch. They keep me captivated, I don't have any urge to fast forward or anything.Zhang Ruoyun is a treat to watch, like his charisma is wow. He is smart and cunning, knows how to turn things his way. His interactions with other characters are fun to watch, there are many hidden messages in them. The dynamics between him and his father is funny and sweet at the same time. They clearly understand and care for each other just have different ways of showing it. There seems to be a lot of gray characters, makes one wonder how that will play into the story. No ones motive is clear expect Xu feng nian's, well most of the times. Lovely chemistry between the cast. I have to say that Xu feng nian and Jiang ni are so refreshing to watch. Both have done so much for each other but Jiang ni less conniving/scheming about it tho. I love seeing Qing Niao on screen is so pleasing and satisfying to watch. She's quite captivating to watch, glad she got good amount of screen time.
Money definitely went into this, the production is big. The beginning is quite light and comedic but I wont be surprised if this turns heavy later on (which it did). There's a balance in the plot, it has a bit of everything. I would say that this is more focused on the political and power struggle. One thing i didn't like was how it was advertised to be very wuxia oriented but there are barly any fighting scenes. Other than that i would recommend it. Glad that this didnt end up in a cliff hanger and was tird up nicely. Hope they announce Season 2 soon.
Was this review helpful to you?
And you do.
Only to spit out a stale piece of rotten, bland bread.
That's the only way I can describe Heirs.
It had a promising cast, promising writers (the same as Secret Garden), and a great budget. But once the episodes began rolling, you got a taste of the dry product.
Anticlimactic plot, the drama missed some sparkles, the romance was roll-eye worthy, and the humor was cheesy.
Bland, irrational characters. I never understood why two guys were vying for the annoying, wimpy Eun Sang. Kim Tan was as 1-dimensional as it could get. And why the hell did Kim Woo Bin's character turn against Kim Tan? I never fully comprehended that.
Incredibly sucky acting (I'm looking at you Lee Min Ho), perhaps Kim Woo Bin and Kim Tan's biological mom were the only rescuable ones. Oh, and they also wasted Choi Jin Hyuk's acting.
And to top it all off, as unoriginal as it could get. It was obvious they wanted to recreate an entertaining mess a la Boys Over Flowers, but they sort of missed out the entertaining factor.
I usually try to find a positive point in this drama, but even the OST was annoying.
Pass this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Let me start about my saying I am a huge romantic. It doesn't take much for me to root for a couple and I almost always with very few exceptions root for the endgame OTP from the beginning until the end. I usually don't watch dramas that don't seem to promise much romance. However I started this one not expecting it to be a very romantic drama, it was not advertised like it would be. I started it because I'm a fan of Yoon Shi Yoon and because I was interested in the plot and the teasers looked very funny. I'm a huge Kpop fan with an interest in the history of Kpop and it's beginnings in the mid-to-late 1990's, so the drama being about both struggling modern day idol trainees and a 90's idol top star who travels to the future sounded right up my alley. I also was intrigued by the father-son connection and I'm a sucker for good heartwarming family drama especially of the "Surprise, You're a Daddy" variety. So I was expecting a drama about struggles of youth in music industry, friendship, family, comedy, and maybe just a dash of romance. At first I really loved this drama, I was raving about it everywhere, convincing everyone I could to watch it. The thing that shined the most in the early episodes was the comedy, it was gold! The jokes were rapid fire, I still remember many of them and laugh. But even in all the other aspects I was not disappointed at all. I shipped Ji-hoon and Woo-seung, because I found his crush on her really cute and he was such a nice guy. Woo-seung was the only thing that was a little disappointing at first, I liked her character, but the acting was pretty bad imo and I usually don't complain about acting, but here it was sometimes distractingly bad. But even though I shipped them and thought the drama was maybe setting them up to be endgame, I was fine with them not ending up together and didn't expect the drama to focus much on this romance aspect. I did not see Hyun-jae and Woo-seung as a possibility at all, I found it a bit gross because of the Hyun-jae likely being Ji-hoon's biological dad, so he'd be ending up with his son's crush. I really truly did not think the writers would go there. Sure there were signs in the beginning like the kisses, but those were clearly jokes, so I didn't take them seriously. I wish I did.
It wasn't until episode 17-18 that I started to realize the drama was not going the way I wanted or expected it to go. Maybe I should have realized earlier, but when Hyun-jae cuts his hair to a modern hairstyle ditching the glorious 90's hair he had before, I finally understood that he was going to be the romantic lead and this was going to be a rom-com from that point onward, not the sit-com like feel it had before. He was no longer going to be an entertaining comedic character with many flaws but a huge heart, but just a bland male lead as bland as his modern hairstyle with no personality to speak of. Suddenly there was a love triangle between father and son over a girl. I normally am not fond of love triangles, but this one was uniquely horrible. And that girl once a competent independent woman was reduced to a helpless damsel in distress who acted completely illogically just so two boys could fight over "saving" her. For several episodes it was literally a competition between the two men over who could be their first to save her, with the episode ending on a cliffhanger of them both running to save. It made no sense, but Hyun-jae won the contest by saving her the most times so therefore they became a couple or something. I don't know, they had no chemistry and the story did nothing to make up for that. The leads having feelings for each other was just told to us, but never shown, so when they get together it's sudden. Oh and the cliches, oh the romance cliches. Early on the drama was poking fun at them (a spinning accidental kiss in a car where they pan out and show that the car is actually inexplicably spinning). But then it plays them painfully straight not an ounce of comedy left, I cringed so many times. I'm fine with these cliches sometimes, when there is chemistry and a believable build up, but this was a relationship built entirely on cliches, that was nothing but cliches, with no depth or true romance at all.
In the end it becomes a mediocre or even bad rom-com (and very light of the comedy for that matter), not the amazing sit-com/variety/family drama it was in the first half. All the other characters and plots are thrown to the wayside in favor of the lead's boring romance, a romance so bland that the blandness rubs onto everyone else including the leads who no longer feel like the actual characters but merely placeholders in an execise of how (not) to write kdrama romance. After episode 22 I finally dropped this drama, only to read recaps for the rest of the episodes and watch the last few episodes. I still foolishly held out hope that maybe it could recapture a bit of the magic it had in the beginning, but each recap just seemed worse and worse. When I picked it up again I did not feel like I missed anything, the time-travel mystery was obvious to me from the beginning, the father/son connection that had so much promise in the beginning (and was presented as the main plot initially) amounted to essentially nothing (utterly ruined by the love triangle), all the other side plots and side characters got peanuts in the end. Even Ji-hoon, arguably the protagonist in the first half, was reduced to side character in the second and therefore it no longer seemed necessary to give his character the proper development and story he deserved. From an ensemble cast with so much potential, to focusing exclusively on the main leads (and really only the male lead, since the female lead's development was abandoned and she became nothing more than his girlfriend in the end). Maybe it would've worked okay if the main leads were as interesting as they were in the beginning, but no, everything and I mean everything had to be sacrificed for the sake of the OTP. And since these two characters were utterly incompatible romantically in the beginning they had to become different, very boring people in the end to make it work.
Had I reviewed this drama when I first watched in while it was still airing, I probably would've given it one star because I was so frustrated and disappointed with how it turned out. Now with a lot of time passed since I watched it I feel a rating right in the middle is perfect. The first half was maybe the best thing ever, the second half was close to the worst thing ever. It was a classic bait-and-switch. The writers knew what they were doing. Maybe they did it because of audience feedback (lots of knetz complaining about the lack of romance and YSY no getting "enough" screentime) or maybe they intended it from the start. I don't really care either way. I felt cheated and betrayed. Some people will be okay with the bait-and-switch, some will probably even enjoy the second half more. I do not understand those people. If you just really wanted to watch a rom-com, watch a good one, not the pathetic attempt at one this drama has. So in the end, all I can recommend is maybe the first half of this drama if you are okay with leaving things hanging and just want to laugh. Other than that I cannot recommend it.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I stuck with this series because of the acting. Gulf did an amazing job with Type and Mew, when his character wasn't creepy or crying, was pretty fun. Mild's Techno was wonderful, I much preferred his interpretation of the character than the one in Love By Chance.Having watched now both T/T and LBC, and read a bit here and there about the other storylines of the novels, it seems that virtually every storyline in this story universe has some element of sexual assault in the backstory or conflict (even Ae/Pete, which is a wholly consensual relationship, is triggered by a sexual assault and blackmail that Pete is trying to deal with). These plot device assaults are not dealt with well, the effects on the characters come and go as suits the storyline, and there are no consequences for rapists. When characters we are supposed to like commit assaults, it's treated as part of the romantic development rather than called out for what it is.
This is particularly badly done in T/T. Type has a traumatic, really major sexual assault in his history. In the entire series, the only scene in which this history was used in a way that felt realistic and important is when he recognizes Tar's trauma, which occurs in the last episode.
Tharn is gross. Just awful. He has zero respect for Type's boundaries. He sexually assaults him multiple times: in the shower; while he's sleeping; tells Type to "watch his ass" after they become friends again and after Tharn knows about Type having been kidnapped and raped; pushes him into a wall and threatens him when he thinks Type is flirting at a bar... just horrible. He agrees to have sex with Type even when Type explains that he is offering because a) he feels like he owes Tharn and b) he's afraid Tharn is going to do it at some point anyway so he wants to get it over with. When someone tells you they don't think they can say no to having sex with you because of factors that don't have to do with their immense desire to have sex with you, going ahead and having sex with them is rape. The writing completely ignores the coercive element of their first time. No, in fact, afterwards, Tharn tells Type that even though he said they could do it just once, it wasn't going to be just once, and then proceeds to continue to pester him until Type gives in again, which basically marks the start of their "romantic" relationship.
These constant assaults are not treated by the writer or director AS assaults, never problematized or called out. They are also really confusingly shot and plotted, to the point where at the beginning I thought we were seeing Type's fearful dreams/worries playing out (which would have been MUCH better, in that we would have understood more Type's reaction while being able to continue respecting/liking Tarn)
On top of the outright assaults, Tharn is horribly emotionally manipulative. We can, of course, dislike Type's homophobia. But given that it's routed in trauma, and that Tharn knows this, a realistic and compelling storyline would have Type moving through his fears and overcoming his prejudices while Tharn gives him some emotional space to process these changes and reconsider his worldview.
What we get instead is that every time Type concedes something, Tharn pushes the next boundary without asking and then gets mad/withdraws affection when Type is upset. On the very day that Type admits they are something more than friends, Tharn convinces him to go out into public and then kisses him IN PUBLIC without asking. On what planet would you expect the traumatised, recently severely homophobic guy who is struggling with his sexuality and only hours ago was willing to admit that maybe, just maybe, there's something more going on between you than being fuck buddies is suddenly ready to be outed at a bar? None. Actual people who understand relationships would not make that move and if they did, they would understand that THEY were the ones who did something wrong.
What does Tharn do? He gets mad, sulks, leaves for days and doesn't come back until Type apologizes.
The Tar storyline is also terrible, but I'm going to leave it here. I can't honestly recommend the show, although I can understand if you just want to kind of close your eyes/mind to the flaws and try to enjoy the fluffy parts, because that's clearly what I did. The characters are so inconsistent that when they are not being awful, they are pretty cute and likeable, so the fun fluffy scenes are there. Still, I'm not sure if it's worth it. I feel sort of gross for having watched it to the end.
Was this review helpful to you?
The acting was fine with most of the actors but secretary Kim's actress really didn't do it for me. Reminiscent of Kristen Stewart, she seemed to have no facial expressions (or personality for that matter), and when she did manage a smile, it looked faker than a 16 year-old's ID. I felt no chemistry with her and the male interest and that was mostly because of her.
I have no clue how I managed to finish it, maybe because I was waiting for something better to happen, like a plot-twist that she's actually a secret agent coming to reveal the company's murky operations, or a closeted spiritual person seeking information about the human energy field (did he or did he not keep saying AURA! with a flourish?), ANYTHING that would justify that high a rating. I'll pretend I was smart enough to add this to my Dropped list.
I would not recommend this show to anyone, unless you have a bunch of free time and are bored enough to not mind burning some brain cells.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The Perfect Winter Watch!
“In the past, no matter how hard I worked, how hard I fought, I would always feel empty. Since life is unfair, why do I fight like this? There is no place I have to go, nothing I want with all my heart, no one I need to be with. Until…we met one another in a snowstorm.”________________________________
Where should I start? Perhaps with the statement that if you are looking for a fluffy Cdrama rom-com to watch in the middle of winter, Amidst a Snowstorm of Love is a strong candidate for you to consider. It is a drama full of cute romantic scenes, strong friendships, and endless support from so many different characters. I started this drama in the middle of a pretty bad Cdrama slump, and this was the perfect comfort drama for me to watch while it was coincidentally snowing outside. The leads meet in Finland during a snowstorm, and their story of love and persistence unravels from there. Additionally, much of the plot revolves around the pool table, as the leads are nine-ball and snooker players. Coming into this drama, I knew almost nothing about the sports, but I found myself watching each player anxiously as they competed, silently cheering them on. Amidst a Snowstorm of Love was adapted from the novel of the same name by Mo Bao Fei Bao (墨宝非宝). The novelist’s name may sound familiar; she also wrote the original novels for Go Go Squid!, The Flame’s Daughter, and One and Only.
The first ten or so episodes of the drama are essentially the build-up of Lin Yiyang (ML) and Yin Guo (FL)’s relationship. Lin Yiyang and Yin Guo meet in an evening snowstorm in Finland. The first third of the drama was a bit slow for me, but it quickly picked up speed. Lin Yiyang is an international student in communications, and Yin Guo has come to compete in a major nine-ball competition. Much of the drama is centered around their cute moments in Finland, or as I commented earlier, are basically snapshots of the two walking around in the snow. And of course, food, food, and food! The Chinese characters speak English for a good portion of the drama in Finland. Lin Yiyang and Yin Guo’s relationship is literally the biggest green flag you’ll see in CdramaLand. They are extremely considerate of each other, are amazing communicators (after countless dramas with stupid misunderstandings, thank you!!), and are supportive of each other’s goals. Their little WeChat conservation moments are adorable! Additionally, despite Lin Yiyang being away from the pro-snooker life for over a decade, Yin Guo didn’t hesitate at all when she told him she would support him if he wanted to compete again. Lin Yiyang was the Chinese snooker champion by 13, but soon ‘retired’ due to conflicts with the judges. Yin Guo also started nine-ball at a young age and is currently one of the top internationally-ranked players.
You could say that Lin Yiyang took the initiative for their romantic relationship, but both of the leads were drawn to each other from the get-go. It was so sweet to see Lin Yiyang and his friend Wu Wei taking time out of their day to show Yin Guo and her cousin Meng Xiaotian around Hull, Finland. Lin Yiyang would go on such long train rides just to see Yin Guo again! They’re both more introverted, so as they got to know each other, it was more common to see them eating and chatting over the phone than actually speaking to each other. And after Yin Guo went back to China, they continued to talk to each other over the phone nonstop. The communication between the two is mature and impeccable. There are no stupid misunderstandings at all, and although both leads have attracted a lot of admirers (especially Lin Yiyang), there is just an amazing level of trust that leads to absolutely no jealously at all. I also appreciate the fact that the ML and FL’s admirers backed off after seeing the two together. Thank you, thank you!
Another essential aspect of the drama is the undying support the characters pour on each other. Not only does Lin Yiyang help Yin Guo get ready for her first competition in Finland, but the support is mutual. As Yin Guo slowly learns about Lin Yiyang’s past, she and his old friends are thrilled to learned that he wants to go back to professional snooker. And the bromances are so funny and heartwarming! Even before I knew that the novelist for this drama was the same for Go Go Squid!, I could see similarities between the close-knit friendships tied together by a shared love for the sport. In the beginning, I thought that Yin Guo’s other cousin, Meng Xiaodong (Xiaotian’s older brother) would be a problem in their relationship due to his seemingly hostile past with Lin Yiyang, but I was so wrong. Meng Xiaodong turned out to be one of the most supportive people towards both their relationship and Lin Yiyang’s return to pro-snooker. (There’s plenty of eye candy as well, but that’s just a plus!) We also witness the rekindling of friendships between Lin Yiyang and his former peers whom he left years ago.
I would say that the only major roadblock in Lin Yiyang and Yin Guo’s relationship is Yin Guo’s mom, but she wasn’t much of a problem either. I won’t say why she wasn’t initially supportive of them being together, because it’s explained in the drama. However, her initial dislike towards Yiyang is pretty reasonable. I also think that this progression from dislike to a loving embrace really shows Lin Yiyang’s character changing for the better since he was that stubborn and haughty snooker champion as a teenager. Some people were unhappy with the lack of "subtance" in the drama, but then were upset about the mom. (Just an example of how we can't cater to everyone.) I’m also going to take a minute here to appreciate his amazing teacher, Mr. He Wenfeng. Lin Yiyang was his last student, whom he treated like a grandson. Mr. He is the teacher all of us want, and Lin Yiyang wouldn’t be where he was at 13 or today without his guidance.
In my opinion, Wu Lei and Zhao Jinmai had amazing chemistry. It didn’t help when their characters were so loving and supportive towards each other either! Even as opponents, every clap and congratulations were extremely genuine and everyone was happy for one another, no matter who won or lost. All the actors and actresses made the rom-com enjoyable, with plenty of smiles and laughs. The OST is cute and perfect for the leads' happy moments together. Amidst a Snowstorm of Love was the first drama I’ve watched that shines the spotlight on the pool table. Since I know basically nothing about snooker and nine-ball, I can’t testify to whether the drama showed gameplay correctly, but it sparked my interest in the sports. And given that China is currently very high-ranked internationally in terms of snooker and nine-ball, the drama also was able to raise awareness for the sports in China, and of course, outside of China.
All in all, Amidst a Snowstorm of Love is the perfect cuddly winter watch! It is a perfect combination of romance, friendship, and healthy relationships across the board. You are not only transported to the world of pool, but also get to experience a Finnish winter and amazing love story. It’s definitely a plus if you start this drama when it’s snowing outside. (That’s what happened for me!)
Thanks for reading!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Had a promising start, but was disappointed
I loved the beginning of it, but as the drama progressed towards the end, I felt disappointed with the plot. I ended up skipping the last couple of episodes. I thought that the beginning captured me, and then it didn't make sense after a while. It feels like Chinese dramas have a hard time with endings.Was this review helpful to you?
An impressive collection of talent badly underutilized by a troublesome script & production misfires
One of the recent additions to the literature genre is The Recipe Blog. It is characterized by insufferably long backstories rife with unnecessary details, long personal digressions and endless teases that it is about to get to The Big Reveal of, y’know, The Actual Recipe. [scroll scroll scroll “Where is it?!!! Aaaarghh, back to the Google search…]It is easy to imagine the producers of “Jirisan” concocting this show much like the reader of a recipe blog: imagining the beautiful final product, struggling to get through the preliminary preparations, getting to the list of ingredients, then finally running out of patience, throwing them in a bowl haphazardly, giving it a few stirs, tossing it in the oven and going to have a very large glass of whiskey. It’s not that “Jirisan” is an hopeless, ugly mess that doesn’t merit a meal, but it needed a skilled chef at the helm to blend all of the elements together in to something that comes close to approximating the sum of its exceptional parts.
And the parts, in isolation, are a murderer’s row of impressive quality.
The supporting cast is Grade AA+++: Go Min Si as the fresh, novice ranger. Oh Jung Se (OH JUNG SE!!!) as the lonely veteran ranger. Jo Han Chul, Sung Dong Il and Jun Suk Ho are all terrific character actors. The mountain is a gorgeous setting to the show and viewers are treated to some outstanding drone shots of the scenery.
Jun Ji Hyun is the star and is every bit the talented actor needed to anchor a big budget drama. It’s not an award-winning role, but Yi Kang is a a solid lead character - enough complexity and development, a dry sense of humor and the tragic backstory. She is highly guarded personally but has a good development arc as the show progresses.
The other lead is Joo Ji Hoon who stands out more as an actor and his character, Hyun Jo, is the most intriguing of all. Joo Ji Hoon is really as complete a package as there is in the industry - all the physical attributes and a wonderful actor. He is warm and outgoing and understanding of Yi Kang and also exasperatingly driven to stop the killer that has escaped capture. Every time the show puts Hyun Jo in the spotlight, the energy of the show picks up noticeably.
All these various individual qualities, unfortunately, don’t mesh into a scintillating vehicle for entertainment. The chief culprit is, ironically enough, The Culprit. The murder mystery is flat out not particularly suspenseful and “Jirisan” never works out how to generate any measurable amount of tension. A fair amount of blame goes to a script that incorporates so many multiple timelines that anyone outside of a quantum physics practitioner is likely to struggle to make sense of. It also doesn’t help that the present day storyline has both main characters incapacitated to a certain degree and, as a result, incapable of interacting with each other. The show also starts out on a bizarre and awful sequence involving a rescue amidst a embarrassingly badly rendered cgi rockfall. The OST promoted a solo BTSer effort but it is wholly forgettable. And there’s little things like frequent splatters of blood that don’t look anything like actual human blood.
At no point (other than the opening sequence) is “Jirisan” tedious or unpleasant. But this production desperately direction and editing that made it’s little multiverse more accessible and the interaction between the cast members more meaningful and resonant. As it falls short on those areas, it’s very much a middle ground of a show - with some fine actors and a couple of intriguing main characters that are very much in search of a better blend between them.
Is it recommended? Kind of. Maybe? Not really or at least not strongly at all.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
the writing did not support the interesting premise
Overall: I was super excited for a twisty action thriller but the nonsense/cliche plot turned this into just another teenage GMMTV BL series. Aired on GMMTVs YouTube channel.Content Warnings: murders, attempted murder, beaten up/violence, bullying, blackmail, manipulation, unwanted public outing, drugging, kidnapping
What I Liked
- that the first scene wasn't a flashback or flash forward
- the beginning/first episode hooked me
- Chopper and Ben (Perth did a great job)
- production value (minus my quibbles in Room For Improvement)
Room For Improvement
- there is a lot of nonsense plot things, some of which could have been explained with a few lines or a short scene and that makes it even more ridiculous (one example, a highschooler is a full time fisherman and he happens to fight and shoot a gun really well)
- characters don't feel realistic or have realistic reactions (Palm's interaction with his mother as an example, both of them just chillaxing on their beach vacation instead of how I think most people would be feeling)
- I wanted some plot twists or for this to be different but it's a standard GMMTV romance with window dressing
- the night scenes were too dimly lit, a couple of times the music was too loud over the dialogue
- it dragged in many places, I wanted an action/thriller and this was not it
- Chopper and Ben felt very rushed at the end
- overall I just didn't end up feeling much of anything, scenes that were supposed to make me sad didn't because of the huge plot holes
Was this review helpful to you?
Xianxia at its best
So much looking forward to this drama, and watching it now, it doesn't dissapoint, and meet more than my expectations. Productions and CGI are breath taking & topnotch, you will be really transform to the magical world of chinese mythology and fantasy. The story and plot is engaging, characters are properly introduced and acting are superb. Zhao Lusi is really a formidable actress, she can carry the role and any roles for that matter so brilliantly. Kudos to all TLI cast & crews, this drama is worth waiting and watching .Was this review helpful to you?
Dull and repetitive!
As expected of Netflix´ standards, the directing, the cinematography and the musical scoring are outstanding; full of eye candy scenes. Quite beautiful and very melancholic heavy, which I´m a sucker for. So the experience was a joy for my eyes and ears, with that in mind it was easy to sometimes overlook the non interesting story and the lack of character development in the early episodes. But once it hit episode 12 everything just fell apart and the story/writing/main and supporting characters shortcomings became apparent. Once the main leads´ internal conflict was resolved which happened in episode 11 the remaining five were just abysmal and the beautiful cinematography was not enough to keep me interested.Should I recommend this series? Yes, if you´re into young angst, love beautiful productions and you´re willing to overlook story and characters.
Was this review helpful to you?
I laughed, I cried, I swooned...I loved it!
For me, this is a work of cinematic art! ✨ I loved everything about it, and honestly it's hard to come up with highlights, because it seemed like everything was a highlight!What immediately comes to mind that left an impression were (i) the performance of the main couple, played by CXX & LYX, and (ii) the way the story flowed & came to life so beautifully. CXX portrayed XZY so perfectly, with depth & nuance. I loved the range of his expressions, from distant & aloof to warm & caring. He is a stellar actor! Very dashing & handsome in this role, determined & clear but vulnerable too. I have become such a fan! Then, there's LYX who brought her acting skills to another level as HX. I already thought she was great after seeing her in MJTY, but here she played kind of an opposite character, very bubbly, positive, and kind, and like XZY, is very determined but can be vulnerable too. How they fell in love was so real and entirely believable, which is interesting seeing how it started in the VR world. I was amazed how they went from playful teasing to mutual affection & concern to fiery passion & back again. Their chemistry was so good that it felt like they were together IRL! I so enjoyed seeing their friendship & love blossom, them overcoming all odds, & of course being together at the end. My favourite modern Cdrama couple 💞.
Actually, there were so many moments while watching LBL when it felt more like an award-winning film rather than a 28-episode drama. Aside from the amazing acting (not just by our MC but really the entire cast was great!), the way this drama was filmed was too beautiful. From the opening credits with the very cute cartoons layered on top of the MC's more memorable scenes plus the theme song, to the closing credits with the architecture sketches & closing song, and every frame of each moment shown to us in between, everything was beautifully and thoughtfully done. The BGM & OST perfectly complimented the scenes, the framing & angles, the cinematography, the nature scenes, examples of modern & traditional architecture in Shanghai - it was a feast for the senses. The director & his team really put a lot of thought & heart into each still / frame of each episode, giving a certain feeling as I watched, a warm and cozy ambiance. There is a continuity in this feeling throughout the drama despite going from different settings (virtual to real world) and moods (playful, hilarious & romantic moments, flashbacks, stress & angst). So I really loved this connection and flow in the story. Maybe that's why I felt like it was more of a cinematic experience.
They say the devil is in the details and here the details elevated LBL. A beautiful sense of aesthetic permeated every scene, from their outfits (especially loved HX's Republican era outfits in Rongcheng!), interiors, exteriors, cars, buildings, streets, balloons - really everything was selected with purpose. I even liked the beautiful simplicity of the picture frame HX got for XZY with its clean lines. I also loved how they showed how much the MC cared for each other with the little details during certain moments (where if you blink you`ll miss), like how XZY charged HX cell while she was sleeping.
Definitely can go on and on...I mean the plot, character development, script/dialogue, everything was great! No real plotholes, no overdone tropes, no prolonged tangents. I appreciated how they focused on the MC throughout, with the side characters & revenge back story serving more as vehicles to develop the relationship & character of the MC. I also liked the parts in the script where they left a lot unsaid, leaving it up to us viewers to figure things out.
Thank you to the cast, crew & direction for gifting this absolute gem of a show! 👏👏👏 I am definitely coming back to this, I'm sure many times.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A lacking story with a pretty package
**CONTAINS SPOILERS****The GOOD:**
1) Aesthetics: the FLs costume, cinematography and animations are really eye-catching. However, it must be said that the animation style and aesthetics style they went with is very derivative, clearly taking inspiration from the works of Tim Burton (and his team) as well as Tadahiro Uesugi and Neil Gaiman (Coraline). Anyways, bravo for the art direction department.
2) Representation of people in the autism spectrum: although seen in Western movies and series, it seems that in Kdrama-land the depiction of people in the spectrum is overall lacking. Oh Jung Se also does a great job in this role, picking up on the small details without coming off as a caricature.
3) Acting of leads and chemistry between the main couple: Oh Jung Se and Seo Ye Ji showed that they're great actors. Kim Soohyun was good too, but I wouldn't say he was particularly remarkable. However, he and YeJi did a good job building the chemistry between the main couple. Also, on a superficial level, they just look good together, period.
**The BAD:**
**lots of spoilers ahead**
1) ASPD being used as lure without proper development and approach: the drama original title (Psycho, but it's okay) is sensationalist enough -- and one might say even offensive to those who suffer with ASPD -- but it could be given leeway if they were to subvert the stigma carried by people diagnosed with ASPD. However, besides one single mention by a secondary character, the show never expands on the FL alleged diagnosis. Her toxic behaviour in the beginning of the series were even excused by some viewers on the ground that she has a personality disorder. Unfortunately, in the end, we learn that the FL was just a person that had traumas and developed (toxic/unhealthy) coping mechanisms. So basically the show used ASPD as an "exotic" character trait to get viewers interested on the show and then didn't raise any awareness about it. It was a mere plot device.
2) The trope of the toxic male lead but with genders reversed: we all know that many kdramas are guilty of having a jerk ML that constantly mistreats or looks down upon the "doormat" FL only for him to be redeemed and the couple finally get together. Usually, in order to redeem the ML we learn that he actually had a terrible childhood, even though he was rich, his parents were abusive or just absent etc etc. We all know that. What this drama does is the exactly the same thing, except that the toxic part of the couple is initially the FL.
A lot of people considered her rudeness, aggressiveness and manipulative behaviour as "badass" and others excused her because of her supposed ASPD. Well, even if she did have a personality disorder that absolutely doesn't excuse behaviours like sexually harassing the ML, using his disabled brother to lure him to her house, among other gratuitious mean behaviours she had initially.
The whole idea that one should endure boundary-pushing, threats, and manipulation until stockholm syndrome kicks in and they finally heal their stalker who loves and obsesses over them is just an outdated and tired troped that should be dropped by writers at this point.
On a side-ish note, I guess it has also become a trend in kdramas to have a FL with alleged "sociopathic tendencies" as seen recently on Itaewon Class for example. Seems like writers are overcompensating years of male toxicity by writing toxic females, which is not the point of feminism at all. And seeing people lowkey (or highkey) glorifying that behaviour is kinda disappointing too.
3) The trope of the destined connection: aka "we actually knew each other as kids but can't remember that for some alien reason!". Do I need to say anything more about it? I guess it's consensus by now that we're done with such trope. And it was barely needed in this drama too.
4) The trope of the forced cohabitation: again, not only this is tired but it was also connected with the FL toxic behaviour as explained above.
5) The gigantic plot hole: welp, the whole way they dealt with the FL mom was a mess and a half. It was textbook *deus ex machina* plot device. The implausible survival and comeback of the mother serves as a way to bring "resolution" and a happy ending to the characters.
One could disregard this argument and say this series is inspired by fairy tales and it was borderline within the magical realism genre. First of all, I think it's a strech to call it a magical realism work of fiction. But even if it was, every work of fiction regardless of genre should have generic verisimilitude (https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-verisimilitude#what-are-the-types-of-verisimilitude-in-fiction), even fairy tales. No matter how outlandish the premises of the work are, it should carry internal consistency. In the world/universe established in IONTBO the mother plot still doesn't make any sense, nowhere it's hinted that magical plastic surgery exists etc. It's just poor writing, let's admit that.
6) The trope of 'love heals all': people who loved this drama will say the characters improved on their own and weren't really codependent. But weren't they really?
The haircut moment -- usually used as an example of MY independently healing -- is more a symbolic and cathartic moment but it by no means is proper treatment or would accomplish major strides by itself. The show didn't give treatment of mental illness any layers of complexity. Not once she had to sit through therapy sessions, take medication, and her progress was pretty linear when in reality we have ups and downs. Another issue I take with her development is that she barely builds any relationships outside of the one with the brothers.
KT could also have gone through therapy to learn some healthy coping mechanism and how to assume his role as a caretaker in a less burdensome way.
What we saw on the show was that the leads healed as their relationship developed/romantically progressed, it was an intertwined process. The overall message conveyed is that they could ultimately heal because they were each other "safety pins" and that's neither healing on your own nor how it works irl.
So yeah, the show did not approach healing of trauma in a groundbreaking way, they went with the "love heals wounds" path.
**The "what isn't really my cup of tea but isn't objectively a flaw" aka personal side notes one shouldn't take as criticism**
1) The drama is really slow-paced, nothing much happens in its first half and barely on the second. But hey, some people prefer slow-burning stories and character study dramas. So there's that.
2) Having not read much about this show before watching, a friend told me this would focus on mental illness, so I build the expectation of it tackling this social issue in the way Sky Castle did with the Korean school system. But the show actually is just a romcom/melodrama that is set up in a mental institution. The main focus is the romance and not a commentary on the Korean mental health system.
Was this review helpful to you?
1) I do not like it when a woman blindly and stupidly follows a man that mostly could care less and treats her like crap on a regular basis.
2) I do not like it when a teenage girl is portrayed as completely without sense and is kind of a stalker.
3) Even worse when she is encouraged by said boy's mother! The mother helps her stalk her own son! I liked the actress, I did but that's just too much for me to wrap my mind around.
Maybe I am too old for this one. I did not like the message it sends. I am all for going with a story. I can forgive a lot because I have a ridiculous romantic side to me but this one left me wanting to yell at that girl and shake her out of her blind stupidity.
Here is what I did like: The boy kind of redeems himself toward the end and she wakes up at the last minute...kind of. ..but not enough.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Sugar-y Mess of a Drama
This drama was more about gaming scandals than the actual love of the game. I've never seen such an obsession with gaming players as if they are idols. It genuinely felt ridiculous but getting past that, this drama's focus is on the ML and FL. So with regards to that, this is where the drama survives and dies at the same time. The female lead character is so freaking stiff, unmoving, and non-expressive which really wastes the male lead's effort. She is completely reactionary without even showing a reaction. The production team should have found an actress instead of an idol to play the role. But it almost seems to me that this drama was supposed to be a self-interest thing anyway. However, to be fair, the Chinese web novel it is based on that vibe but the female lead character is a bit more active compared. Go figure, another drama where they strip the female lead character of autonomy and complex character.As for the the male lead character, he is what keeps audiences interested half the time with his swoon-worthy moves. He is almost spot on to the novel character with the exception of the more "horny boy" moments that were obviously cut out to make this more cookie cutter.
The gaming parts of this drama had cooling effects but boring ultimately. I skipped over most of them because it felt like a waste of time.
The side characters with the exception of Jin Yang, Ai Jai, and Jian Yang were very one-note. Jin Yang and Ai Jai relationship felt more honest to the realities of dating a pro gramer and not being interested in the game. Jian Yang was pouring emotions as the second lead that made you wonder WHY the hell the female lead didn't give him a second chance. The flashbacks of the two also showed a more natural couple compared to the FL/ML interactions which were so stiff.
Was this review helpful to you?
