Love by Chance Season 2: A Chance to Love
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This review may contain spoilers
What were they even thinking?
I was reflecting whether I should write this review as many fans might find it insulting, but screw it!To summarise in two words: AWFUL SEASON. Now let me elaborate more.
Legit I do not understand how they decided to go on with this season. Numerous of people had to agree to the final approach for this season plot. I wanna know who in the world agreed to have 6 recap episodes for the first season in a 13 episodes series. Why? Are we, the fans, a joke to them? We did not watch the new season to remind us what happened in the first season. We can rewatch it if we want to remember what happened.
I do not understand how MAME agreed to this approach and the changes in the story. For example, in this season Pete already left from Bangkok and left Ae behind, but at the same time Tin and Can have not met each other. WHAT? I am trying to watch a bl series not to understand the end of Inception. I do realise that there were not able to work with Saint due to previous drama between them, but dude you can not defy the laws of time in the series. If you can not work with Saint, then we do not need scenes with Ae being shitty and drunk, in a series that focuses in TinCan. I feel that they just had Perth in the series for the fans!
Instead, of giving Perth that much of a screen time, they could focus more on KlaNo. LIKE DUDE IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE THIS COUPLE DO NOT MENTION IT FROM THE BEGINNING. I felt that this couple was used as an intermission and as a chance to change the mood from Ae's and TinCan's story. Moreover, the couple had approximately 20 minutes screen time in total, and for some reason No was getting softer for Kla in every episode. WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE LAWS OF TIME? YOU CANT DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH THEM. Tbh, I don't like how KlaNo's relationship began in the novel, but you have to show more of what Kla did to win No over. You can't show two scenes were Kla gives No snacks and expect us to believe that this shit is ok.
This leads to my next point. ENOUGH WITH THE PRODUCT PLACEMENTS! I know that you have to find sponsors to produce a series, but there were many scenes that only existed for product placement and had nothing to do with the plot. You could use them in a more discreet way rather than showing Kla giving No those snacks and him eating them. I do not know how the rest of the viewers feel about product placement, but when I see a product being placed in this straightforward way, I usually hate the product.
Now moving on with the acting. Was it bad? Yes! I really enjoyed Mean's acting in the first season, but thanks to the plot changes I felt that what I was watching was not Tin but someone else! You can not have an actor establish a role's character in the series and the next season make him change that. As for Plan, well he was cute in the first season but he was must softer in this season. I repeat: IF YOU WANTED TO USE THE SAME CHARACTERS YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE CHANGED THEIR BACKGROUND! Now as for Perth, I felt that in the first season he was amazing (taking into account his young age), but in this season he was acting bratty and as an asshole. I know that this is how Ae behaved in the novel, but at some point I grew tired of watching the same scene over and over again. So, for the last 4 episodes I always skipped Ae's scenes. You are sad about Pete leaving you. WE GET IT! NOW GET OVER IT AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE WORLD HAS SERIOUS PROBLEMS! However, I feel that Gun's acting has improved. In LBC he was awkward and had no flow what so ever, while in this season he was still awkward but at least not that much. As for Mark's acting, I thought that he was the best actor in LBC, but I can not compare with this season as HE APPEARED ONLY 4 MINUTES IN TOTAL!
To summarise, I feel that MAME and the producers created this season just to make us shut up! They had 2 years to prepare for this series but in the end we got something awful. Tbh, after finishing this season I hoped that we did not get this season at all. For some reason, I believe that MAME and the rest of the team, bet everything in TharnType and in order to please us for TinCan, they just wrote the script in two days with no revision and gave it to the cast a day before filming.
I think that the wisest thing to do is to always ask a fan's opinion prior the decision of a script approach and production. I know that they might worry for any plot leak if they share their ideas with fans; however, they could find someone to trust from the fanbase and let the fan help them with continuous feedback. I feel that if that was done then we wouldnt get 6 recap episodes and the plot would be more fast paced!
P.S. STOP INTRODUCING TOO MANY NEW CHARACTERS IN NEW SEASONS!
I DONT HAVE THE TIME TO INVEST IN THEM AND KNOW THEM BETTER. I WOULD PROBABLY END UP HATING THEM!
That's it! A chance to love was shitty. Change my mind!
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This review may contain spoilers
A heartfelt study of sex, love, and relationships
Don’t mistake this for a sex comedy, and please ignore the inadequate plot description above.With full-bodied characters that move beyond cliches, this Taiwanese drama is a bold study of what makes our relationships intimate and meaningful. It’s beautifully made, with an excellent script and cast.
The story is told through one family. Two parents, three children.
The mother and father have allowed resentment to build up in their marriage for reasons that become clear later in the drama. The eldest son, Yu Sen, is a card shark in an unsatisfying open relationship with his boyfriend. The eldest daughter, Chu Wei, yearns for a deeper emotional and sexual connection with her distracted professor husband. And the youngest daughter, Chu Ai, is a wax technician and an influencer. She runs a YouTube channel that offers frank discussions about sex, while maintaining her key argument that love and sex are two separate things.
There’s another main character—the youngest daughter’s regular hookup and friend, Ping Ke, who is wrestling with hangups about dating culture based on his unconventional family history. The actor, Kai Ko, brings this character to life in a way that only he can. He carries the character’s emotional weight with his whole being and you truly feel for him.
Well, what happens?
A heartfelt and unexpected romance unfolds between the son and an uncouth gangster. For BL fans, this part of the story is for you. The eldest daughter and her husband rediscover each other after a challenge to their relationship. And the youngest daughter confronts a past experience that has influenced her opinion of romantic relationships. All of the characters grow.
A central message in the story is that it is harmful to repress our true feelings—whether about our intimate desires and needs or even our anger toward the people closest to us. The message is that our relationships become healthier when we share our inner thoughts.
The script dares to approach so many relevant issues that aren't always talked about; like choosing not to have children, despite pressure from parents; or sexual compatibility issues in gay relationships; or treating STIs without shame. These are just a few. The drama is clever in discussing these issues without being didactic.
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Likes:
1. CSW's perfect delivery of lines
2. Funny acts
3. OSTs (totally love Du Geun2x)
4. the potato
5. Dingdong kid
6. CSW's extremely HOOOOOOT body!
7. plot
8. ending message of CSW (my first time to watch a drama with an ending msg from one of the characters)
9. sneakers
10. their love for each other
Dislikes:
NONE!!!!!!!!!
SCORE: 10/10
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This review may contain spoilers
Captivating. Cinematic. Action-packed, yet offering impressive quiet & heartwarming tuning, too
Gando is the land of the desperate, the realm of the desperados of Joseon. In the 1920s, it was also a territory in which political responsibilities and affiliations were vaguely regulated. Some things may remind you of the Wild West. Yet this Wild North in the Far East is quite different...“Song of the Bandits” is a brilliant Netflix historical drama about a certain chapter of recent Korean history. Moving. Captivating. Cinematic. It exudes the vibes of an Eastern. The KDrama surely is gory action and turbulence at most times, but offers impressive quiet and heartwarming tuning, too. Action-packed it is, yet humor and romance modestly fit in as well. "Song of the Bandits" is astonishingly well balanced in this respect and for a Netflix production, despite its polished and action-driven choreography for a broad international audience, sticks surprisingly consistently to a more subtle Korean series style. Nicely done at all scales. We get a feeling of the Manchurian landscape with Gando impressions filmed at original locations. This all framed within a consistently beautiful soundtrack. It all lasts for 9 episodes (only! Yet?). In spite the overall ambitious commercial production context, aiming at an international “Squid Game”-like success, “Song of the Bandits” was able to impress me with a historically and emotionally complex story with great mimes - Kim Nam-gil, Yoo Jae-myung, Lee Ho-jung and Lee Hyun-wook in their element. But so is everyone else. This is where KDrama and Netflix perfectly come together...
'Bandit: The Song of the Sword' is the original title. In fact, people don't swing swords so much as they use firearms. The KDrama is epically processed, offers great emotions, while telling about people and the range of motives for which people are prepared to fight. It's about resistance, obedience, venality, oppression, social affiliation, the fight for freedom. There are even some spiritual thoughts attached to it along the way. It is about the Joseon people, some personal fate, as well as 'the' history of Chosen - an emotionally quite ´Korean´ excerpt of modern history. Its thematic historic setting (even if the rest of the world might not care so much about it, as it is not requisite for an entertaining series pleasure) contains a lot of explosive material by Korean standards. Therefore firearms are in several respects quite consistent in this context…
As far as I am concerned, I do care about the historical context. On the contrary, I find it quite intriguing - besides the dramaturgically action-packed and emotionally charged story with its complex, interwoven relationship dynamics and conflicts. As I said, you don't really need to know the background to be enthusiastic about "Song of the Bandits". But if anyone might be interested, see the historical side note about 'Gando', the border region on the north bank of the Tumen river, which today also marks the border between northeast China and North Korea.
PS:
Yep, the ending of the story...
If you like, you can dream of more. It could be possible. Yet, it would still go on and on.
Who knows if there may be a sequel...
Nevertheless, from my perspective the ending is quite fitting. (Whether I like it or not.) In terms of the historical events, things are as they are. We want fiction to write a different ending, but it still wouldn´t be any better, rosier or brighter for hardly any of the various protagonists... Therefore, from a Korean perspective the ending of this story remains true to the spirit of the actual Chosen-history: For Joseon people it is and remains unsatisfactory, unfair and painful. ´We´, as an international audience (temporarily and figuratively with our personal discontent), can/shall/must/may thus empathically share this collective emotion, too.
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SIDE NOTE: --- Gando, also called Jiandao, and today Yanbian ---
Gando historically stands for a specific borderland. To this day it is a region with a high proportion of people of Korean origin.
Gando is a small, perhaps inconspicuous scar in Korean history – yet a scar that is still weeping, sort of...
Gando (and Manchuria in general) is also associated with the regrouping of the Rightous Army and thus with the patriotic pride of resistance against colonial oppression. With "Song of the Bandits", the issue of Gando has now obtained an impressive, international onstage introduction...
This 'Gando', Jiandao or Yanbian was the last nail of hope for an increasing number of desperate people from Joseon (and still is for some North Koreans today) who had nothing to lose and would rather settle for an arduous life and try their luck in this section of Manchuria - a back then relatively undeveloped marshland on the north bank of the Tumen river.
First - in the course of, and especially at the end of, the 19th century - famine and poverty drove poor Joseon people to the far north. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was the hope to escape from Chosen, which was finally officially annexed by the Japanese. The Righteous Army militia was also formed anew in Manchuria at that time.
After the annexation of Joseon, with respect to a relatively large population of Joseon people, the Japanese as part of their aggressive expansion efforts also demanded this coastal territory north of the Tumen from the Chinese. Infiltration was followed by an invasion in 1907, but already by 1909 there was withdrawal again. Officially, as a result of the diplomatic negotiations, the area eventually became Chinese again and Japan received railroad concessions, while the Joseon people remained under Japanese rule due to their Korean descent.
"Song of the Bandits" sets its story in this political quagmire: the decade before the belligerent 1930s, before the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria, established the puppet state 'Mandschukuo' and used it for its own political and economic purposes. The prerequisite for this was a massive expansion of railway lines - especially the North Chosen Line along the border region between Chosen and Manchuria, that had been built during those previous years, while the Bandits sang their song...
Outlook:
After the end of the Second World War, many Koreans went back to their homeland, but by no means all of them. Around 810,000 people of Korean origin apparently still live in the Yanbian Autonomous District of China's Jilin Province to this day. In 1952, the proportion of the population with a Korean migrant background was around 60 percent. Then, Korean language was official. However, especially since the late 1990s, the Chinese government had specifically tried to force linguistic and cultural assimilation in order to counteract political currents in South Korea and discussions about a possible legitimate Korean claim to 'Gando'. These currents believe that - regarding those dubious events of the early 20th century and Gando Convention between Japan and China becoming obsolete with the ending of the World War II – this Gando territory actually is political void and should now belong to (in this case North?) Korea. Thus, Gando's territorial status for some still is not satisfactorily resolved…
Incidentally, desperate North Korean refugees are continuously trying to get to China via the Tumen river, which is icy during the long, cold winter months. Thus, Gando territory invariably remains a last nail of hope for desperate Koreans even up until today...
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No good deed goes unpunished.
This is a melodramatic story about a badass assassin Shen Lige and Liu Yikang, titled Prince Pengcheng who was best known for reforms that heralded a golden age for the short lived Liu Song dynasty (420-479). In real life, Liu Yikang was probably a dull and dusty fellow who promulgated legislation and ably shouldered the burden of tedious administrative tasks artfully dodged by his brother the allegedly sickly emperor Wen. In this romanticized account, Pengcheng falls in love with the beautiful and deadly Lige, who helps him drain the swamp and weed out a bunch of corrupt and rebellious aristrocrats who are disenfranchised by his reforms.Shen Lige (Li Qin) must be one of the strongest, most badass, most lethal and most gorgeous female leads of c-drama. She makes a grand entrance and her character is awesome up until the bitter end and is the strongest selling point of this drama. Li Qin's acting is so superb her Lige is powerful, engaging, fierce yet still feminine and her expressions are nuanced and emotionally on point. Initially I was not convinced on her pairing with Qin Hao - he is obviously quite a bit older and her "lao tou"/old dude jokes did not help. But Qin Hao is a very compelling actor and in no time, I was rooting for Lige and Pengcheng. While their chemistry is not sizzling or deeply passionate, they are both smart characters that are clearly on the same wavelength and make a formidable team. That said, I feel an actor of Qin Hao's caliber was somewhat wasted on a role such as Pengcheng - he would have made a far more compelling villlain. I also did not like the noticeable skin smoothing they did on him which obscured his micro expressions.
All of the characters in this drama are just simply fantastic. How can you not love Prince Jingling who has the best, most subtly comical facial expressions? Or the completely adorable, wholesome loving, humble devoted goodness that is Shen family? Or the mischevious Zijin and Lige's loyal assassin fraternity? There are so many wonderful, well written characters that are charismatically portrayed and interact with so much chemistry and rapport that you can't help falling in love with them. Guard your hearts carefully though because one of the key takeaways of this drama is that no good deed goes unpunished and compassion and mercy is repaid with treachery and murder. Of course we can't expect all of the characters to survive but there have to be enough survivors to keep us invested in the drama and this one barely makes it. The deaths also have to be "good deaths" at the hands of a worthy opponent and not at the hands of say a puny mutant ninja flying cockroach.
Very much like its predecessor Weiyoung, the villains in this drama are quite enjoyable almost cartoonlike caricatures with very dramatic, somewhat comical facial expressions. Lu Yuan is an excellent, overpowering villian. And Consort Sun relishes hamming it up so much at many points she appears on the verge of cracking up with laughter. However, there are also too many repetitive petty villains with cliché motives and too many lives. The main villains and in particular the mastermind in black (whose identity was obvious quite early on) are interesting characters that should have been better developed instead of digressing into sibling rivalry, green eyed monster and excessive bitch slapping tropes. Unfortunately, the villain spotlight was hijacked by the very pretty Shen Leqing, a well acted but two dimensional character with pedestrian motives. I guess in life and in art, men can see better than they can think.
The story writing is where this exhausting melodrama falls down hard. The plot is predictable and smacks of Weiyoung. Heavy suspension of disbelief is needed because from the get go, a lot of things that don't make sense happen. I rolled my eyes so often that I can no longer tell if my right and left eyeballs have exchanged sockets! But the acting is so delightful and there are so many thrilling moments that for the first 20+ episodes I went with it. At some point however, the excessive plotting and the rollercoaster ride of emotional ups and downs as beloved characters are mowed down with reckless impunity while petty villains survive against improbable odds becomes simply too much. The drama peaks in the mid-30s after the most well developed villain is felled and it further loses momentum after some of my best loved characters are gratuitously killed off. It limps through some repetitive sub-plots towards an unexpectedly good ending which I almost missed because I wasn't that motivated to finish. I find the writers of this drama guilty of writing under the influence of alcohol. They tortured my eyeballs with cruel and reckless depravity and are hereby sentenced to writing commercials for the next 15 years. The surprisingly fitting ending qualifies them for probation after 8.0 years, which is also my rating for this drama.
There seems to be some confusion over the ending so I am copying my a spoiler tagged explanation of what happened from the threads to the comment section of this review.
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1have you ever watched a drama that makes you so happy that you want to become a better person? 'a poem a day' felt like home to me. it made me feel like i really belong somewhere.
story:
the story was nothing that... impressive? at least at first sight. there is no much drama, pressure, it doesn't make you nervous about what will happen next. but it gives you a warm feeling, it makes you happy. it was interesting for me, although i have no interest in physiotherapy.
the romance between je wook and bo young was one of the most beautiful romantic stories i've ever seen in kdramas. i know, i've read in many comments, a lot of people find it boring, too 'formal', but no, it was just real. they were one normal couple. they loved each others, they supported each other, there were hugs and kisses, so i didn't really understand why some people thought that their relationship was unnatural. it just felt real.
another thing i have to mention is the patients stories. i cried my eyes out, they just felt too real.
i really liked the poems. they were so beautiful and they perfectly matched with the story.
but i was slightly disappointed in the end, i think some things should have happend but this doesn't change the fact that the story is good.
characters:
woo bo young - oh, our beautiful female lead. she was just a good person, she was trying to do her job right and to help the patients to recover. she truly cared about them. the thing i liked the most in her it's that she wasn't trying to hide her sensitivity. bo young was a strong female lead in one word.
ye je wook - i haven't seen a person who likes giving advices as much as him lol. he seemed cold in the beginning but after that you can see what a warm person he actually is. he treated everyone with respect and he was always telling what he thinks, he was honest with himself and with the others.
shin min ho - you either like him or you don't. personally, i like him. yes, sometimes he acted childishly, he had no sense of responsibility but at the end, he made the right decision no matter how hard it was for him. yes, he was sometimes selfish, but aren't we all like that? when we fall in love we want the person to have eyes only for us, we don't want to let him/her go. so how can we blame minho for that?
the side characters were really funny and pleasent to watch. their had their own hardships but they always found a way to endure it. i like seeing their character development, escpecially han joo yong's. i like how his friendship with dae band developed in a really good way.
acting:
the cast was completely new for me, the only actor who i knew was seo hyun chul.
i have no much to say, the acting was perfect. there wasn't anyone whose acting seemed unnatural, they all did a great job.
music:
beautiful ost, i love all of the songs. they suited the drama really well and they made it even better.
overall:
11/10 if you ask me. i like dramas that are close to reality and 'a poem a day' was a masterpiece for me. totally recommended!
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I loved the original story line. Yes..I do believe it is an original story line: The fact the Jae Hui is rich but a self made man and not a chaebol, the fact that he was a nice man...simply a bit messed up from his past, the plot point of Cha Bong Sun and her need to see a counselor and her very stubborn personality and their coming together as a couple. Also, Cha Bong Sun may have had problems but she was a strong independent woman who had her own career. All of those elements came together in a very non standard Kdrama way. That pleased the heck out of me.
I loved the acting. Yoon Si Yoon was really good in King Of Baking and he was even better in this. He came into this part as a last minute add on and OWNED this part! He was excellent all the way through. Lee Ji Ah was a dichotomy of likable, sweet girl and grumpy jaded woman. And I liked that! I found her a refreshing change from the typical overly happy and good heroine. She felt real to me.
The acting was solid by the whole cast and I gave it a 10. The character development of the two leads was solid all the way through. Their chemistry was addicting as a viewer. I was rooting for them every step of the way.
Up until about 1/2 way through this drama I was a voracious addicted fiend...practically going through withdrawals until the next episode was subbed. But then something happened to the writing that went a little off for me and wilted the flower. The character of Hwa Young and the decision to set into this original story the very non original element of a scheming jealous woman. That is regrettable and why I can't give Me Too Flower a higher score than 8. She killed some of my love for this drama and I absolutely hate having to say it, but it's true.
The technical aspects of this drama were great. All except that one aspect I mentioned in the writing so I have no other complaints.
The OST is excellent! Right down the line..every song was lovely and fit this drama to a T. Especially "Dreaming" I loved the soundtrack to pieces.
My re-watch value I place at a 7 (good) because there are so many episodes of this drama I would re-watch in a heartbeat...especially 1 through 8 and again the last two. The chunk in the middle I want to rage at.
Do I recommend this? Highly. This drama is really good. I think if I had waited until it all aired and dramathoned it, maybe those episodes in the middle wouldn't have felt quite so agonizing. Give this drama a try...You won't regret it. There is so much to like about Me Too Flower.
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Just When You Think You Know What's Going On, You Don't, Or Do You?
First up I know a lot of people dropped this drama early on and at times I can see why but you're really missing out on the greater part of the drama by doing this. The actual plot line doesn't start up until around the end of episode 4. The first few episodes are building up to the actual plot line and while I do think it's needed I think they could've shortened this prologue of sorts to at least two episodes.I know a lot of people also dropped this drama because there hasn't been any romance...yet I don't get why people came into this drama for romance when the tags clearly don't have that genre listed. Anyways on with my review.
Story/Plot:
Gets off to a slow start but it sets you up for this dark story of Dongbaek, a famous police officer who has the ability to see people's memories through touch. Cool right? Yes and No. There are people who love him and idolize him and then there are people who hate him and don't want him to touch them in fear they'll get arrested for something illegal they did years ago. Despite Dongbaek having the extraordinary ability to see people's memories he himself does not remember his childhood memories past a certain age. The only memory he can remember is someone murdering a woman he assumes is his mother. The plot moves forward to introduce to us our female lead Sunmi, she is the daughter of a man who was murdered by a serial killer who seems to have come back 20 years later.
However, not everything is as it seems. There is actually a serial killer out there dubbed as the Eraser, who like Dongbaek has a special ability in which they can erase/manipulate memories. Throughout the entire series you are left questioning who you can trust and you can't as you try and figure out who exactly the Eraser is. And like I mentioned in the headline just when you think you know, you really don't. (I had so many theories going the entire drama.)
Acting/Cast:
The acting is/was amazing. I am a huge Yoo Seungho fan and I'm really happy he took the role of Dongbaek. He plays him really well. I am also a fan of Lee Seyoung, I really liked her roles in The Best Hit and Vampire Detective. I personally really like her in badass female character roles. I also want to mention Jo Sungha is excellent as always.
Music:
Sometimes the music is not needed but honestly that's something that's typical in k-dramas. I did like the ending theme a lot though.
Rewatch Value:
I already sort of rewatched it. I watched up to episode 12 by myself and then later rewatched episodes 1 through 12 with my mom until she caught up with me. I recommend watching it twice you catch stuff you may have missed the first time through it.
Overall:
I personally think if the prologue part had been shortened 2 episodes it would've kept people more interested. I also think that episode's 13, 14, and 15 could've somehow been consolidated into 2 episodes at the most, it felt drug out. It almost seems to me that they were originally going to go a different route with the plot but changed it last minute, as there is a scene in one of the episodes previews that does not make an actually appearance in an episode. I think this drama could've easily been better off as a 12-14 episode drama. The drama is wrapped up nicely though, definitely worth a watch!
Don't let this get you down though, the drama plot is really fun to follow if you are an avid crime/fantasy watcher.
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24 eps seem too short for the first time!
"Our Secret" is a drama with a good plot, lovable characters and excellent acting. the actors in this drama aren't that famous (edit: this was before hidden love) but their acting is really good; definitely how a high schooler would behave, in my opinion. it's fast paced with little or no filler scenes so overall it was a good watch. it felt so nostalgic (even tho I haven't finished my high school yet).the ML was portrayed splendid, props to the actor. he wasn't oblivious but seemed to get along with people around him quite well unlike other leads who act like they are allergic to humans or whatever. no super rich high school 'chaebol' heir so it makes the viewers easy to empathize. the way he looks at the FL melts me uwu. he really set the bar high for a "boy in love".
the FL did an excellent job in expressing a desk-mate who gradually falls in love with someone who she never thought she would and thinks he doens't reciprocate her feelings. she portrayed a girl chasing her love in a charming way and we can't help but root for this cute couple pairing.
the side characters weren't annoying. they had their own story to tell, making us cheer for them even with the little screen time they had. I loved the friendship among all of them.
I really had fun watching this!! trust me, it's a really good watch/re-watch!! ♡. if only someone would look at me the way ML looks at FL... I should prolly stop dreaming *cries in Chinese*. jokes aside, this is definitely a drama that'll stay with me for a long time. I could literally feel the emotions conveyed in the story. wow, what a ride! best of luck to all the actors' future works! signing off.
I'm in love with Chen Zhe Yuan if it wasn't obvious already ♡
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An Underrated Gem Destined To Become a Comedy Classic
[Originally written in May 2022]WHY I LOVED IT . . .
Crazy Love is so unique and unpredictable and LOL crazy yet at the same time, unexpectedly moving, it’s really a shame it’s not getting more attention. While it does get off to a bit of a slow start—which is often the case with early ep exposition and all the players being introduced—each ep is better than the last and this trend continues even after the halfway point.
One minute you’ll be laughing so hard your stomach's sore, amazed at how truly batsh!t crazy Kim Jae-uck and Krystal are acting on your screen, the next you’ll be hurting so badly for them as you learn their backstories, especially that of Noh Go-jin (Kim Jae-uck).
The character development is so compelling and believable and well-acted, you can’t help but root for the OTP couple, despite the fact that the ML starts off as an arrogant, insufferable jerk and he and the FL really, really hate each other’s guts when the story opens. And when he does finally start to realize the error of his ways, it’s not solely the result of his falling head over heels for the FL.
Crazy Love’s got a bit of everything—enemies to lovers, a fake engagement, a sweet romance, swoony kisses, hilarious knock-down-drag-out fights, intrigue, tons of unexpected LOL moments, and a FL who gives as good as she gets, if not moreso, when pushed hard enough.
We also have a lead couple who, much like the OTP in Her Private Life (which pairs Kim Jae-uck with Park Min-young), actually communicates openly with each other and works together to resolve issues and potential misunderstandings—once they’ve stopped hating each other, of course. Sure we’ve got a few tropes but the show revels in its tropiness, subverting them in fun and surprising ways, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Kudos to Kim Jae-uck for throwing his sexy, cool image right out the window. (Although he's still plenty sexy as Noh Go-jin, despite the less-than-flattering CEO hairstyle, and the man knows his way around a kiss.) This is a great role for him as it’s really given him an opportunity to flex his formidable acting chops, tugging at our heartstrings with his beautifully nuanced emotional scenes and tickling our funny bones with his physical comedy skills. And despite what happens in Crazy Love, Kim Jae-uck can actually carry a tune. He majored in music in college and is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and composer for his indie rock band Walrus, named for The Beatles song “I Am the Walrus.”
It’s been a revelation watching him and Krystal really let loose as I never imagined they could be so funny and they are clearly having a blast. I was not a fan of Krystal’s before, having only seen her in Sweet & Sour, but I like her portrayal of Lee Shin-ah and their chemistry is surprisingly good. The show’s at its best when they’re the focus so I did sometimes find myself wishing it spent less time on the supporting characters, but I guess that’s true of many dramas with an appealing OTP.
ABOUT THOSE RATINGS . . .
Crazy Love’s Nielsen ratings in South Korea started out at 3.4% and spent much of its run at 2.5 - 2.6%, but the show finally broke into the 4s with Ep 11, building to a series high of 4.6% for the Ep 16 finale.
When Crazy Love premiered in March, Business Proposal, 2521, and Military Prosecutor Doberman had already caught fire with audiences, and while those shows received global marketing support from Netflix/Viki, Crazy Love was released with negligible promotional support from Disney+ which didn’t seem to know or care what the heck it was doing with its K-Dramas back then.
And for some inexplicable reason, D+ has only released Crazy Love in nine APAC countries: Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand; hopefully, D+ will make the show available to the rest of the world ASAP now that it’s ended its run in SK. (Shows like Grid and Soundtrack #1 are in the same D+ limbo as Crazy Love.)
Another issue may have been that dark, edgy comedies like Crazy Love don’t tend to appeal to older women, who are the primary viewers of dramas during their initial television broadcast. (This older audience is why the longer “family” K-Dramas with 50+ eps often achieve ratings of 20% and even higher.) Younger viewers who are more likely to like this genre often watch online and on DVRs but these views are not reflected in the ratings. (In the U.S., most networks use Nielsen's Live Plus service which does track these delayed views.)
IN CONCLUSION . . .
Kim Jae-uck said he chose to do Crazy Love after his three-year hiatus because he wanted to make people laugh and help relieve some of the stress brought on by the pandemic. If the 6,200+ comments here and its 8.3 rating (as of the 4/26 finale) are anything to go by, he and Krystal and the rest of the cast succeeded.
Please give Crazy Love a try! It’s a lot of fun and keeps getting better and better—although the last few eps focus less on romance and more on figuring out who-dun-it—culminating in a satisfying ending that manages to give closure to not just the main characters, but the supporting ones as well. The show is not perfect by any means but I tend to judge entertainment based on whether it delivers more than the sum of its parts—and the way it makes me feel and think—and Crazy Love comes through on all counts with plenty of feels and food for thought along with the laughs.
(Full disclosure: I’m a big fan of Kim Jae-uck but most of his dramas and movies have landed in the 8s and 7s for me rating-wise. Even gave one drama a 6.0.)
[1/14/23 Update: D+ U.S. has made some of its K-Content available on Hulu, including Big Mouth, Grid, May It Please the Court, Connect, Kiss Sixth Sense, etc. Sadly, Crazy Love is still not available outside of Asia/Oceania.]
[5/24/23 Update: As of today, more than a year after it first aired in South Korea, Crazy Love is finally available on Hulu in the U.S., Disney+ in Canada, the UK, and Europe, and Star+ in Latin America. Unfortunately, there has been zero promotion in the U.S. The only reason U.S. fans knew it was even a possibility was because Disney+ Latin America announced it was releasing there.]
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1This review may contain spoilers
The P'orn Supremacy
It has become clear to me, from the very first scene, that the producers of this magnificent show must have hired someone from the gay porn industry as a consultant. This, I believe, is how their pre-production meetings went.Day 1.
The Producer: Alright, everyone. The results are in, and the trends are clear. There is now a clear north-south divide in the BL audience. Those who seek chaste BLs of cute boys go to Korea or Japan. If they want stepbrothers, they go to Taiwan. If they want pure spice, they come to us. Now, the greatness that is Mame showed us how low — I mean, how far — we can go. We now have to up our game. So, I have hired a consultant, Thunder Thighs, from the world of gay porn…
Writer 1: Oh god.
The Producer: …to help us improve our offering. Let’s give him a warm welcome.
Thunder (to thunderless applause): Cheers. Now, let’s get to work. Show me what you have.
Writer 1: I think we’ve covered all the basics. At least 3 couples; tall tops, short bottoms; rich tops, poor bottoms; boss tops, subordinate bottoms; slutty tops, virgin bottoms…
Thunder: Yeah, I get the idea. Any of them dom tops?
Writer 2: One is, absolutely; the other is for chaste-chasers, or, chaters, if you will.
Writer 1: We also have the tried-and-tested office setting, token women, time jump, accidental fall-and-catch, ten-percent body fat…
Thunder: Good, good. Any openly gay guys in it?
Writer 1: Not really. "Don't say 'gay'" is sort of our policy here.
Thunder: Good. Nothing is more off-putting in gay porn than having gay men in it.
Writer 2: Really?
Thunder: Yeah, the thrill is all about seducing a straight guy. What about the other guys? Are they “straight”?
Writer 2: Well, technically, they would be bisexuals.
Writer 1: But we don’t acknowledge them. Or use that word.
Thunder: Promising.
Writer 2: Do you want to hear the story?
Thunder: Oh, no one cares about that. People just fast forward to get to the good stuff.
The Producer (puzzled): Why then have it in the first place?
Thunder: To give the illusion of reality. You have to be able to believe that there is a world in which you can “pay the pizza guy back” by servicing him, or that you can “convert” a “straight” guy gay…
Someone at the back: Ah, so this is another form of “conversion therapy”?
The Producer: You’re fired.
Day 2.
Writer 1: So, this is how the story begins. An inexperienced youth is initiated into the rites of gay romance by a brash senior. Time pulls them apart. But then, a few years later, they end up working at the same office, and…
Thunder: How does the initiation happen?
Writer 2: What? Oh. Well, we thought that they could spot each other across a Buddhist temple, know that they were meant for each other, bump into each other -- literally -- the top will then catch the bottom...
Thunder: What the fuck is this? The Hallmark Channel? This won’t do. Here’s how you do it. The old’un’s the top, yeah? Have him wank off secretly in a public place…
Writer 2: Secretly… in a public place?
Thunder: Yes. Then have the bottom catch him in the act, by hiding clearly where the top can see him.
Writer 2: Hiding, where he can be seen?
Thunder: Yes. Then the top catches him watching, pulls him in, and says, ‘You’re so hard! Come, I’ll give you a hand shandy and make you come." He'll go: "But I thought you were straight?" Wait… can the top be his stepbrother?
Writers (together): No!
The Producer (at the same time): Sure!
Thunder: Never mind. You’ve seen gay porn. You know what comes next. One of them says: “Have you ever done this before?” The other guy says: “no”. Then, "Do you want to try?" Then, "Sure." Now, you must avoid kissing if possible, yeah? Kissing is “gay”. But if they must kiss, have the top say: “Can I kiss while I wank you off? It’ll be hotter.” The bottom says: “What if we get caught?” The top goes: “We won’t…”
Writer 1: You want us to put all of this in the first episode?
Thunder: Are you kidding? This is the first scene!
Day 3.
Writer 1: Should we talk about the other couples?
Thunder: Must we?
Writer 1: Yes.
Thunder: Okay. What's the deal with the other gays?
Writer 1: Well, we were going to have them as a sweet, romantic alternative to the spiciness of the first.
The Producer: We have to cater to the non-horny people, Mr Thighs. Otherwise, they’ll go to Korea.
Thunder (looking at the cast photos and finding Yoon): Wait… Isn’t this the guy from Unforgotten Night? Are you telling me we're not going to see his back tattoo? That he won't fuck his chump against a desk in his office?
Writer 2: His Champ. And you do know that wasn't a real tattoo, right?
Thunder: What's your point?
The Producer (getting up): Perhaps now would be a good time for a break.
Writer 1: Wait, what about the lesbian couple? (To the Producer): Are we allowed to say “lesbian” in Thai BL/GL?
The Producer: No.
Thunder: Sorry, love, I’ve nothing to contribute to that. If you want to fetishise or demean lesbians, go to straight men.
Day 4.
Writers (walking into the room and slamming the table): What the fuck are you doing to our script?
Thunder: There was a script?
The Producer: Let’s all calm down.
Writer 2: Why have you butchered half the scenes? And why does each episode read like a sex-ed class from a gay porn star?
Thunder: Because, darling, it is. What else have I got to work with?
Writer 1: Plot? Characterisation? Dialogue?
Writer 2: There *is* a story here, can't you see? Jun is the only one with integrity. Sorn is lying to himself and to Jun. But as the story moves along, their roles will reverse. Sorn's girlfriend...
Thunder: Can you show me where in the script you've written all that? Because I can't find it. The only thing I can find is horniness. If sex is what brings them together, why not make it front and centre? No one's staying for the dialogue.
Writer 1 (to the Producer): You hear that? That’s the nail in my coffin.
Day 5.
Thunder: Alright, where are we so far? We’ve had the handshake, the kiss, the steam, and the straddle. We now have to do the… Wait... Wait a sodding minute. (Thumbing through the whole script.) This thing has 12 episodes? How the fuck are you going to drag it out that long?
Writer 1: Oh, don’t worry about that. We have it refined down to a fine art.
Thunder: How’s that?
Writer 2: We'll start with some denial. That long river in Africa. We'll then introduce an unlikeable girlfriend for the top, and a gentle love interest for the bottom. We'll make them all jealous. Then, we'll use the two most powerful weapons in our arsenal...
Thunder: Which are?
Writer 2: Misunderstanding and miscommunication. Believe me, you can mine these two babies to keep the plot turning for at least six episodes.
Thunder: And the rest?
Writer 2: That’s where the side couples come in.
Thunder: So, what you’re telling me is that this time, you don’t even have enough material for 8 episodes that you had to bring me in.
The Producer: That is correct. So, what’s next?
Thunder: How bold do you wanna go?
The Producer: I mean, we opened the first episode with a handjob…
Thunder: Then how about we open the fourth with a flatiron?
Writer 2: What's that?
Thunder: Google it.
Day 6.
The Producer: So, we're all in agreement? We’ll keep Thai and Chump — I mean Champ — for the softies: soft, gentle, and with flags so green that all of Ireland would be offended…
Writers: Fine.
The Producer: Now, as for Sorn and Jun…
Thunder: You’d better let them breed like rabbits if you want the people hooked. You've got to put the Dom back in Condom; the Ass back in passive.
Writer 1: Oh, does that mean we’re allowed to show some realistic elements of safe gay sex on screen? Condoms, lubes, preparations?
Thunder: Don't be a douche.
Writer 2: Yes, douche too.
Thunder: Funny. But people don’t wanna see all that mess, yeah? They just want a clean shot. Geddit?
Writer 1: I'll add that to my list of reasons to die.
Writer 2: So what's next? What do we do with Sorn and Porn? I mean, Jun?
Thunder: Well, you've vetoed 'stepbrothers'. We’ve done 'straight-to-gay'. So, I guess the next big thing would be ‘roommate' porn, and almost ‘getting caught’. Run with those.
Writer 2: Right in front of my salad?
Day 7.
Script Editor: I quit. There is no meaning to life anymore.
(Storms out of the room.)
Thunder: What’s her problem?
Writer 1: Let’s see, we've gotten so bored with Chai — Champ and Thai, that is — that their storyline's now as bland as camomile tea. Penny breaks up with P'Sorn in a scene so amicable that Gwyneth Paltrow would look at it and say, ‘that’s bullshit’. And then, all of a sudden, Penny is just ready to scissor Jun in the middle of the office…
Thunder: Oh please, as if you BL writers were ever interested in the romantic life of lesbians.
The Producer: I mean, that's fair.
Writer 2: But you’ve mangled the script so much that nothing makes sense anymore.
Thunder: You loved the nipple play though, right?
Writer 1: Yes, the dialogue is scintillating. “Don’t mess with my nipple.” “But it’s so tiny and cute.”
Writer 2: I can’t believe I’m about to say this: but the writing is better in porn.
Thunder: Why, thank you. I'm flattered.
Day 8.
Writer 1: What next?
Thunder: Cottaging.
Writer 2 (to the Producer): How far are we willing to push it?
Thunder: Swallowing, if you want to be demure. Cum shot, if you want to be bold.
Writer 2: Jesus Christ.
The Producer: Meanwhile, please welcome our new addition to the team... Chad.
Thunder: He’s straight, isn't he?
The Producer: Yes. I’ve brought him in to advise us on the GL scenes.
Thunder: You do realise I was joking last week, right?
The Producer: So?
Day 9.
Thunder: Missionary Accomplished!
The Producer (raising his glasses): Here's to Oat and Boat!
Everyone: To Oat and Boat!
The Producer: How did you come up with the scene against the mirror? It was inspired.
Thunder: It's from one of my movies, Willy Wanker.
Day 10.
Writer 2: Oh, you haven’t shredded our script for the next two episodes?
The Producer: I’d argue that it reads somewhat better than before.
Writer 1: How come?
Thunder: Here’s the problem with you ladies. You seem to think that sex is something supplementary to a story. It isn’t. Sex is an integral part of the story. The human story. Evolution shaped us for it. And sometimes, as here, sex *is* the story.
Writer 2: What’s your point?
Thunder (sighing): The emotional connection between the boys is built on sex, innit? It ain't books or music. It 's also their main way of expressing trust, distrust, pleasure and pain.
Writer 2: That's suprisingly thoughtful.
Thunder: So, when their physical relationship falls apart, their emotional relationship falls with it. Even if the reasons you give for it are daft, as is the case here.
Writer 1: Daft?
Thunder: Please, you thought Sorny’s backstory would convince anybody? Why don’t you give him a spray-on beard while you're at it and show people how sad he is?
(The writers look at each other, wondering if it’s not a bad idea after all.)
Day 11.
(Back from the actors’ workshop):
Thunder: No, no, no, no, no. Nope. I can’t work with those two. I can’t.
The Producer: Why not?
Thunder: Did you take a look at their "acting"? There was more sexual chemistry between oil and water than those two. They touch each other as if they had visible eczema. Can’t you abandon them, like you abandoned the lesbians? Subtle, by the way. What, did you fire Chad after one day?
The Producer: But Yoon & PunPun have signed a contract saying they’d do at least three sex scenes. We’ve already paid them for it.
Thunder: Baffling. Who’d want to watch those wet wicks instead of real fireworks?
Writer 1 (sighing): I told you. We could have done without the side couples. And we could have spent that time to properly allow the characters to come out and be happy together. But no, you insisted on at least three to cater to everyone.
The Producer: I need to hedge my bets, okay? I'm only in it for the money. So stop hounding me.
Day 12.
The Producer: Alright, everyone. It's the last day. Let’s go out with a bang, shall we?
Writer 2: Two bangs, according to the script.
Thunder: A bang and a whimper is all you'll get. Can’t make a horse drink water, can we?
Writer 1: ChatGPT will soon take care of that. But what do you suggest for now?
Thunder: Tell Yoon to stop poking his tongue out like a goldfish. That would be one. Then, standing doggy in the staircase?
Writer 2: For whom?
Thunder: Both. I don’t care. Nor will the audience. They'll have tuned out by Ep. 10, trust me. So, just wrap it up, and churn the same stuff -- jealousy, aggression, possessiveness, horniness -- one last time.
Writer 1: Done.
(The Producer sighs.)
Thunder: Just make sure Boat’s shirt is unbuttoned, yeah? It leaves something to the imagination.
Writer 1: How about we also drop Oat’s trousers as well? To further fire up the imagination.
Thunder: My work here is done.
Reader's Digest:
DO SAY: Your Oat Floats My Boat
DON'T SAY: Bring back the back tattoo
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Empress Ki, I must say, is a very compelling, powerful and controversial historical drama. I am always deeply enthralled with every scene that leaves you in awe and keeps you wanting for more. I suggest you (future watchers) dramathon it and don't skip a single episode nor a single scene.
Story - I love how the story of EK started and ended. Not the usual save-all-the-main-characters-protagonists kind of plot. I love killings, and I think these killings were the most highlighted parts of the drama aside from the intriguing plot. If you know what I mean. I was overwhelmed by it to the extent that I didn't look for any flaw. And mind you, when I'm really enjoying a particular drama, I become LESS OBJECTIVE. (You might disagree with me on this, but it's actually true.) It only means that I am satisfied about it. But, nevertheless, it was an EXCEPTIONAL sageuk. One thing that I loved as well was the turn of events. They were really unpredictable. I like unpredictable things.
Acting/ Cast: Every actor in this drama did a stellar job in portraying each character. I have not seen any actor acting with an expressionless face nor overrated acting. Again, if you know what I mean. Ha Ji Won's acting here was outstanding. She has that MAJESTIC BEAUTY. Joo Jin Mo did great as well. Just like how much he was great in A Frozen Flower. I mean, his acting. LOL
Special Mentions:
Ji Chang Wook - My first time seeing him in a drama. He did a great job in acting esp in crying scenes. He was the best. Actually voted for him in the MDL 2014 poll for best actor.
Baek Jin Hee - portrayed the Tanasiri character very convincingly. I hold her dearly to my heart. *whispers* I have a girl-crush on her. Hihihi ^^
Jin Yi Han / Tal Tal is a bonus here.
Lee Mun Shik / Bang - ahjussi, I will never forget how well you played in Iljimae and also here in EK. For the comedic parts, I salute you.
Jun Gook Hwan / El Temur - I never hated him even though how ruthless he was.
I loved all the villains in this sageuk except for one. His name is Yom. Yom the Scum.
Music - OST overall is pretty brilliant. Gosh, the feels... I especially liked Xia's I Love You.
Given the chance that I'd want to watch this again, I WOULD.
And finally, watching EK is an adventure which will be with me forever. It felt surreal when I finished it. I can't even start a new drama after watching it. No drama can surpass the roller coaster ride of emotions I felt in this drama.
P.S: Don't get surprised by its long episodes, it's totally worth watching!
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want to see the actors in something else
Overall: ep 7 and 8 were better but it was too little too late. There were 8 episodes about 15 minutes each, aired on Viki and GagaOOLala (depending on your country)Content Warnings: harassment
What I Liked
- funny moments
- how the director Ha Yeon Woo was prepared/put some thought into his plan
- the fan service of Ha Yeon Woo's body
- production value (including the scenic shots)
Room For Improvement
- for a jerk protagonist and a sweetheart to work in a romance, the jerk needs to have a REALLY good reason why they are a jerk and the jerk phase can't last very long. Unfortunately the explanation in episode 7 just wasn't good enough for me and the jerk phase lasted way too long.
- didn't feel chemistry between the protagonists
- the writer was a huge jerk to his manager and it made me mad (wish the writer was nice to others but then only angry at the director when he showed up)
- needed a little bit more of an indicator when they switched from present to past and then back to present again, some choppy moments
- very slow paced,
- dead fish lip presses
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The drama also follows the stories of the other occupants of dorm 232 Song Qi Qi, Bai Lin and Xiao Tang as well. Each face some sort of crisis at one point in their life but the thing that makes it so great is that all the issues the girls faced were all problems that everyday college students might face. They always had each other backs. I highly recommend this drama it's a really nice discovering yourself light and warm coming of age drama but it also has some tough moments, Enjoy!
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