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PROS:
Acting was great, everyone did well.
Grandma is always the best. Top grade-awesomeness.
CONS:
Stupid camera work
Wayyyyyyy to many chances given to the evil doer to "to the right thing"
The main girl is tooooooooooooooooooooooo much of a push over.
The main guy is tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo stupid and ignorant and easily jealous, he has no brain at all.
Bottom line, Don't watch it. There are better dramas you can watch without losing brain cells.
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There are also two versions of this drama, the 30 episode verison and the 20 episode version. If you are the kind of person with a lot of time to spend watching dramas, consider the 30 episode version. But if you are the kind that has little time or doesn't like really long dramas, the 20 episode version is good too and really doesn't leave out much. I forget which version, but one of the two cuts off the ends really weird (probably the 20 episode version.)
What are you waiting for? Go watch it! (I've seen it twice!)
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This review may contain spoilers
Cute, Cheesy...makes me feel more single than usual :')
Story: Y'all this drama reminds me of those crappy american christmas movies that I somehow end up watching anyways even while knowing it's pretty cliche. BUT this drama is a lot better than those movies. Although the plot is very cliche, I didn't drop the drama nor cringe at any scenes(maybe a few but not like a bad bad cringe) in fact, some of the scenes made me smile like an idiot at my computer screen. I think what I appreciated from this drama is that even though it is a cliche drama, the story included the stories of the supporting characters as well and was more than just the romance but also the teamwork part of the story. It's a very soft and light drama with not many ups and downs but still has a climax to it?Acting/cast: Honestly if the drama was cliche and had bad acting, I would probably skip through the scenes like I do with many dramas(it's a really bad habit tbh) but i think the great chemistry between the leads made up for it. I liked that Wen Bing wasn't the typical controlling-cold-for-no-reason-and-became-soft-afterwards main lead. I also liked how nice and kind-hearted Sang Tian was. Another worthy mention is that besides the few pecks from the main couple, there was a pretty decent kiss at the end. Most kiss scenes in cdramas are kinda just either 2 peck in 40 EPISODES or a prolonged peck which is supposed to pass for a 'kiss' but personally....no, I'm sorry, I need more juicy content :).
Music: Didn't pay much attention to the music but seeing as it did not traumatize me or made me go like 'huh?', I'd say it was pretty solid.
Rewatch value: The only reason why my rewatch value is so high is because I don't know if it's just me but I can't find it in me to rewatch heavy dramas, you know like the ones with a big plot twist? Since i already know what's going to happen, it's not as interesting or exciting to me. Somehow, I can always rewatch soft and light dramas like this though. It's like I'm watching it to smile and puppy-eye the main leads and their cute love story.
Overall: At the end of the drama, the only thought that's circulating through my mind is that I want a boyfriend who appreciates me like the way Wen Bing appreciates and loves Sang Tian.
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1Fantastic couple, wasted on immature writing
This entire show can be summarized as the power of one woman's obsessive love and sacrifice.Pros:
1. Fantastic chemistry. Really top-notch acting from both leads. they suit each other. especially Zhang Jingyi. I can feel her yearning, her boundless love, every time she looks at him. Their romantic moments seemed so visceral and raw, it almost felt voyeuristic.
2. Beautiful music and the editing really emphasizes it. The songs were placed with much thought and really heightened every scene.
3. Well-written villain (Gao Jianhong) for most of the show I heavily empathized with his feelings of insecurity, shame, anger and despair. He was indeed mistreated by the male lead and sometimes female lead too. Some of his actions are not justifiable but you can really understand why he became the way he did which I think is important in these revenge stories
Cons:
1. We, as the audience are aware who the main lead is but in this show all the characters also act like Li Xun is the male lead. It's like he has the protagonist halo. The supporting characters all behave as if they know they're just extras. It doesn't matter that Li Xun is rude, cruel and arrogant. He can yell at his friends. He can yell at his colleagues. He can humiliate them in public and they just sigh and say 'oh well thats Li Xun for you' 'hes smart and handsome so he can do and say whatever he wants'. It was so unrealistic. Nobody in real life is that passive or accepting of terrible behavior no matter how smart the other person is.
2. The way their relationship and ml and fl character arcs are written is so particularly infuriating. Straight-A student Zhu Yun who is perhaps tiring of her parents' controlling nature meets arrogant, brilliant, mysterious and carefree Li Xun as freshmen in University. She is somewhat fascinated by him but mostly they get on each other's nerves. But she acknowledges his genius and they fall in love as they work together. Ever since their partnership in the programming base, Zhu Yun is particularly loyal to Li Xun. She stands resolutely with him no matter how rude or cruel he is to her friends coz ultimately he is right and they are wrong, he is smarter and better than them so she and all their friends need to be accommodating of his cruel brilliance. She's probably the only one in the show to even try to confront him but rather than confrontation it's more of a compromise. She ends up agreeing with him anyway or justifying his actions. They begin a romantic relationship coz she chases him and swears she will forever be unrelentingly supportive and kind and submissive. Then he goes to prison. You'd think their characters or relationships would change after this huge shift but no. she's still blindly sacrificial and supportive and giving while he teases, insults, sneers and is at best detached. When they finally get together it's not a happy moment coz I didn't feel for one second that he loves her as much as she loves him. All the sacrifices, all the adjustments, and all the pain in this relationship have been borne by her. He gives nothing but he takes endlessly. The development to their reunion is shoddy at best. Once again they get together coz she pursues him. They don't even have one real conversation despite having gone through so many traumatic changes.. Everything is swept under the rug to tie the endgame up in a nice, pretty bow. The audience is still left with the feeling that they know as much about Li Xun as they did in the first episode and he still is that arrogant college freshman. You're left feeling something akin to pity for Zhu Yun coz you know for the rest of her life she alone will be bearing all the responsibilities and the emotional weight of their relationship.
Perhaps I am in the minority but alas I could not enjoy an unequal relationship where all the burden of the sacrifice and the fate of the relationship is solely on the female lead.
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How second chance romance should NOT be done
I never really liked second chance romance (after all, what's interesting if the characters already know they like each other?) but then The First Frost came out and I realized how good the angst could be, so I tuned into this one, thinking it would be a great melodrama.Unfortunately, I did not click with anything here at all.
In the main leads' story in the past, the FL was just really pushy and the ML really bland; their relationship happens at the speed of light without any sort of good build-up.
And then in modern day, their reconnection just really made me angry. The FL is extremely self-righteous and rude, while the ML just sits there and takes all the snarky comments she makes about him because he's supposedly so in love with her still. It gives pathetic more than it gives yearning and I just cannot fathom a person ending up with someone who seems to have such little respect for them.
The reignition of their romance is portrayed as a "I just couldn't help loving you" type of situation, but it comes across as codependent and unhealthy instead of romantic. I ultimately just don't see any reason why these characters could, should, or would end up together and not break up again, especially since they just don't communicate at all, even until the last episode, where we're given ANOTHER separation and time jump that makes even less sense.
The plot doesn't help much. Corporate warfare is a very common trope and I found certain plotlines — the poisoning of the sister — interesting, but ultimately we end up with a hodgepodge of tropes and antagonists, none of which are really clear: the lady who is in jail, the mom who started out evil but then I guess was okay, etc.
The last episode was the nail in the coffin. They separate again and then are brought back together by a random side character death. While the side characters were just okay — they weren't memorable and lovable but also weren't annoying — it just felt very random and made it seem like there had to be an external reason for the leads to reconnect; they couldn't do it on their own. The final scene...well let me just say that excitement and big grand gestures such as an airport chase scene will never sell me on the feasibility of a relationship. It's too short-term and just doesn't provide much depth.
2/10 (instead of 1/10) because the cinematography was nice.
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Age is an work of art.
Created by Lotte Cultureworks and distributed by JTBC, "Thirty-Nine (서른, 아홉)" is a 12 episode long Kdrama directed by Kim Sang Ho, produced by Yoo Young Ah. It started filming in August, 2021 and was also broadcasted on Netflix, which is Son Ye Jin's comeback to JTBC after 3 years following "Something in the Rain".The story revolves around a trio of 3 best friends who are on the verge of turning 40, but have stayed together for decades through thicks and thins of life, while nurturing their bonds and establishing a relationship on the basis of mutual love. So what the story offers? Of course, there's is a particular goal, but uttering that will serve as the most important spoiler, so watch it for yourself. This is a purely slice of life drama and hugely character driven, that is not essentially in the venture of a solid plotline with twists and development. Isn't that a perfect scenario for a slow-paced, coming of age, warm Korean drama? Well, this is that only.
Cha Mi Jo (Son Ye Jin) is a dermatologist with her own clinic; an established professional having a loving family of parents and a sister. She's the most rationale of the trio. Jung Chan Young (Jeon Mi Do) is an acting coach with a small studio and parents living in suburbs. She's the most sincere despite being outspoken. Jang Jo Hee (Kim Ji Hyun), being the softest and cutest, is a cosmetic store manager at a departmental store and lives with her mother.
Yeon Woo Jin, Lee Moo Saeng and Lee Tae Hwan are the male counterparts though story primarily focuses on the female leads. In minor roles we have many familiar and qualitatively acclaimed actors like: Kang Mal Geum, Nam Ki Ae, Seo Hyun Chul, Lee Jin Hyun, Seo Ji Young, Lee Kan Hee and Kang Ae Shim.
Plot development... Again, there is no definitive plot for this drama, however, it sets forward a goal in the very first scene, and you'll know what it is instantly. The narrative of the show is intended towards life and its unprecedented events, that test us to the extremes, making us grow and bringing the best out of us. The pacing is perfect for a sliece of life Kdrama, at least to me, it was, I don't wanna lie. Someone into long conversations, meaningful metaphors and depictive appreciations would find it their cup full of tea. Storytelling method is touchy; accompanied with monologue notes, emotional recitals and creation of alleviating scenarios.
The introduction appeared to be engaging and pacifying, enough to make you look forward to the furthering with substantial interest. The progression stays moderate for next few episodes and it does pass by the interval successfully, but around 8th episode, the flow turns mediocre. I don't think there was any lack of context and content but why few things were made repetitive and certain elements became stretchy unnecessarily. Even so, there was a casual improvement in the finale week; 11 episode being a lil rushed and 12th having back to back tear-jerking moments.
Kim Sang Ho PD with a fair share of experience of working in the slice of life dramas, as both PD and asst. PD, was able to give a satisfactory delivery with his skills. Although there were flaws, which was substantial, I am at least not disappointed. The dynamics of initial exhibitionism was smooth, gratifying and worthy of looking forward to. However, in the later half of the story, the essential integrands and some particular facets went flat, which wasn't really uninteresting but many viewers will definitely find uncomfortable.
Yoo Young Ah jakka-nim, a very familiar name in K-movie industry, with plenty of modern coming-of-age movies in her bio, over a decade of career, has always delivered on point. However, it appears that she still struggles fundamentally when it comes to Kdramas and that could be somewhat obvious at points of her episodic writings. This was the case for "Encounter" and this is the case for "Thirty-Nine" as well. Nevertheless, it was a decent delivery, which started out great, became bog-standard somewhere in the middle and ended with a passable note. The biggest flaw it bears is the inequitable screentime distribution; obviously the central character gets the most, then the supporting ones, followed by minor actors, but the disappointment comes from expectations and prenotions. But yeah! It was unjust given the popularity and skills of many factors featured in here. Regardless the flaws, I personally feel, it was able to provide a meaningful conveyance, throughout.
What I liked...
# the slice of life elements... Definitely! That's what this show was about. The numerous shades of life, portrayed through characters, their stories and emotions and the depth and essence of various relationships have been perfectly brought forward.
# The trio friendship... Though the writer failed to make it entirely about the trio, as expected from 99% of the viewers, but the amount of crux provided, accurately defined the kind of friendship that we all crave for. It was fun and healthy and most importantly, admirable.
# The character dynamics... the archs as an average for the entire main cast, was abstemious. Although not remarkable, it was enough to make your heart warm and understand the perspective of each. There could have been definitive improvements, but well.
# The flow of the story... Make sure you have it in mind that, the story has no plot, rather a goal, more like a destination, to where? To achieved eternity, to entirety and to euphoria.
# Adult romance... The romance was basically for only one couple, Son Ye Jin and Yeon Woo Jin; while it wasn't the primary focus, theirs being the only love line, felt very beautiful with subtle depths to a relationship and it's factors.
# The orphan adoption angles... I won't say who and how but just know that it has put emphasis on scenarios associated with adoptions, various aftermaths, the inner stories of the adopted ones and the ways you can deal with the odds that has possibilities of arising from it. I don't think any other Kdrama has gone to such extents.
# The aspects of death... Life has to end, love doesn't. The most beautiful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained. The drama shows, how it's not important to live forever but to create something that will.
What I didn't like...
# Son ye jin getting all the spotlight was the most annoying. It was to be made clear from the makers side in the beginning, that the drama is from the perspective only one character, even so not entirely. It felt like Mi Jo's diary, rather than a character driven story. It shouldn't have been like that.
# Jeon Mido is no longer an average artist, she's a popular star and she deserves to be at the centre and can beat every single actor out there. She not getting sufficient did piss me off, even the goal of the drama was something related to this drama.
# Johee getting substantially neglected bothered me to a great deal. I understand, her experience and considered negligible in comparison to others but she could have bewn placed in the supporting cast. The writer could have totally forgotten about her existence and the potential development of loveline between her and her partner.
# Improper utilization of supporting cast... The poster could be faulty. Just like Ye Jin, Woo Jin gets the major screentime as the former's partner, while Lee Moo Saeng's share is reduced and Tae Hwan is totally neglected just like his counterpart, Jo Hee.
Final Remarks... Thirty-Nine in overall could not be a dramq that it was expected to be and the outcomes were not hugely satisfying per se, nevertheless, the motives of the drama bloomed in an awfully beautiful ways, leaving impressions about everlasting love and relationships. There were room for improvement that could not be well utilized, which was a shame. I was more than willing to give it a 8.5 but provided the significant shortcomings, I choose to be fair. I hope people realize, the drama is not deserving of the idiotic judgements attempting to let down it's essence.
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A Game of Tetris
Well, I got what I wanted; Jing was endgame and the demon went out like the MVP that he was. That said season 2 was all over the place and therefore this will be an analysis/review. I added A Nian to my favorite character list along with the two above. Due to the shoddy editing, I consider part 2 an essential game of Tetris. I'll start with the characters that stood out to me and how they changed (if at all since season one).XY: Our red flag, anti-heroine definitely evolved from speaking to the mortal Tian'er in her way of thinking though it wasn't until episode 18 that the "abandonment" word was finally beaten out of her. Even when she spoke to the essence of her mother, she didn't get it until she realized it was her own mother. I did like how she allowed herself to understand that the whole thing with Jing was her fault too. That she stood by when she knew something was fishy with the whole child thing and did nothing; when she could have prevented a lot of misunderstandings and problems. Also glad the woman who swore she would never wait for anyone, not only posthumously married Jing but defied her obsessive brother when it came to him. But she got her happily ever after with the person right for her.
Jing: You are NOT the father. That was a phrase I had wanted to hear for a long time and it was satisfying; Maury Povich inside my head and everything. Jing evolved in his own manner; he wasn't a pushover anymore. He spoke his mind to her about his suspicions of the kid not being his and even later on, he didn't just stammer and disappear. He was gentle, kind, and not overbearing. He took credit for the good and not so good things he did without hesitation. And just like I thought and hoped, both the lifesaving pill and the demon brought him back to her. He fought hard to come back. He's her direct opposite and that's what she needed and wanted in a soulmate.
The demon: Lord almighty, I don't think I have ever met a larger masochist in any series, movie, show of any country. The lengths he went to save her; sacrificing 3 of his lives and erasing as much of her memory of him while he forever grieved, even in death. Only good thing was that he went out exactly as he wanted. Death was tragic but awesome. He really was the MVP. Had been anything less, it would have done irreparable damage to his character. As a novelist, I'm happy with it. But now because of that aquarium like pill inside that wooden doll, XY could take him with her on all of her adventures even if she didn't know it. I'm sure like others, I wish he or others told XY just how much he had actually done for her. Even at the very end, though she mourned his loss, she still misunderstood him. Also my favorite piece of music was his BGM in both seasons; just a female voice and I believe a guitar; simple and yet so deep. I also wish he sent Chubby to her and Jing as they traveled the world. They could take care of it and have a nice reminder of him. Poor Chubby didn't get an ending.
FL: Fleshed out more thankfully. He wasn't a bad guy at all, though morally grey like everyone else. I actually wish he didn't die, he was good to keep around but at least he did right by Jing and told CX the truth in the end. Though his death did bring some form of hope to his horrid sister Xingyue in changing her nasty ways (I actually thought "why does trash like his sister have to live but he can't?"). He was a good friend, general, cared about people and though a deity, he was probably one of the more human ones.
CX: He never got over his obsession of XY but at least we never saw him go batshit crazy. I never liked his character as a person though he was a good emperor. The fact that him "killing" Jing was actually an illusion created by his grandfather to get to the bottom of the truth was horribly done. It was like we knew why we had to hate him and then snap, it's not true? Like how's the audience supposed to feel for him afterwards? Then make that nightmare Xingyue be the real culprit but he's partially to blame because of the way he treated her too. So it's this never-ending whirlpool. Plus the forced "look he's evolved into someone sort of good" up through the end where the main couple don't even get the last scenes but are given to him and A Nian back in that village? It would have been better if it was XY and Jing wondering around the village reminiscing together. Still he had to unburden himself of his feelings in the last episode finally to her right before she got married; selfish much? Because it would've changed anything? Why are we supposed to feel sorry for him? I don't! I'm confused with this obsessed fool. Which again says something about the actor and character portrayal done very well.
A Nian: Literally my favorite female in the entire show and the absolutely most evolved character bar none. I was so proud of her. I hope if CX decides to have kids, it's only with her. She's the only real rightful queen and one that deserves to birth an heir.
I'd have to say that the editing made someone like me who has never read the novel stay in a perpetual state of confusion. Furthermore, each episode ended in some haphazard manner like in the middle of a conversation or fight. I had to constantly ask what was happening and why from friends who had read the novel or the leaked script. Part 2 in post production had to be done by a different team. Other than editing, what was up with FL's poison death veins, they were obviously not under his skin and looked like plaster or marker you could just peel or wash off. It was laughable in that agonizing scene. Same went for Jing's injuries in the water. This season looked a lot cheaper in other aspects too. I felt that the producers and editors smoked something very heavy.
Would I recommend it? Only if you watched season one and need to watch this to finish things off. The characters did evolve but some were forced on audience regarding that while others actually did so organically. Most actors did a good job.
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This drama made me so addicted, although there are no daebbak moments for me I still love it. This drama will make u say, aaaaw I wish I had a friend like that (bora and eun taek are awesome).
I'll recommend this to to you if you're into romance, the story is good, one thing's for sure it made me smile.
cast? all of them are great, *thumbs up* the characters? it's either you'll love them, hate them or feel nothing at all. Each character has a story and its interesting. look forward to baek in ha! baek in ho okay good too! kekekek
rewatched value. lol. I watch it the second time around, like I said its addicting.
I love the music.
answers left undone. half way it did gave me some little bit of disappointment but if I look back in their story, their friendship, their conflicts and their love story and the addiction that they gave me I realized it is incomparable that's why I gave an overall score of 10.
ending? is it good, bad, awesome or horrible? secret I'll keep it to myself! hahahha!
this drama will give you two options: it's either you'll watch it until the end or drop it. I wonder which group are you. looking forward to your answer!^^
advice?
Don't watch it if you can't handle the disappointment, but there's a chance that u might not be disappointed at all, well it's still depends on you after all. :))
This drama is definitely my one great love, yoo jung and seol, jang!!
Although it's difficult watch it until the end.
-Park Hae Jin
ps: If there's one thing I wanna kill in here its the PD-nim
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Fall in You was a full on soap opera.. Cringey and cliche but surprisingly fun to watch.. I really like Fan Zhi Xin.. I feel he is one of the most underrated actors in CDramas right now.. Like most of his dramas, one constant disappointment was the supporting cast.. It just screamed low budget.. Apart from the main leads, everyone else looked like they were in a D Grade drama.. The music though was good.. The beats elevated certain moments really well..
If you leave logic aside, you can actually have some fun watching it.. Like there is this one scene where she is talking to her friend about her confused feelings for her uncle and says..
'But we are family..’ and her friend shoots back, ‘So are married couples..’
That’s their logic.. That was hilarious to watch..
There were plenty of scenes that made absolutely no sense.. Like when a bunch of random nobodies shoved cameras in the FL’s face demanding clarification about her relationship with her uncle.. They weren’t even reporters, just random people in a hospital.. I mean are people that ridiculously stupid and nosy??
[ Spoilers ahead ]
Everything in this drama moves a little too fast.. The ML’s cold, dark demeanor disappears by ep 2.. The killer is caught halfway through and the leads fall in love.. They get together soon after the killer is arrested.. And by ep 15 he proposes.. They even get married and before long divorce is on the table.. The pacing was fast but not necessarily bad.. Up until ep 16, it was actually alright..
Mind you, what happens after this could have been salvaged with some good writing and a slightly higher budget.. After their marriage, things just go haywire.. A lot of nonsense.. From 'I will always be with you’ to hiding out in a hotel room.. We get the typical ML who keeps secrets from his wife because 'I don't want to lose her'.. Forget everything else, why didn’t he at least tell her that the SML approached the SFL to help break them up?? That would have made her see the SML isn’t exactly a good person and keep her guard up.. And maybe if he had just opened up sooner, her grandfather wouldn’t have been killed..
To make it thrilling, they threw in a bunch of unnecessary confusion about who is related to whom.. Like, we don’t even get a clear answer about the ML’s parents until the very last episode.. Anyway, dramatic much??
Even though I could list a thousand things wrong with this drama, there is one thing they nailed perfectly.. The main couple.. Fan Zhi Xin and Daisy Li had incredible chemistry.. Their romance and interactions alone made the whole drama worth watching..
Overall, it’s a fun watch.. I wouldn’t call it a good drama but it’s definitely entertaining.. With a stronger script, better supporting cast and a higher budget, this could have been far more likable.. Flawed as it is, this drama is worth the watch for the romance alone.. Fan Zhi Xin and Daisy Li deserved a much better script..
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Ripley's syndrome
I'm adding this review only because the synopsis is vague and doesn't help you decide whether to watch it or not. The tags however are helpful. I googled Ripley's Syndrome which is described as a antisocial personality disorder where one makes up grandiose lies and believes in this distorted reality. The person feels no shame or sympathy for his/her victims. This last point however doesn't quite fit the depiction about Anna as she does seem to experience guilt and shame.From this, you can kind of guess the storyline. I'm going to leave it here as I've only watched 2 episodes. However I will add that Bae Suzy is again the consummate actor. She has once again turned a flat 2D script into a 3D person with complex and often conflicting emotions and motivations, and really made the character hers. I look forward to watching the rest of the series, thankfully only 8 episodes in all, and will be back at the end with a deeper review.
Updated: I have now finished watching the whole series. 8 episodes cut down to 6 and I can say that the last 2 episodes were the weakest in the whole show. Clearly there's been heavy editing to fit the last 4 episodes into 2 and for no apparent reason. It's puzzling that they needed to cut; were that ratings bad? If ratings were so bad, why are they going to broadcast and extended version in August?
I have downgraded my overall rating because of these last 2 episodes. Pity. I certainly won't be watching the extended edition in August.
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This review may contain spoilers
I love this drama as a spinoff but......I will (probably) never make peace with the ending.
More to how I feel about the ending at the end of my review, if you don't mind ending spoilers, or spoilers in general then read on!Let's start of with the actors, the male lead Vin Zhang (Zhang Binbin), really did an amazing job in featuring four different characters in this story: God of Moon(Yue), Lu Li, Luo Ge and Dark God of Moon(Dark Yue), each have their own distinct personality, and I'm so glad he uses his own voice in this drama!!
This isn't the first time I see Zhang Binbin to be honest, since the first drama I ever watched him in was as Li Zing in Ten Miles Peach Blossom, and I did like his character in there, even when he had made that one mistake that caused his tragic fate at the end. Back then he made an impression for me, enough to still remember him all these years, but my love for his acting and his character portrayal has cemented in this drama(Song of the Moon)! I love how he portrayed his emotions well, and I really, really love him as Luo Ge! I got to say that while I don't like to see pain being inflicted upon Luo Ge, Lu Li or God of Moon, but I will be lying if I say I didn't enjoy his pain-scenes or scenes where he expresses pain/suffering because he is JUST THAT GOOD in acting out those scenes that made it believable!! I love his love for Liu Shao and how he expresses it through his micro expressions (when he's holding back in openly expressing his love for her), so no matter what I never got tired of scenes that have him in it! He can literally carry the show! I love Luo Ge as a character, because he is one of the most reasonable male leads I have seen in a long time! I also love the way he loves the FL (Liu Shao) as well, and I do see chemistry between them!
Also, I just want to touch on the fact that Luo Ge is NOT weak, and it really bothers me how some people don't know how to pay attention to the story at all to be saying this. People need to bear in mind that spiritual powers aren't limitless, if you overuse it, then it can worn you out, and it could also put your life at risk.
It has been stated several times in the story already that Liu Shao's spiritual powers influence Luo Ge, their spiritual powers are both mutually destructive on each other, if they were to use it on each other. Without spoiling too much of the later-story, you can see later what will happen when the extreme Yin energy does to Liu Shao. So this alone, along with what the Immortal Master said to Luo Ge earlier when he(LG) was helping Liu Shao open her Qi Hai to help her cultivate on her immortal path, he got hurt in the process, when the symbol on Liu Shao's forehead (which was God of Sun's divine spirit) activates. Luo Ge got hurt because he withdrew some of his powers in the last minute, so Liu Shao life was save. If not, not even her bracelet would have saved her in the end. She would have died..
So in context of understanding that situation, every time when Liu Shao is hurt/injured, and Luo Ge use his powers to heal/help her, it hurts him in the process, and we can make a conjecture here because Liu Shao is fine each time when Luo Ge heals her or use his powers on her, and only Luo Ge is affected by this, shows that Luo Ge is holding some of his extreme yin energy/powers when he use it on Liu Shao, when he does that you can say that it leaves him defenseless against Liu Shao's extreme yang energy so this hurts him....When he is hurt, just like everyone else, it takes time to recover, and it was pointed out that when Liu Shao is beside Luo Ge, he can't recover back fully (that's why Immortal Master was so against them being together). So what Liu Shao is like to Luo Ge when he's injured is similarly opposite to what Wan Shui is to Liu Shao when she is hurt (after Luo Ge received the three lightning punishment in her place instead). Wan Shui said that him being near her will benefit her recovery quicker because of the medicinal effect of Wan Shui being the 10,000 years king herb. But for Liu Shao, unfortunately that doesn't benefit Luo Ge because of their conflicting spiritual powers of being extreme yin and yang.
Even when he was already injured, he can still cast the formation in the yin-yang cave, that strong formation does not come without great spiritual powers, you need to have enough spiritual powers to be able to use it... So let's refresh our memory here, and put these into step by step, Luo Ge was already injured earlier because of the conflicting powers, then he went and set up the formation in the yin-yang cave.... And then when he returns as he was trying to recover back his spiritual powers, the evil spirit have to continue to throw all these at him where he have to use up (again) most of his spiritual powers to seal them all into the sphere when he was in the Bone Melting Pool.... So honestly, can anyone just cut him a break there... Even Wan Shui said it himself, that he can't continue on like this, because he will eventually die... And again, spiritual powers aren't limitless. People need to understand this... BUT even when that is the case, why don't people ever consider the fact that yeah, Luo Ge wasn't at 100% of his powers, but he can still stand his own against the Evil Spirit and what the Evil Spirit throws at him... Isn't that good enough to prove that he's strong, and NOT weak!
Moving onto the Female Leading actress Xu Lu who portray her character as Liu Shao, this is the first I've seen of her, but I do think that she's not as bad as some people make her out to be, I don't mind her acting cute/having a different side to her where she only shows towards Lu Li/Luo Ge because I see that is a form of affection she has for Luo Ge. Some people don't like her character, but for me, I don't mind it, since I don't think she's weak at all. Strong female characters doesn't necessarily have to be physically strong... Because those who are physically strong but lack the brains and not mentality strong, are female characters I don't really like. What's the point of having physical strength but your heart is weak. I also disagree to how some calls her the weakest female lead in Chinese Drama's like if they really think that then just WOW! They have NOT seen any yet! To me, Liu Shao is 1000x better than the FL to Ashes of Love (Jin Mi). At least Liu Shao actually works hard to cultivate and get stronger to becoming a God, unlike Jin Mi (Ashes of Love), where she just so stupid and takes it for granted and get her cultivation handed to her on silver platter! Jin Mi to me is the WORST FL ever!
Main pairing Luo Ge x Liu Shao is my favorite in this drama, and I have made quite a few MV's on them as the drama was airing, so if you're interested, you can check it out here: https://mydramalist.com/discussions/ben-yue/84027-mv-sharing. I love Luo Ge and Liu Shao relationship, because when I think of the main pairing, I picture them as touching and sweet and I really love how they are always supporting each other and that's the kind of relationship that appeals to me and I love Liu Shao strong love for LG and how she always there to support him! They also both have trust in each other, which is an appeal to me as well. This is refreshing to see instead of the usual misunderstanding so I honestly don't know why some people say is boring! When there's no trust in a pairing and there's misunderstanding they complain! When there's trust between a pairing they still complain! Can they just make up their mind and stick to it! Even when the focus was dragging on for the 2nd pairing..... I never get bored of seeing Luo Ge and Liu Shao moments when they come onscreen. During those times, I see them like a married CP almost like this is what their life will be like when they are married! So for me, I will always love the main pairing no matter what! I also love their domestic life during these times almost like they are married and how I pictured them to be like when they are married and protecting the three realms together and Liu Shao is cultivating her powers as we can see. If those actually paid attention to it at all, the main pairing did have their own developments very early on. But I guess we can watch the same drama but feel very different to interpreting the drama. That's all I have to say.
2nd pair A Fu x Luo Ning: To be honest I did started of shipping the second pairing at first and was looking forward to their story, but over time I just got to the point of not seeing a future for them anymore. If I am going to say my feelings on how I describe this pairing is disappointing and unhealthy. Disappointing comes from the fact that A Fu actually fed her the Phoenix tears against her will. This wouldn't have happened if he trusted LN's love for him a little. He should know what Phoenix tears does and in the end he ended up punishing himself for this... Unhealthy because I can't picture a future for them. It got to the point where it felt forced coming from A Fu side because he would rather lock her up and not respect what LN really wants. Yeah they love each other but I don't see it as a healthy relationship and honestly I don't see A Fu genuinely cared for LN and her feelings when he plotted to hurt those she cared for. He was the one who destroyed their future. Did he ever consider how LN would feel when he plotted to kill or hurt those she care for? -_-
This drama has 2 alternate endings, which is according to the choices made by Liu Shao! (Well I know there's a secret ending was filmed but got deleted, and I am still pissed about their decision to delete that perfect ending for me)! T__T
Ending 1(Ep 39) is when Liu Shao decided to sacrifice herself to save Luo Ge from the evil spirits by drawing it all into her, because her being the God of Sun (reincarnation)/that has the Sun Spirit, her powers are Yang, and the Evil Spirit is tied to Yin(which is the power from God of Moon), so when Liu Shao draws the Evil Spirit into her, because of their conflicting opposite powers, they will both in the end die from it. In this ending, Liu Shao made the decision to sacrifice herself to protect Luo Ge and release him of the Evil Energy. This ending is more tied to the Novel ending, although not exactly the same reason, but it's the same where Novel Liu Shao sacrificed herself and God of Moon in the end, was looking all over the world, and with great efforts to find her again, which is similarly to how the ending played out in this episode (Ending 1). In the Novel Extra's it was revealed that God of Moon was able to find Liu Shao again, and they managed to get their happy ending!
In terms of the main pairing ending goes , I felt like ep39 touched me more... I felt more emotional in that one even when it didn't have an on-screen happy ending. Between one of them who have to "die"(sacrifice), I rather that to be Liu Shao not Luo Ge...Lu Li "died" in Liu Shao's arms back then so I felt like ep39 ending where it shows that scene where Liu Shao "died/sacrifice" herself is like a contrast to that part. Tbh, I prefer Liu Shao's choice in ep 39 ending better since that's how I see she would decide on her end especially when she have been saying all along that the person she wants to protect the most is Luo Ge. I still love what she said to Luo Ge that "10,000 years ago, Yao Ling have to painfully kill the one she loves, 10,000 years later, Liu Shao can finally protect you" ~ that's a powerful quote for me that I love. It kinda gives a sense of growth to her character for me since this time it's her turn to protect him instead of the other way around.
I really urge viewers to NOT skip it since you're missing out such an emotional heartfelt episode if you do IMO. Even if Liu Shao "died" in ep39, I didn't have doubt that she will come back, and get their happy ending in the end, just like in the novel. I love Luo Ge so much and seeing him died again just doesn't sit right for me. I just felt episode 39 ending coherently makes sense to me. I much rather they stick to Ep39 ending, where they have Ep40 wrap up to Luo Ge finding Liu Shao again that would be nice since that would tie in similar to Novel!
Ending 2 (Ep40) - This ending is when Liu Shao have no choice but to kill the Evil Spirit (Dark God of Moon), so in the end, Luo Ge have to "die" for that to happen... I'm not saying I don't like some of the scenes in episode 40, I'm just saying I don't like the ending scene in episode 40 since it raises questions for me... If they changed that ending to the ending to the deleted secret ending (will touch on this later) I would say I happily accept that at least it doesn't leave doubt. In this ending, Liu Shao said at the end that she hopes that her dream (which is in context what she wish for) will come true, and she said and implied through what she said is her dream (wish) is for Luo Ge to come back to her and then we see that scene of Luo Ge being back shows her wish has been granted. When it comes to the ending I want it to leave no doubt and this is why I am not happy with how it ended since it's open for interpretation. At first I was confused about this ending, but after watching that final episode several times. I ended up picking some details on my end. GOD, YOU REALLY NEED TO BE ABLE TO PICK UP SUBTLENESS WHEN IT COMES TO THIS DRAMA!!
So when Luo Ge "died", we see that Liu Shao was playing with her Corroding Harp where you see both Luo Ge's Moon Sword and Moon Bell was there. And you know what the effects of Corroding Harp actually does. Then we have Liu Shao was wandering the mortal realm and she saw A Fu and Luo Ning reincarnated, so this signify there's a time skip here (seriously writers, you can't even put in that effort to tell us this?!) And then in that ending scene, we saw Luo Ge using his fan to tap on Liu Shao's shoulder lightly to show that he's back.. And he have his moon bell back with him even when this was kept with Liu Shao in the immortal palace..
I honestly wish the ending to Ep40 was handled better... But after watching that ending scene in Ep40 again a couple of times I do think he's back but can they not exchange a few words or something... I think Luo Ge have his full memories intact and there's a time skip after he "died" before he can form a physical body to return to Liu Shao again. And lastly Luo Ge did promise her that he will return to her... So while this ending scene to Ep40 felt rushed but he did return... So yeah.. while subtle but the hints is there..
Secret Ending - Is coming from this deleted scene, where they did filmed it, but was not included in the Finale. To whoever made the decision to delete this scene, you really make a stupid decision for doing so, because this would have been perfect at the end for ending 2 then what we were given! (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLCqJyUn4Hc). In this ending, Luo Ge 100% did return to Liu Shao in the immortal palace, and when he returned Liu Shao ran up to him and hugged him and scolded him for why he took so long to come back, I really like this ending and I am still sad why they would delete it....THIS will always be my fav ending!
In terms of story, I enjoyed it, it is fast pace, yes, but it was good enough to make me want to watch each ep after the ep ended. I didn't have a problem understanding the story, and what I love about this drama is when I finished the episode it made me want to watch more! I also love how this story made me want to make guesses and theories about what actually happened, and I like it when some of them I analysed was right! Although I have to admit that I was wrong about my views on Hei Yue (Dark God of Moon). With that being said, I will be lying if I said I don't enjoy Dark Yue scenes when he's being intimate with Liu Shao... For me, I guess this is one of the reasons why I love Vin Zhang, that is, no matter which character he plays as in this story, even if it's the evil God of Moon, he still perfected it to the point that it's hard for me to really hate him you know! LOL
In terms of faithfulness to the Novel? SOTM is NOT faithful at all.. The Story direction, and Character portrayal is completely changed in the Drama. So I can only take this as a spinoff. Which is sad, seeing how I love the Novel on my end. Maybe one faithful part in the Drama was at the end, Luo Ge was searching for Liu Shao again.
Characters I love in SOTM: Luo Ge, YueGuang, YaoLing, Lu Li, Liu shao, He Na. To an extent I love Zhang Binbin portrayal as Dark Yue, and even when he's back as Luo Ge, I love him in that dark costume! I also love Shang Yurong and his Shijie relationship, I am happy they get to be together in the end. Xie Lingqi was a jerk at first, but after learning his back story, I came to like his redemption arc.
Rewatch Value: I will watch this again, but only on the scenes I love/enjoy.
Fast forward scenes for me: A Fu, Baifeng, A Fu and Bai Feng plotting, A Fu x Luo Ning scenes...
Sad that Lan Chi (which he is a Novel Character) did not make it into the Drama, since I love his interactions with God of Moon in the Novel, but then, the Novel and Drama is very different so... Not surprising though...
Editing to the drama side of things, I do agree it went downhill, and honestly, I will never forgive the editors/those who deleted some of my favorite CP scenes that I know it was filmed but never made it to the aired version. It's a huge insult to the actors doing their best to play out their scenes, but in the end, it just went down the drain. It's not the actors fault but those who chose to delete them!
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This review may contain spoilers
STORY: This was probably the most inventive and creative dramas/story plot I've seen in the Korean entertainment industry yet! I adore fantasy because it strikes the imagination part of the brain in a fun way and I've seen some fantasy-genre Korean dramas but they don't involve a lot of fantasy elements. Most dramas I've seen that are labeled as "fantasy" or "supernatural" usually use these elements to support a story. They were more tools to carry the story along rather than being the main focus. 'Queen In Hyun's Man' was the closest I've seen to making fantasy as the main focus point, but still lacked emphasis on the genre. This drama really made the "fantasy" element THE main focus and you see the story support the genre rather than the other way around. I'm so proud and happy for Kim Eun Sook. She did a FANTASTIC job writing this drama! The world she created was so vivid and realistic in the sense that if there were such thing as goblins and grim reapers in this world, she made the idea fit into our 'real world' construct to make it believable that they might actually exist. I thought it was unique to have the idea that there were many grim reapers, instead of just one, and that they were organized in a governmental way. The reasons for their amnesia were pretty sound and the search for the goblin's bride was pretty inventive. Kim Eun Sook could've been lazy with the why of everything and make them the most conventional reasons possible, but she definitely took great stride into creating a story that weaved in and out with every action and every decision so that almost everything had a meaning and a real reason behind them. Kim Eun Sook did a sublime job fleshing out the characters too! They definitely aren't the cookie-cutter type of characters you usually see in almost all romance Korean dramas, and I super appreciate that! It gets soooooooo unbelievably boring when I see the same type of character over and over again in every typical romance drama. Especially the male characters. They always turn out to be super mean and only to the main female character, but has a hard time expressing their feelings from their golden hearts. -__- !!ACTING/CAST: This has been the best casting I've seen EVER! I'm not even joking! My favorite actress (for the current time) is Kim Go Eun and even though she's still young in the industry, she has AMAZING acting talents! She pulled off her character without a hitch. Same goes for Gong Yoo, who is a veteran in the entertainment industry and brings flourishes of experience from his time in the k-drama and k-movie business. Lee Dong Wook also did surprisingly well in this drama, although I still wish he was a bit more expressive. Maybe I'll get some upset comments about this, but he always seems to have this same indifferent look about him in every drama I've seen him in. But still, he did great in this drama, despite this fact. I considered Yoo In Na as a bit of a newbie in the entertainment business, but glad she got to be in this drama because I definitely see good potential to grow her acting talents and be a very talented actress. Also have to give props to Yook Sung Jae and Lee El for their great portrayals of our Gods. Lee El has really good potential to be a great actress as well and hope that after being exposed in this drama, she'll have the opportunity to be in many more dramas as well. Maybe in a lead? She's always been the side character, haha!
MUSIC: I don't really pick on the music unless it's extremely good or extremely ill-fitting. Goblin's soundtrack was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! It fit the tone of the drama so perfectly and carried the emotional and lighthearted scenes so PERFECTLY! This is one of those rare moments where I want to download the whole track list to my phone so that I can listen to it whenever and where ever! What people don't often notice is that the music of a drama and the story is kind of like two halves of a whole. They really do have to fit well together or else the overall picture/concept of the drama becomes a little....off. But these two fit together absolutely perfectly!
OVERALL: I was going into this drama with big apprehension because the writer was Kim Eun Sook, who also wrote Descendants of the Sun, which I was absolutely bored to tears with. With the awesome cast in this drama but with Kim Eun Sook being the writer, I was worried that she would do the same thing as she did with DOTS. But I was thankfully relieved and pleasantly surprised! I know I sung praises up and down in this review for this drama, but please keep in mind that I rarely ever do this unless it demands that kind of praise. There's really only one other drama I gave a 9/10 or above and that was Liar Game (Korean version). This drama was well-directed, well-acted, and put together so well and so impressively that I really can't help say nothing but great things about it! The only reason why I gave this drama 9.5/10 instead of 10/10 is because of 'the contract' reasoning for our goblin (don't think that's a spoiler because you'd have to watch and know what the contract was) But other than that little lazy reasoning, Usually, I leave about a week to review a drama because I don't want the added hype of my own excitement to affect a review, but I'm very confidant that my thoughts and feelings for this drama will not waver for the reasons I wrote in this review, even as time passes. I would wholeheartedly watch this again and again! The cast, the story, and the music all blend and mesh together so well that it's painted the most beautiful picture I've seen yet!
NOTE: This is a somewhat slow-paced drama, so please understand that before watching. Some people don't like slow-paced because of our tendency to want instant gratification (especially with the younger folks, haha) But to be honest, this drama wouldn't have done so well if it were more fast-paced. I think being slow-paced as it is was the perfect speed for the story. If it were any faster, we'd be left with a less desirable ending and very rushed story.
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LOVE
LOVE
LOVE
LOVE this show
will rewatch this over and over
The main characters does a good job
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
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I adored the first 5 episodes, liked the sixth -- but then the drama went downhill. Actually, I was slightly bored when the end credits of last episode started.
The first half of "Me and Thee" took several tropes, like the age-old "love conquers class differences", the "rich people are detached from reality" and a few others, and played with them -- inverted or subverted them, played them for laughs and so on (cf. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlayingWithATrope). Khun Thee was the perfect mix of clueless and charming, with his lakorn-style over-the-top view of how the world works, and he made me like him a lot, even though I usually despise the ultra-rich.
I adored the silliness that at times bordered on the absurd, and thought I'd understood why this series got so much praise.
But even in the first episodes it was very obvious that the post-production team was doing the heavy lifting. The precise work in the cutting room as well as the clever use of background music were what brought the comedy to the on-point timing it had. I can see that Pond ("Thee") did his best -- and he wasn't bad at all! -- but in my view, his role would have deserved an actor with the abilities to *really* lean into the absurdity of the character's quirks.
Thee and Peach are a classic comedic duo (aka "double act"), with Peach taking over the "straight man" and Thee being the "comic"; and they would have been brilliant if both actors were able to play it up much, much more, so that most of the comedy comes from their own performance and not from the work of the post production team.
Better acting abilities might have also ironed out the weaknesses of the screenplay in the second half to some degree.
Because the screenplay let me down from episode 6 or 7 onwards: It decided to pivot away from playing with the tropes to playing them straight, but not to the point where they got funny again -- and that reduced the charm of the first episodes to a minimum and left only the eye-roll-inducing cheesiness. Great comedic moments were few and far between, and that was just not enough to keep up the energy of the first half.
An excellent screenplay would have been able to keep up the comedy *and* develop the romance at the same time -- but the comedy was reduced in favour of ramping up the romance. Unfortunately, the repeated use of the same tropes -- once to play with them, then playing them straight -- doesn't work for me at all. The romance part of the script also failed for me, see below.
The writer *also* tried to give some character growth, depth and background to their main characters. On the one hand, I love some depth with my comedy. On the other, the way they did it causes inconsistencies with previously set-up characterisations.
And I don't understand why this happens again and again (Ossan's Love Thailand is another example of this) -- Thailand has some very good screenwriters, and Thai productions are often surprisingly excellent at integrating different genres into one story, and even giving it some additional depth by doing so; but with GMMTV BLs, this just doesn't happen.
Overall, the last four episodes should have been condensed into two, to keep up the comedic energy of the first half, and maybe they shouldn't have tried to make it swoon-worthy romantic, if they can neither integrate it with the comedy nor deliver a heart-felt romance.
And that is a problem that quite a few (GMMTV) productions have: If you want to make a story romantic, then commit to it and make it so.
But the love and attraction just isn't there to see. Really, have any of the people working on the drama -- writers, director, actors -- never seen a couple in the springtime of their love? I don't mean the continuous snogging of teenaged couples or explicit sex scenes. But new couples in real life (yes, exen if they are adults) can't help themselves: they touch each other often, sometimes as little as a small brush on the shoulder, they look at each other constantly, they seek to be as close to each other as possible. None of these things can be seen here. On the contrary, Peach continues to hold Thee at arms length at every turn, and stays passive whenever Thee initiates physical intimacy. It's as if he doesn't even want any of it! Up to the point that Peach initiating a kiss is somehow a big thing -- in the last episode, *after* both of them vowed to stay together.
Maybe it could have worked if the second half of the drama had reversed the roles of the "double act": Make Thee the "straight man" and give Peach the role of the "comic"; for example make his "reluctant bottom" role carry the comedy. Even if that has been done many times before, it might have given the series a second wind that could have carried it to the finish.
That Phuwin's ("Peach") acting abilities are limited only makes things worse. In emotional moments, Phuwin is not able to convey fear, grief, love or any other deep emotion to a point where I can feel with his character.
Both of these two points combined make for a relationship dynamic that is severely lopsided -- from Thee's side we get the over-the-top, I-would-die-or-at-least-buy-all-of-Thailand-for-him romance, from Peach's side we get a grudging friendship.
Other than that (and let's not speak about the ubiquitous product placements, which were occasionally, but not often enough, well integrated into the script), there were some holes and contradictions in the way some points were resolved. Which is not a problem per se in a comedy of the style they had in the first half -- and could have been used to keep the drama on the silly, even absurd side of things. But it wasn't, see above.
Was it good?
The first half was brilliant, especially due to excellent use of cuts and background music. But then a combination of unfocussed writing and average acting made the comedy lose its steam and the series lose its charm.
Did I like it?
As with most GMMTV productions, this was an easy watch. But while I loved the first half, I was bored by the second.
Would I recommend it?
I don't think so. But "Me and Thee" is adored by many, so I recommend that every one should see for themselves.
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