This review may contain spoilers
In its monstrosity hardly dealt with war crime pulled off the dusty shelf in vividly stylized mode
The Netflix production “Gyeongseong Creature” turns out to be quite an idiosyncratic mix. Studio Dragon had the opportunity to experiment and make full use of an illustrious cast. Despite some clichés, "Gyeongseong Creature" is not a banal K-drama that you quickly forget.Basically it's another hero´s quest of some hero against his will, discovering unexpected sides of himself. It´s another ´mission impossible´ right into the lion's den - in this case: the military hospital of the Japanese colonial army base in the middle of the capital of the Chōsen colony in 1945. It is not the fair maiden who is to be saved, but the kidnapped, impregnated courtesan of the chief of the Japanese police. It turns out that a 'dragon' - in this case an artificially created monster - also has to be overcome along the way. The hero is flanked by a motley crew of long-standing and spontaneous companions...
Now this old wine comes in a freshly spiced-up Korean-style bottle. The personal touch of "Gyeongseong Creature" is precisely that Gyeongseong in those final months of the Pacific War, when Seoul bore that name. The historical setting as well as the historically and socially significant issues of Japanese colonial rule give the plot its selectivity and a quite serious foundation, so that "Gyeongseong Creature" does not simply offer interchangeable run-of-the-mill entertainment. Here, a painful chapter of South Korean suffering is intertwined with personal fates in the form of loosely interspersed critical events during colonial rule that is officially (by Japan) to this day preferable neglected, not to mention rehabilitated. With this Netflix production it has been nonchalantly thrown onto the World Channel to be proclaimed and acknowledged in HD.
This involves in general: the arbitrary racist violence and oppression against the Koreans as well as the systematic torture and execution of suspected resistance fighters in Sodaemun Prison; the forced military conscription and bullying of Korean soldiers within Japanese units; the forced recruitment or abduction of comfort women for (mass rape for the pleasure of) frontline soldiers... And specifically in the case of this story: the monstrous machinations of Unit 731 as part of the Imperial Japanese Army, which went down in history for its inhumane experiments on human subjects. Although these experiments actually took place mainly in Harbin in Manchuria (see side note below), they were for this KDrama also imported to Gyeongseong for a compact narrative stringency.
Against this background, "Gyeongseong Creature" tells its fictional story with artistic license. In some scenes you may get the impression that you have lost your way in a parody. Despite of such incomprehensible human menace and distress, the story presents itself at times completely unimpressed by any seriousness. There is room for humor and coolness, (which sometimes made me think of a parody of 'James Bond' or alike production). There is this reluctant hero who sometimes appears naive, sometimes quite cheeky and self-confident. He´s someone who has learned to achieve his goals, but who prefers to stay out of any trouble, wearing a stylish suit. And then, out of nowhere, he can withstand torture and injuries as if it were nothing at all. You can't really take this seriously. And yet...
In contrast, there is plenty of objective seriousness and expertise from the two foreign travelers on their detective mission. Pleasant extra: a clever, self-confident FL who is quick-witted in every respect.
In contrast, there is also the extremely dark world of medical experiments (and their artistic documentation) – underground on the military site.
In contrast, there are also the monsters, the army and the imprisoned test subjects.
And in the middle of the perfidious chase, the great feelings of humanity shine through: familial bonds and solidarity as well as wounded pride and jealousy act as driving forces, flanked by patriotic resistance and questionable scientific ambition. It's hardly surprising that Cupid also shoots his arrow in passing.
Not only do the individual characters at times feel like caricatures of themselves, Gyeongseong's production, choreographed in light and colors, also seems to come from an unreal fairytale world. While the pawnshop shimmers in all colors, the Japanese research laboratory is stylized as a dark dungeon beneath the military prison. And then there is the Moonlight Bar on the one hand and the police chief's property on the other - each of them control centers with a certain (political) impact. All of this is impressively aestheticized again and again in hand-picked scenes and settings. Sometimes you can feel like you're in the theater and then again like you're in the high-resolution digital world of a computer game.
So is the KDrama worth watching? On the one hand, "Gyeongseong Creature" takes itself very seriously with regard to its historical contemporary themes, but on the other hand, in the clichéd exaggeration of the individual characters, it apparently doesn't. This KDrama mix chosen for "Gyeongseong Creature" is, in my opinion, quite daring. However, I mean this in a benevolently positive way, in the sense of 'feeling free to experiment'. You might have to get used to it - but easily so. The (let´s say) rather 'banal' entertainment element - the Mission Impossible in view of the numerically superior Japanese military and the monster creation - is effectively intertwined with painful historical reality in a strikingly piquant and catchy manner. During the action-packed and visually stunning ride through the episodes, the KDrama subtly but consequently throws its barbs of memory at the audience.
The KDrama surely is offering cinematically solid entertainment with a star cast, but at the same time, based on the different personal backgrounds of the main and supporting characters, it demands acknowledgement of how the Japanese dealt with Koreans at that time. By stylizing the manifestation of Unit 731's monstrous experiments and research in the form of a concrete monster with superpowers, "Gyeongseong Creature" symbolically brings the unsatisfactorily dealt with war crime off the dusty history shelves in an unmistakable monstrosity.
...
Well, a second season has already been announced.
This will obviously be set in contemporary Seoul, though. We´ll see...
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SIDE NOTE: --- Unit 731 of the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army ---
From 1932 onwards, Unit 731 of the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army under the leadership of Ishii Shirō was stationed in Harbin, the largest city of the puppet state of Manchukuo in northern Manchuria. Around 3,000 mostly bacteriologists carried out experiments on living people there. The test subjects imprisoned and tortured there were predominantly Korean and Chinese civilians as well as Soviet prisoners of war. Later, including American prisoners of war, too.
Unit 731 of the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army was disguised as the “Main Branch of the Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department.” In fact, Unit 731 in Harbin is responsible for the most cruel experiments on living humans. Later, field research was also carried out using the biological weapons developed in Harbin. The victims based on this research alone were mostly civilians - tens of thousands came together over the course of the war years.
I would like to ad that the main perpetrators of these war crimes by Unit 731, who had the full support of the later Japanese prime ministers and the Japanese imperial family, remained unpunished in exchange for the research results that they handed over to the USA...
PS:
There was no offshoot of Unit 731 in the fictional Onseong Hospital in Geyeongseong. That's fictional.
There was no Onseong Hospital in Gyeongseong either.
However...
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SIDE NOTE: --- Gyeongseong Japanese Military Hospital ---
The main KDrama setting is a colorful look and feel of Gyeongsong (Seoul at that time). The focus is on the architecture of the Republic's former Defense Security Command Center. On the area between the palace and the old town of Bukcho a military hospital was built by the Japanese in 1928. The Onseong named Hospital in "Gyeongseong Creature" is fictional, but the architecture that takes center stage is in fact related to a real Japanese military hospital before later actually becoming part of the Republic's Defense Security Command Center.
Until about two decades ago, this area was an urban area closed to the public and with bad memories for the people - not only of the activities of the colonial rulers, but also of their own military, which staged a coup against the people here in the 1970s. Furthermore, many South Koreans were tortured and mistreated there (by the security officers of South Korea's dictatorial regime). Until recently, human rights was an unknown concept behind those walls.
The ensemble could have been demolished, but the people decided to preserve the building as a memorial. The historical witness is now part of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. The bloody past is thus being countered with something positive: the imagination and emotional power of modern art.
Here, with the KDrama "Gyeongsong Creature", the dark past of this military area bearing a bloody and painful past, which began with Japanese colonial rule and was later continued by South Korean government officials, comes to life again with artistic license, too - as representative contemporary witness in HD.
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Is This Really Love? Or Interest In Love?
Ahn Soo Young is a beautiful, hard-working 4 year employee as Chief Bank Teller at KCU Bank. Due to her past experiences and personal difficulties whilst growing up, she does not believe that she is destined to be happy.Even with her stone face and distant demeanor, Ha Sang Soo under her mentorship when he first joined the bank, gradually found himself drawn to her as he grew through the ranks at the workplace. One day, he finally musters his nerves and asks Soo Young for a date. However, he was late arriving the dinner venue and was seen by Soo Young hesitating for a moment before entering the restaurant. Soo Young re-acts in a devastating manner and hence the possible relationship between her and Sang Soo spirals off to different directions. They then inadvertently paired themselves with respective partners whom I found were really well suited to them. However, like a ‘moth to the flame’, Soo Young and Sang Soo continues to be drawn to each other.
Soo Young has self-esteem issues and does not easily give herself permission to be happy. Sang Soo is a guy who takes life and relationship seriously, making him cautious in his thought process. Will such two un-confident energy ever find love?
I found this drama really angsty as I yearned to see the two main leads coming together. One might even find many moments really slow, but these are the moments where this type of drama requires one to sink into the scenes and emotions, which had my attention. Whilst waiting for that moment, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories with the second leads as well as the entire ensemble of family, bank colleagues and office politics. The entire drama was cleverly weaved in these really complicated relationships. Moon Ga Young was ‘horribly’ good as Soo Young and Yoo Yeon Seok (normally, whom I always enjoy watching his macho go-getter roles) was ‘horribly’ good as the mild, cautious and hesitant Sang Soo. So frustrating to watch and yet able to make me appreciate the flow and the tension.
This is not your normal love story drama, and this is why I enjoyed this so much.
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Rather Bizarre Ending
Believe in Love is a partly xianxia, partly non xianxia drama. The xianxia elements are not pronounced throughout the story, as most of the characters are all normal humans living an earthly life, until towards the end when some elements of xianxia come to light. This is another story revolving around cuisines and food, and it is my fourth one in a row. Despite the tag that says “comedy”, there is very little comedy here, or comedies that don't make people laugh. Nonetheless, it’s quite an enjoyable light watch with some “angsts” for some viewers.Hua Yinan (Huang Shengchi) and Lu Yue’er (Zheng He Hui Zi) were lovers in their previous life as General Mu Yuan and Xiao Man. Mu Yuan died and Xiao Man perished while trying to save him. Thousands of years later, they meet again living on an island -- Hua Yinan as the son of the owner of the island and Lu Yue’er as the daughter of the owner of a small noodle shop. With mysteries and unexplained circumstances, Hua Yinan is told to marry Lu Yue’er in his father’s will before he can inherit his father’s legacy as the rightful owner of the island and all his properties, including the biggest and best restaurant on the island. Hua Yinan is reluctant to marry Lu Yue’er as he doesn’t like her and the feelings are mutual. Through various encounters that make them save each other’s life, Hua Yinan begins to fall in love with Lu Yue’er. So when she agrees to marry him, Hua Yinan is overjoy. He inherits everything the will promises he will. Comes our antagonist who was the antagonist in their previous life as well. What follows become a test of their true love for each other.
The whole cast is new to me including the main leads. Huang Shengchi is good looking and despite having acted in many dramas, this is my first drama of him. His portrayal of Hua Yinan is convincing with a mild demeanor and a soft romance towards his love. Likewise, I have never watched any of Zheng He Hui Zi’s dramas, and her portrayal here is equally convincing as the naïve Lu Yue’er or the arrogant Tang Yingying. Her outfit is rather unconventional with bared shoulders, accentuating her narrow frame, making her looking like a little girl. Their dynamics together are sweet and authentic with a lot of intimate scenes. The antagonist is vile and hateful, and Xiao Kaizhong's portrayal is very convincing. The second couple, Su Tang (Zhu Rong Jun) and Du Ruo (Hou Dong), is quite a joy to watch, and the stepmom and step sister are so horrible that you want to slap them. These supporting actors are great in their respective roles.
My Verdict
This drama is not great nor very bad. It’s easy watching though it can be rather slow pace as there is a prolong romance play which can be welcoming for some romance buffs, but boring for others. The last episode turns into a love triangle with a xianxia fight with superpower. The endings have multiple plot holes and questions not answered. It's rather bizarre. Overall, watch it for light entertainment and don't be too bothered with the details.
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Overall good :]
For a short netflix kdrama I'd say its good.The plot isnt confusing if anything its pretty straightfoward in a good way of course!
I think the main female really did carry the show though. The energy her character brought in really hooked me personally making me feel like watching the next episodes.
It doesnt feel too cliche well atleast to me it felt that way! Then again that might just depend on your taste if its cliche or not so keep that in mind.
For 10 episodes I think the pacing was pretty good actually the plot line doesnt feel to slow or to fast! Doenst feel like there many plot holes either which you gotta appreciate. They provide enough backstory on both main leads and the side characters also get their amount of plot.
Overall the show is just exactly what its description say it would be about. It was full with some humor parts and overall can be taken very lightly.
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great start, terrible ending
Overall: I was really impressed with the first episode and the first half of the second episode. Unfortunately, cliched writing really let it down. Aired cut on SUKFILM YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYfaogVGCvwTczUW4K1YELu_cWQfUQ21a&si=Wv8xKJkU1Fq2v-5t and uncut with channel Membership https://youtu.be/ync6RU2p-Mg?si=veM-TZOGJ6Q67cI5 (I have watched both the cut and uncut versions)Update - since they are airing more episodes I have increased my rating to a 7
Content Warning: coercion
What I Liked
- tension/chemistry
- indirect way at first to say he didn't have money, used context clues instead of exposition dumps
- clear communication at the start of episode 2
- intimacy
Room For Improvement
- didn't love that they were doing something before what happened at the end of ep 1
- characters started doing "because the writer said so" stuff in episode 2, why would he write that right next to the other guy? why did all of a sudden feelings change and he ran out to meet him? he just left his phone screen visible on the table when he left, etc
- cliched female characters as potential/actual antagonists
- this is obviously an indie production, but I think they could have collaborated with a coffee shop to get a free location in exchange for naming them as a sponsor/publicity, also subtitle errors in episode 4 made the plot confusing (also had some missing subtitles)
- that ending was such a letdown, cliched and unsatisfying (update: they decided to release more episodes)
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This review may contain spoilers
Love Story Between a Scorpio and an Aquarius
Wow, what an ending!!! At the beginning of this episode (last episode) I thought this was going to be another amnesia trope but in this case it really worked (also made this entire drama make sense). This is going to put up a serious fight against Crash Landing On You as my favorite drama for the year. I have to say this show surprised me so much. Unlike Crash Landing On You, I came in with normal expectations. One, because I have never watched a show with Lee Joon Gi before despite having watched hundreds of dramas (I know, I know. I have always respected him and admired him but somehow just never watched a k-drama with him in it). On the other hand, I really like Moon Chae Won as an actress. She has never disappointed in any of the dramas she was in. She neve disappointed me in Innocent Man, never disappointed me in Princess Man, never disappointed me in Good Doctor, and has not even disappointed me in Goodbye Mr. Black (yes, that show was a disaster but her acting is spectacular). She has took it to a different level in this drama. Everything just hit so hard in this show and I have never once felt that her character was not insincere or she was acting.And Lee Joon Gi was phenomenal. As a dude, I always thought all of the other k-drama fans (mostly women) have liked him not just because he was a good actor but also handsome. But he killed it in this show. He portrayed a complicated character so well it is unbelievable. This character has showed and experienced every emotion possible to a human being (betrayal, shock, love, guilt, anger, happiness, sadness, jealousness), everything. To show every single emotion without even acting out all of the scenes is just beyong amazing (of course the writing and directing were phenomenal).
This show also reminds me an article I read half an hour ago about horology (I know this is not related but it kind of is). It was an article about Scorpios and Aquarius. What really stood out was how the two signs have so many obstacles in the way but strangely match up so well. It really seemed to describe this couple.
Do Hyun Su (the Scorpio in this case) does not have a lot of friends. He does not trust people easily. He comes off as off-putting and such a huge jerk. He is hated by everyone as well as society. People do not understand him, they think he is psychopathic. However, as a Scorpio (I am just going to assume his character is a Scorpio-type personality) he can read people easily. Hence why he often manipulated people (he feels emotions but manipulated people simply because he could and it legitimately made sense in his situation). He can read his friend Moo Jin and he can read his Noona. He can certainly read Cha Ji Won as well (the aquarius in this case). Moreover, he cares a lot about the people he loves: his Dad, his Mom, his Sister, his friend, and last but least his wife (also loves his adopted family hence why he was able to be set up by them despite himself being extremely careful and observant, he just loved them too much). He is very family-centric (misses his mom, still loves his dad and even cares about his adoptive family) and loyal (hates betrayals, hence why he wanted to kill the nephew in his mind). However, despite still trusting the people around him, he still cannot trust anyone completely, not even his wife (aggravated by the fact that she is a cop and he is a fugitive). Hence, why he fooled her for so long. However, this drama really pushed him to change (Scorpios don't change easily) to really take a leap of faith and trust his wife completely which he eventually did (however, somewhere he did not know why he trusted her and even doubted his feelings a bit both before the accident and after the accident).
Ok, now back to Cha Ji Won (the aquarius). She is extremely popular with people, is very creative and idealistic. She has a lot of friends but enjoys having her own space. She seems to have a lot of friends but none of them seem to be able to read through her. However, Do Hyun Soo can. Do Hyun Soo finds her creativity and playfulness enjoyable and extremely captivating but he does not know why he likes her (mysterious attraction). He tries extremely hard to figure out everything about her (all of the notes he wrote trying to figure out why she likes something, and all of his effort trying to get her know better). I know it is hypocritical to want to know about someone but hide yourself but Do Hyun Soo is very insecure deep inside (once again aggravated by his complicated past, his fugitive status, and his wife's job). In the end, he seemingly succeeds. But deep inside, he is not only not truly confident that his wife loves him, but not even sure that he likes her (since he does not know why). Cha Ji Won (the aquarius) is also extremely attracted to Do Hyun Soo but she is not 100 percent sure why either. From her point of view, she keeps on expressing her interest (right before they started dating and after the memory loss) but she is getting no response. She is extremely tired but just cannot seem to give up. At the end of this episode, she seemingly gave up but still had some hope somewhere (Hyun Soo could not really go to her in both cases before he was certain that he really liked her).
This all ties back to the final analogy which made everything make sense to me. Hyun Soo, the Greek God who is misunderstood by everyone likes to hang out in his own comfortable space. However, he always has his wife on his mind (Cha Ji Won). He finally realized that just like the Greek God, there was only one person he truly loved and trusted, and that was Cha Ji won.
All right, one more thing. I thought Eun Ha loved her Dad irrationally too much before this episode but it makes sense to me now. She is a shadow of her mom. She is too similar to her mom. WIth the exact same personality and half of her genes, it is easy to see why she loves him. Do Hyun Soo loves her as well which is another parallel to the relationship betwen him and his wife.
TL;DR: Do Hyun Soo and Cha Ji Won seem like they might not be a great fit because of their tumultous relationship but in reality it is all within the process of finding true love. This drama shows that true love is possible and marriage is certainly not the end product of love, not even a child (in fact, it is more likely a new beginning).
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Shameless exploitation of BL audience to promote a music career.
It's a good thing Pete can sing, because if he had to fall back on his acting skills he'd starve to death. He doesn't really act at all. He does appear to have memorized his lines, though, so there's that. Tonliew is adorable as Yoshi, and that's largely why I stayed with this.The plot is stock - a standoffish star ends up as the temporary charge of our main character, who has to navigate his star through a maze of ill-wishers including the usual malicious ladyboy, which is becoming such an offensive stereotype that I'm going to start boycotting series with characters like this, and also a cartoonishly evil rival actor - you may not be able to spot him. (Hint: he's the one wearing all black at a Thai beach resort).
I can't recommend this, but it's so short that it won't hurt you to watch it.
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The War Prisoner
See, now this is why I poke love with a stick. I see it coming, I order an uber. Cuz what do you mean, Duan killed and conquered an innocent kingdom, so he can kidnap Shu He and go, 'I did it for you boo, cuz I love you.' And Shu He played along with that nonsense reason, gave away his cookie and married Duan, only to drink poison and die as the ultimate revenge. Fam? That being said, that was some next level hating. Shu He is a professional hater, and I respect that. Let me explain.First off, before I start my review, I'd like to say, Duan's brother is the worst. Mfker got hair and thought he was part of the team. Like, this ain't about you Sharon. Who even are you, and why is you talking? Like you are not important to this whole thing, go and sit done. I hate him so much, and if I knew where he lived, I hide in a corner and poke him in the eye on Christmas, just to ruin his holidays.
Anyway, you know that saying: 'holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die?' Shu He said, eff the other person, imma hold on to my grudge, drink the poison and die just to spit Duan. Mfker was playing the long game in the worse way possible and I felt bad for Duan, which is saying something, cuz after Duan invaded Shu He's kingdom, I was like: 'You know what, I forgive Hua Yong, turns out there's levels to this crazy possessiveness love thing, and he's only on level 7. Duan just obliviated the goddamn scale'. So yeah, I thought Duan sucked and deserved Shu He's anger and indifference, but this whole time Shu He was planning to hurt him where it would hate the most. The heart. And boy did it ever.
Listen, this drama hurt, but like in a bittersweet way. I saw the unhappy ending coming, what I didn't see coming was how deep Shu He hatred was. When I tell you my mouth was opened when we finally learned of Shu He's revenge plan? Dude was literally sleeping with the enemy, a man he loved but hated. He wanted revenge for his love, his brother and his kindgom, and I do get it, I really do, but really Janet? That's some next level of hatred.
Which brings us to Shu He's reason for playing the long revenge game. First off, his kingdom, sure, but didn't Duan's soldiers matched into that kingdom like they owned the place because literally no troops were at the gate, so they just made themselves at home? And Duan also mentioned Shu He's people were already planning on overthrowing him, even still, to some degree I get why he wanted avenge his kingdom. But DAFUG you mean you doing this to avenge your brother too? I'm sorry, in what planet does that crown prince deserve avenging? Somebody should have spat on his grave. The mfker was trying to kill you! He literally had your hand broken so you couldn't do the one thing you loved anymore, and oh, yeah, he murdered your father in cold blood. Like I don't get it? What was so special about that prince that both Shu He and Huo Ying loved him and acted foolish?
The brothers in this show fucking sucked and did not deserve the love and devotion they got. Shu He's brother disgraced, hurt and attempted to kill him on multiple occasions. Then we have Duan's brother, you know the ex monk. Literally who the eff kept giving that dude the microphone? Like shut up Bob, this ain't about you. Every time he opened his mouth he made me wanna punch him in the throat. In the last episode, when he was sitting with them eating I kept going, 'Why is you here? You not part of this group? Who gave him a plate?' Arrrgggggg, dude was in the series for like 2.3 minutes and I hated him with a burning passion. Just the worst.
Duan Zi Ang & Xiao Shu He
Yes, I loved the main leads so much in this drama. Their love was beautiful and yet so tragic. In the last scene when they met in the afterlife and they were smiling I was like, 'Dafug is you all smiling and happy about, you are dead.' With how everything was going, I didn't expect them to have a happy ending. Cuz, literally the timeline of their love spelled out tragedy. They started their relationship with secrets and lies. Then they made us all sad when everything came out by stabbing and breaking up, and then there was the whole I destroyed your kingdom and shamed you in front of your people and ancestors cuz I love you crap, then being a war prisoner, Duan's impeding death, Shu He pretending to forgive, forget and love, that scene in the finale when Shu He played the zither and Duan danced? (the whole time I was like, dude is you not dying? why you posing for the camera and doing all that hand stuff? and what is up with that sun rays?) and finally him being a vengeful husband who drunk poison and died. So yeah, anyone who expected anything other than this tearjerker bittersweet ending must have not been paying attention.
Given all that, I still loved them, flaws and all. I understood Duan and why he did what he did. Of course his stupid head brother effed things up for him a lot, and made Shu He hate him even more. And I understood why Shu He couldn't forgive him and wanted to avenge all the wrong done to him. But at what cost people? All that pain, and really, all they both wanted was a little farm land somewhere, Shu He playing his zither and Duan fetching the water and keeping the house. Sounds so much like what Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's wanted, and we all know how the Untamed began so...
That being said, we should not forget Duan legit went crazy there for a moment there. Dude ended countless lives, his father's included because Shu He refused to reply to his letter one time. Then he duplicated the 6th prince home and wanted a thank you for it. Dude, read the room, you are literally the elephant. Like, which part of his hatred aren't you getting?
Anyway, after all that, they both died and are happy in the afterlife, I hope. That crown prince is still there, so one can never be sure. I trust Duan to stab him again if he starts up his nonsense.
Crown Prince & Huo Ying
Another nonsense love I wish never locate me. Huo Ying being in love with the man who knowingly gave him an incurable poison, physically abused him and then sent him away to die was rubbish. Yes, yes, but forget those ingredients he gathered for a seemingly ‘cue’, cuz it was the least the Crown Prince could do. And all that time, Huo Ying had a very handsome, un-crazy, in love doctor making goggly eyes at him and bringing him candy, and homeboy was like, 'sorry, I hate sweets, I'm in love with a psycho, and I've decided to die a virgin'. All that for a dead man who waited in the afterlife for the brother he hated and didn't even ask about you. Pfft.
No. Cuz the eff you mean, that beautiful guard is gonna die alone and unloved cuz he was in love with a Crown Prince with the emotional stability of a fidget spinner and the IQ of a potato? And I say say potato, cuz how the eff you gonna commit patricide to usurp the throne from your father, then tell your soldiers to wait while you -tra la lala- down the road to go off your brother alone? Literally, that was the dumbest decision ever, and of course, he immediately got stabbed and shaved off a bridge. Like, what did he think was gonna happen? We need to be serious in this life peoples!
Plot-wise, I enjoyed myself with all the palace and political intrigued. The cast was great, the main carried the show beautifully and the side did what they were supposed to. It seemed there was a lot to tell, but not enough episodes so the pacing was fast, and we messed some stuff with time jumps and narratives, but I didn't mind it, cuz I was still able to follow the main plot. I still don't understand why Shu He loved his brother so much after all that, and even forgave and avenged him. Blood is thicker than water indeed, not my blood though, if it was me, I'd have ordered pizza the moment he hit the floor.
All in all, a very good drama. I highly recommend, even with the bittersweet ending. I wish we get to see the main cast do something together again, either way I am seated for more work from them, liked them a lot. If you haven't watched this yet, hurry and give it a chance, you'd enjoy it, trust me.
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The story is twisted. In my opinion. If you ask why, it doesn't follow a single plot. It gets very complicated. They've taken all the characters from the martial arts world. There are fight scenes with all of them. They're all presented separately, and they've united to form the Power Gang. This gang is initially portrayed as evil, but later we see that it's a very good gang. It works for the national good. So, can such a gang even exist? At least not a gang. He also poisons the men he employs. If he doesn't give them the pills, they die. He keeps his men under his control. So, you figure out the rest.
The real important thing is the relationships between the four siblings. The eldest brother is the heir, the second brother is neutral, the third brother is the daughter and stepbrother, but they're harmonious and affectionate, and they also have a medical background. The fourth character is the most intelligent and beloved. He's his mother's favorite. His father's secret favorite. His father and mother are murdered. This is how the conflict begins.
Now, the dominant character is the older brother; he takes responsibility, saying he knows everything and can do it. He's uncompromising and very narrow-minded, a naive character who can be easily deceived and convinced. He's a very honest person, but he can't stand anyone putting him in his place. The second brother constantly flatters him and says he's on his side. The female character tries to find a middle ground. The younger brother says he'll do it. He says, "Trust me." They don't listen to him, especially the older brother. They act like they're the younger ones, "How can we trust him?"
I tried to establish the characters here. To me, the second son seems implacable, naive, uninformed, and uncouth, far inferior to his brother in martial arts, yet uncertain in comparison. That's what we're shown. However, later, this character transforms into someone who rules the country. I didn't think it was appropriate for someone so naive, uninformed, uncouth, and ineffective in martial arts to be portrayed at this level. Let's say he took on certain things through a mask. Is he taking on the character as well? Is he taking on the mindset? While they're conveying martial arts, are they also conveying the mind? I didn't understand that. I couldn't make sense of it. There were many things I couldn't make sense of, but I'm saying it's clear.
Another issue I'm having trouble with is the Emperor poisoning the Power Gang Leader. Then he asks, "Where is this guy? Let's reward him. Call him. They say he's dead." He's surprised. I don't understand that at all. What's the point of meeting a man he poisoned himself with such shock and sadness? Did I misunderstand? I don't know. It was absurd. Why would the Emperor have his own country crushed and conquered? These were meaningless things. I couldn't understand those things at all. I couldn't grasp them. It didn't work.
Another incident involved the meaningless crowd around Cheng Yi, whom everyone agrees on. They don't contribute to the game. In other words, the casting choices were also flawed. I didn't like them. There could have been much better characters and actors suited to him. Some were simple, some were meaningless. We were torn between laughing and crying while watching. For me, the emotional scenes—the scenes of the mother and father's death, the brother's death, and the sister's death—were incredibly moving. Cheng Yi, with his red eyes, truly did justice to these scenes, crying. Some people wondered why he was crying, but even I was moved by the scenes. Beautifully shot, well-shot, good fight scenes, good production and direction. Good costumes. I liked it.
Cheng Yi carried the series single-handedly. Well done. A great performance. I found it successful. It makes you watch. I'm curious and looking forward to watching his next series. Why did Gulnezar Bextiyar, whom I found meaningless, appear in this series? She seemed to have no role. She was a meaningless character. This actress was unnecessary. I'm talking about Gulnezar. I wouldn't have played her. I liked Elenor Lee. A good performance. Xu Zen Xuan performed very well. Well done. Liu Meng Rui performed very well. Well done. I really liked Ding Xiao Ying. She suits the role very well. Well done. Johnny Zhang put in a lot of effort. He did justice to his role. Well done. Edward Zhang started badly but ended well. He made us feel the villain. He made us feel bad. Besides them, Xiao Yan, Ding Yong Dai, Hu Ke, Lu Yong, Zhang Yi Ge, and Julian Cheung were the actors who stood out to me. I was expecting a much better series. It didn't end well. Everyone died. Would I watch it again? No. Would I watch it if there was a sequel? Maybe.
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The low budget, simple settings and slightly eccentric pacing give this show the feeling of real life. The characterizations are top-notch. Much of the tension comes from just how stubborn both of the main characters are. That they're able to rely on each other anyway is sweet, and makes them an interesting and memorable BL pairing. But the writer also portrayed a great father-son relationship and gave a humorous insight into the differences between China's poor and nouveau riche. The music is also good, and I often don't notice music. (The "It's Okay That's Love" shout-out in one of the musical selections made me very happy.)
The greatest flaw in this series is also the thing that makes it most interesting: the censorship of many scenes and the fact that China banned gay content before the series could be finished. The romance never feels fully developed because censors eliminated not only sex but kissing. The end result is a show where the guys talk about sex frankly (okay, Guo Bai talks about it, gotta love that cheeky bugger), but we never even see an affectionate kiss between them. And the story ends abruptly with a cliffhanger and a ton of emotional issues unresolved between the guys.
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Cute!!
Loved it till 18th episode and then it felt like it was dragging on. Finished the last couple of episodes in 1.5x. The sibling dynamics were a treat to watch and the cast acted well. I just liked "When I Fly towards you" better because I was watching them parallelly and the general lack of misunderstanding and cliches in When I fly made it a better watch than Hidden Love. One thing that I did like about HL is that female lead was not a damsel in distress and could take a stand and not just for herself - but for the male lead as well. All the female characters written by this author are strong and know their mind - I truly appreciate the fact that these characters are unlike the naive/weak/gullible ones usually found in dramas,.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It was good at first, the story was interesting, a little exaggerated but good, but by the middle of it, they started coming and going, getting together then fighting for the silliest reasons... Also I waited the hole series to see the main female character live as who she is, with no make up or hiding, to see the contrast with her time as a "duck", but after she reveals herself in just 1 episode she decides to go back to hiding her real self cos her boyfriend is jealous... it's 2018!!! really are we still hiding our beauty cos a guy feels threaten? PATHETIC.
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Just NO!
1st the cast choice, the. They changed the story, and bad cgi 🫠Bihyung as labewbew is the laat thing i want to see 😭
Korean need to stop making 'adaptation' with only famous casts. Geezz
I hope another production hoise remade this as kdrama with a good quality. Not like this crap
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This review may contain spoilers
D.O.A.
The flaws of “Now We Are Breaking Up” are so numerous and comprehensive that evaluating it feels more like issuing an autopsy report than a typical review. In the event any reader requires a synopsis, a successful fashion photographer (Jang Ki Yong’s Jae Guk) and a clothing designer (Song Hye Kyo’s Young Eun) romance each other while attempting to overcome the many obstacles that seek to disrupt their relationship. There’s more but it’s not necessary to delve into beyond that one sentence.If the production early on seemed to have one viable strength, it was the pairing of Kim Joo Heon’s PR firm CEO Do Hoon and Choi Hee Seo’s mercurial Chi Sook. That they were the most colorful personalities on this drama should be considered a scientifically proven fact. That they would wind up as the secondary romantic couple was obvious from early on. That the entertainment value would noticeably increase each time they were together on screen (for a while) was plain. And then once they were together, Do Hoon insisted that Chi Sook drink tea instead of wine. He declined any physical contact. He basically seemed bent on discontinuing anything she did for fun. The actors shouldn’t carry the blame here as both from the drop portrayed the characters as vibrant and warm. The writing, sadly, for this subplot was determined to take this drama’s most engaging characters and bleach them with a concentrated boredom solution.
Although it was never a prominent arc, one of the welcome diversions through the first half of its run was the antagonistic but flirty banter between Oh He Sun’s layabout rich boy Chi Hyung and Yura’s no-nonsense Hye Rin. The opposites attract relationship trope is popular because it’s like the equivalent of a layup in basketball - anyone with any basic skill can accomplish it. But after regular, albeit intermittent, screen time after Chi Hyung’s introduction for the next few episodes, this narrative essentially vanishes.
That’s not all the subplots though. Several episodes in, Young Eun’s father retires from his school principal position which then launches her mother’s seemingly long-planned scheme to pursue divorce and independence. It would seem that she long held a grudge for being left managing the household and felt unappreciated. How this manifested were scenes where the father would discover that daily tasks around the house were more difficult that he imagined, became angry, demanded help from the mother who would then mock his inability and refuse to help him. The entire storyline was unnecessary and meant less time for what might have been (hypothetically) more compelling viewing. It was made worse by repeating in near verbatim form the scene with one household activity after another - breakfast, cleaning, laundry, etc.
And there’s still another secondary storyline. Park Hyo Joo’s Mi Suk had been a runway model but her glory days are long behind her. Her husband is hitting on a younger woman at work. Her two best friends are living the glamorous single life. Her mother-in-law is a monster. And then she gets a terminal cancer diagnosis. What follows is one of the few times that “Now We Are Breaking Up” manages to connect a measurable sequence with consistent emotional resonance. She faces the grim diagnosis head on. She strengthens her friendships with Young Eun and Chi Sook. She shines as Jae Guk photographs her. And she makes an out-of-retirement victory lap appearance as a model. Had the storyline ended here, this would have been a solitary bright spot but instead, her character elects to befriend the husband’s admirer and recruit her as her replacement and it’s given an almost matter-of-fact treatment as if a terminally ill woman would ordinarily dismiss the anger and feelings of betrayal to reach out to her husband’s mistress with friendly gestures. It’s such an exotically bizarre turn to take that even the would-be-mistress is flummoxed by the sequence. But does any party take notice of the obvious madly waving red flag? Nope.
As for the primary arc of the romance between Young Eun and Jae Guk, it earns a place on the podium of most bland and passionless couples to see the screen in recent memory. Jae Guk is primarily a one dimensional character except for the rare scene where he is actively working as a photographer. His conversations with friends, family and, in particular, with Young Eun are a cycle of lifeless expressions, monotone delivery and rehashed subject matter. The central conflict propped up against our romance is that Jae Guk’s older brother, now deceased, had a relationship with Young Eun while engaged to another woman. It is somewhat of a provincial, old-fashioned conflict which doesn’t translate particularly well to an audience that isn’t always steeped in longstanding Korean cultural norms. Still, even if it was a compelling dilemma for Jae Guk, the exposition of it by interactions with his adoptive mother (Cha Hwa Yeon’s wealthy socialite Hye Ok) and his brother’s ex-fiancee (Yoon Jung Hee’s department store exec Yoo Jung) should be filled with unrestrained emotional outbursts of anger, resentment, jealousy, blame and grief. Instead, it’s three characters, each of them in an endlessly mechanical and mundane manner, sleepwalking through generic dialogue.
Relatively more positive thanks to a steady diet of work crises, Young Eun has some depth as a character, both individually and in her relationships with her friends, family and colleagues. The portrayal of Young Eun, disappointingly, is irrefutably bad. Song Hye Kyoo did not earn her A List Status by accident. She has a long and accomplished resume’. And she may not be a naturally dynamic actor, but her performance here is unrecognizable against her previous work. Whether Song Hye Kyo was following an editorial decision for Young Eun to be an expressionless automaton or she was left to her own devices to interpret the character in such a manner, it is a colossal bomb. The character has many admirable qualities - perseverance with her work and loyalty for her friends among others - but none of them connect to a viewer through Song Hye Kyo’s wooden performance. What would be a compelling drama (or documentary) is one that follows how Song Hye Kyo terminates her current representation and finds a new agency that can keep her away from an insufferable dud like this going forward.
“Now We Are Breaking Up” is a bad show; a really, really bad show with a long list of unnecessary subplots and superfluous characters, a bleak desert in place of a primary narrative and scant redeeming qualities of any kind to speak of. Anyone that was central to its creation should be considered potentially contagious with lousy judgment and possible cosmic-level curses and avoided at the longest distances possible.
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This review may contain spoilers
Cute story
I never write reviews and wasn't gonna write one but I saw a negative review so here's a positive one 😂here's my opinion on the drama:
The main leads acting are great and the supports acting were all good too and I think only like one of the support character had like not that good acting skills.
The main ost played only like 3 times, I think the song was like 喜欢上你 I'm not really sure i skipped the front and ending but the song 喜欢上你 is good.
The story is not that complicated, it's pretty simple and even though Main Guy Lead seemed like a 小奶狗, like weak and soft and stuff, he's actually not at all, everyone thinks he's dumb but man actually has like a bunch of degrees (idk i don't remember 😂), he's just smart aight :D Female Lead also gives you the impression that she's strong and has no weakness and is a queen and all but she actually has a backstory and a lot of weaknesses and needs protection 🥺 She knows how to deal with stuff herself but there are also parts where he helps her out 🥺 not like those girls who needs a hero to save at every minute dramas. He is also not weak like he can deal with his own stuff too. He's not that mature though and he trusts people too much which led to 😔 (watch the drama if you wanna know 😉) The second couple was super cute too and honestly all the characters fit in the drama very well like idk how to explain but :D This drama is indeed super business based but you can definitely see how much the two of them love each other 🥺 I actually really liked the business parts, even though it's sort of a bit dramatic, business people won't really get on that many hot searches. and yea that's it idk wut else to say 😂
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