Reviews

NOT dark BUT spicy

I went into this expecting a dark drama and while there are mature themes sprinkled in, the vibe leans more toward comedy but I wasn’t mad about it, just a little surprised. Like, one minute I was watching someone get shot and the next, I was hit with the most unserious dialogues that had me questioning why I was even watching (but also unable to stop)

FirstKhao ↓

First Kanaphan and Khaotung Thanawat, what the fuck can I even say? Seeing them together again felt like a homecoming. The moment they appeared on my screen I couldn’t help but scream. They have this unparalleled chemistry that no one else in the industry quite achieves. I missed them so much and they absolutely delivered. Watching them reunite reminded me of why they have become icons in the BL world. My kings are back hehe. First really balances his edgy exterior with just the right amount of vulnerability and Khao as Bison is HOLY HELL, he nails it. His portrayal is soft but with a charm that makes you understand why Kant couldn’t resist him the first moment he laid eyes on him lmao. Khaotung knows how to work the smallest expressions and the subtlest body language, to make him (and us) obsessed with him.

JoongDunk ↓

Now, I gotta be real...I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by JoongDunk. Their past performances never fully sold me so I went in with very low expectations. But Joong?? This man stepped up his game. His emotional scenes in this drama were so well done, he carried those moments in a way that actually hit me. I genuinely felt for his character which was a surprise because in previous projects, I didn’t connect with his acting. But here, he delivered. Dunk, on the other hand… Listen. He had his moments. His portrayal of Style’s chaotic energy was honestly entertaining as hell. There’s something about the way he plays unhinged, reckless characters that just works...he was fun to watch and I have to give him credit for that. But when it came to emotional moments? Hmm… still needs some work imo. That being said, the kissing scenes between them were INSANELY GOOD. They did not hold back and for that, I am grateful.

The Highlight ↓

One thing that really stood out to me was how well they balanced the screen time between both main couples. In a lot of dramas, one pair usually ends up taking center stage while the other gets pushed into the background as filler. But not here. Both couples got their own moments to shine and they served in ways that felt equal and intentional. It was refreshing to watch a drama that actually treated both love stories with the same level of care.

The Downside ↓

I can't say I loved every second of it. Because, babes…some scenes? STRAIGHT-UP CRINGE. Like, I physically recoiled at certain dialogues. The secondhand embarrassment was REAL. I get that some of it was meant to be funny but whew, some moments had me covering my face. Also, the sound issues were really putting me off...the audio quality was straight-up tragic in some parts.

↓↓↓

So this was a mixed bag for me. Some episodes had me fully invested, eyes glued to the screen, living for every second. Others had me side-eyeing my laptop.

Give it a try and see how YOU feel about it.

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Pure Entertainment!!

I am not usually a wuxia fan and have not many shows so the entire review is from my personal enjoyment of the show. No major spoilers as such but may have some minor ones. My motivation to start this was pure Lee Jae Wook tbh. I had seen him in WWW and the moment he came to the screen I was drawn to him the entire time.

Watching the initial episodes, I was half heartedly expecting this show to be a political scheming war between a destined king (Jang Uk) Vs Wannabe King (CP) Vs Actual king who is soon dying, with some magical elements. Yeah I had my biases going in but I was wrong. The setup was beautiful and I was actually drawn to the story for about 4-5 episodes. The show had some cool cliffhangers which make me crave for the next episode. The CGI elements were dope and whenever Naksu drew her sword made me major goosebumps.

That's where my complaint started. It had an interesting setup, Jang Uk born under King's Star and destined for greater things and on the other side deadly assassin Naksu soul swapped as Mu Deok. Their journey to start from scratch to finding about their truths was an intriguing plot for me which despite not being an unique one however if done right makes it interesting. After a point it became a battle of mere words. The storylines being reiterated for God knows how many times. One by one each character got to know the secrets and repeating the same thing made me scream like dude we got the story now move on. The whole Ep 19 was a summary of the story line for the nth time, no kidding.

My highest disappointment with the show is how they underplayed Naksu. They gave us a badass heroine who eventually became nothing but a maid. I get the motive behind it as they wanted to come up with the whole arc of hers but they did a major injustice. Not only hers, infact so many other characters who were supposed to be this great mages protecting the Capital and what not became a meek observer of the plot. They bought 0 contribution to the story which makes you question their purpose. During emergent situation the mages like Yul, Park Jin and even the Crown Prince did nothing making me scream like aren't you suppose to be powerful? Now for the king, I mean they take the most competitive "admission test" to appoint a servant seriously but chose the most stupid person as the king who was the last to find out what was going on. I know they added all this for drama purpose but I can't help laughing at this absurdity.

The cast did justice to their roles and no complaints on the acting front. For the romance aspect honestly I was not interested and majorly skipped all the scenes except the ones with the main couple. It was unnecessary and cringey to some extent. Action scenes were cool but were limited like Jang Uk and Naksu using one only Tansu move whenever they fight. Maybe we will see more in S2 as the setup is different here.

Overall the story was repetitive and was cliched down a lot to attract the crowd however it was still an entertaining watch for me. I am up for S2 and not taking the loopholes of the story tooo seriously.

*Ending Spoiler here*
I wonder how will they bring up Naksu's body which was burnt earlier. I suppose it was Jin's family who saved Mu Deok at the end as the mother was giving instruction to bring her alive, so I think maybe one of them saved her body or something. And Jang Uk rising from the ashes was my favorite scene of the show. Ahh LJW eyes!

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I appreciate the attempt, I question the presentation.

I’m not sure how I feel about this drama. Being romance driven, I cared about romance the least. While I loved the gradual healing on Uea’s side, I do believe the level of trauma this child had to face in such a short period of time (screen time wise) made it a bit ridiculous for me. By the 3rd toxic person in his life I just started to laugh… And it’s not like this scenario is completely unrealistic - many people who were victims become victims more than once. That said, the way they presented it with lack of good spacing in time and pace, I just could not take it seriously. The presentation was just lacking too much.

I also could not get on board with how Uea treated King a few times closer to the end. Everything that happened at first is understandable - miscommunication happens, especially if you don’t trust the person yet. At some point though, it felt more like Uea testing King for no other reason than enjoying watching King plead. Even that would not bother me if they established it’s something King is into, but they did not. So it seemed like a mind game when King had to constantly prove how much he loves and respects Uea to the point of asking before he can touch him (and I don’t mean in a sexual way, I mean literally any way) and being denied by Uea with a smirk on his face. That’s when I started to think - maybe Uea is truly completely not ready to be in a healthy relationship and needs to book a visit to a therapist first. It’s not like it happened a lot, but enough for me to feel a bit uncomfortable.

While I loved King, I also find him painfully underdeveloped and one dimensional. Net did a great job with acting, but the writing of the character itself was empty.

As for the nsfw scenes - let’s say I’m glad I watched the cut version, because even that was a level of cringe I could barely handle. Most of the bed scenes made me laugh, some skipped completely.

Acting was decent - big props to all the villains, perfect presentation that made me hate them with a passion. Net did great with some vulnerable scenes, but James sadly does not have enough skills yet to truly deliver the pain and suffering Uea as a character was internally going through.

Production was okay. Lately a lot of BLs are truly overdoing it with the blur filter on actors faces making them look like Barbie dolls - ain’t fan of that. Last episode was more like a bonus than the continuation of the plot - everything was concluded and there was nothing left to add. Personally, I was kind of bored watching it.

Overall… I don’t know. I kind of enjoyed it? It led to a few interesting conversations I had with folks on mdl, but I find it sad that most complex ideas came from the community and not the show itself. A lot of things were truly basic and simplistic, and by now I think we can expect a bit more nuance from the genre.

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This drama was absolutely amazing.

I started watching this drama because a friend had told me so much about it. She knew I was a sucker for romance, and thought I'd enjoy this drama.

The music was mesmerizing, and fantasically helps display the different emotions portrayed in the drama. The cast was perfect. The two leading roles had sizzling chemistry. :D

The plot was very interesting. It kept me watching episode by episode...I didn't skip any parts!!

I especially loved how the plot of this super amazing drama makes the viewers think if there is a "fated" or "destined" person out in the world for them (if you watch the drama, you'll understand what I mean).

I honestly recommend this drama for viewers who are looking for a romantic, historical-modern, and comedic drama. Or, for viewers who are looking for dramas that could help the time past. This is also the perfect drama to cry and laugh to.

Also, in terms of the rewatch value, I gave it a 10, because the drama captures so much detail. The filiming was beautifully captured. :)

"The Rooftop Prince" is definitely one of my favourite dramas ever!! I finished this drama in three days. That's how great this is!

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the different opinions on this show's ending are actually funny, and totally understandable.

i am not going to lie, at first i hated how the show ended as well, it was so unpredictable (even tho i knew what youngsoo would do); but as i sat down and thought about it more, i realised how and why the ending made perfect sense.

part 1 was an introduction to the story, to the war, to the spheres. an introduction to our characters. a way to show development and underdevelopment. we see them acting according to how the adults want them to act, having no right to choose what they wanted to do after signing that paper (which was also signed by their parents, some of them not even being allowed to say if they wanted to do the military training or not). our main characters are building up relationships, platonic or romantic, they are starting to love each other as more than just school colleagues. we see them being together 24/7 in a world that is could be destroyed.

while part 2 is the destroyed world. we get no adults introduced (other than the criminals in the prison, who aren't even humans to begin with), our main characters are able to vote, to communicate, to make decisions together with no adult telling them otherwise. we see betrayals, fights, and lastly, a massacre. youngsoo was the world character of them all, and not in a way that he was written badly, but in a way that he was a criminal. he did not care about no one in the classroom, from the first episode to the last. if someone says that i am wrong, please remember the time when younghoon died and he was happy he wasnt there anymore because he didn't have any more competition in the classroom. he was only thinking for himself, which until the end was, at most, understandable. but his actions were wrong. extremely wrong. not only did he try to sa soyeon, he killed the only witness (ilha), and then he killed almost all his friends. yes, he went crazy, but his reasoning for his mental stability going down was not it.
at the same time, tho, all the trauma they were going thru, plus the pressure from the adults who were using them, i can try to understand him (not what he did). his character had depth, that i don't really care about, but if i did, i could talk about him for hours. as the story was progressing, i hoped that, maybe, they won't keep the ending from the webtoon, i was wrong. it traumatised me in the worst way possible, but i am here writing this with a smile on my face.

we are seeing three wars in the series, one against spheres, one against adults, and one against each others. part 1 was all about the spheres, and the adults, it showed how the kids could fight against both of them and survive. with little sacrifices happening. in the second part, we see the war against each other, which showed us different sides of the kids. they were more mature, not whining that much when they had to do something or when things dont go their way. we see them getting tired, wanting to go home, but still sticking together. there is so much going on in 4 episodes, and ep 7/8 weren't even that long. it keeps you in a state where you can't wait to get to watch the next episode. i was scared the whole time, hoping all of them were going to be alive at the end, yet still knowing that wasn't happening. i was doubting them when they were doubting each other. i felt betrayed when they betrayed each other. i was hurt, i cried with them, i laughed with them, and at the end, something in me died with them as well. altho they didnt stick to the original plot of the story, the main line was still there. kids in war time. no matter what the war was. some of you are failing to see that. they went thru a lot of ups and downs together, they had hopes and their hope died, they were, at the end of the day, just kids.

watching this kdrama was a rollercoaster. i was happy, sad, crying, laughing, anxious, hopeful. but at the end of the day, it gave me comfort (with a lot of anxiety on top). all of my fav characters ended up dead. yes, i did like kimchi, hana, aeseol, and nara, but jangsoo, tae man, yujoong, ilha, soyeon, bora, soocheol, youngshin, all of them, ended up dead. and with ilha's death, followed immediately after by jangsoo, i was petrified. when jangsoo said he'll go find youngsoo, i knew what was going to happen. and when he opened that damned door, i couldnt breathe. he was the reason i was so excited about part 2, and even tho i knew how he ended up in the webtoon, i had a little hope. jangsoo, i miss you.

that 'in other universe' ending, with them graduating, i will take that as the actual ending, and im pretty sure they added that scene as a way for people to choose what ending they want to believe in. younghoon is there, and honestly i never believed he actually died, so thats a bonus. they all graduated guys, they did. and they ended up going to college, and having jobs and families, and happy. thats the real ending (source: trust me bro).

i didnt expect duty after school to be more all of us are dead than all of us are dead, but looks like that title fits them more. i will miss them a lot, somehow i hope for a season 2, even tho i know why they ended part 2 like that (for people to not ask for a season 2).

the actors did such an amazing job. imagine playing jangsoo and having to open that door like 7 times and filming your death in 2 different ways (first they thought it was a sphere that killed him, then they showed youngsoo killing him). i am so glad i started watching this and meeting this amazing, and beautiful cast. can't wait to meet them in a new kdrama.

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The kind that nibbles at your heart until theres nothing left

Reality is sometimes far from ideal. It can be sad. Disappointing. Frustrating. Daunting. Painful. I found all these in Si Yu, Zi Zi and Xiao Ling's life as depicted here.

We saw the rosy moments. The happy and content times, often fleeting or even underappreciated. But often they had to face so much struggles that life throws at them. In this aspect, the writer does not shy off from showing us the ugly.

The issue in SY and YM's relationship or the cracks in ZZ's marriage. They were very real. Sometimes its not cookie cutter clear who is in the wrong. The relationship stalled at this point from the contribution of both parties. In SY and YM's aspects, they werent on the same page at that time in their lives. I found this to be all the more painful because they love each other but not enough to stay together and be happy.

Often i get upset when watching so i caution those with a feeble heart. But yet 41episodes watch and cried, I'm still here eagerly waiting everyday for new episodes to watch my very flawed male and female leads. As much as it pains me to see them falter, and grope in the dark as they refind themselves. I want to cheer for them. For ZZ to gain independence and confidence. For SY to understand what truly matters and stand back on her feet. I want to witness when they would find back their true selves, and their way to happiness.

The acting here is amazing. The leads are so flawed and imperfect, sometimes weak and sometimes they frustrate the hell out of me, but i cant hate them, i pity them and still want to root for them. Zhu Yi Long (this guy's eye acting and micro expressions are so on point), Liu Si Si and Han Zing Zhi all had their shining moments. Lastly i love the girls' friendship, they are there and supportive but never stiffling or condescending even though they all are so different and have different ambition and dreams.

* I have amended by rating and review upon finishing. This is the first time there's a huge discrepancy during "currently watching" to "completed". The conclusion continues its sarcastically cold reality- except the plot outcome for some of the characters to deliver the ultimatum ended up unrealistic in my opinion. We are suppose to receive the climax and send off our characters but the writing didn't deliver. After diligently shouldering the frustration and watch the humbling problems the girls faced for so long, you asked for a little reward and felt cheated. Watch something else unless you don't mind cruel reality and unfulfilled epilogue.

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There is just something about this movie that made me absolutely love it!

The actors are absolutely fantastic as well as the original and quite absurd story.
I was surprised at the humour and jokes, being a little more mature than usual movies, but it was not excessive or out of place.

It is rare for me to give out 10, but be it because of the amazing performance, the cute moments, the amazing kisses and even such an absurd coincidental love, this movie had me clicking "replay" from the first time I watched it!

I recommend it to all those that enjoy love stories with a hint of mature jokes and some sexy concepts: trust me, you won't be disappointed!

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I started watching this drama, because of the main couple. I watched them in Secret, so I wanted to watch something else related to them.
My first impression that this drama left on me was good.
The storyline is amazing. The writers did a great job. They really knew how to mess with a viewers mind. With this drama you will laugh and cry in the same time, and you won't be bored at all.
Well, for the acting it was good. I can surely say that, Ji Sung mastered this role, he played a high school girl, I mean even if I am a girl I couldn't do that like he did. Amazing!!!!
Hwang Jung Eum was good, I really like her, but the only thing that I didn't like is her yelling and screaming, it was a bit annoying.
I really like their chemistry in this drama. It was cute and romantic.
Oh, and the OST was amazing. Especially, Auditory Hallucination. That OST has a great power to cause outburst of emotion in the viewer.
I really miss all of the characters. They really growth on my heart.
I recommend this to everyone. Even if you are having some doubts, start it, maybe you will end up liking it. :D

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The panelists were the only saving grace!

I have seen all the previous seasons so got a bit used to the show. Many areas felt same so it didn't interest me that much. However I feel even if I had watched it for the first time, I wouldn't have enjoyed it because it was too boring.

The couple lacked lustre and conversations were boring. The games were same from the previous seasons so no surprise there.
The contestants were okay-ish. As one can read on any review and the same applies to me as well that it felt they focused too much on Sian love interests. The girl prepared for the show and deserved to win it but it wasn't that exciting. I skipped her many scenes because it was evident she was doing it for the show. No judgements just got 0 entertainment watching it. Liked Ji-yeon and Min-seol for some parts but again lost interest.

The only parts i enjoyed were the panelist's commentary on the situation!

My recommendation- watch s1 or s2 if you haven't. Overall a complete skip~

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coming of age/slow burn

Overall: this could have been a 10/10 except for a fatal flaw. It is adapted from the book "Mou Mou" by Mu Su Li; however, I reviewed the series based on its own merits. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each, 2 episodes per week. There is an extra scene after the initial end credits in some episodes. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4661/the-on1y-one-2024-e01 ; Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40680c-the-on1y-one ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/the-on1y-one-2024-2ge4shuunbp?lang=en_us ; WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/album/3om6e76t014bzqy and Netflix https://www.netflix.com/mo-en/title/81907297

Content Warnings: non con kiss, fight, past child abuse, past death, kidnapping, threatened violence

What I Liked
- the lead characters and their dynamic (the tension, chemistry, micro expressions)
- sweet/protect moments
- many familiar faces (Zach Lu from HIStory 2: Crossing The Line (teacher), JN Yu from Be Loved In House I Do (quirky friend), Jed Chung from Light (classmate), Stan Huang from VIP Only (PE teacher)
- family interactions felt realistic
- symbolism with the closet
- color symbolism orange and blue
- multiple platform international release

Room For Improvement
- what stopped me from giving this a 9.5 or 10/10 was the fact that the director/writer made a very risky bet on a season 2, in order to do this they made the story drag with side plots/characters I didn't care about (like the female teacher and that random kidnapping???) and ended it in an unsatisfactory way, there has only be 1 Taiwanese series to get a season 2 (We Best Love), because it was a China/Taiwan collaboration a sequel feels even less likely given censorship and how even censored BL has been mostly shelved for the past few years
- ep 1 voice over with incorrect statistics (we don't meet 1,000 different people every day)
- actors who viewers have seen play adult characters played high school characters
- too many flashbacks
- the NSFW scene was odd compared to an earlier dead fish lip press
- the animated intro didn't match the overall vibe

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The Chang'an Crate

A Chinese update of Sungkyungkwan Scandal (2010) with a dose of Hwarang (2016), how good is that. Not to mention a flower boy cast and the star from Novoland Castle in The Sky 2.

As soon as I followed the story I discovered my comparison was just a first impression. The Chang'an Youth is stuffed with different story arcs. The heroine is Shen Yiyi ( Wang Yu Wen ) an ordinary girl who gets 'adopted' in her youth by a sweet rich girl. She's treated like family. Unfortunately this rich girl dies, just before her marriage, leaving a mystery behind about her pedigree and heritage. To do some research Shen Yiyi agrees to substitute for her friend in marriage and travels to the girl's intended, Tang Jiu Hua (Xie Bin Bin) in Chang'An. She travels in disguise of a gentleman. On the road she meets Yang Zi'an (Caesar Wu), the son of a magistrate carrying out orders from the King. She also meets the sweet second prince Li Xinyuan (Qi Peixin), and stark swordsman Dugu Muxue (Liu Yichang). This Chang'an Youth Gang is full of personal secrets, but eventually they end up as friends at the local academy. Apart from their exciting school life they learn to work and trust each other, meanwhile facing a mysterious case and corrupt officials.

Acting/Cast

Wang Yu Wen is a good choice for the role as crossdressed Yiyi, she combines a lean, boyish body with strong facial features. She also has great chemistry with Xie Bin Bin, her supposed fiancé Tang Tang. Xie Bin Bin is known for totally different characters, but he's so funny here, I suspect he enjoyed this role himself.
Such a pity Xie Bin Bin isn't the romantic interest, that honor goes to Caesar Wu. Agreed, that guy is Flower Boy- In -The-Flesh, but he's more the kind of flower that's already been pressed between the pages of a book. Doesn't fade, doesn't wrinkle, doesn't impress.
Another failure is the miscast of poor Liu Yichang. He convinces as the good-hearted rascal Zhao Cuo in I've Fallen For You (2020), but he can't hold a candle to Korean actor Yoo Ah In, who played the silent swordsman to a T in Sungkyunkwan Scandal. Put together with robot-like Qi Peixin they didn't float my boat. I also missed the necessary humor, the student twins excluded.

Rewatch Value

What can I say? It started out so well, but I lost interest midway the series. My guess is the writers put too much story lines together making a mess of the plot. This proofs that just combining elements that are based on audience statistics doesn't work. Really, Less is More. If only this could be a love story between totally different characters, or the coming of age story of an ambitious scholar girl in a world dominated by males, but this... ain't it. I won't rewatch this again.

Overall

Tastes differ however. So, if you like your sandwich filled to the brim with every possible ingredient, this is for you. The Chang'an Youth is a crate full of tags, just pick the things you like, and forget the rest.

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I actually enjoyed watching this drama and I was tuned in every week. The story wasn't that strong but the perspective of life was great. Dealing with people, relationships and stuff. A lot of that comes with certain feelings according to certain circumstances, such as love, hate, jealousy, anger and happiness. We can't always get what we want in life and sometimes we just have to accept things the way they are. You can try to change it but if it doesn't work out for the better then it wasn't meant to be.

I was reading comments on DF where everyone was saying how inappropriate the relationship was between PSH and KRW's character, having a student teacher relationship. They were still complaining about it even after the characters grew. I saw nothing wrong with it. It's not like they did anything out of line. Yes, they were really close, more close than a student and teacher would normally be. But so what? I shipped it so hard after they met again, because they seriously had great chemistry.

I'd say this drama could have been cut to 16 episodes but I still watched all 20 episodes without skipping anything. I enjoyed the drama more because of Kim Rae Won. The man is just so incredible. His character was cute and humble. Always smiling and it made me smile all the time. I absolutely love Shin Hye in this drama. I was sick of seeing her with the roles of being a damsel in distress because I knew she could do something even more amazing. It was refreshing to see her doing something new and awesome. It was great to see Ji Soo. He's such a hottie~ >w< I wanted to hug Kim Min Suk and just baby him. He's too precious. I liked his character a lot. He slayed his emotional scene. It was so strong that it made me cry along with him. Lee Sung Kyung is so pretty. I love her eyes. She's good at her job. At first I thought her character was a b*tch but she was just suffering inside with her own family problems as well as dealing with things from her past that affected her presently. Yoon Do's uncle, Lee Sun Ho was just too adorable.

I loved the music. Every song was a perfect setting for the mood. I actually found myself singing along to a few of those songs. ^^

I'd rewatch this again, mostly for Kim Rae Won, just so I can see his cute self smiling so brightly. ^^

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"Hopeless show," said a mydramalist reviewer, a comment that answered my question, why did the Korean drama rating: Kokdu: Season of Deity dive sharply, from a rating of 4.8% (nation wide and Seoul City) closed with a rating of only 1.3%.

What caused it?

Many cursed Lim Soo-Hyang's appearance as Han Gye-Jeol, one of them with the sentence: A 30 year old woman who acts like a 12 year old, dresses like an old woman, is very clumsy and a bit stupid - very annoying

I'm so sorry, Lim Soo-Hyang?

Lim Soo-Hyang is not a newcomer. The actor Kang Mi Rae in the Korean drama ID: Gangnam Beauty and Mo Seok-Hee in the Korean drama "Graceful Family" won the Best Actress award at the 2020 MBC Drama Awards and Excellent Actress (daily drama) at the 2017 KBS Drama Awards. Lim Soo-Hyang's proof has had enough of the bitter and sour sweetness of acting.

So both Lim Soo-Hyang's fussing and sulking acting and his old fashioned clothes must have been according to the director's wishes.

I agree more if the bad rating is aimed at the entire production. The storyline is going around and around, the number of shows that should be enough for 10 episodes only stretches to 16 episodes. No wonder many stop watching in the middle of the road.

It seems that the screenwriter wanted to make a drama similar to the Korean drama Goblin/Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, but with additional slapstick scenes, such as the scene where Ok Shin and Gak Shin's lips meet. Not kisseu, because only lips that "accidentally" meet, and that's really annoying!

The plot is bad, the scenes are cliche, and there are many holes in the story, compounded by shooting that isn't really good. Like when Han Gye-Jeol found a magic mirror and was in Cinderella style, the shooting angle reminded me of the 90s.

It's not wrong for a screenwriter to be inspired by another Korean drama, but the results have to be better than their predecessors. If not, no matter how good the main character's acting, the audience's ratings and votes will be punishing.

What about Kim Jung-Hyun's acting?

The acting of King Cheoljong in the Korean drama "Mr Queen" always satisfies his fans. You could even say, Kim Jung-Hyun became the savior of the Korean drama "Kokdu: Season of Deity".

You can imagine how disappointed Kim Jung-Hyun was with the ratings for the Korean drama "Kokdu: Season of Deity". After successfully rocking South Korea with a rating of 18.554% (Mr Queen), now his drama only gets a rating of 1.3%.

The next review can be read here: https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2023/03/kokdu-season-of-deity-review-drama-korea.html

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over-rated drama

Just finished all 40 episodes of this drama and must say that I am surprised to see all of the 10/10 and 9/10 ratings it has received.

The drama started off strongly, I really liked the first 15-20 episodes or so. The plot moved along well with a great story line, liked the actors, also some good comedic scenes helped make the first 1/2 of this drama a decent watch.

Then somewhere around episode 25 this drama goes off the rails and just gets worse and worse until the awful ending. The last 15 episodes or so were terrible. Every episode seemed to have a 4-5 minute scene with the male/female leads being all lovey-dovey, sweet-talking each other with the obligatory love song playing in the back-ground. This got tiresome and repetitive. Every character seemed to experience a near death scene and then the other characters help them miraculously pull through. This got tiresome and repetitive. Each episode seemed to have 3 or 4 song interludes, starting to think the producers were either getting royalties or really trying to push the soundtrack. This got tiresome and repetitive. Each time a character died, there would be 7-8 minute montage of flashback scenes with that character, of course, with some song playing in the background. This got repetitive and tiresome as well. In addition, the drama had the worst ending of any C-drama that I have personally watched. It was like the script writers gave up and just wrote some nonsense to get this drama over with.

Gave this drama an overall rating of 2.0 solely based on the 1/2 half of the drama. Re-watch value should be 0 but apparently 1.0 is the minimum value I can assign. It was painful watching this drama once, can't imagine that anyone would go back and re-watch this a second time. This drama won't be showing up on any top 10 best drama lists, but wouldn't be surprised at all to see this drama on a number of top 10 worst drama lists though. Starting to think that the producers must have paid an army of people to give glowing reviews.

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