Reviews

I’m sorry I tried to love this show. I think Riley is an amazing actor and uhhh hello he is handsome as well. I didn’t feel the chemistry. It felt like the female lead didn’t have that UFF when it came down to the chemistry between them. This show felt stiff and nothing really dramatic happened well the type of dramatic I’m use to when watching dramas, it also felt like they were dragging out the storyline this show could have finished within 16 episodes. The ending was ridiculous. Gave me nothing in my opinion I literally felt like I wasted hours of my time that I could have been doing homework just to watch it only to realize the ending sucked! I really hope they don’t bother with a second season. It would be pointless.

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This drama isn't the kinda typical Korean drama you see everyday, this is actually different in a unique kinda way. Its story is based on true facts happening in the real world in terms of government policies, corrupt bloody acts of the government and how negatively it impacts on the lives of the citizens.
This drama deserves its praise for a high production quality and intense action scenes (quite comparable to Hollywood i must say). Great castes and impeccable acting. High emotional and nerve wrecking scenes.
Its filled with complicated plot twists, that were really annoying and got me racking my brain. That only made the drama more intriguing and entertaining. I enjoyed it! The romantic scenes between the two leads were really funny and lovely, my face hurts from all the smiles I flashed anytime they bring up the romantic feels, but most of all top notched action scenes, that really got me tensed and kept me at the edge of my seat at all times.
For a drama being entirely pre-produced, i'm really mind blown. I mean Korea rarely take the risks of pre-produced dramas being aired, at the risk of not satisfying the viewers. But this drama is so so good.
The fight for justice and power in this drama is just so balanced, can't be explained in words.
I must credit the male lead too, NO ONE COULD HAVE DONE JUSTICE TO CHA DAL GEON'S CHARACTER LIKE LEE SEUNG GI DID! His acting was on another level, very much different from all Korean actors I have watched act, his emotions were right on point. Honestly, i became a big fan of him after seeing him act in this drama, he is such a good actor, I was so impressed.
This drama probably declined in its rating due to its ending and the minor setbacks it had while the airing kept being postponed, its not like dramas like this give the feels of a happy ending.
Overall, my word for this drama is PHENOMENAL! 9.8/10????

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Learn to know the difference between hope and obsession !!!

Felt disappointed . I started this drama with a lot of enthusiasm and interest as i admire ju jing yi a lot. The ost is perfect, the acting is perfect and the cuteness present in the story is also perfect, and we can rewatch those cute scenes again and again but the plot is so complicated and the way of taking this drama has been the worst part. A lot of unecessary characters were introduced in the middle just to prolong the drama. What i don't understand is that the plot which they have taken is somewhat confusing and they should be very careful in taking it but i feel that they have just given up in the middle. The first 15 or 18 episodes have been perfect but after those it is just dragging and boring and i feel bad to give a review like this for the drama of ju jing yi but we have to accept the fact and should not be obsessed. The funny thing is the last fight of this drama, i think this is a low budget drama as the last fight is a war between two countries but there are not even 50 soldiers fighting the war and the actual comedy is that, in a war between two countries it is more like some wrestling competition and duels because one from each side are fighting once. I have never seen this kind of war before. Finally i hope the directors can make some good dramas in the future unlike this and i look forward to see the next drama of ju jing yi and wish her all the best for her next drama

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Hijacked by the feminist manifesto.

In the Name of Blossom/国色芳华 picks up where Flourished Peony leaves off. I was expecting this second season to pivot toward the enigmatic Jiang Changyang's story and the plot focus to shift from Mudan's business ventures toward Changyang's court intrigue. The best part of this second season is how Mudan and Changyang's slow-burn romance finally catches fire. Their intense ardor as they transition from friends into lovers made my toes curl.

Unfortunately, as the narrative soldiers on, it becomes quite obvious that the writers simply ran out of plot and should have wrapped this story in one 40-episode season. I was quite done with Mudan's story in the first season and saw no reason to revisit past trauma just to introduce conflict and unnecessary noble idiocy tropes into their relationship arc. With not enough runway to introduce new antagonists, they continued to beat a dead horse with Liu Chang and Li Youzhen, subjecting them to sink even lower into ignominy. As for the final, bloody rebellion arc, there were too many predictable plot twists and reversals and fake deaths that I lost patience with it.

As I had feared in season 1, this turned into yet another empowerment story that gets hijacked by the feminist manifesto. I think in this day and age, it's no longer necessary to go to absurd lengths to prove women can live well without men. I enjoyed the searing chemistry between the two leads, but that was about it. I can only rate this a 7.5/10. I rate both seasons together an 8.0 overall.

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Antihero and lying "rabbit" are wonderfully matched!

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). General spoilers only. The actors are great, the plot is interesting, the script is good (even despite the mediocre translation where I watched it), and it's a tense yet fun watch. The dynamic between the lead characters is fascinating and well executed. It has a cat and mouse feel, except the FL actually holds a lot of power in the dynamic because of how the ML feels about her, and she purposefully lightly seduces him a few times. So, while the ML definitely has the air of a predator and the FL an air of prey, the role of the "cat" is sometimes a toss-up and can change multiple times in a scene. The two characters are very well matched in intellect, neither are all pure or evil, and they are obviously attracted to each other.

The lead actress (and editing) does a wonderful job showing the audience her true feelings while at the same time adjusting her outward appearance to best navigate or influence/manipulate the people around her depending on necessity and the situation. She seems meek and demure but is quietly smart and brave while pursuing her goals of saving her brother and getting revenge on the people who ordered their family to be murdered 3 years ago. She lies out of necessity (from her view, to protect herself and her brother), not because she's morally deficient.

The lead actor is perfect as the ruthless second son of a family that has always treated him abysmally. The way he can turn on a dime from a devil-may-care attitude to intense intimidation when interacting with everyone is fun to watch too. He can't help falling for the FL who is kind and brave with him, even though she keeps lying to him. It's easy to see in his micro facial expressions fairly early on that he wants to mean more to her. Later, he wants to be more than just a tool for revenge, but he's willing to be that tool if it keeps her by his side.

There are a few moments with high sexual tension and some kisses. Though the lips aren't shown during kisses, it was one of the rare productions where I didn't mind because those scenes and the chemistry still felt satisfying.

There are some of the typical tropes with vertical dramas but most are done well. The SFL was the only one I found annoying. She had no subtlety or nuance, either with the way the character was written, or the way it was acted. Her face kept making me think of an angry, crazily posessed goldfish, lol.

There's quite a bit of violence in this story, so you are forewarned. It includes whippings and beatings, a finger torture device, punches, stabbings, chokings, etc. Fake blood is used.

The ML does get physically aggressive with the FL (manhandling and choking), but to me it didn't have a sadistic drive to it as most of it usually happened after the ML uncovered one of her lies. It felt more born out of hurt, frustration, and a desire to possess. There are also some more tender moments between them, and the ML helps the FL quite a bit, which helped balance things out. The ML does have softer moments, but never becomes a total "puppy" in his expression of love, which I appreciated as that would have felt out of character.

General spoiler on the ending:
... ... ...
It is a tender happy ending. Though it's relatively short, it was still a satisfying scene to end on.
... ... ...

I will definitely rewatch at some point.

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Brewing Love? More like Snoozing Lager—romance so flat it needs CPR and a shot of espresso.

6.5/10: A Frothy Mess That Goes Flat Fast

🍺 THE GOOD:

- **Kim Se-jeong as Chae Yong-ju** – Former special forces turned beer sales queen. Yes, she can kill a man and pitch a lager in one scene. Iconic, but wasted here.

- **Lee Jong-won as the sensitive brewmaster** – Looks like he cries to jazz and brews IPA with feelings. Sweet, but this ain’t *La La Land*.

- **Pretty scenery** – Countryside shots so nice, you’ll forget you’re watching a drama about *beer marketing*.

⚠️ THE "ALMOST, BUT..." MOMENTS:

- **Slower than foam settling on a flat beer** – The “slow burn” romance is more “no spark, just yeast.”

- **Subplots go missing like drunk texts** – Characters vanish, conflicts die, nothing really sticks.

- **Too much biz, not enough buzz** – It's more corporate training video than rom-com. I didn’t sign up for a business degree in Beer-onomics.

💔 STANDOUT SCENES:

- When Se-jeong’s character tries to emote and you’re like “girl, save yourself from this script.”

- Every time Min-ju stares into the distance like he knows he should’ve taken another role.

🎯 VERDICT:

Feels like they brewed this romance with expired hops—bland, confusing, and mildly depressing.
Watch if you're folding laundry. Skip if you value your sanity.

Best paired with:A real drink, a low attention span, and something else to do while it plays. 🫠🍺

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Voicing out an unpopular opinion on a popular drama is always risky but I am going to take that risk and do it anyways: CLOY is nice but it's not a masterpiece.

The biggest problem I have with this drama is that there are too many unnecessary elements, scenes and I dare to say even characters. It's not that I don't enjoy a good subplot but in this drama we were presented with so many of them that it felt overwhelming:

- the drama within YSR's family
- the drama between YSR and her stepmother
- the drama between GSJ and YSR's family
- the love story between GSJ and SD
- SD's unrequited love to RJH
- the mysterious murder of RJH's brother
- JMB's involvement in the murder and his guilty conscience
- the lives of the ahjummas in the North Korean village
- the North Korean soldiers entering and discovering the luxuries in South Korea

Many of these could almost be material for a new drama but they decided to squeeze it all in CLOY and I am asking myself WHY? Is the main plot not interesting enough? IT IS (at least I think so). Two people from enemy countries crossing paths and falling in love, dealing with the hardships of a harsh political regime that doesn't allow them to be together, breaking national laws in order to protect each other - that sounds enormous to me! I am not saying that I didn't like the supporting cast and their characters. In fact they were amazing and very likeable (hence my highest rating goes to the acting/cast of this drama) but a little bit more compactness would have made CLOY MUCH more enjoyable. Dragging out each episode to almost 1,5 could have been avoided if they had toned it down with the subplot and focused more on the main couple.

Speaking of: RJH and YSR definitely have chemistry. You can see that both actors enjoy working with each other. Nothing feels awkward or forced, it's all very natural. I liked that. However just like with the plot, the producers have great material but don't know what to do with it. RJH and YSR are supposedly very much in love but it takes a bit more for me than deep stares, endless tears and cheesy lines for me to believe that. We have two people who are in their late twenties or thirties but they barely hug, kiss or do anything that makes me believe that they long for each other. They were sweet, yes but where was the fire? The passion? And no, I am not necessarily talking about sex here. When I say "longing" I don't mean it only in the physical sense but the emotional, too. It's only when they say goodbye for the 10th time that we see them acting as real lovers - and they do that well, no doubt! But most of the time they only have this subtle push and pull thing going on, denying things even after they have confessed to each other already like? To put it in a nutshell, they had good chemistry but it didn't go beyond "Aw they are sweet together!" for me. Imo they could have (should have maybe) scratched the whole super cheesy "fated lovers" thing that happened in Switzerland and focused more on creating more moments between them that make us believe that they are established lovers who are past the flirting stage.

What I really liked About CLOY was the cinematography and the way the differences between the North and the South were being portrayed. While watching the episodes set in North Korea (the best ones imo, after that it went kind of downhill) I actually believed that they were filming there. They did a fantastic job and it felt very realistic although I am aware that it's probably not. I was so fascinated that the sudden easiness of Seri getting to South Korea and RJH not facing any consequences after all he did was something I could swallow. The final … was loaded with clichés and overdramatic scenes but it satisfied most viewers I guess. Me not so much but I want to stop here so this review won't get any longer …

To say it briefly: CLOY has a great main plot and catches your attention very quickly in the first episodes but as soon as the setting changes to South Korea, the writers seem lost and lose their focus, only to slightly gain it back in the last two episodes and topping it all with a fairy-tale like ending everyone expected. It is worth watching for the comedic way the differences between NK and SK are being potrayed and the good acting from everyone included in the cast.

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Omg I deadass have finals tmr but I ended up watching all the episodes of this drama in 2-3days rip me and my grades;”) anyways this drama is so light and fluffy and I love how it shows us the importance of friendship and teamwork and how it contributes to success. Ji Xiang Kong and Qui Ying compliment eachother so well as they become eachothers biggest supporters and admirers in this drama. They went through hell and back and my heart aCHED for them omg.
The second lead couple ARE SO CUTE OML their fights and bickering always make me laugh. Ok let’s talk about the ANTAGONISTS YES I SAID THAT QIAO XIN AND MI YA GIRL STAY IN UR LANE OMG YALL AINT SHIT SORRY. If y’all have high blood pressure please don’t watch this drama because I think my veins exploded already;”)

But overall the acting was great, especially Qui Ying’s given the fact that she’s fairly new in the acting industry but tbh the crying scenes were trash. The competition scenes were INTENSE OMG I don’t even game but that shit got me sitting on the edge of my seat. The songs/osts were amazing and overall I would recommend this drama!

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One of the best history of the gay genre!
A remarkable film portrays well the hard life of homosexuals of whom they are still relatively few in number. Fortunately, where others choose not to go, writer-director Palatpol Mingpornpichit takes pride in launching himself into the extreme film, showing the emotional ups and downs of homosexual parents by raising a child in an environment that is often far from acceptable by the society. However, it is only the backdrop to a film that deals specifically with the father's reaction to his son's always inquisitive mind about his biological mother and, moreover, as an unexpected visit by Miss Rattiya of the Organization for the Protection of the Rights of the Child.
The film beautifully portrays what genuinely conveys the deep love that both parents hold for each other and for their child, who clearly crave only the best, being sweet, albeit somewhat simplistic, but equally thrilling, while the narrative is not afraid of playing homophobia in a country where same-sex couples still have to fight for the right to marry and where gay parenting is viewed by many as a social stigma. Great movie!

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The PG-13 Chinese Version of Death Games and Why Number 19

Fans of death games are familiar with dramas like the Korean Squid Games and the Japanese Alice in Borderland, and this one is a Chinese version of the death games and a drama adaptation of an award-winning Chinese psychology suspense novel. I wrote the "Chinese version" because every Chinese drama watcher knows how strict Chinese censorship is. Therefore, in contrast to other countries' death games that are R-rated, this one is PG-13: minus profanity, nudity, and violence. I will also explain why the drama title has the number 19 in it.

STORY/PLOT:

The MDL synopsis is accurate so I won't add anything to it. "19th Floor" (actually, there are no physical floors, more likely levels) is a drama adaptation of the novel "The Nineteenth Floor of Hell" ((地狱的第十九层), a winner of the 2005 Sina Book of the Year Award, written by Chinese best-selling psychological suspense novelist Cai Jun (蔡骏). In the novel, according to Baidu, "the story aims to express a profound proposition beyond fear. Everyone has the original sin of greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger in their hearts. Once tempted and the truth is revealed in broad daylight, there will be uncontrollable and unreasonable consequences. One's bizarre behavior, falling into layers of hell is a cruel punishment for the inner demons".

To pass the NRTA review, there are big changes made. Firstly, the word 'hell' is omitted, because CCP is atheist, and hell is a religious word, thus should not be in modern titles (can be added in xianxia's titles that are merely mythical stories). There is a Hong Kong movie adaptation "Naraka 19" with a plot that is true to the novel. Secondly. because the drama's mission is to educate young viewers, since the main characters mainly are university students, the drama focuses on the character growths of the main and important supporting characters who are the game players. Thirdly, there are no real deaths, as stated in the synopsis, the losers fell into a coma in the real world. Fourthly, there is profanity, nudity, and violence, thus making this drama a PG-13 version. Although I don't read the novel, I assume the novel is scarier than the drama. Fifthly, because it's a university setting, a slight romance is added to this drama, and the romance subplot does not take over the mystery plot.

Why Number 19:

It was in the Tang dynasty when the more popular concept of the “18 levels of hell” came to be, circulated by the Buddhist text "Sutra on Questions about Hell", which mentioned 134 worlds of hell that were then simplified to a total of 18 for convenience. Each of the 18 levels contains a specific method of torture for a specific sin. At the end of my review, before the spoiler of the ending, I will list the 18 levels of hell for your convenience.

The novel adds the 19th level of hell on purpose which I won't spoil you what it is, especially since the drama doesn't describe any hell nor do the games symbolize the 18 levels of hell. The number 19 in the drama simply is the number of the abandoned school building where some of the games are played.

Plot-wise I gave this drama a 9.0 because in their real lives, the story is a bit draggy with the character growth process some young characters have to develop. The games themselves are fast-paced, some I even think are too fast since the games end in only one episode. Definitely, they are thriller games, not suspense games (unlike, for example, Spirealm which I'm watching currently in which one game takes several episodes to finish).

Because of the character growth process, some conversations are deep and heart-to-heart. Therefore, is better if viewers understand Chinese either written or spoken. Unfortunately, some of us watched it through the bad translation of MangoTV, so we lost the depth. Fortunately, Viki will pick the subbing up. Hopefully, the late viewers would appreciate this drama more and thus will rate it higher.

CHARACTER/ACTING:

Chun Yu, the Female Lead, is the focus of this drama (also in the novel). She is intelligent, brave, and cute, but she holds a hatred towards someone that later is addressed in this drama.

Gao Xuan, the Male Lead, becomes Chun Yu's companion in solving the mystery and overcoming the game's challenges. This character is somewhat mysterious, because of the nature of Gao Xuan in the original source (I will spoil you about him at the end of the review). Casting Wei Zhe Ming as Gao Xuan is perfect, as I have seen him playing antagonists (or semi-antagonists) in the past.

I won't spoil you with the supporting characters, but the many characters are flawed/three-dimensional. As its original source explores characters with the sin of greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger in their hearts, so does this drama but with positive outcomes.

Besides acting out greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger, most actors and actresses did a good job of portraying fear, considering they don't face real monsters but greenscreens. The actors' or actresses' facial expressions befit the characters' confusion or stress when facing horrendous situations or trying to solve (time-ticking) puzzles or mysteries.

VISUALS:

This is a death game theme with monsters, puzzles, and mind games, therefore, props, sets, and CGI depicting the darkness and the intensity of each game are a must. They are pretty much well done and some give you jump scare or suspense without gore or horror. I specifically love the jump scare of the first game with the shadow puppets. I have watched many mystery-genre Chinese dramas in which shadow puppets become mysterious aspects, and in this drama shadow puppets are monstrous aspects.

OST:
The ending OST is "The Last Light" by Wang Mi Ran, a Mongolian-descent singer, with the stage name Miya. Actor Xiao Kai Zhong who played the character Zhang Tian Qiang, sang the male version of this OST as an insert song during the scenes with him in it.

SPOILERS (Scroll down if you want to know about 18 levels of hell according to Buddhism, the character of the Male Lead, and the ending)






















18 Levels of Hell (Not mentioned in the drama, because it's considered religious - Buddhism belief or mythical/superstition per NRTA censorship)

1. Hell of Tongue-ripping, where those who gossip and spread trouble with their words will repeatedly have their tongues ripped out.
2. Hell of Scissors, where those who destroy someone else’s marriage will have their fingers repeatedly cut off.
3. Hell of Trees of Knives, where those who sow discord amongst family members will be repeatedly hung from trees made of sharp knives.
4. Hell of Mirrors of Retribution, where those who have managed to escape punishment for their crimes while alive will be repeatedly shown their true horrific selves.
5. Hell of Steamers, where hypocrites and troublemakers will repeatedly be steamed “alive.”
6. Hell of Copper Pillars, where arsonists will be repeatedly chained to red-hot pillars of copper.
7. Hell of the Mountain of Knives, where those who have killed for pleasure or without good reason will repeatedly be made to climb a mountain made of sharp blades sticking out of it.
8. Hell of the Mountain of Ice, where adulterers, deceivers of elders, and schemers will be repeatedly left out on a barren mountain of ice to freeze.
9. Hell of the Cauldrons of Oil, where rapists, thieves, abusers, and false accusers will be repeatedly fried in vats of boiling oil.
10. Hell of the Cattle Pit, where those who have abused animals will repeatedly be hurt by animals in turn.
11. Hell of the Crushing Boulder, where those who have abandoned or killed children will repeatedly be made to hold up heavy boulders, eventually being crushed by their weight.
12. Hell of Mortars and Pestles, where those who voluntarily waste food will repeatedly be force-fed hell fire by demons.
13. Hell of the Blood Pool, where those who disrespect others will be thrown in and submerged into a pool of blood.
14. Hell of the Wrongful Dead, where those who have committed suicide—considered deliberately going against the karmic course of the universe—will be forced to repeatedly wander the realm without a way out, while being pelted constantly by the Winds of Sorrow and the Rains of Pain.
15. Hell of Dismemberment, where tomb raiders will have their bodies repeatedly torn into pieces.
16. Hell of the Mountain of Fire, where thieves, robbers, and the corrupt will be repeatedly thrown into the fiery pits of an active volcano.
17. Hell of Mills, where those who have misused their power to oppress the weak will repeatedly be crushed in a stone mill.
18. Hell of Saws, where those who have engaged in unethical or unfair business practices, or exploited loopholes in the legal system, will be repeatedly sawn in half by demons with saws.

Regarding the Male Lead Gao Xuan:
In the novel, Gao Xuan is an antagonist. In the drama, Gao Xuan is a protagonist

Ending:
Overall a happy ending, EVERYONE is alive and played the final game to fight the villain. Broken relationships are mended. There are two romantic couples formed, Chun Yu and Gao Xun are one of the couples.

The last scene depicting a new death game starting is probably just a tease for the possibility of Season 2. So, the drama doesn't end with a cliffhanger or open ending.

Because of this type of a wholesome happy ending, my final rating is 9.5.

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"My sister, my friend, my bride, have all left. As always I'm left alone"
I'd say, this was one of the most unique stories I've seen yet, with the most gorgeous cinematography.
One of the best thing about it were the actors, especially the male lead and the second male lead, they were totally mesmerizing (No Homo), one could actually feel their sorrow and grief.
Another thing about this show were it's OSTs, each track perfectly fits with whatever situation was given, and that track that played during the goblin and reaper walk <3.
Fav track from the show: Lasse Lindh - Hush/Stay With Me - Chanyeol & Punch
There's one thing I agree with those who bitch about it... that cringe, the age gap... Ig 19 and 39(By his looks) (938 if you consider his real age) isn't much of a difference in Pakistan xD. At sometimes he looked like her father, especially that moment when he pats her head. If compared with the second couple, I'd definitely choose the latter.
Was Goblin: The Lonely and Great god good?.. yes. Was is it great?... definitely yesss. Should I recommend it?.. yes if you can bear with its slow pace
Personal Ratings: 9/10
Sauce: Goblin: The Lonely and Great god

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Toxic, Not Naughty

I am still wondering why I bothered to watch this drama. I wasn't a fan of Cutie Pie, toxic relationships made to look cute are not my thing, but the trailer made me wonder if this drama would put some of that in the past. I should have known better. Naughty Babe, quite simply, is a disaster. I'm not sure what was worse: changing the original story, the lack of plot, the complete lack of character development despite years having gone by, or the acting. Honestly take your pick.

So let's start with the story. There really wasn't one. Honestly it felt like a toddler throwing anything and everything at a piece of paper and calling it a masterpiece. With only 8 episodes, they needed to stick to a central story line and they just didn't. The mystery of who messed with Diao's car and caused Yi to crash is probably the most consistent story line, but even it falls flat. The choice to change the childhood attack Diao suffered from a dog to a tiger was absurd. The CGI tiger was awful and the change didn't serve any purpose other than creating inconsistencies and erasing some of the development in their relationship from Cutie Pie. Because it was so disjointed, the pacing felt off. It never got a good rhythm going and I struggled to stay invested. Things like their plan for the wedding was just so nonsensical and out of the box, and not in a good way. They were in on the plan together, so why Diao kept going on about being afraid he was going to hurt Yi and break his heart and blah blah blah just didn't make sense. And the ending, maybe it was just me, but it felt like there was a level of favoritism for their son over their daughter. They interacted far more with him than they did with her, especially considering it was her birthday. Again, could just be me reading into it too much.

One of the biggest issues though truly was the complete lack of character development. It's supposed to have been what, 6 years or something since Cutie Pie and three since Cutie Pie 2 You and literally nothing has changed in their relationship. In fact, they've taken steps backward. I didn't watch it, but my understanding is that a lack of development was present in Cutie Pie 2 You as well. Relationships change over time, that's just a fact. That Diao and Yi's relationship remained so stagnant shows that the writers and production had no clue what they were doing. Because of the foolish decision to change the attack to a tiger, some of the issues between them that had been dealt with or at least acknowledged were rendered pointless and they were right back where they started. And you would think, after all the time they'd been together, that they would have figured some things out. But no, they are still unable to communicate effectively, they make assumptions, there's a clear lack of trust and understanding between them, oh, but they're madly in love. Cue eye roll. The imbalance in their relationship is still very present. There are times that Yi comes across almost as more of a father with his controlling ways than as a fiancé. And Diao, for all that he does stand up for himself on occasion, it never seems to be when it matters or when it would do the most good. Frankly, they're just frustrating to watch. And a bit disturbing, because, all joking aside, at the heart, their relationship is not one built on love, but rather years of manipulation and Diao being conditioned to rely on Yi. And that is simply not addressed. It just points back to the fact that nothing has changed since Cutie Pie and their relationship is just as toxic and discordant as it was then.

Lian and Kuea reappear and while Lian does have his useful moments serving as a sounding board for Yi and actually giving solid advice at times, Kuea causes some issues by sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and making incorrect assumptions that he then feeds back to Diao. Together they're alternately vaguely amusing and mildly cute. While their relationship in Cutie Pie displayed the same imbalance as seen with Diao and Yi, they seem to be on more equal footing here. Nuea and Syn also pop up briefly and bring a few moments of levity. The only other character that I actually liked was Yi's father. He had a decent balance of comedy and seriousness that worked fairly well.

Nat and Max are not the strongest of actors and expecting them to carry their own show was asking a lot. Of the two, Nat was the more compelling to watch. His expressions are limited and there's really no nuance to his acting, but it feels more authentic. Max is just wooden and his emotions always felt very surface level. It looked like he was acting.

The production value was meh. There was nothing special about it. The product placement was incredibly annoying and distracting. It's been a minute since I saw a drama that was so in your face with it. And the music felt pretty generic. Nothing like Cutie Pie which had some decent and catchy songs.

Naughty Babe is simply a continuation of the toxic relationship first shown in Cutie Pie and a further romanticization of it. I don't generally totally regret watching a drama, but I fully regret taking the time to watch this one. There is frankly nothing positive about it and unless you are a die hard Cutie Pie or Diao/Yi fan, I would avoid it like the plague. You'll never get those hours back.

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