Reviews

WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL

What i want to understand is how you can go from being practically the best unexpected K drama of 2025 to one of the worst in a matter of 7 episodes????
This show had the strongest first half I've seen in a korean drama for a very long time it had the old school vibes with ur cliche characters who had charm. So how the hell did it manage to go wrong? THE WRITERS THATS WHY

Here are a couple of rewrites that would have made the drama better

First of all there was absolutely no reason for the both male leads to like Go da rim ,Writers need to understand we are comfortable in a world and situation where all the men don't love our female lead i mean it practically made no sense u had 20 years but u didn’t confess until she found someone else HELLLLLLLL TO THE NO, the 2nd male lead should have liked the 2nd female lead and both begin a relationship while still trying to keep Go da rims secret

second of all the whole misunderstanding arc i understand is the basline of the drama but was dragged on too thoughtlessly only for a rather unclimatic reveal, instead the writers should have revealed it during the time he thought the 2nd ml and the 2nd fl we're having an affair. They all should have told him in a funny way they were a couple and him and Da rim would be free to date privately the show would have been 100 percent better if it followed the 4 couples hiding their relationships each pretending to be with the others parthner in public

Third of all
The sister and the chairman and the very uncessary practically useless to the plot brother in law, why were any of these characters given half the screen time??? the completely ruined any potential of character depth with the sister when that BIL was introduced,she truly would have made a perfect addition to his mom and him group to take down the chairman and he would have given her the company without issues???? And honestly that slap the chairman gave Go da rim was completely disgusting and off-putting literally no reason to do that its FKING ASSAULT

Last of all
the whole 2 last episode needed to be thrown out because why are we adding every kind of random uncessary drama cliches known to mankind? i was so baffled i even expected them to add a they met when they were children trope to wrap the huge Christmas present up since they were so keen of destroying any kind of sensible thought process i mean LEAVING THE CITY , YOUR HANDSOME BOYFRIEND WORKS TO WOO YOU BACK,CAR ACCIDENT, AMNESIA they should have made her pregnant instead of her co worker if they knew they wanted to endorse such nonsense

To sum it up
I am truly disappointed in this drama i was in a very big depressing slump this year and the first half of this show really changed that for me it hurts when a drama you know has so much potential just crumbles down due to Lazy writing i mean gather 5 k drama watchers on this app and they could think of a better Second half than this show i know my ideas are probably not the best but in my opinion they are 90 percent better than what we watched on screen it felt like a complete time waste to even invest in such a drama when it all comes burning down. But still kudos to the actors they did an amazing job and kudos to the First episodes writers. I guess we are ending the year with another When the phone rings kind of failure IYKYK.
Merry Christmas people and Happy new fking year

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All I Can Say Is WOW!!!

This is DEFINITELY one of my top BL shows of the year alongside Cherry Magic!!! This is such a beautiful masterpiece of a show!!! I remember when the preview trailer first came out… I was already hooked!!! I was on the lookout for it and it did not disappoint me one bit when it finally started. I looked forward to seeing it every week. It made me feel all of the emotions. I was up here sitting in my room crying over everything. I don’t think any other BL has made me this emotional before in my life.

First, I would like to start off with the casting and characters. Billkin as Teh did a wonderful job. His character was a smart but confused individual. Given this being a coming of age type of story, I feel like his actions throughout the show were justified because he was learning to navigate who he was as a person like how most people do around that age. Coming into your sexuality can be a mix of conflicting emotions. I understand that it takes much time and reflection. I know some people were annoyed by his character but I think he portrayed it very well. (Side note: I know he had to be drained in between takes from all that crying he did lol It was almost giving me Third vibes from Theory of Love lol I just thought it was kind of funny but they both still had me feeling all emotional and tearing up so you know they were doing something right!!!). PP Krit as Oh-aew also did a wonderful job. To me, Oh-aew I feel was more secure in who he was as a person and of his sexuality than Teh so it was hard for me to see him be so distraught at how Teh kept on backing off from truly moving forward. Pining over someone who won’t REALLY reciprocate can be one of the worst feelings in the world. So, I truly felt his pain through it all. All in all, the two lead actors really DELIVERED!!! I could feel every single stare, every single body movement, and every single touch. You could cut the TENSION with a knife!!! No one couldn’t tell me that there wasn’t a magnetic true love between these two. I know this sounds cliche but it's like they were destined to be together. Also, I would love to see them in future projects!!!

Shoutout to Tan and Bas as well for sticking by Teh and Oh-aew sides and being true friends through it all even though they had to give up the possibility of a romantic relationship with the guys. They are the real MVP’s of this show!!!

The writing and directing on this show was impeccable to me!!! No cringy dialogue and every single line served its purpose well. This is movie grade writing. I saw some behind the scenes videos of certain scenes, like the hotel scene where there under the staircase, being directed and I loved seeing how meticulous the director was. He did a great job directing all of the scenes so you can truly see and get the meaning of everything.

I also wanted to quickly just say that I loved the attention and callback to details throughout like with the tutoring book that Teh made for Oh-aew that was left empty by the end of episode 4, the flower that was supposed to be colored the same as Tan’s garment but Teh colored it red because he was thinking of Oh-aew, the rubbing of Oh-aew’s back when he sniffles, the references to Teh’s favorite actor, and the use of Chinese phrases to get meaning across. I could go on and on but wow I just loved how they really connected all of the details throughout.

Also, the cinematography in this show is TOP FREAKIN NOTCH!!! Every single scene is just so beautifully shot. The cinematography alone makes me want to cry lol I saw somewhere that someone said the filming of the show reminded them of an indie film and I totally agree!!! They came with the high budget for this series and I live for it!!! The music throughout the episodes is beautiful as well. The OST Skyline performed by Billkin made me emotional as well. Billkin’s voice is just so pleasant sounding.

This show was a rollercoaster of emotions and it was one of the most sincere shows I have ever watched!!! I was worried it wasn’t going to end well considering all that went on in episode 4 especially but I am glad that it had a happy ending. When Teh asked Oh-aew to be his boyfriend... I SCREAMED in excitement!!! I can’t wait for Season 2!!! Also, it’s so beautiful how this community really came together to discuss and support this amazing show!!!

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Don't judge a book by its cover.

My first impression of this show wasn't really good; I didn't assume it'd turn out bad but I thought it'd be a basic average story, full of Kdrama romcom clichés. To my surprise, it decimated ( destroying large proportion) my prenotions, it proved to be a competent romcom of the current trend, and stood out in terms of using atypical elements. (using the term "decimate" because it wasn't complete finished off)

Produced by Arc Media and broadcasted on KBS, "Crazy Love (크레이지 러브) [2022] is basically a romantic comedy Kdrama along with elements of melodrama and mystery. Written by Kim Bo-gyeom and directed by Kim Jung-hyun, the show was also distributed by Disney+ Korea.

The story follows the build up of office romance between a Private Education Academy CEO and his secretary, equally emphasizing the fight for power within the company and mystery of conspiracies.

Noh Go Jin (Lee Jae Wook) is the CEO of GO-TOP Education and top math instructor, who despite of his educational qualification, has created and made the company No.1, with his knowledge and capabilities. Being as popular as a star, he is loved by the public but known to be a selfish & narcissist by his employees. Lee Shin Ah (Krystal Jung) is an introverted lady with sedulous & responsible personality who has managed to keep up with his notorious boss, with the cost of her degrading mental health. With the dream of becoming an instructor, she contributes her best to accomplish her task and strives to make her ends meet. The story begins with Gojin getting into a threat, as Shin Ah gets entangled with his life, and furthers with the consequences.

Oh Se Gi (Ha Joon) is the Dep. CEO of GOTOP, the dearest to Gojin and Baek Soo Young (Yoo In Young) is the budding educationist and Park Yang Tae (Im Won Hee) is the CEO of Ilpum Edu. Other familiar faces in the drama are: Go Gyu Pil, Park Han Sol, Yoon San Ha, Lee Si Eon, Kim Ki Nam, Lee Mi Young, Kim Hak Seon, etc.

I have mixed feelings about the plot development, more than "mixed" it's like particular moods for particular portions of the entire show. As said earlier, for the pilot episodes, I was not really interested, but then it improved and finally sored to another level and made me wish hard for it to retain it's quality. It started going downhill, right from the beginning of 11th episode, I can't say how, but I think most of you can guessz since it's a romcom drama that has to result in unison of the lead couple. Anyways, enjoy it till the fun lasts, it's extremely funny and rarely angsty and there is least amount of romance for the first 2/3rd of the show, though there is a definite buildup of chemistry between the ML & FL. You'll know when the actual romance starts and even so it comprises of clichés scenes, I guess we sometimes crave for it behind the curtains? Haha. I would have loved to see more of Ha Joon's sides and also a complexity to the mystery plot, which somehow got lost in the latter half. Anyways, the ending sequence with extreme conspiracies and power trip was interesting and the show ended on a good note.

Writer Kim Bo Gyeom debuts through the drama, and from his bio, it's apparent that he must have been a part of good script teams, led by prominent screenwriters. Provided his experience, I would say that it is a beyond decent delivery, no? The pilot ep might not be impressive, but the furtherance is amazing and the buildup is worth looking forward to, though the ending sequence isn't as nifty or crackerjack. Given the cult-classic genre with a basic story, it isn't something very difficult to plot and write, but surely implies his skill as a debutant.

Director Kim Jung Hyun with a well-known career graph, is the producer of several popular dramas of contemporary trend. The management, execution, screenplay setup, screen-editing is up to par. The urban romcom and office scenarios were of apt mode. Sound production is probably the best thing about the direction, in my opinion. It's actually that good to be particularly mentioned, for any comedy drama.

There are 6 OSTs in total and they're crazy good, I must say. "I'm Crazy" by the AB6IX duo Jeon Woong and Lee Dae Hwi is a endorphin-releasing song with lyrics that depict confession. "Stay Alive" by formis_9 is a high beat yet soulful track about warmth of love. "Bite!" by NU'EST Baekho is an enticing song meant for motivation and inspiration to climb up the ladder in your life. "Dive into you" by uri love JAY B is a heart-touching & romantic track, and his vocals makes you cry as always. "May be" by DAVII is again a track of pleasurable and fun-living love, his vocal is always a favourite. Lastly, "Wide Open" by Juniel is a softcore romantic song with the vibes of old romcom ones.

What I liked...

# The steady plot development is likable and engaging; though there is nothing outstanding, but provided the fact that the recent plain romcoms fail to retain their qualities, this is comparatively pretty satisfactory.

# The uncharacteristic plot elements and concepts used are what make the show stand out the most, in my opinion. I had assumed it will have all the Kdrama romcom tropes and still wanted to give it a try. Even though the pilot episode didn't interest me much, by the end of the 6th episode, I ended asking my friend, "Where are all my cliché scenes at?" This was the exact line.

# Noh Go Jin, the character is another factor that, in my opinion, is helpful to extents, to make the audience keep going, like a motivational force. His expressions, his reactions to things he's told, his dialogue delivery and even his way of walking, everything makes him a perfect self-obsessed plus funny male lead, which most of us tend to love, no?

# The romance build up is fresh, yes, because modern urban romcoms tend to follow the old plots and there is zero sign of creativity. But, I am glad, even as a debutant, the writer has attempted to do something outta his zone; fortunately, the implementation was successful.

# The Comedy elements are the reasons, a viewer should look forward to and stick to the drama for the amazing ride, even so the initial episodes make you wanna drop.

# Sound editing is again particularly noticeable, especially, for the heavily funny scenes, and, particularly, involving Noh Go Jin. The unexpected violin notes and softbeat instrumentals during scenes where Go Jin is teased and made fun of, were so so so hilarious, I was very engaged to it.

What I didn't like...

# Once again, Krystal's acting was a turn off. I still don't understand whether it's her acting , that hasn't improved over years, despite her constantly doing dramas, or it is the characters sje play, i. e. Bbad choice of scripts? Nevertheless, she could be better and there always that ample amount of space for learning and improving herself.

# Limited screen share of Segi and other characters is what disappointed me a lot, specially in the later half and particularly from 11-16. Ha Joon is a good actor and despite his less experience, plus given the character's importance, he should have appeared more. Ok Hee & Soo Ho also should have been given more.

# The plot turning typical starting from 11th episode, made me go mad, though the cliché romance elements were insignificant & inconsistent. Won't complain much but I would have loved if they had retained their original way of development.

# Extending the previous point, the mystery plot, involving conspiracies and counteraction, was forgotten in the later half; sometimes it was completely gone. It would definitely affect the quality of the drama and reflected in the ratings, as well.

Final Remarks... "Crazy Love" which starts as a basic random show, progressed to be an worthy ride with unexpected elements, though turned into a typical mess by the end. I honestly don't think it's something that will suffice everyone's taste but it's a fair one time watch. If you're a fan of old-styled romcoms and crave such plots, yet looking for new things in one, this is definitely for you. You might want to fast forward a little in the last 4 episodes, and that's very fine, but I suggest you don't give up on this soon. I mean, yeah! I was also proved wrong, judging it from only 2 episodes. Go ahead :)

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Bon Appétit, Your Majesty – When Mediocrity Goes Viral

The best way to watch this drama? Grab some food, put it on 1.75x speed, and just let it run.. The show has no real substance. The writers clearly got lazy and decided a proper story was optional; instead, it’s basically a long food showcase where dishes get more screen time than the actual characters.

Yes, the title hints at food, but the description also promised "romance, fantasy, comedy", Did it deliver? Let’s see:

Fantasy– Oh yes, time travel! The lead goes back to the past. I guess that’s *all it takes* to count as fantasy these days.
Comedy – Original jokes? Forget it. Just recycled gags from every older drama of the same genre you’ve ever seen. Classic.
Romance – Romance, they call it? There’s no buildup, no real conversations, barely any screen time together, and suddenly the ML falls for her just from tasting her food, forcing himself on her, while the FL randomly decides she likes him too. As if that weren’t enough, the leads have non-existent chemistry. They simply look like two good-looking people sharing the screen, nothing more. And after all this, the creators expect us to believe they’re in love. It’s utterly absurd

Now to acting.
Yoona’s performance was fine but predictable. She’s been playing the same rom-com roles for years, merely swapping the setting and profession. Nothing new, nothing surprising—just another comfort-zone performance from her, which, as usual, turned out to be average.

Chaemin shows good potential, but his acting here was wildly overhyped. He was mostly good throughout the run, but not the miracle the internet made him out to be. Honestly, most of the buzz seems driven by his looks rather than his actual acting, and that’s just how it works in K-drama land.

Also wanted to add this: Park Sung-hoon being dropped turned out to be a good thing—this weak script didn’t deserve an actor of his caliber. It was better suited for a rookie like Chaemin (who played his part well👍,still I believe his performance was exggerated by the audience), especially since it was the food, not the cast, that carried the show.

As for the central storyline—there wasn’t one to begin with. By the last four episodes, it felt like the writer finally as well as suddenly realized, “Oops, we don't have a plot,” and started throwing in whatever came to mind just to force a happy ending. The result? A drama with no sensible closure. The creators practically mocked the audience, with, “Let’s throw the dumbest stuff at them as we known they’ll swallow it,” and, unsurprisingly, audience did.

Conclusion: This is easily the most overhyped drama of the year—mediocrity at its finest. A one-time watch if you have nothing else lined up. With a 80-Minute episodes dragged out by endless food shots , average acting and no solid story, it’s not something anyone would revisit.

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Revamp : The Dead Story!

This had everything it needed to be a guilty pleasure masterpiece, from vampires to forbidden love to century-old curses to a tragic painting, and most importantly Boun Prem. And yet, somehow, it manages to take all that potential and throw it down the drain.

The premise opens dramatically with a vampire sealed inside a painting, freed by a modern man who is calm about meeting a vampire that he even offered to make tea. To be very honest, I wasn't expecting much from a vampire drama, but then it never lived up to the lore it built.

Coming to logic, or what I call the abstract art here, interpret it however you want. Now, starting from the start, Ramil being trapped for a century should make him disoriented, right? This man adjusts to the 21st century faster than most of us figure out new trends. Again, not asking for ironclad things, just basic stuff.

The drama till the very end couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it supposed to be a bit dark? A romance? A parody of its own genre? It felt like this project was directed by different people. One wanted it to be slapstick comedy, the other just wanted to see Boun shirtless but there must be someone who actually wanted the vampire drama with angst, so we also see sprinkles of that. I respect all three visions, but maybe not in the same hour. Somehow, the tonal whiplash weighed down the drama completely and made it boring.

They also introduced a hunter's subplot, and I thought this would bring back some life and excitement in this domesticated tale of a vampire, but I was again proven wrong. They totally underused it to the point that it just started looking funny. Imagine a secret organisation taking on supernatural beings and declaring war, but all of their plans lacked any preparedness. I will not even question logic here.

The only aspect that I enjoyed was the bond between Ramil and the vampire brothers (Methas, Ciar and Mekhin). It wasn't the central plot but I wished it was. They had each other's backs and it was fun where they shared the screen. Again, they totally wasted potential to actually explore the 3 characters and bring in some actual plot. Ciar might come off as rude and presumptuous, but he was the only one who acted like an actual vampire.

Coming to chemistry between the leads, the romance is what sank the ship. It was just too much and everywhere. I like the leads and their chemistry but here all the focus was on their love story, leaving everything else (the actual plot, pacing, character depth) adrift.

Acting-wise, Mark as Methas captured my attention and it was good seeing Barcode on screen. Rest, everyone was forgettable. Again, not bad but nothing to run home about.
The production itself wasn't terrible. The manor was gorgeous, and the opening OST was good. There were inconsistencies in editing, but at one point, I stopped caring.

Overall, this isn't unwatchable but boring. Things kept happening, but nothing held my interest. Everything was half-baked. Again, I understand the main plot is vampires and it is expected to be a bit campy. In fact, I welcome that trope, but this wasn't even a fun camp.
So yes, Revamp tried to suck blood but ended up sucking energy instead.

Will I recommend it? No. I am definitely not their target audience for this.
Will I recommend GMM TV to stop attempting vampire dramas? YES. PLEASE !

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Enjoyable But... I Wish They Gave Us More!

***Disclaimer: This is just my opinion. We don't have to agree and I'm not here to argue with anyone***

(This review is entirely based on the show, I did not read the webtoon and went into this completely blind)

I really loved this drama... I thought the story was interesting, the acting was phenomenal and the OSTs touched my heart. I wish I could rewatch it for the first time and be able to experience and feel all the things I did all over again.

The way this drama had me in a chokehold for weeks needs to be studied! I honestly don't know if this drama would've had the same effect on me had I just binge watched it in one go. From beginning to end you can see the care / effort the writers put into bringing this story to life on screen. I thought the cast was beautifully chosen as the actors captured the essence of their characters so well. The emotions through the drama were raw / real and it was almost palpable through the screen. I heard the webtoon and the drama are different and that writers changed some stuff but idk I think that's the whole point of an adaption it gives the writers creative license and room to explore what the original story didn't have / lacked. Ahn Bo Hyun and Shin Hye Sun were so amazing. I need to see Bo Hyun in more leading roles... perhaps a historical drama next.

Overall, this drama was enjoyable. My only problem with it was that it was too short (12 episodes) and the last couple episodes seemed rushed and like they were trying to tie everything together at the last minute. They could've used the middle episodes to develop the plot further or have Seo Ha find out that Ji Eum was Ju Won's reincarnation earlier as well as her memories from her 1st life and how to break the curse. I found the shaman guy (Min Ki) so annoying. Especially the fact that they let his identity remain a mystery until the last two episodes, it was very underwhelming. They made it seem like he was a lover but as it turns out he was the reason why Ji Eum was cursed to be reborn each time she died. I found the ending of her forgetting everyone while they lived on remembering her very strange / not well thought out but I'm glad everything all worked out in the end and the drama ended on a happy note. I was initially so scared that it would end badly but then again I'm a lover of angst and pain. Either way I think I would've loved this drama bc the storytelling, acting and sequence of events was so entertaining.

I definitely would rewatch this drama sometime in the future. I think the key to enjoying this drama is just to go in blindly without any preconceived notions from the webtoon or constantly comparing it to it. As a reader myself it's just a fact that no adaptation can ever really live up to what you imagined in your head.

With that said I give this drama an 8/10.

Thanks for reading & happy watching!

❤️

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Ignore the Noise

Dear reader, I urge you to give this series a chance if you enjoy coming-of-age dramas (including talk of dreams, aspirations, failure, innovation, identity, family, friendship, feeling lost, finding love), as well as lovely cinematography, production design, and direction.

Does this drama have flaws? Yes, plenty. The writing goes up and down at times, some storylines are rushed (the revenge plot), and there are characters who should've gotten more screen time (Injae). If you're not a fan of romance in your dramas, then this show is not for you. If you're not a fan of love triangles, this show is not for you.

All that said, overall, Start-Up is a good time. All of the characters are complex and flawed, which makes them interesting. Every shot is absolutely beautiful, and the familial/friendship themes are effectively explored. If you've ever felt lost (particularly in your twenties, as those are the leads' ages) and weren't quite sure what you wanted to do with the rest of your life, you can probably relate. It is certainly not a documentary about starting a tech company in South Korea, but it does utilize its accelerator environment well. The strengths of Start-Up lie in its cast of colorful characters, its emotional throughline, and its visual excellence.

If you're thinking of watching this show but are wondering why there are people online who seem passionately invested in hating it as if this show killed their first born child (and you don't mind spoilers,) continue below:

The online reaction surrounding this drama while it's been on-air is some of the most ridiculous and inane I've ever seen in a K-Drama fandom (usually only present in large western or anime fandoms), and this is due to the ship war and the different "teams."

Here's the thing: while the drama did spend an unnecessary amount of time on the love triangle, it was never a true love triangle to begin with. From the first episode, when the cherry blossom petal flew all the way from Dalmi and landed on Dosan's head, if you've ever watched a single K-Drama ever, you should've known what the endgame was going to be. Even more so in Episode 2, with the slow motion walk toward each other during their first-meeting-cut-short and when Dosan showed up at the networking party looking like Cinderella at the ball.

Throughout the course of the story, Dalmi had shown exactly zero interest in Jipyeong as a man, either romantically or sexually. Not even when she was suspicious of Dosan being two separate people did she consider Jipyeong in a romantic light. She’d been curious about him, yes, and clearly valued his friendship and mentorship, but anyone who genuinely hoped she was suddenly going to finally see, in the eleventh hour, how he was the nice guy she’d been looking for all along were going to be sorely disappointed.

It was never going to be Jipyeong, but for some reason, shippers deluded themselves into thinking there was some sort of secret story underneath it all that only they could see. They wholeheartedly believed there was going to be a big plot twist (even though there was never any indication of such), and when the coupling went the way it was always going to go, they got all shocked Pikachu face. And then got angry at the hole they dug themselves into. The most ironic part is that the show has a good amount of symbolism and attention to detail. Just not the symbolism and attention to detail certain factions thought they saw.

Start-Up is not a work of genius, but it's fun and all the actors are fantastic. The OST is out of this world, and there is plenty of comedy and emotional heft to go around. In any case, this is a drama best binged, as it's more cohesive that way.

Ignore the noise and check it out if the synopsis seems interesting to you. And if you don't vibe with it, stop watching and simply move on with your life.

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Infuriating characters & plot holes, but entertaining all the same

Likes: Park Hyung Sik and Han Hyo Joo. I'm fans of both. I think they did a great job with the acting and convinced me that they are both tough characters that could take down zombies and criminals. Doesn't hurt that they are both pretty to look at. I thought they had a very cute chemistry. The doctor was also pretty standout in making his character so despicable. I thought the zombie production and actions scenes were also nicely done.

Dislikes: (SPOILERS AHEAD): The HUGE and obvious plot holes that took a lot away from the story because it made the characters look a bit stupid. For instance, the huge one...Why go through all this manipulation and trouble when you could have just asked Saebom for her blood. Everything about her character would have suggested she would do this freely with no objection. That's just lazy writing imo. The writer should have found some reason why they thought Saebom would be resistant to giving her blood. Then the story would have made more sense. Next problem were the infuriating side characters. They were incredibly frustrating mostly because I couldn't understand their actions. I don't have to agree with it, but I should understand why a character is driven to their point in stupidity. There should be a tiny basis of realism in their motivation. Too many actions were just too inconsistent. For instance, the fear level. One minute they are scared to death because they see a zombie turn, then the next they are walking around like nothing is amiss, I mean wouldn't they try to carry something for a weapon or wear some sort of makeshift protection, esp since they don't know who is infected? That goes for the leads as well. They walk around too cavaliery like they are invincible. Sometimes they carry a weapon, sometimes they don't That's just poor direction, The director should have maintained a certain level of fear and caution throughout.

There were so many plot holes that I can't even count, but yet, I still found myself entertained and waiting in anticipation for the next episode. A large part of that has to do with me being fans of PHS and HHJ. I really looked forward to their interaction with each other. It carried a lot of the drama for me. I enjoyed seeing them be all tough. I also have a love for zombies or disaster type stories too so that also played a part. There was also enough tension to keep me tuned in to see how this would all end. If you're like me, then I would suggest checking this drama out. But if you need a well executed story that makes complete sense, then you may not enjoy this one,

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Hermès! Served exactly as intended: a (rarely pure) rom-com delight.

Most romance stories, in my experience as a lover of the romance genre (and as somebody who aspires to write in the genre), will follow a very specific pattern. It typically seems to go something like:

-two people who are well-suited to one another meet
-who want to be together
-and share moments of growing emotional, and often physical, intimacy
-but who struggle against internal and external obstacles
-that build up until there's a major complication
-which gets resolved happily.

Romance, as a whole, does not tend to deviate much from this structure; it's why a lot of people return to it, time and time over again. And in terms of being exactly this – a very, very sweet, wholesome, lighthearted and funny romance, in my opinion, this drama excelled.

There is no secret serial killer or hardcore thriller plotline, and in this way, it feels like a "pure" rom-com – most misunderstandings are easily resolved, and a lot of the drama consists of different scenarios involving the leads being sweet and falling deeper in love with each other, supporting each other when the relationship is tested.

The drama wastes no time in having the leads fall for and get with each other – it's certainly no slow-burn where the characters' hands brushing against each other will leave you gasping for air, but I personally found a lot of beauty in this drama's simplicity. Rather than missing the aching slowburn, or yearning for the higher stakes, this drama's low stakes kept me focused on the relationship, kept me believing in the strength of its foundations, and got me attached to them. Though these are perhaps not the most complex or layered characters, I found them well drawn out, acted, and lovable. In a lot of ways, it became my weekly injection of sunshine.

I admired how much it kept to its theme and heart in the pro-worker throughline. The ways that (especially service) workers are often mistreated, and especially how that interplays with the power/wealth disparity between the two leads as boss and employee felt like it was given the kind of treatment I'm not used to seeing just yet. I ended up liking how I felt the respect the female lead got in her romantic relationship was not only extended to her in her professional life, but to the professional lives of many in her line of service work.

To some, it might be slow, boring – I've even seen "lazy" tossed around, but to me, I don't think it was lazy at all. There were bits of symbolism, love shown in small, almost unnoticeable acts (like him closing the gate up to her apartment behind her, or them saving their names as stars and angels) that all add to the larger picture – there are themes and undercurrents of pro-worker sentiment and of the role of women, the links between their personal and professional lives (exploitation at work, and exploitation in the home – divorce, too, as a cultural taboo that threatens a woman's professional life) rippling throughout. There was meaning in their names – the male lead's full name, Gu Won, meaning "salvation" – a part of her name, Sa-Rang, meaning "love" (I'm not sure how the context/meaning is changed with her family name Cheon) – with salvation and love being the foundation of their mature, adult relationship. I found a great deal of small personal meaning in this drama.

Overall, in terms of the acting (Lee Jun-Ho's acting especially; I look forward to digging into his acting from before too – but Im Yoon-A I felt like did a very believable job of a woman working in service and of selling the chemistry too – the side cast of characters, and especially the woman who played the villainess Hwa-Ran, Kim Sun Young, who gave dimension to a character I feel like could have fallen quite flat, the direction, the writing, the music (my personal favourite from the OST being 'Confess To You' by Lim Kim) – I feel like they did a very very good job in delivering exactly what they promised: a fluffy rom-com.

While in terms of other, more complex and nuanced dramas that have captured my heart, it might not compare with my other 10/10s, which is why I will not rate it as such, but within its own genre, I think it deserves to be seen as extremely well crafted, and I do not believe it deserves a low rating for being what it is. For the other people this kind of lighthearted story will appeal to, I hope they feel just as well served as I do.

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Underwhelming, Cliche-Riddled "Fairy Tale" That We've Seen So Many Times Before!

I’m not sure why I continue to fall into the trap of watching these romantic dramas that overuse cliches that have been done hundreds of times before. It’s the biggest reason why I stopped watching American romantic comedies because they’re mostly all the same. However, perhaps it’s because I’ve seen enough refreshing takes on the genre in K-Dramas that I remain hopeful, that there are still a few gems out there. This series isn’t one of them.

Once again, we have the super-wealthy man who swoops in for the plain working girl. We’ve seen this duo so many times, that it’s literally become tiresome. It’s also insulting that women today—in any part of the world—are made to feel that the “jackpot” is still the rich man. Look around, and you’ll probably find that many such relationships don’t last or end well.

There is little innovation or creativity in this series. It’s about as predictable as you could imagine. It follows this predictable formula: wealthy son has a problem, so he’s a bit of a recluse. Wealthy son has a parent who is unhappy with him and, of course, he disapproves of the girl he likes and is told to get rid of her. Always a power struggle between the guy and a sibling or rival. Regular girl doesn’t have much self-esteem and struggles to make ends meet. Regular girl begins to question her value as soon as any objection is made against her, especially by his parents. Wealthy guy miraculously recovers from his problem, usually with the help of the girl, and we see him begin to soften and see life in a different way. Wealthy man treats the girl to many exotic events that nobody could possibly experience (bought out restaurants, amusement parks, lavish hotel rooms, etc.) as if this is the only way to enjoy each other’s company. Everything is miraculously wrapped up in the last episode so that everything ends on a happy note.

What we end up having is a very predictable series where we already know what’s going to happen from the very start. This formula is used in nearly every Hallmark movie ever made. In fact, I wondered if the writer stole their template to use for this series. It wouldn’t surprise me.

The series could have been brave and chosen to go off in a totally different direction. Perhaps the guy gives up his wealth to pursue his own dreams and happiness. Or how about this? Why can’t the woman be the wealthy one and the guy be the regular shmo? Because culturally, we still live in a world where women continue to believe that ultimate happiness lies with a wealthy man, which is beyond sad. It’s pathetic because it’s so completely untrue.

Gu Won (Lee Jun Ho) is the reclusive son of a wealthy company and hotel owner. His mother suddenly disappears from his life at a young age, and he doesn’t trust people who smile. He views such actions as fake as well as insulting as if the person is hiding their true feelings. He’s not entirely wrong. There is nothing so superficial as a fake smile. He comes back to Korea after years in the UK to learn the business, even though at first, he has no interest in taking over.

Cheon Sa Rang (Im Yoon Ah) is a young woman who’s always dreamed of working at the King Hotel. It’s a place of warm memories from when she was a child, and because of her customer service skills, she finds herself moving up the ladder to King the Land—an exclusive VIP floor of the hotel, only for the very richest of people who demand special service. She’s very good at her job, and when she’s asked to interview Gu Won for a promotional scheme, of course, there is immediate friction, especially when he demands that she stop smiling.

As you can already guess, these two are whisked away alone (you have to hand it to the writers who scheme to come up with some plausible way to force these two characters to be alone in order to break the ice!), and they begin to learn about each other. The sad part is that by the end of the third episode, Gu Won miraculously recovers from his problem of seeing people smile. This is an area that could have, and should have, been explored much more thoroughly than it was. This was a missed opportunity.

Cheon Sa Rang has two other friends who both work under the same company. Kang Da Eul works at a duty-free shop. And Oh Pyung Hwa is a flight attendant. All three women are very immature, cowardly, and weak. Wallflowers are never attractive or appealing. Sa Rang constantly allows herself to be abused at work. Kang Da Eul is abused by her in-laws and husband. It’s sad that her little girl has more maturity than she does. And Oh Pyung Hwa has her past held against her, and she’s also abused by the pilot and co-workers. None of them ever speak up and stand up for themselves.

To be fair, Korea is arguably the most competitive country in the world. And what we see is a very cutthroat mentality in which workers are expected to fall-in and do whatever they’re told without argument or complaint. This leads to a hierarchy of those above abusing those below. In one of the high points of the series, Gu Won attempts to correct this oversight. His plan is for companies to appreciate their employees and to treat them as valuable commodities rather than throwaways. This is a philosophy that is sorely needed in today’s world, but perhaps especially in Korea. This point was actually my favorite aspect of the series, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Lee Jun Ho is the glue of this series. He has a very natural acting style that makes you appreciate his acting chops in nearly every scene that he’s in, and in many ways, he single-handedly prevents this “ship” from sinking completely.

I’ve always loved Kim Young Ok (Grandma) who dazzled us in “Hometown Cha Cha Cha” as well as “Tomorrow.” She’s a true delight in everything she does. I smiled when I saw her in her first scene.

Im Yoon Ah is the weak link in this series. this woman is like a Jekyll and Hyde actress. She's either upbeat, bubbly, and warm, or she's cold, rude, aloof, and indifferent. She has no other "speeds" which is why her range isn't very good. She has no clue how to build up a scene. She can only hit one button or the other, which really hurts her performance. Too often, she looks uncomfortable in scenes where she shouldn't be. I found it ironic that she’s the last one to smile in the wedding of the last episode. She looked so uncomfortable, and it showed. She has a good grin, but she hardly has “the best smile.” Her performance is very inconsistent and lacking believability in many scenes. I certainly won’t be watching any more series that showcase this actress. She’s decent at best.

Kim Sun Young plays Gu Hwa Ran, Gu Won’s sister, even though she looks more like his mother. While she played the character well, Gu Hwa Ran is way too one-dimensional. This was another character that should have been explored with much more depth.

Finally, we have Ah Se Ha playing No Sang Sik (Gu Won’s assistant). There is a fine line between playing the idiot and playing the funny man. The buffoon is rarely appealing, and the Thailand trip was cringeworthy and easily my least favorite part of the series. It takes someone with real acting chops to toe the line between being annoying and funny. He was easily my least favorite character of the series, making me question why he was there.

I prefer series like “Business Proposal” that showcased strong, mature women who could fend for themselves. Women who didn’t act like wallflowers who wilt under every kind of pressure, which is what we have here. “Hometown Cha Cha Cha,” “Our Beloved Summer,” “Touch Your Heart” and “Love To Hate You” were vastly superior to this series. These writers really need to start thinking outside the box instead of hammering us with the same plots and weak characters that have been done to death.

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why ???

I know that watching c drama requires patience as it’s a long haul. I still struggle with this one. why going all the way to Finland to din only Chinese people to interact with ? why is the FL so cringy? She’s a grown woman and yet shies away from any romantic interaction with her obviously smitten boyfriend who irrealistically bears it all with a smile. Hello Hidden Love! Same age and yet more realistic isn’t it ?
And then why so much food ? they spend their time in bars and restaurants eating food all the time. he’s supposed to be broke and yet feeds her endlessly … The FL is cute as a button but she’s too cringy for my taste.
Anyway, like a lot of you have replied it’s not for everyone ! It’s nice to see that we respect each other’s opinions here. Enjoy the show!

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Once again, my opinion doesn't seem to align with the majority.
I adored the first 5 episodes, liked the sixth -- but then the drama went downhill. Actually, I was slightly bored when the end credits of last episode started.

The first half of "Me and Thee" took several tropes, like the age-old "love conquers class differences", the "rich people are detached from reality" and a few others, and played with them -- inverted or subverted them, played them for laughs and so on (cf. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlayingWithATrope). Khun Thee was the perfect mix of clueless and charming, with his lakorn-style over-the-top view of how the world works, and he made me like him a lot, even though I usually despise the ultra-rich.
I adored the silliness that at times bordered on the absurd, and thought I'd understood why this series got so much praise.

But even in the first episodes it was very obvious that the post-production team was doing the heavy lifting. The precise work in the cutting room as well as the clever use of background music were what brought the comedy to the on-point timing it had. I can see that Pond ("Thee") did his best -- and he wasn't bad at all! -- but in my view, his role would have deserved an actor with the abilities to *really* lean into the absurdity of the character's quirks.
Thee and Peach are a classic comedic duo (aka "double act"), with Peach taking over the "straight man" and Thee being the "comic"; and they would have been brilliant if both actors were able to play it up much, much more, so that most of the comedy comes from their own performance and not from the work of the post production team.
Better acting abilities might have also ironed out the weaknesses of the screenplay in the second half to some degree.

Because the screenplay let me down from episode 6 or 7 onwards: It decided to pivot away from playing with the tropes to playing them straight, but not to the point where they got funny again -- and that reduced the charm of the first episodes to a minimum and left only the eye-roll-inducing cheesiness. Great comedic moments were few and far between, and that was just not enough to keep up the energy of the first half.
An excellent screenplay would have been able to keep up the comedy *and* develop the romance at the same time -- but the comedy was reduced in favour of ramping up the romance. Unfortunately, the repeated use of the same tropes -- once to play with them, then playing them straight -- doesn't work for me at all. The romance part of the script also failed for me, see below.
The writer *also* tried to give some character growth, depth and background to their main characters. On the one hand, I love some depth with my comedy. On the other, the way they did it causes inconsistencies with previously set-up characterisations.
And I don't understand why this happens again and again (Ossan's Love Thailand is another example of this) -- Thailand has some very good screenwriters, and Thai productions are often surprisingly excellent at integrating different genres into one story, and even giving it some additional depth by doing so; but with GMMTV BLs, this just doesn't happen.
Overall, the last four episodes should have been condensed into two, to keep up the comedic energy of the first half, and maybe they shouldn't have tried to make it swoon-worthy romantic, if they can neither integrate it with the comedy nor deliver a heart-felt romance.

And that is a problem that quite a few (GMMTV) productions have: If you want to make a story romantic, then commit to it and make it so.
But the love and attraction just isn't there to see. Really, have any of the people working on the drama -- writers, director, actors -- never seen a couple in the springtime of their love? I don't mean the continuous snogging of teenaged couples or explicit sex scenes. But new couples in real life (yes, exen if they are adults) can't help themselves: they touch each other often, sometimes as little as a small brush on the shoulder, they look at each other constantly, they seek to be as close to each other as possible. None of these things can be seen here. On the contrary, Peach continues to hold Thee at arms length at every turn, and stays passive whenever Thee initiates physical intimacy. It's as if he doesn't even want any of it! Up to the point that Peach initiating a kiss is somehow a big thing -- in the last episode, *after* both of them vowed to stay together.
Maybe it could have worked if the second half of the drama had reversed the roles of the "double act": Make Thee the "straight man" and give Peach the role of the "comic"; for example make his "reluctant bottom" role carry the comedy. Even if that has been done many times before, it might have given the series a second wind that could have carried it to the finish.

That Phuwin's ("Peach") acting abilities are limited only makes things worse. In emotional moments, Phuwin is not able to convey fear, grief, love or any other deep emotion to a point where I can feel with his character.
Both of these two points combined make for a relationship dynamic that is severely lopsided -- from Thee's side we get the over-the-top, I-would-die-or-at-least-buy-all-of-Thailand-for-him romance, from Peach's side we get a grudging friendship.

Other than that (and let's not speak about the ubiquitous product placements, which were occasionally, but not often enough, well integrated into the script), there were some holes and contradictions in the way some points were resolved. Which is not a problem per se in a comedy of the style they had in the first half -- and could have been used to keep the drama on the silly, even absurd side of things. But it wasn't, see above.


Was it good?
The first half was brilliant, especially due to excellent use of cuts and background music. But then a combination of unfocussed writing and average acting made the comedy lose its steam and the series lose its charm.

Did I like it?
As with most GMMTV productions, this was an easy watch. But while I loved the first half, I was bored by the second.

Would I recommend it?
I don't think so. But "Me and Thee" is adored by many, so I recommend that every one should see for themselves.

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IT'S A CANNONBALL

Firstly, there are tropes you'll agree with me are made for some countries and just incase another country adopts it even if by chance and executes it well enough, that's going a bit higher and matching up to a standard. Originally Thai BL'S from being as scanty as 15 shows annually between 2018-2021, every trope was good enough because for the first time it felt new since we were having BL couples instead of heterosexual ones but after that 2022-2023 was a massive wave of close to 80+ BLS in each. The exposure was good but it seemed that some plots either felt too bland, some actors aren't the right choices for the shows or simply, BL fans are getting bored and we are looking for something unique.

Here is THE SIGN. First and foremost, the fact that this is the first Thai BL original that deals with Special forces was enough to intrigue me and just as I had mentioned that I felt this kind of plot had become more of a western monopoly a part of me was rather eager. The trailer delivered it well to have me quite expectant but after watching the first episodes I say the long uneasy wait was worth it. Of course the Special Investigation Forces part of it might feel unreal and rather having it too easy if you're to compare with Western Series like FBI and GANG RELATED. No offense, for Thailand I do respect that they could take this gr8 shot and it doesn't bother me that much since it was never the gist of the story so it didn't occupy space unnecessarily.

Also considering the fact that we are moving out of the bedrooms and condos and getting more into the real adult world. I felt that highschoolers and campusers had overdone it and for some reason high school and university settings were making the BL STORYLINES lose an aroma. We have seen from Until We Meet Again back in 2019 the notion of lost lovers but never a profound and rather intensely chaotic couple like Celestial lovers who were never meant to be which makes the sign yet another one of those BL series that is exceptional.

I equally came to admire the fact that the character design here is quite mature and we are moving away from some stupid couple fights which were starting to get annoying to some point. We have seen love that challenges gender and social norms in my perspective but never one which challenges religious ones like the Sign which I had always anticipated at some point. The Lovestory of Billy and Babe unlike many challenges what you would considered some of the most powerful cosmic forces in existence.

Thirdly, finally beating an office romance, you’ll find out from this show how it is very cute when a special agent is playing hard to get and another is practically a naive big baby that's struggling at expressing themselves. Of course even if there is a progression of feelings, the top knotch of this chemistry is that two people with different personalities start to create a common ground for intimacy

New faces and ships to the genre who have gotten their jobs right is also the real deal, I don't believe that being a rookie actor justifies one to be a bad actor and in any case The Sign proves it right. Everyone seems to comprehend, fit in their role and even grow in it with literally every scene that it starts to feel more like a sincere portrayal than a very flat pretense. I have seen series that have gone South when they could have been better because of this annoying excuse.

Besides, the Supernatural fantasy in a cop drama hits different and right, Billy literally flirts the scene well and quite unobviously which keeps the show interesting, these guys are so past the point of stereotyping gay couples as sweet people with nothing to do, for once I feel a gay couple has real work to do in line with promoting law and order now you get to see them in action and in a way even offering a civil service apart from struggling with anger issues, overkissing and I think I literally LMAO at the fact that these guys each had way many sex dreams or thoughts.

All in all the pacing of the series seems quite right and after all this I can certainly say, coming from Thailand, they have found a way to end the year and begin a new one in style by giving us a show that is quite unique and hints on personal and spiritual diversities which have been confined to perfection and give us an unspoken warmth, sweetness despite the cruel designs of the world, fate and karma which make you see how every character lives every day as if it were their last.

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Lazy writer

I watched episode 15 last night and thought, "Wow, I haven't seen a Korean drama adopt an Indian soap opera style before." I had been watching patiently week by week, hoping the writing would improve, but it didn't. It mixed up everything: divorce, a mean mother-in-law, cancer, memory loss, etc.—you name it. I thought the writer was being creative in offering something new because people said the writer was a big deal. However, it turns out the writing is just like a story created by a middle-schooler on Wattapp.

I know for sure this drama will be successful in terms of viewership since the writer went back to basics by having good-looking casts and glamorous styles. This recipe guarantees ratings. But, it makes the work look cheap. No wonder the Baeksang tossed this drama out of the window by only giving it one nomination (even though the committee might regret this later and wish they had given zero nominations to this series).

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