Reviews

My favourite duo

It kind of got me all giggling when Zhao Wumian was so serious telling that courtesan that only the woman he would marry would be allowed to touch him, and then acting kind of shy and stuttering while discussing with Lin Lusheng whether he's ever been in love. Is that a bit of foreshadowing there, eh? 😉🤭To be fair, I find myself enjoying the duo of Lin Lusheng and Zhao Wumian the most. 😏 Liu Runming's character, Yun Zhishui, seems like a righteous hero always trying to do the right thing (despite the roles I've seen him play in vertical short dramas). The younger one, Shi Tingyu, seems a bit too young and like he should be the most protected, while the fourth one, Han Fengyi, gives off more of a flirty vibe, even if I've seen him the least.

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YAGAMI DIDN’t CONFESS TO YUIKA YET HEHEHE . . .

this episode was a pretty standard affair with getting yuika into the sunday groove. this is also a comedy so she’s also going to have to fuck up but the fuck±up will be magnified ten+count. which i was ready to dismiss until the line ’’ you have an unyieldin g charm that attracts people ’’ because it’s true. that’s what sparked me in the first episode ，how human & genjuine yuika was. i was really surprised in how immediately undeified akutagawa was adter the first episode. it brings him down to earth closer with the rest of the people of shimokita sundays. i did end up satisfied with this episode & am still invested in the next

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pretty sure i aint wrong - but idk if i am…

pretty sure i aint wrong - but idk if i am right... as i haven't watch all of the roles Park Ji Hoon has played - but everyone i have watched, he is this depressed, sad, somber character & weirdly i feel bad for the actor, that has to mentally always be in that head space, pretty sure it isn't easy to brush off at the end the day... ***************************************************************so was sad that by the end of this ep Seong Jae failed his quest, but guess this could be smooth sailing from the start, there need to be hurdles for him to overcome. so can't wait to see how this develops - how he remains in his post & who the guy that washed-up was & how he is connected.

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Chaotic, yet very intriguing start...

The show starts off on a very intriguing note. The royal concubine, Kang Dan-Sim, is sentenced to death for attempting to kill the royal consort, the crown prince, and other whatnots. The choice of her execution is poison. Meanwhile, since her promotion to the rank of Bin, the country has suffered from famine, drought, and other difficulties, and a comet has been in the sky throughout that entire period. Well, I already suspect she’s been framed! It feels like some shamanistic rituals were used to cause all those disasters, especially since the show already features so much cosmic energy and forces of nature. 🙄🤔But long story short—she refuses to drink the potion multiple times... until they finally force it down her throat. 😯 When she draws her last breath, an eclipse darkens the sky and lightning strikes the shaman, who was supposedly performing a ritual to ensure Kang Dan-Sim survived the poisoning. 🤔 And Kang Dan-Sim doesn't die... 🫢Somehow, she wakes up in modern-day Korea as Sin Seo-Ri, an actress portraying Kang Dan-Sim on a film set in the middle of her execution scene! Even though she is quite disoriented, she soon learns that history has painted her as the villain of the era. During the chaos of her movements through the city, she manages to meet our male lead—the CEO of Biojei, Cha Se-Gye. And what chaos they create! 🤭🤩 The dynamic there is already immensely drawing me in. And the parallels in nature's behaviour between the past and present really hook me as a viewer. 🤗🤭🤪I am quite sure there’s some larger mystery around those events because nature didn't act normally and I think the accusations were false. Plus, we never saw the King’s face! Only his chin, hidden in half-shadows... That alone creates suspicion. Will we meet the King in modern-day Korea? Maybe they didn't show his face so the viewers wouldn't know who he is yet? 🤔I must say—the start is great, and I’m already quite invested in the story and characters! 👍😉

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Settling accounts, Chen’s perfect gift and QingLan stakes a claim😂

I am relieved Ye Xian wasn’t trying to dig up dirt on Chen like Zhang was. But what was discovered is that Fu removed all the incriminating evidence on him. There is a basic rundown of everybody else with an average of 10 serious charges against them. Fu has really placed himself well and is the most powerful next to crown prince. The family team up on daddy Gu and decide they are entitled to 100k as compensation. Lian is becoming the petty tyrant of the girls and there seems no end in sight of her mean spirited acts. Her maid pays the price by being forced to be an accomplice. Things reach a head when she goes through Lan’s room demanding things. They fight over a necklace that ends up broken and Lan has a nice slap mark on her face when JinZhao intervenes. When she hears the outrageous sum they think they are entitled to she rebuts with giving appropriate compensation via info from ledgers and that gma would dispense it. She also demands compensation for the necklace Lian broke. Things are far from settled because even though JinZhao was quite fair in compensation, gma decided that the businesses profits would be shared after a year. This was actually not a bad proposal for the entire family to benefit but Lian’s mom proves apples don’t fall far from the tree. She is angry and feels slighted not getting her way so this isn’t over yet. Lian continues her meanness by pushing Lan’s maid into the pond. Lan retaliates by meeting up with Lian’s betrothed. He is a troll and shouldn’t marry anybody. He reminded me too much of Wang Zan.😝Lan is smart and knows his family wants to break off his engagement because her uncle is never going to get promoted. She knows that her father knocked down to 7th rank makes her even less likely to be accepted by his family and she runs away. Lian actually deserves him but this will be interesting to see what happens. Chen and JinZhao had a walk by the temple. The setting is perfect and they can speak comfortably and privately. Who knew the most sentimental wedding gift he could give her was an undated divorce decree? He even left a second copy with gma Ji. He is the one that understands her biggest fear is losing her freedom. He truly had nothing else to offer her possession wise she would remotely want. This decree offered her freedom at any time for any reason. He shouldered the blame for her wanting departure and wished her a life of happiness as she chose to spend it. Her single tear on the document was a poignant moment. He gives her choice to stay because she wants to not because she is obligated in any way. There are no strings attached and no secret agendas for politics or property. He could not have given her a better declaration of love. ❤️ There is a reason he made four drafts of it first. He finally tells his mom his choice and she is unhappy. But as he lays down the reasons of his choice and the fickleness of the court when power shifts and positions lost, his sister sees the bigger picture. Mom is still not thrilled at all but she knows he has made up his mind. I think she also knows he really loves her and will not deviate from his choice. So she resigns herself and tells him to do as he pleases. I really hope when she meets JinZhao she will learn to love her. JinZhao could really use a mother figure that cares for her and she will not find that in the Gu family. There was tension between the daughter in law and other brother in law… there is some story there. Ye Xian gets a visit from QingLan who boldly told his guards she was considering being the commandant’s wife and they better let her in.😂🤣These two have a very lengthy stare down and neither gives way. He then pulls out his meds to show her what a weak boy he was.😂🤣 She was not the least bit concerned and then directly asked him about JinZhao. 😂🫣 He’s taken aback by the question but she gives a list of all the things he has done for her…including his wingman white kitty. 😂🤣 She reminded him she could do her homework on people too. She successfully stunned him to the same degree JinZhao tends to do. This throws him off because he didn’t think that was possible. This young lady has gotten under his skin and he doesn’t know what to make of it. I was afraid at first she was going to be a petty bully like Lian but she is as feisty and independent as JinZhao. I am not sure I can picture their life together like I can with Chen and JinZhao. But if they paired up life would never be dull for either of them. I find myself wanting her to succeed in her quest of conquering Ye Xian.

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Dealing with unjust judges

JinZhao is doing well presenting her case but the judge is claiming out of his jurisdiction. She gets his attention with Sun because this crime is local. He is still dragging feet so,she opts for the grievance drum to get her case heard. This is usually accompanied by 40 lashes unless it gets approved by a local official. The irony is that daddy Gu is in the perfect office to approve his own investigation. While he is jailed he has not been officially charged and still holds his office. So the drum is beaten and Chen is worried because they had discussed this as not being an option for her. The judge is being pressured to dismiss the case but when she brings in the body of the missing official it is something that cannot be ignored. Wang had sent his own men out to find the body, but crafty JinZhao diverted them with a fake and brought the real body to the courtroom. She also implied he was murdered and when he was saying that could not be proved until an autopsy she interrupted him again. He’s annoyed wanting to know what it is this time?😂She proclaims to the people her father was framed and offers 3000 bags of grain and 50K taels of silver to provide relief for the people. Instead of revolting they are telling the judge Gu was obviously framed and he needs to release him. While this is going on Chen and YeXian have a conversation about Zhang and Wang. The Song family bribed many and all their dealing were recorded by an old accountant with an old ledger. He recommended YeXian bring both back. This will get rid of both of their problems. YeXian and the accountant were attacked on the way back by Wang’s men and a combo of YeXian’s guards and Chen’s archers took care of them. The accountant was quite willing to cooperate after that. YeXian made me smile when the arrow buzzes by them and he notes Chen’s men in the outskirts. He and the leader exchange nods and he goes back to looking bored in his carriage.😂The crown prince tho quite young is a smart cookie and gets to the crux of things rather promptly. He is familiar with the Ji family but wants to know the connection with the Gu’s. He is made aware that JinZhao is the connection between the families. Chen intrigues Fu by asking for a meeting. Chen requests mercy for the Gu’s because he is interested in JinZhao. Fu remembers her from the spring outing and gets a sly grin at the young man in love. Chen is a master of getting the right thing done even by wicked plotting officials. When all the granary officials were in the same room he noted the degree of corruption and how under other circumstances this would be investigated even further. It had nothing to do with him being concerned for the people but the extent of the money he wasn’t seeing.😝 He doled out punishments and had Gu knocked down to 7th rank and relocated to a poor province to be better aware of what poverty felt like. Chen was removed from his duties and the rest were treated according to rank with the top officials being held most accountable. Fu and Emperor are discussing things when YeXian brings in the ledger. Wang is brought in and will now be tried for his wife accepting 3800 taels of silver. While his punishment is being considered and the crown prince not wanting his job vacant, YeXian reminds him Chen is still in prison. Fu sees things lining up too neatly but he cannot complain or he will incriminate himself. Ya gotta love the irony of Chen departing while Wang is entering. Wang really isn’t concerned because his buddy Zhang is in charge of the prison. He starts sweating a bit when he learned Zhang was also in trouble about the grain and his enemy YeXian is now in charge. The Gu men arrive home and everybody is greeted but daddy Gu. I guess his demotion didn’t put him in the same tier with the rest of the family. JinZhao was shopping and Lan at least acknowledged him, but he was the lone figure going back to the house. The scene moves to a door where only the token is honored. It is the penal colony equivalent of the mute guarded hall of the nobles. He Xian notes the chest with intel on Chen. We know he has stuff hidden about his canal days and Ye Xian knows where to find it. The scene then moves to JinZhao trying to locate Chen. She is so tentative with the whistle but then he’s there embracing her. I totally hate the hat but that shows her his rank is restored and things are settled for now. JinZhao has made progress with her family and is known by name up to the crown prince himself. Chen is paving the path for them to be married with no naysayers blocking the way. He is indeed a very clever man.

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A compelling, dramatic episode

This is a very interesting episode with multiple plots moving forward and some great acting performances. In particular, in wrapping up the complex-by-itself Weeping Child case, this episode features a wonderful dueling ladies conversation between Consort Wei (played by Ma Rui) and Lady Wang (played by Hu Ji Xin). The tension and verbal sparring between these two is both subtle and intense and I really found Hu Ji Xin's performance, brief as it is, to be magnetic. Hope she gets a main actress role at some point. And then in the final climactic reveal conversation where it becomes clear just who's child was actually inside Lady Wang when she was murdered, the verbal sparring between Ma Rui (again) and Bai Lu is so powerful. Bai Lu is always great at micro-expressions so her cold cruel prosecutor mode delivery is so good. The way she dominates and breaks down the Consort Wei - a woman who is probably used to _always_ being in command of situations is fantastic.

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