Reviews

Give me 14 of these!!!

This isn't just a show. This is a masterpiece.

It's about a woman who just wanted a home, a family, a peaceful life.
It's about women who were betrayed, who were evil, who were cunning.
It's about women who were strong, who were smart, who were kind, who just wanted to survive.
It's about women who were scapegoats, who were used or were tools, who stayed loyal till the end, and who fought together.

Each of them was so complex. Women who had their own dreams and goals, who had their own views and ideologies, who were wrongfully executed, and who fought for others' justice.

Yes, it had amazing male characters too. Even the villain guy was so smart (I have to give it to him). But the series sooo WOMAN iykwim.

The series doesn't start with revenge. Initially, revenge wasn't the plan or the plot (and I like that). Around the middle, it got a little boring, but by the 19th and 20th episodes, things got so interesting I couldn't stop watching. Not to mention the twists and turns waahhh!!

About the romance, which is not at all the point of this drama, I am glad they kept it so minimal. Even though they clearly had feelings, it would have been weird to show "romance" in between all that chaos. It won't suit the characters. Still, whatever scenes they showed were beautiful. Both ml and fl stuck with their own plans till THE VERY END.

It was such a long journey, and it was worth the happy ending ♡

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A handsome main lead, high-quality production, a good cast, and fanservice

This is a very decent vertical drama. Of course, a magnificent full-length adaptation of the same novel exists, but it’s not worth comparing them—the creators had completely different goals and resources. In general, Jiu Lu Fei Xiang's novels deserve all kinds of adaptations in all kinds of formats, and this vertical mini-drama looks very watchable.

Granted, the plot turned out to be a bit rushed, but there are no major pacing drops or inconsistencies; it’s more about things being left unsaid. And honestly, I think it’s a good thing that the creators didn't try to cram the uncrammable. Instead of focusing on the intricate geopolitical relationships between the two states, they dedicated screen time to fanservice and artistic techniques popular in this format. Because let’s be honest: vertical dramas are not so much about the plot as they are about romance, aesthetics, and/or sensuality.

There is plenty of aesthetics here! You get close-ups emphasizing the leads' lingering glances, wide shots with falling snow, beautiful costumes, and decent sets. There is also a lot of romance, and it’s very aesthetic—kisses, gentle touches, and long looks. For the most part, the focus of the story is shifted precisely to the leads' love rather than war and palace intrigues. And I wouldn't say the story lost much because of it.

Moreover, the production values are excellent. Sometimes you watch these shows and cringe at the amateurish execution, but that’s not the case here. The production doesn't look cheap or half-baked. The framing, camera angles, lighting, and editing are all at a decent level for this format. I was especially pleased with the ability to handle lighting in the frame—something that is often ignored in vertical dramas.

But the biggest highlight of this drama is the cast.
Yan Zi Xian is a recognized star of short-form dramas. The camera loves him, and we, the female audience, love him too. He is great at acting out that devoted, lovesick gaze from the bottom up, and the director shamelessly takes advantage of this. His character turned out to be an amazing combination of vulnerability and hidden strength: one moment he seems loyal and defenseless, and the next, he is ready to do anything for the one he loves. Both of his images were wonderful—the naive, lovesick "supersoldier" in the first half, and the prince tangled up in his own feelings in the second half.

I liked Guo Yu Xin in the role of the female general. She is stern enough in armor and pretty enough in a dress. She doesn't display a massive emotional range, but this fits the character's personality perfectly. However, against the backdrop of the ML, she got slightly lost for me.

Wang Rui Zi fit the role of the third wheel in the love triangle perfectly. His Crown Prince looks moderately arrogant, moderately crazed due to his love for the FL, and moderately miserable because his love is unrequited. I especially liked that the line between obsession and sanity was well-maintained—without villainous laughter or theatrical monologues.

The musical accompaniment was also great—it didn't pull attention away from the story but only heightened the emotion of the scenes. The costumes are luxurious yet not overly gaudy. Pretty hairpins and guans with long chains—not entirely logical when it comes to the ML, to be honest, but highly aesthetic.

Another feature of this drama is its humor. Before the ML regained his memory, the way he hilariously demonstrated his loyalty to the FL was sometimes on the verge of absurdity. But it was funny, not cringey. Later, as it often happens, the humor gives way to drama. However, there is no heavy angst here, and subjectively, that is another huge plus.

An interesting fact for me personally: this is one of the few dramas where periods are mentioned. The ML’s care for the FL while she is suffering from "women's illness" looks funny but very touching.

Overall, this mini-drama is well worth the couple of hours spent on it. A handsome main lead, high-quality production, a good cast, and fanservice—this is more than enough to get enjoyment from watching.

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What a letdown...

At first the plot did intrigue me as it was for once something rather new (apart from wandee goodday) and i was indeed hooked during the first 4 episodes, but then everything slowly went downhill... the story had so much potential but ultimately the writers/directors didn't do it justice. And it also didn't help that the characters felt 2 dimensional and rather stiff. None of the couples' chemistry felt natural and ultimately failed to pull me in. I can overlook a boring plot or plot issues/holes as long as the chemistry between the characters is good, but in this case there was nothing that kept me entertained and it was simply my (stupid) will to finish this series that kept me going until the very end.

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Do Over of Season 1, Just Weirder

First off, Season 2 of Royal Upstart was not as good as Season 1. The male lead was disrespected so much more in this season. He was referred to as Wei the Fool by so many other characters. That got on my nerves, because even though he acted foolishly and brash, he was was brilliant in knowledge. His non-related aunt got on my nerves (and her maid servant), because she seemed to always get in the way and go against him. The aunt physically hit him and hurt him. In Season 1, this same female character was the Prime Minister's wife and she was a stark ally to the male lead. They royal princess softened and more hands on when dealing with the business in Season 2; in Season 1, she had a bad temper and was pretty much hands off when it came to the business affairs. The emperor from Season 1 was more likeable than the one in Season 2. The Empress was cool, whether the one from Season 1 or the one from Season 2.

Instead of Season 2 being a continuation of Season 1, it was another version of Season 1. It was weirder. I am happy that I made it through Season 2. It was as if the two seasons were from different realities or parallel worlds.

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Nostalgic Romance held back by an Emotionally Defensive FL

## 🎬 Go Back Lover: A Toxic Autopsy of the High-IQ, Zero-EQ Romance
Go Back Lover attempts a nostalgic, "exes-to-lovers" healing narrative, but it ultimately delivers a clinical study of psychological demolition. Despite its structural flaws, the series remains an incredibly addictive, worthwhile watch for two reasons: Li Yunrui’s phenomenal acting and the infectious, lighthearted camaraderie of the cast. Whenever the two leads and their friends are simply hanging out—whether during their nostalgic high school days or later at the resort—the show comes alive with a warm, joyful energy and a delightful sense of playful banter and witty bickering.
However, as a core romance, it fails entirely. The script lazily mistakes toxic avoidance for independence, leaving the heavy lifting of genuine human growth entirely to a male lead who is systematically bled dry.

## 📉 Lu Xingyan: The White Knight’s Sunk Cost Fallacy
Li Yunrui delivers an outstanding, emotionally fluid performance that shatters any standard tropes. He captures a real man whose dignity is being slowly starved, using raw micro-expressions—the loss of light in the eyes, the nasal flare, the forced swallow, and the final desperate pivot to a drink—to convey profound devastation.
Lu Xingyan represents a masterclass in tragic codependency. Trapped by the Sunk Cost Fallacy after investing six years of youth, family resources, and unconditional protection, he repeatedly discards his pride and boundaries just to stay in her orbit. By the time he is dumped on a foreign roadside without explanation, his self-worth has been so thoroughly dismantled that he swallows his valid hurt, flying home alone to tragically blame himself for a broken heart he didn't cause.

## 🧊 Shen Xingruo: Calculated Duplicity and Negative EQ
In stark contrast, Shen Xingruo suffers from severe emotional stagnation. The script traps itself by equating academic brilliance with maturity, leaving Xingruo with negative emotional intelligence (EQ). She doesn't hide life-altering secrets—like the Germany move or a secret male flatmate—out of malice; she genuinely fails to comprehend that she is wrong.
This hypocrisy dates back to high school. As Lu Xingyan accurately notes: “You are fierce and intolerant to everyone... but in front of my mom you are like this extra sweet princess.” She actively weaponizes this persona to charm his saintly parents, while simultaneously treating the boy acting as her physical shield with unprovoked hostility.
As an adult, this deficit bleeds into glaring professional unprofessionalism. The show frames her public, screaming meltdown at an investor’s daughter as "establishing authority." In reality, barking "pack up and get out" reveals zero emotional regulation. A high-IQ producer would have used tact, shifting the argument to asset protection: "If the building is damaged, who will bear the cost of restoring a high-end resort?" By choosing raw hostility, she creates corporate chaos, relies on Xingyan's family status to clean up her mess, and then defaults to defensive rage.
She demands the full privileges of a devoted partner while paying "friendship prices." When caught in massive boundary violations, she deploys defensive reverse-gaslighting ("Is that how you think of me?"), weaponizing his normal need for security into a moral failing of "not trusting her." She rejects basic stability—like building a home—under the guise of modern independence, when it is actually just a toxic, defensive isolation that dissolves six years of devotion in a vat of concentrated emotional acid.

## ⚖️ The Ultimate Script Failure: A Toxic Echo Chamber
The core reason Go Back Lover fails as a romance is that the narrative completely abandons its male lead. Instead of an authority figure or therapist delivering a necessary reality check, the writer creates a toxic echo chamber. Her friends praise her icy walls as a virtue, while the second lead actively gatekeeps her trauma to ward off romantic rivals. No one ever forces Xingruo to face the music or accept that she bears at least 60% of the responsibility for the wreckage in Xingyan's life.
The profound irony is that the side female characters display far greater real-world bravery:
* Chen Xunran processes a painful divorce with maturity, co-existing on the show with her ex-husband.
* Shi Qin finds the breathtaking strength to escape domestic abuse and risk vulnerability with her crush.
Compared to her friends' deep resilience, Xingruo’s petty grudge—blaming Xingyan for his valid lack of trust and his volcanic reaction to her secret roommate—looks incredibly ungrateful. This is especially true considering his saintly parents raised her like their own daughter. Truly independent drama heroines use courage or quick wit to survive traps; Xingruo simply creates emotional and professional chaos, plays the princess when it suits her social standing, and relies on a good man to rescue her while the universe gaslights him into apologizing.

💔 The Client-Contractor Ultimatum: The Death of Self-Respect
The greenhouse confrontation marks the absolute destruction of Lu Xingyan’s dignity through narcissistic emotional hoarding. Shen Xingruo first disarms his pining soul with cruel validation, stating: “Our memories are most precious,” and “You are an inseparable part of my life.”Then comes the stomach-churning kicker: “Even though our Love didn't have a happy ending, I still want to be in your life... as a client and contractor.”
With that single line, 11 years of unconditional devotion, physical protection, and family wealth are reduced to a cold corporate transaction. She exploits his lingering feelings to keep him as a safety net while owing him nothing.To lock the trap, she deploys the ultimate weaponized ultimatum: “But if you don't want to see me anymore... I will leave your sight.” Threatening to vanish forces a weeping, devastated man into a corner. To avoid losing her completely, he surrenders his final shred of self-respect, offering the heartbreaking reply: “I don't want us to end up like strangers.” It is a brutal portrait of a good man thoroughly broken by emotional abuse.
The visual contrast in this moment is purely cruel. The wider her smile grows—basking in the triumphant relief that she has successfully trapped him into her client-zone—the more devastating his physical pain becomes. Threatening to vanish forces a weeping, suffocating man into a corner.

The Verdict: Come for the beautiful high school nostalgia, the fun friend-group dynamics, and Li Yunrui's heartbreakingly human portrayal of pining, but do not mistake this for a love story. It is a cautionary tale of what happens when a good man surrenders his ego to a partner who refuses to do the work to heal.

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A Story That Tells You Everything Too Soon

Dazzling is a Chinese youth romance that values familiarity more than uncertainty.

Within twenty minutes, you already know who will fall in love, who will change, who will teach the lesson, and exactly which emotions the series wants to evoke. The question is not what will happen. The question is whether you enjoy spending time with characters whose destination is visible from the very beginning.

And it is not that the story is simple.

It is that the series constantly gives away the answer.

The city girl will discover the charm of a simpler life. The rebellious boy will turn out to be kinder than he appears. Distrust will become affection. Every scene is carefully designed to guide the audience toward conclusions that feel predetermined long before they arrive.

For viewers looking for comfort, warmth, and emotional reassurance, that may be a strength.

But for someone like me, who enjoys discovering things or having a story ask questions before providing answers, the experience often feels like watching a movie with the instruction manual open beside it.

Dazzling does not seem interested in mystery. From the very first episode, it tells you exactly what kind of story it intends to be.

Whether that is enough depends entirely on what you are looking for.

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People are masses of emotion

We Are All Trying Here is my favorite K-drama in a few years. It’s from the same writer as My Mister and My Liberation Notes. Park Hae-young may be my favorite writer. As an introvert, I always relate to the characters she writes. It feels like looking at my own reflection. They are always so deeply expressive but take you on a story that makes you feel.

This drama is really what the title is saying: we are all trying. We may find someone annoying, angry, rude, jealous, or any other emotion you can think of, but really they are battling their own thoughts every day and are trying their best.

Hwang Dong-man is the type of character you just want to have soju with and talk for hours about emotions that bring sadness, but also joy and dreams. I wanted to hug this character throughout the entire drama. I think it was in the first few episodes, but there was a scene where Dong-man talked about how surprised and happy he was that Eun-ah spoke to him at the train tracks. He said that he talks too much because sometimes all he hears is his own voice, and it makes him feel less lonely.

I felt connected to him because I also sometimes feel misunderstood. I tell stories and put on a mask to fit in. No one wants to be the melancholy melody in the room. He has some of the best sayings and quotes in this drama. One of my favorites is:

“I’m going to pull up the shiny truth from the very depths of my worthlessness. Look forward to my shiny story.”

What I like most about Dong-man is that he never gives up on being a screenwriter. Even in his 40s, he continues pursuing his dream and eventually succeeds. I feel that in this generation, if you fail or quit at something by 30, people often write you off. This story was really inspiring. It was even more inspiring that he stayed positive while dealing with the trauma of finding his brother attempting to take his own life twice.

I can’t decide who my favorite character was because I was also so attached to Byeon Eun-ah. She embodies so many of my emotions. There was a sadness to her that I felt completely synchronized with while watching every scene she was in.

She was desperately lonely. She only had her step grandmother and no one who truly listened to her or understood her. Everyone made assumptions because she didn’t talk much. They saw her as self-centered and rude, but really she was just trying to survive her trauma. When she was a little girl, her mother left her and her father passed away not long afterward. The feeling that no one was coming home to her, combined with that abandonment, left her with severe emotional wounds.

She would get nosebleeds whenever she felt attacked, afraid, or angry. Those moments felt like cries for help. Throughout the story, Eun-ah and Dong-man try to understand their emotions. They receive watches from a doctor that monitor their emotional states, helping them work through their trauma and uncover the roots of their pain.

They needed each other. They saved each other.

One thing I really enjoyed was that you could clearly feel the love they had for each other, but there were no kiss scenes. Somehow that made the relationship feel even more intimate.

Park Gyeong-se and Ko Hye-jin were two other characters I really enjoyed. At the beginning, I thought they were being too harsh on Dong-man, but eventually I realized they were struggling with their own problems.

Gyeong-se is constantly competing with Dong-man and feels worthless because he believes his dramas and creativity will never match Dong-man’s. They had a great friendship when they were younger because they were on equal in success. His first successful film was actually inspired by a dream Dong-man once shared, which left Gyeong-se feeling like it wasn’t truly his own story. But in reality, we need other people because they often inspire our ideas and creativity.

Hye-jin is Gyeong-se’s wife. I found their story very touching. She quit her job as a reporter because she wanted to be involved in the film industry. She read one of Gyeong-se’s scripts and fell in love with both the story and the man who wrote it. Together they rose through the industry as Hye-jin kept believing and supporting Gyeong-se.

As the drama progresses, however, their relationship begins to fall apart. Hye-jin fell in love with Gyeong-se’s creativity and imagination, but he falls into a creative slump. Later, he starts enjoying writing again while working with his female assistant writer. Hye-jin notices that spark returning and believes he may be developing feelings for the assistant in the same way he once developed feelings for her. She ultimately asks for a divorce, telling him that if writing makes him feel alive again, he should do whatever it takes to succeed.

Hwang Jin-man—how I cried for this man.

From what I understood, his daughter went missing. He used to be a poet, but now he spends his days drinking, attempting to take his own life, and working as a welder. Every word that comes out of his mouth hits you deeply.

His brother, Eun-ah, and Jang Mi-ran eventually help find his daughter through a social media post. It felt like he could finally release the trauma that had trapped him for so many years. His daughter was his whole heart.


Jang Mi-ran was another character I really enjoyed. She is the stepdaughter of Eun-ah’s mother. I loved seeing how two daughters could have completely different relationships with the same woman.

I also appreciated how both respected each other’s feelings toward their mother. Eun-ah chose to keep her distance while still working through years of abandonment issues, while Mi-ran viewed her stepmother as her hero and wanted to care for her no matter what.

I loved the relationship between Mi-ran and Eun-ah. They understood each other and truly listened. Sometimes just spending a night sharing a drink and listening to someone’s pain can make them feel less alone. Both women were lonely for different reasons, but they found comfort and light in each other.

There were many great characters in this drama, but the ones above were my favorites.

At the end, everyone watches Dong-man’s drama and breaks down in tears because they genuinely feel the story. The series concludes with everyone drinking together, dancing, laughing, and reconnecting. Friends happy for each other.

When we’re failing, it’s easy to become jealous of what other people have. But those same people may also be barely surviving themselves. We look at everything like a door and not a window.

Each character carried their own trauma and loneliness, but somehow this drama made me feel less burdened by both of those things.


Remember, we are all trying here. Check on the people you love, but also listen to those who hear nothing but their own echoes. Sometimes being heard can make all the difference.

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If you are someone who loves and goes for the type of a drama that are full of angst, heartbreak, and intense twists, scheming,politics or in short a heavy type of genre this might not be for you.

But if you are looking for something heartwarming, relaxing, refreshing with a wholesome romace without any complicated plot then this one is something you will Definitely enjoy

this drama is a breath of fresh air.
I love how male and female lead doesnt have any annoyingly frustrating misunderstandings.. just pure healthy relationship

sometimes a simple and light hearted romance drama once in a while is actually a good of change of pace from the usual heavy dramas that focuses more on intense angst, scheming, heartbreak

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Don't get attached to any characters

I love me a good power couple drama. First of all, what a great and smart KING.
Though Gu Jin Zhao is young, she wasn't silly. I love that her character was a strong independent individual. She had a few suitors but this girl didn't settle for foolishness. Chen Xuan Qing character....they way he became obsessive was getting tiring, like dude, go find a life.
Even though Ye Xian was cray cray at times with his anger issues, he was wrong for doing that to her at the academy.
But he is a great friend to her even though he still had feelings for her to his very end.
Everyone knew that....
Chen Yan Yun and Gu Jin Zhao chemistry was so good and sometimes I keep thinking how old was his character?

I personally do not like the ending, I think the writer wasted too much time on the little family and one sided love scenes...we could have gotten a better ending with this solved and they are living happily ever after with their new family....

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dark gripping thriller, fast paced well balanced story, great performances but underwhelming ending

==There is mention of the ending in this review ==

Considering I binge watched it in less than 2 days, as a thriller it was captivating with great pacing and a plot full of suspense.
under the helm of a skilled director and cinematographer, and with near perfect performance by the main lead's, and above all a fast paced thriller with an original plot like this one, I was definitely enjoying every moment.

although I cannot deny I couldn't always bring myself to relate to the FL's choices and most of the time the extent to which she was blinded by the gold to the point she would throw her own safety as well as that of the people she cared for out the window somehow felt frustrating, and her choices when it came to who to trust and who to be wary of was based on emotions above all else, which portrayed her as a naive and gullible individual, who survived all the shenanigans caused by the heist almost all due to sheer luck and a sussy partner in crime.

The story as I said above was very original and as a thriller was well woven with an excellent pacing and enough cliffhanger and twists to keep the viewer at the edge of their seats, but what makes me give the story a lower rating was the ending. to be totally honest, I was enjoying the script in the last couple of episodes before the finale particularly because I felt it was sending the right message about "the price of greed", we came to learn about her background and upbringing, as well as her parents' backstory ; how gambling addiction and greed caused them to make poor choices which in turn made their and their daughter's life more difficult.

All of this especially the lead up at the first half of the finale, made me convinced that a rather bleak and realistic ending which involved some type of incarceration/death or at the very least a hard lesson learnt, would be most appropriate. the more she fell deeper and deeper further into the hellish hole she dug in order to secure the gold, the more I was satisfied that the story will sure be made to show how she was made to pay a heavy price for her greed, but instead of that, the ending felt rather sudden, overly simplistic, and overall off-point in light of all that came up to that point. maybe the writers were focused on creating a possibility of a sequel, but I felt like it made more sense that she would fail, die/ kill herself or have to suffer a hefty price. the story ending on such an unusually happy note felt jarring as well as rushed.

other than the underwhelmingly positive-note ending, no doubt it was a drama that I enjoyed, the thriller, action, mystery as well as the characters and the solid performances are all worthy of commendation.

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All the clichés in one show

MDL woke up and put this show on the page... I watched this a bit over two weeks ago and this was something I did not expect. This series packs every BL cliché into the story imaginable... It start's of with a drunken NC-scene and of course the "perpetrator" is in the "but I'm a man" closet... the one who let it happen is in the "he can't be touched" closet, meaning he was traumatized and does not like to be touched by anyone.

And of course you will find even more clichés like the scheming bad brother with his worse wife, the awful father and of course the standard evil "bitch" as so many BLs portray woman nowadays. And don't forget one of the MLs must be married off to increase the status and influence of his family. The difference is, I did not find myself annoyed with it. It's just a fun experience with so many ridicilous storyplots, but with the vibe that the creators did not take it seriously.

While I'm critical of most clichés because they are not executed well, this series is a persiflage of all the BLs imaginable and that makes it fun to watch. The actors did a good job, there is real kissing and even the nc-scenes are tastefully executed. The production quality was quite high for such a vertical drama. The only downside for me is, that it could have been a tad better, if they would have released it in the normal format too because it was not filmed with a smartphone. If you want something fluffy, something fun, this is for you!

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