Reviews

Amazing!

I finished Save Me feeling pretty shaken, to be honest. It’s not the kind of drama you watch to relax — quite the opposite, it’s really heavy. The story revolves around a family that gets involved with a religious cult, and from that point on it’s just pure tension. What hit me the most was the constant feeling of helplessness, like the characters were trapped in a situation with no way out.

The female lead, especially, made me feel anxious the whole time. It’s distressing to watch everything she goes through and how the people around her either ignore it or are unable to help. And that’s what makes it even scarier: the show really highlights how powerful psychological manipulation can be, to the point of completely controlling someone’s life.

Another thing I thought was very well done was the atmosphere. Everything feels dark, uncomfortable, almost suffocating. There’s not much relief, no “cute” moments to break the tension — it’s a drama that keeps making you more and more tense as you watch.

But at the same time, that’s exactly what makes Save Me so good. It doesn’t try to romanticize anything or soften reality. It’s heavy, sometimes even hard to watch, but it hooks you in a way that makes it impossible for you to stop.

Overall, I’d say it’s an excellent drama, but not for just any moment. You need to be prepared for something more serious and disturbing. Still, it’s definitely worth it — especially if you enjoy more psychological and intense stories.

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A great drama, nothing less expected from the director.

The actors wren't my favorites but surprised me and I loved their performance and chemistry (again thank you Zheng shu)
The first half was so relaxing and cute, I really enjoyed the time in the village, the middle was cool and adventerous wich I love when the fmc is a fighting badass and goes on an adventure and finds loyal male friends XD. But here, the focus shifted only on her, we saw seldom the male lead and so their chemistry dwindled a little bit.
The last third of the drama was stereotypical "lets find out the treason plot a few years ago and get revenge" wich was actually a bummer for the vibes but I still liked it. I generally like familiar themes in dramas :)

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A sharp blade hidden in a jar of sweet honey

DID MY HEART BREAK? YES.
BUT DID I WILLINGLY SUBJECT MYSELF TO THIS EMOTIONAL TORTURE? ALSO, YES.

10/10 - GAVE ME A GOOD CRY!

The story unraveled with the grace of a poem and the beauty of a hauntingly divine painting. The bittersweet end felt like the only fate that ever made sense. Thankfully, the director was merciful to us this time and the ending wasn't left entirely bitter and full of suffering. It felt like he wanted to appease his viewers by sharing scenes from an alternative reality where things didn't end up badly — such as if they were born as ordinary humans. The time rewind that ultimately resulted in defeating Jiu Ying was also a success, so the bitter reality of those who had passed away, were reversed. It definitely brought me to a lot of tears, but the ending was nicely done. Very merciful for a Guo Jingming drama. 😂

As usual, he was also very poetic when he wrote the story. I cried when I realized how the name of Ji Ling changed in meaning — in the last episode, he introduced himself as 寄灵: 人生如寄的寄, 心有灵犀的灵.

Originally, the first Ji Ling (纪灵) signified his role as a "Spirit Vessel" of Chi Wen, implying he is burdened by his duty as the "dragon deity". Upon his death, he wanted his tombstone to write Ji Ling as 寄灵, meaning "temporary stay", recognizing that he was just someone whose existence is temporary, fragile, borrowed. Finally, when he met Wu Yi again, he introduced himself to her as Ji Ling (寄灵) to mean a "soul connection," it was so romantic it was like him saying his heart is in sync with his hers, such a lowkey way to confess that even in a fleeting life, their hearts recognize each other.

Guo Jingming, you're truly ahead of your time. It was another beautifully written drama.

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I need to finish this series!

1. The good:
- What a fresh take on Justice Bao and the gang!
- It's hilarious!
- It doesn't take itself seriously.
- Bao Zheng! Bao Zheng's moon scar is like that of Sailor Moon! Bao Zheng's henshin LMAO. Bao Zheng being an unabashed fanboy/idol chaser!
- Gongsun Ce mothering, fathering and getting violent with everyone there LOL. He's such a contrast to the calm, gentle Gongsun Ce in the original series.
- I'll only accept Kenny Ho, Yan Yi Kuan and Ian Yi as Zhan Zhao. This version, he is such a cat.
- Bai Yu Tang is a great addition to the story! His dynamic with Zhan Zhao rivals that of...
- Pang Ji and Bao Zheng!
- Pang Ji as a flamboyant flower boy is everything. He went from the loathsome original to such a baby boy here.
- Even Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, Ma Han are their own persons here! In previous series, they simply stood guarding and doing menial tasks. Justice indeed.
- It actually has good stories and cases. I'm just too distracted with its unseriousness and goofiness.

2. The sad:
- For some reasons, I haven't finished this series. Have I been afraid of shelving something this crazy good and hilarious?
- I remember the some of the female characters... don't look good at all.
- It isn't popular or widely available online ;_; People need laughters in their lives... need this series.
- I read SPOILERS that Pang Ji and Bao Zheng will stop being frienemies at the end.... Noooooo, their dynamic is amazing. Maybe cannot watch anymore because of this SE.

Conclusion: Great, daring comedy of Justice Bao and co.

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Just watch it

Yes-Just watch it.
If you’re here, you’re already drawn to this kind of story—so don’t overthink it. You won’t regret it.

It begins lightly—hunters, demons, the usual thrill. But slowly, you realize the drama truly lives up to its name: “Veil of Shadows.”

Notice—it’s not shadow, it’s shadows.
Every episode peels back a new layer, and with each twist, trust becomes a luxury you can’t afford… not even for the main leads.

As the story unfolds, secrets surface, and the tone grows heavier, darker—pulling you deeper into its world..

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Beautiful yet tragic, as expected from GJM

Storyline:
Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole drama with the endless plot twists. I like how all the storyline starts adding up and truth slowly unravels as the drama progressed. Every character had their own backstory and each and every backstory was really well written.

Acting:
GJM really did a good job casting all the actors for their roles. The character’s anger, grief and happiness were really well portrayed by every actor. You can really hear the desperation in their voices when they are unable to save their lovers from the cruel fate. The crying scenes really evoked a sense of sadness when watching too.

Music:
In the first few episodes, they might have overused the BGM a little too much that I got a little annoyed. But no worries, it was cut down as the drama progressed. As for the respective OSTs, they are in my daily Spotify playlist now so that speaks for itself.

Cinematography & costumes:
I gotta say the costumes are one of the best of I have seen in recent cdramas. Their hairstyles and headpieces were really intricately done and fits each of the roles perfectly. The fight scenes and settings are really well put together and visually appealing too.

Will definitely rewatch this soon

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This is the story of a capitalist demon in the form of a young woman

This drama is essentially a 36 hr therapy session for xia xiaolan. 36 episodes filling in the holes in her life, healing the scars left behind by a world she felt unmoored in.

Everything she lacked in life, she gained. every wound she had was healed.

And in a way, it also existed to fulfill all of our fantasies too, as viewers.

Nothing goes wrong, everything is right.

She got to experience a life where she didn’t hold herself back. Where she took control of her life, instead of letting it control her.

It was so perfect that at times, nobody felt like a real person, including her.

This drama was xia xiaolan’s dream and, as per the CCP, all dreams must come to an end.

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Started strong and then it starts to melts

Justice Bao has been a childhood favorite figure for me ever since I've watched the 1993 series. So far, none of the other variations have been better but this one looked promising. Unlike the 1993 series, this one starts off with his "legendary" birth and progresses through his career and a few of his famous cases.

Not sure why they depicted him as someone who seems to be on the spectrum but fine. I still thoroughly enjoyed a large first portion of the series as the progression was on point and the politics were intricate. But when it came down to latter two arcs, I don't know what happened but the plot flow just drops off and slowly disintegrated into a melodramatic mess. All the growth of involved characters gets watered down, the events become muddled, and the relationships all become hollow. It is quite disappointing considering how strong the first half or so of the episodes were. Perhaps it's from trying to ram too much into only 54 episodes.

Overall, it's likely a decent watch for those who do not have the type of attachment I have with the Justice Bao variation I grew up with. Note that this is a somber political series with minimal romance and humor.

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not the fun kind of messy

Overall: I don't care how much sex and skin a story shows, if I dislike the characters and plot the NC scenes are useless. Note there is something that might be triggering played as comedy in episode 9.13 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on Oxin's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcQaxIPsTWdNIYHcBRfjlLX46Pm4vZt-z&si=VrUDYkjloUYpYCJL

Content Warnings: episode 9 had a fake gang rape played as comedy (which I found ZERO funny), punches, fight, manipulation, doctor/patient romantic relationship

What I Liked
- visuals
- the dad did talk to his son in episode 3 about what was happening
- not sure how the characters came to the decision but it was a good decision, episode 13 15:30-end

Room For Improvement
- 3 cis men fake gang raping a trans woman for comedy in episode 9 was atrocious
- episodes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 were totally skippable
- NC scenes had zero impact since everyone was cheating/jumping to different partners
- was the intro made for 3D glasses, it hurt my eyes
- side eyeing a character who didn't bring another character to the hospital (was explained later, he should have his license revoked)
- cheating
- love triangles
- do not care about the boat boys & the captain
- not sure exactly what happened with the side couple's drama unless I missed a specific scene, one minute they were having a romantic dinner and then next everything went to crap, they kind of explained it later

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THIS DRAMA IS A GOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just love this drama so much..
The casts, story line, plot, cinematography, ost, everything are so so so so perfect
I've been waiting for this drama to be aired. And I am so satisfied with the result.
The way this drama brings so many emotion tho.. I lost count how many I've been cried while watching this...
This drama is so well made. I don't think word can describe how incredible this drama is.
It is so worth watching. I highly recommend this drama to the people who haven't watch it yet.

ps: This is my first drama of Tian Jiarui.. ngl he is INDEED an awesome actor. His acting is incredible. His eyes alone hold so much emotion (even there's no line, his eyes alone could told the audience what emotion he;s trying to portrait

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I was really enjoying Phantom Lawyer (2026) for what it was trying to do. Up until episode 10, it was a solid 8/10—engaging cases, decent pacing, and characters that actually kept me invested.

But episode 11 (released on 17 April 2026) completely changed things for me.

This case wasn’t just disappointing—it was frustrating because of how badly it tried to whitewash everything. The show bends over backwards to make a criminal look sympathetic, just because she’s old now.

What the “granny” did in her youth wasn’t some small mistake. It was straight-up manipulative and cruel—basically SFL-level evil tactics. She destroyed another woman’s life to get the man she wanted, even going as far as killing the real female lead of that story. That’s not something you soften with regret 40 years later.

And the way the show tries to justify it is honestly ridiculous.

“Police got me before your letter, so you’re not the one who sold me out”—like… what?
That doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t undo what she intended to do. The crime is still the crime.

Then comes the so-called “redemption.”

She offers 33% of the company like it’s some grand gesture—but that share was already rightfully the victim’s. She’s not doing something generous, she’s just partially correcting her own wrongdoing.

And even that makes no sense.
Who just gives away 33% of a company like it’s a pamphlet?

What about 40 years of dividends from those shares?
What about the life that was stolen?
What about the moral theft of living someone else’s place, their relationship, their future?

The ending just turns into pure sugarcoated fairytale nonsense where everything is wrapped up neatly, and the weight of the crime just disappears.

And the male lead being sympathetic to everyone? That made it worse. You can’t expect the audience to feel the same for the victim and the person who caused all the suffering. That kind of forced moral balance just doesn’t work here.

Because of all this, I had to cut 3 points straight.
My final rating dropped to 5/10.

It’s disappointing, because the show had potential—but in the end, it chose fantasy over accountability.

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A drama with the greatest love story and most shocking plot twists

I am the type of viewer who doesn't like to watch fantasy dramas. But this drama has completely changed my mind. I decided to give it a chance after seeing the high-profile cast, and it didn't disappoint. I witnessed the greatest love story of C-dramaland and the most shocking plot twists. This drama shows plot twists every minute. No episode felt boring to me. The cast, acting, visuals, ost, and everything else are 100/10. Every side character is very important to the plot, and each has a beautiful life story. Not a single character is unnecessary, and you will understand it in the final episode. When they appeared together in the final episode, it gave Avengers vibes, but in the Chinese version, I got chills. It deserves awards from every year-end award show, and I'm not kidding. The love story of Ji Ling and Lu Wuyi is so heart-wrenching that it makes one cry in every episode. They have left a deep impression on my mind. It is like one of those stories that can inspire writers to write poetry, love songs, and novels.

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