Reviews

Mdl asked me what is important to know and I'd say: Devi

Classic Thai show which throws a bunch of tropes at the viewers for 97% of the show only to turn around and make the sweetest final episode with emotional payoff. This show feels like a dementia patient’s walking through a garden, the same path over and over but never tiring of it and i can't rate it higher than I have.

(Tbh Starhunter needs to step up it's game tbh, they always have good production values, great actors who definitely have potential, makeup is on point (honestly Dmd and gmmtv need to take notes on this count) nothing looks cheap and in theory their shows should work, but they never do.)

Sun, an actress, has always been in love with the elder sister, Rafah, of her bestie Fey. For whatever mysterious reason, neither she nor Rafah have addressed this or acted upon it until..well until Star hunter made this show? They never address why they were apart then except that Sun was overseas for some years but that doesn't explain much considering how GONE Rafah was for Sun and she'd been in Thailand for years already. It's been 9 years of unrequited crush, atleast give us the reason.

A number of plot points like Sun’s defamation, a sinister Sasaeng, her arguably sinister girlfriend Rafah, exes and all are thrown at us but the resolution is quick, easy and unsatisfactory. As for character development? What's that? Sun’s core personality point is she is a spineless goody-two-shoes and is often on the receiving end of the mattress treatment. Rafah’s personality is being an asshole to most others, clinging to Sun in a borderline psychotic manner and crossing the boundaries of healthy relationships. I love shows that explore toxic relationships but not the immature conclusion presented here.

The second leads are Fey and Peach and they didn't have much of an interesting storyline either–the tropes were also repeated for the couples like the random public kiss, media scrutiny, jealous exes etcetra etcetra.

This feels like a lot of shows back from 2021, a combustion of poorly explored tropes. One could skip twenty minutes and I assure you nothing significant will have happened. At the end of penultimate 7th episode we are yet again exposed to 10 new plot points and bestie I rushed to mdl to check whether episode 8 was indeed the last–fearing that I'd somehow gotten it wrong and it was actually 12 eps. I was not going to sit through five more episodes of this.

I still marginally like this because the actresses had chemistry. There's that one obligatory gl bubble bath scene and the way Rafah was casually moving her hands on Sun during the bubble bath? My brain was screaming! As a negative to Rafah’s possessive hotness is that there's a borderline sa scene, I say borderline because there is dubious consent, which again has little bearing on the plot itself. The show marches along with its other plotlines in tandem.

Should you watch this? If you don't mind the dubcon and are pulled by the magnetism of Atom and Devi, go ahead but really there are way too many good gls airing right now. I'm obviously in a good mood or is that Devi’s magic because I give this a 6 and the verdict is no worse than mind numbingly boring.

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Mercy, no.

Tbe intrigue was built on the schemes behind doors and crossed alliances. The reason behind it all began 11 years prior and ended at his death. Along the way, the second generation with their own grandiose plans became the engine of the sub plot. Stripped down, one by one, they all paid the price.

I like the acting, but found the plot a little lacking, the action repetitive and ml a bit tiresome. A John Wick with the same sense of dread and inevitability but without the charm. He came across too flat to be enjoyable for the long haul. I will not lie, I began rooting for the mastermind behind it all but still wanted the man with vengeance to win. How that was going to happen, go figure. Too many wasted fight scenes.

Ultimate lesson, be careful of what you wish for and the means you take to get it. Overall, it was better than most of its genre. It will keep your attention but the mismatch between the ml and the mastermind was very underwhelming. By the end, I was saying, ok die now. Incredible presence by all the actors. Just needed a little more pop in the light and less heaviness in the dark. The ending as it should be.

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Surprised!

I am surprised about a lot of things with Love Alarm. One being it's low rating!
And maybe because the promotions suggests a light rom com sort of drama, which for me was off base...I thought it was anything but...for me it was a surprisingly good and surprisingly sensitive growing up kind of story that also addresses our exponentially growing dependency on anything outside our own guts for affirmation of what we think and feel.
Hurting, learning, accepting and growing...what life's lessons are really all about.

The story arcs of our main characters were full of the complexities we all face in life. They at times handle it like any HS kid would, and at other times they were surprisingly mature in their reactions...just like HS students. No one at a certain age is suddenly what we term "adult" in their reactions to events and issues. Some reviews were frustrated with the characters reactions but when I think back to what I was like at 16 to 19 years of age...I'd be surprised if any of us could say we would have dealt with any of the issues that came up in this drama any better.
Even as adults we stumble through our lives don't we?

I also loved that none of the main characters, actually all the characters, were either "black" or "white"...just like real life, they all were shades of gray so we, in turn, loved and hated them all. Each character in Love Alarm; Kim Jo Jo, Hwang Seon O, and Lee Hye Yeong all deal with their own personal issues just as you would expect they would. Jo Jo's defensive walls dealt with, besides her original horrendous trauma, peer bullying. Seon O who lived an emotionally isolated life dealt with the pain with a devil-may-care flippancy, and Hye Yeong 's feelings of inferiority manifested as a quiet withdrawn young man...I know so many people, myself included who have dealt in the same ways with the same kinds of problems.

Like many I fought her growing away from Seon O ( a little nod to the bittersweetness of "first love"). I at first wanted them to end up together but as I watched I slowly fell truly in love with Hye Yeong and how perfect he ended up being for Jo Jo. In fact I think everyone ended up with exactly who they needed, and thus I was surprisingly satisfied with the end of this drama.
Couple that with a surprisingly good score ( that includes the haunting Blooming Story and wistful In My Little Mind) and for me this drama was a surprising pleasure to watch.

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So far, a fun watch

The first episode was slower. I try to watch the first two episodes before I drop. I’m glad I did!

This has been a fun ride so far. Full of tropes?
Yes.

But satisfying.

The character development is slower but that’s ok.

Makes me anticipate what is coming next!

The action had my toes curled in suspense.

The acting by both leads is believable and they have chemistry. Not the most ever on screen however there is a promise of more.

I will adjust my score as I watch episodes.

So far it is a pleasant watch, with just enough to pique interest ⭐️

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If I leave you, it doesn't mean I love you any less / Keep me in your heart for a while

Within the diverse landscape of Korean dramas, it is not uncommon to come across stories that raise profound questions about choices, responsibility, and the limits of human action. "Mary Kills People" fits within this tradition with a particularly delicate approach, asking the viewer not only to understand what is being told, but first and foremost to accept its premise.

Addressing a subject like euthanasia — and doing so within a complex cultural context inevitably shaped by personal, ethical, and religious sensibilities — means moving across fragile ground, where a neutral perspective is difficult to sustain. Every viewer brings their own experiences and beliefs, and the show seems aware of this, creating a narrative space where judgment is not imposed, but rather suspended.

Its premise is as solid as it is unsettling: a team that organizes the deaths of terminally ill patients according to precise, almost clinical criteria, attempting to give them a sense of control over their own fate. For this mechanism to work, however, the narrative requires a preliminary step from the audience: to accept — or at least consider — the legitimacy of this premise. This is far from a given, and it is precisely here that one of the central tensions of the story emerges. "Mary Kills People" constantly oscillates between the desire to observe this choice with clarity and the need to justify it, contain it, and at times even protect it.

When the focus shifts to people rather than cases, the drama finds its most authentic voice. So-jeong’s past, Dae-hyun’s journey, the bond between Ye-na and Gun-soo, as well as the quiet suffering of patients and their families, are moments where the narrative stops trying to prove something and simply observes. It is in these passages that the most powerful questions arise — what it truly means to suffer beyond endurance, what it means to accompany someone to the end, whether a choice can ever be truly free under extreme conditions — without the need to provide definitive answers. In these moments, the show feels more sincere, more engaging, and at times deeply moving.

At the same time, however, the drama does not seem to fully trust this dimension. As the episodes progress, the narrative expands and becomes increasingly layered: ethical reflection is joined by investigative threads, criminal elements, blackmail, and shifting alliances, along with subplots that, while interesting on their own, contribute to shifting the story’s center of gravity. The transition is subtle but noticeable: from “why” to “how,” from moral dilemma to narrative mechanics, from reflection to tension. The result is not so much a loss of interest as a dispersion of identity.

And yet, within this movement lies one of the most interesting paradoxes of the show: the higher the stakes become, the further it seems to drift from what makes it distinctive. The most effective moments are not those built on spectacle, but those grounded in simplicity — a conversation, a farewell, a shared moment. It is there that the drama moves beyond its narrative structure and becomes something more intimate, almost experiential.

So-jeong’s journey (brought to life by an intense and consistently excellent Lee Bo-young) fits perfectly within this ambiguity. She is never entirely readable, nor easily defined. Her choices seem to move between conviction, guilt, and a need for control, and the story suggests — without ever stating it outright — that her perspective is deeply rooted in an unresolved personal trauma. This makes each decision more human, but also more fragile, calling into question the very idea of a neutral or universal moral stance.

The final episodes make this dual nature particularly clear. Episode eleven builds toward a possible resolution, bringing many narrative threads to a close and restoring a sense of balance, while still leaving room for doubt. Episode twelve, on the other hand, reopens the discourse, introducing new elements and directions that look beyond the conclusion itself. It is less a cliffhanger than a deliberate choice — a refusal to truly end. Yet this decision ultimately softens the impact of what had just been achieved, as if the drama preferred to preserve the possibility of continuation rather than pause for reflection.

In the end, "Mary Kills People" proves to be an engaging and often compelling work, capable at times of striking deeply emotional chords. At the same time, it feels like a story that never fully trusts its own central idea. In trying to broaden its scope, it enriches and complicates the narrative, but in doing so, it disperses part of its strength. And yet, when it slows down — when it truly listens to its characters — it manages to offer something rare.

More than providing answers, the drama places the viewer before a choice: not so much what to think, but from which perspective to look. And perhaps it is precisely in this suspension, rather than in any definitive stance, that its most authentic value lies.

7/10

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I ate this up: The fox outdid a dragon

Jiling needs to teach a class on how underdogs win and Wuguang needs to teach another on how to be a loser disguising as a glory taker 😭😭😭
As expected of a GJM drama, I am left conflicted, but one thing I'm sure about is Wuguang's character, the writers did Wuguang's character dirty, kinda feel bad for him;
because what do you mean after a hundred years of waiting for Wuguang to show up and save the world, he shows and delivers this lackluster, underwhelming and absolutely weakass performance? Even the squirrel out-hero'd him, ha!
If it wasn't for teamwork, he'd be one short reigned Dragon Lord 👀
The Fox was a better Dragon than the real thing 😭

Anyways, it was a good show while it aired. Ju Jingyi peaked in this drama, I didn't know she had range like this, surprise surprise!
And Tian Jiarui? I normally take the passerby seat when it comes to actors but if he keeps up performing like this, I might just join a fanclub for the first time 🤔

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Cute Leads, Fun Watch

Finally, I managed to write a review on the very first C-drama I watched. What initially caught my attention was the accidental transmigration into a book—it’s such a fun and intriguing concept. But what really made me stay was the chemistry between the leads, along with the heartwarming (and sometimes hilarious) father-daughter relationship.

The chemistry I mentioned earlier really carries the romance. It doesn’t rely on overly obvious moments—much of it comes through small details like glances, pauses, and that quiet tension that keeps you invested 💕.

The acting was pretty solid too. Lin Ze Hui, as Xiao Xing Heng, did well bringing out those subtle, unspoken feelings, while Zhi Yue’s Ning Zhu Xi came across as both sweet and clever. Their dynamic feels very supportive, and you can really see how much they trust each other, especially in episode 18.

Episode 18 is probably the most impactful part of the drama. The harassment scene was handled seriously, and the cast delivered strong performances that made it hit harder than expected. It’s one of those scenes that lingers after you finish the episode.

The drama does a great job balancing darker themes with humor. The father-daughter moments—one of the reasons I kept watching—add a lot of charm, thanks to her dad’s goofy yet supportive personality 😂.

In terms of visuals, the drama looks good overall. The colors, costumes, and set design are pleasing, though the female lead’s makeup might not be everyone’s favorite.

The plot itself does follow a lot of familiar tropes—a modern-minded female lead, a more traditional male lead, a comedic father figure, and even an antagonistic prince. It can feel predictable at times, but it still manages to be entertaining.

At the end of the day, the main couple is what makes this drama worth watching.

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Zha Nan Tao Hun Hou, Wo Cheng Le Ta Nai Nai (2025), aka After the Scumbag Ran Away from the Wedding (2025), is a nice fantasy romance set in a historical era with ML Huang Hao Wen (as Xiao Yu) and FL Joyin Cai (as Lin Wan Rou) in the leading couple's role. The cast did a very good job bringing their characters to life, and the leading couple had a fantastic rapport and great communication. Although their intimate scenes were not passionate, they were heartfelt and pleasing. Overall, this drama is a good watch if the viewer is looking for something amusing and entertaining; enjoy it!
In the meantime, you can watch the drama on YouTube:"她一睜眼穿成被退婚的棄婦，面對全京城的嘲諷她勢要逆天改命重寫命書！當眾換新郎她利用絕世醫術嫁給渣男的舅祖父，人人都說侯爺是個冷麵活閻王，哪料成婚後老古板化身妻奴寵她上天！"
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOLd6sQgYRw)
Also:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZvLchHR9UQ)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAyZtSwKYMs)

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An example of a mature drama involving adults executed perfectly

Everything from the starting till the end will keep you hooked. You can't stop watching. The ending was a bit ambiguous but I liked it. Cuz I watched it under the title "Tamed her Tamer", it made sense that after 3 yrs of her being treated like a slave, it was now his turn to lick her boots and get her back. Their intimate scenes were extremely well shot and perfectly executed. I wished they delved into his past with her a lil more, esp the part where he said he knew her from earlier. Overall I wish for a second season. This on screen pairing of Wang Yiran and Lan Lan is top notch and I love their acting and their couple dynamics. I wish they would do more dramas together.

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Started really really great, but the makers completely lost the plot halfway through

Started really really great, but the makers completely lost the plot halfway through. Neither was the revenge fulfilling nor was the climax any good. The extremely fucking powerful villain gets defeated so easily in the last 20 mins suddenly, just so unfulfilling and unsatisfying overall.

Not to mention the writing wasn't good too, wdym the protagonist goes through insane fucking life-altering trauma, his girlfriend leaves, his BROTHER, HIS ONLY FAMILY gets murdered, he gets routinely abused, beaten and even raped, and yet after 5 years we see there is no change in his mental or emotional state?? extremely disappointing

This drama was really good till ep 4, if only they had focused on the revenge part and not a million other plotlines, the writing would have been tighter and so the drama would have been so much better.

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I didn't know doctors could be so hot

Him cutting her dress with his first pair of surgical scissors is something I can't ever get out of my head, it's like a different level of intense romance. Overall I really like the actors' dynamic and the pairing is so nice to watch (all their dramas are very good), but this one in particular doesn't hit as hard. The story is a bit cliche towards the middle, although the starting is very promising. I need to also praise the actress who played female lead character's mother, it was very convincing and almost made me crash out cuz it's so real. The production seems a bit lazy, as many scenes were repeated a number of times to increase the length. I agree the actors are super pretty nd handsome, but constant replay of flashbacks made it a bit boring towards the end. Otherwise it's a very sweet drama.

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