Reviews

I wish I never watched it - just so I could watch it again for the first time

Wow, I loved this drama so much! This is such a cute and charming show, filled with the best kind of romantic and cheesy moments.
I personally LOVE this genre. It has that classic, nostalgic K-drama feel, but with a modern, funny, and lighthearted touch that makes it so enjoyable to watch. One of the best parts of the show is the incredible chemistry between the lead actors—it was so natural and captivating.
I binge-watched the entire series in such a short time because I just couldn't stop watching! Highly recommended for anyone who loves romance (especially work romance), comedy, and a good feel-good story.

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Fluffy, weird, full of non-sequiturs but still fab ML and FL

Though the series got less and less spooky as it went on, I still enjoyed it all until the last episode which was OTT dripping with sentimentality, even for me. The script did not do justice to the FL's potential but she was excellent performing what she got. The ML had more opportunities to shine and that he did! A pleasure to watch just him in fact. Other members of the cast were fine too even though none of them really had a chance to develop some kind of arc.

A trip to Singapore in the middle for some strange reason had me wondering about how the film was funded, but there you go, the film industry worldwide, and K is no exception, take their handouts wherever and whenever.

There were some good truly suspenseful episode endings till about halfway through. My imagination ran riot wondering how things would resolve. I'm sure other viewers felt the same. A shame KDramas no longer get made as they are viewed, I think we could all help out the poor beleaguered writers.

In the end, it's the writing, not the directing, acting or photography, that prevents what ends up as a good series from being a great one. I get that KDramas are having to churn out a lot of content these days and I have no idea how the writers manage to do what they do. But something needs to be done to help them bring their work to fuller fruition.

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Amei o dorama

Finalizei Assustadoramente Apaixonados e, no geral, foi uma experiência muito boa. É aquele tipo de dorama que consegue misturar romance, fantasia, comédia e um pouco de suspense de uma forma bem gostosa de acompanhar. A história me prendeu principalmente pela dinâmica do casal principal e pela maneira como os acontecimentos vão se desenrolando ao longo dos episódios.
Gostei bastante do equilíbrio entre os momentos mais leves e engraçados e aqueles em que a história ficava mais séria. Dei boas risadas em vários momentos, mas também teve cenas que conseguiram me emocionar — principalmente no final.
Agora, preciso fazer uma observação sobre a reta final. Do episódio 10 para o 11, aconteceram algumas coisas que, na minha opinião, poderiam facilmente ter sido evitadas. Como o dorama já estava chegando ao fim e tinha apenas 12 episódios, achei que algumas situações acabaram criando um drama desnecessário justamente quando a história já estava praticamente encaminhada. Fiquei naquele sentimento de: “gente, precisava disso agora?” 😂
Mas, felizmente, o último episódio compensou bastante. Gostei muito de como resolveram as principais questões da história e achei o final bem fechadinho. Os vilões tiveram seus destinos resolvidos, as situações que precisavam de uma conclusão foram explicadas e, principalmente, tivemos o casal principal juntos. Depois de tudo que eles passaram, foi muito bom terminar o dorama vendo esse desfecho.
E confesso que uma das cenas que mais me emocionou foi justamente aquela em que ela conversa com o ex-namorado que aparece como fantasma e ele faz com que ela volte. Não esperava me emocionar tanto nessa parte, mas acabou me pegando de surpresa. 🥹 Foi uma cena bonita e com bastante peso emocional.
Outra coisa que merece MUITO destaque é a OST. Sério: QUE OST LINDA! 🥹🎶 Para mim, uma boa trilha sonora faz muita diferença em um dorama. Quando as músicas conseguem acompanhar perfeitamente as cenas e transmitir a emoção daquele momento, a experiência fica ainda melhor. E Assustadoramente Apaixonados acertou muito nisso.
No fim das contas, mesmo com algumas ressalvas na reta final, gostei bastante do dorama. Foi uma história que me divertiu, me envolveu, me fez rir e, no final, ainda conseguiu me emocionar. E acho que é justamente isso que faz um dorama ser gostoso de assistir: quando ele consegue entregar um pouco de tudo. 💗💗💗💗

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Love love love

It was a good watch overall. It did bore me at times,
The chemistry between the main leads was really good 👍 and honestly that was one of the main reasons I enjoyed the drama. Their interactions felt natural and I liked watching their relationship develop. I also liked that both leads had their own careers and personal struggles instead of the whole drama being only about romance.
The supporting characters were okay, some were good and some felt unnecessary. There were also some really nice emotional and cute moments between the leads, which I enjoyed.

It’s not that I hated the drama or anything, but:

- I think the drama could have been shorter. It would have been better as around 28–30 episodes with a slightly faster pace.
- I didn’t really like the stalking and some of the other unnecessary stuff.

It's not that I hated the show or anything but for me it doesn't hold the rewatch value

Overall, it was a good watch with good chemistry......

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You had all the right cards, WHY DID YOU NOT PUT THEM DOWN!

I usually love watching an on-going drama, especially counting down the hours for an episode to be released, but it was honestly a miracle I was hooked until the end of this drama. Like srsly, THEY PLAYED IN OUR FACES!!!! They had all the elements to make a hit rom com: An interesting premise, great costuming, lovely soundtrack, and most importantly A KILLER CAST (pun intended). But god, did it fall short towards the end. I mean, they had Park Eunbin and Yang Se-jong for gods sake, acting power houses within their own rights, who had the most freaking amazing chemistry EVER. When they were in a scene together, it just felt easy and believable, and my god were they lovely behind the scenes too. They are single handedly the ONLY reason I stayed on watching this drama, because despite an incredibly shitty last 5 episodes, their acting was so gripping, I sat through some horrible plot lines and directing.

Before I get onto all the things I disliked, I'll start with my praises. Obviously I've gone on my rant about the acting, but once again Eunbin and Sejong- it was absolutely wonderful you were cast together, and god I beg and pray that you will reunite in another project with a much better script. I also really enjoyed the ensemble. Both Grandmas were believable and frustrating in their own way, and it was so interesting having them be dichotomies of each other: The traditionalist vs the progressive chairwoman. Also, I think the prosecutors office was lovely, Gang-uk's colleagues were funny and their scenes together were a nice breath of fresh air. Yeori's family were funny at times but had WAY TOO MUCH screen time towards the end of the drama. I mean come on, that scene of them at the prison with the aunt went on for too long, I was screaming at my screen to MOVE ON. I think Hari's brother was an entirely unnecessary character that did not serve any purpose, at least Hari was directly butting heads and causing trouble for Yeori, I wish they'd explored their relationship as strained cousins much more. I also think Seong wu did a great job as the main antagonist, especially at the start when his obsession and possesiveness over Yeori was first show-cased. Moving on, I think the costuming was fabulous in the show and it had some of the best pieces I've seen Eunbin in- the tailoring of her suits were gorgeous and her dark burgundy hair was sooo pretty. I also thing Sejong got some lovely suits and great styling, so again the costume department were great. I also really liked 'Love + Ghost' in the soundtrack, it immediately put a smile on my face, and 'Tunnel' by Liz was hauntingly beautiful as well.

Now onto dislikes. WHAT THE HELL WAS UP WITH THE DIRECTING???? So many poor poor choices. An excessive number of zooms out, weird angles, and slo mos. So much wasted potential, especially when Eunbin and Sejong were acting their asses off. The kiss scenes were so disappointing, especially considering the chemistry of the duo, like what was up with the weirdly long kiss during the engagement and the strange drone shot (I mean, in the behind the scenes video, Sejong literally ran out of air for a FISH KISS). And what started off as an interesting script with complex characters, just fell into disarray as we got to the end which was so disappointing. There should of been much more focus on the ghosts and solving cases, rather than the silly company takeover plot line that lasted SO MANY EPISODES. It really felt like the writers room had loads of ideas that they needed to shove into 12 episodes and so the drama lost focus and more interesting plot lines were kept at bay. Every Kdrama cliche was thrown into the show at the end, i was surprised we didn't get a meeting as children plot line! This was such a let down, especially with the set up of the show. At the start I found Yeori's character so interesting, because I thought with the outfits and the demeanour, Yeori would be a character more akin to Man-wol from HDL or Moon-young from IOTNBO, but instead Eunbin brought a charm and a restrain to her character that really highlighted her loneliness and self-sacrificing nature. Gang-uk was also such a well written character of this equally self-sacrificing character, willing to do things for the greater good whilst also being deeply empathetic. I saw a lot of commentary where people could not understand why Gang-uk fell in love with Yeori, and once again-entirely the directing's FAULT! All of their romantic progression was over that one montage of their facetime calls, besides the few very lovely scenes of them teasing each other. They had so much to work with and clearly just gave up towards the end and just wanted to messily tie everything up together. The issues within the show also resolved themselves far too easily and often did not make sense with previous scenes or characterisation. I understand they didn't want to delve into the legal side too much, but it would have been so interesting to see Gang-uk working on the aftermath of cases more deeply. Also, a lot of people thought the break up was unnecessary but honeslty it felt very justified in the grand scheme of things and the way Yeori has always been cautious and witholding, especially before the couple got together. They sacrificed exploring interesting reactions to certain situations (like Gang-uk catching Yeori sneaking out to investigate) and underutilised the strength of their actors to instead prioritise a shit ton of useless story lines.

Despite all of this, I'm glad I tuned it because I am now more endeared towards Eunbin and Sejong and desparately am hoping for a reunion in another BETTER project. This drama barely classifies as a rom-com, but it's def a com- that they did well. I wished they'd given the audience more of the romance we had been promised but this also calls to a bigger issue current kdramas, where writers are recycling ludicrous cliche plots to move the story along whilst putting the romance on the back burner. The one thing I will end with is is at least everyone looked like they were having a lot of fun. The behind the scenes videos were delightful and clearly a great work environment was fostered. I just wish this wasn't at the expense of what could of been a phenomenal rom-com. Sigh.

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cute and nothing more

This is a cute series, really.
It starts off really cool with the documentary part where they are filmed again after years, but... how to say it? It drags a bit for no good reason.
If you're looking for a drama with crazy twists, secrets that are revealed, or crazy dramas – this isn't the show for you...
There's no plot twist. From the first moment, and despite all the 'hatred' between them about their breakup, it was completely clear to me how it was going to end and that they would get back together.
It ended exactly as I expected, without any surprises.
The cast was okay
Bottom line? A nice experience, a fun way to pass the time, romantic, but it wasn't very special and it's not a series that will stay with me later. Nice and nothing more.

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The Supernatural Died Before the Series Did

Your drama is brought to you by Volvo, Volvo, the heroes' vehicle!

Spooky in Love takes its inspiration from the 2011 film Spellbound, starring Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ki. But that's where the similarities end. The trailers, the synopsis, and even the title we were presented with are misleading, because the supernatural aspect involving ghosts completely disappears within the first third of the series, giving way to a run-of-the-mill story that has been seen and done a hundred times before. For old hands who know the formula and the usual storytelling patterns, the problem isn't the accumulation of tropes and clichés, but how intelligently they are used within a well-constructed and engaging screenplay. For someone who doesn't watch many romantic K-dramas, or who is willing to let everything slide because the worse it gets, the more entertaining it becomes, why not. For everyone else, myself included, we came dangerously close to a complete shipwreck, because the writing turns out to be staggeringly poor. At first, it's a mix of Hotel del Luna, From Now On, Showtime! and The Judge from Hell across several themes; but unlike those series, not only will the main couple never reach the required romantic intensity, but worse still, emotion will have packed its bags because the tank will quickly run dry.

Cheon Yeo-Ri (Park Eun-bin) is the granddaughter of a chaebol family specializing in luxury hotels, and she herself runs a prestigious establishment. Competent, she nevertheless lives with a heavy burden following a boating accident she was involved in in the past: she can see ghosts who have not yet managed to move on to the afterlife. She therefore helps them, while also secretly resolving situations where the police have hit a dead end. Unfortunately, she cannot touch anyone without passing this "gift" on to them for a certain period of time. So she is alone. Her path crosses that of prosecutor Ma Gang-Uk (Yang Se-jong), a brilliant and upright man. Through a series of "coincidences" that aren't really coincidences, they are led to meet several times. After uncovering the mystery surrounding Yeo-Ri, and experiencing the consequences himself, their relationship develops and feelings begin to emerge. But between an envious and jealous family and the return of a former relationship, Kang Min-Hwan (Ong Seong-wu), Yeo-Ri will have to fight her way through the demons of her past.

The beginning looked promising because I expected to see an effective duo develop between Yeo-Ri, the wealthy heiress who does good around her, and the fearless and valiant prosecutor Kang-Wook. But the synopsis on most websites (false because they all copy one another like sheep) is misleading and deceptive: it gives the impression that we're going to follow a fantasy romance, with the supernatural at the heart of the story, whereas the drama ultimately uses this element in a much more superficial way, and it quickly disappears. The series seems determined to sell us an original and mysterious story, while a large part of its plot relies on much more conventional and artificial devices. There is therefore a disconnect between the initial promise and the final result, reinforcing the feeling that Spooky in Love never really knows what it wants to be: fantasy romance, family mystery, ghost story, or crime plot. The drama's main problem is its screenplay, which quickly gives the impression that events happen because the script needs them to, rather than because of the characters or their decisions. The writing becomes increasingly artificial, to the point where coincidences eventually replace genuine narrative construction.

The drama nevertheless has some directing qualities and a few good ideas, which makes its flaws all the more visible: there was enough material here to make something considerably better and more substantial. Some episodes feel as though they are circling around the same elements or artificially delaying revelations. The pacing therefore becomes uneven, with moments when the plot barely moves before suddenly accelerating, particularly toward the conclusion, where everything goes completely overboard and ridiculousness takes over from any sense of credibility. Characters are often pushed in a specific direction solely to allow the plot to move forward. This creates a "coincidence falling out of the sky" feeling: the script miraculously finds a solution to every problem, especially toward the end. It's all the more unfortunate because the drama could have made much smarter use of its past and its secrets. A revelation properly prepared with clues scattered throughout the story would have given the viewer the feeling of understanding, in retrospect, what had really happened. So the problem is less the revelation itself than the complete lack of preparation and its absolute convenience.

The romance suffers particularly from this mechanism: some emotional developments lack natural progression and give the impression that the characters evolve simply because the script has decided that it's time for them to do so. Park Eun-bin gives it her all as usual and strongly recalls IU in Hotel Del Luna with her prestigious wardrobe, albeit in a more understated version. But she is at the mercy of a screenplay that does her no favors. I found Yang Se-jong and Ong Seong-wu committed, but somewhat withdrawn. And as you will have understood, where there's romance, there must be a second man, because the story says he has to be there, like some kind of gimmick. Not only is it painfully predictable, but the whole thing is far too caricatural. The story lacks twists, intensity, but above all emotion and sincerity. Everything is pre-calculated, so nothing surprises us; it's far too smooth. The drama asks a lot from the viewer in terms of suspension of disbelief, but doesn't give enough in return for it to really work. Another problem is the lack of a secondary storyline that could have fleshed out the narrative and given it some momentum. The supporting characters are barely used, or used poorly. Overall, it's sweet and harmless, with a strong and interesting basic premise, but one that quickly gets bogged down in tiresome clichés.

The laziness of the writing, especially during the final two episodes, is staggering in its sheer convenience (the "cube syndrome"): the biggest waste is ultimately the supernatural element, which practically disappears just as the drama begins shifting toward its family and corporate storyline. What was supposed to be its distinguishing feature quickly becomes incidental, before almost disappearing entirely from the narrative. There is also a consistency problem in the way certain pieces of information are withheld or revealed. The final stretch should have been the point where all the different elements finally came together and made sense. Instead, it becomes the part where the screenplay exposes its strings most openly. Not everything is bad: there are a few lighthearted moments and some enjoyable comedic elements, but there are so few of them that they get buried in the overall mess. Spooky in Love wants to build a great mystery around the past, but when it comes time to solve it, it doesn't actually solve it: it finds miraculous evidence and providential coincidences that allow everything to be neatly put into place. As for the ghosts, we can simply thank them for stopping by at the beginning to say hello. Come on, I'll be lenient in the end, because even though it lacks surprises, it's still "cute."

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Exhausting and unnecessary

This drama started out as a sweet, cute, and light romantic drama, but as the episodes progressed, it became exhausting, predictable, and personally, I just lost patience with it.
The whole series itself didn't make much sense, but I didn't give it too much attention. What was strangest was the ending. The twist where the hero 'dies' from an illness, everyone mourns him, and suddenly years later he just resurfaces healthy and unharmed without any reasonable explanation – just doesn't make sense
It didn't serve the plot, didn't contribute to the characters, and mostly felt like a forced and infuriating attempt to produce a cheap drama at the last minute, just to slap a 'happy ending' on it.
This drama has its cute moments at the beginning, but the bottom line is that it's just exhausting and unrewarding. I wish I could recommend it, but I think it's completely passable.

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Charming, Emotional Love Story with a Side of Supernatural —Not Perfect, But Worth Your Time

I started this drama for Park Eun Bin—she's one of my favorite actresses, and I have full faith in her talent. Every work of hers I've seen has been great and makes me look forward to her projects. The second reason was the male lead, Yang Se Jong. I've seen him in only two roles, but I was smitten with him in Still 17, so I was thrilled to see him cast here—a welcome comeback for me.

Moreover, the premise looked very promising. I personally love stories with themes of life beyond death or where you help the deceased—having seen and loved dramas like "Move to Heaven", "Tomorrow," and "May I Help You". All of this came together as a great mix that spelled a good drama. I watched it as it aired and was completely hooked from Episode 1. Every weekend delivered a great ghost case while progressing the main characters' background arcs and love story with finesse. As expected, the acting was top-notch, the pacing was good, the romance mature and endearing without being overbearing, and the cliffhangers extremely well done. Even with the rom-com cliches, it never felt over the top and fit well into the narrative.

Still, I wouldn’t call it a perfect 10 or a masterpiece—it had flaws. But despite them, it remained engaging, charming, and one of the noteworthy dramas of 2026.

➥ PROs:
(1) Storyline:
The drama balanced ghost cases with the heroine’s curse, her romance, and chaebol politics. None of these threads were left hanging, which is a mark of good storytelling. Midway, I discovered it was connected to the hit movie Spellbound. Rewatching the film reminded me why I loved it, and while the drama shares elements, it takes its own direction. Like the movie, it’s equally charming and deserves praise.

(2) The Acting & Romance:
The main leads—Park Eun Bin and Yang Se Jong—were remarkable. They're extremely talented and able to convey a range of emotions, so I had no doubts it would be great to see them together. Their chemistry and romance were mature—nothing over the top, but rather a quiet love that blooms, which is what I love. There were some cliches, but nothing extraordinary. In fact, the love confession was one of the best I've seen in K-dramas. I personally loved it—mature, sincere, and even with limited dialogue and no fanfare, it gave me butterflies and made me smile so much. Full credit to their acting—I love how they convey so much, especially through their eyes.

Even the supporting cast—the FL's grandmother, secretaries, ML's grandmother, and co-workers—blended in seamlessly with the main story. They were exactly as they were meant to be: supportive without outshining the leads, with their own characters and stakes, making everything harmonious. This was a great facet of the drama.

(3) The OST:
After a very long time, I've loved more than one song in a drama. In fact, all the OSTs were beautiful and fit so well with every scene—emotional, romantic, or when the FL-ML duo solved cases together. My favorite remains "Promised Rings by Kim Tae Rae" —when you watch the drama, you'll get the context, and it will hold more meaning than listening to it standalone. It's earned a place in my playlist. The last drama to achieve this feat (more than one song added to my playlist) was probably "Lovely Runner", as far as I can recall (I added four from that one). Other songs dear to me are "Stay with Me" and "Love and Ghost"

(4) The Styling, Direction:
Given this was a ghost/mystery-solving story, I loved how it was directed. It wasn't scary or spooky, but it kept the element of surprise at every twist and turn within an episode—and, of course, at the end of each episode with a great cliffhanger. The story narrative plus clever direction, going back and forth without confusing the audience, really kept you wanting more of both the cases and the main leads' stories.

FL - Eun Bin's styling was especially great—I loved her clothes, accessories, and hair color (now on my wishlist). Her overall look made her appear super graceful and chic. I was surprised myself; I'm usually not a fan of chaebol styling because I feel it's too blingy and over the top, and such characters are often portrayed as ostentatious. Maybe it felt endearing because we knew the FL was kind—she acted cold but wasn't. There was a vulnerable, sad side to her, so it never seemed flashy. She seemed in control, graceful, and made you want to root for her.

(5) Green Flag ML, Strong FL:
I liked that both the ML and FL were shown to be equally good at their work. No one was dependent on the other, and there was no damsel in distress. In fact, the FL was strong and literally kicked ass—I love such characters. And the ML was such a green flag—caring and honest. There came a point where he had to choose between love and family, and he handled it with such poise, without hurting either party, that it was really well done. Bit of a spoiler: I really liked when it was said that the ML would have to support the FL because her work would be larger in scope than his. This pissed off the ML's grandmother, but the ML handled it super well. I personally loved this—especially in this age, where women in leadership still face many challenges, it was refreshing to watch.

➥ CONs:
(1) Weak Antagonists:
The villains—family rivals and the SML—felt underutilized. They had potential to be cruel and add fire to the story, but were never fully developed. It was as if they were simply there to cause issues for the main leads, like any good story needs a villain - but with low impact. It doesn't affect the overall narrative, but some scenes of their plotting felt like bumps in an otherwise smooth story.

(2) Low Rewatch Score + Not Masterpiece:
While everything about it is incredibly charming, I'm not compelled to label it flawless or a masterpiece per my own rating system. Again, this is because of the comparison with so many other dramas I've watched. So while this run was good, it's not a drama I might come back to or recall specific scenes to rewatch.

(3) Convenient Plot Points:
Certain recoveries, clues, and assists felt too convenient, leaving some arcs abrupt. A few extra episodes might have allowed these elements—and the antagonists—to be fleshed out better. Minor flaws, but noticeable overall.

➥ OVERALL:
Spooky in Love is an enjoyable and charming drama—a love story with an emotional, supernatural angle. It’s not flawless, but its strengths outweigh its weaknesses. For anyone exploring 2026 K-dramas, this one is worth watching.

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《Spooky in Love》: Proof that Less is More in K-dramas

I have said this before and I will say it again, this is how K-dramas were a decade ago: focus on one genre. Over the last five or so years, we have witnessed how K-dramas become chaotic, even fans cannot agree on what the story was about.

One of the basic rules of writing, especially in fiction, is to focus on one story and one genre. The moment the side plots or plot devices take on an equal status to the main plot, you get lost and drag your audience down with you. 

《Spooky in Love》 focused on one genre: romantic-comedy, period. The result? They were able to execute some of the best scenes in global TV history. The side plot remained a plot device and did exactly the purpose it was meant for. 

I fully enjoyed this. Truly deserving of a 10 out of 10 from me, YourOnly.One.

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A very beginner level drama with top class actors

Genuinely great cast. Love it! Hwang In youp , Lee Hye Ri , Baek Sung chul, Park Ji Young and Lee Sang Yeob. I want to say that with this cast I should've expected more from the drama. But my expectations weren't at all met.

The first episode left me seriously disappointed. There was something missing in the whole drama in my opinion. Most of them had a relation to emotional depth. The second chance, reunion plot needs a lot of emotion, and is hard to get right. The first episode when the leads met, the emotional weight seen at all.
The other missing thing was enough chemistry. The characters seemed like they hadn't changed at all even though half of the scenes were trying to show that they changed after 10 years. It didn't feel like "two lovers in the past reunited again". It felt like two really good besties had a falling out and one of them met each other after a week and reconciled.
Oh, yes, the reconciling part. There was a scene where Woo Su Bin started trauma dumping as to why he didn't see her for 14 days and Ju Yi Jae says "I DON'T CARE" What! What do you mean??!!!!! I was very confused cause the reason was very concerning. Ah, I don't know.
Next, during the 4th episode I think, there was a sudden kiss. I thought that the kiss could turn the emotions around but it didn't work. Had so much hope for that part.

The romance between Chae Sang Ra and Seo In Uk had so much potentianl for a nice ending and it was so beautiful, I seriously expected more from that trope. The reason Chae Sang Ra had for the break up was seriously so dumb. I don't understand why such a nice couple was broken up because of this dumb reason.

Now for the nice parts, this drama was a very beginner level drama. The reason I have so many complaints is because I had so much hope for the chemistry and emotions between the two actors.
But I liked this drama cause of the calm flow. This is a good drama for when you don't want to watch screens too much because of school work and don't want to get absorbed in it. It's best if you just want to pass time or watch something while crocheting or something.
Overall, I'll give it a solid 8. Other than that I just wished it could have been more heart warming in a way.

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cliched, underwhelming, and accidentally conservative.

it's been long since i have written a review, and this too is going to be more of a rant so bear with me while i try to make sense of my thoughts. i'll try keeping it comprehensive by explaining the three words in the heading.

- Cliched: from the get go, i felt this show was formulaic so i had no major expectations from it, i just wanted it to serve as a lighthearted weekly palette cleanser. (and i do love ong seongwu as an actor so theres that reason too). but man how it derailed! we brought back white truck of doom, can you imagine that? someone on twitter pointed out that the writer only has projects from 2010s before this drama and you can genuinely see that in their writing. childhood connection, heart transplant, someone turning evil because of jealousy, men-focused pick me 2FL, ML's family asking FL to break the relationship, the show has all the 2010 cliches and more. it's so repetitive and uncreative, each episode in the second half tests your patience.

- Underwhelming: everyone is saying the chemistry was underutilised, but i differ from them -- i did not feel any chemistry between the leads. and these are good actors, great cast, so i dont understand how they cooked such a nothingburger with them. another thing, "spooky" in love. the expectation the first few episodes set is that this is going to be a story of the leads working together solving crimes for the victims who lost their lives unfairly. oh you believed that? how could you? this is actually a corporate power struggle show. ghosts? what about them? did you even see them after the first half? oh btw, bet you want a singapore ad instead, dont you?

- Accidentally Conservative: now i dont think thats the message they deliberately wanted to give, but thats how some of the factors played in this drama. because of yeori's, well, condition, she cant hold hands with anyone. so that makes sense, but somehow all the other romantic choices here were very conservative too. they dont date, they just decide they like each other and get engaged instead. they dont even kiss other than one accidental (eyeroll) and one actual one -- even though they know that wont make him see the ghosts. they genuinely keep their distance at all times, and have 'conservative' dates, with straightaway marriage in mind. i find that so bonkers. how are you two so in love? you havent even gotten to know each other when you got engaged, you just had a crush! but suddenly the tone is all "you are the love of my life"?????

also very weird decision to turn the adopted child into the villain, like yes we all sensed that from early on, but what exactly is the takeaway here? adoptive children grow up to eat the hand that fed them? like the one character said?

all in all, i signed up for lighthearted, timepass romcom, and i got disappointed still somehow. that's it. that's the rant.

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Diamond in the rough,

So if i had to explain how i feel about Blue Lips in 5 words or less I would def call it "a diamond in the rough" you can tell that it didnt have the highest budget and it also has quite a few scenes where you can really tell that there was some AI usage, I am fine for now with it. FOR NOW. But if you aren't the biggest fan of usage of AI then skip this if you really cant see past it. If you can see past it i can highly recommend this show, it has two leads with fantastic chemistry. The absolute best part of this show is the relationship between Teng Mo and Wu Shi Xian. They are two broken souls who slowly heal each other, peeling back hidden wounds to find the courage to love again. I loved that the show avoided annoying misunderstandings, sure theres conflicts but misunderstandings in an endless circle wasnt what we got here. Oh what I actually really loved as well was how they used Teng Mo’s adult shop to inject genuine comedy into the plot.

On the downside, the subpar dubbing was a bit distracting at times for me, one of these moments was when Shi Xian was singing on stage. Additionally, the sister's storylines felt incredibly boring, and I constantly fought the urge to skip her scenes. However, I'm glad I stayed patient, as those scenes eventually tied into crucial emotional character moments for Teng Mo later in the series, without spoiling anything.

So, overall, despite the production flaws, the beautiful growth of the main couple makes this a highly rewarding watch. This is most def one im going to rewatch again. If not for the plot in itself, which I will, it will be for the Ice cream scene.

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A Master/Servant Relationship that is more than meets the eye

"The Servant Prince" is a very quick and easy binge. It's not what I expected, not in a bad way, but in a different way. The main romance is still there but there's a strong focus on character growth and family dynamic.

Given the title and the subject, I thought it would not be such a chaste drama (Ok, probably coz I am a pervert). The romance is actually very sweet and there's more than just Takaaki obeying Naoya's demands. I just wish they add a few more intimate scenes, esp when Takaaki releases his controlled emotions. They keep on repeating the same flashbacks, and I still don't know why Takaaki is so obsessed with Naoya. I need to know how this master/servant relationship starts from the very beginning.

Since this is an adaptation of a manga, the acting could have been overly dramatic and thank goodness, it isn't. A couple characters are cartoonish but overall, the acting is OK. There are a bunch of lovely co-workers.

In the end, I'm glad to have followed Naoya's journey of healing and growth. It's an interesting way to witness his growth through the development of this master/servant relationship into something beautiful and mature.

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A Rom-Com With Just the Right Amount of Spooky

I genuinely had such a good time watching Spooky in Love. It’s a really fun rom-com with a little hint of spooky mixed in, and honestly, that combination worked really well for me.

The chemistry between the main leads was really good. Even without the drama constantly pushing romance in your face, their interactions felt natural and enjoyable to watch. I liked the way their relationship developed, and they had a really comfortable dynamic that made their scenes fun.

What I especially loved was how easy and stress-free this drama felt to watch. There wasn't that constant feeling of waiting for some huge misunderstanding or unnecessary drama to ruin everything. I could just sit back, enjoy the story, laugh at the characters, and actually have fun watching an episode.

And some scenes were SO funny omg. There were moments where I was genuinely laughing at how ridiculous things got. The fact that even the ghosts were getting scared made it even funnier. The spooky elements didn't make the drama feel heavy—they actually added another layer of comedy to it.

Overall, Spooky in Love was just a really enjoyable rom-com with a fun supernatural twist. It made me laugh, the leads had good chemistry, and most importantly, it was never exhausting to watch. Sometimes you just want a drama that lets you relax and have a good time, and this one definitely gave me that.

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