Reviews

Political intrigue at it's best

This has become one of my favorite political period drama. It has amazing writing, witty humour, suspense romance and the most stressful intrigue. It is a bing watching C-drama at its best. It was aired in 2018, but one of the best I think. It can easily be compared to my favorites like: Joy of Life, Love like the Galaxy, Lost You Forever. I did not know the main lead, as he doesn't seem to continue making C-dramas for the last few years. The cast are very well known.
I truly enjoyed every episodes. Of course 70 episodes is a lot. The first 60 episodes are a mixed of humour, with political drama and intrigue. The last 10 episodes is a long dramatic conclusion.

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J'ai adoré l'enquête... beaucoup moins certaines réponses...

Avec "Siren's Kiss", on suit Cha Woo Seok, un ancien policier devenu enquêteur spécialisé dans les fraudes à l'assurance. Réputé pour ne jamais lâcher une affaire, il se retrouve à enquêter sur Han Seol Ah, une brillante commissaire-priseuse travaillant dans une prestigieuse maison de ventes aux enchères. Le problème... tous les hommes qui sont tombés amoureux d'elle sont morts dans des circonstances pour le moins suspectes... 😳

Je commencerais par dire que le rythme est assez lent, mais je trouve que c'est justement ce qui fait toute la force du drama. Plus les épisodes avancent, plus cette ambiance pesante s'installe. Perso, j'ai douté de tout le monde, et le drama m'a donné envie de lancer l'épisode suivant pour essayer de comprendre ce qui se cachait derrière toute cette histoire.

Et alors... qu'est-ce que j'ai aimé faire mes propres théories 🤣. Un coup j'étais persuadée que le photographe Eun Hyuk était derrière tout ça. Puis je me suis mise à soupçonner la présidente de la maison de ventes. Ensuite Jun Beom... avant de revenir à Eun Hyuk 😭. Franchement, je crois que j'ai changé de suspect presque à chaque épisode, et c'est clairement ce qui m'a le plus amusée pendant le visionnage 😁.

J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé Park Min Young ❤️. Son personnage dégage une froideur presque intimidante, mais j'ai senti très vite qu'il cache surtout énormément de souffrance... Le drama joue constamment avec le doute, genre : est-elle une meurtrière ?!? Une victime ?!? Est-elle manipulée ?!? Personnellement, j'ai assez vite arrêté de la considérer comme une véritable suspecte. À mes yeux, elle ressemblait surtout à quelqu'un qui accumulait les malchances plus qu'à une femme dangereuse 🥺.

La romance, par contre est très discrète... mais ça ne m'a absolument pas dérangée. Le cœur du drama reste l'enquête, et je trouve que la relation entre Woo Seok et Seol Ah s'intègre naturellement à l'histoire. J'ai vite compris dans quelle direction le drama souhaite aller avec ça, mais leur alchimie fonctionne suffisamment bien pour que ça reste agréable à suivre 👍🏻.

Petit coup de cœur également pour l'OST 🎶. Elle colle parfaitement à cette ambiance mystérieuse et participe vraiment à installer cette "ambiance".

Par contre... il faut qu'on parle de ce plot twist du milieu... 🤣

Franchement... c'est quoi cette histoire ?!? 😭 Que Su Ho soit en réalité Jun Beom, pourquoi pas... L'échange d'identité à causes des vêtements militaires nominatifs, je l'accepte totalement. Mais qu'après une opération il se retrouve avec exactement le même visage que son meilleur ami... là, je n'ai pas réussi à y croire une seule seconde 😅.

En faite, ce n'est même pas le twist qui m'a dérangée. C'est surtout qu'il casse le réalisme que le drama avait construit jusque-là... Franchement, Si Su Ho était simplement revenu avec un nouveau visage, inconnu de tous, j'aurais trouvé ça beaucoup plus crédible. Là, j'ai vraiment eu l'impression que le scénario me demandait d'accepter quelque chose de beaucoup trop gros et pas cohérent.

C'est frustrant, parce que le drama avait de bonnes idées. J'aurais aimé que certains personnages et certaines intrigues soient plus développés, mais bon, c'est un défaut que je remarque souvent dans les thrillers... ils sont excellents pour installer le mystère et me mettre à fond dedans... mais ils ont parfois beaucoup plus de mal lorsqu'il faut apporter toutes les réponses... 🤗

Humm, sinon concernant le véritable coupable, même si je m'en suis douter rapidement, je ne m'attendais pas à découvrir des motivations aussi tragiques... Je pensais qu'on etait sur une simple histoire de jalousie, pour cause de sentiments inavoués... mais non !!! Et avec ses révélations, je me suis même surprise à éprouver une certaine "compassion" pour lui malgré tout ce qu'il avait provoqué 🫣. Pour le coup, j'ai trouvé que le drama réussissait plutôt bien à nuancer son antagoniste.

J'ai également apprécié que Han Seol Ah soit enfin innocentée 🫶🏻. Après tout ce qu'elle avait traversé, c'était vraiment cool de la voir se débarrasser de cette réputation de "femme qui porte malheur". Tout comme j'étais contente pour Woo Seok qui puisse enfin révéler la vrai histoire sur la mort de sa sœur.

Au final... je suis restée un peu entre deux 🤣. J'ai adoré mener l'enquête, faire mes théories et me laisser porter par cette ambiance mystérieuse. Par contre, la dernière ligne droite m'a laissée plus mitigée avec un twist que je n'ai jamais réussi à trouver crédible. Ce n'est clairement pas le thriller coréen qui me marquera le plus... mais je ne regrette absolument pas d'avoir joué les détectives pendant quelques soirées 😉✌🏻

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Immaculate vibes

Many thoughts. Number one is that the whole mafia thing was perplexing to me the entire time. What were they doing? I don't know. Why were they doing it? No Clue about that either. What I do know is that the men were hot and Vegas stole the show. I read some comments beforehand about him dominating every scene he was in, and you know what, they were RIGHT. Was he the reddest flag that ever walked the Earth? Mayhaps. Was it hot? Damn right it was. Problematic fave forever and always. At some point I stopped caring about Kinn and Porsche, but I must commend this show for including one of my favorite tropes ever - when two nerds are left in the wilderness to fend for themselves. This was such a stroke of genius that I thought maybe that episode was crafted specifically for me.

The lighting team was amazing and production should be proud of how pretty the entire show was.

The sex scenes get a section of its own because they were splendid. The bathroom scene. Need I say more? Speaking of lighting, that green and yellow vibe will stay with me forever. Tied up sex dungeon thing? Hello? Vegas the man that you are……

Special shoutout to Tankhun for being batshit insane but also secretly the wisest person in that house. Reverse shoutout to Kim for being frustrating and emotionally constipated. Side-eye to Kinn for fully forgetting all about Pete in his time of need, but also thank you. Love and lust to Vegas for everything.

You will not like this if you care a lot about everything being consensual and tidy. If it means a lot to you that the story makes sense, you will probably also not have a good time. If you're in need of some good fun with competent acting, beautiful fight scenes and hot men, KinnPorsche will be right up your alley.

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Middle-Aged Men, Assemble!!

The story Agent Kim Reactivated is very good and highly engaging. It won't bore you at all and hooks you right from the very beginning. The story follows Agent Kim, who lives an ordinary life, but when her daughter gets kidnapped, his actual character comes to the screen.

The action scenes are absolutely amazing. The raw and heavy Hand-to-Hand Combat is also incredibly good. Agent Kim's explosive action Comeback is highly impactful, and every single fight sequence has been brilliantly executed. Agent Kim's (Kim Do-hyeon) character is very smart and silent. The actors playing his companions (Choi Dae-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho) also delivered powerful performances, and their trio looks fantastic on screen. The other actors did a great job too.

The story is strongest in the first half with the kidnapping arc. However, it stumbles a little when the heavy-handed political arc starts around Episode 7. While the story does end satisfactorily, the narrative felt stretched out towards the last couple of episodes.

Overall, Agent Kim Reactivated has a strong narrative and plays well due to it's action sequences, however feels stretched and little bloated towards the end. Although it doesn't get boring, it should have been wrapped up a little earlier to keep the screenplay tighter and more impactful. Still, a great watch!

My Rating : 4/5

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Sweet but Overstretched

A simple, fluffy romance with touches of trauma. Overall, the story is okay. It's your typical romance where the white knight swoops in and saves the female lead. My biggest issue is that if that was always going to be the story, there was no reason for this drama to be 28 episodes. They easily could've told the same story in 20. The script would've been tighter, the pacing would've been better, and the story wouldn't have dragged as much as it did. Overall, The Best Thing is a decent, easy watch if you're looking for a comforting romance with a genuinely lovable male lead. The leads have good chemistry, and there are plenty of heartwarming moments throughout.

The whole ex-boyfriend arc annoyed me, not just because he was such a detestable character, but because we never really learned why he was so determined to get back together with her. Since the drama starts before their breakup, we witness everything unfold firsthand. I actually think it would've been much more interesting if the story had started after they had already broken up. Then the audience could've learned about Shen Xi Fan's past alongside He Su Ye, slowly uncovering what happened and why she became the person she is. Instead, there wasn't much mystery surrounding her history because we already knew exactly what happened, which made that entire part of the story feel far less engaging.

He Su Ye is a major green flag, and it's easy to see why so many people loved him. I also appreciated how the drama handled his ex-girlfriend. They acknowledged that she existed and that she'd had an impact on his life, but they never brought her back just to create unnecessary drama like so many romance series tend to do. Instead, they showed how his previous relationship still influenced the way he viewed love and approached new relationships without turning it into another love triangle. I thought that aspect was handled really well. That said, I do think they leaned a little too hard into making him the perfect male lead. He barely had any flaws, and after a while he started to feel more like an ideal fantasy than an actual person. He was endlessly patient, understanding, accommodating, and willing to compromise. There's nothing wrong with those qualities, but eventually the balance felt off. He became less of a fully realized character and more of an ideal partner.

As for Shen Xi Fan, I found her to be a pretty boring protagonist. Yes, she's sweet, kind, and considerate, but beyond those traits there just isn't much to her. She doesn't have a particularly strong personality, and her character growth feels very limited. I kept waiting for her to become more confident or decisive, but that moment never really came. She spends so much of the drama hesitating and dragging her feet that it eventually became frustrating to watch. I honestly think the ending would've been stronger if she'd chosen to study abroad while staying single. For much of the first half of the drama, she was still dealing with the trauma left by her ex-boyfriend, and then she immediately entered a relationship with He Su Ye. She never really had a chance to breathe or figure out who she was on her own. The time she spent single simply wasn't enough. Let her grow, gain new experiences, and return as a more confident person.

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show that fully earned its (now confirmed) third season

this review is definitely going to be biased because the main cast and the theme are completely my kind of thing. honestly, just getting a show like this already felt like a treat, but the fact that it was executed so well made it even better.

as a kochi fan, i can't think of a better show to fully showcase his strengths and everything he's good at. even before watching, i knew i was going to love it based on the premise alone, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations.

what i didn't expect, though, was how much i'd end up loving the junior cast. i didn't really pay much attention to them during season 1, but by the end of it, i had started to appreciate them a little. season 2, however, took it to a completely different level.

the development of kochi's relationship with the juniors ended up being the highlight of the season for me. i could barely remember most of their names after season 1 (except maybe rinne and takemura), but now i'm actually invested in all of them. watching kochi go from saying at the beginning of the season that he didn't really know how to approach or interact with the juniors to becoming the kind of senior they feel comfortable opening up to, sharing their worries with, and asking for advice was genuinely heartwarming. no wonder totsugi said in the interview that the conversations before bed were his favorite part of the season. i'm really glad they kept the same junior cast from season 1, and i'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship continue to develop in the upcoming season.

another thing i really liked was how they improved the overall format. they clearly adjusted the structure and made everything flow much better. the new rules made the challenge a lot harder, but they also made the show much more interesting to watch. there's still plenty of room for improvement, but overall, i think they did a great job.

totally unrelated, but a few months ago i came across some youtube videos of people visiting the locations featured in the show. they made me realize i had seriously underestimated just how rural and remote those places actually are. i remember thinking the cast was probably exaggerating how difficult the journey was, but if anything, the show actually made it look much easier than it really was. it gave me a whole new appreciation for how hard everyone must have worked behind the scenes.

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L’idea (forse) giusta nel drama (sicuramente) sbagliato

Drama cinese BL con un obiettivo ambizioso: tradurre in immagini una storia che esplora il confine labile tra realtà e finzione, seguendo due attori, Zhang Zhun e Zhen Xin, che mentre girano un drama BL iniziano a confondere i sentimenti dei loro personaggi con i propri.
L'idea di base è anche interessante e, per certi versi, originale: un "drama nel drama" che si interroga su cosa significhi davvero "entrare in un ruolo" e su quanto un personaggio possa contaminare chi lo interpreta. Sulla carta è un’idea vincente, nel concreto lascia molto a desiderare, purtroppo.

La chimica tra i due protagonisti è buona? Dipende da cosa intendiamo per chimica. Sicuramente la serie pullula di scene intime esplicite – non a caso è classificato NC17 – ma la sintonia tra due attori, per me, va ben oltre e comprende un’affinità a più ampio spettro che qui proprio non ho riscontrato. Questo perché abbiamo a che fare con una sceneggiatura davvero basic, satura di scelte surreali tutte volte a suscitare un fremito nello spettatore. E’ una carrellata di “momenti clou” estremamente banali, che tolgono alla storia qualsiasi possibilità di seguire un arco narrativo sensato e credibile. C’è un dramma in ogni sciocchezza e da ogni sciocchezza scaturisce un dramma (si arriva persino a ricamare sopra dei banalissimi orecchini, tanto per dire).
L’introspezione dei personaggi è pari a zero: a conti fatti, tolte le riprese sul set e le dinamiche tra di loro in albergo, cos’altro rimane? Quanto si conoscono veramente, quanto sanno l’uno dell’altro? Poco o niente, al pari dello spettatore. Dovessimo fare un elenco di dieci domande classiche sul loro passato, le loro passioni, i loro interessi… Probabilmente non caveremmo fuori un ragno da un buco.

C’è poi la questione del doppio ruolo. L’idea, dicevo, è anche curiosa, ma lo sviluppo proprio non funziona. I personaggi del drama che stanno filmando – Fang Chi e Gao Zhun – non riescono a diventare un secondo pairing, ma fanno da fastidioso riempitivo. Le loro scene arrivano a occupare la maggior parte di alcuni episodi, aspetto che ho trovato personalmente noioso, già che da parte mia c’era già un grande investimento nel cercare di apprezzare il pairing originale, se così possiamo chiamarlo. Sia nella “finzione” che nella “realtà” relativa, c’è una carenza evidente di sostanza. Tante scene ad effetto che poggiano su poco o niente.

A una trama povera e confusa e a una caratterizzazione inconsistente dei personaggi, si aggiunge anche un livello di recitazione che definire acerbo è un complimento: due attori giovanissimi, al loro drama d’esordio, con alle spalle più partecipazioni a programmi TV che studi di recitazione. Uno è un cantante rapper, l’altro un modello e social media creator. Non ci si inventa attori da un giorno con l’altro, insomma. E nemmeno registi, già che anche qui contiamo un altro esordio di un altro giovanissimo. Che il risultato limitato sia un caso? Direi proprio di no.
Già che però l’idea di base mi incuriosiva, ho fatto uno sforzo e l’ho portato a termine – dodici episodi da quaranta minuti l’uno, perché di più non avrei retto – arrivando alla fine dell’ultimo episodio pentendomi amaramente della scelta: raramente mi capita di essere così lapidaria, ma l’ho trovato davvero un epilogo di rara bruttezza, dove tutto - ma proprio tutto – sembrava veramente fuori luogo.

Dato il livello qualitativo, parlare degli aspetti tecnici non ha molto senso: basta far caso ad esempio al doppiaggio, che è spesso fuori sincrono. Sorvolo poi sulla gestione della logica del set cinematografico, che è qualcosa al di là del fantasioso (ma del resto, regista e attori devono averne bazzicati pochi nella realtà).
L'OST si salva paradossalmente grazie al brano "Tiger in my love" di Ollie, uno dei due protagonisti: decisamente più apprezzabile come cantante che come attore.

Tirando le somme, arriviamo a una valutazione per la quale bastano – e avanzano - le dita di una mano. Ho apprezzato giusto l’idea di base, ma anche con una copertina interessante un brutto libro rimane una lettura spiacevole. Evitabilissimo.

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Nice, but not at the 1 season level

Season 2 was a bit disappointing, less brotherhood, lee sang yi nerfed, not a single comment about Kim Sae Ron. I'm sorry, it was visually interesting and gave you everything cool and action you wanted to see, with some new fun characters, but the intimacy of the 2 protagonists completely disappeared by making one baby the other. Nerfing Hong u Jin i think was a mistake. The start and the ending were really nice but the middle lacked a bit of comedy usual from the 2 guy. Overall it was a nice season, but the first ona was a different level. I still hope to see more, there's room for it and i really love the director's work, so fighting!!

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DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS!!

This is truly GOATED. One of the most amazing and top-tier Chinese BLs. Man!! Chinese dont come to play, they come to conquer.

The post credit scene ending of episode 12 made this so META that I can't wrap my head around anything.
It's a gorgeous show, EXTREMELY WELL PACED AND WELL SHOT, the lighting, the acting ... Especially by the Feng Chi (the character) and Wu... Won me over.

Everything was so picture perfect production wise! And so much drama, chemistry, comment on reality and toxicity, dealing with sensitive issues like rape..

It was just so well woven together and so well put, HATS OFF TO THE TEAM, TO THE CREW, TO Everyone WHO WAS A PART OF THIS!!

Especially to the writers who wrote this plot, this script, everything!

WOW!

THank you to everyone for bringing this to life! You did make our lives better! Thank you!

WOW!

(ALSO, here's to hoping that China brings BLs back and make LGBTQ legal. China, u r way off in modern culture, man, grow tf up. Restricting art and artists and chinese culture dictating whom to love .. Really should be gunned down)

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This is truly a masterpiece

I don't even know where to start. This is so brilliantly done! I guess I'll begin with a slow hand clap for Chinese BL. 👏👏👏 You're killing it right now.

The story is soooo good. Deep In describes the story, the storytelling, and, for me as a viewer, the way I experienced this drama. I can't remember the last time I was so absorbed in a show!

The acting and the actors contributed to that. I loved watching the mains. Their characters were complex and the chemistry was fire. The visuals were amazing as well, by which I mean they are both beautiful and the way they were captured on film was soft and inviting.

OST was perfect, especially the opening and closing themes. I often just pick a number for the music rating but this soundtrack was truly 10 of 10!

The writing was good. It was the perfect balance of easy to follow but also what the heck just happened moments. I was clinging to every word.

The production was fantastic. Camera work. Direction. Lighting. Set design. Wardrobe. Editing. So so good. I never felt like something was off or distracting.

Top notch job by everyone involved! And now I kinda want to read the novel!

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Healthy Partnership vs. Conditional Love

Many People miss the point of this drama. The drama isnt about judging the MC and her weight, its about a Healthy Partnership vs. Conditional Love.

In high school, MC was a beautiful slim girl and known for ehr beauty. But 15 years later, she has gained a lot of weight and become "overweight".

How she gained weight is totally relatable, as ive been in her exact situation too. The stress of everyday life: work, relationships and much more leading to stress eating. Ive struggled with it too and still do. And with MC, she would eat her stress away, which after years and years led to her gaining weight.

NOW, THIS IS WHAT THE DRAMA IS ACTUALLY ABOUT:

Her boyfriend has been together with her since high school and fell for the pretty her. As she gained weight, he grew resentment towards her and the way she looked. And this is where the drama conveys the differences of Healthy Partnership vs. Conditional Love:

Her boyfriend loves MC conditionally. He was always sweet to her and stayed with her, but he would treat her bad because quietly he had started resenting her for the way she looks. He only loved her when she would look good and fulfill his expectations of her.

Enter the ML, which is supposed to be the opposite of the boyfriend, who shows unconditional love towards her. Instead of being mean and passive aggressive to her, he treats her like a normal person and loves her for her personality and who she is as a person. He points out her overweight issues, but not because her aesthetic bothers him, but because he is genuinely worried about her health, as her diet was like 90% sweets and she wasnt active. Instead of telling her off though, he tells her she should change her lifestyle for the sake of her health BUT together. He will go in the trenches with her: Same diets, cook together, work out together, live healthy together. Its a GENUINE PARTNERSHIP. And even if she is overweight, he likes her because she is who she is.

Realising the show is about this contrast of how a healthy and unhealthy relationship handle change (and its not necessarily about weight, you can insert/think of any change that can happen in a relationship here. The show just used weight as its subject to deliver the message, but its universal.) made me appreciate the show a lot and im sure it will help a lot of people navigate their own relationships and their problems better.

Love this show!

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