Reviews

fofíssimo!!

uma daquelas séries que vai ficando melhor a cada episódio. leve, real, sincera.
conseguiu encapsular muito bem o sentimento das diversas transições pelas quais passamos durante a adolescência de uma maneira muito sensível.

acompanhar essa série semanalmente foi uma delícia. fotografia belíssima que conseguiu me deixar nostálgica como se fosse eu a detentora daquelas memórias.

adoro o gênero coming of age e esse foi muito bem executado.
crescer é algo muito estranho - já dizia lorde: "it feels so scary getting old". no entanto, tudo fica melhor quando você cresce rodeado de amor e começa a entender que as coisas mudarem não necessariamente é algo ruim e você sempre pode levar consigo as partes boas desses momentos. as noites quentes de verão com os amigos no quintal de casa, as conversas bobas com seu primeiro amor pela janela do seu quarto, as viagens com as pessoas que você escolheu para serem sua família... tudo isso permanece em meio a mudança.

ko neung é um daqueles personagens que você cria um carinho como se fosse um amigo próximo, um membro da sua família. acompanhar sua história foi de certa forma pegar emprestado sua adolescência pra mim, uma muito bonita inclusive.

ótima atuação dos personagens principais. gostei muito de conhecer o progress através desse bl.

enfim, só tenho elogios a fazer. uma série fofa (muito!!!) e leve que vai fazer falta na minha rotina.

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The show was decent, i mean you got your regular xianxia drama. Honestly the beginning was pretty good up until Ju Jingyi went to the academy. I mean she's pretty and can sing but she cannot act :'( everytime i watch her drama just to hope that she can play a different role or something but its all usually the same. The history for the entire demon lord and the tree made no sense it didn't really give it a proper story.

I'm just upset about the drama on the costume part but not that it was bad but because it didn't fit the part. Like Xiang Bangchui doesn't care about clothes or hair like in the beginning of the show then all of a sudden when she goes back home she doesn't even thinking about what makes her comfortable but more for what looks good, i think that's with the show and director because we cant have ju jingyi wearing not pretty clothes.

Show was alright, acting for others was good.

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the bromance and mystery was everything ✨️

I usually don't watch a lot of male centered dramas and usually just stick to romance or female centric dramas but MYSTERIOUS LOTUS CASEBOOK?!?!?!?!? THE PLOT IS AESPA BONKERS (but in a good way).

the plot twist!?!?!?!?!? the mystery!?!?!?!?! the cases!?!?!??!? the bromance??!?!?!?!?!! I'm on my knees!!!

the acting was also fantastic. I cried for my baby Li Xiangi 😭. he deserved better 😭😭😭. this drama is amazing!!!

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Second half ruins the entire series so not worth watching.

First half is great, second half ruins the entire series, making it completely NOT WORTH WATCHING. I really wish I hadn't seen this one. The OST choice is so retarded, it grates on your soul.

Spoilers ahead: The female lead never learns, there is absolutely no character growth for her whatsoever throughout the series. She also constantly apologizes to everyone despite being the victim, and she goes out of her way many times to end things on a good note with her abusers, like whaaat?! Additionally, the female lead's mother is sooo poorly written that she just ends up becoming toxic, and everyone always caves to her demands despite acknowledging that she is in the wrong. As for the OST (specifically, "Stand By Your Man"), I personally hate the person who decided to use this song and the moments they used it. I'd like to know what they were smoking so I could avoid it. The way they ended things felt so rushed and weird to watch. Towards the end, I kept wanting to skip it because of how terrible the story gets. But I watched it for the sake of finishing this series and getting it over with so I could move on to something better. If you do end up watching SITR and getting traumatized like I did, I recommend watching something like "Love to Hate You" next, which is what I did and which I feel cured me from SITR trauma.

PS: I haven't seen "One Spring Night" but I read it is very similar to SITR but better story and mature characters and somehow from the same director.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Don't Sleep on Reborn Rookie

Another Reborn Drama from the same webtoon writer of Reborn Rich and I think this is a good addition.

Between the two, though, I actually think Reborn Rookie is the more competent drama. Where Reborn Rich was more experimental and ambitious with scale , Reborn Rookie is much purer in its approach. It fully commits to being a business drama first and foremost, with the body swap element acting more as a vehicle than the destination.

The business storylines are entertaining, the villains are interesting, and the cast is excellent. Everyone plays their part well, and each episode has enough going on to keep you engaged . I genuinely enjoyed spending time with these characters.

For me, regression ,reincarnation and body swap stories work best when the protagonist isn't simply correcting events ,they're also healing relationships, imparting wisdom, or leaving the people around them better than they found them. That's where Reborn Rookie fully excels and I give it top marks for the emotional depth it achieved across characters, Chairman Kang valiantly put things right for all.

It also deftly explores themes of loyalty, faith, trust, understanding, perseverance, and love with remarkable sincerity. What I appreciated most was that it resisted creating cartoonishly evil villains. Everyone's motivations felt understandable, and the redemption arcs were beautifully handled. That's becoming increasingly rare in K-dramas, where antagonists often remain consumed by anger until the very end. Here, the drama allowed its characters remorse, reflection, and humanity, giving even its most flawed figures genuine pathos.

By the time those emotional arcs began wrapping up, I genuinely found myself tearing up and that's not something dramas often manage to do.

My only real criticism is the ending. It felt slightly rushed, and one particular development in the final few minutes left me with a strange taste in my mouth. It felt unnecessary and undercut what had otherwise been such a heartfelt conclusion. Whether it's laying the groundwork for another season or not, I think the drama would've been stronger without it. I also would have appreciated a more meaty explanation to the swapping but I was okay without that until they did that ending.

So I find myself in an awkward position. I think it's comfortably better than average, and there were moments when I wanted to give it an 8.5/10. But because of how uneven I found the ending, I can't quite get there. It's really more of a 7.7–7.9 in my mind, but since MyDramaList only allows half-point increments, I'm settling on a weak 8/10.

If you enjoy business dramas, body-swap stories, and character-driven redemption arcs, I definitely recommend giving this one a watch.

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same old reincarnation plot with a bland fl

i love reincarnation dramas and I usually don't care if the plot is similar since the genre is the same.

but the plot for this drama had SO MANY HOLES! Like damn, if anyone were to walk to the script they'd need to learn swimming first cuz they'd fall through the holes before they can even take a step

but even if I ignored that (which I did), Meng Ziyi's acting skills need polishing. After watching Heyu and Jerery every time the camera focused on her I was IMMEDIATELY taken out of the drama because of how expressionless she was. she's also the reason I ended up dropping the drama.

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interesting premise overall solid commitment

was grateful the premise was substantial enough to drive the pacing of the plot pretty naturally. I think the writing only fell short in the last 2 episodes, especially the final 3 or so scenes. otherwise, despite the story’s effort to be more complex, it actually was able to work out without many plot holes through the main progression. definitely harder to find shows able to achieve it in this genre. and as far as I can tell, even the ending being written flimsily seemed to be faithful to the source material funnily enough.. at least according to reviews I’ve read of the novel. I think at times, the romance felt somewhat misplaced, but I realised the passage of time in the story was stretched wider than indicated so it couldn’t help but feel a bit choppy. can see why people commended this show in its commitment to pass for a regular televised drama despite its minor hiccups and the usual budget limitations for this genre. overall thoughtful scene production to raise the value was appreciated, though the AI in the opening sequence was definitely jarring despite the fact I’d always skipped it anyway. seems that in the effort to seem higher budget, they got lazy in that regard without actually being able to afford to do so, in addition to the misfortune korea has no stigma towards AI even among the art community. characterizations were a bit exaggerated but there was the same issue of an unconvincing ex-cop that didn’t seem necessary. I think the corniness mostly stemmed from the fact they attempted doing too much in lieu of the story being dark in nature. music editing was mildly awkward in certain spots but not off enough to ruin the scenes.

tldr a pretty engaging show that’s able to maintain good momentum for the majority of the show despite the story leaving several conflicts seemingly unresolved in the end. might follow up with spoilers separately to pick on the specific scenes towards the end I had gripes with

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It's just a slice-of-life show, and that's it

It's a comedy slice-of-life show, and that's alright. Its production really reminds me of japanese bls, and so does the storyline. It's simple. Yet, it's kinda dull. As usual, TutorYim's acting are amazing. They're incredibly talented. Still, the narrative is just too weak. Once again, the production was there. Such a beautiful cinematography! But what's up with the script team having a beef with TutorYim? Of course I do understand that this show comes from a day-to-day basis, it is supposed to be easygoing and feel natural, but it doesn't mean it has to be this gray thing. Personally, I didn't have a problem with the ammount of NC scenes nor the sexual undertones of the whole show. I guess it's natural when they're a young and in love couple. Still, there were lots of other ways to go from it. See, in Battle of The Writers, all of the NC scenes felt so well-placed in the story. ChermChey's just feel random, that's the thing. Anyway, it's a comedy show, it's not supposed to be a really big deal. I wish TutorYim get to star a well written show, still. Also, something's worth thinking about is the way ChermChey was probably planned to be received by the audience weekly, considering the rhythm of the story. But, in a long term, that really sucks. Found Yim so cute in this series as a whole. Tutor's unbelievably beautiful with a blonde hair. They're so good.

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Meh.

I found this interesting at first, but I don't know... it just wasn't my cup of tea.

For me, the story left me asking, "Why?" Was it meant to be about healing? Moving on? I'm honestly not sure what the drama was trying to convey. One of the male leads' acting also didn't quite work for me. It felt a bit stiff, so I had a hard time connecting with the character.

As the story went on, it felt like there was one plot twist after another, and I personally found a lot of them unnecessary. Again, I kept asking myself, "Why?" Why did he have to die in a car accident? Why spend so much time developing the other ship when they were never meant to end up together? And what was the purpose of that final goodbye from the one who had already passed away? Maybe I just didn't fully understand what the writers were going for.

OMG, this review sounds so harsh. 😂 Please don't come for me. This is just how the series personally landed for me, and I can completely understand why others might love it. It simply wasn't for me, and that's okay. We all have different tastes, and unfortunately, this one just didn't click with me.

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Som Couple

My Som couple. My Sharmaine couple. 😭 I really hate saying goodbye to them.

First things first, let's appreciate the cinematography and color grading of this series because I think most people would agree that they're absolutely stunning. Every time I watched When Oranges Fall, I found myself smiling from ear to ear throughout the entire episode.

I know I said before that I was getting tired of high school BLs, but I'll gladly take that back. I just needed the right series, and this was definitely one of them. When Oranges Fall has such a calming and nostalgic atmosphere that every episode feels warm and comforting. Age doesn't matter here because every interaction between the couples will still give you butterflies. The angst and conflicts are grounded enough to feel like something real teenagers would actually go through, and they might even take you back to your own high school days.

What I loved the most was how the series explored the emotions and uncertainties that come with graduating from high school. Ko Neung may have seemed immature at times, but that's honestly how a teenager deeply in love would think and act. At that age, your partner feels like your whole world. 😂 Thankfully, they learned to overcome those fears, doubts, and insecurities together, and that's what made their journey so satisfying to watch.

And yes, we were definitely robbed of those two episodes. The story could have been even better if the real-life issue involving one of the actors hadn't happened. But it is what it is. Even with that, this series remains a genuinely beautiful watch, not just for teenagers, but for viewers of all ages. (Speaking on behalf of Team 30s. 😂)

One last question, though...

Did Ko Song's lost package from Episode 1 ever find its way back to its rightful owner? Because I'm still waiting for that closure. 🤣📦🍊

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Review of the first 6 episodes to date

I know many do not like seeing reviews of unfinished dramas, but I have so much to say that I fear I will forget by the time this drama wraps up, so I want to put pen to paper after watching the first 6 episodes and will update once the season wraps up.

So, to date, my overall reaction is that this second season is bigger, denser, and more overtly political than Season 1, but still manages to capture one's full attention; I know it does mine. I feel like I am transported to a different world when I am watching the two-drop episodes each week. I am in awe at how much work has been put into this drama, be it the actors, the writers, the director, or the producers. Just in awe. The one thing I've noticed so far is that the show has traded some of the relentless survival-thriller energy of Ji-an defending the shopping mall for a broader war against Babylon and a deeper exploration of Jin-man's past.

So what is Season 2 doing differently, some of you may ask? To answer this question, I must first say that Season 1 was essentially built around a fantastic hook: a young woman discovers her dead uncle was running a covert arms-and-assassination network. Everything was filtered through Ji-an's confusion and terror. Season 2 shifts the perspective. Instead of asking: what is happening, the question becomes: how do we destroy Babylon? The narrative fills in gaps from the first season and runs parallel stories involving Jin-man's survival, Babylon's internal politics, and the broader network of killers. I find this expansion exciting because the world suddenly feels much larger. I have seen reviews where others say the show has lost some of the claustrophobic intensity that made its first season so addictive. I disagree, but that is why differing perspectives matter.

A new season brings with it new characters, but the characters that matter most are the returning ones, such as Ji-an, Jin-man, Pasin, So Min Hye, Brother, and others. Ji-an remains the emotional center of the series. The biggest development is that she is no longer merely reacting. In Season 1 she was being hunted; in Season 2 she's increasingly making choices and asserting herself within a world she once barely understood. The show is gradually turning her from survivor into player.

As for Jeong Jin-man, he remains the focus, and Lee Dong-wook continues to carry the show. I think one of the clever aspects of Season 2 is showing what Jin-man was doing behind the scenes while Season 1 events unfolded. Rather than undoing Season 1, it reframes it. We learn that many events were part of a much larger operation against Babylon. Jin-man remains fascinating because he genuinely loves Ji-an but routinely manipulates information "for her own good." That contradiction is one of the strongest themes of the season.

As for Pasin and the old crew, they continue to provide continuity with the first season and help expand the mythology of Babylon and the mercenary world. They're arguably more important now because the conflict has moved from a personal siege into something resembling a covert war.

And, of course, there is Bale. He has always been one of the most memorable characters because he's pure chaos. I think what I found fascinating about him is that he is, in more ways than one, Jin-man's dark mirror. Both are lethal operators, with the biggest distinction being that Bale kills because he enjoys it, while Jin-man does only when he has to. I know I am not the only one who kept thinking throughout Season 1, and especially at the end, how did Bale survive? Well, Season 2 finally addresses that. The explanation is that Babylon pulled him out and protected him, tying his survival directly to the organization's power and influence. To me, he is almost mythic; everything Jin-man isn't and yet somehow just as magnetic. He is the villain one loves to hate. In a way, I feel that Babylon uses him to exacerbate situations involving Jin-man, his family, and his friends. He is a tool to be discarded once it becomes obsolete. He is the symptom rather than the cause.

The new characters, however, are where Season 2 really starts to broaden its world. To me, it feels like the new additions are generally there to flesh out Babylon itself. One improvement over Season 1 is that Babylon no longer feels like a vague shadow organization. The show spends more time showing its structure, hierarchy, security systems, rivalries, and internal power struggles. The downside is that not every new character gets enough development. One of them is Okada Masaki. I love him as an actor and was so excited to see him join this season.

That said, two of the new additions who immediately captured my attention are J and Q. Part of that comes down to the performances themselves, but it is also because both characters bring a very different energy into the series. In a drama filled with professional killers, mercenaries, and operatives who often project competence through silence and restraint, J and Q somehow manage to stand out while still feeling completely at home in this world. What I particularly enjoy is the chemistry between them. Whether they are exchanging looks, trading barbs, or working together, they inject a sense of unpredictability into every scene they appear in. They feel dangerous, but also strangely entertaining to watch. Their presence adds another layer to the expanding world of Babylon and helps prevent the growing cast from feeling too similar.

The actors deserve a great deal of credit for this. New characters in a second season often struggle to establish themselves because audiences are already invested in the returning cast. Yet both performers make an immediate impression and feel as though they belong in this world. Even when they are not driving the story forward, they are the kind of characters who naturally draw your attention whenever they appear on screen. More importantly, they represent one of Season 2's greatest strengths: its ability to continually introduce new players while making the world feel larger, more interconnected, and alive. I still hope the series spends more time developing some of its newer characters, but J and Q are among the few who already feel like more than just pieces on the board. A few others, however, feel more like pieces on a chessboard than fully realized people, which I guess makes Babylon and those who continue to do its dirty work the real monsters.

The biggest strengths of the first 6 episodes -- Lee Dong-wook. He is as fantastic as ever. He remains effortlessly charismatic and believable as a strategist, fighter, and reluctant guardian. The world-building is much richer. Babylon finally feels like an institution rather than a mysterious plot device. And the fact that we get to see actors from Japan and other countries makes it that much more impactful. This season also has incredibly strong action sequences. I mean, the first one did as well, but this time around, the fluidity, efficiency, and speed that the Japanese affiliation brings is just a pleasure to watch. The action remains among the best in recent K-drama thrillers. The show understands geography and tension better than many action series.

I think what I like most is that the second season is not just a continuation of the first, but that it provides us with a better understanding of Season 1. Many scenes from the first season gain new meaning once the additional context is revealed. But like any drama that expands its storytelling, especially one that is as fast-paced as this one, it becomes less suspenseful. Not that this means it is any less good, just that it can occasionally feel a bit more predictable, though I am only speaking about the first 6 episodes. Season 1 had a simple, almost perfect premise: survive the night. Season 2 is more complicated but sometimes less gripping because of it. The pacing can feel uneven at times, especially when the drama pauses its momentum for exposition about Babylon's operations and internal politics. The expanding cast means some characters receive less attention than they deserve, while others perhaps receive more than they need. But there is still so much more story to tell, so who knows where it will all lead.

No doubt Season 1 was tighter and arguably more original. Season 2 is more ambitious and expansive. Whether it's better ultimately depends on where it goes from here. This said, I love this season, and I find myself at my wits' end having to wait week to week for new episodes. If you watched Season 1 primarily for Ji-an's desperate fight for survival, Season 2 may feel less focused. If you were fascinated by Jin-man, Babylon, Bale, and the hidden world around the shopping mall, Season 2 is probably giving you exactly what you wanted. I know it is for me.

For me, this season seems to be less about the inconceivable acts some of these people commit and more about the machine that created them in the first place. And I am completely here for that. The rating is based on the first 6 episodes only!

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honest feedback

after completing this series i can finally understand why certain things happened & characters behaved in a way i couldn’t interpret at first. ngl i had a headache to process what was going on, every time, throughout the series but good thing a solution always comes after. the genre isn’t really my cup of tea and i feel like the script is still weak but thanks god to the actors/actress’ talent that they know to deliver every line without making it awkward, thats why i gave them a 9. perhaps, for someone who prefers a fantasy with a plot twist that makes you go “oh i was tricked” at the end, this is for you, but for me, i’d rather watch something simpler and easy to ‘consume’ lol so that’s the reason the storyline got 4. i also wanna point out that ep 11 is my fav ep from the series. if i could rate only one episode, ep 11 will get 10/10 from me. the camping scene had me laughing and enjoying it so much that i forgot about the whole plot. overall, the bl is good, but i know it can be better. good enough to watch and see how they played it well <3

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