Reviews

A Road Trip to Remember

If you're tired of the same old rom-com formula, then this drama is definitely worth watching. It offers a unique story that's fun, adventurous, emotional, and refreshingly different. The road-trip journey, with the characters constantly on the run, led to some genuinely hilarious moments that had me thoroughly entertained. The pacing is mostly fast and engaging, although it does slow down a bit in the final episodes.

I enjoyed the love-hate relationship dynamic between Jae-mi and Hae-Jo.. It felt fresh and natural, and the way they kept gravitating back to each other made them fun to watch bcz they both are impulsive.. They complemented each other perfectly as lovers, even if their relationship occasionally crossed into toxic territory.

I also really liked Heung's character, even though his fate was pretty much the same as every classic second lead. Some people may disagree, but I actually saw chemistry between him and Jae-mi. What surprised me most is that I never expected to take him or his character seriously. Yet somewhere along the way, I found myself rooting for him without even realizing he was the second lead. That alone speaks volumes about the actor's performance. He was fantastic.

The actress who played Jae-mi also did a good job. At times she was way too loud, maybe that’s how her character was suppose to be !! She embodied the character and made Jae-mi feel incredibly real..

My biggest disappointment was the reunion between Hae Jo and his father. Considering how much of the story revolved around Hae Jo searching for his biological father, the payoff felt surprisingly underwhelming. The drama ultimately emphasizes that the man who raised him was his true father, which is a beautiful message. However, their reunion was so brief and emotionally muted that it lacked the impact it deserved. I was also left wondering why his father had become so distant and neglectful in the first place, something the drama didn’t properly addressed.

I would've loved to see more of Hae Jo's little sister as well. Their conversation was one of my favorite scenes, and I felt there was more to explore there. And Johna!! Absolute scene-stealer. I loved every moment he was on screen.

Overall, this was a fun and memorable watch. While the last few episodes lost some momentum, the drama remained entertaining from start to finish.

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PERFECT IN ANY ANGLE and NO BORING EPS

I have always been an "isekai" kind of viewer—from Mr. Queen to IFYLITA—and I can confidently say that this is one of those series that stays with you long after the final credits roll.

First, the cast, especially the main couple. Their chemistry is simply magnetic and, in my opinion, among the best I've seen in the entertainment industry. The acting felt natural, authentic, and emotionally gripping. NETJJ did an incredible job portraying every twist and turn of emotions throughout LUAT. And the antagonists? They made my blood boil—which only proves how well they played their roles.

Second, the OSTs. Absolute chef's kiss. No further explanation needed.

Third, the cinematography. Massive kudos to the production team behind this masterpiece. Every scene was beautifully crafted and visually stunning.

Fourth, I have to commend the animation and opening credits. It's the kind of opening you never skip. The concept was creative, unique, and perfectly executed.

And finally, the plot twist. Whoever came up with that deserves all the praise. Finding out that Phop was the mastermind all along completely blew my mind. If fate works hard, Phop works even harder. He literally did everything he could to make sure that he and Klao would reunite and continue the love story that was cut short. And honestly? I LOVED THAT.

This series gave me everything—romance, emotions, beautiful visuals, unforgettable music, and a plot twist that genuinely caught me off guard. Definitely one for the books.

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perfect for summer

omg I have been waiting for this drama for so long, i love the FL. Lowkey wanted to watch it only for her but the story is interesting. also the ML is so hand and so fit into the story.
The chemistry is serving. the height difference??? omfg its so hot, exactly what we needed.

Till now everything from side roles to ost to main leads everything is on point and not a single scene to skip. I hope it stays the same, after watching today's 4eps I really really have high expectations.

And for my sake I hope they dnt traumatise us and give a happy ending, I have a feeling I need tissue in upcoming days haha. so loving it.

The ost's are so hard, loving it.

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A must-watch 2026 drama as expected from Bai Lu and Cheng Lei!!

Don’t read the spoilers; just start watching!!!
Bai Lu’s dramas are always great, and Cheng Lei’s acting is excellent. The story is very interesting; it unfolds slowly, layer by layer, with new things to discover in every episode. I’ve seen many historical Chinese dramas, but this one feels different. It does a great job showing how the two leads, who both have traumatic pasts, support each other. Novel readers might have different opinion but I didn’t read the novel, drama itself is very good in my opinion.
Their chemistry feels very natural. I also really like the cinematography, which has the gritty, authentic feel of older 2010s historical dramas. It’s refreshing to hear the actors using their own voices, and the more realistic, natural makeup makes the whole production feel much more grounded.

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Watch The Invisibles Instead

It's fun if you've never seen Jazz Boon's other works. If you have, it's boring and predictable.

I'm glad people are calling out the oversexualization of the actresses (and actors too at times). We get it. They're fit, they're hot. But I'm watching this for the crimes and the police procedures not unrealistic portrayals of female cops with long beach waves in their hair, fighting bad guys with short shorts and low neck tank tops. They're either tied up on a chair, on a table, tossed around, a**aulted, or drugged constantly. It's so distracting. There are literally camera shots solely focused on Tiffany's butt as she's talking. The skin-showing is gratuitous. It makes me very uncomfortable just knowing how overly sexualized the actresses are. There is an entire case where the Tiffany and Rosita were dressed up in skimpy maid costumes. This is some weird fetish content fishing for views. I think the actresses deserve better merits for their acting and stunts instead of the directing calling for cheap tricks.

This series is a recycled "The Invisibles." It's literally the same plot. Joel and Moon have the same relationship barrier as Kenneth and Natalie, albeit more silly. Owen's adopted daughter, as cute as she is, takes up way too much screen time. I don't really care about her as a whole. TVB STOP FORCING CHILD ACTORS ON US.

Tiffany Lau's character cries too much. Owen is really carrying the series. Moon Lau is pretty good too. Joel's character fades into the background. Rosita looks way too frail and young to be in the position she's in at the police force, and her contact lenses are distracting. Jazz Lam literally plays the SAME character as he did in The Invisibles just without the disability.

The humor is annoying. It's the same trope. Couple who loves each other but do not get together due to a misunderstanding caused by poor communication. They risk their lives to save each other; the misunderstanding gets settled, then they get together and have a really awkward bed scene that's played for laughs. It was in Line Walker, The Invisibles, and here it is again. The cases while fun, are incredibly unrealistic. EVERY case is connected to the main characters and/or their relatives. Man, Hong Kong must be really small if the police force are only picking up cases that endanger their family members. The way Jazz Boon writes his female characters are so bad. They're emotional, rash, and crybabies. They blame their male love interest for something dumb, and their male love interest end up saving their butts multiple times. Jazz Boon loves when his male characters jump in to heroically save the day while consistently getting blamed for things they didn't do. Oh, boo hoo.

Overall, I'm tired of the Jazz Boon (the producer) formula. He's out of ideas. The sets, the clothing, the pacing -- it's just The Invisibles all over again.

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Don’t Mess with the Nerds.

If most parents would want their kids to be the top scorer in their school, Yun Gamin’s mom is satisfied enough if her son could graduate safely even if he’s at the bottom. Yun Gamin had always been the permanent resident of the bottom 5 in all the schools he attended so far, and although his future seems bleak, he decides to enrol into Yusung Technical High School as his last resort to enter college through special admittance lane. He diligently try to recruit students to join his study group to improve his exam score, and finally manages to gather four seemingly hopeless kids through blood and sweat. But then he faces yet another stumbling block, Yusung’s #1 student, son of a feared chaebol in the district, Pi Hanul would not let any of those kids to study and would try every means necessary to tear them apart even if it means to kill.

I was so excited to see Seo Yul from Alchemy of Soul playing the ML here. His looks is as gentle and harmless looking like he did in AoS, and fits the nerdy Yun Gamin perfectly well. Yun Gamin looks like a super nerdy loser just waiting to be bullied with his big ass glasses of his, but this character packed some serious punches once provoked. Little that people know, ML spends every morning training martial art. Although his physique fits more for an athlete instead of a nerd, he was adamant on studying instead, despite always occupying the bottom 5, because he felt a kind of fullfilment when he manages to answer questions right, no matter how low his overall score turned out to be. It’s an attitude that every parent would dream of to have in their kids, diligence and perseverence.

I really liked how the writer string in each kid into ML’s study group through such uncanny encounters and circumstances. Each character is very different from each other, although they all do share the same goal, which is to study for college and that they would not give in to the gangster’s pressure to quit. A special note on the one who played Pi Hanul, he looked exactly like chinese actor Ding Yuxi, it’s like seeing a younger version of him.

It is rather sad to see how the adults failed these children though. I am not sure if this is the reality in Korea, but for adults to enable this fear of school while promoting hopelessness is the absolute violation of kids’ rights for education. These enabler kids, parents and teachers really needed some ample slaps from Teach You a Lesson’s Inspector Na Hwajin.

That aside, watching the show also made me feel like I was watching a superhero show, cuz these kids fight like they have superpowers - smashing thick windows and sliding doors, crashing through walls, kicking through reinforced locked doors and jumping off high floors. Even broken/dislocated knee could not stop the ML from teaching those bullies (that look more like criminals than students) a lesson. I love it each time Uncle’s Ultimate Move makes its debut. No matter how outworldly unrealitistic the fights looked, i thoroughly enjoyed myself cuz the satisfaction of seeing the villains bleed and knocked out is very fullfilling.

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The Noble Idiot trope must die! (Again)

This series grabbed and held my attention right from the start. The small town setting is refreshing. The warm and quirky locals gave the drama a cosy feel. It is a hoot when the entitled FL lands with a thud in the middle of the backwaters town and start the whole fish-out-of-water trope. But wait! There is more. Toss in a handsome, no-nonsense ML and we get the central enemy-to-lover storyline. Those innocent villagers are in for a wild ride!

Everything is going swimmingly for a while. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you our leads are falling in love by the day. Unfortunately, as they played students in preparation for the Gaokao, they have to play it straight. Lots of accidental closeness, cutesy gestures and meaningful gazes are all we are getting.

I'd happily eat all that up and ask for more. Even the odd second leads seem to read the room and fades away gracefully. What a pleasant change. Unfortunately, the distracting side plots just keep piling up.

Most of these subplots are of little significance and centred around small town shenanigans and school yard antics. There are also some criminals running amok in the background. I don't understand why those repeated offenders are not hauled away. You'd think the production would be keen to send an anti-crime message. Yet, the same gang pops up repeatedly.

All these subplots only serve to hamstring our OTP's progress. While both our leads are close to 30yo in real life, they must look and act like teenagers for the bulk of the show. They did well for the most parts. How I wish their young love is as straightforward. (sigh)

Let's face it, by the 2/3 mark, they are together in every sense of the word other than going public and doing all the couple things. We end up in this vicious cycle of maximum yearning but minimal fan service. Just when you think they can breakout after the Gaokao, the FL's father happened.

As expected, our leads lost all their agency and must default to "your father know best". This is a insurmountable roadblock as far as our leads are concerned. The writer then play the Noble Idiot card on us with minimum warning . . just for LoL. To rub salt into the wound, this lasted FIVE miserable years!

Call me stupid, but what is the point of this "twist"? This is just gambling with your future. What happens if one of them got hit by a Big White Truck of Doom™? What if someone swept them off their feet and they meet again years later with spouse and bambini in tow? I'm sure this is a trope as well. 🤦🏻

As if to confirm the pointlessness of it all, once they found each other again, they went from 👋🏻 to get a 🛏️ in one EP. They could have had 2.2 kids by now. Grrrr

Which brings us to the last 3 eps. It is fan service overload. Everyone either gets a redemption or are living their best lives. They need to seriously market that town as some kind of Happiness Retreat. Of course, our leads are 110% together by then and inseparable. Woe to anyone who stood in their way.

I'm not saying this is a bad show. It is an easy watch with nice characters and a cosy setting. I just wish they didn't fluff around (technical term) in the middle and double down on the Noble Idiot trope. It turned a promising romantic drama into a typical idol village/school drama. Peace.

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One swordsman can’t change the world... a dynamic duo with killer skills is a whole other story:)

Can you truly know someone inside out? Is absolute trust possible in this world? What kind of bond could be forged in the depths of hell and honed in the tumultuous waves of the dark river? Alliance doomed to rupture or true brotherhood able to withstand the temptations of power? What would the principled and stoic Su Muyu and ambitious and ruthless Su Changhe of Blood River sect be without the 20-year bond connecting them?
The fascinating dynamic resembling a karmic relationship between, borrowing Changhe’s own words, two men walking different paths paving the road for each other forms the core of the drama. Changhe’s boldness propels them forward towards realising their goals, while Muyu’s unwillingness to bend carves them a chance at a future.
The story, sadly, shifts its focus from this indomitable pair blazing through jianghu to shake up the status quo towards court politics (yaaawn) in later episodes.

The drama has a strong, tension-filled opening that hooked me right away. The fight for succession with constant reversal of fortune, followed by the struggle to cut off all the invisible hands controlling the assassin sect from the shadows were fast-paced, thrilling, and saturated with intense music and spectacular fight scenes.
It’s my favourite part of the drama. Despite being thrown into the action right away, the stakes are clear, twists plentiful and the backstabbing enjoyable:)
The characters' introductions were unique (Mu Ciling<3) and held a lot of promise.
The friction between Muyu and Changhe coming from their, uhm, mismatched life philosophies, together with the clashing loyalties and personal ambitions within the sect’s three families, made for a compelling watch.
The next chapter with Muyu shedding his ‘umbrella ghost’ identity and setting out alone to conquer the ghosts of his past followed the typical wuxia scenario of everyone under heaven scheming against each other. It was still enjoyable but a bit too tangled and unresolved.

Then the story takes a weird turn. Instead of focusing on the remaining assassins building their future together, it spends a long time introducing royal princes on opposite sides of a power struggle I couldn’t care less about. I didn't agree with Blood River taking stakes in that fight at all. They should've reinvented themselves far from the imperial court instead.
On that note, I’m confused about the rules of this Beili place when it comes to the relations between court and jianghu. Shouldn’t those be separate? How come martial sects are aligned with different court powers, including sword deities working as city guardians and babysitting royals?
Palace politics and zombies/puppets are two of my least favourite things (edit: forgot the story also had spiders! Brrrr!) so I was very impatient for the story to move on, but it turned out to be the final arc. It dragged and left the Blood River story feeling unfinished.

Muyu is the unquestionable protagonist, but he’s also the one that confused me the most. What did he truly want? A sword master of such calibre, is he really without ego and would be content to spend the rest of his life living in obscurity as a physician’s assistant? What about his father’s legacy and rebuilding No-Sword City? Or was that only his dream because he knew it was out of reach? I mean, would a man craving a trouble-free life ever become best mates with Changhe?;)
If we’re to believe those who crossed swords with him, he’s got a complex emotional landscape ranging from unbridled defiance to gentle forbearance. His song talks about a fire inside him that can never be put out and a battle he’s fighting against himself. I would’ve loved to see more of this complex inner world reflected in Gong Jun’s portrayal. His normally (endearingly) expressive face is quite difficult to read in this drama. For a character torn by inner conflicts and two identities you can hardly glimpse it under the stoic facade and colourless delivery. Personally, I think it would’ve been better if he was dubbed by an experienced voice actor.

Fortunately, Changhe’s purpose is written very clearly, which makes him a very compelling character. He dares to dream big and has patience and cunning to realize his goals. I liked him best when he got out of control and his crazy was showing;) I wish he was given a more detailed background and space to tell his own story though. He often refers to his difficult past, but we’re barely given any details. His personal revenge completely lacks emotional impact as a result.

Muyu’s love interest, the miracle doctor Bai Hehuai, seems fun, quirky and capable at first but fails to have any meaningful development. Her candid personality often clashes with Muyu’s reticence for comedic effect, but their lukewarm chemistry and moments of awkward dialogue (I thought she’ll never stop listing her endless jianghu connections) make some of their scenes a bit of a snoozefest. I’m also not a fan of this type of fake exuberant acting. Generally, the romances in this drama lack substance and veer too much into sentimentality for the dark, no-nonsense mood of the earlier episodes.

To sum up, this is a grand fantasy spectacle with dark atmospheric visuals and a melancholic tone. I’d recommend it to anyone in the mood for a suspenseful and action-packed wuxia, featuring ‘born to fight their fate’ (anti)heroes.

P.S. I just read what happens to Muyu and Changhe in Blood of Youth, which is supposed to be the continuation of their story 👀 It's kind of hard to believe because loyalty is one of Changhe's defining characteristics here and I just can't imagine Muyu ever letting it happen to them. If that version of the story is canon, then I'm sticking with this fanfic:)

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What a damn mess...Park Bo‑young Deserved So Much Better

I finished Gold Land tonight. And I mean that in the most reluctant way possible. You know that feeling when you're too far into a book to quit, but every page makes you sigh a little louder? That was me, episode after episode, right up to the finale.

If you are a Park Bo‑young fan, which I absolutely am, let me start with the good news. She is remarkable here. Genuinely, remarkably good. Watching her sink her teeth into a darker, morally complicated character is such a treat that I almost feel grateful for this drama's existence. Almost. She gives us a performance that is layered, tense, and deeply human, and if you watch Gold Land for no other reason, watch it for her. You will be well fed.

For everyone else? I gently, lovingly, but firmly suggest you save your sanity, preserve your self‑respect, and go watch something else. Anything else. Because this show is a mess. A beautiful, expensive, star‑studded mess.

Let me back up for a moment. Gold Land comes from the minds of writer Hwang Jae‑yoon and director Kim Sung‑hoon, and it boasts an ensemble cast that any production would envy: Park Bo‑young, Kim Sung‑cheol, Lee Hyun‑wook, Kim Hee‑won, Moon Jung‑hee, and Lee Kwang‑soo. The premise is deliciously pulpy. Our heroine Kim Hee‑joo works as an airport security agent, and her boyfriend talks her into letting a suspicious coffin slide through inspection. Inside that coffin? About 150 billion won worth of gold bars. Suddenly she is caught between betrayal, greed, and survival, and she makes the fateful choice to keep the treasure for herself. On paper, that sounds like a taut, gritty crime thriller, doesn't it?

But somewhere between the promising premise and the final credits, the wheels fall off. And I don't mean in a small way. I mean in a way that made me stare at my screen, tilt my head, and ask out loud, "Wait, did I miss something?"

The biggest issue, by a landslide, is the severe continuity problem. And I am not talking about characters making questionable decisions. Honestly, that part is fine. These are ordinary people blinded by greed, and their choices feel believable enough. What I am talking about is something far more basic. The drama doesn't operate on any recognizable logic, not even the logic of its own world. We are dealing with physics, cause and effect, and the human body's basic limitations, and Gold Land seems to think these are optional.

Let me give you concrete examples, because I kept a mental list out of sheer disbelief. In one episode, a character gets his knees bashed in with brutal force. We are talking about the kind of injury that would require surgery and months of rehabilitation. In the very next episode, with no time jump and no explanation, he is walking around as if he just had a mild bruise. Everything in this show happens over a very short period, because everyone is frantically chasing the gold, so there is no room for recovery. But somehow, miraculously, he is fine.

In another scene, a character is hit by a speeding car. They fly through the air, crash onto the pavement, and then, I kid you not, they stand up and walk away with barely a scratch after a few days in a hospital. A scratch. I rewound that scene a couple of times just to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. When a thriller that relies on tension and stakes cannot even respect the basic rule of gravity, what are we even doing here? These are supposed to be regular human beings, not superheroes. Maybe the writers assumed nobody would pay attention to those details. But I did, and it drove me up the wall. When characters survive fatal car accidents and crippling assaults without consequences, all the suspense evaporates. Why should I hold my breath during a chase if I know they have plot armor thicker than a gold bar? It made everything feel weak and cheap.

And it is not just the physical logic. The show's treatment of the gold itself is surprisingly lazy for a drama named after it. For a series built entirely on the premise of finding and exchanging this treasure, the writers didn't seem to bother with the practicalities of how anyone would actually liquidate that much illicit gold. The mechanics are handled so haphazardly that it yanks you right out of the story. It is a small thing, but it adds to the growing sense that the production just didn't care about the details.

Through all of this chaos, Park Bo‑young stands like a lighthouse in a storm. She carries this entire show on her shoulders, and she does it with such grace and intensity that I honestly felt a little protective of her. It is wonderful to see her step into a darker, more conflicted role, shedding her usual sweetheart image for a woman who is terrified, desperate, and driven to the edge. She plays a cornered animal so convincingly that her performance is worth the price of admission alone. I stuck with Gold Land partly because I wanted to see how it ended, but mostly out of sheer respect for her. She gave it her all.

But when the world around her refuses to obey even the simplest rules of storytelling, even a performance this good can only do so much. It is like watching a brilliant actor perform Shakespeare on a sinking ship. You admire the performance, but you cannot ignore that the ship is going down.

The message I got from Gold Land was loud and clear: we don't think you are paying close attention. And as someone who was very much paying attention, I felt a little insulted. All those chases, all those life‑or‑death moments, all that tension, they lost their weight because I never knew whether anyone was actually in danger.

So here is my honest, warm, coffee‑chat conclusion. If you are a die‑hard Park Bo‑young fan, by all means, watch it for her. She is phenomenal, and you will not be disappointed in her. But if you are not, or if you value internal consistency and a story that respects its own rules, please save yourself. Go watch something that treats its audience with more care. Your time, your sanity, and your self‑respect are worth far more than this frustrating, beautifully acted, but deeply broken drama.

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CLIFFHANGER

The only ending more abhorrent than a drive-by bow ending (they wrap entire shows up in under 2 minutes) is plot twist and cliffhanger twists with no next season in sight. When you watch a show you are investing time into it. Yes, most people watch entertainment to relax but it is still an investment and finding out you wasted it is extremely frustrating. This was a GOOD show. The writing, editing, and acting was done very well. but that last minute... Also, I was unclear if she had a miscarriage or maybe its the caffeine withdrawal combined with too much exercise. idk.

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Others might say it's too blunt or whatever but not for me

As a bl writer I know the struggle of writing one. And to see a story like this was so good and interesting for me and in my opinion like let be personally realistic here. His grandpa was an ex military man so him ending up as a writer of a bl story for him its new its hard its not appealing but he did try he did a change of mindset and honestly in the latest scene ep 10 where it was reveal that the 2nd son was a gay that's even more the interest was peak of I even cried when the son look at that gay kid in their orphanage house as if seeing himself and letting go of a long mis understanding that he wasn't accepted by his dad when in fact his dad just want him to focus on studying and not be ridicule by other kids and that his dad kept his panieta in thought someday his kid will understand but instead he distant himself to them because he thought that the our grandpa was embarrassed of having a gay son not asking if he really was but then it wasn't like that thou grandpa didn't clarify it because he felt embarrassed about it too. Not until Save turn the page and make them ammend on the long mis understanding and Save's father I get it let's be realistic here in reality not all father's are good not all father's can be a father too nor can admit they need help that easy so the character of his dad I find it good reflection too of most common straight dads and the scene of save asking about his real identity as a part of LGBT and his dad's reaction it was true it was realistic for me so for those who ridiculous commenter think again...... This series doesn't said bl alone it's about family, coming out and dreams.... Accepting one self and understanding LGBT culture too so watch it. And I hope this 2 remaining episodes will be good too and not going to have a disappointing ending... Also if it would have a 2nd season maybe it would be about save and his boyfriend and his drastic life change ls moments and maybe how he and his grandpa was after the novel was released to really written by his grandfather and not him.

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ouch

It was painful watching Guo Yuxin carry the whole show on her own. I mean yes the ML was well built but that was it. His whole emotional range was, "I'm about to blow up" and that's it.
That being said the writing was at least not... yeah, no nothing creative or different here. Past trauma is not a reason to emotionally or physically abuse someone. Also, he had YEARS where he could have been honest with her. He _chose_ not to and therefore left the door open for a third party to mess with their marriage. She deserved better. Hell, that poor secretary deserved better. I think the best parts the ML had was when the FL thought he was gay and together with his secretary. It probably would have been a relief and less therapy bills for the both of them.

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