Reviews

Force love on gender reverse role

I watched this drama because of Sun Qian Xun. The beginning of the drama is a bit exaggerated, it was fun but i don't like it since it was sexual harassment but in gender reverse role. FL has bipolar disorder and quite pervert .

The plot is about FL who finds ML through genetic matching and is determined to have a child with him since her grandmother is seriously ill. ML is an orphan who was adopted by a wealthy family as a child and was humiliated and abused by their children.

At first, she directly tries to steal the ML, thinking she can sleep with him whenever she wants. Although FL is quite skilled, the ML is wary and prevents her from succeeding. FL starts by influencing the ML's grandmother, gaining her trust as she's anxious about his marriage and moving into his house

Wang Chaoyang in this drama was quite unfortunate, he is damsel in distress ML and it's Sun Qian Xun who don't get unfortunate and it become her remark as strong woman.

But believe me, the plot flows smoothly, and the setup is well-done. The revelation of the ML's past is very reasonable, with well-executed plot twists.

Still decent drama if you don't mind the first scene.

Read More

A Positively Mixed Bag

Disclaimer: I read the manhwa
All spoilers mentioned are related to the manhwa. Only broad and generalized comments about the Drama was mentioned.

The GOOD:

As a stand alone romance drama, Positively yours was pretty average. It has everything needed for a romantic plot: a prince charming, a damsel, a wicked witch and a supportive cast. If you have NOT read the manhwa I would rate almost 7.

I enjoyed the evil sister in law's villain arc. It was satisfying to watch in a makjang. was she over the top sometimes, yes but I was there for it. I also loved the personal assistant. He was such a scene stealer with his one liners. I enjoyed the supportiveness of ML's niece and FL's coworkers. Often times they banded around the main couple in solidarity. I also liked the messiness of the ML's father. Most times in dramas, the characters are either from two extremes; either great or terrible. That the ML's father was a muddy mess was a delight to watch. He was definitely the SIL's villain origin story and created a lot of problems with his poor decisions. These decisions affected people negatively around him.

Overall the drama was ok but I'm judging from the source material.


The BAD:

As an adaptation, this drama sucked big time. This was one of the worst I've seen. In my opinion, the writers didn't understand the manhwa at all. The reason why the main couple had issues with marriage and relationships was because of their family values and upbringing. Do Jun comes from a large family and feels smothered at times while Hui won's comes from a broken single family unit that practically abandoned her. Do Jun was terrified of the weight of family and responsibility whereas Hui Won was terrified of the hurt that comes from broken trust.

The drama didn't capture this at all. They just did their own thing.

The love triangle in the plot was horrible because Min Uk was the family she had after her parents neglected her. It was like they stole her support system. He was her nieghbour when they were young and he became her safe haven when things were difficult at home. Min Uk was the first person to show her sincerity and because of that she confused her feelings of gratitude for love. It was why she felt so betrayed when her best friends were dating behind her back.

And as much as I enjoyed the SIL, she was the solution to a problem that never existed. The manhwa was character driven so there weren't any real Heroes or Villains. The characters got in their own way because their hang ups.

And the fact that they erased Hui Won's father was crazy. Hui Won's parents are a core part of her character. Hui Won's father was a man who loved love and at the time of Hui Won's pregnancy, he was getting married for the 4th time (I think). He had numerous relationships throughout Hui Won's life and was the main source of her trust issues.


The UGLY:

My biggest gripe with this drama was how they portrayed Hui Won's mother as a bitter, drunk, single woman. There was no denying she was an awful mother. But her faults lay with her being unable to communicate her feelings to her daughter. The parent's marriage failed because of Hui won's father fun loving nature clashed with her mother's ambition. She wanted to be more than just a wife and mother and wanted a career. She did feel a bit a resentment but it wasn't toward Hui Won holding her back but because of the lack of support she received for trying to pursue her career. She loves her daughter but feels burdened by the mistakes that were made. She had a successful career and was even in a relationship but the drama portrayed her so poorly.

Another peeve was the beer company! I mean why choose that hill to die on? Pregnancy and alcohol! There were so many other controversial topics to exploit. Like career driven mothers, single motherhood, children raised in broken family homes, divorce and remarriage and the impact it has on children. The manhwa had so many topics that I couldn't understand why they had to create such a poor one.

As someone who loves when adaptations come to life, Positively Yours failed to satisfy basic storyline.

TLDR: If you read the manhwa you will hate it. If you didn't it's a normal romance drama

Read More

A detailed analysis of the main characters' interactions, dynamics and their relationships.

Empress Ki is an unforgettable and truly magnificent historical drama with an amazing cast and mesmerising performances especially from HJW and JCW.

First off, JCW was exceptional in this role. This is one of his best performances (another being The Worst of Evil). He plays complex and three-dimensional characters unbelievably well. I didnt expect the emperor to be such a fascinating character and I was immediately drawn to him when he showed up so fearful and innocent on-screen.

The emperor was a flawed hero but so captivating and a pleasure to watch; he poured every emotion out of the character, the same can be said about the beautiful and strong Nyang.

I didnt know the real story or history of Empress Ki so I watched this out of curiosity and interest. The story pulls you in from the first episode and I enjoyed every episode!

What I loved about this drama was that it wasn't a predictable straightforward love story. The ending and outcome were completely different to what I had predicted.

From the opening scene and first episode I was expecting an epic love story between the king (Wang Yoo) and Nyang. I predicted Wang Yoo and Nyang would be the main couple, it was set up like that. It made sense as both were from Goreo and he had saved her once when they were children so they already had a connection from childhood. But, despite thinking that they were supposed to be the main couple, as the drama continued I began to become less enthusiastic and convinced about them than the earlier episodes.

If I am to believe that wang yoo is the main lead, then why am I seeing the emperor in almost every shot after he appeared on screen. He had way more exposure than wang yoo. Every time he came on screen with his charming presence and funny antics he stole the show. Wang Yoo was sent away fighting or out of the main plot most of the time which meant not only was he getting less and less screen time but was also apart from Nyang. He just faded into the background.
In a love triangle as tense as this and where the first relationship wasn't well executed in the first place and then there were too many scenes with her and the emperor together I started to feel an emotional detachment from them and wanted to see more of Tawhan and Nyang. Ultimately I was soon more swayed with the emperor and Nyang pairing because it was based on real life and I generally find these stories more appealing. Then on top the emperor and empress's interactions were so natural and addictive to watch.

I needed to see more of a connection with wang yoo and nyang for me to believe in them, and not for them to be shown through memories or dreams and long distance gazes. Initially, I thought she returned to the emperor only for revenge or would stay with him whilst loving another man. I think perhaps that might have been the original storyline; however in this drama she never went back to Wang Yoo, even after her revenge she didn't return and she never uttered words of love to him. As the drama was reaching it's climax wang yoo was then killed off. He died in the penultimate episode. How can the (supposedly) male lead die with one episode left and the other lead still be remaining, unless it is the emperor she'll be with till the end. I was also expecting her to express her feelings to wang yoo after he died, she cried her eyes out but her tears were only of regret and remorse. She kept saying she'd repay him back (possibly out of guilt) after everything he did for her, but there were no expressions of love or regret she had left him or not returned back to him. I was waiting to hear words with emotion or longing for him - it didn't happen. Then I understood, wang yoo wasn't the one!

The main reasons why the emperor felt like the main lead and Nyang and him felt like the end couple in this drama were:

1. Their many interactions and exchanges were playful and cute in the beginning and then later quite passionate.
2. Her thinking about the emperor (example - after Wang Yoo's proposal) left me perplexed. If she truly loved Wang Yoo then she would have happily accepted his proposal even after thinking over it. She could have hesitated for other reasons (not feeling worthy or good enough perhaps), but her thinking of the emperor at that moment made her acceptance to Wang Yoo's proposal feel like a compromise at the end.
3. Their chemistry on screen was more thrilling to watch and they had much more screen time together.
4. Their story from the beginning till end was well thought out and written compared to Wang Yoo and Nyangs story. As a viewer you could see their journey together, their story felt complete.
5. Their scenes generally had a modern romantic setting and vibe normally against a beautiful background creating a visually alluring mood and presence between them.

As I was getting confused with who the main lead was; in the middle of watching the drama I decided to read the real story of Empress Ki. The emperor was fundamental to the plot of her becoming an empress. I then understood in the drama why there was a shift to the emperor and the focus was on them rather than Wang Yoo and Nyang. I think this is an example where the combination of having a story with characters based on real life and a fictional story (that didn't actually happen) can be distracting and possibly unnecessary because wang yoo didn't exist in that history meaning he is unessential to the plot of Nyang rising to power and becoming empress ki. So, either the story had to follow the fictional love triangle plot or the historical plot.
The drama ultimately followed history, with the man that gave Nyang position and title.

One thing to note, Nyang didnt look at or think of wang yoo in the same way after returning to the palace. She shed tears for him remembering what had happened between them but after her and the emperor were intimate and had their own family the drama showed she had moved on. You could see her reluctantly, yet slowly falling for the emperor, the scenes prior to the hunting episode showed her softening towards him. After Wang yoo and Nyangs exchanges were short and formal and when they formed an alliance it was purely for political reasons. She cared enough to show compassion, but maintained her emotional boundaries.

Even though the emperor loved and was obsessed with Nyang; her decisions alone determined her fate at the end. She chose to go back to the emperor knowing how he felt about her, she chose to get emotionally and physically close to him, she chose to stay with him, she chose to remain loyal to him, she chose Ayu and her new family, she chose to become the empress, she chose to love the emperor (her only confession in the drama) and stayed by his side no matter what and she chose to forgive all his wrongdoings. This proves she was never in conflict with who she should be with or loyal to, Nyang's conflict was with her identity and where she really belonged in the world (her being Goryeon in China).

Identity crisis was a running theme throughout the drama and this was her main struggle in the story. Apart from running back to wang yoo (if she truly loved him), another reason to return to her homeland would have been the palace not accepting her. But, the drama didn't show her as a coward or weak who would abandon those she loved. She was a woman whose love for her family forced her to protect them at whatever cost and to survive the conflicts inside and outside the palace. She was tough, strong, cold, more deadly towards her enemies, yet at the same time loyal, protective, stayed true to her principles, never wavering in any situation. This was how the viewers could sympathise and root for our heroine in the drama, as opposed to her becoming revengeful, heartless or powerhungry.

Except for a few issues or weaknesses; the story/plot was close to perfect. If I were to be really picky then the few issues would be, for example Bayan's appearance and storyline felt repetitive after Tanashiri's death. I found El Temur's death was dragged and didn't need to hear his long speech. Also Maha wasn't well thought out or needed in the story. Nyang returned to the palace for revenge over what happened to her son and friends, but she could still have taken her revenge over what happened to them without the baby plot line. He was killed off anyway before knowing who his parents were, so what was the point of his storyline in the first place. He was only used to create more angst and conflict between the main characters and to keep wang yoo in the love triangle which by this point was getting tedious as it didn't make any difference to the plot; nothing changed between Nyang and wang yoo.

Frankly, there was enough drama going on in the palace to keep the viewers attention. The drama should have kept to the politics, conspiracies, conflicts and backstabbing within the palace and then Nyang overcoming all that turmoil and focused on the relationship between the emperor and her, rebuilding the trust and reconnecting with each other. This would have kept more with the real facts and a better story. Near the end, the drama felt rushed because there were so many problems and events that had to be resolved.

Finally, after all the trials and tribulations; the final episode felt incredibly moving. I felt that this episode answered alot of questions especially concerning Nyang. In this final episode when the emperor is sick but still alive in her arms, she could just have let him die without confessing. The viewers knew he loved her and he showed her how much she meant to him. He just wanted her to know he loved her. She did say earlier she would tell him her true feelings one day or when the time was right and from the smile on his face after hearing her confession, it seemed like he already knew it. I'm guessing in those times, saying the words 'I love you' was a big deal, it wasn't frequently said compared to nowadays and only said when really felt or meant it. Wang Yoo had said the words to Nyang in her dream in the previous episode but she hadn't reciprocated his feelings. In fact, in the final episode there was no mention or thoughts about Wang Yoo, even when Wang Yoo's men and Nyang were talking about Eagle House and Wang Yoo's name came up, Nyang appeared indifferent, there was no reaction upon hearing his name.

Wang Yoo had the advantage of meeting Nyang first (in childhood and then later as adults), he had alot of FIRSTS with her.
So, her love confession to the emperor was particularly poignant and special as this was his FIRST with her and also the viewers FINALLY hear her express her real feelings.
Ultimately, Nyang remained strong and loyal to her principles and to the man she fell in love with and a country she adopted as her own.

The ending was emotional and bittersweet. Ayu's voice in the background with his parents riding away was touching. I just wish I could have seen all three togther.

But, it was a perfect ending to a perfect drama!

Read More

Enticing, captivating, intriguing, interesting suspense drama!!!!

With a well written plot, fast paced story, no messy side plots, mind blowing twists and turns,The Wanted Detective, has truly impressed me and by far the best detective drama I have ever watched!!
The storyline and its execution is excellent💯👍
The acting of the cast is perfect.
Wang Xingyue has truly excelled in this role and is phenomenal in his acting. 👌
I liked the friendship between Xiao Beiming, Zhong Xueman, Huo Dairong, Feng Qingzhou and Zhuge Kongyun.
A special mention of Deng Kai as Zhuge Kongyun and He Luoluo as Tong Shuang, they really excelled in their roles. 👏
The music is good, action scenes were perfect with not being over the top, and everything else is good.
This was the drama that kept me hooked right from the start itself and imho, I didn't find any boring moments, but rather was deeply invested in it.
The plot proceeds at a very steady pace, the investigation is very good and how the group join hands together to solve the center problem of the whole drama,is truly impressive😍
On a final note, A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED DRAMA which is teuly thrilling right from the start and takes you on a roller coaster ride of investigation, emotions, friendship, love, hatred,and trust.
Thank you team The wanted detective for this MASTERPIECE. I cant wait to recommend enough this drama., 💯👍👌

Read More

Perfect!

My goodness! The stepmother was awful! Even her voice was disgusting when I heard it. Superb acting from the cast. Though I must say Sung Hoon was a bit behind. He is very good at humour and other scenes though. This drama is a very good adaptation of marry my husband manwha. This is what I wished the drama was. I have not yet read the manwha for this however the characters are written to well. Each episode was engaging and satisfying. It got received punishment for their actions that was fitting. I adored this! Each episode was enough. It did not drag. It was engaging. I like that they didn’t let Jung wook off with the pitiful child and disabled excuse. He simply used it as a crotch to be a wicked person. Like YuRa. They both had all they could ask for. And used it to abuse their siblings. I’m glad that nobody forgave them. Or settled with the forgiving tactic. Sun Jin’s son deserved more punishment for what he did to Yi Joo. Same with her father. Yura should’ve been kicked out by her father. He should’ve found out that she wasn’t his daughter either then then be disowned for what she do to Jiyoo. We should’ve seen it and be satisfied. My goodness! Either way, I am still happy with this masterpiece! 💋

Read More

Madness, Mayhem and Too Many Emotions

Let me start of by saying that I LOVE THIS DRAMA ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Although the plot and the theme of the drama is far beyond overused, however this drama did a wonderful job in every aspect required.

I will try to write my review without much spoilers.

The writer and the director did a wonderful job in how the pacing of the story went, there was not even a scene that was not required, or was not entering. I normally don't have much expectation of the live action as the production team often tend to add their on take, however this drama managed to stay true to the original story (There were minuscule changes, if I am being 100% honest, but don't care 🤷🏻‍♀️).

Whoever did the casting for this drama requires a pay raise, as they did a fabulous job in finding Yu Wan Yin / Wang Cui Hua and Xiahou Dan / Zhang San. The actors did a wonderful job in brining the characters alive and their chemistry was absolutely marvellous. Starting from the main leads to the side characters, every character was well paid. The male lead (Ryan Cheng) did an excellent job of portraying various emotions as well go deeper into the story. His facial expression are great to the point sometimes I find myself smiling as a response to the scene. The FL (Wang Chu Ran) was great choice as well as she portrayed a FL who was trying to survive a storyline that went against her, her mannerisms and action were spot on and held my attention. One other character I would like to mention is Tang Xiao Tian who played Xiahou Bo (The villain/original ML). I hated his character till the very end to the point I had no sadness when he was in the state he was, but that goes to show how much of an incredible actor he is and his efforts towards the drama, so hats off to him. Also the fact that he is trying an antagonistic character for a change out side of his ML role shows his artistic perception and abilities.

The OST of this drama is also peace worthy as it combined comedic elements where needed as well as some OST's did an excellent job in elevating the mood within the drama.

Overall, it is a well presented drama in the recent years of this particular genre.

I would 100% rewatch this drama.

Read More

THAT DRAMA THAT EVERYONE SHOULD MUST WATCH ✨

10000000000000000000000000000000000/10
This was the first drama I reviewed while I was still watching it (and I was only on episode 4) and now I've finished it and WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DRAMA, I BEG YOU TO WATCH IT IF YOU LIKE TO SMILE A LOT. 🫶
It's incredible from beginning to end, there isn't a bad episode, on the contrary, it only gets better with each episode, you smile until your stomach hurts (in my case 🤣) it's that comfort drama and now that I've finished it I'm so devastated, I think I'll have to watch it again in a while.
More than 200 dramas watched and I can say with certainty that this was the best I've ever watched (it sounds like an exaggeration, but it's really very good).

Read More

Absolute cinema

everyone who gave this drama a rating below 8 don't know about a good show,the drama was everything, intriguing and all,had me clutching my pearls on what was to come next,SARAH KIM👏👏the woman you are ,definitely worth the watch and a masterpiece, shin hye sun murdered the role👏🫡🩷🔥🔥🔥💯the actors delivered and served ,envious of anyone who's gonna watch it for the first time coz it's that good ,the way we was left to wonder who exactly was Sarah kim ,I'd jus take it as a nameless woman with many names who had a Dream and knew what she wanted and no matter how many times she fell she got up until she achieved what she wanted and she made it into the big shark side of the ocean✌️👌💃

Read More

it is not worth of your precious time

This is probably the worst drama series I have ever seen – although I couldn’t even bring myself to watch the last episodes. The female lead is written so poorly that no one could possibly relate to her. She wallows in self‑pity all the time and does nothing to improve her situation. If she isn’t crying, she’s either raging hysterically or so drunk that she embarrasses herself completely night after night. Does anyone even know what she actually does for a living? She spends most days lying in bed, crying over her miserable love life. It’s entirely her own fault that her life is so unhappy. And her parents, with their manipulative behavior, certainly don’t help improve the situation. None of the other characters in the series are pleasant either, nor are they people one would ever want to get to know. I don’t understand why a series about such unpleasant people was ever made.

The series also gives a strange impression of Korean people. Friends and relatives are at times treated very violently and harshly. This includes both emotional and outright physical violence. Alcohol use also seems to be a national problem, if one were to assume that the series reflects real Korean life.

Read More