Reviews

Well written script

Luminosity Behind the Palace” (2025) was one of those dramas that slowly pulls you in until you realize you are emotionally attached to every character and every moment inside the palace walls. The storyline balanced power, loyalty, love, betrayal, and sacrifice in a way that kept the drama meaningful instead of overly exaggerated. The cinematography, costumes, and emotional acting made the palace atmosphere feel both beautiful and suffocating at the same time.

What touched me the most was the death of the emperor. That scene was done with such quiet emotion and dignity that it became one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire drama. Even with all misunderstanding about him, seeing the end of his journey and the emotions surrounding him felt deeply human and painful. It was one of those scenes that stays with you after the episode ends.

The final episode ended just right. It did not feel rushed or overly dramatic simply for shock value. Instead, it gave closure to the characters while still leaving behind the emotional weight of everything they endured. The ending felt mature, emotional, and satisfying — the kind of finale that reminds you why historical Chinese dramas can be so unforgettable.

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Life Just Happens

I loved this show. I was so excited to see a well known actor like Ok Taec Yeon main role in a queer show that didn't focus on family drama dynamics of a coming out story, but a story that focused on how life just fucking happens and you have to deal with it, and it's all about the choices you make.

Ryu and Jo Han showed a different side of what being a soul mate can mean. Whether physical or emotional, you got to watch them build a connection that superseded time and space. But that it's the choices you make and the decisions you make on behalf of other people that shape your life and* the the lives around.

I did not anticipate this to be a BL story, because BL is a very specific fictional category (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys'_love) and fully anticipated it to be a queer show similar to Love in the Big City, I over all felt this show had the vibe of being a cross between Love in the Big City and Mr. Plankton. I was glad it did not end up a tragedy, but it was definitely bittersweet*.

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This is a WHOLE VIBE

I absolutely loved this show. I was hesitant to watch it because it could have easily turned into a terrible take on 90's culture and the whole comic book world that grew out of the 90's, but this show was an absolute riot and left me laughing through every episode.

Sure some of the story plot points were a bit cliche, but that was kind of the point in my opinion. This show managed to carry a 90's comic book themed superhero vs supervillain story throughout each episode without losing the plot. The acting was on point pretty much through the entire show, and man do you really fall in love with those idiotic fools.

10/10 I think everyone who experienced the 90's should watch this absolute entertaining drama.

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Truly Splendid

"Splendid Match" really surprised me… in a good way, until it didn't. My main issue is that none of the love interests are true matches for the female lead; they're all flawed and doomed from the start. The romantic trope felt fresh at first, but quickly fell flat once I realized this. On top of that, the male lead's appearance and prune-like facial expressions distracted me, making it hard to stay engaged. I ended up not finishing the drama, especially since the fight scenes lost their appeal; suddenly, the male lead couldn't fight or keep himself or the female lead safe. Watching "Adventures of Zhan Zhao" right after only highlighted these problems more.

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Bonkers

I very much like the two leads in this drama, but in places the plot got so bizarre it took me right out of the story. At times, the over-the-top silliness just broke my brain. Of course not everything has to be high art, but at some point I could no longer suspend my disbelief.

There’s one scene in particular on a plane where our whack–a--doodle FL passes herself off as a doctor and volunteers to heal a rando patient who turns out to be... sorry, not going to spill the beans here. Let’s just say, it’s quite a coincidence.

And that’s just the tip of the bonkers berg. I couldn’t really get what the ML, a rich, spoiled dude, saw in someone who was obviously cuckoo for cocoa puffs–pretty enough, but spouting the language and folkways of Joseon Korea. Wouldn’t your average bro be turned off just a little? And, for that matter, what did the FL see in a guy who alternated between concern, contempt, and even bullying to get his way. I guess I’m not sure the writers did the work of making the attraction between these two believable.

This drama makes me think that we women are trading the exercise of our intelligence for romantic fantasies and mindless baloney. But maybe that’s not always such a bad thing--if you keep part of your brain in the real world.

So in spite of the foregoing, if you’re not opposed to a (sometimes unbelievable) series where an arrogant, supercilious chaebol gets kicked around by a feisty female--you’ll probably enjoy MY ROYAL NEMESIS.

And, by the way, the actress who plays Grandma is amazing and lovable. Who wouldn't want to have a grandma like her.

In my case, ngl (not gonna lie), I kinda liked it.

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"I'm still too young to give up"

Director Ichikawa Jun’s inaugural film Bu Su (1987), reminded me of Blue Spring (2001) only without the violence. Set around disillusioned high school students with no great prospects for the future it relied as much on mood as it did plot.

Morishita Mugiko travels to Tokyo by train alone to start a new life as a maiko while also attending high school. Her aunt runs the house and renames her Suzume. At school, Mugiko silently slides into her class, observing instead of interacting. She walks through the new town filled with unusual people and places. She is demoted to running after the rickshaws when her aunt finds her inability to look up frustrating. During the planning for the school’s 100th anniversary talent show, Mugiko is manipulated into presenting a geisha dance by the class queen bee who has grown jealous of the handsome boy’s attention toward the new sullen girl.

To be called Bu Su was a derogatory name meaning physically or emotionally ugly. Tomita Yasuko was definitely not ugly so it could only be a description of Mugiko’s withdrawn personality. Head down, hair over her face, Mugiko rarely interacted with anyone until one day she stood up for another bu su. Ichikawa captured the isolation a teen could feel when thrust into a room of strangers, knowing teenagers were judgmental and cliquey. Like an alien with three heads and purple skin, Mugiko, attempted to blend into the background as much as possible. We’re told she’d had a rough time in her small hometown, but never learn the source of her difficulties with her mother, school, and father’s death. She slowly made friends with students who were considered odd. What she found was that others were also scared and lonely. She didn’t have a market on insecurity. Her new friends were also seeking meaning in their lives. Was this all there was to life? Despite the social advertising for them, the teens had seen that marriage and jobs weren’t necessarily the answers to happiness.

Ichikawa relied heavily on Tomita’s expressive eyes to sell Mugiko’s emotions. There were times his extreme closeups could be disorienting. Yet this first-time film director also had a flare for beautifully framing his compositions. Tokyo was explored, the parts that tourists see and the parts people avoid. If you like Japanese pop music you might enjoy the “modern” score for the time. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Okusu Michiyo as the geisha madame/aunt. She gave a lovely performance as the woman who offered Mugiko/Suzume a chance and also watched as her own daughter chose a life outside their world.

Mugiko chose to perform a scene from the kabuki about Yaoya Oshichi who started a fire (or sounded a false alarm for one) for a chance to see the boy she loved. To master the puppet dance Mugiko had to learn from and rely on others. And she had to learn to look up. Unlike a Hollywood picture, everything didn’t end in cheers and medals for Mugiko and her friends. But even in their failures they gained insight into themselves. Sometimes the past has to be burned down in order to smile at the future. Bu Su wasn’t a perfect film and my score was around a 7.75 which I rounded up to 8.0. I found it flawed and yet also entertaining.

22 May 2026

Explanatory note: Suzume was the FLs maiko name. Much of the film took place with her school friends so to keep things simple in this review I used the name they addressed her by which was Mugiko.

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The first five minutes of this drama had me gasping for breathe. The stabbing triangle scene had me laughing so hard I ended up on the floor. The rest of the drama was charming and fun but that first scene totally eclipsed the whole show. I basically never recovered—it's easily the funniest and most memorable scene from this drama.

The plot was plotting but the relationships and character progression needed a lot more, especially with the female lead Song Yimeng. I understood why Yimeng didn't trust Nanheng, especially after he tried to kill her so many times, but that plot trope dragged on for way too long. It hindered Yimeng's character development and as the main character, it dragged the whole story down. There were times she was unbearable. I wish she had been smarter or stronger or just more easily likeable.

Liu Yining's Nanheng was great in contrast. His character growth in romantic ventures and with comedy were really working for me. The rest of the characters were all generally likeable and served the plot well.

I think this really would have been a 10/10 banger if the writers had focused more on Yimeng's development.

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Flawed, but I Oddly Enjoy...?

Maybe I'm the anomaly here (to my surprise) to see this series was not taken well by the vast majority of watchers. Surprisingly, I think I liked it? Now, did I like it in the sense that it's going to make top 10 of 2026? Highly unlikely. But I enjoyed it in a "this is sloppy and stupid, omg, I love it" kind of way. Now, it wasn't nearly as brazen and racy as the first season was, in which case diminishes the brand of Only Friends being the daring, everybody-kisses-everybody series, but in some peculiar turn of events, this worked for me.

Let's Dive In.

I liked that each of our leading couples had their own dynamic. I enjoyed Arnold and Tua's story the most, but that's because I'm a friends-to-lovers buff, otherwise that crown would've gone to the brilliant AouBoom. Truly so nice seeing them like this. We go a slight taste of this darker, more erotic theme of them in Perfect10Liners, and here, we get to see a much more complex attitude from them. Executed very nicely by the way. Joss and Gawin, for the love of straight, it's hard for me to play into their roles, only completely shadowed by my love of their trope. It also feel like they were playing racier versions of their own selves, at least for Joss that's the vibes I got. But I won't complain too hard, I got too see shirtless Joss, so *shrugs*.

And I can't forget the lovely Mix and Earth, of course. Not my favorite roles I've seen them in, but they do chemistry well. I'm not a fan of exes-to-lovers as much as I'd like to be, also way too much cat and mouse chasing for my own liking, but I still appreciated seeing them on my screen again doing something much somber and risqué. Mix being slightly evil in the beginning was also nice to see.

I think where this series slightly suffers is it's cowardice way of almost-kisses or totally eradicating the reason why people loved the first season: everybody was kissing everybody! It makes no sense that Jack and Raffy don't kiss, it makes no sense that Dean and Pod's character don't kiss, it don't make sense that Tua and Boston don't kiss, and don't even get me started on Pete and Rome. Urgh. If this was the real season one flare, Pete would've been riding the fuck out of Rome's dick with a dejected Raffy looking from a distance.

I also think it got slightly boring. Also those random confessional scene were... a choice!

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - mostly entertaining. They should've really gone for it, but oh well.

Acting: 9/10 - good! I think Boom and Mix are the stand outs for me.

Music: 4/10 - I've been noticing more English music in GMMTV productions, and I don't know it's starting to pinch a nerve.

Recommendation Value: 6.5/10 - Maybe? There a story here, and it's fun for the most part. Don't knock it till you try it kind of ordeal.

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Could Have Been Excellent But Went Nowhere Due To The Writer's Attempt To Overcomplicate Things

Positive points
1. Good Cinematography, Direction, and Music.
2. Zhao Lusi was great in her portrayal of Xu Yan. A grey-shaded character suited her well. Those in charge of her makeup and costume need a raise. She was looking so classy and beautiful.
3. I really loved the portrayal of the healthy relationship between Xu Yan and her in-laws. Though Xu Yan's relationship is toxic with her parents and with her sister, she has a good relationship. I appreciate that the writer avoided showing a toxic relationship between the sisters.
Negative Points
1. The first half was so good, and I was totally engrossed in the story and was very interested to know about Xu Yan's journey of self-independence. That phase started really well and my god Zhao Lusi was really good in those scenes. But, then the writer suddenly decided to change the focus of the drama from romance to half-baked, unrealistic, poorly developed so-called women empowerment plot filled with potholes and multiple subplots without adding any value to the main story. Within all this the main focus of the story lost focus. Where is the character growth for Shen Haoming, honestly? Why is not Shen Haoming's mental state during the separation period was not explored in depth? If you don't show his perception at all, how will viewers relate to the couple's love story. Who wants to see Xu Yan's and Shen Haoming's business problem in so much detail? It's a romance drama mainly. Why is the focus not on their relationship and communication that much? Due to this, I can hardly relate to Shen Haoming's character. So, his sudden possessiveness and jealousy over Xu Yan's investor feels a bit off and turns his character childish instead. Moreover, during the 2nd half the writer has turned the ML, specifically the medium of comic relief that completely contradicts his personality shown in the first half. Instead of focusing on unrealistic subplots if the writer had invested time in the proper story development for the reconciliation of the leads, it would have been much better. The methods the ML used were honestly extremely childish and irritating.
2. Even when the writer chooses to focus on the startup and a completely unrelated career (unrealistic) for the FL should it not have any logic, honestly. It just downplays her character development. Within the 30days cooling off period, Xu Yan is doing livestream for selling clothes, groceries, chicken feets. Then she quits her job and launches a startup, makes sample, does video shorts, tries to convince tons of investors for funds, goes on a vacation with Shen Haoming for a charade. Comes back and launches a physical outlet and still 1 month is not finished. How many days are there in a month?
Xue Yan calls Shen Haoming to remind him about the divorce tomorrow. But he pretends to be out of the country for a few days. But a few days later its the next day 8th. Did the writer not notice the time line at all before writing it. This just spoils the viewing experience. Also, even if I can ignore it, Shen Haoming's out of character behavior without any proper buildup feels empty to me honestly. They also spent so many time on Qiao Lan's ex. This is just idiotic. Too many subplot and lost main focus.
In order to add comic relief and jelousy angel between ML and Jiang Liang the writer downplayed the character of the FL. It seemed she really didnot have much idea about a startup. It lowkey felt to me a decision taken on impulse. They could have added element that showed her competence. This jalousy angel between the ML and the investor really downplays the FL's capability. It felt like that she got the investment for her startup more likely due to Jiang Liang's personal interest on her instead of the potential of the business. It is dissappointing honestly. No effort from the ML to actually know the real Xu Yan, her past and her childhood that actually shaped her choices. It would have been nice to see that. Also, Xu Yan is hardly solving her startup problems on her own. I know its a team effort why is the ML is solving problems for her? This support without any finances could have been shown in a better way.
3. How did the FL not get suspicious that her in-laws did not run a background check on her? Her husband literally ran a background check on her down to the point that he knew that she loved her grandma's jam, when she had pretended to apply for a job at his shop just to get an interview. So, such a suspicious person would not run a background check on her for a big event like marriage. Moreover, only 4 people attended the wedding from her side, and the in-laws did not question her at all after the marriage about her family.
4. How did the Shen family blindly trust the DNA report so easily? It does not matter that the people in question were their family friends. It was a life-changing event for their only son. How did they accept a false report so easily? Did they not double-check it? Also, how come Fang Lei changed the DNA report? Is it really easy to forge one? Why did she tell Xu Yan that her father does not know about his other daughter giving birth to Haochen? It does not make any sense. Shen Haoming runs a background check on everyone, but didnot cross check if he was the baby's father.
5. It is also odd how Zhou Zeyuan seems to know so much about Xu Yan's family situation, as they were not from the same village and met in Jingzhou. Also, I don't think knowing Xu Yan's character, she would voluntarily tell a stranger about her family's situation in detail.
6. What is happening in Episode 19? Why both are roaming in strange clothes and get up (I know it is to impress that russian couple) But it looked like a stunt for comic relief and I don't think it suited either of their characters, and rather it looked forced. They did such charades together before to convince investors, but it did not look this odd.
7. Why waste time on Lin Tao so much? Also wasn't Qiao Lin's parents biased towards her always? How come they did not even contact her when she is starting a startup, facing so many challenges? How about they have explored the dynamics between the parents and Xu Yan?
8. It was very irresponsible of Xu Yan. Was the startup a breakup project for her? As soon as her relationship improved with her husband, she forgot about her business, leaving everything on Qiao Lin. I understand it is okay to take a break and focus on her relationship, but the business is in the initial phase. Is it that easy to establish a startup? What are you on, writer? If you can't write properly about the problem and tie all loose ends to make it consistent, why bother to introduce this angle in the first place? Was there not any other way to make Xu Yan independent?
Overall, a great 1st half but completely loses its' way due to a very poorly written second half. Now, the only thing I remember is that Zhao Lusi had absolutely gorgeous outfits in this drama.

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This ain't your grandma's transmigration story!!

This is such a fun take on a transmigration story. I thought I knew what I was in for but it kept me on my toes. I've never seen such fun chemistry before.

Wang Churan and Cheng Lei are absolutely amazing together. They're best friends but they don't fully trust each other. They're obsessed with each other while using each other. This parallel is also reflected in the story. We get hilarious scenes, followed by scary scenarios, and then tragic outcomes.

This drama got it all, but there are times I wish that the story had held on to one emotion for a little longer, like dragging out the angst would have been good. Or keeping Dan in his tyrant mood for an episode or half. I feel like that would have connected with me more as a viewer.

In some of the later episodes, the plot felt a little flat. There was a lot of talking and random scenarios that didn't really add anything to the existing story. I think this is a series that would have done better if it was a bit shorter? Also, I did read about the book ending and wish they had gone that direction instead of what we got. It would have elevated the series significantly imho.

Light Snow, Deep Ink by Jiang Dunhao is a banger song.

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