Reviews

Difficult Clues

This is not an easy variety show to get into at first, especially for the first two episodes when the cast were just getting to know each other. I like that the cast was from diverse backgrounds and except for maybe a few individuals, it seems that most of them were working together for the first time and weren't familiar with each other prior to the show. This is great because it gives the cast an opportunity to show a different side of themselves.

It's a treasure hunt and the goal is to find the treasure asap and inform the Yang Di without alerting other members. Each member gets to pick a specific tool/clue to start. Honestly, some of them were really difficult to decipher so I personally wouldn't judge a member's intelligence just because they couldn't find the treasure at the end.

I started watching this show because of Tian Xiwei and Wang Anyu, but at the end of it, I ended up liking the rest of the cast as well. Wu Yi was surprisingly funny and he wasn't even trying to be funny, which makes it even better. Also, he might not be the strongest treasurer hunter but he's certainly the kindest and easy-going. He also has such a sweet and happy smile. :) I look forward to seeing his performance in the new season!

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I really liked most of the cast but especially ML, Chae Jong Hyeop. He was giving Park Bo Gum energy and I loved it and Lee Mi Sook as Nana Kim. She was great.

Your Radiant Season has moments of genuine warmth, strong character chemistry, and touching family dynamics. But it’s weighed down by excessive melodrama, repetitive misunderstandings, and emotional obstacles that feel manufactured rather than organic.

Everyone gets their happy ending, but the journey there is often more exhausting than moving. With tighter writing and less reliance on trauma stacking, this could have been a standout melodrama. Instead, it’s a mixed bag—radiant in flashes, but dimmed by its own narrative choices.

5/6/26

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This one is a film for all those who love the art of painting. The four Sumi-E painters all have – or will have – their own way of approaching the art and expressing themselves through it. JFF Theater had this film under the title of “The Spirit of Dō”: A collection of films that explore and appreciate traditional Japanese arts, culture and the connection between human and nature.

Here, it’s mainly told from the point of view of a young man, whose past hold a tragic event, and who finds not only solace in painting but also a new way forward in life.
As such, this film is less straightforward about showing and explaining the art of Sumi-E than “Every Day A Good Day”, which introduced us to the art of tea making,. I still loved the many close-ups of the brushes painting ink on the paper and the insight the film gave us into the art. The connection between human and nature is much more subtle than in “Every Day A Good Day” but it’s still obviously there. The subtlety also makes the film not obnoxious about the message it carries (unlike in “The Zen Diary”).

Another thing that I liked was that there was no romance at all. I feared that there would be when they introduced the young woman, who is only two years younger than Sosuke – but they connect over their art and their struggles, and it all stays very, very platonic. I would have liked it more if the film had placed Sosuke firmly in the “still a beginner” category and have her stay on a much higher lever of expertise in the ending scene (as it is, it feels too much like the tired trope of the man who starts as a beginner and supersedes the female teacher in the end) – I do think the script made it clear that they both have learned that it’s painting their own lines that’s more important than any outside appreciation, but it was nevertheless slightly disappointing for me.
Having Sosuke as the beginner who is still not in the lime light would also have been a better fit for his overall humble personality.

As always, whatever is on JFF Theater, is of high quality regarding filming, editing and acting and with great attention to detail. I admit, I was a bit distracted by Sosuke’s hair – but even here, the way it was styled reflected his state of mind.


Was it good?
It was! It had a good story with a clear emotional arc and still gave insight into the art of Sumi-E.

Did I like it?
Surprisingly, yes. I wasn’t too sure about the subject – painting is really not something I connect to and the “Spirit of Dō” collection and all JFF films that get philosophical can feel too overbearing very quickly for me. I even shed a tear or two.

Who would I recommend it to?
To painters and appreciators of painting. But with the caveat that one should be in the right mood for a slow film.

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I started this show for Ryan Ding – and I kept watching for Ryan Ding LOL

I started this show for Ryan Ding – and I kept watching for Ryan Ding LOL. I will give the plot credit but I won’t lie, I skipped some parts when he wasn’t on screen.

Overall, the plot was entertaining and not too dull. I was expecting it to feel repetitive because of the mortal tribulations but each one was pretty different so that was a nice surprise. That said, I did enjoy their heavenly realm time more than when they would be doing a tribulations. The demon realm was also nice because they actively knew who the other was and it was still the “heavenly realm timeline”.

I wasn’t super convinced with all the comments about Ryan Ding as a demon being the *best* version in this show, but he played a cat demon very well. I was literally screaming during the aphrodisiac scene (end of ep 33/start of ep 34). Ryan Ding literally played played like 5 different people including a body switch with the fml and a BELIEVABLE CAT DEMON. I could literally just watch him walk around in fantasy/historical costume for 5 hours.

Aside from Ryan Ding, I enjoyed the chemistry between him and Yang Chao Yue, the shows general plot cadence, and the nuance to Jin Lian’s character. Also, Xiu Ming was an antagonist in many ways, but I liked his overall story as compared to Love in the Clouds’ Situ Ling. Xiu Ming was just suppper loyal to Cang Hai since she really took him in and cared for him. I def don’t support his choices for blood thirst in the first tribulation, nor his lying in the second, but it seems like after each one he learns that his negative choices "are bad" and “improves” throughout the story. I am confused as to why he was made interim emperor though lol.

Similar to its “sister story” Love Between Fairy and Devil, the show’s plot peters out near the end. I started the show not emotionally invested and I basically stayed that way. The deaths didn’t really affect me in this show (which is kinda a plus for me tbh) but I think it’s also because death seems to not really mean anything. The main leads die in the mortal world to end up in the heavenly realm, but even in the heavenly realm the deaths just felt so abrupt so as to whether a person is really dead is always in question.

My issue with the plot specifically was:
- How did Immortal Li know about the change of the prophecy and WHEN? Was it as soon as he saw the emperor’s doom mark so then he yeeted to warn them via the next tribulation?
- The emperor was lame, predictable, and very one-dimensional. He was jealous of his better and cooler brother but also had an obsession with being the most powerful immortal in a way that just didn’t really make sense imo. He was already the leading ruler for the last 30,000 years lol.
- I still don’t understand how Chu Kong survived after losing all his primordial spirit? I am happy for a HEA but because it made no sense, I just feel like I am still missing something. Thus the ending wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been.
- Similarly, I loved Jin Luo and Zi Hui but don’t understand how he also reincarnated. The show never sets us up to understand that even after you DIE DIE, you can still be reincarnated. I thought reincarnation was only for people that “die” but their spirit is still intact, especially when both these men seem to remember if not their *entire* past, at least their love.

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Disappointed but not terrible.

O Han Byeol and Kong Tae Seong were a cute pair. I liked the history of their relationship and that they’ve always been a frenemies type of situation that care for each other. I also loved how puppy Kong Tae Seong is once he realizes he loved her. Just absolute cuteness and feels. I also like that O Han Byeol had a crush on him but was hurt so she built up her walls to his silly behavior. I also enjoyed Han Byeol’s friends - Park Ho Yeong and Cho Gi Ppeum - romances though I wished their stories started a bit sooner and where given a little more screen time. I also found it interesting that Baek Da Hye’s character has this super crush of the MML without it being a complicated jealousy love triangle. All of this is decent and enjoyable.

What I didn’t like? Basically every other secondary plot point execution. The rich maid storyline was weird and barely added anything to the plot, same with “smileboy”, and again with the 14 year old kid. All three of these “antagonists” exist for antagonisms sake without any rhyme or real reason. Even worse, there resolutions are simple and barely satisfying. I didn’t mind the message around “celebrities are hated for no reason” but I just think the way it’s executed was as if the show was a melodrama but it really wasn’t so these plot point land flat and annoying. Similarly, the college friend’s death was clearly part of the main leads’ dynamic and personalities, but still it wasn’t “tied up” properly. His death and his manager’s remaining anger about the death could have been a way better antagonist plot line to explore than the random three characters I just mentioned. In fact, I was waiting for a resolution on this and we never get one. Super frustrating. Minus points also specifically for the “Africa” depiction…

Overall, I really wish they had just leaned into the romcom and left out the melodrama because the melodrama parts flopped. My favorite parts were when it was just silly goofy – I was giggling, I was happy. But outside of that, it was so dumb that even the romance was held back by the nonsensical storylines.

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