Reviews

The plot keeps fcking changing! And the leads keep dying ?

So, finished watching this cdrama, and… I have no idea why people glaze this drama so much. I’m so disappointed about all that unnecessary mumbo jumbo that went on in the first 20 episodes, allat could’ve been a email, just for the plot to change almost twice after the 20th episode. In fact, the drama could’ve just started from the 20th episode and nobody would complain. That’s how insignificant the first 19 - 20 episodes are.

The first 20 episodes were so bad, with the poor world building, like half of the time I had no idea what was going on. All of the spells, the magic and whatnot seemed so half assed. The pacing was bad, the romance was so boring, I also got pissed at the way the male lead failed to respect our fl’s boundaries. The female lead was pretty much a side character in her own story during the first 20 episodes.

They did a bunch of bs until the 20th episode and suddenly changed their mind. Like I was so close to dropping the series, but oh? Suddenly they start a new arc, where we focus more on the female lead. they change the plot once more after the 28th episode. Like istg the writers COULD NOT make up their damn mind.

Like, this drama had insane potential, but it ended up being all over the place. The execution ways sooo bad, the story got soo boring, like it was so difficult to finish the drama. Also, I wish they’d get a better actor for the male lead, imo, the actor sucked at expressing emotions, he has like one expression all the time 😭. That aside I love the yin-yang references, and the male lead’s character development was peak (but they threw allat away in the final arc 💔)

Overall, first half is shit, second arc is mid, final arc was unnecessary. Don’t recommend, cute but really lack luster.

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listening to the ost still gave me feels deym

For the longest time, I’ve been searching for a genuinely good East Asian drama that could make me feel the same excitement and emotional attachment I used to have when I first got into K-dramas back in 2019. Back then, everything felt fresh to me. I remember staying up late to binge episodes, getting emotionally attached to characters, replaying OSTs on repeat, and feeling completely immersed in the stories. It wasn’t just entertainment; it felt comforting, almost magical in a way. But over the years, that feeling slowly disappeared.

I don’t know if it’s because I became more critical as a viewer or because many dramas started feeling repetitive, but a lot of recent K-dramas have honestly disappointed me. The plots began blending together to the point where I could already predict what would happen after watching only two episodes. It became the same cycle over and over again: the cold male lead, the quirky female lead, unnecessary misunderstandings dragged out for several episodes, forced love triangles, and dramatic conflicts that could’ve been solved with one proper conversation. Clichés became the norm instead of something used creatively.

Even the acting sometimes felt difficult to connect with. This might sound harsh, but some lead actors nowadays look so stiff emotionally that I struggle to feel immersed in their scenes. I genuinely don’t know if it’s because of cosmetic procedures or just the acting direction they’re given, but there are moments where emotional scenes lose impact because their expressions barely change. When a character is supposed to be devastated, heartbroken, or deeply in love, I want to feel that emotion with them. Instead, some performances feel overly polished and restrained to the point that they no longer feel human.

That’s why this C-drama genuinely surprised me.

For the first time in years, I found myself completely invested again. Everything about it felt alive. The story didn’t rely solely on clichés to carry itself. The characters actually felt layered, and their emotions felt sincere instead of manufactured for dramatic effect. The pacing kept me interested, and I found myself wanting to continue not because I was forcing myself to finish it, but because I genuinely cared about what would happen next.

The acting was another thing that stood out to me. The actors felt natural, expressive, and emotionally believable. They weren’t afraid to look messy, vulnerable, awkward, or genuinely heartbroken when the scene required it. Those little facial expressions, pauses, and emotional deliveries made the characters feel real instead of untouchable fantasy figures.

And the OST? Oh my goodness. The soundtrack alone brought back emotions I hadn’t felt in such a long time. You know a drama is special when hearing a single instrumental track immediately transports you back into a specific scene. Every song amplified the emotions perfectly instead of merely existing in the background. I found myself replaying the OST even when I wasn’t watching the drama because it carried the same emotional weight outside the scenes.

Watching this drama reminded me why I fell in love with East Asian dramas in the first place. It brought back that feeling I thought I had already outgrown—the excitement, emotional attachment, and comfort that stories like these used to give me years ago. Honestly, I didn’t expect a C-drama to revive that feeling after being disappointed for so long, but somehow, it did.

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It's not bad!

i remember wanting to watch this when it was airing but the first episodes just didnt catch my attention enough.. after i gave pit babe a try i started to love sailubpon and they didn't disappoint with their own series! i will not lie with how Kluer took my whole attention throughout the whole series, i just loved him so much and i can see Aon is an amazing actor therefore i hope to see him in more series 🥹

i think many things could've been better with this series but it was entertaining, lovely (bonus points for the engagement at the end too!) and funny.
if i had to rewatch it would mostly be my favorite scenes (every Kluer scene oops!)

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dont miss this gem!

I am writing about this after watching it for the second time. It is so lovely, carefully crafted, well directed and written.
There is a quiet authenticity about the acting and pacing that will sweep you in like the sea, that is such a metaphor throughout. Grief, love, loss, sex, confusion, friendship, it's all here. And everyone is easy on the eyes in the way that real people are. The kind of people you fall in love with, not the filmic fictions.
When I think about the seminal BL series that go beyond the earlier ones we all love and know, like Bad Buddies, SOTUS, etc there are 4 that come to mind who have taken the genre farther in the last few years. This is one of them.
KinnPorche blew it up, Last Twilight opened it up to different realities and handicaps that weren't supernatural and with grace, Moonlight Chicken featured one of the great famous pairings that was unafraid to show them aging and inclusively welcomed a new young pair of future superstars, while telling a story about the real Thailand, and this series which is unfraid to be quiet, painful and so real. I urge you to watch it. You won't forget it.

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Quite the Unusual Masterpiece Plot

Naksu, a shadow assassin feared by all in Daeho, found herself caught in a fight with Songrim mages that she could not extricate herself from. Left with no choice, she cast the forbidden sorcery of Alchemy of Souls while on the run, where she transfered her soul from her battered, dying body to another living person. When she finally came to, she found herself in the body of a blind girl on the way to be sold to a brothel, Mu-deok. Although her vision is now good, her escape attempt still failed as she posseses none of her past ability and skill as Naksu, and instead trapped in the body of an extremely weak girl. Jang Uk, one of the heir of a prominent family in Daeho, noticed that Mu-deok is a soul shifter, and hearing that Naksu had been captured dead after a failed casting of soul switching sorcery, he makes a bet that Mu-deok is Naksu after seeing the soul shifter sign in her eyes. He buys her off the brothel and made her his maid, and after several incidents, manage to make Mu-deok admit who she really was and agree to a deal of becoming his master in return for him to help her to retrieve her original powers. Thus began Jang Uk’s journey from being a useless young man born under the King’s star, whom no one dared to teach due to his father’s order, to a person that would save all of Daeho, after being under the tutelage of Naksu the feared evil assassin.

At first, I thought this is a typical reborn assassin female centric story as I saw Naksu’s overpowered performance in the opening scene, but it turned out to be zero-to-hero male centric kind. I had a hard time accepting Jang Uk as the ML due to his sharp, mischievous look with bratty character, and at some point i actually prefered the SML Seo Yul for his extremely green flag character plus gentle, sweet looking face. But Jang Uk kinda grew into me as he matured up into a responsible young man.

Jang Uk, Seo Yul and Park Danggu are the trio that one could never really prefer one from another, they kind of complement each other. Seo Yul is the extreme righteous one who would torture himself when he could do nothing to a wrong in his eyes, Jang Uk is the mischievous-often-misunderstood one who would wreak chaos just to be noticed, while Park Danggu is the balance between them, the one who is bratty enough to stand side by side with Jang Uk but with a mind sound enough to be resonate with Seo Yul, practically the balance between them all. Even with such contrasting characters, they would still stand by each other with complete trust.

I love what they did with the Crown Prince, a grey character that could turn red and green flag in a blink of an eye in accordance to situations that could benefit himself without sacrificing much conscience.

And Mu-deok is one of the most eye-catchy character of all. I love the accent she speaks with, which reminds me of a dielect in my country, though different language, the way of speaking sounded quite the same. Mu-deok is the accidental maid with conflicting assassin instinct. Realizing she had none of her powers that used to allow her reign above all, she had to resort to autracious acts that she wouldve never done before, doing housechores to serve masters and sucking up or giving in to people of higher status just to survive the day. Her private banters with her pupil is fun to watch, but when the going gets tough, she turned into the devilish Naksu that found humanity in the end.

I totally love the comic relief of the love triangle between the serious but rather slow-witted Park Jin leader of Songrim, the gentle motherlike Maidservant Kim and the chaste and reserved Master Lee.

Totally love the fight chroreograph here. They look fierce and forceful, especially when there is spells involved, and the CGI didnt look comical at all. What I like the most is that not every stab slash pound and flog would make the receivers to vomit blood, whish i see prevalent in most ancient shows.

The story ended with a rather cliffhanger but I dont mind as I didnt have to wait for the next production to release, cuz I watch this waaaay after the hype has ended. Now off I go to season 2. Toodledoo.

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So much fun!

Omg, it’s so funny! Feels very similar to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It’s silly and ridiculous and absolutely adorable. I laughed so hard I was crying, and the guys are so, so sweet! If you’re looking for heavy drama- this ain’t it. But if you’re looking for lighthearted fun and laughs, then this is definitely the one to watch.
That they are all speaking different languages makes it even more awesome. I think this will be one that I keep on hand for days that I just need a little pick-me-up. I’m watching late at night and was worried my laughter would wake people up.

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Drama of the Decade - an Evergreen Masterpiece

I have never been a fan of practical dramas, ones that portray raw emotions, real life hardships and just reality at its harshest. I was always of the opinion that entertainment was an escape so seeing characters suffer didn't help. But this drama changed my outlook on life completely. I know a drama cannot mature a person but this did. When life gives you tangerines, God, will there be another as beautifully heartwrenching as this?

A drama where no one is a villain, just life itself. The iron heart Yang Gwansik and the resilient Oh Aesun, navigating the sea of life, keeping on swimming. They shall forever live in my heart till the end. Each character had their own story. And everything woven together into this masterpiece, it was nothing less than perfect. The plot is so crisp and one can never get the feeling of the drama being dragged for long. Not even once. The way they divided the drama into 4 sections, man that was genius.

The casting is on another level. IU literally deserves an Oscar for this. The variety of roles - teenage Oh Aesun, Oh Aesun in her twenties into thirties, teen Yang Geummyeong and adult Geummyeong...that is a lot of to be and do. But the difference between her as Aesun and Geummyeong is so obvious, we don't feel it's the same person, just a daughter with her mother's face. When she cries, we cry, when she smiles, we smile. A truly outstanding actress! And then there is Park Bogum. Do we even need another example of eyes that speak? Park Bogum has that skill to make you wonder if he is actually alright because he becomes the character to an extent where it blurs reality and fiction. Every emotion is portrayed soooo well, one cannot deny the fact that he's a maestro at what he does. The character of Yang Gwansik itself is so well written, Park Bogum does not let him down. Then there are the other favourites of mine - Choi Daehoon as Bu Sanggil, Moon Sori as old Aesun, Park Haejoon as old Yang Gwansik, Yeom Hyeran as Aesun's mother, Kang Youseok as Yang Eunmyeong - they are literally people I know, that's how close I feel to all of them. Really really amazing.

The music is just beautiful. Starting from the intro to the instrument in the last scene of the last episode, nothing beats this layout.

Everything is just so good, yet I cannot express them in better words 😭 It's more like something the heart understands beyond human language. This drama taught me two main things I'd say. One - your parents would literally break their back just to give you the best they can and two - time as a human is very short. So living your best life and not waiting for the perfect moment is the best we can do. Also two lines really stuck with me. 1) "One day life might get so tough that you feel like you can't go on. Don't lie still. Struggle with all your might...Tell yourself you won't die and must survive, no matter what. Paddle your arms and legs like crazy. You'll get through the dark waters and see the sky." Oh Aesun's mother to her- 2) "There might have been nights I went to sleep hungry. But there was never a night that I was alone."- Oh Aesun about Yang Gwansik.

How can a drama be this good yet this heartbreaking; I just cannot make sense. Yet I feel if our stories were a series, won't we see the rawness of pain and sweetness of happiness in it too? Also, Alec Benjamin's 'If we have each other' is a song I will forever associate this drama, the lines about the lovers (iykyk). Rewatch if you want to rip your heart out again and again 😭 Evrything is just Uhhh!!! Crazy in the best way. This drama truly deserves the hype and it is a MUST WATCH, no matter what your preferred genre is. Thank you Baek Sangchoon for writing this great story and thank you Kim Wonseok and all the cast and crew members for breathing in life to it! 🌊🌼❤️

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I didn't feel any chemistry.

Okay, I'm not used to writing comments here, but I feel the need to. So, I just finished watching Love for Love's Sake, and I have to admit I was expecting a little more...

I won't lie, I did generally like the concept (kind of like a fantasy choice where the guy ends up in some kind of video game?), but being a series of only 8 episodes of 30 minutes each, I feel like there were a lot of gaps and things that happened too rushed.

One of them was Yeowoon's sudden change of attitude, literally from one episode to the next. It's like, what? From the beginning, they sold him to us as someone really, yeah, serious and cold, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, he gets super clingy with Mingha. Like, what? Ugh, I don't really like it.

Plus, they didn't quite wrap things up with what happened to Yeowoon's dad. And to top it all off, I feel like the series was trying to leave us with a message or reflection at the end, but it wasn't consistent with what was actually shown in the series.

Because at the end they put something like "happiness is somewhere in everyday life, etc., etc., etc." But what the series showed us was that Mingha only had to make Yaewoon happy if they were dating or if he liked someone. And it's like, what?

Even at one point Yaewoon was whining to Mingha because he wanted to break up with him since he only had 6 days left because otherwise he would literally die, and Yaewoon was being a real softie, saying things like, "Oh no, I'm not going to change," etc., etc., etc. Dude, you didn't do anything wrong. LMAO not me defending him, no, but oh well, I don't know what to tell you.

Also, something that bothered me the whole time was that Mingha was 29 years old and supposedly his "senior" sent him to a game, but like, being a 19-year-old student??? Which bothered me because, I mean, yes, technically he was a 19-year-old kid, but the guy in "reality¿?" is 29 and he was with an 18-year-old kid!! I think it's crazy, sorry, I'm not a fan of the age gap, what can I say, I didn't like it.

Besides, in the end I felt like they were forcing Mingha to give him more depth with that whole thing about him feeling so empty that he wanted to kill himself and all that, and okay, yeah, that's powerful, but I feel like it was too sudden.

And then there's this moment when the "senior" appears and gives him a second chance and bam, out of nowhere he's back to his 19-year-old self and meets Yaewoon and they're all happy???? So lol, if you ask me.

On top of that, they unnecessarily introduced a third party to force a love triangle that didn't work because there was no chemistry there, so why add a third person??? Poor Sangwon, they just had him there to try and compete with Yaewoon, damn it, it's so frustrating.

And on top of everything (well, I kept adding things, right?) I feel like they didn't give Yaewoon's character any depth, like, okay, we already know he's a cold and reserved guy and that his dad is an alcoholic and that he lost his grandmother who he lived with, but what else????

They didn't go into any depth about that, and honestly, I was left wanting to know more because it's not like everything is resolved thanks to "love" and so on and so forth...

I don't know, I feel like they could have stayed friends and explored that connection on both sides. Yaewoon needed someone to lean on, and Mingha needed someone to teach him how to love. And that, for me, would have been more meaningful than those kisses they shared.

Honestly, I didn't feel any chemistry or connection or anything. On the contrary, I felt much more of a brotherly, almost parental love from Mingha towards Yaewoon, from how he took care of him and everything (which, yes, was his "mission"). But they didn't do anything for me. Sorry, my loves...

In short, yes, it can be nice to watch lightly if that's what you want; I think it fulfills that function quite well. It's not wow, but it's not meh either. I feel it could have been much bigger than it is, and that's a shame of wasted potential.

And I think that's it? That's all for today's review, hehe. Follow me (or not) for more Alen reviews, okay? Bye! ✌️

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Another swooning chapter in Kim Go Eun’s romantic saga

As they always say, ‘third’s time a charm’ so Kim Go Eun and her cell village return for a heart-fluttering third and final season in the search for love.

After dating a nerd and a romantic and getting her heart broken on both occasions, Yumi chose to remain single and focused on her career as a writer. When the familiar butterflies in her stomach suddenly come back to life, it is none other than because of her associate publisher, Shin Soon Rok who is extremely calm, level-headed, and most importantly, younger than Yumi. This pairing gives off “calm bf and hyper gf” meme. The stark contrast in their personalities is glaring even in their first meeting. Can this noona workplace romance be the key to Yumi’s happily ever after?

I am fairly impressed with Kim Jae Won’s portrayal of a man of few words and few expressions while at work. He totally nails the neutral face emoji (😐) since he is the epitome of an introverted personality (pro max version). You can instantly tell hanging out with people is not his favorite thing and just depletes his social battery. Nothing seems to boost his mood while he is socializing at work. Hence, it is only natural that some can misunderstand his personality and dismiss him as rude and party pooper. No one but Jae Won can perfectly pull off Soon Rok’s dual charm of inscrutable face at work and adorable puppy look at home. He is emotionless but his acting does not look stiff and I think that is a great sign Jae Won totally nailed his role.

Kim Go Eun has consistently brought to life the comical and tearjerker events in Yumi’s life. Her comedic timings are still spot-on. Go Eun’s hilariously funny and painfully relatable thoughts is one of the reasons viewers cheered in her quest of love and dreams. She never misses a beat, whether it’s getting flustered while caught up in an awkward situation, getting riled up over a coworker’s behavior, or suddenly realizing she has fallen head over heels again. In this last season, she has notably displayed maturity and sensibility. She clears the air as soon as possible to avoid further conflicts. She is no longer easily swayed and swept up by her emotions, but falling in love is clearly an exception. However, emotional numbness poses a threat both in her cell village and in her job as a writer. Thankfully, Soon Rok comes her way, wreaks havoc and revives Yumi’s deserted cell village.

It has been a while since I giggled, twirled my hair and kicked my feet in the air while watching a K-Drama. Yumi's Cells truly captures the feeling of diving blindly, headfirst into love. I missed this feeling of giddiness. K-Dramas nowadays feel too contrived, the chemistry feels forced and the outfits are overly flashy.

This season is the epitome of the phrase 'the more you hate, the more you love' because you can't hate someone without spending your precious time thinking and nitpicking everything about them. I love how Yumi's Cells continue to highlight that people have layers and a single encounter with someone doesn't define them. We all carry contradictions, passions and habits that can only truly be understood after spending some time with someone.

I love the enamored look at Soon Rok’s eyes whenever he or looks at Yumi. You can instantly tell he really cherishes Yumi and he’s got his eyes only for her. He is also unfazed when he learns Babi is Yumi’s ex. He didn’t get defensive nor did he probe Yumi about it. This is what everyone should aim for: a love that feels easy and secure.

A subtle parallelism between Yumi’s apathy and Soon Rok’s robotic personality is also highlighted in the show. The lack of emotions is far different from a lack of social energy. The former can unintentionally cause us to lose our spark in life while the latter is simply a way of conserving energy for the activities we truly enjoy. In the end, Yumi and Soon Rok found solace and rest in one another.

However, the question still remains: how can you choose the person you want to spend the rest of your life with when even your feelings are contradictory and unreliable? The answer is: when you know, you know.

My only issue is, just like everybody else is saying, this was way too short. Yumi and Soon Rok’s relationship timeline feels hastened. At one point, they were having an honest and open conversation and the two of them reached a mutual decision. But then parents suddenly barged in and everything they talked about felt like it disappeared into thin air just like that.

But then again, the length of dating does not really dictate the longevity or happiness of a marriage. Some couples date for less than a year, yet their marriage is still blissful. Meanwhile, others have even conquered the seven-year itch, only to learn they don’t work well living together. Indeed, love is a hit or miss. You are never going to know what you will get unless you take a chance and gamble your fragile little heart, putting it on the line. I was hoping for more of Yumi and Soon Rok’s relationship dynamics, but we already caught glimpses of that in later episodes which even revealed Soon Rok’s laidback, childlike charm at home which is unknown to many.

What I noticed in Season 2 is it perfectly balances the storyline of Yumi's dreams and love whereas Season 3 heavily focused on finding her endgame. It wouldn’t have hurt if we peeked a bit into how she balanced dating Soon Rok while still staying on top of her game. I also wondered whether Soon Rok got reassigned to a new writer. Maybe the director intended such conclusion up to the viewer’s interpretation. Open endings are built like that to keep us, viewers, from reeling long after watching.

I don't harbor any ill feelings toward Woong or Babi because they both shaped Yumi to who she is today. They both boosted her confidence and helped her pursue her dreams of being a writer. Woong gifted her a typewriter to reignite her passion for writing while Babi fully supported her in her decision to write full-time and join contests. Yumi will not be the successful writer that she is today without her past heartbreaks and betrayals. She transformed her sadness and gloom into art which is her romance books. Isn’t it fascinating how our darkest times can be a steppingstone and catapult as to our crowning moments?

I’m truly going to miss this show, especially Swear Cell and Naughty Cell haha. But then again, I’m the captain of my cell village and I can make each day as exciting and worthwhile as Yumi’s. I may not have men as handsome as Yumi’s exes ☹️, but I can allow myself to experience life in ways that shape me into the very best version of myself. After all, emotional turmoil is what makes us human. Feelings waver, lifelong principles are broken, people come and go, and that’s all part of the human experience. Amidst all this uncertainty, we can still choose how we react and decide which people and things we want to pour our energy, feelings, and time into.

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De jolies idées enterrées sous une écriture précipitée et des ballons immortels

J’avais vraiment envie d’aimer ce drama. Au début, Play Park m’a sincèrement accroché avec son ambiance chaleureuse, son univers coloré et ses moments domestiques tout doux. La dynamique enemies-to-lovers entre Lin et Ing était amusante, le flirt fonctionnait bien et la série introduisait des thèmes étonnamment sérieux :
- l’hétérosexualité forcée,
- la pression familiale,
- les traumatismes sexuels,
- les attentes professionnelles,
- et la recherche du bonheur personnel.

Le passé d’Ing en particulier s’est révélé beaucoup plus lourd que prévu. La révélation autour de son mariage forcé et des abus de Guy est honnêtement l’un des éléments les plus forts émotionnellement de toute la série. L’acteur jouant Guy mérite aussi du crédit parce que chacune de ses scènes mettait réellement mal à l’aise.
Malheureusement, plus l’histoire avançait, plus l’écriture semblait s’effondrer sous son propre rythme.

Un rythme BEAUCOUP trop rapide. C’est le plus gros défaut du drama.
La relation évolue à une vitesse absurde : d'ennemies, à flirt, puis couple, suivi d'une séparation, de retrouvailles, de sexe, et enfin de la demande et du mariage. Le tout en seulement 8 épisodes, et souvent sans laisser aux moments émotionnels le temps de respirer.
Le drama enchaîne constamment --> conflit --> malentendu --> réconciliation --> pardon, sans vraiment laisser les conséquences émotionnelles s’installer.

Le meilleur exemple reste le départ de Lin aux États-Unis sans véritable explication donnée à Ing. Ça aurait dû être un arc de séparation déchirant compte tenu de l'attachement presque maladif des deux protagonistes et de la peur de Lin de reproduire ce qui s'est passé avec Prae.
À la place, la phase de souffrance est expédiée, et les retrouvailles sont réglées presque instantanément avec un câlin, des excuses et un baiser. La série nous dit que les personnages souffrent plus qu’il ne nous le fait réellement ressentir.

Le problème de l’alchimie, c’est là que la série m’a vraiment perdu.
J’ai beaucoup aimé Ing. Yada porte énormément de scènes émotionnelles grâce à sa douceur et sa vulnérabilité. Mais globalement, l’alchimie entre les deux actrices n’atteint jamais l’intensité dont le scénario avait désespérément besoin.
Et c’est important parce qu’un drama romantique peut survivre à une écriture absurde SI (et seulement si) l’alchimie du couple emporte émotionnellement le spectateur.
Dans Play Park, trop de scènes semblent émotionnellement retenues, surtout du côté de Lin. Ce n'est pas mes habitudes de critiquer aussi ouvertement le jeu d'une actrice, mais selon moi Tan n'était clairement pas au niveau du projet, aussi chaotique soit il dans son exécution. Même leurs scènes intimes manquent de tension et de désespoir émotionnel malgré le contexte dramatique autour d’elles.
Au lieu d'avoir "ces deux femmes sont consumées par leur amour et leur manque l’une de l’autre", la relation donne souvent simplement l’impression d’être mignonne. Et malheureusement, une relation simplement mignonne ne suffit pas à porter des traumatismes, des séparations, de la manipulation, des enlèvements et des conflits familiaux.

Des problèmes de communication partout. La moitié du drama aurait pu être résolue si les personnages avaient parlé honnêtement pendant cinq minutes. La série crée constamment ses malentendus par le silence et l’évitement : Lin qui disparaît, Ing qui cache la vérité sur Guy, Lin qui imagine immédiatement une trahison, Jane qui manipule sans cesse des vérités partielles. A un moment, ça cesse d’être tragique pour devenir artificiel, surtout quand on voit à quel point les deux protagonistes sont intelligentes !

Jane : hater professionnelle. Je pense sincèrement que Jane est l’un des personnages les plus frustrants que j’ai vus depuis longtemps. Au début, sa jalousie et sa dépendance émotionnelle envers Lin étaient intéressantes. Mais ensuite, elle consacre littéralement toute son existence à détruire la relation entre Lin et Ing :
- espionnage,
- manipulation,
- insinuations,
- rétention d’informations,
- tentative de rapprocher Lin d’un autre homme,
- tracker,
- interprétation systématiquement négative de tout ce qu’elle voit.

À la fin, elle ressemblait moins à un personnage nuancé qu’à "Et si le sabotage émotionnel devenait un métier à plein temps ?"

Les problèmes de réalisme deviennent distrayants. Plus j’avançais, plus les incohérences s’accumulaient : Lin qui semble avoir un temps libre infini alors qu’elle est CEO, Ing qui est une jeune mère mais reste constamment disponible, Donut qui demande miraculeusement très peu d’attention, les deux femmes qui abandonnent visiblement une voiture quelque part après chaque date et des timelines qui n’ont absolument aucun sens.
Mais rien… ABSOLUMENT RIEN… n’a surpassé la continuité des ballons. Au début, la série reconnaît explicitement que les ballons se dégonflent. Pour au final nous donner des ballons en forme de fleur qui survivent pendant ce qui semble être des ères géologiques sans perdre d’air.
À un moment, je me suis sincèrement dit "Attends une seconde. Leur relation a survécu de manière moins réaliste que les ballons."

Ce qui fonctionne malgré tout. Malgré toutes mes critiques, je ne peux pas dire que ce GL soit foncièrement mauvais. Il possède quelques moments domestiques vraiment touchants, une dynamique familiale attachante, des thèmes intéressants, un antagoniste efficace avec Guy et certaines scènes émotionnellement réussies.

Kiat (le père de Lin) est aussi un personnage étonnamment intéressant parce qu’il croit sincèrement que sa cruauté est une forme d’amour. Sa relation avec Lin fait partie des meilleurs aspects de la série.
Et même si la réconciliation finale et le mariage semblent précipités, j’ai apprécié voir Lin choisir enfin son propre bonheur et redéfinir sa vision du succès au-delà des attentes professionnelles.

En bref, Play Park est un drama rempli de bonnes idées mais à l’exécution inégale. Il se voulait romantique, émotionnel, réconfortant, dramatique, socialement pertinent et apaisant à la fois.
Parfois, il y arrive. Mais trop souvent, il précipite ses meilleurs moments.

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