Reviews

TTH Episode 1

As of now, Episode 1 of Ticket to Heaven has completely pulled me in. The atmosphere felt heavy yet beautiful, and every scene carried so much emotion. Gemini and Fourth delivered such nuanced performances that even the quietest moments spoke volumes. Their chemistry was subtle but undeniable—you could feel every glance, every hesitation, and every unspoken feeling. What struck me the most was how the story explored faith, doubt, and love with such sincerity and depth. By the end of the episode, I found myself deeply invested in Barth and Tanrak's journey. It's a heartbreaking yet incredibly promising start that left me emotional and counting the days until the next episode." ❤️✨

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Awkward yet Lighthearted and worth watching.

It's light hearted series to watch. Too many flaws indeed but with a very sweet ending.

Two boys like each other. They are awkward, one is attractive and lively, the other is silent.

Early 2000 in Hongkong, they probably more open in mainland China but still quite conservative.

The production want to showcase the reality of two boys with their hormones liking each other. Wanna confess but afraid of rejection and losing everything.

It's indeed quite draggy with unnecessary third wheeling, thankfully it's still bearable.

As for the cast, they are all new actors, probably not having enough experience on screen, especially in BL series like this, so awkwardness and stiffness are expected.

But I'm grateful that they give a satisfactory ending.

Nowadays many series [BL or BG series] tend to give a bittersweet ending/open ending or separation or whatsoever.

This series gave enough time for them to be lovey dovey at the ending.

It's still worth to watch.
Rewatching it? I'll leave it to everyone's taste but I surely will rewatch the last episode if I need something sweet after watching a heartbreaking series.

Sweet Yu Lei and Chen Ke deserves some appreciation.

😊💐👏🏼

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I liked the premise more than the shape it took. The quiet routines of a couple seven years in feel recognizable. Seol Jong Hwan carries a lot of that weight through stillness rather than dialogue. Park Jun‑mok’s restraint works too, even when his character drifts into emotional absence. What weakens it is how narrowly the conflict is framed. One side is pushed as the problem for too long, which flattens the relationship instead of letting it feel shared. With such short episodes, the tension repeats more than it develops, and some emotional turns feel signposted rather than lived. It works best when it stops explaining and just lets moments sit.

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Not good at all

The main leads don’t have chemistry; there is not much to fall in love with . They don’t even have scenes together that much. Even when they are with others, they don’t have scenes together like two different story lines, no linking or talking between the main leads. The comedy is forced. The story writing is so poor. They said at first it’s more romantic, afterward, they changed into this. They are involved in production and story; should have left that to professionals and taken acting classes in which both are average. Yin feels like he is on a good level that wants to work on Netflix series, bro, you are stiff as a pole and doesn’t have any lead series unless it’s ship-related.

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The Main Couple Is Really a Splendid Match

A Splendid Match is an engaging drama with a great pace. Taking a chance on a show where I didn’t recognize a single face in the main cast was a gamble, but it turns out I really enjoyed watching this drama.

This is perfect for fans of family conflict dramas. The story heavily revolves around conflicts between the legal wife and concubine, sibling rivalries, and strategic matchmaking. Gu Jin Zhao is a smart and strong-willed female character. Armed with elite business skills, she is not easily bullied and is able to effortlessly handle greedy family members. Chen Yan Yun, on the other hand, is a strategic, composed, and mature male character. Together, they share a wonderfully straightforward relationship.

What I love the most from this drama is the great chemistry between the main leads. It also features one of the best weddings in C-drama, treating the audience to a proper marriage proposal, a grand wedding procession, and gorgeous traditional costumes. Combined with the brilliant acting—especially from a tragic, lunatic marquis's son who experiences the most profound character growth—it makes the entire visual experience a total feast for the eyes.

While the ending wasn't great, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be—I've seen far worse endings in other dramas. There's a war at the end of the story, and several characters die. At least the main couple survives the turmoil and remains firmly together. As long as you adjust your expectations for the final episodes, you can still enjoy this drama as much as I did.

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The Devil wears sensible shoes

I'm going to be honest with you. The first couple of eps did not vibe with me. I was confused about the direction of the series. Is it business satire? Slapstick comedy? Office romance? It seems to dip its toes in many puddles.

What caught me off guard is the calibre of the cast. I'm not aware any of them being certified comedians, but hat off to the FL. Her timing is excellent and she is ably assisted by others. After just completed her The Art of Sarah starrer, this is a 180° change.

Even with that in mind, this show just doesn't give off that type of vibe. While they did lean heavily into broad stroke comedy early on, it didn't feel organic.

Sure enough, the show changed tack and became darker and more serious well before the half way mark. Playing dirty is the one true way in a chaebol family.

This doesn't make it a bad series. It is very watchable, but I am disappointed. This drama passed up a golden opportunity to be more than a same-same office romance.

That lack of focus translated into a stream of random worker's right stories, swoon-y office romance, unrequited love, woman scorned, business shenanigans and the good old chaebol succession bum fight. Our plate overfloweth with tropes.

As if to emphasise this, it is not the A-plot that is the throughline but the FL's character. It is her acting and the OTP's romance that kept me watching. When the OTP's romance is firing, it is piping hot. The rest are a lot more hit and miss.

For instance, the 2ML is old school handsome. I still remember him playing opposite PMY in Her Private Life. They had smoking chemistry in that show. Now, he is a sad and broken second lead who can't win a trick. Of course, he has his redemption arc later on and so does the 2FL who shafted everyone because of spite.

That is a shame as it has a superior ensemble cast and solid production value. It could have been more. As it stands, it added little to the dramaverse.

In the end, I was perplexed when the A-plot largely ended in the opening minutes of EP.12. What now? We still have almost an hour to fill.

We are presented with a grab bag of relationship issues and office hijinks plus bonus time skip. It is a bit sappy and draggy. The momentum has largely dissipated by then. The show must go on, damnit!

All's well that ends well. One-time watch for me. Peace.

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excellent romcom

Though it's quite a long drama, i hardly ever found it boring, maybe just slow enough to grab a coffee now and then. There are multiple couples, and all so good-looking, so natural, dressed so pretty and walking around such nice places or art galleries , that you can forget abt the plot... And still the plot is there! The friendship is to die for, the assistant is perfect, the ML' s devotion is unshaken from the first time he sets his eyes on the FL. The 3 couples are so innocent in their own ways, the villains are tragical, the funny scenes are really funny. If you like this kind of drama, it's certainly perfect.
As a side note, i'm still to say that many leads in asian dramas dont look asian... but white - caucasian. I guess they produce these dramas mostly for export.
Abt the logic... dont bother too much.

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PEAK

Omd please watch this series, i relate to barth and also tanrak at the same time all of them deserves love, this series deserves tons of awards… peak everything this plot is so perfect, it really tells the struggle of queer people in a religious environment or even household. Their acting is so perfect like, their eyes plays a lot here, i dont think anyone can potray eyes acting well, theyre just sooo professional, n having p’aof as their director oml, theyre really comfortable working with each other, the chemistry goes beyond the stars, i love their dedication, everything really… truly series of the year…

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ML never did any wooing and I hated him and his possessiveness

I noticed this drama last year and while I am a fan of Wang Yi Ran, I was never compelled to watch until recently. I started writing a column about two drama adaptations from the same source so I thought of tackling this drama. Oh boy, I have a lot to say about this drama.

What I liked:
1. Dialogue - I liked FL's quips towards ML's pursuer. That's clever snapback.
2. Supporting characters - I liked ML's friend a lot. He was respectful of boundaries.
3. FL characterisation - I actually liked her despite being bullied by ML. She knew where to draw the line when it came to her delicate situation with ML. I just didn't like that she believed the other woman's claims so easily.
4. Kissing - While the romance was forced, the kissing scenes were done well. Yeah ML was crazy and possessive but I always enjoy Wang Yi Ran's kissing scenes.
5. Pairing - I liked the height differences between them two. Wang Yi Ran and Lan Lan had good chemistry.

What I disliked:
1. ML characterisation - He was a neanderthal. So aggressive about his love for FL.
2. Romance - It was toxic - ML never wooed her, she was forced to accept his love. I hated that she was coerced into having sex.
3. Parents - ML's mother and FL's father never cared about their kids' feelings. Very old-fashioned - they were more concerned about what others might think of FL-ML romantic relationship.
4. FL's friend - She was out of line when she wanted to find out the reason for FL's visit to the gynaecologist. The friend was nosy despite being a doctor.

Favourite scene
When FL snapped back at ML's pursuer

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Of trust and forgiveness in the end

I tried to finish this drama to see how it ends.

Initially I find Dam Ye Jin so annoying. She can be persistent, yet her ways did not show respect to Michael. She will try everything she can in order to get what she wants without even knowing the history behind the resistance. At one point I thought she is bipolar. Why? When she calls her mom's number, she didn't even remember that when she comes back to her perky day. She may be workaholic to a point that she has forgotten how to take care of herself. This is something that people today should see that no amount of success should be traded for our own health (body and mind).

As for Michael or Mechoori, many say he is a dull character and all because of his past. One must understand that his past troubles led him to hide from the world. Though he may be back in experimenting again, his guard is up so as not to make the same mistake. It is good that he has a community who cared for him and helped him to the very end. As we see a glimmer of hope to re-establish his passion in the cosmetic industry, another conflict arose, but this time he tried not to hide from it - now that he has many people trusting and helping him.

I don't like Mr. Seo. All smiles when he sees Dam Ye Jin is so annoying. He acted like a teenager whenever he is around Ye Jin. I don't know if it is the hairstyle or the look in his face that I find not right for his position. But his sister did well as one who is hungry for power and control. She did well as a villain.

Product endorsements are difficult. And we have seen in this drama how fake reviews can destroy not just a product but a career and a person who worked hard for it. Though the drama is not as promising as we hoped for, still there are lessons to learn from it:
1. When trust is compromised, it breaks a friendship - this is what happened to Mechoori and one of his colleagues
2. There are still people who may seem ignorant, yet their hearts are pure. This is what Mechoori has that Ye Jin didn't in the city - a group of people ready to defend and help him when someone tries to hurt him.
3. Forgiveness - this is what Ye Jin, his mom and dad really needed. And I am glad they learned to forgive one another.

I like the village people, the simplicity of their thinking and life. They all know each other and know how to resolve things around them.

Honestly, I don't think it is worth rewatching.

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Of Office Politics and Love

I just finished this drama. The 12 episodes are just enough to capture what's going on in Haemu - the office politics, your average employees, strict boss and even a love story. The pacing of the story, how they end each episode kept me waiting for the next and see how Haemu's story and also the characters' story transform.

Thank you for casting Shin Hae Sun and Gong Myung who had delivered their parts very well. The focus on the leads gave us a closer look at how relationships in the office and outside of it transformed. Shin Hae Sun gave us that confident boss who had a facade of one that cannot be brought down. In-Ah's reputation had preceded her, so many of her subordinates had been tiptoeing around her. She can be ruthless but reasonable. She learned what teamwork means later and became their 'fortress' later when she learned what work means to them. I think this is quite a transformation for In-Ah, especially when she fell in love with Ki-Jun. Ki-Jun's perspective had made her re-think her choices and learned to let in other people into her life.

Ki-Jun may be a very by-the-books guy when it comes to his work. He felt he should be promoted but when transferred to another team felt demoted. He did not see what In-Ah saw. Instead of investigating outside, his role becomes important to cleaning house. Ki-Jun can be idealistic, but that what sets him apart from the rest of the Audit Department - he wants to make things right even if it cost him his own job.

The VP may look like leaning only on the influence his wife has but eventually learned to stand on his own principles to help the employees of Haemu. Sometimes we need the upper management to look into the concerns of the people and not just making money which his half-brother is only after. His EA may have misplaced allegiance, but later on suffered the consequences of her choices. I like that the characters are not unforgiving, that they learned to accept their mistakes and later on knew when to reach out and be of help to others.

I love Team Three - how they worked well together, supporting each other like a family. I think this is what transformed In-Ah to care for them. Though Team Three is not excellent when it comes to work, their care for each other is what made them work together and later on support In-Ah.

The other supporting actors did well to create this drama meaningful. I am glad this drama ended in a positive note.

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