This review may contain spoilers
Raw, challenging and courageous
The writer, Song Hye Jin’s previous drama “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” stayed with me for the intensity of the emotions and its stark bleakness, and this one is no different. That was not without fault and neither is this. But it will be another unforgettable drama that haunts rather than lingers. Unlike “The Smile…”, this appears to be an original story, so is doubly impressive. I am not surprised that she only produces work every few years. This level of emotional intensity takes a toll. The effort and depth of understanding needed to create an emotional arc this complex and compelling, and live with it whilst writing is truly astounding and I stand in awe.My current take on this story having just finished it (and it’s the sort of thing that changes with reflection over time) is that it outlines a co-dependent relationship where however cruel it is, the individuals go back for more to justify to themselves that their self image is true to who they think they are. They both need to fight to keep it intact, whatever the cost.
Although there is a tendency to see Sang Yeon as the villain of the piece, whilst Eun Jung is the victim, this is to ignore the fact that Eun Jung could not walk away from her necessity to think of herself as a good person and accept her limits. As the story progresses Eun Jung is forced to confront the shallowness and fragility of her understanding of what that actually means. She accepts Sang Yeon back every time because she needs to feel that she is big enough and strong enough to cope. That her self respect will not let her down. She accepts the test each time. But the irony is that with each encounter the hate grows bigger inside her, and eats away at the unlimited, balanced personality and open generosity she needs to think she has.
For Sang Yeon, there is an ever present existential threat created by the suicide of her brother and her perceived rejection by her mother, who also ultimately abandons her in death. What is so bad that you would prefer to die rather than live? That you would consider the love and trust of the people around you not enough reason to live. She is constantly testing Eun Jung, trying to push her towards the edge, testing whether her limit will result in an ending and another abandonment. Sang Yeon cannot abandon Eun Jung and returns to her for the connection that will never give up on her. She finally realises that death is a necessary and unavoidable abandonment, but that it does not necessarily imply rejection.
The responsibility for this fractured relationship is in fact equally balanced and it is not until they both realise that fact that they could finally come together.
The performances by Kim Go Eun and Park Ji Hyun were exceptional. To be offered a script of this quality must have seemed like a dream come true. Both of them excelled and created compelling characters although personally I was more convinced by Park Ji Hyun than Kim Go Eun. However, I was not immediately drawn to them and it took about 5 or 6 episodes for me to work my way into their characters. (More about that when I come to talk about the cinematography and editing.) But over the course of the drama as a whole, they both convinced, especially in the emotional impacts at the end of each of the four “acts”.
This is essentially a story about two women, the male lead has a fairly inconsequential character arc and is really there to act as a foil between the them. To be honest, I found his character bland and lacking depth and it felt as though Kim Gun Woo accepted that lack in his playing of the part. I was not convinced of the pivotal role he had in the lives of the women, whose characters were strong and fully realised. This is perhaps a necessary compromise in the writing. To have made the character of Sang Hak richer and stronger would have added competition on a field already filled to bursting with it and taken away from the interaction between the women.
I was so glad that at the end of the drama they did not resort to euphemism but had the courage to follow through on the emotional impact. The drama was unafraid to be raw and direct. Not just in the storyline, but in the behaviour of the characters who spoke their truth brutally and used it as a weapon to both intimidate and manipulate.
The faults that I mentioned earlier (and FFS perfection is a ridiculous imposition to put on such a good drama) are mainly to do with the cinematography and editing, although there is a small niggle with the story arc.
Let’s address that first. By the time we reached the 2013 section of the drama I was a little tired of adjusting to new situations and characters and found that much of it felt like a repeat of 2003 in a different setting with slightly different stakes. Although I admit if I rewatch this drama I may see that differently. The other niggle is about how the early part of the story is partly narrated in voice overs by Eun Jung as part of her autobiographical writing of their relationship. This led to awkward storytelling, where scenes Eun Jung was not present in were necessary for the narrative flow. I think that was unnecessary and the story could simply have been told straight.
Now for my main peeve - the cinematography and the editing. Ironic in a story where one of the characters is a cinematographer. I thought a lot about why I was not engaging with the characters for the first third of the drama and came to the conclusion that it was a lot to do with how the story was visually presented. The editing style was to chop and change constantly, with mainly close-ups being used in significant emotional scenes. It was like being at a tennis match. When facing one person you can’t tell what’s happening to the other one so you turn back and bounce between them. What you want to see is the combined picture where they are both in frame so that you can watch the subtle changes in body language and sink into the tension between them. Then, make an impact by showing close ups. They were so busy with capturing the details that they forgot to open up the big picture. The result was that I had to put a lot of work into reading the room. I recently finished “Sounds of Winter” where the superb cinematography was a major part of the emotional impact and this production could well have learned something from it.
There was another choice which drew my attention away from the characters at critical moments, and that was the decision to use hand held camerawork in the climactic scenes in episodes 7 and 13 when everything fell apart. The unavoidable camera shake pulled me away from the intensity unfolding in front of me. It was so noticeable because it had not been used in any other context and was obviously a deliberate decision. Perhaps with the intention of illustrating how their world was shaking. As far as I was concerned it was Um Song Tak’s (the cinematographer) “look at me” moment.
Having said all that, this drama deserves its 9 rating. It didn’t capture my heart, but rather confronted and challenged me and had the courage to deliver on its promises.
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Great Story of Xinjiang But Too Short only 8 episodes
I am very disappointed at the producer who made only 8 episodes. This story could go 40 episodes focused more on their life. Too short and very bad ending.This mean they are prejudice. Custom dramas become very boring. This is a very refreshing story that shows cultural values, family, religion, regional life, ethnics, music, food, etc.
They can develop these story to make a great drama
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Before starting my review, this series is not for you if you dislike brothers to lovers trope.
Unknown is my first Taiwanese bl series that i've watched and i must say that you don't need a high budget to make an outstanding series. You can clearly see that this is a low budget series. The story is beautifully written. It tells the story of Wei Zhiyuan a young man who develops romantic feelings towards his adopted older brother Wei Qian. Now playing such characters requires actors who can pull every emotion flawlesly and i must say that both actors were great in their roles. The OST of this series is mind blowing and the intro is on a next level. I skip most of the intros of series but this intro song gives me goosebumps. But this series also has some flaws and these are mostly seen in the last 2 episodes where they only talk about Wei Qian's illness. They also try to create laughter with jokes but honestly 70% of these jokes are not funny
Overall: This series is a must watch series because of the execution and powerful storyline but if you don't like brothers to lovers trope you better stay away from it .
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Mismatched cast
Is it just me or did anyone else find that the Left Councilor spoke in a very odd intonation? I’ve watched quite a number of period dramas but never got so irritated with the way a character spoke before.The cast for this show was not to my liking. No one was really pleasant to look at (hehehe). The FL seemed too old for the ML, and the age gap between the Royal Advisor and Yeon Seon was too wide in my opinion. He seemed more suited playing a young uncle to her character.
Storyline was weak and not much romance.
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Adulting 101: The tales of Sanpo Village
Date completed: May 2026Rating: 9.0/10
Brilliant writing,
Brilliant storytelling,
Brilliant acting (hats off to Son Suk Ku,)
Brilliant cinematography.
It’s not microwaved entertainment; it’s a slow-cooked meal.
Not personal, yet somehow staring directly into your soul.
A journey, never a race and you are part of it.
Quietly leaves you wanting more, There is more to the story. Where is Mr Gu going with that bag? Sanpo?Do we get 10 more talk sessions? (iykyk)
In conclusion, If someone asked you to bring them “Adult”.... this would be it.
Currently subscribed to anything Park Hae Young writer-nim touches. Brilliant mind.
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Spicy start and brotherhood all over
From the beginning, the hatred turned lovers between Yixiao and Suige were so spicy to watch! Both Yixiao and Suige are beautiful - Yixiao has a commanding and endearing personality, and Suige is quite charming. They find realness in their compatibility and bring each other strength. There's no female catty drama!!! Its male-centric and of brotherhood. Interestingly enough, the relationships the main leads had with other characters were just as important and entertaining.I was pleasantly surprised that after the big fight and their celebration for victory, there were still additional episodes. I was looking forward to more because it had been great so far. But at this point, the story became slightly diluted - where the focus switched from the couple to the side characters. Yixiao barely got any facetime, and the couple became pretty professional and there was little development in their relationship. By then, the magic of the show was slightly lost. The sidequest in the drama with Suige's sister wasn't super exciting. There were lots of quarrels, but I had little sympathy. The side characters' pain were so dramatic but were actually nothing compared to ML/FL's deeprooted pain had that drove the story. Later, the fighting scenes with Yixiao was slightly impractical with her ability to whack people with her bow and shoot them in close combat.
While the ending wasn't great, I still really enjoyed watching drama, as the main leads were down to earth and righteous.
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The Gold Standard
I don’t know if there’s a way to express how much I love this one. I wanted to rewatch immediately after the first watch. I was ready to go back.There’s so much emotion in this story. There’s humor. There’s joy. There’s sadness. There’s drama. And it’s all balanced so well.
Without giving spoilers, I will also add that one thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the children in the show. They are amazing. High quality acting at such a young age. And they avoid the tendency to be annoying or just plain trouble.
Trust me. This is the best show I’ve watched in my year of watching CDramas.
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Only if you want to be heartbroken
Do you love happy endings? Then don’t watch, or don’t watch the last 4-5 episodes.Do you love sad endings? Ok you will have quite a good time with this show.
I sobbed until I hyperventilated, nearly was sick, and can’t even feel like it was an amazing show over all. It was so great for so much, but then the pain begins. Once the pain starts, it’s so much pain. That’s it. Pain.
Some people like or adore sad stories. I’m not one of them.
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The acting is weak and painfully stiff, really bad!
The beginning reminded me of Duang… Ugh! I almost dropped it right away.Thankfully, that feeling only lasted for a moment… this is actually quite different.
It has a rather sad atmosphere, which worries me a bit. I really don’t like tragedies.
Still, despite the terrible runtime of only 23 minutes per episode, it’s worth giving it a chance…
27/05
Third episode in, and nothing has improved. The acting is weak and painfully stiff, and the characters are barely interesting. Unfortunately, I see very little potential here. Just really bad.
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This review may contain spoilers
My Journey to Plot Armor
I came for Tian Jiarui (because of “Fangs of Fortune”) and Esther Yu (THE9), but stayed for Ryan Cheng and Tian Jiarui.Unless you’re a big fan of Zhang Linghe and/or Esther, it’s almost impossible NOT to be Team Gong Shangjue from start to finish. The series revolves around Gong Ziyu, our male lead (ML), passing the three trials and attaining his official position as the Sword Wielder after the assassination of his father (former Sword Wielder) and adopted older brother. Meanwhile, Gong Shangjue, who checks all the boxes of a great Sword Wielder, is continuously neglected because of plot armor. The Gong men work to make Gong Ziyu worthy of his newly inherited position while navigating assassins waiting to use their weakness against them and obtain their island’s treasure, the Infinite Heat. The plot is interesting, but the execution was not.
The show has a master’s degree in making the Gong Brothers the villains. Right out of the gate, Shangjue and his younger brother, Gong Yuanzhi, prove themselves loyal to the Gong Family, but because the Elders favored our ML, Ziyu was supported and given multiple chances to prove his worth. The series tries to convince us over and over again, and fails miserably, that Ziyu is capable of leading and protecting the Gong Family and that Yun Weishan is an innocent assassin. Endlessly, Ziyu is glorified as a talented yet foolishly good man with a photogenic memory. But Ziyu only cares and has mercy for people on his side. Meanwhile, Shangjue is the opposite and puts everyone in the Gong family and village before him. When Elder Yue (the Elder who shows Ziyu the most bias) was assassinated, Ziyu left the first round of the Three Trials and was hailed as someone who “cares about everyone”. The Elders broke years-old and long regulations for Ziyu, but when highly intelligent Shangjue clocked it and used it against them immediately (which was hella satisfying) he’s made the bad guy. Because the Elders favor Ziyu, they often give Ziyu and his party leverage over Shangjue and Yuanzhi. The last time anyone acknowledged Shangjue’s abilities was the last Sword Wielder (Ziyu’s father) and the assassin group Wufeng. From smarts to skills to looks, Shangjue doesn’t lack anything but the desire to convert the position of Sword Wielder. I mean, he's the sole reason why the powerful villain assassin group Wufeng refuses to move in and slaughter everyone on the island; they fear him.
One can argue that it was thanks to Ziyu that a lot was uncovered later on, but remember, Shangjue had already suspected everything and everyone accurately and without bias and fail. He just didn’t have all the hard evidence because he’s not Ziyu and was constantly challenged by Ziyu and his side (Jin Fan, Lady Wuji, Young Master Elder Yue, Young Master Xue Chong Zi, Xue Gong Zi, etc).
While the story and plot are interesting and simple, it was predictable and poorly executed. Lady Wuji being Anonymous (because of her age and gender), Ziyu’s brother being a villain, Shangguan Qian being with child, these were predictable. What the show did well was the revelation that Gong Ziyu and Gong Shangjue have actually been working together for a while to fool Wufeng and the viewers. Sadly, that came too late, and the best three episodes are the last three episodes, and at that point I was beat. From episodes 5-20, I debated if I should even complete the series because Ziyu was too ridiculous and Yun Weishan too boring for my taste. But I’m glad I watched til the end; however, the initial excitement and investment were gone. Also, if I were Shangjue, I'd be worried about the Elders' obvious bias when they didn't know I was working with Ziyu. Shangjue and Ziyu's teamwork was a secret, but the Elders' biases were not.
I personally would have re-organized a lot of the scenes for ‘shock value’ and eliminate dragginess, but that’s just me. Examples would be Xue Chong Zi and Xue Gong Zi’s last moment together. It came so late after all the “death” scenes in the second-to-last episode that it no longer mattered. Yun Weishan’s twin is a good twist, but also nonsensical because it came up in the remaining five minutes of the show. For some reason, Edward Guo has a habit of glossing over death scenes, and characters don’t end up mourning naturally. The news of Ziyu’s father and brother's assassination didn’t hit him quite as hard as I’d imagine, given that his main sob story is that his parents weren’t affectionate enough.
My biggest gripe is how Ziyu would leave after completing a round of the Three Trials. I understand not leaving during the rounds, but I thought the three rounds were supposed to be done continuously. Because Ziyu has to keep running to the Back Hill to complete these trials, the series suffers from major drags. Had the show dedicated the middle episodes to Ziyu's trials, then the last episodes plotting and fighting the enemies one by one, it would have been a much better show.
The action is a mix of both good and bad. Some angles and moments were creative, but there was a lot of unnecessary flying.
The music was hardly memorable and mostly background noise. The one time they did really well with the sound is Yuanzhi’s introduction scene on the roof. Since “Fangs of Fortune” 2024 has all the best OSTs, it’s a relief to know that the music has improved since “My Journey to You” 2023.
Acting-wise, I believe they should have chosen someone else to play “Yun Weishan”. I love Esther and was an Esther apologist during her idol days, but she’s yet to impress me as an actress. Weishan has about three faces: always in pain/worried, resting, and gently smiling. Zhang Linghe is undoubtedly good-looking, but he doesn’t have as much range as I felt the character “Gong Ziyu” should have. Ziyu is supposed to be childish and a playboy with cheesy jokes, but he always looks constipated. Ryan Cheng, on the other hand, did amazing as Shangjue and overshadowed a lot of the other characters and actors. His side eyes are lethal. His voice, effective. Lu Yuxiao did Shangguan Qian justice. Ryan Cheng and Lu Yuxiao’s chemistry was a lot stronger than Zhang Linghe and Esther's as well. Jolin Jin (Gong Zishang) was both fun and hard to watch. She masks her craftsmanship with theatrics to cope with her hardass father, and is man-crazed to the point of sexually harassing them. I wasn’t a fan of Jin Fan, but even I felt bad for the guy. The Wufeng Assassins did well; sadly, we didn’t get to see how and if the undefeated assassin Bei Xu did make it out since his death was never shown on screen. But viewers are to assume he’s lost because of Young Master Hua’s sacrifice. I like Ai Mi; she did well for Yun Que, but am I the only one who doesn’t care for her arc at all?
The final battle was…dare I say both satisfying and unsatisfying? For a lot of powerful figures, the battles were all very short. So short that they fit in half an episode, and we didn’t even see how Elder Yue defeated Han Yaqi. And Ziyu, who’s been working so hard to live up to Sword Wielder, fought one person, Ziyi, in the final big battle, fled after being "poisoned", wasn't even the one who killed her, and never reappeared to save or help his people. How a whole family and island could rely on him to keep them safe is beyond me when he’s yet to prove he’s capable. Shangjue was also knocked out cold before he could see Yuanzhi drive the killing knife into the assassin who killed his biological mother and brother, Lang, so that was unsatisfying.
I don’t have a problem with open endings and actually prefer them because then I can draw my own conclusions. I’d imagine Ziyu handing “Sword Wielder” to Shangjue temporarily so he could go into the martial world to look for Weishan while Shangjue protects the village, because otherwise, Ziyu can’t leave, and the position can never be vacant even if the Sword Wielder is alive. Whether Shangjue keeps the position depends entirely on whether Ziyu has a desire to be free with Weishan. We never got to see how and what the Infinite Heat can do, so maybe Shangjue can use that to help Ziyu and Weishan in the martial world, even if it’ll cost him his life.
If I were to rewatch this show, it’d be for the Gong Brothers. Can’t stand anyone else.
On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this series as a 6 for a “first-time must-watch”.
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I Can Watch Ahn Bo Hyun's Dramas Now
The best outcome of watching Flex X Cop is that I finally got over my aversion to Ahn Bo Hyun. His character was so despicable in Itaewon Class, that I stopped watching Yumi's Cells when he appeared as the love interest! I was like, no way, no how. He'd sneak up on me in supporting roles, and that helped, somewhat, to desensitize me, but I think this drama has erased the visceral reaction I've had to him. Chalk it up to good acting; I have nothing against the actor. He was perfect in this role (he was perfect in Itaewon Class, too, but eww!).The initial fish-out-of-water scenes with ML as a pseudo-police officer were crazy and chaotic. I loved the brashness and sheer bravado of the ML. Then, it became predictable. I kept saying to myself, "Please don't let XXX be the baddie!" It would have been refreshing if it hadn't turned out that way, but the drama fell into an old cliche. Very disappointing. It was fun until then. I'm thinking season two, with all the childhood trauma behind him, could allow the zany, fun side of the character to return.
I must make mention of ML's stylist. His ensembles were amazing. Even great coats, watches, shoes... the whole look was sharp and perfectly chaebol.
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1Episode 12 and 13 ruined the entire drama
I stopped watching the show after episodes 12 and 13 when the male lead chose to protect the man involved in trafficking women as sex slaves, despite the second male lead wanting to kill him. Up until that point I had been invested in the characters and the story, the show had built a strong emotional pull with sympathetic motivations, tense confrontations, and relationships that felt meaningful. But when the plot reached that turning point, it betrayed what I had come to expect from the characters, and it made the series impossible for me to continue watchingThe decision by the male lead to defend someone who participates in such reprehensible crimes felt like a profound moral misstep. It wasn't just a minor lapse in judgment it was a choice that fundamentally shifted my perception of him. For much of the series the male lead had been presented as principled or at least conflicted, someone whose flaws were balanced by a clear sense of decency. Seeing him shield a trafficker undermined that foundation and left me feeling like the writers had cheapened his arc. It read less like complex character development and more like an unnecessary plot device that punished the audience's trust.
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Silly goofy little drama that doesn't take itself too seriously
A very light watch. I haven't finished yet, but I wanted to post a small review, because I'm having so much fun. It's a goofy drama, don't treat it too seriously. I like it so much precisely because it's very positive and unserious. Unlike some other dramas that turn out silly but try to be serious, this one is clearly made to be a fun watch with no elaborate plot or strong world building. It's so unrealistic but it works perfectly because it clearly never tries to be anything else.The FL is a very positive person and she fights the scheming Empress by befriending everyone she sends to sabotage her. It's delightful and refreshing.
The ML so far isn't particularly fleshed out and we don't know much about him.
All the side characters have very vivid good acting (you could say it's not good because it seems over the top and unnatural sometimes, but I think it's on purpose) and it's satisfying to watch.
The music doesn't always fit the scenes perfectly imo, but hey, they played one of my absolute favourite Chinese songs for the first proper kiss scene, so I'm not complaining.
Watching this will make you feel happy (or cringe), but definitely not sad, so I definitely recommend it <3
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This review may contain spoilers
I want to live long enough to see the end of the world, too.
"Zero skills. Maximum chaos." Talking about me?The heroine steals a child’s ice cream ; Shadow the Hedgehog would be so proud. I became a fan from the very first episode. We share the same references. (That said, I do hope Park Eun-bin can move on from the quirky, sassy roles she always seems to play)
The bloke whose daughter is both ashamed of him and feels sorry for him at the same time, I love him. He's always hanging out with his mates. The ultimate unfit dad.
They're all really touching and funny. Their powers turn out to be really well used, and we all love Katamari Damacy. All the Korean shows about superpowers are a massive hit these days. (Episode 6 !)
This antagonist is truly the worst of all the manipulators.
Nothing interesting to add : it's just excellent. Despite such a serious subject. And they've done the whole thing about conflicts being passed down from one generation to the next. To think that everything could be sorted out simply by talking. It's always the rich people's fault.
A sequel ! Now !
The opening credits are brilliant, aren't they ?
The only downside : I hate Radiohead, I cannot stand them, I don't want to hear them. Go away.
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> Excessive plot twists: The script relies heavily on countless twists, many of which feel unnecessary and dilute the impact of the story. The constant shifts in who the “real villain” is, combined with time jumps, make the viewing experience exhausting.
> Central couples: The pairing of Chen Du Ling and Joseph Zend is far more compelling and charismatic, yet receives little screen time. Instead, Lu Wu Yi and Tian Jia Rui dominate the narrative with a repetitive dynamic, marked by endless cycles of death and resurrection.
> Dragged-out script: At times, it feels as though the writer was simply stretching the story to meet an episode quota, resulting in artificial pacing.
> Special effects: The true highlight of the production. The visual effects are well executed and elevate the aesthetic quality, partially compensating for the weak storytelling.
Conclusion
This drama had the potential to be memorable, but it became entangled in its own ambition to deliver constant twists. The overuse of filler and the choice to spotlight less appealing characters undermined the overall experience. Still, the special effects stand out as one of the few elements that genuinely make the show worth watching.
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