Reviews

Tempest .. Good start, weak ending.

The series "Tempest" is your usual political Kdrama about a former ambassador and her bodyguard fighting the wind of corrupted South Koreans and attempting to stop a nuclear war between North Korea, US and Idisha or aka Iraq.

Now, even though the portrayal of the countries within the series especially the US and Iraq was just plain wrong, my grip was with the the last 4 or 5 episodes.

The show started strong, with that bodyguard joining the FL but as soon as they shipped them together and they fell in love the quality of the show and I'm telling you started to drop significantly. Then the show turned into your typical romance and save the world cliché, i personally didn't like that at all. (not that the romance wasn't needed but the execution was weak in my view)
The acting was good, the cinematography was peak, the music and the story had the potential but it felt short and this is something you expect from lot of Kdramas "eg; bloodhounds 1st season".

Now, lemme just get something out of my chest, the US are not saints by any stretch of imagination, they're not the saviours of the free world, they don't own everything and certainly don't owe anybody anything, their empire is built upon terror, colonization and destruction so this kind of Hollywoodish makeup ain't working in 2025, not anymore. Any attempts to do it, is just ain't gonna work. Now, on the other hand, they portray peaceful countries in ME like Iraq or aka Idisha into these kind of savages and that's completely unrealistic and shows how much wrong influence the Korean dramas took from Hollywood.

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Not all laughs.

April 2026
I so enjoyed this fantasy/Xanxia C-drama. It has humour, sarcasm, action and subtle romance.

There is also tragedy, and I cried on more than one occasion.

Demons come in all forms, and this story proves that, as is so often the case, it's the human looking ones that need worrying about the most!

Expect signature beautiful sets, costumes and actors (m&f).

A great band of characters (who don't all want to be together at all, and don't all get on), with varying abilities and very different personalities, are tasked with catching demons that have escaped the Demon Realm. They also have to fix the 'leak'!

A few eps dragged a bit, but for me, not unbearably.

One particular scene also gets revisited a bit too often, and whilst it's an important one, it did irk me a bit.

A couple of irritating support characters (again, not massively so, as covered by others), and I found Wen Xiao a bit 'wet' at times.

Still, overall it's another that's recommended and one I really enjoyed.

Note: Not that strong on romance, incase it's your thing.

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Hooked on you

Mad respect for director Chen Jia Jie, who can create insanely entertaining shows with shoestrings. His Embrace in the Dark Night was already high on my "low-budget gem" list but Affinity is on a whole new level, pushing limits of what you can do with the short format on all fronts. Saying the plot is bonkers doesn't even start to describe the madness going on : it feels like the brainchild of someone who spent too much time consuming various popular genres like trashy supernatural smut, SF and horror video games and movies, and threw them in a blender without much care for logic. I won't lie, I basked in the nonsensical joy of it all, feeling like a kid at christmas gifted with the biggest, most colorful toy available.
The spice level is insane, clearly the censors were asleep or bribed when this went through approvals. I don't know how I will tolerate basic skinship in shows after this, at the end they were fully tongue kissing, something I've only seen in naughty vertical dramas (before the crackdown, not sure it will happen again). The choreography was also insanely hot and creative, I think I've watched the train scene a dozen times and know I will come back a dozen more. On the writing front the plot might be crazy and twisty but it doesn't keep the emotional beats from working, far from it. I had to take a break around a certain time, I was so invested in the characters, their misfortunes made me too upset to continue. I came back to it a few months later and gobbled up the remaining episodes. Yes, it's brainless but it's not heartless, I teared up a few times and was invested in all characters, even the side ones. The year is not over but it might be my favorite thing 2026 has produced.

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One of the best Kdramas of 2025

I'm writing this review after i watched Murky stream last year, so this is my impression and review.. you should trust my taste on this one.
I actually came in with low expectations, the story looked recycled but the poster hooked me, so, i decided to give it a chance and it was worth it.

I really liked how the story was executed and the pacing for this type of story (usually long) was just perfect. The acting was good too and the stakes kept raising which at the end gave us a satisfying ending. They didn't necessarily rely on the hero to save the day, he was like part of the plan and not THE PLAN and this is something i prefer in stories.

Now, i can see the low reviews. I'm not really into Korean history in general and how some areas were presented so i didn't really put lot of focus on that. Some people may found it unrealistic or something like that and i respect that view.

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A good Taiwanese Revenge flick

This is my first time watching a Chinese (Taiwanese) drama and I can say I'm impressed... but not too much by this series.

The story is not usual, it leans more towards fantasy and supernatural stuff but it still follows the same pattern revenge stories usually follow and even though it started slow, it got better in the middle however, ridiculous by the end.

Yeah, I didn't like the two last episodes, It was too rushed with too many plot holes, they tried to like make plot twists but It didn't work out for them so they're apparently doing a season 2 out of this which I'm not really interested to watch it if it came out.
Aside from that, i liked the acting, the visuals, the music and taking into consideration it was my first experience with Chinese (Taiwanese) drama so a 7/10 is a reasonable rating.
It could've been a 8 or even 9 if they didn't rush and ruined the ending but what can i say.

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Decent Samurai story .. could've been better.

I enjoyed watching Last Samurai, It had everything you could ask for if you're into Samurai stories. It wasn't impressive but good overall.

I like Samurai stories and historic-action series/movies like "Kingdom" or "Murky stream" being on top of that list and this show didn't disappoint.

I give it a 7 you maybe reading this and wondering because it was too short, 6 episodes -sorry to say-, just doesn't seem right, it left the story incomplete despite another season coming. Lot of important character left undiscovered and why they're doing what they're doing, why are they turning on Samurai? Six episodes barely gave us enough time to discover the story and thus, the pacing felt out of the place. A 10 or 12 episodes would've been better.

Another reason is that guy who calls himself "Strategist" or something, he's just a bad actor or to be more specific, he doesn't fit that role. His accent sounds weird and even for us viewers, you can feel like he's not living the character but rather just acting; I don't about you but that's how i felt. Even that young actress Fubaka, it seems like this is her first acting role but whatever.

Overall, looking forward to season 2.

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Not the best portrayal of bullying, but perhaps the most sincere one

It was a very touching movie. I have to say that it was simple in narrative. There were not any wildly unexpected moments. The message of the movie somewhat confused itself, but it was clear that this was not your typical portrayal of bullying in cinema.

In this movie, the role of emotional anchor was at the forefront. The honest, innocent, pure connection between two people. There was no exploitation of the love, sexuality or the dramatics. The portrayal of connection was dispersed everywhere, in every second of this movie, and so real and so flawed -- that it worked perfectly.

As for the acting, the side characters were average because no one’s story was particularly developed. But both leads did a phenomenal job. Absolutely convincing and punching performances that save the script. Every and any success of this movie goes to the two leads. I could see this movie being less interesting or captivating, genuinely lost, under different cast.

All that did induce the waterfall from my eyes on multiple occasions (I cannot deal well with injustice). It was a pure, emotional movie, with easily digestible story.

Satisfying ending. A good watch.

A recommend.

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I don’t drop dramas lightly—but this one made it ridiculously easy.

Let’s get straight to it: the male lead isn’t “romantic,” “misunderstood,” or “protective.” He’s obsessive, controlling, and straight-up unsettling. And we’re only TWO episodes in.

After ten years, the leads meet again…and both pretend they don’t even know each other. Fine, that’s a trope. But what follows is not tension—it’s borderline disturbing behavior.

This man hasn’t exchanged even a proper sentence with the female lead, yet somehow acts like he owns her. He inserts himself into her life, interferes with her relationships, and starts making assumptions about her like he’s been monitoring her for a decade. Where exactly was he for those ten years? Because he’s acting like he left her on pause.

And the “lawyer” angle? Don’t even get me started.

He calls her his client—based on what? A technicality? A delusion? He doesn’t even have a proper license to practice law in China, yet throws around authority like he’s running the legal system. That’s not confidence, that’s fantasy. Worse, he uses this fake professional stance to justify controlling behavior. That crosses from annoying into toxic.

Also, the audacity to assume things about her personal life after a decade of absence? He behaves as if she’s been frozen in time, waiting for him. Reality check: she could have had relationships, experiences, a whole life—but he walks in acting like he gets to decide who she meets or dates.

That’s not love. That’s entitlement.

And honestly, it’s frustrating how the show frames this as intense romance instead of what it actually is: a man with zero respect for boundaries, professionalism, or basic human decency.

A male lead who is supposedly a lawyer but doesn’t understand consent, autonomy, or ethical conduct? That’s not complex writing—it’s just bad writing.

Final verdict: Dropped at episode 3
because the core dynamic is uncomfortable, unrealistic, and deeply toxic.

If this is supposed to be “fateful love,” then fate seriously needs better standards.

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Taxi Driver.. Peak Drama

I'm probably late to the party but i'm writing this review after finishing season 3 (the past month) and as expected it was an enjoyable experience.

My initial rating for the two first seasons was 9, season 1 being the best one in my opinion.
It had everything you can ask for, good side stories, great main story, packed with emotions and the group actually had a good chemistry with that female cop (although some people find her annoying but i guess that was the point of her character at first), I think this gave us a sense of urgency and a good mouse and cat game which ended with her joining in. I give it a solid 9.5/10.

Season 2 was fire too, unfortunately that female cop wasn't part of the actors but still I thought it was great. Same positives as S1 and the final villain's story was interesting. I give it a 9/10.

Now for season 3, this is where i draw some lines, like don't get me wrong, I love this franchise, even if they make other 5 seasons I'll still watch (like who wouldn't wanna watch our heroes kick some butts) but still I kinda felt little bit disappointed.
It had some good side stories but what lacking in this season was a main big story like previous seasons.
Previous seasons had main big villains or a final boss-like where the group had to struggle to win but this season had none of that. You're just watching and thinking this might be a real threat and then not really. That's why i give it a 8/10.

Now, i don't know if they're going to make another season (they really should) but from what i see in the ending they probably won't but let's hope they do. If you're a fan of action packed dramas, you shouldn't miss this series.

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Watch while you're folding clothes

I wanted to like this drama as I've enjoyed the projects FL Hannah Lu has been in...became her fan from Falling Before Fireworks and her subsequent rom coms were lightweight enjoyable...but this...started with intriguing opening and then got rather redundantly dull. It proceeds like the ultimate in stretching out the premise of the story to achieve 30 minute 24 episode "regular" drama format when it likely would have been fine as a 15 min 20 eps mini. I mean, how many times must we be reminded of why the ML has latched on to her but she doesn't seem to know, or why the spies repeatedly state that they will die if they fail their mission (which is not clear). And the 'villains' are buffoons.

So if you have nothing else to watch (it was still more watchable than Rebirth (which I've refrained from ranting my disappointment in the production and storyline--- many others have already commented) during the same airing period-- this drama can fill your viewing space/time. There are minis with far more substance.

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Amazing LA noir style drama

I've just finished watching Made in Korea serie; 6 episodes and i really enjoyed it. I like this old detective LA Noire style of movies and series in general and this serie didn't disappoint.

The acting wasn't that spectacular but the use of music, cinematography was on top, and I also, liked the idea or the message behind this story where unlike the usual narratives we're all familiar with of the weak winning by the end, this was different and I think it was satisfying because it was realistic and i also think this is the reason this serie got an average score of 7 and will probably go low.

People are used to heroes beating up the bad guys regardless of their status and this serie didn't gave us that happy ending, so yeah this is probably the reason.

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Good action series, NO complications!

A shop for killers is a really good action series.

The story is not so original but the execution is what kept me hooked. I liked the pacing of the story, no filler, no unnecessary scenes, just pure drama and non-stop action. 8 episodes with a season 2 coming out this year is a good choice.
Apart from that, acting, fighting scenes were all good too. Nothing to say.

There's another thing that might be unpopular or a hot take, a lot will probably disagree but i think the lead actor Lee Dong-Wook acting in this series wasn't really good and convincing to me.
Like don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he can't act, he's a good actor but i believe he fits more in Romance, Drama and Comedy genres, the action genre and this series in particular requires someone with more menacing look, someone who could look more believable as a lead actor and he wasn't. I could think of many others who could've been a good fit but whatever, this is just my point of view.

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Solid series if not for the many plotholes

The art of Saraha is a pretty good series, the idea or the story is interesting and makes you wanna watch the next episode as quick as possible because you just don't know what's going to happen next.

However, for me, everything falls apart in the two final episodes.
I mean look, someone with no identity can be hard to trace, that's okay and it happens but no one can be this anonymous no matter what and actually my real frustration isn't with the Sarah Kim character (even though she's presented in unrealistic way) but with the other woman she was imitating.

We had this moment where we don't know who's the real Sarah Kim, but the biggest plothole is that, it could be identified right? Why are the police sitting in a dark investigation room for hours and doing nothing? She gave them a name (the name she claimed) that woman had a family and friends then she could easily be identified, right? Why are the police presented to be dumb and can't think in this series? or maybe i'm missing something?
I mean i watched a lot of police, detective series and this one just didn't make any sense to me even if you wanna make Sarah Kim this big mysterious figure and get big twists out of it, things don't really work that way.

So yeah, the ending wasn't really that good in my view, it just lacked any logic which is why I'm only giving it a 7/10.

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Good series, weak ending

This "bloody flower" is a good Korean thriller with a good story, it had the potential in my view, to be one of the best KDramas of the year but the poor direction and lack of any consistent storytelling ruined it for me.

Like, this guy who have the ability to cure incurable diseases is a really promising and fun idea, not the most original story, sure but, i liked the dynamics between Lee, that lawyer and that female cop, but, there are still many problems i can point at even before reaching the ending.

First, that female cop is not presented well in the story, i mean as someone with a background in writing and also watched like so many series i can see the holes in the writing of the character, she's basically that standard smart cop we see everywhere, who figure things out fast without any explanation, she's badly written and we have seen no struggles or any kind of things that make viewers care about her, yet, that lawyer Park had the best writing because he felt really believable and you can really feel him as a viewer and the choices he made, he's not looking for any promotions or money, he just wants to save his daughter.
The other thing that i didn't like was the pacing, it felt really confusing at times, jumping from present to past, it was a really annoying experience, like I understand how this works, you reveal something big if you will, and then you go back to show us how that happened but didn't work out well.

For the ending now, I think this is where we can all agree that it had a lot of issues. Starting with how fast and rushed it felt, like it really felt like they were just trying to put everything they had to put in one episode and then end it but that left us with so many unanswered questions and unexplored plot points.
Like why the relationship between that female cop and her father bad? And what exactly is his role in the story? What about the other higher-ups in that lab? What's their role? Why didn't anyone talked or questioned how the lawyer helped Lee escape? It doesn't matter now? .. and many more (like if i write them, i can take like another hour).

But the worst thing of them all was the last scene.

Look, i understand that the director probably thought about a second season but there's absolutely no need, for Lee to survive and like HOW did he even survived? He was shot in the heart and jumped off, there's absolutely no chance he survived that but well, he did anyway, why? No idea.
Even more, he really had a good ending, like he's a criminal but also a victim, and he died (or as he should) after saving countless lives and especially the lawyer's daughter and also gave the police information that they could've never go anywhere to help them in their investigation, so then, bringing him back will just undo everything, that last scene just meant absolutely nothing and were pointless. Plus, let's just say it, there's no need for a second season.

So, yeah, that's my thoughts.
I give it a 7 at max. It could've been very low, if it wasn't for that lawyer and his story with his daughter.

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