Reviews

Perfect CHEMISTRY for the not so PERFECT Storyline

This was one of my most highly anticipated dramas ever since the casting choices were first announced. Having thoroughly enjoyed the previous projects of both IU and Byeon Woo-seok, to say I was thrilled for this series would be a massive understatement. Furthermore, a romantic comedy set in a modern-day monarchy featuring a contract marriage trope sounded like an absolute jackpot. However, whether the show actually delivered remains highly questionable.I genuinely appreciated numerous aspects of the production, most notably the stunning cast, their palpable chemistry, and their stellar performances. That being said, the narrative completely fell flat during the second half of the series. The political subplots were not only poorly executed, but they also left a multitude of loose ends untied by the finale. Cramming in too many plot twists solely for dramatic effect ultimately stripped away the emotional depth of the story's progression. Before viewers were granted enough time to fully process a subplot, it was abruptly swept under the rug as the narrative rushed to the next conflict.

I strongly believe the creators should have extended this into a standard 16-episode series. The world-building felt incredibly underwhelming, as did the motivations of most characters,particularly the antagonists. Even after being repeatedly targeted, the protagonists never proactively attempted to unmask the masterminds, instead going about their daily lives as if nothing had occurred. In all honesty, I occasionally felt as though I were watching a high budget vertical drama where the plot progresses at breakneck speed but lacks any real substance.Ironically, the only widespread complaints I encountered online regarded the lead actors chemistry, yet I personally found their onscreen chemistry to be one of the finest I have ever witnessed in Kdramaland. Their compelling dynamic and powerful acting were the primary reasons I persevered through to the end. I sincerely hope a director casts them together again in a future, heavily plot driven project.

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Hybrid Chaebol-Historical-Fiction Kitsch

Who wants nowadays another standard chaebol story? Well, the combination with fictional historical style is not standard, but everything else has been shown 1000 times and more already. However it is fair: the kitschy title says all, so if you do not like this kind of kitsch, then you should not watch. Myself I had to fight to keep watching, Because of the story I was almost throwing every five minutes. I endured it in order to enjoy the acting of IU and some other actors; all of them are very good matches (yes a prince is supposed to be expressionless and dumb, what else?), as expected, the whole team is highly professional, they are not joking around. The music is excellent and worth listening to outside the drama, too. The only part of the writing that I liked were the two episodes where the writer seemed to embrace the irony towards the historical type of drama. Unfortunately that part ended fast and the banality filled everything else. After seeing it all, I think that I wasted my time. IU played in dramas that are more worth watching than this one. Go for them, if you have time!

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The King who didn't like the kingdom

It was a great series. I watched it with great interest. Initially starting as a romantic comedy, the series later turned into a mystery. Events within the royal family became the focus. We saw those who wanted to kill the King and the Prince, the plans made against them, and the palace wars. It was very enjoyable. It was intriguing.In the end, those who attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince were punished as they deserved.The King's first act was to abolish the monarchy.

Finding such a subject and portraying it beautifully is a skill. Therefore, I congratulate the screenwriters and director. They portrayed it beautifully. I liked it. As I said, I didn't expect to see anything like this at the beginning. The acting was weak, the performances were poor. Only the visuals were emphasized. Later, when these mysterious palace conflicts began, the series improved and ended beautifully. I initially found the actors bland. But later, I got used to them. I embraced them. IU was an actress I liked. Her presence was enough. Byeon Woo Seok is a model-like boy. The filming focused especially on this aspect. He was prominent for his good looks. Steve Noh was very successful. He was the kind of actor you'd expect. In my opinion, Gong Seung Yeon was the star of this drama. She was the best actress. She acted very sincerely. She portrayed both good and evil very well. She conveyed the pain well. I really liked it. In my opinion, she gave an award-winning performance. Yoo So Bin was very successful. Well done. Lee Yeon was very successful. Well done. I also really liked Lee Jae Won. I recommend it to those who haven't seen it.

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Rewatched 5 times after it aired

Years ago, when this started airing I watched it while it was airing and at the time, bl's were still really upcoming. After it, this series has became a comfort series of mine. Even if many stuff is outdated like gay people not being able to get married or jokes and behaviour that are considered pretty cringe these days.

One of my absolute favourite things about dmd is that music is peak, and we trust Nunew for sure. I love his voice and the OST might be one of my all time favourite songs. I can genuinely listen to ไอ้คนน่ารัก for 3 hours on repeat without getting bored of it.

It's zeenunew's first series and that makes it even cuter to my opinion. Nunew being a fan of Zee and ending up as one of the most successful pairs is insane in my opinion. I remember Zee being in Why are you paired with Saint. One of the things I do have to mention though is that I'm absolutely sick and tired of Dmd having Nunew play a role as someone who lived in the UK?? I'm rlly tired of this but Ig I have to blame newer series and not his first 'uk student' one (aka cutie pie).

When it was airing I couldn't stand Kuea at all, which I don't get at all?? Like I absolutely love Kuea nowadays. I was probably tired of his 'cute' behaviour but the whole point of the series is that he acts different than who he actually is. The tops acting mysterious and nonchalant around their fiancé's is the funniest thing ever. I love how they do a lot of their actions on purpose. Like Kilen teasing Kuea for nooo ass reason and Kuea taking it very personal.

A small detail I love is that Kuea calls Lian 'Hia', if you don't know why just search it up but it has to do with Thai/Chinese people. Can we talk about the friendship between Kuea and Thacha?? I feel like it used to be more common for Thai bl series to add 2 main best friends who had love interests who were also friends but maybe it's just me. Anyways, their friendship is adorable and I love how they know each others limits. Tbh reminds me of one of my best friends, just waiting for my future bf to arrive bro.

Kuea's friend group in general, talking about his fellow classmates, is like a safe space bro. No matter how many times I watched Cutie Pie, they stay soooo comforting. I also fell in love with TutorYim because of this series. At first you expect Nuer to have a crush on Kuea but whether or not he actually did, idk man. I love Nuer with Syn. Their characters are sooo cute together and one of the first pairs that I mainly loved. Sinsamoe being Buddhistic is hilarious and as a Buddhistic person it's not offensive at all. I think he's sooo cute.

You know the series is gonna be good when Perth Nakhun is a side character!! Loved gemini/jay for lowkey helping everyone from everyone's side. And I love how he was basically body guarding Kuea and sometimes Khondiao aswell. He was so funny but brought the characters, especially Kuea to realisations. Which I rllyyyy liked about Jay.

The more I watch this series how more I understand Kilen. Like he was not interested in Kuea or at least didn't show it at first BUT the more Kuea showed himself the more in love he became. I kinda hated episode 11 for having Kuea deny the proposal because even though I do get Kuea for refusing since he didn't trust Kilen I do also think he should've thought a bit more in dept about the situation if it's just me.

One of the Bl I genuinely suggest to beginners, 100% that I'll keep rewatching it every 2/3 years.

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Love, loyalty and everything in between.

Before I even begin, I rate this a 1000000/10. Anything that has me geeking out, smiling ear to ear, and kicking my feet up and down is automatically a must-watch show. From the way the actors portrayed the characters and their chemistry with each other—and I’m not only talking about Grand Prince I-AN and Seong Hui Ju—the cast delivered something truly special.

The Seong family really brought out how people who love each other can still hurt one another when they don’t know how to properly express that love, yet still show up, help, and support each other when it truly matters. Kim Eun Ho, who plays the role of the young king, perfectly showed why children should be allowed to be children without carrying the burdens placed on them by family members. “IT'S OKAY FOR CHILDREN TO DISAPPOINT THEIR PARENTS.”

This drama was a culmination of striving, perseverance, loyalty, sacrifice, difficult choices, betrayal, warped entitlement, and the importance of actually showing up for the people you love. It covered modern-day views on monarchy, arranged marriages, greed, love, one-sided love, and legacies meant to be upheld. It was a beautiful story, perfectly brought to life.

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Good but don't get too much hyped, cause we have another potential lost

Should you watch? Yes.
Now let's write what must be told.

I'm gonna give 6 to story, but i must clarify: I can't give a 10 because the final product was almost average / ok. What i feel is that the director probably screwed up with this one.

What we saw in those 12 episodes could EASILY fit into 8 or 10 (if talking about only what we saw in those 12, gonna elaborate more soon). I'm gonna use episodes 11 and 12 as example since i just watched both: they should be put in only one episode, A talks to B, then we have B talking to C not a "A just told me XYZ", but character B literally repeating word by word and then C goes tell D and is just like the chat before.... really man?
BUT i also feel that so many things were just rushed, and a others we just can't get it. And this is why if we had what was cut from us, we would've probably got a solid 12 episodes k-drama.

Does this mean you shouldn't watch? NO, it is a good drama in the end.
The acting is good, and i say this based on all characters. The music is also good. And the plot is actually good. All characters visually fit their positions, the overall design is also good.
- The first episodes are SO GOOD. A perfect foundation is made, the characters are very charismatic. FL and ML have good personalities (the Cold and the Warm, the Hard and the Sweet). The first 2 eps got me there cause they were almost perfect. (9/10)
- Episodes 3 to 6 are good. They are not as good as the first two, but they are good. There is one or other thing that was unnecessary, but it didn't drop much of quality comparing to the first two. (8/10)
- Then we got 7 to 10... i was thinking, ok now we are gonna start moving, right? Wrong, al we got here we already know or watched before. Nothing new besides one thing or other. (7/10)
- Now about episodes 11 and 12... everything that needed to be done happened in 30 mins, and the rest was almost waste of time. I forced myself to put a 1.5x to actually watch it. And when we get to finally see the couples together, we have a 15 min conclusion RUSHED showing almost nothing. (4/10).

When i saw IU and Byeon Woo Seok i thought "ok, those guys can def choose what they wanna do, so this is gonna be peak", but i guess i was wrong. And this is why i feel that the problem is the director. Those two can CHOOSE the projects they are going to act, i am 99% certain they wouldn't choose this "script" as showed in the final product.

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Therapy? No thanks, I've got a guitar

With a nice cast made of competent actors and a good production value, Love You Teacher had what it takes to be an enjoyable and even refreshing show, but the whole thing is brought down by its excruciating idiot plot.

For those of you who don't know, an "idiot plot" is basically a storyline that it's kept together and progresses exclusively because everyone involved in it is an idiot, and this series is the epitome of it. The general premise of the show is the sudden age regression of Solar and the way Pobmek and his colleagues try to deal with it. The thing is, Solar's conditions stems from childhood trauma, and as such it should be dealt with caution, specifically with therapy, a psychiatrist, medicines even. Instead, after a single time Pobmek brings him to a doctor (for, like, three minutes of screen time in the whole show), science and medicine are completely discarded in favour of idiotic ordeals in order to both deal with Solar's job on one hand, and Little Sun' infuriating behaviour on the other.

The most baffling aspect of this whole narrative are the reactions of everyone who gets to deal with the situation. Pobmek, Jee and Sodchuen are the core idiots of the show and I can suspend my disbelief for them (kind of, I suppose). I could also try to understand the children's acceptance of their own teacher suddenly acting like a seven years old as some sort of educational role-play (not really, but they are children, let's try not to put that much reasoning into their behaviour). But the other teachers? The kids' parents? The school administration's representative? Everyone finds out that a man with serious psychiatric issues is teaching kids and then acting like a child every other day and after five minutes of moderate concerns every one just accepts it? Isn't there anyone in this show who's not a complete lunatic? The most outrageous reaction though is from Solar's mother, who finds out about her son's condition and decides to completely ignore the situation for more than half the series, mother of the year here. Finally, as a brief off topic, how is Pobmek allowed to teach without a license? Who put him there? Hello, police?

Each solution they find to Solar's problems is dumber than the previous ones, and the most outrageous one is using Solar's obviously traumatic response to a song to make him sleep: way to deal with mental health issues. Also, as a side note, Solar's behaviour regarding the whole situation is idiotic at least, infuriating at most. "We should not treat Little Sun as a nuisance, he's just a child" (non verbatim): well, sir, maybe you should seek professional help first and then you could start preaching about problems you don't even get to experience because you are not there to help. Unsurprisingly, finally, the problem is solved in a sudden and unsatisfactory fashion, no therapy involved, obviously.

Storytelling idiocy aside, the production value of the show is quite remarkable, with very nice colouring and clever aspect changes between present day and flashback scenes. The acting is quite strong, especially from Perth (he brought this whole show on his shoulders honestly), Kai and Sammy; Santa was good too, but the fallacies in his characters did not help making him stand out. The best part of the story was definitely the representation of the friend group, while it was kinda lacking on the romance side.

As a whole, Love You Teacher is a decent enough show, whose main issue is just how serious it tries to be: I can generally suspend my disbelief, but I draw the line at treating mental health issues with a guitar.

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A Good K-drama That Flipped the Narratives(fell flat at times)

I was extremely excited for the show ever since it was announced. The moment the first episode dropped, I just knew that I had to continue watching this. The cast is perfect but I was let down by how slow the story moved at times. I knew that there would be court politics and all that but honestly, I wasn't engaged with it. So the middle part of it was boring. It could have been more entertaining if there was more comedy because it's where the show shines the most.

One thing that I really liked about the story is how the second leads flipped the narrative. The Queen Mother was supposed to be a villain but she ended up a morally grey character which adds complexity but Jeongwoo was grating on my nerves the moment he appeared to show interest in Huiju and I was worried that they'd make him the good guy. Jeongwoo 's sole reason to destroy I-an was because he got Huiju. But he had every chance to make a move on her all these years. That just gave me the ick. But it is something that I really appreciate because the show was going in a very stereotypical direction until they flipped the narratives. I was glad to see a second female lead be complex and a second male lead be the bad guy because I never liked the stereotype of second female leads being villains and second male leads getting love for doing the bare minimum. Anyway, so I was really glad that Huiju exposed that sneaky prime minister.

However, I was not feeling the chemistry between Byun Woo-seok and IU tbh. I dont know if it was the actors or the character writing. The romance just fell flat at times. I was looking forward to the interactions with the palace staff, the aides, and Huiju's family more at certain points. MAN THE COURT LADY IS SO FUNNY! I was cackling when she brought Wan and Huiju a bed and kept calling Wan "Your Majesty." Guess some habits never change.

Although I complained a lot about the story moving slow, episodes 10=12 were actually really good. Byun Woo seok and IU are both excellent at playing powerful people (watch Byun Woo-seok in strong girl Namsoon and IU in Hotel Del Luna) so them being strong at a time where stakes felt especially high was AMAZING!!! Gong Seong-yeon deserves her flowers for her performance and captivating me in episodes 11 and 12. I loved the way everything came together although there were loopholes. Moreover, I dont know I feel about the abolishment because it makes sense but they could have left it at Wan gaining the throne because it is an alternate reality anyway. But not abolishing would mean that the same hierarchies would continue so it makes sense why they chose it. It just felt political but again I was skipping through court politics scenes unless Wan, Huiju, or the Queen Mother appeared.

Overall, it's a good show that flipped the narratives boldly but kind of fell flat on some of the execution.

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If nothing else, its enjoyable

Here I go again: being enjoyable is not the same as being good. "I had fun watching this drama. And I love the actors. Beautiful people. Its a ten!" means nothing. Did you liked it? Maybe you also like hitting puppies, I don't know, so I rather hear about script, directing, visuals, acting, vfx, pacing etc etc. Here, I'll go first.

Visuals. Lots of decent shots, so good cinematography. I could even say that there were a couple of extremely nice shots. The "fireworks" (dunno the proper name but we see them in kdramas a lot) over the water? Or from the Royal Grand Ball (? sorry, forgot how it was called). Yeah, really fantastic shots. And a few couple more. The colour palette was a little drab dare I say, seeing as this has "royalty" subject... You can't go for "natural, modern" vibe when you're introducing a fictional monarchy... So, they should've made it stand out. The class, the wealth, whatever. We do have some, sure. But cmon. I mean, more wouldn't have hurt. Good vfx.
Sound design. Good. I should start with the OP. Very good, very catchy. Both visually and audio. It does its job, getting you pumped-up and ready. So, good job. The rest is ok I guess. Definitely not bad. A special note here, fantastic work for episode 11. This episode is special from multiple standpoints, I'll keep mention it. So, really good work now. From volume levels (some scenes demand to keep it very quiet, and they did it), to different variations of one theme. What I'm trying to say, it is good.
The usual editing. Nothing fancy. Sometimes it feels like it drags, but thats mostly because of the script.
You could say it has a high production value.

And now the good stuff. The script is meh, at best. The concept was weird from the start but you could make it work somehow. Just look at Hallmark and their number of "royal" stories :)) What we got instead, old court drama trying to apply "behind the scenes" battles in modern times. Political games, done poorly. Done poorly as a politician in-universe (lousy politician, if you will), but ALSO as an element in a kdrama (lousy writer). And so, we've got this story full of plot devices and plot contrivances. SO "lucky" that the characters do or say the exact things that will progress the story, otherwise it would've ended too early.
Characters. Well, some decent ones. And the acting was good enough to make them stand out. Actually I am a little bummed regarding some of them. For example, Queen Mama. You wouldn't know it from here, but the actress is good. And here she was made to be just some hysterical, always screaming, crazy mom(?) or something. I really don't know how to describe her. Fortunately, in episode 11 she is let to act at her full potential. That really made me happy. Unfortunately, her acting at full power in scenes with the ML, oof. Its like watching Anthony Hopkings and, dunno, Zendaya. Or maybe Gal Gadot, I should keep the "hot" factor. Even FL starts acting a whole lot better. Obviously, it all drop a bit in the next episode, but still, it was good. Oh, I should also mention here, I'm praising the acting and the sound design, the cinematography etc. The script/plot is sht. Maybe not as broken as before but still bad.
Oh, the pacing. I don't remember if I talked about it. No idea. You get a scene with "we need time" and 10 minutes later (I'm joking, I haven't checked), we are shown that the "later" is here. one week? One month? Who knows.... Same for the world building. We know its about Monarchy and thats it. Its just... there. Thats all. No visits from foreign officials, presidents or royals. Something.... *sigh*

Anyway, lets sum it up. Episode 11 = good. The rest is meh. Good sound design. Good cinematography. Oh, good chemistry between multiple characters. Oh, some decent comedy. I just remembered and I really need to mention it: sht Secret Service/Royal Guards. They are just glorified umbrella holders. And this is not me trying to be funny. Thats all they did properly. No body protection, no security protection in general, not with the car thing, not even not stopping reporters from entering a door. And before someone says something stupid like "well, reporters, you can't be violent against them". Well, at the moment its just a guy with a camera, you don't know if he's in disguise or not... And then 10 more a passing by... Omg, I've forgotten all about this aspect. Oh, and good ending scene. I was hoping for something like that.
It gets a rating of (barely) 6. No rewatch value. Just one good episode doesn't warrant any. You could still watch and enjoy it, obviously. I'm not saying that the kdrama being bad means you should stay clear... just know that some stuff won't make sense, thats all. It looks and sound fine, I guess. So if you like superficial things, it works just fine.

Have a lovely evening.

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A Masterclass in Modern Hustle, Healing, and Hard Truths

The Ultimate Antidote to Adulting Burnout: Why This Slow-Burn Gem is a Must-Watch

If you are feeling completely exhausted by the daily corporate grind, please do yourself a favor and go watch Fake It Till You Make It. This drama is an absolute breath of fresh air. It perfectly captures how so many of us run ourselves ragged chasing our goals, only to hit wall after wall. But its core message is so beautiful: with a little patience and perseverance, you will find your path. It reminds us that obstacles aren’t always failures, sometimes, they are just tough life lessons we need to grow.

What I appreciate most is the show's profound emotional maturity. It gently calls us out on our own self-absorption. When we are drowning in our own problems, it is so easy to judge the people around us. This drama holds up a mirror and reminds us that everyone is fighting a hidden battle. Instead of rushing to pass judgment, it champions the power of open communication and empathy.

The main romance is a total elite-tier slow burn, but the side plots are just as stellar. The female lead’s sister has a fascinating love life that actually drives the narrative forward rather than serving as boring filler. Her journey delivers a fantastic reality check on modern romance: love isn't a rigid checklist of wealth or status. It is a mutual, living connection where two people genuinely complement each other's flaws. It is a grounded, slice-of-life masterpiece that takes its time, but every single second is worth it!

Acting: 🌟 4.5/5 – Every single cast member understood the assignment. They delivered incredibly grounded, natural performances that made the characters feel like real people you'd pass on the street.

Romantic Chemistry: 🌟 5/5 – The flirty, mature tension between the leads is completely off the charts! The male lead (Chen Xingxu) is an absolute chemistry magnet who elevates every scene he is in.

Storyline: 🌟 4.5/5 – Deeply relatable, tightly written, and refreshingly realistic. It successfully avoids overly dramatic soap opera tropes in favor of genuine human growth.

OST (Original Soundtrack): 🌟 4/5 – Perfectly curated, atmospheric tracks that seamlessly blend into the background to enhance the chic, moody, city-dwelling vibe of the show.

Overall Vibe: 🌟 4.8/5 – A sleek, comforting, and fiercely intelligent slice-of-life drama. It feels like a warm cup of coffee after a brutal day at the office.

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Losing throne, fading charm

Usual disclaimer, i'm not rewatcher type so my rewatch score tend to be low.
Imma say it out at front, Kdrama should stop being greedy with tropes and tags if they're going to do 12 episodes max. It's bound to have disaster plot.

Initially, i didn't know what was i expecting when i came for this drama, until they put abolish the monarchy on my plate. Dang, i could handle any shortcoming until they brought it up. It was the breaking point for me. Modern monarchy was the appeal for me in this drama, i didn't really care whether it's romcom, melo, political or whatsoever. I mean, who are they trying to fool claimed a romcom while delivering that dark tone poster? It was obvious the romcom won't romcom-ing, at least by my standard. Another thing, personally, for fake marriage and/or marriage of convenience trope, the marriage needs to happen as early as possible because the longer it drags, it sorta lost the meaning of "fake" since the couple already catching feeling. It safe to say when they hadn't get married by the first half i was like nah, not credible, no more.

At some point, i realize everything about this drama isn't enough. Not romcom enough, not political enough. The villains are half-baked, even our leads aren't OP enough. Totally script issue. I'm not against political aspect since it's bound to happen with constitutional monarchy and 2nd ML is literally PM. Surely he's not there only for romance rivalry, right? Oh, he did. I know anyone can go to the dark side for love but damn our PM was too hot for that. Forgive me but he was annoyingly handsome in all black after fully embraced his dark side. Idk, i found it shallow to write his character like that. Lord Inpyeong ending as villain also just soso. The downfall isn't enough. However, i love Yirang ending coz her greatest punishment was her son fully aware of her deeds. That's a hard slap to a mother.
Our leads, hmm, i actually understand from Ian's POV why he should abolish the monarchy, but from viewer POV. Me, myself, and I POV, I'm against it. Although it would cost us Huiju's career as businesswoman but damn we don't even get the glimpse of her working as queen??? CRIME!! What do i expect from half an episode reign? Huh.

Another disappointment is cinematography or just the whole directing thing. There were some scenes that made me like, huh? Fr?
I think at the end, acting are the only thing i like. It's not the best but certainly not as bad as what people say at the beginning. I don't find the comedy aspect as awkward acting. They have done their best with what was given, with that script and that directing, yup, exactly. It was obvious they rely a lot on our leads popularity. I'll say, our actors and actresses hard carry the drama.

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