Reviews

Incorrect summary about the prince and other things

First off, the series mentions very briefly about the very short lifespan friendship between the prince and the ML when both were little children. This series is definitely NOT about how the FL breaks up the non-existent friendship between the prince and the ML.

Considering that the FL went back in time and met the ML first, not the prince, it sounds fair that the FL and ML got together again and again, while the prince tried his best to steal the girl, using any excuses he could, fair or not. (The prince character seems weak, narrow minded & stupid at times. I am glad the FL didn't go for him, even if this FL character happens to be very dumb, who constantly made horrible mistakes and caused troubles for others.)

My guess is, the prince character gets jealous with the ML character perhaps since the time they were little children (hence the prince's tendency to constantly find fault with the ML, his mean schemes to get rid of the ML). Leave it alone, the prince wouldn't be bother looking twice at the FL, but seeing her with the ML triggered his competitive & petty nature.

The ML played his role very well. The FL was just so so.

The plot was a bit messy. The story was not told well here, a pity! Side characters & their romance or whatever else, took too much screen time, which dragged and dragged...

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Just re-watched some episodes. Sounds like FL sacrificed herself (by breaking the flute) so that ML could wake up and live. They re-united in the end (the implication was there with ML after travelling everywhere to search for FL, finally saw FL's back at a cottage, waiting for him). At the palace, the prince (turned out he was ML's younger brother) seemed to get the present version of FL, since the younger girl practically followed him around (like FL had used to follow ML in their previous life).

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Uplifting legal drama with so much heart

I found this little gem while scrolling through Netflix. It's a heartwarming tale of two unlikely partners who find the courage to fight for the "weaker" ones in society and for what they want in life.

Ishida Shoko is a paralegal who works at her father's small law firm. Though a graduate from a prominent university, she has failed to bass the bar exam multiple times. Haneoka Yoshio, on the other hand, passes the bar easily due to his photographic memory despite finishing only high school. The two find themselves immediately at odds with each other when Haneoka is hired to join the firm. Through the course of the 10 episodes, they learn how to support one another and overcome their respective traumas and inner struggles.

There are plenty of darker, serious-toned dramas involving the legal process. This is not one of them. If you need something to lift you up and give you hope again in humanity, this is a nice, short one to enjoy. The cases are easy to follow and are interwoven with the characters' own stories as they progress throughout the drama. Arimura Kasumi and Nakamura Tomoya have excellent onscreen chemistry as our leads - it is almost a shame the drama did not make most of that and push their relationship together further. Shoko's fledgling romantic storyline with our second male lead, Oba Ao, really does not go anywhere. Akaso Eiji does a fine job in his role, but I just did not buy Oba's relationship with Ishida.

In my perfect world, there would be a special or second season to see our legal duo continue their bickering, common folk-helping ways. Alas, I will most likely have to settle for what we have here and rewatch their scenes together whenever I need a pick-me-up. Their quiet moments together are pure gold. Arimura and Nakamura seamlessly move between comedy and drama and ultimately move our hearts.

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This is a drama that could’ve been great but it was not properly abridged. The jump on scenes and plot twists come too abruptly and, in the processed of trying to keep the audience in suspence, the sequence of events and characters’ reactions don’t make a lot of sense. Although there are logical explanations by the end of the series relating the male lead Wei Shang Zhi’s unfortunate marriages and his real reason to marry the leading lady Bai Zhi, the narrative was all over the place and it made the drama’s plot feel disjointed. The actors did the best with what was given to them but, even though the leading couple had some nice moments, their relationship lacked intimacy in their romantic chemistry. Overall, this drama missed a great opportunity to even be good enough to watch.

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Identity reveal

Supererb assassin and team oriented group. The story is indeed great that you keep on waiting for next eps everyday. Each of them carries their own task but they work as a team. The cast/ writer/director/producers are good and they support each other. Hopefully the drama continues to give us great storyline. I'm so excited for the next eps and next fighting scene because it's really awesome to watch wuxia' making move. And, I hope the princess will learn something and grow more throughout their journey not for her mission but for the Team. Hoping to see growth to each members. Goodluck!

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An idol drama that punches above its weight

First, this is an excerpt from my long-ass post about Wonderland of Love, which includes and episode watch log: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2023/12/02/wonderland-of-love-review/

To read my FULL thoughts on it, head to the blog. Here's my short review:

What I liked

- Great chemistry between Jing Tian and Xu Kai and I really enjoyed how evenly matched they were in terms of power dynamics, especially in the first few episodes.
- The brotherhood story took a while to build up, but when it did, the impact of the angsty episodes really hit hard!
- I like that every episode moved the story forward. There were hardly any filters.
- Episode 30 and 31 really elevated the drama to fascinating heights. On the one hand, it was a very typical idol historical romance drama, and those episodes had Ripe Town vibes.
- It has a wonderfully long happy ending. I'm a softie for those and we have precious few dramas that end so happily these days.

What I didn't like

- While Ah-Ying is written as a kickass female heroine, and she was in the first few episodes, she needed to be rescued way too much, which undermines her kickass status.
- The pathetic villains with poor motivation. Young Master and Lady Gu are not that much of an antagonistic challenge to our leads and are mere annoyances. I found Sun Jing a more effective bad guy but when he left the stage, our new antogonists could not pick up the slack. It didn't help that the acting was not fantastic either. I found our two Li princes a little better in the villain department but they were also not very bright villains and never felt like a real threat either.
- Episodes 30 and 31 showed that the writers and production could elevate the drama to become something so much more, so it's a pity they never went there completely or reached those heights again.
- The political intrigue/palace drama bits were not, er, sophisticated. It was silly and simplistic at times and probably would not fly in the real world.
- I really wished they had made Xu Kai and Jing Tian less pretty in the drama. For goodness sakes, at least tan Xu Kai a bit so that I could believe that he spent a decade in a deserted border outpost. In a sea of scruffy and dusty soldiers, Shiqi and Ah-Ying's unreal beauty and polished looks stood out like a sore thumb. For the first few episodes, I couldn't stop wondering if someone had slapped crazy filters on Xu Kai because he looked an anime character.
- The drama had a "too clean" look. The sets were too polished and so obviously shot at Hengdian it took me out of the show sometimes. The streets were too clean, the soldiers' uniform was looked too new, bright and shiny ... I felt that this drama needed a liberal layer of dirt so that I could buy that it is real.

Seeing how long the "What I didn't like" list is, you are probably wondering, oh noes, she doesn't like this drama! Bu no, I really enjoyed the heck out of it. It's the rare drama that I will rewatch on a moody day when I need cheering up. There are precious few of them.

I mean, it is certainly no Ripe Town or even Dream of Splendor, so lower your expectations. It is a typical idol drama with many spinning, hair-and-cloak-flying shots of our couple looking gorgeous as they stare into each other's eyes.

However, it was very entertaining, fluffy, feel-good and romantic. And yet, it had surprising moments of depth that took me by surprise. It is just a pity that it wasn't sustained throughout its 40-episode run, but I enjoyed Show for what it was: Pure entertainment.

The pathetic villains, plot holes, convenient solutions definitely diminished what could've been a really, really good show. But I laughed, teared up with this couple and it cheered me up immensely at a time when I needed it. ? When I watched the show, I just had my first bout of COVID after avoiding it the entire pandemic, my sense of taste and smell was gone and I was miserable. On top of that I was dealing with adulting issues. I desperately wanted something happy to watch and Wonderland was what I needed.

Whether you will enjoy Wonderland of Love depends on how far you can ignore its flaws and go along with the story. It is also best for people who like the drama's tropes: brotherhood and star-crossed lovers.

If you can't do both you will probably not enjoy it at all ? I am a sucker for bromance and will watch any drama with that trope.

All in all, Wonderland helped me turn off my brain and have a good time. ? And I love it for that.

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About emotional turmoil

As someone who absolutely despises infidelity in shows, I went into this thinking that I was watching it simply for Puff/Jasper, who I had loved in Pleasantly Surprised. And yet, I turned out to be ~pleasantly surprised~ by this drama and the way it handled cheating and emotional turmoil.

For anyone who goes into this expecting a whirlwind romance and two people who can't help but be physically attracted to each other's touch, I give a few words of warning: this is not that sort of drama. Instead, this drama was really intelligent and emotionally thoughtful, which made me enjoy it much more.

This is a show about two people who are both trapped, in work, in life, and in their relationships. The physical attraction they feel towards each other is the first opening of that Pandora's box, sure, but what was always more important was the other things: what do you need out of a relationship? how do you deserve to be treated?

I know people found the female lead's restraint frustrating — and it truly does last throughout most of the show. But I actually really loved it because it was a lot more realistic. I think of people who have been in relationships for years and worry that it would all go to waste if they give up now, and worse, people who have been treated a certain way for so long that they start thinking that it's all they deserve. I found her internal conflict super relatable and was really impressed with how emotionally and morally intelligent this show was.

Overall, I loved how down-to-earth everything seemed. The show had its dramatic moments, but they made sense and it never felt like they were spitting out tropes to be dramatic. This is a show that really takes its time and lets its main character take as long as she needs to think, and dramas like that don't by very often anymore.

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A broader exploration and deeper perspective to Sweet Home's universe

Season 1 is surely the best, but Season 2 is also amazing. Compared to Season 1 where the characters are stuck and staying inside their apartment, Season 2 explores more and shows the condition of the outside world. Season 2 has a more serious tone since it includes the military and government. It has political and power struggle that shows the perspectives of various characters - from what's happening with the higher ups who controls the situation and between the civilians who have to survive together. While for the monsters, there's now more variety of them from dangerous to harmless, and even those who are normal yet have special traits. But at the end, they're still humans who have their own feelings and stories behind their transformations.

The new characters are necessary to the plot and it completes the worldbuilding for this Season. My favorite characters are the soldiers and they deserves more credit for their important roles. The best part is when a group of soldiers made a coup against the evil government officials who were mass murdering the people for their own greed. Soldiers are like puppets who only follows orders from their superiors, but I'm so glad how they have their own mind and put their humanity first. It was so refreshing to see a better representation of the soldiers in this drama. I love how they organized a big shelter for the survivors, protecting them and risking their lives outside while also researching about the monsters. I also love how this Season didn't really have villains, there were bad guys at first but they easily got rid of them and even the monsters themselves showed compassion to the humans. For most part in this drama, the focus is on the teamwork and growth between the military and civilians who are working together against the monsters, while the old characters are navigating their new journeys with new people and adapting to the outside world with the monsters.

Season 2 did a great job with its worldbuilding, showing the perspectives of everyone and their different motivations while trying to survive from the monsters, humans and their own selves. It also gave us a grand finale with the return of an old character on his new form. Season 3 is even more highly anticipated and it might show us the epic battle between all kinds of monsters.

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A slow burn, but worth sticking with!

The start and premise really intrigued me, but it was a very slow story and character development, so I got bored and left after episode 5.
In a drought of content I came back, and plowed through another tedious episode, but p 6 really started to burn, and by 8 was sucked in.
The acting is constrained in true KBL style, and the kisses anemic, but KBL purposefully leaves a lot to imagination. So I was able to use mine to fill in the blanks.
The side story is really interesting, and could probably be a BL series on its own, they are so cute!
A nice tense finish ends this series and pits it in the top tier of my KBL

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Kang-soo To The Rescue °6.6° °Good° +Family Positive+

Here's a fable for the underdogs.

SDM follows the overlooked, everyday workers. They deliver when c☃ld in winter, and h♨t in summer, s⛈aked in spring, and through the lugubrious fall. They are sneered more than cheered. SDM finds them forming a supportive group that gives all of them a lift.

Kang-soo is the catalyst who turns friends and acquaintances into family. This is contrasted against several real families in the show that tear each other apart. The family we choose is often the best we get.

Kang-soo shows up in town and lands a job at Lively Handmade Noodles. From there, he deconstructs the whole delivery system and then rebuilds it, all while outsmarting the powerful corporate eateries.

The storyline is entertaining, though formulaic. I don't see formulaic as necessarily the worst criticism. Life, and our shared human experience can be formulaic. It's the journey that is most important. The journey you will take with this crowd is fun, like a Disney Channel show.

This would be a good show to watch with kids as soon as they can keep up with the subtitles. It reinforces hard work, honor, helping others and living right. Kang-soo is a perfect role model. He exemplifies all the above. He inspired Ji-yoon to follow suit. He makes loyal friends out of strangers by helping others.

The actual romance falls slightly flat. I'm not sure if the cause is the dialogue, the directing, or just a lack of chemistry. Perhaps it's a little of all the above. The secondary characters' relationship was a better story.

SDM is actually best suited for tweens and teens, and parents won't mind watching along. It is a simple story in the After School Special tradition, and solidly PG/PG-13.

IMHO...

Directing 7
Acting 8
Romance 5
Thought provocation 5

Suggested Age 10& up

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What happened? What did I watch?

This series had some of the best actors and they wasted their talent with crappy writing.

I liked the story at the beginning but by the end, I didn't know how the story was going to end and I still don't get it.

I would love to get with some people and rewrite this story because there was so much potential and then nothing.

Do not get me started on the kissing scenes. They had chemistry but what the heck. I do feel bad for the lead main male because he is a good actor but at times he looked too old.

I liked Chalarm but again talent wasted and not enough time to go into their story. I also still don't understand why Dino's people were fighting with other people and their one friend would set him up...like what?

I gave music a low score because I don't remember any music.

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If you don't like it then don't watch it.

I enjoyed this drama. You have two characters who have been betrothed their entire childhood to each other. The older one Lian is more responsible and pragmatic in his thinking. Lian loves the little one Kuea whom he has known since he was a baby. Lian could have been a complete jerk and extremely possessive over Kuea. Instead, as they were nearing the time to be married Lian wanted to make sure of his own feelings as well as knowing if he was deserving of Kuea's love and admiration. Lian loved Kuea but did that love come around just because his family also pressured him to take care of Kuea due to their close family ties?

Kuea has only ever had eyes for Lian but that kinda turned him into a doll aka Annabelle. A possessed doll of love who only acted a certain way around Lian because he thought he had to act a certain way due to Lian's position in life: family and business. Lian wanted the real Kuea to be with him forcing Kuea to "act out" and show his true self (Kirin). Lian liberated Kuea and Kuea liberated Lian in being able to freely love him for him and not what Kuea thought Lian wanted him to be.

The side couple were two of my favorite people Max and Nat aka Yi and Diao. Their story was interesting but they later go on to do Naughty Babe (which was a little confusing and way more dramatic than it should have been IMO).

Overall I thought this drama was cute and I've re-watched it several times. I found NuNew's acting really cute and adorable.

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Highlight of my Fridays aka BL of the Year

This isn't much of a review but more of a comment; the full review will be added in after the show's completed.

[Episodes 1-4] When I fell for JimmySea in Vice Versa, I knew they had the potential to go bigger and Last Twilight delivered. Their acting and expressions have so much range and their chemistry just oozes every time they're on screen. Not only with each other but the extras and supporting characters too. I'm loving the progression and story-telling so far. Mhok and Day's growths have been steady, natural, and breathtaking as well. Last Twilight continues to be the highlight of my Fridays.
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[Completed] Let's just say that up to the breakup, I enjoyed every minute of Last Twilight. There was heavy foreshadowing since ep 10 but despite the obvious, Jimmy and Sea still managed to make us cry with their acting. I believe everyone knew or had an idea that Day's first eye surgery wasn't going to be successful, yet Sea's acting pleasantly surprised and depressed us~

I don't mind or care for breakups in series, especially when they're necessary (for example: when one or two characters have become toxic to each other) or are well-handled in the aftermath. And although I understood why there had to be a breakup, I didn't see it being critical to the storyline. And even if it was like time apart made Day independent and Mhok more understanding, etc, I don't see why Day had to also then block Mhok for three years. That only tells me that their breakup was not for their betterment but out of anger. As Day and Mhok have proven to mature throughout the series, to have them break up on a whim was out of character for Day. If Day saw it as Mhok pitying him then that's fine, but Mhok's reasonable reason was both dismissed and devalued.

Despite my ranting, my biggest issue isn't that they broke up, it's that they did it in EP 11 at the last second. That meant the finale would be about them overcoming their conflict and reuniting, and you just can't do it all in one hour. Especially if you want it to be good and want to avoid time skips. Not only did their breakup take away screentime to see them grow as a couple, but the show compounded it with Day's second eye surgery. I have mixed feelings about Day being able to see again.

Why I liked that Day was able to see again:
- He got to see what Mhok looks like
- His hope to see again was finally answered

Why I don't like that Day could see again:
- He's navigated the world as a blind man for a while and has come to accept it. If anything, I thought that would give viewers hope that despite being dealt bad cards in life, you will be fine as long as you learn to accept and live with it.
- Day running a bookshop as a blind man went out the window
- Porjai's daughter lost that opportunity to develop a positive trait towards disabilities as someone who could have grown up with a blind uncle
- This doesn't give Mhok the chance to prove that he can trust Day despite Day's blindness

Overall LT is a 10/10 and I've rewatched it another three times after Jan. 26.

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Bad ending

I’m a big fan of taecyeon but I have to say that this drama is very poorly executed. I tried to watch the first few episodes and it was a great drama until the next few episodes. The cast is a bit off especially the first female lead? The first male lead suited very well the second female lead and literally has no chemistry with the first female lead

The plot is so bad and the ending is even worse. I don’t know whether it’s a trend to not do a happy ending in drama these days but I’m sure this is not a good ending at all. The ideas of hunting vampire heart is so weird, knowing “the hunter” is first female lead friend?? it’s so weird ….

The only good thing in this drama is the ost and the fact it’s a little bit funny ln the few scenes.
The ideas of the story is great and you got taecyeon as your male lead, could’ve done better.

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When I read the synopsis about this drama it didn't intrigue me at all. I don't care for period pieces or westerns but reviewers said this was action packed and I love Korean action dramas so I bit the bullet and decided to watch.

A few weeks later I finally made it to the last episode. When I say a few weeks later I mean that's how long it took me to watch this slow drawn out drama. I should've dropped this after episode 5. I can't understand the high marks people gave this!

Every episode was the same: fight for Korean freedom by getting from under the Japanese rule.

If this didn't have any fighting scenes I don't think this drama would've survived. The main ML have some serious martial art skills as well as his frenemy. That girl had some mad fighting skills too.

For the life of me I would love to learn the secret to Korean vitality because everybody in the main cast who got shot, stabbed, hit with arrows, beat to a bloody pulp managed to survive by the time that particular episode was done.

I was amazed at how the Korean early 1900's resembled that of the US. They had cars, trains, electricity...it was cool but each episode was drawn out, plus they had to throw in that sappy romance I've come to despise. It ruins the whole vibe for me.

This series could've ended at episode 8 but they had to drag that out too by having another episode. It was meaningless. It had no closure which makes me wonder if more episodes will follow. If it does I won't be watching it.

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Could have been better

This drama had a depthless plot which spent more time on the business writing than on the romance. I feel like the supporting cast could have been given more to work with so that their relationships didn't seem so much like superficial filler. As much as I had a hard time believing in the implausible pairing of the younger ingenue with the older supporting lead, I did root for them but felt their journey could have been handled better, Instead we get a girl chasing a guy who keeps running away, until he gives up and decides to just be with her. No build up. It's exhausting and silly to watch them.

The next supporting couple made no sense at all. We have two people who are crazy in love with each other, but are too scared to be honest with each other about their feelings. They love playing games with each other which is a waste of time. Nothing much was happening but when they finally do decide to give their romance a chance, they almost disappear.

The main leads/couple were the most perplexing. I was intrigued by their relationship, the build up took a good long, time and when they got together, it was great---except when she started acting like a bumbling idiot whenever he was around. I guess that was supposed to be her playful side, but it seemed completely at odds with her personality. The misunderstandings broke your heart, so seeing them get to a better place later on was a relief. I found the excessive time passage towards the end unnecessary and unfair to the storyline and only furthered my frustration with the writers.

Dylan Wang gets better with every passing drama. He is growing as an actor and I hope he continues to take more meaningful roles. The best show to date has been Fairy Loves Devil. He needs to hold out for better parts because they are out there. Bai Lu was amazing in Till the End of the Moon, I find her an intelligent actress, so I find her hard to watch when she has to play silly ingenues. There are younger actresses out there who can do that. I think she is beyond that now and should strive for roles with more depth.

In general, this should have been left to more creative writers. The entire plot was superficial and boring and I felt the actors were cheated out of something better.

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