Reviews

The greatest First-love story ever told; still as current and as palpitating as ever!

I re-watched this drama (more like, binged) after a more than 10 or nearly 20 year gap. My goodness! I still love this drama with a passion. Nothing much seems out of place for this drama which was produced 22 years ago. The music still sounds current and surprisingly, the clothes too.

First, to get the cons out of the way - I didn't give the drama a 10 because I didn't like the scenes with the very possessive and persistent second leads and the very selfish elders who messed up the OTP's lives. What I love about the drama is the acting and of course, the OST. The first half of the drama is much better than the second. Pace is very very good, with lots of twists and turns right to the last few minutes of the final episode. Some people have called the drama boring or draggy. However, I have no complaints about the pace of the drama. The actors, especially the OTP, acted with passion, nuance and were totally in character, pulling me in and leaving me entranced. I hung onto every word and never had to skip when the OTP were together. I loved the OST to bits when I first watched Winter Sonata in 2004. Now, after 20 years of watching dramas, I conclude that Winter Sonata has the best OST ever. I still tear up just watching clips of the drama with the various theme songs in play. The song "Don't forget me" never fails to move me to tears. You guessed it, my favourite song of all time is "Don't forget me". As for the tears, time made me forget how much tears I shed before throughout this series. Only this time, I think I shed more tears! I read somewhere in the Comments or Review section here that one has to be a masochist to love this drama. Perhaps I am a masochist! I will keep on re-watching Winter Sonata in future when I need a nice cry, and to experience once again the magic of the greatest First-love story ever told.

I would watch this drama again!

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A most unsatisfying female protagonist

I signed up to MyDramaList simply becoz I wanted to rant abt Ruyi's Royal Love. Ruyi's Royal Love n The Story of Yanxi Palace came out in the same yr, both potraying the story of Step-Empress Ula Nara n Ling Gui Fei, w Ruyi potraying Ling Gui Fei as the villain while Yanxi Palace potrayed the Step-Empress as the villain. I cried watching Ruyi's but ultimately I was so turned off by the character Ruyi n ended up disliking her. Ruyi was supposed to be this character that retained all of her integrity n yet, for me, she was a weak woman that ultimately allowed her love for a man to overtake any consideration she could've given to her friends.
Why I disliked the character Ruyi in Ruyi's Royal Love :
1. Of all the characters, only Ruyi is potrayed as the completely virtuous one, while all others hv schemes. Even the good Hui Fei schemed to get the emperor's favor so that she could rescue Ruyi.
2. Ruyi depended too much on the emperor, believing that the emperor will always see the truth just becoz she loved him.
3. As a favoured consort n later on as a Step-Empress that has the support of the emperor, n later on even having the backing of the Empress Dowager, Ruyi did nothing to protect the prople that she supposedly love. She only cared abt how she would look to the emperor, presenting herself as the only one who didn't play dirty. As a Step-Empress that's supported by the Empress Dowager, she had a real power to make sure the concubines adhered to the palace rules. But, she still let the concubines continued scheming, doing nothing to stop them even when she knew what they're doing.
4. The emperor promoted Ruyi to Step-Empress w his full backing. N yet, the drama made it that Jia Fei was still so powerful that she could still immediately went to the emperor to complain abt Ruyi making her wore the big earrings, n the emperor somehow could continue listening to her badmouthing Ruyi.
5. Ruyi hid the gender of ther baby when she was pregnant, pretending that the baby was a girl instead of a boy. But, again, Ruyi was the Step-Empress. She had the power to protect her pregnancy. Why was she so cowed by Jia Fei, who actually didn't hv strong political relatives that the emperor had to appease? Jia Fei was frm Goryeo (present day Korea), a country conquered by China n Goryeo just didn't hv sny power in the emperor's court. Heck, at that time, even choosing an emperor in Goryeo required China emperor's approval. Ruyi could hv told the truth of all Jia Fei machinations to the emperor n the emperor would've believed her. N yet, it's Hui Fei that finally took the initiative to expose Jia Fei that made the emperor demoted her.
6. Suoxin n Sir Li worked tirelessly to protect Ruyi, yet again n again Ruyi didn't her power to protect them. They were slandered by Ruyi's enemies, but, as a Step-Empress, Ruyi could hv stepped in to at least made sure no one tortured Suoxin n Sir Li while investigations were made. N once the truth was known, Ruyi could've punished the actual criminals. Sir Li's fate was especially demeaning. N probably even Sir Li realised how any help he gave to Ruyi n whatever good positions Ruyi bestowed on him only resulted in him being tortured, demoted n castrated, n thus he actually asked Ruyi to stop doing things for him.
7. The Empress Xiaochang was potrayed as an evil character. It's not believable then that after knowing the truth of the Empress's evil doings, the emperor didn't do anything to clear Ruyi's name. The emperor actually raised the Empress's status higher upon her death, punishing his sons that he perceived to hv disrespected the Empress by not crying at her funeral. That's not the action of somebody being disappointed or angry w the dead person. Even if the emperor wanted to save face, he could've just overlooked the sons non-crying as something that the evil Empress perhaps deserved.
8. For me, the character Wei Yan Wan was more admirable. She started frm a lowly maid, didn't hv any backing whatsoever, no member of her family was an official of the emperor's admin, not even as a minor official, the Empress Dowager dislike her, she had no real allies w the other concubines, she didn't display any special characters that would make the emperor favoured her so much. All she had was the head eunuch Jiazheng n her own ingenuity. Compared that w Ruyi who came frm a highly respected clan, hv Empresses as part of the clan's list of impactful figures, hv the backing of the Empress Dowager, hv the love n support of the emperor. Ruyi had all the advantages.
9. Sir Li gave the ring token that proved his prior relationship w Ling Fei to Hui Fei. Yet, Hui Fei n Ruyi didn't use the ring to clear Sir Li n Ruyi's names.
10. This drama is supposedly a continuation of The Legend of Zhen Huan. Yet, Ruyi's Royal Love started w everything that's opposite of what happened in The Legend of Zhen Huan. In Zhen Huan, Hongli didn't like Ruyi/Xian n even asked Zhen Huan to replace her w Gao Feinas his second wife. In Zhen Huan, when the Empress Ula-Nara died, Zhen Huan told Ruyi/Xian to visit her aunt, but Ruyi/Xian said she had no such family member. Zhen Huan had no further need to scheme as all her enemies had died, she had protected her son by putting him in the 17th Prince's family, n Hongli revered her. Yet, Zhen Huan in Ruyi's Royal Love schemed against Hongli. Why? What political advantage she'd hv in having control over Hongli? She didn't hv anyone that she planned to take over as emperor. N if she's a continuation of the character frm Zhen Huan, then she had no further need to play court politics, becoz as the Empress Dowager, she's the most powerful woman in the inner palace.
11. Ruyi gave Rong Fei the infertility medicine when Rong Fei asked it of her. But, it's a very heavy crime to stop any concubine frm producing heirs to the emperor. How could Ruyi, who'd know of the severity of this action which totally goes opposite of making sure the emperor had many heirs, allow Rong Fei this medicine w/o telling the emperor first. N the emperor slapping Ruyi in public upon knowing this? That's a very gross breach of court etiquette. Also, an emperor losing control in public n displaying his anger would actually means the emperor was freely letting people see his weakness. N slapping Ruyi was basically taking away her face or her honour. N insulting the Empress Dowager as it's the Empress Dowager that allowed Ruyi to give the infertility medicine.
12. Much was said how the costumes n rituals in Ruyi's were so good. But, for me, there's nothing extraordinary abt them n it paled in comparison to the costumes in Legend of Zhen Huan.

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Better than expected ? and don't see online ☺️ online has lot of hate on everything

First show is decent and had chemistry in rocket ship definitely during the screen time of kissing ?.
Second online new trend to complain all the show by comparing to the 2016 era to be honest yeah it's good and classic but everything can't be same enjoy the show for what it is.
Finally This show does have problem like in story of conctivity of curse impact also on second lead who's had secret hitting from first episode and that takes too long to reveal make it little less impactful as i irritated by that part since i could guess it right from the beginning what could have happened.
Other than its okay but definitely not bad as online says.

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Brilliant Complete Package!

Laorchan is a very well made lakorn. Armed with meticulous details and truly suited fashion, the lakorn takes us back to the 90s where the handsome CEO Khun Phu met Laorchan, a young talented lady in a mission to return the honor of her family. Involving a story back in the ancient time, it requires CGI which is done so well, depicting the Naga in its majestic form. Lighting, angles, focus, everything is established perfectly, enhancing every scenes to its maximum quality. Action, romance, comedy, fiction, mystery, all are blended into one balanced rich story that leaves the audience remain excited and curious as the episodes keep coming. The superb acting skill of Kanawut Traipipattanapong, with his various on point expressions, Yeena Salas with her elegant beauty and eloquent demeanor, Smith Paswitch with his expertise in martial art and other casts are absolutely brilliant, adding so much value to this lakorn.

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Fun and light

It's a cute and funny story, with great characters and a bunch of plots (mostly not too confusing, but the subs don't help). I love the 'pretending to be a playboy' trope and this one is done really well. The brother who is pretending to be sickly is also very funny. And the FL is great - capable and smart, and not letting anyone get in her way.

The subs on YouTube are not good, which makes it hard to rate this fairly because it made some of the plots and some of the romance hard to follow. The version I watched also had the dropping out audio track, which made a few key scenes pretty underwhelming. I'm sure I'd rate this higher if I'd fully understood and felt the whole story.

However, it was very funny with good work by the actors. I'd happily rewatch if non-mango subs ever become available.

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Relationship seem real…

Loved this drama! I always rooted for them! It was like a real life relationship. They needed some time to workout all the pain that goes in to a breakup.

This is what I loved the most… I loved that writers showed his pain more. Usually it’s always on females. Loved his pain and vulnerability. He was so emotional and regretted what he had and lost.

I was ok with a “happy ending”. Although my happy ending is probably not others happy ending. They talked, had some good conversations and finally had the closure they deserved and can move on. This for me is a “happy ending”.

Like:
ML pain and vulnerability
They had difficulties cause by themselves, not others
Talked it out in different conversations.
It looked like a real relationship
Acting was good

Dislike:
Waiting one week for 1 episode (this didn’t help at all this drama)
Too much time on side couples. (at least the first 5-6 episodes)
Halfway I didn’t understand FL since she seemed ok but later I understood her when they had telephone conversation). Not everyone reacts or work the same after a breakup.

Although it looked like they cheated to each other, they didn’t really cheat and this is probably why I thought that they could work it out and go back together since they had some good talking.

They were a young couple in a relationship of 7 years. They had so much memories together and was even harder for them to restart and heal.

I’m usually not a critical reviewer so this is my pov that maybe it’s not yours.

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you definitely SHOULD give it a watch, terrific acting!

HI! to start, i have to say that this show requires more attention. for a show that has a lower budget, it has beyond exceeded my expectations. the pacing of the show was great and i never felt like any episode was lacking anything. compared to other bls with weird pacing and random new information, everything was well connected. here are some points for you!

1. the action was done really well, it wasn’t cringe! surprising honestly… i think the actors were well trained to carry out the role and make it look realistic and good

2. there were so many diff characters with their own unique stories. somehow, the director managed to tie all these subplots back to main plot in a meaningful way. we managed to see the stories of all the side couples and even their dynamics

3. there were so many diff types of genres (?) like romance, reincarnation, karma, thai mythology, family relationships, action, suspense and many more but somehow, it didn’t feel overwhelming and flowed really well

4. the attention to detail was absolutely incredible! from the lighting to the costumes, it was all well done and had many details. i do think the CGI could’ve been better but ykw? it’s a small sacrifice for the incredible story

5. THE ACTING. the two main characters were billy and babe. when i tell you my jaw dropped when i watched their more intense scenes. i NEVER expected billy to be able to act that well. babe’s acting worked so well with billy and you can tell that they have major respect for eo. there were some scenes that felt so real, these scenes could’ve gone so wrong if not for their terrific performance. can i just say, EVEN THE SIDE CHARACTERS HAD TERRIFIC ACTING??? the villain acted so well that i hated his face. there was this guy called Art later on in the drama and his acting blew my mind.

6. chemistry. THEIR CHEMISTRY WAS OVERFLOWING. i can talk about billybabe’s chemistry for HOURS. they had incredible tension before they got together and i could feel it through the screen. when the got tgt, you could see the pure adoration, love, vulnerability and protectiveness they had for/with eo. it was so incredible, i don’t think i’ve seen a bl couple with such good chemistry in such a long time. their raw emotions made their scenes tgt so intense, special and beautiful.

7. lastly, the directing. basically the show was directed by an actor named saint. he has been in a few dramas and i think bcos of that, he was able to direct the show from the perspective of an actor as well as a consumer. the attention to detail was amazing and all the camera angles were really good

OKAY IM DONE YAPPING. i would definitely recommend this show but i have to warn that it is a bit intense at times. i love this show sm, definitely in my top 5. there have been quite a few different opinions here and there but overall, it’s a good watch

(do note that i am rating it based on other thai bls i have watched and i’m not comparing it to korean bls or straight dramas)

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SUPER CUTE!!!

Honestly didn’t know what I was expecting when I started this show but it wasn’t what is actually shown, first off I want to recognize how amazing the acting is, like seriously Lin acting as Win and Win acting as Lin, they were both so good at it that it felt like they actually switched bodies. And the scene where the mom is crying in episode 10 is so realistic it actually made me feel so sad because her emotions felt real. So props to the actors they did an amazing job! Second, the chemistry was amazing, this isn’t a show where there’s a lot of kiss scenes or anything and normally I like kiss scenes or stuff in that genre but this show did an amazing job at keeping me entertained and also giving me the chemistry needed to make my heart race. And the chances we did get to see kiss scenes they were amazing!! The story is super cute and soft, nothing too out there but also perfect enough to make those 10 episodes go by in a blink of an eye. I want to rate this an 8.8/10 but it only lets me rate 8.5 or 9, imo it’s not 9 worthy because again its not an extraordinary story, it’s simple but super well made! If you’re looking for something soft and cute to watch and also a quick watch since it has 10 episodes then this is just for you. I would definitely recommend, mainly because of the 10 episodes, and the fact that each episode is like 40+ min, I seriously hate when shows are longer than they should be and also lengthy on minutes of the episodes, so the fact that this show is simple, cute, soft and short wins my heart.

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