Lal, Wine, Tangkwa, and Proud weren't just characters; they felt real because of their amazing acting and dedication. This series gave us laughter, butterflies, comfort, and unforgettable memories.
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I really love this series. The storyline is perfect. The director and cast did a great job portraying their characters, especially the main leads. Every episode is different from the previous one, and you can learn something from it because this series is not just about the love story between Lu Xixiao and Zhou Wan; it's about how the two of them overcome the challenges and struggles at the age of 18.I love how they grow independently from being teenagers to becoming adults. They don't rely on each other because both of them succeed in their chosen fields.
Spoiler alert: For me, this is just my personal opinion, but I think Zhou Wan leaving Xixiao had a good effect on him because if Wanwan hadn't left him, he wouldn't have grown up on his own.
However, I noticed one problem while watching some episodes because I could definitely see the cut scenes. If you watch closely, you can see the cuts, and it's like they just patched the scenes together . I don't know if it's because they were taken from different angles or what. And also, you can see some scenes that doesn't make sense.
Additionally, I really love the OST, and you know what they say: if the OST is good, then the series is also good.
Overall, the drama is perfect. Highly recommended. I will give it a 10/10.
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cliché yet memorable:"
This is proof that a BL series doesn't always need a unique, heavy, or unconventional plot to be great. Sometimes, a cheesy, cliché story works perfectly if the acting is good and the chemistry is on point (also big applause to the director). I watched it back when it was airing and so many people were talking about it. It was trending on Twitter every single week—not because fans were just forcing the hashtag to trend, but because the show was genuinely so engaging to talk about (omg the good old days).What really stood out was Ohm and Nanon’s acting. There were absolutely no stiff or awkward gestures; they felt incredibly natural. Even though there were quite a few minor production slips in some scenes, Ohm and Nanon’s talent was so distracting that viewers (at least, me) didn't even care.
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Pseudo Yuri on Duanju
I watched this with 50:50 minds, good merits i love Zhang Jinyi and it was quite rare to find dual female leads drama on duanju and not so good merit the other protagonist is Tan Yan Yan. Its not because i hate her or something but i barely managed to finish her drama except her dramas with Wang Yiran and the three couple ensemble (and she was the weakest on par with Liu Yuhang) because her acting was not my cup of tea despite her mini drama background. But for this drama i can watch Tan Yan Yan without being nosy like market aunt.Tan Yan Yan and Zhang Jinyi have slightly yuri (lesbian) feel, but it's actually quite borderline since it Mainland (duh). The story is about Xiangxue (TYY/FL1) , a blind writer, is imprisoned and has her work's publication rights stolen by her husband. She has intelligence but no strength to resist, but fate brings her redemption. Shiran (ZJY/FL2) is a thief, also living under her uncle's control. During a burglary, she discovers someone living a more miserable life than herself, and the two girls sympathize with each other, determined to break free from their cages together. This story has a lot of magical fate, but at the same time, it seems fragile. So, with my limited perspective, I always felt that this relationship would collapse at some point. But it never did, there are only a few soft words from her when she tries to protect her and drive her away.
The final result is rather futile; FL2 can always report her uncle, just as FL2 is fully capable of killing herself and claiming it was an accident. So it still feels like a surreal fairy tale. So, this story is about two women meeting, getting to know each other, and feeling need to each other. It reminds me of
If you want to get pseudo yuri with subtle message, you can watch this.
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This review may contain spoilers
The character of Lee Kang made me feel really uncomfortable, so much so that I'd skip some of the scenes where he's secretly watching. However. From the very first episode, it's clear that he's just pretending to spy and that he's making up a story. Once you realize that, it begins very, very hard to get interested in a series that tells you right off the bat that nothing is true. So just tell the truth right away or do something with it. Use it to tell something. Have you heard of Straight to Hell ?I kept watching because Choi Min-sik can't choose a bad script, no ? The end of Episode 2 gets intriguing... only because the characters tell us so. Not because it actually is. So I was watching, thinking only about why all of this was made up in the first place. And, unfortunately, we're only told at the very end, with no clues to figure it out beforehand. This story, when you think about it, wasn't all that exciting. All that for nothing. The problem with twist stories is that if you figure it out right from the start (as is the case here, since we're told right away and literally) it loses its appeal. And ending with a reference to Faust ? let's be a little humble, please.
I totally get that the show wants to question the narrator and our tendency to believe a story. It just needed to be less over-the-top. The kid and his just another sob story, nothing special... okay, great… I actually would've liked it if they'd explored that instead !
I failed to catch this K-drama. I'm annoyed with myself. But I'm reading some very enthusiastic and well-written reviews, so at least that's something.
Let's talk about the difference in acting. Choi Min-sik brings depth of intention and a certain way of looking at people ; he exudes resentment and dissatisfaction. He's an unfriendly man who still can't accept that a woman didn't choose him or that his career as a novelist never took off. An ordinary, selfish man. On the contrary, Choi Hyun-wook, elusive and expressionless, I'm not sure what to make of him by the end. He tries to come across as amoral as the protagonist of Dear X, but it never quite works for me.
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in Indonesia, we have GGS
What the hell am I watching?Maybe the idea was good on paper—vampires wrapped up in a BL series—but it just wasn't interesting right from the start. A lot of the actors felt miscast for those characters; they weren't convincing enough. There are so many plot holes, and also, the CGI my god, I just can't take it seriously.
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you will love it (for the first few eps)
GMMTV did it again. It has (mostly) always been like that with them. I wonder why their shows are always so good at the beginning, but they just can't seem to maintain that quality. For the first few episodes, I loved it so much—it gave me a good laugh and everyone was talking about it. But as the show went on, it got a bit hard to watch. It wasn’t necessarily bad, the quality just started to drop. On the bright side, all the characters were likeable, even the cheating dad, as wrong as he was, somehow managed to bring some great humor to the screen.Was this review helpful to you?
So much potential for nothing.
This was by far the most disappointing thing I've watched this year. It's a shame, really, because this had so so so much potential. It started cute and just a little bit angsty and yearning. I was sat. Then at some point, they started going off the rails, and I started to understand nothing. It got frustrating. Their actions, intentions, and thoughts were never made clear to the audience. They would just show a close-up of the actors and expect us to fully comprehend and piece together what, or why, was happening just by guessing what the characters felt. It felt like trying to solve a puzzle for which I didn't have the pieces.I swear the writing was the issue, because the acting was great. And the cinematography was beautiful. But that's really all there was. Beautiful nothing. I think the drama tried to portray some hidden depth, but ended up just feeling like nothing.
The production was beautiful, but the writing lacked any real substance and made the audience feel more confused than anything.
They don't end up together, and I'm not against that, but I felt like in the effort to have a "realistic" and 'deep" romance story, they failed to make the audience feel anything at all, cuz I was too lost to focus.
For example, at the end, he goes to her house and changes her lightbulb. What am I supposed to make of that?? No context, just a random action with no explanation.
I don't need things spelled out for me; any good drama shows instead of telling, but I never truly understood what it was trying to show, because I didn't really feel like it did have anything to say, just hid behind beautiful scenes and confusing plots to hide the fact that it really did have nothing.
The fl frustrated me, and the side characters felt so surface-level, like their sole purpose was to be plot devices for the main leads, and they didn't have any development or even a story or depth of their own. For example, the male lead's brother. There was so much potential to explore him, and I was genuinely curious about him, but they didn't show his story, or his thoughts, dreams, or anything; he was just a reason for the ML to stay in his hometown.
TL;DR
Beautiful acting and cinematography, no essence to the story. FL was frustrating, and side characters felt empty. Waste of a good story.
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the title says it all
I don't know why this drama got lower ratings than I expected. I actually liked the plot, the acting, and the chemistry was completely on point. Overall, it feels like a reflection of real life—a classic case of right person at the wrong time, or maybe even the wrong person at the wrong time. In the end, not everyone has to end up together.To be honest, I was also one of those viewers who wanted them to end up together. I know their main issue was communication, but looking at it through an adult lens, the ending was actually the best option. They work in that field, so of course they knew what was best. I mean, deciding to get a divorce in the first place must have involved a long and difficult journey, so I think the ending was just right.
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From Ashes Back To Trashes
Negative Points1. No proper written character for the ML & the FL. The story is shot solely from the perspective of the FL. But the transitions are too fast for me to even connect with her. ML so far feels like the loyal hound of the FL who only barks if the FL permits it (No offence to the actors, honestly, but I am absolutely seething due to this stupid writing). There is nothing that can evoke an emotional connection with any of the leads. I absolutely love female-centric revenge dramas. However, in this drama, the FL is an absolute moron, honestly. She is weak, useless, and hardly has any brain. Sorry to say, but as much as I like Chen Duling, turning and giving creepy looks is not enough to convince me that she is smart enough to outsmart her enemies if she keeps getting into trouble and fails to come out of it by herself. She mostly falls into her own traps and just cries like a child. This is absolutely ridiculous. There is a lack of depth in political conspiracy, especially when the move comes from the FL, which is all superficial and nothing has any depth. If it were a properly written drama and she were not the FL, then she would never have succeeded against those scheming antagonists. I don’t know why they have left out the brain of the FL outside the drama while making the antagonists keep their wits. Was it a deliberate move to make the FL look foolish in front of the viewers? If you don’t want to follow the novel, I don’t mind at all as long as it has been written well. What I hate most is to mislead the viewers by promoting the FL as a strong, ruthless one, but then reducing the FL to being the total opposite of what was promised. Why make her strong in the name only, but fail to present her on screen like that? If you can’t brainstorm on how to present her as a strong, independent, intelligent person, then you should have hired a better screenwriter. This is completely unacceptable. While I understand she is a human being and can’t possibly outsmart so many damn smart villains all the time, she should not also be like a complete idiot. Moreover, to show the FL smart and independent, you don’t need to present the ML as a guard dog. There does not need to be much screen time as long as the characters have enough depth, and you have a good actor to play it out. Both the leads are total victims of this drunk on short drama style writing, horrendous voice dubbing, and 4x speed direction with an overdose of red filters.
2. The acting is absolutely weak from both leads. While Zhou Yiran was still somewhat passable in emotional scenes, Chen Duling was absolutely poor. I could hardly feel her emotions. She is normally good at giving cold murduerous looks. But I don’t know what happened, but her acting was not good at all. She was so good in the Glory and I was so eager to watch the actress-director duo from the Glory but was utterly disappointed. The production team did Zhou Yi Ran dirty again as though he is the ML, but he seems to exist only to keep this dumb FL alive to give creepy looks in fancy costumes. The production team did the most dirty to Chen Duling, honestly. How come her character is reduced to being a damsel in distress despite it being a female-centric drama? Did she achieve anything post her rebirth? Actors can’t really perform brilliantly with a half baked utter stupid script. The screenwriter and producer are the key people who need to take the blame for his half-written garbage. Complete waste of an actor like Zhou Yiran. Except for a few emotional scenes, he looked flat to me. Chen Duling was probably struggling with how to present this poorly written garbage kind of bad FL’s Character. The screenwriters should probably think about changing their profession.
3. The direction and screenplay felt absolutely sloppy. Does the director have a flight to catch? If not, why is everything moving so damn fast that the entire story feels like a compilation of flashbacks? All of the action scenes look like they just started and ended in 10x. No catchy or gorgeous moves. No proper battle or even fight sequence. Looks like everyone is in a hurry. Why is during the battle, despite a veteran military general (who works under her father) being present, she, who has no idea about military battle tactics, is leading the battle? She does not know any self-defence at episode 01. But suddenly knows archery at the ambush at the bandits' lair, knows battle tactics, and now suddenly knows swordplay. What is this rubbish? At least write consistently. Are they so short of budget that they can’t even arrange for battle armor for the ML and the FL? The FL goes to the battlefield to face the enemy general in her Grand Princess makeup and attarir and jewellery to give a poorly written speech of patriotism or whatever it was. Then suddenly comes out of nowhere to reinforce the ML and gets trapped along with him to create an opening for the FL’s mother, who suddenly came and baam sacrificed herself to force poorly acted melodrama in the middle of the battlefield. Can this FL do anything other than crying and giving big melodramatic speeches? I am tired of watching her do foolish things. Who wrote this rubbish? I will avoid this screenwriter’s further work.
4. No chemistry between the leads. Their romance story feels shallow and based on life-saving graces. The actors have absolutely zero chemistry. In many scenes, Chen Duling felt awkward to me. The romantic scenes between the leads start out of nowhere, looking misplaced and unnatural. Even their misunderstanding felt so rushed and out of place. Didn’t you trust him the most, and now you won’t even listen properly. Also, why is the ML not explaining properly? For example, the ML got stabbed and is on bed rest, and in the next scene, he is making pastries with the FL in the kitchen while romancing with her hair.
5. There are too many inconsistencies with the story. Why would she scream and alert her enemy if she is so intelligent? The first thing she does after getting a 2nd chance is head straight to the main villain and threaten to kill him for the murder of her father. She is taking the prince back to the palace, which is the most dangerous place during a palace coup. Is she that idiot? She talks a traitor out of committing treason with a few lines. It was a palace coup, but the main villain comes with this little soldier. Is the production house struggling so much that they can’t afford enough extra to make it convincing enough? How come the secret army soldiers are dropping suddenly from above as soon as the signal is sent? How come with this little army, she can stop a palace coup with this many rebel soldiers without any planning, whereas the enemy is too prepared? How is this even believable that she, with this little sloppy planning, managed to stop a man who planned to seize that throne for 2 decades? Would not a man like that have a contingency plan? It’s laughable. During a palace coup, how come the soldiers are falling dead left and right without putting up any fight? It feels like a video game instead of a drama. I would find better thrills in a video game, I guess. The inconsistencies are too much for me to even recite. I might have to write the entire script of the drama.
6. Not only this drama, but many other dramas this year have mocked the viewers with a completely different story in the drama after promising/ misleading it about it being an adaptation of the novel. If it irritates you to write an intelligent, strong, sharp FL along with a proper character for the ML in a female-centric drama, then why pretend to adapt such a novel and destroy it? Just write an original script with whatever you like. Also, in the name of screen space, why did you write such a shallow ML character? Instead, write a proper ML who can shine whatever screentime he gets and adds something of his own to the overall story instead of existing just to serve the purpose of the FL.
Positive Points
1. The only positive thing about this drama is the OST album. It is catchy and melodic, but still NOWHERE NEAR enough to save this sinking ship.
Overall, this is an absolutely shitty drama with nonsense half-developed twists filled with plotholes, which is coupled with poor acting from the leads who have absolutely zero chemistry.
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This review may contain spoilers
it makes me miss high school:"
I loved it! I really enjoyed watching it. It's light, funny, and brought back memories of my high school days. I love how the series portrayed friendship; when I watch K-dramas about school, they mostly show bullying events—while that might be relatable to what actually happens there—for me, it's a bit uncomfortable to watch. This series has a few moments of bickering and arguments, though—which makes sense, I mean, they're teenagers—but it didn't show any extreme acts of bullying.As for the romance part, I think it's in a bit of a grey area because it involves minors. If I had watched it back then, like during my own high school days, I might have thought it was cute and would have rooted for them. But now that my frontal lobe is fully developed, it's not really something you should call "cute." However, since they don't end up together, we never truly know what the male lead's real feelings were, and there are no intimate moments, I can say this series gets a pass.
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The story and the awkward acting from FL are tr@$h
FL doesnt deserve ML at all, she is worse than her stepmother, and she claimed she innocent, what a ssssslvvvvvvt. Tr@$h story, and this story can pass NF, what a joke. Cheaters are the ones who feel most victimized, and ML are so weak, he have others girl who loves him sincerely, however, he could not take firm action. Of course the ending are genius, without a proper ending or explanation, the drama simply came to an end. Waste my time, better skipped this drama if you guys want to try to watch this drama.Was this review helpful to you?
How did I even make it through this??
I can not tell you one single thing wrong with this drama, because there is just so much wrong with it. I don't even know how I finished this.First off, the story. The e-sports thing made no sense, and I just didn't get how or why the scandals even mattered that much, or who would even care, like, why are we acting like they are idols or something??? None of the storylines, plot, or relationships served any purpose. It felt like watching a dumpster fire of nothingness. The relationships had no substance, and felt sudden and at no point was I excited or even gave a damn about what was happening on screen.
Now for the acting. oh. my. god. I have never seen more horrid acting in my life. The main actress showed no emotion whatsoever, regardless of what was going on. The main leads had no chemistry at all and felt so forced and awkward. Not to mention how pretentious this made the male lead look. Like, he randomly started flirting with her, and then boom, they love each other. To add to that, her acting just made her look like she was being harassed, further disassociating me from the drama. I only watched this for Zhou Yi Ran. He was the only one who could act.
I was dragging my feet, forcing myself to get through each episode. Literally nothing about this drama, from the production to the plot to the story, even the sets and lighting, for some reason, made me want to watch it.
TL: DR
Everything about this was terrible. Don't know why this is so hyped. Only watched this for Yi Ran.
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Never felt any chemistry between ML and FL
I watched the show for the male lead. He’s such a talented actor. And the story of revenge was great. I just never got behind the young female lead. Her character is obnoxious. I get that, for some reason, the writers wanted to make her offbeat, but why anybody was interested in her never made sense. She was heartless, intentionally mean, arrogant and way too young for the male. I just don’t understand why a character with his thoughtfulness, would ever fall for such a young, childish and selfish girl. And she stayed mean and obnoxiously self absorbed until the end. Anyway, that made no sense to me. It was the weakest component of a show for me. she would’ve been better as a sidekick to him and a supporter. But putting them as a love connection just never worked and for me, made the show not work.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I expected a light comedy. I didn't expect it to leave me emotional by the final battle.
Sometimes, the best dramas are the ones you never expected to love.I started Royal Rumours simply because I wanted something light after finishing heavier dramas. I wasn't looking for political intrigue, emotional sacrifices, or heartbreaking losses. I just wanted an easy, entertaining watch with a little romance and comedy.
That's exactly what the drama gave me...
At least in the beginning.
From the first few episodes, Royal Rumours felt charming, funny, and effortlessly enjoyable. The playful banter between Hua Liuli and Crown Prince Ji Yuansu immediately became one of the biggest highlights of the series.
Meng Ziyi was absolutely delightful as Hua Liuli.
Behind her fragile and sickly reputation was a clever, confident, and incredibly lovable woman who understood how to survive a court full of schemes. Rather than relying on brute strength, she relied on intelligence, wit, and the ability to make everyone underestimate her. Watching her outsmart people while pretending to be weak never got old.
Jeremy Tsui perfectly complemented her performance.
Ji Yuansu could have easily become another cold and distant Crown Prince, but Jeremy gave him warmth, humor, and quiet maturity. His trust in Hua Liuli developed naturally, making their relationship one of the healthiest romances I've watched in historical C-dramas.
What I appreciated most was how comfortable their relationship felt.
There were no unnecessary misunderstandings stretched over multiple episodes.
No toxic push-and-pull.
No frustrating love triangle dominating the story.
Instead, the romance was built on mutual respect, trust, and genuine partnership. Watching them work together instead of constantly working against each other made the entire drama feel refreshing.
The production also deserves recognition.
The costumes were elegant, the cinematography was colorful without feeling overly artificial, and the soundtrack perfectly matched both the lighthearted comedy and the emotional moments later in the story.
One thing I genuinely didn't expect was how much the tone would change during the final episodes.
I thought I was watching a purely lighthearted romantic comedy.
Instead, the drama slowly reminded me that behind every smiling general's family lies the reality of war.
The final battle wasn't simply another obstacle for the main couple.
It came with real consequences.
Among the moments that affected me the most was the death of Song Guang.
His story quietly broke my heart.
A retired soldier whose military career had already been taken away by injury, he never truly stopped protecting the Hua family. After leaving the camp, he wandered aimlessly until Hua Liuli welcomed him into her home, treating him as family rather than just another forgotten veteran.
When he sacrificed himself to protect Hua Liuli, it reminded me that loyalty isn't measured by rank or status.
Sometimes, the people who have already given everything still choose to give even more.
That scene genuinely hurt.
Another character I unexpectedly grew attached to was Yun Han.
For most of the story, I saw him as someone trapped between duty and manipulation. Being planted beside Ji Yuansu placed him in an impossible position. Yet when the moment of truth arrived, he chose conscience over orders.
I honestly thought the drama was going to kill him.
When I realized he survived, I was genuinely relieved.
His decision proved that redemption isn't about where you come from—it's about the choices you make when they matter most.
What impressed me most about Royal Rumours was its balance.
It knew when to make me laugh.
It knew when to slow down for romance.
And when the story finally demanded emotional weight, it delivered without abandoning the lighthearted charm that made the drama so enjoyable in the first place.
If I have one minor criticism, it's that the transition from comedy to the final conflict felt slightly abrupt. Because the drama spent so much time embracing its playful atmosphere, I wished the military conflict had been given just a little more room to breathe.
Still, that never overshadowed my overall enjoyment.
One thing about me is that I'm still relatively new to C-dramas. Just a few months ago, I spent most of my free time cycling, hiking, and chasing outdoor adventures before discovering this world of historical dramas.
Ironically, I've learned something while building my watchlist.
The dramas I enter with the highest expectations often become the ones I scrutinize the most.
But the ones I watch with no expectations...
often become the biggest surprises.
Royal Rumours became one of those surprises.
It wasn't trying to be the grandest political epic.
It wasn't trying to be the darkest historical masterpiece.
It simply told an entertaining story with lovable characters, healthy romance, genuine humor, and just enough emotional weight to remind you that even the brightest stories can leave a mark on your heart.
I came for something light.
I left caring far more about these characters than I ever expected.
Sometimes, that's all a drama needs to do.
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