Reviews

It’s not scary, even though it belongs to the horror genre

I watched it because I was looking forward to Nam Joo-hyuk’s return to acting. It wasn't exactly terrifying—certain creatures appeared, but there weren't any jump scares. I think the decision to leave romance out of the story was the right move, yet the leads still managed to have great chemistry; I loved it. I have to say the acting was good, but the standout was Jang Young-nam, who played the queen; she was truly brilliant. It gave me the feeling that the royals needed to pay for their actions rather than going unpunished, but then I reflected on how, in reality, things sometimes happen that way—karma doesn't always step in. I’d say this drama is a mix of *Sweet Home*, *Kingdom*, and *If Wishes Could Kill*.

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Captivating from start to finish

Unlike many Chinese series, this one has no slow moments; it is so addictive that, at the end of each episode, you immediately want to watch the next one. The series is neither too long nor too short—twenty episodes is the perfect length. The two leads (Wang Chu Ran and Zhang Wan Yi) are beautifull and endearing, have great on-screen chemistry, and deliver excellent performances. The personalities of the new Emperor (Chang Hua Sen) —who is indecisive and tries too hard to appease or play with opposing factions—and the Empress (Yuan Yu Xuan) - initially shy, lacking self-confidence, and with inferiority complex - are both interesting and original. The bond that gradually unites them, strengthening two individuals who are otherwise fragile yet complementary, is well conceived and portrayed. A more annoying element is the subplot involving the Prince’s physician friend and the porcelain merchant; their relationship issues add a touch of farce, but these scenes drag on for too long.

Finally, the sets and costumes are stunning; the beauty of the lead actors and their nuanced acting evoke a fairy-tale atmosphere, making the whole production a visual delight.

The only weak point is the sudden shift in the female lead's personality when she regains her memory. At that moment, she transforms from a gentle young woman into someone cruel and brutal—a complete departure from her previous self. Later, after a (too) long period of time, once she forgives the Prince and acknowledges the sincerity and constancy of his feelings, she abruptly reverts to being a gentle, tender wife. This lacks logic: either the director failed to properly set up this personality shift (leaving us wondering about the sudden violence or unexpected gentleness), or Wang Churan’s acting is unconvincing, making the change feel implausible. The personality change is anyway too extreme and exaggerated in my point of view.

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I liked the concept, much less its execution

This BL featured a very interesting premise, with one the lead regressing to a younger child self. Like the saying says "it takes a village to raise a child", and indeed it takes quite a bit of people to take care of "Sun", the child figure into which sunshiny elementary school teacher Solar, one of the main character regressed to. Not only his boyfriend, Pobmek, disgrunted elementary school teacher but also colleagues, friends, students...all rise to the occasion to support their beloved teacher, facing his difficult (and completely fantasy-like) condition.

The premise was interesting, the scenario managed to feel not too heavy nor too light, the script thread quite successfully a fine needle regarding the mental state of Solar, making a point at making sure that Pobmek his boyfriend never feels as taking advantage of him...All good points for the show, a colorful production and pretty good acting from the leads...However, unfortunaly, despite all the positives, I could not help to feel that there were not enough material to hold in a consistent way the series for its full duration. A lot of scenes felt like fillers, and the tone of the serie was overwhelmingly fantasy like, making it very difficult to take anything seriously and at the end to even care when the story got more serious at points. The chemistry between Perth and Santa was very good and they are solid in their respectives roles. I wish I could say the same for the remaining cast, but it was more bland and even awkward for some of them.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a cute BL, quite fantasy like, with an interesting premise. I regret its lightness at time, which prevented me to feel fully invested to what's happened on screen, but there are a lot of qualities to the series that can make it worth your time if you enjoy colorful production, and are not searching for realism or a lot of deepness in the resolution.

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Notes from someone who thought the drama was good, but could've been better...

*** BEWARE OF SPOILERS...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK ***

Cora’s review basically sums up all my thoughts. The drama is at its best when examining how fiction informs reality and vice versa. The first big "reveal" in front of the hotel was really good, but the drama loses itself with the rest of the makjang elements.

Lee Gang’s motivation also waters down the entire thing. Him embarking on an intricate, 12-year revenge plan after meeting Mun Oh ONCE was underwhelming. It didn't justify his hatred, much less his commitment to destroying Mun Oh's entire life.

Overall, I enjoyed the drama. I was torn about whether to give it a 7 or 7.5 out of 10 because I LOVED episodes 2 and 3, but the longer my review got, the more I realized a 7 would do just fine . The acting was fantastic. Choi Min Sik carried the drama on his back, and at times his performance gave me goosebumps. That's why he's a respected veteran. Choi Hyun Wook held his own, and Jin Kyung, who played Mun Oh’s wife, Hyeon Suk, also delivered a noteworthy performance. I really felt her vulnerability and long-suffering. The suspense was good, and so was the script, although at times the dialogue was a bit heavy-handed. The pacing was decent, but the exploration of Mun Oh's feelings of inadequacy, ego, jealousy, and obsession would’ve felt less…shallow if we'd gotten an episode or two somewhere in the beginning showing his college experience with an emphasis on his first love (How did it develop? How long did he pine? What else did he do besides give her that book of poetry?) and budding rivalry with Su Hun (similar questions). What about Hyeon Suk's miscarriages? The drama drops this bomb on us, and never goes any deeper. That's one of the hardest things for a couple to go through yet the audience never finds out how Mun Oh feels about it. Unless he's a complete sociopath, he would feel SOMETHING. Did he even want kids??? All of this was necessary for a fuller, more grounded and impactful story, but because "Notes from the Last Row" only had 6 episodes to get the job done, its potential is never fully realized.

Bonus Thought: Am I the only one who thought the English songs they chose to play during certain scenes were corny??? The original score and background music were great, but the song they played when Mun Oh was running through campus feeling "liberated" in episode 1 almost ruined the scene. It sounded like something I'd hear on pop radio on a Top 25 countdown or something. The lyrics were so on-the-nose. There were a couple of other cheesy English songs that made me wrinkle my nose, but I can't recall them right now. It felt like the music supervisor was trying to be cool, and ran the songs through Google translate to see if the lyrics matched the scene.

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Oh Jung-Se & Lee Jae-In shine in this campy old school action comedy

This has a campy old school flavor & a cast of familiar faces. The Older American pop music they use in the OST was alot of fun & works well with what's going on! I wasn't much interested in the plot, but I was curious to see Oh Jung-se do something different than the villain stuff he's been doing lately.
I gave it a rather low score because it's just not the genre that I really enjoy. That said, I did watch it once by myself & then a second time soon after to share it with a friend. There is nothing "sloggy" (draggy) about this as it moves along at a good pace, that sacrifices a bit of continuity if you aren't paying attention. The father daughter duo are the most interesting to watch & really Lee Jae-in as the daughter really stands out as she channels her inner effervescent middle schooler .

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Rivals-to-lovers done right ! The atmosphere. The plot. The angst.

I really enjoyed this BL featuring two colleagues having a rivals relationship and falling in love with each other. Their background was quite layered and the jealousy factor was great at adding spices to their dynamic. The progressive shift with their constant "battles" to up each other to a more tender relationship was amazing to follow and very butterflies inducing. It is the kind of show you regret starting while airing (like I did) because you would want to binge it.

The actors did a great job at portraying their characters : Zen (played by Sato Yusuke) with his tsundere and cute side, and Ryo (played by Hori Kaito) with his caring and worry side. The story is not just about love but also about rivalry, and that both characters are very much protective of their relationship but not necessarily on the same aspects. I think their nuance acting really manage to bring to life the various aspects of their personnalities and their bonds.

The pace of the drama and the opening/ending song was great overall, but the finale fumbled unfortunately a bit the ball in terms of production and directing, with some overpowering unstrumental that took me out of several scenes and critical dialogs because of how obnoxious it was. That's unfortunate, because it was not disturbing in any of the other episodes.

I would strongly recommend this to people that enjoy rivals-to-lovers trope as well as office romance. It has solid acting and the romance build up is very swoony.

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Sin, Retribution, and the Greed for Power

It’s been a while since I’ve watched a well-scripted horror drama. Thematically, it isn't strictly horror—it also weaves in court politics, power struggles, fantasy, and redemption.

It is going to be brief.

Cinematography: The visual work is impressive. The drama portrays two distinct realms: the human world and the ghost realm. The ghost world features an ominous red tint that creates a distinctly eerie atmosphere. Combined with dynamic camerawork, the VFX and production design are top-notch. The unsettling ambiance, the grand palace setting, and the overall visual texture are deeply satisfying to watch.

Sound Design: The soundscape pairs seamlessly with the setting and atmosphere, elevating the overall tension.

Cast & Characterization: While the cast is relatively small, the performances are really good. None of the characters are strictly good or bad; instead, they feel like real people shaped by ambition, fear, loyalty, and survival instincts.

Pace: What really attracts me is its pace and tone. This drama is not draggy, rather has a fast pace that kept me engaged. To tell the truth, I was never bored throughout the drama. Another interesting thing is the amalgamation of horror, greed, power struggle and court politics. It's really rare for a horror drama to have such a convincing plot.

Plot: Tense, politically driven drama that’s less interested in courtroom dialogues and more focused on how power behaves when it’s trapped inside personal relationships. What makes the plot especially compelling is its momentum. Instead of treating court politics as distant background, the series folds it directly into character decisions—who gets access, who gets information, who can afford to be seen making mistakes. The narrative repeatedly forces characters to weigh survival against integrity, and it’s in those constant recalculations that the drama finds its emotional punch.

If you enjoy stories where strategy, betrayal, and longing collide, “The East Palace” delivers a consistently absorbing ride. The plot escalates with purpose, building an atmosphere where hope and fear coexist—and where every victory feels temporary, not because the story is cruel, but because the world it portrays is unforgiving by design.

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Messy in its outcome, pretty brutal in its build up & showcasing a fair share of individual talents

I had very minimal names/faces recognition but I did know some things about TREASURE before starting this survival show, because there were quite a bit of controversy around their agency YG and the way they debuted the group as the show was filmed just before the eruption of the "Burning Sun" scandal. It is sometimes strange to watch, like an uncanny capsule of time. Given how messy and delayed their debut was (the survival show ended in January 2019 and they debuted in August 2020), I'm very happy that the group ended up to be successful.

This survival show has almost a documentary vibe, showing the viewer some of the reality of the producing behind the survival show. Of course, it is catered for and audience and polished, but it does really show the cruel reality of the competition.

Contrary to some agency led survival show featuring a quite limited amount of trainees, YG decided to gather a relative big amount of participants forming various units. The units were not necessarily competing between each other but rather there were forming a mix, the agency searching the best combination for the group. The way the competition was set up was clearly showcasing individual talents that then would be assembled into a coherent ensemble. Even if not all of the participants have equal screentime, it is showcasing enough to make room for a lot of potential lineup, pushing the viewer to play the assembly game with the main producer (YG).

Not going to lie, the show was really rough on the participants : YG had a real gift at traumatizing his trainees. It seems that the underlying objective of the production team was to have at least one or two people crying by episode. They also did one of the worst thing in my opinion for a survival : not announcing the full lineup during the finale of the survival but rather organising a live announcement on a platform post finale, that needs to be looked up separetely to get the full picture on the group.

I would recommend this survival show to people that want to learn more about TREASURE and its genesis. Once you have watched the outcome, you might need to do further research to really get what happened between the announcement of the group lineup, some subsequent announcement and then the launch with a reviewed lineup.

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I feel like they didn't know where they were going, or maybe they did and I just got lost

I think the start of this was great. The idea feels different. While it does remind you of previous Netflix shows in the supernatural/horror realm, the idea is different enough to stand out on its own.

What I Liked/Enjoyed
🧸👻The Ggeomeoksali - Regardless of differing opinions on the story itself, I think we can all agree that the Ggeomeoksali was the MVP of this entire show. I saw someone refer to it as a Joseon labubu, and I laugh every time I remember that. I missed him when he disappeared in the latter episodes

🧸👻Gu Cheon as a character - I think most stories would portray someone with his backstory as brooding and depressed. I like that he wasn't that. While he clearly has his burdens to carry, he is actually quite funny. He's rude, dismissive, lazy, and complains about just about everything. He'll do what needs to be done, but you will sure as all heck hear him complaining about it throughout. His attitude brings in an unexpected comedy to this story

🧸👻Saeng Gang - While I do feel like the story could have used her and her abilities (both archery and shamanic powers) better, I feel like she was a decent female character. They didn't write her perfectly, but they didn't make her a constant liability to the ML. She could hold her own, and I love that.

I've seen some say that she was a bitch, I think that, like Gu Cheon, she had a chip on her shoulder. She was guarded and angry, all with good reason. Despite dressing like a court maid, she was also a noble and a princess. Given the time period, initially, she acted in the same way most noble ladies did towards commoners. She also obviously changes for the better later. We shouldn't ignore that

🧸👻The relationship btwn Saeng Gang and Gu Cheon - I quite enjoyed their banter, and they generally worked quite well together. The story did seem to subtly push a blooming romance between them, though. Not sure how I quite feel about that, but I'm leaning towards not being a fan of it. I enjoyed them quite a lot as reluctant to willing partners. The ending does hint at a possible 2nd season, so I'd have appreciated it if the (very subtle) romantic vibes had been left out of this one

🧸👻 - Cinematography - The drama is beautiful to look at. Especially when we're in the human realm. It's filmed beautifully. However, when we cross over to the shostly realm, things get a bit shaky. It's still generally well done, but the 'higher ghosts' with their tendrils looked rather off sometimes.

What I Didn't Like/Found Confusing/Could've Been Done Better

👻🧸The King should've been on the poster - This is less of a drama problem and more of a marketing problem (read lie). The majority of this story is not even about Gu Cheon. It's about the king, then his daughter (Seang Gang), and then Gu Cheon. I went into the plot expecting the story to be about a ghost slayer and the lady who could hear ghosts.

I expected the story to revolve around them. Their partnership as they worked to set the palace free from whatever malevolent force was plaguing it. Instead, the story largely revolves around the king. While I understand what the marketing team was trying to do, with this being Nam Joo Hyuk's 1st role since the military, the expectations were so not what I found on the ground.

👻🧸 The plot felt like it was trying to do too much, and it couldn't figure out how to tie it all together nicely. To make everything blend and work well together.

What starts as a supernatural drama suddenly reveals hidden layers of class issues, political machinations, succession battles, and wells of lies. If done well, all this could have come together cohesively to make a beautiful, intriguing, and deeply disturbing story. In fact, right before the story of the most favoured concubine concluded, I found myself immersed in the utter horribleness of palace life - regardless of status.

However, as the story unfolds, because the forces behind all these evil deeds are largely one-dimensional or do not have enough depth, the story falls flat. Every reveal is surprising, but it doesn't linger enough to make you feel or mean something. They tell you something, then quickly move on to the next thing.
They disregard it or bury it; thus, when they eventually try to tie things up in the end, it all feels a little meh

👻🧸The story doesn't use its villains well enough
a. 🤴🏻The emperor is there to be prideful, insecure(?), angry, dismissive, and a barrier to what needs to be done. He spends so much time being frustrating for unknown reasons that when the truth behind his actions is revealed, I find that I no longer care. When they try to give him a little depth, make him human, and perhaps make him more understandable to the audience, I no longer care to see it.

He is also very inconsistent as a character. It's like they didn't know whether to make him pure evil or make him nuanced. He spends most of the story bulldozing people, murdering, and generally being evil. Then they decide he's a loving father and a good king. Then he's evil again

A good example is perhaps the situation with the random pesitlence villagers: He comes across them, gets them some help, and even changes his plans to go back to the palace and set preventative measures. Then he almost dies. After being saved and waking up 1st thing he does is to send soldiers to obliterate the village. I miss the logic as to why this happened. Was a scene cut or something? Or was the plot just using this incident to find a way to make the crown prince more powerful? A way to make him an akgwi?

b.👸🏻The Queen Dowager - She was a great villain, but they used her up too soon and cast her aside. Then she comes back with a crooked face (a stroke maybe), and she never regains the presence that she had in the beginning 4 episodes. Her greed for the throne also seemed rather shallow. All this drama and evil deeds were driven by the fact that someone who she considered a 'mudblood' dared sit on the throne. 1st world problems, my guy. 1st world problems (only this time it's nobles' problems?)

c.👵🏻Saeng Gang's grandmother - Now she was a true surprise villain. But again, rather than the story using her well enough, we find out about her atrocious actions and never see her again. As I said above, the story loves to give you a surprise reveal. A jumpscare, if you may, about how horrible and evilactual humans beings can be - worse than even the spirits they feared -and then does nothing about it. In the end, she simply scurries off into the night. Very anticlimactic

d. 👴🏻 Price Iksang - Used well enough, he could have been another great villain. However, he only pops in when the plot needs him to and largely hides behind a shaman whose origins and story the audience knows nothing about.

👻🧸Missing Logic - the Princess
I mentioned the lack of logic and inconsistency with the king's character. Another character who sometimes evades logic is the princess. She comes to the palace hating her father, then midway through, she wants to save him. My question is, why? It doesn't seem to be for the sake of the country, at least in my opinion.

The girl never really thought about the realm like that. Aside from that one incident in the village, the commoners were never on her mind. So why did she suddenly change her tune? Because she remembered the emperor patting her head once when she was a kid? Based on all the anger she was carrying, that seems like too light a reason for her to care about keeping him alive

👻🧸I never found the story scary - Netflix advertises this as scary and horror. I was neither scared nor did I find elements in the plot horrifying. The only part I felt came close to what was advertised was in the final episode, where the ghost prince yanked off an arm and ate it. But they didn't even show that in full, so..., impact not felt.

🧸👻Final Thoughts👻🧸
I feel like storytelling let down this project. The idea was truly great. The greed, lies, and selfishness of humans being bigger and worse than the actual supernatural is pretty great. Unfortunately, the idea is not well supported. Not by the characters nor by the logic of some of the happenings. Had the people working on this taken the time to flesh out their characters, the villains especially, and all the ties that bound them, I think we could have gotten a story that matched the hype of this drama, the actors, and the quality of production.

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Director and production team needs to retire or retake class

I watched this since i am quite republican enjoyer and even some of low-budget duanju republican production are quite better than whatever this director created. His editing style was quite messy and the effect were mismatched. The Music Background choice were questionable for republican drama. The sloppy AI on the opening is not helping at all. The production left people who anticipated it was disappointed (including me) since they got visual actor and actress. The styling and make up are quite good.

The plot was quite short-drama code with melodrama makjang and fast-paced which i preferred for republican drama. Both of character were quite morally gray especially the Female Lead who focusing on revenge while Male Lead is quite tragic like Little Match Girl. I wont talk about romance chemistry since i don't feeling the romantic CP vibe between Wang Churan and Zhang Linghe but i still feeling the ride to die partner or comradery.

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The value of community

"It's not scary to be forgotten. What's really scary is you don't know you were loved."

I see a lot of reviewers saying this title was confusing, but I disagree. The plot is easy to understand as soon as you accept the supernatural element of it. If you can accept that the rules of this universe is unpredictable and a little volatile, the rest is fine.

My score for this show is highly subjective (as most reviews are, I guess), simply because the theme resonates with me. As soon as I realized this show deals with the concept of being forgotten, of being erased from everyone's memory, I knew I was in for a hard time. Rewatchability is low simply because I was so uncomfortable watching the story unfold. Xiang Yong's despair as he realized he was disappearing from the lives of his loved ones broke my heart. I have to commend the actors - I think they all did amazing jobs with their roles. The community of the island was warm and felt real. By the end of the show, I really loved every character. The visuals were also splendid - watching this during the summer was a great decision on my end. I think this is the perfect summer drama.

I came for the romance and stayed for the vibes, I guess. The romance between Xiang Yong and Hao Wei was a treat, but also frustrating at times. The journey of their relationship is slow and heartwrenching, but there's a touch of "loving you in every universe" here, which I always appreciate. The side couple was also enjoyable to me, which is not always a given.

If you've ever felt like no one loves you, like life would be better for everyone if you just disappeared, this show's message is that that's not true. Your presence has a real impact on everyone around you. In your struggle to deal with the highs and lows of life, there are people who like having you around. There are people you can have a meal with, cry with, argue with. Your life has value and innate worth even if you screw up and make mistakes. There is a place for you here.

We're nothing without our community.

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A Surprising Pleasure

I absolutely loved this drama. I usually don’t care much for fantasy romances, but this was not a story easily fit into any single category. Yes it has fantasy.
Yes, it has romance. It’s also funny, sad, hopeful, and maybe even relevant. I loved the main actors so much. Both individually and as the couple they are playing, they were so charming and adorable. The support actors were also very good. The musical score was not memorable, but was pleasant and not intrusive in the scenes. The story and screen play was entertaining with lots of comedic reparate. Also, it’s only 14 not 16+ episodes, which was just the right length. It did not try to squeeze more scenes and non-contributory side stories just to fill a certain number of episodes . The ending was satisfying even though it required a suspension of logic.
I really enjoyed this one a lot

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Another middle of the road drama

I wasn't expecting much because it's only 6 episodes long, but I will admit that it was alright. It wasn't given enough time to really make it interesting. The ending also felt a bit rushed, and that was maybe because the main characters got together when, up to that point, the chemistry wasn't anything special, and the tension was barely there. This is one of those dramas that falls in the 'meh' category. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't memorable.

I have to give them credit for making a BL drama with decent production value, acting, and script with very few episodes to do it in.

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