Reviews

If something gets bathed in the moonlight, it becomes a myth. I guess our story will become a myth.

~ Why do you think you're the water god?
~ What sort of question is that? Then you, why do you think you are human?

The Bride of Habaek has a lot of meaningful subtext that many viewers seem to overlook. Beneath the surface, it’s actually a beautiful fantasy — a bit unconventional, quietly layered, and laced with humor that gives it its own charm. Not everything has to be about high-budget showcases of flashy superpowers.

The icing on the cake: Shin Sae Kyeong has a fear of water and Nam Joo Hyuk is afraid of heights, so they really had to push themselves and supported each other.

The Bride of Habaek starts with a little girl talking to an old man, introducing its universe as a balance between both realms, the Gods serving to maintain the nature, a symbolic scene of So Ah's story, an unfinished painting of Habaek. The Gods simply appeared many years ago, with no such thing as growing up. Ironically, they aren't much different from us. With their own complicated stories, sometimes immature, sometimes selfish, sometimes clueless. The story is the journey of a psychiatrist who sees Habaek as another of her patients, and they grow to be more human together. Why Habaek lost his powers? Why did he get them back only to save her? Remember his conversation with the old man when he asked why he had to go the human world to deserve his future title.

A fun detail: Habaek is actually part of Korean mythology, and there is a sequence where So Ah tells him what she read on the Internet, which was false.

About the ending: (in the comments)

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Fate and will

This drama is not all that it seems. What it lacks lacks in production value the drama makes up for with its heartwarming and fun storytelling. It tells of the age-old story of fate versus free will, centered around our male lead Li Changshou, who tries to avoid bringing about calamity by scheming his way into apparent mediocrity. Only eventually does he realize that his avoiding ways actually bring about the harm he had been so desperate to avoid.

With a lot of humor and a little romance, this is a great ensemble story to enjoy. At first you wonder what is going on with all these wacky characters and plots. But by the end, like Li Changshou, we realize that no one can shoulder the fate of the world solely on their own shoulders. It is only because of love and our bonds of fellowship that we can hope to change the fate of this world for good. Is it fate or our own free will? That is the question for the ages.

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So Darn Cute

The story is generic - a bit of 'enemies-to-lovers' with a bratty, entitled idol & a straight-by-the-book, couldn't-care-about-idol's-status stuntman. The episodes are short, and the overall vibe is very soft, slice-of-life. And that's the beauty of it. It's uncomplicated, sweet, and straight to the point. Very calming and cozy.

The main actors have good chemistry in their interactions and their banter, and the side characters also did a good job. I wouldn't say I saw any cringey acting in this one. I will say that the 1st episode was a little shaky for me. The editing was abrupt, but I think that's because this was in reel format before. However, after that, everything is done well, and the story follows beautifully.

Also, a side note, Lee Tae Hyung, the actor who plays Gu Jae Yeon in this show, his ears remind me of Wonho's ears

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Overrated take on judge Di tales

Finally managed to finish this. Very disappointing. First few cases were kinda alright, though nothing memorable, they did the Night Market right. But the last ones just became a mix of dumb circus, mixed with some soap and badly choreographed fights. I'd say it rapidly went downhill when they decided to introduce some unnecessary soap to SML's character and make him related to the royal family. It's also quite draggy, with lots of explaining things over and over again, villains were mostly very predictable as well. There are also some jokes, but they mostly fall flat.

Other than that, both MLs' acting is forced, SML is always barking and ML has that unnatural, forced manner of speech.
ML has no character development whatsoever, he's just a carbon copy of judge Di, his mentor.
SML is really unlikeable at first, but gets better later, after he gets fired from being a general.

FL and SFL are basically background furniture here, nothing'd be lost here if they were absent. Nothing to write home about them either. One is occasionally useful as a painter, another is just another fighter rogue introduced late in the plot. I was baffled as to why FL, a lady of high status, is roaming around without maids and proper guards and living in a guy's home just because he said he'd be her sort of brother. Wtf. And her father, who supposedly is doting on her, never even visited her when she ran away from home. Her being crazy for SML and gradually wearing him down was just cringe. But not as cringe as some sort of tacked on romance between ML and SFL, that was completely out of the blue and nothing at all was shown to warrant any of this sudden development.

Not much more to say. Very overrated. I've read second season gets better, but now I'm not sure I want to continue.

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Definitely not the best drama out there

The story suddenly jumped from the real world (the mortal realm) into the drama’s fantasy world within just a few minutes. It was really hard to understand what was happening and why it was happening.

Now, putting that aside, in the early part of the story, it wasn’t very clear what the ML’s actual goal was. Then, so many characters were introduced, and on top of that, there were so many side characters as well. Remembering all of them wasn’t difficult, but actually connecting with them and getting emotionally invested in their relationships with the ML was really hard.

Among all of this, the humor was the only thing that kept me interested in watching. After all those sad and serious dramas, this one felt different.

I also liked how clever the ML was. I was always waiting for him to outsmart everyone and pull out a trump card that would leave everyone shocked.

Little by little, the story started to draw me in, especially when they entered the island and the relationship between the ML and FL became clearer. But it was only interesting while they were on the island. After that, we were once again flooded with characters whom we had left aside for several episodes, and their connection with the male lead was something we felt even less than before.

And in the middle of all this, new characters were introduced again, when the Second Dragon Prince met all these new people.

Up until this point, you could say I was watching in the hope of getting a logical ending, but… the last two episodes completely messed everything up.

One person sacrificed themselves, was forgotten, came back to life, then someone else sacrificed themselves, and we got a three-minute grand dance scene as if none of those things had happened. Even the characters who had died were suddenly alive again and dancing alongside their enemies.

And I was just like, “What am I supposed to feel right now?” 😂 Should I laugh? I felt like everything was becoming way too illogical.

And then, in the last thirty seconds, I was hit with a plot twist and a huge “TO BE CONTINUED” (!!!).

Guess how I felt? 😂

Still, we got some amazing performances from the cast, especially the ML. And some of the characters became my favorites. But I really wish it didn’t have these flaws.

It could have been like Guardians of the Dafeng, with a high rating and a huge number of viewers and fans.

I’m giving it a 7/10.

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A Beautiful Study of Love, Growth and Imperfection

The Early Spring… wow. Just wow.

I started the first episode on a whim, and that has turned out to be a mistake because now I absolutely cannot get enough of Nian and Zhitao. 😂

What I particularly love is how consistently Nian makes the effort to become a better person within the relationship for Zhitao. He isn’t perfect, and the drama doesn’t try to paint him that way. It reminds me of what I always say: people are not black and white. Even good people can do bad things, and being flawed doesn’t necessarily make someone a bad person.

I also really appreciate that Zhitao values herself enough to walk away when she feels she has reached her limit. She knows what she can and cannot accept, and she doesn't lose herself trying to make the relationship work. I LOVE that for her.

This drama has also driven home something that I think a lot of relationships could benefit from: clear communication. So many misunderstandings could be avoided if people simply said what they actually felt, listened to each other, and communicated their expectations clearly.

Honestly, The Early Spring is one of the dark horses of 2026 for me. I started it casually and somehow ended up emotionally invested in these two people.

I cannot wait for the remaining episodes. Nian and Zhitao, please, I need to know how this ends! 😂❤️

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Surprisingly good

I loved this show.
It has genuinely been a while since I watched a romcom that I actually enjoyed this much, and Boyfriend on Demand really delivered. It’s not perfect, but it knows exactly what kind of show it wants to be, and for the most part, it works.

The 50 min episodes were such a blessing.
 I am so done with every episode of a drama being an hour and twenty minutes long when half of that runtime could have been cut. It kept the show refreshing, pacing tight, avoided a lot of unnecessary drama, and, more importantly, let scenes actually linger in your head instead of becoming forgettable because the show has thrown another 15 things at you before the episode ends.
The shorter runtime really suited this drama.

Episode 3 was probably my favourite. I especially loved what they did with the college storyline. Having Seo Mi-rae see her ex in Eun-ho’s place and finally tell him to have a good life felt like such a simple but meaningful way of showing her letting go of the resentment she had been carrying. The new bitter memories may have replaced the old good ones, but that doesn’t mean the old ones cease to exist.

And I actually liked the angst later on too, between her and Kyeong-Nam. Her biggest obstacle was ultimately herself; her insecurities, her complicated feelings and, especially, her uncertainty about change. It felt very in-character rather than like angst being inserted just because a rom-com needed conflict. I liked watching her actually overcome that part of herself and consciously step into a new relationship.

Ngl, I was initially much more invested in the VR storyline.The VR world was flashy, colourful, extravagant and completely over-the-top. It was inviting and almost addictive. You could understand why people would get obsessed with it.

But once Mi-rae created her custom boyfriend, I found myself becoming more interested in the real-world storyline.
 And honestly, that is an achievement because I was genuinely wondering how they were going to transition from those ridiculous VR dating scenarios into an office romance without making the latter feel boring by comparison.
 Somehow, they managed to bring the two worlds together so naturally that eventually the VR storyline almost fades into the back of your mind.
I also loved them doing all the couple-y things that Mi-rae did in VR, except now they’re happening in the real world and are infinitely better because they’re actually real.
 And Park Kyeong-Nam having this weird obsession with matching alcohol bottle caps? Adorable

Why were there so many attractive men? Like seriously. Lee Soo-hyuk. Seo Kang-joon. Lee Jae-wook. Kim Young-dae. At some point, the fangirl part of my brain almost took over.

The supporting cast was so much fun. I absolutely love Gong Min-jung as a supporting actress. She is always so adorable, funny and effortlessly light-hearted. You know a rom-com is about to rom-com when Gong Min-jung shows up.
 I loved Writer Yun. She is terribly flawed, borderline crazy, annoying as hell at times, and yet somehow completely full of heart, care and good intentions. She feels like the kind of character who would drive you insane in real life, but you’d still end up loving her.

And Ji-yeon? I love how much she loves dating. She is so unapologetically into it. She’s completely full of herself, doesn’t care what anyone thinks, and apparently considers dating one of her favourite hobbies. An icon. Love that for her.

Yoo In-na... Whenever she appears in a rom-com, I immediately get that OG kdrama romcom feeling. I genuinely wish we had gotten more of her.

Jisoo is not terrible here. In fact, she has improved a lot compared to Snowdrop. She is much more capable of holding her own now, and her scenes don’t constantly feel like they need another actor to carry them. But she still feels somewhat amateurish to me. She went straight into playing female leads rather than having the opportunity to work her way through supporting or second-lead roles first.

I also don’t understand how Jisoo can look like an absolute angel in BLACKPINK related works and then look so painfully basic here.
 Yes, Seo Mi-rae is an ordinary office worker. I get that. But at least give her a little more visual distinction in the VR scenes. Those were the perfect opportunity to make her stand out.

More importantly, I think Seo Mi-rae could have been played with a little more earnestness and emotional depth. 
At times, I found myself thinking that the role would have been right up Park Bo-young, Jin Ki-joo or Kim Hye-yoon’s alley.

I like Seo In-guk. It had been years since I watched one of his dramas, so seeing him again was genuinely nice. The problem is that his character doesn’t have a huge amount to work with. Park Kyeong-Nam isn’t particularly dramatic, eccentric or outwardly expressive, so there isn’t much flashy material for Seo In-guk to sink his teeth into.But he does what he can with it, and I really liked his portrayal.

In fact, I think what makes Kyeong-Nam work is precisely that he doesn’t make your heart race the way all those ridiculous VR men do.
 He’s normal. He feels like an actual person rather than a webtoon boyfriend manufactured in a laboratory to satisfy every possible romantic fantasy. He feels like the kind of perfectly ordinary colleague you could actually end up dating. And I loved how the drama used that contrast. The VR men are artificial, exaggerated and designed to be desirable. Kyeong-Nam is human.

But my biggest complaint was: where is the male lead? What do you mean Seo In-guk, the male lead, was getting like 10 minutes of screen time per episode for the first half of the drama?!

I really wish we had gotten more of Kyeong-Nam’s POV.
The story being so heavily centred on Mi-rae meant that we didn’t get enough opportunity to understand him or watch his feelings develop. It was obvious from pretty early on that he liked her, so the drama could have easily given us little snippets of his perspective through the epilogues or occasional POV switches. Instead, they waited until around Episode 7 to properly give us his perspective, which honestly felt way too late. And even then, it was barely given a full episode. At some points, Park Kyeong-Nam genuinely felt more like a supporting character than the male lead.

Also, I absolutely disliked most of Episode 10.
 It felt like the drama was dragging out a problem that could have been resolved with one honest conversation.

Also, why do these women keep going back to the VR men?!
 At first, I was like, yes, this is an interesting commentary on capitalism exploiting lonely people and monetising emotional intimacy.
 But eventually, I stopped blaming capitalism and started blaming everyone’s idiocy.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed Boyfriend on Demand. The show isn’t perfect, but it was such a genuinely fun watch. I had a good time. And honestly, that’s all I want from a rom-com.

P.S. Seo In-guk needs to stop playing around and give me another role like The Smile Has Left Your Eyes.

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