Reviews

Our Universe / Our Sunbae ❓❗

I actually started watching this drama when it first aired, but I just finished it today :) I stopped watching after ep. 6, when FL became obsessed with her sunbae. At first, I didn’t plan to continue to watch this drama, but I’m a fan of Bae Inhyuk /lol/

Okay. Here’s my review.

Actually, this drama has a good story if it focused on Woojoo’s upbringing without adding the convoluted love story between FL and her sunbae, which ultimately led to a poor final rating by the viewers. IMO, two episodes of their love story would have been enough, but this… I mean, it's just become so weird😭 can't even say a single word about this couple any more.

Well, this drama didn’t even start discussing the legal custody issue until the very end of the episode? Wasting time, right? They should have dragged it out and made it more complicated. The end of drama was like..... forced to end. It's like... end now.

I don’t blame FL that sometimes she forgot about her niece when she’s in love—that’s just how people are when they’re head over heels. Luckily, there’s her uncle, who’s always there for her niece.

Still... I hope this drama could give more about Woojoo than his imo & sunbae.

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THE CHEMISTRY!

It's the first time that I'm watching a drama with either Song Wei Long and Zhao Jin Mai as I was never a fan of them, well, until now, that is. I've seen a lot of edits on TikTok with that specific show and it did not disappoint. The chemistry between these two is what makes the story more and more intriguing and there were many giddy moments that I replayed while watching it.

As far as the plot goes, it was not something that we didn't see before. The main leads are both coming from wealthy families that have close friends and families, privileged life, yet, they are not spoiled or entitled as it may seem from the beginning. They are hard working, often misunderstood because of their family wealth and kind-hearted. They fit each other quite well in that aspect. It starts from a misunderstanding between these two that took quite a while until it's solved to be honest, yet, the MML, even though he was hurt and lost his job due to an accident that cost his job, he fell fast for the heroine who was blamed for his accident in his head. Apart from some misc extra work that he put on FML's shoulders, he was the total gentleman. It was not, by any chance an enemies-to-lovers type of drama but it was more like he-fell-first-he-fell-harder.

I liked the SML's story quite a lot. I liked that he showed his pained and lost-chance POV just because he felt inferior to FML's life, yet, he was not innocent or a golden retriever boy. He actually threw shade to FML, made snarky remarks to her and often made her cry yet he was hurt the most in the end. It was a nice 'twist' of the original SML that we are used to see.

It was a very mature and well-rounded story and the chemistry between those two was top-notched. It was such a healthy relationship between adults, who are still figuring out life and exploring love with their own pace, learning about each other and spending time together without losing their focus on their work career. I liked that FML was not a pushover and actually defended herself and her friends when it is needed and actually gave up on the SML showing its course from falling in and out of love with the same guy.

I would definitely rewatch it!

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Insane chemistry, Breathtaking CG & visuals Last 5 episodes broke me

The series is so much fun!!! They went all out with the CG production — it’s absolutely spectacular and the visuals are stunningly gorgeous! Dilraba and Arthur Chen have the most amazing chemistry! Please give us another drama with this pair soon! This story portrays the love between He Simu and Duan Xu so deeply and delicately. Especially the last 5 episodes… it’s insanely heartbreaking. I was crying my eyes out non-stop! Both lead actors did an incredible job. Dilraba is so beautiful — her entrances are always so grand and majestic, and her costumes are gorgeous too. I’ve watched many of her dramas, but this is hands-down her best performance for me. Arthur Chen is super adorable when he’s pursuing and spending time with the female lead, and when he’s the general heading into battle, he’s so cool and crazy! 10/10 Must watch.

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A meaningless, pointless, bad drama.

This is the worst costume drama I've seen recently. There's no plot, no story, no script. I swear, even the director wouldn't know what they were filming or what they were doing. It's such a mess. It's a shame for the actors. It's a shame for all the effort. The director probably just filmed whatever he was given, but it's unclear what he was given. There's no meaning, no plot, no one knows what they're doing or who's doing what. It's such a confusing script. The male lead appears very little, just briefly and then disappears. He's after a girl, a slave girl, who later becomes a general, but we don't see any of this. They tell the story. She appears with the enemy king, and then with the male lead on the friendly side. She doesn't like them, doesn't want them, despises them, and treats them badly. Then she's loved and desired by a prince from another empire, but she doesn't like or want him either. Then her name is linked to another prince, but that doesn't work out either. Their lovers, however, hold a grudge against her, and they keep finding each other and instigating each other in one kingdom, then another, then another principality. So, those lovers, they appear wherever the girl is wandering. All the nonsense is piled on top of each other. The girl appears on her horse in front of the castle. The enemy king, in love with her, is watching her from the forest on the other side, even his archers are ready to shoot. Normally, according to that scene, the girl should enter the castle. No, she rides her horse into the forest, meaning she's going after the enemy, they chase her and catch her at the edge of a cliff. How meaningless and pointless. Apathy prevails. At least decide where and when to do what.

The male and female leads die and are resurrected, rescued, and so on, at the very beginning of the series. They fall again in the same way, and are rescued again. They die and are resurrected repeatedly. Probably because the series is called Rebirth. It's very pointless.

A king gives the male lead a potion, meaning he poisons him. He says he has the antidote and parades him everywhere. He makes him do his bidding. This character is very combative, a master of fighting, capable of defeating anyone, and hits his target perfectly. He could kill the king multiple times, but instead he's searching for an antidote, only to be sent on yet another mission. If there were a struggle, a punishment, a loyalty, a reason, you might understand. But it's a pointless endeavor, and I couldn't even watch the whole thing. I'm tired of watching such bad, meaningless, empty things. I'm sorry, but there's nothing there except effort. I could write ten times more about the pointlessness and lack of plot of this series than I can here. There's so much more; it wouldn't fit here. It's wrong from beginning to end. Didn't the director or those who read this script realize there was something wrong with the screenwriter? I'm shocked. Bad, very bad, I wouldn't recommend anyone watch it.

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Loyalty to the Legend of Chu Qiao & LYR

Current status: Watching episodes 32 & 33
Past status: Fan of Princess Agents (& was desperate for the story to be continued)
Future status: Will pay to watch express, despite all the misgivings

I must start by saying that Li Yunrui and the original PA was my reason for watching Rebirth and I, unfortunately, remain loyal to both factors, hence why I am still here. After seeing PA many years ago, I was one of the fans that disliked the ending. My interest was so high that I read some chapters of the novel. Mostly out of curiosity at first, but later with sole focus on CQ and ZY’s story arch.

I liked the organised mess of the all regions having their infighting but also fighting each other. I believe the director was able to show us the plots in a coherent manner, and whoever is interested and follows the story can easily understand it all. Emphasis on understand. You do not have to agree or make sense of it all, in my opinion. It was true to public governance in the ancient times (and maybe even the modern times) that none of the regions’ heads truly cared one bit about their citizens. All they wanted was to stay in power.

Now to some of the main characters …

Zhuge Yue: He remains my main (and loveliest) character in the whole franchise, regardless of his surname. PA displayed his inner struggles better than Rebirth. How his personal convictions strived with his upbringing and duties over his making years. Rebirth did build on that, and showed his readiness for simplicity and peace. And his loyalty can be rivalled by no other. His word was his bond, either to a friend or a foe. He is not a gullible optimist. You can tell his distrust towards his enemies and awful superiors. However he always begins with dialogue and only when that fails does he resort to strategising to win. His love was palpable, even when unexpressed. Even his icy days were a beauty to watch. As YX said, he is annoyingly self-righteous. His ability to take on every challenge and fight with his convictions to his very last breath, made him a literal superhero that cannot be killed. And he never seeks rewards - not when he saved Bingchang or even Ximeng. At least in Ximeng, he ended up with the King title. He is just too good to be true. And I must say, LYR depicted it all wonderfully. (Shout out to Lin Geng Xin).

Chu Qiao: She is stubborn, tough and valiant. Her shy love was confusing. On one hand, it was obvious she liked & admired ZY, it was unclear to start with to what extents. Being familiar with CD plot line hasty conclusions without checking details, it was easy to understand her drift towards YX in early years and her hate towards ZY. Later one, it was obvious she never really hated ZY. Their connection during her formative years, when he taught her all she knew meant something. She could sense his physical presence and that helped her stayed defiant when he was presumed dead and he was hiding from her. However, she could never portray an expected stern look when she was with YX in the later years after he had lied to her, killed her friends & tried to have her killed. At some point, I wanted to believe it as an acting deficit, but the words said weren’t equally powerful. So I am forced to think that the director is happy with her wish-washy attitude in front of YX, in order to maintain the plot of YX being able to come in and out of their lives.

In at least the first 2/3rds of Rebirth, I believe CQ mostly just talked tough. Almost at every point, she needed LC or ZY to do the saving (ZY for most parts). Even when CQ ‘saved’ ZY when he was near death in Ximeng, it was with ‘facilities/connections’ already made and put in place by ZY. Only in later episodes is CQ seen actually leading. With the novel (and not shown past) in mind, we do know that she led the Quili army independently, so she does have experience. But as female centric as the drama is portrayed as, it really was an all rounder to me. Especially when compared to a CD like LoTFG.

Someone in a post I saw compared ZY to FSG of Fated Hearts in his disregard for power and authority, despite his upbringing. I think the more suitable connection is CQ and FYX of Fated Hearts. They were both born and raised as slaves and killing machines, lied to by the person they trusted the most, and then became their own person when they saw more of the world.

Yan Xun: He is the most disloyal and hateful character in the series. His madness was unquenchable. It did not matter how many people died or how powerful he became, his hunger for vengeance became insatiable. Even when he was defeated by CQ and was implored to think about his father and his people, he remained untrustworthy and a liar. He is really a good match for Zhao Chun. They should have lasted longer. Zhao Chun’s character is the most vengeful and vitriolic character ever created. She will literally do harm to herself and ‘loved ones’ just to hate. Her plot armour became downright ridiculous. And so was she - right from the start when she believed that YX will love her in spite of her father killing his entire family. To the end, where she cast away her brother Zhao Che, who had looked after her in the earlier years, for the 13th prince Zhao Yang who is unfit to lead or even look after himself. I guess one can never make sense of such persons, YX & ZC alike!!

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Oop! I Actually Liked This!

My straight forward review of this lakorn:

The Lakorn began with the feeling of it being a parody comedy of the historical genre. Somewhat like that parody movie of Twilight. Normally I would not like this sort of scenario, but:

1. The premise of the plot is interesting
2. The plot flows smoothly & in a comedic nature.
3. This works well to balance the serious arcs with some lightness. Did not stress me out!

4. Rejoice! There is no 4EP angst before a resolution. There’s an issue? fixed! A fight? fixed!

5. Duration of EPs + # of EP are just right! The drama executed the plot very well in the number of episodes it had.

6. The acting was quite decent from all actors!

7. The drama allowed us to form bonds with support actors. This is so important to me because it shows that the project was not tunnel-visioned on the leads only.

8. Seconday actors had a spotlight! Major kudos. They were given more than 3 lines, enough screen time to make their presence felt. I appreciate that.

A few things to critique:
1. I beleive world-building could have been better. All shots were done in the same location. It felt restricted in landscapes and felt like it was always short in the same chosen locations or a single clip was utilized a few times (I could be wrong). I would have liked if we saw more rooms, more people in the court, more people just generally, a wide frame of the village or something.

Nonetheless, I would definitely recommend!
Watch it~ 🩷

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How does this have an 8.8 rating on MDL?

After watching the entire 34 episodes, I don't know why or how this show got its 8.8 rating on MDL! The plotlines and story were good but in no way compares or comes close to the levels of intrigue, suspense and mental complexity of other shows like The Vendetta of An which only scored 8.5, or The Legend of Zang Hai only scored 8.4, which drives me to want to ask in despair, "Wèishénme?"!!!
The sole reason I can fathom why this show has scored 8.8 on MDL is down to the fan-base and popularity of male lead, Li Yun Rui, not only incredibly hot but a skilled actor who's ended up carrying the entire show on his back. In comparison, his female lead, Meng Zi Yi, is completely missing in action with zero on-screen charisma or presence and zero chemistry with Yun Rui. Why was Zi Yi cast in the lead at all? Who makes these decisions? It's the second time I’ve noticed this issue repeatedly with her. She also had zero chemistry playing alongside Liu Xue Yi in "The Princess' Gambit". This firms up my belief that Meng Zi Yi is the problem and I do wish she would do the world a favour and change careers, but I guess after investing so much irreversible effort into her physical appearance, there's no chance of this ever happening.
Her performance in Blossom clearly demonstrates she has absolutely nothing to do with its 8.8 MDL rating - certainly not based on her performance - which leads me to speculate on what behind-the-scenes mafioso force of power is keeping this uninteresting, extremely-forgettable actress on our screens and forcing her down the collective throats of a public viewing audience? The fact she's got 6 upcoming TBA roles on MDL defies all logic. Do production houses really analyse her poor performances and think "Yes, we want to see more of that and so does a gullible paying audience".
Most upsetting is how talented up-and-coming actresses are losing out when someone like Meng Zi Yi keeps being offered cushy slots when she hasn't the talent to justify such blatantly brazen favouritism. It would be a different case if she did have some acting skillset but was still cast due to having powerful connections. An example of such a would-be scenario (in my own personal opinion) is Story of Kunning Palace, where I've always felt that the female there, Bai Lu, while obviously a skilled actress, still did not embody the role of Jiang Xue Ning in Kunning Palace well enough. She was physically much older than the character she was playing, as well as much older than her male romantic co-leads which I found jarring. She also came off a little jaded and worn in the show. I resented her performance even as I admit that she was proficient enough in it - just not the most suitable person to be cast for it. The Bai Lu issue is very different to the Meng Zi Yi issue. The latter case is not only a mis-cast, but a mis-cast of a poorly skilled actress. Any actor can say lines, but when that actor lacks any screen presence, charisma or genuine talent, they become talking-mouths like Meng Zi Yi - just people who always dreamt of acting when young regardless of whether or not they possessed the talent or not. And then they get offered a chance to actually do it - invariably meaning that some other actor with the requisite talent and skillset just lost out due to not having the kind of powerful support Meng Zi Yi has. Such a pity!

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Veil of shadows : Secrets, Love, Tears

Veil of shadows is a fantasy cdrama that blended mystery and romance into a captivating narrative. This was among my most anticipated cdramas this year and it delivered well.

The basic setup of story is hunting down demons to maintain peace. It might seem simple at first, but it evolves into something far richer & more intricate. The plot is like a puzzle, that revolves around deep secrets & hidden identities which keeps you guessing till the very end. The execution was strongly engaging throughout & quite unpredictable. Even if the plot is complex, I could understand things easily when the episodes revealed it. But it took some time for me to grasp the ending. I have mixed feelings towards the ending, still satisfactory and memorable.

CAST & CHARACTERS
The casting was excellent overall. I was amazed by Ju jing yi and Tian Jiarui's performances. They portrayed the emotional depth of their characters beautifully, making it easy for me to connect with them. Jujingyi as Lu wu yi was so captivating onscreen, she handled both light, playful moments & intense emotional scenes effortlessly. Tian Jiarui showed clear layers in his character. He was majestic in this drama. JJY & TJR created a beautiful chemistry together. They were so sweet and memorable.

Joseph Zeng has a calm, yet strong presence here. As usual, Chen duling performance is very elegant and poised. Their chemistry is more grounded.

Apart from the romantic ones, Chenduling and jujingyi's sisterhood chemistry also stood out to me. They are so alluring and playful together.

The characters are interesting. Each of them feels distinct with their own motivations and emotional weight.

The love story of lu wuyi and ji ling is painfully beautiful. Even with all the heartbreaking moments, their connection and love was so heart warming.
Wu wangyan and wu shiguang relationship evolves from enemies to lovers. They have a beautiful stable and mature bond.

VISUAL & AUDIO FEAST
The drama has stunning cinematography, with nice quality CGI and VFX. The soundtrack stand out well too. I usually like the fight scenes of GJM dramas and this wasn't an exception. The costumes are especially beautiful.
I like GJM's artistry. However there are moments where excessive close-up shots feel unnecessary, especially during scenes like the puppet dance, I prefer a wider view. Some unnecessary convos/dialogues here and there too.

Overall, the drama is an interesting watch with good emotional payoff. But it is not for those who don't like complex plots. One has to stay focused to understand everything & is not a lighthearted watch. It explores themes of self discovery combined with sisterhood, brotherhood and romance. It is an emotionally and visually rich journey that stays engaging despite a few minor flaws.

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Good Kisses with no harmony

I watched this since i have nothing to review due lack of duanju updates in MDL and personally there is many good kisses from both of the lead (Well, it's Zhang Shan) but it lack harmony (it feels they only doing good kissing without any feeling involvement and it's so textbook acting from Zhao Guanyu) but the relationship growth between the lead was quite consistent. Huang Xingrou successfully make my blood boils as usual since his character was quite stupid narcissistic husband. The plot is quite well-written and ML grandparent was quite refreshing character. I dont like SML grandfather in here he is quite passive manipulative person. Not to mention SFL was quite annoying and her acting was too old school type. It stills have generic traits of duanju (Kidnapping, Mistaken Identity) so for someone who hates usual script of duanju you can skip this.

Only recommended since it has good kissing scenes.

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The Trunk is lost.

Bittersweet, chaotic, and at times confusing—that’s how the marriage dynamics and overall plot of The Trunk come across.

My initial reaction to The Trunk is mixed, leaning both positive and negative. On the brighter side, I appreciated the messy, emotionally charged relationships between the characters. The angst I was hoping for was definitely there. Marriage, as portrayed in the series, is meant to be sacred—a mutual commitment between a man and a woman. However, the story complicates this by intertwining it with greed, and as a result, the characters’ lives become just as tangled.

I truly loved the cast—Seo Hyun-jin, Gong Yoo, Jung Yun-ha, Jo Yi-geon, and Kim Dong-won. The five of them delivered powerful performances, bringing out the emotional weight of one-sided love, obsession, and romance. They gave me the depth and intensity I was looking for. However, even with such a strong cast, the drama itself fell short in some areas. The biggest issue for me was the plot’s overwhelming messiness.

While I understand that the story aimed to explore complex and layered relationships, there were simply too many subplots. Because of this, the drama struggled to clearly define its main focus. Was it about marriage? Obsession? Crime? Even the crime aspect felt disconnected from the characters, making it seem unnecessary. For me, these elements didn’t fully come together, and I found it difficult to grasp how the “trunk” itself tied into all the complications. Everything felt oddly contained despite the chaos.

The drama only truly gained momentum in its final two episodes. That’s when I finally felt the emotional intensity I had been waiting for—through strong dialogue and satisfying confrontations. Unfortunately, those moments came too late, as I wish that same level of engagement had been sustained throughout the entire series.

Still, it was a worthwhile watch. While the plot may have disappointed me at times, I stayed for the actors—and they delivered what the story could not.

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