a KBL that rivals The Eighth Sense
As someone who has seen over 200 BL's, I truly don't understand the hate for this drama. Immediately I fell in love with the beautiful cinematography and the stellar performance by both actors. The emotional depth portrayed throughout the series was phenomenal and I loved the way that the audience remembered with him as his memories came back. Was it a perfect series? No series is perfect. However, I truly believe that it was on par with series such as Hwang Daseul's works and The Eighth Sense. The subtlety in each emotion portrayed was a great parallel for the anxiousness throughout the drama.*a note to those who think this drama was not worth the time that you spent watching it, please keep those comments to yourself as I would like this director to keep making more dramas and have funding for them and not get ruined by one star ratings XD
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This review may contain spoilers
Our Love End Here (2024), native title: 余生漫漫不相见, is a very short (+/- 60 minutes long) miniseries about Su Yao and her journey after being betrayed by her husband withML: Zhang Chi (as Xu Huan You) and Niu Xiang Lu as (Su Yao) in the leading couple's role. The cast did a good job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple performed their characters quite well, especially the leading lady. This drama is not about romance, it is about broken promises, disloyalty, and the realization that one must value ourself when confronted with deceit.In the meantime, you can find this vertical miniseries on:
She Stood by Him from Nothing—Then He Betrayed Her. Now She's Gone, and He's Begging (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmJ6TKQMpLY)
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This review may contain spoilers
Unforgivable Character Assassination and a Villainous Betrayal!!!
The trailer was the first thing that captivated me, promising a great and exciting story. However, my interest faded around episodes 5 to 9, where it felt like the story went in an unnecessary direction. It picked back up around episodes 10 to 25, which I enjoyed the most, but then episodes 26–28 felt like pure filler just to hit a 40-episode count.I wanted to give it a second chance because of the leads' great chemistry and the beautiful cinematography, so I tried to be patient. Many MDL-ers dropped this drama much earlier, but I wanted to stay on and believe that the story would continue to be good. Unfortunately, Episode 34 was like the final warning, as the events of the story started to make no sense.
In the end, the trailer felt like a trap that betrayed the viewers, who deserved a story as great as the one we were promised.
⚠️ FINAL VERDICT: Dropping "Love Beyond the Grave" after Episode 34 ⚠️
😤 I regret wasting my time. I spent over two weeks on a drama that started so strong and promising, only to watch it collapse into a poorly written mess. It feels like a completely different screenwriter took over at Episode 32 and ruined everything!
What happened?!
The "revelations" in Episode 34 were the final straw. The story has been going downhill since Episode 32, specifically regarding the horrific, monstrous true self of Yan Ke, which was hidden under his mask as the "loyal right hand."
😤 It’s not just that Yan Ke’s evil—we knew his nature—BUT finding out he was the murderer of Si Mu’s father all along? That is too much to bear. He managed the Void Realm’s affairs for centuries, deceiving her for hundreds of years just to steal the Sovereign seat, under the pretext of helping her reach and maintain that position. He was literally mocking and fooling her while she trusted him with her life and realm.
😤 The character assassination of Si Mu is unforgivable. Instead of being powerful and wise, the screenwriter destroyed her. Watching her "punish herself" because of the Golden Wall Decree—acting like a weak martyr just to "set an example"—was entirely illogical. Why would she listen to Yan Ke’s opinion that she should be punished, when he is just a lowly, betraying spirit taking advantage of her?!
She brought nothing but misery and pain upon herself. After five years of living in a weak status under his control, she left the Void Realm in a total mess.
😤Episode 34 really showed Yan Ke's true colors. Seeing him sitting shamelessly in Si Mu’s place after everything he’s done? Pure villainy. He traded centuries of 'loyalty' for a stolen throne, and I’m officially done with his character and this writing. 😤 Though he was expelled from the realm after Si Mu recuperated her power, I still couldn't support to see this scene!
😤 The reunion was the breaking point. Si Mu left Duan Xu for five years with zero contact, only to return once she got her power back. And what does he do? He just rushes to hug her like nothing happened! Where is the frustration? Where is the realistic emotion? Everything from Episode 32 to 34 has gotten on my nerves and made me regret every second I invested.
😤 I even regret saying I liked Miles Wei’s acting. Is it his fault? Not exactly, but the character is so repulsive now that I need time to heal from this disappointment before I can watch him on screen again!
Verdict: DROPPED. 🛑
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i might give it another try.. but idk
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Let me off this merry-go-round
I need to take a breather so I'm sloth quitting this drama. I don't hate this show, but there are aspects that are starting to grate and I can feel myself wilting. 😞Confession time. I'm a low-key fan of our leads. They certainly kept me entertained in the early eps. Dilraba looks beautiful. As the sovereign of the spirit realm, her pose and demeanor are haunting. My only complaint is the amount of make-up can be excessive at times. Arthur Chen looks handsome as always and that mischievous grin . . oh la la! Their chemistry is what this house of cards is build upon.
I was fully engaged for the first 10 eps or so and then my eyes starts to glaze over. There are too many subplots, too many characters and too much CGI.
The world of Duan Xu is complicated enough. All the machinations and power plays in the mortal realm. His upbringing is hardly normal. He is a general as well as a trained assassin. Probably a scholar and a lover as well. Busy boy! 😅
His story would normally sustain a period idol drama. But wait, there’s more! The writer superimposed He Si Mu's story on top of his or is it the other way around? The chick is having philosophical discussions with the egg.
Si Mu's storyline is even more complicated. It is basically two lots of palace intrigues jammed into one. Whoever thinks that is a winning formula needs professional help!
To further cascade the complexity, the spirit realm is completely fictional. It has its own lore and internal logic. This type of world building needs time to bed down. It is just not the case here. They tried, but we are bombarded with facts and details constantly. Some aspects of the lore are particularly bothersome.
To wit, spirits come into existence when human has obsessions when they die. If they give up their obsession, they can be reborn. So answer me this, dear reader . . why can't the ML die and become a spirit and spend all eternity with the FL? He is totally obsessed with her. He went through “hell” just to be by her side. Did the lore just shoot itself in the metaphysical foot?
While my feeble mind is trying to take all this in, the production doubled down on the CGI. Green screen is like oxygen for any xianxia drama. The spirit realm gave the art director carte blanche. No more boring white heavenly glow. Huzzah!
To be fair, some of the settings do look striking. It certainly has an otherworldly look . . dare I say gamified? I just wish it is consistently good. There are times when I find it lacking. Quality vs quantity, hmm?
So after watching 22 eps, I need a break. When it is good, it is entertaining. There is just too much of everything now. I appreciate the writer flexing her creative muscles, but sometimes less is more. Just saying.
I'll definitely wait for it to finish airing and check the ending before making the final call. Peace.
P.S. Are we in the era of femme fatale girl boss? There was The Art of Sarah, then Siren's Kiss and now this series. That's quite a trifecta. BTW, I'm not including Pursuit of Jade as the FL is too well grounded and she doesn't want to be a girl boss anyway. ;)
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Incredible historical show
An absolutely fantastic show. One of the most historically faithful shows I've seen and it covers a fascinating point in Chinese history. While confusing at first, if you continue watching everything comes together nicely. Fantastic cast and great story. Practically no romance but many emotional scenes. The growth of certain characters and the bonds between them is incredible. Production wise the show is strong but don't expect much high quality action scenes. There are some elements of action but this show is overwhelmingly about the plot and characters.Really can't recommend it enough. Stylistically it feels more western in terms of substance and style in that it is darker, grittier, and less romantic than the vast majority of Chinese shows. Highly recommend it if you're looking for something more akin to a traditional drama or historical piece in the western sense
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Pursuit of Jade Review I Didn’t Expect This Level of Obsession
Pursuit of Jade / POJ / Chasing Jade / Zhu Yu… where do I start?As someone who dreads 40 episode Cdrama historicals, this is one that was easy to watch and exactly the kind of storytelling we needed…
Lets just start with how this drama hooks you within the first few minutes of Episode 1… Most dramas need 1 to 2 episodes before you really get into it, not this one. I was hooked from the get go. The anticipation, the suspense, the storytelling, it was just the right mix.
From Episode 1 to 40, the story progresses at a very organic pace. Each character’s presence pushes the story forward. It either moves you emotionally or brings laughter, but every character plays a significant role in establishing the journey ML and FL go through…
Character development
We all love a strong FL especially in a historical Chinese drama, but what I loved about this FL is that she stayed true to herself. She was a pig butcher and was never embarrassed or shy about her background.
I also love that she can handle herself, beating a bunch of guys with ease and rising to the rank of general purely on her own merit. She did such a good job that I completely forgot I had seen her in First Love. Kudos to her, her acting was so good that you forget who she is and only remember the character she is playing…
Now lets talk about our ML…
Where do I even begin? Obviously he has the looks for days, but his acting, expressing complex emotions, humor, action, was just next level.
I love that he doesn’t throw his rank around or act arrogant even when he is stuck in the village. And he always humors the FL when she says “I will butcher pigs for you”
Some folks are complaining that he is too pretty to be a foundational general, to them I say get a life. This aint a documentary, its a fantasy drama.
Also is it normal to continue dreaming about the Marquis everyday…?
Costumes / Production
The costumes and production reminded me of other historical dramas like Love Like the Galaxy. Every action scene was well crafted and it was honestly impressive to watch the BTS training of the ML and FL practicing their martial arts scenes.
Director Director Director…
I cannot believe this is the same director who worked on Provoke, a very cheesy short drama that we were all swooning over in 2023. Hats off to the director.
I just love how he brought the novel to life, building the right amount of chemistry and tension to leave a lasting impression. I am in love with what he did here and I will be watching over excitedly any future projects he has…
Wishing the cast of Pursuit of Jade all the glory, awards and continued success!
PS: I dont promote watching leaked episodes but thank you to whoever shared the bed crawling scene… the entire cdrama fandom loves you 😌
Note: This review is written by me, edited by AI for readability.
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Warm Moments with a High Possibility of a Bloodbath
Gentle viewers, heed my warning. There was blood—not the sanitized blood spitting of Chinese wuxias, but buckets of the stuff from every gaping wound imaginable. There was violence: horrific tortures and murders. The body count was high. I will admit I had to stop watching some brutal fight scenes, and I had to leave the series at times when my favorite characters were in peril or the situation was too intense. But, I was never bored. If you can stomach that, Moving has memorable characters, ride or die loyalty, and a compelling story.The Good:
• The cast was stellar, the relationships were warm and wonderful, and I loved the heroes and despised the villains.
• The characters were fleshed out (except when their flesh was removed, yikes), their motives were clear, and the actors depicted them wonderfully. No one was cookie cutter, and the series did a competent job of explaining the past in flashbacks to establish the characters, then merging it with the present.
• The tropes were subverted enough that I was never quite sure how things would turn out.
• I treasured the underlying themes of familial love, acceptance of the different, forgiveness to the repentant, and loyalty beyond one's family.
• Unlike so many K-dramas that excuse, overlook, or forgive evil, this one suppled some catharsis to the viewer.
• I appreciated that the writer didn't dumb down his script. He left some things unexplained, and I fully expect to see those integrated into season 2.
The Bad:
• The violence was graphic, and the fight scenes were overly long for me. I understand a fight for survival won't abide by the Marquess of Queensberry rules, and I understand the drama requiring the violence. I'm simply uncomfortable with it.
• I adored Kim Bong Seok, the human equivalent of a Golden Labrador puppy. It's disappointing that the actor, Lee Jung Ha, is in the military and won't be able to continue the role. I will miss his sweet face, and I can't help but think the second season will feel his absence keenly. I suppose this bullet point item technically should be a part of The Good, but I'm so bummed he won't be in season 2. I'd love to see him as a more mature person. The actor gained 66 pounds (!) for the role, and it would be amazing to see him slimmed down and taking after his character's father.
I'm conflicted on the rating, but I have to add a half star for the actors' performances.
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Pursuit of the forever kind of love
This was so good, genuinely fantastic.Tian Xiwei did so well in her role as Fan Changyu, bringing to life the character in all the best ways. Zhang Linghe was amazing as Marquis of Wu'an.
The writers did such a commendable job, a story so touching but not too heavy to digest, the directors filmed it so beautifully. The supporting cast were written well, directed well, and acted even better. The villains got their just end (one of them got off too easy honestly but I knew that would happen), the happy ending was so beautifully written and shown, in depth.
My only issue? Fan Changyu was a bit of a Mary Sue, her plot armor too thick. But who cares? I loved it, you will love it, we all will love it and more such perfect cdramas will be made <3
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However, despite all of these technical issues, the film is worth a watch. Both main leads do a good job of portraying their characters -- I wish some of the newer BL productions had this high of acting quality -- and since this is a character driven story, that is the most important part for me.
Tum's story, who is the character we mostly follow in the beginning, is a classic coming-of-age story: He leaves the familiar shores of home and sets out into the wide world, where he meets people whose life is unusual for him, goes through rites of passage, falls in love, makes peace with his father, and finds what he wants in life.
Personally, I find Kim's story much more interesting -- he is a boy who is very lonely, who drifts over the island like a ghost. He is the one who embodies the feeling of "other" that makes us feel Not Seen. A supporting character puts it like this "มันคงจะดีนะ ถ้าใครสักคนเห็นเราอยู่ในสายตา" -- "It's probably good, right? When someone has us in their view." This desire to be seen, to be understood, is a very human trait, I think.
This could have been maybe made a little bit more obvious for the casual viewer; instead the writer tried to insert another metaphor into the story -- a metaphor which is related to wate: Pivotal scenes are often either in the rain or at the sea shore, and the girl who ties two storylines together is called น้ำ /náam/ "Water"), so I suppose this is intentional but I'm not sure what it means.
Together with the aspect that there were some scenes that didn't add much to the story, I think that the script could have been tightened slightly to make the theme clearer.
One last thing: The film is tagged with "BL", "gay", "young love" and "sexual awakening" on GagaOOLala, but it isn't, not really. In my view, it's less queer than "Confetti", and that one went over the head of many viewers, according to reactions on letterboxd. It's perfectly possible to view "Summer to Winter" as a film about a strong friendship between two young people.
As it is, it's a fine low-budget film, with some beautiful shots of Koh Tao, decent acting by the main leads, and a good, though not great, screenplay.
Was it good?
Overall, I think this was actually quite nice for an indie low-budget film.
Did I like it?
I would have liked it sightly better if the editing had been a bit gentler, but yes, I did.
Who would I recommend it to?
Not to people who only want to watch BLs. To those who love coming-of-age stories, and who like metaphors.
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was it worth it? yes
I wasn’t interested in this drama for a long time. the graphics of the cast for the title picture said to me ‘this one isn’t my cup of tea’. BUT one day Itaewon Class OST #6 came up on my Apple Music feed and I fell in love with that song. I don’t speak Korean but without knowing the words, that song grabbed me like few other songs have. I sensed it wasn’t love song but couldn’t find the words anywhere because I don’t know the actual song’s title. this is what made me watch it, to find out if it was a love song or not.I liked the first 2 episodes but the vibe didn’t grab me - just as I had suspected. I stopped watching around episode 11. A couple months later I decided to finish it and am glad I did.
PSJ as PSY was great.
I know this sounds silly, but the ML and FL hairstyles were a turnoff for me. I was okay with PSJ’s hair cut as a youth and early years out of prison, but I think it would have been more realistic if his character’s aging arc to 2020 included a change of hair style. I’ll just leave it at that.
I was touched throughout the drama by PSY’s sensitive but determined spirit. the chemistry between PSY and JYS was realistic to their characters. PSY had zero romantic skills and PSJ played that well.
the music was excellent, especially #6 which I found out is entitled Someday Boy / with great lyrics - and no, it is not a love song. the ‘boy’ is yearning for something better for his life. it seems he is pleading for time and hope. Kim Feel sings this song so beautifully, he is one my favorite Korean singers.
I probably will watch select scenes again but not the entire drama again.
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misunderstandings and revenge
Overall, the drama was just… okay. The ML and FL are actually solid actors—you can tell they’ve got talent—but they were working with a weak script that didn’t do them any favors.It started off strong and pulled you in, but by around episode 10, it began to drag. The story fell into a frustrating cycle: him treating her poorly, her quietly planning her escape, and neither of them actually communicating. The entire plot leans heavily on misunderstandings and revenge, and after a while, it feels more exhausting than engaging.
That said, I’ll give credit where it’s due—the last two episodes finally delivered. It’s rare to see a drama wrap things up in a way that feels somewhat complete, and those final moments gave the story the closure it had been missing all along.
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Perfect balance of mystery and romance
The mystery stories were well crafted, the romance developed at such a satisfying pace (without a 3rd act breakup or misunderstanding!!) and the twist at the end was actually somewhat surprising! I could have happily watched another 30 episodes of the two of them finding criminals and bringing about justice to the capital. Although they do have the Angela Lansbury curse of finding corpses wherever they travel, lol.Was this review helpful to you?
Short review
I love this season more than the previous one. It is more intense and has amazing boxing choreography. However, I do not like the dialogue. It feels awkward and overused, and some of the crying scenes feel unnecessary.To be honest, I really do not like that they brought Kang In Beom back. I think it would have been better to introduce a new villain. Also, putting Lee Du Yeong’s character at the end felt kind of pointless. While the others use boxing, he uses weapons, which feels unnecessary and does not fit well.
I thought in the last episode Gun Woo’s friend or team would fight the villain team in a chaotic battle, but it ended up being just a fight in the ring between the four of them.
The post credit scene left me speechless. Oh my God. Hopefully, there will be a season 3.
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This review may contain spoilers
not bad but not good
I went into this drama with low expectations looking at the reviews. the casting looked amazing so I thought at least that part was good. my thoughts: it wasn’t bad, some of the action scenes were pretty cool and park hyung-sik was a really fine villain lol but then he wasn’t the main villain which made me sad. I like the redemption arc stuff but he would’ve made a really good villain for the whole thing imo. it was fine though overall but didn’t really stay with me. I hope the second season is better. 😭Was this review helpful to you?
