This review may contain spoilers
The Price of Redemption
Villains must face punishment. Hua Qian didn't change out of her own volition but the price of her family's destruction was so heavy that she had to. I've never seen a protagonist like Hua Qian in any other dramas, she’s a rare and remarkable character. It's precisely because it was a dream that I love this drama. I actually finished this years ago but I still find myself coming back to it from time to time.Hua Qian likes eating walnuts but she doesn’t like cracking the shells herself 🥲
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I love this drama
This is a really good show the characters relationships development is really interesting healthy and unique many of the tropes you see an Asian dramas that are usually not well written this is not one of them this is well written fun the the main couple enjoy each other's company that many other dramas show it as a not pleasurable for one of the parties that is participating in the action the sets are beautiful and costumes are beautiful it has a beauty and the beast theme where the female is the beast and the male is the beauty as a slight Gomez and Morticia feel to it they're romance that doesn't you don't see very often in Asian dramas or AmericanWas this review helpful to you?
Not good
The main actor is very good, the main actress is average, the story is mediocre to bad. People with depression should avoid watching it, it’s depressing. I feel sad because I expected more from the story.Also, the supporting female roles are much better than the main one. I would have liked to see more of the protagonist’s father in the series, he’s an excellent actor, and they didn’t use him as much as they should have.Was this review helpful to you?
Chaotic fun with intensely beautiful visuals
One of the most unique and fun dramas I've ever watched! Intense visuals, chaotic plot lines, and absurd humor.The leads' partnership is such a beautiful thing to witness. They truly treat each other as equals and in a entirely strange new world, they only have each other. It's easy to see how their relationship developed into love especially with the ML's tender eyes. Zhang San truly carried the drama with his duality as the mad tyrant and silly jokester.
Honestly, I felt no butterflies with their romance which was weird because I love the he fell first AND harder trope. The chemistry was there but it felt underdeveloped. I didn't swoon or cry. Their love just wasn't the focal point of the story. It was a fight for survival and going against the script, not romance.
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favorite survival show of all time
maybe this was the best season till today???new concept having the different universities in stem and medicine teams
i really liked how all of them got together
my favorite team this season was kaist, they were just so likeable
skku was a really good new addition
having 2 teams from snu was kinda fitting (i dont know which team i liked more, they were both really likeable)
please don't kill me but somehow yonsei was (like in the previous seasons) my least favorite team
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favorite survival show of all time
almost even better than season 1so excited they had new games in stock
this time snu and kaist were both close contenders for being my favorite team but like in season 1 i was catching myself cheering more for snu
yonsei was slightly more likeable than in season 1 but i dont know why they were still my least favorite team
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favorite survival show of all time
what a gem! it's thrilling and entertaining!even if you're not a genius like the contestants you can try to rack your brains
my favorite team clearly was snu, but nearly all the other teams were likeable (yonsei was my exception, i don't know why but somehow i was not clicking with them)
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This review may contain spoilers
beautiful depiction of mental health!
this was such a great take on depression/PTSD/mental health -- chan going thru suicidal thoughts to being lifed but still plagued by ptsd/regret/guilt was so real. like even though you've "recovered" doesn't mean it still doesnt affect you-- and how mental health isnt just in seasons (start, end), it's not chronological! i loved it. and i loved how this changed my perspective on life -- memento mori -- enjoy every day and live every moment while you can. i love how chan noticed the same in haran; going through her "winter" or depression and did his best to help her. and this was so real and so relatable . feeling like doing nothing -- you don't have to be suicidal to be depressed! what a great take on mental health and a lovely couple that worked through it together.i gave this 7.5 cuz wHY TF did chan leave fore a whole year?? like this does NOT make sense.. and haran not even hearing him out??? idk why kdramas ALWAYS do the "missing for a year" trope at the last episode>??? hello? also side note, I LOVEEEEE HAYEONG/JIHYUN. ugh. her acting is so cutie and i really wish i could embody her character irl. ive loved her sm ; shes so pretty and her enthusiasm is great. i hated that the secretary guy was so bland tho. like his acting was balls and he actually was not attractive at all in my opinion... lol. also i thought i would've loved hadam's relationship, but the miscommunication trope and mistrust was NOT it for me. I LOVEE how all the 3 sisters had couples (+ the grandma) but i with they extrapolated on that more. and ugh. idk . JIHYUN STOLE THIS SHOW FOR ME THO!! 100% started watching because of her.
grandpa -- HE WAS SO GOOD . ugh everyone needs a therapist like him in their lives. very cute!
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Ding Yuxi Shines Despite Cut Scenes
Wei Yun makes this drama. Ding Yuxi is incredible in every role, and this is no exception. His scenes, especially in the beginning of the show, are what kept me watching. While it falls off a bit a little over halfway through, there are some incredibly impactful moments and scenes. If you are a Ryan Ding fan, you won’t regret watching. Though it could have been better if they didn’t cut so many of his scenes. Had the potential to be a 10/10 but they squandered it in favor of extended side plots that lower his run time.Was this review helpful to you?
The Baddest of Bitches Award Goes to....
FAN CHANGYU.Okay, I haven't read the novel or anything, but I could tell that there was a lot more density to the story than what made it in this adaptation.
That being said, I think the storytelling was there. The acting was there. And most importantly... Fan Changyu was there.
I am seated and living for HER. We love a woman who's an absolute Bad Bitch!!!! Xie Zheng knows it and it is delicious.
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Prepare to rip your hair out
HOLY MOLYYYY!!!!!If you’ve been waiting for this season since the first one released…then you must know the feeling of not being fully satisfied, because thats how this season left me.
Although that doesn’t mean it was bad but it definitely frustrated the shit out of me.
Not only did it feel like dumbed down every damn police officer and character this season, but somehow it seemed like our main characters along with side characters who fight, got weaker instead of stronger? They gave us a 4 year timeskip and during that time Gunwoo focused on getting the championship title but didn’t get stronger even though he was praised for being incredibly strong and intelligent when it came to fighting throughout the first season. It seemed redundant because in season 2 bothe Gunwoo and Woojin got their asses beat throughout the episodes and only in the last ep did Gunwoo do his kumbaya ritual and won, it was exactly similar to what season 1 did but with higher steaks and more brutality. The villain in season 2 was genuinely terrifying…like i felt his terror so they did an amazing job at making Rain the villain!
It just felt so so frustrating watching him beat everyone…! Especially Gunwoo!!! Each fighting sequence had me so mad I stopped looking forward to them because I knew to expect our good guys to get their shit rocked, I mean wow! Literally almost every episode they would lose a fight. It was anti climactic considering this show started off by showing off Woojin and Gunwoo’s fighting skills.
Regardless of that, season 2 was incredibly entertaining and it kept me on my toes each episode. I binged all 7 episodes in one day, it was easy to be curious about what the next episode held. The frustration you have builds up to hope and you saying “Come on!!! Beat his ass!!!!!!” throughout the episodes LOL.
But this season was such a nostalgia fest, so many characters from season 1 came back and flashbacks of the ones who passed away made me cry, it was a bummer that Kim Saeron’s character wasn’t mentioned at all or given information on what or where she is. In any case I hope atleast her character got to live on atleast in that universe.♥️
Incredibly frustrating, yet satisfying in the end. Still a crazy plotwist in the end which makes me all the more frustrated because now I need a season 3!!!!!!SMH!!!!!!
But yeah, so many things were left unanswered, now all I can hope for is that it gets renewed.
Great bromance, so many new relationships formed, so many older bonds which grew stronger. It healed something inside of me while it also made me leave unsatisfied, all in all. Season 1 is unmatched but season 2 heals you a little bit before beating you to a pulp and then only then gives you a little break and a kiss on the forehead in the last episode.
Not a bad season 2, frustating as hell…but not bad! Hope a season 3 will happen though!
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2 only for the panel
Things I loved1 The panel. I think Dex is a great add to the panel and I enjoy their interactions more than ever. I could watch them every time I feel blue and my mood would improve right away. Their chemistry is off the charts.
Things I liked
1 The premise although I think it can be greatly improved. But if you want to shut off your neurons and just enjoy something silly and without any depth, this is for you.
Things I disliked
1 Again. Why on earth do you focus on one person every time and deprive the rest of the cast from screen time? We are there to watch all of them, not only one woman or one man and three idiots who fall for her/him. So once again a disappointment and the main female player went from my favorite on the first episode to my least favorite on the last. Also I didn't see the appeal of the main male player, Jun Seo, so yes, count me out as this was one of the worst seasons.
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Pursuit of jade was an interesting premise
Percentage is an interesting premise of a butcher and a noble fallen in love I appreciate how raising pigs and butchering an pig is portrayed in the show have a person reacts to seeing that for the first time I also enjoy the budding romance I find the chemistry with all the characters really nice I did find the intimate scenes a little odd not a big fan I definitely will rewatch this on and off for many yearsWas this review helpful to you?
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This is like a breath of fresh air
I quite liked the story and execution, it feels fresh...also, easily the least 'challenging', low-trauma, Chinese (Hong Kong) BL that I liked in the recent times..🥰BL-needle Score: 8. Reasonably high BL-ness
Yu Lei is so crushing on Chen Ke....and its cute to see him confusing that attraction with rivalry.........so Yu Lei crushing on Chen Ke, Yu Lei's friend Ouyang Han is crushing on Yu Lei, and Chen Ke is slowly waking up to his attraction to Yu Lei....at times I also get this feeling that Yu Lei's cousin sister is also borderline crushing on Chen Ke...so a lot of confusing scenarios will probably emerge soon.. I'm also expecting major heartbreaks up ahead....
The quiet and insecure student is giving me a bad feeling, reminds me of that jealous classmate from The On1y One...I get a feeling that our duo will have something bad happen to them and this guy will be somehow involved
While it borderline reminded me of The On1y One at the beginning, beyond being a school life drama with a hint of rivalry and the whole boy-dorm thing, this is very different from that one
The story is quite engaging ..also liked how it is narrated in the flashback by the leads in turn, it gives you the feel right away that these people are probably estranged, or away from each other now and thinking back on the old days, how they met and got close to each other....
The production values are good, so is the acting, script, and music... I got hooked right from the start and felt compelled to write a review after quite some time.
Go watch!
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Powerful and beautiful
This would make a close-to-perfect film.It was slow in the beginning and it had some plot holes. It's not clear how or why the leads fell in love with each other. It's cold and weary and then half-way they lit a spark that we aren't sure where it came from. They were too subtle on developing such an intense love. I believe that's my biggest criticism of this drama.
I do believe this drama is worth it just for the last three episodes. It would have been great with an optimised storyline for film. I'm giving it a high score just for the last part of the drama.
I knew this could never have a happy ending but I'm still left profoundly heartbroken. It took me a long time to finish this drama because of the theme, in the current political affairs, and because I was feeling the pain of the protagonists a little too intensely.
Overall, the drama is great. It talks about important topics, the cinematography is insanely beautiful and the soundtrack matches the visual and the theme. They all work perfectly together with the acting and most of the story.
I like the way the Soul Reaper confronted his abuser. While he was talking about transcendence and deity, the Soul Reaper brought him back to earth. The ones who do evil do it because they are evil or are ok with the suffering of others and there's usually a societal and political structure which allows them to do this level of evil. He put him in his place and it was an act of justice. Those who commit these acts are people, no matter their social or political status. They need to be treated as such and need to be served the people's justice. I found this very relevant in all of society so often controlled and propagandised by religion and power.
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