Reviews

Bai Lu & Wang Xing Yue Shine in a Tang‑Era Mystery Gem

Bai Lu and Wang Xing Yue in Unveil: Jadewind are one of the most compelling pairings in CDrama land. What we get to enjoy with our County Princess and Assistant Director of Astronomy is a couple who work as an effective team solving a range of mysteries that are linked by a common thread. The mysteries consisting of a range of bizarre deaths and murders are well done and well worth the watch.

I think Wang Xing Yue is the best of the male leads out there. Once again he shows his clear talent in Jadewind. He has a great presence and his delivery is just right. Bai Lu as a level 3 (intermediate) actress in the Chinese system did well here. She is honing her craft and deserves her current accreditation. Her martial art skills were great.

Jadewind is a lavish production. The sets are well made, with colours and detail reflective of the Tang Dynasty. The same can be said of the costuming. At times, we also get to see key details regarding medical practices, pharmaceutical methods, food preparation and how dragons and lanterns were made regarding key events in ancient China. Show did have some continuity issues but these were far from a deal breaker.

One of the interesting details for me was regarding the Emperor. Here was a ruler who thought nothing about how his actions made life difficult for others. He was very much the spoilt ruler. He ruled with a firm hand. He could be generous. But he was very much like a kid in a candy shop. And, he got what he wanted, at the expense of making others miserable and if criticised would remonstrate that it wasn’t fair for him to be blamed.

One aspect that started off well, then fell away was regarding the villain of the piece and then the morphing into others that undermined the key narrative here. You can see what the writers were trying to do but perhaps this was an outcome of the drama being 34 episodes instead of 40 or more. You do get that feeling with some parts of this show. Again, not a deal breaker in how good this show is overall.

The other matchups throughout this drama are also very good. As are the loyal offsiders. In fact, quite refreshing in that they were smart in their own right and not the usual clueless supporters you often see in many such dramas. They could act independently and would only defer to their bosses if they felt out of their depth.

Unveil: Jadewind is a must watch. It has a depth to its mysteries, great relationships between the characters and gave us some good insights into the Tang Dynasty. And - I would like to see Bai Lu and Wang Xing Yue be in another drama together.

Read More

what shall i say... it was OKAY, but could've been better in my opinion.

This was my first time getting into omegaverse and watching any omegaverse content. I guess I learned a lot about it through this series and now the omegaverse has sparked my interest, and that's why the series was "okay" to watch. However... I don't know, but for some reason I couldn't empathise with the "main couple" at all and I was way more excited watching the other couple (absolutely dont like the ending for Gao Tu and Shen Wen Lang...). At first I wasn't really feeling the series at all but forced myself to finish it, until like episode 10 when it started to actually get exciting and interesting to watch, but the ending felt kind of rushed and I didn't quite get the satisfaction what I wanted in the end. I didn't like the character of Hua Yong at all only until his identity was revealed, then I was kind of empathizing with him a little bit. I think Shen Wen Lang was my favorite character, he was just funny to watch and I was rooting for his romance with Gao Tu the whole time... but yeah like I said it wasn't the ending I wanted.

Read More

WHAT WAS EVEN THE POINT?

First of all this movie made no sense, especially the ending which was the worst ending i have ever seen. I've heard of this movie before and I thought that I should give it a try as I was also really bored and just decided to watch this,

It started off okayish but then it started going down hill and the story just became a whole mess. The girl annoyed me so much like every time she appeared on the screen I already knew she was going to do something stupid like when she kissed Jonathan and then not long after got with his best friend Shane.

Also Jonathon and Shane's friend ship was so confusing and stupid like how are you letting on random girl that came into your lives ruin your friendship as she caused so many issues.

IDK WHAT ELSE TO SAY BUT I ACTUALLY AM SO DISAPPOINTED IN THIS MOVIE AND IM SURPRISED I EVEN GAVE IT MORE THAN 2 STARS.

Read More

The Tale of A Idiotic, Half illiterate But Yet Somehow Unrealistically Smart, Self Righteous FL

Positive Points
1. Top-notch cinematography and direction. The cast was decent, also.
Negative Points
1. The production team and producer were probably short on money, I guess, as it seems they did not invest money in the script. This is one of the dumbest and most idiotic female leads I have seen in a long time. FL is a naive idiot, completely. I don't really like the FL so far. She has her own strength, but the writer failed to highlight it so far in part 1 at least. 27 episodes gone, but there is not been much productive growth of the FL so far. Though she is good in math and all but she is a complete idiot, honestly. She hardly knows 100 characters, and she is somehow a math genius. She learned carpentry just by watching the carpenters and helping them somewhat. Is this shit even believable? She was not that interested in Lou Yao. She liked that he was simple enough for him to obey her in everything. Her mother was right to be concerned about her choice of the groom. The FL became adamant about the Lou Yao only because her mother was opposing the marriage. How foolish that is. She absolutely gave no thought about the family she will be marrying into and the impact on her life due to her future husband's weak personality. Both the FL and her parents are responsible for the FL's dumb behavior. It's a wonder how she attracted 3 possible suitors (2 of them are high profile) at once with this dumb, impulsive, foolish personality like hers. Yuan Shanjian's words to the FL about seeking freedom through marriage sounded bitter, but it was indeed true. But this foolish FL is instead arguing with the 2ML instead of admitting her dumb decision. She talks back to everyone and causes chaos without thinking about the consequences. The writer kept the other high-born women annoying and bullying the FL, just to hide how idiotic this FL actually is. She is illiterate but won't take criticism and won't work to improve her shortcomings. She is self righterious idiot who thinks she is always right. Why would those high-born be jealous of her? Did the writer wrote anying in the FL's character to be jealous of? She only escaped without any serious lifelong damage with this foolish but stubborn persona of hers, only because she is the FL; otherwise, she would be completely useless.
2. The ML Ling Buyi is also nothing special. His expressions were too stiff for my liking. Also, if he was so adamant about revenge and all, then why did he drag an innocent woman with him? I honestly did not find his character to be interesting personally. His actions are also somewhat red flag. He is loyal to the women he likes, which is the only good point. He makes suggestive remarks about him and the FL in front of the FL's fiancé and her parents. He also defends her honor and protects her, true. But he also proposes a marriage without the consent of the FL and her parents. He did not even consult this with the FL first. She was right to behave rudely with him. But she was also too dumb to accept the marriage proposal just to irritate her mother. Her mother was also wrong to criticize her daughter like this publicly. This would not have happened if the ML had consulted the FL and her family first. She did not like the ML and would not have agreed to marry him if the ML had asked her beforehand. So the ML, without the FL's consent, forced her into a betrothal with him because he liked her and was worried lest she marry someone else. A big red flag.
3. Very Slow story progression. The first part has 27 episodes, but except for the nice cinematography, there is no character progression, nor is much happening in terms of story progression.
Overall, if you are a fan of the lead actors, you can give it a go but in terms of story, character depth, and progression, this is a very basic story with an utterly dumb but never accepting her mistakes female lead along with equally dumb 3 male leads (Now 2 are left) who are also smart in name only as they are all obbsessed for no reason with this foolish but proud of her foolishness type FL.

Read More

Not your average bl

Trigger warning before watching this series: cutting on human skin, drugs, dead (all fake ofcourse)
Trigger warning for my own review: killing mentioned.

Not sure what to expect, 8 episodes for a plot like this sounded like it might lack plot. I loveeee a bl with interesting tags and storylines, since it's quite rare, so I was afraid those 8 episodes would be way too few. I did really like the whole doctor x police trope and suspense mixed with bl. I wasn't the biggest fan at first since in my opinion, the Intro is extremely ugly and I'm not a big fan of the Background Score they used, it annoys me. But this is a series you will binge and you will get more and more curious

Extremely well done introduction of the characters, often you kinda have to figure out who has what role but it's very clear from the start, which is nice when it comes to these type of mystery series since usually it can be extremely wary. I'm gonna be honest I did not trust Dr. Kantaphat since the beginning, the way he acts, the way he is linked to certain deaths is.. let's say weird, but he did seem genuine when it comes to his patient, like he actually cares for them.

The way the actors acted made it feel incredibly real. And I mean really real. I fucking love how serious and well done they act. Even one small emotion on their face can make you feel different about them. I'm so in love with the acting Jesus Christ, I would watch this series again pure for the whole acting.

Through the show you'll keep suspecting Dr. Kantaphat, I'm not giving a major spoiler on who ended up being the killer but I was super confident it was Dr. Kantaphat. Not only because of his actions but his acting aswell. At the beginning of the first episode I actually didn't suspect him BUT around the ending of the first ep I was SO confident it was Dr. Kantaphat. Later on In the story I feel like the whole killing that PROBABLY Dr. Kantaphat was actually with good intentions of not wanting any other patient to die in pain. I felt like Wasan's mom might've been killed by Dr. Kantaphat aswell. I have no more comment on this since the spoilers.I was confused whether or not probably Dr. Kantaphat actually cared about the pain or was it really just a murder.

One of the things I've mentioned before but will mention again is something I'm not a fan of in this series and that is the sound effects and music. There is a clear overuse of sound effects and even if it does work quite often, sometimes it becomes to much. As if 1 episode has at least 30 minutes filled with background music.

If you are a big romance fan I do not necessarily watch this for the romance. Yes, the acting is good so you notice clear attraction, BUT you can notice Wasan ALWAYS suspecting Kantapat. I love the conflicted emotions he has. What I don't really like about Wasan is his lack of empathy in certain moments, he can only think about the whole 'rules' and 'police' thing and it fucking irritates me.

Ending broke me, but you have to see it for yourself. In my opinion this is one of the most underrated pieces out there. My poor friends WILL hear about this series.

Read More

Overhyped, boring brother's best friend trope

I honestly do not get the hype. The face cards were amazing and true, the couple did have adorable moments but you lost me at literally everything else. Personally, I hate the younger/older romance where they got together when she became an "adult", I also abhor the she falls first and harder trope.

I shot myself in the foot by watching the sister shows first. The First Frost is full of intense yearning and healing, and When I Fly Towards You invokes nostalgia of your first love. Hidden Love is an oddball journey of Sang Zhi's innocent crush on her older brother's best friend snowballing into her chasing after him as she enters college. It felt like he tolerated her and fell for her because she pursed so relentlessly. I cannot pinpoint the moment he even started to see her in a different light.

I just didn't feel any passion. No yearning, no intensity. It's all just so soft and quiet. It's all cute smiles and long stares in each other's eyes. Why did he even fall for her? What is their reason to keep being together? I had no reason to root for them. Monotonous and predictable plot and a love story that is plenty cute, but no love.

Read More

A series about women during the Tang dynasty. No matter how much they excel in their fields, it will never be good enough. They try to escape, but to no avail. And faced with the glass ceiling that awaits them, they must move mountains.

Each case explores women's issues, empowerment and sisterhood, but also arranged marriage, harassment, suicidal thoughts, the cult of youth, the exploitation of bodies without consent (the plight of all those locked-up surrogate mothers is... appalling), and power struggles at the very top of the aristocracy that prove fatal only to women…
The reasons behind doing wrong are sometimes good, however. It's more nuanced than it seems. Even if the series loses a bit of momentum halfway through (the part about the mysterious illness, which isn't Covid, mind you), it picks up again afterwards.

And the romance is really lovely. The two make a lovely couple, each with their own strong qualities and temperaments. Their relationship grows alongside their investigations.
The displays of affection between the two protagonists are heart-warming. Like a cat, Li Peiyi/Bai Lu shows her love in her own way. She's so cool, fearless and assertive. He, Mr Xiao, is more reserved and attentive. He doesn't rush in headlong, but he always supports his partner. He doesn't know how to fight and acts accordingly. I adore them both. It's the same dynamic as in Legend of Zang Hai, which I loved. (And a second season is planned !)

Visually, it's red, black and white everywhere. Or pale pink and green. Or whitish and orange. The colour palette is so beautiful, all in subtle shades. Grandiose sets. Large drapes separating the characters during a mundane conversation in a maze of colours. Wood panelling, indoor gardens, leafy mountains fringed with wispy clouds. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

The fights are kept to a minimum but are impressive. The laws of gravity ? Not for us. The old man with his spear ; what agility !

You just have to get past the first episode and its questionable VFX. I gave up there when it came out. Picking it up again now, I realise my mistake.

Did you know ? You can get rid of poison by pricking your fingertip. No, of course not.

Read More

its alright lol

its an okay drama. i watched up to like ep 5(?) and took like a two month break until i actually went out and finished this drama lol. i think that speaks volumes in itself.

the healing theme of the drama was alright. don't get me wrong, the drama is interesting but the plot is very predictable and the progression is quite slow. it gets quite frustrating when the ml just doesn't say anything until literally the last ep... oh well

i wish we got more of the 2nd couple (hayeong and taeseok) they're so cute tgt. we got so much screentime for hadam and her bf like come onnnnnn just give hayeong some love yk. we were def robbed of them.

i enjoyed watching the three sisters and grandma and i liked all of the backstories. ig my only nitpicking was the progression and the ml holding back from telling the fl about their history. it just got repetitive and tiring but it is what it is ig lol

its nice how there was no love triangle tho. i would've crashed out

Read More

Finally ML got leading role

“My Destined Consort” surprised me more than I expected. Like many short Chinese dramas, it moves quickly, but somehow still manages to pull viewers into the emotional tension between the leads. The pacing is fast, dramatic, and addictive — the kind of drama where you tell yourself “just one more episode” and suddenly you’ve watched twenty.

What I enjoyed most was the chemistry between the main characters. Even in shorter scenes, their expressions and tension carried a lot of emotion. The male lead had that cold but secretly devoted personality that Chinese dramas do so well, while the female lead balanced vulnerability with strength. Their relationship felt chaotic, emotional, and strangely comforting at the same time.

The drama also did a good job with cliffhangers. Almost every episode ended in a way that made it hard to stop watching. While some moments were overly dramatic or rushed, that’s honestly part of the charm of short dramas. They’re meant to pull you into a whirlwind of revenge, love, misunderstandings, jealousy, and redemption.

Visually, the costumes and settings were beautiful and helped create that elegant historical atmosphere. I especially liked how the emotional scenes were filmed — the close-up expressions made certain moments hit harder than expected.

That said, the story could have benefited from more character development and slower emotional buildup. Some conflicts were resolved too quickly, and a few side characters felt underused. But overall, if you enjoy intense romance, palace tension, possessive male leads, emotional misunderstandings, and binge-worthy drama, “My Destined Consort” is definitely entertaining.

It’s dramatic, messy, emotional, and addicting in the best way — exactly what many short Chinese dramas are loved for.

Read More

As bad as season 1

OMG, you'd think they'd do a better job the second time. But it was just as bad as the first season.
The only thing that was a little better is that the scenes didn't look like random scenes thrown together, this time there was actually a storyline. It was stil excuted very bad though. So many unresolved things.
The only really good thing were the visuals. The music was extremely anoying, that irritating pianotune that kept repeating throughout the whole drama...

The sounds were really bad too. The voice overs were not good. There were also random sounds that didn't fit. Extreme loud foodsteps, kissing sounds very out of sync with the actual kissing.

And then the acting... Kim Hyeon Seo is a very bad actor, he doesn't know how to show feelings. Same with the friend that played the psychotherapist.
Jung Myeong Cheol isn't fantastic at acting, but still good. The best actor by far was Kwak Geon Hee.

The mains hardly have any chemisty, the bit they have is because of the hard work of Jung Myeong Cheol. The kisses were soo bad!! 90% of the time Kim Hyeon Seo just holds his lips tight together, he doesn't even pout them. The other 10% of the time he opens and closes his mout with no emotions and like a fish on dry land gasping for air...
Why play such a role if you are afraid to kiss someone. Or maybe it's because he is kissing a guy, well then he souldn't act in BL's... It's such a shame because Jung Myeong Cheol kisses are quite good.

Read More