Reviews

So where’s the lesson?

I went into this pretty much completely blind, and the story ended up going in a very different direction from what I initially expected. I wanted to love this a lot.

At first, it actually reminded me a lot of Gokusen: the troubled class, the badass teacher, and the whole “I’m going to deal with these problem students” setup not forgetting the comedy. But unlike Gokusen, where the relationship between the students and the adult guiding them is built up over time, this series very quickly turns into a “superhero teacher vs. bad kids” situation.

I can see that the show is trying to give the characters and the story some layers, but because of that basic setup, it ends up feeling surprisingly one-dimensional to me. The causal relationship with the bullies to their home and social environment is only slightly touched and i believe it could’ve gone way deeper. Likewise the very dramatized end-boss being this 18 year old drug dealer kid seemed a bit much.

Some of the scenes where the “problem students” get beaten up supposedly to teach them a lesson just leave me confused. Is this meant to be funny? Am I supposed to cheer for it? Feel satisfied? Feel uncomfortable? Because most of the time I’m just sitting there wondering what the show actually wants me to take away from it.

I understand the context, though. South Korea has a very serious bullying problem, and this kind of drama clearly comes out of that social reality, as well as the popularity of revenge and school-bullying dramas. But I still feel like the underlying issues are much deeper than what the series actually chooses to explore.

And this is what I keep coming back to: what exactly is the lesson supposed to be? Is it really just “an eye for an eye” as in hit the bully back harder and put them in prison?

Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I think the series would have worked better if it had fully committed to one direction. It could have gone all-in on the exaggerated, almost anime-like superhero approach, where the over the top violence and larger than life characters are simply part of the fun. Or it could have taken the more serious route and really dug deeper into the underlying problems and why these things happen in the first place.

Right now, it feels like it’s trying to do both at the same time, and the result is a bit confusing. It wants the satisfaction and spectacle of a superhero revenge story while also touching on serious social issues, but it never quite goes deep enough into either one.

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Regeneration proves less is more

Now THIS is how you do a thriller! 👏

Perfect number of episodes—just enough to keep the suspense going without the usual C-drama drag. Lots of twists, clever plot weaving, and a story that keeps making you question who the real victim is.

Jing Boran is superb in his portrayal of Feike, and the writer deserves equal accolades. Both did a great job in making us first dislike Feike as a con artist, but slowly develop empathy for him as the story unfolds. The shift from seeing him as a criminal to seeing him as a victim was one of the best parts of the drama. It's a clever play on narrative point of view that keeps you questioning whose side you're really on.

The plot construction is excellent. Twists come fast but never feel cheap, and the way the various threads are woven together shows real craftsmanship. Even the origin of the name "Feike" is a witty, thoughtful touch that rewards attentive viewers.

That said, I would have given this a perfect 10 if not for the ending, which left me disappointed. Feike should have been given a third chance — a judiciary punishment not the fate he had. After all, he was far from the worst villain in this story. The father's remorse was not addressed properly, which felt like a glaring omission. In my eyes, he is the worst person, particularly regarding the death of his daughter.

Still, a flawed ending doesn't undo a brilliantly constructed journey.

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Engaging, steamy and emotional

Wow! What a ride! I just finished the last episode and I can confidently say I will remember this drama for a long time.

What I loved:
- I followed the discussions on this series across several social media and it had so many people engaging with the story and the characters. The arguments were so contradictory and I found myself straying from my own real life principles when judging the characters. I think the writers did an exceptional job in creating two very flawed individuals who were so loveable at the same time: "You don't need to be perfect to be worthy of love" - the show's tagline summarized what the story was about.
- Jing Bo Ran - my goodness! What an actor! Microexpressions, high fashion, puppy eyes! I can't choose what I loved most about Luke. He was my favorite character and I kept finding myself rooting for him, even though we were supposed to hate him.
- Sun Qian - she was so efortlessly beautiful, frustrating and sweet at the same time. I didn't always understand Flora's motivations and inner world, but I was so proud of her grit and growth.
- The pairing - they chemistry was off the charts for me, those small touches and gestures they exchanged were so well done, kudos to the intimacy coordinator for giving us enough spice and keeping it classy at the same time.

What could have been better:
- the episode cut from 32 to 24 episodes. We needed those extra 8 episodes.

Overall: LOVED IT! I will need some days to recover from it, I will miss it. Please watch it, if you like realistic character/couple driven series.

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fell in love with FaiPhrao the most and NamneungNoey absolutely delivered in my now all-time fave GL

>>>Acting<<<

First of all, I will sing praises for NamneungNoey's performances because for their first leading roles in a show, they killed it. The expressions, the mannerisms, the gestures, the stares, as in they got everything perfectly. They really brought Fai and Kaphrao to life. As an earlier review mentioned, Noey specifically was able to convey so much of Kaphrao's emotions through subtle facial expressions!!! My absolute favorite scenes of her showcasing these were mainly in Episode 4 and Episode 7. The conflicting stare when Fai pulled her in for a hug in her drunken stupor, the softening gaze and leaning in to a cuddle the morning after, all of Kaphrao's hesitances whenever Fai confessed she liked her were all so good. It worked effectively in place of Kaphrao's monologues in the novel. And Namneung, the actress that you are in the finale oh my lord. For someone whose previous acting roles are mostly light-hearted comedies, she handled all the solemn melancholic crying scenes so well. I haven't been this obsessed with a GL since Gap and I'm sorry but Gap is now dethroned as my most rewatched GL, it is now The Fire and I still can't get enough of it.


>>>Trope<<<

This is enemies to lovers perfection and I'm not even a major fan of that trope. That trope is not in the list of tropes I actively seek in sapphic media but The Fire just proved how great it could be if executed perfectly. As a rule of thumb, I also avoid bullying as a plot as much as possible but reading the novel for the first time and seeing Kaphrao actively fight back against Fai was so satisfying and made me fall in love with her. Kaphrao ended up being my favorite cousin-in-law.


>>>Pacing and Writing<<<

The pacing was almost perfect for me, we definitely needed the slow burn. I think my only problem with the pacing is the island arc didn't need an entire episode and could've gone into more happy moments of Fai and Kaphrao's relationship right after they started dating. As for the finale, I love that they didn't rush it. All the resolutions were absolutely needed. So far, this is the best "redemption" I've seen as we've really seen the progression of the aunt's treatment and how her opinion and attitude didn't change overnight (especially compared to Gap which had like 5 minutes and 2 scenes for the redemption of the grandma but it's the first Thai GL adaptation so I'm giving that a pass.)


>>>Music<<<

As for the music, I really love NNN's OSTs for The Fire! I only gave the music for this show an 8.5 because I really didn't feel like some songs (especially the other 4E songs) were appropriate/needed. I'm just mainly frustrated we never got to hear Kaphrao crying her heart out at the start of Episode 7 TT__TT. Also, the songs for the finale have been absolutely phenomenal except for the scene when both Fai and Kaphrao were crying in the house because why did the music sound romantic TT__TT. The rest made me feel like I ascended to heaven though and were immediately added to my Spotify playlists.


>>>Novel Comparison<<<

First of all, I love the change into having Nod as a rival instead of being interested in Fai as the jealousy arc definitely served Fai's character better and I love that we actually got to see a suitor appreciate and treat Kaphrao as she deserved because I just love her so much aaaaaaa. I also re-read the novel recently to jog my mind and I did prefer some of their banters in the novel more because some were made more childish in the show. They still got the dynamic right though so I'm giving this a pass (plus I haven't really seen non Japanese shows/movies successfully integrate monologues though this was one I kinda did wish had them because this would've given us more insight on Fai and Kaphrao's shifting views on each other as the show progressed aaaaaaa). I also preferred the longer flashback during the bear surprise reveal because some people were frustrated Fai didn't immediately run to notify during the flashback in Episode 7 (although we already got a flashback of how that went in a previous episode anyway).


>>>NamneungNoey as a Shipped CP for Almost a Decade<<<

I also have to add that NNN being a shipped idol pairing absolutely made me love this even more. I used to be a die-hard fan of Keyakizaka46 when I was in high school which was a group similar to AKB48, the original J-Pop idol group which is what the international sister group BNK48 is from. I consider NNN shippers as my kin because I did use to ship members from K46 lol (Habu and Yuuka but when they did ended up doing GL shows, it was separate TT__TT though I did like their new pairings) and I feel elated that NNN shippers actually got to see the idols they shipped star in a GL _together_ and I'm just so glad that the stars aligned that we got these shipped idols for almost a decade have leading roles in a mega-project and they got a good script, a really high budget and production value, and a really good director.


>>>Badly Needed Linguistic and Cultural Nuances<<<

Aside from the few missing subtitles, what I hated though is that out of all the elements I feel like The Fire needed official explanations for the linguistic and cultural nuances the most for a lot of things in the show that can easily go over the heads of international fans. List of the ones that I have a gripe with:

- the nicknames (It wasn't explained that they're wordplays for their names. Guinea pig is nu tha pao which sounds like Kaphrao, buffalo is kwaai which sounds like Fai.)

- all the basil double entendre because Kaphrao means holy basil (It was only explained in Episode 5 but apparently, many people missed why Fai angrily ate the stir-fried holy basil dish in Episode 1 and why she gave the bouquet of holy basil to Kaphrao in Episode 7.)

- Aside from basil, Kaphrao also referenced Fai's name's meaning during their fight in Episode 3 saying she really is just like her name, fire. Also, Kaphrao's actual name Athittaya is from the word Athit which means sun hence why she wears a sun necklace in the show.

- honorifics, terms of endearment, and Phi jaa (Honestly, I mostly just noticed these when I watched Thai reactors. They reacted so strongly during the lines when they first changed how they refer to each other throughout the show. Fai went from calling Kaphrao those silly nicknames like guinea pig and gremlin to calling her by her name and refers to her with the honorific Nong to indicate intimacy. As for Kaphrao, while she referred to Fai with the honorific Khun outside of the nicknames, the very first time we hear her refer to Fai with the honorific Phi in the present time is during the camping conversation when she said "So, you've never wanted me to disappear from your life." And then within the exact same conversation, the very first time she actually called Fai "Phi jaa" was during the line "You used to tease me a lot. It's my turn now." which was before she whispered "Phi jaa" directly in Fai's ear which is only when most interfans caught on. So basically, during that entire camping trip, we got to hear Kaphrao transition from calling Fai "Khun Fai" to "Phi Fai" to "Phi jaa" and it was unnoticeable for interfans because each time the change happened, the subtitles only said "You". It also wasn't clarified that the Jah confusion is because it does sound like a person's name which is why Fai understandably misunderstood it but what Kaphrao is actually saying is just "jaa" a sentence ending particle and term of endearment that indicates intimacy which is why interfans also missed all the "Phi Fai jaa" calls Kaphrao made during the flashbacks even before the reveal in Episode 5 since the subtitles only say "Phi Fai".)

- "Kaphrao is under my care" hits harder with the literal translation "Kaphrao is Fai's person."

- Aside from that, there are so many times that the subtitle took liberty with the translation instead of literal translations (some of which were honestly still understandable and didn't need "localization").

- It also seems that some fans were disappointed that Fai and Kaphrao didn't have an "actual kiss" during their wedding but what most interfans miss is that for the previous weddings, the family and friends chanted "jub" which is the Thai word for (lip) kiss but for Fai and Kaphrao's wedding, they specifically chanted "hom" which is the Thai word for what is basically a closed mouth sniff kiss which is exactly what Fai did to Kaphrao's cheek.

- All the BNK48 cameos and references are more enjoyable with the context.


>>>Other Thoughts:<<<

- The kids acted really well too, especially child Fai!

- I too am sad we didn't get much cousins' interactions especially with Lom but I'm just glad that the entire 4E project was able to go through despite all the issues that happened during the production.

- I'm sad we didn't get to see NNN perform during their wedding, it seems like a waste to have idols and not have them have a performance when The Water got one TT__TT.

- I love all the references to the previous elements and I love that we finally got to see Fai eat her own words. She contradicted so many things she said in the three previous shows and the first half of The Fire lmao.

- It's funny how some people were shocked with the dowry because it's easy to forget Fai is the richest cousin lmao. I do love how Fai is the first rich GL (main) character that I can remember who is super rich but yet doesn't flaunt it and instead focuses on practicality. Asking for money and borrowing clothes also do not help her image. I also love that this is the first time we got a rich family whose businesses aren't flashy and luxurious yet still realistically lucrative.

- To counter an earlier review, Fai and Kaphrao is definitely one of the couples who are far from having a loveless marriage followed by divorce. Disregarding their monologues/dialogues about commitment in the novel, they still managed to show a little bit of it in the show (albeit admittedly, it could've been shown more). I admit I haven't watched _that much_ Thai GL given that I only watch those whose premise/production really intrigues me but out of all the ones I can remember with a disapproving parental figure (tbh I'm mainly only remembering Gap), Fai actually committed to her love for _both_ her aunt and Kaphrao. At least she didn't actually let go of her lover's hand, she tried so hard to make it work despite the concessions. And I absolutely love that Kaphrao also explicitly said that the aunt won't break them up but also understood where Fai is coming from and suggested LDR.

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Wrong title

I really don't understand the title, it didn't fit the drama.
Though i thought Hideaki was a bit creepy at first, he really grew on me.
This was a great drama about love with a huge age cap. It was a bit weird but also funny and very cute.
The visuals were great and the music was good.

Both actors embraced their roles perfect, the acting was very good. They had good chemistry.
The kisses were ok and the NC were good. I was afraid those would be a bit weird like in Naughty Fakuma, but not at all.

I watched every episode as soon as it came out and i re-watched all of them before watching the last episode, but though it was good, i don't think i will watch it a third time.

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In the guise of flawed characters we get an abuser

Firstly was the drama enjoyable? Yes but it was so insanely exhausting. The actors acted well so i'll give them their flowers. To attractive people dealing with a forbidden work place romance that’s such a good premise and the actors were so good and convincing. Their chemistry ate but that was it the only part of their relationship that felt healthy was their sexual relationship credit to the intimacy coordinator. Other times the relationship felt icky.
How could you expect flora to ever open up to someone who calls her cheap, obedient, accuses her of cheating on him and accuse her of sleeping with him for 6 years for benefits. And then after the 3 year skip he tells her that she’s worse than a dog like are we being for real. How could she forgive him for being so shitty is beyond me. Its not like she isn't flawed but her flaws insecurity, lack of communication and not trusting him are a consequence of his mean behaviour.
Luke asks her if he has ever hit her but his words are sharp enough. Abuse can be verbal aswell he constantly breaks her confidence and his words feed her insecurity. Her issues stem from his behaviour, his position and the idea that he's someone so much better than her.
Luke was not flawed he was genuinely an abusive person all of his vitriol was directed towards flora he was never like this with his friends. Having a horrible childhood is not excuse to be a bad person. The times he was soft with her were some of the best parts of the drama.
Had there been more grovelling i think and actual character development for both of them the drama would have been much better and my rating much higher. I know the drama was shortened from 32 episodes to 24 but they could have managed the pacing better because 3 episodes was not enough to resolve their story.
I loved flora's roommates and lumi. I also liked luke's friend. The osts were amazing and the acting was really good too. But the story, pacing and characterization or character development fell short for both characters.

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More of an Anticlimax

This Korean Drama was something we need to talk about. When I saw the trailer and the casting, I was so ready for it. I was so excited going into it, and in fact, I finished all the other dramas I was watching at the time to make space for this one. Now, after a gripping first episode, my excitement faded real soon. If I say I am not disappointed, I would lie.

I don't know what happened here, but this was so anticlimax.

First of all, the acting; now I have watched these actors in other projects, and I knew how good they are and that is why I was so excited. I must say the acting was there, but the storyline was so bad and lacking that I could not even appreciate the acting. There were some impactful scenes, but the storyline and the sequences of events were so poor that it really took a bad hit.

Now, in terms of storyline, we are given the impression of a politics and entertainment business thriller. On one side, we have a prosecutor who came from nothing marrying a famous actress, in the middle of an intricate political agenda and the dirty world of the entertainment business intertwining. Now reading it, it sounds fire, but it is not! That is what left me speechless.

It's hard to explain in summarizing what is wrong with this drama. It's like when you go to a restaurant and see a really appetizing dish on the menu, and when it gets to your table, it looks stunning, but at the first bite, you realize it's not good at all. It lacks taste and proper cooking; this is exactly how I would describe this drama. It looked good but did not fulfill the expectation.

It is really disappointing because the casting was remarkable and the elements were there, but they tried to push and make it way too mysterious and lost the plot. The characters were presented in a way, but their actions did not reflect their beliefs, and most of the time I found myself wondering why they were going in one direction, and it was so frustrating (not the good kind). Also, the whole lesbian storyline was so stretched on the surface without giving meaning.
Also, I did not understand the character development of Nana; it made no sense and I felt there was no depth. Maybe the acting, maybe the script, something was completely off with this drama.

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See you later…Maybe if you allow yourself to take a second chance at life.

Hilarious in its tragedy and surrealistic in its cynical realism, See You Later…Maybe is a disco ball that reflects the vices of modern times, creating a sparkling and vivid light display for you to dance to or stare at once the quiet finds you. Manufactured idols, fake, inflated numbers, money, money, money, sacrifices made for a fabricated 15 minutes of fame in the internet bubble that barely means anything in the world outside of it, and betrayal of oneself, all neatly packed into a comedy that you can chuckle at until you realise the bubbling sounds escaping your throat come from reality of life wrapping around your neck.

Fang Haowen, spectacularly portrayed by Jia Bing, is a solid foundation of the story. He is quite frankly an asshole. Blinded by the successes he believes his writing genius is entitled to, stubbornly refusing to see the small successes he already has (a lover, a friend, a job that pays bills, a simple and content life, really), he attempts to climb to the top of publishing world, and when he betrays himself over and over and over again, at the peak of it all, he’s nothing but a naked king with starlight stabbing his too thin skin and too big ego. The descend is inevitable, you either die at the top, gracefully climb back down or you’re brutally pulled down, crashing against the cold hard surface.

Tian Jiarui’s character, Bie Fan, is the heart and soul of the story. The only sincerity among lies and schemes and fake ideals. He’s an antithesis to everything that Fang Haowen is. Intellectual disability, loss of his loved ones, his life is hindered by uncontrollable forces, and yet he never loses resolve, kindness, and bright eyes capable of seeing the light in the darkness. Fang Haowen’s book helped him through the hardest times, and he’s willing to help his favourite writer in return. When Fang Haowen declared war against himself and the forces were unequal, Bie Fan was a hand reaching out for him.

The creators of the show bring those two worlds together to tell a story of second chances. The cinematography and artistic choices made add to the storytelling in the most compelling and unexpected ways (especially want to point out the long, uninterrupted shots used when the story touched upon livestreaming) Exceptional actors breathe life into characters, they never ridicule them or treat them like caricatures to make fun of or lecture you about. Rather through ridiculousness and absurdity, they paint a simple yet touching picture. Success lies in human connections, love, understanding, and support. The rope they offer is not one to hang yourself with, but one to use to climb back up.

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May we all leave our bitter winters and welcome our early springs!

The Early Spring was one of my most anticipated c-dramas this year! And I loved it! Jing Bo Ran and Sun Qian had an amazing chemistry. I am glad they took the roles of Luke and Flora respectively.

I have read the novel, and I was excited for it to be adapted. I was glad to some changes that were made but also disappointed to some situations that were not added in the show.

I wished that the pacing is more done thoroughly. In my opinion, I feel like the start was good to keep me going, the middle was dragging, and the ending felt rushed. I wanted more scenes of their reconciliation though. Anyways, I am still happy watching.

++ the OSTs are good!! I have been listening to it all day!

You guys have to admit, despite the not so spectacular plot, The Early Spring is addictive. A watch that makes you feel all the emotions.

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Kind of nostalgic

It felt nostalgic rewatching it since it was my first ever encounter of Joong and Dunk. So I might be a bit biased about this series. In my opinion, it is a nice and sweet BL with the first love trope. It is nothing special, and if anything, it's pretty much like any other BL that was coming out around the same time. Still, I can appreciate it and enjoy rewatching it. I mostly rewatched it since I've never watched the continuation of this series with Mek (Khuafah) and Mark (Prince).

You can watch it on Viki: https://www.viki.com/tv/39525c-star-in-my-mind#episodes

Things I liked:
1. Sean. I honestly love this trope where only one of the friends in the friend group notices things happening between two leads, it is always so fun to see their reaction.
2. Khuafah. He is a smart and levelheaded person, a supportive brother, and just an all-around great guy. Excited to see him in the second season with his own love story.
3. Cute and caring moments.
4. Khabkhluen's mom.
5. Some funny moments.
6. Good supportive friends.

Things I disliked:
1. Everyone wants Daonuea. This is just ridiculous.
2. Khabkhluen and his brain. I don't know how it works if it works at all. I just don't understand why it was so hard for him to find a way to contact Daonuea. I understand that if not for that the whole series wouldn't have been made, but it just doesn't make sense the way it's all written.

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Finally SUN QIAN is getting the love she deserves‼️

2026 is actually INSANE, there are so many good dramas and this is definitely one of them!

​Out of the two main leads, I feel like more people were familiar with JBR, but I’m so grateful to TES for casting SQ as Taotao!! If it weren't for SQ, the character Taotao might not have been this amazing!!!

And yesss, finally everyone gets to see how ridiculously talented SQ is 🥵🥵🥵🥵
I’ve loved her ever since Sweet Tai Chi (with BWJ).
Her acting is so top-tier and natural, love her so muchieee!!!

​Thank you Xiaotaotao... and Niannian for these past 2 weeks... hope you two get to reunite again soon 🫂🫂🫂

​Thanks to TES, I’m so excited for the other 3 couples in this shared universe!!!!
Aaaaa hope the rest get adapted soon too CAN'T WAITTTTTT ‼️🤟🏻😝🤟🏻

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From Bitter Winters to Clear Skies

“Their love had endured the bitter winter to reach their own clear skies in early spring, eventually walking into the scorching summer - the most passionate time of their lives.”

A line straight from the novel that somehow manages to summarise their entire relationship. And yes, I have read the novel, so my opinion might be just a teensy tiny bit biased.

The things I love -

1. Main characters

I am SO tired of watching goody-two-shoes cardboard characters whose only personality trait is being perfect. Both Flora and Luke are flawed, complicated, real characters with their own insecurities, baggage and very questionable decisions. And that's exactly what makes them interesting.

When you look at them, you can see that despite the power imbalance between them, they genuinely care about each other. Their relationship isn't perfect, and honestly, that's the point.

Shang Zhitao aka 'Flora' is our FL. From what I understood of her character, she is independent, hardworking, humble and warm, but also deeply insecure about whether she is enough. She is someone who would rather struggle for a long time than accept favours from others. She is principled, sticks to her guns and isn't easily swayed. I particularly love her eagerness to learn and the way she stands up for herself and what she believes in.

As warm as she is with her close friends and family, she is incredibly reserved with outsiders. But when it comes to the people she loves? She would fiercely defend them even at the cost of herself.

On the surface, her upbringing and life seem relatively normal and happy, but underneath all that is an inferiority complex. A lot of it stems from the treatment and “encouragement” she received early in her career. Luke's 'generous' treatment of her in the beginning hits especially hard because he is someone she deeply admires and whose approval she genuinely wants.

And then we have our ML, Luan Nian aka 'Luke'.

At first glance, Luke is hot, arrogant, rude and straight up unapproachable. He is brutally efficient at his work and the kind of person who would discard someone without a second thought if keeping them around disturbed his peace or productivity.

But underneath all that is someone who would go to the ends of the Earth to protect the person he loves.

Luke's biggest problem is his deep-seated belief that he is unworthy of love. And you can trace a lot of that back to his relationship with his father. Instead of encouragement, Luke grew up hearing constant verbal jabs and degradation, which eventually made him believe that he wasn't deserving of affection.

So when he falls for Flora, he has absolutely no idea what the fuck to do with those feelings.

Instead of expressing them authentically, Luke intellectualises them. He tries to rationalise everything because controlling his emotions gives him a semblance of control over the situation. And ironically, the very behaviour that wounded him is the behaviour he unconsciously repeats with Flora.

When Flora makes a mistake or does something he doesn't agree with, instead of comforting or encouraging her, he resorts to criticism and control - the same pattern he experienced from his father. And this is especially damaging to Flora because she thrives on words of affirmation. Someone whose opinion she values immensely is constantly making her feel like she isn't good enough.

So Flora gradually stops confiding in Luke because she becomes afraid of what he'll say.

And THAT is what makes their character development so satisfying to me.

The plot isn't simply about two people falling in love. It's about Flora gradually learning to trust herself, gain confidence, voice her feelings and recognise her own abilities, while Luke learns to stop intellectualising everything and actually express his emotions honestly.

At first Luke pissed me off, but watching him slowly learn to express himself, let go of his old beliefs, imagine a future and accept his own feelings was SO rewarding.

2. Friendships

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE PART.

We barely get to see friendships like these in dramas. Other than the romance, this drama gives us such beautiful friendships between people who stick with each other through thick and thin without constantly expecting something in return.

This healed something in me.

Sun Yu, Sun Yuanzhu, Lumi and Tan Mian supremacy 🙇‍♀️

I love the setup of not necessarily having childhood friends, but meeting people along the way and slowly developing these deep relationships with them. There is something so comforting about watching people build their own little support system in a huge city.

Imagine being in a big city all alone but at least you've got people you can fall back on.

A hard day? Friends are there.

A bad decision? Friends are there.

Relationship problems? Friends are there.

A shitty time in general? FRIENDS ARE THERE.

I especially loved how Lumi was always ready to fight for Flora, while Sun Yu somehow always had a backup plan ready for her. These relationships feel incredibly lived in and genuine.

And it's especially nice to see the ML actually having heart to hearts with his friends and opening up. Tan Mian must have been EXHAUSTED coaching Luke through his own emotions every day. 😭

Which brings me to the opposite-gender friendships.

I LOVE the fact that there weren't unnecessary second leads whose entire purpose was to create jealousy and misunderstandings. I almost thought Zang Yao would riot and cause problems, and I was equally suspicious of Sun Yuanzhu, but I was SO relieved when they handled their unrequited feelings with maturity.

They liked the leads, realised their feelings weren't reciprocated and eventually accepted it.

No scheming. No unnecessary sabotage. No “I'll destroy their relationship because I can't have them.”

It's so refreshing.

In fact, most of the major problems in the story are caused by Luke and Flora themselves - which brings us back to the fact that THEY are the ones who actually need to grow.

3. Side characters and conflict

ITS SO GOOD TO SEE NO EVIL PEOPLE TRYING TO RUIN EVERYTHING.

I loved that the drama doesn't need some cartoonishly evil third party to manufacture conflict every five minutes. There are minor inconveniences and external obstacles, but they're largely ignorable.

Most of the meaningful conflicts arise organically from the leads themselves - their insecurities, communication issues, misunderstandings and inability to properly express what they're feeling.

And I especially loved Tracy's speech about women making up 55% of Lime. I LOVE WOMEN EMPOWERMENT.

4. OSTs

Whenever 'We Should Know' starts playing, we SHOULD damn well know what is going to happen next. 🫣

(Except when Luke was just serving face and his Louboutins)

Each song fits the drama so perfectly.

There are songs that immediately make me associate them with certain moments in the drama, and I think that's the sign of a good OST.

5. Luke and Flora's character development

From a naive intern to a bosslady, Flora has come SUCH a long way.

She learns to say no, stand up for herself and other women, hold people accountable, deal with harassment and, most importantly, trust herself.

And I loved that her growth isn't simply “Flora becomes more successful.” She becomes more secure in who she is.

Luke's growth is equally satisfying. He slowly lets go of the beliefs he's carried for years, learns to communicate without accusing, learns to speak nicely (hehe), allows himself to imagine a future and finally accepts what he feels instead of trying to rationalise it away.

Watching two people become better versions of themselves while still retaining their flaws is infinitely more satisfying to me than watching two perfect people fall in love.

6. Luke the Dog

GAAAHHHHH I LOVE HIMMMMM.

THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE REVIEW.

7. Cinematography and costumes

So pretty!!

I absolutely loved the cinematography, especially the Tibet photoshoot and all the scenic views. Everything looked so warm and beautiful, and the costumes were equally gorgeous.

There are so many shots that genuinely feel like they belong in a photo album.

What I didn't like -

1. Length of the drama

This is probably my biggest problem.

It's a real bummer to see so much of the story get cut down. Especially after reading the novel, I KNOW how much more material there was to work with.

And unfortunately, the cuts don't just remove little details but also sometimes remove the context needed to properly understand the characters.

2. Pacing

From a 24-episode POV, the early episodes dragged a little too much (not that it was filler but still taking away time), which unfortunately meant that the later parts of the story had to be rushed and certain details were cut.

I really wish the pacing had been distributed more evenly because there were so many little moments from the novel that I would've loved to see on screen.

Nevertheless, I think the ending was beautifully done and managed to wrap things up quite well considering everything that had been cut.

3. Flora's story

This one bothers me the most because the cuts sometimes end up smearing Flora's character.

There are moments where she can come across as cold or even heartless if you haven't read the novel, when the additional context makes her actions much more understandable.

For example, Yuanzhu's death.

In the novel, Flora completely breaks down, and Luke comes over and cooks for her and Sun Yu for a week, basically making sure they're fed while they deal with their grief. There are also various moments that explain much more clearly what ultimately contributed to Flora deciding to leave Beijing.

Without those details, some of her decisions don't have the same emotional weight.

And that's the frustrating part! Not that the drama changed things, but that it sometimes removed the very context that allowed us to understand WHY the characters behaved the way they did.

All in all, the drama is a solid 9.5/10 for me.

It isn't a perfect adaptation, and I desperately wish we'd gotten more episodes, but the characters, friendships, emotional growth and overall warmth of the story made it incredibly special to me.

My biggest complaint is honestly just that I wanted MORE.

More Flora and Luke.

More of their friends.

More little moments.

More of the novel's details.

More Luke the Dog.

But even with the cuts, I still came out of this drama feeling like I'd watched a story about people who genuinely changed each other for the better.

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Both seasons had a touch of good, but they were not satisfying.

Copied from my S1 review as they are basically the same show.
S1 &S2:
I did enjoy the grit and the action but sadly that did not make up for the unforgivable tropes, unexplainable angst and its inability for me to trust and have expectations and hope for the protagonists.

I loved all the actors, seconds, and sides.
I enjoyed the characters ... to some extent, but they were shallow, and it was hard to feel any long-lasting affection/empathy.
Lee Dong Wook was the ML or just a hook to pull us in? He was absent for most of the show.
The FLs actor was great, and her character was believable, but I didn't connect with her.
CGI and the fight scenes were very nice to watch.
The OST suited both seasons.
Chemistry was OK. The Leads relationship didn't make sense; I am assuming it was because the ML was absent for most of the show, so I was not able to piece together this ‘bond’. The emotions the FL had ... were not enough. Her reactions were not enough.

Instead of organized chaos, it was an experienced mess. I understand it was a ‘real-life’ people and scenarios situation instead of a highly trained, professional, extremely gifted team of fighters, and that things were not as perfectly timed, thought out, prepared and executed, but it was so frustrating. I struggled to complete each of the seasons.

Season 1: Stitching together of scenes ... the ‘back and forth’ made it hard to enjoy. You dive into one scene, become invested and enjoy the momentum to then be pulled out and made to feel and experience something entirely different. I understand there are times when this is needed, and that can lead to a more exciting show, but it was too often. The second season had less of this, so it had more of a flow.

Season 2: The frustration was even more so in the second season. In one scene you expect me to believe the characters were seasoned assassins yet in the next, they would succumb so easily. Prep time and quality of prep was curiously absent and did not make sense. Rookies/citizens seem to be more competent to escape a barrage of bullets and grenades than those who were specialized veterans. I get it ... I really do ... but I just got frustrated and really, really wanted satisfaction, just throw me a bone every now and then. I did a lot of eye rolling.

All in all, I was not satisfied.

On a side note ... How hard is it to double tap? So many situations would have been avoided with a simple double tap. Are trained professionals not aware of this?

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Thought provoking educational and brilliantly acted.

Loved this series, great script great acting and dealt with such a sensitive topic with delicacy. This series dealt with sexual problems from addiction to harrassment. It was interesting to learn about the practise of upskirting and lack of understanding of consent. I'd watched a documentary about the experience of a Japanese journalist Shiori Ito who had been raped and her campaign to improve things in Japan which some of those topics were covered here in slightly different format. In this series Shimotori Ichito is a sex therapist at Shimotori Clinic and some of the issues raised in the documentary I watched were shown in this series in a very human way: explaining consent etc... The series is very short only 7 episodes where we meet some of his patients and how he helps them overcome their sexual problems - even his mentor had to be 're-educated' about his own behaviour towards a junior female colleague. I'd never seen the actor who played the ML nor indeed the actress who played the FL in anything before but loved their nuanced acting and will definitely try and find some of their other works... I found all roles were wonderfully played by the actors even if there were two who were repulsive: the tabloid journalist (which we never found out incidentally how his wife got on after her therapy sessions with Shimotori) and the ML's father (barbaric is the only word I'd use for his behaviour).. The series was thought-provoking, educational, non-judgemental but clearly showing how a lack of education and communication can have serious impacts on people's sex lives.

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