Completed
Double Helix
1 people found this review helpful
13 days ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
To be honest, I was afraid about it, because I have watched the movies and read the novel - and it's not only toxic, it's wtf in a bad way, I never read something worst, more toxic.

This adaptation keep a toxic part while making it softer - especially the son of Yichen part, because he don't have one here. So yes it's softer. That's why I'm less hard on this Lu Feng. I even loved this Lu Feng, sometime he was sweet until the kidnapping - expect the rape on EP 4, yes it's still not okay to show rape between lovers/ex-lovers as something okay. I'm getting tired of this trope.

I hate how everything made their relationship hard even thought it could have been easy.

I love Yichen and Qin Lang relationship, they are so sweet. And I don't hate Yichen for what he did to his brother. He was just a kid that grow up with his homophobic parents. He wanted to protect his brother from Lu Feng I guess..

Ayden and Elio got fucking hard chemistry. I'm glad they continue as a pairing. They seems to care a lot about each other.

PS: Rape is still not okay, I'm talking about EP 4 and after Yichen got kidnapped.
PS2: I'm glad Lu Feng got help with a psychologist, he should really get treated

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Completed
Sammy's Children's Day
1 people found this review helpful
13 days ago
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
To be honest, I expected a pure banger. Don't get me wrong, it was great, but not a masterpiece and a 10/10 in my eyes. I get why people like it, it's funny, serious when it need to be. Some part are really interesting, and the characters are lovely.
t's just that I expected more. Maybe it's because I thought it would be more serious? More heavy? I don't know.

Yet it was pretty good. I may start the novel, I'm curious about the other characters.
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Completed
My Magic Prophecy
0 people found this review helpful
13 days ago
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

GMMTV Needs to Step Out of Its Comfort Zone -- The Forumula Has Gotten Stale

GMMTV has developed a very successful template for creating BL shows, but unfortunately their formula is now so well worn, that it's starting fray around the edges and develop holes in the fabric of their storytelling. I've now seen over 30 GMMTV BL drama series, and what I could accept as unique, cute and charming five years ago -- in a world where these types of stories hadn't been seen very much before -- now suffers from repetitiveness, and fierce competition from more daring, complex and challenging narratives being produced by other studios.

This series had all the makings of what should have been a great show -- two handsome actors who already had led two other successful BL series, propelled by a studio that has the technical chops to create a successful polished series. However, the material this series was based on wasn't adapted well for the screen. I understand that the book was very popular, but it should have been heavily adjusted for the series.

After developing the plot of the story in the first two episodes -- revolving around murder attempts and some sort of hinted at hospital corruption -- the two main characters are sequestered in the countryside in order to protect the threatened life of one of them. Episode 3 begins a 5 episode arc (that's half of the show's 10 episodes) where the entire focus of the show becomes the two main characters doing the enemies to lovers trope and flirting with each other. There are mentions of the main plot (maybe about 5 minutes per episode), but it's all sort of put on hold so we can watch these two handsome actors do the cat and mouse charm. At the very end of the 7th episode, the main plot sort of resumes, and again includes the two main characters, but everything in the final few episodes feels very thinly plotted, with half explanations about the villain's motivations, flashbacks that explain too much at the last minute, and a villain arc that's so ridiculous it's almost unwatchable. Meanwhile those 5 episodes in the countryside where the writers focused almost exclusively on the romance between the main couple, apparently wasn't enough to lock up the romance, so the couple is still figuring things out through episode 8.

The other big problem with this series is the music. GMMTV is reusing the same music, or at lease very, very similar music, from many of the their other series. It's time for them to hire some new composers for the score and the OST. It's all starting to sound the same. I swear I heard instrumental versions of some of the pop songs from My School President reused in this show.

However, the biggest failure of this series is honestly the MyDramaList fans, who as of June 2026, have bestowed a score of 8.6 on this show. That raised my expectations, and probably contributed to my ultimate disappointment. This show doesn't even come close to any of GMMTV's best BLs including A Tale of a Thousand Stars, My School President, Moonlight Chicken, Not Me, or even another JimmySea series, Last Twilight. So it's unfortunate that this show gets a score like this, when it's honestly more on equal footing with shows like Only Boo (which astoundingly has an 8.4!), Fish Upon the Sky or Cupid's Last Wish. All of which are forgettable.

Meanwhile, for anyone still reading this, you should check out projects coming out of the other studios/platforms including One31, iQIYI, WeTV where a number of Thai BLs with compelling storylines seem to air. Additionally, GagaOOLala seems to be where a lot of great Japanese BLs can be found. Increasingly it feels like GMMTV series are meant for teenage girls, who are discovering BL for the first time. The studio seems to be happy to continue to cultivate this audience, while the rest of BL industry has moved on to more complex, layered, and ultimately more emotionally compelling narratives that have a stronger point of view, and will linger with you long after you've watched them. I'm going to remember shows like Khemjira, The Time of Fever, I Hear the Sunspot, I Told Sunset About You, The Journey to Killing You, or 4 Minutes, for a very long time, whereas with My Magic Prophecy, i'm really hoping I can forget I ever watched it within the next week.

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Completed
Love You Teacher
0 people found this review helpful
13 days ago
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
It would probably be funnier and more interesting if I was more focused on it. But it's better tna I expected. I can't bring myself to critize the plot (about becoming a child someday) because I read about someone saying it bring them confort, because their partenaire became like this. I feel like this trope is just not for me.

Actually, I love the part that talk about how woman are treated after giving birth and having a child. And post partum depression. It was interesting.

PerthSanta chemistry is on top like always. I really like Santa's acting. I always want to confort him :c

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Completed
Revenge in the Golden Cage
0 people found this review helpful
by Bali
13 days ago
80 of 80 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Shadows on Spring (2025) aka on MDL "Revenge in the Golden Cage (2025)" is a great revenge romance miniseries with Wang Chenpeng (as Zhou Cong Ye) and Zhai Yiying (as Bai Zhi) in the leading couple's role. The cast did a very good job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple had a fantastic chemistry, sometimes is playful, sometimes it seems like a trickle down conspiracy, but always sensual and impassioned. Both male and female lead are strong, intelligent, and warmhearted individuals that meet under misunderstanding and emotional turmoil as the female lead seeks revenge for her father's death; they both navigate their relationship through uncertainty, the yearn to bring about justice, and misconception while falling madly on love with each other. The love story, although poignant sometimes, is a beautiful journey and a celebration to love. This drama is very entertaining; enjoy it!

In the meantime, you can watch the drama on YouTube: "【Multi Sub】翟一瑩💕王晨鵬|貧困才女手握復仇名單🔥|攻略京圈首富大叔步步心動💞|智謀過招後他為她徹底淪陷|《晚色上春枝》全集 #甜寵 #短劇 #短劇推薦 #drama #熱門短劇 #大陸短劇" (Google Translate: "[Multi Sub] Zhai Yiying 💕 Wang Chenpeng | Poor talented woman holding a revenge list 🔥 | Winning the heart of the richest uncle in Beijing step by step 💞 | After a battle of wits, he is completely captivated by her | Complete series of 'Evening Blossom in Spring' #SweetRomance #ShortDrama #RecommendedShortDrama #Drama #PopularShortDrama #MainlandShortDrama)
On: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwbch01qWlA)

Also: "Une fille a accidentellement couché avec l'oncle de sa meilleure amie, mais il voulait l'épouser !!" (Google Translate: "A girl accidentally slept with her best friend's uncle, but he wanted to marry her!!") on: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIA4cPLvSyg)

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Completed
Would You Marry Me?
0 people found this review helpful
13 days ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.5
This review may contain spoilers

Very cute drama!

SPOILER ALERT ‼️


This drama was actually pretty good!! I didn’t know how I would like it, but I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it ended up being!!

Of course there were some rough parts that just didn’t make sense, like the fact the Ex and his family were in the drama the ENTIRE time. That was just idiotic, but I guess the writers needed them for comedic relief.

The best part tho was how strong the leads relationship was. They stayed together and never wavered throughout the whole thing and I seriously appreciate that. The ML fell for the FL very soon into watching and he didn’t pretend he wasn’t like every other kdrama to ever exist lol!! He knew he liked her and wasn’t gonna hide it!!

I also loved how supportive the FL’s mom was! She was amazing and supported her daughter through it all no matter the circumstances!! She’s an amazing woman that we don’t get to see often in Kdramas.

The only other thing is that Mr.Baek’s storyline with the Doctor didn’t need to be in the drama if they weren’t gonna be officially dating by the end!
He’s such a cute and sweet guy so I was genuinely cheering for him the whole time, but the fact we didn’t actually see him together with that girl in the end makes me a little sad!

With that being said, The ending was VERY abrupt in my opinion. I hate when writers do the cliche “1 year later” thing cause it whist feels lazy. Like if you’re gonna do that, at LEAST finish the final scene all the way. It happened so fast I didn’t even realize it was over till I saw my Hulu Home Screen! I was so confused and verbally said “That’s it!?” Out loud.

That’s all I’m gonna say cause I don’t wanna spoil TOO much! Maybe I’m just dramatic or spoiled from better writing lol!!

Anyways, I definitely do recommend! It’s been a minute since I’ve seen a kdrama so this was a good first pick to get me back into the kdrama world after a couple months!!

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Completed
Check in to You
0 people found this review helpful
13 days ago
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

This series had SO much potential...

The premise is genuinely interesting, the body-swap storyline is fun, and the cast absolutely understood the assignment. In fact, I think the strongest part of the entire series was the acting.

Seriously, the way the leads completely changed their expressions, mannerisms, and body language right after the characters switched bodies was incredibly impressive. They absolutely nailed it!!!

My biggest issue is the format. I mean, six episodes with only around 10–15 minutes each was simply not enough.

The story moves so quickly that it barely has time to explore its own ideas before rushing to the next plot point. The romance, the emotional moments, the character development... everything feels compressed into a timeline that doesn't give the audience enough time to fully connect with it. And that's what frustrated me the most, because the ingredients were all there, ready to be cooked.

To be honest, I mostly felt robbed... Not because it was bad, but because I could clearly see how much better it could have been with a longer runtime.

Btw, *SPOILER ALERT* I thought secretary Ha would be endgame with the writer... him ending up body-swaping with Ji O's ex was definitely NOT in my bingo card lol.

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Completed
Zhan Zhao Adventures
0 people found this review helpful
by neo
13 days ago
37 of 37 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

worth to watch

Everything about this drama is perfect I love the fighting scenes, the color, the cinematography, the acting, the actors, the story of this drama so much and the trio is protecting each other they’re so cute tgt I love their friendship.

I was so mad on Ming zhuer dead I feel so bad for him and his family at this young age.

They said no romance but im secretly shipping Zhanzhao with Hou linglong cuz their chemistry is saur good I really want them both end up tgt.

At the last ep I thought that Bai yutang is dead but he’s not i was so scared cuz I don’t want to see one of them die. I really want the 3 of them be tgt. The three of them deserved so much better. I love the way they trying to help each other and finding the way to figure things to help their friends no matter what that’s why they get along tgt so well and they risked everything for each other they’re went through so much tgt. I want to see this trio again. Please don’t separate them.

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Completed
Zhan Zhao Adventures
4 people found this review helpful
13 days ago
37 of 37 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 6.5
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.5

It's MID, unfortunately.

Listen.
I wanted to like it.
I enjoyed that this version of the jianghu was not immediately familiar, that I didn't recognize the sects and martial arts styles.
But in the end, it's not a good wuxia show.
Don't get me wrong - the fights are very good, pretty high above most competition.
But that's not it.
Wuxia needs to care about the jianghu and the wandering heroes - all of that in this show is used mostly as a "vibe". It's there in the background. People are constantly getting poisoned, but there's no quirks, no joy. You get a handful of pretty tame (=boring) sects involved in a political conflict/rebellion. There's no fun skills or techniques, maybe except for Ling Long's hearing. It's just swords and poison. Because it's not a fun adventure where wandering heroes solves mysteries.
This show is about how a patriotic cop used to be a vigilante and about courtly intrigues and plots.
Which (if you read any of my other reviews - you know) I hate. I hate stories about goody cops and courtly plots.
The fights are not enough, you need a cool engaging story and fun characters.
That's where this sad fart falls apart.
The story just keeps going, but there's no fun to be had, no suspense or surprises. It's not really a detective show either? The "cases" are relatively few and there's nothing much to investigate. I thought the last season of Strange Tales of Tang was bad, but this is even less interesting.
The characters are mixed, as is the acting.
To get this out of the way - yes, I think Yang Yang is a barely mediocre actor. Which isn't helped by his character being a bland limp noodle in this. He's just there, looking vapid, sorry - "stoic". He does well in the fight scenes, sure. But overall - *yaaawn*.
His whole Yaksha arc is also...nothing pretty much. Like at times they almost ask interesting questions about individual agency and personal freedoms vs. submitting to an authoritarian state. But then it's nothing, because the dastardly western Wei are involved! And we must all unite against an external enemy of GREAT CHINA!!!
(good grief)
I really liked Zhang Ruo Nan - she felt fairly natural - they allowed her to sweat a few times even, her hair was almost ruffled a bit and she gave a solid performance through the whole thing. (despite her character also not having that much to do.)
Alen Fang was also fun, his role felt slightly more wuxia-y and he did well with it.
I don't have much to say about the other cast, except Zhang Yu Xi - the hell was her plastic ass doing here?! When she had her emotional revenge, I was laughing out loud, because her fakeass face cannot actually emote. And she was stuck on that social media influencer plastic surgery permanent smile the whole time.
Oh yeah, Lenox Lu's Zhi Hua was almost an interesting character, I liked him.
To sum up:
It's just not good, dawg. In the second half I kept skipping ahead.
These very cool and goodly fight scenes should've been in a better show.

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My Royal Nemesis
1 people found this review helpful
by Kay
13 days ago
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.5

the drama can give enjoyable and interesting

I love this drama because when I have been watched ep 1,it can give funny feeling and comfortable feeling.And then their acting is very good.When you have feel down and lonely this drama can give enjoyable and warming.I think this drama is very nice for me because the story is very interesting.The background music is very sweet and cute.When I listen to ost I feel like very warm and sweet.Actually this drama is my first review and first I 'm wating for that.So I want to recommend to watch this drama and I hope it can give something for your.
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Completed
Heart Code
0 people found this review helpful
by alex
13 days ago
7 of 7 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

points for trying

i'll be honest, i wasn't completely sold on the series at first. for the first few episodes, copaganda completely aside because i already knew what the series was about going on so i won't be mentioning that in my review, i still found myself actively trying to push through because i kept waiting for the moment where it would get really good. it wasn't until around the second half of episode 5 through the first half of episode 7 that my rating for the series really started to climb, and i'm glad i stuck with it because those episodes ended up being the strongest part of the show for me.

what i appreciated most was the central story it was trying to tell. the series played things relatively safe and never really went for any major twists or shocking reveals, but i guess it didn't necessarily need to. at its core, i viewed it as a story about someone who was repeatedly failed by the people and institutions that were supposed to protect her, and the lasting impact that a corrupt system can have on a person's life. i found that aspect of the narrative far more compelling than any attempt at shock value would have been, it's a quieter story with themes that feel grounded and relevant, but w that said, i do wish the series had dug a little bit deeper into those ideas. it touches on systemic failures and institutional corruption, but often stops short of fully examining them as larger structural issues, which made some of its commentary feel a BIT surface level at times. but! even so.. i appreciated that it raised those questions in the first place and encouraged viewers to think about them (hopefully..)

one other aspect i found really interesting, and something i wish the series had also explored more, was what seemed to be a subtle class divide between the protagonists. whether this was intentional or not, there were moments where the difference in their social positions became apparent. tarn (whose father was a working class anti capitalist) works a dangerous and demanding job as a police officer because she needs to. meanwhile, vicky, coming from a far more privileged background, casually suggests that tarn could simply ask her father for time off so they can spend more time together, while also mentioning that the job is 'dangerous for a woman'. from vicky's perspective, it's presented as a reasonable solution, something she's used to all the time, but tarn's reaction highlights how disconnected that suggestion is from her reality. i found that dynamic genuinely compelling because it briefly touches on how privilege can shape a person's understanding of the world and the options they believe are available to others. it's one of the few moments where the series hints at larger structural issues beyond its central plot, and i honestly wish it had leaned into that more, unfortunately tarn immediately apologies to vicky right after that so LOL

anyway, i do think my experience was affected by my expectations going in. the series had been praised so heavily by almost everyone i talked to, the reviews were so crazy that my expectations were probably unrealistically high. i spent a lot of the show waiting for the moment where it would just get insanely good, and that moment never really came. but this is obviously less of a criticism of the series itself, and more so a result of how much hype i personally had built up in my head beforehand. it’s a good series, but i think i would have enjoyed it more if i had gone in with fewer expectations and let everything happen naturally

my biggest criticism would probably be the pacing of the romance. i'm PERSONALLY not a huge fan of relationships that develop very quickly, and that's something i find myself struggling with in a lot of gls because most series only have around 8 episodes, and in this case, only 7, there's often pressure to establish the characters, build the plot, and get the leads together in a very short amount of time. as a result, the romantic progression between the main characters felt rushed to me at first and on the other hand, i don't think the plot itself suffered from the limited runtime as much as the romance did
and so because of that, the chemistry felt a little forced in the earlier episodes. however, as the series continued and the characters spent more time together, those interactions started to feel much more natural. by episode 6, i had completely warmed up to them as a couple and thought they were really cute and so by the end i found myself really invested really in their relationship

another issue i had was a scene in which tarn engages in sex while under the influence of drugs. regardless of the writers' intentions, i found that scene deeply uncomfortable and unnecessary. unfortunately, it's become a recurring trope across a lot of thai gls and one that i rarely think adds anything meaningful to the story

overall, i don't think the series completely lived up to the enormous expectations i had going into it, but im also not saying it disappointed me. it's a thoughtful, well acted series with a compelling central message, and while there are definitely areas where i think it could have pushed itself further, i'm glad i watched it and can absolutely understand why it resonated with so many people, and im glad it tried doing something new and tried tackling issues that deserve to be portrayed^^

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Runaway
0 people found this review helpful
by alex
13 days ago
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers
such a breath of fresh air!!!! and easily one of the most compelling storylines i’ve seen in a gl in a long time.

with such limited time, especially since the romance wasn’t always the central focus, the fact that you could actually feel the attraction naturally building between the leads is a testament to just how well done it was in my opinion, i found myself rooting for the main characters while being just as interested in the larger story surrounding them.

i also went in with very few expectations beyond knowing that people generally just said it was good, but by the end of the second episode, i was completely hooked. as the story continued, it started touching on heavier topics like self-harm, abuse, sexual violence, trauma, obsession, codependency, ect.., i appreciated how much darker and more ambitious it was willing to be compared to a lot of gls and that completely hooked me.

the character writing was easily one of the strongest parts of the series. one of my favorite things about consuming media is morally gray complex characters, being able to study characters and ponder on their actions is one of my favorite things to do.

even with the limited runtime, the characters felt real, coherent, three-dimensional and complex. i loved that the show didn’t flatten them into easy categories of “good” and “bad,”. there isn’t really a clear innocent party or perfect victim in the past timeline, and i liked that the writers challenged the viewer to sit with that discomfort. we're shown that kwan and korn’s relationship was deeply strained and explosive from the start, with kwan constantly overstepping boundaries (ex. the love spell which you could view as a form of r*pe), using self-harm threats when she felt moments of abandonment arise, and engaging in behavior that could be read as emotionally abusive and violating. at the same time, there are also hints that korn may have been physically violent before, leading to kwan’s eventual murder, while thamon’s role as an enabler adds another layer of moral complication (even though one could also argue it was probably done due to pressure from korn).

i also feel the need to mention the acting because all three main actresses were brilliant, but muisic as win was on another level for me. she gave such a layered, emotionally raw performance that i could feel everything win was going through, and i completely fell in love with the character. like by far she’s my favorite in the series, and i think she might have became one of my fave gl characters oat.

boon’s character was also really refreshing because she isn’t the kind of character you typically get to see in a central role in a gl, and as a queer person with a slightly similar personality, i felt really connected to her.

visually, the series was also really strong. the cinematography was beautiful, and i liked how the color grading seemed to sometimes shift depending on the emotional state of the characters.

my main gripes w the series are the cgi, the pacing, some of the logic behind the plot, and the ending.
the cgi/vfx were definitely distracting at times, and some moments that were probably meant to be scary came off unintentionally goofy instead. but i also do realize this might have been a lower-budget project, so i’m not holding it against the series too harshly.

the pacing was messy in places, though tbf this kind of story is probably impossible to execute perfectly in only eight episodes. that’s why im giving them grace. SOME scenes throughout the entire series moved too quickly without enough connectivity/ and no proper blending, but episode 8 especially felt like certain clips were stitched together without enough breathing room. a few lines of dialogue also felt clunky or confusing, but idk whether that was because of the writing or the translation itself.

and finally, the ending.
i’m still not fully sure how i feel about it. i’m not against doomed romance at all when it makes sense thematically, i usually love it actually.
but here, part of me felt like the ending leaned a little too much into shock value, or at least didn’t give me enough emotional or narrative closure to fully accept it. maybe the novel gives more context?, but based on the series alone, i was left conflicted at the end.

overall, even with the issues i had.. i completely think it's worth people’s time. it’s dark, ambitious, emotionally engaging, filled with amazing world building, and the kind of complicated characters i wish more gls were brave enough to write. this is the kind of character work i really want to see more of in gls.

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MuTeLuv: Hello, Is This Luck?
0 people found this review helpful
by alex
13 days ago
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

really well written character

i usually hate open endings but it felt really fitting here, i don't even think whether na ends up with nine or leemhai is the point of the story (even though i will absolutely be pretending they get together anyway :D)

beneath the romance, i think this is a story about na herself. for most of the four episodes you're so caught up in the love triangle that it's easy to overlook the fact that the conflict is just internal. na isn't written as the stereotypically kind or "safe" protagonist you're immediately supposed to root for. she is messy, avoidant, contradictory, sometimes rude and selfish.

her approach to her problems is very relatable and felt very human, we are very nuanced beings with very nuanced feelings. when someone experiences misfortune over and over again, regardless of the reason, it's easy to start blaming outside forces, especially when those misfortunes happen so often, but deep down, na obviously blames herself too,
which is why i think she's someone who's spent her entire life chasing happiness and external validation, she would rather change her number for a change of luck, do all these extremely ridiculous rituals in front of people and risk getting fired, or embarrassing herself, tricking others, and literally blow up her life than look at that part of herself, as confronting the possibility that the problem might come from within is too much.

the series understands that self-discovery isn't linear, and is sometimes messy. na is someone who desperately wants to be loved, is terrified of being alone, and i think that is evident in her inability to choose between nine and leemhai (also probably mixed with comphet). she spends so much of the story suppressing her emotions and struggling to process them (and probably most of her life), when everything she's been suppressing finally comes crashing down, it's the first time we see her cry as, up until then, she’s been unable to even when she really wants to and that made the moment hit so much harder.

in the end, she chooses neither of them, a decision that is the most important decision she makes in the entire series and the most important to her character.

i personally interpreted the story much more as a comphet narrative than "a bisexual woman realizes she's bisexual", but i think i've seen other people interpret it differently, and that's okay too. i personally think it’s about someone caught between the life she always believed she was supposed to want and the one she never imagined for herself but came to find out she really, really wants. self discovery can sometimes be messy and that's okay, humans experience very nuanced feelings all the time and that's something i always look for and hope to find in characters

i do wish we'd gotten a little more time with the post-timeskip version of na because i would've loved to actually watch that growth happen, but considering this is only a four-episode miniseries, i think it does an incredible job of telling a cohesive story with a clear message and emotional core.

jan and jingjing were both phenomenal, their chemistry is just so incredible to watch. jan's portrayal of na was really beautiful, idk how to explain but i think the story works so much more because its jan, i found the panic attack scenes and the final breakdown scene so so so incredibly well-acted.

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Visage and Soul
0 people found this review helpful
13 days ago
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

I just don't know who this is for

Jesse Ren, right.

But no. I'm here to tell you, this is not the drama you're looking for.

The first kiss scene is at about the 3/5ths mark, and it comes with no lead-up at all. Like none. I wondered if the part of the scene where they got to that point just got left on the cutting room floor. I actually re-watched the episode thinking I must've missed something. I didn't. The kiss itself is mundane. There's like one or two other kiss scenes besides that one, and they're really flat-feeling. Like the kissing scenes only serve the plot and that's it. It's weird. They feel lackluster and badly timed.

They do this thing where they leave off an episode on a tense, climactic moment. And the beginning of the next episode is a totally different scene. So you don't ever know what HAPPENED between the two episodes. This makes it feel really REEALLY chopped up and confusing. There is NO flow here. It's horribly horribly disjointed.

The love between the characters feels unearned. Relationships are not fleshed out. There's not a lot of emotional investment for the viewer to get behind, so you watch the whole show not totally caring what happens.

The plot is the intriguing part. But the way the story is told has no natural feel to it at all, and the eps are 10 mins long.... with many eps where there's no forward progress, just more stringing you along. So the price you pay to watch this plot idea is kind of higher than the show is actually worth.

Who was this show written for? A romance watcher? But there's no romance written into it. A kilig lover? There is ZERO kilig. A suspense or mystery lover? Why would they watch this when there's tons of GOOD mystery productions to watch? No one is going to actually have a good time here.

If you must watch "literally everything Jesse Ren has ever been in", then go ahead, it's not THAT bad. And thankfully not that long. But no one else is missing anything by skipping this one. It was lowkey terrible.

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Completed
Undercover High School
0 people found this review helpful
by FDiyF
13 days ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.0

Solving the Mystery of the King’s Treasure

A botched mission forced Jeong Haesong and his team to accept an undercover mission to make up for the mishap. The objective is to retrieve a lost stash of goldbars from King Gojeong era that is believed to be hidden at Byeongmun High School by the school’s founder. Going undercover as a student in his foster sister’s class, Jeong Haesong finds himself caught in between saving his new classmate from bullies and suspicion from his homeroom temp teacher Oh Su A that could really blow his cover. Burdened by the weight of his father who went missing on a mission quite like his, Jeong found that there is much bigger scandal in Byeongmun High School that he could ever anticipated and he absolutely needed all hands on deck to stay in school.

I think Seo Kangjun did a well done job portraying Jeong Haesong, a somewhat efficient agent who is also rather hotheaded had not for his foster father An Seokho who is also Team 4 team leader reigning him in. Despite the general air of the show being somewhat comedic, Seo still managed to carry out the grief-stricken scenes when needed, complete with reddened, teary eyes and convincing sobs. I especially love the Team 4 members, the team leader Oh Seokho, the tech support Park Mijeong and clownish member Ko Yeonghun, all seemingly rely a lot on Jeong Haesong’s capability as an NIS agent.

A special shoutout for Kim Shinrock for the successful portrayal of the psychopathic chairwoman of Byeongmun High School director board. She is such a crack in the head that you can’t really expect how far she could go for survival. Her laughs really remind me of a demented serial killer.

I can never understand Korean working culture of groveling to the higher ups even when youre already at retirement age. The kind of groveling they show onscreen isnt for the faint hearted too as one is expected to wait for your boss 24/7 rain or shine night or day as if they don’t have a life, constantly bowing and sucking up to him to the point of putting your pride under their soles, a literal modern slave. It’s utterly mindblowing.

There wasnt as much action as I anticipated from a spy show though. Lots of sleuthing around, and riddle-solving, definitely not enough punches, kicks or bullets flying around. The action choreography isnt much of a wowsie too. I fastforwarded many of the romance scenes. Just not feeling it with the main cast. I loved the interaction between Park Mijeong and Ko Yeonghun though, never skipped a scene. 🤣 their scenes definitely exudes more chemistry that the main couple.

All in all is okay. The plot is really straightforward although not without plotholes. Some scenes did left me dumbfounded, but I treat this like a common entertainment show that doesnt need any logic. Don’t take them seriously and you may enjoy the show.

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