Reviews

The Best TV show of the Decade! ?

Netflix's K-Drama "When Life Gives You Tangerines" is a masterful TV drama that depicts the realistic struggles of a family and serves as a reminder that although life is difficult, happiness can be found even on the worst of days when you have the perfect life partner! 🫶🏻🍊

I haven't watched a lot of K-Dramas, but I recently got hooked on them when a friend of mine recommended a few shows to me. "When Life Gives You Tangerines" was one of the shows recommended to me by my friend and two of my older sisters, who were completely blown away by this show. I didn't know much about it before watching and I didn't know what to expect. However, after finishing this show, I must say that this is probably the best TV show I have ever watched in my entire life! 💕


This show is one of those shows that you must watch at least once in your life, or else you will be missing out on something big. It is one of the most heartfelt, beautifully written, and emotionally powerful dramas I have watched in a very long time. The show follows the journey of a young couple, Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik, in 1950s Korea as they navigate through life's many challenges and sacrifices while creating a family of their own and raising their children, trying to give them a better life than what they themselves experienced, all while staying by each other's side. The show starts when they are around 10 years old, and by the end of the show they are around 70. Which is why, by the time I finished it, I felt like I had lived alongside these characters for years! ✨


The storytelling of this show is done in a nonlinear manner, often switching from one timeline to another. There are episodes where we see Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik's younger years alongside their older years, as well as many events happening in the life of their oldest daughter, Geum-myeong. It does get a little hard to keep track of the events, so in order to properly grasp and enjoy the show, you have to keep an eye on the changing dates and time stamps given in the left corner of the screen while watching. The story itself is very much grounded in reality, and the writers understood that the best way to emotionally connect with viewers is by showing realistic slice of life moments and how this couple thrives in those situations instead of using flashy romance, overly dramatic scenes, or shocking plot twists. From the very first episode, this show creates a warm atmosphere that feels deeply human and incredibly sincere. It tells a meaningful story about love, sacrifice, family, marriage, and the quiet strength people show in everyday life. The writing is layered with so much heart and wisdom that even the simplest scenes carry emotional weight. Even though the story is about family struggles and sacrifices, there are plenty of lighthearted moments where you will be able to laugh alongside the characters. The pacing is also wonderfully handled. It allows us to live the moments with the characters, understand their decisions, and truly feel the passing of time in their lives. There were episodes that made me smile warmly, episodes that made me tear up, and episodes that completely shattered me emotionally. This is why every joyful moment feels rewarding and every painful moment hits so deeply!


For me, the highlight of this K-Drama is the way it chose to portray the beautiful companionship between Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik. Watching them do "marriage" will make you believe that with the right life partner, it is possible to conquer anything that life throws at you. Even when financial situations and family life were both going dangerously bad, they were each other's rock and were able to find tiny bits of happiness during every difficult situation. Younger Gwan-Sik reminded me a lot of my own husband, while older Gwan-Sik was an exact copy of my father, which is why I loved this character so much! This man is truly the poster boy for green flag husbands and fathers! 💚 While Gwan-Sik tried his very best to be the best husband and father, I absolutely cannot deny the contribution Ae-Sun had in his life as a genuinely supportive wife. Ae-Sun also deserves praise because she sacrificed a lot to be by Gwan-Sik's side even when they were financially struggling. But above all, when the time came to give up even the little source of finance that was supporting them, she did not back out because she saw how badly her husband was being treated by his employer. The portrayal of how a healthy and loving marriage works is shown so excellently in this show that I was heavily invested in their relationship from beginning to end. 🫶🏻


Love was shown in two different ways in this show. On one hand, we get Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik's love story, where they were together from age 10 and ultimately got married, had children, and went through life together. On the other hand, we see their daughter Geum-myeong experiencing love in a different way. This contrast in both love stories helped me realize that not all love stories get a fairytale ending and not all first loves reach their ultimate destination. Sometimes, two people can be good people at heart and share pure love, but still cannot fulfil it by getting married and settling down together due to various sad yet real circumstances.


The parental relationships in this drama were another major strength. The love between parents and children is portrayed with so much warmth and honesty that many scenes brought me to tears. Parents are shown sacrificing endlessly while still carrying their own pain. Children are shown misunderstanding their parents at times, then gradually realizing how much love was always there. I specifically loved the mother-daughter dynamics shown through Ae-Sun's relationship with her mother and later through Ae-Sun's relationship with her own daughter, Geum-myeong. I really loved Ae-Sun's mother's character. She was a very strong woman who did everything she could for Ae-Sun. We also saw Gwan-Sik as a doting father to Geum-myeong, and I was very emotionally connected to their relationship as well. Their sweet father-daughter relationship had some of the best moments in the show.


All of the characters in this show are written so well that they feel like real people I am watching in front of my eyes. None of them are perfectly good or bad, which is why you can't hate any of them. A lot of times, characters say and do things that are wrong, and that contributes to making us as the audience feel like they are real people. As a result, everyone is lovable and memorable in their own way. The arguments feel real, the sadness feels real, and even the moments where the characters are overwhelmed with joy also feel so real that I was forced to rejoice with them!


I absolutely have to praise the phenomenal acting performances from the cast. Everyone in this drama delivers performances that feel raw and honest. No one feels like they are acting for the camera. Instead, they completely become their characters. We see IU and Park Bo-gum as the younger versions of Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik, while the older versions were played by Moon So-ri and Park Hae-joon. Both pairs had brilliant chemistry, which is why this story worked so well on screen. IU is a phenomenal actress, and here she also plays the role of Ae-Sun's daughter Geum-myeong. She was able to portray both characters perfectly, capturing their unique personality traits and setting them apart from each other. But the one who shines even more than IU in this show is definitely Park Bo-gum. This man is something else! The supporting cast was also excellent, and I especially loved Kim Seon-ho as Park Chung-seop, the struggling artist who makes a fateful connection with Geum-myeong.


The excellent cinematography and visuals of this show make you feel like you are in 1950's Jeju Island, and as the story progresses, the changes in visual effects and color grading help you realize the passing of time. The cinematography captures both the warmth of home life and the loneliness of difficult moments so well. There are also scenes that leave an impact because of the cinematography and camera work, especially when Gwan-Sik swims across the ocean and hugs Ae-Sun, or the very last scene of the show where we see Gwan-Sik and Ae-Sun walking in a field of yellow flowers and sharing their dreams about the future.


In the end, "When Life Gives You Tangerines" is a TV show that will forever stay in my heart as one of the best things I have ever watched in my entire life! 🫶🏻 If you are looking for a drama with excellent writing, unforgettable characters, and meaningful life lessons that stay with you long after the final episode, this is absolutely the one to watch. By the end of the show, I was left in tears because of how heart touching my experience was with this. This drama won't only entertain you, instead it will touch your soul! 🍊✨


📌Personal Rating: 10

Read More

The never-ending push-and-pull

Finished it — 7.5/10.

All 40 episodes in a few lines:

Her: “He’s evil. I hate him."
“Wait… he is not. I love him.”
“Actually, he is the devil lord. I hate him."
"He doesn't want to become one tho. I love him."
“umm.. you know what? guess I still have to kill him and save the world.”

Him: “Please just kill me. I love you."

The drama was good enough to not drop it. the second half bored me so much. Starting from 23-25 th episode it got so messy. Too many exhausting flashbacks and way too much push-and-pull. All that for what? A ending like that? Ugh

The music, costumes, CGI, acting, and cast were all really good honestly, almost everything worked except the story, which is kind of the most important part.

A decent one-time watch, but if I had known I wouldn’t end up liking it that much, I probably would’ve skipped it.

Just not for me ig.

Read More

Only for visuals and vibes,nothing else!

Okay....lesson learned,never watch a GJM drama for plots...like never. Its always some pretty actors with some pretty cinematography and visuals with some pretty music in the background... But the main core of the drama,the story.... better not talk about that.

I didn’t start Veil of Shadows with lots of hope or anything. Already saw what happened with Fangs of Fortune which was such a eye pleasing yet one of the most frustrating dramas i've ever watched. Same with MJTY. Maybe there wasn’t anything else to watch at that time,so i started VOS...and yeah,same thing again.

The story is simple. There's a dragon deity who is actually not real,only pretending on behalf of the og dragon deities for centuries,for the real and last dragon deity to come and take the throne. Meanwhile there's millennia old nine tailed foxes, a very old villain who doesn’t have any form of body and some other characters. Interesting,right?? Yeah,it was....for the first couple of episodes. But my goodness the way everything got ruined,confusing and blundered in the midway..... Confusions after confusions, plot twists after plot twists...and those plot twists was'nt even some mind-blowing earth bending or anything, it was just wtf just happened???? They made this simple story so confusing, at some point it became head scratching level frustrating, like WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY IS THIS HAPPENING????

If i talk about actors,all of them did really good. I have seen Tian Jia Rui in MJTY and FOF,this young boy has real talent and acting skill. He didn’t disappoint, both Ji Ling and Dragon deity was portrayed good and lively. His back story as the blind fox,how he became the false dragon deity and sacrificed his whole youth only to perform his duty and later made those puppets to live that little bit of youthfulness....okay this bit was sad and extremely touching and TJR did so well.
This is my first time seeing Ju JingYi... so i can't say much about her acting,but she was believable as the cunning shrew nine tailed fox who later fell in love with Ji Ling. But their love story was really rushed. The had chemistry but it couldn’t properly bloom cause of the absurdity that was happening around them.

About Joseph Zheng and Chen Duling...This was the couple I adored. But unfortunately, they didn’t get that much screentime as I expected. Joseph was supposed to be the hero of the story beside the dragon deity...but his becoming a real dragon deity was so underwhelming... He never got a real HERO scene in the whole drama. And Chen Duling....girl can act. She was beautiful, both as a fox or in human form. And their story in the star stone arc was my most favourite, both of them were like really living as an old couple who are in love. They played it beautifully. But its unfortunate, after that arc ended,we never got that love and affection back from them....they were just..there,almost used like a plot device.

The one that surprised me most was YanAn...i first saw him in FOF, but his screentime was short,but he showed the glimpse of his talent. But here as Li Jie and six eye butterfly demon,he was fantastic. His dilemma,his sadness,his protectiveness towards Ji Ling and his evil arc as butterfly demon and also his backstory everything he carried gracefully.

But the arc that made me almost bang my head against the wall was the star stone arc. Listen,time travel is one of the trickiest thing to ever execute on drama,if you miss one tiny little part,the whole story falls apart. So,if you dont know how to write it,just dont write it,and also dont try to be smart by making it overly complex.But here they used it multiple times,not only in star stone arc,but also later with Lu Wuyi...completely forgetting about any kind of consequences or butterfly effects. Plotholes were everwhere,frustrations and confusions were the only thing left.

And idk what this directors fetish with killing every possible character in the drama. And in VOS,he even outdid himself,almost every character died at least once and then even before you done mourning for them,they came back to life. Our lead couple was probably in a competition how many times each can die in the name of self sacrifice and then come back like nothing happened.

However,visually or musically it was not on the level of FoF,but still if you want to watch good cgi or pretty actors,watch it. Ending is bittersweet,so yeah,thats one way better than FOF.

Read More

Idk, on the edge of dropping it.

The first episodes were great, they were interesting and got me keep going. But then, like the in the middle or somewhere like episode 23, the episode I'm on. It started to get boring, I found myself scrolling on tiktok while watching that.

I love ju jingyi. She's one of my favorite Chinese actress. I hate to admit it, but her acting was low-key.. not so good. Still love her though, and I'll continue support her. The rest of the cast were OK ig.

I won't drop this drama, I'll finish it even though its boring. I hope the rest of the drama will get better. And no I won't rewqtch this.

Read More

Dear Director this review is especially for you

I truly respect the director of Rebirth, and this review comes from a place of admiration. I really loved your previous dramas, Moonlit Reunion and The Double, which is why I had high expectations for this one.

Sadly, Rebirth did not work for me. I am not sure what led to the choice of this script. If it was your own decision, I hope you have learned from this experience. This genre did not suit your strengths.

The chemistry between the main leads felt weak. At times, they seemed more like siblings than a couple. The female lead also needs to improve her acting. However, I really liked the second female lead. She gave a strong performance.

That said, her storyline became very frustrating. Watching her suffer again and again made it hard for me to continue. I eventually stopped watching because it became too repetitive and upsetting.

The second male lead's character was also confusing. His actions and feelings seemed inconsistent, and his storyline felt scattered.

Even though I was disappointed, I still admire your work. You have shown your talent in dramas like Moonlit Reunion and The Double. I sincerely hope your future projects will have stronger scripts and once again win the hearts of viewers.

Read More

It's a classic for a reason

One Spring Night,2019
Watch timeline: April,2026
Update: 5 episodes.

I’ve been putting this drama off for a long long time, waiting for the perfect mood to sit through all that mellow emotional chaos. And listen, it’s no secret, I love Jung Hae In. That man does not act halfway. He commits his entire soul, body, and probably his sleep schedule into every role.And yes I watched Something In The Rain also long long ago.

But now I’m on episode 5 and… whew. The eye-rolling? Olympic level at this point.
Because why, why, is the FL written like her sole purpose in life is to emotionally torture this man?
How hard is it to choose? Between two people. Between sadness and happiness. Between the past and the future. At some point, you just have to pick something.
Right now I’m literally yelling at my screen: “Sis, you cannot have your cake and eat it too!!”

I will be back

UPDATE.
Completed: April 2026

I remember going on a bit of an angry rant after the first five episodes, mostly because of the FL indecisiveness. But as the story progressed, I started to see things differently. Sometimes we watch dramas through our own cultural lens, and that can limit how we interpret characters’ choices. In many Asian cultures, there’s a strong sense of filial responsibility, family ties run deep, and relationships are often closely intertwined with them. It’s not always as simple as cutting things off and moving on.

Also, let’s be honest, that tension is part of what keeps a 16-episode drama going.Though am glad she put her foot on the ground from day one and never wavered no matter how much tantrums around her.

In the end, this is a classic, and I really don’t have much to complain about. It easily earns an 8.6 from me. And of course, my favorite director, Ahn Pan Seok, can do no wrong in my eyes.

Read More

Too contrived

I wanted to drop this series several times, but persisted to the end mainly because I like Bai Lu. But honestly, it probably wasn't worth it. The ML was not my favorite, although his acting was good. The real problem with this series was the storyline. There were strangely 4 different stories in the series, the first 10 episodes or so, then the Mo River story arc, then the part after the Mo River arc and then 500 years later the finale arc. Having so many different story arcs in which the actors portrayed different characters entirely was hard to follow. The characters would fluctuate wildly between good and evil. And worst of all, the plot felt very contrived as many Xinxia series do, but this was worse than usual. So many weird magical artifacts used to fill in plot holes and illogical actions by the characters and situations created simply to achieve an outcome to mess with the viewer's emotions. Overall, I would just recommend that you best avoid this series altogether unless you want to stagger through a nonsensical mess that can't seem to stick with one storyline.

Read More

Too long and drawn out scenes

I really liked the story from the the background of the main characters and the dynamics and intrigue of both the mortal and spiritual realms.

However many scenes were drawn out too long and this made the whole drama very slow and way too long. it could have easily been condensed into 30 episodes without loosing its charm, depth and character.

I loved the acting by all actors. Arthur Chen was a mix of a cheesy and sentimental fool who portrayed the deep commitment really well which was a surprise.

Dilmah perfectly portrayed a cold and intelligent woman of integrity which is how I would imagine a person without senses might come across. the transition to a playful deeply emotional person once experiencing senses such as taste and the love of a man willing to give his all for her was believable.

While I was moved by the romance it was not passionate nor did it exude chemistry. This romance started slow and deepened throughout becoming achingly beautiful.

I cried and cried. not many CDramas have made me feel such despair. 😞

The loss of friends, comrades, family and love ones felt by all characters was truly memorable and well acted by all the actors.

CGI and othe special effects were really well produced to make the fantasy world like magic but overdone when used in the real world. so much beautiful landscape naturally available looked and felt fake and not appealing when characters were in the mortal realm.

Read More

UNVEIL JADEWIND

I love the casting, acting and the storyline was great however for some cases the “plot twist” didn’t feel like it was worth the wait, there were maybe 2-3 cases I enjoyed (吉时秘闻 was definitely my favorite) However my biggest issue was the AI intro AND outro. Yes I know China is developing quickly. But the amount of AI is sickening, a company with a big budget for this drama is so easily capable of hiring illustrators or editors to create an intro and outro, I dont understand why they didn’t. Cdramas are a form of art and it takes away the creative value when AI is put into it. As for the ending, I was satisfied. Huaijin and Peiyi got their revenge and happy ending, we also got to see clips of the characters involved in the cases from start to end.

Read More

Yuckkkk

I have wanted to watch the drama for a long time but I never got around to it…

I should have just stayed away.

SOKP is time travel drama that uses the trope of rewriting a past life. It's similar to The Princess Royal, but somehow it's worse in every single way.

This show is BAD.

It's ugly, nonsensical, juvenile, and dumb.

The technical aspects are borderline horrendous. The sets look generic and cheap, the costumes are boring and also look cheap. And the cinematography?

This show looked so bad that I HAD to look up the director. ( found that I've been unknowingly hating on his work for the past decade.)

I'm not a film student, but even I can tell that whoever was behind the camera had a fundamental misunderstanding of what should be communicated in the cinematography.

Everything is so bright and pale, it makes everything feel bleak. The exterior shots in some scenes were startlingly bad. The lighting was so artificial in some places that it made me laugh at how bad it looked. Be prepared to look at multiple shots of clenching hands over and over and over and over and over again. There's hardly any variation in how anyone is filmed. Everyone emotes the same ALL THE TIME.

I'm not sure how this team achieved it but they also managed to make objectively attractive people look awful. Both Bai Lu and Zhang Linghe suffer from this… but Zhang Linghe is the biggest victim.

I can't comprehend how a director would look at his performance and expressions and think it was appropriate to shoot, edit and air those scenes. Bro was working overtime to seem menacing 24/7 but I'm not sure if that was the best approach for both the character and HIS FACE.

People will be talking and the camera and cuts will give you expectations that never come to fruition, OR it'll have the most terrible shots with egregious usage of flood lights and fans. It's dumb.

I can't remember a single song that made an impression on me. In fact I hated some of them.

So just to speak on the plot itself, it makes no sense at all. We have a weak emperor who lets a known treasonous subject just chill after committing heinous acts??? The main villain massacred hundreds of people (including children) and his rebellion was quelled…. but instead of being executed, they just let him go back to his fief with basically no consequences. Mind YOU later in the show another party basically does the same thing which resulted in multiple executions and the exile of all related people. One of these parties seems way worse than the other and yet the punishments are so unbalanced. It's dumb.

The court politics is nonsensical as well, our ML is soooo smart and he anticipates everything and everyone without flaw. Bro never stumbles a single time, all his opponents are dumb. FL lead deals with the most juvenile conflicts, and if she is involved in something more serious she becomes a wooden post that just gets led around by the ML.

Side characters are just as underdeveloped and shallow as the plot. None of them feel like real people. Not a single one seemed like they existed outside of the scene they were currently in, even when they DIED. I felt nothing. They feel like the toys in Toy Story. Once the camera is not on them they drop to the ground and stop moving.

The female villain from the Xue clan is probably the most frustrating supporting character. She gets caught basically committing treason because she sends her maid with no mask or change of identity to do her dirty work. After this incident she does the same sh*t AGAIN, clearly not learning her lesson from the first time she got caught. She gets frustrated with being used by her family and cuts ties with them and proclaims that she will get back at them, only to immediately fold to her father's wishes and jeopardizing her new elevated position. She basically commits the same mistake THREE TIMES. It's dumb.

And the romance offended me the most. This is the biggest lack of chemistry I've seen in YEARS. That includes ANYONE in the main triangle. It's even worse off than Blossoms in Adversity and that show had a wooden nutcracker for a ML.

The FL spends 70% of the runtime chasing after a man with no personality who ISN'T our ML, while a man with no control over his face chases after her. 30-sum episodes in and the creators have these two actors scream at each other and forcibly kissing… they expect me to be invested in a relationship that does not exist? The FL has no romantic interest in the ML until 30-sum episodes in and the plot decides its time.

This was a growing experience for me because I really forgot how bad things can get, this show doesn't have a single redeeming quality, it doesn't do anything right. I hope I never see a clip from it again.

Read More

This story brought me back to life

Lmaoooo, I’m not the type of person to write these kinds of reviews, but I just wanted to say how talented they are, even though this is their first main series. I genuinely loved everything about it, and honestly, coming from someone who literally stopped being a fan girl of Thai BL pairs and series for two years, they truly brought me back to the Thai BL industry. You would never catch me supporting a pair like this before, and that just shows how peak this series is. I keep giggling, kicking, squealing, and rolling around my bed every time a new episode drops, and the anticipation for Saturdays during the weekdays will never be replaced by any other series. I hope they keep it up because they’re genuinely such talented actors. I really thought I wouldn’t like this series, but I still decided to give it a try, and luckily, I did. They also pretty much followed the novel, except for some parts, and honestly, I’ve never seen such a good adaptation of a novel. It’s like they embodied the characters from the novel in real life. This series is actually so cute, meaningful, and funny, and it explores a more realistic side of a relationship, which I love. Also, I don’t know why everyone thought making Tiw Qin’s first love was bad, but personally, I kind of like it since they always say that “first love just hits different.” Honestly, I think most people wanted Duang to be Qin’s first love, but in my opinion, your greatest love doesn’t have to be your first love.
I hope they get more series as time goes on, and I would love to see their continued improvement. ✨

Read More