Reviews

"DARE I SAY THIS IS THE BEST KDRAMA OF 2024....''

WOW! JUST WOW!! I've got no words for this kdrama, honestly. I am just flabbergausted such a drama had to wait till the end of the year to be released, like why?? But, let's start first with the cast, GOD DAMN! The casts is so unexpectedly amazing, i didn't expect the chemistry between Yoon Yeon Seok & Chae Soo Bin to blow up this big, like the chemistry is TOP-TIER, the tension between them is ONE WORD- INSANE, despite the 10 year gap, they proved all haters wrong with this acting. Just them too looking at each other already bring so much passion and butterflies in the stomach as a viewer. Who knew their chemistry will really explode like this? I'm so really happy for them....
Also, the plot, damn, the plot...is INSANE...

PLOT DEVELOPMENT
The story begins with Baek Sa-eon and Hong Hee-joo, who have been married for three years but live in silence, largely due to their mutual disdain for each other. Their relationship is strained further when Hee-joo is kidnapped by a masked man who uses malware to hijack her car. This kidnapper demands Sa-eon’s attention and threatens Hee-joo’s life.

As tensions rise during the hostage situation, Sa-eon faces immense pressure as he navigates his responsibilities as a government spokesperson while dealing with his wife’s kidnapping. In a critical moment during a phone call with the kidnapper, Sa-eon coldly tells him to kill Hee-joo if he wishes—words that deeply hurt Hee-joo when she hears them.

After managing to escape temporarily from her captor, Hee-joo’s anger towards Sa-eon intensifies. The couple must confront their feelings and decide whether they can overcome their past grievances and work together to resolve the crisis. The narrative delves into their emotional struggles as they grapple with issues of trust, love, and redemption amidst external pressures from politics and personal trauma.

Ultimately, “When the Phone Rings” is not just about the kidnapping but also about how this traumatic event forces both characters to reevaluate their lives and relationship. It raises questions about what it takes for them to acknowledge each other publicly and privately while dealing with the demands of their respective roles in society.
Thanks for taking ur wonderful time in reading my review. Hope you have a nice day and stay safe.

*Also the ending of ep 6 is so ICONIC*(WATCH IT TO KNOW)

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Don't need to have the romance

Every young entrepreneur should watch this drama. It's excellent "teaching" for all young start-ups
There's also lots of life lessons from the second and third couples which is realistic,well written and mature
I actually prefer the second and third couples more. The main leads seems a bit mismatched, both acted very well but just mismatched with zero chemistry.

The stylist/dresser is extremely poor especially for the FL. Shorts and short skirt don't suit her, just have the skirt 2 inches longer and adding black lycra tights will totally transform her from ugly short legs to posh classy elongated legs (don't understand why Chinese and Korean like this look, no European designers go bare legs and up to the groin, it's fit for evening not work) and that Zeng Di wearing evening dress with huge pearl earrings for breakfast in Germany? Hello? Having said that,the menswear are all very good including the flamboyant Mr.Lu

Anyway I enjoyed the drama thoroughly but I needed to edit out the romance or lack of for the main couple. Other than that it's a good drama and I learned a lot about start up and investment

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10/10!

First of all, i’m watching this because i really like Oh Yeju, so i don’t really have high expectation towards the drama itself. But after finished, i cried really hard 😭
The drama had really good approach about the plot and the story, they also makes really good decision to pick all of the cast especially the Yoo’s sisters, Oh Yeju as Yoo Ha Neul and Yang Uijin as Yoo No Eul.
I’m glad that Yeju potrayed Haneul because she expressing the emotion as Yoo Haneul towards us (the audience) really well. I wish after this Yeju can do another hit acting project to showcase her talent and hardwork as an actress. I hope she could be bigger artist in the future🧡

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Mind-bending, gripping thriller.

Set in a classic haunted house, one might expect this series to give you countless jump scares and glimpses of ghosts. But with a unique blend of Thai horror formula, a mystery solving and unexpected plot twist, this series diverges from scary dramas I’ve seen before. Although the plots can feel occasionally dark, I found myself pleasantly surprised by how easy it was for me to follow through the mind-bending journey. I'm hooked from start to finish.

Another highlight of this series is the exceptional performances delivered by the cast. From the main actors to the supporting roles, each member of the ensemble brings their A-game to the table. While certain characters have relatively weak backstories, their nuanced portrayals add depth and complexity to the story, creating a sense of authenticity that resonates with viewers.

Like any drama series, Don't Come Home is not without flaws. There are a few minor plot holes, and it drags out a bit in the middle, but the appropriate pace helps the story unfold nicely. And it's worth mentioning that behind the suspense showcased, there's an important message at its core. Overall, ‘Don't Come Home’ may not be a perfect thriller drama series, but it certainly delivers on the promise of excitement and suspense.

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Started off great, ended up disappointed

Initially, I thought this kdrama would be a refreshing story about depression, disability, and fate. But of course, it ended up being just another kdrama with a meaningless serial killer driving the plot. Honestly, the serial killer is my biggest gripe about this series. He's a nobody antagonist who came out of nowhere with a grudge against the leads for no reason. They spent zero time fleshing him out, with no mention of his motivations, backstory, challenges, nothing. He's simply a plot device driving the couple apart and back together. Not to mention how they quickly killed him off at the end and then boom happy ending everyone's happy. However, Im Sol and Seon Jae were delightful to watch, and their chemistry was amazing. The comedic moments were well executed, and their story was touching. But I can't help but feel the story could have been so much more. If they had followed through with their setup: a story about a disabled woman and a depressed idol, where she goes back in time to save him from himself, the story would have been so much more impactful. I really don't like how they just discarded those plots. All of Im Sol's struggles with her disability and Seon jae's struggles with burnout and fame are just thrown out the window in favor of a generic serial killing taxi driver. If I rewatch this, it will be for the couple and the comedy aspect, because the plot really disappointed me.

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Disappointed af. How are you guys even watching this garbage?

My god. And then they are saying 2024 is another good year like 2016.
NO.

Cliches after cliches. Honestly I can still tolerate them as long as the story is good with well written characters.

Queen of Tears was just not it. Far from being great.

They tried to be a lot of things and ended up being nothing. All the characters were surface written and lacked any depth. I found Hae in's character to be the most unrelatable. You do not need to be a rich bossy CEO to show you are strong.

Well Hae in was far from being powerful. She was just plain rude to the people around her and unbearably difficult to understand in the initial episodes.

The show had so much power and just so much potential to do better. They absolutely failed in everything.

They tried to deal with a number of delicate themes such as saving a dying marriage, the pain of losing a child (tho barely mentioned and dealt with thereafter), family conflicts and politics, rude ass uncaring family members who suddenly became THE happily ever after family upon knowing Hae in's illness etc etc.

It seemed like Hae in's illness was solely given to her in order to convince her family, and us, the audience, of the fact that she was only human and that she deserved to be loved. So I'm guessing the directors knew how unreasonable they had made her character.

The villain wasn't proper yet again. This is especially disappointing when you have watched The Glory. Sunghoon was amazing in that role and it kept me at the edge of my seat throught the series.
Queen of Tears fails to portray a PLOT. CHARACTERS.

Hyun woo is confused about everything in the initial episodes and even becomes happy when he learns about the news of his wife's illness and that she might die. I could personally never fall in love with a character like that. No matter how bad it is, you are a man of a good social standing. Whereas the plot only tells us about the lack of communication, there were a lot more underlying problems that weren't addressed. Hyun woo had an absolutely uncaring and trash friend who pretty much directed his life for the first 6 to 7 episodes. PITIFUL AF.

I could go on and vent but that wouldn't really help.

Man. I think someone already mentioned this but 2024 has already seen major trash dumps of hot shot actors. Like you know, My demon, Dr Slump and now Queen of tears.

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Plastic surgery that isn't skin deep

The individual case arcs were great. From DV to acid attack the main cases featured some heavy topics. The supporting actors gave powerful performances. The regular cosmetic procedures depicted various circumstances, emotions or fit in the arc. Plastic surgery and even reconstructive surgery are often barely described than sketches or botched procedures so its something to see it graphic. Also some psychological states were interesting. Nurse Yang is so lovely😊...

I guess the weak part was dragging out the myth arc through too many last episodes with misdirects and unconvincing explanations. I remember reading news of production issues long time back and something caused the delay in release. Still... It could have been tighter with better suspense and few more variety of cases put in before the finale commenced. I understood the link the main arc tried to create with plastic surgery and the title "Face Me" but felt that message got diluted somewhere. Also the mom was...uhh... There were some holes too. Bit of backstories would have helped better. It was otherwise straightforward and dropped enough of the usual clues(shown playing second fiddle always from the beginning itself gave away the possibility of having a complex and a one-sided obsession gone wrong) making the main arc ending obvious but that same simplicity worked well in how natural some things were. The cooperation between doctor and police felt right even when they went off the books(the mom tho...). More coincidences and circumstances than the usual being forced to work together type thing. Seeing the patients in the finale brought the initial few cases back to mind and everyone getting closure took a turn for the better. I felt for Nam Hyo-ju, was glad to see her get a safe ending to move on. FL's brother reaches a healing phase in his life too.

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CANNOT FINISH WATCHING

Unfortunately had to drop this series because the whole time I was watching, all I could think about was wishing Deng Wei was the main lead🥴
. I mean, Bai Lu is my favorite, but watching her pair up with the ML just wasn't cutting it for me. I tried to give it a chance, but I couldn't bring myself to continue. It's just a personal preference, you know?🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Hopefully, I'll find another series that will capture my attention enough to keep me invested. Until then, I'll just stick to re-watching my all-time favorites Who rule the world and Love like the galaxy💕😍🫶🫶

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sweet, warm, and realistic, just right, but not 10/10

In comparison to all other Chinese dramas I've watched, this drama offered an unmatched sense of realism. I felt like I was watching a natural love story unfold. Like I watched a real relationship develop from an outside friend's perspective: starting as a harmless one-sided crush on an older brother's friend and realizing a genuine affection and support for each other as they got older.

I think the key to this wasn't the acting, I felt like the acting itself was acceptable and good, but nothing jaw dropping. The main player to this real-feel was the story and writing. Having watched many Chinese dramas, I'm no stranger to the crazy schemes, plot holes, dramatic side characters, and unrealistic "has it all" leads. This drama still has a ML with a devastating and traumatic childhood, it still has a sort of crazy ex, still has a ML as a top new-face in the tech field, all of these are cliches, but this drama does it right. It adds just enough cliche to keep the viewers engaged and the story going, but never too much that it becomes unreal. The stories they presented us with, how the characters acted at their respective ages, and how the characters reacted to serious situations, were all very possible in the real world. We see the characters face adversity in their careers, family, finances, balancing the many parts of their lives, and etc. However, when we are shown these struggles, we don't see big schemes, dragged-on arcs, and the introduction of meaningless filler side-character stories. We get scenes about a character's emotions, conversations between the leads, and unspoken thoughts. This drama nailed showing, not telling. I think 95% of Chinese dramas fail at this. Things happen, but everything remains fairly calm. Just like in our real lives. I was able to appreciate how the leads built a relationship from support and trust only because I felt their problems were real. Their relationship, their conversations, their moments were all so entirely heart-warming because I felt touched for them.

The cinematography was also much higher quality than any other contemporary drama I've watched. Every scene felt intentional and just right for the moment.

My only qualm with this drama was the age-gap. True, a five-year age gap is really nothing. However, I will always have a problem with this part of the story because of one reason: the leads had an established brother-sister dynamic since the FL was young, to the point that the FL had the ML saved as older brother 2 on her phone. The drama doesn't emphasize much about the ML's change in perspective on the FL. It starts off as the ML seeing the FL as a naive little "kiddo", his words exactly. This is kinda set for a while, and as an audience we don't really know when he started seeing her as an adult. This distinction was never made clear. And I fear it's because he still partly saw her as a child even while he was pursuing her....this is where I think it's a little weird. Once they get into a relationship, they settle really well into it and I don't see their age gap as a problem anymore. It's the transition that was hazy. How can a grown man go from seeing a girl as a silly naive young kid to seeing her as a potential romantic interest that fast? The drama lacks here.

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Mostly Fun... But Oh That Ending

Full disclosure, I mostly watched this drama for Taec-yeon and I am also now reviewing this months after having finished so some details will be lost--
I enjoyed watching this drama for the most part (until about two-thirds in) so that's what saves the score from being lower. The cohabitation trope, the classic fantasy immortal man looking for his girl, the historical elements and mystery of the flashbacks slowly coming together, the SML and his mystery disease-- chef's kiss. FL being different than the average Kdrama girl and actually kinda liking SML. Mystery girl with the matching face. It had some unique elements that made me enjoy it beyond Taec-yeon's acting (and face).

Honestly, I don't remember the OST. It didn't end up on my playlists, so I guess it was probably average.

SOME SPOILERS COMING

I watched it as it was being released, and waited each week for the next episode. At some point, that excitement faded. The intrigue started getting clouded by annoyances: the SML becoming kinda obsessive, the side characters being useless and ruining things, the weird cat guy who was just kinda there to be mystical and weird and then ALL OF A SUDDEN drops this very important lore he failed to mention before, the cheesy vampire antagonist, and honestly just the whole "I want love that makes my heart beat" message felt shallow. Like that could've been a joke because ML is such a goofy romantic, and instead it's legit serious sometimes but it feels corny. Cool FL starts to catch the corniness too, but I suppose that's what happens when Taec-yeon catches you.
Also that one side character's hair...

SPOILER WARNING

And then two thirds in you get a prediction of how things will end and I'm thinking "well this hasn't been the most unique drama ever, it's been full of tropes, so nah not happening they'll do the classic everybody lives except maybe a side character" and then it does happen. It's predictable in the worst way. The whole tone is just depressing after the revelation is dropped and then you just ride that wave thru a bunch of annoying "not telling you so I won't hurt you" tropes until the end. If you're gonna try to be a different Kdrama than the rest, be consistent. It just made his sacrifice feel like a noble idiot moment, she has no choice in it. Instead of character growth and them truly enjoying each other thru real communication (I know it's a Kdrama but still) it just feels like another grand gesture from him but this one goes horribly wrong. Questions left unanswered in other elements of the plot too. Ugh. Such a disappointment.

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weak hero class 1000/10

episode 2 pa lang, mixed emotions ka na bakla, and also the betrayal .. iba ang nagagawa ng galit. This teach us that don't trust easily, even if close friends pa natin sila,
we really can’t tell kung anong kayang gawin sayo ng isang tao they really can't control their own devil inside their own. And on the other hand, some friends are genuine and real. They would help you when you are in need, you needed to choose your friends carefully. I realized that, there’s nothing wrong about communicating your feelings to someone, mas mahirap pa if magkaroon ng mis-understanding kaya naging malala yung situation. Laking impact ng series na ‘to sakin, it might change my perspective about trusting people. From the 1st episode to the 8th episode (finale) it satisfied me a lot, kind of disappointed kasi bakit ngayon ko lang sya naisipan panoorin kahit na ik this movie way back 2022 pa. Park Ji Hoon deserves so much awards, and also pati production nila and lahat ng casts, ang galing nila umacting. seserve nila humakot ng award.

I’m looking forward sa s2 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

i have so much range kay seok sa episode 5 & 6, would you let your friend dīe? paying someone to béat up your friend just because you’re jealous? I am not invalidating bum seok though, sana manlang sinabi niya yung mga nangyari sakanya sa past for sure maiintindihan nila ‘yan, i kind of understand him in some point, even in a tiniest change of how my friends treat me I kind of overthunk it a lot. Throughout all his life he was underestimated by everyone. Misunderstanding really hits diff

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Funny, Sad, Intruguing

First - this is the 2nd drama I have seen with Lee Jong Won, and he has impressed me! His eyes will stop your breath, as his mastery of conveying emotion through them is phenomenal.

Lee Ha Nee was also incredible. Her character was naive, and brave and hopeful. She mastered her character flawlessly.

The rest of the cast was also well chosen. There wasn’t any of the awkward chemistry that is sometimes seen when the villains are overly villainous, and the comedic inserts throughout the episodes made me laugh multiple times.

I felt horrible for the way widows were treated during that time period, and it was refreshing to see that the characters lived within the social boundaries but did not resign themselves to the expectations of seclusion and even ending their lives.

The story was well written and the overall production was amazingly executed. Thenonly thing that left me with a negative impression was the choice of some of the music. While the FL was a force to be reckoned with, the initial song was too abrasive as her character was more than that. Just my personal reaction though.

Tge other tiny disappointment was the ending. It did not end the way it was built up. Not badly, but it was a bit of a disappointment considering all the ML and FL experienced together.

Overall it was a good drama, and I enjoyed every episode. I probably wouldn’t watch it again anytime soon, but it would be a good one to watch again at some point.

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An incredibly good run that stumbles on its final steps

I’ll preface this review saying that you probably want to watch this series. I know people are usually turned off when they read that a show doesn’t deliver on the ending, but the truth is you can perfectly enjoy a trip even if the destination isn’t exactly the one you want. So don’t be afraid to give this one a try!

Now to the POSITIVES. I think that the premise of this BL is the cutest thing ever and reminded of a brazialian short-then-turned-into-a-movie called Eu não quero voltar sozinho, which was also very endearing. As per usual, I think it’s really rare to find truly good acting in the BL world and this is really
no exception to that rule, but do be aware that I’m quite demanding on that front and all the actors here did a pretty good job. Honorable mention to Mark in the role of Night, who I believe has the potential to be an astounding actor. He truly stole the show quite a few times, even though his character was secondary, and what I think helped is that his character was probably written the best among all of the cast. Jimmy, while not having the finest skills in terms of acting, also did a pretty good job and managed to portray Mhok in what I find to be quite a genuine way: emotional, witty, walking this fine line between macho and maturely silly but still believable. All the supporting cast was convincing and that makes the viewing experience worth in and of itself. Pretty sweet romance and and, all in all, an enjoyable story!

So what exactly went wrong? The WRITING. More specifically, the fact that I believe the scriptwriters were too confident in their skills and at some point decided they wanted to overkill it. Up until episode 8-9, maybe 10, I was still quite on board and thought the plot to be solid, even though they did take some unnecessary detours along the way. Like, let’s not kid ourselves: did the heart of this story really need more than 12 hours? I’m inclined to say no. Personally, I’m a big advocate of short and sweet and usually dislike longer narratives since they tend to have fillers and usually end up being a little bit messy, which is exactly what happened in a few instances with this show. There were times where I was ready for Mhok and Day’s story to end, and I was only at episode… six? I really can’t believe they truly needed 12 one-hour episodes, and what probably happened is that that’s what the producers told them they had to do on some business grounds, which I can get behind if done well. Soap operas can be enjoyable, too! But I guess if you binge them, then it becomes a bit repetitive and tiring and you want a change of tune. The danger with doing too much is that, in the end, it’s the characters themselves that suffer these “external needs” for the runtime to be longer, and that’s what happened in the final episodes. The whole thing with Mhok dealing with the dilemma of maybe going to work abroad or staying put because he’s in a relationship was badly handled in my opinion, mainly by the character of Day himself. I understand that, in his situation, I’d be upset too if I felt like my boyfriend was giving up on an opportunity because of me, but to infer that Mhok was refusing so go because he felt pity for him was actually distasteful, ‘cause that’s not it at all. I can understand that he’s young and pretty much a rich spoiled kid, so of course he’d handle a few issues immaturely, but I don’t know, that kind of behavior and lack of understanding of why Mhok was so afraid of leaving, also considering the sensitive topic of the trauma he has from his sister committing suicide, it kinda pissed me off that he reacted that way. I have this love-hate relationship with Day’s character, where I do understand he’s living in pretty awful circumstances, but there were instances where he was acting on such selfish and self-absorbed basis that I just found him childish. That’s confirmed by the way he treated his own brother, whom he did have good reason to resent, but again, he lacked the maturity to recognize that the accident was… well, an accident, and by that time he forgave him conveniently only when Night was helping him in a big way, even going against his mother and lying to her to protect him. I know, it seems like I’m speeding on my hate-wagon for Day, but I swear that I’m blaming this on the writing and not on the character itself, which I’m sure would have been lovely if they had given him a little bit more thought. Choosing to give him his sight back in the final episodes almost completely ruins the whole message and effort of the story in my opinion, but in the end I’m glad to have watched it knowing that, even when you lose something, you always find something back eventually.

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WILLIAMEST IS THAMEPO

First of all, wow! We all didn't expect ep1 this good, it's so good that you just want to watch the entire episodes now. People are also surprised that William is just 19 and it is his first acting gig, in shorter words it's his acting debut. He set his acting debut so high, coz HE CAN ACT!!! As for est, i don't have enough words how good he is, this is his first lead role and his killing it!

Let's jump to ep1, the storytelling, i love it! The introduction to every characters, it's giving fanfiction i love it so much. It's not too much, you can bear it! What I love about it is that, their acting, like damn that confrontation scene where they need to let out every single frustrations they have. po, he was being left by his ex, not acknowledging the things he did for his ex — leaving him questioning his worth.

thame, who's about to leave and carrying a pain too. I'm sure he's hurt in so many aspects, the group is his family, and you'll understand where his coming from when he throws his line to po.

Overall, you can always watch the ep1 while waiting for the next eps. i have so high expectations in the next eps! I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

and, just a simple fact if u don't know, they kept thamepo for 4-5 years, and they started to work on it when they saw william's potential as thame in the survival show, project alpha. and as for est, when the director saw him, she knew that he's po. DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER!

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