Reviews

Perfection

My favorite Kdrama ever. I'll never get over it and I'll probably rewatch (the scenes between the ML and FL) several times a year.

Full disclosure: I watch Kdramas for the romance, and the romance here is TOP NOTCH. The background story for this one is fine. It makes sense and as an action plot device is pretty good. Most of the time, the background story helped add tension to the romance, so I only fast-forwarded through the action plot scenes during the last 4 episodes when I finally got tired of them and felt like they weren't adding to the romance. (Usually, I'm fast-forwarding through the non-romance scenes starting with episode 3).

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Unbalanced, too much of good feelings but still ok...

1/ What I LIKED :
- Childhood version of the leads and the backstory. So good.
- Who is Ki Ho?
- The guy who saved a family by creating a new one. Where this family started from and how they loved and cared for each other...
- FL positiveness and the funny lessons she learnt.
- The mystery regarding the original father, his bad deeds and his demise....
- The two brothers and how they dealt with each other. Especiallly SML and how he took something hard like a brother and like a man.

2/ What I DID NOT LIKE:
- SFL singer... honestly I never liked her character... I liked her mom... but not her.
- FL focusing too much on being with her fav singer to help her in any case...
- Yoo Ran Joo and president Lee.. they dated or not? or they just banged?

3/ OST:
Some very good songs and good moments of music.

4/ REWATCH VALUE:
Honestly? No. No epic moments.

5/OVERALL:
Decent and entertaining but a bit draggy and the ending was too much of unicorns and rainbows. A short and decent drama to binge watch but week in week out I felt it was draggy at times. 8/10.

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Truly "being crazy for each other" takes center stage

This drama deserves a MUCH higher rating than 7.9; I feel like audience expectations are the issue. I've noticed most Kdramas with a romance tag feel very neutered, where the characters just really, really *like* and respect each other, but don't display much in the way of true physical interest. Basically, I think of "romance" Kdramas similar to Disney princess movies with a tiny bit more kissing. Not so with this one.

First, know what you're getting into. This is an actual romance, where the main story is the romance, and it has romantic scenes between two people who are legitimately and unapologetically crazy for each other. I'm not talking about just warm affection, I'm talking about pining and yearning and *want*. But it also has warm affection, deep friendship, support, and (eventually) trust, but the "being crazy for each other" takes center stage.

Second, this felt more like a western TV show than a Kdrama, and their relationship progresses as such with more emphasis on the physical desire between two people as part of romantic relationship. This can be good or bad depending on your view of what a romantic relationship entails/should be. If watching two young, beautiful, complicated people be both physically and emotionally crazy for each other makes you uncomfortable, you should skip this one.

Third, the ending is confusing until you re-watch the last episode and notice all the things you missed when you watched it the first time. I will say that I found the ending extremely satisfying when I watched it a second time, but was confused the first time I watched it.

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The Songs! Her Voice!

Park Eun Bin never, and I mean, never, fails to deliver and this is no exception - adding a whole new facet to her talents by having her knocking it out of the park with that stunning voice she has too, alongside her already award winning acting talent.

The rest of the cast are great too, of course, and I particularly loved the interplay between Park Eun Bin and Kim Hyo Jin (who played Ran Joo), and Lee Re who played Seo Mok Ha when she was younger was an absolutely inspired choice - the two of them were a brilliant younger/older pairing and so often when watching the older Mok Ha I could see the little twitches or tells that were the same as Lee Re portrayed on the younger Mok Ha - this truly felt like a younger and older version of the same person.

This is a story of people who have lost their way, whether it's in their careers and dreams or literally on an island, and how those people find each other and guide each other to their futures.

The music throughout is spectacular, absolutely my taste and i'll be adding most of it to my playlist on Spotify, wait for the credits at the end of the last episode for a different video to one of the songs too featuring Mok Ha on the island, nice little treat.

Of course aside from Mok Ha on the island, you've got a number of other things at play, from Ran Joo losing her way as an artist, to the other things happening to Ki Ho, Mok ha's friend from home who tried to run away with her at the start that threaten to not just derail their futures but potentially worse.

Numerous times throughout watching this you'll get those big warm fuzzies, or ball your eyes out, depending on how you react - not spoiling anything but... Ran Joo and the balloons, that's all i'm saying. Sorry, i've got something in my eye...

Trigger warnings - abusive parents at the start, pretty tough to watch, but it all contributes to the story I thought and none of it was gratuitous.

I'd happily re-watch this one. The songs, the sights of seeing her grow and sing, the journey the other characters take, I don't think knowing what comes actually diminishes the value of re-watching it much if at all.

Right, i'm off to get a fair-use warning on Spotify for listening to the OST for this too much...

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Do they know what fake dating is?

I don’t even know where to start with this one. Fake dating can be one of the best tropes out there when it’s done right. Which it wasn’t. If anything, I was left with more questions than answers through these two episodes.

We got to watch the events of the first episode twice. The fact that half of it was just flashbacks or replays of what has just gone down was the worst choice they could have made. It was the same footage with a slightly different effect plastered over it. The annoying part is that because so much time was spent on that, the story and emotions building was very weak, which made the events of the second episode feel completely unrealistic and unbelievable.

Peem and Phol were confusing. Leaving aside how they came to be a couple, were they even aware that they were a fake couple? Or did they just miss the memo? I also don’t know what to make of Peem’s feelings. He kept saying how he was going to tell Phol he likes him, but he also only wanted to date him for the few days until the party. And then threw jealousy fits and acted like a baby because Phol didn’t tell him everything.

North and Rew did a good enough job, but I think the story was weak and it didn’t really give them a chance. Their characters were not complex enough and things seemed very chopped into smaller parts. It wasn’t really well connected, which made the emotional bond between their characters seem non-existent.

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The chemistry between the leads was off the charts compensating for other flaws in the series

This is a true romance, which is surprisingly difficult to find. Many dramas labeled as romances are really "slice of life" or "friendship with romantic undertones" stories. But this is a legit romance, with pining and yearning; affectionate, deep friendship; and mutual trust and support between the two leads.

I decided to give this drama 8.5 stars because on a 10-point scale, the chemistry and scenes between the ML and FL was a 100. That's right, out of a possible 10, their chemistry/story/scenes/dialogue/direction was 100. LOL! Plus, I loved the classical music element. Thus, even though the story wasn't perfect, the ML and FL were so beyond perfect that their believable scenes more than made up for the drama's other failings.

Here's the thing: if you want butterflies, this show is going to give you ALL THE BUTTERFLIES. But you will have to FastForward through filler and weird / unnecessary scenes to get to the butterfly scenes.

If this had been 2 episodes shorter and the side stories with his / her friends had been reduced, it would've been perfect.

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The problems are the script and direction

The actors did their best, I'm convinced the ML actor would have chemistry with a turnip, and the premise for the story is pretty good (and had the potential to be great if given to the right team) but the script and direction were just plain bad.

The pacing was off and the script didn't make any sense. Maybe writer was trying to maintain an air of mystery by being purposefully confusing, but it just came across as a jumbled mess, nothing made sense. People had reactions that were unrealistic, too much or too little given what was happening on screen (I blame the director for this disconnect, he/she are responsible for translating the emotions in the script for the audience, the actors only do what they're told by the director in terms of reaction.)

Perhaps this drama could have been saved if either the direction or the script had been halfway decent. Unfortunately, two wrongs don't make a right. It's such a shame! I really like the actors and was looking forward to this one.
:-(

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mixed feelings

i have mixed feelings about this drama. On one hand it was a rollacoaster of emotions with an amazing plot, incredible actors' performances and unimaginable plost twists but on the other side... I don't know I can't understand if I got attached to the characters or not... for some reason I feel like at the start I was very fond of them while towards the last 3-4 episodes I want forward only to see the plot unfolding cause the story was so addicting. Props to the female actresses, from the main to the villains, they all did an amazing job the acting level was phenomenal that's for sure. Overall I liked it even though I feel the last three episodes lacked of something the first ten had ..

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Their relationship / friendship is the main plot, but their romance is a subplot

The relationship of the FL and ML was the main story, but their romance was not part of the main story The FL and ML sold the romance, but the writing of it felt a bit forced , like the writer originally wrote it with no romance, but was forced to add a romantic relationship because they were told to do so. (You'll see what I mean if you watch it).

Basically, if you're wanting a romance, this is not it. You could have replaced the romance with a deep friendship and the story would have been exactly the same. Since I went into this drama expecting a romance (because it's labeled as such) I was left disappointed with this element of the story, which is why I rated it 9 instead of 10.

However, if you're wanting a fun, entertaining, and sometimes suspenseful story about two people who are fated to be in each other's lives as good, loving friends, this is definitely the show for you.

Things that are fantastic about this drama: the music, the child actors (THEY WERE AMAZING!!), the overall message and how the story was both fantastical and realistic, and the adult leads (FL and ML) both separately in their own stories and together as deep, close friends.

The writing and direction were also very good.

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Excellent drama

An excellent drama 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥.. As for the main hero, this is the first drama I have watched of him, and I really liked his performance. I saw the second hero or a support role before in Drama 365, Repeat the year, and I was a huge fan of his acting. 🤍🔥🤍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🤍🔥🔥🔥🤍🤍🤍🔥🔥🔥🤍🤍🤍🤍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥I want to know if there is a second season for this drama 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

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Formulaic with weird paedophilic groomy vibes

When I saw the synopsis for this I knew it was going to be a teen drama replete with unrealistic behaviours and a female ingenue character that bordered on vacuous. I still gave it a go because I found out the lead was none other than Zhao Lu Si from 'Who Rules the World'. However, even having her as the protagonist couldn't keep me on.

Firstly, I have no idea why CDramas, or Chinese productions in general, always edit the characters' voices. Women always end up sounding like a chipmunk. Is that sexy? It's certainly not mature. Definitely not natural. Zhao Lu Si's lovely timbre in 'Who Rules the World' is reduced to a squirrel's that sounds like they have a perpetual cold in 'Hidden Love'.

Secondly, there is no life to Sang Zhi at all except when she decides to say or do something manipulative; if she puts half the energy she has in those moments into her studies, it might seem interesting. As it was, a childish, spoilt younger sister protag who has a crush on an older brother's friend and doesn't focus on her own education, dreams and ambitions was too formulaic and mundane a teen drama. Is Jia Xu the only friend Sang Yan has? Is he the only guy she's ever met and known all her teenage life? Will he be the only one there is? Surely, realistically not. And using an actress that's younger than the fourteen Sang Zhi was meant to be, when she first meets Jia Xu, didn't help with the whole groomy vibes too.

Dropped it after first episode as couldn't gel with the characters and didn't care enough to see their journey. Hidden Love did not utilise all of Zhao Lu Si's talents, not even a tenth of it. Disappointing. Only nice things to note were the food!

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No sustained objections ◇ The Preponderance Of The Evidence Supports an "A" °Excellent°

The following is my brief with respect to this series. LS is, beyond a reasonable doubt, guilty of being a supreme legal drama.

This could almost be labeled a law school "fantasy" series, as unviable as that sounds. Fantasy shows don't appeal to everybody; some prefer realistic dramas. There are many more that hate procedure, or predictability: They want to be surprised by a last-minute reluctant witness. This show should satisfy most people, including most everyone in these groups, but the web of lives, the condensed degrees of separation, and the tangle of grudges and motivations wouldn't be admissible in a true-to-life drama. It is a strain to think of professors at an ivy league level school being as caring as the profs in this drama are. Identifying the right suspect is not as predictable as it is slightly erroneous. Astute viewers may still be able to pinpoint the killer with ease and declare it too predictable... To which I say: "Quash all of that. Who cares?" LS is not guilty of contempt. They've put together a winning case.

⚖Suspend your skepticism and examine all the evidence yourself. The jury must watch the whole show prior to deliberations, so we are remanded to get on the roller-coaster and enjoy LS. This show is written, directed, and edited with a habile hand (I just looked "habile" up and decided to use it… pretty cool word, right? I hope it impresses the judge and jury).

LS follows the lives of law students along with some of the professors - their struggles and triumphs, families, friends and foes, along with their growth as they navigate through the fraught chambers of their lauded institution. Prof Yang and Kang Sol A are fabulous characters. I could listen to Kim Myung-Min (Prof Yang) talk all day. His voice is divinely masculine and deep. It would have been tossed out if he couldn't act or take command of the courtroom, but he can, and very well at that. The director sustains the tension throughout the series. It's high mystery in classic whodunit form. The taut editing and soundtrack sequester the audience in a state of suspense. If you reason that you know who the culprit is in ep3, you might waiver by ep8. The evidence keeps our minds in motion, turning like a bottle being spun on a table.

We should overrule some of their arguments, though. There are things that seem judiciously obvious to the court at large that elude their brilliant minds. That always weighs a case down. I strongly object to the last moments of the show which are remitted as way too brief. We get very little discovery pertaining to what the characters went on to do or what the relationship is of the three that are walking together at the end. It resounded like a cracked gavel. That may be hearsay, however, the prosecution argues that it's pure negligence to wrap up a 16+ hour series with a 10 second consultation. Would that we could depose the director about that decision. In the balance, we can easily dismiss any such torts committed by the director. Indubitably, the director's curriculum vitae (resume) shows he's had a solid run, and has a high likeability factor. The overall quality of the piece is a mitigating factor taken into account in the sentencing phase: LS gets all the credit for time served, and remains released for all of us to enjoy.

I originally postponed the hearing on LS as I wasn't convinced that it would sway me. The worth of its collateral was evident once its docket came up on the calendar (my Netflix queue), and I sat in judgment. While I wasn't confident of its appeal, now that all the exhibits have been examined, Res Ipsa Loquitor: The thing speaks for itself.

In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this drama has acquitted itself laudably. The ratings prove what broad appeal it has. The preponderance of the evidence is that this show has prevailed in its effort to convince us of its credibility. So don't waiver: Watch as an interested party. I'm sure you will agree to stipulate the worthiness of the production.

IMHO...
Directing 8
Thought provocation 8
Acting 8

Suggested Age 12& up.

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A perfect, 'Perfect Marriage Revenge'

Rarely do I find myself genuinely fond of both leading characters, but in this series, I couldn't help but root for them throughout. It's tough to witness even fictional characters endure exploitation and abuse, but the satisfaction of seeing them grow stronger and seek revenge is truly rewarding.

As the description suggests, this series revolves around the opportunity for a fresh start in life and love. Yi Joo takes charge, steering us through her journey of perfect revenge—a thrilling, romantic, and sometimes scary adventure. I'm glad I joined her on this ride because it was absolutely worth it.

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Perfect Marriage Perfect Chemistry

I have never seen such good chemistry amongst male and female lead since Do Bong Soon. The chemistry is just sizzling, also their acting is pretty good.

All cast are good actors. I also want to commend Lee Min Young for her acting. I watched her in Love Marriage Divorce where she portrayed a timid nice respectful lady turn into a vicious annoying lady in Perfect Marriage Revenge - she is just so convincing! Making her a super good actress.

Story line is a bit of a fantasy / time travel which of course it’s not true to life but I guess it’s just one aspect the writers want to interject so there’s a way to go back in time. I think of it as a metaphor of changing your life while you still have time.

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