Reviews

An OK-to-watch, not very excellent, as we may expected but it could be done better.

This drama has an epic source material with very deep story that could shake our souls, but unfortunately it is poorly excuted by the production team. They missed so much and instead of becoming another peak melancholic drama of Tunku Shower, its quality fell in the middle. The acting and chemistry in the first half of the drama is not giving and it could be done better if they cast experienced actors instead of idols or new actors because this drama is so heavy in terms of emotions. Crying scenes are bad and dry. What's more, casting 14-yo children in to sensual scenes makes us feel uncomfortable, let alone their weak acting skills.
In addition, the writing and directing is also not satisfactory as they skipped so much tiny yet important details from the source materials and the story seems rushed in some scenes. Color grading is a crime in this drama, that orangey color compromises the aesthetic values of the film frame and of course, affects cast visuals.
In general, it would be an OK-to-watch, not very excellent, as we may expected but I must say it could be done better.
I recommend you all find the manga because it can't be missed.

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Youth Drama at its finest !!

Usually I take MDL ratings with a pinch of salt but this is one of the rare times where the rating actually reflects the quality of the series..in fact I would say this rating is less for how good this drama is...no angst, no unnecessary conflicts..pure love and friendship as it should be..the FL was so charismatic that you couldn't help but fall in love with her..the ML was d definition of boyfriend material...loved d secondary couple and thought they were really amazing which is quite rare for me..overall a beautiful, lively, heartwarming drama that will make you smile and cry happy tears throughout !! bravo !! 10/10 without any reservations!! also special mention to d cinematography !!

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Favorite Thai Drama To Date!!!

This is an ongoing drama, so I haven't seen the end yet. But I felt compelled to write a review of this drama from what I've seen so far. The male lead is absolutely amazing! He's so adorable, and as the drama goes on, you can see the look of love in his eyes when he sees the female lead. He is green flags everywhere. I love how accepting he is of the female lead despite her crazy family and weird personality. I absolutely love it. The female lead, I absolutely love her too! She's adorable, kind, funny, and brings out more goodness in the male lead. She also gives him love that he never received while growing up. They are such a perfect match for each other.

The story line is impeccable. The cast is so well picked, and the characters are so funny! They just add to the story. If you are considering watching this, I definitely say, "GO FOR IT!" I can't wait to see how the story will end.

UPDATE:

I have officially finished the drama and let me tell you. This drama is worth watching. Most people say it's a slow burn romance, which... it is. But for me it didn't feel that way. It didn't feel that way because I was entertained the whole show. The main leads romance was cute and adorable, and I loved seeing how the ML fell first. Were there characters that got on my nerves? Sure. But there are always characters we don't like. I enjoyed pretty much the whole cast, and they did a splendid job with this drama. If you like romance with green flag main leads, which includes a cute and perky FL who helps the ML break out of his shell, with fun friends, coworkers, and family, this drama is definitely for you. Watch this drama, you won't regret it.

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the ending was underwhelming

the ending was totally rushed, they wasted alot of time in nothing just them going round and round. The whole drama was an angst/ Teenage/ revenge Drama so the ending should have been on the same level, but I didn't feel it that much. As much as it was supposed to be totally unexpected and surprising but I didn't feel like that, it was all so rushed and packed in the last twenty minutes that's why it's impact wasn't that great.

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Pure Innocent love at its best!!

what a heartwarming love story ...the pure innocent crush of a girl was so beautifully portrayed... I also loved d fact that in the beginning when she was still minor they refrained from showing any romantic feelings from the ML.....it was just pure adoration for someone he considered a sister like younger friend ...the progression in the love story was so organic you can literally see the ML starting to develop feelings and also the exact moment when it transitioned from brotherly adoration to something more for him...I love how the FL was cute and childlike (not childish..huge difference) when it came to her loved ones but also knew where to take a stand for herself ...the acting the ost everything was sooo good! Definetly one of my all time favorites and one which I will watch multiple times !!

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The story started off really intriguing. The first 10 episodes just kept making me want to watch it more and more. The roles fit the main leads very well, and the drama was off to a great start.

I fell like when the story got to the plot or when the couple heads to YouZhou, the story starts to get really boring, and there’s nothing left for me to watch, I really did think about giving up but luckily I didn’t. The story picks up again after near the end.

I wouldn’t say it’s the best or a masterpiece, but the story is very good then drops then is good again. I mean it’s not a complete waste of time to watch it, but again 40 episodes is really worth it.

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House of Perplexities.

The best way I would describe this series is ... PERPLEXING

But not in the way you are thinking.
I finished today, and it ended on a CLIFFHANGER, so I suppose there will be a second season. But even if there isn't, the cliffhanger itself is sort of a conclusion and will be OKAY as an ending.
I think the reason this drama does not reach its full potential is because some of the actors are really NOT good at acting. And in a Drama about ACTORS that was really bothersome. I mean, if you are casting for a Drama about actors, even if they are supposed to be "Not good actors" you should cast BRILLIANT actors to play Bad actors because then they will be convincing as a character and as a bad actor. It takes an outstanding actor to play a bad actor. But sadly this drama...
Still, something kept me hooked and brought me back to it week after week, so you can have that as my recommendation. If you dare LOL.

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My rating of this drama

For this particular drama, my rating doesn't fully reflect my great enjoyment. From the first to the last episode, this drama was adorable. Not silly sweet but refreshingly sweet. No wonder it rushed to the top on the first day of its launch and into the top ten in real-time. Moreover, despite being so young, the main and secondary couples gave such amazing acting performances that I'll follow up their future projects.
It was a beautiful love story, and very well directed (with only minor editing flaws). But it is a simple plot, not intricate or complex twists. Although it had some drama that contributed to the male lead character development, most scenes and dialogues were very simple as expected in a high school setting, and some were shallow (the few cliches included in the plot). So although the love story is a 10/10, the overall drama's simple (but sweet) plot is why I gave it 8.5 (dramas that I think were very good and a rewatch in the future).

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When you are away from home, your Sisters are all that you have.

Subjective Gut Rating - 8.25

Stumbled upon “Sisterhood”, probably saw someone posted on the Feeds. It’s not an idol drama and the plot is probably not too enticing to many watchers. But I wanted to watch something different, and was glad to give this a shot.

This is an underrated drama about the “Sisterhood” of the Red Scarves ladies, who moved from Sam Sui (China) to Singapore for work. Not many dramas focus on the stories of women moving away from home. The drama focuses on the life and challenges of these Red Scarves ladies, and their career first in the construction industry and then branching out to others.

We follow Ou Yang Tian Qing (FL) through her career as someone fresh-off-the-boat to becoming the team leader of the Red Scarves ladies. Tian Qin is easy to root for but can also seem a little too ‘can do no wrong’. I enjoy her journey of growth and how she works closely with those she met in Singapore, especially her benefactress, Nan Lan. However, at times her words of wisdom and encouragement can seem a little preachy to me.

Romance is a side plot but enough to keep the romance lover in me satisfied but not wow me. I did not fall in love with male lead, Kuang Hai Sheng, immediately as he seems a little stalkerish in the beginning episodes. But he grows on me and I’ve grown to really like his character. He’s caring, sweet and supportive of Tian Qing’s career. Verbally, he might tease Tian Qing a lot, but deep down he was never pushy with his feelings. I wish the secondary romance didn’t happen but it’s also to-be-expected. 2ML fell in love again rather quickly.

The pacing of this drama is good. There are enough mini-climaxes throughout the drama to keep me interested in all 40 episodes. At times, I am a little confused about how much time has passed. A lot could have happened on screen and then I realized only a day or two went by.

Acting is good all around, including the supporting cast. Veteran actresses Yue Li Na (Nan Lan/benefactress), Xu Fan Xi (2nd Madam Lu), Xie Cheng Ying (Miss Qi) and Zhang Xi Wen (Sister Ling) are all amazing and shine brighter than the younger ones. There are also enough irritating characters in this drama that I want to strangle. I had to fast-forward some of their scenes. I think the one I dislike the most is the 2FL, He Xiao Chan (FL’s best friend). I dislike FL’s mother as well. I actually don’t dislike the villain as much as those two.

What I hate the most is the HORRIBLE English spoken by so-called foreigners and native English speakers, except for Police Chief Hunter. There are quite a few English dialogues and each time I hear the English spoken, my ears bleed.

Overall, I had a good time watching this drama. It’s something different for me personally. I would recommend this if you enjoy stories of women empowerment and sisterhood.



Completed: 7/11/2023 - Review #333

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Nevertheless I Sill Watched This Show

Very average feeling about it. The whole show felt like pulling teeth to watch, took me a whole month to finish this one. Had a lot of problems that I just couldn't ignore. I'm glad the couples I like got together but they got together at the end but they weren't given much screen time after that. the main couple is toxic and irritating. The acting is phenomenal everyone did well portraying their facial emotions. The music sometimes tends to get loud almost to the point it was overbearing. One good thing was the main actress will become of my favorites and ill follow her in the recent movie My Name.

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Bloody Brilliant!!!!!!

I loved this series. So often dramas like this leave me with lots of little annoying things that were left unexplained or plot lines that don’t play out realistically.It was a convoluted story but was played out flawlessly with brilliant acting from everyone especially FL she was outstanding. I liked the fact that all the supporting characters were important to the story, no one felt like a filler and unusually for me i have an interest in seeing how all the characters could progress.This show is crying out for a season 2, so many possibilities re plot and although i loved the no nonsense approach to any romances there is sooo much scope for almost every character.all in all a really good watch
P.s. very surprised at some of the reviews on here and also by the low number of them but I suppose all viewing is subjective ……….

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Contrived soap within the guise of a modern drama

This is a bridge lakorn style drama, which is a hybrid with elements to appeal to the different generation of tv watchers. I have yet to see one nails the two tones right and this drama is the worst of the ones I've seen so far. Just because it's part soap, doesn't give it undue lenience to be badly done. The premise of the misunderstanding is dragged on for way too long, past the point of sympathy for the Meena. It's actually really creepy that she claimed to be a strangers girlfriend in the first place even if she meant well and it's just way worse the longer she did it but that's just not questioned, just shrugged off by everyone. It did more damage than harm and not in any way that added to the story. The way the show went about extending her lie is frustratingly forced with a sudden interruption every time or she changes her mind, even when the situation makes no sense to keep up the lie to a particular person. Her entire storyline is just consumed dragging out this lie for one excuse or another while making moves on the brother she has the hots for without making things clear to either men. Nothing else goes on for her character to develop. She literally never comes clean to a single member of the family of her own accord. Everyone just conveniently accidentally learned the truth or was told by someone else. So her arc was that she was lonely and wanted a man and lied a whole bunch and got a man with his eventually big loving family, everything she wanted.

I feel a lot of sympathy for the way Than was emotionally abused and bullied by the adopted mother and brother his entire life since his birth father died saving him. He loves his adopted family very much, but very much enabled Arthit's toxic behavior as well as aggressively went after a woman he thought was dating his brother long before he accidentally found out she's actually available. That's never questioned either. The way that he's treated by his mom and brother to the point of a very self harm idealizing sounding message at his adopted father's cremation ceremony is only ever heard by Cathy and not dealt with in the drama.

Cathy turned out to have the most well rounded arc despite not being a lead. The Meena role looked and felt like it would fit the actress Jan very well, especially with her being age appropriate for the part if they didn't want to make the characters in mutually consenting adult age gap relationship which would have been great if it was, but other than that Cathy is probably the best role in the whole show. She started off as not valuing herself very well with Arthit who treated her poorly. She was desperate enough to go along with his twisted scheme to destroy his brother, she actually saw Arthit for the scum he is and played him while helping Than who she sees is a good guy and very good at his import work. He's already a great collaborator even before she sees him as a possible romantic partner. She manipulated Meena into fooling Than and sent the message to the mom with her last straw broken, but actually had the self awareness to feel bad for what she's done. She gains self respect, not getting back with Arthit though she is cordial with his attempt at becoming a better person. Go Cathy!

Arthit has the most unearned redemption arc of the series. He is selfish, spoiled, and enabled by his whole family and even Than, but even beneath that he has a cruel, unhinged nature with a near sociopathic tendency to hide behind a mask of kindness while taking extreme pleasure to torture Than just to see him be miserable and less than him. This is definitely never addressed and too deeply entrenched to believably be changed by Than getting hit by a car in place of him. They never show a single moment where he ever lets up being the biggest douchebag and show kindness or brotherhood to Than that would be that glimmer of hope that would allow for such a drastic change in a short amount of time.That second hit and run is pretty ridiculous too, it makes no sense for Than to swivel Arthit out of the way to take his place. The scriptwriter just needed it to happen and couldn't think of a sensible way. Like every time Meena conveniently gets interrupted.

The second most unearned redemption arc is the mother, they have Arthit say that Than took a lot of the blame for the shenanigans Arthit was up to when they were younger, but that woman hated Than from the start for no reason. He was literally freshly orphaned and she treated him like a cockroach. Arthit learned a lot of that from her too. Her son lying and Than getting hit by a car is not enough for her to believably turn that switch to loving mother. They never showed any moment from her towards Than to build up to this ending

The second couple with the two university kids Alan and Khaotung were so childish they might as well be in high school. The non consensual photo, video, kissing, all just played for laughs and "cuteness". The most disposable storyline. Alan's relationship with his brothers is more interesting. He's the youngest and grew up better with Than's influence while still spoiled by his mother. Than and Alan have the closest familial relationship. Arthit and Alan barely interact besides the former bribing the latter, which already says a bit, but it would have been interesting to explore more.

The character of Than's adopted father was gone too soon from the show. He could have been the source from which moments of redemption of love for Than could have been sown before he kicks the bucket. Character development across the board was sorely lacking, the time wasted on furthering the misunderstanding until the last episode and suddenly they wed. There's no sufficient time to reconcile the characters at all. Even if they didn't do set up for love before the lie, they could have done work for them to bond after instead of random road accident, coma, and wedding.

I initially thought that it would be an older woman, younger man dynamic, but it seems like the main characters all seem to be around the same age. It's never addressed and it's distracting, but it's the least offensive out of everything else going on. The casting is okay, everyone played their parts well. I hope to see Jan get some female lead roles with great writing for her to sink her teeth into. The music is serviceable. I definitely will not be rewatching and putting myself through this exercise of dragged out frustration, save for maybe some of Cathy's scenes.

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Not fluffy as it's seems *hidden gem*

I start this show just for fun it was like I'll watch ep or two but it's really really good
The one thing that kept bothering me that the young actress was toooo young to convince me that she is in love..
The FL luci wad really good at acting she made me cry laugh feel frustrated all those emotions at same time
The ML was good at acting and as you keep watching his portray as cool not cold person will make sense his background and struggles

The older brother was so funny caring annoying typical brother_sis relationship

The reason I gave the story low rate that I kept worrying about the young child.and the story itself isn't a new one


But it was the most realistic

*Spoiler*
The scene at airport was really heartbreaking anyone who had been in one side love will have felt her pain

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Top-Notch Acting, Patiently Built Storyline and Symbolic Flower

The Longest Promise seamlessly combines elements of romance, fantasy, and historical fiction with its compelling storyline, breathtaking visuals, and heartfelt performances. The drama excels in showing flaws in every character, their reasons and developments - as well as angst because we swam in our tears, especially on EP35-40. Yet, we also get a good dose of comedy and precious squad.

While some viewers may find the initial pace slow, I must say it is definitely worth it since those are stages that patiently build the storyline. The gradual hints and beautifully crafted parallels in the subsequent episodes make the buildup truly rewarding.

The chemistry between the lead actors is palpable, their emotional connection drawing viewers into their world. There is hesitation, uncertainty, and some reasonable (and painful) misunderstandings. But most of all, I especially liked their determination in the final episodes to save the world together. It was refreshing to see both ML and FL fight side by side, with a promise to protect and support each other.

Visually, it has exquisite cinematography and lavish sets, that leave viewers amazed. Especially the dragon CGI was one of the best that I have seen recently.

The supporting cast adds depth and complexity to the story, with each character contributing to the richness of the narrative. Their motivations and interactions add layers of tension, ensuring a well-rounded experience.

Regarding the ending, I would say it's a "hopeful" open ending that hinted at happiness in previous episodes. As Shi Ying and Zhu Yan "promised" to find each other, and Zhu Yan mentioned how she never saw Shi Ying in her dreams for a year, I think it means he returned to her.

I also had been looking for flowers that can be an inspiration for the "Snowy Rosa" and I guess they used more than one reference for the flower. The closest one I could find was Yulan Magnolia, which has a tree that is named after the Chinese word "Yulan," which means "jade lily." The blooms typically appear in early spring and the flower is deeply associated with beauty, purity, and elegance. So it symbolizes the arrival of spring and the "renewal of life," which is also why I think Shi Ying returned to Zhu Yan once again (the first time being after their encounter as kids.)

Overall, I truly enjoyed this drama and think I will occasionally revisit it to watch my favorite scenes. I will also continue making edits / fmv for the drama, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI-LyvxxdMxDDA1gonAWMPAbp_5Sx-RWU

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