Reviews

beautiful, heartbreaking but also perseverance and healing love

phenomenal melodrama indeed , pretty heartbreaking but beautiful .. i absolutely loved it and i wanted to kick myself for not watching it soon but this year is the year i decided to watch a few gems from previous years that people talked about that I didn't watch and this was one of them .... oh my goodness i put everything on hold to binge this and man was it worth it

the ml has a character development . he's one of the best ml i've ever stumbled across to be honest .. he's gonna be a memorable one indeed... ji sung's acting was just oozing with talent and jung eum was insanely talented and her acting so heartfelt and very exceptional, you literally cry with her she's that good and she looked absolutely stunning here .. sometimes i couldn't take my eyes off of her and o course our handsome ju sung a 9.5 for me and only cause i felt the need for more scenes with them , the sexual tensionn , the angst , the tenderness at times .........ughghhgh guiltiest of pleasures

i'm not one to write detailed reviews or posts about drama so that's about it .. one of the best melodramas and possibly best dramas of its time .. and it holds up so well with time and it's just such a good one when craving a classic i'm willing to rewatch this maybe later .. sadly i want more of them and now i understand why the fans were so happy about kill me heal me reunion .. sadly for me i already watched and adored that one gave it a 10 as well it's also in my fave drama list and i adored them but now that i've seen it all .. guess when i miss them i;ll have to rewatch one of them .. tho i wish i could just forget and rewatch for the first time .. as i'm not much of rewatcher ... ♥♥♥♥

for me these two actors have been a one true match and the best paired together in my opinion both for ji sung and jung wum, they have the best chemistry and ever since i watched kill me heal , shin se gi / cha do hyun and ri jin has always been one of faves but oh well .. imagine if i watched this first and then watch kill me heal me ... myyy myyy i would've felt double the intensity ..... since shin se gi and her resembled min hyeok and yoo jung here .. would've been so satisfying .. t

well anyway i highly recommend this ... the male lead isn't that much of unforgivable jerk like the drama advertised itself to be ... instead you'll see another character who is exactly the real jerk snake so ..... in fact i'd argue the ml is truly wonderful and sweetheart compared to other characters ... man that stopped me from watching thinking he's is inspired from terrible lakron characters ( i don't watch those because how bad it is there) but i thought that he's very low key and a very deep character who has one of the best character development i've seen yet ..

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in One word... BORING

I was expecting the usual sweet story between two highschooler who discover their love for each other but when the story Beginns they are already in love.

on the very first episode they like each other soo much but the viewer doesn't get the time to grow affectionate to these characters.

the characters feels more or less like "humans" but the main two are just a caricature. this drama probably was originally a manga or an anime but even if that's the case....

the blond cold guy is really boring. we really know nothing about him. he acts so lifelessly..
the other one is very bubbly and way more likable.

the fall in love for apparently no reason and their story feels flat.
they never talk, they never spend time together.

I get this is a slice of life kind of thing, but nothing really happens..
i am just amazed they even got 8 episodes.

to sum it up... don't watch it. there's is better stuff out there.

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ABAY - This series does capture you

I don’t watch based on reviews and barely write reviews, however I had to because I have seen some reviews with definitely wrong information as through they’re just writing it knocked down the ratings which is unfair.

I read the book and saw the series and here is my take:

Comparing to the book:

HT is more ruthless in the book than the series. They met differently in the book. ZD was his friend with benefits in the book and that’s why in the series you see her coming and going as she pleases. Those who didn’t read to book might missed that and questioned it. They did add on with SY and her best friend getting together to have more drama. How he went to Germany and met her again. However, I felt the stay pretty close to the book as they could. JX was naive about the business world but learned from her mistakes. HT and JX loved each other very much in the book even though through the betrayal and some of the mean things HT said to JX (in the book it’s far worst).

Acting : I thought XK did a great job portraying HT. The serious looks and the gentleness at time. I wished he would take more roles like this as he’s a great actor. Seven did an awesome job portraying JX as well. She was impressive with expressions of emotion and explosive. The acting all around was great. Humor, anger, sadness, etc, you will feel it with all the actors. So not sure why some reviews said acting was horrible.

Chemistry: XK and Seven had great chemistry. Even with the age gap between them, you can’t tell. Their eye expressions of love for each other and then the betrayal you feel it all. Kudos to XK and Seven on an outstanding performance.

Favorite Episodes were 35 - 41, especially 41. As they grow older, their love deepened and you can feel that even though the extra episode was only about 10 minutes. Get ready to cry on this one.

OST: I only really like 3 songs on it so it was okay.

Overall: I didn’t want to put too much spoilers as I feel you shouldn’t based what you watch on reviews. See it for yourself. For me, the was a great drama overall and I would rewatch it. If you like a modern drama of ruthless business world, this is it. It has it all, betrayal, ruthlessness, romance, etc.

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MY FAVOURITE-EST SHOWS OF ALL TIMES

This is hands down my favourite kdramas of all time. I became a Kdrama addict because of this series. I keep coming back to this kdrama over and over again, because I am absolutely, completely in love with the characters and their stories and their transformative journeys over the years. "Who is Dal mi going to be with finally" was the question that legit plagued me till the 13th episode. And I love it that even after becoming big, Nam Do san was still the dorky introvert that he was depicted to be in the first episode. I agree that Han Ji Pyeong's reasoning behind not pursuing Dal mi was a little weak, but its okay... It felt as if Han Ji Pyeong realised it himself that he doesn't stand a chance next to Nam Do San. But all the flaws aside, CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE NAM JOO HYUK IN THIS DRAMA? THE BEST DORK EVER. He was so cute and dorky and introverted, I truly did not understand how it was not apparent to every viewer right from episode one that he's The One. And I loved it that the writers moved away from the childhood lovers cliche to bring in a stranger into the mix, and make him the love interest of the lady, because THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE. The chances of childhood crushes coming to life is close to nil, and it doesn't make sense to keep egging it on. The most beautiful thing about this drama was Ji Pyeong's relationship with Dal-mi's Halmeoni. I vouched for their relationship way more than any love interest shown in the series, tbh. Also the OST is so lovely, I've been listening to it on repeat. Overall, I love this drama, and this is perhaps the only kdrama that I've rewatched, and also the only drama that receives a 10 on 10 for me. Of course, there are flaws to this drama, but given the pivotal role this kdrama has played in my life (I spent the next 6 months of my life just binge-watching kdramas EVERY DAY nonstop), I think it deserves a 10 just for introducing me to the world of kdramas.

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Weird title but good drama

The earlier drama of Off-Gun. Let’s watch this….

Tell the story of 4 friends, but 3 kinds of love stories. All of them are students of filmology major and a member of the Savage Team, a team of students that do the school task with their own speciality. Third as the director & screenwriter, Khai as the sound guy, Two as the photographer & Bone as the editing guy. All of them are the top tier students that every girl has a crush on.

1st, Third & Khai.
Tell the story about Third who is secretly in love with his own best friend, Khai. Khai is a straight guy, who changes his girlfriend like he changes his clothes. Third, endure 3 years of friendship with Khai, seeing him flirting with many girls in front of his eyes. After 3 years, finally Third decided to snap out of his dream. But as people always said, talk is easier than action. Because although as easy as it is to fall in love, to stop is just as hard. And everytime Third wanted to give up his feelings for Khai, Khai did something sweet to him & made his heart flutter again. That is until one day Third learns a secret that breaks his heart completely.

But ironically when Third decides to stop his feelings & continue with his own life, Khai on the other hand just realizes his own feelings for Third and decides to start chasing Third. What will their relationship become…?

2nd, Two.
Two is a photographer guy that catches many girls' attention with his skill that makes the girl he takes pictures prettier. But it turns out, Two has a long crush with his high school friend, Lynn. But unfortunately, Lynn also has a long relationship with her boyfriend. One day, Two and Lynn meet again when Lynn becomes a model for Two’s photography class. And after that they start communicating again. One day, Two opportunities came when Lynn & her boyfriend broke up. But on the other hand, Two’s eyes also start to catch one senior that’s showing more attention to him. Who will Two choose in the end, Lynn or the senior…?

3rd, Bone.
Bone likes to flirt with a girl too, but unlike Khai, he's not a player. Bone work in the coffee shop. One day, he met Paan, when he's about to close the shop. But because he doesn't have her contract info, he waits for her everyday in the shop, until he even forgets about his classes & study. Because he never went to class, the new teacher almost failed him, but luckily Two warned him so that day Bone went to class just to find…. The woman in his dream, Paan, teaches the class. So what will happen with Bone & his teacher? Will he win Paan’s heart?

That's pretty much about the story without giving too many spoilers. Now what I like & don't like.

What I like:
+ The reality of Third and Khai relationships that most of us can rely on. Many of us are also that's stupid when it comes to love. And the cure is only one, get the hell away from that person & give urself activity to distract urself at first. And I love when Third really decided to give up, he makes himself busy.
+ U get to witness First hand Karma is b*tch. Haha… When it is time for Khai to chase after Third, he gets his own taste of karma….
+ How Khai really repents himself for Third. Sometimes I don't really believe the story of a playboy who changes himself for someone. But seeing Khai's effort really sincere.
+ The friendship between 4 of them. Especially when Bone & Two decided to side with Third instead of Khai…
+ It just doesn't ending with them graduation, hut a little peek about them in the work place & still as a team
+ No over the top s*x scene. Just some kiss here & there, even when they all already with their partner

What I don't too like:
- Seeing Third as a stupid man. But Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat is really one good actor, he can make us feel how painful Third is.

Overall this is a good drama to watch.

Below I'll write what I quite like and don't, but with SPOILER ALERT!!! So read it at your own risk!












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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+ Bone is really one good guy. He does the right thing with Paan & her boyfriend
+ In this drama we get to see, not all first love / long crush comes fruitful. And I also love the fact that Two is quite honest with Lynn when his feelings change. Although it's also quite pain to see Lynn when she's once again being betrayed by man who said he love her.
+ The funny thing about old drama, we can see one actor with another couple, not with their current ship/couple, that actually kinda surprised me with Thai BL. Of course I talk about Earth Pirapat Watthanasetsiri, seeing him doesn't partner up with Mix Sahaphap Wongratch quite catch me off guard.

- The bullshit accident. When someone crash that bad like Khai, it's kinda impossible to walk. Yet alone he can reach Third place. Yeah although i don't know how fat & how adrenaline can pump ur energy. Still BS thing

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Hypocritical & Lazy scriptwriting with dull chemistry

PLOT & GENRE DISTRIBUTION - This drama never had a rise arc but fell straight after introduction simply due to lazy writing. Rom-Com + Any other genre .. never works for me, because they most of the time completely overshadow the other genre. Something similar happened here, Law as a genre was slaughtered here passionately instead it was suppose to bond our leads.

THEME - Feminism was the main idea behind this production but fell flat. Writers of this drama had a wishful thinking that they were doing female population a great favour by voicing their opinions through this drama. All throughout the show I never witnessed female characters stating their rights and P.O.Vs where needed. Just saying that character is strong doesn't make them one, actions speak louder than words. Here, you'll see neither actions nor words.

ACTING - Cheng Xi, Bao Rui, Tan Ying and Liang Yi Ran may be Yu Fei also, were the only well acted characters for me. No hate for actors I haven't seen their others works yet, so I refrain from strong opinion but FL had only overstretched grin and sad pout as reactions which made it difficult to read her emotions and ML was there for thirsty viewers like me 🤭 but I couldn't feel his emotions. ML and FL had no chemistry at all, it felt that they fell in love just because it was the story arc, that's it.

CHARACTERS & DEVELOPMENT - I saw no character development.
> Qian Heng - From the beginning to end he was arrogant, self-righteous, domineering, (it's not bad if done right way), rude, possessive, hypocritical and clueless I must say. As, a lawyer he was professional lawyer indeed but he needed to cut some slack on controlling behaviour. I understand it was his first relationship, yet, you shouldn't go out of the way to disrespect other's opinions. At some point he told FL to not date until 2 years and focus on career, they fell in love that's not the problem, but don't interfere in her work unnecessarily, that's rude. Clearly, he was at peak of his career so everything felt easy for him, but she was starting from the scratch yet, obviously if your partner take pride in their work they will not like your influence on it even though his intention was to help but sadly it backfired. As I said he was self-righteous, he thought actively helping her through his connections was right thing to do and clearly she minded it all. This character was hypocritical than the writing itself, his words were all support for FL, but actions weren't. Since they lacked chemistry, 180 turn on his personality after dating felt unreal. He was cute until he was not. He needed to groom his inner child better.
> Cheng Yao - Faltering, stubborn, ignorant, impulsive and extremely naive. Another clueless character who needs to them spoon-fed every info. As, a lawyer she was lacking, well definitely she was rookie but not layman🙄. She waited for ML to react on her behalf. well woman up girl you are a lawyer yourself. (Atleast you have read law books 👀). At the end of the drama she becomes successful, oh well🙃, I mean they clearly implied that when she moved firms she became a success in no less than six months ... ok .. so maybe that firm was the problem or maybe her 24hrs involvement with ML she clearly needed to breathe some alone air. She didn't handled Liang Yi Ran episode well, it was a great opportunity to show her professional side thay missed it great time. Even if she shifted firms but she should have handled that matter herself, it was about her integrity as lawyer which she kept yelling about from day 1 but no our pampered ML will come and solve issue for us .. dah dude??🤡 In their relationship she was the lacking one, I never felt any affection towards ML from this character, it seemed as if dating wasn't her pursuit and yes it was not? it clearly states she wanted to be a top lawyer in synopsis and her mind was fixated on that, all this dating stuff felt forced. She wasn't serious about being professional unless LYR called her out. I think this character was better fit with Gu Bei Qing than ML.
> Wu Jun - Persistent, carefree, cheery, supportive and little bit Selfish😆. As a lawyer we didn't get to how he was, there wasn't much shown, but he has kind heart and has better personality than ML. In short, all he did was follow his love and support her unconditionally and clean up after ML's mess🤭. But chemistry between 2nd couple was good and reason I continued so let's cut him some slack. This character was true to it's origin till end.
> Cheng Xi - Wu jun's love interest, Deng Ming's ex, Cheng Yao's sister that's what she describe her not cheng xi, still the actress portrayed her role well. This character at least I expected to turn out strong if not FL, but no she was again overshadowed. I loved the scenes she was in, but I wished a lot for this character to develop but to no avail
> Bao Rui - He was funny until he was not, initially I enjoyed his scenes where he portrayed self-obsessed, boss stalker (in good way), conceited and I am centre of world personality, but in later episodes it became annoying. I had few laughs because of the office trio.
> Tan Ying & Yu Fei - Sweet and endearing, their love story was far more interesting than main couple.
> Liang Yi Ran - Yes, we needed THAT one girl, so here she is, actress played well. It was indeed a filler, but ignited something in FL to become more serious about her profession.

STORY - Two words - Paper thin. Full of fillers and was parody of well known troupes and cliches. So many false claims on feminism, which were never brought to action. Cases weren't dealt properly.. maybe execution problem. Many story arcs were cut short or weren't dealt with carefully, everything was stuffed in last episode. I don't think intimacy is deemed necessary for romance but please give us some tension or believable couple. After living under the same roof, FL doesn't changed a bit.🙄 She acted the same as his assistant and as his girlfriend. 🤡 They literally made the mess out of law, if you can't balance then don't mention it at all, just let it be a rom-com .. just don't add another genre. She aspired to be top lawyer, but her passion is nowhere to be seen. She literally shirked away her responsibility and ran off when scolded by her boss, I know she is sulking since it's a rom-com but girl she is not your BF yet. Just for the sake of humour they did 360 with parents, indeed it was a filler.

PACE - Slow-paced but should come with warning that you could get frustrated. I have no problem with slow-pace, have watched some awesome shows with slow pace. But there has to be some development to keep us engaging, pacing was not true rom-com genre. It was painstakingly annoying.

EXECUTION - They gave an already weak story another shock with execution. It made story even more pathetic.

DIRECTION/CINEMATOGRAPHY - There were some random unneeded shots and there weren't much aesthetics to point out otherwise it was good.

SFX - I won't be listening on repeat that's for sure, but went well with moods they tried hard to present. 😆 Opening OST and one I don't remember ep no. , but the one when she was sad over the celebrity case, I liked them.

One last thing, they needed a better designer, only Tan Ying and Cheng Xi stood out it terms of fashion.

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Gotta Love This Crew

I have read some scathing reviews on other sites which baffles me. Thank goodness this was not like Joy To Life S2 which was not to my liking. I didn't finish that drama, but I am very happy with this one. I am glad it is not exactly the same vibe as S1. It's a little darker. The tears have fallen on the last two episodes I've watched. I still have Ep. 22 to 25 to go. I am all in on this story and will hate to see it end. I wish Jianci had been in more episodes. I think brother got way obsessed and I actually found myself hating him and filled with disgust. Zhang Wan Yi is a great actor. His eyes show a lot of emotion. Everyone acted great. In a few months I will watch both seasons again.

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Truly a Masterpiece!!

The double really is a masterpiece. Character development is built not only for main character but side characters as well.

Like for the main character ex-husband, you could see how he evolved from someone righteous to having to do the right thing to save his family, (i.e. he kill his wife to save his family), and throughout the show you could see his denial and justification of his actions, before eventually reconciling with the regret and agony it caused him and his ex-wife. You could watch the guilt, and pain, the agony and regret, the anger and manipulation in incremental phases. And you could also see his values shift from having to place filial piety above all else, to letting that go and embracing his need for trying to get back to his wife (who apparently didn't die), but by then she had already moved on, and as much as he tried to compensate, she was resolute in not going back to him. It sounds lame when I type it out like this, but when you watch the double, you can see that when he knew it was the time of his demise as he was fully defeated, he played the flute song that was something they both cherished from the happiest times of their lives, but as he continued to play, she continued to walk away. She didn't hate or love him, and was indifferent as she wished for him the things he wanted for his next life with genuineness. The indifference meant that she had truly moved on and harboured no more feelings for him. And that is what hurts the most as someone he loved and wanted her forgiveness now only saw him as a stranger. She didn't even have hate for him, as hate comes as there was love. But there was no hate or love anymore and pure serenity.

The song was kinda like a final goodbye, his yearning and sorrow his regret and pain. Very beautifully captured, how the same memories can hold so much happiness and agony at the same time. Then as he suicide jumped off, she stopped for a brief moment, and then held her resolve to continue to live her life, and continued walking without turning. And his last view of her as he died, was of her moving on and walking away.

I had to pause the show to sit with my feelings and I had goosebumps.

This is just a snapshot of how much of a masterpiece this was, not just aesthetically, emotionally, intellectually. Everything from the mannerism of the characters, to the textures of the hardwood floor were so intricately and meticulously thought out.

My only wish is that I can forget the plot quickly so that I can rewatch it and relive the experience again.

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THE BEST CDRAMA I KNOW

I haven’t watched many cdramas but they are definitely my second favorite to kdramas. This particular one just wouldn’t get out of my head- and I realized I have a second favorite drama ever- and I started watching foreign dramas in 2022.

This is a masterpiece and I really wished China wasn’t as toxic or whatever to ban it. It would’ve done so good as a bl but I saw the love in Ruan’s eyes that he had for Jiushi.

That ending!! I was so so sad when they didn’t remember him and although I’m happy they are still alive- I’m team Ruan and Lingling. And as I end the series I can’t help but feel that if I was in Jiushi’s spot, I would know that this is a false reality now and no matter how much of wishing it wasn’t, a part of me would always know it’s fake and I wouldn’t be able to think otherwise.

I need another series like this one. I loved the bl/bromance and the gaming/virtual reality aspect. I wished they had done better promotions and it’s a shame it was taken down hours after it was put up. We need more Spirealm edits too because I swear they are in like limited supply.

Let me know if anyone knows any Chinese dramas like this one. To be honest I’m not into historical dramas and I prefer watching more modern-day ones like this one.

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Gave me indigestion

If you watch this drama with a mindset that it's a parody on everything that's wrong with Chinese dramas, you may be able to stomach it. To save yourself time and sanity, make friends with the fast-forward button or skip episodes altogether.

After the plot was hijacked by the secondary characters, we had to put up with a continuous onslaught of love rivals' cheap schemes to break up the happy couple. A love obsessed and jealous side chick is one of the worst, most uninspired, uninteresting tropes to manufacture conflict. It's like the writers decided to combine every cliche and a rejected plot idea instead of writing an actual plot. No, thanks. I am not interested sitting through 40 episodes watching the same old schit that stopped being interesting 10+ years ago. You can't make me.

Short review is short. The drama is a dumpster fire of outdated cliches and a marketing scheme for the supporting cast.

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Red Swan K-Drama Episode 7 Recap

The episode begins with Wan Soo's brother being arrested. Sang Gil reports this to Mi Ran. Do Yoon was also giving the console to Wan Soo and holding his hand but then Yeong Guk comes and Do Yoon leaves. Next, we see Sang Gil who comes to Yong Min and shouts at him that why did you do this, you should have taken permission from me first. Yong Min says why should I do this, you are just a servant. Wan Soo also comes to meet her brother and asks if he is fine. Hyun Soo says don't worry about me, just don't let this news become public. Later Sang Gil comes here. Hyun Soo tells Sang Gil that this is Yong Min's work, he must have reported me to the prosecutor. But Sang Gil says why would he do this. Hyun Soo says I have all the proofs of how we both took bribes, and we also have generous accounts, if you don't want all this to leak out then release me. Sang Gil tells him that he was reported by Wan Su's bodyguard who stole the ledgers. In the next scene, Yong Min tells So Dam what he has done and that he is the one who reported Hyun Soo. Mi Ran was also asking Sang Gil who reported Hyun Soo. Sang Gil says that he has doubts about Do Yoon. We see Do Yoon in the car who was looking at the ledgers.

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Did not Connect

I always go into dramas with an opening mind. I did not know what to expect with this one and thought it got off to a strong start with the refreshing introduction of a character with an interesting scar and job. In addition I liked how it looked dark which was different.

I did not like the shift to a different actress and while I generally admire the beautiful actresses in these dramas (hey that level of beauty usually takes a lot of effort from the actors) it seemed a bit tone deaf IMO and unnecessary. But I also know from what I have read about mainland Chinese audiences is that they are very demanding that their leads fit a certain standard of beauty while the US is more comfortable with different types of female lead looks. So I don’t know if it is fair to criticize the drama for this.

My score is based almost entirely on the story and acting. It injects light hearted comedy that does not seem to fit with its plot of shadowy manipulators and murders. It feels awkward and forced. The chemistry between the leads is lackluster. I have seen dramas where people want to marry someone for the reasons stated in this show and liked it but in this drama it was not executed very well because we had little time to see a foundation established for the relationship.

In addition I did not like that the main character was an expert in things that were not consistent with her before the face switch: why is she so skilled at make up, flirting, ect things that do not seem consistent with her personality. Why is she so comfortable jumping into danger without fully considering the consequences? And why is she so comfortable being near the male lead who she initially suspects is trying to kill her?

I don’t usually like comedy in Cdramas perhaps because it seems very childish and cringey maybe this is a cultural difference?

I fast forwarded through most of the show in the second half because I was that bored with the plot and pace.

However many people liked this drama so take my review with a grain of salt and remember you won’t know until you try to watch if it is for you.

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