Reviews

Bark bark

I don't even know where to start; this is truly one of the best series of the year. I had been suffering from major BL burnout. I’d watched so many, and I admit most were actually bad and I only kept watching out of curiosity but surprisingly, this BL, with its great comic relief and Tay's excellent acting, really won me over. You know that feeling when you watch something with a huge smile on your face? That’s how I felt throughout the episodes. Everyone’s acting was really good. While GMM could have improved the production value and perhaps extended the story a bit, I think I’ll rewatch it a few times because, overall, it was really good.

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The Drama you will want to have 40 eps!

Story Wise: It's too short for me that I wanted more, I wanted to have this an extension, and expansion of character's POVs and dialogues, more casts, more sense of depth in the case and to the face swapping of the 3 characters, like IT IS MINDBLOWING that I want it to have more than just 18 eps😭😔💜

Cast Wise: I can't believe CL here, the versatility he really has since he started is really consistent, the quality of his acting here is the quality of his acting in his latest projects with that consistency, you'll really feel he love his job and knows how to ACT. Same with Ying Ke, watched her several projects made me realize she really can do the charcter she portrays very well!!!! Both of them have an aura that can bear the role of Pro and Antagonistic Characters, they really delivered this pairing😭🎀💅

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Beautiful and Well Executed

Hioki joins a new class that has none of his friends, he gets invited by the Elite Four to join their school trip. One of them always seems to be there for Hioki.

What I Like
Its a well done feel good series. I love high school bls and this one was amazing. They’re so so cute and it was super realistic at points, especially the dialogue and Hioki’s social anxiety was relatable. The cinematography is also really good, it’s very colourful and the lighting is actually interesting. (not netflix gray)

What I Didn’t Like
It doesn’t bring anything new to the table and it has a lot of clichés, not unique but still very well done. The worst part for me is that Hioki’s friends barely appear in the show and are only used for plot devices. He has a female friend which I wanted more of every single episode but she’s only used for jealousy plotlines.

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head-shaking, flabbergasting nonsense.

where do i even start with this? i knew i was going to draft a review about this show the moment i finished the first episode. i waited for this title like i did with payback & prosecutor's proposal to complete. longed for it just like the other two. what a catastrophic disappointment. i need to ignore this community completely and just look for BL to watch based entirely on my own preferences. you people are less reliable than trying sneak around quickly in the dark.

i noticed with chinese BL there are a myriad of issues that make it impossible for me to get through the first episode. the former is why i dropped revenged love and double helix. i CANNOT do the overbearing actions / behaviors that are over-exaggerated. they make me cringe so badly. then i have to deal with the production problem i have noted with capturing the verbal dialogue. why does it sound like dubbing or voice overs in chinese BL ?! every single one of them i started has this problem. is it a microphone industry / quality thing? it ALWAYS sounds unnatural meaning full viewer immersion is not possible, for me. sometimes you can even see that dialogue was dubbed over [apart from horrible singing]. i was able to get through the first episode of this one by a miracle. long story short, deep in had this cringe BS in the first episode AND throughout the show - wtf. example, zhang zhun sliding across the car to save zhen xin from goddamn PVC at a less than one meter drop. be serious.

can someone point me to where i can find what the vision of this drama was? the story just starts immediately without fleshing out anything at all. fine. that could be fine if there were not other observable issues. however, the story of fang chi & gao zhun had three times more substance than the characters "playing" them. WTF? was this deliberate? is it because of the plot-twist at the end? i do not understand why these generic ass cheating scumbags were the main leads. why couldn't we just have the story of fang & gao?

oh yeah, speaking of the cheating, why? why was it necessary? the two had enough plot devices with the antiquated views, personal responsibility, and dealing with society. why did they have to cheat on innocent people? who got dragged by consumers, might i add [for once, i watched the comments while watching]. i am glad xin lost millions to that girl boss and more from the whole ordeal considering nothing of his relationship made sense nor was it healthy ! like, can anyone tell me how in the f these two scraps of tofu managed to FALL IN LOVE? what the actual f happened in their plotline for them to fall for each other except engage physically as actors??? man forget the love. let me bring up the proposal. HUH? it came out of nowhere. why was there any talk of proposing when those two did not even spend more than two weeks living in the same space let alone communicate efficiently?????? their communication was so trash, how could they possibly marry one another?

can we talk about the sensationalizing and downplaying of sexual assault in BL? i will. first off, since i read the comments, i had the unfortunate opportunity of seeing some people downplay cheating, excuse xin's assault of zhun when he was drunk, AND criticize the female victims who were cheated on [by calling them b'tches and other derogatory terms]. zhen raped zhang, FULL STOP. he did not deserve him even though they both were basura. one tell that it was rape was that zhen never told zhang about it and tried to minimize the occurrence by saying that they now loved each other, when zhang found out on his own. apart from the former, all of the SA in this damn work was just disturbing as hell. i could excuse it for the plot if the production and acting were perfect but lol with that.

the whole thing with the "real" characters fang chi & gao zhun was absolutely disgusting. it was obvious the lines would end up blurred between the doctor and the patient for the plot. however, the lines completely disappeared when simulating the rape. the doctor's methods were triggering and so deeply unethical. then, the existence of multiple sexual predators around gao zhun was just skin-crawling and vomit-inducing. there was just predation everywhere, on and off set !

lastly, the intimacy.. girl. the intimacy was a disaster. ollie has a lot of acting potential but his and shuyuan's kissing + erotica were travesties on us all. the kissing made me upset and look away every time EXCEPT the final kisses on stage. it was so dry and void of any feeling. ollie kept his eyes partially open for basically every kiss but also the pacing of the kisses were too fast. is this a production preference? no way, not when feng qing lang & xu chang yang [thailand based but chinese characters] exist. the freaking aggressive humping looked so disingenuous and obviously false that i could not watch those scenes either. what was left for me to consume? shuyuan's acting was okay, for it being his first drama.

the compliments i can give are to the fairly consistent cinematography and the risque of the intimacy that was taken for this drama. the way fang chi & gao zhun were filmed was quite beautiful, at times. the transitions to the film were not always obvious and that seemed cool, for me. there also seemed to be foreshadowing and unspoken comparisons that could be missed, if the viewer was not paying attention. when it comes to the sexual scenes, had ollie & shuyuan connected with more intention and less aggression - i would have rated this an eight despite all the other issues.

regardless, this show has me so heated i typed eight paragraphs. the most entertaining part of this show was reading the goddamn comments. some of the comments had me in stitches. man, even the makeup was sometimes straight suspect; too light, cakey, drier than popeyes biscuits. i mean, is this what we are doing? this BL is so damn popular and for what? remember how i put some things in quotes? yeah, the characters acting as characters in the fiction were the actual fiction and the characters were the real NPCs. boy bye.

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A heavily toxic dark romance

The best way to experience this drama is to read the book alongside watching the episodes. The source material is only 243 pages, and most of the important context is in the first half of the book, which helps fill in the narrative gaps left behind by the live-action adaptation.

Overall, the show is a solid 8/10 if you factor in the novel, but a 7/10 as a standalone.

The book details the slow-burn tension between Sun and Rafah much better, but the live-action still tries to convey a "right person, wrong time" dynamic through flashbacks. These flashbacks reveal their mutual attraction and an unspoken, quiet longing that lasted for over seven years leading up to the present. On screen, Rafah's actions can seem controlling and out of the blue. However, her possessiveness and gradual obsession have always been core parts of her character. The root cause is her inability to act on her true feelings for so long, which eventually aggravates them into the outbursts we see on screen. Her obsession lessens once they get together showing some positive character growth but possessiveness is ultimately part of her essence.

As for the controversial scene, it is crucial to read the source material. The book includes deep internal monologues detailing Sun's coping mechanisms and Rafah's psychological breakdown. Unfortunately, the screen adaptation skips this nuance and falls into old-school drama tropes, making the scene feel purely aggressive and reducing Rafah to a controlling antagonist.

On a positive note, the show does a great job showcasing the deep friendship between Sun and Fey, with Fey acting as Sun's biggest advocate for happiness and not being afraid to step up to her sister about her actions hurting sun. It was also refreshing to see Fey and Peach's relationship blossom as an enemies-to-lovers romance, providing a nice contrast to the dark tones of the main couple.

Ultimately, Rafah is the perfect toxic "red flag" character that you still try to convince everyone is green. She is exclusively possessive of Sun and no one else the literal personification of the "I will burn the world to save you, but also ensure you only have me" trope. With added television subplots that keep the pacing fresh, My Only Sunshine is a unique, high drama addition to any GL watch list.

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The Price of Absolutes

"In this world some are obsessed with justice and evil, some with life and death, some with right and wrong, some with love and hatred."
That single quote captures the entire philosophy of The Journey of Flower.

At its heart, this is not simply a romance, nor is it a story about forbidden love. It is a tragedy about what happens when people become prisoners of a single idea. The drama repeatedly shows that the opposites we create, good and evil, love and hatred, right and wrong, immortals and demons, are far less absolute than people believe.

The Philosophy

The story argues that justice, love, duty, and righteousness are not the problem. They are all noble values. The tragedy begins when any one of them becomes so absolute that it blinds people to compassion, wisdom, and understanding.
The immortal sects call themselves righteous, yet often commit acts of cruelty. Meanwhile, characters labelled as demons repeatedly display loyalty, kindness, and self-sacrifice. The drama constantly asks:
If someone commits cruelty in the name of justice, are they truly righteous?
If someone called a demon acts with compassion, are they truly evil?
Its answer is clear: labels are unreliable. Character is revealed through choices, not titles.

The Characters

Every major character becomes consumed by something different.
Bai Zihua by duty.
Hua Qiangu by love.
Mo Yan by justice and reputation.
Sha Qianmo by love and loyalty.
Dongfang Yuqing by revenge.
None of them is entirely right or entirely wrong. Their downfall is not what they value, but their inability to let go when those values become absolute.
Love without wisdom becomes attachment.
Duty without compassion becomes cruelty.
Justice without understanding becomes prejudice.
This is what makes the tragedy so devastating.

One of the drama's most interesting aspects is that Hua Qiangu almost functions as a mirror. She does not create the virtues or flaws in those around her, she reveals them. Around her, compassion grows stronger, fear turns into paranoia, and attachment becomes self-destruction. Hua Qiangu becomes the catalyst through which everyone else's absolute beliefs, fears, and attachments are exposed. In that sense, many characters blame her for tragedies that ultimately grow out of their own choices and unresolved conflicts.

The Themes

Beyond its fantasy setting, The Journey of Flower explores remarkably rich themes:
love and sacrifice
duty versus compassion
prejudice and rigid labels
redemption
responsibility and consequences
fate versus free will
the loss of innocence
forgiveness over revenge

Storytelling

The plot develops organically. Early events and prophecies gain meaning much later, major twists arise naturally from character decisions, and every arc builds upon the previous one. The story evolves constantly, from disciple and master, to sect conflicts, the Savage Wasteland, and finally the Demon Deity arc, without ever feeling repetitive.
Most importantly, every emotional turning point feels earned.

Final Thoughts

The Journey of Flower is not merely a fantasy romance. It is a philosophical tragedy about compassion, responsibility, and the danger of turning any noble value into an absolute.
Its greatest lesson is perhaps this:
The greatest tragedies do not arise from love, duty, justice, or hatred themselves, but from clinging to any one of them so absolutely that compassion, wisdom, and truth are lost.

I stumbled upon The Journey of Flower by chance and couldn't stop watching. More than a decade after its release, I found it to be one of the most philosophically rich xianxia dramas I've seen. It genuinely surprised me that, even in 2026, a drama made in 2015 offers stronger storytelling than many recent productions. It proves that memorable dramas are built not on visual spectacle alone, but on compelling characters and meaningful themes.

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COMPARISON TO THE MANHWA.

First things first it was a good watch if you come in blind without reading the manhwa,and comparing it to the manhwa definitely there would be some disappointments due to certain story deviations,but they did try their best.Atleast they maintained the integrity of the main leads storyline,as for the people around i could not understand some of the changes.Sunny's character wasn't as malicious as the manhwa,yes he stole and had Sun's brother stabbed,but other than being with the sponsor and pimping out his colleagues.They never showed his inferiority complex and how he really was scared of Sun.The change in the photographer's storyline was kinda odd because in the manhwa he really had the hots for Sun and never got to take the nudes,so his subtle interest in Sky had us viewers wondering if there might be something.They didn't do justice to the character of Jay's uncle,he was still quirky but never got to really show his serious side.The culmination towards Jay's revenge was somewhat anticlimactic....all in all,they did try.Its always tricky watching a live adaptation of a manga/manhwa or anime because your mind already has a preconceived notion of how a story unfolds.

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What's Not to Love About Spooky in Love

I'm writing this mainly for those who are still new to Kdramas and after watching the first 6 episodes. This drama has absolutely the best of all the reasons why I fell in love with Kdramas.

1. Kdrama cliches - Yes, there was a time when I thought they were cringy, but now they are endearing. If you think there are "things" you see when watching a series and you say to yourself "you're kidding, right?", then you've experienced the cringe. However, watch enough of these dramas and surprisingly, you will enjoy those parts. For example, the "sudden stumble turned-into a lip-lock" with the two main leads. Episode 6 had one and I loved it! There was a time when I would have said, "oh, brother that's so unrealistic." But now, I laugh, I applaud, I love it. It's just one of the many ways I love Korean entertainment.
2. The acting and the actors!!! This drama has some of my absolute favorites, and they are just wonderful. I have been a fan of Park Eun Bin since The King's Affection and still can't get enough of her work. Likewise, Ong Seong Wu has been a favorite since More Than Friends (one of my top 5 dramas of all time). New to me is Yang Se Jong. The charisma and sex appeal coming off of this actor is blowing my away. He's both goofy and sexy at the same time, which is hard to believably pull off, but he's doing it. I'm really enjoying his main male lead and finding myself looking up to see what other work he has done. Dare I say he's a formidable competitor of another sexy/goofy actor--Rowoon. The scenes with Eun bin's Yeo ri and Se Jong's Gang Uk are a mix of irritation yet sweet, awkward attraction that is funny yet leaves the viewer with wanting more. This is the right mix to connect the characters to the viewer and keep them tuned in. This drama has the great combination of smart writing and great acting.
3. The storyline - full of twists and turns. Yes, it has the usual "chaebol" family theme, but has a twist this time with an heiress instead of heir, that sees ghosts and can pass this along to someone else by just touching them. Heiresses are usually fashion icons, which our main female lead is, but with the addition of wearing gloves all the time. What's up with that, right? Another twist--the two leads are attracted to each other but cannot touch else she passes along the curse of also seeing ghosts, so it leads to all kinds of funny, comical avoidance-type situations. Yes, it's kinda stupid, but when you're used to Kdrama behavior, it's comical. It makes me laugh. And, it shows the sense of humor of the writer. The awkwardness between the male and female leads when they are close to each other isn't passed off as normal in this drama. Instead, it's part of the plot. Take one beautiful, single, rich heiress and put her together with a sexy but kind and caring male and of course something will ignite...BUT she can't touch him or else he will be cursed along with her. So, you can see where this leads to all sorts of funny and awkward situations. These aren't the usual cliches'.

I love that a historical element has been added to the mix. The story of forbidden love from the Josean Era and our two main leads have to solve the mystery. There is also the typical evil-doing by others to try to thwart our two main leads in getting together. Jo Hye Joo is doing a superb job of playing the jealous, bitch-from-hell stirring up all sorts of trouble.

It's the typical Kdrama rom com with so much more added in. Give it a whirl...I think you will enjoy it.

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For their first acting project together, they did a good job. 🤍 The series even brought a few tears to my eyes, which is always a plus.

That said, I think the story had the potential to be even better. With a little more development and a few different choices, it could have been a much stronger series. ✨

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Thank you sooo much~ ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆ 💕🌸

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Great Start; After That, Dissapointing.

I watched the first episode and felt completely in love. The dynamic, the gritty storyline, the many-sided suffering of the main character, everything felt thrilling and so unlike typical Thai BL.

With E2, I had some questions. With 3, I had even more of them. By the time I watched E5, I felt a growing sense of disappointment and realization that I wasn't going to get what I was hoping for.

I didn't understand the first meeting between the characters. I didn't understand the awkward, seemingly random attempt at a beating. I didn't understand what they liked about each other; I didn't understand why Sunny was so focused on Sun yet didn't bother to find out what he looked like, even though everyone saw the photos; I didn't understand why revenge wasn't going anywhere; I didn't understand the humor since it seemed very out of place. I didn't understand where the acting plot was, why so much attention was given to secondary characters, why rich sponsors had to force younger actors to serve them at a gunpoint, etc.

So I went to read the novel, and I was floored because it answered every single question. Half of the confusing scenes weren't present at all; other scenes were given excellent context. The series failed to adapt it. They removed at least 60% of crucial moments, and worse, they completely forgot about revenge and defanged the main character, aka Jay.

In the novel, he's a full-blown psychopath. He's possessive, obsessive, manipulative, cold as ice; he goes through his life without feeling anything until he meets Sun. In the series, he's a mild orange flag. He's so much softer, so much more emotional, and not possessive at all. I just don't understand this weird desire to take a novel with dark characters and twist it into something light.

The revenge is extremely unsatisfying. This series has a ton of useless filler instead; they probably thought people would like it more? I don't know. It doesn't make sense, especially considering the show is called Payback. Everything really starts and ends in the last episode only, and it's very rushed. There is no slower downfall; the main antagonist is handled by the police, of all things. If it could be so simple, why did no one call the police earlier?? The novel's retribution is so much more impactful, and it leaves you forever wondering how big of a role Jay played in it.

I do not recommend this series at all. Ideally, you can watch E1 and then switch to the novel. Otherwise, it's a waste of time. The actors are mostly okay, though they do have occasional issues; the OST is fantastic, and the NC scenes are phenomenal, but that's it.

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A god sent for manhwa readers

"Payback" is a gift sent by God to all manhwa readers. This is the most accurate live-action adaptation of a manhwa, from the line delivery and scene sequencing to, of course, the casting.

Everyone did a fantastic job bringing "Payback" to life. The story was already great in the original version. The issues it tackles are highly controversial; while we might not have hard evidence that these things actually happen in the entertainment industry, we cannot prove they do not either. It is no surprise the adaptation is this good, since Sammon is the screenwriter (I love all of her work).

The main leads' chemistry is surprisingly excellent, especially given that this is their first project together and they are relatively new to the BL genre. And don't even get me started on their NC (no-children/mature) scenes—those are just WOW! Pure "wow," "woah," and "ack!"

The production value is great too; you can really see the quality. Plus, the OST is quite unique and fits the series perfectly.

Once again, I want to commend the casting, from the main leads to the supporting roles. Shout out to Boss CKM! He is exceptionally handsome in this series. I find myself wanting to pause the screen every time he appears. LOL, bye!

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