Reviews

Holo, Your Personal Therapist ?

Okay, this drama was pretty over-the-top at points and required some serious suspension of disbelief at times (like I'm Not A Robot), but ultimately had a lot of heart and even some thoughtful commentary on the interactions between humans and technology (in a very nonscientific, Kdrama sort of way 😅).

I've been curious about this drama since noticing it's one of the few decently rated Kdramas with the ML (loved him in Tunnel), but I saw mixed reviews and was a little worried about the direction they'd take the AI relationship stuff. I'm happy to report it was handled with care, and not made weird or gross or uncomfortable. It did a good job working on a fairly seamless transition for the FL from Holo to ML and while the drama had a lot of other flaws, this was not one of them.

This is a story about how deeply humans need connection, and the way technology can be used (poorly or well) in the journey of growth towards connection and closeness with others.

In fact, I saw this drama as a hopeful take on AI, in the sense that it follows the path of some old sci-fi that confirms AI is not nefarious, but PEOPLE can be. Holo highlights people's greatest weaknesses (whether that's exposing their loneliness, revealing their greed, ambition, fears of connection, insecurities, etc.). The drama does conclude the world wasn't ready for Holo, and I think that's interesting social commentary.

I also saw the difference between what the FL experienced and the concept of "dating AI" that we're hearing about today being that, unlike people in these situations who are escaping their pain and loneliness and not pushing for real healing, Holo helped the FL face this pain instead of escape it (and she had the integrity to realize this tendency in herself, as she noticed it didn't TRULY give her what she wanted, deep down). Also, the FL had people around her (including Holo) who pushed her to face her insecurities and fear of being abandoned or rejected because she was different and seek the actual connection she was craving with REAL people, people who would be there with her and for her through all the ups and downs (the ML had to learn this, too, in his own way).

This drama probably gets the award for shortest FIRST DATING ERA in a drama EVER (cause you know how there's always a separation or misunderstanding or timeskip, etc. before a reunion and second (usually final) dating era? Well, this drama is no exception), but I still the enjoyed the leads together and thought they did well. The FL is not the most memorable, but she does well, and I thought the ML did a great job. This does have similar vibes/themes to I'm Not A Robot and Are You Human, Too?, so, if you liked those, most likely you'll like this

There were some outlandishly unrealistic moments in this, but you know what? It feels extremely KDRAMA that way (think of endings of dramas like Doctor Stranger or The K2, but happier), and that gives you a flavor of the way this show resolves the threads of our plot.

Also, a lot of people complain about love triangles in Kdramas, and of course, this drama has one. But it's the most amicable love triangle you'll ever see in a Kdrama (if you watch, you'll see what I mean).

It was fun, and while it took me an episode or two to get into it, I enjoyed it!

One last note on the childhood connection trope (done well here, I think):

**SPOILERS**

By all means, if you're going to go the childhood connection trope route between the leads, then do it like this.

Instead of these ridiculous plots where the ML and FL meet each other out of nowhere as children or teenagers for like 20 seconds and then "remember each other" after they start dating? Nah, ridiculous.

If you're gonna do it, commit wholeheartedly and connect them through some traumatic event (like in While You Were Sleeping or I Can Hear Your Voice, or Castaway Diva and What Happened To Secretary Kim?). This drama delivered in that department, and I realized these kinds of "childhood connections" I can get behind. It gives context/reasons/basis for the seemingly random connection of the leads when they first meet, and actually makes the plot feel more realistic, ironically.

So, I kind of like the way this drama just goes full-bore Kdrama on the tropes. 😅

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No magic in This Fairytale

I can't lie, I had really high hopes for this, but those hopes are quickly dissipating faster than a lake under the heat of the scorching sun. As someone that prides themselves on being genuine and true to my morals, the female lead has absolutely nothing redeeming about her apart from her beauty, and as we all know-beauty doesn't last forever. I usually only write reviews when i'm done with the drama, but with every episode I watch, I pause and wonder, "who's enjoying this?"

I really can't get over how shallow and self-centered the FL is. As beautiful as she is, there is no real value in what she's doing, and apparently has no real-world knowledge on how to be a genuine person. Everyone is a pawn to her, to be subjugated as she sees fit, and she'll do whatever is necessary to keep the wool over their eyes. To call her a genius would be to overestimate her strategic abilities; maybe i could say she has a knack for taking lucky jumpshots and landing them, which usually works in her favor, though not every shot lands through the hoop. Makes me wonder how she became such a success with her business.

It's one thing to build a business and be successful on your own merit, its another thing to infiltrate a Kingdom when you're already viewed as a commoner, then expect sympathy when your "well thought out plan" starts unraveling. At this point, even I would make a better Royal, cause watching a car crash would be more promising than this. Seong Huiju has money, influence, and power, but because she doesn't have status, that somehow makes her less favorable in the eyes of others, so she enlists the help of the Grand Prince to magically change that. I'm gonna be honest, no matter how this plays out(I'm on episode 9), she doesn't deserve to be a Royal. I may not be a Royal, but I do know that its no f*cking walk in the park, and the FL is in over her head in a massive way. The Grand Prince didn't think this through, and is so eager for a way out, he's risking the Crown and his own reputation in one fell swoop. The Prime Minster knows that, and yes, maybe he has his own motivations, but his first duty is to the Crown, and everyone needs to realize that. Maybe their union eventually could become something that possibly resembles something that does not bring absolute ruin to the Crown, but considering the contract being leaked, pushback was inevitable.

I am invested in this drama, and the plot is very compelling, and this isn't something I would ever consider rewatching. I will not be writing another review once i finish this drama, so I'm just getting this out of the way now. Whoever's rating this drama 9\10 is very easily impressed.

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I'm confused and conflicted.

This show is pretty good, until we hit the 30ep mark. ¾ of the show is pretty enjoyable despite the lack of ambiance and mature cinematography.

It's got great action choreography that shows vision and creativity.

The humor is top notch with so many laughable moments.

The characters were all great and memorable, especially those in the Six Halls. Loved the leads as well, I was very much invested in their romance.

Once we locked in for the last 10 episodes, I had a hard time with the drop off.

I'm still not a fan of shock factor happenings towards the end of a show.

There is a subset of people who believe that the final scene gives you the answer, but I personally am not a believer.

I do want what y'all are huffing, but I can't afford it.

This show is good and I do recommend it, but if you're looking for a mostly happy story with no hardship then this is NOT for you.

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Gets boring unsatisfying

The queen dying and the soul going into the sister was weird. They tried to make us buy it with selling it off as some strange gift of the south lands.
The young princess ting ting was my favourite female character. I badly wanted the Male lead to fall in love with her once they were married as by that time I thoroughly disliked the female lead. She was not compelling at all and uninteresting with flat acting. She was not particularly stunning and did not evoke any emotion in me at all- infact I was glad when she portrayed sadnes just to see her suffer. She should have been killed off to Make the show more interesting. This was a love story that did not work. She sleeps with the emperor despite being in love with the male lead, and he is so limp.
The male lead was wimpish and weak with his obsession for the female lead. There was no chemistry between them at all. Sorry it was not for me I could not complete watching it. The supporting cast were equally as bad.

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IMHO ignore the negative reviews - it's fun

I'll admit it took me a few episodes to get into this series and I was not sure how it would turn out. But I stuck with it and it got better and better. The story became more engaging and, interestingly, I think the acting got better as they all got rolling. It is a cute story. The little kid is super cute. And the FL and ML were a very cute couple. As far as the FL not doing a great job (some folks put that very rudely), I think she did just find, especially, as I noted, later in the series.

The leads turned out to be one of my favorite KDrama couples, even if the story was not amongst the best.

Just don't expect a masterpiece, but take the time to watch. It's fun.

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Oh, Special Night. So comforting, wholesome, warm with just you & me

Everything about this c-drama was so warm, comforting, romantic in the moat affectionate way possible & such wholesomw moments that touched my heart. Every episode I was smiling and enjoyed myself. Felt so sad after finishing this drama.
The drama has such perfect plot. Nothing seems to be dragging every moment every aspect has been explained perfectly till now. The sweet moment b/w Xiao Yu & HuXiu are so realistic. Like there reaction to certain situations or words are so realistically portrayed it feels like watching the love story unfold, of two real life individuals. The acting is on point. And the cinematography is so beautiful. VR game their costumes makes me want to play a game with such beautiful visuals & settings. Their chemistry, their relationships, their friendships.

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Definitely Worth The Watch!! ??

I just completed this drama yesterday and it is nothing short of perfection.. Firstly it's an Enemies to Lover's Trope and it's well written.. The male and female lead have extremely good chemistry and their two personalities compliment on another perfectly...
This drama is well paced and features Two Smart Leads... At first they are weary of each other but they later grow to love on another through building mutual trust and experiencing life together...

Overall I found that this was an enjoyable watch... There weren't many villains... One or two throughout the show and they were all brought to Justice at some point...
Wei Shoa's men are the absolute sweetest!! You will fall inlove with their personalities almost instantly... They are hilarious 😂 😂

Lord Wei and his wife I found to have made a beautiful couple and their romantic confessions and actions towards one another was just a joy to watch!! I absolutely loved it....
Their kissing scenes are off the charts!!! My boy can kiss and my girl knows how to kiss her man back!!!!!!
Hehehe 😂😂🩷🩷🩷🩷

Overall 10/10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Stars

SPOILERS:
1) Two people die in the show that I found to be uncessary but regardless it's a good watch..
Most war proned dramas or where the leads have some army role somebody at some point in the dream dies...
2) It's a very very happy ending ( Babies and All ) 🤭

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Good Performances, Repetitive Storytelling

I’m sorry folks, but this ended up being just an okay watch for me. I thought the opening was exciting, and I loved seeing Li Muchen and Ye Shengjia in lead roles together again. There were a few poignant and comedic moments that really elevated the drama, and the overall theme is something I usually love in cinematic stories—cultivation and mysticism. But as the story progressed, I felt the narrative didn’t show much growth. It was frequently interrupted by predictable conflicts that you knew would be resolved, yet still dragged on and felt repetitive. By the end, I found myself more involved in the second lead’s story than the main one.

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A decent watch for regular drama viewers

Honestly, its the kind of drama you would possibly watch when you have nothing to watch on tv over a meal. Basically the story starts of really well, with Shin I-Rang who's a lawyer and happens to see ghosts that have something left to do. He tries to fulfill their wishes or unfinished tasks with the help of law. Now, while that stands to be the synopsis of the entire drama, it becomes highly predictable. As a person keen of law-based dramas, when I first read the title, I expected courtroom visits, case arguments and well enemies to lovers energy from the leads which this drama fell short on. The drama simply shows the leads as lawyers and as people trying to pass lost ghosts ideally 'using law' to attain salvation. In particular, only a few cases stood out, and there was limited scope for character development. What really made me sit through the entire show was the possible potential of this show to be a really good watch. While watching, I had a few moments where I could almost think, AHHH this could have been written so well and much better. I cry easily, so obviously I cried when the female lead's parents spoke about her feelings that she had been trying to hide, so that's really good scene, we rarely see good communication in family these days:) Overall, a decent to meh watch, something to watch when u don't have anything to watch I guess!

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A Nice Series to Live with for a while…

When I see the romantic notion of marriage that the Japanese dramas create, I need to remind myself: Life in this world is not like that- people stay miserably married while claiming a “Happily ever after” on the surface. To be honest I never understood why or how “Bucho” fell in love with Hotaru- to be clear, Hotaru is like a mirror of myself. I can relate to her lifestyle (except for the beer part), but the need to be free in solitude and recharge my battery on my own. Honestly I don’t think she needs a man, not emotionally at least. She’s fine on her own and doesn’t like to think too deeply about things. She knows how to take care of herself- keeping a polished image at work, while being her true honest self at home. To have a man who sees that true self and genuinely falls in love with her- well, I can say it only happens in the J drama universe. And that’s why I’m here for that. Sometimes Hotaru really annoys me in this series- like how she misses so many engagements with Bucho and then apologizes each time. And she often doesn’t keep her promises. She talks a big talk and then fails to deliver. She’s constantly disappointing her fiancée in that way, to the point where at one point when she blew him off 3 times in a row he left the house to stay in a hotel to get space from her. Why? Because she’s annoying! Her way of living only works for her, so I would advocate that she should be alone and happy and free. She would be just fine alone. I think putting her in a marriage box and making her conform to the manager’s expectations is doing her sovereign lifestyle a disservice. Here are a couple more things I found annoying:

-Why is one of the tracksuit pockets always turned inside out like a floppy kidney hanging from her hip! It’s so gross and it annoys me to no end! Hotaru is lovable but she’s also annoying! How is that possible…

-How does Hotaru not have a potbelly after drinking all that beer? And does Bucho cook every single day and night, because Hotaru seems incapable of making edible food..

-Hotaru goes to Hong Kong for 3 years and doesn’t answer a single letter or email from Bucho like what on earth? But this just shows that she is more suited to live a free and single life rather than with some dude.

-How she keeps saying “Bucho” for every reply- sometimes in a scene, (I guess for humor) all she says is “Bucho” and while she is sovereign and free, she comes across as a clingy child who’s worshipping this manager- and it just sounds like an employer-employee relationship even at home. And the way she says it grates on my ears.

-What’s up with the other lady with the kid - the ex-girlfriend of Bucho? Like what in the actual heck is up with her? She continues to encourage Hotaru and Bucho’s relationship while actively sabotaging it by coyly asking Bucho to tie her Yukata, trying to sleep with him, and seduce him every chance she gets- like tie the yukata yourself you indecent woman! She really annoyed me. And then her kid turns out to be another version of herself, as she manipulates Bucho into staying the night with both of them, and then Hotaru comes to their cabin and sees Bucho lying there with this ex-girlfriend lady practically sleeping on top of him. What on earth?! How is this okay? Why wasn’t it addressed by anyone? Why didn’t Hotaru get mad and demand an explanation? Why didn’t anyone hold this sly woman accountable for her actions? And yet Bucho acts so jealous and rigid when it comes to the young crush guy that likes Hotaru even though they never did anything. Which leads me to…

-The young guy who likes Hotaru.. I feel like being a Himono-otoko himself, he could have understood Hotaru in a better way and I wish they could have deepened their relationship more. Like ditch the manager for a few months and date this guy for a change. But who knows, maybe it was just an ego thing for him, like wanting to compete with the manager to steal his woman.

Anyways in the end they show how Bucho accepts this offer in Taiwan for 3 months and she starts becoming disciplined. That was nice to see.. and then in the end they’re planning to marry I guess. Now I have to move on to the movie and see what other young crush comes along to steal away Hotaru… With that said, the actress who plays Hotaru (she’s also in Hitori de shinitai/I want to die alone)- and I think she has such a beautiful, exquisite face. I do see a pattern in her themes though, and I like it!

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