Reviews

A story about morality, politics and love: you will never be able to sell me WangXian as a bromance

The Untamed is, for me, something I love almost despite its flaws. The most obvious limitation is the censorship. It doesn’t just tone things down, it actively changes parts of the story in ways that affect its core themes. One of the most frustrating examples is how Wei Wuxian’s responsibility is altered. In the original, his actions and their consequences are morally complex and uncomfortable. In the drama, shifting the blame onto external manipulation softens that complexity and takes away from the weight of his character and the tragedy of his story.

The relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is clearly more than friendship. Even though the drama frames them as “bros,” their bond carries an undeniable depth. The restraint almost intensifies it, the looks, the silence, the unwavering loyalty. Still, I can’t help but wish we got more of them. What’s there is powerful, but it also feels like something is constantly being held back.

The drama also succeeds when it comes to to its characters and their emotional journeys. Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian is genuinely perfect casting. He captures every side of the character, the playfulness, the arrogance, the warmth, and most importantly, his gradual descent into darkness. His performance makes the emotional arc believable and painful. Wang Yibo, despite playing a character who is written to be restrained and emotionally controlled, manages to convey an incredible amount with very little. His subtle expressions and controlled presence make Lan Wangji’s feelings feel constant and unwavering, even when they aren’t explicitly shown. Both characters stand out because they follow their own sense of justice, even when it isolates them. That moral independence is what makes them compelling and what exposes the weakness of everyone around them. Because ultimately, The Untamed is not just about love, it’s about morality and the failure of those who claim to uphold it.

I love Wangji so much. No matter how well he can hide his feelings, the love he feels for Wei Wuxian seems to be deep enough for him to falter in his stoic nature and even though his emotions are subtle, you can undeniably see how much Wei Wuxian means to him. He comes across as both righteous and quietly affectionate, which makes his love for Wei Wuxian feel undeniable. What I find especially compelling is that Lan Wangji’s morality is never compromised by his love. He doesn’t abandon his principles, but he also doesn’t let those principles prevent him from loving Wei Wuxian. Instead, he holds both at the same time. That balance is exactly what makes him worthy of the title Hanguang-jun, since he embodies a kind of integrity that doesn’t require emotional detachment and his morals are unshakable and his character noble even in face of societal pressure and criticism. At the same time, Wei Wuxian remains just as captivating. A character who is both endearing and deeply tragic, which makes his dynamic with Lan Wangji even more compelling. The do not need to state their love outright, since it exist in gestures, choices, and quiet loyalty. Oh my god I love them so much.

What frustrated me most is how quickly the so-called righteous cultivation world collapsed. Characters like Lan Xichen, Lan Qiren, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Mingjue present themselves as morally upright, yet fail to act with integrity when it matters. Their decisions, especially their role in the siege, reflect not justice, but anger, fear, and a false sense of righteousness. Sheep behavior. The idea that they could justify violence against the weak and vulnerable on the Burial Mounds makes it hard to see them as truly “good.” To me, that moment exposes them as morally weak and opportunistic rather than principled. Jiang Cheng in particular felt harder to sympathize with in the drama. With the addition of Wen Qing, his actions come across as even more ruthless, which shifts how his character is perceived. Still love Jiang Cheng though.

At the same time, the drama makes some additions that I really appreciated. Expanding characters like Yanli, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning add emotional depth and gives more weight to the story’s tragedies. Another standout is Jin Guangyao, both as a character and in casting. There’s something so convincing about him that it becomes believable that Lan Xichen would trust him blindly. That contrast between appearance and reality is executed very well.

In the end, my biggest regret remains the limitation placed on Wangxian. The decision to frame them as friends and separate them, even temporarily, feels like a loss, especially given how central their bond is. Still, added moments like Wei Wuxian calling them soulmates, and Lan Wangji affirming it manage to break through those constraints and preserve what matters. Despite everything, the Untamed succeeds in delivering what makes the story powerful. The characters, the emotional weight, and the exploration of justice, loyalty, and love.

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Male Lead was the highlight

Love in Contract starts off with a genuinely interesting premise. The main couple is easy to like. The female lead, follows a familiar archetype, capable, kind at her core, but shaped by difficult circumstances. While her character isn’t particularly groundbreaking, she’s still engaging enough to carry the story. The male lead stands out more. His introverted, socially awkward personality makes him both consistent and unintentionally funny. The way he approaches situations with complete honesty, without fully understanding social norms, creates some of the drama’s most endearing and comedic moments. His emotional sincerity gives the relationship a sense of stability that contrasts nicely with the more chaotic elements of the female lead and the overall plot.

I also found myself enjoying the second male lead more than expected, he adds charm without completely overshadowing the main relationship. A highlight, though, is the female lead’s gay best friend. His storyline feels surprisingly grounded, especially in how it handles his relationship with his family. The fact that they never fully come to accept him, even until the end, adds a layer of realism that stands out.

However, despite all these strong elements, the drama never quite becomes memorable and it is enjoyable while you’re watching it. It’s sometimes funny, often charming, but I do not see myself revisiting the show again in the future.

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Worth a watch, but not a rewatch

Despite My Demon being exactly the kind of drama I would usually enjoy, it ultimately didn’t meet my expectations. On paper, it has everything I like in a romance: a fantasy element, an interesting premise, and a visually appealing setup. A demon entangled with a human in a contract-based relationship has all the ingredients for something emotionally intense and engaging. And yet, while the drama works in theory, it struggles in execution. The main issue for me was the lack of emotional connection.

The female lead, Do Do-hee, feels underdeveloped, which makes it difficult to fully engage with her character. While she is presented as strong and independent, her emotional depth isn’t explored enough to make her feel real or relatable. Even though the romance is clearly meant to be the emotional core, I found it hard to become attached to it. The moments that are supposed to feel meaningful or moving don’t fully land, because the characters themselves don’t feel fleshed out enough to support that emotional weight. So the drama looks like a compelling romance, but it doesn’t fully feel like one to me. As much as I was excited for the show, in the end it just did not resonate with me much.

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The concept of this drama?

I really loved the concept of the ML being able to speak many languages. I think it's so fascinating.I loved the concept of "understanding the souls rather than the verbal language".
The drama was going upwards but i felt kinda bored and distracted when the FL's doppelganger showed up and they messed up the story there (i feel)
I mean the psychological part got really messy here.
Otherwise, the drama was so GOOD as it sets a whole different standard for LOVE!!
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Also plsss i wanna talk about HIRO😭 the second malee leadd.Guysss, he had the charming prince vibes and the looks??omygoshh shuttuuppp.And the fact tht, he learned a whole new language just for the FL😭🙏🏼 His eyes were full in love and the morals we got to realise is unmatchable!!!!
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JUST GO AND WATCH THIS ALREADY

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Bingeable but lacks tension.

Hmmm. I really enjoyed the first half... not much the second. I think the main issue is that there's no REAL twists in this second part. While it can be excused for the first half as the story is being set up, it makes the second part feel pretty lackluster.

Yes, The FL did get her revenge but her ennemies were pretty passive. The only attempt at ruining the FL was [not gonna spoil] and that's about it. There's a couple of new revelations here and there but there's nothing really thrilling about what's happening because you never feel like our leads have anything to fear.

The leads ALWAYS have the upper hand and while it might be satisfying in terms of our mains getting what they want... it removes a lot of what is the main appeal of the genre i.e the tension that comes from being uncertain about IF this part or that part of the plan is going to succeed and IF NOT HOW are the main characters going to make their plan work.

Villains should at least have been given enough intelligence to gather and use their brains to fight Da Eun instead of constantly ruining each other... I guess that's the point of it, to show they're such ass*** that they basically ruined themselves without that much intervention from her or that they're so selfish that they can't even cooperate to get rid of a single foe... But still.

Overhyped? Honestly I don't know. I found the show bingeable, but most of the screentime was given to the villains.... and I honestly don't like it when that much screentime is given to characters I utterly despise.

I'd rather we gave more screentime to our leads. It would have been great if So Hee's mother had been included in the whole plan as well...

Overall a bingeable show... which surprisingly left me pretty cold. I found the end satisfying but the only characters who I felt really for was Yeon Jin's husband, her daughter and So Hee's mother. Da Eun was such a cold person ( with a good heart though) that I could never connect with her... As for Yeo Jung, I could never understand how he could fall in love with such a block of ice.... But I guess they needed to force some romance to have at least ONE character bring some warmth into Da Eun's life...

Won't be rewatching that one.

PS: Im Ji Yeon's performance was IN.SA.NE though. I dropped or disliked most of the shows she's acted in, but in this one, she really outdone herself... I'll be following her projects more closely from now on.

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FANTASTIC!!! “This drama has me in a chokehold”

I didn’t expect to love Pursuit of Jade this much, but it ended up being one of my favorites. The plot was consistently interesting, with enough emotional moments to keep me invested. I never felt bored, and each episode left me wanting more.

The cast did an amazing job bringing their characters to life, and the chemistry between the leads was one of the highlights for me. On top of that, the visuals were insane—every actor looked stunning (face cards really never declined).

Overall, this is a drama I’d definitely rewatch and recommend to anyone looking for something engaging and visually pleasing.

worth watching more than once!

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WTAF?!

We meet up with the team a year later and Jack and Joke decide to get married. Their lives are settled, they have good friends around them, the bad guys have been thwarted and life is far more pleasant for everyone. Or so we are led to believe when wham! Out of nowhere Carbon comes back to mess things up.

I’m not sure what the script writer was on when he came up with this concept but quite frankly he should have just slept the effects off rather than making a special episode about it.

Long and the short, Joker falls into a canal gripping tightly to Carbon who has just shot him, twice, and just days later Jack is marrying a terrible cardboard version of him as they can’t find his body even though Carbon’s was found the next day.

We never really find out why Carbon came back onto the scene or what his end game was and the whole section in the casino our band of intrepid heroes go into to investigate a bizarre invitation makes very little sense either - it just seemed like a good excuse for some gratuitous violence IMO.

After the wedding’ we watch as Jack falls apart then one day, clutching tightly to the booklet Joker gave him detailing the ‘100 ways to say sorry without being there’ he sets off to find peace. At the end of his searching for some sort of closure we find him sitting on a park swing saying his final goodbyes to Joker’s ghost. Weird plot lines aside this is a beautiful ending to a realistic take on the unfairness of life.

However…

Would I watch again? Absolutely not, I ran out of tissues after the wedding and goodbye scenes but we do need another special episode…

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its really good but needs a lot of brainpower to understand lol

my very honest review of blossom (as someone who started because of the super high ratings, praise, and pursuit of jade):

the first few episodes were definitely really confusing. there's a lot of characters, backstories, and overall just an information overload lol. i mean this is def not new for cdramas but i think compared to other dramas, this definitely took me longer to understand and grasp what was going on.

i really like the fl. she's not physically strong but she's so smart and intelligent. so its nice to watch and not be annoyed at the mc making dumb decisions lol.

the mcs have A LOT of chemistry. they're so perfect for each other i luv it. the confession is in ep18, and they finally get together in ep 19/20 (jumping straight to a wedding lol). took longer than i anticipated but there's a lot of interactions between the two before this and you can def see the chemistry without them actually being together, which is great.

the ost and cinematography are both really good. the shots are soooooo good. i came here after watching pursuit of jade and the cinematography did not disappoint.

one thing im not the biggest fan of is that there's LOTS of family drama and then political drama and just every single type of drama that you could think of tbh. imma be completely real... it was lowkey tiring to watch at some points lol. it just got really overwhelming. sometimes the plot is just SO heavy. there's so many different groups of people and so many people conspiring against each other and it just becomes draining and suffocating to watch. literally just problem after problem loll non stop fr. i was STRESSED 24/7

lowkey the overall plot is not bad at all. just has SO much depth lol. its very complex but its pretty well written lol (just watching it was a bit stressful for me loll)

the ending was great. everything was wrapped up nicely. i enjoyed it. everyone is literally dumb af but pulled through in the end cuz of our girl dou zhao <3 she da best. yantang is ok too. there's a five year time skip in the last like 10mins of the final episode. it was alright.

despite all the negative things i said, it was still enjoyable. i really liked the mcs and, don't get me wrong, the plot is good, but maybe im just watching it at a bad time cuz it was just a bit overwhelming for me. im just binging this in my free time so maybe i just needed something lighter to watch lol.

this drama requires too much brainpower to understand lol

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this review is split between what i liked and what i didn’t like. i’m not trying to drag this out or say unnecessary things.

what i liked:

>the hand to hand fights were incredible. compared to the previous season, this one felt way more professional there were moments that honestly felt real.

>the acting was on another level, seriously amazing especially hwang chan sung. i literally had to look at his face a few times to recognize him because the transformation was insane.meanwhile, baek jeong was one of the characters that annoyed me the most. like honestly, when a character makes me want to yell at them or even throw hands, you know the actor did an incredible job. i’m still tempted to grab my flip flops and throw them at his head.

>the brutality felt almost sensory. broken bones, blood splattering and dripping, cuts on the head, stomach, shoulders, teeth… punches drawing blood it actually made me close my eyes. first time i genuinely didn’t want to watch something like that.


>their bond was even stronger this season. they didn’t hesitate to protect each other, and it wasn’t just friendship it was camaraderie, love, loyalty, empathy, partnership, connection… do you want me to keep going? 🥵

>kim geon woo’s humility is his greatest strength. i haven’t really seen anyone talk about that 🤔 and when i see it in his actions, it almost makes me cry, because that kind of thing is rare nowadays.

>their physical strength definitely improved a lot compared to last season. both of the main characters must’ve been training super hard, because not only did their muscles get bigger, their posture and overall strength looked way better. when geon woo started running after the car, his muscles were contracting so intensely i was honestly worried he might’ve pulled or torn something. it felt so real, so intense, he was almost huffing and breathing super heavily afterwards. i’m so proud of geon woo.

>choi tae ho was a true hero here. not only did he help the boys and encourage gun woo when he was at his lowest seriously, if it weren’t for tae ho, gun woo might’ve completely broken he also fought to protect his family. even with wounds, stitches, and a battered face, he went after them, hunted for information, just like his assistant, who was amazing in his quirky nerdy way. they’re both real heroes
what i didn’t like:

>the police were SO stupid they deserve an award for it. and yeah, i get it netflix loves making cops look useless or like punching bags but this really annoyed me. they went in to arrest someone without any protection? like what?? they basically got sliced up with knives like they were in a butcher shop.

>there were a lot of deaths without much explanation. i understand that some characters had to die given how violent baek jeong was, but it still felt excessive, especially with so many cops dying

>kim geon woo crying started to get on my nerves 😩 i get that he was scared of losing his family, but at some point it was just too much.

>the story felt like it focused more on fights than actual development. it made it harder for me to finish because it felt kind of empty compared to the previous season.

> the last episode ended way too fast, just like the whole mission to rescue kim geon woo’s mom. and honestly, that’s starting to feel like a typical netflix pattern.

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do I love u or do I love u

I deliberated between giving this drama 8/10 or 7.5/10. In the end, I gave it 7.5/10.

I felt that the casting was not great. The FL is very feminine and cute in her own way. I watched her in other dramas prior to this and she was cute. However, I felt that she did not suit this drama. She was much much better in “Destined”.

The premise was all right but the mad queen was really one total crazy b*tch. Things were rather interesting at the start and then, things became just slightly frustrating afterwards when ML regained his memory. There was nothing that was a true standout for this drama. It was watchable but nothing too great imo. I did not find the chemistry between the leads “satisfying’ either. It was all just rather lukewarm.

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Still Entertaining, But Not as Strong as Expected

When I first heard about Season 2, I was genuinely excited. The trailer made it look like the story would go in a fresh direction while still keeping the intense street-level action that made the first season so enjoyable. Naturally, my expectations were quite high.

The strongest part of the season is still the action. The fight choreography remains impressive, brutal, and engaging. The chemistry between Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi continues to carry the show, and their dynamic is still one of the most entertaining aspects of the series. Their performances make the action scenes feel more emotional and meaningful.

However, while the action is strong, the storyline felt weaker than I expected. Compared to the first season, the plot development seemed limited. A lot of new characters were introduced throughout the season, but many of them appeared without much explanation about their background or motivations. Because of this, some parts of the story felt rushed or less connected.

It almost felt like the show focused more on delivering bigger fights rather than building a deeper narrative. While that may work for viewers who mainly enjoy action-driven dramas, I personally expected a stronger balance between the story and the action.
That said, the season is still entertaining. The fights are well-executed, the performances are solid, and the production quality remains good. It’s definitely not a bad watch, especially for fans who enjoyed the characters and the intense fight sequences.

The ending also feels like it is setting up a possible Season 3. At the moment, I’m not completely sure if I would continue watching, but I am curious to see how the story might develop if another season happens.

Overall, Season 2 delivers strong action but feels a bit lighter in terms of storytelling compared to what I expected.

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Practical guide to watching a forgettable drama

The story follows a woman who finds a mature love. Based on the title and the opening episodes, it seemed like we were about to go on a journey exploring just how difficult it is to find love but that expectation was a bit misleading. Instead, what we get is a calm, laid-back drama centered on two adults simply being in love. Life happens but nothing ever shakes up their love life, which makes the pacing feel slow for most of the show. The dramatic and emotional parts all fell to the second male lead who seemed to be leading a whole different drama.

The two main actors did everything right individually, but I didn’t fully believe their chemistry. These are very talented actors who I have seem in various projects having palpable chemistry with other actors so it really was strange that they did not feel well paired.

I did appreciate the absence of some overused tropes no childhood connection and no white truck of doom. However, the return of kopiko (product placement) made me laugh every single time it appeared on screen, even though it clearly was not meant to be funny. Overall its well acted and beautifully shot, with my biggest qualm being the unengaging story line.

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