Reviews

İmmortals

Let me say this upfront. I really liked the series. I enjoyed watching it. However, there are flaws, errors, contradictions, and a departure from reality, especially in the script, in the flow of the story. Normally, it deserves a 9. But I lowered my score because of these inconsistencies in the story.

First of all, it started well. The series captivated me. It drew me in. But when we get to episode 18, especially the character Sui Qin is shot with two arrows, receives three or five knife wounds (not counting the other blows), and falls off a cliff. Normally, it's impossible for her to survive. Let's say she does survive. Bandits find her, bandage her wounds, and treat her. As soon as she wakes up, she doesn't feel any pain, she acts nimbly, and in two minutes she beats up a woman who is the bandit leader and everyone else. No pain. Then, this woman takes the bandit's men and raids the town, killing everyone in sight. It has nothing to do with reality. It's thoughtlessly written, someone who should have died is doing Kung Fu as if nothing happened. It's unbelievable how she looks, as if she hasn't been shot, hasn't had any broken bones, but has instead been injected with strength. There's a lack of care. There's a lot of exaggeration.
In episode 19, the woman who narrowly escaped death wakes up. As soon as she wakes up, she carries a blind woman on her back. She falls down a mountain. Her husband saves her. So, the series should have been called "The Immortals." There are many contradictions. For example, the nanny who raises the children of the treacherous Prince is kind-hearted, loving, brings the little children together and watches them with admiration. She is even killed while rescuing a child from the hands of the traitors. By whom? By the child she raised. Now, shouldn't the children raised by such a nanny be well-intentioned, loving, and helpful? No, quite the opposite, they have become cruel-hearted. The character analysis is wrong. It starts wrong and continues wrong. The screenwriter hasn't cared about the characters at all.

In episode 22, our frail, 40 kg female protagonist, who only knows kung fu, lifts 150 kg and climbs to the top. It's not believable. At least they could have made the female protagonist a big, burly guy to make up these things. They're making a mockery of the audience's intelligence.
In episode 23, the dam bursts. Everything is flooded. People in the flooded area die. Sui Manor is also flooded. The manor is submerged. Everyone dies. Sui's master finds and rescues the woman he loves from those raging waters. The Sui master's soldiers die in these dam waters. He watches them from a height. In the next scene, he rescues the woman he loves from the waters in the manor. How can he be in two places at once? It's unbelievable. In another scene, this master catches and kills the fleeing nanny. So, without any sequence or timing, this person is in different places at the same time. I found it wrong. I couldn't understand what the screenwriter wanted to do. Similarly, this little Sui Prince is cruel and ruthless. He kills everyone he encounters. But he also does good deeds. But he also kills those who do him good. He's a psychopath. Cruel. A maniac who enjoys killing. Can you expect good behavior from him? No. It's a mistake. There's a contradiction. This little Sui prince, despite being stabbed several times, falling off a cliff, and being shot with arrows, just won't die. After these events, repeated not once but several times, he finally dies. It's as if he was going to die the first time he was shot, but they were pleased with the actor and extended his scenes. That's why they killed and resurrected him several times. Something like that.

We could add more to this. I was going to lower my rating even more, but I liked the series. I liked the cinematography, the direction, the costumes. There were only flaws in the script. That's why I gave it an 8.

As for the actors, there was a very good group of actors. The main roles were very, very good and harmonious. Zhang Ling He looks good wherever you put him. He looks very charismatic and very handsome in the costumes. Tian Xi Wei was very beautiful. I liked her. Snow Kong was quite good. Deng Kai was very good. He also looked charismatic in costume. Li Qing was cute. Yu Zhong Li was beautiful. Ren Hao was good, but he had a kind of "what am I doing here?" kind of demeanor. Yan Yi Kuan was very good. He was charismatic. Guan Yun Peng was very good. I liked him. Lin Mu Ran, our hero who just won't die. Evil suits him. I hope these roles don't stick with him. I liked him. There were many young actors. They were all very handsome. I liked them all. I liked the veteran actors. It was a good drama. Despite these criticisms, I recommend it to those who haven't watched it.

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From One Night to Romance

Positively Yours is one of those dramas where you can pretty much predict what’s going to happen—but that doesn’t necessarily make it boring.

The story follows a very familiar path, especially if you enjoy boss–employee or office romance tropes. Nothing about the main plot feels particularly new, and at times it really does feel like you’ve seen this exact storyline before, just with different actors and slightly different situations.

And I have to say—his smile really stood out to me. It’s not just a normal smile; his eyes smile too, which makes his softer moments feel genuine. On the flip side, his jealousy scenes were honestly adorable. They didn’t feel forced, just natural reactions that added a bit of charm and humor to the relationship.

Now, one character I really struggled with was the sister-in-law. I kept asking myself, what is wrong with her? Yes, her trauma is understandable—losing someone important because of an accident involving the male lead (even if it wasn’t intentional) is devastating. But holding onto that pain and resentment for 15 years felt exhausting to watch. That’s literally half a lifetime, and while her emotions are valid, it sometimes felt like her character was stuck in the past without much growth for a long time.

That said, this drama definitely leans more toward fantasy than reality. It is very fictional than realistic (I know all the dramas are fictional, but some dramas will leave strong impression on you). The whole “CEO falls in love and everything works out perfectly” vibe is very idealized. But if you go in expecting something light and feel-good, it actually works in its favor.

Now, something random but memorable—the drama made even small things feel interesting. Like that moment with the beer, poured at a perfect 45-degree angle and mixed just right… I don’t know why, but it looked so satisfying that it actually made me want to try it myself one day.

My favorite character has to be Secretary Go. He was genuinely hilarious. His scenes had me laughing so hard that I wouldn’t even risk watching them in public. His expressions, timing, everything—it just worked. He added a fun energy that balanced out the more emotional parts of the story.

The female lead’s team leader is another character who grew on me. At first, she came across as overly critical and hard to like, always nitpicking the female lead. But once she found out about the pregnancy, her attitude shifted. She became more protective and supportive, and that change felt natural enough to appreciate.

If you’re in the mood for something deep and unpredictable, this might not be the right choice. But if you want a comforting, romantic drama with good chemistry, funny side characters, and simple feel-good moments then this drama worth giving a try.

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Grief: A Consequence of Love

South Korea has not given us consistent pairings before, so when this series was announced, I cheered, because I loved them in their first series together and I wasn't disappointed with this series as well. The chemistry is still fire, the visuals are on the attack, but the storyline was where the intrigue was for me.

The series is 8 episodes and, we are told right at the start that there is loss. One part of the couple, the remaining is struggling with the passing of the other. There is a sense of guilt and what ifs and low and behold, he is given the opportunity to return and 'correct' things, excepting he himself is exhibiting signs of ill health and a diagnosis is never given, but there an impending and foreboding feeling in the air.

The final episode is where it all comes together for me because throughout the series, the remaining man has been working super hard to secure the life of his partner and the last episode shows the result of his efforts, but equally, they are not shown to be in the same physical space - umm together. I wondered why and I then theorized, the story was never about them being together, but rather the story is about grief. When you look at the back and forth between time before and now and you focus on the details, the story loses sense, but when you zoom out and look at it from above, it brings into focus the sadness which has permeated the story throughout the episodes.

The struggle, the mourning, the unsurmountable grief of finding love and losing it. In the end, it really does not matter who lived or who died, because they cannot have each other for as long as they wished to, due to untimely passing, either through illness or unforeseen circumstances. When you think you have found one meant for you and then they pass, how are you meant to move on?

I would recommend this series to anyone interested in plot driven storytelling, because the gazes and the kissing aren't the strongest points. The story is.

Let's rewatch!

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Surprisingly Good Palace Intrigue Drama with Great Characters

I must be honest: I do not like palace-intrigue historical C-dramas unless there is a decent amount of fantasy elements or romance takes up over 60% of the plot. That’s my baseline.

I started The Princess Royal several times but couldn’t get past episode 1. Now that I have finally finished it, I don’t understand why I couldn’t continue earlier. Maybe it’s because I went into it after watching xianxia—xianxias and historicals have a very different vibe. So perhaps the switch from one subgenre to another did not work at a time.

But this drama actually surprised me in a good way.

Production values and action

- Very high budget production. Everything from the costumes to the fight choreography felt top notch.
- I particularly liked the action scene in the first episode and there was a stunning sequence in the last episode.

There were additional strong action beats in between, but those two stood out.

Plot (brief, non-spoilery recap)

I’m not the kind of person to recap the plot — most people reading reviews already know the premise. They basically want to know if the drama is worth watching. But for anyone who doesn’t: it’s a story about a married couple (who die) traveling back in time to the period before they got married. They get a second chance at life and must decide whether to repeat the same path or choose something else.

Pacing and storytelling

If you like palace intrigue, it’s absolutely worth watching — one of the better ones I’ve seen. The story moves pretty fast in terms of development. Yes, there are long dialogue-heavy scenes, but they don’t drag the plot. Most of them are fairly meaningful and easy to watch. There were only a handful of draggy scenes toward the end, but not nearly as many as in other historical dramas I’ve seen.

Acting and characters

The acting is superb. I particularly liked Zhao Jin Mai in this role. I didn’t like her in Shine on Me — she wasn’t convincing in that one for some reason (maybe direction). In The Princess Royal she was perfect.

There’s a love-triangle situation that settles halfway through. The tension between Pei Wen Xuan and Su Rong Qing is amazing and holds up until the end. This is one of those rare dramas where the tension between male characters vying for one woman is convincing and the second male lead doesn’t just exist for a trope — he has meaningful presence and development and actually is a worthy opponent.

A lot of characters were interesting and had good storylines. That’s rare for me in historical dramas; I usually skip a lot when it comes to supporting characters, but I didn’t here.

Lead couple: Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan

Their relationship is complicated because they lived as half-enemies in the previous life—existing on opposite edges of the same circle. In their second life they get a chance to change things. The dynamic is enemies-to-lovers at first: they bicker, scheme against each other, and then marry again because despite their animosity they love each other deep down. Even if they don’t understand it just yet. Their relationship gets crazy and toxic, and very sweet eventually.

I liked the power dynamics a lot. Li Rong is a princess who’s a force to be reckoned with and is the dominant one in the relationship from the beginning and throughout.

Pei Wen Xuan isn’t always the guy to save the girl. She saves him plenty of times too. He’s shown vulnerable in many scenes (the punishment scene at his family’s place, fainting in the court session), though he still saves her too and gets injured doing so.

The best part I liked about his character is that he has learned his past life mistakes. He lets Li Rong take the lead often; he saves her but also allows her agency. I liked that balance.

Palace intrigue and supporting arcs

Reason why I said that this drama surprised me a lot being the palace intrigue drama is because romance is not as prevalent in here as I would like. It seems to be woven evenly into the main story arc which involves the struggle between the noble families and people who are opposing them. Despite my occasional dislike of palace intrigue, I liked the way it was handled here.

Many supporting characters and their storylines were compelling — a rare win for a historical for me.

Around episode 30 the emperor’s character/background comes in heavily, which is where many C-dramas suffer with long torturing scenes that could be trimmed. This drama does have some of that, but it isn’t as bad as usual.

Episode 33 has pretty sick plot twists that help keep the pace going.

Favorite scenes/episodes

Episode 20: the sequence where Pei Wen Xuan catches Li Rong in the flower field — I watched that sequence and the minutes before it several times. The cinematography and the execution and direction are amazing.

Episode 23: the banquet hall performance between the royal siblings, Su Rong Qing and Pei Wen Xuan — stunning.

First episode action and the stunning sequence in the last episode (already mentioned) are also standouts.

Specific dislikes/emotional beats

I hate how Su Rong Qing’s confession affected Li Rong after the cliff fall. It’s understandable Li Rong reacted that way after learning who truly killed her, but it was disheartening to watch her determination to care for her little brother disappear. I’m glad that in the end she allowed herself to believe in humanity again.

Ending and final impressions

The last three episodes were pretty good, with the exception of a couple of draggy scenes — but those dragged scenes made sense because they focused on major characters.

Bonus: it’s a happy ending. Characters who had tragic or sad outcomes in the previous life get good lives and good endings this time. Everyone gets what they want and what they deserve.

If you like historical female-centric dramas, palace intrigue, and are a fan of the actors, this is a pretty good watch.

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More than an idol-fan drama

Honestly this was a very very solid drama that actually dealt with very real aspects of celebrity culture in Korea. I have always wanted a good drama that handled the entertainment industry in Korea but everytime a new production rolled out it was disappointment after disappointment.

This drama however, really got a lot of things right and therefore gets a pretty great score. It dealt with record labels, obsessive fan culture, sasaeng fans, in group dynamics, paparazzi, how privacy is sadly not a right but a luxury for many people in the industry and just overall the backstage of the overly-glamourized world we see on our screens. I hope many people who watch it can see the real life correlations of some of the storylines, especially the ones regarding obsessive fans and paparazzi.

I also thought the crime/mystery aspect of the show was done pretty well and kept you on your toes.

When it came to the characters; I really loved the chemistry between Sooyoung and Kim Jae Young, they were truly cast perfectly. I could truly see Jae Young as an idol in real life tbh and I loved that he sang all the songs himself. I also believe that Sooyoung being an idol herself who has gone through many of the things that the male character goes through on the show really helped to ground the plot in reality. Overall, both of their acting was very well done.

Now! One thing that I genuinely didn't need in this show was the second male leads romantic feelings towards the FL. I think someone needs to tell these writers that platonic male female relationships do EXIST like why does it scare them so much to portray a healthy M-F friendship? However, I really enjoyed Kim Hyun Jin's acting and really liked his character despite this, I also think he handled the situation very well.

I was also very scared as to how they would handle the fan-idol dynamic and how they would navigate that on a script level but Sooyoung's character was written so well and she was just such a great lawyer and her mindset was amazing that I fully rooted for her. I think it was done in the best way possible.

ALSO, finally a drama where a (SPOILER) childhood connection actually made sense and added a very lovely layer to the story. It was very well done and you could tell the intention behind it rather than a random plot device the writers put to fill up screen time and fake a connection between the leads.

The show started and ended in a very consistent quality which sadly is a rare thing these days. If you like shows/movies set in the entertainment industry then this one is a must watch in my opinion.

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Amazing evocation of culture and tradition

After finishing this series, my mind was still immersed in the world of magic and the story itself. My only criticism concerns the actor playing Khem. His performance was very emotionless throughout the series, which I found problematic. This series authentically depicts the real-life aspects of black and white magic, and to evoke or convey that to the audience, an actor needs to have a certain skill. He is very cute, but in this series, his cuteness feels different—more nuanced. As a result, I rated the series 8.5/10, even though I believe it deserves a higher score. However, his acting influenced my rating to be lower.

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overrated

20 episode pertama jalan ceritanya masih bagus dan masuk akal, tapi setelahnya jadi berasa stuck dan jalan ditempat sampe ep 36.

gaada perkembangan karakter yg signifikan, terlalu berpusat sama FL yg pengen bgt keliatan OP dan ini bikin 4 sekawan geng penjagal jadi cuma *hiasan* aja, gaada tujuan lain. bahkan Marquis Wu’an jadi keliatan ‘biasa aja’ saking sering munculnya scene FL unjuk kekuatan.

dari segi plot & scenes romance juga kenapa malah lebih banyak, lebih dominan, lebih menyentuh side characters kaya Qimin & Gongsun? Main leadsnya justru gak berkembang, bahkan di satu titik FL nya malah bikin ‘dinding’ tapi masih terus aja nunjukkin kalo dia punya perasaan ke Marquis… gak konsisten 😭😭

episode 37-40 itu berasa banget kaya “diburu-buru” karna semua kisah dari “17 tahun lalu” diceritain dan dijelasin semua disitu, banyak bgt flashback-flashback yang seharusnya bisa ditunjukkin di episode tengah2.

overall, drama ini bagus buat di tonton tapi banyak banget plot hole nya, male leads nya juga kaya cuma antara: aura farming atau gak terluka di hampir keseluruhan jalan cerita, gak bener-bener nunjukkin skill nya sebagai Marquis yg udah di medan perang selama 10 tahun.

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She Leads, He Follows: The Power Shift That Changed Everything

My first drama of Park Shin-hye was The Heirs. Honestly, I liked her in that show, and she definitely fit the role, but… I don’t know, something felt off. She was quiet, emotional, sweet—cute, even—but I kept thinking she was capable of so much more. The character felt kind of safe, and I wanted to see her take over a story, not just drift along in it.

Then came The Judge from Hell. And wow… just wow. My jaw literally dropped. Almost overnight, I became obsessed with her. She was bold, ruthless, and completely magnetic. From the first scene, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The way she carries herself, the subtle smirk, the chilling confidence—it’s like the screen bends around her energy. I realized right then that Park Shin-hye isn’t just great in romances—she absolutely slays when she’s allowed to lead.

And oh my god, the punishment scenes. I was cheering, I swear. The depth of her voice when she said, “지금부터 진짜 재판을 시작하겠다” (“From now, the real trial begins”)—it gave me goosebumps. And then, one by one, the criminals just… disappeared. I literally sat there thinking, “Wait, why did you stop there? You should’ve gone on a bit longer!” I know it sounds kind of crazy, but that’s exactly how much the show made me feel her power. It wasn’t just acting—it was thrilling, it was scary, and somehow… it was incredibly satisfying.

I also loved how the male lead reacted to her. You could see he was stunned, constantly trying to keep up with her. Usually, in K-dramas, it’s the male lead who drives the story, but here? She owns it. The story follows her, her choices, her boldness. Watching that was just… insanely satisfying. Like, finally—a drama where the female lead isn’t just reacting, she’s the force everyone else orbits around.

And the music. OMG. Italian opera-style, dark, vicious, dramatic. It hits just right, and I can still hear it in my head. It makes every punishment scene feel epic, like you’re watching a dark opera unfold in a courtroom. Perfect match for the drama’s vibe.

Right now, I’m also watching Undercover Mrs. Hong, and I’ve realized something about myself: strong female leads just completely captivate me. To the point that I end up watching every single drama they’re in. After seeing Park Shin-hye in The Judge from Hell, I can’t help it—I want to see her in everything. She doesn’t just act; she dominates the screen, the story, the mood… everything.

Honestly? She’s made me a fan for life. I feel like I finally understand what it means when someone says a performance is magnetic. She’s the kind of actress who makes you forget everyone else exists, and I am here for it.

Overall, this felt like a turning point for me as a viewer. I went from casually appreciating Park Shin-hye to genuinely paying attention to her as an actress. She may not need to dominate every role, but when she’s given the right material, she clearly knows how to take control of a scene—and that’s something I’ll be looking out for in her future projects.

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A modern fairy tale romance?

Mr. Kurosaki's Pure Love Never Stops is a romance based on a manga between a high school girl and a twenty-something guy. (The actor is 24, but the exact age of the character is not particularly revealed. The character has successfully published a few novels, and has a younger half-brother who's in college.) I believe the intention of the series is to be a modern variation of fairy tales like Cinderella or Snow White in which the young protagonist encounters a rich and handsome guy who is immediately and utterly devoted to her and after overcoming some obstacles the two fall in love and live happily ever after. There should be room in our narrative media to tell that kind of story. And so the central question of this review is: does this series tell that story successfully and well? Is this series worth the watch even if the age-gap does not immediately have you noping right out of it? No, no: it is not (IMO, of course).

The primary failure of this series is with the writing and, particularly, the characterization of the male lead, Kurosaki (played by Yamanaka Jyutaro). Despite being a successful, established author securely living on his own the character has all the social skills and knowledge of dating of a middle-school boy. The series begins with his going up to the protagonist Koharu (played by Toyoshima Hana) working behind the counter at her family's onigiri shop and offering her 1,000,000¥ (that's a whopping $6,258.47 at the time of writing) to marry him.

The character's subsequent behavior is not much better with his continuing to pursue a long-term relationship with the repeatedly flustered schoolgirl as she tries to guide him towards more conventional ways of getting to know each other like, you know, going on dates and maybe even, gasp, talking to each other. Kuroskai is portrayed as successful and intelligent enough as a writer to have a large fan following, and yet he is so ignorant of and oblivious to social conventions and how parasocial relationships work that at one point he outs Koharu as a public figure without her consent, doxes her family's shop and then obliviously waltzes into the shop now filled with his fans. And does the script acknowledge in any way that there might be issues and consequences that might entail from his doing so? Nope: it's completely forgotten about by the next episode.

Kurosaki is definitely not portrayed as creepy though in the early episodes all of Koharu's family and friends repeatedly lampshade the issue by calling his actions creepy. The character genuinely does not evidence having any kind of malicious intent throughout the series. I guess we're supposed accept that his good looks and pre-adolescent demeanor somehow disarm the initial suspicions of those who are already close to Koharu: "It's okay! He does not really have hormones yet. At 24 or whatever. His love is pure! And it never stops!"

Koharu, on the other hand, is about as tropey of a heroine as one can find. Yes, she is gorgeous, but she's never had a boyfriend because her mom died and she has to work at the family shop and take care of her younger brothers. But she is also clumsy! What a novel idea! You see that means she repeatedly falls into the arms of whatever guy is around to catch her! What a brilliant idea that has never ever appeared in every shallow, mass market romance ever! And the production can make sure we understand what she's feeling when she's in Koharu's arms by making the screen go all glowy and add CGI sakura wafting gently down the screen.

The acting on the other hand is generally fine to good. This series is Toyoshima's first leading role in a television series after a bunch of interesting and good, solid support roles over the past few years. And Yamanaka is also establishing a good, solid acting career beyond his being an idol in M!lk. This series is overly reliant on voice-over while the leads maintain some sort of relevant expression but both the actors are charismatic enough to pull it off. There are no really deep emotive scenes for either of the two, but they do have reasonably good chemistry together.

This series is not meant to be a realistic exploration of various problematic issues that all societies around the world have to grapple with like consent and appropriate age ranges for first relationships. These issues are not just issues in Japan. But it's not unreasonable to ask that if you're going to make this series, why not have Koharu be in college? What does the series gain by having Kurosaki waiting outside a high school at the end of a school day to pick up Koharu for a date? If this series is meant to be a romantic fantasy for young women, then how would Kurosaki have to be and act for everyone to feel safe in his intentions and actions? This series has no answers to such questions, and instead hopes that the sufficient naivety of the two leads and clouds of supposedly comedic fluff will be enough to obscure the issues.

To swoon or not to swoon, that is the question. I, for one, did not.

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Addictive Historical Shaman Drama That Exceeds Expectations

I was looking for a drama centered around a shaman and happened to come across this one. I decided to give it a try, and it turned out to be a great choice. Going in, all I knew was that the female lead was a shaman, and that alone kept me curious enough to continue. Before I knew it, I was hooked and kept wanting to watch episode after episode.

At first, I was a bit skeptical because it is a historical drama, which is usually not my preference. However, this one completely surprised me. The acting across the cast was impressive, and even the supporting characters left a strong impression on me.

I do wish there had been more focus on the shaman aspect of the female lead, especially her training, her growth into a stronger shaman, and more backstory explaining her abilities despite her lack of proper practice.

Some character deaths felt unnecessary, and the villain’s punishment was not as satisfying as it should have been, especially considering the losses along the way. Overall, it was an engaging and enjoyable watch that exceeded my expectations.

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One of the better BL's in a long while

After the very first episode, you understand that this will not be your normal BL series. The story is very intriguing and really takes hold of you just a few minutes into it.
These two protagonists create a very powerful chemistry between the two of them. A lot of actors in past BL series you can see right through the acting, but these two make this relationship so believable and truly genuine, you can't help but feel how real it is. Having seen Ji Han & Jeong You in past performances, I definitely felt they were both at their best in this drama.
The one negative I walked away with, was at the very end of the final episode. Without giving anything away, It was a bit rushed in the final few minutes. It seemed like it took too long to get to the conclusion, with some wasted reminiscing, using up some valuable minutes. When the peak of the story finally happened, it just seemed a bit empty as the end credits rolled. I think there could have been a little more time given to such a great ending ... I don't want to take away from the series as a whole, because it was high marks all the way, overall making for one of the better BL series to come along in a while.

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Amazing start, shaky middle, dismal climax, good ending—

Here lies another victim of censorship and the 40-episode rule. You watch the show and see how everything is going well in terms of the production, storytelling, and writing; and then it reaches the middle and it falters. And it's all because of the weird cuts you know well that something should have been there. It's such a shame. But Zeng Qingjie has outdone himself, though—I think this is better than Blossom. For Zou Yue, I still think Coroner's Diary is her best work (especially in terms of the romance, but I guess that's more of a personal preference).

STORY:

Like I said, it started REALLY good. I even wrote a lengthy comment before about how the exposition in Lin'an County really set the stage for the events that will happen in the middle part of the show. The Lin'an Arc was so good, I just wanted to stay there. And even when the show ended, I wanted to go back. It's just so PEAK to me. But then, we reached the middle part and despite the several aura farming scenes and Fan Changyu's AMAZING fighting scenes—don't get me wrong, they're cool and I loved every second of them—I feel like the show really fell short when it came to telling the story of the battles they faced. I feel like they focused too much on the "Yan Zheng hiding his identity" plot instead of enriching the story about their life in that military camp, because from what I understood, they were in that camp FOR MONTHS and yet the only thing I clearly remember was the plotline about Xie Zheng hiding his identity (which, they could've written better, by the way). And towards the end of their Military Camp Arc, it was also so obvious that there were LOTS of cuts and I'm guessing it has something to do with censorship (maybe it was too violent?) Because one moment, this is happening. Then the next, another thing is happening. And then all of a sudden, an important general is dead? Didn't even show us how it happened. But it did. And we just have to accept it. And now, Fan Changyu is bedridden and OH she also discovers a BIG secret about her identity. It was all too abrupt. It was obvious that they were rushing things to have space for the Capital Arc.

I say this with no offense meant but maybe they wouldn't have the need to rush important plot points if they took away some of Qi Min and Yu Qianqian's screentimes. It was so unnecessary. I don't understand what they're trying to build up about their relationship and even in the end, it just didn't MOVE me. It's also so frustrating because we get full scenes of Qi Min and Yu Qianqian UNSOLICITED, but for the main couple, we have to beg for scraps of their scenes that they obviously filmed (based from the behind the scenes and leaked clips) but didn't make the final cut. I saw some people blaming Zou Yue for this, but she only writes the script. She doesn't decide what ends up in the final cut and what doesn't. It's the director. And obviously, these scenes were filmed so I really want to know what's going on with Zeng Qingjie when he decided to explore their relationship and dynamic for nothing.

Now, for the final arc—it was all over the place. The climax was dismal. And resolving the conflict of the show with dreams and chance discoveries? It's pure lazy writing and I will die on this hill. I remembered how chaotic the writing was in the last arc of Coroner's Diary, too and I'm faulting Zou Yue for this one. But I loved the reveal about Wei Yan, though. Truly a compelling villain (if we can even call him that; he's more of an anti-hero for me). I wish they explored Xie Zheng's dynamic with Wei Yan more. It was just so interesting to see how he's Wei Yan's pride and joy, but he's also the one person who can beat him in his own game and I think it unsettles him. I also wish they explored Xie Zheng's emotional turmoil more. I think he is complete as a character in terms of merits. He became a Marquis at a young age and it's well-deserved because he is both a good strategist and a good fighter—and it's pretty much established. But I feel like there's something that falls short in terms of his emotional struggles—especially his feelings about his parents, his uncle, his cousin, and basically his life before Changyu and how they related to her. It feels like they just dumped some scenes here and there about his interactions with them as a child and called it a day. There's no depth in it aside from what they want to evoke from the audience during that exact scene, which they try to get away with through editing.

As for how they showed Fan Changyu—from her humble beginnings as a butcher from Lin'an to her rise to power as a Great General—NO NOTES. I loved seeing every chapter of Fan Changyu's life. It's like seeing my little baby grow.

Last thing: I wish we got more of the alternate universe. I would really pay to see more of Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu being childhood sweethearts. (Instead, it feels like they set up everything for that specific scene at the end. But, whatever. Good to know that Qi Min and Yu Qianqian won't involve themselves with each other in their other life. They're physically repulsed by it. I'm repulsed by the idea of them, too.)

ACTING/CAST:

Like I have always said, my only criteria to say that an actor is good is when I'm able to enjoy the show while watching him or her. If the actor delivers what he has to deliver and make me feel for their character, then they're good in my books. For this show, everyone has done a good job in doing that. I felt for every character, whether good or bad, whether I love them or I hate them.

Special mention to Tian Xiwei because she really brought Fan Changyu to life. She has always been one of my favorite actresses, and I have trust in her acting skills, but seeing her as Fan Changyu was still a pleasant surprise, even as a long time fan of hers. She has improved so much over the years and I'm just so happy to see her getting the recognition she deserves through this project.

As for Zhang Linghe, I'm not particularly a fan of him, but I tend to end up watching his shows because for some reason, he always ends up in good shows. And from what I've seen, it's clear that he has also improved a lot. He was convincing in both personas as the ruthless Marquis Wu'an and the gentle matrilocal husband Yan Zheng. It was such a joy to see his pretty face on screen, I'm not going to lie. This is the best he's ever looked on camera, and mind you, he has always looked good.

I would also like to applaud the actors for Yu Bao'er and Fan Changning because they really held their own in their scenes, especially the actor for Yu Bao'er. These kids are definitely going places!

Special Mention 1: To the actor who played the Emperor. He's so convincing as a useless emperor, I couldn't help but roll my eyes whenever his scenes come up. But at the same time, I also couldn't help but feel sad for him in the end. He's a victim in all of this and things would have been better for him if he remained a prince. It's clear he had no ambition, but he was suddenly thrust into power and given more than enough food than he could chew. The actor did so well in portraying the helplessness of it all.

Special Mention 2: To the actor who played Wei Yan, Yan Yikuan. NO NOTES. Truly amazing performance as Wei Yan. It's also so convincing that he's Xie Zheng's uncle. They really look like they share the same genes, even Xie Zheng's mom. I think this is one of Zeng Qingjie's strengths—picking the perfect actors to play as family members and finding the perfect actors to play as the younger versions of other actors.

MUSIC:

The OSTs of this show are all ICONIC and the way you can associate certain scenes or know what kind of scenes will be shown from the OSTs alone show how effective they are in bringing up the whole atmosphere of the show. I especially love "Pure As I Am" by Yisa Yu because I really love the tender moments between Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu. They're just so sweet and heartwrenching in a good way.

REWATCH VALUE:

I will DEFINITELY rewatch this for the Lin'an Arc. Their domestic life was just so cozy and like I said, I really wish we could just stay there. It's such a memorable arc for me and I want to return there again and again. What I feel about Lin'an is like those trends on TikTok where they caption it with: "Not my place, but I know my way around." Because even with the petty fights with the neighbors, even with people looking down on them despite the big destiny they hold, Lin'an is still home.

OVERALL:

I initially said above that it's such a shame that such a good show faltered midway. But then, I can't deny that this is still an amazing work. So, congratulations to the casts and crew because this is really a memorable show in a sense that it was a very enjoyable watch and I've never felt so excited about watching a historical show since Coroner's Diary.

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Take me back to 6 March 2026, 6 p.m., when this beautiful dream beneath the rain pavilion began

What I would give to hear the words “我杀猪养你啊🔪🐷” for the first time again. 逐玉 made my March so delightful, and I want to thank its incredible cast for keeping me hooked from start to finish🥹
To preface, I tend to separate my enjoyment of a drama from my analysis of it. I gave Zhu Yu an overall 10/10 purely for my own list and reference (despite not giving any individual category a 10), because for me, it was a 10/10 experience🥲. Realistically, I would rate it around an 8.5 from a more critical standpoint, as I did have some issues with it. If you’d like to hear more, please read on💖


💗Stylistic Choices💗

As someone who is a sucker for cultural symbolism and loves looking for tiny details that add to the story, director Zeng Qing Jie hits all the right notes for me😭There are many things I LOVED about Zhu Yu, but here are some of my favourites:

💗Shadow Puppet Show
True to his signature style, ZQJ opens the first episode with a puppet show, just like his other hit, Blossom (2024). I appreciated that he uses the Qin Qiang Opera style, which not only enriches the cultural texture of the drama, but also deepens our immersion in its world. If you pay attention to the post-credits scene of the 1st episode, there is a poem recited during the shadow puppet show. It foreshadows and outlines the story, and is originally written by ZQJ and the production team. I did a very rough translation (poems are hard😢):

隆冬朔野玉尘飞，与君初遇雪地危。
天降姻缘两情许，杀猪为汝誓不摧。
暗潮翻涌金戈震，生死契阔心相随。
戎装换却庖刀影，巾帼辉戈向云麾。

“In midwinter, jade-white snow swirls across the wilderness; our first meeting was a chance encounter amid that perilous snowfield.
Heaven brought us together, and our hearts chose one another; I slaughtered pigs for you, and my vow shall not break.
As hidden currents surge and the clash of arms resounds, through life and death, our hearts remain bound.
I laid down my butcher’s knife and took up armour; now, as a woman of valour, I raise my spear toward the clouds.”

A super poetic and classy opening to Zhu Yu, imho🤩

💗Visual Storytelling
But of course, we cannot mention Zhu Yu without talking about its cinematography!!! The colour grading, the clever use of lighting with candlelight and shadows✨, the super satisfying framing and composition, and the brilliant use of unique shots (e.g. POV angles), everything is so thoughtfully done.

Visual symbolism is used so effectively, examples include the Yin-Yang motif, recurring imagery like the hair ribbon💙, as well as visual parallels and callback shots that mirror earlier scenes… I can go on and on about the visuals, everything about it is just so well done 😭✨


❣️Story❣️

This is the part where I wished it could’ve been better, and I knocked off 2 points for pacing and the butchering of plot points (lenient, I know, but I couldn't help it :") ). The story itself isn’t particularly anything new, it’s fairly straightforward and everything unfolds quite logically, though I did watch and rewatch it without subtitles and had read the novel many times beforehand, so that likely helped. But there were changes here and there that made me go ??? at times, especially in the middle arc, and I will blame that on the screenwriter🙄

When it comes to the story’s pacing, I will readily agree that Zhu Yu pales in terms of plot progression compared to other good dramas that I’ve watched before. There definitely are parts that were too rushed, some unnecessary filler, and some important parts were cut out. It started off super strong and promising, but as it progressed, its flaws slowly emerged and became too apparent to ignore completely (blaming the screenwriter and anyone who made editing decisions, ugh!!).

Now, the first 19 episodes were an absolute chef’s kiss. I really loved the slower pace, which helped build the rapport between Chang Yu, Yan Zheng, and their relationships with the villagers. It made me not just feel for them, but feel like I was actually part of the homely village of Xi Gu Alley. Which is probably why I ugly cried when the massacre happened, and even now, I can’t bring myself to fully watch that episode, even though I’ve watched the others countless times😭

The 2nd arc felt excruciating at times, and combined with the painful airing schedule🥲, the relief brought about by the revelation of the secret was liberating, to say the least. Compared to the masterful build-up in the first arc to the massacre (a hard one to match, definitely), this build-up felt less complete and was repetitive, and there were instances where the editing was weird and changes made from the novel felt off.

The final palace politics arc is very fast-paced, too fast for the amount of content it wanted to mash together in less than 10 episodes. It didn’t help that audiences have already long forgotten about the palace politics, with how little of it was shown in earlier episodes. Hence, the sudden bombarding of so much information may cause significant confusion for many. But also, this is where I loved the interactions between our main leads, as after such a long journey, they are finally on equal ground, and are able to support each other truly and fully❣️


❤️Characters and Acting❤️

Casting for Zhu Yu was spot-on, the best I’ve seen from C-dramas in recent years. Every character felt well-rounded and vivid, even minor ones, and I daresay that there wasn't one character which I felt was totally useless to the overall story (though some were really annoying!)
But if I went into detail for everyone it will be a very very long essay🤣, so I will just focus on our two leads.

❤️Chang Yu
There have been many C-Dramas with a "female general" tag released in recent years, and most of them have not met the mark for me. But Fan Chang Yu, the woman that you are!!😭 Our FL starts off as a simple, straightforward, kind but somewhat ditzy girl, forced to become head of the household due to the tragic death of her parents. The story begins when, out of kindness, she saves a man she doesn’t know and gradually falls in love with him.

As we follow her on her journey, we come to understand her better: she's extremely protective of her loved ones, she's a badass that can hold her own in fights, she's very understanding and forgiving, and she has the bravery to match her sense of justice, which allowed her to attain the growth that she achieved by the end.

Undeniably, Tian Xi Wei absolutely shines in her role as Chang Yu. I am a Tian Xi Wei stan, and I feel that Xiao Tian really made the most of her role in this drama, and successfully brought Chang Yu to life😭 She's so beautiful here and the styling suits her SO WELL. But not just that, she is able to pull audiences in and we are able to immerse in the emotions Chang Yu feels in each scene. Whether it’s her crying scenes, fight scenes, cold expressions, or her soft and adorable moments, she nails every single one and switches between them so effortlessly!

My favourite scene of hers has to be her grieving for the lost villagers in ep.19, it really did feel like Chang Yu was going to fall apart into pieces at any second, especially that line “And my Ning Niang😭”, it made me bawl😭 Her previous roles never really gave her this much room to shine, so I'm really happy that Zhu Yu has let people see her real capabilities as an actress🤩

❤️Xie Zheng
As for our ML, he is a proud and accomplished Marquis cum commandant of the Xie Army, who narrowly escapes death and is saved by our FL. He marries into the Fan family under the pseudonym Yan Zheng, both out of gratitude and out of necessity to hide his identity to regain strength and eventually return to his position.

While our FL’s growth was more external, I really appreciated that the focus of Xie Zheng’s growth was internal. From the start, he was already at the top of the food chain in the political and military scene, but he didn’t have a true family, he didn't have people who would go to great lengths to protect him, it had always been him protecting others. So what he needed wasn’t more fight scenes, it was a chance to show vulnerability and his flaws in front of someone, which he is able to do with Chang Yu🥰

Zhang Ling He’s performance here is a breakthrough for him. As an actor that possesses striking features, people may tend to focus on his visuals, and overlook his ability to portray miniscule emotions very well in this drama. Many times, I felt my emotions rising and falling in sync with his.

My favourite scene of his has to be when he showcased fear for the first time when he saved Chang Yu in ep.19. I felt that ZLH really captured Xie Zheng’s panic, fear and regret, evident in little details, like how he didn’t even notice the blind granny come in and was shocked to see her, and how he used such a desperate and clumsy method of warming her face with his hands, a huge contrast to his usual confident self.

❤️ZhengYu
Truly, they are one of the most complementary drama couples I’ve seen in a long time. This couple was promoted as a “power duo”, and it is really hard to accomplish that, with most dramas falling back to the typical trope of the FL relying more on the ML. But for ZhengYu, I never felt that either one of them was overpowering or overly reliant on the other.

Throughout the course of the story, both of the main leads achieved growth, just in different ways. Chang Yu needed guidance and a sense of security, and Xie Zheng was able to provide just that. Xie Zheng lacked a sense of belonging and love, which Chang Yu brought into his life. Like the Yin-Yang Symbol in THAT scene😌, they are interdependent and complementary opposites, and neither side can exist without the other🥺


💞Music💞

💞OSTs
The OST line-up for Zhu Yu is unbelievable, and the songs did not disappoint. I find myself singing the songs without looking up the lyrics, they just remain rent-free in my brain😂. But what I really loved and what gave me goosebumps was the Suo Na BGM that sounds during battles, in the intro, and towards the end of some episodes. A fantastic use of the loudest traditional instrument in China’s history of music🤩

💞The intro sequence
Believe it or not, I never once skipped the intro of Zhu Yu on my first watch of each episode. It is rare that this happens for me, because I usually just skip the intro songs. ZQJ makes it a point to place the intro song at different points in many episodes, some after 10+ minutes, which made it a jumpscare because I was tricked into thinking that I already finished the episode😂 The opening sequence is sectioned into 3 parts that mirror the progression of the story, and the visuals combined with the music reflect just that. Starting with the tranquillity of life in a small town (LOVED the subtle Guzheng here), it transitions to a tense atmosphere as war breaks out (Suo Na was so good!). The last section is goosebump-inducing, ending with a powerful, commanding feeling (such a crisp, bright sound from the Di Zi) that gives a sense of victory, and after that, a sense of peace and prosperity.


💓In short, if you’re looking for a light, easy watch with solid acting and breathtaking visuals, this drama may be for you.

However, is Zhu Yu the most interesting in terms of plot? Definitely not. Is it the most beautiful-looking drama? Many would argue against that. But what made me rate it a 10, despite my criticism of the story and its progression?

Well, Zhu Yu has this addictive charm that I could not fathom or explain even after completing it. I know this at least for me, because I'm someone who has never put in this much effort in watching a drama before. I’ve anticipated this since the day they announced it. I watch silently and don’t really watch shows the second they drop everyday, let alone rewatch episodes while the drama is still airing. I’ve NEVER written such a long review, unless it was for work/assignments😂. Even now, I cannot believe that I translated over 200+ posts, driven purely by my love for this enchanting piece🥲. (you can find my posts under Discussions!)

ZLH mentioned in an interview that if you watch Zhu Yu, you will experience “happy insomnia”, and he was right😂 I’m thankful to have been able to watch this while it aired, and I'm really grateful to everyone who I’ve had lovely interactions with in the comments hehe❤️

But unfortunately, as much as I’m reluctant to part with Zhu Yu, all good things have to come to an end.
And as Gongsun Yin says, 风雨廊亭 梦已醒。（The dream beneath the rain pavilion has ended）
Thank you for the great memories, Zhu Yu! 😭😭💖💖

P.S. There's still 4 days of normal airing, gotta finish translating🥺 But even so I'll probably be back very soon to rewatch again and again hahahaha

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