Reviews

A stunning visual ride, featuring great acting and a deep mystery.

Luo Yunxi shines bright with great style and strong acting. Cool fights and lovely clothes make it fun to watch.
Found family themes add heart to the story.

Alen Fang's complex performance as Liu Yan is widely considered a major highlight of the series.

They share a captivating, tense rivalry that drives the narrative forward.
Alen Fang breaks out of his usual typecast, brilliantly executing a heartbreaking, slow descent into darkness.

Cool fights and striking, elaborate costumes provide consistent eye candy.
Found family elements balance the heavy plot with heartwarming character bonds.

Slow parts stall the pacing, particularly when navigating the dense mystery lore.
Emphasis relies strictly on martial arts brotherhood and revenge.
Rushed ending drops the ball on resolving several complex subplots smoothly.

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Something New and Interesting

I really loved the storyline of Deep In and how it often went back and forth between the real characters and them as actors. Combining how their characters they were portraying affected them in real life and their relationship. It was something new in BL, at least in the way they captured it. I have some small complaints here and there but nothing that made me feel like dropping the series by any means. I think overtime both Ollie and Shu Yuan will become very skilled actors as they continue on. The only thing I will say I’m a little disappointed in was this last episode, the last episodes in C-BL always feel so rushed and a little unnatural. I wish we had gotten a little more or maybe did a separate episode for the conflict that happened in the last episode and then a final episode with just the fluff of a happy ending. But again, it was concluded overall fairly well but I always tend to complain about an ending feeling rushed when a series I enjoyed feels over a little too soon.

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My fav cbl

This is definitely a cbl that will make it to my top 10 series this year, the characters and storyline was complex, unhinged, intimate and crazy, it was well rounded, its a dark story so it will not be for everyone, the cast did incredible job, the acting was so good The serie within the serie and plot twist by end was immaculate, the serie had one of best pacing I've seen, i didnt struggle showing us 2 love stories in perfect way, kt was entertaining, the chemistry was on point, emotional core was strong, the intimacy was hot, the only issue I had that my shayla was entitled to an apology for the sa by end, im getting tired of romanticizing this in media.
The side characters were good, served different emotions, the director was one of my fav
Anyway this will get long if i get into details, but this was well rounded serie

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An inspiring sports drama about a Winter Olympic discipline

Sport dramas are difficult to make in my opinion, for several reasons. First of all, scripts have to strike a balance between the technical and the human aspects to create compelling storytelling for a general audience. Second, the technical requirements present a difficult dilemma to producers and directors: do you go for athletes with hopefully decent acting skills, or do you choose real actors and train them in the basics of the sport while finding ways to film great sports scenes that remain believable? Beyond**,** a drama about the history of Chinese Olympic short-track speed skating from the 1990s to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, manages to overcome both challenges quite comfortably.

The story starts in 2014 with a young girl determined to compete and win gold medals at the highest level in the sport. Her father and coach were both former national athletes who now coach the next generation. This provides the perfect excuse to tell the struggles and dreams of those athletes back in the 1990s while balancing them with the state of the sport in the 2010s, before naturally culminating in China hosting the Winter Olympics.

From technical and medical conditions to infrastructure, training methods, and the creation of an ecosystem capable of nurturing young talent across different parts of the country before reaching the national team, everything is covered in a very solid way, with a particular emphasis on friendship, mentorship, and the lives of athletes.

The story set in the 1990s revolves around three friends whose lives represent the three main paths within the sport: the outstanding talent who finds himself alone at the top, the good athlete who simply isn't good enough to compete among the very best, and the one who is forced to abandon his passion because of an accident.

On the other hand, the story set in more recent times revolves around teamwork and the individual challenges each athlete faces in the pursuit of gold. The coaches, the former athletes themselves, serve as the link between both timelines and highlight both the evolution of the sport and the contrast between past and present from a national perspective.

One aspect that is sometimes even more touching than the series itself, at least for me, is the brief segment at the end of each of the 29 episodes dedicated to interviews with real short-track speed skating athletes and coaches, sharing their own personal stories; you can genuinely feel their passion and love for the sport. The team behind the cameras used this material to write the script, so each episode's central theme is paired with a real-life testimony told by the people who actually lived it.

The pace is really good, with an excellent intertwining of human relationships and the various sporting situations throughout the whole drama. The focus on the core groups of friends, both in the past and the present, helps us as viewers connect with and become invested in their stories, although I felt that, during the last third of the series, this focus shifted somewhat and lost part of the strong hook it had.

At that point, the drama begin introducing short stories about other members of the national team that, while being representative of the diverse conflicts and struggles modern athletes face and are still interesting in their own right, don't quite have the same emotional impact as the core characters I had grown to cherish.

I'd also like to highlight the casting and directing choices, because the resemblance between the younger and older versions of the characters is fantastic. You can immediately tell who is who in each timeline, and the performances of both the seasoned actors and the younger cast make that continuity feel completely natural. Among the latter, I'd particularly like to mention Teresa Li and Liu Yi Tie, whom some of you may know from The Long Season; they're quickly becoming two of my favourite very young actors.

All in all, it's a very inspiring story about the determination, passion, and sacrifices these elite athletes make in pursuit of their dreams, while also offering an insightful look at the advances in sports science and technology, as well as the importance of public policies that support athletic development.

I wouldn't have expected to become so invested in a drama about a sport I'd barely watched in my life, but I did.

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Political intrigue at it's best

This has become one of my favorite political period drama. It has amazing writing, witty humour, suspense romance and the most stressful intrigue. It is a bing watching C-drama at its best. It was aired in 2018, but one of the best I think. It can easily be compared to my favorites like: Joy of Life, Love like the Galaxy, Lost You Forever. I did not know the main lead, as he doesn't seem to continue making C-dramas for the last few years. The cast are very well known.
I truly enjoyed every episodes. Of course 70 episodes is a lot. The first 60 episodes are a mixed of humour, with political drama and intrigue. The last 10 episodes is a long dramatic conclusion.

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Immaculate vibes

Many thoughts. Number one is that the whole mafia thing was perplexing to me the entire time. What were they doing? I don't know. Why were they doing it? No Clue about that either. What I do know is that the men were hot and Vegas stole the show. I read some comments beforehand about him dominating every scene he was in, and you know what, they were RIGHT. Was he the reddest flag that ever walked the Earth? Mayhaps. Was it hot? Damn right it was. Problematic fave forever and always. At some point I stopped caring about Kinn and Porsche, but I must commend this show for including one of my favorite tropes ever - when two nerds are left in the wilderness to fend for themselves. This was such a stroke of genius that I thought maybe that episode was crafted specifically for me.

The lighting team was amazing and production should be proud of how pretty the entire show was.

The sex scenes get a section of its own because they were splendid. The bathroom scene. Need I say more? Speaking of lighting, that green and yellow vibe will stay with me forever. Tied up sex dungeon thing? Hello? Vegas the man that you are……

Special shoutout to Tankhun for being batshit insane but also secretly the wisest person in that house. Reverse shoutout to Kim for being frustrating and emotionally constipated. Side-eye to Kinn for fully forgetting all about Pete in his time of need, but also thank you. Love and lust to Vegas for everything.

You will not like this if you care a lot about everything being consensual and tidy. If it means a lot to you that the story makes sense, you will probably also not have a good time. If you're in need of some good fun with competent acting, beautiful fight scenes and hot men, KinnPorsche will be right up your alley.

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Middle-Aged Men, Assemble!!

The story Agent Kim Reactivated is very good and highly engaging. It won't bore you at all and hooks you right from the very beginning. The story follows Agent Kim, who lives an ordinary life, but when her daughter gets kidnapped, his actual character comes to the screen.

The action scenes are absolutely amazing. The raw and heavy Hand-to-Hand Combat is also incredibly good. Agent Kim's explosive action Comeback is highly impactful, and every single fight sequence has been brilliantly executed. Agent Kim's (Kim Do-hyeon) character is very smart and silent. The actors playing his companions (Choi Dae-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho) also delivered powerful performances, and their trio looks fantastic on screen. The other actors did a great job too.

The story is strongest in the first half with the kidnapping arc. However, it stumbles a little when the heavy-handed political arc starts around Episode 7. While the story does end satisfactorily, the narrative felt stretched out towards the last couple of episodes.

Overall, Agent Kim Reactivated has a strong narrative and plays well due to it's action sequences, however feels stretched and little bloated towards the end. Although it doesn't get boring, it should have been wrapped up a little earlier to keep the screenplay tighter and more impactful. Still, a great watch!

My Rating : 4/5

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Sweet but Overstretched

A simple, fluffy romance with touches of trauma. Overall, the story is okay. It's your typical romance where the white knight swoops in and saves the female lead. My biggest issue is that if that was always going to be the story, there was no reason for this drama to be 28 episodes. They easily could've told the same story in 20. The script would've been tighter, the pacing would've been better, and the story wouldn't have dragged as much as it did. Overall, The Best Thing is a decent, easy watch if you're looking for a comforting romance with a genuinely lovable male lead. The leads have good chemistry, and there are plenty of heartwarming moments throughout.

The whole ex-boyfriend arc annoyed me, not just because he was such a detestable character, but because we never really learned why he was so determined to get back together with her. Since the drama starts before their breakup, we witness everything unfold firsthand. I actually think it would've been much more interesting if the story had started after they had already broken up. Then the audience could've learned about Shen Xi Fan's past alongside He Su Ye, slowly uncovering what happened and why she became the person she is. Instead, there wasn't much mystery surrounding her history because we already knew exactly what happened, which made that entire part of the story feel far less engaging.

He Su Ye is a major green flag, and it's easy to see why so many people loved him. I also appreciated how the drama handled his ex-girlfriend. They acknowledged that she existed and that she'd had an impact on his life, but they never brought her back just to create unnecessary drama like so many romance series tend to do. Instead, they showed how his previous relationship still influenced the way he viewed love and approached new relationships without turning it into another love triangle. I thought that aspect was handled really well. That said, I do think they leaned a little too hard into making him the perfect male lead. He barely had any flaws, and after a while he started to feel more like an ideal fantasy than an actual person. He was endlessly patient, understanding, accommodating, and willing to compromise. There's nothing wrong with those qualities, but eventually the balance felt off. He became less of a fully realized character and more of an ideal partner.

As for Shen Xi Fan, I found her to be a pretty boring protagonist. Yes, she's sweet, kind, and considerate, but beyond those traits there just isn't much to her. She doesn't have a particularly strong personality, and her character growth feels very limited. I kept waiting for her to become more confident or decisive, but that moment never really came. She spends so much of the drama hesitating and dragging her feet that it eventually became frustrating to watch. I honestly think the ending would've been stronger if she'd chosen to study abroad while staying single. For much of the first half of the drama, she was still dealing with the trauma left by her ex-boyfriend, and then she immediately entered a relationship with He Su Ye. She never really had a chance to breathe or figure out who she was on her own. The time she spent single simply wasn't enough. Let her grow, gain new experiences, and return as a more confident person.

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show that fully earned its (now confirmed) third season

this review is definitely going to be biased because the main cast and the theme are completely my kind of thing. honestly, just getting a show like this already felt like a treat, but the fact that it was executed so well made it even better.

as a kochi fan, i can't think of a better show to fully showcase his strengths and everything he's good at. even before watching, i knew i was going to love it based on the premise alone, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations.

what i didn't expect, though, was how much i'd end up loving the junior cast. i didn't really pay much attention to them during season 1, but by the end of it, i had started to appreciate them a little. season 2, however, took it to a completely different level.

the development of kochi's relationship with the juniors ended up being the highlight of the season for me. i could barely remember most of their names after season 1 (except maybe rinne and takemura), but now i'm actually invested in all of them. watching kochi go from saying at the beginning of the season that he didn't really know how to approach or interact with the juniors to becoming the kind of senior they feel comfortable opening up to, sharing their worries with, and asking for advice was genuinely heartwarming. no wonder totsugi said in the interview that the conversations before bed were his favorite part of the season. i'm really glad they kept the same junior cast from season 1, and i'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship continue to develop in the upcoming season.

another thing i really liked was how they improved the overall format. they clearly adjusted the structure and made everything flow much better. the new rules made the challenge a lot harder, but they also made the show much more interesting to watch. there's still plenty of room for improvement, but overall, i think they did a great job.

totally unrelated, but a few months ago i came across some youtube videos of people visiting the locations featured in the show. they made me realize i had seriously underestimated just how rural and remote those places actually are. i remember thinking the cast was probably exaggerating how difficult the journey was, but if anything, the show actually made it look much easier than it really was. it gave me a whole new appreciation for how hard everyone must have worked behind the scenes.

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DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS!!

This is truly GOATED. One of the most amazing and top-tier Chinese BLs. Man!! Chinese dont come to play, they come to conquer.

The post credit scene ending of episode 12 made this so META that I can't wrap my head around anything.
It's a gorgeous show, EXTREMELY WELL PACED AND WELL SHOT, the lighting, the acting ... Especially by the Feng Chi (the character) and Wu... Won me over.

Everything was so picture perfect production wise! And so much drama, chemistry, comment on reality and toxicity, dealing with sensitive issues like rape..

It was just so well woven together and so well put, HATS OFF TO THE TEAM, TO THE CREW, TO Everyone WHO WAS A PART OF THIS!!

Especially to the writers who wrote this plot, this script, everything!

WOW!

THank you to everyone for bringing this to life! You did make our lives better! Thank you!

WOW!

(ALSO, here's to hoping that China brings BLs back and make LGBTQ legal. China, u r way off in modern culture, man, grow tf up. Restricting art and artists and chinese culture dictating whom to love .. Really should be gunned down)

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This is truly a masterpiece

I don't even know where to start. This is so brilliantly done! I guess I'll begin with a slow hand clap for Chinese BL. 👏👏👏 You're killing it right now.

The story is soooo good. Deep In describes the story, the storytelling, and, for me as a viewer, the way I experienced this drama. I can't remember the last time I was so absorbed in a show!

The acting and the actors contributed to that. I loved watching the mains. Their characters were complex and the chemistry was fire. The visuals were amazing as well, by which I mean they are both beautiful and the way they were captured on film was soft and inviting.

OST was perfect, especially the opening and closing themes. I often just pick a number for the music rating but this soundtrack was truly 10 of 10!

The writing was good. It was the perfect balance of easy to follow but also what the heck just happened moments. I was clinging to every word.

The production was fantastic. Camera work. Direction. Lighting. Set design. Wardrobe. Editing. So so good. I never felt like something was off or distracting.

Top notch job by everyone involved! And now I kinda want to read the novel!

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