Twelve Letters

Star-crossed lovers fighting fate to be together

I gave this show a 7/10. Its rewatch value for me personally, doesn’t exist, I would probably never rewatch this show again, because of all the trauma and all the characters just always struggling. It really did feel like fate was against them being together. The plot was executed well in the beginning, but could have been better at the end. The actors/ actresses did a good job portraying their characters; even though the length of the show was good, it could have used the time more appropriately. All in all, I recommend this show to anyone who likes shows that involve fighting against all odds to be together and live happily ever after.

Synopsis (according to me): This story follows the connection of Ye Hai Tang and Tang Yi Xun and how they are basically star-crossed lovers. They are meant to be but fate is pulling them apart. They discover a mailbox that transports letters to the future. Together with their children from the future, they work together to find out what has caused their ill-fated relationship and how they can change their future.

I really enjoyed the first ¾ of the show and its plot. I liked how they were building the plot in the beginning and how it was going. However, the last 4 penultimate episodes felt like it was dragging, and then the last episode too much happened at once and it felt like a very rushed ending after all the dragging. The concept of letters being transported through time through a mailbox is not a foreign concept, but I really like how well done it was. I do feel there are some plot holes that weren’t fully fleshed out causing it to be slightly confusing, however, with the story line still going, it’s easy to forget about them. The characters were all flawed, not a single one of them was a pure green flag. However, Tang Yi Xun’s character was in my opinion the best. Yes he has made some bad decisions, however, as soon as he realized what he wanted, he took all the responsibility to make sure that he protects the people he wants. Even though the villains in this story are pretty obvious, the character I (personally) didn’t like was Ye Hai Tang, she really made my blood boil.

Even though Romance is listed as a genre to this show, it barely exists. It’s more like a factor to why everything happens. This show is a lot more about survival than romance. The romance just fuels how the story plays out, but we don’t really see any super sweet moments between the two. There are a few, but they are very high school cute moments, and that is all.

Read More

Letters of love, regret, and hope

‒Review‒

Twelve Letters is a unique concept that delivered plenty of hard-hitting poignant moments. Depending on whether you were fully immersed in the emotions of the main plot line or occasionally distracted by loose ends, this show will either be a memorable favorite or a promising setup that had a shot at greatness.

The highlight of the show is the humble, touching, but often tortured story of the main couple. As high school youths in a small village in the year 1991, the main leads were two strong, decent, and tragic characters entangled in a mess of circumstances beyond their control, and desperately trying to escape. The ML was trapped by previous run-ins with local gangsters that continue to threaten his family and the FL. The FL was trapped by a vicious, manipulative gambling-addict father despite her quest to free herself from him and the town through college. It's through the desperation of the characters, the injustice of society, and the cruel helplessness of circumstance that we come to appreciate the precious glimpses of beauty and hope. The young leads of Zhou Yirang and Wang Yinglu deliver terrific performances, as does the talented supporting cast, including several younger actors. Yu Nian (Zhenghe Huizi) and Shen Cheng (Ren Youlun) were decent, and the 1991 group of Li Chadong (Jia Hongxiao), Zhang Hao (Zhao Runnan), Tan Xin (Chen Haolan), and Wang Manyu (Lin Xinyi) were standouts who deserve more acting roles to shine. The show wraps up the anguish and tragedy by delivering on a final letter of hope that ultimately provides a happy resolution.

Despite the many positives of the story, this had potential to be much more poignant‒whether as a love story, a mystery, or an indictment of society or the human condition. The main issue is the blemished execution of the letter exchange and use of timeline. The story involved the letter exchange in the plot, but didn't fuse it with the narrative or the emotional core. All of the most important narrative, emotional, and thematic moments occurred in the 1991 timeline, with a few in 2005 when ML was released from prison. 1991 had all the consequential events, the live-and-death stakes, and moments that delved into the characters and cruelty of circumstances. Rather than enhancing the story, the letters often distracted from the 1991 timeline as the audience is left speculating about how to alter the events. Moreover, many of the letters were not of the impactful variety as the first love letter from Tang Yixun, or even essential details for unraveling the mystery and changing the past. The result is the additional set of characters, plot, circumstances, and speculations diluted the poignancy of the 1991 story. In fact, the story would have been much more powerful if it had scrapped the timeline travel altogether‒even by sticking to a more conventional setup of twelve letters to and from prison or twelve letters addressed to the other person, the narrative would have been far more profound and cohesive.

In comparison, a few other titles executed the timeline device much better. Reset was much more polished in handling the logic of the timeline and leaving pieces of clues that built up to the plot and thematic climax. It also assiduously kept the focus on the core of the story and didn't get mired in the hows/whys that wouldn't be explainable. Link Click delved into many philosophical aspects of regret, fate, and confronting or even changing the past. It did so through vignettes that culminated in a powerful finish. And Interlaced Scenes is probably the closest in mood and themes. Even though there were no time-alteration aspects, the story was methodically revealed through interlacing timelines that despite divulging some key plot points in the beginning, kept pulling the readers along by revealing deeper mysteries and resonant themes. The key to delivering such powerful story is the approach of subtraction‒excise all extraneous elements and make all the details count. Had Twelve Letters done that, this would have been a masterpiece. Nonetheless, the team clearly put in a lot of effort, and I appreciate the ambition and originality of the show.

--Category Ratings--

- Overall - 7.8 (--> 8.0 MDL)
- Plot - 7.5
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 8.5
- Acting - 8.3
- Visuals - 8.5
- Audio / Music - 8
- Rewatch - 7
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8

Read More

Twelve Nervous breakdowns & one multiverse later

I always find it so incredibly difficult to write reviews for shows I absolutely love. It's not just that I can't be objective (I'm never objective! I'm too emotional not to let it color my judgement), it's just I have no idea what to say! I don't know! I loved it! Go watch it!
But this show deserves a beautiful review, so I'm gonna try.
Rarely do I come across shows that I'm excited to watch before they start airing and then watch the show and actually love it! Usually, I either have anticipation for a show then end up disappointed in it or I accidentally come across a show and love it.
Twelve Letters stands out because I was ridiculously excited about it, waited for the countdown to the airing and everything, and when I watched it, I absolutely got sucked into the world within the story and loved it too. Twelve Letters isn't a typical fantasy show. It's not even a typical youth drama. Which is why it stands out because while it includes those genres and elements of those types of stories, in execution, they prioritise telling the story perfectly over upholding the genres' stereotypes.
This show actually reminded me of this story that I love very much and have reread maybe five times over the years. Both stories are about wounded teenagers who are failed by the incompetent or negligent adults in their lives, and with no one to turn to, end up saving each other. It just claws at your heartstrings. And while the show is heartwarming in showing how even the most broken and hopeless of people can find beauty and love and live little beautiful lives, it doesn't shy away from showing the raw underbelly of suffering at the hands of family and society. The camera stubbornly stands and zooms in on the violence and injustice and forces you, the audience, to stare at it too. To feel along with these characters, their anger, their helplessness, their grief. And it makes you feel helpless for not being able to help, to stop it, to fix it. I appreciate that the show doesn't just put on a beautiful warm filter over the ugliness of that life and pretends it's all okay because the power of love fixed it. I love that it doesn't just cutesy its way through young love. I love that it doesn't just preach at children to study and weather the hardships no matter what. It allows its characters the grace to be angry and petty. To neglect their studies because their world is unraveling all around them. To be violent when they are left with no choice.
There is a line in the very first letter in the show that I'm gonna rephrase: They lived as insignificant weeds by the side of the road, ignored and unimportant but it was the best time of their lives. The ugliness of reality is not lost on the characters but they still had it in them to seek the beauty of life in the small, safe place they made together. I love that the show found a good balance of displaying both the good and bad, like that. In addition to all that, the drama shows us how sometimes found families aren't enough; you really can't fight off a system that is rigged against you, and despite everything, you may lose. They show us this losing hand to its bitter end. But they're kind enough to take pity on us and give the characters a second chance, anyway. Therefore, this show has a unique quality of giving us both a sad and a happy ending, like a choose-your-own-adventure story. You can either go the realistic dark way, or you can hope that things could still change. I personally appreciate the happy ending option!

Acting: In addition to their beautiful storytelling, this show is incredibly well-acted. I can't believe I've slept on this cast for so long! They are so talented! How did I not know them? Anyway, perfect performances all across the board.

Production: This review is not complete without a total meltdown over the principal photography of this show, the perfect cinematography, the gorgeous golden filtering, the on-point makeup and costuming, the detailed set designs, and the beautiful music. Even the angles they captured in this show were so precise and intentional. It was so well-produced. It's like not a single hair is out of place. Every detail is agonised into perfection. The poor girl? She wears cheap and simple clothes that are bought without care or attention to charm. The rich spoiled brat? dressed in brand, gaudy outfits. The orphan who is raising himself with dignity? Simple and basic pieces that are always clean. And the houses! Each set shows the class and status of each character. From the Yu's simple worker apartment to teacher Ye's clearly intellectual, well-off apartment, to the gangster's den masquerading as a temple and the illegal gambling den, it was all so detailed and thoughtfully made. I also appreciate that the show has seasons and different weather!!!! The switch between the harsh snow and the blue skies not only added depth to the world of the show, but it also highlighted the emotional roller coaster we and the characters are on. Also, this show is just beautiful. It's so beautiful to look at! Furthermore, the high quality of production is accompanied by high-quality storytelling. So many times, the show is expensively made, but so what?! The plot is a hot mess. Not Twelve Letters though! They have it all.
Now the music was beautiful too, but sometimes I wished they would stop playing it so I could hear the conversations better. So it was good, but Cdramas still need to tone it down.

Rewatch: I feel like I might rewatch this. It's short and beautiful.

Negatives: So this wasn't totally perfect. I feel like they owe us another extra 30 minutes of footage at the very end, and so the editing, to me, leaves a bit to be desired. I don't even want fan service so much as I just wish we had gotten a final report of where every character ended up. The 12th letter wasn't enough to heal the wounds the show left on my heart! But I still gave it a 10/10 because I enjoyed this show way too much not to do that.

Overall: You're gonna suffer but you're gonna be happy about it! To me, this is one of those not-to-be-missed Cdramas of the year. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go watch all the shows from Light On series! lol

Read More

The Magic of Letters That Shaped Destiny

I wish we had the chance to communicate with our loved ones living in the future; Twelve Letters beautifully captures that very fantasy.

Twelve Letters is without a doubt one of the best dramas I’ve watched this year. From beginning to end, the story kept me hooked. Always wondering what had really happened in the past and what the future would bring. It’s not your typical sweet love story, but instead, it beautifully shows how two people can love each other deeply and stand by one another with responsibility, without expecting anything in return.

Still, a part of me wishes the drama had shown us more about what happened to Shen Cheng after he changed the past, and how Yu Niang eventually found comfort in life after sacrificing for Tang Yi Xun and Ye Hai Tang. But perhaps that open ending is what makes it linger in our hearts, leaving us free to imagine it in our own way.

Zhou Yiran’s performance as Tang Yi Xun is yet another testament to his remarkable talent. Having followed all of his dramas, it’s clear that he continues to grow with each role, bringing greater depth, authenticity, and emotional resonance every time. His ability to make audiences truly feel the emotions of his characters sets him apart as an exceptional young actor who consistently exceeds expectations.

Although this was my first time watching Wang Ying Lu, I was pleasantly surprised by her portrayal of Ye Hai Tang. She delivered her role with sincerity and emotional weight, making the character’s journey feel very real and relatable.

Overall, Twelve Letters touched me deeply, and I’m so glad I watched it. It’s a drama that left me feeling fulfilled yet reflective, and I’ll remember it as one of the most meaningful stories I’ve experienced this year.

Read More

Hurts like hell but I would watch it all over again

I had been waiting for this drama for so long and it was absolutely worth it. Not only did it meet my expectations, it far exceeded them. This was nothing short of a masterpiece, the best cdrama of 2025 in my eyes. Every single episode had me in tears, i was sobbing from start to finish. The last time i cried this much was for the same writer’s previous work, Angels Fall Sometimes. Both of them truly have a gift for storytelling.

The journey of the two leads broke me completely, their misery, their pain and their sadness cut right through my heart. Zhou Yiran and Wang Yinglu delivered outstanding performances, bringing every emotion to life. I still get chills thinking about Wang Yinglu’s brilliance in episode , her range was breathtaking.

While i absolutely loved the Ye Haitang and A Xun, there were characters i utterly despised, especially that vile father Ye Yibo, one of the most hateful characters i have ever seen in any drama. On the other hand, i really liked Shen Cheng and Yu Nian. Without Shen Cheng’s sacrifice, both the leads would never have earned their hard fought happy ending.

Beyond the heartbreak, the mystery fantasy elements were also masterfully done. The suspense kept me hooked until the very end, constantly guessing about the past, the twists and what would unfold next.

In the end, this drama is a rare gem, an unforgettable experience that no one should miss.

And in my heart, i believe Ye Haitang and A Xun are living their well deserved happily ever after.

Read More

It was better than therapy - what a gem

I had quite a difficult childhood with a lot of abuse, violence and trouble happen throughout my childhood/teenage years. All I could think about was escaping my hometown, and getting as far away as possible. My one comfort at that time was my first love, whom I met when I was 16-17. He was the kindest, most amazing human I have ever met, and I was incredibly lucky to have met him. Sadly we went to university in different cities and lost touch; he then passed away at age 21 in a freak accident (where he was trying to save someone's life, but he died instead). He died doing what he always did - trying to save everyone around him (including me).

Apologies for the life story, but this drama brought out all these memories in a way I haven't experienced in years and years. The parallels between my own story and the FL's story/ML's behaviour were crazy to watch. I have had years of therapy to deal with childhood trauma, but this drama helped me remember everything I had suppressed, deal with it and hopefully, move on a little. The drama must have had such a profound impact on all its viewers, and I hope the makers realise how true-to-life some of the scenes were.

Chinese dramas have come a long way, and it's one of the best dramas of recent times (though heavy in its theme!).

Read More

a glimpse of hope in a "what if?" world

I'm writing this while getting myself together after watching the last episode. I had high expectations for Twelve Letters and I'm glad I did.

I'm not gonna lie to you: it is a painful watch. But it also gives you a sense of warmth, a new perspective of found family amidst the unfairness of the world. It will hurt. But it needs to hurt so you can truly feel like you belong with their lives too, and you'll root for them. And get angry on behalf of them. And feel hope, despair and happiness with them.

The actors did such a great job, all of them. No one felt lacking. And you can see in the way they portrayed their characters that they truly care for the story they're bringing to life – and that's something you get from the whole production crew as well. Everyone involved in Twelve Letters clearly cared for it, loved it, respected it.

Ye Haitang, Tang Yixun... you always deserved a kinder world and I hope you're having one now.

Read More

Slow start, fast ending.

"...live well for me" - Tang Yi Xun

I've finished watching all 12 episodes, and as my headline and quote of my review suggests, it's gonna contain some spoilers. This was a good watch, didn't regret buying the express package at all to view the rest of the episodes.

I watched this drama with no expectations, since having expectations usually result in either making me rate it as normal or rate it as a disappointment since it doesn't match my expectations. But I did have my concerns, since usually short dramas that only have a few episodes will usually be rushed ending. Putting these thoughts aside, at first, the drama does hook me in a bit, some people might say that its not a good start, but the first 4 episodes provided a base (at least imo) to the leads' relationship. By watching the first few episodes, I thought that this drama would make me cry like More than Blue (the taiwan ver.), where both of the leads heal each other yet fate prevents them from being together. But they still fight fate and even though they failed, their love echoes and is not a forgotten memory. But it looks like this drama decided to not go that route I guess.

The story starts by showing the lives of both the main leads, a struggling orphan who uses his fighting skills to earn money by becoming a debt collector, and a girl who has a gambler father. Tang Yi Xun (Zhou Yiran), met Ye Hai Tang (Wang Ying Lu) on his usual day to collect debts. They forcefully took Ye Hai Tang's grandma money and left her to starve. Surprisingly, Tang Yi Xun's friend and boss, Zhang Hao (Zhao Run Nan) and Li Cha Dong (Jia Hong Xiao) are also actually decent people, who also has to resort to work as debt collectors to live on and get by their own lives. The main leads' first meeting was the worst way to meet your future "love interest", yet their next encounter was when Tan Xin (Chen Hao Lan), a teacher that Cha Dong liked, gave Tang Yi Xun an opportunity to finally come back to school so that he can one day have a legitimate job. They met again as "classmates" where they started as enemies, especially after Tang Yi Xun's presumed love letter towards her, that she took as a threat.

Their hate continues until one day Tang Yi Xun intervened on Ye Hai Tang's attempt to murder her own father, since Ye Yibo (Li Yi Xiang), took all of her money including the class funds, and used it for gambling. Seeing this, Tang Yi Xun saw that her condition was similar to him, and vows to help and protect her, no matter the cost. They tried to find out who wrote the "love letter", and found that the letter wasn't from their own timeline (1991), yet it came from 35 years in the future. Without knowing that the sender was actually himself (Tang Yi Xun) from 35 years in the future. They tried to send a letter, and it works, sending the letter to the future, also without knowing that the recipients are Yu Nian (Zheng He Hui Zi), Tang Yi Xun's adoptive daughter, and Shen Cheng (Ren You Lun), Ye Hai Tang's future son.

I've never heard or watched any drama's played by Wang Ying Lu, yet her performance here is superb. Her chemistry with Zhou Yiran is unexpectedly not that bad, successfully portraying both Tang Yi Xun and Ye Hai Tang's pain, sadness, and helplessness (especially in episode 8). Hui Zi and You Lun also plays a "big" role, giving the story from the children's perpective. I personally felt confused since they are only impacting their story nearing the end episodes, especially in the ultimatum, but I don't know what to say. Their appearance was a bit underwhelming, but I don't think it's personally their fault, they played their role quite well. Other than that all the other casts did a great job, especially Li Yi Xiang who successfully made me hate his character. And my philosophy stands, a good villain means that the actor/actress portraying them are talented and played their character well.

Based on the synopsis and seeing that it was their children from the future, I thought that they would impact their story a lot or at least a notable amount, yet they barely did anything until the last few episodes (this includes Shen Cheng's impact okay). I know that they did alter the future, but I think that this drama is super rushed. They basically had a lot of things to expand on, yet decided to call it a day. Which is okay, but I think it makes it lose A LOT of things. What about Yu Nian current future? How is she kinda living in luxury? Isn't her father in jail and will soon die of an illness there? Her grandma also died quite quickly and shouldn't have been able to take care for her that long with Tang Yi Xun's absence in the altered timeline. Who took care of her if Tang Yi Xun isn't there? Not to mention that Yu Nian's final reaction is only being sad that Tang Yi Xun and Shen Cheng is gone from her phone contacts without attempting to somehow connect/contact to Tang Yi Xun to see him in the current future (I mean it's literally her stepdad who she was trying so hard to find in the previous timeline, shouldn't you at least find out how he's living his life right now?). What happens to Tang Yi Xun and Ye Hai Tang is also left for us to imagine freely, since it's a "happy" ending considering their final letter sent through that mailbox. A lot of other things are also left out from the drama, but basically these are scenes that I think should've been inside of the drama IF they can somehow fit them in, which they didn't or can't fit them in since it's only 12 episodes.

I've said it before (in my previous reviews), I like both sad and happy endings, but I REALLY despise rushed endings. And I think this is a super "forced" rushed happy ending. I'm not saying this is a bad drama, it's still a good watch, but I personally felt disappointed in the last episodes.

Note that this is my PERSONAL opinion, and I am Human, so I can make mistakes, if I missed out/was wrong on a bunch of things I apologize. That's all for my review.

Read More

"Goodbye, to the family we've never met"

Twelve letters was a show i walked into knowing nothing about the plot -- the only thing that attracted me was that it was another Zhou Yiran drama, and the posters were super interesting.

I was left feeling all emotions after completing this drama - from sadness, shock, happiness, anger and many more. This dramas by far exceeded my expectations - but unfortunately the last 2 eps left me empty! A lot questions unanswered, like what happened to Ye Haitang's son? We're the children able to meet again? What actually happened to Nuin? Did she grow up alone? Why does she remember what happened? The mailbox - where is it from? How does it work? Does it appear and work for other people? What happened to Cha, where is he?

These questions were something i wish were answered -- cuz that was the main plot. Not answering qs about mailbox might be acceptable as the story also focused on lifes struggles, relationships, friends and found family but this brought the rating down from what should've been a 10/10 to a 9. I couldn't have put it lower then 9, with the perfect portrayal of the characters, their stories, the things they went through and the decisions they made.

Ok ignoring my concerns with the open and rushed ending, this one of the drama's that didn't make me skip any of the side characters stories throughout the full 12 eps -- I loved every character and felt emotionally connected to all.
The story focusing on thugs and how being connected to or being in to close to the wrong people leading to huge problems - and even poverty - was eye opening and i appreciated the plot for going over this for Tang Yixun's, Cha and Rats story.
How miss Tan and Cha loved each other, but love was not able to save their relationship was such a good message (although i really wanted them to work it out -- but it wasn't possible)!

And finally our main leads. Ye Haitang didn't let Tang Yixun's presence and protection stop her from being just and stand for herself in times where he was and not there -- she stood her ground no matter the situation -- and i loved that about her; Sometimes the girl changes her bold and just behavior cuz of a man, but we love strong main leads!

Tang Yixun, the ultimate yearner, but also my favorite character in the show. He might seem aggressive and immature, but he's just and stands with whats right. Being alone from a young age, he found someone who loved him for not just his strength, but also his weaknesses, his vulnerabilities of being to inferior to even think about having a better life then the one he is living right now. I loved the main leads relationship, we knew it was kind of romantic but it also wasnt -- it was stronger and more deeper: family. I liked how reduced but subtle the romance was between the two -- it didn't overtake the main part of the story, which made this drama more perfect.

It had every romantic dynamic, but it was so subtle that we didn't need to see more of it!

Let's not forget the same thing with the children -- i never wanted to see a romantic build up for them, and im so glad we never got it, but ultimately the sacrifice they made was respectable! i liked that it was Shen Cheng who made the decision, but at the same time i felt so bad for Nuin -- she lost her dad, and at the same time found he wasn't her real dad and for a couple of episodes had to live with this guilt that her dad killed SC mom and then lost SC, her dad and everyone in the new timeline :<
She deserved a better and fulfilled ending, and i really wish that was shown or is shown in maybe another season!

Overall, an amazing watch - it should definitely have been longer so the questions were fully answered and it wasn't rushed.

PS. i loved seeing Zhou Yiran as a girl dad :P i wish we had more scenes of them they were so cute <3

Read More

Gutsy, fearless, and beautiful = cinematic mastery

Twelve Letters was directed by the same person who directed Love Me Love My Voice, a drama so all-around painful, in spite of the talent, that I now suspect hands must've been creatively tied with that one. Usually it's on the director's shoulders for whether a show is good or bad, but in 12 Letters it looks like this director was freed from any artistic restraint & was able to proceed on the road to cinematic mastery. This is easily one of the best made dramas I've seen this year.

The drama is only 12 episodes & the story follows two teens who discover a mysterious mailbox which allows them to communicate across time & space via written letters with their future children. The premise of letter writing across time (The Lake House, Griffin & Sabine) is not original, but the presentation of this story took me by surprise.

This drama is gutsy, fearless, & beautiful. I felt very much in an international film festival vibe as I started watching. The first thing I noticed was the cinematography. Natural lighting & no CGI. The main characters meet in Meiwan, an economically depressed riverside town. Each scene reflected the harsh living conditions of the early 90's in the muted earth tones of the surrounding water, mountains, & wet streets. Each scene is a painting. The dark, damp rooms of crumbling apartments & homes contrasted with the brightly lit school room, signifying the sources of hope & despair. The 2 teenage protagonists withstand violent & tragic home lives while trying to see education & university as their way out.

The second thing I noticed was the quality of the acting. No idols here, with young actors obviously serious in their roles. Wang YingLu puts in a powerhouse performance as Ye HaiTang, bringing the audience to the knife edge of her sanity as the horrific stresses in her life threaten to crush her. Zhou YiRan subtly balances the struggles of Tang YiXun, a young man with a strong sense of right & wrong while trapped in a not so righteous living. Both are surrounded by adults they can't trust. They find connection in their shared dream of breaking free from Meiwan. The level of performance these two brought to the screen kept me glued to the show. In fact, the whole ensemble cast was amazing.

Third, the writing deftly interwove two complex timelines. The mysterious mailbox & it's workings became clearer, connecting a 35 year span between 1991 and 2026 in unexpected ways. The first half of the drama largely focused on events of 1991, an engaging story in itself even without the fantasy elements. But by the 5th episode the drama goes back and forth so smoothly that the storyline remained cohesive. Past unsolved questions get answered, with the final question reserved for whether or not to change the course of history, & accept the sacrifice that goes with making those changes. The ending leaves much ambiguity when the mailbox delivers its last letter in a short epilogue. Although it's strongly hinted at what the final outcomes would be for all the characters, the show leaves a suggestion that the mysterious mailbox has moved on. At least, the ending will make you think about it for a long time, which would be frustrating for a weaker drama, but fits this one perfectly.

A quick word on the soundtrack - if you were exposed to North American blues & folk, you'll appreciate the raw emotion of the songs which perfectly align with this drama. Another surprise that impressed me even more.

All in all, 12 Letters is a fantastic work that's well written, acted, & presented. This year's best for me.

Read More

A Hidden Masterpiece: Raw, Heartfelt, and Criminally Underrated

I rarely write reviews, but this show is so GROSSLY UNDERRATED that I feel compelled to give it the attention it deserves. First of all, the cinematography is stunning. It perfectly captures the atmosphere of the 20th century, and honestly, it felt like watching a movie stretched across 12 episodes.

What truly struck me, though, was how deeply the characters’ struggles were portrayed. The romance between the ML and FL wasn’t your typical “lovey-dovey” drama fluff—it grew naturally out of empathy for each other’s hardships, evolving into a companionship that felt genuine, profound, and unshakable. Watching their relationship develop slowly made their bond all the more powerful, and I could really feel their emotional connection.

Another highlight is how well the drama balanced all three couples’ storylines. I found myself equally invested in the side characters, like 张老师 and 茶哥 were SO CUTE! Their arcs added warmth and depth to the overall narrative.

This show captures the raw, unfiltered nature of love—both its pain and its beauty. I’ve never cried so hard watching a drama, and not just from the characters’ tragic backstories or struggles, but also from the joy of seeing them overcome adversity and stand by one another. If you’re someone who enjoys dramas that makes you cry, this one is a must-watch.

Personally I felt that the pacing was just right and I actually liked that it was only 12 episodes because each episode nicely reveals something that connects the events together. And the OSTs? Absolute perfection—each track heightened the emotions at exactly the right moments.

Honestly, it’s such a shame that this drama wasn’t promoted better. With its unique plot, breathtaking execution, and emotional depth, it could have easily been a massive hit. To me, it’s nothing short of a masterpiece.

Read More