Lamia Jahan

A Decent Romcom With Healthy Friendship & Nice Chemistry

This is a nice romcom that actually feels like a romcom at the beginning. The chemistry between the 2 leads was off the charts in my opinion. I would love to see them together in other dramas in the future. But the drama was too rushed, and I felt like it ended abruptly. This could have been a 16 episode drama, or the Bangsu track could have been shortened a bit. That track felt dragging to me later. The female lead has done a nice job in my opinion, by not making the character overly bubbly. Otherwise, it would have become irritating. I absolutely loved watching Choo Young Woo switching between 2 characters simultaneously. It was a fun ride that could have been better if it was more focused on the leads' relationship instead of their separation. The 2nd ML was a very nice friend, and I am glad the writer did not turn him negative. Overall, this is a nice one-time watch.

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Supposed To Be A Mystery Thriller Drama But Without Much Mystery

Positive Points
1. The biggest positive point is that the FL is well written, and Bai Lu portrayed the Li Pei Yi character brilliantly. Her body language as the imperial investigating officer was very convincing. She actually looked like a women well trained in martial arts. Though I did not like much how action scenes were choreographed at some scenes, Bai Lu herself covered up for those shortcomings. Nothing to say about her acting. The helplessness, loneliness, and pain of the character was protrayed well by Bai Lu.
2. ML and FL are both smart and rational people who are clear-headed and witty enough to match each other well.
3. The tragic and bitter reality of the women due to the lack of empowerment and high dependence on men due to social circumstances during those days, and their fight for survival, for a better future, was the central character of the show for me.
4. Production value was good.

Negative Points
1. The biggest downpoint for me was the lack of mystery in a mystery thriller drama. The writing is the biggest letdown. The cases felt too generic to me and the screenplay probably was the reason that I hardly felt interested or curious enough to know what happened and who did it. It could not make me engaged with the story. The reason was probably that there were many cases and all were unrelated to each other. The main villain did not manage to blow me over. The main villain in fact felt quite foolish to me. He does not know martial arts but charges to the palace with his army as a commander. What nonsense. He was not witty enough either. This big mystery felt really flat to me.
2. ML is an astrologer who does not have any martial arts but is chasing criminals with the palace investigating team. Visiting scenes and giving opinions, helping with the investigation, is fine. But he was going on the field chasing criminals at many scenes without martial arts and in some scenes writer suddenly remembers that he can't do it as ML does not know martial arts. It is a big writing inconsistency. ML is an astrologer who is solving cases with the palace investigation bureau, while his own job is on pause. Moreover, due to some reasons, Wang Xing Yue looked a bit uncomfortable to me. His expressions looked a bit stiff to me in many scenes. He is a good actor, and I really like him, but this role did not seem suitable for him. Bai Lu and Wang Xing Yue don't have any chemistry, unfortunately (at least not to me).
3. There were quite a few editing inconsistencies, especially during the initial episodes, which felt quite weird to me. Though it got reduced later but this quite spoiled some of the action scenes for me. Moreover, the way of storytelling was quite boring.
4. During the initial episode, the sister of the investigating team member, Mr. Gu gets missing and falls under such a big racket, but the brother, who has a very good relationship with his sister, does not know anything. Later, a common palace worker sealed someone inside a palace wall, which was supposed to be a highly visited place by the king and his consorts. How did he do it without anyone knowing, and where did he have the money to actually do it privately as the materials used in the palace must be expensive. Highly delusional and drunk writing. The so-called mystery and drama felt forced to me.
5. In later episodes, how did a body not decompose even after so many days? Ok, it was preserved with ice/chemicals. But suddenly, several butterflies came that had a certain chemical sprinkled on their wings. The body got instantly vaporized, and only a skeleton was left. What nonsense.
6. An epidemic was going on, and everyone was wearing a thin veil as if it would help. Even though I ignore it, ML was touching a dissecting equipment used for cutting disease-infected bodies open, bare-handed was sloppy writing. The Female doctor had already developed a cure and treated the FL, but was still searching for a cure (to make it affordable for all, which I understand) and dissecting bodies. Though the medical herbs are rare and expensive, it is highly unlikely the royal family will allow infected people inside the palace around themselves when a cure already exists. What nonsense. The doctor was dissecting infected people with her bare hands. Writing prescriptions and formulas with blood and still not getting infected. Also, she just cuts open a dead body (her friend) and bam, she found the cure for a disease that she already had found a cure for. The writer was probably drunk when he/she was writing such sloppy twists. Culprit tried to commit suicide by swallowing poison, and all were waiting for the FL to come and prick her with a needle so she could be saved. Furthermore, no damage was done from a life-threatening poison. Where she even found the poison to commit suicide is even out of question. Logic is dead.
7. All 34 episodes revolved around tracking criminals and everything, not because the criminals here were really smart, but because though they were quite foolish, they all carried bombs which they used at the right moment to throw under the nose of our super smart investigating team, and they got out unharmed. How convenient.
Overall, if you are a fan of the main leads, you might be able to finish it like me. Otherwise, if you are expecting romance or some creepy, mystery thriller, then this drama may not be for you, as it lacks quite a bit of punch in that department.

PS. I won't even question what that giant Alligator was even doing in the storeroom.

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An Absolute Mess of A Drama Filled With Sinkhole Through Which All The Logic Went To The Drains

This drama had only one good thing, and that was the cast. The lead actor playing Jung Ba Reum was absolutely amazing. He portrayed his role to perfection. But the writer was probably sleeping (his/her brain was asleep but was physically awake) or was dead drunk while writing, otherwise, how can you write such a messy plot with half-baked logic? What about the director and the production team? All were sleeping, I suppose. The writer seemed obsessed with psychopaths and I felt like he/she was glorifying them. This half-baked, messy writing required 20 1-hour+ episodes, along with 3 additional cuts to understand???
1. How can Jung Ba Reum be present at 2 places at once? He was killing Father Ko live and was also at the TV station and running all over the city in different clothes to catch the culprit. Fighting with the FL etc.
2. The 2 women swapped their children, but no one found out? Also, how did the other women agree to let another women raise her son as the son of head hunter, when he was not? The original mother attempted to kill young Jung Ba Reum but here the OZ was sleeping on the job, I guess. But later killed the entire family as the adoptive mother tried to kill him inside the house with no one watching.
3. The OZ has all the information and tails their subject, but fails to notice that the original mother of Jung Ba Reum tries to kill him at the hospital. Also, how can a dash cam have 2 memory cards containing live footage getting saved at the same time? Even if the agent had a backup, then the OZ, who was so mighty didnot notice the memory card hanging in front of their face, but only Detective Ko noticed it very conveniently.
4. The FL finds Jung Ba Reum is the killer coz he had an injury in his hand. He is a police officer, and he can get injured for other reasons. But no, that is the reason FL finds to conclude Jung Ba Reum is the murderer coz of a knife injury and a button, as if that was a custom-made only button of a school uniform. Moreover, Song Yu han saved the FL when she was small and called the police with his personal phone. But police failed to track the kid and did not find the kid who filed the report, and the mother also did not know. Later, she finds out again, conveniently, as her son was very kind. Also, didn't the ML had found the FL the next day but didnot save her. Also didnot Song Yu han save her the same night and carry her to the police? Even if it was the later night how was not a search operation called for a missing child? absolute bla bla bla writing.
5. The most ridiculous one is the brain transplant itself. A neurologist and serial killer who was in prison for the past 30 years can perform surgery with the same precision as before. As if that was not enough, the patient can now feel all the feelings that he was unable to feel before. What trashy piece of writing is this???
6. The news reporters telecasting live murders and finding shows that include classified information about ongoing cases regularly on TV. Absolute nonsense. That reporter girl is the missing girl who was hiding her identity and living as another, and no one finds out. She was the helper of the headhunter (though involuntary) and the missing child of the investigating officer, but as a child, she was able to hide herself.
7. Every character is connected, and finding everything out very conveniently makes this drama absolutely a product of sloppy writing. The one who designed the poster is the biggest spoiler itself as it instantly gives away who the psychopath is.
8. Detective Ko can enter anybody's home/office anytime he wants, including a high-profile politician's personal residence, who has her own gang of security. Also, the doctor involved in this entire issue is dumb as well along with the pharmacy staffs, who very conveniently tells everything to the detective about the medicine. Too many coincidences. A politician begging a serial killer by getting on her knees to save a man by transplanting his own son's brain and killing his own son (the headhunter did not know then). The politician capable of running such a forbidden experiment does not doubt this at all. Are you joking, writer?
Overall, this trashy piece of drama took me 1 painfully long month to finish. The ratings are extremely misleading. I thought it would get better, probably. It got a bit better when the ML was using his ability to kill other predators for a few episodes, but again, logic went down the drain. A serial killer who lives a life of charade and was supposed to be extremely cunning, but fails to notice he was being tailed his whole life. The concept was promising, making a serial killer feel remorse for his actions, but the execution was very much like a fairytale of a children's book. I have completely wasted my time, and I would not recommend this trash to anyone.

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One of The Best Xianxia Drama With Electrifying Chemistry Between The Leads

Though this is basic Xianxia drama, I was pleasantly surprised. It had great visuals, acting, ost and absolutely insane chemistry between the leads. The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. It's been a long time since I watched a good Xianxia drama. Arthur Chen as Sima Jiao was absolutely brilliant. He suited the character really well. Wang Yinglu was great as well. The flow of the story was good as well. The only problem I had was that the Mortal Realm track was too short, while the Demon Realm arc was dragged a bit. They had followed the novel pretty well, and though I would have loved to see the original ending of the novel, they could have shown one more episode of the Mortal Realm. But still, I am happy that they gave the audience a happy ending. I absolutely loved this drama. I would love to watch Arthur Chen and Wang Yinglu together in another drama in the future.

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It Was Nice But Could Have Been Better

It took me quite some time to finish the drama. The FL's character and her baby voice were a huge turn off me. But later, as I watched further, I realized that Esther Yu was the perfect actress to play this role. She was required to behave like this according to the story. Both Dylan and Esther did their role nicely, and they had nice chemistry. But the story was not anything special, at least for me. I really did not like the special effects much. The color felt quite a bit off to me. The cinematography was nice. I liked the FL's character more towards the end. The 2ML was okay. Moreover, the ending seemed vague and could have been better. I did not like the rushed ending at all. Overall, this drama is a very good one-time watch.

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This Is How You Do A Revenge Drama

The first season started a bit slowly, and later it was a rollercoaster ride. I binged the whole show on Netflix within 24 hours. The acting, music, cinematography, and direction were just brilliant. Song Hye Kyo was the star of the drama. I just could not take my eyes off her. The casting of the teenager and adult versions of each character was spot on. The only drawback I felt was that FL did not have enough chemistry with the ML. I felt Song Hye Kyo had more chemistry with the actor playing Park Yeon Jin's Husband (Just my personal opinion). Other than that, the story and the revenge plot were brilliantly executed. The villains all got their appropriate karma. I felt very satisfied as a viewer. Overall, I loved the drama.

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This Is The FL Whom I Can Call Worth of Being A Female Military Official

Positive Points
1. The story was written well, and the characters had their own flaws and good sides, respectively. The characters were written well. As a viewer, I can neither totally like nor hate the antagonists. The cast was good as well. I especially have to mention Li Qin. She was absolutely amazing in her role. Though many dramas now a days tried to portray a female general as the FL, they do not have the body language, nor are they convincing enough in their acting, to make me believe that they are supposed to be a female general/ military official. The characters are also not written properly, usually as they do not behave like a female general at all and are reduced to being a female general in name only. Doing fancy stunts in fancy costumes is not what I call being a female general. All of them lack the intelligence, military tactics, personality, body language, and, most importantly, acting. Most of them do illogical things and always think about love and give big speeches only and are often reduced as the love interest of the ML. They are given fancy titles but not proper scenes that will convince me that they are worthy of their titles. This drama has thoroughly satisfied me in this aspect. Li Qin absolutely had me convinced that she was a female military official. Whatever screen time she had while fighting, it was a delight to see her in action.
2. The bonds between the 3 siblings were also the thing I absolutely loved. None of them fought or backstabbed each other for the throne. Though the parents had conflicts but it didnot affects the relationship of the siblings. All were willing to leave the throne for the other. It was a rare thing to see in historical dramas.
3. The ML was such a well-written character. The love story was written well. Both FL & ML are capable, rational people who hate their enemy (hate each other), but they also respect their enemy for their capability. None of them hate each other blindly. They know to give each other respect where it is needed. It was indeed a well written enemies to lovers troope.

Negative Points
1. Though I loved the characters of the ML & FL, and both the actors played their roles well, I really did not find much chemistry between the leads.
2. The story I felt dragged a bit towards the end, and especially the Strom Alliance track, I felt was too dragged. It could have been wrapped up far earlier.
3. How come neither the Murong Father nor the Murong Son confirmed the death of the ML properly? It was such an important task, and how come none of them checked if the ML had actually died? It was quite odd given the gravity of the situation. Also, was not the Murong Son such a hidden wolf? How come as soon as he got exposed, his character suddenly became indecisive and weak? It felt quite odd to me. The writing was a bit sloppy there.
4. The background score and OST were not that great in my opinion. The background score was too repetitive. One score played for almost every scene. It reduced the viewing experience quite a bit for me.

Overall, it was such a nice one-time watch. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this drama.

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A Well Written Drama That Got Ruined By Its' Hasty Illogical Sloppy Ending

Positive Points
1. Hands down to the writer for the well-written characters of Chen Yanyun and Gu Jingzhao. It's been quite some time since I came across such well-written ML and FL. I would give a few extra thanks for the character of the FL, especially. The character of the FL is rational, and she has a damn care attitude that is something I liked about her character. She is not the type of sacrificial type of Female lead who always returns bad with good. She also does not give her family a free pass just because they are her blood. Nor does she let the opportunistic people take financial advantage of her just because they are family. She is smart and intelligent. This is something I really appreciate. Also, the thing I absolutely love about this FL is that she never wastes her efforts on someone who does not appreciate it. After her first crush rejected her, she never pursued him. Nor did she waste her time on him. Ye Xian never explicitly told her that he liked her, and it was because of his crush on her that he always helped her. FL never took it for granted and never exploited his feelings for her personal gain. She also tried to help in return, like a true friend. Her marriage view is actually beautiful and rational. I like the way FL's character was written. Her character was consistent. She knows horse riding and archery. The screenwriter actually let her flex her skills and did not reduce her to an accessory for the ML to act as the hero. The ML is also one of the well-written, dignified characters. ML is quite sharp, rational, calm, and diplomatic. He also treats the FL with respect and does not impose his wishes in the name of love. Respect is very important for love to persist for a long time in my opinion. The ML is someone who can indeed be respected. The FL has indeed chosen the right guy for marriage. ML is different from the other 2 love interests of the female lead not due to age but rather the way he handled FL's vow to never marry, showing his composure. He has enough sense to differentiate between state and personal matters. He highly respects the FL and honours her choice and wishes. He diplomatically, with his patience and tactics, changed the No from the FL into Yes, and that is without using any underhanded method.
2. The cinematography, music, direction, and action scenes were nice. The cast was really good in their respective roles.

Negative Points
1. Spent too much time on two other love interests of the FL (I consider Ye Xian as a friend and not a love interest). Why waste such nice chemistry between the leads for showing too much court politics and love rivalry? There was very little of the FL and the ML for my liking throughout the drama.
2. Ye Xian could have been a nice addition. There was no need to make him do impulsive, illogical things. I know he was important for the 2nd half, but still too much time was wasted on him doing impulsive things that I absolutely did not like at all. Ye Xian is impulsive, has anger management issues and is aggressive. Bro loves to turn to drinking every time he faces a challenge/ problem. It does not really matter how good a man is when he is calm and happy. His character is best understood in times of crisis or when he loses his temper. Ye Xian is not a good choice for marriage at all. He impulsively whipped the FL when he could not swallow a few lines of bitter truth. No matter how he helped the FL, he is not a good candidate for marriage, for sure. He also does not have any keen perception of the court politics.
3. What was the ending even, killing everyone and leaving the leads alive only? The writing in the last 3 episodes was absolutely weak. The start was great, but had such a mediocre ending.
Overall, this drama was a nice one-time watch.
Ps. Though a bit unrealistic, the cute little emperor is more sensible than all those treacherous, evil, arrogant, womaniser emperors shown in C dramas.

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A Grand Acting Feast Bestowed By Wang Ying Lu & Zhou Yi Ran

What a drama it was. I have felt a rollercoaster of emotions while watching it. It is one of the rare dramas that could make me emotional. The story is quite dark and emotionally quite heavy to watch, but at the end, the journey was worth it. I cannot even think of any negative points about this drama; it was that good. Zhou Yi Ran and Wang Ying Lu have knocked it out of the park honestly. They were so on par in terms of acting that I can't say who was better than who. It was almost as if both were competing to see who could give a better performance. They had amazing chemistry together. I hope they will get cast together again in other good dramas with good scripts, where they will get to show their acting brilliance. The entire cast was absolutely amazing. The direction, cinematography, ost everything was just perfect. The only regret I felt was not having any scenes of young Ye Hai Tang and Tang Yi Xun living the altered happy future where they are together. Even one scene would have been enough. Nevertheless, it was an absolutely brilliant drama.

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A Thought Provoking Dark Crime Thriller About The Struggle And Cost of Justice

This drama started a bit slow but as it moves past that and sets the story, the story gets really heavy. The screenplay was just brilliant. This is probably the smoothest transition between the 3 cases and their timelines I have ever seen in a drama. It managed to maintain its suspense right till the end and kept me hooked throughout the series. The best part of this drama is the ensemble cast, and my god, they were absolutely brilliant. It manages to force the viewers to think about what is the cost of justice. It was a very dark and emotional price of drama. Everyone did a great job. Overall, an absolutely brilliant crime drama and one of the best I have ever watched.

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Could Have Been A Great Drama But Became Average Due To Extremely Poor Editing

This drama is certainly not the best one, but it is not bad either. In terms of casting, it was nice to see so many fresh faces, but unfortunately, none of their acting was good enough to make me connect to their characters, except for the main leads. In terms of acting, Zhou Yi Ran and Bao Shang En performed brilliantly. Zhou Yi Ran was too good at playing an unhinged character. He really should do more costume drama. I really hope he will get to do more costume drama now. I really liked Bao Shang En doing a serious role. The leads were perfectly cast. The cinematography was really nice, especially the outdoor scenes and the scenes of the Qingque Sect. The visuals were great. In my opinion, there were significant issues with the editing and pacing. There was also a bit overdose of the FL's aunt in my opinion. I mean, the FL is always quoting her aunt this and that. Nonetheless, I liked that the FL was strong and independent. The storytelling was a bit average in my opinion. The story picked up after episode 10 for me. After that, it went well. The leads had great chemistry. Though it was a happy ending, I did not like it much. I preferred the original ending of the novel. Overall, it was a nice one-time watch for me.

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A Nice Lighthearted Drama That Lost It's Way From The Middle

This drama at the beginning felt nice, funny, and quite entertaining to watch. The casting was great. Wang Yinglu surprised me by doing four totally different characters in a year. The initial 20 or so episodes were really nice. The cinematography was nice as well. The music is good. The comic timing was great as well. But from the middle, I felt the story dragged a lot. The most horrible twist was probably the last episode, and I absolutely hated how the writers treated the ML. The main revelation was delayed a lot, and later the story ended abruptly. I felt there was not enough interaction between the 2 leads. It could have been a very nice drama, but instead turned out to be average due to the sloppy 2nd half. Nevertheless, it was a decent one-time watch.

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Finally A Dark Creepy Mystery Thriller That Manages To Deliver What It Promised

The script was absolutely great in my opinion. The cases were actually mysterious and managed to keep me engaged as a viewer. The drama has managed to maintain its dark vibe till the end. The cases felt unique and actually creepy to me. Wang Xing Yue was brilliant here. This is not a romance drama, and I loved that it did not focus much on the romance. Those who might be watching this drama for romance might be really disappointed. But the relationship portrayed between the characters was natural and nice to watch. The only downside is that it really dragged a bit in terms of episode number. Towards the end, I was really impatient to know who Yesha was. But still, he really was a formidable, dead smart villain that I enjoyed watching. Both the protagonist and antagonist were toe-to-toe and were outwitting each other. It was really refreshing. The script and cinematography were solid. I would absolutely recommend this drama.

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