SarahD

Does not really follow on from Go Go Squid (GGS)

The title of this drama is misleading as although there are a sprinkling of characters from the first GGS, only about 4 of them are played by the original actors and the plot line follows the one from that drama a lot of the time.
If you ignore the original, then this drama stands ok on its own but if you are expecting a story that weaves into and is intertwined with GGS then you will be disappointed.
Wu Bai is still played by Hu Yitian (Li Xian is still Han Shanghai and Yang Zi plays Squid) but both Solo and Appledog are played by different actors so the feel of the plot is very different even though the characters they play have similar traits to GGS (but they ARE played by different actors so no matter how hard you squint they’re not the same). Additionally, K&K and SP compete in a very different arena - that of robot wars. Additionally the buildings they operate out of are completely different so again this highlights the difference.
The acting is believable and you feel for them as they go through the ups and downs of their relationships. For example, Appledog’s manager (before she joins SP) is brilliantly flaky and slimy so for me his is a stand out performance as he brown noses anyone that he thinks will earn him brownie points and/or a promotion. Hu Yitian as Wu Bai conveys so much with just his facial expressions as, just like in GGS he says very little, but you really know what he is thinking just from his body language etc.
I first found Li Yitong in Dream within a Dream and in this story she doesn’t disappoint either. She has great chemistry with Wu Bai and still has to deal with conflicts created when Team Solo splits up (though for different reasons).

Would I watch this again? Probably not as for me GGS had so much more to offer and I found this plot lacking as on the whole the wonderfully funny antics of the original Team K&K weren’t there to pick up the tempo (probably a budget constraint lead to this much smaller team) That said the way the boys keep tabs on their captain’s burgeoning romance and subsequent proposal fails are funny and endearing but with less characters it all felt a bit lonely somehow.

Read More

Real blockbuster of a tale with two sets of strong ML & FL

I’m not normally a fan of Dilraba as she mostly leaves me cold but I felt she did really well in this even though the plot line was a little predictable as she leapfrogged over everyone in her path (just by being an ‘awfully nice’ person) to become the most important ‘saviour’ to complete strangers who trusted her completely despite knowing nothing about her.
Leo Wu was brilliant as the main ML, smouldering and dark one moment, adoring of his FL and fiercely protective the next.

I will admit that my favourite characters were played by Zhao Lusi and Lui Yuning. They were a fantastic match and I love everything both of these actors have been in and their chemistry as Hao Du and Le Li A did not disappoint. It was off the charts as they went from hating each other to being unable to live without each other. They were incredibly watchable and their character development was subtle at times but so beautiful to watch.
The storyline was excellent, the acting, production values and costumes amazing but I don’t understand why there always has to be a main support character that gets killed off - I didn’t think this added anything to the plot.

Wonderful all rounder but probably not one I’d watch again

Read More

Great story - can’t wait for the sequel

From the get go I was invested in this drama and pleased to see that Yang Zi and Li Xian work just as well together as they did in Go Go Squid.
FL & ML are so good together and the chemistry is excellent even though this is not a typical romance story in the beginning. He quietly watches from a distance and readies himself to step in even as she solves her problems on her own, each success she achieves makes him more and more proud of her as well as fiercely protective. In the beginning she sees him as an irrelevant playboy wastrel but by halfway through the series she begins to realise all is not as it seems and becomes intrigued as to what he is up to. Theirs is a slow build romance that develops naturally as they realise that they are stronger together than apart and start to notice each others strong points rather than perceived flaws.
Miles Wei is brilliant as Lui Chang, the pathetic, down trodden ex husband of the FL. He is bulldozed into marrying the spoilt princess Yu Zhen. Yu Zhen spends most of her time trying to sabotage FL rather than work on the sham of a marriage she has forced upon a man who suddenly realises he should have stuck with bride #1 which leads to several of the problems FL faces. By the end ML, who has a real problem with Yu Zhen’s father, realises he has to deal with the whole family not just the patriarch which makes his mission even more complicated.

Can’t wait for the sequel and would happily watch this again.

Read More

Xu Kai acts his cotton socks off in this drama

What I love about this drama is how the main characters grow and develop.
Xu Kai plays 2 roles brilliantly. The first, Yue Jin Zhao, is an innocent who is very protective of the FL and the second Bian Luo Huan is his maker. At one point I was sobbing at the sacrifice Bian Luo Huan makes in order to save everyone.
Ester Yu is typecast as Yue Qi a sweet and adorable girl who loves to eat noodles and is endlessly hungry. Unfortunately, for me, she’s just a bit too sickly sweet - I’d have loved to see her tone it all down a bit, to be honest.
The story follows the FL and ML as they investigate where they’ve come from and along the way they not only uncover their beginnings but help to restore law and order across their land.
The support cast are really good and Jia Nai Na, who plays a demon, and another one (who has worked with XK in the past) is Liu Min and they were firm favourites of mine.
Production, costumes and action were all brilliant but Ester Yu was too sickly sweet for me.

Read More

Not Ester Yu’s usual character type - hurray!

Originally I began watching this because of ZLH but was pleasantly surprised that EY was not playing an airhead which was very refreshing and her character was totally believable.

The plot follows two female spies from the evil and vicious Wufeng sect that infiltrate an introverted and mysterious sect controlled by the Gongs who specialise in lotions, potions and poisons only to find that the second son has suddenly become the sect leader upon the death of his father and heir apparent elder brother. Their aim is to destroy Gong so that Wufeng can proceed with its plan for world domination.

The FL starts to fall for the ML as she helps him to conquer physical obstacles, his family members and the elders who don’t want him as their leader. He gains in confidence and their relationship grows and she confesses to being by his side with a mission to kill him and help destroy the sect. Due to their honesty (he lets her see how little confidence he has, how unhappy he was to be made the ruler and how he longs to return to being the ‘spare’. She tells him how she longs for her freedom and to break free from her contract with Wufeng) they build not just deep feelings but absolute trust in each other and there is abundant chemistry as they fall in love.

The second spy manages to build a relationship with MLs cousin but lies and cheats her way into his bed and yet despite their relationship being built on lust not love, there are still feelings between them, no matter how conflicted, and the actors really bring to life their complex characters and the situations they find themselves in.

Although this seems like a really dark tale, there are some amusing moments as MLs sister chases after his body guard in subtle and not so subtle ways.

My only criticism is that this story finishes on a bit of a cliffy but I’m not sure if there will ever be a second series to tie up the large number of loose ends which is a shame as the chemistry between the main characters is so good and there is enough content to put into a sequel.

Read More

Fabulous story but rushed at the end

There is a lot to enjoy about this story but the ending is extremely rushed with no real understanding of “what just happened’.
The chemistry between FL & ML is realistic and beautiful and the supporting cast play their parts brilliantly in a drama that has it all - great emotions, twists and turns, costumes, fight scenes and production values. The house FL lives in is insane and the other buildings have great attention to detail too.
The closing love scenes are beautiful as the two leads say their goodbyes in a heartwarming yet heartbreaking way - I teared up as I thought about what was going to happen, but then bam! The fight scene lasted mere moments and then in the next scene 3 of the main characters are reminiscing. Seconds later FL is out shopping and meets up with ML under an umbrella. Where had he been? What actually happened? Terrible ending to what had been a wonderful story.
Would I watch again? Probably

Read More

Great cast, great story

This is a heartwarming love story between an emotionally wrecked and jaded 30 year old fallen hero of the esport arena known as CTF (capture the flag) and a 21(?) year old female computer genius whose sunny disposition slowly brings his heart back to life.
The ML, known for being a fierce, scary and demanding boss, heads up a gaming team called K&K where he mentors a group of young men and ‘bullies’ them to become the best of the best (but they all worship and adore him).
The FL is a child prodigy studying IT at university who also makes money from a sideline in singing and she is known as Baby Squid by her many fans.
Obviously there is a happy ending but along the way several broken relationships get fixed as the ML comes to terms with his past and the fallout that occurred.
I loved the chemistry between the characters and the forgiveness and healing that occurs and an added bonus is that the K&K team provide plenty of very funny, chaotic and playful moments especially as they are the front row audience as the clumsy and adorable love story develops. (By the way the building they operate out of is fantastic- I would love to work in this space where the kids can get to the ground floor down firemen’s poles or slides!)
Would I watch this again? Absolutely

UPDATE:

Wanted something light hearted to watch again and I’m so glad I chose this drama. I’d forgotten how funny the main characters were as they stumbled into love with each other. He’s totally non-plussed by her and she’s just so in love with him that she forgets to think like a rational human being so there’s plenty of chances for humour (plus team K&K is made up of children who’s subtly levels are that of a low flying piano) and the script writers must have had a field day writing this. At certain points, how any any acting took place is anyone’s guess as the scenes were hilarious and so innocent.
Bravo, please note, I’ve upped the overall score from 9 to 9.5 😍

Read More

Short, sweet and very cute

The storyline is very simple, downtrodden young seamstress goes back in time to right the wrongs of 5 years earlier.
Ding Yuxi is very convincing as the hero both in the future and the past and manages to pull off the cute boy next door falling for the female lead really well. From cute college boy giving her shy glances to alpha male, fierce protector he is very believable.
I’d not come across Li Yingying before but she is very adaptable and the two versions of herself are poles apart, both in terms of character and physical appearance. Bravo young lady
Would I watch again? If I just wanted to kill a few hours, absolutely

Read More

Fabulous ‘kids break up and fall in love again as adults’ drama

I really enjoyed the chemistry between the Fl & ML though I will admit I find Tang Sonyun a little bit mumsy but the ML is totally ‘Mr tall, dark and handsome’.
The plot follows 2 kids that meet and fall in love at high school (he’s the school heart throb and she’s just miss normal and sweet). She has a stable, loving middle class family and his is unstable, difficult and working class yet despite their backgrounds they fall deeply in love and when they meet up again 10 years later they realise they never got over their romance and just pick up where they left off.
The plot is sweet and at times absolutely hilarious (the marriage proposal of his best friend was priceless and the reaction of the SWAT team really memorable) and the support cast really add extra dimension to the whole plot.
I need to visit the place they went for their camping trip.
If you want a feel good storyline then I can’t recommend this one enough.

Read More

Great story but can’t see the chemistry

Great story and some of the supporting cast have better acting skills (chemistry) than the main characters.
Xu Kai acts his little cotton socks off as usual but I just can’t always see the chemistry between him and Tan Songyun though there are plenty of sweet, intimate moments that are on point (the shaving scene for example).
The struggle to build a strong fledgling business is really obvious and the team the FL has around her are brilliant, especially the actors He Rui Xian and Tang Zhen Chao and you feel their struggles with both their private and corporate lives.
Cute little story but doesn’t pack a punch (for me) the way some of Xu Kai’s other work does. Perhaps it’s because it doesn’t run through all the emotions we often get in a c-drama or perhaps it’s because I just didn’t feel Tan Songyun was as good as he was.
Would I watch this again? No

Read More

OMG! This story was absolutely incredible, powerful, heartbreaking yet with a silver lining.

The opening scene should have made me realise that this was a one in a million story as we watch two bright young lives destroyed by suicide.

It is the companion side plot to the Between Us drama starring Boun Noppanut as Win and Prem Warut at Team and I’m glad I watched that one first as although their characters feature in this they are a very, very minor sub plot in this drama and watching them the other way round would not have worked so well.

The story centres around Pharm (played by Fluke Natouche) and Dean (played by Ohm Thitiwat) who are students at the same university. Dean is a final year student whose world is turned upside down by Pharm, a first year, when they meet for the first time and his lifelong search is finally over as he recognises his past in this new kid on the block.

Approximately 40 years earlier two young lads - Korn (played by Kai Noppakao) and Intouch (played by Earth Katsamonnat) fall in love in a world filled with homophobia and fathers who cannot accept their love. One fateful night (Intouch’s 18th birthday) during a heated argument between the fathers and the sons, Korn grabs his father’s gun from his waistband, tells Intouch that he loves him then blows his brains out. In, seeing his boyfriend’s body lying in a pool of blood rushes over and amidst a grief filled sob fest grabs the gun tells him that he loves him then proceeds to kill himself too.

As the drama unfolds we realise that Dean and Pharm are the reincarnation of Korn and In as they begin to have more and more flash backs letting them into to the lives of the two deceased men.

There are sad bits, funny bits and every emotion in between and Fluke and Ohm do a fantastic job of making their confused past believable. In the final scenes Fluke broke my heart as he has a mental breakdown over what happened to Intouch in his last few moments of grief before committing suicide too.

This story is a testament to the strength of love that knows no boundaries set in a world of homophobia and the tragic backlash of the double suicide that leaves the remaining family members guilt riddled and broken. This really makes the viewer stop and think about the devastating results of people’s prejudices and how utterly horrendous the fall out from suicide really is.

That said, in the final scenes there is forgiveness and the laying to rest of ghosts that paves the way for Dean and Pharm to commit to each other and this understanding of what happened and what the future could be turns this plot from a terrible tragedy into a story of redemption and hope.

Bravo to the actors and script writers for such a powerful story.

This is my favourite drama ever and I sobbed so much and so loudly through the last two chapters (to the point my husband who was in a different room thought I was laughing) as the ramifications of the actions first of Korn and then In became apparent.

Would I watch this again? Totally, absolutely and inevitably

Read More

Bound by fate, kept by love, strengthened by never giving up…

In my top 2 stories.

This is so much more than a BL story. Yes there are a few scenes that contain NC, but they are extremely gentle and few and far between so if you’ve come here to watch some incredibly beautiful actors get dominatingly passionate or down and dirty all the time then this is not one for you. (Though the young adult actors are really very beautiful I will admit)

The plot follows a 20 year old called Khemjira and his closest friends as they try to undo a curse laid on his family that dooms male heirs to die before they reach 21. Along with a group of university students he goes on a summer camp to a distant and rather mystical village where he meets Master Paran with whom he shares deep and heartbreaking love in a previous life as fiancés as Khemmika and Wat. Meeting up in current day Thai Shaman duties and impending doom initially make it difficult for them to admit their feelings so there’s a lot of ‘will they, won’t they?’ creating additional tension for quite a few of the earlier episodes.

The second leads Chan and Jet were also lovers in their previous lives where coincidentally they were friends of Khemmika and Wat and they too remember their past but will they have the courage to pledge themselves to each other in this life? The other main characters namely Grandma Si, Yos, Chai, Thong and Ek all have a vested interest in Khem’s welfare, are brilliantly cast and add depth and dimension to an already well rounded story.

The actress Green who convincingly plays Rampueng, the bad guy who is determined Khem will not survive to be 21, is fabulously rounded as an out an out baddie but is she just venting her anger at the treatment and loss she suffered nearly 300 years earlier? The back story to Rampueng’s curse is so unfair and you will really feel for her as we get to understand why she does what she does to the people who wronged her and why she cannot let go of her hate.

This BL story is not your traditional ‘boy meets boy who get hot and heavy together and then live happily ever after’. It’s about love, revenge, hate and forgiveness and has a FANTASTIC plot line that will have you empathising with and rooting for every one of the main characters and sobbing as you get closer to Khem’s birthday. You will roll your eyes, jump as things go bump in the night, clap at little wins, smile and cry as the resolve of the main characters is put to the test in the roller coaster of a ride set in a very beautiful, spiritual and traditional Thai environment where spells, incantations, monks, Mo Phi’s and a shaman protect against evil forces.

There is nothing to dislike about this story (even though traditional Thai love songs are a little jarring to my western ears) and I would thoroughly recommend watching this.

The script is incredible, the acting terrific and believable, the buildings and backdrop on point and the fact it is set in such a stunning and cultural location adds value to the plot. Chef’s kiss level.

Would I watch again. Definitely. Absolutely

Read More