IvahDenise

A long journey with detours and dead ends

This was such a beautiful drama. I think this has been one of the most beautifully shot series I have seen of late. The cinematography of this series is excellent. The backdrop of the entire story is so beautiful and breathtaking that it just makes you want to get lost in the front hill and back hill of the Gong residence. I really enjoyed the visuals. Not just of the scenes but of the cast as well.

Acting was already good. I applaud Ryan Cheng as Gong Shangjue. He was masterful in his character. I think of everyone, he was the best in this series. His story arc and character were also the most interesting. I just loved it every time he was on screen. The rest of the cast was ok. I think this was the first time I actually liked Esther Yu's acting - although her character is a little meh and flawed to my liking, this was the most "acting" I have seen of her.

As for the story, it was pretty interesting and got really engaging towards the end but to end it like that is a travesty. I don't really like open endings in my wuxias. I don't think it works out like that. I mean after all that, you just do us dirty with that ending? It was frustrating and leaves a bad taste. But still this was a good series.

Read More

Not as tempestous as I was hoping to be...

Big hopes for this one when I found out it had Jun Ji-hyun and Gang Dong-won as leads. Did it deliver? Not as much as I would have hoped but it was still a good series. I love a political/espionage drama. It's so exciting, action-packed, and full of drama and intrigue. This one had all of that. I liked the fast-paced story-telling . Stereotypical and controversial political issues were plentiful in this drama as well. The cast did a great job - acting was top-notch, especially by the main leads. The twists kept you guessing and thinking. And the actual villain was a surprise but with how they explained it, it did make sense. It is a short series so if you are looking for a good suspenseful, mystery drama with a side of romance (think The Bodyguard), this is for you.

Read More

Revenge on revenge on revenge

Revenge? Check. Political intrigue? Check. Family drama? Check. Action? Check. Loyal friendships? Check. Romance? Check. Slow-burn romance? Check, check! This series really has it all. I mean, too much of it all, in fact. The revenge alone would have you going for hours. It was really engaging and I enjoyed how the revenge plots played out. It was pretty satisfying. The acting of both Wu Jinyan and Wang Xingue are topnotch. They were perfect for their roles. I could not have imagined a more perfect Xue Fangfei and Xiao Heng. They also have good chemistry. The side characters also did great. Totally love (and hate) the Eldest Princess Wanning. She was awesome and loathsome in her role. I also loved the cinematography of this series. It was so beautiful and added to the total vibe of the series. The breathtaking shots and angles were key to taking the storyline further.

Now, there are some things that I thought were problematic about this series. This was 40-episode long. Did it need to be that long? Honestly, yes and no. Yes, because it had so much to tell, and also no, because some plotlines just dragged on, and I felt that some scenes were unnecessary. And as much as the revenge plots were all resolved in the end, it all were just too good to be true and too convenient. And well, that ending? I usually do not mind an open-ending like that but seriously, you had me watch for 40 episodes and go through all of that just to give me a vague ending? That was just really painful and really unsatisfying, even unfair. I don't want to think of the end, please just give me a happy ending, for real!

Read More

Fun show

This was such a fun series. I did not expect it to be quite as entertaining. I mean, I really had no expectations when I started watching it but it was enjoyable over-all. The story was about a young shaman trying to protect her first love who is plagued by bad spirits. What could go wrong? Well, everything.

It is about young love so it was sweet, charming, and fun. It explored youth, growth, and the complexities of first love. That is always something I enjoy watching. The backstories of the characters were also interesting. I particularly enjoyed all the shaman scenes - those were fun to watch.

This show was not meant to be serious at all. It is just to entertain, something to pass time, for fun. The two leads are cute and have good chemistry. I even liked the love triangle. It was not problematic at all. I also love a good slow burn romance, might not appeal to all, but that's really my kind of romance.

It's a short series, so if you're looking for something not too time-consuming, not too depressing or serious, just lighthearted and funny, this might be for you!

Read More

Yin and Yang

This show is brilliant. I love how this show just hurts and heals. It was both painful yet heartwarming.

This is the story of two sisters. A story of a culture that expects too much yet gives too little.

Park Bo-young is an amazing actress. No question about this. She played the part of twins like there were actually 2 actresses. You can tell which is which. She acts with such restraint and force, it just works. She's definitely one of my favorite K-actresses. I would watch anything she's in!

This series is 12-episodes short/long, it is engaging and the story is character-driven. The pacing of the story is seamless and does not drag.

If you want a story about empathy, healing, identity, family, and some intergenerational trauma mixed in, this is for you.

Read More

It was glorious but ended up meh

This drama started out really interesting. I especially liked the episodes where the FL was trying to find a husband. It's like a different kind of Bachelorette show. All the family drama - with the sisters and grandma - had me so invested. I liked how the sisterhood relationships moved the plot and introduced us to different story arcs. However, as we got towards the end, it just got abandoned and we have this entirely new family drama that was very annoying and frustrating. I seriously was annoyed at the last few episodes and it just felt like they just dragged the story on with unnecessary drama. It felt like all the good from the first half of the series just turned sour. I was literally just trudging through the episodes to get to the ending. I mean, I have already invested so much time on this show to just drop it. Needless to say, the ending was unsatisfactory for me. I still liked how this series made women the stars and really went hard on women empowerment but it just didn't make for an enjoyable show.

Read More

Satisfying watch!

This show was good. I love a rebirth plot. But honestly, I wish they did more with that premise. Sure, the FL knew of her past life but aside from profiting from it and using her knowledge of it to steer herself away from her former marriage, there was really very little she did to counter anything else. Ok, granted there was little she could really have done to change the course of "fate" or history, but I felt like there could have been more done with that past life knowledge. It got a little frustrating at times. How do you know the past, have a book about it, a monk that knows about the future, and still have no clue? Uh, okay.

Over-all, the FL and ML chemistry is amazing. I love it. They were both great in their roles though I think the ML was better and probably outshone the FL. I particularly love So Mo. It was just a pity we got robbed of the long white-haired So Mo for the rest of the series, that would have been the better one of the two So Mos, in my honest opinion!

The cinematography was top-notch. The scenes were beautiful. What I loved most about this series is that all the minor characters' stories were given time and space to really be fleshed out and flow into the whole narrative. You can understand the entirety of the story and how each of the characters contribute to the whole. I love that. This was well-written and carefully thought of.

The ending was very satisfying. I really enjoyed this series.

Read More