AngiBorahae

Just binge-watched the first 3 episodes... but I can't really get into it. Idk... something about the writing feels off that I can't connect to the characters and their struggles and motivation. Is it just me? ...

I was really hyped to start it, but the beginning fell so flat for me that I don't know if I want to continue. I had the urge to skip. And that's not something I want to feel in the beginning of a drama 🥲 The spicy scenes doesn't really make up for anything... Maybe the writing feels too cartoonish to me. The villains feel cartoonish and flat as well... I know it's way too early to judge, but something about the writing gives me short-length drama vibes and not in a good way...

Did someone feel the same way? Is it getting better? Or maybe it's really just not my cup of tea...

My gosh... the Princess is so pathetic and totally playing the victim-card… I hate Xia Jing Shi too, but at least he was always honest about his non-existing feelings for her. Everything she did was out of her own will. He never forced her to do anything and even let her chose to flee when she could. Yet now she acts like HE used HER, just because she’s finally realizing she can’t have everything she wants or change him into loving her. And now she’s out for revenge? lol Another delulu vengeful royal for all the wrong reasons..

Xia Jing Shi is evil and deserves whatever’s coming his way, but to be fair, he never used her. He literally told her to back off. That was actually kind of him, knowing he is a person who even kills the woman he supposedly loves.

My gosh, royal blood really makes people delusional, self-entitled and straight-up unhinged in this drama (FSG must be the only (sane?) exception lol). Now she’s about to team up with that other insane Emperor and I just hope her self-entitled ass will keep her hate on actually guilty people and she won’t go after FYX out of pure jealousy…

This drama's storyline is becoming more unhinged and cray cray episode by episode lol Still wildly entertaining, but I'm not sure if I can handle next episodes more crazy makjang twists. 10 episodes to go... I'm pretty sure a lot more heads will roll, more blood spilled... how is anyone able to have a happy ending in this crazy world? 🤯

It's funny that people condemn JP for finally realizing he loves YR, while relieving all the moments of her being by his side and people say to that, that it's not love but him just being thankful and he is not really genuine, because he took so long to confess... but on the contrast... YR is better of with Jung Hyeon, because he was always there for her and therefore more deserving?

JP loving the person who was always by his side is wrong now... But then saying YR should have loved JH for the same reasons is totally okay and valid lol The hypocrisy in the comments...

I love reading the comments here, because it's actually really entertaining how people perceive things so differently :D

Xi Yang deserved that slap tho... she badmouthed Yi Xiao for no reason other than her own obsession and jealousy. imo she's not that much better than those other lunatics. Her story is entertaining to watch, but I don't have much empathy for her.

Pretty sure she will get worse after she teams up with lunatic Jinxiu Emperor. The only one I feel bad for is Feng Sui Ge. He will lose his whole family to madness... poor him :'(

Everyone in this drama is psycho, and lunatics are ruling the countries, with no deserving future ruler in sight. LOVE IT! So entertaining hahaha

I'm really curious who will be on the thrones by the end. But I bet I will not be satisfied, because a deserving ruler hasn't been born yet it seems lol Everyone in the royal families of both countries are lunatics. And Feng Sui Ge doesn't want to be a part anymore or rule this cray cray empire. Totally understandable haha

The costumes in this drama are so mesmerizing! The colors are too beautiful! I really loved the wedding attires of Xia Jing Shi and princess. She looked soooo pretty! (but sadly she's still dumb af lol)

Kind of lost interest after it turned into a typical rom-com. I wouldn’t mind the rom-com vibe if it had stayed consistent with the beginning and if the male lead didn’t have such a drastic 180° turn. He was so articulate and smart at first, but now he’s turned into more of a comedy relief character. Well, maybe it's his real character. But it’s a bit disappointing that the emotional serious tone from the earlier episodes is kind of gone.

It’s still fun to watch, but I really loved the beginning and kind of hoped their reunion would feel a bit more serious and angsty? I don’t know, just less comedy lol I guess it’s all a matter of taste, some viewers love the direction this drama took and some don’t.

I’ll probably continue once more episodes are out :)

Why do I have the feeling that the former Empress might be alive? I just don't think the Emperor is so gullible and dumb to not know that current Empress and her father are after the throne and that all those spy evidences they had against former Empress are fabricated...

To me it seems Emperor wants everyone to think that Empress is dead... but maybe he sent her to that super secret place where they also sent Ning Fei to?

Am I the only one enjoying this whole love triangle/square/quadrangle/whatever? lol I love the angst and jealousy haha

Also Young Rye and Jae Pil are really cute together. You can't deny that :P I actually don't care who ends up with whom. I'm just enjoying the show :D

My exact problem with this plot. Would've made more sense if he was in love with both of them, because like you said, they are the same person. And he also loved and died for her while she was obsessed with revenge and evil... Like how did he fall in love with her in the first place?

Yes you're actually right. I guess the last-5-minute reunion is what made me disappointed haha

Ah okay thx, then the dubbing itself just sounds a bit weird to me. Maybe because I've only seen dramas of hers without dubbing. But I will get used to it :D

That's not Zhao Lu Si's real voice or is it? Anyway, the dubbing sounds and looks weird. All other characters seem so much more natural. I'm trying to get used to it. Lu Si has such a beautiful voice if she speaks herself ,.. it's a shame that they resorted to dubbing even if it's her own voice, it sounds weird 🥲

But Lu Si looks really beautiful. I love her various hairstyles in this one. Still on ep. 1 but love her style until now :D

Zhu Li Lan's acting is phenomenal! The FL is really killin' it with her acting :D

So, do I have this right? The female lead is Xiao Jin Yu, but with Lu Zhao’s memories and in Lu Zhao’s body? But at the core she’s still Xiao Jin Yu, right? Her own personality, skills, etc. just without her original memories?

I was actually hoping it would be Lu Zhao herself coming back to take revenge on those awful people… but it looks like she really did die? That’s pretty sad :’( Or is this supposed to be some kind of strange soul-merging?

Anyway, still entertaining because Xiao Jin Yu is badass as well :D

This could’ve easily been a 9/10, but of course they had to throw in the breakup-in-the-final-episode and last-5-minute-reunion cliché that Jdramas love to pull so much… sigh. Kdramas and Cdramas have their clichés too, but this trope is so overused in romance Jdramas, that it's one of the reasons I’ve stopped watching them. But sometimes there are rare exceptions (Cinderella Closet for example, loved that one :D ) So I'm still trying a few out every now and then haha

Also really hate the forced forgiveness for absolute horrible parents in Asian dramas...

Otherwise this was really good and a fun watch. I’d definitely recommend it :)

Also, how cute is the FL’s mom?! She’s so genuine, open-hearted and kind! No wonder Haruka turned out to be such a caring person! I’m really happy for Hikaru. He needs people like them around him.

I haven’t watched a Jdrama in ages and this one honestly surprised me. It’s cute, refreshing, not annoying at all and the characters are genuinely likable! I’m completely in love with the FL’s smile. It’s so beautiful and sweet. I wasn’t sure if I’d like her at first, but she turned out to be such a lovely and endearing character. She’s not the annoying “innocent & cute” type, but the genuinely likable kind of cute & innocent.

There are also no cliché SML or SFL here. I really appreciate that they didn’t make the SML a jerk just to make the ML look better. He’s actually a good guy. The FL and ML are adorable together and their relationship develops naturally from friendship, without all the overdone, dragged-out misunderstandings. Usually, Japanese rom-coms follow the same tired pattern: a misunderstanding near the end, they break up and then reconcile in the last five minutes.

Even though the final episode hasn’t aired yet, it’s pretty clear they’re not going down that boring route. They’re going through a “difficult” phase right now, but I think that’s more about Hikaru’s insecurities. He’s dressing more often as a man now and doesn’t seem as confident as he does when cross-dressing, like Shu said, it’s his armor. That might be why he’s acting a bit more domineering now. But I’m pretty sure they’ll talk it out. That’s what I love about this couple! They actually communicate. Not perfectly, but they try and that’s what matters most.

I binge-watched 11 episodes in one go and it was such an easy, enjoyable watch. I don’t usually watch many Jdramas anymore because their romance plots don’t hook me like they used to, but this one kinda did. Now I kind of want to give more Jdramas a try. Any recommendations? 😂

Ahhh, now I know why the youth actors seemed so familiar to me! There is a yt channel called "짧은대본 ShortPaper" that does ongoing short story series.

One of my favorites (still on-going) actually features the same actors. Jang Deok Su (young Jeong Seok) and Geum Min Kyeong (Hyo Ri’s bio mom, Cho Rong). It's funny seeing both of them here. Since they have a vague love line in that short story haha

If anyone’s curious, here’s one yt video to their story series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVr9WR542sw