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Completed
The Best Thing
2 people found this review helpful
Jul 2, 2026
28 of 28 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 1.0

(FL): personality is as exciting as box of Kleenex. Boo

FL portrayal was pretty awful - boring, weak, just a ragdoll of simpering, weepy, codependent, can’t take care of herself and (literally) needs mommy daddy boyfriend to do it all character. It’s so extremely cringey in that way. She’s a 20-something adult. The character has 0% charisma, intelligence, humor.

Reviews that say it’s like a warm hug aren’t wrong - it’s a quiet little story that’s a palate-clearing break from xianxia or historical dramas. BUT…the FL’s ultra timid “I need someone to make decisions for me” ragdoll wasn’t worth the time (for me). Seriously ick. I found her character’s personality so, so, so wimpy, whiny, uncomfortable, uncommunicative and uninteresting, and because of that, unattractive.

Other characters are good. Really liked the traditional medicine aspect a lot. ML was well done by Zhang Linghe - character was portrayed well as gentle, intelligent, bookish, thoughtful, peaceful, supportive. A little odd that he was actively pursuing a patient, but whatevs. It’s fiction.

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Veil of Shadows
1 people found this review helpful
Aug 31, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.5

Hey! Where’d His Clothes Go?*

As usual with this writer/director, there’s a lot to enjoy for fantasy lovers. Expect moody, emotional, magic-infused visual storytelling, wind machines on high and flowing, bedazzled hanfu/robes/costumes, exceptionally beautiful people (esp men), and a soundtrack with words that’ll make you cry. It kicks @ss. It’s exciting, mystical, interesting and never dragged.

Story has some timey-wimey shenanigans, so relax a bit when that starts to play a part. Enjoy the journey. It’s imperfect in many of the same ways that Fangs of Fortune was. There will be loss, you’ll be a lil confused, and probably want a face to face stern talk with the director. But —there are more somewhat hopeful twists in this story. Less emotional devastation, depending on your view.

Tian Jiarui does a fantastic job here as the achingly sweet natured Ji Ling. Wow. I was programmed to like him from Fangs of Fortune & My Journey to You. He doesn’t disappoint. And his small side role as an ethereal, ghostly lonescale demon is the most tragic and visually gorgeous thing in this drama.

Speaking of FoF, there’s a Weasel demon sidekick copy of Fangs of Fortune’s little mountain god in ALL ways. Very likeable, but such a carbon copy. Was the other actor busy?

Warm, eloquent, mature/experienced expressions of a lifetime of love, caring, devotion were really moving between M/F leads and others, while obsession played out as well.

Ju Jingyi. I didn’t care at all for acting, appearance/makeup styling, demeanor, little girly voice character - the visuals slammed me right out of the drama at first. Edit: Grew on me a ton as we go along. It’s the 1st time I’ve seen her and I look forward to her in different role.

Yan An. He has presence in addition to obvious pecs/striking beauty. Loved him in FoF. BUT he’s not being given much here. He draws attention way too much to be a third wheel, so some early scenes feel awkward. But he fleshed out as it moved along. His scenes with Tian Jiarui’s initial arrival as a little fox making his first human transition were at first shocking, then very moving.

Joseph Zeng. Liked his stable brand of character and love. He was a bit sidelined even when his role carried so much weight in this story.

Great job with side characters. You understand who they are and their skill sets, and desperately want them all to survive.

I cried when I was sad, then I cried when I saw familiar faces again and I was happy. Rolled my eyes at myself but couldn’t help it. Again, par for the course with director.

Beautiful moments; anything with lonescale demon/Ji Can visuals. Bombastic orange sparks and purple lightning battle scenes with electronica music pumping featuring Bai Ze (looooved him!) vs whatever character Yan An is channeling at that moment.

* Funniest (unintentional) scene: later stage battle sequence where a character’s clothes explode off his (ripped) body as he readies for a final showdown. Applause!

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Completed
Blossom
0 people found this review helpful
2 days ago
34 of 34 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 4.5

Strong & magical beginning, long & draggy midsection

Ok, so 2 eps in and this had the Pursuit of Jade director all over it. No wonder POJ was a huge success. He was already a very talented, fully developed cinematography-focused storyteller, he just got a bigger budget with POJ, (plus more star power and an insane male beauty pageant).

Blossom is, early on at least, POJ’s barely older sibling. Maybe not quite as polished, but still, it has visual storytelling that’s an exciting eyeball feast. It’s elegant (but not stuffy) and dramatic, a gorgeous snow and fire-lit dream where you instantly bond with the determined and capable FL, and have heart-eyes with the boy next door/princely looking ML with teeth so perfect he looks like he just got his braces off.

All the scheming and rotten uncle-ministers had nearly the exact similar beards, wigs, makeup, and all the voice acting sounds similar, too. It’s difficult to remember which family member is stroking his beard and thinking up more ways to be naughty. Is it a Dou? Wu? Zhou? No idea. Halfway through and I still don’t know if it’s an uncle, or a dad, or what side of the fence they’re on, they all went into the makeup/wardrobe trailer looking like individuals and they all came out looking like “don’t let them stand out” background extras.

It lost its way, bogged down in the middle and packed with (as always) schemes and plots, treacherous family members, wicked stepmothers and court ladies. The villainous, greedy ladies here are pretty well done, no complaints. I hated them 100%. But the story lost its spark for a long while.

Lin Yunrui’s main character Song Mo is perfectly swoons and heroic in the first part, but the character fades a bit as it goes forward, and that’s story issue. FL actress Meng Ziyi felt a bit flat/uninterested/not very expressive/staring puppet-like (for the most part). Unlike POJ, the side characters here aren’t given much time to develop, so for the majority, you’re just not super invested in whether they live/die, win/lose. I miss that. I adored Xia Zhiguang’s enigmatic and charismatic Ji Yong.

A very strong and magical beginning and great ending, excellent cinematography and acting throughout, but it didn’t make up for a just okay, ho-hum/spinning the plot wheels/snooze middle section for me. There were episodes I just was just…please God end this, I’m bored. That really surprised me.

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Completed
How Dare You!?
0 people found this review helpful
12 days ago
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.0

Wow! Unexpected depth, laughs (and tears)

HDY is so damn likeable in all ways. It’s not strictly a comedy, there are equal parts lightness with dark (with a good ending!), but overall just a super enjoyable and, at times, emotional story.

ML Cheng Lei is top notch throughout, which I’ve learned after seeing several of his dramas is his default setting. He’s always standout and never flat/boring. I’d never seen Wang Churan, and thought she was just perfect in her role. Lei’s chemistry with Churan came across as warm and loving, they were both equally convincing, alive, and happy to play these characters, it was obvious.

Side characters were given identity and screen time, you were pulling for them and excited to see them as they moved through the story, and sad if they exited.

Story was mostly palace intrigue blah blah blah until to 11 or so, when you start to see there’s more to the story than what you’ve been told. Yay!

Best kiss in the entire drama award goes to Prince Duan actor Tang Xiao Tian. He went from just a good-looking actor/character to rewind play rewind play.

The episode 30 night battle sequence - SO big and over the top cool, loved it! Big visuals, pumping music, fire, nighttime vibe, way cooler than cookie cutter big battle scenes that are just same ol’, same ol’ dudes with swords. Looked great. Exciting! Cinematography was excellent in all episodes.

Solid ending that will leave you smiling. How Dare You! is absolutely worth your time.

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The Early Spring
0 people found this review helpful
24 days ago
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

ML = Spock meets Dongfang Qingcang

Grouchy, cutting, arrogant ML with a haughty but handsome RBF (resting b*tch face) and disapproving pouty mouth of 10/10, on par with actor/dancer/blah blah Wang Yibo’s own world- class RBF. Bravo!

Jing Boran’s Luan Nian is supremely dismissive, beyond confident in his own stellar awesomeness, and ranks on the ice-cold meter somewhere between Spock (Star Trek) and Dongfang Qingcang (Love Between Fairy and Devil).

FL is, of course, warm and kind, initially timid, so much so she has no frame of reference that his bark is so much worse than his bite. He’s massively, hugely insecure despite his intelligence, looks and success, one word or action he deems to be negative towards him and he’s a lashing out with biting remarks that have little truth or heart behind them, storming off in a huff, etc etc.

She’s pretty bad at communicating (this is partially hidden under timidity, but come on) and of course this leads to misunderstandings and issues that could have been completely sorted with a one-minute discussion.

Things get tangled up as they fall in love while he’s her boss and she’s seeking to learn the ropes in the advertising business. FL and her friends are very likeable, ML’s friends are unrelatable as uber rich guys sitting around Switzerland or Norway drinking pricey whiskey and don’t have much screen time.

Jing Boran is definitely, deeply, can’t-look-away magnetic and driving the sexy bus mostly all by himself. FL lead brings mostly blink blink blink cuddle puddle sweetness, so their differences make for a good watch.

A solid ending makes it a great watch. It’s fun fiction done very well.

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Can This Love Be Translated?
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 14, 2026
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 3.0

Quirky. A little fun, a little not

I REALLY like the Hong sisters’ (writers) Alchemy of Souls and Hotel del Luna.

So I knew Can This Love… would not be a formulaic love story. It’s a mix of reality and fantasy (my fave), as you’d expect from them, but the fantasy part is less…magical, supernatural or otherworldly, and more very serious mental health issues, childhood trauma, etc. It’s quirky, but deep sadness and past issues are the drivers, not whimsy.

FL did a tremendous job in a dual role, and what a cool and interesting chance she got to showcase her talent.

ML: the character was very off. Watchable, but no thank you. I never warmed up to him. The actual 10-year age difference between lead actors was noticeable not so much in looks but in overall vibe. And his character’s cold and dismissive exterior never made it down to his heart (at all) for me.

The locations (Canada, Italy, Japan, South Korea) were an eye feast! Loved the international vibe, a lil holiday for your eyeballs.

The overriding seriousness of deep mental scars, coupled with the ML’s older, reactionary, gentle-unless-mad, set-in-his-ways bachelor persona, made it more dark than I want in my deliciously strange n’ offbeat Hong sisters script.

The idea of an ace interpreter struggling to learn and understand his love’s inner language was kind of interesting, but only in concept, not in actually watching it unfold in a visual medium.

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King the Land
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 12, 2026
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Warm, funny, and nobody dies! Win!

Perfect 16-episode fun Korean palate cleanser between heavy fantasy or historical Cdramas where all your fave characters are killed off. Hot take: Nobody dies here! 🤣

Everything a romcom should be, not one thing out of place. Except for insanely excessive product placement. It’s romantic, fun, loving, hot, simple and formulaic. ML is dreaaaamy and very well cast; same with FL. Excellent acting by all; the grandmother was a standout.

Initially, ML is a privileged, stone-faced but very fair-hearted at his core son of a successful, mega rich hotel owner. She’s a sunny, smart woman looking to live her dream - which is more about finding what she loves to do in career/life vs desperate boyfriend shopping. He becomes part of her life vs just a Cinderella story where she’s swept off her feet and whisked away to his. It’s sweet escapism and full of all types of love from start to finish.

It’s steamy due to great chemistry between the gorgeous leads, and there are friendships, family love and struggles and burgeoning relationships among the other characters. All ages here, from young to mature. Wonderful overall vibe, easy to watch and smile throughout.

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Legend of the Female General
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 6, 2026
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 6.5

Erotic art mention by FL and the ML didn’t pass out. Applause!

Good, enjoyable watch. Not particularly deep or tragic, you’re not left emotionally hollowed-out at the end, visuals are well done and acting is excellent. Story felt pretty women-focused. Great chemistry, extremely extroverted, confident FL and a stoic but emotional (of course) introverted ML. It really follows the leads, doesn’t spend countless eps on only palace schemes and intrigues, which is great. The leads carry it.

It’s definitely a bit not-even-trying-too-hard-to-make-this-slightly “real” (FL is very petite, sub-100lbs and swinging a sword against giant, battle-hardened, sword swinging men 2-3x her size; an emperor who has a sense of humor; a woman who binds her chest which magically erases all feminine giveaways? Nahhh!) But it’s fine. It’s formulaic, but it works thanks to good acting and enjoyable characters by all.

Highlight: Pursuit of Jade advisor/strategist/comedic sidekick Gongsun Yin actor Li Qing plays nearly the same
character right down to his love of carrying fans. Note: think he looks weird, esp his mouth/teeth? It’s because his face was superimposed via AI over an another actor’s who got into legal trouble and had to be fully nuked from the drama, which was still in post-production when it all went down.

Chu Zhao actor Zhang Kang Le looks like he could be (he’s not) a close blood relative of actor/singer of Yan An (Fangs of Fortune, Veil of Shadows), which means he’s so insanely WTF good-looking it’s distracting in a pleasedon’tbeabadguy way.

I mentioned it’s very women-forward. I liked that. References of menstruation. Comments on erotic art when talking to a man and nobody fainted. A scene where ML had to excuse himself for what would probably be a cold shower in modern drama. Fun moments of ML personal guard not knowing He Yan’s true gender. She’s not doing what it looks like you think she’s doing moments. Not afraid to be fun/slyly suggestive in that way, it’s not stuffy with everyone fanning themselves over a glance.

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Shadow Love
0 people found this review helpful
Aug 31, 2026
38 of 38 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.5

Good (but pretty cheesy) fun

I saw more of Cheng Lei’s nipples than I saw my own in an entire week, and that was just the first 2-3 episodes.

Heads-up for an Untamed fans: the voice actor who did Lan Zhan/Lan Wangji did the voice of Cheng Lei’s Prince Annan /Duan Aodeng in this drama.

Shadow Love is visually low-budget looking, with super dull cinematography/lighting etc. which leaves you wishing for better in the supernatural types of scenes.

Poor Cheng Lei looks like he just strolled out of his mom’s van and into small town Comicon cosplaying most of the time, every harsh detail of his outfit glaring under bright lights, every wisp of his unsmoothed wig. At least the blue body special effects are done very well, ‘cept when they get too flashy and look like fake lightning (cringe). But it really feels like budget was def not on making anything look good, it’s not a feast for the eyes except the natural beauty of the leads.

Music: baaaaaad cheesy rock anthems (Liu Yuning, too! Dang!) somewhere between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Pokémon. Scratch that, Pokémon movies had better tracks. Seriously.

If male lead Cheng Lei hadn’t been here, this would have been a flop. He is very capable and believable as perfect devoted boyfriend: warm and caring, thoughtful Jinan - this portion goes on for longer than you’d wish, though. He’s equally buyable as stern, authoritarian and quietly smoldering Prince Annan (wish there was more), as well as his blue sparks/shirtless/gorgeous vampiric superhero Man in Black (ditto).

His latching on to FL’s neck with his mouth for a quick vampire-esque pick-me-up was the sexiest thing you’ll see in a handful of romances and it wasn’t explicit.

I’ve seen him now in 2 other dramas (Fangs of Fortune and My Journey to You), both of these dramas are excellent and well shot), and it’s pretty obvious he has natural charisma.

Wish I could say that about literally anyone else here other than…serviceable. Did a decent job. Nothing bad to say. It’s a popcorn 🍿 fluff kind of series, entertaining if you like or are curious about the leads, skippable if not.

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My Journey to You
0 people found this review helpful
Aug 11, 2026
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Fantastic! Until the open ending

There’s not a single thing not to love about this drama for most of it. But there are a few plot holes towards the latter part that are so gaping huge you could drive a train or two in them. And I’m not even picky about everything needing to make sense lol

The good: Actors! Humor, sarcasm, naughty/rule breaking behavior is sprinkled in run throughout, humanizing the characters and making it a fun watch, there are times you’ll bark out a laugh. And eke out some emo tears, too.

Tian Jiarui’s lil bro poisons master is an intense little freak, chewing up every scene he’s in with delicious intensity, it’s both campy and intimidating at the same time. You both feel for him and fear him. Wouldn’t trust him to make my tea or even live anywhere near me. But would want him close in a desperate situation. His super intense big bro (played by Cheng Lei) is magnetic. Can’t take your eyes off him. Charisma for miles.

Zhang Linghe’s noble hero is uncomplicated and pure of heart. I liked that so much. No BS, very genuine, but still interesting.

FLs were good, but the men stole this show. Esther Yu seems always professional in every role and never phones it in. But buying her as a real-deal assassin? Nah. It didn’t work for me. Second FL (Lu Yuxiao) character was a bit more believable.

Beautiful cinematography/feel, which is par for the course with this director, unabashedly emotional and lovely visual treatment of friends, family and loves who have passed on.

The Bad: plot holes. Cliffhanger ending that can ONLY be explained by there were plans for a 2nd season (but never happened).

This drama was a 9.5+ for me right up until the last few eps. The open ending was so empty, the show just wrapped up with a shrug, leaving the exciting, stressful story we were following right at that moment on hold without explanation, leaving so much unresolved there MUST be a reason. I hate not giving it a better score. It’s absolutely worth watching, truly great. Just tell yourself maybe there will be a part 2 someday (haha) and enjoy the ride!

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The Prisoner of Beauty
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 24, 2026
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Not bad. Not great, either.

It’s cheesy at times. I love sweeping/epic guilty pleasure epic romance, but this one just had not enough something, the weakness mostly centering on the women characters, including the lead.

They were either embarrassing lame schemer villains, or supposedly brave types who just massively got in the way of others doing the heavy lifting (see?! I’m helping lift this whole pail of water all by myself right at this pivotal moment in my pink dress with no dirt on it! Weeee!), or one dimensional wise woman types (I actually liked this one, plastic surgery n’ all).

You know those scenes in the Star Wars movies with the Force ghosts? How it’s kinda uhhh, huh?! but you let it slide. This movie even has smiling Force ghosts. Cringe.

I liked a few of the side characters, esp the four Wei brothers, (loved Qu and his awesome face). Liu Yuning did a good job in his role as the ML, as well as the actor who played the FL’s dad, Ping.

I wasn’t a fan of saving nearly everything till the end. Romance, births, deaths, etc, it all gets packed into the last few eps and that made it feel rushed and glossed over. Felt like it just missed the mark on that.

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Fated Hearts
0 people found this review helpful
12 days ago
38 of 38 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 3.0

Nothing new (or great) here. At all.

Clichéd. For me, it was a run of the mill palace intrigue (scheming empress dowagers! Surprise villain! etc) mixed with heavy mommy/daddy/terrible parenting issues (everywhere) and just a smidge of romance. Overall, I didn’t find anything or anyone super interesting. No chemistry, just adequate actors doing their jobs adequately with one standout (see last para).

The first third or so of this drama is the best part; the leads were way, way more engaging and watchable as enemies than lovers.

The love story between leads had all the passion and longing of a potted plant; ML was doing all the heavy lifting but there wasn’t much to work with, FL is a stunned, barely there lamppost much better suited to be a friend. Such a bummer!

The melodrama really amps up in mid-20s eps with crank-the-volume-down wailing royals, goofy death plots, bad decisions, and revenge arcs that feel so dull. All of this has been done to death and there’s nothing here rises above in any way.

Chen Zheyuan’s boyishly handsome looks are sometimes at odds with the character. FL had a strong start, but character was reduced to only saying flat, inspirational lines and quotes and being like a mommy/friend advice giver.

The cruel/callous/spoiled/apathetic/whiny playboy Emperor of Jinxiu (Qin Tian Yu) was by far the most watchable character of anyone and he absolutely chewed up all the scenes he was in. His twisted little hurt-me love obsession was the most interesting thing of the whole saga. Towards the end, he was the ONLY character I thought brought energy (albeit negative) to this drama and gave it a pulse.

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Bon Appetit, Your Majesty
0 people found this review helpful
27 days ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 4.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 4.5
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Meh. Yawn. C- / D grade on all levels

Vibe: like offbrand Hallmark or Netflix Christmas romcom movie without the holiday stuff. Both leads look very modern, esp the clean-cut athletic look of the ML, he seems completely out of place. And the classic head thrown back “hah hah hah!” forced laughter of a royal (or minister etc) was really cringe coming from this actor. Who made him do that?! 😭

The cooking competition stuff feels like an old episode of Iron Chef. It’s kinda cute/fun, but feels dated and very been there/done that. BUT its saving grace was the humor and really goofy fun visuals of people’s thoughts as they tried amazing recipes.

Scheming palace types (equally men and women) dulls and drags down the story. Chemistry between ML/FL isn’t strong, although I like the actress. This show didn’t figure out if it wanted to be palace intrigue or a time traveling romance, and it suffers badly from that lack of focus. It should have been a straightforward romance+foodie story.

Story + acting overall isn’t good enough even for a meh 5 from me.

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Hidden Love
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 8, 2026
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 3.5

Sweet, kind boy and overprotected princess baby-voiced girl

Sweet little girly love story, it’s uncomplicated and an easy watch about a sweet boy and a suuuuper over-protected princess with grating baby voice.

Girl can’t do anything for herself. But she’s cutesy and constantly talks like she’s a child even when she’s 19+, which is just…eeeew. I don’t mind it in small doses or lovey dovey chatter between lovers, but it’s creepy when it’s the character’s whole deal. There’s a 5-6 year age difference. This is handled pretty well when she’s in middle school and he’s in college, it didn’t feel yuk to me. There wasn’t any interest in her or even silly jokes about it on his end. Thank God.

I see why she has a crush on Chen Zheyuan’s Jiaxu. Sweet, kind, handsome/boyish cute, confident by not arrogant, suuuuper reminiscent of characters played by Andrew McCarthy in those ‘80s-era American movies. The odd thing is that he wants to hover and (basically) parent his girlfriend. It feels less like showing love through acts of service and more like…her parents handed her off, now it’s his turn to cook, buy groceries, buy toiletries, and drive her everywhere no matter how exhausting his job is or the tough hand that life dealt his family. Whether he’s treating her knee boo-boos, carrying her, or buying her menstrual pads (which was a sweet scene) or rushing her to dr for minor milk allergy or carting her drunk @ss home, I don’t get it.

FL: She likes doodling, and plushies and giggles. Can’t drive, can’t cook (even noodles), can’t even run/jump etc. She literally does nothing in this drama but hang out with her crush, barf on his arm, write cutesy sticky notes. There are only 2 scenes where I thought the character rocked it, and one scene where she aggressively stepped up in defense of Jiaxu, and another where she was surprisingly competent in giving a work presentation. That’s it. Two scenes of you go, girl! out of 25 eps.

I got a leeeeetle bit tired at the end of Jiaxu’s constant gee golly perfect boyfriendness, he never really grew/evolved much at all and he should have as a guy in his early then mid 20s.

Thought the acting was good by all. Story-wise, I thought that wishing your daughter continues to live a fairly wealthy, complete cotton candy existence with nothing everrrrr bothering her where she can giggle and kick her little pink slippered feet and eat fruit (that mommy/daddy/partner shopped/bought/cut up/served/did dishes) all day doesn’t feel like you want your daughter to experience life or grow up outside of a very sheltered existence. I so wanted to root for the fictional character who was a lil spitfire as a kid but then she just turns into a puddle of boring beige.

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Fangs of Fortune
0 people found this review helpful
Aug 2, 2026
34 of 34 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.5

Unique, heroic, tragic, destiny, redemption…worth watching

Late edit: this drama stays with you for weeks/months. It lives in my head, and memories of it hit hard whenever I hear the music or see an actor in another drama. It’s surprisingly haunting. Guess a second watch will be in my future. Wasn’t ready for that lol.

Also wasn’t prepared to see the most facially striking man (Yan An as Li Lun) I’ve ever seen in my life. He has a kind of ultra rare beauty that both men and women would start wars over. His real life must be annoying in weird ways because of it. Acting is on par - hurt, confusion, anger, loyalty, so much going on and he brings it.

Hope there was a tent with drip IVs for the main actors because I’ve never everevereverrr seen so many tears dripping down like rain and rivers of emotion. I was right there with them some of the time. If you don’t blubber floods of hot tears at least 1x when Hou Minghao’s haunting “Yuanzhou’s Youth” plays then you might be a soulless monster. Off to the Wilderness with you :)

FoF broadcasts what you’re in for very clearly in the first few episodes, so it’s no spoiler to say…listen. And enjoy this often beautiful and poetic journey.

Tragic and visually stunning from the very beginning. Thoughtful words on the nature of good and evil, of choice, of love, and the importance of a humble light in the darkness. Big, bombastic, colorful fight scenes that are cinematic eye candy. Plus a soundtrack that plays in your mind constantly.

I was surprised that as this story went on, the nice but super square/one dimensional hero Zhou Yichen became so much deeper, bursting with layers of emotion and rivaling Hou Minghao’s sly, dry humored, impish and very easy -to-adore great demon. I hope Zhou Yichen’s actor Tian Jiarui sends the director a thank you card every Valentine’s Day, cuz it became allllll about him and less about HMH’s demon in last half. The bromance chemistry between the 2 male leads is way stronger from start to finish than the chaste love romance between ML/FL (which isn’t very romantic at all).

Evil and good, the nature of control and destiny vs free will…it’s deep without being preachy or so heavy that it’s not a blast to watch. But man, I had tears falling all through it (but NOT the kind that drags you down and makes the whole experience a downer, for the most part).

Took off a star because it went on much longer than needed. Could have ended perfectly at end of ep 27. Or mayyyybe another two or three well edited eps past that, but not seven. It began to lag, drag, and get TOO pointlessly over the top melodramatic in last few eps. I really missed the demon-of-the-week type of format of the earlier eps, and a truly memorable endgame villain (there is one, but yawn compared to Li Lun) in the later part. The strong team aspect of it, which was so great in first half, began to splinter off later on, the characters stagnated, some of the team had nothing interesting to do (this also applies to FL character) or they were absent/off on individual tangents, etc.

There’s a 26 minute epilogue/extra episode after the official 34-episode run. Definitely watch it :)

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