CKDramaddicts

So it seems obvious the kids are twins, but I suspect the ML is a twin himself, and Qin Tian's "revenge" is a case of mistaken identity. Guessing he lost his brother in the same accident that killed his parents?

Agree! The secondary BFF couple storyline is not engaging at all -- I'd even rather watch the hilarious frenemy dynamic with Tong Luoqi instead. But my biggest complaint is the episodes are too short, lol.

Another drama with ridiculously adorable children, but I like this one infinitely more than The Love You Give Me. I think the OTP casting just works much better for me here; I really like this pairing and the characters are not infuriating like they were in LYGM.

I felt like it started picking up soon after where you are. I found it slow at first as well, but got more entertaining by the early teen episodes.

To be fair, the original claims were debunked in 2021 when Dispatch released an extensive series of text message screenshots between the couple that did not match her version of events at all, and in fact showed she was repeatedly caught lying and that's why they broke up. https://www.soompi.com/article/1496406wpp/dispatch-shares-more-conversations-exchanged-between-kim-seon-ho-and-his-ex-girlfriend

Also, was that Leslie Ma making a cameo as the girl who picked up the phone that the FL threw out the window?

🤣😂 And why the 2FL chose him in the end, lol.

No real love triangle between leads, but there is one with secondary couple. Happy Ending.

You don't need to watch Mysterious Love to watch this one, but for those wondering if there's a connection to the first one, you'll find out if you stick around for the after-credit easter-egg scene at the end of the last episode.

You can watch it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouv5i0FlJw8

I agree, the budget and length is definitely not the problem in Alchemy. (I loved it overall, but wanted more from Jung Uk.) And Untamed is the perfect example of a low-budget fantasy historical that was compelling and packed an emotional punch. Song of the Moon is an example of a big budget Xianxia production with a tired plot. And don't tell me the ending for Ancient Love Poetry or Love Between Fairy and Devil didn't feel rushed. Anyway, I really enjoyed all of them, but the storytelling and world building in Alchemy felt really fresh and original and un-tropy, compared to a lot of Xianxias and Wuxias.

I love my Chinese xianxia dramas too, but at 30 episodes of 80+ minutes each without 5-6 minutes of beginning and end credits like in C-dramas, Alchemy of Souls in absolute minutes is just as long as a 60-episode C-drama -- and we haven't had one of those in quite a while, with the crackdown on long C-dramas. We can disagree on the storytelling in Alchemy, but in my view, the length and budget is definitely not the issue. If anything C-dramas are absolutely kings when it comes to horrendously rushed endings, lol. (I would've loved more episodes in Alchemy myself, only because I didn't want to leave that world so soon.)

Yes, I wondered the same too! I guess if they couldn't get So Min, that was their best alternative. I also wished that when they did the compilation of flashbacks and kisses near the end that they included memories of when she was Mu Doek too.

This was on my to-watch list for a while and was glad to finally get to it. It was an epic binge and I really loved it overall, but wanted/expected more of an emotional punch throughout, given how much the characters go through. For me, this is perhaps in part an issue with how Lee Jae wook portrayed his character? (Please don't kill me!) I get that he now carried the burdens of the ice stone and became more stoic, but I think I wanted a more emotional reaction to discovering Bu Yeon was really Naksu, to having to let her go right after, to reuniting, and then having so little time with her at the end, and then finally reuniting for good. That kind of intense emotional rollercoaster is a lot, but I'm not sure that it came through for me fully on screen. In that sense, I felt Seo Yul and even the Crown Prince's emotional loss and pain more in some ways. I did feel like the world building and storytelling in S1 was stronger and I wanted a bit more from the ending. I would have at least loved to see the people who loved Naksu see her return, since that was something even Master Lee couldn't predict and would have brought comfort to them, especially Seo Yul and the Crown Prince. It left me wondering how many people know it's Noksu at the end, aside from Master Lee, Jung Um, and the mom?

Yeah, I think with dramas that have been shelved for several years, they're just content to get them to air and may be more selective on where they will spent on subtitles and promotion. So many things we don't know. e.g. Was it shelved because someone thought it wasn't very good (in which case, why spend more money?) or because it couldn't pass censorship at the time? Is there still something potentially sensitive in the content (are they trying to fly under the radar)?🤷🏻‍♀️With any luck Viki will pick it up for international viewers...

A friend was noticing that so many long-shelved dramas are finally dropping this year! (Making it so hard to keep up, lol). I think this one was filmed four years ago.

Subs are all out now.

She also plays a kick ass gamer in King's Avatar.

Due to his popularity following Provoke, an old scandal from around early 2019 resurfaced, when he was a relatively unknown actor. There were lots of he said/she said back and forth, but the gist is that an ex-girlfriend had released a recording in which he supposedly admitted to sleeping with a "male boss" to obtain a Beijing household registration and that this boss also recommended him, along with a couple of other now-famous actors to Yu Zheng (their manager). The show's producer issued a statement supporting him and he issued a statement earlier this month saying he lied about what happened and that the recording was taken out of context, but also apologized and said he felt shame over the entire situation. Whatever the truth may be, a lot of netizens are now critical of him; but hard to tell right now how this will affect his career (and his shows).

I quite enjoyed this one, even though I never felt the uncontrollable urge to binge. I really liked the cast, sets, costumes (I loved Chi Lan's gorgeous hats), and overall story, even if some of the execution could have been better.

I am normally indifferent to love triangles, but found this one really entertaining, funny, and endearing. Chen Heyi has really matured as an actor and was immensely likeable and believable in his role as the innocent and earnest prince. He Ruixian was very compelling as Chi Lan and I hope to see her take on more lead roles in the future. Bi Wenjun and Li Yitong did a solid job with the material they were given. Their characters could have easily been off-putting if the casting had been different; instead, they made them quite likable despite Han Zheng's cranky personality and Su Jiu'er's pouty moments. The ending could've been even just a few minutes longer -- to flush out what happened between the Qi and Qian people, and bring more complete closure to some of the story lines and characters -- especially given how much time they spent on each case throughout the series. Even so, there was a lot that I loved about the ending and it didn't feel rushed in the typical sense where everything suddenly wraps up in the final two minutes.

Finally, a shout-out to the voice actor for Han Zheng, Wang Baoshun, who also voiced Dongfang Qingcang in Love Between Fairy and Devil. I am normally not a fan of dubbing and will always prefer live audio, or at least dubbing by the actors themselves, but if they were going to use someone else's voice anyway, I'm happy they picked Wang.