CurlyFries

A story that deserved to be told.

Cinderella Closet is a story that I feel deserved to be told in this day and age. I was drawn in by the progressive nature of its story-telling; I initially thought it would just be a straight romance story of a cliche girl that can win over her male crush with the aid of a transwoman, but I was glad it wasn't that. It IS a straight romance, but it went beyond stereotypical gender roles. I've never seen a straight romance between a woman and a cross-dressing man before, so I'm grateful I was able to watch it at least once even if it was short.

What I liked:
- Hikaru's actor is great in his role and I think they casted him perfectly as he is beautiful as both a man and woman. As a bisexual, I was being FED.
- Haruka's actress really did nail the role she was given. Whether or not I liked her expressive nature had nothing to do with the acting as the actress didn't once make me feel like I was watching a stilted performance. I'm certain she did her hardest to portray such an unrealistic personality to the best of her capability.
- The makeup was simple, but pretty.
- The ex coming back to town was not demonized nor a homewrecker.
- Breakup on good terms that wasn't caused by a trashy love interest.
- That the cross-dressing character wasn't pushed to the sidelines and was actually a major role in the story.
- Healthy main leads' relationship that still had a few realistic hiccups (slight jealousy, work taking up personal time, anxiety/awkwardness about getting sexual).
- Proposing with something original and not a generic ring.
- The show looked nice.
- Soundtrack was good.
- Hikaru's makeup and girly voice.
- Haruka's supportive mom.
- Treats femininity as a positive rather than a negative.
- Hikaru's straightforward nature.
- Non-judgmental protagonist.
- Creative mini-fashion show theme idea that I found realistic to win.
- Haruka not being a "traditional" female lead (tall, boy-cut hair, not girly).

What I disliked:
- An over-the-top protagonist that talked too loud.
- Central love interest's jealousy could be annoying at times.
- Prior love interest was going to give a tailored ring to their partner after dating for only a month.
- Time skips; especially near the end.
- Hikaru's family drama was never really addressed/resolved by the end.
- Didn't get to see the wedding scene.
- Not a lot of tension except for a fakeout scene in the last 7 minutes that everyone knew wasn't going to be real anyway.
- The prior love interest showing up again in an ugly suit that doesn't fit him well near the end to spark jealousy with main love interest.
- Leads fall in love super fast.
- Blandest kisses ever. Where was the passion?
- Hikaru is not shown to dress feminine after the relationship is established. Why couldn't he just swap between them?
- Hikaru's pushy co-worker/friend that couldn't stop pursuing him even after having been rejected multiple times.

I liked the central couple and how they didn't feel like a cliche romance pairing. There was something sweet and innocent about two inexperienced people with opposite personalities finding comfort in each other's company. I liked how they were good friends BEFORE they got together. I feel like a lot of romances tend to forget that your love can also be your best friend too. However, most likely due to the short episode length, the couple's love for each other developing as fast it did bothered me. I think there should have been more scenes of their friendship growing before they were visibly pining for each other. I can find it reasonable that they would eventually like each other based on their personalities, though. It makes sense that Haruka would like a person that is honest with her, supports her, and has the confident traits she admires. As for Hikaru, him liking a girl who is earnest and completely nonjudgmental towards him would open his soft heart he tries to deny. But when they got together I found their scenes to be a lot more lackluster compared to before they realized they liked each other. I know that isn't anything new in romance driven stories, but I feel there could have been a lot of content they could've written that just wasn't. I believe Hikaru meeting Haruka's family in their hometown would've been really cute, as well as them trying to mend his complicated relationship with his parents. Unfortunately, that is left unresolved by the end.

As for the cross-dressing element, I genuinely loved it. I loved how beautiful Hikaru was as a woman, and the way the story treated it with respect. Characters were generally accepting of him and he WAS regarded as gorgeous by practically everyone that saw him. He wasn't someone that needed to be "lose" his masculinity either; he is a man and is attracted to women. I loved how they didn't force him to be gay (not that there is anything wrong with gay men that cross-dress!), but rather made him being attracted to women seem normal. His character also related to a theme I loved about the story: being feminine is a POSITIVE trait. So many stories tend to demonize feminine characters (especially men), whilst promoting traditional masculinity. This story didn't resort to that. Haruka wanting to look good for her crush didn't diminish her having a personality that could still be found attractive and her crush didn't ONLY like her just because of her dressing girly. Haruka;s inexperience with makeup and dressing-up had nothing to do with her looking down upon those that do, nor the story trying to demonize the acts either. She was simply someone that never really had the initiative nor help to do so; something I myself can relate to. Women don't have to be on one extreme such as tomboy or ultra girly-girl; they can be in between. The only time I didn't like how they handled it was when they seemed to disregard Hikaru's cross-dressing the moment he started officially dating Haruka. It was lovely when he addressed it directly to Haruka out of fear she might be unattracted or embarrassed of him; to which, she asserted that she loves him regardless of how feminine or masculine he dresses. I just wish they would have shown him dressing up feminine again AFTER that scene at some point. It almost felt like they wanted him to appear more masculine so as not to make it look like a lesbian relationship. Though, everything before that was handled in an appropriate way, so I'll try to overlook it.

This show wasn't a masterpiece nor do I think it ever will be, but it deserved to be made at the time it was. It's shows like this one that I think will help promote diversity and acceptance of people breaking out of gender norms. Pairing an almost tomboy with a cross-dressing comfortable in his sexuality is not a pairing you see everyday, unfortunately. As such, I'm glad they decided to adapt this one and that I could be lucky enough to view it, regardless of any flaws it had. Even though it wasn't explicitly LGBTQ, it still felt like a show that is very welcoming of the community, and for that I appreciate it. So, would I recommend this show? Yes, but don't expect it to be a groundbreaking story that will blow you out of this world. It works best if you view it for what it is: a simple romance that breaks away from gender norms and is heartfelt through and through.

(｡・‧̫・｡).*＊♡

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RamKing is love, RamKing is life.

Here I am writing this review 3 years and 4 rewatches late. I'm not exaggerating when I say I've watched this show a minimum of 4 times; making it the Thai show that I've rewatched the most. It was also one of the earliest Thai dramas I ever tried and I don't regret it one bit. The genuinely great parts of the show coupled with the parts so absurd that they loop around into being entertaining make this show a worthy watching experience in my book.

The selling point of this show was naturally meant to be the romances, and after having rewatched as many times as I have, I'd rank them as such:

1. RamKing: 10/10. No exaggeration, I love them. What happens when you mix the dependable senior x the quiet junior? Perfection, that's what. They were each other's support in their times of need and the way they were both written inoffensively was incredibly impressive considering this was an "old gen" BL. Ram's quiet and socially awkward nature matched with King's self-assured and respected persona were delightful to see. I loved how King melted away Ram's walls he built up and ended up becoming one of his few trusted people. The way Ram started to protect him like how he'd protect his best friends was enough to make me feel butterflies because it was made so clear that he fell first. King on the other hand had his development shown more in the last few episodes. I saw someone say that they wrote him "out of character" near the end, but I disagree. He was a guy used to having control over his emotions and his composure was afforded by his simple daily routine. His daily life was then thrown off balance by budding feelings for what was probably his first ever crush, who was also a guy, and then accompanied with a splitting headache to boot. I don't blame him for feeling overwhelmed in the last few episodes. He wasn't prepared to develop feelings for a junior that he only took an initial interest in and to have said junior then treat him in a way he wasn't used to being treated. I loved the way Ram would start to look at King more romantically as their relationship developed and by the end his staring mixed with his unconscious smiles whilst looking at King were enough to make me melt away into a puddle. They also had the best comedic scenes in my opinion. There's a reason why they are the most liked couple in the fandom.

2. TharaFrong: 7.5/10. I wish I could give them a higher score, but alas I cannot due to how incomplete their story was. You could tell this season was written with the idea of a second one in mind considering how their plotline was only halfway baked at best. That being said, I did like what WAS written of them. It was shocking to me that I ended up liking them second most considering that the first two times I watched it I skipped their scenes altogether. But upon latest rewatches, I started to see the appeal of them. Frong was an unfortunate romantic that was friend zoned twice in one season topped with his mother having a cancer scare. Then he meets the peculiar senior Thara that never once snaps at his outbursts nor does he take his insults too seriously. Frong is naturally caught off guard with this reception and later realizes he was lashing out at a chill guy that keeps a lizard as a pet and has a heart of gold toward his patients. I could feel the awkwardness Frong felt when he was with him and it was certainly a show to watch how differently he acted around someone like Thara versus someone like Duen. I can't blame him for developing feelings for the guy either since I just KNOW I've would've fallen head over heels for him if I was in his position too. It was clear to me though, that Thara did not feel the same as Frong did by the end of the season, and that was sad to see. If only there was a second season to flesh out their relationship...

3. MekBoss: 5/10. I know the MekBoss fans will probably consider my score as blasphemy, but I could not glaze them in good faith. I liked them a lot less upon the latest rewatch and I think I know why. Boss never gave the vibes of feeling anything toward Mek other than platonic love. I couldn't wrap my head around him loving Mek when he was perfectly fine with trying to flirt with every girl in sight and go on dates with them in high spirits. I don't think I would be able to do that when my mega crush is right around the corner, but he somehow did. I didn't like how it felt like he magically developed feelings in the split second he was confessed to. Rewatching the show allowed me to see how much he didn't seem to like have hidden feelings for Mek whatsoever in the earlier episodes. Usually, a writer will show signs of subtle feelings, but I felt nothing when I saw him. I could 100% believe Mek's feelings; but never Boss'. I also didn't like how Fon was treated as a result of the spontaneous romance. She deserved better than she got. I honestly believe that Boss should've ended up with Fon and him and Mek should've just been best friends instead. I don't mind a friends to lovers mixed with unrequited feelings storyline, but at least make it believable and don't treat other love interests involved as trash.

4. BohnDuen: 2/10. The holy grail of terribly written BL couples. Dear lord were they insufferable to watch. If it weren't for them being the central couple, this show could've been far more recommendable for me. But of course, in regular romance fashion, the worst couple has to be the one with the most screen time. They started off fine in a comedic way, but ended atrociously. I couldn't stand how many problematic BL tropes were attached to them. The whole "top and bottom" nonsense mixed with the "wife and husband" lingo was appalling. Not to mention the alarming jealousy thrown in for cheap drama and near sexual assault at the assumption of "cheating" made me nauseous. Bohn was an awful love interest and Duen was such a pushover. I didn't like how Bohn would boast of Duen being compliant to his needs and Duen having a backbone be treated as abnormal and undesirable. The nonsense with Mild was stupid as Bohn could've just avoided him or thrown hands as he did with literally any other guy in the past. But because he's gay, he didn't??? I'm not certain if that's the reason, but I can't think of why else he wouldn't manhandle him considering he beat up tons of other dudes. It feels homophobic if that was the reason. The way the couple would flip flop with their feelings and relationship status was also headache-inducing. Like, just pick a damn struggle and be done with it. Golly.


The rest of the show was a miscellany of comedic scenes and friend group bonding. I did adore the friend groups in this show. I thought Duen's group was a safe space for him judging by their protectiveness and none of them had it out for each other even a bit. They were relaxed and only wanted the best for Duen. Ram was super protective and for good reason since Duen was wanting to date a notorious playboy that was a red flag. He deserved to beat the dog out of Bohn but of COURSE Duen just HAD to interrupt the boxing match before Ram could claim his rightful win (yes, I am 100% certain that Ram would've won and that isn't me glazing him). Ting Ting was sometimes annoying, but I mostly found her kind of funny. I died when she said she would "open her skirt" for Bohn when Duen was in the gift box arc. I liked seeing a central female character that wasn't trying to home wreck in a BL. She was also gorgeous, alongside her brother (?). Tang and Ting were the definition of supporting cast, but I still liked their inclusion in the friend group. They had some pretty funny moments. Phu was even more of a side character but he was still funny. I liked how all five of the group's personalities mixed together. Contrastingly, Bohn's group was far more on crack than theirs's was. Bohn as the hot guy-wannabe leader, Mek and Boss as the playful couple, Tee as the resident flirt and gossip, along with King as the mature and dependable one. I loved them. I couldn't help but wonder how they all became friends, though, considering how different they all were from each other. I loved how they would be so dramatic about Bohn's love life and even betted on his losing during the boxing fight. They shared the same wavelength as me in that scene. Frong betting on Bohn's side clearly didn't know what a winning horse was, unfortunately; he should've just stuck with spite and rooted on how downfall. He would've made bag if that were the case. Also if the writers weren't wussies and allowed the central love interest to get his ass kicked in front of a crowd.

Another detail that I liked was how the characters' family members were actually involved in their plotlines. I like seeing the family members in stories and in this one there were a ton that were given little cameos. Duen had his parents, little sister, and Thara as his cousin. Bohn had his little brother, Ben. Ram had his parents, little brother, and dogs. King had his mother, sister, and nephews. Frong had his mother and older brother. I think that Ting and Tang were twins, too. I just really liked seeing the inclusion of the family members, even if they only had one-off scenes together.

The crack scenes in this show also had me dying. Whether it being Duen getting hit by a car in episode one, Ram crushing a water bottle three times in replay to have an aura-off with a hobo, or Thara having a dollar tree plastic lizard in a tiny container as a pet, I ate it up like I was fine-dining. There were also the parody fujoshi girls that were chasing around the best couple, and the absurdity of a twink like Mild having enough aura to scare Bohn off. I just couldn't stop myself from loving it enough to rewatch it 4 times, even if the writing quality was drastically different for all of the couples. I seriously have a hard time believing that the same writer wrote all of them, but I guess they just wrote whatever came to mind and rolled with it; obviously, considering how out-there the comedy was.

The production was all over the place. The music started off decent, but quickly deteriorated when they kept using the same damn songs all over again in every single episode. The filter on the actors that made their skin look fuzzy white was also an eyesore; stop bleaching away the melanin of actors, I beg. Melaninated people are gorgeous just the way they are. The voiceover on Mek was so bad to the point that I actually found it funny. It wasn't a dealbreaker for me when watching, but I can definitely see why it could be for others. I don't understand why they couldn't just allow the actor to speak, even if he had an accent. Ram, Ruj, and their mother all had accents, yet they were allowed to keep their voices. I don't understand that directing choice at all. Judging from the few unedited laugh scenes of Mek's, his voice was adorable. Poor bastard didn't even get to use it properly. The acting was okay with Perth having the best scenes, and Poy having hilariously awful crying scenes. Seriously, they were so bad. The translation on Youtube was also rocky, but at least I could understand the meaning of every sentence somehow. It was so grammatically incorrect at times that I found it funny enough to add to the comedic aspect, so I guess that was a win for them?

So, in the future I can picture myself rewatching select scenes again. I didn't give the Rewatch Value a 10/10 for no reason. However, the almost definite cancellation of the second season still makes me super sad every time I am reminded of it. I don't care how poorly construed this show was; I still wanted a second season. I understand why others couldn't enjoy it, but I still loved it. Would I recommend this show? Yes, but only for RamKing, TharaFrong, and the friend group shenanigans. MekBoss are eh and BohnDuen are virtually unwatchable. I wish all the best to any that venture into it. ♡( •ॢ◡-ॢ)✧˖° ♡

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Not even the power of Willy Brando could salvage this season...???

What was this series....? This season felt like a backhand to the face with the plot that was spasming all over the place and not to mention how confusing the entire plotline is.....

I honestly cannot for the life of me recall much from episodes 1-5 since I picked it back up from episodes 6-13 after like 2 months or something, and I couldn't muster the energy to rewatch the first 5 even for this review, so bear with me if my facts are not faxing.

I'll be honest and admit the only thing that enticed me to keep me watching past the first episode was the visuals and Willy becoming a recurring character made me lock tf in. I mean, he was easily the best part of this new season for me and his actor ABSOLUTELY carried every single scene he was to the point that it was not even a competition at that point. The other actors basically showed no noticeable improvement from season one except for maybe Charlie's actor getting slightly better, but still being completely unbelievable as a lead actor. I can't take his line delivery and goofy expressions seriously and that is really jarring since he is the main character and I'm supposed to be rooting for him. His acting was not nearly as off-putting as seeing Jeff and Alan's after having watched This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans. I KNOW they can act; so why do they feel so watered down in this show??? Is the script and directing so bad that not even they could salvage their performances??? Pavel at least was doing fine as a lead except for his over-done crying scenes that felt like they needed a bit more "WAAAUUUGHH" to match his facial expressions. He did have a glow-up though, but not that he needed one in the first place. That man is FINE. Kim and Kenta's actors did well in their scenes, as did Chris and Pete's. Chris' was definitely the second best actor past Willy's in my humble opinion. Though, since he carried two seasons he deserves bonus points.

But the only thing that was lacking more than some of the acting performances was the congruity of the plot. I felt like they were lashing me with fourteen different plots at the same time and then they all fizzled out by the finale in an extremely unsatisfying way. The first part that was a mainstay since season one was the absurd power-scaling in this verse. So ABO is virtually nonexistent and instead of breeder mentality you get a power via RNG??? Sign me tf up! Why were they trying to even erase theirs's to begin with??? YOU HAVE SUPERPOWERS LIL BRUH. Like, Charlie can absorb powers (because ofc the mc can), Babe has heightened senses or sum, Way had hypnosis I think, Pete has mind-realming, Jeff has FUTURE SIGHT, Kenta got immortality I think, Alan got super strength or sum, Willy had ZA WARUDO, and Tony had IMMORTALITY! WHY WOULD YOU NOT WANT THAT??? I would quite literally take any one of those, please. Oh boohoo, you can see the future...like I won't pretend I wouldn't abusing tf outta that, personally. But maybe that's just me. The only downside it'd effectively have is the nonsensical plotline kicking in and nerfing my ability when it SHOULD be OP in a given scenario. How tf was Willy losing so many altercations??? HE CAN FREEZE TIME LIKE A JOJO'S CHARACTER!!! The only FEASIBLE countermeasure is Tony's off-brand Golden Requiem. Like, don't even make a character have any sort of power relating to time manipulation if you don't want to take into account the repercussions it could have on other powers or established rules in verse. It's just lazy writing to add it in if you don't want to actually make it realistic (as much as it can be). It was also confusing at why exactly Babe's power was so coveted over ANYONE else's. It made no sense to me in season one, and it made no sense to me in season two. It feels out of place in this story to make him the one that needs to be bred just for his power but not keep that same mentality towards literally any other alpha with abilities that are comparable, or even BETTER than his! It felt like they just wanted to have an excuse to sexualize him *specifically* and have the closest thing to an omega in a cliche yaoi. It made no sense logistically and just made Tony come off as a creep with a breeder fetish aimed towards one unfortunate soul (which, now that I'm saying it, he most definitely DOES come across this way in the story 100%).

Then of course the second worst part was whatever was going on with the characters' writing. Tony was an abysmal villain per usual. No, seriously, what even was this man's plan? World domination or something??? Because if so, he was atrocious at accomplishing it. This man has insane backing, financial prowess, and IMMORTALITY.....yet he loses to a bunch of horndog college-aged dudes. Brother, you are IMMORTAL, HOW DO YOU SOMEHOW DIE?!?!? HE WAITED TO SHOOT CHARLIE UNTIL THE PUNK HAD SLURPED UP 90% OF HIS POWERS-LIKE WHAT ARE YOU EVEN THINKING SIR?!!??!?! But, I digress. It's not like I was expecting him to miraculously be intimidating this season or anything. However, a character they did ruin 10000% was Alan. He was a pretty cool guy once you look past all his suspect age-play statements like "Let the adults handle it" and "I feast on youth every day," and he seemed like a decent supporting character. That gets completely squandered this season once he enables brain-rot mode and decides to BELIEVE Tony and his goon Winner that they would help him regain his health with virtually no strings attached. Apparently this man has never heard of the saying "There is no such thing as a free lunch" or chooses to ignore it when face-to-face with a megalomaniac. Then he gets all surprised that the guy planted a bomb chip in his head when he gave him full reign to it DESPITE HIM HAVING LEARNED HE DID THE SAME EXACT THING TO WILLY LIKE 2 EPISODES AGO!!! If he did that to Willy, a guy he had no previous beef with, what makes you think he wouldn't do that to YOU, a guy he has had beef with for 2 seasons?! They ruined the smartest character SO BAD. Willy really was right when he said his squad was braindead. The nonsense with Babe and Charlie was obnoxious this season too because it made next to no sense at all. They both acted so defensive about the Willy and Tony situation yet there was no reason for them to! Charlie deciding to keep the Tony business from Babe was so stupid because THAT COULD ENDANGER HIM MORE. Jeff won major respect from me when he snitched about to Babe anyway because Charlie was being mad dumb. Babe's whole personality this whole season just felt like "I love Charlie; No Charlie, don't leave me; Willy piss off because I love Charlie," it felt like a far cry from what his personality was like in the first half of season one. Dean was just there to suddenly switch into the Nice Guy™ even though he was a backstabber last season, and now everyone is just expected to forgive him. I was on Sonic's side 100% because this man was acting wild in season 1. Winner was also just there in the plot for some reason. He served next to no purpose other than to fill a slot and his exit was only noteworthy by North calling him "pale as boiled chicken" that made me cackle for no explicable reason. The "will they; won't they" with North and Sonic was seriously testing my patience to the point that I just skimmed or skipped any scenes they had past the halfway mark. Other people that said they should've started their relationship as early as season one were 100% right and this season proves it with how drawn out it was. Ugh. I love slowburns, but this was just boring.

The rest was nonsense stuff like the reveal of Chris and Way being Tony's biological kids or something, as if that really changed anything at all. The alpha and enigma stuff still made no sense because I couldn't tell what the difference was between the two sub genders in this verse and what made someone like Way an enigma, but Charlie (despite having "superior cells") delegated to being an alpha. The random amnesia plot thrown in as if they were drawing papers from a hat of tropes and then "solving" it by having him hop in the whip instead of something that had more meaning like recreating when he first met his true love or something; he also seemed to not recognize Tony despite Tony having been a part of his life way before the start of the show; and thus I think that's a major plot hole. I still have no idea what racecars have to do with the plot in the slightest other than to look cool. Why does every antagonist have to be involved in racecar sports??? Willy looked hot in those scenes, yes, but did he reeeally need to be in that car to stalk Babe and Charlie? I don't think so, chief. I also have no idea why he was being a weirdo around Babe because his plan didn't require that same jank enigma breeding plot that Way was given in season one. I get that Babe is hot and all, but why is everyone either simping over him or sexually harassing him? His personality isn't all that. I personally thought Willy x Charlie was hotter anyway. Ghost ships reign supreme in my verse. An established couple like North and Sonic, however, do not get the proper screen time they deserve. Where were their established relationship scenes at? Kim and Kenta was also a bit washed as well considering they were hinted at since season one in a similar manner. Them eating Korean food together was cute, though. Chris and Pete had some insanely hot scenes, but I couldn't really careless about them in the grand scheme of things. Liking someone just because they look like your ex that died and that person being 100% aware of it IS an interesting relationship dynamic, but because it was a part of this show, I couldn't bring myself tgaf.

However, this season wasn't *all* bad! I did enjoy Kenta's muscles and form-fitting shirts, as well as his scenes with Kim (though they were sparse). The intro song was decent. Tony with his long hair down in Willy's flashbacks looked kind of appetizing (sorry, not sorry!). Pavel's hair and looks ate this season up alongside Milk's everything. That man's voice, looks, smile, hair, frame, clothing, and acting were top notch. I can admit that I was shallow enough to like his character in the same way I liked Damon Salvatore because of his charisma. Such a shame that he wasn't the central villain because he was serving cunt in every scene he was in. I thought I would cry tears of joy when this man 360 no-scoped Tony on the rooftop, but then that joy floundered when the focus shifted to Charlie dying on the floor with that dramatic ass editing. He easily had the coolest scenes whenever he used his powers and his cheeky smile mixed with that saucy wink evoked a feeling in me that I didn't realize Pit Babe could. His backstory was a bit confusing and underwhelming; but that's par for the course with this show. The only thing that really annoyed me about him was his nonsense towards Babe in the sauna in like episode five. I think they only added that to appeal to fujoshis or something. Him acting flirty and handsy past that didn't really bother me as much because it was clear he was just trolling and I don't think he had any special interest in Babe compared to like any other hot bitch. Bless the person who casted this man because my eyes have never been more grateful. Whoever wrote him though, check yourself, sis.

The behind the scenes bits at the end of episodes were also really cute! :)

As the closing statement, I'll say that the rewatch value at least isn't 1; but no amount of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure references will move it past a 3 for me. And yes, I would rate this season higher than the first one, but only by like 0.1%. That 0.1% is Willy and his actor. Mans contributed an entire 1 star to the actors rating I put and I feel no shame admitting it. You like what you like; and I liked him. Even if he was a slimy thirst trap. I delved into that head first and I'm still not tryna find my way out, can I get an amen? Amen, now I'll go watch edits of him to cure my obsession.

\good night( ᵕᴗᵕ)*・☪︎·̩͙/

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A story that left me with a sour taste in my mouth....and P.S. I hate the male lead....

So I literally JUST finished this like 10 seconds ago and I knew I had to write a review while the story is still remotely fresh in my mind. And I'm gonna be honest, this story left me feeling kind of annoyed more than happy or bittersweet.

What I liked:
- Acting was on point. The antagonists were ESPECIALLY well acted since they made me hate their characters with a burning vitriol at times (shout out to Danashiri's actress on that one)!
- Female characters were strong and had actual purpose in the story without being extreme girlbosses that put down their male counterparts.
- Some fight scenes looked cool as fuck like when Wang Yoo did gymnastics mid fight.
- Morally questionable characters were allowed to exist.
- Most character deaths actually meant something to the plot and other characters.
- The palace politics actually managed to interest me a bit and were crucial to the plot.
- No weird age gap between an emperor and the main character for once.
- Pacing was mostly decent and it improved more near the middle part.
- The "central" villain (El Temur) wasn't the final boss and his defeat impacted what would be later central villains.
- Taltal.
- Danashiri's death was tragic as fuck and I loved every second of how morbid it felt. I feel like it'll stay with me for a while because I somehow felt bad for such a raging bitch.
- Ki Yang's character development and darkening was truly a marvel to watch and carried the second half of the drama; truly a morally gray protagonist for once.
- The cliff fight scene made my jaw drop. Of course it is later revealed to be a fake out but it still made my jaw drop in shock at first.
- Wasn't afraid to kill characters off in a political strife story.
- Didn't look too bad compared to other shows that came out around the same time cough *Empresses in the Palace* cough.
- Thank god it didn't have the dammed miscarriage caused by pure nonsense trope in the palace harem.
- Bi-coding on Wang Yoo and Tahwan towards Ki Yang near the beginning.
- That bitch Empress Bayan's death. Loved how Park Bul Hwa put her in her place. Deserved. Empresses (+ Dowager) stay losing and dying in misery as they should. (Now if only the Emperor did just like his dad-)

What I disliked:
- Opening scene and actual scene were not the exact same. I don't care if this is a nitpick and unimportant, this is a serious pet peeve of mine because it feels so cheap to entice people in with a flash forward scene only for it not to come to fruition when the time comes for it to take place.
- Throughout a good amount of the story it switched to Wang Yoo's side and it was so fucking boring 90% of the time.
- Some of the ugliest color schemes of clothes I have ever seen in literally anything.
- Taltal's bangs were too stiff and his hair never changes. I liked how his hair was brown but he never even took it down or changed in bangs in over 5 years. He's too hot for that, man.
- First half of the show was significantly more boring than the second half.
- Songs and some sound effects were TOO LOUD!!!
- Talahai was so useless compared to the entire rest of his family. All I remember him doing was running away from a Turk battle early on or something?
- Tanqishi's death was super underwhelming and disappointing for such a relevant antagonist throughout the story.
- Maha's death felt unnecessary and I didn't like it at all.
- Tahwan (The Emperor) should not have been the end game love interest. I despise him since day one.
- I hate the ending SO MUCH.
- Some scenes had terrible lighting and it hurt my eyes so bad. This was usually uncommon though.
- The other concubines were just background dressing and contributed NOTHING. At least they didn't die for shock value though, so that's something.
- Heavily implied that the Emperor raped Ki Yang in one of the later episodes yet it never even gets somewhat addressed????? That really didn't sit right with me, especially considering how they still end up together.
- The fact that Ki Yang had four admirers (Wang Yoo, Tahwan, Tanqishi, and Taltal). She was a baddie but like, c'mon.
- My eyes got tired of the same settings over and over eventually. A problem I face in most palace type of dramas except maybe like The Story of Yanxi Palace.
- I feel like Hong Dan was underutilized compared to most other characters.
- Wang Go just disappears and it feels out of character compared to the rest of the story.
- Too many death fake outs.
- 51 eps bothers my OCD please make dramas even numbers, I beg.
- Unexplained time skip in the like last three minutes that really pissed me off. I hate undisclosed time skips LIKE AT LEAST GIVE ME A BALL PARK TIME ESTIMATE.
- Think we needed some more time set in Goryeo considering how important it was to the plot.
- Too many facial expression zoom-ins for like the first 65% of the drama. It made me cringe.
- The drama felt like a parody of the historical genre in the first half because of how overdone the expressions were like in reality tv along with the dramatic ass music and loud battle cries. I swear I will go crazy if I have to hear "Your Majesty!!!!!!!!" in succession one more fucking time I'll pop a blood vessel.


I feel like something I was left feeling sour over was the romances in this show. Obviously the character that Ki Yang had the best chemistry with was Wang Yoo yet of course they didn't end up together despite them loving each other unconditionally throughout the entire story. I also liked her and Taltal but that was more of the fact that I liked how they seemed similar in personality and how they respected each other's intelligence and dedication to the nation's welfare. They did him dirty at the end with that off screen death. Such disrespect even more so than The Double's disrespect toward Xiao Heng at the end. Tanqishi's "love" for Ki Yang was repulsive and when he admits he had feeling for her to himself I nearly gagged because WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOVED HER WHAT AT ALL HAS TRANSPIRED TO INDICATE THAT!? Sick bastard.

Now we move on to the part of the story that brought me even more emotional grief than any of the character deaths: Tahwan. Specifically him as the emperor. I hate this man so much it is kind of crazy. The fact that they stay together until his death and he got to die in peace makes me mad. He was such a pathetic loser since day one and he keeps flip flopping his stances on things throughout the entire story and dear lawd just PICK A SIDE!!! He treated Ki Yang pretty poorly in the grand scheme of things as well. Overly jealous of her and Wang Yoo and not to mention his sense of ownership over her despite not having truly "earned" her. He only does positive things in the story in order to feel like he's earned her. He is also a terrible father towards Maha and it truly emphasized his selfishness for me. He is one of the most selfish main characters I have ever seen in anything and I could not stand him getting a happy ending despite how he literally rapes her and sends her away to get lashings at a temple for an undisclosed amount of time. His whole world revolved around her and he doesn't care what he has to do in order to keep as his possession and he WINS!!! His ego to be a famous ruler in history is literally what causes his kingdom to eventually fall and his sudden dependence on Bakan as prime minister lowkey pissed me off because what the fuck do you mean you can't choose between him and her??? Remember who risked their life to continuously save yours from a certain man near the beginning......evidently not because if he did then it wouldn't have even been a debate. It's almost as if prime ministers have a track record of tricking and ultimately killing emperors or something, wise guy.

The villains were numerous and I actually liked a lot of them because their greed and corruption made sense in the story. Easily the best part was watching how Ki Yang's darkening turned her into more of a menace than even Yingluo or Zhen Huan; there I said it. She was scarier than both of them in my opinion. I also liked how a lot of her feats later in the story required her receiving help in order to succeed as a lot of stories make it a one woman army solving every single thing alone. She received help mostly past the second half which is probably why I liked it more and why the villain defeats help even more satisfying. One thing that is a bit of a negative for me though is that her plans never really fail. Only times they really do are when the plans weren't really hers and she was just a support rather than a major player. She was super hollow near the beginning and I worried I'd end up finding her boring but she wound up being way better later on and turned into one of my favorite female leads I've seen yet. Kudos to her writing!

But then negative kudos to Tahwan's writing because he gets a happy ending. Fucker. Worst male lead in a historical piece ever and you can fight me on that.

Would I recommend? If you can put up with how dramatic it is with a sour ending then sure. Historical dramas aren't exactly known for good endings and of course you can blame that on real life history but I don't really care about historical accuracy with endings when literally everything else is greatly exaggerated for entertainment anyway. At least it was better than Empresses in the Palace....but that bar is pretty low, so take that as you will. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Rak and Diao are quite LITERALLY soulmates!

This was an interesting show to watch as I've never been a fan of sitcoms at all. I just finished it today and I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I decided I'd push through it despite it being a sitcom because of the reviews I'd seen commenting on how it gets better than it first appears. And it did!

What I liked:
- Rak and Diao's actors were fantastic in their roles. Especially Diao's actor at portraying his snarky attitude and spiteful nature.
- The way Rak looks at Diao is so intense and I sense the love every time he stares into his eyes.
- Bickering couple trope.
- Enemies to lovers trope.
- Both of the male leads actually have personalities and lives that are not entirely about each other.
- How it is critical of the fujoshi portrayal of queer relationships.
- The dichotomy of the main two. Opposites attract.
- I didn't find the portrayal of the gay best friend to be offensive in this one.
- The ex-girlfriend wasn't actually back to get with her ex.
- No homophobia.
- Rak's maturity.
- The opening song.
- That image of them fighting over the remote (?) that was an in-between for the episodes.
- Easily availability as whole or segmented episodes on Youtube.
- Although Diao is immature, he doesn't feel infantilized.
- Rak is nice to look at. Especially with his shirt buttoned down. Specifically that black collared button-up.
- Rak and Diao's chemistry was on fire. Their comedic timing was great too.
- Slow burns are my favorite.
- Setting not set in a high school or university.
- The second half of the show.

What I disliked:
- The laugh tracks. I despise laugh tracks. I can't even rewatch my favorite childhood shows because some of them have laugh tracks hand fisted in.
- Overuse of sound effects. Sometimes back-to-back of the same exact sound effect.
- The oversaturation of the lighting.
- The outfits were so astoundingly ugly and grating on the eyes. I CAN'T GET OVER THAT UGLY ASS DARK NAVY BLUE SUIT RAK WORE. WHY DID IT HAVE NAVY BLUE, DARK GREEN, GRAY, AND MAROON RED ON IT? AND WHY WAS IT PLAID TOOOOOOO????????
- The ending was abrupt. I want a season 2.
- Rak's stupid little brother lmao.
- The first half of the show.
- The house is ugly af.

I really loved the relationship between Rak and Diao. I adore slow burns and these two had chemistry that was on fire by the end. Their comedic chemistry was amazing too. I really love how their power balances out both at work and at home as well as how they mirror each other's actions. They get equally jealous and neither time did their jealousy aggravate me. This is genuinely an accomplishment in my book because 9/10 jealousy scenes in shows drive me absolutely insane. They tease each other back and I love how you could tell when they start to respect each other more from learning about each other's outlooks on life. They both made each other a meal, played around together, and help each other when they're hurt (or at least he though Diao was hurt but he's a big faker). Oh and did I mention that their chemistry is great? IT'S GREAT!!!!!

I really liked how Diao and Rak aren't solely dependent on each other to have any semblance of interesting personality. Rak is a hard worker and his desire to allow the ones he cares about to grow whilst being both strict and secretly caring is amazing. The way he is so indifferent to any advances thrown to him is hilarious to see and the juxtaposition of how lovey-dovey he acts towards Diao later on was really swoon-worthy; his flirting was really cute. Diao was a bit harder to like because he seemed to only be set on being negative all the time. I'm not lying when I say he is one of the most spiteful leads I've ever seen in a romance. However, past episode 10 is when he really shines. I liked seeing him question his feelings and you get to see him learn from his mistakes like how he handles his reactions to Dao's actions better and learns to investigate before always saying or doing whatever comes to mind. I really loved these two a lot. They stand out as being unique in BL land and I'm grateful for that. I also really liked how instead of Rak doing the cliche romance thing of beating the guy up that threatened Diao after he accidentally spilled coffee on him, he instead chooses words and uses his surroundings to his advantage to dispel the situation. Really showed his maturity and observant nature. Great scene!

I liked how the fujoshi girl's fanfic of them was actually being subtly criticized by the story. It can be hard to detect at first because it just seems like an excuse to give Rak and Diao fan service moments, but I'd argue that it actually is meant to show how one-dimensional caricatures in BL take away from meaningful development and characterization. Rak and Diao's relationship goes beyond the simple "Uke-Seme" relationships you see perpetuated in BLs. Their actual scenes are far more intense and satisfying to watch than any of the fujoshi's fantasized ones. Rak and Diao never explicitly lean into her story's tropes either. It was satisfying to see how her expected version got dunked on by the way better one that actually happened.

The story also stresses the importance of family and you get to see that through Rak and Diao. They have noticeable improvements of how they see each other once they realize how much they care for their families; Rak when he sees just how much Diao's family's opinions matter to him and Diao when he sees how much Rak works for his little brother's happiness.

I really wished this show had a season 2 after the way it ended abruptly. It really felt like it needed another season to give closure to Rak and Diao's relationship, or at least a special episode afterward. Now I'm going to be left with that same longing that I had when Ram and King's storyline was never finished in My Engineer and likely never will be because that show is unlikely to ever continue. However, I still love both of these relationships a lot and I feel like they will stay with me even years later on after consuming more romance stories. They stood out amongst a field of cookie-cutter romance stories and I'll always appreciate romances like that.

My score had to lowered a bit because of the annoying sound effects, oversaturated colors, and weak first half. However, the strong second half and compelling dynamic between the main two really saved this show for me. Would I recommend it? Hell yeah! The main two are fantastic and the second half of the show makes the first half look like a pebble in comparison to its might. I honestly wonder what happened behind the scenes to have improved the watching experience this much. BUT ENOUGH GETTING SIDETRACKED; GO WATCH IT!!! As long as you can stomach cartoony sound effects and regurgitated laugh tracks that is.

Lots of love, one passionate RakDiao enthusiast. <3<3<3 (っ˘³(•́ ᵕ •̀?)

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Goofy ahh ending.

I couldn't believe I actually binged this show in one sitting. It was almost 4 hours of pure nonsense yet I had this perverse need to see how they were gonna end it. I have never read the original novel but I need to know what crack this author was on. The fact that I even gave this a score as high as 6 is a blessing afforded by the fact that it had my attention in a chokehold for its entire 24 episodes. Because, as it stands, this story is all over the place and the ending was annoying.

I just finished this show yesterday and I am still in shock from the absurdity of that last episode. (Spoiler!) You'd have to have been there to see my jaw drop on the floor when she pulls out a GUN in historical China. I was unable to take that scene seriously at all and even when she was getting all emotional with her friend zoned scholar guy I couldn't pay attention to anything other than the bandit extras that were still flailing on the ground all around them. Oh btw I even joked earlier on before the object was revealed that she asked him to make a gun because of how funny it would be and oml they actually went through with it. I cannot make this up.

I liked that the female lead was capable and intelligent but of course her talents came out of left field. She was a martial artist, top-tier chef, S+ businesswoman, better than a seasoned wet nurse, and investigator on par with Sherlock Holmes. And her love interest felt very undetailed which was sad because he was pretty nice and I liked that she took on the more assertive role in the dynamic. Yet, the relationship is super vague and by the end he just disappeared when she went back to her time. The kids, her older lady friend, and the bitch actress were there, yet he wasn't (unless he was and I'm just blind). I really dislike the endings of "it was all a dream" yet this time I'm confused if it happened or not though? Because I remember seeing her sleeping in the car with a bad edited rainbow spiral outside of the vehicle but that may have just been her dreaming it up to explain the setting in her fantasy.

I liked the relationship of her taking up the role of the daring stepmom for her kids but the pacing really made it confusing how she gained their love that fast and her leaving at the end was sad but I can't even tell if that relationship was real or not. I'm so confused on what emotions are valid after that.

The villains were......something. The most cliche you can possibly get but hey, at least there were extremely aggravating. I wanted that evil mother-in-law to suffer the most but of course the ending leaves a lot to desire. The cousin of the step-kids didn't even seem to ask his father to join the classes and we see him like thrice in total. Him even helping them could have been built up better because it is realistic for a young child to feel guilty but to betray his father and grandmother sporadically felt out of place. Then of course we have whatever was going on with Li Yi. I thought they were gonna make her a sympathetic villain that is only going against Chi Yue because she is guilted by her family but NOPE! She is just pure evil that literally killed her brother and paraded around with his jade pendant on her hip. We don't even see her be put on trial either.

The production was funded by a very small budget and the runtime was too short to really create a gripping story. The music was extremely forgettable and the pacing was extremely fast. So many plot points come out of nowhere because the story doesn't afford them enough time for build up. The ending was confusing and I didn't like it. I was left with that bittersweet feeling but it disappeared just as fast. I was, however, entertained by the intense nonsense and some of the humor was actually hilarious.

So, would I recommend this show? Yes, but only as a time-waster when you have nothing else to watch. The absurdity was entertaining enough for me to binge 3+ hours of it on Youtube. Yes, it is on Youtube!

Have fun. XO

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Empresses in the Palace crawled so that The Story of Yanxi Palace could run

A disclaimer before I start the review: I watched this series a few months after I finished the Story of Yanxi Palace, so it is inevitable that I will compare the two a lot in this review. I understand that though they are set in damn near the same setting and have similarities in their stories, they are two very different stories told in an entirely different tone. However, I couldn't help but compare the two because of how many people recommended this show if someone liked Story of Yanxi Palace. Also, I enjoyed the Story of Yanxi Palace way more; just in case anyone won't be able to tell by the end of this review.

I started EitP (Empresses in the Palace) with high expectations. The description seemed to promise a palace intrigue story with a protagonist of questionable morals to boot. And I looove morally gray protagonists (Dexter fan here), and the comments I'd seen spoke of Zhen Huan's "darkening" that greatly contrasts her personality from the earlier episodes and the later ones. This excited me greatly and the outro of the show only made it seem more intense and brutal; I was speculating who it was in the cutscenes that were suffering and hitting rock bottom. However, I as of one day after finishing this show, I find myself feeling extremely disappointed and honestly frustrated with EitP. I'll start with a pros and cons list:

Pros:
-The outro was pretty cool; both music-wise and presentation of cutscenes. It's a shame that those scenes shown would be the only highlights in the entire show for me.
-The main actress did well in her role and I was honestly shocked by her age because of how young she looks (especially when next to the Emperor).
- The actor that plays the Emperor does actually look old af.
- The costumes were nice to look at and I couldn't help but want to overanalyze them and how sweaty it must've been to wear them in the beating sun.
- I liked how the story didn't seem to slut shame Meizhuang and Zhen Huan despite them having children with other men that the Emperor yet passing them off as his.
- Truly did have diverse personalities for the female characters and could show their fierceness whilst still maintaining their femininity.
- The older concubines were gorgeous and I have no idea why the Emperor avoided them for the new ones so much. He really fumbled the bag on that one.
- The Emperor is actually portrayed as a terrible person and gets his comeuppance in the end. Hated that guy.
- When the turning point of the story was Zhen Huan realizing she was just a stand-in for Premiere and that how the Emperor had a whole Sangwoo moment of snapping at her when she didn't live up to his expectations of being someone else. That was probably the most intriguing part of the show.
- The show was easily accessible because it was on Youtube. I know this has nothing to do with the writing or design or anything, but I just really appreciate the easy accessibility for all episodes. Though, it may have been better had I not gotten my hands on this series.
- Hongli and Zhen Huan's adopted family relationship at first.

Cons: Oh boy here we go-
- They overuse some music to the point that I could predict the exact sound track that would play the moment a "shocking" or "intense" scene came on. It also didn't help that the music wasn't all that titillating to begin with.
- The settings were interesting at first, but quickly become overused and stale to look as you see the same ochres and reds all over again.
- So many things are so exaggerated to the point that it takes me out of the show. How come the slightest of things cause the women in this show to have miscarriages? I swear a slight breeze will make them topple over and bleed everywhere. Also, I couldn't take their extreme fear over house cats seriously either. I was having to stop myself from laughing over the CG cat that was attracted to face cream or whatever because I knew some outrageous nonsense was about to happen that would cause people to topple over and have miscarriages left and right. It annoyed me so much by the sixth miscarriage.....
- The medicine and medical explanations were too drawn out and ridiculous that I couldn't take any of the ailments seriously. They literally blame people almost having miscarriages on some "cold air" and summer colds that seem to last three months long each. They also used a bunch of those old terms like "qi" and "yin and yang". I also couldn't believe how they could tell literally everything wrong with a person from their pulse.....like come on, people can have a heightened pulse due to a number of reasons that doesn't necessarily mean they are about to have a miscarriage or terminal illness.
- The actress for Yu Rao was terrible. Like, some of the worst acting I have ever seen in a period piece.
- How come they keep saying how characters look sooo much like each other like Jade to Zhen Huan and Noble Prince Guo's two sons? These characters don't really share a resemblance. The two sons looking alike can be explained away easily by the fact that their fathers are brothers. Oh, and a lot of kids tend to look similar before their features mature. And don't even get me started on the nonsense of how Jade and Zhen Huan look supposedly very similar because I have never seen two women look less alike. Zhen Huan looks more like Consort Fleur that she looks like Jade. Every single time they used the look-alike plot to further whatever agenda they had going on I just felt myself lose more and more braincells. It must be an adaptation issue because it could be accepted were it just in a novel, but seeing real life people next to each other that have nothing to do with each other and claiming they look like "sisters" or "brothers" is really pushing it beyond the real of disbelief.
- Noble Prince Guo's wife literally date raped him. She got him drunk on purpose and assaulted him when he was inebriated. Then they just treat this as a little woman's melancholic romantic moment. WTF????
-Long-winded dialogue even for a harem story. Dear god the urge I had to fast forward so many conversations just to get to the good bit. And I know it being a harem story isn't the issue because the Story of Yanxi Palace didn't evoke this feeling in me.
- The Empress' speaking looked off or something. Was there a voice-over done?
- This is entirely just a matter of preference but I wasn't quite behind how they treated Zhen Huan like the most remarkable beauty that no other woman in the harem could even hold a candle to. I personally thought Consort Honnette, Consort Fleur, Ling Rong, Attendant Joie, Consort Estime, Jinxi, and Noble Lady Guwalgiya were just as much, if not more better than her. This man had a whole treasure chest of gorgeous women and yet Zhen Huan is the only one really treated as a beauty except for maybe Consort Fleur.
- Now, for what might be my biggest issue: the plot points that seem to lead nowhere and the terrible "resolutions" to the plots that do have an ending. Good golly Miss Molly this pissed me off so much. So much feels like it was added just to fill time and to lead nowhere by the end. I am a firm believer in making plots link in one way or another and to have resolutions for as many as possible by the end of air time. This show, however, lacked this to the extreme. Also, why does almost everyone have such an anticlimactic and unsatisfying ending? Consort Fleur, Meizhuang, Empress Yixiu, Empress Dowager, Noble Prince Guo, Shen Shichu, Noble Lady Cao, Noble Lady Paix, Ling Rong, Concubine Beaute, Vermilion, and Third Prince Hongshi. The only endings I did actually kind of like were those of Noble Lady Guwalgiya, (maybe) Attendant Chun, and The Emperor. I deadass liked no one else's by the end.
- Bitches be dropping left and right yet I still don't feel any tension 9/10 of the time. Such a let down.
- Also, where the fuck did Wenyi and Jinghe disappear off to? They are also the Emperor's children yet I swear I couldn't even see them on screen later on.....
- Not enough Hongli and Zhen Huan interactions which soured her becoming Empress Dowager for me. It also kind of ruined the moment for me when Zhen Huan noted Hongli's tenseness over the sixth prince and how Zhen Huan seems distant from him because she isn't his "birth mother". Ruined the found family vibe for me.
- Creepy Mongol guy that gave rapist vibes.
- That excruciatingly long trip to the Buddhist mountains that I wanted to fast forward soooo baaaaad.

The Characters: I'll sum up how I felt towards each important one by the end here:
Zhen Huan: Overhyped and underwhelming, but still intelligent; which I appreciated.
The Emperor: Extreme asshole that deserved to suffer in his last moments after being poisoned. Served his role as an antagonist well.
The Empress: Underwhelming and frankly not intimidating at all. She never exuded regal vibes to me. Her scheming was also kind of weak. Empress Nara from Yanxi Palace did it way better. She stays ON TOP!!!
Noble Prince Guo: One dimensional and too idealistic for me to be invested in. So clearly written by a shoujo enthusiast.
Jade: So annoying and selfish. Couldn't stand her at all.
Jingxi: Loved her. She was just great all around. Loved her motherly vibes.
Fleur: Entertaining but underused by the end. I could have almost felt sympathy for her if they gave her more backstory and fleshed her character out a bit more. She got more screwed over than Noble Consort Gao in Yanxi Palace.
Meizhuang: Liked her but I have to admit that she just felt like background dressing in Zhen Huan's story (also I know this is called "The Legend of Zhen Huan" so don't come at me for disliking the intense focus on her, okay?)
Shen Shichu: Another background dressing that honestly annoyed me with his simping. Take a hint, mate.
Ling Rong: Bitch that was so insecure and took it out on everyone around her and lived her days being a pawn to someone else. I hated her ending so much like the most anticlimactic thing ever, man.........
Honnette: I liked her <3
Estime: I liked her :)
Joie: Deserved more time to shine. Unfortunate because I can tell I would have really liked her had she been put in a better show.
Empress Dowager: She existed, I guess? I liked her actress but her character barely did much for me to be excited about so she ended up dying pretty forgettably. She also didn't seem even slightly shaken up Meizhuang's untimely demise. That threw me off big time.
Everyone else: probably forgettable idk I'm getting tired of typing lmao.


In conclusion: Go watch the Story of Yanxi Palace instead <3 (which I'd rate a 7.5-8.0 btw if anyone was wondering).

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The Common Sense Killers.....

I have no idea what hex this show put on me to keep me watching for 9 episodes because it is simply one of the most nonsensical stories I have ever seen. Although, I will admit that sometimes the lack of basic sense did make me smile.....so basically it was just a slight guilty pleasure I guess.

I normally do a pros and cons list with reviews because I think it gets my ideas across the best, but I think just explaining the nonsense will express my thoughts far better than if I just put them in a simple list.

The Hitman Aspect: I cannot believe how little sense there is put into the kills that the duo commit; I audibly asked "where are there gloves at?" because you would think that professional HITMEN would be more discreet and at least have the decency to buy latex gloves when touching murder locations and dead bodies. Then there is the issue of them murdering in pretty public areas....they were gonna shoot a man at a party venue with CHILDREN AROUND. See, I wouldn't have an issue with them being morally gray enough to murk a guy around child witnesses except for the fact that this show looooves to force the idea that Fadel and Bison aren't actually that bad of people. Despite the fact that they murder people......which would constitute them as serial killers.....the issue of moral dilemmas of whether their victims deserved it or not could have been truly interesting and thought provoking, but there doesn't seem to be much room for depth in that aspect of the show. Maybe I'm just being too harsh with my expectations since I've recently joined in with the resurfacing Dexter Frenzy and been stuck on a Dexter high.

The Handling of Morality: This part may have been my least favorite because I could not fathom why it felt like they were trying to push the audience to thinking that Bison was justified in KIDNAPPING AND THREATENING KANT and not to mention how he even "joked" about killing Kant's little brother to Kant's face as well. In addition, Bison got so heated over Kant having a pushy previous hookup pop up in his life uninvited and his fuss over Kant not disclosing the fact that he used to steal cars in his past years before meeting Bison. Like, Kant stole cars to PROVIDE for him and his little brother when they were emotionally and financially distraught after the sudden death of both of their parents;
Bison: "but why did you not tell meeee??? Do you not value me????"
Me: YOU MURDER PEOPLE
-and not him acting all victim about Kant not disclosing this past and him working as a police informant to be able to continue to provide for his brother after blud literally CHOSE not to tell Kant himself that he MURDERS PEOPLE!!! I know this sounds like a Kant apologist review, but I swear I have beef with him soon too.
+ can we talk about how poorly that scenario of the pedophile gym teacher was handled??? It was good that they portrayed the guy as a creep and scumbag, but it felt too cartoony and it felt like it was supposed to be semi-comedic. I simply did not care for how they just let him walk away without notifying the authority or school board either.

The Characters:

Kant: he started off interesting as it could have been really touching to see his sense of morality decline as he begins to sympathize with a killer despite knowing that the police are backing him to arrest said killer if he or his brother become targets instead. It could also have been compelling to see Kant feeling a subtle sense of sympathy for Bison committing crime because he himself committed crime when he was younger as a means to survive; this could cause Kant to assume the best of Bison's intent and feel he must be forced into the kind of life also.....but it just turned into a battle of 'which crime is worse', which is serial murder; obviously. He also always felt kind of detached from his brother, so much so that it seemed like he only cared about Bison over his own brother and best friend; style. Oh boy, where do I begin with this? This man set his friend up with a LITERAL SERIAL MURDERER yet never told him this until it was already too late. I could not fathom how Style stayed his friend after this.....like is bro's car THAT attractive to you? Enough to forgive him POSSIBLY SACRIFICING YOUR LIFE???? But then they try and force this whole "Kant puts his friend's life before his own" in episode 8 and I was just not believing it. Miss me with that bs.

Bison: I honestly feel conflicted about him. It felt like his character was all over the place with how I was supposed to view him: was he the sultry assassin? Was he the pouty little brother with a shotgun older brother? Was he a possessive and unhinged lover that would point a gun at his not-even-yet boyfriend's ex-hookup? Was he a secretly kind soul that wanted out of the daunting hitman life? Was he the guy that wanted to dominate Kant extensively? Or was he just the guy that wanted to eternally play victim and find new ways to make Kant look worse than him despite their VERY differing circumstances? I really didn't know what to think of him because I thought that the mischievous and sexy counterpart of him was encaptivating, and I saw the slight glimpses behind the curtain to a better version of the show whenever he acted unhinged and wielded a gun around. I personally believe he would have been far more of a favorite of mine and unique in BL Land if they stopped tip-toeing around him being morally ambiguous and just dived head-in with his mood swings and femme fatale vibe. I love characters like that, and lord knows that Khaotung could pull it off with his dazzling innocent face portraying a sexy and alluring bad boy. But no....we instead got a mismatch of different personas that just couldn't mash together well at all. I lament over what could have been for his character.

Style: he was a glorified stalker. I mean I did appreciate how he seemed the least morally questionable out of the central 4, but I still had to question why they wanted to root for him getting the guy when his preferred methods were intense stalking and harassment. Oh and his intent was to use Fadel in order to get his (undeserving of the title) best friend's family heirloom car. He did make me laugh at times so I can at least admit I appreciated that, but I also could not believe him when he said he was a stud that got tons of bitches; like, where??? I think it might have been because the actor couldn't portray that charisma, but I'm not certain. I also don't the reveal to him about Fadel being a killer was before he found out last second. I thought it would have made things far more interesting to see Style grapple with that fear and made the show seem 100% more serious. To be fair, Style does act scared at first when he finds out from Kant, but for all of 5 minutes. It also didn't help that in the following episodes his fear was hard to believe because of the acting performance. He just seemed like an oblivious guy that had zero survival skills whatsoever other than to try to rizz up his captor at the worst times.

Fadel: he was my favorite out of the 4, but that's not saying much to be honest. I liked the way his actor portrayed him and I thought that Fadel's rare smiles were the closest this show ever got to 'killing my heart'. He also seemed to have the most logic in the beginning, which I respected. We needed a voice of reason in this kind of plot.....but then we lost him......to the forced romance. I liked how he didn't give in to the persistent and clingy Style at first because he honestly had to no reason to, but once he did, he lost his air of maturity and it felt like his caution was compromised to him now saying the bs of "I trust you 80%" like, huh? I would not trust a manic stalker even 2%.... so they washed away his paranoid nature and replaced it with him not wanting to fool the two dudes into thinking his brother and him are head over heels for them only to THEN PLAN TO KILL THEM LIKE 2 DAYS LATER LIKE WHAT WAS EVEN THE POINT THEN!? The fooling was so obvious that even the lovesick Kant could see through that ish; but I digress.


Now onto the ***Romance***: I hated it. Okay, that's too harsh; I disliked it. It felt waaaaay too forced, and if there is one thing I hate more than anything in a romance it is a FORCED romance. That and obnoxious miscommunications like when a character finds out they are ill and decides to make their lover hate them and then skip town instead of simply working through it with them like a functioning couple would (side-eyeing The Story of Pearl Girl with that one). What can I say, I'm a sucker for slow-burns. I also didn't understand why Kant fell for Bison the way he did or why Fadel would even give Style the time of day to the point that Style was able to bounce back from finding out his lover is a SERIAL KILLER within DAYS. I also thought that the whole BDSM stuff between Kant and Bison was super cringe and not sexy at all. I'm not even dissing including BDSM, it's just that this portrayal was less appetizing than 50 Shades of Gray's was. I also didn't see why Fadel beating Style up right after they slept together was necessary. I'm not even a hater of them adding questionable aspects to relationships if it fits within a story's narrative (in which I believe it could have here if they were faithful to the idea of hitmen leading double lives and finding out their lovers lied to them and used them), but it just felt like a random reason to include abuse to the red flags of Fadel x Style. I think there are better ways to deal with a petty stalker that has negative rizz than to beat them up. Just felt like needless violence in a show that somehow needed more thought-out violence in it. Funny how that works, huh?


Now onto other aspects:
Acting: First and Khaotung are always excellent, I'm sure they were here too, I just couldn't fully experience it because I was too busy rolling my eyes at the absurdity of how their characters were written. I do still love them in other works a lot though, and I suspect I'll be watching many more shows of them. This was the first show of Joong and Dunk I had ever seen, so I have no idea how much they have improved (though I've read from others that it is quite a lot), though I really have to compliment Joong in this. I really liked his portrayal of Fadel and Fadel's strict attitude and rare instances of sorrow and joy. They were the closest I ever came to feeling legit anything of respect for any of the characters. Dunk on the other hand was not that good in this role. I will admit he did have some funny moments, but I just could not for the life of me see his supposed "charm" he loved to boast so much about. Maybe that was supposed to be the point and it just went over my head, but I still think there is no excuse for the unbelievable emotional scenes from him. I couldn't tell if I was tuning in to an abusive relationship or a comedic bit; it was that jarring. He is still gorgeous though and I mean no hate to him as I have hope he will genuinely improve as his acting career goes on.

Music: it was alright. Not too astounding, nor too underwhelming. It just was. I do remember that a single song did make me start to dance a little bit though, so it's slightly above average for me.

Production: it could look pretty good at times like when Bison was seducing the target in episode 1, then look unappealing like whatever episode 8 had going on. I don't know how they managed to make an island set look unattractive to me, but they did. I probably just got my hopes up after the beauty that was I Told Sunset About You's island sets. It gave me whiplash with how much I thought certain scenes had downgraded, along with the shaky camera angles that were not evoking the tension in me they were probably expecting. It's a shame that the most appealing sets were the ones in clubs that only appeared once in a Vanitas blue moon.

Plot: you already know how I feel about this if you've read this far faithfully. No extra words are needed to express my disappointment with this clusterfuck of missed potential and poor character writing.

Rewatch Value: I could only really see myself rewatching this in the future as a drinking game with my friends or sibling as a means to waste time together. We would not be there with the expectation of enjoyment of the main plot.




In conclusion: I don't think I'll ever pick this show back up again unless I planned to skim the last three episodes like I did with episode 9. It was that much of a disappointment that it's left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. Yet another shining example of a romance plot that could have been more if they dipped a little less into cliche romance tropes and a little more into a mature concept that includes romance as a subplot rather than the main plot. Thank you to anyone that listened to this TedTalk lmao. I yapped a bit too much. Sheeeeesh.

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This is temporary and I will make a full review of the show after I finish it, but as of ep 12 I am so angry with this dip in writing that I think I need to rant to cool off before I permanently drop the show. What the fuck is this dumbass Yu-ra plot?!?!??!?!?! Can we please stop using this old trope of "ex lover comes to town and causes dumbass misunderstandings that are greatly exaggerated for the sake of senseless drama!" because it is reallylllylyly getting old. I never really understood the rage others had of this trope until now. I just saw it in all of its glory and I feel like my blood vessels are about to burst. Why the fuck is Ji-won suddenly treating Ji-hyuk like some scumbag??? He didn't even do anything wrong. WTF. This guy ended things with this girl he was put into an ARRANGED MARRIAGE WHEN THEY WERE LITERAL CHILDREN with. Dear god he ended the engagement before he started even officially dating Ji-won, so why is she treating him like he is a cheater? Like, do not compare him to Min-hwan lmao. Then she has the audacity to say she can't be with him because the annulment of the engagement wasn't mutual.........what.......? Does someone need mutual consent to end a relationship? This isn't the 1800s........stop acting like he is some monster for ending a relationship HE ADMITTED HE WAS NOT HAPPY WITH IN THE PAST LIFE!!!!! Does he need to be abused like you were by your husband for it to be justified????? So fucking stupid. Then this bitch Yu-ra is, surprise (!), a raging bitch! Because we can't write female villains without them being stereotypes and haters of other womens' happiness!!!!! (kill me) This plot is so fucking stupid I swear if they paint it like Ji-hyuk needs to apologize in the following episodes and that Yu-ra is somehow a victim I am going to front flip into a ravine. Also I'm pretty sure this wasn't even a plot in the webtoon, so like wtf is it even added in for? Could they not think of a replacement to fill time OTHER than this dogwater?!??!! And here I was praising the show for being leagues better than the webtoon too......they better redeem this story or this plotline will tank my entire perception of the rest of it by association........

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Secretly Awful Friends for Poor Daon

I have mixed feelings about what I'd personally rate this drama. There were parts about it that I absolutely commend it for, but then there are parts that I felt were too rushed or poorly done. That being said, I still think I liked more about this show than I disliked.

I personally really liked how they showed how there are different ways of being abusive to someone, whether it be physical, financial, verbal, or emotional; Daon when through it all with dealing with his parents and his "so-called" best friends from university. He very much was a victim of the people in his life and I really commend this show for actually giving him his happy ending with Seonghyeon. Unfortunately, a lot of romances (especially BL for whatever reason) love to give their protagonists an ending with the people that treated them poorly compared to someone that treated them well.

And, in comparison to many romance stories with protagonists stuck in an unfortunate situation, Daon doesn't really feel like a blank state. He actually learns respect for himself by the end and it was genuinely satisfying to see considering how much control his abusers thought they had over him. Seeing him not giving in to his parents' demands because he knew it would ultimately be for the worse was extremely satisfying to witness because of how often characters in stories are shown to let avoidable circumstances have power over them. Yes, he was gullible when it came to Jaemin, but that was easily because of the way Jaemin molded him and strung him along to be the way he wanted him to be. With Seohyun, Daon learned not to stretch his hope out thin that he would return or change, and that scene when he returned the ring was really powerful. He decided to be straightforward and honest with Seohyun and that showed just how mature Daon was in comparison to him and Jaemin.

Jaemin and Seohyun are a good example of what to avoid in a partner or friend. The series did well to show how although they have many differences, they are both two different types of abusive. Seohyun was stubborn, extremely ill-tempered, demanding, and impulsive. His anger issues made his attempts to win Daon over fall void and this would cause him to lash out as a result. Daon knew to just distance himself from someone like this whenever he acted this way, which seemed to start back when he pretend dated Jaemin. Jaemin, on the other hand, was far more intimidating as he actually paid off on his threats. He was manipulative, obsessive, selfish, and unhinged. He really was far more selfish than Seohyun to the point that he wanted to keep Daon pining after him forever without ever giving him the satisfaction of confirming his feelings for him. He would put his own self-satisfaction above ever making Daon truly happy because he was only concerned with what he wanted in the long run and naturally assumed Daon would comply with that. Oh boy the way he was on edge when he realized that Daon was learning to respect himself and move on from him after Jaemin was cruel with his rejection. He only had eyes for one thing ("thing" as a word choice because both Seohyun and Jaemin seemed to view Daon as a prize to win), and once he realized he was losing it, he wanted to take it with him into his grave. He had an extremely perverse nature that he hid behind a flawless facade. People like that are truly terrifying and I think the show did a good job of showing that.

Seonghyeon was an actual green flag that was refreshing to see in BL land. You rarely get to see a healthy romance flourish but Secret Relationships was clear about writing him in a way that felt possible yet also idealistic. I enjoyed how much he contrasted with the toxic duo because it showed all the more what traits in a healthy partner should look like. He was caring, playful, earnest, and loyal. He never wanted to usurp control over Daon from the other guys and he was honest about his intentions with Daon. Daon truly deserved to be with someone that actually valued his opinion and respected him as a person like Seonghyeon did. I commend them breaking the tropes that are sadly attached to much of BL media.

That being said, I have a few issues with the show. First, I feel like the runtime was the main issue that spawned the other issues as a result. Much of the characters' backstories felt underdeveloped which left me wanting to know more. If we got to see more of Daon's life growing up then his current actions would be better explained and he would be more sympathetic. As for Jaemin, we never get to see much of anything about him past a few vague memories of Daon seeing him when he was younger. We never get to see what Jaemin was like before Daon nor what all caused his obsession to begin and persist for 11 years. However, I'm inclined to believe it may have been done on purpose to show that Jaemin had always been perverse and selfish deep down; something that a backstory might take away from by making him seem "misunderstood" or "sympathetic." I was still curious to see the extent he went through for 11 years to possess Daon though, so much so that I felt his insanity break at the end felt a little misplaced and spontaneous. Seohyun's backstory was alluded to being demanding because of his family situation, which definitely explains how he got a personality as ill-mannered as he has, but I still feel like there was such a drastic change between when Daon knew him in university versus the present time that I wanted more context of what happened when he was abroad to cause that. Seonghyeon's backstory being included would have also been nice but I understand it wasn't a necessity compared to the other three because his kindness was much more blatantly caused by a kind influence like his grandmother in his life.

Also, why did Daon jump in Seohyun's ride just to avoid Seonghyeon? That seemed too dangerous for him to use just as an out.....and although it was very vague, I think in like episode 6 Daon and Seohyun were alluded to have slept together after Daon dragged him into his house to stop him from fighting Seonghyeon. And if that's true, that was most definitely forced and changes how I'd view Seohyun from being a potential threat to an actual one. It made me really uncomfortable because of how forceful and intimidating Seohyun had been with Daon just moments prior; especially the forced kissing. That scene was the one that made me the most uncomfortable in the entire show-that and when Jaemin forcefully gave Daon a hickey. Daon really did just serve to please these two in their eyes.

My other issue is why the hell did he give a presentation when his love is knocking on death's door???? I don't think I would be mentally well enough to do that considering how his best friend of 11 years he was in love with just attempted to murder-suicide him after chloroforming him, his psycho ex-friend tormenting him recently and coming out of nowhere, and oh of course his lover was just STABBED by his psycho bff of 11 years. What the fuck Daon!?!??! I got to know what was going through the author's head at that point, man.

In conclusion, I really liked the message of this show: have respect for yourself and don't let people treat you terribly, regardless of how long you've known them. Find someone that will treat you with mutual respect and don't let people have control over how you view yourself.

Would I recommend this show? I don't know. I think that the idea was great, but the short runtime took away from the impact it deserved to have. If the Webtoon it is based off of is more complete (and the art style isn't terrible), then I'd recommend reading that instead. Also, the actor who played Jaemin was unsettling as hell and I 100% want to watch anything else he appears in because he did really well (though they all did well).

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She did not, in fact, kill 3 more....

I went in with no spoilers, no trailer; completely blind. Now I'm disappointed.

I seriously want to know why writers have a vendetta against writing villainous characters as morally bad. I was being strung along expecting Mo Eun to be the morally black counter to a morally white protagonist, but of course they had to erase that with a sad backstory. I decided to watch this because I wanted to watch a show with a genuine female sociopath/psychopath, but they were too wimpy to actually go ahead with it. Mo Eun's actress was amazing and killed the cold scenes she was in! It's such a shame her talents were wasted on this character. Why did they have to give her a backstory that felt completely unnecessary to her character? And if I'm honest, it felt like a retcon to her character up until that point; how does a woman that could brutally kill two people and then sit right next to them on a couch have a redemption arc? This isn't Killing Eve, unfortunately. Villanelle was a character that I think embodies what I wanted from Mo Eun to be. A killer that lacks empathy, has a chilling persona, and knows to manipulate people to her advantage. But she just HAD to be a misunderstood woman that was secretly kind yet somehow threw away any semblance of her previous personality in favor of coming across as soulless. Also, if she is sooo intelligent and planned out her revenge by going as far as faking her death and stealing another identity, how come she failed so badly at killing all three of her targets? Was it really that hard? I still don't understand how she even got caught in the first place since she killed them in the comfort of their own home and with no one else around.

As for the MC whose name I forgot, I think she was written quite boringly. She just felt like a character that needed to be there to boost Mo Eun's existence. Because let's face it; Mo Eun was the selling point of the show. The MC was just a damsel for a good portion of the story and I felt like there was very little notable about her. Far more is known about Mo Eun than her. She barely even seemed that shaken up about her husband's death from my point of view. She was just being jerked around by different manipulators throughout the entire story. Then she suddenly grows intelligence for the finale to somehow expose the true villain. She also named her daughter Sop, which I'm sure means something lovely in Korean, but as an English speaker it's hard to take seriously. Her daughter was literally just an NPC with no personality, no nothing. She wasn't at all interesting like the daughter from Flower of Evil was. At least that girl had a personality. Sop was just a blank slate needed to give the MC a motivation for everything that she does in the story.

The lawyers were alright, I guess. The prosecutor was saved by his good actor and realization of his bias he had. Not that that makes him a well-written character, but at least I liked how they showed the inherent biases people can have in those situations. Even I thought the MC didn't seem that shaken up about her husband's death, so I'm a little guilty too. The ex-boxer lawyer was literally just a devoted guy that felt like the equivalent of the golden retriever archetype except nonromantically. I did like his acting, though. His nose really was distracting.

Now the thing that tore this story down DRASTICALLY was the absolutely ATROCIOUS villains. The other lawyer guy and his wife have to be some of the worst villains I have seen in a HOT MINUTE. First off, they are not scary in the slightest. Second, they have barely any relevancy up until the reveal. And third but most certainly not least, they have the single worst motivation for the crimes they committed. They seriously bludgened a guy because he was a little RUDE!? Then they framed his innocent widow for the crime and fundamentally planning to orphan their young child. Because the guy didn't say "sorry." Like, does this author think they're writing Hannibal Lecter??? At least Hannibal killing people for being rude wasn't his only motivation since he was a true sociopath and hunted people when he felt the urge. But these guys? They had no prior reason to do what they did! They were just a regular couple that suddenly were masterminding an elaborate cover up that they would've gotten away with if it weren't for those meddling writers-oops, I mean inTelLigENt protagonist. They really should've just stuck with Mo Eun being the killer and created a thrilling cat and mouse chase between the leading ladies. But of course, we can't have nice things in Dramaland.

A lot of the story just felt like throwing in things in order to get from point A to point B:
"We need a reason for Mo Eun to depend on the MC" - Make her incompetent at fulfilling her thought-out revenge plan!
"We need a way to mislead the prosecutor's initial investigation" - Make her somehow pass the lie detector test by saying she's killed 3+ people despite her NOT having done that in the story! Yes, I am *still* hung up on this!!!
"We need a reason for Mo Eun to be suspected as the hooded figure that stalked the MC" Make a nice doctor discreetly keep her in the nurse's ward for an extended period of time when the cameras are COINCIDENTALLY malfunctioning!
"We need a way for Mo Eun to suspiciously contact the MC despite being in prison and having no connections" - Make her become the savior a gullible girl that is getting out of prison the NEXT DAY!
"We need the MC to get away from her house that is out of range of her tracker" - Make her have a nice police lady that is ignorant to her suspicious behavior!
"We need a reason to redeem Mo Eun despite her murdering two people and planning to murder a teenager" - Make said teenager a scummy rapist that doesn't seem to give a fuck about his dead parents and just hops on Valorant all day!
"We need an intermediate between the MC and the secret antagonists or how else will we make her exposing them plausible" - Make the dead teenager have an obsessive grandpa that will kidnap a child as a hostage and willing to commit murder and not suspicious over the prosecutor that brought him a literal murder tape yet decided NOT to report it to the police! Yeah, that makes perfect sense!
"We need a reason for Mo Eun to have her new identity without painting her as a bad person in order to redeem her" - Mo Eun coincidentally had an extremely ill best friend that allowed herself to die in a car and have her remains desecrated in order to aid Mo Eun in committing murder!
"We now have an issue of needing new villains since we wimped out on Mo Eun being one! What ever will we do?!?!?!" - You see that lawyer guy and his wife with literally one scene? Yeah, make them the killers! They suddenly have a relation to the MC's husband that she didn't know about and they killed him brutally over a slightly rude encounter! Then they gloat about it and feel no shame despite being normal people beforehand! Makes the utmost sense to me!
.....Now you see, I could keep going, but even I'm getting tired of listing all these moments of plot convenience/ineptitude.....

The positives?
- Mo Eun's actress and INITIAL characterization.
- Production was nice and the show looked visually appealing. I liked the camera shots at times and the way it would zoom in on Mo Eun's face was eerie.
- Earlier episodes; especially the first one's setup. Premise was very good.
- Music was pretty good except for when certain songs would feel a little too dramatic for the story.


I feel bad for only listing a few positives, but it's very hard for me to think of any, and I finished this show literally yesterday. I just couldn't stand how they threw in things like pointless drama with the friend and one-dimensional law enforcement left and right without it feeling substantial. I'm honestly sad about how cookie-cutter this story became since I love psychological thrillers! I just hope there will be writers in the future that can create Kdrama characters with moral ambiguity with pride and not be afraid to go through with it!

Final statement: not worth your time; don't watch.

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