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2nd half was disappointing
This has all your usual tropes and cliches- CEO rich boss, star idol cast aside became overweight and became his maid, lots of miscommunication and misunderstandings, bitchy rivals etc…The first half wasn’t too bad actually, and I didn’t mind the cliches. How the CEO looked past her looks and was attracted to her personality and good traits. But somehow after they got together he became brainless and spineless, and suddenly she was calling all the shots. She wouldn’t even listen to his explanations- just throwing tantrums.
Yeah the good thing is it’s short, and all their problems seem to resolve within one episode lol;) Wouldn’t recommend this. Let’s move on :)
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Good drama, bad morals :(
The title tells it all really- it’s a story about revenge. But how do you take revenge on others? The smart way? The sophisticated way? The by-the-law way? Or just downright tie him to a chair and beat him up??! Yeah… that’s what this drama is all about.I thought it was quite violent, or the insinuation of violence was pretty strong. It really projects a poor image of the police force and the school discipline/ administration. The police didn’t believe it wasn’t a suicide; when they did, they were always one step behind the high schoolers. Hmmm.. then a boy who raped his fellow schoolmate, was allowed to come back to the same school as the girl he raped. What the???!!! It’s no wonder high school kids think they can take matters into their own hands- instead of reporting it to the office/ police.
The morals behind this story was poor, not a good way to live life. But- the drama itself is intriguing and has a good pace. Enough twists and turns to keep you interested; and it’s short only 12 episodes. PLUS you have the visuals of Park Solomon and Seo Ji Hoon :):) The character I loved to hate was Kook Ji Hyun. MAN… she was a bi*ch! Those who think they can do anything or get away with anything because they are rich.
Have a go at this one, just make sure you’re in a happy place when you watch this lol. No romance, but there’s some sweet moments between the leads where they hold hands. That’s it ;)
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Typical and bitchy ;)
This has CLICHE written all over it!! ;) Overbearing CEO✔️ Contract Marriage✔️ Accidental fall and kiss✔️ Annoying best friends who will eventually fall in love ✔️😅 Love rival✔️ ML cooking for FL ✔️ Princess Carry✔️ Save the damsel in distress✔️ Sister jealousy and trying to destroy your life✔️And the list goes on... ;););)It’s typical but I am quite enjoying it lol (only from Ep 1-9) The later episodes are full of bitchiness from the girl/ boy love rivals and towards the end from the jealous sister. I really couldn’t take all the lying and back-stabbing so I ff quite a bit. And of course-lack of communication from our main couple. The side couple which are their best friends is annoying, yeesh.
The romance development was not great, but there are quite a few of tender and pda scenes. Chemistry was quite good. Let’s be honest, I only finished it to watch Luo Zheng ;) Don’t expect too much, just watch this in between some serious ones and you’ll be fine;)
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A tragic love story
This won’t be your typical romance drama, and there’s not a lot of skin-ship. There were many times I would scream at my screen and say, “Kiss her you fool!” ;) But alas, Zhousheng Chen is too noble and honourable for that.It’s a slow burn, melodrama with a tragic ending, so make sure you have the stomach for that. The storyline can be confusing, as the timeline goes across years in just one episode and next thing you know, ten years have passed! Also there’s a lot of families and clans so the names will be difficult to remember. It starts off a little meh, and the first half is lighter but as it progresses the conspiracy, power struggle, betrayal etc makes it darker and definitely more interesting.
I DO LOVE the cinematography! The settings are all so realistic and beautiful. The battle scenes are epic, very similar to LOTR (in fact one scene really looked like the battle at Rohan) and the orchestral music soundtrack is very very well done! It really moves the audience for the particular scene. Bravo to the composers!
Now as for the love story, it’s slow- but their affections run deep and although nothing was really laid out in the open, their love for each other was very real. From the happy glances to the intense looks; the gestures and gifts that he gave Cui Shiyi over the years; from how he is so protective of her etc... I only wish, really wished there was SOME skin-ship and some sort of utterance of love etc. Even if it was just one scene... sigh. Allen Ren was good, a little stiff I felt with not much variation in portraying his emotions. Bai Lu I loved!! Very beautiful and talented actress but I don’t know why her voice was dubbed. :(
The supporting casts were fantastic! Each had their own story and character development which were fundamental to the plot and storyline. I DO FEEL SORRY for Liu Zi Xing- as a kid he was being used as a scapegoat and took all the punishments for the emperor; he was promised the title Crown Prince but was denied it later; the woman he loved felt nothing for him; his health was poorly and in the end, he lost everything. Really sad :(:(
The ending [skip this part if you don’t want to read SPOILERS] :
1) Zhousheng Chen should have never trusted the word of a mad rebellious general like Jin Rong. When he was set up, he had enough manpower to fight back.
2) Cui Shiyi - ending your life also was not the right choice. You could have helped regain the armies and power to fight back and bring honour back to the kingdom.
3) I thought there would at least be an epic battle scene where the Nanchen Royal Army would fight back, but in the end it was just a brief summary. the last 15-20mins was kind of a let down.
Tbh, I didn’t cry at the end. Not like Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Youth of May- I was crying till I couldn’t breathe :( The next drama Forever and Ever- is a continuation of this story, where they meet again in modern times and Cui Shiyi has memories of her past life. One and Only is one of the better historical Wuxia dramas, definitely recommended. :)
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Typical and annoying
Yes, all the typical drama cliches - serious lack of communication, loads of misunderstandings and bickering, third & fourth parties, marriage contract, break up and get back together etc...It started off quite well, some funny and cute moments. It ding-donged for quite a bit before they officially got together. After that there were some sweet romance moments, and then it just got annoying. I would say both ML and FL did some wrong things, so not one party was entirely to blame. The break up scene was quite heart-breaking though... I could truly feel his pain.
Many loopholes in the storyline, like how did Jiang Jixuan betray the company? There wasn’t really a background story or details to what exactly , and after that what happened? It was left hanging. The last episode seemed rather rushed.
All in all was quite disappointed. ML had a good physique, good looking - nice jaw line and cheek bones and dressed well💁🏻♂️ Which kept me watching till the end! 😂 FL is only 19 years old 😱 and her first drama apparently.
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It won’t make sense
Generally I found it quite engaging. Some funny parts lol, romance progression was quite good. I like shows where the ML is focused and intent on his woman and doesn’t stray. Both leads however lacked chemistry, and HYT should learn and rehearse kissing scenes... seriously 😂There were a lot of kissing scenes but both very stiff and unnatural.Storyline was ok until the last 1 mins of the drama! I can’t believe Appledog actually played for SP team- opposite and rival her husband🤦🏻♀️ She should have joined K&K and make the team invincible. 😎 At least there was no silly break up scenes. The game tournaments were intense and interesting, but I personally preferred Gank Your Heart - Wang Yibo😍 (but the romance progression in that show was bad!)
All in all, just watch for a light hearted funny game show.
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Disappointed :(
If you’ve watched Season 1, then S2 is really nothing new. The writers just made them separate and lose their memory in Ep1, so they would fall in love all over again. With the added best friend/ brother and side characters, the basic storyline is pretty much the same. I expected more depth and continuation of their love and adventures, (we had a glimpse of that in the final episode) but it was pretty much just a repeat… a better repeat at least.I didn’t really like Wan Peng’s acting. It’s probably her script and character, but no real development or I didn’t find her very engaging. Visuals of Fang Leng was of course dreamy ;) and it was basically what kept me going lol. I skipped and Ff quite a bit, which meant I found it quite boring. Happy ending yes- but don’t expect too much from it.
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Slow burn done right ;)
I’m sure you already know the huge success of this drama. Everyone is raving about it, and rightly so.My fav trope is enemies to lovers. Most time it’s your typical misunderstanding blah blah … but this background history and how the two main leads developed their relationship was so interesting and well done. Firstly an arrangement marriage with your sworn enemy! Who would do it? He was about to turn her away, and one look at her, and he agreed to marry! :) Both struggled with distrust, he struggled to forgive, let go and move on; she struggled to prove herself using the mind, words and manipulation to survive. Slowly but surely, the onion layers begin to peel off, going through many tests and opposition from almost everyone around them. It’s a slowwww burn romance, but the chemistry and intensity is super good. He is the Lord of Wei, but with his wife he is a little cub scared of her! Haha.. the comedy lines and facial expressions were all very cute.
The four generals were a hoot as well, although I did think more than once- why were they so free to always wait on Wei Shao? Lol.. There were also times where I felt there was a tad too much comedy.. and a little bit more fighting would have been preferred. The battle scenes looked like something out of The Lord of the Rings! Even in the last episode there was an archer who reminded me of Legolas ;)
Is it a happy ending? [spoiler] yes for the main leads, but there are a few “good guys” that die. I thought Lady Yulou had it too easy. Wei Shao shld have executed her earlier, or for the sake of his brother at least imprisoned her for life. Liu Yan was just too power mad with no real battle strategy or brains, basically killed those who supported him out of tantrum.
My fav character was Wei Shao - cold on the outside but warm hearted and caring in the inside. The scene where he bowed to his father in law, and when his father in law bowed to the Wei State- was just iconic. So well written.
Highly highly recommended! Don’t wait anymore. I’ve already watched it twice on netflix
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Could have been better :)
I was completely blown away with the first episode! The two child actors were fantastic, the setting and tragic background history plus the CG cinematography was excellent! It got me hooked straightaway.The first half of this drama focused on our FL Xiao Yao, who whilst trying to look for her cousin brother/ family got kidnapped and tortured for 70 years. She then as an adult, disguised herself as a man and lived as a normal ordinary man working her keep (she is actually a princess). So story goes on and she saves this beggar on the brink of death and nurses him back to life. Eventually this dude becomes her love interest and is also from noble birth.
What’s interesting about this drama is that humans live amongst deities (have super powers and long life) as well as demons. She meets this nine headed demon, who initially mistreats her, trying to kill her several times. But she seems to keep going back to him (for what reason I can’t remember) but they develop a very strong bond of friendship and he (the demon) eventually falls in love with her. His role is played by Tan xian ci, who is very dreamy and aesthetic as Xiang Liu (with his white attire and silver hair)
Then there is her cousin brother Cang Xuan who felt so guilty not being able to protect her when she went missing. After reuniting, he sort of falls in love with her as well, but knows they cannot be together because of his ambition and destiny to be King of Xiyan.
These three men surrounding and including our FL had very strong characters and a good development in their journey. The 4th guy Feng Long seemed redundant to me;)
Whilst the first half focused on the character development, the second half became a tad boring and typical - where Cang Xuan is working his way to gain power and allies to get to the throne, while his uncles and others try to disrupt him. I wished the writers focused a little more on the super powers and abilities, instead of having long and serious melodrama talks about life and love.
If you’re expecting a great romance, you’ll be disappointed because it’s a sad tale for the so called lovey couple. Some opinions say the ending for Season 1 was a somewhat closure, but I feel it’s more an open ending. Not a cliffhanger, but not a real closure as there are many loose ends to the story. Apparently there’s a Season 2, so we will have to wait for that ;)
Very very long drama… but I was very intrigued and hooked for the first half.
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Started off well but then… draggy again!
As most Cdramas out there nowadays, this started really well. The storyline and background plot was really good, voices were not dubbed, production was modern and everything seemed great.Then somewhere in the middle the FL was getting very annoying. The ML who is her ex bf, broken up 5 years ago, is the father of her 4 yo son, whom she kept secret from him. Upon finding out, of course he wanted to spend time with his son, showered him w lots of gifts to make up for lost time. Any woman would be ecstatic - that the father would want to spend so much time and play with the boy! But not this woman, she kept pushing him away. I suppose she was afraid that he would try to take her child away from her.
Towards the 2nd half, the ML became annoying. He was constantly jealous and trying to win her heart, he pulled all sorts of stupid tricks, feigning sickness and was too clingy and jealous. Spoiler: they only get together in episode 23!!! Which is way too draggy for my liking. I personally preferred the 2nd couple- older woman younger man theme. The third couple with the doctor was just ridiculous. She was chasing him relentlessly and then all of a sudden, the tables turned and he was chasing her?? A waste of time in my opinion.
I understand the writers wanting to highlight the issue of sexual harassment in the office and women standing up for their rights- it was a little too obvious and some parts were rather far fetched.
The romance was alright, their kisses not that great and their chemistry rather put on. It’s a happy ending, and some sad touching moments. All in all it wasn’t too bad, but it would have been better if it was shorter.
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Good main leads but the rest....?
Be prepared- if you don’t understand Mandarin, the English subs are really bad!! ;(;( I only understand very little, so a lot of things were so confusing.The character and romance/ relationship development between Yu Hao and Su Kelan was quite good. A lot of values and priorities the FL said rings true, and she slowly changed the ML from his hard, non caring personality, to someone who is thoughtful and a more considerate person. Her character is a strong, smart capable woman who performs really well at work, which I liked. Umm... there were some chauvinistic elements from the ML which I didn’t quite fancy, but it didn’t really bother me that much.
To be honest though, although Su Kelan wants to spend more time taking care of her mum, which is very honourable... it’s not realistic if she doesn’t work. And she has to have a high enough position in the company in order to be able to afford all the medication, dialysis and hospital bills! So it doesn’t make sense at all that she can just quit her job without thinking about the future. His mistake was not going straight to her at the hospital... that upset me. I guess both are still learning about life and love. There was a nice confession scene in episode 9, and some sweet PDA and kissing moments the next few episodes... nothing too raunchy ;) Gao Han Yu is a real eye candy here ;)
The second couple was less interesting, lots of bickering and childish banter. The third couple- yeesh. I fast forwarded all their scenes, not interesting to me at all.
I’ve heard the ending is a happy one... so wait for the update next week! :):) UPDATE: Ending was a sweet one, but it dragged out until the last 10mins ;( so typical. Sigh.. I do like the main couple. Unfortunately I FF a lot as the pace was just too draggy.
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Second half was mundane :(
I actually binge watched the first 6 episodes. Found it very interesting and intriguing. Unfortunately it did not last, as the second half became dull and mundane.Many reviewers said that Hwang Min Hyun aka ML face was stoic and lacked expressions throughout. I tend to agree on that. The chemistry was missing between both leads. There were some kissing scenes but it seemed more like good friends kissing lol. The main plot was quite predictable and the last few episodes were draggy.
The side plots with the side characters were dull and uninteresting. All in all it was just alright. Which is a shame really, cos it had much promise at the beginning.
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It was good until it wasn’t :(
I would say first half was a good build up- interesting cases, interesting character development. Mid point it got a bit stale, and towards the end it was just lots of FF.The acting my Park Eun Bin is definitely praise worthy... I believe she studied the characteristics and portrayed very well a person with autism. So kudos to her!! Kang Tae Oh was dreamy up until the point where they broke up. When that happened, he seemed REAL CHILDISH and having tantrums lol.. idk.. he was just so pathetic about the whole situation.
Last few episodes the cases were boring, and all the unnecessary side plots like getting cancer, and the coworkers liking each other.. seemed like they just needed fillers. Give this one a go... but don’t expect too much. :)
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Melodrama with some sports and romance elements
This started off quite well; it had a lot of promise and I liked it better than 2521 ( which I dropped at Ep 14) It’s not a rom-com, that’s why I say it’s a melodrama- which means there’s a lot of crying, relationship problems, unresolved past issues and wait... more crying.The FL is an ex-national team badminton player. She “ran away” for three years because of an incident and has never resolved it. The ML is a promising badminton player who had been hiding behind his sister’s shadow his whole life and is desperate for his parents and the world’s attention. Both found solace and comfort in each other, and eventually love starts to develop. They are quite cute together, and there is some skinship ;) but it’s not the centre of the storyline.
You have your typical side couples, side teammates who initially hate you, treat you badly then after a long while start to stand up for you and encourage you. Some issues with the writing and characters eg the coach. Head coach and assistant coach are pretty incompetent- very old school kind of training, not encouraging nor inspiring. [Spoiler: Male doubles team- one player pushed his partner to the floor, grabbed his racket to hit the shuttlecock. Umm.. I don’t think that kind of play is EVER allowed on the court. End spoiler]
Initially rated it a 8/10, now dropping it to a 7.5. It’s getting kinda slow and draggy. Let’s see how it develops and ends. ;)
Update: Ending was a nice wrap up of all characters. I still didn’t like the mother: it remained quite draggy throughout the last 5 episodes which was unfortunate. I did complete it but ff here and there.
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More of a healing drama
I don’t like storylines where a person is falsely accused of some misdeed or misconduct, and the public suddenly turns against them so fast without concrete evidence and without knowing the full story, quick to judge. And the victim has no way to vindicate herself- I which I find incredulous it being 2024 with all its advance tech etc…Anyhow, so ya. That’s how the story goes for our FL to run away back to her hometown. It’s very much a healing drama, so there will be lots of crying. I would say the main underlying ripple here would be the issue of unforgiveness, which involves not only the main leads but the families as well. The comedy and supporting cast are not too bad, I was able to watch without ff too much ;)
The romance and chemistry is not so evident. So if you’re looking for that then you will be disappointed. Both actors did a great job though, and I’ve like Ji Chang Wook since Healer, but his other dramas after were not so promising.
All in all this was a pretty good watch. Just get ready those tissues!
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