Sam

Delightful Zone of Chuckles and Feels

This drama had me cackling most of the time. It’s a neat balance of funny, dramatic and serious. But for me, the funny outweighed most of the other things.

A modern day goody-two-shoes FL gets sucked into a fantasy web novel after leaving a stinging review. On that note, I feel I’d better be careful when I review dramas unfavourably. Who knows! Anyhoo. She gets sucked into the fantasy world but the catch is she becomes a character who is evil, selfish and cruel. Our FL is obviously quite the opposite so she has to correct the past actions of her vile version and figure out a way to return to the reality. She is asked to complete levels to come out. Love Game in Eastern Fantasy is her journey through that world, where she makes friends, meets her love, learns magic and eventually helps defeat the real evil. She is accompanied by the ML who has some dangerous secrets, his sister who is a real sweetheart, an upright, skilled magician-fighter and a cute little demon. What enfolds is a hilarious and heartwarming magical story.

The story sounds tropey. But it never takes itself too seriously; except maybe at the end. The script is tight, except a few episodes which I felt were rather too stretched. The whole Marquess and the wedding fiasco took a lot more screen space than it deserved, although the whole thing was farcically hilarious. Similarly the whole finding Mu Sheng’s mother adventure or Mu Yao and Fyu Yi’s encounter with his psycho sister could have been wrapped a bit faster. But apart from these minor flaws the story and screenplay are pretty controlled. Romance is secondary here. It’s there but it’s more like background music. It’s not the focal point.

The CGI could have been better. Some props were so obviously fake that it gave me the feel of watching an old classic. In today’s tech world, it’s an uncomfortable pill to swallow but the cast and direction more than make up for it.

Ding Yuxi has already established how talented he is. His Mu Sheng is a perfect ML with a right mix of bratty and brave. He is devoted to his sister which makes him suspicious of everybody who tries to get closer to her. He is touched by the thoughtfulness of modified version of Lin Yu but that does not make him lower his guard. She has to earn his trust through her actions. DYX has depicted Mu Sheng’s swagger and vulnerability right on the spot.

But the star of this show for me was Esther Yu. Her Miao Miao is to die for. She is hilariously goofy with high EQ. She is so relatable. Her innocence, bravery, loyalty, goofiness as well as smartness come alive under EY’s craft. Miao Miao never loses the sight of her goal of returning to the reality but in the moment of need, she is ready to sacrifice it for her friends. She is emotionally intelligent to understand Mu Sheng’s dilemma but at the same time clueless to the Marquees’s fanboy. Esther has done a fantastic job here. I simply loved her Lin Yu / Miao Miao.

The supporting cast has done pretty solid too. Zu ShunDan’s Mu Yao is kindness and sweetness personified. Yang Shi Ze’s Fu Yi is so righteous and morally upright that he is borderline boring. Shout out to little Cui Cui. So darn cute.

Direction is on target. All little touches like when Lin Yu automatically starts to kneel down with others in front of Mu Sheng make the drama what it is. Full marks there.

The final battle with the main antagonist was a bit of let down for me. I was also slightly confused by the whole Mu Sheng’s mom turning into the Resentful Woman thingie. The Resentful Woman was established as some big bogeyman from the beginning that her end was a bit underwhelming for me. Also the end of building a sky ladder was slightly stretched than necessary. But again, these were minor detractors. They did not diminish my fun in any way.

All in all, this is a fun drama. A solid green in my entertainment ledger. The humor lands, the heart is real, and despite some wobbly CGI and a few stretched arcs, the cast carries the story with charm and commitment. If you’re looking for a fantasy romp that balances laughs and feels without taking itself too seriously, this one’s an easy pick.

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Retribution 101

The Double could easily be a daily soap. Thankfully it is not and it is much more entertaining. The Double dabbles in all the virtues and vices - self sacrifice, revenge, karma, selfishness, psychotic obsession, manipulation, kindness, cruelty, hyposcricy, cowardice and bravery. You name it, you got it.

The story is engaging. At the very center of it is Jiang Li a.k.a Xue Fangfei, a virtuous, loyal, beautiful young wife of a newly appointed scholar, who unfortunately catches the psycho princess’s eye. Under her pressure and his own cowardice, he not only loses himself but has to kill his wife. Xue Fangfei manages to survive because of brave kindness of a total stranger Jiang Li. Just for the crime of helping her, Li loses her life. Li, whose life is a series of tragedies and betrayals, makes Fangfei promise that she would help clear Li’s name from utterly false and criminally cruel allegations made by her step mother. And that’s where the drama begins. There after it’s a series of incidents that eventually not only restores Jiang Li’s good name but even punishes literally everybody responsible for ruining it in the first place. Along the way, Fangfei takes her revenge by destroying the would-be killers. And as a bonus, she gets her happily ever after with a handsome, enigmatic Duke who never gives up on her. At one point, he is the only decent man in her life. He sticks with her and she with him. Together they manage to save the kingdom as well.

This is the story. It’s melodramatic in the sense the villains schemes seemed OTT at some points. But at no point, Li seemed hopeless or lost in her counter-schemes. That shows that at no point the story had any confusion about the direction it wanted to go in. There are a couple of unnecessary tracks, which if edited out could have made the story even more tight.

The screenplay is not 100% in sync with the story. Maybe it was due to some weird decisions to edit out stuff. For example, I still don’t know why the Duke stared at Xue Fangfei at the very beginning. It’s shown as a kinda flashback. But I don’t understand the reason behind it. It also does not clearly tell why Shen Yurong tangled with the princess in the first place. Sure, she noticed him, but I am sure he could have avoided many if not all of those encounters. He was said to be a virtuous man who did not take bribes. So why did he let the princess get to the point of obsession? These small details actually are important which throw light on the characters and their motives. At least for me, these details decide whether I sympathize with a villain or not. Because this motive is never shown, I could not sympathize with the princess or Shen Yurong. Sure, Shang Yurong was kind of a tortured character but all I saw was, his selfishness and borderline narcissism which creates the whole mess. Princess, although has a backstory and battles with some serious PTSD, did not make me feel sorry for her. There was not a single act of kindness from that woman. For me, she was truly irredeemable.

And that brings me to the characterization. Since it’s based on a novel, characters are all predefined. The drama does not have a lot of leeway. It can only deviate so much from the main source. They can only pick and choose which characters to keep. This drama does a solid in that section. 99% of the characters aren’t superfluous. They serve a purpose and carry the story forward.

Which automatically leads to the actors. All the actors have done pretty decent job in the drama. Wu Jinyan excelled in the scenes when she returns to the capital under the guise of Jiang Li and inadvertently crosses path with her would-be murderers. You can feel her rage, hurt and pain in these scenes. At the same time, her pretend contriteness when she first returns home is not over done. Well balanced acting.

Wang xingyue played an enigmatic and borderline cruel Duke Su. I enjoyed anytime WXY was on the screen. But I gotta be honest, at times he appeared wooden and awkward in some scenes, especially in the close up scenes where he had to smile or soften towards Li. Duke Su’s cold and calculating demeanour was perfectly captured by WXY, but in the romantic scenes it was a hit or a miss for me. Some of their flirting was done so naturally that it gave me a melty feeling but some was so wooden, that I was frowning at my screen. At the risk of getting tarred and feathered, I will say that there was no natural chemistry. Any chemistry that I saw and liked was mostly a product of story, careful editing, and my natural desire for our leads getting together. One thing though, not at any juncture, the story tried to become a romance. It had romance but that happened in the background. At no point, it overpowered the essence of the story.

It is around 40% about leads, the rest is villains. There were so many. That’s why it felt like a daily soap. They just kept coming. Sure, our leads managed to overcome them every single time. But I also felt somewhat exhausted with their scheming and general villainy. On that note, I do not agree with anybody who says the princess or the step mother are grey characters. Nope, they are not. They had backstories, yes. But at no point, they showed any mercy towards their victims. At no point, they behaved like good people and in the in the very next, would happily slit throats. Nah, they were just cruel and evil. The only grey character was Shen Yurong. He was so delusional that he wanted to get back with his wife he tried to killed. He kept helping her through out. But all of that was not counter balanced by his initial atrocity. He, for me, is a grey character.

I have one gripe though. The deaths of duke’s lackeys was so so so unnecessary that my jaw dropped when they happened. They happened in the last 10 minutes of the show. Why?why would you kill perfectly healthy, skilled warriors - not one but both? What were they even thinking? SMH. IMO, that whole battle was senseless and way unnecessary. Those last 15 minutes could have given us a good epilogue where Li slowly humanized the Duke. In stead they gave a 5 minutes extra episode which felt very choppy due to its disconnect from the last episode.

Anyhoo. The positives are lot more than the shortcomings IMO. If you have any doubt about watching it, watch it solely for Duke Su’s fans and WXY’s martial practices. It will get yiu your money’s worth.

Overall, I’d put in the solid green in my entertainment ledger.

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A solid “A” drama

It’s been awhile since I watched a historical c-drama. I’m happy that I got back to the genre with Love Like the Galaxy.

It’s a delightful drama with all the usual tropes. The “tropiness” however did not grate on my nerves. That’s mostly because the characters grew consistently from the beginning to the end. All these usual tropes were organic parts of the story. They did not seem contrived and created just because. I guess I’m one of the jaded ones. The tropes do not give me the feels anymore. Most of the times they seem as interesting as a shoe polish. I was pleasantly surprised by this drama.

All except one thing - the way most of the eligible young ladies are jealous of Niao Niao. And the script constantly pulls them down to elevate Niao Niao. Even a simple dance performance by the princess fails because the group falls on each other. Because why? She did not practice enough? That’s lazy writing. It’s low-key misogynistic. I’m not going to cry anti-feminism. I’m watching the dramas for entertainment and not enlightenment. But the young women in the show are petty and frankly plain dumb. Their diatribes against Niao Niao seem like proverbial red flags to the bull. They at times are added only for Ling buyi to come to spectacular rescues of Niao Niao. They are so petty, that it’s not even funny. That was the one trope that had me RME. It was alright the first time, not the second or the third or the tenth time.

Anyhoo. That one thing aside, this drama was a delight to watch. I love how all the characters are superbly imperfect. There is no shining halo behind a single character. Even the epitome of the kindness Empress, fails to raise her daughter well. The kind and adorable Emperor is oblivious to his Empress’s pain. Zisheng and Shaoshang are imperfect enough for them to grow and evolve. Really good stuff.

Zhao Lusi, IMO, was perfectly cast for this role. She really portrayed that stubborn, independent yet vulnerable Niao Niao in all her glory. Niao Niao wants to be acknowledged for herself, not just a fiancée of so and so. She yearns for parents’ love yet at the same time she doesn’t mope and drown in self pity for the lack of it. She is loyal to those who show her kindness but not blind to overlook their wrongdoings. I loved how she is practical during her first betrothal to know that it is not a love match and is ok with it. She is not entering it blindly. Zhao Lusi faithfully portrayed all those qualities that make Niao Niao a fascinating main lead. I am thankful beyond anything to not have her talk in fake baby tones. Brownie points from me. ;D

Leo Wu as Ling Buyi nailed it too. The way this stoic general softens when he catches her glimpses is fascinating to watch. He also has his own story line. He does not become a love puppy even after their confession. He maintains his personality. That credit goes to the story but also to Leo Wu for portraying these traits the way he does.. IMO his performance is a step ahead of Zhao Lusi. One shout out to the fight scenes, especially the one at the gate. It was fantastically shot. It shows how tactical his mind is. It shows his awareness of his surroundings even in the midst of his fight. Again good stuff.

All the supporting characters and the cast selected to play them made this drama what it was for me. It’d be a stupidly long review if I were to go in details for the, may be some other time.

All in all, I loved it. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

Oh and PS; may be extra point to the chemistry between our ML and FL. To use the cliched adjective, it’s sizzling.

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A Crown for Effort

Perfect Crown is the drama equivalent of a meal that smells better than it tastes. You finish it. You don't regret it. But you remember the menu more fondly than the food. >_<

Plot
An uber-rich heiress proposes a marriage of convenience to the prince regent. She wants the title. His reasons for accepting are murkier - a looming scandal, or an escape from the scheming Queen Mother, or both. The drama never quite commits. What follows is political intrigue, noble idiocy on all sides, and a resolution that ties things up a little too neatly.

Characters & Performances
Seong Hui Ju, played by the talented IU, is headstrong, capable, garrulous - a modern-day Cinderella who takes no prisoners and needs no stepmother. IU sets the tone early and sets it well. Hui Ju's sharpness, her impatience with her foolish brother, her hunger for her father's approval - all of it lands. In most of her dramas, IU holds your interest like a marching band. Here, somewhere around the midpoint, the drums go quiet. Her performance flattens, Hui Ju becomes oddly inert, and the uncomfortable truth is that almost any competent actress could have stepped in without you noticing. Disappointing, given what she showed us in the first few episodes.

Byeon Woo-Seok, on the other hand, actually improves as the series progresses. Early on, Seon Jae-ya kept intruding - it was briefly hard to see him as a serious, no-nonsense royal. But that passed quickly. BWS carries Yi-An's aloof royalness, his exhaustion from constantly playing chess with the Queen Mother, and his quiet trauma with real conviction. His contained breakdown in the hospital is a small testimony to how much he has matured since Lovely Runner.

Gong Seung Yeon's Queen Mother Yi-Rang is scheming, power-hungry, and ultimately somewhat grey, which should make her interesting. The problem is motivation. In a historical drama, losing position could mean losing your head, and the desperation makes sense. Here, in a modern setting, Yi-An holds the actual power as regent. So why does Yi-Rang fight so ferociously to maintain her grip? The drama gestures at her father's pressure but never gives us enough scenes to feel her helplessness there. Without a convincing motive, she ends up reading as merely catty rather than desperate, which is a waste of a potentially complex character.

The villains are a similar story — appearing like summer storms, convenient and undercooked. Some are weak; some seem villainous simply because the story needed someone to fill the role.

That said, the performances collectively hold this drama upright. Uneven at times, but earnest throughout.

Screenplay
The premise is genuinely interesting. The execution, less so. Forcing a monarchy into a contemporary setting requires some cinematic faith - and Perfect Crown asks for more than it earns. Key questions the drama leaves dangling: if marrying into royalty costs Hui Ju the CEO position she's fighting for, why covet the title at all? And why is the previous king so visibly depressed, and why does their father harbour such hostility toward Yi-An? These aren't minor gaps. They sit at the centre of the story, and the screenplay never fills them.

Overall
Perfect Crown is another drama that leans entirely on its cast to paper over a shaky script, and the cast, to their credit, mostly delivers. But even earnest performances have limits. I'd waited for the show to finish before bingeing, hoping for something that rewarded the patience. It didn't quite get there. Not a bad watch, but not a satisfying one either. The crown fits, just not perfectly. :/

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Great Cast, Questionable Mission

If you can suspend your disbelief for about a month straight and overlook a mountain of implausibility, you might enjoy Undercover High School. If not, this drama will test your patience faster than a surprise math exam.

Story
At its core, this is a treasure hunt story that requires a secret agent to re-enter high school as a student. Once there, he faces off against a psychotic villain, reconnects with his first love, helps his classmates, and works to solve the central mystery. Along the way, he also confronts and resolves his own personal struggles. There.. you have the entire 12 episode story summed up.

Performances
The show is carried almost entirely by Seo Kang Joon and Jin Ki Joo from the very first episode to the last.

Seo Kang Joon’s secret agent is the heart and soul of the drama. In true main hero fashion, he makes dashing entrances, charms viewers with his striking looks, fights the good fights, and generally dominates the screen.

Jin Ki Joo, in her usual effortless style, stands firmly beside him. Her idealistic teacher deeply loves her students and is willing to go the extra mile for them, making you wish you had encountered at least one such teacher during your own school years. She also brings just the right touch of eccentricity that allows her character to join the hero’s secret mission.

The “domestic four” team is another highlight. Their scenes are consistently hilarious and deserve a special shout-out.

Meanwhile, Kim Shin Rok delivers a memorably unhinged performance as Seo Myeong Ju. The character is unapologetically evil, and is focused solely on her goals and unconcerned about the lives she destroys along the way. She steals, kills, manipulates, and threatens anyone necessary to achieve her aims. She does not even spare her own daughter, let alone others.

The character itself is not particularly complex, but Kim Shin Rok’s powerful performance keeps the villain from becoming one-note. Her cloyingly sweet voice and childish giggles add disturbingly sinister nuances.

The supporting cast also do their part well and contribute to the overall entertainment.

Script
The story attempts to take itself seriously at various points, but mostly fails. It briefly touches on serious issues like school bullying, yet never explores them in depth, which prevents these moments from leaving a lasting impact.

There is also very little romance, and the mystery itself is not particularly compelling. In fact, the drama occasionally seems to forget that the mystery was supposed to be its central focus. Although it includes “whodunnit” elements, the narrative tries to juggle too many tones and genres. As a result, it never fully commits to any of them.

Overall
In the end, the drama lands somewhere between forgettable and mildly watchable. A significant suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy it. If you can manage that, you might find it entertaining enough. If not, it’s probably best to give this one a pass

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So Glad I Hit a Play

I am in my C-Drama phase. So naturally like a well adjusted person, I am currently watching nothin' other than historical C-Dramas, genre non-withstanding. Although none I have watched recently was a dud, there were very few which compelled me to share the joy I felt after watching them. Blossom is probably in the top 5 of such c-dramas.

Ok so gushing mode triggered, fair warning.

I loved this drama. Like absolutely loved it. I would be watching it again, then again and may be yet again. It has solid "A"s in every thing that counts for me. Although the concept is not at all original, the story and screenplay make it feel fresh. The narration is tightly controlled. There are no loose threads; there are no unnecessary tracks; there are very few filler scenes. I kid you not. I started watching this last evening. I binged through the night. At 5:00 AM this morning, I realized that I should rest my eyes. It was a tough decision to make. But I grabbed 4 hours of sleep and then continued from there. I was that riveted. I had to click on the next episode. I couldn't help myself.

Characters and actors. There are so many characters, and 99% of those have back stories and reasons. With most of them, you understand why they are doing what they are doing. It probably helped that I did not hit an FF even once. So may be that was the reason why every character felt real?!? Dunno.

The main leads are to die for. They are so intelligent and fierce and loyal, that I rooted for them not just because I was supposed to. I wanted them to have a good ending. I was invested in their struggles. Song Mo and Shou Gu are going to live rent free in my heart for a long time. Their initial tussle, power play, mistrust, mutual respect for each other's capabilities and the instinctive pull towards one another are presented so darn well. There is no insta-love. They are not enemies either (although Song Mo actually greets Shou Gu with a sword across her throat). They are two people thrown together by their fates. But they are essentially very smart people. So even though they find the other intriguing, there is no lowering of their guards. It happens all so organically, that when they eventually trust each other, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. I gobble that stuff. Give me a good slow-burn and I am your minion. This drama does that well.

Meng Zi Yi rocked. Her Shou Gu is another badass h who does not need to be bratty. She does not possess any martial skills. Her brain is her asset and she abundantly uses it. This is a blast to the past drama, where she gets a do-over after getting backstabbed by her good for nothing husband and at the same time, meeting a stranger, Song Mo, who basically dies for her. She makes full use of it. She does not have any altruistic motives in the beginning. She is not out there to save the world. She just wants to avoid her own tragedy. By the end, she willingly enters the fray to save her loved ones, most importantly her husband. In her first life, she is painfully betrayed by her loser, cheating SOB husband and her younger half sister. Yet, in her second chance, she gives her all for her loving husband. “You and I are different. I trust the person I love”, her simple statement to the Empress showcases what a mature and brave woman Shou Gu is. Meng Zi Yi captured Shou Gu's sharp wit so darn well. Her large eyes and ready smiles do help.

As good as MZY is, for me, the star of the show was Li Yun Rui. I had seen him in a couple forgettable supporting roles. This was his first major drama that I watched. Me likieee! In the first scene, with that amazing silver grey hair and a slow & tired drawl, he just reeled me in. Since Legolas and Aragorn, I have a thing for hooded, tortured heroes. No wonder I fell so hard for Song Mo. Li Yun Rui brought Song Mo to life. His darkness, tiredness, and undeniable goodness grabbed ahold of my heart through the screen. I waited for him to come on the screen. Even a simple twitch of his eyebrow added to the depth of the scenes. I can also gleeful attest that Song Mo maintains the same charisma through out. Shou Gu does not outshine him in the second half or vice versa. That's my pet peeve. A to-die-for ML roams around with a lost puppy expression once the marriage is consummated or something.

Li Yun Rui is a seriously good looking guy too. In my magnificent shallowness, I confess that I started watching the drama because I was captivated by his beauty. Typically that adjective is not used for men. I am gonna. He is utterly beautiful. *Sigh*. Even if he didn't perform the way he did, I would have been happy to just watch him on the screen.

IMO the leads did not have the so-called sizzling chemistry. They just worked together very well. They fit.I was more than happy with the outcome. I guess that's what good actors bring to the table. Their scenes still made me squee. Like a simp I was smiling whenever they got all flirty.

I want to specifically add one thing. The baddies are aplenty in this drama. But amongst those, Song Yi Chun, Song Mo's dad, is the most despicable character in the drama. I won't go in details, but I hated his guts. It's not even that the actor did a magnificent job or anything.. the character is vileness personified. Duke of Ying aka the worst father of the century, deserved to die a more brutal death (pardon my bloodthirstiness) . That scum.. Ugh. Then there was Wang Ying Xue aka the wicked-witch-of-the-west stepmother. Oh boy. I just wanted to jump through the scene and bitchslap her. That evil tweet was just that evil. And I also hated that slimy Eunuch Wang. He also got off easy. I needed him to be punished by the Emperor. Strangely, I hated him more than his master. Huh.

There are enough goodies to make it tolerable. Bless 'em! Honourable mention, Ji Yong. The show tried to get me to dislike him, but nay, I did not fall for it. Not for nothing I have been watching dramas for years. I have learned a thing or two ya know? His morality and motives seemed dubious but I knew there was more to it than what was on the surface.

The drama is not perfect though. It takes some atrocious cinematic liberties. Shou Gu's schemes do not fail, like not once. Song Mo, gets the miraculous antidote for his poison, in spite of everybody and their dogs crying it wasn't available. In spite of making elaborate plans in the middle of the show, Song Mo conveniently forgets 53000 odd soldiers from the Ding army and yet comes at the top.

Also, I gotta say. *SPOILER* I hated the death of the elder brother of the bodyguard duo. Apart from the fact that the brothers were funny together, I was worried about ma boy Song Mo. Who would watch his back now?? Argh..

But these were some minor issues that I forgot as soon as I thought of them. This was a solid solid watch for me. Now all I am worried about is hitting a post-series depression until I find another Song Mo-ish ML.

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