JamieDylan24

The end that ruined everything

When the phone rings surprised me from the very start. I thought I was going to watch a crimi-like drama with lots of criminal activity, police searches with detectives and a cat-and-mouse kind of plot. But it gave me something so much deeper. I was really into it from the get-go because I didn't expect the female lead to turn out so badass.

We follow Hong Hee Jo who has to go through life as a mute due to something her mother once said when she was a young girl. But because of it she's learned sign language and has made it her job to interpret the news readings. She's made something of her life but she carries a secret with her. Behind closed doors, she's the wife of the current Presidential Spokesperson but she cannot ever show her face or appear as his wife. The marriage they have is cold and distant. And when Hee Jo gets abducted by someone who wants to threaten her husband with her life, she finds out just how cold and distant their marriage is.
Burdened by her husband's harsh words, Hee Jo crashes her car and escapes her abductor. By using his untrackeable phone she calls her husband and plots for revenge.

I was on the edge of my seat for so long. Each and every episode had me wanting more and more. The plot was quick and easy to understand. They filled up the gaps swiftly and kept the suspense going. I was binging episodes in between breaks at work and had to force myself to stop watching them when I had to go to sleep. It was so addicting. Almost every episode ends with a cliffhanger.

Positives:
- The chemistry between Hee Jo and Sa Eon was flying off the charts.
- The man who looked like a machine became a soft cinnamon roll. I'm a sucker for storylines like that.
- Arranged marriage becomes true love
- It gave me angst, a romance that made me melt, was an emotional rollercoaster, surprised me at every step and was never predictable
- The suspense was killing me
- I liked the usage of sign language. I don't know it myself but it looked very authentic. And it was so cute when Sa Eon wanted to learn it too and it became their secret language.

Negatives:
- That last episode..... it was a mess. It didn't belong in the show. It was so alien to me that I laughed at the screen the entire time, thinking: what the hell happened? Why are we in the middle of nowhere? Wasn't he shot? Why did her leave after everything they've been through? Is she really wearing that in the middle of an open warzone? 6 months?? HE LEFT FOR 6 MONTHS WITHOUT A WORD? WHY?
- The ending was dumb
- It ruined the entire show for me
- Did I mention the ending sucked?
- I wish I had skipped episode 12
- Truly, the ending didn't make any sense. It was a hot mess. I wanted to give the show a 10 out of 10 but just because I hate the ending so much it turned into an 8 out of 10.

Would I recommend? Yes. But skip the last episode. Or maybe just watch the last 10 minutes of it to save yourself the maddening frustration that comes with watching the whole thing.

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Just another in-book universe

I must be honest, Cheng Lei is what pulled me to this drama. I usually don't end up liking the "travel inside a book universe". Why don't I stop watching them? Because they almost always include my favorite actors in their cast.
Which was the case for this drama too.

I must also admit that I liked this drama, very much (YAY) but I do have some issues with it.

We follow Cui Ha as she has to complete a novel for work but while reading it she finds herself transmigrated into the story itself as Yu Wanyin, the demonic consort. With vague memories of a story she skimmed through, she plots to better her character's storyline but in order to do this she must change her entire character. Thankfully, she discovers she's not the only outworlder in this book. The emperor (Xiahou Dan), whom her character is destined to assassinate, appears to be a transmigrater too and together they set out to change their narritives and hope for a better outcome.

The show is funny, quirky and uses an otherwise dark script to make viewers feel everything. I didn't expect to be so immersed but I found myself ugly sobbing when one of the major characters died but found myself laughing at something the characters did only moments after. It's a perfect emotional rollercoaster like that. I ended up feeling for characters I initially didn't like, hated characters I initially liked and was really into the series. The characters are fun, well-written and layered.

What I truly liked about this drama is:
- I loved the friendship between Wanyin and Xie Yong. I was relieved to see Xie Yong wasn't used as a comic relief character after the girls became friends.
- The difference in character of Xiahou Dan. He's so goofy and kind when he's with Wanyin but he's this all powerful tyrant whenever he has to play the emperor. The amount of aura Cheng Lei can build in characters like these is beyond words.
- I loved how strong Wanyin was throughout the story. She doesn't take bullshit for an answer and, even without any real power, she makes sure she reaches her goals.
- Characters I thought would be boring additions to the inner circle became very interesting.
- I knew Tang Xiao Tian from "Story of Pearl Girl" and didn't believe that the cutie from that drama could produce a convincing villain but DAYUM did he prove me wrong.

The issues I have with this drama are (mostly due to lost subtext/context during chinese to english translations, I think) that some of it really didn't make any sense.
The inclusion of the "Zhang San Diaries" as an extra story didn't make any sense because (I believe) we didn't know that was Xiahuo Dan's real world name and the actor playing him as a child is the same actor who plays his son in the main timeline. I thought it was about the crown prince and the first two episode only confused me more. I skipped the third only to find out in the fourth that it was about young Xiahou Dan.
The ending didn't make sense because how can someone, who's been inside a book universe for over a decade, funtion normally within the real world? Or is it like a subconciousness thing? That a part of him in inside the book? It just leaves me with a lot of questions.
A lot of stuff in the last couple of episodes happened off screen which turned some situations random. They were explained later on but it made it seem rushed and haphazardly put together.

Another major issue I had was the end credits. Without warning they plopped up and spoilerd in a big way. It literally shows one of the last scenes of the last episode and tells you how the series will end. Scenes that should have put me on the edge of my seat didn't anymore because I knew it would turn out some type of way.

I kind of wished they would've made it into a story without using the pretense of a book universe. Wanyin hardly knew anything about the major plotlines because she skimmed through the book and Xiahou Dan was already integrated into the story so much he had forgotten most of his previous life. I know it was a bigger theme within the story, that both of them came from the real world but I believe the story could have stood on its own.

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I wanted it to end until I didn't want it to end

This drama had all the potential to stand proudly in my top three 2025 cdramas. It even came close to becoming the best (imo) but then the second half of the drama came and what I thought was soo funny and dark became a boring soap series with an unending cycle of drama.

When Destiny brings the Demon starts out following the story of Zhou Yan, a girl form the modern days, who gets into a car crash and sinks into the body of Liao Tingyan whom lives in the world of cultivators and demons. She's a disciple to a minor clan and is chosen to be send to the palace of the Grandmaster (Sima Jiao) along with 99 other ladies. Her slacker attitude and lazy agenda intrigues this Grandmaster because everyone in his entire life has been out to get him killed. But she seems to hold no grudge or fear against him and so the two become close. During many attempts of assassination, Tingyan sticks by her master and proves to him she's not among the assassins and that she means him no harm. Her humor and honesty triggers warmth in him and his cold demeanor begins to fall around her. It's the start of one of the most epic love stories I have seen in cdramas so far.

At first I wasn't sure I could stick to the drama due to the bad special effects and costuming. It gave off a cheap vibe and I couldn't look past it when the Grandmaster's snake started to change size every other second. In one shot it was gigantic and the next second it felt tiny in comparison. The budget didn't even allow for Tingyan to hold onto a saddle when flying a crane. It was a green screen, and a pretty obvious one at that. The costuming looked bad too.
Thankfully, it got better. I see now that most of the budget (at least.. I think it did) went to the fights scenes which are done very well when it comes to special effects.

The story contains a couple of very heavy themes such as: cannibalism and human breeders. It got so dark at one point I couldn't believe they actually showed this on TV. I have never seen anything like it before in anything I have ever seen. I'm glad the female lead got to use her humor to lighten up the episodes every now and then. It created a nice balance of utter shock during the darker tones of the series in between the light and hilarious senes with Tingyan. I absolutely loved the show and it kept getting better and better with each episode until the 20th somewhat episode. The main characters end up losing each other during a great battle and Tingyan is swept towards the Demon realm where she undergoes a Soul Cleansing and we enter a long run of episodes with an amnesia trope.

This is where it all goes down hill.

The story just becomes laughable at that point. Most of the plotpoints get dragged out too much, the amnesia takes way too long to fix itself and our beloved couple spends too long apart. And when they do finally meet, Tingyan doesn't recognise him and even wants him dead. Mostly.. And when she does finally remember him she ends up killing him and it just snowballs into more drama. It felt like something straight out of a soap series and I couldn't help but laugh at everything that happened after that. Especially when we entered another amnesia plot but this time turned around. It was his time to forget everything.... I just wanted the show to end and was happy when I got to the last episode. It was finally going to be over, I thought...

But then I started to crave for more.

I liked the ending. I really do, but I wish they could have shortened a lot of the unnecessary plots in the Demon realm and had more time for the ending. It felt rushed, it felt unfinished and now I'm left with wanting more of a show that I wanted so desperately to end.

Positives:
- That chemistry was electrifying!! I adored the main leads and they adored each other.
- The amount of kisses (and more) in this show was amazing. Usually in dramas all we get is a few kisses and most of them not even deep. But this show gave me all the steam I wanted and more.
- The acting. At first I had to get used to some of the cast members and their acting style but they caught me gradually.
- The (dark) humor in the show was a nice counterweight to all the dark themes.
- A romance done right. The couple, although they did keep secrets, were very communicative with each other so less misunderstandings, no real love-triangles where jealousy became a fourth person or breaks-ups. They were devoted to each other and only each other.
- The first half of the show is the best.
- Chen Feiyu is an incredible actor. The way he portrays his emotions nearly ended me.

Negatives:
- The story became draggy in the later half of the show.
- The female lead can come accross as very dull and dumb sometimes due to her lazy attitude. It makes her seem weak. In the later half of the show she's supposed to be this badass powerful cultivator almost equal to the Grandmaster but we only get to see her do some weak magic. In any other case she nearly always faints or gets hured. She's the classic damsel-in-distress. I would have loved to see her protect her man instead of always being the one who needs saving.
- They use a lot of repetitive themes such as amnesia, reincarnation (I stopped caring if anyone died because practically everyone comes back once or twice) and power struggles.
- They should've given us more time in the real world. It's great to know she's found him again in the real world but I would've liked to know if he got to remember her too. (I really hate amnesia tropes)
- There were some major plot holes. Especially with the second time jump. No one can convince me snakey boy waited 19 years to propose to the love of his life. Or that Tingyan managed to rule both the Demon and Immortal Realms for that many years due to the people believing she killed the Grandmaster when she's obviously mourning him.

Overal I did like this drama. It was a fun watch and I do think I will watch it again sometime but I would skip the later half of the show and just pretend Tingyan's first death is the official ending continued by her going back to the real world.
I do recommend this one. Especially if you're in for a more dark toned drama that's still a lot of fun to watch and are not bothered by dumbed down characters.

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A pleasant surprise

I got to know this drama through TikTok and was pleasantly surprised. Initially, I expected the drama to be this melodramatic romance between a rich girl and a poor man who got tough in life and ended up a firefighter. But the story ran so much deeper.

We get to know our main characters through scenes in the present and flashbacks to what happened 10 uears earlier. Our female lead is back from studies abroad and has started her career as a doctor in one of the city's bigger hospitals. She's stationed at the hospital's emergency room when she comes into contact with our male lead, a captain of the Shili Tai firefighter squad and her ex-boyfriend. 10 years ago she broke up with him because her parents didn't approve of his background. We don't get all of the details right away but there's a subtle hint of a horrible break-up and a depressing past.

I thought that would be it. 40 episodes of melodramatic back and forth between the main characters but I was proven wrong. It was everything but what I expected. It became the story of the Shili Tai firefighter squad and their bromance. I was moved deeply by their day-to-day struggle to keep the city safe from fire and other kinds of hazards, but also each other. I wished the squad had even more screentime than it did. The dynamic of the boys is what kept me going because, to be honest, the main characters didn't do much for me. Our male main, Song Yan, only pulled me in when he was part of the squad. I loved watching those scenes. They were action-packed and intense.

Which can't be said for the storyline involving the Meng family. I tried to keep up with them but mostly found them to be boring, even our female lead. She was so depressing in the beginning. Thankfully she became more interesting as she grew and learned. Her brother on the other hand... In the last couple of episodes I did skip most of his story. He was even more depressing and I didn't feel like connecting with him or his maybe-girlfriend. I wanted to know more about the firefighters. Too bad they cut out most of the squad to give more screentime to the Meng's in the last half of the series.

Positives:
- I feel like they took the time and care to represent actual firefighters and how their day-to-day life is. Ofcourse it's dramatised because of the show, but it felt very authentic.
- Initially, I truly disliked the female lead but she grew on me. She came across as this self-centered, emotionless weirdo but she IS a self-centered, emotionless weirdo and doesn't argue otherwise but she's willing to learn and becomes alive around Song Yan.
- The firefighter squad. I LOVED the bromance and the brother-in-arms vibe they had going on.
- They showed a stark contrasts between rich and middle-class within a city and showed us an 'abusive' home without violence. Just pure suppression and the way it can drive someone insane.
- The way they used the flashbacks to fill in certain blanks in the present storyline. We get to see how Song Yan and Xu Qin (female lead) first meet, how they get together, their relationship before the break-up and the actual break-up. But they show us when we need that bit of information or when it's important for the viewers to know. I kept wanting to know what happened with Song Yan and why he was being so secretive. I liked how they kept up the tension like that. I didn't expect to finish the drama at first but I found myself binge watching it throughout the weekend.

Negatives:
- Some plotlines became a little too much. Like how the firefighter squad got blown up almost three times in a row. Some might say they would have learned from the first explosion but nope. Just dash into it, head-on and hope for the best again.
- The whole brother storyline... The series could've done it without him. I wished they had focused on the firefighters more. Used one of them for a second lead couple but they quickly became third-fourth and fifth lead couples, never getting any real screentime.
- I still don't understand why our main lead had one goal throughout his entire life and worked his butt off to achieve that goal only to be very hostile to someone who was part of that goal. Why the attitude, sir?
- The use of 'convenient plot is convenient' trope a couple of times where Song Yan rushed to the hospital with the people he pulled from the hospital only to come eye-to-eye with Xu Qin (convenient plotting). Or having Xu Qin, a emergency room doctor, sit in an ambulance, which is conveniently going to the place where the firefighter squad is conveniently saving lives. The script forced the two of them together in such ridiculous convenient situations it became a little unreal.
- At times it felt like Xu Qin was the only doctor alive. Especially during the earthquake scenes. She was called in for a fallen firefighter and had to apply emergency care in the danger zone but during her caregiving, which was very emotional I must add, she was called away for something else. I mean... DUDE, SHE WAS BUSY WORKING ON SOMEONE and she ups and leaves too.
- Dare I say it? I found Yang Yang's acting a little stiff. I had only seen him once before in Who Rules the World and found him lacking there too. I was kind of hoping it was the way he portrayed his character in WRTW but he acted the same in this one. I don't think he's a bad actor but I don't see any emotional depth to his characters. Not yet, anyway.

Would I recommend? Yes. I truly came to love this drama more and more. It is an action-packed romance with a little bit of melodrama.

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Mr. Sunshine? It should have been Mr. Trample on my feels

This drama's been on my watchlist since forever and I never got round to actually watching it. Why? Because I didn't think it would pull me in the way it did. I didn't know much about the Japanese annexation of Korea and I was never in the mood for all the drama that was going to come with it. Or a harsh truth.

But I'm glad I finally got to watch it.

Like I said, I didn't know much about that part of Korean history and I was swept away by how the drama told its story. In the beginning we follow a young slave boy who comes home and watches his parents be punished by their owners. The family that owns them is vicious towards their slaves and treats them like assets rather than people. Young Yu Jin has to watch his father being beaten to death and his mother trying to sacrifice herself in an attempt to save Yu Jin from ending up dead as well. He has to run and get away from his home as far as possible. And so he does. Broken and exhausted, Yu Jin manages to board a ship headed to New York and starts a new life there. He becomes a soldier in the American military and changes his homeland from Joseon to America.
Almost 30 years later he get deployed to Joseon in a time where Joseon is being ripped apart by influences from outside. Americans are stationed there as well as the Japanese and the French. The country has been opened up to the world outside and more and more koreans are adapting a western lifestyle by cutting their hair, wearing foreign fashion and eating foreigner's foods. There's also industrialization. There's a tram going through the city, there's electricity and talks of a railroad being build.

It felt like Joseon changed overnight and all the traditions among the korean people had been forgotten instantly. I've been so used to historical kdramas that come with a set of cultural traditions like the hairstyles, the way they talk among social groups, the social hierarchy etc. etc. This drama shocked me to the core as I watched how much of those cultural things were taken away from Joseon as the Japanese hold on the country grew stronger and stronger. And I did what I should have done ages ago. I read up on this party if Korean history because I felt is was important to be able to fully understand the story. I'm not saying everyone who wants to watch this show should read up on it. It's a great watch on its own but the show touched something deeper and I wanted to understand what.

There were moments I welled up because of how huge the impact of it all truly was. And that's what I love most about the show. Not the romance. Not the acting. Not the characters. But the way they showed how dangerous it was back then. The variety of characters they used to show the impending doom was the cherry on top this pretty but sad story.

Yu Jin, the slave boy, returns to Joseon as an American soldier by the name of Eugene Choi. He's the acting American consul at the American embassy and captain to a squad of soldiers. He's a man belonging to no country if it comes down to it. America will say he's a Joseon man if things turn sour but Joseon will not accept a Joseon man from America and only see him as a foreigner. And thus he's the perfect candidate for the role of consul in a torn up country where things could go awry easily.
During his stay he meets Ae Sin, an assassin with the same target as Yu Jin. Both are weary of each other first but soon became fond of each other.
Ae Sin is a noble born into a wealthy family and enjoys life in luxury. Or so most think. In secret she's learned how to wield a gun and has become a vital part of the Joseon rebellion. She wants nothing more than protect her home country from those invading it. When she meets Yu Jin, a seemingly Joseon man, she thinks he wants the same but he doesn't care about Joseon. Until he starts to care for her, that is.

I could go one about all the characters that appear and made a deep impact on me as watcher. Even those I didn't much care for in the beginning made me feel all the feels at the end. This show was an emotional rollercoaster especially when it came to its close. It's not a show I will forget. It's become one of those shows that one must have seen when they watch kdramas. A classic if you will.

Positives:
- The story is told so well. There were a lot of moments I got goosebumps by how the scene was done or how the characters reacted. It all felt so real because I knew it was based upon a true story when it comes to the Japanese-Korea timeline. It made an even bigger impact when I thought about current happenings in the world. I felt very small all of a sudden.
- The main couple. I wasn't really familiar with Lee Byung Hun (other than watching Squid Game and not really paying much attention to his character there) and I must say his acting blew me away. Yu Jin too was a very real character to me. He didn't drop everything in order to save his girl but actually went into situations by thinking things through. The same goes for Ae Sin. She falls for Yu Jin, deeply, but she doesn't become this lovesick girl who only functions when her man is near her to protect her. Instead she becomes this badass gunner with a passion for Joseon and wanting to protect her home above all else.
- For once the American actors (or English speaking ones) were good at their jobs. I've seen too many kdramas with Englishmen in it to portray Americans and they always act like robots trying to mimic human behaviour. It always throws me off but in this drama I could finally enjoy some great American acting too.
- I loved how they added different languages in this and the ability of some of the characters to speak more than one language. It's accurate to the timeline but I'm really glad they actually included it into the show.

Negatives:
- The amount of times I thought a certain character to be dead only to have him show up in the next episode was maddening.
- For the amount of hours I spent rooting for Yu Jin and Ae Sin to have a life together, I'm really disappointed of the fact that there's no kiss between them. It's the only thing I wanted for them. The lovestory is great, don't get me wrong, but I longed for something more. The barely hold hands, they hug less than 5 times and they never go any deeper. I don't want to nag about it but I just feel like they could've done at least one kiss.

Overal I really recommend this drama if you're in for a slower paced, hit-you-in-the-feels, kind of drama.

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A wonderful experience

I've long hesitated to write a review about this one because how does one write a review about something so beautiful as ITSAY?

I've seen many dramas, watched many shows and found many of them amazing and mind-blowing but I Told Sunset About You is something special amongst everything I have ever finished. Everything about it blew me away. It has an amazing cast that can act so good I find it hard to find anything worth my while after finishing ITSAY. The music too.. it just fits so well to the storyline which is only strengthened by the cinematography.. Each episode felt like a piece of art.

Likes:
- Teh's discovery of his feelings towards Oh Aew. It felt so realistic to have him doubt himself and those around him. I'm really happy they chose to show his struggle and hesitance to accept he might feel something romantic for a boy, and his fear for what everyone else might think about him.
- The cinematography. The way they filmed the show made me fall in love with Thailand (especially Phuket) and makes me want to visit it sometime. But there's so much hidden in between the lines and scenes. Like I said.. it felt like a piece of art while watching it.
- The music. Most of the songs are sung by the main leads but the instrumental versions blew me away too. Made me feel the feels that much stronger.
- The acting. This cast deserves all the awards and more. 5 episodes is not nearly enough and I need more. THANK GOD there's a season 2.
- The chemistry between the main leads. It was BOMB.
- Teh's immediate acceptance that Oh Aew was in love with a boy and his willingness to help.
- A supportive female friend.

Dislikes:
- Teh felt immature most of the time. It made me wonder if he had difficulty recognizing emotions in others or knowing how his actions could hurt others.. I did hate him for a long while because he treated his best friend like shit.

I feel like I can watch this how over and over again and never get bored. It's a true gem hiding in plain sight and I feel like every BL fan should watch this one.

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