Editorials 
A Drama With Great Potential Ruined by Its Writing
I started watching this drama because of the edits and the stir it caused on Twitter, so take my review with a grain of salt. It was so overhyped in my head that when I watched it, the disappointment was heavy. I gave this drama 5 stars mostly because of the acting and the Fandom. The only reason I didn't drop it was because I enjoyed the discussions the fans brought. This drama had great potential as a story but failed miserably.The Good: Acting
Let's start with the good aspect of this drama, which is the acting. The acting was really good from almost every character. From main characters to side characters, they all rocked except those cringy foreigners that they must add in every K-drama now 🤣. But I must say, the actors surely shine brighter with the depressive side.
The Neutral: Music
The aspect I am neutral about is music. Usually, when I watch a musically themed drama, it makes me wish I learned music. In this case, I didn't. I also didn't like any of the pieces they played. I think I still don't understand or like European classical music 🤣. It's neutral because I cannot comment on something I do not understand.
The Bad: Writing
The aspect that ruined the show for me is the writing, and from here I will start ranting about my frustration.
I personally thought the story was about two boys (Pio and JY), but the story is very Pio-centric. The emotional focus is only on Pio. Every character moves in a way that serves Pio's plot line to advance, so I feel cheated.
The character writing is simply ATROCIOUS.
First, just because some characters are secondary doesn't mean you throw them around whenever. It ruins the show's plot. The grandpa is portrayed as a strict elitist, only to be changed into a tortured sad artist with no correlation at all. The grandma is portrayed as if she doesn't favor Pio, only to show very emotional toward Pio for no logical reason again. Pio is portrayed as prideful in his youth, jealous but prideful, only to easily accept a handout.
The characters in this drama don't change following the events but change to change the event itself, and to me personally, it creates a coherence issue.
JY's Writing
The second issue with the writing is JY's writing. At one point I wondered if the writer hated geniuses because of how badly he is written.
First, in his youth, he is written as a discovered genius. The plot brings up that he is a natural talent that needs refining. So I thought, oh, they'll use Pio's perfect playing technique to refine him and create a bromance.
WRONG!
It's never brought up again, and he is just treated as musically perfect naturally.
Then there was his stage fright trauma. The way it was approached made me laugh. Like, really, in 2026 we are still doing this bullshit? One minute Pio has to cover his eyes so he can play on stage, the next he is playing for the grandpa's guest. Like, come on.
Then his full disappearance era: how did he create Nemesis? Why did he choose conducting? How did he learn? And so on. So not even his creative side is explored. They just throw "he is musically perfect" in your face and hope you accept it.
The Bromance
Some events in this drama could've created some perfect bromance material. Instead, all we see is JY putting his all into helping Pio while Pio barely puts in an effort.
They could've utilized Pio's perfect technique to build more depth. They could've utilized Pio noticing JY wasn't okay to build emotional bonds. They could've utilized JY's disappearance to show longing instead of making it seem like guilt, because right after JY came back, all of Pio's efforts went out of the window.
The only decent writing they got for their bromance was the last episode.
The Useless Characters
Finally, the INFLUX of useless characters!
What was the purpose of Jaein's mom? What was the purpose of Jaein? What was the purpose of showing the gangster in the second half? What was the purpose of JY's father in the second half? What was the purpose of the teacher sticking around?
This show has an influx of useless characters, and they are given screen time for no apparent reason.
Overall
Overall, the show has potential, but the writing ruined it for me. Sadly, I am someone who is capable of watching ATROCIOUS acting for a good-written show, so this one really disappointed me.
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Amazing couple, boring story
🖊The story:The story is very boring. The story is your typical, I was in love with him since I was in high school but thought he would never like me. The events are boring. The switch for ML is not clear (to me at least). However, I do give it a point for making the ML not a creep who loked her in high school but only in college. So kudos to that.
💕 The Romance
The romance has a perfect chemistry! The actors have an easy chemistry that fit just right. Honestly, they are the backbone for the success of this series I think. Though I was bored, I found myself giggling and kicking my feet at their romance.
👤 The characters
Almost all characters are amazing in this show. I especially loved the older brother Sang Yan. Though, I am sure the first frost will be as boring as this drama, I will be watching it because I loved Sung Yan.
Overall, a meh drama with amazing cast and chemistry.
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Messy story
🖊The main problem I jave with this show is the story. The story opened too many threads and I knew they wouldn't tie it beautifully. Each thread would ve worked better as its own arc other than mash up all this crap together. Also, we were supposed to see them unite to figure out what happened to her and eventually fall in love.Instead, we were given those info faster than lightening and one after the other which made seeing them fall less likely. Yes, in this series you ll see more of the second characters that the mains falling in love which pissed me off.👤Characters are really good. The ML lead is one of the rare ones that starts ruthless and stays ruthless. I actually likes him as much as the FL 🤣. The FL is also amazing. She isnt cunning but strong physically and military strong and they dont reduce her power to elevate the ship. The rest of the characters are all nice.
💕The love storytelling started amazing and ended good but the kiddle sucks. I wanted to see them look into her past together. try and figure out her past together. The worst by introducing 3 kids, they had a chance to make them closer by making them play house and they didnt use that either. instead, we have pre love arc and after love arc, how it developed was missing.
Overall, I had to drop it because the story was too messy. A great love story potential wasted by too many plot lines mashed together.
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Perfect Friends Growing Together and Apart
🖊 The story is good. The story explores a group of teenager who grew together and apart along with life. It starts with them in middle school and ends when they are working adult. The romance is not a focus really of the show but the relationship that binds these friends together. We see different types of friendships, heartache, and new relationships.Thanks to the cast's chemistry, you really feel like a group you might have been part of during those times of your life. The only imperfect thing about it is the pacing. When it can to university, it started dragging a bit.👤 All characters were amazing. Every charcater had his or her own flaws and strength. I didnt really hate any character, not even QiQi. To me, they showed the different people we encounter and the different relationships we share with them. It also touched on how family background affects teenagers attitude and understandings of situations.
💕To me personally, the romance was background noise. The main couple are perfect. They slowly fall in love. The ML takes alot of tome to confess because the FL had both rejected people and is a friend. I understood his fears and hers. The second was also good in terms that they didnt finish together. QiQi needed to experience it to know he wasnt for her. I wished they paired the second lead with the smart girl because the way he acts with her is how I see love forming. Seeing him helps her, reminds me of the ML with FL in the beginning so I see it. I also liked Li Tian with the class representent.
Overall, It is a good drama of you want to feel nostalgic of your teenage years, the friends you had, the first relationships, the stress, and the heartache. The romance is worth it but is not a focus really.
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A Surprising Gem of a Historical Romance
For the longest time, I avoided Chinese dramas — mostly because of the baby voices and heavy dubbing that made them hard to enjoy. But recently, I gave them another chance and was pleasantly surprised. The industry has truly leveled up: stronger acting, better sound, and thoughtful storytelling.This drama was my first historical romance, and what a perfect place to start. It set the bar so high that everything I’ve watched since pales in comparison — both a blessing and a curse.
🖋️ Story
The story is tightly written, with just enough intrigue to balance romance and politics. It doesn’t open too many plotlines or rely on endless betrayals. The pacing feels deliberate and controlled. My only complaint is that the subplot involving the lady with the empress emblem dragged on a bit too long.
💕 Characters
The characters are the real highlight. The male lead’s journey — from anger and revenge to love and tenderness — is portrayed beautifully. You can truly see how he’s drawn to the heroine’s grace, then softened by her kindness, and ultimately changed by her love.
The female lead, though, steals the show. She’s one of the best-written women I’ve seen in a drama — intelligent, strategic, and gentle, yet imperfect and human. She isn’t strong in a physical sense, but her calm and adaptability are portrayed as real power.
Their relationship is a slow burn done right. They start as rivals, not true enemies, with mutual fascination from the start. I loved how their connection evolved naturally — from interest, to mutual benefit, to love built on trust. It’s a more believable version of the “enemies-to-lovers” trope than most shows or books ever achieve.
The side characters are equally charming. The bond between the four generals is touching, and the female lead’s attendants bring warmth and humor. Nearly everyone adds meaning to the story — a rare thing in ensemble dramas.
🎵 Soundtrack
The soundtrack deserves its own praise. Every track perfectly fits the emotion of the scenes — I immediately looked up the entire OST afterward.
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