Juelin

A mature, well-written romance

The highlight of the drama was the main couple. The romance was written in a thoughtful way showing mature interactions and organic development between two adults falling in love. Their conversations were genuine and meaningful. He did not treat her like a delicate flower and they had mature conversations about issues outside their relationship. They were equals. The only thing I didn't like was the misunderstanding trope in the second half, which led to Gu Qianfan avoiding her, making him look cowardly and weak. This was completely contrary to his character because he was portrayed as a no-nonsense straight arrow who did not avoid facing problems. Other than that, this was a beautifully written romance.

One minus was that there wasn't much of a plot. The storyline with the painting felt like an afterthought. Most of the plot focused on the political struggles between various government factions. Ouyang Xu ending up the endgame villain felt nonsensical. He was a weak villain, far from a mastermind, who was mostly absent from the story. At the end, he was the only one who was punished and the real masterminds went unscathed. Making Ouyang the scapegoat felt like a cop out from writing an actual plot and delivering a proper closure to the story.

Some of the secondary characters were fun. I liked that Yinzhang finally grew up because I was tired of her immaturity and entitlement. Chi Yan was over-the-top and only served as comic relief. And, again, none of the villains, except Ouyang, got punished. Shen Ruzuo just disappeared from the story after he tried to set up Yinzhang. He did something reprehensible, but nothing happened to him, which was a huge letdown.

Overall, I enjoyed the drama just for the romance between ML and FL. Everything else was forgettable.

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Icky and forgettable

This drama sucks you in with a promise of an engaging story and interesting characters. But, after a few episodes, the whole thing devolves into a cesspool of boring cliches, plot holes, and bland story arcs.

The story started off with Renjuan and Qiuchi having an incredible first encounter just to be separated and reunited again at school. They had some of the best chemistry I've seen in Chinese drama with cute interactions and beautifully written romance. The fun lasted for about 15 episodes until the story switched up to a series of very bland and skippable short arcs with very quick resolutions. It would've been fine if these stories somehow fit into the plot. But after one ended, none of the minor characters and plot ever resurfaced again.

One of the major issues was the main couple getting together too early and leaving no room for future romantic development. This became apparent when the writers force fed us every possible jealous lover trope to manufacture tension and destroy their own story. Brave Renjuan regressed into a spineless turd who couldn't be bothered to fight for her love. Instead of thinking of a clever way to avoid marriage between Qiuchi and Princess Yeying, she ended her relationship with Qiuchi in a screaming match. Ironically, a very timid Qinghe exchanged hair pins with Hang Ruxue, then both strolled off leaving the princess to pout on her own. Not only did the writers completely destroy Renjuan's character making her look weak, they also showed that she couldn't handle adversity or fight for what was important to her.

The villains were reduced to scorned lover caricatures devoid of any complexity. Wen Renshu started out as a jealous schemer only to regress to a complete idiot who acted against her self-interest because of her deranged obsession with Fu Yuanzhi. Instead of rubbing her two brain cells together, she went out of her way to help Yuanzhi get rid of Qiuchi without realizing that she was helping the object of her affection dispose of his love rival. Yuanzhi went from being clever and calculating to a complete psycho trying to burn his classmates alive. The quality of storytelling felt laughably arbitrary like nobody on the writing team communicated or even understood their own plot.

And then there were plot holes everywhere. Evil step mother promised to be a force to be reckoned when she threatened to destroy Renjuan's future and marry her off to some loser. That storyline was quickly abandoned and the stuttering loser just fell off the plot. Renjuan's martial arts training evaporated in favor of the damsel-in-distress trope where she forgot how to fight and now needed to be constantly rescued.

Even the best thing about the drama - the love story between Renjuan and Qiuchi - eventually became boring and repetitive. The plot felt like the writers ran out of ideas at episode 15 and decided to wing it moving forward. I was so excited when I started watching it, and now I want all the hours I wasted back.

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Promising start, boring romance, lame ending

The entire drama felt like the writing team was either completely replaced in the second half or the writers decided to troll the audience. I was a fan up to about episode 12. The political intrigue was very engaging and the story was worth watching just for that. After the crown prince returned to the palace, the plot fell completely flat and the ending undid everything the main character accomplished.

The writers built up Lee Gon to be a calm, intelligent, responsible man who cared about the country. He spent the entire show fighting for what was rightfully his - the throne, just to voluntarily give it up for a woman he barely knew. This was so out of character for him because he was written as someone who was incredibly level-headed, especially in comparison to his brother, who kept throwing temper tantrums and crying all the time. Instead of creating a plot that made sense and writing a convincing love story, the writers threw their own characters under the bus to force feed us a happy ending.

I would have been alright by this decision if the romance was convincing. It wasn't. The actors looked stiff together and had very little chemistry. Barely any time was spent on building a meaningful romantic connection. A few days in the woods together wasn't enough for Lee Gon to abandon his responsibilities for a woman he didn't know all that well.

Overall, this was an incredibly underwhelming show that lost all charm in the second half. The romance was bland and the ending was terrible.

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A cliche mess

This drama is a testament to everything that is wrong with the xianxia genre. It's too stylized with little to no room for imagination. A stoic ML in a position of power? Check. A childish FL with a baby voice? Check. Immortal realm - good, demons - bad? Check. Self-righteous Taoist sects? Check. Incomprehensible love rectangles? Check. Everyone under the sun falling in love with an immature FL? Check. Rebirth and amnesia? Check. B*tchy and jealous side chicks? Check. This drama follows the same tired tropes without skipping a beat, and it only gets worse with the next episode.

The first 15 or so very slow episodes were mostly about the relationship between ML and FL. FL started out as a child-like fairy and became more serious as she developed feelings for ML. It was a good character development for her because of the life-changing trauma caused by heartbreak. Unfortunately, as the story moved to the mortal realm, Yan Dan regressed back to the childish turd that she was in the immortal realm, but even more so than before. Even though she lost her memories, I thought the trauma she suffered would be a life changing experience leading to a more mature and thoughtful person who was given a second chance at life. But, that was not the case here.

The drama reminded me of Ashes of Love, which was a dumpster fire, with Yan Dan being a slightly smarter version of Jinmi. This was a stark contrast to Love and Redemption, where FL was only clueless about love, but she was sympathetic and thoughtful otherwise, and, her interactions with ML were meaningful. Similar to Jinmi, Yan Dan acted like a child continuously bickering with ML and having a multitude of braindead males falling in love with her. And, because of her over-the-top behavior, her interactions with ML lacked romantic chemistry looking more like an adult babysitting a kid rather than two adults falling in love.

Another issue was Yan Dan's lack of motivation. In the immortal realm, she had some purpose to protect her sister. After she lost her memory, she went wherever the wind blew. First, she swore allegiance to Yu Mo and became his "concubine". Then, she ran off with Tang Zhou and did not give a second thought to Yu Mo or the fact that he could be looking for her. I also thought that the writers spent way too much time on Yu Mo's and Yan Dan's relationship. It was apparent from the start that they will never be a couple, so milking that unrequited love and giving them more screen time than necessary completely deviated from the plot and unnecessarily dragged the story.

In all honesty, I hardly have any interest in finishing part 1. So, it's unlikely I will be watching part 2.

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Crappy soap opera disguised as a medical drama

If you are looking for a medical drama showcasing professional ethics, you won't find it here. The so-called doctors act like hoodlums constantly yelling in front of patients and purposely setting each other up to fail. Instead of writing a story about complex medical issues, the writers proceed to bore us with a trashy soap opera and hospital politics filled with juvenile bickering and medical malpractice. There is also no plot. The show just moves along from one medical emergency to another without a central idea tying everything together. The characters are shallow and unlikable, focused too much on their interpersonal relationships instead of doing their job as doctors, and, there is hardly any romance. Do In Bum could've been interesting, but he is just a prop with no purpose or a personality. The writers do attempt to utilize cliches but they go nowhere. The reason behind Yoon Seo Jung's silly trauma is incredibly asinine and feels like a half-assed attempt to manufacture tension that is pretty much forgotten in later episodes. And, the love rectangle between the main couple, Im Bum, and Woo Yeon Hwa fizzles out as soon as it starts.

The villain is a cookie cutter bad guy with shallow motivations and no coherent reason for any of his actions. He mindlessly tries to destroy Master Kim's career because of some medical mishap over a decade ago and behaves like a petulant child rather than an experienced medical professional in charge of a hospital. Moreover, he has an absurd amount of power for a hospital director who is somehow able to influence the military, press, politicians, and pretty much everyone around him without any explanation why.

I don't understand all of the positive reviews. The show is a marathon of trashy melodrama with no plot or interesting characters. Pass.

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Exceeded expectations

The drama was extremely addictive with tons of positives.

The first 15 or so episodes were amazing. FL falls victim to her husband's heartless plot to kill her because his powerful lover ordered him to. She feels betrayed, confused, and heartbroken. Shortly thereafter, she assumes the identity of a dead girl she befriended and moves into the girl's family home to plan her revenge. The story has mystery and intrigue. I enjoyed watching Li Jiang/Xue Fangfei maneuver through the Jiang family drama, befriend new family members, and outsmart the evil step mother. FL's character was classy and mysterious making me always wonder what she would do next. What I like about this drama is that episode 1 jumps right into the plot. There was no set-up. We didn't need to sit through 10+ episodes for things to start happening.

Unfortunately, which is typical of most Chinese dramas, the story tends to deviate from the main plot into mini-arcs. Here, the story was the most interesting when Li Jiang was in the capital. After she left the family residence to meet the Ye family, the quality of storytelling went down. The Ye family, draught, and imperial diviner arcs were completely uninteresting. As soon as FL started dressing like a man, playing drinking games, and skulking in the mines with ML, the story hit every cliche trope and lost its air of mystery. Also, FL befriending the Ye family and gaining their backing did not add anything to the plot. They disappeared from the story as soon as she went back to the capital and did not re-appear to help her in any way.

One of the highlights of the story was FL and ML's explosive chemistry. They flirted, bantered, shared passionate glances, and were just a step away from ripping each other's clothes off. Unfortunately, due to incomprehensible Chinese censorship, this amazing romantic chemistry climaxed with a very underwhelming chaste candlelight kiss.

The story was worth watching just for the villains. Li Ming did an amazing job as the elder princess Wanning. She portrayed the character exactly how she would've been - conniving, hateful, jealous, resentful, and very very insane. Her smiles were deadly and her threats were real. Walking around and twirling her dresses made her look like the main character in her own story. I normally don't care for villain backstories because there shouldn't be any sympathy for evil. But, boy oh boy, did she gain my sympathy even though she was worth hating. It also made me wonder whether she was a different person before her father sent her to the enemy kingdom to be abused. I also felt like the punishment for every villain was fitting. Wanning killed herself with her beloved hand after realizing that he never truly loved her. Yurong committed suicide after realizing he will never get back what he lost and that his death was inevitable for committing treason. He dug his own grave committing one crime after another without truly taking responsibility for the all the evil he's done.

The ending felt rushed. Some cool characters were killed off in the very last episode just to get last minute emotion from the audience. It did not feel like a natural story progression, just something the writers decided to do the last minute. One moment, Xiao Heng was holding on to the pendant his beloved gave him as the token of her love while awaiting his death from the charging army, the next moment he rides his horse towards Fangfei standing by the tree they planted together. It didn't look very well thought through and felt rushed just to finish the show with a happy ending.

Overall, I really enjoyed the drama. The relationships felt real and mature, the intrigue was interesting, and the acting was brilliant.

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Too long and boring

Another Chinese drama that unnecessarily dragged for twice as many episodes than necessary. There wasn't any actual plot, but a loosely put together romance/slice of life story.

Everything that made the show interesting, SWAT action and disaster rescue, quickly fizzled out into a mundane slice of life story. Kelei and Mika, who were the only couple worth watching, got together early in the show and had an extremely vanilla relationship without any ups and downs. All the couples had no dynamic or sexual chemistry. The show often looked like a real life documentary just filming people hanging out.

Kelei/Mika were the most wholesome, but they acted like an old married couple. There was no tension, conflict, or sexual chemistry. Many of their scenes did not have any direction. They just bantered and played around. If they were a real life couple, they would've been a joy to watch. But this is a TV drama that needs conflict, especially for a young couple. They kissed a couple of times at the beginning of their relationship and that was the height of their romantic chemistry, never to be seen again. It was pretty unbelievable that the writers thought it was a good idea to write a young couple spending so much time alone and never making out.

Wenbo/Qingxia were plain toxic. She arbitrarily started liking him after meeting him maybe twice and began pursuing him. He also liked her, but for some stupid reason kept rejecting her. Instead of moving on after being repeatedly rejected, she kept pursuing him and he kept rejecting her. His lame explanation later on revealed that he was rejecting her because he thought she was better matched with another guy. Seriously? And, this tripe lasted for 30+ episodes. When they finally got together, I couldn't care less. I actually ended up skipping most of their scenes because their bickering was exhausting.

Chief Shao/Sister Keyao were just ok. In most of their scenes, they spent time together without any romantic chemistry. There was nothing interesting about them at all.

Overall, the drama would've been a lot better if it was cut by half and had a lot more conflict and romantic chemistry. Instead, we had to watch scenes upon scenes of young people acting like they've been married for decades. The story was boring a lot more often than it was exciting. There were a lot of filler scenes of characters just doing mundane things. I ended up skipping through a lot in the last ten episodes just to get it over with. The last three episodes with the hostages were interesting, everything between the beginning and the end was a snooze fest.

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Meh

The drama started out strong, but as the story went on it got progressively boring.

I liked Park Min Young in "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?" and "Marry My Husband". She does well in modern drama. But, here she was completely miscast. Firstly, her character looked more mature than ML. Secondly, they had very little chemistry with Yeon Woo Jin because both characters were really bland. She looked way better with Lee Dong Gun because he looked more mature and because Yi Yoong was a much more dynamic character.

The plot was also a mess. The storyline with the super secret organization went nowhere. The storyline with the super secret pawn shop also went nowhere. Yeok wanted to do everything - become king, be with Chae Kyung, and make up with his brother. But, he ended up being weak, indecisive, and flaky. He kept whining about everything and constantly changed plans making everyone pissed off because they spent way too much effort into trying to put him on the throne. And, after Yeok became king, he wasn't much better than his brother who allowed a corrupt minister run the show. Chae Kyung was frustrating because she meddled too much, had redundant monologues about feelings, and kept pushing Yeok to make up with his older brother when there was no point. She also fainted a lot.

The love triangle between Chae Kyung and the two brothers was pointless. Yi Yoong barely had any romantic interactions with her. But, I wish he did because that would've made her character a lot more interesting. And, as a couple they looked much better together.

And, lets not forget about the ridiculous super sneaky spying scenes where characters stood in plain sight and eavesdropped on other people's conversations without ever being noticed. This drama has perfect the art of invisibility.

The acting was all over the place. Park Min Young and Yeon Woo Jin were both underwhelming and very bland, while Lee Dong Gun was overly emotional and overacted in every scene. He also twitched his mouth a lot.

Overall, weak characters, flat plot, ridiculous writing made this drama pretty disappointing.

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Not sure what it was

I'm not sure why this show has such high ratings. The story had no direction and the characters were unlikable. FL was spineless, whiny, had no motivation, and made incomprehensible choices over and over. ML just keept following her and trusting her after she repeatedly disappointed him and broke his heart, cuz reasons.

The first half was funny and even interesting. By episode 15, it became a directionless mess. Nobody communicated anything. Characters didn't stand up for themselves or their convictions. Qianqian just ran around doing random crap without any clear motivation. She obviously liked Han Shuo, but she tried to set him up with someone else. And then, everyone was suddenly in love with her. Pei Heng showed up 20 times to "save" her, without her actually needing saving, and repeatedly got his ass kicked by Han Shuo. Chuchu became a villain for no reason and started doing absolutely obnoxious schit. It's ok for shows to be funny and have a simple plot. Not everything has to be deep. But, this was just painful. Thank god the show only had 24 episodes.

I did like the ending. It was very sweet, reminded me of Fushigi Yugi.

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Good drama

At first, I dropped this drama after a few episodes because I detest female characters who are purposely written as clumsy, whinny, and clueless. It's not endearing but really annoying. But after hearing good things about it, I decided to give it another chance and watched it till the end.

This drama has amazing character development. It starts off as kind of comedic but later becomes quite dark and emotional. The main characters go through a transformation. She becomes more mature. He gains feelings and empathy. They are star-crossed lovers and this drama really went out of its way to show the type of love that endures. They fought for each other, made sacrifices, had faith in each other and at the end stayed true to who they were. They also made each other better. She matured from a clumsy airhead to a thoughtful person. He developed feelings and was able to form relationships and appreciate others.

The ending felt rushed. One moment she was waiting for him to come back to life, the next moment he was standing behind her "I am baaaack!", they kissed, the end.

The story tended to drag sometimes but it didn't affect the plot too much.

The acting was fantastic, especially by Dylan Wang. The way he conveyed emotion after Orchid died was heart breaking.

Overall, the show has some really good acting, good music, really emotional scenes, and a very touching love story. Recommend!

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The grass is always greener on the other side

The drama gives a realistic view on marriage and what happens when two people stop communicating and being considerate. Cha Joo Hyuk is selfish, self-centered, and completely unaware (or refuses to acknowledge) that his weaponized incompetence triggers his wife's temper. He dreams of a better life without her until he is given an opportunity to travel back in time to change his outcome.

The first 12 episodes have consistently good pacing and fluid storytelling. Cha Joo Hyuk wakes up married to his beautiful and rich first love until he meets Seo Woo Jin again. I enjoyed the use of flashbacks showing just enough of Joo Hyuk and Woo Jin's relationship and how in love they were before marriage, which plays a big part in his character development. The story switches between comedy and melodrama as the main couple gets to know each other again. The writers portray Joo Hyuk feelings of guilt and regret rather well as he realizes the gravity of his mistake and what he lost.

Woo Jin is clever, spunky, and has a hilarious sense of humor. I really love her characterization. Thankfully, the writers avoid the cliche portrayal of a messy and childish heroine, and create a well-rounded adult who can be serious and funny. Her and Joo Hyuk have very good chemistry and slowly begin to re-connect. Even secondary characters are fun. The drama gives them just enough focus not to overwhelm the viewer or take the attention away from the main couple.

The last 4 episodes undo everything I loved about the drama. After confessing his mistake to Woo Jin, Joo Hyuk is desperate, full of regret and longing. This is when the story should've started to wrap up. But, the writers force us to sit through 4 more episodes of Woo Jin relentlessly pursuing Joo Hyuk to reconcile. Joo Hyuk's behavior is completely contrary to what he wants as he goes out of his way to avoid her and regresses back to the self-centered jerk he was at the beginning. Instead of giving his redemption arc a logical conclusion, the writers turn him into a spineless coward refusing to make any effort to be a better man and husband. The main couple's explosive chemistry completely fizzles out with Joo Hyuk's vacant stares and Woo Jin's continuous begging. At that point, it is hard to root for them or even care if they stay together. Moreover, the drama gives too many filler scenes to the secondary characters. I say watch episodes 1-12 and skim through the last 4 just to get to the happy ending.

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No plot

The drama has a lot of great ideas but no coherent plot. At the beginning, there are enough engaging moments to keep me interested, but they quickly fizzle out into a boring and draggy marathon of underdeveloped plot lines.

Han Se Gye is dynamic and quirky to Seo Do Jae's low-key frozen face. But, Do Jae never grows on me. He is a carbon copy of Nam Se Hui from "Because This Is My First Life" with zero charm and personality. Their unique conditions could've played a big part in their character and relationship growth. Instead, Se Gye's face change devolves into a series of anticlimactic mini-arcs and the rest of their interactions is boring and pointless banter.

When it comes to the plot, it's a number of half-assed story lines with extremely easy resolutions. The face-swap is interesting for about five minutes until it becomes a bunch of mini-arcs that have no impact on the story and character development. The so-called "villains" are passive-aggressive, semi-infantile jerks who are obnoxious for the sake of being obnoxious with no depth or purpose, and, they are dealt with fairly quickly without creating any actual tension. Se Gye's identity crisis becomes an afterthought, devoid of any substance, as the writers choose a safer route with light-hearted comedy and regularly used cliches. What's worse, the mystery behind her condition is never explained.

Secondary characters are shallow and forgettable. I ended up skipping most scenes with Sa-ra and Ryu Eun Ho. They weren't interesting enough to keep my attention as I already struggled with the drama's draggy plot.

Overall, the show is a lot of missed opportunities to create a compelling love story between two odd people with unique issues. The drama is riddled with repetitive moments, overuse of flashbacks, and cheesy dialogue. Serious elements, that made the drama interesting, are reduced to comedy or abandoned altogether. This was a one-time watch for me.

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Beautiful

Where do I even begin? This drama is gorgeous. It's so well written and paced. The plot jumps right into the perfect family life of Baek Hee Sung and Cha Ji Won. They are happy and in love until Heesung's past starts to catch up with him.

The plot is a rollercoaster with a good blend of a crime thriller and romance. Heesung and Ji Won have a beautiful life together, but he has a dark past she doesn't know about. When everything starts to unravel, the drama does a great job showing Ji Won's conflicting emotions. She is heartbroken and confused. But, her love for her husband and keen intellect eventually lead her to the truth. The first couple of episodes creates an air of mystery around the main character. Heesung's real motivations are unknown. He may be a villain because of his violent reunion with Kim Moo Jin. But, as the story progresses, we slowly find out that not everything is as it seems.

The pacing is surprisingly good from start to finish. The use of flashbacks is very well balanced and gives just enough background without deviating from the present storyline, and, giving a glimpse into Heesung's childhood, the person he is supposed to be, and the beginning of his and Ji Won's journey to love. There are no filler arcs. Every character is relevant and plays a part in the plot development. Every twist and turn is thrilling and adds to the complexity of the story. One issue is that the main villain is revealed very late in the show creating some issues with pacing and plot continuity. But, it doesn't hurt the storytelling too much and the drama is able to bounce back. Another issue is longwinded melodramatic scenes. The writers probably wanted us to delve deep into the characters' thoughts. But, the overly dramatic scenes often feel excessive with the actors overplaying the characters' emotions. And, the human trafficking arc is out of place and completely unnecessary, especially in relation to serial killers finding their victims.

The drama has one of the best love stories I've seen in k-drama. Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won have unforgettable chemistry and do a wonderful job relaying the characters' emotions. Heesung and Ji Won are truly soulmates who cannot live without each other and go to great lengths to stay together.

The acting goes without saying. Lee Joon Gi perfectly relays Heesung's love for his wife, his struggle to understand himself, and trying to cope with the injustice done to him. Kim Ji Hoon is dynamic and absolutely believable as an insanely good looking psychopath. The OST is beautiful and fits well with the story. "Fee you" is one of my favorite songs now.

All I can say is that despite the drama's few shortcomings, this truly is something that took my breath away and made me miss it after it ended. Definitely recommend.

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Great romantic chemistry

This is a romance drama with some gothic fantasy elements. The production and acting was great and the story was very entertaining.

Caiwei was a young woman with a troubled past . She was a serious character who lived quietly as a coroner and inadvertently found herself mixed up in murder mystery. After the face swap, this characterization was completely gone. It's not that Ju Jing Yi (JJY) is a bad actress. She is typecast to play a specific character. So, herein lies the problem with characterization by JJY where she portrayed a variation of Fu Rong and Yunxi, instead of a solemn girl introduced by Zheng He Hui Zi. Curiously enough, her characterization of the original Shangguan Zhi was on point. The showrunners should've done a better job at coaching her about the role because she obviously can act outside her usual stereotype.

The romance was nicely written. Pen Yue's original obsession with Caiwei was a bit off-putting. But as he rediscovered the "new" and "improved" Shangguan Zhi (SZ), he slowly started falling in love with her. The writers did a good job showing the personality change, that SZ was no longer a mean-spirited woman, but a very nice person. I loved Pen Yue's and SZ's interactions and situations they were thrown in where Pen Yue gradually started seeing the differences between the old SZ and the new SZ drawing similarities between the new SZ and Caiwei. I also liked that Pen Yue went through internal struggle feeling guilt over the fact that he started developing feelings for SZ while still mourning his dead wife. Not to mention, the chemistry between the actors was amazing. This is one of the fewer romance dramas where adults act like actual adults, instead of awkward teenagers.

I did not love the ending. Some good characters were wasted just to draw an emotional reaction from the audience. And, instead of tying up all the loose ends, it ended on a giant cliff hanger not revealing who the actual mastermind was. Will this lead to a sequel or are we just supposed to wonder? Who knows.

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