The Prisoner of Beauty is this year's Lovely Runner
Last year, Queen of Tears was expected to be the hit romance drama of the year. Then Lovely Runner came from out of nowhere and blew romance drama lovers away. Lovely Runner aces my quintet of review criteria: a well-executed story, easy to binge watch, satisfying ending, killer soundtrack and high rewatch value.Like Lovely Runner, The Prisoner of Beauty tops all my criteria. The series features great storytelling from start to finish with an enemies to lover’s romance, political intrigue, hand-to-hand combat, battle scenes, humor, and heart. It's fun to watch Wei Shao and Xiao Qiao's battle of wits unfold, and even better to see how they work things out through healthy, mature dialogue while growing closer in the process. Oh - and did I mention the sizzling chemistry between Liu Yuning and Song Zuer in their respective roles?
Is it an easy binge? Watching the first episode was enough to get me hooked and every episode afterwards gets better and better. No disastrous endings here - but still plenty of tension in the final episodes to make is seem otherwise. The soundtrack is easily one of best OSTs so far of 2025, featuring Blazing Moon by lead and OST King Liu Yuning. Rewatch value? I barely finished the series and am ready to watch it again.
This is one series I highly recommend!
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Came to watch Yang Yang - stayed for the cool magic battles
I've watched a lot of Yang Yang dramas this year: You are My Glory, Love O2O, Fireworks of My Heart, Who Rules the World - all which aired prior to 2024. So, I was pretty excited when Immortal Ascension (filmed over 2 years ago) finally got a release date.Things to love about this show include the detailed magical system that defines the life of all cultivators. This is especially exciting during the battle sequences where different techniques and artifacts are used. Another high point is Yang Yang's performance - one of his best - as Han Li convincingly matures from a powerless human boy to a powerful cultivator. (I still laugh at the constant description of Han Li as being plain and unassuming. It is Yang Yang after all! But he imbues the essence of Han Li well.) Yang Yang's background in dance is also on full display through the intense fight choreography.
What could have been better is the weaving story that randomly brings the myriads of characters in and out of the picture. This includes the beautiful cultivator, Nangong Wan (Gina Jin), whose reluctant fascination with Han Li becomes a frustrating plot point. Even though Han Li achieves his main goal, the ending feels somewhat anticlimactic - however it does set up Season 2. (Yang Yang may be signed for 3 seasons, but who knows when the next one will actually be filmed.)
A big bright spot of The Immortal Ascension is the incredible soundtrack featuring the powerful opening song, Mortal Heart by Reno Wang, and the emotional Mayfly's Will sung by Shi Yan.
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Not the idol drama I hoped for - but a star emerged nonetheless
I admit it. I’m drawn to dramas about Kpop idols. They don’t even have to be all that good for me to stick it out. (Hence the fact I completed Namib.). Lovely Runner being the lone exception, idol dramas always seem to fall short. Spring of Youth started out with an interesting premise as Sa Gye (Ha Yoo-jun), the lead singer of Crown, is kicked out of the group and has to go to college. But because of a secret he learned, his former company president does everything he can to destroy him. It's really hard to watch as the president and his accomplice - both adults - do increasingly terrible things to silence teen Sa Gye. Despite everything thrown at him, Sa Gye manages to maintain a positive attitude. This, and the fact that I wanted to see the adults get what they deserved, is why I finished the series.I wish that in a show about idols, there had been more music – rather than various iterations of the same song played repeatedly. And that the ending had provided more details about the future. But there is at least one good thing came out of watching the show – the discovery of its young star, Ha Yoo-jun, who is the main vocalist for the soon to debut band, AxMxP. I definitely plan to “see him (and AxMxP) later”!
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This review may contain spoilers
Tried and true trope gone bad
The First Night with the Duke is exactly the kind of story I like – a modern-day gal suddenly finds herself as a character in her favorite romance novel. This vehicle can lead to all sorts of interesting situations as the proverbial fish out of water tries to find her feet. I’ve watched a lot of good dramas with a similar trope: Mr. Queen, Love Game in Eastern Fantasy, Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo, The Romance of Tiger and Rose, even the recent A Dream Within a Dream. Which may be the reason The First Night with the Duke fell flat.I wanted modern girl K, now Cha Seon-chaek (Seohyun), to be more than someone who makes cocktails and instigates bedroom hijinks. In this “story” world – she has a chance to reinvent herself and show off the traits of an intelligent, contemporary woman. Instead, she spends whole portions of the drama wringing her hands and waiting to be saved. Most of the other characters in the series carry out their cookie cutter parts, with Prince Gyeongseong (OK Taec-yeon) hitting the expected chord between ruthless killer and eager lover. But why is it that enterprising Do Hwa-seon (Ji Hye-won), who starts out as the villainess, is so much more interesting than heroin Seon-chaek? Or that the prince’s friend, Jung Soo-gyeom (Seo Beum-june), feels so much more layered than his meager screen time suggests?
With an unmemorable soundtrack and a final episode that is mostly filler, unless you are a big fan of the leads, this is a drama that can easily be skipped.
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Reminded me of Love Song for Illusion
I had high hopes for The Haunted Palace, especially after seeing Yook Sung-Jae in a favorite drama of mine, The Golden Spoon. Playing the dual role of King’s Archivist Yoon Gap and the divine Imugi Gang Cheori, he is the best part of this “spooky” series. (I still laugh thinking about the scene where he switches back and forth between the two characters!)But I can’t help comparing the drama to last year’s Love Song for Illusion, another supernatural fantasy with the male lead in a dual role. Though Love Song for Illusion has its share of problems (like the over-the-top shaman storyline) there are a number of things the series got right - like casting Park Ji-hoon as the lead. Plus, the beautiful costumes, cinematography and original soundtrack.
On the other hand, while The Haunted Palace production values are standard Kdrama fare, the shaman/spirits storyline is much more interesting, the emotional moments genuine, and the humor - actually humorous. Trimming off a few of the 16 episodes to tighten up the plot would have been nice, as well as an original song by one of the talented K-pop leads. But I do like the upbeat "You Better Run" by Jung Dong Ha and K. Will's "Be Your Shade".
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Watched an episode and thought "I've seen all this before?" Stick around - all is not as it seems
With so many dramas to choose from, why watch A Dream Within a Dream? Maybe you watched the first couple of episodes and thought “I’ve seen all of this before”. Well stick around because all is not as it seems. Using those standard stereotypes, tropes, and iconic scenes found in other dramas as a starting point, the series gradually pushes these familiar elements in a direction that forces not only the characters but the audience to question everything. In the process, the characters grow and change in unexpected ways, the story shifts to create new situations, and those iconic scenes gain depth. The execution may not always be perfect but as the traditional layers are peeled away, this is one drama that only gets better with each episode.Liu Yuning, no matter which of his three (wink wink) characters he is portraying, fills his scenes with a heady dose of emotion and heart. It’s no wonder Song Li Meng (the adorable Li Yi Tong) falls for every iteration of him – despite trying so hard not to! The performances of Riley Wang as Shangguan He, and second male lead turned v#*$!!, Wang You Shuo as Chu Gui Hong, also stand out. Like many of the supporting characters, they strive to become something other than the “paper people” they are written to be.
By the time I finished episode 40, I didn’t want A Dream Within a Dream to end. Fortunately, I can go back and rewatch my favorite parts or listen to the original soundtrack featuring not one but two amazing songs by OST King Liu Yuning: the opening theme, Ballad of the Long Wind, and the emotional, Paper Person!
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