Wow.. This comment section is getting... err intense? Given the few tidbits I watched last week I had decided to binge episode 7 to 10 this weekend.... BUUUUUUUUUT I think I'm gonna make sure tomorrow's episode ends on a high note... Otherwise it's okay I'll just binge episode 7 to 12 next week.
Seems like the Com' part of the rom com' has left the room last week.
Ok spoiled myself the ending... Didn't like it... Watched 2 episodes, dropped it for later... Spoiled myself the end.... ANNNNNNND I'm glad I spoiled myself. Definitely NOT for me. But I'm sure some people will enjoy the "last" plot twist. Hate that type of ending... So I'm glad I didn't invest more time in this show.
Dropping this one after 2 episodes. Honestly the show is pretty funny. I'm just not in the mood for an office romance at present so not the best moment to really enjoy the show at its right value. Will check people's comments after the show has finished. Hopefully the show delivers up to the end. If not, at least I will have avoided wasting my time.
Lol just started that one because the comment section is overall pretty positive... And I'm 8mn in and...
Err... Is the shirtless scene a standard in rom coms now?
Not complaining here, I love eye candies like the next person, but my God I feel for these Korean actors. They have only a couple of shirtless scenes yet they have to train like crazy to maintain these crazy proportions.
Honestly, if I spent that much time at the gym + all the crazy diet ( because you don't get a get a body like that with just exercising, you need the diet that goes with it otherwise even without overeating, your body would naturally settle for a bit more fat and less defined muscles), I would want to flaunt that body in every scene.
And yet these poor dudes have like 30 seconds of abs glory before hiding all these efforts behind a shirt. Such a waste.
I am waiting for it to be finished before watching it. But the genres of Reverse in Kocowa is always romance (main…
Yeah well I can tell you 100000000% that it's a mistake on Kocowa's part. I'm dropping this one because I'm not in the mood currently but frankly there's not an ounce of romance even as a subgenre. There's some couple story but it's included in the thriller aspect, nothing romantic in here. Just to be clear. Better be warned instead of hoping for something that will never happen.
I'm not even talking about romance as a sub-sub-sub genre. It's not there at all.
ml is 35-40 fl is 17... zuo yes character supposed to be his son but they changed it to cousin or nephew
Lol yes... Personally I see these verticals a bit like fast food. It sure is tasty but one should watch it with moderation otherwise it will start to affect your brain cells.
But personally I haven't eaten at a fast food since the last time I worked in one... That was over 22 years ago, and honestly I'm not missing it in the least.
No disrespect, I understand the appeal. I'm just not the target public and that's perfectly fine. As for fanwars... they're one of the biggest reason why I often go through long periods during which I don't comment on MDL. People should really get a life.
I remember when I first tried to watch this drama back when it aired a little bit over 10 years ago... I was so frustrated I dropped it. Waited for all episodes to be out, started it again... Spoiled myself all episodes... Dropped it again.
Well the third time is the charm I guess... I still got frustrated and "speed watched" literally the whole series in order to be able to "bear" episode 1 to 9 which I think are the most difficult to get through - Took me almost 20 days no less!
We already know what is going to happen but seeing Hae Gang trying desperately to save her marriage and endure public humiliation through the hands of her own husband is a tough watch. As frustrating as it is though, I still think it's necessary because the payoff once her ex-husband starts to realize how much he hurt his wife is really something. Watching Hae Kang throwing at him the very same hurtful lines he cruelly threw at her while she was still at her weakest trying to hold on to her marriage and cope with the death of their child, and the responsibility she had in it, is really satisfying.
I've got to admit that the groveling ML (or Top in BLs) that regret his past hurtful actions and has to win back the love he lost is one of my ultimate favorite trope. I can never get enough of it. Probably because in real life, cheaters rarely genuinely regret the hurt they caused. They only regret getting caught and having to face the consequence of their actions.
Since I've literally spoiled myself everything and have watched the whole drama up to the point where it started ( the drama start with an event and then we get 9 episodes of flashback before going round to where we started in the series), I'm gonna slowly watch the rest without skipping anything...
This being said, as mentioned by other members below, it's one of these needlessly overly long oldies so it's not made to be binged. It's made to be watched weekly at a steady pace so while you obviously are going to watch it faster since all episodes are out I wouldn't recommend speed running it.
The rating is a bit harsh per the MDL rating system... But MDL's ratings have gone to sheep years ago so no surprise here.
I'd say the biggest flaw is its length... 30 to 40 episodes would have been ideal but weekenders were almost all 50 episodes back then so... no surprise.
This being said, if the "remorseful possessive and jealous ML who has to grovel to win back his love who is bent on leaving him behind for good" is your thing... This is certainly the best K drama for that. Trust my 21 years of K drama addiction. You won't find a better fit on this particular trope. I wish there was a bit more possessiveness and jealousy that had been thrown in there but I guess we needed some conflicts that weren't couple related to cater to a wider audience so the Business aspect takes a bit too much space in the last 10/20 episodes. Bit sad.
jpny01's is dishonest... It's not the worst BL of all time... It's one of the worst. There's a difference. Nobody knows how bad a Thai BL can be, once you think you've seen the bottom of the abyss, some always manage to get a shovel to dig dipper.
Anyways, dunno why but I was thinking of the two male leads of this atrocity and I was 100% sure that none of them would ever manage to get another contract because YES this drama sucked but they BOTH sucked so bad in the acting department that even the acting couldn't even give this thing an ounce of redeeming quality... So imagine my surprise to see that Tonkhao didn't quit after this awful performance and still managed to be active in the industry with a lead role with renown Thai actors no less!
Well either he's got a very good network and an excellent agent who managed to pull some strings for him... OR he drastically worked to better his acting and managed to pass an audition in spite of this terrible beginning. For James though, no surprise. Dunno if he gave up or if he never managed to get another contract... But hey, best of luck to both of them...
That's not the nicest comment but I have to say I still mourn the precious time I ever wasted on this sh***. I actually gave up my GagaOolala subscription after this one. The trauma was just too deep.
I wish they'd have been a bit more creative with how it came out rather than them just having the contract just…
Well sadly we got one big cliché out, just I'm bracing myself for another especially given the preview... Seems Hui Ju is planning on the noble idiocy. If it goes that route I'm binging episode 7 to 12... Otherwise I'm just gonna be seriously annoyed. The contract getting out trope should just be buried inthe center of the earth as far as I'm concerned and never EVER be brought out.
I wonder who revealed the fact that they were a contract couple.(Well not so much of a contract couple anymore…
Probably the prime Minister. (Didn't watch the episode I'm just guessing). They've set him up for it. With Yi An's looks and the way Hui Ju looks at him, he would be crazy to think they're not gonna "consume the marriage" for 3 years. He probably snapped.
Well that was predictable as fudge. Literally when has ANY of these written contracts never been exposed? Do these leads never watch any dramas or what? ( and I say drama because my God this trope is so OVERDONE in every single country on this planet). Got the looks and the brain but not the foresight of knowing the contract was bound to get out?
Anyway, glad I waited. Won't bother with this weeks' episodes until episode 10 is out... At least I'll avoid the classic angst of the forced separation for a contract we ALL knew was going to be exposed...
Seriously writers... This is just being lazy. Viewers deserve better.
Thanks for the article! So difficult to find good straight lakorns with all the LGBTQ+ content. If they had good storylines I wouldn't mind but mediocrity is the norm so I'm glad for this list! At first glance, Loveless Heroine and Beneath the Lies are the one I'm most excited about... But I'll need to look more carefully to it in weeks to come. I just don't have to read this properly right now. Anways, Thanks again for the great article!
ml is 35-40 fl is 17... zuo yes character supposed to be his son but they changed it to cousin or nephew
I'm personally still holding hope that they will remove censorship regarding this plotline in the future... After all, I also find kisses are getting better in C dramas in spite of how "tame" they're supposed to look... Probably the government trying to sell intimacy to younger generations because babies are on the drop.
However if they don't... It's bound to arrive on WEB dramas as well. I mean just last year (or two years ago not sure) there was an article on MDL about the Chinese Government wanted to implant more regulations regarding vertical dramas.
I tried to watch a couple of them but it's really not my cup of tea. Maybe I'm just too old, I find these stories too fast paced and disjointed and the acting pretty mediocre... At some point, my guess is that people will get tired of the format but I may be mistaken.
This being said, I also wish for you that they don't start to regulate them more... That would be terrible for the whole industry. After all, it's already pretty low budget, one of the main draw, apart from the appeal of being able to watch them while commuting to work, is also the crazy wtf storylines you'll never see in "normal" dramas so to speak. If they remove that, what's the point of watching mediocre acting with mediocre plots and tiny budgets? You have to keep the crazy uncensored ideas that come out of the writers' brains as they are otherwise where's the appeal?
ml is 35-40 fl is 17... zuo yes character supposed to be his son but they changed it to cousin or nephew
Sorry to contradict but you're the one saying a false statement here.
They always do the same thing at the end of every single dramas which has a rebirth element: It's a dream and it never happened, story of Kunning Palace changed it to "Oh it was a novel" for a little bit of variety, but overall it just never happened, whether the story is set in a modern or a historical setting. Really annoying. The only dramas that come to mind in which they handled that censorship in the best way possible was "the Double" and "Legend of the Female General" in which they removed the reincarnation part that were in the novels for the drama adaptations.
In the Double, instead of having the FL reincarnate in the body of another character as it was the case in the novel, they removed that plot altogether and, the FL never died. She just met another woman whose identity she ended up taking.
In "Legend of the Female General", same thing. They changed the plot of novel and instead of having the FL die and reincarnate in another persons' body whose identity she takes, she never dies and is taken in by another family ( though I dont' remember the details of how that happened but in the drama she's helped by her former mentor or something along these lines) keeps the same body and yet somehow nobody recognizes her. That's a major plot hole in the drama that one has to really turn a blind eye to, to enjoy the show
SO YES IT'S BANNED
The only exception that might come to mind is "Till the End of the Moon" where the main character goes back in time... But she never died in the first place, only other characters so technically it's a bit in a grey area especially since it's set in a wuxia setting... Arguably the FL did go back to the past and revive some people... so one could argue there's some reincarnation involved... but since these characters are immortals or deities, I guess they got a free pass. But again this one is walking on the very thin censorship line.
Time travel is a bit in grey area though. Seems it really depends of who is working on the day they give the pass for it to air or not.
Do people actually like her character? It feels like most of the hype comes from LR shippers or IU or BWS antis,…
Well to be fair I haven't seen anybody liking her character but I saw some comments of people trying to find her some excuses for how awful she is, when my opinion is the show has made no effort to make her compelling in any way, shape or form. I'm like you though, no compelling backstory so far which is why I say the writing is pretty weak as far as she's concerned because apart from her obsession with her own status, there's nothing positive to find about her apart from her looks... And she does look beautiful for sure, the director knows how to highlight her light brown eyes, they really do stand out here.
Episode 7 (no spoiler but still hinting at something so I'm not putting the spoiler tag but if you're worried skip this comment.) ______________________________________________________________
Ah well... I was wrong. The Queen was way worse than I thought . Good luck defending her in the comment section now. Truly irredeemable from start to finish. I stand by what I said since episode 1. She's terribly written. Can't find a single thing to save her soul. Well that's fine... I still like the show in spite of how she's written, but now I can finally put any hope to rest and see how they'll wrap things up in a satisfying way. The current King is really pitiful. Gaslighting b***
Does this have romance? I think it was in the tags before but now it's removed?
No there's not. There's a "supposed couple" at the beginning of the story but it's very clear from the very beginning that the whole thing is a bit weird. This is a thriller 100%. If you're in for the romance, that's not the drama for you.
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Seems like the Com' part of the rom com' has left the room last week.
Didn't like it... Watched 2 episodes, dropped it for later... Spoiled myself the end.... ANNNNNNND I'm glad I spoiled myself. Definitely NOT for me. But I'm sure some people will enjoy the "last" plot twist. Hate that type of ending... So I'm glad I didn't invest more time in this show.
Nothing against the show. It's more a me-problem.
Err... Is the shirtless scene a standard in rom coms now?
Not complaining here, I love eye candies like the next person, but my God I feel for these Korean actors. They have only a couple of shirtless scenes yet they have to train like crazy to maintain these crazy proportions.
Honestly, if I spent that much time at the gym + all the crazy diet ( because you don't get a get a body like that with just exercising, you need the diet that goes with it otherwise even without overeating, your body would naturally settle for a bit more fat and less defined muscles), I would want to flaunt that body in every scene.
And yet these poor dudes have like 30 seconds of abs glory before hiding all these efforts behind a shirt. Such a waste.
That was my needless 2 cents.
I'm not even talking about romance as a sub-sub-sub genre. It's not there at all.
But personally I haven't eaten at a fast food since the last time I worked in one... That was over 22 years ago, and honestly I'm not missing it in the least.
No disrespect, I understand the appeal. I'm just not the target public and that's perfectly fine.
As for fanwars... they're one of the biggest reason why I often go through long periods during which I don't comment on MDL. People should really get a life.
Well the third time is the charm I guess... I still got frustrated and "speed watched" literally the whole series in order to be able to "bear" episode 1 to 9 which I think are the most difficult to get through - Took me almost 20 days no less!
We already know what is going to happen but seeing Hae Gang trying desperately to save her marriage and endure public humiliation through the hands of her own husband is a tough watch. As frustrating as it is though, I still think it's necessary because the payoff once her ex-husband starts to realize how much he hurt his wife is really something. Watching Hae Kang throwing at him the very same hurtful lines he cruelly threw at her while she was still at her weakest trying to hold on to her marriage and cope with the death of their child, and the responsibility she had in it, is really satisfying.
I've got to admit that the groveling ML (or Top in BLs) that regret his past hurtful actions and has to win back the love he lost is one of my ultimate favorite trope. I can never get enough of it.
Probably because in real life, cheaters rarely genuinely regret the hurt they caused. They only regret getting caught and having to face the consequence of their actions.
Since I've literally spoiled myself everything and have watched the whole drama up to the point where it started ( the drama start with an event and then we get 9 episodes of flashback before going round to where we started in the series), I'm gonna slowly watch the rest without skipping anything...
This being said, as mentioned by other members below, it's one of these needlessly overly long oldies so it's not made to be binged. It's made to be watched weekly at a steady pace so while you obviously are going to watch it faster since all episodes are out I wouldn't recommend speed running it.
The rating is a bit harsh per the MDL rating system... But MDL's ratings have gone to sheep years ago so no surprise here.
I'd say the biggest flaw is its length... 30 to 40 episodes would have been ideal but weekenders were almost all 50 episodes back then so... no surprise.
This being said, if the "remorseful possessive and jealous ML who has to grovel to win back his love who is bent on leaving him behind for good" is your thing... This is certainly the best K drama for that. Trust my 21 years of K drama addiction. You won't find a better fit on this particular trope. I wish there was a bit more possessiveness and jealousy that had been thrown in there but I guess we needed some conflicts that weren't couple related to cater to a wider audience so the Business aspect takes a bit too much space in the last 10/20 episodes. Bit sad.
Anyways, dunno why but I was thinking of the two male leads of this atrocity and I was 100% sure that none of them would ever manage to get another contract because YES this drama sucked but they BOTH sucked so bad in the acting department that even the acting couldn't even give this thing an ounce of redeeming quality... So imagine my surprise to see that Tonkhao didn't quit after this awful performance and still managed to be active in the industry with a lead role with renown Thai actors no less!
Well either he's got a very good network and an excellent agent who managed to pull some strings for him... OR he drastically worked to better his acting and managed to pass an audition in spite of this terrible beginning. For James though, no surprise. Dunno if he gave up or if he never managed to get another contract... But hey, best of luck to both of them...
That's not the nicest comment but I have to say I still mourn the precious time I ever wasted on this sh***. I actually gave up my GagaOolala subscription after this one. The trauma was just too deep.
Got the looks and the brain but not the foresight of knowing the contract was bound to get out?
Anyway, glad I waited. Won't bother with this weeks' episodes until episode 10 is out... At least I'll avoid the classic angst of the forced separation for a contract we ALL knew was going to be exposed...
Seriously writers... This is just being lazy. Viewers deserve better.
However if they don't... It's bound to arrive on WEB dramas as well. I mean just last year (or two years ago not sure) there was an article on MDL about the Chinese Government wanted to implant more regulations regarding vertical dramas.
I tried to watch a couple of them but it's really not my cup of tea. Maybe I'm just too old, I find these stories too fast paced and disjointed and the acting pretty mediocre... At some point, my guess is that people will get tired of the format but I may be mistaken.
This being said, I also wish for you that they don't start to regulate them more... That would be terrible for the whole industry. After all, it's already pretty low budget, one of the main draw, apart from the appeal of being able to watch them while commuting to work, is also the crazy wtf storylines you'll never see in "normal" dramas so to speak. If they remove that, what's the point of watching mediocre acting with mediocre plots and tiny budgets? You have to keep the crazy uncensored ideas that come out of the writers' brains as they are otherwise where's the appeal?
They always do the same thing at the end of every single dramas which has a rebirth element: It's a dream and it never happened, story of Kunning Palace changed it to "Oh it was a novel" for a little bit of variety, but overall it just never happened, whether the story is set in a modern or a historical setting.
Really annoying. The only dramas that come to mind in which they handled that censorship in the best way possible was "the Double" and "Legend of the Female General" in which they removed the reincarnation part that were in the novels for the drama adaptations.
In the Double, instead of having the FL reincarnate in the body of another character as it was the case in the novel, they removed that plot altogether and, the FL never died. She just met another woman whose identity she ended up taking.
In "Legend of the Female General", same thing. They changed the plot of novel and instead of having the FL die and reincarnate in another persons' body whose identity she takes, she never dies and is taken in by another family ( though I dont' remember the details of how that happened but in the drama she's helped by her former mentor or something along these lines) keeps the same body and yet somehow nobody recognizes her. That's a major plot hole in the drama that one has to really turn a blind eye to, to enjoy the show
SO YES IT'S BANNED
The only exception that might come to mind is "Till the End of the Moon" where the main character goes back in time... But she never died in the first place, only other characters so technically it's a bit in a grey area especially since it's set in a wuxia setting... Arguably the FL did go back to the past and revive some people... so one could argue there's some reincarnation involved... but since these characters are immortals or deities, I guess they got a free pass. But again this one is walking on the very thin censorship line.
Time travel is a bit in grey area though. Seems it really depends of who is working on the day they give the pass for it to air or not.
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Ah well... I was wrong. The Queen was way worse than I thought . Good luck defending her in the comment section now. Truly irredeemable from start to finish. I stand by what I said since episode 1. She's terribly written. Can't find a single thing to save her soul. Well that's fine... I still like the show in spite of how she's written, but now I can finally put any hope to rest and see how they'll wrap things up in a satisfying way. The current King is really pitiful. Gaslighting b***