Kasia Krakowianka

Kinda boring at this point ep 15

there are two more episodes to go and I am no longer at the edge of my seat. I admit I was watching this drama at first with some reservation as it seemed like a silly mixed identities plot the first few episodes, but it then got interesting with all the courtroom and palace scheming and political duplicity. At ep 14 I started getting tired of never-ending bombs and dire straits that ML was put through. I am sorry but I am not longer able to care how this is going to be resolved. Most of the reviews before me point out the artistry of the ML, but to me the SML, a very young actor, stole the show. He is most believable, most vulnerable character in the entire series, and he plays it VERY well. I will not comment of the +/- of the various characters in this show, they were written as such and so I can only comment on the mastery of the screenwriter to create roles that are either very rich to start with (and we slowly discover their inner workings) or they develop progressively thus giving us a delicious chance to witness that personal growth. In this case, the script falls short in just revealing details of the story that really does not expand our understanding of the characters. I was able to determine who is a good guy and who is a bad guy already, so even switch in the direction does not prove anything, just mundanely proves the already known truths. I still give it high mark because I usually start with 10 for interesting script, fresh ideas in the plot, characters that are not stereotypes and acting mastery. If the FX or cinematography is something memorable and the OST is a part of the characters/situations, then I can keep the 10. Otherwise, I subtract the points. This one has music that I can't recall after 15 episodes. Mediocre script and characters. Acting is good, but visuals are not that great. Frankly, I am ready to go back to The Double as that keeps me entertained at ep 20.

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surprisingly coherent and fascinating

I finished this as the first vd this year (1.1.2026!) while the page for this title was still not on MDL. I have a private list of all of the VDS that do not have the pages here and I occasionally check if the page was created so I can update my list with comments and rating. So I went back to it within 3 weeks and discovered that someone added this title. As a result I am writing this in response to the second viewing because I wanted to refresh my memory of this drama.
I'm going to start with what I did not like:
1. characterization of the female lead: she was annoying at times with a modern I don't care attitude, although the actress played really well. Her mastery came out in the last 15 or so episodes were the plot changes drastically demanding more artistic license and skillful acting.
2. character of the male lead: somewhat wishy-washy and (while likable) sort of a blockhead type, but just like with female lead he played his role well.
3. this was pretty much two character plot, meaning second female lead and second male lead had very little to do with the change in the course of the story, and the story revolved around relationship between the leads.
4. as with most vertical dramas the budget was small which showed in how the camera had to be positioned, meaning no grand interiors, decorations or vistas, no cinematography to speak of- just the close-ups and 3/4 plan with faces and full body with minimum background in most shots.
5. I watched it on YouTube as one long uninterrupted video, which meant the music was mostly cut out or the voice track was playing without the instrumentals, so I can't comment on the quality of OST. I would have liked it better with the better version of it, I'm sure.
And now on to what I liked:
we got a combination of two unusual characters: a person transmigrated into the book (meaning she knows what the story is about and what is going to happen), and a character from that same book, i. e. the character from the story, being reborn (meaning he has the knowledge of what had gone wrong in the story already and wanting to change it). And the major premise of this drama is: these two personas are mortal enemies: one scheming against the other and the other killing the first one. Of course with such a setup the things are bound to go wrong and of course they may not end well, particularly because both leads make strange errors in judgment thus ending up in precisely same situation that they did not want to be (female lead constantly at risk of dying and male lead being schemed against).
This is not exactly the angst driven plot of "will she love him? will he fall in love with her" but about the consistent distrust and misunderstandings between the two leads. And it is amazing.

The female lead cares only about her own survival and disregards anything emotional in herself and in the male lead. The male lead cares only about not ending up the same way he did the first time around, thus not giving the female lead the benefit of a doubt. For a love story this is contradiction in terms as the leads do not share deep love but merely an attraction. They are just two souls thrown in together and at one point collaborating for mutual benefit. The attachment they form is not the romance, it's understanding of themselves and not necessarily the other person.
The best part of this drama is the ending and watching how happy-go-lucky woman realizes her ultimate doom caused by herself is approaching regardless of all of the scheming she had done to survive, and how the man who feels completely conflicted about her basically because of insisting on his own biases and reactivity to her indifference and rejection of his attempts, tries to save her. And the bickering and verbal exchange between the emperor and the female lead's father in the end is hilarious.The level of emotional tension and expression in the final scenes with the male and female lead and female lead's father was just heartbreaking but awesome. I actually couldn't believe that I cared that much about completely unbelievable story and completely fictional characters. So bravo to the director and the actors for creating such a good illusion of reality and giving such a moving performance and production.
I am recommending it for this story being both typical and yet unusual

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6.25 really for the horrible quality of no post-production

I think this was a college students project for a term or year-end grade. And as such I would give them pass only.

The story was good, but I am not sure about the logic of the endings' ambivalence -this was a clear cut for me with no if. Also I did not like the unnerving characterization of the people in lead although the acting overall was not that bad, but
Everything else was just unacceptable in the version I saw- the sound was raw and no music so I am going to give it a benefit of the doubt and rate 6.5 but watch at your own risk
-bad wigs
-bad makeup
-uneven lighting
-polluted sound
PLEASE, whoever had seen it in a better version- post your review and prove me wrong!
I came to see the lead actors who are pretty good, but I feel sorry for them for this one.

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around 7.25 -brief synopsis included

When I first heard about Follow You Heart (where a woman becomes a different person every month) I was actually hoping for something like this one but even here I was somewhat disappointed (mostly the not-well-thought-through ending). The idea of jumping from body to body upon death is interesting to watch here because in the process the emperor teaches himself the most important values in relationship: trust and freedom. We watch him grow from the obsessed despotic idiot, who pushes himself on and imprisons the woman he is obsessed with, into a more mature and compassionate man.
In the process he falls for whoever his beloved dead wife embodies: the sister he hates and when the sister is offed, he engages with the body of eunuch/female in disguise and then after she jumps again into the body of the dowager who is trying to kill him, he is reluctantly getting hots for that older woman. And it is unfortunately that older woman that makes him realize he has to let go. Unfortunately, because it suggests that his love may have been only skin deep (he could not let go of the younger ones).
In my opinion it would have been better if the interactions shown were using the actors originally playing these characters as that would create situation of dubious sexual with "sister" and older "mother" figure, and even a man! But alas, the logic is not the strongest point of the creators, particularly the further we watch. The ending sucked because if FL was to get back as the original character, where did she get the body??? And if she jumped to the original timeline then why was the ML aware of her previous jumps? Well, it's VD so let's not get carried away to being too demanding. It was entertaining and I enjoyed the actors who did a good job of being who they were supposed to play, and it had a light tone/comedy base.
Overall, I would recommend it for the quick no-brain fun.

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Unremarkable transmigration story

There is no synopsis, so I am including it here:
Modern actress gets "worked to death" (dies of exhaustion in her trailer on the set where she is pushed by her boss to perform 365 days a year despite of spitting blood). She gets thrown into the ancient setting where -as a courtesan skilled in seduction, skinny like a dying horse- is selected to talk a crown prince (raised in the temple) who is on hunger strike into eating something. The prince is practicing ascetism, but seemingly only to save his life as the young Empress is scheming against him and as long as he is staying in the temple as a Buddhist monk or killed by the seductress - her lover from the previous dynasty will take over. The actress is trying to act to survive, the prince is opposing the goofy woman and every dick and harry (and future crown princess) want to punish, humiliate or otherwise use the FL (including getting her pregnant by the crown prince so the dynasty can be upheld). Oh, and while Emperor father is dying and wants his only surviving son to continue on the throne, he is dead bent on killing the courtesan and marry his son to the general's daughter.

The two and a half hours of pushing and pulling between the leads and palace machinations are sometimes funny but mostly tedious. Thank God halfway through it the FL becomes more honest with the ML and they start collaborating which could make some viewers more interested particularly because there is a big secret revealed there. If not for the fact that this drama shows somewhat realistically the stark difference between modern woman's sexual appetites (with hidden deep need for being protected/taken care of) plus ancient man's sticking to the typical knight saving damsel in distress protagonist abiding by traditional rules of propriety between genders (mostly as a result of huge trauma), this would not have been watchable. In fact, I did not see anything here that stood out from hundreds of similar projects and giving it 6.5 is rather generous given even music was borrowed from other shows.

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If you are here for Cheng Lei - you will enjoy it!

This was funny and cute, and touching and ridiculous all rolled into 40 minutes of light comedy. The idea of a modern woman getting into a dating game set in ancient times where she is to accomplish certain tasks as directed by the "viewers" while trying to become the Empress. Unfortunately, the Princess Royal poisons the FL with the promise of an antidote as soon as FL kills the Emperor, her brother. The best part is: the Emperor, NPC, is indestructible so even though they conspire to fool the princess royal they are hilariously trying to kill him many different ways, which is pretty fun to watch given their seriousness with such a silly premise, and in the process fall in love.
I enjoyed the FL as spunky and clever character (unfortunately she plays leads in really bad dramas, too bad because she is both very pretty and good in her role) and of course the at ease ML who can be at times sarcastic and at times shy like a little boy - adorable like he was as Jin'An in Shadow Love.
The chemistry is there and because of the length of the story this was really easy to watch.

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transmigration?

It starts off as a transmigration story, a modern girl gets thrown out to ancient realm for some reason. We see her trying to figure out her newlywed cold/distant husband as well as the results of the shock of everybody nearby with her new spirit and personality. Yes, cute and light. Then we get a twist in the trope as the girl and her spouse switch bodies/souls and learn to like and support one another -again, pure fun as M/FL are really good embodying the opposite gender roles. Then we start wondering about the transmigration as we see the leads in modern times in not so good situation: she lost her memory of their happy marriage, and the spouse suffers by her bedside. And then the usual fight for the throne with the Crown Prince, as well as avenging dead mother plot of ML, while FL is still trying to figure out how to get back to her modern reality and life. And then we wonder if perhaps these two lovers are shown in two lifetimes as twin flames: on and off again...? And then we find out that the transmigration is really the modern wife's subconscious attempt at getting at the truth about her "happy marriage". I loved the ending in both story lines - not really an open ending or a cliffhanger, but a nudge toward what might happen with these two in the next reincarnation. The acting was good, OST well done, editing and production for this 12 minute mini series commendable.

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sexual attraction of ML to a pushover FL

Just sharing this with anybody looking for specific stuff:
1. good deal of sexually explicit innuendos and risqué scenes done in a fun way
2. bad boy ML sexually engaging "his woman" with a smile and without consent
3. weak FL being used and willingly submitting to the advances of the man she loves but believing he does not love her (to the point of having kids with the ML out of wedlock and against the norms as sister-in-law)
4. weird bending of the feudal seniority rules that make the scenario possible
5. tons of cruelty and humiliation of the FL by other women in the story
Interesting choice of music and good editing of shots
7 is rather generous but it was a fun watch.

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50 First Dates meets Hard to Find

first of all with only 24 episodes 10 to 18 minutes each and limited budget you know this ain't gonna bee Love of Nirvana, but it still packs a punch.
I loved the OST, original and well placed.
I loved the story and concepts the screenwriter came up with: opposing countries and their royals vying for supremacy and showing ruthlessness expected of ancient cdrama.
I liked the characters: cunning ml who goes from slave submission to ruler cutting his enemies personally and torturing in vengeance with abandon, and fl who fools us with soft heart and questioning her own ruling mother only to showcase unyielding strength of spirit even on her death bed.
I was really impressed with complexity of human falability switching between doing one thing when in power versus when oppressed and humiliated.
Actors did a great job trying to be their characters and second cp delivered touching story of their own.
The philosophical questions and ethical dimemas like those in Still Alice (dementia issues) could have been expanded on but again, this is short drama and not VD or full length, so I take it as is.
The editing was a bit scattered and sometimes the plot had holes but they went for the conceptual wholeness and not detailed depiction.
The ending was weak albeit expected, I would have been ok with stopping at ep 23 but then again the best lines delivered by the 4 leads were in the last 5 episodes.
overall good watch but I probably won't ever go back to it

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Such a disappointment

I am being generous giving it 7 because I liked the actors and the attempt at the novel, but....
Viewers be aware:
👎you will not get more than 2 out of promised multiple husbands/lovers
👎You will not get a decent ending either
For the most part I was just curious what are they going to do with just 65 episodes 2 minutes each and it was actually foreseeable: shortcuts, butchered story development and weird non-resolution ending🤦
It was a fast watch and some parts (romance) was cute, but you will be frustrated with the result.
Pity, if this was more funded, it would have been a really good mini drama.

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sorry -this was really bad script and delivery-dissapointing

gosh this was banal from the beginning (1.25x speed) and painful from about halfway through (1x speed) to be insufferable toward the end (skip 10 sec skip 20 sec skip 30 sec). It still felt like self-inflicted punishment - and I stopped at least 3 times to decide if I should drop again. Decided to write a review to warn others.

The script was horrendous - while the idea in general would have been great to watch - this was not. The plot was going places that hardly anybody likes going - incoherent, out of the blue and inconsistent. Both the story line and the characters. It was messy and all over the place with too many things trying to be played as important and yet losing the impact with cramming way too many things that really did not matter overall. The ending was just plain disappointing. Nothing felt like it made sense.

I like the leads as actors (I am currently finishing He Jian Qi's spree and watched probably 20 dramas with them, combined), but they did not do much here other than standard 5th grader modern woman and cold ancient man. Feel sorry for them to have to play in this monstrosity.

Don't waste your time on this unless you really like torturing yourself.

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Major angst fest

First of all, a fair warning; most of the YT postings of this had horrible subs and no music which will make it a harrowing experience for you so unless you know original spoken language or could do better translation you might let this go. Without good subs it is really a bad watch.
But I found it on IQIYI Vertical Drama tab, and it was surprisingly engaging. Mind you, this is typical "they protect each other by not being honest and thus get manipulated by 3rd party into hurting each other and getting hurt by others". But overall, this one had a chaotic and inconsistent plot of second chances causing characters to be either permanently ticked off or depressed. I mean, leads get in the time loop (reincarnation) twice and in both cases ML dies and FL chose to follow. Of course, they are not aware that the other one had lived through the nightmare before. In the third time around, she does the ridiculous flip to pick not her beloved but the hated emperor while he chose to usurp the throne to protect her. It sounds good in theory, but they get backlashes of these radical decisions and when unexpected things start happening (during which there is misunderstandings galore as they really never speak openly about what they feel and why they do what they do) she gets tortured and humiliated (by harem women plus her would be husband she hates) and he turns into a love you-hate you indecisive fool and rapist. Lovely, huh? I don't think I will remember this tomorrow and definitely will not rewatch as the ending was simply ridiculous.
But the actors were doing decent job with their roles.
Director is asked to go back to rethinking his idea of guiding actors toward a cohesive vision of the story and actually having a cohesive vision- right now the only consistent thing it delivered was angst and sudden events that came out of nowhere just to make it a HE.
This will appeal to anybody who likes "fated not to be together" (ie Lost You Forever) and fans of typical palace schemery or aggression toward wilted flower women.

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Mature dignified couple making their way into good future together - a decent watch for VD

I love when couples openly communicate, trust each other and have a bit of the light/teasing moments and this VD gave me such vibe. The story is not new and predictable (unconsummated marriage of the first son who "dies" on the battlefield leaving his family in distress and his "wife" working her heart out to provide for everybody for 10 years incl. supporting 2nd son who becomes the family pillar and his sister-in-law's admirer - with reciprocation!), but the characters of the leads and their relationship is so heartwarming that you will not be sorry to spend almost 2 hours on this. Mind you, this is not a grand storytelling, but a character/dialogue driven script, so you will watch mostly verbal exchanges and little gestures rather than breath-taking scenery, interiors or costumes/decor. And yet, it is a darn good watch.
I loved the integrity of the ML, his loyalty and adoration for sister-in-law turned beloved. I loved the FL as the dignified, skilled and mature woman. I enjoyed how they loved one another and defied the slimy first son and his seething flame in a steady and unperturbed manner. I even liked the matron of the mansion - even though her morals were dubious. Altogether, even if there were little steamy romance and intimacy shown, this was oddly satisfying, and I wish I knew who the actors were because I would love to watch them elsewhere.
Alas, the version I watched was on YT with the OST missing so that took a lot from the entertaining value, but hey, since I am on VD spree these days this could have been doused with bits of music stolen from other dramas, which would have made it tacky. As it stood with very little music - it was one of those micro dramas that made me feel all fuzzy and warm inside.
True, there are some nonsensical parts here (how can a female general not know self-defense and how can a wife in the manor defy openly her spouse, the master of the family?) but what do we expect of 75 2-minute episodes?

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