Mills15

Spin-offs suffer from sequel syndromes too

This is my first review, but I have been a faithful guest user on mydramalist for many years now.
I was looking forward to Resident Playbook considering that I quite enjoyed both seasons of Hospital Playlist. Unfortunately, this spin-off didn't quite live up to my expectations. Comparing it to Hospital Playlist would be unfair, yet I can't help but wish that it had some of the elements that made Hospital Playlist such an enjoyable watch. Sadly like most sequels (or in this case a spin-off) the X factor was completely missing.
This drama fell short on just the overall story itself - it could be that as it is centered on the OB-GYN unit in the hospital, the patients all revolved around expectant mothers or women who suffered from gynaecological problems. There was not much room to maneuver within the story itself because of the focus. Having said that, I felt like I didn't have enough time to get to know the patients or the doctors either despite this focus. There was no heart in the cases and I felt little connection to the residents. The humour in the show was forgettable and the cameos from the Hospital Playlist cast barely made sense to me. Of course I enjoyed seeing them, but they kept showing up randomly for a few seconds here and there like they were shoved into plot rather than included into it.

The cast was wasted in my opinion on a script that really could have been better. I adore Go Youn Jung and I always enjoy her acting, yet here I could not make head or tail of her character. Was she supposed to come off as reluctant and aloof, or as a robotic android? Her face was so devoid of emotions that I had trouble believing any emotion she did portray.
I could not understand why Kim Sa Bi was written as such an annoying character; any growth she showed always took five steps backwards because she would do something disrespectful or horrid. I found myself fast forwarding past her scenes towards the end because I just could not be interested. My favourite residents were Pyo Nam Kyung and Um Jae-il, who showed the most growth and character development. I liked watching them become better versions of themselves.

The rest of the cast seemed to just be predictable: The demanding and dominating professors, the angelic nurses, the villainous senior doctor, and of course the green flag resident chief. I have been turned off Korean content lately and this was my first K-drama in a while. As soon as one of the professors started shouting at a resident, I reminded myself why I dislike K-dramas so much. I can't stand the abuse that is always present no matter what the content of the drama is. Korean dramas are watched globally and I have to say they are gaining a lot of success by marketing how toxic and awful they are as a society.

Overall, Resident Playbook is a forgettable watch for me sadly despite the few moments that I found alright.



Spoiler below:
The one thing I admired about the writing is how they tackled Oh Joo Young's IVF journey. Her decision to not continue and to learn to love herself and the life she has was such a nice thing to see. Too often women are shamed for not prioritising motherhood and it was really wholesome to see her make a decision to prioritise herself.

Read More

Another rare gem

I have been in a costume drama drought since Blossom, so I tempered expectations when this drama premiered. I have learned the hard way that a costume drama can betray you and more often than naught too much time is spent on a convoluted political plot with nearly everyone dying.
Prisoner of Beauty has taught me to believe in costume dramas once again. Brilliantly remarkable from start to end, no other drama has affected me as emotionally, aside from The Untamed. The cast was absolutely perfect and everyone made me either love them or hate them with a vengeance. Each person in this drama played their role so well. Not a single moment was wasted and the character development was fantastic. Each person conveyed their emotions with such depth and scenes that never would have truly affected me in other dramas wrenched right into my soul here.
At the heart of the story is love and family. This drama never lost sight of that and it felt as if each episode was a lesson in love and forgiveness. Nothing came easily and the losses were painful. Wei Shao's trauma was never downplayed and I could understand the hatred and betrayal that he felt and continued to feel. Manman fixed something she didn't break, although she took full responsibility for it on behalf of her grandfather. Their growth was simply beautiful to watch and they will live on as one of my favourite costume drama couples (first place goes to Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian forever).
This drama is filmed with such care and the scenes are really stunning that even a scene with no dialogue can be so utterly moving. Liu Yuning and Song Zu Er were magnificent and their emotions were conveyed so wholeheartedly. I'll miss this world they created for us very much.

Spoiler from here!

I always wait to watch a drama when it's nearly done airing (blame my impatient nature), so I knew about Wei Liang's death from the get go. I told myself to not get invested in his story and to just accept it. What a fool I was. I held it together through the scene of his killing, but broke down when I saw what they had done to his body and when Wei Qu grieved while holding him. I completely lost it in the last episode when they all visited his grave and Qiao Tao turns and sees him smiling and waving at her with those damn orchids in his arm. A truly cruel choice to do that to a fan favourite character, but his loss reverberated across everyone who loved him and was handled with such care that I could not bring myself to be angry about it.

As for Qiao Fan's death - this one I saw coming from the start. It seemed ominous when she and Bi Zhi were still very much part of the story. Her sacrifice was an act of true love for her husband, and I would also like to think to some extent for Manman as well because he did come close to killing Wei Shao. It was devastating, but again one I can live with.

Read More

A Fabulous Lesson in Revenge

The Double is probably the best revenge drama I have ever watched and it serves a master class in strategy and gaslighting.
The cast was beyond amazing, each one playing their character to perfection. I'll only discuss the main ones to avoid writing a whole book here. Please watch the drama before reading.

Xu Fang Fei - Stunningly brilliant. This woman is so strategic and logical in her thought process that she's able to see the bigger picture and plot her revenge masterfully. She's quick to adapt and adjust as necessary, all the while not afraid to ask for help or use those around her. She stays true to her goal, but shows vulnerability and emotion which reminds us that she never asked for any of the things that happened to her and her family. Her only mistake was marrying the wrong man.

Duke Su, Xiao Heng - This man and his fan. He is Xu Fang Fei's match in every way, they are both strategic and logical, and like I said not afraid to use the people around them to achieve their goals. Having said that, they are not cruel to those who are loyal to them. I will say that Xiao Heng at times is not as clever as Xu Fang Fei and as such she becomes an incredible asset to him. However, Xu Fang Fei can sometimes be too extreme and not care about herself which makes Xiao Heng her greatest protector. They work well together and they form a bond that keeps them both human. Of course it doesn't hurt that their chemistry is spectacular. I only wish the director had not been so stingy with the hugs and kisses, but oh well.

Shen Yu Rong - Nobody loves Shen Yu Rong like Shen Yu Rong loves Shen Yu Rong. There is a special place in hell for this man and I personally hope that's where he is. The greatest sin a man can commit is to betray his partner and that's how this drama begins. He thought that he had successfully murdered his wife and then had the audacity to look tortured despite choosing himself over her. The most speechless moment I had was when he decided he wanted his wife back and wanted to remarry her. Sir please have some awareness and open your eyes, the glorious Xiao Heng is right there.

Princess Wan Ning - Now here is a villain. Wan Ning is all kinds of nutty, we could say that her tragic past played a role in it and I for one will not deny that, however the woman was devoted to being the worst. She just wanted what she wanted and I cannot fathom why that would be Shen Yu Rong. The lengths she went to were horrible because she could have just insisted that Shen Yu Rong divorce Xu Fang Fei and then exile her and her family. Yet, she was cruel and insisted on death (or as close to it as possible) for them all. I suppose it was fitting then that in the end she was betrayed as well by that same man that she had done everything for.

All in all, The Double will always remain one of my favourite C-dramas and one I will never hesitate to rewatch.
I only knocked it down a bit for the story because of the ending. I like to think that none of that happened and I choose to think that the drama ends when Xue Fang Fei confronts Jiang Li's father and confirms his worst nightmare. He deserved it.

Read More

A Mess

What is in the water with Kdramas lately? I can’t remember the last time I actually watched a Kdrama and thought that it started and ended well. The concept of this show is a lot cuter than the actual show. My first issue was putting Choo Young Woo into a high school uniform and trying to sell us the idea that he’s a teenager. I kept looking at him like he was a student that got held back in school and couldn’t graduate and was now still in high school at the age of 25 or however old he actually is in real life.
Cho Yi Hyun on the other hand has such a baby face that I could buy her as a teenager. However now it looked like she was 16 and he was an adult and then my eyes crossed and my moral compass had to be restored by the knowledge that they’re both adults in real life and all will be well.
So back into the drama I went, but what a colossal mess it was. Sure the antics of her hiding her shaman ways while trying to keep him alive were silly and at times heartwarming, I could not fathom why the drama then decided to take a sharp turn and plunge into demonic possession and a pseudo love triangle.
Was I the only one who wondered how for all the dark arts that Yeom Hwa oracticed, she ended up with the most ridiculous evil spirit ever who was unfortunately named Bong Su? It was such a joke! I didn’t find him scary, I didn’t find him entertaining and I certainly didn’t find him endearing.
It was absolutely heartbreaking when he took over Gyeon U’s body and acted like he had every right to. Worse yet, fans of the drama becoming conflicted between Gyeon U and Bong Su like he actually deserved compassion and maybe should take over Gyeon U’s body?
Halfway through the drama it fell off a cliff (very common with Kdramas these days) and entered warped territory. Seong A in all her wisdom decides to let Bong Su possess her instead and this loser of an evil spirit is basically whining because he likes Seong A but doesn’t know how to cross over so in the meantime he’s taking full advantage of being in her body and dressing her up in clothes she would never wear and making fun of Gyeon U who has been looking for Seong A for the last 3 years. She was completely violated, but let’s pity poor Bong Su who cries because he’s taking away moments that belong to Seong A and let’s also make Seong A cool with the fact that Bong Su has done who knows what to her while in possession of her body. If you’re going to hand us this storyline, do it responsibly.
The happy ending was cold for me because I had lost all interest by that point and really was completely checked out from the show.
Like I said, it sounded way cuter than it actually was.

Read More

It had the potential to be perfect...

I'm a huge fan of Zhang Jing Yi and I'll admit that this was probably the first time I have ever seen her playing a character who was so plain and dowdy, but having the ever adorable Zhou Yi Ran sharing the screen with her made it a lot easier to watch.
The beauty of both of these actors is that they have such versatility and seem to really throw themselves into their roles which helps their fans appreciate each distinct character they portray.
This drama was heavy, but it reminded me of why I switched to C-dramas from K-dramas. The conversations that these types of C-dramas are bringing forward are the conversations that I wish more dramas would be willing to have. The drama grappled with gender roles and abuse, but as daring as it was to bring that to the forefront, it didn't have the courage to fully push it to the type of resolution that many women need to see today.

Qingyu's journey from misunderstanding her older sister's existence before choosing to correct the injustice she faced was remarkable, yet the fact that it fell onto her young shoulders to do it was unacceptable. As a Southeast Asian woman, I know all too well the weight that daughters carry in our families, yet the level of failure by Qingyu and Beiyu' parents was outrageous to me.
There is no redemption for parents like this. The father was a complete coward who could not protect his wife or daughters from the misery of his own family. His inability to utter the word no was not only shocking, but repulsive. His choice then to just go along with what his family decided and even celebrate the impending wedding of the man who ruined his oldest daughter was beyond disgusting. This man never once did anything right. As bad as he was, the person who is even more unforgivable to me is their mother. Some people may have sympathized with this woman, but I could not. You married into this horrid family and knew what they were like, yet you did not do enough to protect your daughters from them. I blame her for Beiyu's fate. At any point in time you could have saved her, but you turned your back on her again and again. Choosing death after Beiyu's suicide was a completely selfish act. She could not bear the guilt of her failure as a mother and wanted to follow Beiyu into the afterlife, but all I kept thinking was wow you have two other kids but I guess you could care less right? It was infuriating to watch this woman fail repeatedly. She was not supportive of Qingyu's quest of justice for Beiyu and more than once told her to let it go. I agreed, you should be the one fighting this battle, not your teenage daughter!

When Qingyu gets dragged back to the patriarch home and is forced to apologize, her mother comes barreling in to "protect" her daughter, yet once they return to their home Qingyu is turned into a prisoner with her mother basically smothering Qingyu's spirit to death. This girl was broken because of her own parents, yet this continued to the end until the mother's depression played such a pivotal role in causing Qingyu to return to her obedient ways. To me this was just pure classic manipulation and control. The mother was a mess, but Qingyu had to be the one to bend. Explain to me why her mother in the deepest throes of depression could still tell Qingyu that she was too young to be with Ming Sheng, even after Qingyu explained that he was the only one who was consistently there for her? I guess she was still lucid enough to control her daughter's life.
Qingyu's decision to follow the path they laid out for her was incredibly disappointing to me, but I was really happy with the final episode where she chose to study psychology for grad school. I was also thrilled when she and Ming Sheng found each other again. They truly were the champions of this drama, overcoming their own trauma by helping each other and reminding us that they might have been young when they met, but their love is probably purer than what most people would ever experience.
Reborn is a good watch, but it could have been better. This drama had the ability to really address parental failure, yet that conversation dis not develop fully enough to leave an impact that most daughters need to see represented. Our parents aren't always correct and they don't always know what's best for us. That's a conversation that needs to happen more.

Read More

A drama for our inner Mulan

Let me start by saying I nearly skipped this drama because I read one review that said it was bad and many comments calling it a temu production. Still, I had waited like most fans for years for this drama to air so it was only fair to judge it after watching it.
I'm so glad I did!
This drama was really well cast and paced, but it's not flawless. There were things that didn't make sense and plot holes, but nothing that would ruin the drama in my opinion.
I think Zhou Ye did a great job portraying He Yan. I greatly sympathised with her hidden identity and felt that her mother should have done more to protect her. Of course I was unaware of the real story behind her mother's situation until the last few episodes (this was a wasted opportunity as a bit of time spent here in flashbacks would have been nice). He Yan's commitment to herself was amazing - there is nothing I love seeing more than a woman who can kick butt and take down men. I also appreciated her feminist speeches which were many and as often as she could deliver them. Her points were always valid and encouraging, never judgemental or patronising. Her entire arc of restarting her life with her own identity (although she had to hide her gender for a while) was inspiring. She picked herself up and worked harder to regain her achievements and find out the truth behind the battle that cost Xiao Jue his father. She was smart, courageous and cutesy (only to irritate and distract her beloved Commander).
Cheng Lei was born for the role of Huai Jin. He mastered glowering and continually glared for the entire drama. I loved it! Not many actors can pull off this expression and make us believe it (my favourites are still Wang Yi Bo in The Untamed and Zhang Ling He in The Story of Kunning Palace). Xiao Jue's pain was so apparent from the first episode and his devastation when he finds out about He Yan was heartbreaking. He clearly was in love with her, but could not be certain if she was his enemy. Also a shout out to him getting ahead of the whole He Yan is a woman drama with the emperor. Well done!
Now let's talk about the most important thing: the fight scenes. This is where the budget went. As a fan of The Long Ballad, I felt so cheated that almost all the fight scenes were drawings with background sounds. This drama though knew we wanted to see our female general fight and they delivered. He Yan is gifted and skilled - I thoroughly enjoyed her taking down He Rufei's right hand man and when she blinded him and told him she was a ghost who came back for revenge, I cheered. It was so satisfying. All her fight scenes were really done well, but putting her and Xiao Jue on the same battlefield and watching them fight side by side was just a masterpiece in how it should be done. That final battle with him in black and her in white fighting in tandem was epic and I loved the details in that fight where we saw them work like yin and yang. Did anyone else love that sword switch? Details make the scene.
My gripe with all costume C-dramas is why is the emperor always a moron? Like how do you rule an entire kingdom but you can't think for yourself and always let someone whisper poison in your ear? Chu Zhao was pathetic when he first came on screen and it didn't surprise me when he devolved into delusion and schemes. Him coming between He Yan and Xiao Jue's marriage was expected, but the moronic emperor making poor Xiao Jue go deliver the decree to He Yan was pure evil. I felt that the emperor was the true baddie because he was just an idiot who couldn't apply logic and took great joy is bringing misery. I would have been find if He Yan and Xiao Jue had killed him instead, but oh well we need to support the loyalty to the throne rubbish. It was so satisfying when the emperor realised he had done wrong when both Xiao Jue and He Yan declared that they'll remain alone for life if they couldn't marry each other. I also loved when she shut down Chu Zhao so fast when he was trying to claim that over time she would be happy being married to him. I absolutely despise characters that force their unrequited affections onto the person they supposedly love and think it's fine to do that. If she doesn't love you, SHE DOES NOT LOVE YOU. End of story.
Overall I felt that the drama lived up to its name because it showed us how He Yan worked from joining the Yezhou garrison to finally became a female general who was openly acknowledged. She reclaimed her title of General Feihong on her own terms and she earned everything rightfully. That ending with her and Xiao Jue ditching their wedding banquet to just go hang out and gaze at their moon was perfect.
My lesson from all this: Don't rely on reviews and comments before watching a drama. Watch it and then make your own decision.

Read More

A tribute to the series

There has been no other story that has been told as many times as the dramatic saga of F4. Based on the original manga by Kamio Yoko, Hana Yori Dango is an ever evolving story that has seen many language and cultural adaptations over the years. Most of us have watched at least one version of it, yet some of us have watched every single adaptation in hopes of finding that one remake that sets the story apart from all the other ones that were produced.

The first viewing experience I had was when I watched Meteor Garden. The Taiwanese version was low budget and cheap looking, yet the cast brought the story to life in a way that had us sitting at the edge of our seats just waiting for Shan Chai and Dao Ming Si to defy the odds of the rich boy poor girl trope and prove to us all that love prevails no matter what. Yes, it was 2001 and most of us clung to the hope that although Dao Ming Si was a complete ass and a nasty piece of work on the outside, deep in his soul he just was a lost poor little rich boy who needed a strong girl by his side to turn him into a decent human being.

This being the premise of the story, it was easy to see that nearly every adaptation was the same in terms of the narrative and the purpose of the story:

Meteor Garden (Taiwan, 2001)

Hana Yori Dango (Japan, 2005)

Boys Over Flowers (South Korea, 2009)

Meteor Garden (China, 2018)

I had watched the Taiwanese and Japanese versions before declaring that I would skip the South Korean and China versions as it was predictable and honestly, the story was not aging well. In today's society, it is incredibly hard to watch a show about four spoiled rich boys selecting schoolmates to bully simply because they were bored and they could. The level of violence was unacceptable and as I grew older, it bothered me to a level where I questioned why I ever championed Dao Ming Si/Doumyouji Tsukasa when they were just awful people. Was there something in the water back then that made us such fans of toxic male leads? Some fans may have been rooting for Hua Zhe Lei/Hanazawa Rui instead, but don't forget that he too was a member of F4 and did absolutely nothing to help out the victims (please don't think that just because he stopped Shan Cai/Makino Tsukushi from being sexually assaulted that he became some hero, because he truly was not decent either.)

Having sworn off the series, I told myself I would never watch any other adaptations - the first two and their multiple seasons plus a movie were more than enough. Then in 2021, F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers aired. This was the one. It overshadowed all the other adaptations and paid tribute to the story of F4 by bringing it into today's world and making it relatable. This version was a masterclass in how to adapt a classic story and give it new life and purpose to exist today. It was just done right.

This adaptation was produced with a budget that could carry the show without cutting down on the quality or reality of the characters' lives. It truly made us believe that there was this exclusive school somewhere in the middle of Bangkok that catered to these incredibly wealthy children who were all set to inherit their family businesses. Done with true Southeast Asian relatability: Thyme came from a real estate mogul type family, Ren from a family that practiced traditional medicine, Kavin from a family that practiced cultural crafts, and MJ from a family that was part of the Thai mafia. I liked that the production team decided to localise these aspects of the story and make it familiar not only for their Thai audience, but also for most of us in Southeast Asia who could relate to it.

The premise of the story began the same way, F4 being revered yet feared by the entire school. I feel like the director really leaned into the audacity of the boys as he found an abandoned space that resembled the ruins of a stadium of some sort and Thyme would sit on a chair in the middle of this space and watch whichever victim he had chosen be bullied so violently, like he was some depraved king on his throne. Was it ridiculous and over the top? Of course it was, but when was this story not? The settings in the drama were chosen so well that it transported us from the school, to Thyme's palace of a home, to Gorya's regular suburb and even to the flower shop where she and her best friend worked. Each transition between these spaces felt natural and did not look like it was part of a fake set which had been created specifically for the drama. I truly believe that Thyme's family home belongs to some mogul who was kind enough (or smart enough) to lend it to the production team for filming.

Following its predecessors and the original storyline, the drama progressed as predicted however, it cleverly utilised social media and technology to make it more current. This aspect of the show was rather ingenious and drew attention to how easy it was to be a cyberbully because one can always hide behind their screen. There were moral lessons and social accountability awareness weaved into the story, eventually culminating in Thyme feeling severely remorseful for his past behaviour and visiting each victim he bullied to apologise. None of them forgave him easily, which I found incredibly realistic. The scene with him on his knees outside a victim's house begging for forgiveness was so powerful and so well executed. None of the other adaptations had ever done this. This was what made F4 Thailand stand out and break the barriers of adaptation as the director and screenwriter chose to tell the story responsibly and for it to age well into the future.

The cast for the drama was excellent. Most of us know Bright and Win from 2gether which came out the year before F4 Thailand and had already made them famous internationally. The Thai BL fandom is a global one and many of them had a hard time accepting both Thyme and Kavin who were so very different from Sarawat and Tine. For me though, I was late to the 2gether fan club and had watched F4 Thailand first, thus I shipped the characters from both shows accordingly without much trouble. Tu was cast perfectly as Gorya, she brought out that familiar rebel and kind girl energy that we all loved. Whether she was kicking Thyme, falling for Ren or carrying the weight of her family on her shoulders, Gorya was a force to be reckoned with and Tu gave it her all to make us root for this poor girl who really just wanted to go about her daily life without any drama. The final episode of the drama really clinched this version for me, as Gorya goes to see Thyme's mother (Cindy was brilliant) and it's not a confrontation, but Gorya coming to understand that Thyme's mother loves him very much and only wants the best for him. The way this scene played out in the rain and between the gates of Thyme's palatial home really showed how two women who came from such opposite backgrounds could unite in their shared love for this one boy. Thyme's mother realising that Gorya never wanted to take him from her, but just wanted to be a part of his life was such an important lesson and a realistic one too. Again, none of the other adaptations had this conversation take place and the significance of it definitely added to the success of this adaptation. Let's not forget the subtle and quiet romance of Kavin and Prim, "indie" Ren and MJ's fried chicken sponsored unfinished love story on the side, as well as the wonderful Lita who all came together with just the right amount to balance out our main couple.

For those of you who missed out on this version or didn't get around to watching it simply because you don't watch Thai dramas, let this be the one drama you watch. I promise you, no regrets.

Read More