Old recipe, great dish
Modest but talented and workaholic heroïne whose good will is taken for granted is neglected by her spoiled brat fiance who is romancing his green tea adoptive sis, slowly falls for his suave and commanding elder brother who's been longing for her for years. She thinks her fiance saved her life and gave three years to him, but her memories of the event are blurry and the truth might be different from what she believed. Despite the very classic, unimaginative plot we've seen a thousand times (seriously is there still people out there who give themselves to their savior, in this day and age), it's one of the best verticals of the year in my opinion. It's very subdued, very classy, Lan Lan and Liu Xiaoxu are seriously impressive in their roles (I can't get enough of their combined mature, smooth energy), they make the usual tropes feel natural and believable by what I can only call movie magic. The drama is well shot, taking full advantage of the vertical frame to create scenes that are visually striking. It also has a budget, showing in classy outfits and sets (love the whole traditional artisan workshop they give her). The plot might seem boring and tired but don't overlook it, it's a gem.Was this review helpful to you?
Pure period Cdrama goodness
Given a second chance by fate, Dou Zhao decides to take her destiny in her own hands in order to avoid doom and live a decent life. She crosses path with Song Mo, a young general blinded by rage and revenge. Alone they can't overturn their downfall, by maybe together ?So good and gorgeous. A rare case of a drama carried mostly by its direction. I mean yeah it's made by Zeng Qing Jie, an awesome director who did wonders with short formats, but wow, I'm still impressed. It's doing what every other drama is trying to do lately on love, country loyalty, revenge, second chances, destiny, etc. with limited means but waaay more talent and flair. The writing is solid but not ground-breaking or very deep, it's well-trodden waters, the actors are good but no acting gods either, it's the brilliant direction that completely transcends everything. There's no catch, the show is straight up good from start to finish, and totally deserving of the hype.
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Black, no sugar
What would I give for this exact drama with a better actress (and some budget). Yang Shu Yu is the epitome of the apathetic "Go girl, give us nothing" actress, a total woodblock, and poor Chen Si has to act around her and sell the romance alone while she just smiles awkwardly. She is pretty and has some "heroïne aura" but she's way too wooden, and isn't helped by frumpy clothes and messy hair. It's a real shame because this is one of the most interesting and thrilling take on the "Captive from the Mob Boss" plot I've seen. Chen Si's character just straight up force-buys the heroïne off the hostess bar she has fallen into (classic Cinderella who has to pay her mom's hospital bills scenario) and tries to make her his canary but his plan fails spectacularly. I love the writing, the drama is quite long but has no fillers, strong pacing, didn't slouch on its conflicts' climaxes and resolutions, and got rid of some tropes I can't stand (loved what they did with the aggravating last-minute separation to study abroad for example !). The twist is that our Cindy is caught in a Love to Kill-like plot where her ex's brother is trying to date and torture her to avenge him, so Chen Si feels like the better option, until another twist (I was not the biggest fan of the last reveal at the end but it did provide some closure). As I said, Chen Si is carrying the drama, with his usual mesmerizing looks and intensity, and he sells it so well his moody, obsessed ML becomes truly endearing. The scene where he's back is epic and on the level of the "Baby it's been 5 years, did you miss me ?" ZZD scene in Desires. I'm desperate for a version of this with an actress with bite like a Meng Na or a Zuo Yi...Was this review helpful to you?
He's a red flag, but he's MY red flag
Author FL gets into her own trashy edgy melo webnovel as a doomed villain, wants to change the genre to a cliche romance so she can live, but woops, too late, she wrote her ML to be an unhinged hoodlum barely surviving in seedy neighborhoods, and he misreads her protection for sexual advances, because why else this rich girl would hover around him, pick up his hearing aids, find him a place to stay ? ML is totally a red flag, but I like that author FL takes responsibility : she created him, he's her little toxic monster, so she's not going to run from him but instead is going to take care of her own mess. This was a pleasant surprise, I expected a very gimmicky, light meta comedy and instead got serious thinking about the consequences of the FL playing God, and her slowly accepting that she can't control everything, including her own heart. This was overall well produced and written, right until the lovely ending.Was this review helpful to you?
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Arrogant CEO can't fathom being snobbed by fake heiress
This drama has one of those arresting opening scenes verticals are known for, that makes you want to drop everything you are doing to binge the rest at once (sleep ? Overrated). Jin Zi is a fake socialite desperate to escape from her horrible family who is sabotaging her art career for money, and she targets rich and famous (but not too rich or too famous) heir Xu Shao Qian who could be her golden ticket to freedom. When she appears glamorous at an elite party in a rented gown, her target's friend the Prince of Beijing Circle (or something) who is the richest and most famous, sees through her game, prepares himself to snob her, only to see her giving him zero attention, which he simply Cannot Have. His ego is bruised as he can't understand why HE isn't the prime target of her scheme. Curiosity turns to attraction, attraction to love, but he's not part of her plan and he didn't make the best first impression on her. The angst, the longing, the sexual frustration (here come the cold showers and alcohol as coping strategies), so delicious, I can't resist.Zhao Zhen Dong is once again perfect in this (the way he looks at her !) and I vastly prefer Jin Zi in this collab than the Marshall's Runaway Wife one, her character is way more interesting. She's obviously attracted to him, but the drama explains well why it doesn't make sense for her to accept his advances. The visuals are lovely.
On the writing side, it's quite solid, but I have to give credit to the green tea : thank God for her because it's only her intervention in the last arc of the drama that pushes the leads together, as they were until then running in circles around each other. Here comes our resident scheming meimei who basically finds the SML's white moonlight and sents her his way so the FL can have a perfect excuse to break their vows. When it's not enough, she schemes a wedding crash by throwing the deadbeat parents in the ceremony, so our ML can fly to the rescue and princess carry the cute imposter away. Honestly the leads should pay hommage to her when they marry because without her, he would be crying alone in London and she would be wallowing in a tepid marriage.
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High class vertical
It commits a Cardinal Sin in romance : you never end your drama with a handshake ending. It's against the law. Otherwise this is a tight, classy and gripping depiction of a captivating toxic relationship between a brilliant lawyer fallen from grace and a ruthless CEO caught in a succession feud. He pays her to be his mistress, his spy, and to seduce his brother and rival. The scandal ! Yet I don't like the chosen MDL title of "Debauchery", I've seen it called "Three Brothers" which is more apt, as the ML's relationship with his two siblings is key to the plot. Zhen Zi Qi and Zhao Zi Zi have vastly different energies and visuals (she's thin, icy, composed, he's bulky, chaotic and intense), and yet the chemistry is there, you can feel the desire in the air, they are both screwed by their situations but fierce and ready to bite, there is great power play, both are using each other, all good ingredients for a very strong dark romance. The surprise baby is 100% a plot device weaponized by the FL, and temper things in the second part (boo, this is why I hate them) but it didn't bother me that much here as the plot was still very tight. The drama had high production values and a quality casting (SML was a good snake, SFL was kind of a bombshell ?). As I said the handshake ending is a crime, but I did like the way they wrapped everything up, even if I think an bit of an exploration of how the ML adjusted his sociopathic tendencies to win her back would have been great.Was this review helpful to you?
Drive baby drive
I tend to like shorter verticals, as some can meander a lot and become yap fests. This 1 hour and a half one is on the opposite end : it ran at breakneck pace. While it could have slow down a bit after we reach the end of the "how did we get there" phase, I really appreciate the effort to respect the viewer's time and trust our ability to understand even if they don't show/tell us everything. One of my favorite Kdramas is Lee Jun Ki's Time Between Dog and Wolves, and this one reminded me a lot of it : both starts with a very intense flash-forward, star a vengeful hero who becomes his enemy's dog/right-hand man to serve his plans, and both have him fall in love with his enemy's precious girl (in the Kdrama she's his daughter, in Dark Light she's his fiance), messing with his plans. Both are pure crack. I like that this one choose to focus on the FL, as the FL in this type of scenario can become a bit of a sidelined trophy or be too out of her depth (like in Undercover Affair). Here she looked like the pampered princess she was supposed to be (I think those plots need that to enhance the forbidden/impossible aspect of the romance) but she was allowed to take the lead and have her own plans. It made the romance more intense (also her dilemma is a bit more complex than the hero's, who is planning to steal everything from his enemy including her anyway). It does feel like the final part of her arc is missing, as it happens offscreen, maybe the drama had production troubles and had to rush the ending (it does feel very abrupt). We didn't need to see the opening scenes again without cuts, and wasn't the scene where she runs in her wedding dress supposed to go somewhere ?This was visually on the higher end of vertical productions, some scenes were striking and had excellent framing, like the staircase scene, and it's obvious that the director is a cinema buff (look out for the 3-Iron ref in the beginning). Acting wise the drama had an excellent villain played without the usual ham by a devilish Zeng Xi Tang, Wu Chun Yi's classy looks combined with her youthful and soft vibe were perfect for the role, and I have to talk about Wang Yi Lei : this was my first drama with him and he's going straight to my list of actors to keep an eye on, he's the whole deal : he has very distinctive, deadly attractive features (he looks like a cat) and is very talented, he's not here as Wang Yi Lei he's the character. Overall, very solid stuff, if you like undercovers romances (or the trope where FL falls in love with a shady, handsome and devoted driver like in Drive/Baby Driver) you might want to add this one to your list.
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Don't drink, kids
Started this purely on recommendation and was completely sucked in. The events of the story are a bit too crazy and coïncidental to be believed, but it's telling such a compelling case study about guilt, shame, and envy that I couldn't look away. I even guessed the main culprits and plot a few episodes in and still was not a minute bored. It's also not relying on psychopathy for once, showing that you can tell a very dark murder mystery without it (well, you can make a case about one of them but this character is not the murderer, interestingly). If I had to make on criticism it's that they don't let us doubt one second that our hero is 100% innocent, it's obvious from the start he was framed, and I wish that we did have a little more uncertainity about it, it would have make some characters' arcs much more compelling. Byun Yo Han and Go Jun were great, I liked that the show didn't try to make them super cops or soulmates or something, and let their partnership grow naturally. Extended cast was amazing, so good that I forgot they were acting.Was this review helpful to you?
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Cdrama equivalent of the horse drawing meme that starts beautiful and ends ugly
Perfect exemple of a drama that starts strong with good writing but fizzles out in its final act, diminished by unfulfilled promises and a bad last stretch full of copouts and bloodshed. On the casting front, Qiao Xin is a delight as clever and resourceful Qui Yan, but I'm not going to pretend that the show is not carried by Jeremy Tsui, his charisma, and his dashing looks. He is smoking hot in a classic type of prideful male lead who is burning for his lady in secret. Sadly the romance that was at first riveting was done dirty, Yuan Lang is a lame rival, the heroïne's sister Min was treated like garbage by the script, and no, after a slow-burn in costume you don't put your heroïne on the road to roam the world in search of inspiration (she had so many dangerous adventures, was it not enough ??) like we're in some modern RomCom with a last minute flight to study whatever abroad, that left me speechless. Truly sad because I was otherwise a big fan of the first act. Also, not enough kisses !Was this review helpful to you?
Cute actors goofing around in cute cosplay
Fun and fluffy retelling of Beauty and the Beast . It's too long, 20 episodes would have been more than enough to tell the story, the bad guys are terribly written and the transition between light comedy and violence is not always well done, but it works thanks to the lead actors' talent, chemistry and charisma. They also did a really good job with the fantasy aspect with a very limited budget (and it's so adorable !!). Watching Go Princess Go is not necessary to understand the story, it's just a spin-off about the heroes' daughter in another world.Was this review helpful to you?
Reborn sisters swap story with strong acting and visuals, but weak, uncreative writing
Somebody surely saw the sucess of the prolific "reborn sisters switch fates" plot device in verticals and wanted to do it in mini format. The result is mostly made of inner court antics, complete with scheming concubines, sad orphans, bitch slaps, the whole shebang. The main draw of the first part is that we don't know whatever happened to the first daughter in her seemingly perfect first life to make her jump into the prince's bride sedan with no hesitation. Once it's revealed and that Jueying is in charge of the household after thwarting various schemes, the drama becomes less interesting. Still, the main romance made up for it (for a while).Casting is great, Zhu Li Lan and Mu Le En are strong picks for the feuding sisters, Qin Tian Yu is adorable (you might have seen him as the cute dog prince in Starry Love or the psycho emperor in Fated Hearts), and I loved his version of the deceptively aloof husband who discovers what a treasure his own wife is. Unfortunately, the main plot itself is not that great, and looses momentum after a while.
I tried some period verticals with the same plot, and I like that they get creative with it since it has been done to death (there's one where FL marries an eunuch, one where she becomes a peace-making bride, one where she marries a snake demon, etc.). Threads of Destiny was a tad too classic for my taste, and the heroes lacked dimension. After a while I didn't enjoy watching the jealous sister getting owned over and over by the too-perfect heroïne anymore, the kinky/chaotic secondary couple was starting to become more interesting than the leads (never a good sign) and I didn't care enough about the prince's schemes to keep watching.
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What should have been a simple, cute tropey RomCom turned into a mess
I went in without much expectations, and liked it a lot at first. Unlike Jung So Min's middling Love Next Door, it wasn't trying to be clever or deep, it was using pretty much all the Kdrama romance tricks we know and love (drunk meetcute, rich heir whose family got killed in a crash, childhood crush, fake relationship that turns real, a truckload of coïncidences, etc. etc.), and as a result since they had the cutest cast ever, it worked. It was basically the So Min and Woo Shik show. I found myself looking forward to the next episodes, but at some point the writing started to bother me beyond reasonable measure. First, the (many) villains were just a bunch of lazy carricatures, led by a two-faced psychopath, because apparently we can't have a Kdrama RomCom without one these days. Second, when I watch a fake marriage drama, I expect it to milk it a bit more by having our MC forced to pretend in public, but here, with the usurpation of her husband's identity, they wrote themselves into a corner by having their character forced to hide instead, which meant that the result was a very weird mix between the fake wedding trope and the secret affair one. I hoped the secondary couple would give me something else to look forward to, but I lost it at the abysmal boob-CPR scene (maybe I'm alone in this but I just hated how that scene was shot and written) and rage-quit soon after when the asshole ex resurfaced. I guess I'll just rewatch Because This is My First Life for the third time. It's a shame because at first it made me think of ye olde light romances like Full House (adorable down on her luck heroïne who is scammed and homeless, fake marriage with a grumpy rich man to keep the house) and I was so in.Was this review helpful to you?
All talk, no bite
After a banger of an opening, and a really strong first couple of episodes, the show deflates and becomes a slideshow of empty scenes. Behind its flashy style the writing has zero depth and expect us to feel stuff because oooh, look at the pretty butterflies ! It's a shame because He Lan Dou is killing it as fierce lady sworn on saving her loved ones, and Jerome Deng is perfect as her enraged beast of a male lead, serving deadly looks and burning stares. They are speedrunning Marry the Villain, a classic toxic/obsessive romance that should be pure catnip, but the episodes are too short (we did not need a 2:15 minutes opening that spoils the entire drama...) and the transition between hate and love was so abrupt, it felt like we had skipped a missing middle arc. She forgives him waaaaay too fast and falls into his arms, which...excuse me ? It's like if Li Susu just stopped hating Tantai Jin at some point because...huh...he's cute ? So nope sadly this doesn't get a rec, it didn't have the balls to assume its earlier darker tone and actually do something with it beyond using it to catch our attention.(Also does anybody knows what the drama had to do with whispering towers ? Is it a metaphor ? I am missing something ?)
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Brilliant hot lawyers have problems too
What is this sorcery. The drama is checking all the marks of a vertical classic : sleek, inspired production (the music, vertical's usual weakness and blank slate, was so good), great use of its gorgeous cast, and a layered story that isn't a moodboard of tropes but feels like it has a legit cohesive script supporting it (thankfully I had access to a good translation). The focus of the show is the ML and his reconciliation with the world after a very traumatic event left him with crippling PTSD. The drama doesn't try to be too clever, shoking or twisty with its mental health theme, and tells a touching, even deep story of mutual healing around it. There is overall very little cliches, the secondary characters feel like human beings and not a stereotype gallery (which, in vertical land where you can describe them as "scheming sister", "cheating husband" or "sick grandma" most of the time, is almost unheard of). They were quite memorable from the socialite who plays the opportunist boyfriend as much as he intends to play her, to the colder than ice bio mom who tries to hide her pathetic and unethical choices under the guise of hard profesionnalism. The drama even manages to have underlying themes behind its main one about trauma and trust, like how some people blinded by their inferiority complex and vindication can be enboldened to commit some truly despicable acts and feel no remorse. I'm sure it's the kind of drama that can be rewatched several times to discover new things. The dialogue was as sleek as the visuals, very deep cutting (like the observation the boyfriend could have a good career if only he wasn't so eager to have instant sucess), but the drama also remembers the golden rule "show don't tell" and let the scenes tell the story as much as the dialogue (like in the famous car scene, OMG). It is, in my opinion, a must-see.Was this review helpful to you?
