OceanBlue132

Only for visuals and vibes,nothing else!

Okay....lesson learned,never watch a GJM drama for plots...like never. Its always some pretty actors with some pretty cinematography and visuals with some pretty music in the background... But the main core of the drama,the story.... better not talk about that.

I didn’t start Veil of Shadows with lots of hope or anything. Already saw what happened with Fangs of Fortune which was such a eye pleasing yet one of the most frustrating dramas i've ever watched. Same with MJTY. Maybe there wasn’t anything else to watch at that time,so i started VOS...and yeah,same thing again.

The story is simple. There's a dragon deity who is actually not real,only pretending on behalf of the og dragon deities for centuries,for the real and last dragon deity to come and take the throne. Meanwhile there's millennia old nine tailed foxes, a very old villain who doesn’t have any form of body and some other characters. Interesting,right?? Yeah,it was....for the first couple of episodes. But my goodness the way everything got ruined,confusing and blundered in the midway..... Confusions after confusions, plot twists after plot twists...and those plot twists was'nt even some mind-blowing earth bending or anything, it was just wtf just happened???? They made this simple story so confusing, at some point it became head scratching level frustrating, like WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY IS THIS HAPPENING????

If i talk about actors,all of them did really good. I have seen Tian Jia Rui in MJTY and FOF,this young boy has real talent and acting skill. He didn’t disappoint, both Ji Ling and Dragon deity was portrayed good and lively. His back story as the blind fox,how he became the false dragon deity and sacrificed his whole youth only to perform his duty and later made those puppets to live that little bit of youthfulness....okay this bit was sad and extremely touching and TJR did so well.
This is my first time seeing Ju JingYi... so i can't say much about her acting,but she was believable as the cunning shrew nine tailed fox who later fell in love with Ji Ling. But their love story was really rushed. The had chemistry but it couldn’t properly bloom cause of the absurdity that was happening around them.

About Joseph Zheng and Chen Duling...This was the couple I adored. But unfortunately, they didn’t get that much screentime as I expected. Joseph was supposed to be the hero of the story beside the dragon deity...but his becoming a real dragon deity was so underwhelming... He never got a real HERO scene in the whole drama. And Chen Duling....girl can act. She was beautiful, both as a fox or in human form. And their story in the star stone arc was my most favourite, both of them were like really living as an old couple who are in love. They played it beautifully. But its unfortunate, after that arc ended,we never got that love and affection back from them....they were just..there,almost used like a plot device.

The one that surprised me most was YanAn...i first saw him in FOF, but his screentime was short,but he showed the glimpse of his talent. But here as Li Jie and six eye butterfly demon,he was fantastic. His dilemma,his sadness,his protectiveness towards Ji Ling and his evil arc as butterfly demon and also his backstory everything he carried gracefully.

But the arc that made me almost bang my head against the wall was the star stone arc. Listen,time travel is one of the trickiest thing to ever execute on drama,if you miss one tiny little part,the whole story falls apart. So,if you dont know how to write it,just dont write it,and also dont try to be smart by making it overly complex.But here they used it multiple times,not only in star stone arc,but also later with Lu Wuyi...completely forgetting about any kind of consequences or butterfly effects. Plotholes were everwhere,frustrations and confusions were the only thing left.

And idk what this directors fetish with killing every possible character in the drama. And in VOS,he even outdid himself,almost every character died at least once and then even before you done mourning for them,they came back to life. Our lead couple was probably in a competition how many times each can die in the name of self sacrifice and then come back like nothing happened.

However,visually or musically it was not on the level of FoF,but still if you want to watch good cgi or pretty actors,watch it. Ending is bittersweet,so yeah,thats one way better than FOF.

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Is this really a spin off of Hidden Love??

While watching The First Frost...i really wondered,would this drama be this much popular if it wasn’t connected to Hidden Love?

Cause if you enjoyed Hidden Love,this drama compels you to compare both of them and guess what,Hidden love wins and its not even close! When I watched Hidden Love, everything got me hooked to the screen,the story,acting,chemistry,direction,cinematography... everything. I could see Sang Zhi's yearning for Duan Jiaxu,her slowly turning from a rebellious teen to a mature adult who can definitely be a support to Jiaxu....Jiaxu's perspective changing when he realized its not the same girl he once saw,she has grown as a woman,as a person,She's strong and can take care of him and thats where the story shone. You can see them growing as person,being in love from both sides,building a very healthy relationship.Everything was evident,the innocence, the yearning, the support,the care,the love,the understanding... everything. This is where TFF falls flat,this drama couldn’t show the depth of the bonding between Sang Yan and Wen Yifan.

The plot in TFF is quite darker than HL... and thats what bothered me in the first place,why making this dark story into a sunshine rainbow with so many filters when it itself had the capacity to stand strong as it originally is?It could become much more touching,heart wrenching love story if everything didnt look so perfect, so polished, so much filtered.Wouldn’t it be so much better if they made it into a more dramatic way instead of following the same filtered dreamy tone??

If i come to character writing, both male and female lead lacks substance. Male lead had no other personality, character arc except being in love and it became boring after some episodes. He's arrogant, cocky but in a middle school teenager way.His whole life revolves around Yifan,he does everything only for Yifan.He spent his whole high school and uni life travelling to Yifans city,he took a job for Yifan, opened restaurant for Yifan, cooks for Yifan, leaves his family meetings for Yifan,plays games for Yifan,is left heartbtoken by Yifan, waits for Yifan,looks for Yifan.... in his life,there's nothing but Yifan which is really unrealistic and very much one dimensional character writing.It wasnt clear why he became so obsessed with Yifan in the first place when female lead was practically showing no emotions towards him in their early age..It really felt like a one sided love story cause it was all him,always him,yearning,loving,caring,living with broken heart still never forgetting and always forgiving.

Female lead is a victim of sexual assault and many other abuse in her extremely traumatic life.... But somehow this drama made her without personality too with little to no expression. She leaves whenever she wants without explaining anything.... she cant express herself,she can't talk,she lacks emotion... At some point you will feel bad for Sang Yan for being so much invested in her... like,why??? Sang Yans emotions towards her could be felt to some extent,he possibly did everything to be with her,but I couldn’t feel the same emotional attachment from Yifan.Even the dialogues doesn’t deliver anything, you can't feel the depth of Sang Yan's desperation or Yifan's communication... There is not even a proper I love you from Yifan's side when Sang Yan was ready to burn the whole world only to save her. She was cold to Sang Yan's action, lost in her thoughts...and mostly unsure. Everything that happened between them will leave you in confusion about the base and depth of their relationship.

I couldn’t care less about the grandpa plot or second lead couple or that annoying ass intern... They're just not entertaining. Had to skip Everytime they showed up on the screen.They also wasted so many times of the show which could be used to make a better plotline for main leads.

Another thing that was really annoying was the amount of repetitive flashbacks they used....it became boring and hard to focus at some point.And the slow pacing wasn’t helping either.Many things happened for no reason,could've avoided easily and added nothing to the story. The whole thing would be much much better if ended within 25 episodes.

Also,was the Hong Kong arc really necessary?? Haven’t yifan and sang yan suffered enough already that they had to give them more sufferings? There could be thousand more possible better ways to show the character development of the female lead than her just leaving everything and running away. This part really bothered me. Sang Yan is right there,she could just always talk,at least try to talk.Its understandable her trauma took a huge toll on her and the way she expresses herself...but this plotline really made me question the whole buildup of their relationship... wasn’t there any other way?? What was the need??Sang Yan had every reason to be angry with her....I really wish there was at least one scene of him being angry with her. When she did it first time,understandable, she was helpless, probably couldn’t think of anything else. But doing the same thing again without any explanation.... So unnecessary... The story writing had no logic here.

I really wish this drama was made by the same team of Hidden Love. The story had potential, it really did. But poor direction,screenplay,lack of depth of the characters,dialogue writing ... everything made a hot mess.Its not a bad drama,not at all. I could see the actors trying to make the best out of whatever they're given which is really appreciable. Many people enjoyed it, i also tried. But just couldnt.

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THIS COUPLE HAVE MY WHOLE HEART!!!

I was so tired of seeing couples in dramas where either one of them is extremely stern faced,never showing any emotions in any circumstances and the other one would be too bubbly, childish to the extent it would annoy you!

Ji Bozai and MingYi filled that void for me. Both of them being very kind soul despite having hellish childhood,fighting besides each other to save their people,always helping each other(even though they had ulterior motives before),expressing their emotions not only through actions but also through words....even their misunderstanding arch felt painful enough cause both had valid reasons.This couple was a breath of fresh air for their chemistry,understanding and methods of showing of affection.Despite having flaws, they understood each other well,even after being manipulated by each other,their soul was connected so deep that the heartbreaks only made them stronger!

Ji Bozai was such a great character done by Hou Minghao! I was actually looking for something done by him where he gets some real romantic action with happy ending and not gonna die multiple times by stabbing(FoF/BftB),gonna live miserably (Dashing Youth) or a monk( I am nobody). Love in the Clouds full filled my demands. Ji Bozai is so attractive, not only in looks, but also in his actions. Even though he was a warrior, he was kind,selfless,smiling,seeking for love like a puppy,a character you want to adore. He's so cunning,charismatic yet so vulnerable.He never let his traumatic past shape his kind personality which was really refreshing.Probably one of the best characters done by Minghao. And I have nothing to say about his acting,this man always excels at whatever he does!He can portray emotions with his eyes so beautifully!

Ming Yi...another character so close to my heart. She's not that childish annoying brat,shes responsible, smart,knows how to handle situation (sometimes little to much by telling lies lol),but when she loves,she loves with with her whole heart.Lu Yuxiao is such a great actress...She has such a girl next door look who is like a sunshine!She gave Mingyi life, a girl strong enough to protect herself and fight for the ones she loves,a.true warrior princess. She is a girlboss but not in an irritating way,she is still beautifully feminine, kind compassionate soul who can command power when it needs.

And these two clicked so beautifully. Ji Bozai who was looking for love after having the nightmare of a life and Ming Yi who had the love he was looking for even though her trauma was something so terrible. They were sworn enemies but they fought beside each other,fought for each other, looked out for each other even when they weren’t together. Both of them manipulated each other,but understood each others motives. Even when Bozai understood MingYi was lying,he was hurt, heartbroken but the moment he realized the truth,he let go of his most his most valuable possession,Golden Millet Dream even without telling her,not in a dramatic way,but in a very subtle way that would melt your heart.They never pushed each others boundary, respected what situation wanted from them.Every moment of them being together was so cherishable,the way Ji Bozai looks at MingYi,the way MingYi calls Ji Bozai's name,the way they both yearns for each other...everything. Their sensual moments was on fire,Minghao-Yuxiao really put their everything to bring those characters in life.I loved the fact that despite being the most powerful warriors in the realm,they were never arrogantly proud. They were kind,sweet,caring people. Their trauma never defined them. They knew each others strength,vulnerability, weakness and shaped their relationship accordingly.

You could feel how much insecure Ji Bozai was in that bath scene when he couldn’t understand who was Mingyi talking to as she was under a spell....was it him? Was it Ming Xian? But he never pushed hard cause what mattered at that moment was Mingyi's well being. He asked calmly while trying to sooth her. But the moment he realised Ming Yi was confessing her love to him again and again....his eyes got teary. He could feel Ming Yi's inner struggle,her battle with herself. Only then he proceeded with the kiss cause he himself was struggling way too hard. This whole scene was shown so beautifully, their understanding level peaked there.


All other characters were good too! The princess was amazing at her works,she saved them from lots of trouble,loved to see a princess who actually understands her position as the next empress and acts according to it. And the other casts were also complementing each other so well.

The companion beasts were adorably loyal.Buxiu was great but Er Shiqi was extremely adorable.

The actual pain was Situ Ling.....like....my goodness,boy,get a life already!!!! I don’t know how thickhead someone can be after being rejected by someone bazillions of times!!!!He was'nt inherently annoying but my God was he testing my patience!!!

Story wise....okay let me tell the truth. The story fell apart when Situ Ling started to get more screentime than the main lead couple, even more than the second main lead couple. His obsession was way too much,but did it actually deserve that much of screentime?? It annoyed me a lot. Also....there was not enough MingZai moments to the end. The whole Mingyi-Ming Xian-Crown Prince part was stretched too long that I even started to miss the main couple even though they were in the screen. Break ups after break ups, heartbreaks upon heartbreaks wasn’t necessary. And the lying part by MingYi was dragged too. We could get so many more MingZai scenes if she was'nt lying half the episodes.There was political storyline and to be honest,it wasnt much necessary imo.I just wanted so many lovey dovey moments from a married couples that were deleted for God knows what reasons!! Also there was so many classic cliches like self sacrifice, child swapping,obsessed villain...but they were ignorable cause the chemistry was touching the sky!!!

Cinematography was great! Styling was amazing! The only complaint I have is about the story telling which got stretchy towards the end and so many deleted scenes which could add more flavour to the MingZai couple! I don’t remember the ost's except the one by Minghao,it was pleasant to the ears.

However overall I am happy cause this couple won my heart! The amount of fiery chemistry they hold,really wanna see them in another drama,a modern drama perhaps?

Bdw..... I REALLY WANTED TO BURN THOSE CURTAINS. I WISH I COULD!!!!!

Iykyk lol!

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Started with great hope...but...

Visually saying,this drama is a gem. Cinematography,color grading everything is extremely mesmerizing,all actors/ actresses were looking too good. Almost every scenario was captured in such a poetic way...it was just a feast for eyes.

Even the starting was captivating. The love story beween a butcher girl from a remote village and Marquis of Wan who is injured and under false identity was definitely interesting. The set up of Lin'an village was so good...story pacing was going just right. Both the leads were perfect, good looks paired with good acting.

But the problem started midway when the story shifted from a sweet innocent love story to war situations, palace politics,nasty villains were introduced. Suddenly it became evident our Marquis has little to none activity on warfield, we only know or presume about his past heroism...but in present time he was injured half the time,there was no such example of why he holds such a grand position. On the other hand his wife,the butcher girl who never set foot outside her village,never been in such situations suddenly became general after unbelievably killing enemy general so easily. None of this makes sense.... Or they couldn’t potray it properly, idk. The whole lying/hiding Xie Zheng's identity in the military camp and everyone helping him doing that on a funny note...not amusing. Also Fan Changyu never getting any consequences for literally drugging the Marquis of Wan for stopping him from going to war...unbelievable.

The last arc,political arc was the most frustrating one. So many things were happening all of a sudden, but there was no proper explanation. Weird edits,abrupt cuts,very very underwhelming ending of the villains, so many plotholes, side stories not being explored properly....it was a mess. It definitely needed some more episodes to cover up everything. The ending was not satisfying either, even the alternate ending was abrupt. Couldn’t believe a show that started with so much potential ended with such a bizarre tone.

Another thing I couldn’t digest.. The romanticisation of the relationship between Qi Min and Qianqian. Whatever it was, it was not love from any side. He was an abuser,r*apist.... Why was their scenes more intense,sensual than the main couple? Are we supposed to sympathise with him?? What was the director thinking??

However, it was a pleasant one time watch. I enjoyed the Lin'an arc so much,the female lead was definitely a showstealer,such a good potrayal of Fan Changyu. Zhang Linghe also deserves applause,he looked really good with her.

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Entertaining but not without flaws

Finally a kdrama without childhood connection, without annoying second lead, without unnecessary misunderstanding or breakups....its been such a long time since romcom in kdrama has actually romcomed....and yeah it was entertaining till the end. But ofcourse,not without its flaws.

The main strength behind My Royal Nemesis is of course our lead couple, Shin Seori and Cha Segye. And the actor duo that portrayed those characters, Im Ji Yeon and Heo Nam Jun deserves a huge round of applause for this. They actually revived so many dead kdrama watchers from their graves lol.
People knows Im Ji Yeon from The Glory as a villain. But I absolutely adored her in the Legend of Lady Ok as the main lead,she was fantastic. So I had no doubt about her.

The one I actually had doubt was Heo Nam Jun. I've seen him doing secondary roles before in dramas like Sweet Home,When The Phone Rings. It wasn’t anything special. But my oh my,the way he changed the game the moment he stepped up as a Cha Segye ... He was extremely attractive on the screen. He wasnt a typical sweet good looking male lead. He was bad, arrogant,cocky and he was really proud of it. His softness, his smile,his gentleness was only saved for Seori till the end. And his yearning for Seori when she fell into coma was too good to watch,he was actually devastated.Heo Nam Jun deserves more and more diveres characters,he has the range.

And these two did justice to their roles. Shin Seori as someone from Joseon who quickly adapted to the modern world,since she was originally a part of it before the soul swapping happened, but still trapped in the past cause her memory was lost....was really entertaining. She has been a part of royalty, so ofcourse her personality reflects that,always commanding and questioning everything that doesn’t please her. I also loved little detailing in her dressing in modern era,not revealing anything since she is from Joseon. And Cha Segye being absolutely amazed and unfazed by her one after another crazy to crazier activities.... At some point he was'nt even worried, he just stayed beside her and let her be. Loved that dynamics. They were bickering from the beginning till the end,their chemistry isn’t something extremely sensual,it was fun,adorable, cute,crazy.

But ofcourse, its not all sunshine rainbow. It had its fair share of flaws and unanswered questions. My first question was,where is Danshim? We know it was Seori in both eras,he got loved by both Lee Hyun and Cha Segye.... But what about Danshim? That poor Joeson girl got swapped into modern era,how did she survived here? She knew no one, how could she adapt here. Her life was as miserable as Seori,I wish we could see her story too. Yeah, we saw a little bit of her with Lee Hyun in the end... But again,Hyun loved Seori,not Danshim,how can he love again a completely different person with same face? How did Danshim knew Hyun,she was never appointed as his servant..... There should be a sequel with their story.

And why was the swapping happened anyway? What was the reason? Was it only for punishment?
And why was Seori poisoned in Joseon era as a concubine? How did she become a concubine, how was that journey?

Why was grandpa so mean towards Cha Segye? He was his own grandson,why he favoured Mun Do so much?

The amount of hospital scenes were craaaazzyyyy..... Cha segye being poisoned,grandpa seori accident,halmoni being amnesiac, Segye got stabbed,Seori in coma.....half the drama was shoot in the hospital!!!!

Another thing was the ending. It was rushed. Choi Mun Do being a powerful villain was taken down in the last episide only within five minutes. He could be used way better. And the grandma plot was very touching but somehow dragging,not gonna lie. Lots of character were underused like Mu Hee.That manager-actress relationship was so half cooked. And what about that side actress having beef with Seori? What was her issue? I guess we will never know.

If it was a proper 16 episodes drama,many more factors could be explored....it just felt like it ended so early.

However, it was a good watch. God knows when will there be another kdrama where everyone would gather and discuss theories like this. This one really brought back so many memories.

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I Have So Many Things To Say.....

Fated Hearts started with some real good promises. A warrior prince got wounded by the arrow of his mortal enemy and when he got his consciousness, he eventually found out the woman that almost killed him is somehow got into a worst position than him,injured, lost her abilty to fight and also her memory is gone. I was sitted cause it was a really interesting way to start.

As the story progressed, the bond between the two strengthened....it was not forced,there wasn’t anything clingy, it was mutual,mature and was really enjoyable to see.

But.....everything started to fall apart in the midway when lots of new characters were introduced.Their motives,actions, consequences..many things didn’t make sense. The story introduced Storm sect or something when Susha Prince almost died and the prison where FL and her brothers were tortured when they were child..... that added nothing to the story. The main couple got sided and the side stories took the main plot.


Prince of Susha and Fu Yi Xiao:
CZY is a really good actor he again proved that. A child who lost his mother in front of his eyes and later became the warrior prince who wants to avenge his mother who later found comfort and love in a enemy... Everything was good.

Li qin as Fu YiXiao was terrific.The cold hearted general who go betrayed by someone she trusted the most and later again found her strength... Loved her character arc. She was always strong willed,cautious of her surrounding, smart. The bond between these two clicked cause they trusted each other and communicated which i loved the most. Till the end,they fought beside each other,protected as shield like real power couple.

Princess of Susha and Emperor Xia ZingYan: This is where my headache started. Still trying to find a reason why they made their love story in such a bizzar way. Princess Susha got on my nerves so many times cause of her irresponsible decisions and tantrums.... When her brother assured her she doesn’t have to marry, she still did when Xia Zingshi clealrly told her he's not interested in her. When her family tried to protect her, she eloped with her husband and later got betrayed by him. After that so many things happened, she divorced her husband and got with that douchbag of an emperror Xia Zingyan only for her own benefit,used him for everything .... and lastly when the emperor actually fell for her,she was like nah I'm leaving!!!!
Xia ZingYan as an Emperror was nothing but a menace. A womanizer,good for nothing. But later when they revealed how much he cared for princess of susha and the way he was always ready to be used by her and the reason behind it.... Can't believe I was actually feeling bad for him. They could become a good couple if the story-writer was not in the mood for killing every character. If only the princess stopped throwing tantrums in everything, she probably could get a family with someone that loves her and build a whole empire with him.

Also...what was Feng Suige thinking while making his sister the empress??????She didn’t take a single good decision in the whole series... She is impulsive,never thinks about whats good for everyone,often acts as a childish brat....she is the worst choice to be an empress.

Emperor and Empress of Susha:
Well... I find the emperor a selfish father who never understood his own child. Idk how could he think after everything the prince went through,he would still agree to follow the same path as his father. Boy saw his mother dying in front of his eyes and his father did nothing. Even in the end time of his life,he just sat there,doing nothing.
The Empress was just a beneficiary of the whole situation. I felt like she actually cared about the Emperor but lost her path while trying to secure the future of herself and her son. And that younger prince of susha became victim of this power battle. But he was still a breath of fresh air,he took such a mature decision at such a young age after so many traumatic incidents.

Murong Family :
Another piece of headache. Even if i sympathise with Murong son for his hatred towards the imperial family.... Never understood how someone like Papa Murong who fought and sacrificed for the imperial family his whole life,was a man of honor and moral.... How can he suddenly become a dark character overnight?? What his son did,deserved punishment,but still the emperor already pardoned him. Idk what he thought,why he thought.

Xia Zingshi:
The biggest culprit I guess. His obsession with Fu Yixiao was the reason of his doom. Yeah he was mistreated,abused, neglected..... But still couldn’t sympathise with him,sorry.


The set designs and costumes were gorgeous. Fight scenes were done good. There wasn’t many ost's i guess,only two or three.

Overall it was a good one time watch drama. I enjoyed many parts but also wanted to skip many,Those who want to watch a badass pretty couple will definitely enjoy it.

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A beauty that can't hold you strongly....

Well... I must say this show is filmed beautifully. I was almost at awe at every frame, everything looked so good,set designs,costume,visual effects,action scenes,camera angle.... None of these has disappointed me.Also that little happy dance at the end of each episode was really refreshing,after whatever the mess they created in every episode.

All the actors looked amazing...The costumes, styling of everyone especially the male actors were so good!!I couldnt take my eyes off of ZYC,he looks majestic in every frame.Whoever styled him as Bingyi deserved an applause,he was looking ethereal!!!Even the villains or "Evil" demons looked terrific, especially Li Lun. The main trio, ZYZ,ZYC and Li Lun were just gorgeous whenever they appeared on screen.Probably one of the saving graces of the show.

The show did a good job in portraying the backstory of all of them.ZYZ, as a demon with morality,humanized emotions and lots of guilt and trauma who loves to make jokes and have fun was done brilliantly by Neo Hou.Second male lead was good too,his character development was very evident,his persona as a man who is cold outside cause of traumatic loss of his family,him growing up with hatred in his mind towards ZYZ but later letting himself grow as a better person who understood ZYZ and becoming his protector and friend/soulmate was portrayed rightfully.
There is amazing bromance,understanding and connection between him and ZYZ.From nemesis to besties,their relationship was the best one.They even had better chemistry than the main couple.

Now,about the other casts of the demon hunter group...Was the female lead casted only to cry and stand helplessly shouting for either ZYZ or ZYC to save her??? Isn’t she supposed to be a goddess... Yeah as per story she is weak cause the Baize token is lost/broken or whatever... But that doesn’t mean you would waste every potential of one of the most important characters of the show.When you are a part of a "Demon Hunter" team, the least you should know is how to fight and protect yourself. She does almost nothing every episode,her team mates are dying left and right and she's just there staring blankly...does it even make sense?????Two male leads keep saving her every time,her team mates are fighting for their lives...and she still somehow manages time to sit on the floor drowning in her tears!!! There's not even much chemistry going on between her and male lead,their relationship looks forced cause she doesn’t show any emotion except crying.... Even if she wasn’t in the show,I don't think there would be much of a problem.

Among the other teammates, I liked the Mountain God the most....and unfortunately he was the most ignored one. He cared about everyone,always made everyone smile, even gave his life to save them... And what did he get??? Nothing. They didn't even acknowledge him as one of them when two leads were talking with the ancestors.I really didn't understand this bit.The archer girl was extremely good in action scenes,but I just couldn’t look at her too much of a stone faced acting. She was even crying in stone face. The kid doctor and his screaming was just pure annoyance.But he did a great job as a possessed demon.

Li Lun...as a villain,his pov was quite understandable! He got betrayed by his best friend,abandoned by him,got caged for eternity,he witnessed his bestie giving more attention and showing more compassion to his new found human family than him..... He had every reason to be a villain.Yes he was wrong for killing those human but from his pov,it was his first time out of wilderness and he witnessed how vile human were while using low spirited demons only for their own benefit.He didn’t even get the chance to know about human. ZYZ was known to human nature,he knew they were not all bad,Li Lun didn’t. And ZYZ didn’t even try to sympathize with him...he just abandoned his best friend.ZYZ got new friends,new family...Li Lun was left all alone,he had none. He was one unfortunate misunderstood anti-hero.He could be used as one of the most powerful entity who was also at the same level of ZYZ,but that potential got wasted.At the later end,his character had the most beautiful redemption arc in the show.You would even feel sympathy for him and his action. And then...he died.They just killed him and ZYZ couldn’t even do anything cause the storyline made him powerless like that... WHY????

Now storywise... If it wasn’t for Li Lun's scheme, there wasn’t much things to do for our demon hunter team,the story wasn’t going anywhere. When Li Lun stopped being active,the whole team suddenly became jobless,just sitting,talking or crying. There's no romance,lots of backstories,flashbacks,slow mo actions.....and everything is going on on a real slow pace. Sometimes its so slow... Had to skip to the next scene.There's talking...they talk..A LOT. You can skip a few minutes of a scene...and they are still there,talking.Storytelling went completely downhill at the middle of the show,every thing was happening so randomly. It turned into a soapy draggy drama where everyone was crying in every two minutes and collecting random objects like dragon scale or something else from here and there or repairing Baize token or cloud light sword .... when it was supposed to be a thrilling demon hunting group.And then almost all of them died... The amount of tears they used in each episode was really something!!!That perfectly placed teardrops on everyone's glossy eyes couldn’t be more fake. Don't make so much tragedy if you can't make it bearable.... It became annoying at some point.

The backstory of BingYi and YingLong was really good. The visuals of the two leads as the ancestors,the action scenes and the way of showing the reasoning behind everything that happened between them,I enjoyed it a lot.

The OST's were good though..... But sometimes overused.Every character had their particular ost and lyrics were written according to their character and storyline, when the ost's were playing,they were taking the scenes another level up.

The action scenes,the connection and chemistry of the male leads,the visual effects and the cinematography, ost's...these are the things that were saving the show. Could be much much better if they put some efforts into the storytelling and avoided to make it into an emotional tearjerker which makes no sense.

Also...how much blood spitting is too much blood spitting?????

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When X-Men meets The Umbrella Academy and becomes absolute fun ride!!!

Honestly speaking,I was only interested in this drama for Park Eun Bin. Nowadays,kdramas are neither interesting,nor appealing.... The same story,same repetition, same tropes....it has become such a boring place.

But this one was really enjoyable. I wont say it was some magnificent, mindblowing, extremely top level superhero drama,cause it was not. But the thing that makes it special was the chemistry among the four leads and the makers never pretending its story to be something heavy cause its not. It had its sad moments,which was also good,but overall,it was fun. It was lighthearted, it was joyful.... It was something really needed for the moment.

Storywise,its not something new. Some outcasts,nobody.. found superpowers and became superhero to save the city while the villains are some crazy science guy who are torturing by experimenting on children....nothing special. But the bonding among the casts were really good. Park Eun Bin as Eun Chaeni was hilarious and her tremendous ability to shift between an absolute trainwreck to some kind soft always happy girl was so nice to see. Her bonding with her halmeoni was so hearwarming,she was like real grand daughter of Kim Hae sook,both having same character traits!Choi Dae Hoon as a suffering man who became a burden in his own family,later became superhero, always pretending never caring about anything or anyone but a real softball inside was to good to see.Im Sung Jae as the crybaby was also never annoying or boring. Their funny scenes actually landed really well.

But it was Cha Eun Woo who made me amazed. Believe me when I say,I was never a fan. He has one of the best face card in korea...but his acting was never great for me. But WoW! This time he pulled his character really good...specially beside such great actor like Park Eun Bin and others,he didn’t leave any chance to complain. He deserves his flower this time.

Overall...it was a fun ride. Will definitely watch season 2 if it ever comes!

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Maintained the standard in many ways

AiB season 1 and 2 has always been my absolute favourite in this genre. Everything about the show was fabulous.Season 2 ending was perfect. And that's why when Netflix announced season 3,I became skeptical, will it be another cash grab nonsense story stretching like Squid Game?? Are they gonna ruin one of the majestic show ever??

Well today I got my answer....nope,the thrill is still there,the connection is still there. Arisu and Usagi still fighting strong together and got their very much deserving happy ending!And that surprise at the end.... Gotta give the show 10/10 only for that few minutes!!!!Was it as good as Season 1 and 2? No,definitely not!!! But was it bad.... NOPE!

What bothered me was some of the new characters. That Professor was weird,ngl. He creeped out many times and his character arc was not much convincing.And Banda as citizen wasn’t doing much... Just casually making plots to bring back Arisu. Also the new players... Well I am very much attached to the og's, Chishiya,Kuina,Ann,Aguni,Niragi,Tatta,Chota,Karube.... Cause their stories were told amazingly in the last two seasons,all of them left their marks. Aib is not Aib without them!Who knows,if there were more episodes,I could also connect myself more with the new ones too!!Some characters felt like just wasted potentials.

One thing AiB will always be remembered for is its games... And this season was thrilling too. Every game was mind bending. It was good to see Arisu taking charge in each game... Man was in so much trauma and depression in the last seasons,this time he proved again why he is a pro. But...I must say... I missed Chishiya!!!

Story writing was not as good as the previous ones,there were some hiccups here and there. But one thing really bothered me,is Aib also gonna have an American version like SG?? What was that in the last few minutes??Who asked for that? What is the need??

However,it was a good ending. I was thrilled,emotional,happy. AiB itself created the standard,so happy they remained true to it,didn't fully ruin the magic.This show deserves so much hype,I hope it gets what it deserves.It is probably the last time we're seeing them.... So it was the best farewell indeed!

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OUR UNIVERSE?????? MORE LIKE HYUNJIN'S UNIVERSE WITH SUNBAE!!!!

Never seen a show with so much potential being ruined this way. This show had everything, a good story,some good actors,emotional background.... And the most important one,Woojoo. This cute little munchkin was the most interesting part of the show,we all wanted to see his story. After his parents died, both his paternal uncle and maternal aunt had to take this two years olds responsibility. This could be such an adorable emotional journey of two broken adults suddenly becoming parents,coming closer and healing together through Woojoo,learning about parenting and eventually falling in love.

But what we got????? Woojoo being completely sidelined,his uncle Taehyung being the single dad who despite being the most distant one having no emotional connection with the baby,took his responsibility and practically living the life of a single dad. Meanwhile,his aunt, his actual legal guardian,who actually knew woojoo from before, almost abandoned them,always stays outside with her old crush,knows nothing about woojoo. Girl is so indecisive, she gives sparkly eyes to both the male leads and can never decide who should she be with. She never picks up phone whenever its from Taehyung when she is the legal guardian of a two years old. But when its a call from her crush??? Imagine what happens??? Yesssssss she recieves immediately. At this point she knows nothing about Woojoo and Taehyung knows, at least trying to know everything.

Idk how are they going to make this blunder work. Woojoo is the main focus of the show but we don’t even get to see him properly. All we see is female lead working with her crush,her crush driving her home,her going on a date with her crush and our og male lead just waiting for her and being miserable . And even the second ml is weired, imagine your boss overworking you till its late at night cause he likes you knowing you have a baby at home!! The female lead is so poorly written,that its just purely frustrating. Its 2026, you can't write a female lead so weak,so immature so indecisive when your goal is to make her a mother eventually. She is not even ready to be a partner,let alone a parent. Idk what the ml saw in her that he fell in love with her,girly wasnt even thankful that Taehyung stepped up and made her life easy by taking care of woojoo.


At this point,I can't even see ml and fl as a couple. It would be the best if Taehyung moves out of the apartment with Woojoo and later find someone that actually loves him and suitable for Woojoo. And Hyunjin can go with her boss or anywhere else, i don't care. These two has no connection left,they have nothing common. Nothing can save the story now. These writers should never write ever again!

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Can This Love Be Any More Frustrating?

I had big hopes for this show. Both the leads being some of the absolute bests of kdrama world, I was seated from the moment this show was announced.
I can't say I am fully disappointed, no. But it still didn’t hit the mark I really thought it would. And that dissatisfaction really left a bitter taste that
is not easy to avoid.

Acting and chemistry from the leads were really good,one of the saving graces of the show. Go Yoon Jung shined as Do RaMi,she did so well as that psycho horror-ish character and her crazy bits were really entertaining.She proved her range again!! Kim Seon Ho is a seasoned actor and he showed it gracefully. These two saved the show even though there was enough elements for the downfall of the show.

Another good thing was the cinematography, it was so eye pleasing,from natural scenarios of different countries to Do Ra Mi dancing happily with her red umbrella... Everything was top notch. OST's were also good,soothing to the ear. Comedy bits were funny, I smiled a lot in many scenes.

Now...the real problem,story writing. Idk how after such a promising start of first few episodes, the story took such a sharp turn into a story of push and pull relationship that was making no sense.The complete shift of genre in the midway wasnt expected.From a refreshing start as a romcom where everything was enjoyable with a smile it suddenly turned into a heavy toned psychological drama with lots of trauma,heartbreaks,mental disorders....for which we weren’t prepared.

It was really frustrating to watch both of them continuously miscommunicating,pushing the other one out of their lives,then suddenly they're happily chatting....and in the next episode,same thing happens again as a repeat cycle. And there wasn’t any definite reason cause the explanation of Mu hee's past,her traumatic childhood,reasons for her insecurity everything happened much later, so as an audience it was frustrating to watch her repeating the same thing without knowing any reason. And finally when they got together around episode 10,it was'nt as satisfying as it should be cause I wanted to see their growth together,how Mu hee finally get rid of her past,how they shaped their relationship as a stable one. And I couldn’t see that cause there was only two episodes left where there wasn’t much time to show so many things.

The final 30 minutes was completely unnecessary. Mu Hee's parents being alive,her disappearance for unknown time, male lead waiting and then she suddenly appears... Not needed.

Also was'nt it surprising how easily Ho Jin accepted Do Ra Mi and accompanied her instead of taking her to a specialist? This part was so illogical.

Our Japanese second lead's character was another waste. He was there just for comic relief I think? If you erase him from the story,it wouldn’t harm the story a bit,cause he did nothing memorable the entire show. He had potential to make the plot more interesting, his growth from being a childish narcissist actor to a green flag second lead was good to watch even though they used him only as a prop.

Same was the second couple. There was ample scope of exploring their relationship. We didn’t even see how bad Ji Seon's relation was with her ex...we just had to assume. And then boom! Suddenly she's so in love with her new lover with whom she properly talked for like two times??


Overall... This show had the potential to become one of the best one of the year if they didn’t try to take the story in different routes and fail miserably. It's still enjoyable though if you can overcome the frustrating part and watch solely for entertainment and visually ver pleasing cinematography.

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If stupidity could kill....

This drama has only one message.... Don't make stupid friends. Not all people are smart. Some are dumb enough to do the exact same things even after they saw what happened to others when they followed the same route!

Its just another bunch of teens who had to go through a life and death situation against something big (this time a cursed app) and some of them made it out alive,some didn’t. A Very common troupe. Usually, in such type of stories, some dumb friend starts the thing and others faces the consequences.... But here,all of them were in a competition, who can be dumber than the other one.

I mean...when the story starts,the app got introduced, we all could assume one of them was gonna die,which would create the shock that will lead to the mystery. And exactly that happens, the silliest,goofiest friend in the group,Hyung Wook finds the app,makes a wish, his wish got fulfilled and he died in a very gruesome way. Ok,the mystery begins. Meanwhile,our male lead also made a wish (who actually didn’t know anything about the curse), that eventually lead him to coma. Ok,it was also necessary for the plot.

But oh my god....I was about to bang my head against the wall when our supposedly smart female lead,who is actually carrying a survivors guilt since her childhood, also made a wish to save her bf... Like girl,there could be thousand possible ways to do that instead of killing yourself???? Okay then our second male lead,who's sister is very conveniently a shaman,finds a way to break the curse temporarily..... But guess what our good boy,the smartest,logical one in the group was gonna do? Exactly, he was also going to make a wish,for God knows why.. If it wasn’t stopped by his brother in law.
Wait,it doesn’t stop there. One of our antagonist,Na Ri,who later revealed to be the cause of Hyung wook's death....also made a drunk wish for his death,even though she was told not to.....only cause she doesn’t like him. I mean...it could be some better reason,idk which childhood friend could make a wish for her friend to die so easily just beacause she doesn’t like his silly antics.And later she became the most pathetic,irritating, annoying girl ever for guess what??? She also has a crush on our male lead and she can let everyone else die for that and the evil spirit used that easily against her.
And in the epilogue, there was another dumb boy who knew the story behind the app,what happened to his own friend....did the same thing.
I guess it was Geonwoo..who actually saved all of them by making one,only one smart move in the entire drama towards the end by using his brain.

Then starts another circle of stupidity, that is the origin story of the curse. Its had so much potential to make make the origin some real horror story,something brutal,eerie, tha makes you shiever. But nope,they had to make it some teen revenge kinda story,where two besties ends up in fight and one putting curse on another. Still don't understand why she had to die in such a horrible way when she was bullied only once by her so called bestie,this plot could be explored more deeper to give it some logic. And the other shaman girl...she was ashamed of her mother and later created scene with her bestie....not even asking once what happened, why was she in her house,what happened to her mother,what was she putting in her jacket...I mean its understandable she didn’t like her mother or her bestie frequenting her house....but what kind of friend let her friend of years be treated like that by her male friends in front of everyone even without asking anything just because she was with her mother???? The logic is not there. The origin story was very weak,some teen angst without any strong base.

There were lots of qs unanswered. What happened to Nari? Why everyone mourned for Hyung Wook but not Nari? What was the backstory of Haetsal? Why was she trapped in the house? Whats with that snake? Why there was no police involved? Where were the parents? How did Si Won's father die? What was the reason of Siwon also putting curse when the persons she was angry with were already dead?Why was the phone left by police in that Hye Ryeong suicide place? What happened in the end with Bang wol's eyes,how could he suddenly see sthe spirits? What was that epilogue? Was it for season 2? Also why was the mysterious deaths of three students in the same night from same school wasnt a popular story? Why nobody knows them,at least the names?

The characters were also not well written.Apparently they were friends since childhood, but no such connection was seen. Nari had problems with probably all of them,it was very evident. The friendship wasn’t very friendshiping,there were tensions,problems, inner conflicts which they intended to show as something very sweet,but it was not.Characters were very one dimensional most of the time.

And how many gallons of blood they used? Everything was so bloody....gory,sometimes it became unbearable to watch.

Well not everything was stupid,there were some parts that were actually enjoyable. Bang wol ruled the show with his humour yet very much commanding presence. He was fantastic throughout the whole show. I also liked "no nonsense only action" Haetsal and actually want a spinoff with two of them. Their story would be very interesting to watch.

Overall,I was about to give it 6 but one extra point for Bangwol,he really stole the show.

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My goodness... What did I just watch....and most importantly... WHY DID I JUST WATCH????

If you take a hot obsessed toxic bad boy ml,sweet naive sometimes dumb fl,twists after twists,and plotholes after plotholes,some cliche villains,time travels,dream sequences,self sacrifices,good second ml,plastic surgery,a whole ahh dragon.......and some really hot kisses with lame af ending and mix them all with some mashrum drugs or hallucinogens.....the thing you get is this drama,Affinity!!!

The whole thing was so bizzarre,it became actually enjoyable at some point. They're really clever to put that Helium thing in the end,otherwise it would become a comedy sketch rather than a hot show.

Lead couple was good,especially the ml.His character development was really evident from the beginning towards the end. But storywriter was on crack most probably.

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Not Glorious Enough!

A plot with a matriarchal set up where every family member is cunning and scheming against each other,Hou Minghao as the male lead as an imperial magistrate who is amnesiac, saved by the female lead..... sounds really interesting.

Well...it was interesting as it began. Introduction of the characters, the world building,Rong family and their heritage,the inner conflicts among the sisters,Rong Shanbao and her commanding personality, Lu Jianglai and his ruthless aura...everything was mesmerizing.

But the problem began soon,where the story started to fall apart in the midway and started to feel like some scattered pieces of story glued together only to show how great Rong family is when the actual problem lies within themselves.

Rong Shanbao,as the female lead and the next main lady of Rong family after her grandma is someone who is extremely cunning,smart,who has dealt with the family tea business since she was 13. She is a powerful woman with impaccable aura. But the problem is,her power comes from her extremely cold personality, her cunning emotionless manipulative mind. She is not some saint,she also schemes behind others back. But when Lu Jianglai came to her life and their relationship began,thats where the problem started. Her continuous toying around with him,never confessing her love when he already did multiple times,never communicating her thoughts or plans with him......everything made the relationship extremely frustrating. She used him whenever she wanted (and ofcourse he let her), and the next scene she is acting like he's a nobody in her life.... This thing was constant the whole drama. Its a matriarchal set up so the power dynamics is reversed.....but whenever Lu Jianglai stood up for himself and told her hypocrisy on her face,either a kiss or slap on the cheek was her answer to everything.She never put him as her priority, never. Its always either her work or her family or something else. Her cold demeanour with expressionless face and never warming up with Lu Jianglai was'nt helping at all. Idk if it was the script or the actress,she didn’t had to do much in terms of expression cause she only had two or three expressions the whole time.


Hou Minghao didn’t disappoint as always.Lu Jianglai started real good as a fearless ruthless imperial magistrate.... And as Lu Fusheng,he was also good. But the way all that aura and everything was gone in later episodes was really something. He just remained as a lovesick puppy,only asking for Rong Shanbao's love in every situation,helping her,saving her...when Rong Shanbao just kept using him or planning without any sort of communication with him. Their relationship felt dull...sometimes forced with no destination. Even when the dynamics are reversed,there should be a balance,this drama fell short in this aspect.

Storywise...it was good at the beginning. Sisters are sworn enemies, all scheming, plotting but failing in front of Shanbao was enjoyable. Later they all got their deserved ending,some learned their lessons and some found love. It was good to see.

But the real headache was the Grandma. God knows how such selfish and dumb woman was the head of such so called great family. She just kept blabbering about their heritage, pride and whatnot but never tried to understand her grand daughters,not a single one. Shanbao,Yunxi,Yunin,Yunshu.......all were heavily misunderstood, misguided by her prejudiced mind and were led to take wrong steps. And she had no remorse of it,its always others fault,not her. The way she didn’t even take a second to dethrone Shanbao just because she didn’t agree with her and immediately took Yunshu as her next favourite really mademe question her sanity. Its surprising how and why Rong family members still kept obeying her. No wonder Shanbao turned out to be a ice queen in terms of emotions.

Overall....it was nice to watch something different, women with real power. The costumes were gorgeous,so was the set. The scenerios with the tea garden on the hills were really eye pleasing. Its just the storytelling became frustrating at some point, seemed like they didn’t know where to land it.

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Lazy writing at its best ?

After the huge success of Love In The Clouds, The Unclouded Souls was definitely something I was looking forward to. Can't say I'm fully disappointed cause I could see both Hou Minghao and Tan Songyun did everything they could to save this lacklustre of the plot...but even they had their limits!

Lets talk about the pros.
Well,HMH as the Demon King Hong Ye was absolutely gorgeous. He's a king,who is not someone with arrogance or show off but a leader who has this huge responsibility to protect his people from human...a King with morality,sense of duty,someone you can always rely on.But when he's with Xiao Yao,he's a lover,a protector who has been betrayed in his previous life but still his heart belongs to her and he acknowledges it really well. HMH did real Justice to this role.He had that calm,elegant,gentle sophisticated aura that immediately makes you respect him as a King who is always ready to protect his subjects or a lover who despite being hurt deeply, loves with his everything. I could feel Hong Ye's sadness in his sorrowful eyes before that first time travel and loved how eventually his eyes changed after he finally fell in love with Xiao Yao.

Tan Songyun,even though she was older than HMH,was so lively,beautiful as Xiao Yao who is naughty,cheerful,vibrant,cheeky, always smiling and making everyone smile. She was weak but never solely depending on others. When needed,she delivered powerful performance. As a dragon lord from 10,000 years ago,she was looking majestic.She was one of the reasons for me to finish this drama,loved her as Xiao Yao/Ning'an.

And this pair worked. Not in a "set the screen on fire" way,but in a mature,more understanding, subtle way. Hong Ye who even after everything,his past with Ning'an,his enmity with human,his responsibility as Demon King, still loved his Xiao Yao till his last moment. Xiao Yao even after her heartbreak 10000 years ago due to Hong Ye,after everything she went through,still loved her Hong Ye till she found him again and again. They understood each others sacrifices,their past never became a hindrance to their love.They were destined to be lover,a miserable pair mocked by destiny who just wanted to live with each other in every timeline. HMH and TSY was sweet as a couple, understood their character and delivered well.


Cinematography and cgi was good. OST's were really lovely, I absolutely loved "Afraid It's Only A Dream". Comedy bits were good too,some were really laughable.

Now...cons.

1.Story writing was really lazy...perhaps bad at some points.There were times when I had to skip cause it was so boring.The whole plot with Dreamshard Immortal was so painfully boring...making Hong Ye almost disappear for like 4/5 episodes,making him a prisoner with no power, the trials with those girls,suddenly Dali becoming evil for no reason..... Nothing was appealing at all. Later they again made Hong Ye powerless only to make Xiao Yao have time travel and when she came back,she had to go back again...there has to be some limits of stupid writing! Also Bingzhu-Pianpian plotline was another headache! Bingzhu who always hated Demons suddenly becoming one and Pianpian behind all these calamity that fell upon Demon valley for no apparent reason....nothing makes sense.


2.Since time travel contains a huge plot of the story,some effort should've given to make it somehow logical. Now the " chicken-egg" theory makes everything questionable.Xiao Yao kept going back, sometimes she's clueless,sometimes she remembers,she knows whats gonna happen but still did the same thing...it was painful to watch.Also after the story unfolds,it felt like it was Xiao Yao as Dragon Lord and her obsession with Hong Ye that started everything. Didn’t understand how it was Hong Ye's fault 10000 years ago when it was him and his people who was tortured,killed by demons and he deceived them only to protect his people. Yes,he did deceive Xiao Yao too,but he didn’t deserve to be killed by her for that,that part was illogical. Also,why Hong Ye didn’t go with Xiao Yao in time travels when he also was a main part of whatever happened??


3.Bringing back three big Demons,giving them likable characters only to kill them so easily was another bad turn of the plot. Other small demons and Demon valley also got sidelined since the story started to heavily base on past incidents.

4.The ending could be much much better if they didn’t take the typical sad xianxia route. Hong Ye already got punished and suffered in the past two timelines. Even after becoming a demon, he's been atoning for his sins for 5000 years.....so why make him punished again for eternity??? Why nothing happened to Bingzhu who been killing demons left and right?He suddenly became a demon and out of nowhere Tan'er appeared on Pianpian's body and he stopped fighting???? Why Pianpian not punished who's been behind everything? How can that greedy emperor die so easily and after that suddenly human and demons were on good terms???? Out of all these people who deserved to die,why Hong Ye was the one who had to sacrifice??? Its not like people will forget about Yuli Spring,they will keep finding it and make chaos.Hong Ye's sacrifice was'nt needed.


Overall if we ignore the plotholes and that bizarre nonsense ending, its really enjoyable as a eye pleasing drama with sweet mature likeable leads.The story wasn’t that bad,a better writing could actually give us something really memorable.

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