Tempest

Supporting character death toll is too high and all for the greater good.

I was so damn excited when I found out that this was Tian Qi and Yue Mi's story. Both of them left such a good impression on me in Ancient love poetry that I wanted to see more of them. But Moonlight Mystique changed everything that made them Tian Qi and Yue Mi. They turned Yue Mi's sacrifice into Xing Yue's betrayal which was a misunderstanding.

I mean, had I just watched this as a standalone I would have liked it much better, but since it is part of the universe, it was a bit disappointed.

Judging it as standalone, the first arc was solid, I wish the middle arc had a little more depth, they made a comeback in the final arc. I did love them as a couple and Chong Zhao and Fu Ling story was also quite interesting. The final arc finally had the signature noble idiocy breakup and it was done well.

I wanted Jing Yuan and Fan Yue to become one and for Xing Yue and Bai Shuo to become one like they did in ALP with Bai Jue and Qing Mu. Even when Bai Jue suppressed part of him that was Qing Mu, he was also Qing Mu. At least with that storyline, Jiang Yuan and Xing Yue could have gotten the opportunity to spend a lifetime or two together.

One of my pet peeves about character deaths is when too many people are used as canon fodder for the main lead's happy ending. It makes the ending a lot more harder to digest.
> It begins with Bai Shuo's father. I thought he would die a natural death before I started the drama.
> 21 episodes in, we already saw the tragic tale of the Rong Xian and Ling Long, as if that's wasn't enough their child also had to die for the so called greater good. Mu Jiu and Tian Huo had just started falling in love when Mu Jiu chooses to sacrifice himself.
Before than A Qi and his brother both sacrificed themselves to that bloody tree.
> We have to say goodbye to Cang Shan as well. Again for the greater good, the author of the story seems to be fan of Dumbledore.
> Qi Feng is gone as well.
> Master Turtle was next to go.
> Xiu Yan
> A number of other eternals die.
> Bai Xi
> Tian Huo

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It had potential to be the 10 but by the end of it, was he really Mr. Right?

In the first and second arc of the drama, I really enjoyed it and thought it would be a good addition to my 'Happy Dramas' list, however, the third and fourth arc happened and the ending was just not right.

With everything that had happened, I wished by the ending that she would move on and actually find a Mr. Right. Although the guy was nice to her from time to time, he just wasn't that into her. The constant hesitation and lack of progress is opposite of how he reacted with the second female lead.

This drama was not their romance for me, it was his journey about getting over his old crush, with the female lead a mere afterthought. Had it been only the first arc of the drama, it would have made sense, but it was majority of the drama.

The male lead never really confesses his feelings for the female lead, he in fact tells in all the ways that they shouldn't have met, going so far as to say, she wouldn't have broken up someone's marriage if he hadn't came into her life.

Initially, I thought Gu Yao would be a bystander and after all she went through I felt sympathy for her, but her decisions over the time made me think less of her as a woman. It is your husband who cheated. Take it out on him. You go to other woman's workplace to blame her when she was just as betrayed by the man she loved. The man was the one who lied, the one who cheated. They were both victims! But she treated Luo Yue like crap, getting her fired from one job was not enough, she had to go out on the limb and make things worse at the second. No, I couldn't care less about her romance with the second male lead.

I usually wants things to work for couples but male lead was a bit of a disappointment because he could have at least put half of efforts into wooing female lead that he did obsessing over and helping the second female lead. What makes things worse is till the last moment, he just kept pushing her away only to rush to the airport. I was so glad that she got on that plane. But again they just decided to make him show up one day standing outside in a crowd and she is the one who rushes to him.

It just felt very one-sided to me.

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The leads have great chemistry and loved Lee Je Hoon in this!

When I started this drama, I was so surprised and it was such a pleasant surprise to see Lee Je Hoon portray a character so different from the one in Where Stars Land, because that was his only other drama I had seen so far.

From the near robotic yet solemn guy to this charismatic jovial guy, he has done such a good job in bringing both characters to life. It was fun watching him.

The story could have been better. I have gotten used to some family dramas so I expected things to be a bit over the top when she finds out the reason why he married her. But I like the way things turned out.

It might be worth a rewatch just to see these two cuties work that chemistry.

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Crappy children that suck the life out of poor old dad! (That should have been the title)

Being the black sheep in the family, I often thought I was the bad daughter.

The one who has different perspective from theirs, the one who constantly had questions that they didn't want to answer or thought were out of line, but if Cha Gangjae and Cha Kangshim were based on someone real, I abdicate the title of a bad daughter.

These two are so damn entitled. Cha Gangjae with his obsession for money and Cha Kangshim who only treats her director well but treats everyone else like shit. When I first started the drama, I thought Cha Dal Bong was the worst of the lot, but he is a saint compared to the other two demons.

How i wish Kang Seo Wool was Cha Soon Bong's daughter, because he deserved one like her. These jerks made me so mad for long, and they were so blind to their own faults and insisted that their father was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Yoon Park knows how to pick characters, this is his worst I have seen so far. The portrayal was good but the character was trash. He does everything wrong but ends up with all the good things. Yeah, that's the lesson that everyone should be learning. (Take the easy way out people!) 🙄

Atleast it kept me occupied on my day out, I downloaded the playlist on Youtube and skipped the most annoying parts. I have only rated it 5 generous stars for their father and my fav Nam Ji Hyun.

Let's not even talk about the story, it could have been good but the wanted to make a mess of it. Apart from the Dal Bong, Seo Wool, and Eun Ho's love triangle the other romances weren't that interesting, more so because of their crappy Cha partners. I mean Moon Tae Joo was kinda good, but someone like Kwon Hyo Jin can be very annoying. Atleast the final arc was better.

The most beautiful part was the ending. Very few dramas get it right.

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Loved it! Most of the main cast were terrific!

I started watching the drama after I begun Dashing Youth, so I was looking to seeing the familiar characters and I already found so many. Sadly, Baili Dong Jun's had very little screentime but at least we get to see Sikong Changfeng. I'm sad to see what's happened to Lord Langya and his devotion. I can't believe Yue Yao is dead. Also, we weren't able to find out the identity of Qianlu's mother. It was also tough to see the repercussions of what happens when heroes fail.

Li Hong Yi's Xiao Se looked so much like Cheng Yi. And Cheng Yi happens to be my favorite Chinese actor. Before this I didn't really catch the resemblance between the two, but they could easily pass off for brothers! Xiao Se as a character was pretty good and consistent throughout the drama. He had to rely on people but he still survived. However, I was looking forward to his powers coming back and when they did the fight was kind of underwhelming. Tan Lian's fight to death was way better.

Wu Xin / Ye An Shi was not given enough screentime. When we first met him, he was more powerful and later on it seemed like his powers were muted. He kept getting hurt, was stowed away, or controlled. The story would have also flowed better had they kept him in focus alongside Xiao Se & Lei Wujie. Apart from that, he is such a fun guy to have around and grown to be kind person despite the past sufferings.

Lei Wujie was such a blast. I wasn't sure that he was Lei Mengsha's son's until somone spelled it out, before that I kept thinking why is he so similar to Lei Mengsha! He grew so much as the show progressed. However they tried to keep him weak, because someone was always there to protect him. And while that was good, I wanted to see his true potential unleashed. Ye Ruo Yi's character came late into the picture and seemed a bit like an afterthought. The romance between the two was cute and fun to watch. She liked Lei Wujie from the get go and wasn't shy about showing it.

Lin Bo Yang's Sikong Qian Luo was a okay character. I would have liked her more had she spoken with a little more maturity suitable for a women of her stature. I enjoyed watching her take on seasoned fighters and win when the others couldn't. But she lacked chemistry with Xiao Se. As this drama wasn't romance centric, it needed someone who could have sparks flying even with the little romantic moments they had. But ultimately they grew on me because I wanted to like them together.

I kept expecting a bit more from Baili Dong Jun' disciple but Tang Lian was not in the same weight class as all the others. His best scenes were, the very first scene we see him protecting Wuxin's coffin and then the last one where he finally seemed like the drunken master. I wanted to see more of that characters. Here's to hoping we get to see it in part 2.

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Liu Meng Li is a beautiful and kind goddess!

The Best parts:
1. Liu Meng Li, what a beautiful, smart, and kind character. She was so damn good, I'm glad she got the happy ending. Happy endings don't necessarily need to have romance, although I do prefer it in my dramas. I prefer to watch women like this in dramas compared to ones that are hell bent on destroying their friends over a perceived insult or a man. They chose the right actress to play the role, she breathed life into that character.
2. Yun Tian He, another lovely character that steals your heart. I must say the writers did a beautiful job with these two characters. It was amazing how he always thought good of everyone and this is something that should be protected but we rarely do. We tend to scoff at such naivety, but that's what all of us need. The bitterness is just dragging us all down.

The Meh parts:
1. The story lacked depth and I skipped through lot of scenes just to focus on the scenes with the foursome.
2. The romance was very low key. I wanted to see more of it.
3. A shitshow of a sect that was ruled by corrupt people who called themselves the good people.
4. I loved Xuan Ying, hoped he had a better story arc though. He was gone just like that.
5. I tried to like Ling Sha but she is too damn frivolous. I also felt that maybe had another actress played this role, it would have turned out better. Someone with more charisma. I did like the actress in Blossoms but this character was not done right.

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We have one of the Sweetest ML with a great character development. (2nd watch)

It is hard not to like Jang Uk. There are so many reasons to like the character, including that he was such a understanding person even to those who hurt him. The creators did a wonderful job picking the cast, especially, Lee Jae Wook who is too damn attractive and charming in all his roles. He was such a green flag in the first season and had great character development throughout it. Even though he started out a bit childish and lazy, he grew into his role and it was just amazing to watch. During my first watch, the story got a bit boring with the other characters but I still completed it. However, during the 2nd watch, I'm focusing on the scenes that include Jang Uk, Mu Deok, & Seo Yul.

Naksu, who soul shifted into Mu Deok's body, sometimes failed to convince that she used to be an Assassin who a lot of people were scared of. While she dropped the ball in some places, there were others that were very convincing. This includes all the crazy ticks she pulled to ensure that Jang Uk grew into his power. (For some reason, this time around, they reminded me of the Sae Roy and Yi-Seo from Itaeon Class, Yi-Seo and Mu Deok's character share similarities in the way they out of their way to ensure that their partners succeed no matter how it happens. Both Jang Uk & Sae Roy had to teach their partners about loyalty & care)

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Loved it. The leads are surprisingly gentle and humorous.

The first 7 episodes flew away like a breeze. I do like the dynamics between the 2, but it seems like Shen Li was the only one to catch feelings during Xing Yun while was affectionate didn't seem to be that interested in her. Even when she was gone he lived his life very well, maybe missed her once in a while, but was not deeply moved by her leaving or even the idea of her marrying someone else. Even when he returned to the heavenly realm, he seemed as indifferent so far. Apart from mentioning that Shen Li was interesting he didn't intend to pursue her.

Ep 8 to 16: She finally meets Divine Lord Xing Zi, who denies he knows Xing Yun, hearing which she sheds tears to which the divine lord is unmoved. He then insists on spending time with her. The Poor girl is busy scouting the place while the Divine Lord is taking a leisurely stroll in the garden.

The Divine Lord finally clears up that he didn't intend to spend time with her but it was to clean her miasma that he had to take her along. When she talks about him resembling an old acquaintance. He brushes it off saying its common and that she shouldn't get too attached to things or people. He then follows her to the demon realm and claims he needs to stay for fun and wants to live at her place. He then shows a teeny bit of what you could call jealousy when Shen Li's betrothed shows up. The one that divine lord himself picked.

Gotta love Shen Li, in ep 14, she finally decided to put everything out there and then kindly told him to go fuck himself. What's even wrong with the guy, he can't even sort out his own feelings and continues to mess with her, following her around everywhere just rejecting her left and right and still bombarding her with those mixed signals.

In ep 16, we get too see them work together, Shen Li gets hurts and we actually see Divine lord get mad for the first time. First green signal telling us that he does care for her. It is nice to see him hold her sweetly nursing her back to health.

ep 16 to 39: Wow this was very slow burn, they finally got together in episodes 30-31, when they do get together it is amazing!

What I like the most about this drama is that the leads don't betray each other and are loyal. There are never any misunderstanding or other man or woman they have to pretend to love in order to protect each other. So, i'll be putting this on my rewatch list.

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Much more Interesting than Part 1. (But a poorly executed happy ending)

Okay. While the dynamics between the leads has improved to the point that it could evoke an emotion out of me, it didn't really improve for the better.

In the first 11 episodes the ML kept the FL imprisoned for her own good. She spent the last days of her life imprisoned by him because he was obsessed with keeping her by his side. He was okay with her living in pain but wouldn't give her a quick death even when she begged for it, a good a way to treat a enemy, right?

In her last month, she wanted to be free, as she had lived all her life in prison but he didn't even satisfy her last wish because she simply wouldn't give him an explanation. FL was also a bit illogical at the point, knowing that he was only going to love one person his whole life what was even the point of keeping things from him? They both tortured each other, one was doing is emotionally while the other got to experience the physical pain daily.

If you have got to admire one character the most in both parts, it is Lin Hao Qing. He had more of a sibling relationship with the FL even though they were not blood related. If not for that, I would have been shipping these two. They also had better story in both parts compared to the Main leads story arc. The ML was kind of clueless about everything. If not for Hao Qing, who knew how long it would have taken the FL to regain her human form or what she would have been through in the wilderness.

I read in the comments that the drama had happy ending and that was the only reason I continued till the end, but be ready for disappointment. Its more of an ambiguous ending that takes place in the last 5 mins of the drama. Its is so poorly done that all you can surmise from it is that okay they are living happy together she is back, but there is no explanation as to how she is back.

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Entertaining Rom-Com with a little bit of mystery and tons of Good Looking People

What a bunch of good looking people in one frame. The story is pretty shaky but it is fun to watch the FL's shenanigans. Someone rightfully said, it is quite similar to the romance of tiger and rose. I started watching this one right after I finished tiger and rose and it gave me the same feel.

So far only seen 20 episodes and all of them were pretty good. The romance is slow burn but when it happens it is very sudden. The ML falls first. The FL is constantly wondering if the ML is going to kill her.

I also like the other couples in the story. Before finishing the drama I wondered how it was going to end, if it was going to have a rushed ending like tiger and rose or more drawn out one like Lost Romance. But in Lost Romance at least the FL & ML knew each other before crashing into novels. In here, the ML is purely fictional so far. So, maybe it might have an open ending like Please Fall into love.

But it was neither, it was more like the ending of the Unique Lady. Screenwriters using this trope need to do better with the endings. Stop with the open endings, there are 36 episodes in total. This needed to be planned better, there were quite a few other arcs that could have been avoided.

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One word: Warmth. That's what the drama made me feel. Love it (Second chance romance worth watching)

Jo Yong Pil (ML): The greenest flag of a character I have ever seen. Its impossible not to adore him. The actor does such justice to the character, i wonder if the writer wrote the script with Ji Chang Wook in mind.

Cho Sam Dal (FL): Very straightforward person, doesn't beat around the bush, which comes off as rude. This got her into trouble, leading to her loosing her career in the city. Bang Eun Joo (the villain) was smart to use that flaw in her character to her advantage. What I like about Cho Sam Dal are her faults, she can be pretty clueless at times and also slow to take actions, but despite them all she is a good person.

Sam Dal and Yong Pil complement each other so well. I am glad that Yong Pil got his happy beginning. While Sam Dal is a pretty impressive, Yong Pil steals the show and captures your heart, making you want to root for him. It impossible not to feel loved while watching this drama, that's how warm Yong Pil is. I'm more into enemies to lover tropes then best friend turned lovers, but this couple holds a special place in my heart. It shows us how relationships don't necessarily have to be the constant push-and-pull but can full of love and care.

Breakdown of allegations against Cho Sam Dal:
1. Bang Eun Joo intentionally went out of the way to get with Sam Dal's ex (Cheon Chung Gi ) just to prove that she could have him. (The guys is also utter crap) The only time Sam Dal said something intentionally harsh was when Eun Joo practically gloated to her that she slept with Sam Dal's boyfriend.
2. What Sam Dal said pissed off Eun Joo so much that she fabricated a suicide attempt and then claimed that she was driven to suicide because of Sam Dal bullying. Sam Dal on the other hand was so shocked to hear about the suicide attempt that she practically gaslit herself for a while, which had us all wondering did she really bully that woman?
3. That's not where it ends though, Eun Joo decided to steal Sam Dal's ideas and work as well. What did Sam Dal do when she discovered it, gave it away to the Eun Joo for free and decided to wash her hands of her.

Coming to Cho Sam Dal's family dynamics, watching the three sisters together is very fun. Ha Yool is also so damn adorable.
All the other couples were also pretty decent to watch. It was good to see all of them succeed in their careers.

I'm a bit unsatisfied with the ending because I just want more of the Samdal-ri's crowd, specially Sam Dal's and Yong Pil's relationship.

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The interactions between the leads was full of yearning and warmth.

The actors are great at what they do and they did a amazing job this time as well. What I like about this drama is the interactions between the leads, it was so full of yearning for each other, the warmth of them being together made me feel that this will stick with me for a while, leaving good memories of this drama.

Did she cheat? Are there grey areas when it comes to cheating? Emotional cheating is just as bad and I am not someone who cares for it. She should have spoken up before and broken up with him a lot sooner. But at least she didn't drag it far too long.

I do wonder how Gi Seok and her got together. I mean they sure cared for each other in their own way but their relationship seemed a bit cold. I'm glad that Lee Jeong In and Yoo Ji Ho got together and I'm sure that Gi Seok will find someone as well. They are better apart.

Watching Jeong In with Eun U was so heartwarming. The writer has done such a tremendous job pulling all the right heartstrings. Kudos. This is quality drama.

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Good enough for one-time watch. It was missing colours.

Like Apes63 said in the comment, it is a CliffsNotes version of the original drama, a small bite that serves just right when you don't have the time to re-watch the lengthier kdrama. It is indeed a bit dull compared to the original and lacks its charm.

I love the korean version, have seen it numerous times. Another thing where this one misses its mark is that Yagi Yusei tries too hard to imitate Ji Chang Wook's mannerism instead of making this role his own. Gotta admit, I do see a little bit of wookie in Yagi Yusei at times.

I am here because it is short and since I have already watched it so far, I might as well finish it. But I expected more.

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Hate it for the noble idiocy trope. Love it for the world building, the characters, & the actors.

For the first 15-20 episodes you will actually like the Bai Ju, he was somewhat a decent guy. He ensured that Shang Gu got a second chance at life, treated her like a loved one for first half of that second life. Then he disappears for 10,000 years. Yes, the time just randomly speeds up in this show. He splits into two bodies, the good part of him, Qing Mu wins over Hou Chi, the reincarnation of Shang Gu., treats Hou Chi like a goddess that she is. The part of him that was Bai Ju eventually takes over and then treats Hou Chi and their child like shit. "Worst Father Award"

I wanted to stop watching when Qing Mu was taken over by Bai Ju. The last thing the guy said to Bai Ju was "Be nice to Hou Chi" Guess what Bai Ju did? He was cruel, because he wanted to sacrifice himself.
The episodes from then on were just unbearable to watch and there is none of the Bai Ju loved in the first half left.
He begins by denying that he was ever Qing Mu to Hou Chi, who at the time was pregnant with their child.
He then decides to marry the woman he promised he would never looked at because Hou Chi/Shang Gu was the only one for him. He decides to trust that woman more than he ever trusted Hou Chi.
On the day of his marriage, when she confronts him (since they are still married), he divorces her in front of everyone. Not only that, allows her to get physically hurt, lets her father die in front of her, because it would have spoiled his grand plan of sacrificing himself.
He then neglects his child, while doing god knows what while the woman he claims to sacrifice his life for is in coma and now their child is being raised by the uncle (Tian Qi) who would actually have made a better partner for Shang Gu.
But does he cut off the connection completely? No, he tries to steal undeserved moments with them. Just let them go my dude! It was painful to watch.

The worst part of these sacrifices is the lack of trust, but i usually give it a pass because that's how these stories are structured, what I cannot get over is treating your partner cruelly.

Hou Chi died a sad death, betrayed by Bai Ju in all forms.

Edit: I forgot to mention a few things in the review before.

I was so upset for Hou Chi, that I forgot to talk about the environment they created for that child with the kind of choices they made.
Shang Gu once she woke up from her slumber was a good mother for a minute and then she had to go kneel in front of the deity for 500 years so they could have Bai Ju back. So, another 500 years of neglect for the child.
Sure, we can assume everything was hunky-dory once Bai Ju got back, but let's not lie and say they were both good parents for their child's first years of life.

The best part about this drama was the actors, they did such a good job in keeping my interest even though I wanted to give up. I did like the characters, they were pretty complex and not one-dimensional. I just feel sad for the child, makes me even wary of watching "The Last Immortal" but I need a few days to recover from this heartbreak and watch something light before even thinking of watching that.

I also held on till the ending because I wanted all that pain they suffered to lead somewhere and was glad to see that they did have the happy ending most people wanted.

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