Tempest

The premise was good, the story not so much.

The arc where Fu Ze Yi falls in love with Jing Zhi Xia was so sudden that it was unbelievable. The rich guy making the FL do chores trope is kinda icky and doesnt make for good romance.

The story could have been so much better with a little bit more flow to it. While the ML was fine at times, it was hard to envision the female actress as the character she was trying to portray. She was very out of place in the whole setting.

Korean actress Lee Da-hae did a much better job portraying her character Ah Mo-ne in Hotel King, in a role very similar to what Joey Chua had to play.

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What a great ensemble cast!

I usually like this trope where the ML or FL gets together with the other lead for revenge, however most of them fail to hold these characters accountable for the way they treated the person they supposedly loved. (Korean Drama: The Innocent man: is another example of this trope) And that is what happened with William Chan character Shi Yue as well.

The ML was in a situation where he had to be chummy with his ex who is this uber powerful older woman who doesn't really care about what the ML wants and just wants to control him. So, when this woman comes back in his life, he doesn't really put up a lot of fight in trusting his relationship with the FL and doesn't have any faith in her either. He decides to play the game with the ex and be cruel to the FL. Honestly his game had no purpose at all, in the end, he gave it up anyway.

In other situations I would have termed the FL as a doormat, but this FL was anything but that. She was just a great character to watch, she tried very hard to put faith in ML when he didn't deserve it. She is the who held on so that their relationship could work. She didn't react blindly but thought logically everytime she discovered something new.

The acting was brilliant. I wish the drama had been shorter, as it would have cut the FL's suffering in half at least.

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I would rewatch it for the chemistry between the leads

Li Yan Shu (FL) : First things first, for someone who is supposed to not take shit from anyone, I lost count of the number of times she was slapped by people in the show, including the second male lead, her step sister, and Mrs. Gu (mother figure for the male leads). (The writers really overdid the slaps)

At her best, she was lively and mouthy, so it was painful to watch such a beautiful person brought down by bunch of harpies. Although the ML has a presence, it isn't as powerful as the female lead, the magic doesn't happen until the FL enters the picture, that's when the show goes from "am i going to continue watching it" to "Yes! I picked the right drama to binge watch!"

Gu Cheng Ze (ML): One gorgeous man. Loyal to the family that adopted him, even when the old brat didn't deserve it. Protects the FL on numerous occasions. Is kinda a green flag. Watching the FL and ML together is such a joy.

I wouldn't mind watching another drama with these two actors in the lead role.

Honestly, Season 2 is much better.

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I was just about to stop binge watching & here comes temptation!

Okay, I have been binge-watching cdramas for a while now & I was about to break out of this habit, but they have done such a good job with characters & finding the right cast, that I gave into this temptation. Here's to hoping that this drama continues being so intriguing & I won't regret spending my time on it.

Ep 1 to Ep 5: The beginning of the ep 1 starts with betrayal, the guts of the guy to do her so wrong and still have the balls to pretend like he cares about her! I care about you but I don't have a choice so I'll frame you parent, get your brother killed, & one more, kill you myself. The tears are the worst, how meaningless. Man the kindness at that Zhenvv Hall, here's to hoping the head of the hall receives the same kindness. Poor Jiang Li, Fang Fei is so right, the wicked go unpunished & take pleasure in punishing the kind. I'm of two minds about Fang Fei taking over Jiang Li's identity. One one hand I can see her conviction about making Jiang Li's family suffer for the neglect & abuse she received at the hall. At the same time, it also feels like Fang Fei did it not because of Jiang Li but because she want to get her own revenge. Ep 4 clears that up, she is doing it for both and man is she brilliant! She told the Duke to scold her back for calling him brainless & he come back with her original identity.

Ep 6 to Ep 10: I get that the stepmother is evil, but the father is worse. His daughter is dead because of the both of them. She died without having her name cleared. This is the time, I wish this was a horror story & she would haunt their ass. Still not sure what's going on between princess & the murderer, but I don't feel sorry for the guy at all. Every time he is confronted with what he did to his loyal wife, he has tears in his eyes. Honestly, what good are those tears? That guy had no care for her. I don't know if the romance between the Duke & Li will go anywhere or if they will even get to be together without any issues. I hope it works out well for both of them though.

Ep 10 to Ep 15: I was so excited to see the competition between the two sisters, knowing that our double would win. But I must say that Rua Yao gave a terrific performance, I didn't think that Jiang Li would have been able to top that. But she won for a reason, the emotions she put in her song made it seem so real. I didn't much care for the graphics because for some reason they didn't properly convey her feelings. They were good but I wish they have come up with a better idea. We finally have a little hint of romance popping up, with Li being jealous about the Duke being at the brothel. I like the drama as it is, but I wish the leads had more screentime together, they are beautiful to watch. The Jiang family is so messed up, Jing Rui is the only person I like so far. Ruo Yao & Yu'e deserve each other, but I can see that being married to Yan Ban will not meet Yu'e expectation. What's more, it looks like both the cousins might end up being married to the same guy and none of them are his first choice. He has such a wandering eye.

Ep 16 to 27: I can't believe how good this show is. I messed up my sleep schedule again to catch up on all the episodes! I don't want to wait so long for the rest to come out. I love the progression of relationship between Duke & Li. It is so good to see such well-written characters with minds that gel well. I also feel a certain level of dread that either the Duke or Li might not make it till the end. That would be heartbreaking, but it wouldn't negate the bond they shared. Yu'e marriage ended up as predicted, I'm surprised that Ruo Yao actually did something right for once. I'm sure Jian Li's father suspects Jian Li's identity. I wonder how everyone is going to react once they find out that Jiang Li was murdered by the members of the Hall where she was supposed to be well cared for. I want them to be devastated! Jiang Li deserves that at least. Here's the hoping both Fang Fie & Jang Li get to clear their names & people who murdered them & plotted against them suffer. For a main character, Ye Shi Ji has very little screen time & I wonder how his feelings for Jiang Li will change things. I saw video on Youkou's international page which included a scene that suggested that Li & Duke might have happy ending. However, they were both standing in front of two graves, if one of them was Jiang Li's whose was the other? Here's to hoping Tong Er survives.

Ep 28 to 31: I had hoped that Tong Er would make it! But now she is gone to go be with her lady. I wonder what's gonna happen to Ji Shu Ran now. Was glad to see her maid being dragged away. I do not like waiting for each episode. It was soo good to watch the first 26 one after the other. I must say, this drama is gonna be one more addition to my favs list. For a moment their Fang Fie had me worried that she had really forgiven Jiang Yuan Bai on behalf of Jiang Li. Thank goodness, Jiang Li deserves better. There should be no redemption of any kind for Ji Shu Ran, for all her claims of she was forced to do things, she is the one who reveled in being cruel. She caused the death of little Yue and covered it up. I don't know if she was really pregnant at the time, but if she was, she killed her own unborn baby to frame a little girl who loved her. Framing that little girl led to her death as well. She is the reason so many people have died. I do think the diviner arc was a bit pointless. They sacrificed Tong Er for that arc. Here's to hoping that the Shen Yu Rong meets the same fate as Fang Fie who was buried alive. Okay this drama just makes me scared for everyone's life in there. I kept wondering who's gonna die next, will it be Fang Fie's father, the poison princess, or Wen Ji. Now, I wonder if Zhao prince might ask Duke to marry his sister. Then where would our Fang Fie be? Living Tong Er's dream probably. Poor Shi Jie probably wondering what's happening around him.

Ep 32 to Ep 35: Wow, the brains on Wanning! She thought she might be able to use Xue Zhao in some way so she kept him alive without anyone knowing. Fang Fie's whole plan centered around exposing Wanning & Shen Yu Rong's relationship. Recanting the testimony might again put Jiang Li in the way of rumors. And it looks like Duke Su will be coming to the rescue. (Maybe their marriage begins with this) Well, it is hard not to like Duke Su & Fang Fie being together, especially since both have such a keen understanding of each other. And the trust in each other is so overwhelming, you rarely get to see such a couple in dramas. I can't wait to see the moment where Fang Fie gives him the jade pendant. Shen Yu Rong has gone mad for sure but he clearly has different goals from the wanning & he is willing to even sacrifice his own child.

Ep 36 to Ep 40: I admit like everyone else, I felt for wanning. Had she only taken revenge on people who did her wrong, I would have liked her as a character her, but she forgot that there was a line she wasn't supposed to cross. I wonder if she ever knew that such a line exist. What she did to Fang Fie and countless other innocent people stops me from feeling anything for her now. I felt for the princess who was treated as an object & violated, but not for the one who decided to the same in return and not to the people who deserved it. You gotta hand it to Duke Su, even with the tempting made by Zhao he still rejected the marriage proposal because in his heart he has already made a commitment. So, that's how Wanning & Shen Yu Rong met their end. I'm sad about Wen Ji & Lu Ji, when I first saw them on screen I had a thought that one of them is gonna die. I didn't expect that both would. I think the ending needed to be better planned. It is a happy ending but still it does not do justice to the entire drama.

I did see Ep 40.5: It was kinda okay. It would have been better if there were other characters in it.

One of the weirdest parts about the drama were the closeups when the characters were supposed to be looking at each other, but it seemed as if they were looking at a camera. It especially happened when the communication was supposed to be between Xiao Heng and Jiang Li. This happened far too many times with this drama and never with other dramas.

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Love the chemistry between the Leads

This show has given us another green flag in Yoo Ji Hyuk (ML). Just completed the final episodes and the show was worth the hype. All characters are pretty interesting, which makes you take in every minute of the show without hitting fast forward or skipping most parts.

Its interesting to watch Jung Soo Min hate the female lead (Kang Ji Won ) so much and still go on pretending to be her best friend, sabotaging her at every step. There was a time when I believed people weren't like that and the shows were too dramatic to show such characters. However, I have learned different, people get perverse sense of pleasure by putting others down. And to Soo Min making Ji Won's life difficult is like a drug. There is no self-reflection for this character.

Now, the female lead was actually a pretty terrible judge of character and its pretty common. It's lonely living a life suspecting everyone of a motive, much easier to trust people are telling the truth. I was glad to the sismance between Fl, Yoo Hee Yeon, and Yang Joo Ran. They did such a good job lending an ear to Kang Ji Won, however they weren't aware of her returning back in time. The second couple Yoo Hee Yeon and Baek Eun Ho took their time getting together but both were so adorable througouth the series. I do wish we had gotten to see Joo Ran and Lee Suk Joon together as well, but I feel very optimistic about their future so that's good as well.

The cast is pretty great as well, especially Song Ha Yoon, she did such a fabulous job portraying Jung Soo Min. This drama has made me see her in new light. I didn't recognize her as the lead actress from the show Devilish Joy. The ending left me wondering if it made sense that Min Hwan died and not her (Soo Min). While Min Hwan is a character that attack the weak, he isn't really brainy, so him in prison or getting out in the future wouldn't have made much of a difference. Eve still, did I feel sad that he died? Nope. He just stopped existing and things went about their way. Now, with the kind of hatred Soo Min is harboring for Ji Won, things might get tricky in the future if she was to ever get out.

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Enjoyable but could have been better!

With two of fav's leading this, I had to drop in to watch no matter how the story started. I decided to take it from there. The first 12 episodes were a bit of chore to watch. they weren't bad. But I felt very detached about all of it, especially whenever Haoming was on screen. He just felt like this creepy dude from a stalker movie and the marriage was obviously a facade, so I kept waiting for things to fall apart and then I could watch the real show.

Episode 14 was so damn revealing, Haoming's monologue about them using each other I sat through with my eyes glued to the screen. That was intense. Poor Xu Yan, she tried to reach out despite that with an olive branch but he shat on that. I am not sure if he is even capable of redeeming himself at this point, but if they are to end up together I hope that he grovels a lot. I am not even mad about the child, yes, he lied but she has lied as well and I don't think to Xu Yan him having a child matters at all. Poor baby just wanted a little love.

Ep 15 to Ep 20: I felt so damn good for Xu Yan when she initiated the divorce. All the choices she has made since then have been so damn good for her mental health. Her mother-in-law (ex) has now started to grow on me. Both she and Haoming are busy with work. Haoming is slowly coming to the realization that she didn't approach him for the riches. I don't know where her sister's story is heading, I hope it is headed in a better directions than what happened in the novel. (I haven't read it but came across some spoilers)

Ep 21 and 22: Well, look now who's done a complete about turn and claims he has always loved her but was slow to come to the realization. As if.

Ep 23 to 32: Apart from that one monologue by Haoming in episode 14, none of it was that impressive. Did I enjoy watching the whole drama yes, but honestly it was the actors that made me continue watching it. If it were anyone else, I would have put it on hold and come back later to complete it (because of the damn closure I need). TBH this wasn't their best performance, especially William Chen.

Xu Yan's eye makeup just keeps reminding me of Queen of Tear's actress Lee Mi Sook, especially her character there. I'm sharing a link of her picture here just for fun: https://kisskh.at/photos/d0ov5g_3

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Who would have thought that Ji Bo Zai could be a green flag!

The best thing the screenwriter did while adapting the book to the drama was to take the philanderer out of the Ji Bo Zai. Man for first half of the book, the man couldn't rest unless he was touching a woman and physical intimacy with Ming Yi meant just pleasure to him and nothing more. He did more than makeup for it in the second half and Ming Yi gave him hell. (If anyone wants to know how bad he was, just DM me, I'll tell ya. I'm dying to.)

In contrast to Ji Bo Zai, Ming Yi (Ming Xian) was much more powerful a character than they have shown in the drama. She was honestly a goddess in the book. As much as I like the softer version of Ming Yi in the drama, I still wonder how much more the drama would have shined with Ming Yi's goal for equality.

I am not a fan of the whole netherbeast storyline, they would have done better sticking to the tournament, the fight scenes would have been epic.

What I like the most about this drama is the Ji Bo Zai and Ming Yi's relationship, especially how well he treats her. The only thing that seems a bit weird is that it is taking him so long to figure out Ming Yi's identity. Also, Ming Yi claiming to be Ming Xian's betrothed was a bit funny, never thought they would take that route. I am committed to the drama so I'm going to watch the whole thing because I like this part of the drama.

And Er Shi Qi is so damn adorable. I hope we see him again.

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This is what a remake should be all about! Just so impressive!

Honestly, this is one of the best remakes I have seen in a while and this must be only my 3rd or 4th Japanese drama, the other dramas didn't leave much of an impression.

Thea actors were good!
The chemistry was lit!
The pacing was just right!

I know, I am using too many exclamation marks, but it was that good for me!

I have seen An Incurable Case of Love but I didn't much care for it, this one is a gem.

It doesn't at all feel like a remake. The actors bring their own energy and style to characters and they look amazing throughout it all.

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My favorite genre. (Hoping that we'll have a happy ending for the leads at least)

I especially love the romance genre where one of the leads can see ghosts, but I had put this one on hold because it was a bit heavy compared to the recent light hearted dramas I had been watching.

I love the ML, he is so adorable. What's more, he looks after the FL so much that even though he doesn't admit his feelings and rejects her, its hard to dislike him. The guy is sure he only has around 3 months to live, so, he doesn't really think he has much to offer. But he could at least just tell her that he is going to die. So far, I have loved episode 7 the best, despite rejecting the FL twice now, the ML was so damn jealous of her admiring another guy. Now that I have finally started the drama, I can't wait for next week's episodes.

Coming to the beautiful stories we have, each episode was created to make you cry. The deaths seem so untimely and we wish these people had another chance at life.

This drama gives me the same feels as The Master's Sun. (The romance and the ghost seeing lead (here both of them see the ghosts))

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Showcases how emotionally manipulative parents can be quite well.

They explored not just romance but also workplace harassment, emotional manipulations by parents, a man's reactions to rejection, and so much more.

I did enjoy watching Yun Jin A and Seo Jun Hui's together but i thought Seo Jun Hui was bit of hothead at times. I just wish they communicated more. Things would have probably worked out better for them, had they both not just made decisions on their own, especially ones that affected both of them. I'm just glad it worked out.

I read the comments before watching and someone said that Yun Jin A let her mother control her actions and she did. This is what happens when you live in a family who for all intents and purposes seem to have treated you well, of course as long as they are controlling things. So even when you speak up for yourself, you are bound to feel guilty for disrespecting your parents. Yes, even though the child is never respected. The parents expectations become a cage that many get trapped in. In Yun Jin A's mom's case, she cared more about society and what people would thing completely overlooking her daughter's struggle. Her mother saying that if I can't even make this decision for my daughter then i might as well be a stranger. But strangers who had no blood relation to your daughter treated her better than you did ma'am. So maybe you should act more like that stranger, that'll make you a little kinder.

The drama again sheds light on how workplace harassment is handled, and many time bullying is also handled this way. The offender usually gets together with the company to silence the victims voices or just try sweep everything under the rug so that their company's reputation remains pristine. The execution of this theme was also poorly handled. It turned out to be too confusing.

The ex who turned a stalker and harassed Yun Jin A also got off easy. I don't understand why victims are supposed to show compassion to offenders so that offenders should be able to live a guilt free life. Maybe they should live with the consequences of their actions, learn from them and hold on to those memories to remind them to never do these things again.

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2nd time watching this drama and I liked it better this time around.

I like my stories with a little otherworldly characteristics, so this genre was something I was always going to like. The story was written well, the actors were pretty good, the pacing was also just right. These are the dramas where the actors are so good that you often forget that these are just stories, figment of someone's imagination and not just two people falling in love.

I don't know why I had a wrong memory of this drama, this is probably what happens when you binge watch kdramas with no break in between, the stories all seem very similar making it hard to separate them. You know how in Kdramas there is separation for few days, months, or years due to some pressing reasons and sometimes it is noble idiocy. I thought it was the ML in the drama being a noble idiot, but nah it was the FL. My dislike for the noble idiocy stems from the humiliation of the other person, thankfully, this drama didn't add that.

I like my dramas with just a little bit of angst. This has made my rewatch list.

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Crazy mothers assembled! If you aren't afraid of these lunatics feel free to watch.

The cute little baby was a better adult that any number of Mothers and grandmothers in this drama.

The reason the characters in this drama bothered me so much might be because before this I watched It's beautiful Now. It had only one messed up family, in comparison, this drama had a 5-6 decent people and one of them was Eun Ho, not a main character! The other were little Mirae, ML's grandfather, Eun Ho's sister, FL, and ML. Yeah, that sums it up.

The best part about this drama are the actors, even when you don't like the characters, you have to admire the skills that went into brining that character to life, so much so that we as audience have a reaction, be it a positive one or negative one.

> For most part, FL tried to stand up for herself and I liked that she was able to say enough was enough. But the sad thing was she was treated poorly, slapped, and people kept pouring stuff on her to humiliate her. It lacks a lot creativity on the writers. Who are people who like shit like that? It is the part of the drama I tend to skip.
> The ML was pretty decent by these long-running drama standards. The one thing that bothered in the final arc was the lack of communication, thinking that you know better and making decision unilaterally when they are together. Start communicating people!
> High heels is a bloody criminal, why bother asking for forgiveness when you are only asking because it would make everyone look at you poorly?
> Haemi's redemption arc? I couldn't care less. She harassed and bullied a woman who was only trying to earn a living, especially a woman with a child, a cousin of hers add to that! She had no professionalism when it came to her job. The whole time she was busy sabotaging the FL, which also affected the compnay she was working at! She and the full-time employee who lied should have been the one fired.
> The Kim family didn't deserve a daughter-in-law like FL, she was always too good for them. Like she said, she had become their fav punching bag. It was sad to watch when every time she was wronged by her in-laws, she was the one had to pull herself together and cater to them as if she was guilty.

If someone made a cute edit a movie of this highlighting the best of couples moments, I might watch that. But there's no way, I would ever rewatch this.

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One & Only was better in terms of story. This is better for romantic moments between the leads.

One & Only was better in terms of story. This is better for romantic moments between the leads. In one and only we all knew and saw the love between the two, but they never really got to take it a step forward. They were always confined by their positions in life and their responsibilities. So, Forever & Ever is a good sequel for their story, however the 30 episodes are a bit much.

The one thing that went wrong with the story is that apart from the leads, it has a completely different cast of character. None of them came back to life, I wish her cousin and the general had gotten a second chance as well. Having the crown prince reincarnate would also have been a better antagonist compared to a pain-in-the-ass mother/mother-in-law and shady brother. It would have made the story more interesting. (I read on MDL that Mei Xing is supposed to be the crown prince and Wen Xin princess Xing Hua, but their story arc wasn't all that good) But at least, this time around he chose to let go of his crush on the FL and decided to look at Wen Xin but again that was doomed as well.

The ML's step mother is kinda weird. If you have to take out your frustrations on someone your son is the better candidate, he is the one who went against your wishes and married someone you didn't want him to. She could be less of a controlling harpy and stereotypical mother-in-law as well as step-mother. She has been outright rude to Shi Yi since the first moment they met. I am not a fan of decisions she makes coddling her son when he led to the death of her daughter, how on the earth she could forgive him. Either Shi Yi Or Zhou Sheng Chen would have ended up dead if they hadn't dragged along his punishment for so long.

The prequel had a more powerful impact, but I liked this one for its uniqueness as well. The relationship between the two and their marriage is something that we can all hope for. The easy camaraderie and care for each other was so good to watch.

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What a beautifully written and well-depicted drama!

Byun Hye Yeong is hands down my favorite female character in all of the Korean drama's I have ever seen. She is such a role model to all the women out there. Love her character to pieces! Her values are so developed and progressive it is so hard to see female lead characters like her. Kudos to the writer and the muse the character was based on! Jung Hwan complimented her so well. He looked after her even when she pretended to be strong enough to do things alone and was supportive of her regardless of how foolish his mom was. He didn't enable his mother but actually called her out on her shit.

Joon Yeong was a bit dislikable at times but once he found out that the got his girlfriend pregnant he sure grew up a lot. NGL hate characters like Yoo Joo but she also grew up even though she took her sweet time doing it.

All of the couples in the drama were so good to each other. They took little missteps a time or two but always made sure to get things right. Well worth the time spent. I would highly recommend it to anyone who asks in future.

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