Tempest

Jung So Min's best work I have seen so far!

This and Alchemy of Souls are two dramas where I have seen Jung So Min shine, and this one outshines her performance in Alchemy of Souls.

Her acting during the stage therapy and her entire character was so damn good. It was so easy to get drawn into her character, to feel what she felt, to even disagree with things she did.

There were times when I didn't like Lee Shi Joon, a lot of things which we would have deemed as red flag were excused due to him having PTSD but then again same could be said for Woo Joo.

Shi Joon was so goofy at times and their repertoire was also great. I loved that part of them.

Read More

I had just finished a rewatch of the Chinese drama Filter and this was the first recommendation on MDL.

As much as I love chaotic couples, I only like it when the chaos does not include verbal abuse of any sort. Seo Yi Do called Min Ye Rin worthless in so many different words throughout the first arc of the drama, that I wanted to stop watching.
And it was a good thing, at least I got to see some happy times, the final arc was better.

In the beginning, it felt as if just as she was about to escape her toxic husband she met Seo Yi Do, who was a different kind of red flag on his own. She then fell in love with the said red flag. It is so difficult to describe the duality of Seo Yi Do's character, there are parts of him that I won't ever like, but by the end of the drama he had somewhat won me over and I was so glad for Jae Hee.

Read More

What an accurate title for the drama: We Are All Alone!

I have seen Cristy Guo in some supporting roles here and there but this drama is where she shone bright like a star.
As Lin Xiang, her story was the most riveting and the ending was unexpected yet not surprising.

Lin Xiang, wasn't a character that I liked, her self-obsessive nature couldn't see anything apart from herself. There was a time when she could have helped Mo Xiang Wan but their relationship was very one-sided. Xian Wan mothered her expecting nothing in return and Lin Xiang thought of it as her due. (How I wish they had gotten Lin Xiang a therapist but alas...)

I added this drama to my watchlist thinking that it would be second chance romance for the leads, but the romance took backseat in this drama. Although there was romance, the majority of the drama was heavily focused on the workings of the showbiz.

I am glad for one the most, Guan Xian dumping Yu Jiang. That guy kept stringing her along, making promises he couldn't keep. He already disappointed his previous wife and was ready to do so with Guan Xian as well.

This was also my first Godfrey Gao drama and I feel that he was a underutilized resource in this drama, but still managed to make his presence known. His character eventually became a strong pillar of support for Mo Xiang Wan, something she was in desperate need of.

Read More

Actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters

The best part about this drama are the actors. I added this to my watchlist because of Ryu Soo Young and I don't regret watching this. He was great in this and so were the other actors.

I hesitated to watch the drama because when it come to twins stories always portray them as being polar opposites, with the doormat twin being the lead. That was exactly what's wrong with this drama. (Let's not even talk about the story, it went as you would expect.)

Although I rooted for the leads to get together, I wanted Sun Hee to do better! She is such a mess. In front of her daughter she lets people treat her like shit, she always apologizes for things she hasn't done wrong. I felt so damn bad for the daughter who had to grow up with such parents. I felt bad for her as well, I just wanted her to stop making such poor decisions.

Do Hee is a piece of shit and that's what her character was meant to be. Since she was just a prop anyways, should have let her stay in that bed and not recover. She didnt' deserve her mother or sister, Tae Ri was more suited for her.

Read More

Because even in unrequited love, I loved myself - Hye Ri

I added this to my list because of Shin Hye Sun, I know not a lot of people enjoyed her in Welcome to Samdalri but that was my second Shin Hye Sun drama and I liked it. So far this one is even better. I have always enjoyed dramas, movies, and books that tackle dissociative identity disorder, so this was bonus for me.

With the way their relationship unfolded I wouldn't have been surprised if they hadn't ended up together. What I wanted to see was the moment the other personality (Hye Ri) came into existence.

Eun Ho & Hyeon O's relationship was such a tangled mess, both stuck in that love-hate relationship since they can't get over each other. Poor Kang Ju Yeon, I like him better because he has been much kinder to Eun Ho (Hye Ri), but at the same time Hyeon O is kinda fun to watch. I like watching Kang Ju Yeon & Hye Ri together, they are so adorable but with the intense feelings between Hyeon O and Eun Ho, he might loose and it is going to be sad. I am okay with her ending up any one of these two as long as they decide to communicate well in the future.

When it comes to Shin Hye Sun's characters here, I do prefer Eun Ho to Hye Ri. But all of them are interesting.

The one thing that I can't get over is Hyeon O being unnecessarily mean to Eun Ho.

Is it absolutely necessary to humiliate her like that when she is already down?

If you have broken up, then move on and stop dragging her down. If her work is not up to the mark then whatever critic he has, he can do it officially instead of going mean girl outside office hours.

At times, I want to dissect Jung Hyeon O's brain so bad, we get that you are trying to help her in your own way but my boy it doesn't hurt to say nice words. It is so easy to say all those mean things why not just put in some effort and say something nice to her.

Eun Ho and Hyeon O are such a hot mess. They have such a strange and toxic dependance going on, on the plus side, at least he was there for her after the breakdown she had while anchoring. What he said wasn't wrong, since they both wanted different things in life, it made sense to break up. But they were together for 8 years, none of them thought to sit and talk about where there life was headed? He was harsh when breaking up but that seems to be his personality trait.

I might have liked Hyeon O a bit better if the creators had showed her more of his side after the breakup, we barely got a glimpse. I wanted to see how his life went on after their break up, the raw emotions and not the mask he puts on. But we can't deny that whenever she was with Hyeon O she seemed more like Hye Ri than Eun Ho.

I would have rated it 10 if not for the sloppy hair on Hye Ri, it bothers me so much I feel as if it were on my own face. Also, I just feel that they should have discussed all the hurtful words he threw at her, it just seemed like that was glossed over.

Read More

Ha Joon's character was the glue that held it all together.

Had it not been for Ha Joon's character Kang Tae Ho, this would have been such a waste of time. The only person worth watching was him, he was a green flag but by the end I hoped that he also cared about himself a little more. Didnt like him in the beginning, there wasn't much to like but once he stopped being an ass that was quite early on he was golden.

As much as I feel for Lee Hyo Sim, she didn't have to abandon Tae Ho. They could have talked it out, it would have been a decent thing to do for him, especially after the way he had treasured her.

Boy was she messed up, she gives a liver to a father who abandons her but abandons a man who cherishes her?

Her family was kinda shitty, I was hoping that she would just be done with them. The worst of them were the wannabe lawyer brother and her mom, both so much like each other, expecting her to pay for them and then treating her like crap.

Read More

Pretty Darn Good!

Worth the time spent watching it. The story was nuanced, the only arc that seemed a bit weird was the Park Jung Woo trying to be the bad guy, but he wasn't all that bad. Despite that, I loved all of the characters, well, except for the initial Ji Hong Ah, at least she changed a bit later on becoming more palatable.

The romance between the main leads was lovely. I didn't much like that she dropped the ball by not picking up the call but I understand her hesitation over the long-distance relationship. The breakup seemed reasonable as well, they had been together for a while and he refused to open up. Yes he had his reasons but like she said just watching their performance made me lonely for her.

I saw some negative reviews and lot of people upvoting them, I'm surprised by this, because I like this one very much.

Read More

Serving a toxic romance on steroids.

Gu Yi was Liang Dai Wen's personal little yoyo, when he was done playing with it, it would lie discarded in a pile of mess.

I kept hoping that Gu Yi would at least get to experience some ounce of healthy relationship with Xu Guan Rui, who was way better companion for her, but alas writers never fully explored that. Instead they chose to stick with the absurd game of push and pull between Gu Yi.

Gu Yi was in dire need of some therapy here, she kept continuously going back for more trouble.

Liang Dai Wen was a better man when he felt no emotions compared to the one who treated like Gu Yi like shit when he had his emotions, kissing her one day, and brutally rejecting her next day. (Young Adult romance books are full of these stories and I wish they would read better more healing romances)

It started out well and I expected it to be more nuanced focused on treatment rather than the push and pull. There were so many different ways to make it a decent story. I am hoping angels falls sometime is better, if it isn't I am done with all of Lin Yi's dramas because despite him being a decent actor, the scripts he picks are not up to my tastes.

Read More

I expected something like "One Spring Night" but alas.

I thought this would have some family drama and that the age-gap between the couple would be the major, but it was just a year so not that big of an issue. The first episode is a bit boring and thing only get interesting at the end of it, which kept me watching.

I came here for Won Jin A and Ro Woon, but I am not a fan of their story. Their respective characters Yun Song A and Chae Hyeon Seung didn't endear me as a couple, because Chae Hyeon Seung put way too much effort for someone who bailed on him even when he was willing to give it a shot. She put herself first so many times, thinking of Chae Hyeon Seung as an afterthought. I am glad for him that they were able to make it work but I think he could have done better.

The real star couple of this story were Chae Ji Seung and Lee Jae Un, however brief their screentime, these two were good to each other.

Speaking of the story, the writers need to stop with the breakup in the final 2 episodes, it is getting old and just makes your characters and story look bad. It doesn't delved into any character development, in fact it takes away from whatever growth they have had so far.

Read More

It was about to go on my rewatch list but then the breakup happened.

The drama was so close to being one of those warm and inviting ones, but they messed it up with the breakup.

Wei Zhi and Shan Chong could have easily worked it out together. We don't really need these kind of incentives to keep watching. I as a viewer don't enjoy dramas that add breakup in the last arc of a drama. I especially don't like it when the person who initiates the break up isn't the one to take the first step towards patch up.

Shan Shan and Dai Duo were such a great couple. I enjoyed their relationship because it was so damn heartwarming, the care and love for each other was easy to see and not once did they waver. I wonder what Dai Duo's family is like, I hope they welcome Shan Shan with open arms.

Read More

Good characters failed by a story that only picks up in the last arc.

I watched sword and fairy 4 before this and was actually more interested in the SF6 because of the cast. Both of them lacked when it came to the story. Despite looking forward to watching this one, it was hard to get past episodes. Had to use fast forward far too much for the liking. The story lacked depth and just couldn't ensnare me.

They had decent characters but the story was all kinds of messed up. The supposedly good sect was okay sacrificing a thousand to save the rest of the world's population because one member of their sect came back from the future and told them so. So many important characters lacked the backstory that could have fleshed them out. I finally got into the drama around the final 10 episodes and most of them were sad.

I am few of those who believe that Bian Luo Huan wasn't really wiped out of existence, his sacrifice was not in vain. Part of him will always live on in Yue Jin Zhao. Sacrifices should be rewarded and not forgotten.

Read More

Only Cheng Yi can pull off a carefree character like Li Lian Hua.

I mostly stick to romantic dramas, a little bit of romance is like a salt in food for me. However, I watched this drama solely because of Cheng Yi & it was worth it. This drama also helped to rediscovered Joseph Zheng. Last year, I had watched his Hi Venus and thought he was dashing but Fang Duo Bing was such a good character for him. Wish that we had more of Di Fei Sheng working along with them, however his screen time was very short.

Some of the cases were interesting while others were not, I mostly skipped some scenes and focused on those where the main trio were interacting. The main story was kinda weird with the bugs, bugs just remind me of starship troopers. Having seen Chen Duling in Till the End of the Moon, it was hard for me to think of her as the good guy, her character was so insecure and devious in it, especially since I had rewatched the drama a week ago. There wasn't much for her to do in this drama, she had but a small role to play and she did it well. Her fiancé was an immature idiot in this drama.

But anyways it was fun watching the main trio go on adventures together. At one point in time, I wondered how 4 horses managed to drag that big ass lotus tower all over the place. But then again, architecture is a marvel. It sure was so good to look at and would be such a great place to live in.

Read More

What a charming couple! I loved the romance plot here!

I was an idiot for putting this off for so long! Zhao Lusi & Yang Yang did a wonderful job bringing the Hei Feng-Bai Xi duo to life.

In the beginning, Bai Feng Xi was a bit annoying constantly blaming him for things that he hadn't even done. Thankfully, she realized what an idiot she was. Hei Feng Xi took it all as a joke because he knew who he was and what he stood for and he found her amusing. It would be fun to watch what they were like when they were earning the reputation as Hei Feng-Bai Xi, that would make a cute prequel.

The unwavering trust amongst the leads was such a soothing balm. It is rare to find leads that trust each other so much, especially in wuxia or Xianxia dramas. I loved how Lanxi cherished Xi Yun, the way he loved her was so adorable and at the same time mature. It was good to see that love reciprocated without unnecessary angst. The power dynamics between the two were also good.

Feng Qi Wu was a kickass supporting character! She did not use her intelligence to play petty mind games but was more focused on her goals. Even when she fell in love and it wasn't reciprocated she was very mature about it and moved on like a strong woman. She did not blame the FL for stealing away the ML like many delusional supporting female characters do. Feng Qi Wu is the kind of female characters I want to see more of. And for some reason, I kept hoping that she would meet Feng Chang in an unofficial situation and the would hit it off. But to think about it, Feng Chang was a very questionable character, he ordered to kill off innocent people because they found out about his epilepsy, whereas Qi Wu is someone who cherished her people and treated them kindly. So, maybe not. But he tried to do the best in his capability to be good brother to Lanxi.

Like someone said in their review, Tian Shuang sect was a joke. I am surprised that someone as powerful as Xi Yun came to power in that sect. The only two people who were maybe decent, died (Master & poor Han Pu). Had Bai Lang Hua a little intelligence, the flower would not have been wasted. They could used it to save Han Pu or even during the final battle where Lanxi shared half of his life with Xi Yu. They both could have lived longer. Because I'm not sure how long Xii Yun is going to last once Lanxi is gone. Maybe she would continue on as Elder Tai Yin did.

Read More

Xiao Yi Qing is clearly the green flag & star of this drama.

I went in expecting to like Xiao Yi Qing, as I read through a lot of comments & also the plot about the drama & I surprisingly liked him a lot more than I thought I would. Apart from 1-2 instances, he always treated his Ah Jing well, looked after her, supported her, and most of all believed in her. Since the first time they met each other, it was easy to the understanding between the two. A lot of time he reminded me of the lead from the princess agents, but Xiao Yi Qing is a much better person.

I liked Ah Jing half of the time, but I mostly liked her because of Yi Qing cared for her & I wanted him to have everything he wanted in this world. Had she not doubted him so many times, she would have actually been perfect for him. No matter how many times she questioned his intentions, he always let it go. But she did care for him in her own way, tried everything to save his life and he was a very ungrateful when she risked her life for the medicine, only for him to waste it. Yeah, he apologized but that was something so out of character. He was the one who first spoke the harsh words and failed to resolve the issue. Anyways, you can't always be perfect.

Xiao Tai was a teenager who wanted things that she didn't earn. She was coddled by everyone & they kept making excuses for her. They failed to make her understand that she was responsible for the consequences. She did not even repent for any of the mistakes and countless deaths that resulted due to her obsession with the Tower Master. Even at the end, all she got was a slap on the wrist. She used Qing Yu & He let her be used. Like his brother said, he was always ambitious but he was also so delusional. He forgot that Qing Ming was his sister, who fought alongside him. It was sad to see that only Ming was the one to survive amongst the three siblings, because that's how I saw them as siblings.

Where Qing Yu's destruction was led by Xiao Tai, Qing Lan's was led by Ming He. I was surprised that Qing Lan had any feelings for Ming He. I thought the disgust he would feel would be far greater than any feelings that arose out of familiarity. But I seem to have misjudged him as a person. He obviously cared about everyone & it included Ming He as well. I had wished that he would survive, he could have been a good Tower Master, better even than Yi Qing.

They shouldn't have killed Nan Chu though. What was even the point. He was one of the characters that should have and could have made it. Same could be said about a lot of couples that were introduced, only for them to die. Also, the tower master & Ah Jing were heartless when dealing with Lei family. They knew what would happen and took no measures to ensure that young & old people would make it out alive. I have seen better leaders than them, had it been Qing Lan in their place he would have made sure that they made it. But with what we have seen of Qing Lan, I don't think he had enough intelligence for that kind of masterplan.

Read More