Attorney for Jiang Si

A Pleasant Surprise, Indeed.

I've been in an Asian drama SLUMP for the better part of a year now. Yes, I think it's been at least a year where I haven't been able to get back on the horse with Asian dramas (as a whole), so to speak. I've been jumping from country to country trying to find a drama to pull me out of this slump and nothing worked. However, something compelled me to start watching this. As time progressed, it took me until the middle of the first episode to realize that I'd watched this before. Rather, I'd began watching this once upon a time and I dropped it shortly after. For some strange reason, reading the synopsis and title did nothing to jog my memory. I think I dropped it maybe around episode 2 or 3. I can't remember which.

Anyway, I almost dropped it AGAIN but something told me to skip to episode 6 and start watching from there and that was the single best thing I could have done for this drama. For anyone reading this review in 2025, watch the first episode for some background information but I'd suggest you skip right to episode 5 or 6 for things to really start getting interesting. Unfortunately, the first few episodes of this drama are incredibly DIFFICULT to watch in a painfully awkward way. Then again, if you're someone who has experience watching J Dramas, then you'd be fine with the ridiculousness often found in these types of dramas. If you're not, then you might not like it. J Dramas can be an acquired taste in many different ways and you have to acquire a taste for it. So yes, the first few episodes are 'cringy.' However, once you push through those few episodes, you will enjoy yourself. The unique advantage of J Dramas is the average runtime/length of them. They're short and sweet; you won't have to sit through tens of episodes before you get to the good stuff.

Now, Sakura and Tendo are our main couple. It's hard to conceptualize this couple because they don't fit the typical mold of a lead couple in a drama. There's an age gap. Not necessarily a creepy one, but it does exist. Tendo is your typical tsundere type, so he's going to be quite stone-faced for the majority of the drama. I know some people are into that, so you may enjoy it. But for the people who are not, he's like that most of the time so there's your warning. Their chemistry is slightly nonexistent but existent, if that makes sense. If Tendo wasn't a tsundere type, I think the chemistry would have been a lot more felt. But because his character is a tsundere, it's difficult to figure out if he even likes her or not. There are kisses. But there's always the question of - are you kissing her because you like her and it's what you want to do or are you kissing her to indulge her because you know that she likes you? It definitely affects the chemistry in a big way, in my opinion. Also, Sakura is very very immature. She's the cutesy, childish female lead that most of us are familiar with in this market. Typically, I don't like those types of characters but she experienced a LOT of growth and character development over the course of this drama. We watch her grow and make decisions that are suitable for a fully grown adult. The actress? OMG! She's GOOD. The actress is so good; she will make you cry and I commend her for that.

Also, there are SO MANY love triangles/squares going on outside of the main couple that will make you want to rip your hair out. Unfortunately, I skipped all the scenes with the side characters because I couldn't be bothered to invest any time in that strange game of musical chairs. You can skip those scenes and not miss a single thing. And yes, some of those side characters are interested in each of the lead characters but it's all unrequited/one-sided. The leads only have eyes for each other. It does get annoying watching the side characters chase them despite knowing this, but those scenes are totally skippable.

Again, there won't be many romantic moments between the leads until the last few episodes. But hey, it comes with the territory of a tsundere ML. I didn't expect to like this drama that much honestly because both leads are prime examples of my least favorite character tropes. I'm not a fan of tsundere male leads or cutesy, immature female leads but here I am singing this drama's praises in spite of that. Amazing work from the actors!

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Well ... It Was Definitely A Show

I will advise anyone reading this review to grab a snack and something to drink because you’re in for a ride. This is a long review, my friends, because I have a LOT to say. So, buckle up!

First things first, I started writing this review as I was finishing up episode 8 and I just wanted to get my initial thoughts out before I forget them. Obviously, this may end up being a very long review by the time I finish watching this series but we’ll see. Who knows what may happen between now and then? Aside from that, I just want to let it be known that the first few episodes of this series will lead you to believe that it’s good. Spoiler Alert: this drama/series is NOT good. Not at all. The feuding websites storyline became redundant and boring pretty quickly in the series. It wasn’t an interesting enough concept to center an entire show around. However, if you’re here for that aspect of this series, then you might enjoy it. If you’re here for the romance aspect (much like I was), then you’re not going to enjoy this series.

The most important thing to come out of watching this series is the fact that I have NEVER watched a drama where I disliked/despised all the major players. When I say this, I imagine that the people reading this are suspicious of this claim, but I am completely serious about that. It’s not an exaggeration. I have never watched a singular drama in my LIFE (whether it’s an Asian drama or a Western drama) where I found it difficult to root for any of the main characters. All these characters were the worst, at least when it comes to the main characters, that is. I found the supporting characters to be more interesting and to have far more redeemable qualities in contrast to their lead counterparts.

As someone who is more accustomed to watching Western dramas that are marketed as ‘women’s unity/women’s empowerment,’ I find this drama to be very surface level when it comes to illustrating that concept. This depiction of unity between women is completely and utterly empty. It was as deep as a puddle. I know it’s not a common theme in a lot of Asian dramas overall, and I kind of wished they wouldn’t have marketed it as such because it was lackluster. The premise is decent in theory, but terrible in execution. At least in this market. Sorry not sorry! This drama appears to be written by someone who has a very very slight idea of feminism and feminist concepts but they don’t know much else about it and it showed.

First and foremost, the relationship between Ga Kyung (Sunbae) and Ta Mi was the cause of a lot of gritted teeth and eye rolls. I’ve never hated a female relationship dynamic as much as I hated theirs. Sunbae is a coward who allowed her arranged husband’s mother to control her life and Ta Mi is a coward who allowed the woman who’s shown her time and time again that she cares more about her own selfish, self-serving interests than she is about preserving their friendship. Both women suffered from a lack of backbone when it mattered. They had no issues retaliating against those they deemed ‘weaker’ than them but they were too cowardly to stand up to the people they truly needed to stand up to, and that persistent plot point is why I can’t, in all honesty, rate this drama as high as other people would. If you’re going to walk around like you’re a Girl Boss, then you can’t pick and choose when to embody that persona. You must embody that energy the ENTIRE time and that just didn’t happen. When I started laughing every time Sunbae would get metaphorically smacked and put in her place by her mother-in-law, that’s when I KNEW the drama failed to hit the mark of whatever point they were trying to make. Cha Hyeon (Scarlett) & Ta Mi were loyal to Ga Kyung to their detriment and Ga Kyung was loyal to her master, I mean her mother-in-law. What a waste of space that one. I found myself waiting for one (or both) of them to give that woman the smackdown she deserved for far too long and it never came.

Also, the only saving grace for Ta Mi is her willingness to buck the system and stick to her guns when it came to marriage and children. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a female lead in an Asian drama expressly admit that she’s not interested in the traditional, conventional lifestyle much of society wants to pigeonhole women into. I can and will give her kudos for that point and ONLY that point. With that being said (and I hate to say this as a resident noona romance stan), Ta Mi and Park Morgan’s relationship should NOT exist. I repeat - Ta Mi and Park Morgan’s relationship should not exist in ANY capacity. Being platonic friends? Yes, that’s fine. Being romantic partners? No! I’m going to get up on my soapbox now, but their relationship is the primary reason why I don’t see the point in large age gaps in romantic relationships in real life. Their issues were incredibly realistic if you view it from that perspective. At the end of the day, Ta Mi is older and she’s more set in her ways and it’s obvious that she’s not changing her mind about marriage/children. Park Morgan is young, and it makes sense why he wants something different from his long-term partner. Neither one of them are wrong, but they are wrong for EACH OTHER. They do not want the same things out of life; they are incompatible. Once I saw that, I was not interested in their happy ending. I was not invested anymore. Prior to that, I didn’t like Ta Mi as an individual character and I thought Park Morgan was weird so I wasn’t attached to their dynamic anyway. Someone else said it in their review but it bears repeating – whenever one person in a relationship compromises (re: sacrifices) on their desire for something as major as wanting children or getting married, they will grow to resent their partner. The relationship will ultimately crash and burn because they are inherently wrong for each other. I started skipping through their scenes around episode 8, I think?

Scarlett and her romance with Ji Hwan were the shining stars of this series, if you’re looking for the romance. Her romance made her more enjoyable to watch. She became a LOT more likable when her individual storyline began steering her away from the push and pull B.S. between Ga Kyung & Ta Mi. The more the writers distanced her from that nonsense, the more palatable and tolerable she became. She became less annoying. Her romance was pretty adorable and almost like puppy love, in a way. It was refreshing to watch, honestly. But also, don’t be mistaken – Just because I enjoyed Scarlett a lot more than the other two doesn’t mean she was my favorite by a long shot. I still feel as if there was more they needed to do with her characterization and character development and we really didn’t get to see that. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be her. But again, that’s not saying much because the other female leads either weren’t likable (Ga Kyung) or interesting (Ta Mi) at all. If she were in a series with other leads that were actually endearing to the audience, she would fall short.

Sidenote: I also need to make sure I make this one point crystal clear - I thoroughly enjoy morally grey female characters when written well and when acted well. Ga Kyung wasn't charismatic enough to pull it off. Nothing about her performance made you feel sympathetic for her and her plight. The only way morally grey characters can exist on that very edge of a switchblade between being utterly irredeemable and still quite palatable is if they've been humanized via the writing AND the actor's performance. It has to be both; it can't be either/or because it won't work otherwise and it definitely didn't work here. I didn't care about Ga Kyung. I didn't care about any of the bad luck she continued to have. I just didn't care!

Strangely enough, I do have to give the writers credit for Ga Kyung’s relationship with her husband. There was something about him that I enjoyed when he came on-screen. I don’t know what it is, but I DO know that I believed him to be way too good for his wife. He was just as morally grey as she was and they clearly could have been a joint force to be reckoned with against his mother, but I guess the writers weren’t interested in going in that direction. But that’s also another reason I believe this series was written by someone with very little knowledge of feminism. There was no reason for Ga Kyung and her husband to get a divorce for her to achieve her dreams. She could have still chosen herself while being married. She could have stepped down from her role and tried to make it work with her husband while doing what she pleased. It’s not either/or, she could have had both! Any man that sees all the ugly parts of someone like her and still wants to be with her is clearly a man that is worth fighting for. He knew who he married and he still wanted to be around. Sunbae was a cutthroat, conniving, and deceitful woman for much of the series, and that did not chase her husband away.

This series also marked ANOTHER first of mine – fast forwarding through scenes just to get to the end. I’ve NEVER done that before and I did it with this series! I’m so disappointed in what this series could have been; I find that a LOT of these dramas fall under that umbrella of ‘amazing potential/premise, weak execution.’ I’m usually a Cdrama fan but I randomly decided to go back and try again with the Kdramas and it was .. interesting. Also, the guy that plays Ji Hwan played the SML in “Extraordinary You” and I hated his character’s GUTS in that role. So, it was nice to see him play the role of a nice guy for once and I found myself enjoying his scenes. He’s not a bad actor, so I can give him credit for that. I’m a sucker for those adorably sweet, green flag male characters and he gave me that, so that was pleasantly surprising. For his fans (which I know there’s a lot of you), you will have to wait until episode 7 before he’s prominently featured in the series though so be prepared for that.

In conclusion, this series has no rewatch value whatsoever. This series dragged and it definitely didn’t have enough material for 16 episodes. You will walk away from this series feeling underwhelmed because it falls on the overrated side of things when it comes to fan reception. At least when it comes to the ratings on this website, which are always pretty skewed as we all know. I only started this series because I’ve been on the hunt to find more noona romances and I’d come across this one quite a bit during my research so I decided to give it a shot and here we are. Would I recommend it? No. Will I rewatch it? Also, no.

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Broke My Slump!

As my headline states, this drama actually broke my months long drama slump and I am ecstatic about that! I kid you not - this is the first drama I've been able to sit and watch through to the very end in months. Hallelujah!

So, anyway, I have not watched Girl from Nowhere, although I've seen enough mentions of it in other reviews and in the comment section to know they share some similarities. Because of that, I was able to enjoy this without comparing it to that drama. I do plan on watching that one next but my enjoyment of this drama wasn't colored by my feelings in any way.

I really enjoyed this drama. I can't stress enough how electrifying and dazzling the female lead is in this drama. She is incredibly compelling and entertaining to watch. I had fun watching her on my screen. The male lead was fine. I have no qualms about his performance; he did well with the material he was given but I was watching this drama for her, not him. Generally, I'm a heavy romance fan so I mostly watch romance dramas because I can't watch anything else because I lose interest quickly. However, I didn't have that problem with this drama. There's slight, very slight, romance but it's definitely not a drama centered around the romance by any means. Don't go into this one expecting that because you're not going to get it.

So, Kiritani Sara is my type of female character. I'm a SUCKER for manipulative, deceptive, calculating, intelligent female characters who are always four steps ahead of everyone else. She ran circles around everyone in this drama without breaking a sweat and I love that. In the end, she got the last laugh. Literally. Even in death (yes, she dies!), she's still fully in control of the narrative that suits her sensibilities. She got her revenge because the male lead will go to prison for the rest of his life. She destroyed his family like she accused his father of doing hers.

The one pet peeve I did have is the gaping plot inconsistency of a 6 year old being cognizant enough to resort to murder. She's not old enough to understand death nor should she be old enough to know which poison is fatal enough to mass murder 20 people at once. She may feel jealousy but not anything else. That's the one thing that made no sense to me.

All in all, I highly recommend this one. It's short and sweet. The plot doesn't drag and you don't have to watch a drama that should have ended 10 episodes ago that refuses to die. Give it a shot!

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I Feel So Many Things

I know I'm technically about 5 years too late to watching this, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that I finished, yeah? Now, this review will not be like some of the other reviews in this section. I LOVED this show, so I won't be agreeing with the rest of the peanut gallery in regards to this show. Like always, I did NOT feel the same way the majority of the K-Drama fandom felt about this show. Not at all, and I'm perfectly fine with that.

I do want to start off by acknowledging the elephant in the room here - usually I only find myself salivating and obsessing over the female leads in this story. However, Ha Ru (Rowoon) is absolutely positively divine. The show did such a great job at creating the buildup to revealing and introducing his character to the audience. The first time I saw him, my mouth dropped. I was absolutely shooketh. I was stunned by how absolutely beautiful this man is. I've never been blown away by any of the male leads in most K-Dramas and that's something I've had to deal with for quite some time and I was fine with it. The entire time I watched this - that was the only thing going through my mind. I was awestruck by his beauty. Don't get me wrong. The actress that plays Dan Oh is adorable too. They were both a very good-looking couple. However, I'm now in love with Rowoon so there's that. Now, onto the review.

While I will agree with some fans about the story not making sense, I don't care enough to stress about it. I'm one of those annoying fans who doesn't give a fuck about a shoddy plot, just as long as the characters are likable and I get my romance. Yes, I'm THAT fan. The plot could fall apart in 5 episodes and be held together by a single piece of thread for the remainder of the show and it won't matter if those characters are hitting all of the right beats and tugging on my heartstrings in the way that I enjoy. I do believe this story lasted far longer than it should, but that's always been a pet peeve of mine regarding most of these dramas. Most dramas don't need more than a certain number of episodes to tell the story. In that way, I do feel as if the writers dragged certain things out that they definitely shouldn't have, but what can you do? The pacing is the issue in that regard. Also, having two love triangles in the same show means that I am entitled to some sort of financial compensation for emotional damages. Down with love triangles! It's not 2008 anymore.

Now, The Writer. The hand wavy God-like figure writing the comic within the show. I did have an issue with this part because I honestly thought that Ha Ru was The Writer before they revealed that he wasn't. I feel that may have been far more interesting. Ha Ru is The Writer who somehow ended up in his own book. Ha Ru, The Writer, jumps through that weird black hole to get in and get out of that make-believe, fictional world. That's what I initially theorized but that's not what happened. I don't like the fact that we never found out who The Writer was either. I did like the subtle meta digs the characters would take at The Writer though. I found that kind of funny. I never saw Boys Over Flowers (?), so I don't understand that reference. Sorry!

Let's tackle my favorite aspect of this show now, shall we? The lead couple sunk their claws into me and they never let go. These two have my heart and will always have my heart honestly, because they were just that perfect. They had the right balance of angst and happiness. I did not care for the long, drawn-out love triangle though. I'm past the age where love triangles interest me so I would have preferred that Dan Oh and Ha Ru's relationship woes were purely about fighting their predestined fate instead of fighting with Baek Kyung (just wait for it because I have a LOT to say about him). I know some people had an issue with Ha Ru seemingly only existing for Dan Oh, and I don't see the issue. Most men need to learn how to stand there, shut up, and look pretty sometimes. It's a necessity, if you ask me. Plus, that's a favorite trope of mine - man only existing to serve, worship, and protect his female love interest. Again, what is the issue here? People kept saying that Dan Oh's journey was minimized to simply loving Ha Ru, but it makes sense. For all intents and purposes, Dan Oh is a teenage girl. What did people really think her priorities would lie? Have you ever actually talked to a teenager in high school? Their priorities are mostly about what they're feeling right now in that very moment. The attention span is short.

With all of that being said, let me drag Baek Kyung for a minute. I did NOT like him at all. By the end of the show, I still didn't care for him. I didn't pity him either. The only feeling I had by the end of the show was wondering whether he fixed what he screwed up because he thought it was the right thing or if he did it because his guilty conscience started to eat him up inside? That's where my mind went, because I didn't buy his so-called redemption arc. The writers (all the Baek Kyung lovers should blame them for sure) spent too much time on him being the antagonist and not enough time actually developing a believable redemption for me to buy it. I didn't buy it. Yes, he fixed it but it was AFTER he fucked it up. What he did was the bare minimum. He killed the girl he claimed to have true feelings for and suddenly realized that forcing someone to be with you when they don't want to be and removing their agency and free will is wrong. Finally! He realized this in the fourth fucking quarter! You realized this in the penultimate episode? Wow. We can blame The Writer for making him a jackass on the stage. But what's his excuse for him being an asshole in the shadow? What was the reason? He treated Dan Oh like crap the entire time, both on stage and in the shadow. But you expect me to believe he truly had feelings for her? He only started to feel something for her once he realized that she started to have a mind of her own. For the longest time, he kept trying to convince her (and Ha Ru) that her on-stage self was the real her when it wasn't. Baek Kyung never liked the real Dan Oh. He liked the girl who constantly chased him after he spit in her face (metaphorically speaking) and humiliated her in front of their peers every single day.

I didn't like the Dried Squid Fairy; I couldn't stand him. The boot licker in him agitated me. Why are you so adamant about following the rules and allowing things to happen to you without attempting to change them? It was clear The Writer lacked creativity, so who cares if you change things here and there? The Writer didn't have enough creativity and imagination to walk outside of their own front yard. Who cares? Burn it all down! Buck the system and stand up for something for once in your miserable life.

Now, I LOVED Lee Do Hwa! After the main two characters, he was my favorite. I enjoyed his character so much. I hate that he didn't get his happy ending but I knew it wouldn't be possible. Yoo Ja and Nam Joo were ... something. Yoo Ja became an interesting person to watch and I liked her. Nam Joo was there, I guess?

Okay, are you still here? Good! You get a cookie. Would I recommend it? Yes! Don't listen to the naysayers. If you want to watch it, watch it. Decide how you feel for yourself. I would definitely rewatch certain episodes again; I wouldn't rewatch the whole thing because there's just too many episodes but definitely some of my favorite episodes now and then.

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What In the World Happened Here?

This drama has a rather interesting and compelling concept and that's what initially drew me in. It was different and subversive, and I have to applaud the writers for writing a drama where virtual characters are real people trapped by some evil mad scientist. However, that's where my praise starts and stops. I wanted to love this drama SO bad; I really really did! It was interesting and entertaining and I didn't have any issues being swept away by the story, but a major issue began to present itself early on.

My first issue with this drama - why is the lead couple so unlikable? Not just as a couple but as individual characters, as well. I'm not a girl who typically falls prey to the supposed second male lead syndrome, which I don't even think applies in this situation? Mainly because the SML is not really pitted against the ML; he has his own thing and his own lady love. Anyway, I digress. The female lead of this show was annoying; her personality was too much. She was too juvenile in my opinion and not very bright either, if we're being honest. She was slow on the uptake and she immediately exhausted me. The male lead was an outright asshole. I do not like asshole male leads. That's my biggest pet peeve and it's the easiest way to get me to tune out because the world (and CDramaLand) has enough assholes with a heart of gold masquerading as male leads. We don't need more. Give me something different than an awful male lead who is angry at the world and physically/mentally/emotionally takes it out on his supposed love interest. That may be a thing for some fans, but it's not a thing for me. The fact that the female lead allowed the male lead to push her around for a huge chunk of the beginning of this show was enough to leave a nasty taste in my mouth. Like, why? Why must we deal with this nonsense? It's a modern drama; the least they could have done was given her a damn backbone. Alas, they did not.

Now, it seems like all of the makings of a perfect couple were given to the second lead couple. They were absolutely magic! I don't know why or how but those two were far more interesting as individuals and as a couple than the primary leads. It was simply more interesting to watch them than to watch the primary lead couple. So much so that I started skipping all of the primary lead couple's scenes just to get to the second lead couple. Once we had gotten to that point, I realized that it was time to wash my hands of this drama. I tried my hardest to finish this drama, but I couldn't do it. If I have to FFW through the primary lead just to get to a scene where things are interesting and palatable, then it's time for me to take the L and move on with my life. Sidenote: even though the second lead couple were a lot more interesting, things started to get rather stale between them once they became an official couple. I don't know what that was about; they lost their initial spark as a couple. I'm uncertain if that was due to writing/directing choices but becoming a couple was probably the worst thing to happen to them. The star-crossed lovers and Romeo & Juliet thing worked for them.

Also, this drama had entirely too many episodes. This is absolutely a drama that could have been wrapped up in 24-26 episodes. This drama dragged on for longer than it needed to, and that was another huge reason as to why I checked out. After they were defeated by the evil mad scientist, the tone of the drama dropped drastically. It became less interesting and a LOT more depressing; I typically check spoilers to get more info on the length of this weird depressing arc all CDramas seem to have but I couldn't gather up the energy to do so. I was just ready to be done with it.

ANOTHER THING: Fan Shuai Qi was the MVP of this drama. I just found out how young she was but she embodied an older character really well. I couldn't even tell that she was only in her early 20s. She BODIED this role! That's an actress that I'll be on the look out for because she was amazing. I'm going to say something controversial here: she was a better actor than her counterpart. I know everyone loves him, but his acting skills still need some work and I don't doubt that he can get better. It's been a few years since this show aired and I've only seen him in one other thing since this drama aired, but she ran circles around him in terms of acting. She's a MUCH stronger actor than him.

Would I rewatch this show? No. Would I recommend this show? Also, no. Don't waste your time. It's going to start off fun and exciting, but it's not going to stay that way. The excitement will quickly dwindle when you realize the momentum of the primary arc of this show hit and then dipped off. You're going to look up and realize that you still have 12 episodes to watch and nothing is entertaining enough to make you keep watching. If you're bored, watch it. If you're not, I suggest that you pass on this one.

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It Was Okay .. I Guess?

I dropped this show midway through episode 5. Now, this review comes from someone who NEVER watched the webtoon and doesn't have any sort of prior biases or personal feelings regarding the original source material. This review comes from someone who's mostly objective, or rather someone who started watching this show with no prior knowledge of anything concerning this show.

This show had an interesting idea, but the execution was crappy. Yes, I know it's based off a webtoon of sorts. I've seen enough mentions of that in the review section to be well-aware of that by now. This show is the quintessential K-Drama, which isn't a good thing. So much of this show doesn't work from an objective standpoint. Let's talk about my primary issue with this series - why on Earth is the male lead unable to recognize the female lead in a face full of make-up? He even said it himself, make-up doesn't completely change the way most girls look, right? So, how in the WORLD was he unable to put 2 and 2 together when it came to her? She looks EXACTLY the same. The only thing that MIGHT throw people off is the fact she hid behind those large glasses. Other than that, absolutely not. Not only that, but he met her and spent quite a bit of time with her with her glasses off. Her glasses broke when he stopped her from doing that very permanent thing. She can barely see without her glasses, but he could see just fine.

It just made no sense! It doesn't MAKE SENSE! The make-up didn't make her look like a completely different person. At least not enough for her to be considered completely recognizable by everyone who claimed to know her before her big transformation. Also, the male lead is a douche. He was just downright unlikable and insufferable before he started catching feelings for the female lead. Before that, he was awful and I found myself rolling my eyes every time he showed up on-screen because who wants to deal with the guy with the bad attitude? Yes, you're attractive but that doesn't excuse your horrible attitude. Grow up, sir! As for the female lead, the actress was fine. She did well enough as the awkward, naive, girl next door type. However, that shtick got old really fast. She was so clueless about everything and it bothered me. Her relationship with the male lead was fine, I guess. I did see the chemistry but the show wasn't compelling enough to make me want to continue.

Anyway, I read some spoilers that put the final nail in the coffin for me. You may know where I'm going with this and I'll give you ONE hint - I was IN LOVE and enamored with Soo Jin. Imagine my surprise when I read spoilers that she actually does like the male lead. When I watched the little interactions they had with each other, I would often talk about how I actually liked their relationship dynamic. Mostly because I got brother-sister/cousin vibes from them. I didn't know it was because Soo Jin actually liked him. I find that to be weird as hell because their chemistry didn't give that. I don't know if it was an acting or directing choice, but their chemistry did NOT give me "gorgeous and tough woman pining after clueless but stoic man" vibes. It gave me annoying kid sister loves to bother her older brother but he tolerates it because he loves her.

But anyway, not only does she like him but she does the unthinkable. Her character is COMPLETELY ruined due to her feelings for the male lead when she discovered that the female lead is dating him now. They had her being this badass character willing to stand up for her friends and putting the absolute fear of GOD into random men. All of that went down the toilet for a guy who's not even really nice to her? I don't understand. She stabbed her friend in the back for a man! I cannot. I don't even want to think about it. As for the other guy in the love triangle, I didn't watch the webtoon so don't stab me, friends. I didn't care enough about him to talk about him. He left little to no impression on me at all. Which may be due to the fact that apparently some of the female lead's scenes with the male lead actually belonged to that guy in the webtoon? Welp! That's too bad because it made him a non-factor in this show for me.

All in all, this isn't a show that I wish to continue with. I've seen everything I needed to see, and that was enough. If you like most K-Dramas, then you may like this one. If you read the webtoon and loved it, you may not like this show. Most of the webtoon fans complained about how much they changed from the webtoon to the series and they weren't good changes, apparently.

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I Blame Tiktok!

Technically, I dropped this one midway through episode 12. However, MDL doesn't give you the option for that kind of thing. It doesn't matter too much in the grand scheme of things but I did want to preface this review with that minor correction.

First things first, time travel is one of my favorite tropes of all time. Hands down, bar none. If there's a drama where time travel is the central focus, or at least the beginning of the story, then count me in. However, the time travel wasn't enough to draw me in and keep me there, you know? The FL in this drama gave me Bai Lu vibes - essentially, I couldn't quite tell if she was romantically interested in the ML/her male counterpart or not. With Bai Lu, I can never tell if her characters even LIKE their male counterparts/love interests. It's the strangest phenomenon and ultimately the primary reason why I stopped watching her dramas but I digress.

So, this FL gave me those same types of vibes and I don't like that. Sure, the romance won't always be the central focus of these types of dramas but I expected a LOT more than I got. From social media and various edits scattered across different platforms of this couple, I expected to be knocked OUT by their romance and the fiery chemistry. Alas, that didn't happen. Where was all this fiery passion and magnetic chemistry I was promised? Because it wasn't here and I actually want my money back. I was bamboozled! I want a refund. The first episode will lead you to believe there will be MORE between these characters and it just never happens. It's definitely in the overrated and overhyped pile.

Granted, I understand that they won't automatically fall for each other because of the very valid mistrust between them. It's normal and par for the course. However, the ML started getting softer and softer (in my opinion) as the drama progressed while the FL simply didn't. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a drama where He falls first and falls harder BUT I still need to see some reciprocity from the FL. The ML can't be the only one doing all the heavy lifting with the romance and I have a very kneejerk reaction when it does happen. Then again, I try my best to stay far, far, far away from dramas if I get a whiff of that being a thing because that's not my personal taste. To each their own, of course.

The acting from the leads was fine. It wasn't horrible but I will say that I found myself way more intrigued by the ML than the FL, which is another thing that I'm not too fond of. If I'm watching a drama and the ML is drawing my eye meanwhile we're spending most of our time with the FL, there's an issue there. A big one. My mind shouldn't be drifting towards the ML when we're with the FL and I find that happening a LOT. The guy who played Song Mo is pretty decent; I definitely see great things for his future. The woman who played the FL is fine but I do wonder what she would do with a character who is meant to be more open and playful and less guarded and stone-faced. If I'm not mistaken, she also played one of the side characters in The Untamed (which I dropped) but I don't remember there being a big difference between that character and this one. The characters seemed to be quite similar to me.

I really wanted to swoon over the illustrious Song Mo as that's what all the girls were screaming about, but the drama didn't give me any real reason to do so and that's the biggest misstep of them all. So much wasted potential!

Would I recommend it? Honestly, no. Unless you're in the mood for a drama with very little romance and heavy on literally everything else, then sure. I'm here for the romance and I'm not sitting through a drama where the romance is an afterthought. Would I rewatch it? Also no. I couldn't get through it the first time and I doubt I'll get through it a second or third. In fact, this drama actually made me go back to rewatch Si Jin.

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Less is Always More

This drama is actually semi-decent but the runtime is absolutely atrocious. To each their own and this next part is purely based on personal preference of the viewer, but this is where I stand on the topic. I RARELY watch dramas that exceed a 40-episode count. I know some people prefer the longer runtime but I am NOT one of those individuals. Yes, I know things have changed a lot since this drama aired in terms of how many episodes each drama is allowed to have. But going forward, you should think long and hard about whether you would like to jump into a drama with this many episodes if you're a new C Drama watcher who is watching all the highly recommended dramas of yesteryear. Just REALLY think about it! I know some people claim that you won't even notice the runtime if you're truly enjoying a drama but that's simply not true. You will notice it and it's going to really emphasize just how draggy and drawn out certain arcs/plots are in said drama.

While I enjoyed this drama, I skipped a huge chunk of it. The episodes I did watch were fairly enjoyable, I must say. I forced myself to watch the first 8 episodes of this series before I started skipping around. That was more than enough to give me a decent foundation and feel for the story they were trying to tell. Like most xianxias, this drama was split into 3 arcs. The first arc was fairly entertaining, despite the fact that it was still too much. I skipped most, if not all, of the second arc. I'm notorious for hating the 'immortal is sent to the mortal realm to pass their tribulations' arc. I hate it with a passion because it always lasts far longer than it should and the characterization of those characters will render you impatient. The helpless, naive, almost wounded baby bird-like vibe of these characters during this arc is why I'm not a fan of it. Yes, Ling Xi seemed that way in the first arc but it was x100 during the second arc. At least Ling Xi had more spunk and was ultimately endearing. Lin Mo (her human self) was simply painful to watch.

Anyway, I liked the leads well enough. Ni Ni is absolutely PHENOMENAL when it comes to her acting choices. She is a treat to watch and she definitely tugs on your heartstrings. I had written an entirely different thing about the ML and I immediately pressed backspace because I felt it was best if I was honest. The ML did okay too; he's not a horrible actor but I felt he should have brought more complexity to this character with his acting choices. He was very much so stone-faced for the majority of the drama. I get it, he's the God of War and that's apart of his entire shtick. Stiff upper lip, stone faced, unaffected, unbothered. I know some viewers enjoy that but I like my male leads to be a little more emotive than that. Not too emotive but more emotive than this. Their chemistry was okay but it definitely seemed more like a mature love rather than a passionate one, which is bizarre to think about due to the very obvious age gap between the two characters. It's not a huge issue but I can see why it would be a dealbreaker for some fans.

The secondary characters were fun too, but the runtime made it impossible to enjoy them because the drama was so DRAGGED out. There were a few secondary couples in this drama, and they were actually not bad. But again, too many different plots that could have been wrapped up in less time than we got. Anyway, I have only fallen victim to the Second Male Lead Syndrome ONCE in my journey. It doesn't happen often and it still hasn't happened. What, did you think I was gonna say I had fallen victim to it this time? Noooo! The SML was fairly complex and nuanced but I didn't care for him. I felt no empathy for him or sadness. It's weird to think about, but I felt like I should have felt pity for him but it never happened. His scheming and plotting and pretending to be loyal to Ling Xi's mother for as long as he did kind of soured me on him. I felt like he deserved everything that happened to him. Sorry not sorry!

All in all, it was a decent watch. It was funny and I enjoyed the characters. Would I rewatch it? Absolutely not! Would I recommend it? Unfortunately, no. This monster of a drama is far too drawn out for anyone to truly enjoy it and not feel compelled to skip around. It's too long! You're going to give up before you hit episode 60, I assure you! Or you're going to force yourself to finish but it's going to be a hard fought victory. Also, watching this marked the end of my foray into xianxias. I'd told myself this would be the last xianxia I willingly watched because I genuinely don't like them. This drama isn't the sole reason for that, but it definitely solidified a feeling that was already brewing inside of me for quite some time now. Thank you, Love and Destiny!

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What A Waste of Time.

Umm ... wow! That's really all I can say to start this review off because there's just so much to talk about. To start things off, I will say there's no logical explanation for why this show had a college setting. Absolutely none. Granted, I prefer college-aged characters because it's more interesting in my opinion. However, the things these characters talked about and the things they did felt more juvenile. It didn't fit with the vibe of college students. Sure, college students are young and wild but they're not this juvenile. Maybe it's a cultural thing but most college students don't care that much about their looks. Here, in the States, most college students don't care enough about their appearance to constantly talk about who and what is good-looking 24/7. There are far more pressing matters to worry about rather than nitpicking someone's looks. These characters spent an unnecessarily unusual time discussing people's appearance, which I understand. That's the whole point of the show, right? Yeah, but that gets old.

I want to talk about the thing that truly made me drop this show. Rapey McRaperson. I don't know the character's name but I know he's the Little Guy. Now, Little Guy (or Mr. McRaperson) had way more screen time than he deserved. I don't understand why he was allowed to be apart of the primary friend group of the main characters. In the very first episode, we watched this man attempt to sexually assault and coerce the main female lead by trying to trap her in a room alone with him before the male lead saved the day. Not just that, but he continued being an absolute creeper. He never stopped being a creeper. I didn't make it past the second episode, so I don't know if he ever got better or if he finally received his comeuppance but I would rather not deal with him. Now, I know you're wondering - why would you drop this show for a side character that's awful but is still very much a side character? The unfortunate part about this is that Little Guy isn't the only character in this show that gave me strange, sexual assault-y, rape-y -like vibes. Even some of the women in this show were giving me these strange vibes that told me they clearly don't understand the word "no." There was this one woman who hit on the male lead a few times, even though he'd already told her that he wasn't interested. He was very direct about it, and yet .. she didn't get the memo. What the fuck is that about?

Now, Soo Ah is interesting but I've never been the type of person to stay and watch a show for the antagonist/villain. It just doesn't make any sense to me to do so. While she is interesting, she is awful and I honestly didn't like her. I had second thoughts about possibly sticking around to watch her manipulate these awful guys in the show, but she intentionally lied to Rapey McRaperson, which caused him to lash out at the female lead and I bounced! That was it for me. I didn't want to have to deal with situations like that happening over and over again for the remainder of this show because I get the feeling that would be a running theme. I already saw the forest for the trees.

It's finally time to talk about our lovely main couple, yeah? The female lead in this show was awful. Just completely and utterly awful. She's not awful in the sense that her character does awful and irredeemable things. She's awful in the sense that she's absolutely dull. There's nothing compelling or interesting about her. She has no personality. She doesn't have anything that makes her more dynamic than the other characters and that's troubling because she's the fucking lead. Sure, she got plastic surgery to deal with her self-esteem woes but it clearly didn't help because she's still the same pathetic person she was before. One of my biggest pet peeves is watching a show with a promising story go down the drain because they write a weak, pitiful female lead. I don't even care enough to write her name here because I don't even remember it honestly. Her love interest is .. alright? He was more interesting than her, but that's not saying much because it's pretty easy to be more compelling than she was. I don't have much to say about the actor because I watched True Beauty and he played the exact same character in that show too, so ...

Which brings me to my final point - if you want to watch a show that has a similar concept to this, just watch True Beauty. It's essentially the same plot and it even has some of the same actors in it. I kid you not, The male lead in this show is the male lead in that one, plus a couple of the other actors. (ETA: Also, the male lead in BOTH shows is the only person who knew and saw the female lead before she undergoes her great "transformation," which speaks volumes about the lack of creativity and originality within this market of drama.) The only difference is that the female lead/actress in True Beauty is actually a lot more animated and interesting. You would enjoy watching her on-screen a lot more. Now, don't get me wrong. I hated True Beauty and I dropped that one too, but I hate TB a LOT less than I hate this show. Not only is it slow and there's copious amounts of sexual harassment, but the female lead isn't enough to make you stick around. Which defeats the purpose of watching the show because no one goes out of their way to watch a show for the supporting characters, and I'm definitely not one to continue on with a show knowing that I have to skip through the entire main plot just to get to the interesting parts that don't include the primary cast.

Would I recommend this show? No. Did I enjoy it? Also, no. Don't waste your time. Pass on this one and find something better.

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It Was A Tough Decision.

*deep sigh* Let me first start off by saying that I had incredibly high hopes for this drama. I started it once before and I put it on pause before I finally decided to sit down and actually finish watching this one. This was a difficult decision for me to make, and I don't doubt that this review is going to be another one of my NOTORIOUSLY long reviews. If you're not a fan of those, I suggest you scroll/click away right now because I have a LOT to say and I'm going to say it! As for everyone else, buckle up!

As much as I found myself enjoying this drama, I also found myself unwilling to move forward once I got to the amnesia plot. Typically, I'm not a huge fan of amnesia storylines. However, I thought I could push through with this arc because I was enjoying the drama otherwise. Alas, I was wrong. There's just something about the main character not remembering anything while we, the audience, are privy to every single thing that's happened up until that point that rubs me the wrong way. It feels icky to me, and I don't like it. In fact, it actually fills me with anxiety and I hate feeling that way when it's unintentional. But I digress. I don't like that they dumbed the FL down during this time period though. As a character, she was fine enough but she lacked that intelligence that she had before she lost her memory and that wasn't very enjoyable for me. That was the first pet peeve (or "ick") that hit me like a ton of bricks.

The second pet peeve (or "ick") is a ME problem and I'm completely fine with admitting and accepting that - I don't like the main couple. *runs away* Yes, I know it's sacrilegious to say that because I can see that most fans loved these two, but I'm unfortunately not one of them. I was fine with the FL's relationship with her teacher because I saw their dynamic as most people would see it as a teacher/student, master/disciple/, mentor/mentee relationship. I loved their dynamic, although I never viewed it as romantic. But when his .. reincarnated self (?) was introduced and started sniffing around the FL, I was completely taken out of the story. No offense to the actor, but I felt like he was too old for the FL. I feel like this relationship would have worked FOR ME if they either aged the FL up or aged the ML down. Strangely enough, I don't mind age gaps/age differences in my ships but I definitely minded it in this case and I'm unsure as to why it bothered me so much. I can't put my finger on it. After I've slept on it some more, I'm sure I'll figure it out but that's not going to be any time soon. I couldn't view this ship as a romantic ship with two people who were romantically and sexually attracted to each other because the ML was so much older than her. In my favorite ships, I have to feel some sort of romantic/sexual tension in order to enjoy it. I felt like these two would have been more of the elderly couple, asexual, sexless type had I continued watching it due to the ML's age, which sounds horrible but it's the way I felt. Yes, I'm well aware of the censorship embedded into all C-Dramas, but I'm mainly talking about the fact that there should be the promise of something more, something sexy and seductive, between two characters in order for me to enjoy and root for their love. That promise didn't exist in this plane for this ship. It's like we know we're not going to get anything that raunchy, but I still need to pick up on the tease of something hotter underneath the surface and I didn't get it with these two.

Finally, this is the first time in my entire FANGIRL life that I've said this and I'm shocked by it. I found myself rooting for the FL to get with the SML. I've NEVER been a fangirl who has fallen prey to the second male lead syndrome. Never. This is the first time it's happened to me, and I'm still uncertain on how I feel about that. I LOVED the SML until he screwed up. He was beautiful, he was protective, he went against his abusive father to save her, and he was honest and upfront about his feelings for the FL. But then, That Awful Thing happened and all of my excitement left me. I found myself stuck in a conundrum of sorts because I didn't know how I was going to move forward with this show. I hated the amnesia arc, I was bored by the main couple, and the SML was saddled with That Woman Who Refused to Die/Go Away! So, all of that made for a very interesting recipe for disaster because I wanted to keep going but I knew I had to drop it. That was the last straw for me. I had nothing else keeping me tethered to this show, so here we are.

One last thing before I go: I didn't care for the side couples/characters either. They weren't even enough to keep me interested in this show. I skipped/fast forwarded through all of their scenes. Unfortunately, the side couple's interactions in this drama made me completely remove their spin-off sequel from my watchlist altogether. I know that there's a possibility that I could have enjoyed that drama more than this one, but this one left such a strange and unpleasant taste in my mouth that I wanted to completely cut ties with this verse.

Do I think I'll pick this show back up in the future? Doubtful. Would I recommend it? Yes? It's not that bad honestly, but there's no way I would have been able to enjoy this show had I kept watching it. It's not bad and some people may enjoy it, but I'm not one of them.

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It's Not My Thing & That's Okay!

This is the first Thai GL series I've watched in AGES, which is why I'm disappointed that things turned out the way they did with this one. The premise is great but the execution falls flat. The first episode was incredible; it was exciting, it was entertaining, it made you want to come back for more and then the second episode happened. There was something that happened midway through that episode that gave me the biggest ick I've ever gotten while watching a series. It was sudden and unexpected but it happened.

There was a scene in the second episode where May "lost" Ai-oon and she was grasping at the physical space in front of her in an attempt to find her and there was this look on the actress's face that completely took me out of the scene. Her facial expressions, her body language, her vocal performance. It broke the immersion! I didn't feel like I was watching a drama anymore; it felt like I was watching an actress act out a role and that's never good. An actor's performance is supposed to make you forget that you're watching a drama. It should be that seamless, that effortless. They're supposed to disappear into their role and that's not what happened here. It quite literally gave me actress playing an emotion that doesn't quite fit. It was too over top and there was a LOT of overacting.

The actress playing Ai-oon, Namtan, was fine. I had no issues with her performance whatsoever. I felt like she captured the inner conflict of a woman struggling to find out what happened to her sister while falling for someone she shouldn't. There was a subtly to her performance that worked for her character. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for her counterpart, Film. This is the first series I've watched of both of them so this is my first exposure to both of them as actresses. Film's character, May, was already operating with a huge disadvantage. She was the epitome of a Mary Sue character. She was well-loved, successful, sympathetic, adored, and she had a tragic backstory to boot. May was very one-dimensional and flat as a character and I'm unsure if there was ever any dimension added because I didn't stick around to finish to see.

But anyway, her character was already at a disadvantage due to all those things and her performance didn't elevate that character in any way, shape, or form. Granted, everyone knows that you don't watch Thai GL (or BL) dramas for stellar acting performances. You watch for the queer love and pretty faces! However, I expected more and felt the audience deserved better from this story and we just didn't get that.

Sidenote: this story was also quite predictable. I immediately called May knowing that Ai-oon was pretending to be her sister but I don't know why. I don't know why she continued the charade knowing what she knew and that was the only reason I wanted to keep watching. I needed answers but my patience had run out and I couldn't be bothered anymore.

Honestly, I think this drama was the final nail in the coffin for me. I've struggled with watching most Thai GL dramas, which is why I don't watch as many of them as I could. I always end up dropping them for some reason or another, and this drama is no different. I just think this genre isn't for me, which sucks but I appreciate all sapphic love story attempts but life's too short to watch bad TV if I don't have to. What's even more unfortunate is that I think I probably would have been more receptive to all Thai GL dramas if they were as mass produced back when I initially started watching Thai BL dramas years ago. I think it's just a matter of being more exposed to different markets of Asian dramas so I'm simply more picky now.

Would I recommend this? Maybe? It depends on where you are in your Thai GL drama journey. If you're new to Thai GLs, then you may like it. If you're not new to any of these markets, then probably not. Would I rewatch this? No. Would I go back and finish this? Also, no.

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2nd Chances Aren't Guaranteed

I did not finish this drama and I want to be completely upfront about that fact before I dive into this review. I want there to be full disclosure on my end, so people can either choose to read this review or not. Either way, I'm writing it and posting it.

Typically, I tend to give dramas a few more episodes before I outright drop them. At least, I TRY to give dramas a lot more chances before I simply throw them away. However, there are certain things that cannot be overlooked and there were a few things in this drama that I feel contributed to my early departure. Plus, life is too short to waste your time on dramas that don't resonate with you. Anyway, the casting is this drama's downfall. Plain and simple.

The female lead was okay; I didn't find myself attached to her in any way but she didn't necessarily bother me. Which probably should have been another red flag now that I'm thinking about it, but my indifference towards her was fairly minute compared to my issue with the male lead. The male lead was a miscast. From the first episode, I immediately felt that way. Now, before the fangirls come out with their pitchforks, a miscast does NOT speak to an actor's acting skill or ability. It simply speaks to whether they're the right fit for a specific role or not, and the male lead in this drama was NOT the right fit for this character.

I didn't believe the actor; I didn't believe his performance. I think the CDrama market has gotten too preoccupied with casting young, pretty-faced idols that they forget that these individuals still have to fit the role. Sure, this has been an issue for the last few years or so but it feels as if it's ramped up a lot lately. Most of the time, these pretty boy actors don't fit the role. This actor, specifically, is too pretty, too polished. He's not gritty enough; there are no rough edges. He doesn't sell the idea of aloof, rude, brusque, selfish male lead. He doesn't. And yes, I've seen this actor in Lighter & Princess. I dropped that one too but his acting wasn't why I dropped that one; the story is why I dropped that one but I digress. This drama had the potential to be something decent but the miscast overshadowed what could have potentially been a compelling story.

You want me to believe this young, pretty boy with the sweetest face is able to strike fear in the hearts of everyone in the land? Yeah, right. The reason why it's such a big deal is because it raises the stakes and it creates tension in the story. If the scary male lead is actually scary, then it's easy to fear his wrath. It's easier to be worried because you don't know what he's going to do next. With this lead, there was never any fear because he looked too soft. The stakes weren't high enough, which ultimately lead to a lot of scenes falling flat and being utterly empty. While his acting wasn't terrible, there wasn't any nuance or complexity to his acting either. His performance didn't give anything different; it was the same one note throughout every episode.

I don't know; maybe I've outgrown CDramas because it's become increasingly more difficult to find decent dramas lately.

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