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Revenge is a Dish Best Served by Two Attractive, Intelligent People

It's blissful to view a drama with two intelligent, loving leads. It took them awhile to get to that point, but that was understandable considering they seemed to be on opposing sides in the beginning. And they did have a rather violent introduction to one another. Their slow journey toward each another was rewarding to watch. Great chemistry between the leads.

During their romance, there was revenge and political court intrigue all about them, which gave many opportunities for individual stories of love and betrayal. Dou Ming's story arc gutted me; Miao An Su's surprised me; and Wang Ge's infuriated, then pleased me.

Fun fact: both leads had twin guards. ML had two males; the actors are twin brothers in real life. FL had two females; the actresses are twin sisters in real life.

Thanks to no 1 dou zhao defender for the recommendation! I truly enjoyed this.

An extra half star is awarded for bright characters, a refreshing change from the insipid FLs I've endured lately.

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The Confusion Starts with the Title—Why is There a Comma?

I watched this mini-drama (about 8 hours long) solely because of Fan Zhi Xin. He can play a charming scoundrel or a psychopath with disarming ease. There's a scene where he was heartbroken with tears in his eyes, but when he turned, his expression changed immediately to one of scorn. Great acting.

I was relieved the FL was a mature, intelligent, self-assured woman (I'm tired of 30-year-olds who act like teens). She had great chemistry with the ML.

As for the bad, there were loopholes the size of hippos. The viewers were told the rules of the time phone, but the rules were bent or ignored repeatedly. And, dang, if I have two minutes to call someone to warn them of impending death, I'm not going to natter away about inconsequentials. It's like the perpetual fatally stabbed character in dramas who knows the killer's identity but grandstands to the final moment, saying, "I know who the murderer is! You'll all be surprised. You need to be wary. Watch out! The killer is..." And then the stabbed guy gasps and dies, and no one knows anything. Yes, the phone calls were exactly like that.

As with many time-altering situations, this drama was confusing. More so, because it didn't adhere to the rules. I doubt there are many viewers who can explain clearly what happened when and to whom. Add the dislike of time travel sequences by the Chinese censors, and the drama had its work cut out for it to make everyone happy (which is, of course, an impossibility); so, the entire drama could be construed to have been a bad dream.

I came for Fan Zhi Xin and time travel. I got Fan Zhi Xin and a bewildering romance instead.

I'm awarding an extra half star for Fan Zhi Xin's acting and the surprisingly nice OST that accompanied this short drama.

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A Game That Teaches a Philosophy about Life

I've never played Go, but I was drawn into the competitive world of that game by the endearing characters of this drama. Shi Guang was a naughty, lazy child when the spirit of Chu Ying came into his life and introduced him to Go. Shi Guang naturally rebelled and rebuffed Chu Ying's attempts to teach him. Their interactions and growing relationship were rewarding to watch develop.

All of the relationships were realistic, as were the villains—which were run-of-the-mill bullies and trash talkers. The viewers watched the leads grow from young children to seniors in high school, and the character growth of each was gratifying to watch. With such a large cast, it would have been easy for some to be filler cardboard characters, but most were developed and distinctive.

I had put off viewing because it had 36 episodes. Sixteen hours is generally my sweet spot, but I would have happily watched at least 40 with this cast and story. The drama could have used more episodes to tie up loose ends: Hong He's love interest and his future; why the monk was so unhelpful; explanations surrounding Chu Ying; I would have liked to have been shown some championship wins of the two MLs together.

I highly recommend for those who like slice of life, rich relationships, and universal lessons about dreams, loss, and adaptation. I also recommend watching with a box of tissues at hand, because it's surprisingly touching.

I added an extra half star for the pure enjoyment factor.

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Great Cast

Lee Seung Gi and Cha Seung Won are always watchable for me. The rest of the cast did an admirable job, too.

I'd expected a police procedural, but there were relatively few cases; the emphasis was on the camaraderie of the detectives and their battle against corruption. Although violent crime and trauma were depicted, there was always comic relief, sweet friendship interactions, and slight romance to brighten the darkness.

One question the drama provoked was: how much evil is permissible if it serves a greater purpose in the end? Can a few innocent be sacrificed for the greater good of many? I stand firmly on the precept that tolerating evil begets evil: "The wicked become even worse when they are tolerated." - Leo Tolstoy

The drama introduced many characters and plotlines, but it didn't tie everything up at the end. I was left with questions, which I won't discuss to remain spoiler-free. For that, I'm subtracting a half star. I loved the chemistry between the detectives, especially the growing relationship between Dae Gu and Seo Pan Seok. That, alone, was worth adding an entire star.

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A Rebellion was Promised

The good: The actors were wonderful, and their characters were compelling. I find the journey of personal growth of characters intriguing, and this drama was rich with experiences for the leads; they grew from bright, naive young people to mature, resilient ones.

The annoying: Operational security was absolutely nonexistent. Wanted ML marched through the marketplace all in black with a mask and no one noticed him, even though he was heavily sought. He showed up everywhere something was going on, and nobody recognized him, even though his friends were continually yelling out his actual name. Princess' husband had a secret document fomenting treason he stuck up his sleeve. Foreshadowing disaster, his friend asked why he didn't burn them, and he said he wanted to show it to his wife. 2S2L! Here's a pro tip: if there is an inept blabbermouth in one's group, it would be wise not to tell them everything that should remain secret. If anyone competent had been after the ML and FL, they would have been captured/eliminated in short time, but it appeared that no one in power had the idea to watch their residences or follow them and their servants.

The bad: From the start, the viewer was told Su Yang was evilly ambitious, and, true to form, he murdered indiscriminately to take the throne. The entire point of the drama was the struggle to defeat Su Yang and remove him from that throne. Kim Seung Yoo's whole purpose in living was to seek revenge on those who killed his father, and that included Su Yang. The drama didn't deliver on that promise. Only one of the evil ministers paid with his life; Su Yang retained the throne. All the noble families whose innocent fathers were murdered remained as servants to the men who had killed them. The ML was left disabled and no longer able to fight against Su Yang. He was thought dead so had no identity. The FL was categorized as a servant. In reality, a runaway slave and a disabled, unidentifiable man would find it hard to survive in ancient China. I have to remind myself that Korean dramas are more about enduring rather than winning, but it's hard for my American sensibilities to accept that as a happy ending. I wanted Su Yang dethroned, Jong's baby made king, and Seung Yoo made regent until the child came of age. I wanted the evil ministers removed from office and all their innocent servants who had been nobility restored to their stations. I especially wanted that weaselly little minister who thought everyone needed to be killed to have a taste of his own medicine, but he got a happy ending as far as I know. The rebellion just fizzled out. So unsatisfying!

And yet, the acting was enjoyable, the characters were memorable, and I don't begrudge the time spent watching. No extra stars awarded, because I'm too annoyed by the ending.

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Visually Appealing Period Piece. With Monsters.

Park Seo Joon and Han So Hee, along with a cast of sterling supporting actors, elevated a monster story set in Japanese-occupied Korea.

The pawn shop was gorgeous, the town was visually appealing, and the hospital was appropriately stark and chilling. The drama had charm as a period piece. The underlying camaraderie of the oppressed people knit the community together and made the viewer want them to succeed.

There were issues with writing. It drives me mad to watch stupidity in action. Every time the heroes were in peril and were trying to escape, they'd stop in a hallway and have a meaningful conversation. Have a sense of urgency when you're being chased by evil people!

I have no idea why the bad guys had such a hard time keeping up with our heroes, because they always returned to the pawn shop. For 100 years, they always returned to the pawn shop. Why bother tailing them? After an especially harrowing escape, I thought (silly me!), they had best hightail to a hotel or remote cabin somewhere to elude the bad guys. No, back to the pawn shop, where everyone knew they holed up. They still couldn't find them half the time!

TL:DR: Season 1 had compelling stories: occupation, freedom fighters, separated families, blended families, and the struggle for survival. Also, too many long dialogues during tense moments.

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More Like Eternal Suffering!

Ninety-nine percent of the suffering could have been avoided by the tiniest bit of communication, but that's drama life for you. Forget about love triangles—Eternal Love featured love dodecahedrons!

Yet, for all the angst, the story was compelling, and the cast was captivating. The costumes and sets were beautiful. The CGI lacked only in the water scenes, where it was apparently fake (I can handle most fake mountain and orchard scenes, but fake moving water is so apparent). The OST enhanced the experience with poignant lyrics.

Kudos to Maggie Huang who played Su Jin, a character I loathed deeply. It was incredibly satisfying to get to the eye scene (you'll know what I mean when you watch). I had envisioned that scene and anticipated it for far too long! How gratifying when it actually happened.

Mark Chao was a new-to-me actor. He lacked the pretty boy image of many K- and C-drama leads; a masculine man was a nice change of pace. He was able to convey emotions well, even within his stoic character. As for pretty boys, they were in abundance: Gao Wei Guang with long white hair, Vin Zhang all dark and dangerous, and Yu Meng Long, Leon Lai, and Zhang He.

The series was long at 58 episodes, but it held my attention and soaked my hanky. "Tearjerker" should be added to the tags. It ended well, and I was left with a happy afterglow. Upon reflection, it's odd I felt pleased, as only about 2% of the characters had a happy ending! But they were the 2% I most cared about, so I'm good with that.

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A Cast of Thousands and Nearly as Many Plotlines

Three friends were separated by circumstances as children. Baili Dong Jun was haunted by his friend's unjust death and in true adolescent rebellion rejected his father's guidance and sought his own way of life, even though he was coddled and much beloved. Ye Ding Zhi, whose military father won too many battles and gained too many accolades and had to be contained by the Emperor by false accusations of treason, had escaped his family's massacre and grew up on the run. Yi Wen Jun was the pawn of her sect: to gain favor and power, she was offered to the Emperor's son in marriage even though she'd been promised to Ye Ding Zhi when they were children.

The Good:
• Hou Ming Hao suited the role of the dashing Liquor Diety. His exuberance, friendship, and loyalty never diminished.
• He Yu was excellent in the role of a man pushed beyond his limits.
• The camaraderie of the wuxia world was enjoyable.

The Bad:
• With so many characters (MDL says the cast had 212 members), I had a hard time figuring out who was whom and if I'd seen them before or if they were new.
• I know I'm supposed to admire Prince Langya, but he was an enabler of horrible things all coated with the false respectability of doing it for the greater good. I will allow that he held the same standard for himself, so he wasn't a hypocrite. But he was wrong. Enabling evil, even with the best of intentions, only strengthens evil and brings ruin upon the innocent.
• After Baili Dong Jun got the girl of his dreams, she was relegated to the role of arm candy in the drama. I wanted her to match him in terms of strategy and determination instead of sitting passively in a pretty white dress.

I couldn't decide on whether to put Yi Wen Jun in the good or bad category. I despised her even while sympathizing her predicament. Without her, there wouldn't have been much of a story, but it would have been a happier one. She was a self-centered coward, but she was a powerless pawn.

I added a half star for the character of free-wheeling, loyal Baili Dong Jun as portrayed by Hou Ming Hao. (Because he reminds me of my departed cat. Hey, it's my rating—I can be capricious.)

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Abuse is Never Right, No Matter the Victim

I've watched Bai Jing Ting and Tian Xi Wei in other dramas and enjoyed them. I liked them in this drama, too (their relationship was sweet), but my pleasure was tempered by two unfortunate premises.

I understand the desire to rewrite history in an heroic manner, but the sort of feminist retrofitting of rigid history undermines the actual hardships women had to endure in those times. That a handful of concubines would be allowed to undermine a society without dire consequences to themselves and their families is unreasonable.

I could accept the wish-fulfillment fantasy of sisterhood easily changing society; this isn't a documentary, after all. However, I couldn't stomach the spousal abuse. Third Prince was despised, and rightly so, for his womanizing and treating his wife and concubines as property. Yet, when he realized the error of his ways and tried to make amends, he was still treated with disrespect. It was understandable that Shang Guan Jing was resentful at her forced marriage to the 5th Prince. He was dim-witted and his mouth said things his brain didn't always mean, but that was no excuse for Shang Guan's physical and mental abuse of him. Why is it acceptable to beat a man and leave huge, horrific bruises on him? He'd grown up abused, and he accepted it gratefully from his wife. I found that extremely sad and distasteful. As much as I liked the character of the tough, feisty Shang Guan, there is never an excuse for a stronger person to beat on a weaker one, no matter the sex.

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Whodunnit with Romance

Landi Li and Ao Rui Peng made an appealing on-screen couple: mature, intelligent, and supportive of one another. It was also a nice change of pace to see the FL initiate some of the kisses with the ML instead of dodging them like most chaste drama heroines.

The drama excelled when the couple were in their element solving cases. When the focus shifted to palace intrigues, it suffered with the ending becoming overly-melodramatic and a bit overly-stabby (although it was an efficient way to tie up loose ends!).

Quibbles: FL's white deerskin gloves remained pristine through all the blood and gore. Hardened soldiers became ill viewing an autopsy.

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Good Fathers Absent (the drama wouldn't have happened, otherwise)

A reckless, indulged son of wealth and position took offense at Liu Yu Ru, the unfavored daughter of a businessman, and bullied her in thoughtless prank, which caused misunderstandings that led to their engagement and marriage. On their marriage night, he made his feelings known and promised her a divorce as soon as it was practical. The playboy and the puppet had to learn to work together to survive the impending chaos the country found itself embroiled in.

The character growth of both leads was enjoyable to watch: silly boy into a meticulous, thoughtful man and timid, careful girl into a capable, competent woman. I especially enjoyed watching their relationship grow from reluctant allies to friends and to lovers. ML learned his wife wasn't a manipulative schemer but a powerless pawn who had been forced to her way of life in order to survive. FL learned her childish husband was decent and intelligent, but his pampered upbringing had left him few aspirations with no one having expectations of him. Their relationship was the highlight of this drama. Once they were on the same page, they never deviated; they always believed in one another, they had no nonsensical misunderstandings, and they were a true partnership.

Once the ML was sent away to work on the dam, the story suffered. The drama needed the leads to be together to work well and keep my interest. The story shone brightest when it was involved with regular townspeople and the main couple; it dimmed dramatically as soon as the stage was shifted to the palace and court issues and away from our one true pair.

As an "historical" drama, the writers indulged heavily in intellectual fallacies, assigning today's morality and culture to the past. An Emperor with a troublesome dowager Empress and princess should have quickly found a solution to dealing with them (Empress banished to the Cold Palace; princess married to a far land). As for women in large businesses and as generals, those would have been exceedingly rare, also. However, I'm sometimes relieved to have the past sanitized for me: it was personally shocking to see a cockfight depicted.

Miscellaneous meanderings: I wonder what happened to that smart beggar boy who kept an eye on the streets for the ML. What happened to FL's stepmother, youngest stepsister, and little stepbrother? And, wow, in that scene of moving rocks at the dam, skinny Bai Jing Ting had great arms. Until I read the credits, I didn't realize the charismatic villain was Liu Xue Yi, the bald monk of The Blood of Youth. What range he has as an actor!

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Needed More Bald Monk

The Blood of Youth was a friendship adventure series full of the exuberance and bravado of youth.

I watched Dashing Youth before this, as it is the prequel even though this was made later. I'm glad I did it that way, as I was somewhat familiar with the characters. It was sad to see some of my favorite characters diminished by loss and time. Baili Don Jun was no longer his carefree self. Sikong Chang Feng had lost his wandering spirit and grown into a capable, mature leader.

Was it just me, or did the two MLs and two FLs feel mismatched romantically? Young and sassy Sikong Qian Luo felt more appropriate with silly, outgoing Lei Wu Jie; elegant Ye Ruo Yi suited reserved Xiao Se much better. I never understood their romances, but I can say the same about couples I know in real life! Thankfully, romance wasn't the focus—brotherhood was.

I was mesmerized by the character of Wu Xin. He needed a larger part in the drama. I missed him when he wasn't part of the action. I'll have to check out Liu Xue Yi's other work. If he's that mesmerizing bald, imagine him with hair!

All in all, a fun romp in the wuxia world.

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