This review may contain spoilers
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind
This is a perfect example of "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind". A king trying to take control of the court from the clutches of the Vice-Premier.But my review is very biased against the female lead "Yoo Jung".
A king watched as his father got cornered by his ministers and later he watched helplessly as his mother was killed by those ministers. He almost got deposed from his crown prince position and the only way he managed to save himself was by begging and kneeling to those so called ministers and spending the rest of his ruling era as a puppet ruler. So it is pretty much understandable his ambition to establish absolute power in court. Therefore he sets out to create the most elaborate scheme to establish power.
With the Vice-Premier in front and a Queen Dowager from behind, he has spent most of his life cornered by these people. His only solace being his first love Yoo jung, a girl he loves and feels guilty towards.
The most annoying thing for me about Yoo Jung is that after the king, Lee Tae spends his entire life designing a plan to trap the Vice-Premier and the Queen Dowager and this woman waltzes in and almost ruins his painstaking efforts. And she justifies herself like it's the most reasonable thing. Like heck, I understand that she was threatened by Park Gye Won at first but then Lee Tae gave her the option to leave, but instead she stayed back in the name of "love" and almost ruined his plans at every corner, which was so annoying.
And the most pissing off thing is that she used his guilt and love to do whatever she wanted in the name of revenge and the king has to give it to her at every corner. Oh and the most ridiculous thing is, she joined hands with the murdered who killed her entire family to get revenge from that so called murder.
While getting in the way of the king's scheme, she was the one who benefited at every corner from his schemes, but then she went and accused the king of being a tyrannical king. What a ridiculous b*tch.
And at the end of the drama when the king was a few inches away getting absolute power this b'tch waltz in again saying he's a tyrannical king and then she goes and establish her own faction with her father's previous followers, who the king himself brought to court. And she tries to restrict him and hold him in check, and she has no trust in him that he will be a good king, very well knowing how much he sacrificed to protect her and the people around him. It really makes me mad because out of all the people around him, this woman knows how much he has gone through and how much he hates being restricted, but this woman used the guilt he has towards her and her family to use to her benefits and to restrict him.
It's the most basic thing for a king to balance power, and his court is full of factions that's not even loyal to him, so he tries to eliminate those who weren't loyal and to put the people who were loyal to him, but this woman says he's cruel to kill those people and she establish her own faction. duh! Oh oh and the people he killed were the very same people who ganged up against him and his father and killed his mother, but what??! He is cruel?! It's a very reasonable thing to get revenge and remove these unloyal people for a KIng but this woman has to be so righteous, and berate him afterwards when she gets the benefits of it all. He did those all to protect her too, but she was such an ungrateful b*tch. He is in the end a king and it is a period of "kill or get killed", living in such a period, what the king did was absolutely reasonable. But because of her, in the end he let go of all his loyal followers and let the woman push him around, so ridiculous. Sorry but I can't hep but be mad at her stupid righteousness. Also she is so selfish that she wants everything to go her way. When she pretended to be the Vice-Premier's niece, and ruined the king's original plan, she shamelessly held her ground, while the king had to abort his plan to protect her sorry ass. And while she shamelessly kept on pretending to be the niece, the king killed all those disloyal followers and establish power and he even went as far as re-establishing the prestige of her family, she shamelessly also want to get her name back, very well knowing that doing so would put the king in trouble. So she schemed against the king to get her original identity back while labeling the king as the person "who knew her original identity and harbored a criminal". She is such a b*tch that makes me so angry.
The only thing that I hate about the king is using an innocent woman and her feelings to get to become a concubine inorder to control her father , the Minister of war. The real shitty thing he did was, he promised to make her a queen and everything, but when his so-called first love waltz in and ruined his plans, he threw that innocent woman away like trash. So it's understandable that the woman went red and became the evil concubine in his harem, after what he did to what he did.
This one of those perfect ancient political dramas, with no messy plot and pretty neat.
Was this review helpful to you?
Reminds me of the 2013 "Gravity" film
In recent times there were only two space-related dramas that were made. Song Joong Ki's space sweepers film and this. Both of them are memorable and the production is excellent.The story, production, directing, casting, acting (you name it), it's excellent. Absolutely a beautiful story and I WANT MORE!!!! I heard that there were bad reviews for this drama, BUT WHY??!! this is soo daamn good.
The story had me engaged until the very end. This drama kind of reminds me of the 2013 "Gravity" film. Of course, the storyline is different but the quality of the two is quite similar plus the vibe.
Anyway, This is something I recommend 100% to anyone willing to watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
The rapid escalation of a mastershit
This is one of those dramas I hate with passion while watching it. Idk who is worse than the other, the writer or the actors??The beginning was not the best but bearable with enough space for improvement but it chose to just roll in the mud and created the most ridiculously possible string of events that made me question why I am watching this drama. I am so sorry to say this about a drama but I really wanted to throw up.
I initially wanted to drop it, but when I realized this was the first drama of Kim Jae Joong after his long hiatus I wanted to give it a try. Also, it explains his very old school kdrama vibes from his acting. His acting was cliche and sometimes cringy but you can see an effort. Lee Jong Won, was doing a great job too. But I can't say the same thing forJin Se Yeon...
The characters in this drama were the worst. The lack of understanding between each other, the never-ending misunderstandings, the naive characters, the female lead who causes more destruction than construction..the list goes on...was just exhausting me to no end.
The story line.....was just beyond ridiculous. It's leaning more towards the kdrama in the 2000 era, with the cliche cringy lines, the mismatch events...[shaking my head]. a female lead with a halo who has the "I'm an angel" complex.....
This drama successfully managed to end up in my least fav rated drama of 2024.
Was this review helpful to you?
Beautifully Emotional, But Not Without Bumps
I have mixed feelings about this drama. Heavenly Ever After tells the story of an undying love between a couple—love that endures life, hardships, and even death. Their bond is so pure and heartwarming, it leaves viewers yearning for something just as beautiful.The drama starts off wonderfully—engaging, emotionally rich, and full of promise. However, it veers off course in the middle, which slightly disrupts the momentum. Fortunately, it ends with a powerful and emotional finale. That said, there are moments where the internal logic of the “heaven” portrayed in the story feels inconsistent, making it hard to fully immerse yourself in the world.
One particular point of frustration was the sudden introduction of a new character late in the series. It clearly serves the purpose of setting up the final twist—one that does tie the story together—but the abruptness of it makes the flow feel jarring and slightly off-putting.
What truly elevates this drama, though, is the stellar cast. The performances are absolutely memorable. Despite the age gap between the main couple, it never feels awkward or out of place. In fact, veteran actress Kim Hye Ja, portraying the older Lee Hae Suk, does a phenomenal job. She not only captures the essence of her character's enduring love and devotion, but also makes it easy for the audience to imagine her younger self through her expressions and presence.
Son Suk Ku, playing Ko Nak Jun, delivers a deeply moving performance. His portrayal of a husband endlessly in love—regardless of age, time, or even death—was nothing short of brilliant.
In the end, Heavenly Ever After is a flawed yet emotionally powerful drama, carried by heartfelt storytelling and unforgettable performances.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Views of love and s*x in the eyes of young adults
This drama reflects the everyday difficulties of college students, from trying to meet deadlines to their approach to love life. The majority of which talks about their views and idea about what is love and s*x and how to differentiate and approach it in the eyes of a college student. whether this view is shallow or not, is up to the viewer's point of view.And this story talks mostly about toxic relationships and how amidst the fact that the female character knows that her relationship is toxic, and it cost her emotional pain she still hangs onto the desperate thread of hope that she will find happiness in it. This is one of those genres where the female character thinks she's " the special one " that can turn a playboy into a loyal companion/partner. whether she is successful or not, in the end, is hard to decide.
Personally, I disagree with everything in this drama. She( the female character) practically sacrifice her education to indulge in a so-called relationship. she should have put her education before her love life. (Yes, I agree that love is important but it's not gonna fill ur tummy. ) This wasn't her first relationship, right after experiencing one toxic relationship, she still refuses to learn and indulge herself in another. If she had learned her lesson from the first one, then she wouldn't have spent all that time confused about how she should approach her current relationship. Instead, although knowing that her current chelaship is exhausting her emotionally, she still refuses to come into terms with it. I find this very hard to digest. Her decisions weren't mature enough and more like a teenager going through their first love, confused and unaware of how to deal with it.
I don't know what is right and what is wrong, but this story pretty much trying to say is Love = S*x.
This is one of those dramas where the side character's love stories are much more interesting than the leads. Apart from the toxic college relationship of the main leads it also talks about other views of love and s*x in the eyes of young adults.
Was this review helpful to you?
Song Kang and Kim Yoo Jung --> the perfect visuals
Kim Yoo Jung, Yeo Jin Goo and Kim So Hyun, for me, are my little three Musketeers. The three little stars of the Moon Embracing the Sun, and I watch them grow up through drama all these years. They hold a special place in my heart and I want them to be the best of who they are. And all these years, I saw Yeo Jin Goo and Kim So Hyun, whose acting improved over the years, but sadly I feel like Kim Yoo Jung, hasn't found her perfect role yet. Her last dazzling performance was Love in the Moonlight, but after that, I felt like she never fit into her roles in dramas.Sadly yet again her characters didn't fit well with her role as Do Do Hee in the drama, My Demon. I saw her effort, but sadly it fell short of my expectations.
My Demon, the drama overall is interesting and fun but at the same time lacks substance, the depth a drama should have. The story was quick to come to conclusions and didn't manage to bring out anything of value to anything.
The ONLY thing that I have to praise is the amazing visuals brought by Song Kang and Kim Yoo Jung. The couple was the only thing that got me salivating for the entire 16 episodes. Although the two lack chemistry and the awkwardness was obvious from time to time, the dazzling visuals when these two are together just blew my breath away.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Glorifying cheating couples??
You can tell me I'm evil, but I really was hoping the second lead couple didn't have a happy ending. Are they glorifying cheating couples or what? No matter how many excuses the couple made, like how they have low self-esteem, or falling in love at first sight, or that she just wanted to marry someone, in the end, they are all excuses. Nothing can justify a man cheating on his fiance right before their wedding, and also letting her find it in the most disgusting and cruelest way possible. And no matter what excuse she gives, it doesn't justify the fact that she was cheating on her boyfriend with an almost married man. If her boyfriend has an anti-marriage person, she could always break up and meet someone else in a just and fair way. Instead, she just goes and cheats on a guy who already has a fiance. Both of them shamelessly justify themselves which was so annoying. And what? The ex-fiances become friends in the end?? after all, he had hurt her but he was still shameless enough to come in front of her and dump all the accusations on the victim. And the two victims fall in love and try to build their relationship with the support of their cheating ex.The only thing that is interesting was the weather forecast department and how it works. It's an eye-opener to see how much weather forecasters work so hard at their job just so we could know that it's going to rain tomorrow so we could just grab an umbrella before leaving home.
Was this review helpful to you?
Do you remember the good old days when Kdrama used to be so damn simple?
Do you remember the good old days when Kdrama used to be so damn simple? Where the male character was almost always the rich narcissistic guy going around bullying some weird af girl and they end up bickering, getting at each other's nerves but eventually falling in love?? No complicated plot twists, no complicated emotions. And we just used to watch them so excitedly even though we know how it's going to end.???!!While watching this drama, it brought back all those nostalgic feelings. Because this drama too is simple. No complicated emotions, just a sweet fun ride. I think we need dramas like these from time to time because modern Kdrama seems to venture more into exploring deep social issues. Although this is a plus point, it won't hurt to watch something sweet and simple like this from time to time.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is an utter waste of time and resources.
A poorly written drama, good casting but failed acting. This is an utter waste of time and resources.I think the drama is supposed to be a sad emotional one mixed with humor but failed miserably. The story doesn't have any depth or meaning and is shallow.
In short, this drama is about a rich, all-around perfect, and talented individual who suddenly finds that he is dying and the only thing that he couldn't do in his utterly perfect life is to find love.
The characters in this drama are so weak to a point it's utterly pathetic.
First of all the mother who finds out that she is dying, throws herself a pity party, gives up on life. Looking at this whole issue itself is so depressing. Not only the mother, but almost all the characters in the story are also a miserable bunch.
Then there is our male lead, arrogant and obnoxious, who suddenly finds out that he has 49 days to live. This itself put the whole storyline in a disarray. The drama that started off as ordinary suddenly switched to the supernatural. It's like the writer suddenly work up in the middle of the night and decided to sprinkle some supernatural in the storyline. And in the end he just "poof" disappears into thin air!! Excuse me writer couldn't you consider giving your character a proper burial??!! You don't need a supernatural to kill off a perfectly normal character. There are a hundred ways to kill a character but the writer opted for a supernatural death that makes zero sense, mixed with a biological father character turned angel. There is no impact in however the writer tries to spin off the death of the male lead.
The female character on the other hand looks like a prop to keep the story going. She provided no impact on the story either.
And top of all that there are some plot holes and some characters just suddenly disappeared into thin air, like the stepfather. In short, nothing makes sense.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
King Maker becomes the King....
The ending was satisfying ... but it wasn't impactful enough?? I'm so glad that Tae Oh and Hye Won didn't end up together. Thank goodness, I was silently wishing the entire last two episodes for them not to end up together, or otherwise I'd really be disappointed.Umm.... I'm actually glad it's over..... but what make me so sad is all the effort that went to waste. The acting was good, the directors were good, but the writer was just shit, making it all go to waste. Lee Jae Wook in Suits for almost 10 episodes was a candy to the eyes... but that's it..... that's the only thing that got me going until the 12the epi.
The story overall is told in a very shallow way and made complicated uselessly, when it could have been told in a much simpler way, especially HTO's king-making road.
And at the end of last episode, I can understand why the chairman made HTO the heir, I mean he was the one who was capable enough to protect the company and also save his life. But Seunju?? He just has a sudden realization that he didn't want all that....like really? And what??... We don't even get an explanation as to why In Ha did to what he did?? So many loose ends.
I hope Lee Jae Wook will get a better project next time...
Was this review helpful to you?
[heart] [heart]
It started off as bland but then when you started to understand why things happened the way they did, it started getting interesting. Especially the murder mystery embroiled between the characters and trust me, when the real murder was revealed it actually got me by surprise. cuz I NEVER saw that coming!! and the reason behind it is something no one could have guessed! That's why I said, things get interesting when you know why they did to why they did.And a [rose] for Kim So Hyun, my baby is getting better in her acting with each of her projects. [heart] [heart]
Was this review helpful to you?
Despite the tacky title, the drama is worth a try.
The story depicts the story of a woman who goes through a breakup and how she deals with her carrier, emotions, social life and how she slowly gets over her heartbreak. In addition, there is the love story of Bo Ra friend's married life and how she deals with after-marriage problems, how Bo Ra co-worker deals with her life after divorce and her views of what divorce means, and there is also the story of Bo Ra sister and her teenage love story.All in all, it was a good story.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Absolutely Heartwarming
tbh this is the first-ever weekend drama with 50+ episodes that I watched without missing out on a single episode. The story is absolutely heartwarming, and a realistic portrayal of family relationships and relationships between lovers. The story focuses on the dating life of three close knitted brothers and their character development from being immature men to responsible husbands. With a mix of family relationships and twists here and there, the story is spiced up in a way that you don't feel bored at all.Recommend watching this 100%
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
