Jenna

Excellent Start. Good Middle... Rocky Finish.

this drama has everything I like in a drama. Excellent plot, great acting, fabulous chemistry, character growth for at least the leads, and a journey I'm invested in as a watcher. With all that said... why not 10 stars? Let me sum it up real quick...

The beginning was excellent, the pacing was on point, and I was invested in the journey the leads were on and loving the storyline/character development.

The only gripe I have about this drama is after the 5-year time skip. And it isn't because of the change in personality of the ML... that actually made sense. He'd been through hell and back. No one at 25 is who they were at 15. No one at 35 is who they were at 25. I get it.

The real issue for me is it seemed like the leads (both FL & ML) seemed to have regressed in the things that had gotten them that far in the first place. Thinking fast on their feet, being able to get the upper hand, and also the ability to have a straightforward conversation with one another. They spent a LOT of the last 1/3 of the drama not sitting down and talking about ANYTHING. They were always 1-2 steps behind the villains and were blind-sided ALL the time. They played defense (and not well) the entire last 1/3 of the drama or more until finally the last 2-3 episodes where they finally had epiphanies about how the game should be played and how to get the upper hand.

IDK. I guess when you go on a tough journey like this in a drama where the FL/ML suffer a lot and work hard to climb from the bottom... you expect them to... be smarter? More scheming? More "on their toes" or at the very least not working at a LOSS for 12+ episodes? This made it a bit of a struggle to watch but I did still enjoy it. If the 2nd half of the drama hadn't done this, it would have been an auto-rewatch for me and an auto-9.5-10 stars. But instead it firmly sits at 8-8.5 for me and likely not something I'll rewatch in the future.

fyi... another gripe is the main villain's ending. not good enough for me. not only that but how magnanimous and forgiving the FL was towards a few people. Just STOP already. It's OK to not forgive and to be glad some of these folks got their comeuppance! Why did she have to go literally out of her way at the end. The FL was already well established as forgiving, kind, generous, etc. We didn't need to make her go this far in the end.

Read More

The Angsty Romance That Almost Was

so let me just put it out there. my two cents.

The good?
- The Acting. So good. Talk about a stellar cast. The FL, ML, Side Characters... everyone was AMAZING in their roles.
- The Room Mates. Seriously. If this drama had been all about them and their relationships and character growth and never involved Luke (ML)... it might have been a better watch!
-The Dog. Why was he soooo fluffy!?!?! I loved him.
-The FL's professional (workplace) character growth. It was fun to watch her go from shy/reserved/unsure of herself into a powerhouse.
- What 90% of lovers of this drama thought made it all worth it... the chemistry. And, yes, it was truly SIZZLING!

The bad?
-The ML's use of verbal/emotional abuse. The FL was already extremely insecure in their relationship/dynamic and every time he opened his mouth, he belittled her, shamed her, and hurt her in the worst way possible which was poking at her insecurities of how unworthy she was in general.
-The pacing. They fit a LOT of time skips into this drama and several times I found myself confused on how much time had passed and it made the drama a little harder to watch because things didn't seem to make sense unless you were aware of the time skips. This drama had a LOT of them and most were not "announced" you just had to figure them out.
-The ending. I didnt like it. Two people who all the way to the end still didn't know how to communicate with one another just end up with a HEA. Really? The angsty relationship and break up and make up routine is all fine and dandy if we can see actual growth in said relationship, but, I'm sorry... I didn't feel or see that by the end. I just saw the ML throw around the word "love" and forcefully insert himself back into the FL's life and she just eventually.... gives in. MEH.

Read More

If I could sum up the plot and how I feel about this show in a single sentence, I'd say, "Wow, he was a fucking manipulative bastard up until the VERY end." Like... even when he has a "change of heart" and is trying to win her, he uses dirty TRICKS and emotional blackmail. It was truly the most disgusting display of it I have ever seen written in a show in my life. If not for that happening in the final 2 episodes, this show would have skimmed into a 7-ish rating (maybe)
>
I wanted to like this, but began skipping and wishing it would just end already WAY before EP 10.
The ML was wayyyy too old-looking to be paired up with the beautiful and innocent-looking FML. So much so, that it distracted from the show in a HUGE way and just piled up MORE tally marks on the reasons-why-you-should-skip-this-lakorn list!
>
huh. didn't realize I felt so strongly about what I just watched until I began typing up this review. oopsie. lol
VERDICT= EASY SKIP

Read More

Don't Even Need to See the Final Episode >_<

let me sum this entire mini drama up for you in as few words as possible, m'kay?
+ "comedy" didn't comedy right at all.
+ romance = a few painful-to-watch forced kisses. & literally that's it. by 2nd to last episode FL in no way at all has fallen for ML. So be aware if watching for the "romance" cause this isn't where you'll find any.
+ plot that just had FL running in circles the entire. drama. to go nowhere at all by the end.
+ dealing with cheating husband and his lame concubine entire drama and it was so painfully boring to watch.
+ andddd... that's it -_-

Read More

Oh boy.
Rating this one is super difficult for me. I'm going to say this ends up about 7-7.5 STARS (for me). ⭐⭐⭐
If I could ignore the final two episodes all together or pretend they were tweaked to be written in a way that didn't absolutely destroy the last bit of like/respect I had for the Main Male Lead, then this rating would be at least 1 point higher.
The GOOD:
⭐The acting. I loved ever single actor/actress. They did such a wonderful job!
⭐The unique storyline. For "base" of the story, it was nice and enjoyable and fun to watch unfold.
⭐The mature look at romance and all the complicated feelings that comes with, dealing with tragedy, and living with guilt.
The NOT-SO-GOOD:
⭐50 episodes. This show ONLY became boring because the storyline was super super stretched out over 50 hours of episodes. This show would have been phenomenal at 24 episodes, 30 MAX!
⭐Because of the above (too many episodes) the great story began to wear thin quickly. After all, the plot was very specific, the bad guys were pointed out early. The things that needed to happen to "clear things up" also all happened within the first 26? episodes. After that, it was much of the same thing. Characters scheming ways to "stop" from getting caught and characters scheming to "make the bad guys pay" and also the hours and hours of angsty "I love you so much I'm willing to suffer in silence for you" plot point that was literally beaten to death in the show. Take out half of that and 10 hours worth of filming could have been trimmed. *shrugs*
⭐The twin sister. I wanted to love her. I didn't. I also didn't love her relationship with the Dr. because it was awkward in a weird and not cute way. I also HATED how they kept making a comparison of her to her "pretty" sister. -_-
⭐This one was blatant and annoying, but... We all know ALLL these characters were flawed, but our FML did not deserve HALF those slaps NOR half of her bowing her head and apologizing to people, ESPECIALLY to the girl who stole her husband. ICK.
⭐The FINAL & WORST to me was two-fold. I always rooted for her hubby to win her back, but by the final two episodes, I was actually unhappy with her going back to him. Why? (1) Because the 2nd male lead had to point out SO many times WHY the ML was being an asshat and HOW he was misinterpreting his WIFE. How he wasn't really "seeing" his wife's pain or heart. and THAT tells you, my friends, that her never REALLY knew his wife to begin with. Not like the 2nd male lead did within those 4 years. (2) In the 49th episode the male lead is an asshole. After all his talk of never letting go of her hand again and protecting her and loving her no matter... the first time she does something she NEEDS to do, he fucking drops her and is so petty as to not visit her for a year and treats her like literal dirt for the whole episode. I HATED the episode. I HATED how she basically just put up with it and it destroyed everything I had been rooting for for FORTY-EIGHT episodes ?The WORST OF THE WORST being that he KNEW WHY she didn't tell him. For. Him. For his familial relationships. For his heart. And he still... UNGH!
Anywho... I enjoyed it and even loved it for about 24 episodes. I trudged through the rest because the acting was so strong and I hate to quit, but those final two episodes were like a slap in the face EVEN WITH the "Happily Ever After".
(but don't get me started on their argument the morning after their reunion in the finale.) *gives nasty side-eye*

Read More

Guilty Pleasure Not-So-Pleasurable in the end

was enjoying it for almost a "guilty pleasure" type of watch + the FL is so pretty and was killing it when in revenge mode but sadly... it ended up VERY MEH/Should've dropped it from about ep16 on.

issues:
1. FL has a very specific jawline/mouth (she's gorgeous!) so the fact that NO ONE could tell it was her is a bit crazy/too unbelievable. If this was the plot then possibly another FL would have worked better with less recognizable features.
2. FL was killing it until EP16 and {{SPOILER}} after ML recognized her, her revenge etc went ~kaput~ and the drama plot just staggered along disjointed with everyone going batshit crazy (they all were to begin with but yeah)
3. How many lunatics is too many? In my estimation, once every.single.character. in a drama (aside from FL/ML) is crazy/is extreme in their character or backstory or personality or in their actions, then a drama often feels too ridiculous to be enjoyable. This drama falls into that problem x100.
4. ML is wayyyy too passive and forgiven wayyyy too easily. Regardless of did he/didn't he, the truth of the matter was he didn't protect the FL and his passiveness attributed to her suffering majorly.
5. ML & dude helping FL's revenge... STAHPPPP with the crazy wig/hairlines already. WHY??? -_-

Anyway. I love a good ridiculous, turn-your-brain off revenge drama but this one was a disappointment in too many ways.

Read More

A Surprisingly Real Gem in a Sea of Clichés

I went into this drama expecting the usual: a cookie-cutter plot with a flawless CEO, an overly quirky best friend, and an ex conveniently popping up at the worst time. But what I got instead was something grounded, refreshing, and quietly powerful.

Sun Li is an absolute force here. Known for her historical roles, she slips into this modern story like she’s lived it. Her portrayal of a woman blindsided by betrayal (losing both her husband and her job) is subtle, raw, and deeply human. Her strength isn’t loud; it’s in the way she breathes through grief, picks up the pieces, and keeps going for the sake of her son and herself.

Opposite her is Xiao Zhou (an annoying rookie at first glance) but played with surprising depth by an actor who grows on you as much as his character does. Their dynamic? Electric. It’s not your typical slow-burn drama. It’s banter, tension, friendship, and eventual understanding. Watching them go from enemies to uneasy allies to something more is what keeps you hooked.

Yes, the story beats aren’t revolutionary... but the heart of it lies in growth, redemption, and the messy beauty of second chances. Nobody’s painted as all good or bad. Even the ex-husband’s moment of reckoning lands with quiet impact. The son is a standout too, both the character and actor bring warmth and humor.

Is it perfect? Not quite. The ending could’ve dug a little deeper. But this drama has soul, and that makes it stand far above the usual crowd.

9/10. Come for the realism, stay for the chemistry.

Read More

Revenge/Angst? YES. Actual Remake? NAH.

I'm writing this review for one reason and that is to let people know if you're a fan of the Thai Drama "Heart of Stone" and come into this expecting a "Chinese Remake" of that drama... you're going to be sorely disappointed. Other than it having revenge, hidden identity, and a single "boy in water, drowning" scene there are quite literally NO other similarities.

The drama is ok but nothing special.
> Great acting from the ML (I felt his pain for real)
> Forgettable FL.
> A few sexy/steamy scenes sprinkled in.
> Mediocre bad guys. (the clencher for a not-so-great drama)
> Failed promise to deliver a "remake".

All in all... mayyybe if I hadn't anticipated "Heart of Stone" I could have enjoyed it a bit more but the mediocre FL and mediocre bad guys really brought the rating/enjoyment down a bit for me.

Read More

This show was cute enough, but...

This show was cute enough at the beginning but there was 0 plot to be found after about ep10 or so? After that, I skipped through tons of scenes. I enjoyed it but it would have been 1000x times better if the episodes were shorter or perhaps there were only 10-12 of them at this 1hr+ length.
The thing I did love about this show is that there were NO over the top evil chicks/bad guys (love interests or mothers/fathers) trying to keep any of the couples apart. However, that also was a part of the problem for me. Because there was NOTHING really keeping the ML & FL apart, the storyline of them not just getting together and the lack of conflict dragged on for no apparent reason for several hour-long episodes and watching became tedious.
STILL. It was cute and the acting was really very good, so that was a plus.

Read More

A fun watch for sure!

I actually DID enjoy the show. I laughed a lot and the chemistry/skinship was NO joke. So I loved it JUST for those two reasons alone & would recommend it.
However, even though I usually LOVE a cold CEO type character brought to warmth by a FL, this show portrayed the ML's character was too "I have a multiple personality disorder" and not a gradual change/thawing that I usually see/prefer in this type of show. It was like day/night light-switch fast changes back and forth that may have been my "major" gripe with this show. <3
So... this show was good and enjoyable, but it was also messy messy with SO MUCH going on in one show. Was the writer wishy washy on what type of drama he wanted to create so he just jammed it ALL into one? Possibly.
Oh and one thing I wondered about... in a spoiler comment below.
The FL had a burn scar on her, right? They made a point to show it several times and make it seem like they leads had a "forgotten past" that they would eventually remember, but never did. Since the ML had a fire in his past he couldn't remember and she had a burn scar... it just seemed like that was what the writers were hinting at, but changed their minds??? Am I the only one who thought the little girl in the forest was going to end up being the FL? *shrugs*

Read More

unfortunately a BIG miss for me...

So, I had been waiting to find this drama subbed forever... finally on Youtube with the wrong still images titled "Royal Romantic"... warning though the subtitles are not good... not horrendous, but definitely bad. Luckily, I've seen so many of these I know pretty much what was being said despite the subs.

The story could have been an interesting one... but it really wasn't. Not the politics, not the romance and not the culture or anything else. The MAIN saving grace of the drama was the MALE LEAD... he was amazing and you could feel all his emotions, his likes and hates... his love... I teared up a few times when he cried!!

Unfortunately, the storyline he was given was crap. No depth of plot and no depth of a female lead.

PLOT: The politics all tied back around to "why he couldn't be with the Han girl"... so it wasn't interesting, it wasn't intriguing, really a waste. Completely and utterly.

The romance... sigh... like I said... could have been GREAT because the ML was willing to risk it ALL for this girl ALL the time, but instead... it drove the plot around and around in circles :(

The Female Lead.... ack. She smiled very slightly and was very pretty... and a good singer. And that's all. Oh she had a few tears streaming down her cheek often.. but YIKES. Talk about wooden and no depth of character. He loved her because she was beautiful and a good singer and.... kind? That's it... past that she suffered from being "TOO". Too everything!! Too nice. Too kind-hearted. Too trusting. Too forgiving. Too understanding. Too... everything and it made her paper-thin as a character. ZERO character development, zero emotion... lots of getting bullied and getting saved (or not) and just saying it was all okay as long as the male lead "didn't suffer" BLECK!!!

and that's the plot... can't be together... no one in harem wants them together (plus all the concubines are uber evil)... all the palace peeps trying to keep her out of the harem... her sacrificing...and round and round we go... and then the ending was NOT worth the 59 episodes of that... be warned #tragedy

BUT... I adored the Male Lead???

Read More

⭐⭐⭐⭐This will end up being about 8 stars for me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not far into this and I've been shattered into a million pieces & I like it. ;-) This show is so beautifully done. You KNOW where they are going in this show (tragedy x100) and yet you can't seem to look away. The acting is fantastic and the chemistry between characters is awesome. I do have some nit-picky issues with the show on a whole, but nothing worth mentioning at this point. I'm just going to sit back and continue to watch and let my heart hurt.
03/22/19 So, I've seen up to ep 48 at this point and I believe there are 4 episodes left. This (as expected) is most definitely a tragedy of epic proportions. Everything about this show is beautiful and heart breaking.
My problems with this show are as follows.
✘ The first 10 episodes are truly amazing. You see a build up, an epic crescendo, and then a crash back down to earth. The next 35+ episodes? Not so much. We see a LOT of blah blah blah our main girl getting stepped on and left out of the loop, therefore doing stupid stuff in her ignorance of what LCY is thinking.
✘ We're supposed to feel a sense of the two main characters (even with their loss of memories) building up to falling back into a deep love again so that when they regain their memories the heartache will coming crashing in all over again. However, you only feel to an extent that LCY has fallen in love with XF even though he treats her like dirt in order to protect her and further his revenge agenda.
✘ Point #2 above is a major problem because as a viewer you then have to watch episode upon episode of LCY subtly loving XF yet XF getting mistreated by LCY and therefore cannot truly open her heart to him because she doesn't see what WE as viewers see. It makes for an impossible build up of emotions that we're expected to feel because we know that no way in hell would XF fall for LCY based on her own perspective. As we know, she can't see what we see.
✘ Finally, the last issue is pacing. It seems a lot of time is spent on LCY convincing the world he loves SeSe and despises XF (again, to keep XF safe and to further his agenda) and not so much on the tragic love story we were expecting because of the AH-Mazing first opening episodes before the jump into Oblivion Falls. (no idea of the real name, but I like Oblivion Falls. LOL)
✘ On another note, an issue I also have is that I am on 48 out of 52 episodes and there is a LOT of plot points out there and I'm unsure if 4 short episodes is enough to tie off all those plots without rushing and being done unsatisfyingly (totally a word!) to us as fans/viewers. Pacing would have affected this imho.
?I LOVED LOVED the first 15-ish episodes. I've enjoyed the rest for sure. A few changes by the writers and this show would have hit my list of top 6 favorites, but it's still worth the watch for sure.?

Read More

A disjointed and WTF final episode.

Soooo I enjoyed this at first and actually loved the romance aspect all the way through, but there were some major plot, writing, and execution problems in this show, the final episode being the absolute worst.
Issues were:
1. The main plot of powers/healers/etc was convoluted, not explained well enough, and worst of all had shaky "rules". Like why her mom basically died saving someone and they said she would die if she saved the girl, but she saved her once and the protector's ring healed her. That would've been handy but it was never explained or used ever again after that one time. Handy random one time plot device, right? Also, why was his sister so fragile from using her powers but he used his even more often and wasn't at death's door? Why wasn't there any consistency in this major plot?
2. The girl who said she was a healer but wasn't really... Why was she trying to get into the male lead's pants at one point but was a "good guy" 5 seconds later and we never explored why she was so weirdly and randomly evil/good?
3. The end episode. LAWD. So many things.
(a) why did the main girl SAY that the sister had DIED early in the episode but a few moments later it's "2 years later" and the brother is obviously searching for his sister not "knowing" for sure she's dead??? why did the FML "know" she died but a little later in the same episode she would have to have NOT known that. Inconsistency, much???
(b) he only came back because he now thinks his sister is alive and living well? so, only THEN did he come back to find the FML and embrace her once again? really?
(c) these guys sending photoshopped pics and faked letters of his sister to manipulate the couple back together. she died. they pretend she is still alive and send pics to our ML. ummm, how about NO? yikes. if their love was that weak, then leave it alone already. also he can teleport to any place if he sees a pic. wouldn't he eventually ACTUALLY want to see his sister again? WTF will they do then when teleports where they are and he finds out his sister did die back two years before?
(d) the bad guy who kidnapped our girl for revenge walking up to a buddhist? temple? or? WTF is happening here? no one knows, cause it's only 1 of about 6 random and disjointed scenes in the finale. *shrugs*
(e) the ENDING SCENE is a male lead look-a-like walking up to the desk of the ML's business partner at the company. WHUT? WHY? And it. ends. there. WHYYYY? Again, who TF knows?

Read More

One of the best Chinese dramas I've ever seen.
I feel like the show's "synopsis" is pretty misleading. Yun Zhi and Yu Hao are not sweethearts/crushes and the search never "leads to a member of her own family". I'll do a re-write of the synopsis and post it below. :-)
---------->
Lan Yan Zhi is a privileged banker’s daughter in Shanghai and a student activist who mistakenly comes into possession of a letter from the Japanese Army in 1937. Zhou Yu Hao, an upstanding officer in the Chinese Army, helps his superiors convince Yan Zhi to work with them as a spy in order to prove her own innocence and the innocence of her friend by infiltrating the home of her best friend, Feng Man Na, and help Yu Hao track down a mysterious traitor. But what will Yan Zhi do when the search turns friends into enemies and enemies into friends?
--------->
And now that I'm finished with the show. WOW!
I loved it. It had amazing acting. Tons of action and drama and emotion. This is one of the few shows with this many episodes where EVERY episode meant something to the overall plot and nothing ever dragged or was a waste of time. The show was so very well executed. I'm just sorry I didn't watch it MUCH sooner.

Read More