justjacky

It's about the journey, not the destination

This is a great drama but definitely not without its flaws. The drama revolves around two competing assassins and their teams of members, each with diverse backgrounds and skills, embarking on a life threatening journey. Several themes of love are shown in the drama: romantic love, obsessive love, bromance/comrade’s love, self-love and friendship love. Note, pretty much the whole drama is about the journey to save the Emperor.

The male lead is a notorious assassin and is tasked with saving the Emperor who is held hostage at the enemy’s state. His four close comrades tag along for the journey. The female lead is one of the best assassins from the enemy’s state and on her personal path of revenge that collides with the male lead’s mission. We also have a Princess who disguises as a Prince and a disciple who is obsessively in love with his master (the female lead).

The drama has an engaging start, very boring and draggy middle (ep 18-28 virtually nothing exciting happens) and a spectacular ending that was brilliantly executed. The last 10 episodes absolutely kept me at the edge of my seat.

Objectivately, the drama ticks all the boxes. It has the right balance of action, politics, comedy and romance, with strong-willed main leads. The characters are intelligent and the plot makes sense. However I always felt something was missing but I can’t quite put my finger on what.

POSITIVE:
- Female lead is the best female assassin and seductress that I’ve ever watched. Smart, cunning and beautiful.
- A true assassin’s drama. People die. I mean, lots of people die. Like lots…. trust me on that one.
- Strong male and female lead. They are both intelligent and badass.
- Healthy relationships and healthy romance between the leads portrayed.
- Many awesome bromance scenes.
- Fantastic fight scenes (some are even 10 minutes long and are visually stunning).
- Acting and visuals are top-notch.
- High budget drama (and it shows).
- Last 10 episodes kept me at the edge of my seat.
- Spectacular ending - one of the best executed endings I’ve ever seen.
- Alen Fang is brilliant. I started watching the drama for him and his performance delivered. He brought the best comedy vibes.
- Many umbrella walks that are visually feast for the eyes.

NEGATIVE:
- I absolutely hated the LTG character that had an obsessive, unrequited love plotline. His plotline was so unnecessary and embarrassing to watch. It took way, way, way too much screen time (literally around 10 episodes, repeating the same thing. Him crying like a little boy and obsessively trying to get with the female lead who repeatedly rejects him). The only way I managed to watch his scenes is because the actor is a total eye candy and his acting is top-notch. But I’m seriously so done with these plot lines and wish the government bans them forever.
- Extremely boring and draggy middle. Ep 18-28 (basically 10 episodes) nothing much happens.
- Female lead’s revenge story felt lacklustre.
- The love story didn’t grab me. I don’t know what it is but I just couldn’t connect with it (which is rare for me).

OVERALL:
You will like this drama if you want to see:
1. a badass, assassin female lead
2. a group of comrades on a journey together
3. a balanced mix of romance, politics and comedy
4. many brilliantly shot historical/war fight scenes

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Slice of Life/Romance/Business. Best 2024 modern cdrama so far.

The best 2024 modern drama so far!!! To be honest, I initially felt apprehensive about starting this drama, seeing that it’s 40 episodes and usually those feel very draggy. But this one is truly an exception as almost every episode felt like 5 minutes long. The chemistry between the leads is definitely the highlight of the drama and the well written script and great cinematography make it a worthy watch.

The drama is about the female lead who quits her job to start a business and the male lead becomes her investor. We also follow the side stories of the two female lead’s friends whose main focus is on their romantic relationships. The tone is a mix of slice of life, rom-com and some business.

POSITIVE:
- Slice of life with focus on romance and a bit of business.
- Great chemistry between the leads (I was worried about this pairing but I instantly felt their chemistry from their very first meeting).
- Great kiss scenes and skinship between the leads.
- Awesome dating era (main couple).
- Eye candy (Xu Kai, the male lead, looks great in suits. His shirtless scenes broke the sexy scale).
- Great friendship portrayal (well aside from that one friend. So it is indeed realistic as not all friends are good friends).
- Platonic relationship between men and women (a rare sight in cdramas).
- Many cute rom-com moments.
- Support cast has their own stories but don’t take away from the main lead’s screen time.
- No stupid plot scenarios and cringe scenes.
- No fillers. None of the story or characters felt pointless at any point in time.
- Meaningful script.
- Great character development.
- Good pacing.
- Two side couples that enhance the plot without taking too much screen time.
- Secret crush trope (subtle).
- Cute university flashbacks (not a lot).
- Heartwarming, a tad realistic, life lessons, cuteness and hopeless romantic vibes.
- Realistic topics like sexual harassment, misogyny, corporate hell (at the start of the drama).
- Lovely OST (the english song is a nice touch and one of the songs is sung by the female lead).
- Great acting, especially from the main leads.
- Ao Rui Peng (guest role) stole my heart.
- Brilliant special episode. Truly one of the best I’ve ever seen.

NEGATIVE:
The last 8 episodes slow down the plot and there are two episodes that are a bit too melodramatic and cliche for my taste. But having said that, this did not take away from my enjoyment of this drama. During the last 8 episodes, the main leads continued to have awesome cute scenes together.

COUPLES (MINOR SPOILERS):
- Main couple: Girl boss and her CEO investor. Hot chemistry, great character and relationship development. Definitely a slow burn that I love. This romance and couple had everything you want: sexy, cute, angst, love.
(The two side couples I felt shared equal screen time between each other. But didn’t overtake the screen time of the main leads).
- Side couple: Posh girl and her love struggles. This love story felt realistic, relatable, not always happy and had a very important lesson of self-worth. One of the rare cases where a love triangle was done right.
- Side couple: Sweet livestream girl and her rich lover. The cutest couple in the drama. Bickering to friends to lovers. A sweet slow burn that will definitely make you smile.
- Bonus side couple: Female lead’s friend and ex-boyfriend. Yep, this is a pairing that not everyone would like. Girl code definitely didn’t exist for this girl who went after her friend’s ex. But still, I did find their scene wholesome and realistic. They had little screen time.

OVERALL:
There is something about this script, the romance, the story, the way the male lead is gazing at the female lead, that gave me the warmest feelings ever. Even when bad things happened, it was meaningful and well-portrayed. All the characters felt real and multi-layered. The story felt wholesome, somewhat realistic with hopeless romantic vibes which I absolutely loved. I’ve never seen a cdrama quite like this, a truly wonderful watching experience, this is hands down my best 2024 modern cdrama so far.

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The Soldier, the Spider, and the Script that forgot their romance

This drama had the potential to be the best Fox Spirit Matchmaker… until the writers messed up and made me so pissed off… I was on the verge of rating this 1 star and calling it the worst FSM (it’s not). But the title is extremely misleading.

The drama is about the male lead, a nameless soldier whose purpose is to kill demons. Void of emotions, forced to live a lonely life, he diligently complied with what he was told to do. Until the day he met the female lead, an insignificant, kind and innocent spider demon.

The first half of the drama was perfect. A blend of beautiful emotional moments, stunning fight scenes and heartwarming relationships. The second half of the drama shifted the focus on the secondary characters and expanded the world, but also created inconsistencies and a lot of irritation.

✨WATCH OR SKIP LOVE IN PAVILION AND RED MOON PACT?
Yes and no. Sword and Beloved (SnB) is made as a stand alone and can be watched on its own. However, it is also a direct continuation of Love in the Pavilion (LIP). Although the drama shows flashbacks of LIP and explains things well, I still recommend watching LIP first because of the bigger emotional payoff you will receive. There are details in LIP that make SnB more meaningful, such as Black Fox (main villain) origin story, the evil Uncle, Spider Queen, and the significance of the Bamboo Pavilion. On the other hand, I do not recommend Red Moon Pact (unless you love the cast), as the drama feels disconnected from the other two installments, and (for me) felt like a waste of a watch.

✨COUPLES / ACTORS PAIRS

Cheng Yi & Li Yi Tong (Human Soldier & Spider Demon, main couple)
I loved their chemistry. In the first half of the drama, they seemed to be the rare couple who loved quietly. A couple that you wouldn’t expect grand proclamations of love or passionate kisses. Their love seemed to be in the little gestures, unspoken but seen through their actions. However, I was extremely disappointed because in the end, this couple turned out to be more like friends/master-disciple relationship. There was nothing romantic about them (more in the negative points).

Guo Jun Chen & He Rui Xian (Human Swordsman & Dragon Demon, second couple)
This controversial couple had me questioning my drama choses. He met her when he was a kid and grew up living with her. But if we ignore that weird fact, I wanted them to work out because I simply loved Rumu. I didn’t particularly like her, she was too cold and mean for my taste. But I end up appreciating her in the end.

Chang Hua Sen & Zhang Kai Ying (Fox Demon & Human General, third couple)
My favourite foxy, who could even resist him! Honestly it wasn’t so much that I loved their romance but I simply loved watching Foxy as a character. This couple was fun and light-hearted but I can’t say they made a huge impact on me.

✨POSITIVE:
- Bromance. The best thing for me was the relationship of the three male characters - Fugui (the reserved leader), Rumu (a jack of all trades troublemaker) and Yunfei (an innocent cinnamon roll puppy). I love their interactions, their playfulness with each other, I could watch 40 episodes with just these three.
- Stunning visuals. The fight scenes, costumes, styling, settings. Everything was a feast for the eyes, especially the unique Western Region.
- Secondary romance. The second and third couple’s romance was developed really well. In fact, the second couple fit perfectly the title Sword and Beloved. However, at some point it felt like they did have too much screen time.

✨NEGATIVE:
- Main couple’s romance. In the first half of the drama, the plot seems to be connected to their romance. It was emotional, it was heartwarming, it was perfect. But in the second half, it’s like the writers switched and changed the characters. She promised to always be there for him and yet the writers separated them. Worse, when she met him again, she had dumb reasons to leave him again (without even speaking to him). Their reunion later was mega anti-climatic, pretending to be strangers for dumb reasons. Afterwards, their relationship completely digressed. In the end, it looked like they were just friends/master-disciple. There was zero romance between them which was extremely weird and disappointing.

- Main lead’s inconsistencies. This kind of covers my previous point. The leads became different characters in the second half of the drama. It’s like another writer had taken over, but he didn't understand their characters so he made up some stuff. It made no sense that she was hell bent on dealing with her brother alone because she thought Fugui would kill him. It made no sense that Fugui took 10k swords for her, but later didn’t even blink while sacrificing her. The male lead in particular felt like a shell of himself in some parts of the drama. The writers took away his sword, his beloved, and he ended up just showing up to drive the plot forward and that’s it.

- Father issue. Wangquan Hongye was one of my favourite characters in Love in Pavillion. I knew at the start that I would not like this new version of him. Part of me understood him. Part of me accepted him and his abusive behaviour. However, I expected growth, some sort of redemption. I suppose it’s realistic that he kind of stayed the same. Sure, he admitted his mistake in the end and gave a half ass apology to the main leads, but it wasn’t enough for me. I ended up disliking his character and wished he was killed off at the start and the male lead had a Shifu instead.

- Villains. They actually had the potential but weren’t fully utilised. The evil Uncle was pretty good at the start, but it was incredibly lame when the writers brought him back for the final episodes, as it made the heroes look dumb and weak. The Scepter Woman was mega hot but of course the writers killed her off quick. The Black Fox was fine but this is my third drama with her and I’m just thinking “does bish have 9 lives because she KEEPS coming back”. Overall, not impressive.

- Evil Brother. Unpopular opinion here but I didn’t mind his arc. However it was definitely too draggy.

✨OVERALL:
The early episodes of the drama promised a male centric story with heartwarming romance + bromance but ended up delivering only a portion of that. The first half of the drama was a solid 10/10 but then it felt like the writers had switched. The character’s inconsistencies were evident, as well as the main couple’s romance being changed to friendship/master-disciple. Some parts of the plot were brilliant, others a headache. I do have mixed feelings. It was kind of good but also quite disappointing. I guess if you are going in for the plot and the side couple’s romance, you might enjoy it. But if you are going in for Cheng Yi and the main couple’s romance, you’ll probably end up disappointed.

✨QUOTES:
“Lately, I’ve felt my heart growing warm. That warmth comes from bonds. The bond with family, friends, and even nature.” Fugui (male lead)
“Power is not right or wrong. It’s what you do with it.” Qing Tong (female lead)

P.S. I might reduce my rating later (depending on my mood).

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Let me be the light in your dark world. Best 2025 modern cdrama.

Unexpectedly, this became one of the best modern cdramas I’ve ever seen, considering I was on the fence of watching it. If I could give it 100/10 rating, I would. The drama is about the female lead, who goes back to her hometown to work as a journalist. She meets the male lead, who she’s had an emotional connection with back in high school. Due to their complicated past, they pretend to not know each other at first, but end up being roommates. Their love story is emotional, healing and focuses on the female lead’s traumatic past.

POSITIVE:

- Slow burn romance + second chance trope.
- Beautiful kiss scenes.
- Strong female lead. I found her super relatable and loved her mental and emotional strength. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the actress but this drama made me change my mind about her.
- Green flag male lead. The most devoted, protective and caring towards the female lead.
- Natural and beautiful chemistry between the leads. I love them to pieces.
- No fillers or draggy parts.
- Shirtless male lead scenes. Plus he looked so hot in black.
- Emotional, romantic and very healing. 
Plus, the subtle comedy actually cracked me up.
- No dreaded break up or stupid misunderstandings. Although there is a short separation, I felt it was fantastic as we learned valuable information about the female lead’s past. Plus, the drama did a great job of making me feel like the leads were together even when separated.
- Sexual assault theme. I felt like the drama did a great job in portraying that in a realistic and healing way without making the audience emotionally drained.
- Adorable high school flashbacks.
- Heartwarming and endearing final episode.
- Vibey OST.
- Cinematography - beautiful colouring, lighting + outfits.

NEGATIVE:
- Male lead is the biggest green flag which I LOVE, BUT he does come across a bit stalkerish at times. Especially when they are separated from high school to adult years. I feel like it was a bit too much how he always checked in on her, it looked like his world revolved around her. Still though, I love him haha some of the stalker parts were actually funny.
- Weird cinematography effect of double mirror/vision thing. I don’t even know the proper name but it made me so dizzy. Idk if the director was trying to be creative but uhh I could do without it.
- Second couple. They were super funny, great chemistry and I loved them but I feel they didn’t get enough screen time to really develop. Unpopular opinion but I did enjoy how the grandparents were the reason the leads got together. It felt very wholesome and different. But in the later stages of the drama, I wish the focus was on them as a couple, not the whole family.

OVERALL:
This drama made me smile and cry like crazy, all in the best way possible. I deeply connected to the characters and plot, and loved every minute of it. This is THE healing drama for me, where bad things happen but at the end of the day, justice is served. There are so many wonderful messages in this drama, that vulnerability is strength, that running away is not a solution, that it’s always important to speak up and believe in yourself, that it’s ok to not forgive and most importantly, that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Having said all that, it’s pretty clear that to me this is truly one of the best modern cdramas I’ve ever seen and will always remember. And that’s coming from someone who was on the fence of even starting this. With the biggest smile on my face and love in my heart, I highly recommend this.

TRIGGER WARNING:

Themes of attempted sexual assault.

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
“What I mean is… no matter what, you’ll always catch me.” (ep 20 / female lead )
“I’ve finally caught the shadows that haunted you. From now on, your world will only have light.” (ep 28 / male lead)
“Love means being each other’s light” (ep 29 / drama)

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Top-notch comedy, cute romance & mystery sub-plot

One of the funniest historical dramas I’ve ever watched with Zhao Lusi as the star and her three awesome male leads. The comedy was top-notch, the romance was cute and the actors had great on-screen presence. This drama is about the female lead who is the first woman to study at the Imperial College. While at the college, she falls in love, goes through academic challenges and reveals the mystery of her brother’s death. The plot is very straight-forward and the comedy and brilliant acting are the highlights of this drama.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
- Female lead (Zhao Lusi) - the smart, beautiful, brave, cute, outspoken and silly girl that you can't help but love.
- Male lead (Xu Kai Cheng) - the Deputy of Chief at the College. He was strict but also fair, a green flag love interest with unexpected small quirky traits.
- Second male lead (Ren Hao) - the childhood best friend. (His character really stood out to me because I had such conflicted feelings. I hated him and would never want to be near him but his aura was so hot and my eyes were always glued to the screen when he would show up).
- Third male lead (Ao Rui Peng) - the true comedy relief in this drama. His scenes were 100% gold.

POSITIVE:
- Top-notch comedy. For real, one of the most hilariously clever scripts I’ve seen.
- Fantastic acting. I truly feel the cast had great charisma and was the reason I continued to watch.
- Zhao Lusi as the star. If you like her, you need to watch this drama.
- Ao Rui Peng’s character was one of the best and his story was done well for a supporting role.
- Cute romance. For real, it was super sweet.
- No teacher-student drama. Even though in the drama the male lead is technically her teacher, we don’t really see him teach and there is no annoying drama about that.
- No love triangles for me. I see a lot of people saying there is a love triangle but I don’t see it that way. A love triangle for me is when one person loves two people or is involved romantically in some way with two people. In this drama, the female lead only has eyes and only loves the male lead. However, the second male lead does try to actively break the main leads apart. I usually find it annoying but in this case I didn’t mind it maybe because the actor was very charming.

NEGATIVE:
- Male lead didn’t stand out to me. He was good, I did like him but not impressive, especially when you put him next to Zhao Lusi.
- Last 5 episodes felt very draggy and I had to skip parts. The drama became more serious and focused on the mystery rather than the comedy.
- Too many episodes. There were certain small moments where the drama would start to feel draggy but then something interesting would happen. In general I feel like these small boring parts could have been avoided if the drama was shorter.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a hilarious and cute historical rom-com with an uncomplicated plot, watch this drama.

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Sensual and mysterious story with sexy and mature leads

This drama is about the female lead who’s husband mysteriously disappears/dies in an accident. After four years, the female lead is about to pronounce him dead and take full control of his company when his twin brother returns. Is he her husband or his twin?

POSITIVE:
- Main lead’s chemistry is HOT. Sexual tension in the current timeline and soft & sweet romance in the flashbacks.
- Sensual and mysterious vibes.
- Cinematography is on point.
- Story is engaging from start till end.
- Betrayal/Mystery plot.

NEGATIVE:
- An annoying childish sister who took a little too much precious screen time.
- Hot kisses at episode 1 but no more afterwards. And yet the sexual tension between the leads made up for this lack.

ENDING (MINOR SPOILER):
The drama is open ended but it can be interpreted as happy. I personally loved how it was done and it made sense to me.

OVERALL:
If you want sexy and mature leads with betrayal/mystery plot, I highly recommend you watch this.

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Hot chemistry between the leads, passionate kisses, engaging plot with suspense

This short length drama tells the story of a rich heirless (female lead) who's life turns upside down after her father's death. Her bodyguard (male lead) is there to protect her and yet he also hides many secrets of the past. Was her father's death an accident or a murder?

POSITIVE:
- real and hot kiss scenes (and more)
- suspense vibes
- engaging plot
- 100% binge-worthy
- well developed characters (for such a short drama)
- great villain that plays the bad guy really well
- hot chemistry between the leads
- no fillers, no boring parts
- happy ending

NEGATIVE:
None!!!

I highly recommend it for everyone that wants to watch sexy romance with mafia vibes.

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Dark Wuxia with crazy plot twists, romance, suspense, assassins and scheming

The drama tells the story of two female assassins who disguise themselves as brides to infiltrate the enemy's residence and complete their missions in order to receive their freedom. The main leads are a smart, quiet and very determined female assassin and a kind-hearted, compassionate, gentle and green flag male lead. The second leads are a cunning, wicked, charming female assassin and a cold, authoritative, bad boy with a hidden gentle heart male lead.

POSITIVE:
- Smart, cunning and totally badass female leads.
- Lots of interesting morally grey characters.
- Cinematography that can rival Hollywood's high budget movies.
- Beautiful costumes and settings.
- Unique dark visuals of storytelling that I've never seen before.
- Gorgeous cast, and I mean ALL the cast is absolutely stunning (especially lots of male eye candies to see).
- Assassin's Creed meets Dark Wuxia meets GOT vibes.
- Amazing fight scenes (especially towards the end of the drama).
- Crazy good plot twists with many OMG moments.
- Tons of suspense. Everything is a guessing game. You never know the true intention of anyone.You never know when someone is telling the truth or is lying.
- Phenomenal acting performance from all the cast.
- Sweet romance moments of the main leads.
- Intense chemistry between the second leads.
- Captivating plot.
- Mystery killer vibes.

NEGATIVE:
- Character development of the male lead felt somewhat abrupt. The drama heavily highlighted that he is a fool in love which took away from truly seeing his potential in the majority of the drama. In the end he became a strong character but unfortunately it felt a bit out of the blue of how it happened. So as much as I love the actor (he was the reason I even started this drama) I was not 100% happy with how his character was written.

OVERALL:
I think you can guess from the positive points above that I highly, highly, highly recommend this drama!!! Don't be fooled by the sweet sounding title. This is still a story about assassins and is dark themed. So don't expect many lovey-dovey moments. The romance is more of a subplot but still very much the driving force in the story. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart but I truly loved this drama because of the captivating plot, intense suspense, great characters and stunning cinematography!

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Xianxia masterpiece about true love, friendship, sisterhood and good vs evil

At first I was hesitant to start this drama as it's freaking 59 episodes long and I was afraid there would be dull moments and filler episodes. The first two episodes didn't immediately wow me but were interesting enough for me to continue the show. I'm glad I did continue because the rest of the episodes instantly hooked me up. There was never a boring moment so this drama is truly binge-worthy. The plot is done so well, with lots of twists and turns + tons of romance, angst, mystery and heartbreaking scenes.

The male lead stuttering is a bit weird at first but it only lasts 2-3 episodes. The female leads at first, looks like your typical naive, girly girl. However I promise you both are much more than that and have wonderful character development. In fact the male lead is now one of my top favourite c-drama characters. The chemistry between the main couple is off the charts and I truly felt so invested in their relationship till the end. It's one of the most loving and beautiful relationships I've ever watched. The side couples are also very cute. All the characters and I mean all, are great, including the villains.

The acting is top-notch, especially the male lead performance captivated me. Music ties in everything really well and especially during the cool fight scenes is very different and memorable. Special effects are great. Truly I cannot find even one thing I dislike about this drama which is so rare. I don't typically rewatch dramas but I can definitely see myself doing that in the future. In short, this xianxia drama is a masterpiece and I 100% recommend it.

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Royalty politics with a dash of healthy romance

I don't pay attention to titles but I probably should because this drama is really about walking us through the journey of 'Who Rules The World' - meaning, it tells the story of Six States and who ultimately becomes the ruler of them all. The drama starts a bit slow and it takes at least 5-6 episodes to set up the setting, characters and story. After that is established, it's really fun and intriguing. If you love royalty politics with a dash of healthy romance - this drama is for you.

I'm quite a newbie of cdramas but I've never watched such an interesting political drama - there were tons of scheming and betrayal involved which I liked although at times the talking was quite a lot and it got heavy. This is not a light drama for the mind - to keep up with the storyline you really have to pay attention to what people are saying and doing. Having said that, I found the plot and characters very real and could imagine this being a real life story rather than just fiction.

What I'm most pleasantly surprised by is the healthy relationship portrayed. There were no childish and immature behaviours from the main leads - in fact it was romantic and cute. The male lead is definitely a green flag and the female lead is so badass - she is seriously an amazing character that I won't easily forget. Oh and the martial arts are super fun to watch. It’s definitely binge-worthy so overall I highly recommend the drama.

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Sweet and mature love story of the main leads. The rest is skippable.

This drama focuses on two love stories. The first one is about a responsible girl boss with a soft side (the female lead) who finds out her fiancé has cheated. She spends a drunken night with a seemingly unbothered musician with a flirty side (the male lead), who turns out to be her new co-worker. The second one is about a soft and sweet artist (the female lead’s younger brother) who falls in love with his sister’s older best friend.

The best (and only) thing about this drama is the main lead’s love story. It’s mature, somewhat realistic, a mix of romance, emotional with funny moments. Most of their romantic moments happen at night (hence the title) and the night cinematography truly enhances their scenes. I truly loved their story, both go through challenges and especially the female lead has a great self-love arc.

The rest of the drama however is a total let down. After episode 10 I pretty much ff/skipped everything except the main lead’s scenes. The second couple is plain and boring, in fact their story feels very separated from the main leads and not connected to the night theme of the drama. There is also a third couple that is annoying and a total filler. We also have typical workplace conflicts that are boring and seriously feel like fillers too.

POSITIVE:
- Mature and responsible main leads.
- Great chemistry between the leads.
- Beautiful cinematography (especially all the romantic moments between the leads that are shot at night). It truly lives up to the title “Love at Night”.
- Many beautiful rain/umbrella scenes.
- Shirtless scenes with the male lead.
- Male chases female trope.
- Rom-com feel but with a more mature and serious tone.
- Female lead has the most stunning outfits.
- Not a typical love triangle. There is a cheating ex fiancee that tries to get back with the female lead. He didn’t bother me at all as he served as a great plot device and character development for the female lead. In fact their story felt very realistic and great lessons for many women around the world. He was cunning, manipulative and truly despicable which made the plot interesting for me.

NEGATIVE:
- Boring workplace setting. We have the typical work conflicts that are only there so the characters do something.
- Equal (if not more) screen time given to the second couple. Their love story is odd and boring.
- Annoying and filler scenes of the third couple that didn’t need to exist.
- The only likeable/interesting characters are the two main leads.

OVERALL:
This drama could have been 10 stars if it was shorter and only focused on the love story between the main leads. I’d only recommend it if you love the main leads and want a sweet and mature love story with them (and are willing to ff/skip the rest).

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Initially dropping this at episode 5 was a mistake

The simplest way that I can describe this drama is that it tells the story of a bunch of young martial artists and their adventures together. There are two main characters that the story revolves around. A Prince who has been reduced to a commoner with crippled martial arts and a brave and youthful martial artist that seeks to improve his skills.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Absolutely amazing and well-developed characters. All and I mean all characters are freaking awesome.
- Aesthetically pleasing and well done fight scenes.
- Engaging plot and the way it's edited makes it exciting to follow the story.
- Beautiful scenery, costumes, wigs. Aesthetics are on point.
- A great ending scene.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I initially dropped this drama at episode 5 because I couldn't understand 90% of what was happening.I didn’t like that there was way too much information being thrown at you. The first 10 episodes are non-stop info dumping with many, many characters to remember, many sect names and backstories. It's very overwhelming and you definitely need a lot of bran power to watch this. It's not a suitable watch if you are tired and want to relax by watching a drama. It's definitely difficult to binge-watch BUT very rewarding to rewatch. Having said all that, once you get used to all the characters and plot, it’s super rewarding to watch this.
- The last 7-8 episodes were somewhat draggy as it became quite politically focused.

OVERALL:
If you want to watch a drama with great fight scenes, well-developed characters, adventure and friendships vibes + you are ok with following a drama with lots of characters, names and backstories to remember, definitely give this a watch.

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Unique story. Mature themed. Slow paced. Stunning performances.

Lost You Forever season 1 tells the story of the FL who believes she has been abandoned by her family. She lives in a small town as a man and heals people with her medicine while hiding her real identity. Her peaceful life is turned upside down as she meets three men. The first man, she rescues and helps him heal his injuries that have been inflicted after years of torture. The second man she accidentally meets, he blackmails her into giving him medicine otherwise he threatens to kill her. The third one, is her long lost cousin that's been searching for her for a very long time. The first 16 episodes introduce all the characters, the world and the backstories. Afterwards the FL decides to reveal her identity and join her cousin in claiming the King's throne.

POSITIVE:
- The cinematography is top-notch.
- All the fantasy places are stunning, the costumes are beautiful, the CGI animals look very real.
- Magical fight scenes look impressive.
- Acting is fantastic from all the actors.
- All characters felt real and three dimensional.
- Realistic make-up and bruises. We have characters that are shown to be tortured and their look is very, very realistic.
- Unique story with a realistic and mature feel to it.

NEGATIVE:
- Only one negative but it's quite a big one for me. The pacing is very, very slow for my taste. The drama likes to show a lot of details in each scene, characters talking slowly so something simple like a dinner can be a very, very long scene, a lot of slow motion scenes etc which makes the drama feel draggy and boring at times.

CHARACTERS (MINOR SPOILERS):
The story has a reverse-harem trope so you have one FL and four male love interests. Her relationship with each of the four males is very different. Having said that, the drama clearly shows that FL only likes romantically two guys and early on decides to choose only one of them.
- FL is Xiao Yao, without revealing her identity, I'll only say that abandonment and loneliness are the main themes that the FL is struggling with from the start till the end of season 1.
- ML 1 is Cang Xuan, FL's cousin (not blood related). He is a prince and his story is the centrepiece of the dramas as he fights his way to become a King. He is ruthless, calculating and secretly in love with the FL.
- ML 2 is Tushan Jing, FL's chosen lover. He comes from one of the richest clans and has big obligations to his father. He is soft-hearted, kind, artistic and devotedly in love with the FL.
- ML 3 is Xiang Liu, FL's enemy. He is a general and loyal to the man who's saved his life... who also happens to be FL's enemy. At first he is very cruel and abusive to FL but later becomes her silent protector, secretly loving her.
- ML4 is Chishui Feng Long, He is Cang Xuan's closest friend and helper. He comes in later in the story. He likes the FL (mostly because of her status but doesn't love her).

OVERALL:
The first 16 episodes were very slow for me as they introduced all the characters and world. Afterwards I definitely became more invested in the story and some episodes were good others just ok. Last 10 episodes were definitely the best and the season wrapped up very well with no annoying cliffhangers. I'm definitely looking forward to season 2 and seeing how the story will unfold.

If you want a unique, mature, slow paced story with multiple love interests, great acting and beautiful visuals - this drama is for you.

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Addictive romance ruined by noble idiocy

The drama is about the love story between the two main leads, who spend some of their childhood years living as non-blood related siblings. Yes, this dynamic would understandably put off some people from watching however this would be the least of your problems. In fact, the drama makes them look more like childhood friends than actual siblings, and when they meet as adults, that’s a non-issue in the drama.

The first 19 episodes of the drama captivated me with addictive romance, beautiful visuals and a story that’s all about the sexy vibes. The real plot of the drama was indeed the romance and that’s the main reason this drama hooked me up so bad that I’d be totally obsessed with it. The angsty car racing scenes were the cherry on top.

However, the last 10 episodes completely shifted the tone and story of the drama, making it unrecognisable. It truly felt like I was watching something else, and if it wasn’t for the hot chemistry between the leads, I wouldn’t have been able to push through the episodes, especially because of the atrocious noble idiocy inserted.

POSITIVE:
- Stunning cinematography.
- Fantastic car racing scenes.
- Hot chemistry between the leads.
- Delicious kiss and intimate scenes.

NEGATIVE:
- Noble idiocy pretty much ruined it for me. I read many opinions about the male lead and the reasons behind his actions. And yet for me they felt like excuses. The male lead’s response when asked why he ghosted her for 6 years and made everyone lie to her was simply “she was too young”. I hated how the male lead made all the decisions for her. I hate how he stole her dream of opening a cafe, and stole her dog (that he originally didn’t even want to keep). I found none of these things romantic. I also didn’t like how Mumu kept chasing him until the end. If it wasn’t for her, they definitely wouldn’t have ended together. I did pity Jin Zhao, but I didn’t like him as a male lead. I watched for entertainment and there was nothing entertaining or touching about his behaviour. To me, he was self-protecting, masking it as “it’s for her own good”. He ran away, felt unworthy, and actually his behaviour was quite selfish. He kept saying how he wanted her to be happy and yet he was the one that hurt her the most. I hated how he kept everything hidden for 6 years and even when they met in adulthood, he still kept it all hidden and didn’t let her support her, didn’t let her CHOOSE for herself how she feels, until she relentlessly pushed through him.

- The last 10 episodes totally shifted the tone and story. It felt like I was watching a completely different drama that I didn’t sign up for. The spark and special magic from the first half was gone. It was very boring and I found myself skipping stuff.

OVERALL:
This drama had the potential to be one of my top favourites this year but the sudden shift in the last 10 episodes, toppled with noble idiocy, really ruined it for me. My high rating is only because I absolutely loved and was addictively obsessed with the first half of the drama. I really wish the drama had happily ended at ep 20. The romance and chemistry between the leads was such top tier!

EP 1-19: 100/10
Ep 20-29: 2/10
Final: 7.5-8

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Did the letters really matter?

The drama follows two timelines connected through cross-travel letter exchange. In 1991, we follow the main leads, who are teenagers suffering from daily hardships and injustice. In 2026, we follow two adults whose lives are directly connected to the leads.

POSITIVE:
- Romance. The relationship development was natural and so was the chemistry. I only wish we would have gotten a bit more fluffy scenes with them.
- Realistic story. If you remove the fantasy element with the letters, everything felt raw and real.
- Episode 8 was the best. In fact if it was the final episode, it would have impacted me greatly.
- All characters in 1991 were fleshed out well and felt like real people.

NEGATIVE:
- Side characters. The drama spent too much time on the 1991 bullies instead of the 2026 son and daughter (who for me were more important for the plot). My issue was especially with the little screen time the 2026 son received, because he played an important factor in the final episode and yet his character was so one dimension that I couldn’t really care about.
- Too much abuse. From start till the end. I get the set up and why it was important to show it, but at one point it was too much.
- The letters. My main reason for starting the drama was this fantasy aspect and yet in the end I felt like the letters didn’t really matter. It was just a “what if” scenario.
- Final episode. I expected something way, way more epic but it felt unfinished. I was quite disappointed and definitely knocked out a few points from my rating because of it.

OVERALL:
I went in completely blind, not reading the synopsis or watching the trailer. I knew this wasn’t my typical watch but still wanted to try it out. Objectively, it’s a good script and production but subjectively, I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. I’d be hesitant to recommend it because of how extremely emotionally heavy it is. I watch for entertainment and most of the episodes stressed me out too much. I actually love angsty historical cdramas, but modern hits too close to home. The final episode unfortunately didn’t give me the pay off that I needed to make me feel the stress was truly worth it.

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