launev

yes, I know that - what I said was it FELT like the writers couldn't decide - so it makes the story not flow well

Just finished this and would say it ok to pretty good - mostly because the cooking parts went on too long for me and I didnt find them all that interesting. I get it - the show is about a chef and all - but the repetitive cooking competitions just got old and the idea that she could come up with these brilliant dishes every single time she made a meal got a little absurd.
The competition with Ming cooks in particular just went on way, way too long. And I had a whole other problem with this whole arc beyond the cooking competition - how is it that an entire delegation from China are all Koreans and it was so abundantly clear that Chinese is not their first language - that weird, over-pronouncing, slow speaking style that only comes with a second language.
ML wins the gold star for this show - he rocked it - and given the news that this was a last minute fill-in - makes it even more astounding. Looking forward to seeing him in more things as a main lead.
FL was ok. She did the comedic parts at the beginning very well - but fell flat on the emotional scenes later on. And given that they mostly only have her cooking throughout - males her kind of a one-note character. So, she just wasn't that interesting to me after a bit. Actress did her job - its just how the character was written/directed.
Endings for villains were very satisfactory (usually something that is not done well)
Ending was nice and while it would have been nice for more explanation - not exactly necessary.
I think the biggest problem is they couldn't decide if they wanted to a do a cooking show or a palace intrigue drama - tried to fuse it and it didnt always work. Got too heavy on the cooking and missed some important plot lines on the palace intrigue part and then tried to throw in a romance that got lost amongst all of it.

I just kind of stumbled upon this and it was pretty good for a short
Leads were pretty good and had good chemistry with each other
FL did well in the revenge part of the story, but fell a bit short for me in romance part (just not a lot of emotional range on this front and another Chinese actress that needs to learn how to engage in a kiss)
ML was on point
Loved that we got the satisfying ending for the villains (they usually fail us there)
The biggest problems with this are bad editing and a complete failure in writing in eps 17/18 and the usual rushed ending.
But, overall, I say give it a go - its no bad at all.

I do not normally like medical dramas - but this was truly good.
Ju Ji Hoon delivers another stellar performance
And, I would say, a fabulous cast all the way around.
Seriously - just go watch it, you won't be disappointed.

just finished this and there were things I really liked and things I didn't. Mostly enjoyed it and of you like this genre and the ML - give it go (which is mostly why I watched it)
Cases were somewhat interesting and I like that they didn't drag them out.
Office politics/intrigue was good (and I don't usually care for that part)
I love this ML and he didn't disappoint here
FL wasn't bad - but didn't love her, Also wish they hadn't written this character to be this genius legal expert that never fails (well, until the end, but its a case that she should have lost and that they waited until the end to give her a loss only to give her some bit of fallacy was annoying). The idea that a 1st year associate would be doing this level of legal work right out of the gate, was a bit much to believe - and, of course, she had to be in on all of them and always found the key to solving it. Add on to being wise beyond her years (unless it didn't fit the script and then she could be so dumb). Why they insist on writing these female characters like this is beyond me.
"romance' part with leads was just kind of weird - its like they couldn't decide what to do with it - so it was just kind of left out there hangin' like a loose thread. I mostly wish they just hadn't not gone there at all - especially since she was his subordinate - and only in the context that she was a newbie subordinate - had she been working there for a while, I might have felt better about it. The age gap wasn't the problem - it's the boss/newbie-subordinate/maturity gap that was problematic.
Weird ending - didn't like it at all.

that was just a hot, hot mess

this was ok. Interesting take on the daily life of attorneys.
The 5 friends were lovely and had great chemistry together.
Agree with most comments - waaaaayy too much time spent over meals - this was overdone to the point of boredom.
main leads were good - but romance is not the point of this drama
cases were just so-so
Slow-paced - but that is usually how slice-of-lfe drama are.
Glad it stopped t 12 - any more than that would have been too much to take. (they really even could have done less with all the waisted time spent eating)

well said - thank you!

this isn't about being feminine or not being feminine - that has nothing to do with it. Its about a lived experience of fighting battles, growing up in the military and living on the border - this would bring a certain level of edge to her that is not portrayed/captured here.

Just finished this and overall it was ok.
Immensely enjoyed Ryan Cheng - he did a fantastic job portraying the three separate personalities. Loved his Prnce Annan 'look' the best - gorgeous in black!
My original assessment of the FL stills stands - just thought this was bad casting. I didnt get the feeling in the slightest that she was some formidable general who had grown up in the military, had lived on the border her whole life and been fighting battles. She was too soft. She didnt have the presence that would come from having this lived experience - so, from beginning to end - I just couldn't get behind this character. And dont even get me started with the voice - I had Youlang PTSD (Erlang, Erlang, Erlang!) with all the Ji'An, Ji'An, Ji'an crying - just made my ears bleed.
Villain Empress was fantastic - man did she do cray-cray so well!
So could have done without the Lu Xin character - not that interesting to me and even super-annoying in places.
Loved Mo Yin!
Thought BWJ did a great job portraying CP - going from victim, to villain to savior at the end.

oh, I will finish watching, if nothing else, because of Ryan Chen😊

Spot on! I just hit the part in ep 11 - where she is giving the Go Fight speech and it was so cringy

not sure what strategy strength you think she has - on ep 11 now and all the winning strategies have pretty much come from he ML and he was pretty much the reason she has won every battle so far, while saving her ass at the same time - just sayin' - she hasn't shown that she is that great of general so far (from a strategy perspective)

I am not blaming the actress - it's totally how the characters is written and direction given. Hence, why I say I dont like the character. Although, I dont really think this actress is suited for the role either. But, mostly a character problem. Just my personal opinion on it.

as stated in my original comment - not buying her as a general in the slightest. This character has been in the military, at the border, fighting wars most of her life - she should have more of an edge to her. I see no commanding presence from her - and I say that as a daughter of a military officer. This may sound weird - but her eyes are too soft. She just doesnt hold herself the way someone who would have that background would - so it doesnt work for me.

glad you think so -she just isn't doing it for me so far

I mostly liked this drama and Authur Chen is just sublime in this.
The robes, the hair (especially in Soul Manor), the voice, the way he walks - he just nailed this
Loved the homage to Harry Potter, Voldemort with this character (bare feet, snake and all!)- kudos to the writers for this.
Had a hard time getting on board with FL character - she did finally get me by the end (mostly the last 10 or so episodes) - but, up until then - just didn't like her that much. I think it's when you introduce a character and their whole life's ambition is to be a slacker - I'm immediately just not that interested. And it took way too long for her to start using her brain.
That being said - relationship between leads was phenomenal - there was just such an ease and comfortableness that was so intimate - it was so nice to see. The best part being his gentleness with her contrasted with how he treated everyone else - just beautifully done by AC.
Really would have liked to see more at the end in the modern world - that was just too quick. Mortal world arc wasn't the interesting to me.
Definitely worth the watch though - just for Arthur Chen - seriously, could have just watched that character all day long!

I just started this (on ep 4) - cause I LOVE Ryan Cheng - and he is already killin' it.
But the FL character is just ruining it for me so far. Bad casting, bad direction - there is no way, shape or form that this woman has grown up an orphan, in the military, on the boarder, fighting in wars her whole life - NONE. She can barely swing a sword and has absolutely no edge or presence to her (and dont even get me started on the almost baby voice). I dont know whose decision this was - but it was not the right one for this character. I mean, I will stick it out - cause RC is amazing!. But, ugh!

oof - whoever wrote this just needs to go find anther job now. What an absolute crap script.
Has to have one of THE dumbest FL character - like sooooo dumb. Kidnpapped 3 times, drugged twice and just kept walking into things blindly, then having to be rescued ALL. THE. TIME. She was so absolutely useless.
Weird violence tendencies from ML to FL for NOO reason
Crazy Auntie Man whose whole logic of making him not forget how horrible and abusive stepmommy/villain were was to beat him - I was like, what, the, actual f*ck is that!
The stupid childhood friends trope - this mostly annoyed me because the FL knew how awful stepmom/half-brother were and yet, she still went running to them for help (see back to the dumb comment)
Just save yourself the headache - even DGZ's abs couldn't save this one.

totally with you on this review - especially in regards tot he FL. Almost stopped watching because of her - -plus, that AWFUL baby voice - ugh! gave me a headache.
But, right on point about DGZ!