Strong start, then the need for schemes took over
I got hooked, and really enjoyed the first 6 episodes.The story was strong, and the acting was superb.
Then, the crazy plots kind of took over, and what could have been a really good, gripping drama became a more “run of the mill melodrama” with mischevious people and one plot after the other.
The acting of both the FL and the 1st ML did impress me, which was one of the main reasons why I didn’t drop this. The other reason was that I was curious what kind of ending they would give the story.
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Too many crazy plots/intrigues
I review these type of dramas on their own scale. Can't really rate this up against for example "The Worst of Evil", lol.Don't watch if male dominance triggers you.
*** I ended up dropping this after watching just over 20 episodes. It got too crazy/plot heavy for me - just relying on intrigues, dominance and attractive (?) cast. ***
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Very memorable, very touching
This was one of my first historic K-dramas, and my-oh-my, did it leave an impression!It must be at least a year and a half (probably more) since I watched it, and I have watched endless hours of K- and C-dramas since, but this still has a special place in my memory.
First of all: The acting was top-notch. They brought their characters to life in such convincing ways, displaying their inner and out emotions so you can’t not connect. That goes for both the main leads, and several of the supporting.
And then: The script. How it weaved the love story into the depiction of this difficult time in history. It made me interested in finding out more about this part of South Korea’s history, as not really something we learn about here where I live (or it’s just that I’m too old so don’t remember from my school days 🤭).
The cinematography and music was also good as far as I can remember.
This is one of a handful of dramas I highly recommend to my friends, and one I can see myself watching over again.
Warning: You will probably cry.
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A bit dated, but a classic
After finally watching this, I understand why it is consideres a "must see"/classic.So many other C- and K-dramas have obviously been influenced by this.
If anything, I recommend watching this as an insight into this type of dramas.
I happened to watch the Chinese adaption (Meteor garden) of this before this Korean version. Not sure which one I like the most, to be honest.
Even though the script had some questionable logic here and there, the story itself contains "it all": rich and poor, love rivalry, disapproving parents ...
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Realistic and charming, challenging stigmas
What sets this apart from a lot of other Cdramas for me:- That it challenges what I assume are stigmas towards some groups (certain careers and disabilities) in a very natural way (not overly "preachy" or "propaganda-ist").
- The locations: I love that the majority of the story is unfolding in their hometown, not in Shanghai. It is charming and creates a very natural atmosphere. At the same time, the Shanghai-scenes are important parts of the story.
- The character gallery, their individual progressions and developments.
In addition, I think they nailed the casting, and pretty much all of the actors delivered strong performances.
All in all, this is a series I would recommend, and one I can see myself watch again some time.
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Kind of feelgood, not too serious
This was OK entertainment - I watched quite a lot of the episodes rather rapidly, but then I had a longer break before I watched the remaining episodes in "pulses". The story is kind of feelgood romance, not too serious and without any heavy conflicts or strong story arcs.The acting was OK; I would say Park Seo Joon (ML) has developed as an actor since this.
Choi Si Won (2nd ML) did impress me, even though I found his character to be a bit "over the top" for me.
The FL Hwang Jung Eum had some weaker scenes, but was overall good.
What I did like with the story was how wholeheartedly he (Ji Sung Jun) loved.
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Good acting makes the not so-original story worth it
The story is not very original, quite the contrary – it contains a lot of well-used tropes. They are just scripted and executed without going "over the top", or kept at a more realistic level. And I would say the strong cast helps a lot too.So: All in all this is worth watching if you like workplace romance dramas.
The "successful CEO helps woman in her career" story also felt quite familiar, but I can't quite pinpoint the drama it reminds me of.
The cast:
Tan Song Yun as the FL Ji Xing is good as expected. I find that she always brings great energy to her characters, and delivers strong and convincing performances.
Xu Cai is quite fitting as the ML Han Ting, except I sometimes thinks he looks a bit too young, lol. I kind of wish he could bring a little bit more personality to his character, though – he sometimes felt a little bit "flat", but that could also be how the character of Han Ting was interpreted.
Most of the supporting cast was also good in my eyes.
I liked how the characters developed and grew, and even though there were some predictable elements, it wasn't annoyingly so.
Thanks to me coming across a post about free viewing on Viki for a limited time, I binged this over a period of 2,5 days!
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Fast paced, with funny moments, but also quite gory
So this is a medical drama that is kind of fast paced, «action» packed, made lighter with some funny moments. But beware: There are also some scenes that are quite gory.I feel that the drama kind of wants to present itself as serious/realistic on some aspects, but then there are elements that are (from my POV) just very unrealistic (like jumping off the helicopter with a guy over your shoulder, no safety equipment).
I enjoyed watching this; it didn’t feel dragged out, and even if there are some politics/power plays, they were not as «over-the-top»/too heavy and domineering as often can be in K dramas.
The acting was brilliant, both from the main cast and the supporting actors.
I am hoping for a season 2.
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Slice of life, adolescence POV
So this is a rather sweet and innocent slice-of-life drama from the adolescence POV.That it is sweet and innocent doesn't mean it is void of seriousness: The story also contains some hardships.
We follow a group of friends growing up in the late 90's – I was around their age at that time, so even if I grew up in a different part of the world, there was some nostalgia moments here for me.
The story contains the taste of young love, the breaking point between being young and carefree and having responsibilities and consequences of your choices, appreciating your parents and family and finding your self, and the importance of friendship.
Don't expect much romance – but you will get a lot of love.
As for the characters, I found the FL Yang Xi a bit too immature. I can seriously not remember any of my friends at that age acting as childish as she did in several instances. Wang Peng did portray her well, though.
The character I liked the most was definitely Hua Biao played by Neo Huo: His story was just tugging at my heartstrings, and it was rather impossible not to like his character. Brilliant performance by Neo Huo!
The ending kind of left you wanting more, but at the same time it felt natural to end it like it did.
I was wavering between scoring this 8 or 7,5, but I ended up on 7,5 as I don't think it was very original or memorable, even though it is a nice story.
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OK, but lacking in some areas, and too much in others
So this was OK, but I found it to be lacking in some areas, and a bit "too much" in others.And I have to write a disclaimer: I had a long break in the middle of this, so my impression and memories are a bit disrupted.
The good and the not-so-good (in reverse order):
I found that I didn't really connect with the characters - hence this is where I feel the show was lacking "something". My main impression is that this is down to the story and the script, not the acting. Although especially the FL was too "one-dimensional" for me most of the time. I feel however that this was not only down to the actress, but how the character was written. I do wish she could have pulled out a bit "more" sometimes though.
As to the "too much", it is just the whole plot: This is your stereotypical chaebol-family-power-fighting on steroids.
The chemistry between FL and ML ... this could also be because I had a long break after watching some episodes, but I couldn't quite pick up on why/how they supposedly started liking each other. And I do know they didn't really act on it due to her marriage, but still ... the scenes where you should have been able to feel the sparks flying even if they withheld them, were kind of ...not there?
So what was good?
The action/fight scenes were pretty well done (by my POV – I am far from any expert!).
Some of the actors: I thought Jung Gyu Woon as FL's husband did a good job, and even though her character was rather despicable, Seo Yi Sook acted the role as FL's mother-in-law brilliantly.
ML (Rain) was also quite good, although again I felt it was a little lacking.
Should you watch it?
If you like fighting/action and don't mind chaebol intrigues, then yes, go for it.
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Starts off really strong, then becomes more "mediocre"
This was annoying ... I was sure I had written a review about this, but obviously not here, and doesn't seem like I did so on Viki either... :-/It's a while since I watched this now, so this will be a bit brief.
If my memory serves me right, I got hooked straight away, and then after the first couple (or 3-4) episodes it sloped off a bit for me. The politics, corruptions and power struggles over-shadowed the more interesting aspects (if I remember correctly), and the romance was so-so (was there really any?).
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Proves that a good story stands the test of time
I was a little skeptical when I started this, considering it is 22 years old. But I would say it has stood the test of time surprisingly well. It just proves how much a good story and well done acting has to say.The reason I chose to start this despite my small skepticism is that I have a soft spot for the aviation industry, and I wanted a change from C- and K-dramas, and this doesn't have too many or long episodes.
Rather instantly this reminded me of the Chinese "Flight to you" from 2022, which I enjoyed.
This story focuses on young pilot Shinkai Hajime, who is popular amongst the female flight attendants, speaks frankly, and has great empathy. He clashes with the strict captain and auditor Koda, who feels responsible for an accident 12 years ago.
Shinkai also bickers with female mechanic Ogawa Ayumi, but they are drawn to each other despite their banter every time they cross paths. There is also a connection between Koda and Ogawa.
The cast is good; Kimura Takuya as Shinkai is charming, and I think he managed to express a lot with his facial expressions and eyes/glance.
Tsutsumi Shinichi pulls off stone-faced captain Koda well, although his character had less to act on, it was the tiny things that made you understand this person was not really cold-hearted.
What I liked the least must have been the music ... there was a few scenes where I did wonder "why on earth did they use THIS track here now". I felt the soundtrack was a bit too "grandiose" overall, but I think that is probably time and cultural related.
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Good despite it's age – but too heavy on the flashbacks
Watching a 10 year old C-drama can be hit or miss. This has stood the test of time rather well, I would say. Some things are of course a bit outdated (like the use of loooong, lingering shots, and the very prominent product placements, especially of Rio!), but overall I will say this doesn't feel as outdated as some other older dramas.
Before I started this, I did read a review here on MDL recommending to watch the first episodes of the director's cut version, and then jump into this normal version in episode 13 or something like that. I did not do that; I started the normal version to see if I found it hard to get into or too slow/boring, but I found it OK from the get-go. But that could be a tip to check out.
What was annoying, was the heavy use of flashbacks. Sometimes flashback to something you saw just a few minutes ago, and not just a quick flashback, but they could be quite long. And flashback to the same thing several times. The flashbacks in the last episodes also felt completely unnecessary. I am positive this could have been 30 episodes by reducing flashbacks!
As for the story, it revolves around FL Zhao Mo Sheng who fell in love with ML He Yi Chen at first glance when she enrolled in college. He was a top law student one year her senior; serious about his studies, seemingly a bit cold and un-interested on the surface. Her positive, bubbly personality and consistent approaches did break through to him, and they started dating. Something then happened, and she left for the US without a word.
7 years later, she returns back to China, and by chance she encounters him already at her first day back. He ignores her, but then fate (with some help from a friend), puts them together again. None of them have really moved on in these 7 years apart, not managed to forget the love they had. But that doesn't mean other persons are not interested in them, so will they overcome the hurt from back then, or will this re-encounter make it possible for them to close the door and move on?
OK, so for the story...some issues first:
I found it a bit strange how she didn't keep in touch with her neighbour and Jia (?) at all.
The timeline for her time in the US was a bit confusing / felt like it didn't quite match up.
The part about Ying Hui and his ex felt very unnecessary and then wasn't followed up on either.
For me, it also felt needless to show He Yi Mei's storypath in the last two episodes. That could have been cut shorter as well.
But besides these issues, and the already mentioned heavy use of flashbacks, I did enjoy this.
I liked the cast and found most of the performances to be good. Especially Wallace Chung in the role of the ML showed good character development; how he brought out a warmer, more playful side of his character was well done.
FL Tiffany Tang didn't really neither wow me or disappoint me. If anything, I think her wig sometimes bugged me too much!
I really enjoyed the character of her coworker Gu Xing Hong, played by Zang Hong Na. She added a welcome touch of boisterousness.
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Despite not considering what is out-dated, it is still lacking
So even if I tried to overlook everything that is out-dated, this still falls short on some aspects.First of all: The ending is disappointing. Especially since season 2 doesn't pick up right where this ended. I won't say anything more, but it feels like someone cut off the bungee cord as you were in free fall and just let you plummet.
Second: Some of the characters are rather weak and shows little development throughout.
Especially Yu Chu Yuan (played by Bai Jing Ting); I found this character very weak, to the point of being annoying, and he didn't seem to pick up on many clues or understand what kind of consequences his actions or in-actions led to. It is a bit funny to see him in this role as I have just finished The First Frost. I see some similarities in his interpretation of the characters, but his acting has also improved by leaps.
Qi Bai Cao, the FL played by Hu Bing Qing, is rather whiney. How old are these people supposed to be? I understand this might be partly cultural and partly due to the fact that it is 10 years since it came out, but still ...? I found her acting to be so-so ...it might be because I didn't really ever manage to connect properly or sympathize with her character.
The character I probably liked the most was Ruo Bai (Yang Yang), and I did also like Fang Ting Hao portrayed by Chen Xiang. He nailed this arrogant rich confident type.
Brief synopsis my POV:
Orphan girl Qi Bai Cao was taken in by a Yuan Wu Dao master, who lost his championship and was ostracized after supposedly taking stimulants. As she follows her master, she has not been trained properly, but wish to become a Yuan Wu Dao competitor. Things happen, she gets taken in by another Yuan Wu Dao school, and very quickly progresses based on her strong fundamental skills and strengths. No less than three different boys ends up falling in love with her, adding for some jealousy and rivalry. We follow Qi Bao Cao's journey towards a competition to gain recognition for her master.
Be prepared for long lingering shots and abundance of flashbacks.
So: Is it worth watching? Naaahh... hard to say, really. I didn't drop it, so the story has some kind of momentum to it. And I did start on season 2, first to see if it picked up where it ended (no), and second because I noticed Ji Chang Wook is the ML in it, and I do like his acting. I am curios to how this would be interpreted and improved if made today.
Also: The English subtitles on Viki are full of (small) mistakes and spelling errors, so much so that it was a bit annoying/distracting.
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It was so good …but then they should have stopped
This was good, and I really enjoyed it. Up until episode 31. Then it became more fragmented, and the story itself really weakened from mid-episode 32. So I was struggling wether to give this 7,5 or 8, but I let goodwill win and gave it 8 ⭐️.I’m not sure if this was filmed when Covid hit? If so, I can understand that parts of it became more fragmented. That is not really an excuse for those last 4 episodes, though. I won’t go into much more detail as to not give spoilers away, but I do understand why the episode rating declined steeply.
Brief synopsis, my POV:
Female neurosurgeon Ruan Liu Zheng volunteers to bring a patient back from Africa to China. At the hospital in Africa, she encounters her ex-husband, brilliant neurosurgeon Ning Zhi Qian.
Through flashbacks during many of the early episodes, we get to know their backstory, for example that she was head over heels on love with him, and married him swiftly after his girlfriend dumped him.
After she returns back home to China, she gets the possibility to gain experience at the more prestigious hospital Bei Ya. Her ex also returns to China, and is the main neurosurgeon at that hospital. He takes her on as his student. Is it because he feels bad for how their marriage turned out, is it because he believes in her talent, or because he has lingering feelings for her?
We follow their ups and downs, their light bickering, and unresolved past issues we can tell is lingering under the surface. Is it best to stay as professional partners, and find love with another person?
What I did like was it seemed quite detail-oriented when it came to the medical depictions. I don’t really have any clue, but compared to some other dramas this seemed to have really put in an effort to make it appear realistic and factual.
Some of the sidetracks felt unnecessary, and didn’t really add much (besides air-time?).
There was some things in the story that made me question it a bit, like what about Ning Xian when Ning Zhi Qian was in Africa in the first episodes? And I won’t even go into the last episodes…!
The acting was strong. Both Wang Chu Ran (FL) and Peng Guan Ying (ML) was convincing in their roles. It was fun to see how she portrayed the immature, timid young Ruan, and her more mature, confident persona. I also have a sweet spot for Li Zi Feng in the supporting role of lawyer Xue. Ling Chen as Ning Xian was very sweet, and I liked FL’s parents.
Do I regret watching it? Do I feel it was a waste of time? No, not really, but I really wish they had ended it a bit differently, and done so in episode 32.
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