michelleoc

Charming and funny historical (an oxymoron?)

First, I'm no expert on Chinese dramas, especially historical ones, because they normally aren't my cup of tea. They tend to be too angsty, too overdone, too dubbed, too costume-y, too long, too slow, etc.

I happened upon this one accidentally after watching something else on Disney+. What a pleasant surprise! This show was very light, funny, and enjoyable to watch. And when I say funny, there were numerous laugh out loud moments for me. Add to that the fact that it was only 16 episodes, I'll give the editor kudos for keeping the editing tight and managing to leave out most of the filler.

There was so much to like about this show, I'll name just a few of my favorite things.
-Wang Xing Yue as the Prince - this actor is only 22! I think he will probably go far in the business. I loved the character he played. He was cold and reserved, as befit his station in life, yet meeting Xiao Xiao turned him a besotted, sometimes clueless, man. I loved how his eunuch was so supportive, giving him a "thumbs up" when he did something right. There were times that he behaved in an immature way, but that really endeared him to me. He was in uncharted waters, but was forging ahead in his feelings for her. His broken heart was heartbreaking to watch. The way he looked at Xiao Xiao, he didn't care who knew he was in love.
-He Rui Xianao as Xiao Xiao - though I didn't always love her character, I thought she did a fine job with her part. There was a stillness about her, a quiet determination in her actions. She had a goal and wasn't going to let anything get in her way. However, I did find it interesting that when she was upset her food tasted bad, but she didn't notice? Did she not taste her own food?
-The Queen - random, I know, since her part was relatively small. However, I LOVED how supportive she was of the Prince. So many historical dramas have the evil queen character, and it was refreshing not to have it here.
-Side characters - especially the kitchen staff. They started out with tension but grew to trust and care about one another.
-The food - this was a plus and a minus for me. Food porn is an apt description for the abundance of food cooking, food presentation, and food eating. The eating part is where I had a problem. Were they going for ASMR? The loud sounds of them slurping, chewing, swallowing, with the extreme close-ups of their mouths, was disgusting.

Ending/alternate ending - this confused me. I had been reading that episode 16 was an alternate ending, but it was almost a carbon copy of episode 15. There are basically two endings in episode 15. SPOILER: In one ending she leaves the palace - watching the Prince's heartbreak was so sad! He "pretends" to die so he can go and be with her? I had a couple of problems with this. I love a love story, and the fact that she could walk away without a backward glance made me think that she couldn't have loved him that much. Also, she can't have gone too far from the palace because she heard about his "death". Did he not go and look for her? Also, in that day and age, would she, as a woman, be able to open her own restaurant? Where did she get the money for it? THEN, she's wasting away when she thinks that he has died. Seemed a bit much since she had no problem leaving him. THEN, when he shows up and stays with her, I didn't like how their relationship was presented - she was always nagging him to do some work, and he was just lazy. Their personalities had changed so much. The other ending was unsatisfying as well - if they married and stayed in the Palace, I would have liked to have seen how she adjusted. We are just shown a brief snippet of them when they are old. END SPOILER.

So, I'd have to say that the ending/s were the weak link for me. Thankfully, the rest of the show made up for it. This is an easy, funny, fluffy, low angst watch when you need a break from heavier shows.

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I laughed, I cried, I re-watched

For me, there are seasons for certain types of shows. My main focus is romance with the much-needed HEA. That being said, sometimes you need a slice-of-life show where you come to know and love the characters, and this was perfect, I must say. I really liked season 1 a lot, but season 2 is on another level. We already know how close all the characters are, and it was so enjoyable to learn and grow in their relationships with each other and those outside their little circle of friends. Extremely well-written and with well-rounded characters, I watched this in three evenings. There were undercurrents of romance for each of the characters and it was refreshing to see mature relationships, with nary a stupid breakup in sight (Jun Wan and GF are somewhat of an exception, but I'll forgive that). I could go on and on about this show, but I'll just give a couple of my highlights.

Jung Kyung Ho as Jun Wan - love his knowledge as well as his sometimes immaturity. One thing I found fascinating about him, did he lose weight for this role? He was SO thin and I just kept thinking that because of how busy he was he didn't have time to eat. Granted he's a small-boned man, but he can sure wear his clothes! And in scrubs, his "thinness" is really obvious. It was a good look for him.

Bromance between all the main characters. They had each other's backs but weren't above wrestling for the remote control!

Kim Hae Sook as Rosa (Jung Won's mother). I love her in anything she is in, and her character, as well as her storyline were wonderful. It's refreshing to see a mature person in a good story.

The love/hate relationship between Jun Wan and Jae Hak. There was something kind of stalker-ish about Jae Hak, which brought a lot of humor to the show, as well as their relationship. I also loved the storyline of Jae Hak and his wife.

Jun Wan and Song Hwa are the piggies of the group, constantly eating more than their weight in food. They thought about food, talked about food, and planned what they would eat next.

Sung Hwa as a bad singer. This was so cute to watch and hear, especially since she has such a lovely singing voice.

All the music. I REALLY appreciated that they said what the songs were and who was performing them. I also liked that the actors did a lot of the music.

The medical aspect of the show was often heart wrenching, but it was more about the characters than the medicine.

*If I had to voice one complaint, it would be that, as a health care worker, the first thing we learn is how to talk to patients, compared to other medical staff. The doctors in this show often used medical jargon that no layman would be able to understand. But, that's just a slight blip in an otherwise stellar show.

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Lived on the couch the day it dropped on Netflix!

I have to say, I didn't like it QUITE as much as the movie, but I still liked it. This series had more filler than the movie, and there were a lot of storylines going on. There were also multiple instances of misunderstandings, and I wondered if the main couple would EVER get together! The FL seemed more docile here than in the movie, always apologizing. I was concerned about the ML, but I thought he was perfect. Baby face, his eyes really expressed his feelings for her, and he was a pleasure to watch. There were a couple of instances of over-the-top acting, which I have come to expect in J-dramas, but it was from people that had relatively small parts.

I loved the graphics at the beginning of every episode, and the village they lived in was lovely. I really liked the scenes where they were walking the neighborhoods, talking.

I appreciated the music as well, not for the songs, necessarily, but they used tinkling bells in quiet scenes, that for some reason I found very effective.

The storyline was great. There were multiple couples, and I liked the story of each of them, because they were so different. First love; long-lasting hidden love; forbidden love. Each had their strengths.

But I have to say that the friendships really shone. Getting acquainted, developing friendships, overcoming difficulties, and then the uncertainty and fear associated with leaving your insulated life and heading out into the big world. Would these friendships stand the test of time? I teared up a number of times with the goodbyes. I would have liked to have seen where they all ended up, but other than that, it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

***After re-watching this, I had to lower my rating slightly. FL had too little self-esteem and couldn't believe that anyone could like her. She was too quick to believe lies, but couldn't believe when the ML was telling her how he felt about her. This resulted in multiple episodes of me talking to the TV, telling her to get over herself and listen up! She still felt this way after the friendships that she had developed and even THEY were telling her how the ML felt. I felt like it wasted a lot of time, and made me worried for their ability to communicate with one another in the future, if she was always going to go to the worst-case scenario.

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For me, this drama was irritating

Positives first:
1) Tan Song Yun as Ning Meng was excellent. Her growth from secretary to investment person was interesting to watch. This was a character that depended upon herself to succeed. She wasn't whiny, stupid or over-the-top in any way.
2) The character of Ning Meng (when she wasn't making bad relationship decisions). She was not the typical damsel in distress character.
3) The clothing that Ning Meng wore. Mature, classy.
4) The friendship that ultimately is developed between the ML and FL.

Unfortunately, the list is short for the positives. The negatives far outweighed them.
1) The character of Lu Ji Ming. I think that Ling Geng Xin did a good job portraying him, but this man was abusive, plain and simple. They made a point of saying, multiple times, that she had worked for him for three years, so she'd been putting up with this for quite a while. He was mean, and the name calling was terrible. He called her stupid, saying she had no talent, and could not be successful at anything other than being his secretary. It's bad enough when it's just the two of them, but when he bad-mouths her to her new boss, I thought he'd progressed to a new level of low. Then he basically stalks her and tries to convince her to come back and work for him!
2) The excessive amount of push and pull in their relationship. It was just one drama after the other designed to keep them apart. An editor would not have been remiss here. I mean, it seemed like filler just to complete the "required" number of episodes. Each time there would be a glimmer of hope, I would look at what episode I was on and think, "Okay, what bad thing is going to happen next, they've got a bunch more episodes to fill." This would have been so much more enjoyable with half the episodes.
3) To call this a slow burn romance is not correct. They finally got together in LITERALLY the last five minutes of the last episode. There was no burn, no sizzle, no spark, no flicker. Personally, I think to call this drama a romance at all is misleading.
4) I appreciated their chemistry once they became friends. I liked that the FL was the one to come to the aid of the ML and to stand by him. However, since I watched this show looking for romance, I was sorry to not see any romantic chemistry between them.
5) The handling of the physical and/or verbal abuse. There is never an excuse. I really didn't like the turn the writers took in trying to explain away the ML's verbal abuse "I was raised that way", etc. Just once, I'd like to see a character realize how wrong he was and sincerely apologize.

For anyone that has been patient enough to read this review, I'd say, decide for yourself whether to give this drama a try. Typically, I don't love C-dramas because of the length, dubbing, characters being apart more than they are together, ridiculous costuming, etc. I have seen a couple of C-dramas that I really loved, but most, not so much. So, if C-dramas are what you gravitate to, you might like this one.

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Poor sound, editing and acting

I came across this last night and started watching it without knowing anything about it. Initially it gave off a What's Wrong with Secretary Kim -vibe, but then moved to Groundhog Day. Secretary Bai wanted to resign because she hated her boss with a passion but was frustrated by being stuck in a time loop and reliving the same day over and over again. She learns how to anticipate the needs of everyone because she's already lived each circumstance of the day. It's a cute premise, but not well-executed. The sound production is awful! The sound cuts out suddenly periodically, sometimes it becomes loud, and often the voices sound like they are coming from a tunnel. The "special effects" with the elevator were awful. The way it was edited was odd too. Sometimes we saw how she changed things, sometimes we didn't. Quick cutaways that were jarring "oh, I guess we're moving on". It really felt like I was watching a movie of an amateur that had some free time and just decided to make a movie.

The ML was a complete narcissistic jerk. Apparently, he acted the way he did because he's liked his secretary all this time...sure, it makes sense to make her life a living hell, that'll prove you like her.

I do have to say that the last 10-15 minutes of it are cute, once his true feelings are known.

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Light, surface story

There isn't a lot of depth to this story. It's short - only 10 episodes. If you're looking for some serious skinship, this is the show for you. I appreciated the skinship, but I didn't feel emotionally invested in the story, because we didn't really learn enough about the characters to feel anything for them. Two boys liked the FL in high school (why? Because she was pretty? That's the impression I got. It certainly wasn't because of any interactions that they had with one another). They meet 10 years later, and the same two men are still in love with the woman.

The FL did a lot of pouting, which was supposed to be sexy maybe? There really wasn't anything happening, drama-wise to create tension and move the story along. There was a moment when she said she might be leaving the country. The ML was like, "Oh, okay." The ending was abrupt.

So, overall, not a bad watch, but just not much there.

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Slow, quiet movie

The pace of this movie was very slow and quiet. We get a look into the lives of two people that are living thousands of miles apart, and how destiny brings them together. I guess you could call this a 'hate to love' story. Having someone disturb your sleep, talk to you inside your head, and try to sabotage your life can't be easy or fun. There were some cute scenes of them messing with the other's lives. But then a bond is forged, a rhythm is established, and they learn and grow from one another.

What happens if that bond gets broken somehow? This movie addresses this, though I didn't think it was in the most clear-cut way.

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Spicy bite-sized drama

I'm glad I didn't read anything about this drama ahead of time, because I would have bypassed it. One reason I watch Asian shows is their lack of explicitness. Had I skipped over it, I would have missed out on an enjoyable evening (I stayed up and binged this one).

Story - It was an original story and handled well. Some of the lines were somewhat stilted, but that can either be due to the way it was translated or I'm viewing through American eyes.

Acting - the acting was good, especially by leading lady Takada Kaho. First, she's stunning to look at. Contrast that with her slight goofiness and the fact that she's bemoaning that she's a virgin. She was a joy to watch. Plus, it's not often that you see a Japanese woman that is, for the most part, together and not completely subservient to the man.

Chemistry - oh my goodness. These two were hot together. Their tenderness with one another. Not giving much away, but two things stood out to me - 1) They had a "no kissing" rule. There were numerous times that he gently rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb - wow! 2) The scene where they were sitting on the bed with him behind her with his arms around her - this was such a wonderful scene, because they were sharing so much with their words, when previously it was just with their bodies.

The music for the intro was too loud and very irritating, it didn't go with the rest of the show.

I will probably rewatch this show again, especially if I have watched a couple of shows that I've been disappointed in.

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Too slapstick for me

I have watched a few Thai dramas and have found the acting to be bad. I found it hard to take this show seriously because of that. I know it was supposed to be funny, so there is that in its favor, but everything was just too over-the-top. The sound effects became irritating very quickly. The woman playing Modem (what's with the names?!?!), had some very good reactions, but as I watched this, I found myself re-writing the lines in my head, envisioning better ways for the scenes to go. I don't claim to be a screen writer in any way, shape or form, but that just demonstrated how lacking I found the writing.

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Watch it for Steven Zhang!

Steven Zhang when he's in another's body is worth the price of admission! He embodies all the confusion, as well as the characteristics and mannerisms of trying to be a female. That aspect of the show was a treat to watch.

I also enjoyed that there was no over-the-top villain. That was a nice change of pace. She had great parents and a lovely BFF. However, the story lines for the characters other than the leads were sorely lacking.

Don't binge this show, take it slowly. I think that by binging I was able to see a lot of the long, blank periods of really nothing happening. I fast-forwarded through a lot of it just to get to the body swapping parts (which happened multiple times).

The confession was sweet but happens very late in the show. The main couple was cute together. Some good kisses.

However, the break-up, separation of a year and reason for coming back together all fell very short for me. I am so tired of the time jump that seems to be in every Asian drama. It seemed to me that they couldn't think of any good reason for them to break up, so they created this whole, totally implausible story line (I know it's a fantasy but come on! It was way too far-fetched!). Add to that, the strange last 15-minute storyline at the very end to satisfy the censors (I don't get why, really) was a complete miss and felt like it was just tacked onto the story. (For anyone old enough to remember the shower scene with Bobby Ewing in the American TV show Dallas and how angry everyone was to find out "it was just a dream", you'll understand my frustration at this ending.)

However, I will reiterate again, it's worth watching for Steve Zhang.

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Good beginning and good end

I enjoyed this show, I just wish it didn't feel like it dragged so much in the middle. I also kept wondering why they weren't trying to figure out how to get her back to normal.

I'll be honest, the big draw for this show was Taishi Nakagawa. As expected, I thought he was really good in this. I really felt for him, closing off his emotions to protect himself, and really trying to live a life that he wouldn't have chosen for himself. I really appreciate that he tends to keep his acting understated, when a lot of Japanese actors can tend to overact. For anyone that has not seen him in Today's Kira Kun, you should really check it out.

I got extremely irritated with her constantly calling his name, but other than that the female lead's character was good, trying to make the best of a bad situation. The interactions between the two were enjoyable, especially once he figured out that he liked her.

I loved the ending. I always appreciate when we get some time at the end of the show to wrap things up adequately, and not rush things.

Cute, sweet, low angst.

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Lots of wasted time

Granted, it's shorter than a lot of Chinese dramas, but I still found myself fast forwarding through a lot of it. It felt like the storyline was in a continuous loop. I didn't see the male lead as a superstar, he acted more like a trainee, and I really don't think his character grew throughout the drama. He was very immature and yelled A LOT. It was very sweet when he was trying to do something for the FL, but when she or someone else questioned him, he yelled. I don't like drunk confessions or drunk kisses.

The FL was gorgeous to look at. I don't think I've previously seen her in anything. Her character started out strong, in the middle became a doormat, and then toward the end got a spine again.

The second couple, just no. He had absolutely no personality and the character of Pan Duo was one of the most irritating I've seen in a while. Her voice was terrible, and she was virtually a stalker. She constantly called him "My Idol". She was constantly trying to trick him to spend time with him. I don't understand how anyone could come to want her as a girlfriend.

There were a few cute scenes in this show, but unfortunately, for me, they were few and far between.

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Full of heart!

I ALMOST turned this off in the second episode, because I found the FL so unlikeable. I'm so glad I didn't!!! This was a lovely show that totally gave me all the feels. I thought the storyline was very original and the writers did such a good job of keeping some mystery throughout and changing how we feel about the characters. Some you start out hating and then grow to love. There was quite a bit of physical humor (noodle legs after a kiss is all I'll say) that didn't take away from the story. The parents in this show were different than the majority of Korean dramas. Plus, you can never go wrong with family and friend dynamics.

ACTING/CAST: I thought the whole cast was excellent, but I'll speak to just a couple. Uee as Do Do Hee - Hated her character at the beginning, she seemed so angry and miserable all the time, but was we got to know here better, it all made sense. You could really feel her loneliness, and it was a joy to see that she wasn't as put together as originally thought, especially when we were treated to flashbacks. Choi Woo Shik as Kang Ho Goo - this is a young man that has the most beautiful baby face, and he knows how to use it. He was so expressive. His love was almost palpable, love toward everyone in his sphere, but especially for Do Hee and the baby (cutest baby ever, by the way!). In Seul Ong as Byeon Kung Cheol - a character that you love to hate, but you may change your mind as time goes along. Powerful and successful, yet so insecure, this character had a lot of hidden depth and provided a lot of comic relief as well. Lee Seo Kyung as Kang Ho Gyung - Ho Goo's twin sister - I don't like aggressive females, and she bothered me quite a bit at the beginning, but she redeemed herself as well. The actress played her with so much heart.

This show tackles some serious issues, and does it without becoming melodramatic. The script addressed beauty standards, pregnancy stigma, physical and sexual abuse, sexuality, and the double standards that are involved in each thing. There were times that not a lot was going on, but watching the characters develop and the overall sweetness (in a good way) was so enjoyable, I didn't need to fast forward.

The music was innocuous and fit in well, as evidenced by the fact that I can't really remember the music.

I probably won't watch this again, only because my list of shows to watch is so long, I probably won't get through it in my lifetime.

After watching a few mediocre shows, I was so happy to see something that had me so engaged in the story and invested in the characters.

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Not believable gender bender

I felt that this show was entirely too long, with too many characters, with too much going on, and I thought it was very draggy.

The actors were fine, though I felt that Park Yoo Chun was so much better in Rooftop Prince (I liked that show a lot more too). Park Min Young is so gorgeous, there is NO WAY that anyone in their right mind would think she was a man. Her attempts to change her voice when she was pretending to be a man were not very successful. Plus, the fact that she uses her hands so much and her mannerisms are always so feminine (every show she's in spends an inordinate amount of time focusing on her hands, for some reason. She has beautiful hands, I'll give you that.).

The chemistry between them was okay, nothing outstanding in my estimation.

The scenes of them bickering at the end made no sense to me, because that wasn't the type of relationship they had throughout most of the show.

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