Delightful!
I am so sad that it’s over 😭. This show was so delightful to watch! With every new episode that was released, I enjoyed it more and more. It was the perfect mix of mystery, fun, romance and heartbreak, and I think they used up the 12 episodes they had very nicely.Se Young’s and In Hyuk’s chemistry was so nice, I loved their characters together so much! And the second couple matched each other’s unhinged energy so perfectly, both couples were a delight to watch.
The music also delivered amazingly. The instrumental was so great, building up the scenes so well that it got me at the edge of my seat!
The styling was also so beautiful. Everyone looked exquisite and I really enjoyed the fashion show in the middle part of the series. Usually, when there is such an event teased in a show, the hype within the story is too big and the final scene ends up being super underwhelming, but not here. The designs looked fresh and pretty and definitely matched with how we got to see Yeon Woo up to that point.
The last episode was really nice as well, and wrapped up both stories quite nicely. Overall, a great show to finish as the first of the new year💞
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Stunning!
This was such a nice show😭 I watched it in exactly one week, which is insane for me, but this show just pulled me in immediately. So heartwarming and cozy, comfortable and sweet. The traditional elements were incorporated flawlessly: the OST was stunning and so beautiful, the female leads wardrobe one of the prettiest ever, and the musical performances we got to see were actually so good! Sometimes, when they talk about projects within a drama, the result ends up being super underwhelming, but not here. Nice voice acting and singing, beautiful sets and costumes: No disappointment whatsoever. I loved all the characters and the friend group was so funny and sweet🥹
Only criticism: I wish the female lead was a little more outspoken. I don’t mind that she was shy, but the male lead had to do most of the talking sometimes, so her speaking up a little more would have been nice! Also, my man made some big decisions in the end, I would have been so overwhelmed lmao. But overall, a really nice show with no drama, no toxicity; just warmth, music, food, fun, and love!! 💗🎶
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... anyway
Finally finished this one. Had it on pause because it was just so boring and draggy that I got annoyed. The leads and their chemistry truly carried this drama since it didn’t offer anything interesting plot-wise. Which is why I find it crazy to make each episode 70+ minutes long. A reason why I liked “Business Proposal” so much is that the episodes were all 60 minutes long, there weren’t any unnecessary plots/storylines, and it was interesting. KTL was too long for what it offered, which is why I didn’t enjoy it as much. Sometimes, the secondary characters were annoying, the “antagonist” childish to be honest… like she was beefing at her big age over the hotel… anyway.Also, what was the point of the Arab prince? They used his character as a plot devise to move forward our couple by making him ridiculous. I don’t know why they had to be culturally offensive, the writer could have just made the character some important business man or a politician. Why use stereotypes and mocking an entire ethnicity? That part was just super insensitive and dumb because him being an “Arab prince” didn’t add anything to the plot, it wasn’t important where he came from – he just served as comic relief.
If it wasn’t for Yoon Ah’s and Jun Ho’ chemistry, double speed and the fast-forwarding button, I would have never finished this. It entertained me, made me giggle, and even made me lose a tear or two, but overall, this was disappointing.
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SO CUTE
This was so cute😭😭 My only criticism is that the ancestor misunderstanding took way too long to be resolved; the parents’ conflicts were also very redundant (and so was the stupidity of the brother and dad). Had the writing been a little better, we could have gotten the** cutest couple ever. Li Yun Rui really got me with this drama, he just has the yearning down like a pro! He also just fits historical dramas so well to be honest. Wang Ying Lu was also so great, I need to watch more of her shows. The male lead was such a green flag through and through, the chemistry among the cast was so enjoyable to watch, and the show had me laughing out loud more than once! Even though the ending is controversial (we should have gotten a bit more than them looking at each other…), I found the last episode so emotionally charged and beautiful. We spent a big amount of time with no dialogue, just a montage of scenes, and it really pulled at my heartstrings – it was done really, really well. This series was truly so cute, low-stakes, and fun. Just the writing was a little weak at times…!Was this review helpful to you?
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Beware of the mother-in-law!
I love the feeling of finishing a show🤭. A couple of thoughts on this one…The costumes and sets were absolutely stunning, the female lead’s chambers were breathtaking—especially that window that looked like a moon! I also quite loved the detail of her evolving hairstyle, signifying her growth as the lady of the house.
Now, the monster of the show. Mommy dearest, big mama, mother-in-law. Girl. This woman was such a hypocrite and biased, it was actually infuriating. The ending scene also just made me laugh to be honest. Praising Shi Yi’s embroidery business, only because it ended up being mega-successful. Meanwhile, throughout the whole show, she held it against the female lead😐🧍🏻♀️. The mother-in-law was such a brainless woman, who was easily manipulated by anyone, and who could not once admit her mistakes. Not once did she apologize to Shi Yi for the abuse and mistreatment she faced. Every single time, she had to be reminded how amazing the female lead actually is in doing her duties as the legal wife/ladyship, only to immediately turn against her in a matter of seconds. No matter how many good deeds Shi Yi did, one bad thing and POOF, the mother-in-law just complained what a bad wife she is… Give me a break! It was so annoying, because the female lead’s submission was used as an excuse to push the narrative that “actions are louder than words”. It would have been really nice had Shi Yi just cussed out her mother-in-law… even just once, honestly. The female lead never complained, blabla, and I’m supposed to believe it’s aspirational, meanwhile, she faces unjust treatment all the time. No matter how much I like that man, having that kind of family-in-law is just a big no-no. Ugh, I would hate to live in that house.
Another time the writing pissed me off was when Shi Yi had a lapse in judgment and actually believed that Ling Yi had killed her mother. The show spends every single episode establishing Shi Yi as a level-headed female lead, who thinks before she acts. A female lead who is one step ahead, and when she is not, she adapts quickly and turns a situation back around in her favor. In order to create several episodes’ worth of conflict and tension between the two leads, they made her emotional and guided by irrationality when it mattered most to stay calm. Now, you can argue that 1) Shi Yi is still very young, literally a teenager, and 2) her mother was one of the very few people in her life that genuinely loved her, thus, her death was obviously a big blow—especially since she found her dead. Therefore, 3) finally finding some evidence, even if it’s collateral (as she did admit herself), it is not surprising that she would hope and be over-eager. But taking Ling Yi’s ambiguous and DRUNK confession as the absolute truth is just so dumb lol. Again, I just think the writers wanted some tension among the leads, but I did not like it (the conflict itself was annoying, however, the pay-off was … nice…. I guess… 👀 since we did get a really nice kiss… and yearning and longing… I’ll take whatever I can get!). Shi Yi, until that point, was rational, but not heartless, caring and sensible. In a critical moment like that, I wish the writing had been better.
The last 3 episodes were so … I just wanted to finish the show, so I skipped the part when girly was almost beheaded lol. I do think the show was good, and had sweet moments between the leads, but they dragged it a little. I think more than 40 episodes was just too much. However, the sets, costumes, the stunning OSTs as well has the yearning portrayed by Wallace Chung really did make up for it. I did enjoy the overall acting performances by the whole cast as well. I would not rewatch this show, though. Big Mama annoyed me too much… 🤭💖
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w t f
This is a ✨rant✨What the hell... was this? What happened to the main characters? Who are these new people? (I don't care about them??) How did they manage to make this apocalyptic and dystopian story so boring that I skipped through the last 2 episodes because I was going crazy. What the hell was the plot??? Main characters getting killed left and right and never mentioned ever again (Ji Su....), Eun Yoo and her fuckass bob??? Song Kang sidelined in his own show?? Where was he, where was his character? By the time he had more screentime, I didn't even care anymore. This season was boring despite all the violence, beatings, explosions etc. It felt mindless, the more they gave me, the less I cared. Wow, another person dead. Another person mindlessly starting beef. Who tf cares. They wasted resources to produce these 8 episodes as a so-called prep for season 3. If season 3 doesn't give me some season 1 excellence, I'll be mad. They should bring back that one Imagine Dragons song too, and I am dead serious about that. This season is nothing more than a pile of dogshit, I'm so mad.
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Infuriating classic
Wow. I finished this show, I cannot believe it. It took me 2 months (with a little break in between), and I can say.... it was a rollercoaster of emotions.the good:
- The music slaps so hard, it should not be THAT good. The OST for this show was absolutely amazing, one of the best I dare say!
- Lee Min Ho looked adorable in this show. I think he was like 21 when this aired, and he looked so cute and handsome (despite some of the terrible clothing and his curly hair lmao)
- Woo Bin. I feel like the poor guy did not have any lines until Jan Di went to Macau lmao. He deserved some more screentime because I found him so funny with his random English phrases lmao.
the bad:
- The show was 25 episodes long, and it definitely could have been a little shorter. I got tired of the antics in the last couple episodes.
- Ji Hoo. I am a Ji Hoo hater first and foremost. I do not understand the hype around this man at all. I never liked him, from start to finsih I disliked him. He just kept being too close to Jan Di, even when she was with Jun Pyo, which was super annyoing to see. Especially when he visits her in the fishing village, and he tells her he can't live without her... boy, she is in this fishing village with a broken heart, what are you doing? BE QUIET. He gave me the ick.
- Jan Di's parents. They were so annoying and delusional
- Jun Pyo's mother, obviously. The woman was a complete loser and stalker. Literally pretended like her husband died too, like wtf was that? I hated seeing her smile in the last episode. Also, her double standard?? Jae Kyung was basically Jan Di in rich and privileged? Otherwise, both girls had similar personalities: outspoken, bubbly, thick-headed, outgoing. But anyway.
- Jae Kyung. I liked her at first but my dislike grew stronger once she decided she would move in with Jun Pyo while Jan Di was working as a maid. When she asked Jan Di to her room, showing off her wedding dress, that was when my hatred grew stronger. JK told Jan Di that she would not give up on Jun Pyo, but her means were unfair and annoying. Literally asking Jan Di "Did you not think of me as a friend", but then basically showing off her privilege and wealth.
- Whatever that plot with Yumi was in the last episode lmao??
- The bullying here was far more terrible than in "Meteor Garden" since our F4 had a cult-like following of boys and girls, and these people just decided to joint-bully whatever student. Physical/Emotional abuse/assault and even attempted murder, like ??
- the styling was terrible. Why were these high schoolers dressed like grandpas :(
Overall, the show is cult or whatever, but it was so exhausting to watch it. It had its good moments but there were too many wtf moments. The OST deserves some Grammy's though!
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I will start with the two main things I didn't love/like about this drama: the *astronomical* military propaganda and the last episode... it gave more context on Lu Chen's feelings and certain events but... I found it a tad boring. Two minor things I found meh were the way the adults took care of the kids lmao... they were just shipped around like some things, really sad. I also admit I enjoyed the romance the most when it took place in the winter time in Qining. That is when it truly peaked for me. Once our pretty couple got together, they got a little *too* sweet, sometimes I felt annoyed how much Lu Chen baby-ed the female lead: let her wash that glass of milk, don't treat her like she is incapable of doing things just because she is pregnant etc. like we get it, he is caring but sometimes it was a tad too much for my liking. One thing though: male lead's face never disappointed when he hugged Gui Xiao, he looked so at peace and happy, it made go crazy tbh !! The way they were looking at each other and their chemistry were so great, you could really feel their love for each other, it felt so real to me. The cinematography in this show was wow, just top notch, so pretty! Every episode felt like 5 minutes despite being 9x the length, i had such a good time watching several episodes at a time because it was such an easy watch. Overall, sweet and mature second chance romance; I'll repeat myself: the Qining episodes were *chef's kiss*. Was this review helpful to you?
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A Little Slow, But Still Good
This was quite nice! I really enjoyed the social commentary/critique about stalker fans and toxic fan behavior; one might think the show exaggerated some scenes, but these things truly happen, and I think they portrayed the horror and anxiety of the male lead really well! I also liked Kim Jae Yeong’s acting a lot – I found him quite subtle when needed. Truth be told, though, I did not really see any chemistry with Soo Young… I don’t think the leads had any romantic (or even platonic) chemistry, like, at all…💔 (Their kiss scene in episode 12 was pretty nice though👀👀). Another positive aspect of the show is how the leads talked to each other and how they provided emotional support; their conversations were heartfelt and encouraging, and I really appreciated that – very mature!However, I also found the series to be such a drag for the most part… the beginning was awesome, the middle was very slow, but the last two episodes picked up again. Also, it’s nice that Se Na could apply for a retrial of her father’s case, but … what happened beyond the application being approved? Was his name finally cleared? Agh, questions!! I also need K-Dramas to stop using the stupid blurring/smoothing filter on everyone, it’s ugly and perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards. No one’s skin looks that flawless, please stop using this ugly filter!! I want to see real skin!! Lastly, the soundtrack was cute, but I vastly preferred the pretty orchestral instrumental over the actual song OSTs to be honest.
Overall, this is quite a nice show; it shows characters healing from their past, encouraging each other, and standing up for what’s right in the present. The show also highlights some dark sides of para-social idol/“fan”-relationships, and how damaging, invasive, and non-sensical these “relationships” can be. Despite the lack of chemistry and some slow moments that frustrated me, the show was still watchable and ended on quite the sweet note!🎶🌺
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Decent Crime Drama
This was a decent crime drama, solving several cases with one over-arching one. The last case, which connected all the previous ones, was my least favorite unfortunately. Especially the last episode was kind of melodramatic, and I felt like the police forces were wasting time a lot (how long can it take infiltrating that building after Han Feng gave them the signal??). The last two episodes also feature a lot of shooting scenes, which I didn’t really enjoy that much, either. The sequences were wild and chaotic, the police officers just shooting shot after shot as if the guns had an infinite number of bullets available. Their aim was also all over the place (even if they are trying to eliminate a moving target). In earlier episodes I found their investigation style confusing because it seemed like the writers believed the audience to be blind to “details”. Background checks on individuals were lowkey incomplete, only to do a full one 1.5 episodes into a case while highlighting information from a witness account (I’m referring to the young woman not believing her mother died of natural causes; a colleague of hers tells the police that she had always been a top student in her grade, only to miss the college entrance exam. This was ignored for a while, until they decide to run another background check; here, the show gives a flashback to that testimony as if it’s such a minor detail that could have been easily (dis)missed… meanwhile, they could have solved the case quicker had they actually looked into the missed exam?! Also, Officer Zhu initially went to check that woman’s home, but did not see the medication scattered on the floor? When Ding You Mei’s mother first takes the blame for her daughter’s crime, she says how she threw the meds out of the woman’s reach… and when they go back to investigate the scene again, what do we see? The medication on the floor. Was this missed the first time they went to the premises?) … Anyway. Did the detectives have a life outside the police station? Doesn’t seem so. They went to eat out maybe 2 or 3 times, but that’s it. It’s a strict case-by-case show, and doesn’t really show any of the characters outside passions, which I found a bit unfortunate, but oh well.Except for the last case, I enjoyed the smaller cases a lot, especially the early episodes were tense and very intriguing. I found the performances of those supporting actors for each case compelling and well-executed since they actually had something to work with. The three main cops, later only reduced to Han Feng and Qi Si Zhe delivered good, but not outstanding, performances. I feel like they just weren’t given that much to work with (except episode 17/18; this personal loss was a good way to add a layer to the characters), and especially in the last few episodes I was missing tension, or rather emotional involvement.
Overall, a decent show with interesting cases!
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Comforting!
Ah, this was so cute and fun – exactly what I needed right now! I usually really love Esther’s dramas, and this is no exception, although that one scene at the hospital (when she injured her foot a little) wasn’t my favorite to be honest. The face she made was too much, even for me😫 Other than that, she was as cute as ever! Shan Chong is a true lover boy, and I don’t know how many times I rewatched that scene in episode 2, when he puts his face mask on because he’s petty that Wei Zhi doesn’t recognize him, hihi😍😈 Their relationship pre-actually-being-together was so much fun – I love how unabashedly biased he is towards her, it was lowkey hilarious! I also loved Jiang Nan Feng’s and Wei Zhi’s bestie bond, it was so cute😫😭 This was a comfort watch, loved the couple, loved the winter vibes, the snowboarding and little comic bits at the end of every episode; it was all just all too cute for me to handle!!💛💛Was this review helpful to you?
Okay
This was so hyped last year that I had high expectations. It was good and had its strong moments, but I wasn’t really over the moon or super excited like most people. At times, it moved quite slowly, or was super dramatic, which lessened my enjoyment of the show (I ended up skipping a couple of episodes at the end…).Was this review helpful to you?
