roddib

The story of drug lord Liu Zhao Hua

An ambitious large scale production. The story moves across 4 different locations and sums up to be quite a journey. It tells the real life story of drug lord Liu Zhaohua. The drama follows the real events, his life and personality fairly closely. (e.g., the real Zhaohua did have 3 wives) (seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Zhaohua)

The sheer amount of cast made me confused at times, especially as regards the villains. But this is something not to miss, as the artistic level is quite high. The story becomes more solid and exciting as it progresses. Overall the director had free hands in making this and many scenes are just irrationally and unexplicably good. Like the one in which Lin Qiang Feng free style raps with his musician female friend, or when the normally restrained drug police Li An and Lin Qiang Feng sit down together for a beer in their trip to Myanmar. I wish I had written down the lines, they were so good. And the heads of the drug police force decide on their their two teams' next moves and strategies whilst playing ping pong.

The acting is remarkably good. Duan Yi Hong portrays a very unusual hero as the senior police officer tracing Shao Hua for 5 years, many times almost catching him but not quite. Our hero is a very quirky character, who almost never seems to take anything seriously but laughs his a**s off when there is nothing to laugh about. And who likes to sing a lot. But deep down he's very shrewd and above all persistent.

Qin Hao does yet another fantastic role as Liu Shao Hua. Shao Hua turns out to be a chameleon who sheds his skin and becomes a new person blending in and upgrading himself and his operation in every new environment. When we are shown glimpses of Shao Hua as he was in the beginning of his journey in the first episodes, in the final episode, when his brother watches him in TV from jail, the difference is so big it made me dizzy.

The actors who portray Shao Hua's wives are all exceptionally great in their roles. Others that deserve special mention are Shao Hua's 2 drug manufacturing mates. They have many great scenes, especially in the Myanmar location.

For avoiding the confusions I had, it's best to first read about the real life story of the drug lord Liu Zhuo Hua. The essence of the drama is in highlighting the difficulty of fighting drug crimes. The manufacturing mostly takes place in the Golden Triangle, where lawlessness and local armed gangs rule and Chinese police do not have full jurisdiction to operate. The police teams in Narcotic Operation sacrifice quite a lot in going full in the chase of Liu Zhao Hua. The ending shows glimpses of what appears to be real life film shots of police doing drug raids.

Why I give 8/10 to this instead of a higher rating:

- the background music is immensely irritating, mostly
- lots of characters, most of whom we get to know only superficially
- first 5 episodes are quite difficult to follow and to get into

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Interesting drama special about crime psychology

The drama revolves a lot around the question of how to tell whether someone is lying or telling the truth. This makes it interesting and fresh. There's also a murder plot as the female leads mother has gone missing in her childhood and her father has been suspected of murder. The family theme is well intertwined with the crime psychology thread.

The father actor is particularly great. All in all this is a good and worthwhile drama to watch. It's not a gamechanging drama, but if like me you are tired of the whodunnit murder mysteries, the focus on psychology makes it different. It offers some food for thought, as the message is that not all lies and lying are necessarily bad. Sometimes lies are meant to avoid hurting other people unnecessarily. The drama has a very satisfactory ending leaving watchers with good feelings.

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Feels like a classic sci fi series

Search is a rare gem of a drama. It's intense but not stressful. No boring moments, not a single weakness. There's action but the relationships between characters (including human-animal) are much more important. There are zombies but they have little screentime, there is a mystery to be solved. Zombie attacks are kept to a minimum so the suspense is more psychological than relying on shock effects. That makes it all the more interesting.

Altogether this has more a feel of a classic sci fi series (like the original Star Trek) than anything else. The characters are on a limited space, they have to fulfill missions, they are tested.

The crew of actors couldn't be better. An all-stars cast such as this is a rare and wonderful thing. They complement each other so well. Jand Dong Yoon is a great natural talent and it's great to see how much effort he has made to learn the dog handling. Krystal, Park Yoon, Lee Hyun Hook and Moon Young Hee - we gradually learn about their characters and backgrounds in a very satisfying way.

I didn't want to pause watching the series, it had me hooked for the full 10 hours. That was the perfect lenght too. The slowly revealed plot was well written. The romance is present as a possibility, it's not really essential to the drama. This is a decision that leaves a lot of room for viewers' anticipation and imagination which is more satisfactory often than showing explicit romance and using breakups as the sole plot moving devices. (The last sentence is a reminder to myself to look for similar OCN dramas).

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Sweet and lovely romance and suspense drama

This is really a sweet slow burn romance drama. But not too slow since we get to enjoy some of the couple's good times as well from early on which I really liked.

This is a rare drama in that it doesn't get boring or repetitive at any point. The main couple's romance is quite lovely despite not much actual chemistry being there.

Plot: The good thing is that there aren't many plotholes, the bad thing is episode 15 where there's a 2-year time flip. Would have been much better without that, bc it made me loose faith the in the couple.

Acting: The FL was good at start, but somehow resorted to "cute" childishness toward the end - when she should have been matured by all her experiences and difficulties. Kim Dong Wook is very sympathetic here like always, even if dryish :) But sympathetic-dryish is better than overdramatic or overacting :)

Overall: The (memory/no memory) plot sounds pretty crazy and is perhaps the reason I didn't choose to watch this earlier on. But it's not as central as the suspense plot, which is really good - not too suspenseful but good at keeping up the interest and well embedded in the overall story arch. The social message about the cruelty of the public towards celebrities and excessive interest in their private lives is very much on point. As we have recently witnesses similar things occurring, scandals based on mere lies and rumours and/or impossible moral demands and standards.

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Intense and gripping adventure drama about gold fever

An adventure drama that is intense and gripping to the max. The location and setting in the rain forest is magnificent and means a lot for the watching experience. We are practically there, in the jungle, at the deserted gold mine at the riverside, far away from roads and human habitation.

The plot focuses on how the prospect of finding the big gold nugget drives people to extremes. It gets in their head, and never lets them go. This depicts the gold rush madness in a realistic manner (see note). It depicts older and younger dreamers in the middle of jungle working at panning gold without machines. The work requires organization and rules and agreements, but we are shown how in the circumstances all ties and agreements dissolve as soon as they're made. In the end it's every man for himself. Gold madness makes stealing and killing seem like nothing.

All of the characters are various grades of selfish, dishonest and cruel. Or become that way, in the field. Our main characters are 3 youngsters, who come as newbies to the panning site, and form a friendship. Their bosses and site managers get as much screentime, since this is an ensemble drama.

This is very fast paced, and I felt this could have easily been twice as long. There are relatively few quiet moments. Those would have given us some more room to get to know the 3 friends and their backgrounds better. The ending of the drama is good, and exactly as it should be. The most experienced panners decide to blow up the mine, because they have seen enough of the madness. Based on earlier experiences, they know very well what would happen next with the discovery of the main big gold vein.

What I didn't like: the editing is somewhat choppy, and the shifts between scenes often feel quite abrupt. That's why I'm only giving this 8.5. although it could have easily been 10, with better editing and less rushing.

Note: Once, I was on a hiking in a trail in a gold panning area. The panners were very welcoming and asked us to visit their encampments. One panner had just that day lost all of the gold he had managed to dig up that summer. Someone had come when he was away digging and stolen it all. He was devastated but tried to be cool about it. Another panner had just opened a new area and he found a relatively decent sized nugget the very day we were visiting. He insisted on giving it to me as a gift. Because, he said, he didn't want to go crazy over the gold. And wanted to remind himself that whole point was to enjoy being there in the wild and in the nature. This is why I can honestly say Gold Panning is a magnificent and realistic drama about gold fever.

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Never knowing who and what to trust

Let Wind Goes By is a finely crafted crime drama with some of the best acting I've ever seen. It's a sad story of 3 childhood friends whose lives and dreams get shattered by unfortunate events, poverty and sheer bad luck. Sometimes it feels like these desolate dramas where the setting and environment play a big role were made just for me. The setting in this is a mining town that is about to be closed down and the inhabitants moved elsewhere. The cinematography is beautiful. There story revolves around two different crimes 10 years apart. These two timelines are well woven together, with more focus on the present (2003) than the past (1994).

The 3 friends are so fully fleshed out as persons whose lives and circumstances get out of their own control that we don't get to judge them as either good or bad people. We try to understand them, watch them, and study them, with sympathy. If anyone looks for shiny happy people this definitely ain't the place. The 2 policemen in charge who are also main characters, are just very ordinary humans with their own strenghts and weaknesses. They have no superpowers but just bite into solving the cases and never let go. It's shown how their persistence and passion also takes its own toll on them.

About the actors, Jiang Qi Ming as Liu Bai, Yang Cai Yu as Mei Wei, and Huang Feng Feng as Lei Chugui, are all simply amazing. Such nuanced characters, fully fleshed out. What makes this drama so good is that we really never know what and who to trust in the story. Whether they had a plan or worked things out together or just deceived each other, whilst still remaining each other's closest friends, is what makes up the suspense in Let Wind Goes By. It seems like a small thing but if you're into character based dramas, this one is just fascinating. Very little action or violence shown, which I liked. Even the one near-psycho character, Lei Changtian, admits his own dumbness and impulsiveness. Just when you thought this character was going to be a psycho killer caricature, he sits down and admits he's a typical guy who does jailtime bc of lack of self-control and obsessive compulsive drives.

That the veteran detective starts studying criminal psychology is one message for us watchers from the writer about how much thought went into building the story and characters. And how much they expect us to think, by ourselves.

The downside is that the pacing is slow. I recommend watching at 1.25 speed. And there were some things that were confusing or revealed too late, in the last episode, like what happened with the people in the burned car and who crashed the truck into the guy with a burned face. These things make me rate this 8.0.

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Lost opportunity

If S2 had been more about philosophy and morality aka humanism and less about bloodbathing that would have been great for the reputation of k-drama. Since this is likely what most people not familiar with k-dramaworld would still watch.

I liked the first 2 episodes. Lee Jung Jae's and Wi Ha Joon's characters searched for game organizers and teamed up. Gong Yoo again made a memorable appearance. So, just like in the 1st season everything that came before and after the games was more interesting than the actual games. The suspense from the games was the unpleasant kind that made me want to skip those parts. (But in principle, if I watch I watch and don't skip).

Lee Jung Jae and Lee Byung Hun are such epic actors that I watched mainly for their sake. Im Siwan and Kang Ha Neul made an impression even with smaller roles. Thanos and the shaman were just irritating.

The main issues with S2: why keep this from airing so long and then leave the ending open. Just 2 episodes more would have been enough to wrap it all up. This way the plot holes were immense. If the plot holes are filled up in S3 it's all too late bc we won't remember or care that much. This was the chance they had to make something really worthwhile and they blew it with the open ending.

Open questions and complaints

- why did Gi Hun keep the prize money in his basement (likely to get stolen) instead of using it to save lives? He could have given it anonymously for those in need or a children's hospital. That would have been the best redemption for those who died in the game.

- As Gi Hun wanted to save lives, getting soldiers and fellow competitors shot was not really logical. He could have shot down the money and the killing would have been avoided.

- Gi Hun didn't tell the competitors that when teaming up they would also die as teams.

- The best way for this to end would have been that In Ho would have turned around and stopped the game. Since he got to know his fellow competitors as humans and not just characters in screen.

- why did the players not discuss the possibility that the organizers could never let them get out alive bc that would make the game become public knowledge.

- if S2 had been more about morals and philosophy and less about bloodbathing that would have been great for the reputation of k-drama. Since this is likely what most people not familiar with kdramaworld would still watch.

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Surrealistic road trip to kill or die for

The theme song of Fearless Blood resembles Jefferson Airplane & Grace Slick's iconic "White Rabbit" with flashes of Ennio Morricone mixed in. And the genre is just this unusual. A surrealistic road trip with hairraising extended gunfight duels, death defying heroism and several rounds of russian roulette. C-noir drama that is an absolutely unique masterpiece. It really doesn't get better than this.

The plot: A son of a rich family returns to China tasked with secretly delivering 3 gold bars to the communist fighters and to find his fiance in Shanghai. During the trip, he finds guides and allies who fight on his side - and sometimes against him - as the KMT has already acquired knowledge of his mission and targets the gold with the intention to kill those who receive it.

At the beginning of the trip Xu Tian is just a typical young rich man. He's like a blank paper who slowly matures into a true warrior who unhesitantly fights and kills his enemies.

The main characters of the drama are Xu Tian's 5 guides, truly larger than life characters. These are portrayed by some of the best Chinese actors with immense charisma. Acting masterclass. These characters are colourful and impressive to max. Their fearlessness has no boundaries, hence the title "Fearless Blood".

The road trip covers several stops, towns and villages, and we also get to witness many quirky situations and characters along the way. From train robbers to farmers, this all immensely entertaining. There's humour but it's the low key undercurrent kind. Not black but wanting you to relish this extraordinary tale. The humorous undercurrent is also a welcome relief to the suspense that peaks at regular intervals and really makes you want to take a breather.

The gunfights and duels are of type that we see in classic Western movies: two men staring at each other, guns in their, a stretched moment, war of nerves, who's going to shoot first and which one dies. The directing could not be better. And the cinematography is awesome.

It's just mindboggling how Fearless Blood is not more famous, bc in a just world this would be THE iconic drama that everyone would keep referring to. But the world is cruel, as our man Xu Tian keeps learning.

Watch this epic drama!

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KCIA drug smuggling operation during the military rule

The first episode on the hijacked plane was simply great, It was like a full movie, without any filler scemes. Tremendously entertaining and suspense filled. We are introduced to Baek Ki Tae and find out he's an intelligence agent hustling a side job.

In ep 2 as we're still wondering about how on earth can intelligence agents actually be running a drug production and smuggling operation, we get sidetracked into a story of a woman who returns to Korea and seems to be able to blackmail all of the men sitting at the top of the military junta. Baek Ki Tae is tasked with babysitting her. Ep 2 starts to fill me with doubts about the drama as queen Cho Yeo Jung's character is a totally pathetic character wanting to have a fling with Baek Ki Tae. But we get excellent comedic scenes with prosecutor Jang Gun Yeong (Jung Woo Sung) and his female sidekick (Seo Eun Soo) chasing after the ice cooker Dae Il.

By ep 3 the comedy is gone. We're thrown into internal intrigues in the intelligence agency and goverment top brass fighting each other (boring). For some reason we get short scenes of Baek Ki Tae's brother and sister. Their role in the drama remains vague as each have abt 5 mins of screentime.

Last 3 episodes, more of the same. Prosecutor fights hard, Baek Ki Tae fights back, big shots fight each other and we take sidetrips to Japan and back, Vietnam and back, each lasting about 5 mins. Barely time to drink a coffee in each destination, much less a beer. Much fighting. That's about it. Everything that could have been interesting, is glossed over.

The story of KCIA drug smuggling operation during the military rule had ingredients for a 30 episode drama. Yet they squeezed it into 6 episodes. Like a synopsis without well developed characters, without in-depth exploration of the historical background, without properly giving a life to all the players and characters involved. If this had been a c-drama (like Narcotic Operation) we'd have spent 3 episodes hanging out in Vietnam alone. Having a real heart to heart discussion over a beer.

I really didn't get Woo Do Hwan's role. It's not like we really got to know Baek Ki Tae's family. Or the yakuza family that had max 20 mins screentime during the whole run (so why even introduce it).

Yes, there's going to be S2, but I already struggled to keep up with the plot when the episodes were 1 week apart. Can't imagine to remember anything about this when S2 eventually drops.

I believe Disney had a full script but butchered it just like they did with Arthdal Chronicles' final season. Disney is all action and little character depth or world building.

Jung Woo Sung was absolutely stellar in this though. It's worth watching his acting which, as one of the reviews says, is like he was acting in the real masterpiece of a drama that Made in Korea could have been. I have to mention also Roh Jae Won, he was excellent. Hyun Bin's character is a ruthless murderer and drug trader and people mistook him for a good guy. He was pretty good and shed his usually goofiness but would have needed to go one step further to portray true evil (which can be done by small gestures).

This is a 7.5.

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A nice drama to watch when you're just looking for a feel good but not silly drama

A heartwarming and feel good drama for us who don't dig much suspense or zombies. There are huge plot holes in this drama but it is still very likeable.

The best things are the intelligent dialogue, discussions about psychology, movies and books. The main leads are very likeable, and slowly overcoming their painful experiences as their relationship develops.

The murder plot is in key place in the beginning, but somehow mysteriously drops to the background in the second half. We are introduced to new characters in the latter half constantly, and their stories don't add anything to the drama. So many unnecessary characters that only have about 15 mins of screen time. And they key character played by Yoon Park doesn't get enough time so we're left guessing what he really was made of. Villains are brought to the picture, who have not been introduced to the viewer at all.

So, very lacking in plot development but you'll be won over by the MLs beautiful smile! So sympathetic. FL is a good actress without much chemistry (in this or other dramas).

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Don't watch if you don't like police being useless and corrupt

If you come to watch this because of Johnny Huang, it's fair to warn you that his screentime is actually quite limited. Eric Wang, the antagonist, has much more screentime (70 percent more than Johnny). And Eric Wang really sucks in this role. If I were to count how many hours we get to watch nothing but Eric Wang sitting in his chair and contemplating and munching his mouth (give the man some lip moisturizer ffs) I'd say 10 mins per episode. In a 30 episode drama, well, you can count how much that amounts to.

The beginning episodes are interesting and the first arc is watchable. We get a cop desperately committing suicide as a wake up call that the police aren't doing their job investigating murders and corruption occurring in the city of Hangzhou. (And to spoil: we don't really get any results from the police and they keep being corrupt and hampering investigation until the very last episode of the whole 30 episode run).

The Punishment was supposed to build on the tragedy of brothers turning on each other and becoming enemies. But actually we get only few immersive or touching moments. The most memorable moment is when Tianye makes the decision to not turn evidence to his brother Qin Feng (JH) but instead to use it to build a criminal enterprise of his own.

We get 3 arcs of different enemies and antagonists who Tianye outwits and removes from the chess board. A lot of what happens is the antagonists talking and fighting each other. As the police make zero progress in their investigations despite their huge sad sacrifices, the rich and corrupt money and power hungry criminals keep taking down each other. Tianye turns his village's livelihood and enterprise into a crime syndicate. But somehow Qin Feng seems pretty blind all of this (something that didn't go down well with me at all).

The Punishment is like a poor man's watered down version of the Knockout. There are many similarities (too many to mention) put pls watch The Knockout instead because it really is a masterpiece. The criminals in The Knockout are interesting characters, whereas in The Punishment they are just one dimensionally disgusting mostly (and we get to spend a lot of time with them).

What I liked most in the drama was Zhang Tong as Mai. An unwavering ex-cop who never really let's go of investigating the crimes that went unpunishned, without even being on the payroll. If you want to watch a better role from Johnny, I'd recommend Lost Identity. It's so much more suspense filled and serious. 6.5

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How to get over bad hair days

This drama is absolutely wonderful. I don't know why it's not well known, it's on par with the very best k-dramas. There is so much realism and bigger and smaller problems, but all of it portrayed through a very comforting and optimistic lens. (Some issues: crippling social anxiety, gender dysphoria, sexual abuse, a achool bullying past).

This scriptwriter is one true humanist. I also loved her previous dramas, Age of Youth, and Diary of A Prosecutor.

All of the main characters are basically flawed but viewed in such sympathetic and empathetic manner, you just grow to love and understand all of them. This is essentially an ensemble and found family drama. The hair salon employees are all equally main characters but there's also a colourful cast of regular customers, each becoming unique, fleshed out characters.

The romances (both the young and the mature) are incredibly sweet. We also get a philosophicizing narrator who is both wise and understanding of bigger and smaller challenges in life so that it makes you feel you yourself are being heard and understood. All of the actors are great, but especially Park Jung Woo deserves to get more main roles. Highly recommended.

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Lighthearted & entertaining ensemble drama for binge-watching

I wanted to watch this bc I love both Taecyeon and Hye Joon. But it was somehow very difficult to get going with this drama.- There's a lot of overacting, the pace is off in the first episodes, it felt rushed. Director does not hold the reins tightly enough. As for the first episodes, I felt I'm watching a "bush comedy" - something delivered by amateurs.

However, the drama gets better after some 6 episodes. We begin to see that's its basically an ensemble drama and not just leads with a supporting cast. The plot gets more streamlined and there's less of the cringeworthy humour. There are some interesting twists and turns. Bae Jong Ok as Joy's mother adds weight to the cast and the approach, she's such a great actress.

The ending is very satisfactory and we see this as much about Joy and her insistence on independence as the (mildish) romance. What I particularly enjoyed was how this was filmed mostly outdoors, it gave a welcome airiness (after-Covid) to the whole thing. Also liked the way the ensemble was ordinary folks respectfully portrayed, the palace people incl. king having smaller roles and not so respectfully treated. But I skipped a lot, this is basically for binge-watching.

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A real pleasure to watch

Mr. Queen is ticklish-funny and a real pleasure to watch. I am debating myself whether it deserves a 9 or 8.5. (As if that mattered hahaha). The first 8 episodes were the best for me. After that, it turns into a more typical sageuk where palace politics takes over and it all becomes a bit of a snoozefest. I've watched too many sageuks to have any patience for palace politicking.

Shin Hye Sun is my absolutely fave actress, her ability to portray feelings is superb. She has a gracefulness and intelligence that shines through even when she's portraying a badass clumsy-ish guy. Unfortunately I watched the Red Sleeve before this, so I couldn't appreciate Kim Jung Hyun in the king role at all. Most of the time he looked like he was about to fall asleep. He was good in CLOY, but this went far above his acting abilities. But critics tend to praise non-acting aka having a straight emotionless face all through the drama. Bae Jong Ok: I just love her voice. She and Kim Tae Woo had quite boring roles though. Na In Woo was great as the second lead, his character was so well written. Some of the other characters like court lady Choi were absolutely delicious and/or the butter on the bread (the King's friends). Some of the comic characters were just fillers, not very funny or interesting.

This would have benefited from being shorter. Although I do appreciate the humour, there are so many kdramas deserving a higher rating, therefore, 8.5.

One thing that was sheer torture here was the music. Why they chose to pick this style instead of a more contemporary one, I don't understand. Had to be muting the volume all the time.

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The first episodes with Go Jun were quite electric, thanks to Go Jun's next level chararisma. Also from the start, the scenes where Hye Ran was endlessly being hit in the head with the glass ceiling were painfully realistic (am fond of painfully realistic).

The series went downhill and got quite boring with the crime and court and political corruption storylines taking foreground in the middle part. It took me ages to finish this. But the last 3 episodes were again quite good.

Hye Ran was an ambivalent character, she never got treated justly, and still fought and concentrated on her values as a journalist. I was left thinking, that the series overall seemed to see it right for her to be punished for her career focus and ambition in a men ruled world. Anyway, the husband was quite a lame character in comparison.

How Kevin Lee and his wife both played disastrous mind games with people, out of their own petty grudges, could have been foregrounded more in comparison to the politics and media themes. But all in way, I'm glad I didn't drop this although my rating went from 8.5 during the first episodes to finish with 7.5.

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