romantic-at-heart

“Sherlock Holmes & Watson” wuxia style!

The rapport between the 2 male leads when solving their cases is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and Watson and it was enhanced further when the villain ML joined them!

A good break from romance dramas, this drama gives you 3 brilliant MLs who brought their characters to life not just when they interacted with each other but also in the well executed fighting scenes. I also loved the cool looking mobile house drawn by 4 horses and the life he led with his dog - the touch of humour on his cooking skills was nicely brought up throughout the drama.

The storyline was interesting in the way that the various mysteries they solved were related to each other and developed the bigger story behind the ML. I enjoyed the reveals behind each mystery. While some may prefer to be given enough clues to see if they can figure it out, I was happy enough to be spoon fed the deductions which were generally quite smart albeit a bit far fetched at times.

I am confused about the ML’s former love interest who on one hand seems to have gotten over him but on the other hand seems to show that she still cares for him… on one hand she writes him a break up letter and on the other hand she says she didn’t mean it… she even got married to someone just because that person loved her and cared for her throughout the ML’s disappearance for 10 years… no sign of love on her part and she was quick to leave him when he started getting jealous.

Some good twists in the drama especially the one with the mother bug which caught me by surprise. A good drama to watch if you’re not looking for romance and if you are ok with an open ending.

Random note - same Emperor and Empress from Destined made me do a double take as I had just finished that drama ;)

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Simple drama for a sweet romance

A good watch when you need something light and romantic. This had a nice storyline to create a fair amount heartfelt moments as you know the ML loves her although he knows he shouldn’t.

The FL had a nice amount quirky naivety mixed with a strong sense of justice so it was fun watching her expressions and her demeanour. It played off beautifully with the ML who was cool with a sharp tongue. Their bickering was natural and made me smile - one of them says “if you don’t use your mouth, you might as well give it to someone else” while the other retorts “if you don’t use your eyes, you might as well give it to someone else”.

How they transitioned from this to being a lovey dovey couple was a bit of a mystery to me and I even had to playback the episode but still didn’t catch it. Since the drama was not stingy with the kisses, they could also have made a more impactful confession for the couple instead of just suddenly having them stop arguing and start talking nicely to each other.

Good to see that the SML have his own happy ending with doesn’t involve a SFL. He had a good friendship with the ML and seeing more of it and why it happened in New Tales of Wulin Heroes was a bonus for me.

If you’re a fan of the ML, you must watch this. The hairstyle complemented him perfectly and I love seeing this more natural looking loose hair falling over his face. A big improvement from other dramas where 2 thick straight strands of hair from the temple looks so out of place.

Do also watch the New Tales of Wulin Heroes. They were short little snippets (+/- 5mins per episode) which helps to flesh out the relationship between the characters in a humorous way. Some of them between the main couple were very touching. It was nice that a few episodes were a continuation from where the drama ended. The last episode ended on a quirky note but personally, I would have preferred a sweet romantic ending.

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Beautifully written and told!

This historical drama starts off strong and ends even stronger. The title of the drama is very apt in so many ways and when you’ve finished this drama, there is a lot of positive reflection when you think about what “Under the Queen’s Umbrella” means to all the different characters.

It’s not just who she is to her sons but also to the King, her daughters-in-law, her grandchildren, the consorts, the consorts’ sons and even the deposed queen. She was their shelter and it was heartwarming to see some characters change for the better under her care.

Sets and costumes were gorgeous. Cinematography was mostly good but I wasn’t a fan of the side ways angles. The story had the usual palace drama elements but with a fresh story and some interesting twists, it was extremely entertaining.

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Full of drama, full of angst and full of slow mo

You need to be in the mood for this dark drama to be able to watch it. Then you also need to love the FL’s ability of being super clever and resourceful to pull off many many amazing actions like the one where she manages to bring the corpse back for the trial. Unfortunately for me, it was too over the top for me.

Sets and costumes were nice so if you can cross the 2 hurdles above, you’ll enjoy this drama. Story had some interesting twists and the last episode gave closure to most characters.

FL’s mother and father had the most impressive acting and it was wonderful to watch how expressive they were. Unfortunately, this made the FL & ML seem dull in comparison. FL seems to always be angry for some reason or another in every episode so this drama is not for you if you want to have some feel good vibes.

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Slow slow slow

A testament of a good drama is one that can keep me awake into the wee hours of morning to chase down the end. Unfortunately, this one didn’t.

What was good were the sets, cinematography and good looking actors. I can’t believe how they lost an opportunity to create a wow reveal by having the synopsis state upfront that FL was the leader of Yang Shang so you already knew she was Lu Wen from episode 1.

I like the meaning behind the crab roe rice and how it pops up in various parts of the drama. I like how the FL didn’t cling to the ML and she was her own strong person. I like how she spotted the people around her that were planted by the ML. I am confused by the 2 waterfall scenes that seem to pop up in the drama without revealing how they got to that place. The first one was more out of place as it suddenly talked about her not wanting to hear the truth from the ML…

Too much slow motion to create romantic moments especially during the episodes when he was at war. Also during this time, the FL became uncharacteristically less intuitive. How can a first timer soldier have access to a horse to break away from the main marching unit, just to ride back and meet up with the FL who was following them?

What was a nice surprise was the Empress - loved seeing her as a foodie and how tactful she was in conveying her point of view to the Emperor. The double meaning behind gifting a bird to the Empress Dowager was very nicely done. I am happy to see her and the Emperor have their happy ending as well.

If I didn’t think too much, I could have enjoyed this more but since the pacing was slow, I found it draggy instead. The last episode took me more than an hour to finish as I had to keep rewinding it as I fell asleep many times. And it wasn’t even very late into the night, just barely past midnight. An interesting drama can keep me going till 3am.

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Trying to be different by giving us a long ending but…

… it became draggy. Coupled with a weak storyline and a love sick male second lead, it was hard to keep my eyes open.

What I appreciated was that this drama didn’t wrap things up with a bang and give us a super short happy ending. Unfortunately, it overcompensated and dragged on the ending for too long. Although this drama also showed the FL dabbling in business, thankfully, it didn’t show her as being super savvy and overcoming lots of sabotages etc that many dramas of late seem to have as its theme. I love the 2 grandmothers. I also enjoyed the detailed wedding ceremony.

The ML is so similar to his character in Lost You Forever in the way he carries himself and speaks etc so I had a hard time wrapping my head around his character who manages to be rich enough to account for half the city’s wealth all while growing up in a family that doesn’t acknowledge him. It was already a stretch believing he was so driven that he excelled in his studies and martial arts but to also believe he was able to this genius businessperson in just a span of a few years is beyond unreal.

As for the FL, I was constantly distracted by her make up around her eyes and her voice. And I find it so hard to believe that as a person in love, she would so easily listen to a stranger and think that the second male lead wanted her dead. My heart goes out to the second male lead for being so devoted but it pained me more to see how he couldn’t move on and ended up being a love sick fool.

As for the whole idea of the FL and ML turning from siblings to lovers… I am not sold on this idea. From his perspective, he knew they weren’t related by blood so let his feelings grow. From her perspective, she felt her heart flutter when she first found out that there were siblings… so she had loved him while thinking he was her brother? Hmmm…

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First half fantastic, second half was not

Loved all the handsome demons, fantastic costumes & cgi, cheeky banter and hints of more than meets the eye as the great demon makes Zhou swear to kill him.

I was on the edge of my seat as this demon hunting crew solved various cases and my heart was repeated tugged by the bittersweet love stories - Ran Yi, the first Goddess & Demon and Plague Demon. All so handsome and all so tragic.

Then it all went south after Zhou became a demon. The stories got darker and Zhou was in tears every episode. The slow motion got more annoying as it became a repetition of sad music to accompany slow motion grief to squeeze out as many tears as possible from you as the drama went on a killing spree and ended the lives of so many characters.

The extra episode was helpful for a better closure but also suffered from too much slow motion.

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A journey that started well, took a detour and ended with…

… rain and a mirage.

Despite knowing that the last few episodes will be rushed and unexpected, I wanted to watch this as many have raved about how good the first 3/4 of the drama is. With each episode I enjoyed, my heart filled with dread to think how bad it could get towards the end… Thank goodness, it wasn’t as bad as I had expected.

The first 20 episodes were promising - good story which was beautifully shot, nicely paced and well edited. Then in the last quarter, the story unfolded very quickly with many things happening without much explanation so you were forced to accept things as they were (when the story revolved around the betrayal in Wu).

A romance that is realistic and grown up from the way they are attracted to each other to the way they express it to each other and sadly, to the way they contemplate if their different needs will make them happy to be together. Kisses are few but so much more meaningful than Wonderland of Love. The romance atmosphere sizzles instead with beautifully captured looks and embraces. Past the halfway mark, the romantic moments got a bit draggy and forced.

Humour done right with just enough to lighten the atmosphere and not over the top like My Journey To You. It is woven into the story naturally and does not just focus on one character being the court jester of the drama. While most of it comes from the self proclaimed expert on women which he plays very well, I also laughed out loud when the princess went from suicidal to talking about sweet and sour flavoured poison. I also loved the humorous sign language moments which are not usually found in dramas.

Acting was top notch. Both the ML and FL were good together and their chemistry in the beginning episodes were more touching. What I unexpectedly enjoyed were the sparks of love of the other 2 “couples” - very heartfelt and touching. 2 characters which I particularly like are the Princess and the Casanova. Seeing the princess transform realistically from playful and naive to independent and smart was a joy especially how she tried to save herself when she was “left behind” after her brother was rescued. My heart was constantly tugged with the complex Casanova character - the actor brilliantly portrayed his carefree attitude which hid so much deeper emotions within.

The fighting scenes were well choreographed and I enjoyed it despite it being super hero level martial arts as they also showed the leads sustaining injuries from the fight.

I accept what happened to the ML and FL in the end as it flowed well within the story. But the flash forward sequence (more than 10 years later) which vaguely alluded to children that could have been theirs and a dreamlike sequence which happened with a character that doesn't have a strong bond with them did not sit well with me. I would rather see how the princess turned out in the future and let her be the one to reminisce about the heroes.

Random notes:
1. Episode 10 - Crimson Guard received a secret message from a pigeon in the usual 2 inch length cylinder vessel. Next scene shows her unscrolling the message 5 inches long from top to bottom and 7 inches wide…
2. Not sure why all the romantic scenes were ok then for the one at night in the cave, there was the dreaded giant spotlight shining from behind the couples face… and the light came from the cave…

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A beautiful blend of hilarious and heartfelt moments

One of the rare dramas that made me laugh while shedding tears shows great direction and story telling. The last 2 episodes were the best at this and it was a joy to end a drama on a high and feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Acting was good and the characters of the main family were well fleshed out and you begin to see them in different light as the drama progresses. The interactions with each other were natural and it was fun seeing them bicker yet have each other’s back. While you start off thinking that one of the daughters was taken advantage of, it was beautifully told how this was far from the truth. While the mother seemed to rule the family with an iron fist, she loved them all fiercely and had many special moments with each of her daughters as she advised them and showed that she cared. A tiger mom that I can relate to.

A beautiful ending that has each daughter at different stages of their romance and not marrying all of them off is much appreciated so you feel that it is a life-goes-on story.

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Brilliant Season 1 !!

It is not often that you come across a drama that ends its first season nicely instead of just being an excuse to get past the 40-episode-cap rule on dramas. The ending didn’t leave you hanging but was complete in itself and made you look forward to season 2 to see how things will develop. That to me is a perfect way to have dramas that have season 2 and beyond. Kudos to the director!!

The FL was excellent! It was so refreshing to see her acting as a man. Her mannerisms were on point so all I had to do was get past her pretty face which was easy as it was explained that because she transformed her features so many times, she forgot how she looked like originally. I love her character and when she says she doesn’t want to hope for much so that she doesn’t get disappointed, it is so real to see that it is easier said than done when she has her heart broken.

Yes, there were little plot loopholes and cgi inconsistencies as with all other dramas, but there were easy to overlook as the storyline was so engaging. It just drew me in completely and I watched the first 10 episodes until the wee hours of morning.

Something little that stood out for me was positive eavesdropping. Usually, eavesdropping is used in dramas to create misunderstandings as only part of the message is heard. I was so happy to see the opposite here. The FL was talking about her first love and how he was like the moon (annd not a dusty jade) and his spirit animal relayed it back to him. So beautiful to see his tender loving smile when he heard this. The ML playing her love interest did superbly - you could see his joy, pain, frustration and jealousy and my heart broke when he could no longer cancel his engagement.

Another ML that I enjoyed watching was the demon. He was written very well and to see his many sides had me rooting for him and no longer seeing him as a villain. A classic bad boy with a touching past trope that was very well done.

I love the FL’s grandfather! Such a strong character and the actor playing him did a fantastic job especially in the final episode.

An ending that doesn’t see the FL paired off romantically with anyone and the reason for that is justified. So I am very much looking forward to Season 2 to see if her first love manages to get out of his marriage or if things will develop further with the demon ML. Either one and I would still be happy!

Updated with review for Season 2:
7/10 : Can’t hold a candle to season 1. Repetitive sentences said in anger or grief became too grating on my nerves. Story was not interesting anymore. Finished it just to see how they wrapped things up. At least it was a happy ending mostly.

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Refreshingly Delicious Palace Drama

With a title that included the word delicacies, I was happy to feast my eyes on all the food related shots from preparation to cooking to eating!

This palace drama was different from the usual back stabbing and plotting ones I have watched in the past and it was a breath of fresh air for me. Instead you got supportive king and queen who didn’t make a fuss when they realised their son was falling in love with the female chef. And the usual sibling rivalry was replaced by supportive siblings be it the brothers or even the sister.

Romance was sweet and I felt it more from the ML who was good at expressing his shyness and love much better than the FL.

I watch this on Disney+ and was confused with Episode 17 which was labelled as an alternative ending but all the scenes shown in that extra episode was already shown earlier. Probably some editing issues as Episode 16 itself showed 2 different endings which boggled me and left me without a proper closure.

A simple drama that you will enjoy if you like food, a touch of romance and rarely found supportive royal family dynamics.

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Was that the end?

My first time finishing an enjoyable drama with this question as the closing credits continued on instead of the “next episode” button. Partially due to my expectation of Kdramas containing at least 16 episodes but mainly because I felt these were so many loose threads hanging in the air.

Why did the grandfather suddenly consent in the end? No follow through on how the rumours of them dating played out - did running away to the US solve everything? Second FL’s relationship with the father just ends like that? Engaged for a year and no sign of marriage?

Such a pity to end the drama this way.

Other than the last episode, I generally enjoyed this cute romcom as the story telling was a fresh take on the classic rich-guy poor-girl romance. I liked how both couples acknowledged their feelings and got together relatively early without too much misunderstandings or annoying drawn-out love triangles. Kisses were not too stingy and the couples even slept together so this drama should satisfy those looking for a fair bit of romance in their drama.

There’s talk about some additional episodes so hopefully I’ll get my questions answered then but as it stands, my low rating reflects my personal dislike of dramas with rushed endings or unanswered questions.

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Emotionally charged historical journey

The first few episodes were a bit of hit and miss for me as the sets did not look realistic enough and the acting was a bit stiff. Stick with it and you’ll soon be rewarded with nicer looking sets, mesmerising costumes and an engaging storyline as the romance starts building up.

It was interesting to see that most of the villains were not totally evil and had their own reasons for their actions and that they too had their own suffering. Because the drama is set over many decades, you could also see some characters going through many different changes, some for the better and some for the worst. While I hated Princess Ya, her heart-to-heart talk with Hao Lan and her love realisation in the end touched me.

I also enjoyed the many reveals throughout showed which gave an insight into how clever some of the characters were especially Lv Buwei, Hao Lan and Prince Yiren. They not only worked together towards a common goal but also did their fair share of baiting each other for different purposes (eg putting a hole in the Queen’s bedroom so she would have to stay at the King’s palace and she leaving the palace knowing he would come after her to bring her back). Even villains like the evil Zhao Queen was captivating as she understood so much more than the Zhao King and executed so many smart moves.

It’s a man’s world… such a sad underlying theme that many of female characters lamented. Although noble by birth or living as a princess, consort or queen, it was heart breaking to see how they were not happy primarily because of the many restrictions they faced and how their destiny was controlled by men in power.

The more I got pulled into this drama, the more emotional I got whenever I heard the opening theme song. Despite not understanding the lyrics, I teared up every time I heard the sad melody and haunting vocals.

One of the best writing in this drama was when Lv Buwei had his final conversation with the King of Qin. One of the most memorable (and frustrating) moment for me is how the King of Qin settled things on his own leading to Hao Lan misunderstanding him. I felt so sad for her as she was not able to get proper closure.

When the drama continued on with Hao Lan’s son ascending the throne, it became less engaging for me but still ok as I was curious to see how closely the story would follow the historical records.

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Lopsided Love

Perhaps this was THE drama to watch back in 2010 but watching it now more than a decade later, I was much less entertained with this drama compared to Crash Landing On You.

With CLOY, I could see and understand the budding romance between the leads although there were more reasons for the FL to fall in love with the ML.

With SG, it was clear to see that why the ML fell in love with the FL but I am struggling to understand how she fell in love with him when he constantly talked down to her and humiliated her.

The story was interesting in itself and the body swaps were well done. So I just had to keep ignoring the nagging feelings I had about “why does she love him?” in order to enjoy the drama. I’ve come to expect a little twist at the end of Korean dramas and this drama didn’t disappoint with its touching version.

Both leads acted well which kept me watching particularly the ML with his internal struggles of trying to figure out why he is attracted to the FL. The FL was a cool stuntwoman character and seeing her in action was very believable. Another plus point was seeing the ML looking so young after seeing his more mature self in CLOY. Definitely prefer him older with a squarer jawline. His younger self was the typical skinny pretty boy look which I am not keen on especially when he was wearing his designer track suits.

At times, I wished the FL would end up with Oska as he clearly treated her so much better all the time. But I knew it was wishful thinking since he is not the ML. Thankfully, it wasn’t written as a love triangle and Oska had his own love interest.

If you’re after a more balanced relationship in your romance drama, it’s best to look elsewhere.

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Gorgeous sets and costumes!!

Not a fan of this period of time in China as the costumes are not not flowy like in wuxia dramas and cannot appreciate the half bald hairdo for the men and finger accessory for the women BUT

The story was engaging, the sets evoked grandeur and costumes were richly embroidered.

As this was my introduction to palace drama, I was not put off by all the back stabbing and plotting that happened at every turn. It was intriguing to watch all the events unfold as I empathised with all the women having to “share” one husband. I am glad I do not live in those times.

Yingluo was an exceptionally written character. She was placed in many different situations and through it all, her quick wit saved her and those she cared for.

If you only want to watch just one palace drama, this should be the one.

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