It's like the best surprise gift to click on EP1 of a drama without reading anything about it before. I was browsing netflix, clicked start, and i found such a surprise treat!! Beautiful, sweet and warm drama about first love. The cast, teenage couple and adult couple, were perfect. The non-linear storytelling was well done.
this drama is a solid 8/8.5. it's well produced, well paced, characters are interesting, no fillers, plot is not too logic-bending (i assume that locally they can't really be 100% realistic about this type of subject). it's a police drama set in a rough environment. focus is about the police work to dismantle narcotics gangs. no romance (barely there so better to say there's no romance), and no visually pleasing fashion and such. also it's not a full suspense as you'll understand early on who's who or at least assume right :-) FYI: there is closure (an ending with eng subs) if you watch the SP2 on youku app. this ending is not on Viki.
Loved this drama! one of the best romances I watched in years!
for anyone who's looking for a well-written romance (many memorable lines & scenes) with great chemistry btw the leads that makes you feel for them and with them. And for a mature (older) audience, in my opinion. for anyone who loved the cdrama "The First Half of My Life" , there's a high chance also like this kdrama :-)
not for anyone who is extra/super sensitive to cheating in a fiction. not for anyone who wants a fast paced/action packed/comedy relief type of drama. my humble advice would be to avoid this drama and watch something else. assume that's why the rating in MDL is lower than expected.
"Please help me. I want to end things cleanly with her. Help me. Help me."
The most despicable cry for help possible...Who did he think he's asking help from and regarding what now!?!???
*end of rant.
Please do watch if you're looking for a very good, mature cdrama, well produced, and with characters that you can empathise with and root for until the end.
I know right! When i saw him on interview i feel like he's really Shang Xi Rui and not Andrew Yin! His personality…
I didn't know this actor before watching WB but he nailed SXR role! The fact that he shined even among the great performances by all the cast really speaks for his acting skills. don't know much about award shows in China unfortunately but I hope he will pick up at least one :-))
I wish I was a writer to convey how beautiful this drama is... It's hard to explain feelings and this drama gets you in the feelings...the result of superb acting (Yin Zheng deserves to win an acting award for this drama!) and a superb screenplay...
Yeah i started watching this drama a week ago and finished ep 11 today tomorrow will be the end of it and just…
Enjoy the last episode! This writer so far has 5 dramas in my "highest scored" drama watchlist so I really like her way to tell these stories. I especially love the ensemble cast which are perfect in all her dramas. My faves are reply 1997 and prison playbook.
I'm biased to this writer as I loved all her previous dramas and once again she nailed this one...with that said, watch this drama just for the sake of the first episode alone, where you will see priets, nuns and darth vador's helmet :-)
A must watch if you like a well written palace-centric Cdrama with smart characters. Top notch acting and great chemistry between main leads. I was rooting for their romance although I was obviously kidding myself since this is a historical CDrama with smart leads...meaning no one will stay together in the rare possibility anyone stays alive at the end...I don't make the rules in dramaland :-( ( Last episodes were a bit disappointing with a few sudden changes in character but this drama is 70 eps long so can't dismiss how good it is just because of the last 5 episodes.
Superb acting! This drama deserved better eng subs (youtube version) because the dialogues are complex and layered with meaning. Even with the so-so eng subs, I still think this is one of the best CDramas I watched over the years so I just imagine how good it would have been with better subs!
A number of male characters in this drama are pathetic (i'm being nice) and one is especially despicable (again, i'm being nice in my choice of words) so the ML is like a light shining in the night. Well done by the writer as these male characters were the perfect contrasting wallpaper to the ML.
You know a drama is good when you keep clicking next episode because you need to know what happens next. You also know a drama is good when you empathize with the characters and root for them (or against them). Solid acting, solid writing, solid production. Bravo!
The first drama where I laughed when someone got hit by a car... This drama suffers from the same ills as most long dramas that have absolutely no reason to be 48 episodes long...the main story is not that deep (or well written in the first place) so writers came up with idiotic plots and scenes that serve no purpose but to fill up time. And really: europe? How does that even make sense...
Would you choose Xu Feng or Run Yu? It depends on your personal definition of love.
- Xu Feng felt entitled to his love because she shared his feelings and loved him back, because they had shared moments, dating, and had a mutual romantic relationship. Their relationship started years before anyone knew she was his brother's potential fiancee.
- Run Yu felt entitled to his love because he had a terrible childhood and life in general, he suffered under terrible evil parents, she was the first girl/woman he met who was very kind and friendly to him, he saved her life several times to the expense of his own, he said to her many times that he wants only her, and last but not least her father promised to marry them before she was born (so she wasn't consulted and didn't agree to the engagement).
Both male leads have flaws but these are their romantic claims in a nutshell.
How adorable was their dad? Always so dignified but really subtly adorable and in love with his 2 sons. Said sons were also in love with each other and their dad so making it a full circle of adorableness (not a word, I know). I mean this drama is a perfect one in many aspects (as many already commented before) but I felt someone needed to comment here just about the dad :-)
A must watch KDrama if you like a well written story & dialogues, witty humor, great characters, good acting by all, good music choices, and I can go on and on. I loved it! ''Bromance'' is a weak word to define the beautiful friendship between the 2 males leads. My fav character was Yoo Han Yang....
No one 'wrist grabbed' no one, no piggyback rides, she didn't get drunk and throw up in front of him, he wasn't abusive to her, no evil mother in law, no beautiful successful smart but strangely clingy 'don't get the message' ex girlfriend/childhood friend, no love triangle, no one kept their eyes wide open while they kissed...but...but...they still fell in love with each other...Shocker! ;-) Watching 2 mature adults with a painful past, choose to give love another chance, was refreshing and beautiful in its own way.
It didn't feel like 45 eps. That's a compliment to the writers, the actors, and the director of this drama. I was too engrossed watching their lives and decisions enfold, so I kept clicking next until I found myself watching the final ep and wondering how did i get here so fast!??! This drama could have had an extra 20 eps and i would have been fine with it :-) This is a real jewel of a drama from China. All the love stories, and the heartbreaks, in this drama are plausible and real. No one is a complete villain, just men and women caught in their highest and/or lowest moments of their lives, some moments they can be proud of and some moments they better hide or forget. Yes, one can fall in love with someone unvoluntarily. It is the way they handled it that was perfect in my opinion.
Beautiful, sweet and warm drama about first love. The cast, teenage couple and adult couple, were perfect. The non-linear storytelling was well done.
it's well produced, well paced, characters are interesting, no fillers, plot is not too logic-bending (i assume that locally they can't really be 100% realistic about this type of subject).
it's a police drama set in a rough environment. focus is about the police work to dismantle narcotics gangs. no romance (barely there so better to say there's no romance), and no visually pleasing fashion and such. also it's not a full suspense as you'll understand early on who's who or at least assume right :-)
FYI: there is closure (an ending with eng subs) if you watch the SP2 on youku app. this ending is not on Viki.
for anyone who's looking for a well-written romance (many memorable lines & scenes) with great chemistry btw the leads that makes you feel for them and with them. And for a mature (older) audience, in my opinion.
for anyone who loved the cdrama "The First Half of My Life" , there's a high chance also like this kdrama :-)
not for anyone who is extra/super sensitive to cheating in a fiction.
not for anyone who wants a fast paced/action packed/comedy relief type of drama.
my humble advice would be to avoid this drama and watch something else. assume that's why the rating in MDL is lower than expected.
I want to end things cleanly with her.
Help me.
Help me."
The most despicable cry for help possible...Who did he think he's asking help from and regarding what now!?!???
*end of rant.
Please do watch if you're looking for a very good, mature cdrama, well produced, and with characters that you can empathise with and root for until the end.
don't know much about award shows in China unfortunately but I hope he will pick up at least one :-))
It's hard to explain feelings and this drama gets you in the feelings...the result of superb acting (Yin Zheng deserves to win an acting award for this drama!) and a superb screenplay...
This writer so far has 5 dramas in my "highest scored" drama watchlist so I really like her way to tell these stories. I especially love the ensemble cast which are perfect in all her dramas. My faves are reply 1997 and prison playbook.
Last episodes were a bit disappointing with a few sudden changes in character but this drama is 70 eps long so can't dismiss how good it is just because of the last 5 episodes.
This drama suffers from the same ills as most long dramas that have absolutely no reason to be 48 episodes long...the main story is not that deep (or well written in the first place) so writers came up with idiotic plots and scenes that serve no purpose but to fill up time.
And really: europe? How does that even make sense...
- Xu Feng felt entitled to his love because she shared his feelings and loved him back, because they had shared moments, dating, and had a mutual romantic relationship. Their relationship started years before anyone knew she was his brother's potential fiancee.
- Run Yu felt entitled to his love because he had a terrible childhood and life in general, he suffered under terrible evil parents, she was the first girl/woman he met who was very kind and friendly to him, he saved her life several times to the expense of his own, he said to her many times that he wants only her, and last but not least her father promised to marry them before she was born (so she wasn't consulted and didn't agree to the engagement).
Both male leads have flaws but these are their romantic claims in a nutshell.
I mean this drama is a perfect one in many aspects (as many already commented before) but I felt someone needed to comment here just about the dad :-)
''Bromance'' is a weak word to define the beautiful friendship between the 2 males leads.
My fav character was Yoo Han Yang....
Watching 2 mature adults with a painful past, choose to give love another chance, was refreshing and beautiful in its own way.
This is a real jewel of a drama from China.
All the love stories, and the heartbreaks, in this drama are plausible and real. No one is a complete villain, just men and women caught in their highest and/or lowest moments of their lives, some moments they can be proud of and some moments they better hide or forget.
Yes, one can fall in love with someone unvoluntarily. It is the way they handled it that was perfect in my opinion.