Tanky Toon

Romance chemistry is around 6 or 7 for me as I find them more mellow than sweet.

You hit the nail in the head in regards to Liming and FanXing. I actually am shipping them more than FanXing with Yuan Song.

Luming's interaction and friendship with Fan Xing is way more natural and fun while Yuan Song and Fan Xing always have misunderstandings that lead them into arguments and they keep hiding things from each other which is not a good relationship to have.

I know Luming will not get the girl but I was wishing he did. There's the rare instance of a drama switching gears at the last minute and have the SML be with the FL.

As long as Xi Jin Ping is in power, and the ban still in place, I don't see any of these danmei adaptations happening soon. Unless they totally make these adaptations into Hetero romance, Or if they heavily modify the drama to exclude any type or indication of a "socialist brotherhood", these adaptations are not going to air. Production looks like finished for this for quite a while now, and either the production company has abandoned the project or currently editing the content to pass Chinese censorship. They also would need sponsors to air this and not even sure whether the original sponsors are still backing this project up. When The Untamed, WOH etc have been popular and making money, they might be on board, but you never know if they want to risk being "punished" by the Chinese govt for a drama that may not even see the light of day. The only other possibility for this to air is whether fans of danmei will still be able to accept a watered-down, heteronormative version of the original novel. If so, then hopefully censors will overlook the source material and treat the show as its own creative work, so this will get passed and released and the efforts of the cast and crew will not be in vain. Otherwise, this will be stuck in production hell for goodness knows how long.

No, at the end the FL went back to be with her lost tribe.

There looks like a 2nd season as the MC only defeated one of his enemies and he did say he needs to find out who the mastermind is. So it's open ending if I would label as such.

As others have already mentioned, Lakorns are targeted towards a mainstream audience while BLs are more of a niche market, so in a sense, this show is introducing the plight of LGBTQ+ Thais during the 1930s/40s, that many others (who are not viewers of BLs) may not know about. Until homophobia is completely eradicated from society, I think it's worthwhile to produce meaningful dramas that tackle these issues.

The over the top acting is pretty much a staple of Thai lakorns, like how you need to see excessive nose flaring, eye-brow raising, lip-twitching to make sure that they convey their points across.

I would say that this is less of a BL, and more of a lakorn with LGBTQ+ elements. BLs usually focus more on the romance, but this one focused more on the family drama. And because it is set in early 1900s, it makes sense to depict the society at that time, which is largely homophobic. The interactions between the two gay characters are minimal compared to the surrounding drama and only served as a catalyst for multiple members of the family to fight for power.

I dropped MFB. Wasn't to my liking.

It depends on the taste of people. I personally would have skipped this if I don't have the time. Out of the contemporary noona romances out there, I liked "Why Women Love" the best. I haven't watched "Falling into You" yet with the same lead actress as WWL. But the premise looks good.

They got together close to the end. Ep. 27.
No breakup and although the girl has suitors, there was not a strong rivalry.

Close to the end. Ep. 27.

This show definitely exceeded the hype surrounding it, what's not to love?!? Park Eun Bin is damn amazing as the autistic attorney who was struggling to fit in a cut-throat industry where everyone sees her diagnosis as a hindrance, rather than as a gift. Young Woo's tenacity to be self-sufficient was partly thanks to her father who has devoted his life encouraging Young Woo to be the person she wants to be. Kang Tae Oh delivers as Lee Joon Ho, the kind litigator who does not hold any prejudices (unlike most people in their society) and sometimes find Young Woo's quirks endearing.

I love the camaraderie among the legal crew although some of them may have ulterior motives in befriending Young Woo, but in the end, they put aside their selfish wants to become better people. The drama is nail-biting to watch as Young Woo unravels case after case with the help of her colleagues, and it was fascinating to see how Young Woo matures and overcomes her social disability to reach her full potential.

I went into this thinking this would be a noona romance as it was labelled as such, but for me, a one-year age gap does not constitute a noona romance. For me, the difference would have to be greater than 5 years to be even called that. Despite this, it was enjoyable show because not only it centered on the romance, but also focused on different familial relationships. Rowoon is adorable as the patient trainee who was overeager to please his mentor. We see him struggle with his feelings and also with the knowledge that his crush has a two-timing boyfriend. Won Jin Ah isn't so shabby as the no-nonsense manager who was very private about her relationships, that she had wool over her eyes, if it weren't for Hyung Seung.

As for the other characters, the sisters of Hyun Seung stood out for me, and their relationship with their brother was endearing. While I find Lee Hyo Joo a cloying biatch who gaslights a spineless Jae Shin into a forced marriage, her odd-ball brother Jae Woon became more of a decent character as the show progresses. One setback for me was the numerous characters this drama introduced with the many side arcs, and some of which were predictable like I can spot the backstory of Yun Seung's husband from a mile away. Otherwise, a decent drama.

I would not have finished this drama if not for the fast-forwarded button. Nothing but the main couple was worth my time. The secondary couples were so bland and boring, and I could even care less about their individual lives. The only other aspect that I did watch besides the romance of the main CP was the office politics. I was rooting for Ruo Xin to get her comeuppance and well-deserved executive position.

The only other character besides the main couple who I liked was Qi Xiao's mother. Compared to Ruo Xin's mother (the stereotypical Asian mom), Li Ting is a breath of sunshine in terms of mothers in Chinese-drama land. I was also excited about the arrival of Xu Ming Jie, not in terms of a rival suitor, but as an intuitive and supportive boss who wants to see Ruo Xin's career flourish despite being rejected.

1) When Jia mixes the beetle orchid mushroom that is supposed to kill other people when consumed or inhaled, she does so without use of gloves or any type of mask covering her nose/face while preparing the poisonous drug.
2) When Jia/Li throw the poisonous dust in the air, somehow the substance only targets certain people even though others are in the same vicinity.
3) Chan and her maid are always lurking around, with that amount of snooping, you would think that they would catch Li/Jia while the latter pair concoct their plans sometimes out in the open.
4) For the majority of the show, Mr. Song always walks with his cane, but all of sudden, he was able to run and give chase to Jiu. What happened to his walking stick?
5) For people supposedly so rich that they live in mansions, the lack of security is laughable that people are able to sneak in and out without anyone noticing. When they have so many workers under their employment, it was really a funny thing where people happen to be conveniently absent.
6) While the opposite is true in the town square, where people conveniently run into each other.
7) Everybody trying to find out "this secret", you would think that by mentioning "this secret" like over 100 times, it would not be a secret anymore. The title of the show should be "The Secret" since it was uttered so many times, that it should be "The Secret." You know what I mean by "The Secret"? Don't tell anyone this secret, because it's a secret.

Hahhaha hahhaha I didn't know this is such a comedy. Laughing so hard at the technical inconsistencies in the drama. There are so many to count but here are the major ones (under Spoiler):

I'm only on episode 5 and that biatch 2nd wife is pissing me the fxck off! She and that Dong guy are a perfect pair!

No skinship at all. No confessions of love, nothing except maybe knowledge that they like each other. The show isn't finished but at the end, they aren't together. Maybe next season. I haven't watched JOL.

What a fun drama this is. In the beginning, I was not really sold on the lukewarm, almost non-existent chemistry between the male and female leads, but the main father-son tandem more than made up for it. If you are expecting romance, this is not the drama, but if you are fond of intricate schemes and a hodge-podge of quirky characters, this is the show for you.

I loved seeing Zhang Ruo Yun portray the cunning heir to the Northern region, who uses his dumb, playboy persona as a cover, but he is really a thoughtful person who values friendship, family and loyalty. Hu Jun as Xu Xiao is so freaking adorable as Feng Nian's loving father who, out of good intentions, plans his son's path to the throne, but does so with more shrewdness and usually at other people's expense. Feng Nian tries to outwit his father's well-intended machinations while his merry band of martial artists travel across mountains and seas to meet his brother and sisters. On the way, Feng Nian meets more allies and enemies while on his quest to fight for peace and justice.

Side characters are very well-fleshed out and memorable. I especially loved Lao Huang and Li Chun Gang who are Feng Nian's mentors/companions. The fight scenes can sometimes be over the top some times but are quite entertaining to watch. Can't wait for Season 2.