Kate

gotta appreciate a drama that makes you think 😭😭

Wang's mom is a selfish 🐍

8/10. Was thinking maybe 8.5, but I surprisingly had quite a few issues with the drama 🥲
Long story short:

👍🏻 found family trope
👍🏻 fother-son relationship between He Zi Qiu and Li Hai Chao
👍🏻 the bond between the 3 main cast
👍🏻 well defined supporting characters with their own stories and struggles
👍🏻 performances!
👍🏻 soundtrack!
👍🏻 all the friendships!

👎🏻 vilification of mothers
👎🏻 the message - no matter what you cannot give up on your mother
👎🏻 too many dysfunctional families
👎🏻 the questionable takes on mental health

for more elaborated thoughts, check the review 🤣🤣

Review: https://kisskh.at/profile/Shini/reviews/330285

The finale to this show is ... baffling < it was all good until literally last few minutes. And the literally last scene? ML just sitting waiting for her to come back and we hear the door opening? That's it? Felt more like a cliffhanger for the end of the episode mid drama, not the end of the whole story.

you have more patience than me 🤣

I liked the past story, but the present one had little to offer 🥲

there were like one or two moments when I thought she might see the light, but always managed to go back to her delusional denial 🙂

As every single one of the people in here was crying for help in one way or another, making me hope all three would go their separate ways, get help and move on with their lives... < literally. I actually hoped that by the end Wang would leave both In and his mom and try to find his own happiness in the freedom outside of the relationships he had, since by the end of the episode, he was the only one truly ready to take a step to improve and heal...

literally wanted to quote the same line from the review when I was reading it just now 🤣🤣

That's the thing romance driven drama always get wrong - they write an amazing couple, but they forget that these characters are their own people outside of their relationship. I love that here the writer kept the balance 🥰

my heart belonged to Chen Zhe Yuan and all the characters he plays after Our Secret 🤣🤣

Visually they truly put 10000% of effort. It's not exactly my aesthetics, but it's undeniable the dramas is great in that aspect.

She was AT TIMES good at analyzing things - when the plot needed that. In other cases she was blind to the most obvious things. And while she matured later, she was not mature for most of the drama.

For me the whole writing lacked detail.

his stepmom was a whole new level of makjang drama. It was so over the top 🙂

I cannot move past blowjob healing panic attacks 🤡

fun, I guess 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤣

First episode was a good one. I almost gave up starting it with how overall disappointing kdramas were this year (especially this type of big hyped productions).

not gonna lie, piles of dead bodies is not how I thought the drama would start 🙂 and on that gruesome topic, I'm not sure if I quite yet vibe with how they mix the lighter tones with these scenes. Something does not click just right. Like... the tone does not transition well between these scenes.

LOVE the styling and directing in terms of the aesthetics. Honestly, I think Korea does better with period pieces than modern dramas with thew styling.

Also, they better give Yun Chae Ok some flaws or I am going to hate her. For now, she is literally good at everything 🤡

"It's fine if you insult me, but don't insult my money" 🤡 pRiORiTiEs

They do have insecure people in thailand tho 😂 like, I'm talking about them simplifying the characters in terms of general human traits and internal issues that are found in all cultures.

they don't have to be a copycat, I even complimented this Thai version after episode 1, since it seemed to keep the essence of who the characters are, while also making them seem like a new people.

But since they are both adaptations of the same story, it's fair to compare them. And in terms of how the characters are set up and presented, Japanese version made them seem like they have more depth than Thai version. It's just that.

So my issues with New's acting start now 🤡
He just does not have enough skill to show the vulnerability behind his awkwardness. He just seems awkward and his performance leans more into the comedy - it does not give the same depth Akaso Eiji was able to deliver as Adachi. When I watched Adachi on screen I felt so many emotions - it was cute how awkward he was, at time funny, but it was also sad because he did so great at show that his awkwardness comes from lack of confidence and that's truly an issue. Achi is just... awkward and that's it. Like... awkwardly shy.

And as much as I like Tay and his acting, I'm not sure I'm vibing with how Karan was reinterpreted in this version. One of the most interesting aspect of his character was the internal conflict. On one hand he liked Adachi and wanted to get close to him, on the other he often felt guilty for using any and all opportunity to make it happen. But this ain't really happening here 🤡 It has to be in all of the performance, not just one line at the end of the episode 😭

ps. a lot of people mentioning how it's an adaptation of the manga, and not remake. Does not really change my view. If manga is more in line with this thai version, then Japanese adaptation is better than the manga itself 😐