Don’t give up after the first two episodes!
After the first two episodes, I’m not gonna lie, I did not want to continue watching. I’m just not into the cringy, overly dramatic, hyper cutesy type of drama.But! I gave it a chance. And after I continued watching, I realized that this was an easter egg drama. What do I mean by that? I mean it presents this cute, cliché, cringy façade but it actually deals with a lot of serious topics.
I love how much representation is in this drama. As a lot of other reviews have probably suggested, it is one of the few popular BLs in the spotlight that portrays fem gays in roles that are not comic relief and also includes other LGBTQ+ couples. There are actual strong friendships, people respecting others pronouns, realistic feelings of anxiety tied with confidence or body positivity, and a lot of unconditional love.
I’m so glad I did not go with my gut feeling and abandon this drama. It has been so worth it.
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Golden cast, golden message
Side note: this kinda gave me Romance is a Bonus Book vibes with its focus on writing/publishing. This was definitely better though.I love the subtle messages that this drama infuses in the cute romantic plot line. I feel like they were trying to highlight so many issues, from hypersexualization of lgbtq+ relationships within the lit/entertainment world to generational trauma tied to homophobia.
I'm not gonna lie, when I first started to watch this I thought it would be just another overused trope. I couldn't understand why certain characters already seemed to have feelings for one another and I thought things were moving way too fast to follow. Without spoiling, I'm just gonna say this... EVERY THING WILL MAKE SENSE EVENTUALLY. Stick around til the end! I promise it is so worth it.
What drew me to Lovely Writer was Kao from UWMA (the BEST bl if I do say so myself). His acting here is so enchanting and convincing, I genuinely felt like Nubsib was INFATUATED with Gene. It's the little things like the way he would look at him and how he would act when he missed him. I actually felt jealous!
Anyway, watch Lovely Writer.
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ml LOVES the fl
I’d say what really made this drama stand out to me is the way we see the characters falling in love. The ML is so expressive with his eyes that I could immediately tell when he became obsessed with the FL. This woman had him ON HIS KNEES in love with her. The way he acts when she’s in the room is insane, it felt like I was really watching a crush form and grow. Although I couldn’t tell right away when the FL fell for him, I thought their dynamic was so cute. The trope of falling in love in a foreign country is not overdone, so I really liked seeing it here. It is a refreshing watch and a perfect drama to start on a snowy day!The supporting characters also really cared for the main couple and helped push them together. The FL’s brother in particular was stellar (I don’t want to spoil so that’s all I’ll say). He got a 10/10 from me.
This is a great winter watch, especially if you’re tired of corny dramas where the main couple doesn’t even like each other.
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Cute and sweet
I rarely watch shows that are ongoing, since I prefer binge watching, but this was worth the wait each episode. I wasn't hanging from a thread in dire need of a continuation; I was content and quite intrigued.The cast was really well picked. I've only ever seen the FL in Itaewon Class and it was really nice seeing her in this role. The story was great (not AMAZING but it did sum up a realistic childhood-to-adult-life relationship). The music was PERFECT. I have no complaints.
Everything ended quite nicely too and nothing seemed really forced. I recommend watching if you are looking for a lowkey, cute, modern, non-intense drama.
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Cute but kinda dumb
Along with everyone else who watched Love Alarm in 2019, I was looking forward to season 2 so much. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't LOVE season 1, but I thought it was interesting and it definitely grabbed my attention.There are many thing's that went wrong with season two. I shall proceed to list a few, but I don't want to spoil so I will be very vague.
1. Too Short - I feel like this is an obvious one considering there are only 6 episodes.
2. Underdeveloped Characters - Just when I thought we were gonna get some juicy background on someone, they left us hanging. There were new characters introduced, but I still can't comprehend their relevance to the storyline.
3. Acting - Okay, please don't come for my head. THEY'RE CUTE, I KNOW! But you have to admit, the acting is a little bit on the overly dramatic side from time to time.
4. Climax - I don't know... what the climax was? Where was it? When?
5. Effects - Only good effect was the rain. That's it.
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room for much improvement
I was really excited about this drama, based on the cast list, but I'm a slight bit disappointed by how everything plays out.First, I hoped (based on the title) that this would be a supernatural drama where the FL is actually a siren. I feel like they tease the siren imagery a lot with the water scenes and the mermaid wine bottle logo. It would have fit so well with the mystery/murder/romance themes too! But unfortunately the siren thing is just a motif. Wasted potential, in my opinion. I feel like if the yacht victim is actually killed by some sort of underwater creature, it would make for an even more gripping and riveting plot.
Second, the relationship dynamic between the FL and ML isn't great. They're both great actors and they're visually stellar, but I think the chemistry is a little wonky. There's also an issue of writing in the character dynamic. We don't really know what attracts the characters to one another (aside from a weird stockholm-syndrome-trauma-bond). We can tell that the ML is enraptured by the FL... just like every other man in the drama,.. but we really can't tell WHY. I wanted to know the finer details, not just that he finds her gorgeous and empathizes with her suffering.
On a slight tangent, and I do not mean to body shame, the actress who plays the FL looks worryingly, undernourished. Compared to other roles I've seen her in, I was genuinely concerned by how visible her bones were in this drama. Again, this is not to shame her—and obviously I don't know what is going on in her private life, so it's not my place to say—but I just found myself constantly hoping she was alright when she came onscreen. It kind of took away from the viewing experience too, in like a fourth wall breaking kind of way.
Fourth, the killer reveal is not shocking at all, but it's kind of lackluster. It's satisfying to see who the person is, but then we transition to the ending so quickly that I'm left with so many questions as a viewer. I wanted to know more about the psychological background, motives and goals of the killer. We only get a glimpse! I wanted to know if the killer is capable of true love, or only attachment/obsession. I wanted to know why the killer makes the decision that they make at the end of episode 12, AFTER ALL THAT BUILD UP. Ugh. The ending pisses me off so bad.
Ok, so I did spend most of this review complaining; however, I was genuinely engaged the entire time I was watching this drama. I waited until a bunch of episodes dropped before I started binge watching, then found myself excited each week for the next episode. Is there a lot a room for improvement? Yes. Is it still a fun watch? Sure. Would I recommend it? Most likely.
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Jaw drop, amazing.
I just finished watching The Glory and I am literally at a loss for words.I started watching this drama earlier this year and I was so sad when I thought there were no episodes left. Part 2 was so amazing, I could not stop watching once I started. This show is one of the best kdramas I've ever watched in my life. Every time I thought I knew what would happen next, something unexpected would happen.
The cast is amazing, the acting is enthralling, the emotions are visceral, and the plot is stellar.
I really hope there's another season. If not, though, I'm so satisfied by the end.
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Loved it... but I get the hate
As a simple feel good drama, this BL hits the spot! It's steamy, shocking, and in my opinion hilarious. Literally, moments that should have been serious felt like peak comedy to me.I really hated the casting at first—specifically Kamol because I could not associate his babyface and tiny-ness with being a mafia boss. The main couple's dynamic made up for it though.
Was I left with endless questions throughout the drama and in the end? Of course. But what this drama did right was establish a bunch of healthy aspects that are needed to grow a mature relationship. It did start off super toxic (which is still entertaining) but then it surprised me by how much the main couple communicated and listened to each other. Although this is the typical mafia trope, be prepared to expect the unexpected.
I still can't put my finger on how the main couple came to love each other, but that's fine. I enjoyed it and it was funny.
Petition to have a second season for the second couple!
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The story was good. It's a mediocre concept, but they carried it out quite well. There's this one scene (I'm not gonna spoil) but all of the main characters are in it and it's funny asf.
The acting was good, not great. There were some highs and lows, but like I said... I LOVE THE MAIN COUPLE.
The music SLAPS. I'm a Jessi fan so My Romeo had me jamming in my blanket. I honestly looked up the OST on Spotify because I loved it so much.
As I said before, I've rewatched this twice so the rewatch value is a solid 10. I really love this drama.
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WOAH.
There are very few dramas that shake me to my core, but Word of Honor is certainly one them. The way I felt after I finished watching it is similar to how I felt after watching The Untamed, Revenged Love, Unknown The Series and Until We Meet Again—absolutely wrecked and at a loss for words.There are so many things that worked incredibly well in this BL, especially in terms what what slipped under the censorship radar. Although the novel is a technically BL (I haven't actually read it, yet but will be SOON), the drama is technically bromance. I must say, though, that I TOTALLY forgot this is bromance because the relationship dynamic between the two leads is so passionate, strong and visible, It's not sugar-coated. They LITERALLY call each other "soulmate" and promise "live and die together." There are other smaller hints of their love throughout the drama, which I won't get into that because I don't want to spoil.
I started watching this drama because I saw a TikTok meme edit that said something like, 'two single dad's get married and start a family' and I wanted to know how accurate the meme was. AND IT WAS. The pure, domestic moments (interspersed by action/fighting enemies) that the male leads get are so cute and endearing. The way they look at each other, banter, protect and support each other, spend time together and talk about one another to others is so heartwarming. And, yeah, this is a wuxia with action, politics, killing and revenge themes muddling the storyline, but there is also no shortage of good ole ROMANCE.
The casting is visually perfect. Both leads are gorgeous and the supporting characters are also pretty great (have you seen the Scorpion King??? he may be crazy, but his eyeliner is always sharp as hell). The edits on TikTok and YT go CRAZY.
If you're contemplating watching this, and you're a fan of The Untamed, Meet You At The Blossom or Kill to Love, you will definitely enjoy Word of Honor!
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everything is great except the ending
I was a HUGE fan of this drama for two reasons: the FL lead is super unconventional and the relationship dynamic is so addicting. Normally, I hateeee time travel/alternate universe plots, but the modern-day FL literally escapes the drone of capitalist society by accidentally transmigrating to an ancient cultivation world. Her mind and memories are still intact, though, so her commentary throughout this process is HILARIOUS. Literally all the FL wants is a vacation. She isn't here for the drama or the theatrics, she literally just wants to eat good food and get good rest.I did start to waver a TEENY BIT around episode 19/20 because of the plot twist that determined the last 13 episodes. It definitely was still interesting and entertaining, but I was not as big of a fan as I was in the beginning. It's a classic case of starting really strong and setting the bar too high, only to struggle to keep up the momentum by the end. I still liked the second half of the drama, just not as much as I liked the first half.
The relationship dynamic is great. The FL is sunny and witty, while the ML is a bit nonchalant (at first). When they start to fall for each other, its soooo satisfying to see their personalities change to compliment one another. I love how obsessed they become with each other too—emotionally and PHYSICALLY.
I didn't like the ending. I don't have much else to say without spoiling. I just didn't like it.
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really stupid, but entertaining
It's dumb. It's cheesy. It's unserious as hell. There are tons of plot holes. And the language thing makes no sense, truly.BUT, it's entertaining!
The romance is cute: in a dumb way, obviously. The thriller/horror/mystery backdrop is quite odd and, frankly, hard to follow. But the whole thing soooo entertaining. The episodes are short, so they're easy to binge (mindlessly, of course). The key is to not expect ANYTHING with this drama, and also to not read too far into ANYTHING that happens or doesn't happen. Just go along with the ride and enjoy the gay sweaty gym boys being gay sweaty gym boys.
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cute but we need like 2 more episodes of honeymoon era romance
This drama is a quick watch. It's super cute and the main couple is visually stellar (also the height difference is *chef's kiss*). If you're looking for something light to binge in one day, this is a great pick. Also, the actor who plays Kano is really fricken pretty, in a brooding and emo kinda way, and he reminds me of Minase Jin from Our Youth.I'm not totally thrilled by the plot, though. I'm usually not a fan of parallel universe dramas—I have a love/hate relationship with Boy Next World—but the characters in this drama kinda make up for it. The main couple has good chemistry! I just wish there were more romance scenes. The ending gives us a really good taste of their relationship dynamic, but it's super short and rushed. I would have loved to see maybe 2 more episodes of sweet, honeymoon-era fluff between the two of them.
Also, one of the ML's is kinda a freak?? It's an interesting and pleasant surprise *wink wink*
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