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The good:
- Xing Zhaolin as Xia Di. I can’t get over the fact that he's only like 21 years old when he did this but he acts very convincingly as someone who supposed to be in the late 20's. He is probably the 2nd youngest in the casts yet his character look and act the most mature. And that confident! Guys with confidence are really attractive! Enough said. He is an outstanding young man so many of his sayings are the reasons what drove Lin Feng in her life.
- Li Kaixin as Lin Feng. She may not be pretty like other Chinese actresses and she supposed to play a tomboy here but there's something about her that makes her interesting. She is indeed very different and we can clearly see why Xia Di falls for her. One thing is her attitude to always admit faults and apologize for it and another is her persistence attitude in everything. She knows what she wants and fight for it -- really hard.
- The relationship between the leads. It’s very minimal romance but they are very cute together. Particularly because Lin Feng, despite being a tomboy, acts cute when she’s in love. All her weirdness and quirkiness -- that most people didn’t find special are the very main reasons why Xia Di falls for her. He laughs the most watching her weird antics. And most of all, he always find something special about her everytime he met her. From her martial arts skills to her earning money to support him, she's a special girl without a doubt!
- The trust that the leads have towards each other. This is the part that I liked the best. You can throw many things to them, but one thing for sure, they have undeniably trust with each other so other people's evil ploy to destroy their relationship is only like a child's play.
- The friendship -- Xia Di & his friends and Lin Feng with her friends. It is portrayed beautifully especially Xia Di’s friendship with Fan Yang.
- Very fun earlier episodes and last episodes. They handled everything so well in the last couple of episodes. I really like it a lot. It could go wrong in so many ways but they handled all the mess really well.
- The plot twists! I love the plot twists! I didn’t expect it but I kinda sense it since they left many clues for us earlier on.
- An awesome theme song! I couldn’t get over how good and awesome is the melody and lyrics. I never skip the intro since it is that good. :D
The bad:
- Really evil, manipulative and crazy 2nd lead girl; Fan Ling. She's crazy, really obsessive and ruin a lot of fun stuffs in the drama. I think the only good thing about her evilness is the boundaries that Xia Di puts on her. He legit avoid her advances like he hates the very idea of it. And how Lin Feng said she is like a 'litmus test' for her relationship with Xia Di lol.
- A few dumb plotlines that we could go without. The mother plotline is the worst as she is no doubt abandoning her daughter for her career and didn’t contact her for a freaking 10++ years. The disease part is okay and I'm fine with it but why they didn’t tell her is just dumb. Or anything that happened on the mountain 5 years ago, it all could be solved by watching the GoPro isnt it? From Liming summit to Fan Yang falling. :P
- Too little mountaineering activities. For a 'sports' drama, I expect more action regarding this.
It’s still a fun drama at the end of the day. It makes you smile and fun all around. There are many good sayings in the drama but my favourite is: 'If you do something wrong, go correct it immediately. Moreover, work hard to do better. It’s not terrible when you do wrong, its only terrible if you continue doing it.'
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Another one would be is that they follow exactly all the things that made the K-version very lovable but added a few more cute & memorable scenes (a lot of new added scenes like the MV filming & etc) that made this version even more enjoyable and unforgettable. I kinda have no expectation watching the drama but I ended up loving it more than the original. This is one of the rare occasions where it is worth to watch both versions as both are very good and entertaining.
For me, the scene they outdid the most would be the MV making scene since that stuff is hilarious! And not to mention the original songs for this remake; 'Half of Me' & 'Can't Stop Loving You' -- this 2 songs simply outshone the songs in the original imo.
The only thing the Taiwanese version lacked would be the role of Jeremy which was played by HongKi in the K-version -- HongKi made Jeremy too iconic that no one can actually fill in the shoes for the character.
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I actually a bit skeptical to see Zhaolin in another similar roles like his roles in Lucky's First Love and You Are My Destiny (rich, handsome & cold young CEO). But being the good actor that he is, there is not a bit of Xi Yi or Xia Ke that I seen in Yi Cheng. While Xi Yi and especially Xia Ke are undoubtedly cool, confident and dashing -- Yi Cheng in the other hand is a bit embarrassing, uncool and childish which make him more hilarious to watch. So instead of laughing with him, you are actually laughing AT him.
While Bambi Zhu as Lu Li is in for a surprise for me. The last time I've seen her is in Ten Miles of Peach Blossom and God know how I hated her character there but I really like her as Lu Li. She is lovely, sweet and brave. I liked the she is actually really capable as a programmer and contribute to Yi Cheng's company growth. I liked it when female character is not a doormat but rather someone with opinion and strength. Plus, she looks very pretty with her hair in a bun!
Things to love in this drama; how it realistic that Yi Cheng keeps pointing out to Lu Li how she looks like a girl when he cosplayed as a guy at the beginning of the drama. In dramas, they usually like to gloss over this and expect us to accept that the girl looks like a guy but for a first time, this drama didn’t. I lost count on how many people especially Yi Cheng likes to point out how Lu Li looks like a girl all the time. When she said; 'My card ID is so ugly since it made me look like a girl.' and he was like; 'You think you look like a guy??' lol!
I also love the creative idea regarding the normal romantic scenes and the way the drama handles it and making it inventive and refreshing. I LOVE their game arcade wedding photoshoot and how fun it looks. The blueberry wedding ring is another plus and not to mention the watermelon birthday cake that Yi Cheng made for Lu Li and lastly, the virtual world wedding proposal that he prepared for her. All of this aside from being romantic, is such great scenes and lovely.
Both of Yi Cheng and Lu Li's families’ relationship is another plus. Yi Cheng parents’ relationship is very amusing especially the part where the Father said to the Mother; 'You are the Queen, and I'm your pawn. I will move according to your instructions.' XD Some stuffs that they did are borderline illegal and cruel but I can’t deny that they are such a fun family underneath all that.
For the bad part in this drama, it got dark and frustrated near the end but the earlier episodes and last episodes are so much fun so you kinda let it go. Pain and suffering are important for character developments so whether we like it or not, it will come but once the water is clear, then it’s all fun back. But the drama is still 80% extremely fun thus the rating is 8/10 from me. Again, any RomCom by Zhaolin is usually entertaining, enjoyable and hilarious so it made a good rewatch value.
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More Hilarious and Heartbreaking than the Previous Seasons
Definitely a solid 9/10. This season continue that best thing the drama is famous for; full of fluffs from beginning to end. And what more surprising to me is that this season didn't disappoint at all and in my opinion more hilarious and heartbreaking than the first two. The 2nd season to me, is still the best romance drama in my book and this season followed a close second.I love love love Lian Cheng's bewildered face everytime he turned back to the 8th Young Master after their kisses and I love how Tan'er remains positive, lively and all around playful and shameless in the pursuit of him. I personally feel that there are so many memorable romantic scenes particularly the veil wedding kiss (how awesome is that?) or the confession scene under the cherry blossom tree where Lian Cheng hangs the 100 reasons why he loves Tan'er. I have like 2345624 other favorite scenes from them in this drama but let’s not go there lol. I think this drama will always be a winner in term of coming out with sweet, creative and out of the world romantic scenes from other Xian Xia romance drama of the same genre.
Aside from that, since the drama is set in alternate Dong Yue where the women rule the government, this matriarchal system settings set some refreshing ideas that the couple has to handle. Like the usual kabedon was done by Tan'er instead and the 'Not Satisfy' trick that Lian Cheng did in the previous season was done oppositely by Tan'er. Other than that, issues which are usually women's problem and duty such as virginity, shaving, serving husband as well as managing the household are tackled excellently which cause huge embarrassment for Lian Cheng especially the shaving part. He totally didn't deserve it but the hilarity the whole plot caused is just too priceless. I also like the fact that aside from seeing it from men' POV, they also show how when women are the leaders, they have to handle money as well as difficult states' issues (which is not Tan'er's forte :P) and I like it when Lian Cheng pointed out to Tan'er that last time when she wants to indulge and make him happy, she only has to chose 'Love' and now she has to chose between 'Love' or 'Money'.
This drama has been a stress relief for me since S1, and S2 and S3 follow the exact same formula that I love. For me, it’s a first time I encountered a drama which is just full of happiness from beginning to end. Even when they face many tragedies, you know its gonna end well since they basically facing all adversities together and relying on each other. That kind of understanding is rare and this drama portray it really well.
Rewatch value is 100%. I don't think I will ever get bored watching this no matter how many times since its just full of pleasure and hilarious! Even the filler episodes are hilarious as hell. It’s like a go to drama when you just want to feel happy and relax. Lian Cheng is Lian Cheng which is a King of Teasing with or without his memories and Tan'er, is Tan'er. :D
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For all those confusion regarding the identity of Lian Cheng and Tan'er, they are all the same person for all the 3 seasons. The drama is very straightforward so if you understand the concept of parallel worlds, everything is very clear and easy to understand.
Mo Lian Cheng is the same from S1 & S2. Except this time, he is with amnesia. But he is still the same person. Young Master Lian Cheng in this new Dong Yue is the one who drawn. I guess we will never got to know him since now Lian Cheng from S1 & S2 has occupied his body in this season. While Sir Lian Cheng the doctor is Mo Lian Cheng's past life. Mo Lian Cheng has his memories as well when he went to Xianlung Continent at the end of S1. So, he is like 3 in 1 = Original Lian Cheng + Sir Lian Cheng when he got all Sir Lian Cheng's memories + 8th Prince when he combined with his body in S2. They are all the same person.
Qu Tan Er is the lady from Qu Family who is in love with Mo Yi Huai. Qu Xiao Tan went inside her body and she died at the end of S1 so this Lady Qu is no longer in the equation. S2 Xiao Tan is without memories but she got her memories back when she was kidnapped by her father at the alter and the orbs made her remember all back. That is why in the ending of S2, she mentioned Xianlung Continent to Lian Cheng to show to us that she has gotten all of her memories back. So at the end, S1 & S2 & S3 Xiao Tan is the same person. Tan'er is Qu Xiang Tan reincarnation and in this Dong Yue's timeline , Qu Xiang Tan did not die and establish Dong Yue instead of Mo Yi Feng, That is why only Lian Cheng is reborn this this timeline (Young Master Lian Cheng from Mo Family) and not Tan'er -- the body that Tan'er occupy this season just happen to have the same face as the Empress since they are Aunt & Niece but she is NOT her reincarnation as Qu Xiang Tan did not die in this timeline.
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This review may contain spoilers
I love this drama! Particularly since the concept is great – in and out of the 2 worlds and the readers of the manhwa actually see how the characters deal with the fact that they are in manhwa and how they come to term with it, how Yeon Joo’s dad gave his face to the killer and the consequences of it and how they tried to end it (you literally can read from the manhwa how Kang Cheol discussed the ending lol). Its pretty cool if you think about it. How exciting to read that kind of manhwa in real life. So I ended up really like it a lot. I want to be entertained while watching a drama so I ended up enjoying lots of the plot twists – it is enjoyable when you can’t predict it. And I understand all the rules and concepts of the manhwa world so I pretty much understand why this and that happened so I didn’t end up hating the plots.But it seemed many people didn’t understand the concept of the W world since many keep asking if the world keep spinning when Kang Cheol is no longer there. The writer pretty much explained everything in the drama. The W world is just another world that moves on its own. Yeon Joo’s dad only control the lives of the main characters of the manhwa through the tablet and his drawings. But despite that, these manhwa characters can control their own destiny as Kang Cheol managed to save himself many times despite the countless of times Yeon Joo’s dad tried to kill him. So with or without Kang Cheol in the W world, the world still exist and everyone is living there normally. The concept is that the W world is just another world in another dimension. It moves on its on with or without Kang Cheol.
Many were also confused on what happened to Yeon Joo’s dad. He died/disappear as Kang Cheol is the one who survive the end. It is the last chapter, so one of them needs to die for the manhwa to end. He supposed to kill Kang Cheol to survive (noticed how the Dad’s hands stop disappearing when Kang Cheol was shot) but since he killed the congressman and let Kang Cheol survive, he will cease to exist because of that. Why one of them need to die? It got to do with the fact that they keep disappearing when they are not doing anything – it indicates they need to end it properly for one of them to survive.
Its understandable why people lost interest in the second half of the drama especially when it got confusing. But this drama still score high on my list for its creativity and pace alone. Not many Kdramas as unpredictable as this so I enjoyed this one a looooot. And I finally see the fuss on Lee Jong Suk. He is an amazing actor without a doubt. The revelation scene between Yeon Joo’s dad and him is very memorable. How his expressions change from sad, disappointed to angry is just amazing.
I thought the scene when Kang Cheol was waiting at the Bus Stop was particularly heart wrenching – how he kept calling Yeon Joo since he knew he’s running out of time and when Yeon Joo come back to the real world before reaching him was brilliant as well.
As someone who have been watching Kdramas for more than a decade, I’m really tired of watching sad or plateau endings in Kdramas. I’m glad that it is not the case for this one. Its a happy ending and a deserved one at that considering the main character had suffered so much – being shot, stabbed, beaten, prisoned, family killed, realization that he is just a character and etc… He’s just very pitiful and I’m glad they give Kang Cheol a happy ending. :D
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This review may contain spoilers
Goblin is actually a melo fantasy drama that disguised itself on the surface as a funny/hilarious drama. Despite the drama ends with a happy notes to all the characters, the ‘happy ending’ leave a bitter taste in my mouth tbh. Kim Eun Sook made Shin such a sad, pitiful and full of misery as a character. All he ever did from the beginning right until the end is waiting and waiting. He waited 900 years for his bride, he then waited another 9 years in coldness and nothingness yearning and trying to get back to her, and at the end, he waited another 60++ lonely years waiting for her to be reborn again. What kind of lonely and sad fate is that? There’s nothing cool or poetic about it. The writer just want to make the ending more ~dramatic~ but it turned flat instead.But despite the bittersweet ending, I love the drama as a whole. It did have its flaws and questionable plot line like Eun Tak being a 19 years old high school student but the drama as a whole is hilarious and has amazing cinematography consistently throughout. It was beautifully shot in all angles but I do feel it is so slow sometimes. I still cant believe that this is the same writer who wrote the disappointing 'The Heirs’ and the embarrassing 'Descendant of the Sun’. I just cant believe that the same writer is capable of writing such a good drama like this. Her usual style of writing which focuses on pop-culture references (Eun Tak asking Grim Reaper to name himself Park Bo Gum which means 'Precious Sword’ to tease Shin was brilliant), amazing bromance between the male leads and interesting 2nd leads’ love story can be seen in this drama but somehow she has upped her game when she wrote Goblin – its like she has matured in her writing style which is very surprising and unexpected.
I thought Gong Yoo did an excellent job as Kim Shin. His loneliness, sadness, sad smiles and happiness can be felt when you see him on screen. I understood Shin’s loneliness and desperation clearly and all of this thanks to Gong Yoo amazing portrayal. Many people have complain with Kim Go Eun as Eun Tak but I really like her. If other actress is playing this role, I would definitely find them annoying but Go Eun played this role naturally. Her crying scenes are amazing and as usual, she always play all of her movies/dramas’ characters differently each and everytime. Whatever wrong decision or bad acting Lee Dong Wook made in the past (ehem Hotel King ehem Blade Man) is redeemed in this drama. I feel like I cry with him everytime he looks at Sunny and all the sadness he feels inside. I don’t know he has it in him so I’m mildly surprise. And what can I say about Yoo In Na? She just look extremely gorgeous in this drama. Her hair flip, lips, and everything just look totally beautiful and her monologue when she is writing the letter to the radio shattered me. Sung Jae as Yoo Deok Hwa (reference to Andy Lau and Infernal Affairs) is just hilarious. He’s my fave character in the show and he got the best scenes in the whole drama hands down. I’m so proud of him!
Generally, I just dislike this whole next life/reincarnation thingie. It made people didn’t live their live to the fullest with the hope of meeting each other again in their next life. Its your own life, you can control it so throw all of it out of the window and be happy. You don’t have to live a lonely life longing for each other and hope that your next life will be better – I’m looking at you Wang Yeo and Sunny. But despite that, I found its interesting how their love starts. While Shin and Eun Tak rely heavily on destiny (her as his bride) and memory, Wang Yeo and Sunny will fall in love with each other at first sight each and everytime. No matter which life times, they just attracted at each other without any reasons at all – that 'one look’ sealed all the deals for them.
What I find most interesting while watching this drama is that the ability of it to made me shed tears many times. I just randomly shed tears at random scenes or at random script. I cried a lot watching episodes 15 & 16 which is crazy lol. I shed tears at the blind man and his dog, the soldier and his wife and at other random scenes. And the scene of Wang Yeo meeting Sunny after 9 years, Sunny’s letter or when Eun Tak remembering back all her memories, all of it made me cry like a baby. I certainly didn’t expect all of this. Due to this fact alone, I give the drama 8/10. The drama has its flaws (King & Queen underdeveloped relationship, everyone reincarnated with the same face, everything still look the same even after 100++ years has passed & etc…) but the good feelings it gave is unforgettable and as much as I hate to admit it, the script has many magic lines and it just worked in the right scene and at the right time.
The OSTs hasn’t impressed me much truthfully. But I totally love Crush’s Beautiful, Urban Zakapa’s Wish & Han Soo Ji’s Round & Round. Beautiful & Wish are melancholy beautiful (with awesome lyrics) and upon watching the MVs after the drama ended, I just realized how the drama has so many sad scenes. :(
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One of the Best Family Dramas
I have no words to describe how I’m in love with this drama. I started watching it hoping to see something nice and I was surprised since the drama gives me something that I didn’t expect to get. Every week people have been debating who is the ‘husband’ but let’s be honest that the drama is not really about that. The romance part only covers like 20% of the whole drama and that 20% includes other characters’ love stories as well. I’m sad that other aspects of the drama have been overlook by some people since they have been so obsessed with who is the husband since day one.I guess one of the reasons why I really love this drama is because it really hits home with many aspect of the plots. It’s a story about normal people with ordinary everyday lives but at the same time it is very engaging as well. All the characters are super lovely and likable and for young people like me, I truly enjoyed the bit which focuses on the older characters of the drama as well. The 3 mothers were hilarious together while Dukseon, Junghwan, Dongryong’s fathers are hilarious individually. Of course, my favorite scenes are mostly involving when the 5 friends are together but my point is that mostly every aspect of the plots have been very interesting and charming.
The acting is brilliant I must say. I was truly surprised with how well Hyeri acted here. The acting coach of the Reply series must be someone special since they always managed to bring the best out of the female leads of the series. No one can deny my admiration towards Park Bogum’s acting. His emotional scenes especially with his dad are the best since he executed it very well – his intonation were on point that I always ended up shedding a tear with the way his voice sounded. Ryu Junyeol is amazing as well – this is the first time I ever saw him act and I wondered why he didn’t start earlier. This is the first time I see Go Kyungpyo acting as someone obedient and kind and he did it so well. While Lee Dongwhi is super hilarious. I wished the writer wrote more plot for his character since he’s really one of the funniest among the casts. The older actors did so well as well. They are the reasons why the acting in this drama has been all time high since all of them have their own unique ways to capture the audiences’ attention.
This drama deserved nothing but 9 stars from me. Everything about it is so special and it is without doubt the very best family Kdramas I have ever watched. I’m looking forward to the writer’s next installment. She proved that she can be unpredictable with her writing so I wondered what else she has in store for us.
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This review may contain spoilers
One of the Best Dramas About Psychopath
I have mixed feeling about I Remember You ending. While I’m glad they didn’t kill Min, I was kinda disappointed with how the writer chose to write the ending. I actually get what the writer trying to do – they didn’t exactly show what is Min’s decision in the end. They just wanted to show to the audiences that he chose to live the rest of his life as his Hyung’s brother rather than hiding like Lee Joon Young. The writer decided to let us do our own interpretation about the ending.But I’m pissed with how they decided to write Cha Ji An in the end. She was actually likable throughout the whole drama until that last talking scene where she becomes manipulative and selfish. What make me mad the most is that she made the decision for Hyeon by asking Min to confess. She just come out from the room where Hyeon cried when he remembered that he is the reason why Min became a psychopath and she, after seeing how heartbroken Hyeon is regarding his brother made THAT DECISION for him to let Min spent the rest of his life in prison. I hate it when she hugs Min and told him ‘It hurts for me to say all these’ but after that use Hyeon to make Min feel guilty. Being manipulative towards the already broken and vulnerable child by using his brother is just dirty imo.
The writer should use Kdramas amnesia cliché for the ending lol. It would make a better ending for everyone. Min waking up not remembering anything and can start his life all over again is actually a much better ending to end a drama like this. :P
But still, this drama is the best drama of 2015. It made me discover the hidden gem that is Park Bo Gum. And I love the fact that how the drama is promoted (or even the posters) is totally different from the actual plot of the drama. I like it when Kdramas give you surprises like this. It’s like only people who actually give this drama a try could understand how truly awesome the drama really is.
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Lee Seo Jin has always been one of my favourite actors. And he reminds me again and again in this drama how good he is in emotional scenes. I always love his speaking voice and even when he’s jerk, I find myself rewinding his scenes just to hear his voice lol. And UEE really outdid herself in this role – I thought she is really amazing. It seemed like she truly become Hye Soo and completely transformed herself into the character by the time the drama reached the end. And the girl who played UEE’s daughter in the drama is so cute! I thought how that little body can cry so well? I’m very impressed.
And the chemistry between Lee Seo Jin & UEE is just magnificent. They really look like a couple and all their heartbreaking scenes are very good. I find myself keep watching the last 2 episodes over and over again since it is full of their scenes together. And the scene where UEE sit on the floor after she burnt her hand while cooking is just very well done.
I give this drama 9/10. The leads are beyond awesome and I love the story, acting, pacing, editing, directing, basically everything. The ratings were great and it really shows in the drama.
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Plus, Bo Gum & Yoo Jung have explosive chemistry which explain why the writer always make them have scenes together even during the conflicts parts in the later half of the drama. I think this is a first time that I feel like the leads spent almost all of their scenes together lol. I’m not complaining though since they are seriously very cute together. Bo Gum has a really awesome chemistry with anyone he worked with no matter whether it’s male/female or old/young. I didn’t realize it before but this drama really prove his range as an actor even more.
Both Bo Gum & Yoo Jung did a very excellent job at portraying all of the emotions required from them excellently. I thought they carried the drama with their acting abilities alone. Crown Prince’s various expressions still remains one of my fave things in this drama and not to mention all of Ra On’s emotional scenes. And surprisingly, Jin Young did very well as Yoon Sung. I thought he is very expressive for an idol actor. Kwak Dong Yeon also did well as Byeong Yeon and I love all his scenes with the Crown Prince especially the part where he is dying on his arms. Unfortunately, Chae Soo Bin as Ha Yeon is very underused here. Since the story heavily focused on the Crown Prince & Ra On alone, she has very little time to really show anything special though I like her bold personality in the drama.
Besides the amazing acting of the casts, the directing is pretty much flawless. The cinematography is among my very fave aspects of the drama as well. The lantern festival, sunset, garden, reflection, daisy field and everything are very beautiful. And the hanbok are very pretty. I’m bitter that Yoo Jung didnt have many scenes where she is dressed in hanbok but the Crown Prince’s colorful hanbok are a treat to the eyes. And the OSTs are very amazing as well. My fave remains Ben’s Misty Road but the other songs are equally good as well. I cant stop listening to 8 of 11 of the OSTs. And Bogum did surprisingly well in his first OST – I’m very impressed. I’m so happy Sung Si Kyung also did one for this drama, God knows how I yearn for another song from him and his soothing voice.
I love everytime they show the late Queen. Seeing her views on life and the things she taught the Crown Prince, its no wonder the Crown Prince grew up to be such a fine young man. I love the bits where she asked the Crown Prince not to be deaf and he shouldn’t only hear the person that’s shouting in front of him. He has to treat each of his citizen like they are his one and only citizen. No wonder his view on his people is the same as Yi San or Se Jong. Lee Seo Jin as Yi San remains my favorite King but Park Bo Gum as Lee Young is definitely my fave Crown Prince. I love how the Crown Prince is very fierce in giving sharp and harsh comments to his enemies. And he is very straight and didn’t beat around the bush when he wanted to understand why the White Cloud Society needs to topple the dynasty when he also has the same view as them. It is very refreshing to see that.
I love the ending. They wrapped up nicely and it was a happy one at that. But surprisingly, the writer didn’t follow the history at all. It seemed that she only based the Crown Prince character on Crown Prince Lee Young and that fact alone. I’m sad since the drama is heavily focused on the love aspect of the Crown Prince that not many of his achievements are shown in the drama. According to history, despite his short reign as a regent (around 3 years), Crown Prince Lee Young accomplished many things to improve Joseon Court at that time. He also only have one Crown Princess (no concubine) and that is Ha Yeon and they had a son together which later become the King. In history, Lee Young never become a King since he died at 20 years of age but they shown him ascending his father as the King in the last episode (when he is wearing the red golden robe). They also show Ha Yeon leave her position as the Crown Princess. I guess since this drama is a hilarious, fluffy and light, they decided to end it with a happy note. Not gonna lie that I’m very thankful for that. :D
I watched surprisingly many Kdramas this year, this drama is my second favorite after Marriage Contract for year 2016. TBH, I give this drama 7/10 since I’m not really satisfied with the light plots but since the casts did very well on their respective roles, I give this drama 8/10 instead.
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This review may contain spoilers
Just finished watching the last 2 episodes and I’m in tears since both of the episodes are utterly sweet and beautiful. God, I don’t know why I’m crying like this but I’m just happy that the drama ended more awesome and beautiful than I ever imagine.I am afraid of what’s coming since we still got 2 episodes left and they already soooo happy in Episode 18 – and having watched lots of Kdramas over the years and know how they tend to messed up especially in the later episodes/ending, I’m so glad that it didn’t become like this with this drama.
The writer and director did everything right. EVERYTHING! Jang Hyuk & Jang Nara are soooo amazing – their chemistry are really mind-blowing (and painfully beautiful) and among the very best I have ever witness in Kdramas. You can even see the sparkles in the eyes when they look at each other which I find amazing. They both are great actors that I honestly think that anyone who want to learn acting should learn just by watching their performance in this drama. Since I have watched repeatedly the same episodes over and over again, I just keep being amazed by how they really immersed in their characters – every little movement, action, tears or the tone of their speaking voice are just magic. Their performance here are simply brilliant. *.*
It is a great, perfect & flawless drama without a doubt! And I know its gonna take a while for me to find an awesome drama that can touch me like this. I don’t know what magic did they put on me to be this invested but I’m certainly under their spell.
To anyone who is watching this amazing show, I just want to note that this drama has a lot of references to other dramas which made it even more hilarious & fun. I list them here for anyone who is interested:
REFERENCES USED IN FATED TO LOVE YOU
- Successful Story of a Bright Girl references: Some of the similar scenes in Fated to Love You are intended as a reference to the Jangs’ previous drama together.
- You Who Come from the Star reference: “Do Manager” reference during Clara’s opening scene when she throw a fuss and call her manager; “Where is Do Manager?” when she refused to do the shampoo commercial ad.
- ‘Change’ by Gloomy 30’s from Slave Hunter OST is used in the scene when Gun is trying to chase away the dog using his blazer. Jang Hyuk is associated a lot with this song since this is the drama that won him a Daesang in 2010 KBS Drama Award. Even in Real Men (a K-variety show about army life), this song is played constantly during his scenes. XD
- James Bond’s Bond girl reference: Gun transformed Miyoung to an attractive and kick-ass lady (Bond girl) at Macau and this reference is also used later in the drama.
- Count of Monte Cristo reference: When both of them are locked by Miyoung’s mum, Gun sarcastically answer to Miyoung; “Then should I dig a tunnel with a spoon?” when he tried to escape from the room.
- 'Snail’ by Panic is played when Gun described Miyoung as a snail that slowly, little by little, piece by piece, get closer to its target.
- Behind the White Tower reference: “What’s with this “Behind the White Tower” situation?” comment by the baby instructor when Gun acted dramatically like he is operating a patient when he is stitching the baby clothes.
- ‘Why do you?’ by Chuli & Miae is sang by both Gun and Miyoung during the karaoke session. Gun rap while Miyoung sing and a live performance from Jang Hyuk’s days as TJ Project was briefly shown in the karaoke video.
- Jang Hyuk and Jang Nara’s past/current career reference: Gun praised Miyoung singing (reference to Jang Nara’s career as a pop singer) and Miyoung praised Gun’s rap (reference to Jang Hyuk’s short-lived career as a rapper) and Gun replied by saying; “I had to do something like that before. A project.” (Just for the lolz, TJ Project is his stage name which stand for ‘Team Jang Hyuk’).
- Pasta reference: Daniel said to Miyoung; “Eat here, I made pasta in my past.” which is a reference to his character in Pasta. Beside that, Daniel’s Korean name in the drama is Kim Taeho which is Choi Jinhyuk’s real name.
- ET reference: Gun said Miyoung’s sister baby looks like an ET (alien) when he is holding him at the hospital.
- Various famous people reference: Jung Joon Young radio show (JJY is a big Jang Nara’s fan and he is indirectly asking Miyoung to come to him), ‘Having an Affair’ by GG (G-Dragon and Park Myung Soo), Park Kyunglim radio show and ‘Sera Sera’ by Doris Day is played from the radio during the car scene when Gun is sending Miyoung back from the hospital.
- ‘The Princess Diaries Medley’ from Princess Diaries OST is played during the firework romantic scene by the lake side.
- Batman’s Joker reference: Gun seeing his shrink in the iconic Joker make-up when his sexual frustration is driving him nuts that he has to take a cold shower for it. :’D
- Volcano High & Successful Story of a Bright Girl reference: Both Gun and Miyoung dressed as students as their previous movie/drama (Volcano High for Jang Hyuk and Successful Story of a Bright Girl for Jang Nara). You can hear Yong called Jang Nara’s character in the drama; “Yang Soon” and ‘Love Song’ by Jo Jang Hyuk from SSoaBG OST can be heard in the background during that scene.
- A New Leaf reference: Gun wake up and having an amnesia and he asked Sera; “That thing that happens frequently in movies and dramas, memory loss, I’m in that state?” You can see Kim Myungmin amnesia scene at the side of Gun’s face.
- g.o.d. reference: Gun rapped to g.o.d.’s 'To My Mother’ – a song which he starred in a music video in 1999. He did this rap in front of John Park (a member of g.o.d. who made a cameo in this scene). Jang Hyuk and John Park is a long time friends as they once share a dorm during their rookie years.
- g.o.d.’s Baby Jaemin reference: Jaemin is the name of the baby that members of g.o.d. has to take care in their variety show. John Park is holding and recording an advertisement with 'Jaemin’ in this scene.
- 'I Can’t Forgive’ by Cha Soo Kyung from Cruel Temptation OST is played during Yong and Jiyeon restaurant scene. This song is associated with betrayal so it is purposely played during that scene. This song is also played during their meeting with Yong’s mother.
- Jang Hyuk reference: Gun speak in Chinese and pretend to be Jang Hyuk (himself) in order to stop the kiss conversation forced to Miyoung and Daniel by their friends.
- In Time With You reference: When Gun and Miyoung are conversing by messaging each other, the scenes where they sit side by side are inspired by this Taiwanese drama.
- Chinese zombie reference: Gun called Secretary Tak; 'Tak Gangshi’ when he keeps following him around.
- The Classic reference: This happens during Gun and Miyoung running under the rain scene during their visit at the botanical garden. You can hear Jatanpung’s 'Me to You, You to Me’ from The Classic OST played in the background.
- Romeo & Juliet reference: Gunmeo & Julmiyoung according to Secretary Tak. 8D
- Notting Hill reference: Due to them confessing to each other in front of a press conference.
- 'Kiss Me’ by Blink is played during the drawing scene when Gun tried to kiss Miyoung. This song is very popular in k-variety shows since they always play it during any kiss-attempted scenes.
- Dragon Ball reference: Ice and fire exchange between Gun and Yong. And in one of the scene, Dragon Ball’s song (Korean version) can be heard from the background.
- Jun Jihyun reference (Jang Hyuk’s co-star in Windstruck and two of his MVs): A play on Jun Jihyun name is made by Gun when he asked Miyoung about Jiyeon’s name; “She’s Jun Jiyeon, right? Not, JIHYUN but Jiyeon.”
- Jang Nara reference: In Gun’s dream where he seemed to have forgotten Miyoung, he mistaken her with Jang Nara.
- Terminator reference: Gun said; “I’ll be back!!1” to Miyoung’s mum when he failed to convince her to be with Miyoung the first time.
- Tazza - The War of Flower reference: Reference to Jang Hyuk’s character in his drama Tazza; “Goni” by President Park when they play the Go-Stop (Hwatoo) game in which Jang Hyuk’s character in the drama is an expert. Also, Jang Nara love to play the game irl so they show how she is an expert in the game in the drama.
- Secret Garden reference: This happens during the exercise scene when Gun and Miyoung are doing sit-up trying to impress Miyoung’s mum that he is healthy.
- Emergency Couple reference: At the end of episode 19 when we see them running in public to their wedding ceremony.
- Men in Black reference: Both Yong and Secretary Tak acting as secret agents when they tried to recreate the Macau incident.
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This drama is great tbh. It has everything that a good show should have; good directing, good script and plot, excellent acting, attractive actors, great cinematography and not to mention a really awesome and amazing figting scenes.However, when the writer decided to go full head to make the main character as sad and tragic not to mention pathetic as it can be, the drama went downhill in my opinion -- it is no longer fun as the first 10 episodes. Not to mention when it start focusing on other sub-characters which we the viewers didnt really give a damn especially the political people slow conversations, I find that the drama lost its spark and I started fast forwording scenes that I never done in my 15++ years of watching kdramas. Come on, when you make the main character as engaging and full of depth as Dae Gil, would you like to watch how the drama spent half of its air time on other side characters that you don’t really care about?
By the time it reached the end, I actually wish Dae Gil to die since his fate is just too cruel or should I said ridiculous. It never happen to me before but this is a first time for me to wish the character that I like to just die and end everything.
I just don’t understand the writer insistence to make a tragic character more tragic than it already is. And for me to wish that kind of end for him, it says a lot about what I feel about the whole thing.
I just don’t cry anymore while watching the ending scenes. I'm just so pissed that I got no more tears to spill. I just hate Un Nyun and yeah I hate her and I feel like she is so selfish and unlikable. The fact that she actually leave him alone to fight while bringing her injured ‘husband’ or the fact she never address Dae Gil's devotion for her -- not even once and still expecting him to come and send her off says a lot about her personality. The writer really screw up big time in writing an admirable female characters. He was just too busy writing in depth the male characters in the drama that the only memorable female character in the whole series is the slave lady. >.>
Why would I root for Tae Ha when Dae Gil is the one who wanders around for 10 years searching for her? Why would I root for Tae Ha’s when it is Dae Gil who had a breakdown in the middle of the market after learning about the marriage? And why would I root for Tae Ha when he has problem with Un Nyun originally being a slave while Dae Gil never care about those status thing even from the very beginning? I just don’t understand the reasoning behind of wanting to make Tae Ha & Un Nyun happens. I JUST DON’T.
The drama is great but the insistence to make the main character to suffer THIS MUCH just leave a big distaste in my mouth. I just don’t understand the concept that Koreans have with their insistence of making their main characters suffers while never give them the justice that they deserve right until the end.
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