WingedBean

So Close to Perfection

I remember binge-watching the first 4 episodes and thinking to myself that this drama would be one for the books. Up there with the Japanese BL drama "My Beautiful Man" — which is the only drama (BL or otherwise) that I re-watch once a year. It had all the elements to make it perfect.

a. Opposites attract
b. Two damaged souls unexpectedly coming together to heal each other
c. Incredible chemistry between the main actors (that sick X icecream scene in episode 4 should be a study in chemistry and tension)
d. Incredible cinematography
e. A catchy opening OST

These are all things I loved and appreciated in the drama. I also love how we are shown that Hirukawa liked Minase 1st. While they don't outright tell you when it happened or why, if you pay attention to the ongoing events of episode 1, you can see how Hirukawa looked at Minase at the taps. Additionally, he noticed Minase in the corridors during their first year (2018), when Minase didn't seem to care about his existence. Perhaps he'd always had a crush, and the universe hadn't brought them together b4 their sophomore year in 2019.

Unfortunately, once we get three-quarters of the way through episode 6, things start to get shaky and eventually crumble. I'd rated the 1st 5 and three-quarter episodes a 10/10 and the last 4 episodes a 5/10. I'm not counting the special episode, ep 11, in this.

Lemme explain why

🪞The Noble Idiot
I'm taking this 'moniker' from someone else's review because I agree with them on this. Hirukawa sacrifices himself for his terrible friend. This is where things started going downhill for me. I understand he was dealing with feelings of self-loathing and low self-worth, which led him to believe that his influence was what led his friend down the delinquent, shoplifting path. That he was his father's son, so clearly everything bad is all because of him.

But hadn't we seen him all along trying to work on being a better person? Start to believe in Minase's view of him and get serious with school? It felt like he had taken 5 steps forward, and that incident made him walk 10 steps backwards. They ruined his character development.

🪞His Father's Death
Perhaps some will call me unempathetic for this one. So, when he broke down in Minase's arms that night, I expected that he would have been crying at the immense relief he felt that this monster, this shadow that had been looming over his life and making it hell, was finally gone. That he was conflicted over the fact that he was happy, horrified that he was happy, and sad that his father, who was also his abuser, died.

Now imagine my surprise at finding out that he was this broken up and ridden with guilt over the fact that he thought he was at fault coz he hadn't taken good enough care of his father, and that supposedly led to his death. I..... uuuum... I had a hard time with that line of reasoning. Rather than it impacting me how they'd hoped it would, I just got annoyed.

🪞The Break-up & the Reunion
Personally, had I been the writer, I wouldn't have had them break up. And if they really had to, it at least would not have happened in the way it did. Or maybe not for as long as it lasted. I reason this way because:

In a way, the break-up was good for Hirukawa. He was able to start a new life and get himself together. His reasoning, I believe, was based on the movie that was directed by Minase's father, and that one line they kept quoting. About how one character left to prevent the other from being swallowed up by their problems. He also wanted to become a person worthy of Minase. That worked fine for Hirukawa. He did what he set out to do.

But... what about Minase? His wound was one of neglect. His father was a big name out there, but he only remembered him sometimes. His mother remembered him a lot, but she, too, always left him behind because of her career. Plus everytime they spoke, it was never about him. It was all about his grades and this unseen future, or to complain about the incompetence of his dad.

Minase had never had anyone in his corner. Even his friends never truly knew him. Yet, finally, when he has someone who knows him, sees him, and goes out of their way to spend time with him, they, too, leave. And Minase lets him go coz that's what his life is, and as we see all along, Minase, while a little closed off, is actually a good person.

When they finally reunite, we do not get a conversation that delves into Minase's feelings of abandonment. It's all explained away by a simple 'I lost my phone while in America.' Bruh... IT'S BEEN 5 YEARS!!!! I should've gotten more than that.

I feel like while it started with them finding and healing each other, by the end, it eventually felt like Minase helped heal Hirukawa, while Hirukawa left Minase more broken and empty than he'd been before. Minase had been going through life with an empty hole inside him. Hirukawa came in and filled it, then emptied it after he left for a whole 5 years.

Their happy ending is deserved. I love that they found each other after so many years apart and that they'd never stopped loving each other. However, I cannot rate this higher because
a. I find the breakup period to have been too long and abit unneccessary,
b. the lack of a proper conversation about Minase's feelings regarding his abandonment and,
c. the bad kissing (this is an issue across 99% of JBLs)

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If Only The Latter Half Was Different

When I started this, I was convinced that it would get a 10/10 from me. I remember thinking, "Wow. This!! This right here is why I disagree with many in the BL fandom when they say that teen shows are a bore. Shows like this prove that these pple are so wrong."

And part of me still stands by this thought. The 1st half was really cute, well-acted, and the issues were very real and well handled. It also helps that the actors really did look and act like teens. *insert heavy side eye at Thai companies that keep making older actors play high schoolers or college students*

However, once we get into the 2nd half, things get very frustrating, very quickly. The series had enough drama to keep it going. Developing a relationship during the pandemic, their two clashing personalities (Tsundere x Golden retriever + Flirty x Shy boy), Cai's dad in the hospital, and the one meddling ex, all that was enough. But they just kept adding more. Plus, the characters refused to communicate. It all made the watching experience rather frustrating, taking away from the excitement of the first half.

Had they not added all those frustrating dramatics, I'd have truly rated this much higher.
PS. I never knew that hearing one word repeated over and over and over again would make me wanna yeet myself off a roof. The word 'baby' in this show should be classified as auditory torture and psychological abuse😭
Also, yaay to my 1st Filipino show💃🏾🙌🏾

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What A Ride This Has Been....

Before this drama came into my life — very unannounced btw, I was convinced that Ming (My Stand-In), was the worst love interest to ever exist in the BL world. Then Fan Xiao strolled into my life with his perfectly coiffed hair, his synced at the waist suits, and skinny cigarettes, looked me straight in the eye with a sneer and one raised condescending eyebrow, and was like ' Bitch, you thought..?'

This drama had me glued to my screen every Sunday, because in a sea of mostly fluffy and comedic shows, it offered something different. Something new. It offers up a kind of love that you don't really want IRL, but it's so engaging in fiction.

Fan Xiao (FX) - He is crazy. He actually describes himself as that in the end. He's controlling, manipulative, and cruel — a lot of which is caused by his horrendous family and upbringing, all of which thoroughly skew his view of the world and people in general. When he meets Yu Shu Lang, he approaches him through this lens, and while things work out in his favour in the beginning, they quickly unravel and crash. Because of who FX is, this unravelling and crashing of his plans and relationship lead him down a path of appalling cruelty to the person he claims to care about the most, all in a misguided effort to keep him by his side.

Yu Shu Lang (YSL) - To the rest of the world, he's just a regular dude. However, to Fan Xiao, he's the Bodhisattva himself come to life. Like FX, his upbringing was also not the best. It was pretty traumatic tbh. However, instead of turning him into some jaded scum of the earth fellow, he became self-sacrificing — especially to those he cares about. This is easily seen in how he treats his ex, his leech of a brother, and, to an extent, Fan Xiao.

🌊What I Liked🌊
1. This is a very well-told story. It's engaging and, for the most part, very well paced. It doesn't lag, and neither is the plot filled with nonsensical filler scenes that pass the time

2. The characters are very smart. FX uses his smarts to manipulate YSL and those around him for his benefit. Do I commend it? No. But you've got to hand it to the man. He knew what he wanted, did his homework, and used his crafty little brain to get it. It all bit him in the ass in the end, but I was still hella impressed

YSL is also impressive in his own right. I've been reading BL manga & manhua/hwa for just as long as I've been watching BLs. One thing I find unfortunate about the genre is how dumb the uke are usually written/portrayed.
YSL is not dumb. He might have ignored his instincts at first, but when those red flags and inconsistencies started blaring at him, bro got to the bottom of things. He's also very proactive in his life and job — he never relies on his rich, younger husband to help him out or further his career. He can stand on his own without FX.

3. Yu Shu Lang fights back - It should also be acknowledged that despite all he goes through (read the cruelty of FX), he still has a backbone. Despite all that FX does to cage and control him, YSL always fought back. Even when things looked bleak, he tried to find a way to get away from his insane boyfriend (ex, really, but FX never accepted that). Most Ukes you encounter (in books for me) usually just sit and cry. Or give up after 1 or 2 tries. YSL kept fighting.

4. The redemption - It takes a lot for Fan Xian to put a stop to his madness and finally leave YSL alone. But when he does, he follows through. Not fully — the man was truly obsessed — but he does his best. Not only does he repent, but he goes out of his way to not only try to give YSL the life that he had before him, but also to make it better and ease his loneliness and financial burden. Even when they find each other again, he does his best to leave him alone. He does secretly stalk him, so you know... gotta take what you get with this one.

5. I hear that we'll be getting special episodes sometime in the future. No idea when this will happen because, as of now, filming hasn't started. But whenever that happens, I'll be sat. I wonder how many episodes they'll give us

6. The chemistry - These two work great together. They were able to create such palpable tension. Their sweet moments — albeit largely shown in flashbacks — are beautiful to watch

🌊Things I Didn't Like/I'd Have Changed🌊
1. How The Eventual Breakup Happened - I find it unfortunate that YSL never quite managed to free himself. In his attempts to flee/leave, Fan Xiao was always 3 steps ahead of him. He got free because, in the end, FX allowed it.

If I'd been the writer of this story, Fan Xiao wouldn't have been the one to press 'send' on that email. YSL would've done it. He'd have sent that email with tears running down his face and curled up on the floor, sobbing. Because he loved FX and he knew what that email would lead to, but he'd have done it. Because at the end of the day, it was either his life or Fan Xiao, and he chose himself

2. Yi Ran, the actor who plays YSL, is very stiff — both in posture and in acting. From his actor page on this platform, he seems to be a pretty experienced actor. So I'm left wondering if this is how he acts in all the other productions or if this was a deliberate choice by the show's directors or producers. I've seen some of his clips where he's doing a live with Yun Qi floating on Twitter, and he's very expressive IRL, so, once again, I wonder where the disconnect is. Yun Qi is brand spanking new to the scene, so I'll cut him some slack. I will say, however, that for a new actor, he was pretty decent.

3. The last few episodes felt rushed - From ep 13, things started unfolding at wrap speed. Perhaps it's due to the budget, which affects the episode count, but it felt like chunks of the story were skipped over so they could complete the story within the allotted episode number. Even the last episode felt rushed. ABO Desire had 16 episodes, Revenged Love had 24. I think this should've had maybe 18 episodes. That would've allowed them to show us what all that happened from when FX went to jail till they reconciled

4. The kisses could've been better - Based on the tension and the sheer amount of kissing that was going on in this show, they could've done so much better. Part of me wants to say that maybe it's because it's a Chinese production and that's why we got what we got, but I feel like I'm settling. Not to compare but.... Revenged Love, anyone? They were so good.
Also, I feel like anyone who takes the job of making or acting in a BL (or GL) should commit. If kissing is needed, as a director, direct those scenes in the best way possible and let them shine as needed. As an actor, give it your all, or let others take your spot. Do not shortchange your audience

5. Episode 12 straight-up traumatized me. I didn't deserve that

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Beautiful Fight Choreography

Every now and then, I get tired of all the romance and want to immerse myself in some violence, mind fuckery, and death. This doesn't provide mindfuckery, but it has the violence and death thing down pat.

What I Liked
⚔️The fight choreography - Every time you watch a show, there's something that stands out the most. In this one, the fight scenes were it for me. They were phenomenal. I remember rewinding multiple times within episodes, with the thought 'How did they do that' being prominent in my mind.

⚔️The overarching story - Yes, the story does initially remind one of Squid Game. I don't think that comparison is a bad thing tbh. After all, Squid Game is the most recent and most popular show with this concept. However, this goes beyond poor people being forced to die for money and the entertainment of some rich bastards. It's a fight not just for the country, but for the characters themselves

⚔️Interesting characters - Saga is not your ordinary hero. Bro has some severe PTSD in the beginning. It's shown so well that I was seriously wondering how he'd survive the entire show, fighting all these people without unsheathing his sword. When he finally drew that sword.... Holy Shit. *standing ovation, my dude* The name 'manslayer' wasn't wasted on him
🌸Futaba - She adds an interesting layer to Saga, who sees her as his daughter. She increases the stakes of this game. You don't want her to die, even when you know that her being with Saga is a liability. It's also nice how she helps soften these seasoned killers
🌸⚔️The Kyohachi Siblings - I'm so happy that they're all headed toward each other. I cannot wait for them to eventually meet. The tension.... Oh boy. Plus, I can just imagine them fighting together. It's going to be beautiful, I just know it. I hope we see all four together in the coming 2nd season
🏹🌸⚔️Others - Kyojin, what's up with this Njinja fellow? Whose side is he truly on? Why did he send Gentosai to the other siblings? And how the hell does he know who everyone is and where they are and what makes them tick? I know he says he's a strategist, but bro knows way too damn much. I need to know how he knows it
🏹Kamuikocha - Consider me deathly afraid of anyone with arrows from now on. They highlighted him several times in the show and also in the last ep, so I think he'll play a bigger role in the coming episodes. I'll be sat for that
⚔️Gentosai - Hell no. Absolutely not😭. He's hella scary, but watching him fight is beautiful. Can't wait to see him in season 2, even though he scares the shit out of me
🔪Kanjiya - I'm sorry, but I'm glad bro's dead. He stressed me out the entire story
🔫Kawaji - I need the backstory on this scheming, cold man. I have to know where all this hate for the samurai comes from
⚔️Now, who was the guy who was introduced in the very last episode? Close to the end? The guy who killed like 5 people in seconds and proceeded to hop around like a bunny to collect tags? I really need to know what's up with this unhinged self

What I Didn't Like
It's only one thing, and that's the lack of self-preservation of the 'villagers'. Can someone explain to me why they simply stood around to watch as pple were swinging swords and at times, arrows were flying around? Especially when Kanjiya was around? He goes around stabbing and slashing any and evryone in his way, and the folks just stood there or stupidly ran towards him to escape instead of away... I🤦🏾‍♀️. I need to know who told the extras to do that so I can slap them upside the head

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Honestly, Eat The Rich

After watching 'The Elixir', I was hella sceptical about watching another zombie film. I mean, 'All of Us are Dead' and 'Kingdom' (both seasons) and 'Happiness' are some of my holy grail zombie shows, and 'The Elixir' was gonna do me like that? Nah, I was traumatized.

I didn't wanna see another non-Korean zombie show. My trust was broken. That, coupled with the fact that I've been disappointed by some of the main character's acting chops in BLs b4.... my expectations were on gasping for breath on the floor. Despite all that, I was genuinely impressed by this.

What I Liked
🧟The overall story is what carries this. As a fan of zombie shows, I love how fresh (and sciency) this concept is. IDK who worked on the script, but hats off to them. They honestly made this story so very interesting to watch. If some things were done differently, I genuinely would have rated this as highly as I did 'All of Us are Dead.'

What I Didn't Like
🧟The acting - I'll not be naming names but yoh...! I was right. Some of these BL boys.... Please send them to acting school. My two cents are these: we know that actors can get by with good looks. It's been done over and over and over again. BUT!! With Netflix investing so heavily in Thailand, and companies obviously wanting to get themselves a piece of that pie, wouldn't it be better to have their actors do better so they can represent them - and Thailand - well on the global stage? Some of these guys have been acting for years, and they are still so stiff. HOW???? How can you not express more than 2 facial expressions? Oi🤦🏾‍♀️

🧟‍♀️We lost Lilly too early - She was one of the better actors in this (one of the best TBH), and I hate that we lost her to Zombieism when we did. IMO, she should've had a bigger role.

🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️ - Why were the girlies written like that? - If it wasn't Fah with the phone, it was Mook(?) who let's an obviously unstable friend out, leading to unnecessary deaths. And let's not forget about little miss horrible, Prao. Seriously, does anyone know why she was so mean to literally everyone? Good Lord! Oh.... Also, Ning, I don't like a know-it-all. I just... If I rant about her, I'll never go to sleep, and it's already 1:20 am

🧟All the anger management issues and dumb decisions - I understand that it is a high-stakes, high-stress situation. But did we need to keep arguing that much? Not only did it waste time, but it also cost lives. In terms of dumb decisions, the pple in this show acknowledge that they've seen zombie movies before. Now, with that in mind, why would you
1. Start running after a friend who's been bitten in the name of saving them?
2. Ditch the survivor group to go find your bitten friend to apologize to them?
3. Start a fucking cheer routine in the name of trying to get your friend back? Isn't silence the ONE cardinal rule of any zombie world?
Bro... The number of times these pple made me want to punch my TV. Lawd Jesus *rubs temples*

🧟Continuity Issues - Some of those scenes needed better consistency

Random Thoughts
a. Tutor, I did not know the power that you hold. You beautiful, beautiful man. Whoever styled his hair, tell him to keep it like that, always
b. I kept expecting to see Noeul. Zee&Nunew were present, so were Keng&Namping as well as Max&Nat, so whenever I saw Boss, I expected Nouel to pop out, even though I'd gone through the cast list and seen he wasn't in it😅
c. I really would like a 2nd season. The final ep ended at a really incredible point - Full zombie son, half zombie mother, and human daughter... That is such a cool place to start the 2nd season from. Plus, let's not forget the pple on the roof. It's been a month since they were left there. Clearly, they were able to restrain Non, but how have they survived (if at all) for an entire month? What have they been eating? Will the Patron be exposed for his misdeeds? His secret is known by a lot more pple now, so I'd love to see what they'd do with the info.
Basically, there's so much good content they could give us in season 2, but... Will we ever get that 2nd season, or will Netflix make it another 'All of Us are Dead' situation?

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Criminally Ignored

It took 1 TikTok video -the only one I've seen since - for me to get curious about this drama and the first episode to know that I'd be sat for the long haul (a mere 18 episodes).

Shot in a picturesque village, it is a story that delves into themes deeply grounded in reality. We explore societal pressure, family dynamics, the beauty and struggles of womanhood and motherhood, community, perseverance, and personal growth.

I loved how the story balanced all the different elements and the emotions they constantly hit you with. One minute I'm laughing so hard that I can't breathe, and the very next scene has me on the verge of tears. Some scenes were both funny and sad, leaving me to laugh while wiping away tears - a very confusing emotional state, to be honest.

The story is also deeply cultural. From matters of bride price and child sex preferences, attitudes about out-of-wedlock pregnancies and kinship adoption, the drama opened my eyes to new topics I'd never heard of while expounding on those I had surface level infomation about.

The characters are also another stellar part of this drama; none of them is wasted. The writers beautifully gave each character depth, developing them enough to carry their individual arcs and support the show as a whole. Every member of both families is well-explored. Even the minor characters who pop in occasionally bring an emotional depth that helps the story flourish.

Personally, I would highly recommend this drama to anyone looking for something different. It is funny, heartfelt, and beautifully shot, with life lessons that will stay with you long after the final episode.

PS. While the drama is tagged as a romance, I think that's a little misleading. To me, romance wasn't the main focus. It is a family drama first. It explores various forms of love, not just the romantic kind, and shows how different characters struggle with their attachments, not just our main leads.

👇🏾The following paragraph is a spoiler - LOOK AWAY🙈


If I had to change something, it would be the romantic ending between our main leads. The story offers an open but hopeful conclusion, suggesting that they may one day find their way back to each other. It is no secret that I am not the biggest fan of open endings; thus, this left me feeling a little empty. Xiao Wei experienced incredible, admirable growth throughout the drama to become someone truly worthy of his daughter and Xiao Fang. I just wish his story after the one-year time jump had been tweaked so we could have seen them back together one last time.

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Great Premise Ruined by Poor Writing

The first 4 episodes were fantastic. Like 'edge of your seat, trying to piece everything together' type of fantastic. However, the latter half takes all that away and ruins it. The story is filled with plot holes and relies on idiotic characters to further the plot and raise the stakes - Spoiler, the stakes remain dead in the water.

I think the writers had a great idea. Combining tradition, i.e., shamanism, with technology, a killer app, and a not-so-stable friend group was a solid idea. If only they hadn't made their characters' one consistent character trait be bad decision-making.
Tbh, of the 5 main characters, the one character who (largely) made smart decisions throughout was Kim Geon U. Even Ha-Joon, who was presented as the logical friend, was only proverbially saved by the bell from adding his name to the kill list of that app

Generally, I expect such shows to have dumb characters. It's part and parcel of the genre. Frustrating, yes, but you've got to sacrifice a few for the theory of evolution by natural selection. However, when the majority of the group is dumb, the viewing experience becomes frustrating.

I wish they had given me

1. Better, smarter characters - Personally, I believe that smart characters make for a better viewing experience. As a viewer, I'm not dumb, so the writers shouldn't treat me as such. Stupid mistakes being the thing that consistently pushes the plot is insulting my intelligence. And undervaluing my time

2. Tighter plot - There are so many plot holes with the main and even supporting characters. I could list them out, but I'm not enjoying typing this out. Part of me suspects that this could have been intentional for them to try to create a hook for the 2nd season. However, that just made this season feel incomplete.

It's like buying a sandwich and finding out it's all crust and a few unseasoned lettuce leaves. Then being told that you now need to get a 2nd sandwich so you can get all the other good stuff - The actual bread, the sauce, and the meat. Why TF would I buy from you again? Not only did you make me waste my money, but you could end up giving me another crust sandwich and telling me to wait for sn 3. No, thank you.

3. A better villain - Honestly, I'm lowkey tired of the whole 'insecure bully from a broken family' narrative. When the show started, I had hoped that the backstory of the app would be quite sinister. They classified it as horror after all. However, learning that all this happened coz one girl wanted to bully her one genuine friend... *insert hard eye-roll* come on now. Kwon Si Won being evil for the sake of being evil is just... meh

PS. Actually, I don't mind a villain who's evil for the sake of being evil. But they need to face smart and resourceful 'heroes' for the story to stand out and keep me hooked.

Three Extra Thoughts

a. I will say, the most memorable thing was the eye in.... was it episode 3 or 4? That eye made me jump. I think it (and the 1st time we see Do Hye Ryeong slit her throat) were the only parts of the entire story that felt like they fit adequately with the horror tag

b. There is a lesson here about choosing better friends. About not staying friends with mean people simply because of history. About not trying to save everyone because (again) of history or coz you're a nice person

c. If they were to announce a 2nd season, I suspect that Na Ri would be the villain in that one - based on the after-credits scene. I, however, will not be tuning in. Netflix hasn't had a great track record with sequels, even when they had strong 1st seasons. Look at shows like Sweet Home, BloodHounds & the 1st 2 seasons of Alice in Borderland. Strong starts that were butchered later. This show didn't even have a strong start. I'm doubtful that the 2nd season will be anything good.

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Comedy is Subjective

Comedic Thai stories are usually a hit or miss for me. This, unfortunately, falls into the miss pile as the comedy didn't quite land for me. I wish the story had more heart and less comedy. The fight scenes were also not that well choreographed tbh. I could tell that they were fake. That they weren't quite hitting or choking each other. I shouldn't be able to tell that as a viewer.

The kiss scenes also aren't the best I've seen. They aren't the dreaded dead fish kisses, but something was missing. With that said, I think the acting is pretty decent. When the comedy is pushed back, allowing for more serious scenes, you can see the actors' acting skills shine. For rookies, they are pretty decent, I'll give them that. No one was stiff or unbelievable in those scenes.

I have their upcoming series 'Roommate Chaos' on my To Watch List, so I look forward to seeing more of their work then. I liked the comedy in that trailer, so hopefully that will land. And the kissing shall be better

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Bored? Wanna laugh? Give it a go. Also, somebody call HR

Is the story good? Well... Have you ever come across those billionaire romance stories that are all smut and aggression? If so, then... That's the vibe here. Is the acting good? I mean..., I wouldn't tell anybody about them.
Are the music choices good? They are largely annoying and had me wondering about copyright laws

But.... I don't know the last time I laughed so hard watching something. This story is so absurd. Like it's so bad that it's good. IDK how to explain it, man. It keeps you engaged. You wanna find out what other random out-of-pocket thing they'll throw at you

PS. For anyone who cares, there's A LOT of kissing. Nothing that will go in anyone's slank bank, but their lips touch a whole lot

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*flings imaginary papers into the air* I give up

This is a rant.

Often, even when I drop a show, I usually have something nice/decent to say about it. With this one, idk. Maybe there will be some good buried in here somewhere underneath all the things that frustrated and left me wanting

The Characters

🧚🏻He Si Mu - I found her boring, indecisive, and one-dimensional. She is so obsessed with humans, and for what exactly? The fact that they get to suffer through life and die? Or does she want the life of a noblewoman? To spend all her life pampered but sheltered, only to be married off for some familial/political/business purpose n live in the shadow of a man? Forgive me, but the thought of an all-powerful ghost supreme lamenting that she's not a human is annoying AF to me

🏮She is bored with her long 400-year life, and I feel like this is her fault. Honestly, I feel like an immortal who gets bored with their existence is at fault for the mundanity that is their life. Maybe this is me applying my 2026 brain to some (fictional) historical world, but.....
Do you know how vast the world is? The multitudes you can encounter if you manage to leave your backyard? She leaves the spirit world to go to areas that are essentially her backyard. Of course you're bored, babe. Humanity changes, but not that drastically. You can 'whoosh' yourself to literally anywhere, leave your people, and go elsewhere. See if you're bored then

🏮Her indecisiveness with Duan Xu is also off-putting. You want love, but also don't want it. She kept changing her mind on how close she wanted this mortal man, which gave me fucking whiplash. The entire plot, at least till where I reached, is a fucking push and pull. 2 steps forward, 15 steps back. Ma'am, I'm tired. Make a choice so we can move on. Let him go or pick him, and let both of you protect each other and your love for one another

🏮One-dimensional - I thought that perhaps her love with Duan Xu would change her or something. make her care. sure she smiles more and is carefree when with him. I liked that bit, but all other areas of her life remain the same. She is bored with her job and the supreme, bored with her subordinates, bored during the fight that comes about every 100 years, bored when people try to assassinate her, and sad that she isn't human and can never die.
Girl.... I'm bored too. Give me something to work with! I wanted to see her get mad for once and act on it. Let her go crazy or something. Let me see another side of you, other than detached boredom and perpetual annoyance at your subordinates and their scheming.

They could have made her so interesting, but this is what they chose to give us... UGH!

🤺Duan Xu - I actually liked the fact that he was a golden retriever puppy around her. It gave a good contrast, giving me that grumpy-sunshine trope that I adore (especially if the grumpy character is the woman). However, I was let down by the fact that he doesn't fight much. I remember how impressed I was back in ep 10 when he infiltrated the enemy camp, threw everything into chaos, and killed their general.

I was like 'yes!!! The puppy finally shows that he is, in fact, a mad dog underneath it all.' It gave such a wonderful layer to who we'd seen him as by that point. Unfortunately, we don't see that side of him again. The man was a trained assassin since he was a preteen to his late teens, and we just get to see him walking around holding the hilt of his sword for the majority of the plot.

He is relegated to a love-sick puppy constantly chasing a woman who wants him, but won't claim him, and having petty (but sometimes hilarious) jealous spats with Yan Ke and any other man (un)fortunate to get close to si mu. Yan Ke was right in calling him a love-lorn husband. An absolute waste of a character

Yan Ke - What a boring villain. There is nothing as unimaginative as a man whose sole purpose is to possess a woman who doesn't even want him. All-powerful and all he wants is to have the more powerful being to be submissive to and stare googly-eyed at him as they share tea. I dislike him on principle alone

Jiang Ai - I did actually like her at first, but the fact that her weakness was not money as I initially thought it'd be, but love (love+hate? ) for a man who was basically Yan Ke version 1.0 is disappointing to me

The Cinematography, The Set, The CGI, The Makeup

🎥The cinematography & Lighting - Lord, is it bad. It gives bland and old. I remember leaving a note after I completed ep 1 and stating in part, 'The colour palette for all of episode 1 was grey, black, and white with some touches of red, blue, and yellow. It's giving depresso' (Ha! I'm funny.) The world, especially in the 1st arc, feels cold

The cinematography in this is flat and doesn't evoke any emotion. Unlike my experience with POJ, I never once felt like I was a part of this world. I was always a spectator. The look of this show doesn't make you look forward to watching it.

Aside from 'Pursuit of Jade', another example of a show that makes you want to look at it is 'Veil of Shadows'. I couldn't tell you what's going on with the plot (apparently, you need to understand a decent amount of some specific Chinese mythology to understand the story), but it's quite pretty to look at. VoS gives 'feed of a beauty and lifestyle content creator with a very powerful camera'. Compared to those two stories, this one is just...meh

🏠The set - It's fine when we're in the mortal world, but when we move to the spirit realm..., by God is it horrendous. Let's take He Si Mu's throne room as an example. It looks like something I'd expect to see in a show that aired in perhaps the mid 2000s to the early 2010s. Her throne itself looked like it was made of plastic that got coated in bad gold spray paint... why? Also, the big eye that was in the streets of that world... It's just big and plastic-looking. I just... they really didn't care about this, did they?

💄And can we talk about how the people in hair and makeup couldn't be arsed to make the actresses' natural hair colour match the wig? All through the 1st half i couldn't get over the fact that her hair had brown tones in it and the wig was jet black... how in the entirety of hell was that missed?
Can someone tell me why the supreme leader of the ghosts sometimes had the same complexion as people who were quite literally alive? It made sense when she was paler than those around her, but when they were all the same shade... girl, lemme go laugh.

Storytelling & Worldbuilding

Considering what the story gives us (as per ep 28), I can for sure say that this story did not deserve a 40-episode count. The plot, romantic, political, or otherwise, doesn't have a lot of figurative meat on its bones to justify this length. We spend most of the episodes watching the characters not do much to further the overall plot. They are kinda just going through the motions.

The world-building is also rather weak. A lot of things are left untold/unshown. Some examples
a. Duan Xu's sword - We are told that a man gave it to him. Who was he? How long had he been carrying it? How did he manage to hide this sword that so many wanted? And what did he see in Duan Xu that made him hand it to him

b. The eye in the spirit world - What did it do? What was its purpose? Aesthetics?

c. The obsessions - We are told that if an obsession is powerful enough, a human will turn into a spirit upon their death. Once this happens, they only die if a more powerful spirit offs them or they ultimately and willingly let go of their obsession to ascend.
Now, Duan Xu was in love with He Si Mu to the point of obsession (if his 'dreams' in that prison were anything to go on). So if he was that obsessed, why not love each other till he dies a natural death (you know, unless something bad happens on the battlefield and she cannot for some reason save him), and he can then live as a spirit with her instead of the never-ending back and forth?

d. Why was there a curfew at night in the spirit world? Was it better for them to go scream and wail in their houses than do it all up in the streets?

All in all, this story dragged with more filler than plot or answers, very mid cinematography and lighting, and bland characters. If you love the actors in this, perhaps it'd be best if you went and found some of their other works coz, this ain't it.

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Watch It For What It Is & You'll Likely Enjoy It

Aka, manage your expectations.

The best advice I got before starting this drama was (and I'm paraphrasing here) 'This drama does not care about politics. Do not expect a story that cares about political intrigue or machinations. The story knows that its idol drama audience is here to simply look at good-looking people being good-looking and falling in love.'

That helped me better manage my expectations. I knew that:

1. We had a smart ML and FL. They would win against their adverserives but we would not see the process. A bad guy appears, the FL and ML quickly find out about it, and 3 days later, the bad guy has been apprehended, exposed, and confessed. They win, and we move. No long explanations on what happened. We don't even see the bad guy getting apprehended or investigations happening. Everything just falls into place as needed, and the main characters come out of it unscathed and victorious. Overpowered final bosses, these ones.

2. A cold FL, a harem of sorts, and a puppy ML - Everybody wants her, and she couldn't care less. The ML *really* wants her; they are best suited for each other, but she would make him WORK for it. This is my favourite trope, so I had a lot of fun with it. It reminded me of the drama 'Glory' that I watched earlier this year. That too had a harem, a cold FL, and a puppy ML. Gimme 15 dramas with this trope and I'll eat them all up.

Knowing these two factors, especially point number 1, allowed me to enjoy the drama a lot more than I would have otherwise.

Side note: I know we are supposed to love Hua Yong and Xi He the most. They are our main characters after all. However, I will say that the couple that stole the show for me was Cui Jin Bai and Bu Shu Lin. I found myself smiling every time they were on my screen. Their dynamic was so good (and hilarious) that they overshadowed the main couple. I wish we had had more time with them.

Ps. The fact that they did it once and ended up with twins?!?!?! What kind of fertility rates are these? Bu Shu Lin needs to make her man wrap it up, or she'll end up with a litter, and then her civil service dreams will be dashed. Now that I think of it, what did they use for condoms way back when🤔? Lemme go google

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Their Friendship was the Best Part

If this drama has taught me anything, it's that when my dream of living and working in a different country materialises, the 1st thing I'll do is enroll in a language school.

What I Liked
🥙The highlight given to all the food. You can make me watch almost anything as long as you mention that they will be talking about food from different cultures. I liked how Mari was curious and willing to try different foods. If she were real, I know that we'd go on so many food adventures together.

🌸Mari & Arikino's Friendship - Sure, it starts with Mari basically bulldozing into Arikino's life and dragging him along her adventures - his opinion be damned - but Arikino needed it. He needed someone to pull him out of that solitude and loneliness that had become his life. Someone to add some colour, taste, love (albeit platonic) into his life, and show him that not all humans are all bad. I love how he, over time, came to not only respect our lovely lettuce head, but also go out of his way to protect her against even his superiors

🚔A cold look at (some) foreigner experience in Japan - The world, at least today, loves Japan. There is a reason why the term 'Japan glazers' exists. I love how this show highlights how not every foreigner's experience is all cherry blossoms, mochi, matcha, and roses. I appreciate how they highlighted matters like xenophobia, racism, disregard from police forces, how language barrier affects daily life, etc., all things you never hear about unless you do a rather deep (and possibly depressive) dive into Japan - or any other country for that matter
PS. I also recently learned about a thing called 'hostage justice,' and Lord, was I traumatized. The thought of being a foreigner, getting arrested over there, having no language to explain yourself, and being saddled with legal enforcement that doesn't give 2 shits about you gives me shivers

💕How much respect and care Mari gave to Arikino & Oda's r/ship - She didn't make a big deal out of it, just simply approached the matter with care, and when Arikino finally opened up to her, lent a listening and understanding ear. She is such a good friend. We all need such friends in our lives (we should also strive to be such friends too)

🎶I did enjoy the OST by Balming Tiger. It's a fun little tune. But no other songs stood out

What Could've Been Done Better
🚨The police cases (and volunteer) - I would've liked it if we dove deeper into them. I wanted the show to dig just a bit deeper into the accused persons and the cases. But I suppose that wasn't the intention

🚨Mari's hair - It was distracting. Not the colour, but the roots and the intensity of the colour. I know TV shows/dramas are rarely shot chronologically. That is likely why her hair colour and roots growth differed so much. But, seeing her hair be bright green in one shot and a faded green with roots showing in another scene, and these scenes are supposed to be in one day or wto consecutive days takes you out of the story. They shold've gotten her a good wig or something

🚨The Villains - Mr. Volunteer guy played a much smaller role than I expected. He shpwed up in all white looking pretty but menacing and I thought he had a much bigger role. He doesn't. It felt like a waste.
Agawa did not get what he deserved. Yeah he got his throat slashed and might never wake up. Boohoo🙄. The man sold people to human traffickers, let murders slide, got that one witness murdered, threatened to out Arikino & Oda (leading to Oda's death) jeered at Arikino that one time they met at the station, and if left alone, would've gotten Mari killed too.
Being in a coma was too good for him. IMO, he deserved a worse fate

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Moody, Sensual, Messy & Thought-Provoking

When this story starts, it presents itself as social commentary with a side of romance. 10 episodes later, and this is, in fact, romance with a side of social commentary. It is a slower type of romance as a large part of the story is spent on Jira trying to pick between the two men, Pheem and Koh.

The Characters
🎨Jira - He's indecisive in the romance department, stringing two men along for far longer than it was necessary IMO. On one hand, there's Pheem. The seemingly good guy, who, according to the synopsis, is physically Jira's type to a T. On the other hand, lies Koh. An unapologetically capitalistic arsehole, who, if you listen to Ing, is Jira's type, personality-wise.

Jira is also an artist down on his luck and broke. He wants to keep doing art in a world that is slowly being taken over by AI. And worse, he now works for a tech bro whose world is AI. He hates the tech bro for his values, which clash with his own. He's also attracted to tech bro but tries to deny it

💻Pheem - The seemingly good guy. While he may look like the better option at first, he wasn't the right choice for multiple reasons, the biggest being that he's fake AF. He only pays attention to what Jira likes because it'll increase the likelihood that Jira will sleep with him. He's also in a one-sided beef with Koh, which didn't do him any favours, if we're being honest.

💼Koh - The unapologetic asshole with debilitating social anxiety. He's unlikable, and I think that's the point. I don't quite think that we, as the audience, are meant to really like him. Only Jira is, and so we like him or give him a chance because Jira likes him. And because, as the story progresses, he changes parts of his life to make space for Jira. Does he become the perfect man? No. But parts of him are softer because of Jira.

Ing & Mawin also made rather interesting side characters and friends to both Jira and Pheem

The Relationships, Specifically the Romances
🌹🥀PheemJira - The chemistry between the characters was undeniable, but they'd have never worked for multiple reasons. Noteably,
1. As previously stated, he's fake - From changing his taste in music to getting that new tattoo on him. He never fell inlove with the things Jira liked enough to make them his own. He simply co-opted them to make himself look good in front of his conquest.

2. He's very pushy, especially in the sex department - All he knew how to do was flirt and insinuate that the two should sleep together. A note I wrote in ep 5 stated as follows 'Almost all their interactions end with him suggesting that they go home together. Jira is sometimes willing n other times doesn't seem into it. Like in ep 5, I feel like he took him home coz Pheem asked. Had he not, I don't think he'd have brought it up.'

3. He never made a good muse - Remember when Jira finally asked him to sit so he could paint him, and the man couldn't do that. He kept moving around and once again, resorted to flirting with Jira. I don't paint, but that seemed disrespectful AF to me.

I was never quite convinced that Pheem loved Jira. Even in that emotional and very well done scene in ep 7 in the rage room. Pheem only seemed to care that he won Jira and Koh lost him. Eventually, in all his scheming and jealousy, he fell in love, but it was too late.

🌹🖥️KohJira - I like to refer to love stories like theirs as 'the heart wants what it wants.' They shouldn't work. Actually, they'd probably thrive better if they went their separate ways and never crossed paths ever again. Yet, they choose to remain together. To try and forge ahead even when their circumstances and even values show that they likely will not work long-term.

Something keeps pulling them together. Such love stories always scratch a very special itch in my brain. I love them. They are human in such an interesting way. It's like they scream at you 'Hey, humans and love aren't black and white. They are very much shades of grey.'

They fall for each other partly in the bickering and partly in the silence. I think that Koh made a more interesting love interest because

1. Jira actually liked him. - I found it most interesting and hilarious how Jira was always so physically unresponsive to Pheem. However, with Koh, the man just needed to look at him, and bro would be hard. Jira would try to transfer those horny feelings to Pheem, but it never worked.
He looked like a ragdoll every time Pheem kissed him. So stiff with little emotion across his face. However, with Koh... Refer to the bedroom scene in ep 1, the painting scene in, I believe, ep 8 in Koh's house with the flowers, and the kiss scene on the rooftop.

2. Koh willingly changes to better suit Jira - Not fully, of course. But where Pheem's changes felt manipulative and held an ulterior motive, Koh felt genuine. And the changes were never extravagant.
Simple things like going to get him from his house coz he knows his commute is long, getting breakfast in the morning when Jira slept over, even if he himself said he never liked breakfast, or even braving that club environment to go get Jira.
All these were sincere, and I think they speak to romance better than a tattoo.

3. A clash in values vs attraction - Koh has the personality of a lemon. He's also a ruthless capitalist who only cares about the bottom line. Jira thinks that everything should be above board and humans should care for each other. Koh is also a pro AI fellow, and Jira is an artist at heart. Jira cares about human-made art, and his main source of income is being threatened by the very thing Koh is pushing for. Bruh, when I heard 'input Jira preset' in ep 9, I died. I simply passed away.

However, despite all this, they continue to be attracted to each other. Jira fell 1st, although he tried to deny it, but Koh fell harder. But Koh doesn't seem quite interested in changing. How the hell does such a relationship survive? I like that their relationship ended on a 'happy for now' note, because honestly, I wonder how they'd survive long-term.

🎭🧑🏻‍🎨The Social Commentary⚙️👨🏻‍💻
The story posed an interesting question in the AI vs Human debate. I think once on Twitter, I saw Nunchy say that they weren't really looking to answer if AI was good or not. Whether it should be shunned or remain. Rather, they were asking the audience to ask themselves if and how these two things can co-exist side by side. The story doesn't give us a conclusive answer. If you think about Koh as the 'AI' and Jira as the 'Human', you see them work together, clash, diverge, then come together once more.

They end on an uncertain future at the end of the plot. Can the two truly walk and work side-by-side?

I think this is an interesting and real position that reflects where society and technology are today. You cannot escape AI, no matter how much you want to. While people online are loud and angry about AI, the tech bros are still making strides to incorporate it in everything. Job postings are demanding that applicants have the knowledge and willingness to use AI. Many people are also losing jobs to automation. It's maddening, and a lot of fields feel uncertain, especially the creative ones.

Just like Koh and Jira don't know if they can truly work, neither do we, the general population, know what the future holds

💭Random Thoughts💭
a. Some BL ships work incredibly well in darker, moodier stories, and OffFun are squarely on that list. FirstKhao are another. Both excel in grittier plots that make you think, confront feelings and emotions you'd rather not face, and push the envelope in what human relationships are.

b. I find their (OffGun's) fade-to-black NC scenes rather interesting in the BL landscape. I've watched this ship in 3 stories: Not Me, The Trainee & Burnout Syndrome (I dropped Cooking Crush, so we're not counting that). They always have such good chemistry, and their kissing is so good, but their NC scenes are always so short.

I don't quite follow ships outside of TV shows, so I often wonder if this is something they've chosen for themselves. To always go with fade-to-black scenes. I'm not saying they should adopt the scenes in shows like 'Don't Say No', 'My Stubborn', or the currently airing 'Peach Lover', but I'd like more. Unless they don't want to do it, in which case, I'll respect it

c. I'm glad the show introduced me to Dew both as an artist and an actor. I added 'Mr. Kill' to my 'plan to watchlist' because of him. A show I'd originally ignored since bromance is not my jam

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Tough Topics Bound & Highlighted By Tight Storytelling

Often, when I finish a book, movie, or TV show, I go on and on in the review talking about why and how much I either loved or hated it. Other times, like I this case, I have no clue what to say or where to start. Because words fail me. I truly don't know if I have the words to explain why and how much I loved this show.

I started this coz I was in a romance slump. I wanted something darker and above all, something that would make me think. And BOY did I get that. The production is high value as with many Netflix shows, the acting is incredible, and the plot is well-paced and engaging — the plot did lag a bit in the middle, and I thought that the characters were being a bit too reckless, but perhaps that's to make things more intense.

I think what made me fall in love with this story is the issues tackled and the characters themselves.

🔬Fang Yi Jen - I do not know much about autism, let alone asperger syndrome. However, what I know from other TV shows I've seen is that those with this illness are usually utter geniuses or used for comedic relief, or a combination of both. Compared to the regular person, Fang Yi Jen could be considered a genius.

However, instead of this story highlighting that, it chooses to highlight how this condition, unfortunately, makes him both a bad husband and father. Because of how hard it is for him to interact with pple and understand them as a 'normal person' would, he ends up lashing out, when the 'normal' thing would be to be patient — i.e., in the car with his wife and their crying baby.

When his negligence of his daughter in favour of his job ends up getting her hurt, he serves his wife with divorce papers and leaves, never looking back again. He thought he was saving them from himself, but that ended up hurting them even more. He neglected his daughter when she was young and till almost adulthood. If she had never gotten involved in those murders, would he have ever looked for her again? Likely not.

Eventually, he does try and does change for the better, but that does not mean that the poor girl and her mother never suffered. My heart broke so much for them. I loved that by the end, there seemed to be hope for him and his daughter. Fang Yi Jen is still Fang Yi Jen, but where he'd have ignored her before, he takes extra care and time to show up. He also says thank you. This is a personal opinion (observation?), but I feel like most pple only say thank you to strangers, never to those close to them. He now takes the time to say thank you, not just to Hai Yin, but also to the captain, and that one friend (?) he had in the lab section of the police force.

📰Hsu Hai Yin - Lord, did I HATE her in the beginning. She was all for the story. The real people and feelings behind the hard-hitting deadline be damned. However, once she learns the truth about the deaths, after her interaction with the twins' stories, she starts to change, thankfully for the better. This time, it's not just about the hard-hitting headline.

She starts to care about the people she's writing about and how her stories affect not just the subjects, but also others who might be going through the same thing. I do like that she was the one person who seemed to understand Fang Yi Jen the most. He still acts like himself, but instead of demanding that he be 'normal' he takes him for what he is. And eventually, her giving him the space to be who he is leads to a very beautiful friendship.

👧🏻Chiang Hsiao Meng - We feel the most impact in the last two episodes and I cried. Okay, I didn't fall to the ground sobbing, but balancing tears were wiped severally times. She was so, so sad. Her life after her dad was filled with considerable pain. Watching her in the hospital with the mum, then again when speaking to her dad was.... my heart was hurt.

The societal issues were also a huge part of why I liked this plot. Like Hsia Meng, most of the characters were also neglected. They felt like they no longer had a place or a voice in this world because those who were supposed to care for and love them abandoned them when they were no longer of use. Or no longer fit into the mold they wanted — aside from perhaps the story with the twins and Liu Kuang Yung. The twins were a story of jealousy and invisibility, and the latter was about guilt. I'll say that of all stories, I found Liu Kuang Yung's the hardest to empathise with

Rewatch value is an 8, as I feel that this could be a hard story for many to rewatch. Especially once you tie in all the victims' stories and why they chose this path over staying alive and fighting to see another day.

Not sure how to properly end this, so I'll finish with this quote from one of the directors
"In The Victims' Game, there's a group of people who want to let go, and there's a group who also suffers from pain and oppression, but still believes in the value of life. They're trying to bring back those who wish to give up. We hope that the series can make their voices heard when they're still alive."

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