Reviews

How can someone in love be possibly so calm?

Finally, it feels like a journey that started in 2021, continued in 2022, and now in 2026 has come to an end. And my heart is lowkey broken.

Yumi’s Cells… where do I even begin?
I started it because of the cells. That was the hook. The idea of animation mixed with a K drama? I was sold. And I swear over the years the animation quality, the detailing of the cells, the way their world functioned, it just kept getting better and better.

But I never watched this show for any of the male leads. From the very beginning, it was always about Yumi for me. That is why I never really minded who she ended up with, as long as she was happy.

Because I have seen her journey.

I have seen how much her cells used to overthink. How much they spiraled. How every small situation turned into a full committee meeting. How her thoughts controlled her. How fear, pride, love, anxiety, rationality , all of them were constantly fighting inside her.

Watching her grow from that version of herself to who she becomes in the final season is honestly so satisfying.

Now that it has ended, I feel weirdly happy and empty at the same time. Happy because she got the ending she deserved. Empty because letting go of a journey that has lasted almost five years is not easy.

Precap

Season 1: Yumi Dated Woong they had a good start some misunderstanding due to Sae Yi Woong's colleague and Yumi's constant insecurity with her and others were due to Woong's job that he had no funds and he felt like a loser to stay with girlfriend and never told he moved out of his apartment until she herself found out so that he couldn't communicate his suffering due to his pride.

Season 2: She has already shift department due to interest in Marketing with recommendation of her colleague which is her love interest, Yoo Ba Bi. Again cute fluffy honeymoon phase, he gets transfer, LDR, Yumi switches careers, they both get busy, Yoo Ba Bi's heart sway for some other girl momentarily (still cheating ok) then they breakup and get back together because they cannot get over eachother, Yumi forgives, Woong is again back as cameo but she doesn't reciprocate, there's a certain distance between Yumi and Babi, they don't tell each other stuff like his accident, the same girl calls him again and it doesn't affect Yumi then the line comes along "How someone in love can be possibly be so calm" and they breakup for the final time.

Season 3: The most long awaited season because this IS THE FINAL love interest

"How can someone in love be possibly so calm"

And that is exactly what this final (sigh) season of Yumi’s Cells is about.

Like I told you before, Yumi’s last relationship ended with her feeling absolutely nothing when she saw the same girl called Ba Bi whose heart once swayed for. That emotional shutdown is where this season begins.

This season starts with Yumi’s cell village basically on airplane mode. She is not really experiencing or expressing emotions anymore. What makes this season make so much sense is that she slowly starts feeling everything again because Shin Soon Rok pisses her off. And I mean truly pisses her off. Which is so funny to watch.

And please do not start with the “Yumi is annoying” or “she forces conversations” take. If you have watched the previous seasons, that is exactly who Yumi is. She initiates conversations. She tries to talk. She fills awkward silence. She overthinks. That has always been her.

Now for me, this is my favorite season by far.

Shin Soon Rok is such a relatable character. His professional and personal boundaries are refreshing and honestly very funny to see. His cell village is just as cute as Yumi’s. And him being in denial about his feelings was my favorite part. Watching him act calm while internally spiraling was so satisfying. And his personality shift is FUNNIEST.

Kim Go Eun is my goat for real. She breathed life into Yumi in a way that I genuinely do not think any other actress could have. If you watch Seasons 1, 2, and 3 of Yumi, you can actually see the changes she goes through in each phase of her life. The personality shifts are not sudden, they feel layered and gradual. You can genuinely feel her growth. The way she reacts to love, heartbreak, career struggles evolves over the years, and it never feels repetitive. It feels lived in. And that is honestly because of the incredible performance by Kim Go Eun. She does not just play Yumi. She grows with her. The subtle changes in her expressions, the maturity in her tone, even the way she carries herself season after season makes the evolution believable. You are not just told that Yumi has changed. You see it. And you feel it.

And Kim Jae Won did so well. I cannot picture anyone else as Shin Soon Rok. The micro shifts in his expressions, the subtle personality switches, the stern yet not so stonic vibe makes him so compelling to watch. The shyness, the awkward pauses, those short and clipped answers, it all felt so real. And that personality shift in the last episode. The role play scene. So ridiculously well done. I genuinely cannot picture one else playing that role. He embodied it soo well.

Romance was genuinely so refreshing. Yes, there is a real life age gap between the leads, around nine to ten years, and even in the drama they mention a seven to eight year gap. But honestly, I never once felt it affecting the dynamic. The chemistry felt natural, unforced, and surprisingly comfortable. It simply existed. And I genuinely think it is one of the most refreshing takes on a noona romance in a while.

The quality of animation got better, the voice artists and creators deserve THAT APPRECIATION.

MY FAVOURITE OST THIS SEASON IS "SHOOTING STAR" BY THAMA (pls listen and you'll be in love too)

Compared to the other seasons, this one has a much slower pace even though it is only eight episodes. And I loved that but also despised (because no more Yumi and her cells :( )

In the earlier seasons, the feelings sometimes felt rushed. Here, the timing feels intentional. Even though the romantic moments are limited compared to the previous seasons, whatever they give us has you kicking your feet and giggling.

I do feel they could have added one or two more episodes to let the relationship breathe and really convince the audience why Soon Rok is Yumi’s endgame. And definitely should've not given away many of Soon Rok scenes to Ba Bi.

But they still explained it well.

Soon Rok was the first man in Yumi's life whose prime cell was also love cell, which meant he valued his love and it was his top priority. Soon Rok having constant clarity about his intentions, without his cells overly interrupting his thoughts once they start dating, and expressing himself clearly to Yumi without making her spiral into the same overthinking loops again, is what makes him the best man for her.

If you ask me whether you can watch Season 3 without watching Seasons 1 and 2, I would say yes.

But you will not grow attached to the cells. You will not witness her personal growth. You will not connect to her character in the same way people who watched everything did.
Because who Yumi ends up with is not the main arc.

How Yumi grows as a person through various relationships and her career shift from her early thirties to her late thirties is.

Because Yumi is the main character of Yumi’s Cells.

I'll just deduct 0.5 for giving us only 8 episodes because for me it is 10/10.

I will forever miss you cells :((((!

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Those who seek revenge dig two graves.

This is a heartbreaking and sobering revenge drama about an ancient Me Too movenment by nine commoners seeking justice. The two main protagonists, Rulan and Meng Wan are apprentices at Yanyu Tower, whose exquisite embroidery are prized by the imperial palace. Underneath his polished and elegant facade, Yanyu Tower's proprietor and master embroiderer Wu Lian is the worst kind of predator; one who uses his power and privilege to repeatedly manipulate and abuse the young women working for him. When Rulan has the audacity and tenacity to seek legal redress, most including her bestie Meng Wan hesitate to help her; knowing how stacked the system is against them. Ultimately her plight and her conviction inspires nine people to devote their entire reason for existence to taking Wu Lian down and obtaining justice for Rulan and in some cases themselves. There are no fairytales in this drama; their stories are utterly devastating; alternately moving me to tears and making my teeth clench and my blood boil.

This drama is not for the faint hearted and comes with a ton of trigger warnings. It is ruthless and brutal in terms of its scathing depiction of the unbalanced power dynamics between the powerful and the powerless. It convincingly articulates why regardless of consequences, Rulan, Meng Wan and their friends decide to take a stand against a clever, powerful and ruthless opponent. Their efforts are stymied at almost every turn and many of them pay the dear cost of justice. Wu Lian is almost too smart a villain and too well resourced. It is dismaying to see these nine avengers fall for the same traps over and over. In desperation, some of them take unnecessary risks and make terrible sacrifices with scant payoff in their attempt to gather enough evidence to indict him.

This is a large cast with consequential roles that deliver all around strong performances. Hu Yixuan's portrayal of Rulan's disillusionment, agony, bravery and forlorn quest for justice is harrowing, piteous and ultimately tragic. Wu Qian also impresses as the icily soft spoken, resolute avenging angel and mastermind of the revenge plot. As for Wu Lian, it is rare to encounter such an intelligent and downright despicable villain, masterfully acted by Qiao Zhenyu. All of the support roles come together well to paint a picture of common people from all walks of life with dreams and goals that get disrupted as they come together to get justice. The thief Li Chunfeng and the embroideress Jue Ming charmed and moved me into rooting for them most.

This kind of drama that tackles such a difficult subject matter is unlikely to appeal broad audiences. It is well executed for the most part but tends to be unnecessarily melodramatic in the later arcs. The villain origin backstory left me unmoved and is not convincing. I would expect Wu Lian's father's concubine to have impacted him in a more positive way. While this story ends in a realistic way, I am not satisfied. Wu Lian's enablers who covered for him repeatedly get off way too lightly. Finally the way this wraps up sends too strong a message that those who seek revenge dig two graves. Revenge becomes their sole purpose and end game to the extent that I wonder - did they really win? There is just too much collateral damage and sacrifice even though Humpty Dumpty can not be put together again. Maybe it would have been better to just live well. I needed to see at least one of the victims recover from this and go on to have a good life. The final What If episode 25 made me feel worse not better. I struggle with how to rate this. As much as I applaud the topic, the acting and how emotionally invested I got in the story, it left me with a hollow feeling after the ending arcs. It is still a good, thought provoking watch but I can only rate this a 7.5/10.0.

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Suspenseful, colorful, cheerful and even sweet – entertaining in several ways

"Check in Hanyang" nonchalantly takes elements of the modern lifestyle and the high-end five-star hotel industry of the 2020s back to Joseon, puts up-and-coming stars of today into robes and uniforms of another time and provides them with various challenges and group dynamics as part of their apprenticeship (while making the world a better place).

The competition among the aspirants is fierce. Fair play is rare. However, one or the other is eventually less concerned with employment than with their very own, secret mission. The KDrama is brought to life by the charm of these youngsters. A piquant detail, though: one of those young men is actually a woman dressed in men's robes. You may guess, there´s room for plenty of funny situations.
The female protagonist actually has a murder case to solve on her own behalf – but suddenly she finds herself (and everyone else up to the audience) in a suspenseful polit-thriller with romantic icing.
The KDrama also benefits from the sharp chemistry between the owner of the Yongcheonru and his top of the range innkeeper. Here, Kim Eui-sung and Kim Min-jung can directly tie in with their controlled, explosive cat-and-mouse relationship as father and daughter in "Mr. Sunshine" as a successful pairing. With their charismatic presence, the veterans of South Korean cinema and TV significantly contribute to intensifying the dramatic overall pattern. Thus the handful of pretty rising stars may with good-humoured esprit fully indulge into playing their way even further into the hearts of the audience.

Actually, the story is about the hunt for a golden key, of which there are two parts – a key that some are highly interested in, all the way to the king. This hunt even goes over corpses. Thus, the double life of those hunters – old and young alike – is eventually getting quite dangerous.

Suspenseful, colorful, cheerful and even sweet – “Check in Hanyang” is entertaining in several ways. Actually, the first part in particular offers quite a load of fun and games with tricky group dynamics and demanding challenges for the competing candidates. In the course of the second half, however, tension, depth and drama are gradually increasing.

The fictional story draws courageously from the rich tradition of Joseon with a wide variety of selected details. The historical setting is thus mainly inspiring as a colorful, exotic backdrop of a rather timeless political thriller. All of this quite beautifully staged.

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You simply cannot compare

I always find it interesting when people cannot objectively review a series or a movie because of previous bias or rumors they read somewhere. When "2Moons" ended everyone fell in love with Kimmon and Copter and some of the other actors in that series. Then, when it was announced that a sequel was coming but with a completely new cast, people went crazy because they couldn't understand how the company was managing its actors. But, "2Moons2" aired, with all new actors and then people fell in love with Earth (playing Wayo) and the steamy scenes between Pavel and Dome (playing Forth and Beam) were also incredibly popular (just go to Youtube and you'll find A LOT of reaction videos on that). So, the world didn't end because the cast of "2Moons" was completely replaced, right?

All this preamble is to say a similar thing about Color Rush S1 and S2... you simply cannot compare both just because the character of Go Yoo-han is not present in season 2, and here is why...

1. The acting of Yoo-jun (playing Choi Yeon-woo) remains as one of the solid points of both seasons. In the first season he deals with the fact that he is a mono, his mother is also a mono but is missing, and he finds new friends and also finds Yoo-han who is also his probe. He experiences the rush of being able to see colors and also the disappointment of losing that ability after the decoloring effect begins. In season 2, he goes from the uncertainty of his mother still being missing, to the dread of witnessing Yoo-han's kidnapping, to the potential of uncovering all the illegal activities the Gray Scale/Woksun/Nerve Candy people (led by a mono that goes by the nickname of "Monowife"), to dealing with his new feelings towards Kim Se-hyun, to finally finding out his mother did die but being rather calm about it.
While I think some of his facial expressions still need a bit of work, his eyes do manage to express a lot of the feelings Yeon-woo goes though in both seasons while showing the calm but decided character that Yeon-woo needs to be.

2. The acting of VIXX's Han Sang-hyuk (playing Kim Se-hyun) was also a nice surprise as he never doubted or was hesitant about acting in a BL story (according to an interview he gave) and showed a very strong character that goes from befriending Yeon-woo, to trying to help his sister improve her condition as a mono and not be bullied by others, to mourning her death, to seeking revenge while protecting Yeon-woo, to confessing his feelings for him despite knowing he might never get a chance if Yoo-han returns. Sang-hyuk was able to mix some serious tones in his acting with some comedic moments, like in ep. 8 when he daydreams he is kissing Yeon-woo.
The chemistry between him and Yoo-jun was quite strong as they acted like a married couple in some parts (like when Se-hyun moves in with Yoo-jun) or like Sherlock Holmes & Watson when discovering the truth about the Lapis Lazuli tea, the Lapizata pill, and the illegal probe surgery or like Batman & Robin in the action scenes in the final episode.

3. The storyline had a bit more action. Season 1 was a slow-burner in many things because we needed time to process the mono-probe world, the introduction of each character, Yeon-woo's mother being a mono and also missing, Yeon-woo's aunt being a reporter trying to uncover the truth and find her sister, and then also go through the color rushes that Yoo-han made Yeon-woo feel along with all their interactions.
But, season 2 had nothing of that as we already knew the mono-probe situation and Yeon-woo's familial situation. A bit of a complain is that a lot of the action happened way too fast and we jumped from scene to scene without proper time to digest what just happened. Further, several things like a) Yoo-han's kidnapping, b) the introduction of Se-hyun as "someone who wanted to get close to Yeon-woo but couldn't because he was always glued to Yoo-han", c) Se-hyun's sister life as a mono and her part in the secret society, d) the secret society of monos trying to see colors through drugs and illegal surgeries, and e) Se-hyun's being a mono himself but being able to deal with it in secret, were not completely explained/introduced and then not fully developed... so in most parts, we need to either remember things that happened or were said in season 1 or figure out by ourselves how the characters get to the point we see in that particular scene. And also, do they never go to school? Not much happens inside their classroom this time and the secondary roles of Yeon-woo's friends are relegated to a few scenes here and there.

The only truth about this series is that Hur Hyun-jun (the actor who played Go Yoo-han in S1) was not present in S2 and honestly, I'm not sure that his absence made much of a difference. Sure, we heard the name "Go Yoo-han" many times during season 2 because of him being kidnapped and Yeon-woo's wish to find him... but at no point I felt like, "geez, it would be great to have Hyun-jun acting here". There are many rumors about Hyun-jun's exclusion from season 2... rumors about him not being happy about his first major role happening in a BL story, rumors about the production crew/staff being unhappy about his "lack of professionalism", rumors about the production company being unhappy about his "lack of acting skills", and rumors that this was all planned along because of the storyline/plot that season 2 was going to have. Whatever the real reason is, the only real fact is that Hyun-jun was not part of season 2 but comparing both seasons or how Hyun-jun would have acted instead of Sang-hyuk ends up being a useless and ridiculous exercise because, you simply cannot compare.

The storyline (especially the after credits scene in episode 8) sets up the series for a third season with Monowife going into Yoo-han's hospital room and telling him to wake up as Yeon-woo "needs him" and him opening his eyes. Could we have a third season with Yoo-han coming back and now having a love triangle if Yeon-woo and Se-hyun remain in the series as well? Could we have a third season that explores Monowife's connection with Yoo-han? Could we have a third season with a whole new plot twist?
Who knows! But it sure is more exciting to think about all these options than waste time lamenting the absence of Hyun-jun or complaining about what this season could have been like if he acted in it, don't you think?

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The Witch Without A Twist

I am a fan of the The Witch Pt. 1 so I have been waiting the sequel for years. I am happy I finally had a chance to watch it on big screen! I followed the production journey and as the team had a copyright issue with their previous film distributor ( Warner Bros. Korea ), they had to butcher up their original The Witch stories with Jayoon as main character. Hence why I lowered my expectation for this part 2.

First of all, story wise. They basically have almost showed everything in the trailer except the ending. It is those common stories of lab victim run away, find good ally, enemies catch them, but they win after their loved one got hurt. The acting wasn't my taste, instead of embracing the characters personalities- some of their acting feels staged to me. They tried so hard to look cool. There are english dialogue in it, but it sounds so awkward. I'm sorry I am not really familiar with chinese language so I couldnt judge it. Positive side, I like a lot how they open the story and I didn't expect them to start it like that. The unique "countrified" vibe is shown again in it. The opening and the ending would be a main key for the whole franchise. Please stay until after credit, because they show post credit scenes like those marvel movies!

They casted a ton of people for side characters and cameos but they are all like a copy to each other. I was thinking "Is it on purpose they look similiar as it is a cloning stories?". I also feel like there are quite a lot unnecessary scenes, with the jokes and comedic-like scenes. I wish them to show more the bonding between "The Girl" and Kyung Hee-Dae Gil sibling. That is what I have been waiting as I read the director explaining the differences between her and previous witch, Jayoon.

I have to be honest, I am kinda disappointed with the characters building for the new witch. The director went with repeated heroine route we could find in those human experiment stories. Emotionless, no personality ( yet ), fascinated to outside world like a baby bird, and once again overpowered. But after watching, I do feel curious how he would come up with the next part and how he build her character in the future. "The Girl" is still like a white paper to me.

Action Sequences. There are quite a lot of cool awesome battle scenes and it still has that anime-like battle touch in it. They definitely improved it with their big budget. There is one fight with beautiful billboard lighting, and that is my favorite one. Unfortunately, if you are a slow watcher, you would be troubled with pt 2 fighting style because all the characters are so powerful and their fighting is so fast- blip blip - shoot - blip - slash neck - that is my description. Warning, the rating is 18+ so the killing wound part is quite explicit.

Overall, I gave it a 7.5. I think new audiences would enjoy it so much, but the previous part 1 fans like me- would be in love and hate relationship with the sequel.

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Interesting short stories only told at surface level, and a lack of understanding in AI

Okay, this movie is... weird. It feels like an incomplete draft with missing scenes, actually it's almost like they had shot a short series and edited the key scenes into a movie. There is not enough context and world building which makes it confusing. I get that the science fiction aspect of this movie is not its focus, but it really needed an extra 15-20 minutes at the start to properly explain how exactly this Wonderland service works. Like how are the AI characters programmed and what are they programmed with? There are so many ambiguities but they'll be spoilers. It's almost like the movie itself doesn't know the answers. I can't tell if the director is inexperienced in the sci-fi genre or they cut out those scenes because the basic foundation to make a coherent story wasn't there. At one point towards the end it was straight up a fantasy movie and not science fiction anymore lmao.

But then, I actually like the subject matter, the actors and parts of the movie especially in the first half. Most of the scenarios were actually interesting and complex -- but they weren't fleshed out at all. Which brings me to the point that this movie just has too many characters. Basically every story was only on surface level, some were just left hanging or abandoned. Suzy and Park Bogum's arc especially suffered from this, it needed way more screentime to be properly developed. I hate to say this but some of their parts felt half-baked and wasted their onscreen chemistry. Tang Wei on the other hand had the most complete arc and probably the most touching one.

It's a shame because I think if they expanded the material and went more in-depth for each arc, or removed all the arcs other than Suzy/PBG and Tang Wei's, it would have been way better. But alas the potential was wasted. Nonetheless, I think at the very least this movie can spark some interesting post-watch discussions.

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Perfectly constructed, every episode is just amazing, go watch!

Desperate to fund her daughter’s surgery, Myung Joon (Yoon Kye Sang) kidnaps a feisty child genius Rohee (Yuna), who lost her memories. When his call for ransom remains unanswered, Myung Joon drives to her house only to findher parents were mysteriously murdered.

I’m going to first mentioned my most memorable aspect, that is Yuna as Choi Rohee! Yuna’s performance was such a delight! she stole the show with her vast range of emotions and also strong nuances in her micro expressions. It's magical how her emotions tore me apart. I laughed and cried for her! In one scene, I cried so hard and still cry however many times I watch the scene. T.T, I also love The Kidnapping Day for the solid storyline. It blends different genres expertly, giving me a high-stake, angsty, funny and endearing feel altogether. It’s a found family through kidnapping, but it never delve into Stockholm Syndrome as Myung Joon and Rohee dynamic is equal. Myung Joon is silly but caring, while Rohee tends to dominate, but as a child, she’s yearning for family love.

I enjoy how unpredictable and unconventional the mystery unravels. The investigation isn’t drag, the police make progress, obtain evidence, etc. We are rewarded with clues and twists constantly without them being overwhelming. It's rare to experience a drama that’s perfectly paced & each episode is juicy like this. For me, it’s the best release in 2023 and will always be one of my tops of all time! Wonderful!!

-Oct 2023, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

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Good Start, but it Just Shattered

The Furthest Distance is a drama which tries to convey that in the world between life and death, neither is separated from each other but love is still a constant.

Qin Yun Sheng (ML – Leon Zhang) is an emergency doctor, who has a glass house that needs to be renovated and Su Ying was the initial interior designer. They meet again because of their participation in a house renovation reality tv show. Feelings gradually begin, especially for Su Ying and her once closed heart opens up to Qin Yun Sheng. But was he still missing his girlfriend, Mi Su that had passed away? How could Su Ying bridge the seemingly furthest distance between them.

Yes, an exciting love story which I felt was giving us a second chance of love. Such high hopes especially after Qin Yun Sheng's love confession to Su Ying in episode 10, my heart just melted.

The confession:
Qin Yun Sheng: “Su Ying. Maybe I’m not good with words. I don’t know how to confess to you. I’ve thought of many ways. But when I am looking at your eyes, my mind is blank. I couldn’t say any love words. I just know. I want to see you. I want to see you every day. In these days with you, I always say thank you. But what I want to say the most now is--I like you. I like you more day by day. It’s not love words. It’s from the heart. Even though the world has given me a lot of pain, I’m not afraid. If it’s you, I will muster the courage. I want to make our future days a bit more romantic. Will you join me?”

To see the romance between them after Qin Yun Sheng's confession was magical. They were so in love. You enjoyed watching the shy doctor come out of his shell and openly show his affection of Su Ying. He showed her so much love that he felt he wasn't able to express in words but deeds. He did everything to captivate her. Letting her know she was his beginning and end. He wanted nothing more. They felt it was time to tell their friends and colleagues who were elated to finally see this "perfectly match couple" post a picture of themselves in their Moments page with the caption – “Love is a happy thing.” One person who was not happy about this love--Yang Zheng Wen. After seeing this post, he began his all-out campaign to win Su Ying back.

Yang Zheng Wen was Su Ying’s ex-boyfriend who now was the GM of Tiandi Building Materials Corporation. Seeing the interaction of Yang Zheng Wen gave Qin Yun Sheng the courage to finally put his feelings in the forefront with Su Ying hence his confession. But happiness was short-lived because we had to add another piece to this love story so enters the identical twin sister of Mi Su—Mi Bai. Yes, Qin Yun Sheng’s ex-girlfriend who died had an identical twin sister. Not only that, but she also studied cardiology and out of all the hospitals she ended up in the same one as Qin Yun Sheng as a medical director.

Of course, we had to have the infiltrator, to help both the ex-boyfriend and twin sister so we have Tian Mei who quit her previous design firm and began working at Su Ying’s firm. Su Ying thought she was sincere in working for her and made her feel like family just like her other employees. But ambition got the better of her and Yang Zheng Wen “whispering in her ear” that he would give her, her own design firm didn't help but made her become Su Ying's enemy.

We began to see the cracks of the relationship with the endlessly onslaught of tricks played by the trio of Yang Zheng Wen, Mi Bai and Tian Mei. They went from trying to destroy the glass house, changing dates of events, posting malicious email about the firm, changing materials for client's jobs and finally learning that Mi Su's confession under the rainbow was actually Mi Bai.

Everything finally shattered when Su Ying's mother was put in the hospital due to an aneurysm and Qin Yun Sheng knew and didn't tell her. That led to her breaking up with him. Which then open the door for both Yang Zheng Wen and Mi Bai to step in and get the partner they had sought for so long. But what they didn't understand, even if they did break up, they were not going back to either of them.

Su Ying's mother did recover and told her that she misunderstood Qin Yun Sheng, but it was too late, he had made the decision to go abroad for three years. This caught Su Ying off guard, and she never relented to tell him that she wanted him to stay. He left...or did he?

Qin Yun Sheng felt in order to solidify their relationship he had to make Su Ying admit her feelings to not only to him but to herself that she wanted, needed and loved him. Everyone was in on the deception of Qin Yun Sheng not leaving. It all came out when Su Ying went to the glass house. Qin Yun Sheng went to the glass house as well because he could no longer deceive her at this point, he felt he was hurting her. Love was restored between the couple. The glass house was donated for rehabilitation patients.

Qin Yun Sheng went to other countries to volunteer but Su Ying never left his side and traveled with him.

Xu Ming Shi who was the right-hand of Su Ying at the design firm and Du Hui Xuan who was Su Ying's best friend finally got together as a couple.

Mi Bai finally gave up on Qin Yun Sheng and went abroad to work.

Tian Mei did eventually get her design firm and gave kudos to Su Ying for keeping her truthfully to the craft of design.

In all hindsight, I felt we should have been seeing more of how Qin Yun Sheng and Su Ying did come the farthest distance to get to the love that we all seek, not led down a rabbit hole of cliches especially using an ex-boyfriend and an identical twin. Such a great opportunity that I believe was missed. They shattered a beautiful love story of a second chance of love.

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It made me angry

First of all I wanted to slap that mans mother at some point ,, i mean why the heck she thinks that her pervert son is all pure and mask girl is at fault ?? Mask girl killed him when he was raping her ,, that old freak women saw herself that her son has sex toys sex dolls sex videos and all the sex maniac things at his home,,even though she was saying that her son is innocent?? Lol for this type of women , other girls are not safe in this world. … cause no matter what their son do they will always blame the innocent girl ,, I hateee this type of parents who always takes their childrens side no matter what they do to others ,, this type of people deserves slappppsss

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Angst stemmed from a society that shuns

The entire movie was a cry for help, it is about two boys handling their inner demons in very different ways, one taking to recklessness and the other latching on to even the slightest bit of affection, so much so that it turns to obsession...It was heartbreaking to see one having only himself to talk to and him recording those conversations on his camcorder, while the other was seemingly popular but he knew that no one cared much for him and rather he garnered respect by evoking fear in others...The way they met and how it piqued their interest of wanting to get to know each other was quite precious but was made out to be something so much more complicated, leading to them being ridiculed by many...This caused him to distance himself from the friendship, which the other couldn't seem to handle...he turned aloof, while he turned more and more obsessive...his last desperate cry to his mother was so pitiable and painful, yet no one helped him through that and he ends up doing something which I will probably never understand, but with that he surely destroyed his last chance of keeping himself sane...
Overall it was disturbingly real and although I cannot condone his final decision, I do not have the right to judge him for it...
The direction was seamless and as a cinematic experience it was thought provoking and quite wholesome...It made me feel terrible for ever having judged someone without knowing their circumstances, since we rise by lifting others and not by pulling them down...

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First of all if you like mystery/thriller genres then dive in. If you like ghost future/ghost/death-seeing powers then again dive in. For comparison there are other OCN dramas like Missing noir M, Duel, Voice, Signal, Save Me, etc. If you liked these dramas you may also like this one.

Now, on to the review.
Firstly, I wanted to write a review because i saw that there are not many reviews and more importantly I think this drama was a little overlooked. Maybe because of the subs that came out so late and are still not so "good".

Story: It's a complex story, that many drama fans may have seen. A scary case that happened a long time ago, a new case that triggered the memories of the old one nowadays, and people who start to investigate it. However this drama is not so simple. Why? Because the story can't go on without characters that start to build it. That is why I want to talk about characters here. Out female lead is a strong policewoman. She is tomboyish and lives happily with her father, but we start the drama already knowing her past. I will not talk about the past but it's super creepy and scary. What is important here is that she can see people's death. well actually not only. She has a fortune telling power from her grandmother. On the other hand we have chic elite detective. His favorite phrase is "do you like science?". As you can guess from it he is someone who believes in science, is great in deduction and may other stuff. So these two get together and try to solve scary mysteries. As the detective says as a joke, she shoots a fantasy and he shoots a scientific crime drama. But together it become super great!Here I want to say a bit about Black it may sound similar. However it is not similar at all. I didn't think about Black even a single moment while watching this drama. Black had a very complex story and even the people who made it messed up in the end because of it. The girl was crying till the end. And the story lost it's logical thread, but had a promising start. Here, everything is different. The female officer is strong. she doesn't cry all the time. If something tragic happens she overcomes it and fight bravely. she is also physically strong and can beat many men. The male lead is also strong physically. (capable police :D) And she doesn't think she is cursed. She accepted her power. She is sad, that she can't save some, but she still tries. She is also smart! And as I said the male lead is somewhat a genius. And more importantly the story is logical till the end. Her powers only grow, and she uses them well. Male Lead also Uses his brain very well, and the story comes to a logical conclusion. So If you didn't like black, Doesn't mean you will not like this one. And visa versa. I can't leave out the second lead who played prosecutor. As he said himself you can't figure out he is good or bad, which makes you curious to see more of him. A man who strong and soft at the same time. You can't really tell what is he. But of course later you start to see other sides of him. The villain character where also interesting. Especially the "small" villains that go used by others. The story starts of as really creepy (like Save me) it gets creepier as the main leads visit a strange island. Later you get used to it and the entangled information slowly reveals itself more and more. Also the little homeless squad :D Honestly I totally loved them!! they played some big roles in this story and they were also a nice breath of fresh air.

Acting: The acting was great! I was seeing the female lead for the first time but she was great!! I was so tired of this super cute, weak ladies who always get in the way and cry. She played very well and her voice was great especially when she was telling the prophesies. The actor of male lead also pulled of smart, cheeky, genius, scientific, sad, angry, serious, stupid character lol. he was annoying at first, for me, but he was great later. The prosecutor (second lead). I saw this actor for the first time in Rebel and I loved him! Here I loved him even more. He pulled off all those complex emotions the character was having - guilt, heart scars from tragic childhood, fear, loyalty, willpower, desire to live, anger, love and more. The villains were good as expected, the veteran actors always end up getting all the hate XD
the "small" villains also did great. They had to show many other emotions and pulled it off fantastically. The homeless squad and other policemen also acted well.

Music: Creepy stuff owes it's creepiness mostly to music. XD well there is also camerawork. But you know those sounds that are usually in scary movies. they help to build the atmosphere here. But thank God it's not much. so It's ok. If you don't like scary stuff like me, don't worry it's not scary (it's like Save me).

This drama has adult cast. These actors are not young. But actually that is a plus for this drama. All the actors were great in it. And the plot actually captured me from the first scenes, because of it's creepiness. xDD

The cons, I think, are the subs!
This drama wasn't subbed when it was airing, maybe this is the reason it was overlooked at that time. Now it is subbed, but at the time a I am writing this the subs are a mess. I mean on the website where I watched it, the subs finally appeared, but they are very very bad. So I guess many people tried to watch it, but the subs were so out of the context that are very difficult to understand. I understand a little bit Korean, but there were parts I couldn't understand and the subs weren't of help. The genders are mixed, women are men and visa versa. From one point all the names started to appear in Chinese. Later that female lead's name Kim Dan was appearing as "altar" "small altar" or "gold altar" lol and there were part were the subs just told whatever. especially on the last episode. in all the important scenes there was written a nonsense. xD
What I was trying to say is don't give up on this drama because of the subs. :)

Overall it was a good drama, worth watching. I don't regret one bit. If you are wonder to watch it or no, I suggest giving it a try. The actual story begins two years from the events happening on the first two episodes. So try to keep on at least until that. Around 3rd or 4th ep. :)

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Note: My suspicion on why this drama is underrated because there are sooo many time-travel dramas out there that maybe better so viewers are overwhelmed thus skip this sweet romcom. Moreover, people may leave bad ratings not because of the content but because they cannot find the subtitle. But I found this little gem by accident (it has never been in my PTW list) and it caught my interest to watch it right away, though I have another time travel Cdrama in my CWL.
FYI, if you read this review in the month of October, the episode on the Ghost Market can be a great idea for your Halloween party! Pretty creepy and gory.

I binge watched and completed it in a day, the story is simple and straightforward yet it allured me to watch more until it ends. So easy to watch: 12 episodes short for a typical Cdrama, no cringy scenes, no need of a box of tissue, only one villain with one goal to overtake the power, no love triangle, no Second Lead Syndrome, no jealousy, no bitches or jerks, no deaths of good characters, no twists on the plot. Sounds boring? Read more...

Actress Yang An Qi played her first main role as the kind, calm, smart, and graceful resident physician Ji Xian Yun who was transported into the past China as the ancient Ji Xian Yun who committed suicide. Using her intelligence, our girl's sole purpose is to return to her real world that include: finding an item connected to the time travel and getting out of the arranged marriage with the handsome but sick and bedridden Qi Ling Xiao. He is the favorite son of the current Emperor, played quite well by actor student Sheng Ying Hao despite this is his first role. Adding to Xian Yun's goal is the arising issues in adjusting to the ancient personal and professional life, the danger of being the wife of a political figure, and the professional duty to care and cure of a patient none other than her husband. Her mind is so occupied with all these things that she does not realize that her husband already falls for her at the first slice (of knife aka scalpel). Clearly our heroine does not listen to gossips around the household that even outsiders but her know about her husband's feelings. So how do they finally get together then? None other than thru subtle attention and gesture, and care given to each other along the poison and recuperation, attempted murders, enemy's traps and political schemes. You will not see forced kiss, stalking, marriage consummation, or any rough dealings, just sweet and gentle chemistry between the leads. Although I should add that the outdoor kissing scene may be too hot for the ancient public to see (and not a stiff cardboard kiss either)

Adding to the praises are the well-done cinematography as seen by dramatic camera angles and panning, dramatic effect, adequate CGI, setting color and ambiance choice, costume selection (I swear I saw many times the main couple wear the same/similar color matching costume other than their wedding outfits). Not too bad for a low budget drama. The OST songs are also sweet and melodious.

Finally, I applaud Lan Lan who subbed this simple but lovely drama meticulously and informed us viewers who are not familiar with the Chinese language and culture, as she explained some words and phrases that are from the era. As a viewer I was educated thus was able to understand and appreciate the beauty of this story.

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From Hilarious Heartwarming to Fire Chaos Sibling's Show

It starts off as family sitcom show to romance and end as chaotic drama.

The concept is one of a kind, the casts are all unique and charming. We can see the cast's trueself once they talk to their sibling. It has comedic relief in the beginning and moving family stories. But as there is nothing more to show from the siblings, it leans toward dramatic dating show in the second half. I must admit, the sibling's concept is what made me stay, it is so fun we get to see variety of sibling relationship and their dynamic. Their "Blind Date" game/mission is also exciting as we can see the sibling become their own sibling's biggest supporter, ally, or even... use each other for their benefit?

One more good thing I want to mention is the panelists! They are all so funny and have witty comment. I feel like watching with friends while listening to their views. Also, despite the chaotic drama towards the ending, I still enjoy the show nevertheless. If you are looking for refreshing dating show with uncommon theme, come to watch this series but dont forget to create a room for disappointment in some casts ;)

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Perfection is rare

I started this because of liking both the leads, and they OWNED this. My eyes are still damp from the powerfully moving final few minutes.

It might be a simple story, but it was well told and PERFECTLY acted by the two leads. The movie was FULL of surprises for me, from hearing a voice that "like Faye Wong, but not" and finding out it was Leah Dou :), to the way the story and the story-within-a-story messed with perception and reality, to such emotional effect at the very end.

Award ceremonies get A LOT of criticism for their decisions, and most of it is 100% justified. But sometimes, they get it just right, and these two outstanding actors being made joint winners for this film was not merely the RIGHT decision, it was the only possible one. When trying to decide whether to score this a 9 or to go higher, I realised that was no substantive reason to dock any points, and in terms of its overall impact, if I could score it higher than 10, I would.

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Mediocre Acting for a Tragic Drama

Summary: just watch the first few episodes bec of its original lines . This is not a romantic lovely story. More tragedy really.

Pro:
- good casts but could be better
- many original plot . Watch till about 11th episode and enjoy.

Cons
- chemistry is just plain. The main actress is really cute and sweet but she lacks the toughness and can’t act on the most painful crying scenes. I wanna cry because she can’t cry well esp the last episode.
If you compare her with the actress in Princess Agents, you’ll get the feel why she’s not so great in this story. She doesn’t exude that tough persona. She’s great with the Pillow Book & ten miles of peach blossom kind of story. She’s not appropriate for tragedy
- the chemistry between main characters are so-so. Even with the rival is so-so.

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