this is what a kdrama should look like
okay so i went in a little nervous. a superhero comedy set in 1999 with apocalypse vibes is a lot to balance and kdramas don't always pull off this kind of tonal mashup. but wonderfools mostly nails it and when it wobbles the cast just picks it up and carries it.the premise feels fresh without trying too hard. director yoo insik is so good at making absurd stuff feel grounded and the writing actually gives every misfit a real emotional arc instead of just leaning on the powers as the gimmick. the 1999 setting isn't just for the aesthetic either. the whole millennium dread thing bleeds into the characters in a way i didn't expect. production-wise it looks great too. the action is clean, the comedy lands and when it goes for the emotional beats they actually hit.
the cast is what makes this special. park eunbin is doing what she does best. chaeni is loud and chaotic but also clearly hurting and eunbin makes that switch look effortless. choi daehoon and im seongjae are SO funny and the four of them have that ensemble chemistry where you can tell they actually like each other. supporting cast is stacked too.
cha eunwoo though??? i've watched basically everything he's done since true beauty and this is the most disciplined i've ever seen him. unjeong is a hard role. mysterious, fairy-tale boy, carrying trauma he can barely talk about and instead of playing it big eunwoo plays it SO restrained. it's all in his eyes, his breathing, these tiny shifts. and then when unjeong finally cracks (you'll know the scene) it lands so much harder because he didn't tip his hand earlier. this is lead actor work, full stop. people who only know him for his face are about to eat their words.
i have no negatives but the villain arc wraps up a bit neater than the buildup deserved. nothing dealbreaking but it's just a note.
tl;dr: genuinely one of the best dramas i've watched recently. great ensemble, real heart, actually funny and eunwoo is so good. if this is the last thing we get from him before he's back from enlistment in 2027, what a way to leave us. already planning a rewatch.
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2Tale as old as time.
The Legend of Shen Li is a highly entertaining xianxia with a terrific starting hook. Injured while fleeing an unwanted marriage, Shen Li crashes into the mortal realm in her innate phoenix form. Mistaken for a chicken, she is rescued and healed by Xing Yun, a sickly ginseng salesman. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be shipping an unseemly attachment between a haughty chicken and a weak but insolent mortal. Their hilarious interactions and witty repartee had me grinning like a fool. This has to be the first CP that I got invested in before the FL properly meets the ML.While I find Legend of Shen Li quite enjoyable, it is a tale as old as time and I am not just making fun of Xingzhi's age. This kind of forbidden love story between a lonely, crusty old god and a much younger one is the staple of this genre. This one is written more as a character story so there is little plot movement until the second half of the drama. The plot itself leans heavily on well known xianxia tropes with a modern, role reversal approach. What makes it special is that it is well executed, the main CP has scorching chemistry, it is anchored by a stellar cast and tongue-in-cheek dialogue has deep and heart tugging undertones. This is an excellent entry-level xianxia that will thrill and delight newcomers to the genre the most. While die hard fans of the genre will certainly enjoy the fresh take on old themes, they may find the plot predictable after the early arcs.
For me, the mortal realm is always the most interesting xianxia arc and this is no exception. It is at the same time the most disappointing arc in terms of missed opportunities. It is too short and half the time Shen Li is an angry CGI bird. Shen Li's feelings for Xing Yun developed so quickly I felt shortchanged on the how and the why she fell in love. Worse, their story is overshadowed by the two utterly heart wrenching ill-fated love stories. To some extent, the narrative coasts on the residual heat from Princess Agents and assumes the audience is already invested in the main CP. The issue is viewers who did not watch that may not feel the chemistry between them. The arc ends so abruptly that it barely dawns upon me that Shen Li's affections could be one-sided. She very high-handedly falls for a helpless mortal and doesn't give him any say in the matter because she knew it to be transitory. This is quite sad and complex and it is a pity the narrative dealt with it too cursorily.
As someone hungering for closure from Princess Agents, I am stoked to report that the chemistry between Lin Gengxin and Zhao Liying burns as hot as ever. This drama is generous to a fault in fusing passionate love scenes with humor and moving romantic moments. I find myself chuckling at how hot and flustered Shen Li gets by Xingzhi's shameless flirting until the veiled pathos behind Xingzhi's careless words hits me and makes me tear up. Both characters are designed to recycle the strengths of their previous collaboration without taking much risks. Notably, there is no extra dimension or complexity to Zhao Liying's role or portrayal. She once again delivers in spades what she does best from the brilliant, combative glitter in her eyes to her signature awesomely bad-ass fight scenes. I would have liked to see more facets to King Bicang beyond the fierce warrior with a deadpan expression who is casually cruel to CGI animals. There is more scope for Lin Gengxin to shine as Xingzhi is a contradiction; the most powerful and yet the most powerless being in the three realms. I was impressed by Lin Gengxin's heart wrenching and nuanced portrayal of this so very alone ancient being who will crack a joke to stop your heart from breaking for him.
As a couple, Shen Li and Xingzhi are too perfect for each other - their world view is largely aligned and besides the one bombastic obstacle of an existential crisis for the realms, there is no real conflict in their relationship. While they experience some acutely angsty moments, they are all short lived. Most of the intense and lingering agony in this xianxia actually comes from the three devastating side love stories. Both characters are fully realised beings that don't grow much. That is left to the likes of Furong who is my favorite character in the first half of the narrative and the character that shows the most growth overall. His limelight in the second half is stolen by Lady Jin who is by far my favorite character and one who saves the draggy second half of the show for me. I find the villains quite boring and archetypal and those roles are also the least well acted. Even though Shen Li and Xingzhi come together in a moving and masterful ending climax, the finale is too much of something I have seen many times before. I did not enjoy the extended ending fight sequences and the heavy handed CGI.
Despite the unoriginal plot, this is an excellent character driven story. I was invested in many characters beyond the leads - Furong, Youlan, Qing Ye, Feng Lai, Mofang, Lady Jin and the indignant Cluck Cluck. The dialogue uses comedy brilliantly as a gateway to the profound in highlighting complex, deep and at times tragic existential themes. I enjoyed the conversation about how if we can work together against evil, we may no longer need gods to be our babysitters. I also felt a shiver of fear in this age of AI at the idea that as creators, one day we will become an existential threat to our creation. Overall a very enjoyable and highly recommended funny and intelligent xianxia that I am happy to rate 8.5/10.0.
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Peter Ho and Janine Chang are very good actors that had great chemistry together. They were intense which was what was needed for their characters.
The music is perfect. I have been trying to find the music on youtube and itunes, but so far no luck. If any of you out there know where I can find it then please let me know. :-)
It was quick to watch the first time, so I can see myself rewatching this in the future.
If you like melodrama, then this is definitely a drama to watch. It only takes about 2 1/2 hours.
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When I start watching a drama with such high ratings and reviews calling it a masterpiece I try to fight of the hipe as much as I can but I still started watching Love me if you dare with a mindset of 'this is going to be good' and oh boy was I disappointed.
The drama started of strong with a badass female lead and a mysteriously intriguing male lead, but it all went downhill from there.
The STORY, while still not the best, was pretty interesting up until like 15 ep and then it just hit a rock bottom. It felt like the writers were trying sooo hard to be unique, to surprise us but it just didn't work for me, everything felt really forced. All the plot twists were kind of bleh. The romance was mature in a really boring way there was only one scene where I felt some kind of chemistry between Jin Yan and Jian Yao. Oh and don't even get me started on Jin Yan's investigation methods, you might as well label this as a Sci-Fi drama, because he came to conclusions and found out things out of nowhere (not everytime but I could name a few...) The story wasn't the worst thing, but certainly wasn't good it just didn't do anything for me, I never felt my heart racing, It didn't give me any questions to think about...
The CHARACTERS for the most part were so boring. I could not relate to them at all. Bo Jin Yan with some exceptions seemed emotionless. Sure you could say that he showed many emotions but to me he never looked human, in the end I was annoyed by the fact that he was so perfect. I wanted him to make a mistake, I wanted him to just loose his shit, because that is what I love about episodic shows, I can watch characters grow, I can see them fall and get back up again but that never happened. Maybe I am the only one who was disappointed, I saw that most people seemed to like his alien like persona but throughout the whole drama I didn't get attached to him, nor Jian Yao who went from badass to an accessory and for me dramas are all about getting attached. The only character I liked was Fu Zi Yu, he was fun, smart, freaking human like.
I think I could go on and on explaining why I think this drama is not worth the praise but despite all that I still encourage to watch Love me if you dare, because you will probably enjoy it considering the fact that I am picky as hell.
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They should have just made a 1 ep special with the new stuff.
I love 2gether. It was the first of the modern thai BL series that i got into because of the pandemic. I say modern BL cause the first thai BL i got into was Love of Siam. Anyways, 2gether and still 2gether hold a special place in my heart. And after watching other BLs from around the world after 2gether, i've realized that there are far better quality BLs than 2gether, but again, Sarawat/Tine still had a special place in my heart.So when they said a movie was in the works, i was hoping for a continuation of the story with a better budget and production akin to like Gameboys the movie or Hello Stranger the movie (both of which upped the production, story and everything from its original series). Unfortunately, 2gether the movie is 90% a recap of the series we already know, with footage from the series stitched together as a montage with new voice overs to give more context, and for 10% parts that were new was probably shot all on a single day.
I know the 2gether stans may seem like this sounds harsh but im just speaking honestly. This was utterly disappointing. It was like someone took the original source material and decided to make a fluffy fanfic epilogue/conclusion. I skimmed through the whole movie and watch the last bits and it felt unsatisfying. And this earned a Thai cinematic theater release? This just felt like a low effort cash grab. It felt almost like a slap in the face to the fans. They could have done a single ep special with just the new stuff and it would have achieved this conclusion just the same, if not better. Ill prob get flamed for this, but again, im just speaking honestly.
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This review may contain spoilers
enjoyed the second half more
Overall: I'd really like to see these actors with better writing. If I were to start this at episode 4 and think they had just started dating, then the terrible communication and reluctance would make sense. But their characters' ages were 25 and 32, they were dating for 5? years (engaged for 3), they had known each other for 18 years (age 7 and 14). Their relationship dynamic didn't make sense to me even with a traumatic past event. This is based on a book which I didn't read and I reviewed the series on its own merits. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on YouTube and iQIYI (uncut). Mandee also produced: Bed Friend, Cutie Pie 2, Cutie Pie and Why R UContent Warnings: past death/gore, attempted murder, maybe held against will, dub/non con kiss, manipulation, manhandling, trauma/mental health struggles, stalking
What I Liked
- Kuea & Diao's friendship (and Diao and his friend group)
- Lian & Kuea's scenes
- Lian & Yi dream sequences/their dynamic
- cameos from characters in Cutie Pie
- couple funny parts like that dog's costume in ep 3
- sweet moments
- mystery aspect
- good kissing/intimacy (note, this is cut down in the YouTube version)
- Diao's evasive skills in ep 8
- Max's real mom played Yi's mom
- the ending of episode 8 was absolutely adorable
- production value (everything looks beautiful except too much blur filter, the actors, the sets, the cars, etc)
Room For Improvement
- I struggled with the characters and the relationship dynamic, we had an attractive, taller, stern, controlling character paired with a cute, shorter, avoiding physical affection character. The relationship felt more parent/child than equal partners, though thankfully this did start to change a bit. However, Yi said that Diao couldn't go to his own sister's party in episode 4 which was not cool. Also in episode 1 it appeared that there were security guards in their home to keep tabs on Diao/prevent him from leaving and security cameras inside the house for the same reason. And then the writers could have had Diao (an expert in martial arts) fight off those dudes but he got like 1 hit/punch in and then was a damsel in distress. Also him getting around on his bicycle further infantilized him.
- the manipulation/lying to Diao starting in episode 2
- poor communication, they didn't have sex in over a year? they've known each other for over 18 years and can't say what is bothering them, what they need from a relationship, problem solve together how to fix their problems? (I did like that one scene when asking about their honeymoon and future family plans), in later episodes they both say the importance of better communication but then don't communicate well
- the writers didn't make it clear that they had collaborated on their plan
- should have cut out the whole love rival side plot and explained character motivations more
- how Diao frequently avoided physical affection from his boyfriend
- too many time jumps in the first episode
- fart joke humor (and they've known each other for 18 years so what Yi said never happens in front of people was a total lie)
- comedy noises including the goat bleating
- cliche plot point at the end of episode 1
- maybe it was supposed to be funny how the dad prefers Diao because I found it really sad, Yi's dad was awesome in some ways but he was overly harsh to Yi at times
- terrible tiger cgi
- nonsense plot things: in 18 years, Diao didn't know that Yi has sisters (even if the marriage was recent that is something you would know about), Diao had never met Yi's mother in the 18 years that he knew him?, assuming someone is cheating because they smile/hug the opposite sex
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This review may contain spoilers
Nothing new.. but watchable.
This drama had been one of my most curious dramas of 2022 . The drama being a BL, I was really surprised that China let it happen. But, I didn't have much expectation, knowing well about the bans and censorships that China usually impose on its shows. I watched it out of pure curiosity.Honestly, I did like the first episode. But, the story didn't seem to keep a fixed pace. Some parts felt too fast, while some felt too slow to me. This is nothing new and I didn't seem to enjoy this as much as I would have watching a BL.
The acting was meh. I didn't feel it at all. Hu Shi Wen, who played Cheng Yi was alright but there is, of course, possibilities of improvement. Anyways, Hu Bo Wen seemed like a robot. The supporting too didn't do the job of making this interesting.
The music was good. This is the only thing in the whole drama that I wholeheartedly liked.
The editing was terrible. Sometimes, it makes the drama unwatchable. That is SOMETIMES. Overally, the drama is fairly watchable, in spite of some substandard elements.
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The drama starts with bits and pieces of the two worlds, with an overwhelming number of characters (and their dopplegangers, which you may or may not recognize--). There's a lot of foreshadowing going on, as well as important details that will come in handy later on. Hence I suggest that while you're watching, you may want to subscribe to an analysis/explanation YouTuber or something (I had the benefit of being able to understand the Taiwanese YouTubers who did episode-by-episode analyses afterward. It helped me tremendously after ep 7 or 8).
Midway through the drama, things really start coming together and then the originally-slow storyline starts picking up. I think it took me til ep 9 or 10 to really appreciate the complexity and the plot development of this drama -- we follow Lee Gon on an unpredictable puzzle-solving journey to piece together how this world works and how he can save the world from being ruined by Lee Rim.
After finishing the last episode, I began my rewatch journey and suddenly *everything I saw in the first few episodes made sense.* After learning who's who, it's a lot easier to see the significance of every detail presented at the beginning and how everything fell into place at the end. Hence this isn't a one-watch drama -- it's something where after you go through it once to get the gist of it, you will want to go through again to pick up clues to the puzzle and interesting little details that didn't make sense without context.
The main love line didn't make sense to me (since I'm not a huge "destiny/fate" person and the character development wasn't that convincing). However, you will want to keep watching the show just to see how the other characters' relationships develop, and how Lee Gon strives to defeat the evil. There's so much going on with all the characters that having a faulty main lead romance won't kill the drama. Until the drama picked up, I totally watched it for Jo Yeong x Eun Seop. Favorite bromance. Amidst all the killing/deaths, the scriptwriter also did not forget to put appropriate comedic relief, so I found myself laughing a lot during the show.
Gotta commend the acting -- Woo Do hwan and Kim Go-eun especially, who had multiple characters to play. I really hope they win acting awards (and that Tae-ra is just a foreshadow of what will happen in real life next year ;)
The OST was also great. Not as great as Goblin, but I would put this on repeat.
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Sometimes the truth is uncovered… but accountability never comes.
What stayed with me the most after finishing Unveil: Jadewind is how quietly powerful it is. Beneath the stunning Tang Dynasty visuals — the intricate costumes, elegant sets, and beautiful cinematography — there’s a story that feels sharp, thoughtful, and surprisingly heavy.At first glance it may look like a typical revenge story: a woman whose family was massacred seeking justice. But instead of following a straightforward vengeance path, the drama unfolds through a series of cases investigated by the leads. Each case reveals darker truths about the society around them — how women are manipulated, how the powerful protect themselves, and how justice often depends on who holds authority. Sometimes the truth is uncovered… but accountability never comes. That realism is frustrating, but it also makes the story feel meaningful and relevant.
What I loved most is how strongly female-centered the drama is. Women drive the narrative, solve the cases, and support each other while navigating a system that constantly tries to silence them. Bai Lu was fantastic here. Her performance is controlled and layered — she doesn’t rely on exaggerated emotions, but instead delivers strength, intelligence, and vulnerability in a very subtle way. Her character is sharp, skilled in martial arts and medicine, and always one step ahead, yet still deeply human.
The male lead complements her well. He’s observant, calm, and intelligent — more of a supportive partner than a dominating hero. Their relationship is a slow burn built on mutual respect and shared purpose rather than dramatic romance, which felt refreshing.
The cases themselves can be emotionally draining in the best way. Some stories left me angry, others heartbroken, and a few genuinely shocked by the twists. At times I even needed a break between arcs because of how heavy the themes were.
Visually, the drama is gorgeous from beginning to end. The production design, fight choreography, and overall atmosphere give it a very polished, cinematic feel.
Overall, Unveil: Jadewind is elegant, dark, and thought-provoking — a female-centric historical mystery that doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths. It’s not a loud drama, but it leaves a lasting impression.
For me, it’s a solid 9/10.
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Crazy Satisfying
10/10. This was rom-com done right. It had all the elements I love--slapstick comedy, character development, heart-fluttering kisses, no draggy misunderstandings, a mystery that kept you on your toes, and a satisfying and unproblematic ending. Sure, the ending was more like a gift-wrapped up and tied with a nice, perfect bow, but hey after all the previous Kdrama endings we've been through (if you know, you know), I think we all deserve a satisfying one that leaves a smile on our faces. Hands down, this will be one of my favorites! Thank you Crazy Love Production and Cast!Was this review helpful to you?
This is what I call the Disney version of KWP! They took the core storyline and characters but repackaged it to satisfy a broader demographic. That's not a bad thing if you like cute romantic comedies with a hint of salaciousness and happy ending! The concept of KWP is unique in itself it's interesting and satisfying. However, if you are a fan of the original manga or original series you might be disappointed at the loss of the story's hard edges.
By softening the characters it actually made the relationship between Sumire and Takeshi "Momo" feel less passionate and dynamic. It also made their growth as individuals feel less dramatic. Without those rough and uncomfortable moments you lose much of the stories impact about intolerance from social/moral/gender expectations. That probably isn't a big deal to most but if you really enjoy those wtf elements (I call it rollercoaster euphoria) from the more mature storyline then you probably won't be fully satisfied with this latest adaptation!
The acting was fine. No one in this drama stood out to me as spectacular but they were adequate. If I had one gripe it would be Iriyama Noriko startled/deer-in-headlights look that I assume is supposed to represent nervous insecurity? I'll be nice though because it seems to work with this adaptations Sumire. But nitpicky me really wanted that composed and confident public facade in the original. The same with Takeshi "Momo" he was too adorable to the point of being childish vs Man-child. But again it feels appropriate for this version.
Nothing to add on music though the introduction was nice.
Overall rated good, but without the original uncomfortable mature situations it's nothing special. I might watch this again because I love the KWP storyline but I'm not emotionally attached to this version
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Idols With A Twist…
With a predominantly idol actor cast ( aside from actual actress Jung Ji So) and respectfully a lot of hyped fans of these idols watching the drama, it does objectively brand the question for a lot of drama-watchers ( especially those who aren’t interested or a part of idol fanbases), whether ‘ Imitation’ is actually worth watching as a storyline , or is a waste of time.
There is a balance of good things and more critical points when it comes to ‘ Imitation’. On a strong note ‘ Imitation’ has a prominent message about problems with the idol industry and does not shy away from tackling themes such as corruption, the media, toxicity present in idol fanbases , mental health and hardships . What resonated even further was undeniably having a predominantly idol-cast playing in those roles. However, the show often did fall short with how consistent it was trying to be with conveying these messages through writing and character writing also.
Let’s start with the main female lead Ma-Ha. Ji-So is a good actress, however, although initial introduction wasn’t terrible, it didn’t quite embody her role either. It had nothing to do with Ji-So not being an idol. After all she takes on roles in order to adapt herself to becoming someone else onscreen whilst the cameras are rolling. That’s her job. Instead, its rather the fact that Ma-Ha was always a character who you should’ve felt sorry for with her hardships, but often it was easy to grow detached from the FL with Ji-So’s lacking vitality invested with her given - performance. This isn’t entirely the actress’ fault, as this was also sparked by screenwriting problems also .
As viewers there’s a lot we are supposed to like about Ma-Ha. She’s not only the female lead of the drama, but the “ underdog” archetype who takes a central position as a member of her girl group and desperately yearns for the group to become famous. These goals were easily likeable traits, but then when we actually exposed to her reasons for “ becoming an idol” as well as her “ will they, won’t they?” lacklustre onscreen chemistry with popular Shax boyband member Ryeok ( Jun from U-KISS), her character simply became uninteresting for the most part. This is because rather than depending Ma-Ha’s own sense of purpose outside of the group in early episodes , the female lead’s entire being was pretty much defined by romantic tropes, than actual character development.
Oh boy, this leads us onto the romance elements and setups of the show. Tackling this topic in a drama about idols evidently isn’t a crime. After all, a lot of idols have love lives and date in secret but the problem with “ Imitation”’s depiction of the turbulent love lives of idols was that it lacked a lot of depth. There were multiple opportunities for us as viewers to perk up and take note of what really happens in the lives of idols, when the spotlight and cameras aren’t rolling. However, instead “ Imitation” was focused nearly entirely upon bringing in pairings which were fairly dull.
This is even case and point with our main pairing between Ma-Ha and Ryeok. Jun is a really good actor alongside Ji-So but the tropes and cliches soon diminished a lot of onscreen chemistry between them. This was because similar to Ma-Ha, Ryeok’s original character was fairly interesting. He had clear goals and motives, as well as presenting an evident contrast to Ma-Ha due to being successful and suffering under a lot of emotional burdens. Yet rather than connecting these characters under their similarities and learning to symbiotically “ lean” upon one another gradually from their “ hate to love” relationship , the drama attempted to present too many cliche “ differences” between them, which often fell short due to questioning why on earth these characters should have been together if this was all their relationship equated to.
Similarly one of the most poorly-written couples in this drama was Hyun Ji ( Lim Nayoung )and Yoo Jun ( Hwiyoung). Hyun Ji was by herself an interesting character alongside fellow member of Teaparty Ri-A ( Minseo). However, her pairing with Yoo Jun? It was incredibly enforced to say the least. Hyun Ji’s feelings for Yoo Jun were fairly unrequited as Yoo Jun, rarely reciprocated them romantically. Their screen time interactions were minimal and when they were together, the topic was usually just about Ma-Ha. If the show had developed this couple more, or had just disregarded entirely and explored Hyun Ji’s relationship with her fellow members then it would have been a lot more coherent than the pairing we were presented with onscreen .
Aside from the romantic factor, the biggest flaw in this show was undeniably disregarding the seemingly “major” established storyline around Eunjo and Annie. Now this was an interesting part of the show, however, it was nonsensical and seriously bad writing to disregard these characters, bring them up for a few seconds when it was called for and then anticlimactically solve the case, without rhyme or reason .
Perhaps the one character who you surprisingly grow to love as a viewer is solo singer La Li Ma( Jiyeon from T-ara). Ji Yeon really gave a dynamic performance as the soloist, and her character takes some surprising turns away from the stereotypical “ catty second female lead” trope that she was presented within in the first few episodes. It was oddly refreshing and enjoyable to see this character grow.
So, is “ Imitation” worth watching? The drama presents some fairly hard-hitting issues about the idol industry, but sometimes struggled to convey these meanings due to the heavy investment of romance as well as disregarding major plot lines and character development also. The acting is a mixed-bag. There are times where the acting front is really good, and other scenes where it is questionable . The OST is okay also -a little generic, but certainly nothing wrong with it either. Overall, certainly not a bad show but dependent on what you’re looking for. If you’re watching for the idol cast and themes about music, idol and cutesy couple moments, then you’ll absolutely love this one. If you’re not a major fan of them and where enticed by the darker storyline topics, then you may be a little disappointed.
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SHORT REVIEW, NO SPOILERS
Don’t read the synopsis. Don't watch the trailer !!! I am so glad I didn’t. I was sold within the 1st few minutes of the 1st episode. And although in many ways this show is predictable, many effective romcom formulas being used (let’s be real, they’re still used because they work), in many ways you will be taken aback. You will be shocked by who is trustworthy and who is not, who is strong and who is weak. And you will also wonder if everything in life is or can actually be black and white. I don’t think anyone can guess what leads the lead roles to get closer and closer, unless they stumble across the “former titles” or read the synopsis before watching the show, which I suggest you AVOID doing at all costs. It will spoil it, and kill what could be an interesting twist in your eyes as a viewer. The fact that the official title doesn’t give a single hint about what is going on is perfect. It made me appreciate the show even more. Be ready to discover tons of secrets - some being legit and harmless, most having pretty devastating consequences due to lies to cover up others, or lies to truly hurt others. KYK was the only reason I gave the show a try, and I really really didn’t expect much, but this romcom is fun and fresh, with doses of thrill and drama added to it. The strong points of this show? Its consistency in terms of suspense, and the leads’ ability to emote. I can’t think of one boring episode. I found myself cracking up one minute and tearing up the next. It is surprisingly one of the best romcoms I have seen to date, I truly recommend it.Was this review helpful to you?
The plot... I too, as many others, love the first half of the story more up to like episode 11? but the later half isn't bad either. It just has less happening. Some people say it dragged on and maybe it did, but i didn't really pay attention since i was so in love with everything else in it.
The plot had wonderful details that really showed different sides of the characters. Like Eun Jo; She is basically the evil stepsister and if this story was from another point of view, she would be seen as a complete bitch but cause the plot allows you to understand Eun Jo and all the other characters, and it seems much more realistic. No human is perfect and everyone has a bad side and it depends on how you see it who is the villain and who is the hero/in. And i feel like this drama portrayed that pretty perfectly.
I LOVED the acting. After watching this Moon Geun Yong became one of my favorite actresses of all time. The other actors were all great too, there's really nothing i complain about. And the acting really completed the plot and I got into the story with it. Every time Moon Geun Yong cried I cried with her. If im ever feeling sad and just wanna cry, I rewatch the sad scenes of CS and cry my heart out.
I really liked the music too, i love listening to the ost and remembering this drama. I felt that the music fit the scenes really well
The rewatch value.. hmmm... I feel like there are parts that are really worth rewatching, and then some parts are parts that were necessary the first time but now that you know the plot you don't really need them anymore, but since i dont usually rewatch dramas anyways i think me watching even some parts of this means its really good :) I've already rewatched some episodes like 5 times when i usually only watch them once or twice...
Oveall I gave it a 9 but i wanted to give a 10. It's really a favorite of mine and the first serious (and second ever) k-drama i watched. I think it's best suited for people who can focus on dramas well xD and for people who like sad dramas (you might need tissues!)
And also for people who can see the bigger picture and understand the characters... It made me kinda sad when i read comments that said "How can Eun Jo be so cold?" when all the time i had been thinking "Poor Eun Jo, no one understands you but Ki Hoon".
But still I recommend this drama for everyone to watch :) If it ever seems confusing i'm happy to help ;)
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A life drama full of great messages, but a romance it is not
The first and foremost thing viewers need to know when coming into this drama is that this is not a romance drama. It is a life drama with a few romance plots. It's slow. It's meandering. It's chock full of time skips. There's not a lot of focus on developing romance or chemistry.As a life drama, it's about our many main characters finding their way through life. From elementary to high school to university to working life. On their relationships between each other, their romantic partners, and their family. And how their respective character flaws need to be overtaken before they can get what they want. As viewer, we are taken on a ride to see how they come to terms with a change in future plans, grief, insecurities, trauma, distance from loved ones, and more.
We get to feel the nostalgia of watching how people communicate/d through the passage of time. How certain technologies made it easier, but were still subject to the same difficulties because of the people using them. But through it all, we were able to see a friendship that lasted through multiple decades, even as the people within it changed. And we got to take a look at several different family dynamics, and how they are still family regardless.
I loved this drama. It had a nostalgic and comfortable atmosphere that I enjoyed sitting in with each episode. I also enjoyed seeing how our mains grew as individuals and all possessed some trouble or another that I could relate to. There wasn't much focus on relationships, but I think that's okay. Because it wasn't the direction this drama was trying to take.
If you're coming in expecting your typical BL, you'll be sorely disappointed. The Life/Slice-of-life genre is not for everyone. So if that genre is not for you, I highly recommend skipping. Because it is actually a good story. But it's a good life story, not a romance.
However, I do wonder if the drama might have been too ambitious with the amount of main characters it was tackling. All of their stories were told completely, but I didn't get to emotionally connect with them as I usually would have liked, despite their performances being pretty solid. In my experience, most life dramas with such a big array of characters will choose an episodic format, which helps establish to viewers that they aren't meant to emotionally connect with the character too much. But by putting all of their storylines together into the same episodes, it made me feel like I was expected to connect deeper than what I actually did. Nonetheless though, it is a quality that is common with life dramas, so I can't really hold it against this production in particular too much.
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