This review may contain spoilers
SHIAA , My Heart's Gonna Burst OUT ... Narakk Makk , Not the best But still GOOD
Duang is so damn cutee whyyy , I couldn't say anything but smile and say narak makkkk inside . Duang is optimistic and cheerful boyy and the way he blushes aww looks even moreee cuter , I know that sticker was stolen by Qin hahaha .. Qin doesn't feel uncomfortable for what duang is doing aiigooo .... Cast i love them , it's their first time as main rolee , I didn't imagine this series to be this much cute at first , but as expected I decided to try it and now I am waiting for the next Saturday . And I just don't know from when I am so interested in this type to series....... Wow isn't it funny for Qin , from strangers to lovers , Qin was impulsive in a cute way ha I don't what I'm saying , but look at cutiee Duang he just forgot what to say and instead said “ My buddy likes you ” 5555 . I literally thought there's something goin' on between Duang's buddy and Qin's buddy , in the fair ep 1 ,,,, I want them to catch feelings..... I also ship themmmI freaking love that QIN is very bold now , he literally lowered his walls a lot now , and so narak when jealous and possessive . Duang is doing a great job , he is such a great supporter of Qin . Awww the last KISS I loved it , bro Qin was sooo seductive the way he said COME ON gave me shirl , now I want to know who's the TOP and who's BOTTOM . Brooo what a passionate kiss . Next ep seems like Qin's ex crush is coming , am so excited wahhhhhh ....
Damn I highly recommend thisss it's freaking narak and authentic...
Bro I don't understand whyyyyyy , Episode 7 at the starting was something else and later on something so damn disappointing , i just wanted to cryy out , look at my duang I can't see him like this whattt is this guy tiww we don't need him .. Duang such a cheerful , funny , determined and clingy guy first time looked this much miserable, insecure and spineless . Looks like he's now scared about Qin's decision , he literally looked depressed , idk i feel damn but and now look at the teaser of ep 8 , what is that wristband parttt what the heck does that tiww want , I myself can feel Duang's despairing feelings . Omggg I just want Qin to choose Duang with such a pure heart and soul , I can't see duang like this at all anymore
The misunderstandings the way they healed each other , specially duang being the best supporter boyfriend he tried his best to heal Qin's childhood trauma he promised to become Qin's safe place , and I got so much emotionally connected with it , l could relate a lot of things and this drama will always stay like good memory in my mind .
It's an art that not everyone can develop or act , all those scenes were super realistic that made me cry out for real . Actually I never wanted it to end cuz it became my safe place for a while too it's my happiness every saturday , the days I passed waiting for it everything was worth it , and I love my decision to watch it
This series is overall perfect the ost “ Not the best but still GOOD , It had to be YOUU , Someday say , YES . " The ost is all good , the story line is just too freaking good they didn't rush anything , tried to get eachother and the consistency thats what made me feel so better..
Teeteepor 's biggest project , I didn't expected that I will get attached to it like this when I first saw the teaser but the trailer made me more excited for saturdays
I'm so emotionally attached to this drama .
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
If you want to see this concept done well - watch Alice in Borderland
What is to like: the cast and set design is very good quality.What I don't like:
The idea of the games according to the 'host' was to make them equal. They were anything but equal, just take the last game (crossing the bridge) as the perfect example - people that picked the first numbers had 0% chance of survival, whilst those at the end had almost guaranteed survival.
The 'organ selling' sub-plot went no-where.
The main charater was sold to us as this guy down on his luck. This is incorrect, he was just a pathetic gambling addict. I was actually happy his daughter was taken away. Not a character to root for.
I'm only writing this to make some people aware that this drama is just overhyped because it was produced in a more 'americanised' style. There weren't any signature korean OSTs to remember and there were a lot of senseless deaths (this is all too common in american shows). Overall, as a show it is pretty average but for a korean show it is pretty disappointing. Like the title says - Alice in Borderland beats this drama by a large margin for me.
Was this review helpful to you?
The romance was too sudden and that's why the intensity of it was thrown out of the window. There was an implied love triangle that was easily swept under the carpet only to be mentioned towards the ending. The mature parts were okay, but it looked a bit robotic and forced, lacking any emotion and romance overall. So, the drama was just like this : boy falls in love with popular but childish and naive girl, they get together, many try to set them apart, boy comes to the rescue every single time, happy ending. There was no character development, no love story build up and no surprises. Plus, the leading lady was, as you can guess, the vanilla of the story, and rightly so. She had no personality, claimed to be immature, but she never actually changed, even though there were some scenes that had potential. Her love interest was a more complicated that was never explored.
So, four out of ten.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Not a romance drama
This drama left a very bad feeling behind after I watched it. The FL was spineless and subservient, and the ML was abusive, violent, and had mental issues. I fail to understand how a woman can fall in love with someone who threatens to kill her just because she bought fish and wanted to cook something special - I skipped the entire scene because it was too violent for me to watch. If this was a dream sequence of the FL, then it just leaves me flabbergasted that she still believes she is in love with the ML!Each episode is of 3 minutes and the whole drama somehow feels as if it is incomplete. Why would the mom suddenly become so avaricious that she sells her daughter to the rich? How can the daughter not have any clue of her mom's nature? You cannot be so dumb in life. And even after she realizes this, she just forgives her mom as if it is an everyday event.
So many negative characters in the drama starting from the ML, FL's Mom, her work colleagues, and her sister-in-law - who was a b***h from hell. Not to talk of the ML's father who thought it right to buy a human just so that she does not get sold off to some other rich household. For a man who has reached a ripe old age and himself a father of a girl, he appears to be singularly lacking in morals, is selfish, and ruthless - he chooses to "buy" the FL (as if she is a commodity) from her mom instead of taking aid of the law and reporting the matter to the police and getting the women arrested for human trafficking.
In the end, the writers even introduced a teacher who is supposedly in love with the FL and is willing to wait for her until God knows when. Our blind & dumb FL however chooses to stay in a toxic relationship with her so-called husband just because .........I am still wondering why??? Romance? Love??.... I say BS.
To the writer of this drama (if you are reading this review) : stop encouraging and selling abusive relationship stories in the name of romance or at least write something that inspires all those women out there who are in such relationships to find the strength and willpower to fight back.
For those who do not want to spoil their mood - please stay away from this drama - there are better and more pleasant things to do in life!
Was this review helpful to you?
The romance that doesn't even need words.
When the journey is more beautiful than the conclusion.Again starting the review unconventionally. Trying to recover from the drama? I would suggest you go watch behind the scenes, and interview where Allen Ren & Bai Lu Rewrite The Ending, it might help.. in my case it did. I'll drop the video links in the spoiler comments below.
Why I used the beautiful word? the outcome is definitely not pleasing. What is so beautiful about it.. in a cinematic way, with mesmerizing shots and locations, it's brilliant! Is that it? No. It has the most beautiful love story, the heartwarming one at the same time most heartbreaking...
The story isn't out of the box, or extraordinary but unexpectedly brilliant when it comes to execution. The dialogues are cleverly written and show intellect for sure! What do you expect from tragedy?
Tragedy (from the Greek: τραγῳδία, tragōidia[a]) is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall the main character. This is what Wikipedia says.
So is this fully tragic, surprisingly the answer comes as no. A tragedy that has some pleasing and many memorable moments.. even sprinkled with a bit of humor.
Though the politics isn't cleverly written (one of few cons) it doesn't matter as it isn't the main focus of the story.
Apart from the main leads, I adored some side characters a lot. The portrayal of friendship and loyalty is what I loved after my favorite love story.
Bai Lu, not just managed to show all emotions of Cui Shiyi through her expressions but also her character development throughout the show.. which isn't abrupt but with different phases, not only does her styling change with time but also how she becomes more mature, sensible. If you observe.. even the way she smiles is different in young age, her body language.. the way of talking or even walking... she even had to learn sign language for that applause for her, the small details.. which are clearly visible when you are fully immersed in the drama.
A lot of historicals fail in characterization especially when it comes to female leads, imagine growing up in a noble family in a strict manner with a lot of restrictions, rules, and regulations with the responsibility to protect clans reputation what would be your personality? clearly not rebellious, arrogant one? Maybe that's why I love Shiyi she isn't badass nor the strongest. She's gentle, caring, sensible, and clever. Her calm nature and temperament might be the polar opposite of Zhou Sheng Chen, but that's what makes them compliment each other.
Zhou Sheng Chen. He is the one who has both beautiful bones and skin.. where skin represents inner and bones represent outer beauty. The righteous general who don't have any ambitions and desires other than protecting and serving the country. Is he icy-cold.. mhmm nope. He's loving, caring, and warm when it comes to loved ones. Maybe this side is mostly for Shiyi.. his most beloved disciple. I loved how consistent his character was... he knows his limits, the boundaries he can't cross. He was flawed, he made some wrong decisions but every decision was worth it... right or wrong.
As always Allen never disappoints in acting. He lived Zhou Sheng Chen fully... where he never actually got a chance to express what he feels through words, but even though you can feel every emotion he has gone through just by looking at his face. The transaction of a general who has no regrets for what he has sacrificed throughout his whole life, to the person who may regret his decision but can't even express his regret or change anything just for the loyalty and his righteous nature. And you can just see through all this through eyes.. no need for words to understand what he's going through. A tear in the corner of his eyes hit more than bawling.
Shiyi and Zhou Sheng Chen my most favorite fictional couple... not just because of wonderful chemistry, their love was purest and heart-piercing. The love that doesn't need words or intimacy... even gaze, the small gesture, the embrace is enough to see their affection. Their eyes speak, the way they look at each other. The most caring and loving gaze, with time it becomes painful. The development between their relationship was natural and realistic.. where you encounter different phases. The age gap is there but not the awkward one, even though it's not physically visible, but an early stage you can see the difference intellectually. And this couple is everything.. they deserve every happiness more than anything.
As I said before the cinematography is just mesmerizing, in the technical aspects its perfection, the camera work, color grading, and even the styling are never disappointed. I would appreciate especially for Shiyi as drama includes different transactions of her life, and those are well compiled with her styling.
The music is brilliant, soothing... and sad, yes it makes you sad, the lyrics, composition everything. It manages to enhance every sentiment.
I had soft corners for dramas that make me cry... yes I'm a bit weird lol. I had a good cry but I'm not being any generous towards rating because of it, it deserves it!
Why re-watchable value is high? I'm sure gonna watch it.. whenever I'll feel my life sucks or I have the worst difficulties. This can be the best consolation, but yeah especially all moments between couple are highly re-watchable.
Hereby One and Only has become my most favorite historical... with my most favorite couple Zhou Sheng Chen who has the most beautiful bones and Cui Shiyi who has the most beautiful smile :)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A drama that will give you a roller coaster ride
This is just my personal opinion.. but I completely love and drown to the story. No matter how many people hate or dissappointed with the story line, disagree with the way the production team change the script writer, or many people said they stop watching it in the middle of the story.. but I totally want to give a standing applause for the drama production team for giving me a rollercoaster ride in every episode. Pardon me if this review is long.. but the drama deserves another perspective also.Here some reasons why I recommend this drama:
1. Outstanding acting. No doubt the 3 main leads are awesome! You’ll find out that each of them can play 2 different characters very well. It’s not easy but they are successfully convey the emotion, habit, eye sight, movement. They all beautiful and perfect to be chosen for each character.
2. I believe that Love is an emotional thing. It’s beyond your logic. So do not blame how the story will bring you to an unexpected ending. Again... love is not something that make sense sometimes. I can understand Sa Bin’s choice at the end. Try to see the big picture.. do not focus on our personal taste about the male lead. I truly love these 2 male leads.. and whoever she will be end up with, the guy is deserve it. Each of them are not perfect.. each of them have secrets and lies. They have their own big mistake. But there’s 1 thing that is similar.. it is their willingness to sacrifice everything for love.
3. This story will make you fall in love with each male lead, and headache, heartache at the same time. LOL. It contains a lot of bitter facts and unfair situationalso.
It shows you the love-hate relationship between main leads. It surely can give you pain when you tried to understand each character’s secrets and lies.
If you put your shoes in each character.. yes, they are surrounded with criminals, stalker or psychopat. But you will also find a passionate, bittersweet and possesive love as well.
Last but not least... I don’t think it is a romantic comedy story... It is a crime thriller yet bloody romantic. It’s a fantasy about reincarnation and how the ill fate bring all of them get entangled. So do not expect everything will be perfect, beautiful with unicorn and rainbow things. Hang on.. and get ready to feel the sensation of rollercoaster ride like me. Haha..
No matter what... there will be people in the story who will be hurted and feel unfair. But I finally understand that the definition of “fate” itself was totally wrong for Hyunbin and Haeun. If Hyunbin can be more honest back then about how he was accidentally killed her parents.. and she can accept it.. then they can continue the journey as couple in the next life.
But actually Hyunbin is no better than Jichul who have his own bitter memories and hurtful secret to be known by the girl. If Jichul ever tried to murder someone for the girl he loved, then Hyunbin is actually do the same in the next life when he shoot Jongbum’s head, thinking it is necessary to save the girl.
I don’t think the girl keep changing her own minds or 2 timing about her feeling. She just confuse and it make sense after all, because the 2 male leads gave her the same big and crazy love, but each of them show it in different ways with different definition of true love. At the end.. each male lead willing to suffer and sacrife everything for the female lead happiness.. no matter who will be chosen.
At first.. I thought the ideal story is for Sabin and Sohyuk to be together after the romeo and juliet scene in the past and how they meet again and giving us a playing hard to get moment in the next life. But.. the more the story is continue... the more I asked myself.. “have you ever think about how much Jichul or Jongbum suffering and sacrifice for her.. It is an unconditional, egois, dominant, loyal, passionate and uncontrollably romance.” It’s not crazy. He just starving to find love and family.
Love is something that will not always give you heartbeats but also heartache.
So the one who made the same missunderstanding, clumsy choices, and wrong judgement about the criminals (based on his own logic) is Hyunbin and Soohyuk. Meanwhile the one who trust her intuition and keep struggling to trust her feeling is Haeun and Sabin.
However the one who was being humiliated, feel rejected, under bad timing and get all the blame is Jichul and Jongbum. And he decide to continue his journey to wait, dedicating his whole life for the girl and at the end... still sacrifice to give his heart (life) for the girl. I pity him... but the ending is really give him a sign of a good path.
This story reminds me with a K-drama entitled “Doctor Stranger” (they have the same female lead as well), from the story, music & songs, until the tragic side of the story kinda give you the typical feeling. The plot is quite complicated, and heavy but very detail... and the cinematography is awesome.
Anyway.. all of this is just my personal thought. I hope you can at least trying to watch it until the end before make a judgement. But again... this story is successfully influence our heart. I hope I can see another collaboration with the same casts in different drama ;)
Well... Jongbum won the heart of Sabin, but Soohyuk won the heart of all of us as the audience as well ~<3
Was this review helpful to you?
PLOT:” Achiara is a small and peaceful village in the Korean countryside where nobody commits crime ; not other parts of Korea where a mysterious serial killer kills people on “Rainy Wednesday”. That’s what people say to Han Soo Yoon, the new English teacher, when she arrives from Canada. Unfortunately, the shy Soo Yoon discovers a corpse right away! Seeking the truth in Achiara is not simple: everyone has a secret or a reason to hate and threat someone….
One of the many things I really appreciate is the absence of romance/story line: no distractions, no useless moments or stupid parts! Also there aren’t many characters with side stories: dragging level is like 0%.
ACTING: to be honest, at first I didn’t like Moon Geun Young’s acting and way of playing Han Soo Yoon ^^” I thought she was emotionless and below average but, episode after episode, I realized that she probably is the only actress in Korea able to portray this kind of character: shy, scared, with low self-esteem. However I can’t totally say she did a great job; the other actors did WAY better than her
BTOB’s Joung Jae, for example, impressed me in a positive way (also because he’s only 20 years old…) and I read that many Koreans thought he was a professional actor, not an idol. Actresses Jang So Yeon, Shin Eun Gyeong and actor Choi Jae Woong did a wonderful job too
REWATCH VALUE: I wouldn’t rewatch it because I already know who the culprit is but I think this is a series that everyone MUST watch soon or later!
Was this review helpful to you?
Priest {Review}
It's been a long time since I binge watched a Kdrama and for some reason this one caught my attention. And no, it wasn't because I was searching for something similar to 'The Guest'.I just wasn't in the mood to watch the regular rom-com dramas.
This time around I wanted to watch something darker. Like a drama with a dark concept minus the possibility of dwelling into an overly depressing plotline.
At the time I concluded this was the perfect fit.
I won't lie tho, at first I couldn't decide between this and 'The Guest'
since both appeared to be quite similar with the possession/hot priests elements. But trust me, they're not! (I checked at least 5 episodes of it after finishing this series).
And just by comparing the trailers I could immediately see one was way more obscure than the other. Which helped me choose.
I decided to take a risk and go for the less popular.
Top Questions most people ask about the 'Priest':
•Is it too scary to watch?
A: It depends. Personally, I didn't find it too scary. This drama for sure has its own creepy scenes. As a horror movies enthusiast I can say I've seen way more dreadful possessions and exorcism rituals than the ones that were portrayed here.
•Does the Medical genre overshadow the horror factor?
A: Definitely not! Obviously, it plays a role in the drama but it's not too significant. Don't expect to see business-like hospital politics/corruption or surgeries that last for far too long. The demon is the centre of it all.
•Can it be compared to 'The Guest'? Do they even reference it or do any special appearance?
A: I hate to bring it up again. But sadly 'Priest' comments' section is bombarded with questions of this kind. Which is comprehensible since it aired right after AND they're both from OCN. But the answer is NO. There's no comparisons to make besides the fact both are about priests, possessions and exorcisms. The approach and execution of the rituals is completely different.
Sadly, no. There's no special appearances. Nor do they make a reference whatsoever. Father Mateo does not show up (It would've been so cool tho!).
•DoEs It HAvE AnY ROmAnCe?
A: MaYbE. This was a surprise for me since I was avoiding that specific genre. You'd have to see for yourself.
•Is it worth to watch?
A: If you're into this genre I'd say go for it! This is not a masterpiece but I can assure you it's quite entertaining for what it is. I think it was a bold move to mix two opposite concepts: medical and supernatural possessions. It could've gone terribly wrong. It's one of the components that makes 'Priest' so unusual.
My Thoughts on:
-The Main Characters:
Oh Soo Min ( Yeon Woo Jin)
At first he seemed to be a bit inexperienced when it came to perform an actual exorcism. I was worried I wouldn't be able to take him seriously as an exorcist priest. But thankfully he went through a character growth.
He ends up having an unexpected bittersweet storyline (that caught me by surprise ).
Although he knew very well what his responsibilities as a Catholic priest meant he never forgot that at the end of the day he was only human.
Moon Ki Sun (Park Yong Woo)
Although I loved his bromance with Oh Soo Min a.k.a Father Michael, I couldn't help but feel like there was something missing about his character.
I don't know if it was just the way it was written but sometimes he would appear kind of dull. And I guess that's probably because we end up not knowing too much about him.
I don't recall seeing his backstory or getting to know the reason why he became a priest in the first place.
In my opinion there was so much that could have been added to his character. He deserved more development.
Side note: One of the few things we came to know about him is that he's great at Boxing. And for a Priest he's very athletic. Always in good shape.
Ham Eun Hi ( Jung Yoo Mi)
Well, I must say her skepticism annoyed me in the first two episodes. But I understood it was just part of her character. She's a doctor after all.
Even with proof right in front of her eyes she will disregard every supernatural occurrence as some psychotic disorder or a fuzzy illusion caused by fatigue.
Despite that, she gradually grew on me. I came to admire not only her personality but her strength to keep going.
She continuously fought for what she thought was right even when people said it didn't matter.
The Demon {Whose name we shall not mention} :
No, it's not Voldemort (Even though he's no demon. At least technically speaking). And no, it's not Park Il Do.
For the sake of spoiler alerts his name shall remain unknown.
What can I say... I wouldn't consider him particularly strong or undefeatable like he's supposedly portrayed. He's just, really really reaaaally sneaky. And loves to outsmart everyone. Like any demon would.
In the beginning I thought he was creepy and gave me the chills. With every passing episode the spooky factor was maintained but he gradually became less scary-looking (after his face reveal). I mean, it scared me more what he could do rather than his real appearence. If that makes sense.
Speaking of his looks, I seriously don't know why he looked like that. I also would like to know more about his origin.
-The Supporting Characters
Overall everyone was great! Even though I enjoyed watching the dynamics of the Regia 634 team (their team work strangely reminded me of the squad of 'Lookout' - if you watched it you'll know what I'm talking about).
I wasn't too fond of the medical staff only some characters here and there.
-The Writing:
The writing wasn't exceptional. As I previously stated, some characters weren't fully developed.
Somewhere in the middle there was a twist that I thought could be a disguised lazy writing tactic (or not, I'm just assuming). Fortunately, it worked out within the direction the plot was headed.
-The Exorcism Rituals :
In this, I liked the variety of rituals. It was not just splashes of Holy water, crosses above the forehead and holy sanctified shoutings. Although you will hear it, lots and lots of screams. Count in some evil laughter as well.
Final thoughts :
To be honest, I never expected to enjoy watching this drama so much. It got me completely hooked.
There was never a moment of boredom and the plot kept me interested. I was entertained until the very end.
Like I mentioned above, it isn't perfect. It definitely has some flaws. But those flaws don't turn it into an unwatchable mess.
The number one aspect that I appreciated the most was the unpredictability of the events and the main leads relationship.
Fun Fact: Did you know that Yeon Woo Jin and Jung Yoo Mi were the main leads in the Horror Movie 'The Tunnel 3D'?
Apparently this was not the first time they had worked together. They were reunited once again for another thriller.
Anyway, I hope this review helps you decide whether or not watching this might be worth of your time.
I wrote this review on another site but I decided that I should post it here as well.
Thank you for reading and happy binge watching!
Was this review helpful to you?
I can say that this is really worth watching for. Even though I was little sad that there are scenes that I like that wasn't included. I guess they just give emphasize to the important ones. Also, my feelings wasn't totally moved. Maybe because I already know the story that's why I wasn't totally moved.
About actors~ Ohhhhhhhhh!! They are so great! I salute them! They really done a great job especially kenshin!!!! He is so cool, handsome and cute!!! Love him x)
The way he express is just right, love it. Same as the same characters, the expressions are totally right. Although kaoru and Megumi are cute unlike in anime which are matured. Kaoru and Megumi wasn't able to absorb the 100% characteristic in the anime. But they did their job well too :D Sano is not really tall, but with his big muscles I guess that's enough. Anyway, they were really great :D
Music, I love the music and background music. It suits the movie. the sound effects were great too.
Anyway, I give it all 10! It was great~ Worth watching~ ^-^
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
1
2All the world's a stage.
The Double is a dark and melodramatic soap opera about revenge and regret. It is a soap opera to end all soap operas in terms of high theatrics, spinning hussies, piercing death glares, shocking twists and the sweet, savage satisfaction of retribution. To best enjoy this, don't look too hard at it as the narrative is littered with logic and plot holes and absurdly dramatic, historically impossible scenes. The male lead Duke Su flirts with breaking the fourth wall repeatedly to urge us to just watch the play, a reminder that all the world's a stage and we should just suspend disbelief.Xue Fangfei, the most elegant and cultured lady in the capital, is cruelly betrayed and dumped in a shallow grave. She is rescued by Jiang Li, the Chancellor's daughter who is wrongly condemned and banished by her family to a convent. Fangfei assumes Jiang Li's identity and returns to the capital; vowing to clear both their names and make their enemies pay. She is aided by the enigmatic and powerful Duke Su who helps her because she intrigues him and could prove useful to him down the road. The romance that develops between them unfolds at a leisurely pace as they each have high stakes agendas that predictably converge.
Duke Su must be be every scorned woman's ultimate fantasy "consolation" prize. This magnificent specimen of manhood is highly born, tall, dark, handsome, powerful, and with a diabolical mind to match Xue Fangfei's. The icing on the cake is this sexy beast that wields a fan more effectively than a sword does not come saddled with nasty in-laws. Wang Xingyue's potent portrayal of Duke Su is spot on from the tinge of humor that belies his stern expression, his double entendre laced dialogues to how in unguarded moments his eyes devour Xue Fangfei with almost indecent longing. Despite the seductive build up and combustive chemistry between the main leads, the ultimate pay-off to their slow burn courtship falls far short of wild and wicked and only delivers a chaste candle-gate moment.
Even though I shipped Duke Su and Xue Fangfei immediately, I appreciate how Fangfei takes the time to rage, to mourn her loss and to get closure so that she can properly move on. To me, Wu Jinyan obviously looks older than Wang Xingyue, butI think this casting makes sense. Xue Fangfei is a woman who lost everything; her reputation, her lover, her entire family. That kind of shocking devastation would age anyone tremendously and Wu Jinyan's ravaged, strained and wild wide-eyed expression in the early episodes is brilliantly in character. The narrative does not shy away from presenting her marriage as one that had depth and substance. Thus they are still in perfect unison when they play their haunting duet; a song of profound loss, resentment and regret. Wu Jinyan plays the avenging angel so perfectly I got unholy enjoyment out of watching Shen Yurong squirm knowing that Xue Fangfei, who knows him better than he knows himself, is coming for him.
Shen Yurong is a character that I find hard to be that angry with because as it turns out, his perfidy results in such a massive upgrade for Xue Fangfei. Liang Yongqi really slays in this complex role of a promising, rising young official who catches the eye of the wrong woman and ends up betraying his ideals. He is quite a pitiful creature who trades in domestic bliss for living dangerously at the beck and call of an abusive, insecure and bat-shit crazy spinning shrew that his own dear mother pimps him out to. I can't decide if I pity him or despise him more. Because in truth, he already lost the moment he chose to betray his muse and the love of his life. The moment of peak retribution is when it dawns upon him what a prize he lost and is forced to face the limits of his own character. I thoroughly enjoyed how the narrative peels away the many layers of hypocrisy, ambition, sophistry and duplicity to reveal a weak, impotent coward who lacked the courage of his convictions. To me, this is the most complex and best acted role in this drama.
Even though I have high praise for Li Meng's portrayal of the deranged Wanning, I have little sympathy for this character or her shocking villain origin story. Victimhood does not entitle her to help herself to someone else's husband or kill with such impunity. When she had power and free will, she chose to be King Cheng's pawn, no one forced her. Likewise, I have no sympathy for Ji Shuran or her choices. In general, I dislike these attempts to whitewash villains or somehow rationalize their wicked ways. Bad stuff happened to Xue Fangfei and Jiang Li as well. But they looked for justice without turning into monsters as a result. While Xue Fangfei's revenge, if you can even call it that is very satisfying, Jiang Li's left me feeling bereft. Ultimately Xue Fangfei is a character that lost nothing and gained everything. It is Jiang Li who is truly the injured party and even though she is vindicated, all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put her together again.
Despite the addictive start, this drama loses momentum by episode 30. The storytelling lingers too long on weakest Jiang family plots arcs. They are boring and unoriginal, borrowing heavily from what were also weak arcs in Princess Weiyoung. Jiang Li's cousins are archetypal characters that were not complicit in Jiang Shuran's treachery. I find it unfathomable the drama chose to focus on their tawdry squabble over a callow rogue instead of uncovering the many layers of the far more fascinating Duke Su. As a result, this character with so much early promise ends up not as well developed as Shen Yurong and Wanning. To add insult to the injury, almost as an after thought, he is featured front and center in a baffling truncated half episode final arc that serves up gratuitous angst and some unearned and unjustified pin-cushioning of good characters. It is nothing short of a grift to squeeze money from viewers for a mundane glimpse of domestic bliss. As far as I am concerned this drama ends where it should a bit past the halfway point of the final episode. All the rest is dross.
This is a super addictive soap opera that doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. Where it excels is in serving up high drama and angst with super cool and satisfying but absurd vignettes that don't necessarily advance the plot. Nonetheless I was happy to rate this better than 8.5 until it started to sag and waffled into a lame and wishy washy ending that leaves me no choice but to call it an 8.0/10.0.
Was this review helpful to you?
Lighthearted fun times ahead!!
I loved it, no notes. Except perhaps that i really NEED Season 2. And I need that to have HosPlay cameos too please <33My main two reasons for watching this drama were- HosPlay sequel and Go Youn Jung and it delivered spectacularly on both accounts. Go Youn Jung is such a good actress, I love her facial expressions. But I was also really impressed by everyone else's acting, our other three first year residents had their own journeys to go through and they were fantastic.
The story was well-wrapped with just enough threads lose for a S2 renewal and I really need that to happen.
Was this review helpful to you?
Hopefully Netflix has season 2 that would be dope.
Would definitely rewatch it! 10/10 for me considering I binge-watched 40 episodes in 2 days!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet
19 people found this review helpful
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Beautifully Painful Drama Of Life
This drama caught me off guard. Not with plot twists or flashy romance, but with its honesty. It’s a slice of life, but the kind that doesn’t taste sweet all the time. It’s a little burnt around the edges, soft in the middle. Real.Cheng Le Le is in her 40s, doing stand-up comedy that barely stands on its own. So she works part-time at a convenience store too. That’s her life. Not a dream, not a tragedy. Just life. Her story unfolds around the people in her orbit, her dad who believes in aliens, two friends who shouldn’t make sense together but somehow do, a husband she once loved, maybe still does in some quiet corner of her heart. But deosnt matter as the marriage life is near its end.
There’s no climax. No victory lap. Just roads she has to walk. Because life doesn’t come with a final destination. It flows. Sometimes like a river, sometimes like a flood. And when loss comes, no amount of preparation saves you from breaking. What hurts even more is when you realize you have to keep walking, even when your legs don’t know this new path.
The show was labeled with a healing tag, but don’t believe that. No one heals here. Not in the way we want. They endure. They laugh, they cry, sometimes in the same scene. And I cried with them. For joy. For grief. For being alive.
That’s the thing about Taiwanese dramas. They’re too real. They don’t pretend. They remind you you’re human, beautifully, painfully human. And I love them for that. Even when I say I hate them.
I was especially grateful this wasn’t about some teenager/20-something figuring out life. This was about a woman who’s already halfway through it, still stumbling, still unsure, still trying. Cheng Le Le is not your ideal protagonist, and that’s what makes her perfect. She’s ordinary, unpolished. She turns her pain into punchlines, not healing. Just survival.
And her dad—what a character. He says, “Being childish for your whole life is quite an achievement.” And he’s right. I’m going to hold onto that. But let’s not pretend his life was all sunshine and UFOs. His sadness was there too, packed deep inside, not hidden from us, but from himself. I liked him. I really did. And like Cheng Le Le, I’ll keep looking for aliens after him.
His death was a quiet, painful unraveling. But the harder part was watching her feel it. That kind of grief lingers. It lingers even now.
Visually, the drama is stunning. Not dramatic. Just beautiful in the way reality is, natural light, soft shadows, warm colors that bleed into everyday spaces. The kind of cinematography that makes you feel like you’re there.
And this line will stay with me:
“Others call their dads superheroes, but I call mine an alien. He always said the universe is infinite, and humans are insignificant. We should take it easy in life. However, he forgot to tell me, humans exist in the world, and humans are complicated.”
What a beautiful, aching piece of work.
8 out of 10
And a piece of my heart with it.
Was this review helpful to you?
