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.
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Under "Your" Skin
Under The Skin is a 20 episodes crime drama produced by Linmon Pictures . The narrative revolves around a forensic criminal profiler and a detective who meets again after 7 years and proceeds to work together to solve cases while uncovering what happened 7 years ago. Under The Skin is compelling, thrilling, and emotional. It has an engrossing plot, impressive cinematography, and art direction.As a crime drama, Under The Skin is not groundbreaking, but in my opinion, it is one of the best out there. What makes Under The Skin different from any other crime dramas is how they solve the cases. Instead of just going through the tracks and pieces of evidence like any other crime drama, this drama focuses on another aspect, forensic art, which is rarely seen in other dramas.
The drama has simple yet interesting cases, it is compelling, easy to follow, and has good moral messages behind every case. The process of case solving is also relatively simple, but still engaging. Each of the story arcs manages to be complex and intriguing while still showing the very real human emotions being experienced by the characters. I love how there is always a human element in each case, the culprit is not labeled as a "black" character, but more to grey. The drama shows you their own fascinating background story and makes you understand why they took down "THE" path.
Under The Skin script shed a light on social issues, there’s a human element and empathy in every episode. For instance, in the first case, you can see women’s prejudice in the workplace and what women need to go through to break the glass ceiling. The cases are realistic, it may resonate with the audience. My personal favorite case is in episodes 11 and 12, “girls help girls - woman can understand woman, woman protect woman”
Under The Skin is written by 6 scriptwriters, 5 of them are females which is why you might find that a lot of the cases and plot mostly revolves around women. The drama also manages to showcase the diversity in the police force, there’s a female detective, police officer, forensic doctor, and more (also there’s a lot of pretty ladies in the drama).
Other than a compelling script, the script is also immensely elevated by the excellent acting of every actor and actress in Under The Skin. The actors and supporting actors and actresses acting are phenomenal, they add so much emotional nuance that brings the characters to life. Both of the male leads, Tan Jianci and Jin Shijia portray their character very well. Tan Jianci as a natural and gentleman, and Jin Shijia as a charming yet rough character.
Despite all its hits, it also has it’s miss. For me, the only miss from the drama is the plot holes in the cases and some of the cases are not wrapped clearly and perfectly. But other than that, the whole drama is a hit!
Under The Skin keeps you at the edge of your seat with the thrills and suspense at the end of every episode. I believe this drama is worth the binge, those who watch this will feel addictive to consume the whole drama in one sitting.
Fun fact: yes the whole criminal profiling profession is indeed that amazing and 神奇. In 2017, the murder of Zhang Yingying in the United States. The police was not able to identify who was the culprit, and they asked help from a Chinese forensic profiler, Lin Yuhui. And he managed to draw out the culprit just from a blurry CCTV and helped solved the case!
P.S. Season 2 is coming! on one of the scriptwriter weibo post, she mentioned she went to gather some materials for Under The Skin season 2 and she also mentioned the drama should've have some more art aspect but was omitted due to the limited number of episodes, and she hopes that she can put those ideas in season 2 and the extra episodes!
Weibo post: https://m.weibo.cn/1461807075/4673683987108245
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Watch it ............with a bottle of depression medication and tissues
Tbh the only reason I made a MDL account was to come cry about this show. This show starts out phenomenally strong and draws you in to make you invest your emotions and interest, but then throws all of those into the gutter towards the end. There is nothing actually wrong with the show. But at point some shows exceed the tragedy tag because "life simply cannot be so damn cruel" to a single person. This show does exactly that so be ready for multiple stabs to your oh so poor heart.It took me a while to recover from the blows that were dealt to me.Good things about :
Cheng yi's acting is absolutely mindblowing. I am head over heels for this man. His expressions of happiness, pain and crying are so so natural that you want laugh with him and cry with him.
The costumes, sets and production is high budget. Visually it is appealing.
Bad things :
The story starts out very strong. But then goes totally in an unexpected direction. Many plot points are introduced which should been executed but end up going nowhere which is frustrating as hell.
Some characters are extremely repetitive and predictable to the point of you wanting to pull your hair out.
There is no emotional payoff or satisfaction towards the end of the show. Not a single one.
TLDR : Cheng yi is the MVP of the show. Overall a good watch but definitely not a happy or satisfying one.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Honest Review You've Been Looking For
I'm confused. There are so many rave reviews... but it fell really flat for me? Did we watch the same drama?! & is it just me or does it seem like drama fans are really overpraising these days? I'm someone who relies on this site to help me know what to watch next... but the ratings seem to be getting increasingly less accurate imo. So, if you're a lurker of this site (as I was until today), I encourage you to join & leave your honest ratings/reviews! Please! :)But yeah, this one wasn't it for me. I'll explain why:
******************* SPOILERS AHEAD! ********************
1.) The "romance" was PAINFULLY one-note! We witness the immense pain & loneliness in the prince's life. The writer makes us long for someone to swoop in & show him real love. Enter scene: a royal servant girl with the demeanor of a princess. She witnesses his pain & decides to help ensure his seat on the throne. She becomes extremely dedicated to the prince, more-so than her job requires. We (the prince & us- the viewers!) are led to believe that she has developed deep feelings for him. This is the first time the broken prince has felt this level of care/loyalty... so naturally, he grows fond of her. He confesses his feelings... we are holding our breath in excitement, but... she rejects him? Hmm... interesting. Ok, make me beg for it! I'm okay with that!!! :P
But here's what really set me off. This rejection element is repeated over & over & OVER!:
"I want to be with you..." "Not until you have safely secured the throne."
"Let's be together- now is the time..." "It will never happen."
"We met as children, we are destined to be together!..." "It means nothing to me."
"I'm willing to sacrifice everything for you, just love me!..." "But, I want to be free to go to the market with my friends!"
That is literally the "romance" in a nutshell. Just her rejecting him 20 times, despite the fact that she constantly looks at him with lovesick puppy eyes. It's painfully repetitive... & illogical.
2.) Her refusal to be with him made no sense. I cannot understand why a girl who had no real future would be so quick to turn down the opportunity that literally every other girl was dreaming about. An attractive, intelligent, kind, powerful, rich man who has displayed his love, loyalty & willingness to sacrifice? HARD PASS!!!! LOL! Imo, more backstory was needed to support her strong objection. I mean, there was the brief mention of the king not being a suitable husband because he will have many lovers & forget about her when she's old. Or there was the fact that she had a general distaste for the lifestyle. But... ok? What's her better alternative? As a palace maid, she has to remain chaste/can't have a lover. So... she'd rather never experience love or motherhood & do chores all day with her besties for the next 40 years? Then retire with them & read/eat chestnuts all day? That's the dreamy lifestyle she's clinging to? Spending 80 years everyday with the same 3 women? Make it make sense.
3.) Her love for him was unclear- down to the last episode! Even after being together for many years... he still has to ask her if she ever truly loved him. & I don't blame him! Because as the viewer, I also felt confused & frustrated!! I can't understand why she was so damn hot & cold with him! One minute she's caressing his face & looking deeply in love, then suddenly she's like, "yeah when you see me in the next life, please just keep walking?!" I know she mentions to her friends that she had to play hard to get (for some reason that I still don't fully understand, tbh)... but I don't think she was playing hard to get on her deathbed, lmao. Did she ever even love him?? I still don't know!
4.) The prince/king was put through way too much tragedy. I can appreciate a bittersweet/realistic tale... but this was too far imo. First his dad is "crazy" & killed as a result. Then he acts as his bi-polar grandfather's personal punching bag for about 20 years. Then he FINALLY sees a glimmer of hope in his life... which somehow turns into years of ego-bruising torment. Then he's finally winning for a minute... until his baby son dies in his arms. Then shortly after, the love of his life ALSO dies in his arms- after saying she hopes in their next life he never approaches her. REALLY?! If you're going to write that dark of a life for someone... they deserve some version of a happy ending (a happy after-life is a lazy cop-out!). When the credits rolled, I felt frustrated & wanted my 20 hours back.
5.) The pacing was horrid. The first few episodes were great... but many of the middle episodes felt like repetitive, pointless filler. Then around the 90% mark, after 18 hours of never-ending build-up, we finally get our reward- we get to see them happy together- for approximately 15 minutes. Yeah. There's a massive time jump that skips over all of their happy times together. Because apparently the writer hates San & doesn't want him to have any joy in his poor little fictitious life. *sigh* I would've loved to have seen the full pregnancy, the birth of their son, them adjusting to parenthood, etc. The good stuff was skipped over & it broke my heart. This drama was 20 hours long & contained so many insignificant scenes that could've been/should've been dropped for the key moments that truly mattered.
6.) There are a few annoying plot holes. But I'm not even going to get into it, because this is already getting way too long. Ok just one- the 2nd concubine deciding to bring Deok-Im back to the palace because she heard she was close with the king... but she's a crazy jealous-type who can't stand anyone else being close to the king? lol
7.) This a high-production drama, but in the end, when the king & others are meant to be in their 50's, not a single wrinkle is on anyone's face? They really thought just adding a beard & putting some powder in everyone's eyebrows was enough? *scratches head*
8.) The 1st concubine was 11 years old at the time of filming. Even though there were no sex scenes... it made me uncomfortable to see such a young girl being brought in to portray a prostitute. I realize that in the olden days, girls were forced to have children young... but 11 years old? Not many girls are fertile at 11 years old. It just felt distasteful & like something they easily could've avoided.
I see so many people saying that this is a masterpiece... the "best sageuk ever!". No. Not even close. It has some great acting (lee junho, lee deokhwa, oh daehwan) & beautiful scenes... but the storyline is weak/repetitive & the ending is rushed/shitty. Just before this drama I actually watched a similar sageuk, The King's Affection, which I would say was far more enjoyable than The Red Sleeve. But for some reason it has average reviews in comparison. It really blows my mind. Again, are we watching the same dramas?! >_<"
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This review may contain spoilers
To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Gyu Ho was God's apology to Go Young for all the boys he'd loved before, and I cried when he fumbled that blessing for a half eaten hamburger. But, thank God they met again in that bar, moved in together to the new place and decided to get married in the finale. #heartheart XDXDXDListen, this drama coming from SK in itself is a wonder. I went into this with high anticipation and I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed it a lot. I liked the characters, the story, the education it gave me when it came to Kylie, and how realistic it was. I laughed, cried, and related so hard in some parts, I cried some more.
Go Young had three main lovers, one who was too boring to take karaoke-ing, a pretentious prick who came with a side of abs and left scars, and a happy-go-get it boy who wanted a home, and broke our hearts when he left the one he found. Let me explain.
MR SPLENDID:
Listen, Go Young and Nam Gyu could have worked. Sure, he was slow, a classic and drove like his grandmother, but my man was committed and serious. Frankly, I thought he was fast... he pulled out that ring faster than my internet connection. He genuinely loved Go Young. A bit obsessed, sure, but he came off as someone who loved with all his heart, and I felt sad when he was turned down, again and again. In the end, even his marinated crabs got rejected...poor guy. This is another guy, Go Young fumbled, and it's sad he only realised that when it was too late. Also, are we going to ignore the reason he was speeding or... anyway, rip.
MR. ACTIVIST:
Yeong Su was a fun hating, people pleasing, pretentious bummer! God, I couldn't stand his arse. Yes, I have eyes and went dayummm Susan, come here often?? And that table sexy time scene was... but damn, that brother sucked! I literally wanted to throw rocks at his head whenever he was on screen. Dafug you mean you don't celebrate Halloween because of its history and you look down on people who do? And the mfker even hated pasta. I clapped when Go Young finally clocked him, and threw his stupid arse case study away in the trash. I couldn't get why Go Young didn't see that glaring red flag, and kept letting himself be hurt to the point he took those meds. But then I understood, some hurt goes deeper than others. Either way, he was a beef cake, but if I ever see his arse on the street, it's on sight.
MR. NURSE
Gyu Ho, Gyu Ho, Gyu Ho, how I would have loved to be friends with you. Sure, they were not perfect, and his dingdong went on and off like a light bulb whenever they were doing the devil's tango--protected, but, these two were my main ship and I loved every moment with them. In the end, I understood that Go Young was scared, and perhaps wasn't sure why Gyu Ho was so accepting of Kylie and didn't even seem to care about it. Perhaps he didn't trust that Gyu Ho was truly okay with it, and that's why he had one foot out the door and took the first chance to accept their broken fate, but I still cried. They were in-tuned with each other, and Gyu Ho finally seemed so happy to have found him. In my head, I am full on delulu, and imagining them living together with a dog.
Anyway, I also liked the friendship between Choi Mi Ae and Go Young. I was sad when they had a fallen out, brought back memories of all the friends that were everything at one point, and then... we sort of dimmed out. Seeing their friendship from start to finish brought back memories that added to the tears.
All-in-all, a great show that many dramas and bl lovers would enjoy. It's a realistic portray and the ending would knock you back into reality. I highly recommend it. Kudos to the cast, especially Nam Yoon Su who did his thing. My man was on, and I loved him for it. I can't wait to see their future works.
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This series is over rated and disappointing.
Don't get me wrong I love the actors and the first half of the show. I even re-watched the first few episodes just to ease the pain of waiting for one whole week for the next episode. As I said, early episodes were good. I thought they had chemistry and spark. The plot was also good and promising BUT.....As the story progress it also lost its spark. The plot became repetitive, the side stories were set aside, the conflict became lame, the character development was nowhere to be found, in short the script/screenwriting became too dependent to the popularity of the show and the visuals of the actors. If the actors of this show were not good looking, this will be criticized heavily but since they are both handsome and popular, the bad storyline and acting was overshadowed.
Not to mention that they neglected the second main lead of the show which is Drake and Frank. They were literally set aside. It was so bad that it felt that they were just used to make this a BL series.
The chemistry of the early episodes was lost due to lack of character and relationship development. The last four episodes made the characters look and act too straight to be gay. They looked like friends and not a couple. The actors are too reserved to be called as a couple. Ironically this series lost its spark when the two main leads became a real couple. Sad that they are more in love when they are fake dating.
I was expecting more from this because it came from the director of Kiss Me Again and was written by the author of Theory of Love. Now I feel bad for Jittirain, the author of the novel, because this series messed up her creation. Unfortunately it did not live up to its popularity and standard. They can't say its because of COVID19 like Why R U?, because this was pre- produced and they have already finished filming the entire series, so I think there can be no excuse to all of its flaws.
The last episode DID NOT save this series at all. It even made it WORST to the point that viewers felt the awkwardness of the main actors, as if they don't like touching each other. The ugly directing and the story that sucks can no longer be tolerated. Sorry for using this kind of words but this is the best way I can describe what happend to this series. One comment even said, and I love how he described the ending, confession in front of an audience doesn't make it extra special.
The actors made it so obvious that they don't like to act as BL couple at the same time the director and script did not help them with making them look like a BL couple. It was a sub par acting (though I am trying to let it pass since this is Win's first series and Bright's first BL role). I think the actors should reconsider accepting BL roles if they are not fully committed to it because even if you are a good actor but you are doing something against your will, it will always show. The director, producer and screenwriter should also try to reflect what went wrong.
I remember the actors of this show said that love is just love. I agree. Love is something you can show without the racy gestures actually love is best shown with small gestures. The bad thing about this series is NOT the lack of intimate scenes but the LACK OF LOVE in their supposedly real relationship.
Things that are good in this series? Well, this has good OST (except the TINE song, it was meh) and the early chemistry but other than that, it was just a series about two handsome guys that was said to be boyfriends but act like buddies.
Not all trending series are good and even if the actors are good looking and lovable doesn't justify the bad screenplay and execution of the story.
This is a very disappointing drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Sisyphus in a Suit
You stare at the screen and can’t help but think: Oh, humanity. Always longing for a restart because, predictably, we messed it up the first time."The Judge Returns." It’s 2026, and the world remains a damp cellar filled with greedy old men. At first glance, it feels like an echo of 2022’s "Again My Life". Has South Korea not moved on since then? (Looking at the current geopolitical landscape, neither has the rest of the world...)
The message is so sobering you’ll want to retreat into a dark room: Without magic, without some metaphysical glitch in the system, you can’t knock these corrupt fossils off the board. It takes a time-reset just to summon the courage for basic decency and integrity. What a pathetic indictment of our species. You take a few pieces off the board, but the Game itself just laughs. Corruption isn't a bug in the system; it is the system. An endless war, a tiny victory—but in the end, does everything stay grey?
Then there’s Ji Sung. He carries that unshakable face of his through every frame. As a judge on his second attempt, he seizes his chance with absolute consequence. For a moment, it feels good to believe that something could actually move.
The Verdict?
• 10/10 for Ji Sung (honestly, just watching him is enough).
• 3/10 for Hope (which, as we know, is merely a lack of information).
But it’s not just about his face. It’s about what that face embodies.
(And thankfully, he isn’t entirely alone in this.)
Amidst the mire, there are these delicate moments where the series actually reflects on the Law. This KDrama (based on the webnovel Pansa Lee Han-young) bows before the Idea of Law. Not because it’s perfect—heaven knows it’s as full of holes as Swiss cheese—but because it’s the only thing standing between us and total whimsy. It is Sisyphus’ work: rolling the stone of the rule of law up the mountain every day, only for it to roll back onto our feet. But that doesn't mean the work is meaningless.
The Koreans have a beautiful term for this: Cheon-myeong (천명). Literally: The Mandate of Heaven.
Embracing the burden of destiny as a call to action, however bleak the odds.
So, would I recommend watching it? Yes. Even if—or especially if—those lying men in suits are increasingly getting on your nerves. It’s an act of defiance to watch someone tirelessly roll that stone up the hill, if only for those few episodes. (I think anyways.)
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Story of this drama is very serious. Writers brought up very unusual and sensitive humanity related topics like child abuse, abandoning child, foster parents and adoption. Story is quite realistic and has strong sub plots of background of some characters. Story is strong enough to keep you glued to screen from very first moment to very last moment. It’s soft and warm. It’s slow but to enjoy beauty of this kind of drama slow pace is required.
It has one of the most beautiful endings I've ever seen. Writers gave best possible ending.
There isn't overacting like other Asian dramas. Matsuyuki Yasuko is great as Suzuhara Nao. Wonder kid Ashida Mana is incredible at such young age. She is charming and cute. Chemistry between her and Matsuyuki Yasuko is really beautiful. Supporting cast is great too.
With amazing sensitive and moving topic, great acting and superb music makes this drama one of my most favorite dramas.
Mother is a drama which won’t suit many people’s taste. So if you’re bored of sappy and unrealistic dramas or looking for a drama related with humanity and realism, watch it!!
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Overrated
This show was going to be great if it ended at episode 6... but it didn't.First thing to clarify, I hate the kid in this show, his character was the most annoying and was waiting someone to beat the crap of him for good or push him in front of a car so that there is less screen time for him and I didn't have to listen to him anymore. Maybe it's too much but each time I saw him I had the urge to drop the show right there.
Now that we clarified the hate relationship with that character lets continue...
The first 6 episodes was interesting and I was enjoying the show but afterwards everything was going downhill.
The show was trying too much to make each episode some kind of a turning point... I hate him, no I love him, then I hate him again and I love him once again... this game is played till the rest of the show and it was annoying as hell.
I never had a show that had me switch the character I hate the most after each episode (except the kid, he was number one in my hate list).
Pretty much the shows was trying the push the agenda that all men are cheating pigs and women are stupid enough to keep loving/forgiving them nonetheless... maybe it's overgeneralization, but that's the logic that the show was trying to sell us.
And that ending... oh my god... saying that it was stupid will be a compliment to the movie industry. I had to watch a 15min repeat of a whole scene from the previous episode just to finish it... and when I did there was one generic and totally stupid ending, where the previous episode ending (without the last stupid part) would have been a better ending point.
The saving grace was maybe the acting which was really good but no acting can save a bad screen writer.
So how did I score it:
1-6 epsiodes - 9/10
7-10 epsiodes - 7.5/10
11-15 epsiodes - 7/10
16 episode - 6/10
So the final verdict is 6/10 and I wouldn't recommend it to watch it.
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The best BL drama out there!
I have always avoided BL dramas. The only BL watched in my life was The Untamed because BL wasn't it's main theme. After seeing many good comments and the high rating, at last, I decided to start my first Thai and fully BL concentrated drama - Bad Buddy.The main reason why I avoided BLs was that I feel that it is toxic. There will be many odious scenes and dialogues. But, after watching this, I reaslised there can be healthy BLs too. I have never seen any BL like this before. So cute, well written, has good lead chemistry, and overall, it's HEALTHY. It kept on getting better and better from beginning to end.
This drama is based on the Thai novel Behind The Scenes by Afterday and -West-. As you have read in the synopsis, this is a shory about two boys, who were forced to be rivals because of their family problems. They had to compete against each other for almost everything. As they grew tired, they became really good friends and then, without even realising, lovers.
Although primarily looking like a comedy drama, it becomes an emotional roller coaster and takes us through all kinds of emotions including happiness, anger, surprise and sadness.
As this is my first Thai drama, I was utterly unfamiliar with the cast. But, this problem didn't last for long. In the first episode itself, I concluded that I am watching a drama with amazing actors.
Nanon Korapat Kirdpan (I still don't know how to say the name) plays Parakul, nicknamed Pran, a neat and tidy perfectionist who always loses his earphones (lol) and Ohm Pawat Chittsawangdee plays the masculine Narpat, nicknamed Pat, who is an impulsive, cheeky guy. They nailed their characters very well that it was very convincing and lovely. Their relation was a kind of love/hate relation at first and they had good chemistry between them. Their kisses were awsome. I have never seen any kiss so pure and true in any BL.
And about the supporting characters. I must say Pa and Ink make an amazing pair. Also the actors who played Pat and Pran's friends also did an amazing job.
The music is nice. I especially liked the songs sung by Nanon himself, 'Just Friends?'. I really liked the lyrics of the songs that implied the relation between Pat and Pran from friends to lovers.
Top soundtracks :
Just Friend? แค่เพื่อนมั้ง by Nanon Korapat Kirdpan
Secret (Won't Tell Anyone That You Like Me First) จะไม่บอกใครละกันว่าเธอชอบฉันก่อน by Kacha Nontanun
Our Song เพลงที่เพิ่งเขียนจบ by Nanon Korapat Kirdpan
The rewatch value is very high, which is rare for any dramas. I will certainly rewatch this drama at any point of time in the future. This is an ideal watch at depressing times. Pran and Pat will help us to relieve our stress with their cuteness.
As I said, I don't ususally watch BLs, particularly the ones with intimate scenes and kisses. I am glad that I did not avoid this one. Bad Buddy is a unique BL production that would change the perspective of BL series. I really appreciate all the cast and crew members who contributed in producing such a fine work.
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This review may contain spoilers
We love a future without cancer
The actors did a great job! And i don't regret watching. But this ending was lazy.If you just watched the movie and thought:
"This was so smart because after the credits scene you realize that the wicked one woke up faster than the lead's mom, so ended up killing her and kept the lead a prisoner for 20 years, mirroring the start of the movie."
This was exactly what the screenwriter tried to convey, but the timeline doesn't add up.
The movie only presents a new future, when things are set and done (for the time being). immediately after someone survives or dies the future adapts afterwards. Meanwhile on this brand new future before the credits, the lead had enough time to search for her mom at the hospital (idk why... cause this whole going back cured her cancer in every alternative future LMAO), at the police station and also had time to run to the cemetery and meet her mom there. So this new future was somehow set. Going "back" to hear that phone call that was made before the cop and the mom arrived, warning the wicked that she would die doesn't make much sense. Unless for the FIRST time in this movie, the writer suddendly makes it possible for temporary futures to be presented to the viewers. So the wicked didn't die and woke up before the mom and killed her and made the lead a prisoner (mirroring herself when she was younger). ok, that's cool, but that never happened before though. The future was always showed after the past scene was dealt with. The lead had some solid 30/45min in this new future though, since she runs everywhere she goes... doesn't make sense.
So to me this was lazy. They had a 3 star movie if they ended with a happy ending, so they created this poorly written new ending so that they can keep people talking about the possibilities of the ending credits, and end with an 4 star movie. And that's lazy. It works for the majority of people, but the truth it's the timelines don't always match.
Also can't someone just call 911. ffs.
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Acting and Music wise it was extremely well done. A lot of the same songs were present but altered. The actors all did a wonderful job. The gal acting as Mio was just wonderful and brought a sweet spirit to her without coming across as a ditz.
If you've seen You're Beautiful, give this a shot. It is a Japanese drama through and through, don't look for something exactly like the Korean one, it is fun because it is different. I don't think one can say this one is better or truly worse than You're Beautiful because Kdramas and Jdramas have such different themes and stylings.
Anyway lovely drama, hope some folks give it a shot!
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A surprise in each episode: A love in four worlds. It's even better than you think.
(You just have to watch it to really understand.)(I'm in episode 12,May 3, 2025 ) This drama was reshot, but it is almost impossible to understand where they did it, as all the scenes look so natural and in place. The chosen actress is talented, and the chemistry of the main pair is very good. A love that crosses 4 worlds. A passionate god who does not give up on his camellia and makes all the sacrifices for her. A carefree camellia, as soon as she is born she already finds herself around the god of flowers, Jinxiu. She enters his life without asking permission and soon wins the heart of Jinxiu, who is chosen to be the emperor of heaven, but due to this, he cannot relate to a mere Camellia. There is the brother, Kunlum, who was born under the same star (which indicates who will be the next emperor). The emperor's wife, we don't know whose mother she is (of the two brothers ? From Jinxiu ? From Kunlum ?), from neither of them ? This hovers for 12 episodes, (I don't know the next ones, as it hasn't been broadcast yet), but I think the empress privileges one of her children. I don't know if it's the emperor father who privileges Jinxiu, and the empress privileges Kunlum. There is a flower (something powerful, I don't understand what it is, it looks like a black peony), inside Jinxiu's body, which has a lot of power, and the emperor is containing this force within Jinxiu. (It's something I don't understand, we need to know what the next episodes will show us). But this drama has humor, adventure, many sweet scenes of lovers, sacrifices, dilemmas, secrets, intrigues. And there are other characters in this story, complex and interesting (Kunlum,Lui Yao, Baicha, Liu Jiu), each with their own complex story. No scene is wasted, because the characters, none of them are boring. (We want to know how the story ends: Will Jinxiu be able to overcome fate, which says that the Camellia has no future, and make her reborn as an immortal and marry her? Or the Camellia, will forever be a mortal and can never stay with Jinxiu? (Or will Jinxiu, as in the book, become a mortal?). I haven't finished the book yet, so I don't know how it ends in the book (but there are many modifications in the drama already noticed in relation to the book, which were much better in the drama). There is also another powerful, magical element, the ice dew, which interferes with some events in this story. Many questions in this fascinating story! Come watch with us.
(I'm in episode 13,May 4, 2025 )
Background for something that is going to happen:
Although episode 13 was not as interesting as the previous 12, but it is the previous facts that worked towards what will happen on the "Cangyun" mountain. This fact is that depicted in the 2021 trailer, Jinxiu dressed in red with a raised sword, and Hong Ning is on the ground crying and screaming at Jinxiu and a lot of fire around. All of this is the backdrop for this climactic moment that will happen.
Episode 14: The Sword Test.
I just watched it now, and I think this episode is great. Better than episode 13, although episode 13 also has key points in this relationship. And it's a totally necessary episode, (they're living their mortal lives). And I liked all the interactions. Jinxiu x Hongning. HongNing x Kunlun, Kunlun x Luiyao. Even the apprentice boy, HongNing's friend, he also helps the episode to be full of humor. And Jinxiu watching everything, (sneaking and solving the problems), running the place, he's the boss of Cangyun Mountain. (The noodle moment was funny).
Episode 15: She loves me. She loves me not.
I loved seeing Jinxiu thinking that Hong Ning was in love with him, and he should make her stop feeling that way. (and the conversation with the chrysanthemum about it was also hilarious). I rewatched it a few times. I liked the scenes. Liu Xue Yi is always great at the humorous scenes (I was reminded of the drama "Qing Luo"). "She said I was handsome"😁😁🌸🌻
And the story of Kun Lum and Luyao also always captivates me. He is another hilarious, and interesting one. The apprentice, Hong Ning's friend is another perfect addition to the episode. Besides Lujiu.
The drama is very good and wonderful. And it deserves 10, because it's a true love story. What I like is that their love is so convincing. Jinxiu and his camellia. And this feeling of a kingdom of flowers has no end, I love it. And even Jinxiu and Kunlum's brotherly love is very beautiful to see. It convinced me and won me over.
PS: What I can't miss is this drama. I have to savor each scene until I reach the beautiful conclusion of the story.
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The first thing that caught my attention, or should I say that later it totally drew me in is when I found out that our main protagonist is a villain and that he helps bad people and cleans after their dirty work. It was very unusual for me since we are all used with a hero male lead right from the beginning. But, once he finds out that he has a couple of months to life and after his most precious people got infected with the evilness of those bad ones, he changes and fights against them. He's not fighting with fists, but with his intelligence and every episode makes you excited wanting to see who will throw the next 'punch'. How much I was happy and cheering for him at the same time I was angry and furious because how much punches he thrown thinking it will lead him to the winning that much punches were pushing him back. But, I can say that this guy is a true hero and even though he's playing dirty, he's doing it for his beloved ones, for a better tomorrow. I can say that I was maximum invested in a story and I can guarantee that you'll too. If not, you can freely yell at me and get angry.
Another thing that makes this drama strong and deep is its characters. What I loved the most is that every character is not black or white, what more they're all grey with its own faults and mistakes. It was really interesting to watch what character and to what extent he/she can becomes either evil or good. Our main villain, Tae Joon is one of the best and most fascinating villains ever. In fact, I wouldn't consider him a true, pure villain, hmm I'd rather call him a villain with emotions. He knows for a loyalty, respect and love. What this drama makes more special is the relationship he and Jung Hwan shared. Their relationship is some kind of special, filled with respect. I think that he considered Jung Hwan as his own son and that's why their bond never breaked even after Jung Hwan's death.
Our main hero, Jung Hwan as I said before is a man of words, a true hero. I loved that progress in a drama how he was turning from a cold-blooded and ruthless villain to a strong man and a fighter. Since the story is in fact all about characters and their life I don't want to spoil anything about him more.
And the woman I loved the most in this drama is Ha Gyung. Even though everyone around her are playing dirty she's the only one 'clean'. The only one who's following law and principles. She's not stupid nor idealistic. Ha Gyung knows that world is a corrupt, but she took the oath to make a world a better place and she's sticking to it. In a progress of helping Jung Hwan to correct his mistakes and to take care of his responsibilities they slowly learned and felt that their passion and love they had for each other once is not extinguished yet. She's the the female lead I dig and respect most in dramaland: strong and independent.
Oh how much I love when the writing is brilliant and smart, especially when the drama has smart, life lessons dialogues! And this was a case for this drama. Every thing they said, every sentence they sent each other are so smart, clever and well said. Hehe, the funny part is how most of them are related to food giving this drama a great metaphore and comparasion. Actually, using words they throw punches to each other's face.
I have so many words for this drama, but I don't want to ruin the excitement for you. I'm just going to say that it's one hell of a drama, full of suspense, thrilling, intensity and most importantly it'll keep you glued to the screen. I didn't get bored for a second, it's fast pacing with twists and turns on every corner leaving you behind an unforgettable enjoyment.
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