Reviews

Your Dear Tea Farm that went off the tracks episode 5 (watch suggestions)

Overall: from the trailer I thought this would be spicy, from episodes 1-4 I thought this was a slice of life but then in episodes 5 and 6 it became a soap opera. Based on a book which I haven't read and I reviewed the series on its own merits. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/your-dear-daddy-episode-1-v94mtn7i5g?lang=en_us

Content Warning: non con picture taking/sharing, past (intimate partner abuse, suicide), mental health struggles, attempted murder, blood, beaten up, manipulation, emotional abuse

Watch Suggestions (to focus more on the m/m couple and less on tea farm life, also takes out several content warnings)
- watch episode 1
- episode 2 skip 20:20-24, skip 40:10-46
- episode 3 watch 18:15 to 20:40 and 40:15-45
- episode 4 watch beginning-1:25, 11:30-17:50, 22-35, 37:15-45
- skip episodes 5 and 6
- episode 7 watch 8-28 and 37:45-end
- episode 8 watch 8:10-11:45 and 32:10-end

What I Liked
- Saitharn knew what he liked in the first episode (though with information we learned later, I wonder if it was more of a trauma response thing...)
- easy to understand premise
- get to see Fluke & Gap again!

Room For Improvement
- comedy sound effects did not make things funny
- this was sold as a romance but the leads didn't talk until 18 minutes in of episode 3 and only had a few minutes together for the entire episode, suddenly it veered into lakorn territory in episode 5
- there was zero steamy time in the finale?!!! wtf?! the cutie young guys had barely any screen time and a whole bunch of trauma just magically healed?

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A personal favorite youth Chinese drama of 2021!

Went into this drama feeling hopeful after seeing a MV of the leads and I am so glad I gave this drama a try! There are so many youth Chinese dramas out there that I thought this would no different, however, I was wrong. There are familiar setups and tropes but it's refreshing because of the main cast and the charms they bring to their characters. Moreover, the writing brings the realism of being a teen and the conflicts that come up such as wanting to fit in (be someone you're not), finding your dream (being forced to fulfill another person's wishes), being true to yourself (loving yourself and who you are)... and so many more. Plus just the romance and innocence of being in your 17s.

To add, how rare is it to find a Chinese youth drama that has a female lead that DOESN'T have a bob cut?? That was one of the unique factors hat drew me in. Plus, the male lead isn't your typical smart class leader or "bad boy" who has low scores. And the secondary couple!! Very comedic banter and sweet scenes between those two as well.

I have to say that these four actors are the ones carrying the drama, otherwise this youth drama would be no different than the many others that are released every year in China. Their acting is on point to their characters, bringing them to life even if there are some stiff/awkward moments but it's understandable since they are all new. I especially love Lin Nan Yi's smiles and Wang Yu Ming's personality. Bonus point is that their voices aren't dubbed! Another rare occurance in Chinese drama land.

Speaking of the plot though, I have to give a warning that towards the end, you can tell the writer is trying very hard to push the plot in a certain direction and use certain tropes that we are all familiar with in youth romance dramas. It's not subtle at all and feels quite forced, but it's not too bad. It only made me drop the Plot score by 0.5. I can overlook it because of the main cast's acting, chemistry, and romance. It only happens a handful of times through the storyline anyway. Also, on the bright side, there are NO stupid misunderstandings that drag out the plot. It's quite fast-paced.

A bonus would be the OST of this drama. I love several of them and they fit the scenes so, so well. I definitely have those songs saved for replays. The upbeat ones are my favorites but they also match the youthfulness of the cast so I

Happy that it finished off well. Will keep an eye out on the main cast for sure.

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I was pretty skeptical when I first looked into it, but I was glad that I didn't turn away. If you're looking for a drama with a good plot, characters and acting.. you've found it.

You think you know where the story is going, but then they throw a few "huh!?" moments at you. It keeps you on your seat, eagerly waiting to find out what happens next.

It's a very dramatic yet touching story and something I would recommend to those who enjoy a good plot filled with the twists and turns we all know and love from dramas.

(Though a warning to those with triggers, as there are some light ones)

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Mars. Was he the coward, who the Greeks say was bloodthirsty and belligerent, and yet was afraid of failure? Isn't he supposed to look mean and ferocious?; Indeed he is the God of War, but I heard that the Romans described him differently. ; Really? ;They said...Mars...wore shining armor, look dignified. He was a dark hero who helped people overcome tragedy.

This is how it starts. This drama has won me right after the first episode. It has been on my list since a long time ago but finally I decided to watch a few days ago. And then everything changed. I have never watched anything similar to this, maybe there are a little few Asian dramas in the whole world like this one but it's honestly really rare. Different from everything else, in so much more deeper and darker psychological level that every second I was truly in a state like the main characters, I felt every single emotion they felt, I smiled, cried, yelled, was so angry and crazy at times they I could kill like Chen Ling thought he could, I was in love, I felt so much passion, desire and true meaning of a strong real love, exactly like that I have never felt while watching any drama in my entire life.
What is it that makes this drama so different from others and that makes me to write and feel like this? Well, when you start to watch you see that there are some guy who is a popular playboy and very handsome, and you see some girl who is very shy, artistic and doesn't talk to anyone. So at first you think this is going to be some cliche romance drama with the plot you have seen so many times. But you're wrong. Sooo wrong. Because already in the second part of the first episode you see that it's different, that you've got some strange feeling inside your body which tells you this is going to be something amazing. There is no some twisted mystery plot, no birth secrets, no rich handsome boss and poor cute girl, no love triangles, no annoying people and yelling all the time. The attraction between the characters begins right away, and they are what make this drama.
And the story begins.
Of course I'm not going to tell the story 'cause you have that already in the description of the drama, but what I'm going to tell is that this is the most beautiful and the strongest love story ever. Literally. I mean two young people trying to face and struggle with their pasts, their fears, their tragic and sad experiences and finding solace in one another. And they succeed in that. Because they simply fell in love. Honestly. Truly. They helped one another to face with all difficulties and overcome everything with the strength and power of real love. Vic and Barbie have done amazing job,they had amazing intense chemistry all the time, I really admire them, they are really very talented and fantastic actors. I think it is very hard to play a role where your character is psychological damaged and where the character is in some hand a little bit crazy with many problems and issues in the head and in the heart. I don't need to say that Vic became my favourite actor, actually in my top 5. ;-) And his character is the best ever, I fell in love with his hair, his style, his bike, his attitude, I like it very much that he is not perfect, he has so many flaws and that's why he became my favourite character in the whole dramaland.
Also, the character of Tong Dao is such an amazing addition to the already dark, depressed and psycho feeling. Oh my God, do you know how I love his character? Not in some positive way, it's just I think that he perfectly fits in here with his twisted and creepy behavior and you'll see why. An Jun Can was a genius in this drama, I was so scared of him in some scenes, great really.
Music- no words, just listen. I still shiver and tremble and still in my mind are the songs from MARS. Especially the opening song, MASTERPIECE.
So, in the end only to say that YOU HAVE TO WATCH MARS, IT'S A MUST WATCH DRAMA and you'll definitely won't be the same after watching. At least you gonna fall in love with Vic (or Barbie) and you gonna enjoy in beautiful music if you don't like the drama. But honestly there's no way you not gonna like it.
All I know that I became a little obsessed with characters from MARS and literally played some scenes more times than once because the conversations between them are so precious and intelligent, I enjoyed in every detail. DRAMA MASTERPIECE. Oh yeah did I say that kiss scenes are so hot, sexy and so natural and real? I felt like I was with them in drama in their intimate moments and kissing them all the way. ;-)

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Definite improvement over SIMM, easy fun watch

If you are expecting HIGH drama and complicated layered plot, this is not the show for you. What it has going for it is the undeniable appeal and chemistry of Joong and Dunk. Joong is his typical endearing, thoughtful, besotted self. He has more nuance and more moods to convey here than he did in SIMM, where mostly I think his character was a confusing asshole. Not sure why everyone is picking on Dunk, as he was notably improved here. His character starts out clueless and hostile and gradually falls for Joke in a way that feels natural and understandable, especially when a little of his relationship backstory comes in to play. Dunk does his best work reacting opposite Joong and this as true for their conflict scenes as it is for their love scenes.
The side couple feel like an afterthought, and the plot and the twists lose steam after episode 9, not gonna lie, but Joong and Dunk are what sold the show and it was still very enjoyable to watch their scenes and their little shout out to SIMM.
It was fun for what it was, it would have been better if it was a shorter series or had a tighter ending but it didn't ruin anything for me.

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Initially I wasn't going to review this story, but I thought since there weren't many reviews that I would.
This should be short, so here's my review on Love Sick: The Series
--

Story: Honestly, I'm not quite sure what the story was suppose to be but my guess is the journey of teenagers in school and all their romances and conflicts that come with it. The story is something that has been done before but with two males facing romance together. I felt that the story did center around mostly school and romance and there wasn't any problem with that. However, I did find myself skipping around the story mostly for Noh and Phun, everyone else's issues I wasn't too interested in.

Acting/Cast: To be honest I don't know how people rated the acting as spectacular. I felt that sometime's the feelings between Noh and Phun, no matter how cute, weren't always easily portrayed ( I got confused during some instances) . It was sometimes difficult to understand the problems between these two characters but you pretty much get the gist of it. I don't feel like the cast as whole had great acting, but I did like the story nonetheless and the chemistry between Noh and Phun kept me wanting to watch more.

Music: I did like the music it was different from the dramas I've been watching, this was actually my first thailand drama.

Rewatch value: I normally don't rewatch shows that often, BUT i would rewatch this one only for Noh and Phun. I found myself smiling and going back to see the moments between these two, it was just so adorable.

Overall: Do I recommend? YES, I do. Like everyone else has said, if you can get through the first episode(which was poorly done) you can watch the rest of the series. The only reason I can't give this drama a higher score is because of the acting. I do love the characters but I felt that if this story wasn't focused on something that was different to me (BL) then I would have dropped it. That being said, the two main characters were so cute and I enjoyed watching the drama and am looking forward to the second season.

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Not that this drama needed yet another review: it must be by all means the most talked about K-drama of all times. Writing one satisfies my need to fraternize with the only reviewer here who had the guts to give it a 6, well aware that I will be submerged with jolly hatred, so diplomatically expressed by clicking on the "not helpful" choice.

Let me start with the plot. It isn't the most original of all, but I don't consider this a flaw, per se. Few things are more satisfying for a romantic than a woman compelled by circumstances to live under the same roof with 3 good-looking men. Season this with music, humour and a lot of misunderstandings, and you have the perfect material for a great drama.

My problem lies with dialogues and execution. The first are childish and repetitive, the second is average. I can see for myself that the actors are good looking, but that's the extent of their charm.
Park Shin Hye is insufferable. She displays two emotions only here: surprise - round eyes and O-shaped lips - and desperation - a river of tears. Her character has no real development: a nun who changes her love for god with love for a star, without learning anything whatsoever from the experience, neither wisdom, nor self-assurance or pride. One more apology from her mouth and I'd have strangled her. And don't let me started on the way she walks, as if she were trying to apologize for her existence too.
Out of the three guys, the only acting chop I'm ready to salvage is Lee Hong Ki's. He looks like a puppy, but is endearing and changes throughout the show. Jang Geun Suk uses too many exaggerated facial expressions and Kang Shin Woo too few. The result is forced. One is reminded every minute of the show that these people are staging a drama.
The character of Uee is your usual spiteful duck, whose purpose is none other than add the nth foot walking all over humble Go Mi Nam.
And Grey Eminence the lost twin brother must be the most useless character ever created, who comes back, takes all the glory he did nothing to obtain without as much as a thank you, and even has the guts to start an affair with a woman who has made his sister's life a living hell.

I have admitted before at not being a K-pop fan, therefore I didn't really like the music. But this is my problem, and it would be unfair to judge an original OST only based upon my taste. I thought some songs were used too often and they annoyed me in the long run.

Re-watch value is obviously in line with the general liking of a drama. If one has fallen in love with it, one will probably want to revive the experience. If this is not the case, why re-watch something average when tons of other dramas are still to be seen?

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Love.. Sacrifice.. Courage.. And Endurance: The Pulse of Gyeongseong Creature..

This is not your typical damsel in distress or ML saves the FL and then they had a happy ending drama.. Even though he saves her several times by risking his life, she does the same for him.. Itss also not your usual fight for the love of your country or hero saves the world narrative.. While the story is heavily influenced by a falling regime and its hold on the country.. Patriotism, in my view, is not the drama's core...

Its the journey of Jang Tae Sang who is thrust into a world he is not familiar with.. Facing trials that test his resolve and character.. And Yoon Chae Ok who in desperate search for her mother enters a dangerous world from which no one escapes.. Together they form a bond of love that only fate could forge..

The screenplay, acting and cinematic visuals were standout elements of the drama.. The opening title sequence was beautifully crafted.. With paintings and illustrations that set the tone for the drama and drew me in from the very start..

Claudia Kim's performance as Lady Maeda was outstanding.. I really would love to see her as the FL in a drama soon.. Han So Hee handled her role with ease.. Especially the action scenes .. And Park Seo Joon was nothing short of extraordinary.. Showcasing his incredible talent and range as an actor.. I would expect nothing less from him.. Given his remarkable ability to bring characters to life with such authenticity.. Kudos to Park Seo Joon for taking the time to choose the right script for his comeback..

The sequence where Jang Tae Sang enters the patriots hideout and the scene seamlessly transitioning to Yoon Chae Ok as she shoots Dr. Ichiro and then shifts to Maeda before returning to Yoon Chae Ok.. All set against a dramatic rain backdrop.. This three minute sequence was peak cinematography..

`Sā, futari tomo koko de shindekudasai' / 「さあ、二人ともここで死んでください」 / Now, i ask you both to die here.

The climax fighting scene was well choreographed, Han so hee was just perfect.. She sacrificed herself to bring an end to her pain as well as her mother's.. And to protect the person she loves..

One thing I didn’t understand was why she chose to kill Ichiro.. Killing him wouldn’t change anything, and she was smart enough to know that.. I was expecting her to sneak into the hospital and try to kill Kato because he was the brain for the whole project.. Wouldn't that have been the wiser move??

And the ending.. How did she end up in water with her mother ( shenshin )?? Was that how they wanted us to visualize the scene?? Because there is no way Jang Tae Sang would have deserted her dead body or let her mother take it.. May be the second season will answer that..

In conclusion.. Gyeongseong Creature serves a rich textured story and a refreshing departure from conventional narratives.. Blending Love.. Sacrifice and courage.. And It’s clear that the journey of Jang Tae Sang and Yoon Chae Ok will continue..

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Generic in Disguise

Attracted by the warm glow, the sparkly dresses paired with fairy-like make-up and accessories, and the funny, almost “never-seen-before” atmosphere in a wuxia/xianxia-ish historical Chinese drama, I thought this would be a refreshing take on the transmigration-into-a-novel trope. But I was proven wrong… unfortunately.

Transmigration was merely a backdrop for a straight-up royal political intrigue, and a generic one at that. Your typical struggle for the throne, with revenge turning a supposed male lead into a villain and a greedy queen who just wants power and money.

The villain, Xiahou Bo, is a hell-bent character who wants the throne and hates Dan at every turn. But his hatred doesn’t feel justified. It often comes across as if his actions are driven by whim rather than depth, which makes his character feel flat and underdeveloped.

The Empress is similar, existing mostly for the audience to hate and condemn for her actions toward Dan.

Our male lead, Xiahou Dan, has so much more to his character and story. He represents the darker side of transmigration, different from the glamorous fantasy one might imagine when traveling into a novel. He entered the novel at the age of fifteen and had to endure everything from that young age. The trauma he experienced and the life he lived are deeply tragic. Yet the way other characters reacted to his story felt lacking, almost as if they never truly processed what he had gone through. Had the lens shifted more toward his perspective, it would have been a far more intriguing drama to watch, even if it meant embracing a darker tone.

Our female lead, Yu Wanyin, is head-on and headstrong. However, the way she processes waking up in a fictional novel feels far too quick and almost unrealistic. Her goal is to survive the story, not by trying to escape the novel, but by making sure she is the one who has the last laugh in the end. That, to me, is the entire issue. There is no moment of grief, no confusion, no desperation to return to her original life. It was strange how easily she seemed to throw her previous life away and fully integrate herself into this world. She barely thought about her family, only bringing them up later when convincing Yong-er to side with her. Her attitude did remind me of Ting Yan from When Destiny Brings the Demon, where she accepted her fate and did not care much for her real life because of how overworked she was. But the drama never showed Yu Wanyin or Wang Cuihua having such a difficult life to justify that kind of detachment. Without that foundation, her mindset feels less like strength and more like narrative convenience.

The chemistry between the leads is there. But perhaps the circumstances placed them together too conveniently and too quickly, leaving no real room for proper development. Because of that absence of growth, the chemistry never moved beyond a slight spark. It was not bland or flat. It simply existed. Not the kind of chemistry that makes you swoon or feel something deeper beyond what is shown on screen.

Other characters also felt used for convenience, with little depth to properly sympathize with or feel intrigued about what happens to them.

Overall, the story failed to meet the expectations built from what the trailer teased. It was not a story about a transmigrator finding her way through a pre-written narrative. Instead, it was your usual historical political plot with a dash of sparkly dresses, pretty make-up, and good lighting.

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I dropped the show

It takes me a while to realize I don't like a show until I'm almost finished with it, and that's excactly what happened here. I used to be excited for the next episode and then it started feeling like an obligation to keep watching😕

The issues I have with the show are:
The dialogue is bad and cringey, they baby Pat like he isn't a grown man (like the convo with his parents about their divorce was something that should have happened when they first broke up years ago), the music is bad, its WAYY too slowburn, Pat's feelings are so murky it's still even hard to see when he started liking Jeng and if he really does, the other characters stories are executed poorly, and the story overall just isn't that good.
Wouldn't reccomend unless you wanna feel like you wasted your time.

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Watch - Laugh - Enjoy, Nothing More | Comedy Track Standouts in Gold Hunt !

Before going to start the review I would like to present 2 points from my side.
1) I'm a big fan of undercover dramas, and a big fan of NIS dramas. Vagabond drama introduced NIS dramas to me in kdrama. From then on I became a fan of NIS, Undercover, Secret Agents, Spy dramas because of the Writing and Execution of the story- tight plots, layered characters, is simply best with a lot of intense and well cinematographed action scenes, suspenseful mind games, strategic battles,
deep conspiracies make every episode unpredictable and thrilling.
2) But not every drama/story sticks to a serious, high intensity narrative sometimes the makers jump into a different story telling approach like with mix of comedy, mild romance or selected character driven subplots aligning with the core story. The drama's success results depend on the Execution.

Now Undercover High School drama results out, Let's see.

Story 8/10
The core story of the drama is tracking down the whereabouts of Emperor Gojong's missing gold bars. The skilled NIS agent goes undercover operation as a highschool student to track those missing gold bars, but eventually finds that his present undercover operation is interconnected with his father's missing case. He has to deal with two different missions 1) Finding gold bars 2) Uncover the truth behind his father's missing case. The story is looking strong on the page like a serious narrative but the narrative is completely different than what we expect. The writer approached a different way of story telling - aligning the comedy part with the serious narrative line. I can say they succeeded with this comedy track. While the majority of the drama runs with the comedy plot in parallel the story follows the mystery plot. To find the missing gold bars they need to crack down the mysteries behind the 4 stories and take the key hints from those stories. Between 1-4 episodes they mixed the horror elements aside from the school violence part I enjoyed the horror elements and stories behind them. Also elements like standing against school bullying, conflict friendships, main leads love track, father-son story, Brother-Sister bonding, School scenes make the drama enjoyable. For the plot twist - watch it.

Drama - A Good Comedy Entertainer 9/10.

I give 9/10 to the drama. Everything is perfect but somewhere I felt unfinished with some parts like -
weak emotional development in Hae Seong and his father's story. This part is very crucial for the Hae Seong emotional development but giving their story in epilogues made the story emotionally weak, to make the audience emotional this is not enough, except for the funeral scene where it was written poorly. Kim Min Ju's character is a typical k-drama high school one but her part of the story is also poorly written or maybe I expected a strong character from her.
One of the dramas strongest points is no forced romance between main leads. Like everyone, I enjoyed their cute cheese chemistry. Whether they used childhood cliché or not is the secondary thing However their funny chemistry is strong and enough to enjoy more scenes of them.

I give 10/10 for NIS Squad, drama's biggest Asset.

K-dramas are famous for creating memorable trios, squads, or team dynamics, whether in action thrillers, high school dramas, or romance series. We know that these groups often bring a mix of loyalty, humour, emotional depth and betrayal making them an essential part of storytelling.
Undercover High School, this drama gave us another memorable squad with Hae Seong, Mi Jeong, Yeong Hun, Seok Ho. I enjoyed this squad every moment & every scene. Especially in episode 04 & episode 08 their comedy went peak level :). I don't care about other aspects as long as the drama keeps me entering.

Acting 10/10
Every kdrama fan knows actor Lee Kwang Soo, once he said about acting in comedy oriented like this " comedy is one of the hardest genres to act in because it requires perfect timing and natural delivery. Great acting from Yoon Ga Yi, Jo Bok Rae, Jeon Bae Soo.
Seo Kang Joon, this good pick for his comeback drama after his military discharge. Not a complex character to portray, but it is an easy one for him. He acted well according to his character. However watching him in school uniform really made him look cool or Is it only me to think like that.
Decent acting from Jin Ki Joo, She is one of the best actors out there in the Korean Industry. Sad- she might not get hyped for what she really deserves, but her acting is consistently good. She brings a natural and emotional depth to her characters.

Crew Departments.
Screen Writer Lim Young Bin, designed the story very well. He took a unique approach to the traditional NIS, Undercover genre. Instead of focusing solely on high intense action and deep conspiracies he crafted a simple yet high entertaining with funny and lovable characters. Director Choi Jung In did an excellent job in presenting the story and bringing it to the small screen with strong execution and engaging Storytelling. He maintained a smooth pace, and well crafted moments that highlighted both comedic and Undercover elements. This Screen Writer & Director duo succeeded in bringing a highly entertaining drama with a well balanced mix of action, humour and emotion. By skillfully handling the characters and their arcs, they delivered Undercover High School drama that was both entertaining and satisfying. Additionally their every character received a satisfying ending, making the drama even more enjoyable and fulfilling.
Good Cinematography DoP by Kim Seong-han and Jo Min-cheol. Well composed shots and effective lighting.
Music by Park Se Jun, every track is awesome and lyrically beautiful.
Art Directors - Shin Seung-jun and Jeon Yeo-kyung, notable art work in designing Byeongmun High School.
Editing by Kim Mi-kyung and Lee Ga-young.

Overall Undercover High School well rounded drama that perfectly balances comedy, action and humour. It is a highly entertaining package with hilarious moments and heartfelt scenes. This drama is for everyone.

Season 2 possible ?
It's a open ending, we can assume that Hae Seong went to another undercover mission this time as Teacher. Not confirmed by the makers but depending on the ending it is possible and we can expect another season.

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