Reviews

Love the story, even its kinda mainstream.

I've already watched lots of dramas with the similar vibe. About love story between boss and employee, about company that working in fashion design. And I think this drama is the best. Why?
1st the FL not that desperate, she has her own competence. She know what she wants, and try her best to achieved it. About her love to ML, of course at the beginning I'm sure she should be reluctant, not because she feel insecure, but she know that falling in love with the ML will bring some difficulties, most of all because the difference of their family.
2nd, the ML very sure and sincere about his feeling towards the FL, even there are some doubt in the beginning (because age gap, and trauma from the past) He wants to help her achieved her dreams and gives her space to grow.
3rd, the love scenes between two leads really cute, little bit of jealousy, and lots of love.
4th, the ML and FL clothes are awesome, and make audience believe that they really works in fashion line. The dress they showed in fashion show look very very beautiful.
Okay, now about the second ML, he's a little bit creepy but if we know his background, I'm sure its understandable. About second FL, wooowww she's really blind because of love. Thank God the 3rd FL (2nd ML little sister), is kind. I hope the writer will make her happy and healthy in the end.
So, overall I think this drama is lovable =)

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It was good unti it wasn't

I stumbled upon this drama because I have seen so many clips of it on Tik Tok and decided to check it out. The result is that it didn't disappoint... until it did in the latter half.

- THE GOOD -
1. Acting:
I had seen many of Lee Jong Suk's (Park Chang Ho) dramas, such as W, Pinocchio, and When You Were Sleeping. However, his acting didn't really make me go "WOW" in those dramas. However, it was incredibly good especially in the first half of the drama when his character was in prison but got stale as the drama progresses (after he got out of prison). Nevertheless, it was still tolerable for me. It was my first time seeing him in this kind of role so it was definitely refreshing and I really enjoyed it. This is my first time watching Yoona (Ko Mi Ho) in a drama but I have heard many people saying that she was mediocre. To be honest, I don't really see it. Her acting did justice to the character and it didn't distract me from the main events of the drama.

Apart from our 2 protagonists, the acting of the antagonists was so so so sooooo good, especially in that funeral scene where Kim Joo Heon (Choi Doha) was fake crying and that smirk he gave Park Chang Ho. OMG. Chef's kiss. I love it. Overall, the acting was brilliant.

- THE BAD -
1. Story:
The first half of the drama was what got me hooked! There were so many questions that were unanswered and the biggest one was "Who is Big Mouse?". There were a lot of theories and speculations regarding this and one of my favorites was the theory that Big Mouse was Park Chang Ho and he's just fooling the viewers (breaking the 4th wall). This theory is definitely so much better than the actual Big Mouse reveal (the Room Leader - No Park).

Because Big Mouse is the driving factor of this whole drama, of course when we reveal who the real Big Mouse is, it should be grand right? No. The Big Mouse reveal was so underwhelming that it made me feel that there was more nuance to this, but there wasn't. And then it got revealed that Park Chang Ho's best friend was in the Big Mouse organization too which was totally out of left field because we never learned what the reason behind him being in this organization was. After a disappointing reveal, the great Big Mouse who conned everyone got killed off in like 10 seconds and so Park Chang Ho became the new Big Mouse. What is funny to me is that when Big Mouse wasn't revealed, everyone had a difficult time figuring out the mastermind behind this alias. But when Park Chang Ho became Big Mouse, he was walking around the neighborhood with lines of bodyguards and followers and people bowing to him as if he was parading around that he is the new Big Mouse.

We were introduced to so many plot points prior to the final episodes and so the ending was rushed. It felt as if the drama completely changed its tone after Chang Ho got out of prison - it became dull. The elder was portrayed as someone who got immense power but he was killed off in an instant. The main villain Choi Doha was also killed off too fast and easily so it felt anti-climactic. It would've been better if they followed Vincenzo's route when doing this (iykyk). But then again, this is being posted on Disney+ and Changho is much nicer than Vincenzo so I doubt that would've worked. Miho's death had no impact to it, I was expecting it to be more emotional because she's literally one of the main characters but it felt flat. The final scene went from colours to black & white while Miho's dialogue from wanting to Changho become a good Big Mouse played - this scene was kind of good and it left me with many thoughts like what is the line between wanting to be a good Big Mouse for his wife and becoming a Big Mouse who punishes and kills people, is Park Changho going to become evil, etc.

2. OST:
Personally, I don't know but there wasn't any notable OST in this drama.

-OVERALL THOUGHTS-
Overall, the theories for this drama were far better than the actual plot. I enjoyed it up until the part Changho left prison and the whole new arc began. This drama is worth the binge if you have nothing to watch but don't go into it with huge expectations cause you will get disappointed because of the ending.

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a rushed finale... at least one episode too short

First of all, that is not your 08/15 BL, if it's a BL at all. The romance is not the focus of the story at all, it happens on the side. We have the prosecutor who is quite the psychopath, but in the end figuring out that he is human after all. And then we have an investigator who was elevated by the prosecutor because he his the son of the suspected murderer of this dad.

This is a proper criminial case, not like "Dare You to Death" where the culprit was clear after epsisode 3, more sophisticated and much more intense. And this case makes sense. Of course we see one of the culprits in episode 1 but it was over in a flash, so it is hard to remember it at all. One negative of that is the first forced kiss, but in the context of the story I got the feeling that the investigator had eyes on him from the beginning.

The only de-rating for me was the finale. First our lovely investigator has a backstory as a police officer, but he was not able to self defend himself properly neither against the culprit nor against the culprits son which was strange. The whole reveal of the culprits son feeled very rushed and that the son turned into a maniac was also a bit off putting imho. While I don't care about the use of AI/CGI in the intro, it was a big negative in the finale on the beach. Yes it costs money to film that properly but to film it at a green screen and put the beach in, was a lazy approach, besides being kitschy as hell because they made the colors quite unnatural, the scene does not fit the vibe of the show. Also negative for the korean viewers is the fact, that Wavve cut the NC-scenes a lot. WTF is wrong with them? They put a gay dating show and now a bi dating show on air, but are too afraid to put the whole NC-scene on the air? That's really stupid.

Our MLs were stellar imho. They did a superb job into bringing their characters to life. Production quality was quite high and there is really nothing to complain about except what I already wrote. The OST was also very nice. But because of the things I pointed out, it's not a masterpiece. It would have taken a bit more time, a bit more depth, To have extended all episodes to at least 30 minutes would have been a good idea but due to the huge cast and extras I guess they run into budget issues, so they had to limit runtime which was not a good decision for the series as a whole. At least I can say, Korea can bring good queer content on the screen and not all of them are only 8 minutes per episode. If you have not watched it, you can without fears of wasting your time.

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A romcom that knows it's doing too much and still pulls it off well!

The drama is chaotic and it is one of those "why am I grinning like an idiot?" experiences, and honestly, I am pretty much okay about it. It is self-aware of what it wants to be, slightly unhinged yet somehow it is grounded enough to make you emotionally invest in it.

Khun Thee is the biggest gamble here and it paid off left and right. He is arrogant, clueless, and wildly out of touch, but in the harmless, oblivious way rather than malice. But beneath all the over-the-top antics, he is someone who is learning very basic things but important things like sorry and thank you (it is very hard to believe... I KNOW, but once you watch the drama, you will understand). Watching someone emotionally stunted like him learn things was scratch was very effective, even if it was buried under comedy.

In contrast, Peachayarat (Peach) is the exact opposite of him. If I talk math (I don't know why but go with it), in the Venn diagram of the Me and Thee universe, Thee and Peach have no intersection. He is grounded, logical like a "normal" person and emotionally intelligent in a way that doesn't feel preachy. From a distance, he may look like he has everything in control and is living the best life. But once we get to know him, the cracks of loneliness begin to show and from the point of no intersection we have two separate circles slowly drifting closer, breaking a few mathematical rules along the way, until the impossible happens and an intersection appears, a shared space that wasn’t in the original diagram but somehow becomes the only part that matters.

What makes their dynamic click is how perfectly they offset each other. Thee is excess in human form, while Peach is restraint done right. Thee blasts into Peach’s world all chaos, sunshine and sparkle and Peach, very patiently and almost effortlessly, shows him how to take up space without causing damage. Watching them navigate their relationship was both absurd and heartfelt at once, and that strange combination is exactly what makes it work.

Now, most of it worked for me, but what didn’t quite land was that I felt Peach, as an individual character, was neglected. As a lover, we see different layers of him and how much of a delight it is to watch him put Thee in place but I wish we explored his side of the story a little more in detail too. I wanted a bit of his inner world explored. I feel like we saw him more through the lens of Thee on how he reacts to Thee, how he softens or challenges Thee.

Also, the whole mafia background isn't to be taken too seriously. It was a plot device to provide Thee his unique personality but beyond that, it doesn’t carry much weight in the story.

Another thing that bothered me was the supporting characters. I feel like both the other pairs, Tawan - Aran ( Perth- Santa) and Mok - Rome ( Est- William) were underused. While Mok, as an individual character, did stand out with his relationship to Thee. There was such a surprisingly emotional layer in their dynamics. But apart from him, I feel the story would have been exactly the same without the others.
Aran - Tawan's story had so much potential but I didn't find it cohesive to the original storyline. The way kept disappearing and appearing again to serve us crumbs of angst could have been dealt better. Mok- Rome definitely had more screen time and a fleshed-out story compared to other couple, but it felt very superficial. They teased us and it could have been more.
I love William Est & Perth Santa, and I was happy to see them on screen together, so maybe it's just me being greedy to see more of them!

Coming to the comedy, I did enjoy the exaggerated, over-the-top humour with dramatic meltdowns that was both sort of insane but always in-character. It was silly and very self-aware. I straight-up laughed (with sound and everything not just the LOL expression one) at how absurd everything got and honestly had a blast the whole time.

Acting-wise, Pond Naravit has the time of his life as Khun Thee, and it clearly shows in his performance. I have seen him in previous dramas and without a doubt, this is his best performance. Phuwin has improved too, since the last time I saw him. This is my highest-rated series of both of them and the roles suited them. Est in glasses was not on my bingo card but I will take and accept anything without complaints. William, Perth, and Santa were okay too, acting-wise, though they didn't get much screen time.
Visually, the drama was stunning. I couldn't find any faults. Though I wasn't a fan of the music choices here.

Overall, this is fun, warm and kind of drama that doesn't take itself too seriously but is surprisingly thoughtful. Will I recommend it? Hell yeah!

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THIS REVIEW IS ONLY BASED ON THIS MOVIE, NOT THAT OF THE ORIGINAL WORK.

***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***
[If you haven't read the novel, watched the TV drama version, and know nothing of the plot and do not want it spoiled for you, then read no further... if that's not you OR you don't care, read on....]

I'm not gonna break my review down by sections. My review is a juxtaposition of the others and how I felt it compared:

The consolidation of scenes, characters, and information in the movie version was interesting. Not horrible, but definitely not 100% true to the original story. Zhen Shao Xiang's personality being consolidated into a combo of him and Cao Guang was kind of abrupt for me. Or KO being the manager of the internet cafe?? Wasn't expecting that. ..putting Hao Mei and KO's story as filler while rolling the credits was kind of dumb. Without "context" you missed the significance of that and it just became some kind of embarrassing moment for Hao Mei. ..frankly, I think they came at this project with the idea that everyone had either read the novel or watched the TV version. There's so much missing that without knowing anything, this movie would feel incomplete.

This Wei Wei is more outgoing than she's supposed to be. That's the aspect of her character that's really important in her connection with Xiao Nai. She's pure, innocent, shy, humble, and doesn't like to draw attention to herself. In this version, she's really not that way at all. She's much more extrovert and dominant, no where near passive. If you like her better this way, it's simply personal preference, but it's not the true character of her as written in the novel. And just as this Wei Wei is more extroverted, and not so shy, this Xiao Nai is a bit more emo and less hard-to-read, badass, cutthroat who was always 2 steps ahead of everyone else.

...and bottom line, what I really want to say, the BROMANCE and the relationship between him and his "brothers" and Wei Wei was really, really, REALLY, really lacking for me int this movie version. For me, that was as important if not MORE important than the romance between Xiao Nai and Wei Wei. I loved the whole "family" feel and it just enhanced their romance all the more. In this version, I just felt wanting; I felt lacking; I was waiting for there to be more of a close feeling with Wei Wei and the "brothers" but, more than half way through they barely had anything to say to each other. It was sad.

The ending was beyond rushed. Not only did they really let us down with anytime with the "brothers" but the whole 2nd part about their company and Wei Wei and Xiao Nai becoming closer to the point of marriage was basically completely skipped over. Not fulfilling for me at all.

My Best Fangirl Moment:
~At 1:32:00, when the Chinese League of Legends team, Invictus Gaming [IG] gets interviewed by Panda TV about the "Young" company of Xiao Nai. Rookie introduces himself and the team. Rookie is one of those South Korean players that the Chinese spent loads of money to transfer to China to play. Then, from left to right, you have Zzitai[top], Kitties[support], Rain[ADC] and another South Korean player, ending with Kid [jgl]... that means obviously that Rookie is IG's midlaner.... I just simply loved this little moment in time!!

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What does it feel to fall in love? Cuddle up and savor the moments of AASOL!

I am trying to get my thoughts together to express how much this drama took over my heart. I did not want it to end. I even went for a walk before I watched the last two episodes. And now that it is done, I am so sad because I will miss seeing Lin Yi Yang and Yin Guo. I also loved Meng Xiao Dong, the FL's big brother (cousin actually). Then there are the other characters with their own unique personalities and all adorable in their own way. This cast was amazingly put together. Before I write a review, I will list all the things I loved about this drama because my head will not get it together to write anything coherent. I blame Wu Lei in his role as Lin Yi Yang. He is sexy and seductive, I literally swooned through each episode. Well let me start the list:

1. Lin Yi Yang played by Leo Wu(Wu Lei) His eyes are expressive and seductive and will melt you when you see him gaze at Yin Guo. But not only his looks will make you swoon. He is the best in his field of sport and will knock your socks off the way he plays a perfect game of snooker. He is also intelligent and scholarly. And he is a businessman.

2. Yin Guo, the FL , seems shy when she is with the ML, but she is a fearless 9 ball competitor/sportswoman. Zhoa Yin Mai plays her part with natural ease. She makes the romance believable in a way that reminds me of one of my favorite actresses, Zhang Jing Yi from Lighter and Princess in that she is also a natural actress who makes the romance scenes believable because of her connection with the ML. You will feel her love for him. She delivers her lines perfectly and knows just how to use her voice and tone to portray the scenes in a way you will feel connected.

3. Love at first sight is one I find relatable. The way the ML fell in love and pursued the FL might not be for everyone but for me, it totally captivated me to the point I watched the scenes over and over again while I waited for the next episodes.

This is a simple romance of love at first sight done right. Wu Lei and Jin Mai's chemistry makes it perfect! It is well worth the watch!

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Mediocre Myth

At outset, the drama starts out as an interesting and pioneering perspective of time travel. With use of new ideas like uploader and downloader, the science-fiction aspect is on par with that of contemporary world of science fiction entertainment.

Along with this, is the backdrop of a nuclear war involving Koreas, it provides an exquisite playing field for proficient storytelling. These themes remind me of the "TENET" movie.

The show is almost convincible scientifically about time travel*. But that's where the spectacle of this show ends. This show has countless flaws.

One, after setting the story, the show becomes more character driven and not plot driven. Thus, giving little scope for further exploring the sci-fi elements or packing it with more plot elements. Viewers are taken through detailed narrative about various side characters. These insights could have been less detailed.

Two, Will over Wits. Almost every scene has some sort of test for characters to make a choice. Almost every character ends up making emotion-driven decisions and not reason-driven. This leads to a countless loop of bad folks coercing good folks to fall into their traps. Countless episodes are wasted in these cat-and-mouse endeavors.

Three, Lack of an alternate answer to the recurring question "Girl or World?" Right in the first instance of asking this question, the answer is undeniably obvious. Yet, the protagonist delays to choose the answer giving a false hope of possibility of an alternative answer. Had this been answered earlier, it would have ended the show quicker.

Four, Romance: The Leads' relationship feels more like comradeship and less like romantic one. If at all it is present, it is not so passionate and intense given their life-threatening circumstances.

Five, the beginning of the time loop. How did all this began that is, the events right before the first loop are hardly explained. I believe that explaining a bootstrap paradox is an unimaginable task.

Despite the flaws, there are a couple of appreciable elements like, One, ambitious production. The initial fights and stunts scenes felt amateurish in CGI. But the events of the future were well produced. The drone chase scene was a personal favorite. Fights scenes were really good, especially the last fight of future timeline. Two, despite the ever looming question of "save the world", the intermittent scenes of future events were very imaginative. Three, Badass FL and Genius ML both bring something unique to the plot. Four, the "Act of Kindness" (without letting the spoiler out), that was the best moment in the entire drama and gave the best "glimmer of hope", an essential feature of the Sci-Fi genre.

Acting wise, both the leads are exceptional. PSH stunt scenes are awe-worthy. Kim Byung Chul does an incredible job. Music wise, I really liked the title music of whizzing sound and the end song. Rewatch value is lower as sci-fi elements are hardly convoluted.

Sisyphus: The Myth is inventive concept but fails in storytelling.
~~
*Logical inconsistencies do exist.

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Rebel Without a Cause.

This is one of those magnificent, high budget productions that starts so strongly that I kept shushing that  inner voice that whispered "masterpiece" for fear of jinxing it too early. Sixty-eight episodes later, I am sad to say that despite some excellent arcs and moments, this drama falls far short of its breathtaking early promise.

*** Be warned that there are mild spoilers in my review - I will avoid major spoilers. ***

Wang Xuan or A'wu, the titular character is a fictional only daughter of Prime Minister Wang Lin, head of the Langya Wang clan whose formidable political influence straddled several early dynasties since Eastern Jin. Their hold onto power is secured via an incestuous (and icky) pact with the imperial Ma family whereby for twelve successive generations, the Wang clan heiress is chosen as empress. Wang Xuan's legacy 王氏之女 母仪天下 literally means the Wang clan daughter is the "mother of the world" or the empress. Thus he who attains Wang Xuan, attains the world. This is not just a prophecy; she comes with the power and influence of the Wang clan who are kingmakers. The drama dumbs this down to be just about lovesick men after her ravishing and incomparable beauty. That is just icing on the cake and not the only aspect of her appeal to ambitious men who cannot otherwise legitimately claim the throne. This is with the exception of the the weak and foolish Zidan, a character who exist only to love A'wu. In this context, A'wu's expectation of a love match is unrealistic and not possible for any of the noble elite; marriages are political alliances where the best one can hope for is some affection that may or may not quite be love.

A'wu's first and most significant act of rebellion is against her destiny as empress and in doing so, she goes against her father and by extension her clan. This upsets the balance of power between the imperial Ma family and the Wang and Xie clans and sets an intense power struggle in motion. While her motives are naive, this is the first of many decisions she makes that undermines her clan's extraordinary grip on power. In fact, she protects the imperial family's birthright without questioning their worthiness. In this matter, she is indeed a rebel but one that lacks a just cause because excessive in-breeding has made each of the Ma heirs some combination of stupid, unfit and unworthy. That said, I saw character growth and could understand and largely empathize with her decisions until the arc that sees her return to the capital with Xiao Qi just past mid-way through the drama. Until then, the plot was well paced, suspenseful and the motives of the main antagonists layered and interesting enough to make this worthy of a 9.5/10.0. Unfortunately the drama peaks there and after that, the plot falls flat and becomes overwhelmed by tropey two dimensional villains with repetitive and boring motives.  Wang Xuan's character regresses and she makes very questionable decisions, the worst of which culminates in a very shady mating dance that I cannot un-see no matter how many times I rinse out my eyeballs.

Xiao Qi and Wang Xuan's relationship is the best thing about this drama. Even though he didn't get enough screen time to do his character justice, Zhou Yi Wei 's Xiao Qi stole the show. It is so nice to see an actor looks and fits the part of a battle scarred, undefeated general in the role rather than some scrawny idol actor with baby smooth skin. Much more so than Wang Xuan, Xiao Qi is thecharacter that I really root for in this drama. He has riveting chemistry with Zhang Ziyi that compels me to keep re-watching the way their romance unfolds and progresses. It is freshly written and their natural and intimate interactions manage to avoid common drama relationship cliches. Both actors communicate deep and complex emotions with few words and tiny, nuanced changes in expression. Their relationship is not perfect - they have their share of challenges and conflicts. It is disappointing we don't get to see how they navigate their greatest relationship challenge as Wang Xuan is caught between protecting her first love and Xiao Qi's quest for justice.

What is super annoying is that Zidan could have been written to be a much more interesting character rather than one that is frankly a complete waste of screen time. He got such an absurd amount of time he was constantly popping up like a bad tart when all I wanted to see was Xiao Qi. It is understandable for Wang Xuan to have some lingering regret and affection for him but that is not well flushed out. The fact is she married Xiao Qi to save Zidan and at the end, she still rescues him while turning a blind eye to his crimes. It makes me wonder if he was indeed her one true love after all.

The crux of the problem is that Zhang Ziyi's portrayal of Wang Xuan lacks complexity. Her A'wu stopped becoming interesting the moment she grew up to be the more politically astute Wang Xuan. She becomes a suffocating paragon of virtue and forgiveness 母仪天下; the mother of her country and and inexplicably staunch defender of the (worthless) imperial family's absolute right to rule. She wears a perpetually aloof and haughty expression and does not let anyone forget that she belongs to nobility; that she has familial obligations and ties that a commoner and an orphan such as Xiao Qi could not possibly understand or relate to. While she is entitled to forgive her enemies for wrongs they committed against her personally, it is absolutely not her place to broadly dispense justice as she sees fit. She casually makes decisions of great weight and consequence as without any appearance of inner conflict or overarching ideology or sense of justice. If this makes her a rebel, she is one without a cause. I like Zhang Ziyi but this is not a role that she shines in. Despite not looking the part, I had no issue with her portrayal of the young A'wu. It is her Wang Xuan that ultimately fails me. I abandoned the novel because I disliked how narcissistic the character was written to be there. But in the novel ,at least she is very conscious of her beauty and charisma and wields it ruthlessly to accomplish her goals. I never imagined disliking her hypocrisy and sense of entitlement even more in the drama. It does not help that Zhang Ziyi's portrayal is so humorless she even takes the joy out of getting drunk off her ass. At least Wang Su is a fun and uninhibited lush, the kind of drunkard anyone can relate to.

My favorite character and the one that shores up the drama is Yu He Wei's Wang Lin. He is the only truly complex character that is smart without being infallible, unabashedly ambitious, cynical and unrepentant. I love how he gleefully, insightfully analyses situations and peels away the layers of righteousness and hypocrisy around him. There were many times I could empathize with and even support his cause.His plotting against emperor Ma is the drama's best arc. Wang Xuan is actually remarkably like him in terms of her innate arrogance and sense of entitlement as well as her ability to make bold decisions on important affairs of state. As he exits, she steps into his role as the silent force behind the throne with Xiao Qi as the military power that anchors her influence. She is truly her father's daughter in more ways than would make her comfortable if she could see herself. This does not come across clearly because Zhang Ziyi whitewashes Wang Xuan's character and does not dare to embrace her dark side. Everything comes to a full circle when father and daughter discuss love and marriage and she more or less admits that her relationship with Xiao Qi is not too dissimilar to that of Wang Lin's with her mother. It is convenient that she loves him but their marriage serves a purpose that is far grander and more encompassing than love.

While the ending is acceptable, it is in too many important aspects disappointing. Given that regime change is not a viable way to end this kind of drama, it should not have been written to make such a compelling case for it. ZIdan did not have to have been written to be such a jidan (鸡蛋) or a zero. It is obvious many important parts of the ending episodes were edited out which is such a sloppy thing to do when they could have substantially edited down the most insipid Wang Qian/Helan Zhen arc instead. As a result, there is no justice for the Neem Yu Shan massacre and we don't even get to see how this atrocious outcome was negotiated between Xiao Qi and Wang Xuan. Both characters but especially Xiao Qi, disappoint me greatly in this. Thus at the end of the day it does not look like anything substantive has changed or that the kingdom is in a better place or in the hands of more competent rulers. I really want to give this a 9.0 but with that ending, it is at best an 8.0. That said, it is still a very entertaining drama with a distinctly memorable OTP that you should watch. Just don't get fooled by the strong start into expecting a masterpiece.

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The Final Episodes Were Disappointing

The first half of the series was captivating — Ye Li came across as formidable, with sharp schemes and remarkable foresight. She was always a step ahead, and those glimpses of her fighting skills in her delusions gave me hope for more action against worthy opponents. I was heartbroken when Mo Xiu Yao divorced her, leading her to the forsaken Li Shan Academy in a disillusioned state of mind. Another painful blow came with Princess Ling Yun’s murder, leaving Feng Zhi Yao devastated.

As the story moved toward its conclusion, the pacing slowed. Ye Li’s drive for business expansion faded, and she shifted into more of a supporting role. The formidable combat skills I anticipated never materialized, nor were there signs of a larger family or future offspring. Her rhetorical exchanges with the dying Empress Dowager felt subdued compared to her earlier sharpness. Most disappointing of all, Ye Li never fulfilled her revenge arc of killing the four people she had sworn to destroy.

Sadly, the final episodes left me struggling — the brilliance and intensity of the beginning gave way to a muted close that didn’t deliver on the promise of Ye Li’s character.

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Not Every drama is worth the rating

As someone who hasn’t read the webtoon, I actually found the drama fresh and interesting. I’m not arguing whether the FL is a psychopath or sociopath because there's no rule that every main character needs to be empathetic. The actress truly delivered an amazing performance. What disappointed me the most was how the director altered the story. Since the drama is meant for a general audience, the FL shouldn’t get a “free pass” just because she’s the main character. The ending felt overly biased and honestly quite weak.

The webtoon’s conclusion seems far more logical, and the drama was rushed to the point where the FL’s character lost its depth. That’s why I ended up giving it a 6.

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I am a fan of PoT and for me this is an okay drama to watch. If you like the humor and friendship side, this is a good one. But if you like to watch matches, not so great. The bad side of this drama is that most matches are cut shorter and some fillers are draged longer. Matches are based on the manga. Some fillers are created, may be based on the anime. It is quite frustrating if you watch this at the same time as it was aired( I’m Vietnamese so I got to watch it with Vietnamese sub a day later). But as a rewatch, I don’t think it’s that bad. If anyone like shipping, there are hints in this drama, all of them are cute. I’m glad that they kept all the techniques. The actors/ actresses are good, they portray their characters quite well. It’s nice to have a series that is related to PoT.

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As unending as an oath, this drama drags on forever...

This drama is truly a test of love and patience. Your love and patience that is.

After YAMG, I thought we would get another sensible modern drama since, the novel this show is based on received immense praise but sadly, I live to be disappointed.

Yang Zi’s Zhi Xiao is immature and annoying. Her only saving grace is her good choice in a partner, Dr. Gu. The side couples are two-dimensional characters whose life's purpose is to get on your nerves. This drama is a struggle to finish from beginning to end. I had to hug the thighs of the fast-forward button to skip a lot of senseless scenes but Zhi Xiao still managed to annoy me.

The first four episodes were ridiculous but did get better until we were confronted with a father that likes to torture his family. He is a victim of circumstance and ‘woe is he’ but for some reason I could generate no sympathy for his plight.
We are introduced to the second male lead and female leads who try to get in between our main couple’s awfully sluggish love story. Misunderstandings abound and their resolutions like the story take forever while leaving an unsatisfactory aftertaste.

By episode 20 I stopped caring about the storyline and the side characters. The male lead and my unending patience were the only things keeping me watching this travesty. There is a minor rise in interest when the male lead suffers a setback. I was pleasantly surprised with how the female lead stuck to her guns and at the same time supported the male lead. This was probably the only sub-plot where I found her behaviour admirable.

While the plot in romcoms has always been a foregone conclusion, as viewers we watch it for the cast, subplots, setting and dialogues. Unfortunately in The Oath of Love the plot is thin, the pacing highly inconsistent, most conflicts un-engaging, with forgettable dialogues. The female lead was annoying 8 times out of 10 and the narrative became repetitive in the middle phase. I am just glad this wasn’t 40 episodes as my corpse would have to review this drama then.

The only positives in this drama for me were the cinematography, the background music, the lure of a happy ending, the little theatre at the end of each episode and the eye-candy, Xiao Zhan. Unfortunately none of these positives were strong enough to overcome the tragedy that was the drama.

It’s possible that some will like this drama for all the same reasons that I did not. But would I recommend anyone to watch this? No. Unless you are a staunch fan of YZ or XZ and gifted with boundless patience, this drama is not for you. For a middling fan lacking in patience this drama cannot score more than 5.5/10.

You've been warned. Watch at your own risk.

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