Reviews

Where is the wedding??..Typical MAME

At first I thought 7 eps are a bit short. But, after watching this drama I felt 7 episodes are more than enough. There is nothing new in this drama nor any message is delivered.

Coming to the acting, leads are good actors(not great). Sometimes I felt nuea's acting a lil cringey. The most cringiest part I felt was the entire yiwa and marine's story. The sotry is really well organized. It delivered what it was supposed to, but not entertaining enough. End of the day the leads have great chemistry.

Things I liked about the entire drama is - It is fast paced, cameos of prapai x sky and payu x rain. Also, mame has a different style telling that the story is MAME's LOL. But I just want to ask sailom and nuea is that, "You have reached the point where everyone accepted both of you, but where is the wedding that you have planned" haha :)

So, if you have nothing new to watch or want something that is not toxic, something that is fast paced, and are a fan of Love in the Air drama, then this is it..Go Watch it!!

P.S. - I watched it for the cameos of LITA couples LOL !!!

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Fabulous Acting, Great CGI, Great Story

This is one of the very few dramas that I find so relaxing and enjoyable. It is very funny and yet not comical. The humors come mostly from the marvelous acting, the dialogues and the dynamics between the characters. As this is a drama revolving around supernatural phenomena, the CGI here is simply top-notched. This drama is the third season of the Wu Xin series. Despite this, the timeline is a lot earlier than the previous two series, setting in the Tang dynasty period. One doesn't need to watch the previous two seasons to understand this one; everything is explained clearly and flows nicely. This drama stands alone as a complete series.

Elvis Han (plays Wu Xin) is a marvelous actor. He has an air of maturity and provides stability in every situation he's in, and yet he doesn't lack that humorous and playful demeanor. I really enjoy all his scenes. As a man with no heart, (his name Wu Xin literally means no heart in Chinese), he's an immortal. The use of homophone and puns with his name is hilarious as the phrase wu xin can also mean "unintentional". But Wu Xin is so fed up with living forever that he contracts killers to kill himself as he has not been successful in doing so himself. His journey in seeking his own death is simply so outrageous and funny. I really enjoy the parts when Wu Xin is possessed by Liu Xuan Hu making him taking opposite actions and bickering within himself. The scenes are so funny and Elvis Han is fabulous in acting out both characters at the same time.

Comes the girl that falls for him, and eventually he for her. Chen Yao (aka Sabrina Chen) plays both roles as a twin girl in Liu Qing Luan and her twin brother in Liu Xuan Hu. With a slender physique, Chen Yao's portrayal of Liu Xuan Hu is amazing as she looks like a weak, sickly, feminine boy who excels academically. No one knows the talented scholar has an identical twin sister who helps settle scores for him. One really cannot tell if Liu Xuan Hu is a boy or a girl, even Wu Xin is confused; he has treated Liu Xuan Hu as a boy when in actual fact it's Liu Qing Luan's disguise. The discovery process is so funny, and Elvis Han's expression of surprise is an outstanding acting. Switching in and out of her role as a male and female character, Chen Yao has done a fantastic job. Bravo to her amazing acting.

In their quest to seek death for Wu Xin and cure for Liu Xuan Hu sickly body (what an irony), they encounter mysteries and crimes. Every event is related to another and unfolds nicely over time, usually through medium and "fa shu" delivered by the Taoist master. The initial unseen dark force that seems to mastermind everything turns out to be a previous acquaintant of Wu Xin. Their relationship, dynamics and dialogues are just a joy to watch. The seemingly unseen fearsome and mysterious character suddenly becomes a person with a cartoonish looking mask. Many of the characters that seem to be sinister in the beginning turn out to be harmless. One of my most enjoyable moments is watching Elvis Han handling a baby; he's such a pro and the scenes where both powerful fa shi, Wu Xin and Bai Liu Li, rendered helpless by a crying baby is just hilarious.

As expected, when an immortal falls in love with a mortal, how the ending would be. As Liu Qing Luan ages and finally dies in Wu Xin's arms, Wu Xin is still as youthful but the pain he is suffering is immeasurable, though this is the umpteenth time he is going through it. Each time, the pain of loss of a loved one is new and unforgettable for him. The only way to relieve himself from all these pains is not through death (which he can't die) but through letting go. Finally, Wu Xin realizes that he needs to forget after every life that leaves him, and to start afresh. That's the only way to continue living to eternity.

Oh, have I mentioned the sound tracks (OSTs)? They are very good. Love them!

Don't be misled by the low rating. This drama should have received a much higher rating had it not because English subs are not available at the moment of its airing. Many non-Chinese speaking viewers are unfortunately not able to enjoy this fine drama.

For me, this drama is unexpectedly good. If you can understand Chinese, or able to find English subs, do watch it. It's a drama that would make you laugh because of the funny dialogues and human to human dynamics. The mystical supernatural phenomenon is intriguing, and most importantly, great acting and great story telling make this a must-watch drama.

Two thumbs up!

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promising premise and beginning, disappointed with the execution

Overall: I enjoyed the unique premise but had major issues with the plot. Aired on GagaOOLala & Viki.

Content Warnings: violence/blood (in the first scene), murder, trauma, grief, attempted kidnapping, non con kiss (sleeping)

What I Liked
- the premise was unique and rarely seen in BL
- production value
- retelling of the first episode from a different perspective

Room For Improvement
- I wish that Jae Woo and Ji Woon's parents were friends and Jae Woo had just moved into the same city, because... it felt odd befriending a kid like that/having a 10 year old sleep over in a dorm room, it was a bit squicky to me and speaking of...
- Jae Woo was very childlike and stupid for a 25 year old, it made the relationship dynamic even more strange
- their total lack of communication about something suuuppppppeeeerrrr important, like come on
- nonsense things besides the initial premise, a 10 year old regularly walks around at night alone when there is violence in the area? money? ID? same outfit every day?
- why do they like each other, love at first sight? but it was initially an uncle/nephew like relationship, when/why did it change?
- the non con kiss and also this line "I'm going to do something I know you don't like" (and he kisses him, wth?)
- what in the sisyphean hell was that ending?

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Changed EVERYTHING in the og novel.

Trash. Don't even bother watching this adapted version, and instead just read the original novel or webtoon. Its leagues better than what this movie is. It's insulting to the og readers seeing all the weird and uneeded changes the director made in this movie and it completely feels like a plagiarized version of ORV instead of an actual adaptation. They could've listened to the complaints and criticism online and make changes that were desperately needed but noooo, they insisted on making Sangah a healer, KDJ hating twsa (the novel that LITERALLY saved his life), YJH being a side character (which is so STUPID??), heewon being the mc instead which, again, she wasnt even an important character in the og, AND kdj is a bully in the movie??? That's honestly crazy disrespectful to his character and backstory.

Final review: Trash. They could've made this a standalone movie and it would've done well, but the fact is based off of ORV? It deserves the hate. And the only people that would watch and enjoy this are the fans of the actors... Don't watch.

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Honestly i think the title doesn't somewhat match the drama.

The story line: I really liked the storyline they didn't focus too much on the side characters story and they stuck to the main plot of the drama. It did not drag what so ever. I know in some mystery dramas the story ends up being craggy and people start to lose interest but in this drama it doesn't. The directed and the writer does not go overboard with it. It was fast paced too, I didn't feel like the drama was fast towards the end I felt it went at the right place which was good because most dramas finishes the drama with a fast pace.
The storyline itself it nice and I also liked the side stories they were fun. As the main plot of the drama is kind of heavy the side stories makes you appeal more to it which is weird that I don't know how to even explain.
I would date the storyline: 9.0

Acting: Needless to say the acting was on point. Everyone did well the main cast, supporting cast etc. I really loved Song YoonAh. She's really amazing and I love her works. It was my first time seeing Kim So Yeon and she did an excellent job made her character live. Those two were the highlights but of course song Jae Rim and Kim Tae Woo did well to. Song Jae Rim is just so cute, really loved him in here and Kim Tae Woo did a good job as the villain in the story. I really hated him which means he did a good job. Wish to see them all in newer projects in the future. Acting was;10/10

I don't think there was anything I disliked apart from the title because once you watch it you will start to think about the title like "who is the secret mother" "what does the title mean by secret mother" it could have been titled with something better that suits the show more such as "mothers secrets" in which if you had watched the drama then you would understand what that would have meant.
This drama is underrated and it shouldn't have been. You would definitely enjoy this drama if you give your full attention/concentration. One of the 4/5th drama I have liked and enjoyed so far for 2018

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Revenge is best served cold! Scheming & slow burn romance as subplot.

The story is about the female lead who returns home after being cast out for 17 years. Though searching for home and love, she quickly finds herself thrust into the web of lies and schemes. Things get more complicated when the male lead, who is her ‘former’ brother-in-law, takes an interest in her and sees right through her mask of lies.

The revenge plot is one, if not, THE best I’ve ever seen. Ep 1-19 kept me at the edge of my seat. However Ep 20-25 were… I wouldn’t say a let down but definitely not as strong. Lots of new characters were introduced with the focus on side stories that DID connect with the main plot but were just… not as interesting to watch. However, Ep 26-30 picked up the pacing and delivered a fantastic conclusion to the story.

Unexpectedly, one of the biggest highlight for me was the mother-daughter relationship. At first I hated the mother and per usual expected to dislike her till the end however I ended up absolutely loving her character. It’s rare to see a mother-daughter relationship so real and raw, it was written beautifully.

As a romance girlie, I was very much satisfied with the romance here. Some might say that there is barely any, but for me it WAS absolutely part of the story. If you expect grand gestures of love, fluffy dialogue, lots of intimacy or passionate kisses, you won’t find that kind of romance. What I loved was the slow burn, the fact that the relationship was always will-they-won't-they tension, the gradual build of trust, the way they unknowingly fell for each other, and the way they supported each other even though they were simultaneously against each other. Their love story felt organic, not forced, and connected seamlessly into the intense revenge plot.

POSITIVE:
- Revenge + scheming. A female centric story.
- Morally grey male and female lead.
- Badass female lead.
- Slow burn romance as sub-plot.
- Angsty and intense vibes.
- Lots of twists and turns.
- Captivating story with nicely written characters and their motives.
- Mother-daughter relationship. The true highlight of the drama.
- Great pacing.
- Best villain. I’m trying not to spoil anything, but this villain is the best psychopath I’ve seen in a historical cdrama. The way he kept one-upping the leads till the end had me going crazy.
- Fantastic OST.

NEGATIVE:
Ep 20-25 were not as strong as the rest of the drama (mentioned above).

OVERALL:
I picked this up as I was intrigued by the trailer but I truly had low expectations going in. I wasn’t a fan of Chen Du Ling but this drama completely changed my view of her. This role was MADE for her and she was brilliant in it. The revenge was 10/10 perfection, the characters were multilayered, the villain was so psychotic that he had me going crazy, and the slow burn romance was a nice cherry on top. That said, it's clear I absolutely LOVED this drama (especially as I’m in a huge drama slump and yet I binged this so fast). I wholeheartedly recommend this if you want a badass, scheming female lead with intense revenge and angst.

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Queen of Ambition is no joke. I really wanted to give it top scores, but there are some things that are missing. BTW...this has a lot of adult content, so I wouldn't recommend this for just anyone. Joo Da Hae is the epitome of evil. I understand that she goes through some major horrific moments when she is young, but wow... I really can't explain this story without spoilers. It has murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, twin switching, etc. Ha Ryu is so pitiful and sweet that it is hard not to fall in love with him. I enjoyed the ending. They took the time needed for the main characters before spending time on the side stories. I really appreciate writers that do that.

Ok. Now for the acting. I will tell you the bad first and why I couldn't give this drama higher scores. Soo Ae to me is just not the femme fatale that I thought was needed for that role. I get that she is supposed to be cold-hearted, and I did see her expressions change, but there just seemed like she was missing something. Honestly, I just don't think that she was pretty enough to ensnare all of the men that she did...especially since she was never sincere. Is that too superficial? I would think that Kim Tae Hee or Chae Jung Ahn would have been a better casting choice. They are prettier and their acting abilities are better.

On to the much better...Kwon Sang Woo was daebak as Ha Ryu. I felt so deeply for his character even when I was mad at him. There were times when I blamed him for what he was going through even as he blamed himself, then I would realize that he is just too kind-hearted. I also thought Yunho did well in his role as Do Hoon. I kept yelling at him to wake up and realize who Da Hae really was.

I also liked the other actors. I'm not much for extra characters, but all of these were needed to add to the story. I really liked Kim Sung Ryung as Do Kyung.

The music was good.

I probably won't rewatch this just because I already know what will happen.

It is full of angst and at times I was just yelling at the characters. If you like melodrama, then you will love this.

Edit: After watching Soo Ae on 1N2D Korean variety show, I realized that she seems to be a soft person and that may be why her role isn't really that believable. I give her props for trying something that seems to be completely out of her element and doing a passable job.

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Is a beautiful heart wrenching love story with Great actors, good music, lots of actions scenes, and the best part is that actually has a happy ending. All I could say is that I fell in love with Chu Bei Jei (chung Wallace) since the 1st episode; I can’t believe I have not heard of him before this drama. (Looking forward to watch all his productions). I would have liked a more details happy ending and less dragging of painful episodes that happened midway through the drama but compared to most historical dramas this one is definitely one of the best I’ve seen.

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Derivative script for a so-so movie that put all their budget into the action scenes.

This is one of those movies where it's best to go in and turn off your brain so you can enjoy the ride. If you don't turn off your brain, you'll realize it is one of those stories where there are super powered genetically engineered "special" kids who have been experimented on and thus have violent tendencies. One of them escapes being killed and grows up, then things happen when "the Company" finds her. This is the same old plot done many times in many other movies, like the whole Bourne Series, Hanna, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Unfortunately it fails to add anything new to it or stand out in any way so the story wasn't great.

There are 3 other places this film fails. First, it has GAPING plot holes. Many of them. Unrealistically stupid "doctors/researchers" plus ridiculously Overpowered Main Lead plus unforgivably bad employee security / army guys who are nothing more than cannon fodder. If done well, this may have worked (see Jason Bourne series). But somehow it kind of went overboard and strained all bounds of credibility. This is a pity because I really wanted to like it. Maybe it's because Korean cinema is normally so great I guess I was expecting better and ended up disappointed by the excessive Mary Sue nature of the heroine and a deus ex machina plot that leaves everything wide open for a sequel. I mean, as if the words "Part 1: Subversion" in the title weren't obvious enough.

The solution - try to turn off your brain, you'll somewhat enjoy the heroine's story and acting ... and her parents. The secondary male antagonist speaks English wonderfully, he must have had a lot of fun playing the douche bag second best experiment result. His interactions with the heroine are among the best in this movie. The action scenes are very, very well done. There's a ton of blood, a few parts seemed more like CGI video gamey, but the rest of it was hyper violent. I have no complaints about the quality of these scenes and to be honest they're the best reason to watch this movie because the rest is kind of insert "meh" emoji.

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I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

It does stick to its genre of being ROMANCE, COMEDY, HISTORICAL and MILITARY!

NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT!

Well, where to start. hmmmm.

[The Story]
YOU ARE SO GONNA LOVE THE PLOT. Its about a woman pretending to be a guy for the war. She became a war hero so when she revealed to the emperor her real identity, she was pardoned. After knowing she's a woman, the emperor took this chance to marry her off to a prince. This prince is quite opposite to the girl. Their roles here might be a bit reversed however, from time to time, you will see the main girls feminine side bought out by the guy and you will see the guy's manly side bought out by the girl. They complete each other's personality. In the entire series, YOU WILL LOVE the development of the characters relationship. One good thing about this, is that it's not just about the two of them but also how they contribute to their country and how that contribution helped their character progress in time.

[The Ending]
Well, the ending is good but not THAT satisfying. Just finish it and find out for yourself. DONT WORRY, YOU ARE NOT GONNA REGRET IT!

The OST also deserves an applause! It makes you feel SO EMOTIONAL! The song makes you cry out of nostalgia... It makes you feel like the main characters are real people from legend..Their love really feels so real.
[P.S. The main guy sang it too with some other singer which is not the main girl]

Speaking of legend, they kind of remind me of the real ballad of Mu Lan. The main girl is Mu Lan and the guy is her lover. The series really does make you believe that the main characters really were legendary lovers from the past, like they were actually part of history and that you can still feel their love resonance to the present. Watching the series makes you feel like you were back at those ancient time too.


Will I re-watch it? I already did for the 4th time already AND I WILL AGAIN after I finish the rest on my list
Do I recommend it? YEAH! OF COURSE!!! GO WATCH IT NOW!

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A lot can be said about Missing 9, but whether you liked it or not one thing is for sure, it was addicting as hell! Missing 9 is a particular drama, part comedy, part mystery, part aspiring thriller. Genres that don’t really blend and that was why missing 9 was an adorable mess, but such an enjoyable one!

Story
Missing 9 revolves around a plane crash on a deserted island. Effectively the story can be split into 2 parts that are unfolded at the same time as the drama continues. First part, the flashbacks, are centered in the past as we see the aftermath of the plane crush. Part 2 takes place in the present and talks about what happens after a survivor is found. The drama develops as a mystery: “what the hell actually happened on that island?”

Missing 9 is not a drama to be taken seriously. It tried its best to be original and different and while that is a definitely a plus for me, what actually made it stand out was the peculiar combination of mystery and comedy.

The drama doesn’t know what it wants to be, a thriller about 9 people trying to survive while reevaluating their lives or a hilarious comedy about a plane crush. Answer is both, and the faster you embrace it the more fun you will have watching.

I read a lot of comments claiming that the plot is a trainwreck. I sincerely disagree. I could call the plot tryhard, absurd, ridiculous but also quite intriguing and interesting. What I appreciated the most was that even in its completely ridiculous nature, the story was there from start to finish, implicating murders, mystery, questions and twists that will make you keep watching, hence the addictive part. However, there were countless times I rolled my eyes and giggled at how absurd the script was, how convenient and silly. The comedy isn’t for everyone but for me it was golden.

Best thing about it? The transition between comedy and seriousness was nonexistent. The drama throws intense situations at you and then it mocks itself by ridiculing them all the way, without making itself unwatchable at all. It’s amazing how they made it work. I am the first person who dislikes serious situations being made fun of, but here, I loved it. This is the first time I’ve witnessed a drama doing this so, even if the results aren’t perfect, I give points for originality.

The drama doesn't want to be serious, it wants us to have fun. Therefore, it would be advisable for everyone to just dismiss your logic while watching this and just buckle up and enjoy the crazy ride. I understand this is not for everyone, but what i don't understand why we need to blame this drama for its irrationality when we've accepted countless unrealistic and stretched dramas (with less plot than this one), dramas about time travel, mythical creatures, comic characters ect. Either judge them all or accept them all, they all come from the same imaginative place.

Romance wasn’t present in the drama; there is some kind of romance developing between the leads that was not explored and didn’t need to be. Romance, with the heavy sense of the term, would have been redundant. The couple did look great together and had amazing synergy especially in their comedy scenes.

Overall, Missing 9 was immensely entertaining and one of the better dramas for escapism. Completely mind-numbing, but oh-so amusing! It was this distinct characteristic the drama had where it just made fun of itself completely that I found so provoking and creative that I just fell in love with it. The drama knows it’s silly and absurd but instead of trying to avoid facing that, it builds and thrives on it! Commendable! Not a drama one would rewatch but for what it was it was extremely enjoyable.

Acting
I came here for Jung Kyung Ho, and he was flawless, especially acing his comedy scenes like never before, but the actresses that made the drama for me were Baek Jin Hee and Lee Seon Bin.

For… reasons, I had low expectations from Baek Jin Hee even if I had never seen her before. The girl positively surprised me and proved to be a very strong female lead. Her acting was spot-on and tip-top, being funny, cute and emotional when needed. I'm looking forward to her future projects!

Lee Seon Bin is definitely a new favourite for me, not only because she’s certifiably hot but because she’s a very promising young lady with a bright future.

The cast was mostly unknown-at least to me- but I sincerely enjoyed watching them as a whole.

Recommend
Missing 9 sounds amazing from the synopsis but it would be wise to drop your expectations a bit. It is not anything groundbreaking as a drama, but it is unique in terms of script-idea and development. The combination of thriller and comedy and the ridiculousness of the whole thing really clicked perfectly all together for a unique experience. If you are into comedy, want to watch something light and would like some thriller on the side this is not a bad watch at all.

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So first of all, I think this drama is really overrated. I really liked it but the drama got some flaws that are hard to just overlook.

Story:
I liked the story. It was actually pretty interesting and different in a way. Some would say that the age gap between the 2 main character is hard to overlook but it was okay for me. What I mean is I wasn't really paying attention to that part as the drama is based around something fictional, the age gap is just a part of that. I like the relation between the two main characters but also with the second couple. The bromance was also a very good part of that drama. I just wish Deok Hwa played a bigger part of the drama. Usually, there are some characters that I don't like in a drama, like a big villain but I just liked every characters here. And also, I enjoyed everything regarding the Grim Reapers organization and especially the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong Wook).

Acting/Cast:
They all did a great job and I think they all suited their role. Gong Yu as always is a very good actor. I was also very surprised by Lee Dong Wook, if was just perfect as the Grim Reaper. Also, Kim Go Eun is a good actress (that I saw in Cheese in the Trap before) but rather than feeling sad with her when she cried (near the end) I was just impressed. I usually don't like the cryings in dramas also so seeing Lee Dong Wook always with teary eyes/crying was kind of hard for me but he did a good job! I also often find the main female lead annoying but she was okay.

Music:
I think Goblin wouldn't have been that great without this OST. Seriously, the music in the drama was just perfect. All the songs were just beautiful. If the music wasn't that good, I think I would have rated the drama 7.5 instead of 8.5.

Rewatch value:
I would probably not rewatch it, or I would skip some parts. The episodes are unnecessarily long.

So why do I think Goblin is overrated?
- There are tons of flashbacks and they are ALWAYS the SAME!!! That was SOOOO annoying! I hate when they do that in dramas. Like they would put the same flashback twice in the same episode and in almost episode... And for what? We didn't forget that happened so why? This is why the episodes are long but it is just long of flashback I think... It could have been maybe 10 minutes shorter if it wasn't for that...
- Then, that wouldn't really affect the rating but it kind of annoyed me to some point.. The product placement here it just too strong. So we can see it everywhere and in every drama but usually it's more subtle than that. They were literally saying: eat SUBWAY and your life will be better. (or something like that). I understand that they needed money to have that good quality in the scenes but come on...
- Then I feel like the story/plot could have been better used... It is kind of a waste of the characters I think. And I wanted to know more about the deities.

So yeah, I'm happy I watched it but I wished the realization of the drama and the use of the characters would have been better handled. When I finished the drama I had a bitter feeling. I enjoyed it and really liked it but I felt like the potential was a bit wasted. So I think there are many more stuff to talk about regarding that drama but I'll just stop here :)

Anyways, Goblin is a drama that need to be seen ! :)

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