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Star-studded drama
This is a star-studded drama. Aside from the leads, the attractive Guan Xiao Tong and the handsome Song Wei Long, you will see a lot of familiar popular faces, including Xu Kai, Bai Lu, Wu Jin Yan (Wei Ying Luo from Yanxi Palace) and the handsome Merxat Yalkun (Mi Re Xia Ti).Unfortunately, this drama does have some glaring flaws. Episodes 1 to 16 are fantastic as the story is original and different from most Chinese dramas I had watched. Guan Xiao Tong acts the arrogant, promiscuous Princess ChuYu who is the emperor's favourite sister as well as Zhu Que, a look-alike assassin trained by the Tianji Sect. Engaged by the princes who are unhappy with the Emperor Liu Ziye of the Liu Song country, a cruel and psychopathic youngster, she is assigned the task of assassinating the emperor. The Tianji Sect plots to let Zhu Que impersonate ChuYu. ChuYu has a harem of male attendants which Zhu Que has to deal with; one of them is the shrewd, perceptive and mysterious Rong Zhi. These episodes are full of suspense as Zhu Que attempts to get close to the emperor while avoiding discovery that she is an impersonate, as well as hilarious as she returns to her palace to be surrounded by men trying to serve her.
The only complaint I have in these episodes is ChuYu's weird hairstyle which looks like an oversize sweet potato sticking on her head - the only competition is Medusa's hair of snakes. ChuYu's hairdo would have been more appropriate in some fairytale stories for the fairy godmother and not quite fit for a period drama.
From episode 17, the story suddenly takes a turn. From this point onwards, the story changes its setting in Liu Song to Wei, a rival country which is often at war with Liu Song. Here, ChuYu (Zhu Que) arrives as the princess sent as the bride to forge a marriage alliance and brings about peace between the two countries. As it turns out Rong Zhi is the Prince Regent in Wei and he marries both Prince ChuYu and Ma XueYun acted by Zhao LuSi on the same day. Neither Rong Zhi nor ChuYu seems to remember their past encounters. This has prompted comments on YouTube that it is a repeat of the Goodbye My Princess story. Also, ChuYu (actually Zhu Que) seems to have suffered a setback in intelligence and a personality change from a trained assassin to a clueless princess.
The only link between the first 16 episodes and the rest of the story is the lame appearance of a story-teller who says he is going to send ChuYu to Wei as his audience are unhappy on how he ends the first part of the story. This transition is very awkward. The cast is almost entirely swapped and from this point onwards, the popular stars appear: Xu Kai, Bai Lu, Wu Jin Yan, Merxat. All the momentum build up during the first 16 episodes are lost and the story starts anew. It is almost like there are two separate stories with some very loose links between the two, and ChuYu's harem of male attendants have all disappeared except for Rong Zhi.
There should have at least been some explanations why ChuYu and RongZhi do not remember the past but it is lightly glossed over. The drama seems to have been written by two different writers. Other than this awkward turn in the story, both stories are quite interesting. And the second part is quite unlike Goodbye My Princess although the theme is similar and therefore lacks originality.
The chemistry between the leads is great. Song WeiLong looked very mature for his age in this drama - I was surprised how young he was when this drama was produced. And you have Wu Jin Yan as the cunning Empress Dowager befitting her previous role as Wei Ying Luo in YanXi Palace. Of course, the star-studded cast does outstandingly well. Zhao LuSi acts a psychopathic woman driven by jealousy, a departure from her usual characters.
Additionally, the Wei costumes for the ladies are pretty but rather monotonous - they are all the same with a stiff shawl and wide skirts. It is almost like the production budget has all been spent on the stars and they have to save on the costume design budget.
So if you overlook these awkward points, this drama is quite interesting to watch. I have given this drama a 8.5 for its star-studded cast, excellent acting and an interesting part 1 - higher than its current rating on mydramalist.com.
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If you're craving for a mature romance, this is for you!
This drama is not your typical Cdrama, with glittery and bubbly characters. The story is intense, the characters are mature, and the real-life events are so relatable.Story:
I was kinda surprised to see a cdrama with a strong story. Most dramas focus on the relationship aspects and the career aspects of the dramas don't make much sense overall. I should add, that 50% of this drama is career-related but the rest is very much about the relationship between the leads. There are complications(not so many) , but there are no loopholes and the story goes on smoothly. Just like how it is in real life!
Cast:
First time seeing Elvis and Elvira. What a match! their chemistry is so natural and beautiful, that you can feel their interactions, insecurities, and how they fall in love. Their romance is not fiery or fluffy, it's just mature and how it should be for career-oriented individuals. Despite all this, we get to see a very romantic and passionate relationship. Their kiss scenes are just marvelous, Their gazes at each other are on another level.
Writing:
It's almost flawless IMO, yet there are side characters that are too many and there are so many stories going on with them that take a lot of screen time. There are no ambiguity about the leads and their character development. overall, a very decent production.
OST:
I must say i loved the ost. Matched every scene. The lyrics are in rhyme with the story and i can say it's one of the best i have heard in cdramas.
If you are in the mood for something romantic, yet a mature one with great chemistry and career-related subjects, this is for you!
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First of all, I want to say that I really appreciate the idea of drama focusing on deliverymen’s life and struggles. It was a breath of fresh air to see something different. I’m not sure how realistic the whole drama is though – the four main characters’ life struggles really seemed too real, but other stories were very exaggerated. Which is not necessarily a bad thing of course, since everything in the drama was handled almost perfectly. The pacing was fine – it’s very slow at first but honestly, I was hooked since the first episode and I’m sure you’ll be, too. In case you are not, you’ll have to wait a bit, because the story picks up after episode 4. Well, the ‘’strongest deliveryman’’ part starts a bit later. It got a little boring though, around episode 12-13. But even during these boring episodes I always found something entertaining and the last two episodes were also good and satisfying.
One thing I have noticed while watching is that the show almost has no clichés. I mean, there were so many times when the writer could have go with the usual tropes and annoy the viewers, but she didn’t do it. I’m very thankful, because I’m so tired of same clichés and tropes. ‘’Strongest Deliveryman’’ has its own rules and that’s what differs it from other rom-coms. Despite being a very light and sweet drama overall, it doesn’t fail to bring depth and emotion to the narrative. It makes you think and feel. Don’t dig too deep though, the drama doesn’t take itself that seriously. It’s actually very simple but that’s why I love it so much.
Choi Kang Soo, our main lead, was a dream come true for me! He is sweet, lovable, kind-hearted, caring and sometimes playful. He is the definition of ''a good person'', but he didn't allow his good heart to turn into his weakness. He is always honest and doesn't like deceiving others. And Go Kyung Pyo's sweet acting made his character even more easy to love. He was just like a puppy, I loved him. Yeah, sorry for my bias lol.
Oh Jin Gyu completely stole the show. He is the character who developed the most throughout the show. He appeared as a spoiled, arrogant boy who didn't appreciate his life enough and relied only on his parents' money. But inside, he was just cute teddy bear and he was slowly showing this side of him. He learnt to cherrish his own life as well as to respect others' lives, too. Kim Sun Ho's acting was more that brilliant! He is one of the most underrated actors I've ever seen. He has so much talent and he showed it in ''Strongest Deliveryman''. He made me like Oh Jin Gyu even when he was acting like a complete jerk. Definitely my favourite character!
Our leading ladies are not so easy to like, at least at first. They are this type of characters that 90% of the drama community finds annoying. Lee Dan Ah is a person who detest her own country and since she doesn't like her life, she often acts too rude and she also hits people without a reason. I think I'm used to this kind of characters and maybe that's why she didn't bother me that much. Actually, I loved her sharp tongue and her passion for working. I loved that when someone looked down on her she didn't stay calm and responded immediately. Chae Soo Bin was good as always, I think this role really suited her.
Lee Ji Yoon is even more spoiled than Oh Jin Gyu and she is the most annoying character in this drama. She was sometimes very cute and innocent though and a lot of scenes with her were exceptionally funny. I was very pround of her at the end, so she definitely develops in a good way.
Overall, ''Strongest Deliveryman''is a drama with an entertaining story, good characters, fairly decent acting and pretty nice OST. It has romance, bromance and an unexpected plot twist in the middle which noone could have predicted. It has its own charm and is very easy to watch. I recommend it if you are not in a mood for a serious watch but you still want something gripping. I think if you only pay attention to the positive aspects and not search for the negative, you'll definitely enjoy it!
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Congratulations to this drama for getting my lowest score yet.
The MVP of this series was really Netflix for letting me watch at 1.5x speed and the ten second fast forward feature for which this low review would not exist in the universe.It’s really a pity that the first eightish - nine episodes get completely squandered by the absolute Chernobyl disaster that is the second half of this show. The FL is a mid thirties almost forty year old human who possess ZERO communication skills. It’s really impressive how little communication skills one human woman can posses. I commend the writers for showing that forty year women can also have the same emotional maturity as a sixteen year old girl. Representation matters!
The other watchers of this show seemed to love the Male Lead for being the best boyfriend but if being a good boyfriend = being a complete doormat and running after your girlfriend whose idea of communication is crying, saying she’s sorry and promising never to do it again but then in the literal next scene doing it again *surprise pikachu face* and then whining about how she’s apologized. Her character reaches a point where it's not that she's unable to communicate, she willfully refuses and believes the best way to get ahead is to sit in misery and grind through but also to ask him to do the same. The way to progress forward is for them to simply be in abject misery together.
Let’s talk about the mother of the bride - the worst Asian mother portrayal I’ve seen on tv. If the FL wasn’t also such a doormat, she could have moved out before the season started and I wouldn’t have to watch this character for 12 hours. I have a new nemesis and it’s this Asian mother. She has NO redeemable qualities and yet the writers still put in a redemption scene in the last hour. I’ve never felt less moved by a mother-daughter scene in my entire life. It happens on the street and I was looking for truck-kan the entire time (why don’t you show up when I want you and only when I don’t???). I tried, I tried to look at this in an Asian centric culture mindset but alas I’m a lowly Asian-American and even with my knowledge of traditional Asian family roles, I cannot feel warmth/sympathy towards this mother.
The music: If an English lady crones “it’s hard to be a woman” at me one more time, I’ll end up in jail.
My final gripe: the plot. Writer-Nim. Come back here and explain to me wtf was the POINT of the last three episodes. Just really explain. There’s this whole plot about how she’s going to stick with it and make her big comeback and stand on her own - - for her to get another bf who doesn’t appreciate her, to learn zero communication skills and to STILL quit her job and become a waitress on juju island! Why did they even break up? They learn zero things from the breakup! Here I would like to compare my favorite end of drama breakup “Because this is my first life” where the breakup makes sense. It forces two characters who cannot communicate and have baggage to take the breakup as a reset and reevaluate their needs and goals before coming back together as a stronger and more cohesive couple. That does not happen in SITR. They still cannot communicate, or say full sentences or express emotion.
She just takes the time she could use to communicate to whine about how she’s kept herself miserable for three years to atone for making the best friend/boyfriend sad. Like my girl, no one, not ONE person asked for that. If you choose to live your life that way, that’s strictly a you problem. This whole romance exist on *vibes*. Which I mean I love a long walk in the rain and some coffee but my god.
Anyways there was great skinship in this show so cheers to the director for giving me legit butterflies in the handholding scene. I will look back at drama edits on tiktok of that one scene fondly.
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This review may contain spoilers
First of all, the reason why I watched this drama is that the synopsis said this was the "Chinese Gossip Girl" which I later found out was not the case. I watched Eternal Love and really liked the actors which so happened to be in this drama, so I decided to give it a try.Be warned and
SPOILER (kind of)
You're going to be disappointed if you're expecting this be like Gossip Girl on The CW.
This show is NOT like Gossip Girl. There was no mysterious "Gossip Girl" who exposed some of the character's secrets. Yeah, there's a lot of drama that happens between the characters. There were a few times where people gossiped on their phones about main characters. The drama has the wealthy/popular/beautiful characters but they aren't really b*tchy or super egotistical. Most of the cast play students, but they're university students....and that's about where the similarities with Gossip Girl ends.
Was it terrible though? For me, even though the plot wasn't what I expected, it wasn't that bad either so it didn't really waste my time.
The cast did pretty well with the acting. I have to give credit to them since most of the actors here were rookies at the time and I think for some, it was their debut drama.
Overall, I think they did a pretty good job!
I rewatched the drama and enjoyed it more since I really like a few of the actors after watching some of their more recent dramas (Dilireba, Zhang Vin Vin, Gao Vengo, etc).
Edit: I forgot to mention that the order of the episodes is really weird. I'm not sure if that's how the drama was directed or purposely edited. But I think the last few episodes don't match up with what happened previous episodes. I don't know if that's because I missed something important or if the people who uploaded the show put it in the wrong order.
For those who need English subs, I don't know if this show has been subbed because I watched this on Youtube which had no subtitles. I also couldn't find any other drama sites that have this show on, but if there is, I think it would be raw.
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This movie was easy to follow, you just have to sit back, enjoy the great acts, and let your heart warmed.
Girls, be prepared to fall for the leading actor's character!
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Got lost watching the whole drama
How do i even summarize this drama? A mess and a lot of plot loops ?1st) usually long dramas will drag, and this one did. I enjoyed a good half of it and then started to get confuse and lose interest towards the middle .
2nd) wanted to watched mostly because the main leads were Sheng Yi lun and Wang zhi wen .
Storyline ( let me try my best to summary)
There was an evil sword that no one who control, so Feng gave up her life to put a seal/lock the sword. This causes her husband to go to the dark side, thus creating the evil dude group aka An Ye You Ting. There is also a earthly king and his people, as well as this sect called Jiu Hua. The male lead goes to like a deity school and gets into the sect of Jiu hua, which there is a prince. The female lead is also in the sect. She is the daughter of the Mo family who is respected by the earthly king. The Mo family turns out not to be the family of the female lead, but the female lead is actually the daughter of feng and the evil dude. Meanwhile , another powerful family is the Ye family. One of the main protagonist his the elder Ye son., Ye wu Que. He's obonxious, arrogant and evil. He joins hands with An Ye You ting to try to kill the male lead. I forgot to mention that the male lead once did have any wuxia ability, but somehow got this stone and his powers increased a lot. After that, a whole bunch of stuff happens, lol by the end I'm kinda lost.
Romance- hardly anything between the female and male lead, mostly hugging. Finally the kiss at the very end, lol ep 52!!! Even the second male lead the prince, got a kiss from his loved one...
The last 15 episodes just confused me, it was like two stories were happening because the male and female lead were both separated and faced their own things, and towards the end they just merged the two story into one, and called it an ending.
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Lesson in Love ... plot twists and karmic connections ... don't be fooled by face value
This series is a wild water ride of tragedy, plot twists, karmic connections and misdirection. It starts slow but keep watching as it will take you on a ride that you least expected.For me, this was 🌟 EPIC 🌟 storytelling. Don't be mistaken thinking this was a story of a sordid little affair between teacher and student ... there is far more to the story than the description lets on ... the plot is a complex one, the psychology runs deep across multiple characters and yet it flows seamlessly ... it takes you very slowly at first and then before you know it, around half-way, you hit dramatic 'white water' and then things get really rough ... there are twists and turns and hidden rocks below ... what you thought the story was about ... is not what the story is about.
Your emotions are going to get a beating, but at the very end of that intense 'white water' ride of a drama ... the waters suddenly slowed to a gently flow ... at last you could 'float'. I had tears at the end as well, but these tears were of a different kind.
"Lesson in Love" ... yes it was ... and it was a lesson for many of the main characters in this series ... including the viewer watching it. It is a series about people, their pain, their loves, their hidden stories and drivers ... it is a story about unexpected degrees of separation between everyone ... it is the story about the 'face' value of someone's life and actions and the fact that people are definitely not always what they seem to be and because of their hidden lives and/or because of their failure to communicate, it is all too easy to jump to conclusions and 'see' someone's life and what they do to be something that it is not and "kill" them for it.
I have two MVPs in this series. The first is the ML Zhang Yi Xiang ... he is a character that runs deep and is far more that his public face value ... he is so he is 'pure' even when the whole world is against him. I admire that kind of integrity and tenaciousness ... age is not necessarily an indicator for these attributes. Edward Chen did a stellar job with that character.
My next MVP is Yi Xiang's Pa ... not only was he a hot Daddy, but he was just gold in how he respected his son's self determination and saw through the game plays of people around him. I so agreed with him when he said: "if you are not hurting anyone, why would I oppose it." ۹(^ᴗ^)۶
AWESOME series ... I am glad I watched to the end ... I am glad it was not what I thought it would be when I started watching it. It was brilliantly acted, the script was amazing ... nothing was irrelevant at all ... the art of misdirection was superb ... WOW what a ride ... and best of all a HE ...۹(♡´◡`♡)۶
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They really went all out and did not come here to play
Loved it!I am totally biased because I love seeing Iwata Takanori acting and have been waiting for this ever since he posted about it on his Instagram, but I like it regardless.
This is a very controversial topic, but should be discussed nonetheless. It deals with infidelity from multiple perspectives, and gives an insight into multiple couples who all live in the same apartment complex. Rather than approaching this drama thinking that it has been made to justify certain behaviour (cheating and abuse), think of it as a way to explain it. Because humans aren't perfect, and we don't always make the best decisions with sound judgement. Often, I experienced feeling annoyed with characters but then understanding their struggles. At times it will be frustrating, but that's the point. Certain characters will try to justify themselves, and you'll just roll your eyes, but that doesn't mean the character wronged will forgive them.
The acting was really great. The leads really outdid themselves and went all out. The side characters also put their all into their characters, despite not being part of the main plot. I'm always impressed with Iwata Takanori's work and his choices of roles outside of EXILE-related dramas. I really felt his anxiety over wanting to protect Sakura. Shinohara Ryoko also did really well at expressing her pain. The name of the drama is really important - Fishbowl Wives. And that's exactly how Sakura felt. In the condo, she felt she had to live up to expectations of being totally in love with her husband, but behind the scenes, she was suffering. Shinohara Ryoko did a really good job of expressing that.
Back to the title - it is significant in understanding the emotions of the women in this drama. Many wives in Japan become housewives after marriage, and the wives in this drama are no different. They are confined to the private sphere of their home with no room to grow, and as Haruto explains, goldfish need room to grow in their bowls. With no room to grow, the wives are additionally scrutinized and judged and cannot find a place to fully be themselves. Sakura was able to find such a place with Haruto, but it was different for all the wives.
Side note, episode 6 had a twist that had the potential to make this drama a psychological thriller and I love that. 😂
Overall, the drama raises important questions on what it means to be successful and happy. It also gives an insight into the expectations of women and some of the choices they might make when they feel lost, despite being in a loving marriage. I definitely do recommend this drama, but it is of course important to read the tags, because it is much more mature than other dramas.
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This movie is not for anybody, some will hate it some will love it, I'm in between, and I will give this movie strong 7.
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1
1A Force of Nature
She and Her Girls is a biographical account of Zhang Guimei’s tireless quest to educate impoverished young women in Huaping County. It opens with a gut-wrenching portrayal of how Teacher Guimei rescues her fourteen-year-old student, Gu Yu (yes, that is still the age of consent in China), from being sold into marriage to fund her father’s drinking habits. Guimei is a force of nature, sweeping through Huaping County to save one girl at a time—even before she has the means to support their continued education. Through sheer stubbornness, tenacity, and desperate resourcefulness, she secures land for her school, strong-arms provincial authorities, recruits promising teachers, and badgers private entrepreneurs to get her girls’ school off the ground.I was pleasantly surprised by the humor that lightens what could have been an overwhelmingly heavy story about rural China’s marginalized girls. The narrative doesn’t shy away from mocking Guimei’s more grating traits—from her deafening early-morning bullhorn to her judgmental, unforgiving demeanor. This humanizes her, preventing her from becoming a one-dimensional saint. Beyond Guimei, there’s no shortage of personal sacrifice: Chen Sihai and the teachers put their lives on hold to build the school. The sheer volume of altruism is almost suffocating, but given the obstacles, perhaps that’s what it took to succeed.
While most praise has gone to Song Jia’s award-winning, unflinching portrayal of Guimei, Gu Yu’s story moved me the most and anchored the drama. Though overlooked by awards, I found Lan Xiya (Gu Yu) and Zhang Tianyang (Chen Sihai) even more compelling than Song Jia and Nie Yuan.
The narrative peaks with Gu Yu’s academic journey. Unfortunately, none of the other girls stand out—their stories are neither well-written nor distinct from countless other coming-of-age tales. There were several natural stopping points, but like Guimei herself, the story soldiers on doggedly, trudging through forgettable generations and trite subplots. I enjoyed the drama up until the midpoint; afterward, it became a slog, further weighed down by heavy-handed propaganda.
Despite the strong script, fantastic cast, and standout moments, this is an overrated drama—nowhere near a masterpiece. There’s no segment I’d feel compelled to rewatch. The first half earns an 8.5/10, but overall, 8.0/10 is more than fair.
(To my knowledge, Gu Yu is a fictional character.)
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This is one of the few modern wuxia (martial arts) dramas. In this drama, there's some law that the police can't get involved in school affairs. In each school, it's like normal school except it houses martial artists. Some of them are "ma gua" which means they have no martials arts. They have this whole hierarchy which isn't explained very well. But basically, in this drama, school and people are fighting for power. It's also loosely based on the Romance of The Three Kingdoms and all the characters are named after characters from the novel.
Weird isn't it? That's my reaction to the first episode. The series was meant to be comical although the comedy subsided a bit later in the show when things got serious.
Story: The story was much better than I expected. It actually kept me hooked. That they actually had plans for this drama. Though sometimes things were resolved in a weird way. But that's what this drama is..."weird". For example, in this drama, chickens are extinct and they're treating like precious, godlike animals. The emperor's seal is even a golden chicken. But chickens turned out to play a good part in the drama. The first couple of episodes made you think that this was mostly a gag drama but it evolved into much more than that. The character development was beautiful <3. Each of the main characters had their own story and their own issues and we got to watch them overcome those issues.
Acting: The acting is bad. But since this drama isn't very serious or there is little to no serious acting to be done, it's fine. Also the reason that the acting is bad, is because the cast are minor celebrities (except George Hu) and mostly musicians/rockers. Such as Dong Cheng Wei.
It's a wuxia drama, therefore terrible CGI effects. But the story, the friendship, the bromance, the romance- you can look past all the flaws.
Music: Like I said, the cast are mostly musicians so the music is great. I have downloaded most of the soundtrack. After watching this drama, I grew a love for chinese rock music. The background music stuck with me many months after completing this show.
The drama is long. But don't let the number of episodes and the weirdness turn you away. It suprised me how good this drama was.
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A very cute way to advertise.
If we could get rid of many commercials and have adorable video ads like this more often, then I wouldn't be skipping ads all the time. lolEpisode 1: Zero Photography
This was really cute and it was nice to see Milk and Love play Ink and Pa from Bad Buddy again. The story makes you think that taking photos and preserving history should be important in our lives. It was really sweet.
Episode 2: Zero in the Moonlight
I always thought Tu had more chemistry with Dew than with Bright in F4 Thailand, and this episode shows that. It was cute, a bit odd, but cute. They acted well together though.
Episode 3: Zero Supporter
This is another opportunity to see Earth & Mix play as Korn & Win from Cupid's Last Wish. It was sweet and considering the plot of Cupid's Last Wish it had some ironic humor. They are just good actors, so they can pull off most roles.
All in all it's worth watching. Don't expect anything groundbreaking or stories that are too deep, because they only have roughly 50 minutes to tell each story and ultimately they are still advertisements for Oishi honey lemon green tea.
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Nice Watch
This was a good easy watch even though most of the characters went crazy at some point; I did not find it angsty. Most of us are looking for happy endings when watching dramas. Yes, this one has a happy ending. In my opinion too happy. I think most of the crazies had it too easy at the end for the gravity of the things that they did, it would have been more satisfying if they were at least punished in some way. Though I did like how Noh Go Jin and Park Yang Tae became frenemies at the end.I liked how Noh Go Jin and Lee Shin A's relationship developed, there was no push and pull, it was like go all out hating each other at the beginning - got it all out of the way, discovering that they like each other and from then stuck and supported each other despite everything - not even the two faced ex could come between them.
I liked the OST too :-)
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