Reviews

Pretty entertaining, but not without its faults.

I didn’t have super high expectations for this series as I was not the biggest fan of Manner of Death, but after seeing good reviews and a high rating I decided to give it a try. I was surprised to find the story to be entertaining with a decent mix of comedy, drama, mystery and intrigue. Although I found the series to be over dramatic at times.

This series had some solid acting. I was loved to see a strong supporting cast, and I particularly liked Sing, Fukfang, and Rit. Tae did great portraying Tin’s growth throughout the series, and really made you root for his character. At first I thought Tol might be a bit of a flat stock character when they first introduced him to the story, but I didn’t think that for long. Tee did a good job bringing his character to life (or death haha).
The romance between Tin and Tol had a good pace and chemistry, and didn't feel out of place. They worked well together despite how strong the secondhand embarrassment could get.

The soundtrack wasn’t anything too spectacular, and there were a few tracks I thought were fine. Overall, it was okay and once again fit for your average TV drama.

Unfortunately the series lost its compelling aspects in the last few episodes. The main issue being that the story starts breaking its own rules when it comes to how things work in the time loop. They shifted towards using cheats and external help to beat the time loop, instead of using their heads to plan strategies and solve problems. Also, the personalities of everyone in the cast changed... Yeah.

(Spoilers ahead relating to the last few episodes) The shift in POV that starts at episode 10 contributed to a loss of some of the previous tension, and felt like a discredit to all of Tin’s hard work and character development. The most jarring change for me was how the loop Tol entered didn’t feel like any of the previous time loops Tin had experienced. Instead it felt like Tol was transported into some kind of alternate universe.
Tin acted like a completely different person (which only kind of made sense as he hadn’t met or had to try to save Tol yet), but regardless the change still felt quite extreme. Sing and Gap were suddenly dating with no explanation of why they are together. Gap’s feelings for Sing were pretty clearly hinted at throughout the series, but it made no sense that Tol entering the time loop would make it so things that never happened in any of the previous loops would suddenly manifest out of the blue.

Even though the writing wasn't particularly good, Triage was a fun watch to take as it is. I doubt I will be rewatching it though.

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I don't have much experience watching dramas with the older generation of actors (Anne, Tik, Andrew, etc.) but I truly enjoyed this drama. Sure, there were small things I didn't like about it, but on the whole, I came away from it smiling and glad I watched it.
STORY: Quite well-done. Yes, the nang rai (Pisamai) is a little typical, aka super possessive and crazy. But they make an effort to show you that she really is hurt by Prajak's associations wih Wanida, which honestly is understandable. Prajak made me both want to pull my hair out and grin like an idiot at the same time. I appreciated that his character wasn't perfect, because we're human and no one is perfect. Lakorns often portray either the male or female leads as perfect little angels that can do no wrong, but that just isn't true in reality. None of us are like that. Prajak's hubris was that he couldn't stand up for himself. It drove me crazy, but his character was also kind, understanding, and loyal, which counteracted his weaknesses. Wanida's growth as a character really added to the drama. She starts out as a spunky, naive young woman who gets into trouble constantly; later, she matures a woman who still has that spunk, but has a little better idea of when and how to channel that spunk.
I liked that while this was an arranged marriage drama, the leads didn't follow all the stereotypes, such as sleeping together, having to kiss at social events, etc. I also liked that Prajak didn't fall into the lakorn stereotype of the nang rai accusing the nang ek and the male lead blindly believing the nang rai. Prajak reminded Wanida that he "knows what kind of person she is," so when people talked bad about her, he would listen to her side of the story as well. The mother's "deathbed repentance" scene was a bit much, but whatever. And I had a hard time buying into the storyline with clearing Wanida's grandma's name because it just felt superfluous.
The story lags at the vety beginning and at the very end, but the pacing is good everywhere else.
Montree honestly made my life. He was hilarious and hot at the same time.
ACTING/CAST: I can't imagine anyone better than the people in the drama. Tik has got the loving look down-pat, he's on the same level as Colin Firth in that respect. Aff was simply gorgeous, and she did well in playing the naive, childish character without overacting and without becoming annoying. Wanida's father was hilarious. Prajak's brother was cute. The servants had AWESOME chemistry together, though Aunt Thom drove me crazy because of how badly she overacted.
MUSIC: Beautiful soundtrack. This is the only drama I've seen that didn't suffer from using the same music too often; the songs switched up once in a while, so you would expect the main theme, only to hear another very pretty and very fitting song. The only fault I found wih the soundtrack were the "soap opera" tracks used in a million other dramas for the dramatic moments. They felt out-of-place and a little obnoxious.
REWATCH VALUE: I would definitely watch this again, though probably just for Tik and Aff ;)
All in all, a very enjoyable drama that I highly recommend. Though it has its faults, the drama as a whole is so beautiful, any viewer will be willing to overlook its faults.

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Like many people have said for those who have little experience with lakorns might find this disappointing but for us who have more experience with them, this show wasn't as frustrating as some of those out there. For starters yes there is an evil character who tries to mess with the lives of the leads but what series doesn't have that cliche. Our two leads didn't have any big misunderstanding because they saw the true colors of the evil character and they were careful. We also don't have the cliche of one of the female lead friends falling in love with the male lead and teaming up with the bad character. I was skeptical about mint at the beginning but from start to end they kept her character loyal to Aim. We also have Mr. Natt who I thought was going to be a headache but he ended up respecting the choice of the female lead and he helped her. I won't lie and say when they first introduced Preuk(male leads half brother) I thought we were going to have another evil character since that's a cliche that happens with most lakorns and dramas in general but again I was proven wrong and he was a good character. Overall this is one of the best lakorns out there especially since they didn't include many cliches and we only had one real antagonist.

Would I rewatch? Maybe in the future, because I already know the small plot twists etc...


Do I recommend watching? Yes!!! You won't waste your time with this drama, from start to finish it was good. It's not full of fluff but we have a couple who has little to no misunderstanding in their relationship once they begin and we have wonderful supporting characters that helped them. Also for once, we don't have a weak female lead who needs saving from the male lead.

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Eclectic cocktail that blends goofy comedy and deadly suspense

‒Short Unspoiled Review‒

This is a drama with a distinct storytelling style that I've yet seen in crime dramas. It seamlessly blends a laidback, whimsical comedic style with a deadly criminal investigation. Given this odd combination, it's easy to botch the tenor and pacing, yet the director will keep you waltzing along to his unique style, while appreciating his idiosyncratic visual styling.

Unlike most psychological suspense stories, this maintains the suspense and cerebral speculation without making the experience feel too serious and weighty. As a result, this is an easy to watch, easy to binge drama, while still filled with intelligent twists.

The actors all did a solid job, while fitting into the slightly absurdist mood of the drama. Though compared to my other favorite entries like 'Interlaced Scenes', 'Beloved', 'The Bad Kids', and others, this lacks the same level of poignant characters and social commentary.

Ultimately I really appreciated the originality of the storytelling and cinematography. I hope more dramas will follow suit and more viewers (esp in China) will tune in to such shows. Without traffic actors and expensive sets, this show managed to deliver a gem on probably moderate budget.

--Category Ratings--

- Overall - 8.1 -> 8.5 MDL
- Plot - 8
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 8
- Acting - 8.2
- Visuals - 8.5
- Audio / Music - 8
- Rewatch - 7
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 8.5
- Subtitle quality - 8.5

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I liked this series a lot. It was a nice change of pace from many of the recent Thai BL. It isn't high budget, or filled with sound effects or fancy production, which again was nice for a change. If you just watch it for simple entertainment, and not put too much thought into it, this is a fun short series. The opening credits are a bit weird, I assume something was literally lost in translation, but it was nothing to stop watching the show over.

The couples were all cute, and I liked the secondary character friends, especially the guys who talk in unison. They are definitely beginning actors, just a tad stiff, but far from the worst I have seen. There did seem to be some chemistry between the couples though. It was also nice to see a different part of Thailand, and something more rural.

There are parts of the story that could have been explored deeper, and some parts are rushed or glossed over a little bit. That being said, the pace of the story, and story itself was fairly good overall. And for those of us that have watched lots of Thai BL, nobody gets hit by a car, no sad breakup ending, or any of that type stuff you see in many series. A happy ending is nice sometimes.

The only reason I marked it down was the short length, and maybe a half star of mark down for the stiff or uneven acting (maybe that is the directors fault?). These couple of improvements would have made this one of the higher rated series I have seen this year so far.

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Okay Royal Court Drama! (Surprisingly)

“The King’s Woman” was actually one of my very first c-dramas. I watched this drama without the same criticism that I have today. However, I remember this drama as one with a good cast, including Dilraba (one of my favourite actresses) and Vin Zhang, who I thought played the role of the emperor quite well. The story… could be better, but I think this is still a decent historical drama based on the royal court/family. If I were to watch this drama again, I don’t think it would be all that interesting, because I never really rewatch dramas, to be honest. Overall, I give this piece a 6.5.

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A fabulous melodrama

By the end of the first episode a premise is established, and you might wonder why one would want to watch this show if they are going to stick to this premise to the bitter end. Well, they do stick to the premise all the way, but manage to stick the landing about as well as one could hope. Along the way there are a couple of surprises that are also quite moving, and there are good, uplifting themes that provide warmth and light in what otherwise would make for a pretty dire story arc.

It is the story of a boy named Sun (Taiyo) and a girl named Rain (Ame) who fall in love in high school and promise to meet again once they achieve their respective dreams. Eight years later Ame returns to town and neither of their aspirations have been fulfilled. It is a story of sacrifice and love for the pair at the center of the story and for their families. Over the course of the series they have to face an unquestionably terrible fate in their near future mediated by two mysterious supernatural beings who have been chosen by the heavens to witness the story as it unfolds.

It does end up being a bit of a crying contest between Yamada Yuki (Taiyo) and Nagano Mei (Ame). I prefer Nagano as a comedian, but she can cry on cue apparently effortlessly, and so she often gets booked for these kind of roles. Here she manages to bring her bright personality and charm to the character which goes a long way to preventing this series from being the emotional slogfest that you might expect it to be given the premise. Yamada has the more stoic role to fulfill, and he does match Nagano tear for tear in the scenes that call for it. The pair have a solid chemistry together, and they have a nice romantic arc, but that romance pretty much has to be sexless because of the set up.

It bears mentioning that the series is beautifully shot with consistently excellent blocking and composition. They have chosen a color grading that makes almost all of the daytime shots feel like golden hour which also helps to keep the series from feeling dire and grey.

If you like melodramas, and want a good cry, then this series is probably exactly what you're looking for. I tend to avoid melodramas as a genre and tend to think that they can be emotionally manipulative for little payoff other than the tears. And so I was pleasantly surprised that this series had a bit more depth than merely saying "life sucks and then you die". And so I'd say the series is also well worth the watch for anyone looking for a nice little fable about love and pinky-swears.

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One of the best shows I've ever watched!

Where should I even start? This show is phenomenal from every point of view. From the engaging plotline to the comical aspects of the show, from the great acting to the amazingly written characters. It's a 10/10 all round if you're an action/thriller/mystery lover like myself. Bad and Crazy had me laughing one minute and then crying the next. The first episode put me off initially but trust me, it's 100% worth watching once you get into it! I recently finished rewatching it because it was just that good, I HAD to watch it again. The show also covered some unsettling but vitally important topics that aren't spoken about enough such as split personality disorder, mental health issues, child abuse, gaslighting and manipulation. Overall, this show is a must watch for any K-drama fan and it's one of the most enjoyable shows I've ever watched :).

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Not Worth The Hype

Before watching this drama, I had heard so much hype about it. Everyone on Tiktok and Twitter were losing their minds over it. So, I decided it must be really good if everyone talked about it so much.
But honestly, it really just felt like it was trying too hard to appeal to an audience who was looking for a more "mature" drama. The main reason I even watch dramas is because I love watching the pure build up to a relationship. And I think that many shows have done that very well.

This drama was a rare case where I loved everyone but the main characters by the end of it. The female lead is exhausting to follow, the male lead is just a walking red flag (as dubbed by viewers on social media) and the conclusion is frustrating at best.
The only good part of this show was the soundtrack. I added well over half of the OST to my playlists because they're just so good.

In closing, watch this drama if you want to understand the hype. However, just be prepared to be annoyed for most of the 10 episodes.

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Can anything be messy like this? Um..... NO

It's the perfect example when someone tries to put romance, mystery, comedy, and little fantasy together but in the end, nothing makes any sense other than turning into a perfect disaster.. sounds like a big word right but it was all messy and till the end, we get nothing more than. Why I watch this?

I guess it's becoming a trend these days for authors to become part of their own novel. So it started with all confusion having no idea where's the story going or why many things are happening at the first place. The story was just okay okay but it was bad in the execution and I didn't felt the chemistry between leads that much, yeah there were some sweet moments but more cringy. The side couples um I'll say fine. But honestly, the most boring part was the mystery thing. I mean when you have mystery as the main genre, it expected to be the core of story but it wasn't a mystery at all for me coz my all guesses were right in the end.

Well if you have a lot of free time then you can give it try but it's not worth it... just average drama which even isn't average. Not recommend watching, still if you are insisting you can give it try to the first few episodes, and then decide.

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If you want a romantic movie this is not it

After reading the plot I thought it was very weird and interesting. Because it is a movie and not a whole drama, I thought I should give it a try. I read the comments, so I was a little prepared.
First of all, it was a little weird and awkward movie indeed. I mean, a stranger comes to your grandma's house and claims to be her student, but he also has a key from the house and you take him in although he is just a stanger to you? Many things could go wrong starting this way. Fortunately, they didn't. He wasn't a pervert or murderer.
Also, right from the start, he stayed in a different part of the house which was good and safer for the female lead, but he was behaving like the man of the house. They ate together the food she cooked, he gave her his laundry and he asked her to do things for him like a husband would do. He also stated many times that he would marry her, without her permission or acceptance. I don't find it very romantic...
Their relationship was nonexistant from the start to almost the end. Emotions were not expressed through words from the start to almost the end. If you have imagination you could guess that some actions in the second half of the movie were because of affection or love or just care. For the most part they were not even talking to each other.
This was such a quiet movie, filled with silence, which didn't help me understand what was happening. If I use my imagination I can understand that this was a quiet love, but I think it was almost mute. They didn't properly show affection to each other. The age gap between them was huge, but I wouldn't mind it so much if I saw the romance between them. It was like he came to the house and became possesive. Suddenly he wants to marry her and the viewer doesn't know how or why.In the end the care or romance between them starts to show a little.
I would say that this movie is about a love story from the past, when love was not expressed very much. It was a very introverted love. I still am not sure about female lead's feelings. I felt that she was just lonely and disappointed from love, but although she waited for male lead to come back at the end, I am not sure if it was because of her love for him or because she was left alone.
I don't think the movie is bad, but I definitely think that I don't like so slow and silent romantic movies that barely have any romantic gestures and by the end of it I am not sure if I saw a romantic movie. I don't like the very romantic, cheesy and unrealistic ones either but this was not even enough.

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Must Watch - Indiana Jones meets Game of Thrones in Republican Era China

I was told The Lost Caverns is an archaeological drama, and after doing some research Candle In the Tomb : The Wrath of Time is the first in the series, chronologically, so I started watching it with zero expectations, and was instantly hooked. I was surprised at how good the sets, scenery, production, action and acting were. The sets and scenery, in particular, are breath-taking. The death toll has to be seen to be believed.

This show pretty much has everything entertainment wise:-
* History of 4 "Tomb Robbing" Clans in the Opening Credits
* Each clan's specialty - geomancy, traps, lock picking, animal affinity
* Super Expensive Sets for the Tombs. They look realistic!
* Traps. Lots of Traps! All Kinds! Poor Stunt Guys must have worked HARD.
* Dangerous bug critters. Numerous small ones and one Giant One. * Special "mythical" animals including "Super Chicken Phoenix" and Dig Dug Pangolins
* Zombies and a Zombie King
* Excessive dynamite use, including in "suicide vests" (not in a terrorist way).
* Michael Bay level of indiscriminate blowing up stuff before using brains and considering maybe don't blow up stuff before getting your own people out first?
* Brotherhood, followed by Game of Thrones level Betrayals, Backstabbing and lots of Death ... and viewers rooting for some people to die because we're bloodthirsty by nature, we hate them and we want them dead like mob spectators.

What I learned from the characters:-
* Handsome ML (*swoon* Vengo as Zhe Gu Shao) with skills and a tragic backstory, will eventually, slowly and surely, win over Xin Zhi Lei (Hua Ling) who is supposed to be the fierce man hater.
* Chen Yu Lou (Pan Yue Ming) acted brilliantly as the Xieling Sect leader who's trying to do the best he can for his men and his "people", yet nothing is good enough for his daddy until loads of blood has been shed.
* Luo Lao Wai (Cao Wei Yu) wow I HATED his character and was actively hoping this paragon of creating a hostile work environment and #1 sexual harasser would die so I could stop hearing his "laugh acting". Except, when he did ... I felt kind of sad.
* I won't name the other characters because it was like Game of Thrones, as SOON as I got attached to them, BAM out of nowhere, they die!! If this were a Korean drama they might have mysteriously survived but no, those types of wounds should be fatal, and the realism is appreciated.

Moral of the story: Tomb raiding is lucrative, BUT dangerous as all heck. Over 200 people must have died to the traps, the critters, the wildlife, the curse(s), the undead and the backstabbing humans infected by the deadly selfishness "treasure fever" who lose all sense of conscience and think killing other humans means a bigger share. Personally I don't think it's worth it, and maybe the high risk is WHY those tomb robbing clans are going extinct.

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perfect execution

As much as the story isn't anything new, the way it is acted and presented stands out. Drama is short, cute and fluffy, but also has steamy moments when you feel like a peeping tom.
Female lead is supposed to be cute and honestly the actresses nailed it. Her portrayal of a sweet cunning lady is very likeable and natural. Male lead is also good at his part, and makes it work. They both have good chemistry and are pleasure to watch.
I liked the slice of life feel this drama has, and the pace was very good too. It's just 7 episodes with smaller arcs in each one. Shorter episodes but they are all packed with plot developements and don't have much filler.
This drama is a very good example of how you can tell a stale cliched sorry in a way it still feels fresh like a can of sparking water.

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Story: Taking into account the fact that this was made in 2004, I give the story a 7.
Even though it was made almost 9 years ago, I had to take off some points for some serious loopholes in the story. It seemed like, after the first 30-40 minutes, the story was just dropped. They had went from not liking each other to suddenly using cute nicknames so fast that you could get whiplash. There was never a hint of them liking each other, so it just felt off. Once I got over it though, it wasn't too bad.
The first half hour or so was definitely the best part of this movie though. I had to keep pausing because I was laughing so hard that I couldn't even hear what they were saying.

Acting/Cast: I'm already a big fan of both Kim Jae Won and Ha Ji Won, and while this didn't really make me feel better or worse about my like of Kim Jae Won (although seeing that body was a nice surprise), my love for Ha Ji Won definitely grew.

Even though Ha Ji Won was 25/26 when she filmed this (which I still can't believe while watching the movie), she pulled off her role as a teenager flawlessly.

Kim Jae Won was amazing in his role of self-absorbed rich boy.

I personally think they meshed well when on screen. The love-hate relationship they had going on was believable.

Music: I enjoyed the music throughout the movie.

Rewatch Value: Like I said, there were some things that just didn't make sense to me throughout the movie, so it's not something I'd want to give another try. At least not for a while.

Overall: It had its ups and it had its down. The chemistry between the leads made up for a lot of the downs. The beginning and ending also made up for the downs.

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