Reviews

AN UNFORGETTABLE CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE !

***DISCLAIMER: This is just my opinion. We don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone.***

THIS DRAMA IS BRILLIANT, INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, SHOW STOPPING AND SPECTACULAR. It may seem like I am over exaggerating but it was seriously so intense! I can’t even properly articulate how captivating it was. Not gonna lie the CHOKEHOLD this drama had me in for MONTHS definitely NEEDS TO BE STUDIED.

Since Part 1 this drama hooked me from the very beginning. The story is a long an tumultuous one, a rollercoaster ride with many many ups and downs for lack of better words. I feel I am truly blessed to have experienced this drama in 2023. I have always loved historical's especially in western shows but this drama made me realize my love for Saeguks in particular. This kdrama reminds me of every classic novel I've ever read. It’s filled with political intrigue, war, power struggles, women’s issues, survival, camaraderie, found family, societal expectations, class relations, love, marriage, the importance of reputation and so much more.  

If you are debating whether to watch it or not I suggest you go for it. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s definitely an experience you do not want to miss. I know some will disagree with me and find some fault but there is something interesting and captivating in every episode. Even if you don't want to admit it this drama is ADDICTING. It managed to evoke a lot of feelings whether that be frustration, annoyance, anger, sadness or adoration – THE WORKS! It put us ongoing watchers through the wringer each week but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I feel so grateful to have known these characters and followed them along their journeys, both individual and together.

____________________________________________________

IN MORE DETAIL (SPOILERS AHEAD):

They exceeded my expectations in every episode. I can't express how wonderful this drama is. This show understands that every episode is important and that every single scene has a purpose. I'm astounded at the progress of the primary leads; they've come a long way. From the first episode, you can observe the difference and transformation. The intensity of the episodes, particularly their first reunion, the separation / goodbye, the "death" and their final reunion took a heavy toll on my emotions. 

I’d like to give a big thanks to the crew members that brought the cinematography to life. The same is true for the writer for having this degree of commitment to the story. Additionally, with each successive episode and scene, our main characters improved their craft. I really hope they win many awards!

Firstly I want to commend the talented Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun Jin for bringing our dearest Gil Chae and Jang Hyun to life. Our beloved Jangchae will be remembered forever and always. For me at least, they will go down as one of the BEST and MOST WELL WRITTEN CHARACTERS IN KDRAMA HISTORY. 

Gil Chae was My Dearest's actual heart and soul. She is undoubtedly my favorite character in 2023, and one of the top 3 in all of the dramas I have ever seen. Ahn Eun Jin's emotive and exceptional performance was profound. There are no words to express how much I adore Gil Chae. This drama proves that a strong-willed, feminine, kindhearted, sensitive, and perfectly imperfect female lead may exist without being annoyingly childish or portrayed as damsel in distress. Gil Chae truly matured throughout the course of this drama, and her character development is one of the best. I’m pleased Gil Chae never tried to define herself as a victim or force others to pity her. She remained resilient, resourceful, quick-witted, clever, and tenacious to the bitter end. Though she seemed overly understanding, selfless, and shortsighted at times, particularly when it came to Ryang Eum, the Qing Princess, and attempting to sacrifice her happiness in order protect Jang Hyun, her character was very nuanced, and I am grateful I got the opportunity to know her.

In a world of men, Jang Hyun is a "gentleman." I just felt compelled to make this point because he is by far the only male in this story who was kind, caring, compassionate wise beyond his years. Though I wished for more of his backstory as to how he became the man he is today, I believe the last two episodes neatly tied it up and as we watched him grow throughout the entire drama, you could always see and understand his motives because of the powerful messages he always managed to leave with other characters. I treasured watching him mature and prove himself to everyone. It was amazing to see him change his ideas after meeting Gil Chae and discovering someone he wanted to protect and stand by for years to come. Though he was a morally grey character in Part 1, he evolved into the guy he is today as a result of his experiences and the people he met along his journeys. He was more than just a merchant or an interpreter. He was the true diamond in the rough – the only one who saw everyone as a worthy human being and regarded everyone's life as important as his own. 

He is the only man in this drama who ever took the time to understand people and the world. Jang Hyun's gentle and compassionate remarks to Young Rang, his reprimand of the Qing Princess, his advise to the Crown Prince and Princess, his powerful heart-breaking confession to Gil Chae and his final appeals to his father will never be forgotten. 

The fact that Jang Hyun never once reduced a woman to her experiences needs to be recognized. He accepted Gil Chae as she was, never asked her to change and adored her and cherished her wholeheartedly. He is the epitome of what a guy should be. I know I've said it before, but he is the GOLD STANDARD. The fact that he had no intention of falling in love or even marrying until meeting Gil Chae years ago after saving her from falling from the swings says a lot. I will never ever forget the fact that after he first laid eyes on he he heard the sound of flowers and likened her to the marvel of Peru blooming. THAT IS A MAN HOPELESSLY IN LOVE. I admired how his loyalty to her never faltered for even one second. She was constantly at the back of his thoughts, no matter where he went or what he did. Even when his memories were erased, it was her voice that lingered.

Again I want to reiterate that Gil Chae and Jang Hyun are each others true equals. Their parallels and similar experiences say enough. They became daughters and sons to no one, yet they somehow found a home / safe place to land in each other. In their heart of hearts sworn by the moonlight and tied by the red thread of fate they were destined to always find each other. The ending of this drama is proof of that soul connection. Although people, places, and times changed throughout time, their love never wavered. That is more pure and sincere than any love story I have ever witnessed.

While love is not the main point of this drama, I can’t help but think it must be highlighted as the driving force that allowed them to be so courageous, endure, persevere and fight to protect the people they cared about.

I have never seen a kdrama where all the actors were actually flawless and nailed and sold their parts. I must applaud the actors who were members of the Royal palace, the Qing people and The Joseon captives who were so compelling! The supporting cast, which included children, intruders / invaders, and prisoners of war. I appreciate you putting your heart and soul into these performances. With the captives especially, you could feel their struggle, grief, frustration, heartbreak, and suffering. Even though they were only in a supporting role, they captured my attention and more than delivered in helping to make this drama feel more real and riveting.

I loved Gu Jam, he was always able to make you laugh especially in his interactions with Jong Jong. Even though I disliked Yeon Jun, you knew he was doing something right when he was able to make people hate him. I was proud of Eun Ae for making a comeback in the final episodes and shedding light on the patriarchal and sexist culture that has no regard for the rights of women. Even though I despised Gak Hwa, she managed to make us almost feel sorry for her when she changed her mind and released Jang Hyun. Although she was by no means a good person, I'm satisfied that she was able to find some sort of closure in the end. Yang Chun will always be remembered as a hero for giving his life to save the captives. From having mixed emotions towards In Ok to entrusting her to take care of his son Taeng Taeng, he has come a very long way.


DISLIKES:

(NB: This is about characters I disliked & pacing, not necessarily issues with the plot)

Ryang Eum – Oh boy! I definitely had a love hate relationship with him. I couldn’t stand him at all because he was the obstacle from part 1. If only he actually passed on Jang Hyun’s message and didn’t lie to Gil Chae that Jang Hyun had passed away our leads could have been together sooner. In part 2 you thought he would have learnt his lesson but no, he continued with his obsession and jealousy. He was so possessive over Jang Hyun even though he knew how much Jang Hyun and Gil Chae loved and would risk everything for each other. I also wish Ryang Eum's storyline was better developed because we just see him in a handful of scenes in prison wondering what happened to Jang Hyun after disclosing everything he knew and then nothing. I'd like to know how he was apprehended, why they thought he was insane, and why he was locked up for so long. I didn't like his character at first, but he matured and deserved better than the hand he was dealt. I'm sure he had no qualms about being imprisoned for Jang Hyun's sake / in his place, but it's unfortunate that he'll most likely have to live all his days in this manner. (Crazy bc I never thought I’d feel sorry for him either)

Yeon Jun - The last 2 episodes confirmed my hate and disdain for this man. His mindset is so ugly it shows that he does not care about women’s struggles. He doesn't really have a sense of direction or mind of his own. That’s why when Jang Chul hung himself and Eun Ae left him he tried to kill himself. He was such a pathetic coward to the very end. Out of all the characters he’s the one who never really changed for the better. He proved to be that same boy Gil Chae kept on pining over in the village because she did not know him better. Gil Chae dodged a bullet for sure, but Eun Ae who is such a sweet woman deserved so much better.

Officer Won Moo – Hated him from the moment he refused to believe Gil Chae was kidnapped. He spent all that time investigating and trying to find out whether she was actually taken or chose to run away with Jang Hyun instead of going out there, chasing down the intruders who took her and preventing her from crossing the border to Qing. Even after he found out the truth he was convinced by some men that she had already been defiled and that he would be better off re-marrying. He eventually abandoned her because he was weak and not able to endure her shame. The moment the husband chose his reputation over her wellbeing was the moment I considered them legally divorced. People are so quick to crucify Gil Chae and never hold Won Moo accountable but I am not one of those people. He literally went home, lied to everyone that thieves stole his goods, returned and then managed to knock up another woman all while Gil Chae was out their suffering and fighting for her life. I am glad he did not make an appearance in the last episodes after his exit in episode 16.

King Injoo – Senile and psychotic as ever. From day 1 we knew he would become an operative out to get everyone. I can’t believe he allowed the concubine Lady Cho to poison his mind against his own son and the captives. She prayed for their demise and in the end her curse came true. He was a fool and thats why he suffered in his last moments knowing he completely destroyed good people (the Crown Prince and Crown Princess)

Qing Princess – If you were here since the beginning you already know my sentiments towards her. Nothing changed for me because I hated her until the end. She had a change of heart in the end but that does not take away from the fact that she was ruthless, manipulative and selfish. She was 1 of the 2 obstacles in between our leads and I grew tired of her character. I felt like she took up a lot of screen time for such a boring character. It seemed like her entire existence revolved around Jang Hyun and trying to win his heart. That was disappointing since they made her character description seem like she was this badass princess. In my opinion she was all bark, no bite.

I believe that this drama could have been 4-5 episodes longer to fully delve into Jang Hyun and his sister's past. I was particularly interested Sam Do and his family – how they were murdered and how he became a slave. I also did not like the fact that Yeon Jun was used at the last minute to create unnecessary tension and strife in the last 2 episodes. To me, it just seemed like they tried to cram all that information in the eleventh hour. While I enjoyed it, as a lover of flashbacks and backstories, I wish there had been a bit more. 

Additionally, the concept of time between events in this drama doesn't really make much sense and trying to figure it out was a struggle. Nevertheless, I looked past these minor flaws and just appreciated the drama for what it was.


FINAL THOUGHTS:

I loved this drama so much, I don’t think anyone could have possibly loved this story more than me. I was there through it all –the back and forth, the miscommunication, tribulations, suffering, the pushing each other away, the tension, anguish, desire, the pain, the war, the heartbreak, and now the post series depression (PSD) that has ensued because this drama has ended. I'm not sure how another drama can ever equal this or fill the emptiness left by My Dearest. 

My heart is overflowing with love and excitement knowing that our dears – Gil Chae and Jang Hyun, are safe. They got to live the life they always wanted together, they got to grow old together, even if we couldn't see past their reunion on that beach. The emotional high at the end had me crying my eyes out. I didn't need a kiss since their hug and facial expressions told me all I needed to know.  They survived the storm and all of their trials and tribulations. THAT IS THE EPITOME OF TRUE LOVE AND DEVOTION. The fact that he lost his memories but remembered her voice and tracked it down to the precise location where she stated she wanted to live in the future is really full circle writing. 

Some may argue that the ending was a fan service, but to me it seemed appropriate. It took time for Gil Chae and Jang Hyun to reconnect and find each other again, which was realistic. I loved the parallel of the conclusion with the first episode where we see Gil Chae’s dream of her following the red thread she dropped, crossing so many terrains, weathering all seasons, seemingly running forever until finally sees her husband’s silhouette and meets him again on that beach. In the last scene Jang Hyun seems to remember Gil Chae and gives me so much peace knowing that she will be there every day from then on to remind him and ensure he never forgets her, himself or their story.

The OST is hauntingly beautiful and stays with you long after finishing the entire drama. I found myself listening to the OST while waiting on new episodes each week. Our lead, Ahn Eun Jin, sang one of the best songs, With My Heart. Additional appreciation goes to The Stray's My My Dearest, Lim Jae Hyun's Floral Shoes, MIYEON's Painted On The Moonlight, Kim Feel's My Star, and 2NB's Love Affair.

Would I recommend this drama to others? Yes. It's the BEST kdrama I've seen this year and my roman empire. I will never move on. I'll also never forget how much time I spent sitting and waiting for new episodes to come out week after week, or participating in discussions here. I met so many new people because of My Dearest. This drama may have started underrated and overlooked but I want to thank those that stuck around and made this whole experience unforgettable.

I know “My Dearest" will go down in history as a K-Drama classic. It has some of the greatest writing, acting, and directing, intriguing topics coupled with the tragedies of war, survival, sorrow, finding light in the darkness, healing / coping with trauma etc. In simple words it is everything I hoped for and more.

This drama explores consequences of war, love, duty, responsibility, and power shifts in history. The most pertinent message of the drama lies in the idea that there is hope during a time of war. It's a juxtaposition of love and war + sin and sacrifice. It demonstrates how GC and JH fall in love despite the war setting and develop a relationship with each other and overcome their perils and adversity. It also emphasizes patriarchal society's bleak outlook and the disastrous implications it has on its victims. The most important lesson is to acknowledge how fleeting life is and to seize each moment of happiness while it lasts.

Please be advised that this is not a happy story. It depicts the hardships of war in a realistic manner. If you're prepared to endure it, then watch this drama. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Each episode finishes on a cliffhanger that literally reels you back in and leaves you wanting more. If you don’t believe me then just watch and see for yourself.

With everything said I give this drama a 10/10.

Review of part 1 here: https://h1.nu/1gNGj

Thanks for reading & happy watching! 

❤️

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Entertaining Thriller with solid acting! Douban's average rating explained

The Double is a drama adapted from the book, Marriage of the Di Daughter, which I read last year. I binged on the first 5 episodes last night when it was released because I loved the book so much. So far, the drama has exceeded my expectation in everything except:

The modification of the story makes it hard to believe that she could take on the identity of the new daughter ... There are a few plot holes resulting from this change. I think I am going to just have to ignore the nagging "doesn't make sense" feeling because the drama is entertaining. Sometimes you just watch because it's entertaining.
Book: "Xue Fang Fei, passed away. She reincarnated into the body of the Grand Secretariat’s daughter, Jiang Li, who drowned and was granted new life!"
Screen play: "Xue Fang Fei escaped from being buried alive by husband and took over the identity of Jiang Li"

Ok now that the book expectation is out of the way, I believe the screenplay modification is more entertaining than reading the book. I will continue to watch because:
1) the solid acting from all the casts:

Wang Xing Yue has great screen presence. He is perfect for this role ranging from his deep voice to his looks/costumes. I just wish that there isn't too many jokes around him because I think it would diminish his characterization.

Wu Jin Yan also acted well ... revenge is her territory since the drama that made her famous- Yanxi Palace- I am waiting to see how she will make this drama her own.
Let's address the elephant in the room: agism for females as well as males. Wu Jin Yan is 33: to act like an 18-9 years old is hard, especially when all the actresses around her look like teenagers or 20s. No amount of filters can make her look like 18 years old because aging is about facial structure, not lines. In the 20s, the face is fuller, especially in the cheeks. And to make it worse, both MLs are only 22. She has a tough job ahead of her.
If you place 2 people who are similar age, then it's easier for the actor/actress. But the cast includes really young actors: her maid is only 15! The MLs are both 22. Appearance of age is all relative. That being said, if the story is engaging and the Male Lead is a good actor, chemistry will do the work.

***
For people who are concerned about an older actress - by episode 20s, I don't notice it as much any more. I think there's enough chemistry between the leads and good story that overcame the age factor.
***

Joe Chen - the stepmother added subtle acting to this drama - she is the stepmother coming alive.

2) the beautiful cinematography - the color palette, makeup, costumes
3) the entertaining value - fast-paced action, music, comedic value

Do I recommend this drama? Yes, especially if you are fan of Wang Xing Yue and Wu Jin Yan. The story is also solid. Although I have read the book, I feel that there may be surprises as they have changed it.

---------------My Rating Changed
Ep 11 is where I decided to give this drama a full mark instead of a 9. I think the creativity of last competition is very well done. The special effect is spectacular! And I also feel that the age difference between the leads/the plot holes are minor compared to all the positive things going for this drama. I also feel that Wang Xing Yue, even though looking younger, does have chemistry with WJY.
Surprisingly, the actor for Ye Shijie is also decent. He looks mature for his age too.

------------------Douban rating explained
The Double got its initial Douban rating of 6.9 ... I don't take this rating seriously because it's skewed towards dramas that I don't like :-) Just for comparisons, Love Like the Galaxy, which is my all time favorite, debuted at 7.4 and ended at 7.6! I think it should have been in 9s!!! But then my taste is more geared towards romantic dramas and better aligned with mydramlist rating.
Anyways, ratings between 6s to 8s are really good dramas for me ... anything from 8s to 9s are usually too serious/realistic (i.e. sad realistic endings) for me enjoy. For example, Blossoms Shanghai rated 8.4 ... Honestly, I don't enjoy this type of drama.

------ Exceptional Scene
Ep 16
The actor who really fits the role in this drama in looks and as well as acting is Wang Xing Yue. Wow the fighting scene at 14:32 ... His eyes really give the deadly chill. The director filmed the fighting scenes perfectly. Very exciting fights.

------- Love story/Relationships - believable?
To be honest, the book is more believable than the drama because in the book, she becomes another person, Jiang Li. It took her a long time to accept new love. In a way, I feel that living in another person's body is easier than the living in a body that has been abused. When I read the book, I felt that the purity of JL's body and innocent face/eyes also help transform her and help her find love again.

Some people said that her relationship with the Duke is so slow ... Come on, she was in love with her ex-husband before he betrayed her. Feelings/trust cannot be switched to another person that quickly. It wouldn't be believable. I find the change in her demeanor (ie. flirting) in the drama (while creating chemistry and entertaining) is not realistic for that time period during which a woman behaves more modestly.

But again, sometimes you just have to let go just enjoy the ride without thinking too much about what makes sense.

-----------------Modifications of the book
In the drama, JLi doesn't know that the princess is behind her death. While this doesn't make sense as her ex-husband goes to the Princess' home often and there's probably rumors about this. However, this makes sense for the plot line because it gives JLi a mystery to solve.

Ep 8-11: In the book, JLi is a only person doing all the examination topics: "Jiang Li calculated, calligraphy should be writing documents. It’s something that she was good at since young. Music should be playing the guqin. In her previous life, her seven notes qin was about the same as Xiao Deyin, so it’s not too difficult. Etiquette would be even simpler with her outstanding memory. Besides, she had gone through it before. Mathematics should be business calculations. There was no female in the house since she was young so she was the housekeeper and managed the household. Riding would be horse riding, she had also practiced this with Xue Zhao before and was applauded. Shooting would be archery, she had gone hunting, shot a sparrow and ate game."
However, in the drama, there is a teamwork in the examination. This makes the story more interesting.

Ep 11
In the book, Duke Su makes the winner decision instead of the ex-husband. I just feel that changing the plot to make the husband into a semi-good character is a little bit hard to accept.

------------------ Where's the First Miss? --------------------
There 3 daughters in the Ji's family. The first miss died when she was young, killed by Ji Shuran, whose goal was to get her offsprings to be the only direct descendants. So one by one, she removed them.

------------------- Explanations / book exerpts
Jiang Li's family background from the book
https://bloomingtranslation.home.blog/2019/09/01/mdd-chapter-2-1-jiang-li/

Ji Shuran - 2nd wife- the current "official" wife.
Jiang You Yao - 3rd daughter - Ji Shuran’s biological daughter- became official daughter when the 2nd daughter ( Jiang Li) was sent away
Jiang Li - Jiang family’s second young miss- sent off to the temple to study due to a mistake she made five years ago (accused of causing stepmom's miscarriage),

https://bloomingtranslation.home.blog/2020/11/01/mdd-chapter-39-part-2/
Jiang Yuan Bai - Jiang Li's father- married her mom without love. When she died, he fell in love with Ji Shuran and married her.

------------- Excerpts from the book - description of Jiang li
"Everyone said that the second miss of the Jiang family was lively and adorable, with an honest character as pure as a white lotus."
"Jiang Yuanbai looked at Jiang Li’s profile, an elegant beauty, graceful like jade, yet ferocious, bold and heroic."
" This girl’s eyes were pure and clean like pools of spring water, sweet and simple."

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Cinematography is giving.

I guess I’m just so used to a certain standard of quality when it comes to Thai BLs that when we actually get high production values—and none of those cringy sound effects—I’m always blown away.

This was honestly a really strong start. It’s clear this series is going to be gritty, raw, and emotional, and honestly? I want that. It’s rare that we get stories like this, so I’m absolutely here for it.

Also, this might be one of my favorite dual-language mashups we’ve seen so far—though, honestly, that dad probably should’ve just spoken Korean. But I’ll forgive it.

I also have to give a shoutout to Top. I know he’s only in a supporting role here, but dang, he’s such a good actor. He blew me away in Every You Every Me, and this just proves even more how talented he is.

And let’s be real—I'm here for the eye candy too. This whole cast is seriously easy on the eyes.

After an intense first episode, I'm officially locked in and seated. Let’s watch this raw, emotional, gritty drama... and probably end up booking a few extra therapy sessions afterward.

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Comforting and fun, but has pacing issues

So I still enjoyed this quite a bit but definitely not as much as everyone else.

To start with the good things, it's definitely a really heart-warming and inspiring show about following your dreams, connecting with loved ones, and finding what sparks your happiness in life. Every single character ends up in a better place than where they started and for that reason alone I think this drama is worth the watch.

To nobody's surprise, my favorite plot in this story was the story of Cheong-ah and Yi-chan. It's so much more than a romance; it was also about the importance of communication and how people with hearing disabilities can stay connected to the rest of the world, and about how Yi-chan would learn to face the world again after losing his hearing, this time with more people who cared about him in his life. Or rather, it should've been more about the latter.

It seems like most criticism of the plot surrounds the last episode being rushed (which I do agree with) — we get the big accident, some hugging and deep talks, and then jump back to the present day, all without any interaction between Yi-chan and Cheong-ah, who should've been the most important person in his life and the one who would've most understood what he was going through.

Which brings me to the biggest issue I had with this: pacing. Eun-gyeol's main goal to prevent his father's accident and stop him from losing his hearing goes all the way up to ~episode 15, while he also tries to get his parents together and Yi-chan still chases after Se-kyung until about episode 11. I was definitely getting really tired of the same plot points by this point and could start to see the ending coming.

By these episodes I felt like it was pretty obvious that the accident was not going to be prevented because one, it would've gone against the ethos of the show — Yichan does not have to hear for his life to be good, and to let his son follow his dream of playing music — and two, there was just not enough time to explore a brand new timeline by that point.

I really think they should've had the accident happen earlier and shown just a little bit more of the aftermath and interaction between Yi-chan and Cheong-ah and everyone else; I understand the counterpoint of not needing to show it because we've already seen Yi-chan's development and can infer how the future would change, but for me it would have been preferable to see this over a faux love triangle plot that started to get really repetitive, and then wait for Eun-gyeol's perspective shift to happen as late as the 15th episode.

The side characters were fine — I liked them as a whole but only a few of them had interesting subplots. And antagonistic side characters like Cheong-ah's brother seem to come in and out of the show when it was convenient. Eun-ho was a side character I expected to be a main character and I still wish he had gotten more screentime, whether it was with Eun-gyeol or with the parents.

Overall, none of this is a deal breaker by any means, and I still really enjoyed this drama throughout and would say it's worth watching. It's light-hearted and cozy, but I would be lying if I didn't say it stopped being plot-driven and started fizzling out for me.

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Only if you're a Liu Yu Ning fan

After watching The Prisoner of Beauty I really wanted to love this but it wasn't meant to be. Don't get me wrong Liu Yu Ning was terrific as the male lead Nan Heng / Li Shi Liu unfortunately he couldn't save this drama.

I have never been so angry watching a drama before. But this one managed to piss me off to no end. How could one character (the male lead at that) be so hated. Everyone (aside from his people) were mean, downright cruel to him. And then along comes the female lead and dang if she isn't the worse of the lot (and that includes the emperor and that's saying something)

His own father hated him for something he didn't do. Honestly how could a child be responsible for a grown up's death? And it just went downhill from there.

Every episode seemed to get worse starting from the very first episode. In just a couple of episodes I was actually rooting for Nan Heng to ride off into the sunset and leave the rest to their own fate.

Then around episode 30 the writer decides to change it up and have the emperor realize he'd wronged Nan Heng. And of course the female lead finally comes in with the "White head, same heart" but personally, I felt it was too little too late.

Great happy ending.

Would I recommend it? No. But if you are a Liu Yu Ning fan and you've seen everything else of his then give it a shot, he's the only reason to watch it. However, I'd recommend a rewatch of The Prisoner of Beauty instead.

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Another Cinderella, all-out, taking her sudden chance for revenge

"Perfect Marriage Revenge" is based on a webtoon and tells the story of a second chance in life, set in the top percentile of society. Another Cinderella story. And as is the case with fairy tales, you can hear them over and over again...

This version is particularly enjoyable, being peppered with gratifying moments of retribution. Cinderella wants to get one over on the mean stepmother and her nasty daughter! She doesn't want to be nice and well behaved anymore. Splendid! Of course the others obviously attempt to push back on her new self. This ultimately leads to a lively exchange of blows between two of the country's rich business families.

"Perfect Marriage Revenge" delivers intrigue and makjang, cleverly mixed with emotional complications and well-placed retaliation, which is, however, repeatedly and tirelessly parried. It´s like ping-pong - reckoning here, malice there, self-respect here, nefariousness there. What a delight, if you´re in the mood for just that.

A campaign of revenge with an open visor. With an explicit protagonist who allows herself to act impulsively, intuitively and cleverly at the same time. In her authenticity, she is able to win the hearts of allies as she is fighting her battle not out of greed, but out of self-love for her self-respect.

As I said, with plenty of gratifying moments...
And as a fairy tale it surely delivers...
No more, no less.

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I am actually glad this drama is over, I would really not survive if it got more extension.

This drama started magically, I mean it, when I watching the first 2 episodes I was weeping from the cuteness ad genius acting of the child actors. It will be very rude of me not to mention that I fell for Yeo JinGoo... totally and forever. That boy is not acting, he is actually living every damn second of his role. There are so many moments I would like to highlight in his acting, but this particular part I must write here: the part when we are shown the children holding each other's bloody hands and their faces were shown so scared and alarmed, and then suddenly the separation of hands... and JongWoo's face at the scene in front of his eyes... I was honestly hyperventilating from tears, as I couldn't take the beauty and genius acting, but at the same time the heaviness of the scene... one of the most memorable scenes in my dramalife.

As I discovered throughout this drama, I am not a fan of melodramas and get bored or long revenge stories, I, of course, kept coming back, as the acting, the set-up, the aura of the drama were dragging me in (tell me, if you were me, would you be so cold hearted and leave Yoochun and Yoo SeungHo hanging? you wouldn't, especially when they were doing a great job).

I must say Yoochun's JongWoo is a really great character, whom I came to love with all my heart. And the interesting fact I noted, that Yoochun had paid a lot of attention how Yoo JinGoo had played JongWoo, and was actually not creating an adult version, but continuing from where JinGoo had left JongWoo. And I really admire that fact, that made me love Yoochun more as a n actor. I must say this is his best role yet.
Can't say anything more than neutral about adult SooYeon, though I love-love-love Yoon EunHee, her SooYeon was boring to me, I saw strength in her only in the last episode for a couple of minutes, the other times, she was either supported either by Harry, or JongWoo... nothing like her child version who went after the boy she loved and got kidnapped with him.
I cannot also leave SeungHo's Harry. Though, of course, not my favourite character in the drama (duh), he did a splendid job! There was not a second I didn't believe his Harry, not a single tear, which went unnoticed, bravo~

The music was ok, nothing to scream about, I have downloaded only one song from the OST, which is rare for me, well, MBC can't create awesome OSTs every time...

About rewatch value... I'll come back, I think, BUT only for the first 3 episodes and the last part of the last episode... I am done with it.

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Lazy writer

I watched episode 15 last night and thought, "Wow, I haven't seen a Korean drama adopt an Indian soap opera style before." I had been watching patiently week by week, hoping the writing would improve, but it didn't. It mixed up everything: divorce, a mean mother-in-law, cancer, memory loss, etc.—you name it. I thought the writer was being creative in offering something new because people said the writer was a big deal. However, it turns out the writing is just like a story created by a middle-schooler on Wattapp.

I know for sure this drama will be successful in terms of viewership since the writer went back to basics by having good-looking casts and glamorous styles. This recipe guarantees ratings. But, it makes the work look cheap. No wonder the Baeksang tossed this drama out of the window by only giving it one nomination (even though the committee might regret this later and wish they had given zero nominations to this series).

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So scripted that I felt insulted

Let me say this: I love dating shows. And, as a viewer, I am perfectly aware that:
- contestants are carefully picked, because they have to be pretty and fit certain standards, and many are part of the entertainment industry or want to start a career in this field.
- 90% of contestants choose to participate to get exposure, promote themselves or their company/restaurant/whatever.
- the staff often encourage contestants to behave a certain way to create more drama, or put contestants in stressfull situations just to film something interesting.
- even if couples are formed, they rarely survive in RL and fizzle out right after the show (bonus: sometimes people choose each other just to save face and to declare that they've been successfull in x show).

But that being said, Eden succeded in making me feel insulted, because I can't help but think that they treated all us viewers as idiots.
This season has only 8 episodes and at first everything seemed fine: the cast seemed interesting, people were nice, there were intriguing possibilities and one could feel excited when thinking about what could happen. This quickly went south episode after episode, because between cringy product placements and scenes that were full blown ads, the contestants started to make... not much sense.
Also, shoutout to the panelists that publicly defended a man that doesn't understand the concept of consent and that thinks that chasing a girl is warranted even when she tells you face to face that she doesn't like you. Same for another girl that didn't to much better, chasing a guy like a little stalker <3

Episodes 6-7 in particular were a mess, and I won't spoil you with the details and names of who did what, but let me just say that it was peak madness: some of the contestants changed their mind overnight or even in FEW MINUTES, there was drama because of a KISS ON THE CHEEK (when we're talking about a reality that's supposed to be a bit spicy, get out of here lol), dramatic tantrums about one-sided crushes that honestly deserved to wither and die weeks before etc.

And then, after I thought things could't get worse, apparently at least two people wrote on social media that the producers were forcing storylines dictating what they needed to do and that they were very frustrated but couldn't to anything about it. Barf.

What irks me the most though, it's that even without those social media posts, it's so crystal clear that this "reality" isn't free at all, that we might as well call it a bad soap opera. But the thing is, the PDs didn't realize how bad this was and mistook us - the general public - as colossal idiots.

So honestly, I usually try to encourage everyone to at least give a chance to 80% of any show, but this? Don't waste you time, because this is awful. This is taking the piss. If you want to watch people make bad decisions, go to Mc Donald's and leave Eden Season 2 alone.

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It was anticlimactic...

***DISCLAIMER: These are just my thoughts while watching the show. We don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone.***

Tropes: sports romance, boxing, age gap, coming of age, grumpy/sunshine.

Idk... this was one of those dramas I started out of boredom. To be fair I felt like the entire drama was slow and the romance was subpar / lackluster. It only started getting interesting with the betting ring and when the men kept on kidnapping him and threatening him but they did not do enough to really develop that plot and make it compelling. Then with ML best friend dying... that just felt like a lazy way for the writer to give him some trauma so he'd turn over a new leaf and try to exit the rigged games he was participating in. I just felt depleted after all that and then to see FL lose the match at the end and not be able to end her career and retire on a high note sucked. The ending was not good, to put it nicely. I felt like that kiss high key came out of nowhere... I feel like it ended with more questions rather than answers. Like what exactly happened to the ML, why did the gun shot go off, why was ML bleeding, why did he disappear for months?

Usually I am one of those people who enjoys a reformed bad guy because he met a girl but this just completely missed the mark with me. Not to mention the FLs first relationship / bf just pissed me right off... he basically was using her so he wouldn't be unemployed then he turned around and became an agent? Spare me... if I was in sports I would not go to that man or trust him with anything.

I really wanted to rate this higher because I enjoyed Lee Sang Yeob's acting... I really feel like he put a lot of effort into his character and during his scenes you could feel the emotion dripping from the screen. It must have something to do with his really expressive eyes. Not to mention, he's good looking and has this floppy puppy dog thing about his mannerisms. His smirk / smile got me every-time and I really empathized with his character and wanted to see him win and get out of the mess he was in. But again, one man is not able to carry an entire show. I thought that the villain, Mr Kim Oh Bok (Park Ji Hwan) also did a good job of selling the role of the menacing ring leader of sorts and the FLs dad (Kim Hyung Mook) was also a scene stealer. I feel like this was Kim So Hye's debut in acting.. with that did she did ok for a first project but there are aspects of her acting that she can improve. Having said that, I'm sure she'll improve as she takes on more roles or receives more training.

Overall, I would not rewatch this drama and I'd say it is forgettable and I probably won't remember it much in the next couple of months. Nevertheless it was a good distraction and kind of kept me entertained when I had nothing else to watch.

I'd really rate this a 5.5/10 but I rounded it up to 6/10 because I did enjoy the acting and storyline to an extent... it's just that it could have been better executed and developed.

Would I recommend it to others? No, probably not. Unless you are a Sang Yeob fan and want to watch for his scenes, there's really no point. I'm not going to say anything else but if you don't trust my opinion then you should watch it and come to your own conclusions / judgments.

Anyway, thanks for reading and happy watching!

❤️

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This movie was just so amazing and was put together so well that it left me wanting another one or to at least watch it again because this movie is just so captivating. From the beginning to the end it will have your full attention. The cast was so fantastic that I even liked the bad guys because they acted so well and were so in grossed with their characters. This is the first Korean action movie that I saw and actually really liked and would recommend to anyone that likes Thrillers, Action, Love , Drama , Friendships , and Break Throughs. I really recommend this movie to anyone that has made their way to this movie. Don't think about what's going to happen in the end and if it's going to be sad or not because when you sees the movie it wont matter how the ending is because it just makes sense and fits perfectly. Trust me you will most defiantly not be disappointed.

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The main actor and actress depict the character very well. It's so touching to see the interaction between Dew and Phop. I can feel the purity of their love. This movie delivers the message about the power of love in a beautiful way. The background place is really beautiful as well. At first, I though this gonna be a little bit boring, but I enjoyed every scene of the stories. I cried a lot since the beginning. At beginning of the movie I think I cried because I just can't handle to see how cute is Dew (Ohm I love you haha), then as the stories went further I purely cried because of what's happening in the movie.

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Home is where our heart is...

The Blue Whisper was the very first drama that I waited for.

I'm so excited when I heard Allen Ren Jialun and Dilreba Dilmurat were confirmed as Chang Yi and Ji Yunhe. Not only did I'm falling in love with the novel, but I also waiting for Allen and Dilireba to act in a wonderful drama.

The story, personally I love angst stories, so this is one of my favorite plots. And yes, the story is sad enough to make me cry a river. Although there are some little differences from the novel, but I really satisfied with the drama's plot. The differences made the drama perfect in their way.
I was afraid when the total episode didn't fit the story from the novel that was already beautiful. But now I really grateful to the crew to develop such a great story and didn't miss any important points.

Cast, Allen is one of my top favorite actors, his acting never disappoints me. How he portrays Chang Yi was perfect. The cute and innocent Big-tailed Fish, and the charismatic and admirable Beiyuan Master. Honestly, I was so excited when I know Allen joined this drama with Dilireba. I really looking forward to them.
I watched YAMG for killing time waiting for this drama, and I know Dilireba is the perfect Ji Yunhe for me.
And for Sa Ding Ding, she is stunning even in small character.

Music, with Sa Ding Ding, Zhou Shen, Mao Bu Yi, And Jin Zhi Wen, I know this drama will tear my heart for sure when I hear the drama OST. They are really amazing.

Rewatch value, I definitely recommend this drama to you, and I loved to rewatch it again, It's not easy to find Chinese drama that suits my taste very well like this.

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