Reviews

Saint John when he should be John Wick

I was super hyped going into this drama. Unbridled justice with a side of controversy? Dope. Asian John Cena dishing out almost superhero levels of pain? Hell yeah. Put it in a school setting like Weak Hero Class or Study Group? You sonovabitch, I'm in!

And don't get me wrong, it was a hell of a ride. It definitely delivers in all those areas and then some. I think the issue is the contradictory messaging between the bulk of the kickassness and the end. Like... you spent 99% of the whole drama bypassing the constraints of the law while justice was out of reach. Filling whole emergency rooms with sieges of cathartic wrath. Then suddenly, at the end, you become Saint John? Where was your benevolence when you were hospitalizing the others? When you were turning the avenging up to 11 only to turn the dial all the way off at the climax. I get what they were going for, but the antagonist did way too much, only to get not even a fraction of the "justice" the other offenders received.

Imagine if John Wick, after all the wreckage and carnage, just lets off the guy who killed his dog. Or a soccer player about to score the winning goal, but he just picks up his ball and goes home. What an unsatisfying let-down.

But with all that said, I hope there is a season 2. Not just for all the badassery but also for a chance of a more fulfilling ending.

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Historically Important, Personally Just Okay

Taken on its own, without factoring in the cultural impact or the censorship controversy that followed, Addicted is a good-but-not-extraordinary drama for me.

The strongest part is the relationship between Gu Hai and Bai Luoyin. Their progression feels natural: they begin as antagonists constantly pranking and irritating each other, gradually become friends, then develop feelings, and eventually become lovers. The chemistry is less about flashy romantic moments and more about how believable they feel together. They often come across like two real people who have developed a genuine connection rather than two actors performing romance.

The story itself is very low-stakes for much of its runtime. Large portions are built around classroom antics, family issues, jealousy, and the slow evolution of their relationship. It is pleasant and easy to watch, and the relationship develops convincingly, but the plot rarely feels especially gripping.

Episode 15 is the major exception. Once Bai Luoyin fully accepts his feelings and actively chooses Gu Hai, the energy changes completely. His decision to initiate intimacy rather than continue resisting Gu Hai gives the relationship a level of confidence and heat that had been missing earlier. That episode finally made me understand why the drama caused such a reaction in 2016.

Watching it now, after seeing much more explicit and emotionally intense BL dramas, Addicted feels remarkably tame for most of its runtime. But understanding the historical context changes how I view it. This was a mainland Chinese drama openly presenting two masculine young men as romantically and sexually interested in each other without disguising the relationship as friendship or brotherhood. In that context, I understand why it became so important to BL audiences and why it still carries such a strong legacy.

As a drama alone, I would probably rate it around 8–8.5. It is well acted, the leads feel natural together, and the relationship develops convincingly, even if the story itself never completely pulled me in.

As a piece of BL history, however, I absolutely understand why Addicted became iconic.

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I Came for the Mafia, Stayed for Thee ?❤️

This drama surprised me honestly 😭

When I started **Peach and Me**, I thought it was going to be a heavy mafia drama. Since Thee comes from a mafia family, I was expecting more action, enemies, family problems, and mafia business. But instead, the drama focused more on the relationships, and I'm actually glad it did.

Thee is a really interesting character for real. At first, he looks like the typical powerful mafia guy, but the more you watch him, the more you realize he's actually funny, clingy, dramatic, and completely weak when it comes to Peach 😂. That's what makes him stand out from a lot of other BL characters.

I also liked Peach more in this season. He isn't just "Thee's husband." We get to see how he handles Thee's personality and how confident he is in their relationship. Their dynamic feels natural and entertaining to watch.

Another thing I really liked was that they didn't focus only on Thee and Peach. They also gave **Mok and Rome** more screen time. That was honestly one of the most interesting parts for me because we got to see a different side of them and understand their relationship better. Before this, they felt more like supporting characters, but here they had their own moments that made me care about them more.

I think that's why this drama worked for me. I went in expecting a mafia story, but what I got was a character-focused story. Instead of showing us mafia fights, it showed us what these couples are like after getting their happy ending.

Looking back, I think Thee's biggest weakness was never the mafia world. It was always Peach 😭❤️ And somehow that ended up being more interesting than any mafia storyline they could have given us.

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Ambiguous Ending

I think it took quite a long time for the illness to be revealed, afterwards, everything seemed really rushed. However, I enjoyed the series and the casting.

Shows that have someone being cruelly dog piled on are hard for me to stomach. That's basically the whole subplot of this series, which makes the rewatchability nil for me. (you have to chose between 1-10 to leave reviews) But I'm glad I watched it.

There were several WTF moments that had me yelling in my room, the metal thumb file scene, the ice scene, the "I'm thirsty" scene, the disinfecting the wound scene, and a few more.... had me horrified and cackling. Idk why they chose to do those things but it was provocative 🤣

The plot is a little choppy and nonsensical in places, but ignoring that worked well for me. 😅

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Half-baked

When I consider everything as a whole - everything in this drama seems half-baked. Whether it is the costumes and set designs, or the blocking of scenes and cinematography, everything seems unpolished and unfinished. More importantly, the script has not allowed for adequate development of characters, plot or themes. What should be emphasized is rushed (especially at the end). What drags on and on long overstays its welcome (ahem Gu Qin storyline).

Even with these technical deficits, a skilled director and actors could probably have made due and produced some chemistry on screen to enjoy. Alas, Chen Zheyuan looks uncharacteristically dull here, and Wu Jingyan brings nothing new. There are some exciting moments especially in the middle third of the drama, but the conclusion leaves a hollow feeling by far.

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A Tián Tiān Tián 甜田天 drama.

I liked the Hú Yītiān Tián Xīwēi 胡一天 田曦薇 pair as "Jiāng Yúbái" 江逾白 "Lín Zhīxià"林知夏 playfully stuttering their names and the other two couples :
"Tāng Tíngtíng 汤婷婷" (Lì Jiāqí 厉嘉琪) + "Duàn Qǐyán" (Xià Hàorán) and "Jīn Bǎihuì金百慧" (Vivienne Tien/Ān Tián 安沺 ) + "Lín Zéqiū" (Wū Jiākǎi 邬家楷 ) of "ordinary people".

Some quibbles : the lead pair was at times not totally engaging : Lín Zhīxià too clueless about emotions, and Jiāng Yúbái having too much to repress his feelings (but Hú Yītiān has experience with playing that sort of oddballs, and there were some really cute moments such as the sly hand grasping on the amusement park drop). Also, since this was fairy tale, I would have preferred Shěn Fùxuān 沈负暄 (Lài Wěimíng 赖伟明 ) not to lose his patient and the noodle shop lady "Gāo Yǐyuàn" 高以媛 (Chén Shūjūn 陈姝君) not to suddenly vanish without proper closure. The unreasonable parents of Jīn Bǎihui felt a bit too much like vertical drama trope torturous ones. Some repeated flashbacks could be skipped.

The music was not bad but the way it was used in the drama was often distracting.
Some nice views of Qingdao were included : waterfront, red tiled houses, the now famous skeleton church (which also features prominently in another drama "As Beautiful As You")

All considered, it was a relaxing and sweet (Tián 甜 !) watch - despite nothing much was unexpected and the small imperfections.
Generally satisfying and watchable by all ages 13 up.

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All the right ingredients, somehow the wrong recipe

The premise immediately gives you the feeling that there is something bigger going on beneath the surface, and I really liked the atmosphere the drama creates in its early episodes. There is a certain mysterious quality to the story that makes you want to keep watching because you feel like you're slowly getting closer to an answer.
And for a while, it works.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the drama started losing me a little.
Not all at once. That's probably what makes it more frustrating.
It wasn't one particular episode where everything suddenly fell apart. Instead, the story gradually became less focused. Things that initially felt intriguing started feeling less meaningful, while new developments were introduced before some of the previous ones had been properly explored.

The biggest problem for me is that the premise had more potential than the actual execution managed to deliver.
I really liked the idea behind the story. I liked the darker atmosphere and the feeling that there were secrets waiting to be uncovered. The drama knows how to create curiosity, particularly in the beginning, and there are moments where the mystery genuinely works. There were several moments where I found myself thinking that the writers were setting up something much bigger than what we eventually got.
And that became increasingly frustrating.
The pacing also didn't help.
Some parts move surprisingly quickly, while others feel like they are taking their time without giving us enough new information to justify it. The result is a drama that can feel both busy and slow at the same time, which is a difficult combination to pull off. There is always something happening, but that doesn't necessarily mean the story is moving forward in a meaningful way.

That said, I don't want to make it sound like I hated the drama, because I didn't.
The atmosphere is probably one of the things that kept me watching. Night Tales has a certain mood that fits its mysterious storyline nicely, and there are scenes where the visual presentation really helps create the feeling that something isn't quite right.
The characters had potential. I wanted to understand them better. I wanted some of their relationships and motivations to have more room to develop. At times, it felt as though the plot was so focused on getting to the next revelation that the characters had to take a back seat.
If the beginning hadn't been so promising, I probably wouldn't have minded the inconsistencies as much. I don't think it was a bad idea. I think it was a good idea that slowly got a little lost.

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Ambitious but poorly written

Since the ancient times, people have been engaging in hypothetical ethical dilemmas, challenging their sense of justice and morality. One of the most popular philosophical thoughts experiments is the trolley problem, in which a trolley is about to kill a number of people and the driver has the option to divert it onto a sidetrack with less people. Just how can we measure death and life? How can we dictate who gets to live and who is left to die?

Bloody Flower started off as a psychological thriller which centered around the aforementioned dilemma: would you rather kill other people if that meant you would save other lives? Woo Gyeom, an aspiring medical school dropout, gets arrested for the murders of 17 people. According to Woo Gyeom, he was working on a treatment that could cure any type of diseases, not only simple ones but incurable ones too. The prosecutor who is responsible for this case, Cha Yi Yeon, is doing everything in her power to sentence him to the death penalty. And then, a third person gets involved; a lawyer, Park Han Jun, whose daughter suffers from brain tumor and struggles to get treatment.

The drama had a strong start. It established its themes regarding death and life from early on, making the viewers question every decision of the characters. On the one hand, Woo Gyeom wanted to prove that his cure was real while Prosecutor Cha, on the other hand, was adamant about sentencing him to death. As for Han Jun, he became entangled to this case by choosing to defend Woo Gyeom in a desperate attempt to save his ill daughter, if Woo Gyeom's cure would be proven real. These three characters had their own motives and beliefs and it was up to the audience to criticize their actions.

The first half focused more on the moral aspect of the story and the complexity of the situation. While Woo Gyeom had targeted criminals only, the fact he had murdered people couldn't change, therefore he should receive capital punishment. But how can could they sentence him to death while he was claiming to have found a cure for all diseases?

In the second half however, the drama started to lose me. It was as if I was watching a different story and the characterization felt inconsistent. The story delved deeper into Woo Gyeom's past and his connection to Chaeum Medical Group but 8 episodes were far too few in order for the story to breath. In addition, there were some scenes that felt kinda out of place, particularly the ones between reporter Cho and Min Gyeong. I love myself an entertaining duo, especially if they work together efficiently but at times, I felt like their humorous interactions disrupted the flow and tone instead of providing some breath of fresh air.

The villain was very underwhelming, Kwon Soo Hyun did good as Chairman Chae but acting alone is not enough to carry lackluster writing - and the same applies to the other characters too. He was painfully underutilized, I understand that through the few flashbacks we got, there were some hidden layers of a complex, abused character, but alas, these layers remained vague, leaving everything to the imagination of the audience.

Ryeoun did a respectable job portraying Woo Gyeom but at times, I felt like the script didn't allow the character to unfold more. Ryeoun's expressions and gestures conveyed Woo Gyeom's attitude convincingly but personally, I would have liked it if the story had delved into the emotional aspect more. At one point, the way Woo Gyeom was portrayed felt too restrained in order to flesh his character out more, which is a pity because Ryeoun is a great actor and he could have easily pulled off something more demanding.

Sung Dong Il delivered a performance that was expected from a veteran actor like him. His acting was subtle yet it carried many emotions while Han Jin's character was dealing with his inner conflict. I found Dong Il to actually be well-written, his developing relationship with Woo Gyeom felt organic and I really wish we could have gotten more scenes between them.

The biggest fumble however was Prosecutor Cha. At first, I tried to understand her point of view. Although her determination to sentence Woo Gyeom to death and her arrogance irritated me at times, I found her rather intriguing and alluring and I expected her to develop more as a character. At the end of the day, she represented the law, therefore the fact someone had committed 17 murders, should have been punished accordingly. She was a necessary force to enhance the moral conflict the drama wanted to address. But the problem wasn't that. The problem was the way the writers treated this character.

The way her character was handled was beyond lackluster. In the second half, her actions and attitude were very inconsistent compared to the first half, which couldn't be explained by her development as a character, simply because the story didn't explore her change of heart in depth. What the writers wanted to do couldn't been handled in eight episodes only. The rest of the main leads got enough scenes to flesh out their motives and development but Yi Yeon was sidelined in my opinion. In an attempt to create a strong yet flawed woman, the writers didn't let her develop properly, which is a pity.


Keum Sae Rok's performance, while good and commanding, took me out at times. I found some of her gestures over dramatic for a cold and calculating character like Prosecutor Cha. It was as if I was watching an entitled teenager, instead of an overconfident prosecutor. While I understand that Yi Year's arrogance is supposed to be an act of immaturity, it came across as too childish at times. I would have preferred something less flashy and more subtle but that's a complaint aimed at the director, not the actress herself.

The ending was both climactic and underwhelming. Some events were emotionally heavy but due to the overall writing, the dramatic moments didn't hit as hard as they should. Many unfinished business was left and instead of wrapping up the story for good, the writers gave an unnecessary nod of the possibility of a second season, which will most likely never come to fruition.

In conclusion, I didn't enjoy Bloody Flower as much as I wanted to. I don't know if the novel which inspired the drama was better but the series felt poorly written for such an ambitious plot. Had it had more episodes, it could have been better developed. I don't think I'd recommend this drama to avid fans of the genre but if you want something quick and challenging, it might be your cup of tea.

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Idk how to feel about this really

I started the movie with little to no expectations so I wasn't really disappointed with anything.

I didn't like any of the characters besides the captain (I always end up liking his characters so it wasn't really surprising). The fl was driving me crazy for like 70% of the movie BUT the ml was way worse I actually hated him I just couldn't bring myself to like him idk why. Like he wasn't a bad person I just couldn't like him.

It's been a while since I watched anything from han hyo joo, but it's safe to say that this one was one her most natural performances. She just fitted the character I didn't really feel like she was acting.

The movie started to get better at the second half but still disappointed me with their relationship. He was still thinking about his dead wife and we didn't really get to see him move on and accept his feelings (both his dead wife and Mi-soo). I just felt like their relationship appeared out of nowhere although we were waiting for it the whole movie.

I liked the part about her whole job situation and quitting it. I still feel like they are so different that they will end up breaking up. The ending was cute tho so I'm not really mad.

Oh and I HATED the jokes in the movie they were so not funny. I hated that every single joke was about men being perverts. Literally ruined like half of the experience of watching it for me.

The movie was a blessing to my eyes tho, everything was absolutely beautiful.

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