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Ongoing 12/30
Where the Mask Ends
5 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
12 of 30 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Female centered drama

Loving it so far. I think it's the best work the FL has every done.

The cinematography is beautiful. the dresses they chose for each character speaks on its own. I love the OST too.

It got a little too abrupt around episodes 7-8 but then the story started to continue fast.

Among the historical chinese ones in 2026, this one is truly the best. It deserves the high rating too. Still more episodes left and can't wait to watch them.

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Ongoing 6/10
Oops! Mysterious Sounds
2 people found this review helpful
by KingC
19 days ago
6 of 10 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 6.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 4.5
Rewatch Value 6.0

Interesting Drama that Requires a Major Overhaul.


This is the debut drama by the DOT Production House, so I’m willing to turn a blind eye to many of its issues and will complete watching it. However, I will address them here. Because by now, I’ve completed over half of the story while I’m writing this.

The Warm Fuzzies:

☆ It has a very interesting premise - the main framework of this drama is the murder of a university student cum actor, Andaman at the peak of his career. The fact that his family is against his career choice while the public opinion is divided due to the society's bias against queer people all add into his public and personal life.

Behind the scenes, Anda has three close friends, one of whom is Jinna, one of the leading characters of the show. The story follows two very different aspects. Jinna has a crush on Podduang, a long time fan of Anda and it leads to several situations that continue for about two years.

We see Jinna seeing Anda beyond the eyes of a fan. To me, it never seemed that Pod ever wanted to meet Anda in person and become his friend. Even Bumm, Pod’s friend, is the very same. While Jinna pursues Pod, Anda struggles with his career and personal life. Until it all ends with his mysterious death.

☆ The chemistry between the leads is on point. Nobody seemed awkward or stumbling with what they were given, considering that it is the leading role of many.

☆ The reality of actors under the BL label. This was very beautifully put in Mr. Fanboy, which deals with a bunch of Y series actors and the unpleasant behind the scenes of showbiz. Fans have become delusional to the point that they fail to understand that these are actors who are promoting their series together and not their “relationship” together. Everyone are live humans who has a life of their own. Anda’s fall from grace and the havoc that ensues following a relationship reveal all shed light into how unhealthy the industry is. And of course, it is going to fall on deaf ears.


The Cold Pricklies:

☆ The very discordant mix of genres:

Considering that it has a budding romance and a mystery going hand in hand, the story has to be conveyed in a manner such that the viewer is aware of what genre they had signed up for or the expectations they must keep in mind. Here, the genres seemed plain immiscible.
I’ve seen dramas that require an amalgamation of strange genres that still pulled off without much gaps, but this difference is stark and blatantly obvious in this one.

The drama begins with the reveal of Anda’s demise and we are then quickly thrown back to three months ago, where we see Jinna and Pod’s love story start to bloom (albeit being a fake one.) And within the three months, we have another flashback to their freshman year, where we explore Pod’s friendship with Bumm (a fellow Anda fan) and Dunk.
Then we have a handful of very serious situations with Anda involving his real-life partner, his onscreen partner, as well as his difficult relationship with his family.

To be frank, the mix of genres or rather the transition from one situation to another was terrible. One second we are at Anda’s funeral and the next second, everyone is laughing around the dinner table with their friends.
The mystery is what is supposed to bring Jinna and Podduang closer, yet it seems that the mystery is simply the background noise at some point. I haven’t read the original story which this is based upon, but its execution onscreen is illegible.
There are scenes that seemed to be cut and pasted with no sense of continuity for the sake of suspense, particularly a funeral scene. (Or I was too stupid to differentiate whether these two scenes were from two different ceremonies altogether.)

☆ The Performance of the actors… and the Script:
Considering that it is the debut work of most of them, I am willing to let it slide. Somebody wrote that they killed off the best actor in the series (Anda) and I am starting to agree with them. Anda, played by Paul, is a very emotional character. He managed to convey them across the screen with almost little fault. By the time he is dead, we as viewers know what he had been going through.

Nammna and PK are not poor actors by any means, but the script never had any moments that showcased their talent. It was very akin to a puzzle that was put together rather than a freely flowing story.

The friendships and Pod and Jinna’s relationship are the only stable things in the script. Considering that there is a major murder-mystery looming around. Some of the very evident clues are swept aside to focus on the light hearted romance and by the end, I did not even know why I was pushing through.
I was supposed to care about Anda’s mystery, right?

Not to mention, there is an abysmal funeral scene in EP3 that is beyond rescue. Jinna and his two buddies are supposed to be Anda’s friends. Yet, they joke around as if they too, were throwaway fans. Jinna did not have enough space for his character to express his repressed despair at having lost a friend as it is mentioned a multitude of times that he was Anda’s closest.

The only two people who cared about Anda’s death were his mother and his boyfriend.

Podduang and Bumm only cared about Anda when the plot deemed it necessary for them to do so. Jinna’s character has the most potential to be explored thoroughly as he has a ‘special’ power, but poof!


☆ The Music:

The opening song is a really good one. But, I seriously wished that the music director or whoever was behind the audio choice of the drama had at least attempted to watch other dramas such as this to get an idea about how to construct a scene without it being annoying to the viewer.
I dislike the song “Sudden Love” because they overused it on every single scene between the leads. Unnecessarily so.
The BGMs seem to be produced from scratch, but they were not as annoying as the song though.

☆ From my desk:

I won’t say that this is the kind of drama that you should not miss. It’s not exemplary, neither is it too good. It’s passable enough for a quick watch, if you can manage to handle the disastrous tonal shifts. I just wish the crew involved the best for the future and that they learnt from the errors in this. As it still has three more episodes remaining, I'll see how it plays out before determining my final score.

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Completed
A Bona Fide Killer
1 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

There are many annoying moments.

If they decided to use references to Russia, they could at least have hired a native speaker; they couldn’t even write a note properly. It’s really embarrassing — it feels like they made a cheap drama.

It was also very selfish to abandon the child she adored so much for six months, and her husband, who went against his friend, the police officer, to protect her and accept her for who she was — while she spent six months in a cabin, leaving her poor husband to cope with loneliness. So the fact that they got back together isn’t a cause for celebration, because once again the husband made the first move. There were too many first steps on his part, as if he were the one hiding his second personality from her. As they say, the best defense is to pretend to be a victim. And putting up with the rudeness of a mother‑in‑law is considered normal, but abandoning your daughter and husband is just fine. Disappointment.

Oh, and then there’s the police friend with his sense of justice: like, “if the criminal kills again, I’ll put him back in prison, and so on and so forth” — but what do the victims, whom this criminal will keep killing, have to do with it? Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of such trash so that it doesn’t kill the innocent? No, we need to follow the law. Ugh.

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Completed
Did Someone Happen to Mention Me?
2 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 10

Fascinating concept

A Nuanced story, with grate actors and a fascinating look into the idea of what could be if one was forgotten by everyone. It’s truly worth the watch, since you can watch all episodes on Netflix in one sitting.

I tend to be a serious time-skipper when watching shows, I’m an intj after all, but for this show I found myself watching all of it. I tend to guess the plot and reactions quite easily, skipping to bypass fluff and get to the interesting parts, but the whole thing was interesting.

I chose to watch it while looking for something to watch between episode releases of Doctor X: Mafia in White, and I found myself delaying the newly released episode just to finish this series.

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Completed
The Missing Piece
1 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
15 of 15 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Journey from Mr.Ji to Mrs. Shen hehe

I am usually not someone who likes memory loss troupes but despite the multiple memory losses that happened in this series. I absolutely loved it.

When I 1st watched the series people were like Ji Mingxuan is a red flag blah blah and the 1st 5 mins of the series made me think the same. I was like ugh I'm gonna hate this. Another double helix. Nah bro is green af🤣🤣. Yearner pro max. Poor guy became a victim of Momo's multiple memory loses🤣🤣.

I absolutely loved the whole Ji family. The baby boy, the sister and ahem momo🤭🤭. I cried, I laughed, celebrated and waited for this every week.

If you don't like memory loss dramas. Please try this🤌🤌🤌. You'll be missing out

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Completed
Tokyo Trial
0 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

A lack of punch

There are any number of ways in which you could dramatise the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (a.k.a the Tokyo Trial). This was essentially the Nuremberg Trials of Asia and so there are many ways in which you can bring this piece of history to life.

Instead, Tokyo Trial (the TV show) opts for a fairly unimaginative chronological retelling of the trial. The minor exception is occasional diversions via the personal interactions of Justice Röling – who I suspect was chosen as the main POV because this is a Dutch co-production.

However, it's Irrfan Khan as Justice Pal who steals the show. Episode two is therefore the only really interesting episode: this is the only one in which he is afforded some lines. Overall, the show drags heaps.

I'm not going to comment on the actual historical trial itself because that's too hella fraught for me to touch given I know so little about it.

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Completed
Take Charge of My Heart
0 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

The chemistry was electric, but the finale lost its charge

It’s been more than two years since I last finished a Korean drama. This series relives my younger years of being fond of K-dramas, especially rom-coms. Both of the leads are among my favorites, considering their impressive track records and the great roles they’ve played in previous shows. I trusted Kim Young Kwang and Chae Soo Bin to deliver cute chemistry and outstanding performances, and they did!

The earlier EPs really made me sacrifice sleep just to binge-watch them. They were so entertaining and chaotically funny! The whole “recharge my heart” concept revolving around Na Bo Bae and her electric powers was executed so well. She will be Pikachu, if Pikachu were to live as a human. I was satisfied with how they incorporated her electrical abilities into the story, properly exploring both their advantages and disadvantages. There were several EPs that highlighted how her powers benefited the storyline, and I absolutely adore that.

Na Bo Bae’s relationship with her family and best friend were beautiful to watch. They showed how important it is to have a support system, even when you suddenly find yourself dealing with an unusual power. Baek Ho Rang, on the other hand, was the usual rich man with a cold personality that we often see in K-dramas. There wasn’t really anything new about his character, except for his recharging heart needs, but I think that was part of his charm, too. I was just as fascinated by and in love with his character as I was with Bo Bae.

Second-lead syndrome is practically a staple in the K-drama world, and I loved the buildup and presence of Ji Eun Ho, a big star who had been our leading lady’s number one fan since the beginning of his career. Of course, I was also looking at some good jealousy scenes, and he definitely delivered. He makes Ho Rang burn with jealousy.

Now, here comes the villain who drained almost all the love I had for this show.

First of all, I really hated how the antagonists kept winning in almost EPs of the second half of the show. Only for the much-anticipated sweet revenge and severe punishments to never actually happen, or, at best, to be given very little time in the finale. We were told that the cousin and his mother were already out of the picture, but was that really enough? Their downfall deserved proper scenes and execution, not just a quick explanation. The same goes for the female love rival and the traitorous annoying man secretary. I wanted to see all of them behind bars. I wanted actual scenes showing them facing the consequences of their actions, not just verbal confirmation that everything had been taken care of, that easily.

How am I supposed to fully enjoy the lead’s sweet moments and emotional reconnection when the villains’ misdeeds haven’t been properly addressed?

The grandmother was also part of this drama’s little hell club. She only pushed the main antagonists to become even more evil, making everything more frustrating to watch. Still, I always say that whenever I see Kim Mi Kyung in a drama, there’s a 90% chance that the drama will be amazing. She was another reason I had high expectations for this series.

I obviously wanted to give this drama a higher rating, but after all my ranting about the villains, I believe my final rating is justified. They gave me butterflies, but then again forgot to give me justice. Not really a big requirement as a rom-com, but still needed to close the story properly. Unfortunately, the ending felt flat.

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Completed
Boy, with Caution
0 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Quiet, lingering, soul-crushing anguish

Everything about this series gives off a sense of overwhelming despair: the silence, moody lighting, tense music, and of course the brilliant performance from the two actors.

It's a tangible desperation that you feel immediately from the first episode. And while many viewers, like myself, hoped we'd get the trope-y miraculous happy ending, it's also completely understandable why we didn't. Instead, the ending is just as crushing as everything that came before it, and we're left to stew in it on our own long after the screen has gone black.

Whatever conclusion you come to as a viewer—whether you were rooting for their relationship or not—it's hard not to be affected by Hyeonjae's story, and I feel very sad that we leave him mired in the same misery we found him in.

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Dropped 18/40
The Story of Pearl Girl
0 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
18 of 40 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

All good but sad end

I love the acting, the actors, the visual, and the story, until episode 18 reveal to me that the ML will die in the end of story. Then I jump to last episode, and I cry 🥲. I'm sorry author and all the actors. But bittersweet ending is just not my cup of tea 😭😭😭 I put 7 not because the overall story is not good. But I just don't like sad end 🥲😭 it's good but it made me cry 😭😭😭
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Completed
The Last Oath
2 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.5

A dollar and a dream

2026 has witnessed a deluge of BLs from all corners of Asia, but only a select few have managed to stand tall all the way to the finish line. The Last Oath belongs to that elite club.
While 2026 has also been generously supplying us with red-flag Gongs, A Lei quietly strolled in, waved his muted green flag, and announced his arrival as one of the better Gongs of the year. No toxic fireworks, no Olympic-level manipulation, just a man who makes you wonder where did this guy come from?

Powered by a classic zombie-apocalypse storyline and some solid performances, the show managed to keep me hooked for most of its run. Most being the operative word here, because even the undead couldn't stop the occasional dip in my attention span. Nevertheless, it had enough going for it to keep me coming back for more.

Mr Chen and Chen shine as the main leads, delivering performances that hold the story together even when the plot occasionally decides to take a little detour. Meanwhile, the second couple gives them a serious run for their money. I would have loved to see more of their story (because apparently, giving us crumbs when we're clearly hungry is a universal BL production strategy), but they certainly make the most of their screen time. Every time they appear, they remind us that they, too, deserve their own little corner of the spotlight.
And a special shout-out to whoever was responsible for selecting the OST. That playlist is dangerously addictive. The zombie apocalypse may be busy threatening humanity, but the soundtrack is busy threatening my replay button. Priorities, people!

Bottom line: I thank the BL Gods for blessing us with this show in 2026. In a year peppered with the usual college romances, high-school crushes, and office romances where apparently everyone falls in love between meetings, The Last Oath offered a refreshing detour.
Honestly, after watching enough people fall in love in classrooms and corporate cubicles, watching romance survive a zombie apocalypse feels like a much-needed change of scenery. At least here, when someone says they're dying for you, there's a chance they might actually mean it

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Completed
The Missing Piece
17 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
15 of 15 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.5
This review may contain spoilers

An emotional rollercoaster...

CBLs can always do something different shown also with this series. Many series give you the solution of the past story in a big bang, while this series reveals a piece after the other. The first scene is out of context and can lead to a misunderstanding of the whole dynamic between the two leads. Rao Zi Hao as Shen Mo is the star of this show who can capture the characters vulnerability, sensibility, resolve and his trauma in an outstanding fashion. His counterpart is always a restraint, cold vibe person who seldom can come out of his shell but everything he does, he does first because of guilt and then because fell for Shen Mo. But I wish he would have shown a bit more emotions.

My only negative point of the story is first the bad Zhao family which was overdone imho. The final kidnapping just because of fury and rage is a bit too much. So this is forced drama which I'm not a fan of.

Production quality was outstanding, cinematography is painting the pictures perfectly for each situation. Also the OST is outstanding. Too bad, GagaOOLala is not able to translate the chinese lyrics and there are some errors in the subs as well. Overall a very good show, with a slow pace putting fragments together piece by piece. You need to have the endurance to watch this series to get to know everything. While not perfect this gets a recommendation from me.

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Completed
Against the Current
6 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
47 of 47 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 6.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Alas, it went with the current

Against The Current? It did seem like that was the direction in which this drama was flowing. At least initially. Most Cdramas set in imperial China take the POV of someone from either nobility or scholarly classes. It’s therefore rare – and refreshing – to see a drama like Against The Current (ATC) take the POV of an indentured servant. Though this POV comes with major caveats, which I’ll discuss later.

The first part of the drama is a brutal tale of servants surviving at the hands of masters in a society that sees their lives as practically worthless.

The second part of the drama is a self-deluded escapist romance that seems to have nothing to do with the first half of the show.

It’s the latter where I have two big bones to pick. One is its depiction of class politics, the other is the so-called romance.

A PROMISING START

Our FL is actually born into a well-off family who perish as a consequence of court politics. This seems particularly cruel for the women who have no control over the affairs of men and yet must suffer their fates with them.

But our FL escapes death thanks to a husband and wife: indentured servants who were gracious receivers of a charitable act from the FL and her mother. This couple ultimately adopts the FL and thus the protagonist of ATC becomes an indentured servant herself.

As I’ve discussed in other reviews, servant characters are often depicted only in relation to their masters (who are normally the main characters). ‘Good’ servants are those who are loyal and willing to die for their master. ‘Bad’ servants are ones who dream of a life beyond servitude and who dare reach for that ambition. These latter characters are normally carted away to meet their death out of frame.

ATC initially seems to flip this usual approach on its head. FL, Xu Lanxiang, is now surviving a world where her life, and the lives of her adopted parents, are at the whims of indifferent masters: the Lin family. The drama pulls you in with the warmth and sincerity of the Xu family, and Lanxiang’s fellow servants who, each with their own grit and tenacity, ultimately band together to endure the power dynamics of the Lin household.

This part of the drama is beautifully written. In other dramas, indentured servants are normally cardboard cut-out tropes. In ATC, they appear as fully-fleshed characters. The best scenes of the whole series come from touching moments Xu Lanxiang has with her parents and her servant friends. These all the more emotional because it’s clear that – for these people at the bottom of the ladder – these moments are rare and deeply cherished.

Almost all of this beautiful writing evaporates after episode 27.

BONE ONE: CLASS POLITICS

My biggest frustration with ATC was the creators’ refusal to pick a lane and stick to it. Before and after episode 27 feels like two different dramas stuck together with PVA glue that hasn’t even dried yet.

After putting all this effort into portraying the rich, complex and deeply fraught lives of these characters at the bottom of the ladder, the drama does a “bait and switch”, as one other reviewer puts it.* The plot essentially rips aways the FL from her adopted parents and replaces the viewpoints of Lanxiang’s servant friends with those of the Lin women. I’d already been a bit annoyed when the first half of the drama had started following the POVs of noble Lin family members, and was really peeved off when these POVs formed the main storyline in the second half. Ultimately, Lanxiang herself seems to align her own ambitions, interests, and concerns with the wealthy Lin women more than her servant friends. As anhsm points out in their review,** much of what constitutes Lanxiang’s skills and interests apparently stems from her time in the Shen family, stunting her character development. This does explain the affinity to the Lin women, but significantly undermines the great premise of this show.

It’s a huge shame really because we do get glimpses into stories from the bottom that could have dominated the second half of ATC – but didn’t. For example, Ji’er’s story of surviving the brothel and then having her parents take her money and run away is a plotline I would have loved to have followed all the way through. Not only does she have a unique connection to Lanxiang because they grew up together, but she’s also a strong character on her own. Yet, the brothel chapter is barely given an episode, and the incident with her parents is summed up in a few sentences by her maid.

The same goes for characters and scenes outside of the domestic sphere. Sadly, ATC follows other dramas of its genre and the military plot points are told from the Lin perspective i.e. top-down. However, again, we’re afforded a glimpse into a could-be storyline with Garrison Supervisor Li and his men. They are lowly soldiers caught in the middle of a power clash between Prince Han and the Emperor. To survive, they really have no choice but to follow the whim of whoever metaphorically points a sword at their throat. They only get a few lines before they are whisked away, out of sight and out of mind. So too are the soldiers who are captured in a brief yet poignant moment as they wash blood off the palace stairs. They too are like the servants of the Lin household, having to clean up after the violence of their masters.

I was surprised to see that there’d been much discussion on the power dynamics around the ML being a divorcé*** when I felt like the far weightier power dynamics hinged on the class differences outlined above. For whatever reason, the class struggle is not the lane the creators of ATC chose for its latter half.

BONE TWO: SO-CALLED ROMANCE

The ‘scheme to get the bride’ plot point is one we’ve seen before in dramas. One example that comes to mind is the Story of Minglan (2018) where the ML crafts his way to the FL step by step. The FL is initially pissed off at his actions – no one likes being manipulated after all – but later on the FL interprets these actions as flattery and, to a certain degree, sincerity. However, there’s a couple of key differences between the MLs of these two shows. First, in SoM, the ML already has an amicable relationship with the FL, and he’s also saved her multiple times. Second, the ML understands the struggles of the FL and is willing to support her to achieve her goals. Third, he respects the people she respects. None of these apply to Lin Jin Qi in ATC.

Instead, Jin Qi is more alike the Emperor in the Legend of Xiao Chuo (2020) who schemes his way into marriage with the FL. In LoXC, the Emperor fixates on the FL, primarily for political purposes, but also secondarily for his own romantic self-interest. He ends up brutally separating the FL from her romantic interest à la King David (kinda). She eventually resigns herself to her fate, and makes the most out of a bad lot so she can at least achieve her own political ambitions. I would argue that even the Emperor in LoXC is still less despicable than Jin Qi. At least the former can see that the FL has political goals that he can help her achieve, but latches onto this without any consent from the FL. Jin Qi doesn’t even try to understand Lanxiang and her desires. He ignores this AND refuses to seek consent.

Lanxiang sums up this situation well in episode 34, “You don’t even know what I think or want, yet you dared to marry me.” Nevertheless, this is set against a backdrop of romantic music and what I presume we’re meant to take as an emotionally tender moment between her and Jin Qi. It’s this juxtaposition that gets me riled up at the drama’s creators. Like what do you mean you’re trying to persuade us that any of this is romantic when all you’ve depicted is entrapment and oppression?

I transformed into the Golden Gate Bridge with the amount of disbelief I had to suspend about the so-called romance. The only way ATC could try convince us was by completely transforming Jin Qi so we’d forget about the coercion, entrapment, and indifference towards servants’ lives. His character goes from ruthless schemer to annoying simp. For Pete’s sake, do you really expect me to believe he cares so much about the Shen family – who he never even met - that he looks after their burial ground? I can see how the creators might’ve thought this scene was a nice way to tie the story back to the FL’s origins at the beginning of the drama. Meanwhile, all I could do was eye roll and scrub through it.

FFS PICK A LANE PLZZZZ

One monologue from Lanxiang in episode 30 gave me a glimmer of hope that, in the last minute, perhaps ATC could redeem itself. Then that hope disintegrated.

Lanxiang starts out by declaring that she doesn’t believe in subjects submitting to the emperor, or servants submitting to masters (yes, do go on!) or wives submitting to their husbands. However, its made pretty obvious by the end of this monologue that this is actually about her grudge against the imperial family for wiping out the Shen family and has nothing to do with any inclination to support class struggle from below.

By this stage in the series, I don’t have any time for the song Lanxiang is singing. It reeks of neo-liberal girlboss feminism. Women deserve to have the same rights as men! They too should be able to own private land and participate in the economy! They too should be able to be an offical or general! They too should be able to do all this and still order around indentured servants who are inherently coerced into labour and oh wait…yeah when you put it like that…rings a bit different hey. The girlboss narrative seems like fun until you realise that – a lot of the time – the boot on the neck of the indentured servant woman is simply replaced with a high heel (or the Ming dynasty equivalent).

As far as I see it, the creators had three options of where they could’ve taken this drama. One, something akin to The Story of Minglan, in which Lanxiang stays in the lane of a woman from a well-off family who has suffered injustices but eventually comes out on top via marriage. Two, something akin to The Imperial Doctress (2016) where, after episode 27, ATC goes into full tragedy territory and we watch Lanxiang’s gradual demise. Or, three, the ATC could’ve stuck to its premise and stepped outside the box, serving a fresh story that revolved around the ups and downs of indentured servants and ex-servants as they struggle for freedom despite higher-ups pulling the strings. And yet, this drama didn’t quite dare.

--------

*Review: https://kisskh.at/profile/AfricanAmericanLoveKdrama/review/611196
**Review: https://kisskh.at/profile/an.hs.n/review/609388
*** Sixth Tone article ‘Divorcés Starring in TV Romances? China’s Internet Isn’t So Sure’: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1019121

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Completed
The Last Oath
1 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.5

Mediocre Zombie Show (ft. stepbrother romance?)

The Last Oath really gave us a unique concept for a BL, but unfortunately the execution was not up to par with my expectations. Sections of the show were really fun, and other parts felt like we were rushing through or cutting scenes. I think if the show had more time to develop the main plot, it would have been a lot better, but it felt like they really wanted to put in a lot of fight scenes and unnecessarily forceful makeout scenes. Still, I appreciate how they tried to do something new! But I HATED the zombie stepbrother romance part...don't surprise me with stepbrother romance I DON'T WANT IT.

After losing his brother, Lin Zai has been trying to survive the zombie apocalypse like everyone else. He's got a few people banded together that help each other, and they're managing thus far. When A Leh shows up at his camp, Lin Zai can't resist helping him. However, it turns out A Leh has been searching for an immune subject to take in for research purposes. - and Lin Zai happens to be immune. While A Leh attempts to carry out his duty, unexpected feelings develop between A Leh and Lin Zai.

I don't know that I would genuinely recommend this show unless you really love zombie shows. Not because it's filled with zombies, but because it's not good enough to recommend otherwise. The relationship between the main characters is rushed, and the conflicts are repetitive. It was still a fun watch (except for the stepbrothers. I'm still mad) but not something that I was on the edge of my seat for or super looking forward to each week.

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Completed
Takara-kun & Amagi-kun
0 people found this review helpful
19 days ago
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

Sweet and heartwarming

This was such a cute and heart warming series. It has that sweet, first love in high school vibe. I really liked Amagi, his story was interesting and his character was so unique. I really liked Amagi and Takara's treasure. I loved Tanaka's arc as well, now...

I will say that the consent in this series was more than dubious. Amagi would straight up say "wait, wait, wait" and clearly be uncomfortable, but Takara would still do it. And then it was just seen as Takara "not being able to hold back his urges". The worst part is that Amagi never felt ready to do anything. There was never a point where he felt safer with him, or the relationship evolved. I just feel like their relationship growth kind of stopped after a while.

Now, this series was at least entertaining, and if you can ignore the consent part, then I think you'll really like it!

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Completed
Love Destiny
1 people found this review helpful
by Tulip
19 days ago
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0

where's the explanation in last episode?

I LOVED THIS SERIES SO MUCH!!! The story was too good, the romance was good, and THE COMEDY?! HELLO??? THIS SERIES WAS SOOO FUNNY. I WAS LAUGHING SO MUCH. Everything was going perfectly, and honestly, I had such a great time watching it.

BUT THEN CAME THE LAST EPISODE. 💀

EXCUSE ME, WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?! They literally didn't explain anything! NOT A SINGLE THING!

The ML time-travelled or got reborn in the last episode, but HOW?! WHY?! WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED?!

If he time-travelled, then how did he become a doctor? And if he was reborn, how does he remember everything from his past life? And even if he time-travelled and somehow retained his medical knowledge, WHY DIDN'T THEY EXPLAIN IT?!

AND WHAT ABOUT THE MC?! HE ALSO TIME-TRAVELLED, AND HE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING FROM HIS FUTURE LIFE, SO HOW DOES ALL OF THIS WORK?!

I'M SORRY, BUT I NEED ANSWERS. I DIDN'T SIGN UP TO BECOME A DETECTIVE AFTER WATCHING A BL SERIES.

I genuinely loved Love Destiny. The story, the comedy, the romance—EVERYTHING WAS SO GOOD. But the ending left me with more questions than answers, and I can't just pretend I understood what happened.

10/10 for the entertainment, but 0/10 for explaining that ending. PLEASE, SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED.

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