Reviews

BEST OF 2026 (Not in terms of Quality , But the pacing and thrills)

We have seen this type of stories in Kdrama . But I finished 10 episodes without any lag , hooked till now.

After THE MANIPULATED series, i tried to watch many 2026 k dramas , but most of them i watched in 2x speed after 2 eps,

In the case of Reborn Rookie , after the 6th Episode, i thought i ll do the same (2x). but Nah, Screenwriter actually awakened after the halfway of this series.

Major plus was the cast's Performances. Other positive was the Director , Ist Half (5 eps) of the show was not that good,
But DIRECTOR managed to give the thrills to the audience

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A Brilliant Adaptation Elevated by Two Outstanding Performances

Inspired by Juan Mayorga's acclaimed play El chico de la última fila, Notes from the Last Row transforms the original story into something that feels both faithful and refreshingly original. It preserves the play's thought-provoking core while expanding its emotional and cinematic possibilities in a way that never feels forced.
The true heart of the drama, however, lies in its two leads. Choi Hyun-wook and Choi Min-ho deliver exceptional performances, bringing remarkable depth and authenticity to their characters. Their chemistry is subtle yet compelling, built through meaningful conversations, lingering glances, and quiet emotional moments rather than dramatic declarations. Together, they create a dynamic that feels natural, complex, and incredibly engaging.
The writing trusts the audience, allowing the story to unfold with patience and confidence. Instead of chasing constant twists, it focuses on character growth, moral ambiguity, and the power of observation, making every episode rewarding in its own way.
Beautiful cinematography and a carefully chosen soundtrack enhance the reflective atmosphere without overshadowing the performances. Every artistic element works in harmony to create a drama that is as emotionally resonant as it is intellectually engaging.
Whether you're familiar with El chico de la última fila or experiencing this story for the first time, Notes from the Last Row is a memorable adaptation that honors its literary roots while standing confidently on its own.

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The World from an Autistic Perspective

Woo Young Woo has been having a hard time landing a job after graduating as one of the top students in Seoul National University Law School, simply because she is in the spectrum. Finally a job offer came from a top law firm, Hanbada and she started as a rookie attorney with a 1 year contract, dealing with various cases that teaches her about the world and its workings. Though sometimes bullied by her fellow rookie coworkers or yelled at by clients and senior attorneys, she still manages to learn about love and making concessions, eventually learning the secret behind her father’s simple background that led to her not so simple identity.

First off I just had to give it off to ALL the actors in the cast, from the one who played young Young Woo who appeared less than 15minutes to the mainlead adult Young Woo. Every single one played their roles well and I could really feel the connection between them. The one that hit me tha hardest is how lonely Young Woo’s father’s life had been raising an autistic child all by himself, with absolutely no support system nor job stability, knowing that he is throwing his dreams and life away to make a life for somebody who may never learn how to express her love back at him, his autistic and socially-challenged daughter, Young Woo. Imagine raising a child who could never stand holding hands or hugging you for more than 1 minute, it wouldve been infuriating, especially when youre all alone with no one to confide into or seek warmth from, ie a soulmate. Young Woo’s father deserves the Parent of The Year Award for having that kind of endurance.

Although the story is very simple and straightforward with a pinch of political maneoevre, it still manages to keep my attention on with all those quirky characters they throw in, from the sassy Dong Geurami to the colourful attitudes of judges. I really liked Honju, although he is an extremely green flag that seem too good to be true. It’s somewhat sad to see him constantly giving in to Woo Youngwoo cuz she just couldnt understand social cues, deep down I know he’s going to be father 2.0 if he ever gets together with Youngwoo. Of course it is a good thing for Youngwoo, hey autistic people long for love too, just in their own way that may not seem like love to the ordinary people.

A fun fact that I find unique about the show is there wasnt any true villain in the show, even the horribly selfish and cunning Tae Sumi and Kwon Minwoo eventually redeemed themselves at the end.

The conflicts and tensions here isnt as pressing as other stories i’ve seen, but okay for a moderate-paced family drama. I look forward to Season 2.

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Your typical school romance

Overall it's a pretty cute series, with good acting, nice visuals, and scenery, but definitely nothing special. Just your classic Japanese school BL series.

Things I liked:
1. Hosaka Yui. He is a great friend. Mature and smart. Definitely my favorite character in this series.
2. Akane. She is a nice and supportive girl.
3. Yamato's sister. Yet again, another great and supportive character.
4. Everyone is so supportive of their feelings. It's truly so nice and refreshing to see people take them seriously and genuinely try to help them resolve their problems.

Things I disliked:
1. Slow start. Things definitely get more interesting after the first few episodes.

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Glory in Shadows(2026) is a very well done mystery romance miniseries within a revenge storyline due to the chaotic conspiracies and hidden agendas within the Shen family. The drama has ML: Dong Zi Fan (as Li Jing Chuan) and FL: Wu Jia Yi (as Shen Yao Chu) in the leading couple's roles. This drama could've used another 30 minutes to give a better flow to the antagonists' deviousness and psychotic behaviors. The Shen family was a mayhem and it was the source of all evils that the leading couple had to join forces against. General Li Jing Chuan and Shen Yao Chu were both thrown into this maelstrom when Shen Yao Chu was forced to marry Li Jing Chan as he was presumed dead by her equally deranged family and, due to having lived similar circumstances, the leading couple form a bond that flourished into a steadfast and protective love. The leading couple had great rapport and a satisfying romantic chemistry. Within the time constrains of the miniseries, (SPOILER ALERT) the leading couple's separation was completely unnecessary and, briefly, disturbed the flow of the nice ending. Overall, the drama is entertaining; enjoy it!

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✨An Emotionally Rich Journey That Stayed With Me✨

I went into this one knowing almost nothing about it, and it turned out to be an unexpectedly emotional and beautifully crafted journey.

The writing, layered narration, multiple POVs, and haunting OST all come together to create a deeply immersive experience that stays with you after it ends.

Bai Lu and Cheng Lei are outstanding. While both are consistently strong actors, this drama gives them especially layered, complex characters. Bai Lu, in particular, may have delivered my favorite performance of hers so far—her character was intelligent, vulnerable, and compelling, and I found myself fully invested in her journey, rooting for her at every turn.

There is also a (not so) subtle but refreshing psychological layer to her character involving unresolved trauma and how she perceives her past, which adds unexpected depth without giving too much away—but I’ll leave that for viewers to discover.

The romance is equally well done, with chemistry that feels natural and earned rather than rushed. Even when things are difficult between them, the emotional build-up makes their connection all the more satisfying.

The overall premise—swapped marriage, political intrigue, and opposing schemes—is familiar, and many arcs, especially the final palace rebellion, follow a well-known historical drama formula. Still, Mo Li manages to stand out through its execution, character depth, and emotional pacing.

The ending is also a highlight, taking its time to resolve everything properly and giving the story a peaceful, satisfying conclusion.

All in all this one surprised me in the best possible way. It's beautifully written, wonderfully acted, emotionally powerful, and filled with heart. A memorable journey from beginning to end, and one I'll happily recommend to anyone looking for a historical drama that values both emotional depth and meaningful storytelling.

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Exactly what it promises in the synopsis.

This movie will give you exactly what you expect from the plot based on synopsis - nothing more nothing less. There is not that much elaboration on the lore, who the characters are and why they do what they do. It’s simple, and it kind of works.

Lilith is not exactly a niche antagonist, but still better than good old Satan himself. Even if underdeveloped, I liked how the plot centered around womanhood - for good or for bad. Yes, she kind of gave me a red version of Conjuring’s devil, not the most unique design for the “evil being”, but what I do appreciate is how little we actually saw her throughout the movie.

Not enough tension builds up and scares, but I do appreciate that when there were horror elements they went more into weird shit in the corner or seen when passing by, and not in your face jump scares. I also really liked the set design. Smart choices of the locations. Decent use of light - bright enough you don't miss a creepy hand, but dark enough to keep the scary atmosphere.

For the acting - it was good. I don’t really remember which nun, since they all kind of blend together, but one of them especially delivered good creeps.

There was a lot of potential to make the movie better - expanding on the lore of the orphanage, focusing on less characters, making the sibling’s bond more prominent.

Overall, not exactly something you will regret watching, but not something to be excited about.

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A typical historical romance drama with a fresh twist

This would have been another one of those typical historical romance cdramas with wronged leads, lots of scheming for revenge, and court intrigue if it wasn't for one big twist - FL here suffers from severe psychological trauma and is an unreliable narrator. Add to that ML having a physical disability, and you get a dire mix of trauma dumping from the crippled leads in this drama, driving most of the plot. All in all, this drama is around 10% romance, 40% scheming, 50% trauma. So if you're looking mainly for romance here, you may be disappointed.

TL;DR:
POSITIVES:
- Very interesting FL character's concept
- Stellar Lishan mountain arc
- FL's cunning revenge schemes
- Different POVs and clever use of unreliable narration from FL's perspective
- Beautiful OST

NEGATIVES:
- Very lackluster, prudishly filmed romance
- Some big, forced angst for the sake of moving the plot
- Convoluted plot device
- Uncompelling, boring villains
- The plot is not easy to follow due to how it was filmed
- Lots of forgettable side characters

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FEMALE LEAD:
FL here is a genius level scholar, martial arts pro, experienced medical expert, skilled painter, savvy businesswoman, wise beyond her years and progressive, yet also kind, selfless and generally liked by all. She's also very cunning and plots elaborate schemes like a veteran strategist. She definitely falls into a typical Mary Sue category, but it's easy to close your eyes on all that because of her severe mental trauma.

5 years before the start of the plot, FL suffered a great tragedy at the scholar academy on mount Lishan, where she lived with her grandfather and other scholars. She survived, but it left a deep scar in her psyche, resulting in a severe case of PTSD, with symptoms such as hallucinating imaginary interlocutors, associating herself as another person, and completely erasing the tragedy from her mind. Her hallucinations come and go on a trigger when she's very stressed.
Because of this, it's very easy to sympathize with her - she's traumatized, her mind is fragile, she's lonely and yearns for family's warmth and somebody to lean onto. She's utterly devoted to ML after marrying him, and he becomes the anchor that keeps her rooted in reality.

She expertly hides her plans and intentions behind all sorts of masks to complete her goals - naive, overly cheerful, impassionate, pitiful...But behind it all she's still that lonely, scared girl, crying her heart out on a desolated mountain.

The plot is heavily centered around FL and, like always in Bai Lu's dramas, she carries the whole drama on her shoulders. Forget about ML, he's just a prop here. Her intriguing, unpredictable character is the main highlight of this drama.

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MALE LEAD:
ML here is rather boring, to be honest. It's obvious he's mainly here to love FL and heal her trauma; it's a female-centric drama after all.

He's a typical brave and loyal general prince who got his legs crippled in a war 8 years ago and whose family almost got wiped out on unjust charges of treason. He harbors a grudge towards the same villains as FL and wants to clear his family's name, but in 8 years he hasn't achieved much on that front. Only after FL arrives at his mansion, do things start moving with him. He gets promoted to a prefect position, which allows him to investigate the villains' dealings. But in the end, it's FL who manages to clear his family's name through her scheming.
His character can be described as reserved, brooding, mistrustful and intolerant to pity.

Though very suspicious and wary of people after suffering from his own tragedy, he rather quickly gets enamored with FL, which later gets even a bit obsessive. After she convinces him to heal his legs and he learns of her mental issues, he tries to help her overcome them in return. And in the end, after weathering all the misunderstandings and villains' schemes, he becomes her one constant in the world to lean onto.

However!
One of the major letdowns of this drama also involves ML. To move the plot back to the Lishan mountain, the writers couldn't come up with anything better but to force a blown out of proportion, angsty misunderstanding between the leads. This led to the signing of divorce papers and FL, with all her imaginary friends, leaving back to the mountain. All because ML got into his mind that FL only pitied him and never loved him. He couldn't conceive it could be both. And, bro, you didn't marry for love; she did a lot for you, like, A LOT. But nah, one big misunderstanding and it's "off to the mountain with you, imma divorcing you". If people acted this flippant in marriage all the time, no sane woman would want to get married. It's not a fkn car rent contract.
Thankfully, they didn't drag this for too long. ML hated FL for pitying him, but after learning what happened to her on the mountain, he himself became overwhelmed with pity and rushed after her. The ironic hypocrisy at its best.

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PLOT:
The drama starts when FL is ordered to come down from mount Lishan back to her father's scummy family to marry ML in an arranged marriage. She leaves with a mental checklist of things to do:
• to avenge her mother's death;
• to avenge the mountain's graduates, who got persecuted;
• to uncover the edict plot device lost by her mother, which led to ML's family's ruin, and heal ML's crippled legs;
After the marriage, she immediately starts working on these things.
This is the most fun part of the drama - watching this dissonance-inducing character struggle with her mental trauma, all the while enacting her elaborate, cold and calculating revenge plans with precision and guile.

Another, absolutely stellar part of the plot was the Lishan mountain arc - FL elevated this drama to another level with her performance there. Prepare to cry.

Besides the intriguing mystery of FL's past and her revenge schemes, this is a typical historical romance drama - expect to see court intrigue, incessant scheming and plotting, annoying love polygons, etc. If you've seen a dozen such dramas already, there's nothing new to find here, unfortunately.

What they've tried doing cleverly with the plot here is carefully dosing crucial information about the mystery of what happened on mount Lishan, inserting different POVs, and introducing unreliable narration from FL's perspective.

Plot quality in this drama also fluctuates like crazy - this drama was written by a group of writers, and it shows. Excellently written FL's trauma and schemes (main plot) look like they were written by one party, boring ass romance by another, side stuff by a third.

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PACING AND PLOT DEVICES:
Unfortunately, some scenes here were weirdly paced and edited, leading to uneven pacing overall. At times haphazard; at times dropping names, but not showing who these people are until later; at times showing people, but you've got no clue who they are; lots of "blink and you miss it" plot points.
The drama also got quite draggy in the last couple of episodes, but at least nothing was rushed. Everyone had enough sceen time for their own epilogue.

There are also some very convoluted plot points here.
For example, the general-governor, whose murder was investigated for a long time, had such an egregiously written path to the capital, you can't help but get confused.
And don't even get me started about the edict plot device. I even wrote a lengthy explanation with a timeline in discussions about it while trying to connect the missing dots.

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VILLAINS:
There are 3 main villains in this drama, and unfortunately, none of them are anything to write home about.

Marquis is a lapdog of the main villain - the empress dowager. Together, they staged a coup 8 years ago against the Crown Prince and erected the dowager's son as the new emperor. They then intimidated or killed all dissidents and kept on doing that for 8 years, until other factions started digging under them and eroding their bond with court intrigues.
The dowager's scenes mostly are as dull as watching paint dry, maybe because they tried showing her sickly and heavily burdened by regrets over the years.
And the marquis is so dumb and reckless and gets played so often throughout the drama, you'll quickly start questioning how these two even managed to grab and hold onto power.
All in all, these two are one of the major letdowns of this drama - very uncompelling, flat villains.

Then we also have the 3d villain - SML. The son of the killed Crown Prince and a contender to the throne, he's a typical Hamlet-esque character with some very annoying flaws, such as being obsessed with FL, being self-pitying, self-destructive, ruthless and conniving. He's a bit more interesting to watch, but in the later part of the drama he gets swept under the rug for many episodes, only to reappear in the end with predictable rebellion and pathetic death.

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SIDE CHARACTERS:
There are also lots of side characters plotting schemes against the villains, against each other, and against the main leads, but it's all been there, seen that. If you want to watch smart court intrigues, this drama definitely is not it, to a point it just starts to get cartoonish at times. They also kept adding a new set of side characters on the regular basis, making the cast very bloated in the end. Some side characters were boring and a plain waste of screen time.

And there were so many "dead end" characters' arcs here with worst possible endings - the stupid assassin boy, marquis's sons, ML's merchant friend+Cangbei princess, SFL...So many painfully obvious opportunities to make something great with these characters, but nah.

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ROMANCE:
Unfortunately, it was so lackluster and prudishly filmed, it became another one of the major letdowns of the drama.
I've thought about what was so off about it for quite some time and here are my thoughts:

First, in terms of FL, for the bigger half of the drama she so often switched from acting overly cheerful, kind and friendly in one scene only to turn into a stone-faced, cold and calculating mastermind in the next, that for the longest time it made me question whether anything she was doing or saying was genuine. So, her budding romance with ML also looked fake and not genuine for a long time. Maybe the actress failed to properly convey her character's complex emotions, or it was for a purposeful sense of dissonance. Whatever the reason, it didn't do any favors to the romance subplot. Way later in the drama, they tried assuring the audience that she loved ML from the beginning by showing her having a teenage crush on him after he saved her one time years ago. But the first impression at that point had already taken deep root, and since it happened years ago, it still wasn't convincing enough.

Second, while some viewers praised their good communication in the beginning, it mainly involved FL quickly resolving small misunderstandings with ML. But she never told him about or included him in her big revenge schemes. This led to a predictable, but very overblown conflict between the leads when ML learned she was lying to him. For the larger part of the drama they acted like a devoted married couple, but were working and plotting by themselves, never fully trusting each other, until it blew up in their faces.

Third, their relationship development skipped a few steps and never backtracked to pick them up.
Their romance here is a "slice of life", "skipping steps straight to the endgame", "old married couple" type. It lacked passion and sexual tension. The leads got married since the start of the drama, so the scriptwriters decided this couple can just skip all the normal romantic relationship steps straight to the end. There's basically no-lead up, stakes, or struggle to get together. Everything is taken for granted. ML was shown a few times to be nervous around FL, but she was looking like she's oblivious to any of these concepts all the time.
Even when they finally consummated their marriage, it all looked so flat and unenthusiastic, it made me wonder whether anything actually happened there. There are literally two prudish kissing scenes in this drama, with none left for the ending, not to mention any mention about kids.
One could argue there was often something interfering with their romantic life - emotional unavailability, misunderstandings, etc. But there were also lots of quiet, peaceful moments that were wasted on day-to-day domestic banalities and hand holding.

All in all, ML here shows more passion in being jealous and angry at FL's shenanigans, and FL acts most natural when she's executing her schemes and suffering from her trauma. It's possible the actors were uncomfortable with each other and failed to convincingly convey romantic feelings. But I saw these actors in other dramas, and I think romance wise the scriptwriters and directors simply did us dirty. And not including a kiss in the final episode of a romance drama is just a crime in itself.

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PRODUCTION AND MUSIC:
Compared to some of the recent cdramas, the sets and costumes here are on the cheaper side, but at least they're fresh and new. I'm very tired of seeing the same palace sets in every historical cdrama made in the last 4 years or so. They've also tried stylizing everything with eye-pleasing color palette.
The last major highlight of this drama is the music - the bgm instrumental music is superb, and Zhou Shen's intro delivered as always, and there were some other nice songs.

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CONCLUSION:
This drama sure was a rollercoaster in terms of how to rate it. I went back and forth as the episodes aired. And in the end, I gotta say that overall it's quite good. Some parts were stellar; some, unfortunately, didn't deliver.
If you're a fan of Bail Lu's work, it definitely is a must watch - compared to her other dramas, it's one of the better ones. She's been on a roll this year with good dramas. Her performance in the Lishan mountain arc will probably net her all the yearly awards, it was so good.
There were some very annoying letdowns in this drama, though, described in detail above, so I had to lower the score a bit. Overall, it's an 8 from me.

P.S. If you want to watch a drama where Bai Lu unquestionably fits her role like a glove, with none of the draggy soap in the plot, go watch her previous drama - Unveil: Jadewind. And it's funny, but even that grim detective drama had more exciting, natural romance than in The First Jasmine, even though it wasn't the main focus.
For an intelligent court intrigue and revenge drama with well-written complex villains, I'd recommend the recent Legend of Zang Hai.

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Some story started to happen and unfold, and then in the third episode we watch the series that they are filming, who is interested in the series, we are interested in the two of them.
And the appearance of a senior who shouts, roars and yells... why is that character in the series? You start very well and then you screw up,

Yes.. it would be best if the ratings were up to 100, so if you give all 100, give some reality, so many omissions and mistakes, and according to you, every series is for Oscar!!!

There is no BL series here, but a series of how I recorded the series ?!?!? Stupidity

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Where a line ends between fiction and reality- reader's version

The character of Oh Mun-ho is an interesting one, one that symbolizes readers of unfinished stories. He got too obsessed in a novel of a young novelist in his class, and along the way, forced the story to where it is fueled by his own shame and inferiority complex of only finishing one novel.

A story that started by the original novelist, Lee Kang, which expressed the jealousy towards a classmate of his and his happy family, he wanted to be in his shoes- until that part it was truly written by Lee Kang. A boy who lost both of his parents in a truck accident was driven to become a boy with a happy family. Mun-ho shifted the story once he figured out who the dad is, by then, it became a hate story, not story of jealousy and healing.

The drama never told us Kang's intentions into doing all of this, making us believe in the same thing as the reader of the novel is, we saw first hand when the story shifted.

Lee Kang said by the end that by some point, the author shifted, that much is true, all though it is still considered stealing a story, we got to see Kang's true intentions of ruins by the end. Mun-ho who got 12 years old Kang to open up with a story, interested him with literature that day 12 years ago, but quickly turned his life story down due to being "too boring". That's when we learned his true intentions of revenge, and of malice to write an interesting story, to ruin the professor.

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The Plot Are Interesting

After watching the first six episodes of The Eternal Fragrance, I’m really enjoying it so far. The story starts at a steady pace as it builds the fantasy world and introduces the characters, but it becomes more engaging with each episode as the mysteries begin to unfold. Ju Jingyi and Song Weilong have wonderful chemistry, and their interactions feel natural, making the slow-burn romance enjoyable to watch. Song Weilong brings a calm, charismatic presence to his role, while Ju Jingyi gives a charming and expressive performance that fits her character well. The drama is visually stunning, with beautiful costumes, impressive cinematography, and a lovely soundtrack that enhances the emotional moments. Although the plot is still laying the foundation and hasn’t revealed all of its major conflicts yet, the first six episodes have done a great job of keeping me interested, and I’m excited to see how the story develops.

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What's up with the semi incest plot

I get that its to set backstory or wtv and like the show cleared up the fact that ML always saw FML as a love interest not family but like it was NOT reciprocated the other way around???? like to FML that was BROTHER like that's kinda odd icl if you grew up with someone like siblings AND you saw them as a sibling 10 years won't change shit
Additionally, I DESPISE THE SML PLOT why the fk was he so hung up on the fml like wtf bro does not even like her and fml bsf was like RIGHT THERE. Ong it pissed me tf off that the writer insisted on having a love triangle between ml fml and sml. Highkey did jack shit for plot and like made the initial relationship 100x weirder for me I was so happy they took it out in the kr remake cause that was like the worst part of the show
other than that its q a ok watch, the actors were q good w what they were given but due to the love triangle I won't rewatch

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How to have a terrible marriage:

Ep 1: I really liked the opening! It turned out beautifully. The audio had those classic clothing-rustling ASMR moments at times. I already feel sorry for Neen; having an aggressive mother-in-law who constantly humiliates and insults you is awful, but having a wife who doesn't defend you—and invalidates your feelings and opinions regarding her family—is even worse. Do better, Ran! I hope I change my mind about you!
And the worst part is that Neen has already stated what needs to be done: "set boundaries and defend her"—but Ran is playing dumb! Ran says: "When my mom fights with Neen, she gets a sad look on her face and WON'T ACCEPT IT"... What do you mean "won't accept it," Ran? Should she just accept your mom calling her useless, a bum, spoiled, ill-mannered, or a terrible wife?
I'm sorry, Ran, but it’s pointless to say you love Neen more than life itself if you aren't even willing to tell your mother: "This is my house, she is my wife, and I won't let you treat her badly. Don't visit me until you learn to respect her. When you want to see me, I’ll come visit you, Mom, but you are not going to insult my wife inside her own home."
It’s ridiculous for Ran to say she doesn't want to set boundaries with her mother because she doesn't want "the stress"! Marriage is for the good times and the bad! You have to fight for it! If you didn't want to have to fight someone for your wife's sake, you simply shouldn't have gotten a wife.

Neen doesn't say a word. Ran: "Don't say anything"... Hahahaha.

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