Reviews

"You never miss the water 'til the well runs dry"

Dead Pigs directed by Cathy Yan connected several stories under the backdrop of a mass die off of pigs similar to the real-life deaths and dumping of 16,000 pigs in the Huangpo river near Shanghai. This film was not nearly as dire as that, instead it was focused on capitalist expansion at the expense of traditional neighborhoods with side stories of romance and comedy. Who knew Shanghai was a place where people could break into song as the bulldozers raged?

Old Wang is a pig farmer who loses his life savings to a scam artist. To add insult to injury his pigs die. Loan sharks do not care about his predicament, they just want their money. He goes to his sister, Candy/Zhao Di, for a loan, but she refuses him. She’s fighting a development company who wants to build a large Spanish inspired apartment complex complete with a cathedral. Candy and her pigeons are the last holdouts. Wang Zhen has led his father to believe that he has been successful in business, but instead he is a waiter at a restaurant barely making ends meet. He falls for a bored, wealthy young woman who is surrounded by arrogant, social climbers. And finally, Sean Landry is the architect of the ostentatious apartment complex and charged with changing the Wangs’ minds.

The film was filled with people who believed they were not good enough. Old Wang’s life was a struggle which he managed to make worse. He envied the pigs’ life of leisure not taking into account the price they paid for it. Zhen hurt because he wasn’t able to help his father more. Xia Xia dealt with disconnection from family and friends. When she was hospitalized only a stranger visited her. Sean failed at architecture in the U.S. but had a second chance in China. Another ex-patriate gave him a side gig of playing various westerners for companies. In some ways he felt like the random white guy thrown into this film. And finally, Candy was supremely confident in herself but could not bear to leave her family’s home and neighborhood. Even though the neighbors had all been bought out she clung to her memories of what had been.

The porcine pollution highlighted how it was cheaper and more expedient to dump the pigs in the river than go through the proper government channels. Some farmers did not want to invite official attention into their businesses. It looked like they showed actual news footage of the clean up and real or fake pigs in the water. If you are sensitive to these types of images-beware.

The wealthy made life harder on the middle class and poor, able to buy whatever they wanted including their way of out trouble. Old Wang ended up with crushing debt in the desire to get rich quick. Sean tried to pitch that the new apartment complex was progress, making homes available to the people who needed them…the needy wealthy. The displaced could never hope to live in the luxury apartments. The cinematography and music along with solid acting made for an enticing film to watch. Vivian Wu gave an especially entertaining performance. My biggest complaint was that it was too long, numerous scenes were repetitive. “Important” themes don’t have to be repeated and film length doesn’t equate with quality.

I looked at this film through western eyes and likely missed much. Though gentrification and corporations buying homes are problems for all but the upper class here. Small family farms are a dying breed as multi-conglomerates gobble them up. Dead Pig’s stories were ultimately woven together, showing that greed can’t completely break the human spirit and that family and friendship mean something greater than things or property. And when you’re lucky a moment of spiritual triumph can be accompanied by song. (7.75 rounded up to an 8.0)

20 August 2026

Trigger warnings: Dead animals

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from fake family to real family

The acting was really good and the chemistry between the male and female leads were great. It was a pity that there wasn't any romance between them because they had so much potential as a couple. The little kid was absolutely adorable and honestly too cute for this world🥹

I also really liked the family dynamic. Even though they weren't actually related, pretending to be a family brought them so close together that they eventually became a real family in every way that mattered. Their bond was honestly one of my favorite parts of the drama

The whole plot was pretty unique and different from what i usually see, which made the drama really enjoyable. I also loved the ending. It was surprisingly wholesome, especially seing the male lead leave his gangster life behind and build a successful life for himself. Overall, it was a really nice watch.

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Best Version of "Puppy Love"

Fluffy and sweet the two main leads pulled off the best version of "puppy love" I have seen in a chinese vertical drama. The story centers around a boy who falls in love with a girl during high school. Despite him being an elite and in an entirely different social and economic class he blows up a lab and gets kicked out of school so he can transfer to her school. He spends their junior year of high school being desk mates working up the courage to ask her out. Only to leave a letter in a book that she never saw. three years later he's about to list a company and she's still in university. He starts to actively pursue her while also discreetly helping her. honestly it's refreshing charming and sweet. (and also apparently 1 of 8 adaptations of a novel. )

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Find a Hole Somewhere Deserted and Bury This Plot

IDK if I can stomach another version of this storyline. The ML is obsessed with the FL. She saved his life when he was an enemy prisoner in another state and stayed dutifully by his side. He chose to repay that kindness by casting her aside for a wife with substantial backing so as never be weak again. He ""loved"" the FL which caused the new wife to abuse her and she was treated like a slave. She chose to escape and gain marriage with his brother thr crown prince. Realizing he was going to lose her the ML panicked. and the crown prince essentially sold her back to him for leverage. Honestly, neither of them deserved her. She deserved to be free from them and free from men who just abused and used her. All in all, the best character was the sister who was kind and good to the FL consistently.

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The Long Ballad is... well... long.

So I started watching this and couldnt finish it. The beginning was a little slow but once I stuck it through it was AMAZING and a 9.5 only because of how slow the beginning was. They had an all star cast and they really show cased them. Do I wish there was more of Zhao Lusi and her love interest? Yes. But the show was still amazing. With the cast they managed to pull out this should have been WAY better than it was. Zhao Lusi and Dilraba sharing a stage should have shone and instead it was kinda meh. Both came off wimpy and Zhao Lusi's character deserved way more screentime then she got. That being said Zhao Lusi had one of the best character developments I've seen in a C drama in a while.

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Big disappointment

I have been waiting for this kdrama for a while before it's release. I was so excited ,but unfortunately I was really disappointed.

well the acting is not bad nor impressive although I had high expectations for Seo in guk I loved his acting in Shopaholic louis,Death's game,etc as for park ji hyun I loved her acting in true beauty though it was a minor role but I still loved her cute personality but I felt both of them didn't have the chemistry I was expecting even after getting together in the drama but I have no comment on the kisses they were good

the plot pacing for me was pretty slow also there was not much going on either felt boring it felt like I was not rlly waiting for the next ep to be released I lost that excitement

btw I dropped it at the last 2 eps

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A Simple Story Carried by an Amazing ML

I had a good time watching this drama, even though it definitely wasn’t a favorite of mine. The story itself is pretty simple and there was a noticeable slump in the middle where I got a little bored, but thankfully things picked up again towards the end.

The biggest highlight for me was definitely Woo-joo. He was my favorite character from beginning to end: sweet, caring, respectful, and genuinely such a green flag. He honestly carried a lot of the romance for me, and if I ever rewatch this drama, it will probably be mostly for him.

I thought the main couple was cute and I enjoyed their dynamic, although once again, a lot of my attachment to them came from the ML. I struggled a bit more with the FL at first, not because she was a bad person — quite the opposite. Sometimes she was simply too kind at her own expense, and some of her decisions really frustrated me. I liked her much more towards the end when she finally started standing up for herself and setting boundaries, especially with her ex.

I also got attached to some of the supporting characters, particularly both mothers, with the FL’s mother being one of my favorites. The ML’s friend definitely annoyed me at times, especially when she crossed a line and revealed something that wasn’t hers to tell, but I appreciated that she acknowledged what she had done and was honest with him about it.

As for the ex… the audacity truly lasted from beginning to end. And somehow, his family managed to frustrate me even more than he did. Cheating is obviously awful, but the way they treated the FL and some of their behavior genuinely left me speechless. I also have to admit that seeing the ex eventually get cheated on by his new girlfriend felt like some very satisfying karma after everything he had done.

Overall, the story itself wasn’t particularly memorable and the pacing could have been better, but I still had a genuinely enjoyable time watching it thanks to the characters I grew attached to. It’s not a drama I would necessarily rewatch for the story, but I could absolutely see myself coming back for Woo-joo.

A solid 7/10, with Woo-joo being by far the best part of the drama for me.

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Rock and Roll!

This is one of the best K-dramas I have seen in such a long time. It was so refreshing. The plot, the characters, the relationships. You will laugh. You will cry. You will gasp. I absolutely adore the three male leads and their friendship. They bring such levity to action and dark situations. While some of the action and violence does become a bit repetitive and tiresome, you do get a bit of satisfaction from it. The only reason I don’t give it a 10 is because I very rarely give 10s and also, the plot did drift a little towards the end and I wasn’t a huge fan of the implication of the ending.

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What happened? So much promise….

Thirty or so episodes in, this was becoming one of my favorite c-dramas. It had all the elements - romance, friendship, politics, action, slight mystery and light comedy, The friendship between the FL and her best friend was so heart warming. I loved seeing the FL overcome her hardships and fight for justice. It was annoying every episode seeing the repetitive action of all against the FL calling for her removal or death, but that was really the only thing that irked me. The relationship between the FL and ML really pulled me in. The ML actor did a beautiful job of displaying his cold exterior yet silent yearning for the ML. Let’s just say the last few episodes took a complete and utter ridiculous turn. It completely ruined everything before that had been leading up to it. I’d rate everything before that a 9, but the last few episodes brought it down to a 7. So I’ll combine it and give it an 8.

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More than just zombies

I loved this drama, it has everything I have learned I enjoy in a story. Starting with zombies/apocalypse that puts characters at the edge and tests their limits, through romance that feels genuine and makes you root for the couple, mystery and twists that keep you on edge and of course characters you despise from the bottom of your heart.

The disease outbreak that the story follows is such a cruel one, infected lose themselves to an extreme thirst that only blood can quench, but they regain their conscience soon after and are met with a dreadful realization that they cannibalized someone, someone most likely close to them. And most terrifying of all? They were happy doing all that.

Amidst this cruel reality the writers decide to show us what happiness could be and how to achieve it. For some it comes from holding certain social standing, others find it in having money or fame, but all of that pales next to the happiness that comes with having close relationships. Because sharing your life with someone is what lets you pull through the worst and that’s what I think this drama shows again and again through its characters.

And the romance. Sae Bom came into Yi Hyun’s life like a typhoon and with one quick shove managed to push him from the standstill he found himself in after a career-ending injury. With that, his years-long yearning began. Their relationship feels so genuine, like they had already meant so much to each other long before they moved in together. And as they face difficulties throughout the show, they slowly realise just how much they truly mean to one another. I love them together so much!

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Came for her, stayed for him

I clicked play for Wu Jin Yan. She's one of my favorite actresses. What I did not expect was to walk out of the finale thinking almost exclusively about Chen Zhe Yuan.

His Ying Gua is holding this entire show up. A young emperor who slips out of the palace to play vigilante as He Du, cleaning up the corruption his own court is drowning in. He builds two men you can tell apart in a second and still recognize as the same person. He acts with almost nothing, too. Stillness, posture, the eyes, a twitch at the corner of the mouth. There's a permanent regal weight he never puts down even in disguise, and underneath the polite imperial mask there's something genuinely cold that only surfaces when nobody's watching. It's a restrained, disciplined performance in a genre that usually rewards shouting.

Meng Ting Hui has one of the best premises I've seen in a while: the first woman to sweep the imperial exams walking straight into the Court of Oversight, and for the first ten episodes Wu Jin Yan plays that suppressed fury beautifully. My problem isn't her, it's what the script does to her afterward. She is steadily pushed from the person driving the investigation to the person delivering the principled speech, and then to needing rescue. That's a waste of both the character and the actress.

This is marketed as historical romance and it is barely either half of that. They fall for each other, fine, but nearly every scene they share is a crisis. No ordinary time, no quiet, nothing that lets an audience actually feel the thing the plot keeps insisting is happening. When the romantic beats do arrive they land like items being ticked off a list. Restraint can be a real choice, but this reads more like the writers ran out of room.

The first arc is tight and the corruption cases genuinely work. Then villains start collapsing faster than they were built, and the last stretch rushes.

What actually carried me through was the two side couples. Shen Zhi Shu and Yan Fu Zhi felt like two adults who see each other clearly and choose each other anyway, no manufactured angst, just warmth, and I lit up every time they were on screen. And Di Nian and Shen Zhi Li wrecked me, even when the writing wasn't fair to him. Both of those pairings gave me more in a handful of scenes than the leads managed across thirty-two episodes, and when the secondary romances are the ones you're actually rooting for, that tells you everything about the main one.

A 7 for the drama. Chen Zhe Yuan alone is a 9.

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