Reviews

A 10 if you ignore the ending

The drama is an extremely bold drama about 2 childhood friends in high school. The moment the first episode starts, you're hit with a jaw dropping moment. So much so that the actors weren't even shown the scene in their reaction video. But that's just the beginning!

The drama somewhat reminded me of The Time Of Fever where one lead is slowly failing to hide his attraction to the other and is practically hungry for him. That's what the intimate scenes of Summertime are like. Real passionate kisses. A bit of obsession but not to the extent of being a red flag.

The drama was very interesting and I eagerly awaited every episode. This will be a great binge! There is also a 3rd character and I must admit, at times I had second lead syndrome. There's a bit of mystery surrounding him.

The last 2 episodes could feel a bit annoying but you do see the signs of Yeo EunHo's struggle. It just becomes blaringly obvious towards the end. The only thing that I disliked was the very end. It left me extremely confused and annoyed. I read the director's statement and personally I don't buy it because it was badly portrayed as opposed to everything else. But the drama is too good to miss purely because of the ending so I gave it a 9.5/10.

Hope people give it a chance even if as a one time watch.

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The Most Moving Zombie Drama — I was so Invested

Final review:


The Last Oath won me over very early, and the finale only confirmed why I had been so invested all along. The story kept surprising me, kept widening in interesting ways, and gave its characters room to make messy, frustrating, very human choices. There were absolutely moments when I wanted to shake Lin Zai and tell him to just have a conversation, but even then I understood his motivations, even when his execution was questionable. The finale gave me the emotional payoff I wanted, including a genuinely moving goodbye that had me in tears, and yes — this does have a happy ending. For a drama I almost avoided because I am not a zombie/apocalypse person, this became one of the strongest and most memorable surprises of my year.

Below are my ongoing reviews as I watched the drama while it aired.
Review after episode 17:

I never thought I’d love a zombie show!
The biggest change since Episode 14 is that the romance has gotten much messier — in a good way.

A Lie and Lin Zai are not just “together now.” Lin Zai is actively wrestling with what it means to love someone who has essentially been shaped into a human weapon, while A Lie is finally admitting how deeply attached he has become. Their relationship is still tender, but now it also hurts.

One of my favorite things is how differently A Lie behaves in public versus in private. Around everyone else, he is almost unreadable. Alone with Lin Zai, he smiles, teases, touches him constantly, and turns into a completely different person. That contrast makes the intimacy feel especially personal.

The second couple has also become much more interesting than I expected, especially with the half-zombie situation, which has raised several ethical questions and one extremely important practical one: what exactly is the safety protocol for kissing half-zombies? He Yao was awfully brave with Sheng Chang Huan. Protection is important!

The story is also widening beyond simple survival. We now have research into reversing infection, questions about immunity, secrecy, sacrifice, and people making increasingly questionable decisions because they are desperate to save someone they love.

And Episode 17 hurt. A Lie’s quiet heartbreak was brutal. The scene worked because he is usually so contained, so watching him finally say what he feels and then break down so quietly hit hard.


Review after episode 14:
I am not a zombie/apocalypse person at all, so I honestly did not expect The Last Oath to work for me this well. The first episode was the hardest because there is a fair amount of zombie action, but if you are on the fence because you are worried this is just going to be people running from zombies for 24 episodes, it absolutely is not.

The real strength of the drama is A Lie and Lin Zai. Their relationship develops through mistrust, danger, caretaking, forced proximity, attraction, and gradually deepening attachment, and the progression feels very natural. Their chemistry is excellent, but more importantly, the emotional development supports the romance. When the intimacy comes, it feels earned rather than inserted just because this is a BL.

The acting has also impressed me a lot. Both leads are very good, especially in quieter scenes where so much is communicated through body language and expression. The cast is relatively small, which keeps the drama focused, but the story has started opening up in interesting ways beyond just the two leads and the immediate zombie threat.

The production is much better than I expected too. The action is effective, the locations work well for the post-apocalyptic setting, and the drama manages to create tension without needing constant large-scale spectacle. The vocal soundtrack is especially beautiful. Several of the songs are memorable enough that I have actively wanted to find them after the episodes ended.

What I like most is that the zombies are the setting and the danger, but they are not the entire plot. The story is really about trust, survival, loyalty, attachment, betrayal, and the choices people make when the normal rules of life have disappeared.

At 14 episodes in, this has become one of the biggest surprises of my current watch list. It is engaging, emotionally satisfying, well acted, and much more layered than I expected from the premise.

If you like character-driven stories and strong chemistry but are hesitant because of the zombie element, I would still recommend giving this one a chance.

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A Sweet Extra That Opens the Door to Something Bigger

Extra episode two - so sweet!! 🥹 I won’t say more than that because it is only 13 minutes and anything I saw would be a spoiler lol. Watch and enjoy!

This extra episode starts slowly—very slowly—but if you loved Winter Sun, it’s worth the patience.

What begins as a cute little story about Qinglang worrying about aging beside his younger husband turns into something much more interesting when magical tea sends Changyang ten years into the past. There, he meets the younger Qinglang, still deeply in love with Shi Yuhao and standing just before some of the most painful events of his life.

The episode works because it doesn’t simply give us domestic fan service. Changyang is suddenly confronted with the possibility that he might be able to change Qinglang’s past, while present-day Qinglang can actually see what is happening. There are some genuinely funny moments mixed into the emotional material, especially Qinglang’s increasingly frantic reaction to hearing his younger self repeatedly declare his love for Shi Yuhao.

Visually, it is still unmistakably Winter Sun—quiet, atmospheric, and absolutely gorgeous.

And then the ending introduces a new complication that immediately made me want the next extra episode. What seemed like a small bonus scene may actually be setting up a much bigger time-travel story.

Short, slow at first, but very cute—and much more intriguing by the end than I expected.

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Amazing KBL but bad direction in the last 5 mins ruined it for everyone

I'd have rated it lower if I watched the last episode the day it was aired. Thankfully I watched it after the director clarified the ending. So I'd like to give the same clarification to all future watchers who probably won't get to see it. So the last 5 mins is basically Eun Ho remembering/dreaming abt the past where he is thinking something like "if i went back in time i wouldn't push him away and make a move". So the main story ends with the happy ending. Although the lack of separation between the ending and his dream makes it seem like the whole drama was a dream. If they probably had mentioned that scene as a easter egg or had a little blurred effect then this drama would have been amazing.

Overall loved the drama. Although Do Hyeon did kinda scare me at first but he didn't do anything bad so I'm good.

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what was the reason?

this was not a highly anticipated watch of mine since korean BL do not have good track records in my watchlist. i was getting ready to drop this as soon as eunho's insecure nonsense came to head in episode nine. then i read the comments here that revealed a major twist. i almost cackled with disbelief and finished episode ten some minutes ago.

studio oak seems to be leading in progressing BL forward in korea but then they fall short every time. whose decision was it to make the entire plot a fcking dream? for what reason? seriously, why? i feel robbed as a viewer. even though the end was not as treacherous as i was expecting, it still was not it at all. making it a dream is not even a logical decision but then leaving it on a cliffhanger is where eyes were rolled. we are supposed to interpret the ending ourselves too? foolishness.

the kissing was fire and that was all this was worth. this deserves a lower overall score for playing in my face.

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Afraid of writing a spoiler tittle

Major spoiler ahead, do not ready before watching the drama or there would be no point in watching anymore.

Man, what in the world happened? lmfaooo. so technically, he was dreaming even in the dream? longest dream of century man, can't believe the whole drama was a dream. I saw that people were getting disappointed by the last two episodes and I immediately stayed away from any spoiler, I thought, maybe there's like an open ending, or sad ending or he went off to abroad or something. Didn't even think of the whole drama being a dream because they were already having quite a lot of detailed dreams from the starting episodes. We get it, writers are obsessed with the dream plot. hahaha
Personally, it was hilarious that they decided to end it like that. When you think about it from the pov of what the writers might be trying to say? I don't know, but I took it as that you know from start, It was Do-hyun being all over for Eun-ho, like literal obsessed lover and it was Eun ho who had to take time in understanding himself and digesting the whole new dynamic of their friendship but now the role has reversed, if there would be a season 2, it would be so interesting. Even now, imagining their world, where Eun ho is the one claiming Do hyun first, he would be the one being comfortable in doing everything with Do hyun, and it might be new for Do hyun now, everything. It is interesting, the receiver would be on the giver side. Idk, I am finding it interesting, the whole reverse thingy that will happen now between this relationship dynamic. I like the last dialogue where Eun-ho said, "Come and catch me, I am here waiting for you". Because this is exactly was Do-hyun was doing for Eun-ho in his dream.

Now about the drama, it is a good one time watch, very bold for korean industry, can't believe from not getting a single kiss scene in BL to getting intimates scenes that too in a high school BL. They are redefining the standards of intimacy for KBLs. I like their chemistry, it doesn't feel scripted, the scenes. It comes out very natural, you would enjoy their dynamics.
I personally like when TOP is a loser in love, so I liked his dream do hyun ( lmao) but yeah he did seem toxic with how he literally was so obsessed and territorial over Eun ho to the point where he won't even listen to what Eun ho wants and will do anything to satisfy his own desire. As Eun ho also called him, "Selfish bastard" he really was one. but the crack is that, eun ho likes that, so leave him man, bro is exactly where he wants to be.

Overall, it is a good one time watch, I love high school Bls and if you like childhood friends to lovers, clingy, obsessed, territorial top guy with his Feisty bottom then go for it!!

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Excellent acting with over-sexualized production

This series was very mixed for me. I likely would have skipped it except I am a great fan of Son Ye Jin, Ji Chang Wook and Nana. They did a tremendous job. I loved how the drama flipped the usual roles by having Ji Chang Wook do the heavy lifting with the explicit emotional scenes while Son Ye Jin's character was the one with the stoic expression … yet still spoke volumes via her eyes, micro-expressions and tone of voice. Their scenes together made the entire series worth it for me.

Because of their acting, the story became interesting. While it starts off rather slow, as the web of lies and deceit is spun, spreads, unravels and spun again became great to watch … in a somewhat horrific manner considering the underlying evil.

The actual production was somewhat of an issue for me … mainly because of the gratuitous explicit scenes that it contained. Some were completely gratuitous such as the feet to back pan of So Ok as she was being dressed or Chil Seung / Eun-sil sexual activity while those that could be justified by the story tended to be more explicit than necessary. As with lingerie, less revealing is often more appealing. Those scenes went for explicit shock rather than subtle art.

As for shock, at least the drama did not follow thru with the consummation of So Ok and Cho Won's interaction considering the underlying relationship that was, while never confirmed, subtlety hinted at.

The ending fit the entire series. While not how I'd have liked it to go, it really was the only way for it to go. Anything else would have been a disservice to everything that had come before. And it did provide probably my favorite scene as the only actual romance in the series – when Cho Won's servant comforts Hui Yeon with”... [Cho Won] would have me bring you a warm cup of tea.”.

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Like a heartwarming bowl of soup

I loved som many things about this drama!

I thought the first part of the series did a great job combining humor and grief. Some scenes really made me cackle. The second half was a bit more somber but still managed to convey hope and light.
I understood our female lead and I was rooting for her. She was very charming despite carrying so much pain. All the women in the show were stellar. The mom, the grandmas and especially the little sister - fantastic talent. The goose - oh my heart🪿 ❤️
One of the overarching themes was about girlhood, empowerment and generational healing and the writers managed to build characters with depth, relatable and loveable.
I also appreciated our couple's realistic depiction of love. Passionate, romantic, messy and realistic. This drama felt like a warm hug and made me reflect on my own mortality and the mortality of the people I cherish the most. I have become grateful for the dullest moments as well. Thank you to the writers and the cast, it was a lovely treat!

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Get your flabbers gasted

It’s been a while since I’ve written a review, but I just HAD to write one for Mouse Trap because WOW. 😭

I genuinely enjoyed this show. I think it was really, really good. I got hooked within the first few seconds of the first episode. I’m not even going to lie, the storytelling and the way the series introduced everything were so good. It immediately pulled me in and had me wanting to know what was going on.

The characters were so well written and well played out. And can we talk about the duo, Je Mun Jae and Noja?! 😭 Those two were honestly one of the best duos I’ve seen. Their dynamic was EVERYTHING.

I also have to mention the cussing throughout the series because PLEASE. 😂 It made everything feel even more chaotic and entertaining. And the guys at the police station?? They were hilarious. I genuinely enjoyed every scene with them.

But WOW… this show had me in a chokehold. Every episode left me wanting more and wanting to find out the truth. It did get confusing at times, but at the same time, it wasn’t the kind of confusing that made me want to stop watching. If anything, it made me want to keep going because I needed answers.

And Je Mun Jae… 😭😭 Some people might think I’m crazy for loving that man, but GUYS, HE WAS LOST. I HAD TO SYMPATHIZE WITH HIM. 😭 Especially when he and Noja were running for their lives, he was just so cute and innocent to me. I couldn’t help it.

One piece of advice for anyone who wants to watch this: DO NOT TRY TO THINK AHEAD. 😂 Don’t sit there trying to figure everything out before it happens because chances are, what you think is going to happen is NOT what plays out. Just let the story take you wherever it wants to go.

Overall, I really enjoyed Mouse Trap. It kept me entertained, curious, stressed, confused, and desperate for answers all at the same time. 😂

And honestly… I NEED a part two because I refuse to believe Yu Su Min died in that sea. Nope. I’m not accepting it. 😭

Overall, really good series. Definitely one that had me hooked from beginning to end. ❤️

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It went totally opposite direction.

They couldn't capture the essence of the original work. When making a remake, the goal is to make it better than the previous one. But they kinda changed the characters' stories.

Big fan of all the actors, especially JCW and HSH; that's why I watched it. But the concept was all over the place. While watching it, I was like, "What? Why? What does that have to do with anything? Where did that come from?" Basically, I was asking "Why!?" most of the time.
They had all the top actors, but looking at the state of the new story, they messed up big time.

I had watched the original work a long time ago. Didn't like that much. But this drama... is worse than that so; it's disappointing :]
Seems like the production hired all the good actors just to make it releaseable and to conceal the bad remake storyline.

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One Word - Ho hum

Ho hum.

That’s not a shrug. It’s a diagnosis.

Netflix’s The Scandal premiered on September 18, 2026, shot to No. 1 in South Korea, and became a global talking point for its 18+ scenes and star-studded cast. It has Son Ye-jin. It has Ji Chang-wook. It has Nana. It has Joseon-era hanbok, a dangerous wager, and a story descended from Les Liaisons dangereuses. It should be a decadent, backstabbing, silk-robed disaster. Instead, it’s a beautifully lit waiting room.

The plot is sturdy enough. Lady Cho, a brilliant noblewoman pinned under Confucian rules, makes a bet with Cho Won, Joseon’s most notorious playboy. The target: Hui-yeon, an innocent young widow. If that sounds like Dangerous Liaisons in hanbok, that’s because it is. Good. Great. Except the show treats the wager like a museum exhibit: interesting to look at, hard to feel.

The cast is not the problem. Son Ye-jin is commanding and striking as Lady Cho, a woman who can ruin a life with a raised eyebrow. Ji Chang-wook is magnetic and complex as Cho Won, especially when he stops smirking and remembers he has a soul. Nana brings a quiet, aching vulnerability to Hui-yeon, and she’s clearly enjoying the bolder, riskier territory. These three deserve a script that gives them something to chew on besides the scenery. They act like the fate of Joseon depends on it. The script acts like it’s already been renewed.

The real issue is the pacing. The show moves like a nobleman’s sedan chair: ornate, slow, and carried by people who seem tired. Eight episodes, and the plot still feels like it’s clearing its throat. Supporters praise the gorgeous historical visuals, the A-list performances, and the morally gray character dynamics. Fair. Critics and some viewers find it slow, unfocused, and more provocative in marketing than in substance. Also fair. The 18+ scenes generated buzz, but they often land with a thud. The most scandalous thing here is a letter being read aloud by fully clothed people. That should be thrilling. Here, it’s often the only time the show has a pulse.

And the discourse? Predictably split. Half the internet is praising the visuals and the cast. The other half is asking how they finished all eight episodes. Somewhere, one person is still typing “Explain the ending” into the void. That person has a point. The finale leaves Cho Won’s fate ambiguous: he jumps into a river, his body is never found, and there are hints he may have started a new life far away. Lady Cho keeps her wealth and status but loses the man who loved her. Hui-yeon survives, but she must practice her faith in hiding, cut off from the society that briefly celebrated her as a martyr. It’s bittersweet. It’s also frustrating. Ambiguity can be depth. Here, it sometimes feels like the writers couldn’t decide, so they let the river choose.

So yes: ho hum.

Not terrible. Not unwatchable. Just strangely inert. The Scandal is a show with a delicious premise, a tremendous cast, and a script that keeps forgetting to be interesting. It’s beautiful, well-acted, and deeply unexciting.

Watch it for Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook, and Nana. Stay for the hanbok. Don’t stay for the plot. It might not notice.

Rating: 2.5/5

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Queer themed heterosexual romcom (in the best way possible)

This was actually really good, I didn't expect it to be this well thought! They tackled some serious issues without making it too heavy. And I loved the characters so much!

Stuff I loved:

▫️Calling out homophobia and bullying/Internalized homophobia due to homophobic parents
▫️Openly Lesbian character
▫️ML character was so adorable and sweet!
▫️FL is so likeable and funny
▫️Great friendship between FL and her male friend
▫️Older sister-younger brother
▫️Funny and cute moments

There is nothing I didn't like about this, but some stuff that could've been better are that I wished they could've shown more of their romance/relationship. And some misunderstandings could've been resolved sooner. And are we forgetting bisexuality exists?

But overall, I loved it so much and definitely recommend it.

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