Reviews

This episode had me feeling everything ?❤️?

This episode was so STEAMY, but what surprised me the most was Dean. I genuinely thought I had misunderstood him this whole time. There’s so much more to him than the playboy image he puts forward, and this episode finally gave us a glimpse of the person underneath it.

It really hit me that no one seems to genuinely try to understand Dean. Everyone sees the flirtatious, carefree side of him, but hardly anyone bothers to look deeper. Seeing that vulnerable side of him made me understand his character in a completely different way.

And also WilliamEst chemistry??? Absolutely top notch. Every scene between them had this intense pull that I couldn’t look away from. The tension, the looks, the way they interact with each other—it all felt so natural and addictive.

This episode really made me fall for their dynamic even harder. Two complicated men who are slowly discovering the parts of each other that nobody else takes the time to see. ❤️

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Crime thriller, with a plot that never gets boring

For all those people out there who dislike too much fluffy romance, and prefer an action packed, crime thriller, congratulations, here it is! Every episode is filled with new clues, that makes sure the drama never gets boring. You will find yourself finding suspects and clues hidden deep in the story along with the characters themselves. The clues are messy, but in a good way. You will find yourself going, 'wait is hanpinmu the murderer?' then realise that he may still have some good in him. Then you will realise the most innocent looking people actually hide a dark secret, related to the 3/12 case 8 years ago. And there isn't too much tragedy. Along the way, we lose main characters like zhaoganshe, which is incredibly sad, but there isn't like someone dying every episode, balancing grief with a reward for the viewers, justice for the characters. And lastly, the vibes. Gosh, you'll find yourself getting creeped out and invested at the murder scenes displayed infront of you. The acting is so real. MUST WATCH!

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Watch it for the villagers

The idea here was that two broken people can heal one another. They both seriously needed therapy, and I'm disappointed that this was never addressed in the drama.

For me:
I almost didn't make it past episode 2, the FL was so irritating. I stuck with it because I was really enjoying the villagers.
The script was convoluted, and what are the odds that a connection between the main leads would be based on their trauma?
How did he know how to find her in a place as large as Seoul, saving her just in time from being hit by a car (twice)?
Are doctors in Korea on the take? She was taking a cocktail of pills, abusing them, but she kept getting the prescription filled?
The episodes seemed inordinately long.
Kim Bum - bad storyline (family power struggle that is overused in K-dramas). The 2ML storyline was poorly written as obvious filler, since he just smiled through the whole drama.
Four different couples - I guess they were needed because there wasn't enough interest in the main couple?
FL parent issues. I couldn't figure out why she was unnecessarily mean to her dad; but her mom was terrible.

However:
There were some very sweet kisses.
I loved the artwork at the end of the episodes. It looked like a painting but was scenes from the show.
I liked the ending credits at the end of the last episode.
ML had good comedic timing.
The villagers were lovely, other than when they turned on the ML suddenly.
I especially loved the little girl and her relationship with the ML, once we finally get to see how that developed.
I didn't see that twist coming!

This show was definitely a middle-of-the-road experience for me.

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Dean & Moth: The Chemistry That Keeps Me Hooked

You Maniac is honestly one of those series that stays in your mind even after the episode ends. 🥹❤️

What I love most is how different Dean and Moth feel as characters. Their personalities, emotions, and the way they deal with each other make their relationship so interesting to watch. Every episode gives me something to think about, and somehow I always end up wanting more. 😭

William and Est’s chemistry is another whole level. The little expressions, the eye contact, the tension, the softer moments—everything feels so natural that I completely forget I’m watching a series sometimes. 🫠🫶🏻 Their performances make Dean and Moth feel like real people with complicated feelings rather than just characters in a story.

And the cinematography, music, atmosphere, and overall visual tone make the series even more addictive. It has such a distinct mood that fits the story perfectly.

You Maniac isn’t just something I watch—I genuinely look forward to every episode. And at this point, Dean and Moth have officially taken up permanent space in my brain. 😭❤️

WilliamEst, you really did THAT. 🫶🏻✨

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ITS ALREADY EP4 !!

ITS ALREADY EP4 AND EVERYTHING IS INSANE !!

- The actor did so well in preparing their roles and character, which amazed me so much !!
- Talented actor in this series
- Every plot of this series is incredible
- The new ost by EST Supha is insanely amazing !!
- The scene for ep4 literally had all of us screaming
- they would continue the scene from the previous ep to ensure that the story is linking it every time
- im so proud of this team has delivered professional acting in all scene

the link to est new song -
https://youtu.be/NnB1JE20Dhw?si=u7NLyZziaAY85T8P

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Very different from any bl out there

Honestly, I’ve never seen a BL like this where I can genuinely feel and sympathize with both characters.

Usually, they just make the “red flag” guy an actual criminal or make him way too toxic compared to the typical naive, innocent bottom. Then the whole story is basically about him hurting the other person, and in the end they find some stupid reason for him to forgive everything. Which has always felt like such a stupid plot to me.

You Maniac, on the other hand, is just so different. I can actually see and feel what both characters are going through, and I can understand why they act the way they do. I can even see myself reacting like them in some situations, and that’s honestly what makes it so interesting to me.

That’s how I view red flags, to be honest. Not every red flag is automatically some evil person who enjoys hurting people. Sometimes they’re just humans with complicated feelings, unresolved issues, and their own ways of dealing with them — and sometimes they act on those feelings in ways that end up hurting the people around them.

What I really love about this series is that it doesn’t seem to excuse their actions, but it actually lets you understand them. And more importantly, you can see them learning, changing, and slowly becoming better throughout the story.

For once, I’m not sitting there thinking, “WHY would you forgive him???” 😭 I actually understand both sides, and that makes the whole relationship and plot feel so much more complicated and real.

I genuinely didn’t even plan on watching this series, but I kept seeing certain scenes and eventually I couldn’t resist. And honestly? I’m SO glad I watched it because I’ve never sympathized with both characters this much before.

It’s such a different plot, and I’m completely hooked.

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WHEN LONELINESS FINDS A PLACE TO BELONG

Episode 4 really stayed with me. 🥹

At first, Dean seems like someone who can easily fit anywhere. He has people around him, he can talk to anyone, and he looks like someone who never has trouble finding a place. But the more he opens up, the more you realize that maybe he has never truly felt like he belongs anywhere.

That line about how a place can continue to exist even when you’re not there really hit me. Maybe Dean is not looking for a place at all. Maybe he’s looking for someone who would notice his absence. Someone who would feel that something is missing when he’s not around.

And then there’s Moth.

Moth is still Moth—stubborn, sassy, defensive, and not exactly the easiest person to understand. 😂 But underneath all of that, I feel like he’s also afraid of wanting something too much. He may not know how to say it yet, but I think he wants someone who will stay and understand him without asking him to become someone else.

That’s why Dean and Moth feel so complicated.
They’re both looking for something they’re scared to ask for.

They challenge each other, frustrate each other, and sometimes make things even harder than they need to be. But at the same time, they’re slowly becoming the people who see each other in ways nobody else does.

Maybe that’s what makes their connection so interesting.

It’s not just attraction. It’s two lonely people slowly realizing that the person they keep fighting with might also be the person they’ve been looking for all along.

And now after Episode 4… I NEED THE NEXT EPISODE. 😭

Because whatever happens next, I feel like we’re getting closer to the moment when Dean and Moth can no longer run away from what they actually feel.
Please let them figure themselves out before their stubbornness ruins everything. 😭

I’m seated. I’m ready. I’m emotionally prepared… probably not. 😂

#YouManiacEP4 #YouManiac #DeanMoth #WilliamEst

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you know it's a toxic love story but you can't stop watching

The kind of relationship portrayed in this story is obviously toxic. There are so many red flags, and it’s painful to imagine two people going through that kind of relationship in real life. But since it’s fiction, it was an easy watch—something that can actually teach us what not to do in a romantic relationship.

Things I actually enjoyed about this drama:

1. The main leads did an amazing job in their roles. Their chemistry was on fire, and they embodied Luan Nian and Shang Zhitao so well, including both their flaws and strengths. Even their intimate scenes were very convincing.

2. Luke, the dog! Dramas with dogs or kids always make a show more enjoyable to watch. Luke was definitely a welcome addition.

3. The 24-episode length. It wasn’t too long. C-dramas usually have way too many episodes, and I tend to dislike that because the story often gets dragged out. This one was long enough to tell the story without feeling unnecessarily stretched.

4. The parents. Compared to other C-dramas I’ve watched, the parents here were relatively chill. They did push their kids to get married—which is pretty typical of Asian parents—but at least there wasn’t the usual drama of parents being adamant about who their children should marry or actively opposing their love life.

5. The office politics and workplace scenes. The work-related conflicts and office politics actually felt realistic. A lot of the situations portrayed in the drama really do happen in real life, and I thought they were handled and portrayed quite well.

6. Luan Nian’s male friend, the chef, is such a wise and insightful person. He’s almost like Luke’s fairy godfather, always offering him advice and helping him make sense of his emotions, or the lack thereof. I really liked that Luke had someone like him in his life. He is thoughtful, perceptive, and emotionally grounded, and I appreciate how he could see through Luke and give him the perspective he needed, especially when Luke struggled to understand or express his feelings.

Now, onto the red flags!

1) Luan Nian's character is an asshole. Don't get me wrong. He is hot and very charming, I'll give him that, but he is such a man-child. His sharp tongue is really something else, and the things he says can break a woman's heart over and over again. I honestly don't think any woman would want to put up with that. His jealousy is also constantly out of line, and it's not like he's a teenager or something. At some point, you really need to grow up and learn how to communicate like an adult. But at least, he did show some changes toward the end, so I'll give him credit for that.

2) The lack of trust and constant miscommunication between them. This is a common problem in all kinds of relationships. Lack of trust and poor communication can easily lead to misunderstandings, resentment, and eventually couples breaking up. And honestly, these two had plenty of both.

3) I wouldn't want to be in a secret relationship for that long. This was another reason their relationship eventually fell apart. Kudos to them for actually managing to keep it a secret for six years, but honestly, it felt almost like having an affair. You're never truly free to act like a couple or even be openly acknowledged as one in front of other people. You can't show affection freely, constantly hiding your relationship, and after six years of living like that, it's no wonder they were so jealous and insecure about each other. They had to constantly worry about who the other person was with, what they were doing, and how their relationship looked from the outside. All that secrecy only made their lack of trust and communication worse. That's just not the kind of relationship I'd want for myself.

Anyhow, despite all the red flags, I still enjoyed the hell out of watching them. I spent half the time swooning over them and the other half cursing at them.

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The scriptwriter ruined this for me...

I was prepared to enjoy this drama as a feel-good rom com despite obvious loopholes in the story which I will not delve about. I’m a fan of Miles Wei and once again he didn't disappoint. His character Ming Yu is a suave and hardworking CEO who knows how to humble himself and love with all his heart. Initially, I admired Si Xian who was independent, brave, intelligent and who persevered to pursue her dream of becoming a female pilot. And she looked really cool in her pilot uniform. I loved the friendship and camaraderie. I really wanted to love this drama. But the last few episodes ruined this for me when the script writer decided to sabotage Si Xian’s character and turned her into a caricature of pure ego, selfish, immature, irrational, faithless and heartless. I stopped believing in her when she blindsided Ming Yu with the farce of a break up. What exactly were the script writer and the director thinking by adding that totally stupid and unnecessary conflict? I read that the break up was never even in the original novel. Why oh why must the story be ruined? Why add the 2 months break up just so the Company’s aviation reform can be passed ( which is of course ridiculous and totally far fetched in a corporate world. It would probably made more sense if it was 2 years). Anyway, I'm just ranting my displeasure. After completing all the episodes, I feel it zapped my energy.

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Gambler knows That the secret to survivin' Is knowin' what to throw away And knowin' what to keep

Beyond the inevitable connections with the literary roots of Laclos’s epistolary novel, “The Scandal” captivates through its ability to bring together different languages, eras and sensibilities without being reduced to a mere transposition of a pre-existing model. It is a multifaceted work, in which the subject matter of the eighteenth-century narrative meets Korean melodrama, the rigour of Joseon-era social conventions and a contemporary sensibility towards desire, repression and appearances.

This ongoing dialogue between seemingly disparate elements manages to make the whole thing interesting: even as codes, cultures and even the way in which eroticism is portrayed change, certain dynamics remain surprisingly recognisable. The respectable façade, the obligatory conventions, what is permissible to desire and what must instead be concealed – these belong to a specific era, but not necessarily to that era alone. In this way, “The Scandal” uses the ‘classic’ not to look back nostalgically at the past, but almost to observe ourselves through it.

The literary inspiration would inevitably lead the viewer to draw constant comparisons with Laclos’s original work and its most famous film adaptations, but “The Scandal” gradually establishes its own identity by refusing to become trapped in a mere transposition of the source material. Rather than simply reproducing its plot developments, the drama retains certain fundamental mechanisms and reworks them within a structure in which seduction, manipulation and desire become the true driving forces of the narrative.

The wager lies at the heart of this plot: it begins almost as a game, a challenge between two people who know each other all too well, but ends up turning into something far more serious when its consequences gradually slip beyond the control of those who conceived it. Surrounding it are seduction – exercised as much through the body as through words – and manipulation, which finds one of its preferred tools in the written form of letters. In short, the game works as long as its architects can consider themselves masters of the rules; but when feelings, desires and consequences begin to elude their control, even the story’s architects discover they can no longer govern what they have set in motion.

It is above all in the letters that the connection with Laclos becomes most evident, but also most interesting, because the drama manages to transform them gradually, along with the relationships between the characters.

They are not merely a tribute to the epistolary form of the original novel, but become the very driving force behind the story: they preserve memories, shape identities, fuel seduction, reveal feelings and, when they fall into the wrong hands, can become weapons. It is through their correspondence that Cho-won and Lady Cho get to know one another as young people, finding in writing a space of freedom that social conventions deny, particularly to her; Those same letters then become a record of a feeling which, stifled by an arranged marriage and family rules, turns into distance and resentment.

Years later, Cho-won once again uses the written word as a tool of seduction, this time to win over Hui-yeon: the letters allow him to gradually enter her most intimate space, where gestures and the body cannot yet reach. Here, however, the mechanism begins to slip beyond the control of its architects. Hui-yeon, now imbued with a new sense of self, puts her feelings into writing, and that letter takes on two opposing meanings at once: whilst for Lady Cho it may be seen as tangible proof of a wager now almost fulfilled, for Hui-yeon it represents a genuine confession, the most sincere declaration of love ever made. For Cho-won, now wavering, those words can no longer be reduced to the simple logic of the game.

Writing, which began as a tool of manipulation, has given rise to a genuine emotion that can no longer be controlled by those who brought it about.
From that moment on, letters gradually cease to belong to those who write them.

Even on an erotic level, the written word thus takes on a significance that is anything but secondary. Although it is a series intended for an adult audience, “The Scandal” does not rely solely on imagery to convey its sensuality: certain nude scenes form part of a much broader construction of desire, in which the gaze, the gesture and, above all, the spoken word contribute to gradually revealing what the characters have long repressed. Indeed, it is certain letters – with their sometimes surprisingly explicit language – together with the conversations of the village women and the drawings used to tarnish Cho-won’s reputation, that introduce an erotic element which the imagery then merely serves to complement. In short, sensuality is often first imagined and articulated, and only subsequently embodied.

Gradually, “The Scandal” seems to move further away from the simple mechanics of seduction. Desire arises not only from physical proximity, but from what the characters imagine about one another: from the words they receive, the glances they interpret, the expectations and the images they construct in their own minds. To seduce, then, means – even before winning over a body – to construct a presence in the imagination of others. And when that construction begins to coincide with a genuine feeling, the game loses its original nature.

This mental construct – passion constrained by social norms, and the body language that shines through the words and letters – probably defines the erotic and sensual nature of the story better than any image, in keeping with the body’s gradual liberation from the social roles that have long held it captive. Desire arises in the mind, is fuelled by words, takes shape in the imagination, and only then becomes reality.

From this perspective, Hui-yeon proves to be the drama’s surprisingly most multifaceted character, capable of developing a fully realised narrative arc: a woman who is already ‘dead inside’, a virtuous and chaste widow, driven by extreme resolve to be reunited with her deceased husband, whose identity is built entirely around her grief. She longs to die in order to be reunited with a man she never truly had the chance to know.

The paradox arises from a desire rooted in absence—that of her dead husband—but through Cho-won’s letters she ends up confronting a presence that speaks to her, provokes her and seduces her. In that exchange of letters, the presence initially imagined through words gradually becomes a real, tangible desire: the very possibility of imagining herself in a relationship with a man. It is this element of vitality which, through desire, gradually restores her sense of her own existence. The erotic discovery thus becomes the transition through which Hui-yeon comes to perceive herself once more as a living person.

Hui-yeon’s transformation is also achieved through a performance built primarily by subtraction. Nana explores sensuality without making it immediately visible: the mourning clothes, the composure, the subtle gestures, the glances and the hesitations gradually construct a body that seems almost to disappear behind the social role that governs it. When the femininity that this role had repressed finally emerges, it does not therefore appear to be a sudden transformation of the character, but rather the revelation of something that had always been there beneath the surface. The body that is finally revealed is almost the visible consequence of a sensuality that Nana had already established whilst she was still fully clothed.

But the dynamic works precisely because it is a three-way interplay. Son Ye-jin builds the character of Lady Cho through equally rigorous control, often relying more on what she implies than on what she states explicitly: half-finished sentences, intonations, piercing glances with which she seems able to make others confess even before they have decided to speak. Her rhetorical and storytelling skills allow her to continually reweave the threads of the situation, even when the mechanism begins to slip from her grasp. It is significant that she gradually loses some of that composure precisely when she realises she cannot exert the same control over Cho-won: behind the strategist capable of manipulating others, a woman emerges who is deeply dissatisfied with the life she has been assigned, ultimately forced to come to terms with the loss of the one love she had truly desired.

Ji Chang-wook, by contrast, begins with an almost playful seduction, portraying a Valmont-like Cho-won who seems to take particular pleasure in exercising his skills: a smooth talker, a libertine, perfectly aware of the ease with which he manages to win over the women he meets. All of them, that is, except Lady Cho. But even this confidence gradually shifts as the game produces consequences that can no longer be attributed to the logic of the wager. His demeanour changes in tandem with the character’s growing realisation, right up to the finale, where that seemingly absolute freedom proves to be far more fragile than it appeared.

In short, the three actors must carry a complex and largely static story, in which the conflict plays out primarily through words, letters, glances and power dynamics: Son Ye-jin is almost always confined to domestic spaces, and even the visual style often eschews the most immediate glamour. It is the sort of narrative that could easily have become theatrical in the least interesting sense of the word. Yet if it manages to maintain tension, it is also because the three protagonists succeed in shouldering much of the narrative burden, transforming control, seduction and the gradual loss of control into a form of action that requires no grand external gestures.

At the end of the day, what remains is the fate of three people who have each, in their own way, sought to control the desires and circumstances of their own lives, only to find themselves trapped by the consequences of their choices. It is perhaps precisely in their different outcomes that “The Scandal” reveals its most bitter aspect: none of the three truly returns to the life they had imagined, because what has been repressed, sacrificed or pursued for too long inevitably comes back to haunt them.

In conclusion, “The Scandal” seems to succeed on several fronts: it draws on Laclos’s literary legacy without becoming bound by it, making the letters not merely a tribute to the epistolary form, but one of the story’s true driving forces; it constructs a self-aware sensuality, relying more on words, glances and the gradual discovery of the body than on exhibitionism for its own sake; it finds in Nana, Son Ye-jin and Ji Chang-wook a cast capable of carrying a narrative that is anything but straightforward, transforming even the stillness of the settings and relationships into dramatic tension.

But perhaps its greatest merit lies precisely in its ability to bring culture and entertainment together without one having to be sacrificed for the other; In the end, Cho-won and Lady Cho’s gamble becomes the drama’s own. A gamble which, on balance, paid off.

8 ½

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I know I'm late to the party glad glad I didn't watch weekly or I would've dropped it and dropped series barely get a glance again but I watched 3 episodes per day. It felt odd watching 9 episodes - usually series have even numbers and I know this is a fan favourite. Sorry if you get confused as I still don't know any of the character's names.


I felt it was a mix of a rom com and more drama, angsty series and I didn't like the mix. I've watched plenty angsty, drama, toxic dramas that do have the occasional rom com moment which helps move the plot but in SCD it just didn't work. I liked the first 3 - probably due to action - middle 3 was okay, the last 3 the amount of times I was going to drop but was like I'm nearly done the series so I'll just push through then we get added characters.

The actual story had potential with a deputy turned leader with an university student but was bland. I was thinking maybe because it was a slooooooooooooow burn but that wasn't the issue as done right it can be better than your typical romance. The pacing is what either makes or breaks a series forget about the romance aspect for a minute - it was so dragging. I thought due to the setting it would be a roller-coaster where you're trying to keep up with everything as I thought it was an area of rivals gangs trying to 1 up each other but no - another area that had potential but yet again not explored.

Was I the only one interested in the sister and her husband's story. I was intrigued on her illness and how that impacted her relationships with others. I think Quong Long liked the brother and that is why the wife never felt love from him but then they get killed and their story gets wiped and the whole getting revenge was only mentioned at most twice in the rest of the episodes and I get he needed to move on from his family but he seemed hell bent on getting revenge as it seemed liked Quong Long supposed killer said it was part of a bigger story so the audience was lied to. Maybe the supposed killer was lying to rile up Li but I felt robbed of something had potential to develop further.

Then the detectives, at first I was confused on their role as they came in the middle of the drama and this could've been we know the police is on the MC trail making the audience feel like the MC relationship is fragile and numbered making us anxious on the development of their relationship but no. I felt like I was watching 2 dramas in 1 as they didn't do much interaction and I hate that because the drama feels chunky and mitch matched - is that a word. They didn't cross paths till the end. Then the ending - come on. I hated it. I actually quite like open endings but only when I feel like I got my times and energy worth especially as a bombshell was dropped on us in the last 5 minutes piquing my interest yet again to be disappointed again as motivation, trauma, right and wrong could've been explored.

Communication is key to any type of relationship and I get communication can be hard due to being scared of the reaction, scared of your own feelings and other reasons but seriously I felt like the MC had no proper healthy communication in any of the drama.

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Excellent Cinematography, not so excellent story telling

I really wanted to enjoy The Scandal, especially because the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. The visuals, costumes, and overall atmosphere were easily my favourite parts of the film. The actor/actress were okay, not exceptional but also not terrible.

Unfortunately, I found the pacing of the story much less compelling (may be they should make it 10-12 eps instead of 8). I also felt that many of the sexual and overly explicit scenes added very little to the plot or character development. Rather than making the story more impactful, they often felt unnecessary and distracting.

I also have to admit that some of the vulgarity felt surprisingly modern for an ancient setting. I found myself wondering whether people in that period could really have been quite that openly crude.

Ultimately, I didn’t particularly enjoy the plot or the amount of nudity, but I can't deny that the film is beautiful to look at. For me, the cinematography was by far the strongest aspect of The Scandal.

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