Reviews

A M A Z I N G

This drama had been sitting in my watchlist for so long but i’m so glad i finally watched it now. I’ve watched countless kdramas but nothing compares to thsi (plot wise). Cdramas really are on a whole different level 😀.. This drama was SO enjoyable and it NEVERR got boring even tho it has 36 episodes. I am giving this drama a 9.5/10 and not a 10/10 just because i haven’t watched many cdramas so maybe another could close to this… if not then it will get that 10/10. This drama truly was amazing from the cinematography to the actors to the cgi to everything ! Just amazing! I’m gonna miss them so much ALL of the characters 🥲. The chemistry between the leads was SO real, honestly the chemistry between ALL of the actors was amazing truly 🥲 this drama is a must watch undoubtedly.

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I get why people dropped it.

I love time travel, soul swapping, magic, vampires... the more implausible the more it peaks my interest, but I am well aware that most of the time especially with time travel/ soul swaps it's going to be bad, but I take the risk every time hoping for a "Mr. Queen" and fully knowing that it won't. I probably have started all reviews I've made so far for this type of drama with more or less that statement.

The top reviews on this drama are from people that ended up dropping it, and they're not wrong they were smart, they warned me and I still stupidly ignored them.

This drama is so painfully bad!! god I'm mad I even liked the parts that I liked, it's not worth watching at all, The first episode is fantastic despite the acting not being so good the story is quite interesting, the second episode is also very good and starting on episode 3 I can only assume that they only had written the script for those first episodes and the rest they just winged ad they went along? 🤷‍♀️ I don't even know how to explain but it just keeps getting worse! I wanted to finish it really, I wanted to know how the heck they were going to make sense of this mess, but episode 6 is as far as my patience an love for stupid plots can take me.

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Man this show was such a letdown

i loved TBOY so much, then saw Dashing youth, I didn't love it that much at the start but somewhere around episode 10 i fell in love with it and even made me love Neo Hou as an actor

but this one was the opposite, I really loved it, till around the episode 20-25 mark when the whole Tang sect / tianqi arc started

it bored me to tears, i became so pissed off and used my free will to start to skip scenes at episode 30

just so much talking and the same boring fighting sequences

a better actor than gong jun might have carried this but damn he was stiff af (and trust me i love him alot)

this was just so underwhelming, and I had to skip 32 - 36, because it was literally torture

i guess this will be the only one in the series that I give a 5/10, solely for the first half

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Such a re-freshing story

I.. actually started this because of a single edit that i saw on Instagram! it was very exciting and fun to watch super binge watch-able drama i love both the characters very much too! Shiono is very straightforward and deep thinking character he is very different from takoi-san.. i can relate to shu's charcter very much i think i am closer to him the way he feels and thinks deeply the way he get's possessive.. jealous! he is so cute! takoi is a very kind character i do think it's hard to be him and understand him he is very caring to everyone he is too much good! he smiles at everyone and hides what's his real feelings also he is 38 so he is definitely struggling related to love life everyone around him seemed to be settled down and be happy while he is finding it hard.. he really wants to date someone his "type" but all he wants is someone who likes him very much someone who he likes very much too.. it's not a easy feeling for him

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Strong start and great yearning, but the lost writers...

Plot wise, the story had great potential! The coup, K'Great changing the timeline (which, tell me, HOW ARE THERE NO REPERCUSSIONS!), the poor linking of the past with present-day, and the obvious comparison this show has with LUOAT due to the similar time period (LD being set in 1036, and LUOAT in 1038), and having aired just a couple months apart.
I wish they had stuck with just one or two prominent plot points, and explored those throughout the series instead of throwing the characters in different scenarios. At one point, the characters weren't causing the plot progression, bt rather, the plot was happening to them just because there were episodes to be filled in my opinion.

The finale was very choppy. The sudden odd pacing, juming from one scene to the next, the weird pre-credits ending, leading to us thinking there might be a 2nd season...

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the show alot, and infact, at the time of its airing, this was the only ongoing thai bl I was looking forward to every week, and anticipating what would happen next (futile though), but after a while I feel the writers didn't know what to do with so much they had set up. And that finale was just...
Like I mentioned earlier, the coup happening with Falcon, his love marriage with K'Marie (which I don't see happening as she has very different thinking and morals by the end of the show), then the murder attempt on Falcon as well. Did they ever actually resolve that? I don't remember anymore...
To top it off, Falcon is apparently working with the French to overthrow the govt as well. Then there is K'Siri, a renowned poet. His story also gets unfairly treated, with the writers killing him off in the penultimate ep. The issue is that we didn't get to sit with his death. Yeah we saw how everyone reacted, but there should have been more to it than just them being sad, and crying, and the king killing the ruler of the other province who killed him.

Then there's the matter of K'Great changing the history inexplicably by telling people what to do and what not to do w/o any repercussions which I hated.

But, as a love story it was nice. The yearning, the pining! Absolute peak! I have to say, I'd have loved to see more of the recent day timeline, or at least more of K'Reung and Dr. Wad/Dr. Rit and nurse Wayu. The fact that the second couple got together before the main couple, and even the servants being in a relationship sent me laughing like crazy! Really enjoyed that unexpected turn of events!

I wished that this show would have treated gay love as normal, cuz I remember a friend of mine had said that the laws on same-sex weren't there (or as strict, I'm not entirely certain since this was a couple years back) back in the 1670s . So no threat of prison, execution, or any of that. I had wished for it in LUOAT, and here as well, but alas...

Cinematography: Stunning!
Chemistry: Really good!
Costumes: Really good!
OST: Absolute bop!
Makeup and props: Wonderful!

Characters:
Past-
K'Gaew: A kind-hearted idiot who doesn't care about the consequences of spoiling the timeline, but lovable nonetheless
K'Dech: Good suspicious, but could have questioned K'Gaew straightup, even if he realised it wasn't his Gaew.
K'Reung: This man had me pining for his love!
K'Wad: A bit of a prik at the start, but you grow to love him! kinda...

Present-day-
Dr.'Great: one of the worst surgeons I have ever scene! Can never forget screaming at my screen in ep one for him to continue with the heart massage, instead of turning around, looking at his collegue, and declaring death!!!
Dr.'Rit: Same as K'Great. Some great docs they are!
Dr.Duncan: Didn't get to see much of him, but same critic of whatever we did see of him.
K'Wayu: Bro is a little bean! You go punish your man when he humiliates you due to his own fear!!!
Wish we'd gotten to see Rit/Wayu a whole lot more! I need their story! How did they start! what lead them to e/o! So much potential! And the chemistry muah! chef's kiss!

LUOAT did great with juggling the story b/w the present and the past, the side characters, and even the multiple romance plots going on, whereas this left a lot to be desired. I'm still not sure how to rate this actually cuz I did enjoy it while it aired, but when thinking back to the entire story progression, it fell down real fast, which is a real shame.

Honestly, with that ending before the credits rolled, I expected a 2nd season, but unfortunately (or fortunately lmao) that won't happen cuz they fixed that conundrum up real quick...

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The show started off interesting with a valid plot. The end just made no sense at all. It felt like the writer changed his mind last minute with where the story was heading. This made those plot twists make zero sense and really disappointing to watch. Really disliked all characters by the end....except Woo-Jae. He was pretty consistent throughout the series and I enjoyed that he ended out to be the fixer and adviser he started out to be until the very end. Also, writer must've forgot they wrote Joon to live away from home but he kept appearing in the house toward the end seeing multiple interactions. Just made no sense.

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Which to watch first? Fabricated City or Manipulated

I watched manipulated first, and I am glad I did, because if I had watched Fabricated City first I would have been so disappointed with the Drama series.
1st of all let me say two main points. one, the acting is phenomenal in both movie and series . Two the Story is scary good.
The reason I feel the movie is better and would be watched after the series is because it is pulled nicely together with the action and timely wit. You feel good watching and seeing how the characters developed. I'm the manipulated it was spooky dark and you cried for the pain and angst that the victims suffered, and it made you sick with some of the rally painful continuation of the bad guys winning. Where this Film "FC" didn't drag out all the dark and ugly points of the premise. also by giving the main character people that knew from the get go and actively helped him his name was far more rewarding. I feel better now knowing after the movie it redeemed the storyline from series.
I still recommend both to watch, but trust me get the darker longer series fine first then watch this movie.

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Uh-huh

I can tell you exactly when I watched a series this bad. That's right, the great My Stubborn. Cringe asf.
Anyways, I hate when the cast looks so delish but they end up not performing well. Half of it is definitely the writer's fault, cuz the writing sucks. I did watch after 3rd episode, but I was skipping through it. Wtf is a plot? This writer is still trying to figure that out. It was so bad that I actually liked the so called villain who got bit by the 3rd brother more than the entire storyline or other characters.
Making a series that bad takes talent, the kind you should keep hidden.


Also, the world building sucked. Hardly a 0.1/10

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Brilliant

A real redemption for the Hyo Jin, after their last project, the story flowed, was engaging, pulling at your heart strings but also not difficult to watch. Every character has growth and the premise was unusual.

Well worth watching even if you struggle with suspense as I do. Will have to keep watching the little girls acting journey as I'm sure she will get more jobs after this brilliant performance.

Only thing I would say is there could of been more episodes, going to really miss this drama, and definitely recommend it to anyone who is undecided.

Trigger warning: The topics of sexual abuse, childhood abuse, murder etc, makes this drama a difficult watch/unsuitable for those with significant trauma.

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What was the point?

Literally, what was the point of all of this? Why make an omegaverse series when you're not committed to showing what it's actually about? Why give us this half-assed plot when there's literally SO MUCH you can do with a universe like this? I even like the main question this series is asking: Can real love grow between an alpha and omega, or is it just instinct and fate? But even when you're asking an interesting question like that, the rules of the universe don't just vanish.
And don't even get me started on the pacing. Why does it take three episodes with barely any progression to resolve such a non-interesting storyline? I don't care about Nakhun's family and what they did to Sangnua's. They didn't even show Sangnua's family except for his brother, not even in flashbacks. But it's also just not interesting in a series about the omegaverse. Give me storylines that have something interesting to do with the universe!
I can't believe ABO Desire was better than this. The writing in that one was bad as well, but at least they showed us some interesting things about the universe. This show doesn't do anything interesting. Not with the characters, not with the story, not with the cinematography, and not with the performances.
There are characters that barely show up in the series, like Amintra. I wanted to know and see more of Ongsa and his relationship with Nahkin. They were the couple I found most interesting. Why even pair up Naphitch and Sangnua when you don't do anything with it?
So much wasted potential. And I really try to make my reviews as fair and constructive as possible, but it's hard to do so when there's such little care thrown into this series. Still, I watched until the end, so that's at least something. When a series bores me too much, I don't hesitate to drop it. So, I guess some parts are kind of entertaining. But yeah, I don't recommend this one to anyone. And I hope there will be at least one good omegaverse adaptation.

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Come for the Revenge, Stay for the Chemistry

What makes Fascination stand out as a short web drama is not necessarily the originality of its plot. Hidden identities, revenge schemes, wealthy family conflicts, and emotionally scarred protagonists are all familiar elements in Chinese dramas. The difference lies in the execution. This drama understands that its greatest asset is the chemistry between its leads and builds nearly every scene around the tension between them. The result is a series that feels addictive, emotionally charged, and surprisingly polished for a short-form production.

The premise begins with Lin Moqing, played by Jesse Ren, approaching Lan Hewei, played by Qi Yan Di, under false pretenses. His initial objective is purely strategic. He intends to use and manipulate her as part of a larger plan involving his powerful family and unresolved conflicts from his past. However, Lan Hewei proves far more intelligent, resilient, and unpredictable than he anticipated. What begins as a calculated game gradually develops into something deeper and far more emotionally dangerous.

The story unfolds in several distinct phases.

The first phase is manipulation. At the outset, Lin Moqing appears to have complete control. He is the strategist, and every move seems carefully planned. The story does an excellent job of convincing viewers that Lan Hewei is merely another piece in his revenge puzzle. However, she quickly demonstrates that she is nobody's pawn. This is where the drama truly shines. Rather than presenting a helpless heroine and an all-powerful hero, the writers create a compelling battle of wills between two intelligent, capable people. The second phase is the power shift. As secrets emerge, the balance between the two leads begins to change. Lan Hewei starts uncovering inconsistencies in Lin Moqing's story, while Lin Moqing begins developing genuine feelings for her. This creates significant internal conflict for him and elevates the emotional tension beyond the revenge narrative itself. Before long, the romance becomes more compelling than the plot that initially brought them together. The third phase brings the larger family conflicts to the forefront. Hidden agendas, betrayals, family loyalty, inheritance, power, and revenge all begin to collide. While some revelations may be predictable for seasoned genre viewers, the drama keeps enough intrigue and momentum to hold the audience's attention. The fourth and final phase focuses on resolving the emotional tensions that have been building throughout the series. This portion delivers many satisfying romantic moments, but the pacing also weakens slightly. Important developments happen quickly, and some relationships could have benefited from more screen time and exploration.

The drama features interesting characters, but Lin Moqing stands out as one of the more compelling male leads in recent mini-dramas. What makes him so interesting is the contradiction at the heart of his character. He is highly calculating, emotionally damaged, intelligent, and yet deeply vulnerable beneath the surface. He begins the story driven almost entirely by purpose and revenge, but the narrative gradually reveals his emotional weaknesses and insecurities. What I appreciated most is that his transformation feels earned. He does not suddenly become softer overnight. Instead, each moment of vulnerability unfolds naturally, making his character growth believable and impactful. That said, at times Lin Moqing feels almost too competent. Because he spends much of the series controlling every situation, some dramatic moments lose some suspense, as viewers come to expect another hidden plan. Fortunately, his emotional development more than compensates for this weakness.

Lan Hewei, on the other hand, is arguably the drama's best-written character. And you notice this immediately. She embodies many of the qualities audiences increasingly appreciate in modern female leads: intelligence, independence, emotional strength, perceptiveness, and the ability to challenge anyone who attempts to manipulate her. What I particularly admired is that she doesn't simply react to the hero's actions. She actively drives the story forward. When she suspects deception, she investigates. When challenged, she fights back. When emotionally hurt, she refuses to lose her agency. As a result, the relationship feels balanced, making the leads' interactions far more engaging.

The romance and chemistry between Lin Moqing and Lan Hewei are unquestionably the drama's greatest strengths. Their relationship drives the entire series. It contains everything fans of the genre could hope for: attraction mixed with distrust, emotional push and pull, power struggles, slow revelations of feeling, and intense romantic tension. What elevates the romance beyond the script is the actors' performances. Many scenes work not because of the dialogue, but because of their expressions, body language, and timing. Their chemistry is undeniable. Often, the audience can sense what the characters are feeling long before they are willing to admit it themselves.

Jesse Ren does an excellent job balancing Lin Moqing's cold, calculating exterior with his growing emotional vulnerability. He has a natural screen presence and brings strong intensity to confrontation scenes. His performance is particularly convincing as Lin Moqing's carefully controlled facade begins to crack. As for Qi Yan Di, she arguably delivers the drama's standout performance. Her portrayal avoids many of the clichés often associated with female leads. She brings confidence, intelligence, emotional depth, and vulnerability to Lan Hewei without ever making her appear weak. The emotional scenes are especially effective because her reactions feel genuine, not exaggerated. This was my first time watching her, and by the end of the drama, I had become an instant fan.

While Fascination is undeniably driven by the relationship between Lin Moqing and Lan Hewei, the supporting cast plays a vital role in sustaining the tension and expanding the story's emotional landscape. Unfortunately, they are also some of the biggest victims of the drama's short runtime.

Zhu Wen Jie, played by Tiffany Gao, serves as one of the drama's most emotionally complex supporting characters. Rather than existing solely to move the plot forward, she reminds us how ambition, loyalty, and personal desire often collide in the world of Fascination. Tiffany Gao gives the character a quiet intensity that makes her scenes memorable, even with limited screen time. She conveys both strength and vulnerability, allowing me, as the viewer, to understand the internal conflicts driving the character. What makes Zhu Wen Jie particularly interesting is that she rarely feels entirely right or entirely wrong. Instead, she exists in the moral gray area that much of the drama occupies. I wish the series had spent more time exploring her motivations, because at times she seemed capable of carrying an entire subplot on her own. Her presence adds another layer to the story's themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and self-preservation.

One of the most fascinating and disturbing characters in Fascination is Lin Moqing's brother. He is far more than a rival or antagonist. He is a profoundly traumatized and psychologically fractured individual whose obsession with violence, blood, and control makes him one of the most unsettling figures in the drama. While many villains pursue power or revenge, his motivations often feel rooted in something much deeper and more troubling than greed and revenge. The series gradually suggests that his instability is tied to years of emotional damage stemming from his upbringing and family relationships. What makes the character so compelling is that he serves as a dark mirror to Lin Moqing. Raised within the same environment, the two brothers represent opposite responses to trauma. Where Lin Moqing eventually learns trust, vulnerability, and emotional connection, his brother descends further into obsession and self-destruction. The result is a character who is both frightening and tragic, not because he is evil, but because he appears incapable of escaping the damage that has shaped him.

From a performance standpoint, Liu Yan Qiao delivers a restrained and effective portrayal. Rather than relying on dramatic outbursts, he brings subtlety to the role, allowing much of the character's emotional conflict to emerge through expressions, reactions, and interactions with other family members. His strongest scenes often involve Lin Moqing, where the complexity of their relationship becomes most apparent. While the drama's limited runtime prevents the character from receiving the depth he arguably deserves, Lin Mo Jiao remains one of the more memorable supporting figures. His presence strengthens the family storyline and adds emotional weight to many of the decisions and conflicts that shape the narrative.

Lu Xing, played by Wu Sheng Qi, is perhaps one of the drama's more underrated characters. While many male characters are driven by power, revenge, or control, Lu Xing stands apart because he's willing to follow rather than lead. His relationship with Zhu Wen Jie creates an interesting reversal of traditional gender dynamics often seen in Chinese romance dramas. Rather than dominating the relationship, he appears comfortable being guided by her, and that devotion makes him unexpectedly endearing. In a story filled with emotionally guarded characters, Lu Xing's sincerity provides a welcome contrast. Wu Sheng Qi brings a calm, dependable presence to the screen through Lu Xing.

In a sense, the supporting characters in Fascination represent both one of the drama's strengths and one of its biggest missed opportunities. The actors bring enough depth and charisma to make viewers care about their stories, yet the compressed format keeps many of them from reaching their full potential. Had the drama been a traditional 30-to-40-episode production rather than a mini-series, characters like Zhu Wen Jie, Lin Mo Jiao, and Lu Xing could have received richer development and more meaningful arcs. Even so, the performances are strong enough to leave an impression, and each character contributes something valuable to the overall narrative.

Another factor that helps Fascination stand out is its cinematography and production quality. For a mini-drama, it is surprisingly polished. The series excels at stylish close-ups, visual composition, romantic tension, and the luxurious aesthetic associated with its wealthy characters. The camera work is particularly impressive. It frequently focuses on facial expressions and eye contact, which works perfectly for a character-driven story. The production team clearly understood that the chemistry between the leads was the show's biggest selling point and framed scenes accordingly.

The pacing is generally one of the drama's strengths; however, it comes at a cost. Supporting characters such as Zhu Wen Jie, Lin Mo Jiao, and Lu Xing are interesting enough to warrant deeper exploration, yet the short runtime leaves many of their arcs feeling abbreviated. This is particularly noticeable in the latter half of the drama, where emotional and narrative developments sometimes arrive faster than they can be fully explored. Overall, though, Fascination succeeds because it understands exactly what viewers want from a romance-suspense mini-drama. It delivers strong chemistry, an intelligent female lead, an emotionally layered male lead, family intrigue, revenge, romantic tension, and fast-paced storytelling.

While the plot isn't groundbreaking and the ending feels somewhat rushed, the lead performances and relationship dynamics elevate the material considerably. If you enjoyed dramas such as Maid's Revenge, Circle of Love, or other high-tension Chinese revenge romances where strong-willed leads continually challenge one another, Fascination is absolutely worth watching. Its greatest achievement is making viewers care less about the revenge plot and more about whether two complicated people can learn to trust each other despite their deception.

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Goes out of its way to be weird with little to no payoff

In order for me to set aside my personal objections to problematic relationship dynamics in dramas, the relationship has to 1) have a clear narrative purpose and/or 2) be entertaining enough that the details of the relationship on their face are less important. This drama unfortunately fails to meet both criteria.

What bothers me most is that this drama feels risque for the sake of being risque, throwing in everything that could be possibly weird about this relationship and then not doing the work to make it make sense or really matter in the end. Why is an adult stranger offering to sleep in a cramped twin bed with a vulnerable high schooler who's just ran away from home? The whole reason Haru initially finds Rio "safe" to live with is because he's gay (despite her apparently having a fear/distrust of men while also having a normal, sweet relationship with her male childhood best friend), so why is he reciprocating physical intimacy with her, saying that it "feels good", and going so far as to almost have SEX (!!!) with her??? Even if we were to be charitable and assume that Rio is discovering he's gay in sexual relationships but genderblind emotionally, why is he going to a high schooler for emotional comfort when he had two fellow adult housemates the whole time??? Why not also add the fact that Rio is basically Haru's landlord but with no formal agreement so he could technically take away her place to stay at moment's notice to make things even ickier? And after all that, it ends with Haru not even being with Rio (not that I wanted them to get together) and instead getting a random modelling career??

To top it off, this drama is just so bland, from the presentation to the performances. Ikeda Masashi and Akita Shiori had almost no chemistry so I really didn't buy that Haru and Rio had such a deep, undeniable connection that she continues to pine for him after she leaves the house. If you're going to scandalize me with a problematic relationship, at least put some passion behind it! Iwakura, for one, might have been messy and jealous, but at least he behaved in a realistic way and you could feel the emotion that was driving him.

I think I was even more disappointed because I came to this drama after watching and enjoying If Only You Weren't the One, which also has Ikeda Masashi (and Kusakawa Naoya randomly lol) and also explores a relationship dynamic that I don't personally agree with, but it had all the elements that this one didn't to be compelling, so I'd certainly recommend it over this if being uncomfy is your jam.

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POLICE IN LOVE EP 1

ACTORS YINWAR COMEBACK IS NEXT LEVEL

- The action scenes were so well done and especially yin executed the kitchen fight scene so well with touch of comedy
- The comedy timing was perfect throughout the ep
- I loved Thear’s relationship with his mom. They are so funny
- Actors ShaneBoss were so cute together and Im already invested in their lil romance
- ThearKorn being Steve b/w PhuwinPlub so funny
- And them ending the episode with ThearLorn's tom and jerry right is so cute

I've already rewatched this EP 8 times and Im still not tired of it. That’s how good and fun this episode was and can't wait to watch EP 2

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