Reviews

Zero budget but lots of heart

This was a fairly basic drama hitting more or less all the tropes you expect to see, and you wouldn’t think it’d be all that memorable. It’s saved, however, by the actors, and for that it gets a solid rating from me.

There is no budget for almost anything so even the story gets ropey in the later parts, but you can forgive it a lot just to watch the two male leads doing their thing. They have a ton of chemistry together and they’re not afraid to go nuts with the intimate scenes. Metha in particular likes to ham it up a LOT and honestly? Give him more work based on that alone because he would be good as a melodramatic villain.

Navin (Nawin?) is less extreme but he plays well off Metha, and the scenes where they’re just sitting around talking feel natural. There’s hints of greatness in here somewhere underneath the vertical drama schlocky-ness that deserve recognition, so I definitely want to see these two again.

The most jarring/annoying part of it were the constant voice-overs of characters’ internal monologues. If they’d somehow reworked the script to take that out while still keeping the plot moving, it would have instantly been a better series, but again: zero budget, so it is what it is.

It’s not the best BL you’ve ever seen, and vertical dramas lean on the side of being cringey, but go into it with the right expectations and it’s absolutely worth it.

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doing the most

i grew tired of the infantilization of the female lead so quick, it's cringe and outdated, can't even say she's just quirky because it's just very weird 💀 but i think the actress did really good, that one scene in ep 15 was just great.

so many side plots made it impossible to watch, without the fillers it could've been 12 episodes and it would've been just fine, way too much unnecessary stories that didn't lead anywhere.

the mother felt more like a pimp than anything else, like telling your daughter to quickly have sex with this guy you just met it's weird af, what's the need to get pregnant at 22 👹 girl they have time, don't piss me off, felt like straight up propaganda.

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No Perfection Required

The Early Spring grabs you.

It tells the story of two flawed people. The ML, Luke, is brilliant and confident. The FL, Flora, is hard-working with a positive view of the world, but she has insecurities. Luke and Flora begin a secret relationship while working together. Their relationship begins with an imbalance of power, but changes as they come to understand each other's flaws.

What makes this drama interesting is how it handles these flaws. Instead of requiring the characters to magically fix themselves before finding happiness, the narrative shows that you do not need to be perfect to be worthy of love. The romance develops as they learn to accept, forgive, and to create a safe space for each other's vulnerabilities. It is a refreshing, deeply comforting reminder that true connection isn't about finding a perfect person, but about loving an imperfect person perfectly.

The OST was beautiful and enhanced the intimacy in the drama.
My only complaint is that the time jumps in the later episodes were sometimes confusing to follow, but this did not take away from my enjoyment of The Early Spring. I loved it!

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Love Triangle with Unexpected Depth

On the surface, “My Bias, My Boss” is a fun and fluffy rom-com, but it also takes an interesting look at the sometimes blurry lines between friendship, rivalry, admiration, and attraction.

What stands out in contrast with the mostly unserious plot is the characters’ growth, particularly the female lead’s development.

When Nam Da Reum (Kim Hye Joon) rage-quits her unfulfilling corporate job, she makes the highly questionable decision of trying to land a new role at the company where her celebrity crush — a retired K-pop idol — is one of the co-founders. As a super fan, her goal in getting the job is more than a little motivated by her obsession with her bias, a fact that comes back to bite her later.

She starts out as someone who’s kind of immature and impulsive and too starstruck to think rationally about her feelings, but grows into a more confident and capable woman as she figures out the difference between love and admiration, learns to speak up for herself, and finds success in her career.

Perhaps the most complex character is Lee Chan (Cha Woo Min), the former idol. Despite his outward success in the entertainment industry and as an entrepreneur, he’s a pretty pitiful character. He craves attention and validation so much that he tries to desperately hold on whatever scrap of genuine feeling he can find, by whatever means necessary. When he learns that Da Reum has been his devoted fan for more than a decade, he develops something like an obsession of his own.

Rounding out the love triangle is Chan’s high school best friend and business partner Kang Ha Gi (Kang Hoon), a sweet, slightly awkward, and surprisingly perceptive type of male lead that’s easy to like. Though he too has his flaws — namely, poor communication skills when under pressure or in emotionally tense situations.

Of course, no rom-com would be complete without an ex to stir up the drama. When Ha Gi’s high school girlfriend (who was also Chan’s unrequited crush) pops up like an unwelcome house guest, the love triangle briefly becomes a quadrangle.

As the main characters navigate office drama, crushes, jealousies, and more over the course of 12 episodes, viewers will find a lot of laughs along the way to a happy ending. It’s not a particularly remarkable plot or memorable romance, but it’s an easy and enjoyable watch.

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He is Looking for the Other Half; Right Now More Questions Than Answers

Till I See You has an interesting enough premise to keep me watching, but so far I’m sitting at a solid “meh+.”

The story opens with Song Yi explaining that while he was growing up, his stepfather would sometimes call him by the wrong name. Song Yi began to think of himself as only half a person, and imagined that if he could find the person who actually belonged to that other name, the two of them together might somehow make a whole.

That is what brings him from Singapore to the Mainland.

He arrives at a restaurant run by his senior sister, who previously worked for Song Yi’s family at their Japanese restaurant. He asks her to give him room and board in exchange for working there. She essentially tells him that he is a good young master who needs to go home to Singapore, but Song Yi insists that he cannot leave until he finds the person he came looking for.

This is already a little questionable because Song Yi is nearly finished with university and still needs to sit for his finals. Whatever drove him to leave Singapore was apparently important enough for him to skip classes at the very end of his degree and potentially jeopardize years of work, but after three episodes we still don’t really know why the timing was so urgent. At the moment, the answer feels mostly like: because the script needed him there.

His senior sister tells him to find the person and get himself back to Singapore before his family decides to blame her for keeping him there.

And then, naturally, Xu Feiyu walks into the restaurant.

Blindfolded.

Using a cane to navigate because he is temporarily unable to see after eye surgery.

He walks directly into Song Yi.

Senior sister settles Feiyu into a booth, then tells Song Yi to walk him home after he eats. Once Song Yi gets him there, he realizes that Feiyu lives in the house shown in the photograph he has of the person he came to find.

So after traveling all the way from Singapore on this mysterious search: presto chango, there he is.

Feiyu, unfortunately, is not exactly pleasant company. He has already driven away all of his previous caregivers. His mother is apparently abroad somewhere doing something, which is an interesting choice immediately after her son has undergone major eye surgery, but again: script.

Senior sister says she will find him another caregiver, and this time Song Yi basically says, “Challenge accepted.”

Song Yi also has a practical reason to stay. His father has cut off his credit cards in an attempt to force him back to Singapore, so taking care of Feiyu gives him somewhere to live. Why he still cannot go home even after finding the person he came to find is another question the drama has not answered yet.

Feiyu is stubborn, childish, combative, and very loud when he throws tantrums. The performance does not always sell those scenes particularly well, although in fairness, Feiyu is clearly supposed to be a traumatized young man rather than simply an obnoxious one.

When he becomes extremely upset, he hears rats inside his head. He also has haphephobia and normally cannot tolerate being touched, yet he quickly notices that Song Yi’s touch does not trigger the same reaction.

He also seems to fall an impressive number of times whenever Song Yi is nearby, which does make me wonder how he was surviving before Song Yi arrived, especially since he keeps chasing away everyone assigned to look after him.

And I still have questions about the blindfold itself. If Feiyu drives every caregiver away, who exactly keeps tying that elaborate thing onto his head?

Song Yi tries to be a responsible caregiver, partly because he needs somewhere to stay and partly because Feiyu is the person he came all this way to find. Their relationship so far consists largely of bickering, Feiyu resisting everything Song Yi tries to do for him, and Song Yi attempting to placate him.

There are some more interesting moments underneath that.

One night, while Feiyu is asleep, Song Yi mentally asks his stepfather how he could have left Feiyu, because “he is still a child.” That suggests there is considerably more behind Song Yi’s search — and behind the connection between Feiyu and his stepfather — than we currently know.

Song Yi also becomes intrigued enough by Feiyu’s psychological issues that he starts wondering whether he could help him overcome them. When he brings that idea to his senior sister, she gives him what is probably the most sensible advice anyone has offered so far: finish school and mind your business. Good intentions do not always lead to good outcomes.

Acting-wise, neither male lead is particularly strong for me yet.

The actor playing Song Yi is so handsome, and I think he is the better of the two performers so far, but even he frequently feels like someone acting rather than someone fully inhabiting the character.

Feiyu is harder to judge because he has the more demanding role. He has to portray trauma, anger, fear, childishness, blindness, haphephobia, and whatever is happening psychologically when he hears the rats. That is a lot. Unfortunately, some of his bigger emotional scenes feel performed rather than lived in, especially the shouting and tantrums.

Also, I can barely tell what Feiyu actually looks like because of that ridiculous blindfold, although he definitely has excellent cheekbones.

Right now, both actors are okay-ish rather than genuinely compelling. Neither is skilled enough yet to completely pull me into the story and make me forget that I’m watching performances.

Still, I do like the premise. There are enough unanswered questions surrounding Song Yi’s stepfather, Feiyu’s identity, Song Yi’s determination to find him, Feiyu’s trauma, and the unusual fact that Song Yi can touch him without triggering his haphephobia that I’m interested enough to continue.

So for now: interesting premise, very handsome lead, some potentially good psychological material, questionable plotting conveniences, uneven acting, and a lot still unexplained.

Meh+.

But I’m still watching.

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The potential was there I promise

I, personally, loved this story, I put it off for a while because I wasn't entirely interested in the concept of the plot, but was here for Bas.

When I finally sat down to watch it I really really enjoyed the plot.
It was semi-political without being over saturated in it.
The story itself was raw and thought provoking in my opinion. It just fell short in some areas.

I saw some complaints about how they got romantic too quick, but you have to understand a few key points--it was only 8 episodes long.
This story was full of a LOT of trauma and ptsd, there was a level of comfort that was completely realistic in this kind of setting. I think, given the number of episodes and context of the plot, it really did ease into the romantic tension.

The love interest's actor, opposite to Bas, felt really inexperienced--and tbh from the look of his MDL profile he was! He wasn't awful by any means! However I think it would have been a stronger story with a more experienced actor with Bas.
I was really excited to see Bas as a lead again, and I think with more direction and maybe some more acting shops it could have been a better production.

Where it succeeded was the emotional scenes. The beginning with the bomb going off at the school that started Ravin's PTSD, the death of the leader of the party and the way his daughter grieved, the death of said daughter by the newly appointed hot head of a leader and the way everyone reacted to it--which I think the other lead handled really well.

All in all, I enjoyed it for the most part. The other lead, Atip, I hope he is casted in more roles, I think he has a lot of potential; and of course LOVE Bas and hope to god we see him in more lead positions in the future.

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Mohk deserves the world

Mohk deserves ♾️X better than Day; Mohk’s literally the whole fucking green ecosystem bro!!! Throughout the ENTIRTY of this show, Day showed NO character development even after everything that MOHK’S done for HIM despite the fact that Mohk had his own issues and trauma, it was literally JUST Mohk the entire time; Mohk planned the dates, Mohk soothed Day, Mohk stepped aside and acted as the best wingman despite LITERALLY BEING IN LOVE WITH DAY, Mohk literally did EVERYTHING. And what did Day do? He blamed Mohk for every SINGLE mistake or incident that happened; he NEVER and I mean EVER!!! TRIED TO UNDERSTAND MOHK’S BACKGROUND NOR ACTIONS!!! Day also strung Mohk along like nothing and took advantage of him at every fucking chance he had, he makes me so angry!!!! I can’t even watch this anymore!!! It was beautifully written with all the insecurities and conflicts until Day started to CONSISTENTLY ignore Mohk’s presence until he was finally ALONE with nobody else besides him. And though his disability was a valid explanation for many of his actions, it shouldn’t have been an excuse for him to abuse and take advantage of Mohk’s affection!!! This was 12 WHOLE episodes BTW!!!! How did Day never even ONCE ask about Mohk’s feelings or try to understand Mohk who consistently stayed by his side throughout EVERYTHING, MUCH MUCH MUCH more than the average caretaker, like Mohk CLEARLY HAS TRAUMA TOO!! How did Day not ask about Mohk’s feelings or story even after they started dating??? Like Day expects so much tenderness out of Mohk while LITERALLY gives Day HIS WORLD; Day also CONTINUES to give NO EFFORT in their relationship like what the hell????

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overated

I'm sorry for all the production team and actors... but it's quite a mild show.

Since the intro they got me with all the AI visuals. I understand that maybe they were low on budget, but it was quite simple and it's adapted from a webcomic, like you already had a visual work already made.

Cheap thriller it never gets to really build, so you don't get the tension that you need to actually call it a thriller.

They do have some chemistry, I wouldn't say it's awesome, but it exists. But there's no time for the romance to properly build, so some reactions of the characters are quite out of line, they look placed to just make the story to move forward but they don't fit in with the relation of the characters.

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I guess I'm colorblind, because red flag or not, he was PHENOMENAL ??♥️♥️♥️

Just want to start off by saying... I knew Jing Bo Ran would have a hit like this one day. I first fell in love with him in the Love 020 movie, with Angelababy-- they were truly like a Barbie and Ken. I think I found my new favorite drama of his through The Early Spring♥️♥️♥️. I've been waiting for this since the end of last year (2025), when they released the news that my favorite male actor and one of my newer favorite actresses would be filming a project together. After watching this one, can we get like five more please??!!

MANY workplace🧳-based dramas can be boring, with too much business talk interfering with the real part we all want to see-- their relationship. The writers and directors did a great job here, where they had the company setting play such an integral part of their secret relationship and boss-employee hierarchy, so to speak. Watching their relationship start as a mean boss and naive newcomer and then blossom into passionate secret lovers, and then my favorite part, the BREAKUP and angst, leading to their eventual reconciliation, was perfection. My only complaint is that they cut out hours and hours of screen time (went from 32 to 24 episodes !!) that I would honestly purchase to see everything🫶🏻. I would've LOVED watching more of their time apart, his yearning, and then more lovey dovey scenes after their wonderful reunion. The timeline was thus a bit rushed and a tad confusing to follow, but that's just me because I love to know the specific chronological time frame of everything. Like many are saying about this drama, the story is quite relatable to some, which is why I feel like the emotional rollercoaster was so relatable and loved by many Chinese and international fans.

Jiing Bo Ran literally looks like a Greek sculpture come to life. IMO, he's even better looking. His range of emotions he can portray is truly commendable as an actor, and I loved how the drama portrayed MANY of his up and down emotions. My only wish is that he can partake in more romance dramas 😭 He's quite selective in his filmography, and I applaud him for steering away from the cliche romances... but I want to see more please. I love Sun Qian as well, but I'm so sorry girl your man stole the show from me. Red flag or not, he was F-I-N-E ❤️‍🔥🥵

Thank you for the past couple weeks of this masterpiece. Now, time to rewatch!!! 🤭

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Strong follow-up to the original

Eye for an Eye 2 was a loose sequel to the original with Xie Miao reprising his role as the blind swordsman Cheng. This time around he ended up with a vengeful pint-sized sidekick bent on revenge.

Zhang Xiao Yu and her brother Cao are saved by Blind Cheng. When Cao later meets an untimely death, she dogs Cheng until he agrees to help her avenge her brother. The demon swordsman is none too happy about the determined child and tries numerous ways to rid himself of her.

Gender note: I’m going to refer to Xiao Yu as she/her because the character was played by a girl and Xiao Yu looked like a typical crossdressing girl in Chinese dramas and films despite what the synopsis says and it literally makes no difference story wise.

You can absolutely watch this film if you haven’t watched the first film. Much as in the first film, Cheng was a cranky blind swordsman who made his living as a bounty hunter. Xiao Yu found ways to assist him in hopes he’d teach her how to kill the object of her hatred-Li Jiu Lang. Cheng was once again forced to summon the demon within as he battled hundreds of warriors at one time. And much like Fezzik from The Princess Bride, he only stumbled when fighting one man.

The story slowed down long enough to have some cute moments with Xiao Yu acting as Cheng’s eyes while hunting his bounties. In one of the few scripted "humorous" moments, it emphasized the weakness of the film's premise. Xiao Yu rearranged the furniture causing Cheng to bump into things and fall when he never had a problem in completely strange environments fighting bad guys.

The smaller fights were better choreographed. Despite Xie Miao being a martial artist, wires were used prolifically. His skills definitely helped sell the moves though. The large fights were less entertaining as they were sped up and filmed up close. I suppose it made the outrageous odds Cheng faced better able to swallow. As I said in my EfaE1 review, if you can buy into a blind swordsman bounty hunter, fighting 300 men single-handedly wasn’t much of a stretch. This film wasn’t afraid to lean into the bone crunching and slicing sound effects.

I enjoyed Eye for an Eye 2. It might not have broken any new ground, but the slow build of Cheng and Xiao Yu’s relationship was fun to watch and the actors had a nice rapport with each other. And Cheng certainly knew how to make an entrance when Xiao Yu was in need. If you enjoyed Eye for an Eye 1, this is definitely worth a try.

10 September 2026

Trigger warnings: Child murder and pet murder. As expected, numerous bloody impalements.

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Great plot for a short drama. I wish it was longer.

Such a good plot line I actually wished it was longer. A “lowborn” princess born of the cold palace and used as a pawn her entire life meets a straight forward justice seeker. This drama had all of the intrigue I hoped for. The power struggle and scheming was well done. I would have loved if this drama had more episodes to really go into the history of the princes and the complicated relationship they had with the king. It felt like there was a lot that got left out because of timing.

The chemistry was great between the two leads was great. I’m a fan of both Snow Kong and Li Hongyi, they worked really well together but the actual kissing felt like dead fish kisses. That was the only negative thing I could really say.

Overall, I watched this drama in a matter of 2 days, it’s a quick watch and it does keep you engaged thoughout. The

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The shop survived. barely.

A Shop for Killers 2 is not a bad drama by any means. The action is still solid, the cast does a great job, and there are enough twists, deaths, and tense moments to keep things moving. But after waiting this long for a continuation of that unfinished S1 ending, I came in with pretty high expectations—and honestly, S2 just couldn’t surpass its predecessor for me. I think what I miss most is the freshness and urgency of S1. The first season was so much fun because we were discovering everything alongside Ji-an: Jeong Jin-man’s insane murthehelp, the weapons, guns, bombs, assassins, and this whole hidden life her uncle had been living. Watching this girl suddenly get thrown into a world of killing was such a wild ride. S2 already has that foundation, so the story feels less exciting by comparison. And the pacing really tested my patience. I understand that Ji-an is traumatized and wants to break free from her uncle and everything he represents. I understand how heartbreaking it was for her to see her first love—the person she thought finally loved her—become part of this nightmare. But did we really need almost 2–3 episodes to process it when we only had eight??? Sometimes I was just begging the drama to MOVE.

Still, Kim Hye-jun remains the emotional anchor, and I really liked seeing Ji-an become more confident and capable without completely losing the vulnerability that made her compelling in S1. Lee Dong-wook also continues to have that effortless presence as Jin-man. And weirdly, I still found myself feeling sorry for Jin-man at times. He’s obviously far from innocent, but I don’t think his intentions were ever simply malicious. His entire goal was to protect the one family he had left—Ji-an. The tragedy is that the life he built to protect her is also the exact life she now desperately wants to escape. Their whole relationship is basically one giant “you were trying to protect me but you accidentally ruined me” situation.

And whenever the action kicks in, this drama still KNOWS how to deliver. Also, can we talk about the Purple Code??? They are literally the definition of a spy: work underneath, keep it clean, and when it’s over, you just leave. No unnecessary mess, no attachments, just disappear. I LOVE that whole concept. But then that ending??? WHY DID SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE??? Their team is losing people left and right, and now I’m genuinely hesitant to ask for S3 because what if everyone fucking dies??? I am NOT ready. Overall, this is still a good action thriller and I absolutely enjoyed watching it. But if I have to choose, I’m choosing S1 without hesitation. S2 feels more like a decent continuation than a follow-up that can recreate the same magic. Not disappointing enough to hate, but not impressive enough to leave the same impression either. S1 had the mystery, the urgency, and the sheer fun of discovering this crazy world for the first time—and unfortunately, S2 never quite got that magic back.

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good chemistry with noble idiot trope (watch suggestions)

Overall: the third episode was my favorite of the 3 so hopefully it continues on that trajectory. 13 episodes about 20 minutes each. Airing on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/9047/till-i-see-you-2026-e01 and Secret of Us YouTube channel (1st episode is free to watch) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGwjxkA7VLec&si=8GW80kpPewZA1Udf

Content Warnings: mental health struggles, slap, non con touching, self harm, blood, attempted suicide

Watch Suggestions (to focus on their relationship and take out most content warnings
- skip episode 1
- watch episode 2
- episode 3 watch beginning-14:30
- watch episodes 4 & 5
- episode 6 watch beginning-1:25, 6:10-11
- episode 7 watch 13:15-18
- episode 8 watch 15-end
- episode 9 watch beginning-6:15
- skip episode 10

What I Liked
- that neither was a pushover
- visuals
- chemistry
- sweet moments

Room For Improvement
- the flash forward start and hopefully something was subtitled wrong or I misunderstood regarding time
- noble idiot trope
- the mom and the sister
- I don't really understand or care about the family/past drama but I don't think they are biologically related so that's good

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Absolutely divine!

My absolute favorite drama of the year!

Loved everything about this drama. Casting, OST, storyline, pacing.....

The story, while nothing different from typical love stories, shone because of the great acting of the leads. You can really feel every emotion during their interaction. Sun Qian was definitely the right choice for the role. From the innocent newbie to the confident office worker handling projects, her growth during the span of 6 years was well portrayed. Jing Boran, epitomized that cold, arrogant executive who was so full of himself. Yet love took him down a peg or two. Swoony........

I would have wanted additional episodes that focused on their renewed relationship but, sadly, there was none :(

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