Reviews

When a chinese company takes over...

we get a really crappy script, over-driven comedy which glides into infantile territory. I don't get it when girls/women get into this shit. This feels just as an advertisment for a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game plus the typical ads for a drink.

The only positive I can say is Bas looking the cutest in this series. But that's all the positive there is. Background music is recycled, we already heard it in other shows (not the songs). Emotionally it's quite flat, everything is dumbed down for some reason. As an adult I can't handle this crap at all. Most of the time it's just cringe. Production was also lazy because streaming does not work like they showed... It's completely unbelievable. As a gamer affine person this is an affront to me. But I guess it does not matter, most women have no clue, and they just like their ship together and everything is fine. Otherwise I can't explain the high rating of this show. Only the skip button saved me to go through this. Some good scenes can't fix this series at all.

For me it was an utter disappointment... This series is a waste of time. This is the cut version, so an automatic 0.5 deduction is applied.

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When a chinese company takes over...

we get a really crappy script, over-driven comedy which glides into infantile territory. I don't get it when girls/women get into this shit. This feels just as an advertisment for a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game plus the typical ads for a drink.

The only positive I can say is Bas looking the cutest in this series. But that's all the positive there is. Background music is recycled, we already heard it in other shows (not the songs). Emotionally it's quite flat, everything is dumbed down for some reason. As an adult I can't handle this crap at all. Most of the time it's just cringe. Production was also lazy because streaming does not work like they showed... It's completely unbelievable. As a gamer affine person this is an affront to me. But I guess it does not matter, most women have no clue, and they just like their ship together and everything is fine. Otherwise I can't explain the high rating of this show. Only the skip button saved me to go through this. Some good scenes can't fix this series at all.

For me it was an utter disappointment... This series is a waste of time.

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Learning to Live Through Learning to Say Goodbye

This movie is beyond pleasant. It’s wholesome, heartwarming, and somehow managed to make me cry through multiple scenes. I genuinely loved almost everything about it.

The premise itself is already unusual. We follow a man who inherits his family’s funeral business even though he clearly doesn’t enjoy the job. He’s immature, financially struggling, terrible at relationships, and honestly not someone you’d expect to become a source of comfort for anyone. Then he meets a little girl who has just lost her grandmother. She’s too young to fully understand what death means, but she understands one thing very clearly: the person who made her feel safe is gone. With no one else in her family quite capable of giving her the security and care she needs, she unexpectedly finds shelter in this completely unsuitable man. And somehow, it works.

Their bond is the heart of this movie. She needs someone who can make her feel safe, while he desperately needs someone who forces him to grow up and take responsibility for someone other than himself. Watching him slowly become more compassionate and responsible as he helps her navigate her grief was genuinely beautiful.

I also love how the movie gradually changes his perspective on death. What starts as nothing more than a family business eventually becomes something much more meaningful. Through this little girl, he begins to understand that a funeral isn’t simply about death. It’s about love, memories, and giving someone a beautiful farewell. The father-son relationship adds another emotional layer to the story as well. There is so much here about family, regret, grief, and the different ways people learn to say goodbye.

At its core, this is a story about grief, family, responsibility, and the unexpected connections that can change us. It’s a beautiful reminder that sometimes, the people we meet by chance become the ones who teach us how to live, love, and finally learn how to say goodbye.

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Chemistry? yes Romanticized walking red flag? also yes!

The only thing this drama did well was portraying the sexual tension. Kudos to the actors, and that's about anything positive i can say about this drama .

I usually write really short review (This one is not too long either) but this time around, i couldn't hold back.

SO HERE COMES THE RANT:

"You don't need to be perfect to be worthy of love, but you at the very least, need NOT TO BE TOXIC " this one sentence summarise the whole drama from where i stand.

The fact that a really young audience is watching this drama is actually concerning. This is not how love is supposed to look like.

For all my girls out there, and for me myself and i, i really really hope we never come across a guy similar to the male lead. The lack of empathy, the gaslighting, the arrogance, the selfishness, the "you can't have a male friend", the lack of sweetness ...

They did lack comunication, the female lead was also able to pull out the "i didn't want to disturb you", like come on sis, TALK TO YOUR MAN SIS!

The male lead never considered the female lead an equal until the last episodes, even in their personal relationship, he was still the boss. And this is where the female lead's low self-esteem may come from.

But then again, the relation was mainly sexual, why would i expect them to face their problems like normal adults do, silly me hahahaahah!

I don't like dramas with sad endings. But i found myself hoping for the female lead to be with someone else other than the male lead by the end of the drama. I can also understand why she got back with him. I can't really be happy for this couple, i still feel a lingering sadness in my heart for what she had to go through. Did he really changed? Did he really understand what he did wrong? or did he miss her so much that he could have done anything just to get her back? I wish they had sat down and talked more about what went wrong both side and come out with a solution..

From episode 19 on, even the chemistry couldn't save it anymore. Speaking about spending 6 precious years of your life with someone like the male lead......sigh

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So much potential, and somehow still a disappointment

It's honestly baffling to me that this drama was released in 2025. I watched it in mid-2026 assuming it was an older production because the cinematography and visual presentation feel noticeably dated. The shots, framing, and editing just don't look like a drama released that recently. It had so much potential, but unfortunately, the execution and writing fell well below my standards.

Let me start with what I actually liked. I really enjoyed the Qushan closed-community setting and the idea of following these kids as they grow up while dealing with their respective family problems. There was so much material here that could have made for a compelling coming-of-age story. I honestly wish the drama had spent more time exploring each family and their dynamics instead of putting so much emphasis on the frustrating romance between Lin Ying Tao and Jiang Qiao Xi.

I know some people might find Jiang Qiao Xi's unwavering pursuit of Lin Ying Tao romantic, but to me, it mostly felt like frustrated love. As a romantic partner, Jiang Qiao Xi is a walking red flag, especially because he keeps falling into that avoidant pattern I absolutely hate. This man ghosted her for years, not once but twice, across decades. And somehow we're supposed to believe that a pure childhood romance from when they were around ten was enough to sustain all of that? I just don't buy it. And what exactly was so special about their childhood relationship? I didn't see it. Their memories weren't particularly romantic or memorable to me, and Lin Ying Tao seemed to have equally meaningful relationships with her other male friends. On the other hand, I can understand why Jiang Qiao Xi could have fallen helplessly for her because she was the only warm and memorable part of his childhood, and perhaps the first person who truly saw him for who he was. Fine. That's actually a decent emotional foundation. But instead, the writing turned Lin Ying Tao into someone whose main purpose was to give Jiang Qiao Xi the love he supposedly needed. duh.

And let's talk about the pacing. This is an incredibly slow romance with nothing to burn. I watched most of the drama with my finger on the fast-forward button. 😂 It clearly wanted to be a complicated coming-of-age story about love, family, and growing up, but the writing never managed to make me emotionally invested in any of it.

I also have mixed feelings about Zhang Ling He. While I appreciate him stepping outside his usual image and taking on a role that required more emotional complexity, some of the more emotionally demanding scenes felt beyond his range at that stage of his career. Still, points for trying. And can we please retire Zhang Ling He from high school roles? The man does not look like a high school student anymore. Although I will admit, the messy hair and tanned look did something for me. He looked much more relatable than his usual cool-prince persona. Dare I say... hotter.

Ultimately, what frustrates me most is how much potential was wasted. I already liked Zhang Ling He and Zhao Jin Mai's chemistry in The Princess Royal, unfortunately, even good chemistry can't compensate for writing that doesn't give the characters enough reason to make their relationship compelling. And I'm still annoyed that the second couple didn't get their happy ending.

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Good foundation

I'm really struggling with this series and i don't know why as it has a lot of elements i enjoy. I watched weekly originally, but paused at episode 5 to then watch the rest when series had finished, but i'm just not feeling the chemistry, the acting is good but i just find the romance rushed and forced, the story is repetitive and i'm not getting the pull to watch more.

I want to finish it, but i think because a lot of people have overhyped it as a masterpiece, best show they've seen, it's actually making it harder for me to avoid feeling disappointed as i watch that i don't get the masterpiece feeling. So if your considering watching, maybe wait for some of the hype to die down, and watch with an open mind, as it is worth watching and the production have done a good job.

I will finish this show!

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He Was Too Proud. She Was Too Humble

Okay, I finally finished all 24 episodes of The Early Spring, and I have A LOT to say about this one. 😂

First of all, I genuinely really enjoyed this drama. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Did the writing and some of the adaptation choices frustrate me? YES. Did I want to shake both Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian at different points? Also yes. 😂 But honestly, I think that's part of why I enjoyed it.

One of the very first quotes in this drama is:

“You don't have to be perfect to be deserving of love.”

And that quote literally appears at the beginning of every episode. Yet somehow people watched the entire drama and still reduced these two characters to “red flag” and “green flag.” 😭

I really hate the way fandom discussions have become so obsessed with these labels. A red flag should describe a particular concerning quality or behaviour, not become a box you put an entire human being into. Someone can have terrible qualities and still have good ones. Someone can love you and still hurt you. Someone can have boundaries, insecurities, make mistakes and behave badly sometimes without becoming an entirely bad person.

That's called being human.

And I think The Early Spring is much more interesting when you actually allow these characters to be complicated.

Let's start with Shang Zhitao.

She comes to Beijing as a fresh 22-year-old graduate from Harbin. She has dreams, ambition and that very common dream of leaving your hometown and going to a huge city to make something of yourself. She is young, inexperienced and trying to establish herself in an industry where she has everything to prove.

And from basically the beginning, her boss, Luan Nian, makes it very clear that he doesn't think she's good enough.

He questions her abilities. He tells her she doesn't belong. He tells her she should consider another job. He calls her stupid and repeatedly talks down to her.

And people keep calling him “blunt.”

No.

There is a difference between being blunt and being downright rude and insulting. You can be honest with someone without constantly putting them down.

And this matters because I think people completely overlook where Shang Zhitao's insecurity comes from.

She isn't insecure for no reason.

She is a 22-year-old newcomer in Beijing, working under a highly accomplished senior who constantly makes her feel like she isn't quite good enough. Unless you're an exceptionally confident person, that environment is going to affect you.

Then she sleeps with him.

They have a one-night stand, and obviously Shang Zhitao becomes apprehensive about what happens next. And honestly, of course she does.

She has barely established herself in Beijing. This man is her senior, her boss and eventually her boyfriend. Why would she immediately be comfortable turning that into a relationship?

She's attracted to him, obviously. 😂 And they do have genuine moments where they help each other and where her feelings begin to grow. But she still has every reason to be cautious.

Then Luan Nian pursues the situationship.

Which is honestly hilarious because the very next day he's already making insinuations about her leaving something at his place deliberately, while she has no reason to know that this man is going to be a complete bastard about relationships. 😂

The important thing is that their relationship doesn't stay purely casual. It develops very quickly into something much more serious.

And this is something I don't think enough viewers noticed:

The drama literally establishes that by Shang Zhitao's second year at Li Mei, she and Luan Nian started dating.
So yes, at that point, they're boyfriend and girlfriend.

But they still behave like they're stuck in a situationship half the time. They barely communicate, they mostly meet after work, and they continue carrying all the insecurity and uncertainty from the beginning of their relationship into the actual relationship.

And that's really the biggest problem with these two.

They don't have a lack-of-love problem. They have a communication and trust problem.

Shang Zhitao doesn't trust that her feelings and problems are important enough for Luan Nian to care about.

Luan Nian doesn't trust her enough to actually ask her what she's thinking.

She keeps things to herself.

He makes assumptions.

She becomes more insecure.

He becomes more defensive and angry.

And then they repeat the cycle.

Take the sexual harassment situation.

People kept asking, “Why didn't she tell Luan Nian?”

I actually agree that she should have told him eventually, especially because he was her boyfriend. But she had literally just been sexually harassed. She was shocked and panicking. He called her almost immediately afterward.

She didn't owe anyone a perfectly composed explanation in that moment.

And more importantly, this isn't an isolated thing. She also doesn't tell him about the housing-agency incident when she is physically harassed.

Why?

Because she has this deeply ingrained belief that her problems aren't important enough to trouble him with. She thinks she needs to handle things herself.

That is part of her insecurity.

So yes, I can say “She should have told him” and simultaneously say “I understand why she didn't.”

Those two things can both be true.

And Luan Nian doesn't exactly help with that insecurity.

He repeatedly uses incredibly harsh and insulting language toward her. And I don't care how sweet he is afterward—those things don't disappear.

People seem to forget that if a character is romantic for three episodes after saying something horrible, the horrible thing still happened.

That's not how memory works.

Those things stay with you.

They're little cuts.

One cut.
Then another.

Then another.

And after six years, you have a wound.

That's why I don't see their final breakup as being caused by one stupid misunderstanding. It was six years of accumulated resentment, insecurity, pride, jealousy, poor communication and things that were never properly discussed.

Then we have the ex situation.

I understand Luan Nian being upset when he sees Shang Zhitao hug her ex. Personally, I also wouldn't love seeing my partner hug an ex or someone who had confessed feelings for them.

But I also don't think the hug itself is some enormous betrayal.

Especially because Luan Nian has also hugged a woman who confessed to him, and later hugged her again when they met after years.

The difference is that Shang Zhitao wasn't there to witness those situations.

So yes, I understand his feelings.

What I don't understand is his way of handling them.

Again, he doesn't communicate.

He gets angry. He becomes aggressive. He tries to make her jealous.

And Shang Zhitao doesn't communicate either because she's too insecure to believe that talking to him will actually make a difference.

That's their relationship in a nutshell.

And then we get to the marriage discussion, which is another place where I think the adaptation changed the context so much that viewers are judging Shang Zhitao differently.

I've read the novel, and the drama changes their timeline considerably.

In the novel, they remain in that ambiguous situationship for much longer. Shang Zhitao eventually reaches the point where she tells Luan Nian that she likes him and wants to actually date him.

And he rejects her.

A lot of events that happen later in the drama actually happen in the novel while they are still in that situationship or when they aren't together at all.

The drama moved their official relationship much earlier, but then retained many of the same conflicts and reactions.

And that changes everything.

Something that happened in the novel when she wasn't even his girlfriend is now being watched by drama viewers as:

“How could she do that to her boyfriend?”
Well... she wasn't his girlfriend in the original context.

That's a pretty important difference.

And I honestly think the drama also softened Luan Nian in several places compared to the novel while keeping Shang Zhitao's emotional reactions. So things that had more context in the novel can sometimes make her look much more unreasonable in the drama.

I don't necessarily hate the changes, but I do think the adaptation needed to be more careful about what those changes did to the audience's perception of the characters.

Then we get to the car conversation.

And OH MY GOD.

I was furious.

Whatever mistake Shang Zhitao made, Luan Nian had absolutely no right to speak to her the way he did.

He basically humiliates her and implies that she's the kind of woman who would sleep with any man who comes along.

Excuse me???

Who the hell talks to their girlfriend like that?

Be angry.

Be jealous.

Confront her.

Tell her exactly what she did wrong.

Break up with her if you have to.

But you don't get to verbally humiliate someone and then have people excuse it because “he was hurt.”

No.

And honestly, Shang Zhitao forgives him WAY too easily sometimes.

Girl, please develop a spine. 😭

But again, that is part of her character. She is too humble. Too willing to put herself down. Too willing to accept less than she deserves.

And then everything finally falls apart.

Her best friend dies.

Their relationship becomes public.

And the exact thing Shang Zhitao was afraid of actually happens.

Her career is affected.
This is why I never understood people criticizing her for wanting to keep the relationship private.

Luan Nian was already established. He was the head of the China branch. He had a reputation and a position that could withstand gossip.

Shang Zhitao was still trying to prove herself.

If everyone thought she was getting opportunities because she was sleeping with the boss, whose career was going to suffer more?

Hers.

And she wasn't asking Luan Nian to give her special treatment.

She wasn't asking him to use their relationship to get her promoted.

She wasn't even asking him to hand her the specialist position.

She basically wanted to know beforehand that she wasn't getting it.

That's it.

She had worked incredibly hard and was sitting there with all these hopes, thinking she was finally going to get the position, while her boyfriend already knew that wasn't happening.

And he didn't tell her.

Maybe he had his reasons.

Maybe he thought he was protecting her.

Maybe he had a plan for her career later.

But you have to communicate that to your partner.

You cannot make decisions that affect them and then expect them to understand your intentions magically.

And this is where the six years of everything finally catch up with them.

The insults.

The insecurity.

The jealousy.

The misunderstandings.

The things they never said.

The things they assumed.

Her constantly putting herself below him.

His constant pride.
And then the grief of losing her best friend on top of everything else.

That annual-party fight felt like the explosion after years of pressure.

And honestly?

I think Shang Zhitao leaving was necessary.

It hurt. A LOT.

But she needed to leave.

Because when she goes home, starts her own company and builds a life without him, she finally becomes confident in herself.

She no longer sees herself as that 22-year-old girl who needs to prove she belongs.

She knows her worth.

And when they meet again, the dynamic is completely different.

Not exactly reversed, but different.

She can challenge him now.

She can question him.

She can tell him when he's wrong.

She doesn't immediately shrink herself.

And Luan Nian finally has to confront himself.

He finally realizes that his pride played a huge role in destroying the relationship.

And THAT is why I loved the ending.

Because he finally has to chase her.

He has to humble himself.

He has to let go of that ridiculous pride.

The Aurora scene broke me, honestly. 😭

Him calling her again and again, apologizing and telling her he loves her...

And I'm sitting there thinking:

Too late, sir.

You had six years.

SIX YEARS.

But that's what made it emotional.
He finally understood what he had lost.

And when they eventually reunite, it doesn't feel like Shang Zhitao is simply going back to the same relationship.

They're different people now.

That second quote from Shang Zhitao near the end describes their relationship so perfectly:

“I loved him. He also loved me. But he was too arrogant back then, and I was too humble.”

That's basically their entire six-year relationship in one sentence.

He loved her, but he was too proud to properly meet her emotionally.

She loved him, but she was too insecure to demand what she actually deserved.

And finally, they meet somewhere in the middle.

I also loved the proposal scene. The way Luan Nian goes through their memories and finally acknowledges what they went through together was so sweet. And I appreciated that he seemed genuinely self-aware about how much of a jerk he had been. 😂

And then Luke the dog basically comes in and seals the whole thing.

Adorable.

Now, I do have complaints about the adaptation.

I've read the novel, and I think the drama could have handled some things much better.

The timeline changes are significant. The drama makes them an official couple much earlier, while many of the same conflicts from the novel originally happen when they are still in a situationship or aren't together.

There are also HUGE time jumps where I'm sitting there thinking:

“Okay, but what happened during those six months?” 😂
Because these are human beings. Things don't just stop happening between scenes.

We don't know what conversations they had, what they discussed, what changed or what happened during those missing periods.

I think that sometimes makes their fights feel more sudden than they should.

But despite all my complaints...

I really enjoyed this drama.

Their chemistry is chemistry. 😂

Tibet was beautiful.

Their sweet moments were genuinely sweet.

And the ending made me happy.

There are plenty of dramas where the leads are beautiful, perfect, dreamy green flags and everything is wonderful. And I LOVE those dramas too.

Sometimes I absolutely want to watch two gorgeous people fall in love and have basically no problems. 😂

But The Early Spring wasn't that.

These characters were messy.

They were insecure.

They were stubborn.

They made mistakes.

They hurt each other.

They loved each other.

They grew.

And honestly, I think that's what made them interesting.

I don't want to call Shang Zhitao a red flag.

I don't want to call Luan Nian a green flag.

Because both labels are too small for them.

Luan Nian can genuinely love Shang Zhitao and still behave terribly sometimes.

Shang Zhitao can be insecure and make mistakes while still being strong and deserving of love.

Humans are complicated.

That's the whole point.

And maybe that's why the show had to remind us at the beginning of every episode:

You don't have to be perfect to be deserving of love.

Could this drama have been written better in places? Absolutely.

Could the adaptation have handled the novel's timeline and character dynamics better? Definitely.

Did both of these people make me want to scream at my screen? Absolutely. 😂

But did I enjoy watching them?

Yes. Very, very much.

It wasn't perfect.

And that's exactly why I liked it.

I'll take complicated, imperfect and human over perfect any day.

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Like it

Synopsis: "Song Yi, a wealthy young man raised in Japan, travels to Northern China in search of answers about his father’s past and unexpectedly becomes Xu Fei Yu’s temporary caregiver. Recovering from eye surgery with his eyes still covered in bandages, Fei Yu slowly lowers his guard under Song Yi’s domineering yet tender care. Before they can truly “see” each other, they have already fallen in love. But just as Fei Yu is about to regain his sight, a devastating secret comes to light, forcing Song Yi to disappear without a word. Five years later, fate brings them together again. Can their unforgettable love finally be made whole?"

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Ingénue Meets Cold CEO

I watched through episode 4 and didn't feel a need to continue to episode 5. Getting through the first four episodes was enough of a chore! By then, the female lead had already been rescued twice by the male lead, once in a rainy landslide (where they rescued each other) and the other when she drank too much with another man she just met. Uh no...I like female characters who are smart and have some tenacity (such as the k-drama Search:WWW). The female lead here just comes across as young and naive (you're a senior so I should do what you say!), while the male lead comes across as toxic but perhaps secretly caring. Plus HR red flags everywhere! Whatever the ML's character motives truly are, I just don't care enough to invest more time into this to find out. I was hoping it would be a guilty pleasure watch, but a beautiful looking couple with terrible dynamics is just not compelling enough for me to continue. I did like the ML in more of a mentor role for the FL, and shout-out to Lu Mi as an awesome colleague. Her housemates also seemed like a good group,

Side note: I really enjoyed JBR in Road Home and SQ in Love Story from the 1970s. Definitely recommend watching those!

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Age gap done right

I write later when the spoiler is present.

So yeah I know,I know it. Some people don't really like the dynamic of this show with the age gap. It's a big part of the show and they play into it a lot, I really liked this part of the show and I also don't mind age gaps. Know this as I review this show. SO, the 17 year age gap between Ainosuke and Hideaki was honestly one of the things that made this series stand out to men when it first started airing. I don't find the age gap between them odd or their differences in life because in my eyes it seems like Ainosuke is quite mature for his age and the way he treats Hideaki is genuinely so caring, gentle, and respectful. Similar to how Hideaki treats Ainosuke he treats him with respect, love and understanding that he was married and he is a lot older so he has a bunch of experience that Ainosuke doesn't.
IMO, their relationship never felt uncomfortable to me because there’s such a strong sense of mutual care between them. If Hideaki were creepy, manipulative, or treated Ainosuke poorly, I could completely understand why the age gap would be a concern, to some people; me included, but their relationship is pretty much the opposite of that. I don't see any sort of manipulative tactics or ant red flags in the show at all, which made it good in my eyes.

What I really loved about their dynamic was how the show managed to make the age difference feel both cute and genuinely funny without making their relationship feel unhealthy, yk old man liking young people only type of situation. They are so different yet they care so much about each other. So when you look at that its got a good sort of dynamic with this really entertaining “opposites attract” quality, its unique and done well. The age gap dynamics actually is used more of a humour aspect, It creates so many little moments of humour and makes their relationship feel different from the usual BL romances I've watched lately. (bunch of red flag shows btw, this is a breath of fresh air)



THIS IS WHAT WOULD BE A SPOILER........


One scene that especially made me laugh was when they had already been together, Ainosuke rushed off because he had a meeting for a job interview, only for Hideaki to show up as the interviewer. I actually spat out my water that I was drinking when that scene happened at the start of the show. I just loved moments like that because the show could take their unusual circumstances and turn them into something genuinely funny and adorable. Overall, I think the healthy and respectful nature of their relationship is a huge part of why I enjoyed the series so much. The age-gap dynamic could have easily been handled badly, but instead, the show uses it to create a relationship that feels surprisingly sweet, funny, and addictive to watch.

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Short And Sweet Drama

Such a cute and lovely drama! 🥹❤️

I started watching it without any expectations, and it turned out to be so much better than I expected.

The story itself isn’t anything very special or different. It’s actually quite common and simple. But the way it has been presented to us is really good. There’s no unnecessary drama, and they haven’t dragged the story out or made it unnecessarily lengthy.

The chemistry between the leads is really good, especially between Young Yai and Rak. Their cute and innocent first love, along with the way they start planning their future together, feels so relatable. You can really connect with their characters and their relationship.

I also loved Grandma, Lek, and Sam. They always helped guide the leads in the right direction and gave them the support they needed.

It’s such a short and sweet drama, which I honestly didn’t expect from a Thai drama. 😂❤️

Definitely worth rewatching! ✨

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Twinkling Watermelon: The Ending without the Epilogue Felt More Meaningful

A very good drama with a few hiccups in between.

I dropped the drama half way through after the entry of se gyeon' daughter around the episode 9, but I am glad I picked it up later, as it was amazing drama.

I really liked the whole drama except epilogue, the plot was well thought out, the character growth of all characters was very good, i laughed and cried with them through the whole journey. Though I didn't much like the character of se gyeon' daughter (on eun you) who also came to past. But her character growth in the end was also good but it felt like came too late. My favourite ones where grandma, ha eun ho, ha eun gyeoul, ha yichan, yun cheung a.

Now why I don't like epilogue:

For me, the real ending was when Ha Eun-gyeol decided to return to his time and accepted that, although he couldn't change everything, he had still made a difference. Most importantly, he realized that Ha Yi-chan's accident wasn't his fault. For me, that was the ending. it felt like a meaningful conclusion to his journey.

That scene felt far more meaningful than the later part of the episode.
My main problem is the future Eun-gyeol returns to. His family is suddenly wealthy, he is the grandson of a chaebol family, and he is part of a famous pop group. It doesn't feel like he returned to his own life, but to a completely different one.

This becomes confusing if we consider two versions of Eun-gyeol: Eun-gyeol A and Eun-gyeol B.

Eun-gyeol A is the one we followed throughout the drama. He grew up in the original timeline, experienced his family's struggles, traveled to the past, and returned with those memories.
After the timeline changed, Eun-gyeol B should logically exist. He would have grown up in completely different circumstances, with different relationships, experiences, and memories. He would not have lived through the hardships or shared the same relationship with his father as Eun-gyeol A.

Yet when Eun-gyeol A returns, the drama presents this entirely different life as though it were simply his own future.
So where is Eun-gyeol B?
Even if the original timeline was rewritten rather than replaced by another universe, the problem remains. Eun-gyeol A has none of the memories of the life this new version supposedly lived, while everyone around him remembers that version of him.

What happened to everything Eun-gyeol A experienced—the hardships, conflicts with his father, and lessons from the past? The people in this changed future don't know the burdens he carried or the things he learned.
That is why I preferred the ending before the epilogue.

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a messy romance saved by its leads

To be honest, this drama is nothing special. The production feels cheap, the writing is weak, and the editing is rough around the edges. It's a Chinese workplace romance that had all the ingredients for something addictive but never quite came together.

That said, I was captivated by Luke and Flora's relationship—at least at the beginning. Watching them fall for each other while stubbornly denying their feelings was genuinely addictive. Their dynamic pulled me in, even when the show around them didn't.

The second half, though, is a mess. They fight, they make up, they fight again—it's exhausting and repetitive. Luke's harsh way of speaking to Flora is heartbreaking to watch, but on the other side, he shows his feelings through actions: making sure Don gets what he deserves, fighting off the agency thugs, supporting her work. Flora's insecurity also becomes too much at times, and she does things that hurt him deeply.

Sometimes you must lose someone to really find out if you love that person. Or you are not mature enough to see what is in front of you. That's the lesson I took from Luke and Flora's journey—messy, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful.

The last few episodes were all over the place. The time jump felt messy and rushed, and it became clear that the drama simply failed to execute its storyline properly. It's a shame because the potential was there.

Still, I enjoyed it for Luke and Flora's interactions—and a big shoutout to Luke, the dog. He was the real MVP. If you can overlook the flaws, there's something worth watching here, but don't expect a masterpiece.

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