Reviews

A terrible waste of good material

This series had such great potential. It had a strong start, intriguing context (politics), underdog main characters (both the Dr and Vee), great character design and build-up (I grew to really adore Vee, couldn't say the same about the Dr cos his character development felt somewhat stunted, other side characters like Gale and Vee's father were also very interesting), enemy-to-lovers dynamic, decent world building (somewhat realistic portrayal of politics), witty and well-written dialogue, well crafted bgm.

I had great hopes jumping into the series and it was a good watch until episode 6 where things started to fall apart. The Dr's character design started to fall apart and it felt like the plot was getting nowhere (the 2 MLs trying to fight against the system and constantly facing setback after setback, trying to rescue the situation and just digging further into the ditch). I don't know if it was intentional to make viewers feel this complete sense of hopelessness and if that was the goal, the writers certainly achieved that cos the minute the Dr decided to make his nephew a scapegoat, I completely lost all interest in any further plot development. Up until the end, I was still hoping that the Dr would turn things around and correct what was wrong or exact some sort of payback and yet all we got was him still struggling like a bug under the thumb of his party leaders. Sigh....

That said, I did enjoy the acting, the musicality, dialogue and cinematography for certain scenes e.g. the scene where the Dr rescued Vee from a stampede, and the Dr's debate speech in the dark. I simply wish there was a more uplifting conclusion to the series, an ending that didn't reflect reality too accurately.

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High quality acting & screenplay

The way it was written, the lines and the flow of the story is high quality. But because there is too much going on I have to stop watching it sometimes. It eas overwhelminh for me but I had a lot of emotions watching it, crying, laughing and giggling. There was little romance it was subtle but the chemistry is top notch drspite the age gap. I used to want more romance in a series but I did not notice that there was little romance in the whole series. Their eyes speaks a lot of emotions I cant even hate the villains in this story because their villain arc is justifiable.

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Villain-free RomCom is peak.

When I say I love RomCom, this is what I mean: there’s a perfect balance between romance and comedy, with less unnecessary drama. This kind of RomCom is what I like—no murderous villains, no sibling rivalry over company control, and no one trying to kill anyone. It has no heavy drama scenes, just a perfect balance of emotional moments that still fit the RomCom genre. Also, no forced love triangles—the second male lead doesn’t try to force himself as the female lead’s love interest. And most importantly, no unnecessary breakups in the last two episodes, which we all hate. Another proof that villain-free RomComs are still the best.

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To the point, and smooth to watch

I am not much into vertical dramas tbh..
If the story and acting both sucked i would not have completed this. Though i did watch it in 2x speed.. i did enjoy the directness of the drama and the fact that i didnt have to skip scenes.. The elder brother of the prince was maybe my most favorite character.
It was refreshing for the first time in a while for the guard of the ml to respect and support the fl from the start instead of presumptously speak ill of her~~
Like any other vertical dramas it has lots of heart fluttering scenes, cheesy dialogues and intimate interaction... cute banter etc.
Its good for pastime.

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Great Cast, Frustratingly Dumb Script

This movie looks like a smart, high-stakes crime thriller, but the entire plot runs on characters making stupid decisions just to keep the chase going. The robbery setup is impossible to buy into, and from that moment on the tension feels forced instead of earned. Every escape happens because of plot armor, not because anyone is clever or capable.

The hunter is shot like an unstoppable force while the protagonists, who are armed and have multiple chances to fight back, constantly act irrationally. That turns what should be a strategic cat-and-mouse into a repetitive loop of bad choices and lucky survival.

The most frustrating part is that the technical side is great — strong cinematography, sound design, and a stacked cast (Park Hae-soo is easily the highlight). But none of that can fix a script with thin logic, dragged-out pacing, and an ending that gives zero real payoff.

This might work if you only care about atmosphere. If you’re looking for a tight, smart thriller, it’s a painful watch.

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The plums are mature.. As i head to the yard to pick them..My longing for you only grows

It’s such a healthy drama, especially compared to the intense, complicated ones I usually watch.

At first glance, it feels like a simple love story. Almost cliché. But somehow, it isn’t.

There’s a “family feud”… except it mostly exists in people’s assumptions and fears.
There’s an ex… but she might just be the best ex-girlfriend ever written — mature, dignified, and not reduced to a villain.

What I really loved is that it’s about healing through everyday life. Nothing dramatic or exaggerated. Just small moments, quiet growth, and emotional honesty.

In the beginning, it feels like the story belongs to the female lead. But as the episodes unfold, you realize so much of it happens around the male lead’s world. Slowly, gently, it becomes his story too. His healing. His perspective. His emotional journey.

It’s soft, grounded, and sincere — a drama that doesn’t need chaos to feel meaningful.

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How come I had never hear of this gem?

I stumbled upon this series by way of a random short segment showing up in my YouTube feed. Once I figured out the title of the series I found the full series of episodes on YouTube and started watching it. And it did not disappoint. This series is a classic hero-returns-from-presumed-dead-to-take-revenge story so the basic nature of the plot is not unique. However, the delivery of that plot is fantastic. Christy Guo is just so perfectly cast as the mesmerizing, mysterious vengeance-seeking Mo Wang / Quingchuan. Tall and with an ethereal beauty, she enters scenes with an almost supernatural aura. Her intensity of resolve is wielded like armor on top of unimaginable pain, both personal and social. As the story goes on to reveal more and more of what she was forced to endure by the selfish decisions of others, Guo's acting makes her rage becomes your rage. The rest of the cast is excellent. In particular, veteran actor Tian Miao, as the Empress Dowager delivers yet another fantastic performance. She steals scene after scene. I am not a huge fan of Zhour Zhan as the choice for the Male Lead, Xia Qiguang. To me, he simply looks too delicate and baby-faced to take seriously for a role like this one. It's a matter of taste, but I just think he's more of a 'SML' type of actor for me. That said, he did grow on me as the series progressed and he really, really delivered in a scene late in the series when Qiguang was breaking down and crying to Qingchuan. Beyond the excellent script and acting, another strong point of this series is length / editing / pacing. It is not a long series with only 18 episodes (fewer in some re-organized formats such as on YouTube). And there is no wasted screen time on 'plot filler' contrivances. Almost no minutes are wasted in this drama and it avoids most annoying gimmick that many dramas use just to fill out extra episodes. The concise story-telling that results from this is refreshing and captivating.

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Good for timepass

Dramas are made to entertain us, they take us to the world that doesn't really exist and this drama does the same i know many people are upset with ending but take it lightly its just a drama watch for your entertainment, also this drama taught us to be kind which i really like plus also its show the reality of humans at the same time that people are full of greed but there are still some people who are kindhearted, everybody is not same no matter which realm they belong and if you guys are trying to find logic in then i have to tell you this drama is not for you .

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MUST WATCH ITS SO AMAZING!

I don't find myself watching gl's too often but this one was genuinely so great. From the music to the acting it was so good. The prison setting was amazing along with all the characters. I love how it was a healthy relationship with them comforting eachother throughout the story and the fights never lasted long. Especially the part where Bell waited those 3 years until she could be with Claire out of prison and free. I watched the after story and even though the episodes were short I still loved it all. The side characters were amazing too and they contributed so much to the story. I don't really rewatch things but some dramas are so amazing that I do and this is one of them.

I really do recommend this because it's so sweet!

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IN SHORT: this did NOT disappoint and i recommend this drama if you liked the American version or if you just like crime solving dramas.

As someone whose seen the American version before this a lot this was really good to me i love the series criminals minds and since I've been getting in to Asian dramas i just found this and I'm not disappointed, it has the same crimes, as i was watching this i recognized them but since i haven't watched criminal minds in like a year or two i forget the ending but remember stuff that happens but the acting was so good it made me want to watch it anyways, plus it also has an actor in it that i really liked.

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"Forgive the past...or not"

Song of Flower Basket aka Hanakago no Uta was a 1937 love square starring a young Tanaka Kinuyo as the side doing all the heavy support of this geometric melodramatic comedy.

Keizo’s tonkatsu restaurant does a brisk business due largely to his comely daughter who attracts the foot traffic and cook Lee’s extraordinary fried pork cutlets. Lee doesn’t only love frying up tonkatsu, he also loves Keizo’s daughter Yoko. Two university students frequent the place---Hotta Nenkai who is destined to become a Buddhist priest and Ono Susumu who is a poor student with few options. Hotta is Ono’s wingman and helps Ono and Yoko (also called Oyo and Ojo) spend time together. Because her mother died over a decade ago, Yoko’s aunt takes charge of matchmaking and sets up a potential husband who is a doctor. Complicating matters, the waitress is desperately in love with Lee. Are we up to a pentagon now?

This story was flimsily held together by miscommunications and misunderstandings. My comprehension might also have been impaired by the aged film’s blurriness. It was often hard to tell people apart in numerous scenes. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Ryu Chishu’s voice and sure enough he played Hotta. Having finished all of Ozu’s films, I rarely see him anymore. Tanaka Kinuyo was in charge of making Yoko not seem like the dullest knife in the drawer. Yoko was 23, on the cusp of spinsterhood, but she still acted very young and naïve. Ono was more experienced, having frequented hostess clubs prior to Yoko, and yet he also wasn’t very sharp. Never really in the running, the doctor visited the restaurant a few times to scout out his potential fiancée. Personally, I would have enjoyed spending time at the bar with Hotta who seemed to be the most engaging of all the young men, and the only one without a love interest. A brief note, thirteen-year-old Takamine Hideko played Yoko’s younger sister. She breezed in and out of two scenes, barely enough to acknowledge her existence.

What was actually interesting to me was the reversal of purity shaming. Yoko was devastated by Ono’s past and called him on it. Usually, it’s the female characters who have to be concerned about having had any other relationships. Of course, men being men in the 1930s, they all drew ranks and covered for each other. I did like that the father allowed Yoko to choose her own mate, even if he caught some backlash from her about it when she began to doubt that choice. He also stood his ground to his sister and stated, “This shop does not sell Oyo.” Though in practice she was what brought people in so that the food could seal the deal.

Clocking in at 69 minutes, Song of Flower Basket might not have been an in depth look at relationships but there was love and heartache aplenty. It also made me hungry for tonkatsu. If you enjoy old, really old, Japanese films and can tolerate the blurriness it might be one to try.

16 February 2026

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My Feb Recommendation Challenge

Watched this for my Recommendation Challenge from 𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆. Let’s talk drama…

Song Xiaoyu is a struggling, minor actress who accidentally transmigrates into the world of a historical script she was cast in. To her horror, she becomes Song Yimeng (YM)—the tragic female lead destined to be manipulated, abused, and eventually killed by the ruthless male lead, Nan Heng (NH).

She arrives at the moment she is about to marry Chu Gui Hong (GH). In the original script, YM opposes the marriage because she is deeply in love with NH.

Knowing the plot tropes and her tragic ending, YM decides to fight against the narrative and do everything she can to successfully marry GH instead. However, she soon discovers she is trapped in an infinite loop. Every time she attempts to get married, she dies in one of 108 absurd and unique ways—ranging from a falling vase to accidental poisoning—before restarting at the same point.

When she finally accepts her fate, the script unexpectedly resets to a point long before everything began. Determined to escape her doomed destiny, YM begins rebelling against the narrative constraints. Yet no matter how hard she tries to avoid NH, she continues to cross paths with him.

As she lives inside the script, she realizes two unbreakable rules govern this world:
1. The "Big Banner Moments"—key plot events—will happen as the script written,
2. The Male Lead will save the Female Lead if she's in danger.

So, for the first rule, YM starts playing a game of wits, attempting to “hack” the script by deliberately acting out required scenes in controlled ways. But no matter how cleverly she maneuvers, those Big Banner Moments still occur—just in slightly altered forms.

As the 2nd rule, this rule changes YM’s attitude toward NH. She is no longer afraid of him, because harming her would only bring consequences upon himself.

NH is a very pitiful ML. No one likes him. To the people, he is the ruthless prince. To his father, he is the reason the Empress was murdered. To GH—once his closest friend—he is seen as the reason for his father’s death and the enemy who stole his glory in battle.

At first, NH gets close to YM because of her connection to GH. He needs the secret sword-forging technique that GH possesses. Given their close relationship, NH hopes to uncover the secret through YM. But when he realizes she isn’t easily fooled, he changes his approach.

NH starts to dislike her—even more so when he realizes he can’t hurt her due to the “ML saves FL” rule.

Now let's bring Chu Gui Hong (GH) into the picture. GH is the second male lead in the drama. He also has a tragic story—and in his eyes, it’s all because of NH.

First, NH became the cause of the Empress’s death—GH’s beloved aunt. The two boys, once best friends, grew apart and became strangers.

Second, after returning from the battlefield, GH discovers YM’s growing connection with NH—something that deepens his resentment and sense of betrayal. Because YM was betrothed to him… and he loves her deeply.

The greatest betrayal? During a crucial battle, GH sent a desperate letter asking NH for help. According to NH, he never received it. But in GH’s bitter heart, NH lied, he chose to ignore the plea—only to appear after the war ended and claim victory as his own. To GH, NH didn’t just abandon him. He stole his glory. His honor. His life.

As the story progresses, GH becomes increasingly consumed by hatred, especially after YM ultimately chooses NH.

The biggest difference from the original script is the emergence of Nightwalkers groups & their leader, Li Shiliu (SL). The group is initially introduced as a group of assassins, but as the story progresses, it turns out it also serves as a front for intelligence gathering and more clandestine activities.

Unbeknownst to YM, SL turns out to be NH's secret persona. NH creates the SL identity to gather information and correct the wrongdoings committed by his own family.

Unlike with NH, YM places her full trust in SL—seeing him as her savior and only true ally in this scripted world. Because to her, SL exists *outside* the script. Slowly, she begins to fall for him.

But over time, seeing how genuinely she treats *SL*, how kind and open she is toward the person only he can be—NH slowly begins to fall for her.

In the end, NH chooses to maintain the disguise—not just to gather secrets, but to stay close to her… and protect her.

As always, secrets cannot remain hidden forever.

What will happen when YM discovers that SL and NH are the same person?
Will NH confess first—or will YM uncover the truth on her own?
And how will NH react when that moment finally comes?

Just when things seem set, another twist arrives: the original drama’s writer also transmigrated into the script world.

What changes will this creator bring?
Will it be something good—for YM and the ML?
Or will it make everything worse?

Last but not least question:
Will YM eventually get back to real world & successfully did the drama?
Or will she stay inside the script world?

That's pretty much the story without giving the spoiler. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ Li Yi Tong is quite funny. I like her here.
+ Li Yu Ning is also really good. I can see the pain in his eyes every time something unfair happens to NH.
+ The chemistry between Li Yi Tong and Li Yu Ning is also quite good.
+ I like Riley & Chu Dan. They're really good when they play supporting roles. Quite like their dynamics too…
+ Fu Gui is such a funny man…
+ I really like what happened with the emperor's family. Like how the relationship between NH & his family eventually gets better. Even Nan Rui himself finally grew up…

What I don't like:
- The twist where the writer also get into the script. I don't think this is a necessary act...

What I hope can be better in the end:
- GH can give up on his obsession & finally make peace with his situation… Seeing how his ending is really pitiful somehow. He's not a bad man, that's why I prefer a better ending for him.

Overall I am really happy I can watch this. It's kinda different than any other transmigration to the book/script story…

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