Reviews

Might not be realistic but beautiful. Sometimes simple is more than enough.

I started this drama cz as someone new to this fandom i didn't know AouBoom were not the main characters of this drama. Although i was not happy about the fact that they were not the leads and u never knew GreatInn i gave it a go and ngl i adore both pairs. The plot might not be realistic in the areas where you can see a lot of people are quite open to accept gay couples and none of the leads are scared of being gay. I'd say it's unique. Usually when it comes to historical gay romance it's either super sad or a sad ending. This drama was definitely not sad. It was slow, beautiful and calming to watch. The best part was it didn't bore me dispite being this slow. I've not watched the ending yet but I've read it's a happy ending and some comments say its a forced happy ending, even if it's true I'm glad they tried something new and actually did a good job at it. "The most beautiful count" was also historical and unrealistic n people had no problem there not sure why it was a problem here.
Also I'd like to specially mention how beautiful GreatInn looked in this drama (sadly we'll never see it again). Inn just looked drop dead gorgeous i couldn't take my eyes off him. I liked how they were opposite of each other but in a subtle way. One thought realistically one went with his heart.
As for AouBoom although they had small screentime they stole the show everytime they came on screen. This kinda made me wish for a drama where Boom would play soft boy cz usually he is kinda tough in all his dramas. I feel both their roles were different from what we usually see. Aou the obssessed lover and Boom the one dealing with him🤭

Overall so far I love this drama.

Edit: i finished the drama. The ending is actually pretty good. Not sure what others were expecting from a historical BL. They clearly explained what and how things changed in the 5 year time skip and them moving in together is the best ending they can give us because not only was gay romance illegal but also frowned upon back in the day. If it was a sad ending you guys would have cried about wanting a happy one and when they give you a happy one you guys say it doesn't make sense. Not every historical BL needs to be pure tragic torture like "love in the moonlight" this was good too..i probably liked this much more.

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A Slow Burn That Boils Over

I have never had such confusing emotions watching a drama. Even up until the last episode, I still didn’t fully know how I felt. There was just something about it that kept pulling me in. I wanted to keep watching, but the whole time I was unsure of what I was actually feeling. It was definitely a journey.

But when I finished it, I realized this is the kind of show where you have to watch the whole thing to form a proper opinion. Seeing how they wrapped everything up so nicely really hit the right mark for me.

The best way I can describe this drama is like a pot on the stove slowly boiling — just waiting to overflow. It requires patience. The entire time, it’s building. You can feel it building toward something strong, and in my opinion, they did reach that strong point in the end.

That said, I really think people need to know what they’re getting into before starting it. I went in expecting a dark romance-heavy story because of all the edits of the couple. I thought the romance would be central from the beginning. Instead, it’s very political — much more political than I expected — and the romance comes very late. If I had known that, I think I would’ve adjusted my expectations better.

Now let’s talk about the male lead.

He is honestly one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever watched. He is dark — like truly dark — and he stays that way for almost the entire show. He’s a walking red flag 90% of the time. There’s no sudden soft transformation early on. Even when love enters the picture, his aura stays heavy and intense.

And I have to give credit to Zhang Linghe because I genuinely don’t think just any actor could’ve carried this role. I’m so used to seeing him as a green flag, so watching him portray an obsessive, manipulative, borderline psychopathic character was fascinating. He was cruel, controlling at times, morally gray — but somehow you don’t fully hate him. You’re still drawn to him. That’s 100% the actor’s presence and performance.

Also… I have never seen a character frown that much in my life. He was frowning the entire show. Not even resting face — a full-on permanent frown. And somehow it worked.

His character development by the end was satisfying. Seeing that shift, seeing him soften just enough, felt earned.

Now Bai Lu — I will watch anything that woman does. She’s exceptional. Knowing how bubbly she is in real life makes it even more impressive to see her play such a strong, layered character. I loved that when she got her second chance, she actually learned from her past life. She was kinder, smarter, more self-aware. And her Empress arc? She absolutely killed it.

The chemistry between them is amazing — that’s not even a debate. But my biggest complaint is how late the romance actually happens. This is almost a 40-episode show, and they properly fall in love around episode 34. That’s wild. It felt rushed at the end. Her realization of her feelings especially felt pushed rather than gradually built.

I wish we had more romantic moments, more emotional development between them earlier on. There wasn’t even a proper “dating phase.” It felt like the writers didn’t fully know how to balance such a dark male lead with a steady romantic build-up. Thankfully, the actors’ chemistry carried a lot of that weight.

I also appreciated that both characters are morally gray. They match each other. It wouldn’t have made sense for her to end up with someone purely good and upright. Which brings me to Zhang Zhe — he was the obvious “right choice.” The green flag. Moral, steady, kind. But that wasn’t the story being told. I actually liked that they didn’t darken him just to justify her choice. And I liked that in the end there wasn’t unnecessary bitterness.

As for the side plots… I honestly think too much time was wasted on certain characters (the Xue family especially — I could not stand them). That screen time could’ve been used to deepen the romance or explore stronger side stories.

Fang Yin and Shen Jie broke my heart. Their story had so much potential, and it felt underdeveloped. Same with some other side relationships that could’ve been explored instead of dragging out less interesting conflicts.

Visually though? Stunning. The styling was beautiful. Bai Lu looked incredible in those soft pinks, reds, and blues. Zhang Linghe’s wardrobe fit his character perfectly — structured, sharp, powerful. The production overall was gorgeous.

The political storyline was actually very well done. Intricate, layered, and engaging once you settle into it. This isn’t a light romance drama. It’s heavy on power struggles, strategy, tension, and push-and-pull dynamics.

Overall, I would recommend it — but only if you know what you’re getting into. If you’re expecting fluffy romance, this is not that. It’s intense, political, morally gray, and slow-burning.

Very different from your typical green-flag love story — but that’s kind of what makes it special.

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Okay, this is not good. This is really, really not good—so let me rephrase.

I love JoongDunk. I truly do. I think Chimon gives the story certain elegance that wouldn’t be there otherwise. The female cast did a really good job, and the actor portraying Jung’s case-solving brother, Jay, was also very solid. Overall, I love JoongDunk’s chemistry, and I genuinely believe they are among the strongest Thai BL pairings out there. Joong’s acting, especially, is something many of us hold in very high regard.

That’s exactly why this series is such a disappointment.

The concept and the story had real potential, but somewhere along the way, that potential was completely wasted. The romance was technically healthy, but it was boring. I couldn’t emotionally or empathetically commit to it at all. The case-solving aspect was even worse—painfully dull, with no tension or payoff.

What did work was the color grading, which fit the tone well, and the overall production quality, which was solid. The simple structure of the story could have worked—but instead, it became the biggest weakness. There was basically no drama. I expected chases, internal conflicts, mysteries, stakes—something. Instead, everything felt flat and lifeless.

This series wasn’t a mess. It was just deeply unengaging. And I don’t think that’s only my issue—I think it failed both as a romance and as a crime-solving drama.

I also can’t ignore the acting and character dynamics. I’ve honestly never seen such weak work from Dunk before. During intimate scenes, I kept thinking, Where is he even looking? Why does this feel so disconnected? It constantly pulled me out of the moment.

I strongly believe that pushing Dunk into the superior position over Joong was a mistake. I’m not against role reversals—I actually love them—but only when the writing and direction can support them. Here, both characters were written far too bluntly, with no nuance or emotional layering. There was no room for a convincing role-switch dynamic to develop naturally.

Right now, Dunk shines much more in inferior roles. He simply isn’t strong enough yet to convincingly portray this type of detective character. That’s why I’m genuinely relieved that in their next series, Joong will once again be in the superior position. With proper writing and direction, that dynamic works far better for both of them.

As for the plot—there are countless “death” scenes where absolutely nothing is happening. Even when the show pretends something is going on, there’s no urgency, no danger, no emotional weight. The entire series could have been significantly shortened and heavily edited without losing anything meaningful.

And please—don’t even get me started on how nonsensical the police work is. There are dying children, and after the second death, no one thinks to assign protection? No detectives, no officers guarding potential victims? What kind of job are they even doing? The shooting scene is just as ridiculous: they storm into a building, start shooting random people without warning, and then proceed like that’s normal procedure, chase after the "biggest drug evil", one shoot him once - not concerned if he is still a danger, for the second to kill him on spot disregarding him as a potential future information source or as a person to be judged fairly, not killed off (taking justice into his own hands instead, not even attempting to immobilize him instead of killing him right away without any regret). And that is not even saying that wathever substance might the character have before was lost on "how they get rid of him"? It’s sloppy, illogical, and completely breaks immersion.

Without JoongDunk, this series would have been as boring as the EngfaCharlott Case. And while that one was over-dramatized, at least it was somewhat engaging. This series isn’t over-dramatized at all—but it also has no dramatization whatsoever.

The only thing I’m genuinely happy about is that another series is already in preparation—an office romance that’s completely different in tone. I really hope it reignites the passion between these two actors, because their behind-the-scenes chemistry is incredible. Unfortunately, this series gave absolutely no space for that chemistry to shine, which feels like a waste of time, space and talent.

And I also need to mention how poorly the romantic beats were placed. The kiss placement, the fun moments, and even the jokes were inserted in the strangest, most inappropriate or least interesting places. None of it felt organic. None of it felt earned. It wasn’t romantic, it wasn’t exciting, and it certainly wasn’t passionate—it felt like those moments existed only because they had to exist, not because the story or characters naturally led there. Everything felt mechanical and emotionally empty.

At this point, I’m honestly struggling. I don’t even know if I’ll make it through the last two episodes. And that, sadly, brings me back to my initial point: this series is not a mess, but it is completely disengaging. For a story that had so much potential—and for actors who are capable of so much more—this feels like a profound waste.

So yes—on every important level that matters to me, this series is a big no. And by “no,” I mean a complete failure. That said, everyone should form their own opinion. I’m sure some viewers will enjoy this kind of low-stakes, no-drama storytelling.

But for me? This was a huge letdown.

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Enjoy The Journey

This is my first Chinese drama. I absolutely loved the drama. The casting, acting, and music were really nice. Though it is a long drama, the journey certainly feels worth it. This is a dark Wuxia drama. The characters were complex, and the emotions were really heavy. Though there was supposed to be a 2nd season, I felt the background of Chu Qiao and her powers were explored very little in Season 01. The action scenes were very nicely choreographed, and Zhao Li Ying was the star of the drama for me. The only drawback I would say is the ending. The writers should have wrapped up everything in one season. I am fortunate that I watched this drama in 2023 instead of 2017. Otherwise, it would have been too long to wait for season 2. Now that season 2 is being made with a new cast, I hope this story really gets a proper ending this time.

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Loved the journey, missed the payoff

I honestly enjoyed this drama more than I expected.
First of all, I loved that it was short and well-paced. With only 10-minute episodes, it never drags, never feels boring, and tells its story efficiently. It’s the kind of drama you can finish in one sitting and still feel satisfied — at least emotionally.
The concept is simple but charming: a goblin has to kiss 10 different people to become human, learning different human emotions through each kiss. It’s light fantasy, but it works. What really made it special for me was the sweetness of the main couple. Their chemistry felt natural, soft, and innocent in the best way. The ML especially surprised me — he kisses well. His scenes felt real, not stiff or awkward.
Now here comes my small frustration.
Considering that he kissed 9 girls before the FL, I honestly expected more physical affection once they reunited. We see him kissing other girls (even if briefly), but with the FL — the actual love interest — we only get about two real kisses. After building up the emotional connection and waiting for them to finally be together, it felt slightly unsatisfying. You wait the entire drama for them, and when it finally happens… it’s over too quickly.
It’s not a bad ending — just not as fulfilling as I hoped. I wanted more moments of them actually being a couple, not just reaching that point.
Overall, though, it’s a sweet, easy watch with good pacing and lovely chemistry.

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Lies exposed by Truth eventually

I Love the reunited loves of the main actors especially the love of yanze for Xiao xiao. Zhi Zhi disappointed us all by driving himself into a corner of promising to be there for Xi Fei till death do us part. But the mental drugs administered to him ruined him emotionally that he resorted to lying to himself at the moment Xi Fei needed truth, love, sincerity. Yan Ze blew my expectations but with his beating up of Chen and coming to his senses. Xiao Xiao romance was a romance within a romance waiting to be reunited. All these twists and turns possibly caused the drama to weaken in its appeal to the fans, but I am pleased with the overall closing outcomes.

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Set your expectations. Yes, the show has flaws. But NO, that doesn't make it bad.

If you go to a restaurant and just order a salad, you can't expect it to fill you up like a full meal would. If you buy a pair of gold earrings for $5, you can't expect it to be made of real gold.

I watched this knowing that the total run time would be around an hour (MDL said it had 6 10-min. eps), so I didn't expect the story to be fleshed out in the same way as in shows with longer run times. Most BLs deemed worth watching by netizens are typically 10-12 episodes long (sometimes longer!), with each episode running for about an hour (again, sometimes longer!), which means that I'd need a whole day in order to binge watch one series. Since I have a life outside of BLs 😅, I would sometimes end up speeding through the longer shows and just stopping for scenes that I find interesting.

Awakening the Steppe gave me the scenes that I'd usually stop for --- the initial context, the sweet moments between the MLs, the conflict, and the resolution --- without the need to speed watch, and it has the added bonus of being visually appealing (the actors, the scenery, the lighting --- I could rewatch this on mute and still derive satisfaction from it 😆). That said, I DO have a few complaints:

- I have no issues with how quickly the MLs seemed to develop feelings for each other. I actually know people IRL who've fallen harder faster 😅. But I do wish that they'd given us a better buildup leading to the emotional payoff. Even a short montage of daily interactions showing an increasing tension between the MLs would have worked, and it would've helped me understand how much time had already passed within the story without adding too much to the show's run time.

- I have a dog and 2 cats, so I can understand the conflict, but I feel like the dialogue didn't expound on it well enough, so it might feel superficial to those who can't relate to the heartbreak of losing a fur baby.

- If in earlier episodes Wang Chen Rui's acting had hinted at a hidden agenda, that conflict might have felt less like it was coming out of left field.

- The introduction of the Mom did nothing to move the story forward. Yes, it just took up 2 mins., but those 2 mins. could've been used to patch up some of the gaps in the story.

No, this won't go down in history as one of the great BL shows of our time. Yes, the writing could use some improvement. But no, I wouldn't consider it as bad either, especially since it didn't have the audacity to waste an entire day of my life (hi again Flirt Milk 😠).

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This movie had been on my watchlist for a long time, and once I finally sat down to watch it, it didn’t disappoint. Dark, unsettling, and heavy with atmosphere.

Kim Go-Eun and Lee Do-Hyun delivered powerful performances, as expected. Two of my favorite actors, drawing you deeper into the darkness of the story.

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Thank you sooo much~ ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆ 💕🌸

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the ML is an A**HOLE

This is the first time i left a review ever and this show pissed me off so much i had to!!!

at first i was rooting for the FL and ML (obvs) but later on this guy just wouldn’t change !! kept coming up with the dumbest excuses on earth (especially the nonchalant “that’s just who I am”) and the FL just accepted it ???

then, the second lead came in. this is the first time in years that i was rooting for the second lead!! he’s literally the perfect fit for her but she likes tha stupid ahh with no personality!!
i watched so many crazy dramas and even read crazier manhwas with crazy ML’s but i just couldn’t with this guy

like yeah his mum died and whatever but that isn’t an excuses to hurt someone?? and then he kept telling her to stop hurting HIM good bye

to conclude, i hate his guts.

u can watch this if u wanna get pissed

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