Reviews

If you want to see down-to-earth story watch this

I watched this since i watched the season 2 first than i tried the season 1 and i understand why it was trending.

No mistresses, no white moonlight, no domineering CEOs, no time travel, just the simple life of the 1980s. There is no kissing scene it just camera tricks that wont make this drama rating down. I quite like Sun Yiran acting in here and Wang Daotie was stable in this drama.The key is this drama the supporting characters, including the two children, neighbors, etc have very delicate and vivid acting. There are also many heartwarming lines and narrations reminds me of Morning Drama from NHK.

Plot is simple about ML and his daughter comes to village and met FL and her son. ML and FL fell in love and they married when ML discovered FL was divorce and has nowhere to live.

The drama progresses naturally, depicting the union of the two families, from strangers to gradually becoming familiar, to accepting each other, and finally to relying on each other. Although simple, it is not melodramatic and is full of touching moments.

Recommended to watch.

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10/10 FOR ME INDEED

if you are looking for something feel-good, to gush over, swoonworthy, and more to feed your hopeless romantic self? i suggest you watch this 🥹 i love how well executed the series is which made me understand their dynamics better 💛💛

just two strangers— who got intense tension from the virtual world to the real word. just them both trying to help each other while unconsciously slowly getting to know each other to staying by each other's side from their ups and to their lows 🥺💛 i also love the story of the besties, i wish i had learned more about them but from the start they already have THAT chemistry.

i also love how they started and ended the series with rongcheng. they never forgot about the virtual game where everything started 🥹😫

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Sweet and cute

PLOT: Two inseparable childhood friends, now divorce lawyers in the same firm, gradually discover that their feelings have changed. However, how do they face the fear of losing a precious friend? And the judgment of their fathers?

+++ Max Lin and Shih Cheng Xuan are touching, moving, and natural. No steamy scenes, but lots of kisses :)
+++ Taiwanese directors excel in this type of drama, with good psychological insight and a lot of humanity.
+++ Pleasant OSTs.

### I know that similar fathers exist in real life, but Zheng Ze Shou's father's behavior isn't rational (in relation to the mother and his son's boyfriend).
### Some unnecessary characters

=> Cute and enjoyable BL
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Sweet and cute

PLOT: 2 amis d'enfance, inséparables, devenus avocats (spécialisés ds divorce) dans le mm cabinet, découvrent peu à peu que leurs sentiments ont évolué. Cpdt, comment affronter la peur de perdre 1 ami précieux ? le regard des pères ?

+++ Max Lin et Shih Cheng Xuan sont touchants, émouvants, naturels. Pas de scène hot, mais bcp de kisses :)
+++ Les réalisateurs taïwanais excellent ds ce genre de dramas, avec une bonne analyse psychologique et bcp d'humanité.
+++ OSTs agréables.

### Je sais que des pères semblables existent IRL, mais le comportement de Zheng Ze Shou 's father n'est pas rationnel (par rapport à la mère, par rapport au boyfriend de son fils).
### Qq personnages inutiles

=> BL cute et sympa

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Bizarre fap material w/ 1980s vibe.

75% of the movie's runtime is explicit scenes. Explicit to an extend that I haven't seen in many other gay movies, so I can only conclude this was made to be fap material.
The story is very simple and is more of an excuse to piece together a bunch of sex scenes. Still, I somehow managed to finish this movie.
What drew me into watching was that it was available on GagaOOLala & that I wanted to see older queer people be centered in a queer love story.
While an older gay man was at the center of this movie, the sex scenes he was engaging in always had this air of coercion about them & there was no actual engaging with emotions.
In the end, this is just smutty movie that gives 1980s vibes, watch it if you're bored, don't expect anything too deep out of it.

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Where pain, patience, and love quietly meet

What I loved most is how unafraid it is to sit with pain and emotional consequences instead of relying on cheap drama. The hurt feels real, earned, and deeply human, and that made me understand the characters even when I didn’t always agree with them. It became one of those dramas I genuinely looked forward to every week, not just to watch, but to feel.

Giving Fah and Phoon their own space was such a smart choice. Their story had room to breathe, and the presence of friends actually mattered this time, shaping both the plot and their growth. The romance is slow and heavy, filled with trauma and scars, but thankfully without endless misunderstandings. Tonfah is a walking green flag, patient and protective in the softest way, while Typhoon’s journey is painful but honest. By the end, I didn’t just like them, I truly wanted them to be happy.

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oh my god this is the first time I’ve watched a cdrama until the last episode. I’ve watched so many cdramas but never had the urge to watch till the end but this one i’m really sad that its over. Lu yu xiao chose the best scripts. Usually I find some flaws between cuts in cdramas but I never noticed a single one in this. The cgi effects are pretty good too. And I should appreciate the osts too. Never thought I would find myself listening to chinese ost on repeat. Both female one and the male one is exceptionally good but I prefer the intro song for myself. Can give 9/10 for the plot (minus one cause it seemed rushed) 10/10 for ost. 10/10 for acting.

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It gives me asadora type of drama.

I watched this drama on December 2025 since i want to see some Family drama and it reminds me of Asadora since they showed Sichuan and Chongqing dialect in this drama.

Wang Daotie's acting is truly solid, and in this drama, his performance is explosive, perfectly embodying the devastation of a middle-aged person losing a loved one. Sun Yiran's acting in the second season is a step up from the first, with more layers in her performance; sometimes, you can feel the emotions she wants to convey just by looking at her eyes. The child actors' acting is also quite good espeicially the Eldest sister, showing great promise for the future. The only exception is the actor who played Zhou Dawei as a child, who was slightly lacking.

Personally i don't really invested on adult version of the children story but Wang Peiyan is gave me a surprise. Duan Meiyang had limited screentime but his acting was so memorable. Deng Ling Shu acting was decent. Zhao Tingyi speech reminds me of My late neighbour.

The cons is the duration is too long but still Worth to rewatching.

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Secrets & Lies: A Modern-Day Sageuk (basically)

Overall, I enjoyed this drama, despite me disliking or being annoyed by some parts of it. Shin Hwa-Kyung was a fascinating villain protagonist to follow, Yoon Jae-Bin's descent into villainy was lowkey a guilty pleasure to watch, the plot twists were good, and it maintained that melodramatic tone throughout. I could've done with less scenes of Yoon Do-Bin & Jae-Bin's parents (and Han Woo-Chul, honestly. He was a sweetheart but I HATE how autistic characters are written in daily dramas. The only decent portrayal I've seen was in White Lies- in 2008), and there was way too much filler. The constant kidnappings of Han Ju-Won in the late half got annoying.

The veterans/older actors did INCREDIBLE in their roles, Oh Seung-Ah did great as the villain FL here (she won an award for a good reason), Bu-Bae was solid, Lee Jung-Moon was good (but a little OTT sometimes), and Seo Hae-Won... not good at all. The weakest actor in the main cast to me, honestly. She had no chemistry with the other actors and Woo-Jung was not interesting to watch. Hwa-Kyung felt (and WAS) far more compelling, complex, and hell, even better to watch. I'd say the characters I disliked the most were Oh Yeon-Hee (she was written so badly to me, or maybe I just failed to understand her motivations. She was all over the place and came off as incredibly annoying to me), Oh Sang-Pil (an amazing villain, I just hate how selfish he was), and Yong-Shim (Yoon brothers' mom. Greedy, vain, bitch. I couldn't stand her!) I was mostly neutral on Shin Myung-Jun- he did both women (YH & JW) dirty and was an asshole for most of the drama, but his near-death experience literally turned his life around. He underwent a great redemption arc to me.

Generally, I think this drama was about identity, family, and I'd say finding your place in the world. Who you are and what you do creates your version/view of the world. We mainly followed Hwa-Kyung, a woman who just wanted a real family and a stable, "perfect" life. The architect of her spiral into greed and the root of all evil was her tyrannical grandfather, Oh Sang-Pil. Was Hwa-Kyung ambitious too? Yes. Was she justified in her actions? Debatable. Was there a reasoning behind them linked to her difficult childhood? Absolutely. And we can't ignore this detail. She was also rivals with her (adoptive) dad, Myung-Jun. Her "fake" family was toxic, and the only decent people she had in her life were Yeon-Hee, Ju-Won, and Woo-Jung. One of the other reasons why I dislike Woo-Jung is because she weaponized Hwa-Kyung's past against her- like, OF COURSE she'd end up betraying you and screwing you over later! 😭 Hwa-Kyung didn't need to reconnect with her biological father (who ABANDONED HER) if she didn't want, nor was she entitled to!

Now, contrast Hwa-Kyung's life with Woo-Jung's. Woo-Jung, the daughter of a successful news anchor... and she's a child out of wedlock. Myung-Jun's her dad who abandoned her before she was even born. Despite having no (current) father figure, she grew up happy, comfortable, and mostly stable. By default, she assumed that Hwa-Kyung's life was easy because she was rich and the granddaughter of a conglomerate chairman. Although it wasn't, and Hwa-Kyung presented things as such because of the immense pressure she was facing at home. There's some envy at play here, right? 🤔 I also feel like part of the reason why she pushed for Hwa-Kyung to reunite & make peace with her dying bio dad was to fill a void or attempt to make up for her (WJ's) own absent dad in *her* life. But I might be reading into this too much lol

Onto the brothers! Yoon Do-Bin and Jae-Bin! Do-Bin is the righteous, stubborn, and protective older brother. Jae-Bin, however, is the carefree, lovable, and easygoing younger brother. Do-Bin is a producer at MSTV, Jae-Bin is Ju-Won's manager. The Yoon brothers perfectly summarize the themes of identity and family. Do-Bin is secretly the grandson of Chairman Oh (though he remains unaware for a WHILE), while Jae-Bin is not. When Hwa-Kyung finds this out, what does she do? She switches their fates, and basically raises all hell on the Oh family after they try to kick her to the curb. Here, we see Jae-Bin's descent into villainy as Hwa-Kyung masterfully manipulates him for her own means, and he becomes a victim of her greed & lies. But he loves her. He truly, purely, does. And that's the tragic part. Do-Bin, on the other hand, embarks on a one-man mission to expose and take down Sang-Pil... even AFTER finding out that he's his grandson. The guy is incredibly brave for sure. What's amazing, is that even after getting betrayed and screwed over by everyone in his life, he never goes dark. He practices restraint and still chooses to accept, understand, and reach out to Jae-Bin- even when he's at his absolute worst. That's brotherly love... and it's beautiful to me. One of the best parts in the series to me. 🥹

I could go on, but I think I've illustrated my points very well. The music (especially the BGM) was really good, the directing was great (seriously, MBC daily dramas might have some of the best filming I've seen in daily dramas overall, along with tvN!), and the acting was good. If you like villain protagonists, enjoy questioning yourself sometimes, are really into business/thriller-based dramas, love schemes, set-ups, and cliffhangers that make you wanna rip out your own hair, and like morally grey characters, then this is for you. I personally recommend it and this is a daily drama I'd watch again, but only the best parts. Cut out all the filler, and it's WAY more engaging to watch. Onto another drama!

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The horror aspects and the suspense were so good it wouldn't even matter if this wasn't a BL.

I have to admit, having seen way too many real crime investigations, at first I cringed... But the moment I told myself it wasn't about the accurency and just went with the flow, it got me hooked. And the supernatural aspect just blew my mind. The BL was there, and plenty of it, but could have been a bromance for all I care, because the storyline was so good it didn't need the BL to save it. The special effects were spot on. The acting was good. Asian supernatural creatures are just amazing, we Western people got werewolves, vampires and a few ghosts, but Asian culture has so much more depth, perfect for these kind of stories... The only thing I feel bad about is that I've never Rewatched crime series, because knowing the plot, knowing the end, is a bummer... So for me to say, I will definitely re-watch, indicates just how good this is.

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atp I cannot stop thinking about how each of us are lab rats thrown into this messed up world

This plot is so complex that sometimes it can be hard for me to follow and keep up, but I still ate it up nonetheless. People in power will always find ways to screw you over, which reflects real life sadly. It does highlight how corrupt police systems can be. The public outcry moments were reasonable and I could imagine myself being absolutely tricked too. My mind was tricked and played dirty. I loved how the show set up the reveals. Once I reached a twist, I felt silly for not figuring it out before because it was right in front of me. I do not think it ever will be possible to live in a world without crime and corruption. Humans are the most despicable beings on this Earth, so it would be hard to do so. I wish people can get the justice they deserve. One can never judge a person my their cover, only by their true actions. <3

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Possessive Male Lead, in a fictional world setting similar to Omegaverse (A/B/O)

I am definitely biased since this is a 10/10 review for me. But hear me out. Many people trash on this drama for not being logical, but you got to understand it it is in a world different from ours. For example, you should not be judging a superhero or fantasy show to reality based logic. Just watch the show and let it unravel itself in building the kind of world this drama takes place in. BTW I have not finished the show, but I will definitely continue. It is a show that entertains viewers with its world, some steamy scenes, and an intriguing plot with character development. Below is a in depth explanation of the show.

THE WORLD:
The drama setting takes place in world where it is kind of similar to Omegaverse. You learn that in this world there are 3 types of people. The normal people (like a beta), Affinity Virus A or Yin ( like an Omega), and Affinity Virus B or Ren (like an Alpha). In the show, you learn that it is a planet similar to earth, but is now slightly different as it had been impacted by the Affinity virus. This virus has impacted the human population, previous extinct animal populations, and the animal kingdom. Due to this certain people are born with this Affinity virus and there are two different types. Those with Affinity Virus A or Yin, are like regular humans, except that by the age of 25, their body starts to decline and weaken unless they form a pact with a Ren or Affinity B virus carriers to suppress their A virus. Those with Affinity B virus or Ren, struggle with being empathetic and in manifesting emotions. For this reason, they are very likely to become sociopaths or psychopaths. To clarify, they have struggled with this since birth. In addition, those with Affinity B virus or Ren, are naturally stronger than Yin and normal people. When stimulated with danger, excitement, and etc, their B virus spikes up. This leads them to losing control and getting berserk. This makes them fever up and lose reason; even hurting those they care for. You also learn in the show that a Ren can naturally smell out a Yin nearby if the Yin is injured, since they have a certain scent. Ren wants to form a pact with Yin, as the two viruses naturally conflict and suppress each other. In addition a Ren can slowly be able to manifest emotions and empathize over a period of time with the Yin. Because Ren are naturally seen as a danger to society and used by the government for their capabilities, Ren are often mistreated and don't have a legal identity. Through forming a pact with a Yin and being recognized by the government, they get normal care and a legal identity. Once a pact is formed, the specific Ren and Yin couple will only recognize each other and can no longer pair with others. Lastly, like I mentioned above, this has also affected the animals and past extinct creatures to mutate and become more violent, where Ren are sent to deal with them.

Male Lead: Xie Xinxiu
In the show, you will learn that he is very strong compared to other Rens even. This is because he has a much higher level of B virus in him. This makes him with a body almost like a superhero. Xie Xinxiu was raised in a strict and old fashioned family, despite that his parents dearly loves him, even if they don't express it. You learn that the male lead can't empathize or feel emotions, thus he is often feeling bored in a listless world. Although he trys to blend in, he gives up doing that since there was no fun or challenge at trying to appear normal. I will not try to spoil to much, so I will tell you that the viewer first meets the male lead when he is being caught as a suspect for his parents murder as a teen. As he is caught, he meets the Female lead who happened to be at the arrest site. You learn that his B virus had mutated and made him suddenly develop an attachment or AFFINITY to the Female lead at first sight. Since then, he has wanted to keep the female by his side and posses her. In his view, the best way to capture the Female Lead and to make her fall in love with him, so that she will willingly stay with him and form a pact. The drama starts officially 3 years after the male lead escapes prison. Although a lot of stuff happens, the male lead has a character development in experiencing emotions and in genuinely loving the Female lead, rather than just possessing her. Although the Female lead is his focus, he does care about other things in the show. Such as the fact that he doesn't have emotions and wants it, the mistreatment of Ren in society, revenge, and the mysterious death of his parents. At the end, you just love him. He is such a possessive person that sincerely loves the female lead. In the drama, a common conflict for him is prioritizing the female lead and doing what she wants, or prioritizing himself and forcefully keeping the female lead to him. Lastly, who doesn't love a possessive toxic character who can do anything for you in a fictional world?! HOT!

Female Lead: Wu Nongyu
I feel that many people may dislike Female lead for being indecisive and being a weak character, but she is quite intriguing with depth as well. If you read above, you know that the Female Lead had first met the Male lead at his arrest, where she was creepily gazed at. Since then, she has had nightmares about him. She is inherently a character that is easily scared of things and reacts slow to digest the situation. No longer a teen, she officially meets the Male lead during her internship and in being saved by him. Despite being so scared of the Male lead, she is a good person. Even when the male lead threatens to cage her by his side in one of the episodes, she clearly tells him that she would only consider forming a pact or marry another if they can respect her and genuinely love her. She clearly tells him that she never would, as she could not see the love in his gaze, just possessiveness from the AFFINITY the male lead had developed towards her. Throughout the show, she sticks to her words, and only responds to him when she senses genuine love from him. I find this to be very intriguing and making her quite a strong character in a way as well. Despite having a crazy creepy man who can overpower her at everything, she treats him with basic respect, humane care, and never compromises at things that she doesn't want. Besides the focus of the Main leads relationship, Wu Nongyu cares about other things as well. In the drama you first learn that it is just her and her older brother. Later you learn Female lead's father was a Ren who would forcefully extract blood from the Female leads to hopefully cure his wife (Female lead's mother). Despite having some hate for her father, she knew that her father was loving and caring towards them. He was just obsessed with saving their mother, who she too desperately wanted to save as well. Being abused her father, her older brother took action. Since then, the older brother has a bias towards hating Rens, seeing them as danergous weapons that should only be used and then discarded. This is big as it influences the Female leads career decision, her clashing ideas with her older brother about Rens, her belief of family over justice, and her decisions near the end of the drama. Where I am at in the drama, she currently struggles with getting revenge and in maintaining the peacefully relationship she once had with the Male lead. Wu Nongyu is an easily scared character, she is spoiled, she is humane to all who deserve it, she is someone who supports the male lead and helps him gain the capability to have emotions.

There are many cool things about the show. It really just depends on what your looking for. If you want indulge in a powerful, toxic, and possessive Male lead; this show. Want something that provides you some steamy scenes and is entertaining, this show. Want something the is similar to fanfics you have read or reminds you of things you may have been into during high school, this show. (P.S. I am not sure if this is based on a novel or not. If so, comment please. I would like the name of the novel.)

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Worth watching for PoohPavel alone?

First of all, I’m a fan of PoohPavel ever since I saw them in Pit Babe. As Thup and Singha, they definitely have chemistry. We get several cute moments and a sweet ending, and there is character development—especially Singha, who starts out very rational and gradually becomes more open-minded toward spiritual matters because of Thup. Over the course of the drama, their relationship develops into a mature and trusting one.

However, I wasn’t always satisfied with the plot. Especially in the middle part of the series, the crime aspect became so dominant that the romance felt almost negligible. I understand that this is a mystery series, but firstly, the balance between romance and investigation shifts unevenly throughout the show, and secondly, some of the police work felt unrealistic. For example, characters often go alone or only in pairs to investigate dangerous or suspicious places, which was sometimes frustrating to watch. I also agree with others that the ending felt rushed and not as captivating as I had hoped—for instance the final fight.

I don’t have much to say about the side couple. They did add something new to the series, and I wasn’t dissatisfied whenever they appeared, but I also didn’t actively look forward to their scenes. Overall, they felt like a pairing with cute and teasing moments, but nothing particularly memorable to me.

The character development of King—especially his relationship with his father—was mostly well done. However, towards the end it remains unclear how King and his father actually resolved their conflict, since their conversation happens off-screen and we only get a brief approving nod from his father. This was a bit frustrating, as it was one of the major subplots.

Regarding the ghosts, chanting, rituals, and overall atmosphere: this is definitely a well done horror series, but I agree with the 13+ age rating on MDL. It’s not overly scary, but rather tense. Additionally, I really liked the gripping OST.

Overall, the drama was enjoyable despite its flaws, but it wasn’t consistently captivating. Whether I would rewatch it, I’m not quite sure—maybe if I ever run out of unwatched mystery series that interest me. During its airing, I also started and finished another ghost-related story called "Khemjira", so I naturally had something similar to compare it to. In summary, my feelings about this series are mixed, making it hard to clearly recommend or not recommend it.

Nevertheless, I’m definitely looking forward to "The Grim Lover", the next series starring PoohPavel.

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