Reviews

Light but engaging.

The actual title, The Girl Who Sees Smells, didn’t appeal to me so I bypassed it for a long time. But then I started enjoying Namkoong Min’s dramas and decided to watch this one for him. I stayed for all the main leads.

Having recently finished some much more complicated, heavy dramas, TGWSS was an inviting, imaginative, enjoyable watch for me. A good drama to balance out my watch history lately, if you know what I mean. I found myself interested the entire time even binging a few too many episodes at a time.

Park Yoo Chun (Detective Choi) Shin Sae Kyeong (Oh Cho Rim) Nam-koong Min (Chef Kwon) and Yoon Jin-Seo (Lt. Yeom) all delivered very good performances. I was most impressed by PYC (my first drama with him) whom I believe stood out above the rest and I also felt he carried the whole drama. PYC and SSK had great chemistry - they had several truly funny and serious/tender moments together. SSK has a great acting range, delivering a fun and engaging Oh Cho Rim. It’s not my favorite role of his but NKM was a great sinister villain. He acts with his eyes so well. YJS was a no-nonsense but endearing Lt. Yeom, the kind of boss you want to do your best for.

I was somewhat disappointed in the supporting cast, their acting was not terribly convincing - I don’t think their humor always fit the story - comedy/drama detectives can and should be funny where the story needs it but also need to be on their (detective) game where it counts and I didn’t feel they ever truly delivered on the latter. That part gave me a dissatisfied feeling many times. Some of this criticism is on the writing and directing, too.

The OST fit the scenes and was not loud or overpowering.
I definitely recommend TGWSS for someone who is looking for a light but still intriguing Rom-Com/Mystery. However it’s not a drama would feel the need to rewatch.

8/10

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The Greatest Japanese Series Continues ...

Just by saying this is one of the greatest series I ever watched ... it doesn't explain how great it is. It's really difficult to put into words unless you watch it!!! This being the forth installment, you'd think it would start to lose its appeal. That couldn't be further from the truth. I think this may be the best one so far, and that's saying a lot, because the previous three were absolutely fantastic. If you didn't see the prequels, you may not totally appreciate this fourth part, but you'd still enjoy it as an extremely entertaining movie. It gives you great protagonists, wicked evil antagonists and lots of wonderful side stories in between.
I've always been an enormous fan of Kento Yamazaki, not just from this series, but from so many other great projects he's been involved with ... but this one by far, being his best work. He gives such a commanding performance as Shin, it's really incredible to watch. He makes it look easy, but you know it wasn't. Kento truly steals every scene he's in with his brilliant acting. Behind him is also an unbelievable supporting cast. Takao Osawa playing the mighty General Ohki and Ryo Yoshizawa as King Eisei lead the rest of the brilliant characters in this series.
It's an exhausting two and a half hours, because the excitement never slows from the very first minute right through to the end as the credits roll.
I think if I have to find one negative ..... it would be that we have to wait to see the continuation in Kingdom 5. Just the way part 4 ends, it leaves you with such anticipation for part 5 to begin.
Way to go Yamaken !!! Can't wait to see you bring back Shin again.

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I was expecting more

I wanted to give it a 7.8 but couldn't so I gave it 7.5


I feel they dropped the ball on the spooky part after they became a couple.

I think that should have been a consistent part.

Min Hwan was doing too much and I wasn't sold on his reasoning.

it's sad they killed the most handsome character in the beginning

and maybe I missed it but I wasn't quite clear on the necklace.

Why did he need it?
we couldn't tell if it would have stopped her from seeing ghosts because she stopped after becoming a couple.

but I loved the ending. for me it was the most notable.

taking Min Hwan down with the heart of his brother was everything for me. and him thinking he got away then everything being revealed to the hole network.

if he ever gets out he will have to emigrate for peace.

the Aunt.

BAY BAY she wins the role for best faint EVER.

😂 WHOEVER WROTE THAT FAINT SCENE - KUDOS.

if anyone has ever fainted that's how it happens a little nauseous or blurry vision because your faculties are gone and to the floor it is.

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with all that potential? wasted

Some dramas disappoint you because they were never that good to begin with. Spooky in Love disappoints me because it had absolutely no business being this messy with THAT cast. Park Eun Bin and Yang Se Jong??? A Baeksang-winning actress with an insane filmography + an actor whose microexpressions deserve their own supporting award, and THIS is what we got??? Be serious. The beginning was actually promising. Cheon Yeo Ri can see ghosts, Ma Gang Uk is a prosecutor, and they’re supposed to solve cold cases together. Ghosts + murder cases + romance? Say less, I was seated. But then the second half happened and apparently the drama decided it had other plans. Suddenly we’re dealing with business rivalry, family drama, superstition clashes with grandma, and approximately 749 filler plots nobody asked for. The ghost cases that made this drama interesting were basically sent to the basement while the business plot took over the entire house. The drama lost its own plot somewhere along the way, and unfortunately I lost the will to follow it.

And the romance… I genuinely don’t know what happened there. Sometimes their chemistry was cute enough to make me smile, and other times I was sitting there like, “okay… do you guys actually know each other?” The jump from “I have a little crush on you” to “you are the love of my life” happened so fast I almost needed a loading screen. Maybe the short episodes are partly to blame, maybe the pacing just wasn't pacing. Either way, the emotional progression never really landed for me. After seeing spoilers for the final two episodes and realizing we were still serving this level of cliché in 2026, I decided to clock out before the drama could disappoint me any further. Dropped. And honestly, that rumor about the actors only receiving the script for the first few episodes before filming suddenly makes way too much sense. I don't know if it's actually true, but if it is… oh, I finally understand how everyone ended up trapped in this mess. Because why does the drama feel like it was written with a perfectly normal beginning and then someone remembered there were only a few episodes left and decided to throw every possible conflict into the pit before the finale?

Such a waste of potential, honestly.

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Spooky in Love was a show I was really enjoying in the early episodes. I was drawn in by the whole ghost aspect and thought that was a fun part of the show, then it felt like they just completely dropped it about half way through. Which was a shame. It was interesting... the ghosts.

I was still really enjoying it for the most part even without it, but that episode 10-11 patch was rough. Not only was everything a semi-boring hotel power struggle plot, but it had the terrible fake breakup trope, and like 5 very blatant ad reads. I was loving this show toward the middle of the season, then it just kind of fizzled out really hard for me. I think it came back with a decent finale, but it went from a show that I thought could be something special to something that was just pretty good, I guess.

Park Eun-bin still rules, though, and she was the reason I watched this, and the best part about this.

Favorite Episodes: 4, 6, 8

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I Almost Dropped It — I’m So Glad I Didn’t

Review after finale:
Ash had one of the strongest turnarounds of any drama I’ve watched recently. I nearly gave up in the first couple of episodes because some of the production choices were actively working against the story: the dubbing did not always match the actors’ lip movements, the music was often wildly tonally wrong for romantic or intimate scenes, and there were a few strange old-fashioned comic-strip/AI-style sequences that felt completely disconnected from the visual language of the rest of the drama.

Thankfully, those problems became much less noticeable as the series continued, because the actual story just kept getting better.

At its core, Ash is not simply a romance with a crime plot attached. The police investigation, organized crime, family loyalties, corporate power struggles, undercover work, and romance become increasingly intertwined, and the story grows more complicated without becoming difficult to follow. Mok Fei Foon is an especially strong protagonist: intelligent, resourceful, emotionally grounded, and consistently written as someone who actually thinks his way through dangerous situations rather than surviving because the script suddenly makes everyone around him stupid.

The relationship between Fei Foon and Hui Leuk To is complicated, beautiful, messy, and central. Their chemistry is excellent from the beginning, but it is not dependent on kissing or NC scenes. It is there when they argue, talk quietly, walk beside each other, or simply look at one another. As the story progresses, their relationship gains real emotional weight because of everything they have gone through separately and together.

The supporting characters are also more important than I expected, particularly Shawn, whose role becomes increasingly important to both the crime story and Fei Foon and Hui Leuk To’s relationship.

The early production hiccups keep this from being flawless for me, and I thought the finale could have landed with slightly more emotional force. But overall, Ash became a genuinely compelling crime drama with a strong romance at its center, excellent chemistry, and two leads who carry increasingly demanding material very well.

Happy ending for anyone who needs to know before watching.

Update at episode 5: it gets better as it goes. Even the music is better. The story is awesome, the acting is great, and the chemistry between leads is outstanding.

Initial review after a few episodes:
I watched the available episodes and I like the premise; it is genuinely good. I haven’t had a cop show to watch in a long time. I love the tension. The chemistry is outstanding. The actors are handsome and are perfect for their respective roles. It is interesting and the plot pulls you in fast, not to mention the delicious tension between the leads right out of the gate.

BUT…

The music is the worst. And I don’t mean in a “well I don’t like that song” way but in a “this music choice is so mismatched with what is happening on screen it is actively pulling me out of the story” way. I stopped halfway through episode 2 because it is jarring. I picked it up again, but for now I’m left wondering who chose this music and if they watched a playback of the screen-ready scenes before they released it. The music playing during romantic or NC scenes is especially mismatched.

If you aren’t sound sensitive, the music might not bother you. But the tonal mismatch I’m finding hard to ignore. It isn’t enough for me to drop it - yet.

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FL treated the ML badly despite the fact FL was super nice and caring (mild spoilers)

The story was ok, but through the whole series the FL treated the ML badly. Others have noted this as well. (Not the actresses fault, of course.) Not setting boundaries with her ex, dumping him and not loving him when she wanted to fulfill her dream rather than wanting to fulfill her dream and just asking him to keep up the relationship. And the sucker ML took her back no questions! Frustrating! I'd have said no thanks! (My wife agrees ha ha.)

ML did a great job at his given role, BTW.

Mostly enjoyable but spoiled by the leads' relationship.

The 2nd couple was more compelling and their relationship, while not a smooth ride, had internal logic and consistency. Give me a drama with Lee Yul-Eum and Baek Sung Chul as the leads.

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I really enjoyed it, but...

the actors are really good. the ml is gorgeous. interesting story, complicated relationships, lovely romance (for the most part).
but...geez sometimes you just wanna slap the FL. the first half of their series is a beautiful romance, the 2nd half is a melodrama and tortured love story.
the mother is unbelievably controlling. the couples communication at the start is very honest and heartfelt, then the lies start, stupid no reason lies. I get conflict is needed and things can't always be rosey but come on.
anyway even with that frustration I still really enjoyed the show. the actors were really very good!

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Pure FUN!

First, the “special FX” are not great. The story is absurd and more weirdness is added along the way, like they were making up the story on a weekly basis. But, that’s not to say I’m dissing it in any way, or that I’m not, necessarily, enjoying every quirky moment. It’s fun, funny (though, I’m not sure it’s supposed to be), and thoroughly enjoyable, if you like quirky, weird, & unintentionally funny series, THIS is for YOU!

There’s a lot of sexiness, too, which will probably not turn into much more than hot kissing, because it’s a Chinese series and they tend to be pretty conservative. I hope I’m wrong. The situation between the lead characters is a total red flag situation, but in a very interesting way.

It’s easy to watch, easy to follow, no matter how the story evolves along the way, and I’m LOVING IT!

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I can't take this serious, I apologise.

I'm back at writing reviews and watching shorts again. I really love watching shorts and besides that, they don't take much of my time. This short was just amazing, musically wise. But the plot didn't exist. I don't even think I should label this as a spoiler because there are no spoilers to give.

In mid/end 2000s there was this trend of shorts with no words. But I rather not criticise films because they have no dialogue. I had no idea about this but Boy meet Boy was made as an LGBTQ+ awareness campaign film, focussing on helping younger LGBTQ teens understand their own feelings. There were production wise some scene's just badly edited, I've seen the exact problem happening often in older shorts. At the same time, this mini short teaches how you have to be careful when talking to a stranger.

That cupid singing was totally unexpected. When she started singing I immediately recognised this song. Someone tell me if this is just a viral song or if I just happened to know it?? The song over all was a bit too long to my opinion. When a short in general already has no dialogue it just feels weird to suddenly add a song? although it matched the situation I didn't really like it.

What confused me was that they randomly started hugging over a film?? They are stranger right? And then all of the sudden that stupid cupid girl returns. The shots after that hug also made no sense. Overall, it was quite good (for the song) but uhh.... the plot was pretty much non existent.

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