Reviews

It was a beautiful love story. In every aspect.

I don't care what other people say. Even though it had a sad ending, it was still a fitting ending for their story. They loved each other and stayed by each other's side for almost a whole life. Yes, we all wanted them to get back together, given the love that binds them and the unbreakable bond they have. But apparently they love each other so much, that unfortunately love is no longer enough. They lived half their lives together. I understand Namgung too, he needs to see the world from other perspectives, than under the wing of Mi-do. I hope they both find happiness and live a peaceful life. Both he and she need new things and new stimuli. Their scenes together always made me cry. The way they communicated, the way they put themselves into the words of comfort they gave to each other, even though they were suffering so much. I think it's one of the best series I've ever seen.

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The Realism Might Piss You Off

To whoever reads this lol!!! I may stand out among some reviews where I will say I did enjoy this drama, but it's not without its flaws, some of which I agree with the common opinion, while others I think are a bit of an overstep. Keep in mind these are my own thoughts, so just as you want me to respect yours even if I may or may not fully agree, please also respect mine.

To go with the Review categories.

STORY;
Overall, I liked the story. The pace was good, and the weekly release made me want to keep coming back, despite the chaos on screen. To bring it back to the title, this drama felt realistic in that it can be relatable to what can and might have happened to couples in real life, and I think that is why it's pissing people off. The idea that a couple who have been together for 10 years have now reached the crossroads of either going ot the next step or ending it is both very realistic but can also be very frustrating, as we saw with the show. IT was a very long conversation that was dragged on to 14 episodes due to them being so entangled in each other's lives that trying to break apart seems too complicated, and they have no idea where to begin or might not really be aware of it. Hence why the one-month dating happened, and FL and ML fell for other people so easily. Not because it was new sparks or butterflies or easy, but because they needed something to accept that their relationship was over for a while.

Mi Do
The fact that Mi Do and Namgung, as we learned, stopped having sex six months prior to the story starting was, in my opinion, a more obvious symptom of other issues, with the most obvious being miscommunication that started out small but slowly got bigger as the years went by. One of the big ones for me was when Mi Do hid the fact that she was paying Namgung's mom to stay away from him for almost 3 years (might be 2, I forgot lol!!!) and never seemed to reveal that to him any time soon, since he found out by accident, just like her kissing Taesung, where she was trying to hide it, and he found out by accident. In both cases, she wanted to hide them from him. And she does seem to have a Hero Complex, where she always felt that she needed to save Namgung and protect him as a way to make her father's death, who died saving Namgung 's life when he and Mi Do were seven, justified, and if Namgung is safe, her father did not die for nothing.

Namgung
And Namgung isn't really different, just in a different way, and it's a bit harder to see since we don't really get internal monologues like Mido, so it's harder to paint his personality. But he was a hypocrite in a way. He is clearly very, very good in social settings, given his upbringing, so he knows how to read people and their emotions, and there is no way he was not aware of SuA's feelings for him, at least to some degree. Of course, he probably thought it was a crush at first, but he still used it a bit to his advantage even before he fell for her. He knew which string to pull and what to say. Of course, this part is just a theory, but it does seem likely. And just like Mi Do, he had this need, as we saw, to pay her and her family back for taking him in and taking pity on him. So he felt like he had to prove himself worthy of the kindness and pity, which sort of created this cycle: he gets pity, he loves the people who give him pity, then hates himself for being seen as pitiful and weak, has to prove he deserves it, they then see he is always trying to belong with them, and they keep feeling pity for him, and the cycle starts over again. But since, as we saw, kindness is part of Namung's personality, it was hard to notice because he helps for the pure sake of helping, with no other gain or sense of ego, and it's hard to notice his low self-worth and feeling of being pitiful.

Taesung
I KNOW. Man is the embodiment of toxic and ass hole. But I saw that in a short video review. He is probably the most honest of the leads because he says what neither the FL nor the ML wants to admit to themselves, and what most of us are either too proud to admit or too naive in the K-drama land to say. He is being mean about it 1000%!!!! And he could show empathy, but because it was never really taught to him, he doesn't know how to show it properly. SO when he says FUXX OFF, it basically means "I like you" in his language. It's hard for him to understand kindness and true affection because it was either never given to him or used as currency. So whenever he has it, he's so desperate that he will lose it like he lost everything else, that he became a certified ASSHOLE to everyone and ends up manipulating and emotionally hurting people to get what he wants, as he said. Should he and Mi DO be together? In all honesty, I don't know because if the roles were gender-swapped and Taesung was a girl and Mi Do was a man, it would be a bitch and a cheater that some may say deserve each other in basic terms and might actually slut shame this female version of Taesung and possibly socially crucify and drag the male version of Mi Do through the street to burn him at the stake. Will they make it in the long run? No idea; they're not the same people as at the beginning of the drama, so who knows.

SuA
Probably the most innocent if we compare her to the other three, BUT she is no innocent either. Just like Namgung, she knew what she was doing and kept doing it anyway. The friend/colleague who crosses the line between friendship/workplace and romance, whether they are aware of it or not. But like the other three, it makes her human because emotions are not exactly an exact science, and we can't predict how we will feel 10 days from now if we keep talking and bonding with someone, especially since SuA's case is the first love that she never forgot because he showed her what, at that point in her life, no one else really did: kindness and Compassion. And I think that is what drew them to each other. He showed her a kindness and respect no one in her life- not her father, not her friend and of course not her bully ever showed her. And she showed him the same in turn, helping him realize his sense of self-worth and self-respect. But does it excuse what she was subconsciously doing? Not exactly, since she thought it was her fault that Mi Do and Namgung were fighting, but her saving grace seems to be that she would rather see him happy, even if it wasn't with her...WELL, until the elevator scene in episode 13, which I think should have been longer so I could hear her come back.

ACTING/CAST;
10/10 for SURE!!!. Nothing bad to say about the acting. All four leads were top-notch and very well cast in their respective roles, and especially a shout-out to AHN EUN JIN and SEO KANG JUN for their mutual chemistry, but also with their respective love interests, who are still rookie or up-and-coming actors who themselves are amazing. LEE JOO AHN (his first main role, I think) and JO A RAM are so convincing in their roles, and they really play well as two people either desperate for love or falling more in love with someone.

MUSIC;
The music wasn't very memorable; it was typical K-drama music, but nothing really stood out to me. The themes and tempo did fit with the story and scenes sometimes. I do like, for example, the one with the first snow scene, where the FL and ML are with their SML and SFL, respectively. It fits well with the tone and where the story was going.

REWATCH;
Despite being a good and realistic story, I also do not think it is a very rewatchable drama since now we have all episodes, and since you can now just watch everything, the build-up of the story can make a second rewatch more boring and skip certain scenes because we all know now how it ends and where it is going. The wonder and unknown is what seduces viewers on a first watch and makes you want to binge it, but...once you finish it once, you might watch again, which is what I am doing, but only the parts I liked or found worth rewatching, such as the scenes of Namgung and Sua in Namhaedo, with Sua doing her little grumpy kitten look.

OVERALL;
That's why I think them falling for other people is just another symptom of the problem that piled up over 10 years, which is why it seemed so easy for them to develop feelings for their new partners. Not just because of the butterflies or the sparks, but more because of what they both seemed to need. Teasung let Mi Do be more raw and honest with herself by drawing out her pent-up anger and matching her energy, while SuA helped Namgung heal his sense of self-worth. IN both cases, whether it's a physical or emotional act of cheating, it is not okay. It is disrespectful to your partner, but as we saw in the story, it was just the final straw for bigger problems: they slowly stopped communicating properly over the years and couldn't see that the breakup should have happened long ago. But again, because their lives are so DEEPLY rooted in each other, and because they built a life together and around each other, it becomes almost impossible to see.

A relationship ending is still a grief to process, and the longer it is, the longer it takes to deal with it. Because you are saying goodbye not just to your partner but also to the person you were with. And whether it's 10 days, 10 months or 10 years, the person you are at the beginning will not be the same person you are at the end of the relationship. People change and relationship dynamics change, and in the FL and ML case, their dynamic was changing cmapred ot at first, with Mi Do's hero complex and Namgung gaining confidence as the years went by; the shift started to happen, but the discomfort was never talked about, and that festered and kept building, leading up to the no-sex and eventual kissing and then falling for other people for them to realize that the romance is gone or might of never actually been there in the first place.

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Heartbreaking

This film is devastatingly sad; it is based on the true case of the "stepmother of Chilgok" (in North Gyeongsang Province), which took place in August 2013.
This case inspired the creation of Act No. 12.341—the "Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes"—which was enacted on January 28, 2014, and has been in effect since September 2014.
The entire cast delivered an excellent performance;
Yoo Seon is so convincing as the stepmother that you cannot help but feel pure hatred for her—at least until you remind yourself that she is an actress, not the actual stepmother from the Chilgok case.
Lee Dong-hwi is also fantastic as a young lawyer who, initially behaved kind of sloppy regarding the situation, but eventually becomes a hero.
The child actors (at that time)—Choi Myung-bin and Lee Joo-won—also gave impeccable performances.
This film was very difficult to watch, without bursting in tears, but it is well worth seeing, I highly recommend it.

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When a Golden Hairpin Loses Its Shine

I honestly don't know whether to be angry or disappointed. Perhaps grief is a better word for what I feel after finishing Jia Jin Chai. Why is it becoming so difficult to find a drama that actually lives up to the expectations created by its own premise? I had genuinely high hopes for this one. After reading the synopsis, I thought we were getting something rather exciting: two young women with identical faces but completely different backgrounds, one a noblewoman and the other a poor night-soil collector who is sentenced to death for murder. When the noblewoman refuses to marry a dying man, an imperial edict leaves her family with little choice but to find a substitute bride. And who could be more convenient than a woman who looks exactly like her? Unfortunately, the supposedly dying groom wakes up, the substitute bride finds herself trapped in an unfamiliar household, and the real bride begins plotting to reclaim the identity and marriage that were stolen from her. Just imagine the possibilities! Would Lu Zhuo discover his wife's real identity? How would Achou survive in a noble household? Would Weirao manage to reclaim her position? And, most importantly, how would these two women eventually confront each other? It was a premise with enormous potential for identity games, psychological manipulation, survival, and complicated relationships. I was genuinely excited to see where it would go.

And to be fair, the first half was entertaining. Even with all its ridiculous plot conveniences, a lot of illogical things and plot holes. Still, the identity-swapping storyline kept me curious. There was something particularly enjoyable about watching two women who looked identical but behaved so differently occupy each other's positions. The contrast between Achou's restrained, guarded personality and Jundai's openly vicious, spoiled behaviour gave Tian Xiwei an excellent opportunity to demonstrate her acting range. In fact, she is easily the biggest highlight of this production for me. Her portrayal of the two women was not simply a matter of changing hairstyles, costumes or facial expressions. Their mannerisms, ways of speaking, reactions and even the way they carried themselves were noticeably different. Jundai was exaggerated, expressive and openly aggressive, while Achou was much more cautious, observant and emotionally guarded. Tian Xiwei did an excellent job distinguishing them, sometimes through very subtle changes in expression. Considering that these two characters share the same face but have completely different personalities and life experiences, this was not an easy task. She deserves considerable credit for keeping the initial storyline engaging.

Before getting into the writing, I have to appreciate the visual presentation. The costumes, ornaments, hairstyles, household interiors and palace backgrounds were among my favourite aspects. Everything looked luxurious, and it was obvious that considerable effort had gone into the costume and production design. I particularly loved the golden hairpins and elaborate ornaments. They were eye-catching without losing their elegance. The noble households and palace settings also had some beautiful compositions. The title Jia Jin Chai, literally evoking the image of marrying a golden hairpin, feels particularly appropriate. Beyond its literal association with the elaborate bridal ornaments, it can also suggest marriage into wealth, status and privilege, where a woman's identity and destiny are transformed through her union. In this story, however, the golden hairpin carries an additional irony: the woman wearing it is not necessarily the woman who was supposed to receive it. I enjoyed that symbolism, even though the writing did not always live up to the visual promise.

I should also mention the veteran cast, who deserve recognition. They brought a certain presence to their scenes, particularly when compared with some of the younger performers. As for Yan An, I was happy to see him finally getting an opportunity to lead a longer drama. I had previously watched him in Veil of Shadow and Fangs of Fortune, although those roles had not particularly drawn my attention to his acting. Here, naturally, the comparison becomes more obvious because he is sharing the screen with Tian Xiwei. His performance was not entirely unsuccessful, and I actually noticed some improvement as the episodes progressed. However, his expressions and emotional delivery still need work if he wants to establish himself as a convincing leading actor. His screen presence is certainly appealing, but looking good in a costume is not quite the same as carrying a character. Unfortunately, the writing did not give him much help either.

My biggest disappointment is what happens after the identity mystery is resolved. The substitute-bride storyline concludes around episode 16, leaving another fourteen episodes. At this point, I expected the story to develop the consequences of the identity swap and explore the characters' changing positions. Instead, it practically abandons the central conflict and moves into palace politics, harem rivalries and endless confrontations with the Empress Dowager, the Empress, the Crown Prince and various other powerful figures. It feels as though the writers had one interesting drama in mind for the first sixteen episodes and then suddenly remembered that they still had fourteen more episodes to fill.

The problem is not that the story introduces political intrigue. That could have been a perfectly reasonable direction, especially considering Weirao's complicated identity and the connections surrounding her birth. The problem is that the new storyline never establishes convincing stakes or a coherent system of power. Weirao and Lu Zhuo simply devise a plan, pull a few strings, set a trap and win. Then another supposedly formidable opponent appears, and the same process repeats. The Empress comes from a powerful family, and the Empress Dowager is connected to that same family, yet the protagonists manage to bring down such influential figures within an episode or two. How exactly? Where is the resistance? Where are the consequences? Political power is not supposed to disappear simply because the protagonists have come up with a clever little plan.

Even the traitor responsible for Lu Zhuo's near-fatal injuries never receives a punishment that properly addresses his betrayal and collaboration with rival forces. Yes, he and his family are eventually punished, but the drama never gives the military betrayal the legal and political consequences it deserves. For a storyline that initially establishes a serious military conspiracy, this resolution feels remarkably inadequate.

The second half also suffers from an excessive number of antagonists. I don't expect everyone in a historical drama to be a morally upright individual, but surely we could have a little less evil? Between manipulative relatives, scheming consorts, abusive parents, spoiled princes, corrupt officials and people who seem to wake up every morning wondering how to make someone else's life miserable, the hostility eventually becomes exhausting. Having many antagonists does not automatically create a complicated political environment. What matters is whether they have understandable motivations, different methods and enough intelligence to challenge the protagonists. Here, most of them feel interchangeable. The major threats disappear almost effortlessly, while relatively minor nuisances, such as the gambling brother, somehow keep returning. At some point, I genuinely wondered whether this man had a lifetime membership in the storyline.

There is another contradiction in Achou/Weirao's character that bothered me. The story repeatedly presents her as a woman who has survived through her intelligence, adaptability and understanding of ordinary people. She comes from an impoverished household, has experienced exploitation and has had to learn how to protect herself. Yet she seems capable of practically everything: household management, business, politics, social manipulation, court etiquette and sophisticated power games. Her abilities are so extensive that it becomes difficult to understand where they came from. Being street-smart is not the same as possessing the education and experience required to navigate an aristocratic household and manipulate an entire political establishment. The drama skips the learning process and gives her an almost complete set of abilities from the beginning.

What makes this even more frustrating is the eventual revelation about her birth. The story spends so much time presenting the idea that a common woman can be just as capable and deserving as someone born into privilege, only to reveal that Achou was actually a noblewoman by birth. So, what exactly was the point? It unintentionally weakens one of the most interesting possibilities in her character arc. Instead of demonstrating that intelligence, competence and personal worth are not determined by social status, the story eventually gives its extraordinary commoner a noble bloodline. I understand that the writers may have wanted to connect her identity to the larger family and palace conflicts, but thematically, it feels like a step backwards.

FL's personal development also feels surprisingly stagnant. She wins one confrontation after another, but I cannot say that I witnessed an equally meaningful internal transformation. She remains guarded, constantly suspicious and perpetually prepared for the next threat. Her survival instincts make sense given her background, but the story rarely explores what happens when someone who has spent her entire life surviving finally has the opportunity to live. What does security mean to her? Can she trust people? What does she actually want beyond defeating whoever stands in her way? These are questions that could have given her character much more emotional depth.

And then there is Lu Zhuo, my biggest disappointment among the main characters. Initially, he has some promising qualities. He is suspicious, observant and understandably distrustful of a woman he believes has previously harmed someone. His military background also offers opportunities to explore his judgement, responsibilities and political position. However, as the story progresses, he becomes increasingly reduced to the female protagonist's romantic interest and occasional rescue device. He exists to support Weirao, protect her and accommodate her decisions. I don't mind a supportive male lead, and a female-centric narrative certainly does not require equal screen time for both leads. But being supportive does not mean having no independent personality. I wanted to see his own ambitions, conflicts, responsibilities and convictions. A character can be devoted without becoming an accessory.

The romance suffers from the same problem. They go through all the expected relationship milestones, but I never feel properly involved in their journey. He becomes jealous, falls in love, separates from her and tries to win her back, yet the emotional groundwork is too thin to make these developments meaningful. Their relationship moves forward because the script says it should, not because I can feel the gradual changes between them. And while the drama seems determined to compensate for this through repeated kissing scenes, physical intimacy cannot replace emotional development. Some of those scenes also look rather choppy because of the editing and censorship. Honestly, I would have preferred fewer kisses and more meaningful conversations, moments of vulnerability and genuine partnership. Give me a relationship worth investing in instead of repeatedly reminding me that the two characters are supposed to be in love.

The editing makes matters considerably worse. The final episodes feel as though someone took a pair of scissors to the script and removed several connecting pieces. Important developments happen too quickly, transitions feel unnatural, and sometimes I actually rewound an episode because I thought I had missed a scene. But no, the scene simply wasn't there. The last twenty minutes are particularly frustrating. Two emperors die within an extremely compressed stretch of storytelling, the political situation changes dramatically, and the characters are suddenly making decisions that should require much more explanation. It feels less like a properly developed conclusion and more like several chapters of a story being squeezed into the remaining runtime.

The ending is where the writing finally loses whatever credibility it has left. Weirao eventually becomes such a central authority that she can effectively make decisions on behalf of the royal family without the necessary political and institutional groundwork. The death of the emperor leaves another succession crisis, and the story moves towards Weirao exercising authority while the future of the throne remains uncertain. I understand that the writers want to establish her as a powerful woman who can protect the country, but power does not operate in a vacuum. There are still members of the royal family, competing political interests and questions of legitimacy. Having a strong female protagonist does not mean every other institution should suddenly stop functioning.

The historical setting makes these problems even more noticeable. The legal and social structures are also simplified to the point of losing credibility. Burning a contract or tearing up land deeds does not automatically resolve the legal status of servants or transfer land ownership. Similarly, the story treats private armies, household retainers and noble families as though they can operate with almost unlimited independence from imperial authority.

And this brings me back to the central disappointment. I don't have a problem with exaggerated storytelling, familiar tropes or even an unapologetically ridiculous revenge plot. What I cannot accept so easily is when the writing stops respecting its own premise. The protagonists become unbeatable, the antagonists become increasingly incompetent, the political system becomes meaningless, and the characters are reduced to whatever functions the next plot twist requires.

The saddest thing is that this could have been so much better. It had the ingredients for an interesting story about identity, social class, survival, female agency and the price of power. Instead, it chose convenience over development and spectacle over substance. A powerful female protagonist does not automatically make a powerful female-led story. Genuine strength needs resistance, meaningful choices, personal growth and consequences. Without those things, all we get is a character who wins because the script refuses to let her lose.

I went into this drama expecting a golden hairpin, a complicated marriage and two women fighting over an identity. I came out wondering where the actual story went. What a waste of such a promising beginning.

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It's a Fantasy—Bride Remained Virginal with Zhang Ling He as Her Husband

What's a trope I hate? No, not that one or that one or even that one (do I have that many I despise?). It's prolonged misunderstandings. The Princess Royal was based on continual, prolonged misunderstandings, but in reverse, which, oddly, was much less painful and a nice twist on the trope. An estranged married couple were sent 20 years back in time after their deaths to a time before they married; they were determined to change their tragic outcomes by working together. Instead of the misunderstandings being painful and tedious, it was almost cathartic to see the couple stumble through their misconceptions to find the truth.

The Good:
• Zhao Jin Mai and Zhang Ling He were the lead actors. Can't find two more attractive people. 'Nuff said.
• I enjoyed the petty jealousy, Zhang Ling He-style.
• The OST was pretty.

The Bad:
• The princess gave everyone the benefit of the doubt except for her husband. This was tiring and irritating.
• I didn't like the characters of the FL and ML. The ML was too co-dependent and willing to be a doormat, and the FL was proud, petulant, angry, and stubborn even when she was wrong. He always seemed more like her subject instead of her beloved husband.
• There was a strong "ick" factor of the FL flaunting a bed-buddy male companion, who, although a eunuch, had her heart, for 17 years during her marriage. This was an extremely frustrating love triangle, especially when the FL learned the truth about some of the hard things in her past and chose to overlook them.
• I'm always extremely disappointed in these second chance dramas when the people involved, who know the future in advance, don't take advantage of their omniscience. I'd sit down and figure out dates and places to try to use my knowledge to the best advantage. The only time I really noted that happening in this drama was when the ML ran to provide an umbrella ahead of the 2ML when the FL was kneeling in the rain.
• The last episode took far too long, with too many flashbacks, to overcome the villain. Die, already. I was tired of xxx early on and was hopeful of a redemption arc to change my mind about xxx, but I'd settle for complete annihilation instead. The director could have played every sympathetic flashback, and did, to try to make me mourn that character, but it only served to bore me.
• Don't pregnancies generally produce babies? Especially after a three-year time skip? And, yet, none appeared.

I added a half star for the attractive leads. If I'm going to watch an irrational drama, it may as well have pretty people.

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Goofy

Fun start, genuinely better than I expected. To be completely honest, I was scared it was going to be cringy, but it's really not, just funny with a bit of a cute side.
I think if you like other japanese comedy series, you will definitely enjoy this one as well.
It's a lighthearted and goofy series with an interesting and quite unusual plot and quite typical japanese humor.

I had fun watching the first episode, so I'm excited to see more.

You can watch it on GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/9827/its-just-business-2026-e01

Things I liked:
1. Humor/funny moments.
2. Pretty good acting.
3. Styling. I like the contrast in their styles.
4. Chemistry and the tension between the main leads.

Things I disliked:
1. The unconsensual kiss.

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A couple I'm really going to miss ❤️

This was such an enjoyable watch! I loved the balance of romance, comedy and fantasy. The drama had a light-hearted charm that made me look forward to every episode.

The biggest highlight for me was definitely the main couple. Neo Hou and Lu Yuxiao had such good chemistry! Their sexual tension, playful teasing and little comedic interactions were SO GOOD. Ji Bozai's playful dominance and Ming Yi's hilariously clumsy attempts to get away from him had me smiling and giggling more times than I can count.

I also loved the little doodle-style previews, the opening sequence and the way the drama used small moments to make their relationship even more enjoyable. The opening song is another highlight. Still playing it!

I do have a few complaints, though. The last three episodes felt rushed, and I wish certain conflicts and character developments had been given more time. After hearing about the original novel, I also feel the relationship could have benefited from more depth and some of the heavier emotional and political layers. The drama chose a lighter approach, which I enjoyed, but I can't help wondering what we missed.

And surprisingly, some of the emotional moments hit harder than I expected. I actually cried during one of the final romantic moments.

Overall, I had a wonderful time with this drama. It wasn't perfect, but the chemistry, comedy, music and overall charm made it special.

Going to miss this pair. I wish I could watch them fall for each other all over again!

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the first half was super intriguing and entertaining to watch. there was a lot of scheming, romantic back-and-fourth, plottwists and while it was very fast paced, it didn't feel too rushed to me. if it had continued that way, i would've loved this drama!

but they lost me when they killed off jundai in the most anticlimatic manner. after that, the drama suffered from severe plot fatigue. the pacing picked up even more, but plotlines just added unnecessary hurdles, which were resolved fast and just as anticlimatic.

i love a good slow burn (i live for them actually) but wei rao not facing her feelings properly and leaving lu zhou hanging in the air like that was so frustrating. there was no reason for so many obstacles in their path, esp. after ep16, and it annoyed me to no end. particularly since he's proven time and time again how devoted he is to her (literally his only personality trait, which was such a shame).

it started so promising and i think tian xiwei does a terrific job playing the characters, especially jundai. lu zhou's character had so much potential but they wasted it completely. the storyline after ep 16 was soo messy, i enjoyed it less and less and by ep22 they were really just adding vile things for funsies. haven't we suffered enough by then?

i liked the ost! the opening theme (借名入局) is incredible 10/10 chef's kiss ohmygod

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✨Unserious Shenanigans, Surprisingly Good Times✨

This drama is SO unserious bro, I love it. 😭😂

We got two besties who transmigrated into a novel and immediately started unleashing chaos on the poor household they landed in. Add a reborn villainess to the mix? BRUH. 💀 (Granted, said villainess was a little underwhelming, but we move.)

Anyways, we got awesome friendship, wholesome brotherhood, endearing romance (the hubbies are DOWN BAD for their wifeys), and some very silly comedy sprinkled with some murder mystery on the side.

The cast is charming, the chemistry is great, the music is catchy, and the girlie power is POWERING. Is it the most groundbreaking thing you'll ever watch? Absolutely not. But if you switch your brain off, embrace the shenanigans, and just go with the flow, you've got yourself a lighthearted, cozy few hours of entertainment. And I assume we get a happy ending? 😂

PS: Deng Xiao Ci looked particularly fine in this one. 🤭

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Good Acting, but the Story Didn't Hook Me

I went into this drama with fairly high expectations because of all the positive reviews I'd seen. Unfortunately, it just didn't manage to draw me in the way I'd hoped.

I don't mind political storylines in dramas, but I hadn't realised just how heavily the politics would feature in the overall plot. Since I had gone into this much more interested in the romance between the two leads, I quickly found myself wishing there had been a better balance between the two. It felt like the pacing was too slow because of that.

The acting was good, and there were definitely some cute romantic moments, but unfortunately, they weren't quite captivating enough to keep me invested. As the drama went on, I found myself gradually losing interest, to the point where watching certain scenes started to feel like a chore.

Overall, I can understand why so many people enjoyed this drama, and I can appreciate its strengths. I think it ultimately came down to my expectations and personal preferences. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.

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Tolerable.... to a point.

Writing a review for mini drama of style is like- I know it's bad. You know it's bad BUT is it entertaining? And the answer is.... sorta? For a bit and if you know why you are here. This mini has 3 redeeming qualities to not become trash:
1) the main actors are likable
2) Su Yan's wardrobe - I love her painsuits and I need them
3) the younger man/older woman dynamic (yes, he is 19 and she is 30)
And that is why you are probably here. That's the hook. And it's surpringly catchy and quite well done. I can imagine this is how this kind of relationship would look like. He really is that puppy like energy of a 19yo boy in his first relationship. She is mature, lawyer and post break up, so she is having none of it and it's believable.

What's not believable is the plot. I don't even know what to say. I've seen Turkish telenovelas being more realistic, but okay. Last 5 episodes, pissed me off though. Originally I gave it 6.5, then 6.0, now it lands on 5.5. I wish I could bleach those last episodes from my memory. That was offensively bad.

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