Reviews

personally don't recommend

This was so bad. As an avid BL watcher, the story made no sense, even though it had a lot of potential. The world-building and actual designations, as well as the plot, were interesting, but the acting was terrible and turned into an SA fantasy. They also have powers that made sense to me. That was so random and they never should have had them. The best part of the entire show was the side couple whose reunion made me want to kms. Cause what do you mean they're reunited after years of not seeing each other, with a child that one of them never even met until that moment, and then they hug and the show ends? This show also contains a novel, which I also read in hopes of finding a different ending, but it is unfortunately the same. The main couple was so boring. I just wanted to skip the scenes where they appeared. They also kept using the same soundtrack that made me not be able to actually focus on the show because the music was distracting me. It was kinda fire though 🔥🔥. Hours of my life that I'll never get back and have been wasted on this show. I'd rate this show in the negatives if I could, but will give a star on acting and story for the fact that we saw an omega in heat and a 10/10 for the crappy fire music.

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An exquisite masterpiece

This piece stands out as a work of art through the ages, a cinematic masterpiece.

Aesthetically, this is one of the most beautiful pieces I've seen. Each scene, costume, and actor is more beautiful than in the last scene. But this isn't just some idol drama as it initially appears to be, but a painting by a master at work.

I didn't watch at first because it started Ju Jingyi, for example, who was so miscast in In Blossom, and yet so well cast here. She is able to show beauty, delucacy and resilience here just fine. And Chen Duling is undeniably a powerful actress, yet here her beauty also becomes a weapon and a tool.

The story and characters are also compelling and multifaceted, a mix of wuxia and xanxia that resonates creatively. The characters are multifaceted, and only continue to show more depth.

A page turner you can't stop watching, as beautiful as it is engaging, do yourself a favor and watch an episode or two of this masterpiece, and allow yourself to be hooked.

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Who hurt You?

Sat with this on these thoughts for 4 days. Why did you at the end take this direction with the drama? I had to go back to the webtoon to understand the ending. This ending in this series was quite unfulfilling. I understand you wanted to be pretentious but you took something that could have a beautiful classic and made it into something we all want to forget.

Maybe this was a revenge or cry for help from the industry into how may of artist are treated. The goal was for us to understand the pain and path they walk mishaps requesting change? Suzy... I know you choose your roles carefully, but honestly why?

I personally blame Netflix for this. Anytime I see them as the distributor I know there is going to be heavy handed feminine ideology embedded. This drama hurt my heart and broke my brain.

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13 year old me would have found this mindblowing, but It's a bit too juvenile to my taste now..

The main romance / fluff is rather fun, which is a surprise considering how bad the Chen Xing Xu dramas I've seen so far had been. Anyway CXX's acting is way above his normal standard & the chemistry with the FL is great. So yes, the main romance is carrying the entire show, despite that even this is formulaic & on the juvenile side.
To elaborate on this more, the dating is adult in the sense that they eventually end up sharing a bed, but everything else about their relationship is like elementary school tier. The competing half brother is a typical cartoon villain character, but with very limited screen time & the entire setting is straight up cartoonish really. I said in the headline that 13 year old me would have loved this & I even suspect that this may have been aimed at younger audiences, it's perfect for someone on that emotional & cognitive level. Of course it's still enjoyable for adults, but there are too many scenes & situations where I could only helplessly roll my eyes and I'm saying this as an avid cdrama watcher, having seen A LOT over the years..

As for the VR game, I feel the whole thing a bit forced & uninteresting. It's not horrible or anything, but there are way better game+real life dramas out there.(such as Love Scenery) I have this suspicion that the production team just wanted to put the leads in fancy costumes & that's the whole point..

The OST has a few bangers, the intro is AMAZING!

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“Gold Land” begins with ambition and tension, but is still searching for its heart.

The first two episodes of Gold Land deliver exactly what the title promises: a world driven by power, money, and secrets — but still in the emotional construction phase. The premiere is visually striking, with elegant direction that bets on strong contrasts between luxury and decadence, suggesting from the start that nothing there is truly stable.
The script begins dense, introducing multiple characters and conflicts almost simultaneously. This creates an interesting sense of complexity, but it may also alienate those seeking a more straightforward narrative. Still, there is merit in how the drama avoids obvious exposition, preferring to let the viewer piece together the puzzle little by little.
The performances are one of the initial strong points. The main cast manages to sustain the tension even when the script doesn't fully delve into their motivations. There is a clear attempt to build morally ambiguous characters, which fits well with the darker tone of the story — although, for now, it lacks that decisive moment that truly connects the audience emotionally to them.
In terms of pacing, the episodes fluctuate. The first is more contemplative and atmospheric, while the second accelerates with twists and turns and clues about the central conflict. This change helps maintain interest, but also highlights that the drama is still adjusting its balance between style and narrative.
Overall, Gold Land starts promisingly, with a solid foundation in aesthetics and political/social intrigue, but still needs to deepen its characters and better define its dramatic focus. If it manages to align these elements in the next episodes, it has the potential to become one of the most engaging titles of the season.

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I DON’T KNOW HOW TO FEEL

Honestly, I didn’t plan on watching this show cause I knew the ending, I knew the kind of person Ok Jung was in real life, I knew where the story was heading. Current in my ‘sageuk’ era, I ran out of historical kdramas to watch, hence watching this show.

I would have given this show a 10/10 BUT I didn’t like that they romanticized her life. I knew dong yi since I was about 7 cause of my mom, and I watched it and I loved it a lot. Generally, I love the ‘maid rising in status’ or ‘becoming the king’s concubine or queen’ trope, so Dong yi was already a 10 for me. It portrayed what was actually written in history. What this show did was the opposite. It switched the roles of Inhyeon, Sukbin, Ok Jung. Instead of portraying her as the actual evil person, they made us see her through the ‘victim lens’. They focused on the romance and made us attached to Sukjung and Ok Jung. They made Sukbin sly and wicked. Although Inhyeon isn’t really evil, Queen Mother was dragging her into her schemes making her look bad in Ok Jung’s eyes.

The plot prioritizes a romanticized, tragic narrative over strict historical accuracy, demanding a, "villain" to create conflict against the lovers.The story focuses on humanizing Jang Ok-jung by making the rival faction, represented by Suk-bin, appear manipulative. It was forcing the ‘victim’ down our throats. Despite that, I wasn’t rooting for ok Jung and was waiting for Sukbin to make her appearance.

King Sukjong is interesting—because historically, his relationship with Ok-jung didn’t stay romantic like that forever. Politics, power shifts, and court factions played a huge role, and things got much colder and harsher later on.

The way they staged her death—being framed, dying in the king’s arms, leaving her son—it’s designed to force sympathy, even if you spent the whole drama not rooting for her. Despite that, I did cry during her death scene, it was really sad if you look at what they went through. Their love that was portrayed was really beautiful and tragic. I won’t rewatch it though. I’ve already explained how I feel about the show in general. I will be going back to watch Dong Yi to cleanse my brain.

All in all this was a really good show. I would recommend watching Dong Yi and reading about them in history before watching this show. Regardless of my ratings, apart from how they changed history, I give it a 10/10.

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Great Premise Ruined by Poor Writing

The first 4 episodes were fantastic. Like 'edge of your seat, trying to piece everything together' type of fantastic. However, the latter half takes all that away and ruins it. The story is filled with plot holes and relies on idiotic characters to further the plot and raise the stakes - Spoiler, the stakes remain dead in the water.

I think the writers had a great idea. Combining tradition, i.e., shamanism, with technology, a killer app, and a not-so-stable friend group was a solid idea. If only they hadn't made their characters' one consistent character trait be bad decision-making.
Tbh, of the 5 main characters, the one character who (largely) made smart decisions throughout was Kim Geon U. Even Ha-Joon, who was presented as the logical friend, was only proverbially saved by the bell from adding his name to the kill list of that app

Generally, I expect such shows to have dumb characters. It's part and parcel of the genre. Frustrating, yes, but you've got to sacrifice a few for the theory of evolution by natural selection. However, when the majority of the group is dumb, the viewing experience becomes frustrating.

I wish they had given me

1. Better, smarter characters - Personally, I believe that smart characters make for a better viewing experience. As a viewer, I'm not dumb, so the writers shouldn't treat me as such. Stupid mistakes being the thing that consistently pushes the plot is insulting my intelligence. And undervaluing my time

2. Tighter plot - There are so many plot holes with the main and even supporting characters. I could list them out, but I'm not enjoying typing this out. Part of me suspects that this could have been intentional for them to try to create a hook for the 2nd season. However, that just made this season feel incomplete.

It's like buying a sandwich and finding out it's all crust and a few unseasoned lettuce leaves. Then being told that you now need to get a 2nd sandwich so you can get all the other good stuff - The actual bread, the sauce, and the meat. Why TF would I buy from you again? Not only did you make me waste my money, but you could end up giving me another crust sandwich and telling me to wait for sn 3. No, thank you.

3. A better villain - Honestly, I'm lowkey tired of the whole 'insecure bully from a broken family' narrative. When the show started, I had hoped that the backstory of the app would be quite sinister. They classified it as horror after all. However, learning that all this happened coz one girl wanted to bully her one genuine friend... *insert hard eye-roll* come on now. Kwon Si Won being evil for the sake of being evil is just... meh

PS. Actually, I don't mind a villain who's evil for the sake of being evil. But they need to face smart and resourceful 'heroes' for the story to stand out and keep me hooked.

Three Extra Thoughts

a. I will say, the most memorable thing was the eye in.... was it episode 3 or 4? That eye made me jump. I think it (and the 1st time we see Do Hye Ryeong slit her throat) were the only parts of the entire story that felt like they fit adequately with the horror tag

b. There is a lesson here about choosing better friends. About not staying friends with mean people simply because of history. About not trying to save everyone because (again) of history or coz you're a nice person

c. If they were to announce a 2nd season, I suspect that Na Ri would be the villain in that one - based on the after-credits scene. I, however, will not be tuning in. Netflix hasn't had a great track record with sequels, even when they had strong 1st seasons. Look at shows like Sweet Home, BloodHounds & the 1st 2 seasons of Alice in Borderland. Strong starts that were butchered later. This show didn't even have a strong start. I'm doubtful that the 2nd season will be anything good.

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Under a veil of snow everything appears sparkling, even the puddles.

The most remarkable aspect of this drama is how quickly it goes from an original story with intriguing characters to a jumble of unlikely events and dubious purposes.

Gradually, my overall opinion of it has also diminished. Today, about a month after I've finished watching it, it's almost as if I'd never watched it: it left me with nothing meaningful. This happens when an exaggerated emphasis is placed on the exterior of things, rather than their substance.

There's no doubt that this show is aesthetically satisfying; in fact, it's all about pleasing the eye.
Starting with the male protagonist. Constantly bathed in a soft, almost mystical light, with strands of hair blowing in the breeze from permanently open windows—in the dead of winter—his expression somewhere between stoic and impenetrable, the Marquis of Wuan offers a picture of beauty as perfect as it is pointless.

I won't deny it, I was initially fascinated by him too: the mystery surrounding his character had great potential. Instead, not only did this mystery take an astonishing and frustrating amount of time to unravel, but when it did, it had more holes than a Swiss cheese. He is a warrior who is never warrioring, a husband who is never husbanding and a leader who is never leading.

In some ways, all the male leads in this drama suffer the same fate: all damned good-looking—did they find them in a catalog?—they make questionable choices driven by obscure motivations.

By the final episode, it's painfully clear why: the entire drama revolves around the heroine, Everything else is a byproduct, and an often confusing one.
So we have this super pretty, lively and independent butcher who finds herself a husband of convenience and - according to the synopsis - slowly falls for him. Unfortunately, she suffers the same fate as the viewer: she falls for his outer appearance, nothing else. She knows nothing of him, he doesn't give anything away and she is too busy bossing him around and going on with her pigs slaughtering to even raise the slight doubt. And I was left there grinding my teeth in frustration.

There are 2 different scenes that threw me out of this romance for good:

[SPOILER]
the first when he kisses her and she slaps him as a result, accusing him of harrassment. Girl! You've just packed his things and decided on a divorce, he even asked you to go with him, you've previously plotted to seduce him by washing your feet in the same basin (awful moment) and now you're suddenly all indignant that your husband dared locking his lips to yours! Gahwd. Not to mention that with one slap she could have sent him flying to Japan.

The second happens when they reunite in the battle camp, where he is YET again injured and he misses YET another good occasion to reveal his identity. And Fan Changyu is still oblivious, since her strength is not in the brain. I threw something.
[END OF SPOILER]

By then, I couln't care a dry fig what happened to them or their frustrating romance, where they are married one minute, then they are not by the law, then they are again, then...
It troubles me that I found myself more invested in the second couple's story. This is indeed problematic inasmuch as the male character is nothing short of a psychopath. Far from me to find it romantic, nevertheless Yu Qianqian and Qi Min made me feel something, they were complex, twisted and tragic.

What is left is a convoluted, never fully explained plot of a petite beauty who becomes a stronger version of Princess Xena, a Marquis of Wounds and a palace intrigue that was revealed early on but for some reason was treated as a mystery till the end.

I'm not going to rewatch this drama. Even worse, I haven't even rewatched single scenes - yes, I do it when I fall in love with a couple. It didn't happen here.
Next.

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good one

i almost went from rating this to 7 from 8 because a mess at ending it's good for passing time I disliked short drama , but after watching 2 I changed my opinion it's better to watch short one than wasting time on 40 eps , this would have been better as slow burn , would be perfect,but it's not slow burn since it short drama

at start - A comic World plot, I really like it most of the manwha have this plot it's so much trending I don't understand why Koreans haven't made a single kdrama on this and CDRAMA are doing it instead, I was going to quit after seeing first ep because plot - she has heart attack will die if she doesn't kiss ml , I don't like this but this doesn't stay till end and later I got hooked on the drama till end , it's rare for me to get hooked in CDRAMA but CDRAMA do not have stories like that

in middle story focus is suddenly crime I was annoyed I am here for romance not crime it takes many eps

last after they finally date they breakfup right away because ml going to disappear from comic world but FML stops by getting killed and restarting the story I was really going to be annoyed by story ending like that but they get back together at end , happy ending

i enjoyed so I gave 8 ,it's not 8 but most CDRAMA are not interesting as this one ,the other overhyped
the fashion was good, little good comedy, the leads randomly confess without much development as story focused more on comic story than romance , I wished there were more scenes between the main leads
has good romance

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