Reviews

Putting on hold from ep 9

I had been enjoying the ride of this show since ep 1. Loving the performance of the 3 leads, specially the actor who plays James. I think he is a genius actor who we need to see more in lead roles. The terrific acting has been carrying the show on its able shoulders, so much so that despite the obvious suspension of disbelief required at many places, the show(the con-acts) seemed believable. I loved the painter-arc and the beauty-product tycoon arcs. They were thoroughly enjoyable.
But ep 9 suddenly felt disappointing with the introduction of the seafood tycoon arc and to be honest i dropped the episode halfway through . Somehow, the pattern of the show felt as if it was turning monotonous.
It feels almost as if the team intends to show us the scum of each profession.

I have kept the show on hold for now.

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A fun romance wrapped in a transmigration costume drama shell

Gemini is the gift that keeps on giving. I went in with typically low expectations for quality and high expectations for entertainment, as is my typical approach to costume mini-dramas. Gemini delivered on both fronts!

— The romance —

I’m all kinds of happy with the development of the main couple, which hits many of my favorite tropes, including role reversal with a self-possessed, powerful, stabby heroine and a down-bad ML. It was a little too fast-burn for my tastes, because I typically tend to lose interest after the leads get together, but not here.

— Zhou Jun Wei as our hero —

What can I say? Zhou Jun Wei delivered. His expressions, his presence, his little side-smirks… ahhhh I just love him. He absolutely killed it. It’s a crime that he hasn’t been the lead in more dramas, especially full-length dramas.

His character is a classic Wuxia hero in many ways. Badass, devoted, determined, a beast in battle. When with the people he loves, he becomes playful, earnest, and genuinely funny in some moments.

The ML’s inability to feel physical pain, due to some MacGuffin he swallowed in his childhood, makes him into a fascinating character. First off, because it turns him into something like a rabid dog in battle, willing to take hit after hit and keep moving. The villain character comments at one point that, when his sect leader (the FL) is not there to keep him in check, he is little more than a madman. Second, his lack of physical pain makes him feel emotional pain all the more acutely. Consistently, he is a man driven by grief and love, making everything else in his life secondary.

Could the writers have dug deeper into the juiciest parts of his character? Absolutely. Though this is a mini-drama, there was enough space to explore, and they didn’t always capitalize on the time they had to do proper character growth.

— Zhu Li Lan as our heroine —

It was my first time seeing her in a drama. The first few episodes, I had trouble focusing on what her character was up to because, um, she is SO beautiful. I was too busy staring at her face 🤣

She begins as the clueless wife of a villainous prince and, in a sequence of transmigration loosely reminiscent of A Familiar Stranger, becomes a duplicitous and violent woman bent on revenge. ZLL plays both roles well but I very much preferred her in the “villainess” role.

— The plot —

The plot relies on well-worn tropes such as body-switching and revenge, but not so heavily that things get boring. Crucially, when things seemed to slow down, the writers threw in a wonderful twist regarding the villain which brought me right back to full investment in the story.

— Overall —

A gem. No filler, beautiful actors, fun twisty plot, doesn’t take itself seriously except when it counts.


— TROPES —
- ML falls first (a “loved you all along” kind of arrangement)
- badass anti-heroine
- master/disciple
- childhood friends to lovers
- reincarnation, body switching, revenge plot
- medium burn (?) with several instances of spice throughout
- arranged marriage, royal family politics

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Ugh

I don't think that this story was ever supposed to be "good". By that I just mean that it was obvious from the beginning that the series was going for a sort of silliness with its plot and characters.

The FL is as bossy as the title implies, and she is portrayed as being incredibly strong. The ML starts off as kind of wimpy and an easy punching bag. This creates a comedic dynamic between the two of them. Make no mistake that the ML is incompetent in this portrayal. He does not display great martial arts, but he is unparalleled in his deduction and reasoning making him a great investigator. The two leads balance each other out in this way and start to gain attraction each other as they witness that there is more to the outward persona.

None of this led to a particularly great story, but their dynamics did hold a certain charm that was enjoyable to watch.

Unfortunately the series quickly does away with this balance, and the ML goes through a full character reset (the show provides a reason for this). He maintains his genius intellect, but then he also becomes an unparalleled martial arts master with a completely different personality. As this happens, the "my bossy wife" title no longer remains accurate to the portrayal and it really loses its charm.

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Terrible wigs, beautiful people | The duality of mini-dramas

If you can ignore the wigs and focus on the pretty faces, you’ve got a decent chance of enjoying this series.

Episode 1 kicks off with a wild, toxic, over-the-top dramatic sequence, wherein the ML demonstrates the tyrannical power he wields over the FL, his royal consort. She reincarnates, practically screaming with rage, and vows that she will pay back all the pain he’s caused her tenfold.

However, if you’re looking for a proper time regression revenge plot drama, look elsewhere. All the bite of the original premise fizzles out quickly.

To summarize their dynamic early on, imagine this:
You’re trying to get revenge on this guy you hate, so you bring him into your household as your servant. You treat him worse than the dirt under your foot—beating him up, ordering him around, literally walking all over him. But somehow he doesn’t seem cowed. With growing horror, it begins to dawn on you: he’s into it. Now, what to do with the kinky snake you’ve accidentally let into your house?

I’m a sucker for a stabby, mean, wrathful heroine. Tower of Whispers starts off strong in that respect, but the revenge plot loses its way quickly and the heroine loses all her fighting spirit as soon as she falls in love. No payoff, little to no consequences for his actions. Before we even hit the halfway point, the drama has shifted its focus to the ML, making him the main character for the remainder of the story.

It’s doubly disappointing because they actually wrote the leads with the opportunity for complexity. Their dynamic could have grown into something complicated, messy, and laden with toxic history, but the writers simply didn’t take advantage and expand what was already there, past the first few episodes.

Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.

He Lan Dou — for all the shortcomings of her character, I blame the writing team, not the actress. HLD delivered a strong performance of the script she was given. Particularly her anger and grief were believable. I loved to see her seething with cold rage in the early episodes.

Jerome Deng — I’ve seen him before in another mini-drama. His acting has improved, though he still doesn’t reach far beyond the range of the stoic action hero archetype. He’s very pretty, though, so there’s that. Not even the terrible wig could hide that.

Supporting Characters — Sang Li, the ML’s right hand, was my favorite character by far. Here, at least, we have an unapologetically mean, scheming woman who uses men to her own benefit and looks crazy hot doing it. Every scene with her was a joy to watch. I’ll be following the actress’s work from now on.

-- Overall --

A romance with some kinky appeal that could have been so much more than just entertaining, but fell flat in the plot dimension.

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pretty good for a short drama

I loved the whole ‘her rival is her old self’ thing but she wasn’t really a rival I felt betrayed, that’s the only thing that really annoyed me in this series but overall it’s pretty good and the leads acting and chemistry is great, the story became predictable at some point but it was still somewhat enjoyable.
however I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re really into custom dramas because there’s much better works out there, this one doesn’t feel really developed when it comes to the side characters and there’s a bunch of plot holes but it’s kinda like fast food so it has its own appeal I guess.

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A Thrilling Mystery That Outsmarts Its Romance

If you’re looking for a romance show, this is not where you should go. But if you’re after an exciting, twist-filled, and thrilling series — this is definitely it.

At first, I had mixed feelings halfway through the show. I’d read comments saying the first part was amazing and the second half wasn’t as good, but for me, it was actually the opposite — and I’m so glad I pushed through.

I’m a huge WXY fan, so I started watching mainly because of him. However, in the first part, I was a bit disappointed since he was sick for most of it, so we didn’t really get to see him in action. Because of that, he didn’t shine as much at first — other characters carried things while he was recovering.

For me, the one who truly stood out early on was Coroner Feng. I loved his character — he’s smart, funny, compassionate, and his development was so well done. I also loved Tong… well, that was before the second part of the show made me take back all my tears for him! Still, if someone ate my dog, I’d probably turn into a villain too, so fair enough.

Honestly, the main star of this show is the writing. You can’t carry a story with just one central mystery all the way through — but somehow, they managed to do it perfectly. There were no unnecessary side plots, and it still never felt boring. The pacing was just right, and everything fit together like pieces of a puzzle. My only complaint was that they dragged the whole “Beiming being poisoned” part a bit too long, but aside from that, it was solid.

Now, I have to say — I was kind of disappointed by the lack of romance. I expected at least some chemistry or emotional tension, especially since the trailer hinted at a wedding and made it seem like an enemies-to-lovers setup. But there was basically nothing. No tension, no spark — just friendship. In fact, I think the real theme of this show is friendship rather than romance, and I actually ended up loving that aspect.

The bromance was fantastic — especially after Zhuge joined the group. Their dynamic was gold.

As for the twist — was I surprised Tong turned out to be the villain? Absolutely. He was right under our noses the whole time, and I never suspected him, not even once.

Everything wrapped up beautifully in the end. If you’re looking for a captivating thriller full of mystery, suspense, and clever writing — this show is for you. The underground cave scenes were especially stunning.

The only thing that fell short for me was the costuming — especially Beiming’s outfits, which looked a bit too plain or ragged. I understand it fit his character, but it still felt underwhelming compared to everything else. On the bright side, the hairstyling was excellent, and the acting (especially WXY’s) was incredible.

I honestly didn’t expect to finish with such a high rating, especially since I wasn’t that impressed halfway through. But by the end, I can confidently say — this show is worth the watch. WXY never disappoints.

Also OSTs were on point: Who doesn’t love a Liu Yuning OST.

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A very mediorce Korean Drama.

I unfortunately finished this drama, and I am pretty upset of whoever wrote this story. Is this the best story you can come up?

Psychopath character can make a very compelling character for drama. The writers has so many references by watching performance from some of famous cinema psychopaths like Hannibal Lector, Joker, Villanella ( Killing Eves TV series), etc... But they chose to based Anton Chigurh blueprint (No Country for Old Man): cold, calculating, incapable of emotions ruthless killers. And it is probably their biggest fumble because Anton Chigurh blueprint does not work based on the kind of story they try to deliver. Ka-young (Female Lead) would not care if the genie tried to wipe out the human. She would not care if she needs to save the bleach blonde girl. Do they even have a proofreaders the scripts and no one yelled out this is dumb?

Ka young can be a very good character if they based it on Alice Morgan ( Luther TV series), an absolute psychopath with no moral compass but have an obsession disorder. Or perhaps, Villanelle (Killing Eve Series) is a psychopath just doing stuff so life is a bit less boring. Both of these characters allowed Bea Suzy to act instead stone face acting through the whole series. And by the way, Bea Suzy did not nail Anton Chigurh character.

And I am not done. I still have to talk about the characterization of the Male Lead, Genie. The character is very inconsistent. At one point, he is so serious and then next thing you know, he is goofy. The one thing that bugged me the most is his motivation. In the beginning of the series, the series repeatedly repeatedly reminding you that the genie is arrogantly despised the weaker creation, human, and absolutely enjoyed their downfall. Then a few episode later, he saved the kids from abusing father, and the girl that got killed by a serial killer. While it made a few good moments, but it made no god damn sense for the character.

The whole series is a mess. The writing is so bad. The acting is a mess. The music is forgettable. I would only recommend this to my worst enemy so they won't be able to get back 16 hours of their time.

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Can't get enough

A series with a really good love story, that might have even been better without it.

Jang Man Wol (played by IU) is such an interesting character. Outwardly she is very vain with many flaws, but it becomes apparent why she is this way as the story unfolds. Her flaws make her even more likeable as a character. So much so that even though the story itself is really good, I think that they could have explored her character more if they were not rushing to the romance. Man Wol has been around for centuries, and there is so much to her character that it feels like we only scratch the surface before its over.

Aside from the FL, the show does a fantastic job at drawing you into each of the other characters too. The ML and all of the side characters have depth that really gets you attached to them.

My only criticism of the show is how quickly it comes to an end. The series showcases a lot of subtle character development, but when it arrives at the climax it does so almost without warning. It then quickly decelerates to the finish line, and you're just left wanting a little more because the characters (especially all of the ghosts) are just so interesting.

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kim woobin and suzy being back together is the best part <3

this is my first review and before i start, let me say that i'm actually a muslim myself.
now, i know a lot of people are upset with the fact that the genie is literally portrayed as a shaytan and iblis and mocks islam which i get because i had the same opinion when i watched the trailer but then i decided to tune in because i loved woobin and suzy in uncontrollably fond and i was so happy that they were back together. and after watching it, yes many things are adapted from iblis from islam but also they just used it as a name? because they refer to him as a genie, as shaytan and as iblis which i wish they had not because not everything is same, they could really have avoided that by naming him iblis but it makes sense for him to be named that considering the plot. this is more like the western show lucifer yk? and lucifer was literally romanticised in it. they aren't really romanticising iblis but rather the genie if you give it a watch. but i understand if you're mad, but still i would suggest that you see it as fiction and tune in once yourself and then judge it instead of hearing it from others.
now coming to the plot, i actually really enjoyed this though it got messy at times because i feel like they tried to fit in way too many storylines in just 13 episodes. considering the amt of storylines they should have gone for the usual 16 episodes length. not to mention that i was kinda :/ abt the screentime that woobin and suzy had. i wish we had more of their scenes together and their relationship developing instead of adding a bunch of subplots which turn out flat at the end. i really loved minji and the grandma and even irem and sade, they were some of my favourite characters and storylines and i think that was enough, the rest should have been given to the main characters instead of showing us five more side stories which had three wishes each.
i absolutely adore minji's character and her friendship with kayoung. i love how we finally have a side character who's not really just a plot device for the main character and has her own story and her being a butch lesbian isn't treated as something weird or a big deal and just normalised.
the grandma stole my heart and her story was so so heartwarming though i wish we had more of the old grandma because we saw her for a very short time, i wish we got more scenes with that actress though i loved the young grandma ver, eunjin did a great job portraying her!
i absolutely love suzy i can't stress enough just how great of an actress she is, she deserves sm more recognition because the way she acts as a psycopath who can't show emotions and does full justice to it? oh bae suzy the actress that you are!
not to mention kim woobin omg i'm so happy he's recovered, hale and hearty and back because he's a gem. his character might act really silly and goofy in the beginning but in the second half, esp ep 4-ep5 onwards you really get to see him getting serious and woobin's range as an actor. he was genuinely so so good i enjoyed every second of him on screen.
woobin and suzy reuniting was the best part tho and i'm so very happy that we got them in a drama together esp after uncontrollably fond which broke my heart into a million pieces. their chemistry is off the charts and so insane omg they are adorable on screen together and i adore them so so much i need them to be in like another drama together RIGHT NOW.
i wish there were more osts because i loved the ost by suzy but we barely had any music in this show which was a little bit of a letdown.
the cgi was actually pretty decent too i think netflix did a pretty good job and i didn't find the cgi ruining my experience in any way.
my only complain would be that i wish i had more of kayoung and the genie scenes because they weren't enough considering they were the main characters and the entire story was about them. if you look back you realise that the side characters and the subplots actually take A LOT of time which was really not necessary. and if they really did plan to do that then they should have atleast increased the length of the show.
overall i had fun and i would give it a solid 7.5/10 and i think you should watch it yourself before really forming an opinion on it just listening to others. it is a fun cute decent watch esp if you loved woobin and suzy, you can atleast tune in once.

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I wasn’t planning to write a review, but…

[edited on October 9]

I wasn’t planning to write a review but the many bad and one stars reviews I saw for this drama, gave me the need to do so.

I really can’t understand why this drama got so many bad reviews. Alright that it wasn’t quite what I would hoped for when I saw the cast and the screenwriter lined up for this, but in the end, it was still an enjoyable watch.

The chemistry between Suzy and Woo Bin is undeniable, I saw some reviews criticizing it and I couldn’t phantom why. Some reviews also complained about the lack of character development, but I honestly found the drama quite realistic in that sense.

Suzy’s character is a psychopath, which means her brain is different from that of a normal person, you can’t expect a psychopath to suddenly develop emotions and starting to have feelings like a normal person would because they WON’T, that’s a disorder and it can’t be cured, simple as that. The reason some psychopaths become killers is because that gives them a rush of adrenaline which makes them feel something, on the same sense, some go into extreme sports just to feel the rush of adrenaline of something that could kill them, that’s how they work, no miracles here, they don’t suddenly catch feelings and become a “normal person”. All that to say that I really enjoyed Suzy’s character for that, she was moved by curiosity and rules, which makes total sense, the genie made her feel something because he was completely out of this world and evidently dangerous, which gave her that adrenaline rush time and time again, same reason why she was into high risk investments, because the rush of possibly losing it all gives you that little thrill. Besides, I would feel so damn annoyed if they pulled all that “love cures all” bs we see so often in dramas that address some sort of mental disorder, especially so because this one isn’t one that can be treated, and more than that, it would be infuriating to see her change because of a freaking genie instead of doing so for her grandma and best friend.

Now on to the genie, I also think his character just made sense, he is bad, he doesn’t like humans, his loyalty belongs to his brothers alone and that’s it. The only human he ever felt something for was FL because she was righteous and proved his beliefs about human nature to be wrong, and that curiosity — to see and understand something he had never encountered before, led him to slowly fall in love with her during her first life. He is a mystical creature, something above human reasoning, so his lack of emotion for humanity is understandable — especially so when said humans betrayed him in the moment of his despair when he made himself vulnerable for them for the first time, proving his own beliefs all over again — which takes us back to him caring only for her: because from all the humans he came across, she was the only one who ever proved him wrong and the only one who ever cared for him, all of which made his changes in the end completely understandable to me: his rules came from his experience with her and his brothers and what had hurt them, not because he cared for humans, but because he loved his family and wouldn’t risk the same mistakes again.

Honestly, to see so many people criticize these plot points, makes me wonder if we were really watching the same drama… I get this will be a personal experience and each person will feel differently because everyone was expecting different things, but overall, I really enjoyed the drama. The effects were great, the story was engaging and the cast was spectacular, were there some weak points to it? Sure, but overall it was a great watch. The only thing that let me down a bit was the ending, because it felt kind of rushed and undersatisfying (specially because I wanted to see that infuriating death angel suffer miserable and he didn’t), but then again… Netflix. I also didn’t quite like how things turned out in the end, like Iblis disappearing and suddenly coming back… I just hate that kind of plot, however, it was to be expected, since the writer pulled the same thing on Goblin. Eitherway, the bottom line is that I enjoyed and would totally recommend this drama despite the opposing opinions.

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Hilarious

So I am relatively new to the kdrama scene but I am aware of Clichés in romance and got the idea of this tv show playing into them.

The first episode was hialrious, and to be honest there were a lot of comical scenes later on as well. The main actress is very fun and the male lead is protrayed to be just as she percieves him too, an individual full of entitlement.

I do think there are points in which the show lacks, there were some unresolved plot points that would have been nice to see but if you are looking for a laugh and maybe some second hand embarrassment this show is great.

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Flawless to a Fault ML

I loved the first season of Gyeongseon Creature.

Within the first 5 minutes of season 2, I had to back out and verify that I was watching the right show.

Season 2 advances the timeline many years, to a modern day setting which was pretty jarring. It also showcased a very different genre. It reminded me of some other supernatural series/movies where the original is more about suspense and story while the sequel is more action oriented.

After confirming that it was still Gyeongseong Creature, I actually did enjoy it at first. The faster pace was enjoyable, and Han So Hee's character was once again fun to watch. She was even more impressive in the early parts of this second season than she was in season 1 (for reasons that you can probably guess if you've seen the first season).

Unfortunately the series quickly became derailed due to the portrayal of the ML.

In season 1 of Gyeongseong Creature, the FL is presented with a backstory consistent with her abilities. Arguably, the ML's abilities are unjustly inflated to put him on equal level as the FL, but at least there was balance. The second season turns the ML into an even more perfect version of himself. The story eventually provides an explanation for why he is so strong, but even within the context of the story it never really explains why he was so 'great' from the start. In order to make him the personification of perfection the writers had to take away elsewhere, and the casualty was the FL. She was impressive in season 1 and carried a lot of agency. She was equally impressive at the start of season 2, but soon lost all agency. She turned into a typical damsel, despite having her own justified abilities. Season 1 was about equal characters becoming partners and helping each other out. Season 2 was about how awesome the ML was.

The ML was so perfect that he was honestly unlikable. There is very little that I can say positive about season 2, and it really ruined the franchise.

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It was okay

I like dramas with haters to lovers kinda vibes and this one was a lot of fun and silly. The dynamic between the lead characters was fun and silly. The cast and side characters were a lot of fun but some of the sub plots were weird to follow. The ending was okay.

What I liked:
-The comical scenes and tae sung being a puppy bf.
-the cast
- the cute couples!
-highlighting mental health issues celebs can face
-Yuna and Dye hae , I just thought these two were funny.

What I didnt like:
- The depiction if Africa
- The ending felt a bit abrupt I eel like they could have taken one of the dramatic subplots and replaced it with the fallout of a famous actor announcing he has a gf. I know there is foreshadowing but would have been nice to see how they deal with it.
- The housekeeper plot felt unresolved.

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