Reviews

Didn't meet the expectations

I am biggest fan of historical korean drama. Tbh i won't say this drama is bad but not like i expected. I think this drama became so popular coz of international fan. For those who is watching korean historical drama for the first time it might be best but for people like me who enjoyed watching like love in the moonlight, bossam:steal the fate, moon that embraces the sun, the red sleeve, the kings affection, arang and magistrate, empress ki, gu family book, iljimae, kingmaker: the change of destiny, the princess man, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Queen Seondeok and many more might not be like we expected. This drama is equal to the lovers of red sky coz both watched due to the actresses. I am not saying this drama bad or anything but when u watch many classic historical korean drama then its obvious that something is missing. It didn't meet the expectations i wish. Last 2 episode were very good other episode was so-so.

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Unexpected!

Okay, the first few episodes were a little rough, I won't lie. There's some questionable bits, and I don't blame anyone for being critical of it. For some reason I was able to move past it and then after a couple episodes it's never an issue again. Anyway, other than that, I only have positive things to say. The parent's plot lines, for both leads, were really good. I can't remember the last time a BL got me in the heartstrings like that. Even though it's silly at times, the character development felt real. Their relationship seemed real. Their struggles and decisions, both good and bad, seemed real.
Anyway, I'd say give it a try. I laughed and cried and was frustrated (in a good way.) The is random, but the ex reminded me of San from Ateez. In looks only!

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Confusing for no reason but I’d still recommend watching it

I thought that the political drama part was unnecessary and confusing due to the short length of the drama, and the plot felt very convoluted overall. That being said, I still found this show to be worth watching, as the acting, OST, and production value is amazing. It definitely gets way better in the last 2-3 episodes and stuff starts to make more sense. This certainly isn’t the best k-drama or historical k-drama (kingdom and mr. queen are way better) but if you’re bored I’d recommend it as it is quite short and the acting is phenomenal as well as the soundtrack.

Kinda a spoiler (?)
The ending made me cry, just a heads up, if u don’t want a sad ending DON’T watch this.

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Exceeded all my expectations

I watched this in 2025, 4 years after it came out and was hyped to heck and back. Let the dust settle for a bit before I decided to jump into it.

Wow, it really blew away all my expectations. It truly is a love letter to the BL genre, playing into some of the classic BL traits straight (enemies-to-lovers, engineering/architecture students, subtly bisexual protagonists, keeping the relationship a secret) while breaking a lot of BL conventions (Pat and Pran having honest conversations, never breaking up the main couple after they got together, no real love rival [Ink was actually part of a different love story], not pairing the other male best friend characters).

There were even some twists that don't often occur in the genre that I was surprised with (the GL love story, a happy but bittersweet ending since their families still don't get along and having to hide their relationship).

All of the actors were outstanding! Shoutout to Nanon, Ohm, Love, and Milk especially for bringing the characters to life and making them so likable! I have not yet read the novel so I don't know how the story and characters fare compared to their written counterparts. But the story at its core is about love, family, and friendship and how those avenues intersect, often not swimmingly!

My favorite part of the series was that after they grew feelings for one another, Pat and Pran never slipped from being on each other's side. No misunderstandings based on miscommunication or lack of communication. After a lifetime of competing, they had no fight in them; completely dedicated to being on the same team. Having tough conversations, putting your partner's needs before their own, doing what was right for the relationship even though it was hard. It's hard to find couples like this in BL, other dramas, or even real life! I can't wait to rewatch and explore the rest of the universe. Thank you for P'Aof and the authors of the novel for crafting this wonderful world full of love!

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This drama is really interesting and is quite different from others , Romance have played an important role here . In this drama both the leads are cute and flirty they both understood the problems and faced it together throughout the whole series. Ep 6 and ep 9 are the best episodes according to me . Another interesting thing is that the episodes of this series are named after different tarot cards depending upon what's gonna happen in the episode . This series somehow create a little suspense in some episodes about the plot who is trying to kill Dr. Thap .
I found it more interesting when In posted a photo of their hands in his insta writing “ I found my home in you ”
And then Dr thap commented on In 's post “ You're my magic prophecy ”
At the end I want every bl fan to watch this drama it's interesting , very romantic and the leads are veryyyyy cuteee

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Nice premise lacks on execution with a forced "happy end"

I do like low budget productions in general, but in this case, they skimped on the runtime which makes the series feel rushed in the end. If it were me, I would have omitted the "happy end". It makes no sense to meet a guy who looks exactly the same and for all intents "feels" like the ghost which would have been impossible.

Acting was ok, giving us a bit of fluff and good vibes with a dark undertone. Of course the actors are also handsome, that may be a bonus point for some viewers. I have not much else to say besides, it's an ok show for what it is, even when I think the ending is "lame". So binge-watch it, if you are interested, but I would stop when the ghost is disappearing because that should be the real end.

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Amazing Casts that created a "Family-like" Bond through a Variety Show

I originally watched this for Liu Yuning, but I ended up loving the entire cast.

The cast is amazing. Most of them were unfamiliar with each other except for some duos like Liu Yuning & Gong Jun, Xing Xu & Yuwen, and Chen He & Sun Hong Lei. But right from the start, they built up natural chemistry. As the show went on, their closeness grew, creating great dynamics, there was never an awkward pairing. Each cast member had their own role, and no one overlapped. What stood out was how genuinely close they became; living overseas, sharing the same dorm, and seeing each other daily clearly bonded them, just as Liu Yuning mentioned in the last episode.

The games were fun and entertaining. However, I’m giving this a 9 instead of 10 for the story because the show’s title, Wow the World, didn’t fully reflect the concept. While they traveled to various countries, the focus on local culture or the destination was minimal and most of the runtime went into the games. The only place where the setting was highlighted more meaningfully was the final stop in Xi’an, China. This might have been due to production’s lack of connections or research for the overseas locations.

Additional Review on Liu Yuning:
Since I’m a LYN's fan, I have to add this part. I really liked how reliable he was throughout the show, often cooking for the group and looking after them. As Hong Lei ge pointed out, he has this parental look about him where he adores the younger cast members, and at the same time the older casts also adore him back, especially the fondness Hong Lei ge always showed toward him. Also, his interactions with Gong Jun were really cute, especially in the last episode. You can tell Gong Jun is really his a cute little brother to him.

I can’t wait for the next season and hopefully with all of the regular casts!

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My Favorite Actors in an Intricate Storyline

What happens when a batshit crazy tyrant Joseon King who is also a strict gourmet meets a genius chef from the future?

It’s mayhem and chaos but in a comic way. tvN’ s “Bon Appetit, Your Majesty” sets the tone for this rambunctious affair from the first episode itself. Award winning chef Yeon Ji Yeong is suddenly thrust into the Joseon era by a mind-boggling time travel transition when she reads the contents of an ancient book, that her father borrowed from his historian friend. There she meets the utterly handsome yet ruthless King Yi Heon. Their first meeting is equal parts hilarious & shocking because it takes a long time before Ji Yeong accepts the fact that she is in the Joseon era. Add to the fact, that she behaves rudely with Yi Heon without knowing his true identity, we have a disaster in making. The show is as flavorful as the dishes that Ji Yeong prepares after she is forcefully appointed as the Chief Royal Cook. Both of our leads butt heads, have abundant arguments while sharing tasty food that is catered to Yi Heon’s picky taste buds.

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2025/09/30/bon-appetit-your-majesty-series-review/#more-2075

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Ultimate JieJie/GreenFlag, "Blended Family" Romance

In a sea of shows featuring Red Flag MLs and Innocent FLs, this show stands different.

Overwhelmingly, the show is positive and should be watched, but there are absolutely a few glaring flaws.

Biggest Negatives:

😖 The male make-up and wig glue was criminal - multiple times it broke my immersion simply because I could not stop staring at the glue and white powdery face wondering if it was hot and literally melting off?

😖 Plot holes/inconsistencies before the end were mild but within the last episodes there was one period of time where the scene KEPT switching between day and night; and the events of the last episode specifically both appear to be days AND months apart simultaneously.


Biggest Positives:

❤️ Intricate balance of family values between old and new love ESPECIALLY with a child in the equation

❤️ A ML who isn't just a green FLAG but rather an entire FORREST

❤️ There is an episode dealing with how he deals with the the situation after he believes the FL's been assaulted and it is now probably THE best and loving scene(s) of a ML ever (*yes the scene before it could be triggering as it's definitely on the REAL end of the spectrum versus many shows doing over exaggerated "cartoonish" versions).

❤️ The conversations, arguments, and pleas characters have regarding their hopes for the future including the ending dialog (all nitpick flaws aside)


🙃So, what is the show about?🙃

Our main character is the FL; an "unacknowledged" Concubine of the Lu household, held there by her lack of status in society, her previous gratitude and devotion to her partner (2ML), and the daughter she shares with him.

The show demonstrates family politics in a realistic manner regarding the feelings of people who are in various forms of relationships with other people. It focuses on maintaining a level of distance between unmarried and unentangled individuals which means there is VERY little "true" physical intimacy between the leads. Perhaps as a bit of a bait, the show inserts two "dreams" of the MLs into first part of the show, but they are always clearly stated as "dreams".

It features a Love "Square" which includes: The 2ML in love with FL but unable to acknowledge her and often forced to humiliate her. A 2FL who is married to him but feels trapped in HER marriage. She imagines herself in love with a man she never saw the face of and so resents her husband and being forced to marry him. Our ML who is the calming and protecting force for the FL which stirs the jealousies of the 2ML. And the FL who has to let go of all her childhood devotion in order to break free of the torment his family subjects her to and embrace the new chance at life with the ML.

Within the story, there are two simultaneous plots weaving back and forth. The first is the family dynamics of the Lu family and the FL's struggle to remove herself and her daughter from their grasp and regain her independence. The second is the bringing to justice of the Lu and Xia families regarding their corruption in the present and their past deeds around the death of the Princess which saw the FL's father die as a result.

A core component within both sides of the show is family and it's role in making one step up with courage or back down in cowardice. Because of this, while all of the characters are multidimensional, the one I found the most fascinating was the one that was LEAST striking of all; the 2ML.

Chen Ming Hao had the job in this show of being unassuming, hunched, timid, someone who would fade into the background. His character calls himself a coward. Every other character has the job of being forceful and being given an actual presence to work with. Whether it's Kay Song as 2FL with her signature almost-crazy then sympathetic aura; Eddy Geng as the ML who has the "easy" time of being given the flashy "I'll protect you" and "I'm a big shot so you have to fear me" scenes; or Zhu Li Lan who's character is written with the forceful resolve to make her situation for her and her daughter better by any means... CMH had to make the audience not necessarily "hate" him... but be sad and disgusted with him. In this he excelled. He also proved, which is why the character itself is so fascinating, that when given the chance by the script, that he TOO could have stand-out scenes during which he is either confirming or denying his character archetype.

Overall this show is highly recommended with the expectation set that there ARE issues regarding timeline (especially towards the end), that the makeup/wig department with the males could be a lot better, and that there is VERY minimal physical intimacy scenes.

Final Rating wavered between 8.5 and 9 due to negatives because for ME they drastically affected my ability to enjoy an otherwise AMAZING show.

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The Journey of Xiao Ming Ming as Xiao Qiushui:

After watching 40 episodes, titular challenges faced by our male lead encapsulates the transformation of a well-venerated 1980 wuxia novel incorporating clumsy ham-fisted insertions of modern transmigration ideas not in the novel. End result is a half-smouldering rainbow millefeuille cake of badly-botched icing atop layers of horribly questionable decisions during production and post-production by directors, at least one main screenwriter, and the post-production team.

Kudos to the choreographers for at least half the wuxia scenes which will naturally drain a gigantic portion of the budget, but could not save numerous issues plaguing this production, thus resulting in my heartfelt sympathies for the cast especially Cheng Yi.

For the first two episodes, camera work was languid, insufficiently varied, and insipid. These crucial episodes needed to convey a certain sense of unfamiliarity transformed into growing emotional intimacy and familial responsibility, exciting energy of the sect and household he found himself in, plus a sense of grandeur and urgency when the fight scenes with Feng Tianyi came in.

Xiao Ming Ming’s role is the most difficult and important to interpret for the first quarter of the drama, and certain nuances must be clearly conveyed through clever storytelling and intelligent editing. Specific directions needed to be given to the ML to nail the characterisation of a spoilt youngest son with notable inner workings eventually becoming the saviour of the pugilist world.

Scriptwriters and directors failed in these crucial aspects, which had me wondering why Cheng Yi was channelling at times Li Lianhua from “Mysterious Lotus Casebook” within the first five episodes of this drama. Xiao Qiushui needs to be wholly different from Li Lianhua for at least thirty episodes. A family meal demonstrating how Xiao Qiushui interacted with family members would give insight into good and bad aspects of his two brothers and save them from being one-dimensional victims of lazy writing, but also allow the ML to convey an inner monologue to the audience about a decision of recognising these strangers as people he will protect and honour as his own family and uphold their sect values for the sake of the pugilist world, even though this world confuses and unsettles him.

This would set a clear believable transition when Xiao Ming Ming from the modern era was not yet able to portray Xiao Qiushui as the leader he would eventually become, also helping viewers avoid the impression of Xiao Ming Ming unrealistically adapting without issues to a very different world.

These two crucial first episodes were further blighted by lighting and colour grading issues such as a flat midtone, resulting in green screens becoming obvious for certain types of scenes. Filters were overused, especially for Cheng Yi. The plot is not flowing coherently when one scene switches to a different scene. Too much music and unnecessary sound effects affected the emotional impact or energy or scenes. Main theme was overused until the final two episodes. Music cannot improve a problem with comedic execution eg episode 1, starting at 15:53.

Episode 3 is when Xiao Ming Ming’s arch-nemesis responsible for his fundamental emotional transformation enters the lives of the Shenzhou Sworn Brotherhood. Liu Suifeng’s story unfolds much more smoothly and strongly, in all its complex aspects and portrayal. Scenes not related to Liu Suifeng’s story demonstrate a fundamental problem of telling the audience what to know in a boring 1-2-3 manner or not having sufficient continuity, rather than creating an organic natural flow where one part of the story leads into the next stage with clear direction and purpose.

Characters needing more screentime were introduced and killed almost instantaneously or relegated to the sidelines, while certain characters should have their overall screentime reduced (Tang Fang and Qiushui’s two brothers). Reducing screentime does not mean a character’s complexity, importance and emotional connections to other characters cannot be conveyed.

This primarily depends on interactions with other characters and/or a specific short scene revealing a character’s motivations and values, to achieve similar objectives in clever storytelling and intelligent editing for the final results. There is also debate as to whether Xueyu, Tang Fang, Qiushui’s two brothers, and the Shenzhou Sworn Brotherhood should have been portrayed by different actors and actresses.

If I wanted a strong ensemble cast to match the stronger actors and elevate this drama, my answer is yes. However, given how poorly these characters were written and directed for this drama (unless you change all screenwriters plus directors early in the production stages or by the end of ten episodes), I do not want other actors and actresses to suffer what these actors and actresses did not deserve from critics for their hard-working efforts.

This drama does best when the transmigration elements are completely irrelevant.

Episode 18 was excellent. Emotionally rock-bottom after being wracked by all the losses he has had to witness and shoulder, Xiao Mingming realises the difficulty and responsibility of being Xiao Qiushui. No modern device or experience can prepare him for this episode. Qiushui has become completely fixated on Liu Suifeng in that kind of intense wuxia way (totally platonic) on a true rival and complete enemy. A vengeful unethical Liu Suifeng has poisoned him with unrelenting drive of zero mercy, playing a cat-and-mouse game to make Xiao Qiushui snap. Animosity and other emotions fuelling their duelling makes the excellent choreography even more unforgettable.

Cheng Yi is completely in his element throughout this episode. Embodying determination, rage, sorrow, despair, despondency, our hero does not have a single positive moment here. Your heartstrings will survive the melody of anguish triggered by his heartfelt understanding. Your neutrality won't survive until the end of this episode, if you must choose between Liu Suifeng and Xiao Qiushui.

Some wuxia concepts were thrown out the window within 21 episodes. Xiao Qiushui’s insufficient struggles in skill mastery plus incredible luck in obtaining the skills and power bestowed upon him made no sense. The all-powerful top pugilist Crazy Yan had once ingested the Infinite Pill. Despicable Shao Liulei possessing the Yang half of the Infinite Pill was introduced, only to be killed off quickly by a non-descript character after forcing Xiao Qiushui to swallow the Yang pill. Xiao Qiushui was saved from the effects of the Yang pill by the bite of a white serpent. Even though the "Yin" properties of snake venom is known in TCM (traditional Chinese medicine), that knowledge is not going to convince me Xiao Qiushui's woes from the Yang pill could be miraculously and permanently solved with one bite.

Once Shao Liulei was dumped from the drama in episode 21, I was convinced there were two MLs of equal importance: Cheng Yi and Xu Zhenxuan. ML levelling up with 60 years of internal energy and saved by a random snake bite was too much for me to swallow. In this same episode, we are introduced to Liu Suifeng's suffering and cause of loyalty, grounded in willingness to do anything and everything to get stronger and repay the debts to his benefactors. Engaging episode involving bad contrast decisions by the production team for the two MLs. The screenwriters, directors, and post-production team urgently needed to be replaced by this episode. This led to remaining episodes being put on hold, until enough episodes could be accessed together as a finish.

Episode 10 onwards is when Cheng Yi’s performance improved significantly, only to be continually plagued by unevenness of the first ten episodes whereby his portrayals of Xiao Ming Ming and Xiao Qiushui were not given crucial consistent directions needed from the Directors. Directors are responsible for fulfilling the creative vision of a drama or movie and in this case, there appears to be a disagreement during the process and at least one of them obviously had severe myopia. Xiao Qiushui’s character growth needed to be divided into four acts and Xiao Qiushui needed more scenes with specific characters such as Li Chenzhou included in this drama, which did not happen. Was Liu Suifeng originally supposed to have such an extensive role, and how does this extensive role benefit Fushanhai? Screenwriters, why did Liu Suifeng give up on his revenge? This change of mindset was not believable after episode 35, given the episodes that portrayed Liu Suifeng as an individual hellbent on his agenda and revenge for the sake of justice.

We have pugilist masters constantly channelling internal energy or skills to Xiao Qiushui. I could understand the Wudang and Shaolin masters doing so, given their plights. When it came to the eight pugilists transferring their skills to Xiao Qiushui in episode- Oh heck, I don’t feel like fact-checking this specific detail, because the story by this point was so uninspiring I could not care what happened to Xiao Qiushui, Tang Fang or any other characters in the drama including Crazy Yan. Xiao Qiushui’s fight with Crazy Yan was spellbinding, and Chi lam was under-utilised for this drama because his scenes also ended up on the cutting floor.

Episodes 34 to 40 are indescribable. I wanted Xueyu and Crazy Yan to have a story because they shared strong chemistry portraying a significant emotional connection in their few scenes together, only for them to be killed off in a lame fashion. Li Chenzhou and Zhao Shirong came to a sad end, which can also be interpreted as karma for all the evils carried out by the Power Gang. On one hand, I was touched to see Liu Suifeng and Song Mingzhu have a happy conclusion, but on the other hand I was puzzled as to why Liu Suifeng did not get retribution for all the evil things he had done. Why is the Power Gang excused for its evils by Xiao Qiushui? I am not even going to linger on the ultimate villain, because it is impressively mind-boggling as to how a noteworthy villain is rewritten into a generic forgettable character whose one standout factor is being icky to rouse your squash-the-predator-flat urge.

Too many production and post-production flaws from the crew result in one hyper-focusing on Cheng Yi, which means his ability to give a nuanced performance becomes unfairly lambasted in the scenes where the acting of his co-stars cannot rise to the criteria of a scene, such as the crying scene while Tang Rou was dying in episode 8.

Choppy editing and poor storytelling resulted in poor adaptation of the novel. A mess of subplots with too many loose ends and plotholes tying into the main plot lacking adequate deftness of interpretation and omissions from the screenwriters and directors delivered the overall fundamental and final blows to Cheng Yi’s Xiao Qiushui appearing inconsistent, including lines he had to deliver. Many of these lines were severely lacking in the richness and beauty of what could be conveyed in Mandarin from a wuxia novel. Seriously, find me something memorable or inspiringly noteworthy of his lines from the first twenty episodes in Mandarin. You'd have better luck fetching water with a sieve.

TJOL is literally the best showcase drama of how a ML’s portrayal of the key character and novel adaptation has been primarily botched by too many production issues and post-production decisions making me question the extent of the source material grasped by the screenwriters and directors, including the final choices of scenes to exclude or include for the drama.

By the time Cheng Yi walked off into the distance in peaceful white, I was relieved to see the end of this drama and him permanently free of an unsatisfactory ending. As to said ending, look at the scenes of Xiao Mingming before he finishes as Xiao Qiushui. “Vendetta of An” is a not-yet-aired drama that I believe will do justice to him, and I say this as someone who is not a fan of Cheng Yi but enjoyed seeing him alongside Joseph Zeng and Xiao Shunyao in MLC. I am also very relieved to stop seeing playing of the guqin being butchered by the likes of Sanchai.

All other criticisms pertaining to post-production issues being too numerous have already been touched upon, such as recycled costumes and too much applique on lightweight fabric resulting in cheap-looking wardrobes. All this, I place squarely on the shoulders of the production and post-production teams. Some people believe the cast is more important than the likes of directors, screenwriters and other crew members. I hold directors and screenwriters to be as important as the cast, which means I give them their due or otherwise.

Would I rewatch this? For the story of Liu Suifeng, yes. For the story of Xiao Qiushui and other characters? Only in the novel. In order to start and finish this series for maximum enjoyment, you have to know nothing about wuxia, or be a super-avid fan of one of the actors/actresses and/or watch everything while intentionally ignoring your inner critic.

That said, try watching this once. Any transmigration elements are alien to this world, the screenwriters were not up to the task in the writing of certain characters, and any irritating characters are part of Cheng Yi's journey to overcome as Xiao Mingming becoming Xiao Qiushui. There is always beauty to enjoy in a drama and despite flaws, you may find yourself inspired or thinking of details previously not considered.

If I were blunt about a title for this review? "Fifth Wall: How Cheng Yi's biggest obstacles in becoming Xiao Qiushui slammed into-"

This drama should have utilised the directors, screenwriters and teams of “Mobius”, “A Dream Within A Dream” or “The Tower of Whispers”. The camerawork and technicalities, storytelling, acting portrayals aided by excellent directing and riveting cinematography is much stronger in those dramas, and would have greatly benefitted this cast significantly needing strong specific directions for a very-complex plot and crucial characterisation layers.

For those who enjoyed this drama, that’s wonderful. For those who struggled to finish, I hope this summary helps you in trying for the finish line.

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Officially the WORST drama of the year!

Really hate to say this but as Cheng Yi's fan, this drama make me really disappointed.
Too many plot holes, too many CY crying in a self-defeated scene, many worstless side character that did not serve any additional purpose.
What is the function of the stupid thugs? For comedy is it? But i did not find it funny.
Many unnecessary death, which does not even cause me to shed tears, why? because those dead character is not fleshed out properly making me not emotionally invested in them. Only one scene made me drop a single tear, which is the scene where his parents say goodbye, thats all.
The osts are not catchy or memorable enough, except maybe one.
This drama require the protagonist to carry it, the side character is worthless. A good drama need synergy and functioning side characters to elevate the story. One person cannot carry story by himself. Most of the best drama has vey good, fleshed out side characters beside the protagonist. Rare for me to not bawling in CY drama, this is the first.

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Awesome, Entertaining, Hope This is the Set Cast for ALL Future Adaptations.

This is the 2nd series in this universe I've seen, the first being Ultimate Note which I loved. I saw one film in the Mystic 9 universe but it was very rushed and short so didn't give all the details you wanted. But now with the possible news that the iron triangle from this show may be the set cast in future remakes and adaptations, it made me happy because after Joseph Zeng and Xiao Yu Liang played Wu Xie and Xiao Ge respectively there which I really loved, the two actors here are definitely close second as favorites and even though this was the first of all books, you could already tell that Xiao Ge was slowly forming a bond with Wu Xie and these two actors coming off a costume drama where they didn't interact at all in their scenes to also be in this one was cool. Unlike XYL who's more of an introvert until you get to know him, CZ is giggles all around so made for some hilarious BTS' and just great connection. So I hope this iron triangle cast will be the set cast for ALL future remakes and adaptations.

Pros: What I really loved was that they connected a lot of obvious and not so obvious things to ultimate note, like the uncle swap and when that happened plus showing both uncles one with a face mask towards the end. The bloody writing on the wall and how Wu Xie read it wrong until he rewrote it in UN and finally started to understand things. His uncle having two fumbles in what he said referring to the Wu's in third person like he wasn't one and Wu Xie catching him. Or how he hired ZQL; first version on the recommendation from a friend and then in the very next episode he's now XG and he's proficient at everything, knows everything and is basically super human, etc. That was not a very skilled switch there, ma dude lol. Also Wu Xie remembering his almost bipolar personalities like one would be ready to kill someone over a fight, while the other was very chill all in a span of maybe a day. All things XG pointed out when his uncle told him things that XG did to throw his nephew off the scent. The tie ins were pretty good and I liked the connection. At first I didn't understand the connection to the first one being Legend of Zang Hai which aired earlier this year but then it had those three bronze fish and some sort of treasure no one found as well as some mountain with ghost soldiers and weird mechanisms, so you can sort of see it. I wonder with the iron triangle gang, where the 3rd fish went? Iron triangle created themselves whether they wanted to see it or not; even if they went their separate ways for now.

What blew me away were the actual world building; not everything was CGI but actually built massive sets and you could tell the budget for this one was way larger than UN which was a dark horse. Some of those sets just made you gasp at the size and intricacies of them like the tree. All the adventures and creepy crawlies were also perfect for this time of year (autumn, Halloween). Though the mutated sea monkey looked like a mutated lycan or some weird cryptid and the white furred thing like a leprechaun so many things around in our current paranormal world. Costumes, music, all of that on point.

Cons: Though glad we got express, one episode a day for a while was hard. I also didn't think Daisy played a good Ah Ning as Hani did in UN. Daisy just didn't have that ruthlessness about her like Hani was able to portray so that's a casting choice that's questionable as well as both Pan Zi and Pang Zi; just felt the other two actors from the other show really did their characters much more convincingly. But I guess that's in the eye of the beholder.

Given how much extra information we were already given, I do wish we weren't left with a cliff hanger. Also should have introduced the Xie kid as it seemed he and Wu Xie knew each other well enough because when reading the bloody handwriting, WX acted like he didn't know who XLC was and that was a disconnect. As much as the disconnections with UN when he met Wenjun who he apparently knew then but for some reason not here, all the theories XG left him seemed to not exist. So while this series connects a lot of dots, that series disconnects others and it becomes a bit confusing. Needed to remember what other series did and try not to mix things for an observant viewer.

Also how did whichever uncle get a hold off the map and whatever else that XG said he then swapped out for fakes? Some of these things needed to be explained further and not just left hanging.

Would I recommend it? I absolutely would. I like this for the most part understandable and very well told story with creatures and dangerous and cool characters (human or not). I hope thy continue with this trend of the two actors as their chemistry pops and they only met for the first time; bring fatty a bit closer to what he should do and be and we've got the perfect iron triangle with the best friends primarily being WX and XG.

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JimmySea…the cards tell me it’s you

like other reviewers said, this drama has lots of cute and fluffy moments. However, the series isnt lacking in depth! A range of emotions and situations were presented throughout, and it had just enough action and intrigue to keep it from being boring.
the highlight was really JimmySea! this is my first JimmySea drama, and both are good actors with great chemistry. Sea in particular did a great job portraying In’s grief.
The countryside location was a beautiful place to film. The interior of In’s house was really interesting and cool as well!
Franc and Save also made a cute couple, although their storyline was very much an afterthought. I look forward to seeing more of them in the future! And I will 100% watch anything that First or Junior act in, so it was great to see them as side characters.
Overall this series is a good pick for a casual weekend binge. it has all the right elements for a good story without being too heavy. I’ll likely rewatch it in the future for that reason!

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