Reviews

TL;DR genuinely offensive and triggering

as someone who's intimately aware of how bipolar disorder works, not only is the ending medically inaccurate, it's genuinely harmful and offensive. I'm genuinely tired of dramas using mental illness as an excuse for toxic, abusive relationships-- I don't care that it's fiction, fiction still harms people. it's genuinely triggering that it wrapped up with this whole "you're not a bad person, you're just crazy. lets cure you." narrative too-- first of all mental illness does not mean crazy... second of all there is no cure for bipolar disorder. if this man was "cured" then HE DIDN'T HAVE TS!!!!!

TL;DR everyone who likes this ending: i'm looking at you sideways and I hope you burn in hell <3

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OMG I need more!

so like I binged this in one sitting and omg they can’t leave us off like that….. like I need a season two with the two of them in the manger position. I knew that girl that was helping them was off but wow. also he might be the most airhead to airhead like I wanted to jump I half the time cause he had me stressed. the sister was a nice touch to the drama and I loved her acting and I don’t know if they are siblings in real life but omg the casting was done so well as they look so similar. all I have to say is I want more as I do have a lot more questions than they answered. like now they opened the possibility of like the humans that “disappear” do they turn to monsters and forget there family and stuff like so much but over all I loved this drama so much!

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what a load of bullsh*t

honestly what total crap. they just spewed nonsense in an emotional way to make it sound poetic. the acting was great but that was about it. I'm a psych major and I wanted to try and understand the characters and see growth but at the end of the day the whole plot was just irrational and the characters continually made the most messed up choices. what a horrible portrayal of love and of life. I'm not someone who believes that every story has a happy ending or that there is always reconciliation but this was just utter crap. and as a psych major I'll say what horrible modeling of what relationships should look like. Don't bother watching honestly.

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A family drama about love.

A love other than yours, is a family drama. If you come into this with a prejudice about adulterers and infidelity (cheaters and cheating), then you are likely to miss the incredible stories that unfold in this drama. Do youself a favour and open your heart to all they are portraying here.

I have my limit with KDramas, and often drop before a season plays out. The most popular type, seems to me to be over-stylised, melodramatic and histrionic. Exagerrated acting, overly bright colours of both actors and sets, over-played and predictable tropes, and challenge free, low stakes storylines. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy some dramas like this. They can be amazing for low calorie entertainment value. But sometimes I crave something denser.

Realist style dramas are relatively rare from South Korea, when you count how many shows are released each season. But when they do appear they usually become my favourites of the season. A Love Other Than Yours, has become that for me, this year.
Each and every one of the characters we meet in this, have a life fully lived, shown to us alongside the central drama. This may have been overly ambitious for a 14 ep show but, I could happily watch each of their stories played out in full, right down to an Office Drama featuring Eom Ho Sik.

The acting is absolutely immersive, in the realist sense. For me, Lee Joo Ahn was a standout. His micro expressions. His barely contained grievance? Injustice? Outrage? So many viewed him simply as 'bad', and I agree he is the red flag man of this drama. But his portrayal of the character Han Tae Seung, is captivating. He is the juxtaposition of Namgoong Ho: Both abused and abandoned boys. Both successful adults - career wise at least. Both prone to violence and petty grievances. One, everyone utterly forgives and grants the benefit of the doubt, the other everyone immediately judges and finds less than. His character, for me, embodies the need for compassion from the viewers. A compassion Mi Do clearly has, (her mother giving us this clue with her statement that Mi Do is the kindest of her children) and that I would argue, is the very reason she is attracted to Tae Seung.

I would also argue that Compassion is one of the central themes and is the primary cause of Mi Do and Ho's breakup. There are so many themes alongside compassion, none of which are infidelity/cheating:
•Blood ties vs family ties, and carrying the burden of your parentage e.g. Namgung erasing his art from his life due to the connection to his father.
•Meeting your family's expectations vs being supported to be yourself e.g. Mi Do quitting directing. Wan Do continuing to dive.
•Feeling like you need to earn love or be deserving of love vs expecting to be loved just for being you (e.g.) Ep 10 Only a child who is loved - Mi Do - can complain about their mum not remembering their favourite things, compared with Ep 9 -Namgung Ho, who can't actually complain about his mother forgetting his (and his brother's) birth-date, size, school, best friend...he only states it as a fact - they're not really questions.
•And...What is it that makes a healthy relationship!? Iin all the different types presented here, between married couples, parents and children, siblings both blood and acquired. Are they transactional, or are they unconditional? And what assumptions are they working from?

Ahead be SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!!

My rating goes down for a couple of things...
•Cosmetic procedures can make some facial expressions limited here and there...this is no judgement of any particular actor, (make your own assumptions about who I mean, it's not that important) but it is something I truly, honestly hope is becoming passe for actors around the world. When your whole job is to emote, but your face doesn't move...it makes no sense to me! It did however, somewhat help to showcase the delicacy and subtlety of the majority of the performances.
•The character of Park Su Ah is not fully realised. I'm not sure if she was written purely as a protaganist for the ML and the writer attempted to fill out her character later, or that the role was just not considered significant enough to expand, or the actor was just unable to create the depth I was seeking. Whichever is true, I found it mildly disappointing and unsatisfying., especially when compared with the portrayal of Tae Seung

•The final pairings, I can't say I am satisfied with. Namgung and Su Ah...is fundamentally unequal. He speaks with a condescending tone, EVERY time he addresses her. I know this is a fairly typical KDrama portrayal of a 'Happy' M:F relationship. The type of relationship that speaks heavily of cultural norms in SK. But I personally, find it deeply unsettling and believe it bodes poorly for their future.
•Mi Do and Han Tae Seung is another fundamentally unequal relationship. They may have FIRE sexual chrmistry, but she doesn't actually like him as a person. And expecting someone to change COMPLETELY for you, also bodes very poorly for their future.

The drama does wrap up in a somewhat satisfying way, bringing the couple back to where they began, and answering the question of their end: Mido's resentment and guilt and Namgung Ho's devotion/dedication and survivor complex. All fundamentally dating back to Mido's father's drowning. Their end was an inevitability because the beginning was built upon a fundamental misunderstanding; both wanting the other to be happy, whilst believing their love had been built out of pity.

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A promising drama that went downhill

The lament of autumn had an extremely promising first half. The story moved fast, the tension between the leads was impeccable and the characterisation was very well done. After the ML's despicable actions there was the start of a growth arc which was also going good.

Then the amnesia arc pushes the entire drama off a cliff.
1. Firstly I found the entire thing very unethical and rapey and the drama just brushes over it. The FL quickly forgives him for this saying the bad things happened in the past, but like, the lying and deception happened in the present. He slept with and even got her pregnant while she had lost memories crucial to her decision of whether to consent or not. The amnesia also makes the relationship progress feel very hollow- on her end the complicated history we watched effectively doesnt exist

2. Her character changes from a bold and smart girl to a helpless, dumb damsel in distress. This is basically the entire plot for a long time where she gets in trouble and he saves her. The repetitiveness made these dangerous encounters lose their high stakes.

3. The side plots started getting too much screen time and some of them didnt really hold my interest

By the end I was just exhausted by their relationship. It didnt give me butterflies it was like yeah OK whatever. Its a shame since the drama was already building up on FL genuinely falling for ML and him changing without losing her memory. Overall a disappointment for me. However this is the scripts fault and not the leads, for me both did wonderful acting (even FL who is getting criticised)

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Emotional Support Pet Human - An Unusual Premise That’s Growing on Me

I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Tamed after the first two episodes. The emotional-support-pet arrangement is certainly unusual, but the story is becoming more interesting as the relationships develop.

I’m enjoying both couples, particularly the gradual softening of Yu An’s rigid rules as he grows closer to Lin Qi. I also appreciate that the second couple’s storyline isn’t relying on unnecessary secrecy or misunderstandings.

The episodes are short, so there’s still a lot to explore, but the acting has been good, the interconnected storylines are intriguing, and I’m enjoying it more with each episode. Looking forward to seeing where it goes!

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what did i just watch?

The drama eventually did circle back to a sexist approach indeed. Namgoong got to make the decisions while Mido and her family were mere passive recipients.

I initially tried to "see this (the drama) through till the end" like both the leads, and even defend the plot but as I anticipated previously, there was no proper ending. In fact, the ending was even more toxic than what all of this began as.

I think the biggest flaw of this entire story was exploring every (literally EVERY single) character's traumas. A even bigger flaw was making a trauma plot out of everything. Namgoong, Mido, Taeseung, Sua, Mido's mother, Wando, Yeongdo, even his ex-wife, Song Haena (the actress), Sua's friend, Namgoong's boss. That's all the characters in this drama by the way, and they all were just constantly suffering?

It is actually very frustrating how the actress randomly just disappeared after giving us so much unnecessary information about her. Then Sua's friend also leaked the information and disappeared with again the whole father cheating with her father plot. Namgoong's boss got such an unrealistic ending where he suddenly rose to success out of nowhere and everything was rainbows and sunshine for him? And Yeongdo's ex-wife saying I hope you never find out how pathetic I was on her wedding day?? What?

A very, very prominent theme in the entire drama was male heroism. It is all the male characters, not kidding, quite literally almost every male character is shown as a superior individual or had their problems resolved by the end while all the female characters are shown as either crazy, overly emotional, hurting, or being wronged. The male characters are predominantly characterised by what they do. The female characters, meanwhile, are predominantly characterised by how they feel.

It starts with Mido's father being the hero saving Namgoong, goes on to show Namgoong as filling in their father's shoes and taking care of the entire family despite his hardships, accompanied by Yeongdo fulfilling his promise of being a good father and loving his ex wife, Wando still hurting for his late girlfriend and showing great dedication. Taeseung, though a bit crazy, desperately loving Mido with all he has and letting her use him because that's how much he loves her. Hell, even Juhyeok or whatever his name was initially a hero who saved Taeseung and later a somewhat a victim of his father in law's politics against him or whatever. Oh yeah and the boss trying to make money for his daughter. Sums up all the males in this drama.

Now let's talk females. Mido's mother hating Namgoong thinking he is responsible for her husband's death. And so goes to visit him and finds him to be a nice kid so brings him home??? (forgive him, give him words of wisdom, actually, ask for his forgiveness, sponsor him, do anything, the hell are you doing bringing a fourth child home out of guilt?) Mido filling in her mother's shoes and carrying an even bigger guilt of asking her father to save Namgoong and hence, acting childish and irrational but going out of her way to protect him, give him happiness and love him because she "pitied" him. Yeongdo's ex wife being another irrational and emotional character who thought her husband didn't need her or love her enough and so suggested divorce. Bora having cancer and accusing Wando of being exhausted and not loving her healthy self and hence she hated the entire situation. Sua having a lot going on with a famous father who was gay and dating her friend's father who was a married man, and so she decides to get away from him finds Namgoong and falls in love with him. And stays "fallen in love" to extreme, self destructive levels until whenever she can. Even the boss's daughter was lowkey shown as someone who is causing her father trouble by pursuing the piano.

I find this absolutely pathetic. Knowing each other your whole life, dating for 10 years and still being unable to talk, just talk to each other. Mido actually suggested breaking up, but Namgoong decided to respond to that by proposing. Like wow, okay. Fine, she accepts that, agrees to get married. Then she goes on and cheats?? And Namgoong was already swayed, he was already drawn to Sua. Mido cheated physically while he cheated emotionally. He discovered her first, her version was more intense, so the writer gives him a free pass to go on and do whatever. Which was asking her to date Taeseung, and then of course she was like you date Sua too. Wow, it's almost as if that's what Namgoong wanted, a valid reason to pursue Sua. And Mido wanted god knows what.

Namgoong, what a disappointment this character was, till the end. Still asking her if she pitied him, saying he regretted meeting her and her family, entirely cutting off the people who loved and raised him, in the end he got to do whatever. I honestly feel bad for Sua, because Namgoong likes not her, but the idea of him that she has. If this drama had a sequel (which they should NOT make), he would eventually break up with her also for thinking too highly of him or whatever, I'm sure he'll come up with a wonderful reason. Unfortunately, Namgoong had a severe victim complex that intensified since his childhood, had it been addressed earlier he wouldn't have turned out like this.

Mido was written off as a character that one can easily call out but I actually found her to be more sincere, though she blamed herself for her father's death she never victimised herself. All she wanted from Namgoong was sincerity as well, what she got was insecurity. Which eventually drove her to be someone who did crazy things to allow him space to grow. She was someone with a spine who didn't want to be protected but supported. But since the story had to be about Namgoong growing out of her shadow, she also had to be a "crazy woman" who caused all the trouble in the world.

I hate how Mido's depression was not addressed, nor was Namgoong's complex. They are the same people. Away from each other, with other people, who simply won't have any profound impact because they need help themselves. Can't believe they did all that sweet potato drama but couldn't send these idiots to therapy.

The caste was beautiful, the music was wonderful, the drama was shot very well too. It could have been much, much better had it been written realistically, and not in an attempt to be realistic.

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Excellent as expected from Kudo Kankuro

Such an excellent drama! Can’t think of anything I’d want to change. Kudo Kankuro did it again!

The story went at a consistent pace, with revelations about Takesegawa being shown a bit at a time until we get the full picture by episode 7.

At the beginning I felt sorry for him but the more we learn of his life the more I wad glad it happened to him. I couldn’t condone a part of his personality and actions but got to empathize with the human, with all his flaws and virtues who lived a full life already yet still had unresolved issues from his youth. Growth was subtle but there, through the characters facing their past demons and flaws.

It’s a great ensemble of cast, many recurring in Kudo’s work. The drama also never stopped being entertaining and funny.

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Good drama. They did Flora dirty though

I stopped watching dramas after graduating and getting a job. But The Early Spring was all over the internet, and I was curious about who among them was the bigger red flag. So I watched it. I loved the drama, but I didn't understand why people said Luke was such a big red flag. So, being an avid reader, I read the novel.
There was a significant deviation from the novel in the drama. They diluted Luke's bad traits but kept Flora's responses. As a result, Flora feels heartless at so many points.
But if we forget the novel, the drama was so good. I'd say novel Luke was an absolute red flag, whereas the drama is just about two people learning to trust each other and adjusting to one another.
The BGM was good, too. The story was fast-paced and interesting, with no noticeable lags. I had fun watching it!

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Solid acting and chemistry but terrible timeline logic

7.9 rounded up

I had so much to say after watching this show, I can’t believe I still haven’t written down my review. First and foremost, this show was enjoyable overall. However, for possibly the first time in history, I found this couple *annoying*. Like the kind of toxic on and off relationship one of your friends has that you wish would actually just end because it’s not healthy for either party and as a witness it’s painful to watch one hurt the other over and over again. MDL doesn't have it as a "category" but I also rate the main lead's romance for romance shows and this one was a 7.5/10 which is what drops my rating of this show from an eight-ish to a high seven instead.

I am a romantic. I prefer a friends to lovers arc over enemies *in general* so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but please also be aware that I have enjoyed my fair share of dark romances as well. I think the issue with this couple was potentially that this show was not a “dark romance”, but it also wasn’t a happy go lucky romance. The only things dark about this romance is the poster cover and Luke’s insults. Otherwise this was just pure unneeded stress. The only up-side to this relationship was that their stupidity and stubbornness truly made them a pair of their own league. Let them be together to save everyone from either of them. The chemistry from the leads as actors carries much of the romance otherwise.

People complain about miscommunication and I’m surprised reviews (on my feed) didn’t rip the show to shreds for the ceaseless miscommunications. We have these two actively looking each other in the eyes and still not properly understanding the other. He called her a controllable idiot to her face instead of saying ‘hey girl, stay at the company please’. And there are multiple situations where viewers know he’s thinking “i love this woman and want the best for her” but we see him disrespect and insult her :D wow amazing. Then, because they are a “match made in heaven” we witness Flora be the most ridiculously timed doormat in history. I want to say I love that she wasn’t a “one-dimensional” character but at the same time she gave me as much of a headache as Luke. She has an insecurity complex — I got that, but how on earth does she let Luke insult her left and right but then the few times he’s in the right she “stands up for herself” and ignores him until he’s literally on his knees begging for her to come back?

None of the above complaints are “new” to romances of this dynamic. HOWEVER, what makes this show considerably weaker for me is the timeline. We have Luke giving Flora expensive gifts to woo her but it makes her uncomfortable — that was a solid misunderstanding and cute start to their relationship as he explores how to win her over. When they finally get together, he is harsh to her about work and she’s conflicted about if she’s happy or upset he’s not giving her special treatment — fair and an awkward situation to navigate with your boss boyfriend. But what loses me is very early on we see that he *hates* his dad for the *very behavior he displays*. This in of itself is solid character building — I think we all find ourselves acting like out parents without even realizing. The issue here is that its pointed out to him very early on and he has his “epiphany” that oops I’m acting like by dad by being an a** when I actually just want to show that I care. GREAT!! THIS IS AMAZING. It happened TOO EARLY!!! This should not have happened until closer to the end of the show or after the four year time jump. This man is basically frothing at the mouth for her and I’m supposed to believe once they started “dating” they were just a “weekend situationship” for FOUR YEARS? She allows him to continuously disrespect her instead of properly communicating his concerns for four years and he thinks its *acceptable* after having his epiphany four years earlier? But then at the climax his "excuse" was that he was "arrogant"?? He knew that the whole time though??

Flora was just as ridiculous as he was because what do you mean a) you set yourself up to get assaulted and don’t tell your boyfriend after he asks several times. [Even if I give her the “her body, her trauma grace” she knew he would find out once she sent that HR email so not telling him before just made no sense.] Then, even if we ignore that, she never tells her boyfriend of several years when her friend dies - by suicide no less! I get he was being a jealous prick about Sun Yuan Zhu, but you are with this guy as your partner??? How do you NOT tell him that? Especially when that is half the reason she has a melt down after not getting her deserved promotion but he has zero context or idea.

Last, but not least, the forbidden office romance of this show was stupid. Why? Because Flora is explicitly denied a promotion due to their office romance, but a time jump and some of Luke’s wooing later she can join the company and be his wife? It undercut everything about why she was denied the promotion and made the entire climax feel … fake? Like she *could have* got the promo all along but they denied it for the plot and just as equally they ignored all the relationship logic and rules at the end of the show for them to be together at the company for the plot. I wish they said that he worked on changing the policy for three months before looking for her or that because of xyz the policy was changed. Just something to give more *legitimacy* to all the drama we had before...especially when they imply that Lu Mi was trying a lil office romance of her own even if it did fizzle out.

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The employee benefits include trauma and a possible death certificate...

This was such a fun watch!
The VHS-inspired aesthetic, horror-survival elements and cinematography worked incredibly well for me. I especially loved the humor and thought the show struck the perfect balance between horror and humor without either taking away from the other.

I also really liked its commentary on class exploitation and corporate greed. If I'm interpreting it correctly, the monsters were minimum-wage workers who died unjustly on the job and became the "Yin", or the dark side, while their employers/Other people represented the "Yang", or the bright side of the world. The irony of that contrast is quite telling. Human greed was also explored well through the protagonist, who, despite repeatedly experiencing life-threatening situations, still couldn't resist taking on another job for twice the money.

I actually liked the cliffhanger ending and would definitely return for a second season. My only complaint is that I wish Go Min-Si's character had been explored a little more, although I understand that keeping her mysterious was probably intentional.

Overall, a genuinely entertaining horror-survival show with great cinematography, humor and an interesting premise. If you enjoy horror, survival stories, and that video-game-esque VHS aesthetic, this is definitely worth a watch.

9/10, Would definitely clock in for that paycheck! hahahahaha 🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥

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Brilliantly Written, Hilariously Funny, and Surprisingly Sweet!

I almost gave up after the first episode because the exaggerated comedy and misunderstandings aren’t my style. I’m so glad I didn’t! Not far into episode 2, I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. During the rest of the available episodes I laughed so much and often found my hand over my heart saying “awwww” at the sweetness.

The premise revolves around two actors, Gu Yiliang and Wei Yanzi, whose fandoms have declared them bitter rivals, even though the supposed rivalry exists almost entirely in the fans’ imaginations. When they’re cast together in a BL drama, their growing relationship becomes the foundation for an increasingly hilarious series of misunderstandings. We get to see each actors’ perspectives, fan imaginings of rivalry AND shipping, and what is really happening. So many rich layers!

What makes this show exceptional is the writing. The misunderstandings are clever, multilayered, and often interconnected, with conversations that make perfect sense to each character while meaning something entirely different to the other. It’s not the usual frustrating comedy of people simply refusing to communicate.

The performances are excellent, the chemistry is wonderful, and the show affectionately pokes fun at BL shipping culture, fan fiction, and the entertainment industry. Even the secondary couple adds another entertaining layer.

Best of all, the writers know when to slow down. Beneath the comedy are genuinely sweet moments, thoughtful characterization, and a developing relationship that’s easy to become invested in.

After watching the four available episodes, I have to say that so far this is one of the funniest, most brilliantly constructed romantic comedies I’ve watched. If the first episode feels a little too exaggerated, give it another chance. You might be as surprised as I was!

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dareumie was not a sasaeng. poor little sunshine girl T____T

dareumie was not a sasaeng. poor little sunshine girl T____T and i love it when the writer always stick with daragi agenda at any crucial scene (di tengah-tengah gempuran script nyawit ini, drama ini gak ngebuang main couple cuma biar second lead punya moment sama female lead). AND I HATE ICHAN SO MUCH. scene di mana ceo han dateng tiba-tiba itu juga nyebelin. padahal kalau fokus ke spy-nya aja kayaknya lebih bagus apalagi udah episode-episode akhir, kan jadinya endingnya kayak seolah rushed :( and poor hagi.... sayang hagi banget karena dia gak hahehoh sama perasaanya sendiri, and i love how straightforward he can be. he knows what he wants, he said it, tapi dia juga mempertimbangkan orang lain. the way he loves dareum so much can be seen in his eyes christal clear. T____T

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An endless battle for a happiness they barely got to taste…

The Lament of Autumn was an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end. It kept me invested in the characters and their stories, but at the same time, it left me with so much frustration and heartbreak.

What I appreciated most was the complexity of the main characters and their relationship. Changxuan is far from a perfect man. He’s a warlord whose ambitions, decisions, and actions have hurt the people around him, especially Pingjun. But watching his character develop, slowly understand what love really means, and realize that not everything in life can be measured by power or personal gain was one of the most interesting parts of the drama.

As for Pingjun, I genuinely believe she’s one of the characters who suffered the most. I hate seeing her pain being overlooked or reduced to a simple romantic conflict. She’s a victim of circumstances, misunderstandings, and decisions made by people around her. She deserved so much more than what life kept throwing at her.

What made their story even more heartbreaking was the constant separation, misunderstandings, sacrifices, and missed opportunities. Just when you thought they could finally have some peace and enjoy the life they fought so hard for, something else happened to tear them apart.

I wanted to see them enjoy their life together, watch their child grow up, and finally experience the happiness they had been deprived of for so long.

I understand that the historical and political circumstances of the story don’t always allow for happy endings, but that doesn’t make the ending any less disappointing.

For my own peace of mind, I’ll choose to consider it an open ending, with Changxuan having made it back to his family. That’s the ending I’ll hold on to.

Despite everything, The Lament of Autumn was a memorable drama. It made me angry, frustrated, emotional, and attached to its characters. And perhaps that’s why its ending hurts so much.

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