Reviews

abuse but frame it as an epic romance ✨

what if I were a genocidal tyrant who wanted to wipe out your clan and you were a naive and innocent girl who accidentally freed me from my prison and you endured my violence and rage bc you're a Good Woman™️and you dedicated yourself to rehabilitating me and loved and defended me and were willing to die for me and chose me over your people even though I was still planning to commit genocide on them👉🥺👈

EXCRUCIATING endurance test that I forced myself to undergo due to how popular this show is and my attempt to find the appeal. There are some kernels of interesting ideas here but the show is entirely too devoted to this abusive romance story and Dongfang Qingcang being rehabilitated through "the power of love" to actually explore any of them. Orchid is also infantilized to an insanely uncomfortable degree - she has baby voice and behaves like a literal toddler - which is another layer of discomfort to their romance, but honestly it's very easy for that objection to fade into the background after the first ~third of the show because DFQC is just so aggressive and cruel literally all the time. And then the fact that every time I see someone complaining about the romance it's because "Orchid is annoying"?????? Like we didn't sit through 20-something episodes of DFQC choking her, repeatedly threatening her (and people she cares about), sexually assaulting her (most of those kisses were literally not consensual!), just being generally angry and mean and yelling at her and calling her stupid.... Like, sure there are some moments they have in isolation that are nice, but then as soon as you think of the context of the previous episodes any "soft" moments they have become incredibly nauseating. This is literally one of the most blatantly misogynistic pieces of media I have ever seen and the audience reaction to it boggles my mind.

other notes:
- gorgeous costumes. I loathe DFQC but I can't lie, I am obsessed with literally every outfit he wore. his whole aesthetic was just *chefs kiss*
- not enough sword fights for a xianxia :(
- acting: at the start I was pretty impressed by Dylan Wang's performance but DFQC is just angry and screaming so much that it got really old. Like what is impressive about a dude raging out for 36 episodes? I don't think anyone in the cast was bad, but no one really stood out the way Dylan did and. again. his role got old. Those scenes in the first ~10 episodes or so where he was confused and/or irritated by experiencing Orchid's emotions after centuries of repressing his emotions were pretty funny (and basically the only humorous scenes that got a laugh from me) and tbh I think those were the scenes that showed off his talent the best too.
- music: probably a solid third of the soundtrack irritated me to no end. That horrid discordant music that kept playing during villain scenes literally activated my fight or flight response every time I heard it. There's another third of the soundtrack that I actually really liked, but the music felt like it rarely matched the tone of the scenes and that romantic ballad from the opening credits kept being used at the worst moments
- Changheng I love you I'll never stop loving you 💗💗

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Tastefully Awful

Was excited for this drama. What was I excited for?

The scenes were boring.. nothing happened but nonsense.

The ml was this focused smart businessman in the beginning, but that all changed when he met fl.
He became so silly and not in a good way.

The fl was annoying.
Her food amazing, but her attitude was not.
I couldn't understand her character at all.

Thought this drama was gonna be about making delicious foods, helping each other succeed with the restaurant/falling in love, but the main leads relationship felt off. Watching them interact I thought they wasn't really a good match.

I got to really like the pair together. In this drama I didn't and couldn't care less if they got together.

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One of the best joseon period ending drama

i kept taking brakes while watching this, it was problem the longest i ever took to finnish a drama which suprised me because this is my type of show i usually would binge the heck out it but something was not working out for me. Anyway, i managed to finish it today and grew to like it more, probably due to the fact that the ending was one the best satisfying one out of all the joseon period drama i watched in years which is a rare thing in kdrama as they also leave me pissed of and unsatisfied. For once the villains got punished right rather than just them taking the easy way out and the good people also found happiness and acceptance along the way.

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It's really just the side couple

This was such a disappointment. Halfway through the series, I started watching in 2x speed because there were unnecessary fillers and I hated how the "side couple" were getting more screen time than the "main couple". I could care less about the "side couple" honestly. There is also more chemistry and development between the "side couple" than the "main couple". We don't even get to see what the relationship between Heesu and Seungwon is like after they confess and get together. All this made it feel more like a straight drama rather than a bl drama. This was such a waste of time. I'm actually so upset that I have to go reread the manhwa to feel better. I definitely don't recommend watching this adaptation. Just read the manhwa instead. I'd rate it 1/10, but I'm just being generous because I love the manhwa and am faithful to it.

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"Why did you have to come to this place?"

The silent film Daybreak aka Tianming was a political melodrama from 1933. Li Lili, one of the brightest stars at the time led the cast as the wholesome heroine done wrong by the big city and warlords. Ling Ling would seek her revenge through the coming revolution.

Ling Ling and her beau Zhang leave the countryside for Shanghai hoping to make a better life for themselves. They move into the same building as her cousin and her husband, “Fatty.” At first everything is going their way as they happily work at the factory. When the factory bosses notice Ling Ling’s beauty she is assigned to night duty. Zhang takes exception to their actions and is fired. He ends up working on a ship and later joins the revolution. Ling Ling’s cousin sets her up unknowingly on a “date” with the boss. From there Ling Ling’s fortunes take a downward turn. After a tragedy she learns to use her body and her wits to help the workers and revolution.

The countryside was shown as idyllic and alternately as devastated by taxation and war. The big city and its modern ways was an inherently evil place while the countryside was considered uncontaminated by modern ways. Not for the first time the squeaky-clean country girl was sullied for daring to leave home. Unashamedly a propaganda film, it leaned in hard and used a sledge hammer to drive its points home. Happiness, the individual, and life were meaningless, only the revolution mattered. Only the revolution would bring the solutions for their problems.

Li Lili’s life played out much like one of these films. Her childhood was traumatic. And while she became famous from starring in Sun Yu’s films she drew the ire of Mao’s jealous wife Jiang Qing. Li and her husband Luo Jing Yu were jailed and tortured during the Cultural Revolution. Her husband did not survive the experience.

I’ve watched several of these old silent films. The acting was more overwrought than usual in Daybreak. The makeup might be recognized today as heroin chic or maybe consumption chic. Through no fault of the film makers, the film was off center at times, the frames would freeze and there was significant pocking on various frames.

While I could appreciate the political fervor during a volatile time, the exaggerated acting and martyr complex of the heroine dimmed its impact for me. Despite being historically relevant, the well-worn trope even by this time of the country girl soiled by the big city was less than compelling for me.

2 June 2025

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first vertical series I liked

this was the first vertical series I liked. not once did I get the “low production” vibes I get with most vertical series, instead I got really good quality, great acting and a really good storyline for it being so short.

the chemistry was off the charts and the kisses were great. you never know how it’s gonna be, especially when it’s the vertical app ones but I was so surprised here and I highly recommend it. yeah some parts weren’t as fleshed out but when it came to the Mcs I feel like it did a really good job. I’d love to see more of them in the future

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Tiresome drama about secret identity, bullying & very underdeveloped romance

I got to know about this drama from reddit and was excited to watch it because of the title. This is my first time watching Zhang Zheng Yue. After completing the drama, I had to say that I was disappointed by this tale. I wouldn't recommend this drama unless you enjoy stories with this plot.

What I liked:
1. Stock market trading - The scene was different & exciting.
2. Supporting characters - ML's grandpa was the most memorable out of the many supporting characters, which were mostly 2 dimensional.
3. Introduction - I liked it a lot especially when both ML & FL rode motorcycles separately.
4. Wang Yi Yang - She was very pretty in this drama. Acting wise ok.

What I disliked:
1. Antagonists - The main antagonist Xiao Yun and her goons got so much more screentime than ML. The bullying got tiresome after the museum scene.
2. Romance - Very underdeveloped. The last scene didn't make any sense because there were no on screen scenes of FL - ML bonding as husband & wife (they had a flash marriage).
3. Secret identity - There were 3 characters with secret identities. ML's secret identity was negligible since he had the least screentime. Xiao Yun was an impostor. I was irritated with FL's secret identity at the museum scene because it led to Xiao Yun getting away with her crime.

Favourite scene
Stock market trading

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Impressive Production

The documentary episode of The Next Prince gives a fascinating look behind the scenes, and it truly highlights the quality of the production. From the set design to costume detail, everything reflects care and professionalism.

The acting is consistently strong, and it’s clear the cast is deeply invested in their roles. The storyline continues to shine, with emotional depth and character development that keeps viewers engaged.

This episode proves that The Next Prince isn’t just visually beautiful it’s built on real talent and thoughtful storytelling.

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Yeah no, this is not right.

Sadly I‘ve got to agree with other negative reviews. This is not a good drama. The whole plot revolves around one person refusing to communicate. And another person sort of trying but also sort of refusing. They could’ve kept this up for like 4 episodes and then resolved the issue and continued with something different. But it just went on and on for 8 daunting episodes. I finished because the actors were cute.

No side character added anything meaningful to this already very meaningless series…

I would not watch again. And I also don’t think anyone needs to waste their time doing so. Maybe if you‘re just really really bored and need something to play in the background while knitting or something…

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When love is so strong that it can overcome the plans of destiny and make its own path

Oh my god…I’m obsessed!!! I decided to watch this drama after so many good reviews and I can definitely understand the hype and why so many liked…it’s REALLY GOOD!!! The story is great, I was speechless how everything is well connected! Main leads are SO beautiful like I was mesmerized by their beauty! The makeup and costume here were really beautiful too and the scenery was exceptional. OST was also sooo amazing, so many good songs, I’m addicted until now!

I also liked the characters! The main ones and the secondary ones were really good, I think most of them had some depth. If I have to pick a favorite tho, it would be Fan Yue because he’s exactly the type of character I love so I instantly loved him, he also gets even better in each episode. Always doing everything to protect everyone he loves, especially our female lead. But I really liked all of them! Fu Ling and Tian Huo were both interesting characters, they really shined for me! And Bai Shuo is exactly the type of female lead that I usually like so it was easy to root for her.

Fan Yue and Bai Shuo chemistry was also really good! They had a lot of beautiful scenes and omg I cried so much in the last episodes. Actually cry is a thing I did a lot here because omg at certain point it was practically a battle to see how suffers more. The acting was also good! Bai Lu was amazing as always. Never watched anything with Ao Rui Peng but he did a good job here, really convincing, especially in the emotional scenes! Dai Lu Wa was also amazing as Fu Ning!

The ending wasn’t exactly 10/10 for me because basically most of them died and I think Fan Yue’s death in the fighting scene in the end was kind unnecessary and repetitive but well at least he returned…I’d have killed myself if he died for real haha At least the main couple had a happy ending.

In general I really recommend this one! I think it’s going to be difficult to forget the experience I had watching this and for now is my favorite xianxia of the year!

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Middle of the road

I love the Joss/Gawin pairing and I felt like they worked together really well.

I felt like Joss really did amazing for what he was given. His expressions and emotions were fantastic. On the other end of this, sometimes Gawin's performance seemed to pale in comparison / his character came across a little flat.

Major issues I had with this series overall was the noticeably BAD audio. At times it felt like it was recorded on a phone stuffed in a pocket. For me, this is pretty much unacceptable at this point in time. This is from GMMtv, not some mom and pop production. Also, the effects were not great. I would have rather they didn't add them because they felt cheaply done and were distracting enough that it took you out of the story.

Also the finale felt a little too glazed over for me.

This had a lot of promise, but it almost sucked the life out of me to finish it.

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