Reviews

Moments I Loved, and Moments I Questioned

Okay, first of all—this plot? I’ve seen vertical short dramas on social media with the exact same energy. You know the type: a bit of mystery, a sprinkle of love, and a whole lot of “what is going on?” The acting? Let’s just say it’s not terrible… but I wouldn’t exactly call it award season either.

Now, let’s talk about the demons—because I’m still trying to process that one flower demon (don’t ask me which flower, I forgot too). She can magically show up to the female lead, whisper life lessons or whatever, but somehow can't appear to the love of her life? Girl, teleport better.

And episode 23? Whew. The FL, who apparently owns some magical cooking tools that can expose a demon faster than garlic in a vampire den, just… forgets to use them? Instead, she skips the logic, skips the tools, and goes straight to tears. Ma’am, be serious.

Then she says the ML was terrible to her in the real world and broke her heart… only for him to pop up in the finale like, “Hey, do I know you?” The whiplash. The emotional gymnastics. I was spinning.

But hey, if this drama made you feel something, even confusion or mild betrayal—that’s still something, right? No hate to the fans, truly. We all love our mess in different flavors. 💅

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smarts leads, easy plot, amazing chemistry

This was actually my first Liu Yuning drama and I was shocked cause I felt like he acted really well for his role. I was equally shocked by Song Zuer, they were really good. They get married almost immediately but although they are enemies they still look out for each other. So the first few episodes you really experience the haters to lovers kind of situation. Lady Qiao (manman) is a smart and independent female lead. She is definitely not the kind that gets bullied on enemy ground. She can defend and stand up for herself which I loved it made her character very interesting. Wei Shao is also equally smart and charismatic making them a really good pair. Even though he doesnt like his wife he will still respect and protect her at times. Thats how they eventually fall for each other. Towards the end where the romance is more developed it was shocking like their chemistry was amazing. So for the leads I really enjoyed watching them! They were cute and fun.

Now for the side characters...I am glad the side characters in this drama are a handful. They didnt keep introducing new people which makes the plot confusing but instead built a story around the existing people. They showed more scenes about their friendships and really fun moments. The comedy was really enjoyable with the witty and sudden jokes. The characters and their acting really made this drama stand out. The only characters i didnt really like were her cousin and bizhi...

Regarding the villain, we cant say there is only one villain it was more like just multiple greedy people who wanted to always attack them someway or the other. Sometimes the villains were females out to break up the marriage and in other cases there were wars. Although I did not really enjoy the final war scene. It was supposed to give a satisfying feeling but it felt really rushed (as usual in cdramas) and it felt a bit messy in comparison to the careful plans which was always mentioned in the drama. The time jumps in the last eps were like every min is a month or something. So yea...that part was really rushed.

Its a happy ending if anyone is wondering. The ending is cute.

For many weeks I could not find any cdrama interesting after flourished peony but when i started this it hooked me back in. There is a chance i might rewatch this in the future for the chemistry between the leads!

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It's "TIAN'S SECRET", not "TO SIR, WITH LOVE"! Haha. A 9.5 / 10 drama!

One of the Best Dramas!
A MASTERPIECE in its genres, that is BEAUTIFULLY EXECUTED !!

A Best Mix of Historic + BL + Lakorn (Sentimental Family drama) + Thriller (Murder Mystery) + Emotional Love stories, with EVERYTHING BALANCED IN THE RIGHT PROPORTIONS!!

Note that here, both hetero n BL couples n their love stories have equal importance n so can't really categorise as a BL alone (Suitable to all audience).
Also, both couples (straight n BL) are Main Couples here n so there is no primary BL couple n secondary straight couple or vice versa.

Also, BE AWARE, this is ADDICTIVE n totally INTERESTING, haha.
If u start watching this, u can't really stop n might end up binge-watching all the episodes, just like how I did.

*****
Though being a lakorn (a soap opera, sort of boring n exaggerated family melodramas that I usually avoid), to my surprise, THERE IS NO MOMENT OF BOREDOM throughout the drama, since this series is a beautiful blend of murder mystery thriller (of which I'm an admirer) n family drama, with a COMPELLING STORYLINE.

Every Moment of the Mystery track, is Exciting, Thrilling n Gripping.
This murder mystery has a lot of Twists n Turns, creating Nail-biting Suspense, keeping the viewers eagerly awaiting for what's next n leaving them on the edge of their seats.
While the family drama track is Very Interesting.

This anticipation of thrilling twists and gripping developments, makes the viewer binge-watch all the episodes without a break.
(I binge-watched this drama, day and night, without sleeping :) )

***** STORY:
A Story of Fight for Power brought upon by family legacy, Familial Love and Forbidden Love.
It Deals with
1) Power Struggle among 5 families, for the succession of the ultimate control over all of their businesses and the related dirty business politics come into picture.
2) Love - familial bonds both good and bad, within the main family (main leads') and the related dirty family politics bcz of the two wives & mistress etc and
3) The struggles of Forbidden Love like Social Rejection etc.

The Story is Simple n straight forward but the TWISTS in every scene make this plot more Exciting n Fun to Watch.
Every moment is unpredictable n the viewer can't guess which character brings a twist in the next scene that changes not only the whole dynamics among the characters but also the direction of the plot progression.
(Weak hearts may get anxiety attacks for these nail-biting suspense n twists😂, Just Joking!!)

Story is Well Written as a mix of sentimental family melodrama and a murder mystery with twists n turns of endless suspense.

Familial bonds, Siblings bonds, Lovers' romances (both BL n straight), Boss-Servant bonds, Friendships, Every Relation is well written n well depicted.

The Plot is Good n kept the viewer interested every moment with No Nonsense, unlike the usual boring soap operas. There is no scene that is unnecessary or boring throughout.

Though there's an equal importance to both female n male characters, it's mostly Female-oriented story in a sense where female characters play a major role in changing the dynamics of the plot, like the usual family dramas.
And yet Different from the usual family dramas since It's not just sentimental, rather it's a mix of Action sequences, Suspense n Mystery.
Also, though there's an exclusive male villain character Ma here, Moms (Tian's n Yang's) are the actual heroes and the villains :)

*****
Direction, Screenplay, Editing, Dialogues, Locations, Cinematography, Production & Acting, EVERYTHING IS AMAZING!

Pacing, Story Narration n Story Progression are Good n Right to the Point.

The Suspense about the murders, murderers n Tian's secret, is Well Maintained till the end.

The Action sequences & Stunts are Good.

Special Mention: Costumes are Right to the Setting of the Story n are very Lovely.

***** TITLE:
Just a Fun Thought!
This drama should be named as "TIAN'S SECRET", instead of "TO SIR, WITH LOVE" 😂

Tian's Mom n her assistant's motto is to Kill everyone, whoever knows Khun Tian's Secret 😂 (including the viewers who knew that secret, Just Joking!)

Or should be named as "KILLER MUSHROOMS & THE DEADLY POWDER" 🤭 (Just watch it, U'll know about these)

***** CHARACTERS & ACTORS:
Every Character is Good & Well Written. Characterisation of each character is done right.
When there's an issue, explanation or the way the character resolves it, every emotion n the story of each character is very well written.

The Casting of the Actors to their respective roles, is Right.
Every Actor performed their role very well & brought life to the character.
Each Actor did a great job, especially the Actresses as selfish mothers.

Oh My My, Silly Evil Selfish Mothers!
They don't realise that they are actually troubling their kids with their love by going to any extent.
And they are rude n selfish towards their sons n spoiling their lives, in the name of mother's love.

First Mom (Tian's) is Cold n Calm.
Second Mom (Yang's) is Loud n sometimes funny.
But both are driven by Jealousy n Selfishness to take over the control of the family and the business.
Third Mom (Bua) is Soft n Caring.

The killing ideas by Tian's mom are good.
Now scared of Mushrooms😂

Assistant of Yang's mom is loud, irritatng but damn funny at the same time :)
N that of Tian's mom is a Ninja fighter!? :o

Ma's evil villainous laugh is funny.

Tian (actor Film) n Yang (actor Tongtong) have more screen time n importance in the story than Jiu (actor Jam).
Till ep 6, character Jiu has Zero Screentime.

There are a lot of handsome guys and pretty women in this drama :)

I love Yang, the most :)
Yang n his gal, Phin are sweet
Phin's actress Milly is pretty

Baby Bro Yang is a True Saviour n a True Supporter to Tian :). Though being half siblings, their bond is the BEST, the STRONGEST n the PUREST!

Jiu is such a cutie pie.
Both the couples Jiu-Tian n Yang-Pim are Sweet n have Amazing Chemistry.

Tian's mom n her assistant are fighters .
They did, not only bad deeds like murdering people by poisoning but also good deeds like saving the entire family, when the villain attacked .

Poor Tian's dad! 😂
He came to know the secrets of both his wives' n Tian's on the same day. All surprises & shocks to him! :)

Poor Dad's troubles: Both his wives are evil, manipulative n hypocrites
As Dad said, 3rd one is the most lovable, 2nd one is the most troublesome and first one is the most intelligent & respected (initially).

***** EPISODES:
17 eps with 1 hour run time per ep, is Right n Good.

Either Everyone is Eavesdropping or Chasing someone in almost every scene, haha. And So, it's a proper lakorn n a thriller!🤭

When everyone came to know the source of mushrooms, their reactions and those scenes are the funniest (bcz of the creepy source of the mushrooms ).

Ep 13 is like "100 ways to kill Jiu"
Or "Kill everyone since everyone knew Tian's secret" 🤭

Ep 15: Too much Violence n all the Secrets are out, so a lot of emotional scenes. Oh God, Crying & Tears everywhere in the entire ep!

In this chaos of family drama, business politics n power struggle, all scenes are equally stressful but I loved watching the scenes of
Tian - Yang (bros) : Beautiful,
Tian, Yang n Bua (bros n 3rd mom) : Warm,
Tian, Yang n Phin : Lovely,
Yang - Phin : Cute,
Jiu - Tian : Sweet,
Yang's mom's Maid - damn funny!
And loved when both the wives teamed up to save the family in the climax.

*****
This drama very well depicts that:
1) Everyone and anyone can love n has the Right to be Loved (straight or BL couples)
2) "Orientation" n Talents of a person are different.
3) A person should be respected by their talents n good behaviour but not to be judged by their orientation.
4) For both the couples, concentration is on the story (love and emotions) than physical intimacy. Sometimes, Love doesn't require skinship to express or feel the love and so, I like this drama, more.

Overall, this gives homely vibes bcz of all Moms, whether
Evil, toxic, over protective, a mix of good & bad, goes to any extreme for her son (1st wife),
Greedy, selfish, loud n funny, does anything for respect n attention in the family for her son (2nd wife) &
Kind n compassionate (3rd wife).

The two couples' love stories give lovely n warm vibes.

Happy Endings to all, everyone got what they deserve and a Good Closure to the story.

OST is GOOD n BGM is apt to the scenes.

***** RATING:
My Rating is 9.5 / 10.

One of my favs!! :)
Everything is Right about this series.

Best BL, Best Straight Love, Best Family drama without anything that is unacceptable or vulgar, Best Siblings' Love, Best Efforts of Mothers, Best in everything :)

BL drama lovers, don't let the "Lakorn" tag deter U from watching this.

Also, If U are a fan of Crime Thriller or Mystery genres too, just watch this without second thoughts!
This is totally interesting, since this has More share of Suspense Mystery than Family Drama.

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Time travel gone wrong

The world setting was done fine where it was explained that the time will stop if the FL talks about an event that happens in future. Half way through the story, this is not the case - she is able to sing a song that is not yet out in the public , she is able to explain that she is from future and many other issues with the overall screenplay. During the third time, she is even able to see the future .
It is a mix of many other time travel series like 'Some Day or One Day', 'Blue Birthday' and many other series, but I felt it doesn't have a proper story which is convincing enough. It is the same villain who is coming back again and again even though there is no issue between the protagonist and the villain. Screenplay could have been better to include the different possibilities of butterfly effect , but the whole series turned out to be a mediocre.
In case of 'Some Day or One Day', the time travel is happening via the doppelganger and not to the past of the same person so it is understandable the difference in the character and memory loss etc, but here it is the same person ; I agree that a person may have a different point of view once they mature but here it is shown as if she is a completely different person.

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Definitely worth watching

Flourished Peony was so good. This is still my top 1 (will update my review if it changes)

I watched it all in 2 days and I even had doubts watching it til the end just because I don’t want it to end.

I asked for recs in Reddit for a drama that will make you cry a lot but to this date, FP is the drama that made me cry several times (just 3 but still a lot).

I love the ML and FL together. I watched them before in GGS so watching them in FP was so easy. They really match onscreen and I’ve been screaming on my pillow every time there are romantic scenes bc even if there’s no intimacy, you can just feel the love and care overflowing.

The costumes were really good too. I love how as time passes by and she succeeds more, her hair decorations have added. The cinematography (if that’s what it is called) was also really appealing. And i also love how they would show the flowers and explain what’s going on without making the drama boring. And the songs — I feel like i’ve heard only 4 songs all throughout but i strongly feel each song has its purpose and it set the mood even better.

The actors, they portrayed really well as whoever they are. I never felt they were their irls but instead i felt like they owned the character.

And the story — i am lost for words. I appreciate that i felt a lot of emotions bc it made me love the drama more. I also love how each character had a story of their own without overshadowing the leads and it even added so much flair to the story itself.

Now I can’t wait for S2. It’s obvious there’s still a lot more to uncover and i can’t wait to see what happens next. I hope they do really well bc I remember getting disappointed with S2 of GGS (even tho it’s a different story).

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Cinematography 101/10, Moral of the Story 0/10

I'm only on ep 1 but I'll update my review when I finish the show, if I finish it, judging by other people's reviews. But my phone is glitching so I'm saving my notes now. Also this show is worthy of a review already.

The show is actually really good from the cinematography, the music, the actress is nearly too good for this show but she's also the biggest saving grace at keeping it interesting. I have read hundreds of shoujo mangas basically identical to this and it is kind of nice watching a really pretty KDrama version of everything I used to read. But also what's nice about reading, as opposed to watching, is I can skim past any boring/ridiculous parts. Bit hard to do that here.

I absolutely hate the premise of focusing on looks. It's giving 2005 cringe which I thought we'd long past. Even at 13 I would have struggled with a manga like this, let alone as the adult I am now. 1st episodes tend to be an ode to the original more than later episodes so I am holding out hope. Because this could be a great drama if it didn't include certain occasional but crucial sentences that are spoken. Even though there's been many newer webtoons/Kdramas that focus on looks (eg My ID is Gangnam Beauty) that was all about self reflection and insecurity. Whereas the premise of this drama is all about finding a good looking man, and not trying to improve yourself (even if it's just in the attractiveness department). Already in the first 5min of the show the friends are disappointed and near hateful/angry by her first boyfriend simply because he's not good-looking and they expect her to pick someone better looking, like that's so easy to not only come by but to seduce. And no mention at the very least of attempting to find a good looking AND nice man. Just "ew why would you only go for personality". And even though the FL at this point is redeeming, because she is very nice and happy with her "non good-looking" boyfriend. While she is also realistic that good looking boys probably wouldn't choose her, she also isn't giving the impression that she's settling and seems genuinely happy. However, a big however, when the 1st boyfriend turns into a disaster, does she say "my next boyfriend will be nicer than you" or something like" my next boyfriend will love me so much and treat me like a princess like I deserve." No! She says "my next boyfriend will be more good looking". Excuse me!!!!!????? That's the line you are going to use!!!??? Does this 1st boyfriend even harp on how good looking he is enough to think that will kill his ego at least? Because that's not particularly shown. Disgusting, terrible and absolutely kills all and any moral messages that could possibly come out of this story. This isn't even spoken as revenge, it's just spoken.

[Rant/Review for 2nd quarter of ep 1] When she's upset over their break up she says "what I regret most is not prioritising my own feelings, I thought this relationship would be good enough as long as he liked me." Uhhhh what??? Isn't the problem that he DIDN'T actually like you? Isn't being blinded by love worse than not? Or is she assuming she would pick perfectly if she actually liked the guy and therefore wouldn't date dckheads? Because I disagree.....wouldn't you see red flags better without the rose tinted glasses than with? Ahhh this drama keep pulling out the one liners that make no sense. It's actually so good if it's not for these occasional stupid lines. Her conclusion is actually to start dating good looking people... -.- should it not be don't date dckheads? Or take more time/be better at assessing people? And why are the friends supporting this? It's so illogically hypocritical to have someone date you because they were sxally attracted to you but didn't like you so you in turn don't look for someone to like but look for someone you are sxally attracted to.

[Review of last 30mins] I'm already hating one of the MLs. I have a minimum standard for douches and he does not even meet that. Usually MLs negative traits are being cold and rough but you can also attribute that to being independent lone wolves who've been hurt by someone/society and they need to protect their own self and ego. This guy is just popping other people's personal space bubbles, not by happenstance, but purely out of self serving selfishness that is completely and easily otherwise obtainable. For example it's one thing to knock someone over thinking it's the last item left but another thing to go out of your way to knock someone over to grab an item knowing full well there's many identical items available right there. // Skipping to the end, he somehow manages to turn 180 midair while someone is yanking on his hoodie (can confirm this is impossible without superpowers). And the episode ends with a "what the, what are you" from ML to the FL. All she did was fall down after dodging the same thing you were trying to dodge!? That really does not require any excess thinking and really kills the mood for what is I assume the writers attempt to set up a romantic link.

Conclusion: will keep watching but these logical fallacies are small but mighty.

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The most fun k-reality show I've watched this year!!

Each episode of this series never failed to make me laugh towards the end I couldn't help but feel sad it was coming to a close.. I hope the producer keeps their promise and does another season of this show! Watching this helped me feel a bit closer to the 4 members as a MY 💜

Taking the members to different places in Korea and letting them play so many fun games together was certainly entertaining to watch! It also broadened my knowledge of different places in Korea in a way that didn't drag on which was a nice touch.

The members reactions are amazing as well! I can't believe this is their first reality show, Karina/Yoo Jimin expressed concern that she wasn't sure there was enough useable footage for the show, well Karina I'm sure the editor has more than enough footage thanks to the four of you haha! Giselle's screams, Ningning's infectious laughter, Winter's sudden crying and Karina's heart-fluttering smile sure adds it's own unique charm to this web series.

I'm sure every viewer who decides to give this series a try will fall in love with the members if they haven't already!

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Strong ML with a clever FL

I gave this a solid 8/10. There were just some things I could't get pass.
I loved Yining's character. She was clever, bold and stood up for herself. Despite growing up with the father's concubines who continuously plotted against her, she fought herself out of the situation. When she met Luo Shen Yuan after coming back home, they first developed a bond and wanted to help each other find the truth about wrongful deaths.
I won't say much on that part as you will need to watch it for yourself lol.
Now, Lu Jia Xue was obsessed to the very end. OMG he was sooooo determined lol and annoying with his actions.
What made me give this an 8/10 is because she kept calling in "third brother" to the very end. Like come on writers, you didn't have to make it so weird to the end. She should be now more mature and leaving that childish part behind her.
I am always here for perfect endings and we got it.
Overall, it was good - slow burn - lil romance at the end - a few comedic scenes....

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Finished the Drama… Emotionally Confused but Respectfully Invested

So, I’ll be honest—the first reason I watched this drama was Zhao Liying. No shame in that. Then I read the synopsis, got intrigued, and hit play.

At first? Total confusion. I genuinely thought I accidentally skipped an episode or five. I almost dropped it. But then I saw some comments saying it actually has a deep message, so I thought, “Okay, let’s suffer through this confusion together.”

I’m glad I stuck with it—because by the end, it hit me: this guy might’ve been struggling with mental health, and all those strange scenes? They weren’t just artsy edits—they meant something. (Kind of. I think.)

But hey, I still have questions:

What does "alter" even mean in this context? Are they imaginary friends? Emotional roommates?

That last episode—were they living in parallel worlds or what? Because my brain left the chat.

Episode 1, in the car—when the three characters showed up... was that even real? Or just in his head? Or my head? Honestly, unsure.

Also, can someone explain how the five characters are connected to him and how they became his alters? Like, respectfully, I watched all the episodes and still feel like I missed a secret manual.

In the end though, this drama has a message, strong acting, and visuals that kept me watching—even if my brain was doing somersaults the whole time. If you're into layered storytelling and a bit of mental gymnastics, this might just be your thing.

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If this show doesn't make you laugh, nothing will!

I have watched all of Run BTS numerous times, and I'm sure I will again. It's fun and chaotic and will make you forget about any problems you are having, at least for a little while.

I started watching this as a baby Army and it gave me the perfect opportunity to learn more about each of them, as well as watch their friendship. I think they are uber-talented, and I hope to actually be able to go to one of their concerts before I'm too old (I'm 67, so time's a wasting!), but I'll be honest, when I watch this show, I think I'd be perfectly happy to sit in a corner and just watch them interact with one another.

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