Reviews

THIS WAS THE BEST K-DRAMA I'VE SEEN IN AWHILEEE

It had everything you need: school plot, revenge plot, romance plot, work plot, sad stories, happy stories, no sad ending, but parts that make you want to cry if you're really into it. I laughed, cried, and had such a good time. I fell off K-dramas around the time My Royal Nemesis came out; I was stuck between not being able to find good ones or not being able to finish them. Then I started to Take Charge of My Heart recently, but it got to a point that I simply wanted something else. So I started Teach You A Lesson because it was already on my list, and this is the first drama of 2026 I've been able to watch, finish, and fall in love with along the way! This was amazing, and I'd LOVE another season with 2 or 3 more agents plus the core 3, as well as the minister. I like how everyone had their own story, and we found out more about them along the way, and I really enjoyed how each episode was a different story from a different point of view. Not to mention EVERYONE'S FACE CARD WAS TEA; the whole house was fine. Something similar to this, if you're craving something just as good as Teach You A Lesson, is Taxi Driver, Rich x Bitch, The Glory, Hierarchy, Weak Hero, and Friendly Rivalry. Unlucky for me, I watched all of these, but if you have shows similar to TYAL, please let me know! I watch all my dramas on Netflix, so that might be why this was my favorite drama all year, but it was so incredibly good, and I'm praying for another season. Can we please bring back 1hr long dramas with 16 eps? Also, me leaving a review shows u how good this was cause I never leave any, but it was so good that RIGHT after I finished, I rushed here to hype it up, cause its THAT good.

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...But the actors are good

If you can get past the inexplicable attraction of Lee Hyun Soo as dating prospect, then love triangles may make sense. But for a writer to have so little self and relational observation skills, the veneer of competency and the need for a colleague to sabotage her vocational and personal life seems absurd. The Temperature of Love depends on the first love trope with a heavy dose of unrequited love for multiple characters while others are slathered in narcissism and deflect personal responsibility deftly. Beautifully plated food and skilled actors execute emotions that built on weak foundations and stretched thinly over 20 episodes. But the actors are good.

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A Melancholic Beauty Between Love, Suffering and a Broken Destiny

“The Lament of Autumn" is one of those dramas that draws you into a very particular atmosphere, where pain, emotions, and the characters' inner struggles take center stage. A story that plays with our feelings and reminds us that behind every smile, there can be deep wounds hidden away.

What I particularly enjoyed was the melancholic atmosphere, which gives the story a certain depth. The drama takes us on an emotional journey filled with past wounds, difficult choices, sacrifices, and feelings that constantly clash with circumstances. There is always this sense that happiness is within reach, yet a single event, decision, or misunderstanding can be enough to turn everything upside down.

The characters bring a genuine emotional depth to the story. They have their weaknesses, contradictions, and personal demons to face. Their relationships are not always simple, and that is precisely what makes them interesting. At times, we go from tenderness to frustration, from compassion to confusion. You almost wish you could step into the screen, make them see reason, or spare them some of their suffering. But that is also what makes their journeys touching: they are not perfect, and their choices come with consequences.

The romantic aspect also adds a lot to the drama. Emotions are not always expressed through words, and sometimes a few silences say far more than lengthy conversations. There is a certain fragility in the relationships, a fear of losing someone, and a struggle to find one's place when the past continues to weigh heavily on the present.

Visually, the drama has a certain charm that perfectly complements its atmosphere. There is a poetic quality to its melancholy, a softness tinged with sadness that makes the viewing experience even more immersive. Everything comes together to create a unique, almost nostalgic atmosphere that lingers in your mind.

Of course, not everything is perfect. Some scenes could have been handled with more subtlety, certain developments deserved greater depth, and the pacing can occasionally feel uneven. Some situations can also be frustrating, particularly when the characters seem trapped by their own decisions. A few slow moments also take away from the emotional intensity of the story.

Despite these minor flaws, the drama manages to maintain a certain emotional strength. It has the ability to make us feel something, draw us into its world, and leave us reflecting even after an episode has ended.

**Final thoughts:** _The Lament of Autumn_ is a story that relies primarily on emotions, melancholy, and unfortunate destinies. It may not be a perfect drama, but it has a certain sensitivity and atmosphere that give it its own identity. A story that reminds us that love does not always mean happiness, that some wounds take time to heal, and that not every destiny follows the path we would have hoped for.

A drama worth discovering for those who enjoy emotionally charged stories, imperfect characters, complicated feelings, and romances tinged with sadness.

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Self-sabotage

Back at it again, catching up on my reviews. I would give this show a 6.5 out of 10, and I am just going to rant about it, so please enjoy.

So funny story...I watched the sequel for this one first, so yeah. I found that out like halfway through when the guys started to look a little too familiar lmao.

Regarding the sequel that I watched first (I should have known because they are literally the same title; I’m sick), it is significantly better than this, and because of that it brings this show’s rating up by a little, but if this was standalone, this would have been so much worse, like I’m sick.

We didn’t do a damn thing in this show besides sabotage our fucking relationship for actually no reason, and that pissed me off, silly. Like why? Could have spared me this entire damn show. That's why the headline is what it is, because that was just irritating. I think he also could have communicated how he was feeling because I guess what his man was doing could have come off as love bombing, but nooooo, why would we ever do that. Instead, let's sit in silence and make our perfect man think that he is a terrible boyfriend.

Like, your man clearly loves you, and he’s doing everything for you, because HE LOVES YOU, but we wanna be with a scumbag instead. Make that make sense. It actually doesn’t make sense.

Also, the brother's character was kind of pointless, like we were just kind of hindering everything for no reason. I think that side characters and side plots are cool, but if the whole drama is 30 minutes, we do not need to do that, because it just takes away from the main plot for actually no reason.

And then finally, the random guy who was trying to slide on the man who has been in a relationship FOR THREE FUCKING YEARS. Why on earth would you think you had a chance? Like, come on now, he does not want you, big bro; back off. He also took away from the main plot, but also like...I don't really know how I feel about his character. Like, yes him and also no him.

But yeah, I would say watch this to watch the other one, but also they give you all the lore in the other one that they give in this show, so this one can be a skip lmao. Okay bye!

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A Slow-Burning Love Story About Devotion, Self-Discovery, and Character Development

The Lament of Autumn makes me feel everything: love, frustration, heartbreak, anger, longing, and happiness. Beyond its captivating romance, what impressed me was the overall quality of the production. The acting was exceptional, the cinematography was beautiful, and the costumes, settings, and attention to detail helped bring the Republican-era atmosphere to life. The cast delivered compelling performances, but Cheng Lei deserves particular praise for his portrayal of Yu ChangXuan. His ability to convey the character's arrogance, vulnerability, intensity, and tenderness made his transformation incredibly convincing.

I hope viewers recognize that this is not simply a romance about two people falling in love. It is a story about personal growth, mistakes, sacrifice, responsibility, and discovering who we truly are. One of the most meaningful messages I took from this drama is that genuine love can inspire people to confront their shortcomings and become better versions of themselves.

🍁Yu ChangXuan 🍁

Yu ChangXuan's character development is undoubtedly my favorite aspect of this drama. Initially, he appears to be an arrogant, reckless playboy who enjoys drinking, gambling, and flaunting his wealth. However, as the story unfolds, we discover that much of this image is deliberately constructed to conceal his ambitions and intelligence.

Of course, he is far from perfect. His possessiveness, obsession, pride, and questionable decisions are traits I can acknowledge and criticize. Nevertheless, what makes him compelling is his capacity for growth. Through his experiences and love for PingJun, he gradually learns self-restraint, responsibility, and compassion.

Cheng Lei did an incredible job portraying these different sides of him. We witness his transformation from a seemingly irresponsible young man into a wise and respected leader who leads with courage and conviction. When war breaks out, he does not run away from his responsibilities but stands firm in the face of danger. His development is not merely about becoming a better romantic partner; it is about becoming a better man.

🍁Ye PingJun and the Supporting Characters🍁

As for Ye PingJun, I appreciate her independence, courage, and strong personality. However, I did have moments of frustration, particularly when I wished she would take greater responsibility for her decisions. I would have liked the writers to give her more depth and stronger character development. Nevertheless, she has her own struggles and journey, and I enjoyed watching her relationship with ChangXuan evolve.

I also appreciated that the supporting characters had their own ambitions, motivations, and conflicts. The family dynamics, political struggles, betrayals, jealousy, and complicated relationships made the story much bigger than the central romance. Not every character needs to be likable to make a story interesting.

🍁Final Thoughts 🍁

Was everything perfect? No. There were decisions I disagreed with, moments that frustrated me, and aspects of the writing I wish had been handled differently. However, a drama does not need flawless characters or a perfect storyline to leave a lasting impression.

My advice to anyone considering this drama is to give it a chance and not judge the characters solely by their first impressions. Pay attention to their motivations, conversations, and development. Sometimes, the most rewarding part of a story is discovering who a character becomes rather than who they were when we first met them.

I also don't necessarily need every drama to have a happy ending. What matters is that the conclusion does justice to the story, that the characters' journeys have meaning, and that those responsible for causing suffering are held accountable.

What a journey. What a performance. And what a character!

I'm still emotionally attached to Yu ChangXuan, and quite frankly, I am nowhere near ready to move on. 🍁

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The messy madness that life is

An excellent drama that doesn't go with all the typical storylines you expect from a K-drama. Instead you get a deep, unpredictable and thought provoking rollercoaster of emotions.

Visually beautiful and excellently acted by the two leads. It can't have been easy to portray this emotion for an extended time and a massive thank you for doing so. Intentionally written to be messy there's still symmetry and depth to match the visuals.

Recommend this for open minded people who are not wanting to escape from life by watching but instead want to experience raw, painful, emotion as well as question their views on life, love and reality.

Will be watching it again to see what I missed and understand more of the nuances in A Love Other than Yours!

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Rage bait at it's purest form

I’ve just finished the final episode, and I am sitting here absolutely staggered. What in the name of total absolute madness did I just spend 14 episodes watching?
You go into a series expecting a proper, mature look at a 10-year relationship. Instead, you get served an unmitigated circus of toxicity, absolute stupidity, and sheer rage-bait. Where on earth is the real love? Where is the bloody decency of choosing your person every single day, sitting down like proper adults, and actually working things out? No. Apparently, that’s far too sensible for this lot. Instead, the writers decided that "love" means being a complete masochist, treating your partner like absolute rubbish, and throwing a decade of shared life in the bin the second a shiny new distraction walks through the door.

Lee Mi-do is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most frustrating, poorly written characters to ever grace a screen. Her emotional flip-flopping and the way her actions are repackaged as "finding herself" makes me want to put my foot through the screen. And don't get me started on Namgung Ho, who completely checks out when things get tough. They both cross major lines, they both act like total bin fires, and yet we’re supposed to find this hyper-realistic and deep? It’s not deep; it’s toxic, it’s exhausting, and it completely butchered the entire concept of long-term commitment.

And to cap it all off, that utterly pathetic excuse of a finale was the ultimate slap in the face. The lazy narrative choices and the way the time jumps are handled make it feel as if a decade of history could just be swept under the carpet like a bit of dirt. The show honestly expects us to believe that their final choices represent the 'mature' solution to a relationship slump. It’s an absolute joke. They dragged us through 14 episodes of pure, unadulterated mental torture just to tell us that fighting for the person you love isn't worth the bother. I have never felt so thoroughly cheated by a series in all my life—it was a complete waste of space.

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When I had you, I treated you BADDDDDD

Okay, I thought I didn't take notes on this show, and shit was about to hit the fan, but it's okay; I found them. This was a very forgettable show, because I don’t even remember watching it lmao (but it’s actually pretty good once I remember what happened). I would give it a 7.5 out of 10, and I am just going to say my overall notes instead of my usual pros and cons, because my notes are all over the place.

Okay, so a quick summary: they are in a relationship, and his man is falling out of love as their anniversary approaches. That’s like it.

I think from the get-go it’s pretty clear that their relationship is rocky, because the guy who forgot their anniversary didn't tell his coworkers and friends that he has been dating a guy for the past 7 years, and that's lowkey really sad. But yeah, pretty good setup in the grand scheme of things, because we got straight into it, which I enjoyed.

And their biggest problem is actually communication, and it’s both of their faults. And I don't even wanna say that, because the one guy was actually trying to be a good partner, whereas his man just wasn't, but I feel like we could have been spared this entire plotline if he just straight up communicated his feelings and his man did the same. Like we both need to lock in and communicate, because the longer you let stuff fester, the worse it’s gonna get.

Following this, probably one of the most clinical things in this show, THE MAN WHO FORGOT THE ANNIVERSARY WAS TAKING ANOTHER MAN OUT FOR DINNER ON THEIR ANNIVERSARY. YOU DIRTY HEFFA, I’M SICK. If I were the other guy, even if he forgot, we truly never would have recovered from this, because that is actually mental, but alas, they do, so he's better than me...and maybe more stupid.

I think this is an oddly tragic, but really to-the-point story, so I like what they did with this. It was kind of forgettable, but once I looked at my notes, it all came rushing back, and for what this was, I really liked it actually. I also like his actual gift; I thought it was really cutesy. But yeah, you can watch this if you want; it’s a short watch to beef up your end-of-year dramas lmao, so do it. Okay bye!

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It's just my overall opinion

I truly enjoyed this drama. It has plot twists, family dynamics, conflict, and, most importantly, emotional depth. This is the kind of drama that will linger in my heart for quite some time.

If you're looking for a fast-paced drama, this may not be for you. However, if you're an empathetic person, you'll appreciate the depth of the story and its characters.

The ending was not what I expected, and I probably won't rewatch this drama. The moments and the words spoken throughout the series are imprinted in my mind. Despite my feelings about the ending, I still applaud the entire team for bringing this drama to life. Their hard work and dedication made it a truly memorable experience.

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i thought goong style , but not at all

i watched this thinking it would be something like goong ( princess hours ) , but not at all ...

i would be ok if they are both at the same age group , but he was in his 20s and she is 15 ... it's not ok at all watching it now .
i wouldn't say it wasn't ok at that time , it was really .. but doesn't make it acceptable for me.

i gave it high score for casting , fl was in her 20s irl but watching her looks and acting as a teenager/child was convincing .. ml was also a good casting considering how disgusted i got throughout the movie lol.

i appreciate them for not doing any adult/kissing scenes though it was a good call.

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A great romance in a ambivalent plot

The main interest of this drama for me: the amazing chemistry between the two leads. The romance does not suffer from a weak plot (no misunderstandings, no forced plot twists, pure affection and good communication), and the actors are great. I discovered Yang Se-jong with this drama, and it made me curious about his filmography. Park Eun-bin, as usual, impressed me with her ability to make a character feel human, realistic and sincere. Also, there is no forced second lead romance, which is highly enjoyable.

The plot, on another hand, was a bit confusing. The fantasy aspect of the female lead seeing ghosts is well managed at first, but then the plot melts into the average chaebol succession schemes. The ghosts and murder cases almost "disappear" until the last episodes, which is a shame in my opinion. However, I like how they managed to create a realistic character for the female lead with psychic abilities: her "gift" does impact her personnality and her social abilities.

Overall, I still fondly recommand it!

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To many side stories

I honestly think the writers made a mess of what could have been a really good story. There were way too many side stories, and they missed the opportunity to properly develop the main relationship.

To me, Namgung was already emotionally cheating before the relationship ended. Mi-do knew something was wrong, especially when she asked if his new coworker was pretty. She could feel him slipping away. She was trying to win him back and make him miss her, but he had already checked out. He seemed more interested in a younger woman who had her own daddy issues.

What really bothered me was how cruel the writers made him toward Mi-do’s family. These people loved him for 10 years, and he just cut them off like they meant nothing, saying things like they were done as of the next day. Was all that harshness really necessary?

And then, after everything, we see him happy in a beautiful, bright apartment, as if walking away from everyone fixed his life.

I didn’t need a happy ending, but I did need better writing. The writers spent so much time on unnecessary characters that they failed to explain the relationship, made the breakup unnecessarily cruel, and gave us an ending that felt completely one-sided.

I get it. It’s your story, and you have every right to tell it the way you want. It’s just a shame because you had two really good main characters and a wonderful opportunity to tell a meaningful story about love, change, and growing apart. You had everything you needed to make it work. Unfortunately, you missed that opportunity, and that’s what makes this drama such a wasted opportunity.

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A Love Other Than Yours (2026) – A Disappointment and Unconvincing Ending

I genuinely regret investing so much time and emotion in this drama. My biggest disappointment isn't that the main couple didn't end up together. It's the way Mi-do's character and relationships were written.

She spent ten years with Namgoong, received his love and commitment, repeatedly hurt him, and still couldn't understand or settle her own feelings. She openly expressed her desire for another man in front of her boyfriend, and even after entering a relationship with Tae-seung, she remained uncertain, eventually suggesting they date other people. So what exactly is the conclusion of her character development?

Feelings can change, but how many people's lives must be emotionally damaged while someone figures out what they want? And what guarantees that she won't repeat the same behaviour with Tae-seung a year later? Her final portrayal suggests growth, yet her accountability for her betrayal and concealment remains questionable. Cheating is a choice, not an unavoidable consequence of confusion or circumstances.

I also wanted to see meaningful consequences, genuine accountability and a properly developed reconciliation, not just apologies, kisses and a time jump.

After investing 14 episodes in four characters, the writers couldn't even give us a conclusive picture of their futures.

I respect the actors and their performances, but the writing failed these characters. I didn't need a perfect happy ending. I needed believable character development, accountability and closure.

A drama can end sadly and still be satisfying. This one ended ambiguously without earning that ambiguity.

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Generational difference plays a big role with ratings and reviews

Reading some of the comments and reviews about The Lament of Autumn, I can't help but notice what appears to be a generational difference in how we interpret historical dramas. Sometimes, it feels as though some viewers expect characters living in the Republican Era (1912–1949) to behave according to the social values and relationship standards of 2026.

We must remember that this was a period of political instability, warlords, unequal power structures, and limited freedom for women. A young marshal of that era was hardly going to behave like a modern, emotionally mature boyfriend. Likewise, women often had to survive through compromise, patience, and intelligence rather than openly challenging authority. That didn't necessarily make them weak.

Perhaps this is where the age gap in audience expectations becomes noticeable. We grew up with different storytelling styles, and naturally, our preferences may differ. There is nothing wrong with wanting healthier relationships or stronger female characters, but we cannot expect people living in the 1920s or 1930s to think and behave like people in 2026.

This also makes me question how much weight we should place on online ratings and reviews. Depending on the platform, certain age groups may be more active and vocal than others, meaning the ratings might reflect the preferences of that particular audience rather than the broader viewing population. A popular opinion on one platform is not necessarily a universal opinion.

Understanding a character's historical circumstances does not mean approving of their behavior, just as enjoying a morally complicated fictional character doesn't mean we would tolerate such behavior in real life.

Of course, historical settings do not excuse poor writing, but we can criticize a storyline without expecting history to reflect our modern ideals.

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