Reviews

Best Drama of 2025 for me!

Just finished all 36 episodes and I’ve been completely hooked from start to finish! I didn’t know what to expect going in, but this drama really blew me away. It’s one of the best takes on the enemies-to-lovers trope I’ve seen in a long time. No over-the-top toxic nonsense where the ML is constantly hurting / assaulting the FL to prove some twisted point. He’s dealing with serious childhood trauma after witnessing three generations of his clan get massacred by the FL's clan.

What I loved is how the romance in this drama focuses on healing. It’s a story about overcoming trauma and building trust and true partnership. The FL is absolutely amazing. She’s smart, but also kind and gentle. Watching her slowly earn the ML's trust and bring peace between their clans was so beautiful.

POB has everything. Dramatic moments, great action and battle scenes, LOL moments (especially from the ML’s hilarious group of generals), and a great cast of side characters, from the wise grandmother to the goofy MIL to the spunky maid.

I have to say, Liu Yuning really impresses here. I’ve been watching him since The Long Ballad and he’s grown so much as an actor. He’s honestly just perfect as Wei Shao: imposing and rough around the edges, but also down to earth, kind, and gentle when needed. As for Song Zuer… I’m blown away! Her eyes, her facial expressions, the way she plays fake helplessness, she completely OWNED this role!

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Fighting to Feel: Bruises, Bonds, and Buried Trauma

This series is a pretty typical high school action drama built around the theme of bullying, a topic that seems to be popping up more and more in Korean dramas these days. It follows Kim Eui-gyeom, a quiet and respectable student who’s dealing with a lot of pressure to be the “perfect son”, especially after his brother’s apparent suicide. He carries the weight of trauma and mental health struggles mostly on his own, and it shows, he’s always on edge.

After transferring to a new school, Eui-gyeom immediately catches the attention of the class bully. The tension escalates when the bully targets Eui-gyeom’s most treasured possession, a walkman that belonged to his brother. That moment pushes Eui-gyeom over the edge, and the fight that follows pulls him into even more trouble, drawing the attention of senior bullies.

Meanwhile, Kang Yun-gi, a chill and seemingly bored classmate, starts showing interest in Eui-gyeom and becomes an unexpected source of support. As their friendship grows, the two of them begin fighting not just in school, but outside of it too, all while Eui-gyeom’s home life slowly unravels.

The show tries to tackle some heavy themes, trauma, suicide, bullying, and abuse, but with only eight episodes, it doesn’t always dig as deep as it could. There’s also some confusion around Eui-gyeom’s fighting ability. At first, he seems inexperienced, but later he’s holding his own like a pro. The show doesn’t really explain if he had past training or if he’s just picking things up along the way.

That said, it’s still an engaging watch. The acting isn’t particularly standout, especially when compared to something like Weak Hero Class 1, where the lead gave a phenomenal performance. Here, things feel a little safer, and the bullies can come off as trying too hard. But the story itself is entertaining, and the bond between Eui-gyeom and Yun-gi is one of the best parts.

One character who really stood out to me was Kim Seung-jun. He doesn’t get a ton of screen time, but he’s definitely one of the most interesting. He starts off as a bully with a sense of honor and eventually decides to step away from all the nonsense. There are hints at a deeper story with him, especially involving his mother, and it’s a shame the show didn’t explore that more.

In all, it’s a small but promising series. If you’re into character-driven stories and watching unexpected friendships form under tough circumstances, it’s worth checking out.

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Worth watching until the last episodes

I have seen this kdrama being recommended many times. I can somehow understand why but I despise the ending. I don’t trust the FL.

The first episodes looked promising, it was the usual contract marriage cliche but I liked it.
The ML is really respectful with boundaries and much more mature than the FL, he has a weird side but that side makes him attractive.
The FL started being likable but as the episodes go on I started to despise her. How can a character not grown when the whole point of the show looked like the development of her character.

Most of the things she said where none sense, she didn’t communicate anything but expected him to communicate, she also expected him to open up but she was not opening herself either, and is not like she didn’t have a chance. Her acting as the episodes go on gets worse, starts to look like she is a robot with no feelings for anything.

I don’t understand how there is so many 10 stars reviews, did we watch the same show? I can’t see how anyone would like the ending. Making the FL leave the ML for no reason whatsoever. She even knew he was gonna confess that same day. I still don’t know why she left and lie to him saying that she is going far away. Also the letter that she left for him is useless and doesn’t mean anything, I was actually expecting more from it.
It was devastating watching the ML suffer like that, even give up his house for a girl that just lied and confused him, just for him to forgive her as soon as he sees her.

Also the way she reappears in his life is awful, acting like nothing happened and considering leaving again. The ML had a valid crashed out but I wish it would have last longer than 5 seconds.

I don’t understand how you can torture the man you love like that and smile about it.

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Great beginning but falls off later.

I want to get to the good before the bad. The cast for ML and FL was great. They had such amazing chemistry and their acting was on point. The first 10 episodes had me in a choke hold. The hate, angst, and attraction was so yummy. I adore friendships and this drama had a really funny bromance between 4 (5 if including ML). I love their interactions and they mesh well with each other. I also really like the maid and the soldier relationship (😭). I love it when the ML isn't a spineless mama's-boy. I do like that they both standup for each other. I am just so used to the ML caving in and not doing shit when the FL is obviously being set-up.

What I didn't like was everything else. The reason this fell off so much for me, was that the political parts and villains were such a bore. It feels like nothing was happening in that aspect. Meanwhile, the romance department was flourishing. I thought the random ass one-sided love triangle with the cousin was a waste of time. It doesn't add any value to the story or plot. There was no chemistry between FL and the cousin. They didn't have a lot of moments together so I don't get how he was in love with her.... The side characters (not including the cousin) was so... meh? like omg they did absolutely nothing for me.

Would I rewatch this again? Yes and no. I think I would would the beginning again if I am craving for enemies to lover. But I will absolutely not finish it again. I will watch MV or clips once in a while LOL. My rating is between a 7 or an 8. The acting and chemistry between the leads was banging. The leads carried this drama. I would have dropped this around 25-30 episodes in because everything else was not keeping my attention. Honestly, if the actors was different, I would have rated this 5 or below.

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The romance sprinted out the gate, tripped over communication, and face-planted in dysfunction

The synopsis of this drama looked promising, so I watched it, not expecting much from a low-budget, short length drama.

While it started out hot and heavy, the show veered into a territory that is toxic for my taste. I enjoy noona romances if done well, but I dislike them when they show the couple’s incompatibility, particularly if the male lead is too immature for the older female. Don’t get me wrong: their chemistry is sizzling on screen, but that does not justify a union that lasts. Although the quick development of their relationship is due to the show’s short length, I’ve seen other dramas do it better in the same time frame.

Instead of open communication, they gaslight each other and play stupid mind games. Not one character here is likeable, and though I know humans are flawed and are not perfect, but there’s nothing savory about trying to control another by using dirty tactics. I think it’s unfair to criticize Jiang Nan’s ex-boyfriend for being obsessive and stalker-y, but excuse Shi Jie for behaving similarly just because he’s attractive and the main lead.

In my opinion, the fundamental issue here is cramming too many story arcs into a short drama, preventing proper character and plot development. A more effective approach would have been to focus on two or three key aspects and delve deeper into them.

Although Jiang Nan and Shi Jie might have redeemed themselves towards the end, it wasn’t enough for me to applaud them. Otherwise, this drama is mainly for the eye candy and gratuitous intrigue.

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the best way a season 2 could ever be.

Under the Skin S2 is probably the best 2nd season for a cdrama ever. dont get me wrong, things did change, but they were for the better. one thing that i noticed was that shen yi's ASMR sketches did decrease here. which imo, i think was bc UTS S1 focused on not just the bromance and mysteries, but also on proving that shen yi did in fact belong there. hence, constantly, they showed us the satisfying process of his case-solving. if someone were to make an entire playlist of the ASMR, i'd be the no1 viewer. anyway, by S2, there was really not much of a reason to show his skills as often anymore, as the audience already now knows that yes, shen yi belongs where he is, and he is a fucking genius.

moving on to this season, i actually enjoyed these new techniques! for example, when solving the case of the "suicide valley", shen yi used this box house thingy to solve the mystery of chang feng's metal state, which i found really interesting. shen yi's approaches with art + psychology were also really captivating. the time he noticed the shrine that chang feng made for his dead little sister really impacted me tbh.

although i did laugh my ass off when i saw "inner demon" being mentioned, i have to admit, there is no better way to describe shen yi's dilemma than this term. shen yi who already faced years of guilt, was healed by his team and ofc du cheng in s1. this season, shen yi's guilt with knowing that through his intuition, he could've saved a poor little girl from death, was healed with his own self-discovery and du cheng's endless support and care. the several times he almost lost control of himself, did, or almost died (again) were probably all related to that guilt. the time he was in danger bc of that fire that one girl (i forgot her name, but its the case where this one girl has two guys commit arson for her) was most likely caused by his desperation for a case like that to never happen again, especially bc he knew he could prevent a tragedy.

one of my fav parts, the bromance. just as i thought it couldn't get better, s2 tops! fang kai yi & du cheng basically fighting over shen yi was hilarious. i also loved du cheng's unconditional support for shen yi as well. another factor that i adored is that specific sound they play whenever a funny scene happens.

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From Promise to Pure Nonsense: Good Cast, okish ost, and a Storyline So Dumb It Should Be Illegal

Let me give credit where it’s due — the cast did a solid job with what they were given, and the OST was genuinely enjoyable at times. That’s the only reason I made it through to the end.

Now onto the absolute trainwreck that was the story. Where do I even start?

This drama began with a sliver of potential, but that was quickly thrown out the window. It started good, ended bad — and then repeated that same loop, over and over. Just when you thought it was finding direction, it veered straight back into nonsense. It made sense for a moment, then completely lost the plot — like the writers were just pulling random garbage out of a hat each episode.

And yes — they even tried to subtly (or not so subtly) slide in an incest subplot between a so-called brother and sister. Why? Absolutely no clue. It was uncomfortable, unnecessary, and added nothing. Instead of shock value, it just came off as desperate and gross.

The "kill rate portals" or whatever sci-fi-fantasy element they were trying to introduce had zero context or explanation. Characters were killed left and right without any emotional weight or logical progression. No backstory, no world-building, no consequences — just violence for the sake of filling screen time.

The plot had no spine, no direction, and no payoff. It was like the writers had a dartboard full of random plot twists and decided to go with whatever they hit that day. Conflicts were introduced and dropped at will. Motivations? Nowhere to be found. Continuity? Who needs that?

By the end, it was just a mess of pointless scenes, forced emotions, and empty action. A waste of a talented cast and a decent soundtrack.

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1st outing with BL couple Joss and Gawin

Disclaimer

What I am writing here are my views and thoughts about this series. Some of you may not like it. That does not give you the right to try to come at me with your opinions on why this series should get a higher or lower score and why it is better/worse than I think it is. You have your own opinions, and I have mine. Kindly respect that.

Okay! So, of course I wanted to watch this series because I love watching series/movies with vampires—where sometimes it's done properly and other times it's not. I am a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Series as well as The Vampire Diaries. I have watched Interview With a Vampire (the series and the movie), Buffy the Vampire Series (the movie), Angel, the Underworld movie franchise, and The Originals, just to name a few. So, this series got me a bit excited as it was my first Thai vampire series that I was going to watch, and it was a BL!

Now, I must admit that it did start off well for me personally. But then, it kind of dwindles a bit when Tong and Mark get together. However, it got interesting and better for me by episode 9, with a strong episode 10 , followed by episode 11 having me on the edge of my seat, only to be kind of let down in episode 12. I know that people find it a perfect and good ending. But, to me, personally, I felt underwhelmed. And this has happened many times with GMMTV series and me.

This series did have its pros and cons, and that's why I gave it the rating of 8.5/10 due to these reasons.

Pros:
💕Joss being shirtless in many (if not all) of the episodes
💕The chemistry between Joss and Gawin is just top-notch, and I cannot wait to see them in their next series together
💕For you to loose my attention and then just drag it back from episodes 9 to 11 and some parts of 12, yeah, your good
💕The storyline was easy for me to follow and it kept my attention (for most of the times)

Cons:
💔I felt that some of the deaths were not really necessary (Tonkla, Nakan, and (especially) Wan)—I know that they would add emotions for the other characters, but I still don't see the need for them.
💔Having watched so many vampire series/movies, it really did not cross any of their minds that another option for Tong was to turn into a vampire instead of killing him? Because that was the first thing I kept thinking to myself when they kept insisting that they had to kill Tong
💔 The ending felt (of course) kind of rushed to me. But hey, Tong and Mark got their happy ending at the cost of other people's/vampires' lives.

All in all, a very good series with an excellent introduction to us viewers to this new BL couple, Joss and Gawin.

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How the love of a woman set everything in motion

It's nothing new how the love of a woman could come between two best friends, but this story takes it to another level. It's unbelievable the path this threesome of friends take throughout this drama, for the good, but most definitely for the bad.
I wasn't sure to stick with this, but I've become a big fan of Choo Young Woo, so I decided to keep watching. I'm really glad I did.
The way episode 1 ends so shockingly, you're kind of glued to this series without stopping.
Young Woo is amazing, along with Dong Yoon & In Ah. Perfectly matched up to make a great trio throughout this drama.
It's a bit disturbing how you could allow your best friend to go to prison for something you did, but as the series goes on, you realize not just what a special friendship they have, but how Du Hak will do anything & everything to protect Cheol Ung.
It does get kind of ugly to watch the hated surface with this two best friends later in the series, but it was to be expected.
I was worried how this would end, because you kind of know that it can only end up badly, ... but the writers were pretty good at keeping this story satisfying, particularly at the end. It actually does end in a sort of happy way with a bit confusing but laughable ending. It kind of puts a shiny bow on the entire story and brings in around in one complete circle to make for a great series! Thumbs up. Great job

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Perfect Crime.

Well, well, well. This is one to watch, if you want to play a thrilling guessing game and figure out the modus operandi of the perpetrator.

Sai consists of a series of seemingly unrelated deaths taking place over different prefectures/regions... all that are done by one man.
Until Domoto-san, the detective daughter of a famous criminal profiler, finds a common link among them.
What makes this drama a standout from the rest is that the serial killer knew how to choose his victims. He probed their emotions, explored the misery of the people around them, settling on ambiguous targets which prompt lazy detectives to arrive to an immediate conclusion. I could figure out how he chose the targets or the people around them.

It was thrilling to figure out how his mind worked, but this doesn't stop just at that. As the drama draws to a close, his tactics change. Very understandably. You'll have to watch the drama to know why.

While Domoto-san is definitely the star detective, inspite of limited screentime for the first four episodes, it was Iida-san who stole the scene. For someone who exhibits casual arrogance and resorts to shallow conclusions, he had a kind heart and was suprisingly, very, very sharp. Too sharp, perhaps.

The drama had very minimal background music and cinematography that was on point and attempted to capture the essence of the scene.

I was disappointed on how abruptly it was all over, as it ends on both despair and hope. It definitely needed another season for a neat denouement, but I'm satisfied for now. [Many thanks to HPriest for the fansubs.]
I'm just happy that somewhere, Domoto-san's curiosity is alive and kicking.

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I just wish there was less of the irritating complaining, whining, and brattyness.

Nah I am not a hater but the acting feel weak you know.

Story is boring as well.

Editing also.

I have watched a lot of period dramas but this one is the worse of them all.

This story is weak no twist and nothing much half of the story of next episode is halfof previous one .

If you want to just pass your time you can watch
But honestly not worth it.

The love story of On Dal and Song Soo-Jung was beautiful. They shared some intense kisses, loved it. Also the love between the princess and her bodyguard was very touching. So these four characters kept me watching.

I could appreciate the time travelling story.

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Will not recommend.

Very boring and the acting wasn't good either,, there was no chemistry between the actors and the plot was literally non existent, god i wish i never watched this.


There's weaknesses. It falls short in some areas. They could have played up the new difference in strength a little more. She is now he. She can push him around some - and he definitely has something coming. They missed some opportunities to have more fun with that. There's some plot devices that feel wedged in poorly, like the mini drama in which an ankle injury might get in the way of an important show. The weirdest thing about it is how they become attracted to eachother. Can you imagine kissing yourself? I can't. I know we're supposed to love ourselves... but that doesn't mean we're supposed to LUV ourselves...

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basic? yes! perfect? yes!!

obviously this is my opinion so not everyone may feel the same; but this was a perfect show for me. after watching moody and dramatic dramas lately, i needed something fun and lighthearted for a change!

the plot is very basic and tropey but its executed very well and i wasn’t bored during any episode. i also loved how aware the characters were about their feelings; especially fah because his feelings were evident from the start and it was more interesting that way.

the acting was very cute and fit the silly and upbeat tone of the show. obviously, it isn’t meant to complex and deep for the theme of the show, so i wasn’t expecting some profound writing about performances.

i loved the casting because the leads have such great chemistry but i LOVED the side characters!! teerak’s friend group was hilarious and i loved their interactions and chemistry as a group. i also loved the senior group, especially babe!

overall, it was definitely a 10. so cute throughout the show and definitely rewatchable in the future.

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