Reviews

Female Lead attitude make me dropped this drama fast than light.

I like the theme of this drama and used to watch J-drama with same theme (I love Satomi Ishihara's Unnatural) , but unfortunately, I really can't accept the FL's character. FL laughs indiscriminately when in forensic room. She laughs even when the forensic doctor is examining an autopsy at a crime scene, and she even shakes hands with him. So rude!

FL is supposed to be a gentle police officer, while the ML, is a forensic doctor, yet the police officer's fighting skills feels like she paid the school to get herself enrolled. Unbearable to watch. Dropped.

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Gets better as you move along

This starts off kind of goofy, but if you stick it out, it gets much more interesting with several good sub plots.
Eiji Akaso is always good, seeing him in several past performances, so he did keep it entertaining. I really think they could have hand picked one or two of the inheritance stories and played that out over the entire drama instead of having so many small stories. Some really good plots were solved within one or two episodes, just too fast. It would have been more enjoyable watching them play out over the entire series.
The last three episodes do redeem the quality of the drama, watching Haie solve his own personal issues from his past. There's a good antagonists we see more of toward the end, that plays well in the story, too.
Overall, a good series, but it could have been so much better.

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Warning if you hate mild violence, please turn away.

I actually watch this when i found Yu Peishan's Shen Mubai first and realized his other cast is Chai Huixin.

The story is actually decent, and the acting of the Yu Peishan and Chai Huixin and the rest of the cast is acceptable. It avoids the typical clichéd banter and excessive physical altercations found in bad dramas. If you want to see romance please turn away and if you can stand mild violence, run!

Plot is about FL who already got her vision back from being blind and want to inform her husband aka ML but it turns ML was having affair with mistress and want to kill FL for her property and inherence.

I love how FL handled the situation, and the Ladies support in the end. Overall, this show is a good way to pass the time during leisure time.

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Jackie Chan Never Disappoints!

A little bit of back story about why I watched this.

My fam called me to ask whether I want to watch Jackie Chan’s movie in theatre. Thinking it was action movie, I said yes. But then after the ticket was bought, I read the synopsis and learned that the film’s genre is not action, but more towards family drama.
I was actually reluctant to watch this as I am not in the mood for crying.

But after watching it, I don’t regret it. This film feels close to my heart. As a child with parents whose age are over 60, this film makes me realize, how short our time with our parents is. As we get older, we get busier with jobs and our own side hustle. But we sometimes forget that our parents are getting older too. We need to keep making memories with our loved ones. Lesson learned🫶

About the casts:
Jackie Chan always delivers! His acting as someone with dementia brought tears to my eye.
I saw a familiar face, Lin Bei Xing! She is here!
The ML he acted well that I want to watch his other dramas.

Overall, a must watch if you like a family genre, and even better if you watch with your family🫶

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I got completely sucked into this series; I watched each subsequent episode with real curiosity, wanting to uncover the truth. A lot was happening here—probably too much for some people—but I personally liked it. Plenty of secrets and dirty laundry on both families’ sides.

I’ll try to briefly go over everything, although for the first time I actually find it difficult to do so. Let’s start with the first main couple—Hong Hui Ju & Baek Sa Eon. Hong Hui Ju was definitely my favorite character. Her development throughout the series was very interesting. Through love, she gained self-confidence and the courage to finally fight for her true “self.” Overall, their relationship was amazing—despite many adversities, they were the most important people to each other and never doubted the meaning of their relationship once they understood their feelings. They fought for each other’s happiness, and therefore for their shared happiness as well. They didn’t push each other away when more brutal facts from their past came to light; instead, they supported one another. With the exception of the final detail that made him decide to leave to atone—but fortunately, she found him and put an end to that.

Now let’s move on to both families, where the situation was the most complicated. That complexity caused some storylines to remain underdeveloped. It’s hard to describe it coherently, because so many things are interconnected, but I’ll try.

It’s hard to even know where to start. In short, you could say that everyone was mentally ill, but I’ll begin with the real Paik Se-eon (the Hijacker). From childhood he had psychopathic tendencies, and instead of sending him to therapy, his family decided to cover up his murders and lock him in a room—then they tried to kill him, replacing him with the main protagonist. Sim Gyu Jin, the mother who later tried again to shield him from responsibility, led to his death, and she herself rotted in prison—even though she could have saved him by locking him up in prison or a psychiatric hospital. Baek Eui Yong—the father—cared only about his career, for which he was willing to do anything, even renounce his family, despite not being any better than them himself. Why was he free and not in prison? He knew about his son’s crimes and pretended that the kidnapped child was his. The same goes for the stepfather of the female lead, Hong Il Gyeong—he also knew about his son’s murder at the hands of that family and stayed silent about it until the very end. This whole matter was basically swept under the rug, and no one was held accountable.

Baek Jang Ho—his “grandfather,” who later suddenly turns out to be his biological father. WTF? Why was this dropped on us as casually as if they were talking about what they had for dinner yesterday? It wasn’t developed at all and came completely out of nowhere. Did he abandon him as a child? And then take him back, knowing he was his son? Who was his mother, then? And why did he grow up with Jung Sang Hun/Jung Jin Seok? So many questions and zero answers. It feels like this was thrown in just to force the main couple’s separation because of his guilt.

Outside of all that psychiatric mess, there was also the female lead’s mother, who wasn’t much better. Kim Yeon Hui forced her daughter, for a stupid reason, to pretend she couldn’t speak after the accident, and later forced her into marriage. She treated her horribly—and then what? Suddenly, after her disappearance, she realized her mistakes. The problem is that we never saw any sincere conversation between them, only a sweet scene of them sitting at the table in a warm family atmosphere. And then there’s the older half-sister—Hong In A—I had mixed feelings about her. At first I thought she was just pretending and would turn out to be manipulative. Later it turned out that wasn’t exactly the case, but I still couldn’t fully like her. She manipulated in a different way—she wanted to get closer to her sister by separating her from a relationship she believed was bad. She wanted her freedom, but at the same time couldn’t accept that her sister felt free with him and truly loved him. She had a big influence on his decision to leave.

In short, the only normal person in this whole family fucking mess—someone you could actually like and sympathize with—was the female lead’s biological father, Na Jin Cheol. The problem was that he was staying in a facility, so we didn’t get many scenes with him, and he didn’t remember much himself, so he couldn’t really help untangle the chaos.

In that chaos, there was one more person: Park Do Jae. I knew that handsome face had a second layer to it, so I wasn’t surprised he turned out to be a “traitor.” Still, I excuse him. He was seeking justice for his brother and redeemed himself once he learned that the main character wasn’t the one he wanted revenge on. I’m glad that in the end we were shown that they forgave each other and started working together again—although I don’t necessarily understand what exactly they’re doing now, lol.

The last storyline is the second couple: Na Yu Ri & Ji Sang U. At first, they both had feelings for members of the main couple, but they weren’t annoying about it. In the end, they got together, and I rooted for that throughout the entire series—but at the same time, I feel unsatisfied. This storyline was very shallow, considering they’re also main characters. On top of that, we were given signs along the way that they were starting to feel something for each other, but the final scene announcing that they’re together slightly changed my perception of them as a couple. I had the impression that Ji Sang U was still looking at Hong Hui Ju with a strange feeling, which makes me unsure about the sincerity of his feelings toward Na Yu Ri—but I prefer to convince myself that this look simply meant he was happy about his friend’s happiness.

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Up until the final episode, I considered this series to be great. I wasn’t bored for a single moment, and the entire plot kept me genuinely interested in every next episode. The whole moms’ team was fucking awesome, and it was a real pleasure watching them shut up all the doubters and support each other. The chemistry between the main leads — Ko Da Rim & Kong Ji Hyeok — was AMAZING from the very beginning and clearly palpable for the viewer. On top of that, their relationship itself was very enjoyable to watch. Yes, there were many misunderstandings that could have been solved with honesty, but at no point did I feel their relationship was toxic (a so-called red flag). Maybe with one exception — the pool incident, where in my opinion he crossed a line by “forcing” her to jump into the pool even though she couldn’t swim. Other than that, they were an enormous support for each other and would have risked everything for one another. Their moms were also wonderful, and watching their friendship was a delight — especially how, thanks to her mom, his mom started getting back on her feet and decided to fight for her own happiness.

However, the last episode was, in my opinion, tragic on many levels. The idea of his memory loss itself wasn’t bad, but dumping it all into the final episode absolutely was. Because of that, we spent half of the finale watching her pathetic attempts to restore his memory. I find it hard to understand why she didn’t think earlier that a kiss might bring his memory back, considering they had already talked about it once. On top of that, Kang Gyeong Min knew that a kiss was what sparked his friend’s feelings in the first place, so it’s also weird that he didn’t tell her about it. It’s even harder for me to understand why his mother didn’t try to talk to him and explain that Ko Da Rim wasn’t a scammer and that they really were together. He accused everyone else of lying, but he loved and trusted his mother, so he wouldn’t have suspected her.

Then came their one-year separation, during which he still knew nothing — even though he went back to work at the place where they had previously worked together, where a scandal had just happened and which he must have known about. Hell, the media surely published plenty of articles about them dating. Did he seriously think everyone was lying to him? Then there was a random encounter where he suddenly remembered everything, followed by quick music montages of their moments together, half-assed proposals, etc. Overall, the final episode left plot holes, unresolved threads, or storylines that were treated lazily because the creators decided to cram everything into that single episode.

One of those unresolved threads concerned Ko Da Rim. She flew to Jeju Island to find her sister, but instead she met Kong Ji Hyeok, they kissed, and suddenly the sister plot completely disappeared. We don’t know whether she found her or what came out of their conversation — and I consider that storyline quite important. After all, it was because of her sister that the main leads met in the first place, and also because of her that Ko Da Rim looked for a job and ended up working for him.

Now let’s talk about the second main “couple”: Yoo Ha Yeong & Kim Seon U. In the first episode, I was convinced Yoo Ha Yeong would be an annoying character impossible to like, sabotaging the main couple. Turns out — she became one of my favorite characters in the entire series. Very warm and kind, yet persistent and fighting for what she wanted. Her relationship with his son was wonderful and genuinely moving at times (the school performance). Because of that, as the series went on, I felt more and more sorry for her.

I probably differ from many people here, but personally, I didn’t see a happy ending for them — at least not at that time. She completely fell for him, but from his side those feelings were never there. Even the scene where he tended to her wounds while she slept didn’t come from romantic feelings in my opinion — it came from him simply being a good person. So I had no issue with him. From the beginning, he clearly defined where they stood and rejected her instead of giving her false hope. However, I do have a major issue with the scene of their meeting years later, which suggested that “maybe” something could happen. Not the fact that the meeting happened — I don’t deny that after years they could meet again and feelings might develop on his side once he healed from his past love — but personally, I didn’t like that scene. It portrayed her somewhat as a desperate woman approaching him after five years while he was talking to another woman and saying they might be together in the future.

Now let’s move on to the most important antagonists.

I’ll start with the one person I developed a tiny bit of sympathy for — Kong Ji Hye. Did I hate her throughout the entire series? YES. Did I change my mind at the end? NO. BUT that doesn’t change the fact that I understood her in a twisted way and felt sorry for her in some aspects. Since childhood, she carried the label of “the mistress’s daughter.” Her father took her in only to silence his own guilt. She worked hard, but her father was never going to appreciate her anyway. The man she loved constantly manipulated her and treated her like trash. Does that excuse her actions? No. But it makes her more than a one-dimensional villain — she’s someone who never experienced love. In the end, she even turned that piece of shit over to the police, which earned her the only plus point from me out of the whole trio. Maybe I’m naive, but I saw a hidden potential in her to become a good person and hoped someone would help her get there. That didn’t happen — or at least it wasn’t shown. In her case, we also have two unresolved issues: first, what happened to her after she left the company and moved out? Second, she never found out that Yoo Tae Yeong was manipulating her again and actually wanted to use her to buy her father’s company.

The main male lead’s father (he doesn’t deserve to be called a dad) — Kong Chang Ho. There wasn’t a single redeeming quality in this man that could inspire even a shred of sympathy. A man completely blinded by career and money. So much so that he stripped his wife of all happiness and freedom, driving her into depression and anxiety, then blamed her for her condition — and later for fighting back. He treated his children no better. His son was nearly dying in the hospital, and he was worried about his position. He took his daughter in only to appease his guilt. I watched his downfall with great pleasure — losing everything and everyone around him. In the end, he was left alone with nothing — a happy ending.

The final character is Yoo Tae Yeong. No matter how you look at it, he was mentally ill, and I’m honestly surprised he ended up in prison instead of a psychiatric hospital. The actor played him brilliantly — the madness was visible in his eyes from the very beginning. His facial expressions alone showed his manipulative nature. Still, I feel that, just like Kong Ji Hye, he wasn’t evil by nature. His madness was influenced by his father, who also treated his children like shit and constantly belittled him by comparing him to the main lead. Of course, that doesn’t excuse his actions, but it could have added more depth to his character. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed watching his plan fall apart and seeing him end up in prison, where he got beaten by other inmates and completely abandoned by his family — a happy ending.

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Overall, I consider the series itself to be very good. Although I think the biggest credit goes to the legal storyline, which in my opinion was the most interesting part. It was mainly because of it that I kept watching the next episodes with curiosity, wanting to know how it would develop further. In my view, it strongly saved my overall perception of the series and made up for the underdeveloped remaining storylines. That said, even here I have a few reservations. For example, Qin Shi never found out that it was because of Lan Xiao Ting that she initially didn’t get promoted to the 11th floor, since Lan Xiao Ting didn’t vote for her — even though they were close at the time and she treated Qin Shi like her own daughter.

Now I’ll move on to the other storylines. The first main couple — Qin Shi & Yang Hua. For most of the series, I liked their dynamic. Two completely different people who started out pretending to be in a relationship, but as feelings developed, they both began to change for the better — or at least that’s how it seemed. She started opening up and noticing life beyond work. He began thinking more seriously about his future. They both started to look genuinely happy. We had a very well-done slow burn here — which then got completely destroyed. Everything started falling apart with the divorce plotline. I did understand his decision, but I couldn’t understand the female lead’s actions: despite having feelings for him, she didn’t try to stop him (even though the show tried to explain it somehow). Later it turned into an even bigger circus of two supposedly “adult” people. He suddenly started pretending he wanted to get back together and leave the country with his ex-girlfriend, didn’t tell the female lead that he was doing it for her, and the cherry on top was that they had no contact for seven months after passing each other at the airport — only for him to randomly start living across from her and for them to fall into each other’s arms.
Overall, all of this wouldn’t have been that bad if it had been spread across more episodes (and there were plenty), but instead we got an emotional rollercoaster crammed into the final episode, which simply didn’t work. Still, aside from those last episodes (especially the finale), their relationship was very pleasant to watch.

Yang Hua also got the short end of the stick. We were given one throwaway line about his new job instead of actually developing that storyline. His legal case from his first job — where he was falsely accused — was never resolved either. That whole plot was completely forgotten, along with the fact that Jason Wang was involved. They supposedly suspected him, but later he was convicted for other things and the topic was entirely dropped.

What’s even more absurd? Despite all this circus, they were still the healthiest couple in the show — because the others were such massive red flags that their endings can honestly be called tragic.

Let’s start with Wu Fei & Tao Jun Hui. Tao Jun Hui is engaged to her from the very beginning, yet keeps chasing Qin Shi, whom he’s still in love with, lying to and straight-up manipulating his girlfriend. As for Wu Fei — she annoyed me the most out of the entire cast. Of course, I sympathize with her for having to be with such a loser, but she wasn’t any better herself. Her boyfriend lied to her and had feelings for his ex, and instead of breaking up with him, she supported him and sabotaged the other woman simply for being his ex. She behaved like a spoiled child — which, frankly, she was, thanks to her rich father. The cherry on top was presenting them as having a happy ending, despite the fact that there was no love between them — only dependence on her side and pathetic attempts to replace an ex on his side.
These two characters also have unresolved storylines. Wu Fei — what happened to her after she left her job? We know nothing, aside from a possible return of that “wonderful,” supposedly mutual love. Tao Jun Hui — what did he do with the evidence of s*xual abuse that he saw in Hai Tao’s possession? He said he would help him deal with it, and then not a single word about it again — just like there was no follow-up on Hai Tao’s fate, even though Tao Jun Hui warned him he could lose his license to practice law.

The last equally “healthy” couple were Ren Mei Mei & Qin Wen Yu. Sure, there were moments when I laughed at the absurdity and exaggeration of their relationship, but that doesn’t change the fact that they were in an extremely unhealthy one — which somehow got a happy ending in the form of a baby. Their entire relationship was built on violence, belittling, cheating, and constant fights, followed by showers of overly sweet, exaggerated affection. There was absolutely no ground for a healthy, happy relationship there without therapy, yet the show tried to convince us that they suddenly changed. And not even because of the child. She eventually left him, and we never even found out under what circumstances she returned or how they reconciled — it was simply skipped straight to a happy relationship and childbirth.

I have mixed feelings about the families of the first couple. Qin Shi’s family, considered by everyone to be the “worst,” was actually the best and the most enjoyable to watch. The oldest brother was definitely the highlight — he seemed the most reasonable and normal out of all of them. As for Yang Hua’s family, I have issues — especially with his mother, who was simply irritating. On one hand, she wants her son to get married and settle down; on the other, she constantly causes problems and interferes in the life of an almost 30-year-old man. There was also an absurdity here: his family thought they had been together only recently, while her family thought it had been two years — and how on earth did that never come up in any conversation between them?

Let’s end on a positive note. Li Dai was the queen of this series for me. I genuinely fell in love with her feisty personality, her confidence, and the fact that she kept the female lead’s secret, even when they weren’t friends yet. The duo of Qin Shi and Li Dai was my favorite in the entire show. Both had that “bitchy” vibe — in the best possible sense of the word — and together they were a powerhouse. To this day, I regret that we didn’t get more scenes of them working together, because I was really counting on that.

All in all, a surprisingly large number of things bothered me, which doesn’t quite match the high rating I gave this series — but that’s mainly because I had fun watching it and really enjoyed the legal storyline.

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I had a really great time watching this drama. Above all, it’s heavily exaggerated in many aspects, which often made me laugh, but in contrast to that it also tackled more difficult topics such as the female lead’s struggles with self-acceptance, bullying, and unhealthy family relationships. A huge strength of this series is also its cast of characters. Everyone felt different and interesting, which also applies to the couples and potential couples. I watched almost all of them with genuine interest, and in the end I feel a sense of dissatisfaction that some storylines weren’t further developed, because they had enormous potential for spin-offs centered entirely around them.

Starting with the first main couple - Song U Yeon and Nam Gi Jeong. They were complete opposites. She was introverted, withdrawn, and struggled with self-acceptance. He was overly confident, energetic, and didn’t think about the future, living entirely in the moment (his character was strongly exaggerated and made me laugh many times). Through each other, they both began to change for the better. She slowly opened up, gained confidence, and started to accept herself, while he began thinking about another person and about his own future. This is a first-love, high school relationship, and it shows - which isn’t a flaw. They experience their first kiss, holding hands, but also their first conflicts. In reality, they’re both learning how to be in a relationship. However, I did have one issue with them. I understand the female lead. I know how hard it is to deal with self-acceptance issues and how that can affect relationships, BUT I didn’t like that she was portrayed as innocent in these situations. It was always the male lead who apologized and took the blame every time. The same thing happened in the Ahn Ye Rim situation - she didn’t trust him and instead trusted a girl she had seen for the second time in her life, yet the drama still tried to portray her as the victim.

A perfect contrast to them was the second main couple - Koo Seon Ho and Nam Geu Rin. It was clear that they were older, and as a result their relationship felt more mature, though obviously not fully. This also fit well with the fact that they were both in college - for example, their argument stemming from poor communication. Here we had a long-standing friendship and “sudden” feelings that the female lead tried to resist.

For both of these couples, I would have loved to see what happened next. Dramas are rarely continued, but in this case I see huge potential. The first couple, where she goes to college and he develops his acting/modeling career, and the second couple, where she starts working and he goes off to the military. In my head, it all looks very promising.

On top of that, there were two more potential couples, and I really regret that their stories weren’t developed further. Ko Taeng Ja (Black) and Kwon Hyeok (Khaki) - there was a specific vibe between them that I personally found intriguing. And Byeon Tae Seon and Yeom Se Ra - her departure complicated things, and I’m insanely curious how their story unfolded after her return (in my head they’re together, but I would’ve loved to see it on screen).

Now let’s move on to the family aspect. First, the female lead’s brothers. The younger brother - a genius - whom I really grew to like and who, alongside the female lead, was the character I felt the most sympathy for. That’s why I was happy watching his budding friendship with Moon Bong Gu, because he was finally starting to discover that he, too, could be happy. The older brother was less developed, but I’m mentioning him because his character also intrigued me, and I would’ve gladly learned more about his story.

I won’t touch on the father, since he was absent for most of the series - but the MOTHER. This is the second drama I’ve seen where this actress plays a mother, and for the second time I hated her with all my heart. A mother who failed in life and pours her frustration and incompetence onto her children, forcing them to study and denying them any personal interests. Yes, by the end we get her “redemption” and a tearful backstory from years ago, but that didn’t change how I felt. Throughout the entire series, she was the worst kind of mother imaginable, and that can’t be erased with a single scene.

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It’s a very pleasant and comforting drama to watch. In my opinion, it isn’t particularly gripping, but it’s perfect for someone looking for a calm love story about feelings rekindled after many years. From beginning to end, the male lead is clearly in love and waits for the right moment to confess. The female lead’s feelings develop gradually, and at first she doesn’t even admit them to herself. At the same time, I had the impression that some things happened too quickly. This feeling was reinforced by their sudden marriage. At times, I simply couldn’t see a clear cause-and-effect progression, even though the story tried to justify it by saying that she wanted to marry someone quickly - that argument didn’t really convince me. It all happened right after their “breakup,” which she initiated because she was uncertain, and at that point nothing had actually changed. She was still unsure about his feelings. Even so, it was still a sweet and comfortable relationship to watch, especially for anyone who just wants to switch their brain off.

The second couple was also enjoyable to watch. They were a bit silly, somewhat childish, and exaggerated, but overall they added color to the series by serving as a contrast to the more mature main couple.

As for the remaining characters, I’d describe most of them as rather bland. They weren’t developed much and didn’t feel particularly important, which is why most of them aren’t very memorable. Still, most of them were fine, and overall there isn’t really a truly hateable character who would make your blood boil - maybe with the exception of the male lead’s father, but he doesn’t appear that often.

The only character who felt truly puzzling to me was Chen Xi, the woman who studied with the male lead. It seemed like she was in love with him, but those feelings were never reciprocated. However, this was never clearly explained to us, so whether that was actually the case is left entirely to speculation.

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The drama itself is very enjoyable to watch. The biggest highlight is the relationship of the main couple - Xiang Yuan and Xu Yan Shi - because, in my opinion, it’s what saved this series. I really enjoyed watching their relationship and the rekindling of their love. They were able to communicate with each other, support one another, and be a huge source of strength for each other. At the same time, I appreciated the moment when she set a boundary so that he wouldn’t sacrifice his dreams for her. I do think the brief breakup was unnecessary, but I treated it more as a short-lived conflict, and fortunately it wasn’t blown out of proportion with any serious attempt to enter a marriage with Feng Jun to save the company. They had wonderful chemistry and plenty of tasteful HOT scenes. It was simply easy to root for them from beginning to end.

In contrast, there’s the second main couple - Gao Leng and Chen Shu. I couldn’t root for them at all; in fact, it was quite the opposite - I didn’t want them to end up together. I didn’t feel any love between them, let alone chemistry. It was painful to watch scene after scene where Gao Leng tried so hard for her, while she kept treating him like a kid, completely failing to appreciate him in any way. That said, Gao Leng himself was a wonderful character, and I really wanted him to find happiness and someone who would truly value him, instead of trying to force him to change.

As for the company-related storyline, I had mixed feelings throughout the series. Sometimes I found it interesting and engaging, and other times I was bored and wished that part could be cut from the episode entirely. The constant obstacles thrown in their way - which were always eventually resolved - became tiring over time. On top of that, one DongHe-related issue was never fully explained. Several “employees” were plotting against the company during its potential downfall, and then they simply didn’t show up at the meeting afterward. What happened to them? It left a noticeable gap. That said, the employees themselves deserve praise - especially those from Velin, mainly from their department (with two exceptions). They were all wonderful. The same goes for Xu Yan Shi’s college friends (with one exception). Among the less obvious standout characters, I’d also highlight Li Yong Biao, whose personality completely won me over - I smiled when he was invited by the employees to celebrate at the end - and Ying Yin Yin. She annoyed me a bit at first, but her silliness also made me laugh, and eventually that was all that remained, so I grew quite fond of her.

Now let’s move on to the segment about annoying characters - and therefore the longest one, even though I’ll still skip some. Let’s start with the worst:
→Feng Jun was the most infuriating of them all. I honestly couldn’t stand seeing his face on screen, I swear. He ran off abroad, practically destroying his friends’ lives in the process, and showed not a shred of concern. Worst of all, by the end of the series he never faced consequences for the crime he committed - the one the male lead was blamed for. Then he comes back and relentlessly pursues the female lead, who has zero interest in him. He cheated in a competition, preventing her from winning, and still thought he was the better choice for her and could give her a better life. An absolute snowman.
→Chairwoman Li Qin and her lover Yang Ping Shan. She, in particular, drove me up the wall. I honestly don’t understand how the female lead’s grandfather managed to stay uninvolved in the company for so many years without noticing her schemes and fraud - but that’s something we’ll never get an answer to. Still, nothing gave me more satisfaction than watching her “clever” plans collapse like a house of cards. Her arrest at the end was the cherry on top.
→Li Chi. This is where my feelings become mixed. On one hand, he did help in the end, but earlier he was plotting against them - something that the characters seemed to conveniently forget. There’s also the issue of the secret photo he took of Chen Shu. Probably because he liked her? Even so, I still find it deeply unsettling and creepy.
→Situ Ming Tian — the FL's grandfather. He made this list simply because I couldn’t understand him. On one hand, he desperately wanted his granddaughter to get married or at least find love. But when she finally did, he suddenly became opposed to it. The supposed connection to her mother doesn’t convince me at all, especially the idea that he didn’t know the male lead was a valuable employee. He was a wealthy man deeply embedded in that world — there’s no way he wouldn’t have heard his name. In my opinion, this plotline was forced in just to create some obstacle to their relationship, and it didn’t make much sense. That said, this did improve later on, and I started to like him more when he became a subtle fan of the male lead, showing it between the lines -for example, by defending him in front of his granddaughter.

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Sweet riff on Mae Nak

You will get more from this if you've seen Nang Nak first - the 1999 film is the clearest, most straight forward, classic retelling of the Mae Nak legend available on the internet. The more familiar you are with that story, the easier this one will be to follow and the more its emotions will resonate.

Mae Nak has an important enough place in Thai culture that they make films about making films about her story - any way to revisit Nak, Mak and their love. There are dozens of adaptations and it's quite naturally assumed the audience knows the core story already. If you're only here for Krist, or only think about Thailand in terms of BL, can you not spare a couple of hours to learn more about this facet of their rich and complex culture?

My ratings and the rest of my review are provisional until I'm able to watch this subbed. I know I didn't catch a lot of the banter between the filmmaker characters but for the rest it was easy enough to go on vibes, visual recognition of elements from Nang Nak and what Thai I could pick up. Fern Passakorn as Salee was a favourite - I always like the energy she brings.

It's a sweet riff on Mae Nak. There's a lot of fun, plenty of silliness and of course a lot of love. Perhaps some brief commentary on the constraints fans put on actors' personal lives and loves. On its own, the love story between the leads may feel underdeveloped - but this isn't meant to be watched on its own. It's a recent addition to a long lineage of story.

If you short yourself on that background, you're shorting yourself on the emotions this one conveys. The choice is yours.

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Flat story about swapping groom

I watch this when i was on Chai Huixin marathon time last year.

FL and her stepsister, the SFL, marry a food delivery worker and a CEO, respectively. A few months after their wedding, the CEO dies in a car accident, and the SFL suffers abuse from her brother-in-law. The food delivery worker becomes a billionaire and gives the FL a lavish wedding. At the wedding, the SFL stabs the FL, and the two are reborn before their weddings.

The things that really bugged in my mind. SFL is even planning to die, yet she doesn't kill the SML In her past life, she killed the FL without blinking an eye.

Recommended to only fans of the actor.

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A very pleasant and comforting series to watch.

Here we follow the transformation of the female lead — Shen Xi Fan — who at the very beginning is stuck in a toxic relationship. Her boyfriend treats her like trash, tries to blame her for everything wrong in his life, and keeps her on a leash. Later, she meets the male lead, her relationship finally ends, and thanks to He Su Ye, she begins to learn what real love actually is.
He Su Ye himself is a massive green flag. From start to finish, he was incredible support for her and made her genuinely happy. The fact that she needed time never discouraged him. He simply stayed by her side and showed her true love with his whole being. Watching them happy together was beautiful, and their relationship was extremely sweet. There wasn’t even a hint of toxicity here. They supported each other deeply, even during difficult moments. There were no arguments after they got together, which made the whole thing very comfortable and enjoyable to watch. On top of that, they had amazing chemistry. They were a joy to look at, and their kisses were HOT.

A huge plus also goes to the female lead’s parents and the male lead’s grandfather. All three were wonderful characters, and most scenes with them made me smile — or cry, when her mom got sick. I have mixed feelings about the male lead’s father. On the one hand, I was happy when the female lead initiated their reconciliation (for a moment I was afraid he would oppose their relationship), because watching him, I felt like he had truly changed and understood that he hadn’t always been a good husband to his wife in the past. On the other hand, I kept remembering that not long before, he was still putting pressure on his son to pursue Western medicine. So to this day, I’m not sure how much he actually changed and whether he truly deserved that second chance.

Now, the female lead’s ex-boyfriend — Yan Heng. I wanted to strangle him through the screen. They absolutely ruined the character for me after Meteor Garden — I will never look at him the same way again. The way he was such a piece of shit while seeing himself as a prince on a white horse was insanely irritating. He broke up via text message, then came back like nothing had happened just to get revenge on her father? He couldn’t accept rejection and had the nerve to go to her parents and keep selling them bullshit about how he supposedly broke up with her “for her own good.” T R A S H.
Surprisingly, he eventually disappeared from her life and was never mentioned again — which on one hand makes me happy, and on the other makes me curious about what happened to him afterward.

Now for two questions / downsides.

First, the secondary couple — though I’m not even sure they truly counted as one. I’d rather say Xu Xiang Ya and Lin Yi Shen were more of a side pairing. And that makes me sad, because they were so wonderful that I really wanted more scenes focused on their relationship. I can’t even find one solid argument — I just wish their storyline had been developed more.

And the biggest downside for me — or rather, an unanswered question. Did the male lead really have a girlfriend in college who broke his heart, or was that just a lie made up by Fang Ke Xin? Why was this never explained? Why did they never talk about it? I thought that ex-girlfriend would show up at some point since she was mentioned — but it never happened. So did she actually exist at all?

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When I started watching this series, I was convinced it would be good. I wasn’t wrong — it was fucking amazing and addictive. But I also thought it would be very sweet and “calm,” considering the author’s other works. Turns out, not quite. The series tackles heavy topics that are definitely not for everyone, but they’re handled extremely well — there’s really nothing to nitpick here.

Let’s start with the positives, namely the male lead — Sang Yan. I already loved him in Hidden Love, and here my love only grew stronger. A wonderful man and a massive green flag. I wish every good person could meet someone like him in their life. His unconditional love and immense support for the female lead were beautiful to watch — and at the same time heartbreaking. For two reasons. First, the positive one: he was the only person (aside from her dad) who was always there for her and truly showed her genuine love. Second, the negative one: he suffered a lot because of that love — and he absolutely did not deserve it. Honestly, neither of them did. They both truly fell in love back in high school, and their feelings remained strong even after their paths split. Their reunion showed that clearly, as the emotions slowly resurfaced. This wasn’t just about obvious on-screen chemistry (though it was definitely there, and the kisses were H O T), but about a deep, emotional bond. They were the most important people in each other’s lives, and both wanted what was best for the other.

That led to one moment where I was completely torn: Wen Yi Fan’s second escape to Hong Kong. At that point, two wolves were fighting inside me. One wanted to tear her apart for hurting Sang Yan yet again — a man who was nothing but wonderful to her. That wolf wished them both happiness apart, just so they could finally stop suffering. But the other wolf understood her. She had been through hell — the kind that’s hard to talk about and even harder to forget. She never received the support she deserved, and the people closest to her convinced her it was something shameful and that she should stay silent. Then Che Xing De reappeared in her life. She wanted to protect the male lead by disappearing from his life. That wolf knew that their true happiness existed only with each other — and that they truly shined only together.

As for Wen Yi Fan herself — the female lead — she was a tragic character. The actress played her brilliantly, and I felt her pain in every single episode (I cried in almost all of them). For me, it’s unimaginable how much hell the people closest to you can create in your life — and that was exactly her case. The strongest disgust and resentment I felt was toward her mother, Zhao Yuan Dong. Of course, I’m not defending that piece of trash (Che Xing De), who ended up exactly where he belonged — but it was her mother who allowed this to happen. She could have protected her and didn’t. She didn’t believe her own daughter when she said he tried to take advantage of her. She still wanted her to stay near him, claiming he was a good man. SICK. Years later, she acted like nothing had happened and wanted to fix their relationship (mainly because her new partner left her). I’m glad she didn’t get forgiveness from her daughter, and that the female lead cut her out of her life — she absolutely didn’t deserve to stay in it. Honestly, she deserved even harsher consequences. To make things worse, she let that trash live with her younger daughter, as if she wanted to put another child through the same hell.
Coming back to the female lead — I’m glad she met someone like Sang Yan. She deserved happiness. She was a good person, and her parent gave her the kind of fate no child should ever have. I’m happy that, thanks to him, she slowly started reclaiming happiness in her life. Thanks to him and his family — and we already knew from Hidden Love that his family is wonderful.

Still talking about the main couple — the proposal at the very end was beautiful. That kind of ending is pretty cliché, but here it really worked for me — especially with a small complication added. And one tiny BUT: it was sweet and at the same time slightly terrifying that he followed her around Yihe for six years despite having no contact, simply because he promised her back in high school that he would always be by her side :D

As for any love rivals — we only had admirers for the female lead (which is honestly weird, considering Sang Yan’s looks and personality — how was no one interested in him except me and Wen Yi Fan? :D). Still, both of them were decent guys and not overly annoying.

Now, the secondary couple: Su Hao An and Zhong Si Qiao. In their case, I feel a slight sense of dissatisfaction, though it’s hard for me to fully pinpoint why. Their relationship had huge potential, but somewhere along the way it feels like it wasn’t fully used (though, like I said, I can’t clearly define where it went wrong). What irritated me was that at some point I completely lost track of their dynamic. I thought they were together when they weren’t — or they were together, but she wasn’t sure if he loved her? I honestly got confused myself. On the positive side, both of them had wonderful families. Especially his grandparents — watching them together was a joy. They radiated a kind of happiness and love that had survived many, many years.

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I recommend this drama to anyone who needs something light and very enjoyable to watch.

Let’s start with the main couple - Cong Rong & Wen Shao Qing. Their relationship was sweet and comforting from beginning to end. They liked each other almost from the very beginning, and once they became a couple, there wasn’t a single moment where they doubted the value of their relationship. There were no unnecessary arguments or melodrama between them (well, there was one pointless argument, but it wasn’t serious), just a sweet, almost perfect relationship between two people who fit each other incredibly well and loved each other deeply. Watching them was a pleasure, and their chemistry was wonderful. Aside from the sweetness, they also had HOT scenes - their kisses were genuinely good. They were each other’s priority. They valued each other’s well-being more than their own and fought for it. Most importantly, they knew how to listen to each other and talk to each other. It’s also worth mentioning that their story began in childhood. Sweet - but also a little scary - was the fact that he waited for a girl he had known only briefly as a child for so many years. :D

Now let’s move to the second couple - Zhou Cheng Cheng & Wen Rang. They were opposites. She was loud, open, emotional - though her feelings weren’t always stable. He was quiet, distant, cold, closed-off, and pining for his ex for about ten years. Here we got much more drama, which wasn’t a downside. We gradually watched him open up to her. Feelings slowly started to develop, which threw him into emotional chaos, because he had been waiting for another girl for years. And of course, that girl had to appear. That’s when he realized his true feelings were for Zhou - but it was already too late to stop the snowball that had started rolling. Although honestly, it could have been stopped with a conversation, but in their case communication didn’t come naturally; they had to learn it - especially him. Despite everything, their relationship was interesting to watch, and the drama between them felt natural rather than exhausting. The two couples were a perfect contrast and complemented each other well.
However, with Zhou Cheng Cheng and Wen Rang I found two small flaws. First: Zhou still doesn’t know that the kiss in the taxi actually happened and wasn’t just a dream. Second: I really wanted more scenes between them after they officially got together! Everywhere it says they were also a main couple, but they definitely felt much more like a secondary one.

Now let’s talk about the admirers of these two couples. The ones connected to the main couple were perfectly fine. They knew when to give up. Qin Chu caused some chaos at first, but stepped back when she noticed the two were into each other, and she was actually kind and supportive afterward. Shangguan Yi didn’t exactly back off, but he wasn’t harmful. He threw in a few comments here and there, but quickly stepped back and behaved normally. Though I’ll admit, I wish we’d gotten a scene where he confessed his feelings to the heroine, because then she would’ve realized that the main lead’s jealousy was justified.
But when it comes to the “admirer” - the ex-girlfriend - of the second male lead, she was extremely annoying. Completely self-centered, even though she treated him like trash. She didn’t know when to stop, even after seeing he had turned toward another girl, and desperately kept trying to get close to him despite him showing not even a hint of interest. In my opinion, she was the only irritating character in the entire series.

The last point I want to address is the families. The best, of course, were the female lead’s mother and her stepfather, but the male lead’s parents and his grandparents - who were the second male lead’s parents - were equally wonderful. Watching scenes with all of them was genuinely pleasant. As for the others, they were fine/neutral, and we didn’t get any extremely annoying or toxic characters (though the second female lead’s parents were toxic at the beginning).
I’ll also mention the female lead’s cousin - Zhong Zhen. Overall, I’m a fan of his personality; he made me laugh many times. A wonderful character with one flaw. I wanted to tear him apart and swore I’d name him my enemy of the series if he interrupted the main couple’s HOT scene one more time - luckily for him, he didn’t.

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