Reviews

too much cooking, not enough story

the beginning of this drama pleasantly surprised me: the culinary theme felt fresh and unusual, which immediately set it apart from most historical projects. that was exactly what drew me in at first. but later it became clear that the writers relied too heavily on this cooking angle. the main plot is built on familiar cliches from other historical dramas, and even those could have worked better if they had been developed properly. instead, the creators stretched out the contests over several episodes while giving too little attention to character development.
the romance line feels insincere – the characters feelings appear suddenly, without enough foundation.
that said, i can’t say everything is bad. the story has its own logic, and among the characters i especially noted the jester – a charismatic figure who truly stood out despite his limited screen time. i wish there were more characters with this kind of charm.
so for now it’s a 7/10. the drama has a fresh idea and a few strong moments, but the main story could have been much more engaging if the writers had worked more on the characters, the plot, and avoided the overuse of cliches.

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Without any doubt,it is the best Chinese drama of this year.I have watched about 15 Chinese dramas,I can easily vote it to top 1 drama among all of them.some drama is emotional,some are romantic and some are comedy but this drama has everything.Dont listen to others reviews or just ignore ratings,this drama is worth spending every second.With only 16 episode ,they have not stretched the story,there is not a single boring or skipping episode.My only concern now is what to watch after this.After watching this drama,other dramas will look inferior.Baijingting is a great actor,first there was 'the first frost' and now 'mobius'.

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You Know When The Drama Is Masterpiece

The plot was actually really unique in its own way—it even reminded me a little of Reset (another Bai Jing Ting drama with a time loop). It had some truly mind-blowing twists, but also plenty of hilarious moments that balanced out the tension. For example, when Ding Qi and Mo Yuan Zhi were talking in the car and Ding Qi suddenly smiled like a meme—I laughed so hard! 😂 And don’t even get me started on the way everyone teased him about his first kiss. I honestly wonder how many times they had to retake that scene because they were probably cracking up behind the scenes.

One character that really stood out to me (besides the main leads) was Feng Wan Qing. She’s so kind and selfless, willing to sacrifice herself to help Mo Yuan Zhi with the medicine. At the same time, that sacrifice ended up being the reason why everything happened. Still, I can’t bring myself to blame her—it just made her character feel so layered.

Even though I loved the drama, I’m still left with some big questions. Why exactly did Ding Qi enter the loop? Was it because he hadn’t taken the medicine before the loop day, or was it something else? And what really happened to Feng Wan Qing at the end—she kind of just vanished. That’s why I honestly hope they make a Season 2, to clear up these mysteries and dive deeper into the story.

Overall, this was such an interesting drama that keeps you hooked all the way through. It’s funny, emotional, and thought-provoking at the same time. Highly recommend!

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Mobius — A Drama That Keeps You Guessing

I just finished watching it, and here I am writing another review of a drama starring BJT. Mobius follows the story of a policeman named Ding Qi, played by Bai Jing Ting, who occasionally ends up stuck in a time loop. On random days, he relives the same 24 hours over and over. As the loops continue, strange events and hidden connections start to unfold around him, revealing unexpected twists.

I watched The First Frost starring BJT and ZRN, and I was captivated by BJT's acting and then I watched Reset too. Honestly, it made me realise I didn’t know such a versatile Chinese actor existed—he’s good-looking, sings, plays piano and is funny as well! Since the day I saw Mobius page on MDL, I was looking forward to watching it, since sci-fi and thrillers are my jam. Now that I completed Mobius too, here's what I think:

The series starts off really strong—the way they introduce the characters and the time loop concept is intriguing. By episode 10, I was still a bit confused about who the main antagonist was and who was who, which made me eager to keep watching. The story is pretty good overall. At times, it felt a bit dragged out, but in hindsight, those parts felt essential.

The cinematography is solid, BJT was very charismatic as Ding Qi and Janice Man as An Lan played her role well, although didn't have much time to shine, acting wise, everyone did a great job. I love the whole CSI officers, they were so cool to watch and their teamwork shines! Although the romance is subtle, I could feel the chemistry between the leads, though it might not work for everyone. The opening OST, it really sets the mood. Overall, Mobius reached my expectations, BJT never disappoints. Although the ending might feel a bit messy and illogical at some parts, it's still worth a watch, especially if you like thrillers and time loops!!

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Time Duel

The drama got a strong handle on seriousness and when to add humorous moments most of the time. There were moments where it didn't work, but it wasn't too bad considering it was on the rare side. I love the dual language aspect of the bilingual actors who are able to speak both Cantonese and Mandarin do get to speak both. Though all the characters understand each other, for those who don't speak either languages, they are not automatically mutually intelligible in real life. They need to be learned. There is some English at some point too, but that's not exciting. I know that the production filmed in different cities with big Cantonese speaking populations, and the news within the story is entirely in Cantonese, but maybe I missed it, but I never quite got where the show was supposed to be taking place with so many people also speaking primarily and only in Mandarin as well. I appreciate the male lead giving a few Cantonese phrases a go. I spotted a Life is Strange poster Ding Qi's house. That coupled with the over writing gives me the sense that the writer(s) have an appreciation or familiarity of various time travel stories and tried their best to make fresh new take. I really like that there is an explanation for the time loop ability and there is side effects as well. It's fun seeing how Ding Qi figures out the best ideal way to save the day and him going against fellow loopers.

The weakest part of the story is when Ding Qi and An Lan are forced to go through romantic trope scenes which doesn't work when we know nothing about them together, especially when there's no romantic chemistry to coast on. The saddest part is that it's not that the writing is unable to do a believable romance because Yuan Chi and Wan Qing's love story was strong and believable to be what drives Yuan Zhi. Ding Qi and An Lan working together later down the line actually strengthens their believability more when she also gets to be a full fledged three dimensional person. She's the coolest when she gets to be her scientist self, instantly getting down to science business when Ding Qi tells her about his time loop ability. The guy who plays Yuan Zhi is really good at playing up the charisma that tech bros think they have. He totally was sporting an Steve Jobs inspired outfit too. Ding Qi's death scene was way too overdone with too much focus on all of his individual team members freaking out. It's supposed to be sad, but it became silly. An Lan's cure out of nowhere seemed weirdly tacked on with no transition as well. The last second new loop was not a bad way to end, but I think I would have respected it if Ding Qi just died too with An Lan continuing her work after saving her mom. Maybe have her become a new looper with an improved formula instead.

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I thought it was a parallel world

I started this movie and halfway through jumped to the ending.... and because of that I got confused. I thought there was a parallel world. So, I rewatched it in full without skipping.
The movie depicts the difficulty of having a relationship that neither of them had been open about with others. The slimmer Hyeok never told anyone he has a girlfriend back home which led him to entertain the temptation and the suspicion.
We may say that the Jang Hyeok and Dae-un both had lost their way because of their failure to communicate honestly. The moment the man started to lie, he is sure to hide something and later on yield to temptation.
Perhaps we may wonder now, what will happen to the chubby Hyeok and Dae-un, about the baby Dae-un carries and the slimmer Hyeok.
The last part of the movie which is a sort of a recap of all the events from the beginning of Dae-un's encounter with the first Hyeok up to going to the airport with the second Hyeok clarified everything.
Figuring what is the sweet part? Perhaps the start of the relationships that brings butterflies to each other.
It seems that more of the movie tends to the sour part - a relationship gone wrong, cheating, too late to realize she is the one and losing her to another who now benefited the Christmas time in Jeju.
I wonder why the writer thought of this title anyway.
No need to rewatch, as it didn't give me a positive life lessons. sorry.

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A friendship torn between admiration and resentment

"I could never beat her"
"I've never beaten her"

(Note: I'm not much experienced in review writing but I would try to make it as much as helpful as possible and spoiler free as well.)

Quick Summary:
This is the story between two childhood friends who have admired and resented each other. Their friendship had started with hatred for each other since their childhood. They separated their paths in their teenage, then years later reunited in their 20's. As the story goes, they again separate their ways only to meet again after a few years in their 30's. The admiration hadn't died yet died by then but neither had the resentment died which make them separate their ways again only to have their paths crossed in their 40's when the SFL was diagnosed with cancer.

Character Synopsis:
Let's start it off with the character of Ryu Eunjung, the FL of the drama. She was shown as a kind hearted person in the series but she was easily manipulated by the SFL which made her look too naive.
Her feelings for Sangyeon (SFL) started from admiration. When she first saw Sangyeon, she admired the confidence she had. She cared for the SFL a lot, even at that time when she was supposed to cuss at her, had wanted to punch her, she still cared for her deeply. She didn't believe what was true or not, she believed what she wanted to believe which made her character more realistic to me. In life, we have also had those situation where we know what's the truth but end up believing what we want to believe.

Then comes the SFL, Cheon Sangyeon. Her feelings for FL started with envy. She felt that she was never able to make her mother or her brother smile which FL was able to do. She was toxic but had still cared for the FL. She didn't want to look pathetic but cause of her high pride, she ended up loosing her everything. She was pathetic and a bitch which she knew herself. When she feels like, she leaves the people who admire her just to come back years later on again and expect them to wait for her. Which was what led to their friendship be ruined over and over again. She always played the victim card whenever she needed it to manipulate the FL.

Talking about their friendship, it seemed toxic but that was all what the SFL said she had left. Even the FL, who was done wrong by the SFL a lot of times, ended up forgiving her at the end.

Things I liked abt the show:
- The cinematography. I usually found the type of cinematography entertaining as it was shown in the drama. (the cinematography gave off the vibes of 20th century girl and soulmate)
- The show talked abt camera and photography (it's ne of my hobbies too which is why I was totally hooked in the story of the 20's of the FLs)
- The OSTs. They weren't memorable but they were pretty good.
- The acting was well done>>
- The dynamics between the FL and her mother.
- The pacing of the drama was also well done.
- Liked how they showed us that we sometimes don't know the value of those who loves us until they are gone (talking abt the SFL and her mother's relationship)

Things I disliked:
- The show lacked the depth of the SFL.
- In their 20's arc, the ML, when he found out that the SFL's brother was one of his online friends, he started to look out for her more, even more than the FL whom he was dating at that time. A lot of scenes showed us that he had romantic feelings towards the SFL which wasn't the actual case according to him.
- The FL forgave the SFL way too easily.

Overall, I liked the show. Had started it with high expectations and it didn't let down of those expectations. Although the SFL's back story was shown way later, it still hit me hard. The love triangle felt irritating and annoying sometimes but it was bearable. The dynamics shown between the two FLs would be hard to understand at first but as it keeps going, we get to know what they truly meant for each other. A person whom you can never truly resent.
If you have completed the series, I'd suggest you to go for a sweet rom-com drama as it was a heavy melo drama. Would also suggest to not select a drama whose main focus is love triangle. My suggestions would be Hometown ChaChaCha, Business Proposal, Welcome to Waikiki, etc.
If you want something similar to this, I'd recommend 20th century girl, soulmate (2023), from my watch list.

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Great Cast

Lee Seung Gi and Cha Seung Won are always watchable for me. The rest of the cast did an admirable job, too.

I'd expected a police procedural, but there were relatively few cases; the emphasis was on the camaraderie of the detectives and their battle against corruption. Although violent crime and trauma were depicted, there was always comic relief, sweet friendship interactions, and slight romance to brighten the darkness.

One question the drama provoked was: how much evil is permissible if it serves a greater purpose in the end? Can a few innocent be sacrificed for the greater good of many? I stand firmly on the precept that tolerating evil begets evil: "The wicked become even worse when they are tolerated." - Leo Tolstoy

The drama introduced many characters and plotlines, but it didn't tie everything up at the end. I was left with questions, which I won't discuss to remain spoiler-free. For that, I'm subtracting a half star. I loved the chemistry between the detectives, especially the growing relationship between Dae Gu and Seo Pan Seok. That, alone, was worth adding an entire star.

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May their future be just as bright as beautiful memories they share.

My darling Kim Da Mi is back with yet another challenging role. In the beginning, I added this drama to my list purely because of her. If it were any other actress, I wouldn't have found anything about this drama to be as exciting.

Initially, I wasn't planning to watch while it was ongoing and wanted to wait until all the episodes were out, to save myself some heartache that I believe this drama is likely to serve, but I couldn't stop myself from watching it now.

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It is impossible to not adore the relationship between Ko Yeong Rye and Seo Jong Hui. Them supporting each other is what i want to see for the entirety of this drama.

Yeong Rye's crush on the guy is understandable especially since he showed up like a superhero to save her so many times already. But on his end, that's all it is to him. He eyes are on Jong Hui and I can't blame him. You like who you like, things cannot be forced. As much as I hate to see Yeong Rye hurting, I am glad that she has a good head on her shoulder and wants things to work our for Jong Hui.

I can't blame Han Jae Pil for liking Jong Hui for another set of reasons, to have someone understand what's going on and stand up for him at a very vulnerable time, who could resist that? Jong Hui seems to be running from a past that haunting her, so her liking him back also makes sense. I feel the time is right for them.

Aiyo! That timeskip was completely not what I was expecting. I don't like the direction this is venturing in, I liked the past story.
I don't want them to skip so much and give us the leads in love. Whatever happened to the journey. (yeah yeah, i am being impatient.)

Just finished episode 8, well the timeskip is not that bad. The besties are back together without much heartache. I'm hoping that Jong Hui ends up with Yeong Sik, because he seemed to be waiting for her. And for dear Yeong Rye, I'm leaning more towards Jeong Hyeon than Jae Pil. Because everyone apart from his mother thinks Jae Pil is out of her league. There's just something about Jeong Hyeon that despite his childishness wants to make me root for him.
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At first I thought that Jong Hui was being a bit selfish deciding to push herself in between people who have some feelings for each other. But then again, if Jae Pil keeps wavering between the two, is he even worth the hassle. I also forgot that both Yeong Rye and Jong Hui have each taken a step back from their feelings for Jae Pil when they realized that the other liked him too. First it was Yeong Rye swallowing up her one-sided feelings and then it was Jong Hui breaking up with him. I do admit that I was rooting for Yeong Rye to end up with Jeong Hyeon because he seemed like a better choice. What I was afraid of did happen, this is replay of Itaewon class, Kim Dami's character being besotted with the male lead to have him treat like a option for years only to suddenly realize that he loved her all along. Finally, Jong Hui spoke her mind, no matter how she felt, she needed to talk to Yeong Rye about it long time ago instead of bottling it up. Here's to hoping that this drama doesn't end in a tragedy. (I am afraid coz her brother is on loose along with the man she stabbed.)

Was I the only one who didn't like the final episode at all? I almost wish it had ended in a tragedy.

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Engaging and refreshing

"Us" has received widespread acclaim for several key strengths. The show is noted for its well-paced, engaging narrative and mature themes, offering a refreshing alternative to more formulaic genre entries. Reviewers highlight the authentic and respectful portrayal of lesbian and WLW relationships, marking a significant improvement over typical representations in the genre. The series addresses serious, relatable themes with sensitivity, resonating with viewers who have had similar life experiences. Exceptional performances by Emi and Bonnie, whose strong chemistry adds depth to their characters, have been praised. The thoughtful casting of supporting roles further enhances the show. Additionally, the color palette and soundtrack are commended for enriching the series' inviting atmosphere.
Overall, "Us" is recognized for elevating the genre through its progressive storytelling, strong performances, and high production values.
Our server Poll resulted in an overall average score of 9/10. This is an aggregated review from the BL Shia community. Want to know more and have your voice heard? Join us in Discord: https://discord.gg/zDynbwQpP4 and talk about it!

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Watchable but weak follow-up to the stellar first season

It was a watchable conclusion but I wished that they had removed the plot point where Liu Lang (I’m assuming he is meant to be a teenager) managed to disrupt the progress of Mu Dan and Jiang Chang Yang’s relationship by simply breaking the hairpin and lying. Chang Yang should have already suspected that something was amiss based on Liu Lang’s very obvious bias against him and jealousy of their relationship (Liu Lang had never hidden it prior to this). Mu Dan also should have also given Jiang Chang Yang the hairpin herself. Who gives a meaningful love token to your business partner and friend to pass to your lover? The whole miscommunication plot point was just very annoying to watch.

Also, I didn’t believe that the aftermath of the supposed murder of Jiang Chang Yang was realistically plausible. I knew he wouldn’t have died because Mu Dan had never gone through the panic of wanting to find his body or discover where he might be buried after she managed to escape from Liu Chang’s. They could have added a scene where Mu Dan would be desperately looking for Jiang Chang Yang’s body or grave. It didn’t seem that the thought of looking for his body or grave had ever been written in - if it had been, then it was poor editing on the production team’s part.

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