Reviews

For Xu Kai , it’s must watch .. Xu Kai has given brilliant performance and it’s total surprise

Completed this drama. Absolutely worth watching for all those who prefer to watch Suspense/ gritty/ crime/ BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES by Xu Kai as Chen Hui and Ding Yong Dai as police officer Chen Hong Bing, remained my favorite characters. Next is Chen Hui Mom and Grand Pa.
This story has got suspense, mystery and tight screenplay.
Xu Kai delivered best complex emotions, with his Eyes and amazing facial expressions. Xu Kai should do more and more modern dramas that has more than CEO roles. His natural domineering style and charm has added fun moments effortlessly. I am non- Chinese speaker, but had totally connected to Chen Hui emotions, tears rolled down while Chen hui breakdown moments. Chen Hui character has multi layer complex portrayal scope.. and Xu Kai managed to deliver every single layer absolutely amazing and perfect to the point. Xu Kai natural way of showing gentleness added best father -son - mother scenes throughout.. in this drama, he outshined in showing emotional side, dark, gritty, vulnerability , helplessness. It made me extremely sad and emotional with Chen Hui end.. but I do see the arc of this role.. and potrayal. So Xu Kai receives respect and recognition for making us believe his pain.

Then comes to Ding Yong Dai, his performance almost makes the viewer to believe as real father and son chemistry and screen time. His character arc is consistent and he and Xu Kai got the best scenes that makes the viewer to rewatch the episode. He made the viewer to feel sad for the father and son’s entanglement.

Hu Ke, played Ding Yue role also gets connected to audience/viewers and makes them emotional in all the mother - son scenes.
FL is ok, she has delivered what’s been demanded. But Songge character could have written bit more tightly, so viewer could connect or root for Songge’s interest or wish to live long.

Over all, Xu Kai’s performance is excellent and promising and makes the viewers feel for his pain and naïve, restlessness, vulnerable side of Chen Hui.
This performance of Xu Kai is noteworthy , can be critically acclaimed.. after Gu Yanzhen and Han Ting, Fuca Fu Heng.. hope he selects more scripts that has performance scope.

Am surprised, to see some bad reviews .. this drama is worth watching and praising all the main characters.. who did exceptional performances and great work.
Don’t go with reviews.. if you want to watch nice performances, this is must.

Xu Kai is an incredible talent and got fan following in USA and India . Binge Watched this drama with friends, we all speak different languages , having English as common language , we all could connect to every emotion on screen. That shows this drama is winning and Main characters did great work.

Wishing him best roles like
- playful - fun loving + witty + smart
- very calculative , intelligent
- negative shades lik Chen hui
- more and more modern roles with full of life.

Congratulations to entire cast and crew for doing their best. Wish you all more success and happiness..♾️❤️🪷🥰🦋

- So (from USA )

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A drama that is both steamy and healing

There were some heavy topics including the realities of family conflicts, domestic abuse, and the taboos of sex. The topic of consent was addressed frequently, which is sometimes rare in these types of dramas. The lead couples had great romantic chemistry and I totally believed how much they grew to support and care for each other despite their fear of rejection. There were lots and lots of spicy scenes in this drama which focused more on slow, erotic foreplay and the director and actors did a very convincing job of portraying physical intimacy that was steamy, even if the pants are still on.

As for the plot, we have two individuals with vastly different experiences on love and sex that have impacted their definitions of what constitutes a romantic relationship. Although they start off fighting like cats and dogs, they eventually find common ground. Through their unique beginning, each finds a form of healing and for the first time gain a relationship that is both healthy and rewarding. Although misunderstandings did occur, the pair chose not to hide from them and began to openly communicate to resolve issues. Despite a lot of negative situations, the positivity and trust that develops was inspiring and touching. Lastly, it has my required happy ending, is rewatchable and recommended from this drama watcher.

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Evil to Good, and Good to Evil

I think a dichotomy a lot of dramas fail to play around with is good to evil or evil to good, but this drama did both! It was done pretty well, although at times I could not see how logically speaking these characters switched up so drastically.

This drama was not particularly exceptional to me, but it did keep me hooked the entire time which is a plus. I also loved how badass the FL was and how soft the ML was. It made for a really good dynamic between the leads. The second lead couple was actually so cute; I didn't think I would find them to be so heartwarming.

I do kind of wish they would not have chosen to abolish the monarchy. I feel like the whole interest of the show was that it was a parallel universe where the crown still existed, and abolishing the crown just made the ending feel like it lost the whole original plot. Maybe that's just me though lol.

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First Impression: Connecting to You

Overall: I'm going to try to rate this against other comedies (even though I wish they had gone a bit more dramatic/serious with the tone). 12 episodes about 25 minutes each. Airing on Connecting to You YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA97yNFVRehg ; GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/8579/connecting-to-you-2026-e01 ; iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/connecting-to-you-2026-2fbr7b78pud?lang=en_us ; Viki viki.com/tv/41629c-connecting-to-you ; Rakuten TV ; MyVideo and friDay

Content Warnings: near suicide (ep 1 skip 2:30-5), bloody nose, child abuse (ep 3 skip 8:45-17:20), manipulation, fight

What I Liked
- unique premise
- different personalities

Room For Improvement
- exposition/world building dump to start
- some of the humor didn't work for me
- unprofessional professor
- hope we see more chemistry soon

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I am not the demographic that Love Untangled was aimed at, so I struggled with the first half of this film where Park Se Ri and her friends were obsessed with creating the right moment for her to confess to the cute boy in school. She only knew he was popular and she wanted to be seen with him which made her come across as superficial instead of “adorable” and “lively.” Her curly hair was supposed to be a metaphor for her tangled love life, but instead it came to represent her chaotic and tangled thoughts regarding herself and her hair.

Park Se Ri and her posse work tirelessly to find the perfect moment for her to confess to Kim Hyeon. She returns to the secluded beach where they both ended up swimming one day only to rescue new student Han Yun Seok from drowning instead. Park’s posse helps Han out as his leg is broken and soon he’s working with them to create origami love eggs for Kim. When Park discovers that Han’s mom has a process to straighten her unruly locks, she further ingratiates herself to him hoping the mom will give her a discount on the expensive treatment.

The ahjussi elephant in the room was that Gong Myoung was 31 in 2025 compared to Shin Eun Soo’s 22. If you are a fan of Cha Woo Min, he’s a small supporting role rather than main character. The twin sister mentioned prominently in the intro faded away almost immediately. None of the characters in the friend group were developed enough to tell them apart. Their sole goal was to support Park Se Ri which made her come across as self-centered. She wasn’t afraid to be manipulative with them or with Han Yun Seok. The first hour with her whining, ranting, and pouting was hard to watch. Only as she started appreciating the person next to her, did she settle down and think about someone else. The second half of the film was a much easier watch for me.

Unlike characters who are considered ugly because they wear glasses and capitulate to wearing contacts, Park’s inner war with her hair became less important as she matured and accepted herself. After all, she had loyal friends, found love, and had a great family. Humans always seem to want what they don’t have be it straight hair or curly. The first half of the film had Park Se Ri living her life superficially, in the second half she dug a little deeper to discover other people had their own problems and she needed to be a friend to them even if it required sacrifice on her part.

15 August 2026

Cameo spoiler note below:






















*Sweet Baby Gong Yoo made a cameo near the end of the film along with his Kim Ji Young: Born 1982 costar Jung Yu Mi!

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It got better and better for me

Joy of Life is a much beloved older show (as I write this in 2026), but it actually took me quite a while to get through. I guess I just didn’t enjoy it as much as everyone else, though it grew on me by the end.

The protagonist, Fan Xian, is cheeky, irreverent, and smart. He’s kind of a transmigrator except he comes in as a baby, so “born with modern memories” is more accurate. It’s actually all explained later- uncovering this mystery is not the only thing the show is about, but this background underpins a lot of the plot, and is interesting when it does come up. I was pleasantly surprised at how the show handles this “transmigration”, including the way it affects Fan Xian’s attitudes and worldviews.

The thing is, the first 10+ episodes are mostly about Fan Xian obsessing over a girl after meeting her once or twice. Fan Xian only wanting to live his own life, with no great aspirations (despite being in position for it), is kind of relatable- for all of us who can’t be heroes. But being so consumed over a girl he barely knows is something I absolutely cannot relate to. I didn’t even see what is so great about her- she might have been impressive if she were 12 years old, but she isn’t- and I didn’t understand why he thinks she can fill all his emotional voids after seeing her act cute a few times.

Well, it's true that infatuated people are generally not great at thinking critically about their infatuation, so maybe this is realistic. But that doesn't make it any less annoying to watch.

Luckily his love life becomes less important as the story progresses. A big part of the plot is about various schemes and counter-schemes, figuring out the political situation as well as who is out to get Fan Xian and why. It’s alright to watch, but didn’t stand out to me from all the other shows about power struggles.

Then, in the last 10 or so episodes, I finally started to like the show. It’s still mostly about watching smart people be smart, but for whatever reason, I found the last Beiqi story arc more interesting as I followed the different entanglements. It also has some really touching moments and fascinating reveals which left a strong impression on me.

On top of that, I think Fan Xian’s character shines through more towards the end. He’s fairly likeable through the whole show, because in addition to being cheeky and smart, he also has decent levels of kindness and compassion. He doesn’t have a spotless record- still lies and tricks people, for instance- but I think it makes him all the more relatable, like he can’t pull off everything while being perfectly moral too.

But towards the end, we see more of his personal and existential struggles. The music is very good at setting a certain mood and highlighting how weighty events pass through our lives. I especially love the existential tinge- separated from his love interest, but surrounded by new and interesting characters, Fan Xian is still struggling to define what he wants out of life. His super smartness is not relatable but a lot of his emotions- shown more than told- are. I liked him by the end, and even forgave him for being so obsessed with a random girl at the beginning.

The side characters are not bad; there’s nobody I really love, but some characters grew on me, especially from the last arc. The characters have some fun quirks and details (like Haitang Duoduo can’t be bothered to wear shoes properly) but overall they feel more like real people than a lot of other shows. This might partly be the way they look, though. I love this show’s lack of idol vibes, both in the overall style (eg not oversaturated colors) but also the people styling. People aren’t ugly, they just aren’t always gorgeous, and they’re not wearing overly heavy makeup. They look more like normal people.

The acting is also very good. The expressions really convey lots of meanings and I thought everyone does a great job, from Zhang Ruoyun to the supporting cast. Did I already say how much I like the non-idol vibes? They just all look so real.

The fighting and choreography is quite good, as is the soundtrack that accompanies the fights. Some of the scenery is very pretty, and looks real. For the music, OST/songs aren’t used much, but I really like the background music. It sets the moods very well.

I’m sure there is tons of discourse around this popular drama, but I haven’t read it, so here’s my unresearched opinion. Many of the things that make idol shows idol shows- the excessive focus on looking good at the expense of logic or realism, the heavy makeup and filters, the overdramatic scenes and developments, the posing- are actually things I don’t like. But when I check up recommendations for non-idol shows, I see a lot of gritty, realistic, depressing-looking stuff, while the idol shows offer imaginative settings and fun plots.

What I like most about Joy of Life is that it still has an imaginative plot but without those idol vibes. Add to that the touching moments, great reveals, and existential musings near the end, and I’m left with an overall positive impression of this show. But it might also be that it took me so long to finish that I’ve forgotten how annoyed I was at watching Fan Xian obsess over a random girl for 10+ episodes, and it is also true that I struggled to stay interested in a lot of the political scheming that forms the meat of the show.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





It ends on a cliffhanger. I don’t think this show is standalone- even setting aside the new conflicts introduced at the end, there are still some parts of his backstory that I feel are unexplained (eg where his mom came from, and what's the deal with Wu Zhu). Season 2 took 5 years but is out now, so I guess I’ll head over there.

At the very end they pull out a layer to frame it all as a book with the ML as the author. I wonder why they did that. Personally for me it just created a little extra confusion and annoyance (on top of the annoyance of the cliffhanger).

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no they did not air this pre-production ass show.

fck watching the playback, am i right? the producers clearly did not give AF. fam, who the fck made this show? seriously.

tell me why there was a timeskip after nearly every scene? why was proper transition from one scene to the next non-existent? we go from eating soup to playing basketball. from night time to night time the next day. one minute we are in one room, next we are in another with characters carrying random items they never had. what the f? WHO SIGNED OFF ON THIS?

the acting was okay but by episode five being stone-faced and the being timid gets old fast. the bei luqing character obviously cares but his way of showing it is terrible. he doesn't apologize. he barely speaks. he barely defended xiaofan. he let xiaofan think he moved on for TWO YEARS. he is just a red stadium full of flags. also, why was there even a two year timeskip? the average person's life changes drastically in half a year. their superficial ass "relationship" could not have lasted a two year no contact period 😭

there is AI usage. there are dogs constantly barking in several of the scenes. the intimacy was horrendous. there was rape. the main character is in a perpetual state of humiliation. the leads never communicated. they maybe spoke two sentences to each other every time they were together. nearly every scene had a goof. watching a daycare center full of children would have less screw ups 😭 it was like every scene was left on a climax. how tf sway? i have never seen any type of media directed like this. it was just sh't fragmented and then pasted one after the other. was i hallucinating? is this a stylistic choice? whatever it was, i hated it.

edited to add: i have completed it and this was the worse BL i have watched to date.

the last episode was better than the entire series. i do not know how lu xiaofan managed to be a personal assistant to luqing, cook for a whole other family unit, engage with the bei family members, collude with an entirely separate party, & maintain himself. i figured he was way more clever than he let on and that was quite cool to witness in the last episode. he secured his own future and won in every way, basically. apart from the beginning of episode twelve, the rest of the show was almost offensive to watch. i could document a countless list of all the problems i observed with this show. i truly cannot believe this actually aired anywhere as complete.

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weirdly charming, a little spooky, and actually pretty fun

spooky in love has a really fun setup with ghosts, romance and comedy, but what made it work for me was how naturally the characters reacted to the ridiculous situations around them. yeo-ri's life isn't exactly easy when she can see ghosts, and gang-wook getting pulled into that mess leads to some genuinely funny moments. it has a nice balance between the supernatural stuff and the more normal, everyday parts of their lives.

the relationship between the leads was probably my favorite part. they don't suddenly become perfect for each other, and i liked watching them slowly get more comfortable and protective of one another. there are also some surprisingly emotional moments underneath all the comedy, which gave the story more heart.
pros:
-fun mix of romance, comedy and supernatural elements.
-the leads' relationship develops naturally.
-good balance between funny and emotional moments.
-yeo-ri's character has more depth than you'd expect.
-entertaining supporting characters.

cons:
-the ghost stories slowly take a backseat to the chaebol drama.
-the plot starts feeling a little stale and predictable.
-the past is revealed in frustrating little pieces.
-the present storyline gets messy and loses focus.
-some supernatural moments feel more like a setup than a real storyline.

overall, i still had a really good time with it because the leads are just so easy to root for, but i can't ignore how much the story started losing focus. the romance kept me watching, but i really wish the ghost storyline had been given the same attention as the chaebol drama.

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Well, I really liked it...

For me, this was a proper Rom-Com. Is it a masterpiece? Absolutely not! Is it a series that will make you smile? Most definitely! This series was fun and a visual treat.

Why Our Sticky Love worked for me:
- The Supporting Cast: The S.E.S. ladies (Jang Hye-jin, Cha Cheong-hwa, and Kim Mi-hwa), halmeoni (Kim Young-ok), and coach Hong and his wife (Jeon Bae-soo and Seo Jung-yeon) were all amazing.

- The Cameos: I love a good cameo, and I knew there were going to be some, so I did not look at the cast list before watching the series. Oh, what lovely surprises they were.

- The Scenography: The set design with a carefully chosen color palette was stunning: the turquoise payphone, the colorful table umbrellas and chairs, the brightly colored altar, the tablecloths, the flowers, etc. The wardrobe choices for the ajummas, halmeoni, and all other characters complemented the set palette perfectly. The details in Jang Tae-ha's house gave it that safe and loving feeling that Go Eun-sae needed. The presentation of the food made the dishes very appetizing, but they were also in harmony with the colors in the background.

- The Cinematography: I was mesmerized by the use of beautiful light orbs and auras throughout all 12 episodes. The sunsets and sunrises evoked deep emotions. The oceans and fields were rich in color and serenity.

- The Conclusion: This series is a true Rom-Com, so I cannot spoil it by saying that it had the happiest of endings. It was well developed and full of the romantic and sweet fluff that I love in a proper Rom-Com.

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Sold, Silenced, and Stuck in a Cycle!!

I don’t really know what to say or where to start, honestly. There is so much to unpack here, but I’m struggling to put it all into the right words.

First, let's talk about the setting. The story starts in the 90s and seems to end right before the 2000s. In China, same-sex relationships during that era should certainly not have been seen as normal or openly accepted, so I was quite confused by how casually it was sometimes treated.

They really should have shown us much more of the deep-seated conservativeness and close-mindedness of that period.

On the bright side, the music was great—I loved how it was used at just the right moments. As for the acting, I can't complain; I felt like the cast delivered well.

When it comes to Lu Xiao Fan's family, they are the textbook definition of parents who sacrifice their child's future for their own burdens. I hated the fact that they essentially sold Xiao Fan. At first, when his mother gave him that money before he went to Bei’s place, I thought she might still have a shot at redemption. But as the episodes progressed, I couldn't help but hate his whole family.

If they all believed the eldest son was the most important, they should have put the responsibility on him, not Xiao Fan! Life in the province is undeniably hard, and poverty doesn't help, but to the point of being completely shameless?

Xiao Fan's family is the absolute worst.

And what even happened to Xiao Ping's child? I bet the girl didn't receive any financial help from him—though honestly, that's probably better, since he wouldn't be a good father anyway if he doesn't change.

On the other side, Bei Lu Qing's family—we didn't see nearly enough of them, especially his mother. There are so many "what happened?" questions running through my mind. Like, what happened to Lu Qing's mother after he bought up all those shares (not entirely sure if that's what he did)?

If the Bei family has such massive reputation and power, couldn't they have just used someone of equal social status to step up as Lu Xin's husband?

And Lu Qing's friends? I really don't like them.

They're the type of people who look down on anyone they think doesn't fit their lifestyle. Zi Yang might be the closest to Lu Qing and occasionally helps him out (especially regarding Xiao Fan), but he still speaks ill.

Then there's Lu Qing. To be honest, I just don't understand him.

His character felt overly controlling at times, and I never really saw how he fell for Xiao Fan—was it just the soup?

Or Xiao Fan's inherent kindness?

Let's not forget: Xiao Fan was his sister's husband! Regardless of whether the marriage was just a paper arrangement, Lu Qing shouldn't have started anything with Xiao Fan, and neither should Xiao Fan.

And the total lack of communication? If Lu Qing had just shared all his master plans with Xiao Fan, everything could have worked out smoothly, and we might have actually seen him truly "folded" and devoted to Xiao Fan.

As for Xiao Fan, I couldn't seem to hate him, even when he slowly started reciprocating Lu Qing's kisses and feelings. In fact, I just pity him.

He was never even given the chance by his family to get a proper education. He was so used to being poor, and watching his miserable situation play out across 12 episodes made me feel so bad for him. There wasn't an episode where I didn't desperately hope he'd finally get the happiness he deserved.

He was belittled and shamed like he wasn't even a human being. He was kind-hearted and didn't want to trouble anyone, yet the people around him constantly troubled him to no end!

When the last episode showed that he planned a way out, I thought, Finally, true freedom for him to live the life he deserves. And sure, that might be his own soup shop now, but... did he do all of that just so Lu Qing could track him down?

At first, I couldn't understand why Zhen hung up when Xiao Fan called—I thought maybe they had a falling out. But looking back, maybe it was intentional so Lu Qing could find him, which is ultimately how they traced him.

Am I happy with the ending?

Not totally.

The wedding and them getting back together felt so rushed.

They should have given us at least one or two proper episodes of them actually being together after everything they went through.

And the wedding itself—is that even legally recognized back then? Plus, it seemed like he never even ended up going to France!

As for the chemistry, I'm honestly not sure about that either, because I was too focused on feeling sorry for Xiao Fan. They never really had deep, meaningful conversations—or at least, not any that I can remember.

Their routine felt like a repetitive cycle of kissing, watching each other, cooking, and eating. Maybe some real-world relationships are like that, but narrative-wise, they needed something substance-driven aside from just that.

Ultimately, I'm conflicted about whether I like this show or not. Maybe I was just hoping they'd give us an ending focused on the genuine individual and joint character development of the main leads. And the fact that the mother was casually mentioned right at the end? I literally rolled my eyes watching that scene!

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Very poor screenplay

From Episode 1 all the way to Episode 9, it is basically the same fight between Neen and Ranch’s mom. There is zero character development and almost no progression in the story. The screenplay feels unnecessarily dragged out.

The book has another part where Neen and Ranch reunite after a year and slowly find their way back to each other. That storyline could have added so much depth and emotional development. Instead, the drama has stretched one conflict across nine episodes without giving us much movement.

Honestly, who is going to keep watching a show that feels this stagnant? The writing is just so disappointing.

And Orm and Ling have zero chemistry. Even the kissing scenes feel awkward and unconvincing. Their relationship does not have the emotional connection needed to make those scenes work.

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