Reviews

Hater to Lover

When I first started the drama, I hated it so much. The only reason I kept watching was because of the male lead (Ming Chuan). Not because I knew the actor or anything, but because his character was written so well. It honestly shocked me that someone could write such a good male lead while making the female lead such an annoying character at first. To be honest, I hated every part of the female lead (Luo Bixin) and even her bureau to the point where I was hoping Ming Chuan would end up with the second female lead (don't worry, the second female lead only appears for around 3 episodes or less and she's a really loving character).

But slowly and steadily, Luo Bixin's character grew on me. You could genuinely see her development. She went from someone who looked down on almost everyone, especially Ming Chuan, to trusting them, creating friendships and becoming part of a team. By the end of the drama, I was so in love with every character and the whole bureau.

Ming Chuan is literally the biggest green flag ever. From being a kind individual, to a police officer, to a friend, colleague and partner, he is honestly one of the best police officer characters I have ever seen written. He literally made his hater (the female lead) fall in love with him 😭 and throughout the drama, so many girls ended up liking Ming Chuan, and it wasn't even because of his looks (not saying he's ugly, he isn't), but because of his personality. Ming Chuan had such a kind soul and his determination towards justice and compassion towards victims really made you love and respect his character. He was thoughtful towards everyone around him and genuinely cared deeply for people.

By the end, I was genuinely so happy Luo Bixin ended up with him because she became such a light in his life. She stayed beside him through thick and thin, trusted him completely and was so loyal to him. Luo Bixin also became such a beautiful character by the end. Her loyalty and trust towards the man she loved honestly went beyond words because her actions constantly proved it. From making it clear that Ming Chuan had no competition by rejecting the second male lead while making sure he knew about it, to looking for him whenever he went missing, confessing her love first and always reassuring him that she would be there for him. I ended up loving her so much because of her bright and warm nature. She truly became a light in our male lead's life and her actions continuously proved it. I loved her character so much by the end.

Bixin and Ming Chuan were such a cute couple as well. Their chemistry was so natural and you could really see how love made them seem younger and more adorable. I loved how the female lead was brave enough to confess first and how confident she was with her love. She trusted her instincts and knew her man was trustworthy, and she ended up being right. I also loved Ming Chuan's character, especially when he was upset because even though he knew she was right with what she was doing, he was still hurt by it. Then he confessed through an email (which was honestly so Ming Chuan), and acted like such a baby while explaining that he was upset because he thought she used his love and didn't love him back. Every part of their romance had me giggling because they were genuinely so cute.

I honestly loved the side characters too, especially the apprentices and their relationships with their mentors. I also loved the relationship between the apprentices themselves because they portrayed young love really well, and both of their character developments were insane. They went from being high school kids to becoming police officers, and it was both amusing and adorable watching them grow up. I also loved the relationship between the director and the deputy captain; they were such a cherry on top and their supportive nature was beautiful. I would've loved to see more of their story and how they met ♡

The crime stories were also really well done and had plot twists that made the show even more interesting. At first I hated how it felt like Ming Chuan was the only one solving all the mysteries even though he was the forensic scientist rather than a crime officer, but by the end, with all the characters going through major development, I realised they actually made a really strong team and that without even one of them, the team would've felt incomplete, not just without Ming Chuan.

The only thing that really bothered me was the video they showed at the beginning. From what I remember, it clearly showed Ming Chuan's face, which obviously made you think it was him, but by the end of the drama it turned out to be someone else entirely. What confused me was that the main antagonist never even seemed to directly aim at Ming Chuan to be viewed as one of the suspects and they would never do that, so how exactly did Ming Chuan's face end up in that video in the first place? What was the reason behind it? I might've somehow missed an explanation while watching, but I really wish that part had been explained more because it left me confused and felt like an unanswered detail.

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It’s been a long time since I got so attached to a drama like I did to this one.

It’s been a long time since I got so emotionally attached to a drama like I did to this one. From the very first episodes, the story completely pulled me in and made me genuinely care about every character. It’s going to be really hard to forget this series. I loved the chemistry between the main couple, the outstanding performance of the entire cast, and the unique, captivating storyline that felt refreshing from start to finish. I only feel that the plot had enough material for 16 episodes, allowing the ending to unfold more naturally and calmly.
I am in love with the little king.

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First Impression: Smile After Tears

Overall: I appreciate that the series is up front about the overall tone/possible ending. 12 episodes about 25 minutes each. Airing on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/7410/smile-after-tears-2026-e01 and iQIYI also on iqiyi https://www.iq.com/album/smile-after-tears-2026-1azk7nql9t9

Content Warnings: cyber bullying, past death

What I Liked
- production value
- different personalities
- supportive friends

Room For Improvement
- I was a bit confused with that intro scene, does he not have his previous memories?
- love rival
- voicing inner thoughts

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Raw, challenging and courageous

The writer, Song Hye Jin’s previous drama “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” stayed with me for the intensity of the emotions and its stark bleakness, and this one is no different. That was not without fault and neither is this. But it will be another unforgettable drama that haunts rather than lingers. Unlike “The Smile…”, this appears to be an original story, so is doubly impressive. I am not surprised that she only produces work every few years. This level of emotional intensity takes a toll. The effort and depth of understanding needed to create an emotional arc this complex and compelling, and live with it whilst writing is truly astounding and I stand in awe.

My current take on this story having just finished it (and it’s the sort of thing that changes with reflection over time) is that it outlines a co-dependent relationship where however cruel it is, the individuals go back for more to justify to themselves that their self image is true to who they think they are. They both need to fight to keep it intact, whatever the cost.

Although there is a tendency to see Sang Yeon as the villain of the piece, whilst Eun Jung is the victim, this is to ignore the fact that Eun Jung could not walk away from her necessity to think of herself as a good person and accept her limits. As the story progresses Eun Jung is forced to confront the shallowness and fragility of her understanding of what that actually means. She accepts Sang Yeon back every time because she needs to feel that she is big enough and strong enough to cope. That her self respect will not let her down. She accepts the test each time. But the irony is that with each encounter the hate grows bigger inside her, and eats away at the unlimited, balanced personality and open generosity she needs to think she has.

For Sang Yeon, there is an ever present existential threat created by the suicide of her brother and her perceived rejection by her mother, who also ultimately abandons her in death. What is so bad that you would prefer to die rather than live? That you would consider the love and trust of the people around you not enough reason to live. She is constantly testing Eun Jung, trying to push her towards the edge, testing whether her limit will result in an ending and another abandonment. Sang Yeon cannot abandon Eun Jung and returns to her for the connection that will never give up on her. She finally realises that death is a necessary and unavoidable abandonment, but that it does not necessarily imply rejection.

The responsibility for this fractured relationship is in fact equally balanced and it is not until they both realise that fact that they could finally come together.

The performances by Kim Go Eun and Park Ji Hyun were exceptional. To be offered a script of this quality must have seemed like a dream come true. Both of them excelled and created compelling characters although personally I was more convinced by Park Ji Hyun than Kim Go Eun. However, I was not immediately drawn to them and it took about 5 or 6 episodes for me to work my way into their characters. (More about that when I come to talk about the cinematography and editing.) But over the course of the drama as a whole, they both convinced, especially in the emotional impacts at the end of each of the four “acts”.

This is essentially a story about two women, the male lead has a fairly inconsequential character arc and is really there to act as a foil between the them. To be honest, I found his character bland and lacking depth and it felt as though Kim Gun Woo accepted that lack in his playing of the part. I was not convinced of the pivotal role he had in the lives of the women, whose characters were strong and fully realised. This is perhaps a necessary compromise in the writing. To have made the character of Sang Hak richer and stronger would have added competition on a field already filled to bursting with it and taken away from the interaction between the women.

I was so glad that at the end of the drama they did not resort to euphemism but had the courage to follow through on the emotional impact. The drama was unafraid to be raw and direct. Not just in the storyline, but in the behaviour of the characters who spoke their truth brutally and used it as a weapon to both intimidate and manipulate.

The faults that I mentioned earlier (and FFS perfection is a ridiculous imposition to put on such a good drama) are mainly to do with the cinematography and editing, although there is a small niggle with the story arc.

Let’s address that first. By the time we reached the 2013 section of the drama I was a little tired of adjusting to new situations and characters and found that much of it felt like a repeat of 2003 in a different setting with slightly different stakes. Although I admit if I rewatch this drama I may see that differently. The other niggle is about how the early part of the story is partly narrated in voice overs by Eun Jung as part of her autobiographical writing of their relationship. This led to awkward storytelling, where scenes Eun Jung was not present in were necessary for the narrative flow. I think that was unnecessary and the story could simply have been told straight.

Now for my main peeve - the cinematography and the editing. Ironic in a story where one of the characters is a cinematographer. I thought a lot about why I was not engaging with the characters for the first third of the drama and came to the conclusion that it was a lot to do with how the story was visually presented. The editing style was to chop and change constantly, with mainly close-ups being used in significant emotional scenes. It was like being at a tennis match. When facing one person you can’t tell what’s happening to the other one so you turn back and bounce between them. What you want to see is the combined picture where they are both in frame so that you can watch the subtle changes in body language and sink into the tension between them. Then, make an impact by showing close ups. They were so busy with capturing the details that they forgot to open up the big picture. The result was that I had to put a lot of work into reading the room. I recently finished “Sounds of Winter” where the superb cinematography was a major part of the emotional impact and this production could well have learned something from it.

There was another choice which drew my attention away from the characters at critical moments, and that was the decision to use hand held camerawork in the climactic scenes in episodes 7 and 13 when everything fell apart. The unavoidable camera shake pulled me away from the intensity unfolding in front of me. It was so noticeable because it had not been used in any other context and was obviously a deliberate decision. Perhaps with the intention of illustrating how their world was shaking. As far as I was concerned it was Um Song Tak’s (the cinematographer) “look at me” moment.

Having said all that, this drama deserves its 9 rating. It didn’t capture my heart, but rather confronted and challenged me and had the courage to deliver on its promises.

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What happens when your adopted brother starts crushing on you ?

Before starting my review, this series is not for you if you dislike brothers to lovers trope.

Unknown is my first Taiwanese bl series that i've watched and i must say that you don't need a high budget to make an outstanding series. You can clearly see that this is a low budget series. The story is beautifully written. It tells the story of Wei Zhiyuan a young man who develops romantic feelings towards his adopted older brother Wei Qian. Now playing such characters requires actors who can pull every emotion flawlesly and i must say that both actors were great in their roles. The OST of this series is mind blowing and the intro is on a next level. I skip most of the intros of series but this intro song gives me goosebumps. But this series also has some flaws and these are mostly seen in the last 2 episodes where they only talk about Wei Qian's illness. They also try to create laughter with jokes but honestly 70% of these jokes are not funny

Overall: This series is a must watch series because of the execution and powerful storyline but if you don't like brothers to lovers trope you better stay away from it .

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Adulting 101: The tales of Sanpo Village

Date completed: May 2026
Rating: 9.0/10

Brilliant writing,
Brilliant storytelling,
Brilliant acting (hats off to Son Suk Ku,)
Brilliant cinematography.

It’s not microwaved entertainment; it’s a slow-cooked meal.
Not personal, yet somehow staring directly into your soul.
A journey, never a race and you are part of it.
Quietly leaves you wanting more, There is more to the story. Where is Mr Gu going with that bag? Sanpo?Do we get 10 more talk sessions? (iykyk)

In conclusion, If someone asked you to bring them “Adult”.... this would be it.

Currently subscribed to anything Park Hae Young writer-nim touches. Brilliant mind.

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Spicy start and brotherhood all over

From the beginning, the hatred turned lovers between Yixiao and Suige were so spicy to watch! Both Yixiao and Suige are beautiful - Yixiao has a commanding and endearing personality, and Suige is quite charming. They find realness in their compatibility and bring each other strength. There's no female catty drama!!! Its male-centric and of brotherhood. Interestingly enough, the relationships the main leads had with other characters were just as important and entertaining.

I was pleasantly surprised that after the big fight and their celebration for victory, there were still additional episodes. I was looking forward to more because it had been great so far. But at this point, the story became slightly diluted - where the focus switched from the couple to the side characters. Yixiao barely got any facetime, and the couple became pretty professional and there was little development in their relationship. By then, the magic of the show was slightly lost. The sidequest in the drama with Suige's sister wasn't super exciting. There were lots of quarrels, but I had little sympathy. The side characters' pain were so dramatic but were actually nothing compared to ML/FL's deeprooted pain had that drove the story. Later, the fighting scenes with Yixiao was slightly impractical with her ability to whack people with her bow and shoot them in close combat.

While the ending wasn't great, I still really enjoyed watching drama, as the main leads were down to earth and righteous.

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The Gold Standard

I don’t know if there’s a way to express how much I love this one. I wanted to rewatch immediately after the first watch. I was ready to go back.

There’s so much emotion in this story. There’s humor. There’s joy. There’s sadness. There’s drama. And it’s all balanced so well.

Without giving spoilers, I will also add that one thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the children in the show. They are amazing. High quality acting at such a young age. And they avoid the tendency to be annoying or just plain trouble.

Trust me. This is the best show I’ve watched in my year of watching CDramas.

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