Reviews

Moonlight Finds What Daylight Misses

'Forbidden Love' (2004) remains, years later, an anomalous but surprisingly coherent work: a drama that uses melodrama as its backbone to graft on horror folklore, urban action and a far from trivial reflection on power and visibility. A work that does not seek balance, but builds its identity precisely on the friction between registers.

One of the most interesting aspects of the series is the choice not to “hide” the supernatural, but rather to have it coexist openly with the urban landscape. The gumiho clan does not live on the margins: they are fully embedded in contemporary society, often occupying positions of authority. If during the day these creatures appear perfectly integrated into civil life, at night they sink into the underground, where an archaic realm of braziers, altars and ancestral symbols (and an abundance of leather outfits!) opens up, fuelling a world of rituals, feuds and millennial secrets. An imagery that, in terms of artificiality and evocativeness, is more reminiscent of Italian peplum movies and certain deliberately fictitious sets by Mario Bava than television realism.

In this dual space — bourgeois surface above, primordial rituality below — suspended between melodrama and gothic horror, paganism and the occult, the series finds its most authentic identity. 'Forbidden Love' is not a “spectacular” fantasy in the classical sense, but a lateral fantasy that infiltrates the interstices of the modern city: the fantastic does not destroy reality or replace it, but slowly infects it, almost vampirically, creeping into the creases of everyday life.

The melodramatic storyline is based on predestined yet impossible loves, in which every feeling is doomed from the outset. The gumiho Shi Yeon (Kim Tae Hee, beautiful and committed to a well-developed role, albeit still too expressive in her facial gestures) is at the centre of an emotional four-way relationship with no way out: She rejects the human and predestined love of policeman Kang Min Woo (Jo Hyun Jae, convincing), because she belongs to the lineage that he, initially unaware, fights against; but she also rejects that of her fellow Mu Young (Jun Jin, overly restrained), unable to arouse true involvement in her.

Shi Yeon is inextricably linked to the fate of the thousand-year-old fox; a natural and spiritual law that governs the existence of gumiho, laden with symbolic and metaphorical references: the impossibility of emotional bonds, not having to give in to human love, not mixing desire with the primordial instinct of the fox. The ‘curse’ represents the price to be paid for becoming fully human. Hence the divided identity, the repression of feelings, the eternal conflict between imposed destiny and individual choice, the personal sacrifice that precludes both paths, because every emotional bond strengthens one part of her at the expense of the other...

The gumiho warrior is an almost ascetic figure, forced into solitude not by moral choice, but by ontological necessity, which is immutable. The drama still holds up today precisely because of this mature and painful conflict: love truly becomes “forbidden love”.

Around them moves Chae Yi (Han Ye Seul, super sexy and perfectly suited to the role), a tragic character crushed by a double inferiority — hierarchical and sentimental — that transforms jealousy into betrayal. In this context, the melodrama offers no promise of redemption: love, though predestined, cannot be fulfilled without destroying those who feel it. No one, human or gumiho, is destined for a happy ending, because the predestination of love is not a promise, but a condemnation.

It is within this relentless logic that a “sideways” loss occurs, seemingly unrelated to the love four-way, but destined to contaminate it from within: a human bereavement, innocent and unaware of the deep axis of the story, which, touching on one of the symbolic cores of the gumiho’s existence, transforms love itself into guilt.

The introduction of the special police division marks a decisive change of scale. The military, not surprisingly, ‘don't mince words’: they embody a cold and repressive rationality that conflicts with both the gumiho and Kang Min Woo. The policeman thus becomes a tragic figure in his own right: torn between love and duty, empathy and repression, caught in the middle of two worlds that demand absolute loyalty. His conflict is insoluble, because every choice involves a loss. It is here that the melodrama acquires an unexpected depth: love is not salvation, but yet another battlefield.

The action scenes do not seek realism or pure spectacle, but instead function as geometric rituals inscribed in urban space. Squares, rooftops, stadiums, gyms, shopping centers, and even churches become chessboards where Korean folklore, television melodrama, and post- ‘Matrix’ and ‘Underworld’ action imagery coexist in a kitschy balance that is as delirious as it is coherent.

The characters seem to move according to invisible rules: the conflict is less psychological and more topological. The gumiho factions occupy areas, the police establish a counter-map, and the clashes take the form of choreographed rituals rather than traditional narrative events. Many sequences seem to openly declare: “Let's take a hyper-kinetic Western grammar and perform it with absolute seriousness, even when it's excessive.” Accelerated editing without realistic justification, iconic poses, sudden slow motion. This is where kitsch becomes conscious language: not irony, not parody, but total adherence to the subject's delirium.

In this radicalism, Korean drama touches upon — perhaps unintentionally — an unexpected arthouse cinema: a Jacques Rivette catapulted into contemporary Seoul, between ‘Duelle’, ‘Noroît’ and ‘Out 1’, but filmed as if Spike Jonze and the Beastie Boys had stumbled upon the set by chance. “Comment vous dire... c'est du sabotage!”. A happy and vital sabotage that cracks the surface romanticism and lets it breathe in the unexpected, in physical gestures, in the pure energy of movement.

Despite its obvious flaws in terms of pacing and writing, ‘Forbidden Love’ remains an ambitious drama with a strong sense of identity. Re-evaluating it means accepting its irregularities without mistaking them for superficiality. It does not excel in every single aspect, but it builds a coherent universe, a layered urban mythology and a surprising dialogue between folklore, action and melodrama. Its value lies in the sum of its parts, not in the perfection of each one: an uneven but coherent story, which finds its strength in its eclecticism. Not a perfect series, but an object with an off-kilter charm that, years later, deserves a closer look and a more generous judgement — and, above all, recognition of its courage in remaining true to itself, right up to the very last frame.

7 ½

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The local lawyers at your service

I finally got around to watching this little gem.

When I initially began watching, I didn't really feel like I'd like Haneo's character, but they really helped clean up his image by the end of the show. He was still the same annoying little brat, but his motivations were pure. So he gets a pass from me. There were many times were I was laughing at silly antics. I'm glad they quickly dropped the post it note gags. I liked that they included anxiety into his character to give it more depth. I think they could of gone more into his relationship with his sister and father but I know that would of probably hurt the feel of the show. It just felt like how the father's storyline was introduced as a big deal, then every consecutive scene where he was shown he diminished in importance.

Speaking of tone. I think Ishiko was the perfect embodiment of what the tone of this show was. Heartfelt when it counted, silly when they are discussing matters and introspective about people's plights. One thing that strongly spoke to me was her willingness to support Oba even when he admitted to the arson. Kasumi's banter is always S tier in all her shows and this was no exception. There were general moments were her performance was leagues above anyone else in the show. The linking of her deep judgement of her father coming out over several cases building up was subtle but well timed.

For the supporting characters, I liked that they didn't forget Ishiko's father existed lol. He put in some good scenes here and there. Oba grew on me and I wish their dynamic at the ending episode would of been how it was like the whole way through. But it felt good seeing them working so well together by the end. Oba and Ishiko's relationship was completely shoehorned in and only existed to setup the beautiful final scene. Completely added nothing to the story. The only thing I can think of was it was used to show Ishiko's growth to let people in.

That final scene was a chef's kiss. What a hell of a callback to the umbrella scenes. I guess the message of the show is: We will shelter you from the rain." It's a really beautiful message for a show about helping people. I think my favorite thing about the show were how the cases were handled.

The Yamayoko kids in episode 7 was definately the stand out episode. I felt it had the strongest set of supporting actors. The restaurant review episode was also actually very intriguing from a legal standpoint. It's something I've never thought of as a reviewer. The series asks a lot of good questions and if the info is correct, the legal information was actually really interesting.

Alongside the interesting storylines, I was enjoying the clean cinematography. There's some nice scenic shots sometimes and some scenes involving Ishiko have some fantastic lighting.

One thing I will mention is the theme song is good but personally I didn't think it fit the show. Something about the beat and tempo. It has a good life message but I don't think I'm a fan despite it being Radwimps. I also did not appreciate the dumb gavel drop sounds. It was used very awkwardly and added nothing to the scenes. At first I was like oh it's used as a setback sound. But then later they just seemingly put them in randomly.

Overall great show. I enjoyed my time with the show and wouldn't mind a second season.

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Don't watch this with your brain on.

I remember when this drama was come out on the first time everyone was hyping it but i didn't feel the same since the plot was quite generic and Yu Jialin acting was not my cup of tea.

It's a revenge drama riddled with plot holes and lacking in logic; you can't watch it with your brain. The makeup and styling are okay, the costumes and props are average. Wang Haozhen only has two outfits throughout the entire series, but he still looks quite handsome. FL is also quite pretty. It's not a romance drama, so there's not much interaction, and there's no sense of chemistry between the leads even the hot kisses was not helping it.

This creates an interesting cliché: how the ML manages to distinguish between the two women (actually the same person) and the fake one, constantly reflecting on his own actions and wondering why the people around him seem different.

Maybe you need to empty your brain to enjoy this drama. I cannot enjoy this drama due my brain is overload with work related.

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Post-Apocalyptic Scam while this is cheesy drama plot.

I was quite interested on Wang Haozhen being in zombie drama and it turns out it was scam.

I'm quite interested in post-apocalyptic superpowers, but unfortunately, the drama didn't showcase them as a highlight. They only showed a few characters awakening their powers, introduced their names, and then that was it. I feel like being scammed.

Why tell a generic CEO romance novel disguised as a post-apocalyptic story? It's the apocalypse, can't we stop with all the romance? There's even this male-female rivalry, and I have to endure the constant banter in this post-apocalyptic setting—it's really ridiculous.

I want to watch post-apocalyptic stories to see humanity's will to live in the face of zombies, and to explore the depths of human nature in the face of life and death? Who wants to see the protagonists just being love-struck idiot? And the post-apocalyptic living conditions are just too good! Electricity is one thing, but there's also a bathtub, steak, cake, wine, cigarettes, and a helicopter—it's really impressive.

The only redeeming qualities are the good makeup and styling of the ML and FL.

If you want to see generic romance go for it but if you like Zombie Apocalyptic, don't watch it, this is scam

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More Like Eternal Suffering!

Ninety-nine percent of the suffering could have been avoided by the tiniest bit of communication, but that's drama life for you. Forget about love triangles—Eternal Love featured love dodecahedrons!

Yet, for all the angst, the story was compelling, and the cast was captivating. The costumes and sets were beautiful. The CGI lacked only in the water scenes, where it was apparently fake (I can handle most fake mountain and orchard scenes, but fake moving water is so apparent). The OST enhanced the experience with poignant lyrics.

Kudos to Maggie Huang who played Su Jin, a character I loathed deeply. It was incredibly satisfying to get to the eye scene (you'll know what I mean when you watch). I had envisioned that scene and anticipated it for far too long! How gratifying when it actually happened.

Mark Chao was a new-to-me actor. He lacked the pretty boy image of many K- and C-drama leads; a masculine man was a nice change of pace. He was able to convey emotions well, even within his stoic character. As for pretty boys, they were in abundance: Gao Wei Guang with long white hair, Vin Zhang all dark and dangerous, and Yu Meng Long, Leon Lai, and Zhang He.

The series was long at 58 episodes, but it held my attention and soaked my hanky. "Tearjerker" should be added to the tags. It ended well, and I was left with a happy afterglow. Upon reflection, it's odd I felt pleased, as only about 2% of the characters had a happy ending! But they were the 2% I most cared about, so I'm good with that.

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a good revenge story.

This is one of those revenge story where you actually see the revenge plot unfolding. I didn't have high expectations from this show, but to my surprise the plot was executed very well.. you will like this series if :
1. you don't like stupid misunderstandings that goes through the whole series ( there was no misunderstanding between the fl and ml.
2. healthy relation between the fl and ml.
3. strong and independent fl who can hold her own in the battle.
4. understanding ml.

The only place where I thought the story was lacking was the villein's motivation.

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so many emotions

This drama was horrifying, heartbreaking, haunting, gut-wrenching, yet beautiful, mesmerizing, moving, and unforgettable.

This was one of the best written dramas I have ever seen. The cinematography, the music, the pacing. Everything was impeccable. And don't get me started on the ACTING! Obviously the three main leads, Tseng Jing-hua (Li Jen Yao), Moon Lee (Chiang Hsiao Tung) and Alice Ko (Hsia Tien Ching) were absolutely outstanding, but also Lyan Cheng (Lai Yun Chen), Ann Lee (Yen Yao's mother), Chiang Chi (Chou Pun You) and also the main bad guys performances were absolutely incredible.

This drama will be with me for a long time, I have nothing but praise for this. May they find each other in their next life.

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Never understand the FL's womb logic in this drama.

I watched it because I really liked Peng Yao dramas.

Wang Nian Jiang Cheng's white hair look was really good. It was supposed to be a sweet little drama, but somehow it turned into a complete mess. The romance wasn't smooth either; everything felt inexplicable.

The premise quite new since FL is reborn with her womb, and the first half is incredibly sweet. If you cut out all the scenes with the SFL, this would be a super sweet romance. Unfortunately, the screenwriter can't write a script without adding melodramatic female rivalry, ruining a perfectly good sweet drama. The premise of traveling with a womb is initially appealing, but the screenwriter treats it as if the child isn't there, resulting in various inconsistencies in the plot.

For example, plot point of a FL getting pregnant and having a child during time travel is just too much. It's terrifying to think that a college freshman would be pregnant. And then there are all sorts of other things that happen afterward. If a college freshman gets pregnant, the child must be incredibly resilient.

I almost dropped this drama due the Inconsistencies and tried to fasten 2.5x speed for better review.

Maybe if you're not plot driven and still hardcore fans you can enjoy this.

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Quite conflicted with Jinzi Bratty Princess persona.

I watched this last year and actually Jinzi is the first version i ever watched before Tian Jiu Luo and it was nice decision for me.

The plot is significantly better than the first version, more complete, with more reasonable details and better distribution of screen time, thus establishing the characters of the ML. Even in this drama they mostly focused on Zhang Tingrui and Jinzi moment.

This drama show the younger brother is a sickly puppy, General Huo is a proud puppy, Young Marquis Xie is a frizzy puppy, and the prince is an aloof puppy. Too bad the Prime Minister appearance almost non exist in this.

The thing that i don't like in this drama Jinzi characterization is she showing Bratty princess instead of Dog trainer. For Zhang Tingrui, his acting ability was show limited in this drama. But the Marquis Xie has really best comedy technique in this drama and his screentime was almost same as Zhang Tingrui.

It seems like they're planning a second season since the novel is still ongoing, but it's hard to guarantee a good short series. If you don't mind a bad ending, you can watch it. The plot is much better than the first version, but for FL characterization

Still decent watch though.

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amazingly drawn horse to poor drawn horse meme

okay not really but it is VERY noticeable how the first half of it was super catchy interesting and had you screaming but then it just gets.. not that catchy..? i think the narrative falls a bit and presents some plot holes or unnecessary moments like get over it!! grow up (as a character)!!
now, the first part is REALLY good, the plot is not really catchy but the controversy around their relation drawns you in and i have to say it works quite good WHAT CAN I SAY their chemistry is insane, specially in kissing/nc scenes which i found daring and exciting for a kbl

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Wang Yilei solely good acting cannot save this drama.

I remember when i watched other version the plot was so-so but the acting was so adequate to make me engaging on that drama. This drama ruined my view experience. Even my friends saying this version was the best, i completely never agree with her. The production of this drama feel sloppy.

I wont say Wang Yilei acting cannot acting (but Yang Shuyu stills has no improvement and it was making this experience more worse) but the ML looks misfit as someone older, FL didn't look too mentally strong and somehow they are miscast on the adaptation. It feels he works alone in full of group assignment. but the result still got F-.

Dropped.

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