Reviews

Slightly overhyped

The main highlight of the show is our actors and particularly our three main male leads. They did a fantastic job in their roles for such young folks and were really able to emote well. The other main draw is the bond between two of the male leads and the way their friendship develops so naturally and in raw form.

I can see why this series is so highly rated. A story of bullying in various forms and how people can snap when pushed too far. Then there's the friendship with the lonely ML who did his best to simply keep to himself and for the world to just leave him be versus the sincere ML who would be the first one to make him genuinely smile for the first time. The dialogue between them are also written really well.

But what I didn't like about the series is the plot flow and the situations they kept finding themselves in. It's not that it isn't realistic but there were certain scenes with plot holes and certain people they zoomed in on initially but then just dropped out of the plot completely.

The takeaway from the series and from personal experience - Let insecure people hang out with other insecure people where they'll eventually take themselves out amongst each other. They really aren't worth much investment and they aren't worth feeling sorry for. And if someone is willing to betray you even once for even a minor matter, no matter what the reason, they definitely need to be kept at a distance. But if you're fortunate enough to find a friend like the two MLs, just one of them is worth a lifetime.

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Likeable characters and a decently thoughtful story

I really liked this show. I binged it in just a few days, which is especially impressive when you consider how much additional time I spent flipping back and forth trying to figure out who is who did what. The characters, story, and overall tone definitely hit a combination that I really like.

To begin with, the FL, Cai Zhao, is my kind of girl. She’s smart and capable, compassionate and courageous, sunny and down-to-earth- the kind who diffuses tense situations with a smile and laugh- and on top of it all, anti-love brain! You won’t catch her blinded by love, made a fool of, or overthinking any potential romance (if anything, she underthinks). Or tossing aside everything for it, either. I don’t know how romance fans might feel about this, but I loved it.

I pretty much always agreed with, and could relate to, what Zhaozhao says and does. She’s the kind of person who was raised with love in a healthy family environment, and it shows.

The ML, on the other hand, wasn’t, and it also shows. At the beginning he seems just moody, but later we see how dark, scheming, ruthless, insecure he can be. He seems to genuinely like the FL, though, and it’s kind of sweet to see him smile for her- although she, and we, periodically have doubts about his sincerity.

I actually really like their relationship and how it develops. He is slightly red flag sometimes but I think she handles it well. I can also see why he’s like that and understand how he feels. I think it’s really cute how, for a while in the middle, he surreptitiously finds opportunities to take her hand, and she doesn’t even seem to notice (yay anti-love brain).

This show also has a lot of great side characters. There are friends who are good friends (ML’s two bros are truly lovable) and parents who are good parents. Many characters are multidimensional, and it’s nice to see some who at first seem unlikable, later show remarkable depth or insight. Characters stay true to themselves, too- I stopped being afraid the SML would go bad, for example, after I realized that this isn’t the kind of show to give somebody a petty personality change just to create a villain.

So yes, more nuanced character design means not too many dumb villains with dumb motivations. Of course there are plenty of classic “bad people”, but a lot of the conflicts are just complicated, and the characters know it. The only villain I was really disappointed by is the final one, who’s motivation made little sense. It is set up pretty well with clues and buildup, the show just fails to stick the landing.

That said, there is also the sheer NUMBER of characters. This show is definitely harder to follow than most. A lot of characters are introduced early- starting with the first episode where there are a bunch of pretty boys wearing the same uniform- followed by a steady stream of too many names that I couldn’t keep track of. And everyone speaks so fast, I found myself rewinding frequently just trying to follow everything.

Part of the reason for all the characters is that we are untangling two generations of storylines, as promised by the (English) title. A previous generation of Jianghu heroes had their adventures, and the consequences of their somewhat tragic story are trickling down to the next generation. In that way it reminds me of Blood of Youth. But I think this show has a more nostalgic air to the past, celebrating its joys and sorrows with an ultimate message of acceptance.

The plot moves along at a good pace, with story arcs that resolve in ways I was satisfied with. Tense/sad moments are balanced with happy ones, with some solid blocks of good adventuring. There are some really insightful and thoughtful speeches, as well as some great comedy that had me laughing out loud.

The show isn’t free of classic drama tactics, like plenty of convenient coincidences (eg characters arrive just in time to save the day; ML and FL happen to have to go to the same place; etc), improbable outcomes, too many poisons, and glossed-over plot holes. Some seemingly drastic situations get fully solved too easily. But I didn’t mind too much, that’s how drama works.

I also like the female empowerment message, which is not as obvious as some other shows but definitely there. A lot of implicit biases that would be baked into other shows are actually addressed, like one female character gets called out for being too focused on relationships, and women who never thought they needed to be as good as the men reexamine that teaching. Of course, the legend that inspired a lot of these thoughts and shaped everyone’s life is a strong woman. I do think Cai Pingshu has a slightly outsized influence, but it’s also kind of fitting in the way that somebody becomes a legend after she’s gone.

Acting-wise, I love this role from Bao Shangen. I thought she is so cute, and some of her mannerisms and expressions had me laughing. Zhou Yiran did a decent job, sometimes I thought he tried a bit too hard to look sinister but I loved when he smiled, and some of his other expressions were on point. The supporting actors, playing both generations, also did a really good job.

For the production... hm, it wasn’t as good. The fights are ok, full of hyperextension and they look sped up, but I got the idea and there are some well choreographed moments. The scenery sometimes looks very real and sometimes very fake, which probably means mediocre CGI. The costumes are not bad but I don’t think they looked that good- though I do appreciate that the uniforms aren’t all super flattering because they shouldn’t be. The music is not my favorite, but some of it grew on me after hearing it at the right moments.

Overall this story hit the right combo for me of thoughtfulness, insight, emotion, and nostalgia, and I also really liked and supported the FL. I even liked the romance which is not too played up. Of course the show is not perfect, sometimes confusing and sometimes sloppy, but all stuff I’m willing to overlook.

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





The ending is happy. It is surprisingly light on sacrifices of likable side characters, just a few deaths of people you probably weren’t that emotionally attached to. They do tease us by setting the ML up for certain death... but PSYCH!! Saved by a random miracle, thank you very much. We even get a decently long wedding prep and celebration.

MORE MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD





Here is where I pick on the show a bit more to help me break up with it.

I think the two key “villains” are too poorly done. The final villain, of course, has a motivation that makes no sense- the scriptwriters must also have known it too because the other characters keep screaming it at him. But also in the previous generation’s story, the ML’s uncle seems to genuinely love his girl, then is like “yup I killed all her friends and no regret.” Huh?

It’s kind of disappointing because the rest of the show sets up so carefully for a layered and nuanced conflict. Grandpa Yin and even the famously evil Nie Hengcheng were actually both just typically selfish, greedy, power-hungry people, but they still ran their sects well, and it was the combination of all the events and personalities that led to everything going so badly. And now to build on this the scriptwriters needed some plot twist-type villain for extra drama, so I get what they were trying to do, but what they came up with wasn’t very good.

Also, if the ML knew that the Ziwei technique requires sacrificing a blood relative, why was he even trying to learn it? Setting aside whether he’d have it in him to do it, I don’t think he even has family members left.

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Chemistry was there but not the script

Okay so he was obssesed with her because she was *not* obsessed with him. I think he was so intense with her because she was pushing him away and he was panicking. Someone once said "trust is the only currency in a relationship..." subconsciously he knew she was hiding something and he was scared he was going to lose her over it.
While I dont appreciate the overuse/misuse of mental health disorders in chinese media they didnt butcher it entirely. That being said it would be nice if they put out more positive mental health aspects in shows.
Also, the actors/actresses did a really good job consindering how lacking the script was. Ive seen other better written out versions but the actors didnt have half as much chemistry as these two. Hope to see them together in another drama!

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Should've been a thriller instead.

Despite this show having many flaws in its direction, I quite enjoyed it.

This show suffers the fate of a lot of TVB shows where the middle part becomes really unfocused and the beginning was slow. The highest rated TVB shows are always straight to the point. This one is the contrary. It suffered greatly in the middle part where there were too much fluff. Easily could've been shortened to 25 episodes if you cut out parts of Wayne's father-in-law cheating subplot, Joel's relationship with Kandy Wong (not saying cut it completely as their relationship becomes vital in later parts but we did not need THAT much focus on them), etc. There were so many subplots and it all had very little to do with the climax. I forgot some characters existed by the last 10 episodes.

This show also could've just been a straight up thriller ala. Last One Standing or Black Heart White Soul. Wayne Lai's character was perfect for an antihero, similar to some of Roger Kwok's villain protagonist roles although nowhere nearly as psychopathic. This show tried to be a comedy with family drama but I think this show deserved way better than that forced nonsense. The comedic parts failed flat and imo brought the serious themes of the show down.

The themes are actually VERY intriguing and poignant. Rarely do we get TVB shows that focus on parental relationships, generational trauma, toxic/narcissistic parenting, and superstition in older generations where they are heavily criticized like it is in this show. Yes, while toxic parents do appear often in TVB shows, they are usually played for laughs or the director chickens out and goes with "at the end of the day, parents are just trying to do good for you no matter how wrong you think they are." It defeats the purpose. Here, it's VERY clear that these parents are bad parents. They learn their lessons, yes, but in no way does the director tries to say "yes they're bad but..." Starting from Pat Ha, to David Chiang, Wayne Lai, even to minor characters such as Alice Fung, Helen Ma, these characters are terrible parents. I love that. I love that there is finally an Asian drama that does not try to guilt trip children in hating their parents even if it's justified.

Carlos Chan surprised me. This is my first introduction to him. His character could've easily been annoying as he's the only good guy in a sea of morally-gray characters. He could've came off as preachy and boring, but he had great chemistry with the entire cast. You actually feel bad for the guy. As always, the veterans are great in their roles. Pat Ha is beautiful and she fits the part so well. She is alluring, cruel, and absolutely narcissistic. You hate her character, but she's really fun to see on screen. I love seeing David Chiang play against type as he's always the righteous, wise father. He had the best arc in the entire show imo.

A good 6/10 for me. Sounds low, but that's because I don't see myself watching this again with how little I cared for the middle part of the story but once the plot picks up, I would say after a certain character gets married, then it gets pretty interesting.

Also, great Chinese title, terrible English title. Yes, I know it's a pun based on a Boney M song but how many people get the reference these days? The title really doesn't go well with the dark plot. Again, it's like the writers had originally wanted this show to be a comedy and realized a thriller would've been better suited halfway through the script.

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Twelve Letters

Twelve Letters is a time crossed romance drama built around messages between two timelines. The story moves between 1991 in Meiwan and 2026 in Beixing, using a mysterious mailbox to connect two pairs of characters whose lives are unknowingly intertwined; Tang Yixun and Ye Haitang, Yu Nian and Shen Cheng whose lives are unknowingly intertwined.

What makes the narrative effective is how grounded it feels despite the supernatural element. The struggles in the past timeline such as family issues, emotional neglect, the sense of being trapped—are portrayed with a kind of rawness that doesn’t feel exaggerated.

Visually, in the drama the past is often bathed in warmer, almost nostalgic tones, but it’s not a comforting warmth—it feels slightly faded, like something already slipping away. The present, in contrast, is cooler and more restrained, which mirrors the emotional distance of the characters living in it.

Acting-wise, the performances carry a lot of the drama’s impact. The characters don’t spend much time explaining themselves out loud, so a lot depends on subtle expressions and body language. Their relationship feels tentative and real built out of shared loneliness rather than grand romantic gestures. The actors and actresses are all so talented, you can't help but pity them and want them to be happy.

By the time it reaches its conclusion, Twelve Letters settles into a bittersweet space. It doesn’t go for a perfectly clean resolution, and that feels intentional. Instead, it suggests that even if the past can be altered, there’s always a cost—memories, relationships, or the version of life you once knew. What risks are you willing to take for the people you love? What length will you go through for them?

My favorite lines:

"Goodbye, two family members we've never met... the world is vast, and life is long."

"Tang, if I ever bring you misfortune, you must leave me."
"When have I ever feared misfortune? Having you is my greates fortune."

"Even if we have to seperate for a while, as long as I'm alive, I'll come find you."

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Not Light… Empty

Ok… the girl traveled centuries into the future.
She already knows how to use a bathroom?
How to cross the street?
And when she gets her period… what is she supposed to do?

It’s not that I want hyper realism. I already know this is a cheesy, repetitive romcom.

But if your story depends on a massive time jump… the change should actually feel meaningful.

Because a woman from Joseon would not adapt to modern life in two days. She would be terrified, overwhelmed, paranoid, struggling with noise, technology, modern society… everything.

And that’s the problem:
the series uses time travel as if it were the heart of the story… when in reality you could replace the protagonist with a girl from a rural village arriving in Seoul for the first time and almost nothing would change.

The comedy doesn’t help either. It’s painfully basic: exaggerated reactions, physical gags, cartoon sound effects and silly visual effects everywhere. No setup, no payoff… no real laughter.

And of course… classic K-drama formula:
connect the leads through destiny and the past, and boom — instant romance.

This is not sci-fi.
It’s not fantasy.
It’s not a meaningful temporal clash.

It’s just a very ordinary romcom disguised as high concept.

If you enjoy it, that’s fine.
I’m simply looking at how it’s constructed.

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2nd Chances Aren't Guaranteed

I did not finish this drama and I want to be completely upfront about that fact before I dive into this review. I want there to be full disclosure on my end, so people can either choose to read this review or not. Either way, I'm writing it and posting it.

Typically, I tend to give dramas a few more episodes before I outright drop them. At least, I TRY to give dramas a lot more chances before I simply throw them away. However, there are certain things that cannot be overlooked and there were a few things in this drama that I feel contributed to my early departure. Plus, life is too short to waste your time on dramas that don't resonate with you. Anyway, the casting is this drama's downfall. Plain and simple.

The female lead was okay; I didn't find myself attached to her in any way but she didn't necessarily bother me. Which probably should have been another red flag now that I'm thinking about it, but my indifference towards her was fairly minute compared to my issue with the male lead. The male lead was a miscast. From the first episode, I immediately felt that way. Now, before the fangirls come out with their pitchforks, a miscast does NOT speak to an actor's acting skill or ability. It simply speaks to whether they're the right fit for a specific role or not, and the male lead in this drama was NOT the right fit for this character.

I didn't believe the actor; I didn't believe his performance. I think the CDrama market has gotten too preoccupied with casting young, pretty-faced idols that they forget that these individuals still have to fit the role. Sure, this has been an issue for the last few years or so but it feels as if it's ramped up a lot lately. Most of the time, these pretty boy actors don't fit the role. This actor, specifically, is too pretty, too polished. He's not gritty enough; there are no rough edges. He doesn't sell the idea of aloof, rude, brusque, selfish male lead. He doesn't. And yes, I've seen this actor in Lighter & Princess. I dropped that one too but his acting wasn't why I dropped that one; the story is why I dropped that one but I digress. This drama had the potential to be something decent but the miscast overshadowed what could have potentially been a compelling story.

You want me to believe this young, pretty boy with the sweetest face is able to strike fear in the hearts of everyone in the land? Yeah, right. The reason why it's such a big deal is because it raises the stakes and it creates tension in the story. If the scary male lead is actually scary, then it's easy to fear his wrath. It's easier to be worried because you don't know what he's going to do next. With this lead, there was never any fear because he looked too soft. The stakes weren't high enough, which ultimately lead to a lot of scenes falling flat and being utterly empty. While his acting wasn't terrible, there wasn't any nuance or complexity to his acting either. His performance didn't give anything different; it was the same one note throughout every episode.

I don't know; maybe I've outgrown CDramas because it's become increasingly more difficult to find decent dramas lately.

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Another S-Tier BL that I watched

May 18, 2026

I am so happy I ran into the edits of Tada and Armin in TikTok cause this thai BL truly had me on a chokehold. The way I devoured the series in one sitting in a day is just diabolical in a good way. I think truly part of it is that a lot of the Thai BLs I have been watching has not been hitting the right spot hence why I dropped them. I mean like they get too cringey and loses the plot. Sometimes, the leads get too annoying as they just have misunderstandings after misunderstandings for the sake of keeping the episodes longer. I truly think that Reset having 10 episodes is just perfect. It is the perfect runtime for the show and truly I do wish we had more cutesy couple scenes.

Armin and Tada's chemistry are so so strong like you can feel it through the screen and into your bloodstream. I truly understand why people can get annoyed at Armin because why he keeps ranting about the future in this new present past life of his. But I will defend him in a sense that, the man just woke up needing to find himself and having to reconsider if making this decisions can alter his future or make it worse. I think that I never felt an ounce of boredom watching this series contrary to others review.

And I will also say, I think that this Reset series is truly an S-Tier BL from the Thai industry. I will continuously look forward to rewatching this series in the future and so. I truly will miss Armin and Tada. AND ALSO I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A TADA IN MY LIFE. He is such a good green flag man. He is a whole green ass forest that is for sure. I need my husband to be like him too pls and ty!!!!

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Digging 2 Graves for Revenge

Her story is heartbreaking. You don't get to pick your parents. She tried and tried and he was terrible to her. I get his mom was wronged and she was mad but what he did was horrible. The daughter didnt do anything wrong to anyone and the mother couldn't care less. Honestly, the real villains here are her mom and his dad. They should have said something to her. A lot of people were mad that it was HEA but this was the best ending for them. You cant forgive what he did. You can only move on. Overall I enjoyed, however I do wonder why this ML closes these scumbaggyish roles....

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