Beautiful, Dark and Absolutely Heartbreaking
This drama destroyed me. I knew it wasn't going to be a light romance, but I still wasn't prepared for how emotionally attached I would become to these characters. The atmosphere is dark and uncomfortable at times, and the story constantly makes you question what you think you know about the characters. Seo In Guk was absolutely incredible. I've watched him in several dramas, but for me this is still one of his best performances. Kim Moo Young could have been impossible to understand or even like, yet somehow Seo In Guk made me care deeply about him. The chemistry and emotional connection between the leads made everything hurt even more. I cried so much after finishing this that this is definitely not a drama I'll ever forget.Was this review helpful to you?
Medical Drama at Full Speed
This was so much fun! I love medical dramas, but The Trauma Code adds enough action and comedy to make it feel completely different from the usual hospital series. It's fast, entertaining and ridiculously easy to binge. Ju Ji Hoon was fantastic as Baek Kang Hyuk - arrogant, brilliant, fearless and somehow incredibly likable at the same time. I loved watching the trauma team slowly come together and the relationships between the characters were just as enjoyable as the medical cases. The only real problem was that eight episodes were nowhere near enough. I finished it wanting much more of these characters, which is probably the best compliment I can give it.Was this review helpful to you?
The Revenge Was Worth the Wait
Part 2 gave me exactly what I wanted after everything the first part had built up. I was already completely invested in Dong Eun and her revenge, so watching all those pieces finally come together was extremely satisfying. Once again, Song Hye Kyo was fantastic, and I loved the quieter strength of her performance. Jung Sung Il remained one of my favorite discoveries from this drama, while Park Sung Hoon was disturbingly convincing. I still wasn't as impressed by Lim Ji Yeon as most viewers seem to be, but that's simply personal taste. Overall, both parts worked beautifully together and made The Glory one of the strongest revenge dramas I've watched.Was this review helpful to you?
Dark, Addictive and Brilliantly Acted
This is one of those dramas where the acting stayed with me just as much as the story. Song Hye Kyo was remarkable. I loved how controlled and quiet her performance was — she didn't need big dramatic scenes to make me feel everything her character had been through. Jung Sung Il was a complete discovery for me, and Park Sung Hoon was excellent, especially the confidence and arrogance he gave his character. Lim Ji Yeon's performance was the only one that didn't completely convince me; at times it felt a little too theatrical for my taste. But overall, The Glory was dark, gripping and incredibly well acted. I was completely invested in the revenge and needed to see how it would all end.Was this review helpful to you?
Lee Jun Young Completely Won Me Over
I loved Reborn Rookie from beginning to end. The story mixes chaebol politics, family drama, fantasy, sports and mystery, so at times there is almost too much going on, but somehow it worked for me and kept me wanting to watch the next episode. The biggest highlight was definitely Lee Jun Young. He completely convinced me that I was watching an older man living in a young man's body. It was in the little things -the pride, his worry for his daughter, his feelings for his wife, and the confidence of someone who had already lived an entire life. The whole cast was good, and seeing Jin Goo as a villain was strange after Descendants of the Sun! I know the ending didn't work for everyone, but I absolutely loved it. I thought it was hilarious and honestly the perfect way to finish a drama I enjoyed so much.Was this review helpful to you?
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Poker-faced ML acting as a pshychopatic dickhead and a spoiled brat FL - and AMAZING villains
Oh someone in another drama said that this drama has a ROMANCE TAG. THAT IS A SCAM! there is no romance here!!!The Husband was so sterile empty, there wasnt even a relationship between husband and wife, he was her eununch bodyguard and she was the client he protected. THere was NO FEELINGS whatsoever. Well I am exaggerating... there was like 2 minutes in all 12 episodes, only 2 short scenes where she cares for him while he has a cement face, and 3 seconds in the very last episode where they barely smile at each other. THAT DRAMA WAS A ROMANTIC DISASTER
Even when they meet again they are like two strangers accidentally bumping into each other at a subway stop. That entire drama showed such isolated people, it was icy cold and frustrating to watch
THE HUSBAND, IE THE ML, BEHAVED AS A PSYCHOPATIC DICKHEAD. He is poker-faced from start to end, with a few subtle expressions here and there. Like SML, the main villain in kdrama Lucifer. VERY INAPPROPRIATE FOR A ROLE OF A DOCTOR
The drama is worth watching for the villains. The 3 major villains are amazing!!!!! The serial killer husband is a lot better more affectionate husband than ML, and his poker face psycopathy is appropriate and very creepy
The mastermind villain is also a masterful actor here
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Mental Heartbreak
This more than a revenge drama. For me, it is a heartbreaking story about love, trauma, grief, and what can happen to a person's mind when the one person they love most is violently taken away.The FL suffered a horrific injustice at the hands of four people who believed their wealthy and powerful families placed them above the law. She was sexually assaulted and stabbed and ultimately lost her life because of their cruelty. What makes this part of the story especially disturbing is the sense of entitlement behind their actions. They believed their status and family connections would protect them from consequences.
But they didn't understand what her death would do to Xiao Muchen.
The ML's character is what made this drama unforgettable for me. Xiao Muchen didn't simply lose the woman he loved. He lost the person around whom he had built his future. Her death broke something inside him that could never truly be repaired.
His mental illness is an important part of understanding his character. I didn't see his visions and conversations with the FL as the drama simply portraying him as "crazy." I saw them as his mind's way of surviving something he couldn't accept. His reality became intertwined with the woman he loved. In his world, she could still speak to him, sit beside him, love him, and accompany him.
And together, they had one thing left to accomplish. Revenge.
Xiao Muchen couldn't save her from what those four people did, but he could make sure they didn't escape the consequences. His broken mind, intelligence, grief, and love seemed to become one. He methodically went after the people responsible and made them pay.
That is what made his revenge feel different to me. It wasn't about power or money. It wasn't even simply about anger.
It was the final thing he could still do for the woman he loved.
There is something both beautiful and terribly sad about the relationship between the ML and FL after her death. We know she is gone, yet through Xiao Muchen's eyes she never completely leaves. She continues existing in the private world his mind has created for the two of them.
The ending is where this drama truly stayed with me.
Jonathan Buchanan's "The Prophets" playing over the final scenes was a beautiful choice. Then we see the world Xiao Muchen has created—the ML and FL together, surrounded by flowers, with nobody else around them. It is peaceful and almost dreamlike.
Then reality returns.
Xiao Muchen is in the mental hospital.
But in his mind, she is still beside him.
The writer's final words were the perfect way to end the story. Xiao Muchen's life has settled inside his "sun-drenched cage." To everyone outside, when he repeatedly asks his wife, "What flower is this?", they see a man whose mind has been lost to time.
But Xiao Muchen sees something completely different.
He sees their little home surrounded by flowers. He sees the woman he loves. He talks to her. She has never left him.
The line that affected me most was the idea that what withered was not Xiao Muchen, but the world outside his window.
That completely changed the meaning of the ending for me.
To us, Xiao Muchen is a patient in a mental hospital, forever living inside a reality that doesn't exist. But to him, the outside world no longer matters. The four people responsible for destroying their future have paid for what they did. His revenge is finished.
Now there is only her.
The woman he couldn't save in reality became the woman his mind refused to lose.
And perhaps that is why the title The Dark Side of the Sun fits this story so beautifully. There are darkness, violence, grief, and madness—but somewhere inside Xiao Muchen's broken mind, there is still sunlight, flowers, a little house, and the woman he loves.
The world believes Xiao Muchen lost his mind.
Xiao Muchen believes he went home to his wife.
And in the only world that remains real to him, they will live happily together in that never-ending moment forever.
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weak story with too many deaths imho...
While I was genuinely excited for Season 2, but I felt underwhelmed. Nobody can doubt the quality of the action, but storywise it left a lot to be desired. To make a fan favorite character a traitor was just lazy writing, because he could have told them, because of course they would have freed his son regardless but no, it had to been black/white. And with so many deaths there were some heartbreaking moments. The question I ask myself is, did we need that? Does an action flick only drives when main characters die?In the finale the budget run out or so it looked for me, when the Babylon headquarters was demolished. Here the CGI did not match the overall extremly high production quality. So overall, while entertaining, I miss a refined story. I can't fault the actors/actresses who all did their best. Of course if you liked Season 1, you will watch Season 2, but you may be disappointed.
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A Gem IMHO
My fav thing about watching any asian series stumbling on the little gems, like this. Thamepo led me here and I am glad it did!The Storyline
I liked the pacing and the way it showcased the effect trauma has on an artist, The journey to letting go and starting was all around was good! the show had that emotional depth that made me go throughout the motions with the MLs!
NeilSea
Loved the dynamic. The heart vs the head with a sprinkle of age difference. The journey for thinking they didn't get along to them realizing they compliment each other! Each navigating their trauma in their own way which brought them closer!
ReeseOrca
This was also a good dynamic that posed a multitude of perceived barriers. I do love a good crossover collab! Kissing ....needed some TLC but chemistry otherwise was good for me.
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Wow! Didn't see THAT twist coming!
This drama was a lot about 1) having the ability to change things in our lives, and 2) the consequences of those changes. When you "fix" one thing, will you in fact just "break" something else?Some of the plot devices were very transparent and able to be seen from a mile away, but there was one...
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More exciting action and gunfights!
Just finished. Still enjoyed the drama a lot because the action was great and the production overall very high quality. The action sequences are higher budget and more intense this season. I would've liked to see more Jian fight scenes though, mostly she was just running away from fights.Story was kind of messy in season 2 though it didn't totally collapse or anything. Babylon and Murthehelp are expanded a lot this season and we are introduced to a lot of new characters, villains and factions. Because of this there's significantly more variety in everything, and more moving parts. The expanded world has its pros, like bigger action sequences in various different locations. However it also takes away from the emotional aspects and the very personal and focused story that season 1 has.
Overall I enjoyed this season too but the drama (especially season 2) is mostly just fun action where you have to turn off your brain when watching. Good and fun but nothing special.
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An Enjoyable Show That Lost Itself in the End
I guess I preferred the illusion of the rainbow to the reality of the storm.I liked this show for what it was. Nothing groundbreaking, no big political shenanigans. Rootable, compelling secondary characters. I was enjoying the ride. I thought the chemistry with the leads was decent. Not earth scorching, but pleasant. I fell in love with several of the supporting characters. I liked the second couple. I liked the plot of the FL trying to prove her worth as a scholar. I liked that the ML was supportive of her without folding into a paper towel like so many modern ML tend to do these days. I enjoyed all of this.
But apparently, I was only looking at the rainbow.
The show in its last run of episodes proceeds to tell me that everything that happened before it was just a lie. All of a sudden political machinations are the name of the game. But they are rushed and not given any of the nuance they deserve. I didn't like how unbothered FL was by her own people. I know she lost her memories, but it felt kind of sad seeing these people willing to die to honor her and she just shrugs and says whatever. I'm glad Yin Qing redeemed himself kind of in the end. But if he was just going to die by her hand and tell her to go back, why not just let her kill you in the hall the first time and spare all of the other unecessary nonesense? Why did she return with her people if she never even cared about their plight? Why did Nian have to die? Seemed needlessly grim. The whole ending left a bad taste in my mouth.
But I still enjoyed looking at the rainbow, even if the result was that I was left standing cold in the rain. I liked this show. It didn't stick the landing. That's where I'll leave it.
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Dropped halfway through. I genuinely don’t understand the hype.
I really tried to understand why this drama is so popular, but eventually I just had to drop it halfway through.The premise sounded interesting enough—a modern chef somehow ends up in the past and becomes the royal chef of a tyrant emperor. The cooking scenes are definitely the strongest part of the drama, and the food looks good enough to make you hungry. But unfortunately, pretty food alone couldn’t keep me watching.
My biggest problem is the story. The drama constantly feels like it’s trying too hard to be entertaining. There are plenty of comedic moments, but a lot of them didn’t land for me. The romance also feels rather forced, and I never really became invested in the relationship between the leads.
The female lead is energetic and capable, but after a while her character started to feel repetitive. Every problem somehow turns into another opportunity for her to show off her cooking skills, impress everyone, and magically solve the situation. The male lead isn’t much better. He’s supposed to be this terrifying tyrant, but the contrast between his “ruthless emperor” persona and the way he behaves around the FL didn’t really work for me.
And then there’s the pacing. Somehow the drama can feel both fast and slow at the same time. Things happen, but I didn’t feel like the story was actually moving anywhere meaningful.
Maybe I’m just not the target audience because I know this drama has a lot of fans, but I honestly couldn’t see what was so special about it. The production is pretty, the food looks amazing, and the leads are attractive, but none of that was enough to make me care about what happened next.
Dropped halfway. I genuinely don’t understand how this became such a huge hit. 😭
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A very well-written and well-acted story.
The story follows a modern-day girl who is transported back in time into the body of an aristocrat's daughter—a young woman who forced a prince to marry her. The prince disliked her, largely due to the original Ruan Xiaofeng's personality; naturally, the girl who has taken her place possesses a completely different character. The original Ruan Xiao Feng died after falling from a tower, in a manner similar to the mother of Prince Li Rui.The question arises as to whether someone wanted to kill the female lead—as suggested by flashbacks to her memories—and why that death resembled the demise of the Emperor's favorite concubine, the prince's mother.
When the main characters begin investigating this mystery, people suddenly appear who want to silence them. From what might seem like a chance event, a web of court intrigues and the conflicting interests of various figures emerges.
This brings the two closer together, and together they begin to solve the case of the death of their concubine, which likely led to the assassination attempt on FL.
It begins a very enjoyable romance featuring great chemistry between the leads. Both main actors deliver excellent performances: Deng Kai perfectly portrays a reserved and cautious prince, while Smile Wei plays an energetic, intelligent young woman from the modern world. The couple is truly likable. It is rare for both main characters to be "green flags" at heart. It makes for a very pleasant viewing experience, fosters empathy for them, and makes the positive ending something to look forward to.
The story is very well written; few dramas—even big-budget ones—adhere to logic as well as this one does. The plot is engaging, and the actors do a great job despite the clearly tiny budget; there is no sense of amateurishness while watching, which can sometimes happen with short dramas. Even most of the supporting cast approached their roles with great competence.
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Convenient Stupidity
The filming crew managed to compress the story’s enormous potential into a frustration‑driven rollercoaster, perhaps intentionally. In some places, I was screaming at the screen because of the absurdity of what was happening. There are huge plot holes and a completely illogical sequences. All of this fits into the term «Insulting the audience's intelligence».Was this review helpful to you?
