Reviews

A Chinese Version of Extraordinary You and It Is Not for Me

A Dream within a Dream is a drama about Song Xiao Yu who was pulled inside a script playing a tragic female lead who was constantly bullied and tortured by the male lead, Nan Heng. The story definitely resembles the Korean drama, Extraordinary You, even sharing the same plot that no matter how hard the characters try, they are always pulled back towards the 'right' plot.

For the record, I was also unable to finish Extraordinary You. The reason is because I find the idea of being so helpless against the plot (or fate) to be disturbing. I ended up getting bored over the repeated attempts to change the plot and I also cringed at times when the characters failed to change the plot. However, one thing I like about this drama is how they reenact popular scenes from other dramas.

The actors did well though! After watching The Prisoner of Beauty, I became a fan of Liu Yuning, which is why I started to watch this drama. As expected, Liu Yuning did great! He has that charisma and appeal whenever he acts in costume dramas. Li Yi Tong was befitting for her role as Song Xiao Yu/Song Yi Meng, as well.

To be fair, I've only watched 4 episodes. I might give this drama another try but for now, I am putting it on-hold.

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Boring

I got interested in this drama after watching Kdrama shorts.

First 2 episodes were interesting but lost focus pretty fast. It was annoying she pulled innocents in her part of “revenge”.
After she asked if her innocent and kind hearted stepbrother would kill for her, and later put him in jail for not doing after fabricating the scene, I started to hate this FL.
But more after dragging an innocent man into this and fabricating the crime scene to make him the culprit instead of the protective hero.

After reading other reviews I decided to drop it.
A third and last try in “sociopaths and psychopaths “ drama.

Actors were great and did a good job. Only they deserve the 5*

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A Light Watch of a Cliché Plot

Youthful Glory is a drama about Jiang Xu, Prince of Dingbei, and Ming Tan, a general's daughter, who agreed to do a contract marriage for political reasons but ended up falling in love as they work together to fight corruption.

With its simple and rather cliché plot, this drama has a high entertainment value. It has a good blend of romance, family, politics, and action. Although the writing was a bit sloppy at times, the pacing was great! I finished all 30 episodes in one sitting without ever feeling bored. I admit I had some prejudice before watching this drama. I saw the preview and thought that Ming Tan would be a cute but dumb character who constantly relies on the male lead however I was proven wrong. It turns out she was not only beautiful but also very smart, tactical, strategic, and independent. All the characters were well written, even the supporting characters were memorable.

The actors did a great job at bringing their respective characters to life. Bao Shang En was perfect for Ming Tan. She was able to portray her as a beautiful and intelligent young lady. Her styling and makeup were also great at supporting her character's personality and characteristics. Song Wei Long also did a great job at portraying the vigorous Jiang Xu. Although I think that his standing posture lacks the aura of a martial arts expert.

One thing that was a minor miss but left a huge impact on me was during the scene when Jiang Xu rescued the king, we can see that the figure actors acting as the army in the back were just softly clashing their weapons with one another. Some did not even fight. It gave me the cringe and ever since I saw that, I began to pay attention to the figure actors in the fight scenes of other dramas as well.

Despite so, I really enjoyed this drama. If you're watching for a light drama that you can watch after a long day, this drama would be the perfect option to go for. Youthful Glory will make you smile, squeal, addicted, and kick your feet against the air!

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What happened to the evil sister?

It is watchable but it really is total nonsense and ridiculous. The male lead was a prince and the FL was a skilled doctor.. they are both being set up and be betrayed by their respective families and have to fight palace in intrigued as well as several other villains before we get our happy ending. There are 24 episodes at 10 minutes each and our heroes are constantly getting beaten tortured, humiliated and nearly murdered at every time. All the villains die with some having remorse by their end, but I still don’t know what happened to the evil sister who threw all the chaos was allowed to escape never to be seen or heard from again while our main couple got their happily ever after.

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Cute

I watched this all in one go last night blindly so I can understand that maybe my experience with watching the show is slightly different than someone waiting in real time for episodes to release. But honestly I enjoyed the show, I would say if anything it’s one of those shows that is best watched in one go.

I think I might have read the manga source this drama comes from but I was definitely surprised to see how differently the characters looked from the drama almost like they did a swap of the characters appearances lol. I do have to say though for once it’s a decision that I was glad they made I personally enjoyed the different dynamic, appearance wise at least, it created in the drama.

Watching Hiro slowly fall in love over the episodes with the end revenge goal still in his mind was great. From the beginning I felt like it was pretty obvious that Natsuo’s past actions were not ever out of true malice (this is not me trying to justify what he ultimately did), they did make an effort to try and show an explanation for his hyper-ness and how easily attached he gets because of the lack of attention from his parents in his childhood I just wish there would’ve been more of a conclusion to it. However, I did like the dynamic between the two characters it was a little choppy at times but I could feel what they were going for. The nc scene near the end was really nice I could honestly feel the intense emotions and tenderness between them, this was the exact time in the series where I could feel the genuine chemistry and love between these characters more so than any other moment in the series, it’s a shame it happens near the end. For the first time I think the last episode of a series was my favorite.

What I would have wished for is the drama touch on the sexual assault scene and actually did some sort of condemning for it, I mean there was a slap but that’s it just felt like the audience was expected to move past that like it was nothing. I also found it hard to believe it was love at first sight for Natsuo, even more so when we see another crush of his looked exactly like the old Hiro, it makes me wonder what exactly it was about current Hiro that made Natsuo instantly fall in love when he did not even know this was the same Hiro from high school. Alongside that I get the purpose of the flashbacks but some of the flashbacks being repeated so much took away screen time from what I feel could have been used to explore other things. Natsuo’s stalker tendencies never get touched on either like literally not at all and I’m not sure how to feel about it. The pacing in the series felt rough at times, where they chooses to speed things up and slowed things down felt very random. That’s what I will say I dislike about this series, it introduces a lot of deeper conversations and topics only for them to never be explored. With an additional couple of episodes I feel the pacing and story could have improved.

I was surprised to see the reviews I did see here, I don’t think the story is spectacular or anything but I don’t think it’s the god awful show some people are making it out to be.. Of course it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s fine, but I’m glad I went into watching this show blindly without looking at reviews.

Overall, I’d say binge it one night it’s entertaining and enjoyable enough in my book. It’s a show that has an interesting premise but needs a couple fixes here and there. Just know that when you watch this series a lot of things will remained unanswered and not explored, essentially lower your expectations going into it and you’ll enjoy it more.

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Bit off more than it could chew, but still rather TASTY

So I'm a story guy, and a very picky one at that -- and unfortunately the story could have been the strongest point of this piece but unfortunately ended up the weakest element. Not weak, because the idea was really good -- but I gave the story an 8 because it didn't quite perfect master it's impressive and lofty goals.

Of the story --

1. A magical element is introduced into the story. My problem is we don't know why it was dropped off on the road, nor why it was picked back up, nor why it was easy to again find. Too easy and convenient. The story would have been stronger if something a character did made the mailbox come into existence, and something bad they did made it go away again. It was just a writer's device to get the story rolling.

2. I found it rather difficult to keep all the characters straight between the two time lines. Perhaps there were too many?

3. Because the magical element wasn't explained, the 'shifted' resolution was loose end city. I think they hoped that with all the razzmatazz between timelines we wouldn't notice, but we did. (Someone said the same in comments.)

4. I could have used a little less violence. We get it, gang warfare, but so much fighting conflicts with the many romantic elements of the show. It would be like if WEST SIDE STORY was almost half musical, half Fight Club.

Of the rest --

Loved the actors. I was wondering when I'd see Ren Youlun of MAKE A WISH fame. In both series he's great at being frustrated in stressful situations. I guess it's his thing. I was also great to see his MAKE A WISH cast mate Chen Hao Lan as the kind teacher character.

Wang Ying Lu is adorable as Ye Hai Tang, the girl with the Dad from Hell. She also had quite a range. I just wish someone would hand her a damn sandwich. It's bad enough watching a young girl being mistreated by a brute, but the fact she's a small twig of a lady made me cringe each time she was struck. One sandwich a day, Doctor's orders.

Zhou Yi Ran was a standard issue C-Drama cute boy, but at the same time he wasn't generic. He was new to me (Like Wang Ying Lu) and they both did a lot of heavy lifting in this how.

Then we're treated to some great supporting actors sprinkled about two time lines. Too many to list, but standouts were Rat, the guy that played his boss and pool hall owner, the chubby security guard, and the mean/not so mean boy at the school. Which ever company produced this didn't have the big names like many shows but they found some really solid actors.

The photography was really great. So many Chinese shows present China as perfect and beautiful, which is ridiculous because the prettiest city on the planet has... outskirts... run down ghettos. This series got real with locations.

The music was okay but overused a bit in such a short series.

I made one funny rating -- I said this show has a very high rewatch value. I don't see this because it's perfect. I'm saying the confusing narrative may make better sense on the second pass, lol

THE BIG PICTURE -- I recommend the series to anybody, but it's not as good as short series like TO THE WONDER and FORGET YOU NOT and INTERLACED SCENES, which didn't bite off more than they could chew.

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One of the Best CGI in Chinese Dramas

Love of the Divine Tree is about Su Yi Shu a talented cultivator who met Mu Qing Ge who tricks him into becoming her disciple. Su Yi Shu then fell in love with her as she gave him a 'home'. She was then presumed dead leaving Su Yi Shu heartbroken. With Su Yi Shu's efforts, Mu Qing Ge managed to reincarnate as Xue Ran Ran eighteen years later. Su Yi Shu and Xue Ran Ran met and have their master-disciple roles swapped.

This is the first xianxia drama that I was able to watch until the end. After reading the synopsis, I was not convinced to watch it, however after seeing the reviews and having people recommend it to me, I decided to give it a try, and I am glad I did. The story immediately got me hooked with its 'he fell first, he fell harder' and an 'I changed him' trope. Not to mention, I also love a strong and independent female lead, which is why I became such a big fan of Mu Qing Ge and I wanted her to have a happy ever after with Su Yi Shu. However, after her reincarnation as Xue Ran Ran, I felt anxious because Xue Ran Ran was so different than Mu Qing Ge. I then got even more anxious when Su Yi Shu and Xue Ran Ran fell in love despite knowing that Mu Qing Ge and Xue Ran Ran are the same person. I just love Mu Qing Ge's personality for Su Yi Shu. I also find Mu Qing Ge's character to be way more appealing and interesting than Xue Ran Ran who in my opinion, is rather boring. I do wish we could see more of Mu Qing Ge. I really like the revelation scene when Mu Qing Ge said jokingly, "how dare you make your master a disciple?!" that gave me a relief and a major fangirl moment. I also love the ending scene when it shows Mu Qing Ge/Xue Ran Ran and Su Yi Shu's little family with their kids. Such a cute closure for me as an audience.

My first thought when watching this drama was "wow, what a visual!" The CGI was impeccably done, the set, costume, makeup was beautiful, and the visual of the actors stunning. I particularly applaud Xiang Han Zhi's makeup and styling for both Mu Qing Ge and Xue Ran Ran. The makeup and styling for both characters were so different yet so iconic in representing both character's unique personalities. On that note, the actors did incredibly well in this drama, especially Xiang Han Zhi and Deng Wei.

Playing two characters with two very different personalities, Xiang Han Zhi did an amazing job. I would even think they are two different people if not for the same face. As mentioned before, the makeup and styling were also so different. Mu Qing Ge has a bolder makeup compared to Xue Ran Ran and she often wears red. Xue Ran Ran, with a softer makeup, often wears more lively colors. Mu Qing Ge exudes charisma, elegance, beauty, intelligence, maturity, power, and a reliable aura. Definitely befitting for a female master. On the other hand, we can clearly see a difference with Xue Ran Ran being more youthful, cute, cheerful, immature, just like a teenager. Xiang Han Zhi did an amazing job at bringing the two characters to life. Aside from Xiang Han Zhi, Deng Wei also did an incredible job at portraying Su Yi Shu as a person with a past and later grows into a mature, kindhearted, powerful, intelligent master. We can clearly see Su Yi Shu's character development and transformation throughout this drama. The chemistry between the leads were also great! It was very clear how different Su Yi Shu's relationship and chemistry with Mu Qing Ge and Xue Ran Ran was.

After failing to finish my first xianxia drama, I admit I had my doubts with this being another xianxia drama. However, I instantly got hooked on the story and even got more surprised with the CGI, as well as the character development. In my opinion, this drama is a hit or miss. Despite so, I would still recommend it as an option for those looking to watch a xianxia drama.

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A Sad waste of good actors

I like Wallace Chung and was looking forward to watching this. But not even I episode. It was so boring and lacking in life. I have sworn off yet another potentially enjoyable drama by another controlling Mother Fgure. Asia seems to be awash with Control Freak Parents. Sadly the more money and power they have something more important seems to get lost. Sorry to see China turn out a Power Crazy Heirarchy mimicing the the rich in the West. Also I cannot undersatnd their attachment to the cultures that colonised them for decades. Look at the mess Taiwan ended up being with their sick US Culture and Weapons aimed at their own people.

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a forced family

i just finished watching this drama and i'm honestly quite disappointed. my major complaint is that the characters, the story, the superpowers... everything felt forced.

the start is okay, if a bit slow, but after episode 4 the plot felt all over the place. they clearly wrote this story around "ML travels in time to save FL before she even knew him" but it seems they failed to write it in a way that felt natural. i didn't like the lead couple and the way they tried to make it seem like ML's family were her found family, because they never developed her character or her relationship with the family. they only showed her with ML's daughter and that was her most enjoyable relationship because they actually talked and interacted. the way she was introduced into the family was justifiable because she was scamming them, but there wasn't a middle point where we could see or understand why FL and the family connected, they just started loving her despite the scam plan and she just started to like ML out of nowhere (and viceversa). even the relationship with ML and his daughter felt empty because they never spent a lot of time together and their issues resolved way too quickly. they all felt like strangers living together, not like a family.

the most attractive point of this drama is the superpowers and somehow, despite being the focus of the plot, they feel like they're in the background. i could look past all the unexplainable powers and time travels if it benefitted the story; i'm never against suspending my disbelief and accepting what a story stablishes as part of its world, but you could remove the superpowers and the story would still make sense without them. you could honestly get more from the story if you think of ML's power as a metaphor for depression and not as an actual superpower.

i just couldn't connect with any character besides bok ina at times. i understand why people liked it, but unfortunately it wasn't a good drama for me. overall it falls short on its premise; neither the story, the characters or the relationships are enjoyable or sincere enough for the ending's message ("things won't be easy but you're not alone") to feel genuine. the soundtrack was nice though.

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Red Pill / Blue Pill

A great comparison in the film referring to The Matrix's Red Pill/Blue Pill choice. Does one choose to stay in a happy fantasy or choose to face unpleasant reality?

The Trunk (트렁크) is a 2024 8-episode drama with each episode being an hour long. This drama features middle-aged leads who are mostly Xennials with Seo Hyun Jin (1985), Gong Yoo (1979), Jung Yun Ha (1986) and firmly millennial Cho I Geon (1992).

This drama is directed by Kim Kyu Tae, who also directed dramas like It's Okay That's Love (2014), Moon River Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) and Live (2018) and based on the book "The Trunk," written by Kim Ryu Ryung (and adapted to film by Park Eun Young), who also wrote Elegant Lies (2014) and Punch (2011).

The Trunk is brooding and introspective. There are elements of mystery, although sometimes foreshadowing is overdone. Most events are predictable, but there are a few good surprises. The chemistry between characters is muted, and that fits the vibe of the show. This is an adult-rated show with drugs, smoking, nudity (woman's breasts, man's buttocks, soft sex scenes), suicide, blood and violence. It ends with a hopeful, positive note.

~~Plot
This is a story about Han Jeongwon (ML) and Lee Seoyeon (2FL), a toxic couple, and their journey of separation as well as No Inji and Yun Jio's independent trauma resolution.

In a manipulative effort to confirm Jeongwon's dedication, Seoyeon divorces him and employs a spouse-for-hire contractor to test Jeongwon. Broken by extensive childhood trauma and emotional manipulation from Seoyeon, Jeongwon experiences nightmares, depression and self-medicating with unknown drugs he receives from Seoyeon. He holds that he still loves Seoyeon but goes along with her spouse-for-hire plan with her promise that if he lasts one year, she will reconcile with him.

No Inji (FL) has been plagued by guilt since her youth. She feels that she inflicts bad luck on those she loves and takes up marriage contracting to feel less lonely in her life. Her marriage contract with Jeongwon is her 5th marriage, but she still holds on to her first love, whose life, she believes, was destroyed by her. She also navigates the unwanted attention of Um Taeseong, her violent stalker of the last 5 years.

In spite of their age difference, Yun Jio (2ML) truly loves Seoyeon. He is willing to put forth the devotion and affection that she seeks, but her intent is finding ways to control Jeongwon.

Simultaneously, we watch snippets of the future unfold as detectives recover a luxury brand luggage trunk from a lake and then a body. They work to untangle the means, motive and opportunity from the primary characters to bring justice to the victim.

~~Technical
I watched this on Hulu, and there were several times where the screen cuts were overlong, but that could have been Hulu's editing for potential commercial breaks. The camera work and audio was stable. I liked the use of focus/out-of-focus when the actors are in the same scene, which contributed to the characters' themes of self-absorption.

The settings were grand and impersonal, which fit the theme of the show. The lake setting was beautiful in nearly every shot, especially with the fog. The cinematography was underutilized for me and the could have provided more mystery or foreshadowing.

The English captioning was sufficient. I had one pet peeve were some times that Korean "No" was written as "Uh, No" and I'm not sure why. There were 2 or 3 times that the captioning had more written than I had time to read and I had to go back. There were also a few confusing conversation translations that didn't quite make it understandable in English, but the context made up for that in those situations. It was direct as possible, and anything that might be lost in translation was reiterated later.

~~Recommendation - 9.5/10
I really enjoyed watching this. I watched it in one sitting. There were a few parts that were skippable, all non-dialogue.

It is deep, but I never felt overly sympathetic to the characters. I did not cry or feel like anything was terribly unfair or unrealistic. The actors were all great for me, although everything had kind of a muted, drugged feeling, which I feel was part of the story. My favorite character was Um Taeseong. Kim Dong Won's acting was the best of everyone. Then again, I often have a thing for unhinged but believable characters. There was never any comedy, a few times I cracked a smile but even the humor felt a bit bleak.

The story felt cohesive, although the additional storyline with Jeongwon's best friend felt out of place and under developed. There could have been more backstory Inji's family, there were a lot of things unsaid. Seoyeon had no history other than being obsessed with Jeongwon, but sometimes that's enough explanation. The ending was hopeful, although not quite complete. It allows the viewer to decide on the final ending.

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This was such a fun and refreshing jiejie/arranged marriage romance. I loved the role reversal — the FL is the cool, confident CEO, and Meng Na fit the character perfectly. Ye Hao Ran was adorable as the innocent puppy ML… though honestly more like a green tea puppy with how he secretly picked fights with rivals whenever she wasn’t watching 😂 Their chemistry was great, and there were plenty of satisfying kisses.

The supporting cast made everything even better. The grandpa was supportive and hilarious, with such a sweet relationship with his grandson. The butler was endlessly funny 😂 And the SFL was surprisingly lovable — she basically fell in love with the FL instead and spent half her time protecting the ML from other girls just to keep him for the FL. Queen behavior.

The story itself is unique. It’s an older woman–younger man setup where the FL is richer and more powerful, and her little brother being the ML’s best friend made everything even funnier 😂 Meng Na has played strong women before, but here she’s fully domineering, while the ML is carefree and genuinely acting his age. Hao Ran nailed the “little wifey” vibe — especially during those moments when he’d call her a “scumbag” in his head, then immediately realize he was acting like the wife while she acted like the husband 😂😂😂

The ML, the FL’s younger brother, and their spoiled-but-harmless rich-kid friend group were all hilarious. And the way the MCs set the SML’s girlfriends up with another guy had me laughing 😂

After watching the second version, I liked it even more because the couple felt even more natural. Overall, this drama is way too cute, much funnier than typical short C-dramas, full of kisses, and completely free of toxic mess. Just a strong wife taming her playful puppy husband, and a sweet happy ending. 😊

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I love a good jiejie romance, and this one was such a fun surprise. The chemistry between the leads is insane — the cool, confident FL and the flirty, golden-retriever ML just fit together so naturally. What starts as a “kept man” setup turns into a real, adorable relationship with plenty of heat but also a lot of softness.

The FL is strong, stylish, and totally in control of her life, while the ML is secretly a CEO who supports her without overshadowing her. The rivalry subplot is entertaining, though the villain is definitely over-the-top.

Overall, it’s cute, bold, and super addictive — a perfect pick if you like older woman–younger man romances with great chemistry and very little unnecessary drama.

I loved the MCs’ dynamics — their chemistry is the only thing that truly carried this drama — but everything else is utterly ridiculous. The villain is over-the-top, the plot goes wild for no reason, and I hate the toxic parent shit shown for asian parents in these dramas for the sake of sotry and thats waht i hate it here as well.

If you’re watching purely for the couple, they’re adorable and fun. But the rest? Definitely a “turn your brain off” experience.

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More than BL: rep. of Mental Issues or Well-done show?

Main Cons of the Series:

1. Quick Recovery from Injuries: I was surprised by how quickly characters bounce back from serious injuries. It feels like this aspect is simply ignored in the series.

2. Loss of Loved Ones: I believe the series did not sufficiently emphasize the emotional consequences of losing loved ones. Characters grieve for only a few episodes, which feels inadequate.

3. Ambiguous Representation of "BD" in Jiang Yuelou: In this project, I see an incorrect portrayal/representation of Bipolar Disorder in the character Jiang Yuelou. Although it was canonically stated in the series that he has BD (called by an outdated diagnosis), I'm still puzzled by the discrepancy between the symptoms and the actual diagnosis. I believe Jiang Yuelou has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or CTSD, which manifests in manic episodes of aggression during flashbacks. (This is discussed in more detail in the Pros, point 4).

4. Jiang Yuelou's Professional Crisis: I'm deeply disappointed by this. I expected Jiang Yuelou to have a professional/career crisis at the end of the series, since his life's goal (the reason he agreed to work for the police since he was 16) had been achieved. Jiang Yuelou himself said: when my goal is reached — "I want to move to a small house and watch sunsets with a loved one." So, at the end, when the goal was achieved with such sacrifice and suffering, Jiang Yuelou had no hesitation or doubt about refusing the reinstated position (although this position is no longer related to investigating opium distribution cases). None of this was shown to us.

5. The Arc with the Director and the Singer: The relationship between Zhan Junbai and the singer feels underdeveloped to me. I didn't see the reason why Zhan Junbai "fell in love" with the singer other than the fact that he sings beautifully. Their relationship seems toxic, though understandable in the context of each character's dynamics and lore. But I must admit, thanks to this relationship, the singer received a whole load of emotions/trauma, but also experience. Through the perspective of such a complex relationship, viewers saw emotional growth and vulnerability in these characters, and that, I think, is the most important thing in this case.

6. Chen Yuzhi's Relationship with His Parents: While watching, I wanted to learn more about Chen Yuzhi's past (I've heard this is well-covered in the novel), especially about his past relationship with his family. I'd like to know: why is he the only family member responsible for caring for his younger sister? Although I read online that the novel reveals Chen Yuzhi himself was an orphan. And apparently, it was on the streets, as a child, that he first encountered Jiang Yuelou. (Correct me if this is misinformation).

7. Lack of Visual Justice: I'm dissatisfied that justice was not shown visually (in flashbacks/flashforwards/bonus scenes) for some characters. This concerns Director Zhan Junbai the most, who faced no punishment in the original ending. However, in the alternative ending, he was supposedly sentenced to execution, but again! Viewers were not shown the trial process, execution, etc.

8. Implausible Moments: I don't understand how there can be moments when the main characters aren't noticed, they aren't hiding, but are actively searched for by the police and citizens. This is extremely silly and unrealistic. Could it be that in a small town, people don't notice criminals from the newspapers?

9. Jiang Yuelou's Triggers: It seems that after the death of all significant people in Jiang Yuelou's life, his triggers just disappeared.
10. The Fate of the Second Gentleman: I lacked closure or certainty regarding the death of the Second Gentleman. They didn't even abstractly show a trial/execution. It left a feeling of a trick/a possible "resurrection from the dead" of the Second Gentleman.

11. The Director's Motivation: I think the motivation behind the Director's sinister power-grab plan was poorly revealed due to the romantic arc with the singer.

Main Pros of the Series:

1. Detective Plotline: Although I prefer an episodic format for detective plots, in this project it was done skillfully and intriguingly. I like it when a detective arc is thoughtfully constructed — without intrusive poetics/excessive abstraction, but with clear logic, unexpected reveals, the gradual introduction of new characters (connected to the detective plot) and twists — this creates a feeling of a cohesive, rich world. The story kept me in suspense for all 36 episodes without becoming too boring. I didn't have time to look back before I was already at the final episodes. The series found the perfect balance between plot dynamics and lore expansion, which is rarely achieved so harmoniously.
2. Humor. I think many don't even consider this aspect when evaluating this series, as it's not a comedy. But you know what? This is what really captivated and pleased me in this project. A huge contribution to the humorous part was made by Jiang Yuelou's assistant — Sun Yongren. He was that funny person who diluted tense or sad situations with humor (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not).

3. Chemistry Between Actors and Acting. You know, I never understood why people rate "chemistry" as a main factor. Now I understand why. It's not even about the acting itself, but about the actors' ability to immerse themselves in their characters' roles so deeply that any of their interactions (which aren't intended to be romantic/flirtatious/angsty for their relationship) look as if they would go to any lengths for each other. And this intention is read in their glances, facial expressions, fleeting phrases, exclamations, words, and in the desire to spend more time/do kind (which can also be read as romantic) things for each other. It's impossible to count how many times Yuzhi was self-sacrificing for Jiang Yuelou, despite unpleasant circumstances. And I'm very taken by this dynamic — when Character A (Chen Yuzhi) falls in love first (almost fleetingly?) with Character B (Jiang Yuelou), and then Character B initially rejects Character A, but later gradually falls in love (tsundere vibes), but very deeply.
🔹️ Important: His behavior is not romanticized tsundere, but a logical psychological defense of a person with CTSD: avoiding intimacy due to fear of repeated trauma and betrayal.

4. Representation of Jiang Yuelou's Mental State. Let me start by saying I decided to watch this series solely because it's a BL where the main character has a mental disorder. This is rarely seen in BL, especially for main characters. I was genuinely interested in seeing the representation of "bipolar" disorder. But as the series progressed, I noticed that, essentially, Jiang Yuelou doesn't have the declared BD (Bipolar Disorder), but rather CTSD. (Initially I thought of simple PTSD, then I read a post www.tumblr.com/killerandhealerqueen/797590436949655552/why-you-should-watch-killer-and-healer and, after checking the differences, understood why CTSD is closer to Jiang Yuelou).

🔹️Let's recall Jiang Yuelou's childhood: At first, everything was fine. But then his father started smoking opium. His father got into debt, and when he didn't have enough money, he beat his wife (in front of Jiang Yuelou) and also sold her body to other men. After some time, the mother couldn't bear it anymore and, after congratulating Jiang Yuelou on his 11th birthday, left the family. One year after the mother's departure, Jiang Yuelou found his father dead from opium. All the debts were placed on the son, but the moneylenders took their house. And Jiang Yuelou became a homeless orphan.

If we consider Jiang Yuelou's character and childhood through the lens of CTSD, then his childhood is the perfect soil for developing this disorder. The combination of severe emotional neglect, betrayal by the closest people, and a long struggle for survival explains his adult symptoms: uncontrollable anger, deep distrust, a sense of isolation, and a distorted self-perception.

5. Editing and Effects. The editing in this project is done very skillfully, to the point where all the endings and plot twists urged you to press "watch next episode." I'd also like to note that the series did a good job setting boundaries based on budget capabilities. That is, if there was some action that would require interaction with VFX, they would show it for 1 second or leave it off-screen entirely. This is much better than trying to do something epic on a small budget (as was the case in "The Guardian") just to match the source material.

6. OST: And what about the musical accompaniment? All these songs in a classical, almost operatic style (serving as openings or endings) — 100/10 — they perfectly convey all the depth of feelings and pain of this story. I listen to the soundtracks from this series 24/7, so I've truly fallen in love with it.

Verdict:

I recommend this series to those for whom it's truly important to see complex and ambiguous characters/pairings in BL. Or I recommend this series to those interested in seeing the representation of a mental state in a canonical manifestation, not just in hints. But when watching, you shouldn't expect super-tactile BL. In this series — the focus is more on the lore of the story, the lore of the main characters, how they cherish each other (so much so that it's clear it's not "bromance"), and how characters are willing to sacrifice themselves and their loved ones to achieve a common goal.

✴️This is a series that charms with the depth of its characters and their connections, but may disappoint those who value meticulous elaboration of plot and psychological details.

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