Completed
Love Design
3 people found this review helpful
by Ilisha
Nov 18, 2025
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

A Love Letter to this GL

I’m not here to give a critical review of this series. When it comes to GL, even its flaws and imperfections turn into something lovely and magical for me. I have to pour my heart out for this series. Some GLs capture my heart so deeply that I can't just sit around and wonder about them. I need to express my emotions, my love, the fluttering butterflies in my heart through ink. And this GL is one of those that has secured a precious place in my palace.

One thing that always happens to me is when I see Rin and Aokbab's lovey-dovey moments—my heart doesn’t just skip a beat, my body literally jumps from the chair. This is my ROMAN EMPIRE, this GL. Thank you for making my life colorful, even on bad days. And I must say, the cinematography is out of this world.

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Completed
Heesu in Class 2
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2025
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10

Worth the Find!

Sometimes, in the vast of the Universe, you wonder if you will find the one and just like the vast of Kdramas I found this one. I didn't know why but amongst all the BL Kdrama I save on the list, I decided to watch this one. I just played all LGBTQ tag dramas to check whether it was Korean or not. And the first few seconds, it captivated me and I was shocked that it was a 40mins long drama and turned out to be a really good one.

I don't know if what I shared make sense but I really love it. Specially the narration or voiceover of Hee Su. Solid reflection. And how they shift and transfer the ships was solid. I just fell in love to the second one easily even I root for the first one at first.

This was my happy pill in a world full of worries and stress. It is worth the find.

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Completed
Be Passionately in Love
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2025
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

their flirting is so sweet ???

This drama perfectly describes "dating concept of modern times". Most time of drama they were either flirting or in a situation-ship. But they are really cute to watch.
The ML is so sweet and loving. Though he looks cold and mean to everyone but he cares so much for FL. And when zhu yangqi tells xu zhi about chen lu zhou's childhood and his feeling of insecurity as to why he works so hard, I felt so pity like hugging the poor child 🥺🥺.
Also FL is so cute 😍😍. Though xu zhi does not express her emotions, her actions shows how much she like chen lu zhou.
The only thing I didn’t like about this drama is that the plot seems inconsistent and the situations does not end properly before jumping to next topic.

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Completed
Blemish Flaw
3 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2025
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Nobody is perfect as everybody has blemish flaws

Spoiler Alert

This drama started off when the ML, DH ,a amateur detective blogger, realized that his ex-girlfriend, LW, a livestreamer, was missing posts for nearly a year. He reported her as missing and subsequently befriended a police officer who became sort of investigative consultant for him. He discovered that ZJ, a gifted potter who was married to a disabled heiress BXL, was LW's married lover. He purposefully made friends with her and discovered the dubious circumstances that resulted in her disability a few years prior. He became increasingly worried about LW until one day he saw her out on the street. She gave him an airy, casual shrug in response to his question about why she had abruptly stopped, saying that she had severed her ties to her former life and was now content with her new way of living. Later BXL told him that LW was double- faced for she had initially hired her to seduce her husband to get evidence for divorce. But LW double-crossed her and got both husband and wife money hence able to live comfortably now. BXL, her plans in disarray ,planned and carried out killing off her gold-digger cheating husband.

The final time reversal twist at the last episode has a pleasing 2nd alternative ending. Drama all along had hinted that double-faced LW always appeared full of double hidden meanings. She appeared in the 2nd ending. From her 1st fake accidental meeting with ZJ which was planned by BXL to ZJ telling her his delight in breaking his masterpiece vase which he had long wanted to destroy because it had a blemish flaw. Nothing is perfect for there hidden flaws .BXL, was so full of hatred of being cheated of money and love that she wanted revenge but if she had accepted that she's not perfect even if she most popular girl in campus because of her looks and brain can get cheated by a gold-digger country boy. ZJ, that gold-digger cheating husband was a poor struggling artist until he met a rich and older divorcee who became his sugar mummy. Because she was a bored socialite she played Pygmalion , corrupting his values and fending his ego ,ambition and greed to become charming and cultured gold digger hence killing his 1st wife. Only in prison did he realized his 1st wife truly love him despite his flaw of impotency for all his girlfriends left him. He was always insecure and sometimes take it out on BXL. Only the 3rd couple, Tracy and her rough layabout boyfriend have happiness for she realized he loved her with her flaw of being a cripple; finding money for her expensive treatments and visiting daily bringing meals for her. Nobody is perfect as everybody has flaws including oneself and accepting that then life becomes happier .


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Completed
Flower of Evil
3 people found this review helpful
by zhiex
Nov 18, 2025
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

I wasn't prepared for this amazing drama 10/10

“Flower of Evil” felt like a psychological roller coaster I wasn’t prepared for, and I loved every second of it. Watching it felt like peeling layers off a person you thought you already understood. The story follows Baek Hee-sung, who looks like the perfect husband and father, but as the episodes go on, I felt myself doubting everything about him. The biggest twist for me was realizing that the man living such a quiet, loving life wasn’t even Baek Hee-sung at all but Do Hyun-soo, someone who has been running from a past full of accusations, trauma, and darkness. That reveal hit hard because I could feel how badly he wanted to be loved even while believing he didn’t deserve it.

What made the drama intense for me wasn’t just the mystery but the emotional conflict. Watching Cha Ji-won, his wife, slowly uncover the truth felt like I was discovering it with her. Every time she got closer to exposing him, my chest tightened because I knew how much they loved each other, yet the truth was something that could destroy everything. The show played with my feelings a lot—one moment I was scared of what Hyun-soo might do, and the next I just wanted him to be okay and finally be understood.

The plot twists kept hitting one after another, especially when the story dug deeper into Hyun-soo’s childhood and the real serial killer behind everything. The drama made me question who the real “evil” one was, and I loved how it explored trauma, identity, and whether someone broken can still deserve love. By the end, it genuinely felt like I had watched two people fight not just the world but their own ghosts for the sake of their family.

Overall, it’s one of those dramas that stays with you because it’s not just about crime or secrets—it’s about love surviving even the darkest truths.

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Completed
Spoiled by My Mafia Boss
1 people found this review helpful
by Sinjun
Nov 18, 2025
52 of 52 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 1.0
Story 1.5
Acting/Cast 2.0
Music 2.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

LMAO! THIS IS SO BAD!

Ok, first off I am one of those people who finds really bad shows funny so I was so ready for this because I needed a good laugh. Then I got 4 or 5 episodes in and WeTv told me I had to rent roadies to see more. So I have a yearly subscription and then they want me to pay more money to watch this train wreck! That made me chuckle more than the show. 🤣
WeTv had started this whole party more to see more BS and I don't really get it their shows aren't even that good. Will not be renewing this membership.
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Completed
Novoland: Pearl Eclipse
0 people found this review helpful
by Atusa
Nov 18, 2025
48 of 48 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
I'll be honest, I didn't have much motivation for seeing this C-drama, except for William Chen. I've seen him play an antagonist role in a CGI film L.O.R.D and I really wanted to see more of him.

In Novoland: Pearl Eclipse, he plays Jinaming Fang, a higher ranking member of Emperor Xu’s court and his most trusted ally and friend. He is the head of a secret task force within the empire and is tasked with protecting the emperor and eliminating all threats to the empire.

Enter Haish, a girl whose village was terrorized by corrupt officials who leveled heavy and unfair pearl taxes on the village. She is recruited by gianming as a young girl and she chooses to dress as a boy and enters Fang’s secret force.

However, as Haishi grows into a young woman, she begins to have feelings for her master/teacher, Jianming. However, Jianming, because of who he is and what he does, cannot return those feelings as readily or as openly as Haishi wants, no matter how much he cares for her.

After watching and reviewing Novoland, I couldn't decide if it was a romance or political intrigue fantasy story. So I guess it was all of them? Also, aside from Jianming and Haishi, there are two more love stories and couples, and honestly, at times, I preferred them to the Haishi and Jianming romance, because of how frustrating it was to watch the back and forth between them.

But I think one of the strongest aspects of this series is its character development. Almost all of the lead characters mature and change by the end of the story and it is one of the more satisfying aspects of the show, especially with regards to Haishi’s character arc.

I also love the set, the beautiful costumes and cinematography. Unfortunately, the CGI and most of the fight scenes were nothing to boast about. But overall, they didn't derail my enjoyment of the show.

However, if I have one major criticism of Novoland, it's the editing. Novoland has 48 episodes to tell its story. But I think it could have been edited more tightly. In this way, the pacing would have become much faster and the story dragging on in some places or some parts that felt unnecessary could have been devoted to fleshing out the important characters, world building and history of Novoland and its effects on the present.

So, that being said, I think this series is good to watch, but not great and in terms of editing and some other decisions related to the characters, it could have been better. But if you're a fan of a fantasy setting with political intrigue and very slow burn romance, Novoland: Pearl Eclipse might just be up your alley.

Rating: 7/5 out of 10


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Completed
Happy Ending Romance
1 people found this review helpful
by Saeng
Nov 18, 2025
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
I admit it, when I first watched this drama in 2022, I did not like it.
Now, a few years later, I see that I was too hung-up about whether the publishing world was realistically depicted or not, when "Happy Ending Romance" is not about that.

No, it's a drama that tries to address several topics that revolve about one of the fundamental questions of life: What makes a life a good life?
It deals with issues around relationships between people (How will your choices affect the people around you?), around freedom of choice (Who gets to decide what is good for someone?), around honesty versus making a living (What does "success" mean?) and, ultimately, around he complexities that follow if you try to answer these questions.
This is where the story both has a strength, but also a weakness -- the characters' decisions in the past all have consequences, none of them were purely good or purely disastrous, but untangling them to see the right path forward is not easy, and requires that the characters be honest to themselves and to others. It's a strength because complex stories are usually more intriguing than straight-forward "red/green flag" romances. It's also a weakness because it requires great story-telling both in the screenplay itself and in the execution.

And this drama, unfortunately, does not reach the required quality and did not manage to evoke the right emotions for me. I think that the director did the story an injustice when they decided to start the drama with a strange, almost disjointed mix of present and flash-backs, showing the same scene repeatedly but giving us little new insight, and only tell the "big reveal" at the end of episode 7.

This way of telling the story and the backstory also put Kim Jungyhun in the "antagonist" category for most of the drama, when he should have been painted as a complex character with conflicting desires (actually, he could have been the most interesting of the three main characters).
I also feel that this should not have been a romance at all -- I did not feel a romantic attraction from Cha Jungwoo towards Taeyoung -- and in the other direction, it always felt more like a professional admiration. That the screenplay never made the exact relationship between Jungwoo and Jungyhun clear did not help. The romance was also irrelevant for the underlying topics, and everything would have worked as well, if not better, without it.

To evoke the right emotions in the audience, we should have seen and felt both writers' unhappiness in their situation. As it is, we got told, not shown and when we got told, it was too little, too late. This could have been a drama that starts with a stifling atmosphere, where everything is still, almost claustrophobic, living-but-not-alive to then finally end in freedom and light(ness).
Unfortunately, everything is bland and stays flat throughout. Neither the soundtrack (often too loud and misplaced in tone), nor the lighting, or anything except for the dialogue really changes between beginnning and ending. The sets showed that the designer tried but has no idea how a bibliophile lives -- why would you fill a perfectly fine shelf with knick-knacks and put your books on the floor? And why would you not put up another book shelf as long as you have the wall space? -- and they also missed an opportunity to make a greater distinction between Kim Junhyun's cold, still, and sterile house and Han Taeyoung's cozy and warm flat.
All in all, the drama failed to connect my emotions with those of the characters, and that might be why I didn't like it when I first watched it. I wonder if the director even had a clear vision of what story they wanted to tell?

Note that this is not the fault of the actors -- actually, they were the highlight of this drama. I loved Taeyoung's puppy energy, the long-suffering but loving friend Kang Woojoo, and the professor was appropriately disgusting. I would like to see more of all actors here in the future.


Was it good?
It's watchable but doesn't reach it's potential.

Did I like it?
Not really. I had to put in too much rational thought to understand what the drama's theme was, and it didn't make me feel with the characters.

Would I recommend it?
Not really.

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Completed
Love Is a Poison
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2025
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0

Such an amazing watch!

I really loved this series and stumbled across it on Netflix! It's short with only 12 episodes but every episode had me wanting more. The chemistry between the leads was amazing and I enjoyed their dynamic a lot. Both characters were played well since this was based off a manga! I highly recommend it!
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Completed
Miss King
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2025
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers
I liked the series for the most part but the episodes where uneven and not just b/c of the ep runtimes. I feel like, a more cohesive story could have happened if all the eps were 45 miniutes. I hate that they build us up for this epic showdown with Asuka and her father and then the ending is quite anti-climatic and I really hate the kumbaya vibes. It's the reason I'm giving the show a 6 instead of a 7. I thought it was a good cast and the FL was great.

11/18/25
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Completed
Revenged Love: Behind the Scenes
0 people found this review helpful
by ryn
Nov 18, 2025
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 5.5

ts a whole another bl love story itself

it's like a parallel universe of chengwei but in this universe their love is forbidden (tbh in the drama itself I didn't notice anything saying that love in china is still forbidden and they continued to love normally which isn't IRL) so they can't be together
dude I feel like I cried in this BTS more than the actual drama ts is so good it shows how their relationship develop by acting together and they warmed up to each other pretty quickly, also on the BTS idk of what ep but it's more than 20 they just kept cuddling out of script, like Tian was laying down on the bed and ziyu in his arms snuggling up his side while both reading the script. and this little kiss on the hair tat Tian gave to ziyu OH MY GAWD
then the playful bickering as if they don't have a 5 year age gap they're just so silly
also why rewatch value so low? cuz I'm sure 100% I'm crying if I rewatched it or the drama so I'm done with one time watch...

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Nov 18, 2025
7 of 7 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 4.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

The Thai Sleeping Beauty Remake That Needed a Nap More Than She Did

This was supposed to be a modern take on Sleeping Beauty (the sparkly, Disneyfied version, I assume). Instead, we get: a snarky doctor, wildly overbearing parents, an actually-sane grandma, and a brother who communicates exclusively through fists. For flavor, the show tosses in a few fairies and a surfskating idol as the villain. Yes, surfskating. I even had to Google it.

(Shout-out to me discovering that it’s basically “surfing on asphalt.” Cool hobby. Not exactly riveting TV.)

Aurora — sorry, Saengnuea — grew up sickly with asthma and allergies, but the show cranks this up to extreme levels for drama. Her parents treat her like a porcelain doll with a warranty. Of course she rebels: sneaking out, surfskating with Ken, and using her doctor neighbor Khai’s house as her personal escape route. She blackmails him with his own cat. Honestly? Iconic.

Between Saengnuea, Khai (or “Lung,” because she refuses to call him by his name), Ken, and the best friend, it’s basically a loop:
• fighting with her parents
• banter/sniping with Khai
• boring surfskating montages
• Ken doing manipulative playboy things
• best friend acting feral for attention

Not much depth, not much growth — just vibes, mostly chaotic ones.

Credit where it’s due: the side plot with Talay and Sky has a sprinkle of BL-adjacent tension. Still thin, but more engaging than the main plot half the time.

Overall? This drama sits somewhere below “meh,” possibly in the shadowy territory of “I’m only here because it’s short.” Luckily it is short: nine episodes for the US version. That’s the only reason I finished it without needing a nap.

I’ve heard My Sassy Princess: Snow White is significantly better, so yes… I’ll be checking that one next.

💭 Final Mood:
“Watched it, sighed a lot, Googled surfskating, and survived — 4/10 but at least it was short.”

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Completed
Connect
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2025
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.5
This review may contain spoilers

No

Honestly, while watching Connect, I felt like there was something important that I was missing, but it just wasn't there. The story feels rushed, and the characters' opinions change quickly.
Why was Ian upset at Juhyuk? Did he do something in the past? Is that why he was shocked to find out that Juhyuk was Alt? I felt like there should have been a story behind the reason, but I honestly didn't know what it was, and I was confused the entire time.
Jisu was also upset with Juhyuk for 'deceiving' Ian (honestly didn't see it as deception), but when they were talking at first, he was like: "You hurt my friend", and then suddenly: "Ian knows you're sincere". I mean... huh? How did Ian show any indication that he thought Juhyuk was sincere? Because to me, he just looked upset. Wrongfully so.
The actors were rushing things, and the show had so many holes.
If I had to recommend KBLs to someone, Connect would not even show up on the list.

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Ongoing 10/12
The Manipulated
11 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2025
10 of 12 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

JI CHANG WOONG ROCKSSSSSSSSSSS

NOW THATS WHAT IS CALLED A SHOW FULL OF POWER AND ACTIONS. THOUGH THE SHOW LOOKS LIKE COPIED FROM SEVERAL HOLLYWOOD FILMS, BUT BEIEVE ME, THIS SHOW IS 100 TIMES , NO 10000 TIMES BETTER THAN HOLLYWOOD. PLEASE RELEASE ALL THE EPISODES SOON, THE WAIT FEELS LIKE FOREVER. KDRAMA IS GOING TO BE NEXT HOLLYWOOD.....YOU ROCK KDRAMA... LOVE YOU JI CHNG WOOK...LOVE FROM INDIA.....
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Completed
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty
14 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2025
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 3.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 3.5
This review may contain spoilers

Shoujo Food Wars? ???

I was originally going to give this show a 7.5, but when I sat and thought on it I realized the ending pissed me off more and more. Not to mention that when I actually gave it a second thought, the story was nonexistent as well as the "romance." I think I was just blinded by the flashy visual effects that looked straight out of Food Wars mixed with the attractive cast.

I love time-travel stories, and historical slow-burns have my whole heart. As such, I was locked in like crazy when this show was airing for a while. The show set itself up in the first episode to be an exciting historical tale that would eventually lead to steamy romance between a modern woman and king with more than a few screws loose. I personally like dark romance-esc relationships and have no issues with a complex love story between a mentally unstable king with mommy issues and a mentally stable modern day lady forced to be dragged along to the palace on one of his sporadic whims. Some people might have an issue with that pairing, but I don't. In fact, I encourage that spice. But what I got instead was a show stuffed with filler, underdeveloped characters, and an undercooked romance. And just as I had my hopes rise again with the intensity of the Ming food battle and the plot taking center stage during the final three episodes, the ending gave through with the final blow to leave me unsatisfied.

I tried to console myself when I was watching the plot turn away from any serious writing by accepting that it was always meant to be a fluffy slice of life, but then they whiplashed me with a sudden importance put on a decent plot again in the last episodes. The tonal switch-up was out of place and I think they should have stuck with a single genre and called it a day so as not to raise my hopes. The story was just left feeling vacant with how they didn't even try to explain the mystery behind Mangunrok nor how the fuck Yi Heon managed to get himself into Ji-young's era. The explanation being gatekept behind "it's a secret" made me drop the score an entire point. Did they even think about explaining the supernatural aspect at all??? I'm tired of seeing authors write time-travel plots without actually considering the consequences of explaining its existence in the verse it's written in. They just decided to have Ji-young randomly be summoned back to her time under BS circumstances and cut away from showing what became of Yi Heon's life during her absence. Then they expect you to accept that Yi Heon, a man who was raised as royal man in the 1500s and lived as a king to be able to perfectly adapt to the modern era in roughly a month. Who's buying that?! Realistically, this man would have been thrown in a jail cell for threatening random people on the street with a sword whilst wearing bloody clothing. Then they want you to accept that it makes perfect sense for all of Ji-young's friends acquaintances from the Joseon era are either reincarnated or have descendants that look *exactly* like them 500 years down the bloodline. Get real.

The character writing was probably the most unfortunate aspect of this show, however. I initially liked Ji-young's character for being a tenacious and intelligent woman that was going to need to have to use her charms to survive in an era where she'd be persecuted. But of course, the roadblocks that would appear due to her gender and apparent madness are completely irrelevant. Then by the end she felt so lackluster as a romantic lead. I mean, they wanted me to believe that a modern woman like her would fall so deeply in love with a maniac like Yi Heon despite only being in Joseon for no more than a half year. I realized just how misplaced she felt in the show when she was completely useless during almost all plot-relevant conflicts later in the show. I mean, what did she *really* contribute? In the actual palace intrigue, she was just a damsel that needed to be saved by a flurry of attractive men with swords. Yi Heon himself was far more interesting that her given his plot relevance and questionable morals. But of course, they try and make him seem like the good guy by the end and everyone else is the bad guy. I liked him more when they leaned into how much of a whack job he was; this is what made me excited to see how the central pair would develop feelings for each other despite their contrasting personalities. He made me laugh a few times as well and I love funny bastards that deserve to be put into an asylum. They could have just kept with his insanity and made it more tragic, but they chose to make him magically remorseful by the end without any prior indications of hesitation for his crimes. Him being okay with giving up the throne during treason was extremely hard for me to believe given that he was a man used to having every little whim cared for and using his position heavily to his advantage whenever he felt like it. It doesn't make sense to me that a guy willing to risk the lives of his citizens for a mere unofficial food battle would care enough about their well being to sacrifice his power and prestige in the final episode. The show didn't even attempt to address the repercussions of his actions against those he harmed, either. The rest of the cast was just background dressing with good potential that went unused. The jester was a guy with a good motive, but was left with virtually zero development even in the last episode. The only character I really felt any slight effort to write from was Tang Bailong. But of course, he existed for one arc alone, so he disappeared along with any complexity in character writing. The main villains, Jesan and Mok-ju, were underwritten and fell flat as central villains. Where was the complexity in them? How did they get away with the obvious rules they kept breaking? The bonding moments with the cooks were cute, but their characters one-note as well. Gil-geum was the only semi-important one, but she was so extremely annoying with the way she'd talk and sprout open her bug eyes to the point that I couldn't wait for her to leave my screen. I thought they were even teasing a romance between her and the jester at one point but that just went nowhere per usual. That may have secretly been a good thing however, because I am getting tired of seeing side couples that just take away screen time from decent main couples. The lack of backstory for virtually everyone really did detriment their characters; even Yi Heon and his sparse flashbacks made it hard to truly understand his rage.

The romance itself was hollow. I couldn't understand just why Ji-young fell in love with Yi Heon by the end. The guy literally attempted to murder her on multiple occasions and was called a tyrant with mommy issues in history for a reason. She knew that he committed the Chaehong and purges, yet didn't seem that phased being beside him. The man was literally going to have chefs lose their limbs right in front of her, yet acts like a high schooler in a Shoujo a couple of episodes later. She barely expressed a single ounce of judgement for a man as vicious as Yi Heon; not even in her head. As for Yi Heon; he was a king notorious for being a womanizer, yet acts like a lovestruck fool for Ji-young super fast into their "romance." He didn't show a real discriminatory bone in his body towards Ji-young despite her being older, of unknown origin, and mentally "unsound." And I find it incredibly hard to believe that a guy so horny he was criticized for it in history books would be a blushing idiot in front of a woman who is only exceptional at cooking. Where were the sparks required for me to believe their supposed "love"? I felt tension from them in the first episode given how much it seemed like it would be enemies to lovers, but that sizzles out when they actually attempt to write them romantically. I don't believe that either of these two grown adults, one of which is heavily experienced, would be acting like teenagers in their first relationship whenever they get into proximity of each other. I was excited to see how they'd write a romance between a mature woman and king with a womanizer status. But it's like they forgot who they were writing and erased that aspect of Yi Heon's character in favor of generic K-Drama romance. Where was the angst of a modern lady being a side piece to a king and the looks she'd get from it? Where is the concubine feuding she'd get dragged into? Why wasn't Yi-Heon's supposed "favoritism" of Mok-ju shown? Where was Yi Heon's classism at being attracted to a commoner at? Why didn't they have that sexual tension you'd expect to see in a harem setting? Why didn't they explicitly show scenes that grew their attraction toward each other? Where is the hardening of resolve it would take for a modern woman in Ji-young's situation to develop at? Where was the complexity of Yi Heon initially liking Ji-young because she reminded him of his mother at? Where was the difference in mindsets that would bleed through into their choices in their relationships at? Where was the, albeit toxic, power play at? I swear they didn't even have any substantial bonding moments that would make their undying love believable. Yi Heon himself even admitted in episode 1 that he didn't find Ji-young attractive but would "bestow a favor" upon her anyway, yet then gets blushy at the mere touch of her later. That does NOT seem like the attitude of the same guy at all. The most "attraction" I feel is Yi Heon being drawn towards Ji-young because she reminds him of his mother, in classic maniac fashion. They barely seemed to find each other attractive by the end, but act like a married couple in the epilogue. And you can call me a degenerate if you'd like, but I still wanted more intimacy and implied sex scenes. They were supposed to be mature adults, yet the most they get are surface-level kiss scenes sparsely thrown in. Incredibly disappointing.

I thought the main actors did well in their roles however, the ages did not match up. I mean, they wanted me to believe that Ji-young looked 27, when her actress is obviously in her thirties. I'm not insulting her looks, I'm just stating it how it is. I was also very confused on how old Yi Heon was supposed to be. I was curious so I researched the actual Yeonsangun he is based off of and according to Wikipedia, that guy died at 29, so I guess he was in his late twenties as well? But then it wouldn't make sense for the MDL page to list them as having an age gap *in* the drama. I saw that there was some issue with the casting of the King and that impacted the eventual age gap, but I didn't know that when I was watching the first 8 episodes of the show. So as you can imagine, I was very confused. But the casting itself was good; I give kudos to whomever casted Yi Heon's actor because that guy's bug eyes and devious eyebrows and smile had me laughing my ass off every time he did that goofy grin. And although I criticized how it was hard to link with Yi Heon's personal rage pertaining to his backstory, I could still feel his anger and sympathize with his resentment due to the actor's passionate portrayal of raw emotion in serious scenes. Ji-young's actress was good in the role; it's not her fault she was given a poorly-written character to play. She managed to come across as a skilled chef stuck in a different time period, so she did what was all her character writing required of her.

The visual effects that would play when people bit into their food had me dead more than once. I thought I was tuning into an episode of Food Wars a few times when the sounds they'd release from their food comas, only to be awakened to reality when I realized there was no ecchi. I had to question how hard it was for the actors not to burst out laughing when recording those scenes. I think my favorite scene was when they saw the phoenix soaring in the air during the Ming food battle. I was fucking dying when they were enacting animal gestures during those scenes, as well as the Ming envoy praying to a giant Buddha out of nowhere. Those scenes were probably the best entertainment for me in the entire show.

The production itself was beautiful and the scenery looked amazing. The greenhouse was straight out of cottage-core and the food was as delectable to look at as it probably tasted. I had not qualms with the music either and felt it enhanced pretty much every scene it was in. The random Mangunrok rap thrown in mid-show followed with a dance sequence that made me feel like I was watching the Boondocks was definitely a hilarious and artistically crafted scene. The costumes were great and I adored the hair styles of the women along with the robes Yi Heon would wear; the robe he wore to Lion Dance was definitely my favorite one by far. The camera angles were nice and they accented action sequences well.

The action sequences made me feel extremely shallow when they made me froth at the mouth more than anything Ji-young made; I have never been so entranced by handsome men wielding swords and doing kickflips before in my life. I was one heart-eyes emoji away from being a complete degenerate. There really is nothing quite like seeing Yi Heon, Su-hyeok, and Gong Gil adorned in historical garb and attacking nameless assassins in order to protect the fair maiden, Ji-young. I've never wished for a show to turn into Shoujo more before in my entire life. And when Yi Heon was bloody and battered after arduous fighting in episode 12, I was enjoying the sight.

Though, despite any positives I may have, I cannot picture myself ever rewatching this show again in good faith. There just isn't anything that would make up for the negatives that would cause a sour aftertaste to resurface upon rewatch. There is underdeveloped chemistry, lack of sexual tension, hand-fisted plot, shallow villains, two-dimensional characters, and an underutilized setting. So, would I recommend this show? No. I would only recommend it to someone if they reeeeally liked cooking. As for someone that really likes political intrigue or romance, I'd steer clear altogether. It'd be a waste of time.

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