Reviews

Elder Millennial Re-do

17 year old Win is friendly and fun. 44 year old Win has a lonely and miserable outlook on life, being let go from a cold office gig and has even frostier relationships with his younger brother and his high school friend who has already hit their limit from his hitting them up for money to pay the rent he's behind on. His father has passed and the legalization of gay marriage in Thailand makes him think of the only romantic love he felt in his life for his high school crush Nut who passed away too soon. Win's will to live a full life died with Nut at just 17. Feeling his lowest, Win lives carelessly and while driving decides to reach down for his phone that's fallen below the passenger seat instead of waiting until he can safely pull over and crashes, but wakes up in as his 17 year old self again. The magical conceit is never explained, so it could be that this is all a lucid death dream of a man going back to the warmth of his teen years in 1998, a point in his life when the people he loved and loved him were all in his life and his dreams still had possibility.

Aside from his rental band practice room boss Phob's death being unpreventable, everything else falls into place for Win. He takes on cooking duties for his father, brother, and especially to ensure that Nut eats healthy. He enacts group running exercises for Nut's health as well, getting Nut to see a doctor as soon as he's able to as a pretense as a health check for their band activities. As a result of everything he spends even more time with Nut. The first time around, Nut wrote in his journal that he wished he could have had some time to date Lin, someone who made it very clear she liked him. This time around, the first thing he does is the tell Nut that he liked him to a confused Nut who wasn't sure if he heard right. I really like how this key difference made Nut open up to seeing Win in a romantic sense, which makes him contextualize everything that Win does for him through that lens rather as just a best bro to the point that he wrote a romantic song for Win. The scene where Win drops Nut back off to his room, but has to stay in there for a bit when Nut's strict father is checking outside the window is so beautiful. Win asks what Nut wanted to tell him with Nut saying to wait until after the competition the next day, but basically tells Win what he wanted to confess with the lyrics of the confession song that he wrote for Win and instead of saying anything, Win just kisses Nut and Nut answers "I like you too" before they resume kissing. They are so cute. All Win's effort's pay off and Win gets a surgery in time in Bangkok and the combination of a healthy living style that Win has got Nut doing worked well for his recovery.

Another result of Win trying to get everything back into place, but in a different way is that his band group becomes 500% more gay. Aside from Win winning the heart of his dream boy Nut, their rich drummer Ek and college bassist Chai gets together, and their two band managers Biu and Lin get together. At first it was eye rolling that Ek and Chai gets a camera angle kiss, but then it turns out the actor who plays Ek is actually 17 in real life, so that was understandable. But really they should have just cast an actor who wasn't 17 in the first place. I also really enjoyed Win and Biu being a girl and boy best friends forever pairing. Win's relationship with his most understanding father is so sweet as well as is Ek's relationship with his loving parents. Nut has the most tumultuous relationship with his suffocatingly strict father who is not won over to letting Nut pursue his own happiness even with Nut's brush with death, but instead the band gets a deal to release tapes of their music and to do a concert as well. The man finally smiles approvingly for his son in the crowd. Nut's dad is not all bad though, he did look away that day that Win snuck Nut out for practice and probably when he snuck back in with Nut into the room. When Win and Nut discuss coming out to his dad and to the fans, Win tells Nut that his dad probably already knows and to let him pretend he doesn't and as for the fans, definitely not the era for coming out yet, but in 20 years they can legally register their marriage. Nut doesn't even question the idea of marriage with Win and instead thinks 40 years with Win is not enough and wants 60 and more. I was hoping there would be a flash forward back to 2025 where we see 44 year old Win and Nut living a happy domestic life, but we leave off with the teenagers happily living their couple life in Nut's room. The lack of a future scene also leaves it as a possible death dream scenario for those that enjoy a bittersweet finale, but that's just personal interpretation, it's absolutely a happy ending.

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Great potential, great rewatch value, the birth of an Iconic couple. But....

Oh, my, this was so engaging. I truly enjoyed this and feel it is a light-hearted show with good rewatch value.

But, gosh, this show was BROKE! Like openly paint-fake-bird-because-we-don't-have-a-penny-for-costume-broke! And the script was... Well, let's say, they had enough material to do a pretty solid 8 episodes show and diluted it with unnecessary (and not in the novel side couples) and SUPER HOT sex scene. Like, so manyyyyy sex scenes. Which, well, can't complain about this at least. I am satted.

I know it could have been better and am drastically overranking this, BUT, hear me out.
BOATOAT! These two came out of nowhere and are now one of my most awaited pair in the industry. Their chemistry is gobsmacking as in I am clinically insane over how good they are together . The show makes it obvious that these guys can override poor actor direction and tacky editing.
They are clearly talented and underserved here and am looking forward to seeing their next project. Oat has broken my heart every time I saw him cry on screen. There is still so much that they can explore. They have become an iconic couple.

This being said, the show itself, for all I just said about some of its poor qualities, I enjoyed it tremendously, regardless.
It was a no brainer, light hearted show, not much drama, We all knew where everything was going and it felt super comfortable, like when you're home and you know exactly where everything lives
Te plot lacks a lot of early bits from the novel where I would have really enjoyed seeing SornJun actually disliking eachother first, because here it feels so obvious from the first ep that Sorn is obsessed with Jun straight away.
Some characters like Thanu are also funny to watch, the bit with the couple that tries to salvage their relationship after the guy cheated was actually interesting and I wanted more on them They felt tragic and imperfect and to me could have been a good balance to the lightedness of the rest

t was great that Jun is such a strong character that he ends up being the more solid and mature of the two in a very interesting though foreseeable twist.
The two other main couples were given no time nor development to shine and in my opinion should have been dropped (it's not the actors fault, I'm sure they have done their best but they were set to fail), the kids at the coffee shop and the other two interns also, why were there in the show? For what purpose? We could have use this screentime to build coherence on a lot of plotholes or to introduce some things more gradually. Sorn's business partner was one those background character that makes you build an intense and vomit-inducing dislike, but could have been interesting to redeem later by having him being honestly gentemanly helping out Jun while Sorn is briefly out of the picture WITHOUT involving Sorn, and instead of having the subplot with Penny, this guy could have been a more interesting middle man. It's sad that the screenwriters and director only streayed from the novel in the worst ways instead of building more with what they had.
But again, SornJun felt raw and real and I want more of BoatOat, they stole the show and my breath, and make rewatching this show entirely worth it. Encourage people to try My Stubborn if it's their flavor.

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Extremely underrated, fantastic show!

Getting this out of the way first: Yes, despite 2 boys being depicted kissing onscreen, this is not actually BL, lol, yet it's also not very straight, either-- the main character is originally female, yes, but after the events at the end of the show, the MC will only have a male body for the foreseeable future (until and unless the MC can get a new wish granted to switch back, which might be next year but also might be never, if the MC can't win said wish either of the next 2 years); and the endgame love interest is depicted as pansexual (since whatever gender the MC's physical form has now or might have in the future doesn't matter to him at all, he only cares about who the MC is as an innate person).

Anyway, this is ostensibly a goofy high-tech + lightly-magical fantasy featuring a bizarre all-boys academy that not only teaches... uh, *whimsically,* lol 😆 (I mean, it is hilarious, but the teaching that is seen onscreen actually also does all have a really good point to it! 👍), but also hosts a yearly live-streamed competitive reality game show to crown the 'Greatest Man,' a unicorn that grants wishes (although not precisely in the ways that the ones bestowed with the wishes are originally hoping/expecting...), Harry-Potter-esque talking-picture books, a sassy narrator, etc.... and yet, it still has such a *ton* of heart and such completely serious character work that it is actually *really* compelling! 👍👍

The acting-- minus the random background extras of course, as well as one or two of the more-minor friend-group characters (who aren't bad, just slightly stiff at times, lol)-- is really good as well; in fact, the acting by the guy who plays the MC for a good chunk of the runtime of the series is *stellar* (the way he changes the *entirety* of his body language for the role-- without any unnaturally-exaggerated movements!-- is incredible; you absolutely 100% believe that it's a girl in there!). And there's another actor who also somehow does something extremely subtle with their own body language (particularly something with their facial expressions) that somehow clearly shows their real nature as well. 👍

There are also some really good messages in here, as well as some great character arcs. And speaking of the characters: All of the main characters pretty much feel like real people, with natural mixes of positives and flaws. So, even if there are some occasionally-unrealistic situations due to the fantasy-ish setting or whatever, all of the characters actually have very realistic reactions, and make understandable decisions-- both some good, and some very bad 😅-- based on their own personal situations and established characterization. There are no out-of-character moments here. And all of the emotions hit well, too. (Oh, and I also really appreciate that characters either overhear/are told things or just figure things out on their own very quickly, so any misunderstandings or the like very thankfully don't last long, either!)

Finally: Something you have to know about me is that I personally really hate the feeling of secondhand-embarrassment, and going into this I was honestly just bracing myself for and expecting there to be a lot of that sort of cringe here; *HOWEVER,* even with the occasional goofiness/shenanigans, there's also just so much darn *sincerity* in this that, to my pleasant surprise, I pretty much felt *no* cringe at all!! 👀👍👍 (In fact, IMO the only real objective detractions the show has are some occasionally-jarring music transitions and some very-low-budget CGI, lol. But both are infrequent enough to not even really notice.)

TL;DR: This show is known by too few, and way too underrated besides. It's fantastic, and very well worth the watch!

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If you stop at 10th episode is super cute

This series is so beautiful if you stop after 10th episode. The last 2 episodes are like from a diffrent drama, did not match with anything before.... scarry, stupidity 10/10 it ruined all the beauty, connection, romance build before. Like they have hired another writer but was the warst writer on Earth.

The writer completely erased their personality and maturity, their sensuality, their previous connection and turned them into puppets. It was so hard to follow until the end. Grotesque.

Disappointed 10/10

I love their chemistry, romance, love, comunication in the first 10th episodes. 10/10

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11/10 Absolute Masterpiece with Luo Yunxi once again

I just finished this drama, and honestly… I’m heartbroken. I actually paused it back at episode 35 because my gut told me he was going to end up as a sacrificial lamb yet again. I finally pushed myself to finish it today. Even though the rewatch value is a 10/10 for me, I don’t think I can ever bring myself to watch Luo Yunxi go through all that pain and trauma again.

If TTEOM was its own kind of emotional trauma, this drama feels like an upgraded version of that heartbreak. I did love the touch at the end with his friends having those tiny fox tails, even though they’ll never truly know the loss and sacrifice that made it possible. The subtitles I had were pretty terrible for the last episode, but I’m pretty sure I saw a silver/white fox, so I’m assuming that was Foxy Tang or more like a spirit to keep his presence.

The costumes, the acting, everything was amazing. Luo Yunxi’s micro-expressions and intensity? Absolutely 1000/10. Strangely, it gave me the same bittersweet feeling I had after watching Mysterious Lotus Casebook with Chengyi.

But now I’m in that empty, post-drama void where nothing else feels good enough to watch next. Maybe I’ll rewatch Love is sweet with Luo Yunxi, but right now I’m honestly too heartbroken, and I already knew this coming in the first episode.

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Romeo and Juliet.. But The Tortured and Murderous Kind..

First things first, this is not an easy watch.. It’s honestly an unpleasant drama to get through.. A lot of what happens here hurts you, breaks you and makes you want to break into the screen and take matters into your own hands.. Had I Not Seen the Sun embodies what a drama exists for, not just to tell a story but to immerse the audience completely.. The drama doesn’t try to entertain.. It just deeply affects us, shaking, frightening, unsettling, disturbing and jolting us.. It makes you feel the weight of what’s happening, not as fiction but as something real and close and that emotional discomfort is what the drama uses so effectively.. Simply put, Had I Not Seen the Sun has the power to shake you up, terrify you and leave you in a bewildered daze by the time it ends..

The director doesn’t soften any harsh realities, violence, cruelty, moral decay.. The drama is honest and in some ways even nihilistic.. It reveals the ugly, disturbing aspects of its subject matter in a sharp, precise way..

There is a lot to talk about here, but I will try to keep it simple.. The whole story unravels in the best possible way, starting with a gripping first episode which is intriguing, sharp and setting up the psychological thriller vibe perfectly.. The drama has a lot of little details in the present timeline about Chou Pin Yu that you might miss if you are not paying close attention, the mirror, the bag, the phone in the first episode, for example.. All of it quietly hints that everything is not as it seems..

I liked how the story shifted between the present and the past and that transition from past to present in Episode 2 was just wow.. The screenplay is ambitious in its framework.. It’s not just a serial killer story, but a character driven tragedy with real psychological depth and a touch of tragic romance.. I also loved the moth-butterfly-sun metaphor, especially the way the drama shows Li Jen Yao as the moth drawn to Chiang Hsiao Tung, his sun.. And Chou Pin Yu’s hallucinations are equally intriguing, they almost give the drama a supernatural feel even though it’s all happening in her mind..

The cast was actually perfect.. Tseng Ching Hua was just outstanding, his expressions, his presence and that calm menace, it was all so eerie.. Moon Lee as Chiang Hsiao Tung was the emotional core of the story and she was painfully convincing.. Chiang Chi as Chou Pin Yu didn’t get a lot of screen time.. Her performance was intriguing enough that it actually made me even more excited to see what she will do in the next part..

The cinematography is beautiful, in the most absolute sense of the word.. It has some seriously good visuals and color tones.. And the framing, the symmetry, was well structured and looks great on screen... And credit to the OST too, the music played such a huge part in setting the vibe..

One small detail bothered me.. Someone that meticulous, someone who didn’t want the FL linked to his crimes in any way, somehow left that one photo lying around?? That should have been the first thing he destroyed, I wonder why he missed that..

Overall, Had I Not Seen the Sun is a seriously good drama that you just can’t overlook, with a cinematic level of screenplay and storytelling.. It’s not an easy watch in any sense.. But if a drama can pull such an overwhelming reaction out of you, then it’s doing something right, isn’t it?? I actually thought these 10 episodes might feel draggy somewhere in the middle because there’s a Part 2 coming.. But not at all.. It’s very well paced and not bloated in any way..

Part 2 is where all the revenge is.. Hope they don't hold back and go all in, brutal, bloody and unapologetic.. There are still so many unanswered questions.. What’s the real identity of Pin Yu?? I thought she was the FL but then who is the girl at the end?? Ko Chia Yen’s character?? If she is the FL, then having three different faces for the same person feels a bit too much.. But I do have a few other guesses.. Let’s see.. Either way I am excitedly waiting for Part 2 and hoping it ends on a harsh, bloody note.. And yeah, I don’t want to debate whether his actions were right or wrong, they were scum, rotten to the core, they had it coming, every last bit of it..

I am expecting a stripped down, bare bones, no nonsense, brutal revenge story for Part 2..

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~ never ending passion & desire ~

ABO LIVING UP TO IT'S NAME JUST WATCHING FILLS UP MY DESIRE GAUGE , definitely one of those shows most would probably need to read up on the whole alpha , beta & omega verse to get a better understanding but even so once you start watching & get into it I feel it becomes easier to understand anyway as you start to get the whole concept better. I was interested from the beginning but definitely the more episodes I watched the harder it was to put my phone down for sure , I really fell for the characters & their stories routing for them all the way. Eliots acting & how attractive he is has me on the floor , worth the watch ! please give it a try if you haven't🔥🩷

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The only good thing is looking at Rowoon

This was my first Rowoon drama and he is definitely nice to look at. I didn’t care for the FL though. Something about her just didn’t seem to fit and I didn’t think they had any chemistry.

The storyline was also a bit all over the place. Things that happened in the beginning first episode weren’t even talked about the majority of the drama. And the history part was thrown in at weird times. And then a stalker randomly?

It’s like they tried to do too many things in one drama. They put romance (some parts were a romcom only in the beginning, mystery, thriller, supernatural…) It really needed to be condensed down to a more focused genre and went more in depth into that.

Also, I couldn’t get past the cheating…

All in all I hope Rowoon’s other dramas are better.

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Cut the Filler, Keep Ming Yi and Ji Bozai

Even though the beginning didn’t convince me, I have to admit that the way the story slowly developed between Ming Yi and Ji Bozai completely won me over. Their relationship turned out to be incredibly wholesome and genuinely adorable, to the point that they became the real reason I kept watching. I only wish they had cut some unnecessary filler scenes, especially the ones about the villain and his mistress, because they didn’t add much to the main plot and sometimes broke the rhythm. Despite that, the evolution of the two protagonists made the whole experience really enjoyable for me

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This AGAIN ends at a cliffhanger

I think it's going to take another 2 years for next season. Anyways, overall series was great and I guess, better than the last one. In this season, there were more vile plots, nasty maniac characters and intelligent aces. In this ss, things felt really rushed.

Though plot mainly revolved to Jenna's side of story, growing friendship of two female lead motivated me to go on.
For Hye-in, I'd say same as Jenna, her survival skills are top notch. No matter where she was stuck in, she always got through. Meanwhile, Jenna IS the real mastermind of all this. Every single plot, scandel, character and even her own fake scandel turns out to be beneficiary for her.

Thanks to the scriptwriter for providing a little romance plot for both the female leads. JJ couple gave starer performance and was obviously the ace in all of this, but sorry, I'm more on HyeinxSarang cp, specially his cute 'doona, doona' with those glimmery eyes 🤏🏻😚

Acting of side characters, especially the actresses playing Yulhee and Haein deserves a praise. They literally brought out the lunatic nature of characters to life. I was displeased because Somang's absense but Sarang filled for it (even if he got less screen time than he deserves). I felt bad for Doeun, he deserved better.

I'm not forgetting about the last episode. It was oddly and PERFECTLY SATISFYING. Four of them working together and exposing everyone's crime one after the another, Hyein stting the trap gave me the peace and payed for the whatever disappointment I had. Not to mention, Jenna indirectly showing middle finger to her father, declaring her position at the company was a chef's kiss 🤌🏻😌

There are some spectaculations I made which might happen in S3
- That mistress plotting something
- Yulhee's mom going after Hyein (her smirk was definitely saying that)
- Doeun getting Haein's revenge from Jinwook
- Jenna using Hyein as a bait (Again)

(I just finished this series, so I could ramble it for an entire day but still tried to keep short)

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Boring

I really like Li Hong Yi so I wanted to like this title but it is just trite and over or underacted. I find the FL annoying beyond words another one of those naive childlike types that irritate the heck out of me in these dramas. It is especially annoying after having watched Love in the Clouds, Fated Hearts and Legend of the Female General where all the FLs were smart, fierce, funny, witty with grit and courage of their own and no need to be rescued. Maybe she develops some spine or character later on in the series but I cannot be bothered with the slog to get there. Also the production values are not great so that is just adding insult to injury. There are so many good series out there now these less good ones can be left for a rainy day.

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definitely entertaining

this was an easy watch. the 20 episodes didn't drag out for too long (even though I skipped all the scene when the actors look into the distance feeling tormented 😅).

the story is pretty basicv rich and annoying guy fells for a "common girl".
what I likes about the FL is that she is not a damsel in distress. she is a bad as woman working a dangerous job.
the ml lead is so annoying at the very beginning I just wished she kicked his ass and left him but he redeems himself at the and.

the cousin is my favourite character. he is the comic relief what also a well rounded character.

this drama is really interteining and enjoyable.

the ending is the only thing I think they dragged out for too long.
this series could have ended at the hospital scene or after they leave it but other than that.i really enjoyed.

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Why didn’t they try harder?!

Starting from the story, through the two characters and the music, everything was so so.
The story had potential, but was left undeveloped - the grandmother, the second lead, the second family, main characters domestic dynamics, her sister, the aunt.. they all flapped in the wind without much substance.
The main male character was quite basic and woo Shik didn’t put any effort to develop. I find with him that he is either brilliant or mediocre. There isn’t anything in between - the character in this drama is the same character from Our beloved summer or Melo movie !
Jung So Mun generally plays the same character - sometimes the script fits her(like this one!).
The best dynamic here for me had the second lead couple, there was the only chemistry in the drama for me.
Felt rushed and undeveloped for me..

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Sweet ... Simple... Surprisingly Satisfying..

It's a sweet... light-hearted drama about a married couple who divorce after a series of misunderstandings, only to slowly rekindle their romance. Meng Na and Jian Qi, as always, brought their best to the screen. Their chemistry felt warm and fluffy ,.. full of respect, care, and a quiet kind of love that shows even in their playful banter 🥰🥰

Honestly, they looked so visually appealing together that a few plot loopholes were easy to forgive.

I also loved the styling: Jian Qi absolutely rocked that red-burgundy hair, and Meng Na’s wardrobe 👗 was chef’s kiss... classy, modern, and perfectly curated.

Overall, it was an enjoyable, feel-good watch.🙂🙃

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If the Divorce Insurance team joined a variety show...

Divorce Insurance: Rank Battle surprised me in the best way because it flips the usual “special episode” formula. Instead of being a post-series highlight reel or a compilation of top moments, it works like a pre-show warmup where the cast gets to play around, promote the drama, and show more of their chemistry. It feels more like a mini-variety show than a traditional special, and honestly, that format works so much better than most of the specials I’ve seen. It gives you energy, context, and personality before you even dive into the drama itself.

The funny part is I only learned it was a pre-show after I already finished the main drama. Even so, it still lands well as a standalone extra. You get to see more of the cast being themselves, which adds a nice layer of attachment if you enjoyed them in the actual story.

Overall, it’s a solid companion piece. Whether you watch it before or after the drama, it’s still a fun little bonus that extends the experience and makes the cast feel more familiar.

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