Reviews

Great Beginning and Disaster Ending

This is the first Kdrama that I watch after so many years leaving this fandom. The constitutional monarchy fantasy lured me in. One my favorite Kdrama years ago was The King 2 Hearts. That also in the set up of Constitutional Monarchy. The early episodes were great. A prince and a businesswoman. In my mind, finally we are free from romance with social class gap trope. Because even though one is royalty and one is commoner, it is clear that Hui Ju is not your average commoner. She comes from the wealthiest business clan in the country, a CEO, and incredibly smart and beautiful. Certainly that amount to something. I am waiting for a double lead strong story.

At the beginning, that was exactly what we get: a double strong lead. They complete each other quite well. And watching Hui Ju slowly falls in love with I-An is a treat. Their little romance here and there made me want more and more. I kept re-watching the episodes during the early airing, while waiting for next week for my next treat. Everything went downhill after Hui Ju poisoning case. At that time, in my mind, I felt: "Ah, just another classic trope". And behold, Hui Ju soon became just another damsel in distress (even though not for long). Gone was the confident CEO, the one with endless desire to win.

I waited with excitement for I-An to take the throne with Hui Ju as Queen. Then, what??? Abolishment? Is abolishment is that easy to be done? It is a country system! The amount of work to change this will be so enormous. As far as I know, that is one of the reason why many European Countries stay with their constitutional monarchy instead of abolishing monarchy alltogether. I know this is fantasy, but my brain just cannot accept this kind of elementary writing.

Episode 12 is so atrocious. Here you have the previous King, and we have no one paid him attention while he is in public. As if he is just your average guy. This is unthinkable. Since we are given the information in the early story, that I-An is so beloved in the country. So, after he lost his title, everyone ignore him right away? Wow! And then the very fact that I-An has become jobless man after abolishment is so humiliating for this character. And then Hui Ju becomes this busy CEO that don't have time to accompany his pitiful husband at home. From a graceful Grand Prince to pitiful house-husband. Is the writer want to demean man or what?

The positive of this drama is the visual. The clothing and jewelry look beautiful and expensive. Music also quite good.

Acting wise, honestly, it is not spectacular. I agree with everyone that second FL (Queen Mother) has the best acting. ML is just so so actually. Stoic does not mean no expression at all. IU is okay, I think she improves quite a bit since The Scarlet Heart Ryo (last time I watched her drama).

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A fairytale romance

I loved everything about this drama!!! It’s the most realistic fairytale story of the 21st century we can ever get. It’s realistic but still an impossible dream to attain and we are vicariously living our fantasy through IU ‘s character Huiju!
I seriously don’t know where to start! Maybe let’s start with the cast and characters:

Ofc having IU and BWS in the same drama playing a chaebol heiress and a PRINCE would be mindboggling but I underestimated the effect it actually had on me in the end 😂😂😂
I loved Huiju from the beginning! Her aggressive breakdowns and the way she screamed at everyone or at herself when things were pissing her off made me laugh so hard!!! And the more shocking it is to see her progress in the drama, how she grows from an aggressively ambitious CEO to a soft wife, princess and then Queen who would risk her life for her husband made me feel so emotional! IU is one of the best actresses ever! She is so beautiful it hurts!

And then there was Byeon Woo-Seok! Our pale, tall, lanky, beautiful vampire-like Prince of the 21st Century!!! His first scene was of course a frigging SHOWER SCENE that made EVERY female watcher freak out!!! 😂😂😂 He had great progress too. From the grudging Prince to the confident yet soft and loving King BWS embodied I-An so well! I loved his scenes especially his beautiful suits! I hope the costume designer of this drama got a good paycheck!!!
Also when he cried, I cried even more 😭😭😭

The Aides: omg the AIDES!!! They were the cuuuuutesttttt couple evvvverrrrr 😭😭😭😭😭 I loved them so much! Their kiss at the end made me cry out of happiness like I have never cried because of a kiss scene before! 😂😂😂 i dont even understand!!! But I was so happy for them! And I loved that he got to open his own little flowershop in the end 🥹🥹🥹

I also loved the other side characters of the palace like the court lady who in the end bought him a bed. I wish we saw what happened to the other assistants who were caring for Huiju when she first moved in. Areum got punished obviously but how about the others? 🤔

Of course I loved that Huiju and I-An both got redemption for their families. Huiju’s brother and sister-in-law were actually VERY funny!!! 😂😂😂 I loved especially the sister-in-law. And even the father turned good in the end. I would say fathers all have a soft spot for their daughters, but sadly that was not the case with the Queen’s father. I liked that the Queen ended up taking I-An’s side and exposed herself, her father and the Prime Minister.

I was very disappointed by the Prime Minister. I didn’t expect him to turn into an obsessive murderer! He literally tried to kill his crush’s husband just bcs he was in love with the same woman … like did he think that she would have married him if I-An had died???? NO!!! What he did hurt not only him but also Huiju…

The plot of the story was well-paced. The beginning was funny and lighthearted. Episode 3 was the funniest. The romance was PERFECT!!! Their kiss scenes and hugs and how it went from fake dating to real risk-my-life kind of love was so much fun to watch!!! The screenwriter and director of this drama knew what they were doing! The politics and intrigues were not too much and everything always got resolved smoothly without any setbacks. The midway break-up barely felt like a break up and when their love really started off for real, it all felt just so genuine and convincing! The chemistry was off the roof!!! ISTG if IU and BWS don’t start dating after this I will be sad 😢😢😢

The Soundtrack was beautiful too! Loved the overall message to never trust politicians and that the perfect men are the soft ones who will cook for you, open a flower shop for you and wait for you patiently until you come back home 🥹🥹🥹 This should be the standard us women should be living for and never shall we settle for less! Just everything about the drama was perfectly done! They landed the plane very well! 12 episodes was definitely enough!

I’m off to watch all the Youtube on this now bye!!! 👋🏻

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Simple fun

I thought the highs in this one weren’t very high, but the lows also weren’t very low. It’s a fun rom-com but pretty thin on the plot and the character development.

The plot is just not quite there and for me, having seen multiple historical dramas and corporate dramas, I expected there to be much more to the power struggle in the palace and in the business world. Instead, it feels like things are resolved quite randomly and the antagonists never do anything that really feel like a threat. I’m ultimately not sure what the FL was trying to get out of the marriage and how it would help her business, and on the royalty side it feels like the villains just mush together a few assassination attempts and call it a day.

I was expecting there to be more scheming and back-and-forth, but the protagonists seem to solve everything without much pushback. They make one move and 5 minutes later the villain is in jail. This is especially notable in the final two episodes; I-an introduces the EXTREME concept of abolishing the monarchy and there’s not only no build-up to it, but it seems like the advisors just go “darn :(“ and the next thing we know we’re cutting to the reveal that the people have voted on it and have agreed to it. I know people are saying that it’s because 12 episodes aren’t enough, but I felt like that wasn’t the issue here. The plot stagnated and I actually do think we had enough time to delve into deeper topics if the writing wanted it. If abolishing the monarchy was the big conflict, we should’ve seen much more to explain why it was necessary and why it was difficult to accomplish.

It all just feels a little too easy and shallow, which is a shame because I feel like there’s so much you could do with a modern day monarchy plot around corruption, historical precedence, class, etc. It’s hinted to at the start with a contrast between our leads, but we never really confront it beyond the court of public opinion.

Character-wise, we start off with a really strong cast of characters but I don’t think the writing allowed any of them to have complete arcs.

The antagonists ultimately feel pretty underutilized — the Queen Dowager’s father goes to prison extremely easily, and the Prime Minister’s arc honestly doesn’t feel thought out considering how big of a turn he made. Did he do it all because of the FL? If he did, it’s much too shallow of a motivation. If there was more to it, it didn’t come across fully. I think our leads were fun and the romance was sweet, but they also both don’t develop very much. Same with the second couple, who are typical ”sidekick” characters, lovable but with no real arc of their own.

The best arc out of all of them is probably the Queen Dowager. She probably turned out to be my favorite character, even if I found her final switch a bit sudden.

Part of that is her acting, which I think was the best out of the entire cast; she especially killed it with intense moments and facial expressions. As for the rest of the cast, I think it was pretty good but they didn’t have much to work with. I know this has been discussed to death on the internet so I don’t want to harp on it, but I did find the ML to be a bit stiff; he was good in emotional moments but not as much in the subtle ones where we needed more micro-expressions. I don’t want to be too harsh but I’m not sure I completely bought into the main romance, or that the ML supposed to be older.

I know this is a lot of criticism but I actually still found the show to be quite fun to watch. The cinematography was really good and it’s clear that this was a high-budget production. The story isn’t quite as epic as I wish it was, but if you go into it with the understanding that it’s a rom-com and you don’t think too hard about it, I think it was enjoyable.

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The romance was there, but...

Broken of Love is not your typical GL, and I think that’s what led to such polarizing opinions about the series as a whole. In my opinion, the story is driven more by Arisa’s personal goals than by her relationship with Lalin. While their relationship is heavily featured, much of the series focuses on Arisa’s desire for revenge, which makes the GL aspect secondary to the main plot. Coincidentally, that’s what I enjoyed most about it.

I’m a strong advocate for GLs expanding their storytelling, and I think Fabel Entertainment did a fantastic job of giving viewers something different from the norm. The series reminded me a lot of what Monomax achieved with Heart Code earlier this year. It was beautifully shot and attempted to tell its story without relying on the conventional styles we repeatedly see in Thai GLs.

Beyond that, I’d also like to applaud the cast’s performances. I think everyone played their roles well, and I hope the newly established pairings get the chance to work together again in future projects. It would be great to see a full GL series led by an older couple. Overall, I’m excited to see what Fable has in store for the future.

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Philosophical reflections using a xianxia setting, with a slow burn, steady romance

Originally watched it when it was first released for Liu Xue Yi, and just finished my binge rewatch of it again this week - clearly there is rewatch value here.

Pros:
- The way the drama explores themes of morality, good vs evil, action vs thought, time vs reality, balance and excess.
> some memorable moments
- Likewise, the use of the craftmanship theme was first - visually compelling and beautiful (did not look campy!), refreshingly different and also beautifully explored themes relating to technology
- Main CP's romance - there is really nothing steamy here lol, everything is super PG13. But it was beautiful seeing their commitment to each other, and definitely entertaining at the start when the ML is annoyed by the FL but still constantly intrigued by her. And the FL just has this unwavering dedication to him beyond job responsibility which she took a while to finally realise oh yeah I do like him.
- Bai Shu's acting as Mei Shan is phenomenal as usual, maybe he keeps playing similar characterizations (I always see a sniff of Teng She in his roles lol) but I always enjoy his presence on-screen lol.
- Same for Baron Chen's acting!!

Cons:
- Subpar set lighting and makeup, this aspect does not detract much from the typical xianxia where the lighting is sterile and white with little nuance and play on light vs shadow, which makes the setting look artificial and washed out.
- Side characters/couple romances were not the most compelling (Except for Pei Jiu!! I cri everytime) (incomplete review because idk how to save this as a draft lol)
- Weak plot devices - so the FL has a restraint on her falling in love/revealing her identity...but we don't really see any major repercussions from it, other than her not being able to speak. But I also have no idea how else they could have depicted it.

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A roller coaster that starts high goes down and finish again on top

For me the show started at pure perfection. It was my first k drama and I really liked it. The first two episodes hyped me so up that I couldn’t wait for next episode. Then same thing with 3 and 4 but after a while the story feels to get soften. It lost the thing that made it great. Hopefully it makes a comeback with 2-3 last episodes. Especially episode 11 and first half of 12
I like the ost song. It was good to hear that. But the best part of the show was the characters and actors/Actresses. Characters choices and acts were comprehensible I may not act like one of them but I definitely understand if someone act like them
The story tried to implant some good twist ls to finish the show with 12 episodes. I like and didn’t like those twists at the same time. The twists were the stuff that cause episode 11 and 12 be good. Not the twist by itself but by its results

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Stealing Hearts and the Throne

Why You Need to Watch This Right Now....

The Mind-Blowing Chemistry: The absolute highlight of the show is the electric dynamic between IU (playing Seong Hui-ju) and Byeon Woo-seok (playing Prince Yi-an). Their explosive slow-burn energy and playful tension leap off the screen. Every single gaze, micro-expression, and heated argument leaves you completely breathless. They are easily one of the most visually stunning and emotionally convincing K-drama couples ever.

The Ultimate IU Renaissance: This drama officially made me a fan of IU all over again! Stepping away from her previous roles, she is completely magnetic as a ruthless, sharp, and fiercely independent chaebol heiress. She balances corporate coldness with a hidden vulnerability that makes it impossible not to root for her. It is a commanding, Daesang-worthy performance that reminds everyone why she is an absolute superstar.

An Unforgettable Ensemble Cast: It is incredibly rare to love every single character in a show, but Perfect Crown pulls it off flawlessly. From Woo-seok's deeply charismatic yet lonely Grand Prince to the brilliantly complex supporting players like Noh Sang-hyun and Gong Seung-yeon, everyone brings something vital to the table. Even the scheming rivals and court officials keep you completely glued to the screen.

Immersive Atmosphere and Audio: The production value is top-tier cinematic gold, filled with jaw-dropping modern palace aesthetics and premium high fashion. Combined with an addictive soundtrack featuring Bibi's opening theme "My Pace", the vibe of the series is a total "sugar rush" of style, comedy, and high-society romance.

Overall, I am so glad this ended up meeting my expectations. I have been dropping k-dramas left and right the past two months (Positively Yours, The Practical Guide to Love). However, this drama and Filing for Love has kept me hooked again.

Definitely give it a watch!

Acting: 10/10
Chemistry: 10/10
Music: 9/10
Storyline: 8.5/10
Rewatch Value: 9/10
Overall Vibe: 9/10

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I have no idea what and where this drama took me :((

Oh my, just finished watching the drama "4 Minutes," and I am quite conflicted. While it certainly includes a lot of mature content and violence, the storyline left me completely confused.

The plot started out interesting, but it quickly became difficult to follow. I couldn't tell if the show was exploring a parallel world or different timelines; for instance, a character would be deceased in one frame and then the same character is suddenly saved in another by someone. Even rewinding didn't help clarify the direction of the story for me. A waste of my viewer time, in my personal opinion.

(On a personal side note, I’ve been thinking about how dramas often portray smoking as cool or intimidating. I am incredibly grateful I stopped when I did, as continuing felt like playing Russian roulette with my health. Why companies, whether through the entertainment, other business continue to push smoking as being distinguish looking or sexy is beyond my intelligence of living a long life. Not as attractive anymore, it's just a foolish tool.)


Back to this very confusing drama, unfortunately I cannot recommend it. While the actors performed the "spicier" scenes well, the narrative felt aimless. I won't be rewatching this one, and I’d only suggest it to someone interested purely in the mature themes rather than a coherent plot.
I gave it 2 stars because I know how hard everyone had to work on this. If this was rewritten with more clarity ... I think it would be a great drama.

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My perfect drama ???

So much goodd drama I really love it
The casting is sososososo much perfect and the acting we don't have to talk about it.
All episodes were so good .iam going to rewatch again and again. And they deserve so many award together.hope they will play another drama together and plz don't quit drama .iam going to miss them so much from now on
And iam little. Bit sad too becz my Friday and Saturday will become whole nothing to wait
I remember my day how much I wait and desperate for this drama like scrolling through threads time to time to see spoiler and scrolling mbcc website .❤️❤️🫶🫶🫶🫶🤧
Ourrrrer wanseong coupleeeeeee❤️❤️❤️
Lee wan 🫶song huiju 📸🤭

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The Crown Was Beautiful, But the Romance Was Everything

Perfect Crown is the kind of drama that reminds you why rom-coms became so beloved in the first place. It has been such a long time since we got a drama that truly understood both the romance and comedy genres and delivered them this well. Was it cheesy? Absolutely. Was it cringe at times? Definitely. But did that stop me from watching? Not even once. Because the tropes were executed so well that they never felt tiring or overly cliché. The drama took familiar rom-com elements and gave them its own charm and uniqueness, which is honestly the best part about it.

The first half of the drama was nearly seamless for me. It hit every spot a rom-com should hit and kept me completely hooked. The first episode alone was powerful, but somehow the following episodes became even better. I loved how the characters were introduced, but what truly stayed with me was the first meeting between Grand Prince Ian and Hui Ju. That entrance scene at the little king’s birthday banquet? Absolutely unforgettable. It has genuinely haunted me ever since. Byeon Wooseok didn’t just play a regal prince, he was a regal prince. The aura, the posture, the expressions… he embodied the role perfectly.

IU, on the other hand, was wonderful as Seong Hui Ju. Her character reminded me a little of Jang Man Wol from Hotel del Luna — strong, sharp, intimidating at times, yet still carrying a soft and vulnerable side underneath. I loved that balance so much. I was also pleasantly surprised by how attached I became to the sibling relationship between Hui Ju and her brother. At first, they seemed like the typical hostile siblings we often see in dramas, but the writer actually gave their bond depth and sincerity. That unconventional development honestly elevated the drama even more for me.

The second half leaned more into palace drama and politics, though if I’m being honest, the politics were never the main attraction for me. What completely stole the show was the growing romance between Hui Ju and Grand Prince Ian. The drama fully embraced its rom-com identity and continuously gave us iconic, heartfelt, and sometimes ridiculously adorable moments between the two. Yes, there were villains, schemes, and political conflicts along the way, but I barely cared about them because I was so invested in the romance.

Did the drama have flaws? Of course. Was it perfect? No. But was it worth every bit of excitement, joy, and emotional investment? Absolutely. This is the type of drama you enjoy most when you stop expecting it to be something it was never trying to be. If you simply allow yourself to get immersed and enjoy the ride, Perfect Crown becomes an incredibly entertaining, lighthearted, and genuinely romantic experience. This drama screams ROMCOM from beginning to end, and no one can convince me otherwise.

A lot of people focused heavily on the political side and criticized it, but honestly, I do not think the politics were ever meant to be the core of the story. The romance was the plot’s center point. However, despite being romance-driven, the drama still had emotional depth. Every major character had growth, struggles, and a journey of their own. Most importantly, the love story between Hui Ju and Grand Prince Ian was developed beautifully and with so much care.

Also, I have to mention the little king because he was genuinely one of the cutest parts of the drama. Every scene with him made me smile.

As for the ending, I never once doubted that we would get a happy ending but, somehow the drama still exceeded my expectations. I absolutely loved that they gave us more romantic and sweet moments after the monarchy’s abolishment because we truly needed to see more of their married life together. A royal baby would have been the perfect cherry on top, but honestly, I was already incredibly satisfied with the conclusion we got.

The pacing was also surprisingly solid for a 12-episode drama. I have seen far worse rushed endings in dramas with similar lengths, where the main leads barely get a few minutes together in the finale. Perfect Crown, however, gave us a satisfying and emotionally fulfilling ending that felt rewarding instead of rushed, and I genuinely appreciated that.

IU was splendid as Seong Hui Ju, and Byeon Wooseok truly showed growth in his acting as Grand Prince Ian. There were multiple scenes where both of them absolutely excelled emotionally, so it honestly surprises me whenever people call their performances bland. In my opinion, they completely outperformed themselves here. I also think this partnership showcased their strongest chemistry to date compared to their previous co-stars. Their chemistry was so magnetic and natural that it might genuinely take me a while to adjust to seeing them paired with other actors in future projects.

The supporting cast was assembled so well too. I loved the secretaries, the little king, and even the Queen Mother. Yes, I disliked her in the earlier episodes, but her actress was absolutely captivating on screen. As for the Prime Minister… I could not care less about him as a character because he was such a coward, but I did enjoy the actor’s performance.

At the end of the day, I am genuinely glad I did not rely on the overly negative reviews and ratings on MDL because I would have missed out on such an enjoyable gem of a drama. Perfect Crown gave me exactly what I wanted: romance, comedy, memorable chemistry, emotional moments, and characters I became attached to. It is definitely a drama I can see myself rewatching years from now.

For me, Perfect Crown had one of the best castings and one of the most enjoyable rom-com experiences in recent years.

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The Weight of Reality

[Spoilers will be tagged where they start]

First of all, I know people were upset about this show for not having physical intimacy between the two leads, but frankly that is not the plot of this show at all. Is it still queer? Absolutely. This show explores the lives of two characters trapped by society and their own emotions, and how they try to overcome this together but are ultimately still victims of a harsh reality.

Ryu (Hayato), an ice hockey player, has no response when his friend and teammate confesses his feelings for Ryu. When the team learns of this, they make a mockery of the gay teammate, causing him to attempt suicide. Ryu, feeling guilty for not protecting his friend, runs away from his team and Japan to stay with his friend in Berlin. Burdened with the guilt of his friend's suicide attempt and dealing with the weight of coming to terms with his own sexuality, Ryu goes to a church to confess his sins. When the church catches fire, Ryu decides to burn with it until the man that overheard his confession saves him. This random encounter seems fleeting, until Ryu sees the man that saved him compete in a boxing match. In another chance encounter, Ryu meets Johan (Taecyeon), and the two become fast friends. Their lives become intertwined as they both deal with the hardships of being queer in an unaccepting society, and feel as though they need to find a way to save their souls through each other.

This show manages to hit you with a new tragedy every episode. I swear, any time someone seemed slightly happy, the writers decided to throw something horrible at them. I really loved the themes of found family and queer love, but my GOD they could not let any character be happy ever! As much as I love a sad drama, this one felt like a little TOO much.

[Spoilers start here]

I truly think the only positive takeaway from the show was the found family aspect. The way that Ryu steps in to support his best friend and everything she goes through, along with Johan, was truly the best part of the show, even when the entire group was having a rough time. However, for the finale to have Ryu marrying Sumiko for the sake of Kanau really hurt in an unexpected way. I understand why Johan left, and I think it made sense for all of the characters, but for Ryu to never truly be able to be with someone he loves because he knows it won't be accepted and frankly, even HE never accepted it himself, really really hurt. And honestly, I do not think the writing addressed this aspect well at all. I fully understand the idea that Ryu and Johan are never explicit about their relationship, even in private, considering what the two have been through. But for the show to end the way it did, with the "I love yous" right before Johan's death, felt cruel to the audience! It almost felt like a situation of "we're not allowed to really make this gay, so let's kill off the male love interest and have the main character marry a woman." While I don't think that was the intention, it still felt like they could have told this heartbreaking story of two queer men crushed by the reality they live in, but still manage to portray acceptance of oneself in these characters. All we see are two men being beat down over and over again, and never managing to live the lives they wanted. You REALLY need to want a sad show to watch this one.

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the best GMMTV series

i fear to say that this is the best GMMTV series... by the story,by the actors and acting,music,ending just everything.every episode i cried,from happiness,sadness etc.(im not that type who's crying from series). i saw tons of BL's especially from GMMTV but this is just so special,im so happy that they put PerthSanta to this story (but like tbh from the start it was kind weird to see Perth in character which is greenflag and not toxic or something like that but then it was the best thing to watch). im amazed how Santa did the job to acted 2 characters,cause tbh some actors can't do even one.really loved that Pombek never had a thought that he will leave Solar/Sun,it was so sweet i always cried when i thought of that.
so yea im so happy 'bout this series if u want to watch to do it!!

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