Reviews

This is my first show with WinnySatang as a pairing and its so good!

Positives:
- The story is fun , exploring identity, friendships, trust and belonging.
- The show does not use excessive filters on the actors skin, leaving it looking natural.
- The couple dynamics are heartwarming and have some moments that are relatable and realistic.
- It has a nice balance between serious scenes and playful moments.
- Winnys character is portrayed realistically, being awkward at first and avoiding his feelings to then becoming protective and allowing his true feelings to be seen. He starts thinking about his lifestyle and choices differently after getting into a long term relationship.
-The Kiss scenes are sweet and believable without being stiff or forced.

Negatives:
- The political story elements were not overly interesting to me, becoming repetitive.
- The story does not go too deep and is best viewed as a light/casual drama.

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2nd male lead carries the show and the rest is just about ok

I was not going to write a review because there are already many that share more or less my opinions of this show but I think this is one of the times I've felt the most frustrated and suffered the biggest 2nd male lead syndrome. I need to get it out of my system.

Seo Joon as a character was to me the best of the show, not only he has layers to peel but also he has the edge and nuance. I guess I should clarify that in reality I'm glad he didn't end up with the main character for I got kind of annoyed with her as the drama progressed, but I feel he deserved so much better and I'm left with a big bitter feeling in that respect.
I haven't read the webtoon so no idea how much better it is or anything, but I feel I would feel as frustrated if the plot lacks the same depth this did and if it's very blatantly obvious FL will end up with Su Ho.

Most of my rating goes for him as a character and his banter and scenes because although the drama was entertaining and funny at times until about episode 7 in general, from then on it goes massively downhill and at points quite melodramatic for no reason.

For starters I feel like the premise of the drama is quite unrealistic and cliché, the beauty superman I guess, some glasses and pimples already make the main character unrecognizable.
I found quite bad taste the way they blatantly did the eyebrows in the child and teen FL when she's "ugly", it made no sense, it was someone made them with a sharpie, they couldn't just fill them in naturally so they looked thicker? I feel if they wanted to play with this concept of the two faces of a person they should either have made really transformative makeup or maybe even have different actresses of similar body figure playing the main character, as is it feels mostly cheap and difficult to agree with the "fantasy" element of this (that no one recognises her instantly) when she looks the same with or without makeup and especially given the fact that every other actor/actress in the show is wearing the same amount and at times even more makeup than her, "your bare face is so ugly" - says character with a cake of makeup on.
This is full of rather bad clichés, there are clichés I can enjoy and in here some of them I didn't mind as much, but some others just make you facepalm very hard, like the accident and the amount of time they had to get out of the way, the breakup, her sudden stomach problems at the end of the show that add nothing, them knowing each other since young and other "fated"/"first love" cliché or bullies being bullying for the whole drama just because.

What did the FL learn here really? It's what I wonder first and foremost. We didn't have at any point a thought from the FL about beauty as it is, mostly what she does at the end happens because she's cornered and then a light bulb flickers for two seconds and decides to do something different. Also, I get it's trying to be comedic but I found quite bad taste her mother taking her to see a plastic surgeon. Sure, her mother's words make a point to say she's beautiful but honestly when she said she was taking her somewhere I thought she was taking her to a dermatologist, that it's where she should have gone like her friend Soo Ah told her, as well as to therapy for her confidence, her trauma and self-esteem issues.
I'm tired of seeing female lead characters that lack certain level of temper, I feel writers need to understand you can still have self-esteem issues, be shy and also at the same time take no BS from anyone. FL here is total damsel in distress, but at times she shows certain level of temper and can be quite selfish as well when comfortable with the people around her, what just ends up being kind of frustrating to watch for me and made me not like her too much, like at points I found her kind of rude to Su Ho once she was comfortable with him for example.
Don't get me started on the unrealistic portrayal of class dynamics where everyone, every-single-one-of-them, agrees she's ugly and no one sides with her or defends her (both in her previous school or current one).
And don't get me started either on Soo Jin, what a waste of potential character, I liked her way more than the main one until she went psycho.

Su Ho... pffff, what a stick... I think he was the constipated one for most of the drama and I felt mostly nothing for their relationship. Sure, they were cute at some points but it didn't move me much. But the two most problematic things for me are him using her at the beginning in that manner, and the other one is his behaviour after breaking up. Obviously the breakup was pointless as usual and meaningless, but the way he just came back and immediately tried to pick up like if nothing happened was actually kind of disgusting, as was his stalker behaviour and overall pushiness, even certain level of cockiness?
Meanwhile Seo Joon had been there all the time and being there for FL and whatnot while she's presented as just an NPC placeholder during those 2 years that is still stuck on the same guy that broke up with her. I'm changing canon and I'll always believe she knew deep down Seo Joon liked her but she used him to not feel so lonely, the alternative is honestly worse. How are these people passing their studies with that level of brain cells? I don't find any logic, and I say this as someone that needs it very obviously shown to know someone is interested in me because I also suffer from self-esteem issues but Seo Joon was so obvious it could be seen from space, the aliens were facepalming too.

There are many ways the plot could have unfolded that would have made this refreshing and way more out of the basic formula but I guess that's all they wanted to do with this so they achieved it.

Either way, the love triangle was pointless as always and I would have liked and preferred more side stories of other characters, except perhaps less of the one of the sister with the teacher if only because it could have been cute and interesting but it was used only as comedic relief, what at the same time feels like mocking a relationship where the power roles are different than those that fall into the gender stereotypes. They overacted the comedy too much, pushing it to let the audience know very blatantly "this is comedy, laugh".

Overall I feel there are other shows out there with similar concepts that didn't drag as much as this one and that had more depth. If you want very superficial story with love triangle and school setting you might enjoy this. If you want fanservice you might enjoy this too but take it for what it is, a collection of pretty pictures at times with veeeeery basic cliché plot.
Rewatch value none for me.

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Surprisingly Captivating

This drama caught me off guard. I didn’t even realize that I was binging. I was more than halfway through it before I even realized that I was watching the episodes one after the other.

The surprising part is, until the very end, nothing cataclysmic happens. There are no twists, no sudden surprises (or shocks). It’s almost like watching people live their lives. I understand the frustration some people had as this drama is not action packed with flaring robes and gravity defying jumps. But even then it grabbed my interest like a marching band. For this review, when I started to think about what all had happened in the drama, I realized that it was nothing much. But then why did I liked this as much as I did?!

The answer is lead characters. The FL, Lady Gao, was one of the most capable female leads I have seen recently. She is compassionate but not a push over. She is young but not naive. She understands the other side’s perspective, has enough empathy. But that does not blind her to the interest of her family. She is a badass, but not in a bratty, tantrumy, sarcastic way. She sees through people and situations, takes time to understand everything and then finds a way of the least resistance, like water - no pun intended. What I liked was how she meant it when she said she understands why her in-laws would hate her. And why her husband would keep her at an arm’s distance, she didn’t just say it, she showed it with her actions. But at the same time, she does not hesitate to tell her husband when she is displeased with his actions or when her foolish mother in law tries to undermine her marriage. The character was brilliant. She did what she wanted, got done what she wanted, but was not self absorbed.

And then our ML. OMG. Lord Wei is a total teddy bear. He is so patient with her, yet so petty when he is jealous. Even when he seems spellbound by her beauty, he does not devolve into an alpha hole who is cruel because he can’t face his emotions. He is not a man-child. He has a solid, like pretty solid, reason to be wanting to eradicate FL’s clan. But he also is emphatic enough to understand her predicament. It’s a one sided enemy-to-lovers drama. She never thinks he is her enemy. His enmity lasts just long enough. It doesn’t drag. Most of the drama is them developing their mutual understanding and finding love. A really good job by both the actors.

I loved the ML’s gang. The four musketeers and the advisor were just cracking funny. Their loyalty was strong enough to allow them to keep their personal hatred aside and accept her Ladyship because their Lord accepts her. I loved it. There is usual humour which is sometimes unfunny. But at least for me, it did not grate. There are usual grey characters, usual black characters, usual white characters, villains with a boohoo stories I did not care about. Oh, my mommy and daddy didn’t love me, so let me be a psychotic social climber or a family-killer. Like dudes, get over it. Don’t justify your nastiness with some sob story. At least own it.

My one gripe was with the climax. It came out of nowhere and escalated from 0 to 100 in no time. It was like the studio told the team to create some drama and then cut their budget. No spoilers but some deaths in the end did not make sense. They did not fit organically. It was more like the writers were ticking boxes for the studio who were like, why should everybody be happy, let’s kill off a few to jerk some tears. And that’s the reason of my imperfect rating. Senseless sadness for the sake of it.

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ABSOLUTE BALL FEST

OK, I hardly remember this show but I’m gonna write a review based on memory. I would give it like a 5.5 out of 10 and it’s only that high because I fuck with the actors a lot. So we’re gonna get into what I liked, but I didn’t like, and then a little final thought overview kind of thing. This review is really short because I can’t remember anything and it’s mainly just me hating on the show.

What I liked. The actors low-key have a lot of chemistry and they’re low-key really cute together. They also have another short drama together, which is also ass but I think it’s really cute. And that’s about it. The rest of the show was absolute BALL FEST which I define as 10 counts of motherfucking bullshit. Oh and you know, my ass ate up the debt plot. And then yeah.

What I didn’t like was the main plot being a teacher-student relationship. FUCK NO. I genuinely do not hate anything more than I hate this trope. This trope is weird. It is disgusting and the fact that the guy is in high school, I think, makes it 10 times worse bitch. That’s truly one of the main reasons why you should not watch this shit. Also what I didn’t like was their power dynamic. You know my ass hates power dynamics, but the fact that it was like flipped, made it worse, cause why was he grooming his fucking teacher? Like I don’t know who in the right fucking mind came up with this bullshit but when I catch them, I’m kicking their ass. And the fact that nobody like said anything nobody stopped them. Nobody thought this was weird. A TEACHER AND A HIGH SCHOOLER. Also what I didn’t like about the student's character was, he is a spoiled, fucking brat, and not even in a good way cause you could do that in like a good spicy way, but he was a brat and a bitch and made this an unfathomably hard thing to watch. Terrible plot, terrible characters. Like they could’ve made this work actually they couldn’t but like they could’ve worked on character development they could’ve made it a non-teacher student romance. They could’ve made him in college at least like a senior in college. I’m not trying to justify it right now, but the fact that he was a fucking high school student and HE was grooming, his damn teacher makes it so bad. And they try to stick so many fucking plots into this and none of them hit. In fact not even your main plot hit, why would you fucking bring other plots to this that does not make any fucking sense? That’s all I can think of.

DO NOT WATCH THIS. Okay bye!

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Fantasy and romance that works together...but do they still work separately?

To best appreciate the charms of this 12-episode series, a prior acquaintance with Korean folklore around goblins (dokkebi) and nine-tailed foxes (gumiho) will help.* The BL romances featured in The Story of Bi Hyeong: Enchanted Master of the Goblin King build out from a scaffolding of fantasy folklore. In fact, the series falls in line with other genre hybrids like Khemjira (ghosts), or Manner of Death (murder mystery), or Spare Me Your Mercy (legal/medical thriller) as a BL series where the romance unfolds in secondary moments because the characters’ primary objective is to resolve plot threads created for the OTHER genre to work. If the viewer understands the series is fantasy first and romance second, they are more likely to find it enjoyable.

Like so many other Korean entries in the fantasy pantheon, the story frame entangles a human with immortals. Rural country boy Guem Bok, an aspiring actor, moves to Seoul. The naïve youth finds himself overwhelmed with city life, victimized by shady real estate agents, shady street thugs, shady talent agents, and shady shades. Oh, yes, like the human protagonists in other dokkebi stories, Guem Bok can see ghosts—phantasms who threaten his life. Enter Bi Hyeong, the goblin king. A transactional dynamic emerges when Bi Heyong’s loyal dokkebi minion Gildal realizes the human has the unique ability to revitalize the goblin king’s waning magical powers. In exchange for supplying “essence” that reenergizes Bi Hyeong, Guem Bok can live rent-free in the nice Seoul home the two goblins share. As a bonus, the goblin king will shield Guem Bok from otherworldly dangers. This cohabitation soon draws the attention of Ji Gwi, a longtime rival of Bi Hyeonng. A gumiho who has camouflaged himself in human society as a plastic surgeon, Ji Gwi wants to respark a lost relationship with Gildal. Guem Bok’s sudden intrusion into their closeted lives (closeted, in the sense of hiding their true natures from mortals, mind you) reignites lingering passions and resentments among the immortals.

Vivid worldbuilding determines the success of fantasy TV series. Do the writers have firm control over the lore? Do the powers wielded by supernatural characters crop up consistently? Do the limitations? Do their backstories make sense, including a long reach into the distant past? Since these magical immortals tend to live (invisibly) in contemporary society, does the fish-out-of-water trope provide the expected amusement? Does the mortal human have a backstory (sob story?) that warrants drawing the attention of an immortal? The answers comprise a mixed bag. Episodes could and should have put more effort into fleshing out the circumstances that govern the lives of the dokkebi and gumiho characters, particularly as the ending left room for a second-season that would be even more dependent on the fantasy elements. The series’ best episode was the ninth, when the writers dispatched Guem Bok into the past, thereby playing many of the backstory cards concealed close to the vest up to that point. Finally, we gain a glimmer of understanding of the mysterious bond between goblin (Bi Hyeong) and human (Guem Bok). One suspects the writers felt constrained by having only six total hours to unspool their tale. While action moves along—the plot pace is brisk—events often occur for little discernible reason. More detailed unpacking of the supernatural world hidden in plain view would have remedied this deficiency. Leaving the viewer wanting more is not a bad thing; starving them on purpose is quite another.

The light touch on the fantasy story carries into the romantic plots. In early episodes plenty of physical contact ensues between Guem Bok and Bi Hyeong. But why? The touching is ambiguous. Does Bi Hyeong touch Guem Bok to illustrate sexual tension? Or, is the contact merely instrumental, to remind the viewer that the human can transfer essence that the goblin needs? Whichever, the constant contact creates a plethora of sweet moments—the lifeblood of any successful BL series—but without any definitive sense that either character has caught romantic feeling. The sweetness of their moments of physical interaction is therefore nearly superseded by the transactional understanding each has of their relationship (essence traded for protection). Because the fantasy story requires that neither Guem Bok nor Bi Hyeong recognize the reason for their unusual connection (until ep 10), neither interacts with the other from any motivation resembling romance. That dynamic improves in the final quartet of episodes, but viewers tuning in for the BL may already have bailed, while viewers enjoying the fantasy will wish for even more backstory. Rather more successful in the early stages is the long-simmering romance (centuries worth of simmer!) between Gwi Ji and Gil Dal. One does sense that these two lost something precious at some point in the past. But will they be able to regain it? Like the fantasy, the success of the two romances is somewhat mixed.

On a final note, I cannot make sense of the subtitle. The English grammar suggests that “enchanted master of the goblin” refers back to Bi Hyeong. But Bi Hyeong is the goblin, not the goblin’s master. The master is Geum Bok, whom I would not have described as “enchanted,” as that description better suits the supernatural ability of the goblin. Except maybe Geum Bok is enchanted with how handsome Bi Hyeong is? But I don’t think that’s the sense of “enchantment” the title bespeaks. Anyway, perhaps something was lost in translation, or there is some Korean nuance I failed to discern. Or, like the rest of the series, perhaps the title’s wording serves to intrigue without fully paying off.

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my team leader should be FIRED

This was such a forgettable show but I actually took some notes so we are going to go based on that. I give this a 7 out of 10. It was pretty okay, like not good but also not that bad. What I liked, what I didn’t like, and some final thoughts.

What I liked. I really enjoyed the characters. Well, the main characters. Both of the guys were really hot and I think that they both played their respective characters really well. They also had low-key good chemistry like in this weird short drama kind of way they had a really good chemistry. That’s kind of it. I’m low-key blanking on the show right now. I think this is the one where his ex is in the office with him. I like the stuff with the ex at first and then it just became too much and it got boring. Yeah, I think this had a pretty strong start and then it kind of faded like most of these do but yeah that’s all I liked.

What I didn’t like, there were too many useless characters that served no point to the plot. Like what are you guys even doing here, shut your dumb ass up and go back to work. They tried so hard to make these characters have meaning to, but they just didn’t. I know I just glazed the ex, but after his “good era” came down, he pissed me all off and made me so fucking angry. The girl's character is just miserable fucking writing like I understand her point but the way they wrote her character made me really angry and it just made me not want to finish this show. Also her non-biological brother why did they even introduce him? He genuinely served no point to the plot. It was just so random and they tried to connect so many ideas that just didn’t work well together so it made it also a hard watch. Yeah, that’s kind of all I remember.

If you have IQIYI then watch it. The guys are such eye candy, and make it all worth it (not really). It’s pretty short and very forgettable but if you’re gonna pay for it, don’t fucking watch this bullshit. Okay bye!

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weak character in a gloomy/melancholic story with disappointing ending

Not often do I see ML purposely portrayed as a weak or indecisive benevolent person who is being forced into another person's will but DOES NOT show that heroic determination to overcome his shortcomings. In most cases we see hero's journey from one characteristic to something different, but here ML stays the same.
This was underwhelming overall effort to show something but what - I have hard time to determine
Honestly the best part was ep 1 and 2 where I loved two virgins drugged and intimate and trying to figure out what to do with themselves. But after that - the FL remains the least expressive, which suits her characterization but makes the story boring. Likewise, ML actor did a great job playing wilted flower of disfranchised emperor. The royal brother was played well, but royal uncle meh. I really really liked the side story of the Empress but the ending was bleak and we are left with sad reinforcement of the old feudal rules regarding women, rape, pregnancy, shame and such.
I am moving on to watch Mission of the Heart where Meng En is another lead. Perhaps that one will be better.

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Savor the first episode.

Wow, this opening battle scene is epic. The swiftness of the moves is spot on, making it realistic and exciting. What a way to start a new drama. Damn, there is nothing better than a beautiful, fierce woman and a handsome man in battle. The FL is a formidable master archer. You will appreciate her fight scenes.
Story
The story is original as far as I know. The epic battle in the beginning fully captivated my interest. I enjoyed the backdrop for the story and the mystery behind it. There was so much happening in the first episode alone, setting the stage for the rest of the drama. It was my hope that it would hold up through 38 episodes and keep my interest. For the most part, it did. Although around episode 24, I almost forgot how it started, what it had become. The story moves at a good pace, but there are some obvious plot holes that I have questions about. For example, why are there no guards outside of the Emperor’s place when he is sick? Also, did the first Empress really think she was going to leave the palace with the children? (Really, who wrote that)
Production
The production value is extremely high. The costumes are lovely and represent the historic era. The scenes are massive with what seems like many extras, and bring a real feel to the drama. The cinematography is stunning. The way the wind blows, the costumes, and the close-ups almost take your breath away. You can tell they spent time on the special effects, making everything seem authentic.
Acting
The acting is okay; nothing seems really out of place. However, there isn’t anything that makes me feel the chemistry that leads should have. The ML has a youthful, boyish look, and the FL has a more mature, sophisticated look. This, I think, makes it a hard sell for chemistry (IMO). It is not bad, I just don’t feel anything from them. Everyone is playing their part as best they can or were directed to. Chinese dramas seem so micro-managed these days, so it is hard to tell.
Soundtrack: It is a hit or miss, and it is a miss for me. I am sure it is good when you listen to it, but it is always noticeable when it starts playing, which is distracting from its purpose.
In conclusion, I thought it was an average, okay drama. It has romance, a decent storyline, and some great fight scenes that will entertain you. The cast is in great shape, and the wirework looks good. It was a good watch and I recommend it, especially since dramas are recycling themselves. However, nothing stands out, and I feel like I have seen it before.

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Blunt and efficient toxic mob boss romance

The drama is exactly what you can expect from a vertical show called "Captive Love From the Mob Boss". Hot mob boss played by Ma Xiao Yu whose great physicality works wonders for this kind of walking red flag (with hidden vulnerability), sizzling chemistry with gorgeous actress Zhang Chu Xuan, who matches him in intensity, appropriatly scummy second male lead so that the ML can get his redemption arc, hilariously bonkers scenes where the mob boss tries everything in his power to force the heroïne into marriage (including tying a bomb to a priest), dumb evil meimei and stepmom who get their deserved comeuppance, expensive looking sets and costumes, etc. My only gripe is that I don't really know why she falls for him at some point beyond pure lust. I mean, I get it, he's too hot to stay sane, there is some grovelling, but I would have liked a bit more time spent on that part of the plot.

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ten counts of BS

Be for real what even was this? I am gonna try really hard to say good things about this show. Starting off I would give it a 6 out of 10 and that's being generous. I am gonna say what I liked and what I didnt like and then a wrap-up. Yay…

What I liked, absolutely fucking nothing besides Winner’s sexy ass and him being shirtless. He is genuinely such eye candy and a pleasure to see every time he comes on screen. Also, the other guy grew on me and he was also eye candy. Their sex scenes. The one at the start I ate all the way up. And the episode 47 left-field sex scene, immaculate. Next up their chemistry. I thought it was actually really good and I felt like I was interrupting something lmao. I think it also has to do with them being sexy, but eh. Also, the dynamic they had in the show. If you read my reviews you know I HATE power dynamics but theirs was lowkey really good and had me dead and spread. I also liked the slaps and I thought they were very funny. The bet was interesting as well but I lost the point after the first couple of episodes. And finally, the uniforms were so cute, and the acting. The actors did a good job and it is a SHAME they were just given a miserable plot.

What I didn’t like, every fucking thing. I paid for this shit for the love of the game. I have so many regrets. The weird incestual relationship between Tonya and Leo was so fucking weird. I’m like what the fuck are we doing? He sees her as like his God and that’s so fucking weird. I don’t know what they were smoking making this fucking show but they need to pass that shit cause what the fuck did I just watch? Another thing I didn’t like was that miserable fucking plot. Why did it jump around so much? Like we tried to make so many things stick, but we only have like an hour like why do we do that? The random fucking scissors. Like if you don’t snatch that shit out of her hand, bro. Why did we keep jumping around to different places holy fuck can we pick one place and stay there? What the fuck? Went to damn near 52 places in the 52 episodes bro. The random ass irrelevant family lore like I wanna see THESE PEOPLE BENT OVER not trauma dumping. Another thing I didn’t like was the background with the kids AIN'T NOBODY GIVE A DAMN. Also, they needed more character work. WE NEED TO STOP GOING TO PARTIES AND WORK ON CHARACTERS. And the student body president bullshit why did we even make that part of a plot like what the fuck. And why does he have bodyguards if he's the Prime Minister's son like what? My final thing is the random ass super mega happy ending like why did we have guns? I’m so confused.

And yeah. Don’t watch this shit but if you’re going to watch it for Winner because he’s really really hot. Okay bye!

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As a teacher...

As a teacher i found this show really entertaining and quite emotional! Now i do agree with the other reviews that the ending wasnt thorough enough, but for 10 45 min episodes i thought it was great! The acting was great, the struggles were realistic (as a science teacher working in an inner city school.. you see a lot), it never at any point dragged! Its just that the ending was really rushed in my opinion... the last two episodes could havw been stretched to three...

Side note: In all honestly such "hero" teachers especially for 30 students at one time is unrealistic, teachers are human too with planning and meetings and family and social life and marking and assessments and parents evenings and so of course they care for their students but to be as invested as she was in each individual story of the students in this show is absolute unrealistic

Regardless, it was still a good watch, i ended up binge watching it all in one night (which i regretted greatly having to go in the next day to school to teach a full day) and do reccomend :)

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