Reviews

Is Ms Incognito worth the watch? Yes and No

Let me explain, the plot was so promising, before it aired I was looking forward to it, I mean a female bodyguard entering a contract marriage, that's a plot I don't think I've seen, so I binged the first two episodes once they came out cause I was super excited but after episodes 1 and 2, I was already a bit unsure, we barely got to see her be a bodyguard and we barely got to see her be in a contract marriage but I was still hopeful.
Come episodes 3 and 4, I realized the main focus of the drama wasn't about her being a bodyguard or being in a contract marriage and when I came to terms with that realization I started to enjoy it a little, it was a bit disappointing I'll be honest but you have to just move past that
So once you get over the fact that the plot is a bit misleading, I'm sure you can like the drama
Pro tip: Don't think too much when watching it, just go with the flow, it's not a serious drama, there are some decisions the characters will make that'll just make you question your own intelligence but don't think about it too much

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A Strong Motivation of Love

I primarily watched this drama because of the two leads - Choi Yi Hyun, whom I had seen in The Matchmakers and Choo Young Woo of Trauma Code. With the title Head over heels and promo photo, I just thought it was an ordinary young love, but there were so many twists in the whole story.

The Characters:
1. Choi Yi Hyun as the Shaman Seong-A:
She is really cute and could really pass for a high schooler. As an actress, I believe she gave her best, showing different depths of emotion. Her face is very expressive, much more her eyes.
Her character started off as a young person who just carry on a side hustle of a shaman but not too attached to any of her clients until Gyeon-U came. You may say she is obsessed and her desire to save him is because he is her first love. For 10 episodes she is very actively involved with him, but we lost her after taking Bong Su with her. The character has a transformation, a maturity that didn't go to the dark side and kept her mission as what her spirit mom told her.

2. Choo Young Woo as Bae Gyeon U:
He played quite a different role here from Trauma code, and as a high schooler with dark secret. It is good to see him play two different characters which are extremely opposite to one another. Good acting as the melancholic Gyeon U and the playful young Bong Su, that made us guess his age.
Gyeon U thought that he is really doomed forever, and only Seong A was able to give him hope. He needs to find his purpose after his grandma died and that purpose is in archery.

Other characters that really played their parts very well are Seong A's spirit mom and Yeom Hwa. I love the tenacity of the General and the sacrifice she needs to do in order to save Yeom Hwa. And whatever is the future for Yeom Hwa, actually I don't care, at least she left them in peace.

Somehow, I felt the last 2 episodes jumped too fast forward many years without giving a story of Bong Su in Seong A, or what was Yeom Hwa doing within those years if she has already lost the power of a shaman. I had wondered when Bong Su left the body of Gyeon U and followed Seong A, where they went and was surprised later that he is in Seong A already. He is a boy and went in a girl, but acted like a girl? That seemed out of character for Bong Su. They could have made Seong A tomboyish instead if Bong Su is in her.

Am not really loving it. I only finished it to see if they were able to be free from being possessed. I don't usually watch stories of ghosts, with the exception of The Master's Sun. I wonder if Shamans are still existing in modern day Korea. I watched this because I was after redemption and the love story. I don't think I will rewatch the whole drama, perhaps just pick a few episodes that will bring joy to my heart.

What do you think?

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Fabulous overall

I totally enjoyed this series. It was fun, intriguing, loved the surprises, the twists, the turns. The acting was absolutely off the charts! the chemistry between the leads was incredible. The story hit a hiccup on ep 11 and made me rethink my rating but I soon realized that the rating should be about the overall feeling about this show and I forgave the writers for that! overall a 10 - I looked forward to each episode and found it very entertaining. I did not know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised that the story kept my interest and I would sometimes not be able to turn it off and binge watched. Loved being surprised and shocked! overall it was very enjoyable.

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Gorgeous

This show is seriously great I’m glad I’m able to enjoy a Chinese drama again. First let me just say this is the first time a main lead has shined so much to me, he is seriously just so handsome. Honestly it didn’t have a strong introduction, there was barely any story for the lead just little details. Like for example how strong she was. They barely displayed how far her strength goes, showing her only fighting off some simple enemy in the tournament and that’s all, it isn’t even until the later episodes there’s more to the tournament like fighting off strong beasts in order to advance or die. In every single darn social situation where the main lead is the main focus she just stands next to him with her confused look on her face not saying anything, I hate that to the core like HELLLO?! One thing that is new is the display of power in a female (not the fl) but on the princess. Usually a princess is just used for marrying off, basically weak. But here she’s seen as a power (she really doesn’t have much but..) it’s just new! Like I never seen it before and she’s trying to steal our Ji Bozai at one point but yet I still can’t hate her! There better be some display of power of our female lead im tired of her being some timid old weak thing.

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Hilarious and Absolutely amazing

Only two episodes in, and I am already invested. These two are unhinged, and I love it. The butler who was sent to spy on them by Suriya's mom is absolutely hilarious and totally us as shippers. He went from going there to investigate to being a stan for a relationship that should be fake. But this is BL, we as experienced shippers know that's not gonna last long.

I am in awe of the production and the quality of the scenes, the chemistry between the actors, and the storyline. I've been searching for a reincarnation, and this is it. I can't wait for the remaining episodes to come out. I'm rooting for Apo and Suriya

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Yes, Hold My Hand at Twilight, because I’ll need emotional support to finish this.

This drama tried to sell me slow-burn romance and tender pining, and honestly, I was ready to buy. But the female lead? She made me want a refund. I get that she’s a “country bumpkin,” but reckless doesn’t even begin to cover it. Heartbroken or not, spending all her money on one night in a luxury hotel and a grand feast isn’t romantic; it’s financial self-destruction. I could empathize with heartbreak, but not with poor life decisions disguised as spontaneity.

Then she meets a guy who briefly helps her out and vanishes—only for fate to shove them back together. Sure, they had the same music taste when they first met, but the odds of her ending up in the same place? Drama logic strikes again. Turns out, Oto and Soramame both get scooped up by the same landlady like stray kittens, and suddenly they’re overnight successes.

Soramame lands a fashion gig with nothing but a few doodles, and Oto—who’d been middling at best—suddenly earns recognition because a girl with a nice voice sings his song while wearing Soramame’s designs. Sure, it sounds poetic, but let’s be real: the buzz was mostly because the original singer slated to pair with Oto was part of a famous duo. The talent was decent; the timing was pure drama math. What are the odds? No, seriously—what are the odds?

Then after huffing off in a storm—justifiably furious that her boss stole her ideas—Soramame turns to the mother she swore she hated, just because she needed someone to fund her fashion show. And suddenly, everything’s fine? No tirade, no reckoning, no emotional fallout. The abandonment, the nightmares, the resentment—all swept under the rug like a bad sketch. Then she goes to Paris Fashion Week thanks to her famous designer mom, only to come home a few years later because she got bored. Bored. Like her talent was a hobby she could pick up and drop at will. People would kill for her genius, and she treats it like a mood swing.

And don’t even get me started on the love triangle, which felt less like emotional complexity and more like narrative whiplash. At first, Seira is fake-dating Oto as part of a scam—a classic setup that could’ve gone somewhere juicy—but instead of developing any tension there, the drama veers off and suddenly she’s in love with Soramame. Blink and you’ll miss the pivot. I’m all for fluid feelings, but this felt like the writers changed ships mid-episode and hoped no one would notice. Oto, for his part, looked perpetually dazed, like even he couldn’t keep track of who was supposed to love whom. Unpopular opinion: I think Seira suited Oto far better—he and Soramame felt more like siblings forced into romance by the script.

By the end, I only finished it out of stubborn loyalty—and for Oto, who deserved a story not buried under contrivances. This drama wanted to be poetic and bittersweet, but it ended up feeling like a slow burn that forgot to ignite.

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Badass Female General meets Badass First Prince and their shared Badassery???

Oooh How I’m already missing Fu YiXiao and Feng SuiGe😭😭😭this drama was everything and then sum. The enemy plot was enemying but how they turned to lover was just chefs kiss. I absolutely give the writers their flowers for how each character evolves but their essence remained. I love the pacing of the plot, the unfolding of the story, the chemistry was chemistrying and the visual interms of production were just🔥🤌🏾 My second favorite pair is the crazy emperor and the crazy princess…their chemistry of going off each others madness added so much color and comedic relief. All in all this show is amazing and I’ll be rewatching it over and over😌

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Excellent cast & production

The story starts powerful and the intrigue keeps us alert throughout all the episodes! All the characters have been casted so well and a special mention to the emperor Xia Jingyan played by Qin Tian Yu, he played so well his craziness and despair for love ! I loved the whole drama from production to music! My only reproach in the story is that Fu Yixiao took too much space in Feng Suige revenge, just like in episode 35… she is the one who killed Uncle Murong but with the feud between him and Suige and also the reasons why Suige couldn’t let his son go, because he killed so many of his brothers… I’d have preferred and it would have been more satisfying that one of the feng battalion kills him for instance! It’s def a must watch even though the love story might sometimes takes away the ML feelings & reasons of revenge after the muder of his father

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Apex haken vs office lambs

I'm going to start at the end. ;)

The one thing that strikes me is how timeless this show is. Other than the abundance of clam shell phones and slightly outdated PC's, you will be hard pressed to carbon date this drama. It is mind-boggling to think the Japanese workplace probably hasn’t changed much in close to 20 years!

With that out of the way, let's go back to the nuts and bolts. This show is a 100% Shinohara Ryoko starrer. She is literally all dancing and all typing. She portraits an eccentric S class haken. She is utterly professional, abrasive and unyielding in her ways. You can say that she is a pioneer of work-life balance before the topic is even whispered around a Japanese water cooler.

She is highly valued by employers in the know. Any full-time employees who try to belittle her will be licking their wounds in no time. While you can say her portrayal is one-note, you do sense her inner conflicts some times when she knew her actions are hurting people she is growing fond of. Think of it as a kind of tough love. Her numerous qualifications are a little over the top, but you roll with it as a kind of series-long gag.

As I mentioned before, the office setting is timeless. Being a temp is a tough gig. Our FL does not take it for granted, but she also knows her worth and will not take any crap from her co-workers. Least of all, misogynistic power trippers.

As expected, her presence stirred up a lot of tension between the full-time employees and temps. Even between the hakens there are cliques. Some of the plots are centred around cliché powerplay and group dynamics.

We are drip fed the FL's backstory as the story progresses. Bit by bit, we work out why she is so driven. To be fair, the FL hardly changed during the entire run. Nevertheless, her new co-workers are chipping away at her steely resolve. It is just not enough to alter the status quo before her contract expires.

In that sense, it is the growth of her co-workers that is the core of this show. From the meek supervisor who found his mojo, the yes-man career climber who found his backbone and the green haken who found her calling. There are many subplots that are relatable and endearing. There is even a hint of opposite attracts romance.

I was sure they will leave the ending ambiguous, yet they pulled a rabbit out of the hat to give us a possible path to a sequel. Surprisingly, one was made in 2020, but I have yet to track it down (side note, there is also a k-drama remake). Does this mean the romance of this prickly pair might blossom? ;)

One final thought. The projects tackled by her team feels plausible and realistic. This is a stark contrast to the nebulous business deals c-dramas love to use as fillers.

In the end, it is a solid j-drama. I enjoyed it. When you consider I binged it in two days, it can't be that bad. I doubt I'd rewatch it, but you can do worse if you are between S tier productions.

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enemies to lovers done right <3

In my opinion this drama is one of the few ones that really nails the enemies-to-lovers trope. While most of those storylines start out with the main characters hating each other, there is also the element of physical attraction pretty early on, which I really dislike. This makes it so easy to turn hate into love but it feels flat and forced at the same time.

However, I do think this show executes this flawlessly. Because at first, there is just fear and plain hate between Feng Suige and Fu Yixiao, then there is reluctant collaboration, sprinkled with some enmity before they slowly adapt this fierce protectiveness towards each other. This very naturally develops into love and care and as soon as they realize it, it’s a done deal and it’s loud. Even in the quiet, emotional scenes, they support each other and they trust each other deeply. In this drama you get equal sacrifices from ML for the FL AND vice versa. it’s a power couple navigating through challenges full of betrayal, grief, suffering, amnesia and war. AND the best thing: they communicate. No misunderstandings. No unnecessary couple drama. Just them, some amnesia and “ I got yo back” as their couple motto.

Li Qin, the queen of generals. LITERALLY , THE BEST embodiment of a female general. She delivers a powerful performance and convincingly portrayed the firm, determined, strong female general who loves deeply, loyally and with so much understanding. Her costumes and fighting scenes are STUNNING. Man, she must have prepared so much for this role. Additionally, she makes a very beautiful couple with Chen Zheyuan. I think her mature look and sharp features really gives Fu Yixiao credibility as a seasoned general. But I also love how soft she can be with her lover and how vulnerable she was the first story arc. She has gone through hell and still preserved the goodness in her. Loved how the series gives her a fair portion of time dealing with PTSD. It shows realistically that even the strongest characters are human and it shows how much perseverance Fu Yixiao has. Her characteristics really live up to the meaning of her name.

Chen Zheyuan. Man this dude. His eyeliner, his hair, his costume. on point. His best styling so far. He also really shone in this drama because man, this guy can act with his eyes. I felt every emotion in his gaze and tremble, the way his jaw works and how his chest heaves. He pulled off being a cold & ruthless general, a smug prince, a mature and loving big brother, a supportive and vulnerable lover AND underneath all, just someone who has also gone through hell. Feng Suige ftw.

Also his eyeliner does things with me. I would like to appreciate how physically fit he had to be for this role because Chen Zhenyuan just jumped on top of his horse one handed. It looked smooth and very at ease and honestly ALL of his fight scenes just seemed to be that way. That’s how well he did them.

I watched him in Hidden Love and compared to his character there, Feng Suige is a much more complex and layered character. A walking red flag and very morally grey but even though I still had the image of green flag Duan Jiaxu in my head, he really managed to strip himself completely of that role. I am so glad he isn’t getting typecasted.

Generally, I really loved their mature relationship and how fast paced the storyline is. Sa Dingding’s OST has been playing on repeat this week and it fits the overall vibe of the drama.

As for the Jinxiu storyline…I just have to say that while our main couple was red flag turned green flag, the Xia Jingshi/Jingyan/Feng Xiyang arc was just NUTS. I guess it was just red flags everywhere.
It didn’t captivate me all that much. To me the Emperor was some crazy dude, who was violent and the way he was for no reason??? Feng Xiyang was very annoying and stupidly naive. i understood that the whole plot was to server as her character growth story arc though. The OST they play in her scenes suits her incredibly well! i really enjoyed that little detail.
And Xia Jingshi really is a heartless little piece of shsh. He is cruel, a hypocrite and hella obsessed. His backstory is super rough and I somewhat sympathize with him. His revenge felt satisfying for me tbh which is why his whole story and demeanor really made me question if I would have liked him if he were the MC/ if he had the MC POV.
I like Chen Heyi though and really like his styling here, so I have to admit to some occasional swooning.

The ending of that arc made sense to me but unfortunately, Xiyang’s character development was underwhelming and unconvincing to me till the end. I really could not stand her and felt really sorry for Suige. His love and empathy for his sister makes him a good person but when I watched the final scenes I just got sooo angry because she had nobody to blame but herself (like she also correctly realizes).

Many comments criticized how boring the Storm Alliance bit was. I didn’t mind it, it wasn’t draggy and only went on for a few episodes. Albeit they probably were intended as filler episodes to bridge the final arc and serve as a way out for Suige.

I will be rewatching for Fu Yixiao / Feng Suige and for all the loyal side kicks (especially Ning Fei). Please give this drama a chance if you like fast paced, action packed stories, beautiful cinematography and costumes, a beautiful cast ( all of them fit so well), occasional overpowering soundtracks and happy endings. ✨

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