Reviews

A Heartwarming, Pleasant Surprise

I came into this drama with 0 expectations. Mostly because dramas with idol themes tend to get cringe or childish at some parts.

But the way FL's character was introduced, I think I was hooked. I thought, even if the story turned out to be bad, I could still keep watching because Sooyoung as this "villain lawyer" was so convincing in just less than 10 minutes. Especially the way Kim Won Hae was hyping her up was so endearing to me. He lets her get away with leaving on time instead of being pressured to stay at a gathering which was cool. I already liked their dynamic from the first scene they had together.

Then I watched the first episode. Crazy but despite knowing previous idol-themed dramas tackled similar themes regarding the dark side of the entertainment industry, the way Idol I does it felt so raw, and I had never empathised as much as I did until I saw Kim Jaeyoung's performance as Do Ra-ik. I still remember my first impression of the character. This guy is rude as hell, and for what?? But then again, maybe his staff really did suck. His security sucks big time. No wonder that mf was going around cursing people. And then he got the panic attack. Damn, really felt for him. I couldn't hate him even though in reality, if an idol was exposed having attitude problems, while I don't think I would care to write hate comments, I probably would have believed he had a terrible personality from that short compilation clip. The writers really did their research on how fandom and anti-fandom works.

Anyways, the first few episodes were so good, even though I came into this drama knowing there was a romance tag, the first 3 eps made me think even if they didn't fall for each other, it would still be a good drama. Because beyond lawyer and client, the way they just connected as humans trying to understand each other, was very heartwarming to see. Especially that scene where Sena dusts off his socks, saying they shouldn't give up on the truth for the sake of the people who they lost. Got me bawling actually. Subtle yet powerful performance from the two of them.

Then came episode 4, when Raik saw the note that his lawyer REALLY believed in him. Some lawyers do not actually believe the client, they just need to do their job based on the evidence they find, or lessen the sentence. like his previous lawyer who was assigned to him. All he wanted was for someone to believe in him and Sena gave that to him. I felt touched as much as he did. So I was surprised the next day, after seeing her try to take care of him, Raik showed tiny signs of curiosity towards her relationship with her best friend. Don't tell me he's jealous?? Raik didn't seem like he was interested in anyone but himself, so when he showed interest in his lawyer's relationship with her friend + the prosecutor, suddenly I was thinking, wow jealousy looks good on him! He became so much happier just because he found someone who believed him, him running to her like a puppy while her expression was slightly sad made my heart ache. Suddenly I'm seeing their romantic potential with a tad of angst. I'm such a sucker for romantic potential and these two gave it to me. The hug was quite sudden, I wonder if Raik would hug his lawyer if it wasn't Sena, and I don't think he would have. Him suddenly getting protective in front of the prosecutor and being nosy about their relationship was hilarious to watch. At first I couldn't see how Raik was going to like his lawyer but the transition from having someone believe in him also made me believe his attraction to his lawyer.

The romance was also a pleasant surprise after thinking to myself, they could be better off just lawyer/client and idol/fan. I think it's because Raik's positive growth after liking Sena made me root for them. Sena too, I admired and appreciated her quiet restraint as Raik crossed all kinds of boundaries trying to get her attention. She was professional most of the time, and couldn't help but relent because it's Raik, her idol of all people, being nosy about her personal life. Let me tell you, this was the first time I loved the "she fell first, he fell harder" trope. Because Sena's love for Raik, never felt pathetic (at least, after he became her client)? Her character growth from putting him on a pedestal to just seeing him as human, was very beautiful to watch.

I'm a sucker for subtle romance who never get together in the end because it leaves so much to the imagination, but with Idol I, the two of them were giving "subtle romance" for 9 episodes. They had like one proper romantic interaction for every episode, it made you crave more from them. so it was my first time feeling happy they actually became canon in episode 10. This may be the reason some might find their romance unconvincing, but it was all that I needed to believe they were genuinely in love with each other. Throughout 9 episodes, their skinship was holding hands and 1 hug, most of their emotional bonding came from their deeply human conversations, getting to know each other and comforting each other, so it all felt very rewarding in episode 10 when their feelings become mutual.

Also, the best thing about their romance is that, even after they get together, THEY DON'T BECOME BORING! Some romantic couples suffer from being boring after they get together, like their original personalities suddenly die because they're in love. But not Raik x Sena. I think getting together quite late into the story helped, especially since they got together before the murder plot was solved. So their interactions are still interesting. The final episode with their dating era, was so sweet and adorable to watch. I'm not one to care for overly sweet romance, but with one episode left, Raik x Sena made you appreciate their romance SO much more.

Moving onto the characters, the drama started out with very few characters to root for. But when I tell you I was surprised EVERY character had decent development within the short 12 episodes they were given. The story paid attention to Raik and Sena's character development the most, but I still appreciated how much the other supporting characters grew by the end of the story. Shoutout to Jung Jae Kwang who played Prosecutor Kwak Byung-gyun, who started off terrible, in the middle quite wishy washy coz he was torn between doing the right thing and just following in his father's footsteps, and eventually doing the right thing. Him and the ML probably went through the most drastic changes (positively). Kim Hyun Jin as Chungjae was lovely as Sena's loyal best friend who loved her but eventually moved on and vowed to stay as her best friend, no hard feelings. What a great guy! And the standout was definitely Choi Heejin who played Hong Hyejoo. I wanted to hate her, but I couldn't. Fantastic acting from her. I did think her words for Raik was cruel when they broke up, she didn't have to say all that even if she was forced to breakup with him, but eventually we realize she was in a bad place mentally, so yeah they just weren't very right for each other.

The next best thing is the OSTs! Gold Boys/Raik songs weren't catchy at first listen, but since I wanted to be immersed and understand Sena's fangirl feelings, I found myself listening to the songs on repeat, and I have been obsessed with the songs ever since. They have less English lyrics so it's harder to memorize, but I will keep repeating the songs until I have them memorized. As for non-idol songs, the ballad "To Our Beautiful Past" is definitely the best song out of the OSTs. Such a beautiful duet. And "Everytime I Close My Eyes" that plays whenever Raik thinks about Woosung, had me very teary, especially the funeral scene. The rest of the OSTs matched well with the scenes and while I thought the OST during RaikSena's first kiss scene was generic in terms of melody, the lyrics were very heartfelt.

Now, the negative aspects of the show to me, was just the murder investigation. I had watched an interview where the actors said it has legal aspects but it's not an actual courtroom legal drama so I kept that in mind. Sena didn't get a lot of chance to show off her lawyer skills in the court which was too bad, but it doesn't make me think any less of her skills. HOWEVER, because the legal/murder investigation plot was very thin, it does make the characters who were supposed to be competent, look very bad. The mystery was done well in that it kept me asking not just "Who killed Woosung?" but "What's her relationship with him?" or "What happened to Woosung before he died?" There were little mysteries like that throughout the drama which kept me engaged. But, the killer reveal which was acted very well, made me annoyed because it didn't align with the clues they had given us in the earlier episodes. For example, they said the stab was in one shot, and had no signs of struggle. So it was either a very skilled person with a knife, or someone the victim knew that made them let their guard down. And yet, the reveal was that it was just an accident?? I would have prefered it was planned! But the crime scene was so sloppy, why did the initial investigation not catch the culrpit sooner? I'm just gonna believe the killer's father cleaned up the crime scene and covered up the evidence so the investigation went poorly otherwise I'll be mad.

Final Verdict: If you come into this drama with low expectations, you will enjoy it a LOT. And it's probably better to bingewatch so that you don't waste time thinking of theories but it ends up out the window as soon as the killer is revealed lol. When it comes down to it, this drama feels like a human, healing hurt/comfort drama about two lonely souls who come together, and exploring various characters's relationships related to the murder. And I was very much comforted by these characters, especially Raik, Sena, and the victim, Woosung.

9.5/10 coz I'm biased towards everything but can't give a full 10/10 because of the poor murder investigation. Enjoy!

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OMG THIS DRAMA AHHHHHHH

If it were possible i'd rate it higher than a 10. I wasn't expecting it to be this GOOD. Like i thought it would be a mediocre drama but boy was i wrong. THIS WAS EVERYTHING I WAS LOOKING FOR. After speed and love i didn't think i would find another drama to be obsessed with but this omg words can't express the amount to pain my cheeks had to bear just by smiling throughout. I cried with them, my heart ached and i laughed with them and i swooned over them. GOD I WANT TO REWATCH IT AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME. THEY ARE THE HE SUYE AND SHEN XIFAN OF 2026. BRO MY INSTAGRAM IS NOW GOING TO JUST EDITS OF THIS BECAUSE WDYM. I CAN'T EXPRESS MY FEELINGS FOR THIS DRAMA LIKE IT WAS EVERYTHING I WAS LOOKING FOR. ALSO THE LEADS OMG THEY ARE THE GREENEST OF GREENEST FLAGS. ALSO THE THINGS XIAO ZHIYU SAYS LIKE HELLO. ALSO THE THINGS HU XIU SAYS LIKE GUYS I LOVE YOU. I wish i had a man like xiao zhiyu.

" As long as you're by my side, i'll always look forward to tomorrow"
- XIAO ZHIYU <3333333333

" You aren't a part of my plan. You were written in my life"
- HU XIU <33333333333

i don't know why remember the dialogues but hey i am obsessed.

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Okay drama

Compared to most cdramas,this drama is just ok,so overhyped!! Not deserving of so much unneccesary hype.



yes the drama is ok,but why 8.9,Cdrama land is a weird place nowadays,this drama is at most an 8.4,not bad but nt perfect!!!



The male lead acting is so wooden,i was so confused watching him,or should i say annoyed. The fl is ok but very indecsive,i was not having it. The Second male lead carried this drama but still,nothing made sense to me,idk. i hate things that annoy me for no reason,highly unneccsary.





I hope cdrama casts better male leads pls,so dramas wil be watchable. nothing serious,lets just be happy with better dramas.



ok guys,

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absorbing, quality adaptation

the original is one of my fave K dramas but this adaptation also stands strong on its own. the main leads delivered and the supporting cast was equally good. I was particularly moved by FL's acting. her eyes alone can deeply convey different emotions. you feel for her, and you get absorbed in her pain, her worries, her joy, her hope. as for the ML, I became a fan of Mark Chao after I watched Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. he did not disappoint.
weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning: this was beautifully expressed in the story in a steady, hushed, thoughtful and impactful way. excellent acting and powerful storytelling.

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When a Man’s in Love is a story about a man who was ill-treated, deprived of opportunities in his teenage years, separated from his family, and pushed onto the wrong path, eventually becoming a loan shark.
One day, he goes to a bookstore owner to recover a loan, but the owner is unable to repay it. He pleads with the man, asking for more time and promising to come to his office later to return the money. However, he asks him to leave immediately because his daughter might arrive at any moment. Unfortunately, his daughter witnesses the situation.
The man leaves with his associates after seeing the owner’s daughter. Later, when the owner still fails to repay the loan, he is beaten by the man’s men and dropped back at his house. There, his daughter confronts them. All of this is witnessed by the man, and he orders his men to leave her alone because he sees his own teenage self in her—how he struggled alone with no one to help him. This makes him decide to help her.
Gradually, he develops feelings for her. On the other hand, she does not feel the same affection toward him. She feels burdened by gratitude and, because of that pressure, accepts his feelings. From here, the story takes a twisted turn. She becomes involved with two men at the same time, which really irritated me. If she had no feelings for him, she should have been honest instead of cheating on him. While being with him, she has an affair with another man.
Throughout the drama, I felt bad for him and kept wishing that he deserved someone better. Although the drama has a happy ending, I was not satisfied with it. What I wanted to see was stronger love chemistry and more time for them together. They do meet in the end, but it feels too short. The drama needed one more episode to provide a better conclusion.
The acting was good, though the drama progressed at a slow pace. I also liked the supporting characters, especially her mother and the way she supported him.

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Actually the plot was decent.

I check if i have seen this Huang Yunyun drama while i actually have seen that and realized i had seen this drama last year since i am not quite familiar with Jin Wang face (forgive my face blindness).

Plot is about Twins are born and the Taoist said that twin flowers blooming together are a calamity for the Prime Minister's family. One of the girls is destined to be a phoenix, other one is destined to bad luck. FL family throw they baby into the cliff. FL was saved by Taoist master. In order to obtain the purple energy, she drugged and kidnapped ML l to escape a calamity, she sexually assaults the ML, causing him to become infertile—and then runs away with twins. ML legs was quite healed after that-but he pretends to being disabled for political purpose.

The only one who suffers the most from beginning to end is the ML. He tells the FL, "I know you'll run away, but even though I'm not as strong as you, I'll still chase after you. You know I have the ability to chase you." Fortunately, the FL is eventually won over. ML is quite respectful to FL choice even he can force her but he knows FL more than FL itself. Luckily ML had the twins as his cupid over FL. The twins are quite smart and wise children.

There is no misunderstanding between the leads ML knows the real FL so there is no identity mistake. I like the ending for every characters in there, they got deserve ending. The only downside is that the MLs acting could have been better perhaps this is one of reason i don't remember the actor.

Recommended to Watch despite the flaws.

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I can't believe we now have NEPHEWS ✪ ω ✪

When I watched the series, I really enjoyed it, and I thought the ending was great. I don't usually watch specials because I think, "If it were important, they would have put it in the series, right?", but then I saw the buzz about this "Endless Special" and decided to watch it, just to see if it was really worth it or if, like many specials, it was just a compilation of scenes that didn't make it into the series because they were deleted or something... HOW WRONG I WAS! If you watched the series Denied Love, then you NEED to watch the 2 special episodes because they are perfect, and they end the series in the best "fairy tale" style. I believe that unlike many specials out there, this one is a MUST-SEE.

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Idol-I: I for Intuition.

Major spoiler: I mention the culprit among other spoilers in the drama
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If I did not know the gist of the drama beforehand, I would have thought I was getting something light and easy. The lead names alone screamed romcom, and the wordplay was funny enough to lower my guard. Then the end of episode 1 hit, and suddenly we were dealing with mystery, grief, anxiety, and how lonely and suffocating idol life could be.

Maybe it helped that I binge-watched this, but pacing-wise, it was okay for me than it did for those who watched while it was airing. I thought the story moved steadily without dragging until the end. I appreciated that they did not cram all the happiness into the last five minutes just to check a box.

Raik’s emotional journey was the backbone of the drama. We watch him navigate fame, guilt, suspicion, and the weight of being constantly watched, and in some points, it was sad to witness. I do think that the drama does a good job of showing why his on-stage versus off-stage self are different without overdoing it. It did not excuse his mistakes, but it also allowed us to understand where he was coming from. The same goes as well to the other characters. By the time the mystery deepens, we are already invested in him as a person, not just a suspect nor as an idol alone.

Early on, my expectations for the drama were already set. I had the idea that the drama focus will lean more towards Raik's emotional healing process and idol life than the mechanics of Raik’s case even though technically everything revolved around the case, so I stopped expecting a strong procedural script. I expected an emotional mystery instead, and in that sense, I was right.

With this expectation, the murder mystery itself became an okay. Not groundbreaking, but engaging enough to keep me guessing. I liked that it did not tunnel-vision on one mysterious culprit. The constant shifting of suspicion among characters we already knew kept things tense, and it made the investigation feel messy in a realistic, entertaining way. There was also this sense that solving the case was dangerous in itself and sometimes unfair, which added weight to the story.

However, I do admit that it was hard ignore how many basic investigative steps were skipped, though I was generous in letting that slide because of my set expectations. The very simple things that could've ended this drama on episode 2 were the DNA checks on door handle and the earring. Even if I assume they did check and just did not show it, the flashbacks themselves made it hard to believe the crime scene was spotless. The culprit was frantic and emotional, she was very far from careful. That earring alone should have been enough to crack things open earlier. All Raik had to do was go back to his apartment and the case would have unraveled much faster.

Where the show gets more interesting, and more uncomfortable, is its take on fangirling. Sena was meant to represent the healthier end of admiration, even if the drama sometimes undermined her professionalism to get there. Her fangirling slipped into her work more than it should, and I did find myself frustrated that she did not always act like the capable lawyer she was introduced as. She took on Raik’s case after reading his expression and decided to trust him because, as a 10-year fan, "he doesn't know how to act" was enough to convince her. While I understood the narrative purpose of giving Raik someone who believed in him, I did not love that her decision relied so heavily on intuition and personal guilt (about her father) rather than evidence. Afterall, she is a lawyer who works with facts, not intuition. But then again, she is also human.

In contrast, the ex-girlfriend felt close to a sasaeng. What initially looked like concern and longing on her part gradually revealed itself as obsession. The drama made it clear how "love" could rot when it turned into entitlement and obsession. Everything she said was designed to corner Raik into believing she was what he needed, and would hurt both of them if they aren't together. As her arc unfolded, we come to understand that her relationship with Raik turned parasocial and toxic, which I then questioned whether the love they once shared was ever even real. Watching her justify cruelty, surveillance, and control in the name of love was uncomfortable.

This is where the drama becomes ironic. It spent so much time showing fans how important it is to respect boundaries and recognize idols as human beings with private lives, and how it affects them mentally. Yet, the story ultimately framed a fan as Raik’s emotional and legal savior. At the same time, the culprit was written with sasaeng-like behavior, while the two sasaengs who caused repeated harm faced barely any real consequences and even had character glow-up in the end. I would have liked to see genuine accountability instead of a few scoldings and a glow-up. The way it plays out almost reinforces the idea that fans are the loyal constants. I do not think this was the intention, and viewers with common sense will understand the moral the drama was aiming for, but the narrative choice was still disappointing, especially given how many more challenging and thoughtful directions the story could have taken.

On a lighter note, I appreciated how the side characters parts were handled. No ridiculous filler arcs, and no unnecessary love triangles blowing things up for the sake of drama. The second male lead understood where he stands and respected boundaries. The prosecutor and the policeman, frustrating as they were at first, actually grew and chose truth over power, which was nice. Even Raik’s group was given enough focus to remind us how they also had their own struggles on how isolating idol life can be for others involved, not just for Raik.

The romance itself was fine. It is there, it develops naturally enough, but it is not the point. For me, it works best to be understood as part of Raik’s healing. After everything else was resolved, we witness his emotional growth after one final one-on-one scene with the ex-girlfriend. Finally, her words no longer had power over him. Sena, meanwhile, remains the same person she was, just no longer held back by her past. She's then balancing her appeal for her father’s case, her fangirling, and being Raik’s lover.

Idol I is far from perfect. Some parts could have been fleshed out more, especially given how heavy the themes are. But for a 12-episode drama, it did enough to tell what it was meant to tell.

Not a masterpiece, but a grounded watch.

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Simply the BEST Special from a GL!!!! This is a Special you can't miss!

If you, like me, watched the series "Denied Love" and thought something was missing at the end, here's the missing piece.
Finally, a special episode worth watching, that makes all the difference and makes the series even perfect. Everything we wanted to happen at the end of the series happens here...and a little more. 2 episodes full of love. 🥰
I loved how they showed the viewer that Rin finally left her past behind and became a kind, loving, attentive, cunning, and sweet wife!

They were EXTREMELY faithful to the novel, but still with a touch of creativity to surprise fans of the books, as always. Congratulations CopyaBangkok!
Honestly, I can't think of anything else I wanted to see. Watching the series and then immediately watching the 2 special episodes makes the story close perfectly,.

Unlike when I finished watching the series, this time I didn't feel "orphaned" by Denied Love. I felt grateful, proud, and emotional. This Special was a happy, comforting, and joyful farewell, leaving our hearts warm until the very last second. 🙇‍♀️

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Painful to watch, if you actually like thrillers.

After painfully going through 2.5 of it's episodes, I'm finally giving up. This show is just not sitting with me right. Its story is actually really loose. Random guy whose parents were brutally killed when he was just a kid, mind you he almost got his brother killed. Now, he becomes a drunk, angry and emotionally unstable but worry not he's also a cool detective who keeps getting big cases even though, he goes to crime scenes while being drunk and tells conspiracy theories to the media. He can't let go of his grudges too. All other characters sounds loose to me. Policemen are just having fun and making jokes at their job when there's a serial killer on the loose. They keep pushing comedy in it even though it's supposed to be a thriller?

I recently watched Mindhunters and this show act likes they're doing something by keep mentioning western serial killers but hardly doing any research on it. Instead, they just made some random pseudo science bullcrap about it being in genes. Even though, it mostly depends on the childhood environment of the person.

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Perfect drama

Contrary to certain reviews,the draa has kept me hooked from beginning to end,i love every bit of this,its such a good drama.




Its so wonderful how good i felt while watching,Lin yusen is a perfect green flag,i loved watching this drama for his sake,it gave me everything i wanted,i love it here so much from head to toe ad i wanna say its really a perfect drama.


Drachin is still the best,idk but this drama is so loving to me,everything is perfect from head to toe,i love it here so much and ill forever love it.



giys endevour to watch,youll love it,i promise.

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