Reviews

money,power and its effects on the human's mind

I binged watched this beautiful show for the whole day and I was sooo satisfied watching it .. the artistic direction in this show is really amazing. this shows basically show you how capitalism ( money and power combined) can effect someone's mental health .. how society made people think ,behave and act and how its all related to how the cruel reality made them this way ..) this show is very philosophical so i don't expect everyone to like it ... but for me this is the best show I've watched in a while ❤️
and chun woo hee (the psycho 8th floor) the range of actinggg that she gave for this character I was amazed by her ...
conclusion if you like psychological philosophical shows this will be your show
if you are here just for action you might not like this.

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A story of hope and resilience in adversity and a joyful fairy tale in wishful thinking

There is something intensely satisfying with stories in which the underdog overcomes unimaginable adversity to succeed against all expectations. Throw in well-paced story arcs, an incredibly smart, sensible, progressive, and courageous protagonist, supported by a cast of flawed but loyal and caring friends and family members, and we have a recipe I can’t resist.

Blossoms in Adversity is a wonderful historical drama that celebrates the strength and resilience of women by putting a spotlight on their incredibly oppressive lives in ancient China through the fall and rise of the once-illustrious Hua Family. I was willing to suspend disbelief and enjoy this magical and joyous fairy tale in wishful thinking, where the value of truth and the power of good will always prevails.

The Hua family patriarch is a high ranking court official of unimpeachable integrity who refuses to speak dishonestly simply to curry favour with the Emperor. Enraged by his subject’s impudence, the Emperor exiles the Hua men to the northern borders to do hard penal labour and confiscates the family’s wealth and home. The remaining family members -- the many wives and concubines of the four Hua sons and their children (boys under the age of 13 and all the daughters) -- are left to fend for themselves. Were it not for a rustic cottage outside the city bestowed many years ago by the Dowager Empress to the family matriarch -- best friends in their youth -- the women and children would have nowhere to go.

With the exception of our heroine, the eldest granddaughter Hua Zhi, who had travelled the realm with her grandfather as a child, the remaining family members are spoiled and pampered and at a complete loss over their reversal of fortune and the harsh realities that come with it.

I was brought to tears more than once by the heartfelt joys and heartaches of this imperfect, but delightful family and their servants. I have never been so moved by the funeral of a secondary character, especially with the arrival of an unexpected, yet pivotal guest. But I spent much of the 40 episodes grinning and cheering in satisfaction and joy over the family’s remarkable successes. Despite grim family circumstances, Blossoms In Adversity is about hope. It also deftly showcases the many ways “hope” is defined for different women: independence, divorce, marriage, love -- even when they are far from ideal.

I have no illusions that the premise is filled with impossibilities. Hua Zhi, played by the lovely Zhang Jingyi (张婧仪), manages to pretty much single-handedly bring the Hua family back to prosperity -- twice -- within the short span of (but generously estimated) three to five years. I can’t describe it any better than MyDramaList reviewer PeachBlossomGoddess who wrote in her excellent review:

“...no feat is beyond Hua Zhi! She parleys a candied hawthorn business into a pastry and restaurant empire, picks up stray royal children, foils a few palace plots, build schools and a canal, rescues the Hua family men and even manages to find time to fall in love!”

That’s all!

Hua Zhi is a heroine for the ages, a role model in perseverance, unwavering integrity, hard work, with a sharp mind for solving difficult problems and a sharp eye for spotting potential threats and reading her adversaries. There is almost a Mary Sue-like quality about her achievements and seeming perfection. Unlike the ensemble cast of spoiled aunties, sisters, cousins, servants, and friends (such as the endearing Shen Huan) who experience great character development as they learn to adjust to a vastly different quality of life and social status, Hua Zhi undergoes the least amount of growth. Yet if she were so perfect, she would not be so stupid as to speak defiantly to the Emperor, having already previously witnessed the grievous consequences of doing so -- not only with her grandfather, but with the man she loves -- Gu Yanxi, stoically played by Hu Yitian (胡一天).

Under the Emperor’s command, it is Gu Yanxi -- as the commander of the much-feared Security Bureau -- who confiscates Hua Zhi’s home and takes away the men. But it is under his own free will that he becomes Hua Zhi’s protector, confident, and love. But this free will rankles and offends the cruel and controlling Emperor, who does not hesitate to demonstrate the lengths to which he will go to wield his absolute power and force his nephew to kowtow to his will. Gu Yanxi’s strength yet helplessness in the face of his uncle, who raised him like a son, makes him a complex and fascinating hero, but one we never get to know as intimately as we do the women in the Hua family.

A LIKABLE ENSEMBLE CAST

This was my first drama with Hu Yitian, and his depiction of a stoic prince really worked for me. I’ve seen some comments criticizing his unflattering period styling and that he can be a bit flat and expressionless in his acting, so perhaps his portrayal would have landed differently and felt more stale had I been more familiar with his previous roles. In any case, Hu Yitian did an especially fantastic job demonstrating his strength as a fighter during climactic fight scenes and evoked a certain presence in this drama. It did not take long for his character to grow on me.

At first glance, Caesar Wu’s (吴希泽) Shen Qi is so honorable and immensely likable that I worried I might develop “second male lead syndrome”. Despite his high billing, however, his character actually disappears for a good chunk of Blossoms. Much of Shen Qi’s character development was done early, so by the time he reappears later in the drama, he is relegated to a likable, but somewhat flat, supporting character. It is his brother, Shen Huan, who takes a surprising turn with the more interesting and very sweet story arc with Gu Yanxi’s sister. Bian Cheng (边程), who has been acting since he was six or seven, is just 19 years old and shined in the role of the earnest but spoiled and lazy rich second son with the kind heart.

Actor Hai Yitian (海一天) delivered an effective performance as the Emperor who ruled with Machiavellian cruelty without turning him into just another two-dimensional evil character. He trusted no one, had no tolerance for soft emotions or having his authority and judgment questioned, and yet he appeared to long for his nephew’s company and unwavering trust.

Among the wonderful ensemble cast of women, Lu Yuxiao (卢昱晓) perhaps stood out a little more as Gu Yanxi’s sister, while Fu Bohan (傅铂涵) stood out the most among the cast of children as the Sixth Prince.

I derived enormous joy and absolute satisfaction witnessing Hua Zhi's preposterous achievements. It didn’t matter if it was realistic or not. (In the real world, would the men of the Hua family have truly accepted their new role as passive husbands and allowed the women to continue to handle the family decision-making? I have my doubts.) Despite these flaws -- or perhaps *because* of them -- I can’t help but give Blossoms in Adversity a high rating as one of the best dramas of the year.

NIT-PICKS AND STRAY THOUGHTS

* My biggest production beef was the unnecessary dramatic echo sound effect whenever a character said something impactful. It was too cheesy even for me and very distracting.
* Similarly, during particularly climactic scenes they would momentarily freeze the frame like a photograph on multiple characters’ faces for dramatic effect, that also felt a bit cheesy.
* The Emperor knows all, yet we never see him actually conducting any court business! How did he have time for everything and still expend so much effort on his poor nephew?
* Given how little the Emperor trusted even those closest to him, it’s a marvel his closest eunuch managed to survive his leadership!
* Was Yanxi stupid for charging into the palace? It seemed too reckless even under the circumstances.
* Pretty sure there were several consistency errors, including one where the sister was shown sitting outside her second floor sanctuary -- after it had already burned down and they moved back to the Hua Mansion.
* Large fires can take a long time to extinguish even with modern firefighting equipment, but the family’s rented city home was already a pile of smoky burnt ashes the very same day and cool enough to walk through.
* The Hua women’s flawless skin and untanned face despite labouring under the hot sun for a year building the canal was hilarious.

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Undercover Affair is a well done and performed action thriller miniseries with a heartwarming and steadfast romance. The cast did a fantastic job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple had a great chemistry, not only romantic but also on their common experiences and ordinary meetings all the way to their most dramatic moments. The series is short but the writing and editing is well done while they worked with an arrange of different settings, costumes, and some well done action scenes. Overall, this miniseries delivers credible characters, underworld, conflicts, action, and a very nice romance storyline; enjoy it!

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A very good, entertaining lakorn, which exploited "office romance" and junior/senior tropes well.

Very cute romance between an intern and an experienced lawyer, within a large legal firm. Rivalries between lawyers and love triangles. In addition, the ML is implicated in 1 drug case and later, his father is accused of murder.

PROS:
+ A very cute CL, with good chemistry. I really like Kongthap Peak (more than FL).
+ well-developed, coherent secondary characters, played by talented actors.
+ an almost credible storyline
+ production without too much length.
+ unmemorable OSTs, but not too intrusive.

CONS (witch lakorn doesn't have one??):
### twists and coincidences sometimes too obvious.
### ML's attitude towards his parents, whom he wishes to reunite after 10 years of divorce and a remarriage, totally infantile for his age. What was the screenwriter thinking about?
### some scenes are unrealistic (morgue scene - ep. 14), acceptable in Thai culture but not for Western viewers, even forgiving ones. Same thing for the permanent intrusion of the FL's mother into her life (professional and emotional) inacceptable for an adult child!
### in the finale, the CL's behavior (to add comedy in the ending) is irrelevant: He distant and she childish.

=> I don't think I will rewatch it, but i had a pleasant moment... And I'm waiting to the next Kongthap Peak's works :)
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Romance très cute entre un stagiaire et une avocate confirmée, au sein d'un grand cabinet juridique. Rivalités entre avocats et love triangle. De plus, le ML est mis en cause dans 1 affaire de drogue et plus tard, son père est accusé de meurtre.

PROS:
+ Un CL très cute, avec une bonne alchimie. J'aime bcp Kongthap Peak (+ que la FL).
+ des personnages secondaires bien développés, cohérents, interprétés par des acteurs talentueux.
+ une storyline à peu près crédible
+ réalisation sans trop de longueurs.
+ des OST non mémorables, mais pas trop envahissantes.

CONS (quel lakorn n'en a pas ??):
### twists et coïncidences parfois trop évidents.
### attitude du ML par rapport à ses parents, qu'il souhaite réunir après 10 ans de divorce et un remariage, totalement infantile pour son âge. A quoi pensait le screenwriter ?
### certaines scènes sont irréalistes (scène de la morgue - ép. 14), acceptables dans la culture thaï mais pas pour des viewers occidentaux, même indulgents. Même chose que l'intrusion permanente des parents dans la vie (professionnelle et sentimentale) de leur enfant adulte !
### dans le final, le comportement du CL (pour ajouter du comique à la ending) n'est pas pertinent : Lui distant et elle infantile.

=> Un très bon lakorn, distrayant, qui a bien exploité le trope "romance de bureau" et junior/senior.

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"Survival is both an exalted privilege and a painful burden."

Begins Youth is a drama inspired by BU (BTS universe), a fictional storyline that spans through one webtoon and several music videos, short films and books created by BTS. To watch it you don’t have to be familiar with BU, though. The drama version can stand on its own.

STORY – 9.5/10

It’s a compelling story of 7 boys who live miserable lives, but find comfort in each other after becoming friends. It’s a story full of pain, pain and more pain. Saying their lives are hard would be an understatement. They all suffer either because of their abusive/controlling/uncaring families, harsh living conditions or past traumas and mental health issues caused by those traumas. They’re victims of adults who control their lives and their struggle to survive in that bleak environment is painful to watch. When they get together, however, they can forget about their worries and act like teenagers that they are. Those moments of beautiful friendship in between constant suffering and pain are what makes watching this drama worth it. The conflicts they get into with each other are also gripping because nothing about the bond they share is ever bland. If you’re a sucker for angst, found family tropes and plots centered on strong friendships without unnecessary romantic interferences, there’s a good chance that you’ll love this. One of the important aspects of this story is also time travelling. It doesn’t happen in the beginning, but certain elements of the story, and the last two episodes in particular, cannot be understood without the knowledge of it. The ending leaves space for another season, but we don’t know if there are any official plans for it.

ACTING – 10/10

Aside from Seo Ji Hoon, whom I watched in several other dramas, I wouldn’t say any of these actors are famous. They certainly are underrated though, because they can ACT! This story is challenging and playing characters who have so many issues and who carry so much emotional baggage can’t be easy. Despite that, all 7 of them shine. They did justice to every emotion and their portrayal of emotional breakdowns was painfully realistic. It felt like watching veteran actors in action! Their comedic timing and delivery were also impeccable.
ALSO, there is another aspect of their acting that makes people like me, who are ARMYs, so enthusiastic about the drama. Their portrayal of BTS members’ mannerisms were flawless. It’s actually quite creepy (in a good way) how much Haru, Cein and Hosu (in particular) remind me of Jimin, Yoongi and Hoseok. They really did their homework!

MUSIC – 10/10

Most of the music used in this drama is by BTS. Two other OST songs are also good. “Take it all” by JEMMA is beautifully haunting and it’s probably one of the most beautiful OSTs I’ve ever listened to.

REWATCH VALUE – 10/10
Considering the source material (BU) famous for its fan theories, this drama blends in perfectly. I see myself watching it multiple times in an effort to find more clues about the time travelling. Also, I can never get tired of the bond these 7 share.

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Dear lord…

I started watching this show because I liked the casting and everything else, but this is it. I watched the first two episodes and decided that I wouldn’t watch anymore, but my mom started watching, so I just went with it.

Why in the great heavens a couple that has been married for 3 years and almost had a child together so against skinship? Don’t get me wrong, I know they aren’t close anymore because of their fights and lack of communication, but this is beyond that.

Hae In got pregnant with Baek Hyun Woo’s baby but was surprised just by seeing him shirtless, like, let’s be real, PLEASE. I’m saying this because they didn’t seem like a real couple that married each other because they were in love and attracted to each other. It was so robotic and weird. And the damn plot of Hae In being sick was so dragged through the episodes and solved in like ONE episode.

The only thing that I really liked about this drama was Kim Ji Won’s acting and her character clothes.

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Toxic mess that tries too hard to be artsy-noir-meets-50-Shades-lite

Deep Love Love Again tried way too hard to be aesthetically dark, moody, and atmospheric, with a hint of 50 Shades -- at the expense of storytelling and flow. It tried to be provocative and titillating, but ended up coming across weird and uncomfortable. Everyone spoke -- or rather, was dubbed -- in breathy whispers (this also made the dialogue difficult to understand at times). The drama’s efforts would have felt cheesy and amusing if it weren't for the unsettling red flag moments between the main leads, which thankfully petered out in the later episodes (the flag got handed off to the villain instead).

Even the sets felt overdone, yet simultaneously cheap -- I could not look away from the poorly done amateur Halloween decor “cobwebs” in the theatre/church. As for the acting, Garvey Jin/Zhang Jiawei could do better. Tiffany Gao and the rest of the cast, were…not great.

I thought I might not have minded this for what it was -- a trashy, soapy, short-length drama -- but in the end, I could not get past the extremely uncomfortable and very unsexy misogyny. I've seen enough toxic Republican Era love/hate/revenge mini dramas to acknowledge that even problematic stories and characters can still have great chemistry and romantic tension between the leads. I was not feeling any of that here.

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Against all odds

To me, this was a powerful story of free will and choice even when the odds are all stacked against you.
As I see it, Tan Tai Jin is not evil, and surprisingly sane sane if you look at his circumstances.
When we first see him he is getting tortured - which, as we soon find out, is his normal way of living. And he looks at this with a stoic resilience.
He is said to be evil from birth, but though we hear this repeated over and over, it is not what we see.
In a way, his story is similar to that of Wei Wuxian in the Untamed, where he remains evil in the eyes of the "people" regardless s of what he does.
But in this unforgiving and bleak life of his, Tan Tai Jin gets help in tbe most unexpected way, when Lin Susu is sent back in time to kill him. While in theory, this is just her mission, she can't help but start treating him in a decent, humane way, which TTJ first cannot really think with, as it never happened to him before. But as time goes by, Susu becomes the one ray of light in his life that he holds onto and that ends up changing both of their lives like no one would have expected.
I think this is a great story very beautifully filmed, with lovable characters. Ultimately, despite all the pain and trials this is a story of the power of love.

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Cute and quirky, a fun watch !!

This is one drama which started out as a bit weirdly confusing to me because of the very unconventional kind of main leads and very different storyline.
Its not a usual thing to find such a quirky pairing - of a crazy introverted yet cute boy with another crazier, a bit innocently stupid and all over the place boy.
Even the styling and appearances are very different from any BL we might have already seen. And all of these makes this drama a very fresh watch with different kinds of characters and settings.
The actors have impeccable chemistry, the kiss scenes are probably one of the best I've ever seen in a korean BL. Its so well done, passionate and cute.
The second couple made me tear up a bit, but they are really cute too.
There are a lot of heartwarming scenes . The music score and cinematography is cool too.
A good watch and definitely worth your time.

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very underated drama

this drama is so awesome every episode is more interesting i love this story it's not boring at all every episode makes me want to see more zhang bin bin as a villain he did an amazing role in this drama he is so beautiful the main man even if for some he is not as beautiful as zhang bin bin I loved him and I felt sorry for him because he suffered a lot because of his love throughout the whole drama, I liked how he comforted Dilraba, he was so funny and that's exactly the kind of men we women love.... Dilraba is nothing to talk about, I love her in every drama, I hesitated for a moment because I don't like love triangles, but I don't mind it at all in this drama because it's not annoying at all like the type of woman who hurts the first man for the wrong one that she won't even be with, I don't like dramas like that, you don't have to worry because it's not here, I love her martial arts so great in that this drama is definitely 10/10 i watched 40 episodes and i didn't get bored at all i didn't want to turn it off watch it because it's good don't trust the rating

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One of the Korean Dramas of all time

My Love from the Star is a korean drama. It ticks all criteria that a korean drama should have. It is korean and it is dramatic.

Amongst korean dramas, I have seen op characters that some how walk into table corners or have inconsistent powers, I have seen insufferable characters or characters with annoying traits, and I have seen some stupid decision making from main leads in the story.

But I have not experienced a show, where they manage to contain all of these, creating main leads so inconsistent, insufferable and idiotic all at the same time.
The main characters, despite having the potential for depth, are often reduced to stereotypical roles.
The female lead has no redeeming factors. Apart from the show making us feel slightly sympathetic for her, she's mainly a bit of an inconsiderate and stupid bitch. Not only that, she treats her "friends" and coworkers like shit and kinda expects the world to kinda just bend to her will. She probably doesnt even consider them her friends or consider her coworkers as humans. She has major main character syndrome and its infuriating.

The male lead has zero reason to like her. It is wish fulfilment/fantasy that a guy that lived as long as this dude, would legitimately fall in love with this doll. There aint no way.
The chemistry between them seems so forced. Like bro was all about the bachelor life and suddenly dropped all standards when he saw this girl acting like an adult infant. And this isn't even mentioning that this dude is lowkey an asshole.

Many characters display annoying traits that make it difficult to root for them. From insufferable arrogance to nonsensical decision-making, these traits are more irritating than endearing.


Character development
Three characters are interesting, the rest are pretty insufferable.
At least there was some redemption for the guy that totally stalked the female lead for several years, cuz he did end up clutching up at the end. Lowkey mvp.
Same with Sunny's brother. He was pretty interesting. Its a shame that there couldn't be more screentime for him.
The fake dad is a nice guy, understanding and chill. Bro's wise and funny. Good shit.
Also idk what happened with Sunny's character. They couldn't decide whether she was gonna be a bitch or a friend or a bitch. If they just fleshed it out more, it could have actually been kinda interesting.
I would say that the characters dont even exist to drive the plot, because there is no plot.
However, this would be a lie. There is a plot. Its just really dumb and forced. At any point, the male lead could have just done some investigation into horse tranq bro or like idk, get someone to drop a brick on bros head.

Special effects
They special for sure.
Instead of being like epic and make you feel abit more immersed, it breaks immersion and looks goofy as shit.

Plot
The majority of the story didnt make any sense.
Especially horse tranq guy. Bro has no sense of fear.
The male lead has god-like powers but sometimes doesn't make sense.
The female lead is like stupid as shit but also can be Sherlock at random moments. And even then she says it with no awareness at all that shes alone with the killer in a room.
I don't think the female lead even realises who the killer is or why shes being targeted for the entire show. Like wtf

The 21 hr runtime was kinda insane. considering the story can be condensed into
Actor dies -> FL gets framed for it -> ML falls in love cuz he feels bad or something idfk -> real murderer tries to kill FL -> ML ends up solving everything without FL even realising -> ML and FL have their romance -> ML dips -> ML comes back


The music was quite nice and carried the enjoyment of the show.
The acting was also pretty good by most of the side characters. The main characters felt either very stiff or caricatures of stereotypes, which ended up being goofy. Which is still enjoyable in its own way.


Honestly, with abit more development around the romance and the consequences of either of the main characters dieing, this could have redeemed the show.
Give us a sad ending you cowards.
If they killed one of them off at the end, that shit would have been peak.

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