Present, Is Present (2024)

Had twists and turns to keep me interested!

So, I have not watched or reviewed a “new” CDrama in a llloooonnnggg time! I kind of took a break from any new ones and watch all my old favorites. Trust me there are a lot of them! But now I need new and this one caught my eye and so I had to check it out. I am glad I did. For me… it had a unique storyline and twists and turns to keep me watching. It was a very good drama and I liked that it was not 20-50 episodes. I am sorry they tend to lose my interest because I don’t have the time to watch all those anymore. That said…

Storyline - I felt was well written and well executed. I loved the story of how they try to keep the FL alive through a phone in the future. When I got to episode 12 and it felt it was all resolved I kept thinking, “No… we still have 4 episodes left this can’t be right!” And I was pleasantly surprised on the twist it took although I sort of expected it at this point that it was all someone else who wanted the FL dead. But wait… there was another twist that leads you on another road. But I will leave that for you to watch and find out for yourself!

Cast - was perfect! I have seen the male lead in other CDramas and I really like him. He can play a LOT of different roles really well. All the cast did a great job. Their emotions were spot on and I even cried in a few spots right with them. Not proud of that but hey! It was good! And they were believable! So great job for them!

Rewatch - yes! I more than likely will! It was an excellent drama and one I will wait a bit to watch so I forget most of what happened lol. I want to be pleasantly surprised all over again!

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episode 13 felt like a finale

it started out good but the logic flew out of the window in the middle of the series. there's also a lot of things that bothered me while watching.
- antagonists were made stupid as possible to make leads seem smart. it made me think that i'm watching some wattpad live action series. description of a psycho rich girl who tries to take the MC's man belongs right to that app
- the leads' acting was horrendous at times (especially during crying scenes), which made me less sympathetic towards MCs. wipe those teardrops of your face
- phone's plot line would've worked so much better if
a) there was another phone holder (who was trying to save one of the antagonists)
or
b) only yuan xia could accept phone calls
or
c) every time yuan xia survives, someone else d!es
unlike most of the other people, i liked the fact that they didn't threw in random comedy bits and kept leads' relationship romantic and realistic at the same time. second lead' couple didn't make me roll my eyes which was another plus.

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Almost made it

Got hooked with this actor while watching My Lethal Man. He was absolutely incredible in that show and I was shocked when I discovered how young he was, he for sure had my convinced he was a seasoned actor in his 30’s. Was disappointed with the next release and dropped it, so was really hopeful for this one to be better. It was, but only so far. I’m starting to think he just got real lucky with an awesome script and Director for My Lethal Man.

The length of this drama is thankfully short for a cdrama. There are moments where it lags, and plenty of plot holes. It’s watchable, I had high hopes, but I was still confused at almost the halfway point, and that’s not a good look.

Asthetically well matched, the casting was spot on for the leads, but they didn’t quite hit the mark with the chemistry sadly. I did appreciate the realistic kisses and behavior once in a relationship (often that falls flat of cdrama FLs don’t know how or seem to want to kiss the lead). That was satisfying. But they missed a connection that the story is “telling” you is there but don’t quite hit the mark at showing you. Also, the script is subpar and the lines a bit ridiculous.

Overall a good watch, typical cdrama for the tropes, not sure I’d bother rewatching. Worth it one time at least.

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Finally Fan Zhi Xin has a new drama

I have been a fan of his since his explosive performance in My Lethal Man.

This looks good just watching the first 4 episodes… I just hope this will NOT have a bad ending. I am a sucker for happy endings , what I hate more than sad endings are those that is without endings and leaving us with a Cliffhanger.

Thus far: ML seemed to be trying to keep ahead and keep FL alive… there are suggestions of parallel universe and somehow ML is aware of possible tragedy in another universe involving him and FL. Zhi Xin has good chemistry with the FL even if currently it mostly angsty with FL…His acing is very good especially if you watch his micro expressions.

This and My Lethal Man absolutely convinced me that Zhi Xin is an excellent actor. The script is not as tight and exciting as My Lethal man and can be a bit confusing shifting between “past” and “present “ as the interactions causes changes and where I am at Ep 12, seemed like ML died instead of FL. Though it has also scenes where FL is in a coma…

As I did expect ; it would be difficult to top My Lethal Man for a short drama ( 30 mins ) and 16 eps only. The director and script writer for that drama is excellent and so are the acting team.

What gutted me was his love confession towards the end of ep12 in French ….love it.

For a short drama, this has been a gripping story of what would you do to save your beloved. I am glad it has a happy ending…the past converges with the future and he figured how to keep his beloved from being killed. I will rewatch this. I like the reminder to live for the moment . Carpe Diem. Go ahead and watch this. I am sure most will definitely enjoy this.

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