Ok in the beginning, cheesy and cliche in the middle, but hey a happy ending

4/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 Chinese romantic comedy drama with 24, 30-47 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Su Yan xi (Lu Xin Yi) is living a challenging life as a beauty influencer as her mother is gravely ill and the medical bills exceed her earnings. Chance or perhaps fate causes her to cross paths with Gu Xi Cheng (Luo Zheng) , a wealthy president of a company, on several occasions. Gu Xicheng is looking for a fake girlfriend to make his grandmother happy by allowing her to think that he is pursuing a relationship. When a misunderstanding leads Yanxi to interview, Gu Xicheng decides she is the best fake girlfriend candidate even though she refuses when she finds out the real purpose of the interview. After she leaves, Gu Xicheng runs a background check and accidently recieves the information on Yanxi’s identical twin sister who has gained some celebrity. Yanxi’s sister is also in need of money for an urgent surgery that is to be performed in the USA. So she signs a relationship contract with Gu Xicheng then coerces her sister to play her so she can go to the US. When real feelings develop between the fake couple things get complicated. Can Xicheng forgive the deception? Is there a way forward for a couple that started on such deceptive terms?

Review

I read other reviews before watching this and a lot said it was cliché but that alone was not enough to deter me as one person’s cliché can be another person’s tried and true. A cliche here and there I can handle but this was like the cliche dump truck spilled over turning it into a B grade soap opera. It is reasonably good in the beginning, cheesy and ridiculous in the middle, and has a happy ending. It also has so many flash backs of their developing relationship that they could have cut it by multiple episodes. I would not watch it again. But it might be worth watching it, with low expectations for the content, if you are a fan of any of the actors. The grandmother is a cute enough character to watch it for.

Spoilers*

Some reviewers criticize this for having a male lead that exhibits “toxic masculinity“. With the train wreck that was the plot, I am like THAT is what you focused on? I wholeheartedly disagree with him having toxic masculinity as a woman that likes men that act like men and not little soy boys who ask permission to sneeze. The female lead is not a push over, she exerts herself and her opinion when appropriate. Well she does in the beginning but then goes through this change to wimpy uncertainty but it had nothing to do with the male lead.

Grandma Gu (Zhao Shu Zhen) drugging the chicken soup to make the couple amarous and quicker to produce offspring is one of the most comedic elements I have experienced in the over 300 dramas I have watched so far. Grandma’s chicken soup then becomes an inside joke among the couple. I love the grandmother and have seen her play the grandmother role in other series. In this one she is caring, genuinely wants her grandson’s happiness but is just a wee bit mischievious.

It did have a happy ending if you can survive all the over dramatized scenes, cheesy lines, and some draggy parts.

How did they overdo tropes you say? Well they had the push someone out of the way and then fatally get hit by a car trope not once but twice Thy had first one toxic female after lead guy in the beginning, then later another one. But wait. There is more. There was the hidden identity trope, the contract relationship trope, the con man parent trope, the obsessed ex trope, the Cinderella trope, the I like you but you never wanted me but people think that means you have to accept me trope, the parachute at the company trope, the I’ve never done this thing before but I am suddenly better at it than everybody trope, the it is raining so I might die trope, the sexy kiss in the rain trope, the umbrella trope, the someone got me drunk and took risqué pictures trope, the looked like I was cheating trope, the I was a capable person and a little sassy but now I met you and am helpless trope, the I am going to pledge my unfaltering love but the minute there is adversity it falters trope, the childhood friend trope, tge separated twin trope, the evil twin trope, the almost kiss trope, the hidden box of secrets but then you find it and I freak out trope, the scheming at work to make a lead look bad trope, the stealing your work trope, the sick parent need money for hospital bills trope, the kidnapping trope, the blackmail trope, the confession while dying trope, the parents ditched me for the grandparents to raise trope, the plastic surgery trope, the got sick “don’t leave“ trope, the I am going to leave you to make myself worthy trope and more. A few tropes here and there are okay, they become tropes often because the viewers like them but this many tropes sometimes repeated and even layered was too much.

Then there were things that just did not make sense. Like why it was such a big deal she was not her sister. I understood he did not like that she lied to him but, had she told him early on, he was just looking for a fake relationship at that point anyway. But they made it like it had to be her sister without making it clear why.

They way over dramatized many of the kiss scenes, still framing, slowing it down then a bunch of different camera angles.

She was doing okay as a streamer and I thought had a gig with his company for doing make up. Then Grandma decides she should be at the company to keep lead guy and crazy 2nd gurl apart and she winds up agreeing to work with crazy 2nd girl. Why? Made no sense she let her torture her.

They played the same refrain of music ad nauseum. You are my dream, YOU are my dream ok music I get it they are each other’s frickin‘ dreams.

I do not care how much you like this girl, who pays that much for a necklace? And second guy, who find out later was just being a psycho for second girl, also tries to buy the necklace.
He was pretending to like her to steal her away so his actual love, second girl, could have lead guy. Because he loved her so much he just wanted her to have what she wanted even if it was another guy. But they gave zero indication he felt that way through all of his chasing of lead girl. He even acted jealous of lead girl when only us viewers would know. I know they were trying for a plot twist but that was a turn if not a complete reverse. We should have been able to think back and remember times when he seemed into second girl. But there was not a time if anything it seemed he thought she was ridiculous.

#TimetoFallinLove
#LinXinYi
#LuoZheng

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FL is cruel to ML through most of the series

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 South Korean romantic drama series with 16, 65 minute episodes. It is based on web novel “Senior, Don’t Put on that Lipstick”.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Yoon Song ah (Won Jin-ah) feels she has reached the top of her game as a marketer for a major South Korean cosmetics Brand, Her and her boyfriend, Lee Jae-shin (Lee Hyun-wook) are approaching their two year dating anniversary and she is sure he will be popping the question. Her success has led to her recruiting and training Cha Hyung-seung (Rowoon). She feels completely blind sided and betrayed when Hyung-seung reveals that her boyfriend is not only cheating but about to get married. As is often the case her initial anger is not as much at her cheating boyfriend but at the messenger. It is fairly clear that Jae-shin thought she never needed to know about the wife and he could just have her as side chick. Upon revealing her boyfriend’s deception, Hyun-seung decides to confess to her, perhaps to make her feel better but it has the opposite effect., She suspects his motives and initially tries to drive him away. Will Soon ah see Hyung-seung’s real feelings. Can she get revenge? Will true love develop from a rebound relationship?

Review

This starts really slow and I found the first episodes to be only minorly interesting. It picks up when she is dealing with her boyfriend of two years and his cheating. Then it is all about lead guy winning her over. If you like romances that are heavy on the drama with few comedic, suspenseful or mysterious moments then this might be one you would enjoy. There are some characters with deep flaws that have only minimal character growth.

Spoiler*

There was a huge disconnect between the way that the characters were acted and portrayed in the first part of the drama, and the way that they were acted and portrayed in the next part of the drama. It was not simply character growth as it happened too suddenly and radically, For instance Song ah was completely against going to Europe. They made a point of Song ah saying how much she enjoyed her company, and that it was like a part of her. It seemed to be true and also seemed like she was portraying to him that he was mire important than Europe. Her ex gets taken off the project and her mentor takes over and suddenly she could not do without Europe. And suddenly she could care less how Hyeung-seung felt about it. That was an odd reversal. In the first episodes, the ex pledged he would never give up trying to win her back then went never mind. It was even more odd that he gives up on lead girl, throws it all in with sugar mama rich girl, then decides to strike out on his own and suffer. That was such a complete reversal that the loss if his dad, who he professed to not care about, could not account for it. Also, the lead female character’s mom was very child like and selfish but she has a sudden denouement and becomes a social butterfly doing a complete flip flop from being desperately clingy to hard to reach. Peopke can change but not fundamentally and not typically in such a short period.

In regards to the situation with the sister and her husband, the chef guy, his befriending the sister, and the entire circumstances of the relationship between the three was just a confusing addition to the story . He didn’t really go after the husband in a way that made it make sense that he would cause such a rift in the relationship. The husband was a little cold and distant but it wasn’t like he sees the chef and is like oh right I was in love with him. The storyline with the chef only revealed this weird subject from his college days that he was very conflicted about. It did not show him feeling attracted to the chef or other men so him hurting his wife and little girl whom he obviously loved to continue his journey of self discovery was pointless. It was like they wanted to explore the topic of suppressing sexuality due to social pressure but they weren’t brave enough to go any further. They did not give him a gay romantic interest so it just created this weird ambiguous situation. The little girl was nine so all they would have had to do was wait until she reached adult hood and he could have continued his self searching without breaking everyone’s heart. A perfect ending to that story would have been him with a partner, her with someone that romantically loved her and the little girl happy in this blended family.

They built the little girl up to be wise beyond her years. It seemed like the purpose was going to be she would respond to her parent’s break up in a very mature way. Like yeah I knew daddy was unhappy and was interested in men I was waiting for him to realize. Or I am glad you are separating now you can find someone and be happy. But she broke down and was surprised like any kid would be. It made the whole build up of how mature she was pointless.

Maybe the cutest side romance was lead guy’s sister and the grandson of the company. He saw her and it was instant infatuation. Him moving heaven and earth to get the lipstick she liked remade was such a compelling romantic gesture. I felt like it got Netflixed a bit when she proposed to him instead if the other way around and when she was the one paying so little attention to the details of the wedding. Has to have those feminist undertones if it is on Netflix. i thought there was missed opportunity for him to favor the lead guy in the company. Like when the other manager was sabitaging the launch of the new product lead guy developed, they could have discovered it was that corrupt manager behind it, and it could have been a big reveal to him that lead guy was now an extended part of the chaebol family. It would have been fun to see him grovel. But they just dropped that story line.

I liked the way the romance between the rich sugar fiancé and lead girl’s ex played out. Tgey became friendly again but did not get together romantically. They both had serious mental issues. Her emotionally black mailing him with suicide if he was not with her was such a toxic thing I could never see them having a healthy relationship. Him just using her for what she could give him financially was also a non starter. So I liked that he finally refused to let her emotionally manipulate him. I also liked, when he was back, she had moved on.

Many reviewers say, and I completely agree, that lead girl was just mean to him. I get the “shoot the messenger” aspect if him being the one to reveal the affair so she directed her initial anger at him. I have seen that happen often in real life. But she took it beyond that and seemed to enjoy him fawning over her and returning his devotion with near disdain, But the whole Europe thing to me was unforgivable. Thatvwas after she confessed and they were in that over the moon phase of a new relationship. He asked her not to go and she ignored his heartfelt request and said she was going anyway. Then when he chose to accept it and try to make the distance relationship work she did nothing to bridge the gap instead she continually chose work over him. Then she breaks it off with him in the cruelest way possible when he came to Europe to see her. She knew his past relationship and how that ex had treated him but showed a total disregard for his feelings in much the same way. I think she broke up with him then not because she was hurting him as much as she felt guilty and wanted to pursue her selfish goals without remorse. Then she cuts her Europe assignment short professing it was because she realized her error and missed him but that did not seem genuine either. It showed her mentor essentially using her like a lackey and little joy in her work there. So it seemed the oversees job was not as wonderful as she thought so that is why she came back. After that I really did not like her and was not happy when they reunited. He at least made it a little hard for her. And what happened to his ex that proposed to keep trying to get him back? I would have liked for leadvgirl to experience some heart break seeing him with someone else and I thought perhaps that would be the case, he would get back with the ex. But she just dropped out of the storyline.

Siwon is such an unusually handsome man that it was hard to buy that he would’ve put up with her cold indifference, and even cruelty at times when you would expect, he would’ve had a lot of women very interested in him. In real life I have seen it but it’s rare. And usually it is either the woman has such an attractive personality or has an allure in the bedroom. Since he was several attractiveness levels above her you would’ve thought, at minimum, when she broke it off with him so coldly that would’ve been the end of it.


#SheWouldNeverKnow
#SeniorDon’tPutOnThat
#WonJinAh
#Rowoon
#LeeHyunWook

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Starts out cute and is good 3/4 of the way but loses its way the last episodes though ends happy

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 Chinese romantic comedy drama with 24, 41 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis

Xiaobao (Sun Sicheng) tends to create a whirlwind of chaos wherever her goes. He is the only child being raised by single father, He Qiaoyan (Wei Zheming), CEO of Heshi Group. He is non verbal and instead holds up cards to communicate with others. He has burned through nannies and doctors until he meets Qin Yiyue (Hu Yixuan), a child psychologist, who Xiabao takes an immediate liking to. At first opposed to having Xiabao work with the young, eccentric doctor, his son’s earnest desire to befriend Yiyue convinces the robotic like CEO that she may be the one that can help his son. After overcoming her original reluctance, Qiaoyan gets Yiyue to agree to a contract marriage for Xiaobao (Sun Sicheng). But what starts as a business arrangement as the two very different people find that lobe cam blossom in unlikely places. Turns out the sweet, warm amd highly capable psychologist is a perfect foil for the distant, cold and logic centered CEO.

Review

Overall a good not great heart warming romantic comedy. I like both leads and look for them in other series. They have great chemistry and the romance between them is well paced and believable. Anyone who likes the single parent, Cinderella, and cold executive tropes will like it for those reasons.n That being said there were some plot holes and character inconsistencies that developed toward the end. But it was a happy ending just some odd twists and turns immediately prior.

Spoilers*

I liked the first 3/4 of the show so much I would likely have considered it a 9 or 9.5 out if 10. But then the writers seemed to lose their way in tying up the mystery and ending the story. The strange directions they took the main plot and subplots decreased the value of the series in my opinion. For one here she is supposed to be a uniquely talented psychologist but when she finds out he had major past trauma that he may be blocking she decides breaking up with him is best. Like breaking his heart in the middle of a mental health crisis is better than him remembering past trauma. They also act like well he has PTSD so he is just a lost cause. Two talented psychologists do not know how to deal with PTSD. That did not make sense. In facy Yiyue listens to the Aunt, who has no psychological training, and who has stated she doesn’t think Yiyue is socioeconomically good enough for Qiaoyan. The Aunt tells Yiyue she needs to leave Qiaoyan and Xiabao and never show up in front of them because her presence would be a reminder of the accident. And she was clueless because Qiaoyan has never gotten over the accident because he struggles to remember the details So he has regular nightmares. But Yiyue listens to the Aunt, who so obviously might have selfish motivations, and goes against what she should have learned as a psychologist, and breaks it off even “giving” him to her love rival. Like that is not psychologically damaging or hurtful. And Qiaoyan, who had been robotically stoic to this point, uncharacteristically falls all apart when he finds out he was the driver. It would have made sense for him to be sad or feel guilty but to fall apart to the extent he did was out of character. Then Yiyue comes up with this “dream of hers to go to Germany” thing and it is the first we heard of it. If the main character supposedly had this long term dream it makes no sense to only hear about it in the last episodes. If she had been faking it to provide a reason for the break up to Qiaoyan it would have made a little sense but no, she verifies it to her parents and friends. When she realizes that Qiaoyan has learned of the past and is in acute mental crisis ,she says screw Germany I am staying as they need me (like really “brilliant” psychologist, you only now realize that?) but then she randomly gets kidnapped. When Xiaobao tells him mommy was kidnapped he chases the kidnappers down and winds up putting his car in front of theirs to stop them. Then he wakes up in the hospital and Yiyue tells him the reason she was kidnapped and why the accident that killed his brother wasn’t his fault because his rival company found out his brother had dirt on them and they caused the accident. These arch rival/enemies were new to these last episodes. I think they were trying for a surprising plot twist but it was just weird and confusing, She was distancing herself, then he was, then she was and it went back and forth like that netween them a lot. And through all the adult’s nonsense there was Xiaobao. He was always snapping the adults out of it. Xiaobao was better at psychology than Yiyue. Like in the last few episodes when his dad was being an emotional zombie, Xiaobao used calling Qiaoyan daddy to get him to snap out of his psychological funk and it worked. So that gets sorted and it seems Yiyue has finally given up on going to Germany. Whicj was a stupid thing because it came out if nowhere. But the writers were not done with Germany because Qiaoyan suddenly is like you should go to Germany because it was always your dream. And she is like you are right that was always my dream (it wasn’t) so I am going to go to Germany and we will have a long distance relationship because right after you barely recovered psychologically and when Xiaobao is finally experiencing some stability - that is the best time for me to leave and pursue my dream. Then they have the weirdest long distance relationships and it seems she is really bad at it because even Xiaobao comments, anout not hearing or seeing her much. But then she is coming back and plays a prank about not coming back but then is back but we do not know why or how long. If it sounds chaotic it was. The writers just lost their way in those last episodes forgot some key characteristics of their characters and had them doing all kinds of things odd for their character. They also threw in some random elements then just rushed through them.

#UnforgettableLove
#WeiZheming
#SunSicheng
#HuYixuan

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A very good work place centered, love over the long term romance

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 Chinese romantic comedy drama series with 32, 45-52 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis

Xiang Yuan (Wu Qian a.k.a Janice Wu) is living a carefree life as a top gamer/influencer when her grandfather’s threats of blind dates and marriage lead her to strike a deal for her continued freedom. If she can save the Xi'an branch of the Donghue group from bankruptcy her grandfather, and guardian since her parent’s early deaths, will drop the subject of marriage. Grandfather is confident he will win their deal and even gives her three feathers to be used for favors toward accomplishing her mission. She does not realize that the boy she was in love with in school, Xu Yanshi (Vin Zhang), who rejected her before transferring, is now a mature but still devastatingly handsome man, who works at the Xi’an branch of her company. Prior to being rejected, Xiang Yuan pursued Xu Yanshi throughout their school years. Seeing him again she initially takes up with trying to win his affection then remembers a romantic relationship leading to marriage is the very thing she was avoiding. As a brilliant navigation engineer, he is almost single handedly keeping the company afloat. So they must work closely together to save the ailing branch. The feelings that were always there spring back to life only now it is Xiang Yuan that realizes his feelings for Xiang Yuan and seeks to convince her he still is the one for her. Can the two save the company? Will their second chance at romance end happily?

Review

It is overall a feel good love story with a happy ending. The only person the female lead character is a push over for is Xu Yanshi. She is strong, confident and provides instant karma to those who need it. In their younger years she relentlessly pursues Yanshi and is rejected by him several times. When things finally flip and he is the one pursuing her she slowly finds out his feelings ran longer and deeper than the rejections would indicate. We also get to see her grow from a heir without a lot of confidence in her business acumen to a force to be reckoned with who is capable of running the family conglomerate. I liked it very much and would recommend it to others that like modern romantic comedy dramas. I loved several of the OST songs from this.

Spoilers

Toward the end both main characters make some decisions that were inconsistent with their central character traits to that point. For instance Yanshi is suddenly OK with her significant other being gone, long periods of time when she found that extremely hurtful as a child when her mother did the same. I know they tried to spin it that she changed it and now as an adult she finally understands why her mother was so focused on her research, but I don’t care being absent is being absent. They also tried to make it into the love of country and ability to bring your country to the next technological level is more important than personal family relationships, and it felt like it had a very heavy CCP influence on that aspect. Not to say that the United States doesn’t do the same thing with some of the patriotic aspects to movies , but in this, it just felt like they took one direction through the majority of the movie with putting more focus and care on personal relationships to only at the very end make it so that yeah but it’s OK if you’re furthering the interest of the country. That love of country over family was also contradictory to Yancey‘s personality, because that had been his dream early on but so many things in his life had come along that changed his perspective on that it seemed like a reversal. Rather than having his time tied up on a research track and being absentee he could have continued on the business track and still furthered the technology yet had more time with her and their son. They specifically emphasized he did not regret, taking a step back from his dreams to raise his brother and iIn fact, he felt like that was one of his greatest gifts. Therefor it made no sense that he would be an absentee with his child, and would spend less time with his own family to focus on his dream when he quickly altered his goal and dream to raise his brother. So the ending is happy, but would have been better if he had revealed that had been his dream early on but his love for her and being there for his family was his new dream.

I thought what Yanshi’s mentor said to Yuan about being selfish, and, holding Yanshi back from his dream, was not only uncalled for and unmerited, but extremely rude and unkind. Later they portrayed it as he was really embarrassed about it when he realize that wasn’t the case but I wanted the moment where lead guy set him straight and said yes, that was my dream when I was younger, but now that I have Yuan my goals have shifted. That would have been more satisfying. I also thought that it was his mentor being selfish and living vicariously through Yanshi that resulted in him pushing so hard for Yanshi to join the academy.

I could see her point that she did not want him to give up his dream to help save her family’s company. What thought he should point out was that if he pursued his dream and her company went bankrupt when he could have saved it - he would not have felt good about that either.

#JaniceWu
#HereWeMeetAgain
#WuQian
#VinZhang

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Expect to lose sleep in binge watch sessions

8,5/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 Chinese romantic comedy drama with 30, 45 minute episodes

First I will provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Lu Li (Zhu Xu Dan) has shaped her life to be around the man she fell in love with. Her singular focus to become the type of woman to win Jiang Yi Cheng’s (Xing Zhao Lin) heart, led her to not only majoring in the same program focusing on computer programming but even attending the same college. When she was unable to get Yi Cheng’s attention as a student, her plan shifted to working at his company. That plan hits a snag when it is revealed Jiang Yi Cheng's company does not recruit female employees. Not to be deterred, Lu Li disguises herself as a man to get hired with the intention of revealing her true gender after she has proven her worth. Jiang Yi finds himself attracted to this very feminine looking new male employee such that it is a relief when he discovers “he” is actually a she. Since he discovered it before the intentional reveal he is initially angry that he was duped. But his mother, who was already pressuring marriage, is happy when she discovers her son is not interested in a relationship with a man after all and is happy to pressure her son to make this person he showed interest in her daughter-in-law. To satisfy his mother, and yet not be forced into a relationship, Yi Cheng secretly strikes a deal with Lu Li to do a one year contract marriage and work at his company. Lu Li plans to win his heart and turn their fake marriage into the real thing.

Review

There were so many big milestone events I found this was one I could not stop watching even when I had work the next day. I would be like I am watching it until he figures out she is a girl, I am watching it until they kiss, I am watching it until they are married, I am watching it until she gets tired of his cheating, I am watching it until he discovers where she is, I am watching it until they reconcile, and so on. They did such a food job with the plot there was always something big going in that you wanted to see what happened with this or that. If you like heart warming romances with a strong female lead do not let the early part of this deter you, it would lead you to think she is a push over and simply too nice. But she comes into her own later in the series, so it is worth sticking with it, You might also think in the first half that he is always going to be somewhat cold and unfeeling toward the main girl but when he falls he falls hard. The slice of life of a female in a non traditional job in China adds a uniqueness to the story. I recommend this for those that like romances with happy, well wrapped up, endings and lighter, less complex plots. Those that like characters in disguise, cold CEOs, love triangles, surprise pregnancies, and women in non traditional roles will also like this.

Spoilers
It was cringy early on how little she looked like a guy. She was way too pretty and feminine to pass for a guy so I was glad, at least, they commented about it a lot and we did not go through too many episodes until he discovered she was a girl. The scene in the horse where he would have been cuddled up to what he thought was a guy caused a lot if 2nd hand embarrassment for me. i was super glad she was “discovered” and switched to a woman in like episode 7 or so. Up to episode 20/21 I was getting frustrated she was putting up with his emotional cheating. Even in a contract marriage, you should not do things that embarass the other person. If people think you are in a genuine relationship, having people pity you because they think you are being cheated on is humiliating and hurtful. So he should have realized that. She was so sweet to him and his behavior toward her was cold and cruel at times. I was cheering her on when she ate the stinky noodles right outside his room. And when she would stick up for herself and ignore him or defy him I thought he was getting a little bit of the punishment he deserved. The “other” woman/ex girlfriend was inferior to lead girl in every way. She was way less attractive yet they stated several times how pretty she was. Her personality was seriously lacking so that other men did not seem interested in her at all. It made it hard to understand what he ever saw in her and even angrier at him for the way he treated his wife.

When Lu Lin finally left him I was cheering so hard internally. No one ever needed a lesson more than he did. It showed her strength of character that she went to a new city, far away, and set herself up and was doing well. Her unlikely romantic interest/turned out to be just what she needed was awesome. You could have seen an alternate reality where she was forget Yi Cheng and went for the hottie new boss. He was cute with her and it was apparent he was a ladies man at that stage where he was ready for someone to knock him off his feet.
I have experienced a few guys like that in my life. Hard to catch but when they actually encounter someone who does not fall for their Romeo ways they fall for her. I would have liked to know what happened with him and his forced fiancé.

When the sister saw Yi Cheng with the ex girlfriend at the mall I thought she was going to let him have it. When he told her the girl was just misunderstood previously and she flipped so easy to accepting her excuse and mentioning her brother now had two romantic interests aI was very disappointed. She essentially helped her brother cover up his very bad behavior.

The Lu Jingwen (Pang Han Chen) character gave me serious Siwon vibes (Korean singer with Super Junior). In the show he is the boss who hires Lu Lin and has serious romantic interest in her until he discovers her heart is totally taken by Yi Cheng. You won’t get the Siwon vibe just looking at a picture of him it is more like a slight resemblance but his expressions and mannerisms totally remind me of Siwon. I love the role he plays because he expects a lot of her and yet he protects her and is her biggest advocate, He makes it very clear to lead guy you treat her right or I am right here.

In reality the character transformation Yi Cheng went through rarely happens and if it does it is not lasting. In my experience men and women who are cheaters, whether emotional or physical or both very rarely significantly change. Especially if they never fully understand how what they did was cheating. The show portrayed that Yi Cheng saw the error of his ways and would never do something like that again, but odds are that he would. The fact that so much had to happen for him to understand his actions were wrong shows that, at his core, he feels that behavior was okay. That would not make for a good romance though. And perhaps her showing what would happen to him if he ever did something like that again would deter him.

#CuteProgrammer
#XingZhaoLin
#ZhuXuDan
#YiDaQin
#GuanXin
#TianZiTong
#PangHanChen

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If you like cold CEO, Cinderella and just a light hearted romantic comedy this is for you

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 Chinese Romance Drama with 24, 45 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis

Gu Xixi (Wang Yu Wen) is a fashion buyer who dreams of opening her own store to sell her line of fashion designs. In need of a difficult to purchase item for a client she pretends to be with Yin Sichen (Wang Zi Qi) the CEO of a mall and son of a very wealthy conglomerate family. Not one to be used for nothing, Yin Sichen helps Gu Xixi catch the attention of the designer whose item she needs to purchase but then uses that to make her beholden to him. The designer is also someone Sichen wants to strike a deal with to feature his fashion in his malls. The designer, Alex, takes an interest in the two thinking they are an ideal couple to promote his wedding dress line. To seal the deal with the eccentric designer he gets Xixi to be his contracted wife for three months. Xixi is in need of cash so she agrees to the arrangement. As the two spend time together as a “married” couple real feelings begin to grow.

Review

This is just the perfect romantic comedy. The two lead’s chemistry is off the charts. Sichen starts as the arrogant, bossy and aloof CEO but turns into the most attentive and doting husband when he discovers his feelings. Xixi is bright and sweet and wins almost everyone over very quickly. If you like heart warming romance you will live this. If you like the Cinderella and cold CEO tropes this is very good in both those aspects. It does not have a deep complex plot and there are no real twists but if you are looking for bubbly romance you don’t want all that anyway.

Spoilers*. This does not have the tired mother in law buying off the girlfriend or boyfriend trope. The mother became one of my favorite characters. My mother in law was wealthy and flew in to our wedding on a private jet to tell my fiance it wasn‘t too late to change his mind. Life can truely be stranger than fiction, So I am never surprised when one of the mothers are cruel. I expected his mother to take the side of his childhood friend who thought he was hers but she did not, instead she said how she was a great sister to her son. The grandmother was Betty White level enjoyable older character. The female protagonist was a crazy stalker and one of the best moments was when Xixi told her you do not do things to hurt those you love. Inalso cheered when her best friend tricked evil girl into insulting her own fashion choice to reveal her wicked tricks. Second guy was steadfastly there for lead girl but he never did anything hurtful. He was like a foil for the 2nd female showing how you can show your love by wishing the target if your affection happiness even if it is not with you. The only couple I was not a huge fan of was his friend and the austere career woman. I did not dislike their relationship I just did not care. I could have seen second guy and his assistant as a couple as she was so amazingly supportive of him. I thought Xixi’s best friend and Sichen’s assistant may become a couple and there were some hints. Liked how Xixi was her own person and kept her own identity yet was an affectionate and playful wife. Sichen’s transformation was fun to watch. The lead couple were so on the same wave length they even planned the same surprise for each orher.

#OnceWeGetMarried
#WangYuWen
#WangZiQi

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Enjoyable but ends abruptly

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean comedy romance fantasy drama with 10, 15 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis

Sun Nyeo (Kim Do Yeon) leads a typical teenage life but is annoyed that she bears a striking resemblance to a comic book character from a series that was popular a decade before. Not annoyed enough though that she doesn’t occasionally read the lines out loud. One time, as she reads the lines out loud, it causes the male romantic lead from the book, Chun Nam Wook, (Kim Min Kyu) to “Pop Out” from the comic book into the real world.
Even with a decades old hair style and fashion sense Nam Wook Is a heart throb. Seeing the object of his affections Nam Wook, Sun Nyeo’s he tries to continue their relationship where it left off calling her by a cheesy knickname and spotting equally cheesy one liners aimed at Sun Nyeo’s heart. It’s not long before Nam Wook understands that this Sun Nyeo is not the girl he left in the comic book. Will icy cool Sun Yeo fall for this unlikely Romeo?

Review
As a smile coming of age romantic comedy it fits the bill if you want something short, predictable and with a happy enough ending. Well acted with compelling characters.

*Spoilers. My biggest issue with this is it ends abruptly. He predictably has to return to the book and they have a tearful separation. He, also somewhat predictably, returns to the real world (how?) with some new character we only catch a glimpse of THE END. What? Do not leave me on a cliff hanger unless there are clear plans for another season. I liked it and was enjoying it but it felt like there was a power outage it ended so abruptly. If you like things neatly wrapped up in the end as I do then this is not for you. Maybe wait and see if they do another season. If you are ok with nebulous ending where you have to fill in a bunch of blanks then this may be one for you as I found the story and all the characters believable and enjoyable.

#PopOutBoy
#KimDoYeon
#KimMinKyu

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Romance with side characters with deep dark flaws

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 (well filmed mostly 2017 but not aired until 2021) South Korean Romantic drama with 16, 70 minute episodes. Also known under the title “Mojito”.

First I write a synopsis then review

Synopsis

A tragic event led Chin Ji Woo (Sung Joon) to literally run from his past. But the money he had as a chaebol heir is running dry and he returns home anticipating a piece of inheritance from his recently deceased grandfather. In the course of being a rich play boy, he encounters So Joong Hee (also known as Soju; Im Ji Yeon) whom he discovers will do many things for the right amount of money. He is fascinated by this person that lives so differently than he does and decides to play with her. While Ji Woo did not inherit a lot of money he did get an old building filled with books. Since his family has cut him off (partially to keep him from leaving) Ji Woo comes up with the ipunique idea of having a day drinking bar which he calls Siesta. Joong Hee becomes his part timer to pay off a debt she wounded up having to him. Her dream is to study culinary art in Paris but since she was swindled out of her money working with Ji Woo is currently her best option. As the two get closer, Seo Yi Ji (Kim Yoon Hye) the sister of Ji Woo’ s deceased friend whom he feels responsible for appears. Ji Woo has so much guilt over past events that Yi Ji is able to bully him into being her boyfriend. Joon Hee’s best friend Kim Yeong Kang (Baek Sung Hyun) has thought of her as more than a friend for quite some time but has yet to confess. Will two people from such different backgrounds find love? What is the tragedy from Ji Woo’s life that had him running from emotional pain? Will Siesta flourish or fail?

Review

I think a huge determining factor in whether you like this drama or not is if you are okay with characters who have deep flaws or if you watch dramas to escape the ugly side of reality. The central romance itself is believable and cute but so nany of the characters around them have serious emotional problems. It is good, you can definitely tell it was filmed in 2017 as it has this darker style and just has the cultural essence of that time period. It is good and I would recommend it for those that like romances. I will not likely rewatch it so it is not a top favorite but still worth a watch.

Spoilers
Ji Woo is so cruel, at times to Soju that it is really hard to understand what she sees in him when there is a guy that is so sweet and caring to her in the form of her bestie. However, there is this scene when the two seconds ask each other what they see in the lead couple and their answers are telling. They basically provide a list of bad qualities and then say but I love them anyway. Ji Woo acts very cool and uncaring on the exterior but actually winds up taking care of all those in need who cross his path. He is fun and interesting and it is that charisma that draws people to him. Soju is very caring. She cannot pass someone in need without helping. She makes food she thinks others will like and is a hard worker. Which, I think, is the reason Ji Woo and Soju are better suited than the two people who like them. The fact that they see and bring out these positive qualities is what makes for a good relationship. There was a point when I thought Yi Ji might have undergone some character growth and might become likable but then she does the most selfish and despicable things and I think never mind. Harming yourself and threatening suicide to get someone to be with you is emotional abuse. The fact that she could observe what her selfish behavior was doing to him and still carry on, even when his mother implored her to let him go, showed she was a selfish and cruel person to her core. They tried to give her a redemption arch but the way she “let him go” was narcissistic and she basically blamed him for allowing her to use him. The girl needed serious mental help as she was emotionally abusive. Soju’s brother was just a straight up mooch. He did finally find a job that suited him and turn things around but it was so close to the end there was no time for it to feel redemptive. I wanted Ji woo’s mother to tell Yi Jo’s mother off. How dare she emotionally traumatize her son when the entire situation was that family’s fault. Who goes up to a grieving teenager who just lost their best friend and tells them they are going to hell? The son was upset and ran off because his mother was cheating on his dying father. Ji Woo goes after him and, when he is too hurt, he leaves him by a tree to go get help. And the guy crawls off? He was horrible too, he knew his friend was following him but he was busy throwing a fit. I found that whole family just horrible, None of that was his fault. The fact that no one told him that before her was disgraceful of all the adults in his life. The mother saying she needed someone to blame as if that was an acceptable justification for her emotionally abusive behavior was frustrating. But the Apple did not fall far from the emotional abuser tree as her daughter tried to justify her horrendous behavior toward him because she needed someone to lean on and that telling him it wasn’t his fault may have made him leave her side. I was a little disappointed that Ji Woo never apologized for choosing to protect manipulative Ji Yi‘s feelings and was willing to break Soju’s heart. When you hurt someone you live that deeply, even if it is because you are being manipulated and abused, acknowledging and apologizing is something you should do to heal as a couple.

#CastingASpellToYou
#Mojito
#SungJoon
#ImJiYeon

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Same premise but all new cast and different stories

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 South Korean coming of age drama with 32, 28-36 minute episodes. Also known under the title Revenge Note 2.

First I provide a synopsis then I will review

Synopsis
Like in the first series, the main character, Oh Ji-Na (Ahn Seo-Hyun) gets revenge notes. It is an all new cast but does follow a similar story line. Ji-na is a nice unassuming high school student who gets the attention of bullies when she sticks up for a friend. She first gets an invitation to download an app called Revenge Note. Then, as she is dealing with the bullies as best she can, she gets a notice asking her if she wants to provide a name to get revenge on. Once the name is provided that person gets a notice that they are target of revenge. Then negative things happen to them including them typically getting in trouble for their actions. As in the first series Ji-Na wonders and tries to figure out who is running the revenges. Two brothers move in across the hall and are frequently coming to Ji-Na’s rescue. The younger brother, Seo Robin (Samuel Arrandondo Kim), is a bit of a rebel and though immediately popular with the girls in the school keeps mostly to himself with a bad boy vibe. The other brother, Seon Jaeyi (Ji Mn-Hyuk) is a model student and is kind to everyone. Both boys seem to be interested in Ji-Ana as a girlfriend.

Review

A cute coming if age romance. The revenge angle is interesting and keeps you guessing,

Spoilers*
Having the love triangle be two brothers liking the same girl caused an even stronger 2nd lead syndrome. While the premise is essentially the same as the 1st one, the cast is completely different and the incidences driving the revenge are similar but still unique to this story. There is never a definitive answer on who did the revenge note app but there are strong hints that the teacher‘s high school computer club may have been a part of it. The doctor/brother from the 1st season, who was suspected of being behind it, is in this one too and is associated with the teacher and computer club. After Jae Yi fixes Ji Ana’s phone and he sees her not Upload the app when prompted makes it seem he was aware of revenge note. But he is computer savvy and could be the next generation of that club. As others point out there are trips and pure accidents that seem more magical in nature. There is also an instance where the bully gets Ji Ana’s phone and puts Ji Ana’s name in as a revenge target and it says she does not meet the criteria. I appreciated that part as I wondered if it would accept anyone. Ji Na and Robin finally get together but he goes off to the United States with his family. So they have a long distance relationship. It would have been nice to see them reunite.


#AhnSeoHyun
#sweetrevenge2
#revwngenite2
#SamuelKim
#JiMinHyuk

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Light hearted rom com

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 Japanese romantic comedy drama with 7, 24 minute episodes. It was adapted from a manga series “Shanai Marriage Honey” by Fujiwara Emi.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis
Since his mother is struggling with ill health, Mikuri Manatsu (Itagaki Manatsu) figures his marrige would cheer her up. While he is very popular with the ladies he does not currently have a girlfriend and decides a dating app is the quickest best way to choose a bride. Haruta Ami (Matsui Airi) is just out of a long term relationship and figures the best way to get over a cheater is a new relationship. They both like what they see in their profiles and quickly marry but know very little in terms of details of their new spouse. They are surprised to find they work in the same office and agree to keep it a secret so it doesn’t damage their careers. That becomes easier said than done when they find they are both very popular “singles” in the office. As their feelings grow, so does theor desire to seek each other out at work. How long can they keep their marriage a secret? Can love and a real marriage develop after such an unusual beginning?

Review
Overall this was a very light, feel good romantic comedy. The leads are very attractive and it was easy to envision them as a couple. I liked the premise and the story and characters were well developed. If you want a quick, not overly complex rom com this would fit the bill.

Spoilers
This could have been longer and would have provided the opportunity to give more background and slow build of their romance. I learned things from other synopsis that were not clearly revealed in the show. I liked at the end when they revealed their first meeting and what he thought when she first walked in. It got a bit too sexual for my preference at times. Their chemistry was off the charts so the bedroom scenes, which showed a lot, were a bit cringy for me. I loved how much his mom liked her and how much he loved that his mom liked her. It ended happy and things are wrapped up but it is a whirlwind to get there.

#InHouseMarriageHoney
#ItagiManatsu
#MatsuiAiri

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9/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 Japanese suspense mystery, romance drama with 8, 37-52 minute episodes. Also known under the Japanese title Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru which translates to We Are Not Ourselves.

First I provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis
Fifteen years ago Hanaoka (Okura) Nao’s (Hamabe Minami) mother was a talented baker at a family owned sweets shop. The son and heir of the highly successful confection shop, Takatsuki Tsubaki (Yakohama Ryusei), was Nao’s playmate as she lived in the staff area with her mother. The two young children learned to make confections together and Tsubaki fondly nicknamed Nao “Sakura”. That all changed when Tsubaki accused Mao’s mother of killing his father. After 15 years Nao is no longer the child TsubakI remembered and the two encounter each other through a confection competition. Not realizing the mysterious girl is his childhood friend whose mother he believes killed his father, Tsubaki asks Nao to marry him to get out of an arranged marriage. Without missing a beat, Nao accepts the proposal to be close to the family and location where she feels her mother was falsely accused. She keeps her true identity hidden as it is clear Tsubaki would not be okay in proximity of the daughter of the woman he believes murdered his father. Can Nao determine what really happened in the past without suffering a similar fate? Can the fragile love between the former childhood friends endure when they both discover the truth?

Review
Thus was eye candy in the beautiful Komono they wore and bright imagery. The sweets they created were amazingly detailed and it would have been worth it to watch just to see the artistry of making the Japanese sweets. But there was more to it than that. The mystery of what happened in the past was woven through well and it kept you guessing as new details were slowly revealed. The leads had great chemistry and their romance was believable, The villainess was well cast as I felt foreboding whenever she was on scene. It is a bit dark but still has a nice romance. I recommend this and would rewatch in the future.

Spoilers*
There we’re times when it was like if you would just let them both run it or select them both it would solve so many problems. Lead girl let the mistress get away with a lot as she would do something violent or despicable and she would not tell anyone else.

#CursedInLove
#WatashitachiWaDoukaShiteiru
#MinamiHamabe
#RyuseiYokohama
#IkusaburoYamazaki

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Delightful romantic comedy and a must watch in the contact marriage genre

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2016 Japanese romantic comedy drama with 11 episodes in season 1 ranging 45-58 minutes run time and 1 spcial in season 2 running 121 minutes. It is based on a popular manga originally titled "Running away is shameful, but useful“ after a Hungarian proverb.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis
Moriyama Mikuri (Yui Aragaki) graduated and has only been able to secure part time work. Dreading being back out in the job market, her father secures her a house keeping position with a former work associate, Tsuzaki Hiramasa (Gen Hoshino). For the first time Mikuri feels supported and appreciated by her employer so when her father decides to retire to the country Mikuri comes up with a wild plan. Hiramasa at first rejects the idea but then runs all the scenarios and determines if Mikuri became a contract wife as she proposed, they could continue their mutually beneficial arrangement while keeping up social appearances. Knowing their friends and family would not approve of their arrangement, hilarity ensues as they struggle to make their marriage seem outwardly real. Soon they discover there may be more than just a contract drawing them together.

Review

I have not watched many Japanese dramas as I found they were either way too sexualized for me or didn’t make the manga to live action transition well. This one was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed the marriage of convenience premise and that they fell in love very naturally. There were some breaks in the 4th wall moments but they were not obnoxious. It is overall a well paced and heart warming romance with many comedic moments. Highly recommend to anyone that is a fan of marriage contract and just heart warming rom coms with straight forward plots. The 2nd season special episode was actually a nice wrap up to the story. It was as well written as the main story and did not seem like an afterthought as some do.

Spoilers*
Hiramasa is very robotic in the beginning and it can be frustrating knowing how he really feels about something and watching him struggle to express it. These are big, complicated emotions for an engineer. It is enjoyable to observe his character development and they do a great job bringing the viewer in on that journey. Mikuri herself can be a little ridiculous about her emotions. I felt there were several times she misread a situation and got all spun up about it when she should have known he did not mean it the way she was taking it. But that is love which can cloud rationality. It took on some social issues like the traditional male and female roles. Japan is on a different path than the US and it is hard to watch them making some errors that US made that I think have caused problems. Mikuri wants to be equal with equal responsibilities and winds up putting a lot of pressure on Hiramasa. He learns and I think their relationship is better for it but it seems they are able to make it with one partner working and the next level is people not being able to make it and the state raises the child. They also tackle unequal treatment in the workplace, age gaps and homosexuality. To me it was interesting that the age gap was too large between the aunt and Hiramasa’s work colleague at 17 years but between the gay couple the age gap was not even mentioned. 17 years is a large gap but I don’t think, since they were both fully adults that is the only consideration. In their cases she was 50s but had a young bright personality that resulted in her fitting in with the younger crowd better than those her age. Her younger love interest, in his mud 30s, was so selective about partners that it seemed he would never select anyone his agenor close. The very things he did not like were attributes of his generation or younger. They were very compatible personality wise and it seemed if they weren’t together both would remain single. The special was also a reflection of early to mid COVID pandemic when we all though asymptomatic transmission was a thing, children were at high risk, and social distancing, masks and sanitizers were going to save us. It was heartbreaking their young family was apart but was an accurate reflection of the world at that time.

Deep Spoiler* Their chemistry in this is very real as the main couple married in real life. Gen Hishino is most famous as a singer and you can see a lot of his music videos.

#FullTimeWifeEscapist
#YuiAragaki
#GenHishino
#MarriageofConvenience

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Unique premise, great chemistry, female lead not whiny

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 Chinese romantic comedy drama with a supernatural element. There are 24, 45 minute episodes.I read there were 22 regular episodes with two, 15 minute special episodes. The special episodes can be hard to find and the English subs were not very good.

First I will provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis
After a tragic accident, Xu Nuo (Fan Shi Qi) is no longer able to feel any emotions. Having this disorder has made him ruthless and high successful in the business world but leaves a path if emotional destruction which resulted in many people wishing him harm. Ke Si Yi’s (Qu Yan Di) family has a mixed martial arts business that is in he cutthroat sites of Xu Nyo. When he seeks a body guard, Si Yi uses the opportunity to fill that role in order to get close to the cold executive and influence the decisions he makes around her family business. More than sparks fly between boss and bodyguard when they discover he physically feels her pain and she experiences all of his emotions. What in the Freaky Friday? The two must rely on each other to discover the mystery behind this strange transference. There are some deep ties in their past so fate has had a hand in their lives for awhile. Did fate have love in mind all long?

Review
A cute romantic comedy with a very compelling and unique premise. The cold executive gets humanized by the happy go lucky positive female lead trope. The slice of mixed martial arts was interesting. The second couple were super cute. The family relationships and friendships were heartwarming. The female lead was not overly whiney. She was kind with an inner strength. Some reviewer say she was stupid.I did not see her as stupid she was guileless so she did not play emotional games. People who are overly empathetic and not good deceivers can come off as simple and I think that is what some are responding to.

I recommend and would watch again.

Spoilers*.

Him experiencing her pain had me laughing out loud at times. When he is in a meeting taking invisible punches and others are looking at him like he has gone crazy it is funny. He would tell his lawyer friend to find Si Yi knowing she was up to something. They had great chemistry and the timing and pace of their love story was believable. When he was going through her menstrual pain it reminded me of a documentary where they hooked men up to electrical stimulation machines to stimulate menstrual cramps and they would tap out.

There we’re a few disappointing things in the end. When he worried his competitor might hurt her to extract revenge he publicly rejected her multiple times. The female lead did not believe him because she was so familiar with his feelings having experienced them on his behalf. When he made arrangements to have an actress as his girlfriend and cruelly announced to her that they were considering marriage it gave me Meteor Garden vibes. I understood what he was doing and he he thought it was necessary but thought he could have told her and she would not have been broken hearted. I wanted her to cooly walk away but instead she clung harder and I felt secondhand embarrassment.

it was a bit silly looking when the bad guy goes to run over him and she drives her scooter in the way them the two of them are like spinning in the road. I think they were trying to increase the drama and make you wonder who would get hit but it was ver unnatural looking. Then when she is unconscious and injured on the ground he screams “no” just like that famous scene with Darth Vader in Star Wars. It was similar in that her injury was the very thing he was trying to prevent but keeping her away ultimately caused it.

She wakes from the coma, he is in the room, and she does not pause for a second but embraces him in a hug. It is all over now the bad guy is on the way to jail so he can now go back to liking her. But she just forgave him with no explanation. Her friend gave her lawyer boyfriend a harder time and he was nowhere as cruel to her.

We got a lot of sad when she and he were dealing with broken hearts so their reunion being the last few minutes was not enough happy for me to make up for the sadness we were put through.

Not sure why, with Chinese dramas they have special episodes that are rarely available with the regular episodes and even harder to find with English subtitles. It is like they are providing the opportunity to stop with the regular episodes or, if you want more story, you watch the special episodes.

In the special episodes we see that she is willing to leave if he is being cold or unreasonable. We see an argument and them both struggling not to be the one to make up first. And we get the proposal. The very end is a triple wedding. I enjoyed it but would have liked it better with better translation.

#LoveUnexpected
#FanShiQi
#QuYanDi

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Promising beginning but then most of the characters devolved especially FL character

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean romantic drama with 16, 70 minute episodes

First I provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis
Noh Ae-jung (Song Ji-hyo) dream was to produce films and she passionately studied film at University. Her capable and energetic nature toward all things film related caught the amaros attention of several of her fellow film students two of which went on to become famous. Ae-Jung’s dreams were derailed when she became pregnant and she did not tell the father and instead disappeared from the scene for 14 years while she raised her daughter. She worked a variety of jobs and tried to focus her work in the film industry. She finally gets a break when the CEO of the Production company she is working for promotes her and it looks like she will be able to realize her dream. But the CEO tricked her into signing a shady loan then disappears leaving her with the debt and the sinking company. When Ae-Jung discovers a novel, rights owned by the production company, which is ripe to be convertedd to script she sees a chance to turn the failing company around. The novel, that just happens to be the first work of a now famous author, could not only save the company but launch Ae-Jung’s production career. She just has to get a lot of people onboard and her efforts bring the men from her struggling student days back in her life. Oh Dae-oh (Son Ho-jun) is the famous writer who is seeking revenge on Ae-Jung for breaking his heart. Ryu Jin (Song Jong-ho) made it big as an actor but feels like Ae-Jung is the love who got away. Goo Pa-do (Kim Min-jun) owns the company where Ae-Jung’s CEO took the loan and winds up investing in her current endeavor to recoup his loan. Oh Yeon-woo (Koo Ja-sung) is a younger man who Ae-Jung saved at one point and he wanted to marry Ae-Jung and take on the role of father. Will Ae-Jung be able to make her dream come true with the help of these four very different men? Who is her daughter’s father? Which man will win, or reclaim, her heart?

Review

You may start this and wonder why there are so many negative reviews. The first episodes will pull you in and you may like all the characters and wonder how people could have disliked it so much, But it takes a turn when you find out what is really going on. To its credit this is one of the few with multiple romantic interests where I had no idea who she might end up with until well into the series. She had something special going on with each of the men, they all seemed interested and she treated them all like close friends that could be something more. I also was unsure which one was rhe father of her daughter. It made the first 3/4 of the series interesting as we tried to figure out who it might be. I liked the pre-teen daughter. But the Female Lead (FL) character became so unlivable to me at a point it was hard to continue watching. In the reviews I read some liked it but most that really liked it was more due to the actors than the story. I suppose if you feel the situation justified her actions then you could feel differently.

Spoilers*
I don’t know if it was Netflix influence trying to Americanize the series but I really disliked Ae-Jung’s “I don’t need a man” stance. She was very anti romance to the point of being mean to the men around her. When the misunderstanding that had kept them apart was cleared up she continued to treat him coldly and refused to help him form a relationship with his daughter. The only thing he was guilty of was he did make a bad choice in allowing a young girl that had a thing for him that close, but he apologized for that part, I was also disappointed in other characters I felt sympathy for Ryu having to be the sounding board for his friend when he liked the girl so much himself. But finding out that Ryu Jin deleted her text was a despicable action because it made seem like he would hurt others and cheat to get her. After that him being there for Dae-oh when he was so extremely heart broken took on a different feeling as he largely caused the situation or at least him having no clue why she left. Jo Ah-rin (Kim Da-som) did not care she was coming between a relationship with a child involved and thought it was very selfish and ridiculous to cling to someone who clearly rejected her romantically. Ae-Jung was just mean and the fact that Yoon-woo characterized her as sweet was confusing as I only saw her as very self serving and selfish. She did have her sweet moments with him but she also had other times when it felt like she led him on and other times when she was cold. I thought she was wrong to not tell her daughter the truth. She and the grandmother created an environment where the young girl did not feel she could ask about her dad. Even after Ae-Jung finds out her daughter wanted a father and was looking for him she still refused to let Dae-oh be involved in his daughter’s life. Even if he had cheated on her or ignored her text, he was still the girls father and she was wrong to cut him out of her life. Her daughter wanted to know who her father was but she did not clear up the misunderstanding he abandoned her. It made me not like Ae-Jung in the last few episodes. Keeping the child to herself and not telling her the truth of the situation led to a lot of unnecessary pain for father and daughter.

The ending was disappointing. it felt like he gave up his career, sacrificed it for her. After a completely unnecessary separation there is a short scene where they reunite then the end is her walking her daughter down the aisle at her wedding. That skip forward was awkward as it seemed not a lot changed between the couples or between father and daughter although many years had obviously passed. At least from what we could briefly see, All of the men were together sort of standing up for the young woman as a like a dad unit with Dae-oh leading that as a nod to being the biological father. It was weird. So it seems she never acknowledged her father and Ae-Jung was still playing the dual role of mom and dad. The fact that Dae-oh was there showed he was still in their lives but, given the FL wushu washy treatment of him I had no confidence they were together in a meaningful way. We finally get to see the gangster guy and the “bar” owner flirty and also the two actors but years have passed and they only made it that far which was also disappointing. It seemed to set things up for another season but I wouldn’t watch as it was such a train wreck with the dental relationship I have no trust any further stories would be any better..

Let me fix the ending how it should have went: Dae-oh cloisters himself off at his place but only for a few months. He and the FL hold a press conference addressing the rumors. He tells the public that the book he wrote was his truth at the time, but now that he has reunited with his first love he found out the truth.The production company will instead be working on the amended version of the book, and the movie will be released in tandem with the new novel. He goes into seclusion to finish writing the novel how it should be (and the screenplay) to finish as quickly as possible and they reunite when it’s time to film. When the film is released, they go to the opening night with Ha-nee and she learns the full story of her parents. She finally forgives her father and calls him Dad. The end. Had the ending went more like this it could have ended well. But it did not end well in my opinion.

Not one I would rewatch or recommend.

#WasItLove
#SongJiHyo
#SonHojun
#SongJongho
#KimMinjun
#KooJasung
#KimDasom

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So much action it buries the story

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a2021/2022 South Korean mystery, crime and thriller drama with comedy sprinkled in. There are 12, 65-75 minute episodes.

Fist I will provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis
Ryu Soo-yeol (Lee Dong-Wook) does not make friends with fellow police and ambitious politicians in his role as a detective charged with bringing up other officers who violate ethical or procedural rules. He has been known to look the other why for the right motivation. He has been promoted quickly for his willingness to accept play for pay. That is until his alternate personality “K” (Wi Ha-joon) makes himself known and forces Soo-yeol to do the right thing. It is a thrill ride of hijinks and hilarity as the two battle for control of the situations. K also has a thing for Soo-Yeol’s ex- girlfriend, Lee Hui-gyeom (Han Ji-Eun) and takes every opportunity to romance her when he is in control. This causes Hui-gyeom a lot of confusion as Soo-yeol’ blows hit then cold. Thus set along a serial killer who is mysteriously tied to Soo-reol’s past. What will become of this person who hosts two such conflicting personalities?

Review
If you are really into action dramas then you might enjoy this for that factor alone. There is a lot of action scenes. Almost too much for those looking for substance. The romance element is also very minimal and mainly used for comedic moments. If you are a fan of either of the two male leads this is a role you may not have seen them in so you may enjoy the novelty. It is good especially if considere among others in the action genre.

*Spoilers
My daughter said the absolute chaos and almost too much action was like a teen-anger wrote it. It’s like “I don’t know what to do here…more action.” The other thing was I don't think gas lighting lighting and Dissociative Identity Disorder mean what they thought it meant. There were times when the other personality took over and Soo-yeol was not aware of what happened thus the disassociate part of the title but there were other times he was fully aware and acted like it was another person which is more like an imaginary friend. It blurred the two so much it was hard to tell when the main guy was actually doing the thing or if he was just imagining it. But then he would be completely outnumbered in a fight and K would appear and suddenly they would win against impossible odds. Then there were things like the straight jacket, Houdini could get out of a straight jacket by himself but that is a very rare skill. So it would have made more sense if K was actually there. Then there was the over the top action that resulted in things happening that were out of bounds even giving artistic license. People got beat to the point you would think they would have lasting damage but then go right out and voluntarily get beat again. One of the characters made out like cops getting stabbed was a frequent occurrence and he must have been correct in their world as multiple of the characters were stabbed and seemed to recover in an unusually quick fashion because they are right back out there. It was so much action that I found I got bored. Never thought I could get bored from too much action but this accomplished it. In the end we were supposed to think of him as cured as he had a clean bill of health from a psychiatrist (or psychologist) and by the way officers are all a little crazy right? I mean PTSD. But the fact that he still saw K as a separate person showed his personality had not integrated and he was not “cured”. If it is more like an imaginary friend it would be the same - not cured. And the way the alternate personality developed is inconsistent with DID, it is usually slowly, over time during multiple instances of abuse and it did not show that. It was more like K saved him when the serial killer, killed his father. Appeared because of that and not because of the long term abuse from the father. Same with what they called gas lighting. That is usually something that does occur but where someone is then “gas lighted” to think it did not happen at all or what they saw was not what they thought they saw. There was some of that which would be consistent but then there was also they were not even there but convinced they were or this other event that never happened actually did and you are going to say or do this thing. Much of what they showed was more consistent with brain washing.

#BadandCrazy
#LeeDongWook
#WiHaJoon
#HanJiEun

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