Monstrous mother in law
Honestly the series seemed so good, at the beginning I was excited to watch, but as episodes passed the excitement turned into frustration.I don't mind a slow burn romance but find it ridiculous having to wait till episode 35 out of 45 episodes for them to consummate their marriage after 2 whole years and if after the misunderstanding still didn't end there.Another person that I couldn't stand was the mother in law ,she was so terrible, she was the one that indirectly cause all the problems that ML faced and somehow still found a way to shocked at the concubines schemes.At first, i hated how terrible the concubines were but after I realized how mother in law forced into their situations ,i couldn't blame them entirely.
Also I kind of feel like the male lead is partly responsible because if he had put his foot down and refused to take in concubines, they wouldn't have been in that mess.Thankfully shiyi was a smart character and was able to see through their most of their plots.I also liked that her and her sister ernuiang were able to be in a good place at the end
But I liked the fact that when they truly became a couple ,they trusted each other and were able to fool their enemies.
I also pitied most of the women and circumstances it really was a blessing if they managed to have a husband that loved them, thats why I respected the main lead, he was so kind, caring and supportive of Shiyi.
Side note;I am thankful that I was not born in those times,I can't even imagine sharing my husband with another woman ,talk-less of multiple women.
In conclusion, this was not a bad drama, at least they tried to end on a good note but it just was not really satisfying .
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Extraordinary" divine" talent AKA master strategist
This drama has been on my plan to watch for the longest time mainly because I love the dramas I watch to have romance even if its not just a little and I heard there was no romance so I was hesitant to start .I also heard its tragedy and I always avoid those type of dramas because life is already sad enough ,but I finally decided to make an exception and just start it and see what happens but now I am very glad to have made the right decision.THINGS I loved
Script;Whoever wrote these script is so brilliant and talented.it was such an intelligent, entertaining and intimate plot that made sure you made attention to the details and it made you use several storyline which were tightly interwoven and did a good job explaining and taking care of loose ends.Flawless dialogue and delievery.
Acting; The acting of cast was amazing, there was no weak link, they all collective did an amazing job to bring to life these characters, they were so believable that I found myself completely emerged into the story.Everyone played their part well even villains, they were well matched.
Characters; I loved most of these characters,their sincerity, loyalty and uniqueness.But the characters that I loved more were:
Meng changsu(AKA Lin she); So Briliant,i fell in love with his character and his mind and his unbreakable will.this is the most intelligent male lead character I have ever had the pleasure of watching.i love how his character stayed consistently smart till the end and they didn't try to dumb him down just for misunderstanding and conflicts to drive the drama along(like we have seen in various dramas).he suffered unspeakable torture and betrayal but he did not let it break him.He plotted, persevered until his ultimate goal was achieved.i only wished by some magic that he got to finally enjoy his after many years of suffering but alas*tears*I knew right from the beginning so I mentally prepared my mind but I still not ready*more tears*
Consort jing; This was the smartest female character to me.she was so smart yet quiet, tolerant yet strategic, she always found a way to say the rights words at the right time and be so calm and settling.she did a lot of behind the scenes work that might not look like much but had a lot of impact.She was the voice of reason to the emperor.she was wise and simply amazing.
Fei lui; this was such an adorable character, any time he came onscreen I couldn't had but smile.i loved his quirks, responses and his childlike actions.Even when he beating up people ,you couldn't help but find him so cute.(its clear that I am very unashamedly biased to him).
Special shouts out to Prince Jing, very rash and sometimes unable to control his emotions but you can doubt his sincerity and loyalty and because this you can tell his going to make a good emperor(at least better than all the options presented)some one said he is the female main lead in this drama, funny but I absolutely agree.the prince who the emperor neglected and overlooked because
Commander Meng; loved him too.such a bubbly, supportive ,caring and honest friend.So loyal to the core and excellent commander.
Princess Nihaug; she is a badass character as well unfortunately she wasn't shown in enough episodes.But from what we saw she is brave, loving and strong.She would been such wonderful partner to Lin she.
Emperor:You always have emperors like this ,hardly seen any emperor I have actually liked in a Chinese drama .He was terrible, incompetent and biased to his children,I can't really say if he was the just evil or simply overly suspicious and jealous of people better than him or just an emperor that knew the evil deeds he did to us and was scared of it coming back to hunt him and it eventually did.he played his role so well and sometimes I found his throwing things when mad funny.How can the emperor know his children when he has so many concubines and children and is only concerned about being the emperor(yes I hate harem things and I know thats how things were then but it was still distasteful.
Lin chen;loyal ,funny friend
Xie yu and Xia jung were really smart villains and I am glad they got that deserved end.
There were so many loyal characters in these drama, that it was so heart warming to watch and the friendships were so beautiful.
Honestly if you are still having doubts about this drama, I am here to tell you that this drama is not overhyped, it deserved any praise and accolades given to it because it is simply outstanding, its a tough drama to beat in terms strong plot line and execution. this drama has flawless writing and dialogues.the scenes progressed smoothly and every backstory was adequately explained that I didn't have to suspend logic and reality like some other dramas.Watch this drama because they actually treated the audience as intelligent people and there was barely any unnecessary scenes but I must warn you it is really sad at the end I cried but it was full circle moment for Lin shu. Even though I know that can't help feeling sad about the main lead but I understand this is the end he wanted for himself.BUT still I blame the writers that wrote such a sad end, notwithstanding that this drama is one of a kind, bittersweet but beautiful and you should definitely give it a go.
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twists, angst,separation,bravery,and somewhat happy conclusion
I am glad that the main couple got a happy end but I felt really bad for Ryan eum, its sad how they left him in that cell still wondering what happened to lee jang hyun.it was so unfair to leave him there without closure.Also I would not have minded if nam yeon committed sucide, he ended becoming such a useless and irritating character, Gil Chae should be grateful he never chose her.
I do think she has poor taste in men because both nam neon and that her ex-husband were such sorry excuse for men. That's why I felt it was stupid choice to choose him over LJH, it didn't come as a shock to see that he abandoned her when she needed him most he always saw as a beautiful possession and not an actual human being.
I felt sad for the crown prince and crown princess and how they met such a terrible end without even getting justice, worse her son didn't even inherit the throne and the evil concubine just got away with everything's terrible.
I didn't like the unnecessary double amnesia plot and to me it didn't add anything relevant to the storyline.
Also I loved the acting of nam koong min, His ability to make his eyes and face convey so much emotions without even uttering any words was so brilliant.
I felt like part 1 was much stronger than part 2 but overall this was interesting, heartbreaking ,emotional and beautiful story to watch and It was totally worth the journey.
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perfect conclusion to the love story
Honestly I don't have much to says just wanted to appreciate this movie.I am glad it ended so beautifully.i feel so sad to see it end but it was so worth it.I might be biased but despite the male lead quirks and flaws I loved his character.he was arrogant, sensitive,playful,violent ,silly but so lovable and he was never afraid to show how much he loved Makino .They really suited each other so well.I loved the friends or F4 gang ,they were really the best.This movie was the perfect conclusion to their love story, they were through so much obstacles but it only made them realize how much they loved for each other.I will really miss this drama .Was this review helpful to you?
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I would have gotten away with it, if not for you meddling kids
Watching the last episode of these drama reminded me of Scooby doo, how the bad people when they are finally caught, end up blaming the good people for ruining their plans, thats exactly what the evil villain did here, which was so lame.But props to the female villain she did such a good job that anytime I see her on screen, I wish someone would have killed her earlier episodes, to save us all the torture.About the drama ,i really loved that even though its a military drama, there was a good balance of strength between the male characters and the female characters.They were badass.
The female main lead (Xie Xiang)was strong and independent ,she literally saved herself most of the time and was able to hold her own fight without needing assistance, I loved that about her. She also did a convincing job playing a female pretending to be a male, which we don't see often in gender bender dramas, so it was very believable that people won't realize she is a woman.
I had a slight second lead syndrome here,Shen junshan was smart, handsome, caring and so lovable.Even when he didn't know she was a girl ,he was still very caring and helpful to her, to the the point he even fell in love with her as a boy and was really stressing and questioning his sexuality.I also feel like they spent so much time together and he saved her on multiple occasions that it was hard not to root for him to get the girl, i honestly tried to find a reason to hate him but I just couldn't. The last time I felt this way was watching story of yanxi palace, but in that case it was a whole lot worse but at least here the first main lead was such a good character too I wasn't too upset.I was also glad that even though he loved her he was not so forceful about it and knew when to back down.In terms of maturity i feel like he should have ended up with her but anyways I will keep him for myself...lol
Gu Yanzhen was handsome , funny, adorable, a bit reckless, playful and dependable.I loved how he was not ashamed to go after what he wanted, he loved her and was persistent about getting her.I loved the bickering between him and Xie lianchen and they really had a good chemistry but they didn't have enough scenes together which made it hard to see their relationship progress.I liked her he was willing to do any and everything for Xie Xiang regardless of the consequences, honestly I wasn't even mad at him, he really worked hard for her and they do deserve to be together.
Also qu manting was a funny character and I think she was the female version of gu yanzhen. Even though they spent a whole lot of time together I never really saw any chemistry between them.But I really liked her scenes and found her very funny and she was such a dramatic character.
Special mention to madam yu, Yanli(he was always about that life),ji jin, quo shuting, xiang song and li zionweyi. I understood Xiang song death but I felt like guo shouting and li zionweyi died in a pointless way especially li zionweyi, it was so unnecessary and stupid.Anyways I was happy to see his character growth.
Honestly I really hate love triangles in general and I find it worse when they make both male leads so great that you find it hard to choose who the female lead should end up with so be prepared to deal with mentally trying not be too attached to a particular male lead. It also had a lot of nationalistic ideals that I really didn't care for but thankfully it didn't overshadow this drama.This drama also suffered from what many other Chinese dramas suffer from great first half episodes, then towards the last few episodes they do irrelevant things to further the plot ,so this reduced my rating but I really tried to wrap it well, it had a good end.
Asides that these drama was really great, love the military academic premise, the main and supporting characters did amazing job.there really wasn't any kissing scene between the leads but don't let that stop you from watching this drama, I went to YouTube while watching the drama and found the deleted sit up kiss, dancing scenes and locker kiss scene so I was able to flow with the story just fine.I wouldn't mind rewatching these drama again in a few years.There was hardly any boring scenes and you become so mentally and emotionally invested in these characters that you won't want to end the drama .So watch it really good.
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I don't even think I will be able to do justice of how good this drama is with this review but I couldn't resist ,this is my first official review which is just a testament of how awesome this drama was.
This is one of the most satisfying ending of a Korean Drama I have ever watched.there was no unnecessary death of beloved characters like other dramas do in the name of making it memorable ,the chemistry between the actors was on point, all the evil people got their deserved ending and I was happy about the characters that got redeemed as well.I also enjoyed the growth and character development, the character of amogee was honestly the best, he made such an impression on me. I also liked the romance no matter how small it was and I liked the clear distinction between the main leads 2 love interest and the choices they made.
The drama was not perfect it had its flaws but because of how well written the dialogue was and how well executed the drama was I still gave it a 10 because the ending really put a smile on my face.
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cute chemistry
Anytime I am watching a Thai drama, i seem to have a high tolerance and special patience for it but even this was frustrating to watch but the chemistry between the couple made me endure it and made it worth the watch.Things I like
1)Since I have been watching asian dramas, this drama is one of the dramas that had so many kisses ,in almost every 2 episodes which gave me something to look forward to and it had real kisses which were lovely to watch
2)Pan was such a strong female character and I liked how she always tried to stand up for her self and did not let the male character degrade her
3)I loved the plot of the drama,it was really interesting to watch and I like the pace of the drama
4)I like how the reason for misunderstanding were known quickly and they did not drag issues for too long
5)I liked how the secondary couples got their own good ending.
6)The cast were very good looking and they acted their roles well.
7)Anon, i loved the second male lead, he was such a stand up guy, funny enough I didn't get second male lead syndrome with him, cause I didn't want him to end up with the girl but he was such a perfect definition of loving someone so much you want to see them happy even if its not with you.I could even find any fault in anything he did,i hope I meet a guy like him even as a friend.
8)I realize a major theme in this drama was forgiveness, honestly the female lead is good on that front,lool it couldn't be me or could it, i don't know but if she is happy ,good for her.
Things/People I didn't like
1)I had a love-hate relationship with papol, mostly hate towards the later episodes, because I understand his dad did not not show him love and he hated his stepmom for being with the dad,i don't even blame him for seeing it that way or being angry because his mother lied to him as a child but that didn't even make his actions justifiable and I hate that he took it out on an innocent girl he claimed to love and did despicable things to her.If he loved her like he claimed he should have treated her better cause she literally tried her best to love him despite his actions towards her and not allowed his mother to get away with everything.
2)I HATED his mother,i feel like that quick death was to good for her but I am just glad they didn't try that bullshit forgiveness line with her.
3)I didn't like how pan's family kept pushing her to reconcile with him with the stupid perfect family line ,i was so annoyed on her behalf, all her anger was justified and I feel like the male lead should have particularly apologized for his mother's actions, like she almost caused her miscarriage only for him to tell his mother never mind, like really?
4)I feel like he didn't deserve pan at all ,he didn't properly atone and she forgive him too quickly but oh well at least their son is happy I guess and will have both his parents.
5)hmm Pan's sister was just something else, i still haven't forgiven her for not telling people pan was kidnapped, what if the worse happened, her redeeming quality is that she valued herself and will not settle for a love that is not returned, i liked that about her.
6)Pan's biological mother's actions were distasteful ,i don't even blame Mae jan(I didn't like her character either) for being angry, it was imply disloyal behavior but I am glad they worked things out.
I gave this drama 7.5 because of the male lead but I am being a bit petty,Despite these I love a good slap- kiss and these drama did the genre justice .I think you should watch these drama because it is interesting, acting is great and the MANY kisses ,honestly I liked how realistic they were on that front.I don't like rewatching dramas but I don't mind watching some clips because their chemistry was lovely to watch.
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lovely story
I don't know why it took me so long to watch this drama but I am glad I finally gave it a try. I really love the male lead despite his flaws.He was arrogant, confident,sily,funny,violent,sensitive but all these made him so endearing.I liked that Makino was strong and did not let her circumstances bring her down.I didn't like the unnecessary misunderstanding and his mother was really evil, the witch name is an accurate name for her but I am glad that were able to overcome the obstacles.I loved the F4 gang and I really enjoyed the whole premise of the story.This is my first official adaptation of this story I watched ,I dropped boys over flower because it was too draggy but I was able to finish this and I loved it.Also I loved the OST, flavor of love, it made me really feel their love and kept singing along to it. it had its flaws but it was such a lovely watch.
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I felt a little bit sorry for the villain
Watching this drama, I was annoyed by the fact that the female lead Sina couldn't see how her sister siriya was also wrong for becoming a mistress.I found it unfair how p'nat husband treated her and I could understand why she went crazy. Yes, she took it too push far by killing people but I feel like Khun Pipop is the true villain here.He deceived siriya that he was a single man and made her a mistress and still gave her most of his inheritance ,neglecting his wife that really loved him and was his legal wife.Anybody in her situation will be angry but she really went extreme and I totally condemn that, if she was evil from the start ,some actions would have been justified but to push her to the curb just because she couldn't have a child is unfair.I knew she was the culprit right from the beginning but the drama kept trying to deflect and prolong the suspense but it really wasn't hard to figure out but I liked how they explained and showed us how things happened and made it all come together.
I love how Sina was a strong character and could equally fight, i wasn't too happy with some of her actions especially when she was alienating p'nat but I get she was trying to protect her sister and she was such an independent strong character that we don't see often in a Thai lakorn.
I really liked the male lead and how nice and warmhearted he was and the chemistry between him and Sina was nice to see.I really wished they had more romantic scenes together .
Honestly this drama got really boring in the middle and I felt like this drama shouldn't have dragged the episodes, like nothing was happening ,they could have told cut out 10 episodes and the story would have be more enjoyable.
P'Nat was a very pitiable character to me ,definitely more than siriya ,even though I don't blame her because unlike siriya ,p'nat didn't get a lot of love from people especially from her husband and it was really sad how she couldn't have children but yet wanted them so badly.It just shows that no matter what someone does to you, it should never cause you to lose yourself and become evil.
In conclusion, the story would have been better with more romantic scenes and less episodes ,I would have given this drama a 7 become it did get boring but I gave it a 7.5 because of the refreshing male lead and the supporting characters especially P'nuan.
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