Beautiful and Romantic

The opening graphics were beautiful, (reminded me of Tale of The Nine Tailed. Gosh, where can I buy the prints ). It sets the mood for the story and I took my time to see it on every episode. Kim Young Dae is so versatile, he can play silly and super arrogant, all while being handsome, like in “Sh**ting Stars”. The chemistry of the leads grew on me over time, but did take some effort to believe it by halfway through the series.

Not all fantasy stories have happy ever after, most keep consistent with the underlying premise. I thought this one satisfying but not unique. My all time favorite fantasy is “Goblin”, this series doesn’t reach Goblin’s standards but I still enjoyed it.

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Speaking Italian

Most memorable for me: Song Joong Ki’s wonderfully deep voice speaking Italian (yum!); Ok Teac Yeon’s interspersing perfectly spoken American slang into his Korean dialogue ( wonder how much was his adlib); Jeon Yeo Been’s imitation of her boss’s dance moves (LOL); and Jeon’s high heeled skip and strut (gotta try that!). This series was very violent and needed the ridiculous humor to offset the darkness. There are plenty of off the scale premises and characters that I had to accept but no more than most of ‘Wuxian’ dramas I’ve seen. I enjoyed this series very much in that it was different. I can’t watch CEO/Cinderella or High School romances 100% of the time.

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Delightful!

I originally put off seeing this since I thought it was another Noona romance, but I found the series to be so fun to watch . The premise (noblewoman as a ninja-like avenger) is sightly ridiculous but presented with a sarcastic “tongue in cheek” that made it surprisingly fun. Lee Ha Nee is a talented actress, not afraid to do comedyic scenes. She tried hard to create some chemistry with Lee Jong Won but I found the 11 years age difference too much to overcome. They kept it sweet, though, and that made the romance more believable. Lee Jong Won is very attractive and capable actor. I enjoyed this series, which I am glad they kept at 12 episodes, short but sweet.

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I loved it but writers failed on the ending

I’m a Zhao Lusi fan. She has always been appealing but lately her acting been more mature and effective. This pairing with Liu Yun Ning was the highlight of The Long Ballad , so happy they are matched again here.
This is one of the best Chinese series, I have yet seen. Excellent acting, the production values were awesome. The storyline was very exciting. I saw it with english subtitles so the script appeared to be good,although my main complaint is the ending.

SPOILER;
I would have liked to see a “Jane Eyre” take. Mr. Rochester is not a pure hero lead, so cannot have an idyllic ending. The same for Yan, who will torture and kill in order to achieve his revenge. Mr. Rochester, blind but content surrounded by his family… Can you imagine Yan ending the same?
Instead, the last scene is a distance shot of a caravan with a voice over. -Boring and confusing. Maybe, this leaves a season 2 opening?

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Took a while to warm up

Characters in 1st half were not very likeable, too abrasive or too pathetic. Don’t give up, they and the plot become better in the 2nd half.
My pet peeve: Terrible wardrobes of both FL and ML. Maybe, Kim Jung Hyun wrote a clause that he would only wear loose comfortable clothes. He was still very handsome but poor Im Soo Hyang is left wearing rejects from thrift stores, most ill fitted. I guess it did reflect Gye Jeol’s personality but for me, she was portrayed as little too ditsy. Did she really pass medical school?
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*spoilers
Confusing background story from writers since the past lives shown was not the origination of the “curse”. Too bad, they didn’t dramatized that story rather than just have it talked about. It seemed more interesting.
I am conflicted on the ending. Sometimes I think I liked it, then I don’t. Felt same for my all-time favorites: Crash Landing and Goblin. Oh, well- I think I’ll just rewatch “Mr. Queen”, Jung Hyun and the series was fantastic, the ending, too!

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Plot Fails Nana and Minki Pairing

I really wanted to like this series. This is the first time I have seen Nana and Minki, who are both beautiful/handsome and very good actors. BUT-The plot was so repetitive (he rejects her, then turns around so many times), with too many subplots ( too many unnecessary romantic pairings). Some of the things he says were so cruel that it seemed past redemption and sympathy. The fantasy should have been better focused and had have been better developed or just eliminated. Oh well. Wonderful acting by the actresses playing the leads’ mothers, Kim Ho Jung and Lee Hwi Hyang.

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Couldn’t Finish First Eoisode

Such a difference in production quality, pacing and storyline from 8 years ago to today. I wanted to watch this series because it had a young Park Seo-Jun, and it had some tempting clips on youtube. But the first episode had the longest slowest and boring bike ride (pacing!). Sorry, I couldn’t finish it.
I was hesitant to start watching K-Dramas at first but they have improved so much in the last decade. I feel the current dramas are better than even US TV. Now I am addicted.
Better use of my time to rewatch Itaewon Class or What’s Wrong with Secretary Woo.

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