I loved this a lot, honestly. The friendships were really heartwarming, and the male lead was perfect. The female lead was definitely a little annoying sometimes, but even so, I liked how she was able to stand up for herself.

The main thing that makes me want to rip my hair out is...THE ENDING. UGHHHH. The ending could be definitely seen as realistic and bittersweet, but to me, it just left me upset and unsatisfied. My heart hurts because of it and it will hurt forever.

Overall, the entire vibe of this drama was so wholesome and cozy; it was refreshing to watch something a little less modern and a little softer.

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The first episode is honestly a hot mess. Watch it, but hold off on your judgment.

Once you get past the confusion of the beginning, this drama isn't too bad. I liked that the main character stood up for herself, and I liked the friendships with classmates. At the same time, however, it was hard to tell what the plot actually was, and the story kind of seemed like one cliche after another.

Having watched this after Put Your Head On My Shoulder, I definitely had trouble getting used to Xing Fei's dubbed voice; the voice they gave her was honestly a bit shrilly and annoying, but I got used to it.

My favorite character was probably Han Yu, and I wish he got more screentime.

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I watched this because it was iconic. And from the very second the FL started talking, I knew I'd hate her. I hated the main female lead from start to finish—I don't know if it was the acting or the actual character, but Geum Jan Di was pouty, whiny, and flat out annoying.

I never really cared for Jun Pyo either—and I definitely felt second lead syndrome, though at the same time my heart didn't care THAT much. The more I think about it the more problematic it seems, and Jun-Pyo simply seems violent and abusive.

The story is honestly hard to believe — it's the very cliche kind where literally EVERYTHING happens to the main leads and it's pretty nonsensical.

With that being said, all 5/10 of my rating is for THE SECOND SHIP. I SHIP THEM SO DAMN HARD AND I AM SO HAPPY WITH THE WAY THEY GOT TOGETHER. THIS 7/10 IS FOR THEM. The second reason is the OST, which I gotta say, is pretty damn good.

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This was super cute, fluffy, and I just loved everything about it at first. The ML and FL were likable, the relationship was hilarious, and just the cinematography and aesthetic of the entire drama was adorable.

The biggest problem I have is honestly the way mental health was addressed, which, no matter how I think about it, was really problematic especially in the later episodes. While I understand that the character struggling was the antagonist, it seemed like they were just a hindrance and talk about suicide/self-harm were never sufficiently addressed as an issue.

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Vibes but no plot

This review is coming at you from a non-novel reader, just FYI. But it's another one of these beloved dramas that I ended up just not quite clicking with.

The concept is fantastic. I love a good time travel / isekai type story à la Scarlet Heart Ryeo or Romance of Tiger and Rose. The acting is sometimes good and sometimes a little awkward.

I feel like my main issue with this drama is that so much of it feels unearned and aimless.

There's a sort of "mystery" subplot surrounding a conspiracy reveal that appears for maybe three episodes, and it's all played out so fast from the moment it's first mentioned to the final reveal. We never really follow the story; we just know it's happening in the background, and then the big reveal happens and the story just ends.

The romance, which is the biggest part of the story, gives me much of the same feeling. I am absolutely a hater of insta-love and "destined love," and here it really does show my biggest problem with it. I'm just not understanding why or when they fell in love with each other, and we're given these romantic moments when I feel like they should still be getting to know each other better. It's weird because the potential is definitely there — the massage scene, for example, is A+ — but it would've been even better if it felt earned.

It also feels aimless in the sense of Jom's time travelling not being explained. It's explored at the start when he's so frazzled and trying to figure out what's happening, but he gradually just starts living a normal life. His situation is only addressed when he's forcibly confronted with it, and it leaves a lot of questions by the end. I constantly wished the drama went deeper into this aspect and upped the stakes. I think this is where the conspiracy subplot could've been used, because it could've given Jom a goal, and a "oh, THIS is why I came back" moment.

Ultimately, the ending also feels quite rushed. I know there's a sequel though, so maybe it'll help. Nevertheless, I think the vibes are still there, and I know the novel probably explains more, but from a drama-only perspective, that's what I felt.

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When I first started watching this, I was honestly expecting a horror/thriller. And yes, there were a lot of moments that had me at the edge of my seat — who's going to make it and who's not? The stakes always felt so high.

They got me so invested in all the characters and fleshed out the character development for pretty much everyone, which is really hard to do in a simple two hour movie. I was really emotionally connected to all the characters and yes, there was a lot of crying.

Essentially, this is so much more than a zombie movie. Yes, there are zombies and they freaked me out, but the story was so much more about human nature. There's a lot of social commentary about how the homeless is treated, about selfishness, about how easily distrust is sewn between one another...I felt a lot of references to Macbeth and Lord of the Flies when I was watching this — but with ten times the emotional impact.

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A Painful Drag

I was really excited for this one and I know it had gotten huge but goddamn. This was insanely painful to watch.

The main plot of the story is comprised of characters never communicating with each other, whether it's between family members or between the main leads. The family members don't treat each other with respect or talk through arguments — it's just yelling.

As for the romance, I've seen my fair share of nosy second leads but good god, the main leads just made it so EASY. The second leads barely had to do anything before the leads made assumptions, got jealous, and stopped talking to each other. Even after they got together, the relationship was comprised of keeping secrets or "not having the chance to tell each other" things until they found out through other means. It just all got really repetitive and was even more annoying because everything felt self-inflicted.

I also just hate the way they wrote the female characters in this drama — it was like the writers kept forcing their male characters to "take care" of them by making them immensely illogical and childish. Whether it was just being angry at the idea that two people in a relationship need their own space, or just trying to play hard-to-get to the point of messing with the other person's feelings, I just really despised how the women were portrayed. The main lead was really childish and overreactive, and the side characters were the same. TLDR: Nobody communicated. Ever.

Overall, this was an irritating watch and it took a long time for me to get through it — I know Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi are A-Listers but the chemistry was mediocre and the plot really dragged everything else down.

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Nuance and Cinematography

This is hands down the most nuanced and most fleshed out version of Hana Yori Dango (that I've watched), and for a drama that seems so chock full of cliches and out-of-the-blue plot developments and cliches, it felt like F4 Thailand was the most cohesive of them all too — I never once felt like things were underdeveloped or came out of nowhere. Side character arcs were all given their time and space.

I really love how modernized this is in terms of all the tropes; HYD is basically a hodgepodge of all the tropes but F4 Thailand managed to pull them off without making them seem tired and annoying. The bullying, insecurity, economic class, familial pressure themes were kept really consistent throughout the entire show even as different characters come in and out.

I do think the vibe of the show was pretty modernized as well — older versions of HYD added a really dramatic layer to some of the scenes and I was glad that everything just felt a little more realistic (as realistic as HYD could be, at least). Gorya was a really likable protagonist who used her brain a lot and didn't rush into things without thinking. Thyme's character development was done really well. The downside, and I don't know if this has to do with the fact that I know the story, but it's that I never felt as though the stakes were very high.

I have to admit that HYD was never my favorite drama so there are some arcs that I wish weren't included but of course they were, and there were other arcs like Kavin/Kaning that I wish had gotten more time to be developed.

I also think that for the most part, the actors did a great job — but you could definitely tell who was experienced and who was a rookie; I felt as though I could feel Bright and Win's emotions with my entire soul, but when other characters were crying or breaking down, it sort of just felt like acting.

Overall, definitely the best version of HYD out there; I think a bigger HYD fan might enjoy it but I admit it was never one of my favorite stories anyways. Even then, I felt like cinematography throughout the entire show was beautiful and I really liked that there were even mini tropes that were gently subverted in small scenes. The OST is beautiful and these are pieces of artistry that anyone can enjoy.

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Thought-provoking and masterful storytelling

This is the type of movie that starts out quiet and funny, but spirals down into something more scary and dramatic, all without being jarring. The subtlety was one of Parasite's best traits, and it's why I couldn't stop thinking about the symbolism, the theories afterwards. I've found so many small hints that I missed while watching it and now it just blows my mind more

The cinematography was beautiful. My favorite was the montage of the family carrying out their grand plan for the housekeeper, but throughout the movie you could tell that every scene was thought-out and its message about the distribution of wealth and elitism was depicted brilliantly in the cinematography alone.

Overall, Parasite was so cleverly made, and all the characters were very realistic, and the movie sets up people on both sides without vilifying anyone. The music was also edited in really well — when things were about to happen, the music got sinister and I felt nervousness. In the moment, though, there was nothing that really made me feel surprised. The epilogue and ambiguity of many plot points are things that you grow to appreciate, but it's a movie that you have to think about afterwards.

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A slowwwwwww burn

So this drama requires one big thing from its audience: patience.

It starts out slow; a lot of the early episodes are focused on establishing setting — the competitiveness of and within academies, how it clashes with public schools, etc. We see our main female lead, a star academy teacher, get caught up right in the middle of it, and its only after all of this do we get a little glimpse of an interaction between her and the male lead. It looks like a lot of people had already dropped the drama by then, and those people missed out — the chemistry between them is FANTASTIC.

But I don't blame them. The unfortunate truth is that the academy setting and plot just...isn't that interesting, despite how well-written it is. We've seen similar themes in other dramas — pressure on students, overbearing parenting, backstabbing coworkers — and honestly, those dramas were right to do it with more flair and flamboyance. While I appreciate how down-to-earth and realistic the conversations and lessons are (There are some that are truly heartwarming, like seeing a teacher rediscover her passion), there's really only one A-plot, and it really does start to drag. There's only one thing going on; we're spending too much time on it when I'd rather be with the main leads, or even getting more depth for our second leads, who end up really underdeveloped.

The melodrama-style editing doesn't help the slowness; while the melo vibes of the show really work towards the drama's favor when we're just spending time with our leads and watching fall in love and be in love, it also means we linger on the other academy-centric moments, and I find myself zoning out when an academy lecture scene about the history of Korea (or something) goes on for ten minutes, or even if the antagonists are having some really long, drawn-out conversation.

By the end, it feels like the main plot is a little underwhelming for how much time we spent on it, and I wish we'd spent more time just seeing our main leads happy or even just doing something different, something that's not lecturing or eating dinner (lol).

Honestly though, the main leads are absolutely golden. The chemistry is amazing, I love love love the communication and the tension between them, and their little flashbacks were so cute. It's crazy that they're the the main leads and it still feels like they didn't get enough screentime together. We just needed this drama to be a little more romance and a little less everything else.

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Great, but not as great as S1

This was still really great and captivating — I couldn't wait to see how the mystery would turn out now that we were getting into who was behind the killer, and it definitely felt like the villains and the good guys were going head-to-head and you didn't know who would have the upper hand and where. There was a lot of great tension whenever they had to sneak into places or were trying to work undercover.

I think the way the story plays out is just okay though; it doesn't quite feel as fleshed out, and there are reveals that I was looking forwards to that ended up being sort of underwhelming.

The best part of this season, however, is absolutely the trio of Ren Fei/Lian Yan Dong/Ji Si Qi. They hit this perfect balance of being in law enforcement and working outside of it, while giving off this "found family" feeling. I REALLY wish we got more of them, whether they were plotting or having an awkward meal together.

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A slow burn

It took me a long time to get into this — I rarely watch historical dramas, much less something so heavy, so I had a lot of trouble with the character tree and not really understanding what the backstory was.

About 25 episodes in, however, I really started to hit my stride. I was really interested in how the different plots would unfold, and especially in the tension between the main characters Mei Changsu and Jingyan as we gradually got a few identity reveals — none of them disappointed.

Overall, I ended up really enjoying this one and would probably enjoy it a little more had it not been for the ending, which I understand thematically but still feels tacked on. It always feels kind of underwhelming when a drama adds a mini plot after the main one is over. It feels unexplained and rushed, and I really will just…pretend it doesn’t exist, to be honest.

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