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Only for Love
25 people found this review helpful
Nov 7, 2023
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

Why is the Chinese drama Only For Love the most sensual romance journey of the year?

I don’t know what everyone else is watching, but it is not Only for Love, considering their scoring. Dylan Wang and Bai Lu are giving masterpiece performances in this intelligently written cat and mouse game of love.

He works 24/7 growing his business, and has become quite successful, as he distances himself from the old money of his father. She is a financial and business reporter, only after the true story of his financial wisdom. The way she hooks him is a masterclass of what women do best.

Out of nowhere during her interview with him for her magazine, she begins to flirt with him. He is totally caught off guard, but recovers very quickly. The last thing he needs is to be diverted mentally from his business, away from his quest to make money. He is super intelligent, with great business acumen. He sees it coming and he knows how to avoid this flirtatious trap. What is working in her favor is that she is really knocked off her feet by him, but in the front of her mind, he is just a romance challenge to conquer. She is equally as intelligent, graduating from University with a double degree. It is just a game, she tells herself.

Only for Love is so sensual. The viewer anticipates each move of the other in this game of avoidance and entrapment, and the teasing games between the two is what draws you right in like foreplay.

Only For Love needs set-up time to allow this drama to smolder. Please don’t be impatient with this cat and mouse game.

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Gyeongseong Creature
11 people found this review helpful
Dec 26, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 5.5

It is tricky business trying to make a horror film when you don’t have the tools.

Park Seo Jun and Han So Hee are stepping out this year with a horror Korean Period Drama. Action takes place in 1945. Korea is still under Japanese occupation (1910-1945). Now there is a whole generation of Korean people who grew up under Japanese occupation and they know nothing else. They are even forced to speak Japanese as the national language. This is the backdrop of an unusual horror story. The action is actually scary to me and invites the hand in front of the eyes at times. The drama starts off excellent. If only it could have stayed at this level, I would have been so happy.

From this height at the beginning, the drama drifts off into standard fare and old outdated tropes, but it is just set in 1945. The writer is Kang Eun-kyung, who brought us Doctor Romantic 2 (One of my all-time favorites) and The World of the Married. It is directed by Director Chung Dong-yoon. Someone’s vision did not work for me. There was little logic to this action and the story many times insulted my intelligence. You have an imposing creature which can fend off the bullets of 50 men at one time, as it overcomes them in five minutes. Then you have one man with one gun who holds this creature at bay for 15 minutes, just because he is the handsome Park Seo Jun? With some of the action, as death is at the door and chaos is all around, that hero stops to give “the hero speech”. Could this have been moved to a more appropriate point in the action?

And where was the Script Supervisor when this drama was being filmed? They are suppose to keep track of props, lighting, blocking, and story sequences to ensure the script's integrity and believability. In one scene, the protagonists are hiding crouched down behind a structure that is three feet tall, to elude an army seeking to kill them in front. It is clearly noticeable the the gun one of the protagonists is holding sticks up a feet above this structure, as the protagonist gives another “hero speech”. The shooting is curtailed until he is completely finished. Would not the gun, protruding above the structure, clearly give off their position to the enemy thirty feet away? I can’t name them all, but each gaff knocked me out of the fantasy illusion and back to reality. Is this bad scriptwriting and/or bad directing? My number one pet peeve is that you are in need of a gun and you knock out a soldier and you leave the gun and the bullets with the unconscious soldier? What happens when the soldier wakes up? I am getting a headache.

There are some pluses, however, in this drama. The cast is a stacked cast with many Korean Drama favorite actors and actresses. They try to do their part with what should have been a thrilling horror Korean Drama. The cinematography is great and set design, lighting, and CGI are great.

Another thing which is endearing is Park Seo Jun. He has a signature in his acting. Park Seo Jun many times leaves behind comedic gestures in an scene, serious or not. While the other actor is being stoically serious, he will do something funny off side of the focus character. This is similar as with the signature of Lee Jong Suk, who tries to work in that little dance he does for his fans in all his dramas. Watch for these little messages to the fans for Jun. In one serious scene Park Seo Jun‘s character is consoling a very drunk friend (Wi Ha Joon). The Park character gives him his handkerchief to wipe his eyes, but the drunk blows his nose as well and then hands back the handkerchief. All while the drunk continues his drunk speech, Park Seo Jun takes the handkerchief and sniffs it, makes a funny face, and then throws it away. It is hard not to laugh at these little gestures in these serious moments. Will I watch season 2. I am trying to force myself, but I am still thinking it over.

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Flex X Cop
13 people found this review helpful
Feb 20, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5

This Korean Drama has a little bite to it.

This is an interesting drama. How do you categorize it? This is the story about the youngest son of the richest chaebol. He is pampered and a social media darling, but his greatest passion is to be a SWAT team member. This dismays his dad. It stars Ahn Bohyun. He is famous for his sculpted body and it is on display in the drama. That is just the gravy. What I really like about Flex X Cop is the actual Police drama part. Everything looks so realistic and orchestrated to have a real crime scene feel. In addition, the drama has some of the cleanest “fight” action I have seen in a drama. Ahn Bohyun must be a real AMA fighter. His “fight” movement is so authentic and crisp. It did not look forced and pretentious, like regular drama fight scenes do.

The drama also has a strong female lead, Park Ji-Hyun. Please, really pay attention to the fight scenes! At first, I was going to pass up Flex X Cop, but this drama really has a little teeth to it. I am going to go with this one. Flex X Cop is interestingly entertaining.

Ahn Bohyun—See You In My 19th Life, Yummy Cells, Military Prosecutor Doberman, and Descendants of the Sun.

Park Ji-Hyun—I love this actress from Reborn Rich, Rookie Historian,The King In Love and Do You Like Brahms?

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Troll Factory
8 people found this review helpful
May 31, 2024
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.5

I love movies that inform

What is the true power of the internet, even in the hands of youth? An action a youth started years ago in Korea employing the Internet got 16 million people to respond and take to the streets. Based on true events and witness accounts, Troll Factory explores how the media and social media outlets manipulate and drive public opinion, even if it is fake news. The movie has smoking music and a great point of view. The acting dream team delivers big time. Viewing is worth your time manipulation. You can rent this movie on ViKi.

Quote: “There is no truth in the perfect lie, but if the truth is mixed with the lie, a lie is mixed with the truth, and if it is not a perfect lie, it is not all lies. Truth mixed with lies feels more real than the real truth”, Journalist.

If one is not familiar with Trolling Factories and public opinion manipulation using the Internet, or one does not know all the street terms, Trolls Factory may be a learning experience or one may get lost in the fray. For me, it was a learning experience and I totally loved this movie. While the movie is rated PG 13, the movie had more cursing then I would have expected.

Sun Suk-ku (My Liberation Botes, Killer Paradox)

Kim Sung-cheol (Do You Like Brahms?, Our Beloved Summer)

Hong Kyung (Weak Hero Class 1, DP)

Kim Dong-hwi (The Deal, In Our Prime)

A Troll Farm or troll factory is an institutionalized group of internet trolls that seeks to interfere in political opinions and decision-making. Wikipedia

Products of troll factories include, among others: • fake social media profiles; harassment and bullying• entire websites created to support trolling operations.

Dictionary Definitions

Trolling—posting or commenting online to 'bait' people, which means deliberately provoking an argument or emotional reaction.

Doxing—search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet, typically with malicious intent.

Phubbing— the practice of ignoring one's companion or companions in order to pay attention to one's phone or other mobile device.

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Hidden Love
10 people found this review helpful
Jul 28, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 10

Love Springs From Youth

I guess we all have done it, pined over this boy or girl that we first saw when we were tweenies and maybe carried that crush into adulthood. Hidden Love is about a girl who meets a good friend of her much older brother. When she first sees him as a tweny, her heart drops. The expression on this little tweeny’s face when she first sees him is beyond classic. The little girl (Zhang Xiwei) who plays the tweeny is definitely someone to lookout for in Chinese Dramas in the future. She is a star and I am a fan already. The male lead at first meeting is near his twenties.

Note: While ML Chen Zhenyuan’s character does not approach the tweeny or acknowledges any crush ideas of the youth, there is a profound age difference between the two in the younger years of the story. This is handled discretely. He treats her like a little sister. A relationship does not start till she is in College.

The female and male leads of this endearing romantic drama about everlasting crushes are actress Zhao Lusi (Love Like the Galaxy) and singer/actor Chen Zheyuan (Handsome Siblings).

Hidden Love has a lot of extras in the drama that makes this Chinese Drama work; the open mental contemplations, the set design notations placed discretely about, and the wonderfully handled flashbacks all help bring insight into the thoughts and motivations of this young girl. Hidden Love will be a trip down memory lane for the many of us. I am willing to take this ride. The drama Hidden Love is a go for me.

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Bright Eyes in the Dark
7 people found this review helpful
Sep 22, 2023
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.5

My Dark Eyes For U

Literally, I have become a hound for all the Firefighter Rescue genre Chinese Dramas. The Chinese have this genre down to a Science, with thrilling action, unusual romance plots, and fantastic cinematography. The Chinese have been pulling out their heavy hitter A-lister actors for the starring roles in this popular genre. The latest of this genre is Bright Eyes in the Dark. You can not get more A-Listed than Johnny Huang (Moonshine and Valentine) and Zhang Jing Yi (Lighter and Princess). The cinematography is through the roof, with contrasts and shades and camera angles. The action is quite dramatic and compelling. You totally feel the emotions of the Firefighters who really need to put emotions aside. You just can’t save everyone. There is a golden 72 hours after a disaster event where Firefighters may work without sleep to save who they can. The objective of this drama seems to be “to go bigger and better than what has been done before”. I am just getting started and have viewed the 10 episodes dropped. I don’t know yet if this one will exceed “Fireworks of My Heart”. However, I was crying in the first 15 minutes. It is a blazing “go” for me.

There is always low drama times, when the firetrucks are in the station and the drama pays attention to character building. But when the trucks roll out, the high drama action begins.

Alert ! ! ! At the end of each episode you get practical tips for surviving a fire or disaster. This is a first for a Chinese drama, that I have seen. I found the tips helpful and useful BTW.

Alert ! ! ! The Female Lead is a modern Dancers by profession. This is an occupation I have not seen covered in an Asian drama. There are modern dance sequences too.

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A Journey to Love
7 people found this review helpful
Dec 7, 2023
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10

A Journey to Love is intensely exciting and well worth your viewing time.

A Journey to Love is possibly the Chinese Period Drama Epic for the year 2023. It’s star, Liu Yu Ning (The Long Ballard), seems mostly to get the characters who are the odd man out. If most turn right, his character’s natural inclination is to turn left. This character fits the acting personality of Liu Yu Ning. At 6’2”, Liu Ye Ning has a full presence in each drama scene.

A Journey to Love Wuxia (Chinese Martial Arts Drama) does not have religious overtones. However, this drama does cover virtues or paths. The drama enumerates six and one each of the main characters in this drama embody each attribute.

Help for defining the different paths or virtues.

Liudao Hall was founded by Taizu. It specializes in detective work.

Characters: Yuan Lu, Yu Shisan, Ning Yuan Zhou, Qian Zhao, Sun Lang


The Three Virtue Paths.
1. The Heaven Path encompasses royal security. (Qian Zhao)
2. The Human Path monitors officials. (Sun Lang)
3. Asura Path monitors prostitution. (Yu Shisan)

The Three Evil Paths or Scouts
1. The Hungry Ghost Path are those good at making traps (Yuan Lu)
2. The Animal Path specialize in spying ¥¥¥ Ren Ru Yi / Ren Xin
3. The Hell Path are the assassins. (Ning Yuan Zhou)

There is great cinematography and great use of unique camera angles, which keep the mind busy.

The Story

The women of the Scarlet Guard are from the Animal Path. They do not specifically get intensive training in martial arts. This lack leaves them defenseless at times, when carrying out their duties. However, several do have acute Martial Arts skills, like Ren Ru Yi / Ren Xin (Liu Shi Shi from Sound of the Desert). From where does this come?

Someone amongst the Royals seems to be trying to wipe out this lowly rank, and almost succeeds. However, one escapes. She is exquisitely trained in knife or blade work. Ning Yuan Zhou (Liu Yu Ning) is a clear witted and cunning assassin from the Hell Path. Throw in the very handsome Allen Fang (The Long Ballard) playing a very unusual character named Yu Shi San. This story is intensely charming, complicated and entertaining. A Journey To Love is worth your time commitment.

There is much court intrigue, action, and romance in A Journey To Love. This is an insta-classic.



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Iljimae
4 people found this review helpful
Aug 29, 2023
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Iljimae (2008) is an old classic to put on your list

Before Lee Joon Gi became iconic in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016), he starred in the little gem Iljimae (2008). This Korean Drama is a Joseon version of Robin Hood with touches of Hwarang. Lead actor Lee Joon Gi plays Gyeom/Yong-i/Iljimae, the Nobleman’s son who was orphaned as a child and forced to live as a poor commoner, due to political and ambitious wranglings. He takes up the banner of the disenfranchised, while trying to find the murderers of his father. The stars aligned perfectly for this classic Korean drama from 2008, Iljimae Season 1 rated PG 13. Nevertheless, even though Iljimae is an engaging story, at times it does drift off into silly comedy. This may bother some. There is word fighting in Iljimae.

Stars Lee Young-ah, Park Si-hoo, Lee Joon-gi, Han Hyo-joo

Because this is an old gem, many film concepts and techniques are “ole school”, like Cinematography and sound effects. Iljimae was produced back in the day when the action actors were hooked up to wires, which were often visible to some paying attention. This was during the time when action actors also did their own stunts. Lee Joon Gi is often seen doing his own stunts in this drama. Watch out for the original blindfold ‘Healer’ Kiss.

The “eyes” have it for this Korean Drama. A very young Lee Joon Gi could not look more handsome, playing the role of the action hero. His eyes are the most gorgeous feature of his moon pie face.

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Wonderful World
6 people found this review helpful
May 26, 2024
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.5

Which would you choose, Revenge or Redemption?

Wonderful World is a Crime Mystery Melodrama which is very emotional. There were a lot of moving parts to this drama which called for a lot of supporting story arcs. Wonderful World moved forward logically, and has big reveals. It has a stylish look and great music.

The buzz for this drama definitely will be the acting of Chae Eun-woo. This is the first role I have seen in which Chae Eun-woo is not a romantic lead. He is not playing in a Webtoon live action drama either. He is not playing a pretty boy. The mind needs a reset for this drama. Heretofore, Chae Eun-woo has appeared in great dramas as the romantic lead. He is now greatly broadening his horizons by pushing forth his acting skills in “non-romantic lead” parts that have meatier characters. I really like his new look.

The lead actress for Wonderful World is veteran actress Kim Nam-joo. I do not know what Kim Nam-joo was having for breakfast each morning, but baby girl acted her rear off. Her portrayal was strong and emotional, yet subdued. I would not be surprised if she got a nomination for a Baeksang Arts Awards for Best Actress for her performance in Wonderful World. The whole cast is great.

The plot-line of Wonderful World may leave the very sensitive emotionally drained. While these pertinent offending scenes are not seen on camera, these events are implied.

The highest episode rating Wonderful World received from the viewing public in Korea was 11.4%.

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Kekkon Yoteibi
5 people found this review helpful
Aug 7, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Okay, let’s just try something new. So far a real blast

Great OST. You are 29 and still unmarried. What to do? This Japanese Drama is so unusual and the premise is so far out, I want to say as little as possible, otherwise this drama may be spoiled. The drama challenges the boundaries of marriage and reality and our Plans of Life. Only the first episode is out as of 6 August 2023, but it may be worth your time to check out the first episode to see if this Japanese drama is something you want added to your list for future binging or you find that this is a crash and burn. For me, I am going to view this one real-time. I am interested to see what comes next.

It is funny that this drama picked me. I just tried to watch a trailer and Episode 1 started playing. So I just watched the first episode and it seemed interesting enough to watch the whole series. The series is on VIKI. Each episode is 30 minutes.

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Love Song for Illusion
5 people found this review helpful
Jan 8, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.5

How good is the Korean Drama ‘Love Song for Illusion’ 2024, with Park Ji Hoon?

I am so excited about this Korean Drama I can’t wait for the next episode to drop. Crown Prince has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), brought on by childhood trauma. The premise is unusual, like ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ Joseon style. The passion of the Crown Prince is dress designing. The Crown Prince is hated by a father who is an illegitimate King who stole the throne. Love Song for Illusion is based off of a Naver Webtoon by the same name by Vanziun.

The Crown Prince is his own evil twin. The drama music is smoking. The Crown Prince has great bravado when he is the “Evil Twin” and is the nicest wimp as the “Good Twin” in this Romance Action Thriller, with Court intrigue. There is great choreographed dancing in this drama. Frankly, Love Song for Illusions has one of the more inventive storylines in a while, as more Korean writers are starting to think outside of the box when writing Korean dramas. A King with DID, a revenging Assassin who has lost her memory and finds herself a Concubine to the Crown Prince and she likes the Wimp better, a Crown Prince who is competing with his other personality as the Second Lead, a rebellious second half-brother scheming for the Throne. It is all working for me. Love Song for Illusion for me is making me just as excited as the Korean Drama Perfect Marriage and Revenge. I am viewing this real-time. Head Talk Galore.


Actors Corner

Hong Ye-ji is a star. She can act. She can dance. She looks good doing Martial Arts skills. I am totally impressed with the female lead. And Hong Ye-ji and Park Ji Hoon have great chemistry. Look for Hong Ye-ji in the upcoming 2024 drama The Crown Prince Has Disappeared, with Suho from EXO.

Park Ji Hoon is a K-pop star and actor who began his acting career as a child. Park Ji Hoon always gives great unusual performances. He is called upon for a double role in Love Song for Illusions. Park Ji Hoon brings great bravado and simpleness to the roles as he plays opposite personalities.

Hwang Hee—I have always loved this underrated actor, who has appeared in Dali and the Cocky Prince and Arthdal Chronicles among many Korean dramas.


Chinese drama equivalent is Fall In Love, also about Dissociative Disorder (DID) and both personalities are the First and Second Leads.

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Eye Love You
3 people found this review helpful
Mar 15, 2024
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

This quaint Japanese drama is a great surprise hit for me.

Fumi Nikaido as Yuri Motomiya and Chae Jong-Hyeop as Yoon Te-O. This is a May/December pairing.

I believe that Chae Jong-Hyeop did a great job. He was very good when speaking Japanese, but his cadence is a little slower than native speakers. Don’t worry about the origin of this drama, most everyone will adore it.

This is a quaint and cute decompressor Japanese Drama about a girl (Fumi Nikaido as Yuri Motomiya) who can hear what people are voicing in their minds when she looks them in the eye. Her world consist of work and more work, since she is the CEO of her company. She does not have time for a relationship or time to cook. So she orders out constantly. The delivery guy (Chae Jong-Hyeop as Yoon Te-O) who drops off her food on a table by the door is a Korean living in Japan, while going to college. He starts leaving her little notes on what foods to buy and from where. His food choices are a hit for her and a familiar connection evolves. At first, they chat through quaint little notes. Will this Foodie and the Delivery Guy ever meet eye to eye? They do finally. However, she discovers a glitch with her hearing the voices in his mind. The Delivery Guy thinks in Korean. She is Japanese. Therefore, even though she can hear his thoughts, since she does not know Korean she does not understand what he is saying in his mind. You will rush through these episodes. The showcase of all that delicious looking food will make many hungry for Korean food.

Note: Many Japanese actors are tiny. Chae Jong-Hyeop towers above his female co-Star and other cast members. Besides his native tongue of Korean, Chae Jong-Hyeop speaks Japanese and English.

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My Dearest
3 people found this review helpful
Sep 23, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Elegant and Graceful

My Dearest (2023)

With some Korean actors, you just learn to trust their judgement in picking great Korean Dramas in which to act. I took on this drama ‘My Dearest’, because of the actor Namkoong Min. Within minutes of viewing, I knew that I made the right decision for me.

The period covered in the story, pasted around actual factual history, is 1636-1659 CE. ‘My Dearest’ starts out in 1659 and goes back to 1636 for the backstory. Lots of period Korean culture is on display in this drama, including historic instrumental music. The historian for this drama did a great research job.

Joseon gets embroiled between the Chinese Jin and Ming Dynasties, plus the Japanese. The Chinese barbarians, with a huge military force, declares war on Joseon. The Chinese are a skilled fighting force. They come up against the drafted Joseon intellectual and political elite who seem as rag-tag against this dominating military presence. Based on this backdrop is a beautifully emerging story of forever love.

Quote: “Have you ever heard the sound of flowers in bloom? I heard that rare sound today (when he first met her).” Male Lead gazing into the eyes of the Female Lead.

The Male Lead character Lee Jang-hyu is arrogant and worldly-wise. The Female Lead character Yoo Gil-chae is very conceited and forceful. This is a playful match. ‘My Dearest’ is such a realistic Korean Drama, with realistic people who have huge faults. In addition, much attention is paid to building these characters, each with unusual personalities. ‘My Dearest’ is rich storytelling, unique dramatization blended into historical facts. Many are going to find this drama intriguing. There is sword fighting in this drama.

I think that ‘My Dearest’ could be an Insta-Classic at its present meteoric ratings pace.

Two really good actors stack the cast. Watch for their facial expressions, those little nuances which raises an actor above the crowd.

Namkoong Min (Hot Stove League, Remember: War of the Sun) playing Lee Jang-hyu is a dubious and mysterious nobleman. Ahn Eun-jin (More Than Friends) playing Yoo Gil-chae is an erasable spoiled Aristocrat. They are a hot couple who will draw you right in. This Korean Drama is a go for me.

Chinese comparison Drama is Love Like the Galaxy.

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Captivating the King
17 people found this review helpful
Feb 10, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

This is a rich well written story with a wonder love match around the game of Go.

Captivating the King is a Period Korean Drama you definitely want to watch this year of 2024. I had fully written up ‘Captivating the King’, then I had to go back and toss that writeup. In this Korean Drama, the viewer gets a Korean Drama first. See if you can identity what happens in this drama, which in my 250 viewed Asian Dramas, I have not seen. I have seen this occurrence happen with a secondary leads, but not with the Main Male Lead. ‘Captivating the King’ is intelligently written with a polished plot-line. There is skilled acting by all of the drama actors too, in this stacked cast.

The Story

When Korea’s Joseon Dynasty became a tributary to the Chinese Qing Dynasty in 1636, Joseon was told to cut ties with the Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), who had been helping them for Centuries. While under the Ming Dynasty (Ming Dynasty reigned from 1368 to1644), the people of Joseon enjoyed more humane favors comparatively to being under the Qing. Now the once small nation of Qing has risen to great power, and the Qing Dynasty rules through retaliation and brutality.

The Qing Dynasty maintains strict order by holding captive in China Korean people of the Royal Courts. One such hostage from Korea is its Grand Prince Yi In. He is a very likable person when compared against his ever maddening brother, King Yi Sun of Joseon. After some time in captivity, Grand Prince Yi In finally is allowed to come home for a visit.

The Grand Prince loves the board game Baduk (Go), and Yi In is a great Baduk player, having honed his skills in China while being held in captivity. Upon his return to Korea, he meets a girl pretending to be a lad (Kang Mong Woo/Kang Hee Soo). She is a great Baduk player too and has an unbroken record of wins. However, game play is frowned upon for women, because of the male associations. Thus, she feels a need to hide her identity. The cutest love story emerges underneath this game of Baduk (Go), which channels around mystery and intrigue. Also there is much Court Intrigue in this drama. For likability, ‘Captivating the King’ is on the level of The Red Sleeve and My Dearest. It is a rich story which draws you right in.

Quote: “To wish for life when you love them and death when you hate them. Wishing them to live while wishing them to die. That is what it means to be captivated.” From The Captivated King.

Actors Corner

The stars of ‘Captivating the King’ are actress Shin Sae Kyeong (The Girl Who Sees Smells, Six Flying Dragons) and actor Jo Jung Suk (Hospital Playlist Series, The King: 2 Hearts), who is also an accomplished musical Theater performer. These are two powerhouse stars in Captivating the King. Both are at a level where the meatier dramas are offered to them. Both acting performances are at a stellar level in this drama. Shin Sae Kyeong and Jo Jung Suk are giving a master class of acting.

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Knight Flower
3 people found this review helpful
Feb 10, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

A Later Bloomer, but a Sure Winner

The Story

In this Historical RomCom Mystery, a mature widow, with great martial arts skills, rights injustices by night. Fascinating, she is, to a young Officer of the Courts who is tasked with discovering night criminals. Is this a perfect match under the moonlight?

In Knight Flower, this widow lives with her mother-in-law and is not suppose to leave the compound. She sneaks out at night like an assassin to aid those in need. The widow has a very interesting back story. Widows are kept inside so that they don’t sin with their eyes and heart during the mourning period. However, her quest is to serve the poor. The people find this widow graceful, classy, and of great beauty. The young officer finds her clumsy and cumbersome, but wildly alluring and seeks to protect her. Knight Flower is a play on words with Night Flower.

‘Knight Flower’ did not pass my 15 minute “Love It or Leave It” test, however, I saw enough raw material present to foresee that this might be a winner. Sometimes you have to step outside of your comfort zone. Knight Flower did take off by the end of episode one. My hunch was proved right big time. The main couple is a May/December pairing. There is great chemistry between the two leads. There seems to be another May/December pairing in this drama too, involving an older man and younger women. The OSTs in Korean Dramas in general have been great lately, in the new Korean Dramas this year of 2024. K-pop now has its full presence in K-drama. The OST of Knight Flower has a few really great songs. The songs are so good, many will sit-down dance when hearing them.

Quotes from the Drama Knight Flower

What one holds in her heart is her will, and what one speaks is her words, so what one can do is to be careful of that.” Knight Flower (What on says and what one does may differ. It depends on the heart condition)

Knight Glowers—They are Rainbow pink flower, huh? Their stems are like bamboo, and they bloom on rocks, huh? From Korean Drama ‘The Knight Flower’.

A fierce tiger can become a rat. [Or A King who loses authority is overwhelmed by his subjects]. Knight Flower

Actors Corner

Lee Ha Nee (Honey)—Former Miss South Korea turned actress, Lee Ha Nee really showed up in Knight Flower. Her acting in Knight Flower is blowing me away. She has just the right touch of comedy and seriousness for this part. Lee Ha Nee has four dramas dropping this year of 2024, The Fiery Priest 2, Aema, Knight Flower, and one already score big even before its American release is Klaus 47 (Based on a true story). She is 5’8” tall.

Lee Jong-Won—Actor/Model at 6’0” tall, Lee Jong-Won is portraying his character with such endearment. You easily give into the notion that he is captivated by this older woman. Lee Jong-Won previously gave an award winning performance in The Golden Spoon and also can be seen in Hospital Playlist 2.

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