Reviews

Touching story about tricky personalities

Presumably this is a “love story” but thankfully there is more to it than that. An excellent performance by Leo Wu, demonstrating that a child prodigy from a difficult background is not naturally blessed with good communication or emotional management skills. Zhao Jinmai likewise shows that an over-protected, pampered prodigy princess can be a good person who is also a terrible whiner and painfully immature at the same time; FL and ML are almost polar opposites. By the tail end of the series I had heard enough of her pre-schooler-in-a-shopping-trolley whining voice, even wondering if it was dubbed.(I have noticed in C-drama there are a lot of female characters acting like spoilt children and whining to get their own way or worm their way into someone’s good books; not doing women’s equality any favours with these nonsensical portrayals, but they could be doing exactly what the director told them to do). By the time the episode of the family restaurant scene came about, I didn’t want to watch anymore, even though I knew the character portrayal was faithful to the trajectory of her childhood development. I was too irritated to care anymore. I kept watching to see a secondary relationship develop with Wang Xingyue’s character (among others) and I was sadly disappointed when that did not occur. Good acting, nice music, interesting plot lines, worth watching. I won’t re-watch though.

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Uninteresting and undecided

This BL lacks basically everything a BL should – at least for me – have: an engaging story, relatable and/or interesting characters, decent performances and chemistry between the main couple.
The story doesn’t have to be painfully plausible nor super realistic, it can contain a reasonable number of plot holes etc. etc. – but it has to be engaging, it needs to pull me in. The “Love Sea” story (there was one, you can take my word for that), was so uninteresting that I had to force myself to follow it. I also got the feeling that MAME couldn’t decide whether to focus on the relationship of Tongrak and Mahasamut or their personal issues (like self-doubt, trauma or inability to connect) or something else. The result, predictably, was poor: a story about a little of everything – eventually a story about nothing in particular. It was so unengaging that I couldn’t care less about its development or the characters involved.
Since I mentioned characters: I try to set the bar low – don’t be annoying, have something I will like you for and let me understand where you come from. Again, this was where “Love Sea” blew it, mainly because both main characters as well as the secondary couple are annoying like hell. This stems from both the script as well as from performances of Fort, Peat, Chanya and Aya (and Forth). Redeeming qualities? Hardly any and – in any case – far too few to balance it out. Sure, the story tried to explain why the characters are so unlikeable, but – at least for me – it didn’t change anything, I didn’t have a single “oh, now I get why X is like this – I’m gonna like X from now on” moment. If anything, I liked the characters even less.
I was wondering whether “Love Sea” would be any different – better perhaps – with a different cast. I still do not know that; what I know for a fact is that this cast made it worse. I used to think – having watched “Love In The Air” – that Fort and Peat had a decent chemistry; now I doubt that. There’s no chemistry between them here and the script is not helping it either; both Fort and Peat have exactly two poses each (Fort: smug and fake-caring; Peat: smug and whiny) and they switch between them, trying to produce something interesting – to no avail.

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If you are in doubt to give this drama a chance DONTT!!! You will love it

3/6 episodes are out and mahn the series has all my attention...If you liked drams like Atypical family, moving etc you will like this one gor sure.The gifted people storyline is not new but the execution is definitely interesting the way they do not give us any idea of the gifts of the characters is new, usually kdramas introduce the gifts of characters early on in every shows.This drama is definitely underrated I don't get why it is not getting the attention it truly deserves.
Do give it a chance you will not regret it:):)

Con: you have to wait one whole week for every new episode
:(

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Amazing story and acting, uneven ending

This is an amazingly creative writing, a very unusual Chinese xianxia trope, which is a high praise.
Acting, cast, music are all on point. There are some episodes first half that’s more draggy than necessary but for most part you can’t skip. For this I deducted half point.
The other half point deducted is the ending. It could have been done better. Don’t worry it is a good ending but having invested 31 chapters, we deserved more closures to all the characters.

Overall highly recommended and enjoyable. This year is truly a good year for cdrama watchers.

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A journey thru life and love

I absolutely love dramas that portray real life. It's like watching someone else's story unfold before your eyes. Just like all of us, the characters are flawed. They make mistakes, and sometimes, we don’t fully appreciate the value of someone in our lives until they're no longer there.

In this drama, at first, I was confused about why he didn’t believe in happy endings, settle down with someone he loved, or why he seemed to sabotage his past relationships. But after learning about his background, I thought, "Yeah, that makes sense." Our traits and approaches to love are often influenced by other factors, such as family issues or past relationships.

I love that they didn't create this series for people to fantasize about or romanticize the life of a gay person, because it was NEVER easy for them. I admire how they made it so realistic. One thing that made me love this drama was not the Gyu Ho and Go Yeong pairing, but Go Yeong's gay friends. The drama shows that while love may come and go, good friends will stay until the end.

I also want to mention that Go Yeong's relationship with Mi Ae was superb, but in the later episodes, we rarely heard about Mi Ae. Sometimes we have friends like that: we were really close in the past, but now they’re focusing on their own lives. There’s no beef or something, just new priorities.

It was nice seeing Go Yeong go through different kinds of problems and heartbreaks in life. Each of the guys he dated taught him something new. I really appreciate how flawed he was.

There were many topics addressed in this series, such as parents being in denial about their son's sexuality, the aftermath of sex, the idea that people can always change and grow, depression, and watching someone you love go through something. I loved it so much. I really hope there will be more series like this in the future, showing us that life isn’t always about being happy—and that’s okay. Life keeps spinning, and you just have to learn to navigate it.

Not everyone will like this, but if you can relate to Go Yeong—whether you're scared of coming out of the closet, or even if you're straight and enjoy watching someone go through different stages in life, sometimes lost, happy, or annoyed—then you'll probably appreciate this. It's not that sad, at least for me, but it's not exactly happy either. But one thing’s for sure, it somehow comforted me in an odd way.

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I watched many kdramas but this is MUST WATCH MASTERPIECE!!

Must watch drama for kdrama fans. Really this is the best drama of 2024. I can rewatch it many times without boring. Many people like chaebol characters, powerful fantasy characters but this drama characters are common people. They talked about how their real life is hard. I most liked it because i felt the drama is real not just a drama. After i really touched that they choose woo do hwan as ML. He really nailed it. I fell for Hea jo because his traits. Also the FL & ML chemistry is soo good. Also the drama name is suits for ML. Lastly i hope every kdrama fan can watch this drama.💗💗

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so good so far

I’m only on episode 2 and I’m addicted. the plot and the plot twists are really good. the casting is great Aswell the chemistry is there. I love the plotline romance meets mystery meets action. this popped up on my Netflix and I added it to my watchlist and started watching it last night. it’s great so far and I love it. the acting is great and I personally love romance/action plotlines especially in kdramas. there are 12 episodes in total and I can’t wait to watch all of them. for some reason the setting reminds of penthouse- it could just be me but it gives that vibe.

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A CRYING FEST

OMG IT’S SO GOOD!

i’d say the first four episodes are an introduction to the whole story. it could get a bit confusing since the narrative jumps from one character to another without warning. so at that point, i was just as confused as those characters in the series. the first half of the series feels more like a mystery thriller, while the second half becomes a sad story without any mystery or thriller elements.

the story of each character and how they are connected started to unfold in episode 5. it was kinda cool since we, as viewers, were figuring out the place and the light shop along with the characters. Lee Jung Eun’s and Ju Ji Hoon’s acting was sooooo amazing. the final episode, for me, was a crying fest.

i liked the idea of Seolhyun’s character becoming a lingering ghost—it’s understandable since she technically died to be with Hyunmin, but he doesn’t even remember her at all, both in the afterlife and in real life after he woke up from the coma.

i also liked how, at the end, the camera zoomed out and we could see other light shops around the neighborhood.

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Competent Cast Meets Incompetent Production.

"Could not connect the dots or the writer refused to let the audience think", I think is one the most annoying tropes among shows these days. This show could have been a mystery for the ages. 19 lives all intertwined to a butterfly effect meeting after a 1000 years for one single purpose but the writer decided to do a simple show with simple story without any consequences.

How it could have been watchable,
The writer could have given every life a purpose such as she is learning to grow and making up for her first life (as if she was cursed for a 1000 years). Make it so that every life was varied in some way and give us a glimpse of at least 2 each episode culminating to making us matching all the puzzles on how it all came to be.

Also it did not seem like the main two leads were meant to be together, yet somehow the writer decided to jerry rig something as flashback material for them to meet and live together. The other 2 past life knowers made no sense and could have been omitted from the whole show or given a reason (such as, they could have been cursed with her and the only way for them to forget is to help her). But it seemed they had their own way of hiding things witch made no sense at all. Why wont you have a well written book on what to do and not to do.

Also, give a reason why they are not super smart or super wealthy as they can just hide their wealth and come back and reclaim it after their reincarnation. Also, with their 1000 years of knowledge getting rich would have been a breeze.

Conclusion, it seems Korean drama has a older actress problem, always trying to take the spotlight but getting outshined by supporting actresses who are younger but given better material to work with. The show started fabulously but dipped to irrelevance quite quickly. I could not in my right mind continue to watch this show after the little girl died after a few episode and the slog of Romcom started.

A message to all directors and writers, "Give me a reason to care about your show after its ending or be forgotten. It is not hard to connect a show which only has 12 episodes. Its a shame most Korean drama has lost its mind and forgot to write deep material that will last a lifetime"

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The Series is Quite Tedious

I really didn't like this series. It's my own fault b/c I thought it was a comedy all the trailers I saw make it seem like that but its really a drama. Some comment I read said it was a tragicomedy and that's very accurate.

There are no real consequences for the husband, mother in law or the mistress. All of whom act like children throughout the series. Dr. Cha played the martyr throughout. Yes, the series is about her journey to self love but that doesn't mean other issues couldn't have been addressed but they played most of the husband's scenes for comedy and I think that irritated me the most. The husband is trash and not b/c he cheating on her but b/c he's mean, selfish and gaslighting her. In the 11th hour they tried to make him sympathetic and that pissed me off even more.

I did like the Dr. Roy & Dr. Jeon and I loved the main characters best friend, Mi Hee.

12/7/24

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Stellar acting compensates for plot gaps

Generally, plot holes of the size and frequency of the ones in this series have me dropping a show like it's a hot rock, but the depth of the characters and the outstanding cast kept me binging Red Swan. There are a lot of gaps in the story and deux ex machina has to be called in when reality and the space/time continuum threaten to get in the way of script absurdities, but I still enjoyed the series.

The entire cast is great, without exception, and they make the show addictively watchable despite its boatload of flaws. I ended up sympathetic to characters I thought I'd hate and hating characters for whom I started out sympathetic.

Kim Ha Neul plays O Wan Su, a self-made rags-to-riches success story. She's a woman determined that other children be spared the fear, uncertainty, and deprivation of her own childhood. Putting herself in a position to realize that goal cost the lives of her loved ones, and puts her own life at risk.

Rain is Seo Do Yun, a former police officer on a mission to solve the murder of his brother cop. His investigation entangles him with O Wan Su when it appears the same killer is gunning for her. Don't ask how we know that, just roll with it.

The two leads hooked me from the get-go. A near foxhole type lust moment between O Wan Su and Seo Do Yun after the sniper incident was smoking, and I loved their restrained intensity and moments of tenderness throughout the series.

Despite how well Rain and Kim Ha-Neul worked as the lead couple, comments on the ML/FL dynamic follow the standard MDL pattern: ML is a perfect swoon worthy hunk whom the inferior-in-every-way FL doesn't deserve or measure up to. That comment pattern is so predictable it ought to be baked into the MDL plot synopses just to save time.

My advice: ignore that drivel.

Some commenters are bothered that Kim Ha-Neul's characterization of O Wan Su wasn't more demonstrative. She's presented with the vulnerable stoicism of a woman who has faced unbearable loss and has no choice but to persevere.

Perhaps Kim Ha-Neul could have played O Wan Su as a weeping damsel, swooning with the vapors, back of her hand pressed melodramatically against her forehead, but O Wan Su has to be strong and relentless to survive, and a strong, relentless woman doesn't have the luxury to wail, flutter, fall apart, or swoon.

One more place I'll diverge from the pack: I thought the ending was perfect.

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Nancy Wu and Wayne Lai are great together in this drama 巾幗梟雄之懸崖 , 巾幗4

For those that do not know, the chinese name for this series 巾幗梟雄 is about strong heroines. Regardless of the story background, or which actor portrayed (or should portray) which character, the series overall is about strong heroines. In No Return, the 4th installment, Nancy Wu portrays the anti-heroine Seventh Master, a successful business woman. She is portrayed as strong outside, but very vulnerable on the inside. Wayne Lai is the person that helps turn Nancy from anti-heroine to heroine. The villain in the story is portrayed by Edwin Siu.

No Return is a rare drama for Nancy Wu in that she is the main focus, and given majority screen time unlike in many other dramas where she is not often given a lot of screen time despite the importance of her character. Her acting in this drama is excellent. If you watch the drama, you have to watch carefully and not just casually to see Nancy portray the nuances of Seventh Master. Her use of subtle facial expressions and eyes is important, not many actors can do it without looking unnatural. On the pier with being rejected in love, Nancy deftly portrays the feeling of a emotionally vulnerable, rejected and embarrased woman boss; one who tries to be stoic, and doesn't let her emotions show in public. We see her face subtly go from doubt and confusion to anger and disgust. She clenches her teeth [you have to look at her face to see her clench her teeth] before deciding to leave, but instead falls into the lake [she also refused a stunt double to do the scene she felt was very important] and feeling twice embarassed and refusing all help. The scene where she crys in Big Red Sister lap is heartfelt. and the four times in the drama where she drinks the 'horse piss' bitter medicine the first time she winches in disgust, later she gets used to the bitter taste and her facial expression taking the medicine changes. The way Nancy acts confident in some scenes where she is the boss, and vulnerable and weak, you can tell she puts much thought into every scene. Those that are dismissive of Nancy Wu are just biased or can't distinguish between good acting and those just reading a script.

Wayne's Lai acting in this drama is also very good, mixing a lot of dramatic acting, with a bit of comedy to portray Chai 17 the sometimes humble and obedient, sometimes self-righteous and take charge special assistant to Seventh Master. The chemistry between Wayne Lai and Nancy Wu is very heartfelt and believable; this drama also happened to be the pair's 8th collaboration together on a drama.

There were also the comedic elements of the drama between Nancy and Wayne which were acted very well by both. The one where nancy pulls out the wayne's love letter to hera chan, the timing and execution of the scene was nicely done by the two veteran actors.

For Hera Chan, she was given a great opportunity to learn from so many veteran actors, and improve for the next drama she will be cast in. Edwin Siu was good, wasn't that fond of his singular facial expression throughout the drama, but nonetheless acted competently.

Besides Wayne Lai and Nancy Wu, the best part of the drama is the costumes, scenery, and sets. Nancy Wu's character had around 30 costumes, with sets staged inside two large historic buildings, one for the bank scenes, and one for gwai faa lau restaurant, part of it being chai 17's family medicinal clinic. While there were historical inaccuracies like the Cantonese birthday song, and the singing of the Cantonese classic Red Candle Tears 紅燭淚 [written by 唐滌生 in 1951], and the occasional use of some english words, it's defensible as it adds to the stylized nature of this fiction. the english words can be thought of as a 1920s way of being hip, the cantonese birthday song can be thought of best way of showing the banding together of hing dai, and what better song than red candle tears to represent the feelings of Seventh Master for Chai 17?

Despite the good, the not so good part of this drama is the writing in some parts of it, especially at the end when the plot was rushed toward a conclusion. There were also a lot of guns being pointed directly at Nancy's head all the time including the few times she pointed one at her own head; I felt that was a bit disconcerting, but plotwise was a visual representation showing how vulnerable the Seventh Master was.

In various interviews given by Nancy Wu and Wayne Lai, this drama was mentally stressful for Nancy not just that she had to think about how to develop her character, but the almost 400 scenes and huge amount of dialogue to absorb within a truncated filming schedule of 75 days; Nancy had mentioned she lost weight filming. The screenwriter Zhang Huabiao 張華標 was also the screenwriter for 巾幗1 and 巾幗2.

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