Reviews

Comedy meets heartfelt lessons in this fun twist on fake marriage and newfound family

‘No Gain, No Love’ is an amazing rendition of a rom-com done right. The classic trope of fake marriage is explored from a fresh, new perspective. Originally formed out of mere convenience, as the episodes run on, the leads’ relationship satisfyingly slips into what can only be labeled as a bright, bubbly romance. This transformation allows the leads’ true personalities shine strong, and reveal their most vulnerable and beautiful sides. The series manages to balance serious matters and romcom in perfect harmony, using this blend of genres to bring its hilarious and heart-touching plot to life. It offers its fun spin on fake marriage all while staying true to its core message: that family is not determined by blood, but is determined by the heart.

Inspiring, heartwarming, and brought to life with formidable acting, the characters are full of life, and their psychological growth is unarguably a significant part of the series’ forte. It is both refreshingly perfect and realistic as can be. Though the main characters’ true values and motives in life essentially stay the same throughout the 12 episodes, their decisions reveal that their mindsets have evolved into something much stronger, giving them the strength to find confidence in the actions they choose to take. The difficulties they face only strengthen their bond, making the chemistry they share even more appealing to the audience. Enhanced with mature romance, the leads’ relationship forces them to endure trials that make them step out of their comfort zone. Each difficulty they endure together allows them to see each other under a new light and gives them the opportunity to learn about one another in different contexts. Over time, they harbour strength and love in each other through these hard times, causing a strong and genuine connection to form—slowly but surely.

Though the plot is filled with events, the pacing of these exciting and enthralling happenings is perfect, though they could benefit from better closure. Each one of the storyline’s twists and turns all add up in creating a shift in the leads’ personalities, contributing to their growth. Once individuals who had fallen deep into the bad habit of letting their flaws dictate their everyday lives, they learn to free themselves, and the series ends on an inspiring note regarding this matter. Son Hae-yeong and Kim Ji-uk’s relationship is what fosters this growth, as it allows them to stray from the path of their everyday-life routines. Essentially, their initial connection is not only the start of a touching love story, but it also represents the commencement of their own exploration of self. The qualities they bring out of each other allow viewers to grasp a hold on their true personalities, and their depth crafts a sense of realisticness out of the unique relationship they share. This furthermore deepens the series’ essence, proving that love knows no boundaries and can be harbored out of even the most inconvenient situations.

The leads are depthfully crafted, with flaws made clear from the very start. Kim Ji-uk, the male lead, has a low esteem of self and undervalues his worth. This feeling of inferiority he has manifests itself through his selfless actions, his obsessive oath of keeping promises, as well as his nature of always setting his own priorities in accordance to those of the people around him. His relationship with Son Hae-young breaks his usual demeanour. When Son Hae-yeong enters his life, he lets her break into his bubble, and allows himself to crumble away from the strong and lighthearted posture he usually wears. For the first time, he lets someone bear the consequences of his presence, abandoning his fear of being a burden to others in a life where he feels he is only troublesome.

As for Son Hae-young, her long-time fear of suffering losses and consequently missing out on things in life subsides. The principles she had set for herself long ago don’t apply to Kim Ji-uk, who becomes the center point of her attention. Rather than weighing her loss when faced with situations, she starts making decisions for Ji-uk’s sake, acting in accordance to his own needs. This shift in her priorities represents the first time she puts someone, other than her own self, first. These steps that both Son Hae-Young and Kim Ji-uk take toward becoming better people simultaneously push their relationship forward. It may not be evident in the male leads’ case, but sharing your burden with your partner is more than self-liberating. It’s a healthy practice of care, because by voicing your struggles to your significant other, you are lending them your heart and growing your trust in them.

Through the side characters, ‘No Gain, No Love’ also explores the lives of orphans. With ease, the series manages to balance its lightheartedness with seriosity; showcasing the journey of individuals who try to navigate their life despite their past traumas and experiences. It highlights their determination to surmount their difficulties, as well as their will to make decisions that can be benefitted from rather than bring hell into their lives again. The series’ integration of these characters amidst its comedy invites an exploration of various themes; such as parental abuse, parenting, and tests common conceptions of both familial (with the orphan 'sisters') and romantic love (with a polyamorous relationship).

Because of the limits they confined themselves to, the growth of their relationship blossomed quickly and naturally. They convinced themselves that the love they shared wasn’t real, which let them sink into their vulnerability together without the fear of losing each other because of prejudices or judgement. Their fake engagement gave them the opportunity to explore what they truly seek in the world and how they want to seem through the eyes of others. As they spoke about their struggles openly without humiliation or embarrassment under the pretense of being a fake couple, they gave each other room to open up about their true desires in life—their desires that lay bare underneath the cover of their personalities that were crafted by their sad pasts.

Overall, the series is bright, though it ultimately tells the story of broken hearts and forgotten bonds. Interestingly, despite South Korea’s conservativeness, it didn’t steer away from delving into rather delicate themes such as abortion and modern-day femininity, and what this means in the context of marriage. These elements contributed to its depth, and helped shape ‘No Gain, No Love’ into the amazingly entertaining story it is.

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It’s been a long while since I watched a Chinese drama without fast forwarding or doing something else on the side. I forgot how nice it feels to float easily from episode to episode, buoyed by competent directing, writing and acting.

I'd love to see more work from this director, who firmly says no to ham and pretty posing, keeping it natural and believable. His style reminds me of Yin Tao, where the magic is in the tiniest of details. Peach Blossom Valley comes alive under his vision as an isolated and idyllic place with its own rustic culture and… lousy food.

The writers understand that every good romance also needs good character development. We have a leading lady who is learning to trust that people outside Peach Blossom Valley aren’t all bad. And we have a leading man who is learning to trust… someone other than himself. They don't try to be too cute and clever with the dialogue, relying on show rather than tell.

And show us they did. Huang Yi's large expressive eyes remind me of Vicky Zhao, while Wang Hong Yi plays his part with such control, conveying feelings with nano-expressions and the merest flicker of the eyes. His Zuo Jing Lun is so keenly attuned to Qing Qing's every move that you feel like his entire world revolves around her. It's interesting to note that Qing Qing falls in love with him twice, not because of how he treats her but because of how he treats others. Now that’s the kind of maturity and unselfishness I like to see in my romance heroine.

Like Peach Blossom Valley itself, this is a hidden little gem of escapism. It has a definite place on my rewatch list for Valentine's season.

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First Impression: ThamePo Heart That Skips a Beat

Overall: the first episode had a good set up and I appreciated the lack of comedy sound effects that are prevalent in GMMTV's series. 13 episodes about 45 minutes each. Airing on GMMTV's YouTube channel as well as Netflix

What I Liked
- the set up was woven in well (with the interview and information about the band) instead of a blatant exposition dump
- Po's supportive friend
- how both Po's and Thame's past experiences shaped their current views of the situation
- production value/music

Room For Improvement
- the "I can explain" but doesn't explain/other person doesn't wait for an explanation

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Not a really realistic story, but a sweet & light romance

The FL (warrior) is responsible for the sales of a beer brand in Busan. To prevent the closure of her branch, she must convince a famous craft brewer (the ML - strange and empathetic) to collaborate with her company.

+++ Healing romance, very cute within the CL, super handsome & all-green-flags ML (Lee Jong Won) and Kim Se Jeong very credible as a warrior seller. No break-up, no love triangle.
+++ Lots of endearing characters
+++ Short format (12 ep) enough for this trope.

### A little "Dramaland" and "all good guys"

=> Light and fun series, to rewatch for Lee Jong Won
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La FL (warrior) est responsable des ventes d'1 marque de bière à Busan. Pour empêcher la fermeture de sa succursale, elle doit convaincre un célèbre brasseur artisanal (le ML - étrange et empathe) de collaborer avec sa société.

+++ Healing romance, très cute au sein du CL, ML super handsome (Lee Jong Won) et Kim Se Jeong très à l'aise en warrior. Pas de break-up, pas de triangle amoureux.
+++ Bcp de personnages attachants
+++ Format court (12 ép) assez pour ce trope.

### Un peu Dramaland et un peu Bizounours

=> Light and fun, series to rewatch for Lee Jong Won

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Where or where are 41-46!!!

Oh Man, this drama would have been a TOTAL 10 in my book as it is an amazing series....BUT...
My only complaint is we in the online audience only got up to Episode 40, so, at least for me, the story felt truly incomplete!!!
This whole drama was so beautifully paced, the development of each character was so well done that you are totally vested in each of them. Then in the final episode (40) we are rushed through a single wedding of two semi-supporting characters, one which, in my opinion, was not the anticipated one and then left out in the cold on the rest of the storylines!

I really do not understand why we don't have access to the last 6 episodes (I've looked and cannot find them...if anyone knows where to find them PLEASE reply!!!). I feel like this beautiful drama got stopped mid sentence. Where are the conclusions of Ling Xiao and Li Jian Jian's story....and what about He Zi Qiu or Qi Ming Yue or Tang Can and Qin Mei Ying? I suppose we can all make guesses on a few of the stories but besides being a really unsatisfying exercise and because each had a well developed storyline that ended abruptly...it just broke my heart.

I really do love this drama,...just wish I could get ahold of the 6 missing episodes to really finish this drama perfectly.

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entendo pq impactou tanto a Korea

Brabissimo, porém achei o final meio paia (literalmente só o final, tipo os últimos 20 min do último ep)

Acredito que não assistiria de novo, até pq muito da essência desse drama esta no suspense. Principalmente em como a doutora Ji vai lidar com cada situação. Eu particularmente, só reassisto conteúdo por apego emocional, coisa que não tenho pelos personagens desse drama, até pq o intuito é deles serem bem realistas, nada muito afável. a única relação a qual me importei foi da doutora e da jovem que ajudava ela, quase que mãe e filha, mas até essa relação não foi nutrida (novamente, pq o intuito é ser mais realista e menos romantizado, como em muitos outros dramas)

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The best series ever

Literally EVERYTHING about this show was amazing!!! So realistic! I actually like that Yeong ended up not with Gyuho in the end because he needed to know he didn’t appreciate what he had until it was gone. I cried way too many times watching this show, which to me means it was an amazing production and acting! I loved how they showed both perspectives in the scenes in Bangkok because it shows just how blind love is! Gyuho was too in love with Yeong to see that love had been gone for a long time but he was just holding on to little parts of their old relationship that would come out. I also love how Yoonsu was able to have great chemistry with every single guy he had to act with! But my hot take on this was Yeong was a selfish guy, but only because he didn’t believe he deserved love. With his mom sending him to conversion therapy and then later dying and then an ex-boyfriend dying after he treated him badly, and then Yeoungsu dating him basically as an experiment, Yeong understandably didn’t feel worthy of love. But yet he still wanted to try again with Gyuho. I think Yeong is just one of those people who don’t know how to live with being alone, and unfortunately everyone except his three friends left him. This show had me sucked in from the beginning but I really knew it when even I missed Gyuho when he left. I cried so hard! It’s a beautiful story and I want to rewatch but I’m definitely gonna need to heal from the first watch before I do!

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GIRL POWER

"My Name" is an intense, action-packed series that follows Yoon Ji-woo’s quest for vengeance after her father's murder. Han So Hee delivers an impressive performance, far from her previous role in Nevertheless, showing a fierce and determined character. Ahn Bo Hyun also stands out as Detective Jeon Pil-do, bringing depth to the story. The action is gripping, with well-choreographed fight scenes and fast pacing that keeps you hooked. The only flaw is the protagonist’s near-superhuman resilience, which can feel a bit exaggerated at times. Overall, "My Name" is a must-watch for fans of action and suspense, offering a thrilling ride from start to finish.

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Definitely fun to watch, but some of the protagonist’s actions really get under my skin! For instance, how she lowers herself for a guy who’s not all that great, while the secondary character is absolutely amazing. He truly loves her, does everything for her, is good at so many things, and was there for her when she needed him the most. Yet, she rejects him. Honestly, it feels like she lacks self-love. Plus, it took a long time for her to mature—she only really grew up towards the end. Still, I really enjoyed the drama, and I think it deserves a second season!

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