Reviews

INCREDIBLE SHOW

Okay we definitely more GLs like this. This is the content that I didn’t realise I needed and have been so badly waiting for. The setting and storyline is so good that it keeps you totally hooked. Normally I restrain myself with new shows and only watch once they’ve finished airing or midway through but I couldn’t help myself a few minutes into this- and binged all episodes that were out instantly.

I love the acting of all the characters so far and the drama is at bare minimum which is such a positive point for a Thai GL. I seriously can’t fault it even a little! IQIYI take all my money and keep making such content please!

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The BEST KBL IN 2024

This was the best KBL of 2024! Praying for a Season 2 in 2025—fingers crossed! I’ve rewatched it countless times, yet it still gives me kilig every single time. No matter how many times I watch it, I’ll never get tired of it. Hoping the story continues and we get the sequel it deserves!

This was the best KBL of 2024! Praying for a Season 2 in 2025—fingers crossed! I’ve rewatched it countless times, yet it still gives me kilig every single time. No matter how many times I watch it, I’ll never get tired of it. Hoping the story continues and we get the sequel it deserves!

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A mirror of the present day scenario

Angels fall sometimes tells the story of a young, enthusiastic, hardworking,Lin Tuo,the son of a surgeon and a nurse, who is in search of a job after graduating from university.He has a younger brother who is interested in music.He crosses paths with An Zhique,a hardworking girl who lives with her father.Soon they fall in love and Lin Tuo finds a job in a furniture company.But his life turns upside down when he is diagnosed with ALS and all his aspirations and happiness are shattered in an instant.
The life of Lin Tuo is like a mirror to the life of many people in the present day scenario.A person's greatest fear in his/her life,IMO,is definitely regarding health.
Lin Tuo's character is an epitome of the feelings,angst,fear,tensive,sad,depressing moments one has to face when they know that they have been diagnosed with an illness/incurable illness.
All the people around him,though afraid of losing him,try their best to keep him happy and create memories so that he never feels lonely or depressed.
His parents who were career driven once,change their ways after they learn about their son's diagnosis.The transformation into their attitude and roles was good.
Lin Tuo's friend ,Chen Guangpu,is one friend every person needs in their lives.Their friendship is one of the most outstanding asset of this drama.
An Zhique,is a supportive fiance and I liked how she stood by him in his difficult times.
His senior,boss and all his colleagues also help and support him in his depressive times.
Overall it is a very good drama that showcases all our contemporary lives.
Maybe sometimes,the best medicine for a person to heal is not a oral medicine but to support them emotionally and mentally.
All the actors were good in their performances.The story was good.
A good drama to watch though it is very realistic in its approach.

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Was it ever settled, Was it ever over, And is it still raining, Back in November

The two best friends, the aspiring architect Yeon Seo and the scientist researcher Gyoo Eun (respectively Jung Ryeo Won and Kim So Yeon, both very excellent and gorgeous), by a strange twist of fate, and, ignoring randomness, they find themselves meeting and dating, at the same time, the architect Yoon Jae (Oh Ji Ho, excellent) who, like in an Eric Rohmer movie, with playful complacency, unwittingly flirts with both of them, but ends up choosing the more passionate Gyoo Eun;
Yeon Seo, despite her disappointment at the coincidence and relative ‘sentimental defeat’, accepts their union, in the name of the very strong friendship that binds her to Gyoo Eun, but a very tragic accident, during the honeymoon, will disrupt the lives of the three protagonists forever, bringing about dramatic and lacerating changes...

“TRY TO REMEMBER WHEN LIFE WAS SO TENDER WHEN DREAMS WERE KEPT BESIDE YOUR PILLOW.
TRY TO REMEMBER WHEN LIFE WAS SO TENDER WHEN LOVE WAS AN EMBER ABOUT TO BILLOW.”

As a product of a unique and, perhaps, unrepeatable season, ‘Autumn Shower’ is a beautiful and heartbreaking melodrama, marked by an underlying realism and a profound understanding of human frailty, capable of avoiding any easy moralism, circumventing the dangerous meshes of simple manichaeism, thanks to a remarkable script and an exemplary staging, capable of preserving such an equidistance that each (beautiful) main character in the story is confronted with his own weaknesses and his own reasons, in accordance with a deep understanding of human dynamics and, above all, of his own mistakes...

Ideally structured in two distinct segments (there is, of necessity, a ‘before’ and an ‘after’), with a first part of uncommon intensity, at times unbearable for the level of suffering represented -physical, of course, but also psychological - we are shown how a dramatic event - the incident and the coma - destroys the life not only of the victim, but also of the people most directly connected to her, with Yoon Jae, her husband anguished by guilt (he is directly responsible for everything that led to the incident), blamed by a livid Yeon Seo, but in fact ‘dumped’ even by his own family, who, in a moment of chilling selfishness, even proposes that he ‘abandon’ his wife (the marriage has not yet been officially registered) and immediately find for himself a new partner!

Love, duty, loneliness and repeated difficulties, even at work (total dedication to his wife, to the detriment of his own profession), on the shoulders of an all in all ordinary man, forced to face what is in any case considered a huge mistake and where the unpredictability of life can trigger a chain reaction, for which the moral condemnation is very little compared to the suffering already endured...

What may originally appear to be the ultimate act of unconditional love towards his bedridden wife, i.e. the subsequent registration of the marriage (‘Gyoo Eun, we are now officially husband and wife’), as well as the realisation of the dream house, will, on the contrary, represent a sort of ironic contrappasso in the development of the story...

And it is precisely in this desperate context, in this juggling of love, melancholy, discomfort and duty, between the despair of a possible extreme gesture and the promise made to his wife (‘I will wait for you, I will always be there for you’), that Yeon Seo slowly slips further and further into his life;

A tormented character on the verge of self-flagellation, Yeon Seo is initially torn by despair at her beloved friend's plight, but then by the inevitable torment at the betrayal perpetrated against her; the Australian interlude, an impossible ‘escape’ from feelings, even from those towards Soo Hyung, the doctor friend who has always been hopelessly in love with her, is only a postponement of the inevitable, all the more so because the deception is manifold, for in addition to the liaison, there is also betrayal of Soo Hyung himself, disillusioned by a naive and impossible acceptance of his love, and the consequent betrayal of the friendship between the two men, the doctor and the architect, who had for those two years formed a fraternal friendship.

“WE'RE TWO PEOPLE CAUGHT UP IN THE FLAME THAT HAS TO DIE OUT SOON”

At the moment when passion can no longer be repressed, where the selfishness derived from the awareness of feelings and the attainment of happiness predates, the clandestine couple flees from the world and their responsibilities (‘If we cannot go back in time, we must only follow our hearts’).
Escape as a necessity of life, as an impossible dream of a new existence, of a possible ‘familiar’ alternative in a fishermen's village, almost a ‘two hearts and a cabin’, as in the Italian expression, perfectly representative of the metaphorical separation from the outside world, sublimated by the renunciation of their telephones, and by their sincere and mutual confession recorded on an audiotape.

It is in this whirlwind of emotions that, ironically enough, the ‘miracle’ happens; the awakening from the coma is also an awakening of the senses in the two fugitives, who see their dreams of happiness shattered in the face of their new awareness; is a relocation of the story's pawns in the chessboard of life, the healing spell ‘condemns’ the players to their responsibilities, the husband must fulfil his duties and the lover flees again, going so far as to exclude herself from the general newfound happiness, avoiding the best friend who, unaware of everything, repeatedly seeks her out...

It is the moment when deception and guilt become unbearable, igniting the flame of suspicion in Gyoo Eun, initially unable to comprehend what everyone -except her- already knows, and which will be confirmed in the most direct and cruel way...

Yoon Jae is slowly squeezed between the two extremes, which plunge him into a vortex with no way out; he has no freedom to manoeuvre, only the fear of causing pain to one of the two women (wife or lover), the male protagonist, unintentionally cruel, forced by cowardice and insecurities to hurt the people he loves.

The female counterpart is split into two opposing and complementary characters (is she, on the whole, the image of the ideal woman!?), the lover, fragile and lonely, the wife who is determined to save her marriage, even at the sacrifice of friendship...

Adding salt to the wound is the unexpected pregnancy that carries much of the narrative scaffolding along the second half of the drama, decidedly unconventional in the way it relegates the male character to the background, leaving room for Yeon Seo's existential subjectivity, and the drama of the abortion, evidently sparked off by the stress arising from the confrontation-clash with Gyoo Eun, who is also, at this point, marked by feelings of guilt towards her (ex!?) friend who, once again, condemns herself to a wandering, a voluntary exile reminiscent of the existential path of a heroine from an old-fashioned melodrama...

“I'M LOSING MORE THAN I'LL EVER HAVE”

Does time heal all the wounds!?
After all this tourbillon of emotions, the question arises, because ‘Autumn Shower’, at least for my personal taste, is an all-encompassing experience, a sort of umpteenth interior road movie that leaves more doubts than certainties; a delicate study of feelings, a metaphor of maturation and - once again! - end of youthful dreams, well exemplified by Yeon Seo's touching letter;

Probably nothing seems destined to last, but the memory of past happiness is still alive in her heart and she will not accept to let it go. Who knows, with the course of time, maybe...

‘I loved them both, I am sorry because I loved them. And I am sorry because I could not be there for them.’

Magnified in its beauty by an absolutely brilliant cast, perfectly assembled in all the roles, with the two prima donnas playing a giant role in a splendid competition of bravura, with an excellent soundtrack that is so ‘out of time’ it manages to describe a world that perhaps no longer even exists, with those showers of rain that accompany the most touching moments of the story, 'Autumn Shower' seems to reflect, perfectly, that idea of the caducity of life, a sense of poignant melancholy (it is impossible to think of the story in another season!), the ideal passage from the season of joyful and unbridled vitality to that of calm and reflection...

Yet another significant piece that legitimises the multifaceted greatness of the Dramaverse.
8½ / 10

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Fights, Friendships, and Bromance Stuck in a Time Capsule

High School Frenemy is a refreshing Thai drama released this year, offering a mix of friendship dynamics, school life, and conflict resolution, all wrapped in a "troublemaker student" narrative. The show effectively balances its core friendship themes with moments of bromance, although the latter feels outdated and underdeveloped in today's context.

The drama's exploration of troubled youth and their relationships is commendable, but the bromance angle, while initially engaging, becomes off-putting due to its overly restrained portrayal. There are moments that clearly call for deeper romantic elements, but the show hesitates, giving the impression of a 2010-era production rather than a 2024 release. The chemistry between Shin and Saint holds potential and, if explored further, could elevate any future projects they undertake together.

While the storyline occasionally falls into predictable patterns, the characters' conflicts still provide a satisfying emotional payoff. Some situations feel exaggerated but are essential to the overall narrative. The fight scenes, integral to the plot, are decently executed, though still teetering on the edge of cringeworthy at times, they align with the premise and tone of the series.

One standout aspect is the character of Chatjen, who emerges as the glue holding the friendship and the story together. Without resorting to physical force, Chatjen's actions and quiet determination drive much of the plot. Seeing Mark take on this role after his performance in Only Friends is a treat; his acting versatility shines here.

The drama’s 12-episode format is a welcome change from the recent trend of shorter Thai BL series. However, the show suffers from unnecessary filler scenes, making some episodes feel drawn out, I found myself skipping nearly 40% of the content. Despite this, the series is still more engaging than recent releases like Sunset x Vibes and The Rebound, to name a few.

Overall, High School Frenemy is an enjoyable watch with a strong premise, albeit slightly bogged down by dated bromance tropes and cringe-worthy moments. Its solid plot and heartfelt exploration of friendship make it a worthwhile addition to this year’s Thai drama lineup.

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Well! This is not everyon's cup of tea

I started with a dilemma whether to watch or not as I read many comments saying it not entirely BL. But I am glad I watched it. Yes, the plot is a bit dragging, but still beautiful.
The actors have done really a great job in showing emotions, caring and sacrifice for each other. Ryo's turmoil in silence, trying to keep his feelings hidden for Hikaru. Chika's heartbreaking love towards Ryo and yet being a supportive friend, Minami's caring nature towards Chika, Hikaru, although a bit ignorant to start with, but finally seeing Ryo's feelings an properly having a talk simply shows how beautiful friendship can be. This drama shows love of Friendship can be sometimes be much more deeper than romantic love.

I like the way the drama has open and honest conversation between each other which clears misunderstanding, how the leads doesn't turn evil by being jealous when someone they like likes someone else, but simply support each other. The suspense was kept well to add cherry on the top. The actors are shown so mature, understanding, caring for their age.

Yes, it is not everyone's cup of tea if you watch for a proper BL/GL story. But still worth giving it a try.

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Not terrible but definitely not a favorite

I watched this for Esther Yu bc in LBFAD she started out annoying but grew on me bc she eventually matured. I thought it would be the same with this drama. But she stayed babyish and annoying. Also the main plot is supposed to be about her being in a game and her having to "stay in character" and it just stopped after episode 7. That was what made it interesting. And the main couple just wasn't completely convincing. These two were together in Moonlight and I thought they had great chemistry in that drama. But here, I just wasn't sold. There were cute moments between them but all she did was cry instead of confessing how she felt when the moment came. And then, boom?, we're supposed to believe they're in a committed relationship headed for marriage? And then the ending was just nonsense. Why make him the author? And then why not show them back together in reality after that or at least meeting? And what happened to everyone else?

What I did like was the friendship theme and how she changed the other character's fates by creating a bond between the 4 of them. Ding Yuxi's acting was fantastic per usual. Esther is always hilarious and entertaining despite being babyish. The 2nd leads were decent. Cuicui was better. Also the fight scenes & visuals were pretty good. Overall it was watchable until the end. Not boring at all. But probably won't rewatch it and definitely not a top favorite drama.

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Good production and storyline, but leads lack chemistry making it a waste

The production of this drama is of high quality with right pacing. There isn’t any boring episodes although the last few episodes did drag out the fighting a little.

For a fan of all 3 leads I was looking forward to this drama. But strangely when you put them together it falls so flat. Let me explain my thoughts
1) Ren Jialun was my first C drama super crush. I was so obsessed and charmed by him in The Glory of Tang Dynasty. But since then the only good acting and drama that came from him is Under The Power. I can’t finish anything else with him to the extent that I stopped liking him. The issue is, I think he has stagnated in his acting or has become too self-conscious. He constantly frowns and have this pout or stone face trying to act cool. Dude. Relax. You were so relax and good in GOTD. It has become so boring when he is on screen these days. Just same old single expression. And his chemistry with FL is hardly there. Like there is a barrier. Again in GOTD he was so natural and convincing that I thought he was really in love with Jing Tian. C

Jeremy Tsui is super charming in most dramas. I like him here too. Always deliver. Very expressive. But this script here is illogically making him obsessed over the FL at one stage. Perhaps it’s due to the lack of on screen chemistry and compatibility. He was so good with Andy An in Legend of Dugu and in Autumn Ballad. That’s how it should be. Something just lacks here. B+

Li Landi is very pretty. But she has lost her innocent or cute look. Maybe she has lost weight. Go watch her in Dreaming Back to Qing Dynasty with Wang Anyu. They were so young but so good. Even in the Starry Love, she was so convincing. I think she is miscast here and just not able to generate any spark with either men. This FL role needs someone with really strong character who can handle hurt and deception at a young age. She just cannot. B-

With the 3 leads together, the older casts like Lord Pei Yan’s mum and the Emperor became the real acting powerhouse, even convincingly conveyed the emotions of their young spurned love and sacrifice. Worth mentioning that minor actors that played Mr. Cui and Ms Dong had more sparks than the leads.

Overall the drama has a good story but falls very flat with the acting or lack of chemistry amongst the leads. I think RJL has run out of ideas on how to act and think too much. Maybe he needs to get some acting classes to learn more expressions. Even with a sad background surely the character can afford a smile and don’t need to knit his brows all the time.

Watch if you still like them. Otherwise it’s a torture watching your favourite actors ‘reading scripts’.

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I'M GLAD I FOUND THIS GEM

I started watching this without any expectations, just out of curiosity and interest after seeing the trailer but this drama has truly captivated me and made me addicted to watching every episode.

This drama has a GREAT STORYLINE, BEAUTIFUL CINEMATOGRAPHY, the calmness and elegant storytelling, soft color grading, aesthetically pleasing camera angles, good choice of music, and even the strength of each character is very satisfying. What stands out the most is the smart female character who doesn't just wait to be protected by the male lead but can also protect him in return, a truly well-written character.

The male lead is absolutely captivating. The expressions he shows make you both want to protect him and be protected by him at the same time. And the couple in this drama is so adorable, their chemistry is sizzling! His jealousy and His wide smile when he's proud of Dou Zhou is damn cute, He not only respects her choice but even expands her capacity to choose, He is the greenest green frorest. They’ve already given me butterflies, their relationship before and after fujin furen era. And I can't wait to see what actions they'll take to solve the problems in the future.

The story gets crazier and crazier, with a plot that keeps getting better and not a single scene wasted. The way the director showcases each character's development is excellent. DZ's coolness when she's angry is truly mesmerizing; her brilliance in handling problems never disappointed.

Surprisingly, this drama was directed by someone who usually works on mini-dramas, and this is his first full-length series. Hopefully, none of the characters will experience a downgrade. Please continue to develop their characters even further, making them grow stronger and more compelling as the story progresses and hope the drama will continue to maintain this excellent editing quality too.

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Oozing chemistry, great plot ,definitely a 10/10

This is my 2nd time adding a review strangely dramas that have blossom in it attract me (blossom in adversity)
Will keep it short,simple everyone has to give this drama a try 1st ep all about past well e
real fun starts from ep 3 but enjoyed all episodes till now watching ep 11 and this drama has the potential to make me stick to it till the end
I find all actors giving their best and the CHEMISTRY yeah that's what is just amazing it couldn't be described in words you have to watch it
These and some of the things like the visuals ,the setup ,cgi not used that much but how it is used is superb yeah one of the most important thing storyline pace it is perfect for 34 episodes well i am waiting for their fake marriage 😚🤭🤭ohhh and the princess treatment 😩😩😩😩🔥🔥🔥
That was alk thanks for reading

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To My Star 2 Formula won't work all the time

Have always been a huge fan of Hwang De Seoul works till date and we all owe her dedication for introducing BL genre to South Korea. Her direction and storytelling has never been far from excellent with beautiful works such as 'Blueming' and 'To My Star 2'. Was increasingly looking forward to watch this title but was extremely disappointed.

First of all, the plotlines is extremely is extremely choppy and underdeveloped. Initial few episodes gave a few good impressions, but later on characters have very little justifications as to why they behaved in a certain manner and neither was their backstory fully conveyed to the audience to allow them to be fully immersed with them.

The kind of angsty attitude with Dae Hoo like the one similar to Ji Woo in To My Star 2 felt like an overkill and I could not confide to his behaviour or actions and could not understand as to why such a talented student chose not clear his exams and jeopardize his entire life for some fight his lover had with his father for so many years and later chose to fake his degree. Plus the time gap is enormous, there is no character development in either male leads and they are just the same characters as they were in high school. 12 years is a huge time and no one waits for the their long lost love in high school in their 30's.

And neither in a realistic setting would something like that ever happen. The way it ended with him owning up to his crimes of fabrication and restarting his life in his hometown with his high school lover is far from reality, especially in a gay relationship. I'm sorry, just that Love in the Big City has raised way too bars this year that I can't help but compare it to this drama. Maybe happily ever after is not always the answer? In a realistic scenario it would be him alone chugging and sobbing with his cup of ramen noodles in his house.

Lastly the love triangle or the third wheeler and his history was never clear to the audience and his role is just the mystery as is to you as is to me! Lastly, there were certain good elements conveyed in the show like bullying and parental violence, but the main characters have very little story to tell, at least was very confusing to me as an audience and was difficult to get emotionally invested!

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A classic that is still so amazing after a long time!

Maybe to many, the 24 episodes were a drag, but I felt that everything that led up to the happy ending was worth the wait. In the story plot, the ML and FL are 19 years old who were forced to go into this arranged marriage when they are still high school students. In these 24 episodes, we saw 2 19 years old teenagers grow together to protect and love one another in all the turmoil of traditions, politics, school and their differences.

ML:
The ML was secretly dating but was rejected by his girlfriend (SFL) and suddenly, there was such a huge change in his life as he was arranged to get married. I saw many negative reviews on how he is cheating and hesitating a lot but as reflected in the later episodes, the ML admitted to the FL that he initially did not like her as she just suddenly came into his life and made him question his life but it was also her that successfully opened him up to how a life should be lived and with all the things that FL has brought to the ML's life, he found himself falling harder for her. This was then reflected in their live broadcast interview where he admitted the FL's shortcomings and good qualities and how he ended up falling in love with her. The ML did not cheat on the FL, the SFL went to Thailand intentionally to meet up with the ML and he did not even know. He basically just met her as a friend since they were both in Thailand and got filmed by paparazzi. The other redeeming point was that the ML had a clean cut with the SFL and told her to close their chapter as he knew that he has already fallen in love with his wife (the FL).

FL:
The FL is young and naive and is easily swayed but despite the portrayal of her character to be ignorant and naive, she still possesses certain good qualities such as how she keeps giving in to the Crown Prince (ML) not just because of love but because she knew that a divorce would end up with her family suffering too. It was only till the end that the ML may have disappointed her with the Thailand incident and the SML liking her and trying to brainwash her to think that divorce is the best for her to free that she was swayed into saying nonsense during the interview. But we all knew her heart is always with the ML since the earlier episodes, she has always expressed herself very openly on her feelings to the ML as well which the ML probably try to think that she is not being serious about it since she is always hanging out with his cousin (SML) which obviously have feelings for her but she just sees him nothing more than a good friend.

SFL & SML:
I would say they are both broken souls with regrets from their childhood or past. For the SFL, it is obvious that she regretted rejecting the ML's proposal but at the end of the day, she finally realized that this just was not meant to be and decided to let go for good. For the SML, being someone who just returned from overseas and only having the Crown Princess as his very first friend back home and having someone who cares about him after a long time is probably the reason why he thinks he likes the Crown Princess (ML being a cold cousin did not help at all in this situation).

Other notable characters include the Empress Dowager Grandmother, she is so cool and dope, and also Crown Prince's sister who returned from overseas (who would later become the Empress), she has a very refreshing take on everything due to her overseas exposure which makes her so modern and interesting!

I can't deny that watching this as a 12 years old in 2006 gave me the SML syndrome, I was shipping the FL and SML back then but revising this almost two decades later as a 30 years old who have been through some life experiences, I felt that the SML is manipulative and brainwashing the FL. The ML on the other hand, despite his initial hesitation, was just being very cautious with the FL so as not to trigger any potential pitfall in their blooming relationship. Although he has difficulty in expressing his emotions for the FL, but his action spoke so much louder than words - he was always covering up for the FL, bring her out to play and was always there to protect her from behind the scenes.

In conclusion, revisiting this drama after two decades still feels amazing although there are some things that are dated and not as relevant in this era. And, even till today, I still hear "Perhaps Love" being played (be it in South Korea or Singapore), that just shows how a classic this drama is, not just to the Koreans but to people internationally like myself!

That aside, I'm glad to see that most of the 4 main actors/actresses in this drama have moved on to better dramas/films/variety shows etc. I look forward to seeing the FL (YYH) back to the drama scene soon with a new project, hopefully one day she and the ML (JJH) can reunite for a romcom since their chemistry here was so natural.

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