Waste of time

With the exception of Yanxi Palace and Royal Feast, Xu Kai has never been able to keep my interest long enough to finish any of his dramas. There’s now a list of dropped or on-hold dramas with him as headliner and after dropping Dance of The Sky Empire, I finally realized the reason. He’s so bloody unserious and chooses to play the same or similar character every single time. Likewise his acting skills are below those other actors who are his peers. Now, this is a subjective experience so please hold the steak knives.

Undoubtedly he’s easy on the eyes which is why he has a huge fan base; conversely, he has a huge fan base which is why he, as an actor, will continue to get jobs despite lacking the acting chops.

This drama was a colossal disappointment.

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A train wreck

A dumpster fire of weak characters and an inconsistent plot narrative. Watch this if you like shouting at the screen or if you like characters that'll make you grind your teeth in frustration.

This doesn't even deserve a rant.




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It’s overrated

If you’ve watched The Glory or Goblin or Descendants of the Sun then you should know that Kim Eun Sook, the screenwriter, is one of the top in the drama industry as her dramas consistently garner high ratings. However, Secret Garden is a decade old therefore it’s understandable that it followed the same format as other popular dramas of that period. Dramas like Boys Over Flowers, The Heirs, and a handful of other which were premised on toxic masculinity and docile women.

Similarly, the production values were mediocre with terrible color saturation and cinematography. I kept at it due to the many fawning reviews on MDL but it got to a point where I just couldn’t bear seeing the ML consistently berating the FL or a FL who had zero self-respect. I wish someone would remake this because there is something unique about a FL who’s a stuntwoman and I would like to see that aspect explored more thoroughly.

Anyway, it’s watchable if you don’t mind the above-mentioned details.

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Frustrating

My apologies but the story is frustrating and boring. I'm not sure if it's the dialogue or the pacing but something is completely off. What could have been said in one minute takes three to four which basically feels like the audience is watching paint dry. Likewise, the court proceedings lack the excitement that I've come to expect from legal dramas. It's as if everything is on cruise control.

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Yawn

Nothing to see here. Just the typical cold CEO and the poor girl who's forced into a contract because she somehow owes the ML a whooping $800,000 that she'll never be able to pay off in this lifetime. This girl lives in a lavish, fully furnished prime apartment and wears well-tailored clothing yet she's got no obvious source of income save for a fledgling career as a violin player. For certain, this wouldn't be complete without the obsessive second female who likes the male lead and is always catty to the female lead.

The best and only good things in the drama were the set decor and the CEO's beautiful cars.

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This series aged badly

I have sadly come to realise that some Korean women simply do not have an inside voice. They speak so loudly and for no good reason. Why? Even when whichever friend they're talking to is right in front of them, that's when they crank up the decibels. Is this supposed to make them seem lively? More fun? Or did the actress, Jun Ji Hyn, not know how to interpret Cheon Song Yi since all she did was scream-speak, simper or smirk? There was a lack of subtlety and authenticity in her acting. It could also just be the writers sucked and decided they'd compensate the viewers by casting attractive leads hoping we'll overlook their crappy plot. Despite being annoyed by the FL, I was really looking forward to sizzling chemistry between her and the ML, however, that never materialised. I dislike stupid scriptwriting and this one was a dud.

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Sigh

Koreans do love the sight of their own self-imposed suffering, however, this drama was inexplicably terrible at eliciting any sympathy and it might have had a more negative impact that even my regard for the well being of the characters (and by extension, Korean citizens) is at rock bottom. I just don't care if they push themselves to death or whatever other fun ways they devise to bully and hate on others in their society.


Perhaps if they try hard enough, Korea as a country might implode and reset itself. Anyway, the drama was melodramatic for no reason at all and I hoped they'd all die.



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A big whole mess

WTH was this mess? Cringe plot and zero romance plus the ML character was one of the creepiest and most abusive that I've seen in C-drama. As a matter of fact, most of the male characters treated the FL abysmally.


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This is not a final review/rating

Looks like a low-budget series that was done on the cuff. Notwithstanding, Dylan's performance alone is enough to keep me glued to the screen.

(During the reign of Long Hua, Xiao Duo, a powerful eunuch in charge of the imperial court, plans a palace mutiny with Prince Fu to help him ascend to the throne. Bu Yinlou, a tribute lady that was supposed to be hanged as a tribute to the late emperor was saved by Xiao Duo as Prince Fu fancies her. The two of them spend a lot of time with each other and develop feelings for each other, but due to their status, they have to hide their feelings. Xiao Duo goes to Jiangnan to supervise a silk trade with a foreign country, and Yinlou accompanies him to visit his relatives in the south, during which they fall in love and finally reveal their hearts. But the road ahead is full of obstacles, Xiao Duo's true identity, the threat of the King of South Court, and the suppression of the emperor in the palace. The two of them have to sacrifice themselves for the greater good and decide to enter the palace, but Xiao Duo misunderstands her. What is the fate between the two?)

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Tiring

At 13 yrs old, this drama was probably a novelty back then hence the high ratings. However, if compared with recent historicals that have similar themes, it falls far short of entertaining. The female lead character for one was a waste of space who had nothing going for her except her wide-eyed naïveté which grew annoying after a while. Likewise the male lead character who excelled at stoic and arrogant with no redeeming qualities. The actors were fine, it’s the writing that failed and as much as I tried, I simply couldn’t get through another episode of their shenanigans.

Dropped.

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I watched due to so many high praises but this wasn't for me

There are a couple of reviewers who dropped this at episode 6 which, blessedly, is also the point where I gave up on this mess of a drama. In my layman's opinion, a drama needs a primary focus and in this case, the interactions between the main leads should have been the pivot around which the plot revolved except it wasn't done well. Mostly, the FL gave off antagonistic vibes whenever she was with the ML. So, in a drama about wolves, hidden identities, and mysteries to solve, I need the script to show me a gradual and optimistic buildup of the lead relationship, however, this didn't materialize and I got increasingly annoyed at the slapstick comedy slash melodrama.

I don't think the actors are to blame rather it was the script that gave nothing to work with.

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Hard pass

Surely the 7.7 rating is due to some undeserved haterode but alas no, it's because of the crappy script and nondescript characters. I fell asleep and rewound numerous times but still couldn't give a fig about the plot or either of the main leads.

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Excellent

An engrossing, tumultuous love triangle with multi-dimensional plot and characters. I loved it, especially the gorgeous lead actress who gave a Tour De Force performance that is worthy of all C-Drama awards.


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Another one bites the dust

What is it with Chinese dramas and female leads who can’t think their way out of a paper bag. Like, who on earth would fall for an airhead, immature heroine who isn’t even that pretty? As much as I detest the viciousness of some Korean palace dramas at least they give me us beautiful female leads, striking male leads, and a tightly paced story. All that to say there are way too many issues with this drama that I must have rolled my eyes a hundred times.

Additionally, the ML and FL had no chemistry and I couldn't understand what made the FL fall in love with the hero at first sight. I mean, their interactions were painful to watch.

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