Great start with some plot holes

Overall, the drama was entertaining, but, there was a visible disconnect between the first and second half.

The first half was a comedy telling a story of a modern man traveling back in time and helping his wife in ancient China succeed in business and navigate through family intrigue. Ning Yi reminded me of Forest Gump, a seemingly obscure individual full of great ideas. He used 21st century business techniques to grow the family business and undermine the competition, had an answer to everything, and helped a whole lot of people. It was clever, funny, and very entertaining. The uncle and cousin were funny caricatures and Wu Qihao was a great villain to root against.

The second half switched gears and became more of a political drama. I really did not care for the bandit arc. All the previous villains became irrelevant, and Wo Qihao was fully written out of the plot. The story wasn't as funny and interesting and it completely removed FL from several episodes. The new villains were boring and had no real motivation. Certain decisions made no sense and looked like the writers had no concrete idea how to move the plot forward. The story meant to be darker with more violence and death, but the writing was clumsy and made serious scenes look more lighthearted. Also, some plotlines absolutely did not need to be repeated. Taner was incredibly unlucky being almost raped twice. Here, the writers completely lacked any sense or imagination and force-fed us attempted rape scenes of the same character multiple times, instead of coming up with something new.

Certain arcs had plot holes. At the very beginning, ML used boxing techniques in a fight making it look like he was a skilled fighter. Later on the boxing techniques were mysteriously forgotten and he had to ask the assassin lady to teach him martial arts. She gave him one lesson without actually teaching him any martial arts and the story ended there making the whole thing utterly pointless.

The romance plotline was a minor side story. ML and FL were cute together and had chemistry. But, if you are looking for a romantic melodrama full of passion and angst, this is not it.

Citeste mai mult

Too long

The drama would've been monumentally better if it was cut down to 40 episodes, 50 tops. When something was happening, it was interesting. The rest of the time, it was draggy and boring. There were too many scenes and conversations that should've been edited. Watching characters interact in a regular home environment was not interesting even if the drama was portraying a more realistic family life.

It took ML and FL 40 episodes to get married. Before that, he was off somewhere serving in the military with the story rarely focusing on him. Instead, it was just her dealing with family drama and her childhood crush on a day-to-day basis. After the wedding, the sisters mostly disappeared from the plot making me wonder why the writers gave them so much screen time. It would've been more interesting if the drama was more narrowly focused on ML and FL growing up and falling in love, instead of less relevant side characters.

Another thing that was frustrating was the fact that none of the villains were properly punished. The evil stepmom burned the house down and died in the fire. The evil aunt got stabbed trying to kill FL. The fourth sister just continued on with her miserable life after scheming against FL. There was no actual punishment that they truly deserved after all the evil crap they pulled.

Overall, this was a one time watch for me. If I had to do it again, I would skip about half of it.

Citeste mai mult

Too long and boring

Another Chinese drama that unnecessarily dragged for twice as many episodes than necessary. There wasn't any actual plot, but a loosely put together romance/slice of life story.

Everything that made the show interesting, SWAT action and disaster rescue, quickly fizzled out into a mundane slice of life story. Kelei and Mika, who were the only couple worth watching, got together early in the show and had an extremely vanilla relationship without any ups and downs. All the couples had no dynamic or sexual chemistry. The show often looked like a real life documentary just filming people hanging out.

Kelei/Mika were the most wholesome, but they acted like an old married couple. There was no tension, conflict, or sexual chemistry. Many of their scenes did not have any direction. They just bantered and played around. If they were a real life couple, they would've been a joy to watch. But this is a TV drama that needs conflict, especially for a young couple. They kissed a couple of times at the beginning of their relationship and that was the height of their romantic chemistry, never to be seen again. It was pretty unbelievable that the writers thought it was a good idea to write a young couple spending so much time alone and never making out.

Wenbo/Qingxia were plain toxic. She arbitrarily started liking him after meeting him maybe twice and began pursuing him. He also liked her, but for some stupid reason kept rejecting her. Instead of moving on after being repeatedly rejected, she kept pursuing him and he kept rejecting her. His lame explanation later on revealed that he was rejecting her because he thought she was better matched with another guy. Seriously? And, this tripe lasted for 30+ episodes. When they finally got together, I couldn't care less. I actually ended up skipping most of their scenes because their bickering was exhausting.

Chief Shao/Sister Keyao were just ok. In most of their scenes, they spent time together without any romantic chemistry. There was nothing interesting about them at all.

Overall, the drama would've been a lot better if it was cut by half and had a lot more conflict and romantic chemistry. Instead, we had to watch scenes upon scenes of young people acting like they've been married for decades. The story was boring a lot more often than it was exciting. There were a lot of filler scenes of characters just doing mundane things. I ended up skipping through a lot in the last ten episodes just to get it over with. The last three episodes with the hostages were interesting, everything between the beginning and the end was a snooze fest.

Citeste mai mult

Mediocre

The drama couldn't decide whether it was a crime drama, a political drama, a mystery, or a romantic comedy. The writers threw everything into the plot turning it into an incoherent mess. Starting out as a romantic comedy, it quickly devolved into a very complicated mess of political intrigue, mystery, murder, conspiracy, and extremely boring romance. All the characters were uninteresting. ML would apologize to FL in every episode for withholding information and then doing it again. The love triangle between the crown prince, ML and FL was pointless and really really boring. The plotline with the underground alcohol distillery was not even the main story, the main story was political conspiracy.

The show would've been so much better if the writers just kept it simple, a romantic comedy with the inspector trying to uncover an illegal alcohol business during prohibition with FL being the ring leader. What a waste of potential that could've been a really fun drama.

Citeste mai mult

Fun show

This is not a historical drama. This is a drama set in a historical period while applying modern concepts of female empowerment, which will never work in ancient China. Take this drama for what it is - entertainment, not an accurate representation of history.

The acting and chemistry between the characters was great. The relationship between Yin Zheng and Li Wei was endearing, wholesome, and very cute. They were the whole package - mutual respect, understanding, devotion, and love. Yin Zheng was unspoiled and dutiful. Li Wei was optimistic and loving. Even the side characters were fun.

The only minus is that the drama did not really have a coherent plot. I guess the central idea was the relationship between ML and FL, except most of the story centered around female characters and sisterhood. At the beginning, ML and FL met and started liking each other. Then the story switched to female characters, making the romance kind of a side story. And, towards the end, the story switched back to the relationship between ML and FL. Some characters wholly disappeared after they reached a certain milestone. Song Wu was completely written off after she got marred, even though she was a constant semi-annoying presence at the beginning. The same was with the second prince after he was exiled. It seemed the writers were not too focused on the conflict. Nevertheless, the drama had a pretty good pacing, character development, and wholesome relationships. This is one of those rare stories were women do not undermine and betray each other for men and power, but instead, help and uplift each other.

If you are looking for a feel-good story without a deep plot, this is it.

Citeste mai mult

Mostly good

Honestly, the drama should have ended after 12 episodes, after Min Hwan and Soo Min got married. That seemed to be the logical conclusion to the main plot of revenge and second chances. Instead, we got new characters and convoluted plotlines for the next 4 episodes involving an evil ex-fience and greedy parents. Those elements were completely unnecessary and felt very forced just to stretch the story until the last episode.

The acting was mostly good. The villains were very convincing. But I was not so sure about Ji Hyuk. I liked Na In Woo in River Where the Moon Rises, but aloof characters just don't work. Even the most stiff-looking character needs a personality and he cannot fully hide emotions. Ji Hyuk was uninteresting most of the time and that affected his chemistry with Ji Won. The kissing was hot, but everything else in between was kind of bland.

Citeste mai mult

Weird plot development

In the middle of the drama, the writers decided to throw everything in, including the kitchen sink. Romance? Check. A hint of a love triangle? Check? Multiple side characters with multiple romance side stories? Check? Anti-fandom villains? Check. Parental abandonment? Check. Crazy obsessive fans? Check. Bromance? Check. A dead friend trauma? Check. I ended up skipping through most of the scenes because this was too much!

The first half was very light hearted, filled with silliness and comedy. ML and FL were figuring out their feelings for each other and then became a couple. There wasn't any real conflict outside of the romantic development. After that, the writers suddenly decided to introduce a conflict - the anti-fandom, the crazy rich lady, ML's estranged mother and his childhood trauma, the dead best friend. The only downside was that the writers forgot to actually develop the plot and make these storylines interesting.

I did like ML's and FL's relationship, the love and support she gave him, with no cliche tropes involving misunderstandings and silly love triangles. However, it was very one sided. She was always taking care and supporting him because he was the celebrity and the center of all the controversy. But, he didn't do anything for her. She had virtually no personality and purpose outside of her role as his PR manager. The writers should've developed her character separately from his with her own story to allow reciprocity in their relationship where he could be there for her equally as much during hard times and trauma.

I ended up skipping most of the scenes with the side characters because it felt like filler. They were not developed enough to be interesting and the show gave them too much screen time.

Another cringey thing was the characterization of women and how they responded to romantic situations. These were not high school girls, or even young adults. These were adult women well into their careers, and they spent too much time running away and screaming when faced with awkward romantic situations. A little bit of awkwardness is ok, but this was a totally immature and childish response from grown-ass adults.

Overall, the romance was very sweet and cute, but there were too many filler scenes with forgettable side characters and a convoluted plot. The kissing was hot!

Citeste mai mult

Fun!

So fun! This drama manages to cleverly mix comedy with an actual plot involving conspiracy, murder, and corruption.

All the good characters are likable. All the villains are deplorable. ML and FL have really good romantic chemistry and are so much fun together. I normally don't like love triangles, but I didn't mind this one because it didn't drag out the romantic tension too much and settled who was going to be the endgame couple relatively fast.

Even though the drama was short with only 12 episodes, the pacing was good and the story wrapped up nicely. The acting was awesome. Kim Young Dae and Park Ju Hyun are both really good actors and have amazing onscreen chemistry.

Citeste mai mult

Started out so well

The drama had a lot of positives: good acting, compelling plot, romantic chemistry, and a complete lack of cliche tropes which I really appreciated. But, convoluted plotlines really brought the quality down.

ML went through a very intense character development starting as a clumsy and goofy mountain man and graduating to a giga-Chad "God of War". Na Im Woo playing Dal really helped in developing the character. He is probably the biggest man I've ever seen in Asian drama, so it was completely fitting for him to play an unbreakable warrior. Writers did a great job at flushing out Dal's motivations for fighting. Being a pacifist, he stayed away from conflict. But falling in love gave him something to protect. Him calling Ga Jin his "country" was very meaningful and it showed that she was the center of his universe and everything he did he did for her.

While the drama had really good characterization and good romantic chemistry, the plot gradually became very convoluted with more plotlines than it could handle. The story started out as a political drama where ML helped FL fight political corruption and an uprising against her family. This should've been the only plot line because there was plenty of story to work with. Unfortunately, the plot got entangled with additional characters and storylines involving outside forces that had nothing to do with the main plot, the assassin's sect and another country, none of which had anything in common with the main story. The writers tried to tie it all together, but it wasn't really convincing. The assassin's motivation for revenge was the murder of his family. But the writers didn't develop the character enough for us to care. There was one flashback of his family dying and that's it. Other than that, he was just a plot device for the main characters to act and drive the main plot forward without getting any meaningful development of his own.

The writers also seemed to be confused about Dal's character direction. His personality went full circle back to pacifism because the writers unnecessarily created too much conflict that involved unnecessary fighting. Fighting was his own decision to protect the woman he loved, which was enough to resolve his internal conflict between staying peaceful and fighting for love. Some reviews here put the blame on the princess who fixated too much on the country's problems and disregarded Dal's feelings. I cannot agree with that. Ga Jin was the princess who had the weight of the world on her shoulders and a warrior trying to protect the country and her royal family against assassination attempts and a political revolt. She did not have the luxury to worry about feelings, even when it came to Dal. Dal just worried about Ga Jin and followed her. Creating an additional arc about his feelings and just have him leave went completely against everything he worked for. Ga Jin was his entire world. He lived for her. The way he was originally written, he would've never left her.

And then the ending... **SPOILERS**

Honestly, it would've been better if Dal died in battle. Even his "death" scene was underwhelming - getting randomly ambushed after the war ended and pretending to die by getting into suspended animation so he could disappear from civilization. Dal and Ga Jin could've just retires from war and lives a peaceful life. If the writers stuck to the original plot involving political intrigue, the show would've been so much more interesting. Moreover, the last few episodes introduced a completely new storyline which did not even fit into the original plot. I didn't want to drop the drama because I was so close to the end, but I couldn't wait for it to end.

Overall, I really loved the drama even with all of the unnecessary plotlines, but the ending just completely disappointed me.

Citeste mai mult

A decent medical drama with lukewarm romance

I liked the medical aspect of the drama involving figuring out difficult diagnoses and treating patients. It was also interesting how doctors resolved the moral dilemma between saving lives and ensuring the quality of care for terminally ill patients, and, the moral implications of voluntary euthanasia.

I didn't really care for FL and found her a bit boring. At the beginning, she had her own story and trauma, which made her interesting. Later on, her arc was forgotten and she just obsessed over Dr. Cha's diagnosis involving a lot of overacted crying on her part. This was a bit disappointing because trauma was what allowed FL and ML to form a bond. Overcoming their issues together would've been an interesting character and plot development. The romance was also a bit underwhelming. After FL confessed, the story was left at that as the plot centered around Dr. Cha's illness until the romance arc was nicely wrapped up at the end in a feel-good way. I do like happy endings.

I did like the resolution to the Dr. Cha's/prosecutor's/nurse's arc relating to the murder of their children and the resentment from Dr. Cha's mercy killing of the suspect. We had a very genuine apology, a heart-to-heart conversation, healing, and moving on. I also liked that Dr. Cha helped with the prosecutor's cancer which allowed them to actually become friends at the end. This story left me feelings really good and hopeful that even the worst of tragedies can be overcome with forgiveness, acceptance, and moving forward.

Citeste mai mult

Good drama

It was a solid drama with some flaws. It took place over several lifetimes and told a love story between Ye Hua and Bai Qian. The first arc between Sin Yi and Mo Yuan was a little boring. Nothing exciting happened. She became his disciple and trained with him. It was evident that they were close but there was no romance between them. The romance was actually between her and Li Jing who cheated on her and broke her heart.

The saddest arc was between Susu and Ye Hua. Susu was a mortal who was dragged into the heaven realm while pregnant where she was abused, blinded, and then jumped to her death. That scene was very well done and conveyed the hopelessness and heartbreak that the characters felt. It was probably the highlight of the entire show.

The arc between Bai Qian and Ye Hua was sometimes frustrating. Bai Qian was the nine-tailed fox goddess. Nine-tailed goddesses take the form of beautiful and seductive women. Bai Qian was a beautiful woman but she was anything but a seductress. She was actually quite obtuse when it came to matters of the heart, which went completely against whom she was supposed to be. Her interactions with Ye Hua were often awkward. He was very handsy and pushy with her. She looked uncomfortable. Those scenes could have been filmed better with less awkwardness and a little more tact from Ye Hua. I did like their sexual chemistry. It was refreshing to see kisses between adults not looking like toddlers pecking each other on the lips.

The show could have developed Bai Qian's character a bit more where she came into her own as a goddess. She didn't really do much besides sleeping on tree branches and drinking wine. She was a high goddess and answered to no-one. Even the heaven emperor respected her. The only time when she showed any backbone was when she confronted Su Jin. It was a very satisfying scene watching Su Jin getting her comeuppance.

I didn't care about most secondary characters. Li Jing pining after Bai Qian for tens of thousands of years, while ignoring his wife, was very boring. I didn't care about his sister either or anything that was going on in the ghost realm. Even though it was a long drama with almost 60 episodes, there were way too many characters who brought little value to the plot.

Overall, it's a good drama and I watched it twice.

Citeste mai mult

It's ok

This show should really be taken with a grain of salt. It is funny and it doesn't take itself seriously. That's why it is so ridiculous.

One thing that I didn't like about it was that it didn't stay consistent with the genre. It's a romantic comedy. Therefore, it should be light and upbeat. General Jin Fu's sister dying was completely unexpected and unnecessary. There should've been another way to find out that the wedding dress was poisoned without breaking out of the genre. Unfortunately, this happens a lot in Asian dramas. They often mix comedy, tragedy, and drama into a muddy mess.

Citeste mai mult

Meh

The show started out pretty good. I liked the different dynamics between FL and the three males. Each man was different and brought something unique to the story. I also liked that the show did not fixate on angsty and long-winded love triangles. It was evident from the 1st episode where the romance was going. However, even with all the tropey moments, ML and FL's chemistry was still lacking and they spent most of the time just talking and hanging out. I wanted to see more.

Unfortunately, the story fizzled out pretty quickly. Nothing was really happening and the mystery was gone. I am less than half-way done and bored out of my mind.

Citeste mai mult

Didn't do anything for me

I tried to like this drama because of Ji Chang Wook, but it didn't do it for me. Most of the characters are unlikable, the romance is lackluster, and the plot is draggy.

One of the biggest problems with the drama is Eun Bong Hee. She is a young professional who acts more like a pouty teenager than a lawyer. The writers don't help her character by giving her a slightly infantile personality with perpetually pouty lips and childish hobbies. I'm not sure why it is compelling to have a young adult write in a pink diary with stickers and a garden variety of emojis like she is in middle school. To make matters worse, she totally lacks any common sense and self-restraint by strolling around campus and singing songs about cursing and killing her cheating ex-boyfriend. The woman is a clumsy and immature mess, but we are supposed to think she is adorable.

As much as I like Ji Chang Wook as an actor, I didn't feel any romantic chemistry between the main couple. His acting is diverse with a variety of emotions. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about Nam Ji Hyun. She isn't very good at conveying emotion and has one default confused look with pouty lips. Their interactions often feel like an adult talking to a teenager, making the romantic chemistry very bland. Moreover, some of their actions are confusing. He doesn't reciprocate her feelings right away. But, when he does, she refuses to accept them even though she is still in love with him. The writers obviously try to add tension to the plot but, instead, they make the characters act illogical.

The villain is the only character who is interesting. This is the first time I saw Dong Ha in a role and he absolutely nailed it.

The continuous Papa John's product placement was off-putting.

This was a one-time watch for me. The 20/40 episode extended run time dragged the pacing. The show would've benefited from better editing.

Citeste mai mult

Cheesy, boring, and forgettable

This is a typical K-drama with overused tropes - childhood oppas, piggy-back rides, cutesy FLs, a love rival. The story follows the same old trend creating a mediocre FL with no real talents. In comparison to ML, who is a former bad-boy mobster, tall and handsome, wears black, and has a voice as smooth as velvet, she is an unattractive, clumsy female who dresses like a grandma and has no real talents or ambition. But, a woman with a fashion sense and career aspirations is portrayed as an opportunistic b*tch. So therein lies the problem with this trope, the writers attempt to create a relatable girl-next-door stereotype, but end up with a clumsy and annoying mess who can't even wipe the floor without causing a scene. But, we are supposed to think this 30 y/o numbskull is adorable.

The plot is slow and draggy. The two main characters have no real chemistry because the romantic scenes are reduced to comedic tropes. Their conversations are middle school level cringe, even though both are in their 30s. The only reason why ML is even attracted to FL is because she is good with kids, a rare quality indeed. And, as soon as he is attracted to her, all of his intelligence and bad-boy charm go out of the window turning him into a blubbering idiot. Apparently, the writers decided this level of tropey garbage is a convincing romantic development between two grown adults.

There is nothing new here. The plot is filled with same boring cliches and underwhelming romance.

Citeste mai mult