It felt like the highlights of a greater story.

You know what? I want to watch either the show they teased in the trailer one year ago, because what we’ve got was just completely different material, or what we’ve got here, but in a longer format.

I’ll start with the biggest flaw I saw, to get it over with. Earth was miscast. To everyone who honestly thinks Earth fits the role - drop me the name of your country, I gotta go and find myself a 40 but looking 20 daddy. Don’t know what kind of fountain of youth your government is selling for you to think he is believable “about to be” middle aged man, but I want some of it.

And please don’t start with: some people look younger than their age. Sure, but this is literally not the case in this story. Not once was it part of the discussion how he looks good for his age. I mean, the fact that Wen even asked Jim if Li Ming was his son suggests, Jim is supposed to look his age. He just looked way too much like a peer next to Mix and Khaotung.

Because of that, many scenes that were more hard hitting and emotional, felt simply not sincere. He is the main character, so if I cannot connect to him, the whole show starts to fall apart. This is what happens when profiting from a popular and established pairing is more important than proper casting. Pro tip to directors - if you are not willing to cast age appropriate actors, do not try to make shows with big age gaps between characters or about characters who are in their late 30’ and 40’. (Putting this casting into perspective - the actor playing Heart’s father is 45).

That said, I’m not gonna act as if it will for sure ruin the watching experience for everyone - it will not. It’s just something that I personally cannot ignore, especially since the character’s age was brought up over and over again in conversations.

Putting Jim aside, I actually enjoyed a lot of other characters and their interactions. Wen and Li Ming were truly adorable, with this older/younger brother dynamic, and Wen did a good job being the bridge between the uncle and the teen. He made them both understand each other better.

I also found Wen’s and Alan’s relationship fascinating and wish we would see more of it. It seemed like they made almost every possible mistake to end up in this situation, and trying to fix it right away would be an impossible task.

Heart and Li Ming were obviously fans’ favorites. Did I like them? Yes. Do I feel like their interactions were too similar to My School President and it was a bit like watching the same characters just in a different context? Also yes.

Honestly speaking, Alan was my favorite character and one that I was most curious about. It should also be illegal to give Khaotung such a tiny role taking into consideration his talent. I find it a bit funny how, in my view, two most talented actors in the show were sidelined like that.

While I enjoyed Earth and Mix in their other projects, I did not quite like them here. The main couple was for me the weakest aspect of the whole show. I enjoyed the characters far more with other people, compared to watching them interact with each other.

Giving credit where credit is due, Moonlight Chicken tries to tackle more serious issues and steps away from the typical high school romance. It does not follow the “one relationship for the life” idea, showing the past relationships of the main characters. It gives us a deaf community representation in a tactful manner. It shows that at times putting more effort will not save the relationship, and the most healthy way is to just end it and leave. It shows various types of parents-kids relationships, and how there are no right and wrong universal answers, it all depends on the circumstances.

While I appreciate the writer and director bringing all these important issues to the table, I also feel like they were more of an appetizer than a whole meal. It’s undeniable that they did not have enough time to truly dive deep into any of these topics, so at the end it felt more like highlights of a greater story. Personally, I prefer my slice of life character driven shows in a slower pace, that gives me time to digest everything that is happening on the screen.

The quality of the production fluctuated quite a bit. Some scenes were a true perfection and there was not a detail that had to be changed to improve them. But then some scenes had such sloppy lighting I actually laughed. What I loved for sure though were the set designs. Aesthetically pleasing, but not over the top that it looked unnatural. You saw it and you believed - yes, someone lives/works here.

Overall, it has many great messages, many great lines. Could have been one of the best BLs if the production was a bit more daring, but also selective in terms of the story and the casting.

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Right or wrong is only a matter of perspective.

I love a show that makes me engaged. That makes me think and question presented topics. That makes me want to think how I would react if I was presented with the same ideas, what would be my questions and doubts, and who would I side with. That makes me analyze the statements of the characters trying to figure out what flaws they might have, and in what aspects they are correct. Three-Body is all that.

I saw quite a number of people say that you need to be patient with this show to enjoy it. I would honestly disagree. Being patient means you need to tolerate something negative, and I see no such a thing in the show. Slow pace? For me it added to the charm of it. The even pacing, how each time they dropped a new hint, they added a few more questions, the mystery of it all, the lack of answers - for me, these are exactly the things I loved about it. So if someone finds these annoying, I don’t think any level of patience will make them like Three-Body in the end.

My favorite aspect of the drama was how it exposed the limits of human’s perception and cognition. How limited we are by our beliefs, hopes, motives, experiences and even biological aspects. We are painfully biased towards our own species. But it also shows how normal that is and that it can be, at least to some extent, overcome.

Not to mention the diversity of the characters in terms of their personalities, motivations, moralities. It’s truly an art how they slowly showed all the layers of the characters, their perspectives and plans. It was a perfectly crafted journey. They knew exactly when to disclose different information to keep the interest of the viewers.

How hard is it to understand the show? I’m not gonna lie, it’s not an easy watch, but that comes from someone who knows exactly nothing about physics. I had to rewatch a few scenes to understand the theories, some google searches also helped. All that is not needed to get the big picture, but it adds to the viewing experience.

Were there any things that bothered me or could potentially bother others? Yes. Since the drama invites you to analyze everything and pay attention to all the details, it’s also easier to pick up some inconsistencies. That said, a lot of them can be excused by the unreliable narrator at any given moment and their own goals in sharing some, but not all information, and at times even distorting it.

What’s more - we don’t get clear cut answers for a lot of questions asked. Some of it might be the result of the drama being based on just the first book in the trilogy, but some seem to be left vague with no hope for solid answers even in next installments. I can clearly see how this could piss off many people, me being weird, I actually enjoyed it. The fact that I had to form my own theories on why some things happened based on the hints and bits of information was an additional entertainment for me.

There were two moments in the drama that made me go: okay, that’s dumb. That said, two scenes in 30 episodes is a ration of dumbness I can easily ignore.

Last criticism I have is the whole existence of Mu Xing - she did not bring anything new or important to the table. She did not offer an interesting perspective nor a unique take on the events happening. She was there as a plot device and I find it a bit disappointing.

For the performances - some were better than others, but all were great. Chen Jin and Wang Zi Wen did an amazing job portraying the same characters in different moments of her life. You can see the changes in her, but she still seems like the same person. I loved Yu He Wei as Shi Qiang and he easily became my favorite character. I loved his bond with Wang Miao, and even though they could not exist in more different worlds, they formed a perfect partnership.

One performance that seemed a bit flat was Li Xiao Ran as Shen Yu Fei - she was supposed to be this driven woman with a mission, but she overall just seemed numb and detached.

The production value was perfection. I truly have zero complaints. I loved the small animation bits explaining the Farmer and Shooter theories, I loved the game graphics, I loved the set designs. I especially loved everything about how the past story was presented. So many aesthetically beautiful moments.

Talking about Three-Body, I need to mention the soundtrack. I was in awe from the first seconds of any of the songs and even just the ambient sounds used for many scenes. It added so much to the storytelling and perfectly built the atmosphere.

Overall, I could not recommend it more if you like complex stories that require full attention and some additional brainpower for theory making, since they don’t really spoon feed you all the answers. How much you can enjoy the show depends on how much you are motivated to figure out the mystery and story behind the characters.

Ps. Can it be viewed as stand alone? Kind of. Depends on how much of a closure you are expecting.
Ps 2. I need 2nd season yesterday.

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Representation of mental health topics does not get any better than this. From writing, directing, acting up to editing - everything was well thought through to convey the message and the portrayal of the depression and the consequences it has on the patient, but also people around them.

James did an amazing job as Boo. I believed every second of his acting and it truly broke my heart. I could clearly see how vulnerable he was. How he fought, gave up and fought again. The few glimpses of hope he showed, how it motivated him to take action, but also the fear that paralyzed him at times. The whole arc of the character was amazing. The parallel between the beginning and ending scenes created this perfect, cohesive picture. Truth to be told, when I saw the ending sequence with Boo's narration I was shocked by how perfect it was. I would not change anything. The most satisfying ending I have ever seen in a drama. I could see that a lot of thought and planning was put into filming and writing it.

The good writing can also be seen with Bell's character. In the beginning, the conversation she has with her superior about the connection and empathy she feels to her patients was foreshadowing of what's to come. She was an amazing friend to Boo, but she was truly not that good of a psychiatrist. And I am 100% fine with it, as it was well written for her character. Not only was she just an intern, so she did not have that much practical experience yet, she also picked that specific job because of emotional and personal reasons that made it hard for her to stay objective.

I love how the show tackled the issue of how depression can affect others around them and how hard it is for people who have never been depressed and have no psychological/psychiatric knowledge to understand it. Starting with the dad, who had a hard time accepting his son might have such a big problem, to Simon, who might have had good intentions, but at times his actions were not fitting when dealing with someone struggling emotionally like Boo.

The show hints about many issues concerning mental health. One of the lines that is stuck in my head is "You think because he's depressed, he can't do anything wrong?" said by one of Simon's friends. Just this one line made me pause the show. I started to think, how much responsibility can a person with severe mental problems really take, how can a victim of their actions feel and react when they can't even truly blame anyone for what happened? Who should take the responsibility? There were many moments that just made you stop and think about the presented topic.

I also have to talk about the clever editing and them trying to visually present the symptoms of depression and Boo's feelings. I felt like they truly wanted to make sure the audience would understand the presented content. The perfection of the scene that was Bell explaining to Boo's dad the core idea of what depression is, was too perfect for me to describe. Her psychiatric approach and explanations intertwined with Boo describing how these symptoms express in him... wow. I literally clapped as I was watching this scene, because I was simply so impressed.

That said, even though in my eyes, this show is pure perfection, it's not for everyone. It's extremely graphic and at times emotionally exhausting. It presents the severe case of depression with all the symptoms of it (including self harm and suicide attempts). It might be too heavy for some.

I would recommend it for anyone who struggles with grasping the idea of mental health struggles and feels like it's hard to imagine how it can manifest in a daily behavior and what it truly means. The explanation does not get any better than here.

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The drama had an amazing idea for a great character, but somehow it has slowly been losing the charm the closer to the end we've got.

CHARACTERS
While the writer had a clear idea for both male lead characters, Dong Sik and In Woo, and both of their stories were quite well developed and concluded, Shim Bo Kyung was left to do what usually side characters do - react the right way to progress the plot.

Dong Sik, the definition of a loser, because of a quite humorous and coincidental string of accidents takes the persona of a serial killer. Having an amnesia and being faced with the reality of either being a pushover or a serial killer, he thinks of the former being more painful and scary and he accepts the possibility of being a psychopath, rationalizing all of his humane and empathetic behaviors for them to fit his new identity.

Seo In Woo, a serial killer who thinks he found his soulmate and killing partner in Dong Sik. His growing obsession over Dong Sik leads him to also credit the main lead with more wits, smarts and planning skills than he is capable of. Never being cared for by people in his environment, he hopes for a place of understanding in Dong Sik.

Shim Bo Kyung, who wished to be a detective until her father's accident. Since that time she kept having hallucinations of her father at the prime time of his career. The hallucinations were nothing more than her repressed hopes and wishes to follow his footsteps in the crime department. Sadly, her character in most cases was just used to forward the plot, the idea of hallucinations was not addressed enough. Not to mention her character was extremely inconsistent in terms of her skills. At times she had amazing intuition and deductive skills, but at the same time she failed to notice and connect many, quite obvious clues.
The combination of these three characters made quite an interesting and entertaining story and the ever changing interactions between them made me question who at the moment has the upper hand.

ENDING (no spoilers)
The fact that the ending was quite predictable from the get go was not a problem, since this drama focuses more on the journey not the destination.

PROS
Good acting of all the main and supporting actors, a variety of different characters that make it easier to find someone we can relate to, extremely good chemistry between Dong Sik and In Woo and the shifts in the dynamics between them.

CONS
Too much comedy took away from the serious aspect of the drama and made the villain less scary and impactful (he is a serial killer after all), unrealistic portrayal of police work to the point of it being ridiculous at times, less entertaining second half of the drama, not a strong first episode.

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When the episodic format was both the best and the worst part of the show.

This is a drama made for all the fans of friendship, bromance, male and female friendships, discussions on the topic of loss and how to deal with it, presented in an easy to digest manner. For all that love great acting and good on screen chemistry. Viewers who like to accompany the characters on their journey to figure out who they are, what they like, what they are good at and who and what they care about. Do you fit in the group? It’s more than likely you will enjoy it.

The best aspect of the drama was easily Tseng Jing Hua’s performance and Pu Yi Yong’s character. There is so much depth in that performance. The best part? The gaze. Depending on the situation Jing Hua was able to completely change the way he looked at people and things, and clearly show the viewers all the emotions the character was feeling. With all the hardships he had to go through after the coma and newly discovered "skills" - we were presented with a strong, but also vulnerable lead.

Yi Yong, Guang Yan and Chu Ying became one of the most entertaining trio I have watched this year. Distinctive personalities which at first seem not to mash up well, created a mix one cannot resist and ends up loving. Yi Yong being the most empathic, Guang Yan - smart and genuine, and Chu Ying driven and motivated, three characters perfectly fitting into a well known trope of “heart, brain and muscle”, but at the same time being more than the two-dimensional trope.

While the separate cases of the spirits and their stories were great and had surprisingly a lot of depth and detailed background, I cannot say the same about the overall arc and plot. And that was my biggest issue - I enjoyed the show when I was watching, but I did not feel the urgent need to check the new episodes as they aired.

Most of the longer plotlines were not elaborated and explored enough and the set up to the conclusion was weak. They dropped some information here and there, but they did not diversify the hints enough. You need to literally cut out and paint your own puzzle pieces to truly create a full picture in your head. There are a lot of great revelations in the last episode, but they would be far more impactful if they were spread in time a bit. Instead of dropping all that’s important in the last episode, how about showing bits and pieces in the earlier episodes? Sounds like a more engaging storytelling method.

Basically - they opened with a really elaborate set up for the characters and their backgrounds, then we get close to nothing for most of the show, just to be hit with a tsunami of information by the end…

As I said earlier, Tseng Jing Hua’s performance was one of the best aspects of the drama, but truth to be told, the whole cast did a phenomenal job. Big props to Jack Yao, who played my favorite spirit.

The production was amazing. Brilliant styling and design for all the spirits - all unique in their own way. Everything just created a cohesive and believable picture, which is honestly not that easy to do, when your show has so many fantasy elements.

All the calligraphy scenes? Pure perfection! From the acting of Tseng Jing Hua (again, how the character’s gaze changed each time he picked up the brush just gave me goosebumps), to the design of the whole process, up to the CGI and camera work!

Overall, great drama that slightly missed the target to be an unforgettable beautiful journey.

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10 stories for 120 minutes of screen time. Roughly 12 minutes per story. Not enough. I understand that these are suppose to be a short formal, creepy past like tales, but the 15 minutes format should be the minimum. You need time to built at least a hint of a tension.

Tunnel ★☆☆☆☆
The first short story ended, before it even started. It's hard to have any meaningful opinion or thoughts about it with how short it was. Sure, there was one nice semi-gory picture created closer to the end, but overall - too short to create the atmosphere or to deliver the scares.

The Woman in Red ★☆☆☆☆
Revengeful ghost and vague insinuation on why she even mad. What stood out in this short? Bad acting and bad special effects. When the ghost started to do Spiderman impersonation, I lost it.

Tooth Worms ★★★☆☆
I knew this is going to be a ride the moment they opened it with the perspective of being in someone's mouth as they get check up by hot dentist Hoya. I'm not sure how scary it was, but it did make me feel extremely uncomfortable. Acting wise - Hoya delivered!

Necromancy ★★☆☆☆
This story was more of what I was expecting to see when I started Seoul Ghost Stories - typical creepy pasta type of a deal, with decent effects for a short like that. the acting was also fine.

The Wall ★★★☆☆
That was a short, fun and wacky story. A unique love line if anyone asks me.

The Closet ★★★☆☆
This is scary because of the more realistic scenario. I do wish they were a little bit more clear if there was any supernatural involvement, but nevertheless, this still gave me the most creeps. A bit exaggerated, but something that could potentially happen.

Ghost Marriage ★☆☆☆☆
When horror stories deliver shower abs scenes - I cannot force myself to complain. Sadly, that was the best part of the story.

The Girl in the Mirror ★☆☆☆☆
When you are hunted by the horror snapshot filters, even outside of the app. That's the story. Yes, it's as boring as it sounds.

The Mannequin ★★★☆☆
This was a win. They were able to built quite a tension in just few minutes and the design for the mannequin was extremely good. It just looked so weird and uncanny - and the movement. I would pee my pants if I ever come across something like that.

Escape Games ★★★☆☆
I'm impressed with Alexa's acting (funny how her Korean line delivery was more natural than the English one) and the props aka the bodies. Good stuff. Probably best practical and special effects from all the stories. The concept was not exactly unique - Escape Room meets occultists. Still, a fun watch. Better than majority of the stories in this compilation.

The starts next to the title will tell you how good they are compared to each other, rather than overall quality.

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It’s a bit like an extremely pretty art, but then you find out it was made by AI and it starts to feel a bit empty. On paper it’s a perfect soft angst full of longing and pinning, but the closer you look, the more imperfections you find.

While I did find the overall idea behind the story compelling, I’m not so sure about the execution, especially on Ikegami Fumiya's side. He did not tell the truth with hopes it will save the relationship, as they can start over, but then he kept making sure to not cross the line between roommates and potential romantic partners. This behavior was something I did not quite understand. My guy was in a risky business - deciding to hide the past in hopes for a better future, without actually being sure Ritsu will never remember their relationship, and without actually trying to be with Ritsu in the present.

That said, I actually find Ritsu harder to figure out and judge. We know little about him before the accident, and his present self was driven by what he forgot - trying to remember and being confused about his place and life. Because of that, he felt less defined than Fumiya and harder to connect to.

Since this is a relationship and character driven show, I put some effort into trying to understand the characters, and that was the mistake. If you try to dig deeper into what is happening on screen, you start to see a lot of small things that make little sense and at some point it becomes a pile too hard to ignore. I think the best way to watch it is just accept whatever they throw at you without asking too many questions.

Acting wise, it had its ups and downs. For the most part I had no complaints. The slightly dull delivery was clearly the directing choice to fit the overall atmosphere of the drama. That one time Honda Kyoya literally squeezed that one tear out of his eye made me chuckle.

That said, I still think it’s a solid melancholic watch. Some of the editing and the transitions between the scenes might be a bit confusing, but for some strange reason it adds to the charm. In a subtle way it shows how all relationships need work, and without addressing the core issues, you cannot start over and be happy, even if you get to hit the reset button.

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Finishing this drama is like saying goodbye to your good friend…

And all you have left are warm memories. As I watched, I started to feel like part of the community - I truly knew these characters, I understood their struggles, hopes and motivations and I wanted them to succeed and find happiness.

Healing is the best way to describe it. There are no exciting plots and crazy twists. It’s all daily struggles, small talks, forming friendships, moments of compassion, reminiscing of the past, dealing with the present, planning for the future. The magic of mundane existence in the beautiful surroundings.

Meet Yourself is a story filled with diverse and unique characters - each presenting a different perspective and ways of dealing with their traumas, mistakes, shortcomings and fears. This is a drama that holds many life lessons and precious moments that warm your heart and soul and leave a smile on your face. One of the aspects I appreciated the most was it did not solely focused on the younger cast. Older people were not just a background to showcase the passage of time, to show the future struggles the youngsters might face. They were their own people with vibrant personalities - sometimes far more energetic and driven than their kids and grandkids. I love how the drama took its time to establish well written and developed elderly characters.

It also presents a beautiful variety of relationships - be it romantic or platonic. Family, friends, partners, acquaintances - clearing showing how other people have a big impact on our life, but that we also leave some traces even after what seemed like meaningless interactions. Some people will forever be part of our life, even after they are gone, some were a tiny peace, a passing memory - even if we don’t see it now, all these moments mold us into who we are, and change us into who we are meant to be.

From brilliant and well paced writing to amazing performances, Meet Yourself is truly a whole package. Almost 1000 screenshots I took are a statement of itself - this show is stunning, a visual feast accompanied by a charming soundtrack (Validate being one of my favorites songs).

Honestly, it just feels like this drama was crafted with love and care.

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Slice of life with touch of investigation and grim undertones.

Technically The Silence of the Monster had all the typical slice of life elements - a group of characters creating a bond with each other, learning many useful and meaningful life lessons and learning how to overcome their struggles and traumas. It was cute and fun to watch. And yet, the drama managed to add the darker twist to it all, making it seem like the happiness was diluted, and the bubble could burst any time.

It was all possible thanks to the characters and how they were portrayed - especially for Luo Bin and He Chu Feng. The events of their past were still haunting them in the present, and even though they tried to move on, sometimes you need to face the tragedy, before you can build your happiness.

Luo Bin and Chu Feng had a great dynamic going on - one more reserved, the other not being able to stay still and quiet for more than a few minutes. What the show did well was giving small tweaks to who we thought the characters were. Chu Feng was not really this cold and quiet type, and Lou Bin was not as happy and carefree as it seemed.

On the other hand, while I enjoyed Sui Yi a lot, her character had nowhere near as much depth and complexity as the two male leads. For me, she represented the normality in the show - pretty, smart, hardworking, good natured. She brought the sunlight and warmth to Monster Vintage.

But then, we have Xiao An, whom I would not even consider one of the main characters. She showed up really late, she had little to no personality and presence on the screen. The development of her relationship with other characters was poorly paced and she never truly seemed like a part of the team for me.

The plot of The Silence of the Monster might seem like an investigation focused story, but for me, playing Sherlock Holme was more of a means to deliver the messages. It never felt like the focus was on the cases themselves, but rather on the people involved, especially the victims. Through the investigation, the drama presented many important social and personal messages. It tackles subjects like stalking and cyber crime, prejudice, animal cruelty, divorce/remarriage and the impact it might have on the child, mental health issues, trauma, the consequences of the white lies, and many more.

Sadly, plot wise, around episode 20 it all slowed down and I started to lose interest. The cases were nowhere near as interesting as the ones at the beginnings, the transition from the case by case scenario, to linking them to create a bigger picture was questionable. And the big bad guys were simply laughable.

The performances in most cases were great. I especially liked the raw emotions Annie Sun showed in the last few episodes. Both Bi Wen Jun and Zhu Zheng Ting had a strong delivery throughout the whole show. Ye Peng was capable of portraying Gu Nam in a way I had moments when I did empathize with him, even though I completely disagreed with his actions. The only performance that did not convince me at all was Baby Zhang, but it’s hard for me to judge how much was it the actress's fault, and how much I should blame the writing of the character.

The thing that stood out the most in a positive way were the costumes, styling, set designs, sceneries and the soundtrack. The whole show seemed like a piece of art, proven by 468 screenshots I took. I loved the vintage vibes they used, that felt stylish and not outdated. I liked a lot of the wide shots with the focus point not being in the center, but rather on one of the sides.

Soundtrack wise, I think Clare Duan - Tao Hao was my favorite song, but honestly speaking, literally every song was perfect and a gem worth adding to the playlist. Well fitting the drama, the scenes and the atmosphere created by the visual means.

Overall, it was a great watch, but the few complaints I had, had quite an impact on the overall quality of the show. It’s still worth watching and diving into the mysterious, but somehow welcoming and warm world of Monster Vintage.

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Predictable and rather simple, yet surprisingly charming.

Not gonna lie, this is not the most complex story I have seen. It’s the same old crime for greed dressed in fantasy elements. Yet, this fantasy set up makes it stand out compared to other shows and make the watch more enjoyable.

I honestly don't care much about the investigation, if it was not directly linked to finding the bodies of the people living in Duon Village. Sure, the mystery was well crafted and had great pacing, but I honestly don't care about the living people involved with it. The plot shines the most when it focuses on the residents and how/why they died.

Some of the characters I liked the most were Thomas, Jang Pan Seok and Baek Il Doo. Most of the cast had a great chemistry between each other, and the friendship between Wook, Pan Seok and Thomas was fun to watch.

Sadly not all characters had much to offer. Personally I found Choi Yeo Na painfully annoying, and at times quite selfish. She had little going on as an individual character, and mostly served the role of delivering exposition and motivating other characters to do some work. There was nothing interesting nor entertaining about her.

No complaints about the production. Maybe some of the cgi was questionable, especially when the residents were leaving the village - the more detailed, longer and more close up the scene were, the worse it looked. That said, Missing: the other side was a beautifully crafted show with quite a number of screenshot worthy moments.

Overall, a fun and easy to binge watch show. I took my time with the first half, but watched the second in one sitting. While there will be a second season, this one can be easily watched as a stand alone, as it provides all the necessary closure.

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Entertainment over quality… repetitiveness on the rise.

Don’t get me wrong though. It’s not necessarily bad quality, rather… basic? I’m gonna write a few criticisms I had with the show, but I want you to know, I still enjoyed it quite a bit - I would drop it otherwise.

Starting with the short points, I will elaborate on them later.

So what’s good?
◽ The characters’ personalities and the chemistry between them. The variety of amazing interactions we’ve got depending on who was on screen was perfect.
◽ The comedy was to die for. Even if some episodes felt like fillers, I was still mostly okay with them because I got to laugh a few times. Especially any scene with the Crown Prince and Mu Deok was a comedy goal.
◽ The lore. For the first proper high budget Korean fantasy drama like this, they did quite a good job with creating a believable and detailed world. Yes, they broke some rules they set themselves, but overall, in this aspect the writing was rather consistent.
◽ The production quality. This show is simply beautiful. I have no complaints about CGI either, which is a surprise, since I always complain about some details related to it.
◽ The acting from the majority (but not the whole) cast.

What had a potential, but could be improved?
◽ The villains. While on paper everything adds up - they had proper goals, motivations, plans, enough power for it to be believable, the presentation left quite a bit to desire.
◽ Love lines. There were just too many. Cutting off half of the love lines, and exploring more the ones that are left would be a huge improvement.

What did not work out?
◽ The female characters. They told us how strong, smart, brave, driven they are, but then relegated them to be some sidekick characters or just a background for the story to unfold. Including the female lead.
◽ The present plot and pacing. Having such an elaborate lore and using so much time to explore and explain the characters and their background, sadly hurt the current plot a lot. Too much repetitiveness, too much narration and filler scenes, that, while entertaining, did nothing to move the story forward.

Getting into more detail now.

So, what’s up? It was built on extremely basic and boring tropes. And while I love everything around it, the core is still... basic. Especially in terms of Jang Uk's writing - a special boy, with his special powers and special fate. Magically learning all the magic that he needs at any given time. There are literally no real stakes with him - we know he will somehow get out of all the issues with no real long term consequences.

The worst crime this show committed was reducing the revenge seeking, confident, skilled female lead into nothing more than a love interest for half of the young male cast. Girl just gave up her goal at some point and was nothing more than Jang Uk’s maid. How sad it is, when she opened the whole show with a bang and badass fighting moves. Realistically speaking, she was a far more interesting character than Jang Uk, and yet she was pushed to the sidelines.

I feel like the drama overall failed its female characters. For example, Jin Bu Yeon was an extremely important character, and yet the majority of viewers shared the “I don’t care about the oldest daughter plotline” sentiment. What does it tell me? Hong sisters and Park Joon Hwa failed to convince us it’s worth following the story. They failed at setting it up in an interesting way and failed to show how connected it is to everything happening. Which is sad, because from the few scenes we have seen with Jin Bu Yeon, she seemed like an extremely strong, brave and worth watching character.

There is another interpretation of Jin Bu Yeon’s wasted potential - Hong sisters from the start did not care about her character and never planned for her to be anything more than just a background story. And this just makes me sad to even think about. She is literally one of the most interesting characters in terms of her story - one of the most complex backgrounds and connections, and yet she was nothing more than a background?

Honestly speaking, the majority of the characters lack the complexity and depth, but they make up for it with the extremely well written and directed chemistry. There is a huge variety of different relationships (not all romantic) that are entertaining to watch. Some of my favorites are - Mu Deok and the Crown Prince, Mu Deok and Yul, Crown Prince and Jang Uk, Master Lee and basically everyone, dumb Scooby Gang aka Crown Prince, Yul and Dang Gu.

So, we know there was a high entertainment value in terms of the characters, but also some painfully unused potential. What about the plot?

The pacing was awful. Honestly tragic. They did an amazing job with expanding and explaining the lore and character’s backgrounds, but as for the present plot - it was barely moving. We were getting closer to the end of part one, but I felt like we took maybe two steps forward, and mostly just ran in a circle. And the precious screen time was wasted on random comedy scenes (which were great, does not change the fact they mostly added nothing to the plot), romance EVERYWHERE, and side plots that a lot of viewers, me included, did not care about.

The romance? Jesus Christ, you think love triangles are annoying? Wait to see all the love lines and all the geomatics love shapes. Everyone is somehow related to everyone in a romantic way - be it past relationship, present relationship, arranged relationship, one-sided crush etc. At times I felt like the love lines were more complicated than the actual plot.

What exactly was the villain's plan? They had literally everything they wanted and needed to take over… but they didn’t. Because, reasons? They were just chillin doing the bare minimum waiting to get caught.

AoS tries to set up quite a few plot twists and big revelations, most are sadly predictable for anyone who watched even a few wuxia shows. It just follows the most stereotypical story with the most common tropes leading the way. They also kept explaining things that were already revealed and explained - the plot is not THAT complicated so I would need a constant reminder about each and every plot point.

Production quality and acting were good. What many fantasy shows fail at is the over the top, complex CGI. AoS did a spectacular job with it. Everything crafted to make the show pleasant to the eye.

Acting wise, I have to talk about Jung So Min. She is one of my favorite actresses and I knew she could deliver any role, but I was still surprised how she was able to manage so many personalities and shift her acting to fit specific scenes. I’ve also been a fan of Lee Jae Wook since his debut as Marco in Memories of the Alhambra, and knowing how diverse the roles he took so far were, I did not worry about his performance at all.

I’m also quite impressed with Shin Seung Ho. The Crown Prince was not an easy role since the character has quite a few contradicting qualities, that could seem ridiculous with the wrong delivery.

Overall, being perfectly honest, I did enjoy it for most part, but I would not recommend it. At some point I had more fun ranting about it on feeds with friends than watching. Not sure if the few entertaining scenes here and there truly make up for all the mediocre and bad aspects. I might just be biased because I love the cast so much. And since this is basically a 30-episodes long drama, is it worth it to spend 40 hours watching it just for the interesting set up?

Taking 0.5 from the rating for the fact it was split into two parts for no reason whatsoever.

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Everything stays in the family… kind of.

I’m not gonna sit here and pretend like both romances in the drama were not questionable, they were. I also have to give props to the director and writer for doing their best to deal with potential issues a story like that could present. Age gap, family relations, grooming, predatory behavior, lack of informed consent - all that could have been an issue, but somehow they managed to avoid shooting themselves in the foot - for most parts.

What we’ve got, rather than just a romance, was a found family trope drama. The bond between Wei Qiao and Wei Zhi Yuan was deep and meaningful, slowly transforming into a partnership. They knew each other's shortcomings, they understood each other’s pain, they found home in each other’s presence.

Whenever the drama did a good job transforming the brotherly bond into a romantic one is a matter of opinion, personally I was quite fine with it. Being an overanalyzer, I appreciate how the show made me reflect on their relationship, examine how much of the connection was form on shared trauma and how much was driven by pure love. I’m glad the writer, with how the plot and characters were written, kept reassuring me that what they had was more than just codependency. Do I think both of them should go to therapy? Of course, but they are not the first, nor the last BL couple to never truly address or deal with the trauma.

We witness a story of two people who were abandoned and who found peace and happiness with each other. They had to face a lot of setbacks, both external and internal, to finally admit to each other feelings and allow themselves to be loved and love the other. The journey was not easy, but with love stories like that, it shouldn’t be. For me to enjoy this type of romance I need to understand it first, I need to feel like the characters also understand their own feelings. That they thought about it, talked about it, that there is no misunderstanding. And Unknown managed to do just that.

What made it possible were obviously the performances. Chris Chiu made the confusion and the strong internal denial Wei Qian was facing so real and raw. The way we could see on his face what he wanted, and how it went against what he actually did. The constant regret and fear of the situation and the feelings he could not quite understand and accept. Then we have Kurt Huang as Wei Zhi Yuan - from a chaotic teen, to resigned young adult, to confident adult. We witnessed his growth, we saw his dedication and unwavering feelings. And it all seemed so real on the screen.

All that said, there was one aspect of the show I just simply could not comprehend. One directing and editing choice that ruined quite an important scene for me. And I just cannot understand who thought this was a good idea and how no one questioned that choice on all the steps of the production.

Overall, it was less about finding a lover, and more about finding home. A partner that can understand and support you. One that you can rely on. One that always has your back. A partnership. Sharing the burden, sharing the happiness. A drama about finding a family and then working hard to keep it, in whatever form it might be.

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Let them stay bad and cunning - for that I am grateful.

To sum it up: great pacing, interesting and likable characters, solid chemistry, thrilling schemes, problematic gege throwing hands at both his enemies and his lady (which in this drama was perfection, don’t call me out). On the other hand, I was not crazy about how all the romances developed and in some areas, the acting could have been better.

Still, top level of solid entertainment. Thank god I was watching it as it aired - otherwise I would not be able to stop and binge watching all of the episodes would simply kill me - I’m too old for it.

It truly surprised me how much I enjoyed the pity palace drama. Usually I’m barely stopping myself from skipping this type of scene, but here they were some of the best aspects. I appreciated glorious slaps, calling out stupidity even on your own team, backstabbing for survival - it all sounds so dramatic, but in the drama itself, it’s presented in an engaging, but palatable manner.

What’s more to love are all the women in the drama. Variety of the characters, personalities, strength and weaknesses - exactly what I want to see. You don’t just get your typical - smart and cunning, and dumb, but loyal. They nicely mix it up. We get the asshole who overestimates her abilities, we have a smart and loyal friend. We saw women who push their limits and ones that prefer to not push them. We have bad, good and morally gray.

On the other hand the drama lacks quality men. Those that are fun are not developed enough, those that are developed more are annoying. Xie Wei being the only true saving grace. Yes, Zhang Zhe is cute and righteous, but that’s all he is. Yan Lin might be fun and good at fighting, but he is the definition of the “supporting from background while having little to no individuality”. I enjoyed them as I was watching, but by the end of the show I had little to no thoughts about them.

I’m glad plot wise the overall arc was well explained. I understood the motivation of all the characters, why they made the choices they made and what was their goal. Some strived for power, some for survival and some for redemption. I do wish the drama was longer. While they wrapped up everything quite skillfully, I still wanted to see more. Especially in terms of romance.

And that’s my biggest regret. Not even a flaw, since the final execution was done well, it just made me crave for more. All the romance driven plot lines were quite sidelined, so by the end, they tried to put 20 episodes worth of development into maybe 8. I enjoyed every second of it, but I wanted more.

Acting was good. Bai Lue did what she does best. In no universe she could fail delivering a character like that - it’s made for her and her only. Zhang Ling He was great in some scenes, not so great in others. Wang Xing Yue and Zhou Jun Wei both did not really have a space to show any skills - how the characters were written did not really allow that. I’m glad that the whole cast had a great chemistry though - be it platonic, romantic or rivalry. And them kissing scenes… we do not get kissing scenes like that often.

I know many people complained about the make up, personally I liked it. The over the top magical red eyeliner that showed up when Xie Wei turned into his toxic hot gege persona. Yes, the eyebrows for the female characters were… a choice, but after a few episodes I just stopped paying attention to them.

Overall, high level of entertainment. Story of Kunning Palace has such a high binge watchability, it’s actually scary and could be a health risk if you are not careful. It’s both exciting, but approachable - balances well between how dramatic, but also easy to digest it wants to be.

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62 days in - no signs of true romantic affection.

If you saw the show, you know what I mean. If you did not see, you can vaguely get what I mean. Can’t believe I’m saying it, but it would be so much better if it was not a BL.

Let’s start with some positives. I truly loved how everything here was rather selfish, even when they tried to do things for the other person. Good intentions are not always enough, and expecting gratitude just for the effort, when the result is not preferable is again - egocentric. And I loved it.

While the story might have been lackluster, the characters were actually well written and really consistent. No weird change of behaviors because the scene needed it, no quick character development that removed all the flaws and made the leads saints. Both the leads were frustrating (one more than the other), but they also made sense in their behavior - I might have been mad, but I understood where their behavior came from.

Sadly, the plot did not present the same level of cohesiveness. The first two episodes were great in terms of pacing - proper set up and characters’ introduction. Nothing felt rushed, and that’s what killed the show. Taking the sweet time in the first half forced the director to cram all the important plotlines in the last two episodes - just the highlights of a story, nothing gets truly resolved nor developed.

I don’t want to talk about chemistry. It was great when they were friends, but it stayed “friendly” till the end of the show. 2gether hi5 had more romance behind it, than whatever they tried to do there. I loved the low-key angst and the confusion that came from not realized jealousy, but all that buildup led to nothing.

The acting was decent, but got worse the closer to each other the characters got. The editing was fine, but got worse the closer to the end we’ve got. The directing was nice, but got worse each episode. You get what I mean - all went downhill real fast.

Overall, as much as I enjoyed the first 4 episodes, I truly disliked the next 4. Last two? I was just laughing. Conflicts came out of nowhere, none of the characters actually talked about the events and issues, as if they did not exist. We skipped through so much, it was all meaningless by the end.

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Why did I even bother?

Usually hate-watching means the show is so bad it’s actually entertaining. Here, it’s just bad, with the characters so annoying it’s hard to find someone to root for. Truth to be told, if I knew the ending before I started the show, I would not bother with watching at all. I was intrigued by the interesting beginning, and not smart enough to leave when I saw the first red flags warning me, this leads to nothing good. One could say I’m Na Bi, and this show was Jae Eon - leaving me angry, annoyed, frustrated and exhausted.

What seemed like a promising portrayal of a toxic relationship, ended as nothing more than another angsty young adult love story, that is even more pretentious than I could ever expect it to be. When in fact, it’s just fancy trash with pretty actors in it.

The main plot is the relationship between Na Bi and Jae Eon. Here’s the thing though - the relationship makes no sense. At first it’s presented as a strong sexual attraction, but it never really moves to anything more. Whenever the writer tried to incorporate any strong feelings from either female or male lead, it made no sense. What are these feelings even based on? By episode 4, the main romance became extremely repetitive and boring. How many times can we see Na Bi cry and Jae Eon be a jerk?

Na Bi was just painful to watch. By the end of the show I felt like she literally learned nothing. There was no development and no progress. The moment I saw some change, she took a U-turn into a crying mess.

Jae Eon was one dimensional and an empty shell. Don’t know what the writer was thinking, but you cannot develop something that does not exist. Giving him a last minute character development, when from the start he had no character or personality was a miracle in itself.

Bit Na and Gyu Hyun were more fun to watch, since both characters were stronger and had more of prominent personalities, but even they ended up on the rather shallow note. While they could have addressed some more interesting ideas about relationships and be a good mirror to Na Bi and Jae Eon’s relationship, the writer left me with little discussion and no real conclusion.

The only couple I truly did enjoy watching was Min Young and Kyung Jun. They were funny, sweet and relatable in all the best and heartwarming ways.

Except for them, there are exactly two things that Nevertheless, did well - LGBT representation and the amazing soundtrack.

While we’ve gotten more and more gay relationships in k-dramas lately, rarely ever we see lesbians presented in any way. At best it’s vaguely suggested or mentioned as a “personality trait”. It’s good to see a side story that truly explores the romance between two girls, and how they both deal with growing feelings. Sadly for me, I could not enjoy their ploy, since I could not stand Ji Wan as a character.

No matter how much I might dislike Nevertheless, the soundtrack is full of amazing bops. I listen to Butterfly and Love Me Like That daily - some of my favorite songs from 2021.

Overall, I could easily write a whole essay on why this show was basically a writing failure, but I honestly do not want to waste any more precious minutes of my life on this title. Let it die on my completed list, never to be visited again.

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