Funny drama, but loses any driving force towards the end

This had a strong start for me. I loved the characters and how funny it was at times. The plot was pretty simple and straightforward; it definitely had elements that pulled my interest and kept me watching, but around episode 12 after pretty much everything had been solved I got SO BORED. Not even my love for Seo Joon could stop my from skipping massive parts of the last few episodes, and based on what I saw during my skipping, I wasn't missing much. There's basically no plot after episode 12. Barely any conflict, which means there's nothing driving the story anymore. Anyway, a good time for a little while, but I'll likely forget about this one quickly.

Leia Mais

Went into this with no expectations and left disappointed

Man, I really wanted to like this drama. And for a second I did, but then somewhere during episode 2 I started to get so fed up with the plot and characters. That annoyance only grew the more episodes I tried to watch, and I ended up skipping through most of 4 and then dropping it entirely.
The production value is really good and while the concept is wild, it could've worked if handled better, but it ended up just being a mess.
First off, there were way too many characters. The show spent so much time trying to give each one a little bit of air time, but all that did was succeed in not giving anyone enough. If we don't have one solid character to root for, with good side characters, then why should the audience bother watching? People were dying right and left and I didn't care. I did like the platoon leader, but he seemed to be the only one with any backstory and depth.
Beyond not really caring about anyone, the plot was just ridiculous. Like, I get it, the whole idea is ridiculous, but the choices being made by the characters, specifically the military, made no sense.
I was trying to push through to the end because there's only 6 episodes, but there are better things I could watch and I don't want to waste my time anymore. Maybe I'm giving up too quickly and when/if I come back to this, I'll change my mind, but at this point, I doubt that'll happen.

Leia Mais

Compelling Court Drama

This review is way too long, but I have a lot of thoughts.
The first 25ish episodes were fantastic! They were compelling, twisty, and smart with morally grey and interesting characters. There were several times that I stayed up too late because the plot took off and I had to see how the Emperor was going to get out of the trap laid for him.
But then we hit a lull and for like 15 episodes Qi Yan was suddenly sidelined because he got stabbed like 5 times and was apparently dying. He moped around in his flowy red robe like an ailing Victorian child practically the whole time. Not only that, but for these stretch of episodes he seemed to get kinda dumb (as in: his plans weren't well thought out and he was being fooled by everyone else), which really undermined the character he was presented to be at the start of the show.
Also, I'm not sure I understood why he was dying. Maybe it was the translation, but when the doctor was like, "You may die in five months or five YEARS," I was lost. I don't understand the huge time gap there. I thought he was only stabbed? Did it get infected? Was it poisoned? Am I actually too stupid to follow what was going on?
It was at this point that I started to skip because they felt like filler episodes. But I kept going because I was already invested in the plot and the characters.
The romance didn't really work for me, but I didn't hate it. I just thought they had no chemistry, and no offense to the FL, but I didn't think the actor fit the the part or played it well.
The Duke was a good villain (I think this is due to the actor), but there were times that it felt like he wasn't as smart as we thought and was mostly just lucky and too firmly rooted in his position to give it up easily. I also wish that he and Qi Yan had more time to stew with each other. I wanted to know more about their relationship before it went sour. Also! Completely unrelated, but when the Duke goes feral at the end and whips off his robes and his hair goes crazy, I died laughing. Which I'm sure wasn't the intended reaction.
Lastly, I'm not sure what to think of the ending. There seems to be some confusion about whether Qi Yan is alive or not. To be honest, I assumed that he'd faked his death, but we didn't really get that much of a confirmation, so I'm not sure. But in either case (him dying or pretending to fake his death to live as an ordinary person), I don't really like it. I know that he didn't want to be Emperor and it brought him nothing but pain, but at the same time it felt a little cheap for the audience to sit through almost 50 episodes of him STRUGGLING to hold onto the throne only to give it up (or die) in the end.
I'm complaining a lot, but I actually really liked this drama. It's one of the few cdramas to hook my attention and hold it through almost the whole thing. I tend to give up somewhere in the middle, so the fact that I finished this is amazing for me. Which really speaks to the plot and characters of this drama. I just wish that the fat had been trimmed story wise and that the Emperor had actually been allowed to be the MAIN character throughout the whole thing.

Leia Mais

an absolute delight

Such a delight to watch. Loved it so much. The crime solving trio was amazing and so much fun to watch (especially Yi Yong and Guang Yan. They had me rolling with laughter so many times). The balance of comedy and heart wrenching drama was perfect and the ending episode had me at the edge of my seat. The only thing I would say is that, while well done, I don't really like episodic shows. Though this one did tie all the stories together nicely at the very end.
And even though it doesn't need it, I would love to come back to these characters with another season, but as it is, I'm content with how this ended.

Leia Mais

Heists!

I ate this show up. After a handful of episodes, I decided it was the best cdrama I've seen. Mostly because this has some elements that are Very Specific to my interests (heists, thieves, family drama) so obviously, I loved it.

Also compared to other cdramas the pacing in this show was the best I've seen (again I've only seen a few). It had really tight storytelling that kept my interest throughout the whole series, though some of the cop stuff got a little boring (I get it! You don't have to keep going through your deductive reasoning again!).

I also really loved the characters. Especially Wenjie. I liked how smart he was and how, while he was still struggling with morals, he ended up making the right choice in the end. His relationship with Captain Luo was also really nice. I'm a big fan of father/son or mentor/mentee relationships.

Also season 2 when????

Leia Mais

Worth the Watch

Yoo Ah In came and he ATE. Every scene he had he was doing the very most and totally outperformed everyone else. I mean damn.
Now that I have that out of the way. This drama had such an interesting premise that grabbed my attention from the start. Plus, the production value was really, really good (especially the scenes in the past). I will say that I started this, loved it so much, got to episode 10 or 11 and got really bored with it. I put it aside for months and when I came back to it, it sucked me back in. I think having that break was helpful and made the story feel fresh when I came back to it.
As for the drama itself: the past storyline was heartbreaking and the present was interesting and fun. I actually almost liked the past versions of the characters better than the ones in the present. I think that might be why this drama is lacking a little. It's almost like the past storyline didn't quite blend correctly with the present one, or maybe it's that the past was a bit more interesting to me.
Not really sure what I'm trying to say, but this is definitely worth a watch!

Leia Mais

Solid Mystery/Thriller

I really enjoyed this drama! It was engaging with an interesting story and good characters. I liked the mystery a lot and thought they did a good job of giving us lots of twists without getting out of control with them. However, while I do think 12 episodes is the sweet spot for most dramas, this one felt like it rushed everything in the last episode. There were a few things that I would've liked to have had answered (mostly what actually happened to some of the major characters that were either about to die, apparently terminally ill, or in jail). But I definitely enjoyed it from start to finish and would recommend it.

Leia Mais

Joy of Life is now my whole personality

It's not like this show needs anymore reviews talking about how good it is, but Joy of Life has completely taken over my brain and I have THOUGHTS.
First of all, this doesn’t pertain to anything, but I’ve been waiting to watch this drama for over a year because my sister watched it, loved it, and told me there was a huge cliffhanger at the end. So I didn’t want to watch it until we had some idea of when the second season would be out. So I waited…and waited…and then heard rumors about filming and then about possible release dates. Until last week I saw it finally confirmed that the second season would come out in a little over ONE WEEK. I despaired thinking there was no way I could watch 46 episodes in a little over a week while having a job and you know, being an adult. Boy was I wrong. It’s exactly a week later and I’m done.
Not only is this a testament to my lack of social life but it’s also a testament to how excellent Joy of Life is. The plot grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go for the entirety of the show. I tend to skip scenes in most cdramas, and usually I’m not missing much, but whenever I tried to skip something in this show, I realized that I’d just skipped something important and had to rewind. That’s the whole show; you need to be paying attention or you’ll miss something.
Plot aside, this drama could’ve fallen on its face if it didn’t have the actors that it did. All of the older actors are really excellent, but it’s Zhang Ruo Yun who carries this whole thing on his back. Without him, I don’t think the show would work. For the audience to root for a character like Fan Xian the actor has to be charismatic and engaging and not smug or arrogant, and Zhang Ruo Yun pulls it off perfectly. He’s acting circles around some of the younger actors in here (no disrespect to any of them).
Yeah, so while I’m sad that I didn’t watch this masterpiece sooner, I’m also happy with my choice to wait until the new season was about to drop. That way I didn’t have to wait in anticipation for years for the payoff to the cliffhanger.

Leia Mais

Predictable Procedural Crime Show

I watched this because of Zhang Ruoyun and while it really wasn't the greatest, it was easy to watch.
The characters were definitely the best part of the show, but beyond their relationship with each other, none of them were very well developed (other than Qin Ming). I wish, since the murders weren't all that interesting and incredibly easy to predict, that the show had spent more time with the characters and that we got to see more of them beyond them working together.
I also think this show could've benefited from developing the overarching plot. I actually liked this plot point, but it should've been hinted at more throughout the show (other than the mention of missing molars) and I wish that the killer's reason for framing Qin was better. Also, mini rant here, but it was fairly obvious who the molar killer was and that disappointed me a bit too. I think part of the problem is that in a murder mystery the killer has to be someone the audience has met already and since the characters don't do much other than work and go to eat, it was clear that the killer was someone who worked at the restaurant because obviously it wasn't going to be one of the cops.
But yeah, I would watch if you enjoy gruesome murders and like one of the actors.

Leia Mais

Needs another season

I thought that this drama handled such a wacky idea (the fake meat thing) pretty well, and I liked that it turned out to be something much bigger than that. I also really liked the main characters and thought they had EXCELLENT chemistry.
I'm just getting really sick of these 10 episodes seasons where we have a somewhat complicated plot that's condensed so much and then doesn't even finish up the story. For instance, Grid was like this too (I only bring that drama up because it's written by the same writer and also on Disney+). We have a really interesting idea that kinda just ends while leaving some major loose ends. I'm not sure about you guys, but I'd rather 16 episodes with a complete story rather than 10 with the possibility of a second season.

Leia Mais

it's all about the yearning

I really enjoyed this drama.
The plot is set up to be a palace/political thriller, which I like, but is really overdone--however, this show twists that plot by adding in a mystery that the Crown Prince and his people are trying to solve. The political drama blends into the overarching mystery nicely, which makes the plot fresher. There were some things in the plot (villain choices towards the end of the show) that I thought were a little silly, and parts of show dragged (too much screen time for unnecessary characters), but I could overlook all of that because I was enjoying myself so much.
Also, I love love both the Crown Prince and Min Jae Yi as individual characters, but I really loved them together. The drama really showed how they respected each other and worked well together as a team. Their romance is slow, but so lovely. It's all about the YEARNING.
I can see how this won't be for everyone, and that's okay. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, I think that this drama took an overdone plot and gave it a fresh twist. Do I think some things could've done better or that more time could've been given to the interpersonal relationships between the characters? Sure. Does that lessen my enjoyment? No.
Overall, really loved this one.

Leia Mais

season 3 when??

Season 2 of Joy of Life had a lot to live up to, and while the first season is still better, this season really really good. The pacing was a little slower and the story less focused than the first season, but at this point I didn't care because a) it was still good and b) I just wanted to see Fan Xian worm his way out of all his problems.

It was so much fun to see all of the characters/actors back this season (with some changes). I will say some characters seemed to have a bit of a personality makeover (the Crown Prince). Something else I noticed was that it seemed like Fan Xian was a bit less morally grey this season. He was very much For the PEOPLE this season. Don't get me wrong I actually do buy his journey from "I just want to live comfortably" to wanting to help the common people. It's just that he seemed less ruthless this season and I wanted that aspect of him back in full force.

All of the acting was still excellent (shoutout to the Second Prince. He's my favorite Barefoot Psycho) but once again Zhang Ruoyun was beyond practically everyone else. Fan Xian has become one of my absolute favorite characters and it's really due to Zhang Ruoyun. That boy is acting with his ENTIRE chest and I love him for it.

Lastly! We've been teased with that damn gun for TWO seasons now. Fan Xian better blast someone with it next season.

Leia Mais