This was so hard to watch....

This is the first J-drama that I watched and it was very hard to watch. I had to force myself not to drop it atleast once per episode because the Japanese cultural norms for romantic relationships tend to be so sexist, and easily seen in the male lead character, and even the female lead character. In the first 6 episodes, I hadn't seen the male lead character cook or clean once, the female lead character overly apologies, even when she isn't in the wrong. Additionally, she's obedient to the male lead, and even her male best friend. After watching this, I can sense why romance is dead in Japan.

This is drama is a little similar to Boys Over Flow/Meteor Garden/F-4 in the sense that the school has 3 hot guys whom the female students swoons over, and one female student who isn't caught up in the hype.

I'm not going to drop this drama yet because I want to know what's going to happen with the female lead and the guy who work at the Ramen restaurant.

I dropped it.

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Why are the ratings so low?

I stopped trusting the recommendations/ratings after I watched the first 3 episodes of Untamed. I am not sure why this period drama has low reviews, meaning why the overall rating isn't over an 8.5. I am glad that I ignored the reviews, and watched this drama anyways. Granted, I am only on episode 6. I plan to update this review after I finish watching this drama. However, within the first 6 episodes, this drama is worthy of at least a rating of a 9, and here's why:

1. Strong female lead - the oldest DuGu sister is honest, outspoken, and fair. As is the youngest DuGu sister!
2. This period drama storyline is focused on romance, more than it's focused on politics. Although, I like historical/period dramas with a storyline that focuses on politics, it's good to have some that focus on romance. The female lead (the oldest DuGu sister) has a lot of romantic scenes. I was shocked when I watched episode 6, as she was "doing the do," with her new husband while her ex lover dreadfully watched. There are only a handful of Chinese dramas that show married characters having any form of intimacy more than hugging or kissing on the cheek/forehead. This romantic scene wasn't oversexualized like western shows (btw, I am a westerner), and it wasn't childlike like eastern dramas. Thus, it's a perfect blend of both.
3. The storyline is actually pretty good. Thus far, there isn't any loopholes in the writing/script.

I will write an additional review below this sentence after I've finished watching all of the episodes.

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Why is the male leads' face beat? Flower boy!!!

I can't but help to overly notice that the males leads fact is beat, meaning he is wearing women makeup and wearing it well. I am not into feminine looking men. Also, in the first 18 episodes he gave the female lead a weird look (innocently confused). At first I thought it was the way that the male lead character was acting due to his position (I didn't dislike it). However, it wasn't until episode 19 that I realized it's because the of his eyes (maybe the actor had eye surgery and they look super wide). Overall, the drama is good. I like that the female leads character isn't the traditional damsel in distress character. However, I dislike how they feminised the male lead character. Additionally, I disliked how the characters mentioned in almost every episode how attractive each one were, and how much money the female lead character and her family had (felt redundant and shallow). Lastly, I liked the strong relationship that the female lead had with her family.

BTW, whoever retouched the dramas' MDL picture did not do well. The female lead is pretty, why make her look like something else (an alien)?

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The true definition of a romcom (romantic comedy)

The male lead character and his colleagues really carried this drama, meaning they made it what it was. Throughout the drama I had a lot of moments in which I disliked the female lead character (the character, not the actress). Her character does a lot of aegyo, which most of the time I found annoying. The only reason that I did not absolutely hate her character is because her character was consistent, meaning she was the same from the beginning to the end. Additionally, her character doing aegyo made sense, as she had never dated anyone, and pretty much lacked real life experience outside of acting. The male lead colleagues really brought the comedy to the drama. The only con is the female lead character; I honestly wish that she wasn't so needy. The male lead character is the reason why I didn't drop this drama. Btw, I found out about this drama on a MyDramaList forum [https://mydramalist.com/list/LAlGlYA1]

TIP: Do not binge watch this drama or you may end up dropping it before episode 6. I watched it 4 episodes at a time (e.g. episodes 1-4 (then I took a 3 day break), episodes 5-9(then I took a 3 day break))

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At times the storyline is unrealistic and loopy.

I actually found out about this drama via AvenueX's YouTube channel. While I disagree with most of her negative comments about this drama, I can understand why this drama doesn't have a rating over a 8.5.

Characters:
The female lead was married as a princess (episode 1), but engaged as the physician's daughter around episode 3; she broke off the engagement, but then got married to her sickly cousin just to treat him, solely because he was too shy to allow her to treat him without clothes on; but again, she broke that off too by getting divorced. The only one she liked was her childhood friend, who was a prince. While the characters don't drive me crazy, I still don't understand why she hated her husband so much, the one who she married when she was a princess in episode 1. Granted, she didn't ask for the marriage but as a princess, this is what came with the title, the fortune, and comfortable life. Her husband, at least in the first 19 episodes actually loved her, and did her a favor by marrying her sister, in order to protect her from their uncle. So, I would have liked for the scriptwriter to have either made his character totally evil (referencing the character the female lead married during episode 1), or given a better reason why the female lead didn't like her husband.

Directing:
The female lead actress, is a great actress. I know this because I've watched Good Bye, My Princess. However, in this drama, she acted with a, 'I don't really give a f,' kind of attitude throughout the whole drama. I don't like the fact that the director directed her to act this way. I believe the director should have directed her to act as a princess would have acted (e.g. a bit arrogant & privileged but strong willed), instead of a princess who is aloof most of the time.

Storyline:
The storyline is actually good, although not great. The reason why I gave this drama a rating of a 8.5, instead of a 10 for the story is because some of the scenes were not well crafted, and there are loopholes in the story. For example, somewhere around episode 2 the princess gets surgery and is turned into looking like the physician's daughter. I thought to myself, this is super unrealistic, and the scriptwriter and editor didn't even bother to come up with a logical explanation to why a ancient physician would be able to change the face of the princess, while in a cave. All she had around her head when she woke up were bandages, which btw, were loosely wrapped around her head... SIGH.

Editing:
Overall, I am enjoying this period drama thus far. I am currently on episode 19, but I did take a break to watch other dramas! For some reason the faces of both the female lead (same actress from Good Bye, My Princess) and the male lead (same actor from The Princess Weiyoung) look strange. I know that these dramas are often edited (e.g. lightening the actors skin to make it appear closer to the color white). However, the editing this time, in terms of changing their facial shape, was not done well. At one point, I even thought that they both may have had plastic surgery, which honestly there's nothing wrong with, but I concluded that it was just bad editing.

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Good, but what a sad love story ...

This drama was really really really good. The only reason why I did not give it a 10 is because I really did not like the fact that the female lead waited and somewhat wasted her whole life for the male lead; she suffered so much. This drama had me reflecting on modern day life, and I thought about how much the righteous and integral people in this world suffer. Despite the female lead waiting for the male lead to die when they're both in their 80's, I did like the ending, because the female and male lead separated. The reason I like their marital separation is because he, the king (male lead character) never put the female lead character first. His priority was the thrown. He was late for their wedding, they didn't spend the night together on their wedding night, when he escaped from imprisonment he went to see his mother before his wife, he lied to her constantly, and he allowed his mom to try and behead her (his wife-the female lead), etc. Additionally, she faced so much emotional trauma (e.g. being a hostage, parents being murdered, almost dying twice, etc) that I don't think their marriage could have been peaceful. Thus, it was better for them to separate and hold onto any peaceful memories they had left.

The only con that I had is I believe this drama could have been 18 or 19 episodes instead of 20.

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Ignore the low ratings, and watch this drama!

It sucks that this drama has such a low rating because not many people will look on page 15+ when searching for dramas to watch on MDL by rating. This drama is worth the watch because the storyline is great, the acting is great, the fighting scenes are amazing and thus far, there aren't any filler episodes!

The two things that I didn't like about this drama was the fact that it took over 20 episodes for both leads to reveal their true identity with one another, and when it finally happened during episode 22 it wasn't as dramatic as it should have been. The build up (anticipation) was well written and felt, but the actual moment felt rushed and it lacked the passion, fear, and surprise I wanted from both lead actors (this most likely was due to the director's direction). Also, starting with episode 22, I wished the writer would have focused on the romance between the two leads, instead of having a unnecessary fight scene between the female lead and assailant. Lastly, this drama could have been 30 episodes. I usually drop dramas that have more than 35 episodes for one season because usually I find that it's not needed.

Before 2020, the female lead actress played damsel in distress characters, in a lot of historical/period dramas. Although, I thought she was pretty, I hated her acting. It wasn't until watching this drama that I realized that she can act really well, and that what I actually hated was the damsel in distress characters (not her acting). For example, in the historical drama Princess Agents, she played a damsel in distress princess who was selfish, weak and immature. I apologize for the wrongful judgment.

The female lead character, sister (who is really her best friend's cousin) has eyes like the Bratz Dolls. I have never seen eyes so big and honestly, that's all I can focus on when I see her. It's obvious that she had surgery, which btw, there's nothing wrong with. Nevertheless, I wanted to mention that there's also nothing wrong with having small eyes.

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If you like the American drama Orange Is The New Black, you'd like this drama too!

I have one episode left, and I am shocked. I guess this drama was so good, that I didn't realize that I had made it to episode 15. If you like the American TV show, Orange Is The New Black on Netflix, you'd like this drama too! It's 90% similar, the main difference is Orange Is The New Black, setting is in a female prison, and Prison Playbook setting is in a male prison. Even the characters are very similar (e.g. the female lead in OISTNB vs male lead in PP - they are both ditsy, and Crazy Eye in OISTNB vs Looney in PP). Essentially the same show, but different actors/actresses, and a different country.

This drama is not your typical Korean drama, the whole vibe is different (it rings American lol). I really liked the male lead character, besides his wonderful physique, his character was so likeable, I actually really found the actor attractive. BTW, I am not into BL, and that's the reason why I rated this drama a 9.5, instead of a 10.

Oh yeah, the soundtrack is dope (meaning good). There's this one song that is sung by a woman Korean singer on this drama, it plays every time the female and male lead characters are together, and I freaking love that song. It gives me 90's R&B vibes!

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Could have been so good, but...

Although, this drama used a lot of green screens, I think it had a big budget, judging by the scene changes, costumes, etc. Nevertheless, since the writing (script) had many flaws, the big budget didn't help, but rather made it worse.

After watching the first 7 seven episodes, I didn't understand why the ratings were so low for this drama. However, by episode 9, you'll start to understand and even dread watching it because the storyline is repetitive and loopy. It takes too long for the female lead character to prove that she is the goddess. Also, by episode 11 you'll probably be fed up with her child-like character. Also, her dad (character), also annoyed me at different times throughout this drama.

This drama had the potential but failed in so many ways due to the script/writing.

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A funny, relaxed, and feel good sitcom!

FYI:
This is more of a sitcom than a drama which is why the reviews aren't higher. I believe in Asia, people are accustomed to dramas more than sitcoms which are popular in western countries. Sitcoms don't involve plot twist, super dramatic characters, etc, but rather humor and day to day problems that most humans face in established countries.

Pros:
•The diversity of the cast.
•Finally, Korean entertainment that doesn't misrepresent black people as thugs and gangsters.
•As an American, this drama reminds me of American sitcoms which I love!
•The rap song and video in episode 3 didn't appropriate anyone's culture, which is a good thing. However, there wasn't a need for it. I didn't get how it tied in, at that moment lol.

Cons:
•The studio audience claps and laughs are not placed after a joke is made but before. Basically, it's inserted before the joke is made and thus, you're left there confused until you realize it's an editing error lol.
•The male lead who is pretending to be Korean American lost too much weight for this drama (I am assuming it is the reason for the weight loss). He was in a drama tilted Be My Boyfriend, and he looked healthy in that drama. However, in this drama, it looks like he's skipping meals to fit into South Korea's toxic beauty standards. Skipping meals in order to lose weight is not healthy for the mind nor body.
•This is not a con per say but I rated the music 6.5 out of 10 because it didn't really have a soundtrack, as it's more of a sitcom.

Btw, not all Americans are not accustomed to working hard, as this drama portrays. I am not offended that it was portrayed this way but it's important to clarify that work life balance is pretty much non-existent in certain states and while working for certain organizations. Don't move to America thinking success will be easy, and you won't have to work hard lol.

Overall, this sitcom is pretty good. There were moment that I definitely laughed. It's a good sitcom to binge watch in a day.

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The first 9 episodes are worthy of a 10!

The first 9 episodes are worthy of a 10! However, starting with episode 10, the story becomes unrealistic and starts to drag.

What I do like, is the first 9 episodes of this drama; the female lead is not a damsel in distress, but is rather quick-witted, outgoing, and smart. I like the chemistry between the male lead and female lead characters. I also, think the supporting actors and actresses did an outstanding job acting.

I'm currently watching episode 11 (the 50 minute mark), and I'm debating whether or not, I want to continue to watch this drama. What were the writers thinking, when they wrote episode 11?

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It had the potential to be a 10 out of 10, but...

I rate the first 39 episodes a 10/10, episodes 40-48 a 8.5/10, and episodes 49-58 a 7.5/10! I am not yet done watching all 70 episodes. I hope episodes 59-70 are better than 40-58.

I'm back, and episodes 59-70 are much better than the previous episodes. However, after episode 58, I dislike the female lead character. To understand the reason why, continue reading this review. BTW, I give episodes 59-70 a rating of 9/10. The beginning and end of this drama was very good, but the middle had a lot of bad writing. Thus, overall, I rate this drama a 9/10.

This drama is fantastic; the sets are beautiful, and is well produced. However, there are flaws in the writing. It had the potential to be a 10 out of 10 but the female lead character (not the actress, but the character) is not consistent. Yes, in real life we respond to situations differently, but even within the way that we respond to situations there will be a level of consistency. For example, the female lead is known to be brave and daring, but repeatedly said that her life is valuable to her. In episode 47, she drinks from a cup that is contaminated with the plague just because Prince of Chu is contaminated. Love shouldn't make you stupid, but wise. The intent behind the character doing this was to show how she wanted to help the doctor find a cure for Prince of Chu because he was really sick. However, the writers could have written a better storyline & solution. Perhaps, it would have been better for both of them to get sick at the same time, and the writers could have used 3 episodes to highlight the romance between the two while both leads presumed they would be dying, so they finally decide to open up to one another. Around episode 47 is when I start to lose interest in this drama. For me it's very hard to watch a 70 episode drama and not lose interest before episode 50. The romance between the female and male lead finally is shown after episode 40, but there isn't a conversation or moment that makes it make sense to us. Out of the blue, they begin to be touchy-feely. Yes, we know that they had feelings for one another but both characters swept it under the rug; both characters spent 39 episodes liking one another but not showing it, and then boom, the next episode they are touchy feely, and we're supposed to buy into the romance? We needed a better transition.

All the actors did a great job, but the male lead acted his butt off (meaning he did extremely well). In terms of favorite character, I love his character the most. The least favorite character was the female lead younger brother, who acted like he was 12. I believe the writers could have changed his character to be a strong character who act impulsive, as opposed to someone who acts like he is 12, and is totally clueless. It could have been an opportunity to use this character for a stronger storyline. The female and male lead actors are very attractive btw. I really like the fact that both leads look like adults, and not like they are in middle/high school.

I am not sure if I am going to drop this drama or keep watching it, but I am curious to know how it will end.

Edited after the review above:
I am glad that someone commented on my review and encouraged me to continue to watch it. I am on episode 70, and the storyline gets a lot better after episode 48, but then between episodes 57-59 it takes another turn in the wrong direction. The female lead is so shameless, as she disrespects King Helian, the same king who was willing to take her in, in order to save her life. We get that you love the Prince of Chu but like dang, why be ruthless to King Helian who is willing to accept you as you are (in love with someone else). The script writer should have written this better because now I am starting to like the female lead character less and less. Especially because of her selfishness in episode 66 (30 minute-35 minute mark). How can anyone like her character anymore? So she used a king ( King Helian) to protect her and the people around her, but then she kept going back and forth to the one that she really love, not caring at all about how she involved another person into her drama. If the female lead really had integrity, she should have offered to be killed, rather than to hurt someone else, in order to save herself and try to pursue love with the person she really love. This goes back to what I said at the beginning of this review... "It had the potential to be a 10 out of 10 but the female lead character (not the actress, but the character) is not consistent. " The ending made up for the middle! I am glad that this drama ended the way that it did. The new emperor basically becomes like his father, the old emperor... Realistically, there's no way that the female lead would have wanted to be the new emperor's, empress, with everything that happened between her family and his family. I would never want to marry someone whose immediate family killed my mother, and brothers. It wouldn't have been the same romance and love as it was in the beginning because too much happened for it to go back there.

BTW, one of the directors is an actor who plays the female lead older brother (Liu Hai Bo).

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Wait, a nude scene...in a C-drama?

This is first historical C-drama that I watched in which there were nude scenes, and I was shocked. It totally caught me by surprise lol. Hu Bing who played Tian Hui Di is a hottie. He looks like he could be brothers with Ethan from Legend of Fu Yao.

The storyline is actually really good, although it's very similar to most Chinese historical dramas that I've watched.

What I did not like is the Ou Yang Ning Jing character (not the actress). She bullied, harassed and forced herself upon the character Chu Xi Feng, although he told her several times that he wasn't interested in her. No means no! This drama could have def. done without their story. Additionally, I find the cold guy acting (meaning the acting skills of the male leads when they are supposed to be aloof and cold) in C & K-dramas very strange. The director could have kept the cold guy persona, but had the male lead character Long Fei Ye act cold through his words and actions, and not via hs facial expression which looks like he just seen a ghost. Also, I just hate in C-dramas how after a couple gets married they are basically asexual, c'mon now! I'm not saying that they should be having sex in every scene or even show sex scenes, but it would be nice to show the married couples in bed together, thus, alluding that they've been intimate.

I will give the first 14 episodes a rating of an 8.5. I will update this review after I finish watching the whole drama.

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Not your typical C-Drama romcom, and that's a great thing!

Chinese romcoms are moving away from having adult female characters (ages 30+) act cutesy and clueless, and I am glad. Finally, we are seeing female lead characters who are normal and real. I was so surprised by the female lead character because not only did the actress do a fantastic job, but the character is someone that women between the ages of 28-40 can relate to. I was also surprised by the interaction that she had with her female coworkers about their job, while they were inside of the restroom at the bar/restaurant. The reason I was surprised is because they were speaking up about the conflict that many women face around the world, when working at a corporate job or in tech; sexism in the workplace is real and horrible.

Side note: I'd date a man who is 6 years younger than me, as long as he is not in his 20's. What I like about the male lead character is that although he is young, he is confident, and isn't interested in living for the moment as most male 20 year olds do nowadays. Also, the actor is cute, and I like his haircut.

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The male lead is hot, but...

I did not like this drama because of the storyline. I felt it was a bit too cruel, so I dropped it after watching about 6 or 7 episodes. However, the acting was on point, the production was great, and even the script was pretty good. I just don't enjoy watching rich traumatized teens/young adults intentionally try to destroy someone else's life that did nothing to them.

Not my cup of tea...

Woo Do Hwan is FINE!!!!!
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This is like a more cruel version of the American movie, Cruel Intentions.
This is like a more cruel version of the American movie, Cruel Intentions.
This is like a more cruel version of the American movie, Cruel Intentions.
This is like a more cruel version of the American movie, Cruel Intentions.
This is like a more cruel version of the American movie, Cruel Intentions.
This is like a more cruel version of the American movie, Cruel Intentions.

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