Best cdrama ever!

Best cdrama ever for romance without the stupid stupid breakups, idiotic manipulative exes, and a FL who isn’t a childish baby voice and actually a nice mature young lady. The chemistry is something else and the kissing scenes plus bonus 😎 are 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Of course it wouldn’t be a drama without some stupid drama and I guess the budget didn’t stretch to police uniforms lol because on the couple occasions it called for it, it was nowhere to be seen. However we can excuse this nonsense because the rest of the show is just beautiful. OST & cinematography was fantastic.

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light and fluffy but skippable parts

Overall this was a fairly easy going show, no over dramatics that couldn’t be resolved despite the fact the writers attempted a few cliche efforts at this. When it happened it was pointless and added nothing to the overall development of the plot. The MLs are silly and childish for far too much of the show and often the 2nds just plain show them up - seemingly like the only adults actually acting like adults. The friendship between ML & 2ML is the most satisfying thing about this series and they are adorable and funny. Overall it ended satisfyingly, but I skipped so many scenes that dragged and felt boring to watch. Clean up the writing (needs a major edit, which is kind of funny when this show is about editors and authors 🤣) and we’d have something that trundled along at an engaging pace. Instead we have 36 draggy episodes. One to watch if you need something light and you aren’t irritated by baby voice from FL’s which happens far too often in Cdramas. Not a fan personally- I think strong female leads can ditch the baby voices, pouty faces and childish comments. The 2FL in this show shows how its done, classy, professional independent adult. That is how to portray strong female behavior.

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Had so much potential to be a 10 star

Things I loved:
Music! Incredible- sadly can't seem to find the OST.
Main Lead fantastic, perfectly portrayed the idol star
Chemistry - on one hand this was really great between the main leads.
Character ARC for ML.

Things that took it from a 10 to an 8:
Pacing - this drama could have easily been cut in half. I love that friendship develops first but it dragged and dragged.
Chemistry- there were so many moments that we could have gotten a reaction to their inner feelings of attraction/love but it never came.
First kiss is in one of the last episodes.
FL behavior is ridiculous as the story progresses she becomes more silly. The constant rejection or flinching away was believable in the beginning, as ML is a joker. But once it becomes clear he loves her, she is still doing it
FL kissing is frozen.


This drama would have absolutely killed it had they come together faster, leaned into the great chemistry that the actors had, and more scenes post getting together of working thru the issues of star/manager/voice problems/industry/hostage taking as a proper couple.

The side story of the bestie falling in love with 2ML was easily erasable.

How was it OK for Xu have a relationship but not for the 2ML. So many plot holes.

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Cute Drama

I felt compelled to come here and leave a good review because I don’t feel like the ones that have taken the top spot up here accurately reflect all opinions. Sure I can see why some people feel disappointed. Or that they are reviewing it badly.

At the end of the day, that’s just their take. Let’s not be so overly critical of every little thing and sometimes just show up to enjoy a drama.

This show had a great plot and was cast well. A little predictable- but guess what, thats what Asian dramas do well. I thought thats why most of us are here in this space, but suddenly everyone has become an expert critic. Save the critic for the really awful ones, cos theres plenty of those!!

The last few episodes are the reason I can’t give this a 10/10, and thats because they did go down that road of predicibility too far. There are shows that handle the burden of media attention very well, and keep the leads together. Its so good, because they don’t use the breakup trope, just when we are fully expecting them too. The best dramas are the ones that surprise you, and I so badly wanted that to happen here.

Perhaps one day these writers will catch on to the idea of stepping away from the template.

Overall though I loved watching this story, and was along for the ride. I binged it in 2 days, and that says it all for me. There’s been far too many shows lately that have ended with a let down, so it was refreshing to have something I couldn’t put down.

Give it a chance and ignore the naysayers.

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Loved the OST, the toxicity not so much

Pros:
• Kisses/Chemistry of Leads
• 2ML for 98% of the time
• OST - wish I knew the name of that main song
• FL parents are so green flag

Cons
• Script - it gets beyond childish the further progresses
• Everyone in the except the 5 mentioned above
• Toxic plot of adopted siblings in delulu one sided romance with other sibling. Raised together as siblings. Thats GROSS. China, do better.
• Adult actors being forced to act like 6 yrs olds, with tantrums, manipulation and unending drama
• Plot repeats itself multiple times, same plan by baddies. Clearly the writers had nothing fresh
• Starts out tropey but fun and plenty of hope for a nice sweet cdrama journey, but quickly takes a massive nosedive in last 10 episodes
• Typical ideology of “parents did me wrong so by default its all the inocent childs fault” = you owe me everything you have
• Proceeds to take it
• “I like you/known you longest, so it is my right that you will love me” mindset with second leads - it shows up in most cdramas, I’ve started to wonder is that how people hook up in China?!?!
• ML becomes a total doormat
• FL sacrifices everything when she should just hold her ground
• Only viable business competitors are less interested in doing actual business and are petty and ridiculous the whole way through
• Slapping granny
• Drinking culture yet again being pushed as ok. No, forcing someone who chooses to not drink for whatever reason, to drink by a superior at work is harassment, disgusting and shameful. Cultural or not, stop it.

As you can see, the cons far outweigh the pros of this show, and full disclosure I watched to the end because of the leads and their chemistry. They carry the show. But this sadly takes a nose dive, beyond the typhcal tropey cdrama I show up for all the time, to take me into “time to skip” land, as the plot and the acting by the supporting cast goes into you’ve got to be kidding me, why????!!

Still overall the things I did like are the reason I gave this a 7. But when there are times this late in the drama you start wishing the FL will walk away from the toxic mess of what was going on with ml and 2fl sub plot. and that she will run away with 2ml, you have problems.

Casting was great, this show had some real potential but oh boy was that wasted. Sadly.

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2ML is the redeeming part of this show

Lacking in the usual flair of Wang Zi Qi, and the failure of ZYX to deliver her part, this couple really missed the mark on chemistry I had high hopes for. The plot has its good moments. High intensity and fun, but mixed in are some ridiculous script dialogues and scenes that look like they were written by a teenager. I skipped huge chunks of this show and thats too bad. I have never had to do that before for a WZQ drama. It’s ok, but nothing ground breaking and certainly not a rewatch. Whereas I’ve watched his other shows now multiple times.

One of the wins for me, is the SML. He comes across annoying and ridiculous at the start, but his arc was well done. I loved his character a lot, and I’d love to see hik in more shows. He certainly helped the rough parts of this drama have a little more zing that was badly needed.

For me it’s the execution of certain scenes. When the plot holes are staring you in the eyballs, there’s no masking it.

The story was for the most part an interesting concept. Just missed the mark in delivering- and childish side characters, or scenes with FL acting like shes 7, were not funny at all. Just sitting here thinking what on earth am I watching.

I’ll probably just forget this one. Worth a watch? Maybe once, I gave it a generous 7/10, but am I feeling major disappointment - yep I am.

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Short fluffy drama

Overall I liked this short drama, and probably would have rated it higher if it wasn’t for some of the iffy writing.

The best friend is questionable far too often. Her lovely green flag bf has to put up with a lot, I’m not sure a guy would tolerate her flip floppy fickle behavior.

The FL also behaves very questionable for someone who’s been in love for 10+ yrs you’d think when it happens you’d be happy. I didn’t like how the writers wrote her response or her initial behavior once in a relationship. It just does nothing to build any chemistry and seems off.

There’s some angst but its very minimal, no triangles thank goodness and no drama with the parents, so lets be thankful that trope was skipped.

Little puppy is adorable we needed more scenes 🥰

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Lots to Love, a few things to hate

Where to start with this, because overall I felt like this was such a much needed improvement on typical cdrama fare.

Arthur Chen proves that good looks and incredible acting skills can go hand in hand (Leo Wu is another example). In fact when you consider how young these guys are, they both should have an incredible future ahead in adult roles. The intensity that is required of him in this role plays a huge part in the credibility of the script, so kudos to him. Job well done.

Likewise, a lot is askes of Zhang Jing Yi, who for the most part plays it well. There are times when her silence or inability to respond feels extremely frustrating but this could be the constraints of the script or the directing.

Be warned, it gets very heavy and serious with topics like revenge, obsession, tragedy, the usual cdrama tropes of 2FL delusion, rude controlling parents, jealousy that gets twisted to never be the perpetrators fault but everyone else’s.

There are moments in the show where it all becomes a little unecessary and actually damages what could have been the best cdrama I’ve ever seen. Instead the low blows and cheap shots the writers throw into this show randomly is destructive to it. That’s where my disappointment ends.

The other friendships that form, between college friends through to the awesome gang at Flying Network help support the two leads who really need it throughout. When you lack family support the friends need to come through and there are some touching scenes.

The romance is genuine, and the chemistry between the two is amazing.

Occasionally it felt draggy, but all dramas do at times. I would have loved a little more variety with scenes, it gets very top heavy with college classes, programming group - I do think they could have got the message across about who dominates who without 50 hrs of classroom/club scenes (over exaggerating but you get the drfit) and towards the end too much tedious office scenes, but thats just balance and you kind of tolerate it when the story is good.

Loved the music, the OST was top notch, however I supose it will be hard to find? I never can find full drama OST’s for chinese shows on the streaming services.

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wow just wow

Not sure where to even start with this review, I came across this show as a “filler” drama inbetween waiting for new episodes to drop of a new one, and this show sucked me in fast.

I fell for Min Ho’s hair in an instant and missed it in the latter half of the series. 🤣

In all seriousness, this drama has all the classic feels and a few typical predictable plot points you know and love from Korean shows, but the acting from the ML’s in on top form. Deepest darkest evil and complete character arc growth for another, who discovers his tender hearted side, while never quite leaving behind his “go getter never give up” drive he displays from the beginning.

There’s so many comedic funny moments too amongst the cast, that is needed when you consider so much of this show has serious, and tragic parts. It strikes the perfect balance.

I loved the Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook & Tinkerbell vibe and it added a fun uniqueness to the whole drama.

Definitely be back for a rewatch any time I need a pick-me-up or a smile on my face.

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Always here for Jun Ho ?

I kept avoiding this one, despite my deep admiration for LJH, mostly due to awful reviews on trusted tiktok review accts, but finally decided to do my own thing and give it a go because how awful could it really be, right? Turns out its not a bad sort at all and for the most part I really enjoyed this mash up of the usual kdrama fare with a strong hint of classic dramas everyone loves from the old days. Perhaps it was the chaotic band of thugs - or the down on his luck ML, it surprisingly feels like something from the early 2010s, not the end. The trio of leads were fantastic, and the friendship connection between them all truly was a gem to watch. I love the unselfish way we see the romance plot develop between the 2 leads, but was glad that it finally did move forward. There were lots of holes, which usually irk me, but my biggest gripe here was the overdone interfereing parent trope. I know there is deep respect for your elders in Korea, however I am really confused as to how 2 consenting adults, that have already lived outside of the home, married and dealt with the betrayal (abandonment/adultery) ended up divorced but then we see FL being controlled like shes 15 years old. Please writers just stop it. It’s stupid and makes no sense. The spin of “class” or someone not matching financial expectations is so ridiculous when you consider the rich fiance/spouse did the dirty on your daughter and disappeared without a care at her worst moment, yet the genuine loving (albeit a bit loud in the kitchen) and LOYAL boyfriend somehow doesn’t match the mark. Dumb and stupid, and she got annoying too fast.

The humor in the show was comedy gold, and carried it well.

Jun Ho as expected is a class actor, and played his role well. From the depths of the lowest his life could be he clawed his way back up and proved again why he deserves these kind of roles.

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Cliche but sweet

yep this show has all the cliches, but if you can’t desl with that, why on earth are you watching dramas? It’s just the way they are. Chemistry between the mains is perfect from the beginning and those looking for romance will come away satisfied. The 2FL is horrible and thankfully she gets figured out fairly fast by ML which is usually a gripe of mine when they don’t. The 2ML draws a very short straw sadly, but his role is what it is in shows like this. I didn’t see much benefit to the friend couple scenes, skipped them mostly. If you just want an easy to watch drama where love grows naturally and no stupid break ups, this is one to watch.

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Had potential ruined by the writers towards the end

I came for the plot breakdown, actors and the music. Sadly Riley Wang is left with his unemotional angry face for far too long in thos drama. Once he warms up, the chemistry shifts for the 2 ml. For most of the drama the 2L love life had a lot more tension and chemistry and I am mad that the writers brought in Mars to take the woman. Yes the guy could have resolved and clarified the misunderstandings sooner and that relationship could have been saved. It is just too unbelievable that after years of loving someone she has fallen in love with another guy rushed into a wedding, even after her love of many years apologized for all the misunderstandings. Sorry you can’t pack it into a box and suddenly be that happy to be insta marrying a stranger - that ticked me off. Then the absolutely stupid way they ended this drama was ridiculous. The FL does not have to care one hoot about random busybody phone calls - and you don’t have to break up with the love of your life nor do you ditch them at the airport like a ghost either. Let him go with you for a bit. Talk it out. Share the creepy phone calls. One of these days writers will get that viewers like the stories to be on an adult level where everyone makes smart decisions and stays happy. We despise idiotic breakups. Business Proposal is one in which they get this right.

Shame, I was about to give this a 8 or 9 but the crappy writing in the last 1/4 of this drama took it all the way down.

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Just what I was waiting for!

After a slew of really disappointing dramas, I was just waiting for that one show that will shake it all up and that was this one for me.

I was intrigued by the premise and was completely hooked by the end of episode one. I know some people love the larger than life characters but I love the quiet unassuming ones best, and this drama delivered that with the two leads. I sensed the zing with them from the very first interaction on the drama and it continued throughout. Some may call it boring, for me this is exactly what I love. I loved Soundtrack #2 for the same reasons.

I did wonder how the plot would keep moving once certain milestones were reached, and the curve ball was a surprise- though there are plenty of cliches in this show… I certainly think its been a while since I’ve seen a white truck of doom so I guess Korea is not ready to be done with that trope yet lol.

The sponsors were so overly obvious lol and I kept thinking bro come on, you can do your sponsorship job just as well, in fact better, by just being in the scene, no need to be so obnoxious!! Oh this Kopiko it tastes like real coffee and it will keep me awake 🤣🤣🤣times by a thousand hahaha.

The music was fairly low key, I mean if you are not paying attention you’ll not even notice it. There were the occasional piano pieces that were giving Crash Landing OST vibes, which was lovely.

Overall I was hooked on this from day one, I feel in love with the main couple - sometimes you see very rigid acting from PMY but I truly felt like she and NIW were very comfortable in these roles. So sweet!

I enjoyed it, on rewatch theres plenty of scenes I’d skip esp the obnoxious you know who who really isn’t even that attractive. I always wonder why money seems to make some people think they are Gods gift to society, cos it certainly wasn’t her appearance in this show. Though behavior/personality can make even a good looking person ugly.

A great show! So glad we had something to rectify the disasters being streamed on Netflix these days.

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Short, but full of heart

I was so excited to see another Soundtrack show, had loved #1, so was intrigued. As a pianist myself I can relate to so many aspects of her character. Both the main leads really portrayed the depth of emotions from the past and present scenes. I found myself deeply engaged in their story and was rooting for them. The moment of connection is filled with all the right feels and the chemistry between them is perfection.

I was glad thos didn’t end right there and took us on a journey through the challenges of second chance love, which of course has to be just a glimpse due to the length of the series.

Soundtrack is a short series, so everything has to be right on pointe or this thing just wouldn’t work.

Beautiful ending to a short mini drama full of heart.

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Cliche driven, but easy on the eyes!

Lets face it, most people are either here for one of the 2 leads and the fact it promises to be the next best rom com on Netflix since Business Proposal. King the Land checks most of the boxes and has a lot of the same feels. Poor girl meets rich CEO heir, and works for the same company - paths cross = fall in love.

There’s all the typical cliches and product placement inserted so unorganically to make you want to pull your hair out.

Let’s break it down:
• Cliches - these are expected for the most part, though at times it didn’t feel very well executed- almost like it was there just to check a box, but didn’t really create any of the tension they were probably hoping for. It was nice that ML wasn’t swayed by the idiotic cliches in the script.
• Product placement - every show relies on it, but the moments are so obvious, it feels like a commercial being dropped in the middle of the show. Weird. Can we not promote product somehow without prolonged pauses on the front facing part of the product and fake “ooohs” by the actors that the product is indeed amazing. Wasn’t surprised by Junho’s Dior ad either. 🤣
• FL - eating scenes. Same face and sound reaction each time, it got annoying. Some variety in food consumption acting would be appreciated.
• Suits - yes Junho looks amazing in a suit, and all of the slow mo suit walks were great, but it would have been great a bit more often to see him dressed down. When they did, it added to his softness of the character.
• Lack of originality - not much new in this kind of story. Always poor girl and rich guy. She needs rich guy to save her from something which he does multiple times. Fulfilling your dreams are relatively easy when you have resources and power, she makes quitting a job and starting your own hotel easy, I guess she had saved a gazillion Won while working at King Hotels. It’s a little exhausting all the demeaning of the “peasants” in these shows. But these plots sell. It would be nice for once to have a nice FL who can stand on her own 2 feet from the get go, but perhaps the audience need to feel like some rich CEO might save them one day?!?!!!

Overall, it was worth the watch. You’ll feel good and appreciate the lack of unnecessary drama. However, this didn’t hold my attention like Business Proposal and I likely won’t rewatch like I did BP (multiple times). Something didn’t fit right with FL acting - she needs a lot more emotional expression range in her acting, and I could never tell the lengths at which she either loved or disliked the ML. The FL in red sleeve did this better. I’m still giving it a 9.5 for the production overall.

And for all the dumb noise over whatever everyone is getting their knickers in a twist over the Arab scenes. Move on people. Stereotyping happens in shows all over the world. Its life. Calm down.

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