Reviews

Mi sa che in Thailandia non sanno fare i drama di azione....

Molto carino che ci siano degli esseri soprannaturali, Naga e Garuda, anche se non so quanto la loro rappresentazione sia reale rispetto alla mitologia thailandese.
I primi episodi sono una vera bomba e sollecitano veramente delle grandi aspettative che però, man mano che prosegue il drama, vengono un po' ridimensionate.
Mentre è lodevole l'ambientazione in ambito poliziesco, in contrapposizione all'abusato Cliché del dramma scolastico, devo purtroppo rilevare come la plausibilità delle indagini sia una completa sconosciuta in questi lidi. Purtroppo anche le scene di azione lasciano parecchio a desiderare, siamo ben lontani dal montaggio di una scena coerente: troppo spesso accade che qualcuno dopo aver sparato rimanga fermo diversi secondi ad aspettare che qualcun altro lo abbatta, le incoerenze durante gli appostamenti si sprecano, con telefoni che vibrano in modo molto udibile in mezzo a un bosco quando tutti comunicano a gesti, con telefonate personali in mezzo all'azione, con combattimenti al limite del ridicolo, con l'assoluta mancanza di rispetto per gli ordini dei superiori, e così via.
Si salva fortunatamente la computer grafica che, pur senza arrivare a vette di eccellenza, riesce comunque a fare un buon lavoro, che non fa piangere agli occhi lacrime di sangue.
Il commento musicale si difende abbastanza bene, non sarà musica da Oscar ma è adatta alle scene che descrive.
Sul fronte dei costumi, mentre guardiamo con molto piacere degli aitanti giovanotti in canottiera che fanno allenamenti fisici vari, rischiamo di doverci cavare gli occhi quando (e per fortuna si tratta di poche scene) intervengono gli esseri superiori: costumi così pacchiani penso si vedano soltanto al carnevale di Rio tra le ballerine di samba...
A parte ciò, il drama si lascia guardare in modo piacevole fino all'ultimo paio puntate. I ragazzi sono tanti e una vera festa per gli occhi e, onore al merito, recitano anche decisamente bene. Specialmente la coppia principale è molto affiatata e, soprattutto nelle scene di intimità e tenerezza, rivela una chimica più che soddisfacente. Sarebbe stato molto più carino se al cattivo della situazione non avessero imposto dei ruggiti ben poco attraenti e convincenti, ma comprendo che non si può avere tutto.
E, a proposito del non avere tutto, a 10 episodi di storia tutto sommato non dico credibile ma soddisfacente, sono seguiti gli ultimi due in cui le cose sono andate un po' a catafascio. Ci sono delle situazioni di pericolo che non si capisce bene come si siano risolte, dei salti temporali, dei cambiamenti di scena che non si capisce bene come siano avvenuti, e così via. Anche la risoluzione finale di tutto il conflitto è piuttosto tirata là, decisamente insoddisfacente visti tutti i precedenti. I santi finiscono in gloria, ma non si sa bene che strada abbiano preso per arrivarci.
Sul fronte dei personaggi secondari, molto azzeccato il dottorino e anche i vari poliziotti; un po' meno le piagnucolose famiglie. Menzione di disonore per il personaggio del monaco che, pur dovendo in teoria svolgere una funzione di protezione, al momento del bisogno non è stato di nessun aiuto. Ridicoli i delinquenti, a partire dal loro capo.
Insomma, sicuramente un buon drama, per essere un BL, e un BL thailandese. Così contestualizzato, è sicuramente un ottimo prodotto, ma solo a patto di non cercare verosimiglianza nella parte poliziesca. Sicuramente meglio di Manner of death, ma da questo punto di vista c'è ancora tanta, ma tanta strada da fare.
In compenso, ci sono specialmente all'inizio diverse scene di spogliatoio e doccia con nudi anche integrali pixellati nei punti topici, idem per una scena di letto verso la fine. Decisamente un buon fanservice per gli amanti del genere.

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A Fiery BL Romance between Lawyers

Overall, I thought this show was quite creative and I quite enjoyed it (in spite of the crappy writing near the end of the show starting from episode 8).

Positives
- The co-stars did a great job conveying the feelings of their characters.
- The first and second episodes were hilarious. I enjoyed Zheng's plan for rejecting blind dates.
- Episode 12 was well-written from the dialogue to the story to the setting, etc. It was likely the series' best episode by far (aside from Episode 13 (the special/extra)).
- Episode 13 was very enjoyable. I especially appreciated Zheng's character growth in the episode. It was funny and added a comical aspect to the show that bumped my rating from 7.0 to 7.5.
- Lots of skinship/kissing/contact. You see this a lot in Taiwanese BL but it is always more enjoyable compared to JBLs and KBLs as they tend to do away with much of the skinship.
- Great acting from the fathers of the co-stars. Especially appreciated the supportive nature of Fu's Dad.
- The story was good, made sense and was decently enjoyable.
- The music was catchy and well-suited to many scenes in the series. Opening theme was quite good too.

Areas for Improvement
- Chemistry was weak for the side couple (Kato Yuki and Jian Yingze). Did not enjoy their relationship as much as the main co-stars. Did not like that it felt like Yuki forced Jian into a relationship either; seemed forced and was too fast. Yuki was far too aggressive. This was unrealistic writing.
- As others have pointed out, the lighting in the camping episode was very off. It made it hard to watch.
- The owner of the bar was a bad character cliche. Did not enjoy her character though I thought she did a good job partly getting Zheng and Fu to realise they ought to be together.
- The sister did not have much of a role to play in anything besides the first few episodes. She deserved more as a female character in the show.
- I think the flashbacks were good for adding context to the show especially when it comes to how Fu's love for Zheng started but I think it lacked a lot of development. It was not developed well enough for us to see how Fu actually came to love him.

Suggestions?
- The side couple was unnecessary. It felt like they did it to only increase the show's screen time (same goes for the break-up).
- The break-up felt unnecessary because it was based off of a cliche and did nothing to make the show more enjoyable; another fight/argument between the two would've been better if they were looking to implement conflict.
- The support characters could've played more important roles in the story, they were largely quite 2-dimensional.
- Could have added more flashbacks that focused on Fu's growing love for Zheng; perhaps the 18th birthday was the largest contributor but it was not good enough for me.

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Heartfelt Romance between Childhood Friends

Overall, I thought this show was quite good in relation to other JBLs that we have been seeing over the years.

I thought the story was well-written and really wholesome as I could feel the sparks of love between the two co-stars. The flashbacks of their past really helped to add to the context of show and made it very enjoyable as we got to see how Tanaka's love for Ryota all began. Though, I do think that the flashback we saw in Episode 7 could've been featured earlier just so that not a lot of time was wasted scenes leading up to the confession.

I do not know if this was in the manga but one part of the story that, I think, really needed some tweaking was Episode 7 where we had the running scene and the episode ending with Ryota going home. It would have been a lot better if they decided to extend episode 7 so that there could have been a confession there instead of in episode 8. It would have felt a lot more natural and the last episode would have spent time entirely on the two being together. Moreover, the pacing of the show was far too slow, making it seem more like a story of two best friends than one of a romance (I am sure many will argue with me here but I'd say that this show spent too much time establishing that they were very close (even though this could have easily been done via flashbacks)).

As others have pointed out, Ryota's character was a little irritating but I think keeping in mind that he was written to be a relatively low self-esteem character, it was okay. I wouldn't say it was amazing but it was not bad. It's clear that the actor playing Ryota (Sho Sakai) is talented and did a great job embodying the modest Ryota. The same goes for the actor playing Tanaka though I'd wish that some scenes would be less awkward (e.g., Tanaka's slowed reaction to Haruna in the last episode).

Contrary to what others have said, I do not think the open-endedness of the show was bothersome at all. While some questions were left unanswered (e.g., how Ryota and Tanaka choose to spend the rest of their lives together, whether the girl knows that they are together, how Ryota's sisters would handle their relationship, etc), there were some that were tacitly answered at the end of the show. For instance, the yukata scene in episode 8 where Kazuhito's mom already knew that they were for them was good enough for me to know that Kazuhito's mom supports their relationship. I think the gazes from Ryota's mom also speak volumes on this. Dialogue on that was unnecessary, the audience just knew it.

The music was great, it was catchy and made for an enjoyable OST. The opening theme song is especially catchy and well-suited to the theme of the show.

Given how slice of life it was, I may rewatch the show just because it was fun. It was adorable seeing them together at the end.

In the future, I will likely use bullet-points instead to write my reviews.

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What happened here lol

TLDR: Didn't finish because I realized I could be watching literally anything else instead.

Story: Fine, nothing extraordinary. I haven't watched that many dramas before (15-20) so some of the tropes may not have gotten to me as much as they might someone with more shows under their belt but I was fine with most everything. Though the classic nonsensical business meetings with over the top reactions and consequences were kept alive and well. I will say some of the situations/misunderstandings that are ubiquitous in the genre can be pretty annoying in this show.

Characters: Most of the characters I thought were ok. Nothing amazing but also nothing egregiously bad either. Side characters served their purpose and most did pretty well. The highlight for me was the doctor. He was entertaining in most every scene he was in and served as some light comedic relief but still nothing spectacular. Disclaimer, I often concurrently watch dramas so the comparisons I'm inevitably making are to Love me love my voice and my neighbor is a gumiho which have incredible supporting casts so I might not be as high on some of the side characters as I might otherwise be.

I thought the FL was ok. She isn't the greatest here but she does enough to actually be the lead which is not something that can be said for the ML and boy do I have stuff to say about him. I do wonder if I'm recalling her parts more fondly because the only thing I have to compare her to in the show is probably the worst performance I've seen in some time.

I'm not sure what went wrong with the ML but he doesn't work at all. I'm not well versed in the technical side of the TV show business so couldn't really tell where the character was fumbled but either the actor was horrendously miscast or the director/writing staff gave him nothing to work with. Every time he shows up on screen the life is literally drained out of the show. He has less charisma than a garbage bag and I cannot for the life of me figure out how the final product was greenlit. He is supposed to be some highly competent CEO but he has the emotional maturity of a 1st grader that couldn't solve his way out of a paper bag. He is a rude, inconsiderate, socially inept a hole that couldn't smile even if all his dreams came true. I think the main issue for me is that multiple aspects of the show do their best to tell you that he is a likeable guy. They've got the obligatory slow mo shots with touching background music, injury/undressing scenes, coincidental touching scenes, and other girls pining after him but he does nothing to make you believe that any of that is real. I cannot name a single positive quality about him other than he has boatloads of $$$. My first litmus test for characters that are supposed to be likeable is whether I would ever willingly spend time with them and the answer for the ML is a fat no. The disparity between what the show wants the ML to be and what he actually is is so jarring that I can easily say he is the worst lead character I've ever seen put to screen in the genre and is probably up there across every medium. His character would've been fine as that supporting extra that gets 2 minutes of screen time throughout the show but watching a plank of wood pretend to be something it isn't for 40 minutes straight is kinda tough.

Maybe a bit harsh on the ML but I cannot stress enough how much the character stuck out to me. He is the sole reason I stopped watching. The show probably has lots of other problems but its hard for me to think of them because everything looks way better than it should when compared to the ML.

Music: Not a huge music person so don't have much to say. Didn't add any of the songs to my playlist but also didn't hate any of them.

Rewatch: Literally none. The ML did everything he could to stop me from finishing my first pass through so no chance I'm ever giving it a second.

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Solid storyline and solid acting

First thing first, i want to appreciate the acting in this drama. Of course i know it would be good because most of them are senior and A-list actors, but i also want to give a big applaud to the young actors. Younjung, dong ha and do hoon really nailed their characters here, the acting was solid. I don't even see any 'gap' when they act with the senior actors and i think that's a good thing. They don't overreact or doing too much with their face expression, and the reaction from one dialogue to another is flawless, because to act is to react.

The directing in this drama is fantastic, and the plot is very well written imo, it doesn't lost it focus by adding too much romance, it just right.

One of my favorite scene is when hee soo fighting the girls with mud all over her body, the acting, the details, and directing there was *chef kiss*. Go younjung once again convincing me that she's a good actress and can take any roles that given to her.

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Uncomplicated and Light watch!

I'm pleasantly surprised with this mini-drama and its quality.
Despite being a two-episode drama, it isn't flawless, with some logical inconsistencies (like her bottomless pit bag) and plot holes here and there. But the inclusion of historical references, humorous moments and fun chemistry between the leads made it a delightful watch.

Both ML and FL did a fantastic job, with FL stealing the show for me!
- I loved how the FL thought jumping in the puddle was better than writing exams!
- All the math and science learning moments between the leads were easy on the eyes and fun!
- A special mention of the female lead's reluctance to not leave her damn world for the male lead. (You go girl! Come back, suffer and learn Maths and Science). I really liked how ML was also a rational being.
- Oh, and the final Kiss! It was perfect and a bit heartbreaking!

Overall, the simplicity was refreshing, although I wished it was longer.
Recommended if you are looking for an uncomplicated and light watch!

My actual rating was 8.8/10. Honestly, 9 felt too high and 8.5 felt too low. But with all the rounding system Math that I have learnt - 9 it is here.

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A Very Sweet High School GL!

I swear, there was no one more excited for this show than I was! I have been on the MilkLove train since day one, and practically sobbed when this show was announced. And it took so long, but here it is!! And it was really good!

While I'm not always a big fan of high school stories, I thought this one was well done and nice. It was sweet without feeling juvenile, and had a lot of fun and silly moments. The side ships (ESPECIALLY AylinLuna) were great, and I enjoyed watching Ongsa and Sun fall for each other.

Of all the actors, I was most impressed by View. She did such a good job with Aylin's character, and really stood out! I sincerely hope we see a lot more of her in lead roles in the future, because she really deserves it. But the rest of the cast was really great, as well! It was a larger cast than these shows tend to have, but every character felt distinct and had their own stuff going on without overwhelming the narrative.

While I have my complaints (largely about the entirety of the eleventh episode conflict), on the whole this was a great show! I can't wait to see what Pluto, Us, and all the future GMMTV GLs bring!

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A cinematic production.

Honestly the biggest point for this show is the production. It feels very cinematic and is less "happy sunshine rainbows" which I think matures it in a way I quite enjoy. I really appreciated the more ambiguous way that Si Won and his mothers' relationship was rather than tying it up in a neat bow. The main couple had many beautiful scenes, but I think more dialogue would have been beneficial along with more time. The ending feels a bit choppy and though I was pulled in by the beautiful way the show is shot, I am left a little empty handed with why I should care about the main couple.

It feel more like we are kept at arms length by the show. Never truly pulled into any of the plot beats - other than perhaps Si Won's one conversation with his mother. It was a nice show, but I think that is what makes it fall short in the long term. Beautiful but lacking a little substance, which is an ironic thing when you take into context the themes that it was trying to portray.

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Mediocre but it has it ways to impresses the audience

In the intricate web of love and family, status holds significance, but a genuine heart can work wonders. This tale revolves around a brother and sister, their tumultuous relationship, and the transformative power of love.Born from different mothers, they shared a home but not a bond.

The brother harbored resentment, blaming his step-sister and her mother for his own mother's suffering. Fueled by bitterness, he stripped her of everything she held dear, driven by vengeance and misplaced anger. Yet, her love for him remained steadfast, a beacon of hope in the darkness of his animosity.

Despite his cruelty, she never wavered in her affection for him. With the support of her devoted partner, she embarked on a journey to reclaim what was rightfully hers, including the fractured bond with her brother. Their love not only restored her possessions but also softened the hardened heart of her estranged sibling.

In a parallel narrative, the brother's own love interest becomes his guiding light. However, his path strays into darkness, influenced by his misguided actions. It is the unwavering devotion of his sister and the revelation of truth that lead him back to the right track, mending broken relationships and restoring harmony within the family.The story delicately weaves through four intertwining love stories, each contributing to the overarching theme of redemption and forgiveness. While the plot may seem commonplace, it is the emotional depth and poignant moments that captivate the audience, ensuring they remain invested till the very end.

Despite its flaws, the story manages to evoke empathy and introspection, proving that even the most ordinary narratives can hold extraordinary beauty when infused with genuine emotion and sincerity.

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Life of a First Born.

Allow me to talk about Night, first born of renowned chef Ramon; Not only he's enduring the pain & guilt of hurting his nong chai, but having a mother who tends to put you second - I truly felt where it is coming from. When Night said "Is it my fault" it tore me up. As perfectly as he tries, he wasn't good enough. He's hurting more and more! Yet, you could barely say much as if you do, it felt like you're being selfish. Oh well~ at least he is content now. Proud of you naaa ai Night.

Absolutely enjoyed and adore the entire episode of this series. Always having each other's back, whether it is your boss, your friend, your ex-gf till the end is simply well put. What's more showing everyone's green flag side is the best.

Their sound track of course - THE BEST ! I listened to their songs first before watching the series 5 months later. Hhehehe ~ Satang's voice really fits. William did an amazing job and Jimmy version is merely ethereal.

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One of the best of its genre and sure to be an instant favourite for many.

As someone who watched and loved Ancient Love Poetry shortly after its release in 2021, as soon as I heard that a sequel was in the works, I was already excited. A little nervous, perhaps, since ALP delivered so much that I wondered if the next in the series would be able to follow or build upon the existing material in a satisfying way. Yet I needn't have feared.

If anything, The Last Immortal not only builds upon what Ancient Love Poetry established, it gives such an extension of growth to its universe that, truly, I ended up loving the sequel even more. Which is high praise indeed, considering ALP is very much one of my favourite c-dramas' from the last few years.

The Last Immortal follows the story of Shang Gu and Bai Jue's only child, Gu Jin (Yuan Qi) during his time throughout the Heavenly Realm. His True God powers have been sealed, and after an accidental event that causes the Phoneix Immortal's essence to shatter and scatter across the three realms, Gu Jin and the little water divine beast he hatches, A'Yin, work together to gather the pieces of her immortal essence.

I never once found myself bored watching this show. The pacing felt natural and engaging, with enough development with the different plots that were going on to keep me wanting to watch the next episode and find out more. There are so many interesting and fun characters too, a few of my favourites being the fox demon Hong Yi, the ghost realm's brother's Xiuyan and Aoge, and the Eagle Princess Yan Shuang. Truthfully however, there is no one in this show that I felt was annoying - even the Phoneix clan's father and daughter duo were compelling to watch.

One strength this show has is that everything feels as if it has a purpose. There are side plots that are introduced early on that seem as if they have nothing to do with the larger story, yet it isn't until later on that you realise they are incredibly important to the plot and have been included for a reason. A perfect example of this is the Ghost realm. One of my favourite realms in the show and perhaps the most interesting, it felt so satisfying to see certain characters within it return later on down the line and to know that they were always supposed to be a part of the story. That they weren't just added in to aid the main characters in their own goals, but they had their own story and purpose for being there.

I will warn any future viewers that are coming from Ancient Love Poetry however that The Last Immortal can be a bit confusing, and this is simply down to the way that the drama chooses to change the names of mentioned characters that appear in ALP. Shang Gu and Bai Jue are installed called Yi He and Di Juan. Xuan Yi is called Ming Qi. Thankfully, there is a thread on this site that explains the names of the characters that are featured in both shows, so do take a look if you find yourself confused or just wanting to know whose who (https://mydramalist.com/discussions/shen-yin/121769-shen-yin-the-last-immortal-novel-content-and-its-connection-with-ancient-love-poetry).

All in all, if you are a fan of xianxia, The Last Immortal is definitely something you should check out. A fantastic story that is well acted with a talented cast of actors, and with features some beautiful visuals and a great soundtrack. Do give this show a chance - you may just find yourself leaving a new favourite!

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There is no absolute fairness in the world, but efforts can be made to prevail relative fairness.

Overview of Plot:-

The drama starts with Fan Xian faking his death and discovering the truth of his identity. When he returned to the capital from Bei Qi, he realised how corrupt the government officials are. He felt infuriated yet helpless when he saw how the people holding power treats the common people.

Fan Xian discovered many secrets at the end of the season 1 which now made his trust on his backers to waver. This season is more focused on character development of Fan Xian and developing a goal for his unruly life towards changing the world, as his mother aspired to back then. He reluctantly started to walk down the same path as his mother but with a new witty way.

Will Fan Xian still be able to get his revenge after knowing who the mastermind was behind Teng Zi Jing's death? Will he be able to unveil the one who is in cahoots with the enemy country? Will he be able to stand firm against injustice and unfairness of the world? As he discovered his identity, what will he going to do now? Will he ever be succeed in uncovering the truth of his mother's death and the suspense of his own birth and memories? Will he trust again those backers of his?
Stay tuned to know more.

My Views:-

This season is highly focused on political intrigue and there is a lack of adventure. However, this doesn't disappoint me even a little. After a number of dreadful events, Fan Xian realized no matter how capable he is, he alone cannot upholds justice for innocent. He figure out if he wants to walk down on the path of fairness and justice, he needs to make alliance and his own faction.

Fan Xian becomes aware of fact that in the struggle of power, lives of common people are treated as chess piece. No one cares for them. Almost everyone is accustomed to this, and those who are not, can do nothing about it. They are afraid to speak up because they have no one to watch their backs and so will end up being dead eventually. The cruelty of world opened his eyes wide.

As this is a long awaited season, therefore, it's inevitable to compare both of the seasons. In terms of writing, this season is not as marvelous as the season 1 but it doesn't mean it's a disappointment. I loved this season as well.

Nevertheless, this season is more of character building of Fan Xian and other characters. It's the foundation of his journey of becoming most influential and powerful being and to polish his ruthlessness and wits to make him capable of surviving in the power struggle. Not everything can be done by force, by fighting, sometimes you need people and it's become a game of mind power, a game of wits. This season conveys this game perfectly. Don't worry about the serious vibes, humour is there all over the drama, but there are also some unnecessary comedy which was definitely not needed. Additionally, the story arcs are a bit mess. It's not a smooth sailing as it was in season 1. I wonder what happened to the writers while writing the arcs in this season.

Speaking of acting of the original actors from season 1, it's excellent, no more words needed. Even after 5 years, they all did justice to their characters with the same vibe of season 1. However, the casting of new actors to replace old ones fell short. Yan Bing Yun in season 1 was more like a paranoid and dead serious person, but in this season his demeanor seems to change completely to a person who often smiles and not as serious as he was introduced in season 1. That serious vibe and tension between him and Fan Xian is gone completely. Coming to Ye Ling'er, the previous actress did her job perfectly as a hot-headed tomboy, but in my opinion, the new actress couldn't match upto the character's essence.

Lin Wan'er became more likable as a character for me as compared to season 1 which is quite a good thing. She finally has grown up and acts like adults in this season. In this season, I loved her chemistry with Fan Xian.

Fan Ruo Ruo is becoming the best female character in this drama, the girl was already well versed in literature and discipline, now she became a surgeon and snipper at the same time. Her character is becoming more and more strong.

My most loved characters in this season besides Fan Xian are Fan Jian, Fan Ruo Ruo, Fei Jie and Wu Zhu. They are the only ones who never left Fan Xian's side and never seek any benefit in return. I am so glad that Fan Xian never changed his surname and never left his family.

Fan Si Zhe shows the most development in his character. Sometimes it takes a moment for a man to grow up, this suits him very well.

Li Cheng Ze, the second prince, now playing on front. We now realised what his mother said about him, when she met Fan Xian, was all true. He is not as simple as he looks like, so is the Crown Prince. Nonetheless, he always seems like an interesting character to me from the season 1. He is as crazy as his aunt.

Action part is there but in the last quarter of this season and new mysteries and revelations came into picture but it's far from enough compared to season 1. As for production, colour palette is bit warmer compared to season 1 and looks really good. Costumes are beautiful as in the season 1. But music was somewhat off. It feels like, makers added wrong background music in some scenes which doesn't go with the vibe of that moment. For example, at the time of Fan Xian's surgery, they added somewhat light-hearted music which does not fit with serious vibe of that scene in starting. It tonned down the significance of that particular crest fallen moment.

Overall, despite its minor cons it still was a great watch for me. It's captivating enough to make me binge watched this season as well. However, I have some mixed feelings about the ending. Ending felt a bit rushed and unexplained but obviously for making a path for next season.

If you still couldn't decide whether to watch it, then go and watch, it certainly won't disappoint if you love to watch political intrigue and how crazy can people be just to gain power. This is the best choice indeed.

Hope the next season won't take another five years to air.

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