Reviews

Still confused after 8eps

The story in itself is very interesting as a BL storyline, however the execution still got me confused after watching all 8 episodes. Still not sure who all the characters are, how they are linked or what their names are. And, that is after checking MDL multiple times while watching the episodes to do a double take whom I’m watching on screen.

Also, is this supposed to be an ending? What with all the open ended stories? The relationships? The couples? Scratching my head why the series ended before all the stories were completed, in my opinion.

This series is also one of the few where not even the NCs could always keep me interested. They felt out of nowhere at times, sometimes placed in weird places, and one I thought they just played the same clip shown 2 episodes earlier? Not sure lol Some were also a bit boring and repetative, I think Thailand has an issue with Vampires as much as they like chomping on others necks.

All in all, not bad enough that I dropped it, but will peobably never rewatch the series or sequences of the show ever again if not popping up on reels or TikTok…

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what the hell was that

Was that really supposed to be an ending! This looked like could've went on another
two or three episodes and they just threw their hands up in the air when they got to
episode eight and said f**k it and left the show unfinished. The story was all over the place.
There was to many main characters. I couldn't find anything about the story
made sense. At the end of the last episode your left what a blank look on your
face wondering what the heck did I just watch and scratching your head confused
about what was supposed to be going on from the start to the end.

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Thai culture in BL's

When we you see the poster it seems like action thriller something like that but director driven us into thailand culture world which makes plot interesting as well as engaging too. If this series continues to keep up this pace then it tops the charts at 2024 too. There is no cringe events and unwanted skinship but there are quite few naked especially bathroom scenes. We need more like this plots , i love until we meet again similar one like this but it is unique which we never often see in bl's but this series is very unique as well as showing us the history or their are clans of both powerful creatures like garuda and nagas. Even i love the VFX or CGI part too. The writer manages this plot very well even though it is a novel they made it beautiful for the viewers to watch it. Hatsoff for their dedication in each frame the hard work paid off really well. It is highly recommended one.

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Trying to put unnecessary comedy ruined the series

Sorry not sorry!!!
It was a disaster and here are some facts I think were fuel to it:

1. I couldn't concentrate in most of the episode with Jade's continuous shouting through the episode. GOD!!! It just made me super exhausted just by looking at him
2. Why make Jade's character so dumb and annoying just to introduce a comedic angle to the story(which i didn't even found funny). I haven't read the novel but wasn't Jade's character meant to be Kind and Naive. Not dumb and annoying.
3. Trying to stretch the story, by letting Jade not ignoring all the obvious flirting by Mai and still Jade trying to match him up with someone else..
4. Why KingUea are soo different here than they were in Bedfriend and had so little screentime
5. Jade character should have been given more influence of how he was the middleman and also exploring his backstory more.


I think the whole blame for this is to be given to the writers and directors. I will explain why:
It's said that an actor is a directors product. So in general there are high chances of having bad perfomance of the actors ,if the direction is bad. Well in some cases the actors are equally bad in acting as well. But this was not the case here. We have seen Tutor and Yim before, they are decent actors. I personally was cheering for them when they were given their own series as leads. They have good chemistry and are visually appealing as well.
I was left utterly disappointed .

Anyway the second couple were cute and were the only thing that made me watch the series through the end.

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A good drama with a touch of annoying characters and boring moments, but with perfect ending

finally finished this drama after a few weeks. I have many things to say about it, I think this will be long.

Let's start with the positive points :
1) The leads have amazing chemistry, good kissing scenes and many sweet moments. This pairing is perfect.
2) ML character was great in many ways (he wasn't perfect, but in general I like his character) and good acting from Xu Kai. He's a strong ML and has good fighting skills. He's respected by many and a great leader. I like a strong and intelligent ML.
3) The romance starts early and it's a main focus. The interactions and bickering from the leads were good most of the time.
4) Love the second couple (Er and Peach). Their moments and interactions started early too. They are cute and I like both characters. Their romance is sweet without problems or misunderstanding. Wish we could have seen them with a child at the end
5) The friendship is good and I enjoyed seeing that. The bandits, Bao, General Pei, etc ... I consider them good characters.
6) In my opinion Sun Jing is a good villain. He is still an intelligent and strong character + not the annoying type. The part of the plot fighting him was good for me.
7) I like Consort Xiao (the former Crown Princess) character. She's a strong women, a good person and I felt her story. She made contributions and sacrifices to help take back the throne. She feel in love in the enemy, but that didn't stop her to do the right thing and help ML. She was unhappy has the crown princess, but she found happiness at the end in seclusion and with her son.
8) General Han (to one who protected the crown grand son, don't know if I say his name right) was also a good character. Love his loyalty and how he protected him till the end. Glad he survived and still teach him.
9) Cui Yi (FL's father) is bad ass when he fights and was also an interesting character. Glad he overcame his illness and can teach the future emperor. But I would have like to see him again for the ending, even if he was briefly mention.
10) The scenery and cinematography is beautiful.
11) The fighting scenes are really good and interesting to watch
12) Ep 30 is pick and amazing : the fighting, the deaths, the emotions. It is truly heartbreaking and good cinema. It was so sad to see ML watch his friends dies without being able to save them and Bao :( He protected him until his last breath, I lost it when he placed himself in front of ML to shield him, receiving arrow after arrow...
13) The ending was one of the best thing about this drama for me. Not an open or annoying 2 mins happy ending. We have a whole episode for the ending. That is exactly the ending I wanted : Him ruling until the crown grand son is old enough to rule and after that, doing what he always wanted to do, going back to the border. Then they live happy ever after with their kids and with Peach + Er also there. It was such a sweet ending seeing them with their kids and it was cute that the boys were wearing blue clothes and the girls red. I was also touch with the graves scene and them remembering their fallen friends. It is a satisfying ending : we see him ascending the throne as emperor, the world at peace, the Gu family getting what they deserved, her getting pregnant, her giving birth and then seeing their lives a few years lather at the border.
14) The costumes are great
15) The music is really good, just like the intro and the ost. I loved watching the intro every episode.
16) The plot in general is good

Now the negative points or things that I liked less about this drama (some is just me complaining ahah not really bad things) :
1) There are a few annoying and unlikable characters (maybe too much for my liking, made the drama less enjoyable), let's go thorough some of them :
- Liu Cheng Feng is one of the worst and most annoying character ever. He obsession with FL and his delusion ruined the drama for me a little. His presence was annoying from beginning to end, it took him so long to finally die. He wasn't a good villain for me, just an annoying character, just looking at his face I wanted to skipped. He shouldn't've have been there till so late in the drama, his presence was unnecessary since also we have other villains.
- Mrs Gu (prime minister Gu's daughter) : that girl also annoyed me from her first appearance to her last. I agree that she was kinda good at scheming and she made her way to the palace + at first she wasn't unnecessary, but she needed to be gone sooner. Just her talking was irritating me and her face also. I was also just annoy that ML wasn't clear earlier towards her (even if it was so satisfying when he finally did). Why did he let her go to his place and giving him gifts. He was to polite at first. I truly hate obsess second lead and this drama has 2... so for me that was a let down also because they were there until almost the end and no development (like the guy in ''A journey to love'' had at least a developments and let go of his obsessions, so it's more bearable). They were both crazy till the end.
- The emperor (ML's father) : what a useless, spineless, stupid, weak and annoying emperor. It was so frustrating. But at least in the end he finally admits that his not a good emperor and not a good father. But he didn't deserved that kind of redemption arc. His wife (the empress) had at least a bit of brain cells
- ML's brothers : they were annoying, but at least they were trying to scheme and the conflicts between the 3 brothers gave us some amazing eps and fighting scenes. So I gave them that. The older one was so stupid... And the emperor defending them... But the power struggle was necessary for the story, so not that much a negative point here.
2) After the deaths of the bothers and the fight of ep 30-31, the villains were boring and not interesting. The plot was just dragging, the last fighting scene wasn't that good and didn't have a big impact for me. It was useless to had the conflict with the other people (forget the name, but the clan that killed FL's mother) and even Mr. Gu to an instinct. I couldn't care less.
3) Filler episodes with boring or annoying moments to extend to 40 eps. The ones after the wedding in ep 34 for example with the leads in conflicts AGAIN was just annoying to me. FL got on my nerves in eps 35-36. From eps 33-39, I was mostly on my phone the hole time, my interest was gone and I just wanted it to end. I was at the end almost just watching 1 ep a day just to make some progress. This morning I was like today is the day, I'll finish this drama ahaha I had 3 eps left.
4) We were suppose to have a strong and intelligent FL, but she wasn't all that and annoying sometimes. I expected more, maybe I'm biased because I was watching ''A Journey to love'' at the same time and in that drama that's more of a good, strong FL for me. She kept getting kidnap and ML saved her often. When in ep 37-38 SML kidnapped her, I was like, not again... She was stupid there. I also think she wasn't that likeable sometimes, but I agree that she had her moments. Don't know why, I'm also a women, but I feel like the FLs characters are sometimes written annoying, weak or stupid in dramas, more than MLs. It wasn't actually bad here at all, she was still consider strong and had her mind, but it's a tendency I'm realizing now. I often tend to get annoy by a FL and not a ML when I watch a drama, maybe I haven't watched many dramas with the annoying kind of ML yet ahah (I know there are many out there) or maybe I did see some, but nothing comes to my mind right now.
5) I was a bit annoyed with some aspects of the relationship between the leads. Them being in conflicts, they make up, in conflicts again, than make up, ... blah blah blah, happened a few times. It was a part of their relationship and sometimes justified, but maybe they could have had it happen less.
6) I know ML is filial, but he's father treated him like shit all his life, but he was still trying to be a good son, saving him and even kinda getting along with him in ep 40. That man is trash. deserved nothing from ML.
7) ML was stubborn when he didn't want to be the crown when he was the obvious and best choice, but I didn't like how FL was trying to force him. Even less when he was finally crown prince and she didn't want to marry him and make sacrifice for him. Like girl what and she's suppose to be intelligent. Did she really not think that they would have to disbanded the Cui army if she becomes crown princess ? ML already knew it was a strong possibility. And after they got married she was mad at him for the disbanded of her family's army and what happened to her father. ML did is best to defend them and it wasn't his fault, I don't think it was justified to treat him like that. ML also exaggerated by breaking up with her after the letter her father send to the emperor. They both have faults and flaws.... I know they can't be perfect and all of that is part of the plot, but still

So, because it wasn't that good or even interesting past ep 30, filler episodes or some boring moments, the annoying characters and with comparing with others dramas I rated, I stopped my rating at 8.5/10. In general it still a good drama and has many positive points, so of course I would recommend. Also, it's my opinion, I can get annoyed by characters or bored easily, so my negative points are mostly bad things just for me.

If we talk about 2023 chinese dramas that are not modern drama, Wonderland of Love has one of the best ending in my opinion.

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A different love story

Sorry people, but I loved Jade/Mia story. I get that many were expecting a continuation of the Bed Friend theme, however, this was different and it was IMO good. This was not a season 2 of Bed Friend. I binged the entire series and my heart hurt for Mia, because his love for Jade was pure, and the good old misunderstanding and lack of communication trope reared its head. I loved the side couples Tong/Gus and King/Ueau, the new and the old, showed the value of friends that know you. Can a series be better, always in some opinions. I watch for pure enjoyment and to be entertained by the characters, and I was involved in their stories and the issues they presented. I connected with this story and my rating reflex my feelings.
I appreciate the efforts of all involved, from the actors to the caterers, this is work people. This is my first review, usually I ignore reviews and decide for myself, however, because the bashing being handed out seemed very harsh for the story and presentation, I wanted to show my support.

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Perfect series to relax and have a good time

What can I say ?
I was super excited to see this serie from the trailer and because of the previous one Bed friend, who have watched know ?.

For those that were bothered as me, because of the inner voices that we are able to hear almost all the time, in my opinion it smoothened throughout the episode.

Now about the serie... I think is mainly good and nice to watch, please keep on mind that it won't be the same as BF, as they try to explore and enlight different aspects.

I liked the performance of the character's pair portrayed by NetJames, TutorYim and LeoTai because it's presented a vision of both introverted and extroverted persons, their strugglings, behaviours and actions;

Also it's a challenge produce a serie with 8 episodes only and 3 couples, but I have to say that they made a good work, I doesn't feel like they were rushing the events ( I have seen the uncut version?) .

I got the feeling that this year Thai BL are taking to another level, challenging themselves more and more ... for the point I mentioned earlier they made a good job.

With this serie I had a really good time, a chill serie that leave a taste of happiness.

Hope that my review would be helpful?

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Honestly a disappointment in hype

So many people hyped this show up and I was looking forward to it as I love all the Taiwanese bl. I’ve watched. I don’t know if I had high expectation but the plot did not do it for me.

First let me start of saying the acting and cinematography is amazing for both couples. They never felt awkward and their characters were believable . They had great chemistry , great kisses but the plot ruined it for me.

First is people recommending this should warn people who aren’t into age gaps and involvement with a minor. The first couple involves a 17 year old highschool and a person who’s an adult , while the age is never discuss with the adult , speculation says he seems to be at least 5yrs older so the adult could be 22/23 through late 20s. While 16 is the age of consent in Taiwan, legality doesn’t make is morally right. Plus the characters even mention him being a minor. While many can dismiss this age gap as it’s fiction and not real or that the characters doesn’t look like it has an age gap , it bothers me a lot. And it bothers me even more they had a NC scene when the character is still a minor despite having a time skip where the minor is now an adult . They could have made him be slightly older and in college and the plot line can still work. Second couple is cute but also know there is dubcon as one of them was drunk in an NC scene.

But still I continue reminding myself it’s fiction and not to get so hung up if it had a good story but the story line failed to deliver.

There’s a choppiness to the drama that bothers me, the characters had no depth or growth and the plot just added more plot for the sake of having a plot and plot twist that really made no sense. There was no development with the relationship of the 1st couple . One moment he dislike him, the next they like each other but there’s not much logical reason to how they fell in love. if they spent time on the first couple development on how close they gotten for more than one episode, I feel like the audience can be more attached to them. The second couple made sense on why they love each other as they grew up having a close relationship and the unrequited love storyline tugs me heart. I wish the older mafia men had more of their story as they hinted about their relationship but we never followed through

Overall,
This shown isn’t for me. People will love it but I find the hype was a let down . The plot tried having more plot line but the execution was wrong

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Ecological and dreamlike fable, philosophical but quite strange.

PLOT: The FL, organizer of customized trips, has a guardian angel who has protected her for a long time, The guardian angel Orla, the ML, is a Kawas (protective spirit, messenger of Kakarayan, god of Taiwanese animist myths). But all the Kawas must leave the land, polluted and devastated by humans. Nevertheless Orla refuses to leave and the spirits will clash : good, bad, manipulative,...

PROS:
+ Very good actors
+ I feared that the “meager budgets of Taiwanese series” would be a handicap on this kind of series with Gods, Demons, Immortals, etc. But, despite the small budget, the special effects are not cheap, nor spectacular Marvel style, but appropriate and poetic.
+ Very good OSTs.
+ the Eco-friendly message is recalled in each episode. The animist philosophy (let's respect what nature has given us and still offers us) is very present.
+ The production is efficient, without downtime, and we constantly wonder where this story will take us.
+ Very beautiful costumes (traditional?)

CONS:
- the whole thing is strange, unusual. So not necessarily for everyone (•ิ_•ิ)?

I won't watch this drama again, but I enjoyed this philosophical tale and the performances of the actors (the 2 leads are excellent!!).

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Fable ecolo et onirique, philosophique mais assez étrange.

PLOT: La FL, organisatrice de voyages customisés, a un ange gardien qui la protège depuis longtemps, Orla, le ML, un Kawas (esprit protecteur, messager de Kakarayan,dieu des mythes animistes taïwanais). Les Kawas doivent quitter la terre, polluée et dévastée par les humains. Mais Orla refuse de partir et les esprits vont s'affronter, bons, méchants, manipulateurs,...

PROS:
+ De très bons acteurs
+ Je craignais que les "maigres budgets des séries taïwanaises" ne soient un handicap sur une série avec Dieux, Démons, Immortels, etc. Mais, malgré le petit budget, les effets spéciaux ne sont pas cheap, pas spectaculaires non plus style Marvel, mais adaptés et poétiques.
+ De très bons OST.
+ le message Eco-responsable, est rappelé dans chaque épisode. La philosophie animiste (respectons ce que la nature nous a donné et nous offre encore) est très présente.
+ La réalisation est efficace, sans temps mort, et on se demande sans cesse où cette histoire va nous mener.
+ De très beaux costumes (traditionnels ?)

CONS:
- l'ensemble est étrange, inhabituel. Donc pas forcément pour tout le monde (•ิ_•ิ)?

Je ne regarderai pas à nouveau ce drama, mais j'ai apprécié ce conte philosophique et la performance des acteurs (les 2 leads sont excellents !!).

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Suzy Bae is a really good actor!

The scenario isn't anywhere close to being realist, snowball chance in the Lake of Fire this could have actually happened, hah hah, but then again truth is often stranger than fiction!

I only watched it to see Bae again after watching "Doona" as her acting in that was really good. So was the male lead, Yang Se Jong, who played Lee Won Joon, apart from when he cried. I don't think Yang has cried a lot in his life, but not to say crying is an easy part of acting and sometimes it's due to the director.

While the story is unreal and a bit dark, it's worth a watch IMO. I prefer comedies personally, and think, at least from the very limited exposure thus far, Korean sense of humor in movies and dramas more aligns with American than it does with Japanese. This drama is short (6 episodes or the extended one, this is 8) and has interesting characters.

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Only a Devil can kill a Monster

A cool Mafia consigliere and a chaotic lawyer team up to take down a huge business cartel run by a vicious and psychotic monster. In the process several secrets are revealed, masks fall off and the true self of many are shown, friends turn into foes and foes into friends.
The cast was great and did justice to their characters be it the leads or the bad folks. You really do end up hating their guts till the end. The chemistry between the leads was too good, they didn't need much romantic scenes to show on how much they suited each other.
The story was catchy and engaging with good humor, though there were instances where it felt dragged and unnecessary stuff added to it overall it didn't bore me.
I really liked the soundtrack of the show especially "Adrenaline" and "Always by your side".

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